The Move

We moved this weekend.
And it was tough.

Thankfully, we had Shelly and Mark and Megan's husband Dan to help us, because I was pretty worthless. I guess being pregnant and moving is technically pretty easy, because no one wants you to lift anything, but I was just as tired as if I had moved the whole house myself.

We're slowly putting the house together- I told Ryan it would NOT be like last time where we had the pictures hung the same day we moved in. I will get around to it.

Anyway, we're getting used to our new place. I don't love it. I loved our old house, but we weren't about to deal with the crazy landlord after the house got out of probate. So we are here. And I am dealing. At least I love our furniture and that spruces anything up! No really, I'm making it sound bad and it's actually fine. We're still in Huntington Beach, so we're happy. I just really miss our old place so I'm having a bit of a pity party. On a funny note, Ryan and I did not realize when we picked our place that we are right in the middle of a Vietnamese neighborhood. In the morning, they are all outside doing their calisthenics (not in workout clothes. Always in nice clothes) and none of them have cable- they all have antennas on their houses. Other than the early morning calisthenics in their big hats, they stay inside ALL day... It's a very quiet block! (luckily we have some little kiddies at the end of the block to liven things up).

On the brightside, maybe now I'll learn how to cook Phở.

Here are the pictures from week 17 that I never got to posting and a picture of Ryan and I at Jeff and Hannah Rodriguez's wedding:

Carbs and Pregnancy Acne

Two things that really creeped up on me this week.

First, Carbs. I can't get enough! I LOVE them right now. I had 3 bagels in one day this week. Then, almost every day thereafter, I had a donut and a bagel for breakfast.

Then, Pregnancy Acne. What in the hell? I had made it this far without it and now it hits me? I went to bed one night with nothing and woke up with a face-full. That's nice.

Okay. Gotta go- all this writing about carbs has me craving a donut. Yeah, I'm not joking either.

18 Week Roundup!

Total Weight Gained/Loss? - 12 lbs (probably more by now)
Sleep? - I'm REALLY missing sleeping on my back.
Best Moment of the Week? - A lot of kicks and they are getting stronger!
Food aversions- CHICKEN, BEEF
Food cravings- PBJ, peppercinis, Honey Smacks, cheese and the newest cravings- jalapeno/cheese bagel with jalapeno cream cheese AND a tortilla with cream cheese and peppercinis, starbucks' old fashioned donuts
Gender- unknown to us!
Labor Signs - Nope!
Belly Button - I think that I look pregnant now. I definitely have a "bump"
What I miss - Wine. Hot Yoga. Sleeping on my back. Oysters on the half shell, Dancing (kairee confirmed what I had previously thought- pregnant women should definitely NOT hit the dance floor), being able to wear my wedding ring (I've officially grown out of it- that was fast!).
What I'm looking forward to- Ryan getting to feel these kicks!
Weekly Wisdom - Never take any day of this amazing experience for granted.
Milestones - - Stronger kicks!!

18 Weeks!

Baby's now the size of a sweet potato!

Baby's become amazingly mobile (compared to you, at least), passing the hours yawning, hiccupping, rolling, twisting, kicking, punching, sucking, and swallowing. Head to rump, your baby is about 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a bell pepper) and he weighs almost 7 ounces. He's busy flexing his arms and legs — movements that you'll start noticing more and more in the weeks ahead. His blood vessels are visible through his thin skin, and his ears are now in their final position, although they're still standing out from his head a bit. A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around his nerves, a process that will continue for a year after he's born. If you're having a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If you're having a boy, his genitals are noticeable now, but he may hide them from you during an ultrasound.

Swagger Wagon

Kairee just made my day with this little ditty... Hopefully Ryan and I will be as rad as these two parents:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ql-N3F1FhW4&feature=player_embedded

Enjoy!

(I don't know why it won't link. Just copy and past into the browser, I guess?)

It's a Boy!

Just kidding... we really don't know.

BUT, Ryan's brother Charlie sent us this picture today, so I've got a pretty good guess what he's betting on:

Papa's 80th Birthday

We celebrated Ryan's grandfather's 80th birthday on Sunday evening at the Valley Hunt Club and had such a wonderful time. Papa was glowing and really seemed happy to have the entire family there. Maddie was able to fly all the way from NYC and Peter came down from Oregon, so it was definitely a special occasion. I'm sure I'll have more pictures to post of the actual festivities soon, but here is a picture of the Hoherd kids, as well as the song that Boo and Andrew put together for Papa (apparently it's an old Cal Berkley song):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdUyCj7bDLE

Our Newest Ultrasound!

