15 Weeks!!!

This feels like such a milestone to me. 15 weeks. 15?! How did I get here?? I found out when I was a little over 4 weeks pregnant. So I've known I was pregnant for almost 11 weeks, almost 3 months! I LOVE waking up on Fridays (well some of it might be because it's always payday, for one of us!) so I can read my updates from my pregnancy apps about what's happening to baby this week :) One of my apps told me today is 175 days until my due date! I told J that, and he couldn't believe it. It doesn't seem so far away now! From the looks of me, I am definitely pregnant. It still looks like fat when I sit down, but I'm sure my time will come. I can't stop staring at my stomach (which is not a huge change...usually I just stare at myself in general! I can't help it, being this beautiful :P) and every day I try to see if there's a huge change... In next few weeks, I should be able to start feeling baby on the inside, and I cannot WAIT! It's a little ridiculous how much of my mind is consumed with all-things-baby. I get pretty obsessive over things, and this has been no exception! I'm always asking J the silliest questions, too. We have the same parenting basics, but someone will mention something on a blog or board and it'll get my mind thinking. Last night it was, "Will we spank our kids?" Sometimes it's "Will our kids be smart?" This craziness in my head is ridiculous! I hope none of my friends/ coworkers are mind-readers, because they do NOT want to know all that's going on in there.

I am feeling much better since last weekend. Still a little congested, but I'll make it :) This is my last weekend of not having to work...probably until baby comes! It's a strange thing to think about. I plan on making the most of it, though :) We have a guest room that is currently filled with random crap we don't use. Mostly stuff that needs to be donated. So I plan on taking all of that stuff to the donation center tomorrow. J said once the room is clean and neat, I can start buying baby stuff to store in there! :) I am a member of an online "community" for women who are also due in July. And pretty much 9/10 ladies are more prepared for their babies than I am for mine! Since we only have 175 days left, I wanna start doing SOMEthing. Not tooooooo much, like finishing the nursery or anything, but just a little here and there. So we aren't hit with a huge list of things we still need closer to July. We'll see, though.

J and I have also started looking at houses to move to, still renting. We wanted to stay with our realtor, but most of the houses they have just aren't very nice looking, or are in bad parts of town. They were also going to let us move a month before our current lease is over, which would be nice considering how big I'm getting. We went on another realtor's website last night and found at least four that we loved, so we think it'd be worth it to wait the extra month and move at the end of May to a house we REALLY like, and could stay in for a couple more years until we have enough saved up to buy a house. We just have to go talk to this potential new realtor, and see if they'd let us look at the houses!

How big is baby?: The size of an orange, apple, or baseball!
Stretch marks?: still stretching and marking away :-/
Maternity clothes?: Found more shirts I already own that I can wear! Pre-pregnancy they were too tight on me and hugged the wrong "curves", if ya know what I mean. But they're perfect for now! Still going to have to get some more work outfits soon, though.
Sleep: Same semi-normalcy. My boobs still hurt, which makes it hard to sleep on my side. But that's the only way I'm comfortable... I have a feeling as I get bigger I might have to kick the husband out of the bed, though. :P I like being able to stretch out!
Best moment this week: Definitely Tuesday. I got the promotion I've been wanting for FOREVER! I can't shoot it from the rooftops, like I want to, but since no one really reads my blog...haha. VERY excited that all my hard work over the last few months has paid off. J and I are excited that one of us will have a steady paycheck for once. It's not officially official until the 13th, but I will be doing basically the exact same thing I've been doing since November, except working more consistent hours. I am very blessed to have the job I do, and my bosses are wonderful people. Unfortunately, I won't qualify for any paid maternity leave, because I won't have had been full time for a year when I give birth. But we'll make something work! Maybe it's time Marisa learned how to save...
Movement: none yet! I can still feel where baby is, which is cool. but can't feel baby moving. I'm starting to wonder if I've been feeling the right thing all this time, though. I feel like baby is supposed to be creeping closer and closer to my belly button, and I think she's been in basically the same spot for the last 7 weeks or so...hmm.
Food cravings: starting to crave pickles more and more! And Capri Suns are soooooooooo good.
Gender: Still feel strongly that it's a girl in there. But we'll know for sure on the 15th! J and I have scheduled (okay, I did the scheduling...he just said "yes, dear") a full day of stuff :) After our u/s we're taking a tour of our hospital's birth center, and then we're going to start our BRU (Babies R Us) Registry. I got a flyer in the mail for a $10 gift card, just for registering! So I'm happy :) We might plan something else for that day (u/s isn't until 3:30!), but I don't wanna overwhelm the husband...
Labor Signs: No thank you.
Belly Button in or out?: In and looking normal. As normal as an off-center belly button can be :(
What I miss: Jimmy John's mostly. I did have a BLT from there earlier this week, but it just wasn't the same as my turkey sandwich...I am definitely asking someone to bring me one as soon as baby is out!
What I am looking forward to: Obviously, the gender ultrasound. And I found out today that J's grandparents that live in WV are coming to visit next week!!!!! VERY excited about that one :) His grandpa reminds me a LOT of my dad's dad, who passed away a few years ago. They were both Baptist preachers, and both very handsome :) His grandpa married us last September, and they are just very special people :)
I am always touching my belly and talking to baby. I can't wait til this all gets even more real...

