Bump Update: 22 Weeks

With school ending, it's been a busy 3 weeks. I have updated since we found out baby's gender 2 1/2 weeks ago! Since then, my belly has grown, baby's movements are increasing, and my love for her grows each day. We have a name picked out, I've begun ordering nursery items, and I am playing piano and talking to baby as much as I can.

How Far Along: 22 weeks as of June 29th!

Size Of Baby: According to baby center: Baby girl weighs about 1lb and is 11 inches, about the size of a spaghetti squash.She is starting to look like a miniature newborn; her lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and she's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath her gums. Her eyes have formed, but her irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment.

Maternity Clothes: I bought a pair of capris, shorts, and another tank top from Old Navy this week. I'm pretty lucky that this pregnancy falls over the summer, when I won't have to invest in any expensive work clothes. I lounge around the house most days in shorts and a tank.

Weight Gain:  Baby girl has grown and so has my belly! I am up 6 1/2 lbs. They are finally starting to add on, although I hope they take their time.

Stretch Marks: No new ones! *crosses fingers*

Sleep:  I've figured out my pillow trick of stacking my body pillow on top of my little pillow. It elevates them both and allows me to cuddle up. I'm also needing a nap a day to survive.

Best Moment of the Week:  I am loving feeling baby move!  She has been blessing me with her little squirms multiple times a day now, and I just love every second of it.

Movement:  See above.

Cravings: Anything that anyone mentions, I will immediately want. I try to avoid watching food commercials.

Gender: A sweet little girl.

Belly Button In or Out: In I hope it stays there!

Wedding Ring on or Off: On

Anything Making You Queasy or Sick: No.

What I Miss: Not much these days. I'm still running and started a new workout routine on DVD geared towards pregnant ladies, titled "Expecting More." So far, I love it!

Labor Signs: N/A. But I was nervous last week when Baby girl was kicking my cervix and causing some sharp pain down below!

Symptoms: I'm getting hungry more and more often. I feel baby girl moving multiples times a day. And, oh, my belly is growing :)

Nursery: I've been researching nursery items on ETSY.com this week and think we will be going with a pink and grey theme, with elephants. I'm very excited to get the nursery started. We even ordered our crib this week! Always ahead of schedule; it's the teacher in me.

Emotions: I love to feel baby girl move about. I am waiting in anticipation for the moment to come when John and Sammie can feel her too!

Letter to Baby #2

Dear baby girl,
We found out that you were a girl a few weeks ago and the day after the reveal, I felt you move for the first time! Since then, my heart has grown 10x bigger. I imagine you in there, squirming about and doing flips, and I wonder what you will look like when I meet you in four months. I'm not going to lie, I also am feeling a bit nervous. Will I be a good momma to you? Will I teach you to be confident, respectful, empathetic, and kind? I want so much for you and I hope that my mothering skills will grow so that I can always protect you and give you every opportunity to succeed and be happy.

I hope that I can guide you to be strong and independent, but I also hope that we will be more than mother and daughter, but best friends. Now that I know you are a girl and can feel you moving, everything feels much more real. I'm working on your nursery, and I wonder if you will approve. I see little girls twirl on t.v. and I dream about you at age five, dancing and smiling in pig tails.

Your daddy and I love you so much already. Even Sammie has been snuggling up to my belly more and more. We can't wait to meet you in 4 months and we hope that you will be as happy to see us as we will to meet you.

All my love,
Mommy

What you need to know about your Daddy

Dear baby,
I thought it might be useful for me to share with you some facts about your daddy.  I know that over the years, you will learn these things yourself, but I think it might be fun to tell you how your daddy is now, as I, your mom, know him. At 29 years old.

