Becoming Dot Com

For those of you who have been following me for awhile, you may be linked to me through my old domain - www.chandi23.blogspot.com. But I now have my own domain and have become a dot com! If the page doesn't seem to be showing everything correctly, you can start following me at www.mommyinthemakingmn.com. Everything is the same, but its my own page. Thanks for joining us on this journey!

Follow Friday

It's FRIDAY!!! Staying at home has made Fridays a little less of something I look forward to, but they generally do mean the end of work for the week for me too. Weekends are spent relaxing and enjoying time together at the Foote house. Or diving into serving at church...But that's still fun!

This weekend we have a conference at church all day Saturday before we head to the airport to fly to Chicago! Unfortunately, its not going to be a luxury trip, but instead we are going for my Great Aunt's Memorial Service. We will get in to Chicago Saturday night and the service will be on Sunday afternoon. Then on Monday we will have some time in Chicago...check back next week for some pictures and a surprise! We have something exciting planned for Monday and I can't wait to share it with you when we get back!

Here are some blogs I'm enjoying this week. Feel free to link up for Follow Friday and share what you have planned for the weekend!

1. Chandelle @Mommy in the Making
2. Baby Making Machine
3. First Time Mom and Dad
4. Proverbs31 Girl
5. One Girl, One Beautiful Life
6. Tired of Being Pregnant
7. The New Momma
8. Jenni from the blog
9. Behind the Makeup
10. And Baby Makes Three

Happy Friday! Have a great weekend! 

Baby Sale!!!

I have always LOVED baby stuff...and shopping for that matter. So ever since we found out we are having a boy, I have had a bit of a hard time controlling myself. But a girl can't pass up a good deal! We have been able to get a TON of clothes for baby Christian at 70% off! I check out clearance racks all of the time and use coupons and have found little hoodies for as cheap as 77 cents! Since Christian will be born in May, he won't really be needing winter clothes right away, but I plan ahead :) Meaning we already have clothes in 6, 9 and 12 months sizes. I may have also bought the cutest little blazer (for only a few bucks on the clearance rack at Target) in size 24 months.

Recently, with spring stuff coming out and Carters having some great sales, I think we have stocked up on Christian's summer wardrobe! At least sizes 0-3 months. If he comes out needing newborn sizes (which I'm guessing he will for at least a bit) we still need to get a few things.

Just wanted to let you all know, Carters is having a baby sale!!! :)

And if shopping online, you can use coupon code SPARKLE and save an extra 20% off orders of $40 or more good through 2/28/13. Shipping to Minnesota was only $6.

I made one last splurge yesterday and I think we officially now own everything I love from Carters...This is going to be one spoiled boy! Now, to practice some self-control and stop shopping. We have enough!

Happy shopping to you all, though!

27 Week Bumpdate!

27 Weeks, 3 Days 

As you have probably seen if you have read any of my previous bumpdate posts, I do have bump stickers. However, I only have them for once a month. Even though my belly doesn't exactly change much from week to week, I still like taking weekly pictures and doing a weekly blog. I recently found a free app that works on both iPhone and iPad called Pictures with Words. So this week I added my own "bump sticker" of sorts and will easily be able to remember that this picture was taken at 27 weeks. 

Size of Baby::: About 14.5 inches long (.5 inches growth since last week) and 2 pounds! (.25 pounds bigger than last week). He is approximately the size of a cauliflower now. 

Source

Symptoms::: Morning sickness may be starting to return... :( All week I have started feeling nauseous again in the afternoon into the evening. Not nearly as bad as before and no vomiting yet...Let's hope it stays that way! Could even go back to feeling normal :) No more hip pain, though! 

Cravings::: While I haven't had cravings like most pregnant women do, I have found myself wanting cake a lot. If I'm having a craving I usually dream about it! And last night I was dreaming about cake! ha ha In these dreams I very slowly eat the food and enjoy and savor every bite! Haven't had cake since well before Valentine's Day, though. Hence my cravings have not been normal because I can usually resist them. 

Something I Miss::: I just miss feeling normal. Not hormonal, emotional and cranky. Looking forward to feeling like myself again. 

