The BIG box reveal!

We had our ultrasound on Tuesday and had the tech write the results in an envelope.  After the baby not cooperating for a while the tech was finally able to see if it was a he or she :-)  I took the sealed envelope and kept it safe and unopened until Thursday.  Nicole and Craig were in charge of the box and they did an awesome job putting it together. 
Here is THE BOX-

We went to the beach with Erick's parents, sister, her kids and my dad and Patti and of course Nicole and Craig.  The weather was perfect and the beach was beautiful like always. Here are a few pictures from the awesome night :-)

Here's our "what is it?" faces

This was right before we opened it... I'm not sure but you may be able to tell by the look on my face how excited I was.
                                                         IT'S A GIRL!!!!!!

We are so excited to be having a precious little girl.  We are naming her Kathryn after my mom and calling her Kate.  I can't wait to start planning and decorating the nursery! Originally we weren't going to find out the sex of the baby but I have to say I'm so glad we did!  I feel like it's a little more real now and I feel like I'm able to bond with the her more now that I know she's a she.  I always said I wanted a boy first. I have 2 older brothers and loved having them look out for me and being the little sister.  But from the moment I found out I was pregnant I had a very strong feeling it was going to be a girl and I was so excited about it.  The fantasy family I had picked out in my dreams, 2 older boys and a little girl, isn't going to be a reality and I'm totally OK with that. I know Kate is going to be an awesome older sister to what ever siblings she gets.

18 Weeks

So God totally has a sense of humor!  Last post I was venting/whining about not having a "baby bump" and only looking chubby.  Well this week I popped!  All of the sudden I looked down and was whoa I totally have a belly! That's what I get for complaining lol.

How far along? 18 weeks

Total weight gain: -4

Maternity clothes? wearing some maternity dresses to work... pretty much all my pants don't button anymore... the hair tie trick has come in handy lately.
Stretch marks? none yet and I hope to never get them!  I've gone through my first bottle of cocoa butter lotion, first of many I'm sure.

Sleep: sleep is good 
Best moment this week: noticing a "bump" :-) 
Miss Anything? sushi, sangria and wine.
Movement: I'm pretty sure I felt the baby move this morning but who knows it could have been gas.  I have no clue how the baby is supposed to feel so it's hard to know what I'm feeling. 
Food cravings: gummy bears and carbs!
Anything making you queasy or sick: not really
Gender: we may find out next week!!! 

Labor Signs: No way 

Symptoms: peeing all the time and emotional 
Belly Button in or out? in
Wedding rings on or off? on

Happy or Moody most of the time: kind of moody lately, my poor students lol

Looking forward to: Appointment with the midwife on Monday!!!

"Baby Bump" Business

I have always loved seeing baby bumps and love to rub them (only people I know very well, duh) but now I am discovering all is not cute with the baby bump business.  I always said "I can't wait to have a bump!".  Well I figured when I got pregnant I would automatically get this super cute little basketball "bump" by like 3 months and then it would continue to get bigger and cuter till I pop.  This my friend is not the truth!  This week I have fallen into the "growing belly but not looking pregnant yet" phase and truthfully I don't love it.  Don't get me wrong I'm over the moon excited to be pregnant and know how blessed I am.  I just didn't expect to look in the mirror and feel so fat and unpregnant!  I know I'm supposed to be getting bigger, duh.  There is a growing baby in there but when it really starts to happen it's a little strange.  I am not complaining just venting a little bit.  I'm excited for the "bump" to come and know that once my belly is big and round and noticeably pregnant I will love it and won't be able to keep my hands from rubbing it.  In the mean time I will convince myself to be patient and enjoy all the wonderful things that I'm experiencing in the joyous time.

Here's a before and after.
            5 Weeks I believe                                  17 Weeks

 

16 Weeks

 Officially 4 months along :-) Feeling pretty great.  Nauseous is gone.  The only bad thing lately has been killer headaches.  I feel like I'm starting to show and that I've gained like 10 pounds.  Erick says I'm crazy and look great but he's my husband and wouldn't dare tell me that I look bigger lol. 

How far along? 16 weeks

Total weight gain: -5 (according to the scale but i totally feel like I've gained more weight!)

Maternity clothes? wore one of the maternity dresses I bought from Old Navy to work today and got so many compliments on it lol.  It doesn't look like a maternity dress (well not yet anyway) and it was super comfy and is the dress I'm wearing in the picture.

Stretch marks? none yet... Cocoa butter and belly oil every morning and night :-)

Sleep: Sleeping very well except getting up in the middle of the night 
Best moment this week: Telling my students that I'm pregnant!  They were so excited and it's really fun to share in this with them.  Here's how i did it...

