23 Weeks

How far along?

23 weeks

Total weight gain:

4, maybe 5?

Maternity clothes?

Yeah, buddy! Maternity shorts all the way. Me likey.

Sleep:

Great! Now that I have a maternity pillow and figured out how to use it! [Those things should come with instructions!] I still get up once, maybe twice to pee, but I sleep so soundly in between.

Symptoms:

The devil allergies. It's awful. But doing much better today, thank goodness. 

What I'm Looking forward to:

While I'm not looking forward to the process of cleaning out my closet, and the baby's room, I am looking forward to making progress and getting it d.o.n.e. 

Cravings:

Still nothing.

Aversions:

Nothing.

Best moment this week:

Going to a cute little French cafe downtown with my husband, just enjoying "us" time before he starts back up to med school on Monday.

Movement:

Lots! All the time, and lots of rolls. Plus, she's given me a few good kicks to the bladder for the first time this past week.

Gender:

girlie girl

Belly button in or out?

Almost flat.

What I miss:

Being able to control my allergies. Nothing seems to work! The doc told me which meds I can take, but I still try to avoid all meds if possible. 

Milestones:

Little Girl is over 11 inches long, and over a pound. She can feel me dance, and hear the dog bark!

Favorite moments:

Feeling her move right before I go to bed.

22 weeks

How far along?

22 weeks

[hey look! it actually finally looks like there's a baby in there!]

Total weight gain:

When I went to the doctor last week, I had gained 4 lbs.

Maternity clothes?

I am loving maternity shorts. I now have a few maternity shirts which are super comfy, but mostly I'm wearing non-maternity sundresses.

Sleep:

What sleep? It's been rocky, but last night was actually pretty decent. I only woke up twice and went back to bed pretty easily.

Symptoms:

Ouchie McRibs!! For the last two weeks my right rib right under my boob, and into my back, has been insanely sore. I'm assuming it's just bruised from my ribs expanding and making room for the baby, but it can be pretty uncomfortable, especially while sitting and sleeping. The doctor isn't concerned, but the pain hasn't gone away.

What I'm looking forward to:

My baby shower, even though it's two months away! =)

Cravings:

My sour patch kids craving has left the building. I'm not really craving anything except water. I can't seem to get enough of it! I keep my 16 oz. Tervis Tumbler constantly filled and I still find myself wanting more. Plus, I cannot stay full! As soon as I'm done eating, I want more food.

Aversions:

Nothing this week, thankfully. I've had a pretty good appetite.

Best moment this week:

Getting a ton of  hand-me-down baby clothes, blankets, and much needed necessities! 

Movement:

Two days ago, I honestly don't think Little Miss slept a wink! I have never felt her move so much and for so long at a time.

Gender:

100% GIRL!

If you didn't see my post on the gender reveal, check it out here. 

Belly button in or out?

Still flat. 

What I miss:

 My sense of balance. Just this past week I've really started noticing all the weight I'm carrying. I realize that I have to take a lot more breaks and sit down.

Weekly wisdom:

Listen to your body. I was out shopping/running errands with my mom yesterday and I asked her to take me home because it was just way.too.hot. for me, and I needed to get something to eat (big surprise...).

Milestones:

According to babycenter.com, this little girl probably weighs a pound, and her lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are more distinct. How cool is that?! 

Favorite moments:

People telling me I'm glowing and look great. My husband always tells me that, but since he's out of town it's nice to hear it while he's away.  

 

Midnight Munchies

Or should I say 2:00 A.M. munchies? That's right... I wake up at two this morning [which isn't abnormal for me to wake up a few times during the night] but I always pee fall back asleep. Nope, not this time. I tossed and turned, and could not get comfortable. Then the hunger set in. And when the hunger sets in, you can bet I'm not falling back to sleep. Little Miss agrees. I had to get something to eat. Now, my pre-preggers-self would have said, you're ridiculous, Katie. You cannot eat at 2:00am. This isn't college anymore. Go back to sleep.

