Twenty-Six Weeks.

Holy cow little one!

Time is just absolutely flying! Weeks go by in the blink of an eye, and I know it's just going to speed up every day. I'm trying to savor each day and continue to be amazed at each kick and punch, but it's hard when I'm getting so excited to meet you! I can't believe it's the last week (controversially) of my second trimester.

This was a baby-filled week, I feel like. I had a doctor's appointment on Monday, which was fine, and while I was there, I went for my glucose test, but I didn't know that I shouldn't have just eaten lunch in the car of the parking lot before I went in. I knew I had to do the test at some point in the next few weeks, but I figured I might as well just do it while I was at the hospital instead of driving all the way back up there. So I did it, no big deal. The glucose was fruit punch flavored and I thought it was going to taste like cough syrup, really think and gross, but it wasn't bad at all. I chugged that down and was very thankful I had my book to read. After an hour, they drew the blood and I was on my way.

However, the next morning I got a call that I failed my test. The nurse said that my sugars were "slightly elevated". I was a little worried about it, I didn't think that I would have a problem. I posted it to Facebook and twitter and got a lot of encouraging responses. It was one of the times I was very thankful for social media. The nurse told me that I had to come back and do the 3 hour test. The worst part though - I had to fast for it. I was not happy about that. A 3 hour test plus I couldn't eat or drink anything since midnight the night before? That sounded terrible, and let me tell you, it was. I asked your Grammy to take me to the hospital, just because I wasn't comfortable to drive myself without any food in me. I'm so glad I had her with me to talk and time pretty much flew. The glucose this time was a LOT sweeter, holy cow! I normally love sugar things, but this was super duper sweet. It was a super sweet flat sprite - lemon lime flavored. I felt like a druggie afterwords with all the holes in my arm from them drawing blood a total of 4 times! Surprisingly, I'm still not black and blue, and I'm still waiting for the hospital to call. I'm going to be optimistic and say that because they didn't call first thing, that the results of the test were good, but I don't want to set myself up for disappointment.

So that was my excitement of the week. After the test on Saturday, Grammy took me to get our stroller and car seat! Since Daddy and I don't have a ton of space in our room, we decided to just put the car seat and stroller in the car. It's a pretty big stroller, it takes up pretty much my entire trunk. I think we might have to take Daddy's truck when we go to the beach this summer, just because I know all your stuff would take up so much room! Grammy and I had a blast walking around Babies R Us and looking at all the clothes - dreaming about what we would bring you home in. Grammy was going to buy an outfit, but we figured Daddy should be involved in that too, even though I don't think it matters to him. So now, you have a crib, and you have a carseat and stroller, so we have the basics if you decide you really want to come early, but I think the whole family would much rather you stay put for a few more months.

Now back to the weekly update! My sources say that you can be anywhere from 13.6 to 14.8 inches and weigh anywhere from 1.5 to 2.5 pound range - that's crazy! You must be crunched up in there, there's not that much room! You can also probably hear everyone talking now, your hearing is that developed, but your Grandpa Oliver is planning on teaching you sign language, which is fine with me!

My belly is expanding, too. I think every day I tell Daddy to look how much bigger my belly has gotten. You're getting a lot more active, moving around for a long time rather than it just being a few movements. I get worried when I don't feel you a lot during the day, but then you always make sure I know you're there at night - you must be a night owl like me - Daddy is most definitely a morning person!







My eats haven't been too good, and I've been gaining too much weight. I'm actually going back to tracking my food during the week. I still have about 14 weeks to go, and I've already gained just shy of 21 pounds. I'm still weighing myself daily, and I've switched to taking the average of the week and adding that as my weekly weight. I think that works better for me. My water consumption is good, and I had a few days last week where my eating was really good, especially after finding out my blood sugar was high. Daddy's really trying to watch me now and help me out to only eat the good stuff, but weekends I still eat whatever I want. This weekend was bagels - Grammy and I went to Panera after the test on Saturday and I had a delicious cinnamon crunch bagel with honey walnut cream cheese, so Grammy decided to bring a dozen bagels home, and I then ate 4 more bagels between Saturday and 
Sunday. They're SO delicious! That was certainly my craving for the week. Last week was cake, and this week was bagels. If we had money I would be buying Panera salads every day, too, so delicious!

I also haven't walked at all last week, I'm all dressed and ready to walk today, and I'm going to do some yoga too. I only did yoga once last week, and I really need to do that. It's so hard to come up with a schedule in the morning before work and try to cram everything in - Bible devotions, walking or yoga, getting dressed, breakfast, packing lunch. I could just get up earlier, but I'd much rather sleep! 


Guess that's everything for this week, keep growing, and I promise to work on feeding you a little better! 


Love, 
Mommy

Twenty-Five Weeks.

Little one,

Wow! Only 2 or 3 weeks, depending on which source you use, until we've reached the third trimester! I can't believe how quickly these last few months have flown, and I know time will just speed up faster now and even faster once you're here. As comforting as it is to know that if you decided to come now, your chance of survival would be pretty good, I'd still rather prefer if you waited for about 15 more weeks until you join us, Daddy and I still have a lot more work to do to get ready for you.

Your Grandpa Crane asks us each week how big you are now, and you should be about 14 inches long! And around 1.5 pounds, the weight of a rutabaga, which I can't say I've ever felt. When I look at my belly I don't know where you fit, let alone where all my other organs fit! It's truly a miracle to be growing you little one! If I could look inside right now, I should be able to tell the color and texture of your hair! I'm secretly hoping that you have red hair, since Daddy's beard is reddish, but I know my hair doesn't have a red tint at all. My great Aunt Jane did have red hair there, so we do have it in our family. As for the texture, I'm going assume that it should be curly. Daddy and I both have curly hair, so unless there's some crazy recessive straight hair gene, you should have curly hair. In fact, no one in either family has bone straight hair, so I don't even know where that would come from! Your nostrils are also opening up and your vocal cords are forming, although they won't be used for a few more months.

