14 Weeks

Here is a picture from Friday nights event at the Mint Museum Uptown. This was for American Furniture Rentals networker. Our company was one of the sponsors of the event and we had a nice time!

I feel like the weeks go by so fast and then it's time for me to post again. Lenny and I went to my OB's office last week and got some great news.  A few weeks ago I had an ultra sound and blood work taken to see what the chances were for Down Syndrome and Trisomy 18. They don't give you a "positive" or "negative" - they just tell you what your "chances" are.  This is a test that you are welcome to decline, which a lot of people do - but my "planning" self wanted the test just to be prepared. Let me tell you, no matter how healthy you are - these kinds of tests are scary. Even if you have no family history of this - it's a long week waiting for the results. You just want so much for everything to be okay and for your child to be healthy. Which leads me to our appointment! We went in and I took such a sigh of relief when the Dr. said that everything looked perfect. Our screening "risks" for both tests came back as 1 in 10,000 chance.  Thank you, Lord, for answered prayers!

I went to an hour & a half prenatal yoga class this week. I hadn't been in almost a month due to schedule conflicts and it was so nice getting back in to it. I think I might have pushed myself a little too hard because I was sore for about 4 days afterwards. But it was still nice going. I also talked to the instructor about a stuffy nose problem I have developed. My nose is either running or I can't breathe due to stuffiness. It's very strange.  She gave me some helpful tips, but one night this week I woke up around 2am and one nostril was clogged. I did some breathing exercises. I got out of bed and got some water. I did some yoga moves. Nothing. Finally I had to go into our "man cave" and lay, essentially, sitting up. Maybe the change of scenery helped because it un-clogged within the hour.

I got a packet from my OB about the hospital. It's really exciting looking through everything and doing the pre-registration form. It tells you about the rooms and classes you can take and all the services during your stay and afterwards you can take advantage of. There are so many classes to choose from... for example: Childbirth Preparation, Introduction to Breastfeeding, Dads 411, Preparing to Parent a Baby, Increasing Comfort in Labor: tips, techniques and tools (shouldn't this class fall under childbirth preparation?), Childbirth Refresher (for those moms who forgot about it the first go round), and Infant CPR & Safety (this is what our doctor recommended and Lenny reassured me he is CPR certified... still thinking about signing up), and many many more...

No real cravings or anything crazy this week. I did put on a pair of pants I wear to work a lot and could only button one of two buttons and the zipper was about 3/4 the way up. It might be time to put them away. I showed Lenny and he said "Well honey, it's not going to get any better" and he's totally right. It's hard for me because I don't fluctuate a whole lot as far as weight goes. This is a whole new experience for me. Right now, I know (and am so happy) that we are pregnant - but I still can't feel the baby. So right now it just feels like I'm gaining weight. I feel like the girl who doesn't look pregnant but looks like she's gained a few pounds. I know a lot of women go through this so that's why I'm posting it. Trust me - I am so thankful to be blessed with this pregnancy and I know gaining weight is part of the process. I totally accept that - I've just never not been able to button my pants before. That is essentially all I'm trying to say. This was a very "new" thing to experience this week :)

Our little bean this week is almost 4" long. He/she can grimace, frown, pee pee, suck it's thumb and is the size of a lemon. Big week!!
Our next ultra sound is in 4 weeks I believe. At this point, we could find out if we are having a boy or a girl but we aren't going to find out. I think this appointment will be the most "tempting". But we just want and care to know if our baby is healthy and growing, the most important part. Lenny and I pray every day for the baby and we said this week that we really need to start saying thank you prayers because, truly, everything has been so amazing so far. I worry so much (about ... everything), so, as an emotional person who worries a lot - I absolutely feel blessed that our baby is doing as great as he/she should be. Way to go little bean! We love you.

Until next week!
xoxo,
Sara

13 Weeks

Well, Hello week 13!! I feel like you have come and gone so quickly! Here's a week 13 picture. I'm sporting a birthday gift (the very stylish and chic' sweater) from my sister. I love it!

