November 10, 2016 by Stephanie

Baby 2-Nine Weeks

This was the week that we found out about George. So the last 5 weeks have been so drastically different this go around. I loved having the documentation of George’s time in my belly, so I definitely want to do this all again. I just hope I can keep up with it this time.

How far along: 9 weeks

Sex of Baby W: No clue

Weight gain: None so far

Size of Baby W: A grape

Maternity clothes: While there may not be any weight gain, I am already starting to show. This is a big change since I lost 10 lbs during the first trimester in my first pregnancy, and I didn’t start to show until much later on. I am already at the point where I can’t button pants (and have been for a few weeks), and I am wearing the belly bands out of comfort. I am not holding out this time, and I perfectly fine with being in bigger/looser clothes. Plus I will admit that while I lost all the baby weight, I never quite lost the baby ring around my belly, so it is only fitting that it’s popping out much quicker. I can’t quite fit into maternity pants yet, but I think that is coming around Thanksgiving. (Which I can’t be mad about) I told Tom a few weeks ago that this may be a big pregnancy…

Baby items: I bought a onsie from my alma mater while we were there for Homecoming. I have also bought two items for their room to get us started on the theme which is going to be sea creatures.

Stretch marks: Nothing yet.

Belly button in or out: Still in.

Sleep: Fairly good, but I generally have to wake up in the middle of the night to pee. Most of that is due to the fact that I drink a cup of water right before bed now to make up for my missed water intake, so I only imagine this will get worse. But once I am asleep, I get really good sleep.

Best moment the past few weeks: Seeing baby on the ultrasound. George kissing “babee” goodnight every night.

Worst moment the past few weeks: Trip to the ER, but that did get us to see baby on it’s first ultrasound.

Miss anything: Being able to eat deli meat. Having an ultrasound every couple weeks. It is really hard to go from having an appointment every two weeks like we did with George, and now only going every four weeks. This is torture not knowing if everything is ok.

Cravings: Marinated mushrooms. I could eat a jar of them all day every day. This is really the only thing I am wanting honestly. I tolerate the rest of the food I eat just for nourishment. I am not really wanting much salty foods, and salads make me want to gag.

Movement: My little grape is too small for this yet.

Symptoms/how I am feeling: I can’t eat because of nausea, and I am nauseous because I can’t eat. It is an awful cycle that makes me eat maybe a fourth of what I normally eat at each meal. With George, my hormones weren’t on board with the pregnancy so I was having cramps and dizzyness enough where I had to stay home some days. However, I was still able to eat meals. This time I am nauseous pretty much all day. I am also so exhausted. I feel like an awful mom right now because most days I fall asleep on the couch while George plays with trains. Growing a baby is tiring, but doing it with a baby on the outside as well is like something more exhausting than just exhausted. (I am too tired to think of quippy things.)

Looking forward to: Thanksgiving. Hopefully my nausea goes away so I can fully take part in all the food and take advantage of being pregnant over the holidays.

The biggest difference is for sure having George around while growing another human. It is making me cherish our moments alone so much more. The other big difference is my hormones actually reading this pregnancy. It will be interesting to now compare my updates from here on out with what we documented for George.

May 29, 2014 by Stephanie

Bumpdate Week 24

Week 24

How far along: 24 weeks. I am finally feeling pregnant all the time.

Sex of Baby W: Boys will be boys.

Weight gain: I have finally broken even. I am back at my pre-pregnancy weight. The doctor said that I should start seeing a lot more weight gain in the upcoming weeks between me expanding and George growing.

Size of Baby W: He is about the size of an ear of corn or about a foot long now. He should be a little over a pound. It is hard to believe he is a foot long in there!

Maternity clothes: Jersey dresses are the best thing ever. I have been weeding out tops that are becoming crop tops, which sadly are a lot of my favorite t-shirts. I tried on maternity pants this week, and I am still not ready for them. With the belly band, I am still able to make must of my pants work.

Baby items: We got a few things from my in-laws this weekend like some portable bed rockers and a crib mattress among some other smaller items. We have also finalized our registry lists on Amazon and Target. I am sure we will continue to adjust things as we go, but all of our basics are at least covered right now. If you see things that I am missing, let me know what baby thing I am missing!

We found this at the consignment store. Obviously it had to come home with us.

Stretch marks: Nothing so far.

Belly button in or out:I am still an innie.

