37 weeks!

How far along: 37 Weeks

Size of Baby: a Swiss chard

Weight gain: no idea, no concern. My belly has gotten in the way though. Of everything. 

Symptoms: I've reached the point of "done". My feet hurt after being on them too long. I've started waddling. And it's hard to do anything with this belly. I'm uncomfortable. All. The. Time. 

Clothes: still all maternity. There's no going back now! 

Cravings/Aversions: nada. But I've started eating smaller and smaller meals. 

Movement: Lots of wiggling and shaking! I feel like she's stretching too - there are times when I feel pressure from both her feet and hands. 

Worries: Very few. I'm trying to tie up a bunch of loose ends, like figuring out newborn photos and child care. But we've got everything, and we precooked a TON of food this week! 

Milestones: baby is full term! (Ok, these standards changed in October, but whatevs). She's blinking and sucking and all that good stuff. 

Best moment of the Week: seeing my family! My parents came out for Christmas (as I can't leave the city), and Sean's parents are coming out next weekend. I've also had 4 glorious days off (which included getting my nails done!) 

When You Can't Go Home for Christmas

My family has always been something I've taken for granted at Christmastime. They're just...always there. Everyone. Aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins - we all get together, no matter what. I'm the girl with 6 Christmases (and sometimes more). We do my dad's side, my mom's side, my immediate family, Sean's immediate family, Sean's dad's side, and Sean's mom's side. Sometimes we visit my great aunt Mary Nell. Sometimes we go out to Illinois to see my dad's great aunts. We go to midnight mass with Sean's family, and noon on Christmas day with mine. We celebrate. A lot.

Even though we run from place to place, we love it. Even though we have to travel 3 hours to get to these places and stay there for a few days, it's perfect. It's our crazy mess, and while I've said countless times that it would be nice to slow down, I know that's not for us.

But this year, it is us.

I'm 37 1/2 weeks pregnant.

That means no travel more than an hour from home. Doctor's orders. So my 3 hour trip home to see our families? Not happening. My parents and siblings came out last weekend, and Sean's parents and sister are coming out this coming weekend. But it still means no one on Christmas. And no cousins or aunts or uncles. It means I can't mean my new cousin in law, Alma. It means I can't congratulate Sean's cousin Jen on her pregnancy (Alma's pregnant too - so there's two I'm missing!). It means I can't see pictures of Andrea's new apartment. It means I can't discuss Dr. Who with Alex and Rachel. Or shoot nerf guns at Adam. It means that while everyone is posting pictures of opening gifts and families, it's just Sean and I here by ourselves...

It sucks.

I know that I'm doing this for our family. It's for the health of our unborn daughter. I know that it's what needs to be done. And I know that I'm not the only one alone. I know that some great friends of mine have to work this holiday (and most others too), and can't go home to see their loved ones either.

I just hate it. It sucks. Friday needs to get here, so more family can be here and I can just forget about it.

But for now, I'm baking (it's my 3rd stage of grief) and going to see a movie.

36 Weeks!

How far along: 36 Weeks

Size of Baby: a crenshaw melon

Weight gain: no idea, no concern. Though, I can tell I'm starting to swell ever so slightly. Boo!

Symptoms: Definitely still pain with the head on my pelvic bone. It helps when I get on my hands and knees for a bit, but not for long. My feet are starting to swell at the end of the day, even with compression socks. I'm definitely reaching tired mama point again too.

Clothes: I officially crossed over into the "all maternity" category. No complaints though. 

Cravings/Aversions: Nothing unusal, but I've lost any ability to combine my flavors. Like, nothing sounds wrong to me about eggnog and chips and salsa. Because both foods sound good individually. 

Movement: Lots of wiggling in there! I can tell she's squirming (though, I'm not always sure if it's a contraction or a baby roll). I also can identify things like feet and the butt - it's SO weird. 

Worries: Very few. Other than my water breaking at work!! 

Milestones: baby's "filling out" - next week I'm technically full term

Best moment of the week: This COULD be my last full week of work! I'm off until Friday next week, and then I'm off New Years Day the week after. Just depends on when litte miss decides to make an appearance!

35 Weeks.

How far along: 35 Weeks

Size of Baby: a honeydew melon

Weight gain: no idea, no concern :D

Symptoms: Lately I've been having high blood pressure, but I started taking my vitamins again (I've slacked since Thanksgiving) and it was back to normal this week! Phew. I've gotten a couple of charlie horses at night when I don't get enough water too. I'm sure her little head has settled on top of my pubic bone - it hurts at the end of the day. :\

Clothes: 95% maternity. Seriously.

