thirty weeks

I fall more in love with this growing belly every single day. I'm starting to feel her move much more often, especially when I'm relaxing on the couch or laying in bed. Sometimes her kicks are a little uncomfortable, but nothing too bad or any "rib kicks" yet.

Doctors appts have been pretty quick and uneventful-pee in a cup, measure the belly, listen to the heartbeat, have a nice day.

I've been feeling really good-I'm still in the "easy" part of pregnancy, I really can't complain about much. I've been trying to eat really healthy and natural & exercise daily, so I can keep up my energy to work up until she arrives! I haven't gained any more weight, I started the pregnancy at 109 lbs, and I'm now usually between 119-121 lbs. My doctor doesn't see it as concerning and says I should pat myself on the back--I still try to eat lots though!

Now just about every single person I run into that I don't know will ask me the three golden questions: "When are you due?" "Is it a boy or girl?" & "What will her name be?" I don't mind at all and love talking to people about pregnancy.

I must say I've been thinking about labor and breastfeeding a LOT lately. I still have dreams about these often, and I'm getting pretty nervous! I'm doing kegel exercises and lots of leg workouts to ensure the easiest labor possible--but I'm sure it only helps so much.

We've FINALLY started working on the nursery, Steve painted the whole room light pink, my mom will be doing a wallpaper border, and we had new carpet installed. Oh, how I LOVE new carpet. So clean and squishy. Steve also installed her crib last night. I started hanging up all her little clothes in order of size on little pink baby hangers. I would post pics of the room, but I'll wait until we get a little more furniture and decorative items.

Basically, my life goes on as usual! This pregnancy has really been dreamy & I can't wait to hold my precious baby Aubrey!

Third Trimester! (27 weeks & 1 day along)

So excited to be in the last and final stretch-it really came so fast! I thought I'd put a little something together about what I've learned about pregnancy thus far: the good AND bad things!

The Good
-There is absolutely NOTHING greater in the world than seeing your first positive pregnancy test, especially after trying so hard. A surreal moment.
-Seeing your baby's heartbeat for the first time flicker on the screen. Tears definitely happen.
-Finding out the gender. Everything starts feeling pretty real from there, you're not just having a baby, you are having a SON or DAUGHTER. Such joy! And more tears :)
-The first time you feel them move! Creepy and wonderful all at the same time.
-The first time someone notices you are a pregnant-a stranger.
-The way you are treated when people see you are obviously pregnant, so happy for you and full of questions!
-When people touch and rub my belly! Some people hate this, I LOVE it! Nothing more precious I'd rather share. I'm touchy feely to begin with :)
-Hello, boob size multiplies by 2! (or more if you are lucky)
-The look on my husband's face when he felt the baby kick the first time. He was so sweet and excited.
-Registering for baby stuff, so fun! All the girl stuff was to die for.
-Getting the best compliment ever: "Your belly is sooo cute!" Flat stomachs are SO yesterday!
-Knowing Heavenly Father is trusting me with a sweet & innocent baby, straight from His arms to ours.

The bad.
or at least uncomfortable and annoying things.
-THE WHOLE FIRST TRIMESTER, lol. Mostly just the nausea, extreme fatigue, and weird pooch belly.
-When people are judgmental about how young we decided to have kids! Ugh. (Back off, we both have good jobs, a home, a loving and healthy marriage, etc!) Rude.
-The constant feeling of pressure in your downstairs! Ouch!
-How you can't eat DELI MEAT. That is seriously one of the hardest things :( (Yes I know you can have it hot, but it's NOT THE SAME!)
-People that try and tell you you aren't having a healthy pregnancy unless you've gained " " pounds. I love my mom- "They're just jealous!" A Moms answer for everything, lol.
-How you have to wait 40 weeks before you have your baby! That's almost a year right there.
-SMOKERS, SMOKERS, AND SMOKERS. The things I do to avoid them are probably considered crazy.
-Having this crazy phobia about breastfeeding! Why does it have to be so hard? I pray my baby latches on like a pro and just eats every few hours or whatever with no problems whatsoever. Dreamworld!
-Lastly, not knowing at all when labor will come or how much it will hurt, etc! The unknown is terrifying.

There's the good & bad. I just can't wait to have this baby! We are NOT ready yet at all though, we have soo much to get, and we haven't started the nursery yet at all. We still have to paint it and put the wallpaper border up, install the crib, get the carpets cleaned, and soo much more!

new nursery theme.

So I went and TOTALLY changed my mind about our nursery/bedding choice. I really liked the "Daniella" choice (shown in the last post below). I feel like I settled on it though, and it was the only one I liked at the store. After searching online for HOURS for crib bedding sets, I found the most BEAUTIFUL damask print nursery set. I'm truly in love this time :)



It also has matching wallpaper I'm going to get. I think I will paint her room the light pink color. I can't wait until she is here!!

