prego stats - weeks 22-24

For weeks 22-24 I was on holidays with my hubster WITHOUT our kids! It was incredible. It was our first vacation without them and we loved it SO much. Some days I felt like I needed to do more since I was on holidays, but then I remembered that it was perfectly OK to let Brad go off exploring and to stay in our rental and sleep for huge portions of the day - what else does a prego with 2 toddlers need while on vacation, really??

Here's my stats for those weeks, I know I'm behind!

Total weight gain: 10lbs

How big is baby: spaghetti squash, large mango, ear of corn

Maternity Clothes: pretty much all the time - especially shirts since my bump is really large out front. some low rise pants still fit but I'm most comfortable in maternity.

Sleep: i did a LOT of this...

Best moment this week: all of it! having time away from our other saplings was so helpful to my soul. I returned refreshed to be an intentional parent, and physically rested to do the task.

Movement: loads and loads. girlfriend knows how to bust a move.

Food cravings: we ate some really amazing food on holidays, so ALL OF THAT, plus anything sweet and filling (carbs are my friend!)

Food aversions: zero!

Gender: petit fille

Labor signs: n/a

Belly button in or out: out

What I miss: I missed the kids slightly, in the 2nd week, but really nothing. I was in a pregnancy sweet spot. Maybe energy, as I could have used some more :)
 

What I'm not loving: lower back pain began at about 24 weeks. not a good sign!
 

What I’m looking forward to:  le bebe!

What I'm loving: WE CHOSE A NAME! We had it narrowed down to two for a long time and I was strongly adamant about one and Brad was open to both and not sure of either. We ended up going with the name I didn't prefer as strongly after seeing it everywhere on holidays :)

Milestone(s): see above :)

prego stats - week 7

How far along: 7 weeks

Total weight gain: 0lbs? Maybe loss at this point, since I've been so sick?

How big is baby: Blueberry.

Maternity Clothes: Just ordered some from Old Navy and The Gap (read here) and am soooo excited!

Sleep: Going to bed earlier but waking often to pee, and when I wake the nausea begins making 

falling asleep again hard. Napping daily when the kids do. Thankful for kiddies who nap together! 

 

Best moment this week: Tuesday! It was mild, Lily was at daycare, and I was feeling much better after being sick in the morning, so Oli and I went thrift shopping and had a lovely time.

Movement: too early

Food cravings: bland things, salty things, starchy things, and occasionally pad thai

 

Food aversions: yes! basically everything, especially meat.

Gender: too early. I thought I wanted a girl but today I cried at the thought of a 2nd boy (in a good way) so who the heck knows.

 

Labor signs: too early

Belly button in or out: In, but I'm sure not for long!

What I miss: food and not being nauseous.

What I'm not loving: nausea. duh.

What I’m looking forward to: hearing the heartbeat in 4 weeks!

What I'm loving: being pregnant!! It's been hard but I am so thankful and rejoicing in this third babe daily.

Milestone(s): nothing yet worth noting.

32 weeks!

WOW!
I can't believe time is flying so fast now!
MM is 32 weeks along, and the clock is ticking! Especially because at 36 weeks a baby is technically considered "full-term", not 40 weeks which is when the due date is set at... so MM could arrive healthy in a MONTH. that's just a handful of WEEKS.
Did I already say "WOW"?

Here's me @ 32 weeks pregnant, the pics aren't great since the background is so colourful, but you get the idea, I'm growing! Hard to believe MM still has room to grow. My tummy is itchy non-stop since the skin is just soooooo stretched beyond what I ever thought possible, though no stretch marks yet (fingers crossed, I have friends who didn't have any until like the week before their baby was born! Oh well, well-earned battle scares if they come :)

Other than the itchy tummy, symptoms are at an all time low!
I'm not napping daily anymore, and have a lot more energy, though I am going to bed a lot earlier... plus I'm getting so much done on the baby-prep front.

Life's good in prego-land, 56 days to go!

mm @ 22 weeks!

MM is 11 inches and almost 1 pound this week!!! She has lips, eyelids, eyebrows, and tiny tooth buds for BOTH adult and baby teeth! Plus her eyes and pancreas are in final stages of formation and then she basically just needs to grow and fatten up the next couple of months until she's "ready" Plus they say she's the length though not weight of a spaghetti squash this week :)

mm @ 21 weeks!

a carrot!