Excuse the puffy bags under my eyes - There are 3 excuses for this. 1) It was 7:30 in the morning when this picture was taken. 2) I had a really emotional day yesterday (hello hormones) and cried a good bit. and 3) I got up like 4 times during sleep to use the bathroom. These are all valid excuses right?!?

Sunday was my birthday, and it was a great day. We went out for breakfast and it was dee-lish. I realized that morning, that besides running out to Starbucks or grabbing a bagel somewhere - I've actually never "been out for breakfast" in Charlotte. Maybe because breakfast has never been so important to me until now :)

We did some things around the house (and by we, I mean Lenny). He installed an attic fan, in our attic. And he got the outside ready for...dum dum dum.... a NEW A/C UNIT!  This is big. This summer we started having some problems with our upstairs a/c unit. And let me tell you. There were some hot days in the Shelor house this summer. It was amazing that the unit lasted as long as it did (it was the original unit for the house). As most of you know, new air conditioning is not cheap. I kept telling Lenny "if we buy new a/c units and sell this house someday, we are taking those things with us!!" (legally you can't do this, so my plan was shot).

Anyways -- We made it through the entire Summer with a semi working a/c unit and finally, the pregnant needy wife said a few weeks ago "OK, I've hit my limit, we need to go ahead and get a new one" (knowing we'd have to get one before the baby comes anyways). Lenny said "I've been waiting for you to say that, I'll make the call tomorrow" and on Sept. 12th, a new unit was installed and it is COOL breezin in the Shelor house now. Just in time for weather like today.. (60 degrees) It was smart for us to do it now. That's what I keep telling myself anyhow!

Sunday night Lenny threw a "surprise barbecue" for my birthday. It all started on Saturday night when he prepped it all. He loooooves cooking bbq. This is the pork during prep time. Right before Lenny threw it on the grill to slow cook for 24 hours. Mmmmmm......

Lenny's mom also made my favorite cake. Strawberry Cake! It is soooo good. This is Paula Dean's recipe if your looking for a fabulous strawberry cake recipe. Google it.  Here is Lenny's mom putting some final icing on the cake.

Our dear friends Aundrea, Michael and their son Samuel came over for the bbq on Sunday and it was great to have them over. They brought me some goodies that I was VERY excited about.  Well first, Mimi and I had gone to Anthropologie on Sunday afternoon just to "take a look around" -- If I'm not going to be able to fit in to any of their clothes over the next 6 months, at the very least, I can walk around their store taking inventory and wanting everything, right? Well, it just so happens we got to the home section of Anthro and I was telling Lenny's mom how much I love their coffee mugs and how I love having all mis-matched mugs, this that and the other. Well to my surprise, Aundrea and Michael and got me one of these with an "S" on it!

Ivy Robinson also popped in on me on Monday with the always hilarious (and usually inappropriate) birthday card and a funny notepad for me to write notes on. She also brought Baby Shelor a FABULOUS bib. She knows how cool and fun the little one already is, so this is fitting. (And yes, she needed to demonstrate).

If you can't read it - it says "rock star" on that bib. And black is also gender neutral, right? :)

Thank you to everyone who helped make this birthday special. The cards, the calls, the gifts, the facebook wishes - I really felt very loved.

Baby Shelor has been doing great this week. We have gone for walks three times this week. Lenny says I seem much better when I get home from these walks and encourages them daily, ha! It's been so nice when we have gotten home from work, I've had no problems throwing on walking clothes and heading out. It gives me time to put my head phones on and call my family and friends and catch up (I believe talking the entire walk burns double the calories too, right?) 

I've been feeling so much better too which is awesome. The nausea has subsided a great deal. After every meal, I feel like I look huge. One thing you can't do pregnant.... suck in. It's crazy and wonderful all at the same time. I'm still craving things that are savory and salty. I had pizza this week and it was sooo good. I have never been a huge pizza person but I smelled it in the oven and wanted it immediately. We also had pasta with chicken this week and YUM. I've never loved pasta really and it was A-mazing! And sandwiches! At lunch time, nothing beats a warm toasted turkey sandwich with melted cheese and some bbq baked lays.