Cravings/Aversions: Nothing unusal. Well, I lie...I totally ate cheezit zings and dark chocolate chips this week...together. 

Movement: Same! Lots of kicking and moving my belly around. It amazes me that no one's noticed it yet!

Worries: packing the hospital bag. We're doing the traditional hospital birth since it's my first and we don't know what to expect, and I know I'm going to be there a day or two. I want to buy shampoo and things to take with me...I know I'll use them in the future, so it doesn't bother me to buy a new full bottle, ya know? 

Milestones: kidneys and liver are functioning now!

Best moment of the week: Honestly, it's been a pretty slow week. We've been painting here and there, and working on the room here and there, but I think a bulk of it will get done this weekend. 

34 Weeks.

I apparently never hit publish on this one...oops!

How far along: 34 Weeks

Size of Baby: a cantelope

Weight gain: I only gained ONE pound over Thanksgiving. I'm gonna place that on shopping the rest off though ;)

Symptoms: Totally have a case of the shrinking belly button. It's SO shallow. And I've starting waddling if I get really tired - I feel like my hips are just tired.

Clothes: All belly still. I've ditched my wedding ring though - it only gets tight if I've been super busy that day, but I don't want to chance it. 

Cravings/Aversions: The cookie dough craving is back. Oh, and I've totally been craving Mexican food!

Movement: Natalie has an attitude! This week she's started kicking and wiggling if I lean against things with my belly - which is frustrating considering I have a standing desk at work! And that doesn't even count when I attempt to put my laptop on my belly...

Worries: literally every worry I had went out the door this week - it's been amazing!

Milestones: lanugo is pretty much gone, and baby girl is still practicing breathing!

Best moment of the week: There are SO many great moments. Sean got a job (a real full time one!) which will nearly double our income. I bought most of our remaining baby stuff (like car seat, baby book, knobs for the dresser) with a 20% off coupon. We started decorating for Christmas - including buying a nativity set. I'm hoping to finish up the baby's room this weekend (just need to hang curtains, attach knobs, and clean out the trash/paint that's in there!) and we will be READY. 

33 Weeks

(Photo will get added on Monday) 

How far along: 33 Weeks

Size of Baby: a pineapple

Weight gain: still ignoring that weight thing. The doc isn't concerned 😛

Symptoms: nothing to new. The pillow under my belly is necessary now. I still have an innie though!

Clothes: well. I can wear two of my Mizzou tshirts still. But that's about it. I'm all belly! 

Cravings/Aversions: Nada. Though I did eat roughly 6 pieces of pie on thanksgiving night. Oops. 

Movement: little girl is still moving around steadily! Sean feels her a lot in the middle of the night, but I sleep right through it lol 

Worries: not too many actually. Thinking I should PROBABLY start on that whole hospital bag thing. 

Milestones: her bones are still hardening! 

Best moment of the week: Thanksgiving! It's the last time we'll be able to come into stp before baby comes, so it was great to see folks. Our families are coming to us for Christmas, so we'll still get to see them though! 

32 Weeks.

How far along: 32 Weeks

Size of Baby: a large jicama

Weight Gain:  honestly? I've stopped weighing myself. :p

Symptoms: I definitely catch myself rubbing my belly. Natalie's starting jabbing her limbs out of my stomach too, which requires me to physically push them back in. And forget about me leaning against anything without a disagreement! She's fiesty. Also. The belly button is practically gone. Weeeiiiirrrrddd. 

Clothes: Maternity. Solidly. Thankfully my mother in law bought me a bunch of winter clothes on clearance and sent them with my mom this weekend - not a moment too soon either, because it's icing outside now!

Cravings/Aversions: Nada. And I think the chicken thing is pretty much over! Which is good because a lot of my freezer meals that are planned are chicken based...

Movement: Kicking, and poking, and jabbing...

Worries: Nada. Except maybe worrying about all of the things I need to buy for christmas presents!

Milestones: Baby girl is losing her fur (lanugo?) and is continuing to plump up.

Best moment of the week: The nursey is put together, and I feel like we're just sitting back and waiting for baby now. I'm excited for Black Friday too - we're getting a deep freezer and a Christmas tree (and the rest of the baby stuff!). 

