Painting Ruthie's nursery

First, Maggie still exists. Since the news of the baby, Maggie has not been mentioned much. She is doing great and we are trying to prepare her for Ruthie, but I don't think she really understands when we tell her she will have a new baby sister soon and will have to share momma and daddy!

So a few weeks ago I posted about how we cleaned out the extra room to make it into a nursery. So step one was done and here is step 2: Painting.

Before

Matt priming

I helped with the priming and painting also and for all those who were worried. I was painting with latex paint, in a well ventilated room, with this face mask on!

Matt painting

Susan came over to help! It really helped to have the extra person!
Finished
Finished

Matt and I started taping and priming at 10:30 and we ended the painting at 3:30! It went by so fast and was so easy. We even took breaks between priming and each paint coat. I think we made great timing! You think Ruthie will like the color? Matt says the room now reminds him of a meadow!

Finally, I drew this as a practice for painting this on a large canvas to put over Ruthie's bed. I just don't know what verse we will use yet. Good thing we have a few months!

Week 21

I am at 21 weeks today! yay! little Ruthie is growing strong and healthy. Her heart beat is great and her brain and spine are great. She also has a bladder and 2 kidneys so that is great too!
Also, momma only gained one pound, yes that is correct, one pound in the last month! hooorrrraaaayyyyyy!!!!!! Finding out that Teapot is Ruthie was the best part, but only gaining one pound definitely is a close second. For a woman who has always struggled with her weight, this is a wonderful feeling!
Anyway, onto the good stuff.

The Bump:
Baby's now the size of a banana!
Baby's digestive system is busy creating meconium (a tarry black substance made of swallowed amniotic fluid, digestive secretion, and dead cells), which will fill the first diaper after birth. And, if baby is a girl, her womb is now stocked up with her lifetime supply of six million eggs (the number will drop to around one million by birth).

Baby Center:
Your baby now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long — the length of a carrot. You may soon feel like she's practicing martial arts as her initial fluttering movements turn into full-fledged kicks and nudges. You may also discover a pattern to her activity as you get to know her better. In other developments, your baby's eyebrows and lids are present now, and if you're having a girl, her vagina has begun to form as well.

So Ruthie is the size of a banana or carrot. I don't know about you, but that is kinda obscure considering both of those items come in so many different sizes. I guess it is just an estimate...

So we are starting to decorate. We have picked out a few things to decorate with and tonight we picked out a color. This is not a good picture of it, but it is called Green Grape and we will be painting this weekend so pictures to come of that! We just have to get started before the semester really takes off and there isn't any time. So painting this weekend it is and all help is appreciated on Saturday afternoon for a paint party!


Finally, for now, this is a gift from the Daughtry-Grubbs. This is not a picture of Ruthie, I plan to put that in soon. However, this gift was given to us last Friday night and look, Amy was right! Matt was not. Isn't it just the cutest little picture frame. I love it. Thanks Amy, Matt, and Ebenezer!

It's a...

Girl! Teapot will now be named Sara Ruth Stout and we will call her Ruthie.
Here are some pics:

Feet


Ruthie looking right at us!


hands


And she is a girl...well 85% sure. she looks like a girl to me though.

now onto some other random things...

This is Maggie patiently waiting for her dad to give her some of his popcorn. Mags sat in that same spot for 20 minutes hoping for a taste of popcorn and eventually those little puppy eyes got her a few pieces.

This is it people. The only few pregnancy pics I have and they may be all you will see until Ruthie is here...



Here are Matt and Steve at lunch after finding out about Ruthie.
Matt is very excited as you can see!


Here are Kathy and I


Kathy and Steve went to Germany and brought back this cute little duck for Ruthie.


After we found out Teapot was a Ruthie, Kathy immediately went into shopping mode.
There are socks, 2 outfits, a onesie for the aunts, and a cute little warm outfit to come home in.


Here is the coming home outfit up close. it has bear ears, face, and feet! How cute and Ruthie will be very warm in case KY is very cold and snowy when Ruthie arrives!

That's all for now. I will write more tomorrow...

We are half way there...20 Weeks

Well, I guess we could actually be less or more than 20 more weeks. To tell you the truth I am hoping for less than 20 weeks for 2 reasons: 1. I will no longer be pregnant sooner and 2. if Teapot comes before Dec 31 at Midnight we can get a tax credit. So please join us in prayer is getting this baby here a few days earlier if there are no complications that could arise.

