36 week fun facts

36 weeks after pilates.
How far along? 36 weeks, 3 days
Total weight gain/loss: NO IDEA
Stretch marks? None yet. Fingers crossed.
Sleep: Between acid reflux and feet swelling (causing me to sleep in an odd "V" shape) and needing to pee, I'm not really sleeping soundly at the moment. Boo!
Best moment this week: Tie between the hospital tour (made it all more real) and pilates starting up again on Monday!
Movement: All the time. I am still loving it but really wish I could control it. Non-stop movement at 3am is not enjoyable.
Food cravings: Patty Melts (with ground turkey, of course). Yum!
Gender: Absolutely a BOY!
Labor Signs: Hopefully not for another few days at least! (Did I just say days!?!)
Belly Button in or out? It's fairly out. And check out the linea negra. Nice!
What I miss: Being 100%.
What I am looking forward to: We have our baby care classes on Saturday and Sunday (baby care and CPR, respectively), and we have the appt to have the car seat inspected on Monday. That means we'll have a car seat in the car as of this weekend, aaaahhhhh!!!
Weekly Wisdom: It's okay to not do everything right as you think it needs to happen...things will get done in time.
Milestone: Hospital tour.

So these are surprisingly not bad but you can see the ankle/calve swelling. My feet look good here though. Yay! Normally, I'd say..."just call me Fred...Flinstone"
Mike is hoping this linea negra fades after pregnancy. At least it's a question he asks almost weekly, so I'm guessing it's a big deal to him or something. ;)

25 Week Fun Facts

How far along? 25 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: 23lb. :)
Maternity clothes? Exclusively.
Stretch marks? Nope.
Sleep: Very good.
Best moment this week: Being told that all was well with Xander's heart was the best part of this past week. :)
Movement: It's amazing.
Food cravings: Fruit.
Gender: Absolutely a BOY!
Labor Signs: Hopefully not for another 12+ weeks!
Belly Button in or out? Can still just see the back of it. It's odd looking though.
What I miss: Non-achy hands and feet. My hands and feet have been so sore for the last couple of weeks. I swear it feels like arthritis in my knuckles and my feet feel like I've walked a marathon barefoot and every bone is sore. It really stinks.
What I am looking forward to: Our trip to Alaska is a week from today.
Weekly Wisdom: Love and respect are the foundation of male and female relationships. Men need respect and women need love. Seems simplistic enough but it was the focus of a marriage seminar at church last night that was truly enlightening.
Milestone: I think I finally look pregnant all the time. I think.

19 Weeks 5 Days

So I failed to take a timely belly pic again, but I finally got Mike to take one this afternoon after church and brunch. Yes, I look very tired. We had a long weekend! Friday we had some friends over for chili. I worked Friday (week 1 down and quite successful), so Mike took charge and had everything cooked and set up prior to me even getting home. He did a great job! Saturday I walked 4 miles with Mel and Kate, did 4 hours worth of yard work and then went to a friend's birthday BBQ at 2:30. By the time we got home at 8pm I was EXHAUSTED. Today was a walk to St Elmos (local coffee house) with Mike and OScar, church and then brunch with some friends. After taking this pick, I promptly took a 2 hour nap. Aahh...relief.

Anyway, hopefully I'll be better about belly pics now that I seem to actually be getting a belly. :)

xoxo
V

19 Week Fun Facts

How far along? 19 weeks. 1 day
Total weight gain/loss: +14 as of this morning.
Maternity clothes? Exclusively. BTW - loving my new maternity work clothes that I bought for my job. So comfy!
Stretch marks? Nope.
Sleep: Still dealing with a bit of insomnia, but thankfully that's it. I'm waking up early but at least I'm sleeping (without getting up to use the restroom) through the night. And Oscar is a good sleeper. I don't even hear him during the night.
Best moment this week: NBR (not baby related) -- new job.
Movement: I'm back to not having any idea if I'm feeling something or not. Can't wait til it's definite movement.
Food cravings: Milkshakes. I discovered that the Artfully Chocolate near our house makes the most delicious milkshakes in the whole world. All kinds of flavors, and I'm currently addicted to the milk chocolate with hazelnut, whipped cream and colored sprinkles. Yum!
Gender: Absolutely a BOY!
Labor Signs: Um, nope. And hopefully not for another 18+ weeks!
Belly Button in or out? Still in, but I can see the back of it...does that make sense. I've always had a very deep belly button but now I can see the back of it in the mirror. Sort of odd.
What I miss: I'm back to missing being skinny. Walking around DC on Monday and seeing all the cute summer outfits/dresses was a reminder that I'm not a size 0 and I also don't look pregnant to strangers. I just look bigger, and I'm not 100% happy about it.
What I am looking forward to: Finally having the conversation about Xander with Mendi (my new managing partner)tomorrow. I know I should have already had the convo, but time has not been right until now.
Weekly Wisdom: Thinks will work out if you just pray about it and let things happen as they are supposed to.
Milestone: I'm still amazed that Xander can hear us now.

17 Week Fun Facts

How far along? 17 weeks. 1 day
Total weight gain/loss: Still +10 as of this morning.
Maternity clothes? Exclusively.
Stretch marks? Nope.
Sleep: Insomnia - ugh! I've had several occurrences in the last week of waking up at 3 or 4am and not being able to fall back asleep at all or for several hours. Hoping this is a brief issue.
Best moment this week: What a wonderful weekend -- I'll write mroe about it in a separate post.
Movement: I'm back to not having any idea if I'm feeling something or not. Can't wait til it's definite movement.
Food cravings: Savory foods -- made lasagna for the 2nd time in 2 weeks last night, and I'm hoping Mike and I will be able to finish the whole 9x13 pan before it goes bad or we get sick of it.
Gender: BOY!
Labor Signs: Um, nope. And hopefully not for another 20+ weeks!
Belly Button in or out? Still in, of course.
What I miss: This week -- deli meat and not feeling guilty eating it even if it's toasted. It's recommended you not eat deli meat when pregnant (fear of listeria) unless it's cooked. I hadn't eaten it at all until this past week when I was downtown for lunch. Potbelly turkey and swiss on wheat was calling my name. Yum! They toast the whole sandwich, so I figured it was fine...but I still didn't enjoyit as much as I should have because of my thoughts of listeria. Poo!
What I am looking forward to: Feeling baby, contractor coming tomorrow to discuss changes to the nursery (paneling coming down, painting and new closet foors)and my conversation with Mendi this afternoon about job stuff (also another post).
Weekly Wisdom: Thinks will work out if you just pray about it and let things happen as they are supposed to.
Milestone: Bought the stroller (well, mom did)! Does that count as a milestone!?!

Finally a Belly Pic and another Baby Purchase

Alright, alright ...so I have decided to start the process of weekly belly pics even though I still have more of a beer belly rather than a baby belly. :) From now on I'll do it with my weekly fun facts, but this one is a bit late. This pic is from today at 16 weeks, 2 days. I will say that while I know I just barely look like something may be growing in my belly, I am completely out of my normal jeans and these are my Seven maternity jeans that I LOVE!!



ALSO...and this is very exciting...a new baby purchase. Well, really two new purchases, but only one is terribly exciting. Ignore the boxes from my Dechert office in the background, but this new giraffe will be taking up permanent residence in the nursery as soon as we are able to decorate it. I found him at a shop down the street (Purple Goose) and couldn't resist. Sitting next to the still-nameless giraffe is the leather crocodile-embossed coffee table in espresso that will be next to the glider. I thought the crocodile was also sufficiently safari for the nursery. :)