23 Weeks

This week has been a lot going on. It started at the end of last week when I took my Glucose Tolerance Test. This is the test that determines a lot in the next few months of pregnancy. Basically it is a blood test that you take after drinking a syrupy sweet drink and waiting an hour. The blood test after you drink the drink and wait an hour determines how well your blood is filtering sugars to your babies placenta. If your test comes back positive (with levels over 135) you have to then go and do a follow up test that takes 3 hours long! More than being just a pain in the ass, if your first and second test come back positive you are diagnosed with gestational diabetes and are put on a restricted, low-sugar diet and have to regularly monitor your blood sugar with finger pricks. Not my idea of making the last trimester of this pregnancy any more fun!

So, I took the first test on Friday and have been anxiously awaiting results since then. They told me that they would be ready by Monday and yet, I haven't heard a peep from my doctor. I even tried calling but I felt silly leaving a message for such a routine thing. I figure, no news is probably good news.

On another note, my sister and her hubby are back in town this week and brought baby Brooke down for another visit. She is 11 weeks now and looks like a little person. It's crazy how fast they grow! I can't wait for her to meet her new baby cousin and for there to be two crying poop machines at my parents house lol.

These last few weeks Matt and I have been toying with names for our upcoming addition and without letting on to too many people, we have narrowed it down to just a couple combinations of first and middle names. We don't plan on telling anyone the name until we've fully committed to one, but we are also toying with the idea of not telling anyone the final name until she is born. In the mean time Matt's dad and step-mom have been calling her BGP for Baby Girl Pontius, and my family picked up on a silly name Matt made up: Birch Canoe. So...baby girl Pontius, or Birch Canoe will have to do until we are ready to announce a name, which could be within days, or at the hospital.

How Far Along: 23 weeks, 4 days

How Long To Go: 16 weeks, 3 days

Weight Gain: 1.8lbs
Total Weight Gain: 3.8lbs
Weight: 123.8lbs

Belly Button: holding on for dear life

Stretch Marks: none

Sleep: getting better sleep now that i am adjusting to sleeping on my sides

Best Moment This Week: cooking a fancy meal for my sisters 30th birthday. It was fun for me to get to do what I do professionally for my family. I don't think they quite understood what I do until now and they were all very appreciative and complimentary. It gave me warm fuzzies.

Nausea: none

Craving: not really, i just miss my deli from back home in NY

Miss Anything: bagels and lox from Bagels&More in Hartsdale, NY

Movement: she is super active but has been gun shy when I've tried to get my mom or sister to feel her

Gender: girl

Symptoms: My emotions have leveled back out thankfully so I don't feel like an emotional basket case. Haven't noticed any new symptoms except yesterday when I had a near panic attack out of hungry. It hit me out of no where and all of a sudden I was driving and got really sweaty and shaky because I was so hungry. I had already stopped and gotten Matt and I some Pho for dinner but I couldn't make it home! I had to stop and get a grilled chicken wrap from the chick-fil-a drive through and I mauled it like a starving trucker on the road as I drove home.

Wedding Ring: still on

Looking Forward To: getting my glucose tolerance test results (and finding out they were negative)

Maternity Clothes: Had to make a larger scale maternity purchase this week. Thankfully I got an incredible deal at Pinkblushmaternity.com and got several staple pieces for around $150. Maternity clothes are EXPENSIVE and they've got you by the balls because there comes a point where you just HAVE to buy them. It's genius really. I also bought a dress from ASOS.com which has a great maternity line at an affordable price because I have to go to a wedding in August and can't fit in any of my formal attire anymore. Nothing has arrived yet so I'll keep you posted.

Fruit: Papaya (1.4lb, 8 inches) - same general size as last week according to the What to Expect App

Weird Dreams This Week: I had a very sexual dream about Kiefer Sutherland the other night. We made passionate, movie-style sex and then were smoking cigarettes in bed and talking about how Freddie Prince Jr was trashing him on the radio. Kiefer was not pleased about Freddie's remarks. (BTW...I do not find Kiefer Sutherland attractive, he's kinda old and sooo not my type. I would've much preferred a sex dream with Freddie Prince Jr. lol)

XOXO
Lisa

22 Weeks

This week I've noticed that every day things are starting to get harder as my ever-expanding belly is officially a bump. No longer do I just look bloated, I've officially entered the stage where people are confidant in assuming that I am pregnant. Our little jelly bean has been kicking up a storm! The kicks are getting stronger and more frequent and I can tell she is going to be a super active baby.

