23 Week Update

How far along: 23 weeks 6 days

Size of baby:  Average = large mango, length of green onion, eggplant?! ...but the kid has been measuring large for months. We have a Dr appt on Friday so I'll hopefully be able to report back next week with actually #s.

Physical symptoms: Some nausea (some vomiting). MAJOR restless legs when I lay down. EXHAUSTED. Insomnia (big time). Peeing every 5 seconds. Sore everything. Irrationally emotional. "Pregnancy brain"- I can't remember ANYTHING. I couldn't find matches before Shabbos this week and freaked out to E that the "candle lighters" were missing. Belly has really "popped". Generally feeling like everything inside me has no room- I had a full on crazy person moment this week bc I was hot and exhausted and just felt so full EVERYWHERE in my body and sat on the floor and cried from frustration. Which is awesome bc we've still got 4 months to go. But E was legit amazing and sat on the floor with me and helped me calm down.

Weight gain/loss: 13-15 lbs depending on the day but it's usually 13.

Maternity clothes: Mostly maternity tops. Non-maternity skirts and larger sized nylons still fit. I also have some non maternity dresses that still work.
 
Stretch marks: Not yet! 

Sleep: Majorly exhausted. Restless legs at night are still in full swing. Insomniac over here.

Best moment since last week: This week was kiiiind of uneventful. It kinda flew by, actually. A friend got married so I got to see one of my besties who lives in Canada, who's due a week before us, and also another bestie from NJ at the wedding so that was super fun. Check the pic from before that wedding at the bottom. :) 

And Father's Day. We didn't really do much but I made E "breakfast" (this afternoon) and we finished off my Birthday ice cream cake and we had a pretty sappy conversation about how happy we are. 

Oh and I got roped into going to a work meeting even though I don't really work there anymore, but I'm currently still on payroll and they promised me pizza. Except that there was NO PIZZA. But I got to see a bunch of old coworkers and they were all suuuuper excited that I'm pregnant (still SO WEIRD to say/type) and everyone touched my belly and it was weird and uncomfortable but also nice in an I-still-hate-this sort of way.

Movement: Baby is moving a lot! A little less than before, but still often. It's (mostly) more like a few kicks at a time now instead of like 15 mins worth of Irish step dancing now. But, obviously as I'm writing this, the kid hasn't stopped kicking me for like 10 mins straight.

Cravings/Aversions: Ob-freaking-sessed with iced cafe mocha from this coffee shop in our neighborhood. But it was getting out of hand so E convinced me to start making coffee at home this week (using the fancy "latte" maker he got me for my birthday last year). So we're experimenting with that- so far it's notttt quite cutting it in the craving department but it's saving us money. Whatever. ;) Still Kettle brand salt and vinegar chips and lemonade, but I haven't had any chips in like  week- I just want them so bad. I got a crazy craving for Parmesan cheese last night so I bought some tonight but puked before I could eat it so that's on hold. Cute. AND I've also been super craving these spinach/goat cheese/roasted red pepper wraps from the same coffee shop/cafe my iced cafe mochas are from, but when they didn't have any left the other day I bought all of the ingredients for them from the store and have eaten one (or two) almost every day ever since. E claims that I don't have any actual food cravings, I just have a spending-a-crapload-of-money-on-expesive foods craving. ;) Oh and I had a temporary but huuuuuge craving for watermelon at my friend's wedding and ate like 90% of what there was at the dessert buffet.

Last week's craving was that chimichurri dip, but I vomited after eating it once last week and haven't been able to go near it since. But we had 1.5 containers of it left so I've been putting it in E's sandwiches for work every day so at least he's happy!

I still can't go near chicken or most other meat. Although I did have a little bit of a cold cuts wrap at the wedding's cocktail hour and that was super good.

Gender: Confirmed!! But Idk if we're going to tell...

Labor signs: Hopefully not anyyytime soon.

Belly button:  Innie

What I miss: Sleeping. Sushi. Not having a million aches and pains at any given time. Being able to go 20 mins without peeing!

What I am looking forward to: Viability?! Our doctor appointment on Friday, definitely. And we might do something fun for our anniversary this week (it's actually on Saturday but bc of Shabbos we'll probably celebrate a couple of days early).

And here's a pic, as promised: 

So Not Ready

Holy crap the 3rd trimester starts in 3 weeks + 1 day. I AM SO NOT READY FOR ANY OF THIS. 

