I Snoogled last night

J got me a Snoogle for my birthday! I'm pretty impressed that he was able to buy it (we share an account), have it shipped to our house, and store it here without me having any clue. He must be improving in his gift giving skills :) It was quite comfy once I actually figured out how to use it! J laughed at me this morning when he saw me all snuggled up with this huge pillow. It does make it a bit harder to get up to go to the bathroom, but I'll get it all figured out. 

I also got some stuff from my sister that she used with my niece. Not necessarily for my birthday, though. We now have the Moses Basket that the little toot will sleep in for the first three months or so in our room and a Boppy. It's a good start to feeling like we'll be ready. It's also good for our puppy, Coco, to start getting used to some of this stuff appearing in our house. She was pretty bummed, though, after she smelled the Moses Basket. My niece layed in it before we brought it home, and Coco loves Aly. I think she thought that Aly would be coming over after she smelled her. Poor Coco. 

Overall, it was a successful birthday. To celebrate my first full day of being 23, it's back to work after almost a week! Bummer.

Happy Birthday to me!

I'm the big 23 today- the age that I will become a mother. So exciting! I love my birthday. It's such a beautiful time of year. I was born in the early afternoon, which allowed my dad time to finish his school day (he was a teacher) and still make it in time for my arrival. I was my mom's biggest baby at almost 10lb, and I was also the most stubborn pregnancy. My mom has never complained, though, and has always said that she was never mad at me for being stubborn. After 2 late-term losses, a stubborn baby was just what she needed! I can't wait to share my pregnancy/delivery experience with this little tooter.

The baby's birthday present for me was that I've been pregnant for 100 days today! That seems like such a long time, but it hasn't felt that long at all! I still can't imagine that I'm 14 weeks. Only a few more days until we get to see the little one again (Monday) for our NT scan- woo-hoo! My in-laws gave me an Old Navy gift certificate to buy some maternity clothes, which I'm probably going to be doing in the next week or so. The belly bands have gotten a bit too tight and not comfortable. We'll see what J has gotten me tonight...

I'm adding a poll to the right to start the guesses for our baby's gender! Vote!

14 Weeks- Happy Memorial Day!

How far along? 14 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: Frustratingly, I'm not gaining the weight that I want to be.
How much does Baby weigh?: 2 ounces
Maternity clothes? I'm going to get a few things this week. The belly bands are a bit too tight.
Stretch marks? Nope
Sleep: It's great in the small increments that I'm getting it- in between the bathroom trips
Best moment this week: the tiny amounts of rest that I got
Movement: Maybe? I've had thoughts that it could be, but I'm not positive yet.
Food cravings: I'm actually eating like before I was pregnant, although I'm trying to eat more. It's hard for me to eat past when I'm full.
Gender: It feels wrong to call it "she", so we're feeling that it's a boy.
Labor Signs: Nope
Belly Button in or out? Innie, but it's not quite as much as it used to be!
What I miss: living without worrying about this little thing. I'll get used to that, though.
What I am looking forward to: My birthday and our NT scan next Monday!!
Milestones: Baby's first road trip/wedding

My Baby

Although many women don't start feeling the baby move until the 17th week (or later), your baby has been having his own party in the amniotic sac he calls home. If you feel a little flutter in your belly this week, don't discount it as gas or hunger. It could be your babe banging around. Here's more to look forward to:

Baby's head is now resting on his well-formed neck instead of directly on his shoulders like Igor. He's beginning to grow eyebrows and eyelashes this week. (All the better to give you that "Mom, you're crazy" look when he's a teenager.) The hair on the head also begins to grow and, with some creative styling, you'll be able to turn those locks into a Maddox Jolie-Pitt faux-hawk some day.

Although baby's eyes are sealed shut, he's now able to sense light. His eyes and ears finally look like real baby features now. As your baby practices sucking and swallowing actions, he may actually hiccup. You'll know he's had one too many shots of amniotic fluid by the steady thump-thump you feel.

Over the next month, baby will grow faster than ever, so make sure you load up on enough nutritious food and fluids to support his growth. Your baby now measures nearly 4 inches, about the size of a Kit Kat "finger" (regular-size, not the Big one you get at the movies), and weighs almost 2 ounces.

13 weeks!

How far along? 13 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: Frustratingly, I'm not gaining the weight that I want to be.
How much does Baby weigh?: 1 ounce
Maternity clothes? Nope, but I got some belly bands which have come just in time! There's absolutely no way that any of my pants can close.
Stretch marks? Nope
Sleep: There's still a lot of restroom trips, and I've started having issues with back pain. I had a great night the other night after a really long day, though!
Best moment this week: seeing a little belly really starting to come
Movement: Maybe? I've had thoughts that it could be, but I'm not positive yet.
Food cravings: I'm on the borderline of getting cravings, and I'm eating so much better.
Gender: It feels wrong to call it "she", so we're feeling that it's a boy.
Labor Signs: Nope
Belly Button in or out? Innie, but it's not quite as much as it used to be!
What I miss: being a fabulous sleeper
What I am looking forward to: Baby's first Memorial Day and my birthday!
Milestones: crossing over into the 2nd trimester!

Our Baby

Think of it this way: You're a third of the way through and baby's a third of the way cooked. Now that the "big stuff" (like skeletal and organ development) is taken care of, your baby starts a period of rapid brain growth, fat buildup and detail work. Highlights this week include:

Your baby now has fingerprints! Book 'em, Danno! Believe it or not, he actually created them himself while swimming around in the amniotic fluid. As he moved his hands, the skin on the tips of his fingers formed unique ridges and folds. That's why no one on earth has the same fingerprints, not even identical twins! Cool, right? Baby's arms are now in proportion to his tiny body, but his legs are still on the short size in comparison.

