All is Well in Belly!

Louis V and I had a date today with belly jelly and the ultrasound wand!

 

 The ultrasound tech said everything looked great and that he is still, in fact, a boy. (She didn't know I already knew what was going on down there when she asked if I wanted to find out.)

 

After all was said and done in there, the doctor listened to his heartbeat, checked his u/s pictures & measurements and gave him a top-notch grade! See, he's taking after his mama already. ;)

 

 The only disappointment was that today's ultrasound was supposed to only be for a measurement, they still planned to have me to come back at 20 weeks for the comprehensive look (I even called to verify this on Monday)...however, the tech today said because of my size and the position he was in, he was all ready for his check-up. This was disappointing because Ian wasn't there to see him!! Thank goodness we did the 3D ultrasound in Vegas, so at least he got some great views of the little guy there. And because the tech felt so bad when I told her this, she took some extra pics and videos and burned them to a disc for me to share with his proud daddy.

 

HI, EVERYBODY!!

 

Forget Christmas presents, this was the best gift we could get this year. :) (With that said, I'm sure Ian will say his XBOX ONE came in a close second...and he said Louis V really wants a PlayStation 4 (perhaps a hint to Baba!?) :)



On the 18th Week of Christmas

On the 18th week of Christmas, my true love gave to me...

...a bump protruding from my belly! 

Berta wanted a bump shot, too!

A little Christmas morning fun:

 

It sure is! ;) 

 Someone must have been extra nice this year to get an XBOX ONE! (Either that or someone has a super awesome wife, I'll let you decide which is more likely.) 

 

Santa must not have heard me correctly (perhaps he should pay a visit to the best audiologist ever, Courtney Smith?) because instead of getting the turtle I asked for, I got turtle slippers. Oh, well...they are the next best thing -- and I love getting new slippers, a favorite Christmas tradition! (The turtles join hippos, bulldogs, polar bears, monkeys and Buffalo Bills slippers from previous years.)

Holly, jolly girls on Christmas!

The pets love Christmas as much as we do! Berta loves dressing up in her Santa outfit...and giving kisses to Grammy. :) She did conclude, however, that it is exhausting being this cute at Christmas. The cats think wrapping paper is best invention EVER, so the fun began for them when it ended for us (aka all our presents were unwrapped.)

Since my family is far away in Las Vegas (where it's warm, luckies!), we had to opt for FaceTiming to celebrate together:

 BFFs, Sam and Berta, had a wonderful conversation.

And a little rewind to Christmas Eve:

We had lots of fun celebrating at the (Senor) Belby house! 

 

As you can see from the photos, the love of video games and baseball run in the family. We'll have to add another square for another boy next year! 

LOTS OF CHRISTMAS CHEER THIS YEAR!! 

Time for some Christmas Q&A:

How far along: 18 weeks 
Baby is the size of a: Sweet potato/bell pepper -- he's about 5.6 inches long and a whopping 7 oz! He's yawning, hiccuping, sucking, swallowing, twisting, rolling, kicking and punching. Busy boy!!

Weight gain: 8 lbs, but I'm sure that number will go up at my appointment tomorrow!

Maternity clothes: I rocked the maternity jeans last night, I figured I might as well be comfy as I eat all my Christmas feast!

Stretch marks: Nope!

Belly button in or out: In.

Sleep: Pretty decent. My lower back is starting to get pretty sore, but all else is good.

Best moment this week: All the Christmas fun!

Worst moment this week: Does a plumbing back up somewhere in the house count? Ian is on the roof checking the vent stack as we speak...wish us luck!

Miss anything: My family. :(

Movement: Still feeling flutters/bubbles popping, hopefully soon I'll feel those ninja kicks!

Cravings: I think I pretty much got them all covered this week: cornflake treats from my mom, loads of candy in my stocking, a breakfast pizza for Christmas morning...as I said, the scale isn't going to be my friend tomorrow. 

Queasy or sick: Not at all! 
Baby items of the week: Louis V got a blue bunny from Samantha, hopefully he loves it as much as she does! He also received his first books, something the bookworm in me is very excited about. Thanks to dear Wendy, Louis will be enjoying the Giving Tree and the Velveteen Rabbit. He continues to be a lucky boy!

Looking forward to: Seeing Louis V on the ultrasound screen tomorrow!!

 MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!! 

You've Cat to be Kitten Me Right Meow!

Best onesie ever!! 

Okay, mayyybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, but I really, really love this. 

 "Ummm, helloooo, what about 'my sister is a dog'??
 I'm a pretty big deal, you know. I mean, I am man's best friend. No one ever said that about the cat."

Berta has a point, Louis V does have four siblings. Although, I think the onesie he really needs is 'my sister did it'...

referring to Izzy, of course.

