16 Weeks - Less than a week until we know!

I look like I'm 20+ weeks!! I'm assuming it's because #1 - I'm only 5'1", and #2 - I have a short torso. I haven't gained anything this week, but it feels like I've doubled in size!

We have an appointment scheduled for this Saturday to (hopefully) find out the gender! I'm so excited! I'm already having a hard time going to sleep, so I can imagine how I'll be Friday night. I had a dream last night we went, but the dream ended right before they could tell us what it was. What a tease! I've had 3 dreams so far it's a little girl, and one very early on that it was a boy, so we'll see. :)

In other news, we scored an excellent deal on a pack n play and a lovely brown and lime green stroller from a yard sale this weekend! They both looked brand new, and total we spent less than $75 for both of them! I love deals!

**How far along? 16 weeks!

**Total weight gain/loss: None this week - still up 4 total.

**How Big is Baby?: An avacado!

**Maternity clothes? Still in between the belly band and maternity pants. I have one maternity shirt I'm loving right now though! (It's in my pic for this week)

**Stretch marks? None yet ::crosses fingers::

**Sleep: I'll sleep a lot better after our next appointment. I'm too anxious to sleep right now. :)

**Best moment this week: Counting down to our big appt!

**Movement: I'm still waiting patiently. ::that's a hint LO::

**Food cravings: Still those dang Welch's fruit gummy things. Oh.my.goodness.

**Gender: 5 more days!!!

**Labor Signs: Let's hope these stay away for a while!

**Belly Button in or out? In

**What I am looking forward to: I've said it a million times - finding out what this LO is! I'm looking forward to the kicks also!

**Weekly Wisdom: Check our garage sales and consignment shops. Some moms consign/sell items they've never used, and you can really score a deal on necessities!

**Milestones: LO can now hear my voice! (I've got to watch what I say now...)

15 Weeks... I know I'm late.

There is so much going on right now! The house is being sheetrocked as I type, school is taking it's toll on me mentally, and work has been extremely demanding this week! So yes... I'm 4 days late, but better late than never, right? ;)

We had our 2nd blood work appointment this past Tuesday, which I handled much better than the first. I didn't even cry when they stuck me! I held it together the whole time. The doc came in a went straight for my stomach with the doppler. It was the cutest thing! I had waffles and syrup for breakfast (yes I know, real healthy... I don't care... they were sooo yummy) and I think LO was sugar high off the syrup! The doc found the heartbeat immediately, but only for a second. LO jumped about 2 inches to the left... hehe. Sweet baby, just like it's daddy, always joking around. ;) LO would NOT sit still for anything! The doc was laughing along with DH and I, and needless to say we couldn't get a good read on the BMP this time. The doc estimated it to be around 150ish, which is excellent!

**How far along? 15 weeks!

**Total weight gain/loss: Gained 2lb... up 4 total.

**How Big is Baby?: A naval orange!

**Maternity clothes? Most of my pants are now maternity, but I can still wear most of my pre-pregnancy shirts.

**Stretch marks? None yet ::crosses fingers::

**Sleep: Back aches are much better this week, but my head is constantly throbbing as soon as I get up! :(

**Best moment this week: Hearing our LO at the dr.'s office, and everything checking out okay!

**Movement: I'm waiting patiently.

**Food cravings: fruit snack gummy bears. Hide.them.

**Gender: We'll find out soon! Still feeling girl though! 9 more days!

**Labor Signs: Let's hope these stay away for a while!

**Belly Button in or out? In

**What I am looking forward to: Our gender determination appt. in 9 days.. holy cow!

**Weekly Wisdom: Don't feel guilty for sitting on the couch with your feet propped up... you deserve it! No one else can understand how your pregnant body feels after a long day of work (and school!)

**Milestones: LO is squirming around a lot in there now!

14 Weeks*

Not too much to report this week. GA won their game Saturday night against rivaled USC (South Carolina, not the Trojans) and I couldn't be more excited! I got really sick/dizzy Sunday morning, and it didn't pass until late Monday night. I thought it might have been dehydration, but the dr. seems to think I had a virus. Whatever, I'm just glad I don't feel like that right now.

