Week #23 Update

This week I made a tiny bit of progress on the nursery and made TONS of progress on the baby clothing front, due to some generous friends :)

First, the bedding set we got last week needed a good ironing out before I could do anything with it. So I spent a few hours yesterday doing a thorough job of ironing not only the dust ruffle, but also the two valances. I spent another hour putting the crib together. I'm not sure if I'll leave the bumper up or not....I know it's recommended not to have the bumper for SIDS concerns, so I'll do some more research to see what I want to do. I just wanted to see what all of it would look like together.

I also took some items from the crib set that Jill gave to me along with the crib. It's jungle them as well, but more green and brown rather than green and blue. It doesn't look bad combined with the Pottery Barn set. The crib quilt hanging over the side of the crib is actually going to become a wall hanging. I think it will look really cute hanging up on the wall and from what I've been told, many people don't even use their crib quilt for the baby.

The picture above shows the dust ruffle really well and how it matches perfectly with the rug :)

For a really long time I was dead set on making my own mobile. But now that we know we're having a boy and because the quality is so good on the one Jill gave to me, I just didn't feel like it was worth my time to make a whole new one. Perhaps if we have a girl later on I'll make one then, but for now I figure my energy is better spent on other things. Plus this one already has the music and spinner attached, so it really is perfect!

Here's the full crib with the sheet and bumper. I'll obviously have to still take it all apart in order to put on the mattress pad when we get that and like I said, I'll most likely take off the bumper anyway. I just like to see it all put together :)

This week my mom and I also went to JoAnn's and purchased at least 10 yards of various yellow fabrics. We got gingham, stripes, polka dots and two types of solid yellow that all coordinate with each other. She'll turn all of the fabric into the rocking chair cushioning, additional draperies and other random items for the nursery. We found this pattern at the store and because we didn't want to pay $17 for it there, I found it on eBay for $6. It arrived just the other day :)

Finally, my friends Genevieve and Dayna both have boys (6mos and 1 year) and they were so generous and brought me bags of clothes this week! Ramin and I  went through both bags of clothes together and looked at all of the cute clothes (we are so excited!). I decided to keep them all in the bags for now until we get the dresser put into the nursery and the closet more organized.

How far along: 23 weeks, 6 days

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I've been lax on checking. At this point as long as the midwives are fine with my weight gain, so am I.

Wedding Ring on?:  Yep

Major Symptoms: I *think* I experienced my first Braxton Hicks contractions this week. I had some moments of breathlessness accompanied by a really strong tightening of my tummy. It wasn't painful and it didn't last long. Once I sat down the pressure went away. I'm not entirely sure that's what it was, but it's my thought. I still have the usual random hip pain at night but I'm always trying to configure my pillows perfectly to help me feel better. My back also has been more achy. I did exercise twice this week and I always feel better afterward so I'm really going to try and make it a priority this week.
Stretch marks: Still sprouting. I've got some lovely red dots on my tummy. Also, my linea nigra has expanded upward and gotten a bit darker....I have read that if it extends above your belly button, it indicates a boy....this is TRUE in my case :)
Sleep: Could be better....the weekend is always the best.
Best moment last week: Receiving such generous gifts from my friends....I'm so thankful!
Movement: Absolutely!! Those kicks that started last week have definitely continued this week. I feel them more often when I'm leaning forward while sitting at my desk .They are very down low and they feel like someone tapping on my tummy. LOVE IT!
Food cravings/aversions: Nada

Belly button - in or out? Still in
Labor signs: Nope
What I miss: This isn't something I miss, just something I'm getting used to. I'm trying to get myself in the mindset that it's OK to not do so much at home. Each weekend I always want to do a lot of chores and catching up, but I know how it wears me out and I'm getting used to not being so go-go-go.
What I am looking forward to: More kicks from baby! 
Milestones: Seeing the crib complete!

Week #22 Update

Um, holy cow! Have you seen the ticker at the top of the blog? It's so weird to see visually how far along I actually am pregnancy-wise!

