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.