He is Risen

So many people say it better than me. The son of God has defeated death on our behalf.

"Sin, where are your shackles? Death, where is your sting? Hell has been defeated! The grave could not hold the King!”

April 28 Appointment

Yesterday was my 17 week doctor's appointment. Unfortunately I had to do the glucose tolerance test early because of my weight. People say that the drink is disgusting. It wasn't. It was just like super sweet syrup from a melted popsicle. I didn't hate it. Good news is that I passed the test! What the what? That was incredibly unexpected.

Also, the nurse must've caught Baby Nerd off guard because she found the heartbeat right away. Little Nerd didn't even have time to be difficult. Heart is beating at a healthy 154 bpm. It's pretty much the best sound in the world! I decided to record it this time. No idea why I didn't do this before. So now when I start to have my little freak outs about Baby Nerd actually being in my tummy I can just listen to the heartbeat.

We scheduled the big anatomy scan ultrasound! It'll be April 23 and I'll be one day shy of 21 weeks. Yesterday the doctor said he'd see me in 3 weeks because they'll change the timing of appointments to do this at 20 weeks. I got so excited thinking about what day we'd find out the flavor of this baby. Then when I went to schedule the lady told me that the next available ultrasound they had was on the 23. I almost started crying in the office! This is a full 6 days later than I had hoped. I know 6 days isn't much in the grand scheme of things, but it really breaks my heart to wait a week longer to see my baby.

Overall though, I can't really complain. There's a baby in my belly!

17 Weeks

How far along:
17 Weeks.


How big is the baby:
Baby is the size of a turnip.
image via babycenter


Weight gain/Maternity clothes:
Starting Weight: 291
Current Weight: 283.9
Total Gain: -7.1
Maternity pants are great. Shirts make me look like a hobo. So I'm fully maternity on the bottom half and trying to stretch my pre-pregnancy wardrobe on the top half. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. You'll see in my bump picture. It's starting to get a little annoying.

Movement?
Little Nerd is starting to piss me off on this one. I've been very patient until recently.


Food cravings/aversions?
Still love tacos and milk (not together). Still hate almost all veggies, but especially hate salads. Which is sad because I used to eat them a lot for lunch. :(


Gender?
Also starting to get a little pissed about this. I know the gender can be seen, but my doctor is making me wait until at least 20 weeks. I understand the reasoning, but I HAVE LOST ALL PATIENCE!!!! Also, the entire month of April is kind of full of scheduling mishaps at work, so I hope we can work around that for the appointment.


Symptoms?
Fatigue, gas, sneezing. I feel like I've had these so long that it doesn't even seem like I'm pregnant anymore. Back pain cuts into sleep. Which leads to fatigue and irritability. Massive irritability.


What do I miss?
Not much. Shirts that cover my belly. Not getting angry/sad over every little thing. Wearing my wedding ring. Shorter, manageable hair, but that has more to do with the daddy and not so much the baby.


This Week:
Little Nerd's skeleton is hardening into bone. So I should feel movement soon. The umbilical cord is growing stronger and thicker. Little Nerd weighs 5 ounces and is 5 inches long. Sweat glands are starting to develop. Sorry Baby nerd, but your mommy and daddy both sweat a lot. There's no getting around this one.
-From Babycenter.com

Bump Shot: 17 Weeks

(Maternity pants=saggy butt for me.

Pre-Preggo shirt only covers down to my belly button. These too big camis I got for Christmas have been a lifesaver! I wear them pretty much every day to cover my belly.)

16 Weeks

How far along:
16 Weeks.


How big is the baby:
Baby is the size of an avocado. And all of a sudden I want Mexican food.
image via babycenter


Weight gain/Maternity clothes:
Lost a little bit this week. Weighing in at 284.9. Pre-pregnancy I was 291-point-something. Still wearing maternity pants. Still having a difficult time with shirts. I'm definitely in that awkward pregnancy phase where regular clothes are too tight or short and I'm not quite big enough for maternity clothes (at least not the shirts).


Movement?
Little Nerd is moving around a lot in there, I just can't feel it yet. Still waiting on the "quickening" to begin.


Food cravings/aversions?
There's no denying that this is J's baby. I've been wanting spicy foods, mexican food, tuna salad, pb&j's, and chili dogs. I also like sweets. No real consistent aversions. Baby still doesn't love vegetables, but that's been happening since before I even knew it existed. (A salad was the first food to make me physically sick about 4 days before we got a positive pregnancy test.)


Gender?
We're so close to finding out! I can't wait. I think the anticipation next month is going to kill me!


Symptoms?
Fatigue, gas, sneezing, breast fullness/tenderness (thankfully, there's no size change yet), irritability, food cravings, frequent urination, mild back pain, occasional headaches.


