Buddy Felt Her Move!

As of 10 p.m. last night, May 24, Buddy felt her move for the first time! She was moving a lot when I was lying down on my back so I put my hand on my stomach first to see if I could feel it on the outside and I did. So then I put Buddy's hand on my stomach where I felt the movement, below my bellybutton, and he felt her move three times! I turned and said, "Did you feel that?" and he said "Uh huh" with the most concentrated and trying-to-contain-the-excitement look on his face. It was a special moment for the three of us and especially the daddy-to-be! So glad that mile marker has come, now just waiting on the actual kicks to kick-in and the inevitable fact that everyone else will be touching my stomach trying to feel her move now too.

Word to the wise for everyone else...I will let you know if she is moving. I will put your hand on my stomach if I want you to feel it. So please try to retrain the sudden urges to touch my protruding belly at random times....especially in public! Your cooperation will be greatly appreciated.

Papaya

At week 22 our little girl is the size of a papaya and probably between 10-12 inches long (that's half way there). It is beginning to get tighter in there so she will soon have to keep the summersaults to a minimum and the minor adjustments in check. She can also hear things now like my voice and outside noises like music. And I think we have a little dancer/musician/vocalist on our hands because she was going crazy last night during the choir concert! Movin' and a grovin' in there during the up-tempo songs and slowing it down for the worship songs. It was strange to feel her move so much, but I am getting more use to it and more excited when she starts up.

Buddy tried to feel her move last night when she was dancing, but she stopped whenever his hand was on my stomach. I think it is the heat from his hand, it probably soothes her and calms her down. But I know he can't wait to feel it, so I try to put his hand on my stomach whenever she is moving a lot. Since she is sleeping in regular intervals now (12-14 hours a day) and is active in regular intervals, hopefully he will get his first kick sometime soon. I haven't figured out yet what her intervals are, but I am planning on documenting them once I get it figured out.

Oh and we picked out a name...but we have only told family so far. Maybe we will let it slip on the blog in a few days or weeks.

This Baby Is Making Me Uncomfortable!

So at only 21 weeks I.....

a) Can't seem to catch my breath
b) Can't cross my legs without feeling light-headed and fainty
c) Can't get comfortable to sleep (even with my mommy boppy, that Buddy nicknamed "The Blob" and if I didn't already feel like I belonged at the Heavyweights fat camp, that just did!)
d) Don't want to sit, I don't want to walk, I don't want to lie down.....Ah nothing is comfortable!
e) Have acne everywhere! Why could I not get clear skin for once in my life? Why? It is a curse I have to bare....and it's totally not fair!
f) Can already tell summer is going kick my butt, my tan is going to suffer because of the heat, I'm not going to feel pretty and I am going to be in a bad mood for the next four months, Congratulations Buddy!

Just wanted to keep you all up-to-date with how I am feeling and doing. :) And it is my prayer that once I have our baby girl all the complaining that I did will vanish at the sight of her and I will feel it was all worth it for her. And that the rest of you (Megan, Brianne, Ashley, Marla, Sarah, Becca, etc.) will go through the same things I am!

But seriously, I appreciate all of the support and kind words when I am feeling awful (fat, not pretty, uncomfortable, acne everywhere and the list goes on and on). I could not do it without you all, and I am so blessed that my baby girl will have so many aunts/other mothers that love her almost as much as I do (and that buy her things of course!) I love you all, thanks so much for everything so far and everything in the future in case I forget to thank you then!

Banana

So....according to thebump.com my baby is a banana this week, but last week she was a cantaloupe. What? Obviously others had this question because on the message board we were informed that the sizes are not based on roundness or weight, but my length. So a banana is longer than a cantaloupe, but I think these comparisons are stupid! Another fun fact and weird jump, doctors stop measuring the baby from head to rump and now start measuring from head to foot, so if it looked like the length number got a lot bigger it's because of the change in measurement, not that she is growing THAT fast.

I am getting more and more uncomfortable, especially in church! Those seats and pews are uncomfortable and I am always HOT! I never I thought I would say that in Sherwood, but I am saying it now! My back has begun to hurt when I lay down so my first stop after work is Target to buy a mommy boppy. (thanks Jay for the suggestion) Hopefully that will help alleviate some of my pain and discomfort....I hope.

19 more weeks feels like a long time, but we have a lot to do before she gets here and I am sure we will need all of those weeks and weekends to prepare! We have signed up for childbirth classes and will be taking a Saturday crash course on July 31. We decided we would rather just do it in one sitting rather than have it drag out for 6 weeks.

