26 Weeks :: 2nd Trimester

Belly Pics:

 

 

It is INSANE that I have ONE week left in my second trimester!?!  Wowzas.  We’re going to meet BC in 99ish days!

How far along? 26 weeks

How big is the baby? English hothouse cucumber (wtf is that lol??) --  about 1 2/3 pounds and 14 inches, head to toe.

Maternity clothes?   I'm wearing the 2 pairs of maternity jeans and maternity tanks I bought a few weeks back with my old cardigans pretty much every day.  I've also been wearing some of my old flowy dresses with tights and a jacket.  

Weight Gained:  1lb gained this week, total of 17lbs gained. 

Waist Size: 36 in, total of 6in growth (measuring around the belly button)

Exercising: I went to Bar Method twice and a prenatal yoga class twice this week.  

 Stretch marks? Nope

Symptoms: Still having intense pain in my middle back.  It's to the point where I can't even sit through a 2 hour movie.  Today I went to a prenatal chiropractor that my doula recommended - Dr. Berlin.  After he massaged and adjusted my back and neck, I immediately felt the pain release from my body.  As Jennifer Garner explained to me in the lobby of the Dr. office, he is a magician :).  I'm going 3 more times in the next 2 weeks to finish the adjustment cycle.  After that, I'll go as needed.  I'm also going to start acupuncture to help relieve any pain & stress I'm experiencing and boost my energy.  Doing acupuncture in weeks 34-40 can also help with getting the baby in the right position for a smoother and faster delivery.  

Sleep: I've been taking a calcium & magnesium supplement (Natural Calm) at night time to help make my tissue stretchier and avoid muscle cramps/spasms.  It's a white powder you drink with warm water at night, and it relaxes your muscles and balances your body's level of calcium and magnesium.  It really has made me feel super relaxed and has helped me fall asleep faster.   This is prob TMI but it also helps with constipation :) (sorry if that grosses you out  - just trying to help out all the other prego ladies out there :)).  

Best moment this week:  Relieving my back pain and receiving parenting advice from Jennifer Garner :).  She told me as I was waiting for my chiropractor appt to make sure I go on a lot of dates with my husband before and after the baby is born, laugh all the time because there is going to be some weird and nasty things happening to my body, my life, and my baby over the next year, and to make sure I stay relaxed and calm during birth so I have a fast and painless delivery.  She was rad.  I always thought she was some sort of supermom, but now after meeting and talking to her in person, I know she's a super badass mom and wife!  
Miss Anything? drinking wine while watching Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.  The show just isn't as good sober.  
Number of times I get up to pee each night: 1-2 times each night   
Movement: SO. MUCH. MOVEMENT.  Little dude is kicking my ribs and bladder 24/7.  It's not a pleasant feeling.  
Food cravings:  Cold oranges!  I had a super cold orange right out of the fridge in big bear last weekend and it was the most delicious thing I've tasted in the last few months.  
Anything making you queasy or sick:  Nothing
Have you started to show yet: Totally
Gender: BOY
Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? In but it's def getting shallower (is that a word lol).  I'm guessing I'm going to have an outie in about 2-3 weeks.  
Mood:  Feeling really relaxed this week.  My yoga class and prenatal massage/chiropractor appt have really put me in a relaxed and happy mood.  
Looking forward to: Christmas in Utah with my dad, my grandparents, ez and bellini!  I think this is going to be my first white christmas ever :).  

24 Weeks :: 2nd Trimester

Belly Pics:

 

How far along? 24 weeks

How big is the baby?  An ear of corn 

Maternity clothes?   I went to Destination Maternity in Pasadena and bought a pair of jeans with an elastic top and also a few longer white tank tops to wear under cardigans.   I was getting really sick of only wearing black leggings and my black Paige jeans so the dark  jeans will nice addition :).  I'm hoping that these 3 items will get me through months 6 and 7.  We will see!  

Weight Gained:  1lb gained this week, total of 16lbs gained. 

Waist Size: 35 in, total of 5in growth (measuring around the belly button)

Exercising: I went to Bar Method 4 times this week. 

