27 Weeks!!

This week, your baby weighs almost 2 pounds (like a head of cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long with her legs extended. She's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes, and perhaps even sucking her fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. While her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if she were to be born now. Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and they don't bother her, so just relax and enjoy the tickle.

Well apparently, according to what I've been reading, this is the last week of my second trimester. In all honesty, that doesn't make a dang bit of sense, but oh well. You'd figure if you had 3 trimesters, they'd each be 13 weeks, but apparently that's not the case. So one more week to go and I'll be in the "homestretch"!

Today is my birthday and so I am just absolutely thrilled to be sharing the excitement with Nugget this year. I also love the fact that I am getting baby gifts for my birthday! It is so exciting! I've already gotten the cutest little onesies!

This past weekend I did some more work on getting the nursery to completion. Mom and I went to Home Depot and I think we finally narrowed down the color that we're going to paint. I got a sample and I painted a few places in the room to get an idea. So hopefully soon we'll get the nursery all painted. And by "we" I mean my mom and step-dad. Apparently I've been banned from painting due to the fumes. Well, I'm not going to complain too much on that one! :)

I also got a coupon in the mail from Build a Bear for a free bear, so we headed out to the mall and Mom and I made a cute little stuffed bunny for Nugget that says "I love you" when you squeeze her paw. Her name is Mopsy Cottontail. :) I'm so original, right? I'm excited about making the bunny for her! One of the first stuffed animals she's ever gotten and she's not even here yet!

Nugget will also be making her first trip to the beach this weekend. We're leaving on Thursday around lunchtime to go visit Joe down in South Georgia and I can NOT wait. He's been gone for only 10 days, but it already feels like a lifetime. I also am eager to see my brother-in-law and sister-in-law (who's also pregnant! Yay for cousins!!) who live on St. Simons and I haven't seen them in a year! It'll be great to get to visit with family too.

I go back to the doctor next week on the 7th, so I'll have more to update then!!!

26 Weeks!!!

The network of nerves in your baby's ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. She may now be able to hear both your voice and your partner's as you chat with each other. She's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of her lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when she's born and takes that first gulp of air. And she's continuing to put on baby fat. She now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches (an English hothouse cucumber) from head to heel.

I feel like I should start a countdown!! Only 14 weeks to go! I'm only one week away from being at the end of my 2nd trimester. It honestly still feels like I just found out about Nugget yesterday. The time has really flown by since that day in February when the stick read positive. Oh how our lives have changed so much already. I already have so much love for her (despite all of her moving around! Ha!) and I can only begin to imagine how much more that love will grow once she's here and we get to know her and she starts to develop her own personality!

I am definitely starting to notice these hormones kicking in as I have just really been extra emotional lately. And anyone who knows me knows that I was an emotional person to begin with and so boo-hooing over commercials is almost kind of funny. For example, my mom and step-dad have been gone on vacation for about 2 weeks and so for 2 weeks now I haven't heard or talked to my mom. She called me last night from the airport and I started getting all teary eyed just hearing her voice. I just hope it doesn't get any worse!

Joe finally left to move down to South Georgia this past Saturday to start his rotations for pharmacy school. That was incredibly hard on both of us. In the 4 years we've been married, we've never spent more than a day apart from each other and so this is new ground we're treading here. He's living with his mom and dad and so at least he has some other people to interact with everyday. As much as I would like, the dog and cat, just can't hold the same level of conversation. :) Although I am glad to have them around! At least I'm going down to visit St. Simons next week for the 4th of July weekend and so that will be fun and a nice, very needed getaway. I'm looking forward to seeing Joe and especially my in-laws that also live down there. I feel like I haven't seen them in ages!!

Everyday we just get one day closer to having Nugget in our lives and I honestly am so ready for her to be here! I've waited for so long for this moment in our lives and now I just can't wait!!!

25 Weeks!!

Head to heels, your baby now measures about 13 1/2 inches. Her weight — a pound and a half — isn't much more than an average rutabaga, but she's beginning to exchange her long, lean look for some baby fat. As she does, her wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and she'll start to look more and more like a newborn. She's also growing more hair — and if you could see it, you'd now be able to discern its color and texture.

