18 weeks, 1 day

How far along? 18 weeks, 1 day

Total weight gain: 5 lbs of of this morning, 6 lbs as of Tuesday...probably six pounds but I like five better.

Maternity clothes? YES...and they are awesome.  i wish i would have dove in sooner.  much more comfortable than my belly band and even better then some sweat pants...i may sleep in these things.  thanks to my amazing mother in law, i have a FANTASTIC start to a maternity wardrode, including work stuff, which i was dreading.

Stretch marks? not yet, but I'm stretching

Sleep: i pilfered a body pillow from the in laws last weekend and it has revolutionized my sleeping.  i'm good! (you are going to notice a trend to this post, everything is going to be about the in laws because we spend the weekend there and came back with more stuff than we owned prior to going...for real)

Best moment this week:  feeling my baby girl kicking (MORE and MORE)

Wedding rings on or off? On! 

Happy or Moody most of the time: Feeling a bit stressed this week and that definitely affects my mood. So hopefully we can make it through unpacking a ton of stuff, finishing the basement, pouring concrete, and decorating the nursery without me totally losing it.

Miss Anything? not this week...i'm good to go.  ok, maybe beer

Movement: i feel her move almost everyday, it still isn't incredibly obvious so I have to pay close attention

Food cravings:  candy. candy. candy.
Other: we ordered and recieved our stroller/car seat this week and that was super exciting. the house is starting to fill up with little tiny stuff already.  i will try and update later with a picture...we didn't take one yesterday. 

Anything making you queasy or sick: this is getting a lot better.

Gender: little precious GIRL

Labor Signs: Nope. 

Symptoms: stretching belly (which is accompanied by unpleasant cramps) and headaches and HUNGER!

Belly Button in or out? not so deep in...in a matter of days it has gone from REALLY deep, to barely deep at all...I will have an outie by week 18 at this pace

Looking forward to: finishing the basement...although it just started i'm already over it. 
  

i'm a bad blogger..

i have truly been an awful blogger the last few weeks, if you can even call me a blogger at all! I won't make excuses, because I really don't have a good one, but I'll simply say "we've been busy".  And that is no joke.  A quick update of all things going on:

1) I am 100% obsessed with all things baby and spend all of my free time looking/reading/researching on the Internet (which is probably why i haven't blogged). currently I am most obsessed with bedding and furniture
2) my dear friend Tanya sold my Huntsville lot in like 4 days (she must be the best realtor ever....would you please sell our Florence house for us??) and I close on it in 2 weeks
3) we have officially started the basement remodel.  some of you may have heard me say something like "well eventually we would like to finish our basement"...well eventually is NOW.  full on contractor/construction mode going on over there.  I swear I'll try to take pictures.
4) we spent a weekend in Mississippi with the Superman's and literally ended up with a tractor-trailer full of stuff...and there is no where to put it in the house.  every single room in our house has random stuff laying in it, and it is making me crazy
5) we started working on the nursery...and this will definitely get a post of it's own...because it is awesome already
6) I have had pretty severe pain in my ass/hip throughout this entire pregnancy and have now started seeking therapy from a chiropractor...I'm hoping for quick results.  chuck is going to the orthopedist for his shoulder, essentially we are getting old and falling apart
7) we purchased our stroller and car seat (actually mom and dad are generously reimbursing us for this purchase).  I couldn't wait for the registry, this sale was too dang good.  but I do plan on registering soon.

that is just a taste of what has been going on for the past few weeks...and just because posts without pictures suck...here ya go

15 week Ultrasound...look at that perfect baby i have made

The britax b-ready in several configurations and our "cowmooflouge" britax car seat

the nike booties and softball/baseball shoes i COULD NOT resist

17 weeks

How far along? 17 weeks today

Total weight gain: i haven't been to the gym all week (slacker!) except for yoga tonight and i forgot to weigh.  I think 5 lbs is a safe number, you will see in the picture below, I am growing exponentially

Maternity clothes? i tried to shop for maternity clothes, but it was depressing...so i went and ate pasta! I'll get there or else I will wear pajama pants to work.  one way or the other, I will be dressed

Stretch marks? not yet, but I'm stretching

Sleep: i bailed on the pregnancy pillow theory...those things are $60.  I'm making a "nest" out of cheapo pillows i already own...and i still wake up all the time. 

Best moment this week:  feeling my baby girl kicking!

Wedding rings on or off? On! 

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy most of the time

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Miss Anything? clothes that fit 

Movement: i feel her move almost everyday, it still isn't incredibly obvious so I have to pay close attention

Food cravings:  currently a cup of ramen noodles (the kind that come in the Styrofoam cup)...a simple $0.99 fix, but chuck refuses to cave

Anything making you queasy or sick: my vitamins

Gender: little precious GIRL

Labor Signs: Nope. 

Symptoms: stretching belly (which is accompanied by unpleasant cramps) and headaches and HUNGER!

Belly Button in or out? not so deep in...in a matter of days it has gone from REALLY deep, to barely deep at all...I will have an outie by week 18 at this pace

Looking forward to: going to booneville this weekend to get our crib and bassinet

  

Other: here is today' s picture...for all you skeptics...it's true I've got a real belly

16 weeks

How far along? 16 weeks today

Total weight gain: 3 lbs

Maternity clothes? haven't started wearing them yet, but I am obviously in denial...today i just didn't button or zip my pants! i plan on shopping this weekened

Stretch marks? not yet, but I'm stretching

Sleep: in the market for a pregnancy pillow...i have reached the point where i can't lay on my stomach (and that just sucks)

Best moment this week:  finding out we are having a GIRL and seeing her again

Wedding rings on or off? On! 

