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Wednesday, July 31, 2013

20w, 6d

This week went by so fast! Between being super busy crocheting up orders for other December babies and researching everything about Disney Cruise packages, I can't believe tomorrow is already Thursday. Yet another week that just zipped by!

I was buying a few more outfits for baby today at a flea market. The person selling them looked at my belly and then said "are you due soon?" Sheesh! Now, it was a guy and since they're mainly clueless, I tried not to give him a bad look (though at the same time, he sat there talking to me about how many children and grandchildren he has and he's surrounded by pregnant women, so...) but come on, I'm not THAT big. Sure, I'm like triple the size of last pregnancy (though oddly enough, I actually weighed more with Katie at this stage than I do this time, despite me already gaining about 14 lbs) but to say am I due SOON? I'm only half way, man!

Baby is such a wiggle worm. He is all over my belly, pushing and kicking constantly. I'm pretty sure this kid never sleeps, and he's STRONG! I can't believe he went from being such barely noticable kicks to such strong kicks that they sometimes hurt in such a short time! I also felt hiccups twice in the last week or so.

Thanks to my hat sales in the last two weeks, I now have enough to go buy my carseat and baby carrier. I'm TRYING to stick to buying them first, though there's a bedding set that I really want and really want to get first just to start Mickey-fying the nursery awhile.

This weekend we're going to clear out all the storage we have in the nursery and start getting things set up a bit. Maybe even start washing the amount of clothes we have so far (which is starting to really add up!)

I wish I knew where my second trimester energy is. I have ZERO energy still. I wake up tired, stay tired, then go to bed tired. Repeat every single day of pregnancy and it's only going to get worse!

Thursday, July 25, 2013

20 Weeks!

20 weeks, half way there...oh my gosh! Where did the time go?

What's really nerve wracking is how slooow first trimester went from all the fear, and yet 20 weeks came really fast. I can't imagine how fast the next half of pregnancy is going to be!

My little boy is now the size of a cantalope and measuring 10.5 inches now. He's getting eyelashes and eyebrows this week, and his finger prints are finishing up their unique squiggles. I found out that a good average weight gain is ten pounds by now, so I'm not that too far off anymore at roughly 13 lbs. Before I was way ahead, but I seem to be evening out now.

I grew A LOT this past week. I feel like I suddenly have a pregnant belly and it's a bit overwhelming! It just grew so much so suddenly, where as before it was such slow growth.

When baby moves now, he's obviously stretching out because he's now always pushing on BOTH sides of my belly! He's getting so big! Enjoy that ability to stretch so much now, because it won't stay like that for long!

I can't believe that in only 4 weeks from now, our little baby will be viable. That seems so strange to me, especially with how fast this pregnancy has flown by. He's already so close to being capable of living outside of me! Though he needs to stay in for muuuuch longer than that!

Here's my picture from last week and a picture from today to show difference:

and both of these are WAY bigger than me at 20 weeks with Katie:

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

20 Week Appointment and Anatomy Scan

My 20 week appointment and ultrasound was today! First time this pregnancy that I went to a doctors and wasn't afraid and really nervous. Baby was kicking away the whole time, and while the idea of something possibly being wrong with the anatomy was nerve wracking, I had a really good feeling about it.

My blood pressure is still normal, the blood tests that I never got they weren't worried about, and I'm deciding to ignore their scale. Two days ago I was surprised to step on the scale and see that I did gain weight and was now up to 127 (I've steadily been 125 for weeks). Their scale, somehow, said 122 today, even though last time, it matched up with my scale. There's no way I weigh so differently in two days, so I'm going by my scale. It's the same scale I measured myself with this entire time, so at the very least, it's accurate in how much I've gained.

This time, baby has grown enough that the doppler had no trouble finding the heartbeat. As always, it's steadily in the 140's (she showed it to me, it kept going between 145 and 149). It was wonderful to have  a doppler touch me and not cause almost instant panic! Not that I could really fear it, baby was awake for the whole appointment.

At the ultrasound, I had the doctor check my ovary again because of the severe pain I was in yesterday, which started around my ovary area. Luckily it had nothing to do with it and he suspected what I had assumed - scar tissue pulling and possibly ripping and ligaments pulled. Baby also wasn't shy (is he ever? So different than Katie!) to show us that he's definitely still a boy. His anatomy was perfect as well, from his brain to his little legs bones and all the organs inbetween. While the doctor didn't tell me his measurements, he said that baby is measuring right on time. This time, my placenta is in on the back wall where it should be, instead of being anterior, which explains why I was feeling movement at 15-16 weeks this time. It's also no where near my cervix, so that's one hurdle I don't have to worry about!

My belly is getting HUGE and is starting to look like a pronounced boy bump. There's such a difference in the last few days, which I'm sure is why I've been in such pain. I'm not sure why I suddenly got bigger, but it's definitely not baby's position because wow is he all over the place! He seems to love the bottom of my uterus most, though currently he's up really high and kicking upwards. No wonder I keep getting heartburn out of nowhere! I got it so badly today that I could barely breathe while in the car. Maybe he'll have a full head of hair just like Katie!

