Seventeen Weeks (And Not A Cannibal...)

Some days, it feels like there is an entire lifetime standing between me and Peanut. Other days, it feels like it's already gone by too fast, and if I blink he or she will be here before I know it.

Today is the former. I was 17 weeks yesterday, leaving roughly 23 weeks to go. That seems like such a long time. Granted, I will accomplish plenty in that span of time, but it still feels so very far away. I think this must be why I am less-than-normally enthused about this week's bump pic (which is still probably pretty high on an average person's enthusiasm scale - do you know how hyped I get about life in general?). I also hate my non-made up face washed out in the harsh white light of our bedroom but 

HEY

beggars can't be choosers. I could not be more thankful that I have a baby bump to take photos of in the first place. 

Here's this week's pic:

Is the bump getting bigger? I can't really tell. Our all-knowing baby book tells me that Peanut is about the size of my hand (roughly 5"), but this is also Jeff's kid, so it could be a giant, and weighs about 3.5 ounces, the size of a smallish chicken breast. Again, given that this is (I'm pretty sure) Jeff's kid, it could be a behemoth.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I actually know it isn't a giant (not yet anyway). How? 

Because if it was, 

I WOULD HAVE FELT IT BOOGIE BY NOW!!!! 

No child of mine is constantly sleeping, so I know its in there shaking its money-maker. Its just not heavy enough for me to feel it. Hopefully soon enough...grow baby grow!

In other news, I shared my blog with oodles of new readers the other day - yay! I'll be quite honest here, I had NO idea you'd all be as intrigued as you were. I figured most of the interest would come from my friends back home, or far away, who don't get to see me daily or weekly, like most of you do. But heck, I'll take it! You guys have a way of making a girl feel loved!

What I was also not expecting was for my "human cooking" reference to be taken literally, as in I indulge in cannibalism and am Facebooking about it. Even before Peanut technically existed, Jeff and I have referred to the process as "cooking a baby." My mom thought it was weird.

Maybe she was onto something.

 I cannot believe I have to clarify this, but when I talk about cooking a baby or cooking a human, I am referring to the process of growing a little human life inside my lady parts (let's keep it PG people). I am apparently missing the maternal gene that causes me to refer to Peanut as "the miracle inside me" or really any reference that includes some form of the word "pregnant." It just seems so...rainbows and butterflies. And trust me, this DOES NOT feel like rainbows and butterflies.

So, now that we've established that I am WITH CHILD and not EATING PEOPLE, let's move on.

Oh, turns out that was all the news for today. Maybe another time I'll bore you with the story of why Jeff and I decided to call it Peanut in the first place. That can be another story for another day.

COUNTDOWN TO THE GENDER SONO: 24 days, 13 hours, 55 minutes...

Registry Crazy

Someone needs to help me.

I've developed an addiction.

While in the scope of a lifetime, a single pregnancy doesn't amount to much time, while you're waiting to meet that bundle of joy, time passes like MOLASSES! Patience is not a virtue I was blessed with. In fact, I am one of the least-patient people I know, so you can imagine how the wait to meet Peanut is just about killing me.

Needing something to occupy my time, (and perhaps some "nesting" has begun) I decided the other day to consult a few internet lists for things we'll need for Peanut. I created a few registries, deciding I'd only register for things that were gender-neutral since we don't know what he/she is yet.

Turns out, gender-neutral baby items left me registering for a breast pump and bottles. I kid you not, E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G. else has some type of gender association to it.

"Oh, c'mon, Shelby. You just didn't look hard enough."

No, trust me. I did. I looked far and wide. I get it, new babies mostly look like potatoes, and if not clearly dressed in gender-delineating apparel, strangers are forced to tell you how cute your *mumble mumble* is.

"Oh you have the cutest son!"

That's my daughter...thanks.

Awkward.

So everything, from washcloths to onesies, from pacifiers to baby swings, from strollers to blankets, EVERYTHING is gender-associated. Clearly registering for one or two things wasn't going to satisfy the "need to do something" beast inside me, so I decided there would be no harm in selecting a pack of pacifiers that was pink and purple, instead of blue and green.

And from there, my friends, all was lost. Very, very quickly.

I now have two registries filled with pink this and purple that. Cupcake bibs and pink hooded towels. There was no going back.

