Week 16

Baby is the Size of an Avocado 

This week was insane in the best way possible.  One doctor's appointment, one ultrasound appointment, one gender reveal party, one new Taylor Swift song, and a whole new batch of 9th and 10th graders.  I'm exhausted, emotional, and smiling from ear to ear.

16 weeks, 5 days

Baby can hear my beautiful voice singing Taylor Swift

On Monday, school was back in session and I had my 16 week appointment.  All was well and I got to hear the baby's heartbeat (165).  Taylor Swift also released "Shake It Off," which I'm pretty sure my baby is going to come out singing since it's the only thing I've listened to for the past six days (you're welcome unborn child).  The following day we had our gender scan at what I kept calling a "special place."  My husband thought the "special place" sounded like a van in a back alley, but it was nothing of the sort and we had a fantastic experience.  Mike and I closed our eyes (it was SO hard not to peek) while Nicole, Adelyn, and the ultrasound tech checked out our baby's goods.  Then we got to watch our little nugget move around on screen and try to count the fingers and toes (we know at least one hand has 5).

Welcome Sign

Thumbs up!

Saturday was our gender reveal party, which I thought would never arrive.  Each day seemed to last longer and longer.  IT WAS WORTH THE WAIT.  We are so lucky to have such incredible friends.  The reveal was above and beyond and we are so grateful.  I'm overwhelmed by the amazing family and friends we have... someone bring me a box of kleenex please.

There are a ton of other amazing details, which you can find on my Facebook album.  I didn't want to post all 70 of them here.  Yesterday was incredible, my emotions are still running high, and it's really sinking in today.

The beautiful and talented party planners.

The fam! 

My surprise guest!  Serious tears happened upon her arrival.  

 I'm so lucky to have such an amazing group of girlfriends (including those not pictured or present).  We didn't get a shot of the boys, which is unusual for us. Thank you again for coming to share in our special day.

Moments before the reveal...

And now for the BEST part!  Baby Hall is a...

BOY!!!!!!!

How far along? 16 weeks

Maternity clothes? YES.  I had a meltdown at 6AM on Wednesday because my work pants did not fit.  Not even close.  I tried the bella band and the rubber band trick and it just wasn't happening.  I stared at the clothes in my closet for a solid 15 minutes before I threw on a maxi dress, threw my work pants on the floor, and called it a day (after a near panic attack). Thanks Mom for buying me some new pants today so I can keep the breakdowns to a minimum. 

Stretch marks? No

Sleep: This week has been exhausting, but the cause of that is 5:15 AM alarm clocks.    

Best moment(s) this week: 

FINDING OUT WE ARE HAVING A BOY!!!!!! And being surrounded by our family and friends in the process.  Seriously, I am so freaking amazed at the love everyone has given us.  

Miss Anything? Champagne.  I would have loved a nice glass of bubbly this weekend.  I faked it with some sparkling grape juice, but that just doesn't cut it.  

Movement: The doctor told me I should feel it soon, so I'm waiting patiently.  

Food cravings: I'm still enjoying sweets (DONUTS!!!) and milk, but beef tacos are my new best friend (extra sour cream, please). 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Meat is still weirding me out, but if it's mixed in with something I'm ok. Except tacos, I can eat tacos all day long.  

Gender: BOY!!!!!!! I'm thrilled and my husband is a word that means more than thrilled (ecstatic?).  I went shopping this morning with the ladies pictured above and my mom and Baby H already has the best wardrobe in the neighborhood.  I have a feeling my husband might be cutting up my J. Crew credit card soon...  

Labor Signs: No

Symptoms: 

-Back pain- I'm blaming this partially on my growing belly and also on going back to work. It's been a long time since I stood on my feet for 7 hours a day.  I got a snoogle today, which I'm cuddled up with on the couch now.  I have a feeling that tonight the schnauzer and I will be bundled up in it together.   

Belly Button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time: HAPPY.  MORE THAN HAPPY. WEEEE!!!! :D 

Looking forward to: Picking out a middle name for Baby H and preparing for our baby boy!  We'll announce the full name soon (hopefully).  If we don't my friends are going to start monogramming and we'll be stuck with whatever letter they choose.  

Week 15

Baby is the Size of an Orange 

This time next week we'll know if we are having a boy or a girl.  I'm so excited that I could burst.  I am totally content with having either- seriously- but I just want to know!  I have no idea how people wait to find out (more power to you!) but, I would explode from impatience.  My husband is leaning towards a boy because he knows he won't sleep for the next 22 years if we have a girl.  I would love for him to experience the incredible bond of a father and a daughter, but I'm just as excited to experience a mother and son bond of my own.  Either way, we only have to wait six more days to find out.  In the meantime, let's see what the old wives have to say about it...

Heart Rate:  GIRL.  It's a boy if the heart rate falls in the low range (110-130s).  It's a girl if the heart rate falls in the high range (140-160s).  Baby Hall's heart rate was 165 today (8/18/14).  

Morning Sickness:  GIRL.  They say if you are nauseated it's a girl and if not it's a boy.  Fortunately I never threw up, but I did experience a lot of nausea in the first trimester.   

