week 20

cravings:  the Hawaiian Luau from Grub: fresh baked bun, mouth-watering burger, pulled pork with Dr. Pepper BBQ sauce, grilled pineapple, grilled jalapenos. Basically pregnancy heaven, and I got one yesterday. Also cheese chex-mix, packed for tomorrow's trek.

aversions:  sweet stuff. I got sugar in my iced coffee this morning to get baby kicking for the sono and it nearly killed me.

symptoms:  I think all of my weight gain is in blood volume and fluids because the ankles and feet swell, the gums bleed, the nose bleeds, the cuticles bleed, the boobs leak, the nose is constantly stuffy, and I pee like 20 times a day. Oh, and I drove myself car-sick today, pathetic.

movement:  So much, so often, so hard. I love it, I do, but I have to remind myself sometimes that there will be a day in the distant future where I will miss having tiny feet buried in by bladder. That day is not today.

weight gain:  6 pounds from my lowest weight! Hearing that and how baby is weighing a perfectly average and not at all malnourished weight was such a relief. When I go days without adequate food I worry about the kiddo. Dr. G is still not content with my weight, but obviously I'm improving.

fears:  My greatest fear this week was that the ultrasound tech wouldn't be able to determine the gender, but I've got the secret news in an envelope on my desk! Now my only concern is how many times I'll have to stop to pee on the road tomorrow and how swollen my feet will be after 9 hours in the car.

general mood:  full of joy and feeling blessed.

sleep:  5/7 nights this week I've slept through the night. The other two I was up and down, in and out of light sleep.

surprised by:  how clear the sono was today. I could see all four heart chambers pumping, two big ol' feet, and a surprising view of babe's little face. And sleeping through the night? I thought it wouldn't happen again for like three years.

looking forward to:   Going home, eating at the old haunts, having family rubbing on the belly, and finally finding out what this kid is so that I can start calling it a "he" or "she!"

best / worst moments:  The best moment our ultrasound. Everything about it from seeing and feeling the kicks and wiggles, to counting the heart chambers and hearing it beat, to hearing how well baby is growing, to having Bobby cover my eyes while the tech peaked at the goods.

bobby is:   maybe as ready as I am to go home, and almost as excited to open that big balloon box as I am.

maternity clothes:  I shopped a lot this week. Target had by one get one half off dresses, so I nabbed a blue non-maternity for the reveal party and got the most comfortable and flattering maternity dress ever (in the pic above) for like $10. Steal. I also got lots of new underthings which make me feel so much more comfortable. I also got supportive shoes to keep me steady, both dressy and casual. It may sound excessive, but it's shocking how everything from your bra-size to your shoe-size fluctuates with pregnancy.

gender:  five. more. days. Have a look at this post to see my symptoms and guess for yourself!

week 19

cravings:  barbecue chips (one of Bobby's favorites which I can't stand), and beef, mostly in the form of bacon cheese burgers

aversions:  non-burger cheese, most food in general

symptoms:  still the crying, and oh the all-day nausea is back and more awful than ever.

movement:  So much. It wakes me up now and it's so new and wonderful that I don't even mind. Bobby's able to feel more now too.

weight gain:  My scale broke, but the hospital scale had me back down a couple pounds the other night.

fears:  That my lack of balanced nutrition is affecting baby's growth, hopefully new week's sono will be reassuring. Oh, and this birth story which sort of freaks me out after following a similar pregnancy.

general mood:  Today I am beyond happy (basically just to have slept soundly and not puked yet), but the highs are high and the lows are low.

sleep:  When it's solid I sleep great, but that only happens maybe half the time. And the crazy dreams continue. Last night Bobby I and were bidding on miniature hippos and horses at the rodeo.

surprised by:  how active baby has become in just a week. And it's created such a bond. I mean I already was head over heals in love with the parasite, but feeling that baby swim is just unreal. And getting to share some of that with Bobby is the bee's knees.

looking forward to:  Our 10 hour car ride home. Not really. But I am thrilled to actually get there and eat at all the places I miss and love on some family. And of course getting to watch baby swim around on the big screen during next week's scan. 

best / worst moments:  The best moment was our lovely springtime walk yesterday. The sun was shining, the air was warm but still cool from yesterday's rain, bluebonnets were blooming everywhere, and I wasn't even nauseous. Perfect afternoon stroll and I wish I could experience it everyday. The worst moment was being so dehydrated after days of the worst ever morning sickness that I gave in and went in for an IV and some injected Phenergan. It sucked, but it seemed to fix me up for at least the short term.