 Stretch marks? Nope

Symptoms: Still having intense pain in my middle back, and nothing is really working to relieve the pain.  I'm meeting with a birthing doula next week, and she said that she has a number of natural remedies I can try.  Hoping she has some good ideas!  
Sleep: Sleeping pretty well.  The maternity pillow has been great! 
Best moment this week:  Our Holiday Party!  I love the holiday season :).   
Miss Anything? A full glass of wine.  I've been having a few tastings here and there, but a full glass of wine with dinner would be amazing.  
Number of times I get up to pee each night: I got up once every night this week.   
Movement: Still crazy amounts of movement in there.  Ez can now feel it almost every time and I can also see him move from the outside.  
Food cravings:  Sugar.  I was really craving sugar the other night so I had a piece of chocolate cake.  It was divine.  
Anything making you queasy or sick:  Nothing
Have you started to show yet: Oh yea, I def "popped" this week.  I even had my first stranger ask me when I'm due.  
Gender: BOY
Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? In, although it's getting more shallow.  eeek, I really don't want to get an outtie!  
Mood:  Excited because our baby room is almost done!  I ordered the crib this week and it should be delivered in about 10-12 weeks.   
Looking forward to: Heading to Big Bear next weekend to hang out with a few close friends.  

23 Weeks :: 2nd Trimester

Belly Pics:

 

Pics with fitted t-shirt:

 

Baby Room/Furniture:  

We have this room that's connected to our master bedroom that we are going to use for the baby. The room is already decorated with 2 blue chairs, 2 wood bookcases, and a few cute decor items so we don't need to do much to it other than buy a crib and a few baby/nursery decor items.  Since the room already has this safari feel to it, we decided to stick with that and add lions, elephants, giraffes, etc to make it a baby safari room :). Last week I found an elephant painting, a cool rustic toy chest, and a few stuffed animals to make it more baby like. I will share final pictures of the room once I get the crib and everything in there. We also redid the closet that is in the room so we have drawers, pullout laundry and diaper genie drawers, and a changing table. It turned out way better than I expected!  Getting excited for this little man to arrive :).

Here's a pic of the finished closet (it originally was completely open with only a hanging rod):


 

Here's a sneak peak at some of the decor we have in the room:

How far along? 23 weeks

How big is the baby?  Large mango

Maternity clothes?  I bought a pair of Paige maternity skinny jeans that were on sale at bloomingdales.  Oh my goodness.  These jeans are seriously the most comfortable jeans I've ever worn.  They have elastic on both hips to help fit my growing belly.  I wish they made them in dark jean color rather than just black.  For those who are pregnant, I highly suggest buying them:  Paige Jeans.  I'm pretty sure I'll be wearing these after the baby comes... they don't even look like maternity jeans and are SO comfortable!  

Weight Gained:  1lb gained this week, total of 15lbs gained. 

Waist Size: 34 in, total of 4in growth (measuring around the belly button)

Exercising: I went to Bar Method 4 times this week.  

Stretch marks? Nope
Symptoms: I've been incredibly tired this week.  I went from having tons of energy and being able to stay up until at least 10pm to now having to take a nap everyday and head to bed around 8 or 9pm.  That 2nd trimester burst of energy only lasted about 2 weeks for me.  My middle back is also still killing me.  My mom gave me this weird back rolling thing that she uses to strengthen her back muscles so I'm hoping this thing works for me too. 
Sleep: My growing belly and back pain are making it hard to sleep through the night. I finally got a maternity pillow (thanks for the recommendation, andrea!) and I've been sleeping much better since it arrived.     
Best moment this week:  I had a great Thanksgiving weekend with my mom, her husband, my little brother, and  Ez.  
Miss Anything? sushiiiiiii 
Number of times I get up to pee each night: Still none, soon to change I'm sure.  
Movement: So many kicks and flips happening in there.  He even keeps me up at night sometimes.  
Food cravings:  No cravings this week.    
Anything making you queasy or sick:  Nothing really this week. 
Have you started to show yet: I'm definitely a lot bigger this week, but I still don't really look pregnant to people who don't know me, I'm sure that will change in the next few weeks.  
Gender: BOY
Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? In (thank goodness, outties freak me out) 
Mood:  Tired all the time!  
Looking forward to: Being home this weekend with no set plans.  I'm going to try and get the majority of my holiday shopping done :).  

21 Weeks :: 2nd Trimester

Belly Pics:  

 

I thought I would also start taking weekly pics with a fitted shirt.  The weekly countdown tshirt is still super baggy so it doesn't really show the growing belly right now.

