Friday, August 19, 2011

Baby Bump 32 Weeks



Here is Jicama which Baby Center says is the size of Baby H this week. I have no idea what this fruit (is it a fruit?) is but it weights 3.37 pounds just like Baby H. She is about 16.5 inches long which is sounding and feeling really big to me. She now has toenails, fingernails, and hair. I wonder if Baby H will come out with hair. I just can't picture her to have dark hair because Zann and I both had light hair as babies but who knows.

I am still feeling pretty good I would say for being almost in my 34 week of pregnancy. But I am definately starting to feel the strain of pregnancy also.

My body just gets tired and I feel like I am lugging around a bag of bricks with me sometimes during the day. I started back at work last week and the kiddos came this week. Luckily I don't have a class or I would be not functioning come 3:00 every day. I am still getting my work out walking between buildings and subbing for teachers while they do testing. After working all day then coming home and doing the normal house chores and fixing dinner and cleaning up for the night I am spent by 9:00 and my back feel like all the bones in it are breaking.

When I am asleep I think I am sleeping pretty hard but I have been getting up many times a night to use the bathroom and to roll myself over.  Our bed is pretty low to the ground since it is a European bed and it takes every ounce of strength in my arms to push myself off my side to stand up. I count that as my work out for the day. I have been doing stretches every morning when I wake up and at night before bed. Yesterday I tried a pregnancy yoga dvd and it felt really good. I am hoping the doctor can write me a prescription for a massage or something next week.

I go to the doctor on Monday and I am very excited to hear what she has to say. I feel like Baby H is pretty low down and have notice I am doing more waddling than walking so we will see if that true. I haven't been to the doctor in 5 weeks because of the scheduling of the appointments from when we were gone in the US for so long. This is the longest we have gone with out seeing a picture of Baby H. I miss seeing her. Hopefully we can get a good picture to bring home this time. And hopefully the scale hasn't tilted too much since it has been 5 weeks since I last got weighed.

Zann has vowed to finish the dresser this weekend. I am dying to get all our baby thing organized so we can see what we still need. So hopefully that will happen so we can put everything together to see what needs to go on the walls. Pictures to come when we make some progress.

Baby H has now been out of the country two more times. We took a trip to Stockholm a couple weekends ago and went to Germany for the day last weekend. We went to go do some shopping but the traffic was so bad getting there we decided just to relax and eat lunch. We will be going back soon though. We looked at the diapers at the store here and they are super expensive. Like 29 chf for 45 diapers and 2-3 chf per jar or baby food. Convert that to dollars and its even more. So Germany it will be for baby products.

Here we are at 32 weeks after a long day at work.



Here is baby H standing over the border of Switzerland and Germany

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Baby Bump 31 Weeks

Well officially less than 10 weeks until Baby Hawkins makes her big arrival. I am 31 weeks as of this past Monday.
Size of baby: BabyGirl is about 3 1/2 pounds which according to my weekly updates is the weight of 4 naval oranges. So next time you buy a bag of oranges you can think of my carrying that around in my stomach right now :)
Baby Development: BabyGirl can now turn her head from side to side and is beginning to gain fat on her arms and legs. She is about to head into a big growth spurt.

I have been feeling pretty good lately. Still tired sometimes but I have been sleeping in more so that has helped. But back to reality tomorrow with school starting.

Falling asleep and staying asleep has not been so easy. I think we have a night owl little girl. Right when I get into bed she begins her little night time party. Her movements are so strong now I can't fall asleep then sometimes they wake me up in the middle of the night. She is moving like a wild woman and getting the hiccups alot. I tried to take a video of her rolling around and making my stomach move today which was pretty funny.

