24 weeks!

So.  Yeah.  It's been a little while again.  But there really hasn't been too much to report.  Our beautiful baby is still growing and kicking.  Our 24-week appointment on Tuesday, April 5th (which also happened to be daddy's 28th birthday!) measured the heartbeat in the 150s (same as always!) and fundal height at 24 centimeters . . . which is right on target of where it should be!

Mommy and daddy finally got their rears in gear and went to Target and set up a registry. =] That was fun . . . although daddy spent most of his time there looking for camouflage items to add.  There wasn't much, but what he could find definitely ended up on the registry!  There were a few moments where he looked at me and said, a pair of overtly camouflage shorts in hand, "Do you think this is too boyish?"  I couldn't help but just smile at him and tell him, "Nah.  We'll pair it with a pink onesie."

We've almost got the nursery ready to start moving things in to.  All we have left to move out is two large bookshelves and they'll be going into our room once we find the energy to tackle them.  We've started move in what few baby things we have.  Quite a few newborn and 0-3 month clothing items have been unpacked, folded, and moved into a dresser in the closet.  Everything that we currently have that's larger than that is packed up in totes in the basement.  Oh!  And it's currently 46 degrees outside.  I think that means it's officially spring!  Which also means that GARAGE SALE season should start soon!  I can't wait to go baby girl shopping over the next couple of months!

Mommy still isn't showing much.  On one hand, I'm grateful, since that's just less time that I get to be uncomfortable.  But on the other hand, I'm a little envious of those women with their beautiful baby bumps!  I can't wait to sport mine!  To prove my point, here's a (roughly) 24-week belly picture that I took this morning:

Yes, there has definitely been some changes since the first few pictures I posted, but, I'm still at the point where anyone who didn't know that I was pregnant wouldn't suspect a thing just by looking at me!  My doctor swears I'll start bumping out by 28 weeks . . . but she said that I would probably start showing by my 24-week appointment as well, and that didn't happen.  So we shall see!

Mommy has been extra tired lately.  We're not in the best financial place, so we realized shortly after we got pregnant that there was no way we would be able to survive on a single income for six weeks.  Meaning, Mommy is now working two jobs in an effort to put aside money for this summer.  I spend my days at the Head Start and most of my evenings cashiering at Wal-mart now.  This means loooong days.  I put in four 14-hour days this week!  Sleeping in DEFINITELY felt glorious this morning!

It will only be this way until the school year ends though and then my schedule at the Head Start will be much more flexible and forgiving.  Only forty more days of a crazy schedule!  I'm tempted to break out the construction paper and make a paper chain so I can count them down!  But it will definitely all be worth it in the end.  Being able to take those six weeks off and NOT worry one bit about finances will be wonderful and we'll be able to focus all our attention on this beautiful little life that has graced ours!  Daddy has a fair amount of PTO saved up as well, so he's going to be able to take three or four weeks off as well.  I'm so excited for that time right after Brooklyn is born!

One other interesting happenstance that I wanted to bring up was weight gain.  Or lack thereof.  I was certain by now I'd be at least starting to pack on the pounds (we're almost to end of the second trimester!) but nope. I weighed myself this morning and was still down three or four pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight.  I'm honestly starting to wonder if I'm going to come out of this pregnancy weighing LESS than I went into it weighing!  It doesn't matter one way or the other to me, it just surprises me that this is the one time in my life when I honestly EXPECTED to gain weight . . . and so far, nothing!

21 weeks!

Yep!  We've made it to 21 weeks! =] Strangers still definitely aren't going to look at me and know I'm pregnant or anything, but that's okay.  Weight gain is still nil, but I'm guessing that will catch up with me at some point as well.

I'll bet you're dying to know how our gender/anatomy scan went, eh?  Stick cooperated!  And the verdict is . . . dun dun dun . . . she's all girl baby! =] Somewhere between our scan last Tuesday and a few days ago, we finally finished hashing out the name details and I'm proud to say that she also has a name!  Brooklyn Leah Harper Olson.  And we're already both incredibly in love with her. =]

We were able to walk away from the gender/anatomy scan with two pictures.  One is your standard, "It's a girl!" picture and then also one of straight-on shot of her face. =] 

The second picture is a little hard to navigate, but just follow the arrow. =] We do have a few more pictures from the ultrasound as well, but I haven't gotten a copy of them quite yet so I'll make a new post as soon as I get them. =]

Heartbeat was 152 and she was measuring at 19 weeks, 5 days!  I can't wait to meet our beautiful baby!

Daddy thinks he was able to feel her move for the first time yesterday as well!  I had his hand on my belly when she was being super active and she gave two good, hard kicks while his hand was there. =]  I'm able to feel her move daily now!  It's such an awesome feeling, I don't think I could EVER get sick of it!

