23 Weeks

Just this morning (at work) I'm seeing my stomach move from the outside b/c the baby is kicking so hard :D. The just look like a muscle twitch at this point rather than a full movement. But still pretty awesome.

I was finally able to hammer down a date and time to meet Marggie! I'm not convinced though until it happens, but it's the farther commitment I've gotten from her in a while.

I missed writing up last week that I had my 1st appointment with the the MFM doc. I didn't know what to expect and ended up leaving feeling like it was a waste of time. It ended up just being an ultrasound appointment, that literally was it and I just had a full ultrasound the week before!

I told the doc this, but she said she (of course) likes to do her own ultrasounds. Baby still looked great and I saw some strong movement, one full blown kick even, but what was weird is that I didn't feel it.
She's going to recommend that I come back every 6 weeks, but I'm thinking of declining that. As long as I feel good, I feel baby movement, and my prenatal with my midwife go well, I'm not sure what I need this extra monitoring. I might agree to go back 1 more time once I'm full term, but I'm also worried that could lead to unnecessary interventions. So, we'll see. I still need to talk to my midwife about it.

We toured our 2nd daycare last week and will tour the 3rd (and possibly final) daycare this week. I liked this last one a lot better than the 1st and the price is better. For some reason Dan wasn't convinced.  So we'll have to talk more.

I finished gathering the addresses for my shower, so now the invites just need to be made and sent out!

22 Weeks

Not too much excitement going on this week:
* I finished my shower list, including addresses
* I'm starting to get comments from other people on how big my stomach is and/or how I've really popped
* Fire baby is really moving a lot lately! I can feel them kick nearly 'round the clock and the kicks are getting stronger and I'm feeling them in more parts of my stomach :)

Weeks 20-21

My inlaws were in town for most of this week (and I just got back from visiting my parents the prior week), so I think that distracted me my posts. Also, I normally write these in the morning and on the morning of the 20th week I had my ultrasound, so things were crazy when I got back.

Mostly a pretty normal week. I started up my magnesium again (Natural Calm). I'm not having stomach problems but I am having sleeping issues! Super weird dreams and constantly up tossing and turning - it's starting to catch up to me now. I'll probably have to stop again to see if this goes away.

We registered Sean for Kindergarten this past week too!!!! Aaaahh!

I had my 1st true pre-natal massage this past week too. It was really great. A LOT better than I expected. Normally they are uncomfortable and annoying, but this was relaxing and I felt really good when it was over.

The most exciting thing that has happened over the last few weeks is that I had my 20week/anatomy scan! I took Sean and Dan to the scan and the prenatal appointment. Overall, it went really well.
Baby's heartbeat was good
No fluid in the brain
Measuring right on track
No cleft pallet
We saw a little bit of movement, but not a ton. Baby was probably sleeping.

Sean was pretty nervous but also very curious. He said the whole thing was weird.
When the tech was looking in the area where you can see the gender, I told Sean he can look but we weren't - and he still chose to look. He thinks it's a boy, but when the tech was scrolling through all of the pictures she took, I thought what I saw was a girl (so I saw a pic or two I wasn't supposed to).

My midwife wants me to see a Maternal Fetal Medicine doc - so I'm going to one tomorrow. At this point it's just a consult to see if they need to be involved later on.

19 Weeks

We are in Wisconsin this week; lots of time chilling and squeezed in a few naps.

The coolest thing that happened this past week is that I started feeling kicks! I felt the first one the day of the flights  - during a nap I took that afternoon.

Since then I felt a few stronger kicks maybe every other day :)

They feel like bubbles popping - which is what I thought it was the first time.

I went to the maternity store with mom and got a few pairs of pants. I really wanted to buy some maternity bras, but they did measure me and I went up to a C cup (one full cup). I had a feeling that was the case since my bras are not comfortable anymore and they even just look bigger.

18 Weeks

Soooo Tired!!

We created our announcement photo this week, but aren't going to post until we've at least told my grandparents in person (which will be this Saturday, when I fly back home).
I was trying to come up with a cute, cost-effective, and easy way to tell them - I ended up finding a St. Patrick's Day shirt for $10 that says, "Kiss Me I'm Pregnant"

I realized later that when I told them about Sean it was around St. Patty's day too. Just a coincidence.

We finished interviewing photographers this week.
The last one we met on Sunday was my favorite as far as her pictures go, but only my 2nd favorite regarding personality. However, I decided soon after that I just wanted to go with the best, since it's only $200 more than my 2nd favorite (for talent). However, she mentioned at the end of the meeting that she would send me more information tomorrow (Monday) on her post-partum serious and she never did. I followed up on Tuesday (and now it's Wednesday) and I still haven't heard from here.

I'm not sure if she's at an epic birth or is ignoring me???? I really want to text her about it, but I'm trying to hold off another day or too so as to not be too annoying. However, I want to book someone before the end of the week b/c everyone I talked to only has 1 spot left for August.

17 Weeks

Busy week, just like I planned:

• I met Kate and Ashley to start planning my shower. We had lunch together and it seemed to go well. We essentially just picked a date and location and then chatted the rest of the time. It was fun. My face was actually hurting from laughing so much.
• Later that night, Dan, Kate, and I went to a big consignment pre-sale and it was a lot of fun and we got a tone of stuff! I want to say we spent about $360 bucks, but we got a:
• Stroller (retails for $200)
• Pack n play - with the infant seat (retails for maybe $160)
• Wagon (retails for about $90)
• Bouncy/rocker seat (retails for maybe $50)
• Maternity clothes
• High chair (retails for $150!)
• Diaper pale (retails for about $40)
• Not including maternity clothes - that's $690 worth of stuff!!!

The main item we are missing is the Halo Bassinest.

Dan's sister is giving us:

• A care seat with an extra base
• Bath tub
• Bobby

I also stopped my ashwagahnda this week. My stomach problems haven't gone away, but my level of anger/irritability seems lower and my dry-mouth has gone already.

16 weeks!

Dan finally told his last sister last night (Lisa), only to find out this morning that Marv didn't even know yet! I thought for sure if Vickie told Sarah that meant she told Marv.

I started my new supplements this week: Magnesium, Vit K, and Ashwagandha. They are all supposed to help support my mood. So far, (though I'm only on 3 day of this), I feel a lot more on-edge, like I get irritated way more easily. I've also been waking up everyday with a stomach ache and having to go to the bathroom.

I plan on telling my work this week - kinda nervous, but also ready to stop hiding it.

This upcoming week will be pretty big, so I think I'll save those updates for week 17 :)