Weekly Update: 36 Weeks

How far along: 36 Weeks. Just 4 more to go. That's less than a month. Oh geez.

How Am I Feeling?: My hips still bother me a lot and I've really had to be careful about staying on my feet so that I don't swell as much. It's definitely gotten better though.

Mood: So excited. Feeling more ready every day.

Clothes: I just hope I'll have enough clothes that are big enough to fit me for the next 4 weeks. My wardrobe is slowly dwindling.

Sleep: It still hasn't been too great. I don't ever sleep through the night and the pain in my hips is worst when I'm trying to sleep since my only option is to sleep on my side. Not to mention how incredibly difficult it is to roll from one side to the other with this big belly.

Cravings: none anymore.
Gender: girl
Movements: Still very active.

Belly Button: I hate it. It's sticking out. It's totally noticeable.

Best Moment This Week: I finally got to see Emily! Also, I went to the Reds game with my parents, Emily, Johnny, & Bill yesterday. We were absolutely sweating through all of our clothes. I was soaked. Then, the rain came. It was an incredible feeling. Everyone else ran for cover and my family just stood there in the pouring rain. It was so awesome. Too bad we lost.

What I Miss: A full night of sleep.

What I am Looking Forward To: My baby shower on Sunday. Also, my doctor's appointment on Tuesday when I'll get my first internal and they'll be able to tell me if I'm at all close to having a baby!

Milestones This Week: We finished the birthing portion of our childbirthing classes. Next week will be breastfeeding and then we're done!
How Big is Baby?: According to The Bump, the baby is still the size of a honeydew.

Your Baby: 36 Weeks
Your baby continues to put on weight by about 1/2 pound each week. It's no wonder the womb is becoming very cramped. Your baby is gaining weight quickly because layers of fat pile on and help in both body temperature regulation and developing his immunity in preparation for life in the outside world. You may find you are carrying your baby much lower now (or soon will be) as the baby drops into the birth canal, readying himself for birth. Your baby is about 19 inches long and weighs from 5.5 to 6.0 pounds. The vast majority of babies born now will live with little need for intensive medical treatment.

Here are some belly pics. These are from last week in the airport. The whole family:

A close up of my bump.

Weekly Update: 33 Weeks

How far along: 33 Weeks.

How Am I Feeling?: My hip has really been bothering me lately. It doesn't matter which side I lay on, it hurts no matter what. I've even had some trouble walking all week because it hurts. Other than that though, I'm still feeling pretty great.

Mood: Even more excited.

Clothes: I was really happy on Tuesday because I bought some new things. We had our birthing class on Tuesday and we usually stretch and sit on the floor etc. Last week, I had a hard time breathing while sitting on the floor so I really wanted some comfortable pants to wear other than sweat pants (which don't fit me too well anymore.) I am also outgrowing some of my maternity shirts and since I don't need to wear nice shirts to work anymore, I was looking for some comfy cotton shirts that would be long enough to cover my belly. We went to Target with the intention of buying dog food and looking at clothes for me. We walked in, bought dog food and a few other items and then we left. I didn't realize until we were in the car that we hadn't looked at any clothes. We had to go back in because our class was that night and I needed something to wear. I was able to find some comfy cotton capris that aren't maternity. The maternity tanks/tees that I was looking at were way too much for what I wanted to spend. We walked through the non maternity clothes and found some cotton tees on sale. They were long enough to fit me! I was so excited. I just bought one but I might go back for some more. We also went to Kohl's where I found a couple of maternity shirts on clearance. I looked through their cheap tanks/tees but they were all too short. :( I guess I'll have to stick with Target.

Sleep: I've been sleeping slightly better this week than I was last week. I bet I'll be sleeping wonderfully next week!

Cravings: none right now

Gender: girl

Movements: She's all over the place! I don't know how other people can't see my stomach contorting all day. I would think people would comment, but I guess no one is staring at my tummy as much as I do!

Belly Button: The top part of it is sticking out and you can see it through some of my shirts when I'm wearing my under belly pants. :( Get ready for the band-aids.

Best Moment This Week: ????

What I Miss: nothing!

What I am Looking Forward To: next week will probably be awesome. I wonder if I can convince Ben to call in sick next week. :D

Milestones This Week: none

How Big is Baby?: According to The Bump, the baby is the size of a honeydew.

