20 weeks! HALFWAY!

How far along: 20 weeks! HALWAY THERE! I can't believe it's halfway over, so bittersweet.
Size: A mango

Gender: Girl

Symptoms: I started having some heartburn this past week after I eat. It isn't horrible, just noticeable.

Maternity clothes: A little here and there. I'm still fitting into my regular jeans but usually use the hair-tie trick or my belly band to make them a littttle more comfy.  

Stretch marks: Nope

Belly button in or out: In

Sleep: Sleeping pretty good. Some nights are better than others. I'm still sleeping on either my left or right side. Sleeping on my stomach is pretty much out of the question lately. I'm going to start using my body pillow this week and see if that makes me any more comfortable. Even turning from one side to another feels like I'm lifting 20lbs just in my belly from side to side. Yikes. 

Best moment this week: Making it to this halfway point is pretty amazing! It's been a pretty easy first half so hopefully I'll be as lucky and have a great second half as well :) We also finalized baby girl's NAME this week, which is pretty damn exciting. 

Worst moment this week: I may have had a minor breakdown the other day. Just all of a sudden felt extremely overwhelmed and stressed out with everything. Thank you hormones.

Miss anything: Occasionally a glass of wine.

Movement: Yep! Feeling her move daily now, just not all day. She's still pretty inconsistant. I feel little flicks here and there and then they'll stop for a few hours or so.

Cravings: I feel like I pretty much eat the same thing everyday. Hard boiled eggs, peanut butter toast, and a protein drink for breakfast. Lunch is usually a sandwich and fruit. Dinner varies from cereal and fruit or forcing myself to eat a piece of red meat, cooked of course.

Queasy or sick: Just meat in general.

Looking forward to: Ken feeling baby girl move! I'm loving putting together ideas for the nursery and FINALLY decided on a final "look". I'll post more on that soon :)

20 weeks! HALFWAY!

19 weeks

How far along: 19 weeks
Size: A grapefruit!

Gender: We had our anatomy ultrasound yesterday and it confirmed that baby is 100% GIRL!! I think I get more and more excited everday.

Symptoms: Just a growing bump! And I'm kind of loving it.

Maternity clothes: Just loving maxi skirts and leggings paired with a maternity shirt or hoodie

Stretch marks: Nada

Belly button in or out: Still in. Even Ken mentioned the other day though that it's beginning to look just a bit more flat...or I like to say, shallow.

Sleep: Still varies. I can't get my mind to shut off when I wake up at 3am and have to get up to pee.

Best moment this week: Seeing how big the baby is! She looks huge on the ultrasound but just weighing in at 8oz, or half a pound! She was moving around like crazy! AND I'm pretty sure I've started to feel her moving! Every now and then when I'm lying on the couch on my back, I'll feel a little flick or tap on my belly. I can't wait until it's stronger and Ken can feel it too :) Amazing.

Worst moment this week: My OB told me that the ultrasound tech thinks the baby has a 2-vessel umbilical cord instead of the normal 3-vessel.  Kinda freaks me out. My doc said it's pretty common and shouldn't be anything to worry about. Yeah, okay. She wants to do another ultrasound at 28 weeks then monthly to make sure the babe is growing properly. 

Miss anything: Hmm..not really. I kinda love being pregnant.

Movement: Yes! Finally! It's still very subtle and only when I'm lying down flat.

Cravings: Hard boiled eggs, toast with peanut butter, italian sandwiches, apples

Queasy or sick: Meat, ick. I'm talking like a big piece of chicken or steak. If it's shredded in a taco or on a sandwich, I can handle it. My doctor told me I need to eat more red meats for iron since my hemoglobin is borderline low and just going to keep getting lower the further I am in pregnancy. So I've been trying to force myself to eat more steak or beef. Blah.

Looking forward to: Buying more furniture for the nursery, decorating, registering, stronger movement, and finalizing baby girl's name!

19 weeks

18 weeks

How far along: 18 weeks
Size: Sweet baby girl is the size of a sweet potato. That seems so big!?