14 Weeks!

Yesterday I hit the "14 week" mark :) woot woot!

Unfortunately, the husband was sick all last weekend (and is still not feeling well), and I caught it. I was throwing up allll day yesterday. We went and got sushi for lunch, and right as soon as we got home, it was over :( Sushi doesn't taste so good coming back up! I don't think I'll be eating there for a while. :( I spent the rest of the day miserable on the couch, throwing up every so often.
I woke up quite often during the night last night, but mostly because my body hurt so bad. I haven't thrown up since right before bed last night, thank goodness, but my body is still very achy, and I've hardly moved from the couch :( I was able to get some pizza bites down for lunch. Now I'm craving Cheese Its like nobody's business. J said he'll bring me home some after work (luckily he gets off around 7 tonight!). I HATE feeling so...useless. I feel like a bum. I am definitely glad that our boat is still in Dry Dock, so I have the weekend off. I am praying I'm better by Monday. It's a big, busy day at work!

One of the things that worry me the most about all this throwing up and lack of appetite is that the baby isn't getting enough nourishment. :( I've been drinking gatorade all day, hoping the electrolytes are doing something to help. I'm hoping that since I've been overall pretty healthy everything will be okay...

I did go to the doctor on Wednesday for my check up. I met my new doctor! She's a younger lady (maybe mid-30s to 40s?), and has a 5 month old! She was SUPER nice, very professional, and gave me a MUCH better vibe than the last doctor did. She asked what gender I wanted to have, and I told her a girl. So when she found the baby's heartbeat (SUCH a neat thing to hear!!!!), she kept saying "hi princess!" :) It was awesome. I asked her what I had coming for me, in terms of doctor visits, and she laid it all out there. I felt so much more comfortable!


How big is baby?: The size of a lemon!
Stretch marks?: found another one this week :( I don't think I'm going to be one of those "blessed" pregnant girls who don't get any.
Maternity clothes?: Wearing the same few outfits. It hit me today that once we start having cruises again I'm going to have to get a few more outfits. Really sucks because money is tight right now..
Sleep: I have found that taking Tylenol PM before bed lets me sleep til 7 or so in the morning, which is great. Last night was rough, but that's not because of baby. I am starting to have more of a problem getting comfortable, because my belly is sticking out a little more. Thank goodness that we got a new bed in December that forms to your body...so I can lay on my side or back and nothing is being strained. Never thought of that as being something that would help during the pregnancy, but I am so thankful for it!
Best moment this week: That's a tough one. Actually, Tuesday was the one day J and I were both feeling okay. We went to my brother's house for dinner. His girlfriend is due Sept. 3rd, so it was fun talking about pregnancies (and seeing my brother squirm about the whole thing!). Wednesday was when J started his day of vomiting, and I tried to help him, but the sight/sound/smell made me nauseous. It's been a rough week...
Movement: none yet! I can feel where baby is, which is cool. but can't feel baby moving.
Food cravings: still nothing weird.
Gender: Have our appt scheduled for Feb 15th!! We wanted to do the 14th (J is usually off on Tuesdays), but they're closed every Tuesday for whatever reason. We're both taking the whole day off so we can find out, and soak in the news :) and start registering for more baby stuff! I keep getting this strong feeling that it's a girl, though...
Labor Signs: No thank you.
Belly Button in or out?: In and looking normal.
What I miss: Jimmy John's. That's mostly it! Oh, and feeling normal. I told J today that I wish we were both back to feeling 100%, and he kindly reminded me that I haven't felt 100% since we found out I was pregnant and my symptoms started :( meh.
What I am looking forward to: the gender u/s!!! I can. not. wait. I asked my doctor about whether or not it was an okay thing to do, and she said she couldn't really recommend it because "too many u/s's are not necessarily good for baby", but I'm only have two done at the doctors, and I know people who get them every week, so I'm sure it'll be fine. We don't plan on telling her, though. We'll have our anatomy scan about mid-March, where they'll confirm the gender and make sure baby is growing like it's supposed to. I'm also really looking forward to not feeling like death anymore. And for J to feel better. All he says is his "stomach hurts"...how am I supposed to make that feel better??

