19 Weeks - Bump Date

How far along: 19 Weeks (21 more weeks to go!!!!)

Baby Size: The size of a large heirloom tomato, 8.5 oz. and is 6 inches long
Weight gain:  0!!  I gained 2 pounds for the week, so we are even to what I started out with in January
Maternity clothes: Maternity pants and maternity leggings.  I am having a hard time finding anything that I like shirt wise right now too.  Some of my normal clothes make me just look fat and some of my maternity clothes don't fit right in the belly area.  In a couple weeks I should really start to look pregnant instead of that in-between look

Stretch marks: None so far!    Sleep: Not too bad at all!  Getting up once a night to use the bathroom but that's about it.   Gender: It's a BOY!

Movement: I think I've felt baby Boy move a couple times, but it's nothing consistent yet.  Can't wait to feel him consistently!!
Best moment this week: I can't think of anything at this moment, but that doesn't mean I am having a bad week.   Looking forward to: Easter Sunday with all of the family and feeling baby Boy move around consistently

Food cravings: still loving those Cola slushies, fresh fruit and veggies, Mexican food and BBQ.  Most out to eat food choices of mine right now are Mexican or BBQ.     Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope!   Labor Signs: None   What I miss: Being able to breathe without a stuffy nose and not having sciatic nerve pain.  Allergies have really kicked me in the rear this past week and I've given up and started taking Zyrtec to help with the allergies.   Symptoms: I can tell that baby Boy is growing and moving into my diaphram because I sometimes have a hard time catching a full breath, I think it also has to do with my stuffy nose and allergies.  Sciatic nerve pain is still there, but Andy showed me a stretch that I can do to help with the pain.  It does help, but I don't have the time to do the stretch every time the nerve hurts.
Nursery: It's painted!!!  We are on a hold to start the furniture until May because the next 2 weekends we are booked up!
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On!

Mood: HORMONES!!!!  Those hormones are no joke and sadly Andy is finding out the hard way.....sorry babe!!  No joke, I am on the phone with Andy on Tuesday and I am miserable because I couldn't breath and the pressure in my head was killing me, I suddenly burst into tears for a good 30 seconds and then I am done....never done that before.  Remember in the movie, "Knocked Up" where Seth Rogan's character yells, "F You Hormones, F You!"......yeah I'm pretty sure that's what Andy is saying in his head.  Again, sorry Andy, LOVE YOU!!!!

Let's Play Catch Up, Shall We?

Where in the world have I been?  I promise you all, all is good.  Baby is great and I think I've started to feel him move around.  I thought instead of writing multiple blogs to explain everything, I'll just list it all out on one post.  Nothing bad I promise.  :) 

• Last week was a really rough week for me work wise.  There was lots of drama in the office, lots of work being piled on top of me that I just cannot seem to get ahead of, and I am just running out of steam.  I haven't taken a vacation day since December 24th and that was for one day.  The time before that was in July when we traveled to Michigan for a funeral.  Not exactly a vacation.  So needless to say, I am in desperate need for a vacation.....Unfortunately, it is not in the budget for this year.  I am trying my hardest to save up the time for maternity leave and we are trying our hardest to save as much money as possible right now.
• Andy and I decided to start carpooling in the morning to work.  We started 2 weeks ago and it hasn't been too bad at all.  He gets dropped off 10 minutes earlier than normal, but it is manageable he says.  We both start work at 7 am (he's salary and I am hourly).  I get off at 3:30 pm and he is off at 4 pm, so when I get off, I just head to his work and by the time I get there he is off and we just head home.  It's about an extra 30 minutes in the car for me, but the gas savings is tremendous.  I am talking a good $200 a month we are savings in gas alone.  Not to mention that we are saving on the wear and tear on both vehicles driving in the same direction everyday.
• Allergies have been kicking me in the butt lately.  I get the occasional allergies during the spring like everyone else does in Missouri but NOTHING like what I have been experiencing this past week.  I have finally broken down and decided to take Zyrtec for my allergy problems.  That medicine is a god send!!!!  Yesterday I was absolutely MISERABLE with head congestion and nasal blockage.  Today, I am feeling like a whole new woman!!!  My allergies are not completely cleared up, but it's way better today than it was yesterday.
• I slept for a good 10 hours last night and it felt WONDERFUL!  I fell asleep on the couch from 7-8pm, then to bed from 8:30-5:30 am this morning.  I am still tired but feel so much better.  I think those allergies really took it out of me. 
• Speaking of breaking down and taking medicine.  I am not opposed to taking medicine at all.  In fact, I have no problem taking Tylenol for a headache or whatever my pain is. Ever since I've become pregnant, I've been trying to not take medicine at every wince of pain.  I try to stick it out as long as possible, but the allergies won this time.  I fully plan on signing up for that epidural when it comes to giving birth.  I know I won't be able to handle that pain the entire time, but then again, you never know.  :) 
• Easter Sunday is coming up in 4 days and I am looking forward to it, but am in no way organized for it right now.....  Easter is always at my house and we invite all of Andy's family and my family over for a big feast.  I am still trying to plan the menu and decide on a start time for Easter..LOL!  I know that this year we are planning on a Easter egg hunt for Jackson and Claire though!  :) I am hoping that it does not rain that day and it is sunny.  
• Keeley has been miss protector of me lately.  She is glued to my hip and sleeps with me all night long now.  It's really sweet.  She can totally tell that I am pregnant.  She and Baby Boy are going to be best friends.  LOVE IT!!  
• I am getting excited to register for Baby Boy also!  I think I am going to start registering in May since the next 2 weekends I have booked up.  
• We have set the date for one of my showers, this is the one that my mom is throwing for me.  My mom thinks it's silly that she is throwing a shower for me, but I would not have it any other way!  She means the world to me and her throwing a shower for me is what I want.  :) 
• I am trying out a new makeup today and love it so far!  The best part, I picked out the right color first try!  SUCCESS there!  Next week I will review it for you all.
• Of course a post is not a good post unless there are photos, so here you go!

