Week 18

Today I'm 19 weeks along!  This post is my 18-week recap...

How far along:  19 weeks today
Size of baby:  At 18 weeks, baby is the length of a bell pepper and weighs 7 ounches.  This past week, the baby gained 1.5 ounces and today is the size of a large heirloom tomato.
Total Weight Gain/Loss:  It's getting harder for me to tell how much weight I've gained... mainly because I haven't wanted to step on the scale!  :)  I think I gained 1 pound over this past week and am about 11 pounds up from pre-pregnancy.
Maternity Clothes:  I'm only wearing maternity pants these days.  I'm wearing some maternity tops, and some pre-pregnancy tops... just depends on how the tops fit and if they're "flattering" now or not with my growing belly.  And I'm wearing dresses as much as possible at work.  They're cute and they're so comfy, especially since I sit down most of the day.  I've had my eye on some maternity clothes online, but I can't bring myself to buy them.  I am in a totally frugal mood lately and I can't shake it.  Have I mentioned how lucky I am that my cousin has given me all of her clothes?  I really am wearing almost all of her clothes all of the time!
Gender:  I had a dream last night that we found out the sex of the baby and it was a boy.  Who the heck knows?!  We will find out 2 weeks from this Wednesday.
Movement:  I feel the baby periodically.  Just little movements in my lower abdomen.  At least I think it's the baby.  It's exciting!  But still bizarre to grasp the fact that there is a human being making those movements.  It's taken me awhile to grasp this whole concept, hasn't it?  :)
Sleep:  I've been tired again this week and falling asleep early at night.  I've been sleeping really good, though! And I'm definitely getting up less during the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, so that's good.  I'm getting more uninterrupted sleep.  Get it now while I can, right?
What I miss:  I haven't really missed anything this week, or at least haven't focused on missing anything due to pregnancy.
Cravings:  Nothing really stands out this week... I didn't want Cinnamon rolls yesterday morning.  See how quickly the cravings change?  I guess I would say this week it's coffee all "doctored up" with cream and splenda.  I have about a 1/4 of a cup in the mornings at work a few days.
Symptoms:  This week, I started getting heart burn in the late afternoon.  But overall this week, I've felt pretty good!  It's been really rainy here this past week (really, this whole spring).  This weekend is Memorial Day Weekend, and it stormed all day today!  I had a bad headache earlier today and was feeling pretty sick right when I got out of the shower.  So I laid down and finished the 4th book in the Harry Potter series.  It it nice to relax when it's storming out.  I think it may be sinuses or allergies because I've sneezed a couple times.  Hopefully I stay healthy!  I'll just keep taking my vitamins.
Best Moment This Week:   Friday afternoon when I walked out of the office with a 3-day weekend ahead of me!  Don't get me wrong, I like work and I like my job, but it's so nice to have a long weekend!
Best Husband Quote of the Week:  Probably has to be something about the size of my boobs.  They really are big (even friends at work have commented!), and Carl has made some funny comments lately.  My best friend is pregnant, too... she's 8 weeks behind me and she said someone told her that the boobs are just temporary so don't get too used to them.  Thank goodness!  These things can go away!  I have a feeling it's going to get worse before it gets better, though.  I'll stick through it...

Week 17

So as of today, I'm 18 weeks along!   Here is my 17-Week recap...

At the end of this week, I feel really good.  We're getting a lot done around the house so I'm feeling like it will all come together soon!  We have hardwood flooring (for living room and dining area) being delivered this week and we are buying ceramic tile (for the kitchen and 1/2 bath downstairs) today.  Hopefully next weekend we can get it all done!  :)  Carl's friend, Frank, works as a Project Manager at a flooring company and he installs hardwood and tile on the side, so he is going to help Carl install it all.  We also have tile for the upstairs bathrooms... "while we're at it," Carl says.  :)  It will all look really nice once it's done, and I'm just thankful that we finally made a decision on what we wanted/needed and purchased it all!

Also, I'm really starting to focus on what we need for the nursery.  That room, as of Thurs night, is empty!  We sold the beautiful furniture we had in there (dresser, armoire, and bed frame) to a nice family who is going to use the furniture for their daughter's room.  Right after they moved out all the furniture, I walked in the room, turned to Carl, and said, "Holy cow.. we're having a baby!"  At that moment it became real that the next set of furniture to go in there will include a crib and dressers for a nursery.  It will no longer be our "Guest Bedroom" after October.  Here are some ideas that I have for the nursery furniture...

Early on, I thought about doing neutral fabrics, but I think I'll wait until after June 15th to find out what we're having to make a decision on that.  There are the cutest ideas on so many blogs out there.  It's getting exciting!   

