30 Weeks

I've been neglectful of my bumpdates for the last few weeks. Not that it's a huge deal to you all, but I really wanted to keep a weekly update to look back on post-pregnancy. It will be fun to share these with Micah one day & compare this pregnancy to any future pregnancies.
 Here we are at 30 weeks! I cannot believe we could have our sweet boy here in as little as two months! :) Here's to ten more weeks (or less). 

How far along? 30 Weeks (only 10 to go!)

Baby Size: around 15-16 inches & 2.5-3 lbs. OR as long as a Cucumber!

Total weight gain: about 24-25ish lbs.  

Maternity clothes? Most definitely! I don't think I've tried to squeeze in to any non-maternity tops-- unless its a button down sweater/shirt that can be left unbuttoned over a maternity tops

Stretch marks? Not yet-- loving my Burt's Bees Mama Butter :)

Sleep: Well, this past week has been AWFUL! I have been waking up every couple hours to potty or change positions. I had a flu shot and whooping cough shot all in one week, so sore arms made it hard to find comfortable sleeping positions. Also, towards the end of the week I was very sick & had a cough and snotty nose that kept me up quite often! Luckily I had a sick day Friday and all weekend to nap when necessary.  

Recap of last couple of  weeks: It's been a few weeks since I've updated, so honestly I cannot remember what all we've been up to. Mostly working! It's been a busy season for both of us work-wise. I've been doing career assessments non-stop at both of my schools & it has definitely worn me out. I'm not used to having a classroom environment-- i'm better with one-on-one counseling activities. Conducting the exact same activity over & over for large groups of students, for almost 3 weeks can be quite tiring! Plus, Matt and I are both helping students after school a few days per week. I'm wondering if the combo of being pregnant (lower immune system), working with kids, and lack of sleep/rest has caused my sickness? 
Non-work related-- we had birth class last weekend!! It was great! There was a lot of info I had already read/heard of, but Matt said he learned a lot. I enjoyed the breathing techniques we learned & touring the hospital-- where I will give birth in a couple months. After going through the class, I have decided to try a natural birth. I'm very nervous/anxious for the whole process, but feel that our bodies are made to do this so I can do it medication free. I know that there might be special circumstances arise, as every labor & delivery story is different-- so I am going in open-minded & ready to let whatever needs to happen, happen. 

Miss Anything? Being healthy :( I'm over this cold! 

Movement: Yep! He's really cramped up in there & I have started to see body parts roll along my belly & push my tummy outward. 

Food cravings: Before getting sick this week, I was craving cereal & almond milk, fresh fruit, and pancakes/waffles.  

Anything making you queasy or sick: Since being sick, my appetite has been funny. Mostly I just want bland foods, lots of water, & hot tea

Gender: BOY!

Labor Signs: No.

Symptoms: Round ligament pain, Braxton Hicks, shortness of breath-- he's up in my ribs, growing baby/belly, and lots of movement! 

Belly Button in or out? In 

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Mood: Mostly happy-- just cranky/crabby since I'm sick. 

Looking forward to: Christmas break!!! We will be in Indiana & Kentucky visiting family for two weeks! I'm looking forward to the holidays with family and friends! Also, during our time there, we will have TWO baby showers :)

Here are a couple pics of my 30 Week Bump!
(Note: I've had a nasty cold all weekend, so my face & hair look a bit rough. And honestly, I threw on this outfit for a bumpdate pic & I'm now happily back in my yoga pants) 

I hope you all have a great week! 

Goodbye 2nd Trimester!

