Update to Week 20!

I am a few weeks behind in getting the blog updated- but we've had a lot going on the past few weeks. As I am sure most of you know, we found out on the day before Thanksgiving that we are having a baby girl!! Our Mom's went with us to the visit so we could all find out together. We are so excited and can't wait for her to be here.... well we can actually, 20 weeks to be exact. (or less) It was so amazing to be able to see the ultrasound and her moving around so much. It looked like she was doing the backstroke in there.... so busy moving. She was being a little stubborn at first because they tried for at least 20 minutes to see between her legs and she wasn't having it! I had to go see the Doctor for my check up, drink a soda and then come back for her to try again. That is when we saw it! She was weighing 8 oz. then and looking great I must say... a picture of her is below. You can see her face to the left and top of her belly with her fist in the top right.....

She (it's nice to say that now instead of "it") is measuring about 6 1/2" long now from crown to rump which is about the size of a large tomato. Her brain is designating areas for all of her senses this week and she is able to hear my voice, and of course the people around me. I have been feeling her move more now. Last Sunday I felt her moving for about 5 minutes or so. It was so great :) I am looking forward to Brent being able to feel her... I am surprised I don't feel her more after what she was doing during the ultrasound.

For week 18, I was weighing about 137 lbs, which is an overall 7 pound gain and my waist was 34", which is 4" larger than before. This looks very different from before- you can see my belly below! This is the 19 week picture because I forgot about doing it at 18 weeks, I was too excited about the baby :) I need to catch up on my 20 week measurements and picture.

I am having some trouble sleeping, or at least getting comfortable. I have a body pillow which helps, but my back and hips hurt when I am trying to sleep on my side. Besides not getting comfortable, I have to get up and use the restroom at least two or three times a night. But, this is not me complaining :) I think that lack of sleep in pregnancy is just preparing you for when the baby arrives.

Since I am a few weeks behind on pictures and measurements, I will try to get those updated soon! We are going to start on the nursery soon and register! I'm very excited about getting everything all set up! See you back in a few weeks....

Weeks 15 & 16

The baby is growing big now! Most of the features are already formed and organs are starting to work. For week 15, the baby is about 4 inches long (head to rear) and weighs about 2.5 ounces. This doesn't seem like much, but I was eating a Reese's cup this morning (after my breakfast!) and it weighs .75 ounces, so it's about 3.5 Reese cups :) Which actually has some weight to it... I know not much but it is nice to have something to compare it to. 

The baby is moving around a lot now and he or she's legs are growing longer than the arms and all of the joints are able to move now. The taste buds and lungs are starting to develop also. I read that the baby can sense light, even though the eyelids are still fused shut, and if you shine a flashlight on your belly the baby will move away from the light inside.. isn't that cool? Brent thinks it is cruel so we haven't done it... I have been craving a lot of spicy foods- of course if you didn't guess already cheese dip with jalapenos. I am so happy that I don't hate it during pregnancy. I was a little scared at first when I wasn't feeling well- but we are all clear now! :) 

The weather got really chilly this week and I came down with a cold. It wasn't terrible, but I did rest a lot and try to take it easy. I didn't go to work on Friday and slept most of the morning which was needed and I think helped a lot. Saturday was our 5 year wedding anniversary! It's hard to believe that we've been married for 5 years, but they have been wonderful. 

Here is a picture we took during week 15. (I'm sorry we forgot to close the toilet seat, ha)

This Tuesday was the mark of week 16! Which if you go by the first week of pregnancy, this means that I am in the middle of being 4 months pregnant- gosh that seems weird. (the calendar I saw uses some months as 4 weeks and some as 5, but I am sure there are lots of different ones out there) I have read and heard that this week may be the beginning of starting to feel the baby move- maybe not for a few more weeks, but there is a possibility. I haven't felt anything yet and if I have I surely didn't know what it was. I am really looking forward to that moment... I find myself going back to listen to the heartbeat we recorded from our 14 week appointment on my phone and just grinning while it plays- it makes me so happy! 