Pictures are coming, but Daddy and I were playing Monopoly with your Uncle Billy yesterday and completely forgot to take pictures. After Monopoly we went to see your great Grandma Crane and chatted with her for a little bit, I love talking to her and she is just so incredibly excited for you to arrive!

I've been sleeping pretty well, up a couple times a night to go to the bathroom, but it's never gotten worse since I got pregnant. Some nights I'll wake up and starting thinking and then I can't go back to sleep for a few hours, but I think that's my body just preparing itself to be up with you a bunch at night! My weight is still on track, I'm really closing in on that 20 pound mark, but I know that it's all necessary to grow you! I'm not worried about getting back to my pre-pregnancy body, I'm sure it's going to take some time, but I'll have you, and it'll all be worth it.

My eating has been okay. I had to make a cake on Saturday because I was really hungry for it! I know I should watch the sweets, but it's so hard! I've been trying to really increase the amounts of fruit and veggies I eat, still eating my smoothies every day. I've been slacking on some exercise, too. I walked 1 day last week, and did yoga 2 days, I think.

I've had a few mood swings, and some issues with my body. I had a mini-breakdown about how uncomfortable I am, all the while knowing that you have a lot more to grow and my belly's going to get a lot bigger. I don't have a lot to complain about, although I thought I saw some stretch marks forming around my belly button. I asked Daddy and Grammy about them, but they both think that I'm just imagining it. We'll see. I know that I should view stretch marks as a battle scar of mommy-hood, but it's so hard to not get wrapped up in our culture of having the perfect body. I'm definitely going to work on that myself, because I don't want you to get wrapped up in that. You're already perfect in my eyes, and you always will be.

Baby related progress this week include getting the rest of the wallpaper off our bedroom wall, although we still have to get the glue off. We've also got our registry finalized (I think) and our shower date set, both of which are posts of their own. We were going to get your stroller/car seat this weekend, but we had some iffy weather and Grammy didn't want to risk driving to Babies R Us. Maybe next weekend. I don't know where we'd put it anyway! I still love seeing your crib all together and in our room, I just imagine walking around with you at night and putting you down to sleep. I get super excited for you and can't wait for you to get here, although I appreciate every day and feeling you move each day.

Keep growing!

Love,
Mommy

Tell me:
What's one thing you'd be most excited for/or where you the most excited for?

Twenty-Four Weeks.

Dear Little One,

Twenty-four weeks done, and about sixteen more to go! You're moving around more than ever, and I think I finally felt you getting hiccups! I couldn't tell for sure, but I think that's what they were. I can tell when you're moving and when you're sleeping. You're definitely more active at night while we're laying in bed and watching TV. The belly is getting bigger everyday, that's for sure! I put on a tank top that I ran in last summer, and it kept riding up and showing the underside of the bump. I think that's the last time I try to squeeze into a non-maternity shirt! 

My weight gain is around +16-17 pounds. I'm getting really bad at figuring it out each week. I weigh myself most mornings, just to keep myself on track, so it's hard to find an average of each week. I'm still on track for an overall gain of 25-35 pounds, although I think I'm going to be more like 35-40 pounds. I know I can loose the weight and get myself in a better shape than I ever was before. I know how to eat healthy and get myself healthy. I am so grateful for you, I'm doing what I can to keep you healthy, and keep your momma healthy, too! 

For the first time, when I went to Wegman's on Saturday, I was determined to park in a Stork parking spot. I've been putting parking here off for so long, just because I didn't feel big enough to take up a closer parking spot. But I was thinking about it, and I reached my sixth month, I don't have a ton more time to take advantage of these spots, so I was determined to park in the first one I saw. But then, none were open, so I had to park in the back anyways. Oh well, I could use the exercise, and you can, too! 

Speaking of exercise, I only walked once last week. I'm really going to try to walk today, but I think my exercise of the day might be scrubbing wallpaper glue off the walls of our room. That totally counts as exercise, right? Eating has still been going good, and I'm doing a little better with the sweets ordeal that I mentioned last week. I don't need dessert every day. I have been craving cake though, so I might have to indulge in that next weekend or so...

You're the length of an ear of corn now (so big!) and weigh about 1 1/4 pounds. It's crazy to think how much more weight you have to gain, but you're already about half the length that you'll be. I wonder what you'll look like, if you'll have curly hair like Daddy and me, and if you'll have blue eyes and dimples. Whose nose you'll have and whose lips. I can't even imagine what you'll look like, half Daddy and half me. It's mind blowing! 

I still feel absolutely fantastic, other than the occasional grunts to get up out of bed, or pick something up, but that's what happens when my belly gets so big. I know it's only going to get bigger, and I can't wait to be amazed at what my body can do. I've been thinking a lot about labor, and how I'd like you to come into the world. I'll write a whole other post on it, and I know that a lot of it is out of our control, but I'm not scared at all about labor, or delivering you. I trust that God knows what He's doing, and He's in control. I trust that my body knows what to do. Daddy and I are reading a lot about it, and talking about how much Daddy's going to be involved. I hope everything goes smoothly, but I will do anything to have a healthy baby at the end of the day! 

