21 Weeks

Currently: 21 weeks and 5 days
Left to go: 18 weeks and 2 days

Had a very good week this week. Two baby showers are scheduled for August so I finished up my Amazon.com registry. Very proud to have that accomplished.

I ordered about 7 books on pregnancy, breast feeding, baby care, labor, etc. from Amazon and most all of them came in this week so I've been doing a lot of reading.

The pregnancy books are starting to feel a bit redundant. I can't say I have a favorite of all of them right now.  They all seem to eventually say the same thing, "Pregnancy is weird isn't it? Don't panic, though. Unless you think you should, then call your doctor." I feel like that last statement is in there on nearly every topic just to avoid legal action from crazed, paranoid pregnant women.

The labor/delivery books are honestly a little overwhelming for me right now. It seems like I just last week was finally able to feel safe talking about BB publicly and decorating my nursery. It's like a splash of cold water to suddenly start reading about labor pains, episiotomies, and other bodily functions associated with having a baby. It's not that I'd never heard these words before or didn't know what they were - I just hadn't ever read in depth about them and applied them to ME. I guess it's wise for me to read these books now so I have time to process and get used to all these ideas and concepts. Knowledge is power right?

The baby care books are probably the ones I'm enjoying most as they involve little BB being OUT of my belly and out in the world where I can love on her properly. Working at the preschool was like a major "baby care" class experience so I feel somewhat prepared. I know it's going to be different when she needs me 24/7, but I am actually excited about that. If there's one good thing about dealing with infertility - it's that your mindset changes very dramatically to where you look FORWARD to the things you had been told you were going to hate. I've seen this in myself with tons of pregnancy related things (morning sickness, getting bigger, losing sight of my toes, maternity clothes, etc.). Instead of dreading these changes I have been excited about them. I hope that excitement carries over. I think it will. I hope it will.

Mommy's Feeing: Tired. Every kick makes me smile.
I'm still feeling a high off the ultrasound from last week. Her daddy picked out a dress for her at Kohl's this past weekend. It's quite cute. It was pretty adorable also to see Matt very seriously walking through the aisle of baby clothes and giving each dress serious consideration.

Symptoms wise I'm still feeling a lot of heartburn. I hope this means she'll have some hair when she arrives. One of the books I've been reading confirmed the old wives tale. The horomone that stimulates hair growth in babies is the same one that causes the heartburn symptoms so Lots of Horomone = Lots of Heartburn = Lots of Hair, supposedly. She'll get a bow stuck on her head one way or another, but a little hair always helps. I finally broke down an chewed a tums last night and slept much better than I had all week. It's becoming a normal thing to wake up a couple times each night. Usually once is just because I wake up and have to adjust positions and once is so I can pee. I'm sure Bea's just training me for the schedule she has planned for the fall.

I'm also noticing how ROUGH the Florida heat can be. I think that partly attributes to the swelling in my ankles. It's HOT outside.

21 weeks and 4 days

21 weeks and 5 days (today)

For comparison - Here's me at 11 weeks on the left and 21 weeks on the right.

10 weeks difference. 

Bea's Feeling: Kicky

Her kicks are definitely increasing in strength. I have felt them outside my tummy with my hand once or twice, but I haven't been able to catch her doing it when Matt was around yet. I know as they get more consistently stronger he'll def. feel it. 

This past week I've noticed her saying "Good Morning" on my drive to work. She must be asleep when I get up in the morning and she doesn't move much as I get ready and head out the door. But on the way into work I usually feel the little kicks start up. I laugh and tell her good morning and tell her about the day. I hope she keeps that schedule up for a while as it makes my drive to work very fun.

I doctored up a few of the ultrasound photos to keep them as backgrounds on my phone:

Patriotic Bea

(for the upcoming 4th of July)

Girly Bea

More Girly Bea

Daddy's Feeling: Scrumtrulescent or maybe relieved or Haflwaytherewhew

I am glad she's doing well. I want to take her canoeing and to the Smokey Mtns.

Daddy's hands and Bea

Upcoming Events:

Heading home to Alabama for the 4th of July holiday. More extended family will get to meet my belly.

24 Week Dr. Appt on July 18

Vacation to Mexico on July 22-27

20 weeks

Currently: 20 weeks and 3 days
Left to go: 19 weeks and 4 days

In the words of Bon Jovi, "Oooohhh, We're halfway there!". Twenty weeks marks the pregnancy halfway point. According to various sources Bea is as long as a carrot or banana, roughly the size of a butternut squash and weighs about 11 oz. One website that has a "Daddy Size Guide" compares the baby size to a Whoopee Cushion (size but not weight). 

We had our important full body ultrasound on Monday, June 17th to check on all things Bea. My parents got to come along (Bea's Papa and tentatively named Grandmamma - We're kinda waiting so see where Bea goes with my mom's name.) and that was really special. Bea was moving around, nearly did a flip and was just very busy in there as per her usual thing. Clear photos were hard to catch as she was moving too quickly to catch her without a bit of a blur.

