live fully

although "getting stuff done" and work is important for many reasons—I never want to look back and feel like my life flew by without many significant meaningful experiences. I use monday through friday for work and the two days that the weekend brings is my time to enjoy and relax. really that's only 104 days out of 365 each year and sometimes it takes a while to unwind from the week or even prep for the week so now we're at 52 days. sheesh.

moral of the story: we're not here on this earth to only work. there are many more experiences to have, people to laugh with and enjoy your time. life's too short to not take a vacation (without your laptop) or mostly enjoy yourself on a weekly basis. most importantly be happy you have a life to live... and live it FULLY. :o)

24 weeks: starting month 6

this baby is going to be here before we know it!

not too much has been happening—baby has been kicking up a storm. she's still fairly small only over 1lb, I just wonder how these kicks are going to feel when she's 5x the size! the best way to describe a kick is you feel a quick pound whether it the front or back but then it kinda vibrates throughout your abdomen. very unique feeling. I need to start counting her kicks but usually I'll feel about 10 in a row, when she's active, in about 5 mins. she's a squiggler. :o)

we leave for our mini-weekend getaway tomorrow and can't wait to get away for a couple days! I'm not bringing my laptop, so I'm praying nothing goes up in flames friday :)—need to free myself from the day-to-day sitting at a computer regimen and enjoy the beautiful outdoors and sites with my husband and friends.

my 25-week pic will be taken by the ocean! LOVE.

(size of an ear of corn,
click on the image to see it full size)

cravings: I crave nothing—it's annoying trying to find something to eat.

aversions: ? greasy food—just don't like it right now.

what's baby up to?

baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. that puts her at just over a pound. since she's almost a foot long, she cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but her body is filling out proportionally and she'll soon start to plump up. her brain is also growing quickly now, and taste buds are continuing to develop. her lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help her air sacs inflate once she hits the outside world. baby's skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.

so true

being in the art/marketing/advertising industry there's a lot of pressure to be creative all the time. just like those who don't have a creative bone in their body this isn't an easy task by any means. it is a lot of revaluating of your work and thinking beyond the norm. I hate the phrase "think outside the box"... since the box is always what ends up getting chosen or accepted. but if you always follow the accepted you forget how to be different or how to be creative.

the moral is: you may fail by not always having your ideas chosen, but every once and a while you may strike creative genius—and that's what makes it worth it.

23 weeks: registry is done!

so after much research, reviews and consumer report ratings I feel one step closer to being a baby expert. but of course there's nothing like experience so I can't really call myself an expert just yet, but I at least don't feel overwhelmed in not knowing what you need or what things are used for. I started registering at Babies R' Us (BRU) but then realized they didn't have certain "must have" items I had in mind. I tricked mark into going to buybuyBABY (BBB) and found the perfect crib set along with a couple other items that BRU wasn't carrying. so ultimately the store we are going with is BBB—I felt everyone was very knowledgeable and helpful too. and they're owned by Bed Bath and Beyond and always have 20% coupons on hand!

then of course if you know me well—I love Amazon.com. although I love shopping and seeing things in person and checking if quality holds up, I prefer online shopping 7x out of 10. since I had already browsed BRU and BBB in person I picked up on the brands I really liked and thought they had good value—so it made making an online registry that much easier. :) amazon BABY also has a universal registry button where I add any item from any web site. so the couple items I love at potterybarn kids  or the bumbleride indie stroller that isn't listed anywhere else still can be added. another great thing is that they let you prioritize items into "must have", "like to have" or "nice to have". we all know with registries there are things you really need and things that just catch your eye, so it's great to mark what is more important.

I feel great having all my favorite items in one place. some things do overlap—we still wanted to give the option to those that love traditional shopping at BBB. ultimately, this wish list is to help with preferences and if better deals are to be found on the same item I say go for it! I'm all about deals and saving—coupons are free money :) amazon BABY gives you the option to mark things completed even if you bought it elsewhere.

so here are links to our registries:

please offer any advice on items. my good friend aubrey offered great advice and things I was missing and things that I didn't even think of. if there's something you swear by let us know!

so enough about baby gear. I keep looking at my pictures and this week's especially I can't believe how big my bump is. definitely don't feel like I'm lugging around that much more weight... honestly it feels more like something is slowing blowing up my belly with air vs. a lil person.

miss baby girl is kicking a lot more often and was actually able to see the vibration of a kick while I was watching her one night. mark caught it too and got weirded out—gotta love my husband. every time he puts his hand to feel kicks she ends up stopping—so she either loves daddy being so close or she's not sure what's going on. i'm sure once she gets bigger we'll be able to feel it better.

well that's all for now. next week is our trip to new hampshire and maine to visit mark's friends—hopefully it warms up by then!

