Week 16

I tried really hard to not blend into the wall by standing in front of our paint test area.  It didn't work...I still blend in.  

How far along? 16 Weeks 
Baby Size: 4-5 inches
Total weight gain/loss: Haven't weighed myself this week.  I'm a little afraid after all that I ate over the weekend.
Maternity clothes?  Still working with what I have.
Stretch marks? Nope!
Sleep: Sunday night I woke up FOUR times to pee in the middle of the night.  Other than that, I'm still getting up about once each night which was happening before I was pregnant anyway.
Best moment this week: We found out we're having a girl!!  
Have you told family and friends: Yep!
Miss Anything?  Being headache-free.  Or...if I have a headache, not feeling guilty about taking some medicine.  
Movement: YES!  Saturday night before we went to bed, Carson had his hand on my belly and we both felt some flutterings.  Then Sunday night, we both felt a super strong thud.  Both feelings were MUCH different than what I was anticipating it would feel like.
Food cravings: Nope, I'll eat anything you put in front of me.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope...still loving food.  
Have you started to show yet: I feel like the hand placement in the picture makes all the difference!  Maybe I just didn't know the secret before.  I still feel pretty small considering I'm about to start Month 5.
Gender prediction: It's a GIRL!  Just like I was originally thinking!
Labor Signs: No 
Belly Button in or out? In 
Wedding rings on or off? On 
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!
Looking forward to:  Finding pink things and painting her room!!

I was talking to some of my friends at Awanas on Wednesday and when I described my back pain to one of them she mentioned that it might be my sciatic nerve.  I did some research and it sounded just like what I was experiencing.  The websites I read mentioned that moving is much better than sitting.  So I got my butt to the gym Thursday night and moved and I feel SO much better!  I'm sure I was driving Carson crazy with all my complaining about my back.  I couldn't even sit on the couch anymore, it was that bad.  I feel much better now and I'm going to make sure to continue moving so it doesn't get so bad anymore.

We're Having A.......

GIRL!

We're so excited!  At first, she had her little ankles crossed so I had to run up and down some stairs... apparently that makes babies uncross their ankles.  That, and some intense shaking from the ultrasound tech.

We watched her open and close her mouth and saw her stomach, spine, heart, bladder and kidneys.  We're so excited for her full body scan in a few weeks.  We were kind of pumping the tech for information but she probably wasn't supposed to show us all of that on this visit.

I was so nervous that Carson would be disappointed.  He's been talking about having a "little Carson Jr." since we first started dating.  We were both so convinced it would be a boy because of how low I'm carrying.  When I looked over at him during the appointment, he was grinning ear to ear.  He's going to be such an amazing father.  

The Most Perfect Day

Baby Noble: 15 Weeks

How far along? 15 Weeks 
Total weight gain/loss: Still around 5 pounds
Maternity clothes?  Still not really necessary...so far my clothes are plenty stretchy enough to accommodate my teeny bump
Stretch marks? Nope, and they may be genetic and my efforts might be frivolous but I will continue slathering my body with body butter!
Sleep: I've been having major sinus issues (something I've never experienced before) and have been taking Benadryl for that so sleep has NOT been an issue.
Best moment this week: We started our Monday with a doctor's appointment and got to hear the heartbeat!  With the doppler this time!  He still had issues finding it but we heard lots of squirming sounds.  He finally found it much lower than he anticipated it would be. 
Have you told family and friends: Yep!
Miss Anything?  The willpower to workout.  I'm not blaming pregnancy for this one though--just a pure lack of motivation and lack of desire to leave the house when it's cold outside.
Movement: Not yet...hopefully in the next week or so!  
Food cravings: All I want right now is something spicy... 
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nothing...I eat constantly.  
Have you started to show yet: People still probably wouldn't know if I didn't tell them.
Gender prediction: Thinking boy this week!  
Labor Signs: No 
Belly Button in or out? In 
Wedding rings on or off? On 
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!
Looking forward to: Finding out what we're having next Monday!  Two awesome Mondays in a row!  I'm so excited!!

I was so happy we finally got to go to the doctor today!  4 weeks is such a long time to go without hearing the heartbeat.  We have 3 appointments in the next 4 weeks with 2 ultrasounds included in there so I'm excited we'll get to see and hear the baby a lot in the upcoming month!  

Everything has still been going great.  The only painful experiences I've had are my back and my sinuses.  This past week, I've had a TON of sinus pressure right above my cheeks.  On the right side, it has spread all through my jaw for the past couple of days.  I've been having weird back pain pretty much the entire time I've been pregnant so I'm thinking I might try to get a massage or go to a chiropractor.  Something just feels really out of wack.  I have a hard time putting pressure on my left leg.  

But other than that!  Literally everything has been going great.  I still feel great.

Hopefully next week we'll know for sure what we're having and not have a 60/40 estimate!!

Pregnancy Observations, Part One

I'll be the first to say I knew pretty much nothing about being pregnant.  Here are some things I've learned so far!