I have been the hungry hungry hippo these past two weeks and thanks to the amount of ice cream I have been eating am looking like that hippo also. But we were on vacation in Stockholm and then it was nice weather and the end of summer so every day had to be celebrated with ice cream. I didn't really have any cravings that were too strong the whole time being pregnant but two days this week I woke up at 5am NEEDING apple juice and a cake pop. Well we didn't have either of those things but it was all I could think about until about 2 in the afternoon. Maybe Liz will surprise me and fly over with her cake pop maker!

So I'm annoyed because Blogger keeps rotating my pictures the wrong way even though they are saved flipped. If you know how to fix this please let me know!! Well here we are at 30 and 31 weeks.
30 Weeks
 31 Weeks

In other baby news, we are starting to get organized a little bit. The baby room is still a mess with everything in the crib but Zann has been working hard sanding and paiting the dresser. I am waiting on him to finish this I have somewhere to put the clothes when I was them. I also painted the little table we have to go next to the glider.
Our sweet friends have also dropped off some baby items they are so graciously letting us borrow this week. It makes it seem so real to have baby things in every room now :)
Z hard at work in a room full of dust.

The mess that will soon be where baby sleeps.

Here is a little peak of BabyGirl's beautiful bedding from her Sullivan Grandparents (we are still working on their names). I just love it and can't wait to see it all put together.

We also received the daycare packet from the pICSies (pronounced Pixies). It was weird to already have to think about daycare before she is born but my school has a wonderful daycare with just a couple kids and fabulous girls that work there.

Tomorrow is back to work for me. We have teacher work days this week and then children come back on Wednesday. I think I will be one tired girl at the end of the day!

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Baby Shower for Baby Hawkins

These three ladies are amazing!! While I was home in Virginia they threw baby Hawkins the most beautiful and thoughtful baby shower. They are the best friends a girl could ask for and I am so happy we have stayed so close since highschool.

The two mamas to be due two days apart with the beautiful arrangement of yummy food.

The cute cake for Baby Hawkins and Baby Whitworth with the best frosting ever!

It was such a nice day to celebrate the little babies coming and they were showered with some beautiful things :)

Here are some pictures from the day.


With the beautiful hostesses
The two mamas getting showered with precious baby things.



Tiny little shoes


Love my sister




I can't believe I didn't get a picture of my mom and I together.

Thanks again for such a great day ladies! xoxo

2 Years

On Monday we celebrated our two year anniversary. I can't believe it has been two years since we walked down the isle. These two years have flown by and we have nothing but great memories from them. When we were engaged we never dreamed that we would be living in another country and traveling all over. We sure have been on an adventure and are about to start another one with our little baby.

I love looking back at our wedding pictures and reliving the whole day and night. I am so thankful to my parents for giving us the perfect wedding and a party to remember!

I am so happy and feel so blessed the Lord chose Zann and I for each other. We look forward to all our years to come together.


To celebrate we went out for a night in Zurich. We went to a wine bar for an appetizer and a glass of champange to celebrate and then walked across the street to a great Italian restaurant for some pasta. And we are going to Stockholm this weekend to continue the celebration :)

Happy two years!

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Baby Bump- 29 Weeks

I have totally been out of blogging for way to long. I really hope to become better at keeping up with it especially when Baby Girl is born. From here on out I will try to post at least every week and maybe do some catch up posts.

How Far Along: 29 weeks. Welcome to the third trimester!! I know these last couple weeks will fly by with summer ending and school starting but I am sure by the end things will start to seem really long.

Size of baby: Baby Girl is the size of a butternut squash this week. Since week 25 she has gone from being a rutabaga to an English Hot House Cucumber (whatever that is) to a head of cauliflower then to a head of Chinese cabbage. I thought these were very interesting food picks for size. haha Baby Girl is now 2 and a half pounds and 15 inches long.

Baby Development:  The muscles and lungs are strengthening and the head is growing to make room for that big old brain :)

I have been feeling the baby move pretty regularly for a while now but all movements have been so much stronger in the past two weeks. Baby girl is very shy though and does not like to perform in front of other people. The whole time we were home everyone was trying to feel the baby move and as soon as I would feel her someone would put a hand on my stomach and she would stop. Susie, Jack, and Liz did get to feel some good kicks.