This is either going to be the biggest jinx in history (especially now that I've told you about it), or I will look like the most prepared mom-to-be ever. Obviously, I should register for an equal number of boy things, so I only have to delete half of the stuff I've selected, instead of deleting AND re-registering. But honestly, I can't bring myself to do it!

My heart/brain/belly is so convinced this little person inside of me is a girl that I cannot bring myself to even consider the possibility that Peanut is, in fact, a baby boy. I can hear my friend Courtney laughing at me now (she felt the same way, and her little one is..you guessed it! A boy...).

So I suppose my pink and purple cupcake registries will have to sit idle for the next 26 days, 18 hours and 15 minutes (not that I'm counting), until we know for sure. I realize I'm probably not kidding anyone when I say "sit idle" and really mean "tinker with constantly." I can't help myself! If there is a support group for registry addiction, sign me up. Stage an intervention. Whatever you need to do, do it!

Help a girl out here!!

In the mean time, you know where to find me. Stashed away in front of the computer or furiously scanning my iPad.




DISCLAIMER: As I've said, we don't know whether Peanut is a boy or girl, so please, PLEASE, do not go hunting for my name at common baby-registry locations. The last thing I need is all of you mocking my selections should Peanut turn out to be a boy. Nor do I need any of you preemptively purchasing anything (I'm looking at you, Mom). Thank you!!!

16 Weeks = 4 Months!

Four months! It's been four months!

That just seems crazy. I know, it hasn't quite been four months, but pretty much. We hit the 16-week mark yesterday and I don't feel a bit different today, haha. We did manage to take our bump pic pretty much on time this week, although not too much has changed:

No makeup. Ick.

I made a switcheroo this week too, to using actual chalk on my chalkboard instead of chalkboard pens. The pens were kind of janky and some of the colors were hard to read. The chalk colors all kind of look the same, but it's way easier to use.

Our little avacado/dill pickle/whatever other fruit or vegetable you want to call it has a heartbeat of 155 beats per minute - so fast! Still haven't felt anything from Peanut, but it's still so early.

Not much else is new and different in the past few days. Sleep is increasingly uncomfortable, but I attribute that to the fact that I am most comfortable sleeping on my stomach or my back, and I can't do either of those things anymore. Jeff was nice enough to get me a Snoogle pregnancy pillow for Valentine's Day, and it's helped some. My body just hates sleeping on either side, so it's a little rough. I spend most of the night tossing and turning looking for a comfortable position. According to most of the "experts" its normal to have crappy sleep most of your pregnancy (great) and there'll be no reprieve once Peanut shows up either.

Awesome.

I will probably never sleep well again in my life (this is a guarantee if I inherited even half of my mom's worry tendencies).

I'm sure your dying for a Snoogle graphic...

It is absolutely as amazing as it looks. I've only used it for sleeping, but apparently it's really quite versatile! I'm considering printing off this little image for reference later on. Who doesn't want to try out the Donut Deluxe??

Anyway, that's about it. I'm going to do some Craigslist house hunting this afternoon - only 71 days left in Texas!

15 Weeks!

Technically this post comes a day before our 16 week mark, but you'd be surprised how hard it is to take the same photo on the same day each week. If I'm being honest, the self-imposed pressure to update the chalkboard with something new and creative is usually the real reason behind my procrastination. I'm just not that creative with chalk!

Anyway, here's the 15 week pic:

Seemingly out of nowhere, this little bump has appeared on my belly that won't go away, even if I'm sucking in with all my might. It's crazy to see how much and how fast your body changes. This little bump showed up really in a matter of days, and caught me a little by surprise. Not that I'm complaining, I was really feeling the awkward mid-point of "too big to be normal" and "too small to be pregnant."

Although now that its out there, I'm convinced everyone is staring at me when I'm in public somewhere. Its strange to feel like people can tell something personal about you just by looking at you - but they can! The good news is, I've got roughly six more months to get comfortable with this.

We also had our 16-week check up with our doctor yesterday, and she says everything is normal. She had a much easier time finding Peanut's heartbeat this time around, which means he/she is growing and getting bigger! Since our next appointment (we go roughly every four weeks) is right around the 20-week mark, we're planning to do our "anatomy" ultrasound along with the appointment. They say its so they can count fingers and toes, etc, but we all know what anatomy they're REALLY looking for, tee hee!