Things got a whole lot more "real" this week in more ways than one! To start with, it was still a holiday week and I only worked 1 day - Thursday. On New Years Day I was out to lunch with my mom when Ramin called me and told me he'd found an awesome deal on KSL for a crib bedding set, complete with matching rug - all from Pottery Barn! Don't ask me why but early on in the pregnancy I developed an obsession with Pottery Barn rugs. I just wanted a rug so badly in the nursery and after a few failed attempts at getting a nice used set, this set popped up on KSL. I talked it over with my mom and while we both thought it was more on the "boyish" side, we agreed that we could spruce it up a bit for a girl if we needed to. We could add more red accents and bows, etc.

I had Ramin call the lady and within a few hours we were on our way to Cedar Hills (near Alpine) to pick it all up for $80! Such a steal!  We got the AWESOME rug (usually retails for at least $200 alone), the crib bumper, crib sheet, dust ruffle (skirt) and TWO valences. All of pieces are embroidered (minus the sheet of course) and the rug actually looks 3-dimensional to me. It's so high quality I'm just in love! I don't even want to think of the amount of money we'd have to spend to buy all of it new....in fact, buying new never crossed our minds.

Here's the set:

Earlier in the week I'd also made some of my own custom decor items for the wall. I still want to incorporate a nursery rhyme theme into this new animal safari theme (it CAN be done)....and I originally used a green cardstock that I had on hand. Comparing the pictures to the actual color of green used in the bedding, it doesn't quite work out.

I think instead I'll go with a BLUE background! Why?  Well.....because this week we also found out at our big ultrasound that we're having a BABY BOY!!!

Yesterday we had our 22-week prenatal appointment and then headed over for the ultrasound. My prenatal appointment went just fine, albeit very quickly so that they could get me over to the next one, apparently those Maternal Fetal Medicine folks don't like waiting. It was ironic because we actually waited about 20-25 minutes before they called our name. If other appointments go the same way that ours did, I can understand why.

We got into the dark ultrasound room and the tech had me lay on the cushioned table. I told her that I had a full bladder because everyone had told me to have one before going in....she told me it most likely wouldn't help and would in fact, hinder the pictures. I was relieved to hear this because I really had to go! She had a first look around to check my cervix and when she couldn't really see very well she told me to go to the bathroom. So I did and came back.

The next little while was fun because she pushed around looking at various parts of the baby's body and measuring things. At this point we didn't know what it was yet but we got to see it's feet and legs squirm around and kick.

We also got to see it's face, measure it's head and even look inside it's brain! I was amazed at that part because I had no idea we would be able to see his actual brain! Below are profile shots of his head.

This is supposed to be his face and lips, but Ramin and I are baffled by it, we can't figure it out :P

The main technician we had did a great job but she was having a hard time finding and measuring everything she needed to, including the heart, because the baby was scrunched up in a nice little ball for most of the ultrasound. It didn't help that he was so low down where I have a tummy pouch - it kept getting in the way too I think, although all of the technicians and doctors were nice enough not to focus on that :P  She ended up calling in another technician who came in quickly and found and measured everything else. As she was done she asked "Is that all of it?" to the first technician and before she could answer I yelped "We still need to find out what it is!" :) The first girl said she thought she may have seen it but wasn't sure...but then the second girl quickly found what they needed to see and they snapped the first picture I posted - clearly a boy :)

They also made us a DVD of the entire ultrasound...one day it will be fun to watch it with the little one so he can see how he started out and see how much trouble he gave us during that ultrasound :P

It was so much trouble in fact, that the doctor who reviewed everything had trouble seeing the heart clearly for herself, or at least getting a good picture of it....so she had ANOTHER doctor come in and check. We had a total of 4 people come in to check out baby boy and while none of them really got the best picture of the heart that they wanted, all of them were satisfied that they did see everything within the heart that they wanted to see - no need for us to come back and check again....phew!

All in all it took 2 hours for this entire ultrasound, something we were not expecting. It was also rather painful for me as they had to dig down hard on the area where I just had my yeast infection rash. That skin is extremely sensitive and each time they pressed down my skin would tear and stretch. I'm also left with some nice bruising under my belly as well....I can feel some pain every time I sit down. But, of course it's all worth it!

