Week 29

~~Amanda

End of Week 29 Status:
Weight: 170 lbs.
Estimated Baby Size: Head of Cabbage

It has been week 30 for a few days now, but I wanted to finish my research paper before devoting time to the blog this week. It's finally done! I forgot to mention last week, but we once again got some great news from Josh and Shelly....they're expecting again and their little one is due in March. Yay! I'm glad Sebastian gets to have a cousin the same age as him.

I am finally in the home stretch of this summer semester, which has officially worn me out with the mega research paper in my upper-level Modern Architecture class, and the packing of three months worth of French and the history of Asia into one month. It feels good to make up for some of the credits I will be missing out on to have the baby this fall though.

We started mapping out our mini-vacation for the 14th to the 21st of August. So far we have the possibility of hitting the Outer Banks, Charleston, Savannah and the NC mountains. Not sure what order as of yet though. We also plan on taking my baby belly to the Asheboro Zoo for one of the days on the way back (or there if we got to the mountains first). Seeing as it's hurricane season, weather will have a lot to do with it.

I think the pregnancy heat wave has officially rolled in. Despite the fact that my hair is at this very moment soaking wet, and our house is a comfortable (to Andy anyways) 73 degrees, it feels like a Sauna in here to me. Welcome back the endless water bottles, frequent naps and trips to the head. I still feel very energetic, healthy, and mobile for now though. No swelling or severe back aches. I'm definitely glad I've been putting myself through a prenatal exercise regimen this whole time.

I'm kind of excited because I get to meet a midwife for my next appointment, and hopefully if I like her, I can keep her the rest of the time. I hate having a different doctor everytime I go to the hospital, it's annoying! The last guy I saw didn't speak English well at all, and I had to really try not to laugh at his pronunciation of words like "placenta" and "cervix" which sounded more like pkhlacyentia and syervishka.

Hmm...what else? Oh yea, we finished the last room of the house- the study...crown moulding was not a fun idea, but it looks nice. I'll post a picture below. Well, that's it for now, see y'all next week.

Week 28

~~Amanda

End of Week 28 Status:
Weight: 169 lbs.
Estimated Baby Size: Chinese Cabbage

Well, week 29 has arrived, and 28 was a week filled with work. We finished repainting the living room, steam cleaned the carpets in the whole house, and picked up some furniture from consignment shops so we have a place to relax now. It's sooo nice having a comfy space again. The house will be a work in progress for another year probably, but finishing the living room makes the rest of it seem like less of a chore. The last big project is repainting the study, which we'll probably start sometime this week.

Other than housework, I've been trying to maintain my French homework load and write this 20-page research paper on the Roman Art Museum in Merida, Spain. I am just taking things in stride so I don't freak out. I don't know what I'll do with myself in August when I no longer have all these projects going on. At the moment we have plans to make a trip to the Outer Banks and then to my parents new house in Swannanoa, NC. I have all of my parenting and birthing classes scattered on weekends throughout August so we're only going to have about a week to travel, but I am looking forward to it.

Well, I suppose I'll post some pictures of the living room progress. I don't have very many before pictures, but all you really need to see is the color change and fixed baseboards/door trims to see what we did. I'm so glad I don't have to look at poo brown on my walls anymore, haha.

Before Pictures:

After Pictures - We still have lots of family pictures to hang:

Like the one on top of the TV...it needs to be hung and it needs company:

And the ones on the fireplace...look at our pretty new tablecloth!

Pet picture Coasters! Aerwyn, Harley, Ivan and Tito:

Week 27

~~Amanda

End of Week 27 Status:
Weight: 166 lbs.
Estimated Baby Size: Chinese Cabbage 15.5 inches long, 3 pounds(official hospital measurement)

WOOHOO! It's the THIRD TRIMESTER this week, and week 27 was pretty blah. I've mostly been involved with schoolwork the whole week, and there haven't been many exciting happenings.

We did have an appointment yesterday to see if my marginal previa had improved at all, so we got to see little Sebastian snoozing. Good news is the placenta did move about a centimeter and is now looking as though it will be out of the way by the time for delivery. However, to make sure, we have to go back again on August 14th. The doctor also told us that we were on track to have a 15-pound baby, hahaha...he, of course, was joking. But Sebastian is larger than the average baby boy at this point by about 3/4lbs. This is not all that surprising, since Andy was close to 11 lbs, and I was close to 9. I'd rather not think about it honestly...haha.

