38 Week Bumpdate

The Bump

Sorry for the out-of-focus picture.  It's hard to focus on myself using the timer on my new camera. Maybe I'll get the hang of it during my next pregnancy, because I hope this will be my last bumpdate!

A few people have told me they think I've dropped this week, but looking at the pictures, I just don't see much difference.  It's really hard to tell since I have such a short torso, and she is definitely not a "basketball baby."  Meaning, I got a big, swollen, round belly (and everything else) instead of just a little "basketball" in the womb. Also, totally unrelated, but please note that my arms look a little less ghostly this week.  I'm proud of my little tan!  

Milestones:

I'm a week past term, which means she could come any time!  I have to keep reminding myself that she's getting bigger and stronger every day she stays put, so it's probably a good thing she waits until as close to her due date as possible.  Even though I'm dying to meet her!

I have an ultrasound tomorrow to make sure she's grown in the past two weeks.  If she hasn't, they will induce me, so we could have a baby this week!  ...But I really think she's totally healthy and growing in there, so I'm not anticipating that that will happen.

Scarlett has passed all of her non stress tests with flying colors, which is another reason I think everything's fine with her.  Her heart rate has been great, and she is moving almost constantly (except when someone tries to feel her.  She must be shy like her mom!) 

Symptoms:

• Lots of contractions -- probably Braxton Hicks, but I have a few each day that sort of stop me in my tracks with a radiating pain through my lower back.  I hope this doesn't mean I'll have back labor!  But I hope it does mean that they have helped me progress a bit.  I will find out at my appointment tomorrow!
• Swelling.  I can't wait to get my normal feel and ankles back!  I definitely think this symptom would not be so bad during a different time of year.  The humidity does not help.
• Slight nausea has returned every once in awhile if I get too hungry, or eat too much.

Cravings:

• I have lost my appetite a bit, but watermelon still sounds really good, just about all the time
• Also, Chipotle.  Always Chipotle.

Fun Stuff:

• My hospital bag has been packed for a week, and so has Scarlett's.  Luke is the only one who is slacking, I guess.  
• Our car seat has been installed, which freaks me out a bit every time I catch a glimpse of it in my rear view mirror.

I'm going to be honest:  if this isn't my last "bumpdate," I will be a little bummed.  I don't want her to come too early, but I am so anxious to meet her!  This whole pregnancy has flown by until the last 2 or 3 weeks.  All of a sudden, time just seemed to stop.  I am so ready for this!  Or at least, I'm as ready as I'm ever going to be!

36 Week Bumpdate

The Bump:

I forgot to label the collage, but it's 32, 34, and 36 weeks.  Not a huge difference from 32 to 34 weeks, but I think Scarlett had a major growth spurt between 34 and 36 weeks!  

Milestones:

I'm one week from being full-term!  I will feel great when I hit that milestone, although I wouldn't mind it if she waited a few more weeks after that to make her appearance.  I want her to be big and strong when she meets the world! And her due date falls on a full moon, so who knows?  Maybe she'll come right on time on July 22!

Symptoms:

• Extreme emotions and mood swings
• Occasional heartburn
• Swelling has gotten pretty bad this past week, pretty much everywhere.  Not just my hands and feet anymore. 
• Nesting
• Occasional insomnia

Cravings:

• Watermelon!  I can't get enough.

Fun Stuff:

• My last shower was last weekend, blogged about here.  It was such a beautiful day, and a beautiful party!  I got everything put away and organized afterward, and all of her clothes have been washed and oranized.  I feel really ready now!

• The finishing touches are being added to the nursery this weekend, so I'll probably do a nursery post sometime next week!  
  
  
   

Well, I suppose this could be my last bumpdate!  That's crazy to think about!  Or hopefully I'll have 1 or 2 more.  This not knowing is killing me!

34 Week Bumpdate

The Bump

I seriously thought about cropping my face out.  Hello, swelling! I just don't feel like I look like myself these days.

 And here is the comparison shot.  Which, honestly, I don't see much of a difference between the weeks!  I think maybe she hasn't spread OUT much, but she's spread UP and BACK a lot.  I feel limbs in my ribs these days that weren't there until recently.  At my last appointment, my doctor said, "Wow, she's way up in those ribs!"  I guess that's what we short-torsoed people have to deal with!

Milestones:

Thanks to my Dysphagia class, I know that a baby's swallow is functional on the outside around 34 weeks!  So she probably wouldn't need to be on a feeding tube no matter when she's born from here on out.  Her lungs still need to develop a bit more, and she needs to add a bit of fat to her bones, so she can stay put for a few more weeks!