 I never believed my mom when she told me a human child would be easier to handle than a fur child, but after seeing Izzy gnawing on a cord plugged into the electrical outlet, I'm beginning to think she may be right. This one is DEFINITELY our problem child! I'll say it again, I sure hope Louis V takes after Berta and not this terror! 

Since Christmas is almost here, I'll leave you with this:

 This holly, jolly beagle wishes you a very merry Christmas! 

"When the baby comes, will you stop dressing me up and taking pictures??" 

The answer is NO. :) 

(BIG THANK YOU to Michelle Solis Russell for the ADORABLE Santa outfit!! Berta can't wait to put it on again tomorrow night and Wednesday!)

 

Two Thumbs Up For Week 17

Grab your coffee, Diet Coke or cocktail (I don't judge) and get comfortable, there's lots to share for Week 17!

We'll start with the weekly bumpdate: 

*Thank you, Jess, for the amazing maternity jeans! They are life-changing.*

I think this is my favorite chalkboard yet! I'm not gonna lie, I've been looking forward to this one ever since I came up with the idea while singing (off-key) to "Let it Snow" and thinking about my ever-growing

belly. Definitely signs of additional bump-age going on! Louis V is well on his way to having a mansion to call home.

Next up is a report and review of Sunday Funday aka the Zac Brown Band concert with my parents:

What a blast! I highly recommend this show to anyone who has even the slightest interest in ZBB. They put on an amazing show--very engaging with the crowd--and they are incredibly talented musicians. For example, they played everything ranging from Etta James to Merle Haggard to Metallica, and they did them all well! I mean, it was no Justin Timberlake/Jay-Z show, but even they couldn't pull off Enter Sandman. And keep in mind that I heard every song and every note completely sober! ;) 

Lastly, we celebrated the Smith family Christmas last night since Baba and Papa are jetting off to Vegas tomorrow: 

(When you head West for the holidays, it's only fitting that you put up a Christmas Palm Tree instead of a traditional Christmas Tree.)

*I know, my slippers are AMAZING.* :) Two thumbs up!

While the company (and the desserts) were great, the presents for Louis V were even greater. This kid is spoiled already and he's not even halfway baked! He can, however, give the thumbs up and I'm sure he did just that after he heard about the sweet swag he got. 

I can't even pick a favorite because they are all AWESOME! Actually, I take that back, my favorite is still on its way (I saw a picture of what was ordered.) Don't worry, I will blog it ASAP when it arrives!! Baba finds the cutest and most perfect things. :) 

Come to think of it, it must be a grandma thing because Nana Belby also got Louis V a gift that falls under the "cutest and most perfect things" category -- HAWKEYE BOOTIES!! Ian isn't smart enough to convert to being a Hawkeye fan, but Laura knows what's up and Louis V will too, thanks to these adorable kicks. (And that yellow blanket you can see a hint of below the booties is Ian's baby blanket that will be passed down to the little guy, how precious is that!?)

 I can't talk about gifts given to Louis V without mentioning the heart-melting frame I got from my friend, Natasha. It is proudly displaying the little man on my nightstand so that it's the first and last thing I see every day. :) 

In addition to the gifts for Louis V, Ian and I got our new ornaments for the year, an annual tradition that I LOVE. Barbie Doll is the queen of personalized ornaments!

 I put them on our second (fake) tree so they could be seen better. Mine is a bump (love) and Ian's is a video game controller that says "Enjoy it while you can!" (We also got pet ornaments, they rock.) Rockin' around the Christmas tree just got more fun thanks to these!

Encore post:

 (I decided to do one since I missed the encore at the concert, why can't concerts start at 4pm instead of 9pm!? Rock stars must not think about us sleepy, pregnant women when planning their sets. Rude.) 

The dad-to-be doesn't get a lot of face time on the blog since he's not the one growing a pot belly, but I thought he deserved a shout-out (must be the result of hormones and the holiday giving spirit!) He is proof that real men love cats. Louis V will be a real man, too. He doesn't have a choice. ;) 

Berta also deserves a shout-out because, despite a bum toe and a trip to the vet (not enjoyable: see below), she still took her duties as bump-guard very seriously. She remained in this "at attention" position for quite some time, that is until she got tired and transitioned into a bump-warmer. Gotta love her!

 

Poor Berta was not amused by the Monday morning vet trip. HOWEVER, she did learn that she lost 8 pounds since her last visit!!! She lost them, I found them...we work well together like that. (A quick update just in case anyone is wondering -the toe is healing well and she's on the road to recovery!)

I hope your coffee isn't cold (or your cocktail watered down) after reading all that. :) If it is, you might as well keep reading and catch up with the weekly Q&A...

