Baby K - 21 Weeks!

March 28, 2016

This week, Baby K is the size of a Least Weasel or baby bok choy - about 10.5 inches. (At this point, I can't decide if 10.5 inches sounds tiny or huge). This week, our little Squishy is developing its nerves and is working on putting on some cute baby fat! The baby should weigh about 3/4 of a lb by now. 

I'm starting to really notice myself growing now. I'm still tired this week, but it's better than last. I've been a little crampy here and there, but nothing too bad. I feel like I'm hungry a lot more lately and I can officially say I've had my first pregnancy craving! Of all things, it was a hot dog. I'm not typically a huge fan of hot dogs, but we had a pretty good one while we were in Iceland that had french fried onions on it. Anyway, I wanted one bad enough to drive down the street to go buy hot dog buns for it. That's a definite first for me. Usually, I don't want anything bad enough to even walk downstairs to get it. I'm actually quite excited about it, to be honest. Another exciting thing is that I'm feeling the baby move more and more this week. We still can't really feel the baby move on the outside and since my placenta is anterior, it may be several more weeks before that happens. I think I have felt it very lightly on the outside on one night. I had gotten up in the middle of the night and I was pretty much laying on my hand with my belly. I was in JUST the right position at the right time. I tried to get the baby to do it again when we woke up in the morning, but it was being stubborn.

As far as progress goes - we made some this week! Yay! We ordered the dresser that matches our crib and I ordered some more diapers to add to our stash. We should be able to pick the dresser up at the store by the end of next week, so I'm definitely looking forward to picking it up and starting to organize the nursery more. Now our diaper stash will have a more permanent home!

Baby K - Half. Way. There!!!

3/21/2016

Y'all - we're halfway to having a baby! My tune definitely might change as I continue to grow and get more uncomfortable during the hottest months of the year, but for now, I feel like time is going TOO fast! We still have so much to do! So many projects to complete! So many baby things to buy! The list is really never-ending. Don't get me wrong, I'm SUPER excited to meet this little one, but there is literally more things on our to-do list than we could possibly get done before the baby gets here. I guess it's time to prioritize.

Aside from that, we're really excited!

To celebrate our half way mark - I decided to do an extra post to reflect on pregnancy in general so far. So many things are different from what I expected, so it will be interesting to look back and see how my perspective changes over this pregnancy and through the next.

So far, I can say that I have loved pregnancy. No, it's not easy. Yes, there are definitely bad days. I've had a few really bad days. Overall though, it has been great! When I'm not feeling well, I just remind myself WHY I'm not feeling well and it helps SO much. I love knowing that I'm growing a little blessing that is half me and half Josh. I love getting to feel the baby wiggle around inside my belly. I love watching my bump grow! All that makes the negative stuff SO worth it! Early on, I accepted that there were going to be things about pregnancy that I didn't love, but without those things, we wouldn't get to have a Baby K at the end of it all. 

Accomplishments - 

So far, we have:

- Almost completed our registry. I'm sure we'll make some tweaks here and there, but we've done most of the research on the products that mean the most to us. The one BIG thing that we haven't decided on yet is a baby monitor. We keep putting this research off for some reason. It's just not very exciting to us right now.

- Moved my office into the bonus room (it is a disaster area right now and it needs some major attention, BUT, we do have a dedicated nursery)

- Organized the guest room closet

- Removed EVERYTHING from the nursery that doesn't belong in there - closet included

- Bought a crib

- Bought crib bedding

- Started our cloth diaper stash (Oh yea, we decided before we were pregnant that we were going to cloth diaper and I'm way more excited than I should be about this)

- Stacked our washer and dryer (not directly baby related - but it allows us to close the laundry room door - this wasn't a possibility with our washer and dryer sitting side by side. I definitely don't want our little one going in there and playing with bleach or dragging dirty clothes all over the house, so this was a must do item on our list)

- Organized the baby's closet (to the best of our ability at this point. We haven't purchased any baskets or anything to help with organization yet. We still have to decide what works best for us. This will likely happen after we decide what to do about the dresser/changing table)

- Gotten rid if quite a bit of clutter that we didn't need - but we still have a LONG way to go

- Researched getting a breast pump through insurance - now I know what we will need to do to get this taken care of

- Made our announcement - you know, just a few weeks ago.

- Booked a babymoon that we'll be taking in April...then booked a second babymoon that we're taking later in April because our first one was cancelled! Woohoo! Yay vacation! We've both been itching to go on a trip, so we're really excited.

Now that I list all that out, I do feel a little more accomplished.

Expectations vs. Reality

I will say that pregnancy has been a lot different than I thought - for the most part.