22-25 weeks

I'm going to stop doing weekly posts, because not much happens in a week with me OR the development of the baby at this point. Basically, she is just getting bigger and bigger!

I wish I had more interesting things to write, but we did have some exciting things happen the past 3(ish) weeks.

-Last night we went and registered at Babies R Us! It was the funnest thing I've probably ever done! I was so surprised we were done in less than 2 hours. The list of things you need for a baby is quite overwhelming, but I think we listed everything we need.



We finally agreed on a crib bedding set & accessories-I'm pretty in love, it's so elegant and I love the dusty rose pink color, instead of the typical baby pink. This is what our nursery should look somewhat, just imagine it with a white crib!



-I finally broke 120 pounds! Yay. That's a first in my life, lol.

-Steve's cousin Ronda gave us her kids old pack n' play, a jogging stroller, little kid potties, a diaper genie, & plenty of other goodies and must haves. It's so nice knowing so many people that are done having kids :) Thanks Ronda!

-We've done pretty well about not splurging on baby stuff, but every now and then I'll see a really cute bow or flower and I'll snatch it up.

-Doctors appts have been going well but uneventful, no ultrasounds or fun stuff. Just a quick tummy measurement, urine sample, weighing, blood pressure, and done! No news is always good news however :)

-I may have had my first braxton hicks contraction. I felt a really strong tightening in my abdomen that lasted for a few seconds, then it went away. It happened a few times that day, and sometimes were so painful I had to go lay down. Thank goodness I wasn't at work!

-I think that's all for the past few weeks. My bump is getting quite big, I have some pictures that I will post on here, I will try when I get home from work!

{twenty one weeks}

Hey Aubs,

I officially am the worst baby blogger ever! I have to catch up on 2 weeks, and tomorrow I'll be 23 weeks. Oh well! Happy 21 weeks! You are so big, roughly 10.5 inches! That's almost the length of a ruler. Too crazy. You gulp several ounces of amniotic fluid every day, both for hydration and nutrition and to practice swallowing and digesting. And, these days, your taste buds actually work! Studies show that after birth, babies are most interested in tastes they've already experienced through amniotic fluid. I'm quite health conscious, I try to eat mostly whole foods, and not so much stuff out of boxes filled with preservatives. Hopefully you are liking the taste of whole foods, cause that's what you'll be getting growing up! I also learned something shocking this week: Formula's #1 ingredient is CORN SYRUP. Terrible! I barely have the stuff myself. People at the grocery store probably think I'm nuts cause I read every label on every item I pick up! Anyways, my 6-month goal of breastfeeding might just be changed to 12 months after knowing this yucky fact.

So far you've gotten quite a few goodies: Grandma got you your crib, (the cute white one from my post a while back), mom and dad got your car seat, EVERYONE has gotten clothes for you, and grandma also spoiled ME with that adorable diaper bag that I've been drooling over. Your Aunt Sarah has been quite generous and has given you lots of hand me downs from your cousin Grace, and even a changing table! Your room is filling up! Oh, and we also got this amazing leather rocker that is so comfy. That was dad's idea of course. He will probably be in it more than I will! Our next big baby expense will probably be the breast pump, it's pretty much set in stone I'll be working 3 days a week so I will need a good one! The one I want is $300, is it weird to ask for a pump for Christmas? Haha, oh how life changes. :)

Well, little girl, I love feeling your kicks and movements, mostly in the morning and night when I lay on my side. Daddy has yet to feel you, but he's not very patient! Give him a kick in the head next time he lays on my lap, will you?

Love,

Mom

{TWENTY WEEKS!!}

Ohh Aubrey,

20 weeks down. 20 weeks to go. Can this be so? Are we really half way there? Am I really going to meet you in 4 and a half short months? I am SO THRILLED that we are at this milestone. Whenever someone asks how far along I am, I just LOVE saying "Half way done!" SO much better than still being in the "teens".

This week you are the size of a CANTALOUPE. That is...gigantic. Makes me wonder where the rest of my internal organs have gone to make room for you! You are beginning to grow permanent teeth behind your baby teeth. Another milestone: Your genitals have fully formed by this week. :)

Your daddy and I celebrated this week with some favorite things: Dinner, chocolate/white chocolate covered strawberries, and sparking cider in pretty glasses. We are so thrilled to celebrate ANYTHING to do with you!

You had your anatomy ultrasound this past week, and no worries, you are STILL a beautiful little girl. The doctor said all your measurements and weight are text-book perfect! We are so grateful you are developing normally.

We DID, however, have a scare this week. I switched doctors, and my first appt was just looking over my medical records, when my doctor noticed something strange. I have A-negative type blood. (Kind of rare, roughly 10% of Americans have RH-negative..) After you have a miscarriage, you are to get what's called a "Rhogam shot" to prevent RH-incompatibility in your future children, which I had about a week after I miscarried. No biggie right?

