22 weeks

We spent last weekend celebrating with my extended family—my grandma turned 90! Check her out in the photo above… she’s the matriarch right there in the center, who doesn’t 90 years old at all. (Good genes. You’re welcome, little baby.) There’s my 22-week belly in the picture, too!

Some notes from this week:

• I was worried about the 8-hour car ride on our trip, but it turned out fine. We didn’t have to stop for bathroom breaks nearly as often as I expected!
• My cousin(-in-law? I guess) Leslie got to feel the baby move on Saturday night. That was good stuff 🙂
• Pickles + cheese = food of the gods. For real. I’m also still into anything spicy, and ice cream. Not together though… yet.
• This week was the first time that I woke up in the night with wicked foot cramps. OUCH. That really sucked. Let’s not do that again, ok? Ok.
• I mostly felt great all week, except I was exhausted Wednesday morning. As in, call my husband from work, sobbing and saying, “I’m just so TIRED!” Pregnancy is weird.

Weeks 20 & 21

Yikes, I’ve gotten behind on posting! We still have a picture from each week though.

I continue to feel fantastic—just as long as I remember to take my antacid every morning. I get to feel this little boy move in my belly multiple times throughout the day, and I absolutely love it. I guess what I’m saying is that things are really good 🙂 I have always thought that pregnancy would be magical and I would really enjoy it, but I remember that 3 solid months at the start where I was super disappointed to find that pregnancy was sucking. I’m so so glad to have turned the corner into the fun part, and I’m enjoying it!

We had the 20 week ultrasound last Wednesday (May 7), and it was wonderful. We could see the baby moving all over on the screen! I realized that we were seeing him move his arms and legs, but I couldn’t feel him moving—so when I do feel him moving, he must be doing somersaults and backflips and sun salutations. Here he is performing uttanasana… don’t you wish your hamstrings were that flexible?

Everything looked good on the ultrasound. At the 20 week, they do a detailed anatomy scan, looking at things like the 4 chambers of the heart, and the brain, and the placenta and umbilical cord—so it was really nice to hear that everything looks good. Little boy wouldn’t cooperate 100% so there were some details we couldn’t see. No big deal, it just means we get another ultrasound at 24 weeks, YAY. I can’t wait to see him again. I fall more in love every time. (I cry every time too.)

The ultrasound tech estimated his weight at 14 oz at the time of the ultrasound—almost a full pound! Never mind that I’ve gained about 10 😉

Observations + Notes:

• I feel the little boy move several times throughout the day, usually in bursts. I guess it wears him out and then he rests for a while! I feel him move more frequently if I’m sitting in a way that cramps his space, or if my clothes or the seatbelt in the car are restricting his space.
• I am craving SPICY and SOUR foods. We went through a whole jar of jalapeños last week. And last night, I ate a sandwich of pickles and pimiento cheese. So delicious to me right now. (So hilarious if you know how much I *hated* pickles until a year or 2 ago.)
• On Mother’s Day, I went on a garden tour with my mom. We ended up visiting more public restrooms than gardens, haha, but it was still fun! I kept thinking about how different Mother’s Day will be next year. ❤
• Every week that goes by, I get more excited about the thought of birthing this little boy and bringing him into the world. I can hardly imagine what it will be like to hold him for the first time, feed him for the first time, bring him home for the first time… but I love trying to imagine it. It’s getting real. Just 4 more months.
• I love that I’m showing enough now that people feel comfortable talking about babies with me. So far, I haven’t had anyone overstep their bounds at all. People are just so kind and excited for us, and full of stories about their own experiences. My favorite question to ask people is how many kids they have, and how they feel about the sibling relationship. Being an only child myself, I love to hear other folks’ perspective.

19 weeks

 

19 weeks: the baby is the size of a mango (about 6″ long) and weighs about half a pound!

The biggest news at 19 weeks is all the baby movement. This little one has a few wiggle-fests each day and it feels so funny. I was expecting a sort of gentle “butterfly”-like feeling based on what other moms have described, but this feeling is much stronger than butterflies! Wrestling chipmunks, maybe? 😉 It’s enough to make me jump a little and laugh out loud when it happens—usually when I’m sitting, like in the car or at my desk.

I’ve been working on the baby registry on amazon.com, and mostly I’m just finding it stressful. So many decisions to make! So many things to choose! So much stuff for one tiny person! So expensive! I think I’m just easily overwhelmed these days. I’m trying to calm myself down and focus on the important things, e.g., little dude has to have a carseat to leave the hospital, so that’s more important than selecting among the 8 million types of cloth diapers on the market.

Over the weekend, I sewed up 2 baby blankets and a bunch of burp cloths—both were totally instant gratification projects, but should be super useful. And cute! I also cut up the fabric for the baby’s quilt, which is going to be awesome. I hope he is sentimental enough to keep that quilt forever…

minky + flannel blankets // a basket of  terry + flannel burp cloths

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Last… here’s an outtake from this week. Dear Mango-baby, I hope your dad makes you laugh as much as he makes me laugh.

