We're having a.....

BOY!!! So exciting!!! Ultrasound went really well today. The tech asked us if we wanted to know before she got to the lower half of the body. She isn't allowed to tell us, but she said sometimes people figure it out, so if we didn't want to know we could turn our heads. Well, we wanted to know and were hopeful Baby T would cooperate and boy did he cooperate! The tech was taking pictures of the legs and I'm looking and thinking, "hmm, I wonder if thats what I think it is..." Zach was probably thinking the same thing, and eventually the tech said, well I guess you two have figured it out by now and confirmed our suspicions that the baby was indeed a boy! She said this one was pretty obvious and we can feel pretty confident that he is a he :) Yay! I'm thrilled and based on how things went today everything seemed okay. Again though, the tech can't really tell us much, so I'll still call the doctor tomorrow to double check everything. We got two pictures of our little boy today, both are very similar. You can see his head, chest, and one of his arms. I don't know how the techs know what everything is, its all a blur to me. He is about 13 ounces, which is a little big I think...hopefully thats not a sign of whats in store for me in February! Either way, today was a great day and I'm just so excited! Baby T was moving all around in there, I think it frustrated the tech a little, but I'll share a secret...I ate a bite size snickers on the way there, I wanted to make sure Baby T was awake, opps! :)

Waitin' and Watchin'

The baby seems to be kicking much harder lately. I feel like Zach should be able to feel it soon, but I'm not sure how realistic that is. Last night after I had a yummy omelet and home fries for dinner Baby T was moving all around, this baby has good taste already! I put my hand on my belly hoping to feel it, but no such luck. This afternoon I was nervously watching the Phillies game and Baby T was on the move again. I thought it felt much harder, so I sat on the couch and stared at my belly for a good 10 minutes hoping to see something, but again, no such luck. I think the baby knows how ridiculous I look and doesn't kick on purpose then :) Luckily I was home alone, so no one else could witness this nonsense. Well about an hour ago I was putting grades online (super boring so my mind was wandering as it was) and Baby T started dancing in there! I pulled up my shirt again and watched, and watched, and I thought maybe I saw something so I quick put Zach's hand on my belly in hopes he could feel it, but Baby T only moved once more and Zach couldn't feel a thing. This baby is playing games with me already! Let's just hope he/she has this much energy on Tuesday so the tech can see everything they need at the ultrasound.

Speaking of Tuesday, this was the slowest weekend ever! Normally, I'd love that, but I actually wanted this weekend to go fast so Tuesday would come quicker! Oh well, still only 2 days left. Zach and I spent several hours working in the soon to be nursery today. Cleaned out a lot of stuff and now we pretty much have the bed to take out and a few more small things and we'll be all ready to paint and get furniture! So exciting! I'm almost at 20 weeks too - halfway there!!! Such a big week ahead for so many reasons!

What do I really need?

Since our next ultrasound is Tuesday, I'm starting to do some more serious shopping/browsing online. There are so many things you could buy, but what do I really need? Obviously I know I need a crib, dresser, stroller, clothes, bottles, etc. but as I look around there is so much else! We've picked a crib and dresser, a stroller, and a pack-n-play. After Tuesday we can start to look more seriously at bedding and nursery ideas. The things that I don't know about are bouncers, swings, activity centers for the floor? I know they would not be necessities, but would they be helpful or would the baby actually use them? Don't get me wrong, I'm really enjoying this part, but I'm just a bit unsure of what I actually should be looking for. Who would have known there are so many different baby tubs! On a side note, I'm completely distracted from work and grad classes this week and decided to take my 19 week picture in the same outfit as my 9 week picture. Our little baby is already the size of a mango!! Have fun comparing!

:)

So anything new?

Funny story...I had two 8th graders from last year come visit me after school yesterday. They had been talking to other blue team teachers and asked them if I was pregnant. They told the girls they needed to ask me, but the girl was scared because apparently she asked some lady at the grocery store once if she was pregnant and the lady wasn't and was pretty nasty about it. So anyway, she didn't want to ask me if it wasn't true. Well they showed up, said hi, and said "so is anything new Mrs. Trimble?" It was pretty funny, I told them yes, and they kept proding until I finally told them I was pregnant. Of course they had a million questions after that, hah. Several 8th graders have been saying hi lately and staring at my stomach, so they are catching on fast. My current students are still clueless and probably will be for a bit. My belly seems to growing fast right now and I think pretty soon I'll look pregnant to everyone, not just the people that are looking for it. I went out today after work and bought a pair of maternity jeans. I went to Target and am pretty pleased with how they fit, seeing as some of my other maternity pants make my bottom half look not so great. My real motivation was to wear jeans to work on Friday so I can wear sneakers! Oh how I wish I had a job that I could sit all day or wear sneakers every day. I'm eagerly awaiting Tuesday...only 6 more days!!!

