24 Weeks

Sorry the picture is a bit of a blur.. couldn't figure that out.

How far along?   24 weeks

Total weight gain:   +17

Maternity clothes?   My only pair of pants. I already found where I am going to shop after the sweet babe is born J I have the clothes picked out!  

Stretch marks?   Nope

Sleep:  Pretty good, especially now that I don’t have to wake up at 6:30 every morning. My favorite is when I wake up to him kicking around in my belly, I definitely make myself wake up and focus on that.

Best moment this week:   Getting used to the stay-at-home lifestyle. I am starting early practicing my home making skills and am loving being able to put more time into the home and cooking meals.

Miss Anything?    Still cold turkey sandwiches and popping my back. I usually twist my back to pop it, but that has become an impossible feat.   

Movement:   Yes. This baby  boy must now that it is his momma’s favorite thing ever. He makes me happy! 

Food cravings:   Healthier foods for sure. I don’t feel like eating any sort of fatty or greasy foods. I want salads and soups and fresh fruit. Can’t wait for summer to come so I can indulge in some fresh fruit and veggies, orange mushy tomatoes are the worst.

Anything making you queasy or sick:   Not really. I don’t have to deal with as many people on a daily basis, so I just get to smell my clean home and handsome husband!

Gender:   Boy.

Labor Signs:   Nope, please don’t come any time soon!

Symptoms:   Oh the back pain!!!! It has returned. With a vengeance. I had ankle pain all last week, but we started going on walks a few nights a week and I think that has helped improved it. It however does not seem to help with the back pain, but that’s okay.

Belly Button in or out?   It’s pretty flat. We like to have fun with it, it does some pretty funny things when I change positions.

Wedding rings on or off?   On.

Mood:   I’m a happy girl! However, being hungry is the most torturous thing in the world at this point. When I am not hungry I try to spend a lot of time focusing and thinking about our baby and what life is going to bring.

Looking forward to:   Still picking up our chair for the nursery. I am hoping that will happen this week.  Also looking forward to all of the sewing projects I have up my sleeve, I need to get started!

Random Ramblings:

*I am feeling very pregnant lately. I have to sit a lot, can’t stand for too long. I feel large but also very blessed that my body is carrying our baby boy.

*I made a huge accomplishment last weekend; I stayed awake until 2 a.m. the other night. We went out for a late night movie and I managed to stay awake til we got home, go me! But the back pain I endured sitting through the whole movie—yikes. I was wondering if that is what labor is going to feel like.

*I have been pondering a lot lately about what raising a boy in this world is going to be like. It’s hit me hard that I have the sole responsibility of raising this boy to be an honorable, honest, and respectful man. I am going to be a missionary mom!

*On a side note, I have decided to open a new etsy shop. I will be making accent pillow covers and I am so thrilled to get started on it! My first batch of fabric is on its way to me, so be on the lookout for pretty things to come. 

22 Weeks

How far along?   22 weeks

Total weight gain:   +12

Maternity clothes?   Just my one pair of maternity jeans. I’m getting bored of my wardrobe and am excited to take a post-pregnancy shopping trip.

Stretch marks?   No

Sleep:  Has improved a little bit. I have found one position that I can fall asleep pretty easily in and usually wake up several times to switch sides.

Best moment this week:   Gabe playing high-five with baby J Definitely the highlight of the week!

Miss Anything?    My mobility and energy.  

Movement:   Oh yes. It’s becoming more and more frequent. People are right when they say that feeling the baby move inside you is the best part of pregnancy.  

Food cravings:   Still craving anything in front of me. Normally I love food, but when I am pregnant, it’s exaggerated like crazy.   Cold foods have looked really delicious lately, and I’m sure that will continue as the weather gets warmer.

Anything making you queasy or sick:   Cigarette smoke and any other strong smells like perfume and cleaning supplies.

Gender:   All boy!

Labor Signs:   None.

Symptoms:   Pregnancy brain. I’ve had the hardest time trying to find the words I want to use in this update, but my mind just draws blanks. So, sorry if sentences are written a bit funky…

Belly Button in or out?   It is in for now, but it’s slowly becoming flatter and flatter.

Wedding rings on or off?   On.

Mood:   Excited and anxious! Every week gets better as he moves around  more in there, but these last weeks better go by quick!

Looking forward to:   Picking up our chair for the nursery. We are buying a chair and converting it into a rocker!

Random ramblings of a pregnant woman:

*Last night Gabe taught baby boy how to high five. It was one of the sweetest things I have ever seen. Gabe would say “_______ , give me a high five!” and he would tap his dad’s hand. It worked every time!

*It’s getting hard not to blurt out his name. We were choosing between two different names, but Gabe preferred one over the other so we tested it out and it just stuck. We are keeping it a secret until he gets here, but it’s weird not to share it online because we use it all the time at home.

* So…. I can no longer bend. If I have to pick something up, I do this wide-legged “sumo-wrestler-like” squat to pick something up from the floor. I’m afraid that my physical activity is taking a plunge.  

*We have taken great strides on the preparing the nursery. I received the fabric that I am using to make the curtains and crib bedding and the colors look perfect in there. I am planning on a lot of DIY’ing and am excited to possibly share some of those projects of mine. I really want to put my touch on his room and make it really special for him. 

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!