21 weeks and pictures

I'm 21w1d today and I still can't believe it! I guess these pictures and the karate kicks the baby has been giving me are my reminders:)

The Woowoo was being a little shy for the 4-D image so all we can see is his little mouth, but I love the regular ultra sound pic because you see his little hand in his mouth. And of course, I've put up a pic of me at 20 weeks.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

Halfway

I can't believe it, but I'm already 20w4d. I have no clue where the time has gone. I'm still up to my eyeballs in freelance work, but I keep reminding myself that it's going to pay for my extra 4 weeks of maternity leave I want to take. It's all for the baby:) Because I've still been a bad blogger I'm going with the bullets...again. I know, they're getting old.

•We had a 20-week appt and second anatomy scan on Monday. Everything went really well. The Woowoo (or Baby Will as we call him now) is growing just like he's supposed to. He's still measuring a few days ahead and is a chubby little guy weighing in at 14oz (80th percentile). He's breech but that doesn't stop him from being a little wiggle worm.

• I started to feel him kick around 18 weeks, but Hubby was able to feel him Monday morning before our appt for the first time. Most mornings, if I lay flat in bed, I can feel his little legs kicking me. I love it. Ask me again in six weeks if I still love it and I might have a different answer, but now it's the highlight of my day.

•I have still three fibroids in me, but they've gotten a bit smaller which is a good thing. Dr. Goo.gle has told me they can go away during pregnancy and I'm hoping mine do! But the fibroids are giving me the chance to see Baby Will every 4 weeks because the docs want to monitor their size.

•I've gained 11lbs so far and my bump is still small, but the doc said this is totally normal for my height and activity level. So screw all the people who keep judging me on not eating enough. Trust me folks, I'm eating for two! I've still been running (well ok, run/walking) twice a week and with the warmer weather I'm still loving it. I've had some minor hip discomfort towards the end of the runs, but the doc said that was to be expected as I get bigger and my joints start to widen and loosen even more. I'm also trying to do a yoga class once a week and throwing in a session with my trainer and elliptical so I'm definitely keeping active.

•I'm amazed at how much my body changes from day to day. Some of the changes I love (seeing my belly grow bigger with my sweet boy) and some not so much (the red, itchy bumps I've got on my abdomen and chest just in time for summer and lower cut shirts).

•Regardless, seeing my belly reminds me just how thankful I am to be in the position I'm in. I haven't forgotten all the pain, tears, worry, frustration and anger I felt going through the process to get here. I'm experiencing some of it again as my sis-in-law is going through a similar situation. My heart aches for her and I'm trying to be as much of a comfort to her as she'll let me be. I'm also reminded of all my blogger friends who are still struggling with their own IF issues. I am not taking any of this for granted and try to remember everyday what a gift it really is!

Hopefully I'll have baby and baby bump pictures up in another day or two. I need Hubby to scan the baby pics first!

Thank you

Thanks for the kind, reassuring comments everyone left! While I do know I'm eating enough and growing at the rate my body and baby want me to, it's always comforting to hear from other people who've gone through (or are going through) similar situations.

Everyone has a different experience with pregnancy and I need to keep reminding myself of that. I'm just happy to finally feel pregnant as opposed to just fat the way I did a few weeks ago. It still amazes me how quickly my body is changing!

There really is a baby in my belly

I've had three co-workers come up to me and say "oh, now I can see that you're pregnant!". Hmmm, how should I take that statement? My typical response is "yep, there really is a baby in my belly." I know they mean well, but I think that's an odd thing to say. My initial thought it to take it as a criticism that I'm not as big as I should be at this stage.

This is my first baby, I'm tall (5'8"), fairly thin and still working out regularly, so I've only recently popped (and I still feel like it's too early for me to "pop"...I'm 17w4d). I keep reminding myself that as long as my doctor says the baby is fine and growing the way he should, I don't need to worry about other people's perceptions of my belly and pregnancy in general. Easier said than done...

I'm probably being overly sensitive about this, but my emotions seem to be on a roller coaster lately and I have no clue whose doing the driving because I'm definitely not. Anyway, I'm going to make my blog photo debut and post a bump pic from last week when I was 16w3d. I'd say the "popping" has occurred over the weekend so I look bigger now than I did in this pic.

Regardless of peoples comments and my reactions to them, I'm falling more and more in love with  Woowoo everyday:)

Warp speed

I'm still going 100 miles a minute right now, but was able to take a little time out to spend the weekend with my in-laws who were in town. And, more importantly, I had my 16-week doctor's appointment yesterday and my first anatomy scan. It's amazing how much the baby has grown in 4 weeks. Everything looked great, so I'll go back in 4 weeks for the follow-up anatomy scan and my 20-week appointment.

