20 Weeks = 5 months = HALFWAY THERE

It's finally here! The halfway point has arrived. I have been pretty good about taking at least 1 or 2 pictures of myself every week, even if they are just on my iPhone. I save them in a file named "Preggers" on my laptop and then divide them up by week. It just seems amazing to me how big this file has grown! In 2 short months, I will be in my third trimester. Craziness!

I said last week that I would wait to post until tomorrow, but I have a feeling that with all the phone calls and visits, it just won't happen. I will certainly put up a FB announcement after my appointment, so stay tuned. We are scheduled to have the ultrasound at 2:30pm at the Johnston Willis office. Conveniently, Obama will be right down the road at a fire station to make a speech on his "Jobs Act" at 2:45. I decided to take a half-day off and leave work at 12:30 tomorrow so I don't have to rush to the appointment and stress about the crazy traffic. I figure I will go to Chesterfield Towne Center, get some lunch, and walk around a bit before the appointment.

It is so funny to me that 99.9% of people have guessed that I am having a girl. Only me and 1 or 2 of my friends have thought boy. In fact, Lauren Hill and I are the ONLY ones who have thought boy from the beginning. All of the old wives tales point towards girl (how I am carrying, heart rate, etc..) but something just keeps telling me boy. I have also heard how a mother's "gut instinct" can often be wrong. Hopefully little Hooper will cooperate tomorrow and the guessing games and pregnancy myths can be put to rest.

Now, onto the survey!

How far along? 20 weeks down, 20 to go :)

Total weight gain? +7 total but I have not weighed since last time. My pregnancy app says that I should be up to about +10 by this point. I think I probably hit the mark. We will know tomorrow.

How big is the baby? This is the week where measurements switch from crown to rump to crown to heel for length, so baby is about 10 inches long and about 11 ounces now.

Maternity clothes? Yes! Just bought some more this weekend. I needed another pair of jeans and one more pair of work pants. And let's be honest, I bought some cute tops too. :)

Stretch marks? Nada

Sleep? Yep. Been doing great with sleep actually. Hope I can keep it up.

Best moment of the week? Tomorrow! I will get to see our sweet baby again AND find out if we are having a Morgan or a William.

Movement? Yes! Tons of movement. I notice it most when I am sitting and slightly leaning forward. I love every single kick, jab, punch, and flip.

Cravings? Cheeeeeeeseburrrrrgerrrrrs. Ok this weight will definitely come on faster now. My appetite is in full gear.

Gender? TOMORROW TOMORROW TOMORROW

Labor signs? NO

Belly button in or out? In

What am I looking forward to? Seeing that ultrasound screen tomorrow and knowing that our baby is strong and healthy!

19 weeks

Sara about 29 weeks, me 19

This week, or shall I say weekend, was definitely a busy one. Friday night was Amy and Eric's rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. I got ready at work and headed straight to the rehearsal at Oak Grove Baptist, which was conveniently only a minute from the school I work at. The rehearsal and dinner were wonderful. Saturday I got up bright and early to get my hair done, then I met up with the other bridesmaids at the salon where Amy was getting ready. Brittany and I went to the church first, and ended up setting off an alarm because no one was there to let us in. Whoops! No harm, no foul. The wedding was BEAUTIFUL, and if you live in Richmond, you know that Saturday was the epitome of good weather. It was 75 and sunny all day. Everyone seemed to have a great time at the reception. It was amazing to be apart of their special day. Sunday was Sara's baby shower. As you can see by the picture above, she is about 10 weeks ahead of me in her pregnancy. It is amazing how much the body can change in such a short time. She looks absolutely wonderful and she received a ton of great gifts, which also helped me think of some essentials for our registry. Overall, the weekend was a ton of fun, but so exhausting for me. I have never been one to stay up late and maintain a busy schedule, so this was exceptionally difficult for me now that I'm pregnant. I crashed Sunday and Monday night, and now am feeling somewhat human again. Of course, it was completely worth it and I would do it again in a heartbeat!

19 weeks seems absolutely crazy to me. Only one more week until I am officially half way through the pregnancy. One of my apps today said that I will start to grow more quickly now, so the bump should really be making a strong debut soon. As far as symptoms go, the only new thing I have noticed is a change in my appetite. I am starting to understand why pregnant women eat all the time. I have been hungry for just about anything! I need to watch it though because I don't want to bombard my baby with junk food. More fruits and veggies definitely need to be added to my daily diet. Another thing I have noticed this week is my inability to move like I used to. Getting up from the couch from a laying position, or getting out of bed, is becoming more challenging. I can only imagine how comical I will look by the end of my pregnancy. I am starting to notice movement more frequently now. Today at work little Hooper was very busy. It is such a cool feeling so I can't wait for Brad to feel those kicks and punches from the outside! I have placed his hand on my stomach a few times just for fun, but he loses patience quickly and I don't think the movement is strong enough for him to feel yet anyway. Other than the complete exhaustion from this weekend, baby and I have been doing GREAT! Now, on to the survey...

