Twenty-three weeks

No new fruit this week since the baby is still the size of a papaya. I'm not sure I've grown that much either, but I'm still rocking the maternity shirts because I'm almost 6 months pregnant, darn it.



I'm not going to lie, taking these weekly pictures really plays mind games on me. Every time I upload a new one I think one of two things: I am NOT showing enough for being ____ weeks pregnant, or Why do I just look chubby instead of pregnant? I know, I know, I'm whining again about the changes my body is making for this pregnancy. But let's do a little look back shall we?

This is me on the day I got my positive pregnancy test, 4 weeks pregnant. It's how I'm used to looking every day of my life and when Nate and I just looked at this picture we were both like, 'Woah, I guess was pretty thin back then.' Not to mention that back in July I actually had somewhat of a tan.


And this is me now. Filling out a sports bra which is really cool, but just with a thicker midsection than before. I mean it's a BIG difference compared to the above pic but still...do I REALLY look pregnant to you? It doesn't help to have a pale + thick belly either.


And if you are too lazy to scroll up and down, like me, here you go:

Over analyzing my usual belly pics made me want to do the sports bra shot, although I planned to refrain from that until the end. Nate was helping me decipher why I felt so chunky with my 'shirt pulled up shots' and I think it's because of my hand placement. (Don't worry, Nate reassured me that I am not actually fat and it's all in my head but considering the fact that he has to live with me and has already dealt with my neuroses for 8 years, he had to do something to make me feel better). So I think the bare belly shot with sports bra helps matters a bit so that my hands don't get in the way of my gut, thus giving the illusion of a thicker midsection. Am I annoying you yet? This was seriously bugging me, so I had to fix it. We'll see what I feel like donning next week. And really, I might not look almost 6 months pregnant compared to other girls out there, but compared to my non-pregnant self I look VERY different, right? I need to stop comparing myself to others and just chill out a bit. And I need to stop thinking my gut is fat because apparently my pregnant body just adds weight throughout my long torso and not a little basketball bump like I'd hoped. Anyway...

After the wonderful comments and suggestions from my readers, we've decided to use our REI dividend to get a BOB and we are so excited! Making that decision sparked us to begin our registry, too, and so on Friday night we hit up BRU for some scanning gun action. It wasn't nearly as overwhelming as I feared. In fact, it was pretty much a blast dreaming about all of the goodies our baby boy will use in a few months. We spent over two hours wondering around BRU and if you looked at our registry you'd know who was in charge of the scanner--there are two bibs on there that say things like, 'If you think I'm cute you should see my Daddy' and 'My Dad is cooler than your Dad.' Also, we have about a billion random toys and trinkets on there that Nate could not resist, as a big kid himself. And even though the lady told us NOT to register for all of the adorable clothes that will probably be discontinued soon as the seasons change, we couldn't resist. I mean, seriously....you know how much Nate loves dressing himself let alone his future son:)

While we were shopping I realized that neither one of us had bought ANYTHING for the baby since we found out I was pregnant. Isn't that insane? I know some parents buy stuff for the baby even before pregnancy so I think waiting until 23 weeks is pretty good:) So while we were scanning the most adorable baby boy clothes, I decided we each needed to pick out one little outfit for mister man. And so I found my pick within 30 seconds and Nate took 30 minutes, but baby now has an outfit from each of his parents.

From daddy:


From mommy:


So I spent a better part of my day on Saturday scouring through reviews online, my friends' registries, and our Consumer Report baby gear book to further consolidate our registry. I think the things I'm most excited about so far are the car seat (Graco Snug Ride 35, if you were wondering), the diaper bag (an adorable red and brown JJ Cole style), and all of the fun little entertainers and seats for the baby. Most overwhelming is definitely the bottle and feeding decisions you have to make. My baby will be taking a bottle since he'll be in daycare, but with 10 different brands out there it's hard to know what he'll like before he tries them out. So after even MORE research I added a few different brands and will hope for the best. Any recommendations?

But enough of that boring stuff....the chair cushions are finished! My mom shipped the covers to me last week and I love the finished product. So does Henry:




And even though I hate these crappy panoramic shots, it's the best I can do without a wide-angle lens. And it's rather humorous to see Henry with approximately 8 legs. You can see the full effect of the rug plus fabric plus paint. Just the bedding and some shelves with fun wall decor and this nursery is on it's way to being finished!


Twenty-three weeks: registries, research, and more relentless nursery projects:) I swear I've tried to capture little man kicking my innards on video all week long and he won't budge. But I'm determined! Stay tuned.