16 weeks

And now for our weekly update from babycenter.com.....

Get ready for a groth spurt! In the next few weeks, your baby will double it's weight and add inches to its length. Right now, Baby is the size of an avocado, about 4.5 inches in length and 3.5 ounces. Legs are more developed, and the head is more erect than it has been, eyes have moved closer to the front of the head. The ears are close to their final position, too. The patterning of Baby's scalp has begun, though locks aren't recognizable yet. Baby is even starting to grow toenails. And there is a lot happening inside as well- The heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, and this amount continues to increase as Baby continues to develop.

Soon we can look forward to one of the most wonderful moments of pregnancy- feeling the baby move. Some women notice "quickening" as early as 16 weeks, but many don't feel the baby move until 18-20 weeks. The earliest movements may feel like flutters, gas bubbles, or even popcorn popping. Over the following weeks they'll grow stronger and you'll feel them much more frequently.

Here is my tummy...

This picture isn't a great one, only because I don't think I look any bigger than last week, in fact I maybe look smaller.... I can assure you I am not! But I think I like to wear these shirts because they are more flattering for my belly than some, but apparently they don't help in showing the progress of my baby bump!

I don't know if I have truly experienced this "quickening" yet. There were a few times while at work I noticed a different feeling in my lower abdomen, but I think it could also easily be mistaken for gas. The times I think I may notice it more than others are early in the morning, when I am half awake, I think I feel movements... then I wake up fully and it seems like nothing is there. So maybe I am just hopeful, and dreaming of feeling our baby move. It is hard to imagine what is going on in there. With an appointment only every 4 weeks, and just a tiny heartbeat to hear while we are there, it can be worrysome waiting for the next appointment- I just want to know that everything is going ok all the time! So when I feel these movements, I think it will help ease some tension. Because as I'm sure any mother naturally does, I already am so in love with our little baby to be, I am just so anxious to know he/she is growing and healthy and happy....

Our next appointment is September 10th, and after that we will schedule our ultrasound for the first week in October- I am so excited!!

New Things

So in the last few weeks, we have managed to get a new 42" TV for a steal of a price from a friend, we also found a really nice desk (for free!) by our friends apartment dumpster, we got a puppy from a friend (puppy was free, we're just paying for his new stuff, finishing his shots, etc.), and yesterday we got a new sectional couch from a friend for a steal of a price as well. We also spent some time yesterday with a friend of our from Pine Lake Middle School/Issaquah High school. She lived in New Orleans a few years ago, and comes back to visit often, so she made the drive out to Lafayette yesterday to hang out with us for lunch, and she brought us a quilt for the baby that she made- it is beautiful. Life is good! I hardly recognize our living room anymore with new furniture, couch, 2 dogs playing constantly, etc. So I figured in my excitement I would post some pictures of the goodies that we have gained.....

The sectional couch... it's a bit worn, but it has a recliner on each end, and a hide-a-bed on the longer side. Pardon my messy house....

And the TV we got last week.... a much welcomed improvement to our lovely 20". Our friend wasn't using it, so he sold it to us at a great price.

Here is the quilt that Stephanie made for Baby.....

Beautiful isn't it? It makes me want to pick up quilting. I tried a while back, and I didn't have the patience for any finished projects.

Here are some pics of our doggies...

Meet Jax! He is about 10 weeks and currently 7 lbs, a miniature pinscher/toy rat terrier mix. He is sweet as candy, and loves Mike and I as much as he loves Buddy. He's also very bright, just as most terriers are. He is still a puppy, so he is a bit of a handful, but he is already learning to sit, stay, etc with a lot of Buddy's help : )

Here are Buddy and Jax together in our kitchen.

Here is my sweet boy Buddy, looking all grown up and noble now that he has a puppy to teach.

Jax, being cute. He has something stuck on his nose it looks like....