Weekly doctor's appointments start next week!  It's almost go time!

Symptoms:

• Nesting
• Heartburn is back, but it's not unbearable.  Just annoying!
• Swelling

Cravings:

• Strawberries and watermelon
• Still burgers. 

Fun Stuff:

• I had my first shower last Saturday (blogged about here).  It was beautiful!  And I have another shower coming up this Saturday.  We feel so blessed!
• The nursery is just about complete, minus the curtains.  I'll probably do a whole nursery post next week after our curtains come in and after my shower.  Here is a sneak peak though:

• We leave in about an hour for our hospital visit!  I am kind of afraid I'm going to freak out and start panicking when I get there and see the delivery rooms.  It's going to seem so real!  But at the same time, I feel like I'll be able to breathe a sigh of relief to know how to get there, where to park, and what to expect.
• After our shower last Saturday, my sister-in-law used her nice camera to take a few pictures of us since we aren't getting formal "maternity photos."  they turned out so nice!  Here are a couple of my favorites: 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Next bumpdate, I will be 1 week away from full term!  I finish up my last class this Thursday, and after that and my shower, I am going to feel so ready! 

32 Week Bumpdate

 The Bump:

(The lighting is terrible because there was so much sunlight coming in the windows behind me)

I decided to throw a front view in too since I'm big enough that you can really see it from the front now too!

Comparison:

Is it just me or does she look higher than 2 weeks ago?  Strange.  Maybe it's just my outfit?

Milestones:

8 weeks until my due date, and 5 weeks until I'm full term (5! Weeks!  Ahhh!)

I've finally been able to feel Scarlett's hiccups a lot.  It's the cutest thing ever, and makes me laugh every time.  She's been getting them about every day or every other day lately!  They just feel like little spasms in my stomach every few seconds, and they last about 5 minutes.

Symptoms:

• Slight swelling in my hands and feet.  I finally had to take my rings off last week, which was no easy feat!  Lots of cold water and coconut oil were involved, and it was very painful.  I never take my rings off, and didn't realize how tight they were until it was too late!
• General achy-ness and round ligament pain.  Especially when I get up after sitting or laying down for awhile.  It literally shocks me every time.  My 3-4 lb baby is a lot for my muscles to handle I guess!
• Heartburn has strangely subsided a lot.  Every once in awhile it comes back, but not too often. 
• I've about had it with these hormones making me cry over every little thing.  I feel like a crazy person.  and I know that will just get worse for awhile after she's born, so I'll have to just deal with it I guess.

Cravings:

• Fruit
• Last night I was craving hot wings, so Luke and I went to B-dubs and I thought I was in heaven.  I ate 11 boneless wings!  I just could not satisfy my hunger yesterday until that finally hit the spot.
• Milk...chocolate milk, to be more specific.  which is weird, because I'm lactose intolerant.  But I've been drinking about 8 ounces of chocolate milk a day and that doesn't seem to bother me too much.  I remember my mom saying she craved chocolate milk when she was pregnant with me too.  I guess Scarlett needs calcium!

Fun Stuff:

• My first shower is next Saturday, thrown by my mother-in-law and sister-in-laws.  I'm really excited!
• Also, Scarlett has been a little gymnast lately. At my last appointment, the nurse said she could see my stomach moving around while she was checking the baby's heartbeat.  I'm starting to be able to feel actual body parts now, like her little bum and what I think is one of her feet.  It often pushes out far enough that my stomach pokes out a bit, and I can feel something very tiny that feels like a foot when I push back.  I think she's running out of room, and trying to stretch out!  I already posted this video last week, but I thought I'd post it again just to show how much she moves these days!

• Speaking of my appointment last week, it fell on my mom's birthday.  We were meeting my sister to spend a girl's day out together for her birthday, so she came to my appointment with me beforehand and got to hear Scarlett's heartbeat on her birthday!

I can't believe there are single digits of weeks left before my due date!  Everything seems so real, and I know I can't avoid thinking about the whole labor and delivery thing for much longer.  I'm starting to get really nervous about it, but I'm trying to focus more on the end goal...finally meeting Scarlett!

30 Week Bumpdate

The Bump:

I'm not exactly sure how I have 10 more weeks to grow.  I feel huge.

Milestones:

I am officially 3/4 of the way through this pregnancy.  

We are in the home stretch. It's just a matter of Scarlett putting some meat on her bones, and fine-tuning survival behaviors like breathing and swallowing so she's ready for life on the outside.  She probably weighs around 3 lbs.

Girlfriend's got some strong movements going on!  She has actually made me wince a few times.  Especially when she kicks/punches straight down.  Ouch.