(still the size of a papaya,
click on the image to see it full size)

cravings: geez I like dessert a lot. I made mark go buy me a dutch apple pie and french vanilla bean ice cream sunday night. it hit the spot, but I would like to crave veggies again. now that I've admitted it and I need to do better.
aversions: overall, other than dessert it's hard to decide on what to eat. everything falls into the "ehhh ok I guess I'll eat it" category.

what's baby up to?
baby's little face is fully formed...minus the baby fat, of course. if I turned on the radio and swayed to the music, with her sense of movement well developed by now, our baby can feel me dance. and now with her being more than 11 inches long and weighing just over a pound, I may be able to see her squirm underneath my clothes. blood vessels in her lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing her for entry into the outside world. loud noises that become familiar now—such as your dog barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner—probably won't faze her when she hears them outside the womb.

good design

this just makes me laugh, because it's so true.

apple blossoms

I always look forward to this time of year because these trees are in bloom. always puts a smile on my face as I walk past them and get the scent of their sweet smelling flowers—one of my favorite things on this earth. would love yard full of them!

22 weeks: it's a girl!

it's a girl! it's a girl! (michele) it's... a... guuuurrrrllll. (mark) haha. daddy may have shown a bit of defeat when he found out he's having a lil girl, but he truly is happy. we're competitive and if he would have gotten his boy my reaction may have been more like his :) we're so happy that baby is healthy and growing!

miss baby prather is about 14oz (almost a pound!) and according to the tech everything looks good with the amniotic fluid too. (not really sure what she was checking for, but glad it's good.) baby was facing downward and had her feet curled up around almost by her head and must have been tired because she kept yawning. so fun to see!

mark also got to finally meet dr. perlis, who's my usual gyno and will be our regular OB. her name is also michele and she is pretty funny—she had mark laughing most of the time too. i've gained 6lbs since my first visit in february and she expects me to gain about 20lbs total. sounds fine to me! our next appointment won't be till the end of may.

we started phase one of painting our home, so our house is a bit crazy with all our furniture shoved into the second bedroom and everything else in our bedroom. can't wait to have the main area done! I feel helpless because mark doesn't want me helping with painting... so I have had brush/roller cleaning duty and taping which really is minor. We made good traction this weekend just some trim to complete this week. thinking about baby's room... I'm not allowed any pink on the walls... which is fine. lucky for mark I really don't love pink :) but we're still going to go with a navy and light pink scheme though!

had a great mommy-to-be mother's day :) baby even got me a card and pretty flowers :) that's all for now! can't wait to shop for cute lil dresses and fuffy bows! haha.

cravings: lately, I like cereal. again cereal is one of those things that I haven't liked for quite a while, but I've probably happily eaten more bowls of cereal in the past month than I have in the past 5 years. apparently baby likes to get her calcium and whole grain!
aversions: none. i may be past the "things make me sick phase

what's baby up to?
need to watch what we say—baby is now able to hear outside noise from down in the womb. studies have show that baby finds gentle music and my own voice most soothing. nipples are starting to sprout, and that little face is fully formed. and, baby's starting to settle into sleep cycles, snoozing about 12 to 14 hours a day. to figure out when—I just pay attention to those kicks as they start and stop.

all time greatest mom

new ending

baby reveal live

baby prather from Michele Prather on Vimeo.

we asked our ultrasound tech to determine the sex of the baby but not to tell us during the appointment. she put the "it's a boy/girl" card in an envelope where you'll see us opening the result with our families. mark's parents, jeff and sue are on the phone and my sis and dad are with us.

mark's reaction is hilarious :) i've been waiting too long to hear the news so I'm beyond super excited :)

it's a...

21 weeks: today's the big day!!!

nothing much has happened this week, really just looking forward to our appointment tonight! I've been counting down the days and now hours to know what baby is. it'll be nice not to refer to baby as "it" anymore and to start giving baby a name!

and of course we'll be able to start shopping without completely guessing or keeping things neutral. we're very happy either way and hope baby is healthy and comfy in there :)

we'll wait till after the appointment to do the big reveal. we're going to ask the ultrasound tech to place in an envelope whether it's a girl/boy and then get mark's family on the phone while we're at my dad's to open the surprise. we'll post something soon!!

cravings: I'm trying to limit the amount of dessert and sweets this week especially since last weekend was Easter :)
aversions: ?

what's baby up to?
baby gulps down several ounces of amniotic fluid every day, both for hydration and nutrition and to practice swallowing and digesting. and, these days, those taste buds actually work! studies show that after birth, babies are most interested in tastes they've already experienced through amniotic fluid. meaning, I need think about what I want our future child to eat as I prepare my own lunch.