Bump Update :)

How far along? 20.5 weeks and counting!! 

 

Baby: This baby boy is about six and a half inches long, and weighs just over half a pound (10.5 oz) as of the last ultrasound. He's wriggly and is testing swallowing more these days, which is good practice for his digestive system. He's also working hard on his first ever messy diaper (or before a diaper...). 

Maternity clothes? Liking them and wanting more of them! I would love to find a ruched t-shirt type shirt with no lettering, just colored that would be comfy to wear any day. My swimsuit has arrived, though I've realized I'll need a second one...I swim a lot in the summer. 

 

Stretch marks? nope, just lots of itchiness if I don't wear a loose enough fabric. :D

 

Weight gain? approx. 10 pounds. I'm getting closer to Danny's weight, which is a little depressing, but tis all for the baby, so it's worth it. 

 

Sleep: The hardest part about sleeping lately is finding the comfortable spot for the night. I really need to get a body pillow...

 

Miss anything? Nope, just looking forward to summer--not the heat of course--but the break from craziness and college!

 

Movement: As of April 17th, I can feel him move! It's amazing! He's wiggling around right now!

 

Cravings: I still like fruity things, and lots of potatoes. I think I have a baked potato once or twice a week! 

I also have liked having breakfast foods on Sat and Sun mornings--homemade waffles, pancakes, etc. It's yummy! 

In general...food. Anything that sounds good at the time, which is usually everything lol. 

 

Symptoms: Stomach stretchiness. I feel like there are some days I can actually feel my abdomen stretching. When I go swim laps, I swim freestyle and still do flip turns. It feels great, but the very first few laps are a little aggravating cuz my tummy doesn't like feeling all stretched out like that. 

I'm definitely showing now, but I can still manage to wear a few things that hide the bump. 

I also can feel him move! It's the neatest feeling in the world! I can't wait until Danny can feel him do his little flips too! (He does them a lot...) Seems like ever since we had our second ultrasound with PPA, he's moved all over the place at one time of the day or another. :D

 

Wedding ring on or off? Still on! I just got it all shined up. :D 

 

Happy or moody most of the time? Happy most of the time, but if I've had a long day, I find it pretty hard not to snap at people. I manage, but I sit there being moody for a few moments. :D 

 

Looking forward to: Meeting our baby BOY! I'm thrilled that we are going to have a boy, and that we've made it half way through the pregnancy! I'm also looking forward to the end of the school year, so I can focus on swim lessons, living in the pool, and of course, finishing the baby room! It's coming along nicely!

Oh, and we're having a "babymoon" this summer! We're going to various places along the Western Caribbean! SO excited!

 

Things to Stress About: Eating enough. Some days, I just feel like I get too wrapped up in what I'm doing to remember to eat enough. Now, I know that's not too huge of a problem, since this little boy will suck whatever he needs out of my system, but I worry a little sometimes. 

 

How is the Husband Doing? Danny has started to get excited about names. We've had a few brainstorming sessions, which mostly end up with us making fun of a few of the names we come up with. :D He's going to be such a great daddy! Only 20 weeks to go!

Drum Roll Please!

Well, THIS has been an exhausting week!

For those of you who want to hear my journey...keep reading. If you're just looking for a BOY/GIRL notice, keep scrolling. :D

Last Tuesday, we went in for our anatomy scan (18 weeks). They took lots of measurements and then tried to find baby's gender. But baby was all locked up tight. Hands crossed behind the head, legs criss-crossed, and on top of that, baby didn't seem to want to move for ANYTHING.

Despite this little glitch in the plan, it was still absolutely incredible to see this baby and hear the heartbeat again. The cute little profile pictures are my favorite, where baby stuck up that little round tummy lots of times.

 

What to expect when you're expecting: Things don't go the way you plan. That baby has its own time line and its own comfort levels. Nothing you do can change that, and stressing about it only makes it worse. The night before last Tuesday, I had it in my head that the crib HAD to be put together before we went to have this ultrasound. Talk about irrational, and just an added level of stress! Thank goodness for a wonderful supportive and loving husband who does everything he can to help me calm down.

