18 Weeks

Leaving on a jet plane...

How far along are you?: 18 weeks!

How I'm feeling: Besides being coughy, congested, and stuffy this past week I feel great baby-wise. It just sucks being sick and pregnant.

How big is baby?: Today, a sweet potato. Tomorrow, a mango!

Maternity clothes: Yes, yes, yes!

Stretch marks?: Nope. 

Sleep: I have been waking up 1-5 times a night due to coughing and being sick, but I think I'm about over that. Hoping to get a full night's sleep in again soon!

Best moment this week: We leave tonight for Arizona! Consider this our birthday/Valentine's Day/babymoon. I can't wait for warm weather!

Movement: Still feeling flutters occasionally. Nothing consistent yet.

Food cravings: Still varies by day, but usually something salty.

Food aversions: None. 

Labor signs: No.

Belly button in or out: In.

What I miss: Being able to take the real-deal medicine. Options are limited these days and frankly, they don't get the job done.

What I'm looking forward to: Leaving for Arizona tonight for a long weekend and our gender scan next week!

Milestone: Monday was my 27th birthday. This is the year I will meet my baby. This blows my mind.

Don't forget to cast your vote in our Team Pink or Team Blue poll below!

Pink or Blue?

To keep me occupied while we wait...

Another lovely mama-to-be, Pam, posted the same poll to her blog and I knew I had to copy her immediately!

Here is a list of some old wives' tales and what they "say" to thoroughly confuse your vote:

Heartbeat: Has been in the 160-170's. GIRL.

Cravings: More salty than sweet. BOY.

Morning Sickness: Some nausea but no actual, physical sickness. BOY.

Moody/Happy: Shawn just told me last night that he thinks I'm handling the pregnancy "well" and that I've been in a good mood. We'll go with that. BOY.

Skin: I've always be lucky to have nice skin. Until I got pregnant. They say little ladies "steal your beauty." GIRL.

Sleep: I've been sleeping mostly on my right side. GIRL.

Headaches: Yes. Lots. BOY.

Needle/Thread: A coworker who has a "winning" streak of 15 years did the needle and thread trick on me. The result? BOY.

Mama: What do I think? Ha. I am just as clueless as these old wives tales ;) If you made me guess I would say boy, but I honestly do not have a strong feeling either way. I wouldn't be shocked if Baby B turns out to be a BOY or a GIRL... how's that for neutral?

So it's safe to say my body,  brain, and the old wives who tell their tales are not leaning one way or another. Inconclusive. I guess they have a 50/50 shot at being right though!

So what's your vote? Click here to let us know!

We will be finding out next Thursday, February 21!

Year 27

At age 23 I graduated college and got engaged. A year later at 24 I was married. Year 25 Shawn and I moved back home to PA and then at 26 we bought a house to make our home. Now, in my 27th year, we will be welcoming a new addition into our family. Life has been busy, yet beautiful. I am feeling so blessed.

16 Weeks

16 weeks

How far along are you?: 16 weeks... cannot believe I am 4 months already.

How I'm feeling: Good! No complaints. I feel very fortunate that I've had such an easy pregnancy thus far. Hopefully that doesn't mean labor and delivery is going to make up for lost time ;) 

How big is baby?: An avocado! My favorite! And you better believe my coworkers and I are ordering Chipotle today in celebration.

Maternity clothes: Thanks to Katie I am completely set for maternity clothes! I am loving the maternity jeans and their stretchy waist... I want to wear them like, forever. I am still wearing mostly non-maternity tops.

Stretch marks?: Nope. 

Sleep: I can't complain.

Best moment this week: I think the bump has officially shown itself for good! Also....

Movement: Another best moment. I think *think* I have felt movement while lying in bed one night this week. It felt kind of like popcorn popping very lightly. I'm not positive, but I'm going to go with it ;) Definitely not consistent yet though.

Food cravings: Whatever I feel like that day. Nothing in particular!

Food aversions: None really. 

Labor signs: No.

Belly button in or out: Innie.

What I miss: Zumba. I did take one (and a half) classes at the new gym I joined. These classes are much lower impact than my old Zumba classes so I can usually do it with modifications. I got too overheated the last time I tried though. I miss shakin' it!