22 Week Update

How far along: 22 weeks 6 days

Size of baby:  Average = Papaya, Spaghetti squash (WHAT), but the kid has been measuring large for months.

Physical symptoms: Some nausea (some vomiting). Super constipated. Super bloated after eating. Restless legs when I lay down. EXHAUSTED. Insomnia (big time). Super thirsty. Need to pee every 5 seconds. Food aversions. Sore feet and back. Headaches, stuffy nose (allergies!). Irrationally emotional- E found a fun quiz on Buzzfeed or something and asked me to take it. He's a biggg time history buff and it was something like "can you pass a middle school history test?". I got to the 3rd question and was sort of struggling (history's not my subject) and started SOBBING because he was "setting me up for failure" (which he OBVIOUSLY WASN'T DOING!). Poor, poor E. Last but not least, "Pregnancy brain"- I can't remember ANYTHING. This literally happened: I was in the living room and thought of something. I thought to myself, "I should write that down". I immediately walked to the bedroom to type it into my phone's notes app.... and couldn't remember what I was supposed to write down.

Weight gain/loss: 10-15 lbs depending on the day (today it's 10! yusssss)

Maternity clothes: Mostly maternity tops. Non-maternity skirts and larger size nylons still fit. I also have some non maternity dresses that still work.
 
Stretch marks: Not yet! Possibly the beginnings of some on my left hip.

Sleep: Still exhausted. Restless legs at night are still in full swing, but once in awhile I'm so tired I can fall asleep through it. Super insomniac in full gear. Really helps the mood swings. ;)

Best moment since last week: I bought a pregnancy belly belt thingy and it's been a game changer. It gently lifts my belly and I think I have to pee a little less, my back hurts a little less, and I'm less sore/crampy while out for walks. Seriously.

Also, Shavuos was from Tuesday night until Thursday night and that was fun and exhausting.

Movement: Baby is moving a lot! Usually when I eat or lay down. Sometimes it's really "hard". And it's always riiiiight on the rare occasions that I'm actually about to fall asleep. 

Cravings/Aversions: I'm still more grossed out by things than craving them. Still will kill for coffee. We found this dip at a local grocery store- it's like chimichurri but with mayonnaise (appetizing, I know) but it's DELICIOUS (E is also obsessed) and I want to eat it all the time. We've only bought it once so far but I reallllly want to go back for more. Also, Kettle salt and vinegar chips and lemonade.

Gender: Confirmed!! But Idk if we're going to tell...

Labor signs: Hopefully not anyyytime soon.

Belly button:  Innie

What I miss: Sleeping. Mixed drinks. Sushi. Laying on my stomach. Not having a million aches and pains at any given time.... although the massages I'm getting from E are still pretty awesome. Being able to go 20 mins without peeing!

What I am looking forward to: Viability?! Idk. Everything.

21 Week Update

This was an overall amazing week. E worked Sunday, Monday and Tuesday overnights but then we went out to dinner Wednesday night (a dairy restaurant on the UWS), then walked to a subway station that's farther away because I was too full. We bumped into the Edge of Tomorrow premiere- actually, E wasn't paying attention and almost literally walked through it. He'd have been apprehended by the 30 security guards but he legit didn't believe me that there was a movie premiere happening until we saw this guy: 

Some quick Googling told me it was the Edge of Tomorrow premiere and that Emily Blunt and Tom Cruise were the ones the paparazzi were flipping out over. Pretty cool.

On Thursday we took the ferry to Governor's Island. They just started opening it during the week this month so we pretty much had the island to ourselves:

Then we went to dinner in Midtown to a steak restaurant. We spend a small fortune and it hurt but it was really good. Thennn on Friday we had a lazy morning and then walked around Park Slope and Downtown Brooklyn in search of a belly belt (more on that later) but couldn't find one (one store only had a larger size and another store had ones that were too small and two other stores had nothing!). We ate at home Friday night- a dairy meal, so we could eat a dairy ice cream cake for my birthday!! and then went to friends for Shabbos lunch on Saturday. Afterwards we walked to Prospect Park and got in some quality people watching. 

On Sunday we got breakfast with friends and then E and I went to DUMBO to his favorite used book store: 

 And we also went to the park there: 

 Got a ton of sun this week (no tan to show for it though, ha ha) and walked at least 3 miles on each outing (sometimes quite a bit more), so we're feeling pretty good. It was an awesome week. It was a nice welcome to "the big 2-9", which I'd been straight-up dreading.

