Week 18 Wrap Up

How far along? Finishing up 18 Weeks

Baby is the size of an: Sweet Potato

Total weight gain/loss: UP .4lbs! Another gain! Grow baby grow!! All concerns about baby being too small were shut down at this week's anatomy ultrasound. He is actually measuring a week ahead! He averaged out to be 19 weeks vs. 18, but the doctor says we don't have to move the due date yet because the 2nd trimester ultrasound can be up to 10 days off size wise. My little boy is happy and healthy and looked quite smushed in there!

Symptoms: Still an itchy belly. Congestion like mad. Peeing ALL the time! And HUNGRY!!! Baby is supposedly hitting some growth spurts so this is normal :)

Wedding rings on or off? On

Belly Button in or out? In, but not as deep! It's a little more shallow every week!

Sleep: The usual. I was up crazy late earlier in the week from working on decorating for the gender reveal party but I slept like I was dead from being so exhausted. I even slept great while we traveled to Clearwater!

Food cravings: Oddly enough citrus! I never really cared for oranges before this pregnancy but I've been loving mandarin oranges and clementines throughout. This week I discovered a new found love for orange juice! And I went back to eating pineapple! 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nothing really this week :)

Miss anything? Wearing some of my favorite clothes comfortably. The belly is big enough to have to start retiring some outfits. 

Happy, Moody, or Emotional most of the time: Happy but also stressed. I went into super planner mode for the Gender Reveal and was quite anxious about it all coming together. Fortunately it all came together really well. I definitely had a good time going out of town this weekend and spending time with both sets of family and our friends. 

Workouts:  Weak sauce. Well, kind of. Tuesday was a decent workout from what I remember. Nothing too special. We didn't work out Thursday since JD's family came in town. Saturday we were in Clearwater so we missed our Billy workout, but I still insisted on staying active like he always wants me to. We went for a 3 mile walk down the beach and it felt good to get my heart pumping and blood flowing.

The Bump:  39ish inches

Have you started to show yet?: Oh totally. A parent came in for lunch today and actually told me that she noticed my belly about a month ago but didn't want to say anything until she knew for sure :)

Stretch marks? Not yet. But the itching has made me start moisturizing more. 

Maternity Clothes? I need to get more but have to wait until my November budget. 

Gender: BABY D IS A BOY!!!! I was so surprised! I guess that statistic I posted before was right! How funny that everything I felt and all of those gender predictions were wrong! So many people were worried that I was disappointed or not excited. I can assure you that that's not the case at all! I am thrilled to be having a little boy and get more excited the more I think about it! Don't get me wrong, I was surprised, but I promise my tears were happy tears :) God probably gave me a boy just to spite me and prove that I can't plan everything ;)

Any Names Picked Out Yet: Yes! Baby's name is CHARLES DAVID! Charles was my momma's daddy's name, and David was JD's little brother's name. They both had sick hearts and went to live with Jesus earlier than anyone here would have liked. We thought it would be a sweet way to honor and represent these two special men from each family. I've said that we will call him Charlie, but I'm also not opposed to calling him by his first and middle name. Love me a good southern double name :)

Labor Signs: Yeah right

Movement: I don't think so... I'm ready for it!

Best moment this week: DEFINITELY our gender reveal party and sharing that special day with our closest friends and family. Will post specifically about the party later :)

  

Looking forward to: Starting to plan for the nursery and shopping for little boy clothes :)

 

Week 17 Wrap Up

How far along? Finishing up 17 Weeks

Baby is the size of an: Turnip/Onion. In my picture I don't have anything because the store was out of turnips, and I didn't see that another comparison was an onion until I had already gotten home. 

Total weight gain/loss: UP 1.8 for a total loss of 17.4. A gain! A gain! Hopefully my doctor is happy :) Although I have noticed my weight can fluctuate 3 lbs during one day...

Symptoms: My belly has been itching! I read that it's because the skin is stretching/growing as baby gets bigger. My beagle smell is still pretty super strong. Sent me running to the bathroom the other day :/

Wedding rings on or off? On, actually they're spinning from being quite loose!

Belly Button in or out? In, but not as deep! That surgery scar is definitely doing some weird stuff!

Sleep: The usual. Sleeping better, but waking up throughout the night. My hips have been hurting so I've started wrestling with pillows. Need to look into those special pregnant lady pillows maybe. 

Food cravings: Still lots and lots of sweets. Mainly Chick Fil A milkshakes :) I still indulge in pickles occasionally and always half a jar at a time. 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Just a few strong smells. I was tempted to ask one of my boys to go to the bathroom to wash off some of his cologne but I thought it might not be the best idea after all. 

