Baby Shower #1

First off, I just want to say thank you so much to my cousins, Denise, Diane and Megan for putting together a great family filled baby shower!

My first shower was in Bright, IN where my mom’s family is from. My grandma, aunts and cousin where there (minus a few). There was some delicious food and I took home some really fun decorated oneies for Sophie!

My three favorite things about this shower:

1.Four layer, different shades of Pink Cake

The cake was super cool! I don’t get too excited about cake, but this one, defiantly got the excitement going.




2.All the purple & pink decorations and the Lia Sophia Jewelry

When I said I wanted my shower girly, this is defiantly what I meant! And what a great touch for the tables, a little goodie bag with jewelry in it – now that’s girly!




3.The Team Edward onesie that my Cousin Anna made!

This was a great shower idea. Every one picked out an image that they could either color or just iron on a onesie. Then I got to pick my favorite one. There were A LOT of super cute onesie to choose from, but my heart couldn’t choose anything other than the Team Edward. (Yes, I do plan on reading Twilight to little Sophie on nights she doesn’t want to sleep – and because she is my daughter, she will love it and be team Edward too!)

Dear Robert

Dear Robert,

Since you wouldn't let me get you anything for our anniversary, I decided to write you a letter. So here goes...

I was only 18 when I met you and I hadn't experienced much when we started dating. Since you have been in my life, we have experienced a lot together: college, the loss of old friends, the gain of new friends, true love, death, an earthquake, a 1st plane ride, a carjacking, vacations to Florida, Chicago and Gatlinburg, lots of car rides and bathroom brakes, new jobs, becoming new home owners and very soon… becoming parents. Now at almost 25 years old, I am glad that I have done all my "living" so far with you.

You are the love of my life, my best friend and my soul mate. Two weeks after we stared dating, you told me that you loved me. I laughed and said “Robby, it’s too soon for love. Plus your drunk!” and you replied, “it’s not too soon to know that I’m going to marry you and I’m not drunk”. I didn’t argue, but you spent the rest of the night on the bathroom floor of my dorm room.

The truth was that, I already knew I loved you too. I have loved you since that night and my love has grown more and more for you every day.

I know sometimes I drive you nuts with my mood swings. I know that when I’m stressed out I tend to take things out on you. I’m so sorry about that. And I know that the last 8 months have been hard on you too – my emotions have been out of control at times (but just you remember buddy – you did this to me) :)

We only have two more months left of just it being you and me. I’m going to no-doubt-ably miss the one on one time with you that I crave so much, but at the same time, I’m so ready to be able to share you with what is about to be the most important thing in our life – our daughter.

You are going to be an amazing father. I know you’re excited and worried about her arrival. And you have been preparing all your cheesy dad lines, dating rules and trying to determine what career she will choose so you have the best chance of becoming a billionaire. But the truth is you don’t need to prepare, because you already have it in you. You are so amazing already, that it’s bursting out of you. I truly believe that one of the reasons God put you on this earth was for you to become a dad.

Lastly my love, I can’t imagine my life with anyone else but you. You are the only person I can be 100% myself with and you will love me no matter what. I know 3 years isn’t a huge deal when you think about our parents being married for 30 years and grandparents being married for 50, but I’m so glad that I have the rest of my life with you to look forward to!

And Robby – always remember that I love you more! ;)

Love your very lucky wife,
Lauren

Maternity Photos!

One thing that I was super excited about being pregnant was that I was going to get maternity photos. I knew the perfect photographers for the job too... my sister and father. They are both amazing photographers. I was lucky enough to have both of them in the same place so we had both of their specialties available to us!

My Dad is great with portraits, as you can see....



And my sister is the best get getting those candid shots....



I couldn't be happier with the results!
Enjoy!

31 Week Belly Shot

I know this is a week late, but here is my 31 week belly shot. From week to week, I think I look about the same. But When I look at each month I can tell a difference. This will also be the last photo I take with my cell. Between my belly and my bulky iphone, there just isnt enough room in the photo anymore.


I can defiantly say that taking weekly shots have been a good idea. Maybe I will print them out and put them in a photo album. Oh, or maybe create a flip book or something.

