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?

16 Weeks

Henry and myself with our newest "baby" - Buddha!

How far along? 16 Weeks

Total weight gain? I will get weighed at the doctors week 17

Maternity Clothes? Rocking maternity tops! Although, I bought warm weather maternity clothes and then it dropped below freezing. LOVE Texas weather.

Stretch Marks? None.

Sleep: Sleep is good until I am up at around 4 am to go to the bathroom every night.

Best moment this week: Our new puppy!!! Completely non-baby related I know.

Miss Anything? Still. Missing. Alcohol. 

Movement: No movements yet, but apparently this week could be the week!

Food cravings: Fruit cravings are still pretty dominant next to Macaroni and Cheese. Thai food is a big deal too. I love that we have one literally down the street. Pad Thai, Panang Curry, Tom Yum, Tom Kha Kai - YUM! 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope! Been pretty good this week.

Gender Prediction: Baby Girl. 

Labor Signs: Too soon

Symptoms: Baby bump is the most obvious. Hair is growing like crazy still. My trainer and Henry's family has really noticed my hair being longer - I see it everyday so haven't really noticed. Crying. ha! The emotional crying has begun too. 

Belly Button in or out? Innie - although my cute tiny belly button is starting to get a little bit bigger. I am not liking it.

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time: I am EXTREMELY happy! Odd? I had like 2 crying fits, but other than that happy.

Looking forward to: Doctors appointment on Monday to hear the heartbeat again, and our Gender Reveal Party on April 13th thanks to a wonderful friend Marina! Then of course, FEELING THE BABY MOVE!!

Baby Names? Still have to be Henry the 3rd for a boy. The baby girl name seems to be settled on Adaleine, however torn between a middle name still.

Thoughts: Anxious on feeling the baby move. I have felt so called flutters, but I want to feel an actual kick before I go around saying I felt the baby. Wondering how the first real movement will feel. :-)

Laughing as Buddha is jumping at our feet to be in the picture too!

Instagram photo! Follow me!

New to the blog? Be sure to check out the previous weeks! Become a follower to get future updates <3
Announcement: 1+1=3
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
Week 12
Week 13
Week 14 Sono
Week 14
Week 15

15 WEEKS

How far along? 15 Weeks

Total weight gain? Weighed myself at the gym I am up a total 1.4 lbs. 

Maternity Clothes? I officially bought my first maternity clothes. Two cute tank tops, two t-shirts, two dress shirts, skinny pants, crop leggings, long ruched leggings. My bump was officially raising shirts beyond my unzipped, rubber band pants and it wasn't too flattering. haha

Stretch Marks? None. 

Sleep: Sleep is good until I am up at around 4 am to go to the bathroom every night.

Best moment this week: Started working out with my personal trainer again and loving the results!

Miss Anything? Still. Missing. Alcohol. 

Movement: No movements yet.

Food cravings: Fruit cravings are still pretty dominant next to Macaroni and Cheese again. We went to Cracker Barrel and it was heaven! Especially their Chicken and Rice since my queasiness has returned.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Other than a particular time of day, nothing triggers it.

Gender Prediction: Baby Girl. 

Labor Signs: Too soon

Symptoms: Baby bump is officially visible!! Hair is growing like a weed, especially leg hair! It takes forever to shave my legs already, now I have to do it more often too. *I already struggle with shaving them enough as it is people!* Nose bleeds have started happening this week. Crazy right? Sunday I was doing the baby registry at Babies'R'Us with my cousin Rebekah and had to race across the store to throw up. We were at one of the biggest stores in Houston and of course we were alllll the way on the other end of the store. Then there were absolutely NO trash cans along the way. I was having a mini-panic attach thinking I was going to projectile vomit in the middle of the busy store trying to rush to the restroom. THEN, I accidentally ran into the mens restroom, where a big black guy was using the restroom, and just started puking my guts up. Sorry dude, your in a store with a bunch of pregnant chicks. Last but not least, stomach feels like the skin is going to rip. I have to eat every 2 hours before blood sugar starts dropping, and not over-eat or I feel miserable. 