Gender: GIRL! but will confirm next week!

Symptoms: I'm starting to feel massive. Which just sounds ridiculous because I'm only 18 weeks and only going to get a LOT bigger by 40 weeks. I also started having backaches this week. The other day we painted the nursery, cleaned/organized the garage, and I think I just overdid myself because that night I had a raging backache that continued throughout my entire 12 hour shift at work the following day. Yesterday I felt fine and even made it to the gym for a short workout, however, the backache is back today. Maybe this just comes along with being pregnant? Either way, I'm starting to learn my limits.

Maternity clothes: I've bought and worn a few things. I'm in the awkward stage of being too big for my normal clothes yet not quite big enough to fill out maternity clothes. I can still fit into my jeans jeggings but have to close them using the hair-tie trick and my belly band.

Stretch marks: None. Crossing my fingers this is my answer to this question every week.

Belly button in or out: In. But becoming a bit more shallow...

Sleep: Some nights are great, some nights suck.

Best moment this week: Starting the nursery! We painted and I am in LOVE with how the color turned out. It's a very light gray and there's wainscoting on the bottom half of the walls that had already been there when we moved in. We also ordered the crib and it should be here TOMORROW! Beyond excited! I decided I want to do a maternity photo session so I'm in the process of booking that with the amazing Jasmine Amber Photography. She also did my wedding photography and I'm blown away by her talent. Her and a local newborn photographer do a package deal for maternity & newborn shoots so I'm looking forward to getting that done in the spring :)

Worst moment this week: Just the backaches. I'm really hoping they don't stick around much longer.

Miss anything:  Naw

Movement: I can't tell what's possibly movement, muscle aches/pulls, or gas.

Cravings: I can always go for an italian sandwich from Port-of-Subs.

Queasy or sick: Nope!

Looking forward to: Our ultrasound next week! Can't wait to see what the junebug looks like now!

18 weeks

17 weeks

How far along: 17 weeks
Size: An orange

Gender: Sweet baby girl

Symptoms: The headaches are back, yaaay. Only thing that seems to help is an ice pack to the back of my neck, rest, and drinking LOTS of water. I've never been a huge fan of just drinking water all.day.long. (must be the Arizonan in me. I'm pretty sure most of us here live somewhat dehydrated). I've tried to liven up all my water with cucumbers or lemons which helps.

Maternity clothes: I finally bit the bullet and bought some maternity scrubs today.  My old scrubs fit fine in the mornings when I put them on but by the end of my shift they are so tight and uncomfortable, especially my pants against my growing belly. The scrubs I bought today are nice and stretchy and should last me a few more months until I'll need like a full panel pant. Nevertheless, they're quite comfy!

Stretch marks: No. My boobs are making me nervous though, they won't stop growing! Yes, that's a complaint.

Belly button in or out: Belly button is still in.

Sleep: Sleeping good. It's getting pretty uncomfortable to lay on my stomach at all but either side is working out just fine. I got the Bump Nest body pillow for Christmas from Ken and I'm pretty excited to start using it once I can no longer sleep comfortably.

Best moment this week: Hearing baby girls' heartbeat as often as I want. I ended up buying a small doppler on Ebay a few weeks ago and it came in the mail this week! We had some fun the other night putting it on my belly and hearing baby's heartbeat. It helps put my mind at ease that everything is going OK in there since I can't feel her move yet.

Worst moment this week: Ken left yesterday for North Carolina for the rest of the week. He went with his sergeant for a work thing. I hate being here alone and knowing he's cross country but I know the week will fly by.

Miss anything:  Sushi, a glass of wine, and a cold beer while watching football.

Movement: No...when does this come!?? I caaaaaaan't waaaaaaait.

Cravings: I swear this changes every week day. Lately it's been pistachios, string cheese, hard boiled eggs, chocolate, bagels & cream cheese, green apples. See a trend? Give me anything salty, sour, cheesy, or starchy and I'm a happy preggo.

Queasy or sick: No ma'am

Looking forward to: Nursery planning!...Movement!...Wine!...Did I say that already?

