15 weeks & growing!

Hey y'all!

I love learning about the baby's development each week. It's amazing how complicated our bodies are! This 15th week, our baby is forming taste buds. He/she is also breathing the amniotic fluid, which helps the air sacs in the lungs develop. I can't imagine amniotic fluid tastes very good...

Baby can also sense light! If I were to shine a flashlight at my tummy, the baby would likely move away from the light. I can't WAIT to feel movement!

I'm starting to feel a little more pregnant. Isn't the second trimester supposed to be when you get an energy kick? My energy never left during the first trimester, but now I often feel sleepy during the day, even after 8-9 hours of sleep at night!

Living in Alabama over winter has been kind of a blessing, I love having 75 degree weather and sunshine almost every day. Taking our puppy Brownie on walks, jogging, biking, it's such a blessing to enjoy the warm outdoors in the middle of JANUARY! It's almost surreal living down here after spending my whole life in the northwest. There are moments when I forget about the rest of the country. It's winter? Other people have snow and ice? Oh yeah!

Well tomorrow I'm driving to Orlando to meet up with my fellow pregnant sister-in-law, nephew, and mother-in-law at Disney World! I'm excited to see them again and enjoy 4 days of fun, food, and (some) rides!

I'll start posting belly photos soon... Though it's hard to feel cute during this weird in-between stage!


How far along are you? 15 weeks today

How big is Baby?  Baby Bowen weighs about 2.5 ounces, and measures about 4 inches long. About the size of an apple!

Weight Gain? This morning I weighed 133.2 - I'm slowly increasing as baby grows! Though I mostly feel the weight increase in my chest size...

Gender? 3 WEEKS and we'll have the ultrasound!

Maternity Clothes? Not yet. I just tried on a few pairs of shorts I haven't worn in a while, they won't button unless I hike them up to my bellybutton! I definitely need to wear the stretchy BeBand to make them work for Disney World.

Sleep? Still normal. Having the craziest dreams lately... Might have something to do with the sci-fi book I was reading :)

Movement? Nothing, but soon I hope!

Food Cravings? I'm LOVING hot chocolate in the evenings. So good!

Labor Signs? Nope.

Belly Button in or out? In (I hope it stays in the whole time!)

What I miss? Not being concerned about harming my belly. I miss snowboarding!

Best moment of the week? Getting all dressed up for the Rawls Ball and seeing my husband wearing a tuxedo shirt, cummerbund, black bow tie, and cologne!

What I am looking forward to? DISNEY WORLD!


Cheers,

Martha

Favorite books during pregnancy

Since I've known little-to-nothing about pregnancy, babies, parenting, etc., there are several books that have been helpful! I'm sure many women experience this, but I've never been interested in reading about these topics until now. I can't get enough! I'll keep posting updates to this list over the next few months.

1. Belly Laughs by Jenny McCarthy - This book is hilarious! It was the first book I checked out from the library, and for Christmas my sister-in-law gave me my own copy. Short chapters go through every topic in pregnancy, and Jenny doesn't hold back about anything. Definitely take the information with a grain of salt... but hilarious!

2. Essential Guide to Breastfeeding - Found this at Barnes & Noble, and it turned out to be a great book! I've learned so much about babies' natural breastfeeding instincts, how the body produces milk, and tons of tips for successful breastfeeding. I feel armed with knowledge if I run into any baby-milk issues!

3. How to Raise an Amazing Child the Montessori Way - I always thought Montessori was an odd type of school for kids, but one of my favorite blogs (www.joyfulabode.com) opened me up to a better understanding. It's all about respect, independence, and encouraging the enjoyment of learning new skills. It's a great philosophy to keep in mind, even with a newborn! This book is practical and helpful, and has given me plenty of ideas for parenting!

4. Simplicity Parenting: Using the Extraordinary Power of Less to Raise Calmer, Happier, and More Secure Kids, by Kim John Payne and Lisa Ross -  This book is amazing! I actually bought it as an audiobook, and it's been very enjoyable. It's amazing to me how many behavior problems and frustrations can be solved by focusing on making a child's life more simple. Payne offers a lot of real-life examples, solutions, and outcomes. It really makes you think about reducing the number of toys your child has, keeping an organized house, making sure your child has free time to play and explore his/her imagination, and restricting the amount of information (and worldly issues) your young child has to deal with. When Payne talked about the importance of sharing fairy tales and reading kids stories, he quoted Albert Einstein, “If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.”  