Okay, now I'm hungry.

Thank you for reading! Have a great weekend!

xoxo,

Sara

12 Weeks

What a great week it has been!! So much to share. But first.. week 12 picture!

Can I please tell you about this top first? I went to Niki's house (next door neighbor and wonderful friend) for a "CAbi" party a couple of weeks ago. I ordered this top and one other top and let me tell you. This is quite possibly the softest thing I've ever worn. It feels like pajamas! I want to wear it to work and wear it to sleep! Definitely a smart purchase.

This week has flown by. Monday was a holiday which makes the shorter week seem to go by quickly I guess. We had a really nice Labor Day at Mimi and Papa's house. It was nothing but RELAXING! I loved it. Get up. Eat. Walk. Rest. Eat. Watch some tv. Take a nap. Get up. Eat. Sounds pretty amazing, right? It's always a good time when we can get away and go up to stay with them. I feel very rejuvenated after weekends like this.

On Tuesday I received a phone call from my OB's office saying my 12 week ultrasound/1st trimester screening had changed from Friday to Thursday. I felt a bit anxious but I would have felt the same way if it had stayed on schedule too. I've just been so nervous and I can't explain it! Anyway, Lenny and I went to the Dr. office on Thursday for the 10:45 appointment and let me just say... wow. That's all I can use to describe how amazing it was. We got to see our little baby and he/she was the cutest thing I've ever seen. I told Lenny that night that it seemed so much more real now. And seeing those arms and those legs and those fingers and that little nose. How can I love something so much that I haven't even met yet? You automatically have this connection with this child and it's the most incredible feeling.

Click below to see one part of the ultra sound. This was the baby moving and "kicking" me in the uterus. Nice huh? :)  It's truly amazing to see this baby move and wave and flip and rub it's little eyes and be doing all this -- and I can't feel any of it! It's wild!

Baby Shelor kicking and moving

Pretty incredible huh? If you have your volume up, that's me laughing because I'm in disbelief that this is going on in my tummy.

Anyways - The Dr. and the student who were in the room doing the ultra sound were so nice and seemed excited with us - you could really tell that they love their job. And I don't see how they couldn't. They get to witness miracles every day!

Lenny and I told everyone at work this week that we are expecting. Everyone was very excited and it made everything that much more "real".

Fun facts: Our baby is the size of a lime. I've been craving anything salty, savory and sweet. Really have no interest in anything healthy to be honest which Lenny thinks is very "sexy".. (that's all it takes?? :)
I don't know if I've gained any weight because we don't own a scale. But I do feel my pants getting tighter.  The weather is turning from steaming hot to feeling pretty good which is awesome because I've been going out for walks which really helps with everything (especially my overall mood).

We are ordering takeout with the neighbors tonight. So I must go - it's the birthday weekend and I plan on sleeping in, getting a pedicure and running over to get some makeup refills at the mall. That's all on my agenda and I love it :)

Until next week!
xoxo,
Sara

11 Weeks

It's week 11 in the Shelor household! Let me grace you with yet another oh' so beautiful after work picture of muah. Don't be jealous of those tired eyes and that lazy pony tail.

This week has flown by for me. We have been extremely busy at work changing over computer systems so that has made the work days fly by.  It has also helped me get in bed early every night. Lenny and I usually eat dinner together and then make our way up to the "man cave" where I have a VERY comfy pallet built to lay on while he lays on the sofa and we watch our recorded shows or a movie before bed. It's our little routine, however; as of late - I've been hitting that pallet around 8:30 and falling asleep by 8:45. Now -- don't get jealous here. It's not like I'm falling asleep at 8:45 and waking up at 7am fully rested and feeling great. I get up on average about 6 times a night to use the little ladies room. I absolutely 100% believe this is God prepping me for the un-rest I am going to have. Or the sleep I will never see again!