1. You can plan all you want, but ultimately your life is in God's hands.  

Carson and I had a plan but we firmly believe that God knows what's best for us, our family and our future.   Our relationship has grown in ways that I never imagined were possible.  You think you love someone a lot--more than anything--but even a week later, a month later, your love has grown into a new realm that just blows your mind.  This experience has opened us up to so many new and exciting possibilities, conversations, and friends.  We get to figure out what kind of parents we want to be.  How we want to raise our baby.  What qualities we want our child to have.  I pray daily that God will continue to guide us along His path that He has chosen for us.

2. People will be very forthcoming with their questions and opinions.  

I'm at the point now where people don't know I'm pregnant unless I tell them and so far the information I've gotten from people has been really enlightening.  I imagine I'll get to a point where I don't welcome their insight as much.  I've loved how open mothers are about their experiences and what has worked best for them.  However, there have been times when people say things that I feel are a little inappropriate.  My least favorites interaction has to be: "Were you trying?"  Rude.  We've only gotten this question from strangers.  I would feel completely different answering a friend asking the same question.  Second least favorite:  "We're trying for number X!"  Awkward.  We only get this one from strangers too.  Too much information.

3. You don't show immediately.

I'm still surprised how little I'm showing.  If people don't already know I'm pregnant, they wouldn't know unless I told them.  I never really thought about it before, but I didn't think I would get this far in and still be this small.  I'm trying to not wish to be further along or bigger because I'm sure when I'm there, I'll miss being this size!  

4. You're pregnant for a whole MONTH longer than anyone ever talks about.  

That whole 9 months thing is not true.  You're full term at 9 months but really you go 40 weeks...or TEN months.  I had no idea.  Also, the doctor counts your weeks weird.  Even if you can pinpoint the week or day that you got pregnant, they count from the first day of your last period...or something totally impossible like that.  My doctor always says I'm a week further along than what I've counted, but when they measure your baby in the ultrasound they give you an estimated number of weeks which was pretty spot on with what I had figured. 

5. If someone you know has a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend that has a cold, you'll probably catch it.

I used to be obnoxiously proud of my immune system.  I made it through a whole year at Reynolds & Reynolds, where someone was practically sick every.single.day, without catching anything.  It was basically a badge of honor.  When you're pregnant though, your immune system has to be less Warrior Hero so it doesn't fight off the baby.  I was sick for about 2 weeks around Christmas and I feel it coming again now.  I'm sure it doesn't help that once a week I'm surrounded by 4 year olds at Awana.  They like to sit in your lap and touch you and spread their germs everywhere.  The unfortunate thing is you can't take normal cold medicine.  (Yet another thing I didn't realize at first.)  No DayQuil or NyQuil for instant relief.

I pretty much learn something new every day.  It's been fun though!  My new favorite response to "How's everything going?!" is "Swimmingly".  It feels appropriate and it sometimes makes the other person a little uncomfortable.  Success!

One Down, Two to Go!

I'm officially done with the first trimester.  It's crazy how fast that went.  Last week I was a little frustrated because I didn't feel like I was really changing and I hate how far apart our appointments are.  A lot can happen in four weeks!  It doesn't help that the last time we went to the doctor in December, they tried to use a doppler to hear the heartbeat and couldn't so we got rushed to ultrasound real quick to make sure everything was okay.  The first thing they said to us when we walked in was, "So have you had any complications or anything?"  Thanks, Ultrasound Lady...  Everything was fine, but STILL.  I'm tempted to buy a doppler just to check on things myself.  But then what if I couldn't find it...panic would ensue.  PLUS, if you only knew how deep they push that doppler into your stomach to hear the heartbeat...super uncomfortable.  I feel like you could have seen my doctor's fist on my back.  The plus of the doppler incident was we did get an extra ultrasound.  We got to our baby wiggling around and waving.  SO much different from the first time we saw it when it didn't even have full arms and legs yet!  It's absolutely crazy to think about the fact that I'm growing a human inside of me.

We just have to wait one more week before the next appointment. Since the doctor counts weeks weird, we should be able to find out what we're having either next week or the following week.  Carson and I talked about baby names for the first time last night on our way home from LA.  I don't know how we'll ever decide.   

