27 weeks

With just a few months left in my pregnancy (where did the time go?) I'm thinking a lot about the arrival of our little one and what life will be like once she's here.  I've been reading parenting and infant care books and consulting with other moms, but at the end of the day, most moms will tell you "every baby is different"--- and they're 100 percent right.

I know this because I've been fortunate to have a bit of experience with children and babies. I started babysitting at age 12 or 13 and continued to do that through college. I was even an evening nanny for a family with a 4 year old girl and newborn twin boys when I was in college.  The mom had a nanny that was there all day helping her and then I would come in the evenings to help with the babies (feeding them, rocking them to sleep, etc). There were several other families I babysat for in college and I still remember all of their names and I can't help but think of them sometimes and wonder how they're all doing. They were all so different in terms of their behavior, their needs, etc. This definitely gave me a glimpse into the "every baby/child" is different statement. In my last year of high school I was also a certified gymnastics coach and for a year I coached at a local gym about five days a week on average (I worked after school and on weekends). The kids I coached ranged a lot in age---from the mom and tot class to 7 year olds to 12 year olds. I really loved coaching and seeing how the kids progressed in both their skill level and confidence. 

Anyway---my point is, that despite having this experience caring for kids and babies---it simply doesn't compare or equate in any way to being responsible for your own baby 24/7.  Though I'm thankful to have had all of those experiences, I know that the reality of caring for a newborn (and baby and toddler and child...) is not easy, and frankly, for most moms, it's an emotional roller coaster ride.  

One of my best friends had her son a year ago and she has been so wonderful with giving me honest feedback about her experiences those first few weeks---and months.  Like how hard breastfeeding was at first, the sleepless nights, the constant worry---but also the incredible love, joy and fulfillment she felt as a new mom. It's refreshing to me when moms share the challenges because I think it helps first-time moms have a more realistic view of what those first few months (and maybe longer) might be like.  Undoubtedly it will be the best and most amazing time in my life---and also one of the most difficult and frustrating because you want so badly to be the best mom you can be and I'm sure there are days where you feel like anything but.

Next month, my husband and I are going to take the infant care, infant CPR and breastfeeding classes offered by the hospital I'm delivering at and I know they'll be informative, but even with that knowledge under our belts, I'm sure there will be times where I question every decision and call the pediatrician's office in a panic.  I think there's actually a lot of comfort (for me) in the fact that I know and don't expect it to be a piece of cake.

There are also three girls at my office all coming back from maternity leave this month (we seriously have a baby boom going on in our department!) so I know I can look to them for new-mamma advice since they just got through those first few months.

Sorry for the ramble, I guess now that we're just three months out, I'm thinking a lot more about life when she's here.  We are just so excited to meet her and so excited for everything that's ahead---from the first smile to the first dirty diaper to the first (and definitely not last) sleepless night.

My question for all of you mammas this week: how did your expectations about how life will be with a newborn/baby match up to the reality?  Did you think it would be harder or easier than it was?  What did you do to prepare yourself for the challenges? I'd love to hear your feedback!

How far along? 27 weeks (I do these a week behind as a recap of the previous week, so I'm actually 28 weeks today). 

Total weight gain/loss: I found out at my 28 week appointment this morning that I am up 12 lbs total. I gained 2 lbs from my 24 week to my 28 week appointment.

Maternity clothes? Still wearing maternity pants and regular tops and blouses, though some of those are getting short and/or snug.  I'll have to start breaking out my looser tunics and maternity dresses soon!
Stretch marks? Nope, I'm continuing to use Belli's Elasticity Belly Oil, Mamma Mio Tummy Rub and Mustela double-action stretch mark cream in rotation. My favorite thus far is the Mustela.

Symptoms: Overall, I continue to feel pretty good. I did have a really terrible hive outbreak on my legs at 27 weeks and the itch was probably one of the worst I've ever experienced. I had a few areas on my legs with such bad hive flare-ups that it caused me to develop a rash from the scratching (seriously, I tried not to but it was unbearable). I have been using Curel's itchy skin moisturizer and coconut oil at night to try and clam them down. The hives probably aren't pregnancy related since I used to take medication for my hives prior to becoming pregnant, but it seems they have gotten worse as I am further along.  Truly though, I feel like if this is my worst symptom, then I'll gladly deal with it as it doesn't happen every single day.