I get a little annoyed at the websites that tell me all the symptoms I could and should have, I'm growing a human, it's not going to be comfortable! I have had a blessed pregnancy so far, not a lot of sickness or cramps. But, I'm a really positive person, and I could have a terrible pregnancy, but I think feeling you move would make me forget all about it. I'm not swollen yet, although I think I waddle a little bit, it's a cute side-effect of pregnancy so far. My mind might change in the next three months, but I think I have a laid back enough attitude that it won't bother me. This is something I've wanted to do my entire life, and I will appreciate every "bad" thing that comes along with the good of growing a tiny human. 

And the last exciting thing this week, we got your crib! It's all assembled and it it's permanent, we think, spot! It was pretty easy to put together, only took Daddy and I about an hour, and I even got to help! This was a gift from your Great-Grandma Crane and we are so thankful that we got it! 

Keep growing and moving, and baking! It's nice to know you could survive if you decided to come now, but please stay put for quite a long time!

Love, 

Mommy

Tell me:

Would/did you feel comfortable parking in the stork parking spot at stores? 

What was your least favorite part of pregnancy? Most favorite? Or what would you look forward to the most?

Twenty-Three Weeks.

Dear Little One,

Well, I'll be 24 weeks tomorrow, but better late than never, right? I'm trying to remember what happened last week as opposed to this week, just because this week was for the next update! 

You are growing daily, I think! I wake up each morning amazed at what God created my body to do! There is no doubt that I look pregnant now, although no stranger has commented quite yet on it. I'm sure it's only a matter of time. 

I had a dream about you last week. Well, two maybe. The first one you were a girl, and the second one I couldn't tell, but I put a pink diaper on you. You're always so lovable and I keep kissing you. And you always have dimples each time I dream about you. That wouldn't surprise me either, you have dimples on both sides of your family. I don't have any, and your Aunt Renee doesn't, but just about everyone else does. I hope you do get dimples, that's one of the first things I feel in love with about your daddy. 

Workouts were good last week. I did yoga, and walked 3 times on the treadmill. Two times for about an hour and one for about 30 minutes, including doing some really light jogging. I still haven't had any weird food cravings, but I'm definitely indulging a little too much in nightly sweets. I'm getting in too much of a habit of eating sweets after dinner only because I can, not necessarily because that's what sounds good at the time. I need to kick that habit! I'm up about +15-16 pounds as of last week. At first, I was okay with the scale creeping up, but now it's getting to be a little unnerving. I know it's necessary and I'm trying to do everything I can to trust my body and feed it healthy foods for you to grow, but it's hard! 

Last week seemed to be the week of heartburn. It was almost a daily occurrence. Once day it struck right after I ate yogurt and grapes, not sure what caused that, but I'm not going to stop eating healthy foods! It's not major heartburn, just a little annoying. If old wives' tales are right, then you'll have a full head of hair, which won't surprise me because your daddy's entire side had a full head of hair when they were born! 

You're moving around more every day. If I watch carefully I can even see you from the outside! You're still really stubborn though and when I put my hand on my belly to feel you, you stop moving until I take my hand away. You always put a show on for Daddy though, he always gets to feel you moving. With your daddy and me both being stubborn, I guess I shouldn't be surprised if you inherited that trait from us. 

Keep growing little one! Time is flying until you join us, but I'm learning to appreciate every day and be amazed by my changing body!

Love,

Mommy

Twenty-Two Weeks.

Dearest baby,

My belly is growing each day, I think! I don't know if it was the shirt I wore or what last week, but I felt like my belly grew out of nowhere! I also just walked past my full-length mirror after walking on the treadmill (in my sports bra) and had to do a double take at myself because I couldn't believe my belly was that big! You finally weigh about a pound, and are about a foot in length. My weekly emails say that your skin is changing now from transparent to opaque, although you still need to put on a lot of fat! You're getting more newborn-like each week now, with your eyebrows and eyes, your pancreas is developing further, too. You're developing tooth buds under your gums, but your irises don't have any pigment yet. But unless there's some weird gene thing, you should have blue eyes. Both your daddy and I have blue eyes, in fact, Daddy's entire family has blue eyes! Your grammy (my mom) has green eyes, but your uncle, your grandpa and I all have blue eyes.

We had another doctor's appointment this week, got to hear your heartbeat (150 beats/minute), but it was a very quick visit. Your daddy and I don't ask too many questions. I'm waiting for the childbirth classes to ask most of my questions since I don't have just one doctor that I know will deliver you. I have 13 doctors and whoever is on call when you decide to come will be delivering you. So I'm going to be asking a lot of hospital policy questions during our childbirth classes. Our next appointment is February 13th, and your daddy actually isn't coming to that one! I'm a little nervous because it'll be the first one he hasn't been to, but  he has an appointment on February 14th, so I want to make sure he goes to that one. I think your Grammy will come with me to the appointment. After our appointment this week we went to try to get new ultrasound pictures, since we lost the first ones. To our surprise, they took us back and did a quick ultrasound! You didn't cooperate very well, I think you're stubborn like Mommy and Daddy, but we did get a couple pretty good pictures! Then last night I got a text from Krissy, the cousin whose house we lost the pictures at and they found the pictures! So now we have extra pictures of you! And we got to see you again!

You're definitely moving around a lot more now. I feel you multiple times during the day and I love it. Each time it puts a smile on my face, and I pause whatever I'm doing to just appreciate the blessing that God has given me in you. Each night when we lay down to go to sleep, Daddy puts his hand on my belly and waits for you to kick. I know you love him already, he can always feel you moving. I can finally feel you on the outside, too, and I've even caught a few peeks of my belly moving when you move. I can't really differentiate between kicks and moves, but it's stronger all the time. And more frequent. When we were playing Monopoly on Saturday night at your Grandma's house I felt like you were up in my ribs! I felt like I was squashing you by sitting for so long. I had to stand up once we got home for a while, but once I woke up on Sunday, it was gone. I'm sure that feeling is going to be more frequent and get worse, but that's okay.