Sleep: I am starting to struggle sleeping with the bump. I am thinking about getting the pregnancy wedge, but I am trying to not buy something if I can find other solutions. I am also getting cramps in my legs during the night because I don’t move a whole lot once I am settled because I am afraid to lay any way but on my left side, so I end up just being stiff all night.

Best moment the past few week: Having a little time off from work.

Worst moment the past few weeks: Driving long distance. It is not very conducive to pregnant bodies.

Miss anything: I want a deli sandwich sooo bad. I have already told Tom that is the first meal I am having once we leave the hospital, or he may just have to bring me one IN the hospital.

Cravings: Besides deli sandwiches, I want chocolate baked goods something fierce.

Movement: I feel him every day now. He is most active in the afternoon. I saw it for the first time this week too. I am also rubbing the bump all the time. With the stretching cramps it seems to help. And to be honest, I just like feeling the presence of the bump (as weird as it may sound).

Symptoms/how I am feeling: I have been feeling great. I have to pee ALL the time…

Looking forward to: We are traveling to Iowa this weekend for a wedding, but we will be stopping by our old home to visit on the way. Sooo excited!

This shirt is one that I have had for several years, but it works amazingly as a maternity shirt.

May 8, 2014 by Stephanie

Bumpdate Week 21

bumpdate 21

How far along: 21 weeks. I cannot believe we are past the half way point. Since we didn’t know the first two months, it seems like it has gone really fast so far.

Sex of Baby W: George is still George.

Weight gain: I am now at a 6 pound loss. Whoo, gained one pound back! In most clothes, you can see the bump now. Although yesterday, I had a student of mine tell me that she just thought I was getting fat over the last few weeks and just realized this week that I was pregnant. While I also thought that about myself, I would never say that to someone. I chalk it up to finals craziness that she would call me fat to my face.

Size of Baby W: He was 9 oz. at our appointment a couple weeks ago. Now he should be about the size of a carrot.

Maternity clothes: I am wearing a lot of dresses, but I am not wearing a lot of maternity clothes. I still haven’t bought any maternity bottoms besides my yoga pants.

Baby items: My sister-in-law brought us a whole bunch of goodies when she was here a couple weeks ago. We still haven’t gotten anything personally recently. We are going to look at a local child consignment store this weekend. Tom will also be making the crib here in the next couple weeks. I am excited to show that process!

I love every single piece of this. Our nursery colors are gray, blue and orange. There will be a few elephants throughout too. She found just the perfect stuff for George! And yes that is an elephant umbrella at the bottom!

Stretch marks: Nope, but you can see the veins in my belly which is kind of out there to look at.

Belly button in or out: Still in, but it is starting to flatten out.

Sleep: I have been sleeping pretty well, but I still have some wicked dreams, or rather nightmares. Unfortunately, they all seem to be pretty violent. The other night I couldn’t go back to sleep because I was so scared and shaken from it. And of course it was the night that Tom was doing 24 hour staff duty.

Best moment the past few week: Being able to complete a half marathon with Emily and seeing a Tyrone Wells concert with my friend Andrea.

Worst moment the past few weeks: I can’t really think of anything here. The last couple weeks have been pretty good.

Miss anything: Deli sandwiches.

Cravings: Meat.

Movement: The past couple days he has been really active. The best way to explain it is like he is blowing bubbles and then popping them. I was also able to feel him with my hand on my belly too which was just crazy cool. He is super still thought when Tom tries to feel him.

Symptoms/how I am feeling: For the most part, I am feeling pretty good. I have had really bad allergies this week which stinks because not pregnant I am on prescriptions. They, however, are not good for baby ninjas, so I have been cold turkey on allergy meds, which stinks a big one. I also have been having period-like cramps really bad in the mornings. My doctor says this is normal because my uterus is stretching. Cramps were one thing I did not know about pregnancy, and they are terrible.

Looking forward to: My birthday weekend.

April 24, 2014 by Stephanie

Bumpdate Week 18

I pulled back the dress in the picture on the right again to show you the full bump.

How far along: 18 weeks..holy moly

Sex of Baby W: We will be confirming the sex today at our appointment. It will be fun to actually see everything because the last time I had to close my eyes while she looked and wrote it on a note so I can take it home to open it with Tom.

Weight gain: Still at a 7lb total loss. The bump is growing (which is a weird feeling), so I am sure here soon the scale will jump some. Some days my bump disappears, and then other days it is very much present. Anybody else have this experience?

Size of Baby W: The size of a bell pepper (Last week was a turnip, so Tom and I were calling him Turnip all week.)