Well, he noticed that on my second blood/antibody screening (back in July), I showed a positive result to RH-positive antibodies, which basically means my body could ATTACK my baby's blood if they were to ever mix. (Way to go, Kaiser, for letting me know!) He said if I took another blood test, and it still showed positive antibodies, I would be a high risk pregnancy, and my baby would have to have blood transfusions and all this scary stuff! I would also be sent to a specialist, and possibly would have to have a C-section, pre-term labor, etc! So he ordered the test right away and it came back.....NEGATIVE! Everything is good, and he thinks the Rhogam shot just took a while to work last time. So we're okay, and I'm just a normal pregnancy lady again :) Phew.

Also good news: I found out I don't have gestational diabetes! Woohoo!

Now here's some stats for you, I copied the questions from another baby blog:

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Five whole pounds. My doctor said I'll probably gain less than 20 pounds total, because of my extremely high metabolism. He said it's no biggie, since the baby is growing perfectly. Yay!

How Big is the Baby: The size of a cantaloupe. Humongous, really!

Gender: Princess, angel, GIRL!

Maternity Clothes: Nope, the only thing I can't really fit in is pencil skirts, since they are tight on the waist. Jeans are still ok, but some I have to tie a rubberband around the button.

Best Moment of the Week: Finding out I'm NOT a high risk pregnancy, and I don't have gestational diabetes! Yay!

Stretch Marks: None, please please stay that way? haha.

Movement: Yes, I think she is going to be a little dancer like her mama. I LOVE feeling her move, and it feels nothing like I thought. I never felt the "flutters" or "bubbles", I straight up just started to feel someone moving and turning in me!

Sleep: Just fine all night long..usually in bed and asleep by 10!

What I miss: having an attractive waistline? haha. I don't know, maybe diet coke and cold turkey sandwiches. :(

What I am looking forward to: Meeting my darling Aubrey, my 3-d ultrasound, baby showers, etc!

Symptoms: None really anymore besides my growing belly, and lightheaded-ness.

Food Cravings: candy :)

Belly Button: Still an inny! But starting to surface..

Signs of Labor: Noo, thank goodness!!

{nineteen weeks}

Holy moly you are getting old. This week, a stranger finally recognized I was pregnant. I was excited for this day to come! I was at Steve's work selling gatorade and candy bars at the door, and a lady said "You are having a baby, aren't you?" I smiled really big and said, "So you can tell??" And she said "Definitely". Yay! That made my whole day :)

You have grown so much this week. You are now covered in vernix, a greasy white substance made of lanugo, oil and dead skin cells (gross!) that shields you from the amniotic fluid. Youa re very much in tune with your surroundings, too. You can taste the food I eat, touch the umbilical cord and membrane that surrounds you, and sense my emotions. I will do my best to think happy thoughts and continue doing prenatal pilates to keep us both calm and balanced!

I love you so much and can't wait to see how our lives change once you arrive.

All the love in the world,

Mama

{eighteen weeks}

Dear Aubrey,

I guess I'll start calling you your name. Believe it or not, your daddy came up with this lovely name. This was way back when we were dating, and he just said one day "I want to name our baby Aubrey when we have a girl". I loved it instantly, and every since then, (about 5-6 years ago), that's been your name! Your middle name will be Jane, which I picked myself. I love how it's old fashioned and elegant. You aren't named after anyone or anything, we could never find a family name that we both liked. Sorry guys! :/ But we love your name, and that's what counts. It's special and yours.

This week you are 18 weeks old. So close to the half way point. I plan on celebrating big time on your "hump day", at 20 weeks. I'm thinking white chocolate covered strawberries and sparkling cider, at a park or something, really late at night with your daddy. We like to do romantic things like we're still kids in high school. :)

You are quite mobile these days. NOT that I have felt you yet, but apparently you pass the hours by yawning, hiccupping, rolling, twisting, kicking, punching, sucking, and swallowing. Your ears are now facing forward and are completely formed, so you can hear me. Your sense of smell, taste, sight and hearing all all developing.

Feel free to give me a little punch or kick this week okay? Don't be shy! If you are anything like your mama, you will be dancing around like crazy the moment you can walk. I can't wait to take you to your first mommy and me ballet class. I'm looking forward to so many experiences with you, although daddy thinks you are going to be a WNBA player. I think not!

Love,

Mom

**Thanks for everyone's feedback about breastfeeding by the way!**

{seventeen weeks}

Love Bucket,

Weeks are flying by and you are getting so OLD! You are roughly the size of an onion--over 5 inches long from crown to rump. This week your unique fingerprints develop. That's a pretty exciting milestone because you are beginning to become your own little person in there. I can't wait to get to know you.

