WEEK 21

How far along? 21 Weeks

Total weight gain? I have officially gained 10 lbs on the nose as of my appointment two ago. Our baby is two weeks bigger, but just because she is a big baby, not because they are going to change the due date. Yay! 

Maternity Clothes? Ok I have ordered a few maternity things from ASOS in the UK, however they are so cute and the way they are designed can be worn post maternity too. FINALLY somewhere that has cute maternity clothes for women in their 20s!!

Stretch Marks?  OMG! I think I am getting one tiny one on my boob. TMI? It is just a small red line right now about 1/2 inch long, and my mom said she got red marks, but they all disappeared after pregnancy. I am REALLY hoping this one disappears and no buddies join the party. 

Sleep:  She has started to settle down at night, especially since my amazing pillow has arrived! I can officially sleep on my left side, supported on all sides by a cloud. I highly recommend getting a body pillow. This thing helps prevent me from rolling all the way on my back, which is how I like to sleep, but gives me support to lean back against. 

Best moment this week: Picking a baby name!!!

Miss Anything? Sushi, raw tuna, raw salmon. I would kill for some RAW sushi! I am tired of this cooked crap.

Movement: Lots and Lots and Lots of movements. She moves all the time!

Food cravings: Fruit (watermelon), Sushi, Thai food and Kit-Kats! I finally went and bought a big pack of kit-kat bars because buying them at the gas station was getting to be too much. 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Textures are still making me sick. I have not dared try orange juice anymore since I threw up that last time, again. 

Gender RESULTS: BABY GIRL!!! My gut feeling was right all along!

Labor Signs: Too soon

Symptoms: Decreasing belly button, baby bump, nails and hair growing like weeds, baby movements (the best!) and my boobs have drastically increased, which has lead to the dreaded red-mark, and frequent bathroom visits. Then she was transverse at one point which led to throwing up and blacking out. Fun!

Belly Button in or out? Innie - barely.

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time: This week was slightly miserable. 

Looking forward to: Finishing out the nursery!

Baby Names? Well boy names are scratched. haha Henry at dinner Friday night said he wanted her name to be Coraline. He had been thinking a lot about it and decided Coraline would be best because he wants to call her "Cora-Lou" which I LOVE! I was so overwhelmed with the cuteness of the name I began tearing up at dinner. Henry looked at me all shocked because here I was grinning ear-to-ear and tearing up. He laughed and said, "OMG your eyes are tearing up!! It's just a name." Then I started laughing, "Its the pregnancy hormones! Don't judge!". We sat there laughing for quite a bit at my ridiculousness. Ugh! I love this little girl and Henry so very much!

Thoughts: More about the name. Coraline - "leine/line" in the end of a name in German means like "little loved one" so we really wanted a line name since my German grandparents gave me the nickname "Heatherleine" when I lived in Germany. Coraline also happens to be a move from my absolute favorite movie director "Tim Burton" and we can't wait to dress her up as Coraline for halloween now. :-P Henry's mom's name is Carol so he said it's a variation of her name. It flows well with Coraline Faye. Coraline means "precious growth of the sea: coral" and we just happened to have decided on a nautical nursery months before. If you look up the name meaning on www.sheknows.com Coraline already sounds like the epitomy of what our child will be. And being able to give her that southern, country nickname of Cora-Lou is just the icing on the cake.

**NEW** About the Board: I wet the board down with a damp rag and then wrote with Walmart brand skinny chalk. 

I chose to alternate between Green, Orange and Yellow for a change of color, then Pink for her name since it's a she. <3

When editing I increase the "saturation" to make the colors even more bold.

The fonts this week is:  Harrington (my favorite)

I pull up word, type what I want in the fonts chosen, then eyeball it onto the chalkboard. :-)

**NEW** Pregnancy/Maternity Fashion: I am wearing long and lean tank top from Target, blue skinnies from Motherhood Maternity, and cowgirl boots (which you can't see, but they are there.)