Such a great week - we're really getting the nursery together and now we finally know what we're having!! We are so excited that baby is healthy and moving around....it was just beyond amazing to me to see him moving around so much and to know how big he is! They told me he is measuring at 1 pound 2 ounces and measured at 22 weeks 2 days. Of course, I'm happy for that measurement because it aligns very closely with my own measurement of 22 weeks, 4 days :)

How far along: 22 weeks, 5 days

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I was up for sure....in fact I think I was up 7 pounds from my last appointment. But, it has been 6 weeks since the last appointment. My mom commented to me that there always seems to be that one month where you really grow a lot, let's hope that I don't have any more like this :P

Wedding Ring on?:  YES, although it has been getting slightly tighter.

Major Symptoms: The hip pain I'd been having has disappeared the last two nights and I believe it's because I'm trying out a new technique while sleeping. I'm trying to avoid crossing my ankles because they puts my hips out of alignment. I really think it's working because I've been able to sleep pain free :)
Stretch marks: Still sprouting 
Sleep: Pretty good this week
Best moment last week: SEEING BABY BOY!!
Movement: Today I think I finally experienced some real kicks! After seeing how low down baby is and knowing the general area of where to expect things, I definitely felt some light taps earlier today while Ramin and I were at the Olympic Speed Skating trials.
Food cravings/aversions: Nothing unusual

Belly button - in or out? Still in
Labor signs: Nope
What I miss: As weird as it sounds, I'm starting to miss the once-a-night-pee :P I'm starting to get up more and more frequently to go potty at night and I usually end up going twice a night. As friends have said, it's all in preparation for when baby arrives.
What I am looking forward to: More kicks from baby! 
Milestones: The BIG ultrasound! Knowledge of a healthy baby. Knowing that we're having a BOY!

Week #21 Update

I am sooooo thankful I've been able to take such a long time off of work for the Holidays. I did work Christmas Eve (only a half day really because nothing was going on) and then I've been off work since. I don't have to go back until January 2nd and even then I'll only be working that one day. I decided to take Friday, the 3rd off of work because that is the day we have our ultrasound! Up until now I've been very patient about it and not getting myself too amped up for it, but....it's hit me over the past few days. I REALLY want to see the baby in there and make sure it's OK. It will just be a bonus if it cooperates and allows us to see if it's a boy or a girl :) I'm super excited and anxious for it all at the same time.

I even had my FIRST baby dream since getting pregnant (I think that's rather weird considering I dreamt about having a baby many times while trying to get pregnant). I remember in the dream that Ramin and I went to the ultrasound and I said to him something to the effect of "Well, I guess this means we're going with Leila!" ....this clearly means that in my dream we found out we were having a girl. I don't know though, most people tell us we are having a girl but I still don't have a feeling either way. I'm trying not to get my hopes up either way...I'm just anxious to find out. I think I spurred on the dream because before going to bed I remember feeling my belly and realizing how clearly I could feel my uterus and how hard it was...I then grabbed Ramin's hand and made him feel it so he could see what I was talking about. That was the last thing we did before falling asleep so I'm sure that's why I had the dream that I did. :)

I feel bad for not posting a lot of pictures of me and Ramin on here...I just don't take a lot of those types of photos. Perhaps I will while we're at the ultrasound appointment (we'll see). What I CAN post, however, is all of the neat stuff we keep getting for the baby! This week's awesomeness was the 4Moms play yard (called the Breeze) that I WON from CelebrityBabyScoop.com (yes I browse that site weekly because it's fun). I entered the contest they had in early December and I won just a few weeks later! The Breeze showed up on December 23rd! I feel pretty lucky to have won it and I'm excited to use it! We'll most likely use it mostly downstairs in the area that will become the "play area" - near to where I have my craft/office set up.