I have been feeling really good lately. Not sick, as long as I keep on eating, I have a little more energy than usual, I'm able to get out of bed without rolling out of it like a mommy zombie, and overall I just feel like a normal person. I was wondering if I'd ever feel that way again! Don't get me wrong, I don't look like I used to! I've only gained about 4 pounds, and it's all belly! People can't really tell I'm pregnant probably, but I'm starting to look like it I think. I hope. :)

A lot of people ask me if I'm scared of labor. But right now, I'm honestly not! I'm sure I will be later once it's closer, I tend to not get nervous about things until I'm right there in the situation. But you know what I am terrified of for some reason?




BREASTFEEDING!


Haha, it sounds so silly to be so scared of it. But it's a big goal of mine I want to achieve-and I've known so many that have given up fast on it because it was too hard, or their milk didn't come in, or stuff like that. I will do everything I can to keep with it! I know it's the best thing I can feed Aubrey and I want that mother-baby bond that goes with it. I just know it's very hard for new moms. Plus I might be working a few days a week, and I will have to pump or something on my lunch breaks. Terrifying! And let me tell you, I will NOT be one of those moms that pop their boob out in public. I will have my dainty little hooter hider (like the adorable mom shown above) Anyways, just some thoughts. What are your thoughts on nursing? Is it as hard as it looks? Is it worth it to stick with it? Do you not like nursing, and prefer formula? What about nursing/formula combo? Tell me everything! I love hearing from moms.

Thanks,

Lisa~

seventeen weeks belly.

I'm starting to look pregnant and not like I just had a big lunch, yay!

{sixteen weeks}

Baby girl,

You are so long! You are nearly 5 inches long, as long as an avocado. Your muscles are getting stronger and your bones are getting harder by the day, so I may be able to feel you boppin' around in there very soon! Maybe even as early as this week. I can't wait for that moment! No matter where I am, I will probably shout for joy! Unless it's in the middle of sacrament meeting or something :)

I love the fact that you can hear my voice now. I will try to start singing to you, it's supposed to be a comfort for when you are born, and you will recognize my voice. How sweet are you! We bought you your first present--(not counting the several outfits we have gotten!). My sister in law gave us a 25% off coupon to Babies R Us, and we had to use it on either a crib, bassinet, car seat, or stroller. I didn't plan on getting any of this "big" stuff yet, since I'll be having baby showers, but 25% is quite a chunk off of something that is pricy. So we got you an adorable car seat. Heres a picture of it:

I know I will probably regret getting a girl only car seat, because we obviously couldn't use it for a boy! But I fell in love with it as I do so many baby girl items, and who knows? What if you are my only baby girl I will ever have? I want to live it up with all the pink and flowers :)

Anyways, thanks for being such a princess and not making me sick anymore. I've actually been cooking and cleaning as much as I used to when I was a good little housewife. Steve appreciates it too! He's going to be such a good daddy for you, if he takes care of you half as good as he takes care of me, you will still be the luckiest little girl in the world! Love you.

Love

The mama

{our baby furniture picks}

I've been looking at baby furniture since, well.... the day we starting trying to conceive--which was well over a year ago! We finally have decided on our future princess's nursery furniture, and some other fun things too :)

The Crib. "Graco Victoria" in white. I love it's 5 star safety rating, the low price, it's elegant features, and how it turns into a toddler bed, and regular bed! (And we already have a mattress for it thanks to my wonderful sister in law!)



The changing table/dresser. "South shore" changing table and dresser combo. Just what I wanted, to kill two birds with one stone! I love how you can stick your diapers and wipes in the cubbies, and stick linens or clothes in the drawers below! Oh, and it's freakin' adorable :)



Bassinet. "Burlington baby bassinet in white". I love the ruffles, and wicker baskets that come with it below. It also comes with a blue bow so you can use it for a boy in the future! It's dreamy.


The diaper bag. I don't think I really need to explain myself here, this bag has me written all over it! And at $30.00 on amazon, I won't feel bad having to buy another one if we have a boy in the future.


We still haven't found crib bedding, or a car seat/stroller we both like, but we have plenty of time to stalk Babies R Us and Goore's. :)

We are having a....

If you are my friend on facebook, or have seen me the past week, you know we are having a baby...



GIRL!

Might as well type the whole blog post in pink! I can't express how surprised and thrilled I am to be having a daughter. We SWORE it was a boy, from what our nurse said, to the intelligender test, and Steve have so many boys in his family. We were already even starting to buy boy clothes!!


I can gush on and on all day about this. I think the reason I'm most excited is because it was a such a SURPRISE! When the U/S tech was rubbing the wand thing on my belly, I just started searching for a penis! When I saw three distinct lines in between the legs, I knew RIGHT then I was going to have a girl. I asked him how sure he was, and he said "Oh, 100%, no doubts at all.". I instantly starting laughing and crying happy tears--one of the best moments of my life for sure :) I looked instantly at Steve and he had the huge smile on his face, and I knew he was just as thrilled. He gave me the biggest hug and kiss after the ultrasound tech left the room.


