Bumpdate - 16 weeks!

How far along: 16 weeks!

 

Baby Size: Baby G is about the size of an avocado, around 4.6 inches long and weighs about 3.5 ounces! At week 16 tiny bones are forming in his/her ears and Baby G will begin to hear things going on outside.  He/she should be able to recognize both of our voices at birth.  He/ she is beginning to grow hair, lashes and eyebrows and the taste buds are beginning to form.

 

Maternity clothes: I'm rocking the belly band with ALL pants; and I’m wearing one pair of maternity dress pants.  I purchased a couple of shirts from Old Navy, one fits great giving me the little bit of extra room that I need and the other is way too big at the moment.  My regular shirts are getting tighter so I will likely be investing in some additional shirts in the near future.

 

Sleep: About the same as last week, some nights are better than others.

 

Gender: No idea yet!  Our 20 week appointment is scheduled for February 21st, we are very excited!  The gender reveal invites are going out today.

 

Movement: Movement is debatable right now; I swear I felt the baby once about a week or so ago…it felt like popcorn popping in my tummy.  However, our doctor insists that I won’t feel anything until around 20 weeks.  I guess we will see.

Best moment this week: We had our 16 week appointment yesterday and hearing the heartbeat was, as always, incredible!  Baby G had a bit of fun with the Dr. this morning while she was attempting to find the heartbeat with the Doppler.  Of course it was at the expense of his/her parents!  Our Dr. put the wand on my belly about an inch below my belly button and wasn’t finding the fetal heartbeat (insert mom panic), she moved the wand around a bit and then went back to the first spot (about 5 seconds later) and picked up the heartbeat right away.  It was likely that Baby G was jumping around so much that she couldn’t pick up the heartbeat, silly little thing. 

 

Looking forward to: Sending out the gender reveal invitations!!

 

Food cravings: Still orange juice, I could drink the stuff by the jug! Other than that it is whatever sounds good at the moment…I have not sent Mr. G to the store for anything crazy yetJ

 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nothing comes to mind, haven’t tried salmon yet so don’t really know about that.

 

Labor Signs: Absolutely not!

 

What I miss: Nothing yet!

Symptoms: Increased appetite…snacking is my new normal, little aches and pains which are normal as my muscles and ligaments stretch to accommodate the growing belly.  My belly is getting a little hard in places, just another sign of Baby G.

 

Nursery: We have 2 pair of shoes, 2 outfits, a baby monitor, some picture frames and Winnie the Pooh stuffed animal in the nursery. Once we know the gender we will begin work on the nursery.

 

Wedding rings on or off: On
 

Mood: Great!! The second trimester really is much more fun than the first!


With love,

Mrs. G

Bumpdate - 15 weeks!

How far along: 15 weeks!

 ** Not sharing the belly pics every week, maybe every other.

Baby Size:  Baby G is about the size of an orange and is around 4.0 inches long and weighs about 2.5 ounces! Proportions are becoming even more normal, since his/her legs now out measure his/her arms.  Baby G is squirming around in there and may even be hiccupping.  My favorite tidbit from this week is, although Baby G’s eyelids are still fused shut, he/she can sense light.  If I shine a flashlight at my tummy, he/she is likely to move away from the beam.  Mr. G says I cannot do that:)

Maternity clothes:  I'm rocking the belly band with ALL pants; I can barely get them buttoned. The pair of black GAP maternity pants that I bought is being utilized, not because I need better fitting pants but because my black dress pants are no longer wearable because they are just too old (they have been thrown away).  They don't fit great but are definitely more comfortable.

Sleep:  About the same as last week, some nights are better than others.  Friday night I was up for a little over 2 hours from 4-6:30am, I watched a silly movie while awake.  Saturday night was much better; I almost slept through the night…only one trip to the restroom.   

Gender:  No idea yet!  Our 20 week appointment is scheduled for February 21st, I am getting so anxious to know.  We are preparing everything for our gender reveal party, the invites arrived Friday and are absolutley perfect!  

