21 Weeks

So these are a pair of my new preggy jeans that are sooooooo comfortable! You can wear them either way, but I usually wear them with the tummy band up. (Will's mom bought me these last weekend)

And here I am fully dressed- who knew those were preggy!

I was able to go shopping today for the first time by myself and talk about having to make choices...it was hard! I bought 2 more pairs jeans, a few shirts, and another pair of capris to wear to work. I'll have to get more, but I figured I had done enough damage in one day.

In other exciting news, we had our doctor's appointment this morning and got to see our baby again! We had the full anatomy scan done by ultrasound, which we're happy to report that everything with the baby and myself are as they should be - completely normal and developing on schedule! This was the ultrasound I've been worried and praying about the most since we never had any of the other tests done (down's syndrome, quad screen, etc.) so you can imagine how happy and thankful we were when the tech was going through everything and saying it looked good. She took about 50 pictures for the doctor and about 10 for us, which was cool. The whole process took about 45 min. so, it was almost like watching a short movie of what's going on inside of you, which is absolutely crazy and amazing at the same time.

The baby weighs a little less than a pound right now and I am up 15 lbs total for weight gain. We are both where we should be in weight and they said I was carrying very well. We're just continuing to pray that the remaining length of the pregnancy goes this smooth - we're less than halfway there now!

Our next appointment will be at the beginning of Dec., in about 4 wks, and we get to see our original doctor we started with, which we are so looking forward to! She's been out on maternity leave and we've had to see this other guy who we've not been to crazy about - he's just a little strange for our tastes.

Anyway, here are a couple of pictures from today's visit of the baby. Don't worry (mom), we made sure to get some where you couldn't tell what the sex was. These pics were taken just at the right spot where you can't tell what it is:

In the first pic, it looks like the baby is almost waving.

In the second, it looks like the baby is sucking it's thumb.

20 Weeks

I'm at the half-way mark of the pregnancy! It seems like it's gone by really fast and as you can see, my belly is growing! I also look really bad in this picture because we've just worked a 10 hour day. The baby is moving around constantly and Will has actually been able to feel it a few times. The movements, whether they're kicks,punches, or head-butts, have to be pretty strong for him to be able to feel them. And I figured out that it must get pretty annoying when my bladder gets full, because this baby will definitely knock it around and just about make me pee on myself. At any rate, I like being able to feel it move around and it just gives me re-assurance that it's doing well.

We returned home from our trip to Maryland on Monday. It was back to reality right away with catching up to emails and figuring out our schedule for the week. We had a great time, though, with the family and really enjoyed being able to spend time with all of them. Halloween was a lot of fun with Brienna - she dressed up as Elmo and got to walk with Zoe, who I dressed up as a bumble bee, while trick or treating around their neighborhood. And as I mentioned in last week's update, I got to go shopping with Will's mom and sisters for the baby and for myself - I still haven't made it shopping, but I'm going to soon! We saw Julia and Charlotte's new house and realized how nice it would be to have a basement. They had the perfect spot for the pool table, fooseball table and weight machine.

We have another appointment this coming Monday where we get to see the baby again! We will have the anatomy scan done so keep us in your prayers that everything is ok!

Here are some cakes we did before we left:

19 Weeks

I am late getting this post up, but we are out of town this week. We came up to Maryland to visit Will's family and see his sisters' new house.
Even though I don't have a picture up, it seems as though my belly has all of a sudden grown out so much! Janet took me shopping yesterday and I bought my first pair of maternity jeans, which after I tried them on, I could not believe how comfortable they were! I am sooooo going shopping after I get home!
We had a doctor's appointment before we left and everything is going well. I got my two flu shots while we were there AND we found out what we're having!!!! I would tell it here on the blog, but we are being mean to my parents and making them wait until Thanksgiving to tell them. We wanted to tell our family's in person and make it more special since this is our first one. We baked a cake to bring with us to see Will's family and we colored the batter the color of the sex - they had to cut into the cake to find out what it was. It was a really fun way to tell everyone.
I will post pictures when we get back!