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy most of the time
.
Miss Anything? clothes that fit 

Movement: I have felt her move twice this week.  once while laying in bed...she had a FIT, and the other time tonight during yoga (she doesn't like downward dog!)

Food cravings:  currently the cornbread that is in the oven....i'm about to eat it soupy!

Anything making you queasy or sick: my vitamins

Gender: little precious GIRL

Labor Signs: Nope. 

Symptoms: stretching belly (which is accompanied by unpleasant cramps) and headaches and HUNGER!

Belly Button in or out? not so deep in...in a matter of days it has gone from REALLY deep, to barely deep at all...I will have an outie by week 18 at this pace

Looking forward to: starting the nursery and starting shopping!

  

Other: here is today' s picture...i look fat, i'm going to learn how to pose like a cute pregnant woman...

so much baby stuff...

...so today is my 16 week update day, and I promise I will get to that (probably tonight so I can post a picture with it).  Don't fret, not that much has changed except my waist measurement!

the important thing is by now you ALL know that we are having a GIRL! which was a surprise as we were actually both hoping for a boy.  but that's what we get for wanting something (that is what the doctor said anyway).  it has been quite a blessing already...I have already found that shopping for a girl is going to be more fun than a boy.  and we realized all our friends have or are having girls with the exception of a few...so she will have friends.  not like she wouldn't have friends otherwise, i'm sure she will be the coolest kid EVER (kinda like me!). 

i have had an intense, unrelenting desire to buy something since we found out...i'm sure that is normal, but I have been fighting it and it has resulted in massive amounts of google and etsy and pinterest searches...here is just a taste of what I am looking at

etsy.com (modmum seller)

esty.com (lottiedababy seller)

britax b-ready

boppy pillow

gdiapers (don't hate or judge me...yes I am looking at cloth diapers! this should shock NONE of you)

and it goes on and on and on...and I LOVE IT!

gender data

Just a quick update for those who did comment on the gender pre-selection.  I did have a few votes from outside the blog so I included those as well, and I guess no one will be surprised to see the poll as it sits right now...



The interesting part is that this does NOT include MY vote...so I guess I get to be the deciding factor! This also does not include any of Chuck's friends because EVERY single one of them harassed him by picking Girl, since they knew he had picked Boy.  I really thought I would have a strong opinion on what I "wanted", but the closer I got to today I realized I honestly don't care.  I am just so excited to find out and get to start planning for the arrival! So just to keep it even, I'm not going to vote and you will have to check back later to find out the real answer...

(oh, and Joy, if you are reading this...I finally had 2 dreams, and the gender was the same in both...)

15 weeks 5 days

How far along? 15 weeks 5 days, I didn't quite make it on Thursday last week...I was on the beach in San Diego!

Total weight gain: 3 lbs as of this morning, and I feel I have entered the "steady increase zone"

Maternity clothes? haven't started wearing them yet, but I am obviously in denial...i am the most uncomfortable sitting at work today as I have ever been...and my pants wouldn't button if I had a crane to help out...

Stretch marks? not yet, but I'm stretching

Sleep: still pretty tired but sleeping pretty good.

Best moment this week:  our mini vacation to San Deigo...my favorite city EVER! although, I must admit, I prefer that city with a Stone Pale Ale and a Margarita...

Wedding rings on or off? On! 

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy most of the time
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Miss Anything? clothes that fit 

Movement: I MAY have felt the first little kick last week, but I haven't felt anything since so who knows

Food cravings:  sour candy!! any and all kinds! and various other junk food...have been craving Chuy's since I missed my chance on Saturday at eating it.

Anything making you queasy or sick: my vitamins (and virtually anything else this morning...not a good morning) 

Gender: I will know in 7 hours, 44 minutes, and a just a few seconds!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Labor Signs: Nope. 

Symptoms: stretching belly (which is accompanied by unpleasant cramps), nausea (round 2 in weeks 14-15...I think Plier warned me about this...), and tiredness still

Belly Button in or out? not so deep in...in a matter of days it has gone from REALLY deep, to barely deep at all...I will have an outie by week 18 at this pace

Looking forward to: finding out the gender today...chuck and I spent 10 minutes last night in bed talking about how BIG of a deal this is....this only affects every decision we will make for the next 20 some odd years....

  

Other: I am having

pre-gender reveal...MAKE YOUR PICK!

Ok, let's have a little fun! One week from today, we get to find out whether we are having a girl or boy.  In the meantime,  I thought it would be fun to get some opinions from our friends and family and start rallying the troops of Team Pink and Team Blue! Just because I wouldn't want you to make uninformed guesses, below is a list of several old wives tales and their cooresponding results as of today...and of course I ended with the results being split 50/50, because giving it away just wouldn't be any fun.  You will have to pick your method that you buy into the most or guess purely on a whim.  Leave your guess in the comments below so I can tally up the results and let you know before next monday...have fun

Heart rate test (140+: girl, 140 or below: boy) = Girl
Cravings test (sweet: girl, sour: boy) = this is split since i have been eating lots of both but mostly CRAVING sour = Boy
Chinese Birth Calendar = Girl
Mayan Even/Odd Predictor (mothers age at conception and year both even or both odd: girl, one even/one odd: boy) = Girl
Breakouts (more than normal: girl, same or less: boy) = GIRL
Ring test (back and forth: girl, circles: boy) = Boy
Sickness (yes: girl, little or no: boy) = Boy
Leg hair (not growing faster: girl, growing faster: boy) = Boy

So what do you think...PINK OR BLUE??