Well I went back to the doctor yesterday to have my monthly checkup. I got to see a different doctor this time than my normal one and let's just say, he's not my favorite. There is nothing worse (in my opinion) than a doctor who is just abrupt and not very friendly. Let's just say, don't ask me if I "have any questions" and then when I start to ask them, begin inching towards the door and trying to get out of giving me any sort of solid answer. I am very thankful that I am back to my own doctor for my next appointment! I think I've been given renewed appreciation for how wonderful he is!

There was lots of good news though at the appointment... I haven't gained any more weight so I'm holding steady at a 5 pound weight gain! I think for only having 15 weeks to go, I am THRILLED with only a 5 pound weight gain! I also had my blood pressure go down compared to my last few visits, so that was good. The doctor did manage to tell me before bolting for the door that everything looked perfect and so I'm right on track. Next time I get to go back and do the dreaded glucose screening to test for the possibility of gestational diabetes. Let's hope and pray that I only have to do this once! I've heard it's awful, but as long as these test results come back normal I won't have to go through the testing again. So fingers crossed!!

Nugget is moving all the time these days and it is just amazing to me to feel her moving so much. So many times I stop and wonder - just what the heck are you doing in there little girl?? But I love it! At my last appointment the doctor had told me that she was in the 50th percentile for her weight (right in the middle!) and so I am hoping it stays that way. Especially after Joe's mom told us last night that he weighed 9 pounds when he was born. NINE POUNDS??? Good lord! Let's hope that Nugget doesn't take after her dad in that aspect!! :)

We went and picked up paint swatches at the store this weekend and so I'm hoping that we can get the nursery painted by the end of the month. My mom is going to come and help and so I'm thinking it might be next weekend and then the nursery will really start to come together! I can't wait!!

I go back to the doctor again in 3 weeks (July 7th) and so I'll have more to update then! :)

New Nugget Pics!!

We went back to the doctor today for my 24 week visit and to get one more ultrasound. I got to have this additional ultrasound because Nugget wasn't cooperating last time and the tech couldn't get a good image of her heart. So I had to go back today so that we could look at her heart. Of course she didn't cooperate again today but we were more determined to force her to show us the goods. :) After a lot of poking and moving into awkward positions, we were finally able to get the shots we needed. I also got some new shots of Nugget to share:




Here's a side shot. She has her knee bent and her fist up to her mouth. She kept putting her arms up in front of her face. I don't know if she was being shy or what, but Joe was convinced she was just "raising the roof" and dancing. Sometimes it feels like that with the way she moves around! :)




Another side shot. Her elbow and knee are touching.



This time she's looking straight at the camera.


One last side shot. You can see her little ear on the side of her head. Gosh, I just think she's so precious already and these aren't even the greatest pictures! I can't wait to get the 3D ones!!!!

Unfortunately, I didn't actually get to see the doctor today. There are 4 doctors in my practice and my OB wanted me to start rotating and seeing the other doctors with today's visit so that I would get to meet them all in case they happen to be on call when I go into labor. I was supposed to see the one female doctor today but she had been called to the hospital earlier in the day and was about an hour and a half behind on seeing patients and I honestly didn't want to wait that long. So I've rescheduled for Monday morning. So we'll get our checkup then on weight and blood pressure, etc.

Seeing Nugget again today was just so exciting and makes me even more ready to meet her in September! I won't have another ultrasound again until July 26th which is when my 3D ultrasound takes place. This is the longest I will have had to go between ultrasounds since I found out I was pregnant! I don't know what I'll do!! :) But I'm glad to know that Nugget is still growing well and everything looks good!

24 Weeks!!

Your baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts her at just over a pound. Since she's almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), she cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but her body is filling out proportionally and she'll soon start to plump up. Her brain is also growing quickly now, and her taste buds are continuing to develop. Her lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help her air sacs inflate once she hits the outside world. Her skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.