Maternity clothes: I have bought a few tops that I can easily wear not pregnant. I am all about the long term investment here people. I also purchased the Be Band from Target, which is amazing. There is nothing like knowing that your pants are undone all day, but no one else can tell. Super awesome and freeing. Also, maternity yoga pants are the best thing ever.

Baby items: We have not been successful with finding a dresser. We have a backup plan for Tom to construct something if we are still unfruitful come the middle of the summer. We have made a giant list of things that will go on a registry when the time comes. Any recommendations on what store to register at or if we should register at more than one place? We are still doing well with not buying anything else yet, I am sure that will change once I allow myself to go into baby sections to actually create the registry. Folks, little boy things are super darn cute, and it is hard not to buy every pair of overalls and bow ties!

Stretch marks: Nope. I have started a strict regimen of lotion and tummy butter morning and night.

Belly button in or out: Still in.

Sleep: I have been sleeping pretty well, but I still have some wicked dreams. (Last night I had was a superhero trying to defeat an evil man who was killing off my family and students. I could freeze things and shoot freeze balls out of my hands…) I have started having to get up when Tom leaves for PT (at 5:30am) to go to the bathroom, and there are usually a couple nights of the week that I wake up several other times to go pee.

Best moment the past few week: Hanging out with our friends in Indiana

Worst moment the past few weeks: Finding out I didn’t get the job at Austin Peay

Miss anything: This last weekend I really wanted wine, but little guy doesn’t need to be a party animal more than he already is in there.

Cravings: Not really anything special that I can remember. I am still in the phase of if I see it or hear it, I want it. I am doing good sticking to a pretty healthy diet though.

Movement: I think I felt something last week, but I am not sure…It felt more like a punch in the gut instead of a flutter which is what people told me I am supposed to feel.

Symptoms/how I am feeling: For the most part, I am feeling pretty good. I still have moments of nausea. I also learned that I cannot sit in the backseat of a car anymore because I get motion sickness. Super fun. I do take a lot of naps too. I have been walking the dogs a lot and yoga, so I think that is helping. I did try actually running the other day, and it felt super weird. I might have been a little paranoid that he was going to fly out with all the jiggling that was going on, so I probably will just stick to walking.

Looking forward to: Our checkup appointment today. It will be the first time Tom has seen the baby since Week 9. He got to hear the heartbeat a few weeks ago, but did not see him. I can’t wait to see his reaction on how much little man has grown.

Week 18

March 13, 2014 by Stephanie

Bumpdate Week 12

From this angle, it looks like I have a much larger bump than I actually do. But this is what I see every day.

So here is where I sit with the pregnancy right now.

How far along: 12 weeks
Sex of Baby W: We may be finding out sooner than we thought, but we still are in the dark on this one.
Weight gain: I have actually lost 5 pounds. Thank you morning sickness.
Size of Baby W: 2 inches or the size of a lime
Maternity clothes: Not yet, but I have started the hairband through the button loop trick. My sister-in-law just gave me a whole bucket full of maternity clothes which will come in handy in the upcoming weeks. Right now I am sticking to my looser pants and dresses. Oh how I love that I can wear dresses again!
Baby items: I bought the first items this last weekend, but these clothes are it.We do have the nursery planned out though. It is just a matter of collecting/making the items.

I am a sucker for all thing Kansas City and elephants.
Also I am a sucker for cute baby things that are on ridiculous sales.

Stretch marks: I barely have a bump, so none yet.
Belly button in or out: Still in. This will weird me out…
Sleep: It is ok. I am a back sleeper, so I am trying to train myself to sleep on my left side now before I get too far along. Unfortunately, I keep waking up to my arm cramping or just being plain uncomfortable. Yippee. Anyone recommend a good pregnancy body pillow?
Best moment this week: Hearing the heartbeat for the first time and watching it’s ninja moves. This baby is long and likes to dance and kick a lot!
Worst moment this week: Oh the sickness…

Ok, so it may not look like it, but there is a little bitty bump!

Miss anything: Walking the dogs. I hate being on semi-bedrest.
Cravings: Meat and Peanut Butter. (Peanut Butter is very abnormal for me because I generally detest the stuff.) Apparently this little ninja baby needs some protein.
Movement: I have only seen it during ultra sounds, but I haven’t felt anything yet.
Symptoms/how I am feeling: Still feeling pretty sickly, but I am able to eat a lot more than I was. Also, I am fairly crabby-Sorry Tom.
Looking forward to: Being out of this first trimester and getting through this ultra screening scan we are having done.