Getting Bigger!

I’ve been feeling pretty walrus-y lately.  My sister lovingly and kindly reminds me that I am doomed to become much bigger. I’m starting to move into that third trimester period when you feel like the blueberry girl on Willy Wonka. My first clue today was when I couldn’t fit into the bathroom stall at a restaurant.  I couldn’t fit through the door because my belly kept getting in the way. Not a great self-esteem booster for the preggy people of the world.   To be fair, though, it was a ridiculously TINY bathroom.  But, I’ve lost sight of my feet when I stand up straight, so there is a mile marker for you!  Other than my ever-increasing waistline, pregnancy has been going fairly smoothly.  Baby has been waking me up for the past two days bopping around.  It’s a sweet feeling that continues to amaze me.  I did have a crazy allergic reaction to scented lotion that broke out my arms like a bad case of poison ivy.  Getting a hormonal pregnant lady itchy is bad news bears.  That lasted about a week, and I’ve had to invest in all organic, non-scented products.  Hopefully it won’t happen again!

I think the best thing you can do for yourself when pregnant is investing in a full body pregnancy pillow.  They wrap around your body and keep you on your side (which you have to be), keep you belly elevated, and your legs separated.  Honestly I would use one if I wasn’t pregnant, but being pregnant is a good excuse to buy one.  I know they are expensive, but seriously, just DO IT! You will not regret it as you grow bigger. I’ve also been using Palmers cocoa butter lotion.  It’s not technically organic, but it has been incredibly gentle on my sensitive skin and I haven’t gotten any stretch marks yet.

I’m going to start creating my pre-baby bucket list for the summer. Anyone else have one? I’ll be sure to share after it’s finished!

How far along? 26 weeks

Total weight gain: 18 lbs
Maternity clothes? Yep! Some maternity jeans and some stretchy capris. Mostly I’ve been running around in loose sun dresses, which I have LOVED.
Stretch marks? none yet!
Sleep: Baby kicks me awake around 4:00 a.m. every morning, but other than that it’s been better than usual! I can fall asleep at the drop of a hat, which is nice. 
Miss Anything? Wine! Running.  Having a waist. 
Movement: Yep! He likes to move up into my ribcage and sit on my bladder.
Food cravings: Craving sweets! Chocolate <3

Anything making you queasy or sick: Haven’t felt queasy, but still get acid reflux.
 Gender: BOY!!
Labor Signs: Nope.
Symptoms: Charlie Horses at night, acid reflux, sensitive skin.

Belly Button in or out? In, but getting closer to the surface! If I lay a certain way it will pop a bit. 

 Wedding rings on or off? on

Happy or Moody most of the time:  Happy!! Annoyingly so!  Finding joy in everything. 

Looking forward to: Getting the nursery together.  My showers! Kissing his little face. 

Glucose Test Fun

The picture on the left is John on the day he was born.  The picture on the right is baby Baker at 20 weeks. I love how they both have their hands on their ears.  Notice any other similarities?

Well, I passed the glucose test.  I hate to admit it, but I was somewhat nervous.  I had eaten a big piece of chocolate pie the day before. Whoopsy!  The test wasn't too bad.  You have to drink 8 ounces of disgusting, overly sweet, tangy cool aid in under 5 minutes.  When I first took a sip I thought "hey, this will be easy!"  Half way through the bottle, however, I was gagging after every gulp.  I can't imagine what nauseous pregnant women do (And some people claim we are the weaker sex, PLEASE).  You have to wait an hour before they test your blood, so we brought some books to catch up on.  I had previously read about horrible blood sugar crashes that some women experience.  Some websites even suggest leaving your husband at home, because apparently you'll want to rip his face off in a crazed pregnancy rage (add that to those zombie stories).  Luckily, for both of us,  I didn't experience anything like that.  I did get super hyper at first (which may have caused John to want to rip his own face off) and I had to leave the waiting room to walk around a bit.  That could be typical Hilary behavior, though.  I got my results the next day and all was good, although my doctor did stress the importance of not looking at a passing score as a "lets go crazy and eat whatever we want" ticket.  That reminds me, there is some salsa that needs to be eaten right away!

Baby is being much more active.  He wakes me up every morning with little jabs, pokes, and flips.  It's really strange to feel him move from one side of my stomach to the other.  John asks me to describe what it feels like, but I'm not really sure I can.  It feels like it would on the outside, but on the inside. Definitely strange and wonderful at the same time.  When he's being really active at night I like to read to him or play some rockabye baby songs (there is a pandora station for that, so momma's-to-be check it out!).  It is just a really special and awesome time right now for us and I'm loving every second of every day!

Finally An Update!

Wow, its been awhile since I've updated.  The end of my final semester was CRAZY and took all of my focus.  So, I'll do a quick catch up on all that has been going on in the preggy world.

For the most part, I've been feeling pretty well since I hit my second trimester.  I did have a bizarre 4 days where the baby was laying on my sciatic nerve.  My left hip shot pain through my leg every time I moved and my left leg would become completely numb.  I did some research after finding out what it was and discovered that some women suffer from it their entire pregnancy.  OUCH!  Luckily for me, he randomly moved and it went away.  Huzzah!