Mimi (Lenny's mom) and I had the opportunity to do some "browsing" this week. We went to USA Baby, Buy Buy Baby, Babies R' Us, and Target (tired yet??).  It was overwhelming to say the least. There are just.... So... MANY... Options!  After looking, I have decided that I want to do a white crib. That's gender neutral, right? Check that off the list. BUT... again, those options! Do you know how many different styles and kinds of white cribs there are out there? It's like buying a car! When we walked into Buy Buy Baby, I immediately felt a little bit of panic. It was like the Lowe's of baby stuff. 20 foot tall shelves, 10,000 different style and type of pacifiers... It was CRAZY. All I could do was laugh. I hope I didn't seem insensitive to the other shoppers, but literally. This was a baby store on crack! I looked over at Mimi and said "I am not allowing this to stress me out. We got to do a loop and get out of here!"

If any of you are wondering what is happening with baby Shelor this week, this is what Baby Center says:

"Your baby, just over 1 1/2 inches long and about the size of a fig, is now almost fully formed. Her hands will soon open and close into fists, tiny tooth buds are beginning to appear under her gums, and some of her bones are beginning to harden. She's already busy kicking and stretching, and her tiny movements are so effortless they look like water ballet. These movements will become more frequent as her body grows and becomes more developed and functional. You won't feel your baby's acrobatics for another month or two -- nor will you notice the hiccupping that may be happening now that her diaphragm is forming. "

Lastly, I got the most sweetest precious giraffe from my dearest friend Alayne. See below:

I'm sure some of you readers know Alayne and some of you don't. Alayne and I have been friends since we were freshman in high school. Alayne... LOVES giraffes. I can guarantee you when Alayne has a baby, the room will be giraffe themed. Mark my words. This gift was such a surprise and I definitely think tears formed in my eyes when I opened it. It is so soft and sweet and way to go Alayne on those gender neutral colors! I know baby Shelor is going to have so many sweet things to play with and love and I can't wait to tell him or her where each gift came from and how loved he or she was before we even get to meet him or her!

Next week is a big week! 12 weeks -- We have a second ultra sound and will feel better about telling everyone that we are expecting! AND... well, it's my birthday. And I love my birthday :)

Until then,

xoxo

Sara

Week 10

It has been a great week so far. Lenny has been out of town (the not great part) but is finally back from Greensboro and boy am I happy to have him home. I am a true believer in "distance makes the heart grow fonder" or "Sara is a big fat mess when her hubby is gone". I'm serious. It's a little pathetic to be honest :)

My mom (Marmi as I will call her throughout the blog) made me promise I would send weekly pictures so she could see my growing belly. And although it's not much, and I usually wear clothes that are pretty loose anyhow - A promise is a promise. So here you go - At week 10 on our back porch (just got home from work, hence the exhausted-look) 

We are having steak and veggies and a wedge salad tonight, so luckily this dress has an elastic belt!

I have received lots of fun goodies this week. The first being a pretty amazing pregnancy journal. 

My sister recommended this as a "must have" during the pregnancy.  It's pretty great because it tells you what is happening every day and it's short excerpts and per Amanda's advice, I am keeping it our bathroom with a pen so I can read it every morning before I get ready and fill out any information it asks for (sometimes it asks for weight, etc). It's a great way to document all the details and really know what's going on in this belly of mine without having to sit there for 30 minutes reading a 15 page chapter. 

Keep in mind though, this is one of 8 books I've received. I will title the next picture "overwhelmed"

Even the picture is a little fuzzy -- my camera was even overwhelmed looking at all those books! And I'm sure they all say different things. Oh boy.  Whatever happened to "oh, we'll just figure it out when it happens" ? -- That's probably not my style anyway :)

Another fun and GREAT recommendation was the stretch mark cream my sister told me about. I ordered it online and let me tell you -- NOTHING with a strong scent smells good to me right now. I can't even wear even one spritz of perfume -- I bought non-scented deodorant! BUT... this stuff... it smells AMAZING. I can't even describe it. I'd love to buy it as a lotion and be able to lube up with it but it's only for stretch marks and I put it on my belly and sides in the morning and before bed. Trying to not go too crazy with it since it wasn't cheap (I mean for stretch mark cream) - so I bought two bottles and hopefully will make it through the entire pregnancy with just the two.