Food - 

I couldn't have been more wrong about the food thing. I thought that I would want a lot more of the junk foods that I loved. In reality, I didn't want sweets very often. I have a huge sweet tooth normally. At first, I was a little turned off by sweets, then I just didn't WANT them. I would say in the past week or so, I've started to get my sweet tooth back. I still limit my sweets because I do want to eat healthy for me and for the baby. Most days now though, I will want a piece of chocolate or something and sometimes we'll treat ourselves to dessert after dinner. 

I didn't think I would NOT want to eat anything unless it made me sick. That was also very wrong. Early on, NOTHING sounded appetizing. The most appetizing things I could think of were cereal and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I did go through a phase where I made a black bean dip and cheese quesadilla for lunch every day for about a week. I did NOT want veggies at all for several weeks. I normally love veggies, so this caught me off guard. I would still make sure I was getting a few a day, but I would have to sneak them into my food and I wasn't getting as much as I should. I felt like I was feeding a picky toddler, except it was me. I would sneak spinach into pasta. I started buying the pasta that had a serving of veggies in it. I would eat veggie soups so I could dip grilled cheese in them...things like that. As far as having a side of broccoli with a chicken breast...ugh. I was not a fan. As far as my current view on veggies, I would say I'm back to normal. I'll even eat a salad if it has some protein in it. Otherwise, I get hungry again so fast, it's not even worth the time it takes to eat it. 

As far as cravings go, I would say that I didn't have any real cravings during the first half of pregnancy. What makes it a craving though? There have been times where I want something, but not any more intensely than I would have before I got pregnant. It's usually something that I can't have, like something specific from a restaurant in MD. (When we go to MD in May, I WILL have Poutine from Victoria's and spaghetti with meat sauce from Mamma Roma). Those are things that I have often wanted since we left MD, and probably just because I can't have them when I want. As much as I didn't want sweet things, I did want salty things. Maybe that counts?

Pregnancy glow - 

By glow, do people really mean breaking out with acne like you're going through puberty again? If so, I've got that covered. Otherwise...yea, I don't see it.

Emotions -
(Caution - HTGAWM spoiler below)

I expected to cry at the sight of everything. Every cute little baby. Every cute little puppy. Every sad commercial, etc. While I have cried over some silly things, this hasn't been nearly as bad as I expected. The dumb, sappy Super Bowl commercials got on my nerves just as much this year as they did last year. I did cry one time because Josh told me I was eating slow (if I don't eat slow, I'll eat too much and get too full and I'll feel like I have to throw up). Another time, I REALLY cried - like, ugly, shaky, got mascara on Josh's shirt from crying kind of cry, because our pantry wasn't finished in the week that I thought it would be. That was probably the dumbest thing I've cried over. Now, the pantry is done and I'm fine. If I hear sad stories about babies, I will cry. I cried when we watched Blackfish and the baby whales were kidnapped. I cried when Annalise Keating lost her baby. I cried when a couple at church talked about giving birth to their stillborn at 23 weeks. I've gotten more emotional over some other small things that wouldn't normally phase me, but again, this hasn't been as intense as I expected. I wouldn't call myself an emotional wreck by any means and that's more of what I expected.

Symptoms - 

(skip this part if you don't want details. Some of them might not be pretty)

Breast tenderness - 

I underestimated this one big time. I knew it would be a thing, but it was much more intense than I expected. I previously had no fears of breastfeeding. Now, I do. I'll tough it out and do everything I can to make it work, but I know that it won't be easy and that I've just seen the beginning of the boob pain.

Increased sense of smell - 

I thought I would be able to smell EVERYTHING, but it hasn't changed much that I've noticed. JUST this past week, I noticed that I smelled some things in the grocery store that I wouldn't normally expect. On election day, I could smell the lotion that I had put on my belly while we were waiting in line. We have woven baskets in our bedroom (that have been in there since we moved) and I noticed the smell of those earlier in my pregnancy. I hadn't noticed the smell before unless I was right beside them, so I asked Josh if he smelled them and he said yes, so maybe the lack of me not smelling them before was just me being unobservant. Those are the only cases I can recall where I smelled things that I may not have been able to smell before being pregnant. 

Morning Sickness -

I thought I would have constant morning sickness for a LONG time. Maybe this is because the people closest to me who have been pregnant had REALLY bad morning sickness. My sister was diagnosed with hyperemesis gravidarum and another really close friend had to get prescriptions to help with morning sickness. Maybe I expected it to be really bad to try to prepare myself for it. Either way, when I thought about pregnancy before, I just assumed that I would spend the majority of my days in a bathroom, hugging the toilet. I thought I would throw up multiple times a day, every day. I thought foods I loved would make me throw up and it would cause me to hate them forever...and that I wouldn't want to eat anything as a result. I thought I would throw up in very public places and get super embarrassed. This wasn't my experience. I didn't feel much morning sickness before week 8, with one exception.