Speaking of monopoly, we've been playing monopoly with your uncle a ton and we played for the first time with your daddy's family Saturday night. Anyways, we play Disney Monopoly, because your mommy's a weirdo like that, and I always try to get your daddy to sing a song from whatever movie he lands on just so I can have him trained to watch Disney movies with you! He actually knows most of them!

I had a dream about you last night. I don't remember much, except that you were a girl with chubby cheeks and you had your daddy's dimples! I kept giving you kisses and I was SO in love with you. You weren't a newborn, but just a few weeks/month old and you were happy and lovable and so adorable!

I'm getting a lot better with exercising; I'm making a habit of it usually 3-4 days a week. 2 days I try to jog a little bit and walk a longer distance, then the other day or 2, I just try to walk for 20 minutes, about a mile or so before I get ready for work. My food is okay, weekends are usually bad, and I'm caving to more cravings more frequently now. I still try to drink my smoothie daily, especially during the week so that I make sure I get some fruits and veggies to you! My weight gain is about +13 pounds or so, which is right on track. I haven't had any cravings for much of anything, specific or strange. I know I'm eating too many cookies, and I'm trying to limit that, but they're so tasty!

I still don't have any stretch marks (or should I say new stretch marks - I have them from when I gained weight in HS/college), and all my weight gain has definitely be all belly. No cramps, not a ton of moodiness, sleeping has been pretty good, I can't complain about much. One thing I have noticed is that the hair on my stomach is darker now! I've been blonde my whole life, in fact my leg hair is still blonde! So it's kind of weird to have dark stomach hair. Also, my belly button is like a giant black hole with my stomach stretching. I don't know if it's because I was overweight before, but my belly button doesn't seem to be turning inside out at all. Oh well.

We also finished our registry, I think, and I'm hoping to write a post on that soon. I've been obsessing over making sure that I have everything that I need, even though my shower is probably going to be very small, and I'll probably only get about 1/3 of the stuff I registered for.

Keep growing little one!

Love,

Mommy

Twenty-One Weeks.

Side Note: Sorry I haven't been blogging as much as I was. I try to blog on Mondays and Wednesdays, my days off. I still haven't gotten back to a regular schedule since the holidays. I'm going to be hightailing it today so that I can get three posts up this week, and have one ready to do for next week. Last Wednesday I had an off day, and didn't get around to blogging, so I know I haven't had an update since last Monday. I've also been off on commenting on blogs, and my comments might be a few days after you originally posted, but I promise I'm still reading!


Dearest baby,

21 weeks! Past the halfway mark. Every day makes it seem more real that you'll actually be joining us in just a few short months. May 26th seems a lot closer this side of Christmas than it did on the other side. I get more and more excited for you every day, too! I was adding more things to my registry this morning and imagining if you were a boy or girl so I could get you pink or blue things, they're a lot more fun to look at than yellow and green stuff. I think we have most of the big stuff picked out, but I'm going to go with your Grammy next weekend to hopefully add anything else we need, or change things that I don't like in person since I did the whole registry online. It's really hard to figure out quite what to add since I don't know what kind of baby you'll be! And there's so many things I don't know if I have to add, and things that I wouldn't even think you'd need! Don't worry, we'll figure it all out.

You're about the size of a banana or a carrot - 10.5 inches and weigh about 12 ounces, so close to a pound! You're hopefully growing more hair, on your head, eyelashes, eyebrows and you have eyelids! Slowly, your digestive system is growing, and you're drinking the amniotic fluid and digesting it. You've been moving a lot, too. I still can't feel you from the outside, but not a day goes by where I don't feel you move. I think you were having a party yesterday, you were moving all day long! Your daddy feels you every night before we go to bed. I think that he can feel you more easily than I can because he doesn't know how strong you kick from inside, so he's very aware of the tiny movements that can be felt from the outside.

You must be going through a growth spurt, either that or I need to cut back on the food! I've been gaining too much weight over the past 2 weeks, but I'm not too worried about it. I know it depends on the day, how much sodium I've had and how much water I drank. I've been doing better about exercising, too! I got on the treadmill 3x last week and walked for at least 20 minutes, and even through some jogging in there! I've been wearing my heart rate monitor to make sure I don't push myself too hard, but I'm really proud of myself! I even do pelvic tilts daily after I walk/jog and I've been trying to hold a squat for longer every day!

 I have good days and bad days with eating healthy, but for the most part, I've been doing good. Weekends are hard, but I'm usually on track during the week. Your daddy and I have been reading "Husband Coached Childbirth" since he wants to be there with me during labor and delivery and he wants to be my coach. We're talking about the procedures and things that we're comfortable with, and what we aren't comfortable with. It's really interesting to learn about all these things! Your Grammy and I always went through my baby box and she found the birth story of me being born! It was really neat to read that and imagine how your birth story is going to pan out.

I don't have anything to complain about, other than my eye going a little crazy last Wednesday. It was like an eye test when you have to find the fuzzy part in your peripheral vision, but it went away after I laid down and closed my eyes for 10 minutes. That's the second time it happened, but it hasn't happened for months, so I'm not too worried about it. No heartburn this week, no leg cramps, I've even been sleeping pretty good. I can't complain about anything, little one, because I'd sacrifice anything for you! Our next appointment is on Wednesday, and it's with the doctor who delivered your uncle! Grammy didn't really like him, so we'll see how it goes!

