Maternity Photos

A friend of mine, Tiffany, of Anor Photography, offered to do maternity pictures at about 36 weeks.  We hadn't even thought about doing them, but they turned out beautifully, and I am so glad that we have them now!  Its a little late, but I wanted to share them with you.  This past weekend, we went over to her house and did newborn pictures with her and another photographer, Bekah Bowman, of Bekah Bowman Photography.  They both wanted to practice on a newborn, and I never pass up on pictures!  Anyhow, here is the video of the maternity shoot.  I can't decide which is my favorite, they are all so good!  

 

He's Here!

Bumblebee has arrived, for all of you out there wondering.  He is 9 days old today, actually.  We are still working on getting settled and into a routine, so I haven't been on the computer AT ALL.  Everything has been done from my phone (love that thing!).  SO... details!

Name:  Jacob Truett Dean Pittman

Born:  Friday, August 26, 2011 at 6:33 am

Weight:  8 pounds, 6.3 ounces

Length:  20 inches

I will tell the whole story soon, I promise!  I'm working on getting pictures off of the camera and posted to facebook currently.  For now, here's one to tease you with!

 

34-35 weeks

 
Pregnancy Highlights:  I am getting things ready!  All the baby clothes are washed, and today I'm working on packing the hospital bag.

How Far Along: 35 weeks

Size of Baby: Baby Bumblebee now weighs approximately 5 1/4 lbs, and is about 18 inches long.   

Total Weight Gain/Loss: So far, I think we're about 30 pound total gain.

Maternity Clothes: I am down to a pair of shorts, a couple dresses, and my maternity capris and shirts.  This baby needs to come soon, or I'm going to run out of appropriate clothing!
 
Gender: It's a BOY! And I am pretty sure we have a name!  But don't bother asking, because we are not giving hints.  Nope, not even a little one.  Sorry MOM!  Well, okay, one...  He'll be named after someone in one of our families, keeping in tradition with the girls' names. 

Movement: Bumblebee is very active, especially at night.  He is moving around a lot between 10 and 2 at night.  Scott always says it looks like an alien trying to come out of my stomach because it just bobbles around. 

Sleep: Sleep has been better since the doctor prescribed Ambien.  I don't take it every night, but I can tell when I'm going to need it, and it works well.  I tried Tylenol PM and it does not work for me.
 
What I miss:  Being able to move around easily!

Cravings: Pizza and hot dogs.  I know, healthy, right?!  I actually tried to avoid the hot dog one day and had a salad instead, and it upset my stomach!  Guess I should listen better. 

Symptoms: I am experiencing some swelling in the ankles and wrists.  Its very unpredictable.  When it happens, I have tingling and difficulty sleeping, so I was sleeping almost sitting up in bed for a few nights.  Not much appetite, either.

Best Moment This Week: Bella and Bianca are very excited to meet this little boy.  We took them with us to the hospital tour, and that made it a bit more real to them.  Bella keeps telling me that she 'just wants to hold him!'  and Bianca has it all figured out...  Daddy will push the stroller and Mommy will hold the girls' hands.  She asks a lot of questions, like can he sleep in her room, will he stay with me during church, and she's very excited to be able to teach him all sorts of things, like swimming! 

Medically:  We are seeing the perinatologist weekly, and the ob every other week (we start our weekly visits this week!) . This week we will be having a growth scan to see how baby Bumblebee is doing growth wise. 
Refer to week 17 post for the perinatologist appointment about the Prothrombin/Factor II Mutation.

30-32 weeks

past 10 pm on 100 degree day!

Pregnancy Highlights:  We're getting closer.  Still a very active baby, especially between 10pm and 2 am.  We started and pretty much finished our baby registries at Target and Babies R Us in about 2 days (an advantage of doing one for the third child - you know what you want!)

How Far Along: 32 weeks

Size of Baby: Baby Bumblebee now weighs approximately 3.75 lbs (but peri estimated weight to be at 4 lbs 6 oz a week ago!), and is about 16.7 inches long (probably longer, he measured a week ahead).   

Total Weight Gain/Loss: So far, I think we're about 25 pound total gain.

Maternity Clothes: I am pretty round in the tummy, and my shorts are getting a bit more fitted than I'm used to.
 
Gender: It's a BOY! And I am pretty sure we have a name!  But don't bother asking, because we are not giving hints.  Nope, not even a little one.  Sorry MOM!  Well, okay, one...  He'll be named after someone in one of our families, keeping in tradition with the girls' names. 

