Baby Bump…Week 24

Not much happened this week, so I’m going heavy on pictures and videos! Morrad was traveling for work and I was home and had a lot of free time to capture some precious moments.

Baby Bump...Week 24

One of the moments I was able to capture was the baby kicking. He has been moving a lot lately, almost all day every day! One night I could see the kicks through my skin and took a video. Look to the shadow part of my belly, that is where it looks like an alien is inside of me!

Ellen found some very cute pictures of Morrad as a baby, and I thought I’d post one of them. He is roughly 3 months old in this picture. I still can’t picture how my genes are going to blend with his!

Baby Morrad

Baby Carmen

Ozzi and Maki have become even more close to me the past few weeks. In this picture, Ozzi walked along the top of the couch and literally let his butt fall down until it was resting on my shoulder. He was perfectly propped up to watch out the window for squirrels and be close to me at the same time.

Ozzi Bear

Baby Bump…Week 23

The weather in New Jersey has been beautiful. This past weekend we were able to spend time outside and try to re-tan our peeling bodies! Morrad had a rugby game on Saturday, and as much as I enjoy watching him play, I hate what it does to his body after the game. He is bruised, limping, and scratched on the face. I think he knows that this might be his last season that he can participate in fully. Once the baby comes in August, he will have less time to dedicate to extracurricular activities. And I know he will be racing home after work to play with the baby.

We are keeping the baby’s name a secret until after the birth. We want to make sure that he looks like the name we chose, and then let the world know! I’ve definitely have been nesting lately, but the name search hasn’t been on that list. I am not sure why, but the both of us haven’t put much time towards it yet. We talked about it this weekend and put it on our today list.

Baby Bump...Week 23

We went to Whole Foods this weekend because Morrad wanted me to increase my protein intake. He wants a big, strong baby boy! We went aisle to aisle reading the labels, seeing what foods had the most protein. We ended up with a variety of shakes, nuts, and beans. I tried one of the shakes today and afterwards, the baby was moving like crazy! I am pretty sure he was going in circles!

I also dragged Morrad to Michael’s and we picked out yarn for a baby blanket that I am crocheting. I have never crocheted before, but like I said earlier, I am nesting! It was fun to see Morrad get involved in the color choices and he made sure I was picking out all the right sized yarn, and then I lost him! He was ready to get out of Michael’s and would agree with anything I said to speed up the process. I came home and started the blanket. So far it looks great, there are a few spots that aren’t perfect, but that gives it the homemade character! I do have a slight addiction to working on it right now. I have to remind myself to stop and not finish it in a few days.

Sneak Peek

Baby Bump…Week 22

Our week in Florida was exactly what we needed! We relaxed on the beach, slept in, and hung out with my Grama and Grampa. It was my first vacation not in Wisconsin, with the dogs. Maki and Ozzi loved the warm weather and acclimated very quickly to the condo. Grama took extra care of them all week, which allowed me to really relax and enjoy each day! One of the activities we did that I was actually able to participate in was stand up paddleboarding. We drove to Weedon Island and took off from the launch with our instructor. The boards were fairly stable, which gave me the confidence to stand up and paddle along with the boys. It was great, low impact exercise that I have been craving. We saw a lot of marine life, but mostly we enjoyed the peaceful sounds of the water. I did burn the tops of my feet, even though I was heavily coated in sunscreen. So the rest of the trip, my feet were buried in the sand and out of the sun!

Baby Bump...Week 22

I want to give a big thank you to Grama and Grampa for being wonderful hosts. We always had a cooler full of snacks and drinks and they were with us for whatever activity we wanted to do. Both of them impressed me with their ability to keep up with us. Whatever they’ve been doing, I need to take notes because I want to be that mobile and energized at their age! I was also thankful that Blake wanted to spend his spring break with me (and Morrad). Our family has always been very close, so any time I can spend with any of them is special to me. Come August, our lives will change, and I will always have this trip to remember the quality time I was able to spend with Blake, Grama, and Grampa.

