22 weeks

As usual, I've been slacking off with the update posts. This time I blame the holidays.

I can't believe I'm more than halfway there already. Where does the time go?

I went in as planned on Dec. 26th for the level II ultrasound. After waiting over an hour past my appointment time (GRRR!), I was finally taken back. Luckily both the ultrasound technician (not sure of what her exact title would be) and the perinatologist both agreed that everything looks fine and dandy on all accounts. Woo hoo! Both also agreed that he still looks like a boy.

Luckily all traces of morning sickness seem to have gone now. I've been feeling pretty good (minus a nasty cold) for a couple weeks now. Hooray!

Things are getting even busier on the movement front these past few weeks. I'm convinced he's throwing little dance parties in there in the middle of the night. Also, today he's been using my bladder as a trampoline. That's nice and comfy. If he's this active now, I can't even imagine what things will be like in another 15 weeks or so. Yikes!

And now for the obligatory ultrasound pictures from the level II scan.

He's still a boy	These are the legs that are constantly kicking me in uncomfortable places
He looks a little like Ellie here... sort of. :)	Isn't he cute?

20 weeks

So, the verdict is in.

It's a BOY!

We went in for the 20 week ultrasound a couple of days ago. All major organs and such are all looking great, or so I'm told. There is one small issue of his abdominal circumference measuring a little on the low side. I have to go back in on the 26th for a level II scan. *Fingers crossed* that it turns out to be nothing.

Also this week I randomly threw up again on Thursday morning for the first time in weeks. I think the ultrasound reminded my body that it's pregnant and I'm supposed to be sick. Even so, that only makes about 5 times total throwing up this time around. That is infinitely better than what I had with Ellie, so I'll gladly take it.

There's a lot going on in the fetal movement front lately. I can feel him wiggling around quite a bit throughout the day these days. Apparently his favorite time to be active seems to be somewhere between 2am and 4am, unfortunately. Here's hoping that changes before he's born.

And now for the obligatory ultrasound pictures.

Cute nose and lips	Little boy parts
Alien face. Ellie thinks this looks like our greyhound Freya or a dinosaur.	His profile. Ellie thinks this looks like a hat.
Two little baby feet

17 weeks 4 days

Oops! It appears that I've missed a couple weeks here. I blame missing 16 weeks on the holiday. I really have no excuse for missing the 17 week post, so I'm going to blame it on pregnancy brain.

Anywho, I had a doctor's appointment back at 15wd5. Everything looked great! I've only gained a pound so far (well, as of then), but no one mentioned anything about it so I'm not going to worry. I'm certainly eating enough, so I guess my body just doesn't need that extra weight just yet.

The heartbeat measured 150 bpm, a little bit slower than the previous readings of 158 bpm.

The next appointment is scheduled for December 19th. Part of that appointment will be the "Big" Ultrasound. We should find out if we're going to be recycling all the pink in our house or heading out to buy some blue.

Speaking of pink vs. blue, I had my first real pregnancy dream the other night. It was such a bizarre dream, so I'm not sure if I want to count it as intuitive or not. I was for whatever reason at an internet acquaintance's house with my two-day-old baby BOY. Oddly enough, my two-day-old infant seemed to have already grasped limited speech. He was already asking for milk, hugs, etc... The "best" part was when I accidentally flashed said internet acquaintance's husband while trying to discreetly nurse in the wrap I'm planning to get before the new baby arrives. Oops!

Little Sprout seems to have grown enough by this point where I can feel daily wiggles, kicks, rolls, etc... I love it. :)

There's one more monumental announcement to make since my last post. We've finally told the family about the baby. It's about time,right?

15 weeks

Time for another update!

15 weeks already. Wow! I have my 16 week Dr. appointment next Wednesday. I can't wait to hear the heartbeat again. The longer it's been since the last confirmation that everything is going well, the more those little doubts creep into my mind. Sometimes I actually begin to doubt that I'm really pregnant at all. Then I'll feel insanely sick or feel something like a little wriggle or punch and convince myself that all is well once more. Even so, it'll be nice to get that solid confirmation of a strong heartbeat just the same.

This week has been fairly uneventful. I added another round of vomiting to my short list this time around. That makes 4 times total so far. Not too bad. On Tuesday while driving to work I was trying my very best to keep it together, but ended up having to throw up while stopped at a stop light (thank goodness). The unfortunate thing is that the only available places to safely spew were out the car window (no thanks) or into my newly-opened bag of chips. Poor potato chips. They didn't know what hit them. I've since started keeping a few baggies in my car, just in case.