Oh, and we got a new shower curtain. ;) (Gotta throw some "furbishing" in here occasionally since nothing major's happening lately!! I actually need to throw together a nursery mood board soon- we've got big ideas brewing!) 

How far along: 21 weeks 6 days

Size of baby:  Pomegranate, or banana/carrot. Whoa, nelly.

Physical symptoms: When walking for awhile, under my belly is crampy and feels weighed down- thinking of getting a pregnancy belt thing. Some nausea. Super constipated. Super bloated after eating. Restless legs when I lay down. EXHAUSTED. Super thirsty. Need to pee every 5 seconds. Some food aversions. Big time "Pregnancy brain". Feet are still killlllling if I'm standing/walking around for long. Dry skin; especially my chest- I got lanolin cream and that's a little helpful but when they hurt, they HUUUURT. Headaches, stuffy nose (allergies!).

Weight gain/loss: 10+ lbs.... I checked tonight and it was 17lbs and I pretty much cried a little, but I've been constipated for quiiiite a few days and I don't usually weigh myself at night so... y'know. Also, it was my 29th birthday this week so I may have overindulged for like 4 days straight.

Maternity clothes: Mostly maternity tops. Non-maternity skirts and nylons still fit somehow. I also have some non maternity dresses that still work.
 
Stretch marks: Not yet!

Sleep: I'm still exhausted. I actually was so tired that I passed out a couple of times without restless leg issues, but the other nights were still pretty lame in the sleep department.

Best moment since last week: OMG. E felt the baby!!!!!! The baby's been moving around a lot at night when I lay down, and I thought I could feel it from the outside so I showed E where to put his hand. I kept my poker face on to test him and he really felt when it happened!!! That was super nice and cute and emotional. E loved it- he put his cheek to the spot and felt it that way, and kissed the spot and felt it that way too. Ugh. It was adorbs. And then he sang some Irish/Scottish songs to the baby and I melted and died a little. Def my #1 moment of maybe Life.

Our next door neighbor also called me out this week- first person to do so. She saw us outside and was like "You lookin' a little puffy- When's Puffy due??" Haha. Look- if anyone else had called me "puffy" I would have slapped then, but she's well-intentioned and just, idk, the type of personality that can get away with that crap. Idk! That happened. 

Movement: Yep! Usually when I lay down at night, but also starting occasionally throughout the day too!

Cravings/Aversions: I'm still more grossed out by things than craving them. I haven't been super craving or wanting sweet things (I love love love ice cream cake and E got one for my birthday but when he brought it out after dinner Friday night I just ate some of the frosting and and "oreo" off of it and then we saved it for "later" but "later" hasn't happened yet!). But I kill for coffee. I'm not drinking it every day but I'm so much happier and well adjusted whenever I do. Eeek. I'm also kind of into mildly spicy things again.

Gender: Confirmed!! But idk if we're going to tell...

Labor signs: Hopefully not anyyytime soon.

Belly button:  Innie

What I miss: Sleeping. Mixed drinks. Laying on my stomach. Not having a million aches and pains at any given time.... although the massages I'm getting from E are still pretty awesome. Being able to go 20 mins without peeing!

What I am looking forward to: Viability? Idk. Everything.

And here's a pic of me looking super huge and bloated after eating junk food for pretty much 5 days straight. ;) Puh-lease IGNORE the super messy bathroom!

20 Week Update (!!!)

 How far along: 20 weeks 6 days

Size of baby:  Small banana? Artichoke? At the 20 week anatomy scan they said 15oz though... Which is like 4+ oz larger than average....

Physical symptoms: Nausea is back!!! Not nearly as debilitatingly bad as the first trimester but I've definitely made a few bolts to the bathroom this week and have needed ginger beer or ginger anything throughout the day, every day since Monday. Those Gingermints from Trader Joe's and the Bruce cost ginger ale that I wrote about in my last post are still helping a lot. Super bloated after eating even something small. Headaches, stuffy nose (allergies). Restless legs when I lay down- prettttty bad. Trouble getting comfortable and falling asleep. EXHAUSTED. A little dizzy. Still constantly dying of thirst (and then urgently have to pee 2 seconds later... I literally pee before we go out, then go get my coat and by the time I get to the door I have to pee again). Constipated. Prettyyyyy moody and emotional. Some food aversions. Face is broken out. Big time "Pregnancy brain". Feet are killlllling if I'm standing/walking around for long. Dry skin.

