20 Weeks! Half Way There!!!

I can't believe I'm already half way there! Baby must have had a growth spurt this week! My belly is definitely bigger and I can feel her moving all the time! It is so cool. It is cute when I watch tv at night with Pete he will sit there with his hand on my belly and if she isn't moving he will shake my stomach, or poke it or cup his hands and talk to her to try and get her to move. Doesn't always work though, probably because she is stubborn like her mom and dad, but it is too cute watching him try.

I have started on the whole registering process too, which can be overwhelming. Which bottles to get, which breast pump is best, what kind of swing will work, does she really need all this stuff... It is all so difficult. And the worst part is I find that I am liking the "boy" type stuff way better. This could be because pink is the color of a medicine you take when you are vomiting, thus, it isn't so much my favorite and everything girl is saturated in pink. Lavender is pretty too, you know!!!! Everyone says that we will have so much fun because there is so much more cute stuff for girls. I beg to differ. Have you seen the adorable boys outfits out there. They are unbelievably cute. Don't get me wrong, there is a lot of cute girl stuff, but it all has to be so freakin' pink! It is killing me!!!

She is Kicking!!!

Over the past few weeks I have felt these movements in my belly, but I have never been sure if they were from the baby, or if it was just gas. It kind of feels like little bubbles popping every now and again. Well today I was lying on the couch watching some Friends with Pete and those bubbles seemed really intense. So much so that I saw my stomach moving. I grabbed Pete's hand and we sat there for a minute and we both felt her!!!! It was so amazing. I can't believe that at only 19 weeks pregnant, not only did I feel her, but she kicked so hard that Pete could feel her too!!! I do believe we have a little Mia Hamm on our hands!

It is the craziest feeling when it finally happens. I am just so glad that Pete was there to feel it the very first time! I thought it would be weeks after I felt it that he would be able to. It is just yet another moment that makes this miracle feel more like a reality. She is an active little one too. I am coming to the conclusion that pretty soon I am going to hit a point where sleep will become a dream for me. I am going to miss it, but I am going to enjoy everything else so much more!!!! It is so cool to just sit there and watch my stomach moving. It is like a little jumping bean is in there and every once in a while you can see it!!!

19 Weeks

I hit 19 weeks today. I don't think my belly has changed too much the last few weeks, but it definitely is starting to feel tighter and firmer all the time. It is so crazy. In the last week or two when I lay down flat, my belly no longer sinks down like it used to. It is kind of cool. Although I am a little worried about how my sleep is going to go once I am too uncomfortable to sleep on my stomach. Plus, I've read that you shouldn't sleep on your back at a certain point in pregnancy, but I find myself waking up on my back every once in a while. I will be getting a body pillow at some point, which I hear is supposed to help a lot.

Some New Stuff For Baby!

Baby got some more spoiling this week! Pete's mom was in town this week and we did some shopping. "Mimi" wants to make her granddaughter a baby quilt so we went around to a million fabric stores looking for the perfect fabrics for it. We found some really cute ones. I think it is going to look so beautiful when it is finished. She also got baby her car seat!

It goes quite well with the stroller we have too. Graco has a really high safety rating, so our little bean will be very protected. We also picked out some cute little girl outfits now that we can buy gender specific clothes. Sheryl got the little one in the center that says "Daddy's Girl" and when I saw it it made me misty eyed. It is just so adorable.

We had a BBQ over the weekend with Pete's aunt and uncle and their little girl Natalia. She is so adorable. (Those are her sleepy little eyes on the top of my blog.) They surprised us and brought over a whole basket full of baby clothes, receiving blankets, and a Bumbo seat and tray. I can't believe how many adorable outfits there were. I didn't count them, but there are at least 20 to 30 of them! It is a good thing that you usually have to change a babies clothes more than once a day, cause I want her to get use out of all of them.

Their little one was in love with Audrey and Jack too. I have been a little worried about how the animals were going to react to a little one being around, but they were both so good with Natalia. Audrey was so sweet and gentle with her, and amazingly so was Jack. I was so impressed. Made me feel so much better about having animals around a baby. Audrey's tail is really the only issue, because you can't really teach her not to wag it and that thing is weapon. Some heavy duty duct tape might be needed so we can just fasten the tail to her leg.

IT'S A GIRL!!!!