She is LOVING that the weather is getting nice again!

Right next to me like always!

Keeley is such a good dog!  She loves the sunshine on her fur.  When we are outside and cleaning or occupied doing anything, she just sits near us but gets her tan on.  NEVER runs away.

Smokey's new "friend".  We moved a fish from the big tank to this small tank because he was being mean to all the fish and attacking them.  The fish is banished to the small tank for the time being. 

Not only is my Easter table cloth cute, but Smokey is hiding.  You can see a tiny paw at the end of the table cloth.  He thinks he is being so sneaky!

There's Smokey!!!

My guard dog.  She was waiting for me to get ready for bed.  She looks really sad here, but I think she was tired.  She has been out of her cage for 4 days straight and I think she is ready to catch up on her own sleep today.

18 Weeks - Bump Date

How far along: 18 Weeks

Baby Size: The size of a green bell pepper, 7 oz. and 5 1/2 inches long
Weight gain:  -2 pounds STILL, if I don't start gaining something soon, I will be talking to my doctor about it at the end of the month.  I am definitely eating when I'm hungry, but just can't fit that much food in my stomach.
Maternity clothes: Maternity pants and maternity leggings (I found that keeping my legs extra moisturized is helping with the "rashes".  In fact, the rashes are gone from my legs right now!  YAY!)

Stretch marks: None so far!    Sleep: Not bad I guess.  Getting up at least 1 time a night to use the restroom, but I am good about getting back to sleep pretty fast after that.  I've been taking naps after work too this week.   Gender: It's a BOY!

Movement: I don't think so 
Best moment this week: Getting Baby K's room all painted!!  I am IN LOVE with the colors we chose for the room!   Looking forward to: feeling baby boy move, I can't wait!

Food cravings: nothing too out of the ordinary.  Still loving fruits and veggies!  I turned down free cake and ice cream at a work function on Wednesday.....so very unlike Jessica.     Anything making you queasy or sick: nothing in particular   Labor Signs: None   What I miss: Getting up from the couch and bed fast, I move slow after lying down now.   Symptoms: sciatic nerve pain and round ligament pain at times.  Also, my chair at work absolutely SUCKS!  I had to get a chair pad for the chair because the back of my thighs and legs were going numb after sitting in it all day long.
Nursery: It's painted!!!  Now to start on sanding and painting the furniture.
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On!

Mood: Just super tired this week.  I haven't been too crabby, at least I don't think so!

Here are some randoms also from the pregnancy so far:

• We saw the old doctor for the last time last week.  I am sad to leave his practice, but if he no longer practicing OB, then I am leaving the office and finding a new doctor.  Especially since his office staff isn't the greatest.  It was pretty obvious that he spoke to his head nurse about her attitude and it made us feel uncomfortable.  
• We see the new doctor at the end of the month.  I am excited to get started at new office, but am a little bit scared because of our experience the last 20 weeks....lol.
• I have horrible sciatic nerve pain in my right back/butt.  I've had it for weeks and it's literally a pain in the butt!  The worst is when I lie down.  Sitting down is fine, propping my legs up while I sit is fine, but when I lie down...forget about it!  It takes me a good 5 minutes to be about to get myself back up.  I feel like a 100 year old woman sometimes....  Andy laughs at me cause I call the pain my, "Back-butt hurts".  He then proceeds to ask where my "Front-Butt" is.  
• Last week my skin decided to freak out with wearing leggings....I received these lovely rashes on both legs.  Doctor said I could put cortisone cream on them, but to be honest, it did nothing for me.  I decided that from Thursday - Sunday I would consistently slather lotion all over my legs every morning after my shower and see if it helps the rashes.  6 days later and the rashes were gone!!  Here's hoping they stay away!
• I think I have developed my first cold or it's allergies kicking my butt with this pregnancy. Last night (Tuesday), I was feeling pretty awful and took a nice long nap (1.5 hours) on the couch before bed......took me another 1.5 hours to fall asleep for the rest of the night.  It's all congested in the head right now and I am not having fun....I am drinking orange juice like no one's bizness.
• I also had my first bout of heartburn.  I'm surprised it started so late since myself and Andy have VERY thick hair.  In fact, I'd be SHOCKED if Baby Boy came out bald.  So would Andy!

