19 weeks today!

19 weeks... almost 20... which means almost half-way done. How did that happen?? Time has flown, and it's getting away from me... and there's still so much to dooooo!

As always, no 19week picture as of yet, but I do have 18weeks 3 days to share:

So my birthday was April 21st, so leave it to my mother and my sister to get me baby-related items as presents. Not that it bothers me, since they're items I wanted anyway, but it was a very baby-filled birthday, that's for sure. In addition to my first round of maternity clothes, my mom bought me the Vera Bradley Baby Bag:

My sister, on the other hand, though practical, went for the more cute route, and bought me a bib from ThinkGeek:

Earlier last week I was on full-out baby mode. I don't know why, but I got a lot accomplished. Like signing up for childbirthing classes. They're offered at our hospital and there are 3 course options: 5-weeks, 1 weekend or a condensed 1 day course. After doing my research, we decided on the more spread out 5-week course as close to the due date as we could schedule so that we would retain as much information as possible. It started in the middle of July, runs into August, on Wednesdays from 7pm-9pm. Pretty excited for it.

Also in my BOTB madness, I started looking into nursery ideas, and I think I've narrowed down what I would like to use for each. Sadly, there aren't many options out there for girl nurseries that I'm down with, so for a girl I've settled on Hello Kitty:

And there are SO many more ideas for boys out there... or maybe I'm just anti-pink? I don't know, but I think the Turtles are really cute:

Once we find out the gender tomorrow (!!!!) we'll be able to focus more on the registry and the nursery planning, but in the meantime we're working on condensing everything in the house and cleaning out the guest room to make room for our new addition. Sadly, I can't lift much these days, but we did make a pretty good dent yesterday. As of now the guest room is sans furniture other than my dresser, which will eventually be moved into our bedroom as soon as we rearrange the furniture in there.

I have to say, though, that right now my two biggest gripes about being pregnant are my skin and my weight gain. I know, I know, there both hormonal side-effects, and things could be worse, but still... I'm someone who has had issues with my skin and weight forever, and this being pregnant thing isn't doing much for the self-esteem. I would love to have the outlook that once the baby is born it'll get better, but I really don't know if that's going to be an option. But for now, I'm doing what I can - I'm using Belli's face wash in the shower, Philosophy's Hope in a Jar as my moisturizer after, and I've found a Tea Tree gel from The Body Shop for spot treatment... I mean I guess I should be thankful that the problem area is my chest and not so much my face, but it's still not pretty to look at.

As for my weight, I've been trying to be as active as I can be - I make sure to take Loki for his walk every afternoon once I get home from work, and if the weather would be more forgiving I would head over to Pond Meadow at least once a week. I'm still trying to fit yoga into my routine... time and money have been a big factor. I also need a new mat (Mandukas are out, so maybe this one?)because there's NO WAY I can stay comfy on my old one at this point. Also, I just don't know if I was to go to Open Doors for yoga... I haven't had a very good track record sticking with their classes, and I just need to rationalize $14 for a drop-in.

Of course, after the Moms Night Out my mother and I attended this past week in honor of Mothers Day, I have learned there is a Women's Health center specializing in pre- and post-natal activity. It's in Norwell, and though its a little bit further than Weymouth, I'm intrigued. They're having an open house this coming week, so it might be something to check out, pending the class times and schedule.

Regarding the Moms Night Out, it was at our local mall, and it was ok - there were a couple of vendors there, but not as much swag as I would have liked. I did get my make-up done, so that was nice, and I found out about the yoga place in Norwell, so that was a plus, but other than that, eh, not that impressed. My mom, however, is amazing, and brought me to the maternity store in the mall and bought me MY Mothers Day present... really not what I was expecting, but I'm thankful for it just the same.

I will admit, though - I still feel slightly guilty for accepting Mothers Day gifts/cards/greetings. I mean, I know I'm a Mom-To-Be... but does that still make me a mom at this point? I want to say yes... since the end result is inevitable... but I dunno, I feel like I'm taking advantage of something that's not mine yet... I dunno, I'm weird.

Anyway, speaking of Mothers Day, that's today, and so far we have a jam-packed day of stuff with both of our mothers... should be fun, and the next year I'll feel more like I'll have some weight in decision making. :)

So, HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!!