Like I have nothing better to do...

So I'm sitting here acting like I don't have a million other things to do, but instead I'm wasting my time trying to make gender predictions Anyone willing to join in? In about 1 week we'll find out the gender of the baby (if Baby T cooperates that is). So lets see what, if any, of these old wives tales are true.

Heart rate - Last week (18 weeks) Baby T had a heart rate of 155. Supposedly that means its a girl.

Chinese Gender Predictor - uses your conception month and age, which according to mine it means we're having a boy.

Carrying High or Low - well its still kind of early to test this one out, but the hard part of my tiny bump is low - that means boy??

Cravings - I loooove sweets right now, apparently craving sweet food means girl.

Face Shape - this one I can't really use either, I've always had a round face, pregnant or not, but they say round face means its a girl.

So in the end, this doesn't really tell me anything at all except I'll be having a boy OR a girl, but it did keep me entertained for quite a bit. Anyone else want to make their prediction? You have a 50-50 shot that you'd be right :)

18 Week Appointment

I had my 18 week appointment today, all went well. Weight was good, not sure why I was worried, blood pressure still under control, and Baby T's heart rate was about 155. It took forever for the doctor to find the heartbeat though. Every time he would get it, the baby would move and he'd lose it. I was a little nervous, but since it was there from time to time, I just needed to be patient. After a few minutes, he found a good spot to hear the heartbeat and it sounded good. You could also hear every time the baby moved, which was pretty cool.

The nurse scheduled the next ultrasound for Sept. 29th! They'll measure all sorts of stuff and check every part of Baby T to make sure it all looks okay and he/she is growing correctly. I'm really excited about it, but a little nervous. This will be our first chance to really check and see how the baby is doing. The doctor told me the ultrasound tech can't tell us anything though, which is a little frustrating...he said not even the gender of the baby! They apparently used to be able to tell you the gender, but now aren't even suppose to tell you that. So we won't actually know what gender the baby is until Sept. 30th. I can call the doctors office the next morning to find out, but might wait until later in the day, but either way Zach and I will be in different places when we find out, so that kind of stinks... They'll also tell me if everything else looked okay so I don't have to wait until my 22 week appointment.

I asked about flu shots today. I've never had the regular flu shot but my OB recommends it so I will get one this year. I also asked about the H1N1 shot, I was originally thinking maybe not get it just because it is so new and they don't really know if there are any adverse effects on the baby, but my doctor said I should get it. Based on all of the information gathered so far, they highly recommend all of their pregnant patients get it. So I guess I should I follow the advice of professionals, but I will admit that I am slightly unsure about it all. Working with germy, dirty students all day though, it's probably better in the end. So I have a few shots in my future and then its keeping my fingers crossed that they actually work and I can avoid getting sick this winter.

I think that was about it for todays appointment. I felt good afterward though and feel like so far so good :) Ultrasound 9/29, Next regular appointment 10/16.

Oh yeah, and today is exactly 5 months until the due date!!! Super exciting! :)

18 Weeks

How far along: 18 weeks

Total weight gain: 7 pounds (I put my pound back on from last week, Ice cream and peanut butter are wonderful!)

How much does baby weigh: our sweet potato is about 6.7 oz and 5.6 in long!

Maternity clothes: The only non-maternity pants I can still wear (with my be-band of course) are 1 pair of jeans and my black work pants, but both are near their end. I will need to go back out shopping soon for some maternity jeans and black pants. The shirts I have are still a little bit too big in the belly, but it won't be long now.

Stretch marks: No - I doubt I will be one of the "lucky ones" though that doesn't get stretch marks :P

Sleep: I'm sleeping pretty good, but work is still kicking my butt, so I'm pretty much ready for bed by 8 each night....on a side note, I thought during the second trimester I was suppose to have my energy back, I totally disagree! I felt pretty good for about 2-3 weeks, but now I'm tired all of the time...I'm starting to think work and two grad classes could be more than I can handle comfortably. Wish me luck in October!

Best moment this week: Feeling the baby moving a little bit more

Movement: yes!!!! and it is super exciting every time I feel it! I can't wait until Zach will be able to feel it too :)

Food cravings: Nothing in particular, still hungry a lot. Some things I currently enjoy daily are cereal, apples, cheese nips, slices of cheese, and sweet and salty peanut bars (mmm mmm good!)

