27 Weeks Bump Update

*Originally posted April 12, 2015 on Fab . Fit . Me*

It is THE last week of my 2nd trimester. OMG where has the time gone! I swear it feels like we have still a LONG way to go... Anyway, 27 weeks. Yikes!

What Is Up With Baby P This Week?

• Baby P is the size of a cauliflower. She measures about 14.5-15 inches long and weighs a little over 2 lbs.

• She is a thinner, redder, and more wrinkled version of what she will look like at birth but will be gaining fat in the coming weeks to fill out her appearance.

• Her immune system is continuing to mature as her lungs are still practicing breathing amniotic fluid

• She is sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing those little eyes, and perhaps even sucking on his or her fingers.

• Her brain is also very active now

• She is able to recognize my voice now!!! And I hope she loves to hear me sing at the top of my lungs (off-key) on the long drive home from work every day!

What's Been Happening With ME This Week?

Went in to have my blood drawn on Friday. I went in to work late because I had to wait for the labs to open and they didn't open till 8am. The doc ordered blood tests for a complete blood count and the much dreaded 1 hr glucose test. The glucose test tests for gestational diabetes. Whether or not your body is able to digest it well.

So this awesome drink has to be consumed within a 10-minute window. Then an hour after you've completely consumed the yucky stuff, your blood is drawn and then tested. My results posted online last night and I don't have gestational diabetes. Yay! One less thing to worry about.

Weight Gained: Still don't know. Will know on Wednesday though!

Workouts: We took a long walk around the entire community only one time this week. Yeah, I have been slacking BIG on my workouts at home. But in my defense, my job is VERY physical and I am almost NEVER sitting down. Only when I'm on my breaks. Or in a meeting or on a conference call. The rest of the time, I'm running around my store working on project after project after project.

Symptoms: A little back pain and some minor cramping in my lower abdomen from running around and being on my feet all day at work. So I've had to take little breaks here and there to rest and remind myself that I am not SuperWoman. And sitting for long periods of time, like for example my drive home from work, is just so dang uncomfortable and my back just kills me by the time I get home from work.

Food Aversions: None this week.

Food Cravings: Starbucks' cinnamon swirl coffee cake. I just couldn't help myself.

Sleep: Still getting up to use the restroom 2-3 times during the night. And then not being able to fall asleep right away. Leaves me super tired the rest of my day. Story of my life.

Any Baby/Pregnancy-Related Purchases? Almost bought more baby stuff. One of the merchandisers at work told me that there were a bunch of markdowns in the newborn/infant section of the Kids Department. I purposely avoided those clearance racks on my daily floor checks. But I did treat myself to a couple of new maxi dresses and a few bottoms to accommodate and show off the growing belly. And the best part of it is, all of these new additions to my wardrobe can and will be used post pregnancy.

Stretch Marks: Nada! But the belly has been starting to itch in certain areas. And I am doing my best not to scratch!

Miss Anything?: Yes. I miss having energy. As previously mentioned, my job is physical. And to do what I do with little to no energy is just plain difficult.

Belly Button In or Out? Never thought this could happen because my belly button pre-pregnancy is a deep innie...but I think I am borderline outtie! Like it's almost there but not quite. Maybe in another week? IDK. We'll see.

Wedding Rings On or Off? Still on! I'm happy about that.

Happy or Moody Most Of The Time? Happy. Baby bump is continuing to get attention and I'm totally lovin' it.

Any Movements? She moves a lot. Especially after I eat. And during rush hour traffic. Yeah I don't think she enjoys my road rage much.

Looking Forward To: My doc appointment this week. Not sure if I'll be getting to see baby but I know I will be hearing her heartbeat. And I can never get tired of hearing that.

Tags: #firstpregnancy #pregnancyjourney #27weekspregnant #27weekspregnancyupdate #babybump #glucosetest #27weeks

26 Weeks Bump Update

And just like that, we are 26 weeks prego! My weekly turnover date is Thursdays, so I'm actually a day shy of 27 weeks but I will give you the 26 week update here!