My first real issue with nausea was when we visited Josh's grandma in VA only about a week after we found out we were pregnant. I was a little over 5 weeks. Visiting the nursing home really did a number on me. I was nervous, because we were waiting until Christmas to tell family, so we were still hiding it. I was worried that I would get sick in front of everyone. I drank tons of water, had a Ginger Ale and sucked on Preggie Pops. They helped a lot. I had to step outside to get some fresh air a couple times, but I ended up not giving away our little secret.

Before 8 weeks, I only threw up 3 times (unless you count throwing up from brushing my teeth. I stopped counting that number because it was happening too often and I think that's separate from typical morning sickness). Once was in the middle of the night right after we found out. I threw Oreos up on the wall in the bathroom with absolutely no warning. Since nothing similar happened for a while after that, I'm assuming this was just my nerves getting to me over the realization that there was a person growing inside me. The second time, I bit into a moldy apple. I don't count this because that would have made me throw up pre-pregnancy. The last one, I was in the middle of doing yoga and I started to get hungry. I thought about what I would cook and I remembered we had breakfast sausage in the fridge. The thought of those little links made me lose it. That, I definitely blame on pregnancy. I love breakfast links. I wish now that I could remember which week that was, but I can't. I know it was still before I started to feel sick though.

After those things, it was smooth sailing for a bit. My app warned that it hits most people hardest around 6 weeks, so I thought I was getting away without any real morning sickness. I didn't, it just hit me later and passed quickly. Weeks 8 and 9 were bad. Great timing because that was right at Christmas, when we were telling family AND we had a week off work together to be productive or go do fun stuff AND we were having visitors. In the end, we didn't get much done during that time. On top of just being tired, I felt hungover, minus the feeling hungry part. Josh got Sea Bands and these ginger lozenge things to put in my Christmas stocking and both of those seemed to help a lot. I drank tons of water and Ginger Ale and snacked on Goldfish Crackers, olives or salted almonds. I snacked a lot in general and ate small meals (large meals made me feel awful). I napped often and did prenatal yoga. I think all those things helped quite a bit too. I also think that not having a crazy sense of smell helped me out. In then end, I did more dry heaving than actual throwing up. I think I probably threw up only a total of 10 times or so (again, if you don't count when I was brushing my teeth). I slept with the trash can beside the bed, but I never had to use it (around bedtime is when I would usually feel really bad - so I guess when I was most tired? This is why I think naps helped). I would feel nauseous when I woke up in the morning, but once I ate, this usually went away. The one time I got sick in public, I made it to a bathroom, so it was no big deal. I thought I was going to get sick in the car several times and I was prepared with a bag to throw up in, but I never did. Thank goodness! There were a few days during our break when I just felt awful. I laid on the couch all day and napped on and off, trashcan by my side. I ate whatever I could, got sick a little bit and napped some more. This is more like what I thought I would feel like for several weeks, so just having a few days of this was a win for me!

Gag reflex - 

See all above comments referencing tooth brushing. This improved a lot once I stopped using the Sonicare. I could NOT brush my tongue with that thing to save my life, so Listerine and I became very good friends. For a while, I was getting sick several times a week just from brushing my teeth. One morning, I was so frustrated that I cried and told Josh brushing my teeth was my least favorite part of the day. I've come a long way since then. The old fashioned toothbrush and I don't fight too often. I have a rule that if I can make it through brushing all of my teeth without almost throwing up, I'll brush my tongue. Otherwise...Listerine. I think it's a combination of trying to brush my tongue and the toothpaste. Pregnant me just doesn't like either of those. I have an appointment for a cleaning in May, so it will be interesting to see how that goes...

Heartburn -
I haven't experienced much heartburn yet (although I do realize this is much more common as the baby gets bigger and pushes up against my stomach), but I have experienced some acid reflux. It's gross, but so far, it's just been the acids coming up without any real pain and it's only happened a handful of times. I've noticed it most when I've eaten chili and laid down at bedtime.

Headaches -
I've only had a couple headaches so far. There were a couple minor ones that I wouldn't have taken anything for even if I wasn't pregnant, I would have just dealt with them. I've had a few that I would have taken Ibuprofen for if I wasn't pregnant. I know I can take Tylenol, but I've chosen to tough it out. I decided if I'm going to deliver a baby in a few months, I should be able to deal with a headache.

Vision -
I haven't noticed any serious vision changes. I have noticed that my eyes are dry more often, but I don't know if it's because I get less sleep or if it's a legit difference due to pregnancy.