Miss anything? Not really?

Happy, Moody, or Emotional most of the time: Emotional. I cry all. The. Time. Work's also been really rough lately which has me quite moody too. 

Workouts:  Tuesday I was running on 3 hours of sleep and lots of mental blah-ness thanks to work drama so I just got on the elliptical for 35 minutes. Plugged in my headphones and totally zoned out. Thursday was pretty standard. Saturday on the other hand was rough. It was really chilly Saturday morning and my lungs decided to rebel. I'm low on my inhaler so I'm only taking a quarter of my usual dose right now until mom can bring me another one. The cold air and the cardio did NOT mix well. 

The Bump:  39ish inches

Have you started to show yet: How funny that after last week's post my belly popped right out and has stayed out since! Definitely need to look into getting some bigger shirts. 

Stretch marks? Not yet. But the itching has made me start moisturizing more. 

Maternity Clothes? I need to get more but have to wait until my November budget. 

Gender Prediction: Girl, but getting more and more ok with a boy. Can't wait to have our ultrasound and our gender reveal next week!!!

Any Names Picked Out Yet: Yup! And after this week this question will be changed because WE WILL KNOW BABY's name!!! Blows. My. Mind. 

Labor Signs: Yeah right

Movement: So I just plain can't tell. Sometimes I'll think yes definitely, but other times I'll convince myself it was just bubbles moving. I think that until baby gives me a good swift kick I'm going to be doubtful. 

Best moment this week: Finding out that a sweet, sweet friend is having a girl! That means she will either have Baby D's best friend or his wife ;) And finding the perfect box for our gender reveal!

  

Looking forward to: Wednesday. SO ready to see Baby again! It's been 7 weeks! And maybe, just maybe, I'm a little excited to know if Baby is a boy or girl!!

Week 16 Wrap Up

How far along? Finishing up 16 Weeks

Baby is the size of an: Avocado

Total weight gain/loss: Down 1.4 this week for a total of 19.2. Grrrrr..... I ate brownies! And milk shakes! And lots of protein shakes! And donuts! Baby is just eating me from the inside out. Several people at work commented on how thin I look, that I'm still wearing normal clothes, and that I don't even have a bump anymore. They must not have read about what not to say to pregnant women. I might have worried that baby is too small just a few times. Just a few. Maybe.

Symptoms: Nothing really new this week. Honestly it was a pretty boring week as far as the pregnancy goes. But I'm not complaining! I'm LOVING feeling like a human being!

Wedding rings on or off? On, actually they're spinning from being quite loose!

Belly Button in or out? In, but not as deep!

Sleep: The usual. Sleeping better, but waking up throughout the night. 

Food cravings: Sweets! Lots of sweets!! and Cheetos!

Anything making you queasy or sick: Not a thing! I felt so good this week! I still have this obnoxiousl sensitive gag reflex, but I'm learning to handle it.

Miss anything? Not really?

Happy, Moody, or Emotional most of the time: Emotional. I cry all. The. Time. 

Workouts:  Really good! I added some more weights!

The Bump:  39ish inches

Have you started to show yet: Yes, but it seems to fluctuate sizes! It freaks me out! Big one day, smaller the next. Like I said, people comment on the bump now, and I've had quite a few unwelcomed belly touchers. Let me remind everyone... If you didn't put it in there (JD) or your aren't helping to take it out (Doctors and Nurses) then DON'T TOUCH please :)

Stretch marks? Not yet. 

Maternity Clothes? A few things. The stuff I ordered last week all came in and fit so well! I'm excited to know that I have two store options for cute cheap maternity clothes already lined up. In fact, the dress I'm wearing in the picture is my first official photo in a maternity dress! Although I'm not sure what makes it maternity... Seemed pretty standard maxi to me. 

Gender Prediction: Still heavily leaning towards a girl. It just feels so right! I read somewhere this week that in moms that have no gender preference their intuition about baby's sex is right 80% of the time, but in moms that do have a preference their intuition is only right 20% of the time. Now we all know that most statistics online are just mumbo jumbo it seems, but if that one happens to be true then I think it looks like we're having a boy....

Any Names Picked Out Yet: Can't believe baby will have a NAME in just 2 weeks! We've been calling him/her Baby D so long that it will be so strange to start using a name! The funny thing is that we have started saying the two names that we have picked out around our dogs. Denver has NO reaction when we say the boy name. I mean none whatsoever. But when we say the girl's name OMG he lights right up! He starts going nuts! We've even tried saying it in all kinds of different tones of voice to make sure it doesn't sound like something else and he still goes nuts! Denver actually picked his own name this same way! He didn't respond to any other names that I listed off when I first adopted him, but he went nuts as soon as I said Denver! Maybe Denver is hoping for a baby sister too!

