20 Weeks

Halfway there! I can't believe how quickly this second trimester is going.  I feel so great, other than the occasional lower back pain, I just hope my payoff for being so sick early on is an easy-breezy second and third trimester!

Nursery painting is underway, however we have definitely hit a few snags in the process.  One of which being running out of paint after two walls, then having the Lowes paint guy give us the type of paint I shouldn't be around AND a slightly lighter color than our first batch.  Clay has been a real trooper and has taken on the majority of the painting for mine and Baby S's sake.  I'm sure he cannot wait for this one-day-job-turned-four-day-job to be over.

Our 20 week ultrasound couldn't have gone any better.  Baby has all the right parts in all the right places and was moving around like crazy! Baby is actually measuring one week ahead of schedule by weight, but who can blame him/her after the holidays?

 

How far along: 20 weeks

Gender: Still no idea-- and the window is officially closed as we aren't scheduled for any more ultrasounds!

Weight gain: 13 lbs.

Maternity clothes: Oh yes.  More coming via gap.com including my first pair of maternity jeans! Belly band is still doing the trick on my regular pants as well as a good ol' fashioned hair band.

Stretch marks: Still no! On to my second tube of Mustela Double Action Stretch Mark Cream.

Belly button in or out: Debatable--- almost flat as a pancake by the end of the day.

Sleep: Still not great-- I end up on my back and the sheer weight of my belly wakes me up as it's crushing me.

Best moment this week: Christmas food! Food is my main agenda these days.

Worst moment this week: Really nothing to report other than the lower back pain.

Miss anything: Nothing major-- although The Bachelor girls nights are about resume and I know I will be missing the red wine as we start our Monday traditions.

Movement: Still nothing more than flutters-- hoping they get stronger soon!

Cravings: Nothing exciting, but I do fancy a PB&J at least once every two days.

Queasy or sick: Feel great!

Looking forward to: Getting the nursery done and putting furniture together!

The 20 week bump.. thank goodness for stretchy maternity shirts.

Four Months

Four months and feeling great! I have FINALLY kicked morning sickness and am feeling much better, aside from the occasional headache.  I feel like I have really packed on the weight gain in the past few weeks, as you may notice from my new bump pic.  We had another great doctor's appointment two weeks ago where we could hear the little heartbeat.  We don't go back until Dec. 23 which WOULD be the gender reveal day.... still months to come before we will know if this little one is a Jillian or an Ezra!

 

 

 

How far along: 16 weeks

Gender: I'm having some early inclinations that it's a girl. :)

Weight gain: 8 lbs. as of two weeks ago, but I am guessing a pound or two more now.

Maternity clothes: Getting there! I just purchased a maternity dress since we are attending a wedding in January and none of my clothes will fit by then.

Stretch marks: Still no!

Belly button in or out: In

Sleep: Not great--- probably will be investing in a pregnancy pillow soon.

Best moment this week: The realization that it had been four days since I had taken anti-nausea medicine. I finally kicked it!

Worst moment this week: Yesterday I had the WORST headache all day.  Not even a McD's Diet Coke could fix it.

Miss anything: The Chicken Salad Salad from Potbelly.  Chicken salad is on the no-no list for pregnant women, but that is my favorite salad in the world.

Movement: I have felt a few flutters over the past few days, but I honestly can't tell if it's the baby or something else.

Cravings: Gelato today.  I made Clay stop for some coconut gelato today as we were out nursery shopping.

Queasy or sick: So much better!

Looking forward to: Our 20 week appointment-- almost halfway there!

Fingers & Toes

Another EXCITING Dr. appt this morning led to these baby mug shots.  Everything is looking great! Little one is measuring the size of a peach (roughly 2.5 inches) and was wiggling around like crazy.  Shouldn't be long until we feel the little flutters!

Today was routine testing for any abnormalities, which we will not know the results of until next week.  BUT the u/s tech said everything looked perfect and we shouldn't be concerned.  This is great news for our happy, healthy baby!

 

 

 

How far along: Almost 13 weeks

Gender: We made sure and let the tech know this morning we did not want to know the sex, JUST in case.  It's still way too early to tell. :)

Weight gain: According to the scale at the gym this week, 5 lbs.

Maternity clothes: Still holding out-- although my weekend wardrobe consists of leggings and long tees.