18 Weeks

My "bump" is slowly growing! I officially cannot button any of my pants and can't wear some of my jeans at all. My weight gain has stayed at 8-10 lbs. for the past couple of weeks, but it feels like I've gained twice that when I try to fit into another pair of pants.

I can also say that I feel the baby move around ALOT! At first, it was just when I was laying down and would concentrate on feeling it; but, now I feel it almost all the time - even when I'm up and doing things. It still catches me off-gaurd sometimes when it's a strong movement and I try to catch Will when it's happening, but he hasn't been able to feel anything yet.

I'm continuing to feel fine and have no complaints. My dreams are a little strange sometimes and very vivid, but I've read that it's a common thing to happen. I've also been continuing to read my baby books and get the "update" each week on the baby's growth. As of right now, the baby is about 5 1/2" long and weights 5-6oz. We only have one week until we get to see it again and find out what the sex is! I'm continuing to pray that everything is good and that the baby is healthy!

We are approaching our last busy weekend for October (thank goodness!) and will be heading up north to Maryland to see Will's family next week. It's going to be a nice, much-needed break! This past weekend we just worked, but we were able to take Sun. and Mon. off away from the shop, which was nice. The one good thing about our busy month is all the different cakes we've been able to make - here's a few from this past weekend:

Forgot to mention....

Another surprise that we got over the weekend was from our other neighbors, Rycki and Lamar. They went on vacation and brought us back a few gifts for taking them to the airport. They gave Will a keychain digital picture frame so that he can put pics of the baby on it when he/she arrives. They brought me a Christmas ornament of a pregnant woman that has a space you can write in for your due date. And they brought the baby a blanket with a stuffed duck attached (very cute!). We are so lucky to have such thoughtful neighbors that treat us so nicely!

17 weeks

My belly is slowly starting to come out - I've had a couple of neighbors and a friend at church actually notice, but I think it just depends on what I'm wearing. I've been feeling fine, just continue to be really tired (as I look in the picture) from us working so much. We have another busy week this week, but only two more big wedding weekends for October so it's good - we can see the end of the tunnel!
I got two surprises over the weekend. One was from our neighbor, Pam, who bought me my first "official" set of maternity clothes. I got a really pretty white shirt that could go dressy or casual and a pair of khaki capris. It won't be long before I have to start wearing them!
The other surprise was a visit from one of my cousins from North Carolina. Christy came and spent Sunday afternoon with us, just hanging out and catching up. It was nice.
We only have 2 weeks until we find out if we're having a boy or a girl! I think we're having a boy because that's what almost all of my dreams have been, but Will thinks we're having a girl because our family trends have been the girls being born before the boys. I am continuing to feel the baby move and some days it's more than others, but always comforting.
Well, that's it for now! Off to bed - yeah!

Oh, here are a few pics of cakes we've done recently. And my first "characters"!

16 Weeks

I have no pictures this week. We are just extremely busy with work and have barely been home to see our dog Zoe. My belly is continuing to grow and it seems like it just came out of nowhere. I weighed myself the other day and I'm still at 8lbs total for the amount of weight I've gained so far. I have begun to wear my Bella Band that I bought a few weeks ago- there are certain shorts I can only zip half-way! Yes, we are still wearing shorts here- it's been nice the past couple of days, but it's supposed to get up close to 90 degrees again by the weekend.
And extremely exciting news....I've been able to feel the baby move!! I first noticed it last Thursday when I laid down to go to bed and wasn't sure at first if that's what I was actually feeling, but it happened a couple of times. Since then, I've continued to feel that same movement (almost like a muscle twitch), but I have to be laying down and not move. I can't wait until the movements get strong enough for Will to feel them.
We have been soooo thankful that I haven't had any problems so far. We just pray that the pregnancy continues this way and we are counting down the days until our next appointment!
Nothing more to report- just a lot of work and really tired. Hope everyone is having a good week!