Week 20

How far along? 20 weeks and (surprise) 4 days

How big is baby? BANANA sized

Total weight gain/loss: Officially 9 lbs. I shall take it! It's a little scary to see the scale going up to numbers I have never seen before, but I know that my journey has barely begun and I have several (several) more pounds to gain.

Maternity clothes? I've decided to make the switch to maternity pants now. I can still get my regular pants up (and they're still moderately comfortable) but I think it's time. I've made it almost 21 weeks - I need to get go and move on. Thankfully my non maternity shirts still look awesome, so I'll be rocking those for a while :) 

Sleep: Still rocking this like a champ. I'm always tired though. I feel like I'm even more tired now than in my first trimester, but Kyle said he's seen an improvement and my midwife doesn't seem concerned. So I'm not going to worry until I actually fall asleep at my desk. I know I've felt like it several times, but I haven't quite gotten there yet. 

Best moment this week: Picking out our baby's name! She for sure has a name (and a few nicknames to boot! Like little ass kicker. Any one get the reference?) I guess I just ruined the gender question. Whoops. We also had another ultrasound - and seeing her was awesome! especially since she was so all over the place (I may have had a half can of coke before our appointment - I was NOT taking a chance that little miss was going to be asleep and we wouldn't find out the sex.)

Movement: Oh definitely. She's a little gymnast! All over the place. She's not as active during the day, but she really lets me know when she's awake at night. 

Food cravings: No real cravings this week. I've been having a bit more of a sweet tooth lately, and egg rolls sound awesome, but that's about it. 

Food aversions: Nothing. I'm happy that I haven't really had any of that through this pregnancy.

Gender: GIRL!! 

Labor Signs: .

Pregnancy symptoms: I'm emotional. Oh lordy am I hormonal. I am thankful for the love of a patient man who loves me unconditionally. 

Belly button in or out? Still looks the same to me.

What I miss: Nothing this week. I'm really content!

What I am looking forward to: Getting more baby girl things. I was so convinced I was having a girl, I hadn't really been passionate about buying girl things. I went through our girl clothing stash and we have a good start, but not nearly enough to clothe this child (to my liking!) One of my favorite finds has been at the Salvation Army - they have their baby clothes for 50% off for the month of March. Yes please! I've been able to find some amazing steals!! And it's almost garage sale season. BRING IT ON! I am not one of those people who needs to have new clothes for my child - I love hand me downs, thrift stores, and consignment stores! Feel free to keep that in mind if you wanted to buy little miss any presents!

Upcoming appointments/events: I'm excited to announce her name!!

Milestones: A little over halfway done!! This is flying by! If only I could decide on a nursery color scheme... 

In case you needed some laughies on this Friday afternoon...

Clearly I need a nap.

Facebook Makes me Giggle

Clearly these things are important. 

Does this mean that if Ky is on his Facebook under my name, he's in a relationship with himself?

No. Go home, you're drunk

seriously. 

Wives Tales

I've been pinning wives tales on Pinterest for a while (aka pre-pregnancy) because I knew that it was something I would definitely wanted to do before we found out if we were going to be buying ties or tutus (yes our son will wear ties). 

So I made the list and Kyle used his design style to create this beauty :)

*Note: Beautiful chalk board created by one of my favorite families for my birthday several years ago- the Pratts!

I wanted to post about this because I knew that years later when I'm rereading this I'll be wondering what this stuff meant. 

Heart rate: pretty self explanatory. Over 140 beats per minute means girl, below means boy. 

Carrying high or low: this was a tough one because I don't really feel like I'm carrying it anywhere. Just lots of cookies int he middle of my tummy, so my guess was high since I'm definitely not low. 

Chinese Calendar: this one threw me for a loop. I know our conception date so I entered that into the calculator - boy. I entered in our due date and we got girl. Okay. So we went with girl to make the board a little more even and that's what the doctor goes off of. 

Sweet or salty: whatcha craving!? I've always been a salt girl, so this was no surprise for me. I mention cookies frequently, but I rarely eat them and I don't really have cravings for them. But BBQ chips? Yes. Please. Now. Thank you :) 

Greasy or glowing: they say when you're pregnant with a girl, she steals your beauty so you break out. Up until week 19 day 2 my skin was awesome! I've been loving it!! But week 19 day 3 I got my first zit. It's weird. I randomly touch it without thinking and it hurts - haven't had that issue in a few years. And you're not supposed to use any products with salicylic acid so you're kind of done for until it decides to go away on it's own. I should count my blessing though! I'm a lucky girl. 

Morning sickness: not once, not never! Although, I do get motion sickness. But I hear that's different. 