bobby is:   such a great caretaker, and I'm sure he'll care just as much for the baby. He was such a rockstar on Friday when I asked him to come home and take me to the hospital. He fed me while I was in the clouds afterward and has pushed food and drink just about every moment since. I'm so glad he's the one I'm adventuring through this with.

maternity clothes:  my new leggings are AMAZING. Find them here and buy like eight pairs if you want to know true comfort. The new belly bands are also great and very supportive (much more so than my Target ones that I thought I loved but now pale in comparison. And I wore my mom's birthday gift to me yesterday and it made me look skinny from the front and preggo from the side. It's what every whale dreams of :)

gender:  I'm so on the fence now, this kid could be a dinosaur for all I know. But thankfully our reveal is less than two weeks away so the waiting and wondering are nearly over.

week 18

cravings:  pineapple, caesar salad, dirty greasy chinese food, donuts

aversions:  dirty dishes, no really - it's the smell.

symptoms:  crying so much and so easily, can only wear my rings about half the time

movement:  So many kicks and they are getting really strong. I love it, especially when they don't involve my bladder (but they do, like 80% of the time).

weight gain:  I'm up three pounds for this trimester, go pi-day! I know that belly up there looks massive, but putting on weight has been a struggle with all the puking. My doctor will be so proud if I can keep this up :)

fears:  This week has been pretty peaceful, not a fear I can think of.

general mood:  Happy all the time, more in love with every jab and nudge.

sleep:  Not great. Our ceiling fan is creaky, the trains have been blowing whistles at 4am, and my bladder is baby's trampoline. I'm not sure I'll get much more sound sleep maybe ever.

surprised by:  how huge baby is already! Yes, they are still not even a half pound, but almost 6 inches long from head to rump! That doesn't even count the legs that are stretching out. When I picked out the sweet potato below I totally understood why by belly is so big already: it's really growing in there!

looking forward to:  Our anatomy scan in two weeks. No, we won't peak at the gender, we want it to be a surprise at the party for us too, but the ultrasound alone is an hour long. That's 60 minutes of watching our babe swim around on the big screen. It's going to be great. And I'm hoping we'll tour the hospital in the next week or two and get my super long list of questions answered. For some reason this really excites me. 

best / worst moments:  The best moment was just about any moment of Saturday. It was sunny in Houston for the first time in forever and we walked in the park, had an incredible pi-day celebration at friends' house, and really enjoyed the whole day start to end. I guess my worst moments have been staring at the ceiling wide awake in the wee hours of the morning craving sleep that I won't get. But even without the sleep I have more energy than usual, so I can't complain too much. Also on a sad note, I'm officially retiring from street-running. It's just me and the stupid elliptical from here on out. I was really hoping I'd make it half way through before this day came, but my run last Wednesday has painful on back and belly so that's just that.

bobby is:   so funny. Yesterday he told me that even though he wants to know the gender so bad, he really just wants baby to be here already. He wants to see baby and for baby to see him. He wants to hold it, I think he's jealous that I get to be the sole baby-holder for so long (that jealousy should stop in the delivery room I imagine though wink).

maternity clothes:  Two new super supportive belly bands and maternity leggings are on their way from Amazon. My jeans have worked out just fine, but finding good leggings to lounge around in, let alone to exercise in has been hard.

gender:  I posted our reveal invites here yesterday and I think they turned out great! We can't wait to open the box of balloons and start picking out names, buying clothes, and designing the nursery.

you are invited!

In just 3 weeks Bobby and I will open a box and find out whether this thing I'm carrying is a little he or a little she. We can't wait, and we want to celebrate the big news with our friends and family back home. So on Saturday, April 4th, we will grill up some burgers and a few of my other serious cravings (i.e. watermelon, waffles, doritos, etc.), and love on some people we've really been missing. And then at 2pm we will open a big huge box of balloons, revealing the sex of our beautiful, half-term babe! There will be laughs and belly rubs and happy tears.