Stand Up Paddleboarding

As far as the pregnancy goes, I had no problems on the trip. My energy was good and I wasn’t too sore at the end of the day. I can tell when I over-do it because my lower back starts to throb and it inhibits me from walking. I’ve felt like that a few times in the past month, so now I watch what I’m lifting and how much I’m on-the-go during the day. The baby is about 11 inches from head to food and weighs just under one pound. He can now hear my heartbeat, stomach churn, and the sound of my voice. He is moving a lot more now too! I will try to get a video of it when he is doing it frequently. Yesterday we were watching the kicks and seeing them through my skin. It is always reassuring when he moves. I am still going to the bathroom A LOT. Last night, I was up almost every hour during the night. That is one thing I would love to have slow down soon, but since he’s still so low, that probably won’t happen until he moves up. I give him little pep talks about moving up 🙂

I was telling Morrad tonight that I’ve noticed a change in my shopping habits. I used to lean towards neutral colors, but now I’ve been wanting to buy everything “boy” like. My iPad cover is baby blue, my cell phone case is on the manly side, and I even bought mint colored jeans to add to my maternity wardrobe. If I have to choose between pink and blue, I definitely choose blue now!

Mint Skinny Jeans - Two sizes bigger to accommodate my belly 🙂

Baby Bump…Week 21

We were on vacation in Florida for the week, which explains the late post. We took a week 21 photo when we got home, but it really is week 22, so this will suffice for this week’s photo. I will write about our vacation in week 22’s post.

Baby Bump...Week 21

Baby Bump…Week 20

It’s a BOY! I was so anxious to find out on Thursday. We both wanted to know the gender because we are too excited, and at the moment when she asked us if we wanted to find out the gender, we both looked at each other and smiled. It wasn’t long before she knew and out came, “It’s a boy!” I started to tear up and Morrad’s smile was from ear to ear. And then we both high-fived. We would’ve been happy with a boy or girl, but we had a feeling it was a boy all a long. The ultrasound was an hour and I would’ve laid there for days watching the baby. They find every bone and body part and make sure the size of the baby is on target. The baby was 12 ounces, which was right where he should be. He is still very low, so it was hard for her to see his face, but we managed to get him to turn over and show us for a little bit. Morrad’s eyes never left the monitor. He was asking questions about the blood flow and brain development. I loved watching him love his baby boy 🙂 And then I caught him watching me and I started to cry. It was a very special day that we will never forget. Our son will never be lacking in the love department, that’s for sure!

Baby Boy Fadel - His left arm is up over his head (like I do!) The other arm is blocking is face, so they zoomed closer (through it) so we could see his face.

Button Nose or Egyptian Nose?!

After the appointment, we had a few errands to run before picking my parents up from the airport. I had arranged for flowers to be delivered to Morrad’s parents house with a card that revealed the gender. I called The Flower Garden and told them what to write in the card. After it was delivered and everyone was together, we put them on speaker phone and they opened the card. It was empty! They forgot to write down that it was a boy! It was a little anticlimactic, but we were able to tell them over the phone and it was just as exciting. All of this happened just minutes before my parents landed and were about to walk out of the terminal. We had purchased blue balloons and were standing at the end of their gate waiting. They did not know we were going to surprise them, so I knew the shock factor would be better! As they walked out, my Dad didn’t see us, but my Mom did right away. The blue balloons were a dead giveaway and the news was out that we were having a boy.

The rest of the weekend was amazing. We explored New York City, watched Morrad play rugby, and shopped for the nursery. It honestly seemed like they were here for a week because we did so much everyday. I felt a little sad after they both left, but have this Friday to look forward to. Morrad and I are meeting Blake in Tampa to visit with my Grampa and Grama for the week. Time to get this belly a little color!

Baby Bump...Week 20