Pregnancy Update: 13 weeks

And we have a bump picture! I will be skipping week 14 as I accidentally deleted my post, and I forgot to take a pic. Will is now assigned to take weekly photos after church going forward, and I bought a tripod, so we should be in business from here on out. I hope to post my 15 week update on Tuesday, and make that the official day for updating from here on out.

How Far Along: 13 weeks.

Size of Baby: Baby is the size of a peach. All of these fruit comparisons are making me miss Summer even more. Can’t wait until the weather warms up and we can go to the Farmer’s Market.

Gender: Still at a loss on this one. I was hoping I’d get some type of sign or inclination, but so far, no dice.

Weight Gain: Up 4 pounds total so far.

Feeling: Good for the most part. Still a walking zombie by about 9pm, and experiencing some pretty serious evening nausea.

Maternity Clothes: Not yet, but I need to buy some maternity pants ASAP. My “bump” is basically nonexistent, but after I eat a large meal, I can barley fit into my pants. Even with the belly band. Not sure why after I eat my stomach literally doubles in size, but I’m over trying to accommodate it in my regular clothes. It hasn’t really been an issue since I’m normally at home in sweats after dinner…until now. Last night when we were out for Valentine’s Day, I thought my jeans were going to rip right in the middle of dinner.

Nursery: Waiting until we know the sex to make any purchases. We went to Baby’s R Us last week and found a pretty great glider. I want to go to Buy Buy Baby some time in the next couple of weeks to scope out their selection too.

Movement: Too early.

Symptoms: Fatigue and nausea. Being generally uncomfortable in the stomach area. Neck and back pain.

Sleep: My favorite thing.

Cravings: Nothing really.

What I Miss: Energy. It kind of stinks not being able to drink wine when we go out to dinner, but honestly my tastes have changed so much during this pregnancy, I don’t even know that wine would taste good to me at this point.

Best Moment This Week: Being in the second trimester. Getting positive results to our first trimester screening.

Looking Forward To: Getting another ultrasound and finding out the gender. Meeting (and hopefully loving) our new OB practice.

Thankful For: Health for me and Baby G, Will being the most supportive husband ever, and being another week along.

A lot to look forward to

Holy isitfriday yet? Unfortunately, it's only Tuesday night as I'm writing this. Fortunately, I have Being Farrah on the TV to distract me from reality. What a train wreck.

The past few days have been hectic, but we've fit in a lot of fun too. All weekend long, I think I was asleep for the night by 8pm. So far second trimester energy is nothing but a myth to me. If all that hyping up this stage of pregnancy was a joke, I am not amused.

We did manage to cook a few of our favorite meals, go to a UC basketball game (where we were robbed of a win), and spend some time with Will's parents. Sunday morning we had brunch with them at The National Exemplar.

It's one of those places that we've lived by for years, and I've always wanted to eat breakfast at, but generally forget about until some random afternoon.. I can't believe it took me so long, and I will definitely be back. The atmosphere was adorable, and the food was AMAZING.

Work has also joined the baby in overall just kicking my butt. I rushed home tonight to get the dogs to their 6pm grooming appointment. Instead of coming home to two happy puppies, I came home to a huge, disgusting, "mess". I have no idea what they got into, but our house smelled like death and I barely had time to clean it all up before the appointment. The night wasn't totally lost, as Will made it home in time to go to the appointment with me. While we waited for the dogs to be ready we had a nice dinner date and had time to peruse Target. Not bad for a Tuesday!

I'm hoping the next week flies by, because we have a ton to look forward to. On Wednesday, I have my 16 week doctor appointment. This will also be my first time at what will be ( what better be) our final OBGYN practice. I am excited to meet them and just be at ease with the entire doctor situation. Speaking of 16 weeks, I will have pregnancy updates weeks 13 and 14 up this week/weekend. That way next week we'll be just about in real time.