It is so hard to really imagine that it's actually been 24 weeks so far. It really seems like just yesterday that I was taking the pregnancy test and seeing the positive lines. The closer and closer I get to my due date, the more and more ready I am for Nugget's arrival!

We worked on the nursery some more this past weekend since Nugget's bedding has arrived. We got a crib mattress and went ahead and put all of the bedding on so that we could make sure we really liked it. I totally fell in love! I can't wait to get the room painted and start decorating! Here are some pictures of the crib and the bedding:


This is the crib with the bedding all set up. I am currently hating the paint color and am ready to get the walls painted yellow!


Here is my Vanna White modeling the quilt that goes with the bedding. I absolutely love it! The little bees are just so cute!!


This is one of the valances that came with the bedding. I also have some white sheer panel curtains that I'm going to hang as well as soon as I get another rod to hang those from.



This is the little pillow that came with it. I will eventually have a rocker recliner that will go in the room that I am getting from my brother and I'll put this little pillow in that. This also gives you a close up shot of the bumper which is SO cute!


Just another shot of the crib and the bedding inside. I just know Nugget will love it. :)

23 Weeks!!

Turn on the radio and sway to the music. With her sense of movement well developed by now, your baby can feel you dance. And now that she's more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about as much as a large mango), you may be able to see her squirm underneath your clothes. Blood vessels in her lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that your baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing her for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as your dog barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze her when she hears them outside the womb.

You know I just sat down and calculated it out and I only have 3 more weeks to go and I'll be out of my second trimester. That just blows my mind!! This is going by so fast, but at the same time it seems like it's going slow too. September 28th seems like a lifetime from now!

I thought for this week I'd steal my friend's update again and use it to update how I'm doing!

How far along: 23 weeks today!

Symptoms: Really no big symptoms. My round ligament pain is still around, but that is minor in the grand scheme of things. I had some minor acid reflux this weekend but I don't know if that is really pregnancy related... we'll see if it becomes something more common.

Total Weight Gain: As of my last doctor visit I was only up 5 pounds, so I'm ecstatic with that. I go back on June 11th and we'll see if that's changed.

Maternity Clothes: I only just recently received a maternity outfit from my mom as a gift and so I've worn that a few times, but otherwise I'm still in my regular clothes. I did buy some cute things but I haven't had to wear anything yet. I'm also thrilled about that!

Stretch Marks: Nope, none yet! I'm praying it stays that way!!!

Sleep: I have definitely found what I need to be able to get a good night's sleep but I still get up at least every 3 hours for that nightly trip to the bathroom! Thankfully I usually fall right back asleep.

Best Moment This Week: Feeling Nugget kick from the outside! I just wish Joe had been around to experience it.

Movement: She is moving all the time now and it is so funny to me. Fortunately we haven't gotten to the real serious kicking yet and so it's still not uncomfortable, but I'm sure that's right around the corner!

Food Cravings: Don't think there's anything in particular that I crave on a normal basis, but I have been loving deviled eggs and Bruster's Oreo ice cream - not together of course. :)

Belly Button: Still in.

What I miss: Honestly the only thing I've been missing lately is luncheon meat. How I've just wanted to run to Subway to get a sub! I told Joe I wanted a sandwich as soon as Nugget's born! :)

What I am looking forward to: I've ordered Nugget's bedding and I can't wait for it to come in and we can work on getting her room painted and set up completely!

Milestones: Really feeling her moving alot!

How is Daddy?: He's awesome. He helps me all the time and lets me get away with not having to do alot. He talks to Nugget all the time and rubs my stomach and I know he's as ready for her arrival as I am!

How are the Grandparents?: Excited! I know my mom has already bought Nugget clothes and is on the lookout constantly for stuff.

I am honestly ready to start working on Nugget's nursery and getting it painted and all set up completely. I've already got clothes hanging in her closet! It is so hard to keep myself from buying up a ton of clothes when I see them in the store - there is just SO much cute stuff out there for little girls! I am really so glad that Nugget is a girl because I think she and I are going to have so much fun together!!