And these are literally the only other two pictures I took this week - Dingo eating his Ginger Bread Man treat :)

Next post I'll FINALLY be able to post up the stats about the baby as well as what we're having (hopefully). Let's all hope for good news all around.

How far along: 21 weeks, 6 days

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I know I'm up A LOT this week....I even exercised more than usual (lots of cleaning, walking and workout DVD)....but I just think baby and me are going through a growth spurt, as is also evidenced by my lovely face breaking out right now.

Maternity clothes: I LOVE maternity clothes, I don't know why people whine about them. I think they make me look cuter!

Major Symptoms: Pretty much every night this week I've experienced the hip pain while sleeping. It mostly results on the side on which I'm sleeping, so I have to flip over multiple times a night. I have a feeling it will get harder to do that as time goes on. Sometimes the only relief I can get is to either lay on my back and stretch my legs out OR just get out of bed altogether and walk around. I may need to replace the mattress pad we took off a while ago...it may help with cushioning more.
Stretch marks: Actually, I think a few are starting to sprout...but can't be sure yet. 
Sleep: I looooove sleeping. I've even been able to get in a few naps as well. 
Best moment last week: Receiving our Breeze play yard! So awesome.
Movement: Yes....I think they're becoming more distinct now and I can tell when they're happening.
Food cravings/aversions: More cereal and LOTS of Halos (small oranges)

Belly button - in or out? Still in and moving outward.
Labor signs: Nope
What I miss: It's getting harder and harder for me to get up from the couch multiple times, especially our couch downstairs. While I wouldn't say I actually "miss" it....I am starting to feel like it's harder for me to remain as flexible/mobile as I was before.
What I am looking forward to: ULTRASOUND!! 
Milestones: Nothing specific this week, other than getting a play yard :P

Week #20 Update - HALF WAY THROUGH!

This was a pretty standard week :) I was pretty busy making sure I mailed out all of our Christmas gifts and finished making a lot of the handmade items I gave as gifts as well. I'm so glad that I'm finished with all of it - now all I have to do is wrap a few gifts for Christmas day!

Can you believe it - we've hit the 20-week mark! It's weird to believe I'm already half way through this pregnancy. In one sense it feels like it's been that long and in another sense I'm sad that it's going by so quickly. Although, I'm excited to continue growing and experiencing everything that comes along with being pregnant - I really have enjoyed the majority of it.  Here's my standard monthly photo....I think I look like I've grown quite a bit, especially in the upper half of my tummy (I know I can feel it!)

My friend from work, Chrissey, was also generous to us and gave us her jumparoo that she wanted to get rid of - it was very sweet of her!

I've also started to organize the closet as well...of course, most of it is full of items I'll place around the nursery once we get it decorated more...still need to get the dresser and shelves in there.

How far along: 20 weeks, 6 days

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Maybe up 1/2 a pound again not really sure.

Maternity clothes: Definitely. I found a cute top on eBay this morning and am excited to get it!

Major Symptoms: Nothing bad at all....other than constant bathroom breaks :P
Stretch marks: Not yet.
Sleep: My sleep has been much better this week...I've even had the chance to sleep for 12 hours on Saturday...that was great!
Best moment last week: Taking my 20-week picture and knowing we hit the halfway point. Also, getting the jumparoo!
Movement: No more movements...still waiting for really good kicks.
Food cravings/aversions: Nothing specific this week.

Belly button - in or out? Still in...moving forward though
Labor signs: Nope
What I miss: Still absolutely nothing.
What I am looking forward to: Christmas this coming week - I love watching people open their gifts! I'm also looking forward to my long holiday break so I can work on a lot of nursery crafts!
Milestones: HITTING HALF WAY!

Week #19 Update

This was a great week. Nothing extraordinary but it was just good overall :)

Ramin completed moving the office downstairs and we had a chance to move the nursery furniture that we do have into the nursery. Poor Ramin had to take the crib apart because the nursery door is apparently smaller than a regular sized bedroom door. Here he is just outside the nursery door unscrewing everything.

