Baby Dale Bumpdate: Week 16

Happy Wednesday! Crazy how time flies… I was 17 weeks along as of yesterday! It is funny because the first few weeks (weeks 3-8) of the pregnancy seemed to move so slowly as we waited for our first ultrasound and happy news. Since then, time has flown! A few more weeks and we will be at the halfway point. WOWZA! I am trying to savor every minute, because I know baby will be here before we know it! :)

Here is a recap of week 16!

Week 16: March 7 – 13

Baby is now the size of: an avocado!
Weight Gain: -1 lb.
Belly Measures: +3 inches

I’m Feeling: feeling great! I had a quick appointment with the doctor, where she found a strong heartbeat right away and answered a bunch of my questions! I also started putting together a baby registry for our shower, so it was fun to research what baby gear is going to work best for our little house (multipurpose and compact/foldable stuff for the win).
Physical Symptoms: my morning sickness has been minimal again this week. I only got sick twice this week, just like the past two weeks. However, twice a week is a heck of lot better than twice a day, so I’ll take it! The coolest thing I’ve noticed this week is that when I wake up in the morning, the right side of my abdomen is very hard and bulged out much further than the left side. At first I wondered if it was just a full bladder pushing the baby to one side, but then I had a few mornings where my bladder was empty and the baby was still hanging out on the right side (regardless of which side I was sleeping on when I woke up). So it seems like our little one just prefers to hang out on the front right side while I am sleeping! It usually only lasts a few minutes after I wake up before my abdomen goes back to normal.
Movement: I haven’t felt anything this week, which makes me think last week’s flutters may not have been the baby.
Sleep: I have been sleeping fairly well, though I wake up a lot to change position or use the restroom. According to my tracking app, I should be getting my energy back soon, but I have yet to notice a big change. I’m still pretty tired!
Food Cravings: nothing new this week. Still loving lemon, citrus, and fruit!
Anything Making You Queasy or Sick? still occasionally battling with the toothbrush, even changing toothpaste to see if it helps. It doesn’t, but I am feeling better anyway, so I have just become resigned to the fact that it may make me queasy.
Miss Anything? nothing I can think of! I am very content this week.

Can’t Live Without: I know I say this all the time, but Walker! He’s my whole world, and I adore him.
Best Moment This Week: hearing the strong heartbeat on the doctor’s doppler! It was only for a few seconds, but it’s such an encouraging sound. Since I can’t feel the baby yet, any moment to see or hear a healthy baby is incredible! Also, Walker surprised me with a prenatal massage appointment on Saturday (which was beyond magical), and we attended the Wisteria Festival in Sierra Madre, a fantastic street festival and tour of world’s largest Wisteria vine! Wonderful weekend!
Looking Forward To/Excited About: so excited to finally feel the baby moving (for real and for sure)! It could be any time over the next few weeks when I start to feel regular quickening. Eeeeee! I am also still looking forward to finding out the gender at our 20 week scan at the beginning of April, of course! So many exciting things ahead!! :)

Notes: I am still hovering just below my pre-pregnancy weight, but the doctor said it was nothing to worry about and normal not to gain weight until later in the second trimester. So bring on the food!

Baby Dale Bumpdate: Week 15

Happy International Women’s Day, all! I am proudly sporting red today in solidarity to honor the revolutionary love and sacrifice of bold, beautiful, and inspiring women all over the world. I have been beyond lucky to have been surrounded by strong, capable, smart, loving, hard-working, inspiring women for my entire life. They have all taught me to be (and love) myself, fight for what is right, support my neighbor, and fiercely love others with an open heart.

My mother-in-law said to me the other day that one of her favorite things about being pregnant and giving birth was feeling so connected with other women. This is so unbelievably true, and I feel like my experience so far has only been the tip of the iceberg. Whether it is commiserating with and learning from moms that have been through it, or the extra love and support pouring out of mamas and non-mamas alike, I have never felt more connected to the women in my life. I am in awe of how amazing each and every single one of them is.

I am so blessed to be surrounded by the best examples of motherhood, from my absolutely unbelievably wonderful mom, to my magnificent nana and mother-in-law, to the beautiful friends I have grown up with becoming new mothers all around me. I hope that I can follow their examples and be a good mama to our little one on the way. Whether we have a boy or a girl, either way I want to raise our baby to appreciate and support the incredible, strong, talented, motivated, powerful, loving superwomen in this world.

And now onto a recap of week 15!