I've been in nesting mode lately.  Organizing, cleaning, crafting things for the babies room.  I think we have decided on a rustic adventure theme.  I love Restoration Hardware, and have gotten a lot of ideas from them.  I just can not wait until he gets here and I finally get to hold him! Its going to be tough to wait another 4 months!

Tomorrow is my glucose test (Eeeek!).  I am NOT looking forward to guzzling nasty orange goo and waiting an hour to get my blood tested.  Plus- I'm have to fast tonight and tomorrow morning, which is every preggy person's nightmare! Hope John is prepared for a major grump tomorrow.  Hopefully all will go well, and I'll try to focus on the positive of hearing the little heartbeat one more time. 

How far along? 24 weeks

Total weight gain: 14-15 lbs
Maternity clothes? Yep! Some maternity jeans (which I may wear forever) and some stretchy capris 
Stretch marks? none yet!
Sleep: Getting much better.  Still waking up super early and needing a nap midday
Miss Anything? Running and breaking a sweat during exercise. 
Movement: Yep! Still somewhat inconsistent and random. 
Food cravings: Fruit, fruit, and more fruit

Anything making you queasy or sick: Not queasy anymore, but having major acid reflux with spicy foods and chocolate
 Gender: BOY!!
Labor Signs: Nope.
Symptoms: Super giddy and giggly.  Loving this second trimester.

Belly Button in or out? In

 Wedding rings on or off? on

Happy or Moody most of the time:  Happy, happy.  Sometimes grumpy if I get too sleepy or hungry. 

Looking forward to: Holding him for the first time!

What will it be???

                                 


We are so excited to find out what the baby bean is going to be next week!  I've heard a lot of people tell me they think its going to be a girl.  What do you think?  Answer the poll above and we'll see who is right!

²⁶ and she said to him, “Pardon me, my lord. As surely as you live, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the Lord. ²⁷ I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. ²⁸ So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord there.   - 1 Samuel 1:26-28

12 Week Photo

How far along? 12 weeks!

Total weight gain: 1.5 pounds
Maternity clothes? Not yet
Stretch marks? none yet!
Sleep: Hasn't been great this week. Crazy DREAMS!
Miss Anything? Various soft cheeses and wine
Movement: Not yet!
Food cravings: Fruit, fruit, and more fruit

Anything making you queasy or sick: meat, various smells
Gender: Don't know yet!!!
Labor Signs: Nope.
Symptoms: Still having some morning sickness and exhaustion

Belly Button in or out? In

 Wedding rings on or off? on
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy & EXCITED
Looking forward to: To find out the gender!

Shout out

Okay, I have to take a brief moment and brag on my husband.  For those of you who gag at the slightest cheesy love fest like I do when I open the refrigerator door please save yourself the misery and skip this post.  Otherwise enjoy as I give a proper shout out (that’s what the cool kids say, right?) to the daddy-to-be.  Although we haven’t been far along in this journey, I have been so thankful for John during this process. Every morning the first thing he says to me, before he even opens his eyes, is “how are you feeling”?  I truly don’t know what I would do without him.    Despite his willingness to bring me food while I lay lifelessly in the bed, his well-intentioned head pats as I throw-up in my bedside trashcan, or his sweet and encouraging remarks, I believe I am mostly thankful for his sense of humor.  Through all of these scary adjustments, aches, pains, discomforts, and fears, he has kept me laughing.   I just love him so much and am incredibly grateful to have him as a partner, friend, and husband (and comedian)! 

 ²¹ Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

 ²² Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. ²³ For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. ²⁴ Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
 ²⁵ Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her ²⁶ to make her holy, cleansing^[a] her by the washing with water through the word, ²⁷ and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. ²⁸ In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹ After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— ³⁰ for we are members of his body. ³¹ “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”^{[b] 32} This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. ³³ However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

Ephesians 5:21-33

12-Week Appointment

John and I had our 12-week appointment yesterday!  At 7 weeks that appointment felt so far away! I seriously contemplated calling the Dr.’s office several times between those five weeks just to see if I could come in to hear the heartbeat.  Luckily I have a husband who levels me out and lovingly reminded me that I was acting like a crazy person.  Anyways, I survived without setting up camp in the waiting room and everything appeared to be going perfectly!  The baby's heartbeat was 161, which is right on track.  I have to be honest and admit that when the nurse was searching for the heartbeat and we had to listen to stomach grumbles for a prolonged period of time, I had a mini “AHHHHHHHHH!!” going on silently in my head (even though I had been warned ahead of time that this may happen).  But, she finally found it and it was such a sweet and happy sound.  I didn’t have any other issues.  I did however, gain a pound and a half (gasp!), but what can you expect when you are growing a tiny person inside of you the size of a large plum (according to one of my pregnancy tracking iphone apps).

We love our doctor.   She is incredibly upbeat and positive, which is definitely what I need.  John and her also have good banter between them.  When she asked how I was feeling, John spoke up and said that he was feeling perfectly fine and hasn’t had any problems whatsoever.  You’ve got to love his sense of humor, which I know he comes by honestly.

Overall we had a wonderful day.  We spent most of the morning going on a walk, going to lunch, and seeing a movie.  Nothing can bring you down when you hear your baby’s heartbeat!   We feel so incredibly blessed to have been given the opportunity to share this experience together, something that we definitely do not take for granted.