This week marks my final week in the 2nd Trimester-- holy cow, did that fly by?! It was by far the best part of my pregnancy thus far. I'm sure many other mamas and mamas-to-be would agree! The first trimester is full of nausea, tiredness, and bloating. For me, the second trimester brought more reality to the pregnancy-- baby movement, growing belly, finding out the gender, and much more energy! I'm looking forward to the 3rd trimester-- I hope and pray that it goes as smoothly as the rest of my pregnancy. I know this trimester will bring much excitement as time draws closer to Micah arriving-- but I also know I will experience many discomforts too (or at least I've been told/read about). Overall, I am eager to begin another new step in my pregnancy journey & even more eager to begin finishing more things that need to be done before his grand arrival! This journey so far has been one of the biggest blessings I've ever experienced. Before pregnancy I feared that I would be miserable, gain way too much weight, have tons of sickness or issues-- but God has truly blessed me with a wonderful, healthy pregnancy. I can honestly say that I love pregnancy, and am already looking forward to being pregnant again someday in the future!

Now for a little Bumpdate of Weeks 26 & 27....

How far along? 27 Weeks & 2 days

Baby Size: around 14 inches, 2-2.5 lbs., or the size of a Rutabaga!

Total weight gain: about 22 lbs. 

Maternity clothes? Yep! Lots of layers & socks with boots during these colder days make getting dressed somewhat of a workout ;)

Stretch marks? Not yet :)

Sleep: Some nights are better than others. The pillow is helpful, but I still toss and turn some due to my arms falling asleep or hip & back pain. 

Recap of last couple of  weeks: A couple weekends ago we had Matt's friend Josh & his girlfriend Kate in town. It was nice to visit with them & show them around Greenville! We also met our photographer for Micah's newborn pics-- she is the sweetest! She took some maternity photos for us at her family farm & I know they're going to be fabulous. It was a super cold morning, but we had so much fun :) We spent Friday night decorating our house for Christmas-- a bit earlier than usual, but we leave for Indiana the week before Christmas, so we wanted to enjoy the decor for a while! Saturday night I had some girlfriends over for apps & dessert-- I felt like I needed a good girls night in, especially since time is ticking before Micah arrives. I know girls nights will be limited for a couple months, as we settle into a new routine as a family of 3! I also just completed my glucose screening at my 27 week appointment yesterday! It wasn't as bad as everyone hyped it up to be-- now just waiting on my results! We also found a pediatrician's office that we think we will love for Micah :) Things are definitely getting REAL!

Miss Anything? Wine-- girls night was tough not having wine, but thank goodness for sugar/chocolate :)

Movement: Lots and Lots! I'm thinking he will be a soccer player or runner one day ;)

Food cravings: My appetite has definitely increased-- or at least I feel that way! I know part of why I'm feeling like I want to eat more often is because I can't eat a lot at once, so I really just want to eat smaller amounts more frequently! I have been craving fresh fruit, Mexican/spicy foods, & pizza recently--and I am definitely excited about Thanksgiving food this week!!!

Anything making you queasy or sick: Only queasy when I have indigestion after eating too much at once

Gender: BOY!

Labor Signs: No.

Symptoms: Growing Belly, Baby Movement, Some Indigestion, Growing Pains, and recently been suffering from lots of Headaches :(

Belly Button in or out? In (for now-- it might pop out soon enough!)

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Mood: Mostly happy :)

Looking forward to: Family coming to visit for Thanksgiving & working on Micah's nursery! 

 I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!

25 Weeks

25 Weeks Down, 15 To Go!!! Here's what's happening in Week 25....


How far along? 25 Weeks 

Baby Size: Around 13 inches (weighing about 1.5-2 lbs.) Or the Size of A Cauliflower

Total weight gain: around 18-19ish lbs. (they're starting to pack on quickly now!)

Maternity clothes? Yep! Still getting away with a few non-maternity tops. I think here soon I want to try to do a maternity style post. I'm having fun trying to create stylish, but comfy outfits! I'm thinking of doing a fall/winter maternity style post, as well as incorporating the balance of work/weekend styles too! 

Stretch marks? Not yet-- but I still have about 15 more weeks to stretch out, so there is still a chance they'll start to pop up!

Sleep: Some nights are better than others. I really need to try to drink much more water in the day & less at night, so I get up less frequently! Overall, I'm still sleeping pretty well thanks to my Snoogle!

