18 Weeks

18 Weeks

by | Feb 19, 2021 | Family

Reading Time: 4 minutes

How far along? 18 weeks today!

Baby Size: According to the Baby Center app, baby girl is about 5.5″ from head to rump (about the size of a bell pepper) and around 6.75 ounces.

Have You Started To Show Yet?: I feel like I just really started to “pop” in the last few days. Because I’m already plus size, I’m in that in-between where I could kind of disguise it as just having put on a few pounds, but it’s getting increasingly obvious that it’s just the belly. I’m also feeling my center of gravity start to shift and I’m arching my lower back to compensate.

Total Weight Gain: I’ve gained about 3-4 pounds (it fluctuates a bit). I had gained 5, but in the last couple weeks I lost a couple pounds. I talked with my midwife and reviewed how I’m feeling and what I’m eating, and she said everything was fine and that it probably had to do more with me craving produce so much lately as well as not snacking in the evening (it gives me heartburn).

Belly Button (in or out): In. My belly button never “popped” with Myles, so I don’t expect it will this time either.

Maternity Clothes: Not necessary yet (I can get by with big t-shirts/sweatshirts and sweatpants). I did get a couple of pairs of maternity leggings and wear them simply for comfort, though! It’s certainly one of the nice parts of working from home — I don’t have to have a professional wardrobe of maternity clothes!

Sleep: Say hello to the “mama bird nest”, as Mike has dubbed it! I hit a point where I couldn’t get comfortable and get a good night’s sleep in our shared bed, so I set up a twin bed and I’ve been sleeping SO MUCH BETTER. It’s kind of in the middle of my home office, but meh – who cares? It’s also right in front of the radiator, so it’s nice and cozy!

The pregnancy pillow is one of my favorite things ever and Mike and the kids have been fighting over who gets “dibs” on it after the baby comes. I’m not sure I’m going to give it up. Ever.

Best Moment of Week: Tuesday evening (at 17.5 weeks), I finally started feeling small flutters of baby movements! It wasn’t too obvious and I was second guessing myself, but the next day I started to feel the same sensation more often when I sat quietly and paid careful attention for it. I am SO EXCITED. Feeling the baby kick and move and hiccup has been one of the things I’ve most looked forward to!

Miss Anything?: I miss being able to bend over for more than a few seconds without feeling like I can’t breathe and my guts are getting squished. (Ugh.)

Movement: Felt the first little flutters this past week! Just very gentle “tickles” right now.

Food Cravings: Not “cravings” necessarily, but I’ve been especially enjoying salads and snacking on baby carrots — any fresh produce, really. I’ve also really been enjoying vanilla Greek yogurt with this specific Bear Naked Cacao and Cashew Butter granola mixed into it for breakfast. I’m also hooked on pink velvet iced lattes from Dunkin’ but I have to be careful to limit how much caffeine I have because -whelp- I’m a caffeine fiend and baby doesn’t need that!

Anything Making You Queasy or Sick?: This is a weird one but I have seen others say they’ve experienced it–when I go outside in really cold temps (like below 20 degrees Fahrenheit), then come back into the warm house I get “gaggy” and cough and sometimes get sick. Seeing food leftovers in the sink (thanks, preteen son that doesn’t clean up after doing dishes–lol) made me gag and throw up last night.

I also have to watch what I eat pretty carefully in terms of acidic or spicy foods because I’ve been having a lot of heartburn. Tums are my new BFF and I guess if old wives’ tales are to be believed, baby girl should have a beautiful head of hair!

Happy or Moody?: Mostly happy

Labor Signs: NO! We have lots of time to go before that!

Shopping/Nesting/Preparation: Our Valentine’s Day “date” was going to Target to finish setting up our registry and get our goodie bag of baby stuff. It’s been over a year (due to COVID) since I’ve been to Target (or any “big box” stores) so it was a really fun treat. While we were there, we also picked up some bodysuits and pajamas that were on clearance, as well as a cute little stuffed llama that was TOO soft to pass up.

I’ve also done a little online shopping as I’ve noticed good sales. I got our “bucket” car seat from Buy Buy Baby because it was on sale ($50 off) plus I had a 20% off coupon. I picked up a cute backpack-style diaper bag and a baby ring sling on both sale from Amazon.

