Week 16

This was one of the smoothest weeks thus far:

No nausea
One throw-up session (teeth brushing induced-doc says that may continue for awhile)
Great energy levels

I'll take it!

I have not forgotten the fog of fatigue and constant nausea from weeks 6-10. I feel so grateful everyday that I feel comfortable and able to eat healthy foods, since I know it can change any time!

Week 16 baby news:

Baby is the size of an Avocado!

Your baby now weighs in at a whopping three to five ounces and he's four to five inches in length. The backbone and tiny muscles in his back are gaining strength, so he can straighten out his head and neck even more. And thanks to his developing facial muscles, your baby is capable of making a few expressive frowns and squints, even at this early stage. His eyes are finally working too, making small side-to-side movements and perceiving light (although the eyelids are still sealed). Peekaboo!



This week began with a trip to San Francisco with an amazing friend, Adrienne. We wined watered, dined and walked all over the city; easily more than a marathon (26.2 miles) over the weekend. We hit some great sights such as Sausalito, Alcatraz, The Muir Woods, Coit Tower, China Town, and of course, the shopping district!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'll admit, I almost forgot to get the baby a San Francisco souvenir! Luckily, Adrienne reminded me that it might be the motherly thing to do so I found some cute onesies.

I did not, however, forget to shop for myself. I hit up Old Navy for some maternity items and I scored big at Gap, thanks to the fact that they are no longer carrying maternity wear in store, I snapped up two pairs of mum jeans and a tank for $5! Personal best!

Side note: Maternity jeans are amazing!!! As someone who has never fit into jeans well due to my small waist to large hip ratio, the joy of jeans without a waistband is huge! I can bend over without the jeans falling down and I can sit without a big waist gap in the back! I might wear maternity jeans forever... just saying....

I'm entering the period of time where it may be possible to feel those first little movements from inside the womb. Nothing definitive to report yet, but I did feel some unusual fluttering while on the boat from Sausalito to San Francisco! The midwife says that within a few weeks it should be much more clear - can't wait!

My exercise regime has largely gone unchanged and I was able to get out for a 4 mile run the other evening. Still felt great even though I'm sure I am a little slower than normal- I have intentionally not even worried about tracking time.

As I head into week 17, I am certainly more aware of the growing bump- it is strange to have a solid mass get in the way when bending to pick something up off the floor! I'm sure the fun is just beginning...



Week 15

When I first envisioned taking progress pictures, I imagined cute maternity outfits in well-lit locations. The reality is quite different. Unfortunately, the only times that Thor and I really cross paths is early morning, before I'm dressed, or in the evening- which for me means post-workout, sweat pant attire. Trying to wait for an opportunity to take a picture when I'm actually "photo-ready" is fairly fruitless- it might be week 20 before that actually happened when Thor was around to see it!

In other words, the pic above is as good as its gonna get for week 15- I was classy and kept my sports bra on until Thor got home just for your sake ;). Immediately after this picture was taken, PJ's were put on and I went to bed. There you have it- our reality!

Week 15 has been fairly smooth sailing on the baby front. I am feeling good, still eating lots of fruit, veggies and chocolate soy milk and sleeping fairly well. Exercising still feels great and with the nice weather, I have been trying to get outdoors as much as possible.

Let's see what developments have been happening inside the belly at week 15...

Your Baby is as Big as a Naval Orange!

• You probably can't feel it yet, but baby's squirming a ton!
• Baby might even be hiccuping in there.
• Baby's making lots of progress: the joints and limbs can all move now.

  

The average fetus at 15 weeks weighs 2.5 ounces and measures 4 inches—and baby's proportions are becoming even more normal, since his or her legs now outmeasure the arms. Your little one is now able to rub it's eyes, yawn and even hear!




 

The love bug and I went out stand-up paddle boarding for the first time this season. It was a beautiful afternoon in the mid-80's and it was great to be outside and playing on the water. I hope that as I continue to grow, I am still able to enjoy SUP throughout the summer, without losing my balance too much! I'd make a BIG splash later this summer! hehe

I also went for my first pre-natal massage at the local massage school. They did a great job and they offer massages at a fantastic price since they are done by students, so I am hoping to make it in for one every few weeks! Pregnancy sure offers a great excuse to pamper yourself a little more, and lets face it, once that baby is here, my opportunities for massages or other pampering times will likely be next to none!