Ladies and Gents - we have a nursery!

My mom came out this weekend to help us finish putting the nursery together! When she arrived Friday night, we had painted, but not done touch ups, and there was nothing in the room. Now? It's almost complete!

We painted the touch ups on Saturday morning, then moved all the furniture inside (the dressers had been in the garage from their painting spree, and my mom brought the crib we got at the baby shower with her). We put everything together, put baby clothes away in drawers, organized bath and food stuff, etc. I was super bummed that we hadn't gotten our glider yet, and my mom surprised me with one last night!! I'm over the moon. The room is looking fabulous.

The tall dresser: The open space has a chalkboard door that will go on it, and will hold our wet bag/diaper pail for cloth diapers. It also has a scentsy and a dimmer light on top!

The diaper changing area will be on top of the dresser. And our glider! 

Our lovely crib (and yes, it's a mesh crib bumper)

We still need some art work (I have so many plans!), knobs for the drawers (I'm crushing on these, but they're super expensive), and a rug (I love the gray trellis rugs, but need to find a good deal!). The baby's room is 9 1/2 x 11 1/2, so a 5x7 is too small and a 7x10 is almost too big, ya know? A 6 x 9 is what we need, but it seems to be an expensive size. :\ Oh! I also need to finish the curtains and we need new blinds as ours are broken. Just the little things left it seems!

We're hoping the nursery can last for several kids with as gender neutral as it is. We'll only have to buy a new crib each time, since the convertible cribs with stay with the kids as they grow. I'm loving it all!

It makes me super calm knowing that it's all set up. There's no more rush, we'll buy the carseat on Black Friday with our gift cards from the shower, and all will be taken care of.

31 Weeks!

How far along: 31 Weeks

Size of Baby: Four navel oranges

Weight Gain:  +24

Symptoms: More braxton hicks. This is the first week I've been uncomfortable sleeping too. I just feel so...pregnant. hah!

Clothes: Maternity. A few days ago I wore a tunic from "pre-preggo" days - it barely covered the belly. Oh jeez. 

Cravings/Aversions: Pineapple. It's a weird one I haven't had yet. But yum! Also - eggs are no longer an aversion!  

Movement: Kicking away! I love feeling her so much. It's super cool. 

Worries: Not to many actually. It's been a pretty good week of calm. My mom is bringing all our baby stuff out this weekend, and the nursery will be able to be put together! I think my biggest worry is baby positioning. I keep reading that anterior placentas can mean a more likely sunny side up baby, which is apparently hard to birth naturally. Guess I'll be researching how to turn a baby with it! 

Milestones: Bee's eyes can respond to light now and the irises can dialate! 

Best moment of the week: I feel like I look pregnant, no matter what I wear. It's a pretty nice feeling, strangely enough. We made serious progress on both our shower AND the nursery this week too. Yeah buddy! 

30 weeks. I know, late again.

Oof. I'm terrible at keeping up with these!

How far along: 30 Weeks

Size of Baby: Cabbage

Weight Gain: +23. 

Symptoms: That annoying ache in my hips is coming and going. Oh! And I officially had my first recognizable braxton hicks contraction this week. It was a very strange feeling, that's for sure. 

Clothes: Maternity. I need to go shopping for some winter maternity clothes though!

Cravings/Aversions: Nothing in particular, except for one day where I needed nachos. 

Movement: Kicking away. I swear, sometimes SHE doesn't move for an hour, then decides she has to practice flutter kicks and I get about 30 in rapid fire. 

Worries: Finishing off our baby stash. We were SO blessed with so many awesome things at the shower, but there's a few we still need to get. Like, a car seat. And a crib mattress (we totally forgot to register for it). And a rocker. But I think between now and Christmas we'll get it all set! 

Milestones: Bee's brain has wrinkles now! 

Best moment of the week: Well, we announced that we're having a GIRL. Natalie Patricia will be joining us soon!!

He or She? What Will it Bee?!

Our AWESOME cake from Wedding Wonderland Cakes

We've kept little Bee's sex a secret for 10 weeks now. We opted to for one important reason: we wanted gender neutral things at the baby shower. We know we want to have more than one kiddo, and we'd love to be able to reuse as much as possible if they're different sexes. (also: see sex vs gender) The anatomy scan was pretty obvious what we were having - but it was so hard to keep it a secret!!!

