23 Weeks: So Tired!!!

Ack- I'm getting big. :)
A little bit of a stressful week this past week with my co-worker giving birth to her baby girl 6 weeks early (thankfully she's doing great and should be going home in 3ish weeks), and then my boss being put on strict bedrest for the remainder of her pregnancy. It's been NUTS at work because of this, so needless to say I'm pretty exhausted. I'm so looking forward to this weekend for a break!
Went to the doctor today- everything looks great! Evie's heartrate was 140, and my doctor said the sonogram looked perfect and she's right on track. My weight gain is also right on track (yay!)- she said I'm more than half way, and haven't yet gained half of what she thinks I'll gain total- so good news. Also we talked more about the natural birth thing since I decided not to commit to the midwives at my practice- she said everyone's very open and no one will try and push me one way or the other. I've decided to just educate myself as much as possible on going naturally, then give it my best shot when I get there. :) If I end up changing my mind, it's okay, but I want to at least try.
I've been doing a TON of reading- first Baby Bargains, on baby items to prepare for our registry (yay again!), which we'll be doing over the next 2 weeks. Also I've started The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth, which was recommended for natural childbirth. So far, it's a bit biased, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised- it's informational anyway. Also, I started The Happiest Baby on the Block, but I have a lot of time to finish that so I just lent it to my boss today so she has something to read on bedrest. :) And I was reading too much at once, I need to focus! You know I love to read though- does anyone have any pregnancy/baby-related book recommendations?
Okay, I'm off to bed now, 5:30 am comes way too early these days. ;)

Baby Girls

Next in the baby parade is the first of MANY babies to come within our circle of friends. Joe and Sarah welcomed Claire Elizabeth on December 15th- and she is gorgeous!! So many of our friends are having girls, it's so exciting! The arrival of Claire makes everything very real for so many of us pregnant girls- time is flying! We can't wait to meet all of our little ones! :)

22 Weeks: Houston, We Have Movement!!

Yes, I know she's moved before, but it's for REAL now. I wasn't so sure it was really her because it was so faint and so infrequent, but ever since I wrote about the day at work when I felt her- she's been bumping all over down there! And it makes me feel so much better to feel her at least once everyday. :) It's about time Evie!
We're doing well this week, aside from getting tired out easily I feel great. I just need to be careful not to do too much, because then I get achey and sore and exhausted. But if I pace myself, all is well. Current food cravings include hearty winter dishes like goulash and chili. And I'd like to add that I have now made home-cooked, from scratch meals TWO nights in a ROW. That hasn't happened in quite a while, so it's a big deal. ;) I made goulash tonight and it was pretty great. Oh, and I'm still on a pretty big breakfast food kick.
Also, I wanted to show you the cute little hat that I won from a contest from Baby Diva. She held a contest to "name" the hat, and my suggestion was chosen, so I won the hat!! The name I chose was Roxie. I can't wait to put this adorable hat on Evie's adorable head. ;)

Bring on the Babies!

Let the baby parade begin!! I have so many friends who are pregnant right now- we are going to be flooded with adorable babies around here. Evie's going to have so many little friends. :) Meet Piper Mae June, born Thursday, December 2, 2010.

isn't she perfect!?! This is Eric's cousin Amanda's second baby, and I can't wait to meet her! They live in Canada, so hopefully we can make the trip up there soon.

I'll be posting my weekly update later tonight. And next up on baby watch, we're waiting for the little Morgan girl to arrive- I'm thinking of you Sarah! :)

A Mini Pregnancy Hormone Vent

Oh man- I have been kind of a wreck lately. I've been super emotional and teary and exhausted and anxious... poor Eric. :) I've been worried about not feeling Evie move very much, I keep hearing other people talk about feeling their baby move sooner/more often than me, and I keep getting nervous that something's wrong. This of course makes me nervous about a million other things.
I've been crying over the silliest things, and feeling generally emotional and I've been working more which is making me SO tired I don't want to do anything when I get home.
Anyway, today at work I bent over to make a face at a cute baby- and Evie started thumping away in there!! :) I know that I've felt her before, but it was so light and it hardly ever happened that I was worried it wasn't really her. But THIS was her- letting me know I was squishing her I think. ;) It made me feel so happy, and now I'm getting teary-eyed just thinking about it. Hormones!!!!! :P

21 Weeks: It's all downhill from here...

... in a good way though. :) I'm terribly tired this evening, so I'm just going to copy/paste my "weekly survey" answers from a pregnancy message board that I frequent. It'll give you all the highlights of our week!
How Far Along: 21w0d

Size of Baby: I gave up on the fruit- it was becoming really inaccurate in my mind. She's about 7" from crown to rump and weighs around 9ish oz.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I don't really keep track in between doctor's appointments, so as of 19w I was +9 lbs.

Maternity Clothes?: Yes, I wear them all the time! Thanks to my cousin Julie for the top in this photo (the pattern looks funny, but I like it in person), and about 75% of the maternity tops I have. ;)

Movement: Still just little pokes and bumps, and not every day yet. I'm hoping this means she'll be a very laid-back and calm baby!!

Symptoms: Hip pain, fatigue (like from the 1st trimester- boo!), and all of the sudden indigestion like I've never had in my life! Fun times.

What I Miss: Some of my clothes, having more energy, and tequila- I really wanted a marguerita when Eric took me out for Mexican on Saturday

Girl, Boy, or Team Green: Girl!!

Belly button In or Out: Still in, amazingly.

Cravings: Doritos! Also cereal and all breakfast food in general. I could eat eggs, french toast, pancakes, etc. for every meal right now.

Best Moment This Week: Getting our first batch of cloth diapers for Evie- they are SO CUTE!! I'll have to take some pics soon to show them off.

What Are You Thankful For This Week?: I know I say my husband every week- but he really is amazing!! He is so excited to be a dad, and he's so sweet always taking care of me and looking out for me. We had a great weekend spending time together (he even took me to a chick flick after the Mexican!) and we're really enjoying this time just the two of us before Evie gets here. Of course we can't wait to meet her though!

20 Weeks: The Glass is Half-Full!

We're half-way there friends! :) I can't believe it's half-way over already. I'm almost a little sad (although the day that we meet our baby girl can't come soon enough). But I am really enjoying being pregnant so far. I know that once I'm 3x this size and have to pee every 5 minutes that I'll be dying to have her out, but for now, being pregnant is a fun experience. But of course- I want to meet baby Evelyn!!
Oh yes, by the way, that's the name we've chosen! We're still not set on a middle name (front runner right now is Clara), but Evelyn is set. We're calling her Evie for short. :) And we love it!
In other news, for our "half-way" milestone, mom, dad, Allison, and Matt threw us a little surprise party! It was really sweet and fun- the menu was all "half" themed, even the cake was in half!! And we got some little girl gifts- it's so nice to know she's a girl so we can buy things. It makes things very real.

I've been feeling pretty good lately- still hungry all the time, and still having hip pain, but nothing too difficult to deal with. For some reason, some nausea has come back in the evenings before bedtime, which is wierd. Also, my belly button is rapidly disappearing, which is freaking Eric out. :)

Okay, that's enough for boring pregnancy details. Here's my official 20 week photo. I finally picked out the stuff for Evie's baby book and I'm so excited to start working on it! I'm going to put a bump photo for each month- I think 40 weeks worth of photos is a bit much in a book. ;) Have a great week everyone!