39 Weeks

Right now I'm experiencing a flood of emotions (I assume this is normal).  Not only am I experiencing the pregnancy hormones, but also the nervousness, the fear, and the anxiety about not knowing when this is going to happen.  Its miraculous to think that at ANY moment our life will change forever.  We will transition from our duo, to a full-on family.  I keep thinking that one week from today is my due date.  ONE WEEK.  It feels like it’s practically tomorrow in one sense (i.e., grand scheme of things, space-time continuum and all of that), but on the other hand it feels like it’s soooo far away (i.e., every twinge makes me wonder if labor might be starting, and I'm over analyzing EVERYTHING).  I know that she'll come when she's ready, in the mean time I just wish that I had a clue as to when that might be!  Below is my 39 week belly picture.

38 Weeks

Phew, ok.

So - I can't believe I'm saying this but, we are on to week 38.  I’m finding myself to be pretty emotional as the end of pregnancy draws closer.  Through all the ups and downs (there really haven't been many downs), I have truly loved being pregnant.  While I know I will love being a mother as well, it’s strange to think that this part of the journey is coming to an end.  It has been so long since I thought of myself as just “me” and I wonder what that will feel like again.  I’m also trying not to focus too much on my specific date, or drive myself crazy thinking “this could be the day!” as each one passes.  At our doctor's appointment this morning the ultrasound is showing that Lily is somewhere around or over the 6 pound mark at this point, which is great!  Below is my 38 week belly picture.

Puppy Love & Bumps

Freddy Fred loves Lily already!

37 Weeks

I'm starting to wonder how many more of these I will actually write!  Hopefully still a few more, but you never know.  I'm still feeling really good.  I don’t really feel like anything has changed, other than the fact that it feels great to officially be “full term” and through that milestone.  According to my doctor appointment this morning I am 1 cm dilated and 60% effaced (or thinned).  This doesn't mean much, except that there's at least something is happening in my body and we're having some progress.  I could easily still go to my due date (or beyond) though - stay tuned!  Below is my 37 week belly picture.

36 Weeks

Here we are – the last week until I am officially considered full term.  Hitting this milestone feels so good, because I’ll know that she’s (relatively) safe to come at any time.  I seem to have reached the stage of pregnancy where everyone assumes I can go into labor at any minute (which I suppose is true).  I found out yesterday that I am actually having some fairly strong contractions.  What  I thought was Lily pushing against my stomach is actually my uterus contracting.  That was a surprise!  At this point, I'm pretty sure that they're still "practice" contractions.  I hope so anyway, because we still want Lily to stay in and cook for a few more weeks so she can finish developing and pack on a little more weight!  Below is my 36 week belly picture.

35 Weeks

Fun fact: I have been pregnant since very late in November of last year.  That means I have been pregnant for the entire year of 2012 (plus a month prior).  You don’t realize just how long 40 weeks is until you are counting them down, but it's still gone by so quickly!  I had my second shower yesterday & it was great!  Now I'm having to face the reality that it's up to me to finish preparing for Lily's birth and it's coming up fast.  Kevin & I are definitely ready but it's still a little overwhelming to think about.  In just a month or so we will be meeting our little girl!  Below is my 35 week belly picture.

34 Weeks

I am definitely to the point where the weeks are starting to run together.  I remember back when I was like seven weeks pregnant, and I would hear women with giant bellies claim to not even remember how far along they were, I would think “how can you not remember?  THIS IS THE BIGGEST DEAL IN THE WORLD.”  Because back then every day felt like a week just waiting to get to the point where my pregnancy felt “safe” and real.  And while, at least in my personal world, it still is the biggest deal, it really is easy to lose track when you are counting forty-ish weeks.  But somehow, I have ended up at 34.  Check out the growth just 5 weeks apart at a time – this third trimester is NO joke

 This is at 19 weeks...

This is at 24 weeks...

This is at 29 weeks (start of the third trimester)...  And...

Now at 34 weeks - YOWZA!

