29 Weeks

This week's Recap:

Beginning: We kicked off this week with our annual Central NY Christmas trip - about 12 hours in the car over 3 days. I can't even imagine that excursion next year with a 9-month-old. My nephew Ryan is 4 months old and watching Adam's sister and brother-in-law struggle through Christmas Eve with a baby made me appreciate our last "easy" Christmas.

Middle: Pure exhaustion (first trimester level of exhaustion).

End: Energy regained, just in time for us to get snowed in on Saturday and spend all day on the couch playing games (totally dominated at Dominos) and watching movie re-runs on TV... which leads me to my brief venting session on Star Wars III: the whole movie, Padme is supposed to be pregnant with twins, and then gives birth at the end to two healthy babies. Padme does NOT look more than a 5 months pregnant with ONE child. There are scenes where I don't think they even bothered to put the fake baby bump under her outfits. As proof: compare knocked-up Natalie Portman (post Black Swan) with "Padme" in Star Wars III. As a pregnant women who struggles to find a comfortable seated position on the couch for Dominos, I take offense to Star Wars inability to make a pregnant chick LOOK PREGNANT.

And speaking of "looking pregnant," you know that scene in "Knocked Up" where Katherine Heigel is interviewing celebrities and they all ask if she's about to pop, when she really has months left to go? That totally happened at the Post Office. The Post Man was like: "Is this going to be a new year's baby?" And I'm like: "Uh no, this is a St Patrick's Day baby - like 2.5 months away." ["Thanks for making me feel like a gigantic fatass"]

Baby size: Acorn squash

Total weight gain: 23 lbs

Countdown to the Gender Reveal: 3 weeks!

Maternity Clothes: I am perfecting my white trash look. Running errands this week, I wore the ever-stylish long sleeve non-maternity shirt covered by a short-sleeve non-maternity t-shirt. So yea.... there may have been a few moments of my belly hanging out underneath. Sexy.

Sleep: Continually waking up 3am-4am. Hoping I'll go back to normal sleep with work next week.

Cravings: Chocolate milk (calcium), cottage cheese (calcium), sourdough bread (???)

Anything make me sick? American Eagle. AE does the same thing as Abercrombie where they put perfume in the vents to fill the store with their cheap perfume. We stopped in to get jeans for Adam and the overwhelming "baby prostitute" perfume smell made me sick. I hope they fix that smell by the time my child becomes a teen.

Pregnancy Symptoms of the Week: The cough I mentioned in the previous week's post had not gone away, so (at Adam's insistence) I called the doctor and she told me to take robitussin non-DM. Do you know how hard it is to find regular robitussin? It absolutely does not exist anymore. There's 1,000,000 types of Robitussin DM, and I was pretty sure I'd find "Robitussin DM Cure for Cancer" before I found "regular Robitussin non-DM"

What I miss: Christmas Eve champagne (my favorite alcoholic beverage) and martinis with Meghan/Erin on Friday night (I tasted Erin's and it tasted soooooooo good).

Movement: Yes! "Wolfgang" will wake up Adam with kicks in the middle of the night while I'm fast asleep! Hilarious!

Embarrassing Cry of the Week: 2 weeks tear-free

General Mood: Good. Survived the holidays, getting plenty of rest at home, actually getting to SEE Adam, and accomplishing my enormous Christmas PTO to-do list makes me feel good.

Excited for: I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm kind of excited to get back to work this week. Yes, it feels good to be home, relax, and accomplish things, but I miss my routine and getting out of the house (this, of course, does not bode well for 6-8 weeks home on maternity leave; let's hope having a little baby improves my feelings on being cooped up all day).

28 Weeks - Third Trimester!

Officially in my third trimester. The second trimester flew by, very unlike the first trimester which just draagggged. I have been warned that time slows in the third trimester, so we will see. I signed up for an aqua-aerobics class this winter, recommended to me by one of the women in my prenatal yoga class. The class ends 3 days before I'm due - perfect! I am very excited about this because I've heard the anti-gravitiy water effect feels AMAZING for [fat] pregnant women!

A few experiences I'd like to share from my travels to and from Kansas this week, which I'll entitle "Traveling with a Big Belly":
- Getting comfortable on a plane is 10x more difficult than normal
- You can barely reach the carry-on under the seat in front of you
- The stewardess scolds you for using the restroom while the fasten seat belt sign is on (I almost replied with: "Consider me a 2-yr-old right now; either I pee in the toilet or I'll pee the seat - you pick!")
- Other passengers usually help you get your luggage up and down (one positive!)

Baby size: Eggplant

Total weight gain: 22 lbs. I blame my travels to Kansas and all the fried fast food. My babycenter.com app says most women gain 11-13 lbs this last trimester. Awesome. I will cry my eyes out.

Countdown to the Gender Reveal: 4 weeks!

Maternity Clothes: Finally got some new clothes! I went shopping at Pea in the Pod this morning (9am, before the KOP mall was crazy with last-minute shoppers). I FINALLY bought a pair of skinny jeans (which Rachel told me to buy, like, months ago!) to go with my new brown boots, as well as two Christmas sweaters (I'm wearing one in the photo). I decided it was worth investing in some feel-good-about-myself clothes for the Christmas get-togethers in NY this week.

Sleep: Still good. I change positions a lot, but it's manageable.

Cravings: I ate so much greasy fast food in my travels to Kansas, so now I just want CLEAN HEALTHY food.

Anything make me sick? Nada.

Pregnancy Symptoms of the Week: Morning congestion. This is due to the increased blood flow to the mucus membranes which causes them to swell. I've had morning congestion for a while now (thick snot with blood - yeah, so yummy), but now it's developed into a "juicy" cough. By noon, the cough and stuffy nose are gone, and the cycle repeats the next morning.

What I miss: Nothing notable this week.

Movement: All the time! "Wolfgang" likes to do flips and turns and all sorts of aerobics throughout the day. If you look closely, you can see the little bumps/"waves" outside of my shirt, but it's not quite alien-level of movement yet.

Embarrassing Cry of the Week: Surprisingly, even with all my travels, it was a tear-free week!

General Mood: Very happy. Lots to look forward to!

Excited for: So so so so much! 12 days off work! Christmas in NY with my grandparents! Nursery Decor DIY Day! Actually getting to SEE my husband now that he's on law school break!

27 Weeks

It's hard to believe I'm almost done my second trimester. Although the baby calendar of months/weeks changes depending on what website you look at, I subscribe to the 10-month pregnancy theory whereby 28 weeks / 4 = 7 months.

This week we had a surge of nursery furniture, as the glider/ottoman came in (LOVE IT) and the baby changer my mom very generously bought for us.

The changer was the demon furniture than hell. It was IKEA instructions gone wrong - no words and tiny pictures. After reviewing every "instruction box," Adam would start the process with "this doesn't seem right," shortly thereafter following by "this f**king nail" or "this damn piece" etc. You'd have to have telepathy to understand those instructions and put it together! And then, when all complete, we realized there was a dent right in the front. !&*@!#$*!@#*$! Hopefully Google can tell us how to patch it, because the chance of us taking it apart for a new piece is slim to none.

On another side of nursery developments, we celebrated Christmas (early as always) with my parents and sisters, and they started off our Winnie the Pooh theme nursery with a rug, hamper, sheets, etc., as well as outfits for "Wolfgang." They also helped us rearrange the nursery a million times until we settled on the final arrangement (which, btw, was the same we started out with).