What I'm looking forward to: A birthday weekend/"babymoon" to Arizona! We are just going for a long weekend but I cannot wait! Also, we have our gender ultrasound on February 21!

Milestone: The "flutters" - if that's what they were ;)

15 Weeks

Yesterday was my 15 week check up and although I always get anxious for these appointments, thankfully all is well. "Perfect" even - in my doctor's words. Even my weight is good which is something I really struggled with in the beginning of my pregnancy. I went from counting points and/or calories for almost two years straight to feeling nauseous all day long - where the only thing that helped was eating (mostly carbs) all day long. So to say I packed on the pounds in my first trimester would be an understatement, but I'm happy that it seems to be under control now that the nausea is gone.

Baby B's heartbeat was 161 yesterday and has been high each time so far. The doctor was teasing Shawn telling him it's going to be a girl and "he's in trouble." He initially thought she was for real saying it was a girl and his reaction was priceless. That poor man would be a big pile of mush with a baby girl (which I would just love to see) but I honestly know he will be a wonderful father to either gender - which is one of the top reason I married the guy (along with love and trust and all that jazz).

I always feel a sense of relief after my appointments. I can't wait to feel the little one moving around in there - I feel like that will give me a bit of relief. Although I hear it's always something and the worry never ends. At least I can hope that it decreases a bit. Either way, bring on the flutters!

My second trimester has also seemed to bring along a feeling of being overwhelmed. Stretched. Exhausted. I don't know if this is normal or if I just have coping issues - but I feel like now that I'm a mama-to-be I have trouble completing my other life roles. It is hard for me to look past the most!important!thing!ever! and see that these other areas still are in need of my attention. Normal? I don't know. But I hope it gets better. I feel neglectful and sloppy. And I'm embarrassed to admit it. I hate feeling that way. Any coping or adjustment tips are welcomed. Until then, I will try and keep my head above water and enjoy this time. I know the best (and the most hectic) days are yet to come.

Happy weekend :)

14 Weeks

I struggle back and forth with trying to make these "bumpdate" posts original, but I guess when it comes down to it... there's not much room for imagination. Or at least I can't find that room. So I think I will stick with the usual questions that everyone uses for their posts (thanks, blog mamas) and throw in random things I think along the way.

14 weeks

How far along are you?: 14 weeks 

How I'm feeling: Good! My only real "complaint" would be the awful headaches I'm getting. Usually a little caffeine helps. 

How big is baby?: Today a lemon but I believe tomorrow changes to an orange! 

Maternity clothes: I have one pair of maternity skinnies and a couple tops that I wear. A few pairs of regular jeans fit me, some need a belly band. Thankfully I kept my bigger work pants (one size up) from when I lost weight, so I have been wearing those. 

Stretch marks?: Nope. 

Sleep: I sleep well most nights now with minimal bathroom breaks. Weekends I find myself sleeping in longer than I normally would. 

Best moment this week: Finally starting to see a "bump" instead of a "big lunch" - but this varies still. 

Movement: It's happening, but I can't feel it yet. 

Food cravings: Junk, junk, and more junk. I struggle with this. My cravings are mostly salty. I love mac and cheese and cheeseburgers. And Chipotle, but that's not really a pregnancy craving. 

Food aversions: None really. 

Labor signs: Thankfully, no. 

Belly button in or out: In! 

What I miss: Honestly? I would really like a glass of wine here and there.

What I'm looking forward to: My 15 week appointment next week - I just love hearing that sweet heartbeat! 

Milestone: Hitting the second trimester! Yay! 

And just for reference, here is a picture of my 4 week "bump" and my 14 week bump. You can tell the cami was a bit loose at 4 weeks, but obviously, that is no longer the case.

4 weeks vs 14 weeks - Something's growing :)

Happy Friday!

Baby B Details

First off I'd like to say how blessed and grateful we feel after all of the social media congratulations, OMGs, and excitement in general. Thank you all so much, and I look forward to (attempting) to document this pregnancy and beyond.