What do I miss?
Nothing. Nothing at all. I'm even geting used to waking up every 2-3 hours to use the restroom.


This Week:
Baby Nerd's legs are more developed and the head is more erect. The eyes are moving closer to the front of the head and the ears are close to their final position. (According to What to Expect, Baby Nerd will be able to hear soon... Guess it's time to break out the nerd books and start reading them to my little guy or girl.) The pattern of the scalp has begun (let's hope you don't have my widow's peak), but hair is still a little ways off. The heart is pumping 25 quarts of blood each day. The next few weeks will entail a growth spurt for the Nerd.
-From Babycenter.com


Bump Shot: 16 weeks

These pants are very loose in the legs. This is the first time my thighs aren't too big for my pants!

15 Weeks

How far along:
15 Weeks.


How big is the baby:
Baby is the size of an apple.
image via babycenter


Weight gain/Maternity clothes:
Gained 1 lb. Now I'm at -5 lbs. I'm about 60% in maternity clothes now. All pants are maternity, but I'm having a difficult time with shirts. I just ordered a bunch and I think I ordered them too big because they hang almost halfway down my thighs... So I'm mostly trying to wear my longer non-maternity shirts.


Movement?
Little Nerd is moving around a lot in there, I just can't feel it yet. Lately, I've tried to sit really really still and calm my breathing and slow my heartbeat and just focus on trying to feel it move in there. Nothing yet. But it's still very early for a first time mom to feel movements...


Food cravings/aversions?
No real cravings lately. Except junk food. Not sure if that's baby or me. But I am indulging in it for now. At my next appointment we'll test for Gestational Diabetes (approximately 10 weeks earlier than normal tests for GD). I feel like GD is pretty much inevitable because of my weight  family history of diabetes, and increased insulin during ART treatments. So, because I'm pretty sure I will have to spend the rest of this pregnancy on a special diet, I'm indulging now. This is probably the wrong attitude to have about the situation, but it's the one I have.


Gender?
5 weeks away! I'm already thinking about gender reveal ideas!


Symptoms?
Still a little fatigued. I go to bed around 8 or 8:30 every night and then spend all night tossing and turning because I can't get comfortable. Some back and hip pain (especially at night, when it's least convenient). Also, I think I broke my crotch! It's kind of embarrassing to talk about, but I am trying to document everything. The pain is on my left side where my leg meets my torso. In reality, it's probably a pulled muscle from my crazy acrobatic cleaning last weekend. Stuffy nose and a little bit of a nose bleed. Overall, the second trimester is everything I hoped it would be!


What do I miss?
Nothing. Except maybe sleeping all the way through the night. Those days are gone.


Milestones:
Seeing my belly "pop" out. I know that no one else can tell, probably not even J, but I noticed and that has been a very happy moment!


This Week:
Baby Nerd is about 4" long and weighs about 2.5 ounces. Little Nerd is practicing breathing and working on developing air sacs in the lungs. Legs are longer than arms now. All joints and limbs are moving smoothly. Baby Nerd can sense light! If this Baby is anything like its Daddy it prefers the dark. According to Babycenter.com, an ultrasound this week could indicate the gender of the baby.
-From Babycenter.com

And just for fun. Here are some pictures I've taken. You would think that because I'm MARRIED TO A PHOTOGRAPHER there would be some professional baby bump shots. But no, these were taken in my work bathroom. Luckily no one has walked in on me yet. That would be pretty embarrassing.

This was taken around 8.5 weeks.

14 weeks. Love my maternity pants. 

14 Weeks

How far along:
14 Weeks.

How big is the baby:
Baby is the size of a lemon.
image via babycenter


Weight gain/Maternity clothes:
Gained 1 pound which puts me at a total of -6ish lbs. I've started wearing maternity pants, but am still mostly sticking with leggings and dresses.


Movement?
Little Nerd is moving around a lot in there, I just can't feel it yet.


Food cravings/aversions?
No real cravings lately. We like stinky food like onions. But most other vegetables are still pretty gross. I'm trying to find ways to sneak them in. Like we had tacos last night, so I tried to put extra lettuce and tomatoes on them & hope it would fool me.

Gender?
6-ish weeks until we find out!

Symptoms?
Most are subsiding. I'm still tired, but not like it was in the beginning. I get nauseated every once in awhile, but not all day every day. Round ligament pains are becoming more frequent.

What do I miss?
Nothing. At all.

Milestones:
Beginning the fourth month of pregnancy. We're almost at the halfway mark. Crazy.

This Week:
Baby Nerd can now make facial expressions! The kidneys are producing urine. Baby Nerd grew almost an inch from last week and is now approximately 3.5 inches long and weighs 1.5 ounces. Lanugo is developing all over Baby Nerd's body.
(From babycenter.com)