Weird now how they're telling me the length only f the baby...which is kind of hard to picture since a carrot is also super skinny like a pencil... I liked it better when the baby center sideshow of veggies that resemble the fetus were round and more likely the shape of the baby, not just the length or size or weight. But there you have it - 10.5 inches, roughly the length of a carrot!

I'm loving this stage. My only symptom is fatigue and I'm feeling my baby kick several times every day (mostly at night right before bed which isn't ideal, but it's a sign that MM is healthy so I'm happy!).

Not to mention that in 3 more sleeps I get to discover if MM is a he or a she!!!!!!!!!!
Which reminds me, have you voted yet?
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Boys are winning by a bit, and I'm not surprised... it's what I've voted too!
Will find out soon :)

HALF WAY THERE!!!

This is a HUGE deal for me! I feel like I've been pregnant forever... well since last year technically! Finally I'm seeing progress both in my own growth, and in the weeks passing. At the beginning, especially the worrisome first trimester, I felt like every day took forever to pass. Now weeks are flying by! And already we're at the half way point: 20 weeks!

Practically this means: VERY SOON (April 20th) we find out the sex of MM, I'm over the hump so to speak, MM is 10 inches long from head to heel (i.e. a banana's length!), and is creating POO! (well meconium, black tar-like poop in his/her bowels, but still a big deal!)
And the Baby Updates keep telling me in ounces how much MM weighs which doesn't mean very much to me. But I did the math and MM is 0.6 of a POUND today!
I just picture holding a pound of butter when baking or lifting 5 pound weights (yes, I'm that weak) which is probably what MM will weigh by July!
Amazing :)

mm @ 19 weeks!

Apparently this is a crucial time for sensory development: MM's brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. Some research suggests that MM may be able to hear my voice now, crazy!

Also the size of an heirloom tomato, so we're having tomato pizza tonight to celebrate :)

Brad also got to feel MM kicking for the first time last night. I've been feeling him/her kicking for over a week now but he's never been around when MM was kicking hard enough to feel from the outside, until last night! Was such a cool experience!

mm @ 17 weeks!

an early post, but I can't believe I can even be writing 17 WEEKS! It seems so "far along"! So close to the 20 week part-ay of being half way there and knowing the gender. SO yes, I"m jumping the gun, MM turns "17 weeks" tomorrow, but we're leaving the city today (in about 5 minutes...) so it was my last shot.

I don't eat turnip all that often and I don't think I'd know what one looked like if I saw it looking like it does above... Not enough time on the farm I guess. Or the market. Shame. But hey, I live in Montreal.
Either way, MM is the size of a turnip this week, specifically MM's 5 inches long!! I just looked at a ruler, and woah. That is LONG. In other news, MM's skeleton is developing from cartilage to bone and MM's other organs are pumping away.
3 more weeks til we know who MM is!!

mm @ 16 weeks!

mmmmm, my favourite:

It's widely known that avocados are my FAVOURITE snack - especially in guacamole (lime and salt and avocados, so simple but SO GOOD). Well this week my unborn child is the same size as one! Other amazing information is  that MM's heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day! What a strong heart, how much is mine pumping? Who knows, but I'm impressed.

mm @ 15 weeks!

Into the 2nd trimester and loving it!
this week, MM is the size of an apple! Look how big MM looks compared to a 25 cent coin:

I'm feeling GREAT this past week!
Haven't been nauseous in a long time and my energy is really climbing. Things I've done in the past 2 weeks that were impossible the last 3 months are:

1. Walking to the grocery story at the end of the day (UP HILL) and doing groceries for about an hour
2. Sleeping between 7-9 hours a night (just a reminder, I was up to 13 some nights a month ago!)
3. Staying up to midnight some nights (REBEL!!!)
4. Eating meat again (though still nothing like a huge pot roast... that still seems disgusting to me, but other red meat is fine now)
5. Working longer hours without being as exhausted (though I still am after a full work day or sometimes after 6 hours)

As I read this list I see how LAME my existence has become... that these five things are milestones I've been able to regularly accomplish in the last 14 days that I haven't done or even thought about since 2009. What has my life come to?! It's funny and somewhat pathetic but I'm still celebrating :)

I feel like ME again.

Minus the crazy hormones that have me crying or really angry at the drop of a hat... yeah those can peace out anytime.