17 weeks

Nursery Inspiration

Ah, the nursery.  I'm pretty indecisive at times and change my mind often, so deciding on how the nursery will look is stressing me out a bit. I see a few nurseries that I love and am inspired by then I'll see a few others with totally different concepts and start changing my mind. I know I want it to be simple, not scream BABY, but still be young and fun. I keep getting drawn to light pink, coral, pops of gold and just a few touches of black. But I want there to be pops of multiple colors so I'm not limited to only buying things in certain colors. Ahhhh, see what I mean? I dont' know what I want! Ken has basically given me free range to do whatever I want to the nursery, I guess he trusts me! Or likes how I decorate. Anywho, here's some of my favorite images of nurseries I'm inspired by.

A few staple items I know we want are the DaVinci Jenny Lind 3-in-1 Crib and the Nurseryworks Sleepytime Rocker.  I've loved the Jenny Lind crib and always pictured it in our nursery ever since we started trying to have a baby two years ago.  I also love the price and the fact that it converts to a toddler bed and daybed. The rocker was a pretty hard decision. Although I love the look of some of the pricier rockers, like the Nurseryworks Empire Rocker, I just can't justify spending $1000 on a chair.  The Nurseryworks Sleepytime Rocker has the same type of look to it for half the price. It also has great reviews and I know it'll look great with whatever decor we choose to go with. A few other staple items are photo ledge book shelves like these to display baby girl's cutest books, a big rug to play on, and a photo gallery wall above the dresser/changing table.  I'm currently making an "inspiration board" that has elements of everything I want in the nursery and will share it soon! Until then I'll keep pinning and saving photos that inspire me.

Nursery Inspiration

16 weeks

How far along: 16 weeks
Size: A yummy avocado

Gender: GIRL! Will be confirmed in a couple weeks at our OB's office. 

Symptoms: Hunger & a growing belly. Half burrito, half baby. 

Maternity clothes: I wore my new "special" pants for the first time the other day and I must say, they were pretty amazing. So comfy! I need more! Also sporting lots of maxi dresses, leggings, and of course yoga pants.

Stretch marks: None

Belly button in or out: Still in

Sleep: Sleep was much better this week than it was last week. Pretty much sleeping through the night without waking up, which never happens.

Best moment this week: Finding out this little babe is a GIRL!! We are so shocked/excited/scared...but mostly excited :) I think Ken was mostly shocked. He would have swore it was a boy (or maybe that's just what he wanted deep down). Either way, were beyond happy and can't wait to meet her! Also, we're about 90% sure we've decided on her name! Simple, classic, and we love it. We haven't decided if were going to tell people or not. Most likely we'll just announce it to family and our closest friends...so stay tuned!

Worst moment this week: Having to say goodbye to my dad who I rarely get to see. It was really nice having him here and getting to spend Christmas together. We also have to say goodbye today to my sister and her boyfriend, which I know is really going to blow. Hope they'll be able to make it out this summer to meet their little niece!

Miss anything: I never thought I'd say this but I miss working out! I can't run, cycle, do difficult hikes, and I really miss it! It's weird having your body get bigger and bigger everywhere and have it be out of your control. I need to keep reminding myself that I'm growing another human inside me and that's what really matters. A nice cozy squishy environment for the peanut to grow healthy.

Movement: None yet, I don't think. The other night I kept feeling this muscle pull/ache? It's hard to describe. I'm thinking it was just ligaments and muscles stretching. I'm really hoping to feel some REAL movement soon. I'm pretty sure I'll freak the eff out when I feel it. Can't wait!

Cravings: Pretty much anything. Really loving green olives lately, random. I never was a huge fan of them but I can't get enough of them now! Current loves are sour candy, chocolate, cereal, bagels, apples, hard boiled eggs, and skinny peppermint mochas from Starbucks, yum!

Queasy or sick: Naw. Although the thought of eating meat sounds disgusting.

Looking forward to: Starting the nursery (after we 100% confirm it's a girl), our next ultrasound (gender scan), warmer weather, and a growing bump!

16 weeks