We've also started on the nursery!  Right now it's mostly just moving stuff out in an attempt to actually have a place to put things when we start getting nursery furniture.  All that's left in the to-be nursery now are two large bookshelves that we need to move into our bedroom.  For the time being, we have one of those plastic Sterilite dresser/storage containers and that's what we're going to be storing her clothes in.  It's already in the closet and stashed with as many newborn and 0-3 months clothes as we have for her yet. =] And, happily, we actually have quite a few! Daddy's step-brother and his wife have a 5-year-old girl and a 2-year-old boy and they've set up a pretty neat system where they just saved all their baby/toddler clothes and borrow them out to whoever they know that's having a baby between family/friends/etc.  So we were able to look through four GIANT totes of clothes and already have quite the assortment all the way up to 9 months!  Everything for 0 - 3 months and newborns is in her closet and the bigger stuff has been sorted and is stashed away in totes in our basement for when she starts growing into them. =]

Also, another VERY exciting gift that we couldn't be more thankful for . . . my closest friend asked me on Monday what we needed most for Brooklyn.  I told her diapers and/or wipes because I know they're already going to be the bane of our financial existence for awhile.  And what shows up in the mile today?  A GIANT box of 276 size 1 diapers and nearly 400 wipes!  Holy crap!  I'm guessing we're probably set for the first two months or so by now!  Brooklyn says, "Thank you so much Aunty Heather!" =]

Movement!

I just wanted to share a quick milestone. =] I've felt Stick move before, but NOTHING like last night!  I think Stick may have been throwing a party last night!  For about five minutes, I just sat there in awe of this little person moving like crazy inside of me!  It was such an AWESOME feeling!

Also, something else that I wanted to document lest I forget later on, at about 16 weeks, I was researching and discovered that that's the point in a pregnancy in which baby's ear bones are forming which means baby is starting to hear!  I told Kelly this, and since then, he has insisted upon reading Stick a bedtime story each night.  I love it!  He's just as in love with this new little life as I am!

Headaches subdued for a week or so, and now they're back full force.  Blech.  I've been getting them daily again, regardless of how much water I drink.  I went home from work yesterday with a killer migraine and am still home today because I just couldn't shake and, now that the headache's mostly gone, I'm feeling queasier than I have in a long time.  Blech.  I did realize last night though, that we're now almost halfway through the second trimester!  I can't believe how quickly the time has gone since we passed that 12-week mark!  A few more days and we'll officially be halfway there!

We're trying to plan for this summer, but so far, it's not going so hot.  I'm going to be off work without pay for probably two months, and, quite honestly, we're barely getting the bills paid now with both of our incomes.  I'm trying to get a second part-time job so that we can start squirreling away funds for the summer, but so far, it hasn't been going so well.  I'm just hoping that everything works out!  Keep us in your thoughts and prayers that we can manage to find away to afford living those first two months!  After that, we should be fine, it's just to get through to September when I'll start working again.  Uff-da.  Money is definitely a stresser!

Four more days until we find out whether Stick is going to a boy or a girl!  Hopefully Stick cooperates with us on Tuesday!

Oh!  And as far as weight gain goes, I'm starting to put some weight back on, but I'm still a pound or two shy of my pre-pregnancy weight.  The scale read in at 204 this morning and I was a pretty consistent 205 before we got pregnant.  I've read that usually, 1/3 of the weight should be gained by week 20 and the remaining 2/3 should be gained in the second half of pregnancy.  Hmmm.  For some reason, I don't think that's going to be the case for me and Stick!

18 weeks! =]

So.  Where to start.  I know I haven't been the most diligent about keeping updated over here and, for that, I do apologize.

First off, symptom of trimester number two appears to be . . . -drumroll please- . . . migraine headaches!  From about week 15 to week 17, I had some sort of headache on a near-daily basis.  Two of them progressed into full-blown migraines, which was definitely no fun.  But, I've been headache free since Saturday!  So I'm hoping that means Stick and I are growing out of the migraines now. =]

Our 16-week appointment was short and sweet.  We got to hear Stick's heartbeat again and had the quad screening done.  For those of you who don't know what a quad screening is, it's a simple blood test that assesses our risk for genetic deformities.  It's usually administered around 16 weeks.  We go the letter in the mail from our OB a few days ago that everything looks NORMAL!  Go Stick! =]

Our twenty week appointment and gender/anatomy scan are both scheduled for Tuesday, March 8th!  That means, in approximately 11 days, we'll know whether little Stick is a boy or a girl!  Then we can give Stick a real name . . . once we get our real name choices figured out. XD

I have some other updates as well, but I'm short on time at the moment, so I'll check back in within the next couple of days to fill you guys in on everything else that's going on. =]

And, of course, here's your 18 week belly picture!  I still don't look any different with clothes on, but it's pretty inarguable that I'm definitely getting thicker these days!  I'm hoping I'll 'pop' soon so I can sport that baby belly! =]

Oh!  And I got a haircut on Monday!  I was able to donate 13 inches!  Whoot!

14 weeks!

I do apologize for the lack of updates.  I have a good excuse, I promise.