Recap of last week: We enjoyed a couple of nights together for some "date" time. Tuesday we had the day off for election day, so that evening we went out to dinner & ran to TJ Maxx and Trader Joe's to run some errands-- well, because doing those things will get harder with a baby. We also had a movie night in & s'mores roasting night this weekend-- nice & relaxing! 

Miss Anything? Nothing really this week...

Movement: Yes :) I forgot to share a cute story from our latest appointment. When the nurse went to find his heartbeat, she was having difficulties because he was so squirmy. He finally started to kick the Doppler whenever she would run it along my belly. It was too cute & funny :) We finally got him to cooperate, and found his sweet little heartbeat-- which has dropped some since the earlier stages of pregnancy, to 148bpm (so maybe this heartbeat wives' tale will end up being true later on in the pregnancy?)

Food cravings: I'm pretty even on my sweet/salty cravings lately. I am so ready to eat Thanksgiving food (which I enjoyed a bit on Wednesday with our church). There's nothing else quite as comforting as mashed potatoes & pumpkin pie! Italian and Mexican cuisine have sounded the best lately too!

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope!

Gender: BOY!

Labor Signs: No.

Symptoms: Growing Belly, Baby Movement, Some Indigestion, Growing Pains. 

Belly Button in or out? In.

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Mood: Mostly happy :)

Looking forward to: Having friends in town this weekend & maternity pics! 

Thanks for stopping by for the latest Bumpdate! Have a great week, everyone! :)

Pregnancy Fitness

Before pregnancy, I tried to live a fairly active lifestyle. Because I get bored of the same workouts over & over, I would rotate my workouts with running, Zumba, Piloxing, and various HIIT workouts and strength training. Now that I'm pregnant, I'm trying not to let the "bump" get in the way of my active lifestyle-- but it physically is....getting in the way.

In my first trimester I was super active, I still ran, went to Zumba, continued my HIIT & Strength workouts. We were also traveling a lot, so we did lots of hiking & walking during our vacation.

During my second trimester, I still ran at least once or twice per week up until 17 weeks and went to Zumba at least once or twice per week. Due to being so busy & still feeling tired at 17ish weeks, I began just working out at home. My Zumba gym closed down at the location that was closest to me, so driving over 30 mins there & 30 mins back, and then working out an hour was just not easy for a tired mama-to-be.

I don't know why I stopped running really? Maybe because Matt was too busy to run with me & I hate running alone. However, I recently joined a walking club at one of my schools & that's been nice to at least get moving a couple days per week. I was brave last week (23 weeks preggo) & ran some of my walk because I was the only person that showed up for walking that day. I can say it just feels weird to run with a growing bump! I'm much slower & get out of breath fairly quickly, but it's not impossible!

Before pregnancy I discovered "PopSugar Fitness" a website with free workouts-- and I love it! They have such a great variety & it's super easy to combine several of their short workouts for a total body workout. I searched workouts that seemed preggo friendly & also found a few that were labeled as "Pregnancy" workouts. I wanted to share my top three, go-to videos for my workouts. I will typically do all three in one workout session to get at least 30 mins. of workout in. I always feel great after doing these & feel that I didn't overdo it! If you're preggo & were fairly active before pregnancy, I highly recommend these workouts! (Of course be sure to check with your doc that it's safe for YOU to workout)

10-Minute Prenatal Workout From Heidi Klum's Trainer 


10- Minute Prenatal Arm Workout 


10- Minute Cardio Barre Workout


Stay Fit & Healthy, Mamas!

24 Weeks

This pregnancy is flying by! Already 24 weeks down, 16 to go! I'm really enjoying pregnancy & am secretly sad for it to be getting closer to being over--but at the same time I'm eager to meet our sweet little boy! Now here's a little update on week 24 with baby Micah....

How far along? 24 Weeks 

Baby Size: Around 12 inches (weighing about 1 lb.) Or the Size of An Ear of Corn!