 


Holy Cuteness:  
I finally bought my first baby gear, and I couldn't resist the cuteness of these clothes I found at Zara Baby.  I bought them in size 3-6 mos because I figured that he will prob be mobbin pjs and onsies the first 3 mos. How ridic are these outfits?  When Ezra saw them, he was like ... "I'm pretty sure I have that same button up in the closet upstairs."  haha.  

How far along? 21 weeks
How big is the baby? Long Carrot
Maternity clothes? Nope
Weight Gained: 1lb gained this week, total of 13lbs gained

Waist Size: 33 in, total of 3in growth (measuring around the belly button)
Exercising: I went to Bar Method 4 times this week
Stretch marks? Nope
Symptoms: Hello back pain. My middle and lower back have been KILLING me. Bar method has def helped some, but I'm still in serious pain. My Dr. said massages are great for the pain so I'm going to take advantage of this advice ASAP :)
Sleep: The time change def messed me up. I've been getting up around 6am every morning. Still going to bed around 9 or 9:30pm
Best moment this week: Opening the package from Zara Baby. I seriously can't get over how cute little boy clothes are. Ez should def be worried about all the baby shopping that's about to happen :)
Miss Anything? Not really missing anything this week
Number of times I get up to pee each night: nada
Movement: Feeling a lot more movement the last couple of days
Food cravings: Pepperoncinis! I eat them by themselves sometimes haha
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nothing really this week
Have you started to show yet: I def popped out this last week and have a more pronounced baby bump
Gender: BOY
Labor Signs: Nope
Belly Button in or out? In (thank goodness, outties freak me out)
Mood: Happy! Happy to know the gender, happy to finally have the house organized, and happy to have the best husband in the world. He is seriously the greatest. Love you!
Looking forward to: Heading up to Big Bear this weekend to stay in our new condo!

20 Weeks :: Halfway There! We're Having A....

                                      

We are having a BOY!  We both couldn't be more excited.

Here's a shot of the manhood :)

Belly Pics:

                                                

do you see the itty bitty bump lol?

How far along? 20 weeks

How big is the baby?  Banana.  Dr. told us that the baby weights 14oz at our appointment on Monday.  

Maternity clothes?  Nope, still able to wear my old flowy shirts and leggings.  

Weight Gained:  1lb gained this week, total of 12lbs gained.  

Waist Size: 33 in, total of 3in growth (measuring around the belly button)

Exercising: I went snorkeling in Belize :).  I was also able to go to a bar method class yesterday and today. It feels good to be back home and exercising again! 

Stretch marks? Nope
Symptoms:  no nausea = other weird symptoms.  My right ear has been getting clogged up.  The dr. said it's most likely due to the amount of fluid being produced in my body.  It's really annoying because I can hear myself talking when I'm in conversation.  It comes and goes throughout the day, hoping it goes away soon.   Also my lower and middle back have also been aching the last few days.  I'm hoping the stretching in bar method will help with that.  
Sleep: Sleeping like a champion although I still never feel completely rested during the day. 
Best moment this week:  Finding out the gender! The convo with the lab tech went like this...

Tech:  "So you want to find out the gender, huh?"

Us:  "YES!"

Tech: "Well there are the 2 legs, there's the butt, and that's either a third leg or a penis!"

US: "yeahhhh it's a penis!"

Miss Anything?  Not having to worry about what I'm consuming.  

Number of times I get up to pee each night: down to ZERO! 

Movement: Oh yea!  I've been feeling BC a little bit each day.  The best movement was when I was getting a massage in Belize the little dude felt like he was doing flips the entire 1.5 hour massage.  
Food cravings:  No cravings this week, but I've been seriously getting STUFFED after I eat every meal.  I feel like the baby is sitting directly on my stomach and not letting food in.  This is something that's supposed to happen in the 8th and 9th month, I have no idea why I'm feeling like this now.   
Anything making you queasy or sick: Still seeing or handling raw meat still makes me want to vom.  
Have you started to show yet: Yup, I'm finally starting to show a little bump.  
Gender: BOY
Labor Signs: Nope
Belly Button in or out? In (thank goodness, outties freak me out).  
Mood: Feeling super disorganized.  We just got back from our trip to Belize and the house is a mess from the carpet and nursery closet installations.  This week is going to be organization week!  
Looking forward to:  Being home and organizing my life.