17 Week Update

Let the belly bands and maternity clothes begin! Last week, I had to officially start wearing belly bands with all of my clothes. Pants that fit 2 week before are now way too tight. The good news is that I can still fit into all of my regular clothes except in the belly area. So I can wear them with a belly band. The picture to the right is from Friday after work. That is the first official maternity shirt that I have worn. I have a lot of room left to fill, but Matt thought I was super cute at Costco so snapped a picture. Today, I am wearing maternity slacks for the first time to work. If people don't know that I am pregnant they probably can't really tell when I am in work clothes. But when I go to boot camp in the morning in spandex pants and tank tops - the belly is all out there.

We had our 16 week checkup on Monday and heard the strong heart beat. The doctor took my first belly measurement and I have gained about 5 lbs so far. I swear a few of those pounds are in my chest alone! We go back at the end of Sept for our 20 week ultrasound and will be able to find out the sex of the baby then. WE CAN'T WAIT!!!

Allison is coming in town this weekend to hang out before we leave on Monday for the US Open. I am stealing some time with Heather to go do some registry stuff. I want to get all the non-gender specific stuff nailed down - stroller, car seat, bottles, breast pump, pack n play, etc. We also might hit up some consignment stores for more maternity clothes. It is crazy how much I think my belly has grown already and how much more I have to go!!!

Matt started class for the fall semester this week so he is gone 3 nights a week until after 9pm. I get soooo lonesome for him by the time Friday rolls around, but it is nice to be able to go to sleep early without sacrificing time together. I am still rocking boot camp 3-4 times a week and hope to go running tonight. Running is a relative term now as I can only manage about a 12 min pace to keep my heart rate below 140 (alright maybe I stretch it to 155 or so). But I still manage to burn about 750 calories each bootcamp with 60mins of boot camp plus running 1m afterwards. It feel so good to sweat it out a few times a week.

These are a few of my favorite things...

Picture Julie Andrews singing on the bed with the Von Trapp kids while reading this, please.

Here are some things that I particularly love about or during my pregnancy so far (in no particular order):

- Eggs
- Spicy foods (no big change there)
- Orange juice
- TONS of WATER (I have to carry it with me everywhere or else I die of thirst)
- Milk, cottage cheese, any cheese
- Having an excuse to go to bed at 8pm
- Shopping for new maternity clothes (got my first deliveries this week)
- Having enough energy to go to boot camp and work out 6 days a week
- Everyone expects you to have a belly, so no need to suck in...let it all hang out
- Boobs getting bigger every day
- So far, just my belly (and boobs) are growing and I can wear all my normal clothes (with rubber band extender for some pants/shorts)
I know that I am lucky for not feeling sick and having plenty of time to get to bed early. I hit 15 weeks yesterday so am looking forward to 25 more wonderful weeks.

13 wk Ultrasound 7/29/2011

We had our 13 week ultrasound to test for Downs Syndrome. The baby does not have it, but the appointment was so cool and we got to spend 30 mins with the doctor watching the baby and trying to get it to turn the right way. The pics don't turn out great after being printed, scanned, and attached. In all pics you can see the profile and the head is at the bottom. The first arrow shows the spine. It was like a delicate line of pearls. The 2nd pic most clearly shows the profile of the face. Our baby is adorable already hehe. The last one is super cool. You can see the side view of butt, thigh, knee, calf, and foot. So amazing!

The baby was 12 cm which is almost 5 in and that is just butt to head (crown to rump is what they call it). We go back in 3 weeks (when baby is 16 weeks old) for our next ultrasound and will hopefully get to find out the sex. YAY!!