Anyhoo, here is the ultrasound photo from yesterday as well as the pictures I promised of the baby things we purchased and the curtains and what not we put up:

Week 26

~~Amanda

End of Week 26 Status: Weight: 165 lbs. Estimated Baby Size: A Head of Cauliflower 14.5 inches long, almost 2 pounds.

It's Week 27 and Fourth of July weekend! We acquired many exciting nursery items this week as well as a travel system (stroller, car seat, carrier combo). We now have a crib, a froggie wall organizer, a froggie stuffed animal, a cute fluffy baby book, and a rocker/glider as well. Having all these things will probably make me even more impatient to greet Sebastian, but we were given such great deals on the pieces we bought that we couldn't pass them up. The froggie stuff and cute book were gifts from my parents, but the crib and stroller we purchased from local families off of Craigslist. They are both really nice and I spent a while yesterday scrubbing, disinfecting and machinewashing all of their parts. The glider Andy splurged on a little bit in Fredericksburg on his way home from Quantico; he's the best! I'm sure Sebastian and I will make great use of it during naps and nursing time.

After a hectic Friday of pure research for me and taxiing Marines to Quantico for Andy, we were gifted with the oppurtunity to relax in the sun with our friends. Stacey and Curtis invited us over to grill and swim in their pool for the fourth, and another group of friends had us over for shrimp, crabs, and steak after that. Mmmm, cheeseburgers, watermelon, steak and dessert all day long! I loved the pool, I didn't have to concentrate on keeping my balance at all, and I think Sebastian enjoyed the experience as well. We didn't get a chance to catch fireworks this year, but we saw a few being fired locally when we got home. Apparently our neighbors made a trip to North Carolina in preparation for Independence Day.

Next week is the beginning of the last and final trimester! I'm almost scared at the prospect that Sebastian will be allowed three more months to grow, he seems so huge as it is! If he truly is only two pounds as babycenter.com claims, however, then I suppose it is definitely for the best. I just can't imagine my belly can stretch much further. Sebastian has grown strong enough to kick on all sides of my belly at once...and has grown accustomed to having dance parties when I go to bed at night. He has also developed a special affinity for my rib cage, kidneys, and stamping on my bladder at random. It's a pretty interesting ride, but I love it.

Right-o! I'm off to exercise, and attempt to reassemble the millions of pieces I had to take apart to machine-wash all the parts of the stroller yesterday. I will take more pictures of the new things next week when I have them assembled. See you then!

Week 25

~~Amanda

End of Week 25 Status: Weight: 163 lbs. Estimated Baby Size: An English Hothouse Cucumber 14 inches long, 1 and 2/3 pounds.

It's been week 26 for a few days now, but I wanted to finish painting the nursery before I made a post. I have a video of it attached to the bottom of this post. I've never had so much fun painting before...I just built upon the mural that was already in the room when we moved in...but transformed it into a boy's theme. I added froggies, owls, and a turtle. I also got inspired to start the registry this week. I wasn't expecting it to be so much fun. I am pretty sure we will end up buying most of it, but it's fun to have a shopping list and imagine playing with all the stuff when Sebastian gets here.

Other than tha, I'm happy to say I finished another course at ODU this week, just took a final on Friday and it went well. The appointment on Wednesday was pretty noneventful other than having to drink a glucose drink and wait around in the waiting room for an hour so they could draw my blood. Boring...but worth it to know if I have gestational diabetes or not.

Here's the nursery:

That's it for this week, my next class starts on Monday...French II, I hope it's not too much work...I'm looking forward to a little more time for non-school related activities. Okie dokie, that's it for this week, Ciao.

BABY REGISTRY!!!

This was a lot of fun to make:

http://www.myregistry.com/public/Amanda-Andrew-Schwartz

Week 24

~~Amanda

End of Week 24 Status: Weight: 161 lbs. Estimated Baby Size: Average Ruttabaga 13.5 inches long, 1.5 pounds.

