Week 24, Trip Home to PA

Happy Monday All,

Jon and I enjoyed a wonderful long weekend. We both took Friday & today off to travel home to PA for our Friend's Kylie & Eric's wedding. It was a great trip home with beautiful weather.We also got to spend some great quality time with friends & family.  Congratulations to Mr. & Mrs. Fisher on their nuptials. It was a beautiful ceremony and reception at the Glen Oak Country Club. Here is a picture of Jon and I before heading out to the wedding. The belly is really starting to show now, and I really loved wearing this dress. I feel like I am in the "cute" pregnancy stage, but I know in a few weeks I'll probably feel like a house :).

While we were home I had a chance to head downtown to check out Tunkhannock's Founders Day. It really has grown since the last time I went, and it was fun to walk around and visit the vendors with My Mom and MIL, Joanne. Everyone we bumped into was excited to see "the bump" and wish us well on the arrival of our baby boy. I was even able to pick up some items for our boy and his room.

We are going with a nature/tree theme for the nursery. I fell in love with this picture for his room and especially the text at the bottom. It really summarizes many of the things I hope & pray that we can teach him and that he can experience in life.

It says: "Life is not a race - but indeed a journey. Be Honest. Work Hard. Be Choosy. Say "thank you", "I love you", and "great job" to someone each day. Go to church, take time for prayer, The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh. Let your handshake mean more than pen and paper. Love your life and what you've been given, it is not accidental - search for your purpose and do it as best you can. Dreaming does matter. It allows you to become that which you aspire to be. Laugh often. Appreciate the little things in life and enjoy them. Some of the best things really are free. Do not worry, less wrinkles are more becoming. Forgive, it frees the soul. Take time for yourself - plan for longevity. Recognize the special people you've been blessed to know. Live for today, enjoy the moment. "

We also had another successful Dr. appointment today. Jon was able to go to this appointment as well and hear the heart beat again..every time I hear it, it's just amazing. The Dr. says that everything is progressing as expected. My blood pressure had been a bit high, but today it was normal. I'm going to do my best to keep it that way with trying to balance my stress level at work..easier said than done sometimes but he is the most important thing in the world right now. Every time I feel him kick I'm reminded of that.. My last monthly appointment will be next month and then I'll start going more frequently. I'll also have my glucose test next week..they gave me some fruit punch mixture to drink.

Well, here's to next week. We hope that everyone has a great week.

Live.Love.Laugh.

Sara

Week 23...Happy Fathers Day

Happy Fathers Day to all of the Dad's or the "To Be" Dad's out there. Jon and I both couldn't have asked for two better Dad's. Thank you for all that you do for us, you are both truly appreciated and loved. Jon opened his first father's day gift this AM. Something special for our little boy to wear when he arrives :).

Another extra special present for Jon this weekend was that he got to feel him move for the first time. It's not too strong yet, but you can definitely feel little nudges. It was very exciting for us both. In fact, Jon was SO excited that he ended up spilling his drink on our coffee table :).

I also wore my first maternity shirt this past week and had to break out the belly band. I wasn't too sure about the bellaband (For those of you that don't know..it's basically a spanx band that you wear so that you can still wear your old clothes that no longer fit and leave them unbuttoned).  It was OK and did the job, but I'm still not too crazy about it. I also went shopping for a maternity dress to wear to a wedding. I feel like I'm officially in the "awkward" stage and looked like a house with what I was trying on. I just don't want to buy something too small and not be able to wear it when I'm much bigger. Nevertheless..I think I'll be wearing dresses and skirts for the majority of my pregnancy, they seem to be working out the best for me at this point. Here is a 23 week picture that we took yesterday.

The BIG accomplishment of the week was picking up the crib and putting it together. We LOVE it and have my wonderful parents to thank for this gift. The great thing about it is that it can turn into a toddler bed and adult bed so our little one will have this for many years to come. We still have to get the mattress. I'll of course post more pics as that arrives :).

Enjoy today and the week everyone. We can't wait to celebrate the upcoming Marriage of our friends Kylie & Eric. It will be a great upcoming weekend.

To health & happiness.

Sara

Week 22..Hello Summer!

Hi All,

Wow..can I say HOT? I think summer has officially arrived. It's been a beautiful, but very hot weekend (especially for this pregnant momma).

On to week 22 already, can you believe it? I sure can't, I still feel like there is so much to do and such little time!

Over the course of the past week I've started to feel the baby a lot more. I'm also starting to feel some real kicks, it's such an amazing feeling. Jon has yet to feel them though, every  time he tries the baby stops kicking...seems like he is getting shy around daddy :). I can't wait until Jon can feel them, he is going to be so happy :).

I went to a pediatrician information session this past week. It was really informative and seems like a great practice. It covered a lot more than I expected including baby safety, how to care for the baby, and what to expect when you bring the baby home. They also mentioned that we should take a Baby CPR class which I think we will do in the coming weeks. It was a bit overwhelming hearing everything, there is just so much to think about. I hope once he's here..it will all come together and that I'll do the right things.  I'm also going to visit another pediatrician next week. One of the great things about living in this area is the access to awesome healthcare providers. I'm feeling very comfortable about the Dr./Nurses I have met.