Symptoms:

• Pretty excruciating backaches that come and go, mostly in the evenings after I've been sitting for a long time.
• Mild swelling in my feet when I'm on them a lot during the day
• Waking up at least twice in the night, because, to quote Rachel from Friends, "Apparently this baby thinks that my bladder is a squeeze toy."
• However, I think it is a huge praise that I have not had trouble sleeping at all during this entire pregnancy.  I know insomnia is a common symptom of late pregnancy, and I am still going strong with my sleeping, so hopefully I can keep it up for 10 more weeks!

Cravings: 

• At least 2-3 times a week I cook some chicken in the oven and cover it in cheese and salsa.  Then I serve it over rice mixed with more salsa, sour cream, black beans, and corn.  I would eat it every day if I could.  I guess it's my own version of a Chipotle burrito bowl.

Fun Stuff:

• The nursery is really coming along!  I'm finishing up a few projects, my mom is finishing up the crib bedding, and besides that, I'm about done with all I can do until my showers!  Below is a picture of some alphabet cards I found for FREE on Pinterest.  I just printed them on card stock and cut out, clipped them to some twine with small clothespins, and I'm waiting for Luke to hang it on the wall.  I found it HERE.  (There are some great freebies on that website!)
  
• Luke and I have decided to take our childbirth classes online through our hospital.  I can't wait to start!  Although the whole thing kind of freaks me out, making the "big day" feel close and very real.

There are up to 10 more weeks until Scarlett gets here (I refuse to believe that it might possibly be MORE than 10 weeks)!  My mind is blown thinking about how our life will change.  A tiny piece of me is a little sad to see all of our freedom go, but we've had 9 years together just the two of us. I'm ready to bring another member into our family!

28 Week Bumpdate

The Bump:

Comparison:

I certainly feel like I've popped...some more!  She's about the size of an eggplant, and I have started getting the "when are you due?" question from strangers.  

Milestones:

I am officially in the third trimester. I still can't believe we have less than three months until my due date.  I've reached the point where my doctor's visits have gone from once a month to once every two weeks.

Symptoms:

• Fatigue is returning, similar to how I felt in first trimester.  I kept saying I never thought it went away, but now that it's back with a vengeance, I realize it actually did get better during the second trimester.  But it's a lot easier to deal with without nausea and vomiting, too!
• Still occasional heartburn
• Still having Braxton Hicks contractions, but it's either less often, or I'm just getting used to them and not noticing them as much.
• back and foot pain

Cravings:

• Ice cream
• Had my first craving for watermelon the other day, and felt like a true, cliche, pregnant lady.

Fun stuff:

• Luke and I basically finished registering today.  There are a few more things I'll probably add, and I'm sure I'll change my mind about some things, but the bulk of that overwhelming job is taken care of!
• We've made a lot of nursery progress.  We finished painting, replaced the ugly fluorescent lights with a  new light/ceiling fan, and had carpet installed (thanks to my in-laws for all their help!)  I'm getting lots of little details and accents put together, and loving every minute of it!  Today, Luke put her wall decal up above the crib, and I am in love! Again, we found it here.

• Scarlett got a Sophie teether from some family friends.  These are just the cutest things ever.  And now I feel like a hip and trendy future mom.  Ha!

What a fun (and probably painful and uncomfortable...) 12 weeks we have in store before Scarlett's arrival.  Now it's time for finishing up the nursery, showers, birthing classes, and last-minute freaking out!  Bring it, third trimester! 

26 Week Bumpdate: End of 2nd Tri!

The Bump:

Continuing to grow...according to thebump.com, she's about the size of a head of lettuce.  And I think her mama is growing in areas besides just the belly, but we won't talk about that...

 Since this is my last bumpdate in the second trimester, I did a collage of the bump progression through second tri.  I remember thinking my bump was getting big around weeks 12 and 14!  Haha!  Now I can barely see anything there.

(Somehow I looked bigger 2 weeks ago, but I think it's just the angle of the camera)

Milestones:

I'm down to double digits until my due date!  99 days and counting...

Every day feels like a milestone now...one more day closer to meeting her, and one more day that she has developed and grown

Symptoms:

• Occasional heartburn, but it seems to have subsided some
• Still having Braxton Hicks contractions, at least a few every day.  Yesterday I actually was freaking out a little because I was having them so often.  But I never reached the "danger" point where you're supposed to call the doctor, as in, there were never more than 6 in an hour, and they weren't really painful.  After I laid down for the evening, they completely went away until this morning.  I guess it's just my body practicing for the big day, and there is no need to worry!