Skin soft or dry: SO DRY! Goodness. I've really been struggling with this because I don't like the feel of lotion on my skin, but the itching during the day drives me nuts! I'm talking myself through it by thinking whenever I put lotion on my skin I'm helping with it's elasticity so hopefully stretch marks will be minimized. (I know this isn't really a thing, BUT I'm going to tell myself this until I start getting those suckers! So far so good.)

Hateful or pleasant: we all have our days. I just know what I want when I want it, and Kyle hasn't caught on to that yet ;) I am beyond blessed to have such an amazing man as the father of my child and I am forever thankful for his patience. I'm not deserving. 

Pencil test: you take a needle and thread and put it into the end of a pencil. Then you hold it over the pregnant lady's wrist and it's supposed to tell you how many kids you're going to have as well as what sex they will be. I am CONVINCED that it said twins at first, but Kyle insists that it was a mishap. So boy is is.

Age + conception year: if they were both even or odd, it was a girl. If one is odd and one is even, it's a boy.

So there you have it! Our Bargain prediction! We only have 2 days until the anatomy scan, and we're going to do our darndest to not find out. We want to find out in a fun way!! More on that at a different time.

 

Week 19

How far along? 19 weeks 4 days (I'm sensing a trend here...)

Hard to tell, but the dogs are laying by my feet

The funny thing about the outfit I'm wearing is you can't even tell I'm pregnant when I'm just walking around - but for this picture I feel like you can definitely tell - probably because of the extra fabric bunching up. My boobs look huge though! (as a sidenote, they are huge). 

How big is baby? The size of a mango!! Last week we were a sweet potato. To me, those are totally bigger than a mango. Apparently everyone else in the world (ahem, google) disagrees. Whatevs. Still, the Bargain is HUGE (again, yes I know I say this every week. Just wait until it's born. "But it's so tiiiiiiny.") I'm pregnant. Leave me alone. Boo.

Total weight gain/loss: Pffffffttttt. And I mean it this time. Pfffht. Don't even care. 

Maternity clothes? Still a hit or miss on this one. My shirts still fit fine and I need a belly band with my non maternity pants. Whatevs. It's so hard for me to find maternity pants that fit (short girl problems)

Sleep: Still sleeping like a champ. Zzzzzzzz. I'm thankful to have Kyle who gets up with the dogs when needed at night. I don't hear them. He will be out of town for a few days so I can't wait to see how that goes. Macy is still sleeping in our bed (I know, naughty) and she always finds the most inopportune time to want to snuggle with us. Normally it's right when Kyle rolls over to my side of the bed to snuggle me. RUDE! Does this dog not know that I am clearly the priority in this house!? Yeah, apparently not. But in her defense, she is the cutest thing in the universe. SERIOUSLY. They don't make them much cuter. Or snugglier. But my point is Ky will be gone and I am fending for myself. Who am I going to complain to when I'm hungry and we don't have what I want but I will continue to insist that he not go to the store to grab said item because it will take to long!? WHO I ask you, WHO!? No one. That's who. I was going to ask (beg) my little sister to hang out with me while he's gone - only to realize that she's leaving too. SERIOUSLY!? Doesn't anyone remember how selfish I am and how I like my sleep and that I'm pregnant!? Normally I am totally independent and when I'm away from Kyle I'm fine (and he's the one who's all "I miss yooooou" while I'm like, HELLO, I'm watching Pretty Little Liars, eating lean pockets, and drinking whole milk. Leave. Me. Alone." Totally the opposite this time. Unloved. That's what I am. Back to my original point, I am sleeping very well, thank you for asking. Again. (so repetitive.) Now that I am updating this later in the week, Kyle had left for the weekend and has since returned. That was annoying - mostly because I didn't have anyone to bother at night to get me things - I asked Macy to grab me some water - nope. Juice? Ha. A snack? Oh, well that one she was totally on board with, but I got it myself. He's home (insert SUPER clingy and whiny statement here) and I couldn't be happier about it!! 

Best moment this week: getting my maternity clothes in the mail has been fun! I found a website (it's not a huge secret - I think it was like, destination maternity.com) that was offering buy one clearanced item and get one free. BOGO? Mmmkay! holla! Totally cool with that. Most of it is still a little big (ANNOYING) but I have full faith that I will get there... Someday. And then I'll be whining about me whining about being to little. (This is what Kyle gets to live with. Isn't he lucky?) I also got a pedicure on Sunday. That was the bomb diggity. I went with an old friend of mine and they had massage chairs too. So my back was being rubbed at the same time my feet were. Pregnant lady heaven. I told Ky that he was going to purchase me a prenatal massage soon (I say this because we have joint accounts and therefore I'm probably going to be the one who is paying for it, but still, I can pretend. 