Keep growing and kicking!

Love,
Momma

Twenty Weeks.

Dear little one,

You're not even here yet and you're growing so fast! Now all my emails are measuring you from head to toe instead of head to rump! You're about 10 inches including those little legs, well, I think they're long legs like your daddy's! And we're halfway through, another good sign! I don't think my belly is growing a whole ton, but you are moving a lot. Your daddy got to feel you, well he said he did, but I couldn't feel you from the inside, so who knows if he thought something else was you moving around in there. 

Daddy procrastinating at taking Mommy's 20
week pictures!

I feel like a bad mommy - I lost the ultrasound pictures we had of you! I think when we took them to your cousin's house, they were accidentally thrown in the garbage. Krissy said she searched through the garbage, but there's only so much garbage you can go through before it starts to get really messy. I called the hospital and it seems like they can print me out more copies. Your daddy and I do have them on our phone, so we can show anyone we like, but I just feel bad for loosing them! Hopefully we can get them printed again without too much fuss.

20 Weeks - Side View

I'm still eating pretty healthy, and I'm weighing myself every day now in the morning so I can see how much weight I've gained each day and how much I'm fluctuating between days. I don't get worried, but it's definitely a hard balance between gaining enough and gaining too much. So this week I think I gained between 0.5 - 0.75, which is definitely on track! I make sure to get my smoothie in every day, the freezer is filed with frozen fruits - pineapple, mango, strawberries, bananas and blueberries. I try really hard to put spinach in every day, too. Especially on the weekends when I know that I don't get enough veggies. I had a little bit more heartburn on Saturday, but nothing too major. It's just kind of weird and awkward, but I had no trouble falling asleep. I've been sleeping pretty good, too! I still get up at least once to go to the bathroom, but no huge problems. I really love being pregnant!

My exercise still hasn't been too good, but today I did a lot of cleaning so I think that counted as a little bit of exercise! Yoga is something I've been meaning to do, too. I know it's just going to help me deliver you and hopefully have the delivery I've been praying for!

Bare belly shot! 

Speaking of delivery, your daddy and I ordered two books so far to help us. Your daddy wants to be my birth coach since he wants to be the only one in the room with us, which is fine, but I told him that he some research to do! I am aiming for/wishing/planning on a natural childbirth (more on that in later months) and since we'll be having you at a hospital, I want to do lots of research so your daddy knows what to say and how to help me the best he can. I know that not all births go as planned, but I want to do as much research as I possibly can, and we're starting now!

I also signed up for my childbirth classes - breastfeeding and prepared childbirth. I'm assuming that we'll be taking a tour of the hospital and I'll ask lots of questions about the hospital's rules. I'm planning for the worst, but really hoping for the best delivery possible. I want to focus on laboring and I want your daddy to be the one to talk to doctors if something isn't going right or they have an opinion about something. When I'm in labor, all I want to worry about is laboring and getting you out safe!

Frontal bare belly.

Speaking of breastfeeding, the women in my family don't have the best track record for long term feeding, and it makes me a littler nervous, so along with preparing for labor/delivery and having you as a newborn, I'm trying to read as much as I can about breastfeeding and helping my supply. Your great-grammy didn't do very well, your grammy or your great aunt didn't have good luck either. Your cousin was so-so at it, she had to supplement formula a little bit, and I am very determined to do the best I possibly can with breastfeeding. I'm praying about it daily and we'll see how it all works out. I will use every ounce of help I can to do the best that I can for you - I know how important and how good it is for you!

We're also planning on taking two vacations in August next year, and I'm hoping you'll be really good in the car because both of them are about 6 hours away! I think you'll have a blast, and you'll be surrounded by love, but I know it might be hard for you to change your schedule - I hope everything works out! I think your Grammy thinks I'm a little crazy to be taking you next summer, but I know I'm not the first mom to take their little one on vacation, and one vacation is for your uncle's graduation and I would hate to not be able to go. So be good, okay little one? Don't worry, we'll love you any way you come out!

Keep growing (and kicking)!

Love,
Mommy

Eighteen & Nineteen Week Update.

Dear little one,

Please don't be mad at your mommy that I didn't get a chance to write you a letter over the holidays, that doesn't mean that you come second, it means that the holidays are my favorite time of the year, and I kept thinking about how amazingly different it's going to be next Christmas with you! I could tear up just thinking about it! I'm so very excited to meet you. I get more excited every day! 

Ultrasound! Check out those long legs!

You weigh about 8 ounces now, a whole half pound! That's what the ultrasound tech said anyways. Your length is about 6.5 inches now! From the ultrasound picture you look like you have your daddy's long legs! You were quite cooperative during the ultrasound, except for the part were you completely flipped around and the tech had to find you again. Everything looks perfect on your, all your fingers and toes, your stomach and bladder, brain size and head size all looks good! You're measuring a few days behind, but that's no big deal. It was amazing to see you on the screen and know that you're really in there and there's only one of you! I told your uncle that since there's only one does he think you're a boy or girl and he said he had to think about it, but once he decides he'd be willing to bet on it. We'll see how that turns out. I'm still calling you a she and looking at girl names. Even though we didn't find the sex out at the ultrasound when she was looking at the "goods" I didn't see any boy parts and the tech said it was pretty obvious if you were a boy or girl, so even though we aren't 100%, your daddy and I are pretty sure you're a she. 

