12th Week

July 27, 2005 - Beginning of my 12th week

Okay, so I was wrong...NOW my baby is 0.5 ounces, but at least I haven't gained anymore weight! Holding steady at 9 pounds...The baby is around 2 inches long (the size of a lime, I've read) and almost all of the internal organs are completely formed!

So, I'm almost finished with my first trimester, and my pants are all beginning to feel tight. I bought a pair of pants 1 size larger than I normally wear, but it's still too big, so I also bought some belts :) I did buy a couple of new bras in a larger cup size the other day, too. Mike was excited about that! He actually even picked out a not-so-practical bra in the larger cup size...though he'll have to work on making me feel sexy enough to actually wear it!

Mike has been a great father-to-be! He's been cleaning a lot (at least once a week), and he cleans up after the cats every day since I can't change the cat litter anymore. Every night when we're relaxing and winding down from the day, he says hi to our baby and talks to him/her. It's very sweet to watch, and I just sit quietly and listen to him talk :)

So, I bet some of you out there are wondering if we've picked out any names yet. Well, we have a few of each. If we have a girl, we like the names: Madeline, Abigail, Olivia, Rachel, Emma, Taylor, and Penelope. If we have a boy, we like: Tyler, Brian, Joshua, Daniel, Andrew, and Christopher.

11th Week

July 22, 2005 - Well into my 11th week

I wanted to make sure that I recorded all of the strange cravings and aversions I've been having. I always ask moms what theirs were, and most of the time (unless they're a new mom) they can't really remember. So, here goes: Currently, I cannot STAND the smell of the coffee in my office break room...and there is always coffee in the coffee pot. I have cut myself back to 1 cup of coffee per day, and now I have to make my own at home and bring it to work. Not a big deal since the coffee I have at home is much better, anyway! :)

I have been trying (sometimes to no avail) to stay away from foods that aren't as healthy, but sometimes those are the only kinds of foods that I can stand eating at the time. Ramen noodles are a staple, as well as corn on the cob, I think I eat an entire lemon every day, and lately chocolote pudding!I guess it's good that I'm almost done with my first trimester, because although my baby is only 0.5 ounces, I've gained 9 pounds already! Grrrr....

10 Full Weeks

July 19, 2005 - End of Week 10

Warning, this might be TMI (Too Much Information) for any of the wonderful fathers-to-be out there reading this, so you guys might want to just go ahead and close down this window and check back another time for my next post...but I'm going to talk about constipation.

I sort of knew about it already (I did, after all, read Belly Laughs by Jenny McCarthy...a great book, by the way). But I had yet to experience it...until about 2 or 3 weeks ago. OH MY. I never had to go so badly, and my friends and I always (ALWAYS) talk about our bowel movements and how regular we are. Being pregnant messes all that up (sorry girls!). I used to have a BM every morning, no fail. If I didn't, then I felt really weird, like I was too full or something. Well, one hot day a few weeks ago, I thought I was feeling that urge, so I went to the bathroom and....NOTHING! I was probably on the toilet pushing and trying different positions for about 15 minutes and nothing came out. Something WANTED to come out, very much, but nothing actually did. I was sweating and holding on to the walls and everything!! I was actually thinking to myself, "Maybe this is some sort of preparation for childbirth!" Finally, I just had to give up and leave the bathroom, in hopes that something would clear me out later.

On a good note, that was really the worst of it (so far!). I'm not as regular as I would like to be, but eating fiber and drinking lots of water does actually help! If you get tired of drinking so much water, try adding a couple of slices of lemon or drinking sparkling water (that with lemon is really great, you don't even think you're drinking water!).

Anyway, so I'm officially 10 full weeks pregnant, and I'm feeling MUCH better. No more real morning sickness, and my energy is on the upswing! I think I'm getting into the stage of pregnancy that most people think of when they talk about a glowing pregnant woman. Woohoo!!!

10th Week

July 14, 2005 - Beginning of my 10th week

Okay, sorry I missed the 9th week...but it was jam-packed with excitement, that's for sure! We're reveling in the joys of new homeownership when the remnants of Tropical Storm Cindy blow past us. Very, VERY early Friday morning (June 7), Mike hears a dripping noise in the hallway. Hmmm....so we go check it out and our light fixture is dripping water onto the floor! We're pretty freaked out and Mike goes up into the attic while I tap on the ceiling near the fixture so he can figure out where it is. To our dismay, he finds a large area of sopping wet drywall and insulation! The next two days were spent clearing out the attic of the wet insulation, clearing the wet drywall area so that it could dry, and cleaning out all the gutters. We figured the clogged gutters were probably the cause of the leak into the attic. Mike had also found what he thought was a leak in the roof of our attached shed. The water heater is kept in there and there was a large puddle of water below it, and what looked like water damage in the rafters above. So, Mike put some roofing paper and roofing cement up on the roof. But, when his dad came down to visit and they took a look at the attached shed...they discovered that the water heater was leaking, too! The homeowner's version of Murphy's Law: if something looks too good to be true, it probably is! Luckily, the water heater was covered under our warranty! Don't even ask me about the roof, yet...we will have to get it repaired, and maybe even replaced!
On a lighter note, we had our first ultrasound on Tuesday, July 12. It was a little nerve-wrecking, only because I thought I would have to go through with the INTERNAL ultrasound (some of my friends and family had warned me about it already). The technician wanted to try the "regular" ultrasound first, and only if that didn't work, would we then try the internal. Luckily, it DID work! So, I didn't have to stick the LARGE wand up THERE. All that aside, seeing our baby for the first time on that monitor was probably the most amazing thing I've ever seen. Our little baby was wiggling around and putting on a show! We could see the heart beating, and then the tech let us listen to it! It was wild, I tell you! To know that little guy (or girl) is working so hard and growing inside of me. I'm tearing up as I type this. :)

So, check out the ultrasound pictures we got. Look how sweet my baby is! They're so great, I could look at those pictures all day!

Last week, my sister and her husband finally had their housewarming party. They've been in their house for months, but finally felt settled in and decided to have a bunch of people over.

Below is a photo taken at my sister's house with my cousins and their significant others. Mike and I are in the back corner.

This is a cute picture of my sister in her (and her husband's) garden in their back yard. They had grapes, zucchini, peppers, and tomatoes! I was really impressed...I can barely grow basil!