How Far Along: 22 weeks 4 days

How Long To Go: 17 weeks, 3 days

Weight Gain: 1.8lbs
Total Weight Gain: 3.8lbs
Weight: 123.8lbs

Belly Button: starting to stretch flat

Stretch Marks: none

Sleep: getting better sleep now that i am adjusting to sleeping on my sides

Best Moment This Week: deciding on our baby's name...but shhh! keeping it secret

Nausea: none

Craving: Oreos and milk

Miss Anything: bagels and lox

Movement: little girl is moving around all the time and kicking like crazy!

Gender: girl

Symptoms: some bad back pain this week and sciatic nerve pain. I've also been a lot more emotional this week...feeling like on the verge of tears for NO REASON. Gotta love pregnancy hormones :-/

Wedding Ring: still on

Looking Forward To: my niece and sister visiting this weekend

Maternity Clothes: officially loving my maternity clothes, even though I only have a few pieces I can mix and match them with my regular clothes. But the maternity shorts are incredible!

Fruit: Spaghetti squash (1.4lb, 8 inches)

Weird Dreams This Week: I had dreams about buying a dozen bagels from my old bagel shop in NY....and now I miss bagels....a lot.

22 Weeks Ultrasounds

So lots of stuff happened this week. We found out friends of ours are expecting!!! We are so thrilled because we figured none of our friends would get pregnant for another couple of years so now we will have babies six months apart!

Today we went back to the doctor to finish up our anatomy scan. Apparently Baby Girl Pontius is such a wiggle worm that the tech couldn't take all the necessary pictures the first time around. But, that meant that we got another chance to see our little jelly bean! She looks perfectly healthy and has a strong heart beat so the doctor is happy which means mom and dad are happy.

Since I neglected to post my ultrasound pictures from my 20 week scan I will post a few from that scan and this one from today...it's amazing how much development took place even between those two weeks!

isn't she adorable already?!

 XOXO

Lisa

21 Weeks

How Far Along: 21 weeks 2 days

How Long To Go: 18 weeks 5 days

Weight Gain: 2lbs
Total Weight Gain: 2lbs

Belly Button: no belly ring

Stretch Marks: none

Sleep:

Best Moment This Week: Had a fun week end with friends but pretty low key. Loved watching Germany beat Argentina for the FIFA world cup! oh, and a Harry Potter movie marathon on t.v.

Nausea: nope

Craving: nothing this week...fruit is still my biggest craving

Miss Anything: sleeping on my belly, being able to wear whatever is in my closet.

Movement: lots of moves going on. I even watched my belly move by itself when she kicked so she is definitely getting stronger

Gender: our 20 week ultrasound confirms its definitely a girl!

Symptoms: morning headaches that seem to go away after coffee

Wedding Ring: still on

Looking Forward To: my sister and niece coming to visit at the end of the month!

Maternity Clothes: Made my first maternity clothing purchase today. Bought a pair of maternity shorts, a maxi dress and two tops. I figure I will be set for a while.

Fruit: Banana (7in, 11oz)

Weird Dreams This Week: Lots of sex dreams!



I realized in writing this post I had forgotten to post pictures from our 20 week ultrasound. I will upload those ASAP

XOXO
Lisa

20 Week Bump Pic

Woohoo!!!!! half-way through pregnancy this week and it is a HUGE milestone! I've made it through the hardest part and now I am feeling better than ever. My energy is up and I am thrilled to know I've made it to the half-way mark.

How Far Along: 20 weeks 3 days

How Long To Go: 19 weeks, 4 days

Weight Gain: no weight gain yet...keep waiting on that sale to go up

Belly Button: took it out at week 18

Stretch Marks: none yet...using coconut oil morning and night and staying hydrated

Sleep: I've started sleeping on my sides and this has caused all sorts of problems. I toss and turn most nights because laying on my sides makes my hips and shoulders ache. I also keep waking up when I  find myself on my back. Apparently starting around 20 weeks it is no longer advised to sleep on your back or stomach so I guess I have to get used to this side sleeping thing. A lot of moms use a snoogle or a body pillow. My sister gave me hers but I don't find it very comfortable.

Best Moment This Week: Fourth of July! and having a returning client in town this week...It feels great to have repeat and happy customers

Nausea: no nausea thank goodness

Craving: fruit!!