Ok see the super cute face on the bottom left? LOL

What's Going On In The Johnson Household

So normally on Wednesdays I post the pregnancy chalkboard tracker from the week before. Well, this week would have been week 20, but that was posted early. For obvious reasons. {If you missed it click here.} Things have been pretty hectic around here. The hubby was gone for business/bachelor party/business for the last two weeks and let's just say, although he travels a lot, I never get use to him being gone. That always puts emotional stress on me. Not to mention I have been driving around like crazy. Not so great for being preggers. We had a huge thing here called Antique Alley that I sat our for two days doing. This acquired a LOVELY sunburn on the left side of my face. It was so cold and windy, who thinks to put on sunscreen when your wearing a wind-breaker and a blanket? Not this girl. Then I have begun "nesting".

The hubby being gone has made me a crazy woman to say the least - yea, yea, pregnancy hormones don't help. Between working at the office, taking care of the 3 dogs, dealing with lovely Baby Girl's growing movements, cleaning the house, prepping for Antique Alley, and driving all around the state of Texas - I was physically drained too. I had to drive to Sulphur Springs for a Bid Opening, San Antonio where the Hubby was working, College Station to bring the hubby clean clothes for the week, and Arlington for something I am sure wasn't all that important, but I drove there none the less. 

The sunburn from Antique Alley couldn't have been any better placed. It was ALL down the left side of my face, and it was BAD. Why did it have such perfect placing though? Well, I am at that stage where I can really only sleep on my left side - get it? Laying down at night consisted of much discomfort from Baby Girl refusing to ever stop moving and my face feeling like it had the worst rug burn of my life with a heating pad on it. Not to mention the sun drained me of any energy I had left from all the driving. Ugh!

Top it off with Baby Girl deciding she wanted to be transverse while simultaneously trying to kangaroo kick her way through my sides WHILE trying to get through a training session that ended in me blacking out and throwing up. Attractive. Good lord I thought I was going to die the other night. I was a literal wreck! An absolute disaster. After much research I found that babies while in the womb will move their head toward the warmest spot. A nurse friend suggested putting ice packs on either side and then something warm near your pelvic bone to help guide the baby's head downward. Ice packs were not going anywhere near my abdomen, so I decided to fill the bathtub with really warm water a few inches below my belly button. I sat in there for a bit and sure enough I felt the pressure from my sides and the sharp, fiery sensation that came with it disappear! Thank you Jesus! 

With all the pain finally gone I began cleaning like a mad woman. Also known as "nesting". I was able to clear out most of our garage that was piled high with cardboard boxes, fill up 4 giant black trashbags from all the rooms in our house, and get the nursery organized for the crib to be delivered and the walls to be painted.  

Sounds exhausting doesn't it? 

Expanding Your Baby Registry To New Levels

Expanding your baby registry to new levels? What could this mean? 

It means something pretty freakin' fabulous if you ask me! Thanks to a friend of a friend (Taylor from Pink Heels Pink Truck's friend Lauren from Our Hiding Place) I learned how to expand our Amazon Baby Registry - Yes Amazon - to websites like Etsy, Aggieland Outfitters, and various other websites! For die-hard Aggies like myself this is TOO COOL! Because all those cute Aggie gifts I thought I couldn't register for because they were in Aggieland and no registries are offered at those stores, have now been made available!! All thanks to Amazon's button that is similar to the Pinterest "Pin It" button.

Let me explain.

Add items to your Registry or Wish List from any website using that link. It will add a little button with the Amazon symbol right next to your forward and backward browser buttons. Now while browsing various websites where maybe you want only one item, or where they don't offer a registry, you can add this to your Amazon wish list, baby registry or even wedding registry! 

Pretty fan-freakin-tastic isn't it? 

GENDER REVEAL PARTY & 20 WEEKS

A BIG thank you to all the friends and family who helped make this day so special! It means the world to us that you were able to join in such a wonderful celebration! <3
A BIG thank you to Marina and J.C. for hosting the shower and Danni for being such a wonderful helper to Marina.
We love you all!