How far along: 17 weeks 
Baby is the size of an: Onion or turnip (or an iPhone - 5 inches long!)

Weight gain: 7-8 lbs, depending on when I weigh in. Dang that cookie cake!

Maternity clothes: I put on the maternity jeans this morning for the bump photo!

Stretch marks: No, but I can definitely feel some stretching going on!

Belly button in or out: In.

Sleep: Wonderful! The overnight bathroom trips have greatly reduced, woohoo! Ian still claims I am "plowing through the TP" though.

Best moment this week: A great check-up at the doctor, Louis V's heart was beating strong! (And all of the things I already told you about above.)

Worst moment this week: Taking poor Berta to the vet for her bum toe. (No pregnancy-related worsts though and the weather warmed up to double digits, yay!) 

Miss anything: Clear skin. Ugh.

Movement: I have felt Louis V dancing on several occasions. Probably thanks to my wonderful, off-key singing. :)

Cravings: Still buying strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and bananas weekly. Otherwise, eating my normal stuff for the most part. (I have found that I am starving from about 12PM until 3PM.) And get excited, I did give in to the breakfast pizza craving -- a giant thank you to my friends, Wendy and Maggie, for going to the Happy Joe's all-you-can-eat lunch buffet with me, they are very brave!! (It was heavenly.)

Queasy or sick: Feeling great and loving it!

Looking forward to: Christmas, duh. 
Bonus info: I was reading my weekly "Your Pregnancy" update and it had this to say about "Dreams During Pregnancy":
You're caring for baby animals. 
During the second trimester, many pregnant women dream about cuddly, baby-like animals, such as puppies, chicks, and kittens. Friendly creatures in your dreams are generally thought to signify that you're tuned in to your instincts. Menacing animals, on the other hand, may represent ambivalence about the strange new creature entering your life.
Apparently, I've been in my second trimester my whole life. 

I'm done, finally! 
(Well, at least until that onesie gets delivered.) 

Bump, There It Is!

My bump, my bump, my lovely baby bump... check it out!

I don't sound like Fergie when I sing that line; luckily, Louis V can't hear yet. I do sound like Tag Team when I sing the post title though. :) 

 

Ask and you shall receive, I guess! I'm not sure what happened last night, but I somehow woke up with a baby bump this morning. It might have a tiny, little something to do with the tank top--I recall being a little bumptastic in it prior to Louis V taking up residence in there--but still. As you can probably tell, I'm pretty excited about this expansion. (As long as I don't wake up every morning from here on out with significant growth, I'm totally cool with it.)

 Looks like I'm now a prime candidate to play Santa this year, ho ho ho!

Happy Friday!

 

Sweet 16

I'm cranky and cold today and was not feeling the bump pics, but the show must go on! So, I threw on a Hawkeye shirt (in preparation for the big Iowa v. Iowa State basketball game tomorrow night) and a (fake) smile (you're never fully dressed without a smile!) and assumed the position:

This is what I would've rather been doing:

For those of you who don't know, it's REALLY FLIPPIN' COLD here. And it's not even technically winter yet! I'm hoping my next post is about us moving to Maui, where it's never -30 (yes, that's really how cold it is here thanks to the wind chill)...life is more fun in the warm sun. The grandparents came come visit. ;) 

Moving on to a happier topic, we made Louis V's XY chromosome combination official this week!

"But you announced that 2 weeks ago!" you might be saying. Yes, I sure did, but in my world, nothing is real until a cookie cake says so. For example: 

So, now it's official, Louis V will wear hiking books instead of Louboutins (probably a good thing, I'm not sure I could afford two Loub habits.) And I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate the return of my sweet tooth than with a fully frosted cookie cake!

Also celebrated this week was my mama's birthday. Since she doesn't like frosting, I didn't get another cookie cake for her, but the celebration was real. I wasn't going to get her a present this year since giving her a local grandchild is gift enough, but she threw a fit.* So, I got us tickets to see Zac Brown Band this weekend. I can't wait to sport a bump and a cowboy hat! :)

*She didn't really throw a fit! In fact, she told me I got her too much, which I didn't (moms are just silly like that) -- she deserved it and then some!

And now for the weekly Q&A:

How far along: 16 weeks 
Baby is the size of an: Avocado

Weight gain: 6 lbs, I think. (Doctor's appointment is tomorrow, so I will find out just how much damage the cookie cake did. Yikes.)

Maternity clothes: Not yet, but my normal clothes aren't really fitting either. If only I could live in the blanket like Berta above! I did score two great pair of maternity jeans, those are going to be heavenly to wear!

Stretch marks: No

Belly button in or out: In.

Sleep: Great until the full bladder or the cats wake me!

Best moment this week: Getting my cookie cake. ;)

Worst moment this week: Any time I went outside, it's miserable.

