Flutters

Last night (15w2d) I felt baby flutters! I was laying in bed and I kept feeling a fluttering in my lower abdomen. Once I finally started to pay attention to it and realized what it could be I got so excited and my heart was beating so fast, at which point I could no longer feel the flutters but it was awesome!! 

It was definitely a flutter and the closest thing I can compare it to not having felt baby flutters before is a muscle spasm. 

I did feel this last week but since I was only around 14.5 weeks I brushed it off as gas or other random feelings, but now I know for sure! This is so exciting, I can't wait until they get stronger and Matthew can feel them too! 

15 Weeks and it's a....

GIRL!! So happy to say that Matthew and I will be welcoming a baby girl to our family in November!!! 

It was so fun to be able to see our little girl moving all around at the 3D ultrasound yesterday! I was holding my breath until the tech said we were having a baby girl. I'm not quite sure why, I think because at our NT Scan the tech said she would guess a baby girl so I was preparing myself for the surprise/possibility of a baby boy in real life. We definitely would have been happy with either but I think a little girl will be the perfect addition to our home. 

The ultrasound tech said the babes was moving all around and was very active which makes me smile. I can't wait until I can start feeling those movements! She also said this little one is measuring 3 days ahead at 15w1d and would put my EDD at 11/6. I don't think my doctor is going to change my due date from 11/9 but it's fun to think that she might possibly be ready to meet us a little earlier!!

How far along? 15w0d

How big is baby? Baby is the size of a naval orange! We were told that fully stretched out this little girl is about 5 inches long, about 3.5 from crown to rump.

Total weight gain: I forgot to weigh myself this morning. Darn. I'm going to guess that it's probably still at 3 pounds. Or maybe that's just what I'm telling myself.   

Maternity clothes? I just ordered a few new things from Old Navy and Pink Blush Maternity. I need to get some more pants though and I guess I should actually venture out to a real store rather than continue to order things online. It's just so convenient though!  

Stretch marks? nope
Sleep: Sleep is great! 
Best moment this week: Finding out that we're having a baby girl!!
Miss Anything? I miss wanting to want sweets. Like a piece of cake. It just sounds disgusting right now. 
Movement: I *thought* I felt some flutters the other night while laying very still in bed but I really can't be sure if that's what it was. Matt said it could be gas, but I've never felt gas flutters like that before... I can't wait to know for sure!!!!!!!!
Food cravings: Red seedless grapes, sangria, Max n Erma's village salad and tortilla soup
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nothing so far today!
Gender: Baby Girl Dickson!
Labor Signs: No!
Symptoms: Peeing a lot. 
Belly Button in or out? Innie!! 

Wedding rings on or off? On and loose!
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy, happy, happy!
Looking forward to: Our anatomy scan coming up in a few weeks, birthday parties for Carson and Ben this afternoon, a 4 day weekend next weekend!! Summer time!! 

I have to say finding out we're having a girl and being able to see her moving around on the 3D ultrasound has made the morning sickness seem a teeny tiny bit worth it :)

 <3

Gender Predictions through OWT

Since we'll be finding out on Friday if this little one is a boy or a girl I thought it would be fun to do a post of Old Wives Tales and see how many are accurate... for me. 

The Heart Rate Test
According to the OWT if the baby's heart rate is 140 bpm or less you're having a little boy. If it's more than 140 bpm you're having a little girl. 

When we heard our little ones heart beat at the doctor's office it was 167. When we do it at home and try our very best to count the beats in 10 seconds and multiply by 6 we usually get about 172-174... but this is actually really hard since it goes so fast :) This points to GIRL for us. 

The Ring Test
This one says to attach your wedding ring (or any weight object really) to a string and dangle this over your belly. If it swings back and forth you're having a girl, if it swings in a circle you're having a boy. You can also dangle it over your hand, but the opposite is true. If it swings in a circle over your hand, you're having a girl. If it swings back and forth you're having a boy. 

I had never done the belly dangle before, but I just did it. It was swinging back in forth in an odd manner... Previously when I dangled my ring over my hand it moved in a circle and I just did it again and it was moving in a circle again! This one points to GIRL also! 

Acne
This one says that if you're experiencing breakouts you're probably having a girl. If not, you may be having a baby boy! 

