Wednesday, August 24, 2011

18 Weeks

(Thanks for the cute cardigan, Mom!)

08/24/11

Not too much to report this week. This second trimester thing is a breeze so far. Aside from needing 9+ hours of sleep a night and naps on the weekend (interrupted by leg cramps and getting up to use the bathroom), it’s going pretty great. I definitely am sporting the baby belly now. And I love it. I’m going to need to go maternity clothes shopping this week. It’s really fun to feel the baby move around every day, and I can’t wait until Andy can feel it too.

We decided on a girl name that we really like. Sorry, we’re not sharing. But we’re still pretty stuck on what to choose for a boy name. At least we have lots of time still. I’ve been poking around at what to put on our registry. There are so many baby things out there, and I’m not sure what I’ll need. I guess that’s what family and friends that have had babies are for.

I’m trying to get lots of rest to catch up from summer camp still. My sister’s family is coming up this weekend, so we’ll have lots of fun shopping and floating in the creek with them. It’s supposed to be pretty hot.

On another note, one of my chickens started laying eggs on Friday, and we joined a CSA this week. So I’ll have lots of fresh vegetables and eggs to eat full of lots of nutrition for the baby. And I’ve heard that what you eat during pregnancy the baby can taste and is more likely to like those things in the future. So bring on the veggies!

Changes this week: Bigger belly, but not too much else.

Cravings this week: Steak, but I haven’t had any yet.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

17 Weeks


08/17/11

17 weeks now, and the baby is the size of an onion. The best part is… I felt the baby move this week! On Friday in the middle of the night I got up to go to the bathroom, and felt a light touch on the inside of my lower stomach. It was pretty cool. I’ve been feeling it a lot more in the last few days. I think I have an active baby in there. It just feels like a tickle mostly.

We had our Middle School camp over the weekend. Let me just say that I’m still exhausted from it. It was tons of fun, but very tiring. I love spending time with those kids, and I’ll miss it during Winter Camp in February. I’d like to stay very involved after the baby comes, though. At camp we floated down the Santiam, hiked to Marion Lake, and tubed on Detroit Lake. I got a good workout manning a pontoon boat on the river. The hike was 5.5 miles round trip, and at the end of the way to the lake, my hip started hurting really bad. Then it hurt all the way down and that night and the next day. It felt like when I strained my hip flexor in high school, only on the other side. So I iced it, and thankfully it’s doing much better. I guess I pushed it a little too hard.

Three weeks until our next midwife appointment and we’ll also be half way to our due date! It seems like it’s going so slowly, but it’s fast at the same time. I just can’t wait to hold my baby.

Changes this week: Movement! And I’m still tired and having to pee all the time, so thing new there. My tummy’s filling out a little more. Everyone at work comments on my belly, and I’m not sure I like it. I mean, I am pregnant, so my belly will get bigger… Oh well. Embrace the bump.

Cravings this week: Ice cream sandwiches

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

16 Weeks

08/10/11

I can’t believe we’re 16 weeks along already. It feels like it goes so slow, but then it goes by fast too! Big Baby is now about 4 ½ inches long and 3 ½ oz. That’s about the size of an avocado. He/she is supposed to double in weight in the next few weeks. It will probably start getting heavy soon. My belly’s sticking out now, no denying it. I’m still not in maternity clothes, though. My Bella Band does the trick of keeping my pants up without being buttoned. I can still button them, but it’s uncomfortable when I sit for hours at work.

I think I might have felt the baby move the other day! I was on the treadmill and felt a little something in the lower left part of my abdomen. Then I felt it again yesterday while I was getting ready in the morning. I’m really not sure though, it might have been a gas bubble. It’s still kind of early to feel my first baby. We’ll see in a few weeks if that’s what I was feeling!

I got a pregnancy pillow in the mail this week, and it’s comfy! I’ve been sleeping a lot better since I got it, and it especially helps with my chronic back pain. Andy tried it out and said, “Are these just for pregnant women?” He steals it every morning after I get up.

We’re starting to think about a birthing class to attend. I’d like to either do the Bradley Method or Hypnobirthing, but I don’t think either are offered in the Salem area. So we might have to do something else or a Hypnobabies home study course. I’d rather attend a class, though. We’ll see what we can find. We still have some time. I just want to get good and prepared for my natural birth. I’m actually excited about the labor and birth. It will be quite an experience!

We have our middle school summer camp coming up this weekend. I’m lucky and get to sleep in the house on a bed instead of in a tent. This is mostly because I don’t want to have to deal with getting up in the night 3 times to use the bathroom from a tent, and also because I don’t function on not enough sleep and it makes me get sick. Camp will be fun, though! We’re tubing on the lake, tubing down a river, hiking, swimming, singing, camp firing, etc. Andy does a great job of putting it all together.

Our friends gave us a changing table with shelves this week, and Andy got out all of the things we have so far and set it up. It’s so cute, sometimes I just go look at it

Changes this week: Bigger belly, I think I’m starting to pop out and look pregnant instead of like I’ve been eating too much ice cream. Still super tired, still having to pee a lot. I’ve gotten a few leg cramps at night, but if I stretch them they go away. I think I’ve gained about 8 pounds at this point, which is funny since the baby is only 3 ½ oz.

Cravings this week: Gross, but I’ve been wanting macaroni and cheese. I got the Annie’s natural kind, which is a little better than Kraft I’ve been eating pretty healthy, though. Lots of fruits and veggies.

Bonus: Here's the baby's heartbeat that we recorded two weeks ago at our midwife appointment!



Wednesday, August 3, 2011

15 Weeks

(I look a lot bigger this week because I tried a maternity shirt! It's way too big still, but I liked the color.)

08/03/11

So 15 weeks today, and Big Baby is the size of an orange. He/she is about 4” long and weighs 2.5 oz. We’re 3/8 of the way there! Only 25 weeks to go. It’s all going by pretty fast.

Summer’s been here in full swing this year. I’m so grateful that it hasn’t been too hot, considering that we don’t have air conditioning. It’s been mostly in the mid 80’s this past week or so, and I think it’s supposed to go back down to the 70’s next week. We had a busy weekend last weekend. We helped our friends move on Saturday morning. I didn’t lift any heavy things, just helped pack boxes in the kitchen. Then our friends Jake and Cassie came down and we walked over to Summerfest, Stayton’s annual summer street fair. It was fun, and everyone from Stayton was there practically. Sunday evening we went to a birthday party and a lot of the guys were playing volley ball. I was tempted to play, but decided not to in case I played too hard or something.

My pants are starting to get tight. I’ve been wearing the Bella Band so I don’t have to button them, but it’s getting uncomfortable too. The problem is that I don’t fit into maternity pants yet, at least not the ones I have. I’m going to have to do some shopping this weekend. My friend Sara loaned me a bunch of clothes, so that’s nice!

Changes this week: I’m feeling much, much better as far as nausea goes. I can’t shake this tiredness though. I have lots of energy in the mornings, but then after I work all day I’m exhausted and just want to lay on the couch. I’ve also been having the worst time swallowing my vitamins. I force myself to do it, but sometimes I gag. It’s no fun.

Cravings this week: In-n-out, but unfortunately it’s about 6 hours away. I haven’t really been wanting to eat sweet things, which is a good thing. I’ve been eating lots of fruits, veggies and protein. It’s funny, because I’ll be super hungry for dinner, then I won’t be able to eat that much and I’ll be stuffed full. Then an hour or two later, I’m starving again. I guess my stomach is getting squished already.

Family photos

For the week of August 18-24 Boy, with buying a house and moving and starting the kids' online school and starting my doula mentorship a...