24 Weeks

How many weeks: 24
How big is baby: 11.8 inches & 1.3 pound
Weight gain: 18 pounds
Sleep: Still tossing and turning all night. Last Saturday I got to sleep in and it was so nice!
Best moment this week: When I slept through my alarm and baby’s kicks woke me up so I wouldn't be late for work! It may have been an arm or something else, I don't know. All I know is he dragged whatever it was all the way down my belly and it tickled! I woke up laughing.
Food: Popcorn is so good! I actually really want some right now…
What I'm looking forward to: Nathan feeling more of the baby. It seems like every time he comes over to feel him kicking he stops. I guess daddy soothes him.
The Ugly: Sore! My hips, my butt and my pelvic region are all so sore! It kind of feels like I’ve been riding a horse for 8 hours. I know it’s due to things shifting, but holy moly!!
Other: I have an app that I really like called "I'm Expecting" This week it said that baby's lungs are developed enough that if he was born he could survive. It would be tough but he could make it! It's a relief to finally be at that point! I know that for Nathan this is when he can finally relax a bit. 

We are slowing gathering items for the baby room. My friend, Becca found us an awesome deal on a changing table. My little sis gave me a dresser that I can’t wait to refinish with some red paint. I’m working on getting his super hero quilt done. Thanks to my mom for her help on that!!

23 Weeks

How many weeks: 23
How big is baby: 11.5 inches & 1 pound
Weight gain: 18 pounds
Sleep: I've found that I can sleep if I surround myself in pillows. I need 2 for my head, 1 for my belly, one for my back, one for between my legs and 2 to prop my feet up on.
Best moment this week: Nathan is continuing to feel baby kicks. It's fun and I think it helps make it more real for him.
Food: Fruit.
What I'm looking forward to: Cooler weather. Bring on the Fall!
The Ugly: Swelling! My feet have begun to swell. I got a bit worried about it because it seemed early to me, so my doc had me come in. They did some testing and check my blood pressure. The doc says everything looks normal I'm just swelling 10 weeks ahead of schedule! Yay for me! He wrote me a prescription for compression socks.
Other: I know gaining weight is a normal part of pregnancy but it is really hard for me! I hate that for me to loose weight it takes a TON of work but those pounds just pack on like it's nothing. It was hard for me to step on the scale at the doctor's office today. I haven't seen the scale say that number since high school and I never wanted to see that number again! I just don't get why I am so large. I don't "eat for two" like people may think, I eat normal and try to eat fruits and veggies and my main drink is water. I guess I will never really have it easy in the weight department. I was going to post a photo of me, because I haven't yet, but I found this one more fitting of how I am feeling - maybe I'll post one next week:

21 Weeks

How many weeks: 21
How big is baby: 10.5 inches
Weight gain: 16 pounds
Sleep: I can't get comfortable! I sleep on my side and my hips start to hurt to the point that I'm flipping sides a billion times a night. I've even gotten to the point where I've tried to sleep sitting up. It works, but still is not very comfortable.
Best moment this week: Nathan felt the baby kick!
Food: Not so much chocolate... more fruity things
What I'm looking forward to: Watching my belly move when he does!
The Ugly: People have started asking if I'm having twins this week because "your belly is huge!" Hello people, not something you want to say to a pregnant woman!!
Other: We had our complete ultrasound this week. Baby looks perfect! His head is normal sized (thank goodness!!) His legs are a little longer, but I expected that. While we were getting our ultrasound is was fun to watch him move and feel him at the same time. There was also a point when he decided to curl up in a ball and tuck his feet right into my bladder - not cool with 32 ounces of water sitting in there! Here are some photos from our Ultrasound:

17 weeks - GENDER REVEALED!

How many weeks: 17
How big is baby: 5 inches
Weight gain: 10 pounds
Sleep: Crazy, vivid dreams! I had one dream that we lived in the ocean and built this inlet that allowed us to get up on the side of the ocean like it was a swimming pool. I lived with my siblings, but only Melissa and Sam were there. Oh and Sam was about 14 years old. A whale managed to get into our inlet and ate Melissa. It was weird!
Best moment this week: Finding out the gender! (see photos below)
Food: Food is yummy. Same cravings, no aversions.
What I'm looking forward to: Nathan feeling the baby move.
The Ugly: Still backed up and oh boy those stretch marks have appeared and are everywhere! Nathan told me that my back looks like a topographical map!


The gender of baby has been revealed and it's a BOY!!

16 Weeks!

How many weeks: 16
How big is baby: 4.5 inches
Weight gain: 9 pounds
Sleep: The constant need to pee has stopped during the night, but sleeping on my side is hard! My hands end up going all numb because of how I'm sleeping and I wake up several times to un-numb them.
Best moment this week: I felt baby kick and move! It was the coolest feeling ever! I tried to explain it to Nathan and he just said, "That is why men don't have babies. I'd get freaked out by that."
Food: Still craving pickles!! Salad has been extra yummy too!
What I'm looking forward to: Finding out the gender (next week) and Nathan feeling the baby move.
The Ugly: Backed up! Yep, I know this is a "crappy" subject but holy moly!!

13 Weeks!

We had our 2nd doctor appointment today. I love my doctor! The ultrasound tech wasn't in today so we sneaked in to the room and he did some photos for me. Baby Marden was moving around like crazy! The heartbeat was strong and everything looked good. It's fun to see how much baby has changed from 4 weeks ago! Baby went from the size of a gummy bear to the size of a peach! I love that it is looking more like a baby and no so much a gummy bear!

I'm now in my second trimester and I have to say that I am one lucky momma! No throwing up, a little nausea but nothing bad. It's been pretty smooth sailing! I do however, feel like I'm showing a lot more that I should be! I'm going to start adding a few things for each time I do a post so I can't reference it later.

How many weeks: 13
How big is baby: the size of a peach!
Weight gain: 5 pounds
Sleep: Hasn't been bad, but I am still getting up several times a night to pee.
Best moment this week: Seeing baby's ultrasound and telling everyone about baby!
Food: Craving pickles! I loved pickles before but I'm averaging a big jar of pickles a week! Ice cream is also yummy. The other weird food things is that I want things I haven't eaten in years: ramen noodles, tostinos pizzas, burritos. It's funny! Things I can't quite handle is the smell of BBQ, which is sad because I love BBQ!
What I'm looking forward to: the belly bump and feeling baby move!

Proof!

We had our first doctor appointment today! We got to go in and get a quick ultrasound to hear the heartbeat and it was amazing!! I cried my eyes out it was just such a great experience to have that proof that I have a living soul growing inside me. We are due December 17th! After our appointment and Nathan seeing how emotional I was asked if I wanted to tell my mom. Of course I said YES! So we went to a copy center and made a copy of the ultrasound tied it to the end of a balloon and put the balloon in a gift bag. We went to my mom's work to surprise her. She had a pretty good idea of why we were both there and Nathan had a camera. She opened the bag, saw the ultrasound and jumped up to give me a hug. It was a great feeling! Later on we went over to my Grandma's house and told her. She was excited too.

I'm super excited for this journey we are about to take! I just hope that we can show our little one as much love as possible.

Ooh another really cool thing. Our friends, Matt and Lorinda found out they are pregnant too! We are a week apart from each other! It's going to be so much fun to be prego together!

Here is me at 9 weeks. I'm already busting out of my normal clothes so I had to go buy some maternity clothes.