Me and Jax.... ignore my pregnancy-induced breakout all over my face LOL

A few of Jax being cute playing with his toys, treats, etc.

And my all time favorite.....

A great picture I captured of Buddy and Jax playing rough. Vicious looking, aren't they?

15 weeks... and a bit of life in general

I meant to post last week separately from my preggo posts about the life of Mike and Jenn aside from pregnancy, but I never finished it. I was tired of typing on the computer at the time. I will just do a brief summary of what I intended to write about- We spent a lot of my vacation week working on the yard, which was fun. We weeded out the circle in our front year that has roses in it (we kind of let it go pretty bad), and laid down some weed cover and white rocks, so now it looks pretty : ) And we are trying to figure out this citrus tree in our backyard- at first we thought it was limes, but the other day we cut one open- it is orange on the inside and smells like a tangerine, but the skin is still dark green, and they seem "ripe"- the pulp of the fruit buldges out when you cut it with juice. But it is sour tasting- with just a bit of sweetness. Thought maybe they would get riper, and turn orange, but they seem so ripe now..... we are thinking they are some sort of hybrid, because I looked it up and couldn't find anything. Here is a picture:

Any ideas?? We are a bit baffled. But our friend Angelo did use them to cook some chicken in, and let me tell you, it was delicious. Remember my cravings for meat and citrus fruits? Yup, hit the spot : D

Anyways, can't think of much else interesting going on in life now. Onto the 15 week description from babycenter.com....

Your growing baby now measure about 4 inches long crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2.5 ounces, about the size of an apple (or navel orange according to thebump.com). Baby is busy moving amniotic fluid through the nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps primitive air sacs in the lungs develop. Legs have grown longer than arms now, and baby can move all its joints and limbs. Although eyelids are fused shut, baby can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, baby is likely to move away from the beam. There's not much for your baby to taste at this point, but taste buds are starting to form. Finally, if you have an ultrasound this week, you may be able to find out whether your baby is a boy or a girl! Don't be too disappointed if it remains a mystery though- nailing down baby's sex depends on the clarity of the picture and on baby's position. He or she may be modestly curled up or turned in such a way to "hide the goods."

As for me, my energy is starting to come back- I mowed the whole lawn by myself today! That is a first since becoming pregnant. I usually have Mike or one of the other boys here do half for me, or if no one is home, I only mow the front : D But today I did the whole thing, and he only did the weed-eater. I was so proud of myself! But here are a few things that helped with that- for one, it is a bit less muggy today than it has been in a while; two, our neighbor did mow a portion of our side lawn on his side the other day, so I got to skip that part. But here is my tummy at 15 weeks:

Baby is getting heavy to me. I can feel my tummy stretching a bit, and I had to get a body pillow for my hips at night. I can feel them moving out of their normal placing, and they get achy and sore at night when I am sleeping. Mike has started contemplating sleeping on the couch... : ( Apparently I am beginning to take over the bed a lot at night.

That's all I got for now. Time for breakfast and a normal Sunday routine of laundry and hanging out at home being lazy!

14 weeks

Welcome to the second trimester! Doctor says our risk of losing the baby at this point is less than 1%, so we are so excited to think about welcoming this baby into our life in less than 6 months!

According to babycenter.com......

This weeks big developments are that Baby can squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly even suck its thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, facial muscles are getting a workout as these tiny features form one expression after another. Kidneys are producing urine, which releases into the amniotic fluid around the baby, a process that remains until birth. Baby is stretching out now (note: as you can see in my belly picture LOL!) and now measures 3.5 inches head to bottom, about the size of a lemon, and weighs about 1.5 ounces. The body is growing faster than the head, which now sits upon a more distinct neck. But the end of this week, the arms will have grown to a length that is in proportion to the rest of the body (legs will still have some catching up to do). Baby is also starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair, called lanugo, all over its body. The liver starts making bile this week- a sign that its doing its job right- and the spleen starts helping in the production of red blood cells. Though you can't feel the tiny punches and kicks yet, baby's little hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active.