Other things to look forward to besides meeting the new doc and I'm sure getting to hear the heartbeat at the appointment include gender reveals! We have an ultrasound next week on Friday. The tech will write the results for us so we can drop them off at the photographer's house without finding out just yet. This will also be the first ultrasound Will gets to attend. I cannot wait to finally get to see our little person moving around together. The next day we'll have a gender reveal photo shoot, then head out for a full day of shopping! Is it next week yet?

Happy Wednesday!

Playing catch up. Pregnancy Update: 8-12 weeks

Eight Weeks

How Far Along: 8 weeks! We’ve hit the 2 month mark. Will be so happy to get out of the first trimester for so many reasons.

Size of Baby: Raspberry

Gender: Still TBD. I won’t start theorizing on this topic until it gets closer.

Weight Gain: Fluctuating between 2 to 4 pounds total gain. Today happens to be an up four pounds day.

Feeling: Freaking TIRED. That’s all I can say. More exhausted than I thought humanly possible for me to ever be. Getting quite nauseous around 3pm. That combined with the extreme fatigue makes for quite the work day let me tell ya.

Maternity Clothes: Still in all my regular garb.

Nursery: Still a guest room. Doing plenty of pinning ideas on Pinterest.

Movement: Too early to feel anything, but the baby is able to move around now.

Symptoms: Tired, nauseous, but happy.

Sleep: No major complaints. My knees are really bothering me when I sleep on my side, so I think I’ll have to invest in some type of prego pillow sooner rather than later.

Cravings: No intense cravings, but I’ve been eating mostly cheesy garbage or salads. One end of the spectrum or the other.

What I Miss: Nothing really. The exhaustion and feeling sicky isn’t even that bad as long as I can get home right after work to my bed or couch.

Best Moment This Week: Getting a new doctor, having an ultrasound, and hearing the heartbeat! I loved everyone we’ve talked to so far at the new office, and I love them even more for scheduling an early ultrasound! I went at 7 weeks and 5 days and the baby measured right on track. Heartbeat was 146 beats per minute, which apparently is normal.

Looking Forward To: The next four weeks flying by.

Thankful For: Everything mentioned in the previous weeks, and sleep. Lots and lots of sleep.

Nine Weeks

How Far Along: 9 weeks. My little trimester breakdown chart shows that this “month” is actually weeks 9-13, so we’re in for a long one. Regardless, happy to be one week closer to the second trimester.

Size of Baby: Green olive.

Gender: No clue! I’ve decided not to have a gender reveal party and opted for a gender reveal photo shoot with just Will and myself. I have no energy to plan anything right now.

Weight Gain: Up three pounds.

Feeling: A little cautious. And freaked out by all the changes going on.

Maternity Clothes: Still fitting in all my normal clothes.

Nursery: Still a guest room.

Movement: Too early.

Symptoms: Slightly less exhausted. Lots of nausea in the evenings. Some lower pack pain. Tons of breakouts.

Sleep: Pretty normal, just sleeping more than usual.

Cravings: More like aversions. Not much sounds good these days besides anything with cheese.

What I Miss: Surprisingly, nothing!

Best Moment This Week: Climbing a week closer to the 2^nd trimester.

Looking Forward To: The next appointment, since we should be able to hear the baby’s heartbeat.

Thankful For: A helpful husband and supportive family!

Ten Weeks

How Far Along: 10 weeks! ¼ of the way there.

Size of Baby: A prune.

Gender: Still no really strong feelings either way. I did have a dream last night that I was having twins though. Pretty sure that’s not happening.

Weight Gain: Still up 2-3 pounds depending on the day.

Feeling: Pretty good this week. Still a little groggy, and still having "evening sickness", but I can feel some of my energy starting to return.

Maternity Clothes: Not yet, but I may need to upgrade some of my bras soon.

Nursery: Still a guest room. We were planning to use the back guest bedroom that’s closest to the our room and the guest bath as the nursery. I’ve been thinking though, and I’m now considering using one of the front rooms. I think they’re a little bigger, and they get way better sunlight. I think we’ll make the final call when we start buying furniture and I can see how it fits in each room.