About halfway through week eleven, I started coughing and it got progressively worse and worse.  At just after 13 weeks (i.e., last Thursday), I gave up on getting better on my own and went in to the doctor's office (even though I had just been there the previous Wednesday) and received a diagnosis of bronchitis and a prescription for antibiotics.  Of course, my first dose of antibiotics made me sick to my stomach and I then proceeded spend the evening throwing up. I ended up missing an entire week of work because I couldn't breathe/function.  Thankfully, I finished the antibiotics on Monday and I'm now feeling somewhat better, even though I'm still not 100%.  The cough is still lingering, but everything that went with it is pretty well resolved by this point and the cough is getting better on a daily basis.

So, again, I apologize for the lack of updates, but I thought I was dying over the past couple of weeks and have just recently returned to the land of the living.

So, minus the bronchitis, what else exciting has happened over the past couple of weeks?

On January 12th, we had our 12-week appointment and had the amazing privilege of hearing Stick's heartbeat on Doppler for the first time.  One week later, on January 19th, we successfully reached the end of the first trimester and begin our journey into the second one!

Symptoms have pretty well disappeared by this point; however, from what I understand, that's pretty normal upon starting the second trimester. I'm just glad the nausea's gone!  I mean, I know I didn't have it all that bad, but I'm a baby myself when it comes to being sick.

We're still weighing in lower than my pre-pregnancy weight; however, considering this is a plus size pregnancy and we're only a week into the second trimester as I type this, I'm not too concerned about it.  Starting weight was 205 and when I weighed myself last week (mind you, I was sick) I was weighing in at 197.  Tonight when I weighed myself after supper, we were at about 203.  I haven't gained six pounds in a week though, the 197 was a morning weight on an empty stomach and I'm sure water weight has varied mightily over the past week or so as well since I've gone from being horribly ill to almost completely functional again. =]

I know we're a few weeks behind on belly pics, but we're just going to have to deal with it.  When I look in the mirror, I still don't see a change, but as I'm glancing through the pictures, I am thinking that perhaps I'm starting to see a small one.  Definitely no bump yet, but thicker I think.  If you look back at the pictures, my pajama pants are covering up the lower part of my belly up until about my belly button, so what you really see in the pictures is everything belly button up.  Without further adieu, here's what Stick and I look like at week 14!

After my appointment on the 12th, we stopped by Wal-mart and they happened to have holiday baby clothes on sale for $0.75 a piece.  Not even exaggerating, a whole whopping three quarters!  So, naturally, we splurged and spent a whole $1.50 on baby clothes. =] They're pretty stinking cute though if I do say so myself!  I've included three images here.  One of them together and then a close-up of the words on each of them. =] I apologize for the flash washing out some of the images a bit, but that's what I get for trying to take pictures at 11 p.m. when there's 0 natural lighting! 

And with that, this mommy-to-be is definitely heading to bed.  Two more days of work this week until I get to hit the weekend! 8D

11 Weeks (+1 Day!)

That's right!  11 weeks and 1 day today!  Because I'm cool like that and never quite manage to get things done on time. =]

I weighed myself this afternoon and I'm still checking in at a steady 205, which was my pre-pregnancy weight.  Which means I haven't gained anything yet.  Considering that I started at 205 though, not gaining anything in the first trimester is just fine!

If you look at this weeks belly pic. though, I'm starting to think that maybe I do look just the tiniest bit fluffier! From what I've read, at about 12 weeks is usually when the uterus gets big enough to start raising out of the pelvic cavity.  So, hopefully there will be some real changes soon! =]

On a side note . . . those spiffy pajama pants?  My husband's.  He got them for a Christmas present and they're sooooo soft that I steal them once in a while.

Symptoms have definitely kicked it up a notch over the past couple of weeks.  Morning sickness kicked in about week nine and, usually, I'm able to keep it at bay, but I've had a few rounds of hovering over the toilet. Surprisingly, some days, the only thing I'm able to keep down (like today), is fast food!  I know that's hardly the healthiest thing for me and Stick, but I assume a burger is better than NOTHING all day.  At least the burger has protein and some veggies and stuff on it, whereas nothing . . . has nothing.  This evening, I've been feeling pretty good.  I ended up going home early from work today though because I had a KILLER headache throughout the day.  A short, three-hour nap upon arrive home plus two Tylenol seemed to have done the trick though and I'm functional again!

I've heard that 10 weeks is supposed to be the worst in terms of unpleasant, first-trimester symptoms and we're quickly closing in on the end of that though, so I'm hoping this feeling good tonight starts showing up a lot more often! =]

Our next prenatal appointment is quickly closing in as well!  Next Wednesday we'll be visiting Dr. Clark for our second prenatal appointment and, hopefully, we'll get the opportunity to hear Stick's little heartbeat on the Dopplar!  From what I understand, they're typically audible through Dopplar by week 12, so, fingers crossed!  I'll keep you posted! =]

10 Weeks! (+1 Day)

Sorry I'm a day late peeps. =] I'm also short on time, so all I'm going to give you is the quick ten-week belly pic and then I'll be back later to give some other updates. =]