Your daddy was a little upset with the ultrasound tech though, she didn't let him come in the room with me while they were doing measurements. I got to see all your parts, she was measuring your brain, bladder, skin thickness, bone size, everything, and your daddy only got to come in at the end for a few minutes when we got the pictures. He was really upset that he didn't get to see you like I did, and he called the hospital and complained about it and they said they were sorry. 

18 Weeks!

You're moving around like a crazy person, too! We had our last doctor's appointment on December 21st and although I didn't love the doctor we got to hear your heartbeat again! The nurse asked if I had been feeling you move around yet and I said no, but she said there's plenty of time. The next day you started moving around! I've felt you every single day since then, too! It never fails to put a smile on my face! I love just knowing that your in there and moving around and growing, can't wait until I get to hold you in my arms. But when I first felt you moving I didn't pay attention to it at first, I was sitting with your Grammy and Pappy, and your daddy. I didn't want to blurt it out because I knew your daddy would want to be the first one to know so I kept it to myself. I got two little flicks and kind of whispered to your daddy and he got all excited, and even put his iPhone down! He put his hand right on my belly because he wanted to feel you, too. But he still hasn't felt you yet, you're too quick. I haven't been able to feel you when I put my hand on my belly either. I only feel you when I sit down though, I haven't felt you while I've been standing up yet.

Present from Disney World from Grammy and Pappy.

Your mommy hasn't been very good over the holidays, eating wise. Or exercising. I was sick, so exercising was out of the question considering I couldn't breath, and holidays are always bad for eating. I need to get back on track though with the eating and the exercising though. No excuses why I can't walk every day. It's only going to get harder as I get bigger. I've been gaining a little too much weight too. It's really hard to find a balance between gaining weight for you and gaining too much weight. You're all worth it though, I just have to be a good role model for you and show you that being healthy is so important! But looks aren't everything.

Your daddy's Christmas present to me so I can
get my fruits and veggies in every day! 

Other than a growing belly, I feel good. I'm tired, but I'm always tired and I know it's going to get worse once you join us, but that's okay. I'll get used to it. I've been sleeping pretty good with my body pillow. Pregnancy brain is still full fledged, but it makes your daddy laugh. You were making my hair curly, but now it's getting dry and long. I'm thinking that I'll chop it once your born, it'll be easier to take care of then! My dry eyelids aren't too bad either, a lot better than they were, and I still have acne, so I guess you're taking all my good looks! I know I definitely look pregnant, strangers are starting to look at my belly, granted with it being winter, I wear a jacket and you can't tell as much, but I got lots of compliments at Christmas. I love being pregnant, I really do, it's such a blessed experience, and it's worth all the nausea, all the hormonal imbalances (which your daddy is standing quite well I might add), because every little kick or flutter I feel makes me realize that it's all worth it!

19 weeks!

I'm talking to you and singing to you all the time. I try to have music on all the time so that I'll sing along. I can't complain about any other symptoms, no pain anywhere, no cramping, no dizziness. I'm still sleeping pretty good. I'm really starting to read about labor and making my wish list for it. Your daddy is going to be my labor coach and we have a ton to learn! I need to sign up for our childbirth classes pretty soon, and I'm going to order some books to read soon. I'm even going to start on a scrapbook with all the letters to you and my belly pictures each week. I hope you'll really appreciate it. I really truly love pregnancy! Thank you for giving me this experience, little one!

Keep growing and stay in there, it's freezing out here!

Love,

Mommy.

Bullet Updates.

I'm so far behind in blogging. I actually had a bunch of posts planned for this week, but instead I think I'll just do some updates instead. Eventually I'll have to write my week 18 letter, and an update on Christmas, and I wanted to do an end of the year post, but for now, bullets will have to do.

- Christmas was awesome. Lots of family, fun and food! Got some good presents, including a magic bullet and pearl earrings, necklace and bracelet from Mr. Skinny. New camcorder from my parents and a Dumbo Blu-Ray from my in-laws.

- Mr. Skinny's mom's side of the family does Christmas Eve every year when everyone comes in and there's gotta be more than 50 people there. Each year I get nervous someone isn't going to know who I am because I still think of myself as a newbie, but this was my 8th Christmas Eve with them. There was no problem and everyone was talking to me and congratulating me, asking how I felt. I felt accepted.

- I am so thankful that I have such wonderful in-laws who have fully accepted me as a daughter, niece, sister, granddaughter and cousin.

- The baby has finally moved! I felt him/her move last Thursday night. I didn't pay attention to it at first, then s/he did it again and I realized that I should be paying attention to this! It was super exciting! Mr. Skinny was SO excited! So were our families when we told them! I've felt the baby move every day since there. It's just a little flick and kind of feels like a muscle spasm, but I prayed I'd feel him/her move before Christmas and s/he just made the cutoff on December 22!

- Our doctor's appointment last week went well. The doctor was a little more pushy than the nurser practitioner we saw last time about the flu shot, but I know that I have the final say and I saw no. So there.  It was a very short appointment. The nurse was a lot nicer than the doctor, so I'm praying that I don't have this doctor when I have the baby. There are 17 doctors in this group at my hospital, so I'm hoping to find at least half that I like.

- Our ultrasound is tomorrow night! I finally convinced Mr. Skinny we didn't need to find out the sex. Although when I tell people that he says that he still wants to find out, but it's not worth the fight any more to find out. So ha! I won :)

- I'm sick. I'm sure I picked something up from someone over Christmas. Oh well, tis the season, right? It started with a sore throat on Monday, but now it's kind of in my sinuses/back of my throat mess. I'm just praying I don't have to go to the doctor because I switched my primary doctor so I could go to the hospital I wanted to for my pre-natal care/labor & delivery and my new doctor is about an hour away, in a different county. I keep telling myself it's just a cold.

