20 weeks - halfway there!

I can't believe we are already at the 20 week mark! No, I don't feel like the weeks went by so fast; they felt painfully slow at many different points, haha. But it is great to know we're halfway through, and that much closer to meeting our little guy!
The ultrasound was so fun on wednesday. I know babies grow so fast, but seeing the difference in size of our baby from just 5 weeks ago was crazy! He looks so cute (maybe that's just me), and he kept trying to suck on his thumb. The ultrasound tech told us everything looks great with his dimensions and growth, and he has a big ole belly. Below is a picture from the ultrasound: his head is on the left, and you can see him trying to get his thumb in his mouth. There's also his belly, and one of his legs kicking up. It kind of looks like a nub in this picture, haha, but his foot moved out of the screen when the tech took this photo.

Now that we know baby Cottrell is a boy, I've been trying to get ideas of things to make for the baby. I really want to make a quilt, but since my sewing experience is still very limited, I don't want to overdo it and take on a project that will end up being impossible to accomplish and leave me in tears. I've been looking up lots of patterns and am really considering a triangle quilt . . . I just want to make sure I'm not getting in over my head before I decide on a pattern. Random baby thoughts for the day ;)

How far along: 20 weeks 
Size comparison: A banana: 6.5 inches, 10.6 ounces
Total weight gain: 12 pounds
Sleep: I've been getting leg cramps lately when I sleep. I'll go to stretch my legs and they cramp up. Apparently this is common during this stage of pregnancy, but I don't like it :( 
Best moment of the week: Our ultrasound appointment! Loved finding out our baby is a little guy, and I always love seeing him wiggle and hear that everything is looking great. 
Miss anything?: I can't think of anything right now. . . Actually, at Rachelle and Oliver's rehearsal dinner last weekend, they had sangria for the guests and I REALLY wanted some of that sangria. First time I missed alcohol this pregnancy! 
Movement: He has been SO active this week! Sometimes it feels like little flicks, other times like he's just wiggling around in there. I think the flicks are the funniest, because he's probably kicking me. It feels so foreign!  
Food cravings: Chips and salsa. I love salsa. 
Symptoms: Leg cramps at night, still some minor nausea/dizziness when I don't eat fast enough or soon enough. Normally I don't have problems with it anymore, it's just on times where I get busy and forget. 
Looking forward to: Working on our baby registry to add things for our little guy! 

Gender Reveal!

Leading up to our appointment today, people kept asking me "do you have a preference for the baby?" as far as gender goes. Jokingly, I would usually say I just don't want a hermaphrodite ;) But in all honesty, I had a feeling we were having a girl. No reason or anything, just a feeling. Some people were convinced we are having a girl, and others convinced we are having a boy. It was always fun to hear the theories as to why they were so sure of what the baby's gender was.
Martin knew what he wanted to get to announce the gender. Some people do color specific shoes or balloons, but not my husband. He's the biggest Star Wars fan around, so naturally when he found these books online he insisted on purchasing the one that applied to our baby's gender once we found out. Right after our appointment today, we went to the store and bought this:

Baby Cottrell is a BOY! :) 

We were both surprised, considering my "intuition" had me convinced baby was a girl, but we were so excited at the same time!

This book is hilarious. I took a few pictures other pictures to show how awesome this book is :) Enjoy!