If you'll be in town, please come and celebrate with us! Our shin dig will be hosted by my wonderful Aunt Carla, and I would love to get her a relative headcount before the big day. So if you're planning to come, text me, email me, call me, send me a letter by March 28th.

week 17

Sorry I'm so late this week, Sunday was not a happy day for baby and me so the pictures had to wait!

cravings:  everything and the kitchen sink. cup-o-noodle, cheesecake, and fried okra topped the list for this week and I got them all on Saturday (win).

aversions:  the smell of water from a glass

symptoms:  sausage fingers, clumsiness, and some pretty intense cramping over the weekend.

movement:  During an impromptu sonogram yesterday I could feel the kicks as I watched them on the screen. Pretty amazing stuff.

weight gain:  one step forward, two steps back. So I'm now eating breakfast, lunch, supper, dinner, and dessert on a daily basis and this mama is loving every bit of it.

fears:  This weekend's cramping was scary, and brought back way too many memories. But after my amazing doctor and nurses checked me over real good, all is well from me and my cervix to baby and placenta.

general mood:  Tired, excited, ready to hold that baby safe and sound and fully developed.

sleep:  I can no longer distinguish dreams from reality. Sometimes I'm half way through my day thinking something happened just to realize it was only a dream. But I am sleeping more solidly, a big plus.

surprised by:  Pregnancy brain. It's real people. Last week I did a load of laundry without adding detergent but forgot to post it because, well, pregnancy brain. And today I shaved a leg twice and didn't notice until I was lotioning the still hairy leg. So sexy. 

looking forward to:  Going home, seeing family and friends who are like family. I'm so grateful for our community here in Houston, but some days you just want to be scared or excited or tired with the people who know you best.

best / worst moments:  My best moment was eating cheesecake. Fulfilling serious cravings brings this joyous relief like no other and I've never enjoyed a bite of food so much. Oh and I bowled a 176 thanks to my increasingly massive center of gravity! The worst moment was the drive through heavy rain on an interstate where so many idiots didn't have there lights on to the doctors office yesterday. It was frustrating and I was already worried without the invisible cars spraying water all over the road.

bobby is:   going to be the reason I go from losing weight to becoming massively obese. He helps me indulge in any and all cravings and makes sure I'm eating enough everyday. He cares so much about baby and me, and that's just one way he shows it.

maternity clothes:  I've been too tired and busy to shop, but it's my spring break and Houston is cold and wet so I may just treat myself to a Target adventure since fruity poolside drinks seem out of the question.

gender:  3 weeks until the official gender ultrasound, and 25 days until the big reveal. I think of baby as a girl now, thanks to my husband who is now primarily calling it "she." But we'll see soon.

week 16

cravings:  watermelon like no one's business

aversions:  anything cheesy other than burgers.

symptoms:  Finally moving from common 1st tri symptoms to notoriously better 2nd tri symptoms like a stuffy nose, lower back pain, and energy. I was totally cool after my run yesterday, not a single dry heave! Also, and this is weird and freaky, but I'm already leaking colostrum? Milk machine in progress over hear.

movement:  Bobby felt a kick from the outside and it was awesome! And yesterday I felt something wild like a flip or something. Baby's getting big and strong in there.

weight gain:  After a week with no cardio I have gained one whole pound. I've decided to track weight by trimester because there's very little chance of catching back up to my start weight anytime soon.

fears:  Pretty fearless this week, things are good.

general mood:  I guess I'm moody, just a lot of highs and a few lows every now and then. I'm super excited, but these hormones are real.

sleep:  Crazy real and vivid dreams and lots of waking up. Last night Bear was also restless, and that meant very little deep sleep.

surprised by:  that flip yesterday. Really, it was intense. Also, so much is happening so early so I have a ton of questions for my OB this week.

looking forward to:  Hearing the heartbeat on Wednesday, planning the gender reveal, arranging our babymoon.

best / worst moments:  After feeling that kick Bobby said it's starting to feel like this baby is really a part of our family. I mean I've felt this way since it started calling the shots on what I could eat and when I could sleep and leave the house. But I love that he's connecting with the baby on a more intimate level. I've had some really awful lower back pain this week. A chiropractor friend says that this is thanks to the  hormone making the ligaments in my hips stretch. So yoga is an everyday thing now.

bobby is:   adorable. He feels my belly every time I feel movement, just in case. He loves our baby, I love them both.

maternity clothes:  Still  nothing new, but I may just order another belly band or two this week because they are the very best things ever.

gender:  Bobby just knows it's a girl, and I'm completely unsure even though all signs say boy. We've started trading off he and she since "it" seems so impersonal.