Baby size: Rutabaga (another vegetable that I never use)

Total weight gain: 20 lbs. I am seriously tempted to stop posting my weight gain; it's like I'm broadcasting to the world that I'm a fat@ss. But when I read other blogs of [healthy] women who've gained similar weight, I try to reassure myself that I'm NOT an abnormality.

Countdown to the Gender Reveal: 5 weeks. Thank you to all who are RSVPing to my mom about the gender-reveal baby shower. As I noted in my last post, the invites say I'm registered as just Babies R' Us, but I did create another Pottery Barn Kids registry, too, since B'R'Us is getting so nicely bought up (thak you all!).

Maternity Clothes: I'm not sure if I'm getting sick of my wardrobe or just sick of how big I look in my current wardrobe. Dresses do a great job of minimizing the belly, and if I'm ever pregnant in the summer, that will be the one silver lining (aside from ridiculous heat).

Sleep: Decent

Cravings: Nothing special this week.

Anything make me sick? Puked for the second time this pregnancy. :( Monday morning, I was thirsty and chugged a glass of water on an empty stomach. That didn't sit well, apparently, and soon the glass of water came up in the trash can. Pro: it was purely water so it wasn't that gross comparably. Con: Ever tried to carefully remove a trashcan liner with a water in it? Not easy! Fortunately, Adam was with me in the kitchen when it happened so he helped a lot while I sat on the floor recovering. Doesn't matter if it's water or solid food, puking is no fun.

Pregnancy Symptoms of the Week: Dizziness. Got nauseous-sick dizzy in "big belly yoga" (prenatal yoga) this week, and my yoga instructor told me that sometime late second trimester, some women go through a brief time of body changes that cause excessive dizziness/imbalance. She warned it only lasts a week or two, so I hope that's the case!

What I miss: Energy and stamina.

Movement: Waterbed motions! That's what I say when "Wolfgang" does his/her acrobatics. It's feels like a waterbed and it looks like one too. Tuesday night I was home alone while Adam was studying for law finals in the library, and I caught the waterbed movement on my iPhone. I sent it to him and he thought it was so amazing. It's kind of creepy, but at the same time it's kind of cool how much it moves!

Embarrassing Legit Cry of the Week: I call these "legit tears" because they are real-life scary situations that prompted them.
First was the shooting in CT; absolutely terrifying to think of raising my child in a world of crazy evil people who will walk into an elementary school and shoot at children. I can't even imagin being a parent in that situation - first to not know if your child is ok, and then worse to find out your child was a victim. Unspeakable.
The second was an update from our controller in Oregon, whose baby boy Oliver is suffering from a metabolic condition where he is slowly deteriorating. The family has been in-and-out of the hospital since birth struggling to keep their baby alive, and now it seems like the doctors may be giving up; Oliver only has months to live. I can only pray that little "Wolfgang" is going to be a healthy baby, and than be thankful and appreciate if he/she is!

General Mood: People ask me all the time how I feel. I have two replies: "Fat" or "Big." Honestly, if I wasn't like 20 lbs heavier than my normal weight, I'd feel great! But instead I'm carrying around all this concentrated extra weight, my feet/legs get tired faster, my movement is restricted, and sometimes my big belly just plain gets in my way! My coworkers are all parents already, and they constantly remind me "it's only going to get worse." Sigh. Thanks, guys!
However, on the flip side, I do have to say that some of the best times of pregnancy are late at night (while Adam is studying in the library), when it's just me and my belly, talking to "Wolfgang" and "playing" with him/her as he/she kicks/punches at my pokes. It's kind of that sweet little moment that makes up for the ridiculous lack of energy.

Excited for: My trip to Kansas this week. Oh wait, that's something I'm NOT looking forward to. I am leaving Monday to visit one of my company's plants in McPherson, KS, which is an hour from Witchita and 3 hours from Kansas City. I HATE HATE HATE flying so I chose a direct flight into Kansas City and a 3-hour drive, rather than 2 flights and a layover to get to Witchita. The last time I flew to visit one of our plants (in North Carolina), I was 7 weeks pregnant, I didn't eat/drink well during my travels, and ended up passing out at the plant while touring the facility - talk about embarrassing drama! That was also when I broke the news to my boss that I was preggers, mostly to explain the passing out drama. Oh dear. Let's just hope this trip goes MUCH smoother than that one.

26 Weeks

I am officially repeating "belly photo" shirts, and I don't even like this shirt very much! See below under maternity clothes - I need new ones!

Baby size: Head of Lettuce. BabyCenter.com says my baby is the length of a "English hothouse cucumber"...? As opposed to a regular cucumber? Does this "English hothouse cucumber" actually exist in normal grocery stores and I'm just a culinary idiot?

Total weight gain: 18 lbs. Once again, up 2 lbs from prior week. This is so frustrating. I had mentally accepted gaining a pound/week, but gaining 2?! I eat healthy, roughly within my 2000-calorie goal, and yet I'm still gaining at a much faster rate than expected. And what's worse, is that I have so far to go - another 14 weeks! - that to keep gaining at some at fast rate... yikes. My goal was always to gain a "comfortable" 25 lbs, but at this rate, that means I'd have to gain no more than 7 lbs in my third trimester, and THAT just doesn't seem plausible.

Countdown to the Gender Reveal: 6 weeks. My mother sent out the baby shower invites this week - I think they are so cute!

Maternity Clothes: Yes, and I need new ones. I am just so sick of the ones I have.

Sleep: Decent. The vivid dreams are still very annoying; I often wake up in a panic of "did that really happen?!" and it's a very strange feeling.

Cravings: Monday - McDonald's chicken sandwich (protein craving?). General obsession - brie cheese (calcium craving?). The brie obsession has been going on for several weeks now, particularly once I realized our work cafeteria could make me a brie & apple & honey panini (MMMmmmm). Technically, brie may fall into that "soft cheese" category of banned pregger foods... but screw that.

Anything make me sick? Cleaning supplies still. Not sure if it's just the particular kind, or quantity, being used by the janitorial staff at work, because I don't get sick at home cleaning the bathrooms. (Although maybe if I did, then Adam would have to clean them... no, nevermind, we'd just have dirty bathrooms.)

Pregnancy Symptoms of the Week: Everything is magnified when you're knocked up. One bad night's sleep makes you feel like you have the flu, then the next night you get a good sleep, and you feel like a million bucks. Pre-pregnancy, I could vasciliate back and forth on sleep patterns and function relatively well (I say 'relatively,' because the 6 months of insomnia at my Sikorsky job definitely took it's toll on me), but now one bad night's sleep and I struggle to get through the most basic tasks at work.

What I miss: Energy and stamina. Pre-preggo, I could easily accomplish my long weekend-to-do list. With baby, I'm worn out so fast. My energy just gets zapped! And during the holidays, when there are 1,000,001 things to do, places to go, presents to buy, food to cook, etc., it's really frustrating to not be able to accomplish everything I want to. My mother-in-law told me I should learn to say "no," but really, what am I going to say no to?! Our favorite things are the friends and family parties, and I really doubt that my MBA program is going to accept "no" from the pregnant student. :)

Movement: Pretty consistent now. Many more people than Adam have felt the baby kick. Some people are really into feeling the baby and some people aren't. I don't mind either way. I don't mind people touching my belly (as long as they AREN'T strangers, because that's just WEIRD), and I like that they are excited with me. For those afraid of the belly, I don't blame them. Despite being really comfortable with babies, I've never been into the "feel the baby kick" belly touch. Just wasn't my thing. I thought it was weird and I am not offended by people who think it's weird as well. Adam said he thinks it's really weird with any pregnant person except me, but obviously mine is OK because, well, it's his baby. :) He likes to "say hi" to "the belly" all the time. I get less attention than my big belly gets!

