19 Weeks

I am almost caught up on these postings; I don't plan to get behind again!

I hit 19 weeks last Sunday.

Enjoy the terrible iPhone photos.

Stats for the week: 

Feeling: Hip pain on the right side. It's been pretty bad a few times, mainly in the evenings but also a few times at school. It's only on the right side; when it starts hurting I have to limp when I walk. I talked to the midwife about it at my appointment on Tuesday, and she recommended told me to go to the chiropractor and/or get a massage. I mean, if you insist.  There's a chiropractor just down the street from us that has a wellness plan for only $50 a month and you get four adjustments per month with that, so I signed up for the plan yesterday. I can't wait to go on Monday to get some of this pain relieved.

Craving: nothing- I think it's about time to retire this category

Baby is the size of a: mango

Workouts: Only three times of Crossfit this week. I'm officially not doing warmups that require lying on the belly or back (which sometimes means I get to hold the plank for three minutes)

This week we also got to have our second ultrasound! It was so hard to not ask for the baby's gender; I think the ultrasound tech had a really hard time not saying "he" or "she" after she got the money shot. I love getting to see our little one; this time the tadpole (what we've been referring to it as since the first week we knew about it) was moving around quite so much as it was at our twelve-week ultrasound.

Feet!

I have a tournament this weekend with my kiddos, so Will is going to be in charge of cleaning the house for our gender reveal party on Sunday. We are SO excited to find out if this is a little Mr. or Miss.

Will snapped this photo last night about midnight as I was finishing up some pom-pom garland for the party today.

You know, one good thing (amongst many) about being pregnant is that you never feel like you have to suck it in for photos.

I LOVED how it turned out :)

Next up is the GENDER REVEAL PARTY!

18 Weeks

This was my first week back to school for the semester and the week I told my kids I am pregnant. Their reactions ranged from super-excited to unimpressed, which is about what you'd expect for a fourteen-year-old.

I finally invested in some Gap maternity jeans, which was a really really good decision. I was really hesitant at first because of the price (I don't even pay that much for my normal jeans!), but after dealing with Target's maternity jeans for several weeks I decided it would be worth it. They are both demi-panels, which I didn't think I would like, but so far I've found they stay up better than the full panel-jeans. As of now, I've learned that cheaper tops from places like Old Navy and Target are find, but it's worth spending more on pants.

Weekly Stats: 

Feeling: Pretty well! I wouldn't say energy is abounding but I feel much more rested after having a few weeks off of work.

Craving: Junk food. Sigh. Why is it at this critical time in my life all I want is the super unhealthy stuff?

Baby is the size of a: sweet potato

Workouts: Four days of Crossfit and one good walk with the dogs!

My mother-in-law called Saturday morning to see if we wanted to join her on a trip to the farmers' market; I had just been researching farmers' markets in our area earlier this week, so it was perfect timing. We had a cold front come in for a few days earlier this week, so I was afraid there wouldn't be anything at the markets, but I was pleasantly surprised at the second and third ones we went to.

I came home with some wonderful Romaine, clementines, new potatoes, green beans, and honey from the second place we stopped. I hate that the only times these markets are open are when we're at Crossfit or I'm out of town at a tournament with my debate students.

We've been thinking of some things we can do once the baby gets here to make our lives a little easier, and I think we're going to look into a CSA option so we can have produce delivered to our house.

In other health-related news, I woke Tuesday morning this week knowing that I was going to throw up. I had a little nausea right around weeks six and seven, but never nothing to this extent. I was tempted to call in sick to work, but once I got there I felt a little better. However, then I started wondering if I had food poisoning from going out to the dinner theater the night before and I started to freak myself out a little. All I had heard about food poisoning was that it could be deadly to a fetus and I pretty much convinced myself I had food poisoning. To make matters worse, I didn't feel the baby move for a little over a day, which is strange now.