I've also joined a group called Mamistad. It's a group in NOVA for first-time pregnant mommies (Thanks Taylor for the recommendation!). I'm in a group of about 6 pregnant new moms who are also due in the Fall. We've had a couple of events, and it's been great to meet new people and share/learn about everyone's pregnancy experiences.

Well on to another week.. I've got a lot going on at work this week, so I hope it's a quick week!

Live.Laugh.Love,

Sara

21 Weeks and Counting!

Happy Sunday All! Can you believe we are already heading into June? The time seems to just be flying by.

We've had a great week in the Bach Household. I had a check-in with my OB this week, and he said things are progressing well. He said this pregnancy is flying by..to him at least :). Here is me at 21 weeks, the baby bump is really starting to show now. I've been very fortunate so far, and I can still fit into most of my "regular" clothes. I've calmed down quite a bit in terms of "worrying" about the health of the baby after the big ultrasound. Although, I still do worry and will until I see him arrive..it is really reassuring to have seen/heard the normal ultrasound results.

Jon has been able to make wonderful progress on the Nursery.We needed to add some new shelving in the closet, so Jon tackled that task. It came out awesome! The baby of course has a much nicer closet than we do :). I guess we should start to get used to that feeling.

At this point the nursery is almost completed and ready for furniture. We picked out the bedding a couple of weeks ago. Below is a picture of the curtain. We love it! After much deliberation we decided to go with a Nature theme. We wanted something neutral in case we wanted to re-use the bedding in the future.

Finally, CONGRATULATIONS go out to our wonderful friends Taylor & Jeff Baltzer on the arrival of their baby boy Liam Jeffrey Baltzer on Wednesday. He is absolutely beautiful, and we couldn't be happier for them. Welcome to the world Liam!

As always we hope everyone has a great week.

Live. Laugh. Love.

Sara

20 Weeks - Baby Bach's Gender Revealed & Fun with Family in PA

Happy Memorial Day All,

I hope that you all have had a fun and relaxing Memorial Day Weekend. The weather has been beautiful both in PA & VA, and I hope everyone had a chance to get out and enjoy it. I also hope everyone took a minute to give thanks for the Men & Women who have sacrificed their lives for our Country as well as those who are serving today. We are forever in their debt. 

It's been another eventful week in the Bach household as I imagine they all will continue to be from now on :). We are 20 weeks today and almost 1/2 way there! Can you believe it? The time is really flying by. We had our 18 to 20 week ultrasound last Wednesday and found out we are having...Drum Roll, please!! A BOY!!! Jon and I were so sure we were having a girl, but the little guy had something else in store for us :). It was very exciting to see him again on the Ultrasound. Most importantly the Dr. said that he is healthy. He was very active during the ultrasound kicking and playing with the umbilical cord..already getting into trouble, taking after his Daddy ;). We couldn't wait to share the news, and I baked cupcakes to take into work to announce the baby gender to my co-workers.

We also were able to make it home to PA to enjoy some fun with family & friends for the holiday. Jon & JP had a chance to fit in a round of golf at Stonehedge, Jon had a nice visit with his Brother & his family (Congrats to Michael for getting accepted into a Nursing PHD Fellowship Program!!), and The Patchcoski side of the family made their way up to Tunkhannock for a very nice cook out yesterday. It was really great to see how the family is growing.  All of the Patch cousins are having little ones, and it's really cool to see  another generation learning & growing.  My cousin Cheryl is actually due to have her baby 1 week after me! Who knows maybe there will be 2 new Patch cousins sharing the same birthday :).

Well, on to week 21 :). Jon and I will be celebrating our 2nd Wedding Anniversary Tomorrow. I couldn't have asked for a better 2 years. Thanks for being the best Husband a girl could ask for Jonny!

Have a great week everyone,

Sara

19 Weeks - Daycare, Strollers, Nursery, & More

Hello Again :)

Hope everyone has had a great week. The weather sure has been awesome. Jon is out taking advantage of the weather and one of our weekends "pre-baby" golfing with our friend Jeff. Jeff is also a "soon to be dad". Jeff and his wife Taylor are due to have their first baby any day now..we have them in our thoughts & prayers and can't wait to meet Baby Baltzer when he arrives!

So..we're at week 19, almost 1/2 way to Baby Bach's due date! As promised here is my first baby bump picture.. I'm finally starting to have a bump..it's still small but there! This pic was taken yesterday afternoon.

The biggest items over the past couple weeks on Baby Bach's pre-birth checklist have been to 1) figure out daycare for when I go back to work 2) Determine what stroller/car seat we want to buy 3) Start on the Nursery...we've been able to accomplish all 3. The daycare situation was the biggest decision stressing me out. There are many options in this area, but there are also wait lists/registration fees, etc. for the good ones. We took a morning off from work and visited 5 of them.I also visited a few more after work..so I think we went to a total of 8 or 10. Walking into the first one was a bit difficult, I kept picturing the first day that I have to drop our baby off and was having quite a bit of anxiety about it.  As the visits progressed/weeks have gone by I've come to accept the situation for what it is. I also have decided on a facility that I feel really comfortable about..thanks to some feedback from great co-workers! It is very clean and seemed to be very well organized. Jon and I both got a really good feeling during our visit.