Movement: Too early to feel, but the baby is moving around in there. Can’t wait to see that on our next ultrasound!

Symptoms: Evening nausea, lack of appetite, fatigue, some back/tummy aches and pains.

Sleep: Pretty normal, just sleeping more than usual.

Cravings: Nothing really.

What I Miss: Energy! Not feeling like a complete waist of space.

Best Moment This Week: A restful weekend.

Looking Forward To: Our first trimester screening in a week and a couple of days.

Thankful For: Will has really stepped up, and he gets more and more helpful each week. Doing chores I’d normally do, completely not caring that I am totally worthless around the house and to him or myself in general. Cannot imagine doing this without him!

Eleven Weeks

How Far Along: 11 weeks.

Size of Baby: A lime.

Gender: I’ve been thinking about this a lot this week. It’s no secret I want a girl, so I was trying to make peace with the fact that there is a very real chance I may have a son. I started planning boy nurserys and just picturing a baby boy, that kind of thing. It wasn’t horrible, and of course we will be happy either way, but at the end of the day… I’m still team pink.

Weight Gain: Still about 3 pounds.

Feeling: Some of the late afternoons/evenings this past week were horrible at best.  Extremely nauseous and exhausted. Hopefully we’re nearing the end of the sickness tunnel.

Maternity Clothes: Not yet, but my pants are definitely getting a little tight. I plan to buy a belly band next time I order something offline or go to a store that sells them. I looked at some maternity clothes online this week, and pending all goes well at my OB appointment next week, I may start buying things that are on sale. I want to collect slowly so I don’t have to go out and drop a ton of money as soon as I pop. Hoping this game plan will also afford me the ability to wait until things are really on sale.

Nursery: I am so excited for this part now a days. I plan to start buying things as soon as we find out the gender. Still no decision on which guest room we’ll end up using.

Movement: Too early to feel, but the baby is moving around in there. Can’t wait to see that on our next ultrasound!

Symptoms: Nausea and exhaustion.

Sleep: My favorite thing to do these days.

Cravings: I told a friend today I haven’t had any real cravings. It’s more like everything sounds disgusting so what can you tolerate right now. Especially tolerable this week was mac and cheese, potato skins, and strawberries.

What I Miss: Still just wanting my energy back.

Best Moment This Week: Being a little closer to the second trimester. Sharing the news with one more good friend.

Looking Forward To: My OB appointment Tuesday. Excited to have another ultrasound and hopefully get a good report from the doctor. As long as all goes well and we get the thumbs up, we’ll share the big news with the rest of our friends and family on Friday. Super excited for that too!

Thankful For: What is feeling like a healthy baby. Peace of mind. My extremely helpful and supportive husband. Modern medicine.

Twelve Weeks

How Far Along: 12 weeks! SO happy to reach this milestone. We made it!

Size of Baby: A plum.

Gender: I’m still 50/50. Heartbeat was 173 (I think? 170 something) at the last appointment, which is high. I know it’s just an old wives tale, but that’d mean girl for sure.

Weight Gain: Still about 3 pounds.

Feeling: Pretty good. I can feel some of my energy coming back, but definitely still heading to bed earlier than my norm. Experiencing some nausea here and there, but I think it’s getting better.

Maternity Clothes: Not yet, but I’ve been looking around online. Now that I am “out” I can start wearing tighter shirts again, so I don’t think I’ll need any new clothes just yet. I don’t have a bump yet, but I get really bloated after eating.

Nursery: Can’t wait to buy things, but trying to wait until we know the sex. I do know I want white furniture either way, so I may see if Will wants to browse this weekend.

Movement: Too early to feel, but I got to see some wiggles and squirms on the ultrasound I had this week. The baby was moving it’s little arm waving at me ;) The ultrasound tech had to have me lay on my side to get the view she needed, and when she poked at the baby to get him or her to move into the right spot, there was a definite “Hey lady I am laying here” back arch haha.

