22/23 weeks

22 weeks

23 weeks
How far along? 23 weeks


Size of baby? 11.5 inches long and weighs 1 pound !!

Total weight Gain/Loss? Up 13/14 pounds

Maternity Clothes? I am in dire need of these, haha. I have no maternity bottoms and only 2 actual maternity tops. (both of which I am wearing in the pictures above, lol) It's hard to spend money on something that I'll only need a few months, especially when they are so darn expensive. Within the next few weeks I'll have to break down and buy some new clothes though.

Gender? It's a Boy!

Movement? All the time.. and on my list of top life experiences. There's just nothing like it. I am finally starting to feel actual "kicks" too, rather than just tumbling. He can be felt on the outside now so Tyler is finally able to be involved :) Although, the little stinker will stop whatever he's doing as soon as Tyler tries to feel. I've heard a couple mentions from other pregnant ladies about getting kicked in the ribs.. and I have to say sometimes I would like to be kicked in the ribs... he is soooo low, I feel like I need to push him up sometimes, haha. Weird.

Sleep? I am starting to get slightly uncomfortable. Good thing I have my Snoogle =) Not to bad though, I sleep superbly (is that a word?), just the usual wake-ups for the bathroom and it's back to snoozing.

Symptomns? Still have major nasal congestion along with light nosebleeds. Lots of bathroom breaks. And I mean lots. The sciatic nerve pain has still not come back (yay!) but I have had, I guess, ligament pain on my belly. It lasted about 2 or 3 days. And (from the research I did) I think it came up from working out. It's hard to find the right balance of "staying active" versus "resting and relaxing" .. both of which I am supposed to be doing, ha. And I have the dry eyes too. Nothing major and overall, I feel great!

Belly Button? It's hard to describe, haha. Not an outie, but barely passing for an innie!

What I am looking forward to? Getting the bedding set this week, thanks to Tyler's Aunt Terrie and Uncle Paul! And my first baby shower back in Texas from Tyler's family is in less than 3 weeks!!! I can't wait! My mom bought me the dress I am going to wear, while we were at the mall last weekend. She said that way there will be a "piece of her" with me =)
 
Next baby check-up is September 17th. But look for a post on the progress of the nursery to come next! It has begun! Our goal is to have it complete by the time I am 30 weeks.

A Little Bit of Everything...

Is it just me or did August absolutely FLY by? Probably because it has been my best month of this pregnancy so far, lol. =) School starts back up on Monday so I will be back to Lowe's during the day, then Grace Lutheran School for Extended Day with my Pre-schoolers and Kinders. I am a little worried, but then I remember that I somehow got through it back in the Spring dealing with morning sickness (at all hours of the day) everyday. And I really, really LOVE working at Grace (also our church) so I am looking forward to it... we'll see how long I can go.

Well, I plan on doing a 22/23 week update tomorrow, but realized I have a bunch of random pictures I wanted to post so I am doing this separate post just so I can blab about some pictures.

As you know, we found out we are having a boy on the 9th. I have a calendar in the kitchen that I wrote "2:15... BOY OR GIRL?" for our Dr. appointment. Just the other day I noticed that had been erased and my funny husband had replaced it with this....

We have been working on clearing out Tyler's (old) office/man cave so it can be converted into a precious nursery =) (He's having a hard time with it but is proud that, "It will still be a man's room!!") Here are some 'in the process" pictures of what a mess it looked like this past week.

We got rid of an old recliner that my mom rocked my 13 year old brother in!!! Sold a desk, office chair, and TV. And gave the desktop computer to my little brother. Two bookshelves and all the books are now in the guest bedroom, and all of his JUNK (hehe) was put in other closets or brought to the garage. It is now an EMPTY bedroom with 3 bibs and a few outfits hanging in the closet!!! ....

Now it is time to really get to work! After weeks of discussion, I broke down and let Tyler pick out the "theme"/bedding set. It will not be anything close to what I had imagined it would look like, but as long as we have a beautiful, healthy baby boy in it .. what more could I want?
It will still be precious and we are so excited to start putting it together.

And lastly, I just had to take some pictures of the outfits we have. I can not get over the cuteness. Last weekend when we were in Georgia with my family, my mom bought these...

It says, "Whoo's too cute!" and look at that little guy with his bib and tie, awww!!

Is that not so adorable for a little baby boy?

And this is my favorite one!!! It says, "Mane Man" ahhhhh, so cute!!!!!

