22 Weeks

Hellooooo, friends! Happy Friday! Only, it's Wednesday. I'm not sure how, because I've been operating under the notion that it's Thursday or Friday all day. I don't know why. Chalk it up to summer/pregnancy brain, I suppose. It happens. :)

Anyway, today marks the 22nd week of pregnancy, according to one estimate by the doctor. The other estimate says that Friday will be 22 weeks. I like to go back and forth between the two due dates because then I'm less surprised or irritated when the doctor tells me a new date. It happens.

Nothing much has changed since the last few updates. I feel like when I read other blogs when pregnancy updates, there are weekly changes, but it seems that things have been pretty stable throughout. The main variables have been my energy and nausea levels (both of which have continued to improve--YAY).

One new thing worth mentioning, though, is that we have officially started our child birth classes! We had our first one this week and it was definitely interesting. About 99% of what we talked about what stuff that Drew and I already knew from our reading, but we also did breathing and relaxation exercises. I have to say, they were uber cheesy! As someone hoping to have a natural birth, I really want to learn as many of these techniques as possible, but listening to a woman say, "My left arm is heavy," is a little ridiculous. 

I'm still very interested in the class, though! At the very least, it's a nice way to spend time with Drew and connect over something that is sort of a weird situation. I know a lot of guys feel a little left out and helpless while their ladies are pregnant and delivering, so having a specific time for us to just focus on dealing with it all together is nice. :) 

And, crazily enough, I am actually a bit excited about labor. (Did I really just say that?) I realize it's a bit early, but as a Type A planner, it's been on my mind for a while. Plus, it's never too early to prepare, in my opinion, and mental/emotional preparation is just as important (if not more so) as physical. That said, she's not going anywhere anytime soon. She's not even close to be done "cooking" yet! 

I have a lot of other things that I want to talk about regarding this line of thought, but in the interest of keeping posts from becoming books, I'll leave it at this for now. 

Have a great weekend (in a few days)... because it's still Wednesday! ;)

20 Weeks!

I still can't get these pictures to load right on this site. Total bummer and incredibly frustrating, but I guess that's what you get when you use a free host site instead of paying for your own domain and all that. Oh, well! 

So we hit the 20 week mark! That means we are about halfway through, halfway to meeting our little girl. Talk about surreal! 

No new and exciting changes to report. She's pretty much in a constant state of motion from what I can tell. Lots of kicking and flipping go on in there, which is always a bit of a surprise to feel when I'm in the car or cooking or whatever. Feeling a baby kick inside you is one of the most bizarre experiences, though, that's for sure!

My energy level has still yet to come back. I feel epically exhausted 90% of the time. Which totally sucks! I'm just going to say it. I miss having the energy to do anything. I really miss exercising. I feel like a blob of skin since I haven't been working out. Boo. 

No cravings, but my appetite seems to have picked up a little bit in the past couple of days. 

The bump seems to be getting bigger and rounding out, so the fact that I'm pregnant versus just having a chubby midsection seems to be more obvious. Woo!

Now we are just focusing on researching products, registering, and debating discussing baby names! (SO STRESSFUL!)

There should be a few recipes coming your way in the next week, so stay tuned! :)

Gender Reveal

Today was our mid-pregnancy ultrasound to check the little one's anatomy and make sure everything looks good! It's also the time to determine the sex. 

As I said earlier, we planned to have it written in a card that we could open with just the two of us, instead of finding out in a doctor's office with a total stranger or in a big party.

Everything went as planned! The little one was flipping and waving away, trying to avoid the camera, and even seemed to be playing with the umbilical cord--too funny. His/her little legs were crossed at the ankles. This kiddo is a total character already. The ultrasound technician was able to move around and show us a bunch of different pictures without giving away the sex. We had to look away while she found a different angle (so hard)! She took the pictures and made sure everything looked good as we kept our eyes shut and tried not to peak. Afterwards, she printed off our pictures, separating the ones that would give away the sex and putting them with the card we had brought, wrote the sex in the card, and taped it shut so we couldn't sneak a peak! 

After that we met with the doctor who said everything looked perfect and healthy (YAY)! 

From there we opted to just make dinner an early thing, since oh-my-gosh we wanted to open that envelope! So, we headed to The Melting Pot (which was delicious and super fun, by the way) and opened our special little card there...

Last chance for guesses! 


We spoke to our server about why we were there and she totally agreed with me that the baby is a boy! Drew remained unconvinced... 


So we just had to settle the debate and find out for sure!


And... 


We're having a little baby...

I'm still incredibly surprised, but we are both just so happy to finally know for sure and to have a healthy, happy baby! 

Time to start officially looking at names, planning a nursery, and figuring out the specifics of having a GIRL!!

:)

18 Weeks

Well, we are in week 18! Talk about mind blowing.

I was making up one of the pictures that I've been doing each week, but something kept screwing up the words. Talk about annoying. So this week is just basic pictures. 

I'm definitely starting to show. I feel huuuuge, but I don't feel like I actually look pregnant to people who don't already know. Soon enough, though, I'm sure! 