I have definitely had my fair share of breakouts this pregnancy (when will they end?!?), looks like this is pointing to GIRL too. 

Cravings
If you're craving salty things you're having a baby boy, but if you're craving sweets and fruits you might be having a baby girl. 

This one is inbetween for me because I am repulsed by normal sweets (cake, cookies - not ice cream) but am craving fruits. I also am craving salty things, pretzels, lays potato chips, tomatoes with salt on them... We'll give this one to BOY! 

Blood Vessels in the Eye
I have never heard this one, but they say that if you pull down the skin beneath your eye and find two blood vessels in the shape of a V then you're having a girl. If not, you can expect a little guy. 

I just checked my blood vessels in my eye and I can't really see any in the shape of a V so looks like this one goes to BOY! 

The Mother's Beauty
This OWT says that if you have kept your good looks you're having a baby boy, but if you're looking less than par you're probably having a baby girl. They say that your baby girl steals your good looks. 

There is no doubt that I'm looking a little meh these days. This one goes to GIRL, 100%.

Chinese Gender Chart
This test is based on your birthday and the month of conception.

I used the chart on BabyCenter and that predicted GIRL! 

Dreams
Do you have dreams of a baby boy, or baby girl? This OWT says that you'll have the OPPOSITE of whatever you're dreaming about. 

I always have dreams of a baby girl so it looks like we'll have to give this one to BOY!

Morning Sickness - Bleh
This one says if you experience morning sickness you're having a baby girl but if you have little/no morning sickness you could be having a little boy! 

I have definitely had some morning sickness (still going). This one goes to GIRL! 

Pee color
This OWT says that if you have bright yellow pee you're having a boy, but if it's more dull you're having a girl. 

Hmm.. I guess I don't really look at my pee all that often, but it's definitely yellow tinted so we'll give this to BOY... although I think this might mean that I need to drink more water... not that I'm having a little boy :)

Out of these 10 Old Wives Tales we have 4 pointing to a baby boy and 6 pointing to a baby girl! Only a few more days until we find out for sure!!!! :)          

        

Everything You Never Wanted to Know About My Pregnancy

I thought this was kind of fun...

How did you find out you were pregnant?  I was temping and my temp was still up when it would otherwise have gone way down so I decided to test on 3/2 after yet another high temp! 

What kind of Pregnancy test did you take?  I used a Wondfo and then a FRER and then a CBE Digital. 

What were your 1st symptoms? Sore boobs and less/no spotting that I had come to know and hate so much.

Who did you tell first? My husband, obviously.

Who was with you when you found out? I was in the bathroom alone at 5:45am.

My 1st reaction: What? What? No.... that's not really there. Is it? Oh my glob it is really there!!!!!! 

Was your baby planned? Very much so.

How far were you when you found out? I'm pretty sure I was about 4 weeks along.

How did your parents react? My mom said, "I knew it!" And Matt's parents cried. It was really sweet :)

Due Date:  November 9, 2013. 

Do you know the sex?  Nope but we'll be finding out on Friday!!!!

Any names? Yep, we'll have a Sadie Marie if she's a girl and we're not set on a name yet if he's a boy. Boy names are obviously harder for us so we'll really start thinking about that if we find out we're having a boy.

Any Ultrasounds?  I had one at 5w3d, 8w2d, and 12w2d and another on Friday!!  

Have you heard the heart beat?  Yep, we bought a cheap doppler to use at home and heard it at my last doctor's appointment 

Who do you think it will look like?  I couldn't even begin to guess. I hope that if it's a girl she looks like I did when I was little b/c I was adorable, obviously if it's a boy I hope he looks like Matthew. 

Will the baby have siblings?  Seriously undecided on this.

Have you felt the baby move?  Not yet. I'm pretty excited/nervous for it though.

Miscellaneous

Did you have morning sickness? I feel like it's never ending. Most days are ok now but I still have off days of random nausea.

Did you have any cravings?  red grapes and orange juice, but not together.

Did you have any mood swings?  Nope, Matthew has been pretty lucky so far.

Are you a high risk pregnancy?  No. 

Any complications? Can we count morning sickness as a complication?

Formula or Breastfeeding?  I am definitely going to try to breastfeed.

