A couple of pictures

Now I know Wally's blog is all about our journey being pregnant and there have not been many Wally photos.  I have two pictures from this weekend.  One being of my growing belly.  Will and I went out for a fancy date night and I dressed up the bump.  My baby belly looks big and I even put on heels for the night.

In my bumpdates I am always raving about the Snoogle, a pregnancy pillow.  Now as many of you know Wally loves the Snoogle.  Although the pillow is clearly for me I think he thinks its for him too.  I can only picture Wal ly thinking the Snoogle is a pillow for dogs to feel like they are snuggling with their humans.  Now isn't Wally the cutest!

Week 21

February 10-16, 2014

How far along: 21 weeks

Total weight gain: 9 lbs at last appointment-but I have been eating more than usual.

Maternity clothes: A mixture as usual. 

Stretch marks: Rubbing Belly Butter and coconut oil daily.

Sleep: Loving the Snoogle.  I am able to sleep through the night without bathroom breaks (that is if I go to the bathroom at 10:30 or later).

Best moments this week: Having our formal ultrasound and finding out the gender of our baby!  Will and I went on February 13 to have our formal ultrasound.  We were nervous-excited to find out the gender of our growing baby.  Will had a feeling the baby was a girl and I had no feeling at all.  The night before we did old wives gender testing and the out comes came girl: 3 and boy: 3. At the ultrasound it was amazing to see the spine and the bones of the baby and watching them move.  It was amazing to see the heart beat of the baby (146).  Will was amazed about how much the baby was moving and how I couldn’t feel any of the movement.  We finally have our first pictures of our baby.  We had a great Valentine’s Day and weekend celebrating with our baby boy.

Miss anything: I have had a few big gulps of cherry soda and boy was it tasty.

Food cravings: Lately I have been wanting sweets-soda, candy, ice cream… This could be related to being Valentine’s Day.

Anything making you queasy: Luckily still nothing.

Gender: We are blessed and excited to be having a baby BOY!

Labor signs: Braxton Hicks throughout the day.

Belly button in or out:  My belly button is making its way out.

Wedding rings on or off: Wedding rings on.

Happy or moody:  Ecstatic to know we are having a boy (we have talked about how we would love to have a boy first)!

Looking forward to: Having a week off from school, celebrating my birthday, and registering for everything baby.

We are having a baby...

This picture is taken after our ultrasound.  The pink flower is if we have a girl and the blue cardigan is if we have a boy.  The next day I wore the color of the gender of the baby...

We are having a baby BOY!!!!

Here is the picture that shows we are having a boy! 

Our ball of a baby.

Here is a cute foot!

A beautiful profile of our baby boy!

Baby Boy or Baby Girl?

I went online and looked up old wives tales on how to determine the gender of a baby.  Here are our results (luckily Will agreed to do these fun silly tests):

Take off your wedding ring, tie it to a piece of string, and hang it over your belly. If it swings in a circle, you are promised a boy; back and forth indicates a girl.

N: wedding ring back and forth- girl!

The Old Drano Experiment

This one is as old as it is weird. The mom-to-be is required to pee in a cup, and mix in a tablespoon of Drano. If the liquid turns green, you're having a girl. Blue? You guessed it. It's a boy.

N: yellow

This experiment uses baking soda. If the mixture fizzles, it's a boy. If it doesn't, you've got yourself a girl.

N: no fizzing- Girl!

Your baby's heart rate might be an indicator of its gender. If your little one's heart rate is under 140 beats per minute, you're having a little boy. If it's over, get ready for your little girl!

N: last week heart beat 144

N: Girl!

Chinese birth charts use your age at conception and the month you conceived to determine the sex of your baby.

N: It's a boy!  Or A girl! Different websites said different outcomes.

The Mayans used a similar method. They looked at your age at conception and the year your baby was conceived. If both are even or odd, it's a girl. If one is even and one is odd, oh baby — it's a boy!

N: age of conception 28, year baby was conceived 2013- one even one odd

N: Boy!

Actually, morning sickness means pink. If you're stricken with a queasy stomach during your first trimester, think ribbons and bows. If you sail through your pregnancy with nary an upset stomach, it's blue all the way.

N: Boy!

Place a key in front of her and ask her to pick it up.  If she grabs it by the narrow part, she'll have a sweet little girl. If she picks it up by the round part, she'll have an adorable little boy.

N: round part- boy!

Total:

Boy-3

Girl-3

Boy or Girl?
For a wonderful lesson in class I had students predict if my baby will be a boy or a girl (yes there are many skills being taught and used in this lesson).

Some girls and boys predicted girl and all boys and my aide predicted boy.  They were so excited to find out the next day, they were just giddy with excitement to know.

