19 Weeks....Helloooo, Belly!

Well, y'all, the baby belly is officially "Whoa, Nelly!" popped. Look at this:

  

 

I mean, compare that to the pic taken (in the same skirt) 5.5 weeks ago, at 14 weeks.

 

 

That's quite a bit o' belly in just shy of six weeks! At this rate, I figure by the time baby comes, I'm going to be HUGE. Oy...

 

Baby is the size of a: Large mango! Finally another "cute" fruit. About 6 inches long (head to rump, not counting legs) and just under 9 ounces.

For reference, that's also the length of a Subway sandwich.

And a dollar bill:

And, apparently, this Chihuahua (sans the tail):

Aaaallrighty, then.

Development: She's working on her five senses. Nerve cells for taste, hearing, sight, and smell are developing in her brain.

Weight gain: Finally got the nerve to weigh, and I'm up six pounds from my starting weight!

Maternity clothes: Yes! I was mourning because my (non-maternity) skinny jeans were just, this last week, officially retired. Sad. Even with the rubber-band trick, there was no way I could keep wearing those things; my belly was pushing them down so far that I got plumber-rear every time I bent over, sat down, stood up, etc. So...I caved. I busted out the maternity skinnies. And, people...let me tell you...I will NEVER go back, pregnant or otherwise. (Ha.) These are my new maternity/Thanksgiving/Cheesecake Factory/fat pants. They're soooooo stinking comfortable. Three cheers for elastic!

Sleep: It's been rougher this week. I'm up multiple times a night (yep, lots of peeing) and also generally having trouble staying asleep. Also, Alex keeps stealing my body pillow...not to mention the bed sheets...the punk.

Morning Sickness: Gone! Hallelujah.

Aversions/Cravings: Nah, not really.

Bump: Er. Yeah.

Symptoms: Those freaking leg cramps...sheesh. Though working out (and lots of stretching) seems to be helping with them somewhat. Other than that, not much.

I miss: Being able to paint my toenails without going all Chinese contortionist. (If it's already hard now, what's it going to be like in a couple of months? Yikes...)

I feel: Tired, but not too bad.

Looking forward to: The anatomy scan (which will be our final ultrasound of the pregnancy, most likely) on Wednesday. And celebrating baby being officially "half baked" on Monday!

18 Weeks

Okay, y'all, confession: um...I don't have a "bump" pic again this week. (I know, I know...the shame!) To make it up to you, how about a picture of a baby pig...eating ice cream...under a miniature umbrella...at a miniature picnic table?

 

 

Yeah...I have no idea what to write after that.

 

So.

 

Moving on.

 

Baby is the size of a: Sweet potato. (But cuter than one. Look how ugly that sucker is.) About 5.6 inches long and weighing nearly 7 ounces - growing FAST. 

Development: She's yawning, hiccupping, sucking her thumb, wiggling, twisting...basically, up to all kinds of business in there.

Weight gain: I actually haven't weighed this week, but my stomach is getting huge, so I figure I've got to be up a couple of pounds, at least. We'll see what the doctor's scale says in a couple of weeks.

Maternity clothes: Nope, still holding out, but it's really only because a lot of my clothes are sort of pregnancy-friendly to begin with (empire-cut dresses and shirts, skirts with elastic waistbands, etc.). The rubber-band trick is still working with my jeans for now, too.

Sleep: Peeing is still my new nighttime hobby (great), and I still am having some trouble getting comfortable without stomach/back sleeping, but I've discovered that the body pillow is a lifesaver...that thing is awesoooooome. Trust me, pregnant or not, you need one of these:

However, that said, what I'd REALLY like is one of these:

Is that amazing or what? Unfortunately, its monstrous size miiiight require Alex to sleep somewhere else, so I guess I'll have to do without. (Though in another couple of months, I might be thinking it's worth it. Ha. Sorry, Alex...)

Morning Sickness: I have some random days where the nausea comes back, but it's generally milder than before and sporadic.

Aversions/Cravings: No aversions to speak of. Not really cravings either. I'm boring, I guess. (Alex should be happy he hasn't had to make any of those notorious pregnancy middle-of-the-night runs for ice cream or McDonalds...or ice cream AND McDonalds...or whatever.)

Bump: Oh, yeah, for sure.

Symptoms: I'm seriously tired, and there are some random aches/pains/discomforts. Oh, and crazy leg cramps, especially in the middle of the night - there have been several nights where I shoot straight up in bed, one leg raised like a flag pole, going, "Owowowowowow!" and trying to knead out the knotted muscle. Kind of like this:

 

 

Odd how it never seems to wake Alex. That man could sleep through the apocalypse.

I miss: Meh. Not too much right now.

I feel: Pretty good!

Looking forward to: Reaching 20 weeks - less than two weeks to go! My next ultrasound (anatomy scan) is then, aaaand this pregnancy will be officially at the halfway point!

17 Weeks! And a Very Happy Birthday

Baby is the size of a: Yellow onion.

An onion, y'all. I think the Baby-Fruit-Size Committee must have run out of actual fruits for Week 17 (or just got lazy; there's got to be a fruit out there that's 5 inches long, right?). This is sad. Better (though also admittedly non-fruity), in my opinion: baby is now the length (head to rump, not counting legs) of a Galaxy S3 or S4. A pink one, of course.