Labor Signs: Yeah right

Movement: Less than I had been... which I try not to let concern me, but I'd be lying if I said it didn't. Things like my weight continuing to drop and constantly waking up on my back despite  how many pillows I sleep with make me quite nervous that baby isn't developing like he/she should.

Best moment this week: Knowing that Baby D could hear my voice. I started talking to him/her a little bit more and praying for all kinds of things. I also loved that I knew he/she could hear music and that we had a great set list at the Porch! Haha! How funny that I wanted Baby's first Sunday of being able to hear the music at church to be a Sunday with a good set list :)

  

Looking forward to: Seeing Baby D on 10/22. I really need some reassurance that 1) all is well in there, 2) that his/her heart is happy, healthy, and strong, and 3) that we have a little he or a little she :)

Week 15 Wrap Up

How far along? Finishing up 15 Weeks

Baby is the size of a: Naval orange

Total weight gain/loss: Up 2.6 for the week, but down 17.8 total. I gained! I gained! I don't love that I gained so much in a week but I gained!!! My doctor was none to happy with me about not having gained at my appt on Tuesday. She was happy I hadn't lost and had maintained instead, but really wanted me to start gaining by then. Little did she know, I think I tricked her scales because I really had lost, but I also had a massive cupcake and a big glass of milk right before going into her office. 

Symptoms: Nothing really new this week. Honestly it was a pretty boring week as far as the pregnancy goes. 

Wedding rings on or off? On

Belly Button in or out? In, but as weird as it sounds my surgery scar inside my belly button has felt weird the past couple of weeks. Maybe it's stretching out or something?!

Sleep: Somewhat better, especially since the heartburn is under control, but still overall pretty awful compared to what it was a few weeks ago. I've been fighting off some "borderline strep throat" so that's had me up with sore throat and a tickling cough. I also just can't get comfortable. I seem to sleep best in the recliner, but I really don't want to have to do that for 4.5 months....

Food cravings: None really. Just happy to be eating again. Looking forward to getting back into Gourmet Guys this week and having dinners cooked at home instead of eating out so much. My budget is happy about that too!

Anything making you queasy or sick: I got sick at school on Friday and was sent home by our nurse. That was the day that I first woke up worried I had strep, and I tend to get sick when I have strep. The nurse thought it might be the nasty stomach bug going around. Fortunately I never got sick again once I was home. 

Miss anything? Sleep!!!

Happy, Moody, or Emotional most of the time: Emotional. I'm just a big bag of tears lately. Had a major melt down over the gender reveal party and plans for that weekend as a whole. Stress triggers me so easily now. Also lost it at the doctor when she couldn't find the baby's heartbeat for about 2 minutes. Fortunately baby was just hiding and all is well :)

Workouts: Tuesday and Thursday went well. I didn't go Saturday because I was at the doctor's office getting the whole strep situation checked out. A shot in the butt and an antibiotic later and I was good to go. 

The Bump:  39ish inches

Have you started to show yet: Yes, but it seems to fluctuate sizes! It freaks me out! Big one day, smaller the next. 

Stretch marks? Not yet. 

Maternity Clothes? I ordered my first ones this weekend. I needed a dress for a beach wedding at the end of October and some pink options to wear for the gender reveal. Pink Blush Maternity has really cute stuff for cheap, and Old Navy is always a good go to!

Gender Prediction: Still heavily leaning towards a girl. More people are starting to predict boy though! We find out in THREE WEEKS!!!

Any Names Picked Out Yet: Major meltdown in this department too. All I'll say is that all is well :)

Labor Signs: Yeah right

Movement: After talking to more people I've decided that yes, what I'm feeling really is the baby :) It's uncomfortable at times and kind of freaks me out, but it's nice to know baby is in there. 

Best moment this week: Getting the green light to go to Disney. JD had the wonderful idea to push the trip back to our anniversary weekend so that it wasn't as stressful with going to a wedding, Disney, and having the gender reveal party all in 3 days. Love that man. Logic vs. hormones. This time logic won :)

  

Looking forward to: Knowing baby's sex! It's killing me!! I don't know how people go without finding out!

Week 14 Wrap Up

How far along? Finishing up 14 Weeks

Baby is the size of a: Lemon. Must be a lemon in peak season because all of the lemons I found are smaller than last week's peach. Maybe my peach was just big because we live in south GA?? I've been saying all week that baby is as big as my closed fist because I read that somewhere. My fist is definitely bigger than any lemon I found. And a closed fist just BLOWS my mind!! Giant baby!!