Miss Anything: starting to miss good wine...and raw fish

Movement: little girl P is moving a ton! I feel her all day but she is the most active about 45 minutes after I eat and before bed.

Gender: bouncing baby girl!

Symptoms: back pain is making another appearance and sometimes I find my heart racing. A little moody too, nothing too bad but just blah some days.

Wedding Ring: still on

Looking Forward To: our 20 week anatomy scan on Wednesday. We will get full confirmation of the gender and get to see our little girl for a long ultrasound as they check her growth and development. Hopefully everything looks great

Maternity Clothes: Haven't purchased anything yet but I can tell those days are fast approaching. I've been using the BellyBand to keep my pants and shorts around, but I'm too big for certain tops and dresses

Fruit: Mango (6.5 in, 10oz)

Weird Dreams This Week: Had a dream last night about Lip and Fiona from the show Shameless...I also got my ass beat up in the dream so it was a weird and white-trashy night.

XOXO

Lisa

Baby Registry

I can't believe it is that time already! Time to register for our baby shower(s). We never had much of a registry for our wedding so this was a completely new experience for us. We got tons of advice about what we needed and what we didn't, but it all just seemed extremely overwhelming. It doesn't help that every baby is different and a product one mom swears by is just wasted money for another.

We took a lot of advice from my sister who just had a baby and did a lot of research online on blogs and message boards and finally felt ready to make our registry this past weekend.So this is how we navigated the process and began the road to parenthood, one kid-tested, mother-approved product at a time.

1. Step One - Research
We did a lot of research before we even thought about entering a baby store. This was especially helpful with big items like strollers and car seats. With baby stuff there seems to be a few main brands that make everything and a lot of people tend to stay within a brand to make their life easier. In our case, we first decided we wanted a travel system jogger stroller. For those not in the know with the baby stuff lingo this meant we wanted a three-wheeled stroller with big wheels that is meant for jogging and walking on rough terrain. This was best for us because we live in Charleston and spend a lot of time on old cobblestone streets and at the beach. A travel system is a stroller/car seat combo that work together so you can take your baby from the car to the stroller without ever having to take them out of the car seat. A lot of companies make these travel systems and they are perfect for the suburban parent who is constantly in and out of their car. We decided on the Graco Relay Performance Jogger and the Snugride 30 Click Connect Car Seat.

2. Step Two - Go Register
Forgo starting your registry online because the big stuff you've got to try before you commit. So go to Baby's R Us, Buy Buy Baby or whatever baby retailer you have near you and try out the strollers, carry the car seat and try to imagine all this stuff fitting in your house. We made a lot of last minute changes after we got to the store based on size/weight and durability.

3. Step three - Know You Wont Do It All At Once
There is so much stuff in those baby stores that you can get overwhelmed really quickly. My first tip is to eat right before you go, because it will take you at least an hour or two to get just the basics done. You can always add to your registry online later.

So those are my tips for first-timers like me who had no idea how much stuff a tiny person will need.

XOXO

Lisa

Week 18: Movement

This week marks a huge milestone in my pregnancy...I finally felt my little one move. Well, technically this happened while I was still at 17 weeks but since I hit 18 weeks I've been feeling her wiggle and kick every day. Mostly she does most of her moving at night when I'm laying down, or that is at least when I am paying the most attention and can feel her.

An even bigger deal is that Matt felt her for the first time on Sunday night. She was really active and I was enjoying feeling her little flutters and movements so I decided to see if Matt could feel anything, after all, I shouldn't get to have all the fun! After a few minutes of waiting he felt two big distinct kicks. He was so cute, he was smiling and so excited to finally be able to feel our little person inside of me.

It is really hard to describe what it feels like. It was weird for sure, the feeling of something moving around inside you is somewhat alien-like, but at the same time it was the coolest most incredible feeling I've ever felt. Up until now, it was hard to even believe that I was actually pregnant. You feel so detached to the process, like your body is going full steam ahead with this process without you even participating. Now that I can feel her I am extremely aware of the fact that there is a tiny person in my growing bump.

Speaking of bumps, it has been brought to my attention that I need to start documenting my growing form as I plump up and round out. So here are the first bump watch photos, and I will try to do them every week.

15 weeks

 15 weeks

 18 weeks

 18 weeks

XOXO

Lisa