 

Development: Baby's skeleton is hardening from cartilage into bone, and she's starting to accumulate fat. (And so is her mama. Hm.) Also, her fingerprints are now developed and officially unique to her. ALSO, she's now big enough and strong enough that I'm starting to feel her from time to time - SO exciting, and the most amazing sensation ever. She seems to especially get jazzed up when I'm driving, for some reason (maybe the vibration?)...it makes her turn somersaults, it feels like.

Weight gain: No change from last week, so still up 2-3 pounds from starting weight. And that's hard to believe, because my belly is getting biiiiiig.

Maternity clothes: Not yet. Can we talk baby clothes instead? I wasn't going to start buying things yet, but Alex and I hit a couple of garage sales this weekend, and it was too good to pass up (when there's Baby Gap to be had for 50 cents, you get it). So I spent yesterday doing baby laundry. My bathroom currently looks like this:

Yes, pink threw up in our apartment. Poor Alex. Poor, poor Alex...

I also decided that our baby's wardrobe will be sadly incomplete without infant-sized legwarmers ordered from China. Ha. I kid you not. (They're very, very cheap if you order them this way...you just have to wait about six weeks for shipping. But, hey, I have six weeks...) This is just one of the several pairs I ordered (sorry for the cruddy screen-shot):

Sleep: Pretty good. I'm still adjusting to this whole side-sleep-only thing, but it's not awful.

Morning Sickness: I think (pray....) it's finally about gone. The last few days have been great, just a little queasy toward bedtime, and last night I felt fine even on going to bed. SO. HAPPY.

Aversions/Cravings: Nah, not really anything either way these days. I do find myself wanting to eat way more than usual, though...am having to keep that in check.

Bump: Heck, yeah. (New pic to come soon, I promise!)

Symptoms: Honestly, not too much right now. The nausea is about gone, I have energy again, and everything feels fairly...normal.

I miss: Not much. I think I'm entering that "I actually like being pregnant" stage...thank you, second trimester. I do heart you.

I feel: Good!

Looking forward to: Chilling in my new birthday gift! See below.

Daddy moment: Alex gets major husband/daddy props this week - he surprised me for my birthday with a glider chair from Babies 'R Us! He along with my mom, I should say...he engaged her help in the choosing/planning/surprising, and she even chipped in and bought the matching ottoman for me. (Thanks, Mom!) I've been wanting one of these (am going to be spending an awful lot of hours in it in the future), and I'm SO excited about to have a brand-new one.

Alex, Adam (my brother, for those who might not know), and my cousin Joey spent Saturday night putting it together, and (naturally) I documented the event. First, Adam and Joey had to test the chairs/ottomans out in the store (we had to go pick them up from Babies 'R Us). Look at those faces. Ha.

Once we got them home, some assembly was required.

Alex suggested reading the directions (good man). Apparently, however, said directions were both confusing (Alex) and concerning (Joey):

Nevertheless, assembly began (Adam is serving as overseer, I think):

Man-jobs are fun, huh, guys?

They got the chair together pretty quickly, and then Mom and Kendall jumped in to help put the cushions on. (Where was I while all this labor was going on, you ask? Hey, someone had to take pictures...)

 

Mom, modeling the final product:

The chair itself came together quickly. What is NOT documented here is the ridiculous amount of time it took to get the stinking ottoman assembled. That thing gave the guys FITS (we're talking lost screws, pieces put in backward, instructions confusion, etc.), and it took twice as long as the chair, if not longer. But, hey, they got it done, and it looks awesome, and I LOVE IT.

Big shout out and thanks to the guys for doing this - and to Kendall and Joey for staying so late to get it done - and to Mom for the awesome ottoman and for helping Alex - and most of all to Alex for a seriously good birthday present (and for legitimately surprising me)...you rock!

16 Weeks. It's a...

 

Yep, Baby Mendoza is officially no longer he/she/it, but SHE. We have a girl!!!

 

My response:

 

 

Alex was more like...

 

 

Ha. Okay, not that bad. Just a bit confused...he realllly thought we had a boy. And now he's having to readjust his expectations/plans...he said something about planning for prison time (since he inevitably will end up having to kill some poor guy who tries to date our daughter?). Typical dad stuff. He'll adjust.

 

Anyway, on to the week's stats.

 

Baby is the size of an: Avocado. A little over 4.5 inches long (head to rump, not counting legs). That's about the length of your iPhone, for the record.

 

Development: The bones are now developed in baby's ears, which means SHE (love saying that!) can hear sounds - Alex and me talking, me singing along with the radio in the car (sorry, little one), etc. Facial muscles also are developing this week, which means she can frown (when I sing), squint, etc.

Weight gain: Well, I thought I'd gained about 5 pounds, but the doctor's scales a couple of days ago showed a gain of NOTHING since last visit, a month ago. That puts me up just two pounds from my original weight...hard to believe, when I look at my stomach. Anyway, doc didn't seem concerned, though she did say I'll get scolded if I haven't gained a few more by next visit (at 20 weeks).

Maternity clothes: No. But stretchy pants/skirts are my friend.

Sleep: WEIRD, vivid dreams, y'all.

Morning Sickness: Not much anymore. Still queasy around bedtime, and here and there sporadically, but fine for the most part during the day.

Aversions/Cravings: No cravings in particular. But, in general:

Yep, I've transitioned to THAT realm. Great.

Bump: Yes, and I feel like it's huge. Picture to come next week!

Symptoms: Tired. Hungry. Still sick on occasion, and some round ligament pain off and on.

I miss: Sleeping on my stomach. And my back.

I feel: Pretty durned good, thank you very much.

Looking forward to: Shopping for baby giiiiiirl clothes. Hehe.

Daddy moment: See above. ;)