Also, I finally felt the baby move this weekend. It was awesome! I haven't really felt much more movement. However, the first time I felt movement I was laying still for about 30 mins as I fell asleep, but over the past few nights since feeling Teapot I have been so tired that I have fallen straight to sleep so I think that may be why. I am tired b/c I started my practicum last Wed and have been getting up every morning by 6:40 to be at the school by 7:30. I realize that lots of people do this everyday, but I do not like morning! I would rather sleep until 8, be at work at 9, and come home at 5 or 6! Anyway, now onto the good stuff...

The Bump: Baby's now the size of a cantaloupe!
Baby gulps down several ounces of amniotic fluid every day, both for nutrition and to practice swallowing and digesting. And, these days, those taste buds actually work! Studies show that after birth, babies respond best to tastes they've already had via amniotic fluid. Meaning, think about what you'd like your future child to eat as you prepare your own lunch



BabyCenter:
Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. He's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel — the length of a banana. (For the first 20 weeks, when a baby's legs are curled up against his torso and hard to measure, measurements are taken from the top of his head to his bottom — the "crown to rump" measurement. After 20 weeks, he's measured from head to toe.) He's swallowing more these days, which is good practice for his digestive system.

So baby is growing right along and in less than a week (next Wed) we will know if Teapot is a boy or girl and then if you are lucky we will tell you names. haha

Week 19

Wow! week 19!!
Apparently, according to BabyCenter.com my poor kid looks like a pretzel. I hope soon he/she will stretch out and turn towards us so we can tell in less than 2 weeks if baby is a he or she.
Well according to Baby Center:Your baby's sensory development is exploding! Her brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. Some research suggests that she may be able to hear your voice now, so don't be shy about reading aloud, talking to her, or singing a happy tune if the mood strikes you.

Your baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces and measures 6 inches, head to bottom — about the size of a large heirloom tomato. Her arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of her body now. Her kidneys continue to make urine and the hair on her scalp is sprouting.


According to The Bump:

Baby's now the size of a mango!
Vernix caseosa, a greasy white substance made of lanugo, oil, and dead skin cells (yum) now coats baby's skin, shielding it from the amniotic fluid. (Picture yourself after a nine-month bath, and the need for protection makes sense.) You might get to see the vernix at birth, especially if baby is premature.

i'm sure you were all wondering....

have the Stout's decided they are finished with doing puzzles. Well, NO! of course not. However, since getting pregnant, I have been so tired that I haven't really had the energy to concentrate on doing a puzzle. I guess though this weekend my energy level has increased and I was in the mood to sit and do a puzzle again! So here is the puzzle we did over the last few days.


as for other things, I start my practicum this week, in 2 weeks from tomorrow we find out if we are going to have a boy or a girl, and we are doing well! nothing really new, just enjoying the last few weeks of summer...

Week 18

Wow, I can't believe a whole week has past. This week we have cleaned out the extra room/nursery. The futon was taken to TN at our vacation. Last week Matt decided to more Watto and his drawing table out to the shed to make more room for baby. Then we moved a small bookshelf into our bedroom and a large bookshelf out to the living room. We are going to keep Matt's chest of drawers and a book shelf in one corner of the nursery. So right now we just have to get working on possibly painting the room and getting furniture. All of this will be so much easier to do once we find out if Teapot is a boy or girl. I can't wait and then it will be time to start decorating. I have so many ideas but am still not sure exactly what to do about decorating. I think we have decided mostly on robots for a boy and dancing/dolls for the girls room. Any ideas of where to find good decorations at a good price or other decorating ideas?

Ok, on to the baby update:
The Bump:

As your growing uterus starts shifting your center of gravity (belly forward, bottom out), hormones are causing your ligaments to relax and joints to loosen. The result? Back pain and soreness. On the bright side, if you want to know baby's gender, this might be your first week for a sneak peek.

Baby's now the size of a sweet potato!
Baby's become amazingly mobile (compared to you, at least), passing the hours yawning, hiccupping, rolling, twisting, kicking, punching, sucking, and swallowing. And baby is finally big enough that you'll soon be able to feel her movements.

Baby Center:
Head to rump, your baby is about 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a bell pepper) and he weighs almost 7 ounces. He's busy flexing his arms and legs — movements that you'll start noticing more and more in the weeks ahead. His blood vessels are visible through his thin skin, and his ears are now in their final position, although they're still standing out from his head a bit. A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around his nerves, a process that will continue for a year after he's born. If you're having a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If you're having a boy, his genitals are noticeable now, but he may hide them from you during an ultrasound.

Now baby Teapot is either a sweet potato or a bell pepper. I think little sweet potato is way cuter than baby bell pepper. Still haven't felt Teapot yet, but I hope to soon. I think it will be so cool!
I guess I will now stop rambling...