We also have purchased our stroller..man it's like shopping for a car! There are SO many models with different features. It was a bit overwhelming. We decided on the City Mini and a Chicco Car Seat. I fell in love with the city mini b/c it's so light and folds with just pulling a strap.  Jon loves the BOB stroller..but we wanted to start with something smaller and will probably purchase that in the future. Here is a pic of our baby cadillac :)

Finally..Jon has been hard at work on the nursery. He is putting lots of tender love & care into it. Here is an in-progress pic. We'll be sharing more pictures as it gets done.

This week is a BIG week in the Bach household..we have the ultrasound this Wednesday to make sure the baby is healthy and to find out the gender. I am very anxious about it b/c they will look at things like the heart, spine, etc. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers that everything goes as expected.  AND we are having a new roof put on the house..wasn't something we were expecting to have to do right now but it's something that just needs to be done prior to the baby arriving.

Hope everyone has a great week..can't believe Memorial Day is next weekend.

To health & happiness always,

Sara

18 Weeks on Monday

Well, I've been wanting to start a pregnancy blog for awhile, so I decided that today would be the day that I would stop thinking about it and start writing! And what better day to start my blog but Mother's Day. Happy Mother's Day to all of the wonderful Mom's out there (especially mine!). I would be lost without my Mom..I only hope that I can live up to the high standard she has set..she is the most amazing, loving mom!  It has been a great first "to be mommy" mother's day for me. My hubby Jon brought me home Sprinkles cupcakes and a beautiful card, it was a great surprise. He has been fantastic throughout the pregnancy.  I also received many mother's day wishes from my amazing friends and family. It really touched me that they would think of me today, this baby will be surrounded by so much love. I just can't wait!

So, since I'm picking this up at 18 weeks into my pregnancy..here is the 5..well maybe 10 minute recap of the first trimester. Jon and I had talked for awhile about starting a family and had decided that no matter what you plan for there is never a "good" time to start. No matter when..there will always be something going on with work, financially, etc. So we made the decision and started to try. We got the wonderful news that we were expecting at the end of January. I had envisioned all of these really creative ways to tell Jon, but all of those went out the window when I saw the first very faint sign of a positive on the pregnancy test. I couldn't wait and woke Jon up to have him make sure it really was there. He confirmed it was definitely positive, but then of course we had to go out and get 4 more different types of test just to be sure! It was a very emotional/life changing day that we both will never forget.

The next couple of weeks were very nerve wracking for us. I went to the Dr. to confirm the pregnancy and they of course took blood to confirm the pregnancy. I received a phone call from the Dr. once the results came in because my HCG levels (hormone levels that indicate pregnancy) weren't quite at what she thought they should be which could indicate a miscarriage or other "problem". I went back for another blood test. The results showed that my levels were going up, but they still weren't what she thought they should be which then lead to another blood test and an early ultrasound. The early ultrasound showed a pregnancy, which I was extremely relieved to see. I thought all would be in the clear, but then the next day I received a phone call from my OB/GYN asking me to come in the next day for another ultrasound because he thought I could be having an ectopic pregnancy (which means that the egg implants outside of your uterus). I was extremely anxious for this appointment. Jon was out of town, and I of course kept reading about all the possible scenarios on the internet. When I finally had the appointment, and the Dr. confirmed that I was in fact having a healthy pregnancy I broke down in tears. It was such a huge relief.

The anxiety/fear turned to excitement and we looked forward to sharing our wonderful news with friends & family.We were able to share the news in person with Jon's Sister and her family during our trip to Florida and even got to tell Jon's Cousins Nick, Dee, & Dimitri in person too! They were so excited and showered us with love & blessings. We shared the news with our family in PA a couple of weeks later. We gave both of our parent's onsies...one of them is below:

Our Parent's & Brothers were SO excited..it was so much fun to surprise them. We also were able to share a 3D ultrasound of the baby, which was just amazing. As our niece Ava said..Baby Bach looked just like an alien :).

The past 18 weeks have flown by. I've been very blessed to have zero morning sickness. My appetite has also been good and largely unaffected...although I seem to avoid protein, which isn't a good thing.. I know I need my protein! I also seem to have numbness/pain when I sleep at night on my sides. I've decided that if that is my only issue I'm extremely lucky!

Jon is busy working on the babies room...I'm so excited for him to become a daddy. He is absolutely in LOVE with the baby already. I feel so very blessed every day to have him in my life. I can't tell him I love him enough every day.

I hope to make this a weekly update moving forward and share some "bump"  updates. I'm starting to show a bit...but I feel like I just have a big belly and don't look pregnant yet! We also have the big gender ultrasound next Wednesday! Please say a prayer that Baby Bach is healthy!!! If you know me, you know how much of a planner I am so we'll be finding out the gender! We think it's a girl, but what do you all think?

Here is to next time! Let's make this week go by quick!