How far along? 20 Weeks

Total weight gain? I have officially gained 10 lbs on the nose as of my appointment a week ago. 

Maternity Clothes? I am alternating between Motherhood Maternity tops and Target tanks. I did find this amazing website for maternity clothes in the UK! I ordered two dresses from there hoping they would arrive before the reveal party because all maternity clothing stores here SUCK. BIG. BALLS. I mean seriously, have you seen the things they are selling!?

Stretch Marks? None.

Sleep: Sleep was good, until halfway through the week. Our baby enjoys doing acrobats and tap dances all around my belly...particularly on my bladder. 

Best moment this week: Finding out the Baby's Gender!!!

Miss Anything? Missing alcohol, particularly rum, and sushi. However, we did stop at Naked Fish in College Station on the way home. I was able to order two rolls with cooked salmon, not the same as raw, but good enough!

Movement: YES!! Refer to Week 17 for my first experiences with movements. Then week 18 for Henry's. Also, our baby officially has a gender! Although, we don't find out until week 20 at the Gender Reveal Party! Whoop!

Food cravings: Fruit, Thai food and Kit-Kats! I have probably eaten 10 kit-kat bars this week. Don't judge. 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Textures of things are making me queasy. If they are too gummy or taffy, I can't eat it. Also, Orange Juice. I have had multiple episodes where I have thrown up rather soon after drinking orange juice. Too sugary?

Gender RESULTS: BABY GIRL!!! My gut feeling was right all along!

Labor Signs: Too soon

Symptoms: Decreasing belly button, baby bump, nails and hair growing like weeds, baby movements (the best!) and my boobs have drastically increased - oh and the lovely frequent bathroom breaks have begun!

Belly Button in or out? Innie - barely.

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time: Very happy! Especially because I know what to buy for now! 

Looking forward to: More baby movements and finally finishing out the nursery since we know it's a girl!

Baby Names? Well boy names are scratched. haha We are torn between Claire, Hayden and Coraline (Cora/Coral). Why do girl names have to be so cute and difficult?

Thoughts: I have to admit, I was upset when I saw those pink balloons peeking out of the reveal box. Now don't go judging and hating me - I am beyond excited to have a little girl - but I wanted so badly to give my Father-In-Law his first true grandson - since the other 3 are step-grandsons and the other 13-16 are girls. Not to mention, Henry insists we try until we have a son so he can have someone take over the family business like he did for his dad. However Henry really did want a little girl, and I am happy knowing that now I will have someone to take shopping and get pedicures with. I can buy all those adorable baby girl outfits and accessories, future ballet recitals or even barrel racing or track meets! I am terrified of meeting our little girl, yet overwhelmed with joy all at the same time. Wondering if she will have my nose or Henry's, hoping she gets Henry's lighter blue eyes and either way she will have rockin' hair because Henry has amazingly soft hair for a dude and my hair is perfect. HAHA

**NEW** About the Board: I wet the board down with a damp rag and then wrote with Walmart brand skinny chalk. 

I chose to alternate between blue and pink since it is Gender Reveal Week! I used our Gender Reveal Invitation as inspiration for the design. 

When editing I increase the "saturation" to make the colors even more bold.

The fonts this week is:  Harrington (my favorite)

I pull up word, type what I want in the fonts chosen, then eyeball it onto the chalkboard. :-)

**NEW** Pregnancy/Maternity Fashion: I am wearing a navy blue eyelet dress from Motherhood Maternity (there were absolutely no cute blue dresses ANYWHERE! The color of the season right now is Coral and I really wanted a blue dress). The wedges are Gianni Bini - Very comfy!

GENDER REVEAL PARTY PHOTOS

19 WEEKS

How far along? 19 Weeks

Total weight gain? I have officially gained 10 lbs on the nose. 

Maternity Clothes? Still rocking the Target tank tops I bought, with the belly belt or a big blingy belt to hide my unbuttoned/unzipped pants. haha!

