Baby bump pics of week 24!

This week, our little bear is about the size of an ear of corn!
Meaning he's about 11.8 inches and 1.3 pounds. I can feel the growth each week. Things are pretty crammed in my belly.

This week went by pretty fast without much in the way of news or exciting events. I have been focusing so hard on school that I haven't been able to do much else. I know that with our little mini trips coming up, I need to make sure I am in a good standing and have a good schedule going with all my classes. We are headed to the Oregon Coast very very soon for Friday, Saturday and a Sunday. The first two are days when a lot of assignments are due and when a lot of classwork happens.

Baby Bump!!!

Here it is once again. Getting much bigger since I last had my husband take a picture for me. As you can see, I gained a good amount of weight (not too much or too little) on my legs and arms finally. And a lot on my belly (kinda out of my control :) I currently weigh 162 pounds, still 13 pounds under pre pregnancy weight. Doctor says if I didn't have the baby belly and extra breast growth I would probably be about 148 pounds. I am feeling a lot better and healthier, but it is very difficult to roll over or move around in bed. I also sometimes have to ask for some help when standing up from sitting.

                                                      ~****~

 This is sort of a front view of the baby bump, you can see I'm still pretty thin, but the doctor says I'm at a healthy weight now and not to worry. Plus I haven't thrown up in over two weeks! Still get light morning sickness though.
  My dad and his soon to be wife bought me a few maternity shirts and two pairs of maternity leggings (by the way most comfortable things EVER) And my husband really liked this t shirt that they got for me. I know the text is backwards because of the mirror selfie, but it says "We are hoping it's a dinosaur". I think it's cute and funny. I'm wearing it today and I'm going to wear it to the gym. In the picture above, I'm also wearing clothes they got for me. I am so so so so grateful for their kindness.
                       
                                            ~****~


That's really all for week 24. I am a little late writing this post, as I am currently actually 25 weeks pregnant, but oh well.
I have a doctors appointment in week 26, where I have to drink the orange syrupy stuff and get a blood test for gestational diabetes.
Thanks for reading about our progress! Little bear is doing great and loves to kick now when he hears mommy sing <3

Week 23 post

I am currently trying to get lots of classwork and homework done and it may be a few days until I get to do a nice, formal post. Here's a little blurb about how week 23 went:

This week baby boy's kicks got even stronger. You can clearly feel them by touching my belly and if you watch, you can see my belly move. This week, for the first time, someone touched my belly without asking or without my permission. It was weird and I got a little protective of my son. Even though the lady was well meaning and I sort of knew her, it's a little odd to just watch as someone touches my stomach. Even though she's obviously not going to steal my boy, I was very protective of him in that moment.
People are recognizing more and more that I really am pregnant and not just walking around with a nasty belly that looks like a beer gut. My belly has become more round and it definitely has the shape of someone who is pregnant... which is good, considering that's what I am :)
I had some problems with reflux and hot flashes this week. Yesterday (Sunday) I had hot flashes so bad that I was constantly clammy and sweaty. We walked into the air conditioned house after church and it felt so wonderful. My husband goes "It's FREEZING in here." He went to check the internal temperature and the thermostat said 64. I didn't mind.
So the week went well and tomorrow (Tuesday) begins another week. Week 24. Soon I will be in the third trimester. 2/3 of the way through this experience. It's going by fast. I am glad it is too. The faster it goes, the faster I am done with the semester, and the faster we get to meet our son. :)

Fall semester

  I just took on another class for this semester. That makes a total of 9 credits. I'm taking FDENG101 (Foundations English), FDMAT108 (Foundations Math), and NUTR105 (Nutrition). These are three classes that are required for me to apply to the program at BYU Idaho I am working towards. After this I have to take 3 Biology classes, 2 Biology labs, 2 Chemistry classes, 2 Chemistry labs, Psychology, and another Math class. For the program I have to have at least a 3.5 GPA to apply. Needless to say, I'm going to be spending a lot of time on classes this semester. I'm not going to blog as frequently. I will still do weekly posts to show progress of the pregnancy, but I just won't have time to post other little blurbs or anything. I won't really even have time for Facebook. Since I'm doing 9 credit hours as well as getting ready for our first baby, my days are going to be very busy.
  Not going to divulge what the program is that I'm working toward, although as you can see it's clearly science related haha. I really appreciate how many people read this blog and like to follow the progress of Baby Meyers and his growth/development. Once I have him I will still be busy doing classes and taking care of him. I probably won't have time to do blog posts that often and this blog will probably become a private blog once he's born. Just for his protection and all.
  Anyway, today I am starting my diligent classwork and study schedule which means less facebook, less blog, less internet outside of classes. Thanks again for reading this blog. Don't worry, I'll post on Monday about week 23. I'll include a belly picture too :)

22 weeks

This week baby boy is about 11 inches and almost 1 whole pound. He's about the size of a spaghetti squash. That seems about right, although I feel like I am looking at the spaghetti squash we have in our kitchen and thinking "that's HUGE!" Maybe looks a little big to me, but I definitely feel him getting bigger as my belly does.