I'm telling you - When it's your time, get some. It's the only scented thing I can stomach right now! 

In other news, we went to a company bowling event last night. I did (of course) research first if it is safe to bowl while pregnant and the consensus was that yes - it's totally fine. We had a great time.  I bowled a 103 both games and Lenny bowled a 177 his second game! It was a lot of fun and I actually snagged a picture of us - He had gotten home just a few hours before from being gone for two weeks -- This is DEFINITELY a happy Sara :)  Lenny looks so tan! I guess because he's been outside at the golf tournament for two weeks..

I will leave you with one more unbelievably sweet picture. This is a little present for baby Shelor that our next door neighbor's (Niki and Brady) - their little girl picked out and wanted to give the baby. Of course, she's so smart and picked out gender neutral colors (5 years old and brilliant I tell you!) 

How sweet is that? You can wind it up and it plays the sweetest music and I know our baby will love it. 

So - all in all, week 10 has been great. We are having Lenny's parents down to Charlotte tomorrow for his momma's birthday. We are going to our favorite restaurant in town and treating them to dinner. It should be a wonderful start to the weekend. 

That's all for now - until next time!

xo,

Sara

Comes A Baby In A Baby Carriage!

If it isn't obvious enough, we have NEWS! We are going to have a BABY! 

Lenny and I found out in early July that we are expecting and we have been on cloud 9 ever since. I am officially 9 weeks along. I can't believe it. These last few months have been so amazing - I truly want to cherish every minute of this experience. Although - to be honest, some experiences are more fun than others. Surprising everyone and telling our family - good experience. Being so nauseous you feel like you might collapse any second - not so good experience. But good and bad - this is going to be a crazy ride!

I wanted to start a blog initially to document these 9 months so that years later, I would not forget how I felt and so that I could share this experience with our little bean.  Speaking of little bean... This is how we told Lenny's family that we are pregnant....

This has been my favorite part so far. Telling our families. We went to the beach the first week in August with Lenny's parents, his sister (Lisa Marie) & her hubby (Rob), our nephew (Austin) and my sister (Amanda) & hubby (Don) & their baby (our nephew & god-son - Graham).  I just knew that once we got there and everyone was having their "beverage of choice" it would seem strange if my choice of the week was water! (is that sad?) :)

Lenny and I had looked online for a funny shirt to wear the first night when everyone had arrived. After about a week of searching, we both saw this shirt and busted out laughing. For no other reason then there's just a giant bean on the shirt. It seemed funny to us! So we bought and we were ready to go.

Needless to say, they were so very excited! We spent the week talking about how excited we all were, nursery ideas and planning.

I knew I wanted to tell my family shortly after telling Lenny's so I flew to Memphis the very next weekend after the beach. What an incredible weekend. My mom had a cookout at her house and my sister and Don and Graham came along with my brother Richard and his wife Jean and their kids Virginia and George. 

Lenny and I had gone to the Dr. on Friday and got to have an ultra sound and we got to see our little baby! It was so amazing to see. The heartbeat was 174 and the ultra sound tech said everything was absolutely perfect as far as she could see. (Insert BIG sigh of relief -- thank you, Lord!)

I got to take all of our ultra sound pictures to Memphis and it was how I wanted to surprise my mom and the rest of the crew. I put the pictures in a little envelope and told them I had pictures taken recently and I wanted to show them.... Luckily my sweet sister (and best friend) took this video... (click "Sara telling Marmi")

Sara telling Marmi

Well there you have it! I look forward to writing (hopefully often) to keep everyone updated. I plan on posting pictures - like the amazingly sweet gift my sister already gave me.

How sweet is that?? Oh my gosh. It brings tears to my overly emotional little eyes.

Another fun fact:

We are going to wait until the baby is born to find out the sex. I know a good majority of people would say "oh my gosh you are CRAZY!" but, we are excited about waiting and can't wait for the big surprise!

That is all for today!

xoxo

Sara