Surprise!

The winter this past year was ‘wicked’ brutal in Boston. Between a lack of sunshine, the realization that our family is growing and being away from Texas since Christmas Matt and I have been really home sick. When I realized that Kevin’s 30^th birthday and Sara’s baby shower were on the same weekend I made the executive decision it was time for a quick trip “home.”

With the flights booked, we were set to fly out first thing Saturday morning and head back to Boston late Sunday. I knew this was one surprise Matt would love. As a bonus, since Amanda had already planned Kevin’s 30^th with all our closest friends, we could surprise all of them as well. It was going to be a jam packed 30 hours but I knew it was going to be worth it.

At 11PM on Friday, Matt and I got the best text message we could have asked for – “You may get your wish! Headed to the hospital now because my water just broke J” My in-laws Alex and Bill were going into labor a couple weeks early and just in time for our trip! Olivia Catalina Tuel was born 6 lbs 8oz just minutes before we touched down in Dallas. Welcome to the Tuel clan Livi - we love you!

Before we headed over to the hospital, we made a pit stop at Amanda and Nick’s to see the Hamiltons and their 5 month old baby girl Adrian Joy. On a side note, Adrian also came a couple days early back in December just in time for us to meet her in the hospital over the holidays. I can’t believe how much she has grown.

I left Matt with his family at the hospital just in time to run over to Sara’s baby shower to celebrate Baby T. I can’t believe all of our friends families are expanding so quickly and it really hit home when I saw Sara. She had no idea I was in town and we were both overwhelmed to see each other. Sara, I love you, miss you and wish I was closer to go through this amazing experience together!

That evening we headed up to Top Golf to surprise the rest of our friends for Kevin’s 30^th birthday party. We also got the opportunity to celebrate three engagements of some of our closest friends. I am amazed every day at how much all of our lives are changing. It is exciting to see the directions life has taken each of our friends, but also sad to see an era pass. Congratulations to Jessica & Ryan, Adam & Sarah and Armando & Heather. I can’t wait to hear where each of the bachelorette parties/weddings will be!

By Sunday morning there were still so many people to see. I wish we could have visited with everyone, but it just wasn't possible. I couldn’t leave Dallas without meeting Presley though. It was a short visit, but it is always great to catch up with Tiffany and incredible to meet her little mini-me. At just 10 weeks old Presley is so precious (and a little sleepy since I woke her up from a nap).

It was a full weekend. Let’s just say we didn’t get much sleep and left exhausted, but it was all worth it! We love and miss you all!!!



Belly Business - 16 weeks

How far along: 15 weeks 6 days
Size of the baby: Avocado (3 oz and 5 inches long)

Total weight gain/loss: Holding steady, I haven’t gained anything since my last doctors visit. 6lbs weight gain. 

Maternity Clothes: I still haven’t purchased any maternity clothes, but unbutton my pants frequently. A huge thanks to Alex who after my last blog sent me her list of favorite maternity and non-maternity clothes for pregnancy. I will be doing some online shopping ASAP!
Cravings: My appetite and cravings have subdued, thank goodness.
Symptoms: Back pains and heartburn
Movement: Still waiting

Gender predictions: Just two more weeks and we will know for sure! Still thinking girl.

Swim suits and shopping

It is well known that I have zero fashion sense and try to spend as little time shopping as possible. If I were rich, the first thing I would splurge on is a personal shopper so that I would never have to think about what to wear again.

With that being said, even I have an itch to buy some new clothes for spring and summer. It has to be one of the hardest parts of pregnancy that no one talks about. I don’t want to buy traditional clothes because I know they won’t fit me in a few weeks. Yet I feel awkward trying on maternity clothes because I don’t have a stomach to fill them out yet. What is a girl to do?!

Next weekend Matt and I are headed to Newport, RI with friends for Memorial Day weekend so it is time to bust out the swim suits for the season. I don’t think anyone enjoys looking at their pastey white soft winter bodies the first time as they prepare for summer. But try adding 6-8 lbs of pure flub to your middle section. I had visions of a full cute tummy by the time we headed to the beach, but instead I just feel bloated. Trying to figure out what to buy/wear has never been so depressing.

Poor Matt had to take the brunt of it as I walked out of every store with my head hung down wallowing. I finally managed to find a tankini that will suffice, but still not thrilled. Maybe all I need is some sun? Bring it summer!

Child Care in the City

Have you ever heard of a Nanny Share?

I started looking into our child care options a couple weeks ago. Our neighborhood is crawling with young families so I didn’t think it should be much of a challenge. Boy was I wrong. After doing my research here is what I have found:

Day Care Facilities: There are only a couple in Charlestown that offer child care for infants. I went to visit the neighborhood Bright Horizon’s and was very underwhelmed. Not only did the property and people not impress me, they have a 9mo-1year waiting list! Plus they want $2,200 per month for full time care. I know the cost of living in Boston is high, but that just seems ridiculous.

In Home Daycare: Since we live in the city, most “homes” are not large enough to house an in home daycare. I can’t find any options in Charlestown.

Live in Nanny: This is an affordable option at $7.50 an hour, but we don’t have the space for another adult.

