First pair of shoes

Aren't these just the cutest shoes you have ever seen?? They are so cute they make this pregnant lady cry. I love them. 

Can't wait for the little feet that will fill them. 

20 Weeks -- The halfway mark!

I feel like I look huge in this picture! I most definitely don't feel this large in person. 

How far along?   20 weeks

Total weight gain:   Ready for it?? +12. My goal for this pregnancy is to stay under 35 pounds gained, so I think I’m still doing okay.

Maternity clothes?   I finally broke and bought a pair of maternity jeans and they are wonderfully comfortable for the most of the time. Plus, they’re really cute and I feel good in them. 

Stretch marks?   Nopers.

Sleep:  I’ve finally found a position that I can fall asleep in every night, but it gets a bit monotonous lying in the same position all the time. I think that my 1^st trimester exhaustion is starting to come back as well.

Best moment this week:   Hearing that we are going to be blessed with a baby boy. Also, Gabe and I feeling him move for the first time outside of my belly was a pretty great moment. 

Miss Anything?    Nothing different really. Being able to move around easily and eating cold sandwiches.

Movement:   Yup. They are my favorite little moments of my day. I love that it is something shared between just me and him, so sweet.

Food cravings:   Anything and everything food. I love eating almost anything put in front of my face. 

Anything making you queasy or sick:   Cigarette smoke.

 Gender:   Boy!

Labor Signs:   None.

Symptoms:   The ever growing belly and being uncomfortable is a very apparent symptom.  I feel like I’m quickly approaching the “uncomfortable” stage and yet we have so far to go.

Belly Button in or out?   Innie.

Wedding rings on or off?   On.

Mood:   Anxious and happy. Although I’m sure I seem to be personality-less to people around me lately. I always have so much running through my mind that I’m commonly seen staring into space.

Looking forward to:   Buying, buying and more buying for the little babe. Now just to convince Gabe of this….    

Random Ramblings:

*I’m halfway through this pregnancy! And it gives me mixed feelings. It’s great that it is such a big mark to hit, but yet the ultimate goal seems so far away. Are we really only halfway??

*I have been tracking my progress through babycenter.com. It gives me an update every week of how much the baby is grown. Up until this point they have been measuring the baby from crown to rump. Last week he measured 6 inches from crown to rump. From now on, they measure the baby from head to toe. And it was a bit of a shocker when I read that this week he is 10 inches from head to toe. I had no idea he was so big at this point! It boggles my mind.

*Our sweet little baby is measuring a week ahead. This makes me fear that I am going to give birth to a 10 pound baby. Oh dear, I just don’t know what I would do. I have always wanted a chubby baby, maybe it’ll just my wishes coming to haunt me.  

*Feeling him kick from the outside of my stomach was a pretty incredible experience. He seems to stop kicking when I put my hand on my belly to feel his kicks and so I usually have to move quickly. But one night he was just kicking his little heart out at the same spot and so I grabbed Gabe’s hand really fast and we were both able to feel it. I’m almost sure that it was his foot.  

Our love for him grows more and more every week

IT'S A ..........

And we couldn't be more thrilled! The little guy was very wiggly during the ultrasound today and it was fun getting a glimpse of what his personality is going to be like. He had his legs up over his head for most of the time, silly boy! It created some very cute ultrasound pictures. Gabe is very happy to be getting a little boy and I am excited to have a little buddy to hang out with. We do have names narrowed down to two now, but we won't be announcing it to the world until he arrives. Can't wait to meet you little one! Here is a picture from today's ultrasound (legs over head):

Butcher knifes and metal carts

I had a pretty crazy pregnancy dream the other night. I dreamt that we were supposed to go in to find out the gender and it was late notice and I wasn't able to find Gabe so he didn't come with me. For some reason I couldn't go to the midwife clinic and had to go to the hospital to find out instead. It was the creepiest hospital you could imagine and it reminded me of my elementary cafeteria. They took me into this room that was like a huge warehouse, everything was starch white, and they had big metal cart-like tables for the women to lay on. They had tiny old tv's for you to watch the ultrasound on and on each of the tables were butcher knifes covered in blood. I remember being confused trying to remember if they were supposed to cut me open or not. Anyways, they ended up not checking the gender for me, thank goodness! But the doctor just looked at my belly and told me that I wasn't far along enough for them to tell the gender. I was so offended because they had told me that I was. Glad that the dream ended as it did, and I have 100% confidence that our appointment tomorrow will go much differently :) Pregnancy dreams are so weird. Tomorrow is the big day!!! Apparently the majority of people think we are having a girl, but we shall see...

18 Weeks and Happy V-Day!

I have been sick since Sunday night and it’s killing me. I was around a lot of people this weekend that said they were sick and I just knew I was going to catch something. I wish it were morning sickness, but it’s definitely not that. It’s really really hard to be sick when you’re pregnant. It takes longer to get better and you can’t take any medications, but what really kills me is all the worry about whether the sickness affects the baby. I can’t really eat the things that I need to be eating for the baby or else I will just end up throwing it up, and it’s hard to do that for 2 days straight. It most certainly creates a lot of constant worry. I am pretty sure that I have lost some weight but hopefully I can start feeling better and eating the things that the baby needs.