Oh!! We find out (hopefully) what this LO is on Oct 3rd! Wow- I'm super excited about that! It's not our anatomy scan, that will be Oct 20th, but the place I'm having my 3d/4d U/S done offers a 15 week gender determination. I know it's controversial to some, but this is our decision and we're going for it! Our luck LO will be "hiding" during the initial U/S, so we'll have to wait until the 20th anyways. My fingers are crossed though!

**How far along? 14 weeks!

**Total weight gain/loss: Still at up 2lbs.

**How Big is Baby?: A lemon :) (which seems smaller than last week's peach... weird)

**Maternity clothes? Slowly adding these in one piece at a time.

**Stretch marks? None yet ::crosses fingers::

**Sleep: Okay besides the back aches and massive headaches I wake up to every morning. :(

**Best moment this week: You can feel my actual "bump"!! It feels like a ball at the bottom of my tummy. It's the sweetest thing knowing that's my LO in there!

**Movement: Getting closer!! I can't wait!

**Food cravings: Candy. Nerds, sweet tarts, laffy taffy, etc.

**Gender: We'll find out soon! Still feeling girl though!

**Labor Signs: Let's hope these stay away for a while!

**Belly Button in or out? In

**What I am looking forward to: My bump is actually turning into a "bump"! I can't wait to watch it grow every week, knowing it's baby and not just bloat!

**Weekly Wisdom: DO NOT get dehydrated. Drink tons of water, then drink even more. I promise, dehydration (if that's in fact what happened Sunday) is the WORST!

**Milestones: LO can now suck it's thumb and wiggle it's toes! :)

Excuse the weird face/hair - this was taken on "Sick Sunday"

House Photos

Here's a little update on what's happened within the past week. Doors and windows were installed, and we passed our framing and electrical inspections. DH is finishing up with the plumbing, and the heating & air should be done by today or tomorrow. Insulation should go in the end of this week or early next week, and the Hardy Board is being delivered Friday. (They have to order it).

Some updated pics:

With the door, windows, and roof installed

Big french door in family room looking into back yard.

Pre-Stained Front Door

Master bedroom french door looking at back patio.

Goodbye 1st Tri!

Tomorrow, the 9th, will officially be the beginning of 2nd trimester! Friday afternoon after dinner DH & I brought out the doppler and started searching. What do you know?! Within 5 minutes we heard a strong little heartbeat! It was registering around 160 bpm, which is a pretty nice increase from the 143 bmp back at 7 weeks 2 days! It sounded so perfect, and of course I teared up instantly. I honestly can't describe the surreal feeling you experience listening to your baby's heartbeat. What a true miracle!


**How far along? 13 weeks!

**Total weight gain/loss: Up 2 total. Woah, slow down! That's 1 lb./week the past 2 weeks.

**How Big is Baby?: A peach :)

**Maternity clothes? Still mostly belly bands. I'm wearing 2 of my Old Navy maternity pants for <6>

**Stretch marks? None yet ::crosses fingers::

**Sleep: It was actually not too bad this week. Only once a night pee breaks. :)

**Best moment this week: Entering 2nd tri and hearing LO's hb on our doppler!

**Movement: Getting closer!! I can't wait!

**Food cravings: Not so many this week. Nothing really sounds appetizing.

**Gender: Still feeling girl.

**Labor Signs: Let's hope these stay away for a while!

**Belly Button in or out? In

**What I am looking forward to: Finding out what our LO is! My feeling is girl, but I'd be excited to be surprised either way!

**Weekly Wisdom: Sleep as much as you need. (Notice, I didn't say want. I'd be sleeping all day long.) From what I've heard, you'll cherish these last few months of sleep.

**Milestones: 2nd tri!! LO is starting to form teeth and vocal cords!

Sad circumstances = horrible week.

If any of you reading this believe in praying, please take a moment and pray for two of my friends (and their families); this week has been devestating for them.