I was very close to texting my midwife, who made it very clear that I could at any time, but I was still afraid of being *that mom* who freaks out about every little thing. However, this worry starting eating at me in a way it hasn't yet this pregnancy. I know worry is a natural part of parenting and it's inevitable, but so far I haven't had to deal with it. The day I found out I was pregnant the nasty thoughts started creeping up, but God very clearly and firmly told me to stop worrying and enjoy the blessing he has given to us. I have heard his voice with this same message repeatedly over the past few months and I have been very much at peace. But all of the sudden this week, that peace was gone. Or maybe it's better to say that I just couldn't feel it.

Finally, after a few days of feeling unrest, Will sat me down to talk about what was going on. After some prayer and a good nights' sleep, I felt much better the next morning and the baby started kicking again pretty soon after that.

Until next week!

17 Weeks

Well, we finally have our computer back after it was in the shop for a few weeks. Sometimes I really dislike technology, but I suppose I am glad to have the computer back. Blogging is not really possible on an iPad.

Week 17 was my last week of Christmas break and I'm happy to report I made the most of it.

My brother and sister-in-law finally returned from their visit/vacation to the East Coast so we enjoyed the weekend with them before my SIL and I had to go back to school. 

We love Catan!

Stats for the week: 

Feeling: Much less tired. I've awaited this day for a while and just when I thought it would never happen, I suddenly realized one day that I was falling asleep every half hour. I think a combination of the break and getting well into the second trimester. 

Craving: Not much this week. Although my wonderful mother-in-law heard my plea for homemade cheesecake and made it happen!

Baby is the size of: onion

Workouts: I wish I had written it down, but I believe this week was a three-gym-days and one long walk with the dogs weeks. Everything at the gym is still about the same as last week. I get pretty winded much more easily than I'm used to, and my times are suffering on the cardio-heavy workouts. However, still feel pretty good and am happy with where I'm at. 

Dinga (a.k.a. Mu Mu) also got to go live with her forever family this week! She was abandoned by the family who adopted her this summer after we rescued her.  

With it being my last free week, I got a jump start on getting some things together for our Gender Reveal Party on the 19th. We are so excited to finally be able to call this little tadpole a "he" or "she." 

I originally wanted to go with a "What will it bee?" party and do lots of yellow/grey/honey bees, but it was surprisingly hard to find decorations and an e-vite for that theme, so multicolored polka dots it is!

Stay tuned for a week 18 (oh, and 19 now... I've got to stop getting so behind!) update soon!

16 Weeks

Whew, what a blur this week has been with family coming into to town, Christmas, friends moving to town, and getting everything back to normal after Christmas. I'll post later about our Christmas, but for now, here's a shot of Week 16 of pregnancy.

Not much new happening this week. Honestly, everything else has been so busy that I haven't had a lot of time to think about this little one except for when I feel it moving around in there. I first felt it last week around Thursday evening; I wasn't sure that it was the baby because it really felt like a muscle twitch. However, knowing the approximate location of my uterus and that so many different women explain the movement of the baby feels like different things, I just knew it was the baby. I feel it on a semi-regular basis now, mostly in the evenings. I wish it were a little bit stronger and more frequent, though I know it' s only a matter of time before this little one will be keeping me awake at night moving.

Now that all our company and renters are gone we are excited to get started in the nursery soon. I wish we would be able to find out the gender while I was still on break, but we won't find out until the week after school starts back up for the semester. It seems impossible that we're almost to that 20-week mark. That's half-way through the pregnancy!

