18 wks

Oh! There she is!


We're still waiting to be able to feel her on the outside, but she's pretty active on the whole.

Open Letter to my daughter...

Dear Leta,

This has been a busy week for mommy and daddy to say the least. We bought a house and are in the process of fixing this and that and moving in. I'm sorry for all the times I've over-heated us both, waited too long to feed both of us, breathed in paint fumes, and crawled around on the ground - no doubt making you uncomfortable, which is expressed by you kicking me immediately. But, it must be done. This house is the first house you'll ever remember. The house that we'll take you home from the hospital to, the one you'll have your first baths, naps and meals in. This will be where you learn to crawl, then walk, and where we'll hear you utter your first words. Your first memories of your life will be created here, so, you see, it's an important house. It's a big deal for us to get it just right for you. You've already got your own room and closet, and we've already picked out where your furniture will go. Every choice we make when it comes to this house, is done with you in mind. You're so loved already little girl.

I really love our new house, but I know it won't be truly complete until we have you in it with us. So, until then, please continue to disregard the discomforts and inconveniences, and I'll try to keep them minimal. We'll get this new house all set up and perfect for you, and one day, you'll have to let us know what you think. See you before too long ;)

17 wks.

This pic is at 17 1/2 wks exactly. Starting to show :)

Big Sprout ;)

She's an avocado this week!

I'm really starting to feel this little avocado too. It's gotten to the point where it's uncomfortable to pull my legs up to my chest (if I'm curled up on the couch or in bed), and I have to be careful the way I move side to side and stretch. Not so much a little sprout anymore :)

16 weeks

Ok, so honestly, I think I'm actually starting to show a bit - really! No, really! :) At least, TJ and I can see a difference. I've got a little beer gut called Leta :) My bladder must be directly under my uterus, because in the morning, before I've had the chance to go to the bathroom, my belly really pops out. We can clearly feel the top and sides of my uterus, and that's pretty cool. It basically goes away as soon as I go to the bathroom, but it's neat to feel even for a bit.

I'm still waiting to be able to feel the baby move. According to all the books, etc, it should be anytime now. I sometimes think I feel the "flutter" or "bubbles" that they talk about, but then I usually second guess whether or not it was just my stomach or something else. I'm pretty sure that I'm probably starting to feel Leta moving around, but I guess you can't know for sure until it's a little bit stronger. I know TJ can't wait until he can feel something. Just a few more weeks!

I've put on 4 lbs, which I think is on target for being 4 mo. along. Tt's still hard to watch the numbers go up on the scale. I'm trying to consistently get to the gym, and I feel pretty good when I'm there. Other than that, I'm currently enjoying the beginning of allergy season! I had a horrible weekend with allergies (we were in Orlando and something there just attacked my sinuses), and I now have the start of a sinus infection. I contacted my OB today and was told that I can take plain sudafed, so at least it's something. I was supposed to have sinus surgery in July, but then with finding out I was pregnant, that's on hold for awhile, along with my allergy shots and everything else we were doing to combat this problem. It could be a long allergy season :(

And finally this week, we've broken down and allowed ourselves to start buying some little things (mainly clothes) here and there for Leta. We ventured into Baby Gap (which I've been trying to avoid due to its cuteness!) and I got her the most adorable blue sundress - because girls can wear blue too!!!!! - and a pair of little soft shorts with pink,white, blue and green fish all over them. Flipping adorable. We're trying to restrain ourselves, but we've picked up a few other things too. I just can't help myself. :)

Sonogram #2 and the BIG REVEAL!!!

First and foremost, our little one is perfectly healthy!!! We, of course, assume happy as well, but I guess we'll see soon enough. Baby's 4oz and right on target with size, weight and heartbeat. Here are some of our favorite pics from today...




Just saying hello :)





Sweet little nose and lips :)



Perfect little profile



2 tiny feet and 10 tiny toes!!



AND! finally - the BIG news! We're super excited to announce that we're having a little girl!!!! Everyone we know, with the exception of my sister, has guessed that we're having a boy, so it was quite a surprise :) Last visit, the tech told us she thought it was a boy, but she must have been seeing the umbilical chord, cause this little girl definitely doesn't have any "goods"! We're very happy, and I've got images of baby bikinis floating around in my head!

We're planning on naming her Leta Eve. Leta means "glad" and Eve (Evelyn really) is both one of my grandmother's and one of TJ's grandmother's name.

Ahhhhh, sweet, sweet baby love ;)

It's a....

APPLE!



Here's my preggo update for week 15:

"How Your Baby's Growing:

Your growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of an apple). She's busy moving amniotic fluid through her nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in her lungs begin to develop. Her legs are growing longer than her arms now, and she can move all of her joints and limbs. Although her eyelids are still fused shut, she can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, she's likely to move away from the beam. There's not much for your baby to taste at this point, but she is forming taste buds. Finally, if you have an ultrasound this week, you may be able to find out whether your baby's a boy or a girl! (Don't be too disappointed if it remains a mystery, though. Nailing down your baby's sex depends on the clarity of the picture and on your baby's position. He or she may be modestly curled up or turned in such a way as to "hide the goods.")"

15 wks

As I'm writing this, I'm at 15 1/2 weeks and looking forward to our next sonogram on Monday! Hopefully they'll be able to tell us if we're expecting a boy or girl :)

This week has been really tiring with a ton of work and the whole buying a house process. We had the inspection this week and I got started packing up our lives in the condo. I spent nearly all of today cleaning to prepare for prospective renters to come in this next week (hopefully!). Our closing is the 25th, so incredibly fast approaching. I'm just thankful we'll be settled before the holidays and before I'm getting big ;)

As far as getting big goes, you can see that I haven't yet. I'm caught in this weird space of wanting to see more of this pregnancy physically and not really wanting my body to change at all. I think if I could feel the baby move, which is a possibility in the next week or so, I'd be happy.

Emotionally and physically I'm doing really well. I've had a few moments of felling really overwhelmed with all that's going on, but nothing a good cry didn't fix :) Physically, aside from feeling really chunky, I've had more energy and felt even more like myself this week. It's a pleasant return after the first trimester of utter and complete fatigue. The headaches are still off and on and can usually be solved by massive amounts of sleep. I've been trying to get to the gym, but this past week has been a challenge with my work schedule. There's always next week. I guess not everything has changed in my life.... :)

14 wks

So, I'm at the close of my 14th week, and it's been fairly uneventful aside from the constant headaches I've started to get. This is not fun. We're talking 5, 6, 7 hour headaches, that nothing - NOTHING - gets rid of. These aren't migraines, and I know a lot of women get those during pregnancy, so I can't fully complain. However, they are very uncomfortable, and, as far as I can tell, completely unnecessary. Any day that I avoid one of these, I count as a gift, after the past 2 weeks of fun fun fun! Other than that, I'm feeling really good. I'm only feeling exhausted after being up and going for a good while. I kind of laugh, because I feel silly being so tired sometimes. I'm obviously not carrying around a lot of extra weight, but I guess the little sprout strips more out of me than I expect.

We're due for a second sonogram next Monday, and there's a very good chance they'll be able to tell us what we're having for sure. I'll be just shy of 16 weeks and I think they usually say that they can tell between 15 and 20 weeks. We are absolutely DYING to know!!!

In other news, we're in the process of buying a house and trying to get our condo rented out right now as well. I definitely have had some moments of being completely overwhelmed, including a good breakdown cry on Sunday. All of the extra hormones mixed with my normal anxiety is tough on occasion. We'll get there, but I will say that I'm very much looking forward to November when we're settled and just hopping through the holidays.