Let me just start by saying that finding out I was pregnant was nothing like I imagined it would be. I had it in my head that I would have all of these "symptoms" leading up to the day that just told me I was, in fact, with child. Not really the case. If we're being honest, I felt more "symptoms" in the months we didn't conceive - mind games, say what? But alas, here is our story...

The morning my monthly friend was due to arrive also happened to be a day I signed up to donate blood. If you're not up speed on your blood donation rules and regulations, it is strongly frowned upon to donate blood while pregnant. This was a Wednesday. November 7th to be exact. Well, logically I didn't want to test on a weekday. I wasn't worried about finding out I wasn't pregnant - I was worried about finding out that I was and how I would handle it and OMG how would I go into work?! But, in my twisted little mind I rationalized: A) I can't donate blood if I'm pregnant and B) I would feel like a jerk canceling my appointment only to find out I wasn't pregnant. Whatever, it made sense to me at the time.

So I had bought a bunch of cheapo tests off of Amazon because, um, have you seen the price of regular tests at drug stores? Ridiculous. So I took one. I took two. Neither were showing anything until after the window and then comes the question of evap lines. I wasn't convinced. I had no real symptoms outside of normal period symptoms, but for some reason I felt compelled to keep testing. So I dug out an old digital test I had. I was sure it would say "Not Pregnant" - everything I had read told me that digitals are less sensitive than regular dye tests (I was only 3w5d). Also, I discovered it had expired two months prior (surely making it even less likely to show me the results I had hoped for). Well, it blinked. And blinked. And then it told me I was pregnant. I even held it up to the light like you do with the two line tests and squinted to see if the "Not" was hiding somewhere... yeah, I wish I was kidding. But I'm not. And then I started texting my favorite Canadian mama-of-two Lindsay and Googling like crazy. Do I trust this two-month-expired test telling me I'm pregnant? Both Lindsay and Google told me if anything, an expired test would be more likely to give you a false negative before a false positive. I was still hesitant to believe it.

I decided this would be a good time to wake my husband up. "Shawn... I don't want to get too excited because this test is expired... but it's telling me I'm pregnant." He immediately wakes up and starts questioning me. He wasn't convinced either. So I made him asked him politely to drive to the drug store right down the road. Closed. The grocery store was closed also. The next logical thing? Email work to say I'd be an hour late. Check. Get ready for work. Check. Drive to the store myself (make husband wait at home) to buy another digital. IT HAS TO BE A DIGITAL. Except this little mom and pop store doesn't carry digitals. So I bought two different name-brand expensive tests. Thank goodness for self-checkout lanes.

I take two different tests and Shawn and I watch them like a hawk. Two lines. A plus sign. Both were very clear. Insert celebratory hugs and kisses and, "Ummm, we're having a baby!!" - only like two hours after we should have. Better late than never right? Oh, and in case you lost count, I took six tests total (one the next day just to make sure I wasn't dreaming, duh).

If I haven't scared you away with my crazy pregnancy story, congratulations. Now you get to know the fun stuff (at least I consider this the fun stuff).

Due Date?: July 19, 2013
Ultrasounds?: Two (Heartbeats: 163 (8w), 175 (8w4d)). I have congenital heart disease and therefore see a perinatologist - this is why I get more ultrasounds than the average lady!
Little Man or Little Lady?: We find out on February 21 - the day after Shawn's birthday!
Names?: We have some front-runners but will not be deciding on a name 100% until we meet the little one.
How am I feeling?: Good now! I was lucky overall. Sure, I had days where I was so nauseous all.day.long that I wanted to cry, but I was fortunate to never actually toss my cookies. Fatigue wasn't a big symptom for me either - although I did notice on weekends when I was home, relaxing (see: not working) I felt a lot more sick and tired. Besides symptoms? I'm terrified. Constantly worrying about this little one growing inside of me. The first trimester is a real mind-screw because how do you REALLY know what's going on? My anxiety is starting to decrease and my excitement level is starting to rise. I ask that you just pray for this little one... and my sanity :)

Any other questions? Since I'm new to the mom-thing I'm not sure what other things people find interesting.

Again, thank you. Thank you for your well wishes and congratulations. Thank you for starting on this wild, crazy, scary journey with me.