Bump Update Pics - Almost Halfway!

Halfway done next week.  Here's the bump progress so far!

Bump Update: Weeks 16/17/18

How big is baby? At 18 weeks, baby is the size of a sweet potato! She's a almost 6 inches long and weighs about 6.7 ounces. Her cartilage is turning to bone, her brain is taking over control of her heartbeat, and she is beginning to be able to hear us.  She can also yawn, hiccup, and swallow. 

How am I feeling?  I finally have some days with no nausea which is SO nice.  And then randomly I'm throwing up all day long again.  Either way, nausea feels normal to me now so I handle it pretty well.  Still enjoying round ligament pains as my baby grows and my uterus moves out from inside my pelvis.  I've noticed they are more intense after running but am told they'll improve over time.  I also have some days filled with nerve pain "down there."  It can be crazy intense but luckily doesn't last too long. 

 

I've also officially reached the hormonal/emotional side of pregnancy.  I'm overwhelmed almost daily by how incredibly grateful I am to be growing a little girl inside of me.  I tear up just thinking about how lucky we are to be on this journey.  Actually, I tear up at anything remotely emotional.  After miscarrying my first pregnancy and experiencing a couple months of unsuccessfully trying to get pregnant, I feel like we have such a huge appreciation for the whole process.  I watch my ultrasound videos all the time and am filled with so much love for this little girl. 

 

Food aversions/cravings?  I am eating most things now aside from the random meals that I plan and then can't stomach the thought of.  I would love to eat cereal all day every day.  I actually dreamed the other night that I was eating bowl after bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch and it was so amazing. 

 

Sleep:  Still pretty bad.  I wake up often and usually spend an hour or two reading in the middle of the night. Annoying but I'm not overly tired in the daytime so it's not so bad. 

Maternity clothes: Still just the two pair of maternity pants but jeans are getting interesting so that might be my next purchase.  I've bought a few dresses and a couple nonmaternity elastic waist shorts and skirts (thanks Jcrew for carrying those this year!). 

 

Best moments: I feel slightly less terrified about something bad happening now that I'm in the second trimester.  However, one bad story and I'm frantically overnighting a doppler ultrasound to my house so we can listen to baby's heartbeat.  So now M and I can listen to her together whenever we want and it is absolutely amazing every time. 

Another one- I've woken up two mornings with a big ball of baby sticking out of one side of my belly.  I put my hand on her and felt her move back to a normal position.  It was so awesome and I can't wait to feel more movements! 

Miss anything? This time last year we were in full on Ironman training mode.  I'm a definitely missing the satisfaction of a really hard workout. 

Nursery progress:  We've been working like crazy in the nursery every weekend.  We end each Sunday completely exhausted BUT the walls are almost done and it looks great!  We both wander in there every day because we love it so much.  A chandelier and mirror were also purchased this week. 

Thoughts on pregnancy: Pregnancy is painful and stressful, but it's also the greatest thing ever.  The thought of growing a little one is pretty incredible!  I can't wait for all the weeks to come. 

Looking forward to: Two week countdown till our 20 week scan.  Can.not.wait.

Bump Update: Weeks 13/14/15

How big is baby? At 15 weeks, baby is the size of an orange! She's about 4 inches long and weighs only 2.5 ounces.  This size fruit finally seems large to me and makes me excited! 

How am I feeling?  Oh how I love hearing how great I should be feeling now that I'm in the second trimester... NOT.  The complete, overwhelming exhaustion left suddenly around week 10 or 11 which was awesome.  It's nice to come home from work and not immediately go to bed!  However, the nausea and nightly vomiting have not dissipated.  I definitely feel better during the day than I did for many weeks, but it's far from over. 

Food aversions/cravings?  For most of the first trimester, I survived on pizza or other forms of carbs and cheese.  Cooked veggies didn't stand a chance, so I would try to eat raw carrots and peppers as much as possible.  I went from eating a fried egg every single morning pre-pregnancy to begging the husband not to cook any until after I'd left for the day.  

For the last couple weeks, I can stand to eat most things.  Salads and veggies are still mostly forced and every once in awhile I'll smell something we made for dinner and immediately be sick and have to eat cereal instead.  Carbs are still so delicious.  The weirdest thing has been that my normal sweet tooth is gone and now I just want salt (ie: all the potato chips).  One other super weird thing- I can't stand the smell of a piece of gum.  I used to chew gum every second of the day and now I can't be near it!

Sleep:  Nights where I don't take my nausea medicine I'm incredibly restless and sleep horribly- usually up at 3am for the day.  Nights when I do take it, I sleep like a rock (aside from constantly getting up to pee!).

Maternity clothes:  I gave in and bought two pair of maternity dress pants.  Dress pants have a higher rise so buttoning them was becoming more uncomfortable every day. My other regular clothes are still mostly fine with the use of a belly band and long camisoles.  I'm excited for the days to come with a real bump and not just looking like maybe I ate a little too much over the weekend.  I'm finally back to weighing what I did before the nausea kicked in but things are definitely shaped a bit differently than a few months ago! 

Best moments:  At 14 weeks, we went in for our gender scan and confirmed Baby H is officially a girl!  On one hand, it seemed like no surprise since we both had already thought it was a girl for several weeks.  On the other, I'm still in disbelief.  I'd always assumed I'd have all boys.  The thought of having a little girl, a daughter of my own, is hard to wrap my mind around.  Aside from the excitement for all things pink and ruffled, I'm also a little terrified for ages 10-18.  I'd always assumed my boys would love me no matter what but girls seem like a whole other puzzle.  I'm beyond excited, however, to see Mike with a little girl.  I'm positive he'll be amazing with her and have no doubt she will be the center of his world. 

It's a girl!

cutest little bum ever

waving!

 

3D is weird but also pretty cool.  She's fully formed and ready to fatten up!

Other good moments included a trail race with our favorite local running group.  M and I both ran the 10K which was hard but gorgeous and a great time as always.  I managed to run all of it except for the 2 mile climb up a mountain which was better than I'd expected!  I'm not sure how much more trail running I'll be doing as my lower belly muscles were pretty sore for a couple days after which was not so fun.  

 

almost finished!

 

all done!

We've also finally made it out of the house for some nice dinners.  Mike told me he was OVER not eating out (aside from all the pizza places in town) so I found the strength to go out.  Food still tastes a little off but it is so nice to have date nights again.  We definitely want to make this a priority before the little one arrives!  

M's Birthday night out at the Wynn

 

Miss anything?  I crave turkey sandwiches like crazy which I can't have.  And it is a little weird not getting champagne at the casinos. 

Nursery progress:  We of course wasted no time on getting this started.  Most of the big things- colors, furniture, décor plans- have been decided on, so now it's just checking things off the list for the next few months.  We've emptied out the room and started prepping the walls for their transformation.  We also ordered our crib and dresser and a few other bedding things.  So excited for all that's to come with this project! 

Thoughts on pregnancy:  I don't think I ever realized how terrifying and challenging being pregnant would be.  Sure first trimester is known for being less than fun and weeks 35+ looked a little challenging to maneuver.  I know a lot of it has to do with my Type A personality but not knowing every detail of how the baby is doing makes me crazy.  I'm constantly questioning how things are going and wondering if I'm doing everything right.  I also didn't realize how painful the early stages would be.  She's so small and yet she causes me some major growing pains. Ligament pains and bladder pressure are no joke!

Looking forward to:  I just want to hurry and fast forward to the 20 week ultrasound. I'd love an update on how our little girl is developing and, of course, seeing her jumping around and listening to her beating heart is pretty much the greatest thing to ever happen to me.