Chinese Calendar:  BOY.  You have to enter your birthday and the due date to calculate the gender of the baby.  Obviously this is completely accurate.  

Cravings:  GIRL.  If you crave sweets, it's a girl.  If you crave salty or sour foods, it's a boy. I just shoved a Krispy Kreme down my throat.  

Skin:  BOY.  If you have acne, girl.  No acne, boy.  I'm assuming my pre-existing eczema doesn't count so I'll go with boy.  

Sympathy Weight:  GIRL.  They (whoever "they" are) say that if your significant other gains weight then it's a girl.  Let's just say that Mike ate two donuts last night, after he ate four tacos.  Love you, honey.

Ring Test:  BOY.  Tie a ring to a string and hold it still above your belly.  If it goes in a circle, it's a girl.  Back and forth, it's a boy.    

Mommy's Prediction:  UNDECIDED.  I have no idea. 

Daddy's Prediction:  BOY.  Based on zero scientific evidence.  

Looks like we're almost 50/50.  Bows (big ones) or bow ties?  

15 weeks, 4 days

Baby is 4 inches long.

How far along? 15 weeks

Maternity clothes? Maternity jeans are the best.  THE BEST.  I also tried the Bella Band this week and was not a fan.  

Stretch marks? Still no

Sleep: Slept like a baby this week.  That was probably due to the fact that I was back at work and was getting up at an unreasonable hour.  

Best moment(s) this week: 

-Having people ask if they could touch my belly.  I know this totally freaks some people out, but I love it!  If I know you, touch away! 

Miss Anything? Pumpkin beer.  It's only August and it's already here.  Pumpkin beer is my favorite, especially if it comes with a graham cracker rim.  Mike had a couple this week and I smelled it repeatedly.  More times than I'd like to admit.  I'm going to have to store one away in the fridge so that I can enjoy it after the baby is here.   

Movement: I swear I felt something the other day, but it was probably just a donut passing through. I can see which side of my belly the baby is on sometimes, which is pretty neat.  

Food cravings: Donuts and milk.  I don't think I have ever purchased donuts for my home in my entire life, but up until five minutes ago there was a box of glazed Krispy Kreme donuts sitting on my kitchen counter.  Who wants to bring me a refill?

Anything making you queasy or sick: Not this week! 
Gender: 1 more week to go! 

Labor Signs: No

Symptoms: 

-Nothing noteworthy.  Unless you count excessive oohing and aching over every item in Baby Gap.  I feel human and happy! 

Belly Button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy! Except for the most recent Army Wives episode.  Did Claudia Joy seriously have to die??  There's going to be no one left on this show! 

Looking forward to: Our gender reveal party next week!  Thank you to Nicole, Jessica, and Erika for throwing this for us!  We are so grateful to have wonderful friends like you.  AND both sets of parents are coming!! Yippee!!!!!! 

Week 14

Baby is the Size of a Lemon

14 weeks, 4 days

My little nugget is making facial expressions!

How far along? 14 weeks

Maternity clothes? This week was my last week of summer (sad face), so it's time to put away my maternity yoga pants and put on some real clothes.  It looks like my work wardrobe this year is going to consist of maxi dresses, jeans, and leggings.  I can only hope that my belly will allow me to walk around campus without someone asking for my hall pass.  

Stretch marks? No :) Let's hope we keep this up! 

Sleep: I took a few naps this week, but they were out of boredom.  As much as I will miss summer and the laziness that ensued it will be nice to have a routine again.    

Best moment(s) this week: 

-Baby shopping with the hubs!  We dropped off our first child schnauzer at the groomer this weekend, which left us with four hours of time to waste at our outdoor shopping mall and the challenge to not spend any money.  We found ourselves in Babies R' Us and spent a solid two hours test driving strollers and deciding our child's future fashion choices.  We used to spend these hours waiting on the dog by drinking beer and wine, and as much as I missed that, this was way more fun!  My husband was going through different scenarios with the stroller (Disney, boarding a bus, being by himself) and practicing holding the carrier, shushing the baby, and folding/unfolding the stroller.  I have never laughed so hard and the sales associate must have thought we were insane.  We finally narrowed down our options and picked one out.  Perhaps this could be my birthday present? Along with a snoogle... give me that snoogle.   

-Finally! Someone knew I was pregnant!  Shout out to the Publix cashier who whispered understanding pregnancy brain words to my husband as I asked if we had mint, which was sitting right in front of me. 

Miss Anything? Medium cooked steak.  Well done just isn't the same.  Also, sushi- I really want some ahi tuna sushi.  Does the hospital look down upon champagne and sushi in the delivery room?   

Movement: I can't feel it, but I am starting to see my belly change shape.  I noticed the other day that my bump was softer and not as large and convinced myself that was my baby was shriveling up inside of me.  I went to my trusty and reliable source Google for answers. I discovered that when my belly is harder and bigger it is because my baby's backside is facing out, and when my belly is softer and smaller the baby is facing the other direction sticking it's arms and legs out (which he or she can now bend).  Now I spend all day feeling my stomach to figure out which way my baby is residing rent free in my uterus.  