How far along? 19 weeks, holy crap

Total weight gain? Ok so I weighed on Mom's scale on Sunday and I was up 3lbs from my last appointment. That brings the grand total to +7lbs

How big is the baby? 6 inches and about 10 ounces

Maternity clothes? Mostly. Still wearing some non-maternity shirts while I can but they aren't really long enough. I have given up on the belly band. It just isn't comfortable.

Stretch marks? Not yet...

Sleep? Oh yes, and lots of it.

Best moment of the week? Seeing my beautiful best friend get married.

Movement? Yes! One of the ladies I work with was talking to me about it today and she described it as a muscle twitch. I thought that described it perfectly.

Cravings? Nothing special, just food in general. Yikes.

Gender? Holy moly we find out a WEEK from tomorrow. Brad and I are so freakin excited to know. Everyone keeps saying girl because of how I am "carrying," but my friend Sara, pictured above, completely breaks the "if your carrying low you're having a boy" stereotype, because she definitely is having a girl. Most people think girl, but I have felt boy from the beginning. I have also had 2 dreams that the ultrasound said boy. 8 more days and we will know for sure!!!

Labor signs? Noooooo

Belly button in or out? In still.

What am I looking forward to? My appointment and ultrasound next Wednesday at 2:30pm. I am going to be a nervous wreck in that waiting room! Because my appointment falls on a Wednesday next week, I will just post when I get back from the doctor (after I make all of the necessary phone calls to family and friends of course). Stay tuned!

18 Weeks and on the MOVE!

Hello everyone! So sorry I am a day late posting this week. Brad and I decided to run some errands last night and by the time we got home I was too tired to post.

This weekend was a very productive one. On Saturday my parents and I went to Farmville (Brad was hunting) to visit my brother and his girlfriend. They had not seen me in quite a while, so they were excited to see my growing belly. Ricky's face was priceless. He acted like he had never seen a pregnant woman before. It was so nice seeing them though. I can't wait for the holidays roll around so that I can see them more! On Sunday my parents came over and helped Brad and I with what started off to be a simple, "clear out the closet in the nursery" project. However, as it turns out, Brad and I are Stage 1 hoarders and we spent almost 5 hours cleaning out all of the closets in our house to make room for new baby stuff. My dad also worked on fixing up the walls in the nursery. Mom and I spent a lot of time going through things and getting rid of stuff. Who knew a 1400 sq/ft house could contain so much CRAP! A big thanks goes out to Mom and Dad who devoted their entire day to helping us out. We couldn't have done it without them!!! I have included a "before" picture of the nursery this week. Poor Waylon thinks it's his room.

On the pregnancy front, things are moving along as scheduled. About 2 weeks ago, I felt what I thought was movement, but I was not 100% sure mostly because I didn't know what it felt like. Well, this week our baby has been on the MOVE! I tried taking a nap on Saturday before our trip to Farmville, but little Hooper was too busy for me to sleep. It was such a cool feeling. The movement is not regular yet, which I have read is normal at this stage. Some days I feel a lot, others I don't feel anything. I can't wait until the little kicks and punches are strong and frequent enough for Brad to feel. As you can see by this week's picture, the belly is coming along slowly. I have to admit that I am a little discouraged that I am not showing more at this stage (ALMOST HALFWAY). I look pregnant to family and friends who knew what I looked like before, but because of my body type (long waisted and curvy), I think most strangers would not be able to tell yet. I guess I am just ready for our wonderful news to be obvious to everyone!

Ok, here are the stats...

How far along? 18 weeks

Total weight gain? Not sure, have not weighed since my last appointment. Probably around 5-6 lbs if I had to guess.

How big is the baby? About 5.5 inches in length (the vegetable/fruit comparisons are too vague)

Maternity clothes? Mostly, yes. Still wearing some non-maternity pants with my belly band and non-maternity tops if I need to do laundry. All non-maternity loungewear still fits :)

Stretch marks? No, but I am becoming very "veiny." My veins are SO dark. Looks like varicose veins may be in my future.

Sleep? Yep! I ususally wake up once between 2 and 4am to use the potty but I fall back to sleep immediately.

Best moment of the week? Getting my house in order and finally being able to visualize a completed nursery, feeling those awesome kicks, and seeing my brother and his girlfriend.

