17 Weeks

Here's the 17 week Bump!  I'm still feeling great, and still in awe at the size of my tummy!  But I've been feeling a few more flutters this week so it's really starting to feel a little more real to me!  And I'm one week closer to finding out the gender too!

Here's my recap!

How far along? 17 Weeks

Total weight gain: Still 3 Pounds.
Inches gained in the waist: 4" (my 4 ½” of last week might have just been dinner :p)

Maternity clothes? Yes!!

Stretch marks?  None on the belly!

Sleep: Some nights are better than others, but I have been having very vivid dreams!  Last night I had to talk my old Drama Teacher down from killing the man who was sleeping with is wife…  yeah. 

Best moment this week:  I have been feeling more movement!  And I found a very clear heartbeat on my home Doppler – Baby is very active though, so as soon as I find the heartbeat, baby runs away!!!!! 

Miss Anything?   Sleeping on my tummy… 
Movement: Yes!  I’m sure of it!  So far it’s been about 4 times that I’ve noticed! 

Food cravings: Not especially, It’s typically based off of a suggestion, like someone saying they are having pizza for lunch or something, and I either think “mmm I want pizza” or “meh, not feeling it”

Anything making you queasy or sick:   Smells have been affecting me, like last night I made spaghetti, and home made meat sauce, and it was delicious at the time, and then the smell of the dirty sauce pot started making me feel gross so I had to rinse it out right away. 

Gender: Unknown – Only 2 more weeks! 

Labor Signs: Too early! 

Symptoms:  Memory is just crap, and some days I get the fatigue again, but so far so good! 

Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? Off, but I'm still wearing my "replacement ring" which is my old junior high ring from my parents.

Happy or Moody most of the time:  Very Happy!

Looking forward to:  Finding out the gender!  And seeing our little one again!!

16 weeks!

My goodness!  Has it been a week already!  Time is really flying now!  Especially since I'm not waiting for that first trimester to be over now!  I can enjoy waddling around admiring my bump!

This week I've still been feeling pretty good with the exception of the frequent headaches now.  It's funny, I was prepared for fatigue, and nausea, but no where did anyone mention the pregnancy headaches!  I get the dull throbbing of a headache on a daily basis now, on and off throughout the day.  Some days are worse than others, but for the most part I can deal.  (I refuse to take anything, so I'm just using non-drug remedy's, like massage, ice and drinking water).

All in all though, it's been a most excellent week!  The Sun came out to play, my Mom came up for a visit (and rubbed my belly more than a couple times :)) and I had time off this weekend!  I spent my Sunday laying on my deck in the sun, and I have a beautiful golden tan to show for it!  And I even went to see my friend Cindy for a pregnancy massage yesterday!  (don't worry, I wasn't on the belly, I was laying mostly on my side hugging my body pillow)

Before I share my 16 week picture, I first wanted to post a baby picture of my own!  When my Mom came up this weekend she brought with her a box of my childhood records and photos (many of which I've never seen before since there isn't a lot of baby photo's of me).  So here a fair haired, blue-eyed baby Heather:

And just for fun.... here's Baby Ben:

There's no doubt about it, our little one will have squishy chubby cheeks!!! I can't wait!!!


And here's the little bub now (of course still in their protective "Mommy" cover):

You know - I call myself Mommy a lot because of Emmy (don't roll your eyes, I'm totally a Cat Lady.  Emmy knows me as Mommy and Ben as Daddy - like actually... you can say "where's Daddy?  Go get Daddy!"  And if Emmy is in the right mood, he'll go running down the hall to find Ben -true story!) So calling myself Mommy doesn't phase me, but actually being a "Mother"  is still something I'm trying to get used to!  Sure it's evident to me that I will be a mother one day, but until I can hold my little one in my arms I don't think it'll kick in that I am a Mother!

Now without further ado - here's my Pregnancy week recap!

How far along? 16 Weeks

Total weight gain: Still just 3 Pounds.
Inches gained in the waist: 4 1/2"

Maternity clothes? Yes!!

Stretch marks?  None on the belly!  I did some research into it, and my Mom didn’t get any, and apparently it’s a hereditary thing, so I might be in the clear!  Here’s hoping!

