Prayers and Thoughts Please

On Tuesday, our friend's little man made his appearance at 27 weeks. He is doing great, but still needs your prayers and positive thoughts. Please pray he gains a ton of weight and makes it home with his mom and dad as soon as possible!

Big u/s is May 14th!

That is only 2 weeks away!! I decided it would be fun to find some old wives tales. Here is what I found.

Girl
Girls are carried high. You are going to have a girl.
Your feet are not colder than they were before pregnancy. You are having a girl.
You refuse to eat the heel of a loaf of bread. You are having a girl.
Dad-to-be hasn't been gaining weight along with Mom-to-be, so it will be a girl.
You had morning sickness early in pregnancy, so you are expecting a girl.
Your chest development has been quite dramatic during pregnancy. You should expect a girl.
You are craving sweets, which means that it is a girl.
Your nose hasn't changed during pregnancy, which indicates a girl.
You have been craving fruits, so it is a girl.
Your baby's heart rate is 140 or more beats per minute, so it's a girl.
You must have orange juice every day, so it's a girl.
Your urine is dull, so it's a girl.

Boy
You are carrying the extra weight out front, so it's a boy.
The hair on your legs is growing faster during pregnancy, so it's a boy.
You are looking particularly good during pregnancy. Therefore, it must be a boy, because girls steal their mother's looks.
Since the sum of the mother's age at conception and the number of the month of conception is even, it will be a boy.
You are having headaches, so it's a boy.
Your belly looks like a watermelon, so it's a girl.
You show the back of your hand when someone asks to see it, so it's a boy.
You use the handle when picking up a mug, so it's a boy.

Looks like for now we are looked at 60% girl/40% boy.

17 weeks!

17 weeks 1 day today!! Above is my belly picture from today and my belly picture from 11 weeks. There is a big difference and I know I'm only going to keep growing. Today I have my 17 week appointment. I will get to schedule my next ultrasound today. I am hoping it is in two weeks or so because I cannot wait to find out what we are having.

I decided to buy a doppler online so Andrew and I could listen to baby's heartbeat at home. Of course, it was broken so we will have to exchange it for a new one. I did manage to get it to work for just a minute this morning and I heard the baby's heartbeat for about a minute. It was beating at 147 BPM which seems very boyish to me.

How far along? 17 weeks 1 day!
Total weight gain/loss: Not sure. I forgot to weigh this morning.
Maternity clothes? Just pants still and a few tighter shirts.
Stretch marks? No
Sleep: I can't seem to sleep on my side like I'm supposed to.
Best moment this week: Feeling my first kicks.
Movement: Just a little. I've only felt kicks once, but I can feel him swimming around.
Food cravings: None really.
Gender: Maybe a boy.
Labor Signs: None
Belly Button in or out? In
What I miss: Nothing
What I am looking forward to: Finding out what we are having.
Milestones: Feeling kicks!

16 weeks

Please excuse my lack of a post last week. We were on vacation and while I love my blog, I loved the beach more. We had so much fun on our vacation. It was so nice getting away and being able to spend nonstop time together. It was also great to eat like calories didn't matter.

I almost made it through the whole vacation without throwing up, but unfortunately one morning the baby got the best of me and I had to break in the hotels sink. I am now taking the anti-nausea medicine Phenegran every morning. It is a life saver and I am actually able to eat normally again. I am hoping I won't need it much longer, but as of right now I have to take on right when I wake up or else I start feeling really bad.

I think it is easy to see that my belly has grown! I now have a bump and am quite proud of it. It makes me look a lot better in my maternity clothes and people are starting to ask me when I'm due.

My next appointment is April 30th. That is when we will schedule our big u/s. I am thinking it will be anywhere between May 10th and May 22nd. I am hoping it is closer to May 10th because I am about ready to burst waiting to find our what we are having. I was almost certain we were having a girl, but the day after I called the baby Emma all day I got sick. Maybe our baby boy was trying to tell me something. Either way I just want to know so I can find some cute clothes!

How far along? 16 weeks!
Total weight gain/loss: Up 8.5 pounds from 14 weeks. Yikes. Only up 4.5 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight so that isn't as bad.
Maternity clothes? All of my bottoms and a few tops that aren't as flowy.
Stretch marks? No
Sleep: It's alright. I'm trying to train myself to sleep on my side and am failing.
Best moment this week: Thinking I *maybe* felt a flutter.
Movement: Possibly one night, but maybe not.
Food cravings: Fruit, veggies, and bagels.
Gender: I guess girl...maybe. Sometimes.
Labor Signs: None and lets keep it that way for the next 21 weeks or so.
Belly Button in or out? In, but it is stretching out.
What I miss: Nothing. I am feeling pretty good.
What I am looking forward to: My next appointment and hearing baby's HB again.
Weekly Wisdom: Buy maternity underwear...even if they are bikini style. They are heavenly.
Milestones: Baby can hear me this week. I better watch my mouth!