This past week, the uncomfortable-ness of being "large and in charge" has set it. It's hard for me to sit in one position for a long time. I can tell that little Sophie is taking up more space and its getting tight in there, when she moves, I feel it...and so do the rest of my organs.

30 Weeks!

Can you believe it? Little Sophia Marie should be with us in a near 10 weeks (or so). Yes, that may still sound like a long time, but does it really feel like its been 30 weeks already!?

Here is my 30 week belly - its starting to round out nicely. I guesstimate in the next 3-4 weeks I may start sporting an "outie" (belly button).



We had a doctor's appointment on this past week. I maybe gained a pound, but the doctor said he isn't concerned about that anymore. Her heart beat was at 160 and he again said that I have one healthy baby in my belly. All my lab work from the previous appointment came back looking great and after taking my fundal height measurement - he was able to conclude that miss Sophie was growing very well and I was measuring almost two inches more then average. So as long as I don't start losing weight - my low weight gain (average at this point is at least 10 lbs - I have gained 7lbs) is no longer a concern.

Now you may be wondering - what is a Fundal Height Measurement? Well, I'm about to tell you! Its a measurement that Doctors take at each appointment to measure fetal growth and development. They measure from your pubic bone to the top of your uterus. It's measured in centimeters. Now when your pregnant, as you know with your growing baby, your uterus must grow. What I didn't realize before that it REALLY grows. At 30 weeks preggers, the top of it should sit a few inches above your belly button! The measurement should match the gestational age (the age of your baby while still in the oven - haha) of your baby. Below is a Fundal Height Chart.

Vote!

You can now vote for my blog on Top Baby Blogs! At the top of the page you can click the banner!

Weeks 28 and 29

Here are two belly photos! I'm a tad behind.





Maternity photos were pushed back to that last weekend in July...so you all will have to wait a little longer.

Blog Update

So I'm excited, I just submitted Our Little Bun for a candidate for a baby/mommy blog directory with a very popular blog, Spearmint Baby.



Also, I am in the process of submitting Our Little Bun in the Top Baby Blogs site where you can vote for your favorite baby blog! I just need to create a banner, not sure how yet, for my blog and then I can add this blog! Whooowho!



Once i'm added, you will see a button on the home page of this blog where you can vote (like every day hehe) for Our Little Bun.

Until then...stay tuned for a 29 week belly photo!

I'm also getting some maternity photos taken this weekend by my dear ol Dad! I can't wait, I've picked out my outfits, and im ready to smile!

Baby Belly Over the Last 3 Months!

Now that I am 7 months pregnant, I wanted to compare my belly shots up until now. Check it out below...

27 Weeks

So this will be a quick post. It's getting close to my bed time and Sophie is playing ping-pong.

Here is my week 27 photo. Friday I will be 7 months pregnant! Can you believe that? I can't. When I told Robby today he said "No, I believe it. We've been expecting it". yeah, Ok Thanks Mr. Know-it-All.



Since my doctor appointment one week ago, I have not even gained a pound. I'm at the point in my pregnancy that I should be gaining 1 pound a week. I'm trying to eat more. But I can't stuff my self, its just not comfortable. We will see, what the Dr say's when I got back in two weeks.

According to my last blood tests, I have low red blood cell count, so I am now taking iron supplements. I hope things at my next appointment go smoother. So far everything has been great, and having two things that concern the doctor, (even though they are minor right now and common) at one appointment is a little overwhelming at first.

Anywho....Im ready for a summer full of events, because before you know it...I'll have a sweet baby girl in my arms!

Night All!

3D/4D Ultrasounds

At my last doctor appointment, the doc told us that we could get a 3d/4d ultrasound. He told us that there were some places in the area that we could get the ultrasounds and that they where really neat and well worth the money.

I did a search today, and found 2 facilities in Indy. After looking through the websites, I really want to do this! When I asked my doc if I was going to get anymore ultrasounds, he said as long as everything stays healthy, no. So now we don't get to see her until she's born. So a 3D Ultrasound would be perfect! But...they arn't cheap. But...I would love to see what little Sophie looks like.