5. Bringing Up Bébé: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting, by Pamela Druckerman - I also listened to this as an audiobook, which was really fun! I enjoyed the mock french accents the narrator used when she spoke as certain characters. How interesting to compare parenting styles in France to typical American parenting! I learned quite a few things from this book. First, children are not inherently picky eaters. In France, toddlers and children are expected to eat what they are served, and try at least everything (and they do!). They don't even have children's menus at restaurants! Regular daycare centers in Paris serve toddlers 4-course meals, including various vegetables, salads, fruits, meats, etc... This book also showed me how American parents can "over-parent" and interfere with their children's play and interactions. Overall, definitely a great read! Fascinating to see a different perspective on parenting.

Those are my favorites for now, more to come! :)

14 weeks - Hello second trimester!

First trimester down, two more to go!

It's been a great week. It's been so much fun sharing the pregnancy news with everyone! Of course we told our close family and friends about 2 months ago, but it's a relief not to keep it under wraps anymore.

You know that announcement photo I posted last week? I must admit, the sand picture was very difficult to take! Of course the only smooth sections of sand were next to the water. And of course the tide was rising. We must've drawn about 10 messages in the sand before taking the photo in time! It went a little like, "FOOTPRINT! Footprint! Baby prints! JAMES WRITE THE MESSAGE QUICK!" and then the wave sneaks up and washes past our ankles. Right before the camera clicks... Start over! (So, hopefully no one notices that one of the hastily-made baby prints only has 4 toes... haha!)

Anyways, James and I drove over to Atlanta for the 3-day weekend! We met up with our friends Rick & Sara, and we had a great time exploring the city. We saw massive whale sharks at the aquarium, watched a dolphin show, and tasted 64 different types of soda from countries all over the world at the World of Coke (gaahh sugar overload)! Atlanta has some amazing restaurants, and we luckily picked a few delicious ones! Thank you, Tripadvisor and Yelp.

The playoffs on Sunday was another exciting event. Atlanta has got SPIRIT! We watched the game at a bar/restaurant, ordered buffalo wings and beer (ahem, I had a slice of key lime pie instead... it's okay, I'm pregnant!), and cheered as this old white-haired man raced around the restaurant waving a Falcons flag every time Atlanta scored! Soon enough, some San Francisco fan scrawled GO 49ers on a napkin, and ran around the restaurant waving his "flag" when THEY scored!

Next week, I'll be at Disney World in Orlando! I've been looking forward to this trip for months, I can't believe it's next week! I'm hoping I can still go on a fair amount of the rides as a pregnant lady, but I'm looking forward to enjoying the atmosphere, the food, and spending time with family! It's going to be so fun to watch my 5-year-old nephew get excited about everything. This will be his last big trip before becoming a big brother (my sister-in-law is pregnant, due this spring!).

Apparently, baby can now squint, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his/her thumb! ... I guess I should start drinking more water... we're both peeing now! So weird.


How far along are you? 14 weeks as of yesterday

How big is Baby?  Around 3.5 inches long, and weighs 1.5 ounces. About the size of a lemon!

Weight Gain? This morning I weighed 132.5, so I've gained a pound! No baby bump yet.

Gender? Only 4 more weeks and we'll get to find out!

Maternity Clothes? Not yet. Some pants are definitely feeling snug around the waistline though. I got a BeBand from Target, which I'll be wearing pretty soon to make my regular pants more comfortable.

Sleep? Still normal. I'm trying to slowly wean myself off sleeping on my back, because big-bellied pregnant ladies are not supposed to lie flat on their backs! 

Movement? Nothing. But I can't wait to feel the flutters!

Food Cravings? I notice random taste preference changes, but not really cravings. Nowadays I enjoy milk chocolate more than dark (a strange change for me!), and I don't like pickles that much anymore.