This week was weird and boring as far as pregnancy news. Nothing exciting really happened and I was so lethargic the whole week. I was also getting ready for my classes to start, so I didn't keep my journal much. Although this week I felt a definite difference in the strength of baby boy's kicks. He's been merciful and his movements and kicks at night aren't really enough to wake me up (or maybe I'm so exhausted and out cold my body doesn't care to alert me anymore haha) But during the day I find myself often saying "oof" or looking down at my belly and saying "you behave in there!" It's so surreal and weird feeling to have a moving human in there. Oh! Something new this week though: you can see very clearly his movements and kicks/hiccups when you look at my belly as he does it. It can creep me out sometimes and if I do watch while he moves I usually look up with my jaw wide open like "SO WEIRD". But like I said, cool at the same time.

I did gain a little bit of weight this week. I am now 157 pounds. On some days it drops to 154 again, but since baby is growing so rapidly there will be no escaping some weight gain. I might just get back up to my pre pregnancy weight at the end of my pregnancy haha.

I've had dreams about being in labor with our son the past 3 nights in a row. I can't remember before that this week, but I know that when I'm not dreaming of being in labor I usually dream about having him home and holding him. I'm so excited to meet him. We started our baby registry stuff and I was just ecstatic to be choosing the things we will be bringing our son home in, the things he will sleep in and with, clothes, cloth diapers. It's so exciting. But we still have 119 days until my due date.I'm stoked to be going in to week 23, because it means 17 more weeks until my due date.

Anyway, I have a doctors appointment this week on Wednesday. I think another ultrasound is happening because of partial previa (if I haven't mentioned it before, it's where the placenta is either partially or entirely covering the cervix. This little condition may keep me from having a natural birth. But since mine is only partial and only needs to move a little tiny bit out of the way, I should be fine.) - they are going to check on development of our boy I think but mainly on where the placenta is deciding to be. The next visit I think is two weeks after that with an ultrasound and I think it's the dreaded blood test appointment for Gestational Diabetes. Ick.

21 weeks

This week Baby Meyers is about the length of a carrot from the top of his head to his bottom. He weighs almost a pound too.

This week, eyebrows and eyelids are now present.

Corry has been able to feel almost all kicks and even some movements. I read something this week that said some of the jerking movements I feel might be baby having hiccups. Isn't that cool? I don't know why but I think it's another really cool thing that helps me be connected to our son and helps me realize how real this is. Sometimes I have moments of self awareness where I'm like "holy crud, I'm pregnant". Maybe I'm not using that term right, but I don't know how else to describe it. It's a cool feeling.

This week I decided to redo that little questionnaire I did back on the week 16. Since today is my last day of being 21 weeks I think it's accurate enough to answer how things are for me up to today.

How far along? 21 weeks, 6 days
Total weight gain/loss: Started my pregnancy at 175, now 155. But that's +4 pounds from the lowest weight I've been during this pregnancy.

Maternity clothes? I have a few and they are the most comfortable thing to wear now. My dad's wonderful fiance helped me order some online and they bought them for me, which is so wonderful and kind of them. Also got a couple belly bands, which will be awesome to have.
Stretch marks? Still no stretch marks on my belly even though it is huge. I eat a ton of vitamin C and drink tons of water, and my doctor says that’s probably what’s keeping me from getting stretch marks.
Sleep: Not much this week. I have been getting these monster hot flashes every night and it’s a little uncomfortable to sleep with my big belly.
Best moment this week: ^Having an entire half day where I had no nausea. It was awesome.
Have you told family and friends: Yes- announced to close family April 31st, announced to more family a few days after. Announced to facebook on Mother's Day.

Movement: Lots of big kicks, especially when I stand up and walk.
Food cravings: yogurt with granola, pineapple juice, and craisins
Anything making you queasy or sick: The thought of garlic or onion, dark green veggies, and the smell of marijuana. Disgusting.
Have you started to show yet: Yep, and a stranger who didn’t know I was pregnant asked when I am due. The belly is obviously not a food baby gut anymore haha.
Leakage: Super awkward question… but yeah. It happens when you have a tiny human who likes to use your bladder as part of his hourly kick boxing routine haha.
Gender prediction: It’s a boy J

 Labor Signs: I get some gnarly Braxton hicks contractions, but they’re really not labor signs. They’re just getting me ready for labor.