Full time Nanny: I guess the women I see walking around Charlestown during the day aren’t stay at home moms, but nannies? At $15-20 an hour, I’m not sure what these families do for a living.

Nanny Share: New to my vocabulary, but very popular in Charlestown and other metropolitan cities apparently. Two sets of parents join together to find a full time (7:30-5:30) nanny to care for both sets of children. The cost of the nanny is the same, but the cost is split between the families.

Charlestown is a very close knit community with a mothers association of over 400 members. I joined the group not long after we found out we were expecting MJB and started trolling their classifieds. A couple weeks ago I met Anne through CMA (Charlestown Mother’s Association), a mom who is due in October and also looking for a nanny share. Anne and I scheduled some time to meet for coffee this past Saturday. I was so nervous, anxious and excited all at the same time.

As soon as Anne walked into the coffee shop, I knew we were going to be a good fit. Her and her husband are transplants from Iowa and moved to Boston about 4 years ago after living in Italy for a brief stint. They are high school sweethearts that went to the University of Iowa together and married when they were 25. They are a couple of years older than us and when I asked what they missed the most about home, she said college football. She works in sales for a pharmaceutical company and he is an auditor at Deloitte. Sound Familiar?

She has a friend who does a nanny share in Baltimore that will be a great resource for us as we try to figure out the logistics of how this all would work. I still have so many questions: Would we switch off houses, or where would the nanny watch the kids? Does that house need two cribs, high chairs, etc? What happens if one family needs/wants out? How do we find the right nanny? Etc.

Either way, I have a little piece of mind knowing we are going to figure it out together and that I won’t have to send the jumping bean to Bright Horizon’s (fingers crossed). Who knew finding child care would be so complicated?

Side Note: For those who are not familiar, Charlestown is a 1 square mile neighborhood in Boston. If you have seen the movie The Town, we live two blocks from the main actress’s brownstone. We could look for child care outside of Charlestown, but would really like to find something we can walk the bean to and from every day.

Belly Business - 14 wks

How far along: 14 weeks 5 days
Size of the baby: Small Orange (1 oz and 4 inches long)

Total weight gain/loss: Holy weight gain – stepping on the scale this week made my heart skip a beat. The scale is no longer my friend and I can tell we will be having many evil conversations in the upcoming months. Total of 6lbs gain to date.  

Maternity Clothes: Not yet, I did buy a “BeBand” at Target yesterday although I don’t really need it yet. I also spent the day trying to find a swim suit for this season. Not an easy task considering I will be between 4 and 8 months this summer. Finally found a cute one!
Cravings: Pastries, Pasta, Pizza, Fried Foods and all things bad for you…
Symptoms: Heartburn? I have never had it before, but that is what Matt says I have every night. Not fun.
Movement: Still no movement, maybe in the next month or so?
Gender predictions: Still think our appointment in 3 weeks will confirm a baby girl. Either way we will be excited to know and start picking names and buying things for the nursery!

Mother's Day

It is amazing how quickly my circle of “mom” friends is expanding. This year there are so many new mothers to celebrate and even more celebrating the baby to come like me. I am so thankful for all the amazing women in my life. It makes this process so much easier. I can always count on them for advice on what books to read, reassurance of what symptoms are normal or just to talk me off a ledge. I am especially blessed to have two remarkable mothers (my mom and mother-in-law). MJB is going to be one lucky baby surrounded by love and support. Happy Mother’s Day to all the mommies out there!

As for my first unofficial mother’s day, Matt and I had an extremely relaxing weekend full of food and nature. On Friday evening we took the recommendation of a townie and drove out to Winthrop to try out a whole in the wall Mexican restaurant. Typically we wouldn’t trust a Mexican recommendation from a local, but she promised that she had family in Texas and that this was the closest she had found to Tex-Mex. She was right! The food was delicious and the atmosphere took us back home. We left in a food coma and will definitely be going back soon.

On Saturday, our friends Ann Howery and Austin Ortiz came in town from Dallas for Ann’s graduation. Ann lived in Boston when we first moved here and just received her master’s from Northeastern. We met them out for a couple of drinks to celebrate- just water for me of course. We discussed all things Ann missed about Boston and the things we missed about Texas. As I flipped through facebook, I noticed a plate of crawfish and mentioned how I wish we could get them here. Just my luck, Ann knew exactly where we could find some. Guess where we ate dinner tonight?

Today I woke up early to chorizo and egg breakfast tacos (Thank you to my mom and Vicky for sending the chorizo). We called our mom’s to catch up and make sure they got our gifts, and then we headed out for the day. First a two hour hike at a local nature reservation with the dogs. We came home exhausted and rested on the patio in the sun. After a couple hours we made our way through the city to Summer Shack for crawfish. This city was alive and full of color. All and all it was a great weekend!

I know a couple of you want to see tummy pictures. Unfortunately there isn’t much to see yet. However, while I was getting ready for work mid week I noticed it is starting to bulge! I went ahead and snapped a shot. I can’t wait until I have a full belly and don’t just look soft. Note to self: Wearing a high waist skirt with shirt tucked in at 13 weeks pregnant is not a good look. Wish I had packed another outfit J