Student pictures

My TK students are so thoughtful of me being pregnant and love to talk about my baby. Here are some pictures of me and my baby in my belly.

This is a crowd favorite.

Week 20

February 3-09, 2014

How far along:  20 weeks, Half way to 40!

Total weight gain: At my doctor’s appointment I gained 5 lbs, so that is 9 lbs total (and my weight is a number that I have never seen before).  The midwife was happy with the weight gain and said just keep up what I am doing.

Maternity clothes: A mixture.  In the picture I am wearing all non-maternity clothing.  As usual leggings is my pants of choice with a longer top (regular or maternity).

Stretch marks: I think I spotted a small spider vein, which is common and should fade away after birth.  I am keeping my ritual of coconut oil and Mama Belly Butter (I feel like I could be cooked when I have all of my oil and lotion on).

Sleep: Pretty good.  Only a couple of nights a week I wake up to use the bathroom, and one night I am up for an hour or so unable to fall back to sleep.  Every night I so excited to sleep with the Snoogle and so grateful Erin is letting me use this pillow.

Best moments this week: Hearing the baby’s heart beat and feeling the little baby kicks.

Miss anything: I had a sip of cherry soda and boy did I wish I could have had more.

Food cravings: I realize I have stepped back from my celery and carrot binge.  I am not craving any specific food but I am more hungry than usual.  I was so surprised this past weekend when we went to the Creperie and I ate all of my savory and sweet crepes.

Anything making you queasy: Luckily nothing.

Gender: We will find out Thursday February 13!  Will is so excited to find out the gender our little baby.  Before we have our appointment I want to try a few of the old wives tales of gender prediction.

Labor signs: Braxton Hicks! During week 18 we were able to feel hardening of my lower tummy and just thought it was the baby.  They happen throughout the day and are slightly uncomfortable.  Luckily this tightening happened during my doctor appointment and the midwife was able to confirm contractions- Braxton Hicks.

Belly button in or out: I feel like instead of my belly button stick out or in it is just getting stretched with the growing of my tummy.

Wedding rings on or off: On.

Happy or moody: For the most part happy but my poor students, my patience seems to be much lower than usual.  I understand why pregnant women seem to have their hands on their tummies- I just love to feel little baby kicks and just feel closer to our baby.

Looking forward to: Our big ultrasound next week to find out if our baby is a boy or girl!

Chili Cook Off

Will and I entered the North Coast Big Brothers & Sisters Annual Chili Cook Off.  Will and I won last year so we had to try an out do ourselves.  Luckily we have friends and family here to help us prep and cook.  It was a beautiful sunny day in Blue Lake and the Mad River Brewery.  There were 12 contestants- individuals and businesses.  We had a great spot, we were in the corner of the L of the tables which was great because we had the sun to our backs to keep us warm and I was able to have a chair at our table so I could rest or at least stand with my knee on the chair.  We had many friends come as support us as well as friendly faces from the brewery.  And Wall was with us the whole time, being the best and cutest dog there is.  For the second year in a row will and I won first place!

Before the Cook Off began

Will ready for the competition and to feed the crowd

The power couple working away (Will would pour the tastes while I marked off the cards for each person)

The Folgers win!

Week 19

January 27- February 2, 2014

How far along: 19 weeks  

Total weight gain: Unknown since last doctor’s appointment, but I definitely have been eating more so I am sure I gained a pound or two.

Maternity clothes: Usually regular legging and either regular or maternity tops.  I wore maternity jeans this week due to rain (they were bagging but I think its mainly due to being a size too big).

Stretch marks: I have been rubbing Mama Belly Butter on my belly every night and use coconut oil on my legs. So far no stretch marks. This week I the balls and heels of my feet have been red (a common symptom).

Sleep: Usually great, but lately it seems one night each week I am up for a couple hours unable to sleep.

Best moments this week: We felt the baby move!!!! Both Will and I have been able to feel the baby move and the feeling is just amazing.  Right now the movements feel like little round muscle spasms.  I have notice that any movement is after I eat a meal or rearrange how I am sitter or laying..

Miss anything: I miss wearing jeans that fit me to work, which would make getting dressed for work so much easier.  But leggings are very comfortable and great to move around in since I teach TK.

Food cravings: No, just trying to eat as healthy as I can.

Anything making you queasy: Luckily still nothing.

Gender: Unknown but we hope to find out in two weeks.

Labor signs: No.

Belly button in or out: In-between.                      

Wedding rings on or off: On.

Happy or moody: Overjoyed with happiness feeling our little baby move and feeling movement every day.

Looking forward to: February 4 when I have my next doctor’s appointment and can hear our baby’s heart beat, and to our ultrasound.