Belly button in or out: In

What I miss: sleeping on my stomach (I know, I know, I talk about sleep a lot but it's very important to me! :)

What I'm looking forward to: Doctor's appointment this Friday, 3:15! I'll get to hear Baby T's heartbeat again and we'll schedule the next ultrasound!

Milestone: Feeling the baby move

Thoughts: I'm almost halfway through the pregnancy and I can't wait to get the nursery started. Since we've decided to find out the sex of the baby, soon I'll be able to start looking at specific colors and get a better idea of what we might end up doing (and I can finally say he or she). We still have a lot to clean out of the guest bedroom....if you're a Lancaster area reader, I'm selling our junk this Saturday morning on my inlaws lawn! Stop on by, hah.

Random Thoughts

Here's a little bit of everything to finish up a Monday...

I actually looked pregnant in a t-shirt tonight! It was a fairly snug fit t-shirt before, but still :)

My husband is awesome and brought me home a caramel chocolate bar after work.

I think I was a bit nuts yesterday with all my concerns, today I feel "normal", not thin and ridiculous like yesterday.

Baby T must really like my music, he/she was moving around a few times on my car ride home this afternoon!

Someone at work commented on my bump today, so it's coming along!

I think we've decided to try and find out the sex of Baby T at our ultrasound (which we'll schedule on Friday at my next appointment :))

Its the beginning of week 18 and Baby T is about the size of a sweet potato.

I'm reaaaaly tired and headed to bed early.

A Little Concerned...

Normally this type of morning would be so exciting, but not when I'm pregnant... At my last appointment the doctor weighed me, told me things looked good so far, but that I should be gaining a pound a week for the next few months. I thought that would be easy, I mean I'm super hungry lately so I felt like thats the go ahead to eat, eat, eat. Well I haven't gone crazy with the eating and I've tried to choose healthy snacks the majority of the time. So overall I'm snacking on a lot of cheese nips, apples, and cereal. Along with regular meals and some sweets mixed in, but this morning I was actually down a pound from last week. In the long run, obviously I think less weight would be better, but I'm more concerned about how the baby is doing than about losing weight after the baby arrives. So, am I doing something wrong? Should I be trying to eat more? Am I eating the wrong types of food? Is Baby T okay? I'm second guessing myself like crazy this morning and I probably should just relax, but I'm worried. I even started wondering if maybe I wasn't feeling the baby moving earlier this week and it was something else. Ugh! I know I just need to relax but its hard! I go back to the doctor this Friday and will ask about all this, but I feel like Friday will take forever to get here and I just want to make sure everything is okay.

My Little Onion

Well it's week 17 and Baby T is the size of an onion. I'm pretty sure my little onion has been moving around in there too! So exciting! I still haven't felt much today, but I haven't really had time to relax today yet either, so keep your fingers crossed that maybe I'll feel something later. I'm not sure if the baby gets as tired as me but work this week has been kicking my butt. The short weeks always seem the longest, ugh!

I am getting a little bigger each week, but still not a pronounced bump, just a bit thicker through the midsection. I haven't had anyone notice that I'm pregnant yet that didn't already know, but people do look at me a bit differently sometimes. I feel like I don't always have a face, hah. As people ask me in the hall how I'm feeling, they immediately look down towards my belly to see if they can "see" the baby. It's pretty entertaining and soon enough they'll see what they're looking for.

I hope Baby T is growing super fast in there because boy do I have an appetite lately. I absolutely love Cheese Nips. I could probably eat a box a day but try to mix in some healthy foods as well. We've spent a lot of time thinking about nursery things this past week as well and am pretty sure we know which crib and dresser we want. The more I am trying to plan though, the more I want to know if its a boy or a girl. Sooo, we only have a few more weeks until the next ultrasound and only that amount of time to make a final decision about whether to find out. We'll have to discuss it some more I guess - Zach is still all for finding out and I feel like I'm starting to lean in that direction as well, we'll see. Like I said before though, it'll be a surprise either way, one just earlier than the other. We'll I'm out for now, I started this earlier and came back now to finish it. Its 9 o'clock and time for me to go snuggle with my Snoogle! (google it if you're completely confused :))

Movement???

Last night, after enjoying my baked cookies, I was sitting on the couch and felt something that I had never felt before. I'm not sure if it was the baby moving or not. It happened a few times within a half an hour and that was it. I had Zach put his hand on my stomach, but even when I felt it he didn't feel anything. Its probably way too early to be felt on the outside, but was it Baby T moving on the inside? It's hard to explain what I felt...I wouldn't really describe it as butterflies, flutters, or even tickling like some other people have described it to me. But it was a new feeling and it happened right where Baby T should be. I thought I'd wait and see if I felt it again today and I did! It happened both times when I was sitting on the couch, so maybe I'm just more in tune when I'm relaxing. Not sure. Maybe it is Baby T?!? If it is, that's really really exciting. I guess only time will tell. I'll keep you all updated!

