Halfway Point!!!

HAPPY EASTER!!!!!

 

 

How far along? 20 weeks, 2 days-Can you believe it?! I am already half way through this pregnancy!!!!!!
Total weight gain/loss: a little unsure right now, at the ultrasound almost 2 weeks ago I was up 8 lbs. but I also contribute that to drinking LOTS of water before the ultrasound to be sure we got a good shot.
Maternity clothes? Pretty regularly now, especially on the weekends. For work I am still wearing regular pants with a belly band. My clothes just are not fitting as well as they used to
Stretch marks? Nothing!  But MAN, does my belly itch!! I can definitely tell it is stretching out now. Lotion is my best friend right now
Sleep: Sleep is getting a little tougher lately. I am able to sleep partially on my tummy still, especially with the help of a body pillow which helps. But I have been having a hard time falling back asleep after waking up to use the restroom. I am not necessarily uncomfortable, just a little more restless 
Best moment this week: We registered at Babies R Us and Target, which I thought was going to be more fun but it was much more overwhelming than I thought it would be. I am including it in the best moment because it was really fun to finally start picking some things out for our little guy. Josh loves registering for everything that has a basketball, baseball, or football on it which makes me excited because I know how proud of this little guy he already is!
Miss Anything? There is a new "strawberry lime-a-rita" out for summertime which looks REALLY good. We also went to hibachi the other night, and the sushi was looking REALLY good also
Movement: Baby B moves pretty regularly right after I eat, towards the end of the night between 8-10 before bed, and usually anytime I have caffeine:) Oops, I know I am not supposed to be drinking it, but I don't do it much!
Food cravings: Still spicy, salty, or Asian food. Now that it is getting warmer out, frozen yogurt has been a fave also!
Anything making you queasy or sick: Still counting my blessings, no queasiness or sickness here!
Have you started to show yet: Yep! And I love looking at it, it's so beautiful to me.
Gender prediction: It's officially a boy!!!
Belly Button in or out? Inny/outie mix
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: I have been very happy. I try not to let as much stress me out right now, I just keep reminding myself that life is going to happen, whether it be at work or at home, and there are worse things that could be happening. We are so blessed with all the wonderful things happening to us right now. Today is Easter Sunday and I could not be more happy and excited for the next year to see what it brings.
Looking forward to: Painting the nursery hopefully next weekend

Anything Else???? Like I said above, we have been so happy and blessed so far. Today is Easter, and I wanted to include a picture of Josh and I this afternoon at Easter dinner. We have had so much love and support from both sides of our families and are so appreciative of all of their advice, guidance, and gifts! Oh, the gifts, I cannot believe how much we have already gotten for this little guy, and we haven't even had a shower for him yet! I cannot begin to tell you how much we appreciate the gifts. It is so hard for me to not go out and buy things for him, but I have to keep reminding myself we are receiving and will continue to receive many gifts over the course of the next year!

We are hoping Baby B continues to grow and progress, we pray for him nightly to continue a healthy pregnancy for mommy (haha I can't get used to saying that yet). Lucky for us we will get to see him a couple more times in the next 20 weeks. The doctors want to continue to monitor his growth due to where the umbilical cord is attached to the placenta, nothing to worry about, but like I said, we just get a couple more ultrasounds which most other people don't get:) Please keep him in your prayers, and god willing, he continues to grow at a healthy rate inside of me.

 

 

**This girl is in desperate need of a spray tan:) I cannot wait for summer time to finally be here so we can get some sun!!!

 

 

 

Just in case everyone was wondering:) Sorry, little man, but we just love to show you off already!

 

Sorry, the blog took a little longer these last few weeks. I feel like I have been busy, I will try to keep up on it a little more. Have a wonderful week, the weather has been so beautiful and I am so happy it is finally spring!!!

 

 

{Gender Reveal}

I know you all have been PATIENTLY waiting!!!!

 

So here is the news......Baby Boettcher is a........

 

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 BABY BOY!!!!