Cravings:

• Nothing too extreme, but burgers are always in the back of my mind.  We had some really good ones on Friday at a burger bar called The Rail in Fairlawn

Aversions:

• Nothing. I'm going to stop adding this section on future bumpdates, because I feel like I would eat anything and everything right now. Although I'm trying not to...

Fun Stuff:

• Nursery work is officially underway.  The room is painted, and carpet will be installed soon.  Luke also put the crib together, and we ordered a cute name decal for above it.  The decal was Luke's idea, so we can always tell her that was her Daddy's special gift for her room (even though I technically made the final decision on the one we picked).  This is what it looks like, but the letters will be dark gray, and obviously it will say "Scarlett" instead of "Olivia."
  
  I found it in this shop on Etsy.  The seller has tons of cute decals!

***

Well, that about wraps up the second trimester!  I still have 1 more week, but I'll be in the 3rd trimester next time I post an update!  I was just telling Luke that first tri went by at a snail's pace, but second tri flew by!  I'm sure 3rd tri will probably fly by too, up until I get super uncomfortable.  It's starting to feel so real, and I'm honestly starting to freak out a bit!  We still have so much to do!  I'm sure it will all get done somehow.

24 Week Bumpdate

The Bump:
I'm starting to feel slightly huge.  I'm trying to keep the big picture in mind, and remember that this is a lot smaller than I'll be in July!

I have The Bump app on my phone, and every Monday I get a little reminder of what fruit my baby is the size of.  The first few weeks when the baby was just the size of a poppy seed, then an apple seed, and then a blueberry, I was wishing time would go faster and baby would be comparable to a bigger fruit, like a lemon or an orange.  Well time has moved more quickly than I had imagined it would, and I have officially reached the weeks of what I have dubbed "The Scary Fruits."  This week, baby is the size of a canteloupe.  And it just gets scarier and scarier until we reach the absolutely terrifying watermelon at 39 weeks.  Yikes.

Comparison:

Milestones:

Luke finally felt Scarlett move about a week ago!  I can tell we've hit a growth spurt or something in the past couple of weeks, because her kicks are getting so much stronger!  She startles me sometimes, and I'm often wondering what in the world she is doing in there!

We have officially reached viability week!  That means that if, heaven forbid, I were to go into labor at any point from now on, Scarlett would at least have a chance of surviving outside the womb.  Of course I want her to stay put until I'm at least 37 weeks, but reaching this milestone does feel like a bit of a relief. 

I had my 24 week appointment on Friday and got to see Scarlett on an ultrasound again!

Symptoms:

• Still dealing with extreme hunger and weepiness
• Heartburn arrived sometime between weeks 22 and 23.  I only get it at night, usually when I'm laying in bed, no matter what I eat beforehand.  It is only really bad when I roll over or change positions.  The other night I was laying on the couch and it hit me.  I told Luke, "Ugh, it feels like there is acid burning my throat! ...Oh wait, there is acid burning my throat!"  I really have never had heartburn before, so this is all new to me.  And I'll take it a thousand times over before suffering through first trimester nausea again!  I'm trying not to complain about it too much for that reason. 
• I'm starting to have some Braxton Hicks contractions, usually just once every few days.  It is a really odd feeling, where everything gets extremely tight in my abdomen.  If I touch my stomach during one, it feels very firm, and I can feel where the baby is a lot more distinctly.  They always freak me out a bit, but they're not painful at all, and are totally normal at this stage of pregnancy.   

Cravings:

• Pass the sugar!  All I want is chocolate these days.  Scarlett must be extra sweet!  

Aversions:

• I've been really not into cheese lately.  Very strange for me.

Fun Stuff:

• We ordered a crib!  It should be here in the next few days, and I can't wait to set it up!
• Nursery plans are coming together.  We're going with a very light bluish gray on the walls, and grey and yellow accents.  No theme, really.  Just simple and feminine. 
• Also, of course my shower from the girls at school was a totally fun surprise!
  

I can't believe how fast time seems to be moving!  In a month, I'll be in the third trimester, and then Scarlett will be here before we know it!  I've never felt so scared or so excited about anything in my entire life!

22 Week Bumpdate

The Bump

Baby girl is almost a foot long (10-11 inches) and probably weighs about a pound now.  It's hard to tell with this flowy shirt, but I've definitely "popped" a bit in the past week or two, and last Sunday, someone looked at my stomach and said, "Oh, I didn't know you were expecting!"  So apparently it is now evident to the outside world that I  am pregnant.  I do still believe that that was a brave comment, because I'm pretty sure I looked this big back before I was pregnant after a big meal. Ha!

