sleep

You may have figured out by now that I LOVE my sleep. Scratch that, I NEED my sleep. If I don't get a full eight hours I'm not a happy camper. And if I could get nine hours I would just be in bliss. I'm not much of a morning person either. I'm not cranky, but I'd much rather just be left alone to get ready in peace - at least until after my shower. And it's pretty much impossible for me to get out of bed before 7am. To me the ideal sleeping schedule would be midnight to 9 am. Ha like that's realistic!

This is why I'm so thankful that this pregnancy hasn't disrupted my sleep all that much. On the occasion that I do wake up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, I can always fall right back to sleep. Really I hardly wake up in the first place. I just stumble to the bathroom, and then stumble back to bed.

Hubby and I are both very hard sleepers too (though he doesn't seem to need as much sleep as I do). He snores, I grind my teeth, but neither of us care because we sleep right through it! We usually sleep right through storms, the neighbors baby screaming (we share a wall), sirens, etc.

All of this has been a slight cause for concern for me lately. Especially since one of the number one things I hear from people is, "Enjoy your sleep now! Because once the baby comes you won't be getting much!" Great. Thanks for the vote of confidence people.

But will I be ok? Will I ever get sleep? But more importantly, will I hear my baby cry in the night? Will I wake up to feed him? Will I wake up if something is wrong?

Well Sunday night I had a little encouragement. Hubby and I have been leaving our windows open at night, to save a little money on AC. There was a slight chance of rain, but we were too tired to care. At 3:38 AM I suddenly was awake. I heard a couple small rain drops on the window and got hubby up to help me close the windows. Not more than a minute after we crawled back into bed, it started pouring! Like, I'm talking down pouring rain, thunder, lightning, the whole deal. We would have had a big puddle of a mess to clean up in the morning.

Something tells me my body is getting ready for this baby!

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if it's a girl we're set!

Last week our neighbors came over with a garbage bag and a box full of baby stuff! It was pretty much all blankets their baby girl, who is almost two, has grown out of. Take a look:

There were also some great afghans and a couple crib sheets in there. So IF we have a baby girl we'll have more blankets than we know what to do with! (If not they said to pass them on to someone else.)

Also in the mix were these two contraptions:

The first is for washing bottles in the dishwasher. There are slots in the top for the nipples, and the bottle goes in the bottom. The second is really cool! You put a strawberry, or other fruit, in the netting and then add water and the baby can suck on the juice. Great for teething and for a natural snack.

I had no idea either of these things existed. I have SO much to learn!

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feedburner switch

I'm still pretty new to blogging, but love finding new tips and tricks. I've always seen the little FeedBurner buttons on other people sites and thought they were so cool, but was always too scared to implement it on my own blog. Until today.

I found this great tutorial of how to set up FeedBurner at Mama Blogga, and she made it look so easy I just had to give it a try! If you haven't set it up on your blog, I highly recommend checking out her tutorial.

So dear, lovely feed followers - yes all two of you - could you please, pretty please go update your feed url to make sure you don't miss a thing!? You can click on the little orange RSS link on the side. But to make it even easier on you, I'll add it below as well! I know this is annoying, but hopefully it will eliminate problems in the future. While I was at it, I also created the option to subscribe to posts via email as well. So if that is easier for you, by all means, sign up!

Happy Tuesday!

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14 weeks

How far along: 14 weeks

Baby's size: A Lemon

My little baby is busy with thumb sucking, toe wiggling, making urine (not so cute but equally amazing), and breathing amniotic fluid as his liver, kidneys, and spleen continue to develop. Growth is happening on top of the head as well - he's starting to sprout some hair (though the final color may not be determined until birth) and eyebrows are filling in too. Hair growth isn't limited to his head though. He is also covered in a downy coating of hair called lanugo, largely there for warmth. (He'll shed this later on when he gains more body fat.)