Belly Button in or out? Innie

Wedding rings on or off? On during the day, but at night I have had to wake up and take it off because it feels too tight and wakes me up.

Happy or Moody most of the time: Despite all the crazy symptoms, I am EXTREMELY  happy! Odd?

Looking forward to: Our Gender Reveal Party on April 13th thanks to a wonderful friend Marina! I can't believe it is getting so close! 

Baby Names? Still have to be Henry the 3rd for a boy. The baby girl name seems to be settled on Adaleine, however torn between a middle name. 

Thoughts: You read all these horrible pregnancy symptoms and think, "God why would anyone want to be pregnant? That sounds miserable!" But despite all these crazy changes and symptoms you feel EXTREMELY happy. At least I do. You just think of that little baby and it makes everything worth it. Although you feel miserable at times, looking back I can barely recall how miserable I truly felt. My mind is already blocking out past yucky days. It's pretty cool. 

14 WEEKS

The Hubby and myself with the growing bump! <3

How far along? 14 Weeks

Total weight gain? Won't go to the doctor for another 3 weeks and still don't have a scale at home.

Maternity Clothes? None yet, however the bump is growing and I have purchased some daily leggings and tunics to come in the mail from Victorias Secret. I don't know why, but I am really not wanting to buy actual maternity clothes. Ugh! I want the bump, but not the maternity clothes lol.

Stretch Marks? None. 

Sleep: Sleep is becoming a bit restless and I am up at 6:45 am almost every morning due to the bladder.

Best moment this week: Getting to see Baby J again!!! You can read all about the experience with sono photos HERE: 14 WEEK SONO. Man I do I love this little baby! 

Miss Anything? Still missing alcohol. With the summer months coming up and all the pictures of Mojitos and Sangria...I feel tortured!

Movement: No movements. Watching the sono and seeing Baby J move SO MUCH I can't believe I didn't even feel a flutter. Patiently waiting though!

Food cravings: Fruit cravings are back. We have been making fruit dishes galore. Such as Belgian waffles with sliced strawberries, blackberries, and banana slices topped with powder sugar. YUM! Then craving lemon water, lemonade, and this amazing Kool-aide that I can't seem to find: Watermelon Cherry!! Luckily, I have 3 packets still left.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope! Yippee!

Gender Prediction: Baby Girl. 

Labor Signs: Too soon

Symptoms: Other than the baby bump slowly growing, and slight memory loss, I have been beyond HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY!

Belly Button in or out? Innie

Wedding rings on or off? on

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy Happy!! 

Looking forward to: Our Gender Reveal Party on April 13th thanks to a wonderful friend Marina! 

Baby Names? Still have to be Henry the 3rd for a boy. Then baby girl options seem to be narrowing down to Adaleine and Adalena. We did a poll the other day asking which people liked most: Adaleine (Add-uh-line) seemed to win. We love both names. Adalena (Add-uh-Leen-uh) was a little German girls name from our Honeymoon, but my nickname in Germany was "Heatherleine", so Henry thought of the idea of taking Adalena to Adaleine. The "Leine" on the ending is suppose to mean something like "little love". I am leaning toward Adalena though since it is purely original.

Thoughts: I still can not get over how developed our baby was at 14 weeks. It really got me to thinking about all this abortion stuff. I am all for abortion if it is rape (police report to prove it) or medically necessary (doctors note to prove it), but if some girl just decided not to keep her legs closed, NO MA'AM! Especially if it is later in the pregnancy. Did you know they allow abortions even if the baby is near 24-28 weeks!!!!??? Partial Birth Abortion is what it is called. They deliver the baby only to the head, a slit is made in the back of the head, and a suction tube is stuck into the head to suck all the "Product of Conception's" brain out, skull is crushed, then the rest of the baby is delivered and disposed. WTF!?!?! Ugh! Now I am not going to post up with a sign and crucifix outside of an abortion clinic, but it has got me thinking. 