Embarrassing Cry of the Week: I had a little meltdown late last weekend when Adam got home from the library late. I'd had a very fun - but very busy - weekend and I wanted him home early to cuddle on the couch watching football. When he got home later than I expected, I broke down and sobbed like a baby. I curled up on him on the couch and eventually felt better. This weekend, when my car battery died in center city Philadelphia at my MBA presentation, he took off time from studying to meet me at Sears for the hour they changed my battery. That helped a lot to calm me down and relax me after a bad morning. Pregnant hormonal women need love and comfort. :)

General Mood: Despite feeling like an enormous beached whale, my spirits are kept high by the holiday season. Some days (mostly nights) the extra pounds get to me and I get upset, but as long as I'm sleeping well, I'm relatively happy.

Excited for: So much! Holiday parties, nursery decor DIY day (post-Christmas), nursery furniture arriving one-by-one, etc! My mother sent out the baby shower invites this week and I am so excited. The invites purposely only say Babies R' Us, but I secretly, just last week, created a Pottery Barn Kids registry. Babies R' Us has all the practical things needed for a baby (and is still overpriced from Target), but Pottery Barn has the non-practical "omg, I just love it so much" baby items, that are double the prices of Babies R' Us. I'd rather everyone buy from Babies R' Us for the practical/needed items (the ones we'll have to buy ourselves if others don't), BUT I have my side-bar "wish list" from Pottery Barn. :)

25 Weeks

This weekend was a wonderful kickoff to the holiday season, but it was also a busy weekend, so there wasn't enough time to take the REAL belly shot, therefore I used this shot which Jack very nicely snapped of us for our holiday card.

In preggo news, this week I had my glucose challenge (to test for preggo diabetes). Process: Sit in the Quest Lab waiting room, chug a small bottle of orange liquid, wait an hour, and then the lab techs draw blood. I was warned by my mom that the liquid would taste bad, but I actually liked it because it tasted like orange soda. Technology could have improved the liquid in the last 15 years since my mom was preggo with my sister or maybe my mom just hates orange soda. Either way, it wasn't bad! After chugging, I opened my laptop and logged in to work during my hour wait. 20 minutes later, I started feeling nauseous... REALLY nauseous. I put the laptop away and laid in the waiting room chairs... it was getting worse. The nurse said it was normal (due to the super high sugar content of the orange drink). Well, it got worse and worse; I began to think I was going to puke (worst fear ever because then I'd have to START OVER). I think the nurse could tell this was about to happen, because she took me back to a private room, put me in a reclining chair, propped up my legs, and turned off the lights. Ahhhhh. That helped a lot.
Hint: Try to find a lab that is EMPTY. Had the lab been bustling with people, I don't think I would've gotten the same attention.
Summary: That test BETTER come back clean, because the follow-up is another drink with a 3-hour wait period. Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Baby size: Cauliflower

Total weight gain: 16 lbs. For the first time in over 3 months, I stayed flat for one week! Of course, I stayed flat after TWO consecutive weeks of gaining 2 lbs/ week, but hey, staying flat for at least one week was a great achievement.

Countdown to the Gender Reveal: 7 weeks

Maternity Clothes: I committed a fashion crime this week. Motherhood was having a huge sale so I bought more of my favorite shirts in more colors. I now own FIVE identical long-sleeve shirts in different colors (see picture above, and last week's photo, etc). This is like the #1 fashion no-no. Only thing worse would be if I bought a pair of crocs to go with them.

Sleep: Decent. I realized why I don't need a body pillow just yet - I have a husband for that :)

Cravings: Mashed potatoes.

Anything make me sick? Eh, accidentally took my prenatals this week on an empty stomach, which made me queasy, but it wasn't too bad.

Pregnancy Symptoms of the Week: I get a lot of these stabbing pains down in my pelvic area. They happen most after I've been doing a lot (like reorganizing the house). I guess it's my body's way of telling me to SLOW DOWN. Thursday night, after a busy day at work followed by a long mall trip, I was practically paralyzed on the couch from them. :(

What I miss: My normal non-preggo legs/thighs/butt. Disclaimer: I've NEVER had that lean leg look; I have short stubby legs (skinny jeans look ridiculous on me). BUT, pre-preggo, I was a runner so while I never had lean legs, I wasn't totally ashamed of them. Quite frankly, when I was training for the Philly marathon in 2010, I was almost proud of them! Now, having dropped my running routine to almost nothing, I'm amassing these thick, chunky, cauliflower-like fatty legs. I hate hate hate hate hate it. I want to run like a bird (laugh all you like) and feel like a fit human being again! I want to walk around the house in my cute underwear without feeling like my a*s is hanging to the floor! I hate hate hate it.

Movement: Definitely kicking, flipping, etc. The beginning of the week, "Wolfgang" would sleep all day, then kick all night (but not enough to keep me up) and then halfway through the week, he/she switched to subtle kicks throughout the day and chill out at night. Definitely not consistent or predicable by any means.

Embarrassing Cry of the Week: With all the holiday prep, I got a little overwhelmed and cried after work on Friday. Adam was very sympathetic since he's pretty overwhelmed with finals and all, too, so at least it was a somewhat *valid* cry

General Mood: Gettin' cranky. Yes, I'm happy to be pregnant and thrilled to be meeting my little Baby in 4ish months, but I feel so big and I know I'm just going to get bigger.

Excited for: Nursery decor! I've started ordering a few items, like the custom Winnie the Pooh blocks on from Olliebeez on Etsy and the Cottage Side Table on Target, and I'm scheming about all the DIY projects I'm going to tackle over Christmas. My sister is willing to help and I may just make it a DIY craft day in my house with paper, mod podge, spray paint, etc etc!

24 Weeks

Gettin' big here! My belly button is starting to stick out (which totally grosses out Adam with his fear of belly buttons). Had my 6-month appointment this week and I asked the doctor if I'm "too big." She measured my belly and checked my weight chart, and said I'm right where I should be. I also have this app called "weight gain calculator" where I punch in pre-preggo weight, current weight, height, and weeks, and it tells me if I'm in-range or not. So far, every week, I'm exactly in the range I should be. Even though everything tells me I should be this size, I still feel ENORMOUS.

Things I am having trouble doing:
- Clipping/painting my nails: I managed to do it myself so far this week, but man that belly gets in the way!
- Bending over to get something. Bending straight over quickly is not as easy anymore. Usually by the end of the day (when I'm bloated with water weight / food), I start to just squat like a LADY instead of the butt-in-the-air bend.
- Springing from the couch. This "graceful" gazelle-like movement has now turned into a laborious, somewhat-embarrassing maneuver. :(

We spent the day before Thanksgiving doing the mass-clean of the basement, including rearranging the upstairs office/guestroom. I am shocked, but we got it all done in ONE DAY. Adam was so much more into the cleanse-purge project than I anticipated. He was bound and determined to get it done in one day AND at the end, he even had the energy to put the crib together (which showed up on our doorstep that evening). A special shout-out thanks to my sister and her fiance for helping us move the desk downstairs, as well as taking some of the stuff ("ugly lamps!") off of our hands. We still have a trashpile the size of a car parking spot, but it feels so good to be ORGANIZED. The baby room is completely empty now (aside from the crib), just waiting to be decorated with my pinterest craziness. :)

Baby size: Cantaloupe

Total weight gain: 16 Lbs. I blame Thanksgiving and having 5 days off work to snack on unhealthy foods around the house. Plus after a day of reogranization, we ordered 3 medium Papa John's pizzas, that I've continued to snack on ever since.