I've felt what I think is more movement over the past week, but it's not really a constant thing. Last night when Ellie was up at 2am (yuck) and laying on me to nurse, I swear I felt a little kick where she was "squishing" little Sprout. My mind immediately thought something to the effect of "Look at that, HE's is already starting fights with HIS sister." I wonder if that means anything... I suppose I'll find out soon enough. ;)

I guess my Dad wants his camera back

I've been holding my Dad's Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi hostage pretty much since the week after he got it. In my defense, he said I could borrow it and hasn't asked for it back yet even though I've tried to give it back multiple times.

Well, I guess he does want it back... because he decided to get me my own as an early Christmas present. YAYAYAYAY! I tried to explain that what with Kevin's recent raises (they nearly doubled his salary back in July, and as of last week he got another promotion and a $5k/year raise) we could afford to get one ourselves with a little saving, but my Dad insisted. My parents rock (and not just because they buy me awesome stuff).

So, instead of saving up for a camera, now I have to find something else to save for using my small monthly budget of fun money. I think I might want a nifty cool double stroller. We never really used a stroller when Ellie was little... but since she's gotten so heavy and I've been so tired/lazy lately to wear her much, we've been relying on it more than usual. Plus, it's really a lovely thing to have for theme parks, airports, etc... Hopefully we'll be doing a lot more vacationing next year now that we'll be able to swing it financially.

I think I want this one, the Phil and Ted Sport with the doubles kit:



I know a few people that have it, and they all seem to love it. I love the fact that you can fit two, but it's not big and bulky like some of the other double strollers out there. Also, you can configure it so many different ways. Too bad it's just a little bit pricey (that's the understatement of the century)... although less than the camera I was saving for. I'm a little wary of spending that much on a stroller since it wasn't really something we used much until very recently.

I suppose for now I'll just save my money and continue to mull it over.

Halloween!

Two posts in one day! Amazing!

Obviously this is a little late... but I have some Halloween pics to share. Ellie was Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz this year. She was perhaps the cutest Dorothy there ever was, complete with her own Toto (part played by Dudley).

And now, the pics:

Dorothy	I'm not sure what she's trying to keep her feet away from... perhaps a bug?
She finally has enough hair for "real" pigtails. YAY!	Always a lady, climbing in her dress.
And just because... Dudley in his Toto costume. ;)

Just in case that's not enough for you, more Halloween pictures can be seen on my Flickr page.

14 weeks

I decided that it might be a good idea to start doing a weekly pregnancy journal sort of thing. My memories of pregnancy with Ellie are so vague... I'd like to have more to look back on this time about how I was feeling at any given time and what not.

So yeah, I'm officially 14 weeks today! Look at that gorgeous baby-looking thing in my little sidebar widget. It's so cool that everything is actually baby shaped at this point. :)

The morning sickness seems to be getting a little better, but it's definitely still there. Food aversions are still alive and strong, as are cravings for any and all junk food. I've still only thrown up 3 times so far (with an additional bought of dry heaving that wasn't much fun either). This past Monday Ellie got to witness my sickiness for the first time. She looked absolutely horrified while it was happening, but seemed to forget about it almost instantly afterwards.

FYI, waffles and OJ don't taste nearly as good coming back up as they do going down. Also, waffle chunks clog sinks (Ellie was blocking the toilet, I had no choice).

Moving on.

I'm at that yucky, just look fat(ter) stage right now. Certainly not showing with cute little roundness... just chubbier. Maybe once the babyness is distinguishable from stomach flab I'll start taking pictures. I didn't take any pictures with Ellie, and I really regret it.

I swear I've been feeling tiny little movements for the past couple weeks or so. It's not really like soft butterfly movements... more like tiny little jabs, no stronger than a light finger flick, but on the inside. I really don't think it's gas, although it is still very early for feeling actual movement. I hadn't felt anything for a day or two, until I started typing this... so who knows, it may all be in my head after all.

I can't wait until I'm feeling for real, no doubt about it, kicks, punches, rolls, and more. That's definitely my favorite part of pregnancy (and all this time you probably thought it was the vomiting). That constant movement is such a nice reminder that the little bean is there and doing well.