13 weeks 6 days

Well, two exciting pregnancy events happened in the last 24 hours.

First, last night, Dave and I visited our new house with his dad. We met one of the guys having a house built down the street, and while we were talking the guy said, "Is it your first one?" and nodded at my belly. I was so overjoyed. I was like oh my goodness he thought I was pregnant, not a skinny girl with a beer belly! Whoo hoo!! Of course I had just eaten a large dinner, so I'm sure this made my belly even rounder than normal, but I was still ecstatic.

Second, I'd read that sometime in the second trimester you won't have to pee as much as during the first trimester because the uterus moves out of your pelvis and more into your abdominal area. Well...last night was the first time in about two months that I made it through the whole night without getting up to pee. I was pretty proud this morning, and made sure to share my achievement with Dave. He was pretty proud of me, too. :)

Aren't those two events exciting???

On other notes, I read some random pregnancy information that I found interesting and thought I'd share:

1. Healthiest babies are born to women who gain at least 35 pounds during pregnancy.

2. The average pregnant woman loses 13.5 lbs within an hour after delivery.

3. The saline content of amniotic fluid is the same as the oceans.

4. The skin of an unborn baby, if cut by a surgical incision, heals without a scar.

5. While sleeping at night, side-lying positions with lots of pillows for additional support and comfort are ideal. It is best to lie on your left side instead of the right whenever possible. This ensures that the baby receives its nutrients uninterrupted. Cross one leg over the other with a pillow in between is best for both mother and baby. This position not only optimizes blood flow to the placenta but also ensures smooth functioning of the kidneys. Efficient kidney function means better elimination of fluids and this in turn reduces the chances of odema (swelling of the ankles, feet, hands).
- What's great about this is that my left side is my preferred sleeping position, pregnant or not. It made this pregnancy task quite easy for me. :)

13 weeks 3 days Bella Band Hubby

As I've mentioned before, I've frequently used a Bella band to hold my non-maternity pants up. Here is how it's used:



My husband, however, had other ideas. The other night he came into the kitchen kicking his legs up and down and exclaimed, "Look Honey, I'm a jogger!!!"

Here is a picture of him I managed to snap through the bathroom door just before he yanked the Bella band off:



Oh yes, that is my wonderful husband wearing my Bella band as a giant sweat band. Priceless.

13 weeks 1 day picture

Well I'm in my second trimester now!! Yay!! :)

I'm not quite sure what happened or why, but I completely popped over the last week. All of a sudden I can barely fit a single pair of my pants or shorts on, even with the help of the bella band. Last weekend I could still hold them shut by zipping them most of the way then using a hairband around the button and through the button hole. This weekend I couldn't zip them even an smidgen. It's just crazy. I'm so grateful I've gotten a ton of maternity pants from friends, because I would be at such a loss otherwise.

Yesterday I went through my pre-pregnancy clothes to pack away what I could no longer wear and clear out the room for the maternity clothes I've acquired. That included pretty much everything except my really long stretchy shirts and shirts that flowed at the waist. Even some of my t-shirts for working out had to be packed away, because with my belly sticking out so far they no longer reached my pant line and had turned into crop tops.

So here are the pics. Besido is officially showing.

PS If you want to see all the belly pictures, go to the right-hand column under "All the happenings..." and click on "Pics."

12 weeks 4 days

I'm at 12 weeks 4 days, and my second trimester starts Saturday!!
Today I read a few tidbits that I found interesting:

* Between 16 and 20 weeks, you'll start to feel your baby move around inside you, known as "quickening." (4 more weeks to go!)

* Toward the end of the second trimester, you might also feel repeated "blips" in your abdomen -- not to worry, that's just your baby having completely harmless hiccups! (Neat. :) )

* By week 16, you'll likely be in maternity clothes due to your expanding waistline and widening hips. By week 27, you should have gained 16 to 22 pounds, but your baby will only account for about two of those. (Maternity clothes in 4 weeks! Crazy!)

* As your shape changes you may worry more about the long-term effects that pregnancy may have on your body. (Um, yeah, that's already started. :( )

* By your second trimester, your body is manufacturing estrogen in overdrive: The ovaries produce as much in a single day as a nonpregnant woman's ovaries do in three years. (Holy camoly!)