Total weight gain/loss: Ugh! Down 1.8 lbs this week for a total loss of 20.4 lbs. I didn't even work out and have been eating like normal. Still not huge portions like I used to, but there's nothing I can't eat. I know that 178 is still considered "overweight" according to all of the height/weight/BMI charts out there (but don't even get me started on how useless and archaic BMI charts are...). But I also know that in recent years the lowest I've ever been was 164lbs and that was the week before my wedding after pounding Slim Fast for 3 months (and eventually being to small for my wedding dress!!!). All that being said, 20.4 lbs, 178, however you want to look at it would normally make me very happy and very proud of myself. Hell I think a tiny hidden deep dark place in me IS happy about it. But the part of me that knows I'm growing a baby and that my doctor already told me not to lose more weight is a little worried about what she will say tomorrow. 

Symptoms: A lot of the same at this point. Less tired, but sleeping like crap. Mega emotional. Headaches and stuffy nose. You know the drill. OH! Nesting. Big time. In my classroom and at home. Not for the nursery yet, but yard work, cleaning the attic, garage, and house. Decorating for fall. Feel SO much better about it. Oh and heartburn. Like woah heartburn. Talking to the doctor tomorrow about going back on my Omeprazole. Must mean baby is growing LOTS of hair this week ;)

Wedding rings on or off? On

Belly Button in or out? In

Sleep: Awful. I don't know if it's from where we have been working my back so much at Billy's or if it's just pregnancy kicking in but my back HURTS. I can't get comfortable unless I'm sleeping on my back, which is a no no. I have 3 massive pillows all around me and it still doesn't help. And I'm waking up about 3 times a night now to pee. UGH. 

Food cravings: I never really had any. But I'm able to eat anything now! Smok'n Pig oh how I've missed you in my life!

Anything making you queasy or sick: I brushed my teeth a little too aggressively one morning this week and caught the back of my tongue funny which elicited an immediate gag and puke fest. I'll take that over actually feeling bad any day though. 

Miss anything? Sleep!!!

Happy, Moody, or Emotional most of the time: Happy and emotional. So many tears watching tv!

Workouts: ... Yeah I slacked. Went Monday because I couldn't on Tuesday. My back had started bothering me by Wednesday so at Thursday's workout I just stretched a lot. Saturday I wanted to sleep in and have NOTHING to do, which hasn't happened since before we started working out. So June maybe? The do nothing was great, but sleeping in meant waking up on the couch at 7:00 because I couldn't get comfortable in the bed. Workouts will probably suck next week. 

The Bump:  39ish inches

Have you started to show yet: Yes, but it seems to fluctuate sizes! It freaks me out! Big one day, smaller the next. 

Stretch marks? Not yet, but honestly I already have a ton on my hips from when I grew 4 inches one summer, so I don't think I'll be too traumatized if I get more. 

Maternity Clothes? Nope. But I have a feeling they will be coming soonish.

Gender Prediction: Haven't really had any this week. Been more freaked out that the thing is THE SIZE OF MY FIST. 

Any Names Picked Out Yet: Same ones. Thinking I'm getting JD more sold on one though. I have it narrowed down to 2 choices- 1 boy and 1 girl. He's still torn between 2 boy names but agrees on the 1 girl name. Decisions decisions!

Labor Signs: Yeah right

Movement: No, but yes, but definitely no. I know it's way too soon to feel anything so we will just chalk it up to gas bubbles or something, but going to bed the other night I opted to try still sleeping on my stomach (which is/always has been my go to position). When I flipped to my stomach and got settled I felt what I swear a kick will feel like. It was enough to make me jump and gasp. Probably not baby. But WOAH what will it be like?! I've also had other moments where I just jump because I have these strange sensations that I can't explain. I told JD that either it really is the baby or I can literally feel my muscles and organs growing. 

Best moment this week: Cleaning the attic and garage. How silly!

  

 Looking forward to: Doctor appointment tomorrow :)

 

 

 

Week 13 Wrap Up

How far along? Finishing up 13 Weeks

Baby is the size of a: Peach

Total weight gain/loss: OK. Let me do some explaining... Since I actually got pregnant, did the Whole30 (30 day Paleo challenge), started working out, and got mega morning sickness, I have actually lost a total of 19.4lbs. I don't count all of that loss to be from the pregnancy/sickness/lack of appetite, and neither does my dr. She acknowledges that I had some extra weight to lose and that having a lifestyle change in my diet and exercise contributed to a large part of my initial quick weight loss and the continued gradual decline. So with that being said....

