22 Weeks

According to The Bump, Baby Girl LeNoir is the now the size of a papaya.  Over the next few weeks, she'll range in size from 10.5 to 11.8 inches and 12.7 to 20.8 ounces (that's over a pound!!).  This is the last of the weekly fruit pictures on The Bump - we are now moving on to monthly pictures.  Don't worry, I'll still post a weekly picture of my growing stomach.  Apparently, I need to watch what I say because she is now able to hear outside noise from in the womb. Studies show that baby finds gentle music and my voice most soothing. Nipples are starting to sprout, and her little face is fully formed. She's starting to settle into sleep cycles, snoozing about 12 to 14 hours a day. Real estate within my belly is getting tight, with growing baby leaving little room for your lungs to...well...breathe. Expect the huffing and puffing to start soon. There's not much room for my belly button, either -- it'll pop out any day now.

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 22 weeks
Total Weight Gain: Believe it or not, I'm still up 1.5 lbs for the entire pregnancy!  There was no change from my 15w5d appt and my appt last week at 21w4d. 
Maternity Clothes: Everyday - Best invention ever.
Sleep: Some nights are good, some nights not so much
Best Moment this Week: Getting snowed in with the LeNoirs and Mooneys on Saturday night.  Also, picking out furniture this weekend.
Gender: TEAM PINK!!
Movement: Yep. She especially likes it when I eat, which seems to be happening a lot more frequently these days. The eating, I mean.
Food Cravings: Breakfast food.  Anything with bacon makes me happy.
What I miss: Sleeping comfortably. 
What I am looking forward to: My first prenatal massage scheduled for this weekend!  Ryan feeling Baby Girl move.
Weekly Wisdom: Your center of gravity changes, so be careful even if you're just walking. 
Symptoms: Thankfully, still feeling pretty good except for the minor sleeping issues!

The Weekly Bump Picture:

21 Weeks

According to The Bump, Baby Girl LeNoir is the size of a banana.  She measures about 10.5 inches from head to toe and weighs about 12.7 oz.  She gulps down several ounces of amniotic fluid every day, both for hydration and nutrition and to practice swallowing and digesting. And, these days, those taste buds actually work! Studies show that after birth, babies are most interested in tastes they've already experienced through amniotic fluid. Meaning, I need to start thinking about what I want her to eat as I prepare my lunch each day.  Her digestive system is busy creating meconium (a tarry black substance made of swallowed amniotic fluid, digestive secretion, and dead cells), which will fill the first diaper after birth. And, her womb is now stocked up with her lifetime supply of six million eggs (the number will drop to around one million by birth).

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 21 weeks
Total Weight Gain: No update yet.  I go to the doctor on Thursday, and I have to say, I'm a little nervous to step on that scale. 
Maternity Clothes: Oh yes. I'm not sure I will ever wear anything without elastic ever again. I'm wearing maternity pants every day, but I'm still wearing my "normal" shirts.  Some are starting to get a little too short, but longer ones still seem to be ok. 
Sleep: I'm still really good at taking naps; however, sleeping through the night is another story.  Thankfully, I've only been making one or two bathroom trips during the night; however, when I get back from these trips, I have THE HARDEST time falling back to sleep.  I just start thinking about anything and everything and no matter how hard I try, it usually takes about 15 mins to an hour to fall back to sleep.  SO FRUSTRATING.
Best Moment this Week: Starting to come up with a list of potential names.  No, we aren't sharing these, so please don't be offended if you ask us and we won't tell you. 
Gender: TEAM PINK!!
Movement: Yep. She especially likes it when I eat, which seems to be happening a lot more frequently these days.  The eating, I mean.
Food Cravings: Cinnamon toast.  While I was at the grocery store tonight, I really wanted a BLT sandwich - that may be on the menu for lunch soon (I hope Baby Girl likes the way it tastes!). 
What I miss: Sleeping through the night.  Being able to walk more than 2.9 mph on the treadmill.  I went back to the gym for the first time in a while and just walking for 30 minutes was hard! 
What I am looking forward to: Furniture shopping and deciding on the colors for the nursery.
Weekly Wisdom: I've got nothing this week. 
Symptoms: Thankfully, still feeling pretty good except for the sleeping issues! 

The Weekly Bump Picture:

20 Weeks

This week, according to The Bump, Baby Girl LeNoir is the size of a cantaloupe this week.  Baby's digestive system is busy creating meconium (a tarry black substance made of swallowed amniotic fluid, digestive secretion and dead cells), which will fill the first diaper after birth. And, speaking of the diaper situation... baby's genitals are now fully formed!

