.love.

Dear Little Bean,

Today is Valentine's Day and, while that may not mean much to you now, it will one day- I promise. Your Daddy is the best Valentine in the world...and you're a lucky little girl since he'll be your Valentine until your 30 if he has his way! This morning he woke me up with "Happy Valentine's Day, I love you" and then turned on the shower for me and went to get my very favorite breakfast- tofu scramble with mushrooms, onion and tomato and an everything bagel with tofu cream cheese...yum! He even dealt with the hippies at Earthmatters at 8 AM just to make Mom smile...that is true love. I hope you liked breakfast too.

Now that we are half way through this adventure (20 weeks on Saturday, wow), I'm happy to tell you that we are more thrilled and excited than ever. On Saturday we painted your room the most beautiful light green color- I think you will love it. Daddy did all the hard work and heavy lifting and then I helped with the fun part, the painting (don't worry, non-VOC paint). I have to admit, Dad is a way better painter, so I did the first coat and he did the second to make sure it turned out perfect. We went out to dinner with Bronson and Ellie that night and they put their vote in for Adelaide as your name- Dad and I still are not sure what to go with, but that's definitely on the list. What do you think? Charlotte and Matilda are also options...do you like either of those?

On Sunday we got you an amazing white sleigh crib- it looks just like this (minus the pink decor of course, you know your Dad):

We can't wait to get the rest of your little room together- we're excited for it to be a beautiful and peaceful place for you to start your life...just ignore the street noise and sirens, that's just crazy NYC my love.

Anyway little one, just wanted to tell you how much you are loved on this Valentine's day and how much you will be loved for all of the rest of the Valentine's Days for the rest of your life. One day when you're much older, I hope you find someone just like your Daddy to make you feel as loved as I feel on Valentine's Day and every other day of the year.

Love you little Bean,

xoxoxo
Mommy

dad, have you seen my favorite shoes?

As this adventure continues we find out more and more details that will go into being prepared for our little Scout. Who knew she wouldn't be bringing her own shoes? Something else that is refreshing to hear is the different accounts of importance (sleep, diapers, red bull, duct tape) all the new parents we encounter reference - no two are the same. Autumn is a shade under half way through this marathon and by my calculations she is boat lengths in the lead. Every doctor's report and test she breezes through. Autumn and I have hatched a plan to destroy ellie and grand's room very soon and replace it with an awesome baby room - construction hats on. Other quick things I have learned recently; doula speed dating, different bagels need to be toasted different ways, Packers won the Super Bowl, Dirt Candy is not open on V-day, Steven Spielberg has a daughter named Destry.

i am officially pregnant (by nyc standards).

That's right folks, it's finally happened. This morning on my F train commute to Rock Center for work, a sleepy hipster looked up at me, his eyes level with my tummy, and asked if I'd like his seat. I felt validated like never before. Time stopped. Horns sounded. I have been patiently waiting for this moment from the instant I saw that little line on my third pregnancy test...and I, Autumn Maria Berrang, was offered a seat on the New York City transit system on February 7, 2011.

Granted, I was sticking out my little bump with all my might and rubbing my belly as to say "no, no I am not just a little rotund, there is a human growing inside me." And all my efforts paid off. It was offered, and I was thrilled. Of course, I quickly replied "oh, no no, I'm fine, thank you though," but it was the gesture that I was craving and it felt even better than I'd hoped.

So thank you sleepy hipster on the uptown F, you made my day.

butterflies in my tummy

I can finally feel the little bean moving around in there- and what a cool (and kind of weird) feeling it is! She moves a lot while I'm at work- maybe the way I am sitting? At first I thought it was just bubbles in my tummy, but when that bubble bursts in the same spot 10 times in 2 minutes you figure out that it's probably a little foot rather than a rumble. :) The little lady is the size of my hand now and weighs about 6 oz. She is supposed to double in size in the next 3 weeks, so I assume my tummy will get a lot bigger as well, we'll see.

I'll be 18 weeks on Saturday and as the middle of this pregnency is fast approaching (CRAZY!), I have to say that I feel pretty darn good. I am tired after working all day and am usually in bed by 10, but other than that, I am doing really well. I have been eating almost the same as I did before I got pregnant, with the addition of a couple of snacks during the day. Yesterday it was almonds and a vegan chocolate chip cookie. I am gaining plenty of weight- I'm actually on the high end of normal weight gain for 18 wks at 9 lbs- pretty good for the vegan gal, huh?