Symptoms: Fatigue, nausea, back pain.

Sleep: Still can’t get enough. I’ve woken up a time or two in the middle of the night this week, but I think that has more to do with one of our dogs. Sadie has been going downstairs (weird because she sleeps with us upstairs) in the middle of the night and barking like a maniac. Either someone is casing our house every night, or she’s losing her mind. I think maybe deer are hopping out of the woods into our yard in the middle of the night and she sees them out the back door when she goes down to get water.

Cravings: Nothing really. Ate a pretty normal diet this week.

What I Miss: Having energy. Hoping the second trimester brings me all the spunk that I keep hearing it will.

Best Moment This Week: Officially being 12 weeks, having an ultrasound, and sharing our news with the world.

Looking Forward To: Next milestone is finding out the sex. 4 weeks to go! Also, hoping to get settled on an OB this month. Thinking about switching because I've decided I want to deliver at a different hospital.

Thankful For: My family, my husband, us both having good jobs to help us provide for the millions of expenses that are about to come up. And of course my health, and what has so far been a healthy pregnancy.

Lately

1. Our Valentine's Day dinner was amazing. I laughed till I cried (literally… really classy over here), and we even got a great picture from the hostess that she printed off for us (not this crappy one from my phone). Thanks Jeff Ruby. The whole weekend was pretty great in fact. Saturday I caught up on a little cleaning and did a whole lot of baby product research. Sunday we went to church and I went to a fun baby shower.

2. I really don't care if I get stretch marks. I've always had sensitive skin that scared really easily, and I'm a pretty big klutz, so weird marks and scars are nothing new in this neck of the woods. I'm certainly just as superficial as the next girl… I think? I never leave the house without makeup, and I'm as girly as they come, but when it comes to stretch marks… the thought just doesn't bother me. I'm about to start using a little extra lotion in the belly area to soothe the itchiness, but there will be no special earth space magic oil elixirs here.

3. Does anyone else get paranoid everyone is hanging out without them? I feel like my social life has taken a serious nose dive since the big news. Maybe no one is doing anything due to the horrible weather. Maybe I have pregnancy paranoia. Maybe I am so tired I've slept through all my friend's calls lately. Whatever it is, I'm not sure if I even care… but I might.

here

4. I heard birds and saw the sun this morning! Spring is coming! I also had my first baby dream, and it involved a girl. Hopefully this is a sign?

Pregnancy Update: Weeks 4 - 7

Whenever I enter a new phase of life, I love nothing more than to "Google it". Whether it be information on different cities, traveling, jobs, school, real estate, whatever: I head straight to the internet. Finding out I was pregnant was no different. I was so, so excited to be pregnant, I wanted to shout it from the rooftops. I really wanted to keep it quiet as long as possible though, so my urge to head straight to the internet was even stronger since there were so few people I could talk to about it. Not to mention so much information to learn!

I had a hard time finding blogs that started tracking pregnancy before 12 or so weeks, so I knew when we "came out" I wanted to post my early pregnancy updates. Today I'm going to share week's 4-7. I'll share weeks 8-11 in another post, then try to post one a week until we're in real time. I won't have any bump pictures until week 13 or so, but there truly has been nothing to show till now.

Here we go! Images from thebump.com.

Four Week Update

How Far Along: 4 weeks.

Size of Baby: A poppy seed.

Gender: TBD.

Weight Gain: Nothing just yet.

Feeling: Blessed. Undeservedly, unbelievably blessed. I have no idea why I have been blessed by God so much in this life, but I am on cloud nine. I pray it continues and will do everything in my power to keep the good times coming.

Maternity Clothes: Slightly bloated, but hopefully we’re far from needing any update on this topic.

Nursery: I know which guest room we’ll use, but that’s all that’s official. I have a private board on Pinterest where I’ve been collecting ideas for a while. I don’t plan to make any decisions until we know the sex.