Thankfully, most of our friends and family were supportive. Annoyed, but supportive. ;)

In any case, we did the big reveal at my baby shower this past weekend. My mom and mother in law did a FABULOUS job and ran with the Bee theme - which couldn't have been easy in November! We got a small cake from my bakery that did our wedding cake, Wedding Wonderland. We also served cupcakes and a cookie cake - so many desserts! This was all in addition to chips, crackers, sandwiches, chicken poppers, lil smokies, and meatballs. We had several games, as well as a baby pool set up (which, I might expand because there's a baby pool website that everyone can enter too!). It was pretty much fantastic.

The delicious spread

Tables, all decorated

Diaper cakes at each table!

Little onesies hanging!

Plus, with gift cards, we've gotten everything we need (except for a rocker and a diaper bag). But Christmas is still coming, so those will definitely be on my list of items! We can afford them, but I'd really like to hold off. After all, I have plenty of bags that can be used as a diaper bag for the first few weeks.

So. What are we having? Wait for it....

IT'S A GIRL

29 Weeks.

How far along: 29 Weeks

Size of Baby: Butternut squash

Weight Gain: +22. I've officially over 20. Yikes. 

Symptoms: Tiredness set in again this week. I'd been going so strong, and then WHAM. 

Clothes: Maternity. But I've built up a pretty cute stash (aside from the pair of work pants I split...who the hell makes maternity pants with NO stretch?!)

Cravings/Aversions: None really. I have been super thirsty though. 

Movement: Still like crazy. Bee has settled into the front of my stomach too, which is nice because my hip doesn't hurt anymore!

Worries: I'm hoping we get all that we need at the baby shower this weekend. I've only bought a very select few things, because we really can't afford much. 

Milestones: Bee's concentrating on strengthening bones this week. ALL THE CALCIUM!!

Best moment of the week: This Sunday is my baby shower!! It's always where we'll announce - BOY OR GIRL?!?!

Our Previous Homeowners Didn't Have Google.

We bought an old house. We love our old house. It has character, history, and has held love that a new build can't possibly fathom. And yet, as comes with the term "old," our house has its...issues. Mostly, they're caused by the previous owner.

When we moved in, the house had never been introduced to the wonders of internet. The people before us had lived in the house for 33 years, and had obviously changed some things. We love the old, classic looks of our home, and are striving for a balance of modern and traditional.

In any case...we keep coming across oddities. Things that just make you go, "whhhhyyyyyy."

We've determined it's because they didn't know how to Google, and just kind of guessed at how to fix things.

Example A:

When we moved in, our entire house was painted peach. PEACH. I'm guessing someone told them or they read somewhere that neutral colors sell better. But peach? Seriously. Even the trim. Varying shades, of course. Here's a picture of one of our doors - dark peach bedroom door, light peach trim behind it. But you can tell that it used to be mint, and then cream (the white is there for comparison). We also have to replace the doorknobs because, you guessed it, they painted those peach too.

It's bad guys. Really bad. But it's just the start.

28 Weeks.

How far along: 28 Weeks - third trimester! I feel like time is flying. 

Size of Baby: a cabbage

Weight Gain: 

Symptoms: I am definitely preggo. My belly knocked things off the table twice this week. And Bee is starting to kick me awake in the mornings! I've started nesting too. Caulking the whole upstairs hallway in one night? NBD. 

Clothes: Maternity. Which will be intersting at the Mizzou homecoming - I don't have any mat black and gold! :(

Cravings/Aversions: Cookie dough. OMG cookie dough. And peach tea. It's delicious!!

Movement: Like crazy. I've seen my stomach move a couple times, and the night kicks are much more obvious. 

Worries: Still worrying about the damn nursery. We just hit our savings goal for the amount we want tucked away when when I go on mat leave though (it's only 50% paid), so that's a huge relief on us. Plus, I went out at bought a bunch of toilet paper and such at Costco today - I'm not going to want to do that when it's much colder!

Milestones: Bee's brain has wrinkles now. And for those of you who don't know, the more wrinkles, the smarter the brain!

Best moment of the week: MIZ HOMECOMING!!!! GO TIGERS!!!

27 Weeks.

How far along: 27 Weeks

Size of Baby: a cauliflower!

Weight Gain: +19

Symptoms: My feet have started swelling if I'm not careful. I was out and about all day on Saturday, and my feet were ridiculous when I got home. Guess compression socks are a must now! Also. Pregnancy brain. I feel like my mild ADD is going CRAZY. I can't focus on sentences that people say - it's driving me nuts!

