19 weeks

This week has been a fun week. I've felt Newbie a few times this week, which has been cool. I've also eaten as much Mexican food as I could get...if I didn't already love it so much, I might call it a craving. Yesterday at the end of my workday in the office, several of us were talking about our favorite Mexican food restaurants. When I left work, I drove straight to a small tortilla factory that has the best chips and fresh salsa. Yummy! I stopped after that on an errand to Wal-Mart, and I sat in the Wal-Mart parking lot for about 5 minutes just chowing down on salsa. :)

After my errand, I tucked a napkin in my shirt and put everything within hand's reach so I could enjoy my chips and salsa on the way. Probably not my safest moment, and I did put it away after a bit. And oh, it was so yummy.

One would think that so much salsa would bring on some heartburn, but I haven't had any trouble this week. I told a guy yesterday, "I don't know what women complain about; this pregnancy thing is easy!" He immediately said, "And I'm sure they've all been wrong about delivery as well!"

Well, I wouldn't go that far. I've SEEN delivery, and it sure didn't look easy.

Though I will say that getting up and going to bed has become a slight chore. In the evening, there's the body pillow (which retains an enormous amount of heat, by the way) on my back to keep me sleeping on my left side. That pillow is turned and tucked in between my knees to keep my hips in the right place. Then I have a small pillow tucked under my belly...no real reason except I'm not used to the feeling of my belly hanging over. It's weird. And oh, I have to wear a bra during the night, so it still feels like I'm ready for the day, or maybe just taking a nap. I don't get that "Aah, comfy t-shirt and into bed I go" feeling at night any more. I miss it.

So in the morning it's not so bad, except my body pillow seems to have raised the temperature in the bed by about 10 degrees. After my shower I have to put the stretch cream on. Which, by the way, I wouldn't recommend until the second trimester. I started just about as soon as I found out I was pregnant, which was silly because my baby was the size of a pea. Now it's more important, as pretty soon Newbie won't be so many ounces as he will be pounds.

A funny thing happened to me at work yesterday. I was not wearing a maternity shirt, but one that had an empire waist with a billowy bottom section. When I walked in, a lady I worked with gushed, "You look so cute. Is that a maternity shirt? It looks like the boobie fairy has been visiting you!!"

The wha..??? Who?? Eh??

Yeah, just about the weirdest thing I've ever heard. But it made me laugh for sure! And she's right; I've had to pick out some new bras lately, though I'm told the boobie fairy is not done, yet.

Moving on....I think the pregnant hot-naturedness has hit. It could be the 100-degree temps outside, but I don't think so. I take my sweater everywhere, and I haven't used it in about two weeks. Well, once at church I did, but even hot people get cold in church. We're looking at getting some fans pretty soon, so that will be nice.

And hm...anything else? Did I tell you I felt the baby?? Yeah, that was cool....

So where is Newbie in all this, besides tapping on my insides? Well, he's about 8.5 ounces and 6 inches long. His brain is developing like crazy, and he's gotten just about all his limbs in proportion to each other now. BabyCenter says, "Don't be shy about reading aloud, talking to her, or singing a happy tune if the mood strikes you." If you know me (and you do), you know the mood strikes me quite a bit!

And that's it for this week! Whew! I haven't added a new photo to the sidebar because we take the picture on the weekends, so you'll get one sometime early next week.

I did it!

I finally got my belly pics up! The numbers are for the week it was taken. Check it out in the sidebar!

The second hello

I've read that after the first "tap tap" from the inner sanctum, it may be days or even weeks before feeling the baby again. So, I wasn't too worried about it. Today, though, at dinner, I had a nice little bop on my stomach! Haha! It made me smile immediately. Hello Baby!

18 Weeks: Hello Baby!

Jon and I talk to Newbie a lot: Hello, baby. Good night, baby. We love you, little baby!

So, it was a great feeling yesterday when Baby talked back! Jon and I had just finished up dinner and were discussing the day together, when I felt something low in my belly. It was gone before I was even aware of it, but I'm pretty sure those little flutterings were Newbie wiggling around! Hooray! It's good to have tangible evidence without having to wait the month between dr. visits.

