The Decorah Eagles

I haven't talked much about it, but I have a serious fascination and love for birds of prey {eagles, hawks, owls} I actually love birds in general and can watch them all day long if given the opportunity! We have several feeders in our backyard and I just discovered a hummingbird nest in our avocado tree the other day. I sure hope we get some babies.

I have been watching a live streaming video of a pair of eagles for the last two years. I watched her last three eggs hatch and the three babies grow up until they left the nest. The same pair has laid three eggs again this year, and two of the babies have hatched. She was just feeding them this morning, and you can usually get a great view of the babies during that time. And they are adorable! Here is the link, if anyone wants to watch with me. My Mom even bought me an official shirt :)

xoxo,
Megan

22 weeks

How far along: 22w

Total weight gain/loss: +11 pounds. 
How big is Baby: Baby is about the size of a papaya, or 11 inches long, and he weighs about a pound now!
Maternity Clothes: Definitely. I do wear some regular shirts with a long tank top underneath, but all bottoms are maternity.
Sleep: Sleep hurts :/ My hips ache every morning from sleeping on my sides. And wow, the dreams have been crazy.

Movement: Yes, every day! I love it! He still wakes me up around 4am every morning - I wonder if that's a sign of things to come once he is here?! He was moving around on my drive into work today so I talked to him :)

Food cravings: Everything sounds good these days!
Food aversions: Nothing that I can think of.

Gender: It's a BOY!

Symptoms: Lots of stretching & a growing belly. Vivid dreams. Feeling dizzy & off balance. Peeing all.the.time. All around excitement and joy.

Best moment this week: Spending Sunday eating & shopping with my bestie. I really think baby boy sensed my excitement and he loved when she talked to him :) I also had my first stranger notice and congratulate me on the pregnancy. It made me smile.
What I am looking forward to: I can't wait for our house to be done. We got a lot of planning done this past week. New kitchen counter tops are being made, new sod by the nursery goes in this week and I met with my carpenter to go over all the drywall, paint & baseboard work. It feels so good to know this house will be 100% done before baby boy arrives, so that when we are ready to move, there won't be much to do.

Quick Nursery Update

Not a lot of progress on the actual room yet, just some decisions on design and layout. We have a lot of other house projects we are finishing first.

This gorgeous nursery has been my biggest inspiration, all along. I LOVE the bright colors and I think we have decided on green walls - and possibly a blue color in the closet. This is Benjamin Moore's Apple Green... 

{Jennyology}

And this is the other green we like, Benjamin Moore's Pear Green. They are just slightly different greens. I am picking up samples this weekend.

{layoutaday}

We did pick up and set up our new Pottery Barn Kendall Crib! {gift from my Grandmother}

We are using the IKEA Hemnes as a dresser/changer.

And the IKEA Ektorp as additional seating.

My Mom and I are trying to decide on the glider & ottoman fabric color. I also have various odds and ends waiting to decorate the room; the rug, the three safari prints need frames, a large mirror for the loveseat wall, a variety of safari decor, shelves, lamps, new ceiling fan and DIY projects for the curtains, bedding, mobile, etc.

By the way, I am having so much fun with this nursery. It's like planning a wedding all over again :)

xoxo,

Megan

Excitement

After some very strange dreams last night {I had a south American drug lord boyfriend in one of them!}, I woke up and thought to myself "I am a little over two weeks away from viability day! Wow!" For those of you who don't know, 24 weeks is considered v-day, and a baby has some chance of survival if they are born. Obviously I want him to stay put a lot longer, but that's a pretty important milestone if you ask me. I just can't believe he is developed that much. I still imagine him as a tiny spec :)

Speaking of that little guy, he must be going through a growth spurt or moving more or something like that because my belly is feeling extra huge and my skin feels very tight, like it's stretching A LOT. I feel him every day now and, like clockwork, he wakes me up at 4am bouncing around. I really enjoy those moments, just the two of us.

We are so excited to meet him.

xoxo,
Megan

21 weeks

How far along: 21w

Total weight gain/loss: +7 pounds. I lost 3 lbs from food poisoning this weekend :(
How big is Baby: Baby is about the size of a banana, or 10.5 inches long.
Maternity Clothes: Definitely. I do wear some regular shirts with a long tank top underneath, but all bottoms are maternity.
Sleep: Sleep hurts :/ My hips ache every morning from sleeping on my sides.

Movement: Yes!! He wakes me up around 4am every morning, having a dance party :) I also feel him after I eat and when I am sitting still. I am still in awe every time I feel him move.

Food cravings: I had food poisoning on Thursday night and that ruined my appetite. I didn't eat much of anything for three days. I have been eating fruit, yogurt and cereal, and drinking fizzy stuff, lemonade and lots of water. Oh, and my all-time favorite pork barbacoa salad at Cafe Rio came to my rescue yesterday afternoon. It was absolutely delicious and my first real meal since Thursday!
Food aversions: Cheeseburgers, since that gave me the food poisoning. Bleh.

Gender: It's a BOY!

Symptoms: Round Ligament Pain - specifically a pain low on the left side. Vivid dreams. Feeling dizzy & off balance. Peeing all.the.time. All around excitement and joy.