19 weeks

I wasn't able to update this weekend, but it was well worth it because we have had such a great weekend celebrating my old roommate, Rachelle, and her wedding festivities this weekend! Rachelle has been one of my closest friends since I've lived in California, and I couldn't have asked for a more faithful friend. We may be opposites in a few ways (Rachelle is the epitome of fashion sense and I usually have to text her pictures of clothes to make sure they look ok), but she is one of those rare friends who is always a joy to be around. I wish we still lived in the same city, but even though she now lives in Austin with her husband (as of yesterday, woohoo!), she makes time to call and chat and I love that about her: distance doesn't affect our friendship. Yesterday was such an emotional day for me, and I wasn't even the bride! It may have been the pregnancy hormones, but watching her get her hair and make up done made me choke up, the first time she put on her dress I couldn't stop the tears, and I was trying to hold it together during the ceremony but was pretty much blubbering the entire time. I was just so happy for my friend and so overwhelmed with joy for her big day.
This weekend was also an impromptu baby moon for us, which was nice since we wouldn't have been able to take a weekend trip before the baby comes otherwise. We got to visit with Emily and Keith, friends of mine from Oregon who are in Austin for Emily's grad schooling; eat at some great cafes and food trucks (which seem to be all over this city), and just relax with each other. Since our work schedules are so opposite of each other, we usually only have Sundays together. So this was a nice break for us to actually spend time together for more than a day.

How far along: 19 weeks and 2 days
Size comparison: A mango! about 6 inches in length
Total weight gain: I don't know, I didn't weigh myself this week. It's been a busy week! But I would say probably 11 pounds? Maybe 12.
Maternity Clothes: I got to wear some dresses this week for the wedding festivities, which was a lot of fun to dress up and still be able to show off my bump!
Sleep: Pretty good. I still have some crazy dreams. Last night I had a dream that we went in for our ultrasound that is scheduled for wednesday, and our doctor told us he forgot about our appointment and wouldn't have time, so we needed to reschedule for a month later! I cried in my dream. Obviously I have been highly anticipating this ultrasound!
Best moment of the week: This whole weekend in Austin has been incredible. I loved getting to see old friends from Oregon, celebrate Rachelle's wedding with all of the other bridesmaids, and explore a new city. I told Martin that for Texas, Austin is a city I would actually be ok with living in ;)
Miss anything?: Mostly still food not dominating my schedule. It's hard to remember to eat every 2 hours. I know a lot of my pregnant friends loved this stage of pregnancy, but it's more of a nuisance when we are busy and have stuff going on and all of a sudden I have to remember to find something to eat soon.
Movement: I have been able to feel the baby move more lately! It's been so surreal. It feels kind of like a fish haha! I usually feel the baby move when I'm not doing a lot (sitting down for a little while, laying down, etc.) and it always makes me smile or laugh. It's just so surreal that this is our baby wiggling around!
Food cravings: Maybe it's because we have been in Texas, but I loved salsa this week!
Symptoms: This week has been a lot better! Rarely any dizziness or nausea, and it was always times that I was feeling nervous/excited, or hadn't eaten in a little while. I do get gas pains occasionally at the end of the day. It's as if the gas just builds up throughout the day and gets stuck, making it uncomfortable for me!
Looking forward to: WE FIND OUT THE BABY'S GENDER THIS WEDNESDAY!!! I just can't believe it. I have been anticipating this day for so long, and it's so close!

18 weeks

Honestly, this week has been a much-appreciated and needed break from my harder pregnancy symptoms! Thank the Lord!! I haven't been as tired, had as many dizzy spells, and when I did start feeling the light-headedness/nausea coming on, I was able to eat something before I lost my appetite and keep things from getting too bad.
To all my mama friends who experienced high-risk pregnancies, non-stop morning sickness, and even went through hospitalization: you are my heroes! You sacrificed well beyond the typical pregnancy related difficulties, smiled and nodded at the folks who would try to tell you the morning sickness would soon pass, and remained tight-lipped when people would say, "don't you just LOVE being pregnant?!" I admire you all so much for your selflessness.
On another note, we got to have a check-up with my doctor on monday and everything looked great! Baby's heartbeat is strong, and my doctor was able to answer my dozen questions about all the weird things that I've been experiencing lately. AND, the best part of all, we get to find out the gender January 22nd!

How far along: 18 weeks

Size comparison: A sweet potato! 5.6 inches long, about 6.7 ounces in weight. 

Total weight gain: 10 pounds

Maternity clothes: This question seems silly now, since that's all I wear. I might have to change it to something else now. I'll have to think about it, and am open to any suggestions!

