Week #16 Update

This past week was a bit of a mixed bag. It was definitely good baby-wise, but not so good for me :P  We had our 16-week prenatal appointment on Wednesday and Ramin and I were finally able to hear the amazing heartbeat! It was the coolest thing ever to hear it so clearly. The nurse said it was about 155 beats per minute (which wasn't surprising to me at all of course because I knew it would be that fast).

We also scheduled our fetal ultrasound. Technically we're able to do the ultrasound around December 20th when we'd be 20 weeks, however, because our midwives are actually located in the hospital and have to share the fetal ultrasound services with tons of other doctors, they were extremely booked up and the earliest appointment they had available was January 3rd!! At first I was super sad that I wouldn't get to know what we were having before Christmas (I wanted an early Christmas present of course), but after crying about it to my mom for a few minutes I realized that it was OK. In fact, I'm actually OK with it because I'll get to spend a good amount of time at home during Christmas and I'll have fun and such...and then I get to look forward to even more fun come Jan. 3rd!! So now I'm alright with how things are turning out.

So why was this week kind of bad for me? Well....I've been battling a dry cough at night and a mild sore throat during the days. It wasn't until yesterday though (Saturday) that my sore throat really took a turn for the worse. I was so fatigued for most of the day that I slept a lot....and my nodes in my neck were swollen too. I honestly thought I had strep throat...so I rested and had as much vitamin C as I could (I ate 5 cutie oranges throughout the day). But, today I woke up very rested and feeling much better! I was surprised my throat didn't get worse, but I'm also very relieved!

*TMI Warning *The other crappy thing about this week was that I've had to deal with a weird rash. Actually, it started last week. I didn't document it last week cause I thought I had gotten rid of it...it started under my boos (I know, sorry TMI again). I figured it was just my bra getting too tight or something and me sweating a lot. So I added some body powder under there and it seemed to help. Well, Tuesday night (the night before our appointment) I noticed a similar rash under my tummy (yes I've got skin that hangs over) and I thought it was weird because I always powder up down there. So I thought that maybe my skin is just being super sensitive right now to moisture and heat. So we went into the appointment and of course the nurse has to get to my tummy area in order to do the doppler for the heartbeat. Her reaction was priceless. I tried to cut her off and say "I know I know, I've got a rash"....but she replied with "Well this is a yeast infection"...and all I could say was "Are you sure?!?". I was in shock - I'd never had one of those and I never realized they could be on the OUTSIDE of your skin! Soo....that's what it is. And now I'm using an over the counter yeast infection cream and applying it to just under my tummy as well as under my boobs. I also use a special medicated powder so that it won't itch. Gross I know....but it's really not that bad honestly.

NOW - on to the fun picture stuff!! Since it's 16 weeks I had Ramin take a new picture of me. Since it's the weekend my hair is crap and I'm not dressed too well but here it is:

Don't mind the dumbbell in the corner :P Sooo I think it's getting more obvious but it's funny the way I'm growing...I generally have two tummy rolls (an upper and a lower hehe) and my top roll is actually growing more than the bottom one. In fact, the part where the two meet is actually my waistline and it's growing and causing me not to be able to button up most of my pants anymore. I find this really weird honestly. But it's OK. I'm excited to grow and get my belly but I also feel like I'm in the awkward stage where people just think I'm getting fatter :P I know I've thought that about a few people in the past only to realize later that they were pregnant hehe.

Also, I got two new nursery items in the mail this week (both purchased on eBay of course). The first is this Scentsy warmer. It's got the "Hey diddle diddle..." nursery rhyme on it. The seller failed to ship the warmer dish so I've got to get one for it, but I'm excited to use it as a night light when I do nighttime feedings :)

I also got this super cute pewter frame, also with the same nursery rhyme on it (it's the main nursery rhyme for my Mother Goose themed nursery). I accidentally bid on a second frame not remembering I already bought this one....so I'll probably end up with two of them. I think as soon as we get the ultrasound pictures we'll put one in here :)  Isn't it a cute frame! I just love it!

That's this week's wrap up! Good progress for sure :)

How far along: 16 weeks, 6 days

Total Weight Gain/Loss: At my official prenatal weigh in they said I was up 2 lbs for the month. They said that was within limits so I didn't get a weight lecture (which was good!)

Maternity clothes: The orange shirt in my picture is a new maternity top i got from Zulily. I've started wearing it now because I'm not sure how long I'll have to wear it before it doesn't accommodate my belly.

Major Symptoms: Yeast infection I documented above. Some hip pain at night while sleeping...When I sleep on my left hip it hurts (cause I tend to favor that side a lot) and when I try my right side my back ends up hurting. Last night I resorted to sleeping on my back most of the night due to my pains....I know back sleeping isn't the best so I'll have to look into ways I can fix my pain.
Stretch marks: Still no
Sleep: It's very good when I have no pains.
Best moment last week: Hearing the heartbeat! I thought to myself  "Ok, it's still alive in there" haha
Movement: Unfortunately, no
Food cravings/aversions: This week wasn't too bad.

Belly button - in or out? In
Labor signs: Not yet
What I miss: Nothing. I'm so grateful for being pregnant I'm just loving the entire experience so far!
What I am looking forward to: Having a 4-day weekend for Thanksgiving this coming week!
Milestones: Hearing a strong heartbeat at 16-weeks!