This last one was from Tyler's Aunt Debbie.. she gave it to us back in June before we knew it was a boy =) I love it.

Look for a weekly update tomorrow!

It's A......

BOY!!!!!

(But you all already knew that.. haha) And here is the proof....

(see arrow)

AND WE ARE THRILLED!!! Of course, we would have been just as thrilled either way to hear our babe was growing and healthy, regardless of gender. But deep in our hearts we both desired a little boy.. how awesome is He. We are overwhelmed with thankfulness, just as we were when we discovered I was pregnant. We are having the time of our lives =) Here is another picture of our little guy....

His arms/hands were chilling up behind his head. The ultrasound tech said, "He looks like a thinker." lol His heart looked great. His head measured 1 week ahead and his leg bones measured almost 2 weeks ahead. Either that means a) he will be a big baby or b) he will come early..... OPTION B, PLEASE! My favorite quote though, "You couldn't ask for a healthier baby." *sigh* Music to my ears... We got a DVD of the entire ultrasound she recorded for us.

I also had a regular check-up this week. Everything checked out good there too! The last blood test they did (the MSAFP) came back normal, my blood pressure was right on, my weight gain is still at 1 lb. a week, and Dr. said I look great. He said I'll probably gain 25 pounds and I'll lose it all by my 6-8 week check-up and everyone will hate me. Ummm, I don't know what makes him think that but let's hope he's right, haha. (well except the hating me part) lol
Of course it was great getting to listen to the heartbeat again =) I'll never forget what he said (I already wrote it down in my preggo notes).... "This little boy is going to turn your world upside down. He is jetting around all over the place in there!" We would be listening to the heartbeat, then we would hear a "swoosh", then we would hear it again followed by a "swoosh", ect. I rarely feel an actual kick. It is more like "swimming around" ... I'm hoping that means he'll like swimming ;)

And lastly, an update on the sciatica. I recognized that I was waking up constantly in the middle of the night on my BACK, which is a big no-no apparently while you're pregnant. Well, Tyler insisted on buying me a SNOOGLE - Total Body Pillow .. (I couldn't see spending that much money on a silly looking pillow, but we bought it nonetheless) It has kept me from rolling onto my back while I sleep, and I have had absolutely no sciatic nerve pain since then. I'm not sure if it's a coincidence.... ? But I am glad =) I am sure it will show up again, but for now I am feeling GREAT!!

Next appointment is Friday, September 17th. After that one, appointments will be every 2 weeks, December will be here before we know it!

20 weeks?!?!

This week I am celebrating 20 weeks... the half-way mark!! In a way, I can not believe I have already made it here. On the other hand, I can not believe I still have 20 weeks left. hehe More than anything my heart is FULL of thankfulness. All my check-ups have come with good reports and I've haven't had any complications.
In case you forgot..... the big ultrasound is in 6 DAYS!!!! SO. EXCITED. Once again praying that baby is healthy and well more than anything!! Still trying to figure out how we are going to let all the family (both sides) know the news.

Here's my 20 week belly....

Along with the lovely bump has come the lovely sciatic nerve pain (insert sarcasm). Which has really put a damper on the awesome working out I was doing. Sometimes just walking brings with it stabbing pain down the right side of my body. I guess if it's not one thing, it's another =) No matter how much pain I'm in, I feel that baby tumble around and all is well in the world!!!

P.S. What do you think about my new background? I am loving it!

19 weeks

How far along? 19 weeks.. almost halfway! Can't believe it!


Size of baby? 6 inches long and 8.5 ounces

Total weight Gain/Loss? Up 9 lbs


Maternity Clothes? I did buy my very first maternity shirt! It is a tank top from Target. SO much more comfortable than my pre-preggo clothes. My pre-preggo tight shirts are busting at the seams and my pre-preggo loose shirts are now tight! Will be needing new tops very soon. Still wearing pre-preggo bottoms, but only because of my Bella Band! I will be needing maternity bottoms though, because even with the Bella Band, my bottoms aren't going to last.

Gender? 15 days...

Movement? ahhhhh, amazing. The "flutters" have gotten stronger and more pronounced and movement is slowly getting more and more frequent. I feel movement pretty much after every meal I eat and then of course, when I lay down for bed at night. Still can't feel movement on the outside of my tummy though.

Sleep? Still awesome for the most part. I get up to use the bathroom but fall right back to sleep and am still able to get plenty comfortable.