Something else I've never mentioned are leg cramps. I finally started to experience those---maybe once or twice a week. One of them was so bad that it woke me up and I jolted up in bed, grabbed my leg and yelled some profanities. Then, I went right back to sleep when the pain subsided. The next morning I asked my husband if he remembered me getting up in the middle of the night cursing and he said "yep" and told me he asked me if I was okay, which I don't even remember. Fortunately the cramps I experience are typically pretty mild and a bit of stretching will stop them.

I also still have some hip/thigh pain from sleeping on my side, but it goes away when I wake up and start moving around.  My skin also cleared up a bit this week.

Sleep: I'm sleeping okay---getting up to pee and a little tossing and turning to try to get comfortable but overall I am getting enough sleep as I'm going to bed earlier. This morning I was awake from about 4-6 a.m. I just couldn't fall back alseep again...and baby girl was kicking up a storm (which I love).

Best moment this week: The nursery bathroom and closet are both painted and we have our 4D ultrasound coming up this weekend. We can't wait!

Have you told family and friends: Yes!

Miss Anything? Sleeping on my stomach, not having to hoist my body over a Snoogle every morning...

Movement: She is kicking and rolling all over the place in there---I notice it much more frequently now. I love love love to feel her move. It feels comforting.

Food cravings: Thin Mints, cereal with milk, fruit.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope.


Have you started to show yet: Someone in the elevator at work yesterday asked me when I was due...so I would say YES! I really love watching my bump grow. 

Baby is a: Girl!

Belly Button in or out? Still in, but it's starting to show through some shirts...it's an interesting shape. Ha.

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!

Looking forward to: Our 4D ultrasound, my next OB appointment, continuing to get everything ready for the baby. 

Thank you for reading and for all of my pregnant readers, please feel free to check in below as well and let me know how your pregnancy is going :) I also welcome everyone's advice and comments about pregnancy!

24 weeks!

I know I touched on this last week---but I really love pregnancy. I feel blessed that I've been feeling so good these last couple of months.  I have a feeling I'll have a symptom pile-on in third trimester, but that's okay. I'm just trying to enjoy the experience as much as possible. I even joked with the husband that I'm not sure I can ever sleep without my Snoogle again (though, I do love stomach sleeping so it will be nice to be able to do that again).

Being just 4 months away from my due date is both exciting and kind of surreal. I often see people with their babies and I think to myself, wow, we will have one of those amazing miracles soon. Sometimes, I get a little emotional about it.  

Me as a baby:

How far along? 24 weeks (I do these a week behind as a recap of the previous week, so I'm actually 25 weeks today). 

Total weight gain/loss: I found out that I've gained 10 lbs. so far at my 24-week OB appointment. Must be all those Thin Mints, haha!  I feel good about my body right now and love watching my belly grow. It's hard to predict how you'll feel about your body as it's changing, but I've been really happy and comfortable (and, this is totally cheesy, but I am just so in awe that my body is growing a human life).

Some of you have asked about my workout routine and the truth is, there isn't one.  I had always wanted to maintain a workout routine during pregnancy, but when my OB encouraged me to slow it down in first trimester and I was so sick (and exhausted) every night, the last thing I had the energy for was going to the gym.  I wanted to start working out again in second trimester, but it hasn't happened. Starting a routine now, even a low impact one, just hasn't been on the priority list. I try to walk during the day and on weekends I plan all of my errands to involve lots of walking and I'm still cleaning the house like usual (which counts as a workout to me!) I'm feeling good and that's all that matters. 

Maternity clothes? Still wearing maternity pants and regular tops and blouses. I'm eager for the weather to warm up so I can wear dresses more often.

Stretch marks? Not yet. I'm continuing to use Belli's Elasticity Belly Oil, Mamma Mio Tummy Rub and Mustela double-action stretch mark cream in rotation, at night only.

Symptoms: I am waking up most nights to pee now and I have some occasional very minor pain/discomfort from sleeping on my left side and the pressure it puts on my butt/thigh on my left side.

Sleep: Still using my Snoogle and sleeping well most nights. Just waking up to pee once or twice, but I usually go right back to sleep.

Best moment this week: Making it to 24 weeks and having a good 24 week appointment. It was also awesome to purchase our stroller. 

Have you told family and friends: Yes!

Miss Anything? Not really

Movement: I am feeling baby girl a lot more now. Throughout the day on and off and in the evening and at night/early morning too. Some days she is more active than others.