- We're going to see my cousin in Southern PA for New Years. When we were younger, we would always go down there for New Years and my uncle would make a bunch of appetizers and we'd watch the ball drop, but up until last year, my cousin and I were in different stages of our lives, and we just didn't get together. Now we're finally in the same stage, just about, she has two boys and I have one on the way (in case you forgot - ha!) so we'll get together with them.

- Mr. Skinny and I - mostly Mr. Skinny - are redoing our closet. It's a walk in closet, turned mini kitchen and back into a closet now. So there's lot of sanding, spackling, and there will be some painting next week. Our room is a disaster because the clothes that were in our closet are everywhere in our room now, but there's not much we can do except work as much as we can on it so that it gets done. I need to take some pictures and I'll show you. And don't worry, my only job so far has been holding the spackling dish thing for Mr. Skinny. No sanding and no painting for this pregnant lady!


And that's where I am about now. Hopefully I'll get back to regular blogging next week sometime, maybe Wednesday if Mr. Skinny is off on Monday.

Tell me: How was your holiday?

Seventeen Weeks.

I wanted to change the format of my weekly updates now that we're nearly halfway there! Instead of doing sections, I'd like to blend it all together in a letter to my son/daughter. Honestly, my reasoning here is completely selfish because I want to do a weekly scrapbook to the baby and instead of changing my wording from "the baby" to "you", "me" to "mommy",  and "Mr. Skinny" to "daddy", it would just be easier to do that here and just copy and paste it! Granted, I might hand write them, I think that would be more personalized than a typed letter, but I'll figure that out. 


I originally wrote this yesterday, December 19th. 


Dear Baby,

You certainly are making mommy's tummy grow! As soon as I took my jacket off at your Grandpa's house, he got all excited because he can finally see my belly! We had a party with your daddy's family this week and got lots of comments on your "appearance" and even some tummy touching. I didn't mind, I like knowing that you're growing in there. Speaking of growing, I still don't think I've felt you moving around. All my sources say that I should be feeling your moving in the next couple of weeks. I try really hard to feel you, but I don't think I have yet. Your Grandma asked me if I felt you and I had to tell her no. I was hoping I would feel you by Christmas, so you have a couple of days left, but I know your Grammy didn't feel me move until really late, so I'm not worried. I'm just looking forward to it!

You weigh about 5 ounces and are about 5 inches long, the size of an onion, or a turnip! I remember when your daddy and I found out about you, you were just the size of an apple seed! Your skeleton is changing from cartilage to bone, which is why I should be feeling you kicking shortly. You can move all around and bend your joints and you're even developing sweat glands! You're also starting to put on some fat, too. All your organs are well developed, your kidneys are creating urine and the live is starting to produce bile. I think most exciting of all is that you are starting to hear sounds! Sounds of my heart beating, and you're starting to hear my voice when I'm talking! I'm trying to listen to music all the time so that I can sing (your mommy always sings when there is music on!) and I want to make sure that you love Christmas as much as I do, as well as your Grandpa!

Your mommy isn't doing very good with watching how much weight she's gaining, especially over the holidays. I gained another whopping 1.6 this week, bringing my total gain up to 7.4 pounds. A month ago I was holding out at a 2.6 gain, so I really need to watch that. I don't want to gain too much, considering I didn't loose all the weight I should have before getting pregnant. I'm going to focus on more fruits and veggies and whole foods as opposed to processed foods. It's hard to find a balance! It also doesn't help that I'm not exercising like I should be. I have every intention of getting on my treadmill today for at least a half hour. I have an episode of "Kourtney and Kim take NY" to catch up on! Update: I did get on the treadmill, but only for about 23 minutes. Super tired today!

10 weeks.

My eyelids are still dry, but I'm just getting used to them. I think being pregnant in the winter isn't making them any better. I made your daddy get a flu shot, since I'm not getting one and he's the one person I'm closest with. He just got it yesterday and today he was nauseous and had the chills. I hope he doesn't sick since I can't really take care of him. He knows that it was the best thing for you, but your daddy is not an easy sick man, he complains. A lot.

14 weeks.

17 weeks.

Oh, I also fell on Saturday while I was putting my socks on. My balance is off, and I know it, but I had just gotten out of the shower and was standing on one foot, which had the sock on, and I lost my balance and fell right on my butt. Your daddy asked right away if I was okay, and I was, it wasn't a hard fall, I just started laughing and laughing. Guess I have to sit down when I put my socks on now!

And I think I got heartburn last week after eating salsa and chips. I couldn't really tell since I've never had heartburn before, but I think that's what it was. Honestly, your daddy's family were all born with a full head of hair and the old wive's tale might be right in saying that heartburn means you'll have a full head of hair!

Lastly, everyone LOVED the Christmas card we sent out! Everyone thought it was adorable! Can't wait until next year when you can be the star of our Christmas card!

Love you lots and keep growing baby!

Love,

Mommy

Sixteen Weeks.

Four months. That's how long I've been pregnant. Craziness! I can't believe that I'm closer to halfway than not. Half of me wants time to fly, and the other half just wants to enjoy the time that Mr. Skinny and I have as a family of two before we become a family of three.