On top of not finding out the gender when I was expecting to, the ultrasound tech made a note about possibly seeing a tiny fluid bubble on the brain, which the nurse practitioner told us was likely nothing to be concerned about based on the other anatomical measurements. So we were told we'd be sent to a parinatologist to have a more in depth anatomy scan to get the measurements they missed due to baby's position this first time (fingers, toes, hands, feet mostly).

Then came the waiting, the panicky feeling, the anxiety, the crying--all the extra hormonal lovelies that come with pregnancy and mom-to-be worries.

I seriously felt like I was hyperventalating on Wednesday--I'm a very control oriented person. When things aren't in my control, I have a hard time waiting for the end result...the resolution--which usually turns out ok anyways.

Thank goodness for Elder Holland's talk in General Conference this last weekend!

I had heard it during the Sunday session and after our ultrasound last week, this was the main talk that just kept jumping to my mind. I finally listened to it again.

And again.

And again.

I'll probably keep listening to it--it was that meaningful to me. I've never listened to a talk that I felt was more personally applicable to me and to EXACTLY what I was worrying about and feeling uncertain about what was going to happen with this baby. It just reaffirmed to me that I need to have faith in Heavenly Father's plan, to lead with my faith as Elder Holland calls it, not with my doubt. He says not to "hyperventalate" when things get hard--they do get hard and they will continue to get hard. As I listen to this talk, I feel like he is specifically talking to ME, which is an incredible feeling. I'm so grateful to know that Heavenly Father is there and hears our prayers, even when maybe we're just worrying too much.

I'll attach a link to this talk--it's wonderful if you haven't heard it yet:
http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/04/lord-i-believe?lang=eng

So...thanks to this talk, and the support of wonderful women in my life--my mom, my mother-in-law, my sisters and in-laws, and Merri, Natalie, Ashley, Susan, and Katie--along with tons of other friends I can't name off the top of my head--I made it through the rest of last week and this week with minimal anxiety.

I had to put it in perspective, and just realize that God's plan for my family is already going. I can't change it by worrying too much. I am so grateful for this week and the growth I've felt in my personal testimony of how God answers our prayers and of the power of the priesthood in your home. Danny has been such a sturdy foundation and a huge support to me. He has been great at helping me to occupy my mind otherwise and of course, he's good at making me laugh. :D

I LOVE Danny, and this adorable little addition to our family!

Now for the BIG news. ;p

I just had to make everyone wait...I know.

Ultrasound as of April 17th, 2013 has revealed that:

- Baby is VERY active--quite the little rollie-pollie in there (hopefully I'll start feeling some more movement from the outside soon.... :D )
- Baby's heart, brain, hands, feet, fingers, toes, stomach, and everything else they can measure looks extremely healthy and on-track for development at this stage
- Baby weighs approximately 1/2 a pound and is measuring near 6 inches
- Baby can open HIS mouth and presumably suck on a thumb, as well as open HIS eyes
- and yes, Baby is a BOY! (threw you there didn't I)
 

Danny said today that he had a funny feeling that it was a boy while we were waiting for him to move into the right position to show us. :D

 

Definitely cool to see the face from these close-ups!

 
We are thrilled that this little guy is coming to our family! Grandbaby #1 for my side, and #24 for Danny's.

We look forward to finally meeting him in person, hopefully somewhere around September 12th of this year!

That's all for now folks!

Pre-Reveal! Guesses anyone?

Today I am just past 16.5 weeks and loving the second trimester overall! I have had a lot to do with school and things at home, but being preganant hasn't made it too much more difficult. It's finally gotten to the point that I DO have to use the rubberband trick to feel comfortable in a lot of my jeans, but I figure I'll be in a swim suit most of the summer so that's no big deal.

I decided to post an update now so that I can dedicate next week to being all excited about the boy/girl factor.

:D

Guesses anyone? Reply and let me know what you think!

How far along? 16.5 weeks! Only 6 days until our ultrasound!