We had an in-depth ultrasound on Tuesday to check how our little one is coming along, as well as to find out the sex. We are so excited to be having a little girl!!! I am keeping my fingers crossed that she gets my red hair and Pete's adorable dimples. The ultrasound technician said that she was perfect, everything was growing properly and she had a strong and steady heartbeat at 150 bpm. She is an active little one too, which is so great! I can't feel her yet, but I am sure that is coming soon.

On the not so exciting side, my computer decided to contract a virus. How happy am I? So it is in the shop for the next few days. Luckily I am able to use Pete's work computer for internet needs. However there will be a delay in pictures. I promise that as soon as I get my computer back, assuming it is in working order there will be pictures posted of my big fat belly, some new baby items, and a video of the 17 week ultrasound when we found out the sex of our little bean! So please stay tuned!!!

18 Weeks

So I am finding that the growth of the stomach is not always a constant. Sometimes being bloated causes me to look more pregnant one day, then the next I look like I have lost weight. On the positive side, I have started to slowly gain weight, and my nausea overall is better. I do have days that take me down, but for the most part, it is quite tolerable. Then again, it could just be that I am getting used to this nauseous misery.

I can still wear all my normal clothes, which is nice. I have picked up some really cute maternity tops, some of which anyone could wear, pregnant or not. They are quite comfortable too, so I love that I can wear them now. I am going to try to wear non pregnancy pants for as long as possible using the hair band trick and those belly bands. I have heard that maternity pants, especially the jeans are so uncomfortable and annoying.

17 Weeks

I hit the 17 week mark today! For those of you (Amy) who are totally off with the week thing, that is about four months. I had my monthly checkup today, and everything looks good. I got to hear the bean's little heartbeat at my appointment, which is the best sound in the world, and next week we get to find out what we are having!!!! I can't wait! I am still down as far as weight goes, but doing okay. I am trying to incorporate more protein in my diet, which will help, and Pete got me some Haagen Dazs dark chocolate ice cream, so that has got to pack on something!

I have my first food cravings since my initial pickles and turkey burger when I first became pregnant. Dried apricots. I love them and I nibble on them all day long. They are the best. I can't eat large bites of them, cause then they just don't taste as good so it takes me about 15 to 20 bites to get through one. I know this makes me crazy, but it could also be that I just want that one apricot to last as long as possible, and little bites are a way to get that done. I am glad that it is something healthy and not donuts or something. Mmmm...donuts.

Here is my 17 week picture. Found a much more pleasing spot in the house to take it. Silhouettes are so much more pleasing than harsh, blown out pictures, with terrible lighting. My tummy is getting harder and harder by the day. For these pictures I refrain from sucking in at all, which I have found seems to be a females natural instinct when a picture is being taken. I know that eventually I won't be able to anymore, so I figure this will be the most accurate representation of my belly's growth.

Anniversary Weekend

I know that our anniversary isn't necessarily about baby, but I guess it is kind of indirectly, so I am going to share anyway. After posing the two ideas of the Santa Barbara Zoo and the Long Beach Aquarium for our anniversary to Pete, he responded saying, "Animals are cool, fish suck." So the Santa Barbara Zoo it is! We has such a good time there. Pretty much every animal they had was out and we seemed to hit them all when they were somewhat active. Well except the lions, they are sure sleepy. We went by them twice about two hours apart and they hadn't even moved, well the female had closed her legs from the spread eagle position, but other than that, still sleeping.

I was worried going out there cause my new thing is getting this weird echo in my ears then getting really light headed and blacking out if I stand too long. It is lovely, and I am sure it is from my lack of proper nutrition. So on the drive out there I ate and drank everything and anything that I could manage. Starbucks breakfast sandwich, a bunch of dried apricots, a strawberry lemonade, and some water. This helped a ton. Had no problems until my ears started echoing again, then I knew it was time for lunch.

I took over 300 pictures while we were there, so going threw them and narrowing them down was somewhat difficult, but I wanted to include some of our favorite animals from the visit. One of my most favorites, and the inspiration for the baby's nursery is, of course, the giraffe. I just love them. They are so beautiful and graceful, and all the giraffe baby stuff they have out right now is so freakin' adorable.

Right next to the giraffes are the meerkats. They are just about the cutest thing ever. They have so much personality. I told Pete I want one. Then again I told Pete that I wanted a giraffe, an elephant, a snow leopard, and a sea otter too. I have a feeling Audrey and Jack will have to suffice though.

