Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya, tomorrow!

So tomorrow is the big day!  In approximately 12 hours, we should know whether there is a sweet boy babe or a sweet girl babe on the way!  I have been trying not to think about it all day, and luckily work was pretty busy, but now I have little else to distract me. 

I wanted to share one funny text that Matt's mom sent me today.  She said, "Tomorrow you'll find out if you'll be planning a whole wedding or just a rehearsal dinner!"  I thought that was so funny!  And such an original way to think about it (although let's hope that all things wedding are far, far in the future for our babe!!). 

Anyways, just wanted to share.  Say a little prayer that everything goes smoothly tomorrow and that we get a definitive answer as to the gender of our babe!

Pink or Blue?

Pink!  Blue!  No, no, don't get too excited yet :)  We still have 2 more days before we (hopefully) know the answer to that question.  I am counting them down though.  And I'm not gonna lie, as I've said, I'm going to be pretty disappointed if they can't tell on Wednesday.  But they seemed certain they could, so I'm going to go with that until I find out otherwise.  A lot of people think it is a girl.  In fact, I don't think one person who has offered up their thought on the matter has said boy.  Isn't that funny?  Matt was convinced for a while that it was a girl.  Last night, however, he was having second thoughts.  I still have no idea.  I just want to know.  Sometimes, I find myself daydreaming about what it will be like to have a boy and other times it's about a girl.  There are so many fun things that come with both.  Wednesday really can't get here soon enough.

As for this past weekend...we survived Hurricane Irene.  Really, it didn't hit us all that hard, just some wind and rain.  The northeastern coastal areas really took a beating though - there is a lot of flooding and power outages there.  Even Richmond had a rough go at it.  Cous and Rob are still without power.  I am thankful that it wasn't any worse than it was. 

I've been feeling pretty well recently.  Still hungry, a lot.  Especially in the mornings.  Also, I've had a headache the past two days.  Just a dull one, but one that won't go away.  I can take Tylenol, but it didn't seem to really help, so I figure I'll just fight through it.  I didn't get many headaches before I was pregnant, but they do say it's a side affect (what isn't?!) because of the hormones and such.  I'll be glad to be rid of them  come February.  And my face still resembles 8th grade Kim with the zits and such.  Lovely.  Luckily, I was never prone to bad acne, so it is just here and there, but still....

As for the elusive bump - it's still, well, elusive.  I feel like I've looked the same for the past two weeks. And I feel like I've said this a million times, but...I know it's there, but depending on what I'm wearing, most people can't really see it yet.  They say that the babe will double in size over the next couple of weeks, so here's hoping things start to pop!  I'm still wearing my regular pants with the belly band, although I have noticed them getting tighter.  I guess it's pretty good to be 4 months (and 1 week!) pregnant and still fitting into your regular clothes, more or less, right?  I mean I can't button the pants, but I can still get them over my hips, so I suppose I should be happy :)

They also say that I might start to feel the babe moving around now. It is still too early for the kicks and movements to be felt from the outside, but they say that the mom can start to feel little waves inside that are the babe moving around.  However, they also say that many first-time moms miss this because they don't know what they're looking for.  I think I have felt it a few times, but it is hard to be sure.  I was sitting really still on the couch the other night and I felt a little "popcorn" feeling in my stomach - so very faint, but it was then followed by a little wave-like feeling, so I'm thinking that was the babe!  I felt it again the next night, again as I was sitting very still on the couch.  It is hard to be sure, but it is fun to think that I can feel it, and I definitely can't wait for when I can be certain that that is what I am feeling! 

The countdown to Wednesday is on!!

I Felt the Earth a Shakin'

Well, sweet babe, you just had your first earthquake!  We don't get many of those around here...in fact, this was also my first one!  Apparently there was a 5.9 magnitude quake about 40 miles outside of Richmond, VA at approximately 1:51pm this afternoon.  No worries though, everyone, including the Nannys and other family there, are all ok.  They could really feel it though - and it gave them a pretty good scare.  Things were knocking around and rattling in their cabinets!  As for me, I was sitting at my desk at work, and things just started rocking back and forth.  Honestly, by the time I had processed what might be happening, it was over - it lasted maybe 10 - 15 seconds.  I sat there for a moment, and then another lady in my office said, "Did you just feel that?"  No less than 5 minutes later, Facebook and then the news were going crazy with reports.  It was felt as far north as at least NYC and as far south at least as Myrtle Beach which is pretty crazy!  What a nutty thing to have happen. 

Oh, and there's a hurricane that might be on it's way to the NC coast this weekend.  Right now she's veering a little farther east though, so hopefully we won't be dealing with that!
Good times!  I'm just glad everyone is alright!

