Week 22

Size of the Baby: 11 inches spaghetti squash, 1lb. 

Most Exciting Things The Past Week: Lots of movement! I tend to feel her kicks the most in the early am, around 9am, in the evenings between 6-8pm, and then again when I crawl into bed. Tristan can feel her in the evenings and bed time. I've been fighting a cough since we got back from San Antonio. I think I have a call into the Dr. tomorrow. Makes it hard to sleep, coughing all night.  I slept upright last night and it seemed to help.  I'm sure Charlotte is ready for this cough to be gone as well.  I know Tristan is :). 

How am I Feeling: Still feeling good for the most part. Heavy heartburn! I have two tums in every coat pocket ready for the burn. Lemon water even gives me heartburn.  My desire to eat has decreased a little due not wanting heartburn. Small meals are necessary. 

Cravings: Nothing crazy.  Still love sweet. Fruit has been up there on the list. I had grapefruit, 

pineapple, mango, and made two smoothies this week. One carrot and the other berry/black cherry smoothie. Delicious!

What do I Miss: I've gotten used to fun non-alcoholic drinks so I haven't been missing a beer or wine that much. I've been able to try some great decaf teas which have been great in dealing with this cough. Don't miss too much this week....I've had some great walks in the crisp, cold weather, but do miss a good, sweat workout. Tristan's been playing racquetball and would love to join him! 

Week 20 & 21

Heartbeat: 155 bpm

Size of the Baby: 10.5 inches long  12.7oz size of a banana

Most Exciting Things The Past Week: Man oh man time is flying! Now I'm playing catch-up with my posts. Last week we headed to San Antonio for Thanksgiving. We had a nice long break. My Grandma and Grandpa came down for the Holiday which was a treat! We did lots of cooking and eating. My excellent cooking skills really shined through as Angie, Caydence, and I made 5 pans of cinnamon rolls. The time it took me to make one batch, Angie and Caydence made two batches. I missed putting cream in the dough (a much needed ingredient), so I added it after I made my dough...can you picture the soggy mess?! Needless to say my dough did not rise. We decided to make dinner rolls out of it instead, crescent dinners rolls mind you! They looked and kind of tasted more like dog biscuits. Nothing a slab of butter can't fix, right Grandpa? I decided to move onto the cranberry sauce which I then forgot about and boiled over. Angie had my back the whole way, ready to pull her hair out ;). She caught the sauce and pulled 5 of the 6 randomly floating cloves out of the sauce I so sloppily prepared. Tristan later found the 6 clove at dinner, whoever had the lucky 6 clove had dish duties. Sorry Tris! I think I should have just observed the cooking. 

We celebrated Christmas and Trish Graduating with her Business degree.  A special time for sure! Couldn't be more proud of her! The kids made her giant cards for her celebration dinner. We topped off the celebration with a Baskin Robbins cookies in cream ice cream cake. I think we all had seconds! We were not shy of desserts. Peppermint holiday drinks, hot chocolate, Tim Tam slams, cookies, banana bread pudding and more...Charlotte was on a sugar high!! 

She has been more active or at least I feel her a lot more.  She was rockin and rolling the whole plane ride home. Love feeling her!

 How am I feeling? Still get dizzy spells.  It's pretty amazing.  I can just be sitting and the walls/room start to move, it lasts just a couple of seconds and then I'm good. Can't get my heart rate too high still or I see black dots.  Walking is my workout friend and that's about it. Energy is better. Not SO exhausted at the end of the day, which has been nice.

Cravings: Pineapple, carrots, and fish.

What I miss: Not having a stuffy nose. I guess it can be a symptom of increased estrogen. Since I found out I was pregnant I have sneezed aggressively in the mornings. I had a few 
allergies in San Antonio and now I'm a sneezing coughing mess...so I guess I miss my immune system too! :)

Blazers game!

Weeks 18 & 19

Heartbeat: 155 bpm

Size of the Baby: 10 inches long  11oz

Most Exciting Things The Past Week: We had the most exciting past couple of weeks.  Meaghan came to visit.  We hadn't seen each other in over a year.  We shopped, did nails, ate well, and had all around quality time to catch up face to face. I was able to take the week off from work which was loaded with Dr. appointments. We had the second trimester appointment with Dr. Suzuki. She listened to the heart beat and was able to feel movement from the little Pepper which I had beg unit o feel more and more.  I did a blood test for my protein levels and all was good. Next stop was the dentist.  They did a special cleaning due to being pregnant.  It was a quick in and out. My dentist asked if I wanted to know his gender prediction as he has an 80% accuracy rate.  I said sure because in two days we would get to find out! He said based on the gums he can usually tell.  If the gums are loose and bleed easily it's usually a girl due to the increase in estrogen that comes with carrying a girl, and if the gums are tight it is usually a boy.  His guess....a boy!  I was surprised as I had felt it was a girl, as did many others, but now I was convinced he was right.  We had a girl's name picked out and everyone seemed to guess girl so it kind of made since for it to be a boy.  The anticipation sank in after that appointment.

Mom and Richard came the next day. I moved our anatomy sonogram up to Friday morning so they could be there. A special moment for sure. What a cool sonogram. The technician spends more time measuring all of the body parts, organs, and bones. The hardest part of this is having a full bladder. It allows them to get a better view of the baby. I was about to pop, but the images were incredible. We could see the heart valves, brain, lungs, kidneys, and the flow of the blood. The body is truly amazing. As all four of us are mouth open taking in what she is showing us, she reveals... "And this is a little GIRL!" Instant tears came to my eyes and I poked Tristan in the cheek as he was sitting right next to me grinning from ear to ear. It put an identity to this little being we've been calling Pepper. She was so active. The tech captured some great images for us. Some of her putting the umbilical cord over her shoulder, giving us the number 1 with a tiny pointer finger, yawning, drinking, pulling her legs over her head, and more. The 3D scan created a skin like image where we could see her bone structures even more and see her characteristics. Those fingers and toes looked an awfully lot like her Dad's! Pretty fun! After the appointment we had to go shopping for her first outfit. Grammy and Papa have already spoiled her! I was going to wait and tell the rest of the family and friends at Thanksgiving when I would see them face to face, but I was way too excited, and Trish was able to get me to slip in revealing the gender.  We spent the second half of the day Face Timing the exciting news. A special weekend I won't forget! 

How am I feeling? Feel good! I do get dizzy and lightheaded easily, especially if I'm climbing a hill or stairs.  The Dr. said I have low blood pressure and this may occur more frequently. She was right! Slow and steady wins the race right now. Still get pretty sleepy in the evenings. Tristan has been amazing! He' s been getting pretty good at dishes and laundry. About the time I sit for dinner, I really just want to sprawl on the table.

Cravings: Pineapple and old fashioned Spaghetti. I still haven't quite found the right spaghetti. I guess I could try making my own :0). 

What I miss: Having the energy to workout.

Week 17

Heartbeat: 150 bpm

Size of the Baby: Onion 5.1 inches long  5.9 oz

Most Exciting Things The Past Week: I've gained a little energy back.  Mainly in the morning.  With this new found energy I figured it was time to start working out again.  That has been on pause the past month (yikes!).  I drug Tristan to a lifting class out at Nike. Well actually he drug me to the gym and I thought we should do the class (Group Power).  I did the 10 minute warm-up and began to see black dots..."I'm either going to throw up or pass out".  I ran to the bathroom, heart pounding. Yep, it hit me...the realization that there really are some limits right now. I had a few tears in the bathroom and returned deciding the stair machine would have to do.  A lovely young lady was running late to the class and I was able to offer her my already set-up spot.  I just showed her next to the grunting gentlemen in the grey (Tristan :)).  Tristan has been sore for the last three days.  At least someone got their booty kicked.  I enjoyed watching. 

Heartburn has kicked in full effect.  Thank goodness for Tums is all I have to say...AND for sisters who supply you with a big bottle in prep of this moment.  Speaking of sisters, I do have to say I've been very grateful for my conversations with them. Two OLDER sisters who have been through this each twice!  They just giggle, but I love to share, compare, and hear their memories of when they were pregnant.  So in the spirit of November, the month of being Thankful.  I am so very Thankful for the two of them.

My belly has popped a bit.  I received my first, "oh  my gosh, Jessi are you pregnant?!" at work.  Everyone else just looks down while they are talking to me.  The awkward, "I'm talking and listening to you, but I think I see a bump." 