It was actually good that we had to take it all apart because I was able to get in and really clean the crib very well. Since it was used previously I'm fairly sure little Payton (Jill's son) spilled a bottle of milk all over at one point because we had to wipe off a lot of white stuff :P It wasn't too bad though at all.

And here is the big reveal!!!!

This is the crib that one of my best friends, Jill, gave to me! It's so great with the attached changing table. The pictures don't show it real well but it's dark cherry wood. The last piece of large furniture we have is one of my childhood dressers that my mom has at her house. She plans to stain it the same color as the crib.

The rocking chair is something Ramin and I found on KSL a few weeks ago. We got it for $35 out in Lindon!!! The picture does not even do it justice! This chair is made of solid wood and is extremely sturdy. It's also very comfortable, even without any padding. Although, my mom agreed to making me some custom padding for the chair.

The plants may or may not stay in the nursery. While the baby is young they won't be a problem but once he/she stairs crawling around I know I'll have to move them to a more study location. I think having plants in the baby's room will help keep the air fresh and clean.

We don't have any bedding for the crib yet of course. A lot of it is on my registry still and my mom is also going to help make the crib set to match the rocker and curtains - whenever we decide what fabric we want. Jill also gave me a crib set but it's more of a boy-theme with monkeys and such. The crib skirt, however, will work perfect as it's the perfect green color with white polka dots. So we'll use that as the basis for the rest of the theme.

Finally, we have the perfect bouncer!! Ramin found this on KSL for $15 and the moment I saw I knew I had to have it! It was seriously the cutest bouncer I'd seen AND it can vibrate for the baby. It's exactly what I wanted. We put a swing on our registry and if we get one, great....but if not that's OK. I think the bouncer is enough for sure....but it's no guarantee that the baby will like a bouncer or a swing - and I feel OK paying only $15 for this bouncer!!

Once Christmas is over I plan to use a lot of my time off between Christmas and New Years to really work on a lot of my crafts for the baby's room to decorate it. I've got some wall decor in my plans as well as a custom nursery rhyme mobile. I'm sure there will be other items I want to make as time goes on.

How far along: 19 weeks, 6 days

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Maybe up 1/2 a pound. 

Maternity clothes: Definitely.

Major Symptoms: This week I had a HORRIBLE cold with a really bad cough. I was only able to work 2 days in the office and I still feel pretty crappy with my cough. But, as far as pregnancy is concerned, I can't recall anything specific that happened this week.
Stretch marks: Not yet.
Sleep: It's been extremely bad due to my increasing cough. I couldn't even nap when I needed to because I would cough too much. Let's hope it gets better!
Best moment last week: Putting the crib in the nursery - it starts to make things a bit more real.
Movement: Ok so I *think* I felt something happen on Thursday night. The best way I can explain it is like feeling a bolt tighten on a screw or nails lightly scratching on your skin. I felt those weird sort of movements for about 10 minutes straight....even during moving around myself to see if they would stop. The funny part is that the movement/feeling was very low down and to me it kind of felt like feet moving really quickly. I still can't be 100% sure though :P I just want a good solid kick!!
Food cravings/aversions: More cereal. I bought a huge box of Frosted Flakes from Costco and I have at least one bowl a day. 

Belly button - in or out? Still no
Labor signs: Nope
What I miss: Still absolutely nothing.
What I am looking forward to: Getting through this last full week of work. It will get me one week closer to the Jan. 3rd ultrasound!
Milestones: Putting the crib in the nursery!!

Week #18 Update

Ok so I'm a day late posting my blog entry which means I'm already 19 weeks today. It's ok though because I have a good excuse! Yesterday I wanted to write the blog entry, but I literally was out of energy from doing waaaaaaaay too much work around the house.

