21 Weeks

I feel: Great!

Happy or Moody: Happy – but maybe I should be asking Mike this question to see what his opinion is.

Showing: Absolutely. So happy the “fast food phase” is over.

Maternity Clothes: I purchased my first batch of tops online during an after-Christmas sale. Tops and tunics, mostly, but I am sure I will be trying on pants in the next month or so.

Exercise: Rigby walks.

Miss Anything: Food-themed drinks (beer with a football game, margaritas with Mexican food, etc.)

Anything make you sick/queasy: Not this last week.

Movement: Lots! Baby M (name to be announced publicly  sometime soon… maybe) is getting much stronger, and she is very active in the mornings and at night before bed. Michael & Grandma got to feel her move this last week, and I loved sharing that with them! It’s the best feeling ever when she’s moving around in there.

Excited for: Finishing up the shower invitations and registry! Now I just have to get the invitations printed and send them out… So happy to be able to cross that off my list!

Favorite Moment of the Week: Introducing our families (my mom to Michael’s parents) and meeting one of Michael’s sisters. It was a great holiday week!

The holiday week was a perfect week off spent with my mom and Michael and his family. Half was spent lounging around doing absolutely nothing (perfectly okay in my book) and the other half was spent galavanting around town running errands – some Baby M related and some not.

As it was Michael and my last Christmas before Baby M’s arrival, it was nice to be able to receive some last minute things we needed for the house before she comes along. This week I was also able to find adorable fabric for the crib bedding for the nursery which my mom graciously offered to sew for us. As determined as I am to have Baby M be feminine without being a pretty pink princess (at least not all the time), I couldn’t help but coordinating some pink into her nursery! This week we were also able to finish registering for the baby shower, and solidify enough plans for the shower for me to create the invites. It’s all starting to come together, and I am so excited!

The Big Gender Reveal – 20 Weeks

I feel: Better : ) The cold is going away, but it’s been (medically) confirmed that this mom-to-be has sciatica. Thank you Lindsay and your blog for the bump nest pillow idea (and thank you, Dad for the early Christmas present). This pillow will save my hips!

Happy or Moody: I’m happy! I’m happy to be having a little girl, but I’m mostly happy that she is perfectly healthy and developing wonderfully!

Showing: Yes. More and more each day it seems like!

Maternity Clothes: I give myself a month… I’ll be shocked if I don’t need them by then.

Exercise: Rigby walks.

Miss Anything: The gym… I need to get back.

Anything make you sick/queasy: Not sick or queasy. But this sciatica is quite literally a pain int he butt.

Movement: Keep the bubbles coming, baby girl! Can’t wait to feel bigger kicks.

Excited for: All the planning/implementation I can finally do now that we know the gender!

Favorite Moment of the Week: Our ultrasound today. Not just for the gender reveal – which is exciting on its own – but just for the check up itself. I love the confirmation of knowing my baby’s healthy.

Baby girl with her hands and her foot up by her mouth.

When we got our ultrasound done over Thanksgiving break by my aunt, she said she thought it was 65% girl/35% boy. Little peanut was in a very peculiar position and was not at all interested in giving us a view of her goodies. However, after about 25 minutes of wiggling and poking at her, today we got a little flash and that was all we needed to confirm we’re having a girl! And a very flexible one at that – almost the entire time she was in a pike position, holding her feet up by her head. The ultrasound tech was sweet enough to indulge us in a few3D shots as well, which I’ve included in this post.

The doctor assured me baby girl is growing perfectly and is very healthy, and so is mom. I was worried I wasn’t gaining enough weight, although I think all of the Christmas sweets floating in and out of the office this week has helped. I am at an overall weight gain of 8.5 lbs. so far!

Fortunately, Michael’s parents are staying with us before they close on their house in Lakewood Ranch, so they got to come along for the exciting news today! I’m getting very used having an audience during my ultrasounds in case anyone was wondering…

After the doctor’s visit, I made the very anti-climatic trip back to work to finish my day. I was just itching to get home to the family though and talk, talk, talk! When I arrived, Michael had bought me a dozen pink roses (queue the “Awwwwws”) in celebration and Grandma bought a sweet pink onesie(s) set. Baby girl officially has something to hang in her closet! The Bump Nest Pillow from my dad (an early Christmas present – and right on time!) arrived today as well, which is the answer to my prayers after two restless nights of sleep.

19 Weeks

I feel: Sick! I came down with a cold (Thanks, Honey!) on Tuesday and have been battling it ever since. Luckily it’s nothing serious – and does seem to be getting better – but it’s definitely not any fun.

Happy or Moody: Happy. But oh so tired.

Showing: Yes, and especially after eating a hearty meal (Exhibits A & B above)

Maternity Clothes: Not yet. I have a feeling those will be showing up right after Christmas.

Exercise: Just dog walks this week.

Miss Anything: Medium rare steaks : (

Anything make you sick/queasy: I haven’t been the biggest fan of leftovers this week.

Movement: Little bubbles around my pelvic area, but nothing substantial yet.

Excited for: Thursday! Cross your fingers that our little sugar is cooperating so we can find out if it’s a he/she.