The baby this week is 4 1/2" long and about 3.5 ounces- which if we use the Reese's cup weight again, that is almost 5 Reese cups! He/she is growing so much now each week. The baby is compared to the size of an avocado. There are a few external things going on this week- the legs are growing longer, the body is developing tiny hairs all over, the scalp is starting to pattern, the eyes and ears are moving towards their final position, the head is sitting more up on the neck and the heart is pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day! As the baby grows the blood volume will grow too. The doctor said that I would start gaining more weight now too which I noticed I have! My weight is up to 135.5 pounds, which is a total 5.5 pound gain. My waist is also measuring 33" which is a total of 3" in growth. I can tell and feel that my waist is lost now and more straight than before. Most of my clothes are still fitting, just my pants aren't buttoning or even being able to zip any longer. Thank goodness for the belly band that covers them being open and holds them up! What a great invention. I have a few maternity clothes that I am starting to wear but not enough for every day of the week yet. 

The doctor told me at our last visit that I could start to jog again if I wanted to. I've been walking but have really missed being able to run. This week my Mom and I ran (and walked) about 2 miles two different times and it felt great. I am out of breath a lot quicker now but being able to walk when needed is perfect. I am being very careful to take it easy and not overdo it. I am just glad to be able to move around! Although, I must say running is VERY different while pregnant. Not only do I feel slightly heavier, but it is weird having something new in your body and feeling your belly move around since it hasn't before. The doctor has assured us that the baby can't feel a thing and it won't hurt anything to run. I have felt fine since doing this and plan to continue a few times a week- as long as it isn't freezing outside! 

Below is the picture from week 16. 

I will have more photos to post on my next entry at week 18- that is when we go back for a sonogram and get to see our baby again and to find out the gender-- so if anyone has any guesses I would love to hear them :) See you in a few weeks...

Week 14

It is hard to believe are at week 14 already. Well, actually today is 14 weeks and 3 days. Time really is going by pretty fast considering we are in our 2nd trimester already. I feel like we just found out we were pregnant a few days ago. But, it is feeling very real now and as my body keeps changing, it is more noticeable too. Most of my clothes are still fitting pretty good. My pants won't button but to be honest it is more comfortable that way anyways! I think Brent is starting to really "feel" like we are pregnant too as my belly grows. He stopped in the kitchen the other day and just looked at it with a smile and rubbed it... :)

 This week the baby is the size of a lemon, about 4" long and weighs about 1 1/2 ounces. Its head is now sitting more up on its neck and the body is growing faster than the head now. It can squint, move its mouth, urinate, and even could be sucking its thumb- if it is anything like me! The liver has started making bile this week and the spleen is helping in produce lots of red blood cells. I read in my book that if you feel right about your pelvis you can feel your uterus, a round shape. One night we were on the couch and I was laying back and feeling around, pushing around lightly, trying to find this shape in my body and Brent looks over at me and says "STOP IT" and I started laughing immediately because I knew exactly why he said that. He then said "STOP, that isn't good for the baby, you don't want to hurt it". :) so sweet (and funny)

We had our check up yesterday at the Doctor's office. We were seeing a different doctor this time, Dr. Durso. They say they like for you to see all the delivery doctors in the office just in case one of them is the one to deliver you if Jeri (our doctor) isn't there. He was very nice and I really liked him because he told Brent I could have as much ice cream as I wanted because it was a good source of calcium! So now he is my best friend. :)

This appointment was just a check-up. He went over my medical history, told me I was in good shape and could start running again and it was completely safe for the baby to do so, told me to get the FLU shot, and that I should start gaining more weight now. I weighed in at 133 lbs, 3 lbs total gain, and my waist is measuring 32 1/4" this week (1/4" larger than 2 weeks ago). I feel like I am getting larger outwards instead of wide. My mom said she thought my hips were about the same (filling in some of course) but that I was moving outwards. We have been measuring Brent too and he has stayed pretty consistent with his weight and measurements- let's see if that changes! We also got to hear the baby's heartbeat, which is the best sound in the world. It didn't take him anytime to find it... he just put the Doppler on my lower abdomen and there it was....We recorded it also so now I can listen to it whenever I want- which can be comforting waiting for the next appointment... the baby's heartbeat was 155 bpm. Below is the recording if you want to listen. (It is actually a video that shows the ceiling in the exam room- LOL)

We also took the 14 week pictures that are below.

Some say that you can feel your baby move around 16 weeks or so. That is so exciting to think I may be able to feel that soon. We have decided that we want to find out the sex of the baby- I thought I liked the idea of a surprise but I am just having a fit to go buy something and get the nursery started and that is VERY hard without knowing the sex.

