20 weeks

STATS:
20 weeks 2 days
Starting weight: 128
Weight: 137
Waist @ bellybutton: 34"
Issues: I've managed to catch only half of TJ's sickness thank god, but without being able to take any drugs, my throat is bothering the crap out of me!
How Big Is The Baby This Week? about the length of a banana

I feel like a lot of stuff has happened this week, so instead of cluttering up our "It's A Boy" post I figured I'd just write a second one. Besides finding out that we're having a boy, I've also finally realized that what I've been feeling for a few weeks now has actually been the baby moving. I probably barely started to feel it around 16 weeks, but it felt just like muscle spasms to me and I thought that's what they truly were, you know, caused by growing and stretching. Then they started happening a little more frequently, but I still didn't think it was the baby because everyone keeps explaining the feeling as "little butterflies in your tummy", or as gas bubbles, or even as a goldfish swimming around in there. It doesn't feel like any of those things to me. But over the last week or so they've been happening much more frequently, and I'd put my hand where they were to see if I could feel them on the outside, to confirm that it was actually the baby. But I wasn't sure if I was actually feeling it with my hand, or just thinking I was feeling it with my hand because I could feel it from the inside. Am I confusing you?, well, now you know how I felt about it. So the other night I felt it again, and this time I had TJ put his hand there so that he could tell me if you could actually feel it from the outside, and he could! So that confirms it. And what were TJ's words after he felt it?, "that's weird".

We also just recently signed up for Netflix (for TJ), and he created a second account for Kash under which he requests movies for the babies, like Baby Einstein's and Disney movies. Anyway, our first Baby Einstein video came in the mail yesterday and TJ was excited to see his name as the addressee. I think we feel better about everything now that we know it's a him, and now that he has a name it seems more real. Oh, and a tip for all of you that don't like the name Kash, write the full name down on a piece of paper (Kash Glover, middle name TBD), it looks good, and it will make you like it more, really.

And below is my bi-weekly belly shot:

You Can Start Buying Blue

I'm sure most of you reading this already know, but yesterday was our big ultrasound, and we found out we're having a boy! Of course the point of this ultrasound was actually to check all the baby's organs and make sure everything is growing as it should, finding out the gender is just an added bonus. So the ultrasound technician spent a lot of time taking measurements of everything, and looking at all his little parts. She said that everything was the right size, it looks like there are 10 fingers and 10 toes, and all the parts of his skeleton, heart, and brain look good. He weighs about 15 ounces right now. She didn't spend much time looking at his "goods", but she showed us his penis and said she was 90% sure it was a boy. We were in the ultrasound room for a pretty long time, and it was super hot in there, I'm guessing because of the machine. The assistant was pressing pretty firmly on my stomach the whole time too, and I'm suprised that I don't have any bruises yet, it kinda hurt. Then, the ultrasound doctor came in to double check all the organs and bruise me up some more. She said that everything looks really great, but there is a super tiny spot (like 1 millimeter big) in his brain that she said she doesn't usually see there. She wasn't really worried about it as she thinks it's probably nothing, but she asked me to come back in 2 weeks to have her look at it again just to be on the safe side. She told me not to research it on the internet because I would just end up scaring myself for nothing. So in two weeks we'll get to double check that he's still a boy, and make sure that everything's a-ok. They didn't give us any pictures to prove he's a boy, just a few profile shots, this is the best one...

19 weeks

STATS:
19 weeks 2 days
Starting weight: 128
Weight: 133
Waist @ bellybutton: 34"
How Big Is The Baby This Week? about the length of a slice of watermelon

We had another doctor's appointment yesterday, everything went well, but I didn't get an ultrasound so that was disappointing. The doctor listened for the baby's heartbeat on the doppler again, she found it on the third try (the first two were mine) and she said the heart rate was about 140 bpm, which is normal. There was also quite a bit of other noises being picked up on the doppler, and she said that was the baby moving around, she even heard a few strong kicks. She says we have a very active baby, though I haven't yet felt the proof. The doctor then measured my fundal height, from my pelvic bone up to my belly button (which is where the top of my uterus is right now), to see how big my uterus has grown. I guess they'll start doing that at each appointment I have from now on to help track the baby's growth. The doctor also gave me the results of my AFP/Triple Screen test. This is a test that they do by drawing my blood and measuring the proteins secreted by the baby's liver. It can screen for neural tube defects, down syndrome, and other birth defects or complications. My test came back negative, which doesn't mean that the baby for sure doesn't have these problems because it is only a screening test, not a diagnostic test. But the chances of the baby having them is extremely low. So that's good to know. The doctor then complemented me on still being able to wear my normal jeans (which of course made me feel good), answered some of my questions, and sent me on my way.

