15 Weeks.

Yup, I'm still behind. I promise to get caught up this week!

How far along: 15 weeks.

Size of Baby: An orange.

Weight Gain: +7. At least I'm holding steady at a pound a week? Oof.

Symptoms: I felt myself get a stretch mark this week. I need to be a little heavier on the lotion application apparently!

Exercise: Packing and more packing. That's exercise, right?

Clothes: Still solidly maternity. A few of my shirts (mostly my work shirts) are starting to get short. As I grow out of them, I'm packing them up into my tub of pre-pregnancy clothes.

Cravings/Aversions: Fruit and cheese.

Movement: Nope. But I'm totally freaked out that there's the possibility that I could feel movement at any time. I'm going to feel like Predator or something.

Worries: Packing, buying a house, Sean taking the bar, and the busy time of the year is totally edging out any baby worries right now.

Boy/Girl: No clue.  Frankly, I'm just going to be glad there's only one baby, judging by my belly's size.

Milestones: Baby can move its arms and legs!

Best moment of the week: We had friends over for dinner. It's been awhile since we've done that, and I forget how much I actually love it.

Self Image.

Lately, I'm having a really hard time with my self image. I've always been critical of myself, but at the same time, I've always worked past it. I've always been confident regardless of my looks.

But right now?

That's not the case.

I'm in that awkward stage between fat and pregnant. I feel like I've got an extra layer of blubber chilling  around my belly and love handles, and I feel like my arms have lost any definition they had. My legs hurt because of it. I'm more tired because of it. I keep reading that people don't start gaining weight until their 20+ weeks, and here I am up almost 10 lbs at 15 weeks (but I wasn't sick at the beginning).

I know that I'm gaining weight for the baby. I know that my belly weight IS the baby. I know that I have water weight going on. Hell, I know that I should lift some arm weights.

But man.

I just want to reach the stage of rounding out and actually looking pregnant. Not like an overinflated blow up doll.

Don't people say pregnant people glow? Where IS that? I feel like my self image right now is worse than its ever been, when I have every reason to look the way I do.

I'm blaming these stupid hormones.

14 Weeks.

Yup, this was supposed to be posted LAST week. I'm still catching up!

How far along: 14 weeks.

Size of Baby: A lemon.

Weight Gain: +6 pounds. I really hate that I'm gaining a lot of weight so early (my OB recommended 15-20 lbs TOTAL, but that's totally not in the cards for me)

Symptoms: My legs are tired all the time. I've been wearing support socks for work, which helps a TON. I thought they'd be uncomfortable, but they rock. Also, my belly is starting to harden and round out, which is weird to me. 

Exercise: The amount of walking I did on the beach this week was crazy! Exercise? Check!

Clothes: I wore a maternity swimsuit on the beach - it was needed. If only for the coverage up top. Also, continuing on in the maternity section. 

Cravings/Aversions: The fruit cravings are back, for sure. And I'm loving some garlic bread, but I'm not sure if that's pregnancy related ;)

Movement: Nope. 

Worries: Honestly, I've been pretty worry free this week! With our little vacation, it was a great way to let go and relax. My current worry is my lack of exercise, which is something I should be able to fix pretty easily this coming week!

Boy/Girl: Again, no idea. I'm getting more and more anxious for the gender scan, which is still over a month away! 

Milestones: Baby can frown and squint, and is starting to grow eyebrows!

Best moment of the week: Beach. There's no comparison to the calm that I feel there. Love it!

13 Weeks.

Yup, this blog is over a week late. Whoops. We've been super busy!

I honestly never got to a chalkboard pic this week. I'll probably suck it in and try to take one anyway though, for the sake of keeping them the same ;) Instead, you get a selfie!

How far along: 13 weeks.

Size of Baby: A peach.

Weight Gain: +4 pounds. 

Symptoms: Nausea has vacated the premises. However, vertigo has moved in. Whoa. Apparently it's pretty common in pregnancy, but I had never heard of it happening! I nearly fell over into the tub today while straightening my hair. If it hits while driving - oof! 

Exercise: Yeaaaaaa nada. I need to get back into the swing of things when I get back from Florida!

Clothes: Officially in maternity pants, save for stretchy pants like gym shorts and yoga pants. I'm definitely getting a pudge, which is annoying for some of my shorter shirts.

Cravings/Aversions: Oh my god pizza. I don't know why, but I'm seriously craving it. Also, fried chicken is slowly moving into the aversions list too. 

Movement: Nope. 

Worries: The money factor. I only have 60% maternity leave, and it makes me so nervous that we're going to be losing that money when I'm off. Yikes. I can't wait until Sean has a better paycheck that we can start squirreling away!

Boy/Girl: No idea. Like, whatsoever. I find that I think it might be a girl, but I always refer to the baby as a him. I don't know what that means! 

Milestones: Baby can move its arms and legs now! Also, I no longer have a creepy top heavy baby - it's starting to be more proportional.