Something I am GOING to Miss::: Feeling Christian move!!! I love that part of pregnancy! So neat and special. That is probably the only thing that I will miss ha ha 

Milestones:::

• 2nd Trimester is coming to an end...bring on the 3rd and final!! 
• Baby has a better chance of survival now if born today
• Eyelashes are forming and baby may begin to open his eyes now from time to time
• Baby is likely sleeping and waking at regular intervals (check out this video of baby sleep cycles weeks 26-30)
• Baby may be able to distinguish between mom and dad's voice
• Baby may be starting to get the hiccups (I think I may have felt this last night! Weirdest tickling sensation that was very rhythmic)

Looking Forward To:::

• My baby shower and getting everything finalized and ready for baby...I like to be prepared because obviously, we still have plenty of time! 
• Starting baby classes! We have our first class next Saturday, March 2nd from 8:30-12:30 at Amma Parenting Center and will be doing the Breastfeeding and Newborn Care Class. Starting March 5th we will be doing the Preparing for Childbirth Class for 3 weeks. Check back later to find out what we learn! 

2 months and 29 days...

OR

88 days...

OR 

13 weeks

TO GO!! 

Thankful Thursday

Finding joy. How do you do it? Sometimes, in the hustle bustle of life, it is easy to forget to really slow down and really count our blessings and be happy for all that we do have going for us. Yes, we usually remember to do this one day a year on Thanksgiving, but shouldn't we be doing it so much more often? And what would be the results if we did?

Today at Mommy In the Making, it is Thankful Thursday! A reminder for me to count my blessings. Here are just some of the things I am thankful for this week:

 

Our cute little puppy who is running around the house 

shaking his toy like he is goingto destroy it...and probably will eventually. Toys don't last long at our house.

(Hubby dying Easter eggs last year...he was having so much fun 

and so excited! He is going to be an AWESOME daddy!) 

My cute hubby who is a goofball and makes me laugh and sometimes annoys me so luckily he doesn't work from home ALL day every day :) But so blessed that he works so hard for us and that I can stay home as we wait for our baby boy to arrive! 3 months to go!

This pretty mama - my cousin Danielle! We were born only a month apart 25 years ago. And now here we both are...pregnant ourselves! She is due next week, I believe and I am due in May and we are both having boys! So while we won't be living in the same state and our boys won't be able to go to school together, they hopefully will be close and become good friends like their mamas did! 

Profile view of Baby Christian sucking his thumb. So cute! 

His face! With arms up next to his head. 

And I can't forget how thankful I am for the little boy growing in my belly! As unfun as this pregnancy has been, I can't wait to meet our little man. Love him so much already! 

Well, time to tackle the housework...cleaning and laundry day here. 

What are you thankful for this week?

Pregnancy Aches and Pains

Oh the joys of pregnancy! Being pregnant has honestly been A LOT different than I ever expected it to be. Maybe women don't usually advertise all the 'lows' of pregnancy or maybe I've just always envisioned pregnancy to be this beautiful, wonderful thing that feels no different than not being pregnant so I have disregarded any comments that may lead me to believe otherwise.

Since being pregnant I have dealt with 4 main 'not so fun' symptoms of pregnancy:

1. Morning Sickness
2. Depression
3. Feeling tired 24/7
4. Hip Pain 

Morning sickness nearly subsided for me around probably about 22 weeks. It still comes back here and there, but nothing like before. My depression is nearly managed, medication free, praise the Lord! I sleep as much as I can to try to help with feeling so tired, but then there was hip pain. 

Hip pain made it hard to even sleep. It started right around 24-25 weeks. So end morning sickness and begin hip pain. I asked my doctor about this and wrote about it in a previous post and he told me to try 3 things: 

1. Heating it 
2. Massaging it
3. Stretching it 

Here are the results of his orders: 