Week 14

The first official week of the second trimester and I really am feeling the cloud of the early weeks lifting! While I can still take a nap after sleeping 9+ hours, my energy levels are feeling a little closer to normal and the nausea is just about gone. That being said, I am still a risk for hurling up my dinner at a moments notice, but compared to feeling queasy ALLL day- I'll take it!

Baby A and my bump are growing every day and so is the love and connection that Thor and I feel for the wee one. This is what The Bump website has to say about developments at 14 weeks....

Baby is as big as a Peach!

 
• Baby's probably thumb sucking and wiggling his or her toes in there!
• Baby's kidneys are making urine, and the liver and spleen are doing their jobs too.
• And baby's growing lanugo, a thin, peach-fuzz-like hair, all over- it'll help keep the body warm!

At week 14, your baby is 3.4 inches and 1.5 ounces, has almost doubled in weight since last week and keeps on growing.

 

 

 

This week, Thor and I got to enjoy a weekend get-away to Seattle to watch opening weekend for the Seattle Mariners. We were able to catch the game with some friends who are also expecting their first baby so it was fun to swap pregnancy stories and even our very idealistic "how we are going to raise out child" plans!

 

Thor gave me a hard time for how much food I packed for the drive over - and then as he witnessed me eating a banana, followed by celery and almond butter, followed by apple slices, followed by chocolate soy milk, followed by a nutrition bar, all within a few hours, he quickly realized that I need to pack for two!

 

As we pulled up to a friends house in Seattle, I asked Thor if he thought I was noticeably pregnant. He said that I look just like I do when I'm really bloated and he probably wouldn't think anything of it. Since we hadn't shared the news with these friends yet, we had the perfect situation to test the theory! As soon as we walked into the house, Amy was looking repeatedly at my protruding belly! She was kind enough not to mention anything, but did keep asking "So what is new?!?" bahaha! Thor finally let the cat out of the bag and Amy exclaimed "I knew it!" The answer to the question of 'Am I noticeably pregnant?', is apparently, YES! Amy was so kind to then hand down an awesome stroller and accessories to Thor and I, along with some maternity clothes. It just makes me so happy to know that there are so many people in the lil' Peaches life that are so excited about it already!

 

Thor and I used the opportunity of the baseball game to snap a photo to announce our pregnancy via Facebook and Instagram (I wonder if those will still be around when the Peach is old enough to read this?). It was fun to finally let the world know and we received so much love, congratulations and well wishes from friends and family near and far.

 

 

Enjoying a baseball game with our family!❤ ‪#‎happyfelixday‬ ‪#‎ohyeswedid‬ ‪#‎14weeks

1st Trimester Progress Pictures

I started this project with the intention of take a picture every week.... HA! Good lesson for lowering expectations of what you can get done when you are still trying to work over full time hours and sleep 12 hours a night! hehe

I have reframed my expectations to be happy with a progress picture every couple of weeks... let's see how the 2nd Trimester goes!

Weeks 9-13

Ahh the final weeks of that infamous first trimester. The bump was getting harder to conceal but the all day nausea was starting to lift. At this point most family, friends and people that we interacted with on a daily basis knew the news and that made life a little easier too.

1) Symptoms: Surprisingly during this last stretch of the first trimester while my nausea was getting more tolerable I was actually tossing my cookies more often! I developed a bit of an aversion to my daily protein smoothie that I was drinking with my pre-natals so had to switch things up a little on that front (I am happy to report that  smoothies are now back in full swing)!

2) What I was eating: I started this phase in full on comfort food, carb-o-holic mode! Vegan mac n' cheese, potato chips, mashed potatoes and gravy and sweet potato fries were the mainstays with a few oranges for good measure! However, by week 13, I really felt like my tastes and cravings were returning to more of a "normal" place for me and I have been all about the fresh fruit and veggies. Huge salad for dinner followed by grapes for dessert is the norm right now. The one indulgence I can not get enough of is organic chocolate soy milk. I drink at least 2 big glasses a day!