Boobs growing -
Yes

Fatigue -
I way underestimated this. I definitely didn't expect to be so tired so early. I was exhausted all the time. For a long stretch, I used my lunch break pretty much every day to take a nap. If I didn't, I was literally ready to go to bed for the night at about 7:00, no joke.

The bladder thing -
If you know me, you know I already pee a lot. This got worse pretty much immediately. I started waking up to pee in the middle of the night probably at 5 weeks. I still do some nights, but not every night like it was earlier on. This did catch me a little off guard since I didn't expect to see a difference at least until I started to show.

Baby K - 20 Weeks!

20 Weeks

March 21, 2016

Baby K is much bigger this week! It's about the size of a cute(ish) little animal called an axolotl - 10 inches! Although the baby has grown a lot this week, it hasn't grown as much as it sounds. Prior to this week, the baby was measured from crown to rump. Now that the baby is in a straighter position, it's being measured from head to toe. The baby has eyebrows and eyelashes growing now! According to my app, our little one may already experiencing REM sleep and dreaming! That's crazy to me! I do wonder what a baby who has only existed inside a tiny little womb could possibly dream about though.

For me this week...I've noticed my first stretchmarks. I have one tiny one on my thigh that I know didn't exist pre-baby. Not TOO surprising since my thighs are definitely the biggest they have ever been. THEY are the reason I switched to maternity jeans, not my belly. I also have a couple on my booty that I'm pretty sure were not there before the baby, but since I don't look at my butt that closely very often, I can't be 100% sure. They're very faint so far, so let's hope it stays this way (or if we're being REALLY optimistic...that I don't get any more). The tiredness continues this week. I have NOT been sleeping well at all. If I don't wake up to pee or to get a snack, I wake up because I'm just not comfortable. I know this won't be improving until after the baby comes, so I'm trying to come to terms with it. 

I think Josh is definitely experiencing some sympathy symptoms. Aside from the sweet tooth that he has developed, he experienced his first restless night this week. I'm hoping this doesn't become as frequent for him as it has for me!

Baby K - 19 Weeks!

19 Weeks

March 14, 2016

Our Squishy is the size of a hedgehog (or a zucchini) - about 6 inches - this week! The baby's coordination is starting to improve and senses are starting to form. The baby is developing its vernix caseosa, which is a coating that will moisturize its skin and help the baby travel through the birth canal in August!

I woke up with my first cramp in my calf this morning. I tried to stretch it out and that was a mistake! It hurt really bad and I think I over stretched it a bit. As a result, I skipped yoga and opted for a lunch time walk instead. That seemed to loosen things up. On the bright side - this is the first week that I can for sure say I've been feeling the baby. There have been several occasions over the past month where I thought I may have felt the baby, but it could have been gas, a muscle twitch or something else.

As for me, I'm starting to feel really tired again. Now, my trouble seems to be getting a full night of sleep. I will wake up because I'm hungry or I have to pee - or maybe just because I'm not comfortable. Then it will take me FOREVER to get back to sleep. Sometimes, I can't fall back asleep at all, even though I'm exhausted.

Josh is doing well and he's definitely getting my cravings. I don't know that I've had what I would call a craving yet - definitely not to the extent of what I've heard other women talk about. I've had no desire to ask Josh to go to the store to pick up anything specific. I rarely even WANT anything specific. Josh has developed a little bit of a sweet tooth and if you know him, you know that's not normal. 

As far as progress, we haven't made very much. Jen and John came to visit this past weekend, so we did get the guest room cleaned up and that closet organized. Unfortunately, that meant some things went back into the nursery closet. It's not what either of us wanted, but we needed a little more time to figure out what we would keep and what we would get rid of, etc. It's our priority this week to get that closet cleaned out again. We've made some progress on nights after work, but it's been a busy week, so it hasn't been as productive as we would like. We hope to get it back on track over the weekend.

We did have an ultrasound on Wednesday, the 16th! Yay! It was very quick - not really what I was expecting. We got to see our little one and things are looking good. The baby weighs about 10 ounces! Almost one of the ~14 pounds that I have gained so far! Yay! We're measuring right on time, just one day behind my estimated due date. My placenta is anterior, which just means it's positioned between the baby and my belly, so it may still be a few weeks before we can feel the baby on the outside. Sometimes, I'll put my hand on my belly and get excited because I think I might feel the baby, then I realize it's just my pulse. 

Baby K - 18 Weeks!

18 Weeks
March 7, 2016

Our little one is the size of a sugar glider this week - about 5 1/2 inches long and almost 7 ounces! It's crazy how fast it's growing!!! Baby K is able to yawn, hiccup and swallow by now. 