If your not sure what a 3D sonagram looks like heres an example I found on the internet....


Robby doesn't want to spend the money, and I see his point since we are saving for my maternity leave. But isn't it so tempting?

Check out Precious Peak, it's a facility in Avon, IN that does 3D ultrasounds. http://preciouspeek.net/

So would you get a 3D Ultrasound?

26 Weeks

26 weeks preggo - and this is my last week of trimester 2. Wow! When I was taking my weekly picture, I had some company from from one of my furry friends.




Link didn't care that I was trying to take a photo of my belly, he just wanted my attention and he wanted it right then.



So he got his picture too. It didn't make him happy, but he got what he wanted.



As you can see, finally my belly photo. I don't see to much change from last week, but maybe you do.

24 Full Weeks Down - 15.5 To Go!

Yay! I made it through another week. I'm now at 25 weeks. Baby is moving around more, I think its because she is losing space. Last night while laying in bed she started kicking and Robby felt her a good 4-5 times. Then this morning while waiting for my oil change he felt her again. With any luck it will start to become a regular thing (so her aunt Katy can feel her)!

Here is my 25 week photo. Its crazy that you can now see a noticeable difference each week.

MyRegistry.com

Found a pretty nifty website called MyRegistry.com the other day. It lets you combine all your registry at different stores into one convenient place. The other cool feature is that you can be surfing the web and find a product you want and hit the "Add To My Registry" button (that you add to your bookmark when you sign up) and BAM! that item is added to your registry. How cool is that!?




I'm pretty excited about it. You can use it for Wedding, Baby, Graduations, Birthday and Housewarming registry's.

You can find our Baby Registry here: www.myregistry.com/public/BabyHelms-

6 Months!

Wow, today I am 24 weeks pregnant. Thats 6 months on the dot. I can't believe it. It honestly just seems like yesterday that we found out we were having a baby! But I bet you almost anything that these next 3 months will be the slowest EVER!

I just can't wait to meet my daughter.

Here is my 24 week belly shot. Plus I'm sporting a new do. Thanks to my amazing hair dresser, Krystal.



For the first time in a very, very, very long time, I'm actually feeling good about the way I look and my health. Haha...sure, maybe because it's the 1st time ever it's been ok to put on extra pounds. Even though I've only gained about 9lbs, I feel lucky that I seem to only be gaining it in my belly (knock on wood) and not my face and everywhere else.

My doctor said I'm healthy and look great. I had a health screen this week at work and all my results were "fabulous" according to the nurse that did my screen. I think getting preggo has defiantly done some positive things for my health. Yay for being Preggo!!!

Baby Sophia is going to start packing on some serious weight now, about 6oz a week. Her sweet little face is almost fully formed (meaning she had eyebrows and eye lashes now - which I bet will be beautiful since both her mommy and daddy have nice long lashes). And her hearing is getting sharper. I think I will start reading to her soon. Any suggestions?

Buying Our 1st Pack of Diapers

I know I posted a couple months ago about what diapers we were going to use. Robby was strongly for disposable. I figured that if all the other important decisions we need to make before baby Sophia was born, that I would just make a quick decision and chose disposables.

So the other night we decided to start our diaper pile. We want to get stocked up! Who wants to run to WalMart at midnight for a diaper run. Robby doesn't (haha see how I use his name because I know I will never have to do it?)

Anyways, I did some quick research and found that the average newborn goes through 80 diapers a week! For $20 you can get anywhere from 60-95 diapers in a box. (We chose the box with 92 so that's - pretty darn good.)

We are standing in the diapers isle, trying to figure out what diapers to buy. Pampers? Huggies? Luvs? I went straight to the Pampers. Robby wanted to compare prices. They were both about the same price, but he wanted to buy Huggies for some reason. And I wanted to buy Pampers. So I turn around to see a man looking for baby wipes. So I decided to ask!

Me: "Excuse me, do you have a baby at home?"
Guy: "Yes I do"
Me: "Could you tell me what diapers you use?"
Guy: "Pampers all the way! Huggies feel like trash, we won't buy them!"
Me: "Thank you very much!"