Movement: Not so much. It has never been consistent because it's still so little (even though I claim it's HUGE) I'm sure it's coming. Can't wait for the ultrasound next week! I guess that ruined what I was going to list under my upcoming appointments/events question.... Oops. Let's talk about my movement. The weather was SO nice on Monday (so technically week 18, but whatevs) so we went for a walk. Correction, I walked, Ky ran. He ran a quick 5k while it took me just as long to WALK 1.5 miles and I was IN PAIN when I was done. Not like, contraction in pain, but like, leg pain. Ouch. So tired. And you know what's even worse? I'm still in pain. It's Friday. What. the. eff. This is my life now. I get tired of walking a mile and I can't breathe going up stairs. FUN!

Food cravings: Spicy chicken sandwiches, pepperoni dipped in guacamole, water, apples, asparagus, rice (nomz!) etc. Again, nothing super weird. (I should mention that I dip most of these together in some sort of concoction, but I did that pre-pregnancy. What's weird for you is my norm.) I've been doing MUCH better about eating fruits and veggies. I just am not really fruit person, so it's so hard for me to talk myself into it. 

Food aversions: Meh. Oatmeal? Like steel cut oats. VOMIT. Those are gross. But anything (literally anything) else sounds great. 

Gender: At my next questionnaire I should be able to fill in the blank for this one. HOLLA!

Labor Signs: .

Pregnancy symptoms: Weird food combinations, I'm tired, I have allergies (weird, eh?) 

Belly button in or out? In. Still not close to making an appearance yet. 

What I miss: I REALLY missed Kyle when he was gone. But he's home now, so I no longer miss him. He's back to bring me water late at night! Wha-hoo! 

What I am looking forward to: 20 week appointment on Thursday! (Technically week 20, BUT, it's coming up. 

Upcoming appointments/events: ^--- see above statement. What the hard thing is we will (hopefully) get to know the sex, but we won't find out on Thursday (appointment day). We're finding out on Saturday at our reveal get together. It's not really a party, but it's still going to be a blast! Even if no one else comes, it's still going to be fun for the two of us to find out in a unique way <3 and it's even at Kyles favorite ice cream shop! Well, it's my favorite shop too, but I'm not a die hard ice cream fan. 

Milestones: ...eating my veggies? That's about all I've got. Spoiler alert - next week my milestone will be making it to the halfway point. SHOCKING. 

Week 18

How far along? 18 weeks 4 days

How big is baby? The size of a sweet potato!! (or a bell pepper- whatever your preference) What's crazy to me is that this is only from head to rump! There's still little feet and arms that aren't included in that measurement. 

Total weight gain/loss: Pfft. Who knows. I'll find out next week. Maybe 15lbs by now. 

Maternity clothes? Yep! I can still comfortably fit into my regular clothes, but I really like wearing maternity clothing because it showcases the bump! The only downside is that I own (and borrowed) only purple maternity shirts - so it's like 50 shades of plum every day. :) 

Sleep: Still sleeping okay. We just hit the spring forward time change (whoever invented you, you are an asshole, I hate you to the nth degree, and you are no longer invited to my birthday party.) so that is a rough transition (I say this and we're barely on day 2 of the change.) Move me to Arizona (who knew that they don't adjust with the time change? Not I.) Kyle keeps saying "but the sun is out longer!" I. Don't. Care. Not interested. I am tired today. And I am tired because I lost an hour of sleep. That should make everyone hateful. And that's exactly what I am. BUT I'm still not getting up to pee during the night and it's AWESOME!

Best moment this week: Macy has been extra sweet this week. She is definitely in our top two favorite dogs that we own (see, I don't play favorites). I love that Cooper has been getting on the couch lately too. He knows better and hasn't done it in 5 years but Macy is a trouble maker and enjoys seeing Coop get scolded. It's kind of hilarious. I'm sure this is supposed to be Bargain related, but, I love my pups too. 

Movement: Yep! But I only feel that rolling motion that I described last week (or the week before?) and I keep hearing "wait until it kicks!" - Actually I totally will. I can wait until it starts kicking because then it's not going to stop moving until I deliver. It sounds distracting. 

Food cravings: Same as always! I've had it really easy. I like spicy things, and salty things, sandwiches, pickles, milk. Sushi. Same as ALWAYS. 

Food aversions: Nothing really. I'm pretty content with whatever. Again, as long as you feed me on time, I'm a happy girl. 

Gender: WHO KNOWS!? We've done the wives tales predictions so I'll for sure post about those soon(ish).

Labor Signs: .

Pregnancy symptoms: I'm tired. And I'm getting big. That's about it. I still am miserable on long car rides (long car rides being to like, Grandview and back - which is a solid 16 minutes away - if that).

Belly button in or out? Still in. 

What I miss: Sandwiches. Not getting motion sickness. 