Best moment this week: Putting the stroller my Mom got us together :) And we pick up our crib today! I have a separate post on the nursery.
What I am looking forward to: Making more progress on the house/nursery. We are almost done with the other house projects and then it's 100% nursery!

20 Weeks - halfway there!!!!

How far along: 20w or 5 months.

Total weight gain/loss: +9 pounds {I forgot to weigh myself this morning, so that's a guess}
How big is Baby: Baby is about the size of a cantaloupe, or 6.5 inches long. Next week, measurements change from crown to rump to head to toe.
Maternity Clothes: Definitely. I got a few things this weekend at Pea in a Pod with my gift card and I love them all. I even found a super cute maternity swimsuit for our Vegas trip.
Sleep: Sleep is okay. Still waking up several times a night to switch sides, and sometimes to pee.

Movement: Yes!! Lots of tapping. I am feeling him every day now and it's definitely baby and it's so super cool :)

Food cravings: Chicken. Cheeseburgers. Turkey & swiss sandwiches. Lemonade. Anything sweet.
Food aversions: Just raw meat.

Gender: It's a BOY!

Symptoms: Round Ligament Pain. Vivid dreams. Feeling dizzy & off balance. Peeing all.the.time. All around excitement and joy.

Best moment this week: Feeling baby boy moving for the first time - so amazing. Shopping with my Mom. She is so excited for her first grandchild and he is spoiled already :)
What I am looking forward to: Making more progress on the nursery. Our upcoming vacations.

Wow. 20 weeks. I never thought I would get pregnant, let alone make it to 20 weeks. It's just so crazy to think about. It makes all of the pain, despair, worry and injections worth it. I wouldn't want to go through what we did if I had a choice {obviously}, but I definitely don't regret it. The love I have for our baby boy already overwhelms me. We set up a G.mail account for him when we first found out IUI #4 worked. I was emailing him today and I signed it "Mom." That blew my mind. I am a Mom and Nick is a Dad. Crazy exciting stuff.

xoxo,
Megan

He's really in there!

I am sitting here at work and I'm feeling baby boy moving around! I have felt little pops before, but this was definitely baby moving. EEEEEEEE!!!! This is the coolest thing ever :) I am crying, overwhelmed by emotion. I cannot believe our baby is in there, kicking around. Wow, wow, wow.

xoxo,
Megan

19 Weeks - I'm sick. Boo.

Forgive my puffy face. I picked up a terrible cold/cough from my family in AZ :(

How far along: 19w.

Total weight gain/loss: +8 pounds
How big is Baby: Baby is about the size of a mango, or 6 inches long!
Maternity Clothes: Yes! I need more shirts. Shopping trip this weekend :)
Sleep: Sleep is okay. Still waking up several times a night to switch sides, and sometimes to pee.

Movement: Still nothing definite, just some popping/bubbly feelings. Dr. L has assured me that it's coming very soon!

Food cravings: Chicken strips. Carne asada. Turkey & swiss sandwiches.
Food aversions: Just raw meat. I can't handle it so I still haven't started cooking again.

Gender: It's a BOY!

Symptoms: Round Ligament Pain. Morning sickness. Vivid, weird dreams. Feeling dizzy & off balance. Peeing all.the.time.

Best moment this week: Our anatomy scan. Watching Nick talk to baby. He calls him "poofy" because babies have those adorable fat rolls on their arms & legs :)
What I am looking forward to: Feeling more movement!!! Swimming. I have always loved to swim and can't wait to start again.

I cannot believe I am 19 weeks!!! Just one more week to the half-way mark. Wow. I am really enjoying this pregnancy. I wouldn't trade anything for this experience and I am just so thankful each and every day to be here. We are planning a few weekend trips before his arrival; to see family in Ojai in a few weeks, with friends to the San Diego Wild Animal Park and just the two of us up to San Francisco, our favorite weekend getaway spot, for a "baby moon." Life is good.

Anatomy Scan

We had our anatomy scan yesterday at 18w4d. Everything looked great and baby boy {definitely still a boy!} was moving all around. I am still not feeling definite movement, just some popping bubble-like things. I loved seeing his hands and feet so clearly. I can't wait to kiss them in five months! All organs looked normal. Head, arms and legs were measuring great, with the head measurement a little ahead. Pretty funny because my side of the family is known as the "Big Head Family." The tech did say I will likely have another ultrasound around 28 weeks to be sure my placenta is moving off of my cervix. Okay by me... another chance to see our little man :)

I also had my monthly OB appointment with Dr. L. I have caught up on my weight gain and I'm up a total of 8 lbs. She confirmed all tests have come back normal and negative. It was a pretty uneventful appointment, but I do have a funny story. I was asking Dr. L about her policy on how long she goes past the due date. She said she prefers not to go past 41 weeks, and if I agree to it, will try to move things along beginning in week 39. Then Nick speaks up and says "Well, I am okay with 39 weeks." You should have seen mine and Dr. L's faces! We were laughing and giving him a hard time, asking if it's been uncomfortable for him. Oh, how he cracks me up.

Switching topics - we have narrowed our name list to five names that we both like!!!! It's a start and that makes this type A girl very happy :)

We got a few cute profile shots.

xoxo,
Megan