We're also trying to get creative with storage solutions.  We're realizing that we relied quite heavily on the space that the guest bedroom closet and drawers provided.  And now that we've emptied those, we have to make some room elsewhere to store all of our stuff!  This is going to be a work in progress.  We're looking at different solutions for under-the-bed storage to store sheets and clothes, and we're trying to find a solution for all our shoes.  We used to have a cabinet that held all our shoes, but that broke and now we keep our shoes in a bin in the foyer coat closet.  It's not the best solution and we need a better one ASAP.  

Is this what they call "nesting"??  If so, Carl and I both have it!  :)

How far along:  Today I'm 18 weeks

Size of baby:  At 17 weeks (so 1 week ago today), the baby is the size of a turnip.  Today he/she is the size of a bell pepper!

Total Weight Gain/Loss:  I'm pretty confident I'm still gaining weight.  :)  I haven't been good about weighing myself this week so I'm not exactly sure how much I've gained since last week.  I think I'm about 10 lbs up from pre-pregnancy.

Maternity Clothes:  I'm pretty much only wearing maternity pants now.  This weekend, I've been wearing a pair of jean capri's that were among all the clothes my cousin is letting me borrow.  They are so cute!  Every day I find more and more cute maternity clothes that my cousin had.  Thank goodness we're the same size!  I am so grateful that I can borrow her clothes and not have to spend gobs of money on all new stuff!

Gender:  I still have a feeling we're having a baby girl.  Who knows, though!  Only 3 1/2 more weeks until we find out!

Movement:  I think I started feeling the baby this week!  The first time I felt it was during yoga on Tuesday night.  We were in supported bridge pose for a couple minutes, and I swear I felt some movement in my lower abdomen.  Puh-retty cool!  I tried to replicate it for Carl when I got home, but I didn't feel it again.  Then I think I felt the baby again the next night.  Some people say it feels like fluttering... I guess it did feel like that, but it wasn't a light fluttering.  It was more noticeable than that... like a couple little one-two punches.  Who knows, maybe it wasn't the baby.  Maybe it was digestion or gas, but I must say this is the first time I have felt movement like this and not had to "pass gas".  (Ha! TMI?)

Sleep:  I've been sleeping really good lately!  I'm in a routine where I go to bed early and wake up early, even on weekends.  But that's given me a chance to read early in the mornings before we get up for breakfast and to start the day.  I'm trying to get through my Harry Potter books so I can read books on my new Kindle(!!!!).  I won the Kindle at a fundraiser for my in-laws' church.  It was the night Carl threw out his back, so we didn't even go.  But I won the raffle for the Kindle.  Couldn't believe it!  I've downloaded some free books so far, but I haven't purchased any books yet - I'm so cheap!  :)  I think I'm going to read Pride & Prejudice after I'm finished with the Harry Potter series.  I enjoy reading, but I'm not to "literary" so we'll see if I can get into the story.  I can see this Kindle being GREAT for exercising on the elliptical or the treadmill.  No more lugging around big books!  

What I miss:  Summer Shandy.  Now that it's nice outside, it's great weather for hanging out outside and having a beer.  Carl went out and bought his summer staple, Summer Shandy, on Friday.  I asked for just a sip to taste thinking I wouldn't like it after all this time of not drinking beer. Well, I did like it.  It was soooo good!  I forgot how good and refreshing it is on a gorgeous summer day/night.  Oh man!  I'm going to have to hold out until next summer.  But I guess it will be worth it in the end.  ;)

Cravings:  Yesterday morning, it was cinnamon rolls and Caramel Macchiato (decaf, of course!).  I really having been wanting sweet food in the mornings for breakfast.  Usually Carl will make his famous Swedish Pancakes and that's fantastic, but for some reason this weekend, I just felt like a store-bought cinnamon roll.  And I must say it was really good!  :)  One more thing of note about food this week:  Usually I'm a big fan of Chinese food.  Carl suggested it for dinner on Friday night and I turned it down.  He couldn't believe it!  It's really strange how my tastes have been changing.  We'll see if that one lasts or if it's just a temporary thing.

Symptoms:  Again, this week, I've been feeling good!  No complaints!  :)

Best Moment This Week:  Having the realization that, "Holy cow!  We really are having a baby."  It's exciting now that I can picture what it might look like in the nursery now that the room is empty.  And it's exciting seeing all the work that we need to do this summer, and seeing that we really can get it all done.  Oh, and this week people at work really started commenting on my pregnant belly.  You can really start to tell now and that's fun!  

