18 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 18 weeks

Size of Baby W: Sweet Potato

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 3 pounds

Maternity Clothes: Not yet (but my jeans were awfully tight!)

Gender: Can't wait to find out! (in ONE week!!!)

Movement: Might have felt something today

What I Miss: Being able to do everything I need to do (without having to take breaks)

Cravings: Baked potato and salad

Wyatt's Cravings: None this week

Symptoms: Some headaches and being hungry all the time

Best Moment This Week: Possibly feeling the baby move and we find out the gender on TUESDAY!!!

Last week was a really long, busy week for me. I worked over 60 hours and then came home and did quite a bit of cleaning on Saturday night (for our open house Sunday). I definitely found out I can't do as much as I used to. I woke up Sunday and was having some cramping all morning. After listening to advice from my aunt, I decided it'd be best to stay home and rest/take it easy (it's really hard for me to let myself take a break, especially when there's stuff that needs to be done). I also called my doctor to make sure I didn't need to go in. She thought it could be 'growing pains' and said as long as nothing got worse, I didn't need to be checked out. I was a little worried about it and was definitely relieved when it started going away that afternoon/evening. 

We only had one couple come to the open house, in addition to the one showing we had earlier Sunday morning. Both really like the house, but weren't sure about the area. We have our eyes on a couple of houses we are really interested in, so please continue to pray that our house will sell if it's God's will (and preferably sooner rather than later - I don't want to be extremely pregnant and trying to move ;))

On a lighter and more fun note, we have our ultrasound Tuesday to determine the gender... YAY!!!! I am soooo ready to find out! I have purposefully saved my blue and pink tanks for the reveal of the gender. So, be looking for a specific color next week ;)  I noticed a lot of you have voted in our poll, but it doesn't show who voted what. I'd like to know what everyone thinks, so leave me a comment with your vote/what color tank you think I'll wear for the picture.

I hope everyone has a great Friday and relaxing weekend!

17 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 17 weeks

Size of Baby W: Onion or Turnip

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 3 pounds

Maternity Clothes: Not yet

Gender: Can't wait to find out! (in 2 weeks!!!)

Movement: Might have felt something yesterday

What I Miss: Having plenty of energy to get through the day

Cravings: Pizza and Salad

Wyatt's Cravings: None this week

Symptoms: Some headaches and being hungry all the time

Best Moment This Week: Getting to hear the heartbeat today and finding out we only have TWO more weeks until we can find out whether it's a boy or girl!

We had our monthly appointment today and it was great to hear the heartbeat again! This time Wyatt was able to work his phone properly so we have a little recording of it. We also got to schedule our ultrasound to determine the gender (technically they are looking at developmental stuff like the heart, brain, etc.) for March 1!!! I CANNOT wait to find out! Just say a prayer that little miss or mister will behave and show us the necessary area, lol! My doctor also told me it's time to start wearing maternity pants since belts and zippers are too confining, but I'm not sure I can wear maternity pants yet. I am starting to get a little bump but I really don't think it is big enough to hold anything up yet, lol!
 
So, everyone's heard the old wives tale that you can determine the gender of your baby by the heart rate, right? Well today our baby's heart rate was lower than before; it was in the 140s & 150s instead the 160s. I asked my doctor about it and she said that as the baby grows, it's heartbeat will slow down. She used the comparison of a mouse's really fast heartbeat ('cause they're so small) to an elephant's slow heartbeat ('cause they're huge). I thought that was pretty interesting and I had never thought of it that way before.
 
I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

16 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 16 weeks

Size of Baby W: Avocado

Total Weight Gain/Loss: maybe 1-2 pounds

Maternity Clothes: Not yet

Gender: Can't wait to find out!

Movement: Not yet

What I Miss: Having plenty of energy to get through the day

Cravings: Pizza

Wyatt's Cravings: None this week

Symptoms: Some headaches and being hungry all the time

Best Moment This Week: Doing some online window shopping for baby stuff while snowed in

My next appointment is next week and I can't wait! I am hoping I'll be able to schedule a gender determination ultrasound while there and not have to wait until I'm at least 20 weeks. I have a few other places to check into if they say I have to wait, so hopefully we can find out sooner rather than later.

Although it doesn't look like I'm 'showing' yet to most people, I can definitely tell I'm getting rounder. I went ahead and loosened my belt one hole today - it will still fasten in the same hole I've been using for several years but can be a little uncomfortable at times. I will probably have to invest in a new belt once it starts getting warmer (since my coat and/or sweater cover it now) because mine is very worn from always wearing it in the same hole, lol! Also, when I put my jeans on tonight for my weekly picture, they fit a little more snuggly than last week. I have a pretty long torso so I think that has helped 'hide' the bump, but I have a feeling I'm going to really start outwardly showing over the next few weeks.

We are expecting more snow tonight and into tomorrow and while we still have PLENTY still on the ground and roads from last week's, I wouldn't mind having another day off! I definitely got spoiled last week - I only worked 1 day!!! I could really get used to that, but I'll take a day off mid-week too :)

I hope everyone has a great and safe rest of the week!

A Shovel, Hoe, & Snow Saucer

These are the 3 tools Wyatt and I used to clear the snow off our driveway! He cleared a little off one side last night so he'd be able to drive himself to work today. We decided that we might as well clear off the other side. I told him I'd help, but we only have 1 shovel - a regular shovel, not even a snow shovel. I actually started with the shovel while he was trying to clear some of the snow off the carport (it had started bowing from all the weight). Then he came and took over with the shovel.

I tried using the hoe a little but it wasn't doing much. I decided the snow saucer might work to move more snow at a time. I first started trying to 'rake' the snow to the side but that wasn't working too well. Then I decided I could scoop some up in it and then just dump it off to the side. That worked pretty well.

So, we got a little system down where I'd get the top half and then he could get the rest of it faster with the shovel. With teamwork, we were able to get it done pretty quickly.

I still can't believe how much snow we got! Here's a few other pictures with the additional 3 1/2 inches we got today.

Did anyone else use any 'creative' tools for clearing their snow? Hope you have a fun and safe weekend!!

15 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 15 weeks

Size of Baby W: Apple

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 0

Maternity Clothes: Not yet

Gender: Can't wait to find out!

Movement: Not yet

What I Miss: Having plenty of energy to get through the day

Cravings: Fruit and pizza

Wyatt's Cravings: Still pickles

Symptoms: Headaches and getting tired easily

Best Moment This Week: Watching the ultrasound

I don't really have anything great or exciting to report.... One of my aunts informed me she has been craving chocolate milkshakes every since I announced I was pregnant. I guess Wyatt's not the only one have sympathy cravings, lol! I probably watch the video from the ultrasound at least once a day :) I love seeing our baby and still can't believe that little being is growing inside me! I'm sure it will be even more weird once I can feel it move. I am really getting excited about the baby and CANNOT wait to find out if it's a boy or girl. My doctor's office told me they usually do the ultrasound to determine the gender sometime between 20-25 weeks. I'm not sure I can wait that long!! When were you able to find out if your's was a boy or girl? What's the earliest for accuracy? One last thing.... my sister added a gender poll to the top right, so please vote!!! Thanks!