17 Weeks: Babies are like Onions...

... they have layers! ;) Baby Roy is the size of a yellow onion this week and I should be feeling movement soon!!! Nothing yet, but I'm so excited to feel our little guy/gal in there. Sometimes I sit really still and try to focus on my belly, wondering if the gurgles I feel are movements. I don't think I've felt it yet, but the doctor said it should be soon!

Nothing terribly exciting to report this week- I've been having a lot of hip pain, which I thought it was too early for, but asking around I guess it's not. Also, my sleep problems have returned. I was having issues in first tri, then I was sleeping like a baby for a while, but now I'm having trouble again. I'm SO restless and I toss and turn a lot. I wish I could hope that it will get better- but I don't think that's very reasonable. :) I know I'll just be getting up more and more as things progress!

And can I just say, I look so ROUND in my photo this week! I don't know if that's my dinner showing, or if that's how my belly's going to grow. I guess we'll see!

Eight more days until our anatomy scan!!!

Decorating Excitedness

So as we get closer and closer to finding out whether our lives will become filled with pink or blue, I've begun thinking about how I want to decorate our little one's future nursery. I say "future" because we don't know exactly where we'll be living in a few months when the baby gets here- we're working on that. ;) All we know for now is that our one-bedroom apartment isn't going to cut it, so we're on the hunt for a house!! I am SO excited to have a place to decorate again, I miss picking paint colors and drooling over Pottery Barn catalogs like you wouldn't believe. And I am ESPECIALLY excited to have a cute little baby room to go crazy decorating. :)

So, want to know what I like? Well let's start with a little baby girl's room, because I've decided for sure on that. I decided that, although I have nothing against pink, I wanted something different. So I came up with black and white with red accents and ladybugs- which I totally made up in my head and couldn't find anything in real life that matched it. Until this morning that is. :) Picture this, although a little toned down, because I don't feel the need to accessorize quite as much as this room is...

I LOVE the black and white gingham, with the ladybugs all around- it's perfect!! It's on Amazon, here's a link.

For boys, I have two sets that I like, and I haven't decided yet which one I'll go with. I think if we find out it's a boy, then I'll worry about picking. :) So, here are my two choices...

I like how both of these are more toned down representations of animals- I'm not personally fond of the really cartoony, very busy nursery sets. I think the deer one is going to win out, I like it more and more everytime I look at it. Here's a link to the frogs, and one to the deer.

Hope you're having a good weekend, Eric sold his truck so we're going out to celebrate!! :)

16 Weeks

Funny story about my bump photo this week: I've been having Eric take my picture every week, and in the beginning he was doing it begrudgingly, but I think he's really getting into it now. Today, he made me change the top that I had on, because he said the first one I was wearing "didn't show off the bumpage enough." Adorable!! So you can thank Eric for this week's excellently displayed "bumpage." ;)
Anywho, I am in love with 2nd trimester. I feel like myself again- it's amazing!!! I don't think I even realized how hormonal I was for the last couple months. I knew I was tired and nauseous, but the emotional side of it was more sneaky- and now that I feel like ME again, I realize how much it had affected me. So, my energy is back full force, and so is my usual self! I am cooking again and able to do more than one thing in a day. ;)
I can't believe we're at four months already, time is flying by!! I can't wait to find out whether our first baby will be a girl or boy- 16 more days! I guess that's all for this week, I'm off to watch Dancing With the Stars and have my 2nd dinner. ;) Yes, I pretty much eat 2 of every meal now, they are just smaller. No judging!!

I guess I really look pregnant!

I got my first "are you expecting?" from a (pretty much) complete stranger today! Such a dangerous question when you're not sure- no one wants to hear that if they're not pregnant!! But since I am, it made me pretty happy. :)
One of the moms of a baby in the room where I work at the daycare asked today. She doesn't see me too often, so it's close to having a total stranger ask you. Anyway, just had to share. T minus 20 days to the big ultrasound!!