Clothes: Maternity. We're going to see Wicked this weekend - hence the dress in the pic! 

Cravings/Aversions: Nada lately. Except water. I've been very thirsty!

Movement: Kicking up a storm in there. And every once in a while I get one to the bladder. Now THAT'S a weird feeling. 

Worries: Honestly? The nursery. Still have barely started. Oops. 

Milestones: Bee's immune system is improving. I feel like at this point, we're just "filling out". 

Best moment of the week: We got to tour our super swank hospital! Seriously. The place is nicer than some of the hotels we saw in Vegas. Also - wallpaper removal is nearly finished in Bee's room!!!! 

Meal Stockpile.

One of the things I plan on doing before Bee arrives is stockpiling meals. Sean and I are both super lazy about cooking when tired...and well, I feel like the first few weeks (or years) are going to be exhausting. So I've been making lists of meals that are easily frozen and reheat well for the future. Some of them are mine, some of them are from online, some are crockpot, and some are oven baked. I can't make any of them now, as we don't have a deep freezer, but that's #1 on my Black Friday shopping list!!

In any case...I'm prepping my list as best I can now, in pretty much the same way I did my meal planning worksheet. I'm having to update my list a lot though - I'm test cooking all of these meals to make sure we like them before I make 3-4 meals of each one!

We're planning on trying to buy as much as possible from Aldi's and Costco. We may have to pick up a few things at the normal grocery store, but if I can stretch my money it will be wonderful. Plus, I'm going to start couponing ASAP (and maybe stocking up on some non-perishables when our food budget allows). Right now I have 30 things on my list, but some of them are things like cookie dough (a staple!), muffins, and bagels. There's 10 crockpot meals and 13 baked dinners. Frozen pizza will totally be on the list too, but I'd rather not survive on that. Well, I'd be okay with it, but Sean wouldn't.

I think it'll take a TON of planning and pre-cooking, but even so - to have all of that done? I think it'll be amazing. And Sean's totally on board with helping prep, and I miiiight be able to convince some friends to join in the cooking madness.

Am I crazy? Smart? Overly ambitious? All 3?!

26 Weeks. Again, from last week.

How far along: 26 Weeks

Size of Baby: a hothouse cucumber. Again. No idea what that is. 

Weight Gain: +18

Symptoms: I hit unwieldy stage this week! I officially accidently knocked a fan off a table. Yikes. 

Clothes: Pretty much all maternity. I ordered some super cute clothes from Old Navy - and I'm a huge fan! 

Cravings/Aversions: Nothing in particular this week actually. It's a nice change. 

Movement: Kicking a little more each day. And Bee now kicks along to songs on the radio XD I can't help but giggle every time it happens. It just amazes me. 

Worries: Scheduling baby classes! I have a friend who's due in APRIL and is already going to classes. WHAT?! We're touring the hospital this weekend, and next weekend we're going to a diapering class at Itsy Bitsy Bums. We rally want to cloth diaper, and this has a class where we can try on dipes with dolls and such. We're hands on people, so it'll be perfect! Now to just find a birth class...

Milestones: Bee can see light and dark, and hear outside sounds. Definitely proven. 

Best moment of the week: Baseball!!! Go Cardinals!!! 

25 Weeks.

So I apparently never posted this...even though it was written well into last week. 

How far along: 25 Weeks

Size of Baby: a rutabega? I've never even seen one in person!

Weight Gain: +17. I feel like I'm really close to hitting the "recommended" 20 lbs. And then I realize that I'm totally going to pass that. And honestly, it's okay with me. Until my doc says something about it, I'm just going with the flow!

Symptoms: I've still got an awkward back pain in my lower left hip. It's weird. And only on that side. Guess I really am going to have to bite the chiro bullet soon. Also. I got sausage feet for the first time this week. My compression socks were in the wash, so I went without them - came home to puffballs for feeet. Whoops!

Clothes: Mostly maternity at this point! Bee is definitely growing.

Cravings/Aversions: This week is totally cookie dough. Probably not the best for me. But delicious. Can't I crave celery or something?!

Movement: Kicking away! I still don't feel it constantly, but at least once or twice a day. Sean jumped awake in the middle of the night Thursday night (afraid we'd be late Friday), talked in a normal voice, and Bee went crazy! Guess it knows Daddy's voice ;)

Worries: Eh. We haven't made progress on anything, but I'm a little more relaxed about it. 