Favorite Moment of the Week: Getting Christmas shopping/shipping done! What a relief.

I swore I’d never take (let alone post) naked belly pictures during my pregnancy, but there comes a point when you’re pregnant (or maybe it’s just in life, I don’t know) where you just stop giving a sh–. Excuse my French, but seriously. Your body is doing all this weird stuff that you can’t even begin to understand and so you just stop caring who  you’re in front of when it’s doing something funny.

After a delicious steak dinner this week prepared by Michael, I could not even begin to understand how absolutely bloated I was. I couldn’t zip my pants, never mind button them (and they fit earlier that day, I swear!), and Michael couldn’t stop laughing at the sudden growth that had sprouted from my stomach. I would say a bump is definitely noticeable these days, but nothing like what you see in the two photos above. Anyways, we obviously found them so hilarious we just had to share.

P.S. I was woken up by a blog thought this week… All of these posts are for the previous week. For example, this post is about Week 19,  but Michael and I actually started Week 20 (THE HALFWAY POINT!) this week. Maybe I’m wrong, but I feel like I’m doing this blog ass backwards (not that there’s a right way), so I might try to flip it around on one of the upcoming posts. I’ll warn you if I do. 

18 Weeks

I feel: Wonderful.

Happy or Moody: Happy, happy, happy! It’s the holidays!

Showing: The baby bump, albeit small, is officially here!

Maternity Clothes: No, but the planning has begun. Thanks to Lindsay’s blog, I have an idea of where to begin once I get there!

Exercise: Squats and free arm exercises still. Plus walking Rigby. Baby steps…

Miss Anything: Grabbing drinks with friends. I need to jump on this mocktail bandwagon!

Anything make you sick/queasy: Back to the salad hating phase. I bought a bag of lettuce today regardless. I am determined to beat it.

Movement: Still having the gas vs. baby battle. Come on baby, Mommy wants to feel you move!

Excited for: Our gender reveal appointment and the holiday break. Coincidentally, they come at the same time! Lucky us : )

Favorite Moment of the Week: Finally moving in with my honey. Family mode has begun!

Baby, Daddy and I kicked off the weekend with a bang at my company’s holiday business party. It was a long, fun night of food and drinks for all (except Mommy) in Ybor City. It was a nice night to be out and socialize with friends, and set me up for a great sleep in on Saturday morning.

This weekend, I also moved out of The Loveshack 4.0 (aka my life for the last 3 years) and in with Michael at his place in South Tampa. I’m loving finally living with him permanently vs. long sleepovers or weekend hang times. Getting used to not being around Shalon will be difficult, but we’ve already set cooking/dinner dates to keep in sync with each other’s lives… you’d honestly think we moved hours and hours away from each other with the way we act and talk about it!

Now that the move is over. I can settle in (unpacking is a slow process, unfortunately), and we can get ready to spend the holidays with our friends and family. The best part about the upcoming holiday season – finding out if our little one is a princess or a superhero. We have good faith that the baby will be much more cooperative on Dec. 19 at our check up!

17 Weeks – Holidays & Blog Post Fail

I have to admit I got lost in the hustle and bustle of the Thanksgiving holiday (and Mike and my travels) and completely forgot to take a

photo around the size of my “bump!” At first I was a little sad that I missed a week, but to be fair, it would’ve been hard to differentiate between my  Thanksgiving food baby and the real thing… At least that’s what I’m telling myself! Needless to say, Michael and I had a wonderful trip to Nebraska/South Dakota, and it was really greatto show him a little of (some of) where I grew up. I think he hit it off with the family!

While we were there my aunt did an ultrasound at her clinic. After about an hour of wiggling and shaking, baby did some dances for us but absolutely refused to show us “the goods.” We have tons of photos to show (feet, hands, spine, etc.), but only about a 65/35 idea of what our little one is. We will hopefully have a complete idea on Dec. 19 at my 20-week check up and will share the news that weekend!

Here’s the update for Week 17…

During Week 17, baby is around 5-inches long from head to bottom, and weighs about the size of a turnip (5 oz.). He/she can move their joints and is starting to develop sweat glands.

Cravings: Sweets! Mostly hazelnut chocolate and Grandma’s cookies. A true sign it’s holiday season! : )

I feel: Good! Had my first migraine since being pregnant which is the absolutely worst because nothing I can take helps with that level of headache… Until a coworker and my aunt both recommended caffeine. After that and resting, I was ready to rock!

Happy or Moody: Happy (and thankful) to be spending time with Michael and my family.

Showing: A little more each day. It seems to be more prominent especially after meals (go figure!)

Maternity Clothes: Nope! Wearing mostly some of my looser tops over jeans. Some days I still look like I’ve indulged in too much fast food so I’ve been staying away from the clingy tees in my closet.

Exercise: Slacked this week. Oops! I see a lot of that happening in my future…

Miss Anything: Beer while I’m watching football.

Anything make you sick/queasy: N/A

Movement: I’m having a debate with myself as to whether I feel gas, small cramps, or if it’s baby wiggling around in there.

Excited for: My holiday work party!

Favorite Moment of the Week: The success in Michael and my trip to the west. And, consequently, getting back home to see Riggus.