33 Weeks

It's continuing to go by so quickly and a part of me is grateful as I can't wait to meet our baby girl, but another part of me is sad that soon I won't be pregnant anymore.  Don't get me wrong, I'm going to love my little girl more than anything in this world and I can't wait to meet her, but you're only pregnant a few times in your life and right now I'm just trying to soak it all up.  I still feel really great overall, but it is also getting a lot harder to find comfortable positions to sit/stand/eat and just be comfy in general.  Lily is getting so big now it does make normal things a little hard to do.  Mid and upper backache is also an issue at times... it comes and goes and Kevin is very kind that he does give me the occasional massage which I am very grateful for!  I feel Lily move a lot and have the hiccups which is still the cutest thing.  Instead of a series of pokes or jabs, it's rapid motion fire - pow pow p-p-p-p-pow.  I can feel her squirming and moving all her little limbs all of the time.  When it happens, I look down - chin to chest.  My stomach is like that game, Whac-A-Mole - blurp blurp blurp.  Now you see me, now you don't!  Below is my 33 week belly picture.

32 Weeks

Wow, only 8 weeks left until my due date, and five weeks to go until Lily is considered full-term and ready for life outside the womb.  By this time all of her major organs are fully functioning except the lungs, which need just a bit more time to mature completely.  My belly is definitely growing every week by leaps and bounds now, and I'm expecting it to simply grow and grow in the upcoming weeks.  Lily is likely to gain about half her birth weight during the next seven weeks or so, which seems crazy since I already feel like she's using up most of the room in there!  She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair.  Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth, and I can't wait to pinch her chubby baby cheeks!   There's not too much longer to wait at this point - I'm getting so excited!  The nursery is mostly done now which is also really exciting.  I can actually picture Lily in there at this point.  Below is my 32 week belly picture.

31 Weeks

I think I say this every time, but time is flying!  My next couple of doctor visits will be 2 weeks apart, and then I’m down to one visit per week.  How on earth did I get this far along??  Every now and then, I’ll realize that in about 9 weeks or so (if all goes well), I’ll be holding Lily!  I feel her nearly all the time unless she’s asleep, and I’m so thankful for that.  I still tend to forget that I’m pregnant at times, or at least that pregnancy does affect me.  Feeling her move is a great reminder that, yes, I need sleep and rest.  And water.  We had a great Father's Day weekend, but I'm definitely feeling all of the weekend activity today!  Below is my 31 week belly picture.

30 Weeks

I can't believe I'm at week 30.  I feel as if it was just the other day I found out I was pregnant.  It goes fast!  I'm on the final stretch.  I'm feeling healthy, ready for the challenges of childbirth (at least I think I am), and looking forward to meeting my little baby!  Yesterday in church, Kevin scared her!  She was moving around and I got his attention so he could take a look at my moving belly.  Just joking around, he poked the side of my stomach with the back of his pen, making it click.  Lily shot both of her feet up in to my ribs, so it was clear that he had startled her.  It was so funny, and so neat to feel her react to outside stimuli like that!  I can't wait to meet her :)  Below is my 30 week belly picture (getting bigger & bigger).

29 Weeks

This week Lily now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel.  Her muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and her head is growing bigger to make room for her developing brain.  Lily's brain can now control her breathing and body temperature.  She can also cough, and her sucking abilities have been perfected.  I'm feeling great, although my stomach is starting to get in the way a little more than it used it!  Below is my 29 week belly picture.

28 Weeks

I got to experience my first baby showers last week and they were wonderful!  Kevin's co-workers gave us a shower before school got out for the end of the year, and I had a shower at my house over the weekend.  I'm so grateful for all of the support (and of course, gifts) that everyone has given!  Seeing everything for Lily is making me realize how soon she's going to be here.  We received a car seat and a stroller, and I can't get over how tiny she's going to be!  I just can't wait to meet her!  Her kicks and jabs are getting so strong at this point as well.  I love feeling how big & strong she's getting :)

27 Weeks

Hello third trimester - we're in the home stretch!  Only 3 more months until my due date, and I'm getting excited.  This week is when Lily is supposed to start to be able to see as her eyes are now open and she can blink, respond to light, etc.  It's incredible how each and every week brings more new and amazing characteristics.  A few weeks ago the focus was on hearing and with this week emphasizing sight, I can't help but be amazed at how Lily is growing into a true baby right inside this tummy of mine!  Take a look for yourself, here's my 27 week belly picture! :)

26 Weeks

Wow - she is getting big!  I had an ultrasound done on Monday and she is up to 1 lb 15 oz!  I can now feel her movements really consistently throughout the day.  I was feeling her during certain periods, like morning, afternoon and at night.  Now she's making herself know pretty much all day long.  It occurred to me that I'm going to miss feeling all the movement after she's here.  But, I'm sure I'll be much too happy to be holding her in my arms to miss having her in my tummy!  Speaking of tummies... here's my 26 week belly picture.