Movement? YES YES YES

Cravings? None. No aversions either. My appetite seems about the same, which is good.

Gender? 2 more weeks!!! AHHHHH

Labor signs? NO

Belly button in or out? Way in.

What am I looking forward to? My best friend Amy gets married this Saturday and I am so excited to be a part of her wedding. Also, my good friend Sara has her baby shower Sunday. YAY! Fun-filled and very busy weekend ahead.

17 Weeks! And BABY NAME ANNOUNCEMENT

How is it Tuesday again already!? I guess it sneaks up on me because my weekends seem to fly by these days. This past weekend was awesome. I got to hang out with the beautiful bride-to-be, Amy Rowe, for some bachelorette fun on Friday night. It is hard to believe that she is getting married in less than 2 weeks! I am SO happy for her and I can't wait for the big day. Then on Saturday, Mom and I made the trip up to Northern VA for Abby's wedding. It turned out to be a gorgeous day, and she was a stunning bride. I was so glad I got to see so many of my friends this weekend, especially since many haven't seen me since my big announcement. The general consensus is that I look "full," not pregnant, and that my tatas look grande. I suppose I will take that as a compliment :) I guess it really depends on what I am wearing. Dresses tend to cover the bump, which is what I wore this weekend. However, the dress I am wearing in this week's picture seems to emphasize the bump a bit more. Regardless, in a couple months there will be NO denying that there is a bun in the oven, and I can't wait!

Symptoms seem to change weekly. I have noticed this week that I am a little more nauseaus than I have been. Brushing my teeth is REALLY difficult. I have to force myself not to gag. SO WEIRD. Another symptom that has been popping up is a little disease Brad likes to call CRS (Can't Remember Shit). I forget the little things and I feel so stupid at times. I guess that is why people call it "pregnancy brain." My back is about the same. The biggest relief is that the doctor said it was normal. She gave me a couple tips to relieve the pain, but told me not to worry too much about it.

I meant to do a blog update last week after my doctor's appointment, but obviously that didn't happen. Things went well though and our next appointment will be on October 19th where we will find out if it's a boy or girl. Time for a big announcement people...Brad and I have finalized our name choices!!! For a girl, Morgan Reese, and for a boy, William Isaac. We have had the girl name picked out for a while. We came up with Morgan right after I got pregnant, and Brad picked out Reese during the hurricane when we had no power and nothing better to do than flip through a baby name book. William Isaac has also been on the table for a while, but we wanted to make sure it was 100% what we wanted before announcing it. Both William and Isaac come from Brad's grandfathers. Papa Joe (Isaac), passed away in April and we miss him so much. Brad has always been very close to his "Papas" and we thought it was a great way to acknowledge both of them. We are so excited to find out if we have a little Morgan or William on the way!

Survey says...

How far along? 17 weeks baby!

Total weight gain? Ok it's officially 4 lbs. Mom's scale was either off or I managed to gain a little by my doctor's appointment. Either way, it seems that I am going slow and steady. Hope I can keep it up!

How big is the baby? Sweet potato

Maternity clothes? Yes, and it appears I may need to invest in some new bras before I have a wardrobe malfunction.

Stretch marks? Still no!

Sleep? Yes! I have been sleeping really well at night. I am going to enjoy this as long as I can because I know that as I get bigger, sleeping will become more difficult.

Best moment of the week? My doctor's appointment and hearing baby's heart beating away. (152 bpm). Also seeing a bunch of friends over the weekend, and yesterday ( <3 bitties)

Movement? Still not 100% sure if what I am feeling is digestion or movement. I am paying VERY close attention though.

Cravings? Not really. I ate a bunch of chips and onion dip today though. NOM NOM NOM.

Gender? No clue. CANNOT WAIT!

Labor signs? Please God, no.

Belly button in or out? Way in still.

What am I looking forward to? October 19th!!!

Sweet 16 :) 4 months pregnant!

There isn't much to update this week because my doctor's appointment is tomorrow. I will do another post then. Mom and I went to an awesome, but CRAZY baby stuff sale at Manchester Middle on Saturday morning (Thanks for the tip, Kristin!). We were both overwhelmed by all of the stuff. There were TONS clothes, but they also had toys, strollers, bouncers, highchairs, etc. I ended up buying a lamp for the nursery for only $5. It is really cute! There is another sale in March so I am sure we will be going back to get some more things.