Your Baby - 32 Weeks Pregnant

By now, you have all the amniotic fluid you are going to have and the amount will remain consistent until delivery. Your baby's brain continues to grow, and increase the size of his head. Your baby continues to develop fat deposits under the skin, changing the color of his skin from red to pink. If you're having a boy his testicles have moved from their location near the kidneys through the groin to the scrotum. If you are having a girl, her clitoris is relatively prominent. Your baby is approximately 17.5 inches long and weighs a little over four pounds now.

Okay, so I guess our baby is measuring a little big right now. My NP said she was about 5 lbs. I always like to hold a ruler up to my stomach to see just how long she is compared to my tummy. I always come to the same conclusion: There is no way she can fit! I know she's all curled up in a ball and even though she's 17.5 inches long, that doesn't mean she's laying all stretched out, but still. No wonder she kicks me all the time. How would you like to stay curled in a ball for months at a time? Not so comfortable!

I haven't posted a belly pic in a long time. I took some last night because sister Melissa really wanted to see one. (You can see some of our baby stuff in the background!)

Gender Reveal Party

I know have the pictures from our Gender Reveal Party so I'm going to show everyone in the blogosphere!

Ben and I made a ton of food and it all turned out great (well... except the hanky panks, but oh well.) Here's a list of the food we had:
-Bruschetta
-Popcorn chicken
-Hanky Panks (burned and then put on different bread)
-Chips and Bacon dip
-Blue corn tortilla chips with cajun dip
-Peanuts
-Fruit and Veggie Tray
-Oreo balls
-Chocolate Cheese Ball
-Cupcakes

Some party goers enjoying the food:





We had everyone wear either pink or blue. We got pictures of both teams before the reveal.

Team Pink: Johnny decided to be Team Pink because that's the only shirt he had in either color. Becky and Heather joined Team Pink even though they weren't actually wearing pink. Both grandmas were Team Pink.
Team Blue: The overwhelming majority. I would have to admit that I would have picked Team Blue too if I had to guess.

The Reveal....Team Pink wins!

The parents with Tim creeping in the background (a little blurry.... Mom probably wasn't wearing her glasses :D)

Ella spent the entire afternoon chasing Alex around and trying to play with her. Alex spent the entire afternoon running away and trying to hide from Ella. It was pretty comical.



And just for your enjoyment. Some belly comparisions:

Me & Fatty.

And probably the best picture of the night.

Photo Dump

I just downloaded a bunch of pictures off my camera last night and realized that a lot of the ones I had taken were meant to be posted. So these are all old but I still want to post them.

Spaghetti and Salad

Sometime early on in my pregnancy (probably during one of those periods where I was constantly hungry) I decided that I really wanted spaghetti and meatballs. Ben never wants spaghetti and he was closing that night so I decided to make myself some. A warning: I am the WORST at deciding how much pasta is enough. When I was growing up, we would make at least a pound for dinner and somehow I believe that I should still make about a pound even though we were feeding 8 back then and now I'm only feeding 1. (This is the reason I need to have a big family. I don't know how to cook for 2 people!) So.... my plate of spaghetti.

Yummy, right?
Well on this same night, I decided that a salad would go wonderfully with my spaghetti. Again, not so great on portions. I hard boiled some egg because I love egg on my salad. This is what I came up with:

This was also during the time in my pregnancy where I would be really hungry but I would get full after two bites. This was probably the after picture. :D

Belly Pics: 16 Weeks, 2 Days
Ben and I went to dinner for his birthday like 2 months ago and I had him take a few belly pictures since I was actually in a cute dress. Here they are:

Alex
One night while Ben was closing I was sitting on the couch watching TV. I guess Alex decided that she wanted to watch TV with me, so she hopped up on the couch. She's done this occasionally with me and Ben home but never with Ben gone. I thought it was hilarious. She just sat next to me on the recliner, watching TV. When she got bored, she just hopped down again like it was nothing.

On the couch

Watching TV

Uh, Why are you taking my picture?

Me & Al

Nursery Preview
I took a bunch of pictures of us redoing the nursery. We still have to show our parents the finished product (or nearly finished) but after that, I'll post all the pictures. Here's a little sneak peek:

Alex is trying to peek in too!

Please show me. I'm being good!

More to come!

Strangers

So the other day I had my first "stranger" rub my tummy. She's not really a stranger because I work with her, so I do know her. I say "stranger" because she is the first person that is not a family member or close friend that has rubbed my tummy.