3) Exercise: While I have slowed down my pace a little bit, most of my exercise routine has continued unchanged. I finished week 13 with a beautiful 5.5 mile run that felt amazing, although I think hiking will be my activity of the summer.

12 weeks

4) Doctor Office: We had our 12 week check up including the Nuchal Translucency screening which tests for risk factors indicating Downs Syndrome and other genetic deviations. I'm happy to report that testing came back as "normal". Given this information, I think we will pass on further testing such as an amniocentesis.  It was fun to watch our plum on the ultra sound and amazing to see how much more developed and active the plum was from the previous U.S. People, we have a wiggler!

 

 

5) Fun moments: During week 13, I did get to attend a good friends Bachelorette Party in Portland! I had so much fun road tripping and visiting with my friends family, even if I couldn't really fully partake in some of the bachelorette shenanigans. I will certainly say, when you are pregnant and sober, your tolerance for people spilling drinks on you at 1am is about zero!

 

 

 

 

The bump! Right at 13 weeks the bump really started to show that is was not going to be referred to as "bloating" for any longer!

 

OK, this is a short one - but be prepared, from here I would like to do these on a nearly weekly bases.... HA!

Weeks 4 - 9

I wanted to reflect a little bit on those very early weeks of the pregnancy. This was such an exciting time when our baby grew from the size of a teeny tiny chia seed to the size of a green olive, we got to begin sharing the news and adjust to the idea of a new family member. Let's re-cap!

1. Who did you tell first?
I told my brother Harrison first at 6 weeks since I was staying with him in Austin, Texas and running the Austin 1/2 marathon with him. I needed him to understand why I might start puking at the race or why I was being such a party pooper and not joining in the post-race beer celebrations!

2. What were the funniest 'hide the pregnancy' moments?
A couple of good ones come to mind. We went to Las Vegas for Thor's friends 40th birthday. We didn't want to take any birthday attention away from the birthday boy so we decided to stay mum about the news. Since we were in Vegas, people started to really take notice of my no drinking policy, I had a secret chat with the waitress so I could order "tequila and soda water" and she knew just to bring me soda water with lime. I think people were very impressed with my tolerance and ability to pound half my drink before leaving the restaurant!

Another funny moment was when I was at work and feeling quite nauseated. I thought I had control of the situation, but was wrong, and needed to use my desk trash can to be sick. My coworkers were obviously very alarmed and thought I had the flu. I tried to cover and calm their contagion fears by claiming that I had taken too much cold medicine and it must have upset my tummy!

Enjoying a sunny afternoon with our secret love child in Las Vegas!

 

3. Pregnancy Symptoms?
All the usual - extremely fatigued, nauseas, burping, bloating and of course joy!

4. Cravings?
Hmm mostly anything that didn't make me want to toss my cookies! Carbs, carbs and more carbs- preferably coated in salt. I actually really didn't care for food in the first weeks (spoiler alert: that changes soon!) and ate mostly just to keep nausea at bay.

5. Favourite moment as expecting Mum and Dad?
Getting to see our baby for the first time via the 8 week ultrasound. I was so terrified that there wouldn't be a heart beat and as soon as our baby was on the screen I could see the little heart fluttering away at 180 bmp. Thor held my hand during the ultrasound and I know it was as special of a moment for him as it was for me.

6. How did you tell family the good news?
Since parents and siblings are all far apart, the best way to share the news was through Skype, we wanted to see those expressions! Thor's parents were very excited, and I think, in a bit of shock! Thor's sister Tiffanie screamed and cried, which of course made Thor and I get all teary too!
Since I was telling my family in England on English Mothers Day, I decided to include the news in a little Mother's Day gift for my mum and grandma. I had the 8 week ultrasound photo printed on mugs along with the poem "Roses are red, Violets are blue, We can't wait for October, When your grandbaby is due!" I had them open the mugs on Skype and sat back and enjoyed the process of them figuring out the riddle!

Such an exciting few weeks that truly flew by, and I'm sure time is just going to keep going faster and faster! I'm already feeling a little nostalgic for these early days of pregnancy and I'm trying to treasure each fun new moment and experience- even the ones where I'm throwing up!