26 Weeks

Happy New Year! I still can't believe it's 2013 already!  We had our ups and downs in 2012, but the ups out weights the downs.  Baking this precious bun says it all.  The closer we get to our due day, the more excited we are getting.  It's been so much fun seeing friends and family over the holidays that we haven't seen since the announcement and their reactions to my ever growing belly.  We had originally planned on painting the nursery during Christmas break but that didn't happen.  My cousin, her mom and my cousin's kids stayed with us for Christmas and tried to spend as much time with them as possible since I only get to see them once a year.  After they left, I just crash for a few day.  I was just exhausted from all the gatherings we had.  Once I recovered, we had to get ready for our annual New Year's Eve party and that totally wore me out too!  But I had a great time and loved counting down with all my good friends. 

 

It's been a couple of weeks since my last posting and I'm blaming it on all the holiday events.  Now that that's all over and done with, I will try to keep up with the weekly posts.

 

 

 

How far along? 26 weeks and 1 day

Baby Size: Hothouse Cucumber (15 inches, 2.2 pounds)

Total weight gain: 19 pounds, I'm blaming it on all the holiday eating.  I packed on 2 pounds in one week!
Maternity clothes? Maternity and regular clothes mix
Stretch marks? No
Sleep: Still pretty good
Best moment this week: A new year brings new beginnings!
Movement: Lots of kicking and tumbling.  Not only can I feel her moving, I can see her moving too!
Food cravings: Still the same as before but more into sweets now (which is probably bad, but trying to control my intake of sugary snacks)
Gender: Girl
Labor Signs: No
Symptoms: Just little back pains here and there.  I notice it more when I've been standing for a while.
Belly Button in or out? Mostly flush with my stomach, just the top part of the belly button sticks out more.  I noticed that when I laugh, my entire belly button sticks out!
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy all the time!

23 Weeks

 

 

How far along? 23 Weeks

Total weight gain: 14.2 pounds
Baby Size: Large Mango (8 inches, 1.2 pounds)
Maternity clothes? My regular clothes mixed in with maternity.
Stretch marks? No
Sleep: Toss and turn A Lot!
Best moment this week: This has nothing to do with the baby, but decorating the house and getting ready for the parties we will be having in the next couple of weeks.
Movement: Yes, lots and lots of movement.  It's a party in the baby's house all day long!
Food cravings: Chocolate ice-cream and juices.  We went to Costco last week and got a variety pack of the Naked Juice, OMG, so good!!!
Gender: Girl!
Labor Signs: No
Symptoms: Some lower back pain.
Belly Button in or out? Starting to stick out a little.
Wedding rings on or off? Still on.
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy all the time and excited.  Except for those times when I get a little emotional.
Looking forward to: Again, nothing to do with the baby but looking forward to the many parties that we are hosting/attending this week! I love this time of the year!

22 Weeks

How far along? 22 Weeks (18 more weeks to go!)

Baby Size: Spaghetti squash (8 inches, 1 whole pound!)

Total weight gain: 13 pounds.
Maternity clothes? Regular clothes mixed in with maternity clothing.
Stretch marks? No.
Sleep: Still sleeping ok but lot more tossing and turning.
Best moment this week: Having Park really feeling the baby kick!
Movement: Yes, lots more kicking and moving around. 
Food cravings: Still loving the fries and totally obsessed with orange juice! I used to not like OJ that much till now.
Gender: Girl!!
Labor Signs: No.
Symptoms: Lower back ache.
Belly Button in or out? My belly button has fought a really good fight, but it's now totally flushed with the baby's house.
Wedding rings on or off? On. 
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy as can be! 
Looking forward to: Park and I are finally free to start thinking about getting the house more festive.  I love this time of the year!!

Nursery Inspiration

Now that we finally know we are having a baby girl, I can really start thinking about what to do with the baby's room.  I have been looking through Pinterest and found this for the color.



We will be painting the room with this light lavender color with, at least we'll try, the 3D tree.  That is if Park is able to make something like that.  I'm also looking into having some 3D white butterflies flying from the crib towards the window.  The room set up will be very similar to this picture. 

 

 

The butterfly wall art will look something like the picture above.  I am super excited about starting work on the baby's room.  We don't have that much time left so we better get to it!!

 

I'm obsessed with owls, so could not resist getting this!





 





21 Weeks

How far along? 21 Weeks

Baby Size: Banana (7 inches, 11 oz)

Total weight gain: 12.8 pounds
Maternity clothes? Yes, but still wearing non-maternity clothing
Stretch marks? No
Sleep: Still the same
Best moment this week: Finding out if we are having a boy or girl!
Movement: Some fluttering here and there.
Food cravings: We have been making fresh bread lately and after our Thanksgiving feast, we had Honey Baked ham left over that I made into a hot ham and cheese sandwich.  We ran out of ham after 2 sandwiches and wish I had saved more!  Now it's all I can think about!!!
Anything making you queasy or sick: No
Labor Signs: No
Symptoms: Feeling a little lower back ache.
Belly Button in or out? Still in.
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!