What is up with Baby P this week?

• depending on which baby app you wanna look at, Baby P is now the size of a hothouse cucumber, an eggplant, or the length of a green onion. Approximately 14 inches long from head to heel and weighs anywhere from 1.75-2 lbs.

• she is now able to practice her breathing techniques, "breathing" in and out small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is preparing her to take her first gulp of fresh air when she enters into my world.

• her ears are better developed and more sensitive and can hear conversations I am having with her daddy. Which means daddy better be nice to mommy!!!

What's been happening with ME this week?

Weight Gained: I have no clue. I stay away from my home scale. My next prenatal appointment is next Wednesday, so we'll see. The belly has grown so I can only assume I've gained since my last appointment.

Workouts: You will probably be shocked when I say this... but my workouts happen only when I feel like it these days. It is not the first thing on my to-do list when I get home from work like it used to be. Because 1) This pregnancy has drained me from day 1; and 2) my commute takes me forever to get home from work and I don't wanna do a dang thing when I get home. I really only have time to make/eat dinner, make my lunch for the next day, shower, and get my butt to bed. So back to the question... I aim to walk 3x a week (usually after dinner) with the hubs and the doggies... and then I try to do squats and some upper body workouts at least 2-3 times a week. In the last week? I probably only worked out 2 days. All I have to say is... Thank goodness I was in shape before I got prego because the muscle I gained back in the day is helping me not gain unnecessary weight. Muscle definition is slowly diminishing but I can worry about building it all back up once Baby is here.

Symptoms: No more sore boobs. BUT! I experienced some nausea after eating lunch at least a couple days this past week. I guess it happens. Oh! And exhaustion. I've learned to accept that I'll be forever exhausted until Baby P becomes an adult and leaves the nest.

Food Aversions: Hmmmm... I don't think I had any this week.

Food Cravings: Orange soda. Yeah one day at work, I just thought to myself "I need an orange soda." I'm not a soda drinker. And orange soda has never been a choice of flavor for me... but I seriously wanted one. Didn't give in tho! And Fried Chicken. That has been a constant craving throughout this pregnancy but no one will let me have it. Every person we know that ate fried chicken during their pregnancies have had bad experiences with em. So I'm just staying away. And then, of course, sweets and carbs. Yup... everything I don't usually eat.

Sleep: Sucks. Not that I don't have insomnia or anything like that. It's just getting to be very uncomfortable sleeping on my sides and not being able to lay on my back to give my hips a break. I think it's starting to affect my sciatic nerve. Sometimes I'll experience numbness. Thankfully, no leg cramps this week. Yay me! And it doesn't help that I get up every 2 hours to go to the bathroom.

Any Baby/Pregnancy-Related Purchases? Yes!!! I just couldn't resist! I saw these in passing at work. Wasn't shopping at all but we've been getting in new stuff almost everyday and these totally caught my eye. I took a picture of it to show my hubs via text with a caption that read "isn't this the cutest thing ever?" And he replied "get it." Uh, yeah... you don't have to tell me twice!

Stretch Marks: none yet! Let's keep it that way please!

Miss Anything?: heck yes! I miss having energy to be Superwoman. I miss my old workouts. I just miss being able to stay up past 9 on the weekdays and not be such an old lady.

Belly Button In or Out? Still in!!!

Wedding Rings On or Off? On! No swelling as of yet.

Happy or Moody Most Of The Time? Super happy! Except when I'm stuck in traffic.

Any Movement? Baby P is a combination of a kickboxer and dancer. Yup. At any given time I'll feel/see a kick or a jab. And then I'll feel a lot of flutters. She's a very active baby!

Looking Forward To: Getting some baby gear from my lil sister-in-law this weekend! And maybe adding more stuff to our registries! Fun stuff!!!!

