38 weeks.

38 weeks??
That is like, full term baby we're talking!

Updates on the past few weeks:

• Had two more baby showers, one thrown by my inlaws and one from work. They were very fun, Aubrey is such a loved girl already by so many people!
  

• I don't have a belly pic, shame on me! It hasn't gotten too much bigger though, still the same inches around from 3 weeks ago..(and still no stretch marks! woohoo! Still got time though...)
  

• I got "checked" the past few weeks, 36 & 37 weeks he said my cervix was hard as a rock, and no dilation, today at my dr's appt he said my cervix is starting to soften! Yay, at least there's some progress.

• I have a bunch of braxton hicks contractions every night before bed, it is so exciting to feel that tightening and knowing my body is practicing for the big day!

• We are done with all our classes, I've learned so much from them, breastfeeding was my favorite. I feel much more prepared now.
  

• People always ask me, "Are you just READY to be done?" Honestly, no! I feel completely fine, still working full time...thank goodness! I would be completely miserable if I were sitting at home twiddling my thumbs all day waiting to go into labor.
  

• Although it hasn't hit me yet that I'M HAVING A BABY IN LESS THAN TWO WEEKS, I'm very excited for her arrival!
  

A peek inside the nursery..

Sorry about the terrible lighting, but here's our finished princess's room!

35 weeks.

I am 35 weeks & 2 days as of today! Here's some highlights of the last two weeks.

-I had my lovely baby shower, which has a post for itself!
-Aubrey's nursery is FINISHED! Pictures soon to come.
-Got my maternity pictures taken, my dad did an awesome job. Steve was even a good sport and joined in on some.
-Packed my hospital bag! I'm keeping it pretty simple: Travel size shower/hygiene stuff, outfit for Aubrey to come home in, blanket for her to come home in, camera charger, snacks, cozy socks, nursing bras/breastfeeding stuff, & I can't really remember what else!
-Steve has graciously assembled ALL of the baby stuff-swing, stroller/carseat, bassinet..it's all ready to be used!
-I did our baby girls first couple loads of laundry, everything newborn & 0-3 months is ready and safe to be born, along with all her blankies & sheets. Soo exciting, and soo real!
-Childbirth classes are still going very well, I love learning all about labor and what's involved. I'm really looking forward to the breastfeeding class, I want to do whatever I can to prepare!
-My doctor measured me and thinks Aubrey is about 4 and a half pounds right now, which is on the small but still healthy side. He thinks based on my size and weight gain so far I will have a six pounder on my hands. Yay! NOT complaining.
-Next dr's visit, at 36 weeks I get to start getting "checked", where the doctor checks to see how effaced/dilated I am. Exciting! Scary!
-Aubrey has hiccups about twice a day, poor girl. I hate having hiccups so it can't be that much fun for her either I'm sure.
-Still no back pain, contractions, or trouble sleeping--I think the girls in my childbirth class want to punch me sometimes :)

2 more weeks until I'm "full term". I don't see me delivering early, so I'm still counting on March 3rd, (give or take a few) to meet our princess.

Baby Shower

My baby shower was SO beautiful and special. My mom did such an amazing job! She made delectable tri tip sandwiches for the lunch, and the decorations as you can see by the pictures were to die for! I'm so grateful for all the wonderful friends & family that came. Aubrey is one spoiled girl, she got sooo many baby necessities & even more cute outfits. I'm getting so anxious to meet her!

33 weeks.

Mama is getting big! I guess pregnancy life has been eventful lately. At least more than usual.

-I found out I have gestational diabetes. I had passed my first blood test back at 20 weeks, but apparently my numbers were a little too high after I drank the glucose drink thing at 28 weeks. I was surprised at first because I eat like a saint, but the doctor said it's probably because I'm such a petite girl my pancreas can't produce enough insulin! Soo I have to test my blood sugar a few times a day to make sure they aren't high, and the numbers have been good.

-My doctor basically said to count on a C-section if I have a baby 8 lbs or over because of the lack of width of my hips! I really don't see that happening, but you never know! I've known pretty small girls that have had 9 pounders! Oh! And my dr also said he doesn't let his GD patients go past their due date usually, so I definitely have a chance of being induced on March 3rd. Wowza!

-We started taking childbirth classes, thanks to my lovely friend Shawna! She got me all signed up for free. I love them, they are soo informational and I love to know everything about labor I can. Steve has been way supportive too, and is just about the only guy in the class that isn't afraid to raise his hand and ask questions.

-I have baby showers coming up! I can't wait to celebrate-in pink!

-I feel great, I felt bad at child birth class because we all go around the room and talk about how our week was, all the girls have miserable back aches and get up to pee 5 times a night, and there I was with not one thing to complain about except an occasional prick of the finger because of my GD. I've been really, really lucky and I'm starting to notice it more and more. I think I got this 3 more times :)

-Still haven't gained more than 11 pounds-yikes! It's so hard to gain more when I'm basically cutting out most sugar and carbs. Goal is to gain ten more pounds, I'm sure I can do it!

-I am SO pro-epidural. Just sayin'. Good for you if you can do it all natural, but I really don't think I'll feel like "more of a woman" either way. Just being able to grow this baby inside of me is womanly enough for me, lol!


Aubrey is kicking and moving around more and more, it's really easy to see. I rub my belly like Buddha all day at work, I love having her so close to me all the time! In 7 short weeks I'm going to meet my baby girl and I cannot believe how fast time has gone.

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