We set our next appointment for 18 weeks and that is when they will do another sonogram and tell us the sex. We haven't had a sonogram since week 6 so things are going to look very different. The appointment is set for November 21st, right before Thanksgiving! We hope to share that great news with everyone shortly after! So, until next time- :)

12 weeks

I am a few days late this week with an update. I forgot to take my measurements and a picture on Tuesday so I had to set a reminder on my phone to do it yesterday. Maybe that is part of the P-Brain (pregnancy brain) we used to tease Brittany about all the time :) I have noticed little things that I am forgetting... but nothing too major which is good so far I guess.... 

I have been feeling good this week. The nausea is pretty much completely gone now and mostly I feel like I have plenty of energy. I have started back going to some work out classes (at a very low impact rate) I was doing before and still walking a few times a week, usually about 2.5 miles each time. The weather has been so nice it feels great! I am hoping that I can get permission from the doctor at our next appointment to start running/jogging a little bit. Not running 10 miles or anything, but just about 2 or 3, or whatever my body can handle. Maybe even just a walk and jog would be nice- I just don't like not being able to do something. The workout class I started back going to is called Ripped- a little hand weights and cardio stuff. I just don't do any of the jumping around stuff, but instead do the moves without jumping! 

I had a weird thing happen to me on Monday morning. I did my "usual" of getting settled into work and then get my breakfast ready. I am hungry much earlier now so I eat much sooner than before. Plus I am not getting full on coffee anymore so I am sure that has something to do with it. So I went to the sink to wash off my spoon and all the sudden felt like I may throw up. I didn't smell or see anything that triggered that feeling, just came out of no where. So, I figured I should probably go to the restroom just in case. I didn't want to be hovered over a trash can as faculty and students walked by the break room. A very good decision on my part as right when I got the restroom I got sick. It lasted just a minute or so and of course it feels horrible at the time, but then a few minutes later I was fine. So strange...... 

We are now 12 weeks pregnant. Very hard to believe the first trimester is almost over! The baby is about 2 1/2" long this week. About the size of a large plum! It is so cute too, or what my book says it looks like is really cute :) It weighs about 1/2 oz. It's organs like the small intestine are starting to work, its opening and closing its mouth, hands and little fingers, and it can even squint. Also our book says that if you push on your stomach where the baby is, he/she can feel it and is moving around. We are really wondering if it is a boy or a girl.... so excited to know! My waist is now measuring 32" inches (the same from 10 weeks) so a 2" inch growth from the beginning. Brent's waist is also the same from 10 weeks, he was happy about that :) The picture from this week is below...

It is nice now that I don't feel like I am keeping secret from everyone and I can just talk about it whenever I want and tell anyone I want! Most people that I work with know now and our friends all know. It is very exciting- and now the "shock" factor that we are actually pregnant has gone away it is part of our life. I must say that I have the BEST husband in the world- he has really been very sweet to me and is making sure that I have what I need, I'm getting enough rest, feeling okay, and of course making sure I am not eating too much cheese dip (if that is even possible) LOL. He really has started helping with more stuff around the house and just being great and I really appreciate it and love him!

We will see you back here in the next week or so with more updates and another picture! :)

Week 11...

This has been a good week! I feel like one morning I woke up and my stomach just wasn't the same- I have a baby bump- and I Love It! At first it wasn't so noticeable in the mornings, but "grew" as the day went on... but now it is there.... really neat.

The baby is now the size of a large lime. Its head is about half the size of it's body. (That is because it's going to be so smart!) It looks more like a baby now with arms, legs, facial features, hair follicles, and its moving around like taking water aerobics :) It's boy or girl parts are developing and will be complete in the next few weeks and we will be able to see at our 18 week appointment (hopefully).

This past weekend my family had some pictures taken and Brent and I got a chance to take a few also... below are our favorites! See you next week with more updates!

10 Weeks

Monday night, Brent and I read our new chapter in our weekly pregnancy book. It was really neat to see that the baby actually looks like a baby. It has fingers and toes, long legs and arms, all of the internal organs are developed and functioning, it is between 1 1/4" and 1 3/4" long, about the size of a small plum. The eyelids are fused shut until around week 27 or 28. The baby actually weighs something now too, about a quarter of an ounce. Also, peach fuzz is starting to grow on the skin..... 