Week 15: February 28 – March 6

Baby is now the size of: an orange!
Weight Gain: 0 lb.
Belly Measures: +3 inches

I’m Feeling: pretty normal! My appetite is back and symptoms have decreased, so I really feel a lot like my old self.
Physical Symptoms: As if the universe heard me celebrating the demise of my morning sickness last week and decided I was getting too cocky, I ended up with a couple isolated incidences of getting sick at the beginning of the week. I think it was just a reminder that even though I’m feeling better most of the time, these symptoms may take a while to taper off entirely (or may decide to stick around for a while). However, other than those couple moments, I really have been feeling so much better! My belly is looking more bump-like every day (though it is always smaller in the morning than in the evening due to ab muscles that give up throughout the day, as well as water retention… and finally food intake as well I’m sure!). In addition, I noticed this week that my belly button is starting to get wider and shallower. Also, I felt quite a few aches in my abdomen as my uterus expands to make room! Baby is growing! :)
Movement: I think maybe I felt the baby move for the first time on Friday (March 3)!! I am still not sure because I haven’t felt it since, but it felt a little like champagne bubbles popping or like that really annoying muscle twitch you get in your eye when you are tired (but in my abdomen obviously haha!). Many people also describe quickening as feeling like butterflies, and it felt a little like fluttering as well. Time will tell if that was really what I was feeling once I feel it again. Either way, once I thought it might be the baby moving, my heart started racing so hard out of excitement! I could feel my pulse beating throughout my body and it was distracting me from really feeling everything as it was happening. Next time I won’t let myself get so darn excited!! :) It is still really early so it could have been my imagination, but we shall see!
Sleep: I bought a pregnancy pillow this week and immediately got a better night’s sleep! The pillow is enormous, but there are a bunch of ways I can wind it around myself for support. I have definitely been more comfortable while I sleep.
Food Cravings: nothing new this week, just the same lemon, citrus, and fruit flavors… and the colder the better!
Anything Making You Queasy or Sick? just the occasional teeth-brushing session per usual.
Miss Anything? the margaritas at Puebla Taco looked amazing on Friday, but maybe just because I crave cold citrus!

Can’t Live Without: the Snoogle pregnancy pillow! It has allowed me to finally get a decent night’s sleep. It will never replace Walker as my favorite thing to snuggle, but it is pretty great.
Best Moment This Week: Walker and I went to the Cherry Blossom Festival at Descanso Gardens on Sunday and walked around for 2.5 hours! It was so gorgeous and such a cleansing, peaceful experience to enjoy a breath of fresh air.
Looking Forward To/Excited About: looking forward to my doctor’s appointment next week! I’ve been doing lots of reading, so it will be nice to get some of my questions answered! I am also SO excited to find out the gender… only 5 weeks to go!

Notes: nothing noteworthy this week!

Baby Dale Bumpdate: Week 14

Week 14 marked the start of the second trimester, and as if right out of a textbook, my first trimester symptoms seem to have vanished right on schedule! I don’t want to claim I am completely out of the woods yet, but the majority of a week without morning sickness symptoms is an unprecedented miracle. Hopefully this trend continues!

I added a few more tracking details as I move into the second trimester to keep a record of how big my bump is getting (weight gain and belly measurement)! During the first trimester, I netted a weight gain of -1 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight and gained 2.5 inches around the belly. At my lowest, I was only down 2-3 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight due to the morning sickness but started gaining it back a little as the baby got bigger in later weeks. The doctor said that losing a pound (i.e. mostly maintaining weight) in the first trimester is totally normal for moms experiencing morning sickness, so I was happy to hear the baby was still getting what he/she needed from my prenatal vitamin (and whatever nutrients are in bagels with cream cheese!).

Anyway, enough babbling and on to week 14! :)

Week 14: February 21 – 27

Baby is now the size of: a lemon!
Weight Gain: -1 lb.
Belly Measures: +2.5 inches

I’m Feeling: like I am the queen of the universe! I think I have finally kicked the morning sickness symptoms (good riddance!) and am starting to have a normal appetite again! Wooooo! It is amazing how much better I feel when I can eat a real meal. Plus, it is so nice to have our dinner time ritual almost back to normal.
Physical Symptoms: I’m feeling a million times better! I was sick on Tuesday (February 21) and then again the next morning, but by that evening I had none of the usual nausea symptoms and was super hungry for dinner. I had no other morning sickness for the rest of the week!! I have been eating normal foods, though my digestive system is still readjusting after only eating bland carbs for 8 weeks so I haven’t pushed it too far. I have also been having a few abdomen muscle aches or pains this week as my body makes room for our growing babe. In addition, I have had some other minor aches and pains in my back and hips that seem to just be an adjustment to my changing body (mixed with my awful commute). Even my nose hasn’t been as stuffy this week! Hallelujah!
Movement: not feeling the baby move quite yet!
Sleep: sleep has been a little restless. Some nights I sleep like a rock, while others I toss and turn for hours trying to get comfortable. Sleep quality has been hit or miss so I think it may be time to invest in some additional pillows!
Food Cravings: Lemon! Give me all of the fruits and citrus! Now that my nausea is gone, I am starting to get my first real cravings. Frozen lemonade and a handful of Skittles made my week! Baby is going to have a sweet tooth for sure!
Anything Making You Queasy or Sick? FINALLY NO!! So thrilled and relieved.
Miss Anything? not my morning sickness! Woooooooooo!

Can’t Live Without: fooooooood! So happy to be reunited with my old friend. Though I have still tried to keep my meals fairly tame for the time being until my system gets back to normal, it has been an absolute pleasure eating something besides bland carbs, cheese, and yogurt.
Best Moment This Week: finally feeling better! It was such a relief to get my appetite back and be able to keep food down! On Sunday, Walker and I went out to lunch at Pie & Burger, where we gorged ourselves on burgers (turkey for me), fries, and huge chocolate milkshakes just for fun! It was so nice to indulge a little bit and enjoy food again!
Looking Forward To/Excited About: so excited to find out the gender at the 20 week scan! We are so thrilled about the prospect of finding out that we are debating using a Groupon to book a 3D ultrasound for sometime in the next couple weeks so we can find out sooner! I am also really looking forward to beginning the nursery plans for our little one!

Notes: nothing noteworthy this week!