Hopefully we can start on the nursery this week/weekend and at least have it cleaned out and primed so we can paint the next week. I think I am going to do navy and pink, take a look at my inspiration, I think you will like it as much as I did!

I actually found this same fabric at Joann's!

20 Weeks Ultrasound

Purposely scheduled on Buddy's 24th birthday, we went for our 20 week ultrasound yesterday! I really love these appointments because I actually get to she her wiggling around on the screen. It makes it so much more real, because when your pregnant and people tell you what's going on inside of you it's hard to grasp (kind of like there is no beginning and no end to God...yeah that hard). But when you see the baby on that screen you can grasp (to some minor extent) that there is an actual BABY growing inside of YOU and it is kind of amazing and mind blowing all over again.

Here is her perfect face. I already think she is going to have Buddy's lips.

Here she is turning over, perfect picture of her tiny arm.

I hope you all can see it, but her foot is in the top left hand corner....under where it says foot.

I am feeling her move more and more. Sometimes it feels like she did a summersalt other times it just feels like she made a small adjustment. Buddy puts his hand on my stomach and tries to feel it, but it will be a few more weeks before he will be able to feel it on the outside. That makes him sad, but it is sweet to see how disappointed he is that he can't feel it yet. I know he is going to be a great dad....more certain than I am about my mothering skills. I am counting on that cosmic inlightening that comes once she is born that everyone says you get....it better come because right now I am clueless!

Week 20, Half Way There!

Half way there! This is a very exciting day, but also kind of scary. Half way through pregnancy and fatness...good! Half way till I have to take care of a baby and raise it to be a good person...scary! But I know I will not be doing this on my own. Not only do I have Buddy, I have a wealth of wisdom from all my Moms (my Mom, Mrs. Shelia, Mrs. Kathy, Mrs. Mary Miller, etc.) and the Lord constantly by my side with every step that I take. I think with all of that I am going to make it...I hope.

Well she has graduated from a mango to a cantaloupe. That was a pretty large leap in fruit comparison size this week, so I am not sure how accurate this actually is, because I really don't feel like I am carrying a cantaloupe yet. She is now swallowing amniotic fluid so she can practice digesting and for nutrition and her little taste buds are actually working so she can taste (some what) what I eat. And studies have shown that babies like to eat things they have "tasted" before, so if I want my baby to eat the fruit over the fries that means I have to start making that switch. It is going to be hard!

Also baby has unofficially gotten another Uncle this past weekend! Mark proposed to Victoria, and shocker she said yes! So hopefully she will have some red-headed cousins to play with in the future. We really are excited that we have another piece of the family puzzle in place and we are even more excited that it is our long-time friend Mark Lane!

Oh! And we have another ultrasound this week on Wednesday, so be looking for another post on Thursday morning with new pictures and possible video footage!

19 Weeks Belly

Ok here you go! I know it took longer than expected, but late is better than never! And this picture really shows that with my protruding belly, I really have no butt at all. :( After baby comes I need to hit the gym and do some squats! Maybe I will post a naked belly picture later....maybe. (And by "naked" I mean just my belly not the rest of me)

Mango

It's week 19 now and she has moved on from sweet potato to mango....not that, that seems like a big difference. But she is almost 6 inches long and probably weights about half a pound, so she's got some serious growing to do before September! But at least she has entered the pound measurement (even if it is just a half) because those ounce measurements were con-fu-sing me!

Update on the mom-to-be: Well let me see where to start...
1. I broke my tailbone about 3 weeks ago (slipped on my bridesmaid dress at a wedding and busted it on the dance floor, the fall didn't hurt at all, but my tailbone is still making life uncomfortable)

2. After JUST getting over the most extensive attack of poison ivy I have ever had...it decides to come back for round two! Yeah I have it AGAIN, hopefully it won't be as bad as last time, but it is still showing up ALL OVER...AGAIN! And no I haven't been out in the yard...but Buddy has. I'm not pointing fingers, I'm just saying. :/

3. My belly is starting to stick out very prominently now...so I will have to put a picture up this week. Buddy keeps reminding me, so hopefully we can get that done tonight.

4. I received the first glimpse of what summer will be like for me yesterday at church. I look over at Ashley and say, "They have got to turn on the air, it is so HOT and STUFFY up here" and she says "I'm comfortable"....well great I can't breathe and I'm sweating...great the summer is going to be awesome! At least it is better than winter...right?

Well I guess that's about it other than I feel a little tired this morning and a little sick, but that will soon pass I hope. But it is rainy today and all I want to do is go crawl up in my bed and sleep, sleep, sleep but I have to work, work, work.