I have been quite moody this week - oh, the joys of pregnancy. I had a little heartburn last week as well. I've still been a little tired, but I'm hoping that goes away soon!

We told more friends over the weekend and we'll be announcing on Facebook this week. Our 15th dating anniversary is on Wednesday and we've decided to announce then! It seems very appropriate. :-)

Baby K - 17 Weeks!

17 Weeks
2/29/16

Y'all, time is FLYING! I mean...seriously! We had our 16 week appointment at the birthing center last week and everything is going great! We got to hear the baby's heartbeat again, so that was awesome, of course! We'll have our ultrasound in mid-March, so we're looking forward to seeing how the baby is developing. We're staying team green, so I won't have a big boy/girl announcement at time. We'll have to wait until August for that! 

Anyway - This week, Baby K is the size of a Chipmunk! So adorable! The baby is about 5 inches and weighs almost 5 ounces. The baby's finger and toe nails are starting to grow and bones are starting to harden. The baby's sense of hearing is improving, so it should be able to hear our voices better! Baby K's arms and legs should be their normal proportions now. 

I'm just tired this week. And cranky. We've been getting enough sleep, but maybe I'm just not resting well. There has definitely been some discomfort in my back (this has actually been happening sporadically for several weeks now, but it's getting more noticeable), but prenatal yoga has been helping that a lot. 

Josh has been awesome! Over the weekend, he shampooed the carpet in the nursery and Monday while I was out of the house for Bible study, he put the crib together! Yay for progress! The nursery is officially ready to organize as we get things! The bad thing about this...everything that used to live in the office is now in the guest room. We have guests coming next Friday! Yikes! If that's not motivation to get things organized, I don't know what is!

Baby K - 16 Weeks

16 Weeks
2/22/16

This week, Baby K is the size of a Philippine Tarsier or a dill pickle (still no cravings for those here!) - about 4 1/2 inches long. Baby weighs almost 4 ounces - grow baby, grow!!! As far as development, we have a big one this week! Baby can hear!!! It can hear my heartbeat and it may even be able to hear our voices. Bailey must have picked up on this somehow, because she's being a little more chatty than usual this week. The baby can also detect light through my belly. 

I feel some subtle movements in the belly every once in a while, but I still can't be sure it's the baby. We're looking forward to stronger and more consistent movements AND for us both to be able to feel the baby on the outside. No new symptoms this week, just the congestion, but even that has improved over the past week. 

Josh has been tired a lot and we're getting enough sleep. Maybe it's sympathy symptoms. I think he may be getting my cravings too.

We have our next prenatal appointment on Friday and we're really looking forward to hearing this little one's heart beat again!

Update - the appointment went well! We got to hear the heartbeat again. :-) We'll be scheduling our ultrasound for about 2 weeks, so we're both looking forward to seeing our little Squishy!

As far as progress...Anna & John came over to help move furniture out of the nursery and into the bonus room, so we hope to start getting the nursery set up soon!

Baby K - 15 Weeks

15 Weeks
2/15/16

Wow! I can't believe we're already at 15 weeks! Time is flying by and this little one is growing like crazy! This week, baby is the size of a yellow canary (Y'all, I have a Tweety bird growing in my belly!!!) or a Haas avocado - about 4 inches. Baby K is starting to pick weight up faster too - it should be about 2.5 ounces. It has enough strength to hold its head up within my belly, which is crazy to me! Its body is becoming more and more proportional and its little heart can pump 25 quarts of blood a day!

As far as symptoms go, I definitely have a stuffy nose, which is normal at this point. I don't have any morning sickness, but congestion coupled with a crazy gag reflex still equals some vomiting. I've gained weight this week, for the first time in several weeks. Makes sense, since the baby is growing so much faster now. I'm starting to show a lot more and my blump is starting to look more and more like an actual bump! We cheated a little bit on this week's picture and took it a day early. We both looked nice after church, so we decided to have an impromptu photoshoot! Of course, we couldn't have a photo shoot on Valentines Day with just me and Baby K, so I made sure all 3 of my loves were involved this week! 

Daddy K was super cute for Valentine's Day this year. Rather than getting me flowers and candy (I'm really not feeling candy lately), he got flowers and chocolate milk, so I could still have my chocolate and build strong bones for our little one. We didn't make a big deal out of Valentine's Day this year. We've had a bunch of Valentines days together, and we've had some big ones and some low key ones. I have to say, this one was one of my favorites. We just got something small for each other and spent some QT with each other. We actually did a little bit of house work, prepping to move my office so that we can begin turning my office into the nursery! I know it doesn't sound romantic, but it was a very enjoyable day. We ended our night with a fancy little dinner at home.