Week #15 Update

This week was fairly uneventful. I had no major symptoms and we didn't really have anything special going on. I also didn't get any cool things for the baby either. I decided then, that it was time I start organizing all of the baby pictures my mom brought over to me. I spent some time organizing all of my pictures from the time my mom was pregnant with me, till my 1-year mark. I was too lazy to scan them in so I took a picture of a few of my favorites. They are in order from a few weeks old until a year old. I think it's important to review baby pictures of the parents because there's such a great chance that the baby will look like a combination of them.  Ramin's mom promised me she'd send me a bunch of Ramin's baby pictures so I'm waiting on those.  I'll post them when I get them. 

So - all of my pictures are after the weekly update. :)

How far along: 15 weeks, 6 days

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Maintained. surprisingly though because all I'm doing is retaining all of the food I eat :P

Maternity clothes: Definitely yep. Lots of my jeans are unbuttonable at this point

Major Symptoms: I guess I have to document that constipation is a major symptom for me. I know it's TMI but honestly, it's the only real symptom that's been consistent with me since I've been pregnant.
Stretch marks: Still no
Sleep: Sleeping well this week....I know I go into some major deep sleep and have super intense vivid dreams. I usually go to bed between 9:30 and 10:00pm but I usually wake up feeling like I didn't sleep at all.
Best moment last week: Having an incident/symptom free week was pretty great.
Movement: Haven't really felt anything this week at all. Perhaps my feeling last week was just a fluke after all. 
Food cravings/aversions: Lots of Rice Krispies cereal. I've had a few nights so far where it's all I've had for dinner.

Belly button - in or out? In
Labor signs: Not yet
What I miss: This week I don't miss anything :)
What I am looking forward to: Next prenatal appointment with the midwives on Wednesday
Milestones: Completing 15 weeks!

This is the one picture I have of Ramin as a baby. It's clearly his hospital picture and I don't think it looks much like him at all...but I guess we all come out that way.  I'm so excited to see how much our little one will look like us :)

Week #14 Update

This week was fairly uneventful. My health was good and I was also lucky enough to have an extra day off from work because I got to use my Floating Holiday for my birthday.

Thursday night was great because I went to my first water aerobics session. I had SO MUCH fun doing it that I'm going to try and go every Thursday night  for as long as I can throughout my pregnancy. I just have a note to myself - don't eat a large lunch that day!

Friday night Ramin and I went out to dinner with our friends Jenn and Matt and then him and I went to see the Utah Symphony perform Vivaldi's Four Seasons. It was a great birthday present!! Here's our picture from Abravanel Hall:

How far along: 14 weeks, 6 days

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Maintained

Maternity clothes: Everything is getting tighter, so I've bought a few more maternity items (on sale of course!)

Major Symptoms: This week has been really good!
Stretch marks: Still no
Sleep: My dreams have been so vivid lately that some morning I wake up feeling like I didn't even sleep.
Best moment last week: Completing an hour of water aerobics and loving it!
Movement: Well, yesterday after I laid down to take a nap, I'm pretty sure I felt some movement. It felt like a butterfly flapping it's winging way down low. I laid still and felt it happen a few times before falling asleep.
Food cravings/aversions: Nothing specific really. All I know is that I just can't eat how I normally did before. My previous portion sizes (which were normal) are just too big now and if I try to stuff it in (which I do too often because I want to eat!) then I end up feeling bloated and full the remainder of the night - it's not fun.

Belly button - in or out? In
Labor signs: Not yet
What I miss: This week I don't miss anything :)
What I am looking forward to: Feeling the baby kick.
Milestones: Started attending water aerobics

Week #13 Update

Last weekend we finally announced our pregnancy to the larger world through Facebook. I bought some special shirts on Etsy and had our friend Jenn take our picture - Ramin had the idea of having some "props". Here's how it turned out - we had a much larger response than I was expecting :)

How far along: 13 weeks, 6 days

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Been checking the home scale every morning and I've maintained everything

Maternity clothes: Still no but pants are getting harder and harder to do up

Major Symptoms: Tummy was good all week but a new symptom has popped up - Pelvic Girdle Pain. At first I thought it was sciatica but after reading up on that I think a lot of pregnant women falsely believe they get sciatica when in fact it's more likely pelvic girdle pain. Basically I've been randomly feeling a sharp, shooting pain in my bum that extends down my left leg - always just on my left side. Ramin helped me figure out the problem and I've been doing some special stretches/exercises to help keep the pain at bay. Since I've been doing them I haven't felt the pain. I just have to make sure I do them every day.
Stretch marks: I'm trying to prevent them by using Palmer's Stretch Mark Cream
Sleep: A few of my nights have been bad due to the pelvic pain, especially after I get up to pee in the middle of the night.
Best moment last week: Seeing how much support and love we have from friends and family after our announcement :)
Movement: Nope
Food cravings/aversions: Cereal! I just love rice krispies these days. I've had to buy two family size boxes just to keep up.

Belly button - in or out? In
Labor signs: Not yet
What I miss: Starting to miss a fully restful night's sleep. My back and pelvis are starting to give me pain while sleeping so I toss a lot. 
What I am looking forward to: Feeling the baby kick.
Milestones: Successful official pregnancy announcement!