In-Between - aka "Bump Watch 2011"

I've dubbed this time "bump watch 2011."  lol.  Everyone is watching and waiting for it, including me.  I mean, even the sweet old ladies at church are watching for it!  As I've said before, I can definitely tell, and those around me who knew me before and know that I am pregnant now, can tell if I'm wearing a fitted shirt, but as for the general public...they might wonder, but they'd certainly have no reason to be sure.  It really depends on what I'm wearing.  And actually, most mornings, I find myself trying to find an outfit to wear that shows off the little bump that is there.  Otherwise, I feel like I just look like I've gained weight...and let's be honest, that is not a look that anyone is ever going for. 

As for the "in-between" in the title - I say that because right now, I feel like I am really in-between.  Most of my pants won't button anymore (or do so only very uncomfortably), but I am not nearly big enough for maternity pants yet.  I have one of those belly bands that goes over your unbuttoned pants and that has pretty much been a life-saver, as I have been wearing it basically every day.  I don't mind it so much, but again, it is time for that bump to really pop out! 

Anyways, here is my case-in-point...these pictures were taken within 5 minutes of each other.  Please forgive the quality. It is the end of the day!

Hmm...did she just eat a whole Thanksgiving dinner?  I guess she could, maybe be pregnant??


Well looky there!  I think I might, maybe, kinda see a teeny-tiny baby bump!
 Well sweet babe, I am ready for you to grow, grow grow!  We are starting our 16th week today...just 9 more days until we find out whether we'll be buying pink or blue!  I can't wait!

Zits

Zits.  And no, I am not referring to the comic strip.  This week, our sweet babe has helped my skin revert back to it's 8th grade self.  I'm not a big fan.  But again, I just have to remind myself the reason behind it all, and it makes it seem much more tolerable.  What a crazy, yet amazing journey this is.  :)

15 weeks!

This week starts week number 15!  I am definitely feeling better these days, and I have a lot more energy.  (Funny how everything they tell you really is true.)  I am still feeling a little sick in the mornings and it takes me until after lunch to feel better, but I think really I am just hungry from not having eaten all night and am therefore playing catch-up in the mornings.  Compared to how I felt a few weeks ago, this is nothing.  The energy is nice too.  I've actually been up for taking Fisher on walks in the evenings when we get home from work, instead of feeling like I need an 8-hour nap.  Thank goodness.  I'm also back to taking ballet class once a week, and while I am definitely really tired at the end of it (more-so than pre-preggo self), it is nice to feel slightly athletic again and not just like a bump on a log...a very tired bump on a log.  Hooray, babe!  As for the "bump" it is slowly but surely starting to appear.  Still nothing terribly photo-worthy.  It really depends on what I'm wearing whether you can even notice it or not.  I'm ready to show - this in-between phase is a bit annoying...people who know I'm pregnant can tell a little...everyone else probably just thinks I ate too many Krispy Creme doughnuts last night.  Lol.  Ah well....keep growing little babe.  I know the bump will come.  I'm just ready for it to stick out a little bit more.  :)

We had a great weekend with some fun visitors.  The entire Wild family came for a visit Saturday.  Maddie and Audrey crack me up so much.  They are so vocal these days and a ton of fun to be around.  Audrey, especially, was interested in Fisher.  Maddie liked her I think, but mostly just wanted to run around and play (she had been in a car for 2 hours, so I don't blame her) .   We had a great time seeing Sis and Andrew too.  Sis brought be a lot of her maternity clothes (for whenever that bump really does show up), and we had a great lunch at Moe's.  Maddie and Audrey are definitely the guacamole queens.  I've never seen two two-year-olds eat as much guacamole as quickly as those two can.  It is hilarious.  We had such a great time that we totally forgot to snap a picture!  Sad.  But next time we'll try to capture the moment a little bit better.

Matt and I also got our new bedroom furniture this past week!  It looks great, and the new bed is so comfortable.  Our old set was a full-size bed, and we upgraded to a queen.  You can really tell the difference.  Matt joked that as this pregnancy progressed, there might not be room for all *3* of us in a full size bed.  We'll definitely fit in the queen.  Here's hoping it makes for a more comfortable December and January for all involved! 


Isn't it pretty?
 So that's all for now.  The countdown is on until August 31.  It seems like the guesses are pretty split between boy or girl.  I really have no idea.  I feel like a lot of people we know are having boys, so perhaps, statistically we are due for a girl.  But I can think of a lot of fun things for both and really will be so happy either way.  Matt keeps waffling back and forth between what he thinks it is.  He thought it was a girl at first...then after the second ultrasound he thought it was a boy.  I think at this point he's pretty undecided as well.  Honestly though, we are just so excited either way that it doesn't really matter.  We love you, little babe, whatever you are!

