Half Way!

We are a little behind this week with our picture because of the holiday weekend, so this picture was actually only taken one day before 21 weeks, but that probably only matters to me.

Our weekend was filled with a little bit of this:

Barton Springs in Austin

Spring water - it was only 68 degrees

 And a lot of this:

It was fantastic to have such a relaxing weekend, and swimming at 20 weeks pregnant in 100 degree heat is more than fabulous.  I am going to really wish we had a pool this summer!

At 20 weeks, some sites stop measuring the baby from crown to rump and begin measuring head to toe.  I think it is more fun to visualize this way!  At 20 weeks, he is 10 inches long and weighs 10 1/2 ounces - making him about the size of a banana.  

And for comparison's sake:

 So excited to be halfway there!  We have got a lot to do before this little sweetie comes!

Things I'm Thinking About...

Options, options, options!  There are so many options for every single thing that The Bean will need when he gets here.  Options on things P & I didn't even know existed 6 months ago!  There is a sale at Babies R Us on their cribs right now (ends today...which is why it is so on my mind!), and we can't decide if we should pull the trigger on a crib there or keep looking.  Here's what I'm looking at today...

Delta Brand - Target

Crib 1 - We love really dark wood, but I can't decide if I would actually want a BLACK crib.

Delta Brand - Target

Crib 2 - This one was  major contender until we saw it in person and the finish was a little lackluster (in my opinion).  It was a little closer to black than an espresso finish, and the finish didn't seem very uniform on the headboard.

Baby Cache - Babies R US

 
Crib 3 - This is the one that P and I keep comparing everything else to, which makes me nervous because the 20% off coupon ends today!  Do we buy or keep looking??

DaVinci - Amazon.com

Crib 4 - This is a lunch break find.  I think this one could give the Baby Cache crib a run for its money!  It is also $50 cheaper, I just don't know if I feel comfortable buying furniture without ever seeing it.

Decision time...any thoughts?!

Update:  Crib #3 won!  We made our first large baby purchase last night.

19 weeks

As I mentioned earlier, our due date is now October 6th, making me a week further along than we thought.  I am going to continue counting the weeks based on our original due date though so that I keep taking my pictures in order.
The Bean is the size of a mango this week.  He (so exciting!) is 6 inches and 8.50 ounces this week.  I still haven't had any strangers verbally notice that I am pregnant, but I feel like this week I am noticeably bigger.

We were in College Station this weekend for med school graduation, so we decided to take my pictures at a park near our old apartment.

Since we were in a park, P decided he needed an action shot.  He decided on football.

Boy, oh boy!

After waiting two hours past our ultrasound appointment time, we were finally called back to get the ultrasound started.  I thought that the tech would be able to tell us right away what The Bean's gender was, but apparently she is not allowed to.  So, she started by taking a lot of measurements of the head, brain, heart, bones, and kidneys.  She got a good shot between the legs and said it was "pretty obvious" but she couldn't say.  I looked over at P and he had a big smile on his face...but we had to wait for the Doctor to know for sure.  Since we had waited for so long, we had a parade of people coming in during the ultrasound and apologizing to us, they even sent the Chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology in to take a look at the final scan and declare to us that we were, in fact, having a little boy!  Everything appeared to look great, and they told us that our due date is most likely going to be a week earlier than we were thinking due to the measurements that they took and our past ultrasounds.  
After our appointment, we went to Old Navy and Target to look at little boy things.  We made our first boy purchases yesterday and scored some super cute stuff.  P is obsessed with little hats and sunglasses for babies.  We got a really cute hat, but we're still on the lookout for the perfect pair of infant sunglasses.

Thanks to everyone who took part in our baby poll!  I, like the majority of the votes, thought we were going to have a little girl.  I guess I should have paid more attention to my only dream about The Bean where the doctor declared him a boy!

Tomorrow!

Our ultrasound is scheduled for 2:00 tomorrow afternoon.  I cannot wait!!  The hubs keeps gently reminding me that there is a possibility that we won't be able to find out tomorrow, but I just don't know what I would do if that happened.  I'm pretty sure I would schedule another one for the next day! 

Here's hoping I can sleep tonight!!

Tale #4

The Tale:

Pop off your wedding ring and tie it to a string. Hang it over your belly. If it swings in a circle, a little guy's in your future. If it goes back and forth, you've got a girl.