I'm just so excited for the tutus, the polka dots, the pigtails, the SHOPPING, the dresses, but most importantly the mother-daughter bond that I enjoy sharing with my own mom.

I love you, our princess Aubrey Jane Williams!

{15 weeks}--late! :(

** So I am really writing this post at 16 weeks and 1 day cause I fail at pregnancy blogging**

Dearest baby of mine,

Happy 15 week old birthday! I'm, as usual, thrilled to know you are still hangin around in my tummy. "Tomorrow" would have been the day I find out your gender! I was so anxious and excited all day and couldn't sleep the night before at all!

I've been feeling much better lately and can finally say it feels like the second trimester is being good to me. Maybe I will gain a pound or two in the next coming weeks since I can eat much better now, and fall is coming. Pot roast. Potatoes. Mmmmm!

As far as you and your baking process: This week you are about 4 inches long and weight a little over 2 ounces. You continue inhaling and exhaling amniotic fluid (Yum!), which will help the air sacs in your lungs develop. Your muscles are strengthening, and all four limbs now have functional joints. I may start feeling movement next week! I can't wait until I feel that "bubbling" or "fish-like" movement everyone is preparing me for! And soon enough you will be kicking me in the ribs. Yay!

Well, back to work the mama goes..

Love you!

My lemon,

We are getting soo much closer to the half way point. Maybe that's when it will all feel real? Or perhaps when I feel you move for the first time, that has got to be amazing. Or maybe when our ultrasound tech says "It's a boy!" or maybe even "It's a girl!" I think the only time it will really feel real is the second you are in our arms!

This weel you are about the size of a lemon. You're starting to produce your own blood cells and insulin and your body might b e covered by a layer of downy hair called lanugo. You can squint, frown, grimace, and even suck your thumb!

Next Friday, we will hopefully find out your gender. We are going to Sonotech, a place that does ultrasounds for mommies that don't have patience. I still feel like you are a boy, but knowing for sure will be that much more exciting! And I get 10 pictures of you, AND a dvd of the ultrasound! Amazing.

I still get waves of nausea here and there, mostly if I haven't eaten in a while. I try to snack often, but nothing seems to satisfy you! One thing you apparently do NOT like is chicken. I can't even think about chicken. EWW! Another thing, I haven't gained yet one pound yet. I feel like I should have by now. Any prior mamas know when this should be happening? THanks!

Well, your daddy and I sure love you! We talk about you alll the time, and you have soo many family and friends that already love you.

Love,

Mama

{thirteen weeks}

Ohh how I love peaches! I was so excited to see you were the size of a peach! I just wrote my 12 weeks blog about 3 days ago, so it feels funny writing so soon, but I love knowing we've made it another week. Weeks are really starting to fly by, now that we're not in the scary part of pregnancy.

You are nearly three inches this week. Your teeth and vocal cords are forming, although I'm thankful that they are not functional at this point. :) The size of your tiny body is slowly but surely catching up with the size of your head, and from now on you'll just concentrate on getting bigger.

So I'm going to admit an embarrassing secret! There is a test on the market these days called Intelligender. It is a first morning urine test that is supposedly 80% accurate in predicting whether you are a boy or a girl. I caved and bought the test even though I told myself I wasn't going to. If the test is accurate, you are a little boy! Although I know there's a chance it could be wrong, I'm still so thrilled and excited at what you MIGHT be. :) Daddy & I don't agree on anything boy--names, nursery ideas, anything! We will hopefully find out for sure what you are two weeks from today, at a place called Sonotech in Roseville. They can see you much earlier than the usual 20 weeks, and they even give you a dvd and 10 pictures. Much better than what Kaiser has to offer!!

No matter what you are, we are so excited to have you in our arms! Whether you are wrapped in a pink or a blue blanket, we have always wanted more than one of each gender so we are thrilled to take whatever! If only they did 13 week gender ultraounds ;)

Love,
Mom

{twelve weeks}

I thought this day would never come, really! (Actually it came about four days ago, but I've been too tired to post!) I have been waiting to say I was done with the first trimester for months and months. I know technically the end of this week is really the second trimetser, but this is good and close enough to me!

So exciting stuff: I heard your PERFECT heartbeat last Tuesday. My N.P. said you sound like a boy, and estimated the heart rate to be about 145 bpm! (Apparently the slower the heart rate, the bigger chance it's a boy) I asked her if that was just an old wive's tale, and she said it is, but it is sometimes statistically true. So I get all excited of course and start looking at little boy nursery ideas just for fun. I had bought a cheapie doppler on amazon.com so I could hear my little plum's heartbeat whenever I wanted, and I wanted to see if she was right about the 145 bpm, and ummm, I think she was way off! Every time I have used the doppler, it has always been above 155 (which according to online is in the "girl" range). Anyways, yes I know it's probably all a myth, but it's still fun to think about!