Here's a picture showing last Thursday, compared to yesterday. You can see that I've both gotten bigger and have moved outwards more. My belly button points upwards now instead of straight ahead as well.



and here is our little 20 week (almost) little boy!



Thursday, July 18, 2013

19 Weeks!

Hello, nineteen weeks! This is my last week in the first half of pregnancy, and my last week in my fourth month of pregnancy. It's crazy how fast this is going. Half way is just a little more than a handful of days away!

My weight seems to have slowed down a little bit, which is great because packing on a pound a week even during the times I shouldn't be gaining was definitely going to be a problem! I checked this morning, and I'm still hanging in there at 125, which I've been for all of this month now. Yay for salad and fruit snacks and eating a little less than eight meals a day!

I'm getting a bit scared though, as my skin HURTS. I've been lotioning up at least twice a day now because I've noticed that the skin cutting pain hurts most around stretch marks. Hello scars, I thought we had a chat at the beginning of this pregnancy? I said NO more stretching! I understood last time, but don't let it happen again! (seriously...don't let it happen again...please!)

I'm not sure if it's just my belly sticking out and baby always pushing outwards now, or if it's just the muscle pain, but I'm starting to waddle, especially at night. Yesterday at the store I walked slow and had a full on waddle while the muscle under my belly ached like crazy and my skin pulled.

Baby is very active, all the time now. It used to mostly just be nighttime where he punched, kicked and squiggled, but now it's in the morning, any time I'm on my back, most of the time I'm eating, whenever I'm sitting, sleeping, etc. And the rolling is definitely getting really pronounced, it feels like he's taking all my insides for a roll with him every time! It's such a strange feeling, even though I've been through it before it's not something you remember accurately enough or ever really get used to! I'm just waiting now until he becomes more like Katie, who ALWAYS, at all times, had some body part sticking out at the top of my belly. She never felt like she had enough room, clearly!

I redid my whole registry. I moved all of my girl stuff off and saved it into my wish list for next pregnancy, then added some boy stuff that I've been looking at. I'm really loving Mickey right now! (I say that like I haven't always been obsessed with Mickey and all of his Disney crew!)
http://babyli.st/keller-baby-registry

I keep putting off the picture because downstairs is hot, but I'll take it soon and get it up!

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Gender Reveal Party & Week 18 Review

There's so much to write that I've been holding it off, but I should get it done before tomorrow comes and starts a new week!

This was a great week, and I can't believe it went so fast. I've just been so busy that it feels like I've only been 18 weeks for 2-3 days, instead of it being over in just another two hours!

Friday was a crazy day of baking, decorating, and making everything in the house perfect. I scrubbed the bathroom, cleaned Katie's room, mopped the floors, made food, did dishes, put up last minute decorations and basically was on my feet nonstop, sort of like I was the entire week.

Saturday was our BIG DAY! It went so fast, between seeing the first glimpse of our sleepy, adorable little boy, to going to the store and buying tons of It's A Boy balloons and trying to get them home. Then it was a series of finishing those last minute details now that we knew who we were expecting, and taking time to enjoy our growing family. I can't quite say enough how much I enjoyed going to a special place to find out the gender! It's dangerous now, because i said after we have a boy and a girl (not thinking we'd get them both so soon! lol) that we could stop finding out the gender, but wow did I enjoy going to the baby preview place! I totally want to do that every week if I could, let alone every baby. Definitely worth the money.

Sunday was Katie's party (more details and many pictures on her part of the party on her blog) and the gender reveal. While I felt absolutely exhausted and everything in me was begging for a nap, and as always, I got a bit overwhelmed once it started going, it went great and it was a fun experience. It was definitely interesting to gather family and friends to all find out at once who our newest addition is!

Since then, I've been cleaning up after the party and trying to get the rest of the house that's been neglected for party stuff back to clean. This week has been absolutely exhausting though, and my body has been giving me a rough time. I'm not sure if I'm just still that exhausted from everything I did last week and the lack of sleep I had during that time, or if baby just had lots of growing this week and took a lot away. Either way, I can't get enough sleep and naps and have a hard time staying on my feet for more than twenty minutes.

Things have definitely been stretching this week. From ligaments, to sore muscles, to even feeling like my skin is stretching (yep, been putting LOTS of lotion on, as it's my old stretch marks that feel like they're being pulled - I do not want them to get bigger!). At the store today, I was so sore that I had a full on slow waddle! I feel like third tri is creeping up on me way faster than it should! This is supposed to be my good part of pregnancy! lol

I thought I had enough for baby, but now that I pull out my boy stuff, I realize that I don't. But goodness, do I have totes and totes and more totes of girl stuff! Not even just Katie's old things, but a lot of new boutique styles as well. Under all of them were my two totes of boy clothing. There's quite a bit, but most are over 6 months, so I have a few shopping trips to make, and boy am I enjoying that! The world of Blue is so new and different and I'm finding that I love it and have a hard time not grabbing everything! I already bought his first outfit to take home in, his Christmas outfit, an outfit that I just think is adorable, a diaper bag, and a teddy bear. Today I found what I think will be his bedding, and I found most of the decorations I want for fixing up the nursery boy style. I'm going to have a lot of fun with this!