Countdown to the Gender Reveal: 8 weeks

Maternity Clothes: Yup. Found a pair of over-stretched Soffee shorts to wear to the gym into of buying new preggo work-out shorts. Not sure how long they'll last.

Sleep: Decent. Starting to wake up with a few backaches every now and then. I'm sure it'll only get worse.

Cravings: Eh. Nothing major.

Anything make me sick? The usual: strong cleaning chemical smell, seafood smell, etc.

Pregnancy Symptoms of the Week: Started to get some aches and pains in odd places - like just under my rib cage and down in my pelvic region. The OBGYN said that's normal, as I continue to "expand." Not surprisingly, they were the worst after the house-reorg day when I'd been doing so much (despite Adam's attempts to repeatedly tell me to "sit and take a break"- I'm just not the "sit and take a break" kind of gal!).

What I miss: Having a few glasses of wine at Thanksgiving. I had my first 1/4-glass of wine (prob 3 ounces) at Adam's parents' house and it was delicious. I made it last for 30 minutes (for those of you who know my love of wine, making 3 ounces last 30 minutes is an impressive feat).

Movement: The baby started kicking above the belly button this week! He/she doesn't kick that high that often, but it is funny to know I've expanded so much. The baby most definitely has a personal space issue; if I have my laptop on my lap or am slouching under my desk at work, the baby will *KICK KICK KICK* at the "intruder" cutting into my belly.

Embarrassing Cry of the Week: Just the normal commercials and movie previews. Lame.

Excited for: The holiday season! We (read: "I") decorated the house today and I realized that next year we will have to buy "Wolfgang" his/her own stocking! Wow! It's so hard to imagine that next year we'll have a 9 month old baby for Christmas!

23 Weeks

We started shopping for nursery furniture last weekend. I seriously think we have, at some point or another, decided on every possibly type of furniture. We've looked at the Mega Stores (B'R'Us / BuyBuyBaby), specialty stores (like Erin's), and finally cheap - but extremely safe! - items (IKEA). I am SO FRUSTRATED with this entire process. Each time we change our mind on the furniture, it has a domino-effect on all the other aspects of the nursery we supposedly settled on. I have NEVER spent this much time looking for furniture for any part of my house like I have this damn nursery. This morning, Sunday, we finally ordered the crib. I got to the point, by the end, that I just didn't care anymore. I just wanted it done.

Meanwhile, there's the nursery "design," which is currently much less frustrating than the furniture. I think I've said it before: I am NOT good with design and my house is only nice because Erin helped me hang all my pictures. I also have zero DIY skills. However, I have caught the pinterest bug and have become mildly nursery-obssessed. I spent my entire MBA class on Tuesday scanning through examples on Project Nursery looking for inspiration (which, btw, I have never ever "looked for inspiration" in any other part of my house/lifestyle). The underlying theme is Winnie the Pooh, but I don't want it to look like Disney puked on my nursery. I want Winnie the Pooh bedding and maybe a few accents (lamp, window valance, etc) but I want other non-Pooh things on the walls. My secondary "accent" is sage green polka dots. I've loaded my Pinterest Board with my nursery "inspirations."

AND... also on the to-do list is start to find a pediatrician. My primary doctor moved out to Broomall a year ago, which is like over an hour hike from my house (good thing I never see her). My mom and Erin are both out on 422 which I don't necessarily want because, pending traffic, it can be a b*tch getting out there. My ideal would be something on the Upper Main Line - Wayne, Strafford, etc - area. Without paying a membership fee to Angie's List, I'm not sure of the proper way to go about finding the perfect pediatrician!

Baby size: Grapefruit (which, btw, Rachel, is SOUR fruit - hehe)

Total weight gain: 14 lbs. Instead of staying flat for one week, I jumped TWO lbs this week. Not happy.

Maternity Clothes: The [young] cafeteria lady at work asked me where I bought my maternity clothes because she thought they were so cute. That really made my day. :)

Sleep: Getting even better. We've opened our windows to let the chilly fall air in and it's wonderful. I sleep so well in an igloo!

Cravings: Nothing out of the ordinary. Craved ice cream on Wednesday and tried this new create-your-own-sundae frozen yogurt place called Kiwi and it was delicious!

Anything make me sick? Cleaning sprays. My office is very close to the kitchenette at work, and every afternoon when the cleaning lady mops the floor, I have to close my office door to block out the smell. Ugh.

Pregnancy Symptoms of the Week: Nada. Maybe tiredness?

What I miss: My old desk chair. No, this has nothing to do with being pregnant. I ordered a new desk chair because my other one was old. Now I decided I hate my new chair and want my old crappy chair back, but maintenance already threw it out. Fml.

Movement: Kickin' away! Adam is constantly impressed with the force of the kicks. He loves to kiss my belly and I'm waiting for the day the Baby kicks him in the nose. :P

Embarrassing Cry of the Week: The nursery. This damn nursery has brought me to tears. I just want us to make a decision. And stick with it. And then be able to find all the perfect pieces to go with it. :(

Excited for: CLEANING THE BASEMENT THIS WEEK! The OCD organizer freak in me LOVES to do purge-sort-organize projects (I once accidentally found my Christmas gift when tackling the guest closet). And this Thanksgiving, in prep work for the guest room/office move, we are attacking the basement storage which is a mess since we never properly 'unpacked' the storage areas when we moved in (um, who does?). We have a fair amount of space, but it's just not organized, and we have a lot of leftover junk from the previous owners (extension cords, wires, paint cans, etc). There is nothing more exciting for me than MASS ORGANIZATION. Adam, on the other hand, will be in complete hell and I suspect at least 2 trips to Starbucks for pumpkin spice lattes to keep him motivated. Maybe I'll do before-and-after photo montage... (of the basement, not Adam).

Countdown to the Gender Reveal: 9 weeks

22 Weeks

Time is starting to fly! For the first time this entire pregnancy, someone at work asked me how far along I was and I couldn't immediately spit out the number. Early on, it dragged and I knew every day exactly how far along I was ("13 weeks and 3 days...").

I am also starting to admire the belly bump. It's VERY distinct naked - like my lower belly has a very sharp cut out from my hips. I admit I like this size; I could stay like it for the entire pregnancy :P

Baby size: Length of a spaghetti squash. This week, Wolfgang finally reaches his/her first pound! We have a 1 lb baby!

Total weight gain: 12 lbs. So yeah, we have a 1 lbs baby and I've gained 12 lbs pounds. Bah humbug. This is also the 12th (?) consecutive week of gaining one pound per week. When will it stop?!?!?!

Maternity Clothes: I'm starting to get sick of my maternity shirts. I have 3 favorites and I wear them over and over and over again. :(

Sleep: 2-3 Pillows, the same as before. Still have those vivid crazy dreams that I'm just starting to accept as being part of the pregnancy.

Cravings: Friday morning, nothing sounded good for breakfast. Nothing. I nibbled on some cheerios, packed some snacks, and went to work. All morning, I could think of only one thing: Wegmans Chinese Lo Mein. Don't ask why, but that's all I could think about all morning long. There's no nutrious ingredient in lo mein, and I doubt my body suddenly decided it needed MSG, but that's what I wanted. And when I went to Wegmans at lunch to fetch my lo mein, it was the most amazing thing I'd ever eaten. Weird.