Labor Signs? Nah. 

Belly Button in or out? In as usual. 

What I miss? I'm getting a teenie bit tired of being the only one not drinking... every social gathering, football game, party, dinner outing...

Best moment of the week? Being in Atlanta and eating at some AMAZING restaurants! Fried green tomatoes with sharp white cheddar and strawberry jam. Crazy amazing appetizer.

What I am looking forward to? One week from today, I'll be driving down to Orlando to spend 4 days at Disney World! It's going to be awesome to spend time with my nephew, sister-in-law (who is also pregnant!) and mother-in-law! We're leaving the husbands behind-- girl's trip!

Cheers,

Martha

13 weeks! The news is out!

Coming July 2013...!!!

James and I finally made our news public by emailing our friends and family this photo, and posting it on Facebook. It's so much fun to share our excitement with the world!

We spent an awesome sunny day in Panama City on Saturday with our puppy Brownie and a few friends, and were able to take some great photos! Being from the Northwest, it still amazes me how mild the winter weather is here in the South. We spent ALL DAY on the BEACH! James got sunburned! It's JANUARY!

This weekend we're meeting some friends in Atlanta, staying downtown, and spending our days shopping, eating at delicious restaurants, going to the huge aquarium, the zoo, and the World of Coke.

Life has been busy! In less than 2 months, we'll be living in Kansas. In less than 7 months, we'll have a NEWBORN BABY!

I actually just watched a clip of Kim Kardashian (who is also due in July!!) talking about her pregnancy, and she mentioned how everything is still sinking in for her. It doesn't quite feel real yet. I feel the same way! There haven't been too many changes yet. Well, except food preferences, emotions, sleepiness... So okay, James might remind me of a few.

These little surveys are everywhere on pregnancy blogs! And of course they're fun, so I'll join in :-)

How far along are you? 13 weeks today! (Every Tuesday marks a new week!)

How big is Baby? About 3 inches long, and almost 1oz! 

Weight Gain? Right before I became pregnant, I was at 131.5, and yesterday I was 131.8.

Gender? Not sure yet, but we're SO excited to find out! We have to wait until 18 weeks for the ultrasound. 

Maternity Clothes? Nope! Though I have purchased some really cute clothes I'm excited to grow into :) 

Sleep? Pretty normal. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night to pee.

Movement? Nothing. I read that some women feel the baby move as early as 13-16 weeks! So I'm on the lookout for butterfly flutters. 

Food Cravings? Not so much cravings as preference changes. I LOVE fruit and citrus. Sour things taste amazing. I've never before been much of a juice-drinker, and now I love having grapefruit juice every day! On the other hand, I really don't like chicken. The texture and smell bother me. 

Labor Signs? Nope!

Belly Button in or out? In, looks normal.

What I miss? I miss sushi. Spicy tuna rolls, mmmm! And it would be nice to enjoy a beer, glass of wine, or you know, champagne for New Year's. But all in all, it doesn't make much of a difference. I DO miss snowboarding though.

Best moment of the week? Enjoying friends, puppies, and sunshine at Panama City Beach on Saturday! 

What I am looking forward to? EVERYTHING in these next few months! Weekend trip to Atlanta, spending 4 days at Disneyworld with James' sister, nephew and mom, finding out the gender of our baby, and moving to Kansas!!

Cheers,

Martha 

12 weeks! WE'RE PREGNANT!

Hi everyone!

James and I are very excited to announce that we are expecting our first baby at the end of July! We are so blessed with this wonderful new phase in our lives, and couldn't be happier. We have to wait another 6 weeks or so to find out the gender, but we'll keep you updated when we do.

This new year is going to be full of interesting changes. James and I have been living in southern Alabama since August, and in March this year we'll be moving to Manhattan, Kansas! James' work definitely takes us to some odd places. We're incredible lucky though, because James' parents live extremely close to where we'll be living in Kansas. Between his parents and mine (who have saved up many, many frequent flyer miles!), we'll have a lot of support with the transition into parenthood.

I can't wait to post more about our thoughts and ideas about our baby, what an incredible journey we've begun!

Cheers,

Martha