The constant snow in NYC is really getting to me and I told Eddie the little girl needs some sun- she's had enough blizzards for her whole 18 week life!! I think we may try to get away with Aunt Hooters (we love you MC) for a quick warm weekend sometime soon before I am over the bikini idea for a bit...hahah.

That's about all for now, maybe a tummy pic soon since I am starting to look pregnant rather than looking like I just ate a 2 Moe's burritos for lunch (mmmm...that sounds good)!! xoxo

it's a...perfect little girl.

We could not be more thrilled to add to both of our family's collections of lovely ladies!

Here is a video of us finding out the gender of the bean- thanks to our handy dandy Flip, so cool:

Like my wonderful husband said, we are so very excited that we're having a little girl! Forget all of the "hes" earlier in this blog- we have a beautiful little "she" to look forward to...amazing.

Here are some great pics of the bean from our sonogram yesterday. My Mom got to come up from Jacksonville to come with us, which was so perfect. The little lady cooperated perfectly and squirmed and wiggled around the whole time- totally put on a show. The first thing our awesome tech told us was that this little girl has HUGE feet! Here is a shot of them- she definitely takes after her daddy...

Then, after all the great news about the growth indicators- the bean is now 5 oz- we got an awesome profile shot of our future treehouse builder:

She has doubled in size since our last appt- pretty amazing. The little one also gave us another cute thumb-sucking shot, always fun to see:

She was actually opening and closing her mouth quite a bit- she knew it was lunch time. :)

I can't wait for 20 weeks so we get to see her again. In the mean time, I'll just watch cheesy daddy's girl movies because I know that is just what she is going to be...and I could not be more thrilled about it....

Tea Parties, Tree Houses, Dances with Wolves

So far the term that makes me sleep well is "Textbook". Our little girl is healthy & happy. Now the name game comes. For this distinct special duty we have been consulting with experts from around the world - no conclusion as of now but many good finds. I am reading articles about tribes and families in other countries that wait about a year after birth until the child grows and shows traits before they decide on a name. I find this interesting however, I am sure my little explorer friend will find it odd to be called "the bean" for a year. I went ahead and selected the tree house I am sure she will likely want to build with me in a few years (image shown). Autumn continues to amaze me with how well she is handling details and I can only pray our new addition looks more like her and less like me. I have requested for the Empire State Building's lights to be fully pink tonight - we are having a beautiful, smart, happy baby girl.

our little racehorse

Yesterday Eddie and I went to our monthly OB appointment, which went very well! They took my weight and blood pressure and both were right on for this point in pregnancy. I've gained 8 lbs now, which he said is "text book." LOVED hearing that I'm right on target while sticking to my vegan diet!! We also got to hear the bean's little heartbeat, which is so very cool. Sounds like a racehorse to me- so fast! I get a little nervous between visits because I can't feel the bean wiggle yet, so hearing that sound is always so wonderful.

Also told the doc about this past weekend and a little concern I had about blood pressure. I had an exam at our apartment on Saturday for my life insurance policy. The nurse took my BP 3 times and it was fairly low every time- an average of 100/56 or so. I also wasn't feeling so hot and had a bit of a headache, which I attributed to the BP level once she told me that. The doctor said not to worry too much, that it wasn't dangerously low and it's pretty common for it to be a bit low during this point in pregnancy. He said to carry a snack with me wherever I go and if I start feeling a bit "off" (which was the only way I knew how to describe it) to eat something and rest. Made me feel better knowing it wasn't a huge concern...

They also drew more blood for the next round of genetic testing, so I'll get the results of that at our next appt in 4 weeks. I loved that the doctor joked that I would be a horrible drug addict- I seriously have the smallest veins ever- they always have a tough time finding them. I really like that my doctor does all of the blood draws himself- I don't know why, but it makes me feel good that he takes the time to do that.

In other news, I tried a yoga class at my gym on Friday. The instructor is prenatal certified, so I was excited for a good, relaxing workout. Man, I was wrong! She had me doing the most insane things EVER. I was in headstands at one point, no joke. I don't think the bean liked it one bit because I spent much of the rest of the weekend on the couch. Other than a mani/pedi outing with MG and a fruitless search with Eddie for maternity leggings at Old Navy (Soho does not have a maternity section, joy), I was in a lounging position much of the time...so nice. Overall a good weekend- Eddie and I are loving all of the shows and movies on the Wii- amazing! Thanks bean for a great Christmas gift for Dad. ;)

Very excited for my Mom to arrive on Saturday to come with us to the sonogram on Monday- the BIG DAY! We'll have news to share then for sure...hoping to be able to tell if it's a boy or girl- ahhhh