Anything make me sick? Nope

Pregnancy Symptoms of the Week: I was doing so well for many weeks that I started to relax on my daily Metamucil dose. BAD IDEA. Early this week, the miserable pregnancy constipation returned and I severely regretted having strayed from my Metamucil regiment. Worse, once back on Metamucil, it takes several days to "kick in." I guess that orange powerdy mix is going to be with me for the next several months!

What I miss: Ok, I admit, I do miss the relaxing glass of wine. I don't really miss drinking that much - certainly not enough that I'm want to drink in the hospital post-baby like some people - but on Friday after a long day of work, I got home and totally felt like having a glass of wine relaxing on the couch in front of a DVR'ed Gossip Girl. And to be honest, I probably could have had one glass just fine. But I promised myself and Adam that, at minimum, I would wait until the 3rd trimester before having a glass of wine (as opposed to sips). I truly believe that it is perfectly possible to drink throughout your pregnancy (in moderation, of course) and have a perfectly healthy baby, but there's enough scary stories (plus general public opinion) that does hold me back.

Movement: Yes, and wow! Sometimes those kicks are downright surprising! I was in an MBA group meeting, and all of a sudden, Wolfgang gave a big WALLOP kick on my side and I jumped. Everyone in my group stared at me, and I was like: "Uh, sorry, baby kicking surprised me." Awkward. Adam and I experienced our first funny lopsided baby bulge on Election night. Lying on my back, Wolfgang positioned him/her-self so either the butt or the head was sticking out on the right of my stomach! There was this distinct "bulge" on my right, and then the rest of my tummy was much softer. Soooo weird. Adam saw/felt it too and agreed - crazy!

Embarrassing Cry of the Week: Eh, I'll tear up at sentimental movies / commercials / tv shows. I used to do this every month just a few days before my period was due (and it became Adam's clue that my period was fast approaching), but now I do it all the time. It's not full-on bawling, just a little choked up.

Excited for: Crib shopping! Next weekend (17/18th), Adam and I agreed we'll venture out to furniture shop. We'll start with this store in Pottstown that Erin recommended, and then we'll go from there. Excited!

Gender: We know but you won't until January. :)

21 Weeks

(Don't mind the see-through shirt and lack of makeup; this was a rushed belly shot)

Despite Hurricane Sandy approaching, we were able to have our anatomy scan on Monday and see what Baby Wolfgang will be! I already posted on the baby's health condition on Monday, so I won't go over those details again in this post. Aside from knowing the health and sex of our baby, the biggest scan impact was on Adam. I think prior to the scan, Adam saw me getting bigger and would hear me talk about little kicks, but it didn't really sink in. I think seeing the details of the baby's fingers, toes, lips, heart, etc just made it so much more real for Adam. He is very attentive now, constantly checking up on my stomach and referring to the baby by the name we picked out. For a guy who can't feel the baby - and just sees his wife getting fatter - it's hard to really grasp the amazement of it all without being able to see, or feel, the baby. But seeing the anatomy scan - and seeing so much detail - really changed it for Adam.

Baby size: Length of a carrot

Total weight gain: 11 lbs. I was hoping I could level off for just one week. Maybe for the first time in 8+ weeks, NOT gain a pound a week. But that didn't happen.

Maternity Clothes: This post I want to comment on underwear. NO, you do not need special pregnancy underwear. The key is the type of underwear. Some people carry their babies very high and can wear their regular pants, and for those people, type of underwear isn't an issue. But that is not me. My jeans were the first thing to bust and I continue to carry the baby very low. I've found my favorite underwear to be lace - anything lace. Now, since I only wear Victoria's Secret, I can't speak for other brands, but Victoria's Secret lace thongs and lace hip-huggers are amazing. Regular underwear has a band that cuts a little into the belly, but lace is stretch - ALLLLL stretch. The lace thongs have an unlimited stretch (hence why Victoria's Secret sells in "one size fits all") and the lace hiphuggers are so low that the lace is the only thing in the way of the belly. Not only is it pretty, but it's great I can stock up on underwear that I'll continue to use long after the baby is born (well, not immediately after, but starting a few weeks after).

Sleep: Still 3 pillows.

Cravings: Every now and then a few random craving hits. During hurricane Sandy, I desperately wanted biscuits/rolls and so I modified a biscuit recipe from my mom, substituting banana for the eggs we didn't have, and that was great. Occassionally, I enjoy the "mommy cocktail," which is fruit punch mixed with 7up/Sprite. Nothing major though.

Anything make me sick? Not really, no.

Pregnancy Symptoms of the Week: Still that kind of stretchy, side-bend feeling. Nothing major.

What I miss: My running routine. I used to be able to go to the gym, jump on the treadmill for 30 minutes and run 3 miles, then leave. Now, that doesn't work. I struggled to run a mile today - yes, a mile. I was so upset by that. I haven't struggled to run a mile since early highschool. Then I switched over the elliptical for 10 minutes, then that got uncomfortable, so I went back to the treadmill, walking on a super steep incline, for 5 minutes, until I just had enough and left. I tell myself that anything I do at the gym is better than nothing, and my goal is to use up a full 30 minutes there (today only made it 25), but it is so frustrating to not have my normal running routine. Running, to me, was the ultimate sign of fitness and health, and to be "reduced" to walking uphill and using the elliptical is just so upsetting.

Movement: Yes, and hard. During the anatomy scan, the baby curled up in a little ball and made it VERY difficult for the stenographer to take readings. Then, once the stenographer left the room to get the doctor, the baby started kicking like crazy and hard! I was lying on a table and Adam, about eye-level to my belly - could even see the "bumps" as the baby kicked and kicked and kicked my tummy. Then the stenographer walked back in and the baby stopped. Seriously, we have a very stubborn baby. Sometimes, when I lie on the couch at night, the kicks are so hard that I have to adjust positions. Stubborn AND strong baby!

Embarrassing Cry of the Week: When we were watching Hurricane Sandy coverage on TV, they told the story of NYU Tisch hospital's failed backup generator, and - aside from 200 other patients - about 20 babies from the NICU had to be carried down 9 flights of stairs, many on battery-operated respirators. I just started bawling and I'm even tearing up now writing about it 6 days later. All I could think was if MY baby was in the NICU and that happened, the overwhelming terror I would feel that my baby was ok. I can't even imagine the mommys and daddys who had to watch that happen, or worse, not even know where their infant was going! That is the kind of nightmare that I hope I never have with my baby.

Excited for: The nursery, both the furniture and decorating. The plan is to go furniture shopping before Thanksgiving (probably the week before), and then agree on a set before Christmas. I'm also SO excited for decorating. I've never been a decorator (all pictures in my house are compliments of Erin's help), but between etsy and other blogs, I've had so much fun building my ideas on my pinterest board. I have built a board called Winnie the Pooh Nursery Ideas. I can't wait to watch it all come together!

Gender: Te he he he, we know but you won't until Sat, Jan 19th! :X

Anatomy Scan

Despite Hurricane Sandy closing all schools and offices, the doctor's office was open and we were able to do the full 20-week anatomy scan for Wolfgang.

Yes, we now know "what" Wolfgang is. "It" will be revealed at the baby shower on Sat, January 19th at the River Crest Country Club, where my friend Erin had her beautiful wedding. Of course, I'll also post on this blog that weekend (will be 32 weeks that weekend!).