Stretch Marks? None. Thank goodness! I asked my Great Grandma and Mom if they had any from pregnancy and both luckily are stretch mark free. Hope I got those genes!

Sleep: Sleep is GREAT! I have been sleeping like a rock. Usually when Henry get's up I at least acknowledge his movement, but not lately.

Best moment this week: These last two weeks have been AMAZING with me being able to feel movements, then Henry, but this week was pretty awesome too. We got to not only see the baby via our 19 Week Sono, but we also got to SEE movement OUTSIDE my belly! I was sitting at my desk at work and felt some pretty strong "kicks" in the middle of my stomach. I raised my tank top up to see if I could see it and sure enough! There were the little kicks! I yelled over to Henry, "Henry! I can see the kicks! Come look at this!" He thought I was joking and said, "Heather, the baby is only 10 oz, I don't think it would be strong enough to see." I told him to, "Look here!" as I pointed to the exact spot I kept seeing movement and within a second there was a movement. Henry laughed and said, "You did that." "No! No I didn't! Keep looking!" Then immediately there were two more! Then another and another. Henry rolled back in his chair with a huge smile on his face and said, "That is so crazy!! I can't believe we can see the movements!" Then he began searching around the office to find something around 10 oz - which was a 12 oz coke. We were in awe and so excited! We sat there watching my belly and the little flutters, being completely un-productive, until it was lunch time. I am sure our employees thought we were crazy. HAHA

Miss Anything? Take a wild guess.....ALCOHOL! I have also begun to miss Sushi! Salmon and Tuna in particular. 

Movement: YES!! Refer to Week 17 for my first experiences with movements. Then week 18 for Henry's. Also, our baby officially has a gender! Although, we don't find out until week 20 at the Gender Reveal Party! Whoop!

Food cravings: Fruit. Fruit. Oh, and Fruit. Anything lemon is still my addiction and Thai food is my go-to for almost every meal. The Thai sisters at the local restaurant joke that my baby will come out speaking Thai. I literally eat there at least 4 times a week. 

Anything making you queasy or sick: So I have noticed lately when I eat red meat, it makes me sick later. The sight or thought doesn't make me queasy or sick, but EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. I eat it, I get nauseous later in the day. Also textures have started to get to me. I can not for the life of me remember what it was this week, but it was something I eat all the time and the moment it touched my tongue I had to spit it out. 

Gender Prediction: I am torn. I have had gut feelings of a baby girl the whole pregnancy, but lately been thinking baby boy. I don't know if those are true feelings or wishful thinking. I want so badly to give my Father-in-law his first true grandson, but Henry does want his little girl and it would be fun to always have someone to go shopping with or get pedicures with. Whichever the gender, I just really pray they aren't picky eaters. We will both be devastated!

Labor Signs: Too soon

Symptoms: Baby bump is the most obvious. The best symptom ever, baby movements! My nails and hair continue to grow like weeds, and my belly button has become extremely shallow, almost level with my belly. It freaks me out. I have always had a tiny, small belly button and now it's huge! Not the most attractive feature I can tell you that!

Belly Button in or out? Innie - barely.

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time: Extremely on edge happy to find out the baby gender!

Looking forward to: Reveal Party and more baby movements!!!

Baby Names? Still have to be Henry the 3rd for a boy. Ok Adaleine, the one we thought we were settled on has officially been scratched off the list. No way, Jose. We are torn between Hayden and Coraline. Why do girl names have to be so difficult?

Thoughts: I really can't think of anything other than the reveal party!!! I can barely sleep at night because I am soooo excited! 

**NEW** About the Board: I always use Crayolas Sidewalk Chalk for big lettering, then Staples brand writing chalk for finer lettering or outlining. Plus, sidewalk chalk has SO MANY COLORS! I did go buy Walmarts brand of finer chalk since it had more color options for this weeks board.  I wet the board down with a damp rag, and then write away. It makes the colors go on bolder/thicker when it's a bit wet.

I chose to alternate between blue and pink since it is Gender Reveal Week!