25 Weeks

I'm definitely starting to feel some growing pains now.  My right side has been pretty sore.  It almost feels like the cramp you get when you're out of breath, and it sometimes shoots across the front on my stomach.  I guess my muscles are just starting to make room.  Lily should reach about 2 pounds by the end of this week.  That means that she's pretty much doubled in size in the last 4 weeks - no wonder I'm a little sore!  Below is my 25 week belly picture.

24 Weeks

Finally, a bump!  Well, it seems that my Wheaties are finally kicking in.  Over the last 4 or 5 days I have suddenly and FINALLY gotten my baby bump.  While it's still not huge, it's definitely there and can clearly be seen in all of my clothes.  I finally went maternity clothes shopping this week as well.  It was a lot more fun that I thought, and I got some really cute stuff.  It's nice to finally be dressing in maternity clothes designed to show off my growing bump!  Can you see the bump?  Below is my 24 week belly picture.

23 Weeks

Well, it's been a pretty uneventful week.  Lily's still moving like crazy, which I love!  It turns out that if Kevin rubs my stomach for a few seconds, she'll kick him back.  It's pretty neat.  He had his ear on my stomach last night and she kicked him right in the ear!  She's feisty already (nothing like her Mom).  I'm still feeling great.  I've finally put on a couple of pounds, so that's good at this point.  We have our monthly OB appointment next week, so I'm sure they'll check to make sure that Lily & I are growing properly.  We should get to hear her heartbeat as well, so I'm looking forward to that.  Below is my 23 week belly picture.

22 Weeks

Only 4 more months to go!  I'm starting to feel like I need to get things in order.  It looks like we've figured out our day care situation with a friend, so that's a huge relief.  It's so nice to know that we won't be leaving Lily with a stranger!  I still need to get the nursery finished, though.  We've got the crib and the rocker, but I still need to get curtains, bedding, dresser, etc.  I guess that's what baby showers are for! :)  I have to say that trying to register is pretty daunting, though.  There are soooo many options!  Oh well, I'm sure we'll get everything done in time!  Below is my 22 week belly picture.

21 Weeks

I think that my bump is finally starting to make it's debut!  I'm feeling great, although I'm starting to realize how soon Lily's going to be here.  The first half of the pregnancy went by so quickly, and I'm sure that the second half will be just as fast.  I'm feeling her move on a really regular basis now.  She's even getting big enough that she wakes me up periodically throughout the night with her kicks and bumps!  Speaking of bumps... Below is my 21 week belly picture. :)

20 Weeks & Morphology Scan

I am officially half way there!  It's hard to believe that Lily will be here in less than 5 months.  We had our morphology scan today where they check to make sure that everything is forming correctly.  Lily looked perfect.  She's 12 oz, which is in the 49th percentile (perfectly average), and is measuring exactly at 20 weeks and 1 day, which is to the day where I'm at in the pregnancy.  Hopefully she'll stay right on track so we have a nice, healthy baby that won't be too big! :)  Below is my 20 week belly picture and a picture from the ultrasound.

19 Weeks

We have officially decided on name.  We will be welcoming Lily Anjuli Taylor in just 21 more weeks (give or take).  I'm excited to have decided on a name so I can stop calling her "she" or "the baby."  Since I'm really starting to feel her move now, it's been harder and harder for me to not have a name to call her.  Her movements have become really distinct over the last 4 or 5 days.  You can actually feel her from the outside if your hand happens to be on my stomach when she gives a good hard kick.  It's such an amazing and bizarre feeling all at the same time!  We have our morphology scan next week, so we'll get another good long look at her.  This is the ultrasound where they measure everything and make sure that Lily is growing and progressing normally.  I'm feeling really good about the appointment and excited to see her again!  Below is my 19 week belly picture.

18 Weeks

Well, we've made it to18 weeks and things are trucking along.  There hasn't been a lot new happening this past week, but I'm starting to feel her move a little bit more frequently.  It's mostly at night or when I'm laying down relaxing.  I don't feel her much, or at least I don't notice, during the day.  According to what I've read, I should start feeling more movement over the next 2 to 4 weeks.  Below is my 18 week belly picture.