Stats for this week:
Feeling: Tired! Does this tired feeling ever end? Everyone promised my energy would come rushing back in the second trimester, but I have yet to see it. Of course, being sick for half a week and hosting Christmas at your house is enough to do it to anyone.
Craving: homemade cheesecake, not the kind from the store
Baby is the size of an: avocado
Workouts: Made it to Crossfit three times this week; I feel much better afterwards than I did last week, probably due to my diligent foam rolling and icing after every session. I am still able to do all moves except for handstands (I was never good at them and don't feel comfortable doing them at this point) and I've been doing step-ups for box jumps since I found out about the baby. I am still doing exercises on my back because my midwife said I was fine to continue laying on my back until I noticed it would make me dizzy or cause my blood pressure to change, signs that my uterus has gotten big enough to restrict blood flow. So far I haven't felt that at all, but I'll ask again next week at my appointment. I think I'm probably about finished with the "Superman" warm up, which requires you to lay on your stomach and arch your back so that your hands are stick out in front of you and your legs lift off the floor. I starting being able to feel my uterus dig into the floor when we did that move this week. I have also noticed that I have to watch when I'm lifting the bar to my chest; my stomach definitely isn't sticking out far enough to cause a modification in form yet, but sometime brush the my stomach when I'm not paying close attention. Eventually I'll have to move to using kettle bells instead of the bar. And I won't lie; I am *kinda* looking forward to the day when my belly doesn't allow me to do burpees anymore. Can I get an amen to that?

15 Weeks

This week was full of anticipation about Christmas Break! We had a regular school day on Monday, but the rest of the week was semester tests for the kiddos, so they had half-days. That meant we teachers got to work in our rooms and get those tests graded during the afternoon. I tried with all my might to get everything finished before I headed out on Friday, but unfortunately it just didn't happen. Looks like I'll be taking a day of break to finish everything up!

I managed to make it to Crossfit three times this week, which is an improvement on the 0-2 times a week I'd been clocking for the past month or two. I have been so tired that the thought of working out made me want to cry. While I know it's super important for both me and the baby, I'm trying to distinguish between a real tired and a "let's be lazy today" tired. However, since I haven't been going as often, my DOMS is getting way worse than it was for many months, so on one hand it's not even worth skipping so much since I care barely move the next two days. I would like to start walking the dogs again in the evening, but it's dark by 5:30 which hardly leaves any time between when I get home.

See what I meant last week about the clothes I wear dictating how pregnant I look? This is a maternity top but regular pants with the Bella Band. 

Stats for Week 15:
Feeling: so tired. Where is all that second-trimester energy everyone keeps talking about?
Craving: random things at different times; my favorite is the strawberry-ginseng smoothie from Panera, but those things are like $5!
Baby is the size of a: navel orange
Weight Gained: still at one pound up from my original -4 lbs.

On Monday we had a "My Favorite Things Dirty Santa Gift Exchange" with our small group, which ended up being slightly anti-climatic. It's funny how much you think everyone will love your favorite thing, but in reality you're about the only one who thinks it cool haha. Except Will's gift, which was a Santoku knife; everyone wanted that.

Friday night we had our gift exchange with Will's family since my sister and brother-in-law left Saturday for two weeks to spend Christmas with his family. We went to eat at BJs all dudded up in tacky Christmas sweaters. I wish I had gotten a better picture of our sweaters.

They were intentionally going for "awkward family photo," trust me

Look at the fringe on that cardigan!

All together

This week ended with our last renter for the fall leaving and a trip to the ritzy part of Houston to visit Pottery Barn Kids to order our rocker for the nursery. Originally I really liked the look of this rocker, but after visiting the store a few months ago to try them out, we really liked this one a lot more due to how comfortable it is and how it fit me a little better. Yesterday when we ordered we decided to go with the "small" version; the main different is that the arms are about 4 inches closer together than the regular model, but since I'm a little on the petite side I think it will actually be kind of nice. It's definitely the nicest piece of furniture in our entire house, but sine we plan to have three or four kids, I think it's worth the investment. Plus, I already have plans for the other furniture in the room, and all of that will be much more budget-friendly, so I'm not stressing too much.

Annnd then on the way home from Pottery Barn all the little aches and pains I had been feeling since the morning hit me like a truck, and I spent the entire rest of the day in a hot bath and in bed fighting a small fever, cough, and body aches like none other. Sounds like the flu, hey? Add that to my DOMS and I have hardly been able to move for the past 24 hours.