Well, 'tis week 25, and we had some first-time-mom-cluelessness-driven excitement in week 24. I was sitting in class on Monday and all of a sudden my entire lower abdomen seemed to seize up. I couldn't move for about 10 minutes. The pain diminished to the point where I felt mobile by the end of class, and by the time I got home, I was curious and concerned as to what could be causing the discomfort. My mom and I snoofed around online for some explanations and we decided it was most likely round ligament pain. However, most of the sites said that the pain would subside in about 30 minutes if it was RLP.

Itching for a little bit of RnR, Andy and I went out to get some pizza, freshmade Ice Cream, and catch a movie. We saw Angels and Demons, and it was quite good. However, seeing as it was now about seven hours since the initial pains had developed and they were still persisting, we decided to be safe and go to the hospital to make sure Sebastian was okay.

After what seemed like hours of neglect in a hospital bed, we finally were allowed to leave with the diagnosis of none other than round ligament pains....big surprise. At least now I know what they feel like, and I don't have to worry anymore. We also were granted the gift of seeing Sebastian again, which made the idleness less excrutiating. I've since found that as long as I exercise every day, the pains occur very infrequently. I can't say the same for my middle back. It aches almost constantly all day long...I'm guessing this is because it is countering the weight of the baby from the front. In any case, I will live.

Andy let me record him doing the jazz version of the Opus de Sebastian, which he is calling "The Sebastian Swing." So here it is, a little rusty but he was on the spot and not fully prepared:

That's it for this week, I have an appointment on Wednesday and I should have some pics of the nursery next week so stay tuned.

Week 23

~~Amanda

End of Week 23 Status:
Weight: 159 lbs.
Estimated Baby Size: Ear of Corn nearly a foot long, 4 more ounces since last week.

C'est la semaine 24. Nothing much to report for this week, everything has been pretty quiet. We are looking forward to our weekend of relaxation. I plan to do as little homework as possible and just enjoy the nice weather we are expected to have.

I may start to de-girlify the baby room. The last owner had a baby girl named Lily whose name is all over the room as well as pink flowers and butterflies. My mom gave me the idea of frogs, so I may put some little frogs, and just add blue sky to cover up the spots with the butterflies. I dont want to go overly boy because we plan to sell the house in three years and I would prefer it to be more gender neutral.

The bird who laid eggs in our hanging plant in early spring has just become a proud parent of some punk chicks. They have little mohawks, so cute! I will post a picture. Hmm, what else...Andy has been working on a jazz rendition of the Opus de Sebastian which is coming along nicely, I will post that when it's ready as well. Well I guess that's about it, Sebastian is doing well and moving a lot...and we are happy.

Week 22

~~Amanda

End of Week 22 Status:
Weight: 157 lbs.
Estimated Baby Size: Large Mango 11 inches long, just over a pound.

It is week 23. According to babycenter.com, Sebastian (yes, we've settled on the name) can hear music and feel me dancing now. Not so much in honor of this landmark as by coincidence, Andy wrote an Opus in honor of him this past week. I will post it to the end of this blog. It is perfect, and we both hum it all day long...Sebastian should have it memorized by the time he arrives. Each morning we sit down at the piano and Andy plays it, then I go through piano books and pick out songs I want to hear, providing Sebastian and us with some musical entertainment to start the day.

Other than that I've been extremely busy with school everyday...my second class picked up, and it seems I will have to master Modern Architecture alongside learning the history of Asia in one month. At least they are both very interesting subjects, I can't say I mind all of the reading anyways, it is rather relaxing.

Well, back to enjoying my weekend, Andy and I have been playing Trivial Pursuit and Yahtzee everyday, and we are quite addicted.

Week 21

~~Amanda

End of Week 21 Status:
Weight: 155 lbs.
Estimated Baby Size: Spaghetti Squash 11 inches long, just under a pound.

We are at 22 weeks this week, and week 21 has been fun! We started off the week pondering names, since we now know that it's a boy. So far the most popular have been Sebastien or Vincent Lawrence Schwartz. Lawrence is definitely the middle name, but the first name is still up in the air. Sooo, despite the protest of some, Gorthar is still our little boy's title for now. Speaking of Gorthar, he has grown quite strong. We can actual see him moving if we watch my belly now. So amazing!

