23 Weeks!

My ticker over there says 117 days to go! I can't believe we are almost to double digits!
I got to go home & visit my family the first half of the week, & we went to this cute little baby clothes consignment store.
Riley has some of the cutest clothes ever. I have never had that much fun shopping in my life.

Here's the 23 week update!

* How far along?: 23 weeks & 2 days
* Total weight gain: 5 lbs
* How big is baby?: 8.5 inches & about 1.5 lbs.
* Sex: GIRL!
* Maternity clothes?: Most of my shirts are still fine, but she doesn't like the band in my maternity pants. She shows her disapproval by kicking it as hard as she can, same with seatbelts. So I've been hanging out in sweats & athletic pants whenever possible.
* Stretch marks?: None so far.
* Sleep?: HA. nuff said.
* Best moment this week? She has started doing these crazy flips at night when I'm trying to sleep, but then when my husband puts his hand on my stomach she will calm down. It's so sweet.
* Movement?: She's always moving! She makes my belly shake & jump like crazy.
* Food cravings?: Nothing really.
* Labor signs?: Nope, I've had the occasional BH but that's it.
* Belly button in or out?: Still in, but it's changing shape. It's a lot more shallow than it used to be.
* What I miss: I leaned over to tie my shoes while sitting in the car & couldn't reach. I still just barely have a belly, but my range of motion is definitely limited already.
* What I'm looking forward to: Starting on the nursery
* Words of Wisdom: Sleep when you can, you never know what the next night is going to be like.
* Milestone: Just about anybody who wants to feel or see her move has been able to. She's not shy.

The Big Announcement

Pipsqueak wants you to know that:

A healthy, active, shy, sweet baby girl.
Did I say active?
She wouldn't be still! We had such a hard time getting all her measurements. She was head down & hiding her little face. We got a few glimpses but she would put her hand up there to hide, or scratch her face & head.
It was so incredibly awesome to see her little fingers moving & twitching.
To see her kicking & feel it at the same time was such a unreal experience.
I could have laid there all day watching her.
We are so excited!

I'm gonna be completely honest....

and mushy. (don't say I didn't warn you)

For the past couple months I've felt like there must be something wrong with me. I have always been excited about the baby, I knew it was coming but there was something missing.
Sure, I cried at the ultrasound & teared up when we heard the heartbeat but something just wasn't quite right.
I just didn't have a connection with the baby.
I'm not sure if that makes any sense to anyone.
But one day last week, I was sitting on the couch & feeling it kick, and in that instant, for whatever reason, it was there.
The connection was just there.
I was unprepared for how powerful it would be.
I don't know if my delayed connection was because of all the fears, sickness & raging hormones that come with the first trimester. Maybe it happens at different times for everyone. I don't know, but what I do know is that I feel whole now, I don't feel awkward talking to the baby now. Instead of just being inside me, I feel like it's a part of me.
I love little baby kicks & flutters. I love the fact that my husband has been able to feel it a couple times already.
I love that when I'm laying on my back in the morning, the fluttering will sometimes get really strong, like it's pressing against me, & then you can feel a hard place on my stomach about the size of my palm in that location. I love that a few minutes later, the hard spot won't be there anymore & it will pop up 5 inches from where it was.
I just love all of it.
So much.


I warned you it was going to get mushy.

This is the coolest thing ever

I'm home.
I'm 16 weeks.
& I'm feeling the baby ALL the time.
I love it.

It's so squirmy.
It usually starts in the afternoon around 2pm.
Squirming & kicking, it actually tickles sometimes.

Another cool thing is that when I wake up in the morning, & sometimes when I'm laying down I can kind of press on my belly down low, and I can feel where it is. It will be soft on one side, & hard on the other.
My husband is eating all of this up, he LOVES it. He says that one day he actually felt the kicking that I was feeling. I wondered if that was even possible but my Dr. said yesterday that it definitely was, especially if the baby was pressed up against the front of my stomach.

How far along?: 16 weeks
* Total weight gain: 2 lbs. woo hoo
* How big is baby?: The size of an avacado. About 4 & 3/4 inches
* Sex: We don't know yet, but our BIG u/s is on Jan 13th!
* Maternity clothes?: I'm starting really love the maternity jeans, even a couple tops. Not that I need those yet, I'm just barely showing a bump.
* Stretch marks?: Nope, & I'm keeping my fingers crossed on this one.
* Sleep?: it's much better lately
* Best moment this week? Hearing the heartbeat & scheduling the big u/s!
* Movement?: Yep, not every day but it's pretty frequent.
* Food cravings?: Not really, I'm feeling better, but I get full really quickly. The baby really doesn't like chicken, but loves steak. lol
* Labor signs?: N/A
* Belly button in or out?: In
* What I miss: Eating chicken....& sushi....mmmm
* What I'm looking forward to: The big ultrasound next month & CHRISTMAS!
* Words of Wisdom: Don't ride all the way to Texas in the back seat of the truck while hauling any empty trailer. The road in Arkansas sucks. It will bounce you to death.
* Milestone: We are almost halfway there!

I lied to my Doctor...

Don't judge.
You don't even know what I said yet.

We went for our 12 week appointment on Tuesday.
I've only gained 2lbs so far, so that's pretty good for 12 weeks.