More about you: You have shifted into the growth and maturation stage! After weeks of critical development, almost all of your systems are fully formed. Wow. Now all you have to do is grow, grow grow!! I'd like you to be a bit bigger than a plum when you join the world, okay? You can now move spontaneously, suck your thumb, and even get hiccups! How cute.

About mama: I finally feel like I'm getting out of that ugly pooch stage, and my baby bump is becoming more hard instead of, soft and mushy. Which is completely fine with me! I've started a pregnancy workout dvd, and it feels SOOO good to work out. It's definitely harder to work out than it used to be, but it's supposed to keep the baby healthier, labor easier, and make it easier to "bounce back" after the baby is born, although I have said my sweet goodbyes to my 25 inch waistline, cause I don't expect that to come back. ;)

It's such a big week for us. I love knowing you are nestled safely in my tummy and with me all the time. I love protecting you and changing my life and habits to accomodate you.

You are the best thing I've had a hand in making.

Love,
Your mama!

**Baby bump picture to come soon, I'm at work right now :)**

{eleven weeks}

I can't believe you have been growing for 11 weeks! We are one week away from the end of the first trimester, the huge milestone for which I have been holding my breath since the very beginning of your dear, little life. I have been quite skiddish with this pregnancy, after having my miscarriage, but I'm glad to say the "statistical" miscarriage time frame is coming to an end.

This week you are nearly 2.5 inches, the size of a lime! I could hold you in the palm of my hand. Your nail beds are forming--you have skin--and even hair follicles! Such big stuff. Keep on growing and getting cuter :)

So yesterday I fainted while getting ready. I hadn't eaten breakfast yet (I usually don't eat it until I'm at work), and I started feeling funny. Good thing I have fainted several times before and know what to expect! I told Steve I knew I was going to faint and next thing I know he had laid me on the couch. I have no idea what I would have done if he wasn't there! I guess from now on I need to wake up and get straight to the kitchen to eat! Other than that, the nausea is slowly going away! Woohoo! I get to hear your little heartbeat Tuesday, which I am thrilled about! And only 26 days until I find out your gender..too many things to be excited about!

I love you, you little lime you.

I swear I'm usually not this white, but this is the day I fainted so I was a little pale. Oh and don't ask why I'm facing two different ways. I'll blame Steve!

GLee Cast - You're Having My Baby (HQ)

So I watched this on Glee last night and totally sobbed! It's such a sweet song, and Finn has a dreamy voice. I imagine it's my Stevie singing these words to me :)

{ten weeks}

My big prune baby!

I can't believe you have been inside me for ten weeks and we are one quarter done with this pregnancy! So amazing. 30 more weeks and you will be in my arms. This week, your kidneys, lungs, genitals, and the gastrointestinal tract are all present, though far from fully formed. Your bones are beinning to form in your arms and legs, and soon you'll be kicking and punching me. I can't wait. Your body length will amost double in the next three weeks. Whoa, that's a lot of growing!

How has mom been doing? I've been very busy opening a new dental office. So many things to set up and get going before patients come in. It's a beautiful office though, and I love working there with fantastic coworkers! Nothing new has been going on symptom wise really--my gums have started to get a little sore though. I'm one of the 1% of Americans that floss everyday, so I can't imagine if I didn't how badly they would hurt!

I find myself being a very lazy housewife. If I were an actual housewise that stays home all day, then I'd be amazing! But after an 8 hour work day and a piano student here and there, all I want to do is eat and sleep and cuddle with Steve at the end of the day. Steve has been so sweet about making me dinners and even carrying me to bed when the occasion calls. Our baby is going to be so lucky to have a dad like him, he's such a sweetheart.

Well my little nutrient sucking parasite love, I will see you next week, when you are 11 weeks! The weeks are flying by! Pretty soon we'll know if you are a boy or girl and will be buying out all of Pottery Barn Kids! I love you even more than I did last week, which was quite a lot.

Love,

The mama!



My boss asked me today if I was sure I wasn't having twins.

{2nd ultrasound appt}

Our beautiful little girl/guy at 8w4d! The appointment was just so incredible, it's grown so much in just two weeks! The doctor said everything is progressing great, and next visit we get to hear the heartbeat with a doppler! Our little "it" was swimming around the whole time and waving at us. Soo cute!

Thank you for all your sweet comments on my blog! I love you guys for reading it and being excited for me :)

{nine weeks}

My sweet little olive,

Congratulations! Today you graduate from an embryo to a fetus! You are already growing up so fast :( You are well on your way to being a full fledged baby! You may be the tiniest little thing, but you sure have found a huge place in your mom and dad's hearts.

You are now an inch long. Your eyes, previously open, will now close and become covered with a membrane lid until you are about 28 weeks old. Enjoy your nice, long sleep..I wish I could join you, I could certainly use a 5 month nap! Your muscles are beginning to form and you make lots of tiny involuntary movements. I can't wait to be able to feel you boppin' around in there. Your facial features are becoming more developed this week as well. I wonder if you will have my high cheekbones, or perhaps daddy's luscious lips? This weel is when sex characteristics begin to assert themsevles (although an ultrasound won't be able to detect specific sex organs quite yet) I am so excited to find out if you are a boy or a girl.

