17 weeks + SURPRISE!!!

How far along? 17 weeks!

Maternity clothes: Every now and then, still don't need to all the time. 

Stretch marks? I'm still doing okay, but I had a dream the other night that I had HUGE sore stretch marks so that was a bit frightening 

Sleep: Okay I suppose!

Best moment this week: Well I ended up getting sick AGAIN with an awful cold, so that was pretty unfortunate. My immune system has really taken a SEVERE beating obviously. But the BEST moment was today!! (Oooo the suspense!) 

Miss anything?: I miss not catching every plague that crosses my path! 

Movement: Noo not yet. 

Food cravings: Oranges and Apples

Anything making you queasy or sick? Nothing in particular

Gender: !!!!!  

Labor signs: Nope 

Symptoms: headache, and then all my horrible cold symptoms but i'm not sure they count.

Belly button in or out? Still in

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Happy or moody most of the time? This week i've been BLAH again. 

Looking forward to:  Spilling the beans...

cause oh yeah, by the way...........................................................................

WE'RE HAVING A GIRL!!!!!! 

I swear it's not an April Fool's joke. 

Now, I guess I have some 'splainin to do. SO, as you all know we had our anatomy scan scheduled for next week. Well I just last week finally made the decision to transfer care to the midwives at U of M. So I was in a predicament. Do I keep the ultrasound appointment with the old providers and then have to transfer all that information? Or do I just wait until 20 weeks with the new providers? OR..do I give in to my insanely impatient ways and get an elective ultrasound now AND a 20 week ultrasound with my new provider. I think you can guess what choice I made. 

So we went and did that TODAY. Of COURSE the little peanut had the cord absolutely RIGHT on top where we wanted to see and she had the cord in her hands messin around with it, but the tech was pretty confident that it was a GIRL!! (I mean, even willing to bet 100 dollars! :P) So we were SHOCKED! We were both totally thinking boy, but we are thrilled!! She will have Josh wrapped around her little finger I can already see it. I must say I am glad we will get one last chance to check and make sure the cord wasn't hidin anything! BUT OMG! We're having a little girl!!!!!  They couldn't get the best shots of her cause she was movin all over the place but she's so cute and we already love her so much!!

16 weeks!

How far along? I'm 16 weeks! 

Maternity clothes: I went shopping at my favorite thrift store and got a nice little starter set of maternity clothes, it's still not COMPLETELY necessary yet but i'm definitely getting there. Better to be prepared! ;) 

Stretch marks? Still holdin up! 

Sleep: Sleeping okay, not so much this week but in general sleeping well. 

Best moment this week: I don't really know to be honest because I had an absolutely AWFUL week. Starting Monday I came down with a horrific migraine which then migrated into an awful awful sickness of some kind. I had a low fever, headache, chills, and absolute non stop vomiting. On Wednesday I started to feel improved as far as the "bug" went but they think I was so badly dehydrated and starving that It just started re-triggering baby nausea all over again and my body just couldn't catch up. So Wednesday evening after not eating or drinking anything since Monday it was decided that I needed to head to the ER to get IV fluids.  She pumped me full of fluids and nausea medication and I felt SO much better. I have felt good ever since so lets hope and pray something like that NEVER happens to me again. I feel like I could cry just thinking about it. Miserable. So I guess I could say my best moment was when I didn't feel that way anymore! 

Miss anything?: Can't think of anything at the moment! 

Movement: It's really hard to say! Every so often I feel a little gas bubble type sensation that maybe COULD be the flutters? But i'm really not sure obviously cause I have nothing to compare it to. Could just be actual gas LOL. 

Food cravings: I haven't really eaten enough this week to even KNOW what i've been craving lol. 

Anything making you queasy or sick? This is becoming a bit redundant but again,considering most of the week EVERYTHING made me sick, it's hard to say. 

Gender: 2 weeks until we (hopefully) find out!! AHHH I can't wait! 

Labor signs: Nope 

Symptoms: achey head, that can stop any time and that'd be alright with me!   

Belly button in or out? Still in

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Happy or moody most of the time? This week i've been BLAH. 

Looking forward to: I'll give you one guess!!!! C'mon April 7th!!! 

15 weeks!

How far along? 15 weeks! Just truckin' along!  

Maternity clothes: Still not wearing any yet. I have a few pairs of pants that are just laughable at even the thought of trying to squeeze into them. But I have a lot of jeans with a good amount of stretch in them. So i'm good still. 

Stretch marks? No sign of 'em yet! But I have noticed a lot more itchiness so I'm definitely stretchin! I've been enjoying that oil that I ordered. It has a nice light smell and even though it is an actual OIL and goes on much like a tanning oil-it doesn't feel OVERLY oily. Which I like! It absorbs into your skin really quick and you don't feel like you've been at the beach all day and need a shower. And it washes off your hands easily too. So far so good! 