Total weight gain: around 17-17.5ish lbs. 

Maternity clothes? Yes indeed! Again, still always wearing maternity pants-- but can get away with a few of my normal sweaters/shirts & a few maternity sweaters/shirts. Pajamas have become an issue-- I cannot fit into what were once loose, comfy pajama pants. I have been wearing one pair of sweatpants, Matt's basketball/track shorts, and a pair of Matt's PJ pants that are somewhat shorter, so that I feel comfy at night. I would just wear yoga pants to bed, but I need those to work out in, since my running shorts are getting super tight/uncomfortable (only two pairs still sort of fit). I've also been wearing Matt's tshirts to sleep in too-- mine are fitting, but too tight to be comfy enough to sleep in. 

Stretch marks? Not yet! 

Sleep: Pretty good-- I had a cold this week/weekend so I've had a hard time breathing at night. I've also been waking up to hip/pelvic pains (pretty sure it's simply growing pains/round ligament pain). The pains shoot through my hips into my upper leg. Other than that, the pillow does wonders for my comfort at night! 

Recap of last week: Nothing too exciting happened last week. I would say the highlight of the week was when we had our small group over for dinner/study on Wednesday night! Matt has been hard at work with his part-time job (as if teaching wasn't enough hours) and I'm about to start working part-time after school as a Homebound teacher for a couple of students that have temporary medical issues & need to have their tests/assignments given to them at home. Pretty easy, but needless to say, we're busy working & getting ready financially for the baby to arrive (hospital bills to come, crappy maternity leave $, and baby stuff is NOT cheap--so we're planning ahead!) 

Miss Anything? Last week I went for a run, because the weather was super nice. I initially was just going to walk, but I just felt the urge to run (only ran a mile, then walked a mile). It wasn't hard, but it also wasn't as easy as it used to be. I never thought I would say this, but I miss running! 

Movement: Yes! He's super active! I caught a cute video & sent it out to some of my close family-- they loved seeing him kicking my belly like crazy! 

Food cravings: Nothing in particular really. I would say since I've been feeling somewhat sick with a cold this week/weekend, my appetite has been funny. I've really just been trying to eat healthy (for the most part). I've been trying to be really conscious of eating a variety of fruits/veggies & getting enough protein.  

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope!

Gender: BOY!

Labor Signs: No.

Symptoms: Growing Belly, Baby Movement, Some Indigestion, Growing Pains. 

Belly Button in or out? In.

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Mood: Mostly happy :)

Looking forward to: A day off work tomorrow (we get off for Election Day this year!) and this means Matt and I are spending a much needed day together/date night! I'm also super excited to eat Thanksgiving food on Wednesday at Seacoast Church Thanksgiving dinner! 

23 Weeks

It's been a few weeks since I've done a Bumpdate-- but we've been quite busy the last few weeks. It's been an exciting and fun busy! We had a quick getaway to Amelia Island, FL and went to Indiana for our gender reveal party with family. I will post about each of these on their own, along with a few pics from our trip & party. But for now, I will leave you with a few pics from Week 23 and a short update on the pregnancy/baby.

How far along? 23 Weeks (and 2 days)

Baby Size: Around 11-11.5 inches or the Size of a Grapefruit!

Total weight gain: around 16 lbs.

Maternity clothes? I'm still wearing maternity pants (love them!) and alternating a few normal shirts/sweaters & a few maternity. I can finally somewhat fill out a maternity shirt & a few of my normal shirts are getting too tight/short if I try to wear them. 

Stretch marks? Not yet! 

Sleep: MUCH Better! My Snoogle is AMAZING!!! No discomfort while sleeping, just potty breaks in the middle of the night-- I'll take it! I have started having weird dreams. I dreamed that if you pressed hard enough on my belly, it would glow & you could see the baby inside of me!

Recap of last few weeks: We enjoyed an amazing getaway to Amelia Island, shared the news of baby Boy with family & friends at our gender reveal in Indiana, and really just busy planning nursery/registry for baby-- along with the busy work life! 

