Naming Babies

Only 1 of these names is a contender. 
All names were pulled from nameberry.com as predictions for 2019 LOL
 

Was your husband super opionated when you were picking out baby names? I never thought it would be something a man would care about. Yep, I realize that is sexist. When I was pregnant with Garrett I realized how wrong I was. He not only had an opinion, he was passionate about it. I have always kept lists and at some point I must have made a baby name list on my computer. I don't even remember this list, so it must have been quite old. We had been married 8 years before we got pregnant with Garrett, so I had plenty of time to gather names. Mark wanted all sorts of crazy names I did not approve of so one day he found this list I supposedly wrote and found the name Garrett on it. He said he liked it and since I had already written it down, surely that meant that I liked it so in his mind we were in agreement. Men! But yes, I do love his name. It is unique and manly without being too futuristic or cute and I even love the middle name Mark gave him, Sky.

So, insert baby #2. We do not know the gender yet, but it is never too early to start thinking and planning. We have the boy name pretty much nailed down. I actually am getting more and more excited about that one. I wasn't thrilled with it at first as I have a name I love that Mark just does not understand. I have a girl name I love too, that he will not even consider. So for girl names, he thinks we have that nailed down too, but I only somewhat love the first name and hate his middle name choice. I mean HATE. Yep, super strong dislike. Yesterday I decided on a new girl name that I think I am in love with. It is unique and girly and perfect for our family. Still working on convincing him.

Do you love your kid's first and middle names? I am never going to like the middle name Mark has for a girl, but not sure it is worth fighting over. How do I explain to my potential future daughter that I love her and hate her middle name? Would that be weird? I'm not sure I have ever even asked my parents how they came up with my name. Do you know where your name originated? So, maybe it doesn't even matter. Am I overthinking this?

Pinterest Cravings

Decided I should finally try out a few things on Pinterest, but in Rachel fashion I did not follow the directions 100%.  Oddly, this rarely ends in tragedy so that is good.

 



I started last night with a bath.  One long enough to actually scrub and shave my legs.   Oh my!  I tried out this Leg Exfoliator recipe.  It worked pretty good on my legs and feet, but it clogs the razor with the oil.  I kept having to rinse out the razor in the hottest water I could get.  But, this morning my legs are pretty smooth and softer than normal.  The instructions say to do it twice, but twice seemed like overkill.  Once is enough if you don't have the added time.  Make sure to rinse off with your soap of choice before getting out of the tub.  I was using G's tub so baby shampoo it was! I am storing the rest of the mixture in my fridge and cleaned out the tub immediately.  Ants in the tub would not be relaxing.  I also am keeping a plastic spoon in the jar because it will need to be stirred up before each use.  (You can shake it too, but my lid does not seem to be fitting right)

 

After my bath, I made Watergate Ice Cream.  I love Watergate Salad.  I saw this recipe online for Cantaloupe Sherbet but only had pineapple onhand.  Pineapple led me to watergate and new ice cream was created. 

 

Blend together in blender:

2 cups of fresh pineapple

1 packet of Pistachio Pudding powder

and

 1 can of fat free sweetened condensed milk

Stir in:

1/2 cup pecans

1 cup marshmallows

Either use an ice cream maker or just put in a freezer container and freeze overnight. 



This morning we are trying Amish Cinnamon Bread.  Like I said, I never follow directions.  I replaced 1 cup of the flour with oat flour instead (just oats blended into flour...easy enough), used brown sugar instead of white sugar (white sugar is boring) and added vanilla. 

I discovered my Penzey's vanilla has an actual vanilla bean in it.  What a surprise, but sadly the reason I found out is because I am out of Vanilla.  Just got my new coupon for Penzey's so I am going to take advantage of Mark's Saturday off and G's nap and go get more.  Can't be without good vanilla.  That would be a real tragedy.  Find a Penzey's near you or order online.  My mom introduced me to their spices after she had ordered some online.  The day after she told me about them, we were driving through the Arlington Highlands and she spotted the actual store.  Only place for spices.  My cupboard is slowly becoming a Penzey spice cabinet. 

