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! 

12 WEEKS

How far along? 12 Weeks

Total weight gain? I have an appointment on Monday the 25th where they will most definitely weigh me. I am betting I have gained more than I probably should. Oopsie. :-)

Maternity Clothes? Still rocking the loose blouses and tanks. Trying to hold out on purchasing actual maternity clothes. 

Stretch Marks? Nada

Sleep: Still having the sharp pains waking me up at night, except starting Thursday. I actually had semi-sound sleep Thursday, excluding one middle of the night potty break.

Best moment this week: Getting rid of the bloating! Whoop! And deciding on a baby room theme. <3

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

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

Food cravings: Red Lobster cheesy biscuits. Oh yummy! Oh and mustard. I HATED mustard prior to pregnancy, and now I am craving it. It is mind-boggling to me how much pregnancy changes things, especially taste-buds. If men thought women were confusing before, pregnancy is a whole'nother curve-ball.

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

Gender Prediction: Baby Girl.

Labor Signs: Too soon

Symptoms: I haven't had any actual "symptoms" this week. Other than the typical face not figuring out if it wants to be oily or not problem, and random cravings. BUT, I had a breakthrough on my face dilemma. I had a small amount of Mac mineral powder left over and mineralized water moisturizer, and thought screw it, I will try it. My face actually took to the make-up and stuck! I went to dinner feeling pretty for the first time in a few weeks and not like my face was going to melt off. It was even extremely humid at dinner and we ate outside. When we got back to our hotel room, make-up was still flawless. Bingo baby! Oh and my bloating dilemma...I finally called the doctor after standing up doing the dishes and feeling as if someone took a knife, stabbed me in my back at a downward angle and was slowing twisting the knife for a good 5 minutes. It was a paralyzing pain that sent me into tears. Turns out my tummy medicine for my gastroparesis that I had stopped taking is ok to take during pregnancy AND something they prescribe for bloating/gastric reflux. I had overly stuffed myself at Red Lobster, came home, took my tummy medicine and was almost immediately better. I had a whole nights sleep without sharp pains and no bloating or queasiness since. LOVE!

Belly Button in or out? Innie

Wedding rings on or off? on

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

Looking forward to: Getting an actual baby bump, decorating the nursery, finding out the gender (6 more weeks!!!), and feeling Baby J move!

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

Thoughts: I figured I would add this for adding random thoughts that occur during the week. Now I am opening myself to honesty here, so please be mindful of any replies. I am slightly annoyed at all the people "raining" on my gender team parade. I love when people say whether they are "Team Boy" or "Team Girl"! It's exciting to see people get excited over such a special time in our lives with us. What annoys me is when people kind of make snippy remarks or just say, "How about just a healthy baby?" "All I care about is if they are healthy." As if by saying Team boy or girl means we don't want a healthy baby.  Really?? I have never heard anyone say, "I hope it's a boy with down syndrome." OF COURSE I WANT A HEALTHY BABY! That is a given. So when I, or anyone else for that matter, states what team they are on, don't throw the healthy baby remark out there. Everyone wants to have a healthy baby. Let us enjoy Team Blue or Pink gosh darnit!

DIY Photo Ledge Wall

The Hubby and I recently rearranged our living room. This left a large empty wall behind our couches where our once small entertainment center sat. I have seen all over Pinterest these photo walls and photo ledge walls.

The photo ledge walls were very appealing due to the minimal holes drilled into the walls. Less holes = fewer patches if you decide to sell = no matching paint. Which the previous owner did and it did not turn out well. 

I was shopping around various sites and those ledges are not cheap! Either they are not cheap or have horrible reviews, and I am all about reviews!! 

Target - One ledge had a decent price, but horrible reviews. The other ledge looked good, but was pricier and no reviews.

Pottery Barn - They have the Holman ledge, which I am sure this will be no shocker, they were pricey. $35-$55 for one ledge. Not to mention I had bought their wine bottle and wine glass shelves earlier this year and I swore I would NEVER buy shelves from them again. Their anchors are the most destructive anchors I have ever encountered. Let's just say if you screw up, too damn bad, or you have to saw out a good 4" circle to get it out of your wall. And their templates are obviously just preprinted and not necessarily checked for accuracy with the shelf it is shipped with. Can you sense my hostility?

The Container Store - Their Tchotchke shelves had almost great reviews, and the price was decent.  $28-$38. 

Still, I wanted something cheaper. Not to mention, when you say $38 it doesn't sound too bad, but when you need 4 or 5 of them that is a whopping $152- $190 before tax. Don't forget you have to buy frames too if not already in your possession. So, when I stumbled upon Be Simply Organized I was squealing with joy! DIY Photo Ledge for about $10/ledge. Wham-Bam-Thank-You-Ma'am! Sign me up! 

I plan to make a trip to Home Depot tomorrow to buy the necessary supplies. Hope to have them up and running by next weekend, so stay tuned!

Alana XOXO

All photos from Pinterest