Sleep: Well I'm sleeping fine, but apparently I am sleep talking more than usual lately, and one time I actually hit poor Martin! I felt SO guilty when he told me about it the next morning! Apparently my crazy pregnancy dreams make me violent. 

Best moment of the week: Setting our appointment for the ultrasound to find out the baby's gender! I can't wait! 

Miss anything?: Nothing comes to mind. Since I've been feeling better this week, my mood has been significantly better! Pregnancy hormones have an up-side sometimes :) 

Movement: I actually felt it move, without a doubt this week! I was eating a breakfast burrito at our staff meeting, and I guess baby likes breakfast burritos, because it felt like my abdomen did a little flip haha! 

Food cravings: I haven't actually had any that I can pinpoint this week. 

Symptoms: occasional nausea/faintness. However, not nearly as much this week! Woohoo! 

Looking forward to: We are headed to Austin, TX next weekend for one of my best friends Rachelle's wedding! It's sort of like a babymoon for us as well, with the wedding festivities sprinkled throughout the weekend. I can't wait!

17 weeks

This week I realized I have no idea what we need for our baby. I just hadn't given it much thought, really. I knew we wanted to do cloth diapering, and that we will still be living in our one bedroom apartment for some time with our budget, so we would need to start figuring out what we actually need for the baby compared to what would be nice to have/extra stuff we don't have space for. However, I haven't done much actually looking into those specific details. This became especially obvious when my parents took us to Babies R Us this week to look around, and my mom and dad wanted to help us buy some of the bigger purchase items if we found something we liked.
We looked at cribs, but everything seemed too big and SO expensive. We have such limited space, I realized I need to figure out what we actually can fit in our room and if we have space for more than just a crib in the bedroom. There seemed to be about 100 different strollers, and some had car seat attachments, some didn't, and I really didn't know which one we would want. We looked at swings, and exersaucers, and changing tables and I just kept thinking, I have no idea if we have space for these things. So as I was getting frustrated feeling like I am incredibly unprepared for becoming a parent, my mom grabbed me a thing of preggie pops for those sicky days, and we left.
The rest of the week I started looking into what other families in small space/one bedroom living situations have done, and was encouraged by what I found. Not only is it doable, but there were a lot of great suggestions that helped kick start my registry checklist!

(don't mind my unkempt hair. I hadn't brushed it yet, haha)

How far along: 17 weeks  

Fruit comparison: an onion (about 5.1 inches long)

Total weight gain: I didn't weigh myself this week, so if this is your favorite part of the blog, sorry to disappoint ;) 

Maternity clothes: It's all I wear now, though I'm sure I could fit into some of my other shirts still. Maternity clothes are just so comfy right now.  

Sleep: My snoogle pillow is my best friend. But I think it traps in my body heat, too. Lately I go to bed so cold and wake up in the middle of the night boiling hot. The last two nights I also woke up in the middle of the night hungry, haha! 

Best moment of the week: Well, I was having a pretty yucky week, feeling nauseated and tired, and just overall weak for a couple of days early on. Then the later part of the week I perked up all of a sudden and that was definitely my favorite part. I was able to get errands and chores done around the house a lot more, and not feel so discouraged. Those days are the ones that I feel excited about being pregnant, so I try to savor those! 

Miss anything?: When my days didn't revolve around eating, haha! Don't get me wrong, I love food, but lately it's annoying and feels more like a chore than something I enjoy.  

Movement: Not really. Hopefully any day now!  

Food cravings: I think the baby likes the green smoothies I make in the morning. They are some of the only breakfast foods that I don't feel hungry after eating. But I don't really crave them, I just have enjoyed them more lately. 

Symptoms: occasional nausea/faintness, tired, I'm always hungry, and have definitely had some crazy pregnancy dreams! 

Looking forward to: Our next doctor's appointment is this week! This whole time I thought it would be the ultrasound we find out the baby's gender, but when I got a call from our doctor's office confirming the appointment, they told me the ultrasound tech won't be in that day :( So looks like we'll have to wait a few more weeks at least! I'm anxious to find out!