Sleep: Getting better!   

Best moment this week:  I felt my first flutter!!!! 

Miss Anything?   Wine… we have so much of it!  I’ve started having dreams about accidentally drinking a gulp of wine at a party because I forgot I was pregnant, and it was natural habit for me! 
Movement: I think so!  I felt a flutter on Friday night, and the only reason I’m pretty sure it was Baby, is because when I told Ben, he put his hand on my tummy and pressed, and there was another flutter in response to his hand! 

Food cravings: I’m having a hard time figuring out if it’s a baby thing, or a Heather thing, but I want a turkey wrap… mmm full of tomatoes and lettuce, and cucumbers!  

Anything making you queasy or sick:   Not really, but I do have smells I am not a fan of – like garbage – Bleh! 

Gender: Unknown

Labor Signs: Too early! 

Symptoms:  Still fighting with the Baby Brain – on Saturday I couldn’t count out enough cash to pay a $35 bill!  Ah!  I don’t trust myself with math these days at all! 

Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? Off, but I'm still wearing my "replacement ring" which is my old junior high ring from my parents.

Happy or Moody most of the time:  Very Happy!

Looking forward to:  Finding out the gender!  And seeing our little one again!!

15 Weeks!

 Oh boy am I ever round!  I have definitely noticed that the top of my tummy seems to be sticking out further and further than before.  For example, here's week 11: 

 You can see that my bump is a little on the low side, and although my shirt is stretched, and you can't really tell, most of the roundness is concentrated around the belly button, where as in my 15 week picture my bump seems to grow right from my ribs (under my hand)!  All my life my ribs have stuck out, but these days baby sticks out further!  And when I eat that seems to be the spot that fills up first and gets super firm! 

Wow.... just comparing those photos, I've done a lot of growing in 4 weeks!  Hahaha

 I'm feeling awesome these days!  I feel like I'm having the best pregnancy in the history of pregnancies!  I haven't thrown up once, and aside from a handful of moments of nausea, I have been feeling great!  My heartburn has only happened maybe 3 or 4 times, and I haven't really experienced any intense cravings (short of my first trimester chocolate craving - but for the most part that has subsided).   I don't have a lot of strong food aversions, most things I'm just indifferent about, but I will still eat them (except for that fish that one time... the taste was just a little too strong for me to deal with in that moment).

My back and neck hurts, but that is normal for me, as is tossing and turning all night, but I feel I am sleeping a little better than I had been in the first trimester.  I am however noticing that the girth of my fat cuddly cat is getting to be too heavy to have on my round tummy, and I have awoke a couple times in the night with my tummy hurting and my lovey ball of fur sprawled across me purring away. 

All in all, so far so good!  

How far along? 15 Weeks

Total weight gain: 3 Pounds now.
Inches gained in the waist: 4"

Maternity clothes? Yes!!

Stretch marks? I just discovered a couple on the girls, but none on the belly!  

Sleep: I still toss and turn, but it's better now. 

Best moment this week:  Just waddling around and seeing my nice round tummy in reflections of windows and mirrors :D 

Miss Anything?   Running at this point... baby bounces, and it's a little uncomfortable, so right now I'm just walking as much as I can. 
Movement: maybe?  I had a dream the other night that I felt a serious kick and I'm not sure if I dreamed it because it happened, or because I just wanted it to? 

Food cravings:  Meh, not much of anything anymore.  I could still definitely go for ice cream at all times of the day though, but I think that's less of a pregnant woman thing, and more of a Heather thing.  

Anything making you queasy or sick:   Not really, although emptying the garbage was less than enjoyable, and I really didn't like Ben frying mushrooms the other night... but I never liked the smell of that previously either.

Gender: Unknown

Labor Signs: Too early! 

Symptoms:  I have a serious case of Baby brain going on!  Today I had to look up my debit card number twice to log into my online banking (a number I have had memorized for 3 years!)  as well on Saturday I had to text Melissa to ask if I had my kit at the studio or if I had taken it home after the last shoot!  I'm terrified that I'm going to forget to go work someone's wedding or something!  I think I check my calender 100 times a day, and always have to write things down immediately when I get the details for them! 

Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? Off, but I'm still wearing my "replacement ring" which is my old junior high ring from my parents.

Happy or Moody most of the time:  Very Happy!

Looking forward to:  Finding out the gender!  And seeing our little one again!!

14 weeks!

How far along? 14 Weeks

Total weight gain: 2 Pounds now.  

Maternity clothes? Yes!!

Stretch marks? I just discovered a couple on the girls, but none on the belly!  

Sleep: I'm still waking up several times during the night, but I'm feeling a little more rested when I wake up now.
Best moment this week:  Having Ben's mom rub my tummy, and hearing the heartbeat!    

Miss Anything?   painting my toes?  Hahaha I'm sure I could still do it, but I am finding reaching my toes is more difficult with this beach ball on my lap :p
Movement: Nothing that I have noticed 

Food cravings:  Still pasta, and Ice Cream and Chocolate (and no just because I'm craving it doesn't mean I'm living off of it...)
Anything making you queasy or sick:   I'm just steering clear from the strong flavoured things (sorry butter Chicken :(_)
Gender: Unknown

Labor Signs: Too early! 

Symptoms:   Tired now and then.  And the odd off feeling after a meal, or before one, but so far so good!  Oh... and still very forgetful!    

Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? Off 

Happy or Moody most of the time:  Very Happy!

Looking forward to:  finding out the gender!

13 weeks - Second Trimester!

And just like that, I'm in the second trimester!  My little bub is going to be here in no time!  

Here's the bump today - round as usual :) 

Sorry for the "work bathroom" pictures, I don't have a full length mirror at my house that will let me get a good picture without standing on my tippy toes!  I must admit, I love my round belly!  I like my little waddle, and I love putting my hand on my tummy and imagining meeting the new life growing inside.  I love being pregnant!  So far I think I've had a pretty awesome pregnancy, only slight nausea a handful of times, and some mild food aversions (although nothing that really keeps me from eating it anyway, aside from that Rare steak that one time...  ) and typical fatigue - which has probably been the biggest struggle so far.  Luckily I have awesome coworkers, and no one bats an eye if they find me curled up on Ben's couch for a few minutes in the middle of the afternoon, in fact they tip toe around and whisper as not to wake me!

Not a whole lot has changed from last week's update, but I'm still going to do it! (Also, I have no idea what is going on with the formatting - Sorry!)   

How far along? 13 Weeks

Total weight gain: 1 pound - I think it's still about this, I forgot to weigh in this morning

Maternity clothes? Yes - and I have amazing friends who gave me their maternity clothes when they were done with it, so I have more to wear these days!

Stretch marks? nope! 

Sleep: I'm still tossing and turning, but I seem to have found a few positions that have been working for me, my biggest issue these days is that my arms fall asleep whenever I have a pillow wedged under my back behind me... it's weird, and a little concerning first thing in the morning. 
Best moment this week:  Every time I can feel how full and firm my tummy is after dinner - the food + the baby creates a really cool bubble that sticks out a little further than usual!  

Miss Anything?  Coffee this week.  Our coworker brought Ben some really awesome coffee beans and I stood there for 5 minutes just breathing in the aroma of the beans, it smelled so good!  I think I might go out and get myself a Decaf bag just to satisfy the craving!  
Movement: Haven't felt anything since, so perhaps I was just reading too much into my bodily movements.  

Food cravings:  Today I craved a chicken wrap - I just wanted something fresh and light for lunch, so Ben and I went out to get a wrap from Wrapture in the mall - it was awesome!
Anything making you queasy or sick:   Random things, typically it's just the phase between meals, but the last couple days I've been experiencing a few bouts of feeling gross after eating, so I think I might need to cut down on the spice/flavour soon, as it happened after having pesto Pork Loin on Sat, and then again after having home made butter chicken yesterday for lunch.
Gender: Unknown

Labor Signs: Too early! 

Symptoms:   Tired now and then.  And the odd off feeling after a meal, or before one, but so far so good!  Oh... and still very forgetful!    

Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? Off 

Happy or Moody most of the time:  Very Happy!

Looking forward to: My first appointment with my OB at the beginning of May!  And finding out the gender!