17 Weeks

15 Weeks, 6 days-- so almost 16 Weeks! 

Treated myself to a new haircut & color :)

We LOVE you baby Nicely!

16 Weeks, 3 days-- Ready for a 5k Run :) Definitely slowing down, but still able to do my usual distance! 

16 Weeks, 5 Days-- "America Day" at school for spirit week! 

How far along? 17 Weeks

Baby Size: Approximately 5.1 inches or the size of an Onion!

Total weight gain: 10ish lbs. -- Our scale stopped working last week & that's what I had gained at that point-- hopefully still about the same, because I'm hitting the maximum weight gain for this particular week of pregnancy according to my Bump App. However, my doc says I'm right on track & not to worry what the pregnancy apps say I should gain, as every pregnancy is different! 

Maternity clothes? I have started wearing my maternity pants to work & recently bought a couple pairs of jeans-- I will be wearing the maternity pants from here until the end (and probably postpartum). I am not wearing maternity dresses or tops just yet-- I'm still trying to squeeze into my normal tops for as long as possible! 

Stretch marks? Nope

Sleep: Alright-- some nights are better than others with getting up to potty! 

Best moment(s) this week: Last week we started our small group back up again-- It was nice to have them over for dinner & the new Seacoast alignment study! 

Miss Anything? My clothes-- just because I am in an awkward phase in which things are becoming more difficult to wear, while maternity things are still sort of too big. It's much more difficult right now to plan my outfits & still feel "cute." 

Movement: I feel him/her move at least two or three times per day! I feel the tiny flutters typically at work, while working in my office or at night if I am sitting still or getting ready to fall asleep! They're AMAZING! I can't wait to feel more distinct kicks/movements & for Matt to be able to feel them as well :) 

Food cravings: Anything pumpkin-- but that's typical of me this time of year! I'm still really loving my fresh fruit! I've also started craving red meat, which I haven't eaten in over 2 years-- we may incorporate a small amount in a dinner this week & see how my stomach handles it. 

Anything making you queasy or sick: My prenatal gummies have been making me gag-- but other than that I feel great!

Gender: About 2.5 weeks (October 2nd) until WE know & about 4.5 Weeks (October 18th) until YOU ALL know!!! 

Labor Signs: No.

Symptoms: Growing Belly & Round Ligament Pain

Belly Button in or out? In.

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Mood: Pretty happy most days-- still somewhat sensitive at times.

Looking forward to: October 2nd-- gender appt!!! 


For this Bumpdate, I added some pics from both Week 16 & 17. Hopefully I will get better at updating weekly!

17 Weeks! Baby can hear music & of course Mommy & Daddy :)

I hope everyone has a wonderful week! 

Grilled Caprese Chicken Pizza

I wanted to share a recipe we have been making the last couple of years-- it's one of our faves & a go-to in our house! This recipe is simple, easy, quick, and delicious! Also, many of you are probably looking for ways to use that grill a few more times before grilling weather is long gone. However, we grill here in South Carolina pretty much all year long :)

I am a huge fan of the tomato, basil, and mozzarella combo so I decided one day that we would make our own version of a Caprese Pizza. I also love the Wood-Fired pizza flavor, but since we don't own a wood-fire grill, that's not an option. We decided to go grab all of the essentials-- romas, fresh mozzarella, fresh basil, garlic, chicken, and a pre-made pizza crust (We like the Boboli brand). Because Matt likes meat on his pizza, we decided to add some chopped chicken breast to our version of a Caprese Pizza. We made it that initial time & we were hooked! Want to try it out for yourself? Follow along with our recipe & feel free to add/change to your liking-- as we did lots of tweaking to amounts of things as we continued to make this recipe!

