Silly Mili

Miliani thought it would be fun to help mommy practice baby this afternoon. Thought I would share some of my enjoyment...





Miliani....hours of entertainment. :)

14 Week Update

So our little Special K has grown about half an inch since last week & is now busy with thumb sucking, toe wiggling, making urine(not so cute but equally amazing), and breathing amniotic fluid as the liver, kidneys, and spleen continue to develop. Lanugo (thin, downy hair) is growing all over baby's body for warmth. Pretty cool, huh? I can't believe we are already over 100 days pregnant! Everything is happening so fast!

Although my belly really hasn't started to pop out yet, I am starting to feel a little uncomfortable in my regular clothes so it is almost time to start looking for some cute maternity clothes! I am so excited about shopping for maternity clothes!!! Mitch on the other hand, I don't think he's that excited about me spending money on clothes I'll only wear for 5-6 months but that's his penny pinching logic. haha I love him!!

I think that the dogs may be starting to sense the baby now b/c they are beginning to get even more clingy which I didn't think was even possible but all three of them are constantly under my feet all day long. I really need to kick this sleeping in until 8:00 every morning thing and start walking them again b/c they are kind of starting to get on my nerves. Oh, one thing about the dogs...I am super excited that we got our Furminator shedding brush from Amazon this week. We have already used it a little and the thing is AWESOME!! We are going to bathe the dogs tomorrow and then once the girls dry, we'll attack them with the Furminator. Then hopefully I will only have to dust the furniture and vacuum twice a week instead of every day! We want to keep down on dog hair/dander as much as possible when Special K arrives so hopefully our new "toy" will do the trick!

One thing I am kind of bummed about is that Wal-Mart is no longer listing our crib. They have it listed in the cherry color but not in espresso like we want. I still need to call their customer service center and see if they are going to restock it but it looks like we may be looking for another crib. I know I should think that maybe this one just wasn't meant to be but man I love that crib!! I am going to start looking around online to see if I can find one elsewhere.

Well I guess that about sums things up about this week so far. I still have not felt any movement as far as I can tell. I am still getting some slight cramping so I know that everything is going well in there and with this heat I have been drinking a ridiculous amount of water.
Here is my 14 week belly picture. I can't wait for something to actually start popping out!

There actually IS a baby in there!!!

How far along? 13 weeks, 4 days
Weight gain/loss: Gained 2.8 pounds since we got our positive. Big YAY(!) for not gaining a lot my first trimester!
Stretch marks? None yet. Thank God! I'm already lathering on the lotion though just in case. ;)
Gender: Won't know until Sept. 3rd.
Best moment this week? Seeing our little one dancing around on the screen & seeing my husband light up over it. :) Makes my heart melt just thinking about it. :)
Movement: None yet but I am waiting on some little flutters soon!
Food cravings: Nothing major. The last couple of days it's been cream cheese rangoons & egg drop soup.
What I am looking forward to? Finding out if we are having a boy or a girl in 5 weeks but for now I'm looking forward to hopefully feeling some movement besides gas in my belly! :)
Milestones: We are officially past the first trimester & have the word from Dr. Barnes that we will most certainly not be miscarrying. Yippee!!!

So yesterday was the day I have been waiting on for the last 5 weeks. That's 35 days, it's 840 hours, it's 50,400 minutes....yeah it's been a really long 5 weeks for me! I might even venture to say the longest 5 weeks *ever*! Seriously I was so paranoid & worried about our baby being ok since I had nearly none of the nightmare pregnancy symptoms that I have heard about. But yesterday confirmed that we have an amazingly perfect little baby growing right underneath my skin & further & further into our hearts every day!! Seeing our little one wiggle around on the screen & waving it's little arms & legs around was the most amazing thing ever! Baby's heart is beating at a beautiful 156 bpm& the ultrasound tech said that baby is measuring right where it should be & that as far as she could see on the ultrasound that baby is "perfect"!! Well not to be bias but....we already knew that our baby would be perfect! hehe :)

Ok so here are the latest baby pictures:
Can you count all of baby's fingers & toes?


