22 weeks, and Hellllo Belly!

Week 22 seems to be the magic week for me--my belly seems to be growing at an almost alarming pace!   I woke up on Saturday morning, at 22 weeks and 1 day, and this belly had just appeared overnight.  Man, can I feel it in my body, too.  Lots of aches and pains in my back, hips, and feet.  But if that's all I have to complain about at this point, I think I'm doing pretty good!  :)  Here are my pics:



How far along? 22 weeks, 4 days (late again, story of my life lately)

Maternity clothes? Yes.  And some of my regular stretchy clothes. 

Stretch marks? Nope.

Sleep: Insomnia is flaring up a bit again, but I don't know if that's pregnancy-related or stress-related.  Lots of big changes coming up soon. 

Best moment this week: Seeing Pat's face when he felt her kick from the outside.  Finally!

Movement: Oh yes, lots and lots of movement.  I was so busy at work at work this week that a couple of times, I felt little thumps and kicks and wondered what the heck was going on (apparently I got so busy, I forgot I was growing a human in my belly!). 

Food cravings: Sipping on my cream soda right now.  ;)

Gender: Baby girl!

Labor Signs: No, but I've had a few Braxton Hicks contractions, which were a little alarming at first. 

Belly Button in or out? Innie for life!  (or at least until I get so big that every last cubic centimeter is consumed by baby and my belly button has no choice but to pop...I'm not so convinced that'll happen, but maybe I'm in denial)

Wedding rings on or off? Still on.

What I miss: After walking a 5k on Sunday, I realized how much I miss running, and just being able to push my body in general.  Now if I push too hard, my body pushes right back and I end up paying for it for days afterward. 

What I am looking forward to: Mid-May, when the big move will be over and we'll be able to settle into our new place. 

Milestones: Pat feeling her kick!  That was a great moment! 

 

21 weeks

Happy Belated Easter!  We had a fantastic day, relaxing a little and running some errands, and of course, eating a huge ham dinner!  These pics were taken right after dinner, and as you can tell, I had no desire to make myself up after spending a couple of hours in the kitchen.  I feel like I had somewhat of a growth spurt this week, which would make sense considering my recent weight gain, coupled with the increased movement I'm feeling.  Girl is getting strong and active!  :)

How far along? 21 weeks, 4 days (a few days late, oops!)

Maternity clothes? Yes.

Stretch marks? Still none (stay away!)

Sleep: I have good nights and bad nights.  My main complaint this week is that I've been able to sleep in (YAY Spring Break), but have been awoken bright and early every morning with an uncomfortably full bladder.  :(

Best moment this week: Watching the ultrasound DVD with my parents.  Awesome. 

Movement: Tons of movement this week! She is one stubborn little thing, though.  She'll be moving and kicking up a storm, and as soon as Pat puts his hands on my belly to feel it, she stops.  I wonder where her stubbornness comes from?!?  ;)

Food cravings: OJ, cream soda, fruit. 

Gender: Baby girl!

Labor Signs: No.

Belly Button in or out? In.

Wedding rings on or off? Still on.

What I miss: Ditto last week, wine & sleep.

What I am looking forward to: Getting moved into our new place so we can get started on the nursery (only about a month left!)

Milestones: Nothing major this week, just truckin' along.  I'm happy to have made it to the point in my pregnancy where I have energy, I can eat again, and I'm just able to enjoy this time.  I feel very blessed. 

 

20 Weeks (and Photos!!!)

This week was pretty awesome.  Okay, not just pretty awesome, but quite possibly the best week of my life.  It started out with this announcement below (in case you missed my Facebook post and didn't read the last quick gender reveal post):

Baby G is a girl!!!!! 

Here's another ultrasound pic that turned out pretty cute.  She has her hands up by her mouth, sucking on her hand/thumb, just like she did at the 12 week ultrasound.  For those of you who don't know this, I came out of the womb sucking my thumb...literally I had a sore on my hand/thumb from sucking on it so hard. This girl is her mother's daughter.

Anyway, we have been so lucky to be showered with words of congratulations and love over the last week.  It's been unbelievable.  At the risk of sounding like a complete mushy cheeseball (which apparently pregnancy has turned me into), I am astounded by the amount of love surrounding us and this little girl.  We are truly blessed to have so many wonderful people in our lives.  So all of you who have sent well wishes, thank you! 

Here are a couple belly shots for the week.  We went out for a fancy date night last night, so I took these right before we walked out the door.  I've been trying to have Pat help me in taking pics, but God bless him, he can't seem to get the angle quite right to please his extremely picky wife, so it's better for me to take matters into my own hands and just take them myself.  Not sure how feasible this will be once I'm as big as a house, but for now, it works. 

I don't know why the coloring looks so different on these.  I think maybe I had both bathroom lights on when I took the 2nd one.  Oops.

How far along? 20 weeks, 3 days (how is it possible that I'm halfway done already??!?)

Maternity clothes? Yes.  Love them. 

Stretch marks? Still none (fingers crossed).

Sleep: Alright.  I still toss and turn all night, and inevitably wake up on my back, with one or both legs asleep. 

Best moment this week: Finding out that she is a GIRL!!!!

Movement: Dance party in my stomach, usually right after dinner. 

Food cravings: OJ still.  And cream soda.  Mmmmm.

Gender: GIRL!!!!!!  Funny little sidestory for those who haven't heard.  I have had this gut feeling since we found out I was pregnant that this baby was going to be a girl.  In all of the dreams I've had, she's been a girl, and she's had this beautiful name (coincidentally, the name that we're going to be using).  Meanwhile, basically everyone except my mom and I guessed boy (a few were even dead set that it HAD to be a boy).  So when she opened her legs during the ultrasound (like the lady she is, ha) and the ultrasound tech said, "It's a girl!", I turned to Pat and said, "Ha, I knew it!!!".  In reality, I didn't really know, necessarily.  My mom was the only other person who thought girl, but since she had guessed wrong with all 4 of her kids, I started to think that maybe all of the others who thought it was a boy were right.  I was second-guessing myself big time.  In the end, Mommy's intuition was right (even if she had her moments of uncertainty).  A good story for the baby book, right??  :) 

Labor Signs: No.

Belly Button in or out? In.

Wedding rings on or off? Still on.

What I miss: Wine & sleep.  Two things I doubt I'll be enjoying for quite awhile. 

What I am looking forward to: Watching the ultrasound video with my parents when I head to Montana tomorrow. 

Milestones: Finding out the sex and settling on a name.  The first question everyone has asked since we found out the sex is whether we have a name picked out.  We do.  But we're keeping it a secret, neener neener.  ;)