Week 18

How far along? 18 Weeks

Baby Hart is the size of:  A sweet potato ...lil sweetie:)

Total weight gain/loss: Stayed the same this week, at 6 1/2 pounds gained.
Maternity clothes?  Was going to switch to maternity clothes this week but only fit into a couple things- the rest are still too big!  Such an awkward stage....

Stretch marks? Not yet

Sleep:  Still planning on getting a good body pillow for the aches.

Best moment this week: Jason felt the baby move for the first time on Wednesday!

Miss Anything?  Sleeping on my back.

Movement:  Yup, and getting stronger!  Finally strong enough for Jason to feel it through my belly:)

Food cravings:  Sweets.... ice cream... yumm...

Symptoms?  Hip and right rib pain... blech.

Showing?  Yups.

Gender prediction: Girl.... I think...?:)

Belly Button in or out?  In, but getting a little weird looking;)

Wedding rings on or off?  On.

Adjustments:  Figuring out what to wear that I can fit in lol!

Emotions: Happy.

Learned this week:  That finding a good maternity section seems impossible.
  So thankful for:  My chiropractor!

                                                          Looking forward to:  Finding out the gender- 9 days!!!

    ~ Also, here's an overdue pic of the glider Jason got me for Valentine's day!  Fun to see a beginning to the nursery!! ~

What week is it??... ok, I get it now:) Week 17

  So, thanks to an article by the fantastic What to Expect website, I now have a little clearer understanding about how the weeks in pregnancy work.  I've known that every Friday I've switched to my new week, so for example last Friday I hit Week 17.  But then as I've read through week-by-week symptoms and what-not, I've been a little blurry as to if the that Friday to the next is week 17 or whichever, or if the week before that Friday was??  This may make no sense, but the article definitely helped me:)  Now I understand that while I'm not 18 weeks pregnant yet, I am in week 18.  All that to say I will start posting my blogs a little sooner (since technically I've been posting a little late, for example: week 14 when I was actually in week 15).  So here's my next post, even though I just posted a few days ago; and I will post week 18 on Thursday.

How far along? 17 Weeks

Baby Hart is the size of:  An onion

Total weight gain/loss: 6 1/2 pounds- gained 2 1/2 this week, so not worried about the pound I lost the last week, lol!

Maternity clothes?  Still mostly regular clothes, but starting to think that's about to change;)

Stretch marks? Not yet

Sleep:  Definitely gonna need a good prenatal body pillow soon- sleep is starting to really hurt!

Best moment this week: Getting some reflexology treatment from my awesome friend Kelly!  It helped so much with my hip pain and headaches!

Miss Anything? Being able to do the whole ropes challenge course with our youth group this weekend!

Movement:  Lots, so beautiful!!  And it's definitely getting stronger! LOVE when Baby Hart gets wiggly:)

Food cravings:  Really been wanting some cottage cheese lately.  Definitely on the grocery list!

Symptoms?  Been having a lot more hip and lower back pain.  

Showing?  Oh yes, and this week was quite the growth spurt!

Gender prediction: Girl.

Belly Button in or out?  In, but getting shallow;)

Wedding rings on or off?  On. 

Adjustments:  Getting used to a bigger bump and an arching, aching back!

Emotions: Happy:)

Learned this week: How the weeks of pregnancy fully work.

                                    So thankful for:  Kelly and her amazing reflexology massage!

                                   Looking forward to:  When my hubby can feel the baby move:)

Week 16

How far along? 16 Weeks

Baby Hart is the size of:  An avocado
Total weight gain/loss: 4 pounds- lost one pound this week (don't worry, not attempted!)
Maternity clothes?  Still mostly regular clothes and the aid of the Target Be Band.  Though it's getting more and more tricky to keep it all together;)
Stretch marks? Not yet, but the belly's gettin' itchy... lotsa lotion!
Sleep:  Bit better, though I still wake up with my my hips and legs hating me for squishing them sideways;)
Best moment this week: Getting the nursery started!  My sweet hubby cleared out our guest bedroom furniture and bought me a glider for Valentine's Day!  (pic to come!)
Miss Anything? Being able to take up new exercises or  adding a lot more to my routine. 
Movement:  Feeling Baby Hart a LOT more!  Too amazing:)
Food cravings:  Still loving sweets.  But also loving food in general lol- definite increased appetite!
Anything making you queasy or sick? Not besides hearing people's birth horror stories;)

Have you started to show yet: Still got the lil' bump, though there wasn't much change at all this week.
Gender prediction: Thinking girl again.
Belly Button in or out?  In.
Wedding rings on or off?  On. 

Adjustments:  Mostly just adjusting my Be Band;)
Emotions: Been even more hyper than usual;)

Learned this week:  That feeling the baby move is indescribably amazing. 

So thankful for:  Being pregnant:):)
Looking forward to:  Finding out the gender!- 18 more days!!!

Week 15

How far along? 15 Weeks

Baby Hart is the size of:  An orange
Total weight gain/loss: 5 pounds
Maternity clothes? Mostly just my regular clothes with the aid of the Target Be Band
Stretch marks? Not yet
Sleep:  Bit better
Best moment this week: Hearing the heartbeat at our appointment on Tuesday!
Miss Anything? Having a less fuzzy brain;)
Movement:  For sure feeling the twitches and flutters now!!