At our 20 week check up, we had a ultrasound to check on the baby's development.  So far so good!  We were able to see the baby move and actually saw the baby yawn!  It's so cool!  The baby was really active, moving the arms and legs.  Our tech switched to 3D color and we were able to see the baby's facial features.  To actually be able to see a little bit of what your baby will look like, is a great feeling!  We weren't able to see the complete full on face since half of the baby's face was pressed up against my uterus (I think that's what the tech said) but saw the profile.  I think the baby has Park's nose! :) 

The second best thing about doing this ultrasound was finding out the gender.  It took a while to see because the umbilical cord was in the way but since the baby was so active, we were finally able to tell.  And...

 

It’s A

Girl!

Yes!  We are having a GIRL!!!!  We are so excited! Now we can finally decide on what color to paint the room!  Now the next question we will be getting, "do you have any names picked out?"  Maybe, we have a couple of names that we are thinking about but nothing final yet.  Any suggestions?  Would love to hear it!

20 Weeks

 

 

How far along? 20 Weeks, halfway there!

Baby Size: Small cantaloupe (6.5 inches, 10 oz)

Total weight gain: 10 pounds, right on track!
Maternity clothes? Yes
Stretch marks? No
Sleep: Still the same. 
Best moment this week: Getting over my cold!!!  It was miserable few days, but glad it's over!
Miss Anything? Really miss being able to give my husband a big bear hug!
Movement: Still just a little fluttering here and there.
Food cravings: Sweets, ice-cream, chocolate ice-cream.  See a pattern here?
Anything making you queasy or sick: No, think the sickness has passed!
Gender:  WE FIND OUT TOMORROW!!
Labor Signs: No
Symptoms: Starting to get a little rash here and there.
Belly Button in or out? In at this moment, but it's almost flush with the baby's house (as Park calls it).
Wedding rings on or off? Still on.
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy happy happy :)
Looking forward to: Uh, the only thing I've been looking forward to since I found out I was pregnant!  Doctor's appointment tomorrow!!!  Yay!!!

I am also looking forward to Thanksgiving.  I can't wait to have the turkey, ham, mash with gravy, stuffing, maybe some pumpkin pie.  Mmmm...my mouth is watering just thinking about all the yummy food we will be having!  What's everyone doing this Thanksgiving?  Anyone going shopping on Black Friday? 

I also have to give a shout out to my two favorite little girls.  Hi Big Girl & Bee!!

What I've Been Cooking

  

That's right, my friends, we are having a baby!  And this picture explains why I have not been blogging the last couple of months.   

 

The day I thought I probably should have taken a pregnancy test was Saturday, August 4th.  My husband, Park and I were helping friends move into their new apartment and I remember telling my friend Sarah that I should have probably taken a test before helping her move since I was already a few days late.  The next morning (Sunday), I took a pregnancy right when I woke up and after I peed on the stick, I was reading the instructions.  The instructions said it would take about 3 minutes to process.  After I read that sentence, I looked up and saw this:

 

I didn't believe it at first, thinking maybe it was still processing and had to do a double take.  It still said PREGNANT the second time I looked at it!  Pregnant!  I couldn't believe it!  I took the test downstairs to show Park and he was just as excited!  The pregnancy was confirmed the following Tuesday by my doctor.  We didn't tell anyone the news right away because we wanted to be sure so we waited till I was at the 12th week "safe zone."  

My first sonogram picture was taken at 6 weeks and the baby was no bigger than an apple seed.  The heartbeat had just started to beat so it was a little slow, but just seeing the heart fluttering...it was so amazing.  I couldn't help myself and started to tear up a little bit.  Our next sonogram was at 8 weeks and the baby was about the size of an raspberry.  The heart was also stronger and just fluttering furiously! 

We waited another month before our next appointment.  When the tech put the wand on my stomach and I saw the baby for the first time, I could barley believe my eyes.  Last time, the baby was just a little jellybean,  now the baby's an actual baby!  Just seeing the growth of the baby after only 4 short weeks was incredible!  We were able to hear the heartbeat this time and it was loud and strong. 

I still can't believe that I am growing a baby.  Looking at this sonogram picture just makes my heart burst with happiness and love.  We are both so excited and have been having a great time telling our friends and family. 

Today, I am at 14 weeks and so happy to be feeling better and more like myself again.  I was fine the first 6 weeks of the pregnancy but after the 6th week hit, I started to feel nauseous.  I didn't have morning sickness, no, I had ALL day sickness!!!  I was so tired by the end of the work day from pretending to be happy and feeling fine, but on the inside, I just wanted to throw up and wish I was at home on the couch.  I do feel a little lucky because I didn't get sick sick (throwing up sick) but just 3 times.  And they weren't that bad.  Once I was half way through my 12th week, I was starting to feel better.  And now at 14 weeks, I'm finally feeling like myself again, minus the little baby bump.