But... when you have a little turkey in the oven [she's a turkey since she's a Thanksgiving baby--tehe] then your pre-preggers-self goes on a little hiatus. So at about 2:30, I finally gave in and poured myself a bowl of cheerios. I figure that isn't too bad, right? But, no, sadly, that's not enough. Still hungry. So I ate graham crackers and peanut butter. Yum. It satisfied my hunger and the little one, but then I was wide awake! So I watched So You Think You Can Dance on DVR for another hour before I told myself this is ridiculous and I need to go.to.bed.now.


So back to bed I went, pregnancy pillow and all (what a God send!), counted backwards from 100, and finally fell asleep... only to wake up again at 6:30 to take the dog out, then snuggled back in again until 9:15 when the painters wouldn't let me sleep any longer. Good thing, too, because by this point I was s t a r v i n g... again.


What's worse than starving--and a really bad habit of mine--I must admit, is when I let myself go too long without food. I tell myself, I'll just check my e-mail real quick then pop a bagel in the toaster. But checking my mail real quick turns into logging onto babycenter.com, then Facebook, and, oh look who went on this beautiful vacation! I think I'll look through her 150 pictures of St. Thomas. And all the while, my stomach is begging for a morsel of food. And it isn't until Little Girl is kicking and I feel like I might fall over that I finally get up and get something to eat. And every day I vow not to do this again tomorrow. And what happens...? Well, you get the point.

Time for lunch!

Girl’s Got Style

Our little girl isn’t even born yet and she already has her first pair of designer shoes! Our friend, and also Blake’s classmate, went to Italy over the summer with her husband and brought our daughter back Burberry shoes. Whaaatt??!! I don’t even have designer shoes! Tell me these are not ridiculously cute!

I absolutely cannot wait 'til she can wear these! 

In other news… I’m staying at my parents’ house this week while the hubs is in Jamaica on a mission trip. He went over there with a few classmates and doctors to work in the clinics. I guess this is a trial run of the future because I am not able to talk to him this entire week!! :( 

But what’s even more miserable than that is yesterday, my parents started having their house re-painted, and the painters cut the cable line. No TV or Internet! AND on top of that, they shut the A/C off . Hello?? I live in Florida and it’s a bazillion and one degrees here in July. Seriously, no TV, Internet, or A/C…. are you trying to kill a pregnant lady?! It was miserable to say the least. I did watch Finding Nemo and The Holiday (my all-time fav) to occupy me. Then today, nerd alert, I watched the first Harry Potter (getting excited about the new one!!!) until the cable guy came and fixed everything. Hallelujah! 

Hope y'all are staying cool in this crazy heat!

Gender Reveal Party

We had our anatomy scan on June 23 and were excited to see our baby. Most importantly all of the baby’s organs looked great! 100% healthy! I think that’s all every parent wants for their child. We were also really excited to find out whether we were having a boy or girl.

Overall, our ultrasound experience was phenomenal. We had an awesome u/s tech that really took his time letting us look at the baby, and freezing frames for us to see. When I first laid down though, I was shaking uncontrollably—I was so nervous. The baby must have picked up on that because we could see “it’s” legs literally kicking in and out like crazy! So cool!

We asked the tech if we could guess the baby’s gender before he told us. He froze the frame on the “goods” and I looked at B and asked, “Do you know?” Right away he said, “Yep. I know, do you?” [I knew, too.]

We went back to my parents’ home the next day and had several members of our family come over to reveal the gender. We decided to bake a cake and dye it either pink or blue (I know, it’s over done, but no one in my fam has done it before so it was new to us)! I covered that baby in the whole tub of chocolate frosting. No way was anyone going to get a peak… especially my mom! She’s sneaky like that ;)

We had everyone wear either blue or pink, depending on what their guess was. My mom, mother-in-law, and dad were the only people to guess girl. My father-in-law, Blake’s grandma, and his two sisters guessed boy. We’ll see who was right…

The set-up (with a newborn picture of me):

The cake:

My mom cutting in and taking a peak before everyone else (I told you she’s sneaky):

It’s a….

 

GIRL!!!