Milestones: They say Bee is growing hair...but judging from how bald I was as an infant, I'm skeptical.

Best moment of the week: Sean gets sworn into the bar on Friday!! We have to be up at 3 am, but I'm so excited for things!

24 Weeks.

How far along: 24 Weeks

Size of Baby: a cantelope.

Weight Gain: +16. I'm still on track!

Symptoms: None really! Or at least, nothing new.

Clothes: Mostly maternity at this point! Belly is growing well!

Cravings/Aversions: Oreos. They have been delicious this week. I wanted them for breakfast today, but it was also the day of my glucose test - so I was avoiding sugar. Sean had them for breakfast instead, leading me to call him "an insufferable human being". I was bitter. 

Movement: Yup! Pretty steadily now. Sean has felt Bee a couple times, but not all the time. And I SWEAR I saw my belly move with a kick on Thursday.

Worries: I have lots of to dos - we're still working on the shower (though, I've grouted half of it which means we're close to done!!), so Bee's room hasn't been started. I also need to call to schedule a hospital tour and birth classes. From what I've looked at, I'd love to take a Bradley class, but we'll see. 

Milestones: Baby's skin is officially pink, because Bee developed capillaries! 

Best moment of the week: I switched to night shift. Can you believe how much you get done when you get a solid 8 hour stretch of sleep? I know this is teasing me, but it's SO nice to not have to get out of bed before 8 am.  

A Quilt of Many Colors.

One of my favorite possessions is a crocheted quilt. My grandmother gave it to me (her mother had made it) and it's beautiful, ornate, and a little piece of her that I can keep forever. I always dreamed of my grandma giving my first baby a crocheted blanket as well, but as she's no longer around, that's not possible.

Which leads me to ask my readers for a favor. 

Any of you that crochet, knit, or would like to learn - this is for you. I want to make a blanket for the baby - but I want it to be fun and full of life. I'm asking you - if you would - to crochet a 5 x 5 square.

My goal is to get a bunch of squares, crocheted by people who love us, and join them together into a blanket. It will be a blanket of stories, a blanket of love, and a quilt of many colors. I'm asking for you to pick your favorite color - or any color that tickles your fancy - and crochet it with any pattern. It can be difficult or easy, it doesn't matter to me! The ONLY thing I ask is that you border it with a requested color (so it can have SOME uniformity). The border can be thick or thin though.

My inspiration:

(Source: Purlbee)

So what are the "rules"?

1. The center can be any  color. It can be pink, blue, black, white, gray, yellow, or even the camoflage yarn that changes colors as it goes. 

2. The finished square should be 5" x 5". But it needs to have a border. So many sure your colored area is only 4x4 - 4.5x4.5. Small enough to add a border around. 

3. You can use ANY pattern. If you've never crocheted before, go for a simple one. If you're an avid crochet-er, go for something more advanced. Let's give baby tons of textures! 

4. Please Please Please border your square with this yarn. It's available at Walmart, Michaels, and Hobby Lobby. Or online here: Buy it - White 4600 Just make sure it's white!

After you've finished your square, please send it to me! You can email me at afbacher@gmail.com for an address, or DM me on twitter @ahealthymama (or if we're Facebook friends, just message me there!). I'd like to have all of the squares by December 1st, so I can join them together before Bee gets here!

And, if you're so inclined, you can always make more than one! 

I am married to an ATTORNEY.

Back in July, Sean took the Missouri Bar Exam. Without passing it, he can't be a practicing attorney. It's basically the end all, all or nothing, last section of law school. It was an 18 hour exam over two days in Jeff City.

And it was stressful.

On Tuesday, we found out he passed.

PASSED. 

You have no idea what the size of the weight lifted off us was. I'm so excited. I'm married to an attorney. He can actually practice. He can be hired as an attorney. The feeling of relief is incredible.

And I am so. so. so. proud.

23 Weeks.

How far along: 23 Weeks

Size of Baby: a large mango.

Weight Gain: +14. I actually lost a pound this week. But, I've had a cold all week, and it's hard to eat when you can't taste anything. 

Symptoms: My feet are a little poofy at the end of the work day. Thank goodness for compression socks! I need to pick up another pair or two.