You see, I got the itch to start reorganizing things to make it possible to move our office downstairs so that the nursery would be free to start fixing it. But, in order to start moving the rooms, I wanted to tackle the closets FIRST. So in the morning on Sunday I started rearranging closets. I had to clean up the former office closet to make room for all of the baby stuff. This meant I had to have somewhere for all of that stuff to go....so I had to rearrange the two bedroom closets downstairs. The smaller guest room is where I always kept my holiday decor, but things started to get stuffed to the brim in there so I knew I wanted to change that closet to the hodge podge closet - meaning it would hold additional craft items, gift wraping and other random stuff we can keep stored forever :P

The larger guest bedroom (formerly my brother's room and then my dad's room) is now going to be our new office. I moved ALL of the holiday stuff in there and wow is it full too! Only it's more organized :P  Here's the pictures of what it looks like now:

As I moving around all 3 closets I knew I was probably lifting and moving around too much weight, but I just wanted to get it done so badly that I couldn't help myself.

Once Ramin woke up he went outside to plow away all of the snow we got this weekend - it was a lot! I was mesmerized watching the snowblower take care of it all :P

Once he was done with that he came in the house and helped me continue the move. We switched out beds in the two guestrooms - one had a twin and one had a queen - we needed the twin to be in the larger guest room where the office would be because it fits more nicely with the two large desks going in the room. We also moved our corner TV stand (previously my fish tank stand) and placed Ramin's large but good TV on it for the office - BTW, Ramin is so happy to have a TV in the office again :)

We also moved the two large desks from the old office downstairs. It was a TON of work and by the end of the night my pelvis/lower back was extremely sore and achey. I just knew I did way too much but I couldn't stop myself. I thought I would sleep good but I didn't....I have a crappy head cold that causes a horrible sore throat every night and last night was the worst night sleeping.

Tonight when I got home we continued the transition and I was able to completely clean out the nursery!! HOORAY!! That was my first priority of course because it means we can move the crib and other items in there this week.  Here's the newly cleaned out nursery!

After I took these pictures tonight I got down on the floor and even cleaned the base boards! I just wanted it to be super clean. I also wanted to take some pictures of both of the bedrooms downstairs but the office isn't quite done yet (that's Ramin's domain) and I'm also very tired and need to get bed. Of course, I just had to write this blog first though :P I still have to take pictures of the new nursery items I got as well but I'll wait until we move them into the nursery first as right now they're just waiting in the cold garage.

One final set of pictures I want to share is from the middle of last week! I had been having trouble wearing my normal pants....I kept having to use elastics to hold them up and even those were stretching beyond capacity. My mom had said she would transform some of my jeans into maternity jeans, but we still needed to buy fabric and I needed some new pants NOW! So I started looking online for good deals on maternity pants - holy crap are they expensive! I'm talking like $30-40 per pair!! That's just outrageous! I found a few pairs on eBay that could have worked but then I found a great ad on KSL from a lady listing an entire lot of plus size maternity clothes - do you realize how hard that is to find?!?!  Her lot was listed for $55 and I could see from the pictures that she had at least 3 pairs of jeans...that alone was worth $55 to me.

I texted her and realized she was close to me in West Jordan and we arranged a time I could stop by. The moment I walked in there and saw all of the clothes I knew I was hoooked. There were 5 pairs of jeans, 4 pairs of work pants, 2 pairs of lounge pants and a ton of sweaters and tops!! Here's the bounty I was able to snag:

Holy cow - isn't this maternity clothes HEAVEN! All of the clothes were in GREAT condition too, especially all of the jeans. She even threw in a support belt from Motherhood as well as a nursing bra she didn't use that just happened to be my size! She also had an extra belly band too. I tell you, I snagged the best deal EVER when I found that lot of clothes. I'm sooooo happy I have comfortable pants to wear again :)

Good week indeed!

How far along: 19 weeks, 0 days - sorry, a day behind on posting this.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I think I'm pretty even with where I was last week, but who really knows.

Maternity clothes: Ummmm yeah...check out that bounty above!