Sah-woosh, Sah-woosh

"Sah-woosh, sah-woosh"...that is the sweet sound our babe's heartbeat made today at the calm rate of 150 beats per minute!  We headed back to the doctor today for my monthly check-up and this was the first time it was big enough to actually hear the heartbeat on the doppler.  It is still pretty small, so it took her a few minutes to find it, and while even though I knew things were fine, I sure was glad when we heard that "sah-woosh, sah-woosh" sound.  150 bpm is perfect according to the doctor and everything seems to be going along fine.  The most exciting part of the appointment was when she told us that she was going to go ahead and schedule us in three-weeks for our big ultrasound!  I was thinking that it would be mid-September before we had that appointment, but I am more than happy to have it earlier!  She sounded confident that they'd be able to find out the sex of the baby then, so we are excited.  I took the first appointment of the day (8:15am), knowing that I'd be worthless at work all day if I had to wait around until the afternoon for that appointment.  So the big day is August 31!  Ya-hoo!  We are so excited.  I just feel like so much planning can really begin once we know the sex.  Names, nursery, etc.  Ooooh, I can't wait! 

Otherwise, things are definitely improving as I am now in the first week of my second trimester.  I am still a little nauseous in the mornings, but after that I feel fine.  My back is hurting a little when I sleep (already!), but nothing that I can't handle.  Matt and I actually bought new bedroom furniture this week, including a new mattress, and it will be delivered tomorrow, so maybe that will help.  Regardless, we have been sleeping on some second-hand furniture that Matt bought off of Craigslist before law school, so I am excited to have the new things!

I think our babe might be on a little bit of a growth spurt this week, as my stomach is definitely growing.  I wouldn't say I've "popped" yet, but it's getting closer.  Perhaps I'll start posting pictures of that soon - once there is really something to see.  I'm guessing in the next week or so there will be, and I am excited about that!  According to my weekly emails, the babe is about the size of a lemon now, can make facial expressions and might even be sucking his thumb in there!  I will laugh so hard if it is when we see it on the ultrasound in three weeks because I was a thumb sucker myself. 

Anyways, today is a joyful day and full of excitement.  I can't believe in just three weeks we'll (hopefully) know whether there's a little boy or little girl babe in there!  I'm so excited to find out!

Best Friends, Medium Shrimp and 13 Weeks!

So, this weekend was fabulous.  Carolyn came to visit and as always, no matter how long it has been since we've seen each other, we had a great time just hanging out, relaxing, and laughing.  It is hard to believe that we have been friends for almost 15 years now.  That is a lot of life to share!  I'm so thankful for her and our friendship though, and it was exciting to get to talk to her about the babe and dream about all the next year will hold for both of us.  
We've come a long way since 7th grade!
In other news, today I am starting my 13th week which means that this is officially the last week of my first trimester (which I keep calling a "semester" btw...haha!).  I know things will speed up, but I feel like they are CRAWLING at this point.  The news is pretty much out now, which makes it seem more real, but I still don't really "look" pregnant (to the untrained eye).  Again, just like wishing to be sick in the beginning, I'm sure I will regret this, but I am ready to start showing a little bit.  My pants are definitely fitting tighter and I can tell that my stomach is growing, but most people can't really tell yet.  As for the nausea and tiredness, I am happy to say that it is subsiding some.  It is not completely gone, and some days are better than others, but I am not constantly nauseous anymore.  Today actually, I've just been starving all day.  I've eaten 3 snack packs of Ritz Bitz cheese crackers since 8am this morning (because that is all I have in my desk at work at the moment), and I am still hungry!  Also, I am starting to think I might never eat another Ritz Bitz after all this is over! 

According to the weekly email, our babe is now the size of a "medium shrimp" which just made me laugh.  First of all, ew.  Second of all, I don't think of shrimp as being bigger than limes, but apparently they are, because he/she was the size of a lime last week.  I guess that is why they specify that it is a "medium" shrimp.  Plus, if you know us, you'll know that I didn't eat shrimp before I met Matt and that now I really like it.  So for all those bizarre reasons, it is just hard for me to imagine our sweet babe as a "medium shrimp."  (Side note: I just looked on one of the other sites that I like to read and they say that this week your baby is about the size of a peach.  Let's go with that.  I like it much more than a shrimp.)

We head back to the doctor next week.  We should be able to hear the heartbeat this time, which will be pretty awesome.  I can feel myself starting to get nervous about how things are developing, but I know that I just have to trust that they are on track.  It will be nice to have the confirmation though.  Also, all symptoms point to the idea that things are growing and developing so I am working hard to believe and trust in that.  It is not in my hands, and I just have to remind myself of that regularly. 

It is good to have some energy back and not feel so crummy all the time.  I am definitely excited and can't wait to really start preparing for the babe.  Fun times ahead, to be sure!