The Finding: I had P watch to decide with me...we both came to the conclusion that it was swinging back and forth.

The Prediction: Girl

Tale #3

The Tale:
If the baby's heart rate is more than 140 bpm, it is a girl, less means a boy.

The Finding:  The first time that The Bean's heart rate was taken, it was 160 and the second time it was 148bpm.

The Prediction: Girl

Tale #2

The Tale:
You are more likely to experience morning sickness with a girl.

The Finding: Not much morning sickness here!

The Prediction: Boy

Tale #1

The Tale:

So when you sleep, do you sleep on your left? Because if you do, then it’s a boy for you! On your right, a girl is in sight.

The Finding:

It is more comfortable for me to sleep on my right.

The Prediction: Girl

Wednesday is the day!

We find out on Wednesday the sex of our little bean.  I started counting down to this moment two weeks ago, although I am surprised I didn't start sooner because we made this appointment two months ago!  I thought it would be fun to look at some old wives tales for the next three days and see what they say we are having. 

There is a poll on the right side of the blog where you can vote if we are having a boy or a girl.  You can vote now, or see if the next few posts change your mind.  I'd love to see what everyone is thinking before we find out.  I know there is a general opinion going around, but we'll see if it is true!  Thanks for your participation!

Pregnancy Weeks 15-18

Week 15

Nothing new to report this week in the pregnancy.  As far as my energy level, I would say that it is slowly increasing, but I still get tired a lot faster than normal.  My family was in town for Easter weekend and after they left on Sunday, I took an hour and a half nap, which I wouldn’t normally do.  No super cravings or food aversions yet, either.  

Week 16

Yet another uneventful week.  I am beginning to wonder if I am feeling the “quickening” that I have read can start to happen around this time.  On our way to a wedding last weekend (15 weeks, 4 days) that was an hour and a half away, I thought that I felt something where the seatbelt was a little tight around my belly.  I have felt it a few more times this week, but they say it is hard to tell between baby movements and regular digestion.  As far as getting dressed in the mornings goes, I am still in some of my regular clothes without the tummy sleeve, but I have a feeling it isn’t going to last much longer… 

Week 17

I have definitely been feeling The Bean this week.  It usually just feels like a light little thump here and there on the left side of my lower abdomen for the most part.  I feel it the most in the evenings while sitting down to watch TV or when I am driving my car.  The hubs tried to feel it this week, but it is still not detectable from the outside.  Oh well, it will happen soon enough J! 

I am such an impatient person, and the waiting has been killing me!  Waiting to hear the heart beat, waiting for a pronounced bump, waiting to find out the sex, waiting to feel the baby….waiting waiting waiting!  So, I am going to start trying to follow the advice of cherishing every moment and not continuously looking forward to the next step. 

This week my regular pants have started to be pretty snug, and I am back to the tummy sleeve for most of my work pants.  When I get home, I am the most comfortable in some yoga pants and a tank top. 

Week 18

I have felt the baby move every day this week!  Sadly, it is way too sporadic for P to have felt yet, anytime I call him over and get his hand in the right place, The Bean stops moving.  I am pretty sure P is starting to think I am crazy.  This week my stomach really popped, meaning getting dressed in the mornings is going to be more challenging.  I am hoping my tummy sleeve will stay with me for a few more weeks so that I can put off buying more maternity pants. 

My sweet tooth is out of control.  Right now if I could eat nothing but cake, cookies and donuts I would be a happy camper.  I would say that my cravings right now consist of cinnamon rolls, cantaloupe, and Mexican food, but there is nothing that I would send P out for in the middle of the night…we haven’t gotten there yet.

This week I have noticed that anytime I get up too fast, I get really dizzy.  This is due to the blood vessels relaxing and widening in order to increase blood flow to the baby, so I guess I can’t really complain!  I have also noticed that I am hungry more often.  I eat snacks that I think should satisfy me until my next meal, but sometimes hunger still sneaks up on me.  I have to warn P when it happens because I am not fun to be around at that point.  The good news is that I have really noticed my energy level is much better.  I suppose it could be from the Friday afternoon naps that I have taken the last two weeks, but I doubt it.  We are going to be pretty busy for the rest of the month, so I hope this holds true. 

18 Weeks

The Bean is now 5 1/2 inches long and close to 7 oz.  The length this week is equated to a bell pepper.  We were out running some errands and decided to take the bell pepper with us for a change in picture scenery.  The area near P's work is beautiful, so we decided to swing by there for our bump pictures this week.