And a little update on MM: s/he is 4 inches long this week! Which I think, after looking in my fruit bowl, is actually larger than most apples, but whatever. S/he is also sensitive to light now which means if I were to shine a flashlight up to my bump, MM would squirm away from it (who wouldn't?) even tough his/her eyelids are still fused shut. WILD.
MM is also evening out, with the legs growing longer than the arms now (with a LONG way to go since MM's MY child!) and has taste buds. I hope MM likes regurgitated King Crab, since that's what Brad brought home last night for us to have tonight... It was 50% off and is one of our most favourite meals (though usually too expensive to have often).

Other great news for ME: I got some more maternity clothes this week! Old Navy had a $6 sale on all their basic T's and tanks and I'm lucky enough to live 10 minutes away from one of only TWO Old Navy's in Canada that carried their maternity line. Normal prices were $9.50 and $14.50. GLORIOUS.

mm @ 14 weeks!

Ooo a lemon! But sweet not sour. Sweet because it's been over a week since I've last thrown up, sweet because my baby bump is noticeable making it more fun being treated and recognized as a pregnant woman (a lady on the train asked me how far along I was yesterday: MADE MY DAY), and sweet because 14 weeks is a good chunk of time. In other words, I DID IT :)

The 1st trimester is officially finished (they count these things in a really weird way, counting the 2 weeks before you conceive as part of the 40 total weeks of pregnancy)! I'm now a 2nd trimester prego, meaning I start more regular appointments with my doctor, I get to hear the heartbeat at my appointment on March 2nd (NEXT WEEK!) and in about 6 weeks we'll know if we're having a baby boy or girl!

IN OTHER NEWS...
I even chose the colours for our nursery which won't actually be in this house (Lord willing). We're hoping to be able to buy an apartment/condo/flat in the Fall, a couple of months after MM is born. So for the first couple months we're not going to move out our office and guest room from the additional bedroom, we'll just all party together with MM in his/her bassinet since they'll be feeding pretty much around the clock anyway.

This was kind of difficult since I had to choose the colours not really knowing what the room size or shape would be, but we went with orange and light green (not those exact shades though!). This part was so fun especially since I'll get to use some of the beautiful fabrics with my new sewing machine to make baby bedding, curtains, decorative pillows and am even going to cover a foot stool. I can't show pictures of the fabric now because I left it at home for my cousin to deliver when she comes since I was already on the train with lots of luggage, but it is inspired by rooms like this:

mm @ 13 weeks!

Hello MM! You're the size of a shrimp! Weird! The craziest thing I learned this week about MM is that at 13 weeks, MM developed fingerPRINTS. MM already has fingers and even finger nails last week, but fingerprints is beyond cool. I wonder what they looks like? I can't wait to put MM's hand and foot prints in ink and frame them, and then do the same with all of my babies :)
WHat an amazing development... Baby's growing inside of you is truly miraculous :)

mm @ 12 weeks

Now we're getting somewhere! Although this can be kind of deceiving. We have two limes in our fruit bowl, both with bright futures in guacamole and Brazilian beer (for baby daddy not mommy, don't fret!), and they are two completely different sizes. One is almost half the size of the other, though both are smaller than a lemon. I like to imagine that the lime I see up there beside that american quarter is the big lime. It looks pretty big. Plus it's just so much more exciting thinking about the big lime being my baby, because it's so substantial! Like wow, it will eventually result in a baby in my arms substantial. *shivers*.

12 weeks is a cause for celebration for us. We have had dear friends experience miscarriages right around the time we began trying, and it's been a fear I've had to fight almost daily since finding out we were pregnant. Knowing full well that we have other friends who experienced complications after the 12-week mark, and that the 1st trimester ending is by no means a sign of the pregnancy being perfect, it was still a milestone.

I know I'll have to continue fighting the fear that something will go wrong (because hey, I can't do anything but stay healthy myself and take those horse-tranquilizer-sized-prenatal vitamins) and trust God that he's in control. But it sure feels good to have a lime-sized baby inside and that the world now knows it :)

mm @ 11 weeks!

the size of a fig, but far less yummy.

Next week will be the big public reveal and I'm really excited. Finally the 1st trimester is over! It seems like it's taken FOREVER to be honest, with little to "show" for it since most people wouldn't be able to tell by looking at me that I am indeed a baby mama. It's frustrating because I know, and my old jeans know (and haven't fit for over a month), and the midsection weight gain isn't invisible, but that's exactly what it looks like - weight gain. horray. please come soon baby bump :)

MM @ 10 weeks!

9 weeks with mini-morrice

that's right, this week mm is the size of a grape.