Ryan and I had the last ultrasound for the genetic testing today and it went GREAT. The baby is perfect! He/she weighs 7 oz and is 3 days ahead of schedule weight-wise (let's pray I don't have a baby as big as I was though-yikes!). All genetic testing came back just fine and then they checked the brain and the heart, which looks perfect too. We've got ourselves a healthy little baby, now it just needs to GROW! The heartbeat was at 166 today and the baby was moving around, though not as active as the last time. We saw the hands and fingers and the feet and the toes. The tech asked us if we wanted to know the sex and we said that we didn't, so when she got up around that area, she had us hide our eyes. After she was done checkin' everything out, she said that she could definitely tell what it was. Trust me- it was HARD not finding out right then and there!!! I need to keep reminding myself that it will totally be worth the wait.

The tech then flipped on the 3-D ultrasound and it was AMAZING. We got a few of those pics as well. I think the baby looks like Ryan, he says it has my lips. Check out how extremely good-looking our kid is below. Blue-Steel... Totally the next Zoolander:

17 Weeks!

**I'll post a pic when I get home this evening, as well as our ultrasound pics from today- they are AMAZING!!!!

Total Weight Gained/Loss? - 12 lbs (probably more by now)
Sleep? - Horrible nights sleep last night... but other than that, okay. I'm still missing sleeping on my back though.
Best Moment of the Week? - Our newest ultrasound!!!
Food aversions- CHICKEN, BEEF
Food cravings- PBJ, peppercinis, Honey Smacks, cheese and the newest cravings- jalapeno/cheese bagel with jalapeno cream cheese AND a tortilla with cream cheese and peppercinis- YUM!.
Gender- unknown to us- but the ultra-sound tech was able to see it and said she knew exactly what it was! It was hard not to peek... but we did it!
Labor Signs - Nope!
Belly Button - I think that I look pregnant now. I definitely have a "bump"
What I miss - Wine. Hot Yoga. Sleeping on my back. Oysters on the half shell. Dancing (kairee confirmed what I had previously thought- pregnant women should definitely NOT hit the dance floor).
What I'm looking forward to- Ryan getting to feel these kicks!
Weekly Wisdom - Never take any day of this amazing experience for granted.
Milestones - Our ultrasound tech being able to tell the sex!

Another side effect...

Pregnancy Brain! I forget everything! I really feel so stupid sometimes. Like, losing my car in parking lots, losing my keys (even though they are where I ALWAYS leave them), just being so forgetful about day to day things, not remembering conversations I had 2 minutes prior and the worst thing ever- forgetting my mom's birthday (really just completely spacing on calling her- I had remembered earlier that day)! THAT WAS BAD THOUGH.

See previous post for many more!

Some Strange Pregnancy Side Effects

If there's one thing that I've learned during the last 3 months, it's that no weird side effect surprises me at this point- I just have to laugh each time something else happens. There are just things that people don't tell you! For instance....

Just how tired I can become. Ryan just has to look at me and he says, "whoa. you're tired, aren't you?"

Not everyone gets morning sickness. I didn't have it at all. I mean, I threw up just once, but I really still think it was because I had caffeine on an empty stomach (before I knew I was preggers).

Weird food AVERSIONS. I really thought that I would eat everything put in front of me and I still can't seem to stomach the thought of chicken, even though I'm in my 2nd trimester. Also, I am a HUGE meat eater (I'd take a filet that was still moo-ing any day before getting pregnant... now, it's not that appealing.). Sometimes, dinner will be on the table and I'll shove it aside and go pour myself a bowl of cereal. This happened again last night.

Also, while I am hungry... I get FULL really easily. Then I get hungry 20 minutes later. I need to train myself to eat a lot of small meals- something I'm still getting used to. Also, when I'm hungry... I need to eat RIGHT NOW.

Speaking of RIGHT NOW. the sense of urgency. From needing food, to needing to pee, to needing water, etc. When I decide I want something, it needs to be RIGHT NOW.