Then when editing I increase the "saturation" to make the colors even more bold.

The fonts this week are: Academy Engraved LET and Harrington.

I pull up word, type what I want in the fonts chosen, then eyeball it onto the chalkboard. :-)

**NEW** Pregnancy/Maternity Fashion: I am wearing colored Skinnies from Express with a belly belt (I would highly recommend investing in one of these), then an actual maternity tank from Motherhood Maternity.

Target tank top with the big blingy Ariat belt to hide the unzipped and unbottoned pants. Yea buddy!

19 WEEK SONO

Week 19 began on Saturday/Sunday for me. On Monday we had our 2nd doctor sono, 3rd overall, to see the baby, get measurements and determine the gender!! Even though they would be finding the gender, Henry and I would not find out. Our Gender Reveal Party is scheduled for this Saturday, April 13, 2013, so the only person who would know would be the party host, Marina. :-)

Our sonographer did a great job in ensuring we did not find out. She referred to "the baby" the entire time. We got to see the skull, the four chambers of it's heart and the adorable face! When we went to look at the spine and legs she made sure to tell us to look away, even though we weren't looking she talked us through everything she was doing. "I am measuring the legs right now. Looking at the spine, everything looks great. 10 toes are present." She did a few more things where we could watch and at the perfect moment our baby from the profile did a slight karate chop/intense wave on the sono! It was hilarious. She snapped a few photos for us to keep, then told us to look away one last time so she could determine the gender. I really had to practice self control not to peek - I mean REALLY try! If Henry weren't there ensuring I didn't cheat I would've been telling her, "Just tell me, I promise I will act surprised!". HA! I even tried listening for her to type "B-O-Y" or "G-I-R-L" and she was so silent on the keyboard I baaaarely heard her hit one key. Hell, she probably just typed "B" or "G". LOL

Sweet baby yawn! What do you think? Boy or Girl?

When we went to the examining room to see Dr. English, she informed us that she would just talk more about it with us at our next visit. She told the sonographer not to enter it into our chart because she didn't want to slip up and ruin the surprise, so bring photos of the reveal and we would talk about it next time. haha

We left them Marina's phone number and waited until we had confirmation from Marina they had called. Sure enough, they called and Marina did not hesitate to post on FB: "I know something you don't know!" My sister - Stefanie - was cracking me up with her responses! Both her and my sister-in-law were having major jealously issues. At lunch my sister-in-law threw a joking, pity-party, "It's not fair that she gets to know before us! She isn't even family." I had to remind her that we didn't tell family, especially Henry's, because no one on that side knows how to keep a secret. If I would've told her, all of the world would know. Punk. :-P (Love you Audrey)

Love my edit job?

Needless to say, I am posting constant countdown updates and am beyond anxious! Marina has apparently phenomenally decorated a box which will be filled with pink or blue balloons. I haven't seen said box, but my girlfriend Danni has re-assured me that everything Marina has done is perfection. Which I don't doubt one bit. 

I really thought this week would have dragged on, but I can't believe that tomorrow is Friday and we will be on our way to Houston, one day closer to knowing if Baby J will be a boy or girl. I won't be able to sleep a wink Friday night, I just know it!

If you don't already follow me on Instagram, be sure to go check it out! The gender reveal announcement won't be posted on the blog for another week, but will be posted on Instagram this weekend. 

Which team are you? Team Beau or Team Bow?

WEEK 18

I know the photos overlap the sidebar, but oh well!

How far along? 18 Weeks

Total weight gain? 4 lbs as of my last appointment - we have another appointment week 19.

Maternity Clothes? I am not necessarily wearing maternity clothes. If you look at most, they are frumpy and ugly. I mean who designs these things? Even Jessica Simpson and Heidi Klum's maternity lines are slightly awful and seem geared toward mid-30s. Luckily, I love Target! Target has a whole line of really cute ribbed tanks and regular tanks, and fitted shirts that are all SUPER LONG and comfy! Needless to say, I bought about 20 some odd shirts from Target. Their tanks even have cute designs too, long enough to cover my growing bump and unbuttoned pants. hehe

Stretch Marks? None. Thank goodness!