Best Husband Quote of the Week:  Carl's kept me laughing as usual.  Today, we laughed at a comment he made when we were on our walk with Chief this morning.  He said, "Do you think we should register for a yogging stroller?"  Yes, yogging like in this Anchorman clip.  "We're trying this new fad called jogging.  I believe it's jogging or yogging.  It might be a soft j, I'm not sure."  Love that movie!

Week 17 Picture

I know I said last week I was averaging 1 pic a month and I wasn't going to take a picture every week, but I just had to this week.  I feel like I've grown a lot in the past couple weeks so I took this pic and texted it to some friends and my Mom and sisters.  It was taken when I was 17 weeks and 5 days. Yup, I'm growing and so is Baby Larson!   

Week 16

I'm nearing the end of my 16th week, so this week's post will reflect on how I've felt and what's happened during Week 16. 

This past week, the weather has showed us it's almost summer in Chicagoland... well, somewhat. We had above 90-degree temperatures a couple of the days. But it was cooler before that and has gotten cooler (60ish) since. Because of the fluctuations, there were some tornado scares and some hail and thunderstorms. Crazy weather, but we have been safe!

Last weekend, Carl threw out his back moving some tiles at Menards. He was laid up until Wednesday. I've never seen him in so much pain. And his only saving grace was muscle relaxers from Immediate Care on Sunday. We couldn't even get him up from the floor, let alone into the car and to Immediate Care on Saturday night! So we didn't get too much accomplished last weekend around the house. This weekend, Carl is feeling much better, so the work has resumed around the house. He's painting the last of the doors. I've been planting grass seed out back where Chief has killed the grass over the winter. And we're heading out to look at hardwood flooring. We've got a lot to do and an impending deadline. :)

This past week, I had my 16-week check up at the Doctor. I got to hear the baby's heartbeat again. This time, it was in the 150s. Still very strong! Everything is looking good! And my Doctor told me that the chance for Down Syndrome is 1 in 3000. Typically, for a woman my age it's 1 in 600, so the chances are really good that we're having a very healthy baby. Carl and I are lucky to have come from good genes.

How Far Along: 16 weeks and 6 days
Size of baby: Baby Larson was the size of an avocado as of last week on Sunday. (Tomorrow, size of a turnip at 17 weeks)
Total Weight Gain/Loss: When I went to the Doctor on Monday, I was 4 pounds up from week 12... so I think that puts me at 7.2lbs up from my first doctor's appointment, and 9 lbs up from pre-pregnancy weight.
Maternity Clothes: Yes please! Haha. I can still wear some of my jeans and a pair of jean shorts, but I've been wearing almost all maternity clothes. My cousin's clothes have been my saving grace! This past week, I've discovered her maternity jeans, a shirt, and one of her dresses. I think I'm going to really love dresses for work this summer and Fall! I did go to Target last week and buy a couple tank tops and a couple shirts. Before pregnancy, I would have to wear shirts that show that I had a waist (since I'm top-heavy), and now a lot of those shirts are way too tight around my waist so I have to wear a jacket over top. I'm really showing now, so I'm pretty much strictly maternity clothes.
Gender: So for quite some time now, I've been thinking we're having a girl. But this past week, I've thought we're having a boy. I just have no clue! We find out the gender in 4 1/2 weeks!
Movement: The Doctor asked if I was feeling movement yet. I told her sometimes I feel things, but I think it's just gas. She said I'll know when I feel the baby. A lot of women start feeling the baby around this time, but she said definitely within the next 2 weeks I will feel the baby. I can't wait!
Sleep: This past week, I didn't sleep too well. But that has nothing to do with the baby. I am getting up less in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, so that's good. But I've been really busy and stressed out at work, so I've been dreaming about work constantly and waking up in the middle of the night thinking about work. One night this past week, I couldn't fall back asleep so I got up and went to the computer to work for about an hour before trying to go back to sleep again at 5am. No use... I was just really tired that day. I can see my schedule lightening up over the next few weeks, so that's good. But this past month has really kicked my butt!
What I miss: Lying on my stomach and back. I have even modified my Savasana pose (corpse pose) in yoga so I'm not lying flat on my back. And last night, I woke up and rolled over on my back. Carl called me out on it, though, and I assured him it was "just for a minute". Ha! He made sure I switched to my side to fall back asleep.
Cravings: I haven't been craving sweets much after dinner... well, one night this past week, we did get Blizzards, but overall I want ice cream or dessert a lot less than pre-pregnancy. But in the morning for breakfast, I want sweet pastries... cinnamon rolls, coffee cake, pancakes and syrup.
Symptoms: I've been feeling really good! No complaints.
Best moment this week: I always love going to the Doctor and hearing the baby, so that is at the top of my list this week. Also, Katie and Frank and the rest of the Baio's gave me a special treat on Mother's Day as a "mother-to-be" present. Katie and I got to get manicures at Mario Tricoci on Sunday. And they brought over food for brunch. They had egg/hashbrown casseroles and fruit. And of course I made a coffee cake. :)
Best husband quote of the week: This has to be at Menards last Saturday. Carl was loading up the boxes of tile that we were going to purchase. I had walked away to the cleaning products aisle, and all of a sudden Carl comes up to me and says, "We have to come back. I hurt my back." And of course, I'm all about efficiencies (and the tile was only on sale until the next day!), so I insisted on loading the rest of the tile into the cart and then unloading it all into the car. "We're already here, and I'm capable," I said to him. I really paid attention to my form, so I came out okay! So after I load up the car, Carl says, "There is nothing more emasculating than having to watch your pregnant wife load tile while I just stand watching." We laughed about it. I felt really bad for him! I know it wasn't a pleasant experience for Carl, but it is probably one of his funniest quotes of the week.