1. Your daddy may be a procrastinator, but he is one of the smartest guys I know. He can hold an endless use of facts in his head, and really should star on Jeopardy. He especially knows everything about sports. 
2. He's a medical doctor and he helps people get better everyday. But he's very modest. He doesn't brag about being a doctor and he doesn't even refer to himself as Dr. Cullen on letters and such. He doesn't need to announce to the world his accomplishments. He is confident in his capabilities and that is enough for him. I love this selflessness about him.
3. Your daddy LOVES sports and video games. After a loooong day of work at the hospital, the place he relaxes is the couch, either watching a Syracuse Basketball game (he already has plans for you to go to college at SU) or with controller in hand, playing a video game. I can have whole conversations with him that are one-sided, of course, and he won't know a single world I'm saying if a game is on. I hope you, baby, don't adopt this trait :)
4. Your dad has an obsession with shoes. He's a simple guy and doesn't get too excited over gifts. But, take him to the shoe store and he is in heaven. I think his shoe collection is even larger than your momma's!
5. Your daddy will love you to the end of the world. He won't show it through gifts or large acts or displays, but he will show you this when he lets you have the last french fry or gives you the window seat on the airplane each and every time. He will show it by giving you a kiss each night and showing up at every race or sporting event and cheering you on. 

Your daddy's heart grew bigger the moment he knew you were in my belly and I just know that his love will grow more and more for you each and every day.  You are one lucky girl.

Baby C is a....

 

Bump Update: 19 weeks

View from my angle!

How Far Along: 19 weeks, 2 days, as of today, June 10th

Size Of Baby: According to baby center: Baby weights 8 1/2 ounces and measure 6 inches long, about the size of a mango. Research shows that he/she might be able to hear mom's voice now.  Baby's arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of her body now. Her kidneys continue to make urine and the hair on her scalp is sprouting. A waxy protective coating called the vernix caseosa is forming on her skin to prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid.

Maternity Clothes: My belly popped this week, so I treated myself to a few tanks from Old Navy. I can still fit into pre-pregnancy shorts and pants, but I find that my bump looks bigger and more defined when I wear maternity clothes.

Weight Gain:  This week my weight increased about 2lbs!!! It freaked me out a bit, but I'm trying to be more accepting of my changing body. So, total weight gain now is about 4-4.5 lbs depending on the day.

Stretch Marks: I found a few light ones on the top of my breasts a few weeks ago and they really upset me. But since then, I've been lucky. *knock on wood*

Sleep:  UGH! The bump has grown and so has my conscientiousness to not sleep on my belly or back. I haven't been getting good sleep because I just can't sleep comfortably on my sides. I also have been waking up very early because of back pain from sleeping on my hips.

Best Moment of the Week:  A fellow teacher and some cute girl students of mine said that I was finally showing. I will admit I was apprehensive about it at first, especially since the scale had gone up that morning, but I am finally starting to feel proud of my growing belly. I just find it really difficult to distinguish between whether I am gaining baby weight or fat weight from my decline in vigorous exercise.

Also, I'm starting to sing and play piano to baby. I want him/her to know my voice and to be musically inclined! John joked that I was starting early to make sure the baby doesn't get his anti-musically inclined genes.

Movement:  I thought I felt baby earlier last week, but I haven't felt anything since, so maybe I was wrong? I'm starting to get nervous and can't wait for the ultrasound this week.

Cravings: SWEETS! Ice cream, chocolate, donuts.. ugh.. I am being bad!

Gender: We find out in 2 days! EEK!!!

Belly Button In or Out: In 

Wedding Ring on or Off: On

Anything Making You Queasy or Sick: Nope. Baby is still treating me well.

What I Miss: SLEEP!

Labor Signs: N/A

Symptoms: Occasional hunger pains and of course, the emerging bump.

Nursery: More on this after we find out the sex on Wednesday.

Funny Story of the Week: On my drive to work one day this week, I decided to stop by Dunkin Donuts to get my first, ever caffeinated latte during this pregnancy. Since our school schedule got changed and I had a morning class, I thought I'd need a little pick me up to get me going. All morning I was craving a Honey Cruller donut, but on my ride to DD, I talked myself out of it. I knew I had been eating too much sugar that week and the scale indicated the same. Now, if you know me, I have very little willpower against yummy foods. But I was determined to avoid that donut. When I drove up to the window, the first thing the DD guy asked me, was if I wanted a free donut! I shook it off, thinking I had misheard him, and proceeded to order my latte. Then he asked again, saying, "Are you sure you don't want a donut? It's free!" Oh wow, was my will power tested. I felt like God was testing me. I mean, never ask a pregnant lady twice if she wants a donut!!! But I said no again, and drove away with my latte, questioning my sanity. I mean, I have never been offered anything free at a drive-through and I couldn't believe that on the day I had promised myself no donut, that I was offered a free one! What was going on in the universe and was I equally as crazy for saying no? Well, as I approached school, I heard on the radio, that it was National Donut Day. What a crazy coincidence!