We're now at 18 weeks. This week I have shown a bit of absentmindedness. The other day I was talking to KarenN on the phone about 10am. I realized that I hadn't eaten breakfast, yet, so I started scrounging around the kitchen while I was talking to her. Suddenly I realized I was making nachos!! So, I ate them. I had cereal for lunch to balance things out.

As a side note, after the cereal I got a splitting headache--the first one I've had in several days. Maybe I'm reacting to the milk?? Don't really want to chug a glass to find out.

So back to the nachos: I think cheese is my craving...specifically Mexican-food-related cheese. Cheese enchiladas, Taco Bell tacos (with cheese), queso and chips, nachos. Those have always been on my Very Yummy list, but I'm pretty sure I could eat them every day and be happy. I love cheese and spicy stuff!

And speaking of spicy stuff, I've started to have my first bouts of heartburn. Perhaps it's related to the jalapenos and other spicy peppers I've been eating.... Nah.....

Newbie is still growing! 5 1/2 inches from crown to rump, and 7 ounces. His ears are in their final position, though Baby Center says they may still be sticking out some. Heehee.... So, if you want to talk to my belly, the baby can hear you now!

I'm starting to look more pregnant and less like I ate a plateful of enchiladas (not that I didn't....). So, maybe some belly pics will come soon! I've been taking one a week, but they just haven't been that eventful until recently.

17 Weeks

The weeks are just clicking by! The big news this week is that Leanna and I went baby mama clothes shopping yesterday. We had a lot of fun, and I was SO glad Lea was there to help me make decisions. And today I'm wearing a new tank tops and shorts! Hooray! We bought some cool and casual summer clothes, as well as a few things I could wear to work/church. The fun purchase of the day was black leggings: we'll see if I have the guts to wear them! We found a cute shirt that goes with them pretty well. Now all that's left is finding the perfect flats. A girl's wardrobe is never complete!

Newbie is 5 inches long from head to rear. I just pulled out a ruler, and that's quite large! I feel like I have a baby belly, but not one big enough to house a 5-inch baby! Newbie's bones are starting to harden, and lots of good growth continues to happen. Only three more weeks before the Big Reveal! I've added a poll in the side column so you can make your final predictions. I have a feeling how most of you will vote....I've even already gotten a lamb with a pink ribbon in the mail from my aunt and uncle! Sheesh.

Dr. Appointment

Yesterday we made our monthly trek to the doctor. (Trek used for dramatic purposes; her office is about 5 minutes away requiring all of four turns.) Remembering how long we waited last time, we were armed with books, and I gulped down a glass of water on the way out the door, figuring I'd have an hour or so for it to make its way through for the urinalysis. :)

However, when we got in the office, we were one of three people in the waiting room, and my name was pretty close to the top of the list. So, before settling down to wait, I decided I better go get that urinalysis over with. Sure enough, as I came out of the bathroom, a nurse said she was ready for me! Okay, let me just go grab my husband!

I weighed in, and the scale said I gained two pounds since last month (one pound overall). My scale at home says I've gained 5 pounds overall, but either way the nurse seemed fine with my weight. BabyCenter says I should have gained a bit more weight by now, but I'm sure it will all catch up to me. When that time comes, I'm hoping all these creams I'm putting on my belly do their job and prevent those stretch marks!

I told the nurse about my constant headaches, including some pretty sharp ones sometimes. She said it sounded like a blood pressure problem, but no, my BP was 109/76 or something like that. And that was after she made me nervous telling me I might have a problem!

On to the listening the baby's heartbeat: at first the nurse had trouble finding it (the dr. was out of the office, so the nurse did everything today), but she was just looking in the wrong place. Eventually she found a nice steady heartbeat. She didn't tell me the heartrate, so I can't tell you that. She did say it was strong, and she could tell that Newbie was moving quite a bit. I can't wait to feel those little movements!