Here is baby checking out those fingers & toes:


Special K is drinking here & getting big & strong!


Can you see all of the features in the profile shot? Nose, jaw line, mouth?


I just can't stop looking at these pictures! They are amazing & make me so proud to be becoming a mommy! Now my goal is to just take it easy, relax & enjoy the next 5 weeks until we find out what our Special K will be! Then comes nursery shopping madness! LoL! I can't wait!!

Getting some ideas...

I've been looking around at different nursery ideas. You know, cribs, bedding, wall decor, rugs, etc. & it is completely exhausting! LoL! Just when I think I know exactly what I want...something better comes along or another idea pops into my head. I guess the good news is, that we still have plenty of time before ordering anything. I'm trying to be a good girl & keep within somewhat of a budget too but when everything is just so stinking cute it's hard!! :) I am pretty much set on the girl set I want & up until today I thought I was decided on the boy set...but now I have other ideas. I'm so glad Mitch is such an easy going guy or I'm sure I would have driven him bonkers by now. Ok so here are some of my ideas so far...

Crib:


Dresser: This is a full size espresso colored dresser. We will put the changing pad along w/ some wicker baskets to hold diapers/wipes/etc. on top. Would also maybe like to find a mirror to hang above it. Not sure about that one yet though.


Girl Bedding
If we are having a girl, we have decided to go with the Love Bird theme:


Some wall art we like for a girl's room:





Boy's Bedding
This is the first set we liked, Classic Cars Beep Beep:



Some wall art for this set:


Second boy set going in a totally different direction, Surf's up!:


And some wall art options to go with this set:


Anywho, this is what I have so diligently been working on pretty much all day & the reason for my exhaustion but it really is so much fun! Any comments/suggestions are welcome! :)


Update:
So we will be 13 weeks exactly tomorrow & at the end of the week we will be officially into our 2nd trimester! Yippee!!!! I have been gradually feeling better day by day. Not that I was ever feeling terrible but I am less exhausted & I'm not having any more nausea.
Our little Special K will be the size of a peach in the coming week & develop it's little fingerprints along with a bunch of other things like reflexes, teeth & vocal cords to keep us up at night with. We have our next doctor's appointment on Friday where we will be having the NT Scan (nuchal translucency) done. It is a 30 minute ultrasound where the doctor will measure the fundus height as well as a few things on the baby to make sure it is developing the way that it should be. We are really excited to be able to see our little one & hear it's heart beat for such a long time! I will be sure to post an update after our appointment Friday morning as well as the new ultrasound pictures. We can't wait to see how much our little Special K has grown! Now...off to make dinner! :)

On the Up & Up

So the last week has been a tough one. It's terrible how I crave feeling terrible. It's like, as soon as I feel normal I'm terrified that there is something wrong with our baby. The paranoia has been eating me alive! I've been having dreams (nightmares) that we go in for our next ultrasound & they can't find a heartbeat. I mean, why is my mind so tormented with these awful thoughts? Who knows. So yesterday was a bit of a breaking point. I called Mitch in tears & told him how I was feeling & about the dreams I've been having (poor guy puts up w/ so much these days!), anyway, it was weird b/c I hadn't had a single "symptom" in 3 or 4 days & then mid-rant I got so light headed that I felt like I was going to pass out & had to sit down on the kitchen floor to gather myself. Then came the mild cramps & the exhaustion. My body was making a liar out of me!! So I took it easy yesterday. I am trying so hard to just "go with it" but it is so strange the things that my body is doing right now. From one minute to the next I have no idea of what's going on or how I will feel & I have no control over the situation (which drives me nuts!). But I know that no matter what, this baby may be in my belly but he/she is in God's hands & He is going to be the one who will make the ultimate decision so I just need to calm my nerves and just have faith. So I am feeling much more on the up & up starting today and I will try my best to stay that way. Less than two weeks & we will be in the 2nd trimester. I am counting down the days!!!