Food cravings:  Still sweets... plowed through a couple Krispy Kreme's the other day;)
Anything making you queasy or sick? Nope:)

Have you started to show yet:  For sure!
Gender prediction: Been thinking more lately that it's a boy... hmmm...
Belly Button in or out?  In.
Wedding rings on or off?  On.

Adjustments: Getting used to people touching/patting/rubbing my belly...  especially when it's with no warning;)
Emotions: Much more hyper this week... which means happy;)... yeah energy boost!

Learned this week:  That not every doc appointment will mean an ultrasound! Whoops!:/

So thankful for:  A healthy doc appointment:)
Looking forward to:  Finding out the gender!  3 1/2 more weeks!!! 

Week 14

How far along? 14 Weeks

Baby Hart is the size of:  A lemon
Total weight gain/loss: 3 pounds- I had lost 3 the first trimester, so back where I began!
Maternity clothes? Mostly just my regular clothes- though I totally whipped out a couple of my smaller maternity shirts this week...  I couldn't resist!:)  And YAY for the Target Be Band!!
Stretch marks? Not yet;)
Sleep: Not awesome- not used to not being able to roll over on my belly or back in my sleep!:)  So, I wake up a LOT in the night, but I guess it's good prep;)
Best moment this week: Having my friend Julie surprise me by bringing over a bunch of maternity clothes she bought me!
Miss Anything? Being able to pop in whatever medicines I need! Curse you, head cold!
Movement:  Not sure if I've felt Baby Hart yet...  felt some like twitching or flutter feelings, but not sure if it's the baby or not:)
Food cravings:  Sweet stuff..... yummm!  I've eaten a lot of mint chocolate chip icecream;)
Anything making you queasy or sick? Not anymore, yay!

Have you started to show yet: I believe the way my friends have put it is "Wow, you're really popping out!" Yup, and loving the little bump!
Gender prediction: Definite girl feeling... which makes me think it's a boy... lol:)  I just can't wait to find out!! 
Belly Button in or out?  In.
Wedding rings on or off?  On.

Adjustments: Getting used to people touching/patting/rubbing my belly...  especially when it's with no warning;)
Emotions: Happiness and even more EXCITED for next July!

Learned this week: How to make safe homemade cleaners

So thankful for:  The target Be band!
Looking forward to:  Finding out the gender!

Second Trimester of Glory!

Second Trimester


  So about a week and half ago I woke up and felt like a human again.  Amazing!  It was just a few days before I officially hit that second trimester milestone, and boy was it the "switch" that I've heard about going off... from the nasty and nausea to the nice and normal!  I've felt great since then- my runs have been so much better, and I don't want to puke when I brush my teeth:)  Yay!

Baby Bump


  Another perk of this trimester is the beginning of the baby bump:

  Since this picture was taken 4 days ago, it has popped out so much more!  I can't believe how quickly bump and baby are growing!  

Blog

  I posted on my other blog  the story, and really, testimony of our baby making journey.  I'll hope you'll read it here!  I've enjoyed finally publishing this one, and do want to apologize for it's boring layout.  I plan to decorate it up once we know the gender- hopefully soon! 

Abortion

  Without diving deeply into my full defense of why I'm Pro-Life, I do want to say that if I was Pro-Life before the pregnancy you'd better believe I am now!  After seeing the ultrasounds and hearing the heartbeat I cannot fathom abortion.  During our last ultrasound the doctor chuckled that our baby was clearly irritated and mad that we were poking around it; the baby kept arching their back in frustration (yes, definitely my child;) ).  As we laughed over this cute little tantrum, it hit me how not only could this teeny human feel annoyance and discomfort, but they could even express it.  Wow.  Tiny feet... mini fingers... fully developed organs... beating heart.  Eyes.  Eyelashes.

  Last Sunday was Sanctity of Life Sunday, and I really enjoyed our church service.  I greatly appreciated a presentation during Sunday school by a lady from Choices, a Christian Pro-Life organization in Chattanooga.  My favorite part about her speech was how kind she was to the women who have had abortions or considered getting one.  She treated them with such dignity and respect, as we always should treat everyone.  So I also mean no ill here against these women.  But I will also stand strongly against abortion, no matter the reason.  I will stop myself from digging deeper, but will share this awesome video clip:

http://www3.focusonthefamily.com/popups/media_player.aspx?MediaId={5B903BBB-4FA1-4255-BD4E-931392D8722B}

12 weeks and our second ultrasound!

(Written on January 17th)
   A week ago we had another ultrasound, and it was AMAZING!!!  I was SO nervous before the appointment that something was wrong... it's hard when you're not showing yet, and can't feel the baby move at all... so a lot of "what ifs" were running through my brain (thanks also to some horrible stories I've been told by people who don't seem to have the sense to not tell me those stories right now).  Anyways, when the baby first appeared on the screen, I had a second of panic that it wasn't moving.  Then the baby starting moving- quite a bit!  Waving and kicking and arching their lil' back!  Then we got to hear the heartbeat too, and next thing I know I'm a bawling happy mess!  We got to see the arms, fingers, even tiny feet:):)  It was SO overwhelmingly incredible, I could have stayed there watching Baby Hart for forever!!