Things have been going well for me this week- I was on vacation from work, so my back pain was minimal to none all week! Yey! I have still been hungry constantly, but we went to our 14 week appointment on Thursday and it seems I am still gaining weight at a healthy rate, so I just have to keep doing what I am doing to be healthy and comfortable. Mike and I just keep saying our baby is strong like a bull and "eats" like a horse, so it's all we can ask for : D

I am scheduled to go back to the doctor again in 4 weeks, and then our appointment after that he said is when we will schedule the ultrasound to see what we are having. Bets, anyone? Here are some clues, if you are superstitious: I have been craving milk, meat (especially hamburger), citrus fruits and things flavored like citrus (lime, lemon, orange, grapefruit), and chocolate. I seem to be carrying a little high, but you can be the judge of that from the pictures. Any ideas? I had some dreams around weeks 7-9 about a girl, and I was convinced at that time. But then my mom was having dreams about it being a boy, Mike is convinced it's a boy, and lately I can't get the song "Beautiful Boy" by John Lennon out of my head..... So now I am not so sure. We will know for sure by October 8th (that would be 8 weeks from my last appointment (being that we see the doctor regularly every 4 weeks) but I am wondering that since I will be 21 weeks, 5 days at that point, if the ultrasound will be scheduled then, or possibly closer to 20 weeks, which would be anytime after September 26th. Either way, we will keep you posted.

13 weeks... and time for a VACATION

Heading into the second trimester.... according to What to Expect When You're Expecting, it will be next week, but according to thebump.com, it's in this week.... either way, I am getting bigger while Baby continues to grow : D

I have been reading both babycenter.com, and thebump.com, and they say baby is about the size of a medium shrimp, or a small peach.... about 2.9 inches, and almost an ounce.

Instead of quoting from the website, I will just compile some info from both sites- neither have a whole lot, so I will combine the two. Baby has finger prints now! And vocal chords are beginning to form. Baby is really working on getting bigger at this point- right now the head is about 1/3 the size if the body, almost to normal proportions. And the intestines are moving from the umbilical chord into baby's tummy. I am so excited to find out if it's a boy or a girl, so I can start using a name, and saying he or she!! I feel weird slipping with one or the other, like I feel bad if our baby is a boy and I accidently call him "she," etc.

As far as Mom goes, I have been going to my PT, which I think is helping. I still have sciatic pains, but it is more bearable now, and the exercises they are having me do are good for my already weakened lower back anyway, to prepare as I am getting larger. I still haven't gained too much weight, I don't think. Between weeks 5 and 9, I gained 2-3 lbs, which the doctor said is perfect. I have been checking my weight, since I am growing so fast and getting bigger than I expected at this time, to make sure it isn't me just pigging out and getting fat because I can- if my scale is right, then I have still only gained about 2-3 lbs since 9 weeks, and my next appointment is this Thursday, so I should be good. It has been tricky, because I was lucky enough to never have morning sickness, and I have been crazy hungry, so I have really been trying to eat healthy so as not to gain too much weight- with low back problems and too-weak abdominal muscles, gaining too much weight would be worse for me than beneficial. What's tricky about it isn't eating too much- it's the fact that I crave cookies and ice cream and greasy french fries and burgers and pizza. It's ok, I have also been craving meat and fruit, so I have been going with that- healthier meat options (chicken and homemade meals with hamburger meat rather than McDonalds) and tons of fruit- I usually have an apple, peach, grapes, strawberries, plum, blueberries... all in one day!