I'm still beyond tired 90% of the time. But I can stomach most foods, so that's promising. I've been trying to get back into the kitchen and have managed to do some cooking (with Drew's help): chili, soup, and shepherd's pie... all so good! I'll post some recipes in the next couple of weeks. 

Also, in two days we will find out if we are having a little man or a little lady. Look out for a post Wednesday night or Thursday afternoon with the update. 

Have a great week! 

P.S. Anyone using blogger know why my pictures turn out grainy when I load them on here? They look normal everywhere else.

Gender Reveal Plans!

Confession: I pretype my posts in Word before putting them on here and I spend more time playing around with fonts than I do actually typing everything. I can't think in Times New Roman. 

Anyway...

This week is #17! It’s crazy how time has managed to go so fast the past month or two! The first month or two I was just trying to survive; I was so sick and miserable. I didn’t feel like time was passing at all. I was just fighting to get through the icky sickness. Now that most of that stuff has passed, it feels like time is flying.

Case and point: next week we find out if we will be welcoming a son or daughter into the world next year! NEXT WEEK! I can’t even wrap my head around it. (Let me say it one more time: NEXT WEEK!!!) From there, it will be a WHIRL WIND.

I’ve been doing a ton of research (shocking, I know) about all the infinite baby/children products out there. There is seriously so much crap… and I really feel like a lot of is seriously garbage. Most people with children have told me that babies really don’t need all of it. It seems like it’s mainly some sort of marketing ploy to get nesting mamas to spend all of their money. Obviously, it’s brilliant, because I have lists and lists of various products. I’ve been waiting to really dive into actually buying anything until we know the sex, even though I want to keep things relatively neutral (do you know how much I hate pink? And tutus? Ick.--though no offense to those that love them, just SO not my thing!)

But once we know the sex, it’ll be a marathon of figuring out what’s worth a purchase and what we’ll do without. And figuring out the nursery. And setting it up. And figuring out the rest of the house. And car seats. And toys. And clothes. And diapers. Oh, and PICKING A NAME! And it goes on. Oy.

Not to mention all of the family events and holidays happening in the next few months. Several birthdays (my little brother is turning 18!!), Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, our wedding anniversary. Seriously, the next few months are guaranteed to rush by in a huge blur.

Anyway, originally we had planned on doing a small, intimate gender reveal party with the closest friends and families. However, after a lot of thought, we changed our mind to do something just the two of us. We will still have the doctor write down the sex on a piece of paper and seal it in an envelope. Instead of opening up the envelope in front of a bunch of people at a formal party, we will go out for a nice dinner, just the two of us, and open it there.

In case you can’t tell, I’m very excited!

Do you think it’s a boy or girl?

Weekly update soon! :) 

16 weeks!

So, the 16^th week is almost over (or technically, the 17^th week). Not a whole lot is different from last week! My nausea has definitely gotten better for the most part (yay) but I am still beyond exhausted all.the.time. I think it may even be getting worse! Oy!

Last week we drove down to Tybee Island to spend about 24 hours with his mom, stepdad, and brothers. We spent several hours on the beach (under the protective shade of a nice, big tent) and had some good meals at local restaurants. We got ice cream on the strip and ate it while walking right across the street from the beach. So nice.

The only down side was that we couldn’t spend longer! It would have been great to hang out for a few more days. We realized before heading out that that trip is likely to be our last “us” trip for a while. We probably won’t get a chance to go away (especially to a beach) before January, meaning our next vacation will probably include a baby! That’s so weird to think about!

I wish I had taken more pictures, but I was just too busy lounging in the sand, soaking up the sun, and enjoying quality family time. Sue me. ;)

Since our trip, the hubby has been working most days and I’ve been researching millions of baby things (car seats, carriers, strollers, etc.). It is beyond overwhelming! I’ve also been looking at jobs (also overwhelming). I guess that’s just how life goes sometimes!

It would also definitely appear that I’m getting a legit baby bump going on. Before too long I’m going to need new clothes. Eeek.

Hope you all had a good week! 

Pups and Pregnancy

Do you think dogs can tell when their human mommies are pregnant? I never thought about it before I got pregnant, but now I’m sure they can tell.

Norma Gene in most situations is pretty uncuddly. You can hold on to her and pet her for a while, but once you stop petting her, she’s GONE. She is not one to stick around (and she never has been).

However, since about 5 weeks into this pregnancy, she has been very concerned with what I’m doing and where I’m going. She has even started to snuggle right up around my stomach in bed. It’s absolutely adorable, though it was a little unsettling at first, to the point that we took her to the doctor just to make sure everything was okay (it is!).

She has also started following me places, running after me when we’ve been in completely different rooms before I started walking around. Another new behavior to add to the mix: LOTS of kisses. She’s just the sweetest. 

Buck, on the other hand, seems a little oblivious or indifferent. Maybe he knows, maybe he doesn’t—either way, he doesn’t care and he isn’t acting any different.

Have you had a similar experience? Have any of your pups started acting any differently when you got pregnant?

First Trimester :)

I've kept a few random notes from different weeks as a way to keep up with what's going on. I'll post them individually from here on out. Drew and I have done a pretty crappy job so far with the whole photo documentation thing, but hopefully we'll get better with it all. He says I officially have a bump (eeek!!), so now there's actually something to take a pic of! 