FREE Office Fridge = AWESOME!

Does anyone else ever have writers block.  My post titles always take me FOREVER to come up with...  Today's post title comes from the photo below.

That's right, that's my new (new to me)  mini fridge in my office!  Our IT Director is retiring and I asked if I could purchase that fridge from him.  He said sure and then surprised me on Friday by putting this in my office and said I owe him nothing for it.  SOOO nice of him!  Makes me even more excited for the mini fridge because I fully plan on pumping at work and I have my own place to put breast milk in it during the day instead of using ice packs.

Look who I got to see on Friday for dinner!  My adorable niece Claire!  She was in awe of my nail polish (blue and green sparkles) which now reminds me that the next time I am over at her house, I'm bringing some nail polish to make her nails "Pwetty"

Cat grass growing was successful!!  I pulled this inside for Smokey to munch on and man he munched away!  I had to take it away from him in about 5 minutes because I didn't want him to get sick.

Keeley and Mama took a quick trip to PetCo to get Smokey some more food.  She LOVED going to PetCo and her nose was on hyper drive.  She did such a great job!

I'm really loving apples with peanut butter right now.  Keeley is loving my new craving too since she always gets to lick the plate of peanut butter clean once her mama is done with it.  Here's her sitting patiently while I finish up.

Can I just say that we have AMAZING neighbors and friends!!!  No seriously, we really do!  Andy, Ryan and Melissa spent all Sunday painting the baby room.  I've thanked them about a bajillion times but plan on thanking them once again.  THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH!!! This is a sneak peak of the color we put on the walls.  Also, Keeley is starting her guard dog job early.  Here she is exhausted because people were all over the house yesterday with painting and such.  Plus, Grandma and Jena came over.  Hello hyper doggie!!

That about sums up my weekend.  How was your's?  

P.S. Easter is in 2 weeks and I'm hosting it at my house again!!  Time to start menu planning.

What's on your Easter menu?

I might have to build an ark!

FRIDAY!!!!

This has been a LONG week and I am SOOOOO happy to see Friday finally here!

Holy Rain!  I am beginning to wonder if I need to build an ark because we are drowning here in Missouri!!  I am totally not going to complain about it though because it was nice to have the rain to wash away all the salt, grits and grime from this winter.  The tornado's though, that's another story and they can GO AWAY like right now....  Yesterday the St. Louis area saw 3 tornado's!  Yikes!!  The above Doppler was from Thursday morning.  That ark you see there is NOT a good sign and in that ark produced a small tornado that hit downtown St. Louis.  

My poor babies have been scared of the storms.  Ok well actually Keeley had been so scared of the storms and Smokey knows I don't like storms and ever since we adopted him and it storms, he comes over to me and lies with me to calm me down.  On Wednesday after getting home I was followed around the entire house until I sat down on the couch.  Not 5 minutes later both the cat and dog were right next to me.  AWW!   

 

I'm actually liking this photo of me.... 17 weeks!!!!  So excited to almost be half way there already!!  I took this Thursday morning before work.  If you would like to catch up on my bump date for Week 17, you can click here.  An update from my crabbiness: Thursday night was so much fun and this morning and I am doing a bit better.  Just happy it's Friday and I get to sleep in tomorrow morning!

Lookie who was a VIP last night!  Funny thing is, I never saw the first Captain America so me seeing the second one was kinda funny.....  First, I was apprehensive of going because the weather people were calling for bad weather from 7-11 pm and they were right!  We got to the movies at  6 pm with our neighbors and a friend of theirs and we were treated with a free popcorn and soda.  Then we found out the movie was in 3D!  Bonus!!!   Then when walking into the theater we were treated with free candy.  We sat down and watched a short trailer that Conway Freight made for their company and then BAM the movie started.  Yeah, that's right, we went to a movie and saw NO movie trailers beforehand!  AWESOME!!!  Around 7:30 pm I heard the tornado sirens, que panic because my phone was at home and I wasn't able to track the weather as easily.....  Around 8 pm they evacuated the theater and we were moved 3 floors down to the food court.  Around 8:30 pm we got to go back into the theater and finish the movie. The movie was sooooooo good!  This coming from a girl who doesn't like comic books and had never seen the first Captain America.  LOVED the movie and suggest you go out and see it yourself.  :)  

This week Andy and I have been carpooling to work.  Since I drive a little bit further, I drop him off and pick him up.  NO joke I counted 3 bagel places on my way into work....sesame bagel YUMMO!  So true though, if I didn't have to be in at 7 am because I am hourly, I would have SO stopped this morning.  I will just say that being hourly is good because I would gain so much weight from bagels.