• Heat - I tried using a Thermacare heat patch. I wore it all day (heat lasts up to 8 hours) and I'm not sure my hip felt any better. I also tried using a rice sock type of heat pad and I think I enjoyed the heat in these cold Minnesota winters more than it actually helped anything. 
• Massage - My hubby would massage around my hip and lower back each night and, honestly, I think this hurt more than anything, but it usually did result in better sleep. However, the pain relief was mainly only experienced while I was sleeping (if at all) so it really didn't seem to be a great option. 
• Stretching - This is the option I tried last. I honestly wasn't really sure HOW to stretch my hip. But after some googling, I found this great stretch: 
• Get down on all fours putting weight on your knees and elbows/forearms which should be resting on the floor. Rest your head down on your forearms as well to increase the stretch. Keep your knees bent enough to comfortably allow room for your belly. Begin to slowly rock your hips from left to right. Do this for a few minutes a couple times a day. Here is my embarrassing first attempt at this stretch (I didn't realize my husband was video taping me): 

This stretch probably has been the most helpful of the above suggestions. However, I would also recommend "Mamaste Yoga" which is free on itunes. I do the 20 minute Daily Practice podcast almost daily and have also found this to help a great deal. 

While all of the "doctor's orders" did not help, I did find one that really seemed to work for. Although, I did find something in addition which has seemed to help as well and something to which has probably helped the most: 

• Pregnancy Pillow - Get one! If you are having hip pain I HIGHLY recommend this! I talked about this in a previous post but have to mention it again. This. Changed. My. Sleep!!! Maybe it just took the pressure off my joints while I was sleeping, but 1) I sleep WAY better and 2) My hip feels WAY better both during and after sleep. Its WAY worth the money. 
• Swimming/Exercise - Honestly, my first reaction to hip pain was NOT to exercise. I know walking made me want to cry. But if you are doing the right kind of exercise, it is life changing. I can now walk with nearly no pain at all! If you can swim and have access to a pool, go! Walk in the pool and just swim. I try to do this for at least 30 minutes every other day or so. Also, if you are at the gym, or even at home, do some squats, those seem to really help too! 

Between the above exercises and sleep aids, my hip pain is nearly gone! I can walk without crying and can get exercise again, although, I have not returned to my regular daily walks quite yet. 

Monday Madness

It's Monday!!! Again. But this Monday is a little different. It's President's Day. This means hubby is working from home. So technically its not FULLY a work day, right? :) 

{The Weather} Its looking pretty dreary this morning, but not super chilly. Currently 30 degrees but feels like only 25 degrees with a high of 31 degrees. It is looking like the rest of the week might be a bit chilly with highs in the single digits tomorrow and snow on its way... But NEXT week might bring some heat! Highs of 35 degrees by the end of next week! Fingers crossed it comes true! 

{Weekend Recap} Where did the weekend go?? What did we do?? Friday night we hung out with some friends from church and played games. Saturday I met up with a friend from high school. Well, I might as well say a friend from Preschool because I have known her that long! Such a joy to catch up and pick up right where we left off. Time with her is always filled with laughter! Then came home to relax a bit until Saturday night church with some more friends and dinner after church at "The Chart House"....can I say YUM! First time there but it was really good! AND I got a free super gorgeous rose that was leftover from Valentine's Day. AWESOME. 

{Sad News} On Friday we got the news that my Great Aunt Donna had passed away that morning after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. She put up a good fight. We will be heading to be with family for her memorial service in Illinois next Sunday. 

{Weekly Menu} So I'm not really sure what we ate last week, I know I cooked and we had a few days of eating leftovers, but many of the things on our menu this week haven't changed from last week: 

• Broccoli Soup
• Stir Fry 
• Fajitas
• Ravioli and cooked carrots
• Turkey Burgers and sweet potatoes
• Vegetable Soup

{My To-Do List} Looking over my list from last week, I got everything done except for working on our 'Before You Were Here' Book for Baby Christian. However, the pictures I ordered for the book have not gotten here yet, so that project has been delayed. 

Here is my list for this week: 

1. Copy my stack of recipes onto recipe cards to file away 
2. Start working on a photo book of our honeymoon
3. Research how to patch slight holes in your wall so I can start working on getting some painting done
4. Hopefully finish up my photo organizing once the remaining pictures get here

Plus my regular weekly duties: 

• Cleaning
• Laundry
• Couponing 
• Grocery Shopping

{Weekly Words of Wisdom}

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly." ~Colossians 3:16 

Our church just started a new series for Lent called "40 Days in the Word" and our small group will be starting the accompanying study and devotional on Thursday this week! Looking forward to it. Check out sermons here

Have a great week!