12w5d

Not much going on here in baby-land. At least, nothing new. I'm sure there are LOTS of things going on inside of me. But I can't see those! :( I haven't seen the baby in 4 weeks. And I don't get to go to the doctor for another 2 weeks :( I hate waiting! The husband and I have decided that we are going to get an "elective" gender scan around 16 weeks. Our doctor won't do them until 20 weeks, and we all know how impatient Marisa is. It'll be a 3D/4D ultrasound, and it's these techs' jobs to determine the gender of baby. So I have no doubt that it will be correct! You can't really go wrong with a 3D u/s anyway. For $100 they'll do the u/s, give us lots of pictures and a video on a disk, and tell us what our baby has between it's legs! We are trying to get an appt for Valentine's Day, and that will be our only gift to each other. We can't wait!! I am starting to have a gut feeling that it's a girl, but I'm not sure if my personal wishes have overrided my gut. So I'm trying not to get my hopes up!
J did let me buy my first thing for baby last weekend while I was visiting my sister:

How cute are these??? I think they're semi-gender neutral. The Mike one is my favorite :) If we have a boy, this will be one of the first outfits he wears!!! Pending he fits in to it...haha. Babies are such a funny thing! I keep hearing stories about babies who are too big and measure before their time (like wearing 3-6 month clothes when they're only 2 months old). This makes me cautious about buying anything. But sometimes you just can't help it!

I do have a registry now, on amazon.com, where I've put things that I've been researching since the beginning. It has all of the basics on there, and we'll add more once we know the sex. We also plan on making one at Babies R Us, but that one we want to do in the store, together, after the gender scan.

I told the husband yesterday that I'm 3 months pregnant. And he was surprised! I asked what he thought 12 weeks pregnant meant...haha. I guess when you think about it in months, it seems like there is less time left! I think it really put things in perspective for him, and made him realize that baby will be here before we know it!

How big is baby?: The size of a plum or wine cork! Almost a peach :)
Stretch marks?: nothing new.
Maternity clothes?: I wear the same few outfits every week. They're all that fit me. I tried to wear regular jeans to run to the store the other night, and the pressure of them on my abdomen was awful! I had to unbutton them and hide it under my sweatshirt :-/ The only bad thing about only having a few outfits is I think they are shrinking from being washed so much..I can't NOT put them in the dryer, because they come out all wrinkly when I don't. and I'm lazy, so there's that. oh well.... I'll wear these until I have to buy more.
Sleep: Having a VERY hard time falling asleep. By bedtime, for whatever reason, I can't stop burping, and my legs get SO restless. And when I'm burping nonstop I feel like I'm going to vomit. I had my second episode this weekend at my sister's house. It was not fun! I've had to take tylenol PM for the last few nights. I usually stay asleep, though, and only wake up a few minutes before my alarm.
Best moment this week: I went and visited my sister this past weekend. And met up with an old friend on my way down there. That was fun! Marin and I went and saw "Joyful Noise", and looked at tonssss of baby clothes :) It was nice having someone to look at baby stuff with that seemed as into it as I am! We kept picturing my baby in the different outfits and kept running to each other going "Oh! Look how CUTE this one is!!!" :) Then on Sunday I got to visit my old church I went to while in college. Man do I miss that place!! I would move back to that town JUST to go to that church. I hate that we haven't found anything like it around here.
Movement: none yet! I can feel where baby is, which is cool. but can't feel baby moving.
Food cravings: nothing weird. these ruffle chips and ranch dip have been ON POINT, though.
Gender: No idea yet. I'm feeling a girl, but a mini-J would be adorable, too :) We have agreed on a name for each, though! Hopefully we'll find out Feb 14th.
Labor Signs: No thank you.
Belly Button in or out?: In and looking normal. I hate that my bellybutton is off-center. John thinks I'm crazy and says it's normal. But it's totally off.
What I miss: Not being so constricted as to what I can/can't have! The caffeine doesn't bother me. But I found out last week that artificial sweetners are bad. No one ever told me that!!! I was drinking Crystal Light like it was my job. I figured too much sugar was bad for baby, too. UGH. So I've been drinking boring 'ol water. And the no lunch meat is killing me, too. Oh what I wouldn't do for some Jimmy John's!!
What I am looking forward to: the gender u/s! and my company christmas party this saturday. (we always do it a little late....haha) it's usually a semi-good time, and they give out some nice prizes. Last year I won $500 (and a nice "Shipmate of the Year" plaque)! I doubt that I'll get that again this year, but it's exciting seeing people win things!