Comparison shot:

Milestones:

Two weeks ago, I wrote that I was feeling Scarlett a lot on the inside, but I hadn't felt her from the outside yet. A few hours after I wrote that post, I was laying down to take my Sunday afternoon nap, and girlfriend decided to have a dance party.  I put my hand on my stomach, and felt her from the outside for the first time!    Since then I have felt her with my hand many more times, but Luke has yet to feel it.  The timing just hasn't been right yet, but I'm sure it will happen soon!

Symptoms:

• Extreme hunger.  I keep telling Luke that Scarlett must be a little vacuum that sucks up everything I eat! I've been snacking a lot, and trying to eat healthy foods.  This past week I've been loving cucumbers and peppers in Ranch dressing, and I cannot get enough edamame beans.  I have to admit that some snacks have involved thin mints, ice cream, or hot cocoa too.  
• Extreme weepiness.  I don't know how else to describe it.  I thought this symptom would get better after the first trimester, but just in the past week or two, it has been worse than I could imagine.  It doesn't take much for me to cry, and when I do, there is a snowball effect, and I think of all kinds of sad things, and before I know it I'm bawling to the point of exhaustion.  It really feels like it is a physiological thing, not so much an emotional thing, and something my body needs to do as an outlet for all of these hormones.  Does that even make sense?

Cravings:

• Pretty much anything I get my mind on, especially:
• Burgers
• Chipotle
• Sweets

Aversions:

• Nothing new here...I'm just trying not to eat everything in sight.

Fun Stuff:

• We started our registry last week.  We've decided to do most of it through Amazon, so I've just been researching like crazy during my free time, and adding carefully selected items.  We are going to register at Babies R Us too, but I think Luke is seriously dreading that!  
• Our old office is going to be turned into Scarlett's nursery.  It was full of my school things and therapy materials, and other random junk.  It had become the "catch-all" room.  But I spent the majority of last week cleaning it out, and other than a few large items, we are ready to start painting and working! I started setting up Scarlett's closet too, and I open it just to stare at the tiny clothes and daydream at least 2-3 times a day!

Even the tiny hangers are too cute for me to handle!

Exciting things are happening!  Next time I write I will have gotten another look at Scarlett because I have an ultrasound coming up!  I can't wait to see her again, and I pray that she is still healthy and thriving!

19 & 20 Week Bumpdate - Halfway There!

This poor baby will have to live without a picture of her (in bump form) at 19 weeks gestation. Last week I think my professors all got together to play a cruel trick on the first year students, and decided to make a ton of big stuff due or tests on the 28th.  I honestly don't know how I survived it all in that time frame, but it feels good to be on the other side of it with that stress behind me!  Anyway, I thought it wouldn't be the end of the world if I just did a 19&20 week update at the same time.

The Bump:

I'd say it's looking less like a big meal, and more like a baby bump!

Comparison shot:

Milestones:

If you missed it, we found out the gender on Friday, and it's a GIRL!  I had a feeling it was a girl the whole time, and all I could picture was a girl. I had many dreams about girl babies, and only one dream about a boy baby.  I'm sure it's just coincidence, but I like to think it was my intuition.

Also, everything looked great at the anatomy scan!  Her heart is beating away at 154 beats per minute and she weighs approximately 10 oz, which is right on track.  I've also gained about 10 lbs so far!  And while I think that is on track too, it's hard to believe that only 10 oz of that is the baby!  The ultrasound tech couldn't see certain angles of the heart that she needed to, so I get to get another peak at baby S at my next appointment!  And here is a little peak at her sweet face from one of the 8 pictures of the ultrasound we got to bring home:

Oh yeah, did I mention she has a name?!  I think we are still finalizing the middle name for sure,but she definitely has a first name!  I'm debating whether I want to share it on the blog or not (we're not really keeping it a secret).  I'm so excited to share her name and why we chose it!  I will probably end up spilling the beans on that in the next few days if it's okay with Luke.  We will see!

Symptoms:

• Leg cramps.  Apparently there is no definitive reason why pregnancy causes leg cramps, but it is a symptom.  Who knew?  Not me until I woke up in the middle of the night multiple times last week feeling like I wanted to chop my legs off.  Okay, that was a little dramatic, but it was painful!  I've been increasing my water intake and trying different stretches, and that has seemed to keep them at bay the past few days.  
• Still sleeping great, but I wake up feeling achy most mornings, especially in my back.  This is probably due to the fact that I usually sleep on my back, but now that the baby's getting bigger, that is not an option since it can constrict the blood flow to my heart or to the baby. I think it might be time to purchase a pregnancy pillow, because I can imagine this is only the tip of the iceberg of what I will feel in the next few months!