Food cravings: THIN MINTS. God bless the Girl Scouts of America.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope.


Have you started to show yet: Definitely! The photos in this post are from 23 weeks, but we attended a wedding reception over the weekend and my belly has definitely popped more. 

More recent:

 

Baby is a: Girl!

Belly Button in or out? Still in, but definitely shallower by the day

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy

Looking forward to: Painting the nursery and just preparing for baby in general.  I'm also excited to take all of the classes we've signed up for, but those aren't until April.

Thank you for reading and for all of my pregnant readers, please feel free to check in below as well and let me know how your pregnancy is going :) I also welcome everyone's advice and comments about pregnancy!

*The photos in this post were taken by Allen Kramer---he is a photographer at my workplace and we took these photos for fun because they got a new studio space and they were testing out all of the lights in the new studio :)

Weekend Shopping & Some Outfits Lately

I had a brief work-related event to attend this morning and then I hit the village to use my GAP coupon. It was sent in the mail and gives you 40% off of a single item and 30% off of your entire purchase (including sale items) when you pay with your Visa card. Score!

I picked up a few items for our sweet little girl. As I mentioned in a previous post, I'm not buying a lot of newborn items or even 0-3. You tend to get a lot of the smaller sizes at your baby shower and so many moms have told me to focus on buying larger sizes that baby can grow into. Plus, babies pretty much wear onesies for the first few months of life so I'm saving the dresses and tops for later on.

Peter Rabbit collection footed one piece, 3-6 months- buy it here

Can't find this one online, 12-18 months

(I think this is the cutest top ever!)

Floral print ruffle dress, 12-18 months- buy it here

I also stopped in at GAP because they were having a major sale on bras. This one was on sale for $25. I like it because it's wireless and the coverage is great. Since being pregnant, I've had to go up a band size, so I've had to get a few new bras so my ribs don't feel like they're being compressed all day.

I also picked up four dress shirts for my H at Express. He likes the modern fit shirts and this weekend Express has a promo where you buy one and get the second for $19.90.  I was also able to use an online coupon on top of that promo---it was a great deal and he's got some nice new shirts to wear. I got him white, lilac, a light turquoise/robin's egg color and a blue and white gingham. You can buy them here.  

We also made another major baby purchase today---our stroller!  After recommendations from several mommy friends and doing my own research, plus the great rating in Baby Bargains, we decided to take the plunge and purchase our Uppababy Vista stroller in "Jake" (all black).  Babies & Kids 1st (I went to the location on Kirby) was having a sale to celebrate the opening of their new The Woodlands store, and they even beat amazon.com's price, so we got it today and it's still boxed up in our guest room.  I love that it comes with a bassinet and that the handle extends.  The car seat adapter is also super easy to use.  I can't wait to become more acquainted with it! We went with solid black because I like things to look simple. I'm not into prints and patterns on major baby items like strollers, car seats and pack n' plays.  Plus, it would work perfectly for a second baby whether it was a boy or girl.

(Uppababy Vista- buy it here)

If you have this stroller and love it, let me know why in the comments! I've read a lot of reviews and most people are really happy with it, so that's reassuring.

I didn't snap a lot of photos of what I wore this week, but I did capture a couple of outfits:

Banana Republic dress, Artizia blazer, Nine West shoes, F21 necklace

(I love how this dress shows off my growing bump!)

 J.Crew top, GAP maternity really skinny pants, Tory Burch Reva flats, 
Stella & Dot necklace c/o, Banana Republic trench

Though I like how my hair looks in the below photo, I am badly in need of a cut. I may try a stylist one of my co-workers goes to---she has really amazing layers.  Do you go to the same person for cut and color or do you go to different people? Let me know in the comments!

Oh, and I did organize my closet last weekend like I had planned to! I rearranged everything and stored away a few items that were never being worn. I still have to add all of the maternity clothes that my co-worker gave to me, but I don't want to put them in there until I can fill them out. Organized closets make me feel happy.

Wishing you all a lovely weekend!  We have a wedding reception to attend tonight at a restaurant downtown and I can't wait to get dressed up and eat yummy food!

21 weeks!

I think the halfway point of pregnancy kind of brought out a sense of urgency in me.  Suddenly I started to think about how I haven't ordered much yet so I started to (in a panic) use the task list app on my iPhone to make a list of all of the things we need to do before baby arrives (tour daycares, have nursery painted, curtains installed, decorate nursery, check into baby's baptism, finish all of those books, take infant care and infant CPR classes, book maternity and newborn shoot...and the list goes on and on).  