Best moment of the week: I worked a ridiculous amount this week. It's a hellalot of overtime, which is fabulous for my pocketbook (see the worry section above!). Sean and I are also headed on vacation, and I'm super excited. We desperately need this time.

Boy or Girl? Ye Old Wives' Tales Say..

There's several old wives' tales to predict gender. This article popped up on my Yahoo news feed today, and it sparked me to try it out! We won't know the gender until August 23rd (and we won't tell until much later), but I think it'll be super fun to try it!!

1. Chinese Gender Test
This test. For me? BOY.

2. The Carrying Wives' Tale
Legend has it that if you're carrying high, it's a girl. For me? It says GIRL.

3. The Beauty Wives' Tale
Girls steal their mothers' beauty, causing acne. For me? It says GIRL.

4. The Ring Test
This test is based off how a ring moves. For me? BOY.

5. The Heart Rate Test
Girls have a higher heart rate than boys. For me? It says GIRL.

6. The Cravings Wives' Tale
Girls make mom's crave sweets, while boys cause salty cravings. For me? Neither. I don't really have many cravings, to be honest.

7. The Husband Wives' Tale
If your husband gains weight, it suggests a girl. Sean's studying for the bar, so I would say this is skewed. In any case, he's only gained about 10 lbs. I'm calling it neutral.

8. The Morning Sickness Wives' Tale
If you suffer morning sickness, your more likely to be having a girl. For me? I didn't have much sickness, so it's neutral for me.

9. The Key Test
If you pick it up by the round end, boy. Sharp end, girl. I pick keys up by the round end, and always have. For me? BOY.

Overall, we're tied 3 ways. 3 for boy, 3 for girl, and 3 neutrals. Guess we have no idea what we're having!!!

First Trimester Wrap Up!

I'm successfully out of my first trimester. So let's do a bit of a wrap up to bring it all together.

First of all, this trimester has been a doozy. I was sick for most of it, though never actually sick enough to whine about being sick. I was exhausted, and being in the busiest time of the year at work really didn't help. There have been days that I've come home and slept until dinner. I can feel my body changing, and it's odd. I notice different smells with some smelling awful (like hot coffee!). I'm trying so hard to get into routines, so it's easier for me to keep doing them.

I've been deep in the "we could do this" and "we could do this" and overall excited planning mode. Sean, on the other hand, is deep in bar studying. I hate that he's missing out on the little stuff about the pregnancy, but on the other hand, he probably wouldn't be interested anyway. He's been helpful with the planning of the nursery and baby stuff (Amazon wish lists are a life saver right now!). We've gotten colors picked out, as well as things like a stroller, crib, and pack n play (which will be the baby's bassinet while s/he's in our room). If anyone has any items that couldn't live without - let me know!

All throughout this week I've been struggling with my pre-pregnancy clothes. Specifically, pants. I think next week will officially mark a transition into full on maternity pants. Luckily, Sean's mom was able to find a bunch on clearance, so I'm pretty set!

In addition to my weekly photo, I've also been taking weekly photos of a piece of fruit or other item that's the size of the baby. This one is mostly fruit, but I'm going to try and work in other items for this coming trimester! I love this, because it's a concrete way to see how big this child really is. It's crazy to me!

12 Weeks.

How far along: 12 weeks.

Size of Baby: A plum.

Weight Gain: +4 pounds. 

Symptoms: I'm totally starting to feel like myself again. I'm gassy, but other than that, I'm doing pretty good. I still get nauseous every once in a while, but not nearly as often as I used to. Also - I'm not eating like a 400 lb man anymore!

Exercise: I feel like I walked around the earth when we were in Wisconsin this weekend. It was definitely good for me. I've been walking the lot at work instead of taking the golf cart too :)

Clothes: Um, pretty much sure I'm almost done with pre-pregnancy pants. I feel ridiculous being maternity only 3 months along, but apparently I'm a grower AND a show-er :p 

Cravings/Aversions: I'm not really craving anything this week, but the same aversions are still standing. No baked chicken, and definitely no cold leftovers. Heated up, they're fine, but straight out of the fridge? I practically gag until I can get it in the microwave! 

Movement: Nope. 

Worries: Actually, I'm feeling pretty good. Getting out of the 1st trimester and hearing the heartbeat loud and clear is definitely making me more calm. 

Boy/Girl: Oi. I don't know!! Last week I was feeling boy, but this week my heartbeat was at 167 bpm, and my friends all say girl. I don't think I know either way. 

Milestones: Baby has a nose! Poor kid will hate that nose in the future, with all the allergies this mama is going to give him!

Best moment of the week: We heard the heartbeat this week! My doctor found it right away (settled just to the right) with a nice steady 167 bpm. It was super surreal. I'm thinking I'm going to get a doppler - I hear it's super cool and I know several people who have had them. Eeek!