17 weeks

This week has been all about adjusting to the idea that we’re having a BOY. It shouldn’t have been such a surprise, but it sure was for us! I’m so glad we found out early. Going to prenatal yoga on Thursday night (so, 2 days after we found out) really helped me feel re-connected with the baby. Now I’m super excited! This little boy is going to be so awesome.

I was reading a childbirth book on Saturday afternoon, and I kept crying… I’m just so excited that in 5 months, I’ll get to give birth to a baby boy. I love him so much already that I think my heart is going to explode. If I love him this much without even meeting him, how is my heart going to make room for how I’ll feel when I get to hold him the first time? It’s magic.

I got to feel the little boy move a lot over the weekend, which is such a wonderful and connecting feeling. Scott even got to feel him on Saturday night! That was pretty much the best thing ever.

Ramblings + Observations

• I crave crunchy foods all the time. CRUNCHY CRUNCHY CRUNCHY. That’s not a usual craving for me! Tortilla chips, lots of celery in my egg salad, crunchy roasted coconut flakes in my yogurt. Extra-toasty toast. Crisp apple with crunchy peanut butter.
• I’m also just wanting a lot more food. My appetite is back in full force! I noticed when I ate lunch the other day, that I thought, “I just fed the baby some lunch,” instead of thinking of it as feeding myself.
• In addition to being super hungry, I’m also super THIRSTY. (And it goes without saying, but I always have to pee. Stop sitting on my bladder, kid!)
• I have SOOOO much more energy, but my body can’t really keep up with the amount of energy I have. I have to make myself stop to rest frequently, and I have to plan out my tasks so I can get the important things done. I especially have to be careful about things that involve bending over or squatting down, cuz it wears me out!
• I picked out all the fabrics for baby boy’s quilt on Saturday, and I’m just over the moon about it. Speaking of which, it’s a moon and stars them for the quilt, with aquas and dark blues. I’m planning to cut the fabric into triangles. So exciting!!!
  
• Even though I’m worn out, I’m having trouble sleeping. I can’t get comfortable and I can’t stay comfortable. Saturday night/ Sunday morning, I woke up at 4 am! I finally got out of bed at 4:30, and made a snack (crunchy toast, duh), and went back to bed at 5:30. It took me another half hour to fall asleep. What is this shit, y’all?! (So I bought a body pillow, and hopefully that’s going to help.)
• I had coffee on Saturday… like true, caffeinated iced coffee. I’m not 100% caffeine free, but I only have 1 cup of tea, or an occasional half-caff coffee. I thought I was going to buzz straight out of my skin! And little boy was going crazy in there too. I felt terrible about it and definitely won’t be doing it again—even though I’ve read multiple times that it’s perfectly ok to have 1 cup of coffee a day. No more for this mama! I’m even going to wean off the tea.  We went for a long, 2+ mile walk on Saturday afternoon to work all that caffeine out.
• Just like last week, I’m trying to get in a walk most days of the week. On weeknights, Scott goes with me. I love it 🙂
• Scott visited a daycare/preschool open house on Saturday to get information. When I read the packet he brought home, I cried.
• Heart burn is obnoxious, but as long as I take Pepcid every day, I’m fine.

PS, Hamlet wanted to be in the pictures too.

We’re having a…

BOY! It’s a boy it’s a boy it’s a boy!

Let’s be honest, we’re pretty much completely floored by this news, and that’s the truth. I had dreams that this baby was a girl, but I guess my dreams and gut feelings aren’t as prophetic as I previously thought. 😉

The ultrasound was funny, because of course the little dude was not interesting in giving us a clear view. I had to shake my hips and the ultrasound tech poked and prodded by belly to get him to move, until we were sure. We could see each little vertebra in his little spine, so that was super cool! And his little feet, too. And… his little boy parts, we saw those too. How embarrassing for this kid, right?! Well, I’ll happily post a picture of a marshmallow peep, but I’m not posting a picture of his peep for the internet to see. Ha!

We’re SO happy to know what we’re having, so we can plan and dream and decide on the name for real. For my part, I am plotting a major baby sewing spree: a quilt! and blankets! and onesies! Eeeeee!

16 weeks

(Full-length pic here, just so you can see: our paint-splattered living room floor. Our house has “character.” Yep.)

16 weeks, and I swear I *really* have a bump this time. My boss asked if I was sticking it out. (Maybe a little…)

I had my 16 week OB visit today. Hearing the baby’s heartbeat is my favorite part… and in the middle of listening to the heartbeat (153 bpm), we heard a loud noise: the baby moving. Eeee! Speaking of which, I actually felt the baby move for the first time last week! I thought I felt it on Thursday night, but I wasn’t quite sure. Friday night, I felt it again, and this time I was sure. Such a cool feeling! I’ve always heard that it feels like “butterflies” or “popcorn popping,” but I thought it felt like… a baby moving inside me. 😉

Tomorrow is The Big Day: we have an ultrasound scheduled to find out if we’re having a boy or a girl. I’ve been counting down like it’s Christmas and thinking about it non-stop for days. I have funny mixed feelings about it, though. Most of all: excitement. But mixed in there is knowing that we have both been thinking we’re having a girl, and of course that might not be the case! I guess there’s a sort of finality to knowing, whereas until we know, anything seems possible. Mostly though, really, EXCITEMENT. Whether this is baby is a girl or a boy, I’m so ready to know… and to start sewing all the things.