Movement:  Nope, the doctor said that she would be surprised if I could feel anything before 20 weeks. With the first baby most women don't know what it actually feels like until then. So those strange feelings in my tummy are likely just gas bubbles:)

Best moment this week:  I am really starting to get energy back; it feels great to not be in a strange sleepy induced haze.  Also, I spent Saturday afternoon with some girlfriends from high school and it was wonderful to catch up and spend the afternoon laughing.

Looking forward to:  Our kitchen ceiling being fixed, the entire ceiling came down this morning…we have a pipe that needs to be fixed and a new ceiling will go up tomorrow.  I will be VERY thankful when that is complete.  Also looking forward to our 16 week appointment, next Monday!

Food cravings: Still orange juice, I could drink the stuff by the jug! Other than that it is whatever sounds good at the moment…I have not sent Mr. G to the store for anything crazy yet.

Anything making you queasy or sick: The thought of salmon makes me a bit queasy, I think it is the smell (which is so sad because it is good for me and I love salmon).

Labor Signs: Absolutely not!

What I miss: Nothing yet!

Symptoms:  Increased appetite…WOW, little aches and pains which are normal as my muscles and ligaments stretch to accommodate the growing belly.

Nursery: We have 2 pair of shoes, 2 outfits, a baby monitor, some picture frames and Winnie the Pooh stuffed animal in the nursery. Once we know the gender we will begin work on the nursery.

Belly Button in or out:  In. Definitely in!

Wedding rings on or off:  On

Mood:  Great!! The second trimester really is much more fun than the first!


With love,

Mrs. G

 

Telling our families

Keeping one of the biggest secrets of our lives for over 16 days was probably one of the most difficult things we have ever done.  We wanted to be sure everything was confirmed by the doctor prior to telling our parents or our siblings and luckily our appointment was scheduled for 11/20 and we had plans to see Mr. G’s parents the following evening and my parents Friday 11/22.

After everything was confirmed and we had more info than we could ever process it was time to decide how we were going to tell our parents and siblings.

We decided that each of us would choose the way we wanted to tell our respective parents.

Mr. G chose a “PREGO” spaghetti sauce jar and put a baby hat on it.  We were having dinner with his parents and they arrived at the restaurant first, when the waitress asked what we wanted to drink I told her I needed some additional time as to not spark suspicion prior to Mr. G telling his parents.  He handed his father the gift bag and as he started to open the gift Mr. G’s mother started to rummage through her purse.  Mr. G had to get her attention so she would pay attention.  When Mr. G’s father pulled out the PREGO jar he seemed a little confused as did his mother, it took a little while and Mr. G finally had to say, “We are…prego” before either of them understood.

Mr. G’s mother looked at me with this sweet sort of shocked and excited look before hugging me and his dad was very excited and congratulated both of us.  We spent the remainder of the evening talking about the baby and all that goes with prepping for a baby.

I chose a slightly different option with my family, I purchased pacifiers and note cards with cute ribbon and attached the pacifier with the following note.

Dear Grandma & Grandpa,

Please hold onto this for me to have when I come to visit, I’m sure my mom will forget one at home.  See you in July.

Love, Baby G

My parents were thrilled and of course my mother shed some tears and told me she thought maybe this announcement was coming.  Our evening with my parents was also spent the evening talking about the baby and all that goes with prepping for a baby.

We told our siblings in a similar way that we told our parents, everyone was and is over the moon excited for this new addition to the family.

I wish I had taken pictures of each of the ways that we told our family members but I completely forgot.

With love,

Mrs. G

Bumpdate - 14 weeks

How far along: 14 weeks!

Baby Size: Baby G is the size of a lemon and is about 3.5 inches long and weighs about 1.5 ounces which is about double from last week!  His/her body is growing faster than the head and by the end of this week his/her arms will have grown to a length that’s in proportion to the rest of the body.  He/she is likely sucking on his/her thumb and wiggling the toes in there.

Maternity clothes: I'm rocking the belly band with ALL pants, I can barely get them buttoned. I purchased a pair of GAP maternity pants, they were 50% off so I couldn't resist a good deal. They don't fit great but are definitely more comfortable. Old Navy had a big sale and I purchased two tops and a dress, they won’t be delivered until the 20^th of January and I won’t need them until at least that time.