Movement: Much too early for any of that.

Symptoms: Hungry. Tired. Emotional. I’ve recently cried over a Goo Goo Dolls song on my way to work, a Dick’s Sporting Goods Commercial, and a few other silly things that normally would just make me smile. If we’re being honest, some songs always make my cry. But normally it’d be a tear or two. Now we’re talking full out waterworks.

Sleep: Normally I sleep like a rock, but the past few nights I’ve woken up around 2am and not been able to get back to sleep for an hour or so. Hopefully this is short lived, but I have a feeling it may be around for a while.

Cravings: Food in general. Since no extra calories are needed yet, I’m attributing this one to my hormones going crazy.

What I Miss: It’s only been a few days since we’ve known, but I know I will miss eating sushi and lunch meats. And lets be honest here, booze. All well worth the sacrifice though. I’m just hoping to be able to fool my family at Christmas when I don’t indulge in certain foods/drinks.

Best Moment This Week: Getting so many positive pregnancy tests. The first couple were touch and go, and I had no clue if I was losing my mind or not.

Looking Forward To: My doctor appointment this Thursday. I coincidentally already had one scheduled. Great timing! I can’t wait to hear the news from a doctor’s mouth.

Thankful For:  That this is all even happening. That I am healthy and God willing that health will bring us a safe and full term pregnancy and healthy baby.  Also thankful that I made it through my first outing without drinking and no one asked too many questions!

Five Week Update

How Far Along: 5 weeks.

Size of Baby: An apple seed.

Gender: Still a long ways off! We will be happy with either of course, but I have always been team girl, and Will team boy.

Weight Gain: Barely half a pound, so nothing yet really.

Feeling: Great! I’ve been quite tired and a teeny tiny but nauseous here and there, but nothing major. Kind of like I’m getting over a cold. I actually would love to feel some crazy symptoms right now, just so I knew everything was going ok in there. I expected the symptoms so much it sometimes worries me that they’re not here, so trying to stay positive and calm.

Maternity Clothes: Another thing we’re hopefully a far ways away from. My Mom tried to get me to go into a maternity store at the mall the other day but I just couldn’t do it.

Nursery: Still a guest room. Been pinning like crazy, but no official decisions here until we know the sex.

Movement: Too early.

Symptoms: Never quite feeling 100% rested. Taking naps which I never do. Hungry.

Sleep: This is so-so. I’m going to bed much earlier than usual most nights, but I rarely sleep through the night these days. Half the time I’m up to go to the bathroom, the other half of the time I think it’s just nerves and excitement waking me up.

Cravings: Nothing yet.

What I Miss: It’s strange having to think so hard about what I’m going to eat, but I haven’t really missed anything too much. It’s even stranger to go through the holidays without a glass of red wine or a Christmas beer, but worth it of course.

Best Moment This Week: Telling my Mom and sisters the big news. We’d originally planned to wait longer, but we just couldn’t since they’re staying with us for a few days. We also plan to tell Will’s parents in the next couple of days. My Mom absolutely freaked out and started crying, and my sisters smiled ear to ear for the next hour. It’s so fun to share this with them!

Another awesome moment was going to the doctor and getting the pregnancy confirmed. Since it’s so early they didn’t have too much info to give me, but exciting to hear the news from the doctor none the less.

Looking Forward To: Telling Will’s parents. My 10 week appointment when we get to hear the heartbeat!

Thankful For:  Still in shock and so thankful we were able to get pregnant relatively quickly. Thankful I’m in good health and hoping that continues for me and the baby for the remainder of this pregnancy.

Six Week Update

How Far Along: 6 weeks.

Size of Baby: A sweet pea.

Gender: Still TBD.

Weight Gain: It’s been really up and down. As of today, I’m up about 2 pounds. Thinking this is mostly bloat, because my pants are definitely uncomfortably tight these days.

