33 weeks

Poor, neglected blog. Please forgive me! I know that at some point in the future, when I want to reflect on this season of life, I will regret the many weeks that have gone by undocumented.
Nonetheless, there's no time like the present, and I will do my finest now to fill you in on the last two months...

For starters, my most recent appointment informed me that I've officially gained 25 pounds (I'm guessing closer to 30, maybe more, by now seeing as my last appointment was a few weeks ago). None of my shirts fit all the way over my bump, and my "fat pants" are wayyy snug. Despite these facts and figures, I allow myself plenty of sweet treats, and at this point, I don't even care. (I type those words as I bite into a gorgeous piece of banana bread.)

Physical activity is not what it used to be. Sore hips, back, and legs leave me less than enthused about the idea of running on the treadmill or jumping into our favorite twice-a-week yoga class. We have, however, been swimming laps at the local YMCA, and as the weather finally starts to drop below 100 degrees, I've been trying to stroll the neighborhood as much as possible. I regularly find myself dreaming about my first evening jog after Riv is here. I'm looking forward to the day when getting off of the couch isn't physically draining, and my yoga pants don't leave me with a lovely muffin top.

Physical activity for River, on the other hand, is quite the experience. He is an active little bug, and sometimes I wonder if it's possible for a baby that small to bruise me internally? His favorite spot is my rib cage, and his favorite time for play is bedtime. He is so super cute though, and whenever Cameron talks to one side of my belly he immediately shifts himself there, getting as close to dad as possible. Little smarty.

Despite my complaints, my pregnancy has progressed beautifully, and I'm feeling as good as can be expected by a woman carrying a 5 pound baby in her abdomen. My husband is a saint for enduring months of whining and constant demands for "MORE ICE!" (the one and only pregnancy craving I've really had). He is already in the running for "Father/Husband of the year," after voluntarily enrolling himself in a "Daddy Bootcamp" class at the hospital. He was literally the only man there that hadn't been enlisted in the evening by a significant other. The guy is amazing.

Now for some pictures:

Around 29 weeks we got to see our little guy via ANOTHER elective ultrasound. He is the splitting image of his daddy, and it was such a treat to get to stare at him for a few minutes, disecting his every feature:

Here I am two weeks ago, at 31 weeks:

and here I am last week at 32 weeks... It's crazy what a difference 7 days can make:

Just a month and a half left to go, two baby showers to enjoy, and one nursery to decorate. I can't believe how close I am to kissing those sweet cheeks! It gives me butterflies! 

25 weeks!

We're getting closer to meeting RLJ! My belly is slowly, but surely, expanding... as is the rest of my body.  Here we are at 25 weeks:

I somehow always manage to take these pictures without remembering to put away the junk on the counter. Sorry. I swear I do clean my home on a regular basis.

His kicks are starting to feel like an actual person kicking me in the stomach - Which,  I'm guessing is a good sign, as many painful parts of pregnancy are "a good sign." He moves my whole stomach and will kick my hand off if I push on him. He's feisty! It's exciting to feel that he is getting stronger and bigger, and yet I'm dreading what the kicks and rolls will feel like 2 months from now :)

In other news: It's officially the temperature of the actual sun outside. In case you don't have your conversion charts handy, 110 in Vegas weather = 150 in pregnancy weather. Cam recently informed me that we can expect nearly 120 degrees by late July/August, maybe hotter. Just the thought makes me want to cry. One of the things that I didn't anticipate about this whole move is that I would be spending most of the Summer INSIDE, a new concept for this Southern California girl. A pale complexion and an additional 15 pounds are slightly traumatizing for me at the moment, and I'm on the hunt for a decent/safe self-tanner to bronze my bump. Call me vain, but sometimes you have to do what you have to do.

I realize that I've become a lazy blogger, and I wish that I can promise that I'll get better, but the truth is I'm slightly forgetful. It isn't until I receive a disgruntled text message from a friend or family member demanding belly shots that I remember to update. But, I do want to document this experience: the good, the bad, and the chubby.

Here's to 15 more weeks (hopefully less...)!!

Love,
K

Stats

River Levi is getting big, my friends.

He is 11 inches, weighs as much as a soda can, and has BIG feet (1.5 inches, compared to the 1 inch average at this point.)

He is an acrobat - His knee was touching his nose for most of our 20 week anatomy scan. He is also a weasel, and although I can clearly feel him kicking from the outside, he thinks it's funny to be completely still whenever dear old dad gets close. Cam may or may not think I'm lying about this wild child kicking up a storm in there.

I'm in love!

19 weeks

I'm SO sorry I haven't updated in a few weeks! I don't have a valid excuse. If it makes you feel any better, the last time I blogged was also about the last time I went to the gym. Not sure why that would ease your mind, but it's a true fact nonetheless.

In an attempt to self-inspire for this little baby blog, I found a list of "weekly questions" with which to document pregnancy progress. Answering these questions every 7 days seems a little over-kill to me. BUT, I do think it's a pretty cool concept, and I will try to answer them every so often.

Here it goes:

How far along? 19 weeks and some odd days! Just a few days left until I'm at the half-way point!!

Weight Gain? Oh boy... I'm not sure exactly. Last doc. appointment (3 weeks ago) it was 6lbs. But, I feel like I've gained a TON these past few weeks. I'm afraid to know the answer to this question. I'm looking pretty plump!

Sleep? I thought about lying on this question so as to keep my whining to a minimum...But, the truth is i'm starting to think I may never sleep through the night again. At least for the next 10 years. My hips hurt, my bladder is full, and I'm chronically hot. On the bright side, my peach of a husband purchased a body pillow for me that helps SO much! I love him.

Best moment of the week? About a week and a half ago I started to feel my little love kick. It's still the best part of my week. The best part of my day. Very few things are as wonderful! Just can't wait until Cam can feel it too!