The week was really just about settling some more into the house and spending time with family. I have been thrift shopping for maternity clothes, as I am now incapable of wearing my normal clothes any longer. I start school back up on Monday and will be at it until my birthday in August. I really only have about seven shirts that fit me now, so I'm hoping I will find some more so I don't have to repeat them over and over again during school. However, there are worse things I could deal with.

I also had to schedule a follow-up ultrasound this week because I apparently have a marginal placenta previa they want to keep an eye on. In 90% of cases, the placenta will fix itself by the due date, so I'm not too terribly concerned. They have given me some restrictions and told me to come back mid-July at 28 weeks to see if it is corrected. If not, I may have to have a C-section.

Other than that, I have just been catching up on the homework for my online Modern Architecture class. Pretty interesting stuff. I will be quite busy this summer. Just as well considering I can't really enjoy the weather as hot as it is. Well, hmm....I guess that's all for now. My cousin got married today, so congratulations Megan and Rock! I wish I could have been there. Love you!

Week 20

~~Amanda

End of Week 20 Status:
Weight: 154 lbs.
Estimated Baby Size: Carrot 10.5 inches long, 3/4 of a pound

Well it's 21 weeks this week, and week 20 has been awesome! We are having a BOY!!! So, the Schwartz continuum remains in full force. In fact it appears that this is boy season, as everyone I know that's having or had a baby this year has had boys.

Andy and I are right now considering the name Sebastian Lawrence, but who knows if it will stick or not. We finally got around to having our housewarming this weekend, which was a lot of fun. It would have been a lot more fun if the men hadn't got a call from the ROTC unit saying they screwed up their schedule and they had three hours instead of two days to get to the unit fully prepared to leave for OCS. Needless to say chaos and anger ensued shortly thereafter.

After a painful and sleepy goodbye around midnight, Andy was off to OCS. The good thing was, my mother arrived the next day to cheer me up.

A day or so after she arrived, Andy phoned letting us know that he would be home shortly. Apparently they check whether you've been to medical for anything in the past six months...which he has for a rotater cuff injury. When they sent him to a specialist to do some resistance tests, his arm did not pass the test. Poor Andy will have to go back next year.

The positive side to all of this is, there is a lot more that needs to be done this summer, and next year I will have Sebastian to keep me company so I'm not so lonely...so it may all be for the better. I would rather he didn't permanently injure his shoulder at OCS and ruin his career...best to just get it fixed now. Now, I am very impatiently awaiting his return....I miss you ANDY!!!!

Other than that...my brother and Shelly came down to visit on a spur of the moment decision...so Josh has been doing fix-it things for me in Andy's absence. Thanks Josh!

Well, they are all still here, so I will stop being anti-social and go tend to my visitors...

Talk to you next week, here are the ultrasound pics:

Week 19

~~Amanda

End of Week 19 Status:
Weight: 153 lbs.
Estimated Baby Size: Bell Pepper 10 inches long, 10.5 ounces

We reached 20 weeks this past week, halfway there! Not a lot has changed since last week, and we continue to improve the house one project at a time. I am just trying to contain my excitement for finding out the sex of the baby this week and finally getting to use a definite pronoun.

Well, there isn't much to say...we did find out that the vermin living in our attic was in fact a squirrel living in the overhang of our roof, not our attic. So that was a funny discovery. I will post pics of the new improvements we made to the house...stay tuned on Thursday for the revealing of the baby's sex!

Main Bathroom - Before & After:

Guest Bedroom - Before & After:

Week 18

End of Week 18 Status:
Weight: 152 lbs.
Estimated Baby Size: Large Heirloom Tomato

We are at 19 weeks, day 5 today. We finally resolved the issue of getting internet connected at our new house, yay! Week 18 was full of excitement. In preparation for our move, we got to work on improving the new house. Believe it or not, I have been very involved in the toils of home-ownership.

I have had lots of energy, and keeping busy has been great. We put in some nice hard flooring in our dining room and reading room, and Andy did some tiling in the kitchen. My favorite part was revamping the landscape of our much neglected lawn. Once we put a contract on the house, the bank was obviously no longer interested in maintaining it....it was a jungle! However, after buying a lawn mower, some weed & feed, mulch, and renting a tiller, we were able to produce a pretty nifty design. It was a lot of hard work, but it was definitely worth it to me. I love our yard! I will post pics at the end of this blog.