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 20 weeks, 1 day - I'm halfway there!!
Total Weight Gain: Same as before - I don't go back to the doctor until Jan 28th, so we'll see what it is then.
Maternity Clothes: Oh yes. I'm not sure I will ever wear anything without elastic ever again.
Sleep: I'm still good at it.
Best Moment this week: Going shopping and stocking up on lots of comfy maternity clothes.  Also, showing Ryan my stomach yesterday and hearing his reaction of "Whoa!  There's a bump there!"
Gender: TEAM PINK!!
Movement: All.The.Time.  Seems like she is going to be one active baby.
Food Cravings: Cinnamon toast
What I miss: Sleeping on my stomach
What I am looking forward to: Furniture shopping and deciding on the colors for the nursery.
Weekly Wisdom: Clean your belly button on a regular basis.  Who knows what you'll find when it starts to get more shallow.
Symptoms: Nothing really this week.  I'm feeling pretty good. 

The Weekly Bump Picture:

19 Weeks

This week has been full of excitement.  Ryan threw me an amazing 30th birthday party this weekend.  It was great having our friends and family there to celebrate my birthday!   We also were lucky enough that the babe cooperated and showed us "the goods" yesterday!    According to The Bump, the baby is the size of a mango this week.  Vernix caseosa, a greasy white substance made of lanugo, oil and dead skin cells now coats baby's skin, shielding it from the amniotic fluid. (Picture yourself after a nine-month bath, and the need for protection makes sense.) You might actually get to see the vernix at birth, especially if baby is premature.

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 19 weeks, 1 day
Total Weight Gain: Same as before - I don't go back to the doctor until Jan 28th, so we'll see what it is then. 
Maternity Clothes: Oh yes.  I'm not sure I will ever wear anything without elastic ever again.
Sleep: I'm still good at it.
Best Moment this week: Celebrating my 30th birthday with friends and family.  Finding out the sex of the baby and learning that everything is normal.  According to the sonographer, she weighs about 10 oz and is 6 inches long. 
Gender: TEAM PINK!!  Based on the poll results, 6 out of 9 thought otherwise! 
Movement: I am definitely starting to feel her more and more.  Such an interesting feeling! 
Food Cravings: Nothing new - still enjoying sweets, especially the leftover birthday cake from Sugarbakers!
What I miss: Sleeping on my stomach
What I am looking forward to: Starting to look at nursery decorating ideas. 
Weekly Wisdom: It doesn't matter what the sex is along as the baby is healthy! 
Symptoms: Just stupid heartburn. 

The Weekly Bump Picture... I think I'm actually starting to look pregnant! 

And for fun, I've posted some pictures from the beginning of the pregnancy through Week 17.  Because I was feeling so awful during weeks 7-11, we didn't take any pictures.  I am also posting some of the cute ultrasound pictures of Baby Girl LeNoir! 

Baby's First Picture, taken 10/16/09

Taken 11/13/09

A profile picture - you can also see her arms, taken 1/11/10

A cute picture of her little foot with her toes curled, taken 1/11/10

18 Weeks

According to The Bump, this week the baby is the size of a sweet potato (an ugly creepy looking sweet potato based on the picture below).  The fetus has become amazingly mobile (at least compared to me), passing the hours yawning, hiccuping, rolling, twisting, kicking, punching, sucking and swallowing. And, baby's finally big enough that I'll be able to feel those movements soon.

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 18 weeks
Total Weight Gain: As of my last appt at 15 weeks, 5 days, 1.5 lbs, although I'm sure this has definitely increased after all the eating I've been doing over the holidays.
Maternity Clothes: Still wearing the BeBand. 
Sleep: I'm still good at it.
Best Moment this week: Thinking that I might have felt the babe move for the first time.
Gender: No idea, but we find out in less than a week! Make sure to cast your vote in the poll on the upper left-hand side of the blog. 
Movement: Maybe? 
Food Craving: Green olives and sweet stuff (not together though).
What I miss: Sleeping on my stomach
What I am looking forward to: Finding out the sex and celebrating my 30th birthday this weekend!
Weekly Wisdom: Do as much as you can before you get too uncomfortable.
Symptoms: Sporadic heartburn and some back pain, but nothing too terribly bad. 

And, here's a picture of my growing bump. 

17 Weeks

As of today, I'm technically 17 weeks and 2 days, but I was just too tired to post on Monday.  According to The Bump, the baby is the size of an onion and Baby's skeleton is hardening, changing from rubbery cartilage to bone, and fat is finally accumulating around it. The umbilical cord is getting thicker and stronger, and those little fingers and toes are now topped by one-of-a-kind prints.