Realistically I know there's still a lot of time and I feel ridiculous to even feel a sense of urgency at this point, but I think making the list made me feel better. It's all manageable.

I'm experiencing a lot of indecisiveness too. I go to baby stores and just browse around saying "oh this is cute and that is cute," but I rarely buy anything (hard to believe, I know!).  I've purchased some onesies and a couple of other clothing items but for some reason I get hesitant to buy a lot of stuff. Silly, I know.  Same goes for nursery items. I'm always second-guessing the gliders I'm looking at and the crib, even though I've loved it from the start.

I realized I just need to start ordering things instead of stalling, since many items can take weeks to come in (and everything is returnable if I change my mind).  I also plan to make some of the artwork in the nursery myself, so next weekend I'd like to make a trip to Michael's to buy some supplies and get started. 

Here are a few items I've purchased so far:

 (carter's)

(Old Navy)

(Old Navy)

(Target)

(Baby GAP)

How far along? 21 weeks (I do these a week behind as a recap of the previous week, so I'm actually 22 weeks today.)

Total weight gain/loss: About 5 lbs so far. I weighed myself when I was at the hospital (more on that later).

Maternity clothes? Still wearing maternity pants and regular tops.  I'm really enjoying styling my outfits now that I've got a little bit of a bump. I also LOVE maternity pants, like whoa. I don't know how you can ever go back after the awesome comfort of maternity pants!

Stretch marks? I'm continuing to use Belli's Elasticity Belly Oil, Mamma Mio Tummy Rub and Mustela double-action stretch mark cream.  Just to clarify for those who have asked---I use these in rotation, not all at once! I heard so many great reviews on all three creams that I decided to get them all to last me through the entire pregnancy and just rotate them. I like that they all have different scents and textures.

Symptoms: Still peeing a ton. Sometimes I get round ligament pains. Other than those, I've been feeling good.

Sleep: Still using my Snoogle and have been sleeping pretty well this week.

Best moment this week: At 21 weeks, 5 days pregnant, I woke up with some aching pain very low in my abdomen, on the right side only.  The pain intensified as the day went on and I even experienced sharp pain when I peed. I was okay when I was sitting but the moment I stood up/walked I felt an intense ache that wouldn't go away combined with a lot of pressure and jabs of pain. Sometimes the sudden sharp pain took my breath away a little bit, but I tried to just walk through it thinking it would go away.

I have had round ligament pain before but this felt different. I ended up calling my OB's office and they told me to go to the assessment center to rule out a UTI (which is what I thought the issue might be) or another problem.  The nurse checked me out and said the baby was good and very active and then asked a bunch of questions about my symptoms. They did a urine dip and it came back completely clean (so no infection, which was great). 

The doctor came in to see me and it turns out that baby is growing and lying transverse, and her head is putting a lot of pressure on the ligaments on my right side.  The doctor even placed my hands on my belly so I could feel where the baby was---baby girl is super low and lying right across my belly, I could feel where she started and ended. The doctor told me the pain I was feeling was just due to baby's position and because I'm on the smaller side, and that everything is normal.  I was relieved.  

I may try the 30 second daily inversion recommended on spinningbabies.com to see if I can get baby into a more comfortable position.  At the end of the day, some discomfort is totally worth it if baby is happy and healthy in there, but I figure it can't hurt to give this a try. Let me know if you've tried any spinning babies techniques! Of course I will consult my OB first :)

Okay, so that didn't sound like a "best moment," but I'm just feeling really blessed that everything is okay. I think when you're a first time mom it's sometimes hard to tell what's normal and what's not.  I wasn't even going to call my OB and planned to wait it out another 24 hours but a few of my co-workers encouraged me to place the call to have peace of mind. 

Have you told family and friends: Yes!

Miss Anything? Not having to pee every 25 minutes.

Movement: I'm feeling movement daily and I absolutely love it :)

Food cravings: A classic cheeseburger. YUM! 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Still grilled chicken and iceberg lettuce. I can eat any other salad, just not iceberg. 


Have you started to show yet:  Yes, and I love it. I still love to alternate between fitted and looser tops, but it's fun to watch my growing bump. 

(21 week bump!)

Baby is a: Girl!

Belly Button in or out? Still in.