After that was Pete's favorite, the gorillas. There were two beautiful silver backed gorillas and the zoo staff was there giving them food so they were a bit more active. I can't believe how much personality they have. And for such huge animals they are really quite dainty with how they eat. This guy was waiting for his banana leaf to be thrown to him.

The elephants are another animal that is going to be part of the baby's room motif. They had two of them there, and even though they are such huge animals there is something so sweet and gentle about them. They were having a good time giving themselves dirt baths while we were there, which was hilarious to watch.

I have to say that the most gorgeous animal they have there is definitely the snow leopard. It was just breath-taking. I have always been a cat lover, and the snow leopard is one of my favorites. I so just wanted to go in and pet him or her.

The sea otters were awesome. The first time we walked by them they were sleeping, and are they ever adorable. Then when we went back by after lunch they were all kinds of active. The little guy was playing with his food and I loved this shot because in his flailing about he looks like he is praying.

So those were some of my favorite animals from the Santa Barbara Zoo visit. Though it is a small zoo it has a lot of cool animals and it is in such a beautiful area. I can't wait to go there with the little bean once it is old enough.

16 Week Bump

As a photographer, I absolutely hate these pictures. So many things wrong (notice the extreme blow out on my hand, just to mention one). My house is very limited on good lighting and large enough areas to take proper pictures like this. I so wish I had a home studio. I will continue to work on finding a decent area within the confines of the house to take future pictures like this, but for now these will have to suffice.

Now as a mom, I love seeing my belly get bigger. Probably because it is the only time in a persons life that one can embrace having a big belly. I am probably embracing it now because it hasn't gotten huge yet. In a couple months I might just be hating life and these pictures.

On the upside I can still fit into my skinny day jeans as long as I push the top down and button them lower. Oh, they are a bit snug around the belly, but definitely comfortable everywhere else. On the downside the nausea is still plaguing me. I was hopeful that it would be gone by now, but no such luck. But I do seem to have more good days and the good days seem better than the good days a month or so ago, so hopefully that is a sign of even better things to come.
Today is Pete and my anniversary and normally we go wine tasting, so things will have to change this year. Spending some time out in the sun on the beach sounds like the perfect alternative. I really want to go to the Santa Barbara Zoo or the Long Beach Aquarium too, however, those might have to take some convincing, so we will see.

I have my doctor's appointment on Tuesday and that is when we schedule the ultrasound to find out the sex of the baby!!! I am getting so anxious to find out. In the beginning I was indifferent about finding out, but Pete really wanted to know. Now it is all I think about. I give people so much credit who wait until the baby is born to find out. I think I would go crazy.

First Big Baby Items!

The Fex Ex guy came this weekend with my first big baby purchase!!! The three wheeled stroller that I have always wanted! I don't know why, but I just love three wheeled strollers; not necessarily jogging strollers, because those have ginormous wheels, and I don't need that, but just three normal sized wheels. I put it together today and the thing pushes like it is riding on air. I just love it and I am so excited!

If you will notice, it even has a kickstand so that when baby gets bigger and climbs in on their own, it won't tip over. How clever those manufacturers are!

Grandma spoiled the baby when she was here visiting too and got us some nursery essentials. The rocking chair and ottoman, which will be used constantly, I'm sure. Pete already uses it all the time.

As you may have noticed I still have the plastic on it. No, I am not one of those grandma's who covers all of her furniture in plastic. I have reasons why I am leaving it on. First, Pete didn't get the name leaky Pete for nothing, so I would like it to stay clean at least until the baby is here. And second, my four legged mew, Jack, loves to make it his bed and I would rather not have the baby's stuff covered in Jack hair before it even gets into the nursery. So until it is in the nursery with the door shut to keep Jack away, it is staying covered.

Grandma also got us the baby's crib. I love it so! So many cribs out there are huge and bulky or small and rickety, and this one was the perfect balance. Plus, it is modern looking, which is so my style, and it will convert to a toddler then a full size bed as the baby grows up.

I won't see this beautiful crib for a little while, though. It takes 8 to 12 weeks in order for them to ship it. It is like ordering a wedding dress. Luckily we got an early start and should have no problem getting it home and assembled in time for the little bean.

So three things down and only like 3000 more to go!!!