I also found some of Myles’ baby things. I found my Ergo baby carrier from when Myles was little, as well as a bunch of burp cloths and baby wash cloths. I was most excited that his baby swing cleaned up well (after being stored in the back of our garage for almost 5+ years) and still works!

Looking Forward To (in Week 18): I’m looking forward to feeling the baby (hopefully!) move more. I have a second appointment with my midwife later in the week. I also celebrate my -ahem- 39th birthday this week. (EEK!)

It’s a…

It’s a…

by | Feb 17, 2021 | Family

Reading Time: 2 minutes

A couple weeks ago when we had our ultrasound done, I also had blood drawn to be send for a SneakPeek clinical test. We got our results back later that week, and the email had the fun animated GIF reveal below. I’m SO excited to announce…

Our sons were both fist-pumping excited when we showed them. They were hoping for a baby sister, and the whole family has been hoping for a girl. (We have a lot of boys in the family, and not many girls.) Obviously, we’d have been happy either way, but this makes things even more exciting.

My mother has busied herself with unpacking all the dresses and outfits she saved from when I was little. There’s a shocking amount that has survived the last 30+ years. I’ve been having to restrain myself from ordering ALL the pink and lavender outfits that I lay eyes upon. (Oh, I am such a sucker for ruffle-butt pants and obnoxiously frilly dresses!)

I’ve also been very excited at the prospect of Disney princesses, unicorns, bows, and eventually tiny little piggy tails! Of course, with my luck, our little girl will prefer brother’s Transformers and Hot Wheels–and that will be just fine too–but I have to admit I’m looking forward to more girlie things if it works out that way. I have no room to talk, after all. I was an avid He-Man collector as a kid, but I also loved My Little Pony and dolls of all sorts. I guess being well-rounded is a good thing!

Not August

Not August

by | Jan 18, 2021 | Family

Reading Time: 3 minutes

I mentioned in my last post that we’re expecting a baby in August. (Surprise!) Except it turns out, I was slightly wrong.

On Saturday, we had an appointment with Pink or Blue 4D Ultrasound Studio. We plan (if all goes well) to have another home birth with this baby, so normally that would mean no sonogram photos. With Myles, we went to a regular OBGYN till about 20 weeks, then switched to a home birth midwife, so we did have a couple sonograms with him. With this baby, we’re starting with a midwife from the beginning.

I suspected I was farther along than what my due date calculated out to be (August 3), just based on the way I’ve been feeling. Myles was born 5 weeks early, and if this baby comes that early, we won’t be able to stay home, so it was important to me to have a more accurate due date. We also found out that Pink or Blue does blood draws for the Sneak Peek early gender determination test, so that was one more reason we wanted to go. (Personally, part of me wanted to be surprised, but Mike felt extremely strongly about finding out the gender as early as possible … and I pick my battles, haha.)

Baby was mostly wanting to show us his/her backside.
Snuggled into the placenta. I guess that’s comfy?

We had an absolutely fantastic time at the ultrasound studio. The setup of the studio is fantastic. Instead of a little monitor to view the images, there’s a big projection screen and a couch for the family to sit comfortably and view. The woman that runs it is so sweet, and took lots of time with us. Myles was able to come with us too, and it was really special to have my “baby” get to meet my second baby for the first time. From my position, I couldn’t see his face, but Mike said his little jaw dropped and he was totally awestruck when the baby popped up on the screen.

When I asked about taking measurements to see if my due date seemed right, she agreed that the baby looked bigger/older than 11 weeks. She took several sets of measurements and averaged them to come up with an adjusted due date of July 23.

I was super happy to hear I’d have two fewer weeks of summer heat to suffer through when I’m very pregnant and ready to pop. I also realized that means I’m already at the end of the first trimester (13 weeks), which is also a huge relief. This pregnancy has been harder on me than the first in terms of exhaustion and nausea (though no vomiting, mercifully), so I’m glad to be going into my second trimester when those things usually subside.

I had my blood drawn and the sample goes to the lab (west coast) this week. We should have results Friday night or Saturday. So of course, we’re anxiously waiting! Any guesses?