Baby K - 14 Weeks

14 Weeks
2/8/16

We're officially in our second trimester!!! This week, Baby K is the size of a house mouse, or a beet. Yea, this week isn't my favorite. Beets are gross and who wants to compare their baby to a mouse? Anyway, baby is about 3.5 inches long and weighs about 1.5 ounces. 

I'm feeling a few more symptoms than last week. I had my first headache since being pregnant (not too shabby). Congestion has really started to set in. Even though nausea is gone now, the mucous has made me gag a few times. I have started to experience a little bit of round ligament pain, but prenatal yoga and rest seem to help. The most exciting thing happened on Friday while I was shopping for maternity and baby clothes - I'm pretty sure I felt the baby move! For real! There have been a few questionable flutters over the past week at bed time. With this being the first baby, this is early, but if this one was not Baby K, I'm not sure what it was! Another positive is that I am even less tired than I was last week!

Something else exciting happened! We bought a crib! This was much earlier than planned, but we found a great deal and we just couldn't pass it up! The people we bought it from were really nice! They gave us a few freebies (crib mattress and waterproof pad, changing table, changing pad and covers and a few other small items) that we really appreciate! The changing table doesn't match, so we're on the lookout for one that looks better with the crib. We're very excited about this purchase! It's solid mahogany wood and we got it for less than half the SALE price! Woohoo! Over the next few weeks we'll be working on moving the office into the bonus room so the office can begin its transition to the nursery! I'm especially excited to be able to find a home for these baby odds and ends we're picking up here and there, rather than throwing them in a box or a closet.

A few other finds - some baby clothes! Old Navy had lots of baby clothes on clearance, plus an extra half off. 

Baby K - 13 Weeks

13 weeks

February 1, 2016

Our little Squishy is the size of a clownfish (or a jalapeno) this week - about 3 inches long! On one hand, that still seems tiny and on the other, it seems like the baby is growing SO fast!!! It has tiny little baby fingerprints and its vocal cords are starting to develop this week.

This is the last week of the first trimester and I'm feeling great! I have noticed some varicose veins, which is to be expected around this time. I finally have the beginnings of what I would call a little bump! I have picked up some maternity clothes to wear. I can still fit into most of my regular clothes, but they fit awkward and/or are not comfortable anymore. I'm over non-stretchy jeans. They're just not going to work until after this baby is born. Also, maternity jeans are SUPER comfy! I'm actually quite excited about them.

I don't know that I would call the first trimester easy. I did have a few rough patches. All in all though, it was a lot easier than I expected. I expected to live in the bathroom, hugging the toilet for half of my pregnancy. Luckily, that wasn't the case. I only had about 2 weeks of what I would consider bad morning sickness. I definitely had my fair share of cramping, fatigue and boob soreness. Luckily, all three of those things are pretty much non-existent at this point! I've also had some moodiness, but that also wasn't as bad as I expected. I think I've done a good job at staying positive. If I start to feel bad, I've been good at reminding myself that it's because my body is building a whole little human! That seems to help. :-) I have been lazier than I normally am. I haven't wanted to cook much, but some of that may be because I'm generally not excited about food so far. Who wants to put the effort in to cooking when they're not any more excited about the end product? I'm usually pretty good at least about staying on top of laundry and keeping things picked up around the house. I've been slacking at all of those things. Hopefully, as my energy is increasing, I will get more motivated to do things like this. I don't like feeling lazy.

Baby K - 12 Weeks!

12 Weeks
January 18, 2016

This week, baby is the size of a roborovski hamster (or an apricot) - a little over 2 inches long! The baby is developing reflexes and most likely responds to my belly pokes (but I can't feel it yet) and its kidneys are starting to function. The baby's neck is also starting to form, so it's looking more an more like a little human!

I'm feeling great this week! My previous symptoms have pretty much vanished. I'm noticing that I'm hungry more (but that could be in my head). If I don't eat a pretty substantial snack before bed, I will wake up hungry in the middle of the night. My biggest struggle this week has been brushing my teeth. This has been a struggle for several weeks now, but I think I'm noticing it more now that other symptoms are less noticeable. I have gotten sick several times just from brushing my teeth. It's gross and annoying, but I've found something that helps. I had been using my Sonicare to brush my teeth, which I love. I tried using a manual toothbrush to see if it helped and sure enough, a lot less gagging! So, I think I'll be using a manual toothbrush until the little one comes! 

Baby K - 11 Weeks

11 weeks

January 18, 2016

This week, our little squishy is the size of a bumble bee (or a brussels sprout) - about 1 1/2 inches long. It's growing hair follicles and fingernails this week. It's crazy to me that such tiny little features start developing this early!