13 WEEKS

How far along? 13 Weeks

Total weight gain? 0.8 lbs! I finally have a bump and only gained 0.8lbs?

Maternity Clothes? Luckily I have one pair of Miss Me Jeans that are a loose comfortable fit, but I did go ahead and buy this pants band thing. Its a classier alternative to the hairband, as in it doesn't leave your fly hanging open. It is made to look like an extension of your jeans. 

Stretch Marks? Nada, I had a mini panic attack thinking I might have seen one on my hip, but then I realized I had just scratched myself. HA!

Sleep: Sleeping like a ROCK! Until about 6:45ish AM when I have to get up to teedle.

Best moment this week: HEARING BABY J'S HEARTBEAT & GETTING A BUMP! I had this terrible feeling that around week 10 Baby J had stopped growing. I mean I just knew the baby stopped. We went to the doctor for a check up and they did the little fetal ultrasound thing to find the heartbeat. It took the longest 5 minutes of my life to find the heartbeat....I could hear her pass over mine and slowly hear it getting faster and faster the longer it took her. Finally she found it and I began to tear up. A healthy 160 BPM! She apologized for taking so long and said that was going to be her last run before getting the doctor since she could see my heart rate increasing. After she left Henry said he had no idea there was anything wrong, he thought my heartbeat was the baby's the whole time, until the actual baby heartbeat came up, then he knew the difference. lol No wonder he wasn't panicking.

Miss Anything? Alcohol, particularly rum. Again, don't judge people.

Movement: No movements. We can't wait for them to start though!

Food cravings: Runts! I finally found them at Walgreens.

Anything making you queasy or sick: No queasiness this week. Yea buddy!!

Gender Prediction: Baby Girl. I have such a strong feeling it is a girl! Monday on Week 14 we go into Stork Vision just to see Baby J and they said their is a chance we might find out the gender...I hope not because I need Baby J to hide it's gender parts until we get closer to the reveal party! I am terrible at surprises.

Labor Signs: Too soon

Symptoms: My skin seems to be under control! I went ahead and ordered some more Mac mineral powder, charged water moisturizer and their Prep + Prime. I am getting the "rosy" look on my cheeks without using blush and the Prep + Prime REALLY evens out the color of my skin-tone. I feel much better about myself now. 

Biggest symptom of the week: BABY BUMP!!!! I was having major bump envy and one night I was putting on my a t-shirt to sleep in, looked down and WHAM there was the bump!!! I was so excited!! I took a ton of photos and was texting my sister who I had just complained to about my non-existent bump. 

Fatigue, I am pretty sure I slept about 16 hours the other day. Slept from about 2-8, woke up and watched a movie with the Hubby, then went back to sleep until 8 the next morning.

Belly Button in or out? Innie

Wedding rings on or off? on

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy Happy!! 

Looking forward to: Decorating the nursery, finding out the gender (5 more weeks!!!), and feeling Baby J move! Oh and getting to see Baby J again week 14! We get a full 10 minutes, which includes a CD of the heartbeat, DVD of the ultrasound, and photos of course. Henry's parents will be joining us and I can't wait to see Baby J squinch his/her tiny face and squirm around. You can bet that morning I will be having some coffee, fruit juice and a box of nerds. That baby will be moving up a storm. <3

Baby Names? Still have to be Henry the 3rd for a boy. Then baby girl options: Claire, Adaleine, Annabelle, Adalena <3

Thoughts: I am happy to have baby bump now, but going to the gym I feel like I look like that girl who hasn't worked out all winter. It is still a semi-awkward baby bump. I met up with my old personal trainer today and going to begin training sessions with her again. I know they say if you stay active before pregnancy you can continue after pregnancy, but I am really paranoid. It will make me feel better to know she is guiding me through proper posture and working out. plus, our babymoon is in June and this baby is no excuse to get fat. My belly may be huge, but every other part of me needs to be toned. 