Food cravings: Donuts and milk.  Together, separate, any which way.  Thank you to my friend Gracie for bringing me a bazillion glazed donut holes, which are now long gone, and to my husband for bringing milk upon request.  I have never been a milk drinker, but it is just so darn good now. I don't even want the chocolate kind!

Anything making you queasy or sick: I did a much better job with meats this week.  I know I need more protein in my diet so I just sucked it up and ate what I could, including some chicken.  The thought of BBQ and Indian still make me want to hurl though.  I also almost threw up taking the garbage out... guess that means it's time to stop doing that chore ;) 
Gender: 2 more weeks!  I have never been so excited!  It's like my birthday and Christmas all in one!  I can only imagine my excitement for the due date will feel like all of my favorite holidays plus my wedding day combined.  I also think we have come to a consensus on names- Mike is 99% on board with our girl's name and 82% on board with our boy's name (his percentages, not mine).  Those names are for a later post.  Everyone is guessing boy, but I honestly have no idea.  Some people say "you just know" but that is not the case with this momma. 

Labor Signs: No

Symptoms: 

-Nothing that stands out to me this week- I feel pretty normal.  Or as normal as a pregnant woman can feel. 

-Dogs- I'm pretty sure our dogs have figured out that I'm pregnant.  Our lab (Mike's mutt) won't leave my side and is very calm around me, which is the opposite of his usual behavior.  Our schnauzer (my mutt) is completely ignoring me.  He's usually obsessed with me and is a constant shadow, but he has been spending his days hiding upstairs and cuddling with Mike on the couch instead of me.  He's like a moody teenager.

Belly Button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time: Pretty happy this week- there were no major meltdowns and I kept the crying of Army Wives to a minimum so I'd say this has been a successfully happy week.  

Looking forward to: Going back to work- I have so much to look forward to this year! 

Week 13

Baby is the Size of a Peach

13 weeks, 4 days

Baby is 2.9 inches long and has fingerprints!

How far along? 13 weeks

Maternity clothes? I have no idea why people fight wearing maternity clothes.  I'm going to wear these maternity pants for the rest of my life.  I feel like I'm wearing pajamas, but am wearing pants! Pregnancy perk! I don't need them yet, but why the heck not?!

Stretch marks? No

Sleep: No more naps!  

Best moment(s) this week: Drinking coffee again.  Thank you to all who responded to last week's post and made me feel like I'm not the worst mommy-to-be ever by indulging in one cup of coffee a day.  I started with a  regular cup and thought my heart was going to explode out of my chest, so I switched to half caff.  Now, I'm getting under the allowed limit of caffeine, enjoying an energy boost, and feeling human.  When I started drinking coffee again my non-coffee drinking husband suggested that I not since I had already weened myself off.  HA. 

Miss Anything? 

-Working out-- Who knew?!  Yes, I'm allowed to work out now, but it's way too hot outside for this mama.  I keep saying I'm going to start prenatal yoga, but have yet to actually show up to a studio.  I really miss boot camp, but unfortunately my doctor said that was too strenuous.  Oh well, guess I'll eat another cookie.

 -BEER.  It's summer, it's hot.  All I want is a Sam Adams Summer Ale with a lemon.  Also, a tangerine wheat.  Football season is going to be a struggle. 

Movement: I swear I can feel it flipping around in there, but it's most likely definitely my imagination. 

Food cravings: Every time I go grocery shopping I do an extra loop by the bakery and drool stare at the donuts, but have refrained.  I'm not sure how much longer I can say no...I just want one, or twelve. 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Meat.  I can do some ground beef or turkey if it's prepared for me, but chicken is totally grossing me out. 

Gender: Holy meltdown of the week.  So, I asked my husband if he would be interested in finding out the gender of our baby early (a whole month!) and he said no.  His reasoning was that he didn't want the gender to be wrong and he didn't want to pay for it since it wasn't "necessary."  Cue the breakdown.  I'm really not much of a crier, but I could not stop.  I explained (in between sobbing and trying to eat my chile relleno casserole) how I wanted to see our baby again and how I have something inside of me and need to know if it's a boy or girl.  He did eventually agree that we can go early and then I cried more.  Here's a middle finger to you hormones and an apology to my dear husband.  

Labor Signs: No

Symptoms: 

-Crying- during baby commercials, listening to All American Girl by Carrie Underwood, TV shows... It's uncontrollable.  I was watching Army Wives and Jeremy died and I LOST IT.  I even went upstairs and told Mike that Jeremy died and how upset I was about it... he thought I was talking about an actual person until I explained the episode.. poor husband. 

-Thirst- liquids at all times = bathrooms almost all the time

Belly Button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time: Both-- I am over the moon excited about this baby, but clearly my moods are all over the place this week. 

Looking forward to: Looking pregnant instead of fat.  I'm over "Oh, you are?  I couldn't tell!"  Really, so you think this bulge in my stomach that I'm rubbing is just my lunch burrito?