Quilts I'm thinking of making

I'm trying to decide on a quilt to make for our baby. Here are a couple quilts that I have come across that I really love. Of course, not all of these could be for boys so it will also determine if we have a boy or girl. Here they are, I'm still on the lookout for more:

http://www.make-baby-stuff.com/kirstens-quilt.html

http://www.allpeoplequilt.com/projects-ideas/baby-quilts/girl-boy-monogram-crib-quilt_1.html

http://www.allpeoplequilt.com/projects-ideas/baby-quilts/hearts-flowers-applique-quilt_1.html

20 Weeks

Week 20: Cantaloupe

Average size: 6.5 inches, 10.6 oz.

Baby's now the size of a cantaloupe!
Baby gulps down several ounces of amniotic fluid every day, both for nutrition and to practice swallowing and digesting. And, these days, those taste buds actually work! Studies show that after birth, babies respond best to tastes they've already had via amniotic fluid. Meaning, think about what you'd like your future child to eat as you prepare your own lunch.

John 's Headache

I have suffered from headaches most of my life. I have also had a dull headache for the last 2 months of my pregnancy. It will get really bad sometimes so the doctor wrote me a prescription which works wonders, but doesn't however make it go away permanently.
Well yesterday John had a headache. The funny thing is he has maybe had 5 since I met him 9.5 years ago! I sympathized with him, but it was SO funny. He was acting like a baby. He wouldn't eat or drink anything, which I kept telling him he should do. He was probably dehydrated and if he would have just drink a big glass of water would have felt better. Also he took two ibuprofen when it first came on but wouldn't take anymore when it was time to take more.
It was like he just wanted me to feel sorry for him but he didn't want to do anything about it. Anyway, it finally went away and he kept saying I don't know how you deal with this all the time. I kept telling him to remember this the next time I have a bad one and all I want to do it be in a dark room :). We will see if he remembers, guys seem to have selective memories.

Countdown to knowing boy/girl

I'm so excited to know the sex of our baby! We will know in 8 days!!

19 Weeks

Week 19: Mango

Average size: 6.0 inches, 8.5 oz.

Baby's now the size of a mango!
Vernix caseosa, a greasy white substance made of lanugo, oil, and dead skin cells (yum) now coats baby's skin, shielding it from the amniotic fluid. (Picture yourself after a nine-month bath, and the need for protection makes sense.) You might get to see the vernix at birth, especially if baby is premature.

Hurry Up Chicken Pot Pie by Paula Dean

After cooking this recipe, it is good, but you DO NOT need the entire stick of butter on top. I would say half a stick would be more than enough. Also I had to cook it a little longer than 40 minutes to make sure the biscuit on top was cooked all the way, it could just be my oven.

Ingredients

• 2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast
• 2 hard-boiled eggs, sliced
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced carrots
• 1/2 cup frozen green peas
• 1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of chicken soup
• 1 cup chicken broth
• Salt and pepper, optional
• 1 1/2 cups instant biscuit mix
• 1 cup milk
• 1 stick melted butter

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a greased 2-quart casserole, layer the chicken, eggs, carrots, and peas. Mix the soup, chicken broth, and season with salt and pepper, if desired. Pour over the layers. Stir together the biscuit mix and milk, and pour this over the casserole. Drizzle butter over the topping. Bake until the topping is golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes.

This week

I've been getting kind of lazy about posting. I feel like there isn't much going on even though we are preparing for a baby.
This is what we did this week. We live in a tiny condo, as most of you know, and we have a big storage problem. To make space we raised our bed up on blocks when we first moved in. It was so high that I almost have to jump up to get on it every night, but we are able to keep TONS of stuff under our bed. Well as you can imagine, its getting harder and harder for me to get in and out of bed. I told John we should lower it now before it gets even more difficult. So we lowered our bed, but now we have to find room for everything that was under it. We are still working through that, but at least I can get in and out comfortably.
We also have been to Babies R Us and started the process of determining what we should register for. Its hard because every list I find on the internet or at Babies R Us has WAY more stuff then we could ever fit in our condo. I have done a pretty good job of narrowing down what we need, although we won't be registering until May. I just feel like if we have a game plan we won't register for things we don't need.
My belly is getting bigger, but I don't think it's too big. Some people tell me I'm huge and others tell me they think I don't look big at all. Of course people tell me these things voluntarily, I'm fine with just not pointing it out b/c DUH I have a belly. What do you expect I'm growing a Tarver baby in here :).
I've been counting down the days until we find out boy or girl. I will be the most disappointed person you have ever seen on April 30th if they can't tell us what is in here. It's not that I NEED to know I just really want to and the science allows us to know so we might as well know. We have started thinking of names and we have agreed on a boy name. I have a girl name I love, but haven't sold John on it yet. I figured I would wait until we find out for sure what we are having before I push the girl name on him more.
My lower back has started hurting from the pressure of my growing belly. I stated sleeping with a pillow between my legs and it has made ALL the difference. I haven't started feeling the baby move yet, but am expecting to any day. Everything I read says you should for sure feel it by 20 weeks and we are at 18.5 weeks.
Besides that John and I haven't done much out of the ordinary. I'm still knitting hats and a blanket for the baby and will make a quilt once we find out if its a boy or girl. I've been making lots of good food for us to eat since we are stocked with groceries after our Walmart trip. I've been making new recipes as well so we try new things. Last week I made Lasagna that was SO good and this week I made chicken casserole that is similar to chicken pot pie without the crust. John has stated helping me cook some; I think its important that he learns some of the basics. I think its been fun and we've been able to do it together.