Miss anything: Buttoning my pants.

Movement: I think I may have felt him kick/move! It was either that or hunger pangs for more cookie cake.

Cravings: Fruit, grilled cheese and breakfast pizza, still. I really just need to order one already and take care of it!

Queasy or sick: Nope, that seems to have fully passed, yay!!Still not feeling the smells of soaps/lotions, though.

Looking forward to: Zac Brown Band concert with Baba and Papa! (And spring.)

One more week in the books, woohoo! 

15 Weeks

 15 down, 25 to go! 

 It's becoming more apparent every day that pregnancy brain is real. For example, this is the photo I originally took and uploaded for this post: 

I guess I started counting backwards like I do on my birthdays. ;) So, I had to doctor up the top photo so as to not hold Louis V back. I am, indeed, 15 weeks along. Hopefully I can get it right next week. 

In addition to the weekly bump photos, I've decided to throw in the little Q&A below. I've seen it on many baby bump blogs (thank you, Pinterest!) and thought it was a cute idea to keep track of things, especially since my pregnancy brain won't remember!

How far along? 15 weeks.
Total weight gain: 5 lbs
Maternity clothes? None yet, but I did get a Bella Band that has come in handy for work pants! I'm excited to borrow a couple pair of maternity jeans from an adorable mama friend, I have a feeling I'll want to wear them for the rest of my life. :)
Stretch marks? Nope, and hopefully that answers stays the same throughout!
Sleep: I sleep pretty well other than the 3-5 times I have to get up to pee, and the normal wake-ups courtesy of the playful kitties. I sure hope Louis V takes after Berta rather than Kip and Izzy in the sleep department! 
Best moment this week: Buying Louis V his very first item! I've been holding off because I know once I start I won't be able to stop, but I came across a pair of polar bear pajamas that were just too cute to pass up. I realize that he is due at the end of May and fleece footie PJs won't be worn for many months after, but I don't care. He needed some polar bear attire to match mine! (One of my many nicknames from Ian is polar bear.)
Food cravings: Bagels, bagels and more bagels. PB&J toast. Happy Joe's breakfast pizza, but I have yet to satisfy this craving since about week 9...maybe soon. :) Also, my sweet tooth has returned (yay!) and sour gummies and Skittles are high atop my list. Still not feeling ice cream or froyo (devastating!) 
Looking forward to: Having more of a baby bump, I feel like I'm at the awkward stage that every expectant mama must hit where clothes don't fit right and you just feel thick, but not obviously pregnant. Bring on the bump, baby!! Also looking forward to celebrating my fabulous mama's birthday tomorrow! Without her, Louis V and I wouldn't be here. :)
Baby item of the week: The polar bear pajamas!!! 

Aren't they adorable!?!                                Now he'll match me in my hat and slippers. :)

Happy Friday and happy early birthday to Barbie Doll, we love you!

It's a....

BOY!!!!!

Big shock there, said no one ever. 

For those of you who don't know, my in-laws are still awaiting the birth of the elusive Belby girl. Together they created four great sons (Ian will claim to be the greatest, but I'm sure his siblings say otherwise), and from those four sons have come five grandsons...now with a sixth on the way. There are no pink flowers on this family tree!

Since we were in Vegas for the big reveal, it only seemed right to take everyone's bets as to whether Baby Belby would wear hiking boots or Louboutins. The overwhelming wager was on Louboutins (a girl!)...only Ian and older brother, Erik, said they "knew" it was a boy. (I abstained.) A quick back story: I learned from my wise dad a long time ago, if you're walking through the casino and you see a long line of black, run on over and bet red! I think this is the mentality that everyone used when placing their bets...and they all lost. Hey, no one ever said Vegas was built by winners! Although, there are no losers when it comes to this little lemon (his size at 14 weeks) in my belly, we're all winners with a healthy baby regardless of what's going on between the legs. :)

Photos from Week 14 in Las Vegas: 

At Miracle in Progress waiting for the exciting appointment!

 

Our bundle of boy!

 He struck this pose almost right away leaving no mystery whatsoever for the gender reveal. Even the ultrasound tech said, "Well, that takes the fun out of my job!" Baby Belby is not bashful.

Waving hello!

 

 Showing off ;)

Then he got bashful, no more photos, guys!

 

This was such an incredible experience and we got to share it with my whole family. Oh, boy!

And a few more pics from the trip:

 

 

Needless to say, we were very thankful this Thanksgiving! 

And here's a glimpse of the group Louis V (his nickname, the real name is a secret!) will be joining...the Belby boys club!

Ethan, Jack and Alden

Dylan and Jack, all smiles always!

Birthday buddy photo with Carter! May babies are the best. ;)