Miss Anything? A glass of wine on a stressful day-- but other than that I am loving pregnancy right now!

Movement: Yes! He's most active on my drive to work, after meals, and of course when I'm trying to go to sleep! 

Food cravings: I've been on a Spicy/Salty kick the last couple of weeks-- anything with jalapeno has sounded great! However, I have still enjoyed a few sweets here & there (especially our visit to Indiana-- I always eat lots of treats when I'm visiting home!)

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope!

Gender: BOY!

Labor Signs: No.

Symptoms: Growing Belly, Baby Movement, Some Indigestion, Some strong pelvic pains that happen randomly  :(

Belly Button in or out? In.

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Mood: Happy for the most part! No crazy mood swings in a few weeks-- yay!

Looking forward to: I know it's several weeks out, but I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving. We only got to see our family for a couple of days-- it was such a teaser! My family is visiting for Thanksgiving this year, so I'm ready for that-- especially since we'll be working on the nursery & shopping on Black Friday for baby deals :)

I hope everyone has a wonderful rest of the week!



 

20 Weeks-- Halfway There!

We're halfway there! This pregnancy is flying by & before we know it our sweet baby will be here! This month will especially be an exciting month that will surely go by quickly. Matt and I found out the baby's gender last week & we will be visiting family in Indiana next weekend for our big "gender reveal." This weekend we will be taking a quick "Babymoon" (even though Italy was truly our babymoon) to the beach this weekend. We got to thinking that it might be nice for us to do a short getaway to the beach before the next time we go & will have a little one to watch after. We have also declared this our super early, 3 year anniversary celebration-- since I will be huge in December, the beach will be colder, and the holidays make things too busy to really celebrate then anyway. There is so much to look forward to these next couple of weeks :)

Now for the 20 Week Bumpdate-- with pics from both 19 & 20 weeks: 

How far along? 20 Weeks

Baby Size: Approximately 5.6 inches or the size of a sweet potato! 

Total weight gain: about 11.5-12ish lbs. I have only gained 1.5-2 lbs. in one month--finally evened out from my early weight gain! Yay! Hoping I stay on track now. 

Maternity clothes? Still just maternity pants-- I can still get by with my normal skirts, dresses, and shirts.

Stretch marks? Nope

Sleep: Pretty good for the most part. Still need to get that pillow soon! 

Recap of last week: We hosted a wedding shower for a couple in our small group & had a wonderful evening with great friends! We found out baby's gender (won't reveal to the world until after gender reveal with family on Oct. 18th)!!!! We also went to Skytop Orchard to pick apples & eat my favorite donuts ever-- Apple Cider Donuts. We celebrated Matt's birthday a couple weeks early at the Oktoberfest, which is what he requested we do as his birthday gift/celebration this year. 

Miss Anything? Not really. I can't think of anything this week.

Movement: Yes! Matt has been able to feel the little kicks, which really only feel like a muscle twitch from the outside-- but they're getting stronger each & every week! Baby is growing & getting so much stronger :)

Food cravings: Sweets of all kinds & still loving my fresh fruit. An occasional salty treat (popcorn or chips/guac) sounds good too! I'm not so sure I'm really craving one versus the other, but definitely crave sweets more in pregnancy than I did before. 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope!

Gender: It's a......Healthy Baby! 

Labor Signs: No.

Symptoms: Growing Belly, Movement/Flutters, Indigestion, Round Ligament Pain, & Dry/Itchy Eyes

Belly Button in or out? In.

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Mood: Happy for the most part! Can be somewhat emotional at times (thanks, hormones)!

Looking forward to: Beach trip with my hubby & of course the gender reveal party in Indiana!

