17 weeks

Well, let me just say that the past little bit has been crazy. I've been super busy working 3 days a week and going to school full-time, plus taking care of the house and Rudy, AND making a baby from scratch!

It's Josh's busy season as well, so he's been working late a lot. I have homework at least every other day, plus studying to stay on top of my classes. Of course, I also have to make sure I'm spending quality time with    Rudy. We also have a few other things going on that I can't really talk about just yet ;).

On top of all THAT, a couple of nights ago we had to take Josh to the emergency room because of (what he thought were) kidney stones. He's had them several times in the past, and actually has them in his kidneys at all time, but only feels pain when they move or try to pass. He was in terrible pain and I felt so bad for him. He was still able to crack jokes though. They put him in a wheelchair and took him to have a CAT scan. When we got back to the waiting area I told the lady I was 17 weeks pregnant and asked if it was okay for me to be back there. Josh promptly informed her that HE was the one that got me pregnant! She laughed and said that was good to know. It turned out he had a severe bladder infection. He had a few stones at the top of his kidneys, so we also think they may have moved a little bit and caused pain.

Everything has been going great on the baby baking front!


How Far Along: 17 weeks, 3 days

Due date: March 6th

Gender: We still aren't finding out!

Names: We are pretty sure on names, but not 100% so I don't think I'll share those yet.

Weight Gain: 1 pound so far.

Maternity clothes: I found a pair of nice maternity pants at Once Upon A Child for $10. I also ordered a few things when Old Navy was having their maternity sale. I can still fit into my regular clothes, but I know I'll need maternity clothes before too long.

Stretch Marks: None yet!

Sleep: It's gotten a lot more fitful. I went to bed before Josh last night and apparently when he came in I was laying upside down and crosswise on the bed, on top of the blankets which were all twisted up. I've been trying to sleep on my side but it's hard to do. Lately it's been more like a half side/half stomach position.

Movement: Nothing definite yet, though I have noticed some tightening and different sensations. It might be even longer before I feel movement though because I have an anterior placenta, which means that my placenta is in the front. That will make the movement feel muffled at first.

Missing anything: Nothing too bad, a margarita would be nice though.

Food cravings: Nothing really.

Food Aversions: I still can't do cucumbers or yogurt.

Symptoms: I haven't had many symptoms in the past few weeks. A little bit of occasional nausea and I'm still breaking out a lot, but besides that not much.

Looking forward to: My next ultrasound is in about 2 1/2 weeks. Even though we aren't finding out the gender, I'm still looking forward to seeing baby and making sure he/she is growing well.

Second Trimester!

Has it been over a month already?? I haven't updated in a while and so much has happened since the last time I did. Hopefully this won't get too long.

-At 9 weeks and 5 days (on my birthday!) I had an ultrasound. Josh and Rudy both came with me and we had a great time. Baby was measuring 10 weeks 1 day with a heart rate of 170 beats per minute. We saw little tiny arms and legs and baby was wiggling around everywhere. Josh and Rudy were equally infatuated with the wiggling babe :). It was such a relief and the BEST birthday present! We felt a lot more comfortable telling people that are close to us after that, so we told the rest of our families and a few close friends that didn't know, but we were still keeping quiet for the most part.

-The day following my birthday was August 7th, my due date for my first pregnancy. I think the anticipation of the day was worse that the day itself. I had to work that day, so that helped to take my mind off of things, plus the high I was feeling from the previous day's ultrasound really helped to keep me positive. I still thought about my lost baby a lot that day though, but I am so thankful to be pregnant again.

-I started a new job! It is still at the bank, but I went from HR to the commercial lending department. I am now a Commercial Credit Analyst Intern. I love it! It's much more fast-paced than my old job, and I have to think things through, so I think it's a really good fit for me. I told my new bosses (and my old boss, the HR person!) about my pregnancy and everyone was very supportive. I think it helps that I'm only working part-time and that I'm an extra person, so hopefully they won't miss much while I'm on leave.

-A week ago today I considered myself "officially" in the second trimester. According to which source you use, the second trimester can start at 12 weeks,13 weeks and 14 weeks. If you divide 40 weeks by 3, you get 13 weeks 3 days. So at 13 weeks 4 days I considered myself officially in the second trimester :).

-On September 6th I had an appointment with my midwife and everything looked great. It was a quick appointment but I got to hear the heartbeat beating away at 160 beats a minute! Since everything was great and I was 14 weeks 1 day, I came home and announced on Facebook with this picture:

We had family pictures done by my awesome friend Bethany and we took a few announcement pictures as well. I love the big brother ones! The support on Facebook was overwhelming and it suddenly made this pregnancy feel very, very real. The fear lessens everyday and I am getting more and more excited!

In a lot of the pregnancy blogs I read, they will do a weekly pregnancy survey. I thought it might be fun to do the same. I probably won't do one every week (hello it's been a month since I've updated!) But monthly or every two weeks is probably more doable.

How Far Along: 14 weeks, 4 days

Due date: March 6th

Gender: Not only is it too early to tell, but we aren't finding out at all! That's a post for another day though :)

Names: We are pretty sure on names, but not 100% so I don't think I'll share those yet.

Weight Gain: So far, 0 pounds.

Maternity clothes: None yet, but my Mamoo has bought me a lot she found secondhand. My regular clothes still fit, but I have a definite pooch, so sometimes I have to do the handy rubber band trick if my pants/shorts get too tight.

Stretch Marks: None yet!

Sleep: My sleep hasn't been too disturbed. I have to pee just about every night at least once and I've noticed the past week it's starting to bother me to sleep on my stomach. When I have to switch to sleeping on my side is when I'll start having issues.

Movement: None yet, which is expected because it's so early. It might be even longer before I feel movement though because I have an anterior placenta, which means that my placenta is in the front. That will make the movement feel muffled at first.

Missing anything: A cold turkey sandwich :(

Food cravings: None, although a week or so ago I was about to die for fried catfish. Thankfully I was able to get some!

Food Aversions: These have let up a lot. I no longer have an aversion to plain water and I've been eating salads every now and then! Cucumbers and yogurt are still a no-no though.

Symptoms: I have some background nausea occasionally, but not very often. The biggest thing I've noticed over the past couple weeks is pain in my hips, thighs and knees. It honestly feels like growing pains. I haven't gained any weight so I'm not sure how they're hurting already!

Looking forward to: Being noticeably pregnant. Right now I'm in between and I honestly look like I just ate a few too many tacos!