Sleep: Getting more interesting, most nights I'm up 2-3 times for a bathroom trip but usually I am able to get back to sleep pretty easily. Getting comfortable and staying comfy has been a bit of an issue this week; I’m trying to train myself to be a side sleeper as that will be necessary as Baby G grows.  We purchased an extra pillow and will continue trying different ways to get comfy.  Again, good training for those overnight feedings.

Gender: No idea yet! Our 20 week appointment is scheduled for February 21st.

Movement: Nope, the doctor said that she would be surprised if I could feel anything before 20 weeks. With the first baby most women don't know what it actually feels like until then. So those strange feelings in my tummy are just gas bubbles:)

Best moment this week:  Getting my weekly countdown shirt in the mail and crossing off 13 weeks!  Taking photos of me in the shirt and a first “bump” picture.  Allowing myself to think about nursery designs and color schemes, it has been fun!!  Dreaming about a warm getaway…maybe early MarchJ

Looking forward to:  Sharing the news with more family members and friends!

Food cravings: Still loving orange juice, I could drink the stuff by the jug! Other than that it is whatever sounds good at the moment…I have not sent Mr. G to the store for anything crazy yetJ

Anything making you queasy or sick: The thought of salmon makes me a bit queasy, I think it is the smell (which is so sad because it’s good for me and I love salmon). I also learned my lesson with spicy food, I think we will stay away from it for a while (I’ll leave it at that).

Labor Signs: Absolutely not!

What I miss: This week I haven’t felt like I miss anything.

Symptoms: Increased appetite…WOW, little aches and pains which are normal as my muscles and ligaments stretch to accommodate the growing belly.

Nursery: We have 2 pair of shoes, 2 outfits, some picture frames and Winnie the Pooh stuffed animal in the nursery. We have someone that wants the chase lounge that is currently in the nursery and it should be gone at the beginning of February.

Belly Button in or out? In. Definitely in!

Wedding rings on or off? On

Mood: Great!! The second trimester really is much more fun than the first!

With love,

Mrs. G

 

First Trimester recap

As of today we begin the exciting second trimester, I've heard so much about energy coming back and less breast tenderness (sorry, TMI) as well as just overall feeling better.  Lets hope that is the truth.

This post is a first trimester recap so lets back up a little bit, and let me start by saying that I was very lucky to have had a relatively easy first trimester compared to some of the horror stories I've heard and read about.

I found out I was pregnant on 11/08/13 and the only reason I knew to take a test was because I was 2 days late.  I had been tracking my cycles and they had been fairly consistent at 39-40 days so when it didn't appear on Friday 11/08 I knew something was up.  There were no symptoms of pregnancy, until the next week.

The symptons hit me like a brick, my energy was gone, I was nauseous on and off throughout the day, my breasts hurt so bad and in a way I cannot even explain and my brain suddenly just disappeared.  The best way I could describe it was a constant hangover.  I was exhausted like I had been out the night before, sick to my stomach and wanted the strangest food just to try to make myself feel better. 
My toothbrush became my worst enemy, total gag-a-thon as soon as I got it close to my mouth!  At my first pre-natal appointment the doctor told me to use mouthwash if I couldn't brush my teeth, I could NEVER go without brushing my teeth so I just gagged through each morning and evening.
I would go to work and try to have a conversation with my co-workers, it usually ended in me forgetting what we were originally talking about and forgetting words in mid-sentence.  Who knows what my co-workers think of me right now (I have only told my boss).

I only vomited once and that was Thanksgiving night; we hosted 15 people in our home for the day and I was exhausted. I believe that my body was telling me that it is in control and if I ever overdo it like that again I will pay...and pay I did! I was a vomitting fool and Mr. G felt terrible that there was nothing he could except get some ginger ale and the crackers ready.

There were some really fun times as well, my husband and I were able to keep our little secret for about three weeks and during that time we celebrated with champagne (for Mr. G) and sparkling juice (for me) in our crystal champagne glasses and made a beautiful dinner in which we enjoyed on our favorite china.  We started talking about names and had some good laughs about the interesting ones each of us came up with.  Hormones got in the way once when we had been discussing names for about 30 minutes and not gotten very far, I started to cry and sort of wailed "our baby will never have a name!".  Needless to say we ended the conversation, my husband made me take a hot and relaxing shower and tucked me in bed.

