17 weeks and lot's o pictures and sounds:)

I'm 17 weeks today! I can't believe I'm already almost 1/2 way through this pregnancy. I'm loving every minute but the time is certainly flying by. I know it will only go faster as we get further into the summer to. J and I are notoriously busy 99% of the time on EVERY weekend during the summer. This summer is shaping up to be much the same. We're already booked 3/4 weekends in June with stuff to do:) It's generally very fun stuff but this year we have to factor in getting the house/nursery ready for Petri too. The nursery is a daunting task just to get it to the point where we can paint the walls and bring in a crib and dresser but I'm trying to get more motivated to get to work. It will get done because it HAS to get done, just means I have to make the most of the time I have before Petri arrives:)

I had another OB appointment today. I find them pretty useless at this point but I LOVE hearing Petri's heartbeat so I don't complain:) Today I asked if I could record the heartbeat since J hasn't heard it yet. I tried to upload it but keeps coming up with an error:( I'll try to figure it out to upload later.

This past weekend I went to Pittsburgh for a girls weekend getaway with 2 of my oldest friends. I met both in middle school and we've remained very close friends ever since. My one friend is 28 weeks pregnant and has an almost 3 year old daughter. My other friend has a 15 month old. Needless to say, much of the weekend was spent talking about pregnancies, parenting, baby gear, etc. We even went to a consignment shop in Monroeville and I picked up some great stuff! I got the clothes and bumbo for about $50! Last week J's coworker gave us the highchair shown here too:)



I'm still going to do a weekly survey but I'm going to switch it up a bit. Here's a survey I stole from another friend from TB:)

*How far along?: 17 Weeks

*Total weight gain: probably around 7ish lbs... At the doctors appt this morning I had gained 4lbs in 4 weeks. I think thats what they say is normal but I wasn't too happy about it:P

*How big is baby?: The size of a baked potato or about 5inches long

*Sleep?: Generally good. I'm not going to be able to sleep on my stomach much longer which worries me since I ONLY sleep on my stomach

*How are you feeling physically?: Great

*How are you feeling emotionally?: Excited!

*Best moment this week?: Buying stuff for Petri this weekend and hearing his/her heartbeat this morning

*Movement?: Not yet:( Though, I'm trying to pay more attention since it supposedly should start anytime now

*Food cravings?: Nothing really

*Labor signs?: Thankfully nada!

*What I miss: Sweet tea!

*What I'm looking forward to: Anatomy scan in a few weeks!

*Random Thoughts: Just wondering if Petri is a boy or girl. People keep guessing but I have no "motherly instinct" when it comes to the sex and it's driving me nuts!:P

Maternity Tour

J and I went on our maternity tour of the hospital tonight! It was so much fun and so much information. The hospital is really nice and all the rooms are private which is fantastic. They don't have a well baby nursery so the baby is with you in your room 95% of the time, which I personally love. The hospital policy is also to have the baby cleaned up and handed back to you as soon as possible so the baby can breastfeed which is also something I personally love.

The only thing I don't like is that there can only be 4 people visiting you at a time. My family is huge and complicated and lets just say I have more than 4 parents (not including J's). It's going to be a little complicated with visitors but they can all figure that out when the time comes. And while I might not like the policy now, I can see why it is the policy and I may be thankful for it when I actually have the baby. They changed their policy about the age of children that can visit too. Used to be only kids 12 and older could visit unless they were a sibling of the new baby but now kids of any age are welcome to visit. Makes things much easier for friends and family with kids to visit in the hospital.

So needless to say I'm very excited to deliver there and can NOT wait to meet Petri:) Heres a picture of the mother and baby room. Granted they show the largest room available which they said they try to reserve for MoM's (for obvious reasons) but even the much smaller room we were in was still pretty nice:)

1st Bump Pics/ 16 Weeks!

So I slacked a little a while back with taking bump pictures but that's mainly because I felt like a fat cow. I was so bloated and I was in the awkward not fitting in my maternity OR my regular clothes stage. I've gotten somewhat back on track and today is the first day I compared the pictures. There isn't a ton of change from my last picture 2 weeks ago but theres quite a change from my first picture at 6w1d. No wonder none of my pants fit me anymore:P So here's the comparison:




I've also decided that I'm changing the outfit I take my pics in. I think I look horrible in every single picture I've taken so far and a lot of it is because of the outfit I'm wearing. I wanted to be consistent throughout but it's driving me nuts. So I have to find something else that I'll actually be comfortable with sharing these pictures with people:P

I'm a little late but here's my 16 week survey. Not much has changed. My next appointment is on Monday and I can't wait!

Survey time!
How far along? 16weeks 2 days

Weight gain/loss: Probably up 5-6lbs total

Maternity clothes? Yes, pants pretty much every day. Shirts I'm starting to wear more often. I bought some larger "flowy" shirts last week since my regular shirts don't fit anymore but the maternity shirts are too big. I feel so much more comfortable in the new shirts and feel like I actually look somewhat decent when I go to work now:P

Stretch marks? Nothing new

Sleep? Generally ok

Best moment since last update? Having the news spread and having people ask me how I'm doing and be so excited for us (it's happening more and more)

Food cravings: None

Genders: Less than a month away.

