30 Weeks

How far along are you?: 30 weeks (has it really been 6 weeks since my last bump-date? Woops! Are you happy now, Mom? Hehe...)

How I'm feeling: I have been blessed with quite an easy pregnancy. With that being said, I have noticed some more aches and pains towards the end of the day. Also, I've started having sciatic nerve pain occasionally - no fun! Overall, I feel really lucky though.

How big is baby?: A butternut squash - over 3 lbs! Not sure what it changes to tomorrow.

Maternity clothes: Almost everything.

Stretch marks?: Not on the belly. I have some on my sides from gaining weight a while ago (pre-pregnancy) but I haven't noticed any new ones since becoming pregnant.


Sleep: Great! Sometimes I get up once a night but it's not all the time.

Best moment this week: The movement. Our little girl is so active and watching her and feeling her throw dance parties in my belly has by far been my favorite part of pregnancy!

Movement: So much. All day long and especially at night when I lay down and am relaxing.

Food cravings: Nothing really.

Food aversions: None.

Labor signs: I've been having Braxton Hicks contractions for a few weeks now. They aren't painful but it's so weird to feel and see my belly tighten up!

Belly button in or out: Still very in.

What I miss: Shawn and I are going away to DC this weekend for our anniversary and we have already started saying certain things we can't do or need to be careful of due to lots of walking (and my sciatic pain). I get down on myself for not being able to do things I used to be able to do without thinking twice! But I know all in good time I will be back ;) 

What I'm looking forward to: Our 31 week ultrasound next week! I can't wait to see our little girl up on the big screen again!

Milestone: Our names are basically narrowed down to two, so that is exciting. We each have our favorite but we both like the other's choice as well. We will have to let our girl decide when she is born! Also, hitting 30 weeks and only have 10 (more? less?) weeks left until we meet her... wow. That is a big thing for me! We also had our nursery furniture delivered last week and I LOVE IT! I can't wait to finish the decorating now!

24 Weeks

How far along are you?: 24 weeks... 6 months!

How I'm feeling: Pretty good. As of two days ago I've starting having acid reflux which is not fun. But still, I've had it so so easy this far.

How big is baby?: Today an ear of corn, tomorrow an eggplant!

Maternity clothes: Besides some cardigans, it's all I wear!

Stretch marks?: Not on the belly. 

Sleep: Pretty good. I usually go all night without having to pee. Sometimes once a night which I can deal with!

Best moment this week: Watching our girl squirm around in my belly. So awesome.

Movement: Yes! We have a wild child on our hands!

Food cravings: Varies by day.

Food aversions: Nope.

Labor signs: No, thank you.

Belly button in or out: In. Too far in. It bothers me.

What I miss: Being able to work out without issues. I bought a support band for my belly this week that will hopefully help with the abdominal and back pain I've been experiencing when I go to the gym.

What I'm looking forward to: Getting the nursery finished! My mom has generously offered to paint the nursery. She started yesterday since she had the day off work and is hoping to finish with Shawn's help today! Baby B's furniture should be delivered towards the end of April!

Milestone: Seeing out wild child move around in my belly and narrowing our name choices from six to three! We still will not be deciding on a name 100% until we meet her, however it feels good to narrow it down!

22 Weeks

22 weeks. That sounds so far yet I know I have a long(ish) way to go. Still. I cannot believe we are over half way to meeting our little girl. I wake up every morning feeling bigger than the last, which makes sense because my What to Expect app told me that these next few weeks I'm in for some serious weight gain (both baby and myself).

Grow baby girl, grow :)

I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends

Ever since I found out I was pregnant I feel as though I belonged to a secret society I had always dreamed of joining. Dramatic much? But seriously. I had seen it all over social media. Facebook, blogs, twitter, Instagram... the mama love flows. And it flows deep.

I always felt disconnected in a sense. Frankly, because I was. But ever since I was initiated if you will as a mama myself, I have felt that connection and that love. I have felt support from strangers I have never met. That is something that will never cease to amaze me.

 
Advice and clothing has been flying at me. Katie lent me her whole maternity wardrobe a ton of stuff which has been so so helpful. Seriously, if you've seen me in any maternity clothes there's a 90% chance it's something of Katie's. Shannon sent me work pants and darling little shoes for our baby girl. I've been offered books, DVDs, and numerous other things. I've been spoken to kindly and honestly from countless mamas, even when I have silly first-timer questions (a lot). I get to experience all of this because of this connection I now share with these ladies. Something that I feel so honored and blessed to be a part of.

The love doesn't stop with the mamas though. I have also received so much love, support, and excitement from others as well. Kate, an extremely talented photographer, had some headbands and hats laying around that she decided to bestow upon me. The cuteness is to die for.

All this to say? I feel so blessed to have people in my life that are willing to help and to lend a helping hand. And I am already beginning to see just how loved our little girl is. How loved I am. How loved we are as a family. From what I hear, motherhood isn't easy - but it is so so worth it. These mamas, friends, and family members are already making me realize just how worth it it is.

Halfway There!

20 weeks

 How far along are you?: 20 weeks. 5 months. HALFWAY THERE!

How I'm feeling: Feeling good. I had a little episode this week of intense stomach pains. I called the doctor and she thought I was most likely dehydrated. After upping my water intake, I've felt much better. Lesson learned.

How big is baby?: At our anatomy scan last week she was 9 oz!

Maternity clothes: Pretty sure I'd like to wear them for the rest of my life :)

Stretch marks?: I've noticed some...  but not on my belly!