One of my best friends, A, hurt her ankle wakeboarding in June. She never went to the doctor, and the pain just kept getting worse. Finally, in mid-August, she went in to have x-rays done. The doctors were concerned with what they saw. They sent her for testing at Emory in Atlanta, and the news was unexpectedly horibble. She has cancer. 24 years old, she has a 1 year old and lives a very active, social lifestyle. The doctors don't know what kind of cancer it is yet, and I'm praying it's not bone cancer. (If it is, she could suffer months or years fighting this deadly cancer, and face the possibility of losing her leg.) She's such a great mother, such a wonderful, refreshing person to be around! I can't imagine being faced with the difficult decisions that await her. Please pray that God gives her the strength to fight this, and if it is at all in His will, she will make it out of this and never look back. Her son, first and foremost, needs that for her.

I also was shocked behind belief yesterday to come home to the news that a high school friend, whom I dated for a brief period of time, was murdered early Thursday morning. That statement in itself brings a flood of emotions; everything from hatred (I wish I didn't have) towards the murderer, to an overwhelming sense of sadness and lose, to a gut wrenching feeling that this is all a horific nightmare, and somehow I'm going to awake knowing Rob and his family are safe in sound in their beds.

The most sickening detail of this murder is the fact that Rob was murdered BY HIS OWN MOTHER. I believe being pregnant, feeling that maternal sense, makes those words even harder to phatom... if that's even possible. Rob's father died two years ago by a massive heart attack. I'm not trying to make assumptions, but I do believe that his passing was too hard to deal with for his mother.

She wrote a detailed two page letter Wednesday night, describing how she planned to carry out the murder. She also described why. Rob was in debt because of his troubled past. His mother described how she wanted relief for herself and her son from his debt. That was her motive. She was such a weak person, she couldn't handle a circumstance that 90% of people are in at this moment. Get the Fvck over yourself! This world is becoming more and more evil, psychotic, unphatomable. I don't understand.

I just ask that everyone please say a prayer for these two individuals and their families. I can't imagine, and pray I never have to know, how these families are feeling this morning. It breaks my heart a thousand times over. God bless them.

12 Weeks - yes I said 12 weeks.

Seriously? Time is creeping by (in that I'm so anxious and excited to meet out little one) but at the same time it is flying! I can remember at 4 weeks, waiting for our first u/s at 7w 2d, thinking, "Oh my gosh... how do people find the patience to last 40 weeks?!" I felt like I would lose my mind before that first appointment. Now here we are, 12 weeks and still going strong. Thank you God! We haven't heard back from the dr. regarding my blood work, so I'm taking that as a good sign.

I ordered a doppler off Ebay last week, and it came in last night. Unfortunately, we couldn't find anything. I promised myself I wouldn't freak if it happened, so we're going to try again tonight. It's not the same quality of doppler the doc uses, so that eases my mind a little.

**How far along? 12 weeks!!

**Total weight gain/loss: Up 1 total.

**How Big is Baby?: A plum! Grow baby!

**Maternity clothes? I ordered lots from Old Navy, but it will be a while before I make the switch. I'm getting my money's worth out of the belly bands. ;)

**Stretch marks? None yet ::crosses fingers::

**Sleep: Tossing and turning this week... but less pee breaks! (for now)

**Best moment this week: Making it to 12 weeks- that's such a huge accomplishment to me.

**Movement: Getting closer!! I can't wait!

**Food cravings: I could have killed for McDonald's fries last night. (don't worry, no killing spree for me - I ate plenty of McD's fries for dinner)

**Gender: I'm starting to lean towards girl again. :)

**Labor Signs: Let's hope these stay away for a while!

**Belly Button in or out? In

**What I am looking forward to: Getting good at using the at-home doppler. I know it's going to be amazing to sit and listen to the heartbeat for as long as we'd like. <3

**Weekly Wisdom: Whatever weight issues you've had in the past... screw them. Pregnancy is not the time to worry about weight. I promise you, even if you don't gain a single pound in the first tri, you will look like you've gained plenty! (I have the pictures to prove it!)

**Milestones: Baby's brain continues to develop, and tiny fingernails and toenails start to form. Vocal cords are also formed this week, and baby's kidneys are now functioning! After swallowing amniotic fluid, your baby will now be able to pass it out of the body as urine. And the intestines will make their way into the abdomen, since there is room for them now.

Excuse the nasty door - this was taken in the pool house.