Telling our parents and siblings of course was a highlight, they are all very excited! 

I also have to admit that hiding our little secret from people has been kind of fun, it feels a little scandalous (in a fun and sweet way).  Here are some examples:

* 11/08 - the day we found out.  We went to my home town to watch my cousin play football, a large part of my family attended the game and after party as well and I wasn't drinking.  I was able to use the excuse that I was driving and the weather was crummy but I knew that wouldn't last long.  (My mom will tell you that she started to have suspicions then but I don't know if I believe her.)

*11/10 - My sisters and I attended a baby shower for a good friend of ours and I knew that there would be some drinks involved...and my sisters wanted to stop for a bloody mary on the way.  I volunteered to drive but when I ordered a ginger ale at the bar they were suspicious, in order to get them off my back I had to tell them I was late and just being cautious...they didn't know that I already knew I was prego!

*11/16 - I hosted a birthday party for Mr. G and 20 of our family and closest friends.  Mr. G picked up the alcohol free wine in order for us to "hide" me not drinking.  It sort of worked, I carried the glass around but barely drank any of it because every time I would try to take a sip I would gag!  That s**t is nasty!  By the end of the night I didn't care and was just drinking sparkling water, our friend Chuck noticed and discreetly inquired...Mr. G did not confirm nor deny the question. (And again, my mom will tell you that she knew something was up for sure after this event.)

*11/18 - I hosted a "plan the shower/bachelorette party" meeting at my house and was forced to drink the fake wine again.  After my older sister and two friends left I told Mr. G that I would never drink that stuff again; I didn't care who speculated.  I was done gagging just to make people think I was drinking.

We had our first pre-natal appointment on Wednesday 11/20 and after everything was confirmed by our doctor and we had the start of our plan of care we began telling our immediate families.  We decided that parents and siblings would be the only ones to know until 12 weeks or as close as we could get.

All in all I feel very lucky and blessed to have had a fairly uneventful first trimester, to all you momma's and momma's to be that had a rough one...I am so sorry! 

Some of the posts coming up:
* Telling our families
* Our first ultrasound
* Pregnancy and hypothyroidism
* The things people don't tell you!
* Weekly bumpdates:)


With love,

Mrs. G

We have been keeping a secret!

My apologies for the lengthy absence from our relatively new blog but I promise I have a good reason, we have been keeping a MAJOR secret around the G household for about the past....mmmm 13 weeks.

WE ARE PREGNANT!!!

That's right, Mr. G and I are expecting our first bundle of joy around

July 11, 2014 and to say we are thrilled is a massive understatement.

 

Here is the story, finding out and telling Mr. G:

 

On Friday 11/08/13 I was two days late and very anxious to take a pregnancy test, Mr. G and I had chatted about it and thought it would be best to wait until the following Tuesday to test just in case.  However, me being the ever impatient woman I am I absolutely could not wait any longer.  So I made a quick trip to Walgreen's (luckily there is one 5 blocks from my office) and bought a test that had two sticks included.  Thankfully I was the only person in the office that day so taking a test wasn't very difficult.  The test indicated that I should wait three minutes for an accurate reading, HA, it didn't even take two minutes and the most amazing two pink lines showed up.  I was in shock and full of excitement, I laughed and cried and did a little happy dance in my office.

Mr. G was on his way to my office via the bus and I was bursting at the seams to tell him, I kept texting him asking where he was...I'm sure I was annoying him with all of my inquiries but oh well.  While waiting for him I decided to take the second test just to be sure, again definitely positive!

 

In preparation of getting pregnant (yes we were definitely trying) I purchased the most adorable white sleeper from the college Mr. G attended and tucked it away in my office desk drawer for that perfect moment.  So when Mr. G arrived in my office I told him I had an early birthday gift for him, I presented him with the sleeper and at first he was a little confused but when I handed him both pregnancy tests he was over the moon!  He also laughed and cried and celebrated with me, it was a fantastic moment that I will never forget.

 

I am working on additional posts from the last 13 weeks including Mr. G's birthday party, telling our parents & siblings, Christmas, NYE 2013 and a first trimester post.

 

So now that you are in on our little secret...any advice?

 

 

With love,
Mrs. G