I have been feeling okay this week. My back pain is getting worse, so I plan on talking to my doctor about it tomorrow. I have done some research online and it appears that it is some sort of "posterior pelvic pain." Obviously the internet can be misleading so before I diagnose myself I am going to talk things over with the doc. Other than the back pain, I have been doing good. My energy level isn't great, but I make it through the work day without caffeine. At night I am ready to go to bed at 9:30 and it is really hard getting up in the mornings. Sometimes I wonder how the HECK am I going to wake up 2 or 3 times a night with my baby. I am sure my motherly instincts will kick in and it won't be as hard as I anticipate (I hope!). But for now I am enjoying the spare time I have and resting a lot. I still haven't started my prenatal yoga, whoops. Better get my butt into gear!

Until tomorrow, here are the stats!

How far along? 16 weeks

Total weight gain? According to Mom's scale I have lost a pound, which puts me at about +2.5 total. But I am going to go by the doctor's scale tomorrow.

How big is the baby? I think an onion. These are vague though because I have seen some HUGE onions.

Maternity clothes? Yep! I also bought 2 dresses at a consignment shop on Saturday. They were $18 for BOTH!

Stretch marks? Not yet. Still using my cream daily.

Sleep? As much as possible. Getting up about 1 or 2 times a night to pee. I seriously need one of those body pillows. I hate sleeping on my side.

Best moment of the week? That will be tomorrow when I get to hear my sweet baby's heart beat.

Movement? I have felt what I would describe as "bubbles" in my lower abdomen (not gas, haha). It has happened a handful of times and I am pretty sure it is movement, but I am not 100% convinced just yet.

Cravings? Nope, but my sweet tooth is making a comeback. :)

Gender? No clue. 4 more weeks. I will be making the appointment TOMORROW.

Labor signs? No way, Jose.

Belly button in or out? Inny

What am I looking forward to? Tomorrow's appointment!!!

15 Weeks :)

I know I am going to think this every week, but...OMG am I already 15 weeks pregnant??? It seems like just yesterday I was taking the pregnancy test. It truly is crazy how time flies.

This was a very exciting week. Work has been going great. We have lots of kids in the program this year, which is keeping us very busy. I have not told the students yet that I am expecting. I am going to wait until I feel the time is right. Most of the staff already know though. One staff member who didn't know asked me today if I was expecting because she could tell my I had a bump. Well, obviously I would be quite offended if I wasn't pregnant, but I took this as a HUGE compliment! This is the first time someone has noticed my bump without knowing already. Friends and family are noticing now too. It is great to see their reactions at how we have grown :)

I had a busy, but very fun weekend. Friday, Brad and I went to the McDaniel's house to visit with Adam, Lauren, and Connor. We also got to see Bonnie and Darryl. It was so nice seeing everyone! Connor has grown so much since I saw him back in June. Even though I don't get to see them often, I really appreciate the time we have together. I got to see them all again on Sunday for Bonnie's baby shower. I LOVE going to baby showers, especially now that I am expecting. I made sure to pay close attention to the gifts she registered for and some other cool items I would have never thought of.

I've been meaning to update on my pregnancy symptoms. I was afraid that headaches were going to be a daily problem for me, but as it turns out, they have gone away almost completely (knock on wood). Other things I have noticed are some lower back pain on my right side and numbness in my right thigh after sleeping. I also notice I get crampy if I don't drink enough fluids, so I am really working on that. My acne has been OUT OF CONTROL too. I look like a pizza face. I know its worth it though. But I am certainly not the beautiful glowing pregnant woman that you read about or see on TV. My eating is going well. I feel like I have definitely gained some weight, although I have no clue how much. As you can tell from the picture, we definitely hit a growth spurt this week. I am still trying to be as healthy as possible, as I don't want to gain too quickly. I have an appointment a week from tomorrow so I will know then how I have been doing.

Other big news...the crib is in!!! We still have it packaged for now. We may even wait to put it up after we paint the nursery, which is going to be put off until we know whether it's a Brad Jr. or Pam Jr. (no, those aren't the names we picked out). I will try to get some pictures of the nursery stuff with my good camera for next week. Until then...SURVEY!

1. How far along? 15 weeks

2. Total weight gain? Not sure, but if I had to guess, 6-7 lbs total.

3. How big is the baby? Avacado!

4. Maternity clothes? Yes! And I think I will be buying more tops. They are much more flattering.

5. Stretch marks? Not yet...

6. Sleep? Some nights not so much, last night I fell asleep at 8pm and slept until 7. I better enjoy that while I can!

7. Best moment of the week? Seeing Lauren and Connor this weekend. Love them <3

8. Movement? Soon maybe??

9. Cravings? No. I love all food.

10. Gender? No clue. 5 more weeks!

11. Labor signs? No no no.

12. Belly button in or out? In but stretching...

13. What am I looking forward to? My doctors appointment next week!

14 Weeks :)

Although I am technically supposed to post tomorrow, I figured I would go ahead and do it today since tomorrow is the FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL! I am very excited to go back and see all the little kiddos. I also miss having a set schedule and routine. I am sure in a few weeks though I will be ready to go back to the lazy days of summer. I have always loved this time of year though. I am already thinking about the holidays and how exciting they are going to be this year with our little one on the way.

