23 weeks

Close up:

How far along? 23 weeks

Size of baby: Baby is the size of a large mango!  Baby boy weighs about 1.2 lbs. 

Total weight gain:  6 lbs. 

Maternity clothes? Not yet... although I don't know how much longer I am going to be able to keep rockin' my normal clothes. 

Stretch marks? No.  But can we talk about something disgusting for just one moment? My books and internet keep telling me that I should be seeing a line called the "linea nigra" (although some lucky woman may not experience this so called "line"). The name alone scares the crap out of me. For those of you who aren't familiar with this, it's the dark colored line that goes from the bottom of your belly button to the top of your "lower area". Forgive me, but I think those things are HEINOUS. I cringe when I see women in maternity photos with that dark line showing. It's all I can focus on. I know it goes away after pregnancy but the fact that I may have to walk around with that line just grosses me out. You can bet your bottom dollar if I do get it...you will NEVER see it! 

Sleep: I slept pretty well this week. It just takes awhile for me to get comfortable. 

Best moment this week:  Registering with John Moon! He didn't know what he was getting himself into, but he was a champ at it (only complaining about 10 times along the way!!)  We registered at Babies R Us and Target!! CHECK THAT OFF THE "BABY TO DO LIST"!! :) 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Taco Tuesday at work....omg. The smell of fake meat makes me want to BARF. 

Gender: B.O.Y

Belly Button in or out? She's still an INNIE (thank goodness!!)

Wedding rings on or off?  Ok, so I took off my wedding bands and now I just wear my wedding ring. My fingers swell when I am hot and let's face it....We live in Florida and it's OVER HEATING everyday here! (My bands are smaller than my wedding ring so those are the first to go).

Miss Anything? Bending over without getting out of breath or feeling like I just broke my back. Picking up my classroom after my kids leave is a doozy. 

Food cravings: I actually didn't crave one thing this week. Are you shocked? 

Labor Signs: No, but how fun is it going to be when I can actually answer this question?!? 

Symptoms: NO MORE SICKNESS!! Whoop. I think it's officially gone. OFFICIALLY. Now I am having some serious "growing pains" (where my sides just hurt- like my skin and insides are stretching) and some serious back aches. Wow- the back aches. 

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy and extremely anxious!! 

Looking forward to: We didn't paint the nursery this weekend. We had too much going on. So hopefully that will get done soon. I am looking forward to this baby boy DOUBLING in size over the next 4 weeks. He should be 2 lbs. within a month!! Growing like a weed. 

• This boy moves around like crazy in my tummy. He kicks so hard for a 1 pounder. Every time he goes to town in there I tell John to rush over and feel him. As SOON as John puts in hand on my belly, the baby calms down...kinda cute :)

• Crib should be here this week. WOOOO. 

22 weeks

Close up:

How far along? 22 weeks

Size of baby: Baby is the size of a spaghetti squash! About 8 inches long. 

Total weight gain:  6 lbs. 

Maternity clothes? Nope. Still rocking my work dresses and cotton dresses on the weekend. 

Stretch marks? No.  Although I MAY be getting some on my girls (if you know what I mean). Which I'm not too sad about. If those things are growing...I'll take the marks! They better just stay that way. 

Sleep: Better this week. John has informed me that I breathe strange during the night. Like taking deep breaths. I tell him it's because I'm having nightmares about giving birth (which is true). I am deathly AFRIAD of giving birth. I don't care what you (or the other 100 people have told me)- it's not "natural" to push an 8 pound, 20-something inch baby out of your hoo-ha! Not to mention, I do not deal well with pain. I'm a wuss. BUT, I will survive and am willing to go through anything for this baby boy to get here safe and healthy. 

Best moment this week:  Noticing that this belly is poppin' out like a real baby belly. And I think I could use this for every week but, I really love feeling him move around. And boy does he do it A LOT.  I think it's safe to say that Baby Boy loves 7 layer dip and anything with sugar-- that's when he really goes to town in there. 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Not this week :) 

Gender: Boy!

Belly Button in or out? INNIE

Wedding rings on or off? On and they get tight during the day if I am outside. My hands swell up like nobody's business when I am out at recess with the kids or out walking. 

Miss Anything? I actually don't miss anything this week. I was just telling someone yesterday that starting at 20 weeks I have been LOVING pregnancy. Absolutely loving it. I love my belly. I love the way it looks in my clothes. I love this baby and his constant kicking! :)

Food cravings: I had been craving 7 layer dip so my Mom finally made me some. But I have to confess, it's only 5 layers because I don't like two of them. This baby, he LOVES "7" layer dip too. He bounces around in there for a good 10 minutes every time I eat it! Sadly, today I ate the last of it. Mom...I need another batch, ASAP! ....for the baby of course ;)

Labor Signs: No

Symptoms: I got sick one time this week and I was so sad about it. Literally. I was praying that it wasn't a relapse. Luckily, it didn't happen the next morning. 