14 Weeks

This week finally brought some colder weather to our area, which was a nice change from all the 80-degree days we had been experiencing. I love Houston, but this Panhandle-girl really misses winter weather and snow.

I can still fit into all of my old clothes (I guess that's the good thing about losing weight right before you get pregnant!), but most of my pants are a lot more comfortable using the Bella Band I scored for 40% off at Gap Maternity last week. I find that the amount of "pregnant" I look depends largely on if I'm wearing maternity clothes or my regular clothes. In the picture above I'm wearing all maternity clothes.

Stats from this week: 
Feeling: hungry all the time
Craving: nothing in particular
Baby is the size of a: lemon
Weight Gained: still at one pound, although I would guess more just by looking at me!

13 Weeks

Week 13 was the first week I didn't get a "good" picture of the bump. Will was out of town all week for a work trip and I was gone over the weekend with a debate tournament. By the time I got back, it was already 14 weeks. Enjoy these beauties, taken in the hotel mirror.

Let's not dwell on my hair. It was after midnight by the time we got back to the hotel.

This week I had an appointment with my midwife Anna. Everything is looking great and, after a few tries, I even got to hear the baby's heartbeat. While we were listening, the midwife said she could tell the baby was moving quite a bit. This doesn't surprise me at all because during the ultrasound the baby looking like it was having fun swimming around like a little fish.

I talked to Anna about the acne I've been struggling with quite a bit lately. I've dealt with acne since about the fourth grade and finally got it under control after two rounds of Accutane and birth control, so it was frustrating to see it cropping back up so fiercely. She recommended I try dried wheatgrass juice, red raspberry leaf tea, and nettles. I promptly went home and ordered all three (thank God for Amazon Prime!) I've been taking all three religiously since they came in, and they definitely seem to be helping.

We also made an appointment for our twenty-week ultra sound to find out the gender of Baby Walker, which might be the most exciting part of the pregnancy for me.

Bump Photos, Weeks 5-12

Grow, baby, grow! Since I'm getting such a late start on posting all these pictures, I thought I'd do weeks 5-12 in one post and then try to do one post for each week after that.

Also, I was absolutely not thinking when I started taking these pictures. It's hard to see how much you're growing when you're wearing loose clothing and not framing your belly with your hands. Oh well.

I think weeks 10 and 11 were a bit more bloat than anything else.

I think a lot of moms can agree that for the first few months, while you know you're pregnant, it just doesn't feel like it because you aren't growing much (if at all) and you can't feel the baby move. Seeing this little one swimming around like Michael Phelps brought me to tears.

This picture was taken on Thanksgiving Day. I think I actually look bigger here than I feel sometimes now, even at three weeks later. It's safe to say this was part food baby, part baby baby. Oh, plus it was the first day I wore maternity pants, which definitely make me look more pregnant than when I were my normal pants with the Bella Band.

This week ended with us getting a killer deal on a stroller and pack-n-play at Buy Buy Baby. I agree that that store is really expensive, but sometimes you can score! The pack-n-play was on sale for $100, plus we used a 20% off coupon, plus we got a $25 gift certificate back, bringing the total down to $55. My mother-in-law also got one and gave us the gift card, so we used both the gift cards on our stroller. Will had picked out the stroller several weeks ago, but I was hesitant about the price. However, when we went back this week an associate showed us that it is actually a convertible stroller, which is why it's a little more pricy than some of the others. Since we are wanting several kids fairly close in age, I knew this would be a better investment in the long run. Plus, they were running a special where the second seat came free, which is a $200 value. Though we won't need it for several years, it will be a total money saver when the time comes.

Also, the first week when I found out about the baby, I was SUPER bloated. From that point, I had actually lost four pounds.  Currently, at fifteen weeks, I have gained back one (maybe two, it's hard to say) of those, though my belly is definitely expanding!