Miss Anything? to be honest I've been missing a nice cold beer

Movement: nope but my midsection is absolutely getting larger
Food cravings: ORANGES and avocados (not together), pasta and potatoes
Anything making you queasy or sick: red pasta sauce
Gender: we should know in the next month... totally changed my mind and now can't wait to find out :-)  

Labor Signs: No way 

Symptoms: belly is getting bigger, emotional, super sonic smell. 
Belly Button in or out? in
Wedding rings on or off? on

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy, happy, happy!

Looking forward to: finding out pink or blue :-)  

14 Weeks

YAY!!! I've made it out of the 1st trimester!!! Very glad to have the constant seasick feeling gone and to have some energy back! 
I finally made the chalk board that I saw on pinterest (http://littlebabygarvin.blogspot.com/).
I saw this girl's blog and fell in love with the chalk board idea! It also goes perfectly with the name of my blog :-).  I am going to attempt to be creative, have pretty handwriting
and come up with something witty each week.  We shall see how that goes.

How far along? 14 weeks

Total weight gain: -6 (same as last week)

Maternity clothes? not wearing any yet.  I have been stocking up on Old Navy maternity and dresses (hey, they were having a sale so I had to buy stuff)

Stretch marks? none yet and I hope to never get them!

Sleep: I wake up a few times through out the night and it's hard to fall back asleep.  I've just now realized that my husband snores! Over a year and a half of marriage and I'm just now learning this! I guess I was always a really sound sleeper so it never bothered me before.
Best moment this week: Hearing the heartbeat and hearing the midwife say everything is going great so far!

Miss Anything? sleeping through the night (I know I know, just wait till the baby comes and I'll never get a full night of sleep). Not having to wake up and pee in the middle of the night

Movement: not that I can feel but when we were listening to the heartbeat the midwife was telling us when the baby was moving (just sounded like static to me)

Food cravings: sugary things (which end up giving me headaches).  Watermelon airheads and jolly ranchers.
Anything making you queasy or sick: meat and red pasta sauce
Gender: we won't know until our peanut arrives :-)

Labor Signs: No way 

Symptoms: super emotional this past week. 
Belly Button in or out? in
Wedding rings on or off? on

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy, happy, happy!

Looking forward to: Telling my students when we get back from Spring Break that I'm pregnant :-)

Sweetest sound in the whole world!

On Tuesday we went for our 2nd appointment with the Midwife!  Everything went great and the best part was getting to hear our little peanut's heartbeat!  It was so amazing to hear this tiny beating heart that is growing inside me.  A miracle for sure.  I love love love the birthing center we chose and the midwives there.  We've met with both of them so far and they are so comforting and sweet and informative.  It's so strange going to a medical office and actually spending more time seeing the professional than sitting in the waiting room.  After the appointment we went to Baby's R Us to "celebrate" and purchase our first baby item.  Holy baby overload!  I have never been in a Baby's R Us before and didn't know which way to go, there was so much stuff, EVERYWHERE!  I saw a few pregnancy announcements on Pinterest where you see mom and dads shoes and then empty baby shoes and I fell in love with the idea.  So our first official baby purchase was a pair of 3$ plastic flip flops :-) Here is our announcement!

The caption was "Our family is growing by 2 feet.  Baby Chall due in September!"
It was a little nerve racking putting it out there on facebook.  In a strange way it makes it even more real.  The comments were so sweet!  It's nice to see your family and friends be supportive. 

13 Weeks

3/17/2012
No green beer for me this St. Patty's Day. 

How far along? 13 weeks

Total weight gain: -6

Maternity clothes? not wearing any yet.  I'm loving yoga pants and comfy clothes. 

Stretch marks? none yet and I hope to never get them!

Sleep: Between starting to get my energy back and the time change I can't believe how late I'm staying up.  OK maybe not late to you guys but this girl loves her sleep and bedtime is usually well before 10pm (even before getting knocked up).

Best moment this week: meeting with the photographer!  Fell in love with her and am so happy she will be capturing this journey for us!

Miss Anything? going to Hot Yoga and corndogs

Movement: nope.  No "growing pains" this week.

Food cravings: CARBS! especially rice and black beans.  Watermelon airheads and jolly ranchers.
Anything making you queasy or sick: meat and red pasta sauce
Gender: we won't know until our peanut arrives :-)

Labor Signs: No way 

Symptoms: headaches (everyday), crazy dreams (if that's considered a symptom), tears at the drop of a hat!
Belly Button in or out? in
Wedding rings on or off? on

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy, happy, happy!

Looking forward to: My bump to grow!  And hearing the heartbeat on Tuesday :-)