Movement: Bumblebee is very active, especially at night.  He is moving around a lot between 10 and 2 at night.  The doctor was surprised at how active he was during the biophysical profile we had a few weeks ago, when he was actually awake for it. 

Sleep: Sleep, oh how I miss sleep!  I have been super tired, but can't seem to sleep.  I wake up every hour feeling like I need to visit the bathroom, but then I don't really need to, its just that he is on my bladder like a trampoline!  I also have to have a snack around 2 or 3, if I'm going to sleep anymore the rest of the night.  
 
What I miss:  Umm, sleep!

Cravings: Not much lately.

Symptoms: I am tired and irritable lately.  I'm feeling the weight of the pregnancy in my back and hips.  And I really want to start organizing things to get ready, but I have no where to put anything at this point!

Best Moment This Week: Bianca is very interested suddenly in how we will care for the baby.  I have shown her many times how to properly hold her baby doll, how to feed (nurse) her, and how to wrap her up in a blanket.  She also says that the baby's name is Bumblebee, and that's what she will be calling him when he is born.  I tried to explain to her that we would give him a new name, but she said she would continue to call him Bumblebee because she doesn't know what his new name will be! 

Medically:  We are seeing the perinatologist weekly, and the ob every other week (though I think this is our last week for that, then weekly).  The perinatologist appointment is for a biophysical profile, and they recently did a growth scan at 31 weeks, 4 days, where baby Bumblebee measured 32 weeks 3 days.  The biophysical profile is basically an ultrasound where they are looking for breathing practice movements and a few good wiggles.  They also measure the amniotic fluid level. 
Refer to week 17 post for the perinatologist appointment about the Prothrombin/Factor II Mutation.

Garden Pasta Salad

I have been in a recipe rut!  With the transition from winter to spring to summer, my foods usually change, but I haven't been so good at that since I have not been the one doing the grocery shopping (THANK YOU, Delia!).  This week, I was on my own.  I perused my recipe box, found some fresh garden sides, made my list, and went shopping!  Next time I will shop for a shorter period of time.  I did a week of groceries, and even with Bella helping push the cart, and both girls putting stuff in for me, I still managed to start contracting, and have been a little uncomfortable ever since.  Of course, my uterus became irritated after it took 2 hours to get it all!  She still won't settle down, and then Bumblebee gets irritated from that, starts squirming, and they just go back and forth.  Its not too bad, knowing that this may be what it takes for me to go into labor on my own, except for sleep...  but I digress!

photo courtesy of Red Gold

One of the recipes I dug out is from way back at the beginning of our marriage.  We lived in a small town in Indiana, called Alexandria.  Its sister town was Orestes, which is known for its tomato fields and for serving as the corporate headquarters of Red Gold.  Many people we knew there were employed through Red Gold, and I have been a loyal customer ever since.  Red Gold is a family owned business, and though it isn't local to me here in Kansas, I still feel that I should buy that brand whenever possible! (I'm loyal, what can I say?!)  I have never been disappointed in a dish made with the Red Gold product.  So the recipe I found was from a can of Red Gold Diced Tomatoes.  Its been SOME TIME since I've made it, but it was delicious!  The only thing I would add is cheese (and I see they have added that as an option).  Chunky cheese cubes.    It is fresh, cold, and yummy!

Following is the recipe copy and pasted from the Red Gold website.  Take some time to peruse the site, there are lots of recipes there!

Recipe Overview:

Servings:	8
Preparation Time:	25 minutes
Cook Time:	0 minutes

photo courtesy of Red Gold

Ingredients

1		(12 ounce) package		tri-color spiral pasta
1/2		cup		sliced carrots
2				celery stalks, chopped
1/2		cup		chopped green bell pepper
1/2		cup		chopped red bell pepper
1/2		cup		peeled and thinly sliced cucumber
1/4		cup		chopped onion
2		(14.5 ounce) can		Red Gold® Diced Tomatoes, drained or 2 (14.5 ounce) cans Red Gold® Petite Diced Tomatoes, drained
1		(8 ounce) bottle		fat free Italian salad dressing

Directions:

• In a large pan cook pasta in boiling water until tender; rinse under cold water and drain. In a large bowl combine carrots, celery, peppers, cucumber, onion and RED GOLD® DICED TOMATOES . Pour dressing over mixture; toss until evenly coated. Chill until ready to serve.
• Variation: For another texture and flavor add ¾ cup of shredded Mozzarella cheese before adding the dressing.
• This zesty pasta salad is bursting with flavor and is liberally dotted with lots of crunch vegetables.