Symptoms: I think I may have started experiencing round ligament pain this past week. It's basically pregnancy growing pains. Baby must be going through a growth spurt, which causes the round ligaments around my uterus to stretch. It feels like a quick jab, or sometimes a longer-lasting dull ache in my lower abdomen. Not the most fun thing, but definitely something I can live with. I'll take this over morning sickness any day!

Sleep: Sleeping fine.  

Total Weight Gain: 7 pounds. 

Maternity clothes: Not using my bella band as much as I thought I would, but I still think they'll come in handy later on. I've discovered using hair ties with my pants works great! I just loop it around the button, run it through the button hole, and then back over the button. Gives me the extra inches I need, and it's a little stretchy so it has some give when I sit. 

Best moment this week: Other people, besides immediate family, are starting to notice my baby bump! 

Movement:  

Food cravings: Sparkling water, I could drink it all day. 

Gender:  

Labor signs:

What I miss: Clear skin. This pregnancy acne still isn't getting any better. Looking forward to getting a tan to disguise it a little. Officially got my first sunburn of the year yesterday, oops! 

What I'm looking forward to: My next OB appointment is only a week and a half away! 

Weekly Wisdom (aka what I learned this week): 

Milestones:

Emotions:

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truman anderson

I don't know if I've mentioned it, but I have five other cousins that are pregnant right now. That's right, there will be six babies arriving in the second half of 2010. Well, the first one decided to show up a couple weeks early and was born on Saturday.

Meet Truman Anderson

The next one is coming in August (gender a surprise!), a baby girl coming in September, my baby coming around Thanksgiving, another the week after Thanksgiving, and the final one around Christmas!

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13 weeks

Yesterday I spent the entire day in an Adobe InDesign class. So much fun and I learned so much! But as a result I didn't get my weekly update posted. I'm sure you were all very devastated. :) But no worries, here it is.

How far along: 13 weeks

Baby's size: A Peach

Baby is forming teeth and vocal cords this week! He is approaching normal proportions, with his head now only one third the size of his body. He's almost three inches long now, but at this point babies start growing at different paces. Also his intestines are in the process of moving from the umbilical cord to baby's tummy - much more convenient.

Symptoms: Still feeling pretty great! But noticed I've been a little more emotional this week, crying for absolutely no reason at all!

Sleep: Sleeping fine. But I've started a nightly ritual of waking up around 3am to go to the bathroom. Thankfully it's really easy for me to fall back to sleep.

Total Weight Gain: 6 pounds.

Maternity clothes: Bought my first maternity shirt this weekend! It was $3.50 at a cute maternity consignment shop, originally from Target. It just may be my new favorite shirt!

Best moment this week: Hubby came home yesterday and surprised me with flowers, and a card so sweet it made me cry!

Movement: Just rumblings from my food digesting constantly.

Food cravings: None. Just everything.

Gender: thinking boy

Labor signs:

What I miss: Clear skin. Really hoping my pregnancy acne calms down in the second trimester!

What I'm looking forward to: A real baby bump.

Weekly Wisdom (aka what I learned this week): 

Milestones: Making it through the first trimester!

Emotions: Bouncing all over the place! Read here for an example.

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d-list blog party!

Since I'm still pretty new the the blogging community I'm always looking for ways to find new blogs to follow and meet new bloggers. I just discovered D-Listed Mom Blogs and am loving the concept. Unlike many other blogger communities, there's now vote competition here. D-Listed Mom Blogs is a support site where everyone can be listed, and they feature five blogs each day - at random so everyone has a chance! I've already found a couple great new blogs to follow! This week she's hosting a "blog hop" so all the members can mingle and get to know each other. I highly recommend checking it out if you haven't yet!

So now a little bit about me. Some of you have been around for a while and know me well, so I apologize if this is old news. But some of you are still fairly new to my blog, and some are probably stopping by for the first time. So here's a cheat sheet for catching up.