I won!!! As we walked away with our 1st box of diapers, Pampers diapers, Robby said "you think your so smart don't ya?" haha - you know it! A mommy knows best!

Pregnancy Brain

What is Pregnancy Brain?

"Pregnancy brain is a condition that affects expectant mothers, usually during the first and third trimesters. Sometimes known as placenta brain or baby brain drain, the condition is usually characterized by short-term memory loss or forgetfulness. Some medical experts say that pregnancy brain is a myth, but evidence shows that many women have experienced this condition.

The effects of pregnancy brain vary greatly among women. They can be as simple as forgetting phone numbers that one has dialed for years or placing toilet paper in the fridge. One mother-to-be drove home only to find she had arrived at a previous home she had not lived in for six years."



Well folks, I am suffering from pregnancy brain. It started about 2 weeks ago where I just started forgetting tasks that I wanted to do. Then last week I started losing my phone. My phone is always attached to my hand or in my pocket. I NEVER forget my phone. Oooo, but no anymore.

Then, I was for sure that Father's Day was on June 6th. So I hurried to the store to buy a Father's Day card for my dear ol' dad, and sent it in time for him to get it the day before. Then Sunday morning when I was on Facebook, I realized NO ONE was telling their dad's happy Father's Day. I was shocked! Why do all the Mom's get love but the dads don't? So then I thought to my self, wait a minute....

Did a Google search and found that I had a whole 2 week! Wow Lauren, wow!

It's starting to happen at work now too. We had a Health Screen at work and I needed 20 employees to sign up. I was worried the day before that we still needed 2 more people to sign up. When the health screen people came that morning, and I gave them our sign up sheet, they were like "You actually have 23 people signed up, but we did bring enough supplies for a few more". Wow, did I really miscount that many times? haha sure enough, I took a look at the sign up sheet and I can't figure out how the heck I miscounted, so many times!

Oh and I can't tell you how many times this happens: If you catch me off guard and talk to me or ask me a question, you'r likely to get a handful of incomplete sentences that don't make since!

Well, since I still have 16 weeks left of this pregnancy, I'm sure I will have more embarrassing stories to share of my losing my mind.

Felt Baby Kick!

Last night, little Sophia was moving around while I was trying to fall asleep. I put my hand on my tummy, like I normal do, in hope of feeling her kick...then it happened!

She kicked twice. Then with out telling Robby I grabbed Robby's hand placed it on my tummy in the same spot.

Then she kicked again, and I asked Robby if he felt it and sure enough, he did! It wasn't extremely strong, but we felt it. To be honest, I'm pretty sure it freaked him out. All he could say was "That was weird".

Well now that I felt it once, its only a matter of time before I feel more!

23 Weeks Preggo

Here is my 23 week baby belly photo....



We had our monthly doctor's appointment on Wednesday with our new doctor. It went well, I really like the new Dr. We got to listen to Sophia's heart beat for a good amount of time. And man o man is she a mover! The Dr. chuckled because of how active she was. At the end of the listen, he said "Well you have a very healthy baby in there!"

Everything is going well, Sophia and I are both progressing well. I'm right where I need to be with the weight gain and he hopes the rest of the pregnancy continues to go well.

My emotions have settled down a bit. I think the long weekend helped, but man has this short week gone by so slow!

My food cravings are starting to kick in a bit more this week. I crave fruit - any kind of fruit. And I crave KFC. Yeah, KFC is good and I have always liked KFC, but I think I have eaten it more in the last 2 weeks then I did in the last 2-3 years!



I mean...doesn't that look yummy? haha I get the grilled Chicken though!

What a Preggo Eats

Soo...Every morning before I head into work, I pack my bag of food. As I realize this morning, man that's a lot of food!

To date, I have only gained 9lbs. I personally think thats pretty darn good. I might eat some junk, but I do eat healthy too.

This morning I decided to snap a pic of my "food bag".



What you will see:

Breakfast - Strawberries N Cream Oatmeal and Whole Wheat bread for Toast(by the way I HATE Whole Wheat - but it's healthy for the Baby) and a SunnyD.