What I am looking forward to: Seeing what everyone guesses on the sex! I think it's going to be fun! I want to see how many people are going to side with me, and how many are going to side with Ky. (Not that we will make our guesses public - we're totally happy with either one, but we do have different guesses) 

Upcoming appointments/events: Events: yes! The Facebook sex guess! That's a big deal to me. And then I'm in the process of planning the reveal with the photographer! Now THAT is what I'm SUPER, SUPER, SUPER excited for. 

Milestones: I wouldn't say I've hit any milestones lately. Just hanging out and growing a bargain. Can that count? I 'ran' with Kyle for the first time in a LONG time. It's amazing how out of shape I am. And by amazing, I mean embarrassing. Labor should be fun. Oh, duh - I signed us up for Bradley classes. Holla! 

Week 17

How far along? 17 weeks 4 days

Practically the same picture as last week!! Only with dogs. Arf. 

How big is baby? Practically an adult now. Shall I go ahead and write the check for college!? Sheesh. A whole onion!?

Total weight gain/loss: I think I'm close to 10 lbs, if not a little more. Meh. My co-workers have started feeling more comfortable with asking if I'm pregnant :) REALLY starting to look it. I think I look huge, so I'm surprised it's taking them this long. Guess they're just polite! 

Maternity clothes? Oh yeah. I'm barely getting by with my belly band. I desperately need to get more work pants. Or work appropriate dresses.  My t-shirts are also just weeks away from not fitting - normally the solution I see is to wear your significant others t-shirts. Well, he wears the same shirt size. Skinny ass. 

Sleep: Sleeping through the night. I'm noticing I'm REALLY sore when I get into bed (back, arms, hands, legs, feet) so it's a little harder to get comfortable, but I get in bed about 8, fall asleep by 930 (we watch a show together in bed) and I wake up at 6 to go to the bathroom. Not bad at all! I keep reading in other pregnancy blogs that women keep having to pee constantly! Thankfully I haven't gotten there yet. I drink a TON of water a day (almost twice what they recommend you drink) but I've been doing that since I started this position at work, so it's nothing new. 

Best moment this week: Whenever I lay down, I can feel the bargain moving around. I heard a long time ago that the swaying of my belly during the day puts it to sleep, which is why babies are so active at night (in utero.) It's so fun to feel it moving around in there. I'm excited for it to kick Macy from in there some day. She needs it. She is ALL about laying on my tummy and bonding with this kid - it's only a matter of time. 

Movement: YEP! Every night. I don't typically feel it during the day, but I'm also not taking the time to stop and wait for it. Pretty neat feeling. 

Food cravings: Chicken sandwiches with cheese, glazed donuts dipped in spicy chicken ramen noodles, BBQ chips, ham or turkey sandwiches. 

Food aversions: Nothing really. I'm pretty much happy with anything as long as I'm fed on time. 

Gender: Less than 3 weeks! 

Labor Signs: .

Pregnancy symptoms: I'm still pretty tired throughout the day, but I think it might be getting better? I'm on a pretty set eating schedule - I like to eat dinner by 5 and I'm good for the rest of the night until around 8 the next morning (I hear this is VERY uncommon women pregnant women who need to eat all of the time and first thing in the morning. Again, SUPER lucky in that aspect. I'm REALLY moody with Kyle, but really go with the flow at work. Funny how that works. Poor guy.

Belly button in or out? In

What I miss: Being sane and not so hormonal about everything. Riding in cars without it being uncomfortable and painful. 

What I am looking forward to: Lunch. Noms.

Upcoming appointments/events: Still have a ways to go. 

Milestones: We decided to no longer let Macy Mae sleep in our bed. I'm getting really tired of being covered in fur 90%of the time. So last night we were getting into bed (Macy beat us there) and Kyle told her to get down. Well, she looked at him with those precious eyes and he caved. Hard. "Can we just let her sleep with us one more night!?" Then I caved. Ugh. Such is life. 

Birthing Options

I've been so overwhelmed with all of the options you have for your birthing experience and I've been met with some resistance when it comes to my wishes for the Bargain's birth. Even my mom and Kyle are on the "you're crazy" train - but it's still what I want. 

The best advice I received was from one of best friends Megan who told me to go in the direction that I wanted. To do what was best for my baby and my birthing experience. So that's what I did, and so far I'm really happy with my decision. I'm completely open to adjusting my birthing plan as necessary because I know that in reality I can talk until the cows come home, but ultimately it's not up to me. It's completely out of my hands.

The 2nd best advice I received, was from an article that was posted on Facebook: 

"What it ultimately boils down to: you get a baby in your arms soon, regardless how he/she comes out. Focus on the end result, trust your body, work with what you have, and enjoy what you can. And know this: your identity and strength as a woman is not measured in how your baby is born. "

This is something that I really took to heart. Who cares if I have a natural/medicated/induced/c-section birth? No one. It doesn't matter. 

Sigh of relief. I'm going to do what I feel is best, until there is a need to be concerned.