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy. Thankful. Lucky. Blessed. Thank you God for this Baby Boy whom I love so much already. 

Looking forward to: Painting the nursery this weekend. John will be doing it of course. I'm just the supervisor. He loves when that happens! Haha. We are going to paint one accent wall in a dark navy blue. The crib will be here by the end of next week and the dresser won't be coming in until the end of June. I'll be sure to post pics. 

Can you believe that in 2 weeks I will be 6 months along? Where is the time going? Only 18 weeks left. 136 days. 

21 weeks & Anatomy Scan

Baby boy is moving and kicking like crazy these days. Every single night while I'm sitting on the couch I can feel him going to town in my belly. I absolutely l.o.v.e this feeling. 

Close up:

Wednesday we went to the Doctor for our 20 week check up and anatomy scan of the baby. This is usually when the Doctor tells you the gender of your baby but clearly we already knew we were having a BOY. And that was clearly confirmed on the sonogram yesterday :)  His heart beat is going strong: 148 BMP. The sonogram nurse said he is a very active, healthy little boy. The doctor says everything looks great and all bones are in place. The nurse switched to 3-D while she was taking pictures and he looks so tiny in there. Much bigger than before, but very skinny looking. John looked at me and mouthed that I better start having this boy gain weight because he doesn't want a scrawny son. Haha. The nurse assured us that all babies are "in the same club" at this point during the pregnancy (meaning they all look skinny at this point). 

Remember around week 14-15 when I went to Prenatal Impressions (the place where they told us the gender extra early)?  Remember me mentioning that the male nurse said something to me about having Placenta Previa?  (Placenta Previa is where your placenta is too close to your cervix or covering the opening to the cervix). Well, today I mentioned something to the sonogram nurse. She said that she had "already noticed" when she first started the sonogram and would have to go in vaginally to get a better look. Can I just mentioned how uncomfortable the vaginal wand is? Extremely uncomfortable. Well, she took a couple of pictures of the placement of my placenta and sent us on our merry way to wait for the Doctor. 

When the Doctor came in I asked him right away about his thoughts on Placenta Previa. He told me that at this point in the pregnancy it's not that uncommon for the placenta to be so close to the cervix. He told me that my placenta is "on the margin", meaning that it's not covering the opening to my cervix but it's extremely close. He told me that the cervix only moves away from the placenta and never towards it. So, it "can only get farther away at this point". He ordered me to come back next month for an extra sonogram to make sure my placenta is making progress (no complaints here, I'll get to see my baby one extra time!). ***Mind you, if my placenta doesn't move and for some reason is blocking my cervix at week 35 I will have to have a C-section...which I am NOT thrilled about. He told me that I have nothing to worry about and that he is confident that it will move with time. We will see next month I suppose. I'll be sure to keep you posted on that. 

How far along? 21 weeks

Size of baby: Baby is the size of a BANANA! Weighing in at exactly 13 oz. -according to the Doctor's appointment Wednesday. 

Total weight gain:  Listen up people!! I've GAINED 4.5 POUNDS since my last Doctor's appointment. That's a total of 6 pounds. The Doctor told me that it's natural to gain anywhere from 25-30 pounds during pregnancy. He said anything under 15 pounds would cause him to worry. I have no doubt that I will be above that 15 pound mark ;)

Maternity clothes? Nope.

Stretch marks? No. 

Sleep: Not going so hot. Sleeping on my side is causing my back to KILL me. Not to mention, our mattress sucks stinks. 

Best moment this week:  Hearing Baby Boy's heart beat and seeing his precious face during our sonogram appointment on Wednesday.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Not much. Getting better with the "chicken issue"- but NEVER going to eat it as long as I am with child! 

Gender: Baby Boy.

Belly Button in or out? in

Wedding rings on or off? On- although when I walk, I have to take them off because my fingers swell up like little sausage links- no joke. 

Miss Anything? Normal sleep. Never going to get that back, am I?

Food cravings: Ok! So listen to this: I caved. I ate a COLD CUT TURKEY SANDWICH with cheese, mustard and white bread. OH. MY. GOSHHHH. Heaven. I DOUBLE DOG DARE YOU to try to go without eating lunch meat for 5 straight months. See if you can do it. That sandwich tasted like pure bliss. It's the small things you miss. So, this week I am craving MORE LUNCH MEAT. 