We went to the doctor last Wednesday and found out that the baby is head down (yay!!) and her feet are over on my right side. So I can now tell if it is a foot or hand moving. The movements are sometimes sudden kicks that shake my whole stomach and other times it feels like the little girl is trying to crawl out. The little stroking movements from her hands are the weirdest feeling. She mostly does that at night when I am trying to sleep on my side. Zann has felt it every night and we both agree it feels like an alien rubbing and poking inside me.

I have been sleeping pretty well besides getting up at least once a night still. It has become harder to roll over and get my pillows adjusted just right. This week I have been so tired though. I have been sleeping in until after 8 and then have taken a nap a couple days which is very unlike me. I think I have maybe taken 5 naps in the past two years and I have taken 2 already this week. So the tiredness definitely returned for the third trimester. I bet I will be exhausted after working all day soon.

I have been feeling great pretty much most of the time. I can tell moving around is slowly becoming more difficult. I now have to think about bending over and have been doing much more squatting to pick things up. I have made it to the gym twice this week and have gone on two long walks and those both felt great. My stomach does get really tight if I move too quickly or after walking for a while. Apparently those are Braxton hicks (practice contractions). When that happens my stomach gets sooo hard.

Luckily the doctor did not comment on my weight this time. He said that I gained the right amount since last time. I don't know how since I did not hold back at all during our three weeks in the US and ate out every meal for the last week we were there. But I'll take it. I loved getting some American food while we were home. We had our burger fix at Poe's no less than 3 times. I was a little behind discovering the serve yourself frozen yogurt places but when Candice and Mike took us for the first time in Charlotte, I was hooked. Our daily activities then revolved around when we could go get frozen yogurt. I so wish they had that in Switzerland! We have been having some pretty tasty Movenpick ice cream for dessert many nights though. I am so still hooked on fruit which I realized today how expensive it is becoming. Fresh fruit is not cheap to eat here and averaging 5 to 6 dollars a day on fruit alone for myself is adding up but it’s what we will do for now to keep me healthy.  

Here are growing belly pictures from the past couple weeks. I tried to do everything I know how to make the pictures turn but no luck. If anyone knows how let me know : )

24 Weeks


 Baby Hawkins getting some love from Erin T at 26 weeks on the 4th of July

28 Weeks after the doctor (The way I am holding my hands makes my belly look much smaller)
28 Weeks

29 Weeks on our 2 year anniversary

 Zann trying to make me laugh to stick out my belly

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Not Cherry Picking

After spending a rainy day inside yesterday we decided to get out of the house today and go cherry picking at Jucker Farm. We weren't sure what kind of adventure we were getting into by taking public transport  but decide to go for it. And to our surprise to was very easy!

When we got there we were greated by skies like this behind us and
 this in front of us.

The weather in Zurich has been crazy the past coulple days. It was predicted to rain almost every day last week then it would be bright, sunny and 85.  Today it was sunny sometimes then very couldy and windy with temps in the low 60s. This week the temperate is predicted to range betwenn 60 and 80. Crazy!

Anyway, back to Jucker Farm. After walking around for a bit we set off to pick cherries only to find out it was closed today. We never found out why because it said online they were open and a friend went last week. Then we tried to pick strawberries but they were clearly out of season since all the plants were covered in flowers.
So we decided to walk around the farm for a while then eat lunch.

Last week I was swear summer dresses sweating and now we are wearing a winter fleece and jacket.
Right as we were finishing lunch it started to rain so we ran for the train. Of course as soon as we got to the train it was bright and sunny again. Oh well, we loved the walking around the farm and can't wait to take the baby there in the fall!