What's making me feel like a mom already:The same day as the donut incident, we had a lock-down at my school. This is the drill used when there is an intruder in the building. We have to lock the door, turn off the lights, close the shades, and get all the kids in the corner, keeping them quiet. When I heard the announcement that there was a lockdown, I was terrified inside! First of all, we only have 2 1/2 weeks left of school. It seemed a bit late for a practice drill. Second, it was the worst day to have a drill, since every one's schedule was off because of Career day. There were even visitors in the building! Third, the man that gave the instructions over the loud speaker was not the usual guy (the Vice-Principal) and he sounded super serious! I really, truly, deeply, thought this was a real lockdown. I ordered my students safely in a corner and I tried to stop my hands from shaking as I pulled the blinds down. Inside, I was thinking, this can't be happening. I need to protect my baby. I even said a few Hail Mary's. Well, it turned out it was only a drill, but I was so shaken up for the next hour. I have never reacted that way before during a drill and I wonder if it's my mommy instincts coming to life already.

Emotions:  Happy. Excited. Nervous. 

Thoughts on Gender and our Own Gender Prediction Test

Since we will be finding out if BabyCis a boy or girl this week, I thought it would be fun to take a look at all the Old Wive's Tales out there and see how accurate they are. 

John and My Predictions: For the longest time, up until about week 16, I really, really felt baby was a girl. My mom, John's grandma, my mom's friend Becky, they all guessed boy. Every time I would get defensive and inside, I told myself baby was a girl. John even had a few dreams of the baby as a girl and he told me the week we found out we were pregnant, that he had a feeling you were a girl. I think secretly I really wanted a girl and couldn't imagine baby being anything else.

BUT, these past 2-3 weeks, I've been calling baby a "he" unintentionally. We finally came up with a boy name, which we were having difficulty with, and I am really thinking about what a boy nursery would look like. John also had a dream that you were now a boy. I even picture holding a little baby boy in my arms.

So? I'm totally mixed up and have no clue as to what you are. But I know with all my heart that I will be happy with either.

Chinese Gender Predictor

This chart uses the mother's birthday and date of conception and makes a prediction based on the two. According to this tale... GIRL!

Baby's Heart Rate

Apparently, if the baby's heart rate is over 140, it's a girl. If the baby's heart rate is under 140, it's a boy. Recent heart rates have all been in the 150 range.... GIRL!

Sweet or Salty

If you're craving sweet foods, it's a girl, while salty foods means it's a boy. Well, this has been tough because I crave EVERYTHING. But the past 2 weeks, I've been craving everything with sugar in it! GIRL!


Mayans Gender Predictor

According to the Mayans, the mothers age at conception and year of conception were considered to determine gender. If both are even or odd, it's a girl. If one is even and one is odd, it's a boy.Well, I was 28 when you were conceived and the year is 2013, so that makes you a BOY!

Beauty

Many people say that girls take your beauty away. I have been getting pimples more than usual, so I will say.... GIRL!

Morning Sickness

Intense morning sickness equals a girl. I didn't vomit once!!! Thank you baby!  That makes you a.... BOY!

How are you Carrying?

Lots of people tend to say that if you're carrying high, it's a girl. If you're carrying low, it's a boy. I really have no idea if I'm carrying high or low... haha so... this one is a mystery! 

 
Siblings

If your husband has more sisters than brothers, it's a girl. If he has more brothers than sisters, it's a boy. What an odd tale!  John has 1 sister and 1 brother, so once again, a mystery!

All Belly or All Over?

It's been said that if your weight gain is just in the belly, it's a boy. If you're gaining all over, it's a girl. I've only gained 4 pounds, but it's in my belly and back. So, I guess you are a BOY!

Growing

Never heard this one before, but if you're chest is growing a lot, it's a boy. If it stays the same, it could be a girl. I've grown a bit, but not really as much as I thought (thank goodness!) So.. GIRL!

Let's total them up!

 
GIRL: 5

 BOY:3

According to all of this "scientific evidence," Baby C is going to be a GIRL!!!