Stretch marks: Still no!

Belly button in or out: In

Sleep: Not as good as before--- a little lower back pain when I lay down and the intense dreams make it less peaceful.

Best moment this week: This morning! Little guy/girl was very active and wiggling around like crazy.

Worst moment this week: Getting very sick on Wednesday night-- I'm hoping these occurrences are becoming less frequent..

Miss anything: Still sushi-- and crumbly cheeses.  I would love a good Cobb Salad with blue cheese.

Movement: Not yet! Can't wait for the day this happens.

Cravings: Nothing crazy this week.  Although I heard someone say "apple juice" and I promptly walked next door to my office to the little market and bought a giant thing of it like I was hypnotized.

Queasy or sick: Refilled my Zofran today, but again hoping I don't need it for much longer.

Looking forward to: 2nd Trimester! Only 9 more days.

Strong little heartbeat!

What an exciting week! We had our first "heartbeat listen" at our appointment this week and heard a stampede of beats at 168 per minute! We were so thrilled to hear that our little one is settling in nicely for the next six months and that everything looked great! Taking a cue from one of my favorite mommy blogs, I thought an update on all things pregnancy was in order.  Here is where we stand:

 

How far along: 11 weeks

Gender: Not finding out! We have six more months of calling our little one anything from "nugget" to whatever fruit he/she is the size of each week.

Weight gain: 2 lbs. I feel like I gained 10.

Maternity clothes: Not yet, but guarantee I won't make it past Thanksgiving! Can someone pass me every pie on the table?

Stretch marks: Nope-- although I invested in some heavy-duty cream that should take care of that if the price was any indicator.

Belly button in or out: In

Sleep: Good! Although I get up to pee 2-3 times a night and have super crazy dreams that are more like movies.

Best moment this week: Hearing the little one's heartbeat... and learning that I ONLY gained two lbs.

Worst moment this week: Having to get a flu shot.  Labor doesn't scare me at all, but anytime I have to give blood or get a shot, I turn into a 5 yr. old.

Miss anything: Sushi.. it sounds amazing right now.  Although I think red wine may be rising on that list, especially after a crazy work week.

Movement: Not yet! Can't wait for the day this happens.

Cravings: Something different every day.  Some of the constants are pickles, applesauce, chocolate milk, and any type of pasta.

Queasy or sick: Feeling.... better.  Still rocking the all-day sickness that is camouflaged by anti-nausea medicine.

Looking forward to: Our next ultrasound! It's in 2 weeks and I haven't seen our little nugget since the 5 week u/s.

We also announced our pregnancy with a Pinterest-inspired photo that made EVERYONE laugh! I think this was Clay's favorite part of the pregnancy thus far.

 

And lastly, my 10-week bump.  It gets bigger as the day goes on and I generally have to unbutton my pants at my desk.

 

We have a due date!

Our first prenatal appointment was last Thursday to do a general work-up and confirm the pregnancy.  Needless to say, I was extremely worried that everything was too good to be true and something was off, but the visit couldn't have gone better!

I was experiencing a little bit of pain on my lower right side (a slight no-no since one side typically means something is up), so my doctor said I could wait around for an ultrasound to rule out ectopic pregnancy. 

Literally for hours I sat in the waiting room to be worked in when they finally called me back.  I was preemptively told that it was so very early that we may not be able to see anything.... then two seconds later I could see the little bean! Right where he/she is supposed to me, growing like a weed. I was ECSTATIC! I worry about everything and this is just the validation I needed after a long day at the doctor. What a great surprise!  Oh, and little bean will be joining us May 18, 2014!

Our Story Begins

Hello Friends & Family!

Welcome to our cute little blog that will document our journey to bringing home our little one scheduled to arrive in May, 2014!  We are only a few days into this adventure, as I found out on September 7 that we were pregnant (which also would have been Clay's dad's 65th birthday, a day which was already going to be an emotional one).  After months of trying with no luck, I had the sudden urge to take a test after a day of remembering Bryan, and as luck would have it, it was positive! 

Here is the first snapshot before the baby bump pics start rolling in.  Taken a few days after my first positive, because I obviously had to take several tests to make sure it didn't disappear. :)

More updates to come... we are just getting started!

Ashley