Cravings:

• Just in time to find out we are having a baby girl, I started craving sweet things!  Ice cream is my weakness right now.  And Starburst Jelly Beans, especially the apple and strawberry ones!

• As always, I'm still craving beef.

Aversions

• Nothing new here.  same old, same old.

Fun Stuff:

• Obviously it is very exciting knowing our baby is a girl!  I can't remember the last time I was this happy (aside from finding out I was pregnant of course!)  I'll just be going about my day when it will hit me again:  I'm going to have a daughter.  And I literally feel like my heart is about to burst from all the love and happiness I'm feeling.  Me and Pinterest have spent some quality time together this weekend pinning girly things, that's for sure!
• The little missy, once again, is already so spoiled!  I do believe that once the announcement was made that she was, in fact, a girl, the aunts and grandmas were instantly shopping!  Here is her first little girl thing that my mom delivered on Friday night:

• I am starting to feel baby S more and more each day.  And I can now attest to the fact that I'm pretty sure those little flutters I was feeling in the beginning, were in fact the little lady.  I went from feeling her a few times a week to feeling her about once a day, to now feeling her multiple times a day.  And those little punches and kicks are definitely getting stronger.  She must have been liking hearing her daddy play the drums at church this morning, because I think she was dancing in there all through the service! (Oh yeah, and she can probably hear now!  How exciting!)  I wonder how long it will be before I can feel her from the outside too, and not just the inside?

It blows my mind that we are halfway to my due date!  20 weeks down, 20 to go (give or take a few).  I am absolutely enjoying every minute of this part of pregnancy.  From the kicks, to the aches and pains, and even the sneak attacks of nausea that happen about once every two weeks now.  I love it all, because it is all proof that there really is a baby inside of me!  Sometimes I still can't believe it!

18 Weeks and a Few Tidbits

Since I wrote my 17 week post so late, I think I've already covered everything for week 18.  I still can't get enough burgers, I'm still counting down the days until we get to find out the gender (11)...same old, same old.  So today instead of a normal "bumpdate,"  I'm just going to share my 18 week belly shots:

Growing everyday.  Thank goodness for my belly band!

And here's a collage.  Not much difference from last week, but a huge difference from about 3.5 months ago!

***

And now for a few tidbits to get caught up since I've been such a terrible blogger lately.

• Luke and I had a nice Valentines Day.  We really celebrated on Saturday by going out to dinner at Carrabbas.  It was delicious as always!  It was a low key holiday this year, but we enjoyed it.  And our moms still spoiled us...I will probably do this for my children too.

• My cousin is about to have baby #2, and it is a girl!  She had a little shower a week ago, and I had SO MUCH FUN shopping for girly clothes!  She obviously wasn't registered since it was baby #2, and it was fun to shop purely for fun stuff!  The sunglasses kill me.  If we have a girl, I'm going to break the bank!  And I am sorely disappointed that there really don't seem to be as many cute boy clothes as girl clothes!  Because I think boy clothes are fun to shop for too, but just not as much fun as girl clothes.  For me, at least. 

• Over the weekend we rearranged the living room furniture.  I don't know why, but everything seems so new and cozy after rearranging furniture!  I've enjoyed it.  (And yep,that's Talladega Nights on the TV).

I hope everyone had an excellent Valentines Day!  Happy Monday!

17 Week Bumpdate

Well hello there!  Please excuse my absence once again as I have just had the busiest week of the semester so far.  I barely had a chance to sit down until Thursday night, at which time the baby decided to have a dance party or something.  Feeling those little flutters are the highlights of my days, and I had to wonder if it had been moving a lot all week, and I had just been too busy to notice it?  

Anyway, I wrote most of this post on Sunday, so the picture is accurately from 17 weeks, even though I'm almost 18 weeks now!  But this morning I finally got around to finishing the post, so here it is.

The bump:

At this point, the baby is right around the level of my belly button or a little lower, which I think is higher than normal for this far along.  I'm attributing it to the fact the I am roughly the height of a fourth grader, and  my torso is very short!

 Here's a comparison from last week. The bump looks a little bigger and a little higher to me. 

Milestones:

I officially cannot comfortably wear my regular jeans anymore.  Saturday night Luke and I took a trip to Target (after first inhaling some BURGERS from Five Guys, of course) and I was on a mission to find some maternity jeans and dress pants.  Unfortunately, everything I tried on was way too long, or baggy in my hips and legs.  So I settled for the next best thing, and bought a belly band.  It's pretty comfortable, and does the trick for now, so at least I bought myself some time before I have to really start buying maternity pants.  The shirt I'm wearing in this week's picture is a maternity shirt though! My first official maternity-wear purchase, besides a few second-hand things I bought from a friend of a friend.