Clothes: I stumbled on a maternity clothes consignment fair this week, which is a good thing since the number of shirts from pre-pregnancy I can still wear is definitely under 10. Last Friday I probably tried on 4 shirts before I found one that fit! 

Cravings/Aversions: Nada. It goes along with the head cold for sure. 

Movement: YES! I've felt 3 or 4 kicks this week. It was the single greatest feeling ever. I still rarely feel Bee, and definitely need to be actively paying attention to my stomach though. 

Worries: Well, we're tiling our shower this week, and once that's done I can officially get the nursery started! So it's just a matter of getting it all done. I hate that I have to go from appointment to appointment for the most part to hear Bee, since I don't feel baby. Argh. 

Milestones: There really aren't many this week. All of my baby apps just talk about how I can supposedly feel Bee moving up a storm. They should have an option to turn those off if you have an anterior placenta. Cause it just frustrates me. 

Best moment of the week: There's a TON of good moments this week. I switched to a later shift, which means I work 9:30-6 (normal hours?!). Sean passed the Bar Exam. We're finally tiling the shower, which means it's starting to look like a bathroom again. 

Tyler Stage.

Today marks a very important milestone for Baby B. B is officially 22 weeks, 6 days old.

Random? Yes. But today, we are at Tyler stage.

Tyler is Sean's cousin. 8 years ago this August, he was born - at 22 weeks, 6 days gestation. 17 weeks early. 1 lb, 5 oz. And 12 inches long.

You guys, he's like Harry Potter. He's the boy who lived. Fetal viability (legally) isn't until 28 weeks - at which point there's a 90% chance a baby born will live. The earliest baby to have been born and survive? 21 weeks, 6 days. Just a week ago. Neo-natal units aren't even required to provide services to a baby under 24 weeks.

It amazes me. It amazes me that this tiny baby inside me, the baby I haven't even felt kick yet (damn you anterior placenta), could be born. And could survive. It wouldn't be guarantee, but it could. It makes this pregnancy all more real.

Also. I know what this baby looks like. On the outside. These are pictures of Tyler - then, and now. He has a few developmental problems, like cerebal palsy and very bad eyesight, but he's a smart, alleckly 8 year old now!

22 Weeks.

How far along: 22 Weeks

Size of Baby: a spaghetti squash!

Weight Gain: +15. Remember that big jump I called? Yup. Right there. 5 pounds. IN A WEEK. But in all reality, I'm right on track for weight gain. I just don't follow a pattern :p

Symptoms: Honestly, it's been a pretty good week. I've noticed having more problems bending over and stuff, but that's to be expected!

Clothes: Well, I'm still in maternity pants and regular shirts. But the number of regular shirts I can wear is getting smaller and smaller. I think I'll be scouring the clearance racks for some maternity shirts this weekend.

Cravings/Aversions: Not too many. I've had a couple of random cravings (like, mozzarella sticks on Monday), but nothing steady throughout the week.

Movement: Still nope. Still frustrating. 

Worries: Just getting the nursery done. I know the kid won't be in there for a while, but I just want it done! I'm de-wallpapering right now. 

Milestones: Baby can feel the sense of touch. Now, if only Bee would let me feel a kick!

Best moment of the week: We bought tile for our shower. And baby officially has the nickname of Bee. Get it? Baby B, Baby Bee? Ah we're so clever! :D We also officially hit Tyler Stage this week - post coming up tomorrow about it!

21 Weeks.

How far along: 21 Weeks

Size of Baby: a banana

Weight Gain: +10. I hit double digits this week folks! Oh, and I've been STARVING all week, so I expect a huge jump next week...

Symptoms: Still super tired. And my back is starting to hurt. I think I need to talk to my doc about recommending a prenatal chiro next time I go in.

Clothes: For the most part, I'm still in maternity pants and regular shirts. I did, however, order maternity work shirts. Definitely going to need them soon!

Cravings/Aversions: OMG french fries. We drove past McDonalds this week, and I HAD to get fries after that. It was a little ridiculous. And poptarts. They've been sounding sooooo good. 

Movement: Still nope.

Worries: I fear that I'm going to explode with gas. Seriously. I can't help it. Also. I need to start worrying about the nursery. Time to get started on that!!

Milestones: Baby is learning to swallow. And is supposedly moving up a storm in there, but I wouldn't know :P

Best moment of the week: We got new people starting at work, which takes a huge load off me. Also - we're mostly unpacked! And we started a shower demo. We like to tackle everything at once ;)