Ingredients: 

1 large chicken breast (or 2 small)

1/3 cup freshly chopped basil

1 fresh mozzarella cheese log

2 tsp. of minced garlic

6 roma tomatoes

1 pre-made pizza crust

1 tbsp. Italian seasoning

2 tbsp. olive oil

Directions: 

Grill your chicken breast(s) and chop with a food chopper

While chicken is grilling you can prep your toppings-- dice the roma tomatoes into small chunks, chop the basil, and slice the mozzarella cheese log (unless you buy the pre-sliced, like at Trader Joe's).

Once tomatoes are diced, add the olive oil, garlic, and Italian seasoning & mix well.

Next, spread a little bit of olive oil on your pizza crust & grill it until slightly toasted-- about 3 to 5 mins, depending upon your grill heat (we use medium heat).

Once the Pizza crust is grilled some, add all of the toppings in no particular order, but this is how we do it-- Tomato mixture, Chopped chicken, Basil, Cheese.

Place the pizza on the grill and cook until cheese is well melted-- approximately 7-10 minutes.
Grab a pizza cutter, slice, and enjoy!

15 Weeks

14 Weeks!

Last Week baby was the size of a lemon :)

How far along? 15 Weeks

Baby Size: Approximately 4 inches or the size of an Orange!

Total weight gain: 6-7ish lbs. (it fluctuates each day...)

Maternity clothes? Nope-- but I have a feeling in the next couple of weeks, I may transition into some pieces of maternity wear! Right now I'm still wearing loose fitting shirts, pants with BeBand, and maxi skirts or dresses.

Stretch marks? Nope

Sleep: Alright-- just still getting up to use the bathroom & since I've stopped sleeping on my back, I wake up with my arms having fallen asleep.

Best moment(s) this week: Having a long weekend to get caught up on housework & spending time with a few different groups of friends.

Miss Anything? I sort of miss being able to workout at my usual intensity-- but overall, I'm able to continue my usual workout routines.

Movement: I have read that it won't happen until next week, but last night I felt several "flutter" type feelings in my tummy! I thought it might be gas, but it felt so unique & there was no gas to follow the flutters. It happened while I was sitting still, and happened about 4 times! I've also read that when you're smaller, sometimes it's easier to feel movements because there is less room for the baby to wiggle :)

Food cravings: Mac n' Cheese, Carrots/Celery with Veggie Dip, & Fresh Fruit (still)

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope. Feeling great!

Gender: Only 5 Weeks To Go!

Labor Signs: No.

Symptoms: Tender/Aches & Pains, Growing Belly, and Appetite is beginning to increase!

Belly Button in or out? In.

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Mood: Majority of days I'm in a good mood-- much better than 1st trimester craziness!

Looking forward to: Our 16 Week Appointment next Monday! Praying baby's heartbeat is still strong & healthy and all is well :)


For this Bumpdate, I added some pics from both Week 14 & 15.

Week 15!

15 Weeks Down-- 25 Weeks to go!

I hope everyone has had a wonderful Labor Day Weekend!  

Nursery Inspiration

We are about 6 weeks away from knowing Baby Nicely's gender. As quickly as things have been going thus far in my pregnancy, I have a feeling these 6 weeks will fly by. However, the anticipation of knowing the gender is making the thought of 6 more weeks seem pretty long!

To keep me busy and engaged in my pregnancy, I have been dreaming of ways I would like to decorate the nursery. I have been browsing Pinterest the last few weeks and have come up with the color pallets & some overall themes for baby's nursery. I have chosen some inspiring photos for both a girl and boy nursery-- and can't wait to find out so we can get busy decorating!

My family is hosting a "Gender Reveal" for us on October 18th, but I believe we will find out about a week or so earlier on our own. Matt and I wanted to have a special moment with just the two of us when we find out the gender of our first child. I will then pass along the gender to my mom's friend, who will then plan that part of our party-- this way my whole family & close friends will all be surprised! After the party, my family plans to come visit us for a week & help decorate the nursery, since we will finally know if it's boy or girl!