Labor Signs: No

Symptoms:  No morning sickness this week. Not one time. Brushing my teeth makes me gag, but hey---taking small steps here! From all day sickness, to just "morning" sickness, to gaging---I'll take any progress! Haha. Oh- And now we can add back pain to the list. 

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happyyyyyyy. Daydreaming 24/7 about what this baby will look like. Sometimes it will take me hours to fall asleep because so many baby thoughts are running through my head. 

Looking forward to: The arrival of the nursery furniture. It should be here by the end of the month. Also, registering. I've started my registries already, adding bigger items that aren't located in the stores. We are registering at Babies R' Us and Target. 

20 weeks: HALFWAY THERE!!

Close up: 

How far along? 20 weeks ...YAY! 20 more to go. 

Size of baby: Baby is the size of a cantaloupe! Weighing in at about 10 ounces and measuring at about 6.5 inches long. 

Total weight gain:  Find out next Wednesday (5/15/13).

Maternity clothes? Nope.

Stretch marks? No. 

Sleep: The past two nights I have slept through the entire night withOUT getting up one time to pee. Can I get an AMEN on that? 

Best moment this week:  Knowing that I am at the halfway mark and knowing that I only have 20 more weeks to go. Also, starting to ordering baby boy's nursery items is making me SO excited. 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Not really anymore. I can handle people eating chicken around me now and I don't mind the smell of it anymore- but WILL not eat it, that's for sure. Sometimes my school's teacher lounge will get the best of me. Depends on who is cooking what. Sometimes I eat outside. 

Gender: Sweet little boy. 

Belly Button in or out? in

Wedding rings on or off? on

Miss Anything? Being able to sleep on my stomach and still wanting bologna. 

Food cravings: McDonalds hash browns (especially when they are over cooked fried). Wow. It's hard to pass it on my way to work each morning. It's like I can smell them as I am approaching the turning lane. 

Labor Signs: No

Symptoms: Only got sick 3 times this week in the morning. Makin'  improvements, people. 

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy. Oh so happy. I love waking up each morning and starring at my belly in the mirror. The first thing I do is  go to the mirror and lift my shirt up to see if my belly has grown any...seriously, I do it every morning. 

Looking forward to: The anatomy scan next Wednesday and hearing Baby Boy's heartbeat. 

ONLY 20 MORE WEEKS TO GO! These first 20 weeks went by so fast, don't ya think?

Here are a couple of things that I have ordered so far: His room will be navy with accents of mustard.

Baby blanket to hang over the crib:

Deer pillow to put in crib:

PS: Did anyone catch the Bon Jovi reference on the chalkboard this week???? Woahhhh we're halfway there....woaahhhh livin' on a prayer!! 

19 weeks.

A very special Happy Birthday to my sweet and loving Husband!! 

Baby Moon and I love you very much! 

Close up:

How far along? 19 weeks

Size of baby: Baby boy is the size of a Mango! About 6 inches long and weighs about .5 lbs! 

Total weight gain:  1.5 lbs. so far.

Maternity clothes? Not yet. Bought another dress this week- still not maternity but just the next size up that I'm used to wearing. & FYI- I am going to be living in dresses this summer- that is a fact, Jack. 

Stretch marks? No. 

Sleep: Well, sleep was going great. Now, not so much. I am waking up constantly throughout the night. Peeing, or just uncomfortable. OR John's snoring. Gotta love him and that snoring. 

Best moment this week:  Honestly? Trying this new ice cream for the first time. It's called Talenti Gelato. I'm telling you what...my taste buds are ON HIGH ALERT and this ice cream is tasting like pure heaven. Sea Salt Carmel. WOW. It will be a weekly purchase at Publix, that's for sure. 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Well, the smell of my kids this week is killing me. 

Gender: B-O-Y!

Belly Button in or out? in

Wedding rings on or off? on

Miss Anything? Bologna. I canNOT get a bologna sandwich out of my head. I begged John to let me just have oneeeee piece on bread and he will not go for it! "Doctor's orders!"

Food cravings: Potatoes still. I've had a baked potatoes with sour cream 3 nights this week and today I stopped by Checker's for some fries. YUM. Carbs. 

Labor Signs: No

Symptoms: Morning sickness has been a hit or miss this week. Slowly dying off! Woo. 

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happppppy. I am loving my belly. I thank God everyday for this little boy in my tummy. I cannot wait to meet him. I am constantly thinking about what he is going to look like. 

Looking forward to: My Doctor's appointment this month! 

A HUGE PS: Did you know that there are only 4 months, 24 days, 11 hours, and 15 minutes until my due date! HELLO. 21 weeks people!! aka 147 days. 

Baby furniture should be here at the end of the month!!! I'm doing navy in his room but not 100% on the accent color just yet. Here is the crib we went with and also ordered the matching dresser: