14 Weeks Pregnant

How far along? 14 Weeks

Total weight gain:  Still only about 6 pounds

Maternity clothes? Just the bella band. My jeans still button but not very comfortably so the bella band just pops over the unbuttoned top button and its sooooo much more comfortable!

Stretch marks? No

Sleep: Still sleeping well and the peeing has diminished to just 1 or 2 times a night

Best moment this week: Getting to FINALLY spill the beans to everyone!

Miss anything? Being able to cook with anything besides chicken. Beef still turns my stomach.

Movement: Not yet but we are so looking forward to that

Food Cravings: Cupcakes!

Anything making you queasy or sick? Still can’t even think about ground beef.

Have you started to show yet?  Looking a little chunky for sure. It definitely gets bigger by the end of the day

Gender prediction: Still boy!

Labor signs: No

Belly button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or moody most of the time: Happy!

Looking forward to: Starting to get a bigger bump and showing more

This week was a good week. I’m so glad the fatigue of the first trimester is gone and I don’t feel like I need a nap at noon anymore!! It was so nice to let the cat out of the bag and let everyone know about our special news.  After seeing the heartbeat and hearing it at the doctors I felt everything was finally real and progressing as it should so that we could finally tell the world our amazing news!! We went to the baby fair this week and my amazing mother in law bought us some really cute hats and we learned some more about cloth diapering as I think that’s the route we are going to go. My mother in law has some great patterns and fabric for cloth diapers and they are just ADOREABLE as well as functional! I had to bust out the bella band this week and it is an AMAZING invention. I need to get one in all colours!! So much more comfortable than being squished into jeans that shouldn’t quite button! I can’t wait until I’m showing a bit more so it looks more like a baby in there than just one too many cupcakes!

13 Weeks Pregnant

How far along?  13 weeks

Total weight gain:  6 pounds

Maternity clothes? Not yet

Stretch marks? Nope!

Sleep: Still sleeping well except for peeing all the time!

Best moment this week: Hearing the heartbeat for the first time and seeing him or her on the screen at my ultrasound!! Baby Belton was moving around so much they couldn’t get a very clear photo.

Miss anything? A beer when we went to the Packers, Seahawks game

Movement: Not yet but I’m getting really excited for that

Food Cravings:. Eggnog lattes which I satisfied today when I saw they had eggnog at the grocery store!

Anything making you queasy or sick? Still don’t want to eat ground beef AT ALL.

Have you started to show yet? At the end of the day. I’m a little chunky but not a big bump yet.

Gender prediction: Still boy

Labor signs: No

Belly button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? On!

Happy or moody most of the time: So happy, especially after the ultrasound and hearing the heartbeat. We’re so glad that everything is going okay!

Looking forward to: Feeling some kicks in there!

This week was pretty amazing! Getting to hear the heartbeat at the doctor’s office and then actually getting to see the baby and heartbeat at the ultrasound was the best moment (other then seeing the positive pregnancy test!) so far. Baby was moving around a TON so it was hard for the ultrasound tech to get a clear photo but she did get a side view for us and one of an arm. We can’t wait for all the exciting things to come and we’re so glad that we can finally let the cat out of the bag and tell all of our friends and family!

12 Weeks Pregnant

How far along? 12 weeks

Total weight gain:  Still only about 4 pounds

Maternity clothes? No, although flowy Lululemon tops and leggings are my best friend to hide this “awkward” stage of pregnancy where I just look fat.

Stretch marks? No, but I just ordered my first tube of Mustela to fend them off!

Have you told friends and family yet? Not everyone knows yet. We wanted to have our first ultrasound and see that everything is going okay before we spilled the beans to everyone. Our parents know though.

Sleep: Good, still peeing about 3 times a night. Oh and so thirsty at night!

Best moment this week: I’m just feeling really good this week! Nothing exciting to report though.

Miss anything? Ummm its football season and I can’t have beer. In fact, we are going to Monday night football on Sept 24^th (go Packers!) and I can’t get a beer at the game! And hockey season will probably be locked out (much to my husband’s disappointment) although it’s good for me as hockey without a beer in hand, just isn’t cool.

Movement: None yet, but I am seriously so excited for that. Hopefully I only have to wait another month or so.

Food Cravings: Macintosh apples.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Not really, I just wake up feeling a bit hungover actually. As soon as I eat I feel better

Have you started to show yet? I asked my husband at Costco this week if he thought I looked pregnant or just fat. He informed me that to other people I probably just look like I ate too many donuts! I’ll be so happy when I actually have a big bump and don’t just look awkward.

Gender prediction: I’ve been reading gender “myths” this week and heard that you feel sicker when you’re carrying a girl because of the increased estrogen in your body so I still think we’re having a boy.

Labor signs: No

Belly button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or moody most of the time: The moodiness only appeared between the 6^th and 8^th weeks (thank goodness for my husband) so I would have to say that I’m just super happy all the time.

Looking forward to: Our first ultrasound on Friday!

My hubby did the chalkboard this week. What an awesome job he did! This week I have just felt super anxious for our ultrasound next Friday. Because I have felt few pregnancy symptoms (apart from my monster boobs) I just want to be reassured that everything is progressing nicely and nothing is wrong. I am naturally a high stress person so I really should quit googling horror stories and such about having no pregnancy symptoms. My husband likes to reassure me and just says that I am that pregnant person that everyone loves to hate because I’m feeling great and will probably be in my high heals until I deliver! I sure hope he’s right because I do love my high shoes…especially when I’m teaching those high school boys and need to look them in the eye!

Back to my boobs though. Those that know me know that I am naturally small chested (thanks Mom) and since I’ve been pregnant I’ve probably grown about a cup size. It really is awesome and I’ve definitely been checking them out in the mirror and wearing some good push up bras!  Although, now I see why larger chested women need a good sports bra as I was helping my class warm up for the terry fox run this week and realized that jumping in a regular bra is a big no-no as it hurts (thanks pregnancy hormones), but also, really isn’t attractive! Anyhow, I’m sure I’ll get sick of them, but for now it feels (and looks!) awesome.

11 Weeks Pregnant

How far along? 11 Weeks

Total weight gain: About 4 pounds

Maternity clothes? Not yet although I may need to invest in some bigger bras.

Stretch marks? No

Sleep: Still sleeping well except for having to pee every few hours.

Best moment this week: Getting my ultrasound date!

Miss anything? Still coffee. A decaff Pumpkin Spice latte is just not the same. But still yummy! Oh and popcorn! Usually it’s my favorite food and ever since I got pregnant I don’t want to eat it at all!

Movement: Not yet

Food Cravings: Ooh La La Cupcakes. I satisfied that one today

Anything making you queasy or sick: Still red meat

Have you started to show yet? There’s a tiny bump but it gets way bigger by the end of the day

Gender prediction:  I still think boy and hubby still thinks girl

Labor signs: None

Belly button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? On!

Happy or moody most of the time: I’m pretty darn happy.

Looking forward to: Ultrasound in two weeks!

This was a good week with nothing to exciting to report except that we got my early ultrasound date in the mail! Sept 21^st at 1:30. I’m really not looking forward to the full bladder and having to drink a litre of water but oh well! It will be nice to find out how far along we actually are and to see our little bean on the screen! Also looking forward to my next baby doctor appointment on Sept 26^st where hopefully our doctor will try and find the heartbeat on the Doppler and will have the results of our ultrasound so I can finally find out how far along we are!. I will feel so much better once we hear that little heart beating away!

On a side note it feels like fall time and you all know what that means! Holidays! I love all the holidays and decorating is so much fun. I can’t wait to go out and buy all those mini pumpkins, gourds, and ornamental corn and decorate our house up! 

10 Weeks Pregnant

How far along? 10 weeks

Total weight gain: None yet!

Maternity clothes? Nope, I’m hoping to get away with normal clothes for a while. Hello Lululemon all the time!

Stretch marks? No, but I’m about to order my first tube of Mustela. I have a feeling it will be my best friend for the next 30ish weeks.

Sleep: Good! Although I do get up to pee a few times throughout the night. Feeling pretty tired in the late afternoons.

Best moment this week: My first baby doc appointment!

Miss anything? Not yet. I have a feeling I’ll miss full caffeine Christmas drinks though when they come in season. Oh well, decaff it is!

Movement: Still too soon.

Food Cravings: Too many to list. Mostly food in general. Although ice cream is pretty awesome.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Red meat, seafood.

Have you started to show yet? No, but I’m so bloated by the end of every day that I might as well be.

Gender prediction: I say boy, hubby says girl.

Labor signs: None

Belly button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? On!

Happy or moody most of the time: Happy most of the time!

Looking forward to:  Early ultrasound so we can get a more accurate due date and feeling the baby move.

This week was a good one.  On the upside I got to go to my first baby doctor appointment which was mostly just paperwork. Nothing too exciting, I’ll be looking forward to the next one where we will hopefully hear the heartbeat.  My doc ordered an early ultrasound as dating my pregnancy is a bit difficult (hello whacked up cycles while trying to conceive). She dated it (on the day of my doctor’s appointment) as 9 weeks and 2 days, however that was simply going from the day of my LMP and that’s only for women with “normal” cycles. Still waiting to hear when my ultrasound will be, I’m hoping soon though as I’m anxious to see baby and find out exactly how far along we are! 

Thank you to pinterest and the blog littlebabygarvin.blogspot.com for the AWESOME chalkboard idea. What a fun way to document our pregnancy and also a great way for family to see how we are all doing! We will hopefully be posting these every week so stay tuned to see the bump grow!

Another crazy dog post...

Okay so it's been a while since I posted about my dogs. They are nuts; end of story.  So my husband and I ran the TC10K which is a huge race where we live.  It's actually the second biggest 10k race in Canada which is pretty cool.  So after running our little (okay maybe not so little) butts off we just wanted to go home, shower, and relax.  As we are pulling up to our house I see that my wonderful and amazing girl, Midnight, decided to puncture my beautiful faux wood (the fact that I just wrote "woof" instead of "wood" means I must have dog on the brain) blinds.  So okay, not the first time and here we are thinking we can repair them, no big deal. Ya, well it is a big deal. Thats because she has now done it one too many times and I am out of spare slats for the blinds. And since I have these same size blinds on three other windows in my house means that she has done it a lot for me to run out. And as angry as we might have been coming home and seeing this, there is absolutely nothing you can do. You can't get mad; it's too late. And in slinks my other pup Ryder, who just knows that something wrong has gone on and here he is slinking around feeling terrible for something he didn't even do! And Midnight is happily dancing around at our feet so excited that we're home.  I can just about see what they might be thinking as this incident is happening. Ryder: OMG Midnight, you should NOT be doing that!! What are you thinking! We're going to get in huge trouble....Midnight: ahhhhhh, where did they go? I'm going to tapdance on the table. Now I'm going to steal butter off the counter. Now I'm going to eat the blinds. Uh oh, what did I do? Oh well...where did they go? Where did they go? Now I'm going to sniff my bum....Okay so maybe not an exact replica of the doggy conversation that went on but thats the gist of it I can assure you. Which brings me to the funny part of our little doggy family. Everytime we go out I ask my husband what he thinks the dogs are doing and we make up funny little anecdotes that perfectly describe their personalities. Sometimes we say that Midnight is sitting on our furniture bossing Ryder around, asking him to get her bones, water, and scratching behind her ears for her...and if you knew them, this would seem like a perfectly reasonable dog-day afternoon in our household. So are we all nuts? Oh probably, but I love my dogs so much and the fact that I have two of them constitutes a little craziness regardless. They make us laugh, cry, and get angry but at the end of the day there is nothing they could do to make me love them any less. They are amazing creatures that love us regardless of anything. Oh and if you too are a dog lover you HAVE to check out this website. It's hilarious! Go to textfromdog.tumblr.com.....you will laugh your butt off (and you don't need to run 10k to do that now do you).

A dog

A dog isn't just a dog, it's a carrier of family history.  This is something I realised while visiting my parents this last weekend.  It was during this time that we had to say goodbye to our faithful companion, Harley, after just nine amazing years.  Dogs are amazing creatures really, and I realized we were mourning not just for the loss of a family member, a best friend, but also a time in our lives that we will never get back. It was during this time that I graduated (3 times), got married, and moved away from home.  We celebrated birthdays, anniversaries, Christmases, and summers at the lake.Harley was a huge part of all of these things. He was there when I moved away from home and couldn't get through the night. My parents sent him to my new house just so I could have a piece of home with me for a few days.  He was there when I broke up with boyfriends, failed tests, and fought with mom and dad. He was there when my brother went through his divorce and he was born shortly after his daughter. Pets are such a huge part of our families and lives and the loss of one is both devistating and terrifying. We are scared to live a life without them and move on.  We are sad that they are no longer there to comfort us, aggrivate us, make us laugh, and eat our shoes.  We are happy that they are no longer in pain and are watching over us.  As we grieve we remember the good and laugh at the bad.  That time he ate my mom's huge poinsetta? She was so mad.  But remembering him, standing in a pile of leaves with leaves sticking out of his mouth with a "who me?" expression is now a funny memory. That time he ate my favorite skate shoes? Okay, I was pretty mad then, but now it's a fond and amusing story and a funny memory to look back on.  He was there when I got sick at grad and had to come home early.  He didn't care that I had puke breath, he just snuggled right up. And okay, maybe I'm still mad about the time he puked in my back seat and my then boyfriend (now husband) almost puked from the smell of it.  But I forgive him that one indescretion.  Dogs are amazing beings.  They manage to accomplish in their short lives what most of us don't ever accomplish.  They can forgive, and give unconditional love.  They do not judge what you do or what you look like, and they don't care how your day went.  They simply want to be loved, and love you back.  My whole family is devistated but I know that we will remember Harley with a fierce love and fondness that is not commonly found.  I leave you with this.  Remember that dogs take your heart and cherish it.  They walk with it, sleep with it and they never let it out of their sight. When it is their time to leave us they will take a little piece of our hearts to remember us by and they will leave a piece of theirs for us to remember them.