Our Little Speed Bump

To take advantage of the belly, I went to our Halloween party as a speed bump; Nate was a road construction worker.

In green news, our oven busted. My first response was "let's trash it and get a new one." But Nate, always thinking green, suggested we donate it to someone who can fix it. Excellent plan! Anyone know how to fix ovens that don't heat to temperature? We've got an oven for you!

22 Week Belly

Per the request of all my friends in Baltimore, here's the big boy at 22 weeks. I think the belly looks bigger than it feels, until I'm trying to sleep.

He kicks all the time now. Nate got to feel him move last week too, very exciting.

Trying to keep the pregnancy green, my most recent challenge has been cosmetic products. I just got on a kick where I'm freaked out about everything I put on my skin and did a ton of research about alternative face washes, moisturizers, make ups, and body lotions. I used the Skin Deep Cosmetic Database from the Environmental Working Group for a lot of the research. Great information, especially if you want to go extreme in avoiding potentially hazardous personal care products. It can push you to crazy pretty fast though (especially if you are worrying about a developing fetus you can't see), so research with caution, and perhaps consult other experts as well.

It's a Boy!

We had the 20 week ultrasound today, and everything looked good! The ultrasound technician said he was not bashful at all for the camera, and very cute. We agree! She was generous with the pictures, including a close up of the reason he's a he, but I feel like a bad mom if I post our son's wee wee so if you want to see it, drop me an email! 

Eating Organic

Ideally, all the food we buy and all the food available would be organic, but this is not the case, and it's an expensive choice to make! Fortunately, not all organic foods are created equal. The following is a list of foods that give you the most bang for your buck when buying organic. These items retain the most pesticides when non-organic, so these are a great place to start buying organic.

• apples
• bell peppers
• blueberries
• carrots
• celery
• cherries
• coffee
• imported grapes
• kale
• leafy greens
• meat
• milk
• nectarines
• peaches
• pears
• potatoes
• red raspberries
• spinach
• strawberries

The following foods don't contain as mainly pesticides when they reach our table, so if you're on a budget, save your money by going non-organic with these:

• asparagus
• avocados
• bananas
• broccoli
• cabbage
• cauliflower
• corn
• eggplant
• kiwis
• mangoes
• onions
• papaya
• peas
• pineapples
• sweet potatoes
• watermelon

Baby Update - 18 weeks

I'm currently 18 weeks pregnant (+4 months) and we've scheduled our ultra sound for September 16. We are planning to find out the gender, so if you want to place your bets, you'll have to do it before then!

Our 16 week appointment was two weeks ago, and everyone is healthy. The baby's heartbeat is 144 beats per minute-so neat to hear! And my belly is measuring right where it's supposed to--and the doctor says it's not big enough to be holding twins, so the Danielson genes haven't affected this pregnancy!

I also gained enough weight since my last appointment. I'd have been shocked if this didn't happen because I've been eating all the time! But this was good news because at my last check up I had lost two pounds, even though I hadn't been getting sick. So when the doctor told me to eat whatever I wanted, I did, and it paid off!

Last week, the urge to shop hit me, mostly because I went back to work this week and none of my work pants fit, so I went to "Bellies and Babies" and "Nine" both maternity consignment shops (consignment shops are a great way to be eco-friendly and thrifty!), and picked up some stretchy-waisted pants. I have to say, I have no desire to go back to pants that don't give; these are the most comfortable pants I've ever worn!

Perhaps the most exciting update is that I've started feeling the baby move. I wasn't sure that's what I was feeling for a while; it would happen so fast and stopped quickly. Then, this week at work I had a bit of caffeine (the cause? perhaps...) and the fluttering in my belly was crazy! It feels like a critter tapping the inside of my stomach. Very cool.

Nate's getting ready for the baby by fixing as many iphones and ipods as he can for his small business, Nate is a Geek; the extra money will come in handy, I'm sure! We also bought a new car since mine was working its way toward the next expensive breakdown. Our new family car is a Toyota Prius. Nate's enjoying getting nearly 60 miles per gallon, and continuing to improve the mileage every fill up. I'm sure the car willhave it's own blog post soon.

We also celebrated our two year anniversary by spending a night in Minneapolis at The W Hotel--it might be the last anniversary we get a mini-getaway like that for a while!

Since this is supposed to be a blog about social responsibility, now is a good time to mention a few of those details as well...

We bought a used organic crib mattress. In addition, we have been trying to obtain used items--thus limiting the waste produced in manufacturing new products for our little one. We also plan to use cloth diapers, but we'll wait until we know the gender to buy those.