Have you bought anything for the baby yet?  I bought an I Love My Daddy onesie that I planned to use to tell Matthew that I was pregnant, but when the time came I was in so much shock that I just ran downstairs to tell him.

When did you start to show? Umm I can't really say that I'm "showing" yet. I will say I have a rather round bloat bump most of the time from probably 13 weeks on but I know it's not baby yet so I still try to suck it in as much as possible. 

How long could you wear your regular clothes?  I can still wear some of my loose tops and some of my stretchy jeans as long as I don't try to button them. 

Will you keep the baby’s clothes?  I don't really understand this question. I suppose we'll keep something and let our siblings borrow things as well.

Home or Hospital?  Hospital!!!

Natural or Medicated birth?  Medicated.

Who will be in the delivery room with you? Just my husband.

Do you think you will need a C-section?  Hmm... I'm not sure. I can't say I'd be disappointed with a pretty little scheduled c-section. Do. Not. Judge. Me.

Will you cry when you hold the baby for the 1st time?  I'm sure I will!!!! 

What’s the 1st thing you might say to the baby? I'm not sure yet. I feel like I'll be too emotional to speak.

Will you let anyone video tape the birth? Nah.

Are you excited? Very much so. A lot excited and slightly nervous.

Who will help you with the baby after the birth? My husband and our families.

What is your favorite thing about being pregnant?  My favorite thing is knowing at the end of this there will be a sweet little baby boy or girl. I also think it's fun to know that a little person is growing inside of me and he/she has little baby fingers and toes, maybe a little bit of hair is growing now, and he/she is sucking her thumb!

What is the worst thing about being pregnant? Morning sickness trumps everything at this point in time.

What’s one thing you miss doing since being pregnant?  Having a drink at the end of a long day with my husband. I miss not feeling sick. I also miss having energy and feeling like I can accomplish simple tasks like completing all of my laundry.

Any days you wish you were not pregnant?  I'm not going to go that far but I will say that one day when the m/s was just awful I did tell my husband that if this is how it's going to be I just didn't want to do "it" anymore. But I never specified what "it" was.

Are you ready for a baby?  I feel like no one is ever really ready for a baby. One's a comin' though.

Do you have insurance? I do.

How many kids do you want?  I used to want three. But now I'm thinking maybe 2 and maybe one of those will be adopted.

Do you talk to the baby?  I ask her why she makes me feel so sick sometimes. I'm sure once I start feeling the little one move around I'll talk to it more.

Do you still feel attractive?  Not in the least. Luckily my husband is really smart and tells me that I'm still beautiful. . 

Do you like kids?  I do. I especially love funny kids, so I hope my kid is hilarious.   

How far along are you now?14w4d... coooome oooooon November!!! :)

14 Weeks

Ok, so I actually did take a bump picture this week BUT my husband doesn't have any nails to hang up my awesome chalkboard- and let's face it, my photoshop skills are just not that great. I mention this because I had every intention of photoshopping my chalkboard into the picture to make it seem as if it was hanging on the wall next to me. It didn't work out. He promised he would hang it up tomorrow so I will post the picture tomorrow :)

How far along? 14 weeks 2 days!  

How big is baby? Baby is the size of a lemon! 

Total weight gain:I am still at about 3 pounds. Thankful that it didn't go up again this week and I'm finally able to start eating food that are good for me!   

Maternity clothes?I made the mistake of wearing jeans that were just way too tight to work last Friday. Luckily I was wearing a long shirt because I realized after I ate breakfast that I couldn't button them or zip them. I will be hiding those jeans away for a very long time. 

Stretch marks? nope
Sleep: I am still sleeping well aside from waking up 4-5 times a night to pee. Ugh.
Best moment this week: I got to spend an amazing Friday night and Sunday with my husband! He has been working so much lately and I feel like I never get to see him so it was nice to have him home with me. 
Miss Anything? Alcohol. By the end of this people are going to think I'm an alcoholic. I'm not, I promise. I just want it because I can't have it. 
Movement: According to everything I've read it's possible that I may start feeling this baby within a few weeks! I can't wait!  
Food cravings: Sangria still and now Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy. Bratwurst, and random things throughout the day. Milkshakes... but I learned the hard way that this baby apparently doesn't like them as much as I do right now.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nothing in particular but I am finding that I still have off days. Boo. 
Gender: We find out soon!
Labor Signs: No!
Symptoms: Overly excessive peeing and some nausea.  
Belly Button in or out? Innie!! 

Wedding rings on or off? On and loose!
Happy or Moody most of the time: Pretty happy for the most part. Hubs hasn't mentioned any crazy outbursts.
Looking forward to: We are getting a 3D ultrasound on Friday!! I can hardly wait!! Also looking forward to birthday parties this weekend, warm weather that's supposed to show up later this week and hopefully be here to stay, and our Anatomy Scan in 25 days. Oh, and RHONJ starts in 20 days!!!! 

13 Weeks!

Hellllooooo second trimester!! 

I don't know how I forgot to post our Facebook announcement. See below: 

How adorable is he?! 

We just celebrated our 1 year anniversary although, we didn't do much to celebrate. Matthew has been working A TON and I know he's stressed so I didn't want to make a big deal out of our anniversary knowing he would be thinking about work the whole time we were out doing something. My MIL put together one of his favorite dishes and I baked it for dinner on Saturday night. Although I was sound asleep when he got home at 10:30 I am pretty sure he enjoyed dinner! We did relax together yesterday after Matt got home from work (I feel like that was the first time I'd seen my husband in a week) and went out for fro-yo yesterday evening.

I feel so incredibly bad that he is as busy/stressed as he is, knowing there really isn't a lot I can do to help him or make him feel better. He has a lot of work but doesn't have the man power to get it all done by his deadlines. Luckily he just hired 2 guys on full time and another guy part time so I hope that helps lessen his load a little bit. He is such a hard worker and sometimes I don't know how he does it!!  <3

We have a lot of fun events coming up in the next few weeks and I hope he's able to enjoy himself a little bit because he truly deserves it! My BIL's girlfriend (hopefully SIL someday!) is graduating from nursing school, wahoo! She invited all of us to her graduation party next Saturday. Sunday is Mother's Day - I can't wait to celebrate with a baby in my arms!! The next Friday (5/17) we have our 3D ultrasound, beyond excited about this. The next day we have our friend's sons 1st birthday party and our sweet nephew's 2nd birthday party!! Where does the time go!? 

We originally were going to surprise ourselves with a baby outfit at a special dinner on 5/17 but Matt mentioned that he felt like we would be missing out on seeing our baby move around during the ultrasound if there were parts we couldn't watch so we decided that we'd just find out boy/girl AT the ultrasound. We also invited our parents to come since we will probably only have 1 more ultrasound after this and wanted them to experience at least one ultrasound with us, if they wanted. My mom and Matt's parents were thrilled to have been invited and I hope they're just as excited as we are for 5/17! We will announce to the rest of our family the next day at Ben's birthday party (As long as Marie & Joe are ok with it, although I think Marie is pretty excited). I think we'll go for the balloons in a box and since Ben is the man of the hour we'll let him open the box to let the balloons go. That way any family there will find out and we'll have something fun to show (my) family and the rest of Matt's family later on. We'll announce to our friends after we tell the fam on Saturday.

Now for the 13 week Baby Dickson update!! 

How far along? 13 weeks 2 days!  

How big is baby? Baby is the size of a peach! 

Total weight gain: I can never remember what my doctor's scale says but I've been checking myself on my own scale since I found out we about our wee one. I've officially gained 3 pounds. Yikes. 

Maternity clothes? I can still wear my stretchy jeans but am using the hair tie method in order to avoid buttoning them. I am wearing maternity jeans on occasion and just ordered a few more tops from target as I am in that "is she/isn't she" stage and it makes me self conscious so I still like to hide that area if possible.