I felt pretty lousy about our Valentine’s Day plans this year. I was planning on making Gabe a nice steak dinner and a carrot cake to celebrate, but instead I am stuck at home trying to recover and there is nothing in the fridge that I can whip up. I do have an extra appreciation for Gabe this Valentine’s. Yesterday and today his days have been jam packed full of classes, study groups, tests, and an extra 3 hour DAT class tonight and he was so thoughtful late last night. After his late night study group he brought me home a Gatorade, some fruit snacks and popsicles and some beautiful roses for Valentine’s. I am so appreciative this year of his thoughtfulness and for taking the time to care for me even though his days have been so busy. That’s just what a girl needs. Love you Gabe, thanks for being my valentine!

How far along?   18 weeks

Total weight gain:   +8

Maternity clothes?   None. See, I really am putting it off. Leggings are my best friend when I get off work. Right after I took this picture I hopped right back into pajamas.

Stretch marks?   Not any yet.

Sleep:  It is just alright. I have come to terms with the fact that I might not sleep through the night for the rest of the pregnancy. I try to take as many naps as I can on weekends.

Best moment this week:  Getting our baby gear in the mail! Can’t wait to put it to use.

Miss Anything:  Having energy for workouts. Being sick and tired has gotten in the way of my normal schedule.

Movement:  Yes’m. I am thinking that my placenta may have moved because it’s been harder to feel the movements as much, but every so often I’ll feel a few kicks.

Food cravings:   Probably just the same as last time. Garlic rolls, pretzel bites, and guacamole. Especially the guacamole this week, it’s my new go to semi- healthy snack.

Anything making you queasy or sick:   Cigarette smoke and just anything that stinks in general.

Gender:   We find out next Thursday!!!!! So it is your last chance to guess on our boy/girl poll to the left ==è

Labor Signs:   None.

Symptoms:   Being overwhelmingly tired. I thought that was supposed to go away by now…?  Pregnancy brain has begun to take over; I am so forgetful it’s not even funny.  Also, I think I’m starting my emotional stage. I tend to cry for a lot of really lame reasons.

Belly Button in or out?   Innie.

Wedding rings on or off?   Very much on.

Mood:   Still very happy and anxious. Little baby is on my mind 24/7 and it’s hard to concentrate on anything else.

Looking forward to:   Finding out the gender next Thursday and being able to start buying gender specific items!   

Thanks to my midwife

So... I just had to give a shout out to my midwife clinic. I spent a lot, and I mean a lot of time researching where I wanted to get my prenatal care and I decided on the Pleasant Grove Women's Center. So far my experience there has been wonderful. There are 6 midwifes that work at the center and 2 doctors. I have chosen to see the midwifes and one of the midwives will deliver our baby. After the time that I have spent at the clinic, I cannot imagine it any other way.

Yesterday I had a moment. For some reason or another, I freaked out and wanted to hear my baby's heartbeat. They scheduled a late notice appointment and I met with one of the midwifes, Jen Walker. The majority of our appointments have been with Jen and I feel like we have already built a good relationship. As soon as she walked in the room she gave me a hug and I started bawling. Haha, I realize it was a bit pathetic to break down, but you know, I'm pregnant, I can blame it on the hormones. But you know what? She just sat there and listened and talked with me and told me that she was so glad that I came in and that I didn't have anything to worry about. She spent a little extra time on listening to the heartbeat and let me have my moment. The baby's heartbeat was so strong that she had to turn down the microphone because it got so loud! Baby is definitely a strong little babe. That is a good sign of things to come.

I am just so grateful for that experience yesterday, as silly as it was. She spent a lot of time with me just letting me know that my worries were not a problem and she let me know that I could come in anytime I want, just to hear my baby's heartbeat. After our long chat, hugs, and four tissues later, I felt so reassured and it was definitely what I needed. I appreciate the fact that I can come in whenever I want, and that our appointments aren't just a get-in-and-get-out type of appointment, but that they are much more than that. I appreciate the midwifes there and for the time they spend on getting to know their clients.

Baby Goodies

Look what came in the mail for this momma-to-be yesterday!!!

And it already takes up so much space! We will have to come up with a lot of organizing tricks. And just so you know, today we found out our official gender revealing appointment will be on February 23rd at 3:30. Then let the real shopping begin!!

Boy or Girl????

Just in case any of you would like to know, (and are as excited to find out as we are, which I doubt is possible) I found out yesterday that we find out the gender at 19 weeks. We have our 18 week appointment on February 16th and then we will make a special appointment for the next week to come in and find out. EEEEEK!!!!! Just had to share the great news. Apparently, we just can. not. wait.