I think about you every day. At this point it's difficult to picture what you look like, but just the idea of you makes Daddy and I the happiest we've ever been in our lives.

All my love,
Mama

{eight weeks}

Raspberry baby!

How cute are you! On an email I got this week, it also said you are the size of a gummy bear, but that seemed a little weird to me so we will stick with the raspberry! I can't wait until your next appointment on Tuesday, I get to have ANOTHER picture of you, and you will be a little bigger (I hope), and hopefully your heart is still beating strongly. I have a good feeling it is though, because you have made me sooo sick this week. You are like a little parasite, sucking away all my energy and nutrients. You can take anything you need, you are totally worth it.

This week, your little webbed fingers and toes are starting to poke out, and eyelids almost cover your whole eyes! Your little "tail" is almost gone, thank goodness, cause reading that made me feel like we conceived a tadpole for a while there. Anyways, you are an angel baby for the most part so far, thanks for giving momma LOTS of symptoms so she won't worry too much.

How am I feeling? Still nauseous day and night, still napping on the daily, and still feeling dizzy. I can handle that though, I know some women that are puking all day, so I could definitely be worse off.


Wore the wrong shirt to show baby belly progress, but didn't feel like changing!

7 week baby bump

Is it just me or am I growing at quite a fast pace for being so early in the pregnancy? This is me before dinner, not pushing out! 5 weeks ago my waist measured at a petite 25 in. It is now a solid 30 in. at 7 weeks 3 days! I'm not complaining, I'm all about the baby bump! :)

Symptoms & more Symptoms

I can't really complain about all the symptoms I've gotten the past week...I was the one that wanted them! I was so worried of how un-pregnant I felt that I literally prayed that I would feel more pregnant, and boy, were my prayers answered this past week!

1.) I thought I was tired the past month. No. I didn't know what tired was until this week. I literally cannot get out of bed in the morning sometimes. I've been late to work almost every day this week, and I take a nap every single night when I get home from work. Working full time does a number on a pregnant woman.

2.) Nausea! I threw up for the first time on Monday. I wasn't sure if it was just nerves due to my appointment, but after the appointment the nausea continued and is still here to this day. I haven't thrown up since, but if I ever go without food too long I feel rather pukey. Again, I prayed for it so I can't complain lol.

3.) Dizzy! I'm not sure if I'm anemic or what, but every time I get up from laying/sitting down, I have to do so verry slowly, or I'm afraid I'm going to pass out. This is quite tricky at work, when I have to rush to the back to tell a doctor/assistant an urgent message. It's quite a process, but hopefully it will soon pass.

4.) You already probably saw my breast augmentation blog, but my goodness..I never thought I'd see the day when I fill out a B-cup bra! I know this is still considered very small, but when you have a been an A-cup your whole life, you can only imagine the excitement I am feeling right now! :)

5.) Sense of smell--this one kind of goes a long with the nausea, but I can smell someone's bad breath from across a room I swear! Also, a patient came in that had just smoked a cigarette, and I was helping them, and I literally had to take a big step back and put my hand over my nose. They probably thought I was so rude, but hey, I think they are rude for smoking!

That's all the new ones this week, who knows what more this pregnancy will bring! :)

{seven weeks}

My little blueberry,

You have doubled in size once again! First off, I wanted to thank you sooo much for showing your cute little blobby self on the ultrasound on Monday, and beating your heart nice and strong! Your picture is hanging on our fridge, the screensaver of my phone, and screensaver on our computer. You are quite the celebrity these days, and we truly can't wait to meet you. Hopefully we get to find out what you are in 9 weeks, when you are 16 weeks old. We might even go to a special place that does really early gender scans to find out what you are before Kaiser will let us know. We will splurge for you anyday :)

This week you are developing the color of your eyes..crazy! Will you have your daddy's beautiful deep green eyes? (I hope I hope!) or mama's brownie colored eyes? You will be adorable either way! Who knows, maybe you will even get blue eyes, which are popular in Steve's family. When I picture you, I picture you with really dark hair and really light eyes. :)


Love,

Your mommy


**Belly pic to come, Steve hasn't been home today to take it**

{ultrasound}

My ultrasound was wonderful! There is a baby with a heartbeat, everything I've always wanted to see on an ultrasound!! I cried, I laughed, I squeezed Steve's hand, and it was p u r e bliss.


Here's our very first picture of our sweet baby. It's heartbeat was around 120-130, which the dr said is on the lower side, which hints towards a boy :)

six weeks.

My sweet "pea",

I can't believe you are six weeks old today! You are literally the size of a pea, my sweet pea! This week you have made mommy feel so tired, by the time she finishes getting ready for work in the morning she is ready for a nap!