I'm a 20-something Christian from the Midwest. Marketing specialist by day, blogger by night. I have been 'family' blogging since 2008, but just recently decided to venture into the 'public' realm of blogging.

I have been married for two and a half years to my best friend, and we absolutely adore being married! We love living life together, traveling, spontaneous planning, sleeping in on Saturdays … You get the picture – we’re fully enjoying being in our mid-twenties and not being responsible for anyone other than ourselves.

Then a few months ago we asked the question, “Do we or do we not end our perfectly, self-centered lives by adding a sweet bundle of joy to the mix?” You can read the rest of that story here.

Well, needless to say the answer to that question was "Yes!" And after only two months, I was so excited to post this wordless wednesday, and give this explanation. I'm blogging about the whole adventure, and hoping to find a few friends along the way, as I wait for my Thanksgiving baby!

Every Tuesday I post a weekly update to document my pregnancy. In between I post about special moments and feelings that I never want to forget!

In order to be completely transparent, I have decided to keep my blog anonymous for the time being. To understand why I made this choice, check out this post.

Thanks for stopping by! Leave a comment and I'll be sure to come check out the party going on at your blog as well! 

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pregnancy hormones

Wednesday hubby worked late - a fairly normal occurrence. I planned to grill chicken for dinner once he got home. Except, as he walked in the door, I realized 1) we are out of chicken, and 2) we are out of propane for the grill. Ok, plan B: burgers on the George Foreman grill. No big deal.

So I start dinner. Hubby is stressed from work but asks what he can do to help. I hand him the plate of hamburger patties and tell him to put them on the grill. He questions my choice of seasoning, we have a conversation about it, I get defensive, then he feels bad. We moved on.

As we are making dinner, he's telling me all about a very important meeting he had that day. One that is very relevant to our immediate future, but one I can't tell you about - yet. So I'm running around, keeping an eye on the food, preparing drinks, setting the table, and trying to listen to him talk and retain every detail. He, unfortunately, can't multi-task so he just paces as he talks. Then has to stop mid sentence to check on the burgers. Then has to back up and repeat himself. All making it harder for me to concentrate on what he's saying, at the same time remember what I'm doing with dinner.

Have I ever mentioned that I'm not a huge fan of cooking? I don't mind it, but its definitely not a hobby of mine. And nothing stresses me out more than trying to figure out WHAT to cook for dinner each night.

So there I am, standing at the stove. The food is almost ready. And I suddenly burst into tears.

What? Where did that come from?

Hubby gets a phone call. I walk into the bathroom, hoping it will just pass.

It doesn't.

So hubby gets off the phone, and obviously notices that I'm upset. He's good that way. The food is ready, but he stops me and gives me a big hug and asks what's wrong. But I don't know.

Maybe the subject we are talking about? It's a big life change. Maybe his stress is rubbing off on me, that happens quite often. Maybe that I'm tired, and it's only Wednesday. Maybe that, um I don't know, I'm pregnant? And suddenly I don't feel well and I don't want to eat anything that I'm making. Or maybe all of the above.

Or maybe it's just the pregnancy hormones.

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wordless wednesday: 12 week bump

Hubby says this photo makes me look bigger than I really am,

but I don't know. It's about how big I FEEL!

In case you missed it, my 5.5 week and 9 week bump photos are here.

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12 weeks

How far along: 12 weeks

Baby's size: A Plum

I'm moving into the second trimester, and baby is shifting into the growth and maturation (what a word!) stage! After weeks in the critical development stage, almost all of his systems are fully formed. It's hard to believe, but baby has more than doubled in size in the past 3 weeks. The fetal digestive system is beginning to flex its digestive muscle - literally - as it starts practicing contraction movements, a skill baby will need after birth to push food through the digestive tract. The pituitary gland at the base of the brain has started producing hormones. And the bone marrow is making white blood cells, which will one day help baby fight infection.