Snack - A Banana

Lunch - A Lean Pocket(Ham&Cheese), Small bowl of Steak N Shake Chili, Peaches fruit cup and 3 Chips Ahoy! Cookies.

Snack - Special K Blueberry Cereal Bar

Yup - that doesn't include the bowl of cereal I will have when I get home, the handful of grapes I have while making dinner and then the ice cream I have sometime after dinner before bed.

Oh and I also drink about 3 of these a day at work...gotta love h2o!




Yummm.....foooodddd.

21 Weeks

Alright! I'm past the half way mark by a week! Woot woot!

Here are two 21 week baby belly shots.






Baby Sophie is now probably a full 1 pound! I feel her moving around multiple times a day - every day. I THINK I've felt her kick...once. Robby wakes her up almost every morning with a hard belly shake and "Wake up Baby!!"

I'm getting some energy back, it's about time. I have to go to the bathroom A LOT and I miss getting a full night sleep. I'll probably never have one again.

My next doctor appointment is next Wednesday with a new doctor from a new practice.

We started looking into to Child Care.... one word: EXPENSIVE. We found a place we like and it's $190 a week. That's a little shy of $10K a year. We would love to find a babysitter in the neighborhood, but have no idea how to find that.

I've been extra emotional - but I guess thats to be expected.

I received a well needed visit from my mom and sis this past weekend. Although the visit wasn't nearly long enough.

Well that was my 21 week update! Oh and I was just informed by Amanda that Sophie is now the size of a papaya and is getting tastier and tastier each week - Amanda, Robby and I are starting to think the only way you will ever be around our baby is if you are supervised. You can not eat our baby. :)

20 wks and 5 days

So here is my belly shot for week 20. I'll get another one for wk 21. The weeks actually go by so fast that we forget to take them every week.



This is the 1st week where I have had multiple people comment about being able to see my baby bump (is it actually a bump still? I think I'll just call it my baby belly). And these are co-workers that see me every day.

Oh! And this shirt isn't even a prego shirt! haha

On a side note: I want to congratulate my SIL aka Aunt Katy on getting engaged! Love you Katy!

Word Cloud

Check out this WordCloud I made over at the coolest little website www.wordle.net. It is using all my most common words from this Baby Blog! Pretty sweet isn't it?

1st Baby Buy

We have made our first baby purchase, and it was a doozy. We bought little Sophia a crib! Saturday we traveled to Babies R Us to take part in their biggest nursery sale ever (or so they say)! All cribs and nursery stuff were all 20% off.

We ran into a small problem when we couldn’t find the crib we really wanted. We ended up looking at some others we liked. Then bargain shopper Robby found a crib that we would have ended up getting for free after the discount, then our $150 worth of gift cards. That was a hard offer to beat, but I just didn’t like the crib.

So after a lot…A LOT of contemplating we decided against buying the cheaper crib. Then there, all of a sudden, Robby calls me over and says “what about this one?” and low and behold it’s the crib we originally wanted! “Ha! We’ll take it I said!” We went and picked out a mattress and called it a day.



As soon as we got home it we put it together. It was supper easy and fun. Secret helped, and Link didn’t care too much to stick around and watch. And Robby didn’t even read the directions...haha. That’s all I shall say about that.



Wanna see more pics? Head over to the Random Pics page!

So Big Baby Buy #1 – check! What’s next?!

Nursery painting

The nursery has been painted! Amanda (one of my favorite BFFs) painted nearly all of it herself. Of course, I got the first run at the wall, but she did the rest. Thank you so much Amanda! Last weekend, Robby finished the room by putting on a second coat of paint on two of the walls.

The next step is the mural that Aunt Carolynn will be paining this summer. Which, we are really excited about. We are saving up for the crib, and the changing stating Robby is going to make will be started soon as well. But more on that to come!

Congratulations! You’re having a GIRL!

What an exciting day! That’s right folks; Robby and I are having a little girl. This morning we got to spend a lot of time watching her on the screen. She was very shy though, how cute is that?

Her heart beat was 144. She weights 8oz and is the size of a large mango (if you can picture that – I can’t haha).