Yesterday, I had my first stranger ask me if I was pregnant. She is also a co-worker, but I have literally NEVER talked to her before. I was making my lunch in the break room and she came up and asked if I had a little baby in there. I guess I really do look pregnant.



So, in honor of strangers touching me and asking me if I'm pregnant.... here's a belly pic. It's actually from Easter so it's a little old, but I wanted to share it anyway. Maybe I'll have my mom take a recent one tonight.



Enjoy! .....and Happy Friday!! :D

Belly Pics!

Here are a couple belly pics taken on Sunday. I am 18 weeks 3 days in them.

Only 2 more weeks until we find out!

Weekly Update: 13 Weeks

How far along: 13 weeks!!!! Woo hoo! You know what that means, right? No? You don't obsess about the number of weeks like I do? Oh. Well I'll tell you what it means. 13 weeks means 2nd trimester!! Of course there are many conflicting reports on exactly when 2nd tri begins, and I suppose officially, I'll be 2nd tri on Sunday at 13 weeks, 3 days but why not celebrate now???

How Am I Feeling?: I know you want to hear about this, but my butt hurts. And my hips. And legs. Seriously. I am finding it very difficult to sit at my desk all day and when I get home, I am constantly flipping sides on the couch and in bed. I have even been working and standing throughout the day because it feels better.

Mood: Right now, I have a borderline migraine. That may have nothing to do with pregnancy and everything to do with the fact that I was put on the phones at work this week. My headache makes it hard to remember how I've felt the rest of this week.

Clothes: I went shopping last weekend! I couldn't stand it anymore. I only have one pair of jeans that still fits me okay and none of my work pants are too comfortable anymore. I bought a pair of jeans, two pairs of work pants and two shirts. I went to Motherhood Maternity in Tri-County. They had some really cute clothes, but I'll probably just make a few trips to the GAP Outlet from now on because MM was a little pricey. I had no idea what I was doing but had a very helpful associate that took me around the store and loaded my dressing room with a ton of things to try on.

Sleep: Worse this week. I just can't seem to stay asleep and when I wake up, it is really hard for me to fall asleep again. It doesn't help that I have dreams of us getting bombed and causing earthquakes that destroy the world.

Appetite: Comes and goes.

Cravings: I guess my cravings have subsided a little. Although someone said something about waffles the other day and I have wanted some ever since.

Gender Predictions: Well last night I dreamt that we had a boy. Of course, I also dreamt that he was 3 years old and we were meeting him for the first time because a girl I once knew in grade school was raising him for me. (This was before the dream about bombs and earthquakes)

Best Moment This Week: My boss, Jenn had a baby last year. She bought a home doppler monitor that she let me and fellow pregnant co-worker, also Jenn, borrow. Last night I brought it home and Ben and I listened to the heartbeat! P.S. It totally works with hand sanitizer. No need to buy that goop they use in the doctor's office.

What I Miss: Sitting for long periods of time.

What I am Looking Forward To: Sunday. Official 2nd trimester day.

Milestones This Week: My mom loves my little bump and she told me I should just embrace it. I'm still not convinced it's entirely baby bump, but I figured that my organs are all smoooshing around and sticking out and that I do actually have a bump from being pregnant. My milestone of the week: actually embracing this little pooch we'll call a baby bump instead of trying to hide it. Thanks, mom.

How Big is Baby?: According to http://www.thebump.com/, the baby is the size of a peach!

Your Baby - 13 Weeks Pregnant
There is a lot going on with your baby this week. Your baby's intestines are migrating from the umbilical cord into his or her abdomen. The villi are also forming in the intestines, and these help in peristaltic movements and digestion. The liver begins to secrete bile and the pancreas is even secreting insulin! All twenty teeth have formed and are waiting under the gums, while your baby has begun to practice swallowing by taking in the surrounding amniotic fluid and pass it back in his urine. Your baby can smile and his vocal cords are quickly developing, too. He looks more and more human as his eyes move closer together and the ears are beginning to move to what will be their normal positions. Your baby weighs between approximately 13 and 20 grams (1/2 and 3/4 ounce) and is approximately 2 1/2 to 3 inches long. The placenta and baby are about the same weight now. Most of the vital systems are developed now, and baby starts really growing, at times, growing as much as an inch this week.

What??? You want a belly picture? Okay! Here are some of me modeling my recent maternity purchases!

This one really shows off my bump, but it's also a little of a boob picture. Sorry!!!