So enough about my food options- this week is vacation week!! I don't go back to work until August 17th, whoopee!! I was planning on heading to Austin this morning with Buddy to relax and spend some time with Angelia, but of course (the story of my life) Mike wrote me online this morning to say he will be home today, which is unexpected. We were pretty sure he would be working on the job he was at for at least another week. So of course I didn't want to drive 6 hours by myself that way at 11 am, just to have Mike come home at 7 pm and miss him. As of now, not sure still when he will be here, but it should be sometime tonight, and we will leave for Austin tonight or tomorrow morning. I have my appointment on Thursday, so I was planning on heading back home on Wednesday but we will see... I am off all week, so maybe they won't mind if I reschedule and take my time getting back home.

I am just so excited to finally relax this week! Work has been a little tricky, with changing managers and all, and I am trying to be motivated at work to actually perform well- I went through a bit of a slump, when I was just getting up and going there because I had to, and didn't want to try at all. Now I am trying to do my best while I am there- it makes it easier to go there everyday, when I have a goal to do my job well, rather than my goal just being getting home at night.

Buddy is crying... apparently it is time to take him outside! Stayed tuned for week 14!

12 weeks

Ok, so I didn't post anything about 11 weeks... to be honest I was pretty grumpy all last week, with our A/C still being out, and physical therapy being more expensive than I had anticipated, among the regular drag of the work week, I honestly didn't feel like blogging.This week however I am in a much better mood- they came and installed our new air conditioner on Thursday- they were here for about 12 hours, can you believe that? Apparently it is an all day job. But it is up and running now, and doing a lovely job of cooling our entire house. Mike and I will be paying for it until our baby becomes a 4 year old, but what other choice did we have? After 2 weeks in a 90+ degree house, we did what we had to. We are trying to see if it is something our insurance will cover, but I am not keeping my hopes up for that.

As for the 11 week marker that I missed, the only things important to know is our baby was more than 1.5 inches, about the size of a fig, and that baby is starting to kick and stretch and hiccup, although it's still much too small for me to feel yet.

For 12 weeks, here is my regular synopsis from babycenter.com....

The most dramatic development this month is reflexes. Baby's fingers will soon be able to open and close, toes will curl, eye muscles will clench, and its mouth will make sucking movements. In fact, if you prod your abdomen, your baby will squirm in response, although you won't be able to feel it. Intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into the abdominal cavity about now, and the kidneys will begin excreting urine into the bladder. Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and in your baby's brain, synapses are forming furiously. Baby's face now looks unquestionable human: eyes have

moved from the sides of the head to the front, and ears are right where they should be. From crown to rump, Baby is just over 2 inches long, about the size of a lime and weighs a half an ounce.

I am feeling pretty good still... A lot of my symptoms are mellowing out. I have more energy that I did before (most of the time!) and I don't notice the sense of smell thingy anymore. I have been going to PT for my lower back/sciatica, and it seems to be helping. I am going to find a good pregnant pilates or yoga DVD this weekend. And I have been trying to take my omega 3 supplement with my prenatals, but it makes me taste bad fish about an hours after I take it, and it doesn't go away for several hours. I am thinking about trying to take it with my last meal of the day, or with a snack before bed, so I am sleeping during the gross-tasting part, but we will see. The only things I have been taking regularly so far have been my prenatals and calcium, but the omega 3/DHA is supposed to be really good for the growing baby's brain and eyes, and I honestly don't eat much fish, so a supplement is one of the only things you can find that in.

Here is my belly at 11 weeks.... a non preggo shirt, so unfortunately it just makes me look chunky

And here I am today, at 12 weeks : D

I had to take this one by myself because Mike went back to work (along with the other 2 divers we live with) and Josh is in WA, so I have the whole house to myself this week! I am kind of enjoying it a little. I miss Mike, of course, but I am making the most out of it- I have been turning my music up loud and not worrying about if I am in my underwear or not, it's kind of freeing : D

Well, it's off to do housework before going to my friend Annie's bridal shower and bachelorette party tonight (I'm DD, isn't that nice?) I cleaned quite a bit last weekend, so I shouldn't have too much to do today except laundry, kitchen, etc. Have a nice weekend!!