Sleep: Sleep is GREAT! I have been sleeping like a rock.

Best moment this week: Well last week I got to feel the baby and this week Henry got to feel the baby!!! It is wonderful every night us laying together, trying to be as quiet as possible, Henry's hand pressed against my belly and feeling the little movements and flutters. It's my favorite part of the day. <3

Miss Anything? Take a wild guess.....ALCOHOL! And ordering my steaks and prime rib medium-rare. I have actually stopped ordering most red meat, other than burgers, because I can't stand them well-done. Takes all the flavor out and feels like I am eating rubber. 

Movement: YES!! Refer to Week 17 for my first experiences with movements. This week Henry got to feel the baby move, as stated in the "Best moment of this week". I feel subtle little flutters, mostly on the left side, especially at night. 

Food cravings: Fruit. Fruit. Oh, and Fruit. Anything lemon this week is my addiction. I have made two batches now of homemade strawberry infused lemonade. YUM! Henry loves it too.

Anything making you queasy or sick: So I have noticed lately when I eat red meat, it makes me sick later. The sight or thought doesn't make me queasy or sick, but EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. I eat it, I get nauseous later in the day. Pork and Chicken it is. 

Gender Prediction: Baby Boy. However, for the first time I really started accepting the fun ideas of having a baby girl. I don't mean to sound awful, but I am team blue all the way. This week though, I saw two little girls riding around in this Barbie Corvette my sister and I use to have, and then Instagram photos of all these little ballet recitals. Oh how I would love to have a little ballerina princess! haha

Labor Signs: Too soon

Symptoms: Baby bump is the most obvious. The best symptom ever, baby movements! Then there is the hair and nails growing like crazy. 

Belly Button in or out? Innie

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy. This has been an amazing preggo week!

Looking forward to: Reveal Party and more baby movements!!!

Baby Names? Still have to be Henry the 3rd for a boy. Ok Adaleine, the one we thought we were settled on has officially been scratched off the list. No way, Jose. The new names, as seen on the board, are Coraline, Heidi, Claire, Adelaide, and Hayden (couldn't fit this one on there).  Thinking about having friends and family vote at the Reveal Party. 

Thoughts: It is an amazing bonding experience getting to feel the baby move with Henry. I am thankful the time between me feeling it and him feeling it was so short. He is really "involved" with this pregnancy, which sounds odd to say. You read all these things about how the dad doesn't really get to bond or get involved until the baby is born. Henry is rare I guess? He loves talking to the baby, putting his hand on my belly whether it's laying in bed together, driving in the car, sitting watching TV or just walking around town. He gives the baby and my belly a lot of attention that I don't hear a lot of other women admit to or talk about. The best is laying there together and hearing him say, "I felt that!.....And that!". He is going to be such an amazing dad. I can't wait until we get to kiss all those little fingers and toes!

**NEW** About the Board: I have a lot of people asking me how I get my board the way I do, inspiration, chalk, font, etc. So, I decided to add this section each week. I always use Crayolas Sidewalk Chalk for big lettering, then Staples brand writing chalk for finer lettering or outlining. Plus, sidewalk chalk has SO MANY COLORS! However, this week was 100% sidewalk chalk. I wet the board down with a damp rag, and then write away. It makes the colors go on bolder/thicker when it's a bit wet.
Then when editing I increase the "saturation" to make the colors even more bold.
The fonts this week are: Desdemona, Academy Engraved LET, and Harrington.
I pull up word, type what I want in the fonts chosen, then eyeball it onto the chalkboard. :-)

**NEW** Pregnancy/Maternity Fashion: Again, another question I keep getting.
This is post-working out so forgive the outfit. The fold-over yoga pants are Victorias Secret, and then the tank top is a regular tank top from Target. Their tank tops are UH-MAZING! Super long, super cheap too!