Observations:

• I went to prenatal yoga twice last week, plus I went for a walk almost every day. I feel fantastic!
• I think I can safely safe that the morning sickness has made an exit. Sometime around week 15, it ended. Did I mention that I feel fantastic?
• Appetite is back! Salads. Yes.
• Heartburn has kicked in for reals, but I’m taking Pepcid and that’s keeping it 100% at bay. You know, as long as I remember to take it.

15 weeks

15 weeks as of Friday, and the bump is becoming undeniable. Hello in there, little nugget! (It makes me laugh to look back at the previous 2 weeks, when I only thought I had a bump.)

Observations:

• I went to my first prenatal yoga class on Saturday, and it was wonderful! The sequencing was very different than I’m used to, but in such a good way. I also love that my prenatal teacher is pregnant and due around the same time as me. It makes it extra fun. 🙂
• I had some nausea again today, after being mostly free of it last week. Let’s just pretend that was a blip on the radar and I’m really done with morning sickness, mmmm-kay?
• I tried on some non-maternity clothes at Old Navy today, thinking “it’s cool, they’ll stretch.” Haha. No.
• I received some kind words about how I really will be OK if our baby doesn’t sleep—which is definitely my #1 fear. Much, much needed kind words.
• I think that being pregnant (at least for the first time?) is like the start of a roller coaster. It takes FOR-EV-ER to get up that first big hill. You know you’re going to love it once the ride really starts, but until then, you’re freaking out with the anticipation… and the knowledge that it’s too late to change your mind and get off the ride now.
• Pregnancy acne is a thing. It’s super unfair that it’s a thing, but my face doesn’t seem to care what I think about the situation.
• I filtered the heck out of the photo above. What acne?
• My brain is still operating at 50% capacity. I really have trouble putting words together into a coherent thought!
• My emotions are operating at 250% capacity. For example: I went to Whole Foods on Saturday to seek out a gluten-free birthday cake for my mom. I couldn’t find what I wanted. I calmed myself down and asked for help, but I misunderstood the employee who was trying to help me, and I thought she was being unhelpful. I wanted to cry in the middle of the dang store! So then I called Scott, hoping he could help me… he cracked a joke and I responded, “I KNOW THAT YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT IT’S LIKE TO BE PREGNANT, BUT I’M ABOUT TO HAVE A BREAKDOWN IN WHOLE FOODS AND YOUR HUMOR IS NOT APPRECIATED.” Wow. (Oh, and then? I went to look one more time and found the case the bakery employee was trying to point me toward, and found a cake. Right there. Right in front of me.)

14 weeks

14 weeks! I’m starting to have a bump, but it could still be mistaken for a few too many cheeseburgers.

I had a busy-busy-busy Friday and Saturday—and my Saturday morning included the phrase “I’m ok, I only threw up a little.” Now it’s Sunday and I am resting all day to make up for it! 3 hour naps are my favorite right now.

13 weeks

Saturday morning, March 15: starting to show—but still wearing my regular jeans, yay!

I’m not supposed to eat that.

Before I was pregnant, I always cringed at the phrase, “I’m not supposed to eat that.” Like, c’mon lady, if you want it so bad that you have to bitch about it all the time, then JUST EAT IT. Eat your hot dog and shut up about it.

Allow me to humbly say: I get it now.

Hot dogs sound super disgusting to me right now, but I could go for all the forbidden cheeses. And some sushi, and let’s not forget: wine, beer, or a giant margarita. When I pause to think about it, though, it seems like such a small thing to give up. I’m a little wistful for a margarita, on a patio in warm weather, but it’s not hard to give up at all. That marg will be waiting for me in September 🙂

Oh, but let’s not pretend that I’m perfect. It’s totally easy to give up these forbidden foods 99.9% of the time, but I don’t feel bad about that .1% that’s slipped through:

A few weeks ago (before I started showing at all), I slowly sipped half a beer with my dinner. I figured it was my last chance to order a drink without being judged.

I ate real sushi one time, and it was delicious. It was from a place I trust to be fresh, where I have eaten many times before, so I just wasn’t worried about it. But since then, I figured out that I could hit that sushi craving with vegetable-only rolls. So that’s easy.

I ate a salad with feta the other day, just because I forgot it was verboten. I figure all the veggies did me good, though, so I’m not worried.

I ate deli turkey one time. My sandwich came from a busy shop, so I felt sure it would be freshly sliced. It was a delicious bright spot in a very long 2 months (and counting) of “morning” sickness, and I just find myself unable to feel guilty about it.