How far along: 12 weeks, 5 days
Size: 5.1 cm-- the size of a Plum!
Gender: Unknown
Total weight gain: 4-5 lbs.
Maternity clothes: I've already started buying things I see from consignment shops/sales, but they're still way too big on me-- just trying to get ahead & stock up on fall/winter clothes for my bigger months! I have transitioned into wearing a BeBand that a friend has let me borrow-- helps those snug jeans last a bit longer! I think I might also have to go bra shopping soon-- yikes!
Stretch marks: No
Sleep: I have good nights and bad nights. Some nights I wake up needing to pee once or twice per night, while other nights I can sleep through the night.
Movement: None yet.
Queasy or sick: I've been feeling great this week!
Labor Signs: Nope
Belly button in or out: In
Wedding rings on or off: On
Recap of the last 9 weeks: Well.....Let's begin with the day we found out we were expecting! It was a Monday morning (June 16th). I just had a feeling, so I took a pregnancy test. I was thinking, oh this will be negative, but why not try? When the first line appeared and the second followed, I immediately began crying tears of joy & shaking with excitement. I really thought I was dreaming! I collected myself, and waltzed into the kitchen to tell Matt the exciting news! He was unloading the dishwasher and I said "Hey, I have a surprise for you!" He said, "Okay?!" I had the test hidden behind my back & whipped it out really quickly. "It's POSITIVE," I said. He started smiling and said, "What? That's amazing!!" That was the beginning of our 40 week journey to parenthood!
Week 4
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| Two Pink Lines :) Positive! |
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| Pre-baby bump-- day we found out I was pregnant. |
A few days later we boarded plane to South Africa for a mission trip-- at 4 weeks pregnant. At this point, only our team members knew, because we wanted them to know for safety purposes. We were going to visit family over the 4th of July, so we wanted to tell everyone in person. I felt pretty good while in Africa-- no major nausea from baby. Some of the food upset my stomach a little, because it was stuff my body wasn't used to. I also felt my immune system and energy levels drop-- caught a nasty cold during my time there! Other than that-- we had an AMAZING experience! We spent almost 2 weeks in Africa, so we spent Week 5 & Week 6 in South Africa!
WEEK 5
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| "Prego Roll" was too perfect! |
WEEK 6
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Hiking Prayer Mountain during Week 6!
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Once we arrived back home from Africa, we visited the doc for our initial baby appt.-- they confirmed the pregnancy by test & ultrasound. Baby looked like a tiny blob at 6 weeks, but we saw the sweet little flutter of his/her heart & instantly fell in love :) We surprised family with sweet pics of baby ultrasound in their gift bags with Africa souvenirs. They all started opening gifts & then...SURPRISE!
WEEK 7
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During Week 7 we visited Warren Dunes-- Lake MI (where we got engaged!)
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Announcement Photos
My mom took these cute pics for us before we all celebrated the 4th of July! Thanks to Pinterest I was able to pick out a cute way to announce to the world that we're going to be parents!
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| Photos by "Mom" at Spring Mill State Park |
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| Photos by "Mom" at Spring Mill State Park |
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| Photos by "Mom" at Spring Mill State Park |
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| Photos by "Mom" at Spring Mill State Park |
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Photos by "Mom" at Spring Mill State Park
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Soon after our visit with family, we boarded another plane to go on our vacation to Italy. At this point, I was almost 8 weeks pregnant-- the peak of my nausea and tiredness started to hit. Luckily I have had mild nausea throughout my 1st trimester-- no vomiting & some days there wasn't any nausea so long as I ate small, frequent meals. Anytime we spent large amounts of time on planes, trains, buses, I would feel sick. I was typically fine in fresh air. I was just REALLY tired, every day! Traveling all over Italy made the tiredness intensify too, because traveling itself is exhausting. Sometimes in the middle of the day, while touring a city, I would request we go back to our room to take a short nap. Finding a toilet to pee, and paying to use the toilet each time I needed to go was annoying. Other than the tiredness, slight nausea, and need to potty, I felt great & enjoyed our amazing adventure!!!
WEEK 8
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| Amalfi Coast, Italy-- ready to go on a boat tour! |
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Roman Forum-- despite the smile in the pic, I was cranky/emotional this day!
Thanks pregnancy hormones!
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| Giving baby the most nutritional food of all-- Gelato ;) |
WEEK 9
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| Enjoying beautiful Venice! |
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Favorite part of Tuscany-- Sunflower fields!
If baby is a girl, I want to hang up one of our pics of these amazing sunflowers in the nursery! |
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| Ready to tour wineries, but not drink wine-- Matt drank for two! |
WEEK 10
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Excited to eat delicious ravioli in the Cinque Terre!
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| Ready for dinner in the Cinque Terre-- Week 10 :) |
Once we got back home, we started to prepare for work & began our first nesting project-- NEW FLOORS! We also went to our 12 week appointment! Baby grew SO much in 6 weeks! He/she looks more human now & was moving around some in the ultrasound :) The heartbeat was 168bpm & sounded amazing! We fell even more in love with baby Nicely! Now, I am adjusting to life back at home & my new job(s). Looking forward to entering the 2nd trimester soon-- the 1st flew by, as we were so busy traveling. I hope the 2nd will go by slower, so I can really soak in each & every week of my first pregnancy!
WEEK 11
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| This day. I felt BLOATED! Baby is definitely popping out now! |
WEEK 12
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Crappy cell phone pic-- but here's Week 12.
Also my first day of work as a school counselor! |
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| A little better view-- closer up & pulled shirt tighter to emphasize "bump" |
Looking forward to: Continuing to watch/feel our baby grow :)
SO Sorry for picture & update overload, but now that the blog is up & running I hope to update weekly/bi-weekly! Excited to share this journey with you all! We are beyond thrilled to become the parents of this sweet little peanut!!!