17 Week - Bump Date

  
How far along: 17 Weeks

Baby Size: The size of a turnip, 5 oz. and 5 inches long
Weight gain:  wobbling between -3 and -2 pounds, I know the weight gain should be starting anytime soon!
Maternity clothes: Maternity pants and maternity leggings (I actually had an allergic reaction to the leggings this week though....I think I might have to put those leggings away since my skin can't breathe in those)  My winter shirts are pretty much useless with this growing belly and I am SO sick of wearing them!  

Stretch marks: None so far! I started using my belly balm too.   Sleep: AWESOME over the weekend (I'm talking 12 hours Saturday and 11 hours Sunday) and then the week started over and I have slept AWFUL the last couple of nights.  In fact, I overslept on Monday....   Gender: It's a BOY!

Movement: None, at least I don't think any yet.
Best moment this week: Hearing Baby K's heartbeat on the doppler Tuesday at my Dr. Appt.  We could also hear him wiggling around on the doppler.   Looking forward to: warmer weather and feeling baby boy move around

Food cravings: Cola slushies and cheez it's     Anything making you queasy or sick: my cat's wet food....lol!  Not that I eat it, but spooning it into a bowl for him every morning is torture.  He's lucky he's cute and that I love him so!   Labor Signs: Nothing and that's a GOOD thing!     What I miss: Being about to get up from the couch fast and lying in bed and not being in pain.  The sciatic nerve is killing me lately.  I walk around like an old person sometimes.  I also miss being able to roll from one side to the other without being in pain because of ligament pain.  (I'm seriously being a whiner right now....I know).   Symptoms: I am FINALLY starting to look pregnant. 
Nursery: For the past couple of weeks, Andy and I keep saying that we are going to start on the baby room, and we still haven't.  Our goal is to work on it Saturday!  YAY!!  We do have paint colors picked out!
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On!

Mood: Super crabby this week.  I haven't been sleeping well and this gloomy weather all week has made my mood just plain awful!  Ask my husband, he will agree, SUPER CRABBY!  Wednesday night I was so tired after work that I was in jammies, washed face and glasses on by 5 pm.  I had no desire to take a bump photo that night.  That's why you get a bathroom pic from this morning.  Plus the other bump pics I've been taking, I don't really like.  I feel like I look AWFUL in them.  My face looks huge and I'm only 17 weeks.  :(  

Let the Sun Shine!

I had EVERY intention on blogging yesterday.  Then my alarm went off like it always does at 5 am and 515 am.  Apparently, at 5:15 am, my alarm went off and I turned it off in my sleep.  I even remember in my dream thinking, "Hmm, the 15 minutes in-between my 2 alarms seems like a long time".  The next thing I know, it's 6:13 am and I overslept an hour!  WHOOPS!  I quickly jump in the shower (I cannot go to work without a shower, it's just not right...lol) get ready for work and am out the door by 6:50 am.  I knew I was going to be late and probably stuck in about an hour's worth of traffic.  To my surprise, I wasn't.  It took me 40 minutes to get to work, so I was only 30 minutes late clocking into work!  WOOHOO!!!  After my oversleep, I was bound a determined to still make it a great day.  Yes, it sucks to start out a Monday like I did, but why ruin the rest of my week with oversleeping and stressing over it.

Then I hear about a tragedy at my work.  It had to do with a co-worker's child and it really hit home to me.  When I found out, I had this huge lump in my throat.  As selfish as it is, all I could think was that I hope that, that does not happen to me.  That right there took my mood in a different spin.  I am down right sad for my coworker right now.  I didn't sleep well last night, tossed and turned and had some bad dreams.  

Today is our last doctor appointment with our old doctor.  I call him our old doctor because he wanted to see us one last time before he retired from the OB side of his practice.  I'm excited and nervous just for that fact that I haven't been to the doctor in 5 weeks and I just really want to hear his heartbeat!  :)  After yesterday, that heartbeat will be the icing on the cake that everything is just fine.  (P.S. nothing is wrong with my by the way.  Everything seems to be going smooth still).

So that's about it for today.  Today I will enjoy the sun shine and keep a smile on my face.  :)