12 Weeks

This week is brought to you by ultrasounds, lots of water, and milk. 

Weeks Pregnant: 12 weeks
Weight: 153
Total Weight Gain: Still down 5 pounds. But now that I'm in the second trimester I'm guessing I'll start gaining a little weight here and there. 
Waist: (at the belly button) 36.5"
Bust: 39"
Butt/Hip: 44.5"
Average number of times up to pee per night: 2-3 times up per night. My bathroom visits during the day have increased a LOT as well! 
Size of the baby bean: almost 3 inches, the size of a peach (baby has more than doubled in size in the past 3 weeks)
Weight: 0.49 oz
What baby has been up to: Baby is officially in the second trimester!!! After seeing the ultrasound today I know that our baby is a squirmy little worm. He/She went from rolling around, to stretching out, to dancing. All of baby's systems are fully formed so baby is now in the maintenance phase, just maturing the organs and getting them working for the next 28 weeks. According to today's ultrasound, baby had a full bladder which is a good sign as it means that baby's liver is functioning properly! Baby's pituitary gland is producing hormones and baby's bone marrow is now making white blood cells! 
Other pregnancy related stuff
Emotional: This week has been a weird one for me. I've felt a weird mixture emotions from pure joy that I'm pregnant to disbelief that I am actually growing a little person inside me! I did have a few moments of just crying without warning, but overall this week has been pretty good! 
Physical: I've learned... Never trust a burp! Yuck! This week has been my hardest with nausea so far! While driving to Tucson for a wedding last Saturday I thew up... ALL OVER MYSELF with out warning!! What I thought was a burp turned out to be quite a disgusting surprise! After that I just started crying! Poor Jeff! All of my books say that after week 12 you get this sudden burst of energy and start feeling more like yourself! I am sooo looking forward to that. I've become a HUGE fan of long naps! Almost everyday this week I've had a nice long nap after work. (I slept for 4 hours after work on tuesday). It's amazing what a nap can do! 
What I want to devour: Lots of things! I've really wanted salads, milk, and cookies! The other night I had Jeff run to the grocery store to grab me chocolate chip cookie dough. Three cookies and a HUGE glass of milk later and I was a very happy camper! 
What makes me gag: Chicken, still chicken. And smells! Yuck! Oh, and q-tips... whenever I use a q-tip after my shower I gag. It's very strange! 
Activity: This past week I really made an effort to walk Bear after work each day and I have to say that he has been a MUCH happier puppy because of it. Next week I am going to try to add in some other exercise like possibly swimming? 
Boy? or Girl?: We're still not sure for certain, but I'm still thinking boy. Today's ultrasound said baby's heartbeat is now 167 bpm and that fast heartbeat partnered with my recent cravings for sweets makes me start to think maybe we have a little girl growing in there. 
Twins?: Its official, there is just one baby in there for sure! Today's ultrasound proved that I am growing one healthy little baby. Our fingers are crossed for twins next time. :) 
Names: Before we even got engaged we had our names picked out. We have several we both like and agree on, but we definitely KNOW the first boy and girl name we want to use. However, we aren't going to share it with you just yet... Once we know the sex of the baby we will announce the name. You only have to wait until December. :) We've known people to keep it a secret until the baby arrives, but we want to be able to refer to the baby by name & specialize the nursery, baby blankets, and such with his or her name. 


Daddy's Thoughts:  Everyone knows this is MY baby, too, right? ....Okay, just checking.  :)
Today's ultrasound was ultrasweet.  Baby is a total squirmer, and it was so cool to see the arms and legs already so defined and developed.  It really felt like we were watching a little person, not just an object or condition, you know?  So cool.  I'm really glad we got to do the ultrasound at the time that we did, because it coordinated perfectly with our timetable of being able to make a public announcement about our pregnancy.  We were able to simultaneously upload a picture of baby and an announcement on Facebook with our phones, over lunch right after the ultrasound, and it made for such a cool way to tell everyone.


Next step is just to continue with the Dr visits, and in December we'll get to find out if it's a boy or girl, but for now we know that baby already looks like a healthy little person, and that's enough for me today!

Photo: 

Baby's sweet little profile! Look at those little lips & nose! So cute!

Close up of that sweet nose! Measuring the skin on the back of baby's neck for down's syndrome and the tech says it looks great! Baby looks very healthy! 

This picture cracks me up. Baby was such a wiggle worm & at one point just stretched out completely, with his/her hands behind his/her head and legs completely straight. Looks like baby is on a hammock.

Another one that cracks me up. Caught baby mid turn and you can see the back of baby's head and back here. When he/she turned the ultrasound tech goes "look at those ears! so cute!" I giggled. Baby's got cute ears!

Aww... sweet little baby feet with the big toes overlapping. The ultrasound tech said baby's feet were measuring at a third of an inch! 

Wanna hear baby's heartbeat?!?!