Sleep: Sleeping really well lately! Well..besides the OUTRAGEOUS dreams I've been having. Honorable mention (in condensed version because it went on FOREVER): Josh and I got a large pet snake and we decided to play the snake charmer song for it. Which then caused the snake to go berserk and proceed to push one of my nephews down the stairs on a chair. I was then terrified of the snake and tried to get Josh to give it away but he wouldn't because he had grown too attached. (Which is REALLY bizarre because Josh HATES snakes-not this one I guess) The only other parts I remember were me letting it out to go to the bathroom and it coming up to me and rubbing its head on me to get pet like a cat. SO SO weird. 

Best moment this week: I had a routine OB appt this week and everything seems to be going very well. We listened to the heartbeat which is in the 150's, and she told me she has seen no significant truth to the wives tale about the heart rate, so I guess I won't take that one TOO seriously. And then we discussed our next ultrasound which will most likely be the last one we have and the one that we'd find out the sex of the baby. They typically do that one around 20 weeks. I hesitantly asked my doc if there was ANY way we could have it done during my 18th week because Josh will be out of town for work during my 19th and 20th week. I was expecting her to say no, that she'd prefer that I wait, but to my surprise she said that would be NO problem- that's something we should definitely be together for! I was SO happy and excited. I LOVE my doctor! 

Miss anything?:  I still miss not getting these recurring headaches, but otherwise nothin! 

Movement: Not yet!! Can't wait for that. 

Food cravings: The only thing I can think of that i've pinpointed specifically that I want lately has been Granny smith apples. Love love love. 

Anything making you queasy or sick? Still morning mouth and brushing my teeth. The only other time I feel sick is when I have a bad headache. 

Gender: We will find out April 7th!!! The countdown begins! Literally.....21 days, 20 hours 18 minutes. ;) 

Labor signs: No thank God. 

Symptoms: Still getting the headaches and the occasional floods of nausea. Otherwise I'm feeling really good!  

Belly button in or out? Still in

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Happy or moody most of the time? Most of the time i've been happy!

Looking forward to: Our ULTRASOUND!!! Cannot.WAIT!!! Now we just have to pray that the little peanut will let us see the goods!! :) 

14 weeks! HELLO 2nd trimester!

How far along? 14 weeks!! (OFFICIALLY, INDISPUTABLY IN THE 2nd TRIMESTER!!) 

Maternity clothes: Still not yet, I wore a maternity shirt the other day. But before I got pregnant I bought some jeans at a thrift store that were just a LITTLE bit too big so that might be why I'm not needing the pants yet.

Stretch marks? None still. I ordered some Earth Mama Angel Baby Natural Stretch Oil last night. I'm all about reading reviews on things, and this one got mostly all positive reviews. We shall see how it works for me!

Sleep: Sleeping alright. I've started having the really weird dreams. Also, I ALWAYS wake up and i'm sleeping on my back. I know it probably isn't SUCH a big deal in this early stage, but I have to train myself somehow to not do that.It's hard because that's one of my favorite sleeping positions.

Best moment this week: Well it started out pretty lame, I had jury duty. But I guess in hindsight it wasn't SO bad, I only had to go 2 days, and at least I know i'm guaranteed exemption for 4 years. Then we got our very reassuring NT screening results (if you missed it, I posted about it here.) And I had a very good weekend! Saturday was allegedly "International Women's Day" and Josh really allowed me to soak that up for all it was worth. He took me on a shopping trip to Hobby Lobby (which by the way was AWESOME) and then got my car all washed and detailed.

Miss anything?:  I miss not getting headaches damn near every day, AND being able to take something that is actually effective for them.

Movement: Nope, but I have been able to HEAR movement on occasion with my doppler which is pretty dang cool!

Food cravings: I recently got these little instant mashed potato cups that come in all kinds of flavors like loaded baked potato, 4 cheese, etc. And they are SO good. I sprinkle a little shredded cheese and sometimes a little hot sauce on them and it is like my new favorite snack. I ate all the ones we bought so I find myself craving those. Other than that, no notable cravings besides just food in general still. I feel like a ravenous beast.

Anything making you queasy or sick? This is going to sound really gross potentially but "morning mouth" makes me gag and sometimes even heave a little EVERY morning lately. And it's not like I have wretched morning breath or anything, it's just that dry mouth, congested throat feeling that literally makes me gag. Okay that's far enough of that.

Gender: Still no clue! My gut is still totally screaming "boy" though. I'm hoping that since Josh has to go out of town around my 19th/20th week that my doctor will let us have the anatomy scan near the end of my 18th week. And if that's the case, only 1 month until we find out what we're having!! CRAZY!