7 Weeks:

Total weight gain: I hope none, still, but I feel myself getting softer—ick

Maternity clothes? Nope! But I’ve been looking at them lol there are actually some cute ones!

Stretch marks? None—I read that they’re genetic, though, and there’s nothing that you can do to avoid them… Sooo, yay.

Sleep: Ehh, fine. Not really any different than before.

Best moment this week: Not much has happened. I’ve just been hanging around!

Miss Anything? Working out!! I am waiting for my 8 week appointment next week to get clearance to work out. Hopefully I’ll be able to pick back up with some exercises. I think that will help me feel better!

Movement: Nope, but weird feelings! Pulling, mainly.

Food cravings: Nothing really—raspberry ginger ale is the only thing that doesn’t sound gross and seems to make me feel okay, and enchiladas! MMMM!

Anything making you queasy or sick: Practically EVERYTHING.

Gender: No idea! Drew thinks he knows and I think I have a hunch, but I’m saying nothing!

Labor Signs: Not even close!

Symptoms: Heartburn, nausea, headaches, exhaustion, bad memory, lack of motivation, etc. Apparently this is fun! Ha!

Belly Button in or out? In!

Wedding rings on or off? On. They’re a little bit big on me, so I’m curious to see if I end up having to take them off.

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy and terrified.

10 Weeks

Total weight gain: Don’t know—don’t keep track! But I think I’m starting to show a little.

Maternity clothes? None so far. I’m hoping to postpone that as long as possible.

Sleep: Exhausted, but random insomnia at night, which BLOWS.

Best moment this week: Family photos (June 24) with Drew’s mom, stepdad, and bros.

Miss Anything? Oh, lots of things! Doing things and having energy, mainly. Being able to cook! OYY!

Movement: None yet, that I can feel at this point.

Food cravings: None. Just a few foods that don’t make me want to die.

Anything making you queasy or sick: EVERYTHING.

Symptoms: Nausea, exhaustion, baby brain, some occasion heartburn/headache/etc.

Belly Button in or out? In!

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Happy or Moody most of the time: It depends… Sometimes I’m fine and others I feel like a total grouch!

11 Weeks:

Monday (July 1, 2013) we went for our third doctor appointment so far, but our first one with our new doctors. It was a much better experience than either of our other two with the other doctor. We had our third ultrasound and it was crazy! The little bean actually looks like a baby! The first two ultrasounds looked blobby and unclear (especially to the doctor—oy!). But this one looked like a teeny tiny baby: a visible (big) head, two arms, two legs. The little arms and legs were wiggling all over the place! Even the doctor commented on how active the little bean was! In some of the pictures, it looks like he/she has a huge hooknose, but it’s actually a little hand that was waving at us. Not a “hi there” kind of a wave, but a “get away and stop taking my picture” kind of wave… Definitely Drew’s child, trying to be a pain when getting a picture taken. :) 

Although we are nearing the end of the first trimester, little has really changed from the earlier weeks. I’m still nauseous 90% of the time. I’m exhausted, but that does seem to be getting better. I’m not sleeping nearly as much. In fact, I seem to be having a hard time falling and staying asleep; that sucks under normal circumstances, but when you’re already dead tired as a rule, it’s even worse! Only a couple foods ever sound good—none of which are remotely healthy, really. I feel bad, but if it’s all I can eat, I don’t know what else I can do! I’m ready to have my appetite back, though. I think my poor diet must have something to do with the icky way I’ve been feeling (because it practically always does). I’m hoping I’ll start feeling up for some moderate exercise again soon, too! I feel sluggish and flabby, which I know is bound to happen, but I think if I can just get some activity going on again I’ll feel at least a little better! At the very least, I’ll feel like I’m actually doing something, which will make me feel better by default.

First Trimester Recap:

So last week we officially transitioned into the second trimester! It’s pretty crazy to think about how fast time is flying by! When I was in the middle of my uber-nauseous phase, I couldn’t wait to be in the second trimester. It was my rallying cry, “Just make it to the second trimester! Everything will be better in the second trimester!” Everyone tells you that one day, you just wake up and feel better and have energy again.

I’m still waiting on that!

Unfortunately, I’m still dealing with some nausea and still tiiiiiired. I definitely feel better than I was feeling for a while, but I still don’t feel good or normal. Bummer.

Other than that, though, things are still going well (as far as I know). Things have definitely started to settle in and feel much more real than ever before—YAY. I’ve been doing all kinds of research (shocking, I know) about all sorts of pregnancy and baby stuff. It’s unbelievable how much is out there! Everyone has a very strong opinion of what is right and good and what is sure to destroy your baby forever, and they all disagree with each other. It’s pretty exhausting. I’m doing my best to just take in advice and actual wisdom and not focus so much on having a solid plan (so hard!). But I seem to be hearing over and over again that, more than anything, it’s all about being flexible because you just cannot plan for everything. (Woo.)

So, more or less, that’s what we’ve been up to! I have much more to say that will be on the blog later, though!

Have a good weekend! J