I was soooo glad Jeff thought to videotape this sweet moment. I have re-watched this video countless times! It's just under two minutes & I highlighted the part where you can hear the heartbeat. Turn up your volume, the heartbeat is soft, but very fast. :) The heartbeat starts at the 1:15 mark. 

11 Weeks

(This is a long post)

This week is brought to you by cream cheese, french fries, and my sofa.

Weeks Pregnant: 11 weeks
Weight: 153
Total Weight Gain: actually down 5 pounds from when I found out I was pregnant (I was 158). My doctor said that is totally normal and fine this early on especially since, as she put it, I am nutritionally sound (overweight) and can survive not gaining any weight this early on.
Waist: (at the belly button) 33.5"
Bust: 35.5"
Butt/Hip: 43.5"
Average number of times up to pee per night: 1, but every.single.night. I am up anywhere between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. to run to the rest room and then I toss and turn and try really hard to get comfortable enough so I can get back to sleep. When I wake up for work (usually around 7) I really have to go pee. I'm sure I could get up once more in the middle of the night if I weren't so lazy and so afraid that I might never get back to sleep.
Size of the baby bean: 2 inches, the size of a LIME! This just seems crazy to me... from a blueberry to a lime in a matter of 5 weeks!
Weight: 0.3 oz (teeny tiny)
What baby has been up to: All of baby's major organs, brain, lungs, liver, intestines, and kidneys are fully functioning. Hair follicles are forming. Fingernail and Toenail beds are developing. Baby's eyelids are now fused shut and will stay that way for several weeks.
Other pregnancy related stuff
Emotional: This week I have found that I am very sensitive. Like, REALLY super sensitive. My feelings get hurt as easily as when I was a little girl. I'm also SUPER cranky and crabby. (My poor husband is a saint). I've also found that I get easily scared, the slightest noise or change and I jump, which causes my heart to beat like crazy. I was reading an email and a student came up behind me to ask me a question and I jumped! The other night I went to bed super early while Jeff was at band practice and when he opened the bedroom door when he got home I woke up immediately and my heart felt like it would beat right out of my chest.
Physical: Nauseated. Really, really, really Nauseated. I haven't actually thrown up, but I feel like that would give me some relief. The only time I don't feel completely ill is when I eat. The problem is, I'm eating every 2 hours and I get full super quickly. I don't ever get any signs that I am about to be hungry or nauseous. Instead I will go from totally fine to ridiculously starving and about to hurl if I don't eat RIGHT NOW. Needless to say, I keep snacks in my purse at all times for such occasions. I'm also VERY tired, more tired than I have been the entire pregnancy, even when I was working two jobs and in school. I want to nap every afternoon around lunch time and even went to bed on Monday night at 4:30 p.m!!! I have no energy to do anything, my house is a mess, my laundry is piling up and my poor puppy hasn't had his usual long walk when I get off work. (Both Bear and Jeff have been very patient with me these past few weeks, gotta love my boys). Oh and the other wonderful pregnancy symptoms that have come up (hehe pun intended) are heartburn, burps, and gas. Since I'm not able to take medicine for my Barrett's esophagus I think these symptoms are multiplied. I have heartburn, all.the.time. It doesn't matter if I just ate or just work up. It's the worst when I'm laying down. My GERD is at it's worst, too. And trust me, throwing up in your mouth so does not help the desire to gag. The only thing I can take is TUMS, which helps take the edge off, but the symptoms are still there, just not nearly as bad. Oh and the burps and gas, (sorry if this it TMI) I can't control it! They come without warning! My poor, poor husband.
What I want to devour: This week has been really funny because up to this point all I have really wanted was necturines, yogurt, and carbs (crackers, bagels, cereal), nothing sweet. But the past few days I have REALLY craved cream cheese. I've eaten it every day the past 4 days. I've eaten it on bagels, wheat thins, salteine's, and even licked it off my finger. I'm also really wanting french fries, from McDonalds. Just typing that makes me want them. Up to this point I've only wanted salty foods, sweets haven't sounded appetizing which is weird for a sweet tooth like me. This led me to believe the old wives tales that there is a baby boy growing inside me. But the strangest thing happened this week, I wanted a canoli! I was watching TV and one of the characters was eating a canoli and I had to have one, right then! I went to Pino's Pizza by our apartment and bought one, and boy oh boy was it yummy!!! And last night, I wanted strawberry shortcake, although I could only eat a few bites before becoming full, those few bites were AMAZING!
What makes me gag: Chicken, any kind, any way. Raw, grilled, fried, whole, shredded. YUCKY! Smells make me gag, too, like hand sanitizer (which I use at work all the time because it seems like all my students are sneezing and coughing and basically just walking germ carriers), salsa, anything spicy for that matter, feet, and dirty dog smell. Oh, and mentioning certain things or just thinking about them makes me gag. The other day Jewels (my sister) said she wanted to go to Culvers to get "cheese curds" EWWW why are they named that??!? The word curds make me gag. Just gross! That incident has ruined cottage cheese for me.
Activity: Prior to this week I had been really trying to walk at least 30 minutes a day. I would come home from work around 4ish and walk Bear around our Apartment Complex and the surrounding neighborhood. That time together outside was good for the both of us. This week I have neglected that activity. I'll try really hard to pick it back up today after work (fingers crossed).
Boy? or Girl?: I'm thinking Boy, Jeff is thinking Boy. Pretty much everyone is thinking boy except my mom. The old wives tales and the Chinese Birth Chart lead me to believe it's a boy and I just have a feeling it's a boy. Although, the fact that I now want sweets and I'm breaking out and the baby's heartbeat was about 174 leads me to believe its a girl. We won't know for sure until about week 18 or 20. I would be happy either way, we're planning a large family and to adopt down the line so I know I will eventually have one of each. Part of me wants a boy just so I can have a little mini Jeff and dress him in little chuck taylor shoes and vests. But when I see little bows and tu-tu's I think I want a girl.
Twins?: Well I put this on here because Twin's run in BOTH sides of the family. My Papa (my dad's dad) is a twin, and my uncles (my dad's brothers) are twins. Jeff's Grandpa (his dad's dad) is a twin and his Papa (his mom's dad) is a TRIPLET! Both Jeff & I think having twins would be a huge blessing and kind of have our fingers crossed that we will be blessed with twins at some point. Everyone I tell that to thinks we're crazy. We have our first ultrasound next Thursday, October 20th and I'm sure we will know then if I'm carrying one or two babies.
Names: Before we even got engaged we had our names picked out. We have several we both like and agree on, but we definitely KNOW the first boy and girl name we want to use. However, we aren't going to share it with you just yet... Once we know the sex of the baby we will announce the name. You only have to wait until December. :) We've known people to keep it a secret until the baby arrives, but we want to be able to refer to the baby by name & specialize the nursery, baby blankets, and such with his or her name.
Daddy's Thoughts:My poor wife can't have coffee. That's really unfortunate.... for her. :) But as we take baby's first road trip on our way to a Tucson wedding, nothing will stop me from enjoying my iced quad, venti, nonfat, sugar-free, stirred, vanilla caramel macchiato.