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time: 21 weeks was the first time I started to feel cranky during my pregnancy. Second trimester has been wonderful and I've felt great for the most part, but I seemed to be really sensitive and cranky this week, especially in the mornings (I'm usually not). I'm just going to chalk it up to pregnancy hormones because it's not typical for me to be cranky like that. Overall though, still happy :)

Looking forward to: Hitting the 24-week mark, ordering more items for the nursery, checking off items on my to-do list. 

What I'm reading: Baby Bargains---I started to work on my registries over the weekend and this book has been a Godsend. I'm also reading a lot of baby product recommendations on the blogs I follow. I'm also still reading the Mayo Clinic's Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy---trying not to skip ahead too far, but I'm finally getting into the chapters on the actual birth.

A co-worker lent me two books on breastfeeding as well which I am really looking forward to reading once I'm further along (they're The Nursing Mother's Companion and the Ultimate Breastfeeding Book of Answers). I am fortunate to be delivering at a hospital that provides incredible lactation support as well.

Thank you for reading and for all of my pregnant readers, please feel free to check in below as well and let me know how your pregnancy is going :) I also welcome everyone's advice and comments about pregnancy!

20 weeks!

How far along? 20 weeks (I do these a week behind as a recap of the previous week, so I'm actually 21 weeks today.)

Total weight gain/loss: At my 20 week appointment, I was up 3 lbs. total so far in this pregnancy.  I was a little concerned and asked my OB if this was not good or if I should try to gain more and she said I was perfectly healthy and that baby is growing great.  She said women's bodies are different and that some women just gain the majority of their weight later on in the pregnancy.  I eat constantly, so I guess my body is just doing what it needs to do. 

Maternity clothes? I'm wearing maternity pants and all of my other clothes are just my regular clothes.

Stretch marks? Not yet---I'm still using Belli's Elasticity Belly Oil and Mamma Mio Tummy Rub). I also recently purchased Mustela double-action stretch mark cream after reading about it on several blogs. 

Symptoms:  Lately I've been peeing like crazy. I drink a lot of water, but still.  Other than that I feel pretty good. I still get super tired some days after work, but that's to be expected.

Sleep: Still using my Snoogle and have been sleeping pretty well this week.

Best moment this week: Seeing baby at our 20-week anatomy scan. What an amazing experience.  Seeing baby's heart and brain and spine and kidneys was surreal. We actually saw all for chambers of the heart and the blood flowing through it...it was incredible.  I am thrilled to report that baby looks healthy and was moving a ton during the u/s.  Baby weighed 13 oz and was in the 75th percentile for size.  Oh, and the tech confirmed that baby is still a girl. I wanted them to check again to get the green light to buy some girl clothes. Here are a few shots from our a/s:

Baby giving the "thumbs up"

Baby's profile

Have you told family and friends: Yes!

Miss Anything? Not having to pee every 25 minutes.

Movement: I started to feel movement day and night.  It is more prominent at night, but I sometimes feel movement during the day too. In fact, I just felt the baby kick as I was writing this sentence.  I also feel external kicks daily, which is a very cool sensation.

Food cravings: Pizza, fruit. This isn't a craving necessarily---but every morning for the past couple of weeks I've eaten the same breakfast of oatmeal with a little brown sugar and topped with heaps of strawberries, blueberries and blackberries. Absolutely delicious! I didn't eat super well in first tri so I'm trying to make up for it now.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Grilled chicken and plain salads made with iceberg lettuce. I also haven't been able to order food from our favorite Chinese food takeout place. I tried twice after learning I was pregnant and felt sick each time after I ate it :(


Have you started to show yet:  Yes, though it largely depends on what I wear. In a fitted top, you can see my bump and in looser clothes no one would know I was pregnant. I am loving my little bump though.

The other day at 20 weeks, 5 days, I was in the cafeteria at work and a woman behind me in line kind of kept looking at me so I just smiled.  Then, a couple of minutes later she asked "excuse me, are you pregnant?"  Normally I think it is really rude to ask anyone that, even if they are clearly pregnant (because you just never know, so it's best to wait to see if they bring it up), but it felt kind of nice for someone to notice since I'm always getting asked "where's your bump?"  I wore one of my J.Crew no. 2 pencil skirts that day, and you can definitely see my bump in that skirt!

(another view)

This was at 20 weeks, 2 days- I was trying on a bikini because I was going to the spa. 

I didn't end up using the pool when I went, oh well.