Also, I know people are being kind or have good intentions when they say, "OMG you aren't big at all! Your bump is so tiny!" It's great to know I don't look like a whale and maintaining a good shape, I guess, but I guess they don't realize I have bump envy so deep down I am thinking, Thanks punk! How about now!? Then trying to press my belly out further. HA! 

Gender Reveal: How To Announce Baby J As A Boy Or Girl

If you ever browse Pinterest, then you will see the Gender Reveal Party ideas taking over people's baby boards. Some old fashion folks prefer the idea of waiting until the baby pop's out, but the latest generation trend is the Reveal Party/Shower. Henry and I have decided we would like to jump on this bandwagon, but don't know exactly which of the many fabulous ideas to use! That is why I have listed some of our favorite ideas. We need your help in voting, or suggesting alternatives, to help us decide how to reveal Baby J's gender to family and friends.

We find out the gender in just under 8 weeks, with the reveal shower to follow shortly after the doctor puts the gender in a sealed envelope where even we won't know until the shower.

This means we need to come up with an idea, so the shower planning and theme can begin!

Ideas:

1) Gender Reveal Scratch Off:

Etsy Source

If we chose this idea everyone would receive a scratch off, but only ONE would have 3 bows or 3 mustaches (or feet or anchors or bees, whatever the theme may be). This way everyone gets to be involved. We can either buy them pre-made off Etsy, or use one of the many How-Tos that can be found online.

2) Fizzy Drink Gender Reveal:

Pinterest Baby Board

The science nerd in me loves this idea!

Henry suggested as a way to prevent some party-pooper from spoiling the surprise before everyone is ready by being an eager beaver, was to get a pretty vase in the center of the room, fill it with water, and everyone toss the fizzy into the vase at once.

Wishing Well Style. 

We could opt to give everyone a fizzy or a select few. Or hell, just Henry and I could drop one in together in the front of the room.

3) Box of Balloons Gender Reveal:

Pinterest Baby Board

Etsy Source: Balloon Reveal Box Vinyl Decor

 This is a pretty common reveal along with the cake/baked good reveal.

You take a decorated box, have the balloon place fill the box with the correct color, then release the balloons in front of family and friends. Simple and sweet! You could opt to do regular latex balloons, get different shaped balloons in the correct color, have streamers attached to the balloons, etc. All different ways to dress it up!

4) Confetti Balloon Gender Reveal:

GreyLikesBaby Blog

 This idea could get messy, but I love it! I do not know exactly how this couple had the confetti release, but this is what I have pictured in my head.

You get some pink balloons, some blue balloons, then two black balloons.

Have the balloon store fill the two nice sized black balloons with the correct color confetti.

When it is time to reveal, you each pop the two black balloons and down rains beautiful gender colored confetti! Partay!

5) Bubble Gum Gender Reveal:

Frosted Petti Coat Blog

 For this one, the photographer was the only one who knew. Everyone closed their eyes, photographer placed the correct color gumball in the parents-to-be mouths, and then everyone opened their eyes.

My sister also had the idea of instead of revealing the gum-ball, you could blow a bubble. 

Super Cute! 

6) Cake/Cupcake/Cake Pop Gender Reveal:

Pinterest Baby Board

 This idea you could do one whole cake, where Henry and I would slice into the cake and the cake or filling would be pink or blue. You could do cupcakes, everyone bites into it to reveal pink or blue. You could do filled cupcakes, where the filling is pink or blue. Cake pops, cake balls, etc. Lots of yummy edible options here. This is also the most traditional way people have done it.

7) Party Popper Gender Reveal:

Pinterest Baby Board

This is a new idea I haven't seen used yet.

Everyone gets a party popper filled with the correct color, count 1,2,3 and POP!

Out comes pink or blue!

8) Gender Reveal Pinata:

Etsy Source

Who doesn't know how a Pinata works?

Hang piñata in a tree, everyone takes a whack at it, colored candy/confetti/glitter, etc. falls out!

Gender revealed! Voila!