Weight gain/loss: 8-10lbs

Maternity clothes: Mostly maternity tops. Non-maternity skirts and nylons still fit somehow. I also have a couple of non maternity dresses that work still. 
Stretch marks: Not yet!

Sleep: I'm exhausted. This week was really not great sleep-wise. A couple of nights I legit only got a few hour of sleep.

Best moment since last week: 20 week doctor appointment. I was literally if hong back tears in the waiting room bc I was so scared there would be no heartbeat. No reason. I was just sure it was all over. The lady started the ultrasound and of course starts from the head, checked out the brain for a good long while, and it was all cool by I just freaking wanted to see that dang heartbeat!! When she finally got to it, E specifically pointed it out to me and she even turned the sound on for a couple of seconds- we hadn't actually HEARD it since our 8week ultrasound at the RE!! We've seen it since then but haven't heard it. Love! So, all is well. We could see everything, even like heat sensors or something to "see" the blood going into all of the heart chambers, etc. E is in the medical field and had come straight from an overnight shift and started throwing out random questions- like "everything's good with the mouth? No cleft palette??" The lady was like "WHY? does that in in your family??" And he had to sheepishly tel her that no, it doesn't, he was just curious. She wasn't the friendliest woman, and after the 3rd question from E she made some comment about us being very nervous. E, VERY uncharacteristically, replied "This baby took us 5 years to conceive. There was a LOT of heartache. So, yes, we ARE feeling very worried and careful." Boom. I love love love that man. 

On Wednesday we went out to dinner with friends and they were super bummed that my bump wasn't more obvious. That same night we were on the subway home and saw one of E's grad school classmates. She was marveling at how he can manage a 40+ hour work week plus 12 credits every semester and he mentioned that this fall semester will be even crazier bc... Surprise... We're also having a baby! And her jaw dropped and she was like "What!! You're pregnant!? You don't look it AT ALL!!!" So that's interesting. I FEEL enormous btw. 

Movement: It happened!! Last night I was laying on my side and rolled partially only my stomach in the process of trying to get comfortable and he/she kicked or smacked me like 3x. I rolled off of my tummy quickly and it stopped right away. :)

Cravings/Aversions: I'm still more grossed out by things than craving them. Really wanted hot dogs Saturday night. Thankfully we had a BBQ planned for Sunday so I knew I'd get one! My Melba toast obsession has morphed into a Wasa cracker one. The sourdough kind!

Gender: Confirmed!! But idk if we're going to tell...

Labor signs: Hopefully not anyyytime soon.

Belly button:  Innie

What I miss: Sleeping. Cocktails and ice cold summer beers. Laying on my stomach. Not having a million aches and pains at any given time.... although the massages I'm getting from E are still pretty awesome. Being able to go 20 mins without peeing, lol

What I am looking forward to: Feeling the baby move more!! Alsoooo, my birthday is this week so E and I are potentially planning a little NYC staycation. We considered flying to Miami for a couple of nights (we wanted a short-ish flight to somewhere with lots of kosher food) but realized we have a bunch of friends down there who'd be upset if we didn't visit while we were there, AND that E's working three overnights in a row before we'd leave so he'd be pooped AND I'm constantly tired even while doing nothing, so a super jam-packed trip instead of a relaxing one probably isn't the best idea. NYC staycation it is, then!  :) 

Nausea Remedies

Guess who's back... Back again...?

Nausea's back! Tell your friends!

Just a little Slim Shady for ya there. No, but seriously, with week 20 came... More nausea. I shouldn't complain and I should be thankful that I got a 5-6 week break from it all, but dang.

I've tried everything... So much Ginger Ale. We found some with actual chunks of ginger floating around in it in a nearby bodega which has worked wonders. It's called Bruce Cost's Ginger Ale and looks like this (photo is from their website):

They have other flavors too, but I haven't tried them. Check out their website.

But we found these at Trader Joe's last night and they are 100% getting me through it today:

During my first trimester, white and red peppermint candies were also pretty helpful. None of it is so great sugar-wise but I legit can barely eat or drink when I'm this nauseous so I'm taking what I can get at this point. 