Wolfgang's brain, heart, etc are all very healthy. The only concern was the kidneys. There is a little extra fluid in the kidneys. So, the doctor said we'll do a follow-up ultrasound at 32 weeks. 95% chance the fluid will reduce by then, BUT if there is no reduction, the doctor will do another ultrasound one week after birth.

Worst case (5% chance) is that Wolfgang has a small issue in the kidney / bladder (perhaps a kink in the tubes - for lack of better word) that would require minor surgery to correct. It is not life-threatening, but would need a correction.

The doctor emphasized over and over that we should not be overly concerned and freaking out about surgery. 95% of these cases clear up on their own.

In my opinion, if that's the worse we have to worry about, I am OK with that. Heart and brain defects are so much more serious than extra kidney fluid, and cannot be corrected as easily.

That all said, we were very pleased with the anatomy scan. It's so nice to KNOW what Wolfgang is going to be, and to be able to imagine life with a little baby.

Everyone stay safe for Hurricane Sandy!

20 Weeks - halfway there!

In the words of Adam: "I really think you popped this week!" This week I feel like I'm growing daily. Honestly, it's overwhelming. The beginning part of pregnancy is SO SLOW, and then all of sudden, you start getting big and then you get big FAST. Earlier this week, Adam commented: "When you hug me, I can feel your belly poking mine and it's funny."

Every morning (when Adam says "hi" to Wolfgang and sings distorted lullabies), our conversations go like this:
Adam puts hands on tummy: "You're so big!"
Me with a frown and crossed arms: "Are you calling me fat?"
Adam: "You're not not fat, you're big!"

Really, that doesn't help. Trust me. No woman, pregnant or not, wants to be "big."

On another less-complaining note: last weekend, Rachel commented in amusement at the amount of times I pee in a day. Yes, I pee ALL THE TIME. And that started almost immediately - like the first few weeks of pregnancy. It, along with the first trimester exhaustion, was the first true pregnancy symptom I had. I've since adjusted to the frequent pee schedule and now I plan for it in advance (pee 10 minutes before leaving house, pee again right before, pee at destination, etc), but what I realized in amazement yesterday is how fast we're going through toilet paper and hand soap. When you pee every 20 minutes, your bathroom supplies diminish a lot faster than normal!

I went to prenatal yoga class today for the first time. I always thought prenatal yoga was for wussies. Um, no, it's HARD. Half of the class is squats, and the other half is lounges, side-bends, etc. The squats were such a killer. There was a woman there at 41 weeks, getting induced tomorrow, and she was doing better than me - pfft. I guess that's proof that I should keep going so I can do crazy squats at 41 weeks (oh please, no!).

And one final shout-out to my husband Adam who is getting published for his law review article. Very proud!

Baby size: Length of a banana (head to toe)

Total weight gain: 10 lbs. I know that eventually, pregnant women are going to gain weight. It happens. You need to gain weight for the baby. The scary part is when it starts happening so fast - and so much! I know they say you're supposed to gain 20-25 lbs, but I've been gaining +1 lbs a week, so if this keeps up for 20 more weeks... ekkk! Even though I KNOW I'm supposed to gain weight, watching the scale creep up SO FAST is terrifying. Daily Freak-out: "If I'm THIS big now, how big will I be at the end?" No joke, it's terrifying.

Maternity Clothes: Almost 100% maternity, aside from a few remaining shirts and my yoga pants. No surprise, my maternity wardrobe habits mirror my "normal" habits. For example, I always got work pants at middle-of-the-line Express and Limited. Pregnancy work pants: Motherhood. Dresses are where I really notice quality. All my dresses came from White House Black Market, and now I shop for dresses at Pea in the Pod. I do have two Motherhood dresses, but the quality is significantly worse. I pair them with black knee-high hooker boots and they make good work dresses, but I would never wear to events.

Sleep: Up to 3 pillows! 2 down pillows and 1 "normal." (How do you people sleep with non-down pillows? Awful)

Cravings: Salt. For two days straight, I've wanted salt. I made myself garic bread Thursday night and put more garlic salt on it than ever before. We went out to an Italian place for dinner last night, and I put salt on the bruschetta (!?) and my pasta. This has only been a 2-day thing, but it's weird.

Anything make me sick? I made myself a peanut butter pumpkin smoothie this week. I took one sip and wanted to throw up. The heavy creaminess was way too much. Wow. Disgusting.

Pregnancy Symptoms of the Week: I've changed this from "worst symptom," because they aren't particularly awful, to just "symptoms." I am constantly getting the "stretchy / cramping" feeling, both in my sides and lower belly. OB said that's totally normal as my ligaments stretch in my belly. I'm also starting to get out of breath for stupid reasons. Like carrying my laptop, purse, and lunch box to the car in the morning; by the time I sit down in the drivers seat, I'm huffing. I know it's only going to get worse, but right now it's still frustrating. I feel so fat and out-of-shape. :(

What I miss: Eh. Despite complaining above about getting fat and being out-of-shape, I do enjoy being pregnant. I love feeling Wolfgang kick; I love imagining what he/she will be like. I don't mind not drinking and I cheat on the "banned" foods every now and then. Now, if I had to go without Wawa hoagies, sushi, and red wine for the rest of my life - I'd be pissed, but to know it's such a short time really doesn't make it that bad. So far, halfway there, it's fun.

Movement: Yes yes yes! Sometimes Wolfgang kicks a lot, sometimes I won't notice him for hours. If I'm active, I won't notice him at all. If I'm reading a book or lying in front of the tv, I'll notice him kicking up a storm.

Embarrassing Cry of the Week: Call it the "motherly instinct" kicking it, but I'm getting very emotional (choked up / tears brimming) about stupid things. i.e.: "Heart-warming tv moments," anything from commercials to movies to tv shows. Perfect example: those Olympic commercials where the athletes thank their parents - yup, I'm tearing up. Pathetic.

Excited for: WE FIND OUT THE SEX ON MONDAY! Wolfgang BETTER not have his/her legs crossed for that appointment! I want to know! I want to know!

Gender Prediction: Boy (hence, I still have "HIMs" up above). As a disclaimer though, I'll keep referring to said baby as "Wolfgang," but am going to drop the his/her and refer to Wolfgang primarily as 'it' until January 19th when all is revealed. :)

19 Weeks

We went to our second Newtown Brewfest this weekend and had a GREAT time. I sported the ironic "got beer?" shirt with my growing belly. Everyone had a great time and, even with being stark sober, I had a really fun time. The social atmosphere of Brewfests is the best, and especially since I couldn't remember half of last year's Brewfest, it was really nice to have a clear picture start to finish. :)

Baby size: Mango (or "heirloom tomato," take your pick)

Total weight gain: 8.5 lbs (not yet admitting to 9)

Maternity Clothes: Yup. The next phase of resistance is my bras. My boobs have grown so big that I'm pretty tight in my Vicki's Secret bras. Although I will most definitely buy nursing bras eventually, I don't want to be in them at 4 months pregger! As a lightbulb idea yesterday, I removed the gel pads under my convertible plunge bras, and now they fit comfortably too.

Sleep: Decent, but not fabulous. My baby center app says I shouldn't sleep on my back because of the pressure it puts on some vein or artery which could be bad. I don't usually sleep on my back, but sometimes it IS the more comfortable position. I'm going to ask my OB about this this week because if she says it's ok, then I'm going to keep sleeping on my back.
***Addendum: OB said it was fine to sleep on my back until I get really big, like 30 weeks. Then, yes, it compresses my veins/arteries, and she suggested just propping even a thin pillow under my left side so I'm not perfectly flat.