Symptoms: It's kind of crazy, but I feel pretty much the same as before getting pregnant! Well, besides the constant need to eat and my growing belly!

Sleep: Sleeping ok. I have more energy during the day than I did at the beginning of pregnancy, but I'm more tired than normal (as in before being pregnant) at the end of the day. I'm normally a night owl, but now once 10 o'clock hits I'm ready for bed!

Total Weight Gain: 5 pounds.

Maternity clothes: Between my BellaBand and my larger sized pants I'm doing pretty well. I'm looking forward to when I can legitimately shop for maternity clothes, but probably just because it means new clothes!

Best moment this week: Mother's Day, or should I say 'In-Utero' Mother's Day as my cousin told me. It was just so fun to spend the day with hubby thinking about how different our lives will be this time next year!

Movement:

Food cravings: Anything other than water to drink! I like water and all, but when you drink so much of it it gets so boring!

Gender: thinking boy

Labor signs:

What I miss: Clear skin. Really hoping my pregnancy acne calms down in the second trimester!

What I'm looking forward to: A real baby bump.

Weekly Wisdom (aka what I learned this week): It may not have been such a good idea to read a few real life "birth stories". Now I'm a little (ok a lot!) nervous for labor and delivery!

Milestones: Making it through the first trimester!

Emotions: Just so happy. Happy to be pregnant. Happy everything is going well. Happy to be living this part of my life. Happy to soon be a mom. And happy to be doing it all with my hubby.

***12 week belly photos coming tomorrow!***

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belly buttons and baby names

I noticed something yesterday. Something I was not expecting, at least not so soon. My belly button - normally very much an innie - is not quite as concave as it normally is! My belly button ring normally just dangles, but now it gently rests against the inside of my belly button.

It's still far from being an outie, but it's just so interesting to see these small changes in my body take place. I guess it will be easier to clean now, at least that is what hubby so thoughtfully pointed out.

This little discovery brings up a very good question. What do I do about my belly button piercing? Do I just take it out and let it close if it wants to? Or do I get one of those flex rings that stretch with your belly and try to keep it?

In other news, the subject of baby names came up this weekend (ok, I brought it up.) I have had a list since, oh as long as I can remember. So I was just curious if hubby had even thought about it. He hadn't. At least not much. We decided it made more sense to wait until we know if we're having a boy or a girl to discuss names. Really there's no point in thinking up both boy and girl names, when we only need one or the other anyway.

But then we talked about them anyway.

Surprisingly, if we have a girl I think we're already like 90% sure what we will name her! If we have a boy ... well that's another story! There are a few more details to consider for a boy, like carrying on family naming traditions. We came up with a few good options, but by no means are we anywhere near picking a favorite!

We decided to keep it all to ourselves for now. :) At least until we know if we are having a boy or a girl. Then maybe I'll spill a few options.

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11 weeks

I can't hardly believe I'm 11 weeks along already. So close to the end of the first trimester (yay!) Yesterday was like a dream. I wish I had brought a recorder or something to capture our little baby's heartbeat. It was all just so surreal.

Last night, as we settled in to watch 24 with hubby's family, he leaned over and whispered into my year "bum bum, bum bum" - mimicking the sound we heard that morning. It brought such a huge smile to my face and made me so happy to be going on this journey with HIM. I cannot get over how blessed I feel right now.

You often hear people advising high schoolers and college students to enjoy their time, because it is the best time of their life. I was thinking this morning as I got ready for work that that is SO not the case for me. This very well may be the best time of my life ... so far.

How far along: 11 weeks

Baby's size: A Lime (so much more attractive than a prune!)

Baby currently enjoys a 1:1 ratio between body and head. On the crown of that large head (and over the rest of the body), fair follicles are forming. His skin is so transparent that blood vessels show right through it. But fingers and toes are no longer webbed, and hair follicles, tooth buds, and nail beds are forming -- setting up a significantly more attractive future.

Symptoms: I'm not dealing with much queasiness, but there are still moments of just not feeling quite right.