I am feeling pretty good & trying to stay out of this wet Florida heat. It's been nearly 100 degrees every day here...bleh! I've been trying to get out early & get the pups walked about 3 miles a day. It's good for us all & it feels good to be able to wake up early & have the energy to get up & move. :) I am only 11 1/2 weeks along right now so no big changes that can be seen just yet. Baby is only about the size of a golf ball & is still hiding behind my pelvic bone so I haven't felt any movement nor am I showing but I'm sure a lot of things will change in the next couple of months in that department. :) We should be finding out what the gender is around the 2nd week of September as long as the baby cooperates w/ the ultrasound machine. Can not wait for that day!! We have our next ultrasound on the 30th of this month @ 13 weeks 3 days & can't wait to see how much our little one is growing! But I have definitely been blessed w/ a super easy pregnancy so far. :)

11 Week Bump...or lack there of:



Oh & today gets us into the "Under 200 days left" category!! I can't believe it! It's all happening too quick! I just pray that I can keep everything well documented so I never forget this experience...the good & the bad! :)

Today I am thankful for....

Today I am thankful for slight cramping, round ligament pain & getting light headed every time I stand up. I know you may say "Why would you be thankful for these things, they sound awful??!!" But it seems that there are so many losses all around me that it makes me thankful for even the not-so pleasant parts of pregnancy. A girl that I have made friends with on a pregnancy message board just had a loss @ 11 weeks 5 days. She was almost out of her 1st trimester & miscarried. We've also heard of two more recent losses just within our circle of friends. Moments like these are sad moments but they make me so thankful for the symptoms that I have that mean our little one is still hanging in there. Please baby don't let go. Be a good sticky baby so that we can meet you in about 7 months and love you forever! Love, your Mommy & Daddy. :)

10 weeks & right into the double digits!

WooHoo! Hellooooo week 10, good riddance week 9! This last week, although a blessing, was a difficult one. My first encounter with "morning sickness", the desire to sleep all day long and a serious case of bloating. These things are not the easiest for me to deal with and I know that I have not been easy for Mitch to deal with but we just keep reminding ourselves that this is just God's way of letting us know that our baby is still growing strong!

Today is a new day though & I am feeling terrific! Got up this morning & went for a 3 1/2 mile walk/jog with Liesel, haven't had a single urge to nap & I've actually been able to be productive around this house for the first time in weeks! Hopefully this feeling good keeps up. I know our puppies certainly appreciate being able to get out of the house & walk in the mornings. :)

So this week our baby is the size of a prune. Here's the progress Special K will be making this week:

With bones and cartilage starting to form and vital organs beginning to function, baby is making major progress. Body length will almost double in the next three weeks, and arm joints are now working. (Soon, legs will start working too.) Baby is swallowing fluid and kicking up a storm. Vital organs — including kidneys, intestines, brain, and liver (now making red blood cells in place of the disappearing yolk sac) — are in place and starting to function, though they'll continue to develop throughout your pregnancy. If you could take a peek inside the womb, you'd spot minute details, like tiny nails forming on fingers and toes (no more webbing) and peach-fuzz hair beginning to grow on tender skin.

So exciting!! Hard to believe that a baby that hardly measures an inch long & only weighs about .5 oz. has functioning vital organs, is growing peach fuzz & fingernails and is kicking around inside my belly! Any time I am not having a good day, I just reflect on what an absolute miracle the creation of life is & I thank God every day for blessing us with this gift. I just know that this week will be a great one. Only a couple of more weeks before we are out of the first trimester & over into the safe zone of the 2nd trimester.

Funny little things:
- My sense of smell is really starting to be elevated. When I was walking Liesel this morning we passed by a house & I could smell the bacon that they were cooking inside & almost stopped for breakfast. ;)
- I keep getting the urge to put dill pickles on my pizza but I'm fighting the strange cravings for now. Who knows...next weeks post you might get a picture of a veggie pizza covered in dills. hehe :)

We are getting more & more excited every day about this little one & are steadily looking forward to the day we get to meet our little Special K!!