15 Weeks: Back on Track

My cold is gone- yay!! I am feeling so much better, and I think I'm finally feeling the real benefits of the 2nd trimester. I feel a lot more like myself lately, which is a nice feeling.
Big news this week- we heard the heartbeat for the first time!!! It was... well, pretty much amazing. :) I don't even know if I can describe how incredible it was to hear that little heart beating away in my belly- definitely one of the coolest days of my life! It made everything feel so real to know our little guy/gal is down there swimming around and we got to hear his/her little heartbeat. And looking over and seeing the grin on Eric's face as he heard our little baby- well it brings tears to my eyes right now as I'm typing. :) What a blessing to have a child, we truly are so grateful and excited. The heartbeat was 158 bpm, which the doctor said is within the normal range for 15 weeks.
And side point- if you can believe it, I've only gained a pound since the beginning! I was shocked at this- I feel a lot bigger- but the doc said this is just fine, and now I have a little wiggle room with weight gain in the 2nd trimester. I've been reading a couple books, one of which is What to Expect When You're Expecting, and it has a chapter on pregnancy nutrition that is super interesting. It's also really overwhelming- you need to get SO many vitamins and nutrients from so many foods when you're growing a baby!! I feel like I could never eat all of that in one day, and I'd spend a fortune on produce every week. But, I'm doing my best to give this baby everything it needs everyday.
Also big news- mark your calendars friends, we've scheduled our 18 week ultrasound!!! This will be our "anatomy scan" and we'll find out the gender- I can't wait! :) It's scheduled for November 17th at 11:30 am.
And finally, I leave you with the 15 week bump- baby Roy is the size of a navel orange this week.

14 Weeks: First Cold of the Year

Boo! I am sick, and I miss DayQuil/NyQuil like crazy. :( I have a terrible head cold, today is day two- hopefully I start to feel better tomorrow. Last winter I took echinacea like crazy, and it really helped me not get sick, even from the kids at the daycare. But the NP at my last doctor's visit told me not to take it (or pretty much any other preventative aside from Vitamin C), and now I am sick. Of course, I don't want to risk anything so I won't take anything they tell me not to- but my immune system is suffering!
In other news, I definitely think my bump is shrinking (did I say that last week too?), and it's getting firmer, which means it's really a baby bump- yay!! I haven't taken a bump photo yet this week because of being horribly sick and not feeling like having my photo taken. I will get one up soon though- maybe tomorrow. I have no more gagging issues thank goodness, however I don't really feel like my energy is getting any better. Although I suppose it's hard to tell this week with being sick.
I go to the doctor next week on Monday, and we'll FINALLY be able to hear the heartbeat- I can't wait!!! I know I have no reason to worry, but not having had an ultrasound or doppler I'm just feeling like I need the doctor to tell me everything's fine in there. AND, when I go for this visit- we'll be scheduling the next appointment for our ultrasound to find out the baby's gender. :) That's even more exciting!!! Probably, my appointment will be the week before or the week of Thanksgiving, I will let you all know when it's scheduled.
I will tell you though- I've seriously been feeling like it's a boy lately. ;) We'll see!

13 Weeks: Goodbye 1st Trimester!!

Well, according to some calculations 1st Tri is over. :) I'm going to go with it- I'm feeling so much better this week!! My energy is back, and I haven't really had nausea at all in a few days. Yay!!! Also, as you can see, my bump is a little smaller this week than last week. I think this means the bloat is receding, and now we're left with actual baby bump. Double yay!!! Eric has taken to poking my belly and telling me it's getting harder everyday. He also talks to my belly, which is pretty adorable. :) He's so excited to be a dad!
So we've been talking names, and I realized I haven't put any of them on the blog yet. Although I realize most ppl who read this already know our name choices, there's a couple who haven't heard them yet. And I'm a full-disclosure kind of girl. :) I've never been good with keeping things to myself, so here ya go!
Girl Name: Charlotte Anne. This is pretty much set in stone, we've been looking and talking and haven't seen anything we love more. And we really love Charlotte. :)
Boy Name: Middle name will definitely be James. First name considerations include Emerson (my fav), Elliott (Eric's fav), and Oliver. We're still working on a boy name, but I think I'm going to win. ;)
For fun, here's a site that explains the various ways to calculate trimesters, as well as a calculator to figure out the date of each trimester. It's funny that the medical field doesn't have just one system with this- they're just trying to confuse all us pregnant girls!!

Edit: My lovely friend Shaunna brought to my attention that I had said 2nd trimester in my title- obviously I meant 1st. Thanks Shaunna- I blame pregnancy brain!!