Symptoms:

• Every once in a great while I will still get the occasional wave of nausea. 
• Other than that and a little "crowded" feeling in the stomach region (I already have a hard time taking a deep breath after a big meal!), I am basically feeling even better than before I got pregnant.  I don't know what it is, but these pregnancy hormones have me feeling downright euphoric most of the time.  And my skin and hair are better than normal too, so I guess I have nothing to complain about at this point!  On the contrary, I have so much to be thankful for!

Cravings:

• I've gone from craving meat in general to just craving beef.  At first I wondered if it was all in my head, or if it was a true pregnancy craving.  But it is unnatural the way I will think about burgers all the time, and then when I eat one, every bite is like the best bite of food I've ever eaten.  I think it's at least partly due to the pregnancy.  

• Fresh, summery fruit has also been on my mind lately, although I have yet to satisfy that craving.  Particularly pineapple and watermelon.  That might be more my spring fever talking, though!

Aversions:

• Lately if I even think about the foods I ate when I had morning sickness, I practically gag.  I don't think I'll ever eat toast on white bread, oatmeal, or drink Sprite or ginger ale again.  All the foods that I ate that are supposed to be easy on the stomach are now the ones I associate with the nausea.

Fun Stuff:

• 2 Weeks from today we will find out the gender!  Time is actually flying by, so I hope that continues to be the trend until March 1!
• I finally was able to meet with my clinic supervisor at school to map out a plan.  I am so thrilled with what she came up with, and as long as the baby doesn't come more than 5 weeks early, it should work out perfectly.  Here's an outline for my family and friends who have been asking me about it:
• Summer semester 2013: I will take 2 classes instead of 3, and skip clinicals for the entire summer.  The 2 classes will end June 13, and I'll have the rest of the summer off!  That makes me hope the baby gets here around 37 weeks, right when it's full term, so I have a few more weeks to enjoy him or her before the fall semester begins!
• Fall semester 2013: I'll take 2 classes and do clinicals instead of my first externship.  My schedule should be a lot less hectic with clinicals instead of the externship.  And I believe my classes will be night classes, so hopefully I'll be at home at least a few days a week with the baby!
• Spring semester 2014: I'll take 2 classes, plus my school externship.  My schedule will be busier this semester, but the baby will be 6 months old at that point.
• Summer semester 2014:  I'll take that one lone class that I'm skipping in summer of 2013.  And I'll do my medical externship, which will be an intense 5 days a week for 8 weeks.  And then I'll graduate in August 2014 instead of May 2014.  Since I'm hoping to get a job as a school SLP anyway, that shouldn't throw my plans off too much!  

I'm so glad it looks like everything is going to work out pretty well with all of my school stuff.  I just hope I can work out my financial aid and all of the logistical details, but I'm trying not to worry, and to trust God with all of it!

On we go to week 18!  We will know whether this is a boy or girl in no time!  

16 Week Bumpdate

The Bump:

Whoops, photo bomb by Gabby. She jumped in front of my phone right before the camera snapped and I snatched her.  The fact that she looks way more pregnant than me helps my self-esteem.

Here's the real bump picture:

 Here's a collage to compare with last week's picture.  Look, the bump shrunk!  I think it's basically because the bloat is going away, so this week it's less bloat, more baby.  On my birth month message board on The Bump, a bunch of other ladies say this is happening to them too.  Plus my outfit doesn't accentuate the bump as much this week.

I still look like I just ate a big meal or something.  I'm getting anxious to get to the point where I actually look pregnant!  Come on baby, grow!

Milestones:

The baby now has its malleus, incus, and stapes, the three bones in his or her middle ear.  Again, very exciting for a future speech path. like myself.  Although I've learned in all my classes that babies can't hear until about 20 weeks, all of my pregnancy websites that I read say that the baby is starting to hear now since those last pieces in the ears are in place.  So, I have no idea if the baby can hear or not.  My guess is that it can hear very loud sounds, but maybe some fine tuning will be done in the next few weeks before he or she can hear a lot of things?  I don't know.  Either way, it's very exciting to me!

Also, I had my monthly appointment last Friday, and we heard the heartbeat!  It had been 2 months since we saw the heartbeat on the ultrasound.  I was so nervous it would take her awhile to find it and I would have a panic attack, but she literally stuck the thing to my belly and there it was:  that beautiful whooshing sound!  158 beats per minute.  According to the old wives tale, a quicker heartbeat (above 150 bpm) means a girl and vice versa.  Of course, I know there is absolutely no truth to that old wive's tale, but it's fun to think about anyway!  