Her face.

We were able to see her heart and all four chambers (amazing), her stomach, her kidneys, her spine, her brain, her eyes and we confirmed she's still a girl. (Whew <wipes brow>, as we had LOTS of pink already.) The Doctor saw me and said from everything they could see and tell she looked perfect. I almost looked over at Matt and gave him a high-five right then.

She likes to snuggle up and because of that getting a straight on photo of her face wasn't easy. She kept turning her face into me and curling up into a little ball. I'm hoping the snuggly thing lasts as I love to snuggle babies.

Snuggling into me.

We have been so blessed to have things go so smoothly. Of course, I'm not without my normal pregnancy discomforts, but knowing she's growing and thriving in there makes these discomforts totally worth it - and I'd gladly endure more if that meant she was safe.

Mommy's feeling: Happy
So glad her ultrasound went well. Happily enduring heartburn and slightly swollen ankles or as Matt calls them "Cankles". Also starting to notice a little trouble bending over to pick things up. Backrubs, earlier bedtimes and soaking in a tub are helping soreness and tiredness. Haven't been able to figure out the heartburn issues. Seems to happen regardless of what I eat so I'm just dealing with it. Luckily it's not too strong. In general I'd def. say I feel pregnant and am very happy about that.

20 weeks and 4 days

20 weeks and 1 day

Outfits make a difference don't they??

Bea's Feeling: Active (still)
Starting to notice a pattern in her kicks. She's active in the mornings for a little bit. Then seems to settle for a morning nap. She gets active again in the mid afternoons. Then takes an afternoon nap and starts up again in the evenings. She may be kicking a lot more, but I'm more likely to notice when I'm sitting still (at work or reading in bed at night). Her kicks don't wake me up yet. Matt says they may never since I'm such a  heavy sleeper. He bought me a book to read to her in utero and last night she kicked during the story. She kicked when Matt read something to her too. 

The legs and feet that keep me company throughout my day.

According to the book, babies who hear stories or songs in utero remember them when they're out of the womb. I guess if she kicks after she's born during the same story she's remembering it? I think I'll say that she does. In the same way I'll insist the first time she smiles is def. not gas because she's a lady and ladies don't get gas - it's a smile.

Daddy's Feeling: Elated

Glad she still has my nose. Thankful she is super healthy. Wishing she had hair in the ultrasound. Ready to meet her.

A thumbs up for her momma and daddy.

Bea's First Blog - Pregnancy Week 19

Here's the inaugural blog for Sweet Bea.

Anticipated arrival: 11/4/2013

Currently: 19 weeks and 2 days

Mommy's feeling: Pretty Good
I am having more trips to the ladies' room than normal and experiencing heartburn after just about every meal - but I guess that means she'll have a head full of hair? Getting a sore lower back at the end of long days or after lots of standing. Still in awe over this little gal and very excited to see her face in the next ultrasound.

Bea's Feeling: Active
Feeling her kick in the afternoons and evenings. Her heartbeat is still strong. She's moved farther up into my abdomen in the past few weeks.

Daddy's Feeling: Confident
Excited to see the next ultrasound. Hoping she still looks like me. Glad it's gone so incredibly smooth so far. Hope that keeps up as she gets bigger.

Upcoming Events: Matt's first semi-Father's day, a visit from Ashley's parents whose Grandparent names are TBD and a 20 week Dr. check-up including ultrasound.

Week 18

June 3 – 9, 2013

Feeling good. Back pain and abdomen pain in the evenings. Bought a pillow from Ikea to use between my legs at night to help hip pain. Still needing to pee often. Starting to feel kicks more strongly. Listen to heartbeat regularly. Was surprised Sunday, June 9th, when I had trouble locating the heartbeat in the normal spot on my abdomen. Found it much higher than she had been before. She was practically behind by belly button.

6/3/2013 - Bea got her first Alabama gift from Karol Colon, a work study student in my office at USF. It’s a bow made of Alabama fabric and swirly white ribbons. It clips onto an infant headband.

6/6/2013

Marg and Tyson met Gus Malzahn, Auburn's head football coach, at a fundraiser event in Florence. Got an autographed baby hat addressed to Bea.

Text for Marg:

Yeah, got that (the hat) at the mall. Knew u would love it! Gus said "tell your brother Matt congratulations on his baby!" He was so fun to talk to.

6/7/2013

Email from Marg:

Thought of you and talked about you ALL night long! My plan all along was get Bea's gift signed first then go from there. I just couldn't not tell u about it once we did it :)  Was so excited to talk to Gus on your behalf! ;)  He really is a genuinely nice guy. He thought the baby hat was really cute and said it was the first one he had signed. He spoke to us longer than he did with anyone that we saw...I think most people just get autographs and pics but we immediately started talking about you and Bea, etc and since it was personal he just kept right on visiting. I will talk to u tomorrow about your poster. I want to get it framed for you and add some pics from tonight and then send it via UPS. Can be your bday present. Miss you! Can't wait to see that hat on your baby girl!