Almost 11 Weeks: Popped!

So I have finally come to terms with the fact that I do, already, have a baby belly. For a while I was trying to convince myself it was just flub because I've always been chubby around the middle. But now, even when I *try* to suck in, there's still a bump! I know it's not baby yet, because she's still lower in my abdomen, but I have heard that before the baby goes up to the belly, the intestines and whatnot start pushing up to make room for baby. So my guess is that's what it is! The baby was measuring big at our first u/s, so I guess she just likes to grow! Which is okay by me. :) OH- and my boobs (although they're allllways sore) have gone up a whole cup size so far! woohoo! Although, you can see in these pictures, my belly is quickly outgrowing them...haha.

Hopefully these pics will work. Hubby took them today, I'm 10weeks 4days. This is me trying to suck in my belly (which is semi-painful):

this is me not sucking in:

Crazy, huh?? I am LOVING these maternity shirts I got at Motherhood last weekend. They make me feel cute, and not like a blimp. Before I went to Motherhood, I tried just getting larger regular shirts, but they made me feel fat and almost like a tent.

I wish there was a bigger market for maternity clothes...I hate that the only store I can get them from is Motherhood. I LOVE the store, and the staff has always been BEYOND amazing (every time they put my clothes in a dressing room for me and make sure i'm okay, this last time one of them actually walked around the store with me and showed me things I might like. and then they helped give me their opinion on certain outfits because I didn't have anyone shopping with me!). But their prices aren't the greatest. Even on sale, a shirt is around $20 and pants $20-30. But so far it's been worth it! I did discover yesterday, though, that Baby's R Us ALSO sells maternity clothes! I think they just carry the Motherhood line (so just about the same exact things as the store itself), but it's nice to know I don't always have to trek all the way inside the mall to buy/look at clothes. BRU also had this super cute shirt that said "Great things come from big bellies" or something like that. I might have to go back and get that one! Although it was a long sleeve one, and by the time my belly gets super big, it'll probably be warm out. But with the way we're going so far......who knows! haha :)

I wrote in my last blog about how my doctor was making me a little uneasy...well I called today and got switched to another doctor. This one is a lady, so I'm SUPER excited. Hopefully she'll be more professional and less "ok, ask questions, i have nothing for you, goodbye" like my last one. But we'll see! I am also hoping to talk her in to moving up my gender u/s. The last doctor didn't wanna do it until 20 weeks, but I know LOTS of people that find out around 15-16 weeks, and I wanna be one of them! :) Marisa is not known for her patience.

Speaking of patience, I need a doppler!!!!! I haven't convinced the husband yet :( But it would be SO nice to have peace of mind and be able to check on baby at home whenever I wanted to :) I HATE having to wait to go to the doctor's office! grr.

oh, and Happy New Year!! I'm gonna go stuff my face now.

Week 10: Dr Visit & Update

Had my second doctor's visit today (third if you count the ultrasound last week). I was really looking forward to hearing the heartbeat, but doctor said it was still pretty early and he didn't want to freak me out if we couldn't hear the heartbeat clearly yet. sigh. Other than that he didn't say much. Said we should keep my due date (EDD) at July 27th. I have to get a flu shot (YIKES). And I can't ride roller coasters til after baby is here :( at least I'll still have the second half of summer left to enjoy myself if I can pry myself away from the little one!

He said I was very normal, golden even. My blood counts are perfect, but I need to start taking Iron pills twice a week. i HATE taking pills. i was never good at doing it, and I usually choke just when taking my prenatal vitamins.

Then he said I don't have to come back for 7 more weeks, when they do a blood test to test for genetic disorders. When I went to schedule that appointment, the receptionist looked at the computer screen like the doctor was crazy, and scheduled me for 4 weeks instead of 7, for my monthly checkup. So the next time I go to the doctor, I will be 14 weeks along, in to my 2nd trimester, and hopefully looking like a pregnant lady! woohoo :)


I am going to start doing this update every week or every other week (when I remember :P), to keep track of my progress/changes:


How big is baby?: The size of a prune. YUM
Stretch marks?: nothing new.
Maternity clothes?: i have one pair of maternity jeans i break out every now and then when I don't feel like wearing tight pants. I constantly have to pull them up, though. went shopping for new shirts Monday, and decided to buy a size bigger than usual so I can wear them longer. I feel like a fat lady, but they are oh-so-comfy! i wish more stores around here had maternity clothes...
Sleep: I sleep normally, i think. other preggos say they wake up multiple times during the night, but I don't. I take naps when I can, and go to bed around 10-11pm, usually waking up around 8. Monday we slept in til 10:30!
Best moment this week: Spending the day with the husband on Monday! We spent Sunday (Christmas) together, too, but it was surrounded by family, so we didn't really get any alone time. Monday was perfect! We went out for sushi (don't worry, I only ate crab and shrimp!), went and saw Chipwrecked (SO cute!!!), and did a little shopping! Then we came home and ordered a movie on the tv (Sherlock Holmes, the first, and I actually liked it!). It was perfect!
Movement: none yet! can't wait to feel the first flutters :) although i'll probably overlook them because of how spacey I am..
Food cravings: nothing weird. I eat a lot, though.
Gender: they say mother's have the best intuition about this. my doctor told me today to go to bed thinking really hard about the baby and it's sex, and i'll likely have a dream about it, and those dreams are usually 60% correct. Won't find out from the doctor until around March 9th (20 weeks). That seems so far away!! I REALLY want a girl, but I'm coming to terms with a boy. it IS the only name we can agree on..
Labor Signs: No thank you.
Belly Button in or out?: In and looking normal.
What I miss: the occasional margarita. and feeling like a normal person. and i miss my boobs not hurting, and smells not making me nauseous. this pregnancy is nothing like i thought it would be, and kinda makes me want to adopt for the next one (or two). we'll see, though! they say it's all worth it.
What I am looking forward to: the gender u/s! and J's work schedule cooling down a little. He's worked around 60 hours/week since Thanksgiving, and next week he goes back to getting 2 days off and only working 40 hours! YAY for husband time!

We saw our Eaglet!

Yesterday was our first ultrasound appointment!
An hour before the appt, I had to empty my bladder, and drink 24oz of water. Not a big deal. I love water. But then I wasn't allowed to "empty my bladder" until after the u/s! The wait in the waiting room felt like it was taking FOR.EV.ER. I had to pee so bad! And then we went into the u/s room. I thought, for some reason, I would have to have a "transvaginal" one (use your imagination. not pretty) because I thought I wasn't far along enough for a regular over-the-tummy one. But, luckily, I was! They put this nice warm gel on my stomach and pelvis area, and then she used that magic wand to see what's inside of me. At first she said I couldn't see it because she just had to get lots of pictures (for my files I guess). J was looking at it all confused...haha. We didn't really know what we were supposed to be looking at! Then she turned the screen around so we could see baby. It was so cute!! She was pushing on my bladder SO hard, though. And on the top of my pubic bone (i think it was that one). It was pretty painful. But I know it was just because baby is still so low in my belly. I think in like 4 weeks is when baby starts moving up! Here are our pictures :)

I know, she's such a cutie!!! haha :) Not sure when our next u/s will be, but by then she should look like more of a baby and less of a bean! You can definitely tell where her head and shoulders are attached, though :) 

The u/s tech also said that baby measured at 9 weeks! Woohoo! :) So our due date moved to July 25th (it was the 28th). The sooner she comes out, the better!!!

We LOVED seeing that something was actually in there!! You can pee on all the sticks in the world, but until you actually SEE the person growing inside you, it doesn't seem as real!

I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!! The husband and I are very much looking forward to having Christmas day and the day after off together. We haven't had a day off together in a month or so! Our first Christmas married is going to be a hectic one. We plan on spending the morning with my family, and then head to his family's Christmas gathering after. He has a TON of family in the area, but we don't get to see them often. So it should be fun! :) All I can think about this year, though, is how this time next year we will have a newborn to play with for Christmas!!! 

*I refer to baby as "she", because I don't like calling my baby an it. and I would prefer a baby girl. a boy wouldn't be bad, either, though, because that's the only name we can agree on!

Everyone Knows!

My impatient butt couldn't wait any longer to tell the rest of the people in my life.
I told my boss last week. After banging his head on the wall, he said he was happy for us. :) And that he was glad I told him so soon so he can make sure I take it easy and he doesn't give me tasks that I don't need to be doing. YAY!! So now everyone at work knows, and it's such a good feeling!

The husband got me a Kindle Fire for Christmas! He isn't so good at surprises, and especially not waiting, so I got it on Monday :P So now I can get my baby books and have them all at the same place! I can't WAIT for Christmas to get here :)
Mostly because my first ultrasound is the 21st :) :) Something inside of me is just terrified it's twins. So I'm crossing my fingers it's not!!!