Technically it's a five-week wait since our doctor will be out of town for spring break, and the wait just might kill me. I'm trying to remind myself that four months have already gone by, and I'll miss all of this when it's over, but its hard to imagine a little person growing in there without knowing if it's a he or a she. We have no choice but to wait, though!

The other development I'm anxiously awaiting is feeling Peanut move around for the first time. They can it can happen anytime between 16 and 22 weeks (although realistically first-time moms usually don't feel it - or can't distinguish it - early on).

Hopefully I'll be able to write about something new and exciting soon, though! Technically I should post our week 16 pic tomorrow or Thursday, but we'll see if I actually get around to taking it.

More soon!

T'is the Season

Do you smell that?

It's fresh air coming through our open windows!!

I know it's only mid-February, but Texas weather is crazy, and after a winter of much-too-cold-for-Texas weather, I think we're all ready for some sunshine. Plus we all know we've only got a little stretch of time before we start complaining about just how HOT it is outside.

High of 79 today? I'll take it.

There's something about springtime that sort of goes with babies anyway. That whole feeling that the world is renewed...er...fresh...er, I dunno something like that. Anyway, this spring will be the season of baby showers for my friends and I. I'm one of just eight or nine girls in the ENJJPT community who is currently pregnant, and most of us are due sometime this summer. Unfortunately, there are a few of us (myself included) who will move away before our bundles of joy arrive. This has created somewhat of a rush to have all these baby showers before we all part ways.

In the next 2 1/2-3 months, I'll likely attend showers for five or six different girls. Wowzer! Guess I'll be spending even more time than I thought in the baby aisle at Target. Of course this is only good news, I am surrounded by friends to share this experience with, and it serves to remind us all of how different pregnancy can be woman-to-woman. We're all having such different experiences; it's a great time to hear other stories and give (sometimes unsolicited) advice from things we've each already learned. I'll miss these ladies and all their support, not to mention their hilarious stories.

Not much has changed for us, we visit the doctor again tomorrow for our 16-week checkup, and I anticipate she'll order our next (and final) ultrasound. Tomorrow we should know when we find out exactly what kind of he/she is cooking in there! Exciting!

More updates and a week 15 baby bump pic coming soon!

The Secret's Out!

I definitely could not make it as a full-time blogger, I am terrible at it. Turns out, not that much changes day-to-day in a pregnancy, so I don't have an overwhelming amount of news to write about. I do have a few updates for today though, since I've been neglectful of my blog the past few weeks.

First up: we're back from Hawaii! What a great vacation. I think we both needed to get away for a while, especially Jeff (who hasn't had a real vacation since last Christmas). It was nice to get to just relax and do fun things for a change. We didn't get a chance to take a 12 week bump pic, but did finally post this to Facebook:

So exciting! We were overwhelmed by the well-wishes we received from our Facebook friends, and are beyond excited to share this journey with them. Now if Baby VO would just get here already!

Although we missed out on our 12 week pic, we still took pics for weeks 13 and 14. I'm definitely starting to feel like I can't suck in my belly anymore, although it doesn't quite look like a baby bump. Now I know what they mean when other girls have talked about that awkward in-between phase between no bump and definite bump, when you kinda just look fat. Yes, I know, my body is adjusting, blah blah blah, but it still looks awkward. Especially when I know baby isn't quite big enough yet to really cause a protrusion. Here are weeks 13 and 14:

 

I'm also less able to just squeeze my tummy into my jeans (like I've been doing, through week 13). I made my first trip to Motherhood Maternity yesterday to look around. It felt awkward, for sure, but I found a couple belly bands, and some maternity leggings. And GOOD LORD why did no one tell me maternity jeans were so comfortable?? They are AMAZING!! So I got a pair of those too. They are basically stretchy jeans held up by a big stretchy piece of fabric. Literally amazing, it's like wearing yoga pants that look like jeans. You'll be lucky to get me out of these things after Peanut shows up.

I'm thinking by weeks 15 or 16 the bump will start to stick out enough that my pictures won't look like maybe I just had a big dinner. I keep harping on another pregnant friend of mine who is six weeks ahead of me to embrace her bump. Sounds like I should take some of my own advice. I'm just not sure I'm ready to be visibly pregnant, although Peanut couldn't care less if I'm ready or not. He/she will grow, grow, grow, regardless!

We don't have another doctor appointment for a week or so, but week 15's bump pic should be coming up soon! Stay tuned!