Cutest little pearl shirt from my sister-in-law, Michelle. Very classy.

[No one knew the gender ahead of time. She bought boy clothes, too, just in case. hehe]

Blake’s fav… Michael Jordan socks from my sister-in-law, Ann Marie. Awesome!

One of the first outfits we bought after we found out it was a girl… “Daddy Adores Me”:

Need I say more??!! She has no choice.

Another outfit we bought… LOVE it!

For my mom… “If Mommy says no, ask Grandma” I think she liked it :)

So, needless to say, everyone was shocked, surprised, and excited! Our little one will be the first girl on each side of the family, the second grandchild on Blake’s side, and the FIRST on mine. And I think it goes without saying that she’ll be a very spoiled and loved little girl, too! Just like her Mama =P

In case you’re wondering, yes, we do have her name picked out, but you’ll just have to wait until she arrives. We’re planning on keeping it a surprise from everyone!

Thanks everyone for all your comments :)

21 Weeks

*If you're shocked by this post, catch up HERE*

How far along?

21 weeks

[this pic was taken at 20 weeks, though]

Total weight gain:

5 lbs

Maternity clothes?:

Yes, finally. Shorts only though. I got some hand-me-down Gap jean shorts and let's just say they're my.new.best.friend. And can I also go on the record to say that I think I might just wear maternity shorts for the rest of my life?? Pregnant or not, these babies are comfy! No buttons + no zippers = heaven! When I'm not wearing the greatest invention ever, I'm living in sundresses. Thank goodness I live in FL and will probably get away with this fashion for my entire pregnancy. I'm saving so much more money because I'll totally wear the sundresses after the little one is born.

Sleep:

It's been off and on. In the first trimester I was waking up at least 3-4 times every night to pee. Talk about annoying. Then, two weeks ago I was only waking up about once--YES! But now... I'm waking up at least 2-3 times. I can get pretty comfortable, but sometimes it's hit or miss. I've never really been a stomach sleeper so thank goodness I don't have to kick that habit. They say to sleep on your left side, and that's usually how I sleep anyway, but I try to switch it up to the right, too, so I don't get all achey.

Symptoms:

I've only thrown up once! At 8 weeks. Otherwise, in the first tri I was nauseous and oh.so.tired. til about 1:00pm e.v.e.r.y.d.a.y. But now, my energy is back. However... my allergies have never been worse!! It's awful. Sneezing like crazy, itchy eyes, congested head. Thankfully it only last for about three days, then will go away for about a week, but still. Sometimes it really messes up with my plans. I guess it could be a whole heck of a lot worse, though.

What I'm looking forward to:

Meeting our miracle!!! And decorating the nursery :)

Cravings:

I haven't experienced that "get-me-pickles-and-ice-cream-now-or-I'm-going-to-chew-your-head-off" cravings, but I'm really loving crushed iced, cantaloupe, and Sour Patch Kids (but I loved me some SPK pre-preg).

Aversions:

Grilled chicken and vegetables, unfortunately. Why is it that when you're preggers you don't want to eat what's good for you? I've been good about the fried food (except on our last vacay), but I have to FORCE myself to eat healthy. Although, the hubs made a rather delish breaded chicken and mixed veggies meal for dinner last night. Clean plate club member, here.

Best moment this week:

Finally being back in our home as a married couple with a baby on the way. Plus, seeing a few of my girlfriends for the first time in a couple weeks, and talking about babies.

OH! And how could I forget?? Registering at Babies 'R Us. Here are a few picsies:

[relaxing...he was a total scan hog!]

[F-U-N!]

Movement:

YES! LOTS!!!! It's the most amazing thing in the world. Like, seriously. I first felt some jolts of movement at about 16 weeks. Just little popcorn-butterfly kicks, but now the baby's rockin' and rollin' in there! [Woah... good thing I went back and edited because I totally just gave away the gender by writing "he" or "she."] Just in the last two weeks, has there been a dramatic change. At first I could only feel him/her if my hand was on my belly, but now, I can actually SEE him/her move. It's so cool. I can feel the baby best first thing in the morning, and the last thing before I fall asleep.