Labor signs: Uh no

Symptoms: I think i'm finally starting to perk up. Don't feel SO exhausted all the time anymore (still plenty tired though) My only real negative symptom as of late are these headaches. I've been drinking water basically all day ever day, and i've tried basically all the tricks in the book. But to no avail! If anyone has any surefire tricks that I may not have tried, PLEASE send them my way. I ordered something strange called Zandu balm (which also got good reviews) It will probably make me grow hair on my chin or something, but i'm willing to try anything at this point.  

Belly button in or out? Still in

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Happy or moody most of the time? Half and half i'd say. I've just noticed that annoyed tinge in the back of my neck on occasion the last couple days. (does that even makes sense???)

Looking forward to: My next routine OB appt will be sometime this week so I suppose that's something to look forward to. Still lookin forward to that spring fever too of course!!

Results and quick video!

So earlier this week I heard back from the genetic counselor regarding our results from the NT screening. Now these are just the preliminary results, we will get the FINAL results (after 1 more blood draw from me) at the end of March. However, they were VERY good! And she said if anything, these results will stay the same-the risk likely won't increase. Our risk for down syndrome is about 1 in 8500, and the risk for Trisomy 18 is 1 in 10,000. A woman my age starts out with a risk of about 1 in 700, so that was a really good jump. So all in all, very promising and reassuring results!

Now, just for a little fun video!  Recently when I've used my fetal doppler, on occasion I will hear the heartbeat, and then I'll hear a little screech or a record scratch. I'll be keeping the wand absolutely still, so it's not feedback. I looked it up because there are MANY noises you can hear in there. (your own heartbeat, the placenta, etc) But it turns out that particular sound is actually fetal movement! Most likely the baby kicking or bumping around in there. SO INSANE!! So in this video you can kind of hear what i'm talking about-it sounds like little bleeps or like I said-a record scratch. (right around the 10 and 20 second mark) I am also pretty amazed at how STRONG the heartbeat has gotten! When I first got the doppler it was hard to find and pretty faint most times. Now it's like POW POW POW and I can find it right away.  SO cool. I don't think i'll ever stop being absolutely amazed by this whole thing! :)

(Ps don't pay much attention to the HR reading, I don't think it's very accurate especially considering it jumps around A LOT)

Jury duty FUN!!!

So I was lucky enough to be chosen for Jury duty. Now, don't ask me how I was so fortunate. I don't get chosen for ANYTHING. But i've spent endless hours sitting around trying to keep myself entertained. Now i've mentioned how lucky I AM, but what about you guys??? Well don't you fret! Luckily for YOU, I discovered my web cam tool!! Please do enjoy....I'm sure all my fellow peers fulfilling their civic duty enjoyed my little photo op as well. 

13 weeks!

How far along? 13 weeks!

Maternity clothes: Not yet, at this rate though it's probably not too far in the future

Stretch marks? Still none. And i'm kicking myself because I was JUST at Walmart tonight and forgot to pick up that dang cocoa butter!! AGHH!! 

Sleep: Still sleeping okay. 

Best moment this week: I actually had a very good week! We got to see our peanut at our ultrasound on Tuesday! And I got my hair done on Thursday and that felt AMAZING! I needed the pick me up! 

Miss anything?:  I miss staying full for more than an hour and a half. I swear i'm STARVING every 2 hours. 

Movement: No

Food cravings: Still no new ones, I crave "food" ALL the time, does that count? 

Anything making you queasy or sick? Still gagging when I brush my teeth. And the only other time I feel like I could be sick is when I get really hungry, which like I said is EXTREMELY common these days.

Gender: No clue. The ultrasound tech wouldn't give us any clue (BOO!) For some reason I just have a feeling it's a Boy though. We shall see!

Labor signs: Not quite yet....

Symptoms: Still pretty fatigued, i've been struggling with headaches pretty often lately which is real cool considering there are rumors that Tylenol is linked to ADHD so I guess we're just SOL for any sort of relief during pregnancy. And still getting nauseous here and there. I've been very fortunate this pregnancy because i've heard some HORROR stories from other poor pregnant ladies, but when my symptoms are bad they are BAD.  

Belly button in or out? In, I did take my belly ring out though because it started to poke out all awkwardly in my shirt 

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Happy or moody most of the time? I don't feel like i'm OVERLY moody, I'd say pretty standard. I have good and bad moments, but more good. (I think anyways?) 

Looking forward to: We will be getting our results back from the NT screening hopefully tomorrow, so i'm looking forward to getting GOOD news from that. (fingers crossed) I'm looking forward to warmer, sunny weather. It's really hard to remain optimistic and happy in this awful, miserably cold weather. We have had ENOUGH!!!! Come on Spring, I am SO SO ready for you.