How far along? 14 Weeks 
Total weight gain/loss: Scale said 4.5 pounds this morning.
Maternity clothes? None yet...I definitely prefer to wear leggings and dresses over jeans though.  Some of my higher rise jeans are too uncomfortable.
Stretch marks? No, and I'm slathering body butter on my belly, butt and thighs after every shower hoping that'll help.  
Sleep: Still sleeping great!  I was waking up once in the middle of most nights before getting pregnant anyway just because of the amount of water I typically drink and our super spoiled dogs that wake up and need to go outside every night.  Last week, I did have one night that I woke up to take them out and had a hard time falling back to sleep.  Hopefully that doesn't happen too often.
Best moment this week: Going to LA on Sunday.  Getting out of Bakersfield for a little while is always great.  We also got to meet a lot of our neighbors on Saturday!  One dropped by while we were working in the garage and it turns out she's pregnant with twin girls.  I'm excited that there will be so many new babies at once!
Have you told family and friends: Yep!
Miss Anything?  Yoga...I'm sure I could still go.  There aren't any prenatal yoga classes in Bakersfield that I know of, otherwise I would totally take it.  I can't bend my back much, it makes my stomach hurt a lot.  I don't know if I'm being a wuss or if it is actually is hurting.
Movement: Not yet. I read in What to Expect When You're Expecting that I probably won't be able to feel anything until month 5.  Sometimes I hold my stomach and just wait for something to happen.  I always kind of thought it was weird how often pregnant people touch their stomach and well, now I get it.  It's not even a conscious thing, it just happens.
Food cravings: I could eat pizza and ice cream or cereal for every meal.  But I'm starting to feel really guilty about what I've been eating.  Anything bad I eat, I immediately regret.  Unfortunately, every time I go grocery shopping things like Nutella, ice cream, chips and ranch dip jump in my basket.  Everything in moderation, right? 
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nothing...a lot of things, like the aforementioned Nutella and ice cream, sound delicious in the store and then it goes unopened for days/weeks.   
Have you started to show yet: A little..thankfully, I have a patient husband who always reassures me every time I turn to the side and say, "Do I look pregnant yet?"  Or the times that I hold my belly and say, "Don't I look super pregnant right now?"  I fish for it quite a bit.
Gender prediction: Still thinking girl
Labor Signs: No 
Belly Button in or out? In 
Wedding rings on or off? On 
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!  Except right after waking up from a nap but really, that's anyone.
Looking forward to: Our Seattle trip we just booked last week!

House Updates

We've been in the house 2 weeks as of yesterday and I'm happy to say we finally have everything we need to live comfortably!  We had a slight mishap on Tuesday where our water was cut off due to us just completely forgetting to transfer over the service.  That made for an interesting Wednesday.  Thankfully, Carson was able to get everything situated and turned back on Wednesday.

We got our mail key on Thursday and I was finally able to get my package that was delivered the Saturday before.  Helloooo chocolate!!

Our trash cans were delivered on Thursday as well.  No more using the old house's trash can!!

And this morning, I did my first bit of baking.  Lemon bars!

It's definitely starting to feel more homey.  We just need to decide on paint colors and finish putting things away.  We were planning on going to Los Angeles this weekend to shop for furniture, but the route to get there has been frozen over and closed the past couple of days so we might have to wait a bit longer.  We'll see!  Gives us more time to think about what we want!

Baby Noble!

2012 was quite the year for Carson and I.  I left my job at Reynolds & Reynolds in February and moved out to California.  In March, we got married at the San Francisco courthouse.  I finally got a new job at Weatherford in June.  We had our wedding in October with all our friends and loved ones.  We found out we were pregnant in November.  And we bought a house in December!

I've been wanting to start a blog since I moved out to California just because I feel so disconnected from friends and family.  I'm not much of a phone person and IF I'm talking to anyone, it's Carson or my mom.  I really wish I had the time or ability to talk to all of my friends all the time but I get overwhelmed and just don't call anyone.  It's a problem...I should probably work on that.  OR start a blog!  And it'll almost be like talking!

Now that I'm finally starting to show (a little) I wanted to share what it's starting to look like.  Pregnancy so far has been a breeze.  I'm getting kind of nervous that we're going to have a fussy kid because of how easy I've had it.  I had less than a week of morning sickness and I only had one episode of supreme sickness that ended in my losing my Egg McMuffin...While house hunting...Our poor realtor.  My mom keeps asking how I'm feeling and aside from being FAMISHED 24/7, I feel no different.  

My next appointment isn't until the 21st and I'm hoping that the week following we'll be able to find out if it's a boy or a girl!!

How far along? 13 Weeks 
Total weight gain/loss: My scale seems to think I've only gained a pound but I find that hard to believe considering the number of boxes of cereal I've gone through. 
Maternity clothes? None yet 
Stretch marks? No 
Sleep: Sleeping great 
Best moment this week: Victoria's Secret Semi-Annual Sale.  Things are a-changin'. 
Have you told family and friends: Yes! 
Miss Anything?  Not really.  Drinking hasn't really been my thing for a while now so it hasn't been hard to give up.  I gave up coffee but I found I just couldn't forego caffeine completely so now I drink green tea in the mornings.  I make much fewer mistakes with a little caffeine!
Movement: Not yet...hopefully soon! 
Food cravings: Sometimes a hamburger just sounds SO delicious. No overwhelming cravings though. 
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nothing. I've been really lucky and only had like 5 days of queasiness! 
Have you started to show yet: A little.. it certainly gets much bigger at the end of the day! 
Gender prediction: I've been having lots of dreams about a little girl. 
Labor Signs: No 
Belly Button in or out? In 
Wedding rings on or off? On 
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!
Looking forward to: Finding out the gender & feeling the baby move! 

I certainly start out much smaller in the morning.  It's kind of hard to tell from this picture, but this is 7:00 AM baby belly.

Here's the bump at 12 Weeks.

And here's 11 Weeks when we made the announcement! This one was a little...enhanced.