Stretch marks? nope
Sleep: Wonderfully!
Best moment this week: I made it to 2nd tri! I know some people say 2nd tri is 13w3d and some people say it's 14 weeks but I say it's 13 weeks (and so does Dr. B) and I made it!!!!
Miss Anything? I am not even about to pretend I don't miss alcohol. I wasn't a big drinker but I definitely enjoyed my glass of wine/beer. I miss Pacifico. I miss margaritas. I miss wine. I miss SANGRIA!! I wasn't really even a huge sangria drinker prior to pregnancy but that's all I can think about now. I'm considering making some with the alcohol free wine.
Movement: Not yet! I can't wait to start feeling it! Some of the girls on my bump Facebook board have started feeling it and I hope I start feeling it soon! I love listening to his/her heartbeat on the doppler and hearing her move around!!! 
Food cravings: No cravings to acknowledge other than Sangria.  
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nothing in particular making me nauseous and I am hoping and praying that Saturday (13 weeks) was my last day of nausea. I was feeling really lousy, like back to how I was feeling weeks 6-9. Yuck.
Gender: 11 more days until we find out for sure!
Labor Signs: No!
Symptoms: Some nausea, bloat, potty problems (sorry), peeing a lot, exhaustion! 
Belly Button in or out? Innie!! 

Wedding rings on or off? On and loose!
Happy or Moody most of the time: Still super happy! Getting kind of emotional too.
Looking forward to: Our 3D gender scan is in 11 days! Anatomy scan is in about a month!! 

The Word is Out

Since the word is out for the world to know, I suppose it's time to update the blog. And maybe now I'll be able to keep it up to date... for a while anyway. 

WE'RE PREGNANT! 

That's right, Baby D arriving November 2013!! I'm incredibly excited and nervous and happy, thrilled, amazed... 

Thankfully I'm starting to feel better. No one ever told me morning sickness was such a b*tch. Or maybe they did and I just never thought it would happen to me so I ignored them. Well don't ignore me when I tell you, morning sickness is a B*tch with a capital B. So glad it's getting better and I can really start looking forward to things to come. 

I wanted to do weekly bump pictures starting at 8 weeks but since I was so nauseous that didn't happen and even though I'm starting to feel better, it still hasn't happened. I think I'll start at 13 weeks. But for now here's my weekly bumpdate: 

How far along? 12 weeks 2 days! 

Total weight gain: Although I feel like I've gained 10 pounds, no weight gain yet. 

Maternity clothes? Maternity pants (so much more comfortable) and I ordered some tops but am sending them back because I don't love them. I'm running out of flowy tops to wear! 

Stretch marks? nope
Sleep: Sleeping very well aside from getting up to pee 3-4 times a night!
Best moment this week: We had out NT scan today and the tech said everything looked great! We should get the bloodwork back in just a few days. It was awesome getting to see our little boy/girl moving around. We even got a wave! The tech said that if she HAD to guess she'd guess we were having a little girl. Just a few more weeks until we find out for sure! :)
Miss Anything? I just found out today I can't eat brats and I'm already missing them. Also, we went to a graduation part over the weekend and Sangria was served so I miss that and margaritas too!
Movement: No movement yet, I did find out that I have an posterior placenta so the tech said that is good for being able to feel movement sooner! I can't wait!!
Food cravings: Cravings have been lasting about 10 seconds right now so if I can't get a milkshake, cookie, chicken fried rice within that time frame it's over and usually ends up sounding kind of gross. I guess that's not a bad thing.  
Anything making you queasy or sick: Still feeling a little nauseous at night but it's tons better than it has been!
Gender: Elective gender scan is scheduled for 5/17! A few more weeks and we'll know!
Labor Signs: No!
Symptoms: Slight nausea and exhaustion are the most prominent right now. I've had a few headaches lately which I've heard pop up in second tri. 
Belly Button in or out? Innie!!  Wedding rings on or off? On and loose!
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy 90% of the time!
Looking forward to: Our gender scan in 3 weeks and our anatomy scan in June! 

Here are some pictures we got today: 



 Baby D waving to his/her mama and papa!! <3













 
 According to the Nub Theory Baby D's "nub" is flat/parallel with his/her back which makes her a girl - If it was pointed up at an angle he would be a boy - Just a few more weeks until we find out for sure!! 

I should also mention that Matthew has been AMAZING these past 12 weeks. I knew he'd be pretty awesome but I had no idea the extent of his awesome-ness. I mean, just last night I was laying down on the couch perfectly capable of getting up and getting my own water and popsicle but I was feeling slightly nauseous and my throat was REALLY hurting so he came all the way downstairs (ok- so it's really not that far) and got me a popsicle and a glass of water. It made me feel really lucky that I have such a great husband who's willing to do anything for me even if it means interrupting his work to bring me snacks. :)