Baby's First Trip to Labor and Delivery

Today we ended up in labor and delivery because I was very dehydrated. It started out two days ago when I threw up seven times. Yesterday I felt a little better until I went to the license branch and almost passed out. I had to sit down for about 30 minutes and then I felt a little better. I went home and drank tons of water and ate Don Pablos for dinner. This morning I woke up and was sick again. I threw up four times and decided to call my OB to ask for some nausea medicine. She ended up sending me to the hospital for fluids and prescribed me some medicine for my nausea.

I have never had an IV before and it was kind of scary at first, but it didn't hurt at all. The fluids were so cold and I was freezing the whole time. It wasn't the best experience, but I do feel a little better now. The only downside of the nausea medicine is that it's making me very sleepy. I will take sleeping over throwing up any day though.

14 weeks.

Today, we are 14 weeks. There is nothing too exciting going on at this stage. I'm out of the 1st trimester, but it is too early to feel any movement. My morning sickness is back again. I lost 2 pounds this week, putting me down 4 pounds overall. Even though I'm losing weight, the baby is still growing and that is all that matters.

We had our 13 week appointment last Thursday. We got to hear the HB on the doppler which was pretty cool. Our Dr also thought it would be a good idea to tell us we are having a boy. He based this off of the baby's heartbeat, the Chinese calender, and how uncooperative he was at the ultrasound. Andrew has his hopes up now. I guess we will see when we have our big ultrasound in the middle of May.

My belly picture actually has a belly in it now! I can tell a huge difference from a few weeks ago.

How far along? 14 weeks!!!
Total weight gain/loss: Down 4 pounds. Thanks to my m/s.
Maternity clothes? Just pants. The tops are still too big.
Stretch marks? No
Sleep: Pretty good, but I'm having crazy dreams now.
Best moment this week: Hearing baby's HB at my appointment.
Movement: Still can't feel it.
Food cravings: Carrots, apples, bagels
Gender: It has to be a boy because a girl wouldn't treat her mom like this.
Labor Signs: None
Belly Button in or out? In
What I miss: Rare steaks.
What I am looking forward to: Vacations.
Weekly Wisdom: No wisdom this week.
Milestones: Ordered the nursery bedding.

Our bedding is ordered!

This is our bedding we ordered. I always said that I didn't want baby-ish looking bedding or bedding with animals on it. This bedding is both, but we love it. We saw it while we were walking around Babies R Us, but decided to wait until we had a coupon to buy it. I looked around on the internet and found the whole bedding collection and all of the accessories for less money than just the bedding at BRU. Of course, we scooped up that deal and are really happy we did.

We also found a glider we love. The problem is that it will be over $600 with the ottoman that goes with it. That is way too expensive for a rocking chair! I think we are going to have to reevaluate our decision and find something a little less expensive.

13 weeks!

We officially have one trimester down and two to go! It feels great being out of the dreaded first trimester and apparently the baby agrees. I have been feeling a lot better the last couple of days. Yesterday my morning sickness caught back up with me, but it was just in the morning. I've found that I tend to feel sick on the days I have to get up early for work. I am thankful that I only have to work two days a week!
I am starting to get a tiny bump, I don't think it is very noticeable, but the little boy I babysit for told me my belly looked like his mommy's so I must have a baby in it. I guess it's sticking out there a little bit.
We have our next appointment tomorrow. It will be the first time we will be able to hear the heartbeat. We got to see it last week, but not hear it. We also got our results back from our NT scan. Our baby has a 1:10,010 chance of having Downs and 1:36,001 chance of having Trisomy 13/18. The genetic counselor said those are wonderful numbers. I did a little research online and they are indeed awesome!
That is about all I have to update about this week. Next Friday we are off to Florida and I cannot wait! It will be nice for Andrew to have a little break from work and for us to just be able to relax for a week together. I am also looking forward to some good food and seeing some alligators!

How far along? 13 weeks!!!
Total weight gain/loss: Still down 2 pounds.
Maternity clothes? I'm loving my under the belly pants!
Stretch marks? No
Sleep: I'm having vivid and scary dreams. One about having 5 babies.
Best moment this week: Eating nachos for the first time in 3 months!
Movement: Hopefully I will feel something in the next month.
Food cravings: Chocolate pudding, mexican food, a wrap from Rainforest Cafe (which is 4 hours away!)
Gender: Kinda thinking boy, but I still want a girl!
Labor Signs: None
Belly Button in or out? In
What I miss: Nothing
What I am looking forward to: Our appt tomorrow and vacation!
Weekly Wisdom: I guess I'm not wise this week.
Milestones: Not feeling sick anymore! Having some energy back!