Luckily there weren't many people out this afternoon, or we would have felt a little silly taking pictures with a bell pepper!  I think P is probably just thankful his boss wasn't leaving the office when we took this picture...

My belly has really popped this week, although I still feel like most of the time I look like I've just had too much to eat.  Oh well, P keeps reminding me that soon I will be wishing I were back to this comfort level.

Mother's Day

  My family was super sweet to me this year for mother's day.  My parents sent a yummy box of chocolate covered strawberries with the cutest card!

                                 

  The hubs, not to be outdone gave me a fabulous gift as well.  I get to go to the Four Seasons for a maternity massage whenever I choose.  I'm thinking I'll wait until I am bigger and more uncomfortable...but it is taking everything I've got to not schedule it for tomorrow!

The Ballet

  When we moved to Houston almost 2 years ago, the only good thing about it in our minds was that it meant we would no longer live in College Station.  This spring however, someone from the hubs' lab sent out an email showing a collection of free outdoor performances at an amphitheater pretty close to where we live.  Growing up, my family used to go to amphitheater performances and I loved it.  I did some investigating and found that the Houston Ballet would be performing one weekend!  Since I was a ballerina for 11 years, and I can't remember the last time I actually WENT to the ballet, I was ecstatic.  I had never subjected the hubs to a ballet before, and figured a free event where we could get up and walk out if necessary was a great baby step. 
  The performance consisted of three different dances, one turned out to be more traditional (yippee, got my fix!), one was more interpretive, and the last was more theatrical.  I think that the differences helped to keep P in his seat and entertained...although I don't think I'll be talking him into going to the Nutcracker anytime soon!  I am so excited that we tried the outdoor theater, and I hope that we can find a few more performances that will interest us enough to get us up there another time this year.    

The Bump's Progress

  All of the pregnancy trackers like to equate the baby's size to a piece of produce every week.  I saw a really cute idea of taking pictures with the produce each week as a way to document the pregnancy.  We liked the idea, but didn't get around to it until week 15.
Week 15 
  In week 15, the baby is compared to the size of a naval orange at 4 inches long and 2.5 ounces.

Week 16
   In week 16, the baby is the size of an avocado at 4.6 inches long and 3.5 ounces.

Week 17
In week 17, The Bean is the size of an onion at 5.1 inches and 5.9 ounces.

  As of 17 weeks 5 days, I am still in my regular clothes with the tummy band on most of my pants.  I think that dresses are going to be my uniform for the next 5 months to get me through the Houston summer, so anytime I see a cute dress that looks like it has extra room for a tummy, I've been picking them up.  I hope the new dresses fit for as long as I am expecting them to!  The dresses in the pictures above are all pre-pregnancy purchases.  My belly isn't really pronounced in any of them unless I cup under my stomach. 
  I am really happy with the way the produce pictures will help us to track the pregnancy.  Thanks to Carolee's blog for the great idea!

The SARD

The Hubs and I decided to venture out to our first baby store a few weeks ago.  We weren't sure exactly what to expect, because it was a store that I had just heard commercials for.  We were pleasantly surprised when we walked in and saw dozens of cribs that were set up with bedding/decorations along with other baby gear along the perimeter of the store.  We found the strollers and decided to play with them for a while.  The hubs was determined that we would figure out which stroller was the easiest to fold down and the sturdiest.  It was so much fun for me to see him start to get into all of the things that we will need once the baby comes.  He took his job seriously and even tested for rollover effects and speed (yes, picture him running down the isle with a stroller and then letting go of it), I'm pretty sure that might be why the employees kept asking if we needed any assistance.  Without quite as much gusto we tested every glider in the store as well.  We like the motion of the gliders, but I am having a hard time liking the style of most of them.  As the hubs was sitting in one of the gliders, my eye was caught by a couple that was testing a crazy contraption across the store.  As soon as they were done looking at it, we made a beeline for it.  It was one of the.coolest.things that we have seen!  It is a baby swing/mp3 player/white noise maker.  We now refer to it as the SARD (Space Age Rocking Device), and after just mentioning it to my sister, she is convinced this will be her first gift to our babe. 
I am looking forward to many more shopping trips and exploring the other items that until now have been completely foreign to us.  Plus, the hubs totally makes it a blast!  Case in point:

                                                    I love this guy!