My Big Fat Belly - 16 Weeks

How I'm Feeling This Week: I'm honestly still not feeling all that pregnant because I'm showing just enough to feel fat and that's about all. I do have indigestion/burping a few days/nights a week but it hasn't been too terrible yet.

Movement: I can now say that I've felt the baby moving around a little bit this week but it's still very faint. I'm looking forward to feeling him/her kicking much more often in the next few weeks.

Gender: I asked my doctor on Thursday at my 16 week appointment if we could come back and have our 20 week ultrasound at 18 weeks, just before Christmas but she said no. The babies heart and other organs is typically not big enough for them to see all it's details that early and to check those organs is the real purpose for the 20 week ultrasound. She also told me that if I really wanted to know the gender of the baby sooner I could pay $75 and find out at any time. The "parts" are there and could be seen just fine at this point. As much as I would love to do this, Chase and I have (for now) decided that we will just wait until January 11th when I go back for my 20 week visit and ultrasound. I'm still a little bummed but I'll be okay. For now I'm just going with the probability that it's probably another girl.

What I'm Looking Forward To: Like I said before I'm looking forward to feeling the baby move more and obviously, I'm looking forward to finding out the gender for sure on January11th.

Doctor's Appointment: The babies heart rate was 140bpm on Thursday at 15 weeks, 6 days. Dr. S said that was great and that she still thinks it's probably a girl too.

Babies Development at 16 Weeks: This week the baby is the size of an avocado!! Now, she's about 4.6 inches long and weighs about 3.5 ounces.

• She's listening to your voice, thanks to tiny bones forming in her ears.
• She's growing hair, lashes and eyebrows.
• And she's forming taste buds.
• Her legs are much more developed.
• Her head is more erect than it has been.
• Her heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, and this amount will continue to increase as your baby continues to develop.

Bump Pic of the Week: I haven't taken a picture for this week yet and since I'm writing this blog post at almost 3am (I couldn't go back to sleep after waking up to pee at 1:45am) I'll have to come back and add the picture tomorrow after I take one.

My Big Fat Belly - 15 Weeks

This weeks post is going to be a short one because I'm so late at posting it.

This week the baby is the size of a naval orange!

The average fetus at 15 weeks weighs 2.5 ounces and measures 4 inches -- and his proportions are becoming even more normal, since his legs now outmeasure his arms. 

• You probably can't feel it yet, but she's squirming a ton!
• She might even be hiccuping in there.
• She's making lots of progress: her joints and limbs can all move now.

Movement Report: I'm happy and excited to report that I THINK I have felt the baby move a few times this week but the kicks have been so faint and light that I'm not 100% sure. I know he/she will be getting stronger day by day and I can't wait to know for sure when I feel the baby moving around. Big Smile!!

Doctors Appointment: I go to the doctor tomorrow afternoon for my 16 week visit. I'm going to ask with a touch of beg and plead that she let us come back at 18 weeks and find out the baby's gender for sure before Christmas. I'm not expecting her to let us really, but it would be wonderful if she does.

• If she let's us come back on the 22nd or 23rd, I want to have the US tech put the gender in a envelope and wait to open it on Christmas Eve or morning with our parents. I think that would be really special! Maybe my doctor will be feeling gracious tomorrow and say yes!!

The belly hasn't grown much over the past week but it's definitely starting to poke out there pretty good.

BR's Last Day at Preschool

 November 30th was Brantley's last day of preschool at Shades Crest. It was a very sad day for me because she really loved her class so much and I hated to take that away from her. (Note for those of you who don't remember, I had to leave my job with the program because of my shoulder injury.)

Brantley got to play with her friends and give them all big hugs before we left. I almost cried but thankfully, I held it together...until we got in the car.

We both LOVED the Weekday program and miss it a lot. I miss the babies that I cared for and Brantley misses her friends and her teacher but I guess this is the way it has to be for now. My hope is that she will be able to start back next fall a few days a week. We'll see!

Thanksgiving 2011 in Pictures

 This is not the greatest picture because BR's eyes are closed but I wanted to show off her Thanksgiving plate, cup, bowl and utensils. We made yummy pancakes to start our day off on the right foot.

 At Chase's grandmothers house, Brantley got to play on her piano with Bebe. She had a blast! One day the boys (Chase and Glenn) are going to bring the piano up here to their house and Bebe is going to attempt to teach Brantley piano lessons once she is old enough.

Then we headed over to Chase's granddad's house (his mom's dad).

 I love this picture!

After eating Janet's delicious Thanksgiving feast and spending a little time with them it was time to move onto Beverly's parents house.