Besides clothing, I have quite a bit of stuff for this little boy. I have two swings - one big one and one small one, a lot of blankets from receiving to fluffy, my moses basket that's been patiently waiting for over a year already, a back up brown and blue diaper bag (though I don't think it's big enough to fit two kids' things in it, which is why we bought a roomier one) the pack and plays that are both gender neutral but I never used at all with Katie, and bibs (which I also didn't use much with Katie). So I just need lots of boy clothing yet and I should be set!

Oh, and here are some pictures I did for announcing this little boy:







Sunday, July 14, 2013

Gender Ultrasound!!!!

I don't know if I should write this as if it was yesterday, as I can't post it until tomorrow, or if I should just write it like today and hold off posting anyway, but because I'm so tired, I'll just go with the easiest.

Our gender scan was today! I know, it's all I've been talking about, but oh my goodness, we actually got to find out the gender today!!! I was actually a little sick with worry this morning, I was so nervous and almost sure that baby wouldn't coorporate that I had a hard time getting excited. I just felt like it wasn't going to work, and it would be like Katie, who refused completely to show us until 26 weeks. I just was dreading hearing the words "I can't make a guess!"

But, I was super anxious, so we found the place a half hour early. Since it was in the middle of Reading, it took us that entire half hour to find a parking space! Finally, I called and asked for a place to park. Ten minutes later, we parked, walked four blocks, and arrived at Baby Preview Company.

This place was beautiful inside and very well done. I loved everything, they went to great lengths to make it comfy and welcoming. The waiting room was filled with ultrasound pictures of perfect babies, and the viewing rooms were really large and lined in super comfy sofas and chairs. I got to sit in a reclined sofa/chair thing that I really wanted to take home. It felt wonderful! We got to see baby, not on a little screen, but projected clearly on a large wall. Bill got to lounge with Katie on the big sofa and watch the baby on the large screen like we were watching great tv.

Despite chugging some caffeine a half hour before we got there, baby was sleepy! I loved that instead of the rushed doctor ultrasounds that last less than two minutes, I got to lay there and watch my baby yawn (three times!), rub their eyes and suck their thumb. It was the most adorable thing ever, I got warm fuzzies all over while watching and tearing up. I just can't wait to cuddle that adorable baby!

The gender, much to my surprise, was easy to find. At first, she kept trying to wake the baby so that baby would open their legs, because of course they were closed. I kept thinking "ugh, I knew it" because I thought this was going to be how it was, not finding out. But as she kept checking angles, baby started to try and kick the ultrasound thingy away and eventually, with the kicking, the legs opened and we got a good shot. Not just one shot, but in the twenty minutes or so (it was only supposed to be 15 minutes but I'm sure it was longer) she checked over and over just so I could keep seeing. Every time, she'd say, "yep, there's no doubt about it, that's 100%". I had to agree. Not only could we see a penis, but we could see testicals - and a lot of both. There was no mistaking an umbilical cord for a penis here, because it was detailed and definite. We are definitely having a little boy!!!

She even let us see 3D for a little bit, which was really nice because seeing in 3D was an extra $40 that we decided against (as it's early for a 3D ultrasound yet) but baby looked so adorable all curled up, his hands against his face and looking so sleepy. We got four pictures of baby, which were put in an envelope that had blue footprints all over it, and Baby Boy stamps. It was adorable, and really exciting to walk out with. It was a great experience that we really enjoyed, and definitely something I'd look into doing again. It was really worth the money.

Afterwards we went to Party City and got ten balloons - eight It's A Boy balloons and two for Katie that said "happy Birthday, Princess". She LOVED the balloons, as I knew she would. We're using them as the announcement for our party tomorrow, I think it'll be really fun.

Speaking of the party, that's all I did today. Prepare, decorate, clean, bake, etc. I'm EXHAUSTED but so excited. I can't wait to celebrate Katie's birthday and the gender of this baby! I hate keeping secrets!

Friday, July 12, 2013

Tomorrow!

It's TOMORROW. We finally find out who this is TOMORROW! It feels so unreal that I really need to focus on it to get super excited, but I can't believe it. Wow, tomorrow! I really didn't feel like this day was EVER going to get any closer.

Totally stressed about the party this weekend and driving myself exhausted, but hopefully it'll be all worth it! I put SO much work into it, and I really hope it'll show. I think I'll spend next week just sleeping all day! Well, it's a nice thought. I got almost no sleep last night between my bladder being used like a trampoline and baby sticking something round (butt or head, I'm guessing) as far out of my stomach as possible. It looked and felt SO weird, I'm still not used to it! But the stretching of my uterus and the rapid movements were enough to keep me awake for hours. Monday looks so promisng though - a nice empty day with nothing to do but to wash baby clothing!