 

 

 

 

 

 



20 Weeks-- Halfway to meeting baby :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What Will Baby Nicely Be?

In one week Matt and I will be finding out our sweet baby's gender! We're so excited to finally know if baby is a he or she! We really just want a healthy baby, but we do both have preferences/hopes for what baby will be-- Matt hopes for a boy, while I hope for a girl. However, I feel like it will be a boy & Matt usually says he doesn't know or has mentioned he thinks it's a girl a couple times. We're so excited to see how much baby has grown since 12 weeks & really examine the anatomy of the baby in more detail!

I thought it might be fun to go through the "Old Wives Tales" that predict the gender of the baby & then see what you all think baby Nicely will be? It's so fun to hear everyone's opinions/guesses for what baby will be!

OLD WIVES TALES

1. Chinese Calendar-- GIRL
2. Morning Sickness (Yes- girl; No- Boy)-- BOY
3. Heart Rate-- (>140- girl; <140- boy)-- GIRL
4. Even/Odd Rule (If Age at Conception & Year of conception are both odd/even- girl; If Odd & Even-- boy)-- GIRL
5. Bump Height (High- girl; Low- boy)-- BOY
6. Cravings (Sweet- girl; Salty- boy)-- GIRL
7. Balance (Graceful--girl; Clumsy-- boy)-- GIRL
8. Skin (Soft-- Girl; Dry-- boy)-- GIRL
9. Acne (Yes- girl; No- Boy)-- GIRL
10. Dreams-- BOY
11. Baby Names-- GIRL
12. Urine Color (dull- girl; bright- boy)-- GIRL
13. Sleep Side (Right- girl; left- boy)-- GIRL
14. Feet (Warm/Same-- girl; Colder-- boy)-- GIRL
15. Leg Hair Growth (Less/same-- girl; more-- boy)-- GIRL
16. Moody (girl) or Happy (Boy)-- GIRL

There are so many more Old Wive's Tales, but here are just a few for fun :) What do YOU predict baby Nicely will be?

Stay tuned for our Gender Reveal on October 18th!!! We have to keep in our secret for a little over 2 weeks, but this is the only time we have to drive home to Indiana & surprise our family & friends. We can't wait to share with everyone!

18 Weeks

How far along? 18 Weeks

Baby Size: Approximately 5.6 inches or the size of a sweet potato! 

Total weight gain: Still about 10-11ish lbs. 

Maternity clothes? Still wearing maternity pants & normal tops-- for now! 

Stretch marks? Nope

Sleep: Alright. Researching/buying body pillow asap! Getting up to pee more frequently-- it doesn't help that I also drink about 10+ glasses of water each day. No wonder I'm making 800 trips to the toilet per day! 

Recap of last week: We had a busy week of work & tried to just relax and get caught up over the weekend. We did plan one last small getaway to the beach for a three-day weekend-- looking forward to that in a few weeks :) 

Miss Anything? Lots of Caffeine for days when I lack in sleep/rest! Normally I would indulge in a large Starbucks, but now I can't-- so I just suffer through tiredness. 

Movement: Yes! Still quite a bit of movement each day, while I'm sitting still. The movements are getting stronger & I can hardly wait for Matt to feel them too! 

Food cravings: I really think every week & sometimes each day my body craves something different. I haven't really had any unusual or constant cravings (other than still fruit). I still really love fresh fruits & veggies-- can't get enough! Some days I crave saltier things, while other days sweeter-- things this past week have included: chocolate, ice cream, Chick-Fil-A grilled chicken sandwich, and steak! 

Anything making you queasy or sick: I've been getting indigestion which can make me uncomfortable & unable to eat a lot, especially within a few hours of bedtime. I have a feeling I'm going to have to start eating dinner by 5pm or sleeping will be tough!  

Gender: Unknown, but only 10 days to go until we find out!!

Labor Signs: No.

Symptoms: Growing Belly, Movement/Flutters, Indigestion, & Dry/Itchy Eyes

Belly Button in or out? In.

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Mood: Happy for the most part, but still have my moody moments! 

Looking forward to: Still anxious for October 2nd Gender/Anatomy Appointment!!!