 

 

Will post more later, but I just wanted to let everyone know! Today has been a really crazy amazing day and my phone has been blowing up all day with everyone excited to hear the news. Baby is healthy and growing well, and we could NOT be more excited:)

 

More details to come.......:)

17 Week Update

How far along? 17 weeks, 5 days
Total weight gain/loss: up 5 pounds as of 03/04, which was our last dr. appt., right on track!
Maternity clothes? I use my belly band on a daily basis now for my work pants. I can still fit into some of my pre-pregnancy jeans, but mostly wearing leggings with maternity shirts on the weekends. Just trying to get more comfortable, I feel like we grow by the hour now:)
Stretch marks? Nope still looking good
Sleep: Still sleeping on my tummy for portions of the night, it isn't too uncomfortable yet. I suspect this will end fairly soon. I fall asleep pretty easily and I sleep pretty well all night, having LOTS of vivid dreams though which I think results in me being tired in the morning even though I THINK I got a great nights sleep.
Best moment this week: Feeling the baby move on a more consistant basis, in the morning, during work, while I am hanging out, all the time now!
Miss Anything? I saw some Summer Shandy in Hyvee earlier this week, we all know what that means.....summer is upon us, and Summer Shandy is my favorite beer in the whole world, especially because it only comes out in the summer time. Good news is-it is coming out, and that means summer is that much closer. Bad news is-I can't drink it :( :( :(
Movement: All the time now! Josh has felt movement too, but rarely. Everytime I tell him to come put his hand on my tummy, that little stinker stops moving! I think it's hilarious, Josh is somewhat of a jokester and our little peanut is already messing with daddy BAHAHAHA, a little taste of his own medicine perhaps?
Food cravings: Still mostly spicy foods or salty foods, asian food in particular.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Feeling great! No queesy or sickness here. YAY!
Have you started to show yet: We have a definate bump now! I love it!!!!!
Gender prediction: We find out in exactly 6 days.....I have been on a boy kick lately, can't wait to find out next week!
Belly Button in or out? Inny/outie mix
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: HAPPY!!! Although I did start bawling tonight when I ruined dinner, hormones still get the best of me, but it has been better lately. Tons of energy in the afternoons which is great!
Looking forward to: Finding out the gender on March 19th!!!

Anything Else???? Check out this nursery! We have the staples, which is exciting! I can't wait to start filling it up with blue or pink!!

Words to Live By

After a particularily difficult/tiring/productive day at work, I came home to my unbelievably supportive husband, who always has the ability to pick me back up and make me feel that everything I do is worth something. It is funny how today, difficult and productive can be used in the same sentence. In my line of work, usually difficult is accompanied with frustrating, unproductive, and downright annoying. I apologize in advance for those of you looking for an update to Baby Boettcher, today I have some thoughts that I just needed to get out and writing is a really great outlet for me. So now this blog has evolved, not only is it a way to update friends and family about our baby's progress, but also to allow me a way to reflect on decisions I make everyday that will affect our life and my unborn baby's life.

Anyone who knows me and Josh, understand how different we are. Josh is the ying to my yang, he keeps me grounded, ie. he is sane and thinks much more rationally than I do in MOST situations:) I tend to worry more, let anxiety control my emotions, and get worked up about small issues that I cannot control, whereas Josh, doesn't let life's little hiccups ever get to him.....HOW DOES HE DO THAT?!?! If anyone can figure this secret in life out, please let me be the first to know.

So as I was saying, today was a particularily productive day at work, yet I still felt somewhat deflated at the end of the day. I feel very good about all of the progress we are making in my office, and am excited about the future of my team, however, I work particularily with some very difficult clients and contractors (some, but not all) who can in an instant take all of the hard work you feel so proud about and make you feel (again) so deflated. So this got me thinking.

Who do I want to be for my children? How do I want them to view me? What sort of characteristics do I want to pass along to them, and which one's do I hope they do not inherit from their (sometimes) insane mother :) I know as I transition into motherhood this is something I personally need to change/transition. I know that only I can control my actions and how I react to certain situations, and if I learn to control and diffuse my reactions, this will reflect very positively on my children. I look forward to teaching myself how to do this. I know what kind of mother I want to be, now it is up to me to BE that mother.

These are some words that INSPIRE me, that I hope I can pass along to not only this child, but all the people in my life, young and old.