That's all for today. :)

12 weeks 3 days

Today I had my 3-month checkup, and I got to hear Besido's heartbeat again. :) As the doctor was getting the doppler ready, she said, "Ok, now be aware that it sometimes takes a while to find the heartbeat." I said ok. She squeezed some jelly on my belly then stuck the doppler down and turned on the little speaker. Right away the heartbeat came pounding through. She was like, "Oh! Well! There it is!" I think she found it much quicker than expected, which was fine with me. :)

It was pounding along in the 150s. She said there's not a completely consistent heartbeat yet...that won't develop until the baby is closer to birth I guess. But she said it sounded very good. I got to listen for a while and enjoyed it quite a bit.

She also measured my uterus, which is about 12 cm long now.

Just thought you'd like an update on Besido's status. He/she seems to be growing quite nicely. :)

11 weeks 4 days

I had to call the doctor again today.

Last week I had to call because I'd been sick for over a week and I was concerned that it was turning into an upper respiratory infection. (I went in, and they basically told me that unless it turned into pneumonia, they wouldn't give me any medication for it. I was like, wow, so glad I took an hour and a half off of work to drive over here for you to tell me that.)

This week I've been waking up at about 4am or 5am to severe lower cramping from my bladder being overly full. I've been assuming it's just round ligament pain. Then today I decided to check online to see if other women had experienced anything similar. Much to my dismay, many talked about similar pain and then said it turned out to be a bladder infection. Then I read some more and it said that untreated bladder infections can travel into the kidneys and possibly cause miscarriage. Well, this really didn't make me happy...pretty panicked, honestly. So I called the doc and left a message again. I'm so glad the nurses respond quickly. A nurse called back about 10 minutes later, and had me describe the pain in detail to her. She reassured me that she believes it's just round ligament pain and that I don't need to worry. I was sooooo relieved. Dave and I are leaving for Seattle in a few hours and I have no idea what I would have done if I gotten there and found myself with a full-blown UTI. Well, ok, I do know what I would have done. I would have freaked out.

Luckily at every prenatal visit they take a urine sample and check for things such as UTIs. My next appointment is Tuesday morning, so I know it will be double-checked then. That gives me some relief.

On another note, I took a couple measurements of myself this morning. I have now gained 2 lbs and measure 3 inches wider around my waist at my bellybutton (compared to when I first found out I was pregnant). This was this morning, after just a glass of milk. By evening time I always look about a month more pregnant than I did in the morning, so I would assume the measurement is a lot greater then. But for now, the morning measurement is +3 inches. :)

Alright, as I mentioned, we're heading to Seattle for 5 days, so I won't be writing for a bit. Give me a call if you need any updates. :)

Love,
Kara

11 weeks 2 days

Well I'm almost 3 months along now!! Isn't that crazy?? The belly continues to puff. Thank goodness that my friend Kristin loves to buy clothes and also loves flowing loose shirts. This means there are plenty for me to borrow and she doesn't notice they're gone from her closet. :)

Dave and I bought a glider chair for the nursery from a wonderful couple in Clayton on Friday night. We found it on Craigslist. It will need some touch up paint, but I think it will look nice with the crib. Here's the picture that they showed in the ad:

One of their parents had created a yellow cover for the cushions, which is removable and washable. I'm kind of hoping my mom can maybe use it as a pattern to create one for us that will match the nursery. :) If not, the yellow should still hopefully work.

So now all we need is a changing table! We're planning to also use the chest of drawers I've had since I moved to NC and paint it to match the crib and glider. I think the furniture will look nice together. :)

10 weeks 3 days

Just wanted to share a picture of the giraffe and blanket that Dave and I received from G and Mary. This blanket is the one that we might use for inspiration in the nursery. :)





Not sure where we'll go with it, but Dave and I like the colors and design. :)

10 weeks 3 days picture

Here is an updated picture of my belly... :)

7 weeks 2 days, 8 weeks 3 days, and 10 weeks 3 days

Yup, it's growing. :)

10 weeks 2 days

Yesterday Dave's mom and stepdad bought us a crib for our nursery, and Dave and I are pretty excited!! Here it is:

Doesn't it look nice? It's a Pottery Barn crib, in mint condition, and they found it on Craigslist. It's much nicer than anything I was expecting to get, so I'm pretty psyched.

And to help complete the nursery, my mom is going to go shopping with me and let me pick out fabric for the room. Then she's going to make a pull-down cover for the window, some baby bedding (maybe a blanket), and possibly something for the walls (maybe fabric-covered wooden letters spelling the baby's name?). I'm pretty thrilled to get to choose the fabric and have a custom nursery. :) Dave and I got a baby blanket and little stuffed giraffe from our friends G and Mary this weekend, and we really like the colors and pattern on the blanket. I might try to get inspiration from it for choosing the nursery theme. :)