At the start of week 13 I was down 19.4, BUT by the end of the week I had gained back .8lbs. So for this week I gained weight! YAY! At this point I'll take it! A gain is a gain... even if I'm pretty sure that whole .8lbs was just my boobs. The girls finally decided to show up to the party. Probably TMI, but it's my blog, and my journal of this whacky time in my life. Sorry I'm not sorry. Total loss so far = 18.6 lbs. 

Symptoms: Huge boobs. Still pretty exhausted. Short of breath. Nosebleeds. Strong sense of smell.

Wedding rings on or off? On

Belly Button in or out? In

Sleep: Wonderfully :) I'm freezing at night and have to have my down comforter, socks, long sleeve shirt, and hoodie with it over my head. That might have more to do with my hot natured hubby than it does with the pregnancy though! CRAZY dreams!

Food cravings: Had my first "NOW!" cravings. Poor JD had to go to the store twice in one day. I had to have pasta salad for lunch on Saturday, and for dinner it had to be Grands flaky butter biscuits. I also demanded Sour Patch Kids earlier in the week.
 
Anything making you queasy or sick: Drumroll please.... NO!!! Best thing is... I'M EATING MEAT!!! Hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, all kinds of stuff! YAY!
 
Miss anything? Not really this week!

Happy, Moody, or Emotional most of the time: All of the above? It's been a week. Work has been stressful to say the least.

Workouts: Going back Tuesday after not having been over the weekend was a little tougher. I wasn't able to go on Thursday due to an emergency that came up. Saturday was killer. I slept 4 hours when we got home instead of my usual 3! I was going to miss tomorrow night (Tuesday) so I went in tonight to make up for it. My pace is picking up and we actually introduced another more challenging exercise tonight. I can now also carry on a conversation while on the elliptical without getting super winded!

The Bump: 39 inches

Have you started to show yet: My belly definitely decided to show itself this week now that everyone knows! Several people commented on it.
 
Stretch marks? Not yet, but WOAH veins! Where did you come from!? I told JD I feel like a road map right now!

Maternity Clothes? Nope. But I have a feeling they will be coming soonish.

Gender Prediction: Still girl, but starting to have some very real anxiety and fears about it being a boy. And no, it's not just because of name challenges. Later in the week I started to feel like it is a boy, but I think that's just wives tales and anxiety getting the best of me.

Any Names Picked Out Yet: Same ones. 

Labor Signs: Yeah right

Movement: Yeah right

Best moment this week: Feeling so much better and actually being able to get some work done in my classroom that I've been putting off from feeling so awful!
  
Looking forward to: My next doctor's appointment on 9/30. We will find out if I get the green light for my Disney trip in October (LAST chance to go without kids!). We'll also schedule the appointment for my gender reaveal and prenatal testing ultrasound. EEK! BOY??? GIRL??? Can't wait!

Week 12 Wrap Up

How far along? 12 Weeks

Baby is the size of a: Plum

Total weight gain/loss: Down 1.6 this week and 19.4 total... I need to stop losing!!

Symptoms: EXHAUSTED. Beagle smell seems to have reemerged.

Wedding rings on or off? On

Belly Button in or out? In

Sleep:  Twice this week I slept so hard that I woke up with no clue of where I was and no comprehension of what day it was. It's glorious. But despite all the sleep I am still always tired!

Food cravings: No real cravings, but I did keep Chick-Fil-A in business. Pizza has also been popular the past few weeks.
 
Anything making you queasy or sick: Just strong smells bothering me. Was able to eat more meat! A whole chicken breast (covered in BBQ sauce...) at lunch!

Miss anything? Normal emotions

Happy, Moody, or Emotional most of the time: Emotional. Added that to the list. It's just not the same as happy or moody. I cried over a Dolphin Tale commercial and Harry Potter. Also lots of happy though as we told people :)

Workouts: Awesome. They wear me out but in such a good way. Knocking out the cardio now with no problem. Haven't missed a workout in weeks. Learned a new move that was killer, but great. Didn't go Saturday since we were in ATL. 

The Bump: 38.5 inches

Have you started to show yet: "I thought you'd been working out too much to still have a belly!" -A friend upon learning I was pregnant....... I think that answers this question.

Stretch marks? No

Maternity Clothes? Nope. But I have a feeling they will be coming soonish.

Gender Prediction: Back to girl. Had a dream where I actually SAW her face. LOTS of dark brown hair and the prettiest blue eyes. I cried and cried and cried. Then woke up and cried some more. 

Any Names Picked Out Yet: Same ones. 

Labor Signs: Yeah right

Movement: Yeah right

Best moment this week: Telling EVERYONE!!!!
  
Looking forward to: Seeing people now that it's "Facebook official." How silly!