The recipe supposedly makes 2 large loafs.  I ended up with 12 muffins and a 9x9 pan.  I added blueberries to the pan.  Just sprinkle a little flour on some frozen blueberries so they get coated and I put it on top of the 1st layer of batter, then the cinnamon mixture then a little more batter, a few more blueberries and swirled.  G and I love blueberry cinnamon bread.  He LOVES LOVES it!

G enjoying Pinterest Craving Day
 

All in all, a great Pinterest craving weekend.  Maybe I'll try a chicken marinade I found online tonight.  I will need to talk Mark into grilling first.  Will share later if it turns out. 

What have you tried on Pinterest? 

1ST SONOGRAM

IT IS STILL A BABY!!!! 

 

I had the fetal development scan yesterday. It was quick, too quick. All he told me is that the baby weighs exactly what it should at 17 w, 6 days (1/2 lb). It literally lasted 5 minutes, which is how long he told me it would take. My scan at this stage with Garrett took close to 30 minutes. She measured every single bone and made sure all the important innards were accounted for (stomach, heart, kidneys, brain, etc). Not this guy. I am getting more and more disappointed at the thought, but I am with midwives for a reason I guess. Minimal intervention is the name of the game here. My next appointment is in 2 weeks so we'll see what the midwife says about the baby.

So, clearly I am not making any huge announcements regarding gender today or I would have said it by now. I had the sonographer print out a picture of the revealing body parts and write girl or boy on a piece of paper and enclose in an envelope. A special helper will be getting this envelope soon so we can do a special gender reveal with our photographer. I can't wait! Watch for pics (and hopefully a video) coming soon.

In the meantime, here is the only picture I have of this little one.

Looking straight at the sweet face!
 

Here is me at 18 wks.

The magical gender envelope.


Dying to know what is in here!  Have to give to secret agent fast before we peak :)



 

Just loved this!



Gender Reveals: Yes or No?

cute invite from Zazzle
see it here

I am planning to have photos taken when we find out what we are having but I want to do it in a fun way. I don't have any pictures of our sonogram with my family from when we found out we were having our first child, a son. I loved sharing that experience with them, but I wish I had that look on their face captured forever or at least a picture that shows we were all there together.

So as I'm making plans and googling ideas I have come across some hate filled blogs on the subject of gender reveal parties. I have read things like self absorbed, self indulgent, continues our me, me, me society, just another boring party for your friends and family to make time for, children have been born forever why get all excited now, and the list of negativity goes on.

At first I thought, well, maybe they are right. Being a culture of social media our society has maybe become a bit oversharing. But, you know what? I think it is okay to share our excitement with those we love and if they love us back then they should be just as excited as we are. I waited a long time to have kids. Long after my friends had finished that part of life, but I was still excited for them. Why wouldn't you be excited for your family or friend as she starts this new adventure in life?

We are not planning a party, but instead a gender reveal photoshoot so that me, my husband and our toddler son can find out in a fun way what we are having and have the looks on our faces captured. Sure I could have just had the memory of the sonographer telling me, do you see that extra leg right there? Well, it isn't an extra leg. It's a boy. Yes, that is great, but there is nothing wrong with making a celebration out of it and having fun pictures to look at forever. Sure, I will post a collage of these pics and maybe a sample of the video I am hoping to have made at the same time on social media, but the intent is to capture this for our joy and memories and for those that love us, to be able to share in our joy no matter how far away they may live.

So if you are out there annoyed and horrified by these so called self indulgent parties and photos, just remember, someone shared in your joy too. Even if you thought no one cared that you had gotten pregnant like billions of women past, someone did care and was excited for you. I bet you even counted down the days until your sonogram so you could find out if your house was going to be filled with pink or blue onesies. Why pretend this is not a joyous occasion? I can't imagine such a boring world where no one celebrated or found joy in simple things such as the gender of your child. Life is worth celebrating, so party it up!

If you don't mind sharing in our joy, please come back later in August when our pics are up.

Tell me your thoughts?