That's another thing- peeing 5 times a night from literally the moment I found out I was pregnant. Now, it's better and only 1 time a night, but I heard it goes back to 5 times a night. Awesome.

Shortness of breath? really? weird. This baby isn't even big yet, I can't imagine how hard it's going to be to breath then! I'll be talking and then be completely out of breath and I need to pause for a BIG gulp of air.

Thirst. I wasn't prepared how thirsty I'd be! I love water anyway, but I just want to drink a gallon of it daily. Then, I never drank pop before this and I had Sprite twice in the last week.

Constipation. Enough said.

Carpal tunnel??? really? I thought that I had hurt my finger for a couple of weeks and then was reading one of my baby books and it said that I may be experience carpal tunnel by now. Apparently, the body produces something called Relaxin, which is a perfect word for it because you whole body relaxes so the hips widen and this causes aches and pains all over the body that are commonly found in the hands.

Hairy stomach! ha! I have blond hair normally, but the hair on my stomach is getting darker AND longer! So strange.

And lastly, bleeding gums. This one is so strange to me! My gums bleed EVERY time I brush, floss and sometimes when I eat. They are so sensitive!

Anyway, these are just a couple of strange things that have happened and I didn't expect. Funny, the things that this body is capable of!

On a side note, Ryan got a smokin' deal on a camera (a $500 camera he found for $125- but it came from France!) and I am stoked. It was at the top of my list of must-haves before I pop this kid out, but I've been hesitant to even pick it up because if you know our history with cameras, you'd know that we went through a year and a have period where we broke/lost about 9 cameras. That's right. I'm nervous to even use it! But very excited as well. So, instead of taking pictures on our cell phones, we will have much better pictures on here shortly!

17 Weeks

Don't be too shocked but... your baby is EVEN bigger than it was last week, not to mention getting cuter, and smarter every day! As you’ve come to expect, there’s no shortage of growth and development this week: your fantastic little bean stalk has added yet another half inch to their overall height-- making them nearly half a foot long! Your baby's skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone, and the umbilical cord — her lifeline to the placenta — is growing stronger and thicker. Your baby weighs 5 ounces now (about as much as an onion), and she's around 5 inches long from head to bottom. She can move her joints, and her sweat glands are starting to develop. Their little limbs have reached (or are within one week of) their relative proportions, and will continue to grow evenly with the rest of the body after this week. Reactive listening has begun for your baby, even though their ears are not yet structurally complete or fully functional. Meanwhile, different parts of their astonishingly complex brain are developing to process your little one’s hearing and other senses, (you know, sight, smell, taste and touch). Mind boggling factoid of the week: if you’re having going to have a little girl, her ovaries have already produced millions of primordial egg cells, which, within a few weeks, will develop into actual eggs! Phew… just wait till she’s a teenager eh?

16 weeks (wow- offically 4 months... crazy!)

I don't have a photo from this weekend- we were quite busy. I'll post one soon!

Total Weight Gained/Loss? - 12 lbs
Maternity Clothes - LOVING my new maternity clothes- I am SO comfortable now!!!
Sleep? - GREAT. I don't know what happened, but the last week has been full of restful sleep!
Best Moment of the Week? - Feeling lots more movement down there!
Food aversions- CHICKEN
Food cravings- PBJ, peppercinis, Honey Smacks, cheese and the newest cravings- jalapeno/cheese bagel with jalapeno cream cheese AND a tortilla with cream cheese and peppercinis- YUM!.
Gender - unknown
Labor Signs - Nope!
Belly Button - Not looking 100% pregnant, Not looking skinny. Just plump.
What I miss - Wine. Hot Yoga. Sleeping on my back. Oysters on the half shell (got a weird craving for that this week).
What I'm looking forward to- Our next ultrasound next week- more genetic testing.
Weekly Wisdom - Never take any day of this amazing experience for granted.
Milestones - Lots more movement!

A New Set of Kicks.

I received a package in the mail yesterday from my good friend Kathleen who has been a friend since the age of 4 and had to post a picture. Ryan and I thought these were just the cutest little kicks ever! The picture doesn't really show how small they are- really though, they are tiny!!! So cute.

A Little Treat!