Her head was right behind my belly button and she was sitting with her little ankles crossed (just like some Fleetwood’s I know) and kept covering her sweet little face with her arms.

The Tech had to push her around to get her to move her arms so we could see her face. It was funny; she kept calling her a stinker. That’s when I turned to Robby and said “yup, she’s yours!”

We got to see a close up of her profile and it seems like she may have my nose! Robby agreed that his first thought when we saw her profile was that she had my nose. I haven’t always liked my nose, but it’s going to look so cute on little Sophie!

Oh this little girl is going to be so loved…and when I say loved I really mean spoiled.

I'm loving the new blog background! If you didn't notice, I have added a second page for photos.

Okay, So I Had This Dream...

I rarely have dreams that I remember, but early this morning I had a dream that you and Robby came to visit with your little girl. She was cute as a button, had light brown pigtails, and was very bubbly and outgoing. She was crawling, but not yet walking (I'd say about 9 months old), but had the verbal skills of a 4 or 5 year old ( I guess that's the weird dream part). She sat and played patty cake games with Aunt Carolynn.
From the beginning I figured this baby would be a boy. HOWEVER...I now believe I must change my mind, especially with today being what would have been your Grandma Fleetwood's 85th birthday. I think we are going to have ourselves a little Sophie.

Belly Shot

So I have been frustrated and stressed for the last month or so because all I want is to start showing. When people find out that I'm preggo, they immediately look at my stomach. I think (like I did) that once you are preggo you start showing.

OK so after seeing a few people that don't see me everyday, have officially told me that I am showing. And today, I actually felt preggo.

Yay! So here is my preggo pictures. I have taken a few a few weeks before so you can see the progress...if there is any. *wink wink*

I’m having a Libra Baby…

Ok so I’m not big on checking my horoscope, but one of the baby sites I visit had this fun tool where you could read about your baby and their sign. So since Baby Helms is due in October, we are having a Libra Baby.

Just for enjoy reading about the Libra Baby:




The Libra baby will revel in the attention of others from the get-go. That baby whom everyone is cooing over at the doctor's office? Yes, it's a Libra. Passive yet charming, people can't help fawning all over this sun-kissed child. Perhaps it's the way a Libra baby smiles when others swoon. Whatever the case may be, this child is possessed of the most endearing qualities. Even-tempered and sweet in disposition, the Libra baby loves to have others around and would much rather be with company than alone. In a group, this child will mix quite well with others, displaying the very Libran qualities of sociability and diplomacy. The Libra tot is a born mediator, perhaps prepping early on for a career as a lawyer or judge. Loving fancy touches, the Libra child is not likely to take well to hand-me-downs, especially girls! These are kids who love to feel pretty, and the best clothes are a big step in that direction. Comfort is also important to this child, so clean, pressed clothes and a snappy room are an added plus. Sense a bit of control here? Well, the Libra child does know how to be manipulative, although they manage to do it in the nicest way. To sum up, the Libra baby likes to talk, loves to socialize, and is a splendid (and even-handed) addition to any play group. Let the games begin!

To Dispose or Not to Dispose?

Isn’t that the ultimate question? As new parents, we read that we should try everything when it comes to diapers to figure out what works best for us. But is that really affordable? For some new parents the decision is easy, they knew before conceiving whether or not they were going to use disposable diapers or cloth diapers.

Well, let me tell you, Robby and I have no clue what we are going to use. Where do we even start?

I know how about I make a list of all the diaper brands I know of. Alright, get ready, get set go:


Disposable:
Huggies
Pampers
Luvs







Cloth:
gDiapers (www.gdiapers.com)
FuzziBunz (www.fuzzibunz.com/fuzzi_details.php)
bumGenius (www.bumgenius.com/one-size.php)
Bummies (www.bummis.com)





Ok, so there’s my list. Now what?

Are cloth diapers better for the baby?
Are disposables easier to deal with?
Aren’t cloth diapers more affordable in the long run?
There would be less cleaning with disposables.
But the cloth ones are just so cute.

Ahhh!! More to come on our quest to figure out - To Dispose or Not to Dispose?