Like I said, tomorrow I will be 27 weeks. But I won't be able to whip up an update till this weekend. Until then....

Tags: #firstpregnancy #pregnancyjourney #babybump #26weekspregnant #26weekspregnancyupdate

Team Blue vs. Team Pink

*Originally posted April 5, 2015 on Fab . Fit . Me*

Gender Reveals have become quite popular the last few years. One of the questions we were constantly asked after our pregnancy announcement was "Are you planning on finding out what you're having?" The answer to that? Heck yes! There was no way I'd be able to go through 40 weeks without knowing the gender of this precious human being growing inside me. I am well aware that some people choose to keep that a surprise until the arrival of their little one, but not me. Not us.

On Saturday February 21st, we went in for THE ultrasound. We spent about an hour in there with the technician while she did her thang taking pics and measurements of Baby P. At my previous prenatal appointment, my midwife had told us that if we wanted to find out the sex of the baby, we would have to let the technician know, otherwise they wouldn't tell us what it is. We decided early on that we wanted to host a Gender Reveal Dinner for close family and friends. Since our pregnancy announcement was a surprise to everyone, we wanted the same effect for our Gender Reveal. Yup that's right. Our dinner was scheduled for the following Saturday on February 28th. Everyone was kept in suspense for another week. Us, the parents-to-be, included. When the technician asked us if we wanted to know what we were having, we told her we did. Then we asked her to not tell us right then, but to put the results in an envelope instead.

For about 2-3 hours, I had the results in my possession before I handed it off to a close friend that I had chosen to help me accomplish this epic gender reveal. It was difficult not to want to take a peek. Up until the night of the Dinner, both family and friends begged us to tell them what Baby is and even promised us they wouldn't say anything. Told them we couldn't even if we wanted to... because WE HAD NO CLUE either!!!!

A week doesn't seem too long of a wait, but man was it the LONGEST WEEK EVER!!!! The built up suspense made this dinner that much more exciting.

So this is how it all went down. Hubby and I made dinner to feed approximately 30-40 people. Yeah this turned out to be a huge event. My very good friend, the ONLY one who knew Baby P's gender all week long, came over earlier that day to bring over the balloons I asked her to stuff with either pink or blue confetti. She could not stay for the dinner (which I was bummed about) because of a prior commitment but I am so glad she was still willing to take on the task of being "the trusted one" to help me pull this off. She also brought us some cupcakes for the occasion. She is definitely the best!

People began to arrive around 5-ish. We ate dinner, hung out, and then had everyone cast their vote - Team Blue? Team Pink? The majority of the group wanted Baby P to be a boy. When we first found out we were pregnant, Daddy-to-be and I envisioned having a girl. But it's weird because all throughout the beginning of the pregnancy, I kept referring to Baby P as "he" - maybe because it was just easier to say that. And about a week or 2 before the gender reveal, Daddy-to-be just had a strong feeling Baby P is a boy. We didn't care either way, just as long as Baby P is healthy. But the night of the Dinner, we were forced to represent our default gender teams - He was headcoach of Team Blue, and I was headcoach of Team Pink.

All throughout the night, we were sharing pics on IG and FB and all of our friends on there became involved and couldn't wait to find out the results. Many were very impatient with me, too! Anyway, after rounding everyone up... the crew that was here in person...making sure our family from out-of-state and afar was in attendance via FaceTime and Skype... we FINALLY did the Reveal. The suspense was soooo worth the wait.

Check it out for yourselves....

It was a GREAT night. We enjoyed sharing this moment with everyone and so grateful that this Baby is already blessed to be loved by everyone in our lives. Thank you to everyone for all the love and support!!! Can't wait for the Baby Shower!!!!!

Great company, Great friends...

And Baby P's first official gift - shoes from Uncle Lloyd and Aunty Heidi.

Tags: #babygenderreveal #genderreveal #pregnancyjourney #firstpregnancy #babybump