But the biggest news (drum roll, please), is that we found out we're having a BABY BOY!!! I had a feeling it was a boy, so I was happy that my "mother's intuition" is already working:)

Now I need to get back to work and make this baby boy some money...

Trying to come up for air

It's been a while. I feel guilty for being a bad blogger. But I'm still crazy busy and trying to come up for air occasionally. This is going to be a short post, but hopefully next week will get back to normal for me.

• I'm 15w3d today and definitely starting to show a bit, although I can hide it if I need to (mostly in client meetings).
• I "came out" at work a couple of weeks ago. Everyone has been very supportive, most importantly my boss who asks everyday how I'm feeling. He's been awesome and even suggested I might be able to work at home a few days a week at the end of the maternity leave to ease me back into the work world.
• I have my 16-week appointment and anatomy scan next Monday. We'll get to find out what gender Woowoo is. I think it's a boy and Hubby thinks it's a girl so this should be interesting. In the end, all we want is a healthy baby!
• My in-laws are going to be in town this weekend and get to go with us to the appointment on Monday. Since this is their first grandchild, they are soooo excited. It's been awesome to share all this with them.
• Work has been nutty and non-stop and add the freelance project I have on top of that and I'm averaging 12+ hour days and usually 6-10 hours each weekend. I'm ready for a breather!
• We went on a stroller research mission over the weekend. I thought I knew what I wanted when we started but now I'm more confused than ever. It's a good thing I'm starting this early because there are sooooo many options out there to choose from, but they get narrowed quickly by the fact that we live in a NYC apartment and are spatially challenged (trying to find a crib is going to be interesting, too!).
• I'm still wearing all my regular clothes, but I really think I need to break down and buy some maternity pants soon. I'm currently sitting at my desk with my pants completely unbutttoned and unzipped. The Bel.la Band has been awesome, but if I'm having to actually unzip these days I think I'm reaching my breaking point.

There is a whole lot more I could say, but I need to get back to work. Hopefully I'll be back to my bloggy self next week:)

The latest

I feel like it's been forever since I posted, but maybe that's because I have had a busy few days. So, here goes...

• I mentioned the round ligament pain I was feeling in the last post. Well, RLP and I have become besties over the last few days. I was in Ohio over the weekend (I'll explain in a minute) and started getting a dull, achy, crampy, pressure sensation in my lower abdomen Saturday afternoon. Everyone once in a while I'd get a pulling twinge but the dull pain (or rather discomfort since it wasn't really pain) was constant. I've pretty much had this feeling since then. It's gotten a little less consistent, but there's still a mild full, pressure sensation in my belly. I think Woowoo is going through another growth spurt. I guess I should expect that when it has a momma whose 5'8", a daddy 6', an uncle 6'4", an aunt 5'9" and a two 6'3" grandpas. We breed 'em big.

• I took Friday off work because I had my NT scan, my 12-week OB appointment and a genetic counseling meeting. Everything was perfect, except for the 2 hour wait for the NT scan. There was an emergency that came into the office and delayed everything. The front desk lady was so nice and kept updating me as to how much longer it would be. She even called the doctor and told them I would be late for my OB appointment. All of my previous u/s have been with wandy, so when I walked in the room for the NT scan the tech told me to sit on the chair. I did, but I sat on the chair intended for partners thinking she would leave so I could change for the u/s. She laughed and said no, get on the chair/table. All I had to do was lower my pants so she can get to my belly (soooo much easier than having to undress for wandy). Woowoo was sleeping at first, but once she woke it up, it was really active...so cute! The heartrate was 161bpm and we passed the NT scan with flying colors. Or rather it came back negative which means we won't be pursuing an amnio.

• I was in Ohio Saturday-Monday to close on my mom's condo. Without getting into the full history, this was a bittersweet moment. It was such a relief to have the stress of trying to sell it while it was sitting empty and I was paying a monthly mortgage on it, yet it is a finality now that she's gone. I didn't grow up in the condo, but she moved there right after I graduated college and lived there for 8 years before she died, so there was some attachment to it.

• I attempted to buy some pregnancy clothes while in Ohio. I say attempt, because I ended up returning some of them after I bought them because they were just too ugly, I couldn't do it. I'm trying to hold out until it gets warmer and I can wear less layers. I'm hoping by then, I can wear some of my cotton skirts and cute tops. Also, I'm still in the "I'm just fat, not pregnant" stage so the real maternity clothes were too big, yet some of my pants I can't button. The Bel.la Band is my friend these days.

In the interest of full disclosure and keeping this post from becoming way too long, I've been composing it for the last 3 days. I'm so busy right now that I just don't have the time to update the way I should. So for now, I need to take a little step away. Hopefully I'll be back soon when things slow down and I can post the way I want to.