Sleep: Sleeping ok. Thankfully I'm a hard sleeper, so I'm not waking up much in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. But it does get me out of bed earlier in the morning!

Total Weight Gain: Still sticking to around 3-4 pounds.

Maternity clothes: Not yet, but bought a BellaBand and I love it! I'm hoping this will get me by for another couple months.

Best moment this week: Hearing the baby's heartbeat at our first OB appointment yesterday. I think that moment may have changed my life.

Movement:

Food cravings: Hunger level is the same, but no cravings so far.

Gender: the 150 heart rate kind of threw me off, but still thinking boy

Labor signs:

What I miss: clear skin. the pregnancy acne is in full swing!

What I'm looking forward to: everyone knowing! I announced it on facebook yesterday!

Weekly Wisdom (aka what I learned this week): There is so much about pregnancy that is completely out of our control. We need to put it all in God's capable hands and trust Him to take care of our baby.

Milestones: hearing the baby's heartbeat, and hitting double digits in weeks

Emotions: The reality of this is starting to sink in, though I have a feeling I may still be saying that in 7 months! Hearing the heartbeat, and having the OB confirm how far along I was makes everything more real. I'm a little overwhelmed with it all!

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baby has a heartbeat!

Today was the day we've been waiting for! The day of our first OB visit. Last night I was feeling a little nervous. I know they confirmed my pregnancy when I was in two weeks ago, but you never know what can happen in the meantime. Hubby of course was great at bringing perspective, and reminding me that it is all in God's capable hands and we just have to trust Him.

But being nervous and excited didn't make for the greatest nights sleep. I woke up around 2 am having to go to the bathroom of course. And then had really weird dreams. Dreams about being back in high school but still being pregnant, dreams about being engaged but still pregnant, dreams about being on crutches (not sure why) but still pregnant ... you get the idea.

Finally we were up and ready, and it was time to go to our appointment. I of course made sure to get there 10 minutes early and get registered and checked in. And then we waited. And waited. Everyone already in the waiting room when we arrived were called, and then the new people who came after us started getting called. And we waited some more. I think it was 45 minutes later before my name was finally called.

The nurse brought us back, went through all my lab results from last time, and asked a few questions for my records. Then she handed me a gown, told me to strip, and wait for the OB. (She didn't quite say it like that, but basically.) While we waited, I warned hubby about what he was about to experience. He was about to see what we women have to go through every year! He was a great sport. I guess if he wants to be there for the delivery he might as well get used to it now!

The OB finally came, along with a med student! Yay me! (They did ask me if it was ok first.) She asked me a bunch of questions about how I had been feeling, and then started my exam. Lets just say a breast exam is not so pleasant with pregnancy boobs!

Then she got right to the good stuff, the doppler! They squirted some cold gel on my stomach and then she let the med student try to find the heart beat. No success. So the OB took over, and within seconds there it was! My baby's heart, beating away at 150 beats per minute. I wasn't sure how I would react, but in the moment all I could do was smile. I got a little teary, but didn't cry. All I wanted to do was look at my hubby and share the moment with him - not with a room full of doctors and nurses. (The OB was standing between us, so I couldn't see him at first, but I eventually caught his eye. He told me later he could see me the whole time in the mirror.) But it was amazing! I'm sure it is a moment that I will never forget. The moment this baby became real to us.

Then we had to move on to the not-so-pleasant part of the exam. I needed my yearly pap smear too. Everything looked good. She said I looked like I was about 10 weeks along, right on schedule. Then I was gracious enough to let the med student have a try too. Oh joy!

Then it was all over. Just like that. We stopped to schedule our next appointment, June 4th. And then walked away not quite sure how we felt, at least I didn't. Hubby was pretty excited. It was all just so real all of a sudden. I have a baby - growing inside of me. Amazing is the only word I can think of to describe the feeling.

And then I called my mom.

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