Meconium, that tar-like, sticky first baby poop, is now loading up your baby's intestines, which means you might want to set aside a bottle of olive oil, one of the few things that will get the gooey poop off of baby's bottom. 

Your baby continues to gain new and impressive skills such as practicing and controlling voluntary muscle movements (this will help him fling food across the room later in life). Your tiny dancer's movements are no longer the jerky, uncontrollable twitches of yore—he now moves with graceful control. 

Your baby is now weighs about an ounce and is the length of a flip phone, or roughly 3.5 inches—he's tripled in size from a mere three weeks ago! Luckily, you haven't done the same.

Nesting

I feared this would happen. I'm barely in the 2nd trimester (if you even consider me there at all), and I'm already getting these crazy nesting urges. About a week ago, I had a minor freak out (very minor) that we weren't ready for a baby at all in terms of stuff. I kept telling J that all we have is a onesie! He managed to calm me down and inform me that we still have time. I know this; yet, I still freak. We have a date set up with my parents to go and buy the crib the first weekend in June, since they so graciously offered to pick up the tab on that one. We'll be purchasing the armoire, nightstand, and conversion kit, though. I'm so ready! I'd go tonight if I could. And, no, we don't know which crib we're getting yet, exactly. It's between the Munire Deco and Urban. We'll decide when we go look at them. Here's my confession for the day: I just almost bought the crib mattress today. J talked me down yet again, but it's on sale, and I'm weak. I will throw out a praise for the in-laws, as they got me a set of the cutest frog bibs by Carters for Mother's Day. So, we now have some bibs and a onesie. We're getting there!

In other pregnancy randomness, my nipples are huge. It's embarassing. It's not like anyone sees them, but I know that they're there and that they're gigantic. It's almost like a tease since my boobs haven't gotten any bigger. I'm holding out for that!

Oh, and did you see that I'm under 200 days?!?

Here's my Mother's Day gift from Gramps and Granny (they chose their names):

12 weeks!

How far along? 12 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: back to my pre-pregnancy weight!
How much does Baby weigh?: 20 grams
Maternity clothes? Nope, but I'm definitely still using the rubber band.
Stretch marks? Nope
Sleep: There's still a lot of restroom trips and some general discomfort. We're looking into a body pillow to help.
Best moment this week: realizing that we're almost in our 2nd trimester!
Movement: Nope.
Food cravings: I'm eating a lot better, but not to the point of cravings.
Gender: It feels wrong to call it "she", so we're feeling that it's a boy.
Labor Signs: Nope
Belly Button in or out? Innie, but we noticed last night that it's not quite as much of an innie as it used to be!
What I miss: being able to go more than 2 hours without eating and still feeling okay.
What I am looking forward to: 2nd tri!
Milestones: Celebrating my first Mother's Day (sorta)

My Baby

Your baby can make a fist and even suck his or her thumb this week—both skills that are über-cute during infancy ... and not so much at the age of 9. If you're really lucky, you might catch a glimpse of baby's thumb sucking on an ultrasound photo. That's a framer! Other exciting developments include:

Your baby's eyelids are fused shut to protect his eyes as they develop. His bones and skull are solidifying and soon itsy-bitsy ribs may appear. (Baby ribs! How cute is that?!) Baby's intestines are finally right where you want them—in his or her belly instead of poking out into the umbilical cord. Baby's tooth sockets are all loaded and ready to pop out baby teeth six or seven months after baby is born (causing baby a lot of pain and you a lot of lost sleep).

Who's that singing? Elton John? Could be your baby: His vocal cords and larynx are completed now.

Your baby-to-be now weighs about 20 grams and is nearly 3 inches long, or about the size of a Nutter Butter, covered in chocolate. OK, it doesn't have to be covered in chocolate, but isn't everything better that way?

11 Weeks!

• How far along? 11 weeks
• Total weight gain/loss: evened out- back to my pre-pregnancy weight!
• How much does Baby weigh?: 1/2 of an ounce
• Maternity clothes? Nope, but I have become pretty good at using a rubber band
• Stretch marks? Nope
• Sleep: I'm only getting up to pee about 2-3x a night now. Sleeping pretty good otherwise
• Best moment this week: our dog being all loving with my belly. It was adorable.
• Movement: Nope.
• Food cravings: I'm still eating a lot better, but not to the point of cravings.
• Gender: It feels wrong to call it "she", so i'm feeling boy.
• Labor Signs: Nope
• Belly Button in or out? Innie, but we noticed last night that it's not quite as much of an innie as it used to be!
• What I miss: feeling normal (as opposed to ridiculously exhausted)
• What I am looking forward to: 2nd tri!
• Milestones: J has taken his role as the protective daddy- making sure that I'm eating/drinking enough, etc. 

My Baby

Baby's face is looking more human as his eyes have moved to the front of his head and his ears are in place. Hooray! Other amazing fetal highlights this week:

Your baby is able to swallow this week and practices on the amniotic fluid he or she floats in. (And you thought baby food was kind of nasty!) And in case you're wondering how your kid can breathe in all that fluid, here's your answer: Fetuses get oxygen from the blood pumped into their bodies by the placenta and don't breathe with their lungs. Mystery solved!

This is kind of gross, albeit fascinating, so feel free to skip ahead: Your baby's intestines are well under way, but they aren't all where you'd expect them to be. Instead of all being locked away in the body cavity, some are dangling on the outside, in the umbilical cord. Ewwww.

Don't forget to put a baby nail file on your registry—your little nugget's finger- and toenails are forming this week. The chin and nose are also becoming more defined.

Junior has doubled in size over the past two weeks and now weighs almost ½ ounce. He's also now around 2 ½ inches long, about the length of your pinky finger or a Vienna sausage, which, in a few months, will be indistinguishable from one another.