Symptomns? Thoughts of food consume my thoughts.. is that a symptomn?! haha. No really, food tastes soooo good and I am hungry from morning to night. ("starving!" at times!) Frequent bathroom breaks, which I can't believe are only going to get worse. Still have crazy nasal congestion/nose bleeds, I sneeze. all. the. time. Everday, many, many times. Weird, huh? That's really it right now, life is good again!

Belly Button? ummm.. it feels.. different, lol. Come on Terrie, I was counting on what you told me! haha just kidding. It is definitely more shallow though as my belly has become more round!

What I am looking forward to? 15 days... see above.

Best moment of the week? It happened twice actually over the weekend...I felt my belly get really tight/hard in one little spot. When I felt it with my hand, it was obviously one little baby part (foot, knee, elbow,.. ??) The best part.... Tyler was able to feel it too. <3 We haven't felt movement on the outside, but it was one spot and then it slowly went away. SO. SO. AWESOME. There IS a baby in there!! I am slowly starting to be able to believe it......

=)

Books

Awhile back I said I would write a blog on the books that are getting me through this pregnancy! So here they are!

1. What to Expect When You're Expecting by Heidi Murkoff
This one had been recommended to me by several people including my sister-in-law, Ashly. I kept meaning to buy it but then my sweet friend, Erin, from high school sent it to me in the mail as a gift! Thanks again Erin :) This book literally has everything! From trying to conceive, to the 9 months of pregnancy (with month by month updates and discussions on any question you could ever have!), to Labor and Delivery, to 6 weeks post-partum! It also has a chapter for dads to read. Great resource.

2. Nine Months and a Day by Adrienne Lieberman and Linda Hughey Holt
I just bought a used copy of this one on Amazon for a few bucks. It doesn't go into very much detail. Just a very general outline of the nine months. Talks a little about eating, exercise, and common pregnancy "annoyances." And then a chapter on preparing for labor, and then ends with childbirth and recovery. A good one to read at the very beginning to start "warming up" to the pregnancy and idea of childbirth.

3. Pregnancy Day by Day by a lot of people, haha
THIS. BOOK. IS. AWESOME. It is a pretty hefty hardcover book that I had been eyeballing everytime we went to Barnes and Noble. Tyler ended up surprising me with it as a gift =) It literally goes day by day... Each page is labeled by how many days pregnant you are, and how many to go. Then talks about several issues you may be encountering around that time. So it also covers ANY question I think you could ever have. But my favorite thing about it are the pictures. Every page has an actual 3D picture of the baby. (Every once in awhile there will be a 2D picture) But it goes into such detail on the development of the baby. Amazing book! Not to mention it covers preparing for labor, great info on progression of labor, and then caring for a newborn up to 6 weeks. Also all with great color photos.

4. Nine Months Strong by Karen Bridson
"Shaping up for labor and delivery and the toughest physical day of your life".... this book is exactly what it says.. it is simply exercising throughout the pegnany to be physically fit for D-Day! Nothing about development of the baby, monthly updates, ect. Just working out and preparing the body. It covers cardio prep, strength training, yoga and stretching, and emotional and mental preparedness. The author is a marathon runner and compares it to preparing for a marathon and then getting through the marathon! This was my inspiration book for working out ;) It has tons of pictures for all the individual exercises. And then an excellent section on getting through labor, as well as positions and exercises during labor. Then of course the last chaper is on getting BACK into shape after the baby. I pick up this book the most as I am always referring to it when I workout. (I think it's my favorite) =)

5. The Birth Book by William and Martha Sears
This one is also just as the title says... nothing but giving birth. 257 pages on that one day of giving birth. (a bit overwhelming, haha) I am a little torn on this one. It has awesome, awesome information on giving birth. I don't think you could be more prepared after reading this book, other than actually giving birth. So I have gained excellent knowledge from it. However, in a roundabout way, it also seems to say that choosing an epidural is the most horrible thing you could ever do and that every woman should be able to give birth without one. (Chapter 8 is "Why Birth Hurts - Why It Doesn't Have To") It is very much an "all natural" childbirth approach. And I'm sorry but I don't plan on going without my medicine. No, actually it was very encouraging and made me think that maybe I could do it without an epidural.... but that thought lasted about 7 seconds. hahahaha Anyways, it honestly did prepare me TONS for what to expect for labor and delivery and is a great resource in that aspect. And I certainly will use some of what I learned and try my best in labor, but I definitely want the anesthesiologist ready to go! ;)

(And then of course we have a "100,000 Baby Names" book which we haven't given much attention to yet.) There is nothing like gaining as much knowledge as possible to help feel more prepared!! I plan on continuing to read, read, read. So much for the other (non baby related) books sitting on my shelf!