Week 16 picture

I've really started showing over just the last 2 weeks! 

I just realized that I'm averaging 1 pic per month. Maybe when I get to the 3rd trimester, I'll start taking weekly pictures when you can really see a big difference week-to-week.

Week 15

So a lot has happened around the world this past week...
Friday, April 29th was The Royal Wedding.  Prince William of Wales married a commoner, Kate Middleton.  I was in a hotel in Hartford, CT, and watched while I got ready for work.  Kate Middleton was beautiful!  She was so elegant and so composed and simply stunning.  Yes, fairy tales really do happen.
And then on Sunday, May 1st, America won a big battle in the war against terrorism.  We killed Osama bin Laden who was hiding out for the past 10 years.  Carl was amazed at the rumors/stories we've heard about how it went down.  He kept saying, "It's like a real-life Jack Bauer mission."
Both events had news coverage round the clock.  It was a big week in world history, for sure! 


And meanwhile... little baby Larson is still growing...


How Far Along: 15 weeks and 4 days
Size of baby:  baby is the size of a apple; about 4 inches long and 2.5 ounces in weight

Total Weight Gain/Loss:  I'm about where I was last week...still about 7 pounds up from pre-pregnancy.

Maternity Clothes: So I learned how to wear my maternity work pants.  I wear them with my belly band so they stay up.  They're nice pants and super comfortable!  I feel like this week I really started showing.  A couple people have called me out a work saying they can tell.  It's true, my belly is a firm pooch now.

Gender:  This week I've gone back and forth.  My overall feeling is that it's a girl, but I'm not so sure.  I really would be happy with either a healthy little baby, boy or girl.  Carl says he thinks it's a boy because we have more than 1 boy name picked out so we have options.  Ha!

Movement:  Every once in awhile I feel a little something, but I attribute it to gas or digestion.  Who knows... I probably won't know until the baby kicks me in the ribs.  

Sleep:  I've been sleeping pretty well lately.  All last week I was in a hotel bed, and I feel like that kinda messed with my hips a little.  The outsides of my legs/hips/butt were sore and I can only attribute that to sleeping on my side in a bed I'm not used to.  It was good to come home and sleep in my own bed.  And I feel like I'm getting up to go to the bathroom less during the middle of the night.  Believe me, it's still 2 times a night... but that's down from what it was.  I feel like I've been pretty tired in the evening, but then I wake up well and feeling pretty good in the morning.  I'm still pretty stressed at work, but it hasn't affected my sleep or my dreams in the past week so that's good!

What I miss:   Lying on my stomach.  I miss it :(

Cravings:   I've really been craving fruit this past week.  And I've been eating salads, although I wouldn't say I've been craving vegetables.  I have 2 pieces of fruit each day... I can't get enough!

Symptoms:  For several days straight, I have had a bad eye twitch.  I don't know if that's stress-related or it was lack of sleep.  But it subsided today to where I've barely noticed it.  That was driving me nuts!  Really, I've been feeling really good!   

Best moment this week:  This week, I'm feeling more connected with the little baby and love that my pooch is getting bigger.  It felt like just fat before, but now it really feels real.  I still don't believe what's happening inside me most of the time, but overall I'm feeling more connected and it's feeling more real.  And that's awesome.

Best husband quote of the week:  I watched one of the birthing videos on babycenter.com over the weekend.  I don't know why.  It was pretty terrible to think about how that is going to come out of that.  Carl and I were joking afterward... I was saying "I can't believe I just watched that" and he said "I really can't believe you watched that, Abby".  He was being funny.  He makes me laugh!