19 weeks - a mango!

"Your baby's sensory development is exploding! His brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. Some research suggests that he may be able to hear your voice now, so don't be shy about reading aloud, talking to him, or singing a happy tune if the mood strikes you.

His arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of his body now. His kidneys continue to make urine and the hair on his scalp is sprouting. A waxy protective coating called the vernix caseosa is forming on his skin to prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid."

How far along: 19 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +4.8 (overall weight gain)
Maternity clothes: That would be a big fat yes.
Stretch marks: Nothing new.
Sleep: Aside from the frequent bathroom trips, I'm sleeping well! I love my snoogle!
Best moment this week: Picking out the bedding. I love it!
Movement: It's sporadic, but he's making himself known! Last Wednesday night when I got home from cake decorating class I used the doppler. He pushed back on it! (Or ran away from it - I'm not quite sure. Either way there was movement.) Then I sat in the glider and I think the sugar high from the icing had him bouncing off the walls. The fluttering was amazing!
Food cravings: Nothing to speak of this week.
Gender: Boy!!!
Labor Signs: Nope
Belly Button in or out: In, but it's sort of flattening out, instead of a deep innie.
What I miss: being able to get dressed quickly in the morning. Right now half of my shirts are too big and I can't ever remember which fit at the moment. If I was smart I'd try them all on and then organize them better in my closet.
What I am looking forward to: Our next ultrasound - next week!
Milestones: I'm so excited to read that studies show that he can maybe hear us now!

A few other things from this week: midnight leg cramps have started, weird pulsing in my right ear (apparently it's partially a sinus infection, but also partially because there is more blood flow and the heart is beating harder) is driving me crazy, I've had a bloody nose, and for the most part the sciatic nerve is feeling better. Physical therapy is working! Also, I went to a Baby Expo (think bridal show, but with baby stuff) with a friend on Saturday. I came home with a bag full of coupons, information, and a few fun freebie items - a toy, blanket, etc.

Also, our little boy already has some shoes! Uncle Patrick bought him some Sperry shoes so they can be stylish together.


Now for an updated belly picture! First is a picture from the front - I thought I'd show you the shirt I've been wearing in all of them. It says "Pregnant is the new skinny." I think it's sort of an illusion ... from the front, I don't think I look pregnant.


From the side is a different story!


And for fun, here is the difference between 6 1/2 weeks and 19 weeks.

18 weeks

First I just want to say, really?? This is the best picture of a sweet potato they could come up with? Do you see the hair coming out of the left side?? Really??

On to what the little man is doing this week:

"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. Baby's become amazingly mobile (compared to you, at least), passing the hours yawning, hiccupping, rolling, twisting, kicking, punching, sucking, and swallowing."

I meant to take a picture today but am already in my pjs now, so it will have to wait.

As you'll see below - the glider came in this past week. I love it! And so does Cali -she thinks that if I'm sitting in it, she's supposed to be in my lap. She curls up around my belly and we rock for long periods of time. At some point before the baby is here I think I'm going to have to start rocking a stuffed animal so that Cali gets used to not always sitting there. For now it's so cute though!

How far along: 18 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +2.2 (overall weight gain)
Maternity clothes: Um, yes. I also just bought a dress to possibly wear to a wedding we're going to at the beginning of January. It was $7 at a consignment sale - not too bad! It's obviously too big now, but will hopefully fit then.
Stretch marks: Nothing new.
Sleep: I couldn't get comfortable last night and was so close to sleeping in the glider.
Best moment this week: Getting our glider! It only took 4 days to come in. Jason picked it up and put it together for me - I love it!
Movement: Still not much of anything.
Food cravings: Nothing to speak of this week.
Gender: Boy!!!
Labor Signs: Nope
Belly Button in or out: In, but it's sort of flattening out, instead of a deep innie.
What I miss: sleeping on my belly or on my back. I struggle to try to stay on my side.
What I am looking forward to: Our next ultrasound in 2 weeks
Weekly Wisdom: If your body tells you to lay down and put your feet up - do it. You'll feel much better afterwards. :)
Milestones: Feeling the little man for the first time! I know I had mentioned odd feelings before, but they were mostly twinges and I'm pretty sure were just feelings of the uterus growing/stretching. This morning as I was laying in bed, I felt what can only be described as a bubble/air pocket! It was there and then it went away. After consulting several friends and google - that was probably the baby! Now I just wait for it to happen again.

17 weeks!

"Your baby's skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone, and the umbilical cord — his lifeline to the placenta — is growing stronger and thicker. Your baby weighs 5 ounces now and he's around 5 inches long from head to bottom. He can move his joints, and his sweat glands are starting to develop.

Wow, am I really here already? Craziness! I finally have my appetite back, which has been pretty nice. I've also had my first real craving this week (to the point that I HAD to run to the grocery store at 9:30 one evening.) The not so good part has been my sciatic nerve. I'd had problems with it for several weeks - nothing unbearable though, and pretty common. It got really bad about a week ago and was progressively getting worse. By the end of the day I could hardly move and Jason had to help me get out of bed. So at my 16 week appt last week I was given a fun "maternity support belt" to wear. I'm not sure if it's really helping, but at least it's not worse. I also start going to physical therapy this week to learn some stretches, etc to help with it.