*sip- man, that's good*

We had another discussion this morning about baby names, and like always, it ended up with us coming back to how much we love the names we originally decided on. I am personally a huge fan of the names we chose, and I can't wait to share this baby's name with the world when we find out what we're having. I know that everyone says "oh, I just want a healthy baby, I don't care if we get a boy or a girl", and that's true, except I have come to grips with the fact that even though initially I had no preference whatsoever, the more I think on it the more I can see myself being even more excited to have baby get an XY. (I'm trying to impress by showing off what little knowledge I have of all this, but XY means it would be a boy)

I just see myself having so much fun with a buddy around that I can teach my favorite things to, and hang out with doing the father/son thing.

*sip- dude, this coffee is so tasty. Anyways...*

Now of course, I'm going to feel thoroughly blessed and excited if we find out baby is a girl, and after seeing videos of Brianna as a little girl, I'm fully aware that I will have absolutely zero ability to combat the cuteness that I'll be faced with. I have a feeling that a baby girl will get everything she asks daddy for, and that part excites/scares me...

Hold on a sec. *slurp- slurp- sip. Aaaah. 'Babe, do you want some? Oh wait... Hehe.'*

So for now, we at least know what baby will be named when we find out the sex, and we've got a TON of planning and adjusting to do as it is, since we even have to start looking for a new place soon. Our lease is up at the end of this year, and we know it's time to get a bigger place. Baby needs a room, Bear needs a yard, and I need a studio to do my writing out of. I sometimes step outside myself and take a look at where we are in life and I think about how we're going to tell these stories in the future. There's just so much happening right now, and I feel like we're in such a good place and I need to make sure I take it all in.

* sluuuuurp- shake the ice up- slurp- oh no, it's gone. Sad... Oh well, it was delicious. Wait... 'Hey babe there's another Starbucks, let's pull over!'*
Photo:

Photos of the growing baby bump!

I'm currently 9 weeks 6 days preggo. Baby is now officially a fetus and the size of a green olive! Since last week baby has gotten rid of his/her tail & has fingers, toes, arms, legs, wrists, ankles, eyes, ears, and a heart!

Our next appointment is Monday October 10th. We are so excited to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time!! Just thinking about it makes me tear up with joy & anticipation.

(Because Vanessa keeps asking for pictures) Here are a few pictures of my baby bump growing from weeks 6-9.

Week 6... taken right after our doctor's appointment.

I was laying on the couch watching TV and thought my tummy looked bigger so I tried to take these pictures of it....

 Bear decided he wanted in on the action. He loves posing for pictures and he seems to think my tummy is just a big comfy place to lay.

 Monday Night Football... wearing the shirt Jeff has custom made for me.

Week 8... looking bigger as the weeks go on...

Week 9 Day 5... This picture was taken yesterday morning. 

I promise to be better about posting on here each week... I have just been soooo tired and lazy the past few weeks. :)