Cravings: Eh, nothing surprising. If I eat a lot of greasy foods, I'll really want something clean like an apple or salad, but that's also common for non-preggo.

What I miss: Running in the mornings. I used to have a [fairly] dedicated morning run schedule, running at least 2 mornings a week, plus weekends, for a total of about 10-12 miles a week. While I am not prone to morning sickness (which I attribute to my diligent snacks throughout the day), being active in the mornings never feels good. And by "not feel good," it's the closest to morning sickness I've had (+ one incident of puking when I didn't eat dinner/breakfast - no surprise). If I want to run in the morning, I have to eat a HEAVY healthy meal the night before, followed by a substantial first-thing-in-the-morning breakfast. And to be honest, I don't feel like eating a substantial breakfast at 5:30am. So 4 months in, I'm TOTALLY out of my morning run habit. :(

Anything make me sick? Leftover grease or leftover dip. General leftovers are fine, but the greasy/fatty ones smell TERRIBLE.

Worst Pregnancy Symptom: Nothing really bothering me this week, but I will make a follow-up post about the Earth Mama's Nipple Butter I bought at Amazon (for the dry itchy boobs): It works great, but... it smells AWFUL. Awful awful awful awful. I may pack away that jar for the breastfeeding days. I am still looking for a good breast cream, since normal creams get itchy. All the blogs/pregger sites recommended Boob Tube as the top-of-the-line cream for pregnancy. Um, it's $45 for 3.4 oz (no matter where you look - Amazon, Pea in the Pod, etc), but reviewers swear it's worth the money. Maybe I'll stop by Pea in the Pod to try it.

Movement: Yes! Wolfgang kicks most frequently mid-evening and mid-morning; he likes to sleep during the day and I don't notice him at night. I'll notice him kicking the most when I'm hungry (prob because I'm already in-tuned with my hunger pains). The kicks are very subtle. Often I won't notice him kicking at all until a really "big" kick (just imagine a slightly bigger bubble popping) and then I'll pay attention and notice he's kicking. On Thursday night, Wolfgang was kicking away and so I had Adam press his hand down really hard on my lower abdomen, and he pulls his hand away with a shocked: "that was weird!" and I knew he felt something. :)

Embarrassing Cry of the Week: Nada. I think I'm past the super-hormonal preggo stages of the first trimester.

Excited for: OB appt this Wednesday and anatomy scan appt in two Mondays (29th). Even though the OB just checks the heart rate, I still like going in and having the doctor tell me that everything is OK (I'm already a nervous worrying mom!).

Gender Prediction: I still think "boy." We will find out Oct 29th, but everyone else (grandparents included) have to wait until Jan 19th!

18 Weeks

Wolfgang is getting bigger! It's most obvious in the morning before I get up (and accumulate water weight), but I can still feel the firmness throughout the day (especially pushing "down" from my belly button). Adam tries to sing lullabies to Wolfgang in the morning, which is hysterical because he gets halfway through them and doesn't know the words. This morning he switched to the star-spangled banner; at least Wolfgang will be born patriotic.

Fun things I've learned about pregnancy this week:
- Pregnant women need a special 'non-preservative' flu shot. They were doing flu shots at work and, at the insistance of my OBGYN whose been badging me to get it, I finally signed-up. Then I got rejected because they didn't have the "non-preservative" kind so I ended up waiting 45 minuite at a CVS MinuteClinic after all. Ugh.
- I thought that a big belly would make hauling things easier because you had a place to rest them, i.e.: beer cases. As I learned on Saturday, stocking up the beer fridge with Oktoberfest and Pumpkin Ale, not only is it not helpful, but its a MILLION times harder to carry.
- A slight increase in belly makes it substantially harder to propel yourself off the couch. This difficulty is tripled when you have a full bladder and have to pee.

Baby size: bell pepper

Total weight gain: 7 lbs. Ugh. I was so proud of having stayed flat last week, then I made up for it by gaining an extra 2 lbs this week. :(

Maternity Clothes: Someone once told me that you could buy non-maternity clothes and just go one size up. Eh, that is very misleading. The material has to be a certain kind of stretch. And, contrary to what you may think, cotton t-shirts don't stretch well. The non-maternity yoga pants I got are amazing and some of my shirts with the stretchier material work (i.e.: the one in this photo and previous), but one thing I found surprising was a basic camisole. Going a size up in a cami means your boobs just get empty. Maternity camis have so much stretch around the waist that you feel like you're wearing your normal cami - amazing!

Sleep: Permanently cuddling with a pillow on one side. I like sleeping on my stomach, and honestly that doesn't work too well anymore. With Adam on my left and a pillow on my right, I find I can just kind of lounge on one or the other to sleep.

Cravings: Milk. Anything that should be eaten with a glass of milk sounds amazing. Includes Nestle chocolate chip cookies (my random baking splurge Wednesday night), pumpkin cream cheese muffins, hot chocolate, etc. This makes a ton of sense because Wolfgang's bones are forming and thus needs lots and lots of calcium. Milk it is!

What I miss: Vampire merlot. I picked up two bottles at the Wine & Spirits since they only carry it during October. Obviously, it'll keep in the wine fridge until next spring, but it was really sad to bring two bottles home and not have one.

Anything make me sick? Eh, not really anymore. I'd say seafood, but I haven't been around seafood recently to make that call.

Worst Pregnancy Symptom: Stretchy aches. It's nothing I can't ignore (and I know it'll only get worse), but I'll be sitting at work and my sides feel like I'm doing a side-bend in yoga. It's kind of an odd feeling, to get that side-stretch feeling when you aren't in yoga or haven't gone recently (missed my first prenatal yoga class yesterday, oops).

Movement: I THINK I'm starting to feel something, but I just don't know. It's nothing like people describe. Saturday morning I felt something like a "blurp" - like a bubble popping at the water surface. I have several gas bubbles (trust me, I'm well acquainted with that), but it didn't feel anything like gas. It was like a one-time "blurp." Then, I had one or two "blurps" again last night. People describe the feeling like a "tapping" or "knocking," but I've felt nothing like that. Let's see how the 18th week progresses and if those "blurps" become more common.

Embarrassing Cry of the Week: 3 weeks and no crying!

Excited for: More consistent baby movement. I know eventually I'll want Wolfgang to stop, but in the meantime, I want him to keep it up!

Gender Prediction: Boy. Monday, October 29th we find out if my prediction is right! But no one else gets to know until the baby shower in January :X

17 Weeks

I may not look a lot different than 16 weeks, but I sure feel different. Wolfgang started growing a lot and that little "bump" that used to be fat is definitely baby. (Btw, don't mind the slicked-back hair. This was a fresh-from-the-shower picture). I don't think I realized how much Wolfgang grew until I went to yoga on Wednesday. I knew I shouldn't do basic belly poses like boat-pose so I was prepared to skip those, but I was surprised with how many other poses required a little modification. Even child's pose required a slight moderation to accomodate the thicker belly! The instructor recommended I go to one or two prenatal yoga classes, just to learn how to modify some poses, and then I could keep up with the regular class. So next Saturday (18 weeks) I'll try my first prenatal yoga class.