We are less than 1 week away from seeing you for the first time. I'm so excited to see you as a blob pulsing with a heartbeat on a screen, you are so much more than a blob to me and your daddy :) I hope you are as healthy as ever and the doctor can find you quickly.

You are growing like crazy this week. You are about 10,000 times the size you were at conception, you are a GENIUS BABY! You are growing eyes, ears, nose cheeks, and have little hands and feet, webbed like a frog. Your heart is growing rapidly as well--please make sure it's loud and clear for Monday's appointment.

I love your little beating heart so much it hurts.

Love,
Mama

No growing still, just bloated as ever :)

Umm..

Did someone sneak into my house last night and perform breast augmentation on me?


I could get used to this!



:)

5 weeks.

Dear Little One,

You are 5 weeks old today! Well, you’ve been growing for 5 weeks, but we didn’t even know about you until last week. As you will know when you are old enough, we worked very hard to create you. You’ll never wonder if you were unexpected or a mistake; I hope you will always know how much we loved you before you even existed!

Although you are no bigger than an appleseed and don’t look like much more than a tadpole right now, you are already starting to form major organs (heart, kidney, liver, stomach) and systems (nervous, circulatory, digestive). You are already the most amazing thing I’ve ever created.

In 1 1/2 weeks we have your first ultrasound. I can’t wait to see a picture of you and make sure that everything’s progressing the way that it should. In the meantime, it’s very hard not to worry about you. You’re no bigger than an appleseed and I already want to protect you more than anything.

So, have a great week in there! I love you and I can’t wait to watch you grow.

All the love in the world,

Mama

Mama's already bloated belly at 5 weeks.

glow.

I seem to get more tired and hungry every single day! I'm feeling a little bit more positive the past few days, and the thought of miscarriage is off my mind! I just need to have some patience, July 12th WILL come eventually so I can finally know if this is a healthy pregnancy. It's kind of funny, because as soon as I got my positive pregnancy test, I was thrilled, however I felt like I shouldn't really celebrate until my ultrasound.

I've been reading so many pregnancy books and I have weekly emails sent to me about the baby's growth and what's going on in my body. Can I just say--women's bodies are AMAZING! I think I might get a subscription to a pregnancy magazine, something to look forward to in the mail each month :)

Tomorrow I will be five weeks, and I will post my first belly picture. Although I know I am wayy early and the baby is barely the size of a sesame seed, my uterus has doubled in size and I have much more blood than usual in my body. So no, I definitely don't have a bump yet, but I feel like when I try to suck in, nothing changes. Just like a really bloated feeling all the time. Ohh how I'm savoring each and every small pregnancy symptom as they come.

10 more days until my dr's appt, if you don't count today or that day of course :)

don't you worry.

I'm feeling nervous today. I made the stupid mistake of googling things about chances of having a second miscarriage and stuff like that, and I don't like the results too much. I know I need to stay positive because there is nothing I can do to change anything, and stress isn't good for pregnancy, but it's so hard to fathom the idea of having to miscarry again.

It literally was the worst experience of my life. I haven't been through much in my short 21 years, so that was definitely major, and terrible. I think I did okay with it, I only took off about 2 days of work and I was back and fine. But those 2-3 days going through it were torture. I know miscarriages are very, VERY common, especially in first pregnancies. But honestly, nothing can make you feel better when you are going through it. It's just sad, depressing, and nothing you can do about it but wait.

I wish I could just make the next two weeks zoom by so I could have my appointment and be relaxed and just KNOW! But for now, I will just try my best not to worry and stay positive. And pray, pray pray.

Feelin quite POSITIVE!

So today I got my positive pregnancy test! (Yes, I took like 4!) I'm extremely giddy and can't stop smiling, and nothing gets me in a bad mood! (I know, this probably won't last too long) I feel SO incredibly grateful to have gotten pregnant so fast after my miscarriage last March, I know Heavenly Father is aware of me and I have probably said a million prayers of gratitude in my head today!!

As far as the technical stuff: My LMP was 5-24-10, which would mean I am about 4 weeks along. I scheduled my first prenatal visit for exactly 7 weeks. I was born without patience! I'm very anxious to go to this appointment, last 3 times I've been to prenatal appointments I've left crying. I'm hoping and praying this is a healthy, normal pregnancy, but I really do have a good feeling about this one.

I decided to wait to make my "big announcement" until we go for an ultrasound and a baby is seen! So in about 3 weeks approx. is when anyone will be reading this :)

Symptoms: Hungry, alllll day long. Tired, alllll day long. Going to bed earlier and earlier each night. I got a zit today, something that NEVER happens. I was excited and called it my baby zit. (Yes I'm a dork) Other than that, I feel normal, course I'm only one month in.

My estimated due date via whattoexpect.com: March 3, 2011. :D