Since I don't have an ultrasound picture to post this time, I figured I'd post some pictures of the nursery furniture we've purchased so far. We purchased these items a few weeks ago but didn't pick up the last piece until Monday. I'll continue to post pictures of the nursery as things are purchased or decorated. So below is the crib (bare with no mattress), the changing table/dresser, and the 5 drawer dresser. The crib converts into a toddler bed, and also into a full size bed, so this furniture can be used for the baby through all the stages of it's life.

18 weeks

STATS:
18 weeks 2 days
Starting weight: 128
Weight: 134
Waist @ bellybutton: 33.5"
Issues: water gives me heartburn, seriously.
How Big Is The Baby This Week? about the length of a large baking potato.

Well supposedly, once you get into your second trimester you're supposed to get your energy back, and no longer be exhausted all the time. Hmmm, not so much the case with me. I may not be exhausted all day long like I was in the beginning, but when I climb the stairs to get to my office at work on the second floor, by the time I get to the top I'm panting like I just ran a marathon. I just decided to add the elliptical machine to my weekly workout, I got on it this morning and was moving so slowly that the machine's digital display kept pausing thinking that I had stopped pedaling, yet after about 2 minutes I was thoroughly exhausted.

Below are my latest bi-weekly belly pics...

17 weeks

STATS:
17 weeks 2 days
Starting weight: 128
Weight: 130
Waist @ bellybutton: 32.5"
Issues: My boobs still hurt
How Big Is The Baby This Week? spread your hand open wide, the distance from the top of your thumb to the middle of your palm is about the size of the baby now.

OK, week 17...I think I can safely say that my morning sickness has left, but I still get nauseous every now and then out of the blue, and I really hope that I didn't just jinx it by saying that. I continue to feel stretching in my stomach muscles, it seems like this baby likes to have its growth spurts on Thursdays. And I don't know these growth spurts are causing my antsiness, but last night (Thursday) I could not for the life of me sit still in my accounting class. I had to get up in the middle of the lecture and walk up and down the hallway a half dozen times, which felt pretty good, but then I felt guilty for not being in class and when I sat back down I was like a little kid again, couldn't stop moving. And now that I think about it, I always have a harder time breathing when I'm sitting in that class, I guess baby doesn't like accounting? I left class early. Oh, and I just recently figured out that the annoying burning sensation in my throat all the time is heartburn? Fun.

I would like to slice their heads off...

Explanation: The following is just a rant I felt I needed to get out about my job and the idiots I work with...

I'm not too fond of the people I work with normally, and since I've been pregnant I am having a super hard time being civil to them. Many of the things people do (or don't do) around here tick me off, and I can usually ignore it for the most part and move on. Not anymore! I feel the need to tell everyone exactly what I think of them, (but have been able to keep that to myself so far), and when someone asks me a stupid question about the pregnancy, or anything else really, I give the most snotty remarks back to them, even my boss! I can't help it. As most of you I'm sure already know, being a bitch has been in my blood since I was little, but I have learned over the years how to control it and deal with people on a non-bitchy level if I must, but this pregnancy has thrown all that out the door and I want to scream obscenities at everyone. Luckily I have only felt this way toward the people at work, and not toward my husband or friends and family. But I fear if this gets any worse I will soon be fired. I'm really not some psycho, I swear, the baby is making me do it. I've even considered, even though I don't like most of these people anyway, writing apology notes to everyone in the building to say sorry in advance for the bitchiness that is on it's way to them. And since my job is so freaking boring this month (we have our busy and slow times), I may just spend a day doing that, just to kill time and keep me from going infreakinsane at my desk...