17 Weeks

I can't believe I'm already almost half way already!  I'm starting to feel more stretching and an almost full feeling in my uterus and stomach.  I think this week you can definitely see a little bit of a bump forming as well.  I think that I may also be starting to feel some movement.  It's still hard to tell exactly what I'm feeling at this point, though!  We're also starting to narrow down our name selections.  I'm excited to settle on one so we can actually start calling her by name, instead of just saying "the baby."  Things are feeling more and more real at this point, and it's so exciting.  I'm ready to start putting the nursery together, but I'm trying to pace myself on that one.  Step one is getting it repainted.  Hopefully that will get done this week or weekend (right, honey?). :)  Bellow is my 17 week belly picture.

It's a...

Girl!!!  I'm so excited.  It's just really nice to finally know and be able to actually picture our little baby.  Now we can start picking out a name and decorating the nursery.  I can't wait!  The ultrasound itself was pretty incredible.  She actually looks like a real baby now.  She got the hiccups, chewed on her hand, and swallowed while we were watching.  The ultrasound tech also pointed out that she was kicking my bladder.  That much I could have told you with an ultrasound. ;)  She measured at 11 cm, or just under 4 1/2 inches.  We got to see her fingers and toes, and everything looks great!  Below are a few pictures, along with my 16 week belly picture.

 She looks so developed already!

 Hi, Mom & Dad!

16 weeks

15 Weeks

Well, we had our second appointment with our OB yesterday.  We didn't get an ultrasound, but we did get to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time!  We've seen it on the ultrasound, but we've never gotten to actually hear it before.  It was really neat.  It was beating around 150 beats per minute.  According to the old wives tales, below 140 is supposed to be a boy and above 160 is supposed to be a girl, so the baby was incredibly unhelpful in giving us any hints!  Oh well, we'll know next Monday as long as the baby doesn't decide to cross it's legs the whole time.  I'm getting so excited to find out!  Below is my 15 week belly picture.

14 Weeks

Well, here we are at 14 weeks already.  I can't wait for our next ultrasound next Monday at 15 weeks.  I want to see our little guy or gal again (we'll know which one is just under two weeks)!  So far, the weeks are just flying by.  I'm still feeling really good and don't have any complaints.  I realized yesterday that I was exactly 6 months away from my due date.  I can't believe how quickly this is going by already.  Now if only my belly would catch up!  Below is my 14 week belly picture.

2nd Trimester!

The second trimester has officially begun!  Woo-hoo!!!  I'm so excited to have made it to 13 weeks.  My energy is starting to go up, which is a relief, and I'm feeling really good at this point.  I'm starting to want to think about maternity clothes, but I don't really need any yet.  I tried to go shopping for some with my sister yesterday, but I felt silly so I just ended up buying flip-flops, a shower curtain and a body pillow cover.  I guess I kind of missed the mark on that one, LOL.  Oh well, we still had fun.  Below is my 13 week belly pic.

12 Weeks Pregnant

Only one more week left in my first trimester!  It's hard to believe.  I'm really excited to get past this milestone.  I've read a lot about how the second trimester is the golden trimester for most women.  If you've been dealing with morning sickness (I haven't) it starts to fade, you start to regain your energy, the uterus starts moving up in the abdomen so it can alleviate the frequent bathroom trips!  I'm looking forward to the second two if they happen.  For some reason I've actually been extra tired the last week or so.  I still haven't gained any weight, but I have stopped losing in the last week.  I'm not getting too much of a bump yet, but I think that maybe my waist is starting to thicken a little.

What do you think, is it just in my head or are you starting to see a difference?

11 Weeks & 1st Ob-Gyn Appointment

Only two more weeks in the first trimester!  I'm so excited.  The baby is now just over 1 1/2 inches, which is crazy considering it was the size of a sesame seed a month or two ago.  I can't feel the baby's acrobatics yet, but we have an active little guy or girl in there.  We got to see it on the ultrasound again yesterday and it was just wiggling and moving all over the place.  This time I got to have the external ultrasound, which I found really exciting for some reason.  It just seems so much cooler to be able to see it from the outside!