My MOST exciting moment this week was the emergency shopping trip for a new bra!  I needed to run an errand for work and luckily there was a Maternity store near by.  I was about to throw the bra I was wearing out the window.  It hasn't fit for the last month! Two wonderful ladies measured me and helped me find TWO new bras and let me wear one out of the store.  Pure bliss!

How am I feeling? I feel pretty good.  After dinner I feel very sleepy and stomach has been a little off.  I did throw up last night which caught me off guard.  Poor Tristan was near by and heard me in all my glory.  I came out of the bathroom to find Tristan with his phone to his ear and music as loud as it could go. The finer moments...

Cravings: No real cravings.  Just when something tastes good, it tastes REAL good! I had a veggie sandwich from Jimmy Johns and oh.my.gosh.delicious!

What I miss: Still miss a cold beer, sleeping through the night without having to wake twice to empty the bladder, and walking up stairs without feeling like someone needs to put more oxygen in the air.

16 Weeks

Heartbeat: 150 bpm

Size of the Baby: Avocado 4.6 inches long 3.5 oz

Most Exciting Things The Past Few Weeks:
This past week I was able to feel the little Pepper for the first time.  I thought I was just having muscle spasms, but soon realized it was actual movement.  Had a slight tickle.  I tend to feel him/her in the evening and mid morning.  Makes me smile every time, and made everything real!  Pretty special moment.

Many of you heard my Prenatal Vitamin story from this past week. I wasn't going to share the full story here because it is kind of gross, but this is part of the moments I can look back on, so here it goes.... It was Friday morning.  All I wanted was a bagel and cream cheese from Einstein Bagels.  This would be my Friday treat.  I used to go into Einstein's often for their delicious Vanilla Hazlenut coffee.  I've come to know the staff well.  I hurried to get ready because I become pretty nauseated if I don't eat right when I wake up.  Part of my routine is to take my Prenatal Vitamin after breakfast so I don't forget. On this Friday,, I decided to just take my vitamin on my way out the door. I knew I would be eating soon (Einstein's is 5 minutes away).  Now, before I was pregnant I would get nauseated from my vitamins if I didn't have food in my belly (who doesn't?)....  SO, I order my bagel and they call my name to pick up my order.  Right when I reach to grab my bagel, it violently hits me! I have suddenly thrown up in my mouth (oh my gosh!). Now the guy behind the counter and I are both looking at each other in complete horror and disgust.  I rip my bagel from his hands (yes priorities) and run out the door.  I make it to the curb where I'm greeted by a delivery truck and delivery man staring in amazement as I throw up all over myself, oh so ungracefully.  I run across the street to my car where I continue.  I don't know about any of you, but talking to myself seems to make me feel better and get through the awfulness of hurling.  As I am saying aloud, "you're good, you're good, bleh, you're good, you're good" I realize my wonderful delivery friend is still staring at me along with the flood of morning traffic.  I get in my car as fast as I can telling myself to get it together.  Right as I think "OK!"  It violently hits again.  Where do you puke in a car?  Why didn't I open my door?  BECAUSE, I see a white paper back with brand new Nike gear and a nice notecard to the gentlemen this clothing is supposed to be delivered to to throw up into/on.  It was all I had... I now feel it is over.  In my mind, I think EAT Jessi, Eat!  So I proceed to stuff my face as fast as I can with my much awaited bagel.  As I look up to breathe, I see my delivery friend is STILL watching me. The bagel hitting my mouth wasn't quite as how I dreamed.  As I took my last bite, I looked down to realize my ungracefulness landed me a trip back home to change my pants and wash my hair.  Lesson learned here.  I will NEVER take my Vitamin without food in my belly.  I will blame this one on "pregnancy brain." I think I now owe an apology to my Einstein friends.

How am I feeling? Well other than my previous story, the nausea has become less frequent. The first trimester I threw up almost every morning.  If I don't eat right away, I can guarantee a flash back.  I'm learning I MUST eat a small amount of protein RIGHT when I wake.  I have gained a little energy back in the morning and during the day.  Mid day naps sound pretty delightful and evenings I'm toast.  Attending to early bed times lately, which Tristan is loving during the week.

Cravings: I had an interesting one this past week...Fazzoli's Baked Spaghetti (there are NO Fazzoli's in Oregon).  Loving carbs right now.

What I miss: A cold beer, and sleeping through the night without having to wake twice to empty the bladder.