Symptoms died down a lot this week. I didn't really have any nausea. I'm actually sleeping through the night without having to wake up to pee some nights! AND I have little to no boob soreness. Woohoo! I am still tired, but even that is a little better than it was a few weeks ago.

Baby K - 10 Weeks

10 weeks

January 10, 2016

This week, Baby K is the size of a tetra fish (or a kumquat), about 1 1/4 inch long. It's starting to grow teeth and develop joints and it has the muscle control to make a fist!

As far as symptoms go, I'm feeling pretty good this week! Morning sickness has decreased a lot! I've just had a little nausea, mostly at bed time, and only 1-2 false alarm, rush trips to the bathroom - again, BIG step up from last week! I'm still tired, but it's more manageable than it has been the past few weeks. I would say the most notable symptom this week is frequent urination. I feel like I'm peeing all the time. I wake up most mornings around 2-3:00 to pee.

We have our first appointment at the birthing center on Friday and we're both really excited about it! Prayers for good news and a healthy heartbeat!

Baby K - 9 Weeks!

9 weeks

January 3, 2016

Happy New Year!!!

Baby K is the size of an Eastern tailed-blue butterfly (or a pecan), about an inch long, this week. Baby is no longer considered an embryo, it's a tiny little fetus now! Its bones are starting to harden this week, so I'm trying to make sure I'm getting enough calcium. They're still forming, but all the baby's essential body parts and muscles should be accounted for by now! Some of them are even starting to function on their own! Baby is even starting to develop taste buds! The baby's heart has been beating for a while now, but chances are good that we would be able to hear it with a doppler at this point. We have an appointment at the end of next week, so we're hopeful that we'll get to hear it then!

Morning sickness is still going strong. I would say this is probably the peak so far. If I still worked in my old office, I think I would have had to tell several co-workers by now. The worse parts seem to be around lunch time and bed time. I haven't gotten sick in the middle of the night yet, but I've been sleeping with the trashcan beside the bed this past week, just in case. Yuck! My crampiness and boob soreness are starting to decrease, so at least all the symptoms haven't been in full force at the same time. I am thankful for that.

We went this week to tour another birthing center in Chapel Hill. We love the one in Cary, but it is not in network with our insurance. We found out the one in Chapel Hill is in network, so even though it's twice the distance, we agreed to give it a chance. After the visit, we both still preferred our original choice, so we decided to stick with it. It will end up costing a little more, but we won't have to travel as far for appointments and for the delivery and we just like it better overall.

Baby K - 8 Weeks!

8 weeks

December 28, 2015

Little Squishy is the size of a Denise's pygmy sea horse (or a strawberry) this week and weighs around .04 oz! That is so tiny! It has little webbed fingers and toes and even a tiny little hand! This week, my app started showing me the size of the baby's hand, which is really fun!

Morning sickness really started to pick up this week. A little later than my app warned and just in time for visitors, of course! I've had lots of nausea and false alarms, but not a ton of actual vomiting, so that's good. I'm still very tired. The closest thing I can compare it to is being hungover, except you have had nothing to drink. Fun stuff. Haha. I've had more dry heaving than actual vomiting. I'm not sure which is worse. I still don't have a baby bump yet, but I'm starting to look even more bloated most days. 

Josh and I have this week off work, but it has been pretty busy. We've spent quite a bit of time with our families for the holidays and we have guests in town. It's been a lot of fun to tell people that are closest to us, but I've been exhausted! We hoped to be a little productive, but that hasn't happen. When we've had the down time, I've been too tired to be useful. 

Baby K - 7 Weeks!

7 weeks

December 21, 2015

Baby K is the size of a brookesia micra chameleon (or a raspberry) (a little over 1/2 inch long).The baby is starting to form cartilage that will develop into bones, as well as its fingers and toes. It is also officially considered an embryo now! SO cool!

As far as symptoms, I feel like I have to pee all the time and I'm still tired all the time. Morning sickness is still minimal and boobs are still sore. I still have just a blump, but it is beginning to feel more firm. 

This week, we celebrated Christmas! We announced that we were pregnant to our immediate families. We're still waiting a while to tell everyone else, but we've told some of our closest friends. Things are starting to feel more real and we're getting very excited!

These are the announcements we made for our family. We wrapped them up in a little gift box and put the booties/boots on top of the announcement. 

 We used this one for our dads. Is says "Our pack is growing! Baby Kinlaw arriving August 2016!"

We used this one for our moms and my sister & niece. It says "The best gifts don't come from under a tree...Merry Christmas from our growing family! Baby Kinlaw arriving August 2016!"

Sidenote...don't announce to an 8 year old that she's getting a little cousin by telling her you have a present that you're giving her early and giving her a gift wrapped box. She was excited about the baby, but a little let down that she didn't have an actual gift. She came around, but the initial disappointment was there. We're still learning about this kid thing!

