18 Weeks

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

HOPE YOU LIKE THE FESTIVE BELLY PIC:)

How Far Along: 18 weeks

Size of baby: Baby is the size of a Sweet potato

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 2 pounds 

Maternity Clothes: Yes, as you can see I'm definitely starting to pop!

Gender: Hoping to save our pennies and find out...  we're booked in for Dec. 3rd, but we'll see how the money situation is (I still don't have a job ... crazy I know... I've never had to even think about worrying to find a job as a ped's nurse before!)

Movement: This baby is moving and shaking now!

Sleep: Pretty good over all... still lots of weird dreams!

What I miss: nothing really this week

Cravings: Halloween candy:)

Symptoms: Still tired in the afternoons

As you can see from my pictures the belly is growing away!  Almost at the halfway point!

This and That

If you look on the internet there are about 101 ways to predict whether you are having a boy or a girl when you're pregnant.  Well I'm not really one for superstitions I have to say there is something about the heart rate one that I have always kind of believed.  For those of you that are unfamiliar with this particular tale, the myth is that if baby's heart rate is above 140 you're having a girl and below, you're having a boy.  Whether or not this can be scientifically proven -  Jacob's heart rate was always in the 130's.  Why my sudden interest in heart rates you may ask?  Well I had another midwives appointment today and baby G's heart rate was also the 130's...  so we'll see if the old wives tale is true this time around!

We've been having a lot of fun at the park lately.  I started letting Jacob go down the slide (from the half way part).  He goes down the slide at swimming lessons and loves it, and I'd say from the picture it looks like it's a hit at the park as well!

J's FAVORITE thing to do at the park, however, is going on the swing.  Anyone who's ever come to the park with us know's how much Jacob loves the swings.  He honestly can swing for half and hour and still make a fuss when you take him out!  He is a swinging machine!

And the above picture is one of many scenes he's made lately when it's time to leave somewhere and he just doesn't want to yet!  Whether it's the play area at the library, the stair area at the swimming pool, the park, etc.  the kid has no problem expressing that he is not really interested in leaving yet!  So I have become that mom carrying a screaming toddler out of such establishment while the rest of the world looks on:)  Oh the joy's of mothering:)

17 weeks

Yay!  I"m only 2 day's late on this one:)  

How Far Along: 17ish weeks

Size of baby: Baby is the size of an onion this week (5ish inches)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Finally gained my first prego pound... I'm sure they'll start rolling on soon:)

Maternity Clothes: Yes, as you can see I'm definitely starting to pop!

Gender: Hoping to save our pennies and find out...  we're booked in for Dec. 3rd, but we'll see how the money situation is (I still don't have a job ... crazy I know... I've never had to even think about worrying to find a job as a ped's nurse before!)

Movement: Definitely feeling this little one kick more often!

Sleep: So the weird dreams continue (so far I've murdered someone, someone's trying to find me to murder me, I went on a scavenger hunt with professor Snape... oh yes and this is only the tip of the ice berg people!)

What I miss: nothing really this week

Cravings: Salty foods... Adam's made me some yummy stovetop popcorn this week, and it really hit the spot!

Symptoms: Still tired in the afternoons, and also I've been having some heartburn, but that may have something to do with the vast amounts of Halloween candy I ate yesterday!

I have another midwife appointment tomorrow, and I'll be meeting the only one of the 3 I haven't met yet, so that should be fun!  Other than that the only think I have to say is MAN is the pregnancy flying by!!

16 1/2 weeks (alternately titled I really need to remember to take a picture on the actual day of the week it's meant for)

How Far Along: 16.5 weeks

Size of baby: Baby is the size of an avocado this week 

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Just about at my pre-pregnancy weight... now time to start gaining:)

Maternity Clothes: In all my bottoms.... not quite needing to be in a lot of the tops yet  

Gender: Hoping to save our pennies and find out...  we're booked in for Dec. 3rd, but we'll see how the money situation is (I need to find some sort of job first!)

Movement: Definitely feeling this little one kick more often!

Sleep: Pretty good lately, although, man am I having wacked out dreams every night!

What I miss: Lately it's been not knowing where we're going to be when this baby comes.  I'm wanting to start thinking about things like a nursery, and what I would like it to look like... but we have no idea where that will be!

Cravings: Still none. More aversions than anything: most meat, peanut butter...

Symptoms: Still tired in the afternoons, and well I guess I've had a cold now for over a month.... good times!

15 (and a 1/2) Weeks!

I've been a bit sluggish on the belly pics these past few weeks... It seems by the time I remember to take a pic the next week is almost here!  But here we go!

How Far Along: 15.5 weeks

Size of baby: Baby is the size of a Naval orange this week (about 4 inches)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Last time I checked was before Thanksgiving... but I think I'm at about my pre-prego weight

Maternity Clothes: Oh yeah baby... and let me tell you I have a ton now thanks to my SIL Dawn!  

Gender: Hoping to save our pennies and find out...  we're booked in for Dec. 3rd, but we'll see how the money situation is (I need to find some sort of job first!)

Movement: Pretty sure I've been feeling a few movements in there... much earlier than I did with J, but I hear that's normal the 2nd time around!

Sleep: I've been waking up pretty early, but overall I'm sleeping a lot better than I was!  

What I miss: I have to be honest...  while we were on vacation this week it was red wine!

Cravings: Still none. More aversions than anything: most meat, peanut butter...

Symptoms: Still feeling more tired than usual... I don't know if that's from chasing after a VERY busy baby or from being pregnant!

Overall I think I'm enjoying this pregnancy... I love the 2nd trimester and its lack of symptoms, and the still smallish belly:) It was great to hear baby's heartbeat at the midwives a few weeks ago and here some kicking on the doppler speaker!  

Clingy

Jacob is going through a new stage where he has periods each day where he is super clingy, and I'm not quite sure what to do.  He play's great by himself for the most part, but as soon as I get close or come over to him he crawls over to me, pulls himself up to standing and has a complete meltdown if I try to put him down again to play on his own.

I know babies go through different stages, but I'm having a hard time figuring out the right "parenting" approach on this one.  Adam's better at the tough love, and when Jacob does it to him he can leave him to cry and within a few minutes he's usually happily playing by himself.  Jacob knows I'm a sucker for him crying though and when I leave him to play on his own during these times (usually when I'm trying to get a few things done around the house) the crying does not stop after a few minutes!

Part of me wonders if it's because I had to stop nursing him do to my milk supply (I still nurse him once a day but it's not for very long) and he misses that bond, another part of me wonders if my midwife is right and that he knows that there's another baby on the way and he can sense change is coming (apparently research has shown a significant change in a lot of babies behaviors when mom get's pregnant), and then part of me wonders if it's just a stage and I need to get over myself (although what that looks like I'm not quite sure yet).  I feel frustrated at myself for feeling frustrated at him for being in this stage...  and the guilt that follows that doesn't help either:)

So do any of you have any words of wisdom of how you dealt with this with your little ones?

We Love Apples

JACOB

LOVED

APPLE PICKING

TODAY

WELL... FOR THE MOST PART AT LEAST:)