We talked for a while & then it seemed like the appointment was over.
Then I thought, "Wait just a minute, I was thinking I would get to hear the heartbeat today. "
So I asked, & He said " You're almost a little too early to hear it, but if you promise not to worry if we can't find it, I'll look. Do you promise?"

"Yep"

That was a lie.
I knew as soon as it came out of my mouth.
Me? Not worry if you cant find my child's heartbeat? Right, I can go a whole month without worrying that there is something wrong.

Luckily...
It doesn't matter that I told a little white lie, cause he found it & it is the sweetest sound in the whole world.

10 Weeks!

Normally I use "The Bump" for my weekly images.
However for Week 10, they compared the baby to a Prune. yuck.
I didn't really like that mental image, so I decided to use this one instead.


Isn't that much cuter than a prune?
Yeah I thought so too.

* How far along?: 10 weeks!
* Total weight gain: Nope, I had to go to the Dr.'s on Wednesday & I was actually down 1/2 lb from pre-pregnancy.
* How big is baby?: The size of a Kumquat? (Or prune I guess...)
* Sex: don't know yet.
* Maternity clothes?: The bloat is making my other jeans uncomfortable, but I don't need them.
* Stretch marks?: Nope, & I'm keeping my fingers crossed on this one.
* Sleep?: It's not too bad. Some nights are worse than others.
* Best moment this week? Winning the pumpkin carving contest, & I get to go see my family this weekend!
* Movement?: "They" say it's wiggling around in there! Yay!
* Food cravings?: Still very little appetite but I've had a few cravings.
* Labor signs?: N/A
* Belly button in or out?: In
* What I miss: Feeling normal. : )
* What I'm looking forward to: Hearing the heartbeat.
* Words of Wisdom: Go eat your favorite foods before you get pregnant... It will be a while before you get to enjoy them again.
* Milestone: We are 1/4 of the way there!

Musical Due Dates!

We started at June 3rd, then June 2nd. Today my Dr. changed it yet again, to June 1st.
We are literally & figuratively getting closer every week.


Your baby is growing like mad, putting on about a millimeter every day and continuing to straighten out in the trunk. Though you can't feel it yet, baby is moving those little arms, legs and (now only slightly) webbed fingers and toes like crazy.

* How far along?: 8 weeks!
* Total weight gain: none so far : )
* How big is baby?: the size of a raspberry!
* Sex: don't know yet, I can't wait to find out though!
* Maternity clothes?: umm I don't need them but I did buy a pair of jeans cause they were on sale...p.s. They are comfy!
* Stretch marks?: Nope, but I did but some of the new Victoria's Secret Cocoa Butter! It's Awesome!!!
* Sleep?: Same as last time. On this mattress? yeah right...I'm sleeping okay, not great but I'm only waking up once or twice.
* Best moment this week? Seeing the ultrasound & heartbeat last Tuesday.
* Movement?: Not that I can feel, but it should be moving a little: )
* Food cravings?: Mostly I'm not hungry at all & nothing sounds good, but every once in a while I'll have a craving for something in particular.
* Labor signs?: N/A
* Belly button in or out?: In
* What I miss: Not being nauseated all the time & "feeling" normal. Physically & emotionally.
* What I'm looking forward to: Morning sickness going away. I've been a bad blogger, lol.
* Words of Wisdom: If you need to drink something with caffine, it's OK. Everything in moderation. : )
* Milestone: We have a heartbeat & pictures of our little miracle!!

Sorry I made you wait....

So I went to the Dr. on Tuesday for a repeat beta.
If you remember, my first beta last Tuesday was only 47.
Well this week, my beta has skyrocketed to 1880!!!
That's a great number. We are most definitely pregnant!
Our first ultrasound is in 2 weeks, Oct 13.
I am so excited!

So I have an exciting announcement to make!

My husband & I went to the Dr. yesterday to discuss some testing & when we got there, they made me pee in a little cup.
I hate peeing in cups, but miraculously yesterday I actually had to go.
Don't you just hate it when they make you do that & you don't have to go?
You know that they are just standing out there thinking "Geez what is taking so long?"
Thankfully, it wasn't one of those experiences.
Except for the fact that when I came out the nurse & my husband were gone. I had no idea where they went. So now I'm standing in the hallway with a pee cup & don't know what to do with it. Talk about embarrassing. Nothing like wandering around lost with your own...yeah well you get the idea.

Anyways, We go in & talk to the Dr. about our concerns with TTC. He listened & then said, "All of these things are good things to think about & possibly keep in mind but your test today was actually positive..."
Wait...what? No, I've been spotting since Sunday....we came to talk to you about our next steps!
We ran a beta & it was positive too.

So as of yesterday: My number one favorite thing about the first day of fall is that I found out that I am pregnant!

However, my Dr. is concerned about the spotting, he said that this really could go either way.
It might be nothing & it might be the beginning of the end. I will go in for more blood work on Tuesday, to make sure things are progressing as they should.

I really went back & forth yesterday, I was excited, nervous, scared, apprehensive, sad, not wanting to be excited, It was just a a roller coaster of emotions to take in. In the end though, I decided to be excited. We are so happy and if it doesn't work out, it just wasn't meant to be. I can accept that & we can try again.

But for today & until I'm told differently:
We Are Having A Baby!!!!
Due Date June 3rd, 2010