Tour, Appointment, Registry, and Flutters

Wow, there is always something to update everyone on it seems.
We had a Tour/Orientation of our hospital last weekend. We had already been in the Labor and Delivery Unit because my dear friend, Casey, had her baby girl at Baptist South and we visited her while she was in the hospital. (Also how we knew that was the hospital we wanted to deliver at) The tour went really well. Here is a link to the Maternity Services page. If you care to check it out, just click on 360 Virtual Tour. Then it is "South" and you are able to see the maternity suites, waiting room, NICU, lobby, ect. The maternity suites are HUGE. We had about 12 people on our tour and we all fit in the room comfortably while the nurse showed us around. (And I certainly don't expect to have anywhere near that many people in there at any given time, haha) The entire Labor, Delivery, and recovery takes place in the same suite. Baby stays in the room with us the entire time too. If everything goes smoothly, there is no reason that the baby should ever have to leave the room. Everything to care for the baby (including first bath, check-ups, ect) is right there in the room. However, there is a nursery and we can choose to send baby at any time if we need to rest. Nice little fold-out couch for Tyler to stay the night as well.
The nurse also went over the type of epidural they use. It is a continuous low dose and I have a hand-held button I can press when I need a little "extra," however, it will only go up to a certain amount of dosage. It is set to where I will still feel "sensations" and will be able to push, ect. (not a complete numb out) Sounds good to me! They also immediately put baby on my chest for skin-to-skin contact/warmth/immediate breastfeeding after delivery. They do most of the check-up/measurements all while I'm holding baby.. they just take him/her to weigh which takes a few seconds and is right next to my bed. Very happy with all of their procedures.
My 13 year-old brother will love to hear that the waiting room has computers with the internet for family members. :) As well as a microwave, stove, washer/dryer.. they are well taken care of too.
Very nice facilities and staff and we could not be happier!

Next order of business... baby check-up! I had a check-up on 17 weeks, 3 days. (First appointment Tyler wasn't able to make) The Dr. went over results from the 1st trimester screening, which included blood work and the last ultrasound. It checks for Trisomies and Down Syndrome (chromosome abnormalities)... everything came back normal! All my vitals were perfect. I have gained 7 lbs. total so far and Dr. was pleased with my rate of weight gain. Right on track there. I got to listen to the heartbeat.. baby was being awfully stubborn. As soon as we would find it, he/she would move away! Took a good amount of time to really be able to hear it clearly. Because he/she was moving, Dr. couldn't get an accurate heartbeat rate either, haha. It would be in the 140's, then go to the 150's, lol. The Dr. thought it was quite funny but said it still sounded excellent! And she also checked my uterus and said it was right where it should be... whatever that means, lol. So everything was wonderful! And the best news of all.... the BIG ultrasound is set for Monday, August 9th at 2:15!!! Boy or girl????? Let's hope he/she doesn't make it as difficult as finding that heartbeat was!!! ahhh!! This mama needs to start shopping!
(By the way, a random stranger, older gentlemen, stopped me yesterday and told me I was having a boy! haha Hey, I was just happy he could tell I was pregnant!)

Tyler's sister, Ashly, is planning a baby shower for me in Texas in early September. Very excited about that! So we went ahead and got a start on our registries. We are registered at Target and BabiesRus. Just pull it up under my name! I have a long list of things to add still, after we find out boy or girl.

And the best of all.... I have been feeling this little one floating around in there. I thought I felt something about a week and a half ago, but it was so very light and I didn't even know what to expect that I wasn't positive that's what it was. A few days ago, my Admin. Manager at work, told me the first ones feel like an "eye twitch" but in your belly. That was the perfect description for me, exactly what it felt like. And since then I have felt it more and more... Tuesday I was sitting in the car driving and felt movement even stronger and I know for sure it was baby. It is simply amazing. I don't think there could be anything better. Poor Tyler... he's.. well, jealous. In fact, he said, "I'm jealous!" haha Love his honesty. Poor guy. He'll be feeling it soon enough!