We didn't measure the uterus like I thought would happen this week. She said it wasn't big enough, yet, and we'd probably start that next month. She said the headaches are probably hormonal, and she prescribed a stronger medicine for it than the Tylenol I had been taking.

After a few more questions, we were done! In at 4:00 and out by 4:30. Next month will take much longer, because we get to see Newbie again, this time to find out the gender! Plus, they use that sonogram to take lots of measurements, so it takes awhile. Hey, the longer I get to see the baby, the better!

And that's this month's report!

16 weeks!

Another week has passed! I've blogged a couple times this week, so not much to update on my end. Oh! The biggest thing this week was that KarenN helped me trade out all my normal clothes for maternity! It was pretty crazy, and I'm so thankful for her help. We ended up with two trash bags full of stuff for Goodwill, two big Rubbermaid bins full of normal clothes, and a closet full of maternity! I am so blessed to have received all the clothes I have. Most of the summer clothes are pretty outdated, so some of it is going to Goodwill as well, and I'll be contributing to the "summer collection" through this summer. I've already added a pair of shorts and a cute top! And hopefully Leanna's going to go shopping with me next week so we can add even more! (Right, Leanna??) I haven't actually cleared it with her, but I'm hoping she says yes. :)

It's fun to have a whole new wardrobe, but also a little intimidating. I don't have my old standbys and I don't know what tops go with what pants. All my favorite comfy clothes are gone. So yeah, I went through a little shock, but it's also so nice to know that whatever I pull out will fit! Some of it's still too big, but a lot of it works just fine.

The Norvells got me a high chair this week, and are scouting out the perfect Pack 'N Play. It's amazing how much variety is out there. I tried to look at baby toys online the other day and quickly got overwhelmed. I think my kid is going to play with cardboard boxes and pots and pans--if only so I don't have to decide what to register for!

On the baby front, Newbie is 4.5 inches, and is "poised for a growth spurt." In the next few weeks he'll double his weight! And sometime in there I'll start to feel his little movements. How cool will that be!

I've got an appointment on Monday--just routine stuff--though John tells me we'll get to hear the heartbeat every time, which is way too neat to be labeled routine.

The Baby Belly Blues

I think baby bellies are so cute. I'm sad when I hear of a woman who feels fat or wants to hide her belly. I don't have much of a belly, but once people have known I was pregnant, I was excited to show it off. I don't mind people commenting on it (as long as the word "fat" is not involved), and I don't mind people touching it.

So imagine my surprise when I tried on a dress on Saturday night, and I was shocked at what I saw. The dress is particularly unforgiving--the stretchy fabric makes it a good transition dress, but it's one of those dresses I've always worn with a conscious effort to suck in my pooch. And now there was no sucking in. That pooch was out there to stay. And it didn't look like pregnant pooch to me at that moment.

I came out to Jon and said, "I'm not skinny anymore!!"

(Not that I would ever describe myself as "skinny," but it made for a more dramatic statement.)

Jon hugged me and affirmed, no, that I was not, but that I wasn't supposed to be, and I looked beautiful.

I wore the dress the next day to church, and by that time I'd gotten a little more used to the idea. I did get immediate comments about my belly when I walked into Sunday School, and I just decided to enjoy it. I mean, how often will I get to wear this dress and not worry about sucking in?

I'm standing at a slight angle, which makes the belly protrude less than in real life. Believe me, it was quite noticeable!

Dreams

On Saturday night, I dreamed that I got my sonogram, and we were having a boy! At the end of my dream, I saw the newborn little baby boy. The odd part (and there always is one in my dreams) is that I was giving myself the sonogram, and had to stand on the bed to see the monitor, which was mounted on the wall near the ceiling.

Last night, I dreamed I was starting to nurse for the first time (I was a champ at it, by the way), and I was nursing a baby girl...who, in retrospect, did not look like a newborn at all. She had lots of dark curls and looked more like...a one-year-old maybe?

Some women say they just had a feeling about what gender their baby was. I think the past two nights' dreams prove that I still have no idea!