 

Baby:  Currently, our baby is approximately 4.5-5.5 inches long, which is around the length of a large orange/medium grapefruit. By now, they have developed eye lashes and may be able to sense light. They may also start hearing sounds outside the womb. By next week, their reproductive system should be developed fully and then we'll learn the gender. They are currently developing a thick skin to keep them warm at birth and may also be practicing breathing.

Maternity clothes?  I got a few new dresses and am going to order a swim suit from A Pea in the Pod. I'm excited to wear it cuz I tried things on with the baby bump that actually looks realistic and it looked super cute! Stripes are kind of an obsession of mine....my sister thinks it's a problem, lol.

Stretch marks? Nothing yet, but I'm sure they'll come.

 

Weight gain? I'm guestimating around 10 pounds by now. Danny got on the scale this morning and told me his weight. I told him he shouldn't tell me that anymore cuz I weighed a little more than he did last time I measured it. haha  I'm definitely more hungry than I used to be. It's hard to eat enough cuz I'm just so busy!

 

Sleep: I sleep alright now. It was hard to get used to sleeping on my side--I still end up on my stomach or my back occasionally, but not too often. I just figured I'd be better off getting used to it earlier than later. Seems like I sleep okay that way, I just never want to get up. Being in bed is too comfy.

Miss anything? Baby's heart rate at the last appointment was 138. Pretty cool! (My guess is boy with that and the sour/salty craving stuff)

I've also been able to start swimming a little more. The water feels GREAT! It's awesome to be able to jump in the pool and just swim a good distance and not feel like crap afterwards. My body REALLY likes swimming, so I'm gonna do it a lot more!
 

Movement: I have had those bubbly feelings, but I never know if it's me or the baby. I keep pushing on different parts of my tummy hoping maybe I'll feel them in there, but then I think how thick the uterus is and I'm like, there's no way. Soon though!

Cravings: Still loving the fruits, though right now I'm liking strawberry flavored greek yogurt. :D I've taken a liking to baked potatoes loaded with chives, cheese, sour cream, and bacon. It's good. (Danny's getting tired of it haha). I also have this liking for Krazy Subs. Still my favorite lunch place. :D

 

Symptoms: Headaches, feeling more tired that usual after school (though that could just be that my kiddos are exhausting!), definitely looking more pregnant (little belly bump, but I mostly just feel fat still lol), hungry. ALL the time. Moody when I'm not getting enough food. I also feel like my back hurts. I read somewhere that pregnant women have a tendency to thrust their stomach's out early on in pregnancy to make it more obvious that they are expecting (like hey, I'm pregnant, not just fat). I think I do this subconsciously, so to save myself from being too achy when I am further along, I'm trying not to do that anymore.

Wedding ring on or off? Still on--I hope the water keeps my fingers small during the summer.

Happy or moody most of the time? Most of the time I feel pretty happy. Sometimes it's hard to feel motivated make dinner or do dishes, but that's nothing new ;D. I'm enjoying this am excited for the rest of what's coming!

Looking forward to: Feeling the baby move! I should be able to start feeling and hopefully recognizing SOMETHING soon now. It's always a reassurance to have a Dr. appt. and hear the heart beat cuz I don't think I've been able to recognize that bubbly feeling yet. sometimes I think I do, but then I'm like...not so sure...

Danny and I are also going on a western Carribean cruise at the beginning of May, so we're super excited for that! Week long vacation (just hope I don't get motion sickness)
 

Things to Stress About: Finishing school and hoping that I don't have to have any more absences. I just want to graduate and be done with school so I can move on with baby things and applying for teaching positions.

How is the Husband Doing? Danny's doing well! He's been taking great care of me and I can tell he's starting to get more excited about the baby since we'll learn the gender next week. We're super excited to finally see them again, and even more excited to feel them move.

That's all for now! Next Tuesday we'll be at the doctor's office for the ultrasound. My guess is boy, but I wouldn't doubt that I could be wrong. lol. Hopefully the little munchkin doesn't hide from us!