2nd Appointment with the midwives

7/9/13
Midwife Candace (you see a different one each time so you have met them all by the time you deliver)

First off (which has nothing to do with having babies), I have this goal of not using elevators.  It wasn't one of those thought out, write it down type goals.  It was just in the back of my mind and I started consciously not using them at work.  So when I got to the hospital for my appointment today I was faced with a decision:  go the way I know and use the elevators to get from my car parked on the 2nd floor of the garage or take the stairs.  Seems easy enough except the stairs do not land at the same spot as the elevator.  Make sense?  I had no idea.  Turns out it takes you to a secret tunnel into the building and once you finally get to the end of it you are somehow at the entrance to the building.  So then it was a mad dash to find the stairs inside the building to get to the 3rd floor.  Finally located them and was good to go.  Retraced my steps back to my car easy enough after the appointment. 

This was just one of those not very exciting appointments where all we really talked about was the 4th of July since that was just last week.  I declined all the genetic testing that they normally do this week since it isn't going to change the outcome of us having a baby.  I didn't bother with them last time so why start now, right?  Forgot to make sure that was okay with Mark this time, but I'm sure he is fine with it.  Finally it was time to search for the heartbeat with the dopplar.  It took a few minutes, but turns out this baby is hanging out really low on my right side.  I mean groin area low.  Who knew.  Heard a loud heartbeat once she had that sucker in the right location.  It was about 140-150 this time.  So that is good. 

She asked me one more time if I was doing good or had any questions.  No questions, but I told her I honestly was thrilled she had found a heartbeat.  Ever since the bleeding, nausea and morning sickness went away I have pretty much not felt pregnant at all.  Clearly my belly is growing so you would think that would have been a satisfactory indication that a baby was growing in there, but never the less I was worried.  No more worry.  Baby is hanging out in a strange spot but he or she is fine. 

Being pregnant is so strange.  I'm not sure I will ever get over having been through these experiences.  You just cannot explain to someone what it feels like to listen to the heartbeat of a life growing in your belly.  Amazing!

The sonogram has been scheduled so a gender reveal will be here soon.  I think I will save the date and just surprise you.  Haha, the joys of being the momma.  But seriously Mark probably will not make it off work in time to go to this one so if anyone wants to go I have an opening. 

Anyone want to make a guess?  Girl?  or Boy? 

Perfection

I'm not perfect.  There I said it.  Guess what?  I don't need to be and neither do you. 

Perfection or at least the concept has been the topic of conversation all around me lately.  It comes up in marriage, parenting and just as often in fitness. 



This is been on my mind for a long time.  Probably since I became a mom, but lately it has really weighed heavily.  I think it is the Facebook curse...too many mom groups...too many tired parents trying to fit in to a mold that doesn't exist..too many posts of how do I's? and why won't my child?, etc.  It is heart breaking to read these mom's posts.  They are doing what is best for them and their child and in addition to the questions and comments from random people, these moms scrutinize every choice they make.

So I say stop attempting to be perfect.  Don't be average either.  Be unique.  Parent in a way that is unique to your child, unique to your family.  Research typical behavior, growth and milestones, but then be prepared that your child may not follow those charts to a T and that is okay!!!  Do you hear me?  I am saying that is okay.  You and your child are unique.  That is what is so loveable about you.  You are not the same as me.  Sure, we can relate to being a mom, maybe our love for fitness, and a ridiculous obsession with avocados, but what is great is that we are learning and growing each day and we are different.  We don't have everything figured out and sometimes we wing it. 

In some ways I spent most of G's 1st year wondering why all "those other moms" were able to keep their house spotless, get their baby to sleep all night in their own crib, and fit in some super workout.  I never was able to accomplish any of those before he turned 1.  He was a breastfed baby and he loved mommy all of the time, day and night.  Then I figured it out.  It was all a show. Sure, sometimes the stars lined up and they had a "perfect" day, but they did not get things perfect all of the time.

I guess what I hope is that my children will grow up experiencing life, the good, the bad and even the mistakes.  I want them to own every experience and not ever feel like they are unworthy because they are not fitting a mold that is either unattainable or not meant for their purpose in life.

My house will never be 100% clean (at least not all the rooms at the same time) and we may eat out more than we should, but we have this amazing love for one another and the patience to be who we are now.

~Rachel