Yesterday we had our 10 week check up at the doctor's office. My Mom got to come with us and it was great! We got to hear the little heart beat through the Doppler. It was a little hard to find and a little to the left of my belly button, and much lower. Once the doctor found it, it was so clear to hear and made me smile! It was in the 160 bpm range- They also weighed me and I am now at 131 lbs. This is 1 pound less than last time- but I am assuming it is because of my appetite. Which- is now slowly coming back and the nausea is starting to go away. Thank goodness for that! I'm ready to ditch these saltine crackers for good. All of my blood work came back in normal ranges and looked good. My waist is measuring 32" and most of my pants are getting tight in waist, so I have been keeping them unbuttoned, otherwise they fit great still. Below is our 10 week picture:

Our next appointment will be at the 14 week mark and then again at 18 weeks. At the 18 week appointment we will get to do another sonogram and see how the baby is growing and find out if it is a boy or girl :) So, until next time....

Week 8

It is so awesome to think we are 8 weeks along now, a whole 2 months of being pregnant! Wow. Sometimes it still can be a little bit of a shocker when I really think about it. It is amazing just knowing what is growing inside of me. I have been reading Your Pregnancy, Week by Week and love it so far. It breaks down each little thing that is going on with the baby by weeks so it is easy to read. Brittany recommended this book over any others and she was right, it is great! My wonderful Mom (soon to be grandma!) bought it for me as my first pregnancy gift! J

This week the baby is between ½” to ¾” long, about the size of a pinto bean or kidney bean. The arms and legs are growing long and webbed fingers and toes are poking out. More than likely they will not stay webbed for long- unless this child is going to be like my Mom, Alex or Catherine. Ha! The eyelids are almost completely covering the eyes. The brains nerve cells are growing rapidly and connecting with one another.

I have been feeling waves of nausea and haven’t really craved anything so far. Except this morning a guy I work with brought in jalapeno spicy Cheetos and they were amazing. I can’t quit thinking about them now! I have really not felt like eating meat- it is kind of sad. Last night Brent made tacos and I couldn’t stand to look at the ground beef, much less eat it. So I have a grilled cheese instead. Bland foods like mashed potatoes and mac-n-cheese have really been good to me. We also bought a juicer this weekend so I have been making a smoothie every morning to make sure I am getting plenty of fruits and veggies. I really like them!

I feel like I am showing some- most of my clothes still fit. I just have to unbutton them as the day goes on if they get tight. Below is our 8 week picture- and my stomach is measuring 30". (Which is what it was measuring 2 weeks ago too)

 

One thing I have really noticed is it feels like the size of my bladder has decreased by 100. I get up in the middle of the night like 4 times and during the day lots too. I do feel tired often, but am starting to feel better during the day if I can keep the nausea away. I keep saltines on my desk and have enjoyed drinking decaf Earl Gray tea… yum!

After our first doctor’s appointment, we discussed me still being able to run some. Not train for another marathon, but run shorter distances. She said that was fine since I was already pretty active. Last week, my Mom and I ran for the first time since I found out I was pregnant. It felt great, until the next morning when I started spotting some. It worried me, but went away after almost two days. I have since decided to hold off running until we get further along. It made me really nervous and I don’t think I can deal with that each time. So for now, I will stick to walking.

Until next week.....

6 weeks and counting...

We had our first doctor's appointment yesterday. It was so awesome to be able to finally go to this appointment. I felt like it took forever for the date to get here! It was a very long (over 2 hours) and informative appointment. We got to talk to my doctor and get all of our questions answered, ran several blood tests, went over family history, insurance information, got a goodie bag of fun stuff, and most importantly- got to have a sonogram!!!! The baby is healthy and growing. It has a steady heartbeat of 118 bpm. The images below are from the appointment- it is very small still, the size of a sweet pea. :)

We did also find out that we are 6 weeks and 2 days (today). Originally they thought it was closer to 8 weeks, but the ultrasound confirmed 6 weeks and 2 days!!! Which means, we are due on April 23, 2013. So, mark your calendars!!

I think I have really enjoyed "knowing" that I'm pregnant because I have gained 2 pounds in the two weeks! My beginning weight (or as of about 4 weeks pregnant) was 130 lbs. As of 6 weeks, I am 132 lbs and 30" around my belly. (around my belly button) We are going to keep up with Brent's weight gain also, but we haven't measured him yet!