18 Weeks

Week 18: Sweet Potato

Average size: 5.6 inches, 6.7 oz.
Baby's moving like crazy -- feel anything yet?

Baby's now the size of a sweet potato!
Baby's become amazingly mobile (compared to you, at least), passing the hours yawning, hiccupping, rolling, twisting, kicking, punching, sucking, and swallowing. And baby is finally big enough that you'll soon be able to feel her movements.

Walmart

John and I try to go to Walmart about every 2 months. We stock up on everything we can think of. We went today. I left the house at 1 picked John up at work about 1:35, went to Walmart and left Walmart at 3:30 to go back home. It took us about an hour to get home because of rush hour traffic. Most people in this city think we are CRAZY to drive 40-50 miles to go to a Walmart Supercenter, but it is SOOOOOOOOO much cheaper than shopping for groceries in the city. We were at Walmart seeing the same things we can get at the grocery store that is walking distance to our house, and it is half the price at Walmart!
The reason Walmart is so far is Mayor Daley, the mayor of Chicago, has put a ban on certain stores. He will not allow any Walmart's in Cook county and Cook county is HUGE! It is way bigger than counties in Dallas. I was searching for the closest Supercenter to our house on the Walmart website. I picked a city that was right on the border of Cook and Lake county, Lake county is where John works. In 25 miles there were 19 Walmart's, but only ONE SUPERCENTER! John and I have no idea why anyone would go to a regular Walmart and not a supercenter...
Anyway I've decided you can move someone to the big city but you can't take the Texan out of them!

17 Weeks

Week 17: Onion

Average size: 5.1 inches, 5.9 oz.

Baby's skeleton is hardening, changing from rubbery cartilage to bone, and fat is finally accumulating around it. The umbilical cord is getting thicker and stronger, and those little fingers and toes are now topped by one-of-a-kind prints.

16 Week Appointment

I had my 16 week appointment yesterday. I waited over 45 minutes in the waiting room and we didn't even get to have a sonogram!! I was SO hoping we would have one today and the baby would show us if it was a boy or girl. Oh well, I guess we will just have to wait until my 20 week appointment on April 30th to know if its a little Kimmy or Johnny :).
I had my blood pressure taken, weight checked, heard the baby's heartbeat, and gave blood for a spina bifida test. Everything was good. I've gained 7.5 lbs since I got pregnant. I asked if this was good and she said I'm doing just right. I haven't gained too much or too little. The baby's heartbeat was 140, which the Dr Clinton said was a good strong, heartbeat.

Chicago

You know you've lived in Chicago too long when:
1. You haven't driven on the highway in 8 months.
2. When you finally drive the car you can't remember how to turn the ac on. (Yes this happened to me today).
3. You are willing to drive 40 miles in rush hour traffic to eat at On The Border.
4. A day with a high of 50 feels good.
5. Snow in April isn't a surprise.

Belly

16 weeks 2 days

Well I was standing comfortably today, looked down and realized I can no longer see my feet without bending over a little!! Haha I think the baby has had a growth spurt the last week. I'm starting to really show.

Cowboy Boots

John and Greg at Monroy's

When we were in Dallas John wanted a pair of cowboy boots. We went to Cavender's Boot City. They had a pretty big selection in John's size. I was quite surprised. I guess the saying "things are bigger in TX" holds true in this case!! Haha! Anyway, I picked these out and thought they were really nice. I wasn't sure John would go for the red part of them, but he did! He's going to wear them to work tomorrow. They are Tony Lama's, so when we got home John had to play for me the song "My New Tony Lamas". Pretty funny!!