At first we were there by ourselves for a while and got to rest, which was really nice. Then when Beverly's parents got home they had her niece and nephew with them and the fun began. As you can see from the pictures Brantley got to play basketball with Taylor and run around with Grace (not pictured, oops).
We had a wonderful time visiting with them but it really wasn't long enough. Around 5:00pm we packed up and headed over to Chase's aunt's house for Thanksgiving dinner with his dad's side of the family. I was bad and didn't take a single picture while we were there. We had a really great time there! Chase's dad's side of the family is pretty big and there are lots of little kids so Brantley had a good time playing. Mostly she played upstairs in Will and Reed's room with the cars and trucks.

Thanksgiving Day was VERY long and busy but we still had a great time visiting all the family we don't seen near enough during the year. I so wish Prattville and Montgomery was closer to Birmingham so it would be easier to get by to see them all.

On Friday we went with my parents to spend the day with my sweet Grandmother Harris.

Chase and Brantley playing with grandmother's toys while us girls started preparing lunch.

Before we could eat we helped Grandmother by picking up pecans in her yard. Chase and my dad began by blowing away the leaves so that we could get to the pecans and then the fun began. We eventually broke for lunch, which was delicious and then got back to work. Brantley had a great time helping in her own little way. haha

Four Generations!

BR was not cooperating for the pictures, she just wanted to run and play. Imagine that!

Brantley had a great time helping her PopPop rake up leaves around the yard.

Then it was finally time to go home and BR was asleep within 5 minutes, slept the whole way home (1 hour) and 2 more hours when we got back home. Wow! Good nap!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and are extremely grateful for all the family and friends that we have and love. There was a lot of my family we didn't get to see but we'll get to see them in a few weeks for Christmas and I can't wait! God has been so good to us and we are extremely grateful!

My Big Fat Belly - 14 Weeks

Today marks the first day of my second trimester!! Yay!! I'm super excited to be moving into the middle phase of this pregnancy because hopefully I'll feel my best and start to feel the baby moving.

How am I feeling: Today I've been feeling more pregnant. My hips have been hurting pretty bad so I guess this means they've started to open/widen. Other than the pain of my hips opening, I don't really have anything else to report. Thankfully, I feel really great and I'm enjoying my pregnancy.

What I'm looking forward to: Finding out the gender of the baby is going to be at the top of this list until January when we finally find out the gender. Also on this list is going back to the doctor on Dec. 8th when I'll get to hear the heartbeat again via Doppler. I just love hearing the heartbeat.

Movement: Still the same as last week. I still haven't felt any flutters.

Baby's development and size this week:

 

This week the baby is about the size of a lemon. At 14 weeks, the baby is 3.4 inches and 1.5 ounces, he/she has almost doubled in weight since last week and keeps on growing. 

• He's probably sucking his thumb and wiggling his toes in there!
• His kidneys are making urine, and his liver and spleen are doing their jobs, too.
• And he's growing lanugo, a thin, peach-fuzz-like hair, all over his body -- it will help him keep warm!

Doctors appointments: Like I said before I go back on December 8th. 

 

Belly Blog Imported

Hey everyone!

I decided to import my posts from my belly blog here so that I don't have to keep up with 2 different blogs.  Enjoy!

My Big Fat Belly - 13 weeks

How am I feeling: Thankfully, I'm feeling really great. I've started physical therapy for my shoulder injury and surprisingly it's already feeling SO much better. No more constant pain! I'm experiencing no pregnancy symptoms at all, actually, sometimes I forget that I'm pregnant. haha!

Maternity Clothes: I can still wear my regular jeans with a belly band but maternity jeans are much more comfortable so I wear them most of the time. I still wear my pre-preggo shirts because my belly hasn't gotten big enough to stick out the bottom of my shirts yet. haha!

Movement: The baby is moving like crazy but unfortunately I still can't feel the kicks and flips yet. I'm hoping I'll start feeling them in the next few weeks.

Baby's development at 13 weeks:

At 13 weeks, the baby is about the size of a peach! The baby is about 2.9 inches long and weighs about .81 ounces, and -- proportion-wise -- his/her head's now about 1/3 the size of his/her body.

• Can you believe she's forming vocal cords and teeth?!
• And even though she's still teeny, she already has fingerprints.
• Her intestines are moving from the umbilical cord to their more permanent place, in her tummy. 

Doctor's appointments & What am I looking forward to: Let's see... I'm looking forward to feeling the baby move/kick. Also, I love hearing the baby's heart beat by Doppler at each appointment. My next appointment is December 8th (I'll be 16 weeks).

I'm bummed that we won't get to find out the gender of our little peach until after Christmas because my doctor wants me to be more than 18 weeks. I'll be 18 weeks on Christmas day so we have to wait until just after Christmas to find out for sure.

 

  When you read that your belly shows faster the second time around, they aren't kidding or at least in my case that is definitely the case. haha! I'm feeling great and the baby is growing perfectly.

Below is a picture of me when I was 13 weeks pregnant with Brantley Rae.