We've been looking at several bedding options and I think have it narrowed down to two - a jungle one and a car one. We really like both so I'm not 100% sure how we'll decide.

How far along: 17 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +.2 (I gained weight!!)
Maternity clothes: Yep. There are actually a few shirts that I think look a little tight now.
Stretch marks: Not much - just the few that I noticed on my hip last week.
Sleep: Yes please!
Best moment this week: We ordered our glider!
Movement: Still not much of anything. I talk to him most every night asking him to move just a little for me.
Food cravings: LEMON COOKIES! I blame Anne for this. I was on the phone with her one evening and she mentioned lemon cookies. I'd actually never had them, but suddenly they were a must. I was already in my pjs, but got dressed to go to Marsh to pick some up. Unfortunately none of them looked good. Fortunately I got to eat one that Anne made the next day. I now have the recipe and just made a batch of them tonight. :) (And as a side note - Jason says that I have not hit rock bottom yet because I at least got dressed before running to the grocery that night.)
Gender: Boy!!!
Labor Signs: Nope
Belly Button in or out: In
What I miss: Being able to walk/bend over without wanting to cry
What I am looking forward to: Starting physical therapy on Friday for the sciatic nerve problem.
Weekly Wisdom: If your body tells you to lay down and put your feet up - do it. You'll feel much better afterwards. :)
Milestones: Nothing big this week that I know of.

In non-pregnancy news - I've been taking a cake decorating class! I'm taking it with my sister Karen, and my friend Melanie. It's been a lot of fun! Here is a picture of the first one:


We also finally had our garage sale this past weekend - it was a lot of work, but was fun! We had it at my mom's house and had a pretty good turnout. I'm just glad that it's over and we have space in our garage back!

Week 16

"Get ready for a growth spurt. In the next few weeks, your baby will double his weight and add inches to his length. Right now, he's about the size of an avocaod: 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. His legs are much more developed, his head is more erect than it has been, and his eyes have moved closer to the front of his head. His ears are close to their final position, too. The patterning of his scalp has begun, though his locks aren't recognizable yet. He's even started growing toenails. And there's a lot happening inside as well. For example, his heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, and this amount will continue to increase as your baby continues to develop."

How far along: 16 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: -1.2 (overall)
Maternity clothes: Yep. And it's actually starting to fit now. (See picture below.)
Stretch marks: I just noticed some on my hip yesterday - eek!
Sleep: It's going much better. I've been waking up more in the middle of the night to pee, but at least I'm not just laying there awake.
Best moment this week: We have officially reserved our spot at a daycare that we love.
Movement: I've had some bizarre feelings, but I'm just not sure if it's the little man or not. I have a feeling that I'll be feeling him in the next few weeks.
Food cravings: Still no real cravings, but I always enjoy a hotdog or a baked potato with chili, cheese, and sour cream.
Gender: Boy!!!
Labor Signs: Nope
Belly Button in or out: In
What I miss: Taking super hot bubble baths
What I am looking forward to: I have my 16 week appointment tomorrow and have a list of things that I want to talk to Dr. B about.
Weekly Wisdom: Don't send a hungry pregnant woman to the grocery store. She'll come home with lots of random things. Salad, peanuts, apple pie, baked potato, sparkling white grape juice, spinach dip and Hawaiian bread to name a few.
Milestones: I'm not sure if it's a "milestone" exactly, but about midweek I realized that I do actually have a baby bump. See picture below. :)

15 weeks

I know, I know - I'm a day late! I was busy looking at adorable little boy clothes yesterday evening!

"This week he's busy moving amniotic fluid through his nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in his lungs begin to develop. His legs are growing longer than his arms now, and he can move all of his joints and limbs. Although his eyelids are still fused shut, he can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, he's likely to move away from the beam. There's not much for your baby to taste at this point, but he is forming taste buds."

After my big post over the weekend, there isn't really much to report. We are just so happy and are feeling so attached to the little man already. Seeing him move around, kicking, sucking his thumb was just so amazing.

How far along: 15 weeks, 1 days
Total weight gain/loss: -1.6 (overall) I think anyways - it's been a few days since I checked but I still hadn't really gained anything.
Maternity clothes: Yep. Luckily I was able to borrow a bunch and I've also found some things at garage sales and goodwill. A lot of it is still too big, but it will be nice later on.
Stretch marks: I don't think I have any yet!
Sleep: The Snoogle is helping so much! I do find that I wake up almost every morning between 4 and 5 though. It's practice I guess!
Best moment this week: Finding out that we're having a boy!
Movement: As seen, he's moving all around - I'm just not feeling it yet.
Food cravings: Last week I wanted ribs, desperately. I begged Jason to go to dinner, we went somewhere that had ribs .... and they were out. They almost had a crying pregnant woman on their hands. :)
Gender: Boy!!!
Labor Signs: None!
Belly Button in or out: In
What I miss: Being able to eat chicken
What I am looking forward to: Picking out nursery bedding. It's been fun to really look at ideas this week.
Weekly Wisdom: Don't order something for dinner that can't be reheated. I never finish an entire meal so I typically end up with leftovers for lunch. Something like nachos (no, not the healthiest thing) don't heat up well.
Milestones: Found out that we're having a boy!