Symptoms:

• Nausea is gone, but I still threw up once this week. How is that possible?  I have no idea.  It literally hit me out of nowhere, and I was fine afterwards.  I keep saying the baby is just saying, "Hey, I'm still here! Just wanted to reassure you!"  Ha!  I trust you, baby,  please, no more reassurance!
• If I sit in the wrong position for too long, I get these extremely painful pinching feelings in my lower back when I put my weight on one side.  I talked to my cousin who experienced the same thing early in pregnancy, and she said it's probably sciatic nerve pain due to weight being pushed on it by the baby.  Oh the joys of pregnancy!  Honestly, this pain is a million times better than first trimester nausea, so bring it on! 

Cravings:

• Just call me Phoebe Buffay, because I am craving meat!  At least I'm not a vegetarian like her...not even close! I've been craving burgers again.  Also, Luke made brunch yesterday, and I could not get enough bacon!  Normally I don't even care for bacon (which Luke thinks is sacrilege), so that was weird.  Also, Luke was due to pick up a wing platter at 5:00 yesterday for a Super Bowl party, and at 11:00 after church I was so hungry for wings, just knowing I was going to eat some later!  It was torture waiting all day for them.  I feel like a dude.  And someone at school who has two little boys says craving meat instead of sweet things means I'm having a boy!  So one clue points to girl, and one clue points to boy.  

Aversions:

• I can't think of a single thing that doesn't sound appealing right now, so the roles have completely reversed! I went from craving nothing and having aversions to everything, to craving everything and having aversions to nothing!  I have to say, it's much more fun on this side of things.

Fun Stuff:

• I wrote about this on Facebook already, but on Saturday I was sitting on the couch completely still, writing a blog post, and then sneezed the most violent sneeze ever.  Right afterwards I felt bunches of little twitches in my belly.  I guess the strong muscle contractions of the sneeze startled the baby or woke him or her up or something!  It was so funny!  I've had a lot of people tell me they didn't feel their baby until week 20 or beyond, but I am almost positive this is the baby I'm feeling.  On Friday at our appointment, the doctor pointed out right where the baby was (just below my belly button) and that is right where I'd been feeling all the little flutters and twitches!  
• We officially scheduled our anatomy scan, which is the ultrasound where we will find out the gender!  It's scheduled for March 1 at 8:30 AM, so we can go straight in, first thing in the morning and get the news we've been waiting so long for!  I joke that I think it's a girl, and I for some reason can't picture anything other than a girl, but I think that's mostly because I didn't have any brothers or very many guy friends growing up, so all I know are little girls!  But I would be so happy with a little boy too!  And I know Luke would love a little buddy to throw a football around with, and take to Indians games, and teach how to play the drums (of course, I'm sure he'll do all those things if it's a girl, too!) I don't want to give the impression that I will be disappointed or at all not excited if it's a boy!  I will be so over-the-moon happy no matter what!!  But I just want to know what it is, so I can start making plans and daydreaming!
• Speaking of dreams, holy cow.  I've heard of pregnancy dreams, but never really believed they were a real thing.  Let me tell you, they are.  Here are just a few of the dreams I've had lately:
• This one is not pregnancy related, but I had a dream that Gordon Ramsey was my dad.  Clearly, this girl has been watching too many episodes of Kitchen Nightmares!  Anyway, not only was he my dad, but he was possessed by a demon.  I mean, perhaps that is not so hard to imagine with Gordon Ramsey, because he is terrifying.  But yeah, it was the weirdest/scariest dream I've ever had!
• A few nights after that, I had a dream that at 15 weeks pregnant, my baby was pushing it's hands and feet against my stomach, and pushing so hard that my skin would stretch really far, and I could see the entire outline of those little hands and feet.  At the same time, my skin was somehow kind of transparent, and it was really creepy and kind of disgusting!
• I've had two dreams that the actual baby was born. In both dreams, the baby was a girl. In the first one, I was asleep while Luke signed the birth certificate, and he named her Petunia! I woke up (in the dream) and was so furious because...what a horrible name! In the second dream, we named the baby Aubriella.  Kind of a mash up of the names Aubrey, Brielle, and Ella.  I thought the name had been completely constructed by  my subconscious, but after telling some people about it, found out that I'd probably heard it before because my cousin's cousin on the other side of the family named her little girl that.  So I must have shoved the name into my subconscious and forgotten about it!  Dreams are so weird.

Wow, this post got really wordy.  I guess I had a lot to say about week 16!  Onto week 17! We are getting dangerously close to being halfway through this pregnancy!