Here are the inspiring photo collages I have created for both a boy and girl nursery:

GIRL

I am really loving these soft pastels of peach, mint, and grey-- with hints of gold. It's very feminine and delicate. We recently purchased our crib, which is the same style as the crib pictured in the bottom right corner-- we LOVE it & got a great deal on it! I am also loving the cloud/raindrop mobile for above the bed! I would love to find some old lullabies to frame like in the bottom left corner too. Overall, I'm in love with this whole color scheme & elements of the nursery that will add some personal touches :)

BOY

For a boy, I also love some softer pastel tones. I love the blues and greys, along with white! I'm obsessed with these little elephants & think my sister, Hannah will paint something for his room-- which will be so special! I also love the pallet book rack & the cute cart full of stuffed animals-- how cute! Again, I am loving the clouds! However, instead of paper, I would make them like the clouds featured above & make them with cloth. This color scheme seems very calming & makes me excited to possibly be having a baby boy-- as I thought I might struggle in finding a nursery design for a boy that I would love!


I can't wait to find out our gender & begin this exciting part of the journey to parenthood-- creating a warm, relaxing, and comfortable place for our little one to sleep & play!

I hope everyone has had a great weekend! I look forward to continuing to share this journey with you all :)

13 Weeks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How far along? 13 Weeks, 1 day

Baby Size: Approximately 2.9 in. or the size of a Peach!

Total weight gain: 4-5 lbs.

Maternity clothes? Nope-- but thankful for loose dresses, maxi skirts, yoga pants, and the BeBand :)

Stretch marks? Nope

Sleep: Already starting to get uncomfortable some nights, so I am researching body pillows for future months. A few nights I have been somewhat restless too.

Best moment(s) this week: Well it's only Tuesday, so I'm counting this past weekend in the mix. On Sunday I went with a couple of girlfriends to our "dollar" movie theater (only $2 per ticket!) to finally see "The Fault in Our Stars." Lots of tissues were used.

Miss Anything? Caffeine to get me through workdays

Movement: Not yet, but can't wait!!

Food cravings: Fresh Fruit & Guacamole

Anything making you queasy or sick: I'm still sensitive to smells, so anytime I get a whiff of something funky, I get queasy. Other than that, no food aversions or nausea!

Gender: Countdown to knowing is about 7 weeks :)

Labor Signs: No.

Symptoms: Tender, Growing Belly, Headaches here & there, Tired, and Emotional.

Belly Button in or out? In.

Wedding rings on or off? On

Mood: Emotional-- depends upon the day. I would say I am in a relatively good mood, but little things can trigger tears or anger.

Looking forward to: Possibly going hiking with Matt this weekend!

 

 

Hope everyone is having a great start to the week! Stay tuned for a post about some nursery inspiration!

1st Trimester Bumpdate

 

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

Two Pink Lines :) Positive!



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

"Prego Roll" was too perfect!



WEEK 6

Hiking Prayer Mountain during Week 6!



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

During Week 7 we visited Warren Dunes-- Lake MI (where we got engaged!)



  



 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!

Photos by "Mom" at Spring Mill State Park




Photos by "Mom" at Spring Mill State Park




Photos by "Mom" at Spring Mill State Park




Photos by "Mom" at Spring Mill State Park




Photos by "Mom" at Spring Mill State Park

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

Amalfi Coast, Italy-- ready to go on a boat tour!

Roman Forum-- despite the smile in the pic, I was cranky/emotional this day!
Thanks pregnancy hormones!





Giving baby the most nutritional food of all-- Gelato ;)



WEEK 9

Enjoying beautiful Venice!




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!  





Ready to tour wineries, but not drink wine-- Matt drank for two!

WEEK 10

Excited to eat delicious ravioli in the Cinque Terre!





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

This day. I felt BLOATED! Baby is definitely popping out now!

WEEK 12

Crappy cell phone pic-- but here's Week 12.
Also my first day of work as a school counselor!

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!!!