Baby K - 6 Weeks

6 weeks

December 14, 2015

Baby K is the size of a ladybug (or a blueberry) (1/4 inch long) and its eyes are starting to form this week!

I still haven't felt much morning sickness. A little nausea here and there, but nothing compared to what I was expecting, especially since my app warned me that morning sickness might start to pick up this week. I am SO tired all the time though. I'm quite crampy and I'm definitely experiencing some breast tenderness...like for real! It all means there's a (hopefully) healthy little one growing in my belly though, so it's totally worth it! All in all, pregnancy is treating me well so far!

Baby K - 5 Weeks

5 Weeks

December 7, 2015

This week, Baby K is the size of a dot snail (or a peppercorn). Its little heart is starting to to form chambers and several other organs are beginning to develop! The heart should even start to beat at this point!

I took another pregnancy test today, just to make sure the line was getting darker. By now, it is as dark as the test line! Yay! This week has been crazy and emotional. We're both very excited and we're planning on how we will tell people. 

As far as symptoms go, I'm not having many at this point. I have gotten sick one time, so I thought morning sickness was starting, but I haven't felt nauseous since then, so I think maybe it was just my nerves. I'm a little bloated, so I'm calling my belly my blump. I haven't had any cravings at this point. Most times, I can't figure out what I want at all. I will feel hungry, but nothing really sounds appetizing. I'm hoping that stops soon! I've started doing prenatal yoga and I can already tell that my muscles are a little tighter than normal already. 

This weekend, I accidentally used spray paint because I forgot I was pregnant. I'm not used to the idea yet, but I try to stay conscious of it. It's just hard to remember sometimes when I don't look or feel any different yet.

Whelp...it's about that time - Baby K - 4 Weeks!

Obviously, I couldn't post baby updates in real time on the blog, since we had not made our announcement yet. I've been trying to document as much of our little journey as I can, so I'll be posting our belated weekly updates soon!!!

Josh and I decided before we even got married that we wanted to wait a while before trying for kids. While we're both very excited for the journey ahead of us, we are very grateful for the time we've had together to appreciate each other and grow as a couple. We were in no hurry to have kids and I can't tell you how much the "It's about time" comments annoy me. That's another story for another day though...

Anyway, we decided to start trying for Baby K while we were in Peru. It was a quick decision, but we decided we were ready to jump headfirst into this baby thing. God had other plans and He decided that timing wasn't perfect for us. In hindsight, I definitely agree. Both our bodies were under a lot of stress during that trip, so who knows how that may have ended anyway? We had a lot going on in October, including another trip, so we held off on trying until after we returned from Iceland. Then in November...BAM! The journey began! Here's what's happened so far:

4 weeks + 2 days

December 2, 2015

We found out we were pregnant with Baby K today! We were not expecting it since we had a negative early response test just a couple days before. My first reaction was that I needed to take another test, because this one was clearly wrong! Josh said the same thing. I told Josh I needed to do another one, but I didn't have anymore pee! Somehow, I found enough pee to re-test. 5 more pee sticks later, still positive! 

We hugged, but didn't get too excited, because it just seemed fake. Josh hopped in the shower and I went to login to work and call my dr. Reality started to set in. I started to realize there was actually a little Baby K just getting started in my belly. In the meantime, Josh was planning Baby K's first trip to Disney! Whoa!!! Slow down, daddy, I have to finish growing this kid first!

I called the dr and we were going to go in to confirm pregnancy. She said at that point, they just do a urine test. I politely said no thanks, I think 6 of those are enough for one day. I didn't make an appointment since we didn't plan to stay with that practice throughout the pregnancy. We had visited a birthing center back in October and we both loved it, so we were already decided on that. I called Baby & Co. to let them know we got a positive test and get our first appointment scheduled! They begin seeing patients at 10-12 weeks, so provided nothing goes wrong between now and then, our first appointment is scheduled for January 15! 

We're holding off on telling most people, but we did tell Aunt Anna and Uncle John today. We live just houses down, so there was definitely no avoiding this! We also told Auntie Jen and other Uncle John. We've decided to wait to tell family until Christmas! It will be a nice little extra Christmas present that no one is expecting! 

Baby K is the size of a waterbear (or poppy seed) this week! Just a tiny, tiny little spec! It's hard to believe that this little one will be growing into a little Kinlaw so soon!

We have a lot to do before the baby gets here, and we both agreed that it would be best to spread projects throughout the whole pregnancy. 40 weeks sounds like a long time until you make a list of the things you would like to accomplish in 40 weeks! Well, really, 36 weeks at this point! Talk about overwhelming!!!