Playing Catch Up...

I had planned to start blogging about our adventures through pregnancy right after we found out about Little Nugget.  But, as I'm beginning to learn, in parenthood, and in life in general, things don't always go as planned.  My crazy, always changing work schedule, combined with sheer exhaustion from growing this little ball of life inside of me, and trying to soak in all the pre-baby events and experiences I can before September, doesn't leave me with much free time.  Add in buying our first home (yay!), which required a little more TLC than expected, and I'm not left with much time for things like blogging.  But, I've finally found a moment to breathe, so I decided to take advantage, and get the blog started/caught up on what's been going on. 

We started taking weekly photos of my growing belly when I was just about 6 weeks along.  There wasn't much difference to see over the first few weeks, but it has been so much fun documenting the changes (Side Note: Please excuse the not-so-great quality and editing of these photos... They were taken on my iPhone and edited (poorly) by me... No judgment please :) Hehe)!

Here I am at 6 weeks:

 

And 7 weeks:

And 8 weeks:

And 9 weeks:

And 10 weeks:

And 11 weeks:

At our 12 week appointment we FINALLY got to hear Little Nugget's sweet heartbeat!  It was so cool to see it on the ultrasound at 9 weeks, but actually getting to hear it was a whole different, unbelievable experience.  I have to admit that I did get overcome with fear when the doctor started searching for the heartbeat, because it took him FOREVER to find it!  I was literally on an emotional roller coaster... I started out so excited to hear our sweet baby, but after a few minutes of searching, fear started to creep in, as I began wondering if something had gone wrong.  I could feel that awful lump in my throat starting to swell as I fought back the nervous tears that were building up.  And then we heard it!  The crazy fast beating of Little Nugget's sweet heart!  I could no longer hold back the tears.  It was the most perfect sound my ears have ever heard!  Now I look forward to each and every monthly appointment, and the chance to hear that sweet, sweet sound.

Since then, my belly has continued to grow, while my clothes continue to shrink (mostly my pants).  I'm finding that my wardrobe options are quickly dwindling, and that I might have to breakdown soon and purchase some actual maternity clothes.  

Here I am at 12 weeks:

And 13 weeks:

And 14 weeks:

And 15 weeks:

We were really hoping that my doctor would do our ultrasound at 16 weeks to find out if Little Nugget was a boy or a girl.  But we quickly learned that he generally waits until the 20-week appointment to do this.  He prefers to do as few ultrasounds as possible during a pregnancy, and feels that at 16 weeks it is still often difficult to determine the sex of the baby.  As disappointed as we were, we could completely understand and respect his opinion.  So our 16-week appointment was pretty standard, and we got to hear Little Nugget's heartbeat again, which I don't think I'll ever get tired of! 

Here I am at 16 weeks:

And  17 weeks:

And 18 weeks:

And 19 weeks:

Finally at 20 weeks, we had our second ultrasound and got to see our sweet Little Nugget again!  We had decided before we went in, that we didn't want to find out if we were having a boy or a girl just yet.  We were planning a "Gender Reveal Party" (I will post about this very soon!), so we made sure to tell the ultrasound tech that we didn't want her to tell us.  She was completely fine with that, and went about the ultrasound as normal, taking measurements and making sure our sweet baby was developing as he/she should be.  When she was finished with her exam, she showed us our precious baby and I was in complete awe!  Little Nugget had changed so much in just a few short weeks, and now looked very much like a baby, rather than a peanut! In fact, he/she looked a lot like me when I was a baby! The profile picture showed the same nose and lip shape that I had, which completely melted my heart.  

 

We asked the technician to determine if Little Nugget was a boy or girl and to write it down on a piece of paper and place the paper in a sealed envelope.  But when it came time for her to do that, she informed us that she wasn't completely sure if the baby was a boy or a girl.  Apparently Little Nugget was being a little camera shy, and had his/her legs crossed so tightly that she couldn't be sure!  We decided that instead of taking a guess at what she thought it was, we would do another ultrasound a few days later when I came back for my regular 20-week prenatal appointment to double check.  Luckily, Little Nugget cooperated the second time around, and we were able to get our secret envelope! 

Holding that envelope, knowing that we still had to wait another TWO WEEKS until the big reveal was by far one of the hardest things we've ever had to do! Luckily, we had so many things to get done around the house and so much to occupy our thoughts, that after a few days the secret envelope and its exciting contents slipped its way to the backs of our minds.

We continued to take my weekly photos.  Here I am at 20 weeks:

And 21 weeks:

The Gender Reveal Party took place between my 21st and 22nd weeks.  So my week 22 picture shares the big news:

And we are SO EXCITED!!!!!

I must admit that from the very beginning of this pregnancy, I have been extremely lucky.  We were lucky to get pregnant as quickly as we did, and up to this point, everything has been smooth sailing.  I had a little bit of nausea in the first few weeks, but that was usually only if I went too long without eating.  And I never actually had "morning sickness" which I am SUPER thankful for! I had a few food aversions... Chicken and vegetables being the worst.  I couldn't even think about eating chicken or a salad without my stomach flip-flopping.  For a few weeks the only things that sounded good were carbs... Particularly Goldfish crackers and Cheez-Its and mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese.  But those of you that know me, know that these were pretty much staples of my diet even before the pregnancy! :)  Eventually, I moved past this, and can now eat pretty much anything and everything in sight!  A few weeks ago, I started getting some pretty bad headaches almost every day.  These only lasted about a week though, thank goodness.  Other than the slight nausea and few headaches, the only real symptoms that I've had to deal with are complete and utter exhaustion and rapidly growing, and not-to-mention crazy sore, boobs! Sometimes I feel like all I do is sleep.  I am usually ready for bed at about 9pm every night, and unless I have to work an early shift at work, I'm never up before 8 or 9am.  Like I mentioned before, I'm also starting to deal with my pre-pregnancy clothes no longer fitting.  At first it was just my pants. which I've been making due with by using a Belly Band--AKA: the most amazing thing ever!  I've been able to get by without having to buy maternity pants yet, which has saved me a ton of money!  But now, my shirts are beginning to no longer fit... Particularly in the area where "the ladies" hang out... And that's all they seem to be doing these days, is hanging out! So I definitely see some maternity clothes shopping in my near future. And I'm open to any and all suggestions on the best places to shop for mommies-to-be! 

So, now that you are all caught up on what's been going on with us and our Little Nugget, and now that this is by far the longest post in blogging history, I'll say goodbye!  But stay tuned... I'll be sharing all of the details of our awesome "Gender Reveal Party" very soon! :)

Until next time...