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 17 weeks and 2 days
Total Weight Gain: As of my last appt at 15 weeks, 5 days, 1.5 lbs, although I'm sure this has definitely increased after all the eating I've been doing over the holidays.  I've decided to not weigh myself that often at home because my scale has different results than the doctor's scale.  So, we'll just stick with what the doctor says, mmmmkay. 
Maternity Clothes: My clothes are getting tighter, but I'm fighting the maternity clothes.  The BeBand is being worn on a more frequent basis, but I broke down and placed an order with Old Navy tonight. 
Sleep: I'm good at it. 
Best Moment this week: Spending time with our wonderful family and friends for the holidays!
Gender: No idea.  We find out January 11th.  I'm adding a poll on the blog so everyone can vote if they want.  It will be fun to see what everyone thinks we're having.
Movement: Nothing really yet.  Should be soon according to the books and the doctor.
Food Craving: Green olives and sweet stuff (not together though).  Today, I walked past one of the girls I work with and she had what I thought was a doughnut in her hands and I got so excited that someone had left doughnuts in the kitchen... It was actually a bagel.  I was so disappointed.
What I miss: Sleeping on my stomach
What I am looking forward to: My cold going away.
Weekly Wisdom:  I got nothing.
Symptoms: Sporadic heartburn and some round ligament pain when I cough (stupid cold).

And for your viewing pleasure, here's a blurry 17 week picture:

The Big Fat Announcement

Wow.  Has it really been 3 months since I last posted?  Our poor blog has been completely neglected, but I have a really good reason.  I'm pretty sure the majority of our readers (our friends and family) know about our big news, but I thought I'd post it on here anyway because eventually, I plan to make this blog into a memory book.

After spending a perfectly wonderful long weekend in Cape May and Atlantic City to celebrate our first wedding anniversary, we found out that we'll have a new addition to our family arriving around June 7, 2010!

 

Exactly 3 months ago today, we found out!  Our weekend in Cape May and Atlantic City was great.  The weather wasn't great the first couple days, but the last few days were perfect.  We spent our time in Cape May relaxing, eating lots of yummy food including dinner at the Washington Inn and once the weather got nicer, we sat on the beach.  We spent the last night in Atlantic City at the Water Club and had a wonderful anniversary dinner at Bobby Flay's Steakhouse at the Borgata. 

So, here's the story of how we found out that I am pregnant.  All weekend while we were in NJ, I was feeling a little "off".  I kind of felt like I had a cold and was kind of rundown, but I couldn't figure out how to make it better.  Towards the end of the weekend, my stomach started feeling a little crampy and almost every time after I ate a meal, I felt kind of nauseous.  The symptoms were all kind of weird, and for most of the weekend, I kept telling Ryan that I wanted to take a pregnancy test.  He wouldn't let me because he didn't want it to ruin our weekend if I took a test and it was negative.  We returned home late on Monday evening, and I had stopped obsessing over it.  We brought all of our stuff inside and got settled, and I realized that I had forgotten to take a test.  So, I started drinking lots of water so I'd have to use the bathroom.  I took the test, and it was NEGATIVE!  I couldn't believe it, because I couldn't figure out why I had felt the way I did all weekend.  It kind of made me feel a little crazy, like I was making it all up.  I showed Ryan the results and ended up going to bed really early that night.  I was pretty upset and ended up having a good cry over the negative test.  In all honesty, I don't think I was so sad about the negative test as I was about my fear that maybe something was wrong with one of us and that we could possibly have infertility issues.  Looking back on that night, I realize that those thoughts were completely irrational.  After I stopped crying, I decided to read the instructions for the test, and it said that the best time to take a test was first thing in the morning and that if you took a test and got a negative result but thought it was wrong, to wait 3 days before taking another test.  The timing couldn't have been better.  We had Melissa & Pete's wedding that weekend, and I decided I'd take another test on Thursday just to make sure so I'd know if I could drink at the wedding.  I didn't tell Ryan that I was going to take another test because I didn't want to talk about it or have the pressure of him knowing about it.  If I took another test, and it was negative, I'd just throw it away and not say anything about it to him.  Thursday morning finally arrived, and I woke up at 5:30am because I really had to use the bathroom.  I decided to just go ahead and take the test and get it over with and what do you know, the test was POSITIVE!  THE TEST WAS POSITIVE AT 5:30 IN THE MORNING!   I didn't want to wake Ryan (we all know he's not a morning person), so I went downstairs to try and get the excitement out of my system.  The only words I could get out were "Holy shit, holy shit...."  I came back upstairs and tried unsuccessfully to go back to sleep until it was the normal time to get up.  I tried to take my time getting ready and waited for Ryan to get out of the shower and dressed before I told him.  I walked into the bathroom where he had just finished brushing his teeth and said "I have something to show you" and showed him the test.  He just looked at me and got the biggest smile on his face and said "We did it!" and gave me a big hug.  Definitely a morning that we'll never forget.  As of today, I'm 16 weeks and 3 days pregnant and will be doing weekly posts hopefully starting next week (week 17).