What do you miss? Wine. I have dreams at night about drinking a glass of wine. I realize this makes me look like a little bit of a wine-o. I promise I'm not. I just want a glass. Just one.

Movement? The kid is wild in there! I feel him almost every time I'm sitting or lying still.

Food Cravings? I haven't really had intense food cravings. My appetite has been outrageous ever since the morning sickness started to get better! I want to eat all day, which is a very odd thing for me. Could this explain why I've grown another chin in the last 3 weeks? Maybe?

Anything making you sick queasy or sick? I still get the occasional wave of morning sickness. It's just part of this pregnancy for me.

Wedding rings on or off? Wedding rings on. Really hoping I'll be able to keep them on for a while.

Looking forward to: Our next doc appointment on wed!! We will get another ultrasound, and I'm so excited to see how our babe has grown.

I'm going to have Cameron take a belly picture of me tonight so I can update you on the bump progress... It has changed quite a bit! I promise it won't be 3 weeks before you get another update :)

Happy Weekend!
Katie

16 Weeks

This week baby and I will hit the 4 month mark! A month from now I will be half way done with this pregnancy, which is exciting because I already cannot wait to meet my son. At our doctors appointment today, I was measuring right on target and baby was active and healthy. Next appointment (May 15th) we will have our anatomy scan, and I'm so looking forward to counting his fingers and toes again!

I want to state for public record that I LOVE my doctor! To all pregnant or hope-to-someday-be-pregnant women: find a doctor that you love and feel comfortable with. My doc is everything I could want in a hospital-brithing physician. He is patient, dedicated, and passionate about creating the best experience for every woman he sees. Here is an article written about him/VBACs in the Las Vegas review Journal... He will literally spend the night at the hospital if he thinks his patient might have a complication to their birth. He is one of the only doctors in the valley willing to do a water birth, attends 99% of his patients births, and when he talks about his patients you can see a twinkle in his eye. He even told Cam (knowing that he is going to PA school) that he could catch the baby if he wants :)... Sorry to ramble. I just want everyone to be this happy with their physician.

I will wrap this scattered, weird post up by showing you the onesie Cameron bought for his son this weekend. I have never seen him so excited or proud about anything. He is going to be dad of the year!

Happy Monday.

-K

Desert Living

A month into my Nevada residence I've come up with a few opinions on desert living. Because the status of my baby bump and morning sickness remains stagnant, I figure today would be a good day to change the subject and share with you my thoughts on vida en Las Vegas.

1) The desert is dry. Obvious as that might seem, my expectations for what dry weather might mean to my daily life didn't span much beyond that thought that I might need to apply lotion twice a day instead of once. I was wrong. No matter how many applications of lotion, my skin remains akin to that of a lizard. I itch. My nose bleeds. I snore. My 32 sticks of chapstick are quickly dwindling. This is an adjustment to be made.

2) It's hot. I have a very small window for what I accept as "perfect weather." San Diego will spoil even the most laid back of people, and as a born and raised Southern California girl, I'm sorry to admit that 90 degrees is just too hot for me. I can't even imagine what 115 in july will be like. When it's 90 degrees in Las Vegas, people wear long sleeve shirts and ugg boots. I on the otherhand, have been forcing my husband to dress as an eskimo in our nicely air conditioned home. I may regret these decisions upon arrival of this months electric bill. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

3) Everyone here has at least one tattoo. I don't feel strongly opposed or for this fact, It's just an observation. I suppose it doesn't really belong in the opinion list just yet, but I thought it was interesting nonetheless.

4) Everything is open 24-7. Perhaps my favorite thing about living in this particular desert. Maybe one of the only things, besides the cheaper cost of living and being close to Cam's family, that I actually enjoy about Las Vegas. The food selection is pretty wonderful too.

5) People drive SO slow. The speed limit on the freeway near our house is 55. People drive 45 on it. Why? Why are you driving so slow? ... Over/under 60 days until I get my first speeding ticket?

That's pretty much it so far. I'm sure I'll have more updates as we get more settled. We're still on the hunt for jobs, Cam starts school in a few weeks, and we have friends and family coming to visit us this month! yay!

In the spirit of maintaining some sort of pregnancy related subject matter on this blog I will update you with this: My thighs are a little confused on where exactly the baby is going to grow. You see, they are rapidly increasing in size, and I'm assuming they think they need to make room for the baby. I keep trying to set them straight by telling them they don't need to grow, my abdomen has it covered, but somehow they still haven't got the memo.

Bikini is not in the forecast this summer.

-K

Baby J is a HE!

Yesterday we had our elective ultrasound and learned that we are having a BOY!

I was completely and totally shocked! I convinced myself we were absolutely having a girl and had to force myself on a number of occasions not to purchase pink, ruffley, glittery baby swag.

I'm sorry I ever doubted you, son.

The ultrasound was one of the coolest experiences ever! The studio had a big comfy bed for the mom-to-be and theater like seating for up to 15 guests. The ultrasound was projected onto a big screen on the wall, and we even got to select music to play in the background. We walked away with lots of pics of our sweet boy, a 15 minute DVD of our ultrasound, and tears in our eyes. Best money spent yet.

These are pictures of the pictures and are a little blurry... Is it weird that I think he's cute already?

The tech (who has never been wrong in 6 years of ultrasounds) had no problems locating his manly parts and said she was 100% sure it was a boy. He was spread eagle, proudly displaying himself. He is his father's son. Not shy.

I'm SO happy and slightly terrified about having a boy. I've always wanted to have a boy first... and now I'm not so sure I even know what to do with one?

One thing is for sure: Whatever we name him, I'll probably end up calling him "Moose."

If you plan to ask me why, I don't have an answer.

-K