Baby size: turnip (btw, I have no idea what a turnip size is)

Total weight gain: 5 lbs

Maternity Clothes: I went on a quest for maternity lounge pants last weekend. Requirements: not too expensive (I invest money in jeans, dresses, and shoes, not lounge pants) and form-fitting enough that still I feel like a woman. I ended up with Old Navy medium-size non-maternity yoga pants. I've never been an Old Navy shopper; I personally find the store disorganized and dirty. But I know they have cheap clothes, a fairly large maternity section, and they are closer than Target (which was my next alternative). Old Navy's maternity section was awful (their maternity lounge pants looked like they'd only fit someone with triplets), but it was right next to the active wear section so I went digging into yoga pants. Ta da! Slim-fit through legs/butt and a very flexible waist band, made with a very soft material. Winner! And for $15, I don't care if I out grow them in a month.

Sleep: Eh, not as great. I started sleeping ("cuddling") with another down feather pillow since sleeping on my stomach is getting really uncomfortable. Worst part of sleep is honestly the dreams. They are really vivid, wake me up, and I don't know if they are real or not. I've heard that's common for pregnant women, but it's not fun.

Cravings: For 5 nights this week, I've had an english muffin with 2 slices american cheese and 2 slices salami, with a squirt of mustard. OMG, it tastes AMAZING. Amazing, I tell you. Amazing.

What I miss: Smoked salmon and Dark & Stormies. Nothing in the world sounds better than an english muffin with cream cheese, smoked salmon, and tomato. But smoked salmon is one of those things I'm not willing to mess with (unlike gorgonzola, screw those rules). On the alochol side, Adam made a Dark & Stormy the other day and it smelled delicious. I took the tiniest sip ever ("just the tip of my tongue") and it made me miss it more!

Anything make me sick? Seafood. Yes, this is contrary to me "missing" smoked salmon above, but smoked salmon is a very different kind of seafood. Regular salmon smell still makes me ill.

Worst Pregnancy Symptom: Itchy boobs. "Um, say what?" I've never ever ever had dry/itchy boobs. I guess the autumn dryness + pregnancy hormones is really killing them. I ordered this Earth Mama's Natural Nipple Butter, which is also recommended when nursing, so we'll see if that works.

Movement: No. Everyone is asking and I'm getting frustrated thinking something is wrong because I can't feel anything. Every now and then I THINK I feel something, then I realize it was just a gas bubble. :(

Embarrassing Cry of the Week: Two weeks without crying! I almost broke down Thursday night when I was so hungry but didn't know what I wanted, but homemade popcorn saved the day.

Excited for: Baby movement. Seriously, kick already!

Gender Prediction: Boy. This is how serious I am that it's a boy - my entire "baby ideas" board on Pinterest is assuming it's a boy.

16 Weeks

16 weeks belly. To be honest, I'm not sure how much of this is Wolfgang and home much is leftover from the Melting Pot last night (celebrating Adam's internship offer at a big law firm). At this point, Wolfgang finally moved "up" and is halfway between my pelvic and my belly button. If I push down from my navel, I can feel the top of the uterus. The doctor explained that it's a good thing I haven't full-on "popped," because that means my abs are tight. My response: "Um, what? I have tight abs?" I have NEVER had those beautiful abs that most of my friends can display in a swimsuit. Apparently, though, from all my running, I do have tight abs buried under that belly "padding," which is causing my entire mid-section to push out instead of that cute little "hey, i'm actually preggers, not fat" pop.

Baby size: avocado
Total weight gain: 5 lbs. I asked my mother (a dietician) to calculate for me what I should be gaining. She said because I was heavy pre-pregnancy (my words, not hers), if I gain 1 lbs every other week, I should go back to my "good" weight post-pregnancy instead of my heavy weight. Well, already I'm gaining a lb a week in my second trimester so this isn't looking good. :(
Maternity Clothes: I lovvveee my maternity work pants and jeans. Love. As a light bulb revelation, I can fold over the invisible belly like yoga pants. No joke, it's like wearing yoga pants all the time, except it looks like jeans and nice slacks. AMAZING. I am now cleaning out all my closet for shirts. The shirts fit fine, but most are too short for the "yoga foldover" look that dips well below the zipper. Next up? REAL maternity yoga pants.
Sleep: No problems.
Cravings: Not really anymore. I try to eat what I want in limited quantites (good advice for non-preggers too). I find that I'm hungry ALL THE TIME but I can't eat the same quantity as I used to. Odd.
Worst Pregnancy Symptom: Avoiding constipation. I've conquered it with metamucil dissolving packets, but it's a pain to have to remember to take.
Movement: Nothing. Should be coming soon!
Anything make me sick? Seafood. The smell is awful.
Embarrassing Cry of the Week: None yet! I made it through a Wegmans shopping trip yesterday without a single tear. Go me!
Excited for: Baby movement. First movements can be felt 16-20 weeks and feel like gas bubbles/popcorn popping/tapping/etc. They say thinner women feel babies sooner (ugh, so that means I have to wait longer!) and women who've already been preggers because they know what they are looking for. I seriously cannot wait to feel Wolfgang. I am going to go through the roof with excitement. To finally "feel" pregnant and not just feel fat!
Gender Prediction: It better be a boy because we've 100% agreed on the full baby boy name (and even have a back-up for the next baby boy, lol).

15 Weeks

At the request of my friend R, I am starting a baby blog to note all the "exciting" times in Wolfgang's development.

First of all, let's address this "notion" of a baby bump. I see pictures of thin, fit girls who have cute little rounded baby bumps by this time. I, on the other hand, have an ever expanding tummy/love hands that makes it look like I've enjoyed a Thanksgiving meal every day for the last week.

For a while, when I was lying down, I could tell where Wolfgang was by pressing around until I felt a little "bump" underneath. For the longest time, that bump was right at my underwear line (assume Victoria's Secret hiphuggers underwear line), and not at all in my belly. But, according to the BabyCenter app (highly recommend!), Wolfgang is supposed to be moving north shortly to sit around my belly, above my hipbones, just an inch or so below my belly button. So now I have no idea where Wolfgang is. If I lie down, stand up, or sit, the firm "bump" under my layer of belly fat comes and goes. I have my 4-month appointment on Wednesday so hopefully the doctor can tell me WHERE Wolfgang is.

The list of questions (stolen from www.laharaplusone.blogspot.com)

Baby size: apple
Total weight gain: 4 lbs
Maternity Clothes: 100% for all pants, even sweatpants are getting tight. Some of my skirts still fit and most of my shirts are fine, although I find maternity shirts work better with maternity pants because the length covers the "fake belly."
Sleep: still good. I get up to pee a lot, but usually fall immediately back to sleep with a few exceptions.
Cravings: eh, more like food indecision. My major cravings used to be calcium and protein, but after tackling those with an intense label-reading trip to Wegmans, they are gone. Now it's just making sure I eat fiber-rich clean foods to prevent the ever-looming constipation (more on that)
Worst Pregnancy Symptom: Constipation. No one warned me about this. If I don't eat a perfectly "clean" diet of fiber-rich foods, I am constipated for days. It's mean, cruel, and - in my opinion - worse than any form of nausea.
Movement: Nada.
Anything make me sick? The mere idea of certain foods doesn't sit well. Like salmon, the idea sounds terrible. But so far there are no smells that make me ill (besides eggs, but that was long before Wolfgang)
Embarrassing Cry of the Week: Crying at Wegmans while shopping with my husband. I've noticed if I have a busy day Saturday, my body announces it's overwhelmed Sunday morning by emotional tears at... nothing. Items that sparked tears at Wegmans: deciding between English muffins and not being able to find Adam at the deli. Seriously?
Excited for: The 4-month appt on Wednesday AND to start feeling Wolfgang move in a few weeks. Right now, I just feel like a big blob, so to FEEL something will really make me excited about being pregnant.
Gender Prediction: Totally expecting it will be a boy