Nutritional facts per serving:

Calories 200 Fat 1.00g Trans Fat 0.00g Cholesterol 0.00mg Sodium 290.00mg Carbohydrate 42.00g

Fiber 4.00g Protein 7.00g Vitamin A 120% Vitamin C 40% Calcium 4% Iron 15%

Cooking Hint:

To seed a cucumber, first halve it lengthwise. Use the tip of a spoon to scrape the seeds from each half. If you have a grapefruit spoon, you will find that the sharp tip works well for this task.

Special Diets:

Low Fat
Vegetarian

A Little Boy's Prayers Are Answered!

If you have been with me for a couple months, you will remember my posts about Vanya.  Vanya is a little boy in an orphanage in Ukraine who asks every day if his family is coming to get him.  I'm excited to say that he is about to hear the answer he has hoped for for so long tomorrow!  Vanya's family is going to meet him!  He doesn't yet know that they are coming.  Here is a short conversation from Vanya: 


The  director asked Vanya,  “What if a family was coming for you?” and he got very excited.  She then asked, “What if they came from a different country and didn’t speak your language even?”  and he said “That’s OK, my momma and papa will teach me.” 

God is answering this little boy's prayer!  He has worked in His ways to bring this little boy the family he has always wanted, one who will show him Christ's love.  What an answer to so many prayers from around the world!  Though in our earthly eyes, time was running short for Vanya, God knew just the right timing for him.  To Him be the Glory!

To keep up with Vanya and his new family, follow their blog at  

6 Fishies

Essential Baby Products... I'm out of the loop!

Its been three almost 4 years since I had a baby.  And I KNOW that there are new things out there on the market since Bianca was a newborn.  We decided to reduce our amount of baby items when moving out to Pennsylvania from Indianapolis a few years ago, so we have a very used pack-n-play and a Baby Einstein stationary walker.  That's about it as far as equipment.  I got rid of almost everything else, except the girls' clothes and my baby sling.  So I'm wondering what is the good stuff on the market now?

I tend to be a minimalist when it comes to stuff.  I have been very blessed when it comes to baby boy clothing.  This little boy has more clothes than his Daddy and I together!  My sister gave me a lot of stuff, up to size 2T, and my mom and I struck gold on two friends who recently had baby boys and were selling their clothing.  (Thanks, Val and Jessica!)  We have a few blankets from the girls that will cross over, but most of them were pink or purple.

So in thinking over what I think we need, here's what I come up with.  My pregnancy brain will probably leave some things out, so just comment on what I'm forgetting!

• Carseat
• stroller
• a few bottles
• breast pump
• bassinet (maybe)
• pack-n-play (maybe)
• blankets
• cloth diapers 
• monitor

Now, I'm sure that there are plenty of other things that could be considered a need, but this is my list of absolute needs.  I could add many things to it, but I want to know what products YOU love!  And if there is one on that list that you could recommend, that would be greatly appreciated.  I really feel like a first timer with all of this stuff.  I really haven't spent much time looking at it this time around, and I don't know what is out there.

I do have a dream stroller, if we decide to not go with a double.  (that's a debate.. Bianca will just be 4, and we're not sure if we'll have one more or not, so...)  If money were no issue, I'd probably go with a Bug a Boo, they are so versatile, but they are also very pricey!  I would love to have a stroller that allows baby to face either direction (forward, or towards me) at any age, but the cheapest one I can find is Graco's newest model, the Graco Signature Series 3-in-1 Modular Stroller, coming in at $299.  Still a bit high, in my opinion.  I like a lot about it, except that it appears that in order to fold it up, the seat has to be removed.  I'm curious as to how easy that is to accomplish.

Moby Wrap

Baby K'tan

Maya Ring Sling

One other item that I am thinking of is the Moby Wrap.  I used my Maya Ring Sling excessively with Bianca, but at times it was difficult for me to get adjusted and comfortable.  I am also thinking about the Baby K'tan.  I'm not sure what would be more useful, and I know that everyone has their opinions, so please share them!  I know that I prefer babywearing over a stroller in the beginning, just to keep hands off of baby (though that doesn't stop everyone!), so I do the newborn snuggle carry a lot.  With Bianca, she was not a snuggler, so after she was aware of her ability to move around, she was not thrilled with the carrier, and we didn't use it long enough to even do the hip carry.  I'm hoping Bumblebee will be more apt to liking the carrier longer.  So what do you think?  Or is there one that you like better that I have not mentioned?

Please share your essential baby items and preferred models!  I'm starting my research a bit late compared to my previous experience, and am taking suggestions :)

All pictures are credited to Amazon.com or the website linked in the picture caption.