Belly button in or out? In

Movement? Not yet:( I hope I start feeling something soon. Supposed to happen between 16-20 weeks so I'm hoping I won't have to wait too much longer

What I miss? Fitting in my clothes (still true!)

What I'm looking forward to: Doctor's appointment on Monday, can't wait to hear Petri's heartbeat again!

Milestones: Hit the 4 month mark! 5 left to go:)

15 weeks!

My baby is now peeing in me over and over and over. WEIRD. On mother's day I told my brothers this fun fact and of course they said...ew! I hope its not pooping in you too! So I informed them that no, the baby isn't pooping in me and hopefully won't cause that causes major complications:P

I'll start posting belly pictures next week:)

Survey time!
How far along? 15 weeks!

Weight gain/loss: Probably up a couple of pounds but I'm not sure. Just hoping not too much

Maternity clothes? Definitely yes for pants, no shirts yet. I bought a few larger shirts that are flowy to get me through this awkward "fat" looking stage

Stretch marks? Nothing new

Sleep? Generally ok

Best moment since last update? Celebrating mother's day weekend and getting lots of cards and even some gifts!

Food cravings: None

Genders: Only a month till we find out!

Belly button in or out? In

Movement? None but I'm getting excited and hoping I can start feeling flutters soon

What I miss? Fitting in my clothes

What I'm looking forward to: Wee Cycle consignment shop on Thursday night and Maternity tour next week!

Milestones: My baby can pee!

Mother's Day- A comparison

This mother's day was/is exponentially better and easier for me than last year's mother's day. Last year I hosted a mother's day cookout at my house. It was my mom and her husband, my aunt and uncle, and my cousin and his pregnant wife. Don't get me wrong, I love these people and I was happy to spend the day with them. But I spent much of the day listening to stories of pregnancies and baby showers and all things baby related. It was ridiculously hard for me to keep a happy face on while inside I was crying about the fact that we'd been trying for over a year and started treatments and still weren't pregnant. It sucked and I still feel bad because I know my mom could tell I was upset. I didn't want her to worry about me since it was her day but it sucked.

This year is so much different. I hosted brunch for my mom and her husband and my brother this year. There wasn't a ton of baby talk (which is fine) but I wasn't sad or dreading the day. I've been getting Mother's day cards for a week now (my sister sent one almost a month ago cause she couldn't wait:)) and I've gotten phone calls and I even got a mother's day gift from my mom. I'm so thankful and happy that this mother's day was so much different. I can't even imagine what I'd be like today if I still wasn't pregnant.

I know there are many women out there that dread this day and this day only brings them more pain and suffering. And for that, I'm so sorry. I know the pain and I just wish that it didn't have to exist. I wish that all women who want to be mothers could be and didn't have to endure months of pills, shots, procedures, dildo cams, etc. While this day has been a good day for me, I'm still keeping all the women that are still trying to get pregnant in my thoughts and prayers.

14 Weeks!

Petri is the size of a lemon this week. I can't believe I'm 14 weeks already. I LOVE it. I'm getting a bump, though I keep insisting it's mostly just flab. I wore an empire waist shirt today (not maternity) and definitely looked like I was showing. I've been given TONS of maternity clothes and even some pretty good baby stuff! Today my coworker gave me her bundle me and moby wrap. This weekend my SIL gave me tons of stuff. Some I'll use, some I won't but it's nice to have the option:)

My neice was so cute this weekend. She kept telling my SIL that she couldn't wait to see the baby when we came to visit. My SIL explained to her that she would only get to see my belly since the baby wouldn't be around until Halloween. My niece just looked at her and said EW (she didn't want to look at my belly)! Then this weekend I explained to her that she wouldn't be able to see the baby for a while because it was still "cooking". Well the rest of the weekend she kept explaining how the baby wouldn't be done "tookin" until "Hawowween" ADORABLE! (She's almost 3)

Anyway... on with the survey!
How far along? 14 weeks!

Weight gain/loss: I was only up a pound in 3 weeks at my last appt. I'm probably around the same now, or at least I hope!

Maternity clothes? Definitely yes for pants, no shirts yet.

Stretch marks? Nothing new

Sleep? Usually only up once a night to pee but its been as bad as 4x in one night!

Best moment since last update? Getting to hear the hb again at last week's appointment. Also "outing" myself at work and on FB

Food cravings: Nothing really

Genders: Don't know but our anatomy scan is scheduled for June 9th (J's birthday)! I can't wait:)

Belly button in or out? In

Movement? None:(

What I miss? Nothing that I can think of right now

What I'm looking forward to: Showing more, feeling movement, my next appointments

Milestones: Not sure