Someday Mama also just had a great video about what's getting her through her first trimester (with twins!) nausea, so check that out for more suggestions. I was just so excited about these candies that I had to post... immediately. :) 

I might need to invest in some of those sea sickness wrist bands I this won't chillax. 

19 Week Update

Wow. This week actually kind of flew by. 


Did anyone get that Shutterfly email this week? I thought that the way they handled the really awkward glitch was so sweet. I read the email in the middle of the night and my eyes teared up and I texted E about how sweet and thoughtful it was of them to send out such an apology: 

Idk if it was the hormones, but it really hit me as above and beyond sensitive and I appreciated it. A lot.

Whew. I'm having some brain farts so let's just get on with this...

 How far along: 19 weeks 5 days (2 days till the halfway point!?!)

Size of baby:  Large tomato, mango

Physical symptoms: Bloated after eating. Headaches, stuffy nose (allergies?). Restless legs when I lay down- prettttty bad. Trouble getting comfortable and falling asleep. A little dizzy, some heart flutter action going on once in awhile. I had these really awesome surges of energy this week and actually got a bunch of stuff done around the apartment, but I needed to take breaks to lay down for a few minutes every once in awhile. Still constantly dying of thirst (and then urgently have to pee 2 seconds later... I literally pee before we go out, then go get my coat and by the time I get to the door I have to pee again. Constipated, like whoa (I've been drinking prune juice every few days and that helps but tastes nassssty). Prettyyyyy moody and emotional. Some food aversions. My face is broken out. Stomach and chest have still been itchy. "Pregnancy brain"- tonight in the shower I washed myself with my loofah, shaved, then couldn't remember if I'd washed myself with the loofah... until after I washed myself with the loofah for the 2nd time. Cute. And new this week is that my feet have started killlllling if I'm standing/walking around for too long (the other day we walked 3.5 miles and I could barely get up the stairs by the time we got home lol). I otherwise feel great, it's legit just my feet. Oh and super dry skin.

Weight gain/loss: Anywhere from 7-10lbs... eek. That's 5-7lbs this month alone? Whoops... We have a Dr appt on Friday and I don't think he's going to be thrilled...

Maternity clothes: I started wearing almost exclusively maternity on Tuesday... I have a few things that aren't maternity and don't make me look like I'm just gaining weight, but I found a bunch of clothes at Target and Burlington Coat Factory this week so I'm trying to live that up. Here's a pic from the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens this week:

Stretch marks: Not yet!

Sleep: I'm exhausted. I have a really hard time falling asleep most nights but then I'll sleep for like 10-11 hours a few nights later but it's not helping. I'm taking a lot of mini "naps" where I don't actually fall asleep but I regain some energy. Idk!

Best moment since last week: We finallllllly hit our official "public" date. We have a custom to not "officially" tell people until we hit 4 months... and that was last Tuesday. So we told a few more people and I started wearing maternity clothes, even though I still feel like a poser in them. I got brunch with a friend on Thursday who'd also gone through yearssss of infertility before having her two kids, and found out that she used the same OB as we are (and loved him!!) and she has the same stroller as we got (and loves it). Woohoo! Today was Lag B'omer, a Jewish holiday, and there was a parade and a carnival in my neighborhood to celebrate. A bunch of friends came from as far as Boston to take their kids to it, so we got to see a ton of friends yesterday and today (we even went out to dinner with our Boston friends while their kids were with a babysitter). And we bought a glider this week!!! It was a floor model so it was only $100. I'm too excited about it:

Movement: I don't knowwwwww..... I need a really obvious kick or something to calm my nerves about this.

Cravings/Aversions: I'm still more grossed out by things than craving them. I'll go into the kitchen and can tell you exactly what I DON'T want, but have a really hard time finding something that I do want. I've been kind of having to force-feed myself every once in awhile. I've been eating a lot of melba toast with hummus for lunches though.

Gender: Going to confirm it at the 20week appt before we tell anyone, if anyone. 

Labor signs: Hopefully not anyyytime soon.

Belly button:  Innie

What I miss: Sleeping comfortably through the night. Cocktails, a little. Laying on my stomach. Not having a million aches and pains at any given time.... although the foot massages I'm getting from E are pretty awesome.

What I am looking forward to: Our 20 week appointment this Friday- full anatomy scan!? And feeling this kid realllly move (G-d willing). :)