Sleep: Not bad.

Best moment this week: Buying clothes for our little girl and feeling her move more frequently and stronger.

Movement: Definitely feeling her every day now and stronger, however it's still not noticeable from the outside yet - so Shawn has not felt her yet.

Food cravings: Whatever, whenever.

Food aversions: None. 

Labor signs: No, thank you.

Belly button in or out: In.

What I miss: Sadly, I miss my old body. I did not think it would be this hard on my self esteem because I know it's supposed to happen and it's normal and healthy... but it's still hard. Going from a strict diet for 2+ years to seeing the scale go up and up and watch my waist (and other areas) growing is hard. But I'm working on it :)

What I'm looking forward to: Narrowing down some names!

Milestone: Finding out our little one is a GIRL! I am so excited to have a daughter and Shawn is going to rock at being a girl dad. The first thing he said to me the day after we found out was, "How are my girls doing today?!" .... and then I melted :)

It's a...

Let me start off by saying amen and hallelujah for early morning appointments. I woke up with butterflies in my tummy yesterday which soon turned to a combination of nerves and excitement which made me feel like I was going to throw up. In fact, I kept saying to Shawn, "I think I might throw up..." But by the time I was showered, finished getting ready, and ate a little breakfast, it was time to go!

Our first part of the appointment was our fetal echo. Since I have a congenital heart condition, they wanted to take a look at baby's ticker as well. Thankfully everything looks nice and normal and there is no sign of any heart issues with baby, although they do want to take another look in the rare chance that something changes between now and then (around 32 weeks). The cardiologist did tell us her prediction on the gender but said it wasn't her "specialty" so not to fully trust her. Honestly, I'm a little disappointed she did this because we didn't ask her to and it took away from the build up of the whole "it's a....!!!" but that's fine. A healthy baby was our main focus!

After the fetal echo was complete, it was back out to the waiting room to wait for the tech to call us back. Thank goodness that didn't take too long. She showed us baby's head and brain, legs, arms, abdomen, spine, and profile. Pretty sure we saw some other body parts too but I find it impossible to remember everything at this point. Our little wiggle worm was in a position with its back up and head down and tucked under the chin, so it was a little difficult to get a perfect picture of the profile, but I am definitely happy with what we got :) I am so happy to report that baby looks healthy! Again, that was our main focus and I was so relieved to hear that all is well!

After all the odds and ends were measured... she took a look between the legs. She checked with us to make sure we wanted to know and we gave her the go-ahead. (For the record, the cardiologist was correct in her prediction.)

So without further ado, I present to you our little...

GIRL!!!!!!!

We are delighted to be welcoming a DAUGHTER come July! I really don't think it's fully set in yet but every time I refer to Baby B as a "she" or a "her" I just smile. I can't stop looking at her little profile picture and wondering who she will look like. I can't wait to seriously start discussing names and to see her little face. I think of so many wonderful opportunities I will get to experience being the mama of a little girl. Our little princess!

And now... let the shopping begin!

Babymoon

I admit. When I first heard of a "babymoon" I rolled my eyes.

Us Time: Exhibit A

Us Time: Exhibit B

Then I got pregnant. And life got busy and hectic and OMG where has all my time gone? Where has my MIND gone? It's hard. Much harder than I thought it would be. Definitely one of those things that you don't "get" until you go through it. People can continually tell you that you won't understand until you go through it... but you won't understand the reality of what they are saying until you go through it either. But now I know better. And this past long holiday weekend Shawn and I took a "babymoon." And it was heaven.

Friend Time: Exhibit A

Friend Time: Exhibit B

Shawn and I are travelers. We will go anywhere, anytime. We just love to get away. I know this won't be as much of an option once baby comes, so we decided to book one last trip. With not wanting to use any vacation days at work so I could save for maternity leave, it had to be something relatively quick. Luckily, Presidents' Day falls right between our birthdays. So why not have a combined birthday/Valentine's Day/"babymoon" long weekend? Right now we have the money, the time, and the freedom. All of which might be running dry come the month of July. So we booked it. A trip to Arizona. Just a Friday to Monday get away. Our time was short but we only had a few main goals for our trip: Us time, visiting friends, yummy food, and sunshine. All of these were more than accomplished this past weekend.

Yummy Food: Exhibit A

Yummy Food: Exhibit B

Honestly? I needed this for myself. We needed this as a couple. I rolled my eyes at the thought of a "babymoon" before I was pregnant because I was just thinking it was a cutesy way to say vacation. But it was so much more. I came back feeling refreshed and renewed. It gave us time away from "reality" to enjoy ourselves and focus on each other. Whether or not it is intentional, day to day life is hectic and busy these days and sometimes the "us" gets pushed aside. I know anyone can really claim that to be true, but I have really been feeling the pressure and these overwhelming feelings since finding out we were expecting. So now, as I sit here and eat my words, I would like to declare myself a believer of the babymoon (no quotations needed this time).

Sunshine: Exhibit A

Sunshine: Exhibit B

And now that we have returned relaxed, refreshed, and renewed... we get to look forward to finding out a little more about the little one growing in my belly! That's right, we find out TOMORROW if we are on Team Pink or Team Blue! Have you voted yet?! Watch out for our announcement on Friday!

18w2d bump in AZ

Lastly, I wanted to wish a very happy birthday to my husband and baby daddy (too klassy not to laugh) - I love you Shawn! Looking forward to making this our best year yet ;)