Feeling: Pretty good overall. I’ve had a cold the past few days, which hasn’t helped anything, but thankfully nothing too major.

The nerves have somewhat subsided and I’m really trying to take comfort in the fact that I am listening to my body and taking care of myself. I know that anything can happen at any time, but as a health woman at prime baby age, I have to trust God is watching over me and this little bebe!

Maternity Clothes: Jeans are a little tight, but luckily my work pants are mostly on the loose side, so no need for adjustments there yet. 

Nursery: Still a guest room.

Movement: Too early.

Symptoms: Still feeling quite a bit of fatigue and nausea, but it really depends on the day. As I’m typing this, I feel 100% normal. A slight bit of cramping has come and gone. Surprisingly I haven’t been that irritable. Super hungry up until yesterday. For the past 24 hours I’ve had basically no appetite.

Sleep: Pretty good. Been waking up most nights for a bathroom break, but I’ve had a pretty easy time getting back to bed. I’m quite the restless sleeper, and I already have major back/neck/hip/knee issues, so I’m already thinking of ordering a pregnancy pillow in a couple of weeks.

Cravings: Nothing specific, just food in general. The cold kind of scaled down my appetite this week though.

What I Miss: Not hiding a huge secret from everyone I interact with! I am normally quite the open book.

Best Moment This Week: Telling Will’s parents and siblings. We weren’t planning on telling his siblings, but they figured us out. One of our SILs swore I was “glowing”. The other said the no drinking lately is what tipped her off, then she could just tell. I am happy to have a few extra people praying for us, and someone to be excited with, so no harm done.

Looking Forward To: Our 10 week appointment when we can hear the heartbeat! Friday is my “week change day” and I have never looked forward to a day so much.

Thankful For: A husband that treats me like a princess. Even though I’ve felt pretty good, I’ve had ZERO interest in cooking or cleaning. So grateful he is there to pick up the slack and give me some extra TLC.

Seven Week Update

How Far Along: 7 weeks. Closing out the second month!

Size of Baby: Blueberry. I almost had blueberries for breakfast today, but since that’s what all my apps are comparing the little babe to, it didn’t seem right haha.

Gender: TBD. I read that the girl or boy parts are starting to make their appearance this week. I’ve always wanted daughter(s), but for some reason I think it will be a boy.

Weight Gain: Up two pounds from pre prego weight.

Feeling: Still pretty good. Not feeling 100%, but no major complaints either.

Maternity Clothes: Getting close to needing a belly band for my jeans with my bloated tummy (most of my jeans were too tight to begin with). Not making any purchases though until we hear the heartbeat. I am so superstitious, I have to take all precautions.

Nursery: Still a guest room.

Movement: Too early.

Symptoms: Tired. No food sounds good one minute, then starving the next. A few serious waves of nausea, but not every day and no throwing up. I get more like “late afternoon sickness” every once in a while as opposed to any problems in the morning.

Sleep: Decent. I’ve made it through the past couple of nights without having to wake up and use the restroom. I plan to purchase a pillow to put between my legs while I sleep because my knees and hips have been killing me at night, but holding off on that as well for the same reason as the belly band.

Cravings: Nothing too intense. The things that have tasted escpecially good to me lately are rainbow sherbert from UDF, tacos, and salads. The salad bar in my work’s cafeteria is my best friend right now.

What I Miss: Energy! I haven’t felt like cooking or cleaning at all lately and I really feel for Will. The poor guy is not the best chef so he’s had to deal with some less than stellar meals lately. Hoping to get back in my groove soon.

Best Moment This Week: Finding out we get to hear the heart beat much sooner than expected! Long story short, we switched to an OB that does a dating ultrasound instead of waiting until we're far along enough to hear the heartbeat with a doppler. Yay!

Looking Forward To: See above.

Thankful For: My husband. Modern medicine that can soothe my crazy worries and fears. Pregnancy apps for frequent updates. My faith in God, and the comfort in knowing that ultimately this is in his hands.