Gender:

We know!! Find out next post. Promise.

Belly button in or out?

Unfortunately, it's starting to pop out. It's flat right now, though. Bye-bye cute little button.

What I miss:

Deli meat and hot dogs. My mom was so surprised at all the "no-no" foods nowadays. I'm not gonna lie, I did have my 4th of July beef dog (how could I not?!) and I've had a few "Pub subs" (Publix, the grocery store down south if y'all don't know). It's like a beach tradition. Otherwise, I've been pretty good about what not to eat.

Weekly wisdom:

Relax! And write everything down. Ever since I found out I was preggo at 7 weeks, I've been documenting everything... How I feel, weekly belly pics, doctor's appointments, EVERYTHING! I want to be able to look back and remember how everything was, because goodness knows I'll forget. Ever hear of pregnancy brain? Well, I know it well these days.

Milestones:

Feeling the baby kick A LOT! And being over HALF-WAY there!! Woo Hoo!

Favorite moments:

When Blake gets to feel the kicks, and talks to the baby. Heart.Melts.

*Going to the doc today for a well-check up. We won't have an ultrasound, and won't again until the third trimester, but at least we get to hear the heart beat. Can't wait!

New News

I've thought long and hard about how to write this post and I've come to the conclusion that I'm still clueless, so what.the.heck. I'm just going to come out and say it.

A few months ago, B and had a little surprise fall into our laps: 

I'M PREGNANT!

22 weeks to be exact. More than halfway there. B and I have been talking about having children for a long time, debating when would the right time to start a family, seeing as he's in med school. We originally planned on starting during his fourth year of school, but you know what they say... "You make plans and God laughs at them." Well isn't that just the truth! 

After the initial shock settled, we began thinking about how our plans have changed, and we came to the conclusion that God had a MUCH better plan than us. He's a smart guy, you know. The baby is due November 26th (yes... look at your calendar... it's the day after Thanksgiving!) Any way, B will just be wrapping up his last semester and we'll have a good two weeks break where we'll go back home to stay with our families. Like I said, God knows how to plan. [I think he may have done this a time or two.]

We're so lucky and blessed to have such a strong support system... family, friends, Blake's classmates... 

Even though we were surprised, it was a beautiful moment, embracing the man I love, telling him he's going to be a daddy. We've received hope, prayers, and tons of guidance from our closest family and friends. It's been our desire to one day start a family together, and we strongly believe God has a specific plan for us. We're more than excited to welcome this little one into our family, and be the best parents we can be for all the right reasons.

My husband shared with me this excerpt from a poem by Brian Quinn, which pretty much sums up our lives lately:

"...Build on your hope, one day at a time,

Though the road be steep and hard to climb.

The hurts of the past--they should be dead.

The fears of the future are all in your head.

Just live in the present and refuse to mope

Your life will sparkle for you're living in hope."

God has truly blessed us with so many wonderful things and we are so grateful for each of them.

When I was younger and people asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, my answer always was: A MOM

It's my #1 dream in life, and I feel so honored to be given this most precious gift. I can't wait to welcome our little one into this world.

Our little one's model shot at our 18-week anatomy scan:

[how stinkin' cute?!!?]

**STAY TUNED TO FIND OUT IF WE'RE HAVING A BOY OR GIRL. WE ALREADY KNOW!!! AND HAD A GENDER REVEAL PARTY FOR OUR FAMILY. POST TO FOLLOW. BUT LEAVE A MESSAGE WITH YOUR GUESS :)

A Little Teaser...

We're officially hitched! Yep. I'm a Mrs. Waahooo!

The most perfect day was June 26, and now we're relaxing with TONS of family in SC at the beach, after a week-long of honeymoon bliss. The internet here is super finicky, but I'd thought I'd still try to post a few pics before I divulge in the whole story. We've yet to see the whole bundle of them, but basically threatened our [fabulous] photographer with her life to send us a few while we're on vacation.

Enjoy. I know we did.

God Bless,

Katie