Belly Button in or out? It's still halfway out. I’m not sure it will be an outie.
Wedding rings on or off? Finally able to wear both of my rings again, and I am thrilled. J
Happy or Moody most of the time: I’ve been mostly happy this week, but there are times in the morning where I am very moody. That’s mostly because of my mood swings that come with the morning sickness.
Weekly Wisdom: It’s probably best to wear panty liners when you hit 20 weeks…
Milestones: Learned how to roll out of bed without rolling on my belly or sitting up and causing cramps.

So, there it is. The end of week 21. It started to feel like Autumn this week and we got some much needed rain here. The slightly colder temperatures have been helpful for my hot flashes. Not a totally eventful week, but still a good one where I managed to stay out of the hospital. :)

Week 20

He's around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel — about the size of a banana. (For the first 20 weeks, when a baby's legs are curled up against his torso and hard to measure, measurements are taken from the top of his head to his bottom — the "crown to rump" measurement. 

He's so big! I can feel pretty much all of his movements and kicks. He's very active at night, because he knows that's when daddy is usually around and puts his hand on my belly to feel kicks and talk to him. When bedtime comes around, baby boy starts going wild. Then when I lay down and my husband puts his hand on my belly, baby boy kicks gently a couple times and rests under his hand while daddy talks to him. Every single night for the past 8 or so days. And if for some reason Corry falls asleep before I do, baby will kick and move like crazy all night long or until I ask Corry to put his hand on my belly and say hello. It's so precious and makes me absolutely melt with love for both of them. Last night Corry expressed to me that he is so excited to play with the baby and hold him when he's born. I can already tell that those two are going to have a special connection when he's born. 

This past week I have also had dreams every night about being in labor or giving birth to our son or being home with him. For a while I've been praying about a water birth. I have to be in the hospital when I give birth, but the Family Birth Center offers water birth options in the labor/delivery rooms. I've been praying about it and thinking about it and my husband and I talked about it as well. I already use water for pain relief/ ache relief, and to take the weight off my legs/ lower belly. I swim a lot and water is very helpful for me already, so I think it is a good option for my first birth. Also, last night was the first "birth dream" I've had where I was given a birth pool (I think that's what it's called) or tub in the hospital room. I have to talk to my OB about it, but it looks like that's my birth plan. It also depends on how things go when I get there. There are signs and little things that could prevent me from having that water birth, but I would like for that to be the plan.

My belly is getting bigger and bigger each week. It's now pretty much impossible for me to sit up in bed without using my arms and rolling a little. My little body frame all of a sudden has this huge massive belly to carry haha. No joke, if you look at my body minus the hips and belly (and maybe boobs) you will understand what kind of stress my poor legs are under to carry it all. With belly and pregnancy weight, I am still 153 pounds. Without it, my doctor said I'm probably in the ballpark of 146 pounds. I haven't been that light since I went to Russia on my religious mission when I was 19. 

Anyway, things are good and I've kind of got my sickness under control. I am currently experiencing what some describe as some pretty intense morning sickness, but not quite hyperemesis again. I've become good at managing it though. I know that I have to take at least one of my nausea meds at 6 AM every morning before I get up, and I have to eat something like steel cut oats or plain cornflakes in almond milk within two hours to keep the nausea meds working. My gluten/wheat intolerance has gotten worse and it actually makes me sick to the point where it feels like hyperemesis pain. So I stay away from breads and cereals and such with wheat in them. I have been doing well with dairy, but now that I can eat a bigger variety of foods, I am cutting back on it quite a bit again to help with inflammation in my gut. I had cheese yesterday so I don't feel any difference yet :) But I do know it helps keep some nausea away. I also try to drink a crud ton of water, almond milk, and juice to stay hydrated. If I go a couple hours without drinking something I get sick. 

**I am finally finishing this post now that I'm 21 weeks. I start classes somewhere in between the 11th and 14th (online starts a little earlier than main campus) and so I may not be as diligent at the beginning of the semester with my posts as I have been. But here are some precious ultrasounds for you to look at :)

 We got a lot of ultrasound pictures this time again, but I wanted to just post three of my favorites. This one is a picture of his right foot. He currently loves to kick hard, especially when mama lays down to rest :)

 Here's a picture of his left hand. It looks a little creepy in my opinion, but it shows that he has all of his fingers and even though we didn't get a picture of it; the ultrasound tech showed us he has all his fingers and two thumbs. It was kind of sweet to see his hands because he was moving around. Just another evidence that he's real, alive, and growing!

Here's a sweet picture of our little man. Ultrasound tech and my OB both said that everything is developing well. No cleft palate, all the fingers, toes and limbs are present, and organs are developing/developed well. In this picture if you look close, you can finally start to see the outline of what his precious face looks like. We saw, but didn't get a picture of his face. They said no cataracts or anything either in the eyes. We were thrilled to see how much he has grown. We have another ultrasound on the 16th to check on my placenta previa and we can't wait to see our love again!