And 20 weeks later...

Today I had my 20 week check up. One of the wierdest questions that I asked my doctor today was how to convert pregnancy weeks into pregnany months. I mean you would think that it was a simple task but 9 months does not really equal 40 weeks to most people. In the end she told me to basically divide out the weeks by 9 so I guess we can roughly say that each pregnany month has 4.44 weeks... Both me and our nameless little girl are healthy. I actually have been feeling pretty good except for this annoying congestion! I already have allergies AND to have pregnancy congestion on top of that, why don't I just stop breathing all together?! It's been hard to sleep at night, I hate dry mouth! I always have that disgusting fear of a spider finding it's way in there....eewwww gross! In 2 weeks I have another ultrasound schedueled so I guess I can be doubly sure that our little girl IS a little girl.

Names! Ben and I have been stumped on naming this little one. We thought we had it down pretty good but then we started to doubt and explore other names. I mean, which name sounds like it a good fit with ours? Nothing too drab but nothing too trendy. Ben has been keeping a running list in his office where we post names we both like, trust me, the list is 3 names long! Well 4 more months to figure this out!

I have been debating on whether or not I will return to work after the baby is born. Frankly, I have been leaning on not going back. I have had discussions with Ben, my mom, and my friends. I have always thought that at least one parent should be there for the child when she's growing up. I mean why do both parents have to miss out on her childhood? There will always be work waiting but the time that passes for a little girl can never be reclaimed. So I have to think about what I feel is valuable. I do want to be home and be with my little girl. I want to be there for every little thing that happens. I think that Ben and I are completely successful when we decide something and go for it. On that thought...it's our 3 year wedding anniversary tomorrow!

A New Shopping Partner!

Today we had THE ultrasound appointment to determine what path our lives will lead. So I guess we're heading to Nordstrom! We're having a little girl! The top picture is a picture of her foot and the bottom picture is her on her side. Everything looks good! She weighs at half a pound. It was so amazing seeing her little feet and hands. She was clenching her hands and kicking her feet around. For both Ben and I, we weren't really partial to having a girl or boy, we just wanted a healthy baby. Now I can finally start buying some clothes for the little one! I had been super good and hadn't bought a thing! Half way to go! 4.5 more months left!

Entering Week 18

Just a quick update! This past Sunday Catherine (an ex-Merv coworker) and I went to Jessica's (ex-Merv coworker) daughter's baptism. Lexy was so adorable and was such a sweet baby. It was actually strange going to Mass without Ben. 11:30am Mass is either filled with a ton of kids or it was just special because they were about to go through their First Communion. It was a nice service and I always like it when the topics cover modern day issues like the Virginia Tech shooting. Ever since I've gotten pregnant, issues such as Virginia Tech really connect with me. The loss of life and especially knowing that there are parents who lost their kids in such a crazy act of violence is so saddening. Today's world is so insane...

Well two more days until we get the chance to find out the sex of the baby! I am SOOO hoping that the ultrasound tech can get a good view on Wednesday! I don't care, I'm drinking a ton of water!!! I have to know! All this waiting is really hard!

16 weeks and 5 days...

My 4th month check up was on Monday, April 9th. Everything was ok! ****Sigh of relief!**** I still get anxiety in between doctor's appointments so to hear the baby's heart beat and have the doctor tell me everything is ok is so relieving. I have not gained any weight at all but I haven't lost any weight. The doc said that I was really good at controlling my food portions...well technically the peanut is controlling the food not me. He/she makes it really clear what he wants me to eat. I swear, if it were up to me, I'd gain 10 lbs by now. I have exactly 2 weeks until we find out the baby's sex and I can't wait! I hate surprises!!!!

I've been lazy on taking my belly pictures but we just took our 16 week one so yay, that's two! I know I should be working out but I just don't feel like doing anything. I feel like a big lazy log. I don't even want to go shopping (for myself). Anyhow, another exciting thing is that we're going to shop for baby furniture this weekend and start the baby room. Baby shower is scheduled for June 30th and I'm soooo excited!

Week 15!

Week 15 has just begun for me and yesterday I was beginning to wonder when my belly was actually going to show up. Funny thing is, sometimes it shows up and sometimes it doesn't. I have been reading a bunch of books that say that women at this time are very self conscious about their waistlines and that they get freaked out. For me, I actually want to see some sort of a bump because the pregnancy doesn't feel real to me unless I see something. I am still getting sick, especially after meals and I'm still incredibly tired. It's amazing how much I can sleep when given the chance. I think I'm on 9-10 hours a night now and over the weekends, I add a few more extra hours during the day. I LOVE sleep...better get while I can! I am supposed to be keeping a belly journal and taking photos but I've been too lazy. I've only taken one and it was when I was at 8 weeks! Wow...I probably should start again. I have no idea which outfit to wear...

April 9th is my 4 month appointment and I can't wait. The weeks in between my appointments still give me worries. Sometimes I have Ben listen to my stomach and see if he can hear anything but I guess he's no Doppler. I'm not suring if I'm really craving any particular kinds of food but right now sweets and fruit are on the top of my list. I know what I DON'T want to eat. For some reason meats just turn me off right now, Indian or Thai food just makes me nauseous just thinking about them. I can't wait till the day I want to eat those foods again! There's only so much potatoes I can handle!

Today I had to "volunteer" at my company's fair in San Mateo. I say "volunteer" because it's one of those events where if you don't "volunteer" I'm sure I'll receive some sort of backlash. What trickery! Anyhow, I worked in the kids area and I made some realizations of what kind of parent I want to be. I witnessed parents that were so rude that I wonder what kind of an example they're setting for their kids. There were parents that just walked up to a table and took things without asking. They treated those items as if they belonged in their own homes. There were kids that took things without asking, without any "pleases" or "thank yous". I feel sorry for those parents that have no guidance for their children at all. It's very sad to say that the generations to come will have to work harder to achieve what older generations found easy. Just simple acts of politeness seems so rare these days. I am glad to say that I learn from examples and I'm so happy that there are people in my life who have shown me a way to become the parent that I imagine for my child.

The Beat Goes On

So my Ben has been joking with me the last few weeks that he's not convinced that I'm pregnant. Yea, so all the vomiting over the toilet was all for fun and games! On Monday, March 12th, Ben came with me to my 12 week appointment, his very first appointment. It was short but he and I both got to hear the baby's heartbeat over the monitor for the very first time. I think that it really hit him when he heard the baby's heartbeat. It was beating so fast! It was so amazing! I can't believe that a machine can detect it. So the other shocker was that the doctor told us that we could find out the sex in 6 weeks! April 25th is the day!!! So yes... I believe that Ben's convinced we're pregnant! He was happy all day long!

How did that peanut get in there?

On Valentine's Day, I received my first ultrasound pictures of the tiny little peanut. Actually at 8 weeks, it's not even as big as a peanut, more like a rasberry. So I'm a little late posting the picture up since as of right now I'm 11 weeks and 2 days along. The cool part was that the ultrasound tech can measure the size of the baby and also tell me exactly how old he/she is. It was exactly one day off what my doctor had said, so that's pretty darn accurate! The heartbeat was healthy and it's amazing that you could even see it on the ultrasound, it was a beating little dot. Everything is still a secret...haven't told anyone besides very close family members. I have an appointment on Monday, March 12th so I'm excited to see if everything is still ok. It's the most nerve wracking thing! You never know... I hear all these horror stories. Well like my friend Jessica says, I shouldn't worry because there's nothing to worry about!