In Gorthar news, taking his/her cue from his/her parents, the little one has been extremely active this past week. I have been feeling the ever-growing strength of his/her jabs and punches. My mom has told me that one of us (I don't remember who she said) used to kick her in the ribs when she was trying to fall asleep at night...that sounds less cute...but still kind of cute.

In the midst of the moving chaos, we received some less exciting news. My sister-in-law Shelly lost the baby this past week. She is very strong though, and they have decided to keep trying. I know that everything will happen when the time is right, and I will have a beautiful niece or nephew.

Well, I better get back to this week's project....stripping the paint, priming, and repainting the guest bedroom, and the main bathroom. A lot less fun than landscaping, especially since I have to wear all sorts of dust and fumigation masks, ha.

Talk to you next week!

Before/After

Week 17

~~Amanda

End of Week 17 Status:
Weight: 148 lbs.
Estimated Baby Size: Bell Pepper

It's 18 weeks this week. I am starting to feel Gorthar swimming around, and he occasionally decides to start popping popcorn. It's funny looking at the photos each week, how much my posture or how close I am to the camera alters the look of the "tummy shot." I guess I need to start taking them in a more controlled manner. Once I start taking them in the new house I will try to do a better job.

We closed on our house this week...YAY!!! So far we've done prepratory work to move in. I have been working on the decorative gardening, while Andy tackled the jungle the bank had let the yard turn into. We also picked up some flooring, a mower, a fridge and a grill. Needless to say we've also been doing a lot of packing in our apartment. Moving day has been set for next week.

Well I'm exhausted from another long day of work, so I'll talk to you next week.

Week 16

~~Amanda

End of Week 16 Status:
Weight: 146 lbs.
Estimated Baby Size: Turnip

Well, we've been at 17 weeks for going on 5 days now, but I was late to get started writing this week, and then Andy surprised me with a getaway to visit Josh and Shelly (my brother and sister-in-law) in Rochester, NY. We are just getting home, so I'm gonna get to bed and pick this up after my exam tomorrow morning. It was an exciting trip!

Phew! Glad that's over...only two more finals left 'til I get a few weeks off. So, back to the trip--on Friday night Andy said he wanted to drive the next morning to catch the Indians game in Cleveland. I, at first, wasn't too excited about the idea because I had just asked my brother earlier in the day if he would be going to any of this series' games (the Indians were playing his team the Minnesota Twins). He said he wouldn't, and when he asked if I was I had said "no, not if you aren't"...so, when Andy said we were, I felt kind of bad. A few minutes later, Andy went out to retrieve my much-craved spinach, olive and pepperoni pizza from Sal's (SOOO GOOD), and I received a call from my brother.

Josh started the conversation off with "I get to go somewhere you don't tomorrow" in a childish taunt. Well he, of course, was talking about the game in Cleveland, and so I finally got motivated about the trip. I don't get to see my brother and Shelly enough, so despite the tons of homework and studying I had to do, I agreed to the trip. It gets more exciting, though. About halfway through the trip, I started asking too many directional questions, I guess, because Andy was forced to come clean with their whole plan. He and Josh had tricked me into thinking we were going to a game, when actually we were going to spend the next few days at Josh and Shelly's in Rochester! It was pretty funny, and I was happy, because spending money on tickets, a hotel, and being pregnant really dampened the thrill of going to the game in Cleveland.

The last big surprise? When we got there, we found out that just that day, Shelly found out she was pregnant!!!!!!!! Hahaha! So crazy! I'm so excited that Gorthar will have a cousin three months his younger to play with. So many life changing events in this family this year, and so many blessings. Andy and I are moving, my parents are moving, Shelly and I are having babies, and now they might be moving to NC too! Excitement, excitement, excitement.

As far as Gorthar is concerned, there's nothing new to report. Things are about the same as last week, except I am just starting to show (with my clothes on, ha) and he/she seems to be growing more rapidly. Well, I'm STARVING so I'm gonna go.

Au Revoir!