This was a hectic week again because of the stupid hurricane. Brad and I are so fortunate to have a wonderful family who took us in when our power was out. Brad's parents let us stay with them for a couple of nights this week (THANK YOU!!!). Waylon loves being over there because he gets to play with their Jack Russell, Abby. It's pretty bad when your dog can literally run circles around a Jack Russell. He is NUTS! Fortunately we got our power back Thursday morning. I have never been so excited to have electricity. This is by far the longest I have ever had to go without power and we weren't as bad off as some other people in the Richmond area. As much as I complained I really do sympathize with the Dominion workers who I am sure had very little sleep or time with their families this past week. I am so glad this is all behind us now and I pray that no more come our way this hurricane season!

I had a bit of a scare this week. On Wednesday I noticed I was experiencing some cramps on my right side, so I called my doctor who said that I should drink plenty of water and take it easy, but not to worry. Well, several hours passed and the cramps had gotten slightly worse. They were going down into my leg and felt very similar to menstrual cramps, so I decided to call my doctor again. This time, the nurse told me to come in so they could check things out. My mom was able to go with me, which definitely helped, because I was extremely worried. I didn't get to see my doctor, but the one I did meet with was wonderful. Everything checked out great and I even got to hear the heartbeat on the doppler. It was the most beautiful sound in the world. I could have sat there all day and listened to it. It still brings tears to my eyes thinking about it. The doctor told me the cramps could be caused by several different things, but I shouldn't worry because everything looked completely normal. WHEW!

Other big news...We bought a crib this week! I have been searching high and low for an afforadable crib, preferably with a changing table attached. I did not have much luck in stores, but was able to stumble across a great deal on Walmart.com. (I know what you're thinking, "Ew, Walmart?" But stay with me for a second...it is a Delta brand crib, which is also sold at Target. I found it on the Delta website, which then directed me to Walmart. I got the crib with the attached changing table and a trundle underneath for storage AND a crib mattress for the low price of $288! I found the same crib on Target's website without the mattress for around $280. I am very pleased! We chose the "expresso" finish, which Brad liked the most. We also bought a storage unit which we plan to use as a baby dresser. My Dad came up with this idea and I love it. It is way more affordable than a baby dresser and we will be able to use it in other rooms of our house (office, living room, etc) after the baby upgrades to the big boy/girl furniture that we already have from Brad's old room. The storage unit was originally $51 at Target, but we got it for $39 because of the Labor Day sale. We are holding off on buying the "fabric drawers" to go in it until we know what we are having.

Okay so this was a long post. SORRY! I promise next week is sure to be much shorter. Survey!

1. How far along? 14 weeks (tomorrow)

2. Total weight gain? I think I was up a few ounces when I went to the doctor on Wednesday but I am not sure how much exactly. So let's just say another +.5ish this week and +3ish total.

3. How big is the baby? I should probably start looking this up, but I believe I read he/she is now about the size of my fist.

4. Maternity clothes? Pants, yes. They are way more comfortable. Plus, even though I could get by with my regular clothes, I would rather get the use out of the maternity clothes I bought. It didn't make sense for me to be uncomfortable and put off spending the money on the clothes later. At least now I will get to wear them for several months, and let's be honest, they are SO DARN CUTE!

5. Stretch marks? Nope.

6. Sleep? Since returning to my own bed on Thursday night, I have slept like a rock. YAY!

7. Best moment of the week? Hearing my baby's beautiful heartbeat. (In the 150's by the way)

8. Movement? Hopefully soon!

9. Cravings? Still no.

10. Gender? No clue now. I don't think we are going to do the 3D ultrasound though. It is money that we can save towards other baby stuff! It looks like our 20 week ultrasound will be in Mid-October, which is not far away!

11. Labor signs? Please God no. Let's wait until 40 weeks, or at least until February 15th. (To qualify for FMLA I need to be at my current job for a year. My start date was Feb. 14th and my due date is March 6th. Let's keep our fingers crossed people!)

12. Belly button in or out? Way in.

13. What am I looking forward to? Feeling the baby kick, and seeing Brad's reaction when he feels it! OH, and getting the nursery set up! I believe my nesting instincts are kicking in :)