Made it through another month- Week 17

Glory, glory, hallelujah! Marching right on through to the end of month 4. Wa-BAM.

I have officially converted to maternity pants, and boy oh boy (or oh girl) does it feel good. Being a sweatpants kinda gal, this whole stretchy waistband thing ain't a bad deal. I feel like a beautiful glowing whale, and I love the look of relief on people's faces when I tell them I'm pregnant and they say, "Ok, I didn't want to ask..." Although I still haven't had the chance to respond to someone who asks by saying, "Ummm, no I am NOT expecting." Can't wait to do that...

As for new developments in the past 4 weeks since I last posted (hey, I've been busy!), I can say I don't sleep very well due to the necessary bathroom trips every 2-4 hours during the night and the paranoia of rolling over onto my stomach or back. I know it's not THAT big a deal right now, but it's on my mind so my body immediately reacts by jerking me awake. I have a feeling when I'm large and in charge it won't be an issue. I'll need a crane to roll me onto my back or belly.

Also, I never realized how gross pregnancy can be... I'll leave that a lovely little mystery for those of you that haven't experienced it yet. =)

Two weeks ago, Caitlin and I went to Babies R Us and registered for my baby and mommy essentials. We left most of the clothing, bedding, "toys", and any non-gender neutral things until after my next ultrasound (which is 2 weeks from today!). That is going to be the fun part. Everyone's been asking me what I want to have, and I'm inclined to say a girl, but only because I want to have the first girl in the family. In reality, I will be as happy as humanly possible either way. I just want my baby to be healthy!

I spent the day today watching "16 and Pregnant" and crying because I'm so excited to be a mommy for the first time. I can only blame it partially on hormones. I just cannot wait to share this experience with Drew. He is going to be an amazing dad, and I'm hoping I can be everything this little baby needs me to be.

AAAAH my aching everything... Week 13

What a long couple of weeks this has been. Besides the fact that I'm pregnant and exhausted (despite consistently getting 8-10 hours of sleep almost every night), I'm in the midst of preparing for finals AND work has been somewhat of a mad house. Busy busy busy!

In baby news, my clothes are starting to feel tighter around the midsection. I bought my first pair of shorts for the summer at work. Hopefully they still fit when the weather finally gets nice. They have a stretchy waistband, so as long as my butt doesn't get too huge I think I'll be fine. Not really much to update on besides the random mood swings and relentless exhaustion--although I can't complain too much about being tired. I'd rather be tired than nauseous (happy that's over.)

The two things I'm having trouble with are kicking caffeine and eating healthy. The problem with eating healthy is nothing healthy sounds good (and I've gotten to be a REALLY picky eater again). The problem with not having caffeine is I can't make it through an 8-hour work day and a 4-hour class without the boost. I've read that I can have up to 200-mg, but I know it's so much better for the baby if I don't drink it at all. I've still been getting Tazo Chais before work, which isn't the worst for caffeine content (except I drink almost a venti almost every day, which is about 140 mg or less).

Am I a bad parent already? =/

It's Baby Time!

After hearing the baby's heartbeat twice, I suppose I can start a 'baby blog'. I'm not promising anything amazing will come out of this, and the prospect of my ability to commit to keeping a blog is dismal, but maybe this will help me get back into writing the kinds of things I like to write.

So at this point in time, I am just over 11 weeks. Baby is the size of a plum and about 2 inches long, according to my baby book. We had a doctor's appointment on Friday and heard the heartbeat for the second time (155-160 beats per minute, which sounds freaky but is within the range of completely normal). I've heard the higher normal heart rate means it could be a girl, but after my doctor laughed at me when I asked, I've deduced it's definitely a myth. (We'll see about that.)

In a little under 8 weeks, we will have our next ultrasound and know the sex. I cannot wait! I just want to start buying baby clothes. =) I bought our diaper bag the other day, although it will probably end up being my diaper bag as Drew wants to get his own 'manly backpack diaper bag'. I'm amazed at how hard it was to find diaper bag! I looked everywhere- Target, Kohls, JCPenney, TJ Maxx. Finally I went to Toys R Us in Bloomington (which doesn't have a large baby section) and found one. It may be a little early, but I'd rather start investing in baby stuff now than wait until 2 or 3 months before the little one arrives to spend a ton of money all at once.

I'm finally feeling pretty good again. The last 4 weeks weren't a whole lot of fun. I never ended up throwing up, but pretty much felt like I was going to at all waking hours of the day. I lost 10 pounds in the first week after I found out I was pregnant, but my appetite is finally back (with a vengeance), and I've gained 2 pounds back. I think it's time to start lathering my belly up with cocoa butter so I can be like my sister and have zero stretch marks. (Luuuuuucky.)

On that lovely note, I think it's time I get some rest so I can force myself to wake up and do homework in the morning. Wooop.