I went in to get an ultrasound done today on my cervix because I am at risk for weak cervix (not a big deal, just a precautionary measure) and was told that I wouldn't be seeing the baby when I made the appointment. I told Ryan not to bother coming to this appointment because they specifically told me it was just a quick one and nothing new.

Needless to say, I was in for a little surprise when the tech told me I'd get a little peek at the kiddo too! The baby was not as active this time, we tried to wake it up, which it did not like (just kicked a little and went back to sleep). It was just a quick look at the little one, so the pictures aren't nearly as good as the last time but one thing I did notice that is different- the spine is SO pronounced now! Also, we zoomed up on a little hand and saw fingers! So great. I'm now excited that I need to go in every 2 weeks to get this ultrasound and will hopefully be able to see the baby every time I go! Check out Baby H ... (also, heart beat was at 154bpm today!)

15 week round up!

Total Weight Gained/Loss? - 7 lbs
Maternity Clothes - Finally got some maternity clothes today!!! That was much needed.
Sleep? - Okay. other than needing to pee 5 times a night
Best Moment of the Week? - Feeling the baby for the first time!!!
Food aversions- CHICKEN
Food cravings- PBJ, peppercinis, Honey Smacks, cheese.
Gender - unknown
Labor Signs - Nope!
Belly Button - Definitely showing, but only to the people that know me.
What I miss - Wine. Hot Yoga. Sleeping on my back!!
What I'm looking forward to- Our next ultrasound in about a week!
Weekly Wisdom - Never take any day of this amazing experience for granted.
Milestones - Baby's first kicks felt!

15 Weeks!

Your growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of an apple). She's busy moving amniotic fluid through her nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in her lungs begin to develop. Her legs are growing longer than her arms now, and she can move all of her joints and limbs. Although her eyelids are still fused shut, she can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, she's likely to move away from the beam. There's not much for your baby to taste at this point, but she is forming taste buds. Finally, if you have an ultrasound this week, you may be able to find out whether your baby's a boy or a girl! (Don't be too disappointed if it remains a mystery, though. Nailing down your baby's sex depends on the clarity of the picture and on your baby's position. He or she may be modestly curled up or turned in such a way as to "hide the goods.")

We've got movement people!

Yep, that's right... I felt the baby kick last night as Ryan and I were sitting on the couch talking! I haven't felt anything since then, but I'm certain it was a couple of kicks. That's all for now! :)

A quick update:

I had a doctor's appointment today, it ended up being a short one but I got to hear the beatbeat again! It's a strong 155bpm (still indicative of a little girl if you believe the old wives tale). I've gained a total of 7 lbs, which I think is right on track? Well, she didn't say otherwise, so I guess that's good! And I am to schedule my follow up ultrasounds for the rest of the genetic testing. Everything looks great!

14 week pic...

Showing a little bit more! (please don't mind my horrible posture!)

On a side note...

It's been a weird week. I don't completely "look" pregnant- just bigger. And now that I'm out of the 1st trimester, I don't "feel" pregnant either, whatever that means. Although I didn't have any sickness in the 1st trimester, I was SO tired. And crabby. And my boobs hurt. Now? nothing. I feel like myself, still a little more tired than usual. I know that people say the 2nd trimester is a dream and you feel like yourself, but I keep asking myself if I'm really pregnant now because I really feel like myself! Again, just waiting for the little one to start jabbing me and then I think reality will really set in.

14 Week Roundup!

We didn't get to take a picture today, I'll be sure to post one later this week. In the meantime...

Total Weight Gained/Loss? - not sure! My appointment on 5/5 will let me know.
Maternity Clothes - Trying to hold out for birthday gift cards I'm probably getting next week. It's getting tough though- I really need new pants! I will definitely be wearing some flowy dresses and skirts the next 2 weeks!
Sleep? - GREAT. I think my body is allowing me to sleep really good right now for a reason!
Best Moment of the Week? - starting to put together the registry list!
Food aversions- CHICKEN
Food cravings- PBJ and Easy Mac... YUM
Gender - unknown
Labor Signs - Nope!
Belly Button - Looking a little more bloated!
What I miss - Wine. Hot Yoga.
What I'm looking forward to- Some kicks/movement!
Weekly Wisdom - Never take any day of this amazing experience for granted.
Milestones - Started the 2nd trimester!