Thursday, June 16, 2011

Baby Bump- 23 Weeks

How Far Along: 23 weeks or about 5 1/2 months.
Size of baby: Baby Girl is 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound.
Baby Development: She is developing blood vessels in her lungs to get her ready for breathing and noises are starting to become familiar.

Since last week we have been to the US and back for a wedding in Charleston. We had such a great time but it was a short trip. Baby girl has now been on 13 flights and  to 7 countries in my belly. She is sure going to be the world traveler! I didn't really feel any different flying while pregnant. The flight itself was fine except I had to get up to use the bathroom many more times. But my back was killing the day after and still is. I hope it is not a sign of what is to come.
I am feeling the baby move all the time and its so neat. I feel her the most at the end of the day when I am sitting down. I don't think we sat down the whole time we were in Charleston because we were so busy running around that I hardly felt her. Hopefully when we are back next week we can relax and everyone can feel her move. I think she has been lying with her head facing my back the past could days because I can feel the movement inside alot but haven't felt it on the outside as much.
In not so good news, my doctor told me last week that I have gained too much weight and I need to be on a strict diet now. Booooo on that!! I was devestated at first but have gotten over it after reading much more online. Swiss doctors are very conservative when it comes to weight gain and he said I should only gain 20 pounds total throughout my pregnany. All American website have given a slightly higher number. I am still on the high end for right now which I can't believe I have done but oh well. According to the doctor I should now have absolutely no carbs or sugar and stick to well cooked meat and fruit and veggies. Much easier said then done when working at a school where we have lunches and treats all the time. I decided not to start this while in Charleston but we have been eating tring to eat no carbs for dinner and I have been eating healthier lunches. Sweets have still been a problem though :) Its hard to resist when someone hands you a piece of chocolate cake when you are starving. I am hoping for a healthier summer where I actually will have time to exercise more instead of being dead tired after working 10 or 11 hours a day. And I will have more time to prepare healthier meals instead of packing a million snacks to bring to school. I am really going to miss the gummy candy we always have around the house and ice cream but I know I will be happier in the long run.
My mom and I have been working hard the past two weeks picking out bedding for the nursery. My mom is so sweet and patient to deal with everything I send her online. She has found someone in Arizona to make the bedding and my dad is bring over a rug for the room this week. We will hopefully have everything else by the end of the summer!

Look at this beautiful dress my fab roomie at school and her little girls gave Baby H today. Her twins picked out the design and a Swiss lady sewed it on the dress. I am going to miss those sweet girls and their mama when they move to Texas :)




All three pictures were taken on the same day but the bottom one looks much bigger to me. My belly has popped out for sure and I feel like it is growing quickly. Thank goodness Zann brought me back a bunch of maternity clothes when he went to the US two weeks ago.

As I am typing this I am watching Zann eat a bowl of ice cream with chocolate fudge. No fair!! In his defense, I did sit on the couch and watch him do P90X right before that.

Baby Bump 21 Weeks

How Far Along: 21 weeks

Size of baby: Baby Girl is 10 1/2 inches long which is about the size of a carrot and she weighs 10 1/2 ounces.
Baby Development: She now has eyebrows!
Gender: We were very happy to find out last week that the baby is a GIRL!!
Movement: I feel her move all the time. It feels like there is a trampoline in my stomach sometimes.
Sleep: I have been sleeping alright at night but still getting up at least once for the bathroom.
Cravings: Ice cream! I have felt myself getting full much faster lately though. I haven't been able to finish what I am eaing sometimes.
Symptoms: Chapped lips. I'm not sure that is even a symptom of pregnancy but no matter what I put on them they still feel so chapped.

We didn't get a picture at the beginning of the week because I was with my class on a field trip then as soon as I came back Zann left to go to his cousin's wedding in Columbia. So, I tried to get a picture the best I could in the mirror.

My belly is growing more and more everyday.



Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Its a Girl!