Major Symptoms: Hip pain as usual. My pelvis and extreme lower back really ache a lot anytime I'm on my feet for too long or working too hard doing things around the house. Other than that I've felt good this week except for the lingering nightly sore throat. This morning I woke up sounding like a frog!
Stretch marks: No, however, my linea nigra has been appearing for the past few weeks. While it's not a stretch mark I'm considering it part of that category. I never would have guessed I would be one of those women who gets "the line"...it's light (thank goodness) but it's definitely there.
Sleep: My bad sleep is mostly caused by my head cold issues....stupid sore throat and cough!
Best moment last week: Getting my maternity clothes!!!
Movement: Ugh....no...I did read in one of my apps that the baby is only awake for 6 hours a day. Just my luck I'm sure it's awake while I'm sleeping so of course I wouldn't feel anything :P
Food cravings/aversions: Nothing in particular. Usually I have to settle for what's around rather than going out of my way to get what I really want. 

Belly button - in or out? In - however, I check it nightly and it seems to be pushing outward. 
Labor signs: No....although I hope I didn't cause myself any problems moving around furniture yesterday.
What I miss: Absolutely nothing.
What I am looking forward to: Putting the furniture in the nursery - it will feel MORE real at that point and I can start decorating! (after Christmas gifts are complete though hehe)/
Milestones: I think clearing out space for the nursery is considered to be a milestone for sure. It means we're starting the nesting phase :P

Week #17 Update

This week has been great - mainly because it was Thanksgiving week and I only had to work 3 days total. It's been nice staying home for the past 4 days and catching up on things around the house that I've wanted to do for a few months but had no energy to do :P

We also got some new stuff for the nursery but I think I'll save pictures of those items until next week. This week I'm excited to share Ramin's baby pictures!! My mother-in-law sent me sooo many cute pictures of Ramin and I just had to share them because he was a cute baby with some super chubby cheeks!! 

Here we go!

And my absolute favorite picture actually goes along really well with one of my own baby pictures. Apparently both Ramin and I had a tendency to love crawling under side tables....it's amazing to me how similar we both look sitting under these tables :P BTW I'm in the top picture and Ramin is the lower one.

How far along: 17 weeks, 6 days - can you even believe that I'll be 18 weeks tomorrow!?!?! In just two more weeks I'll be halfway through my pregnancy - unreal!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I know this week I gained a 1 or 2 pounds, I can just tell.

Maternity clothes: I also know my tummy has grown this week so I've been wearing nothing but comfy clothes. We'll see what happens tomorrow when I go back to work...I'm sure I'll have to keep wearing my belly bands!

Major Symptoms: I felt super great this week and as a result I had energy to do much more than usual....including chores. However, on Friday I think I did a little too much (5 loads of laundry, dusting, vacuuming, and flipping the bedroom mattress - I know, that's bad!) ....and in the afternoon when I went to take a nice sunny walk I didn't feel right. The only way I could describe it was that it felt like my uterus was about to fall out of me. It felt really low and weird every time I moved. So I listened to my body and decided to take it easy for the rest of the night. I laid in bed or on the couch the rest of the night watching movies. The weird feeling went away and by Saturday I was able to do some more chores (lighter of course) AND go for a nice 45-minute sunny walk. It felt great, especially when I came home and stretched everything out.
Stretch marks: Still no
Sleep: I had one night this week where hip pain woke me up. The only way to relieve my hip pain is to roll on to my back and sleep but I know that's bad too...so I end up getting up out of bed and walking it out a bit and it seems to help.
Best moment last week: Getting Ramin's baby pictures!!
Movement: Still no....anxiously awaiting to feel the baby kick!
Food cravings/aversions: I am really picky about sweet stuff these days. I'll turn my nose up at things I used to love...it really depends on my mood. Generally, ice cream is the only constant item I want.

Belly button - in or out? In
Labor signs: Not yet - unless you count that weird feeling I had on Friday.
What I miss: Absolutely nothing.
What I am looking forward to: Getting through the next 3 weeks until Christmas...and then I have another long break from work!
Milestones: Don't think we really hit any milestones, other than making it through 17 weeks  (as weird as it sounds, I'm kind of relieved because in my pre-pregnancy trying-to-conceive mode I actually read of a few pregnant women who had miscarriages at 17-weeks. So in a weird way, I saw 17 weeks as a milestone to pass....makes absolutely no sense but to me it does)