How Baby's Growing:


Honestly, different sources say the baby is anywhere from 3 inches to nearly 5 inches, with the fruit of the week ranging from a lemon to an avocado. So take your pick. Baby is growing, with his/her bones turning from cartilage to bone, so kicking should be felt in the next few weeks. I haven't felt anything yet, but I'm hoping I'll feel it soon. My mom said that it took her forever to feel my brother and I moving. She actually started lying to people when they'd ask her because she couldn't believe she didn't feel it yet. I'm not worried yet. Fine details are developing as well, lines where the fingers and palm bend, and s/he has enough muscles to form a tightly clenched fist.

I've also read that the baby's eyelashes are growing and most of the development this week is inside the baby. His/her heart is pumping blood and the umbilical cord is completely developed. I don't know about you, but I didn't know it took so long for the umbilical cord to be developed. I kind of thought it developed almost immediately.

Source

Momma's Thoughts:

I wish we could have an ultrasound now! I want to see what my baby is doing, how s/he's moving! Some news though, the ultrasound I thought we'd be having next Wednesday? Yeah, most likely not happening. I called our insurance yesterday to find out if they help cover the cost of a breast pump and/or childbirth classes (coupon for $30 off the pump and no help for the classes where we want to take them), but I was transferred to a maternity counselor and let me tell you, she was the nicest person I've talked to in the health field since finding out I was pregnant! She totally understood why I didn't want the flu shot and just suggested I keep some anti-bacterial gel in my car/in my purse and wash my hands frequently. No judgement. Asked how I was feeling and how I was handling my pre-natal vitamin. When I told her that the vitamin's fine, I just cut in in half since it's a little big, she suggested I asked for a smaller vitamin. I didn't even think of that! Simply genius.

But she said that since we don't have a time for our ultrasound, then it probably isn't scheduled for next Wednesday. As disappointed as I am, I'm glad that I talked to her and she told us so that we have time to prepare before going to the appointment. I'm hoping I can make an ultrasound appointment as soon as I turn 20 weeks. I don't want to wait too long! I want to see what this little guy/girl looks like! I'm still trying to figure out how to convince Mr. Skinny that we don't need to find out. But now I have more time to figure that scheme out!

How I'm Changing:

Finally my weight leveled out a bit and I only gained 0.4 last week, bringing my gain up to 5.8 pounds. I'm hoping to have another small gain this week since my eating has been a bit healthier. I'm getting more comfortable in my "new" body, and I'm embracing the pregnant curves. I actually feel pregnant and feel like I look pregnant. I've even gotten a couple up and down glances from strangers, trying to figure out if I'm pregnant I'm sure. I definitely feel I've crossed over into the looking pregnant part of my pregnancy, and I don't just look fat all the time.

I got a couple good nights of sleep, and a couple nights of not so good sleep. It all balances out since I have 2 days each week where I don't work and can sleep late if I need to make up some sleep.

Like that bra in the background? It's new, it's a 36DD.
Awesome.

My acne is getting better, I suppose, but my dry eyelids have good and bad days. I think the dry, cold weather doesn't help either, but I have a loooong winter ahead of me. Oh well, I'll deal. What else can I do?

Oh, I had one last (hopefully) vomit session. Saturday morning Mr. Skinny tickled me, I coughed and my body took that as a sign that I need up dispose of the nothing that was in my stomach. I tried to control myself, and Mr. Skinny tried to help, but it didn't work. Oh well, at least it wasn't popcorn. Or ground beef. Blarg!

I also haven't felt baby move, I don't think, but I'm not worried about that yet. My mom said she actually started lying to people because it took her forever to feel my brother and I move. When I talked to the lady from our health insurance, she told me some tips and assured me that there's nothing to worry about, I still have time.


What I'm Eating:


Not too much has changed since last week. Healthy appetite is back, with a good balance of unhealthiness, like the fettuccine alfredo I made last night. But it was oh, so good. Mmm. Doesn't help that my parents brought a ton of stuff back from Disney and we're slowly eating through that.

I'm also getting a little frustrated with the things I can't eat. And the things that I don't know if I can eat or not. Like shrimp. It's Christmas and for Christmas Eve, we're at Mr. Skinny's parent's house, which is fine, but dinner consists of sandwiches (no lunch meat for me) and shrimp (questionable). Awesome. And once I make the mistake of telling Mr. Skinny what I "shouldn't" eat, he remembers it and tries to be helpful with reminding me what I shouldn't eat. I always said I was going to eat perfectly when I was pregnant, but once you're actually there, it's super hard.

How I'm Moving:


I actually moved! Once. For 30 minutes. On the treadmill. While watching Kourtney and Kim Take New York. It's my trash TV. Don't hate. Remember how I miss running? Well, I ran for probably a total of 5 minutes, split into 2 sessions. I didn't push myself and stopped when my shins started bothering me. I didn't look at the clock so I'm not sure how long I went, but the fact is I RAN! And I felt great! I was a little more tired than normal (duh, I am pregnant and haven't run is MONTHS), but I hope I can really keep this up. NO excuses. I'm home Monday and Wednesday, have a DVR full of junk to watch and I have a treadmill. Please keep hounding me on this!

Other Random Tidbits:


We took our Christmas pictures last weekend. I had a vision in my head of just taking a picture from our shins down with a pair of baby shoes in the middle, but when I went to look for shoes, I couldn't find ANY unisex shoes. So I found a onsie instead and took these shots.

The bottom one was closest to my original vision, but I thought it looked weird without our faces, so just the other two got on our Christmas card. And I sent them all out today! Go me! Granted, this is the first year that we just did a picture card and not personalized cards and I do feel a little bad about that. This might be the first of many years of that though. Thoughts?

Tell me:


What do you think about picture cards vs. personalized hand written cards?
What have you heard about shrimp during pregnancy? Do you think you followed/would follow all the "rules" during pregnancy?