Self Control

Tonight was my first true test of self control since I've been pregnant. You might be thinking, I wonder if there is anything Christine really misses or is having a hard time doing without??? Well, overall, not really. Going without alcohol is really easy seeing as I didn't really drink that much before anyway. Not cleaning the litter box? Yeah right!! That's a blessing :) (poor Zach) Sometimes I really want caffeine, but now that I'm into the second trimester I treat myself to a pepsi a few times a week, but even that wasn't that big of a deal. Up to this point I probably missed Caesar salad the most, strange I know, but still didn't bug me a ton. Well tonight I was tested big time. After dinner (chicken casserole from my Mom….delicious Mom, thanks!) I was still a little hungry so I decided to bake some cookies. Well normally the best part of baking cookies is the cookie dough, but I couldn't have any of it! Stupid raw eggs and such! Normally I test it out before baking them, but not tonight. Even when I thought the worst was over, I realized as I was putting the cookie dough on the trays that I got a little bit on my finger, normally I'd lick it off and be done with it, but tonight I washed it off in the sink. Big bummer! So I'm waiting patiently for the 9 minutes to pass so I can eat some cookies, but let me tell you, I probably won't be baking many more cookies before February :)

Boo-Yah!!

It's Friday before a nice long weekend and it turned out to be a little better than I thought! We got our first paychecks for the year and they list all your day off info as well as the normal pay stuff. Well it turns out I have 4 more personal days than I originally thought this year. So that would equal an extra week off after Baby T arrives!!! :)

16 Weeks

How far along: 16 weeks

Total weight gain: 6 or so pounds

How much does baby weigh: about 3.5 oz - the size of an avocado.

Maternity clothes: I'm still not really showing that much, but am wearing maternity pants to work, sooo much more comfortable. All of my shirts are still tucked away for a few more weeks probably.

Stretch marks: No

Sleep: I love it, I can't seem to get enough of it, work gets in the way of it :)

Best moment this week: Getting my nap on my stomach on the couch this afternoon!!!

Movement: Still nothing. I'm continuing to read lots during the pregnancy and have read maybe around week 18. My doctor also said the same, so maybe I'll get to feel the flutters of Baby T in a few more weeks!

Food cravings: Cheese Nips, American Cheese, now that I'm back to work and exhausted I want Pepsi all of the time...I'm limiting myself though.

Belly button in or out: In

What I miss: Eating whenever I'm hungry. Work gets in the way of that too. Two days a week I have a meeting during my regular lunch period and don't eat until 1:05....that is late when I eat breakfast before 6 everyday.

What I'm looking forward to: Having a real bump, feeling Baby T move, getting to see Baby T in a about a month or so....so much to look forward to! :)

Milestone: I'm in the fourth month!

Thoughts: I'm learning fast now that I'm back to work that everyone has advice to give you about pregnancy and the new favorite question people have for me now is "how are you feeling?" Some days I feel like I'm in the movie Groundhog's Day, with the same questions, comments, and things happening over and over again, hah. A few co-workers have told me my feet will get bigger (my actual feet Jim :) I knew the rest of my body would change, but it didn't occur to me that my feet could change forever.... Kind of strange, but they tell me that I could go up a size or half a size and never go back down. Anyone else confirm this? For being such a little baby, he/she really finds a way to change everything about your body.

Love my couch, hate lawn mowers

Who would have thought that all my hard work 4 years ago would be so beneficial right now? Our couch is amazing! Four years ago when looking all over for a couch, I spent my time laying on each one making sure it was nap worthy, and it turns out its pregnancy worthy too! The couch is the only place that I can lay comfortably on my stomach. I'm a stomach sleeper and when I try it in bed its pretty uncomfortable. Baby T is getting bigger and my bed just isn't cutting it. But the couch is just squishy enough and worn in enough that I can still lay on my stomach to take a nap. Wonderful!!! I know this won't last much longer probably, but I'm still happy for now.

I had grand plans today, left work right at 3, was home by 3:30, and ready to nap by 3:40 UNTIL the lawn mowers, leaf blowers, and weed whackers arrived! It's so nice out so the windows are open and just my luck that they decided to mow today instead of the normal Wednesday, AND they decided to do it at the end of the day rather than the morning. So needless to say, no real nap for me. Tomorrow and Thursday are busy, so maybe my dream nap time will come true on Friday. For now I'll suck it up and go make dinner, watch some tv, do some work, and go to bed early instead.