On our third time trying to tell if Baby H would be a girl or a boy we found out at 21 weeks we will be having a little GIRL!! We are so excited!
At my 20 week appointment, we went to a different doctor for a 3D scan. After not finding out at 16 weeks, we were certain we would be able to find out at 20 weeks. Well once again Baby H did not want to show.
At this appointment they also were looking at all of the organs. I was so nervous through all of that while he was looking at everything I almost forgot we were going to find out the sex. After about a 40 minute ultra sound I asked the doctor to check the sex and the baby had it's legs perfectly crossed at the kneess. We were able to see a very clear picture of both knees on top of each other. We were laughing at this point because wanted to know so much what the baby would be so go figure we wouldn't be able to tell. We tried everything we could to get the baby to move but no such luck.
The doctor was very nice and could tell we really wanted to know so he let us make an appointment for the following week.
Well we almost missed that appointment also because the bus on my field trip broke down but the doctor stayed open until 7 that night so we were able to make it. He said it wasn't the best picture but he couldn't see any boy parts so he was 99% sure we are having a GIRL. 99% was good enough for us to believe.
So lots of pink will be coming into this house!

20 Weeks. About to go into the doctor thinking we will find out boy or girl.

And no such luck :)

I am sad we don't have any pictures of when we actually found out but things didn't go as planned. I was planning on getting back from my field trip at 3 and going home to shower and changed into nice clothes so we could go out to dinner to celebrate. Well our bus broke down and we missed our 5:30 appointment. I litterally hopped off our new bus at the train station in my sweat pants and rain coat to run to the doctor to make it by 7. I was so exhausted from our trip and Zann was leaving the next morning for the US so we just came home and celebrated with some frozen pizza and I was in bed by 8:30. But most importantly we found out about our baby girl and she is healthy!

Monday, May 23, 2011

Baby Bump -20 Weeks (half way there!)

How Far Along: 20 Weeks. I can't believe I am half way there! It seems like the time has gone by so fast but at the same time I feel like I have been pregnant forever. Its hard/exciting to think in this same about of time we will have your precious little baby with us. That makes it seem fast but it feels like so long ago we were in London and found out we were expecting a baby and eating dinner with Liz D.
Night number 2 of knowing I was pregnant


Size of baby: Baby Hawkins is weighing in at about 10 1/2 ounces and is about 10 inches long from head to heel. So baby H is about the size of a banana. That seems alot bigger to me than a tomato but we'll take it :)

Baby Development: Baby H is starting to swallow more and getting it's metabolism going.

Gender: Only two more days until we might be able to find out. I seriously couldn't sleep last night I was so excited.

Movement: I have been feeling the baby move around all the time in the past week. It feels like bubbles popping in my stomach. Over the weekend I couldn't feel the baby that much but think he or she must have flipped around and was moving toward my back. Then tonight I think he or she flipped back because I felt some strong movements and Zann could for sure feel them on the outside of my stomach. Its just the neatest feeling!

Sleep: Still waking up at least once a night and I don't think that is going to go away. The other night I got the worst cramp in my leg and that kept me up for a while. When I woke up in the morning it felt like it was bruised or I have done about 1000 calf raises.
Cravings: Icecream, juice, and fruit. I just finished eating an ice cream brownie sundae with heath bar on top. Yum! I have also been making fruit smoothies for breakfast before school. I think this summer when its so hot I am going to live on ice cream and smoothies. I have also not been in the mood for any Asian food which I normally love. We have had it once and it tasted find once I started eating but I do not like the thought of it.
Symptoms: I am still feeling great. My stomach really feels like it is starting to stretch though. I have not been able to eat as much at one time. I have eaten too fast a couple time and eaten more than I should and then it feels like my stomach is going to burst open.
We are going to the doctor on Wednesday evening to see Baby H in 3D. I can not wait! I will post updates when we get back!


I feel like my stomach looks bigger in person. I was looking in the mirror and thought it looked bigger there but not so sure...


Wahooooo for making it to 20 weeks!!!