Baby is a: Girl!

Belly Button in or out? Still in.

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!

Looking forward to: Hitting the 24-week mark. 

What I'm reading: I finished "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother" and "Brining Up Bebe" and now I'm focusing more on pregnancy and newborn books---reading Mayo Clinic's Guide to Pregnancy, The Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy and Happiest Baby on the Block. I'm also reading Baby Bargians.  I haven't gotten to the chapters on birthing yet---so I am asking you ladies---did you take a birthing class or did you rely on learning from books?  We registered for Infant Care and Infant CPR already and I also plan to take a breastfeeding class offered at the hospital where I'll deliver.

Thank you for reading and for all of my pregnant readers, please feel free to check in below as well and let me know how your pregnancy is going :) I also welcome everyone's advice and comments about pregnancy!

Outfits Lately...

This is just a quick post to share some of my latest outfits!

Zara jacket, Target tights, J.Crew scarf, Kate Spade heels (I wore a 

black Banana Republic dress under the coat)

J.Crew sweater, Banana Republic blouse, GAP maternity pants, Zara heels, F21 necklace

Target blouse, F21 necklace, GAP really skinny maternity pants, Tory Burch Reva flats

GAP shirt, F21 necklace, GAP really skinny maternity pants, Tory Burch Reva flats

J.Crew blouse and cardigan, GAP maternity pants, Kate Spade heels, Stella & Dot necklace, c/o

and of course, your weekly dose of Lulu adorableness!

Happy weekend to you all!  Tomorrow Candice and I are heading to the spa 

together for a little post-holiday relaxation! Hope y'all have a great weekend!

19 Weeks!

How far along? 19 weeks (I do these a week behind as a recap of the previous week, so I'm actually 20 weeks today.)

I took these photos of H and Lulu over the weekend and they are just so loving together. It makes me feel all warm in my heart and teary when I think of how he will be with our daughter.

(this is seriously how they sleep, not a posed photo)

Total weight gain/loss: I should find out at my next appointment tomorrow. Baby now weighs 13 oz, so I'm assuming my weight has gone up as well over these last few weeks.

Maternity clothes? I am still wearing my GAP maternity pants and the rest is all just my normal clothes. I've kind of been slacking lately and wearing pants nearly everyday and mostly black. I don't know if the gloomy weather is drawing me to darker colors or if I just needed a break from all of the brights of spring and summer. I can't wait for the weather to warm up a bit.

Stretch marks? Not yet (still using Belli's Elasticity Belly Oil at night and Mamma Mio Tummy Rub). 

Symptoms:  I experienced some reflux in week 19.  I thought I was getting a sore throat initially, but it never got worse and I often had an acidic feeling in my throat/esophagus. I read that this is pretty common in pregnancy. It's not too horrible, just a bit uncomfortable and sometimes causes me to feel a bit nauseous, but nothing like the nausea in first tri. Other than that I have been feeling pretty good.

Sleep: Still using my Snoogle which is wonderful. I am still having mornings where I'm waking up really early and having a hard time falling back asleep. I have heard that a lot of women have "pregnancy insomnia" and I seem to be able to fall asleep but sleeping through the night is another story. Maybe my body is trying to prepare me for what's to come, haha. I have been trying to sleep in on weekends since we might as well enjoy it while we still can!

Best moment this week: Feeling baby kick every night, even if it's just a few times.  It was also pretty cool to feel like I have a legit bump on Saturday. My husband even commented that my bump was looking bigger than usual!

Have you told family and friends: Everyone knows :)

Miss Anything? green tea, cold cuts, not having to pee every 25 minutes.

Movement: I am feeling movement every night, sometimes from the outside too. It's usually just a few taps here and there but it's amazing every time it happens. 

Food cravings: Honey Nut Cheerios, eggs, pizza, fruit.

Anything making you queasy or sick: still grilled chicken and plain salads made with iceberg lettuce.


Have you started to show yet:  Though my belly still fluctuates in size, it is starting to look more consistently "bumpy."  Someone at work even noticed this week when I was wearing a more fitted top.

Baby is a: Girl!

Belly Button in or out? Still in.

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!

Looking forward to: Our anatomy scan---which went really well (it was today)!  Baby is healthy, we feel very blessed.

Thank you for reading and for all of my pregnant readers, please feel free to check in below as well and let me know how your pregnancy is going :) I also welcome everyone's advice and comments about pregnancy!