We've scheduled the ultrasound to find out the gender.  I know a lot of people like to be surprised, but I just want to KNOW!!!  We'll find out on March 5th, only 5 short weeks away.  I can't wait!  I'm really excited about the date of the scan as well.  My birthday's on March 9th, so it will be like an early birthday present.  I can't decide if I'm hoping for a boy or girl.  When I was younger, I always wanted a girl first since I was the oldest and a girl.  I still like that idea in a lot of ways, but then I think about having a little boy and that seems so amazing too.  It would be really neat to have an older brother.  Either way, I think that Kevin & I will both be thrilled!  We're just so excited to finally be starting our family :)

Below is my 11 week belly pic:

10 Weeks Pregnant & 3rd Ultrasound

Last week we went to our third ultrasound, and last appointment, at the fertility clinic.  We got to see the baby's heartbeat again, which is always such an amazing thing.  But even more, we got to see the baby move.  I knew that it was possible for them to start moving around this time, but I don't think that either Kevin or I were expecting to actually see it.  It looked like it was just dancing around on the ultrasound screen.  Then, right before the ultrasound was over, it stuck it left arm up and looked just like it was waiving.  It was really one of the coolest experiences I've ever had.  Below is the ultrasound picture.

I'm looking forward to meeting with my regular ob-gyn next Monday.  Also, greedy little me, I want to see the baby again on another ultrasound.  I know I've mentioned it before, but I really am excited to get into "regular" care for this pregnancy.  I've still been feeling really good.  Even the slight meat aversions I was having last week have pretty much stopped.  I'm still not feeling extremely hungry, but I'm sure that will pick up soon as I get into the second trimester.  Below is my 10 week belly pic.

9 Weeks Pregnant

Well, the food aversions have finally hit.  I'm still not having much of an issue with nausea (thank goodness), but I've suddenly lost the ability to eat most meats.  Even chicken, which has long been my meat stand-by, was the first to go.  It suddenly taste almost raw to me, and the texture is just more than I can take.  Even some non-meat products have had to hit the road.  A lot of foods have started tasting really salty to me.  For example, we tried to eat pizza the other night.  I had Kevin get my half with just mushroom and onion (no offensive meat for me, please), and I was barely able to get one piece down.  It just tasted salty, and plain old not good.  I may need to get some Ensure shakes, or something like that, to make sure that my protein intake is high enough if this keeps up into the second trimester.  For now, I don't have any problem with dairy so I'm trying to eat extra cottage cheese or yogurt, along with nuts and eggs.  Below is my 9 week belly pic.

8 Weeks Pregnant

I've made it to 8 weeks, so I'm half way through the first trimester.  I'm having slightly more nausea, but otherwise I'm still feeling pretty good.  I definitely get tired earlier, but I've always been pretty early to bed anyway so that's not a big change.  I only have one more appointment with my fertility clinic next Thursday, then my next appointment is with my regular OB-GYN.  It's going to be really weird to move on to my regular doctor, but it's also kind of exciting.  It means that I'm out of "special needs" treatment and into regular care for a regular pregnancy.  It will be nice for this process to start to feel more normal (no more injections, meds, etc).  Below is my 8 week belly pic.

2nd Ultrasound

We have a heartbeat!  Wow, what an amazing thing to see a heartbeat at 7 weeks pregnant.  I was pretty nervous prior to the appointment that we wouldn't be able to see anything, but it was clearly there.  Cliched as it may be, I cried a little (it was more like a slight leak).  The Dr. said that now that we've seen the heartbeat we have a 96 - 98% chance of bringing home a baby.  That's opposed to a 75 - 80% chance prior to seeing the heartbeat.  I'll take those odds!

Our little lima bean!

I'm feeling pretty much normal so far.  I had one really bad day of nausea the day after Christmas, but now I think maybe it was from having the flu since I really haven't had any other nausea since.  Every once in a while if I let myself get too hungry, I feel some slight background nausea but nothing major.  I still get a little dizzy occasionally as well if I stand up to fast, but that's pretty limited also.  The Dr. told me I could expect a lot of bloating by this point, but honestly I haven't really noticed anything.  My weight hasn't changed yet, but you're only supposed to gain 1 - 3 lbs in the first trimester, so that's normal.  Below is my 7 week belly pic.