Our next appointment is around the 10 week mark on September 27th at 4:30pm. We will make sure to post more updates before then! See you soon....

Welcome !

Welcome to our blog! You must know by now the reason we have a blog… we are going to be parents!  Or as Brent has started calling me his “Baby Mama” so I guess that makes him my “Baby Daddy”…

I have never written a blog before but really like the idea of having a “central point” for updates!

As of Monday of this week I am 8 weeks pregnant. It still doesn’t feel real but I like saying this! We have known for about a week and half… it all started on Wednesday, August 15^th. I decided the day before that I would take a pregnancy test if I was still “late”. So when I woke up I took the test before getting in the shower and figured I would just look at the result once I got out of the shower. I was in the shower thinking about “what if” (a game that Brent hates to play with me) and then just told myself “Vanessa, you have done this before and it was negative so just quit playing this game, get out of the shower and go to work”. So, I got out of the shower, put my contacts in and looked over at a pregnancy test that had a faint positive sign on it. I stopped and stared at it for probably 5 minutes thinking, “Oh my gosh- it has always just been negative, what does this mean?”.  I figured I would call the Health Clinic at work but they were closed for the week due to classes starting back up the next week so I called my doctor’s office. They told me to come in the office and they would do a test. I had to wait until around 2pm when they got back from lunch and I could slip out of the office to take the test. I don’t think I did any work that day!

Well after confirming at the doctor’s office and setting up our first real appointment, I had to go back to work! I was thinking the whole time how I was going to tell Brent. I had a meeting after work so I wasn’t going to get home until around 7pm or so. I picked up dinner on the way home and luckily, Brent was in the shower when I arrived. I had decided how I was going to tell him! I ran inside and threw dinner on the table and was trying to hurry before he got out of the shower. I bought a card, sippy cup and got one of Brent’s old ninja turtles kids plates out of the cabinet and set up a 3^rd seat at the table. I was so nervous about Brent coming out of the room- it seemed like he was taking so much time to come out. So, I walked in the bathroom and said hi to him and was standing there talking to him. He noticed something was going on because when I helped him pick up something off the floor he asked me “have you been drinking?”. LOL, I said no and tried to calm down some then.

He walked out of the room and walked right past the table into the kitchen, and nothing! He didn’t even notice. Then, he came back out and saw the table. I was standing in the hallway looking at him and he slowly walked up to the table, saw the cup and plate and said, “what is this?”. He saw the card laying there and picked it up as I was holding back tears, opened it and read the first sentence…..”You’re going to be a great father…..” and looked at me in shock and said “For real?” and I said “yes, for real”.  This makes me tear up just typing it because it was so sweet. Then we ate dinner and he looked like a deer in headlights the whole time! Which to be honest, it still is so new it feels weird.

So we then had a quick discussion of when to tell family. Our first appointment wasn’t until the 29^th so we wanted to wait until after that, but we were heading to Florida the next day for our Niece’s 2^nd birthday party. We knew that this would be the only chance that side of the family would be together in a while. So we made a quick decision to drive to my parent’s house that night to tell them (there was no way we could wait the whole weekend and not tell them) and then we would tell the others during our visit. We had to wait till the weekend was over to tell my sisters by Skype when we got home. We had to stress to everyone that we were waiting until our doctor’s appointment to tell anyone else. It is so hard keeping this a secret-  We are going to tell the grandparents and maybe some close friends this week or next. (But, if you are reading this, then you know ) :)

We have been really wanting to tell other people about this.. it is very hard keeping this a secret. We had to return something to Ace Hardware over the weekend and when we went to checkout, the lady at the counter made a comment about us looking so young and Brent said, “I’m going to be 30 in a month” and the lady looked like she was going to hit the floor. Then she asked if we were brother and sister, and I said no “husband and wife” and she said “oh okay”. Then Brent rubbed my stomach and said, “and we have a little one on the way” and her face lit up! So I guess it isn’t a complete secret, the cashier at Ace Hardware knows also! (Which by the way, she was so nice Brent asked her to move to work at the one close to our house). HA!

I will plan to post the information from our appointment later with the updates on my weight, measurements and a photo! :)