Pregnancy Brain

It's not a myth. It really exists.

According to wisegeek.com, "Pregnancy brain is a condition that affects expectant mothers, usually during the first and third trimesters. Sometimes known as placenta brain or baby brain drain, the condition is usually characterized by short-term memory loss or forgetfulness."

A recent Australian study also confirms it.


The above photo I found on a blog (lilsugar.com), and portrays exactly how I feel lately.

I'm just now getting into the second trimester and pregnancy brain is really hitting me. Steven needs to revoke my cooking privileges. Last weekend, I made muffins for us to eat in the car on the way to his eye doctor appointment. When we returned home, we found that I had left the oven on. Thankfully nothing was on fire.

This morning I decided to try muffins again. For some reason it took longer than usual for them to bake. When I took them out and turned the oven off, I realized I had cooked them on the preheat setting!

Gee whiz. I'm losing it.

14 weeks

As of today, I have about 182 days left. That seems like a lot - 26 weeks does not.

How far along? 14 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: - 2 lbs

Maternity clothes? Um, yes. See pants in photo above. :-)

Stretch marks? nope

Sleep: Decent. My sleep schedule is completely out of whack.

Best moment this week: Hearing Peanut's heartbeat again!

Movement: None that I felt.

Food cravings: none

Gender: I'm starting to lean toward girl, and I have no idea why.

Labor Signs: nope

Belly Button in or out? still in

What I miss: not needing a nap everyday

What I am looking forward to: Steven coming home on Friday.

Weekly Wisdom: Early morning drive + no breakfast + strong sense of smell= not a fun trip

Baby's development:

"Your adorable little fetus is busy with thumb sucking, toe wiggling, and (not so cute but equally amazing) making urine and breathing amniotic fluid as the liver, kidneys and spleen continue to develop. Lanugo (thin, downy hair) is growing all over the body for warmth." - thebump.com

"This week's big developments: Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another. His kidneys are producing urine, which he releases into the amniotic fluid around him — a process he'll keep up until birth. He can grasp, too, and if you're having an ultrasound now, you may even catch him sucking his thumb.

In other news: Your baby's stretching out. From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 inches — about the size of a lemon — and he weighs 1 1/2 ounces. His body's growing faster than his head, which now sits upon a more distinct neck. By the end of this week, his arms will have grown to a length that's in proportion to the rest of his body. (His legs still have some lengthening to do.) He's starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair, called lanugo, all over his body. Your baby's liver starts making bile this week — a sign that it's doing its job right — and his spleen starts helping in the production of red blood cells. Though you can't feel his tiny punches and kicks yet, your little pugilist's hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active." - babycenter.com

13 weeks

How far along? 13 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: - 3 lbs

Maternity clothes? Still not a necessity, but I've definitely outgrown a few things in my closet.

Stretch marks? nope

Sleep: Decent. My sleep schedule is completely out of whack.

Best moment this week: Not sure.

Movement: None that I felt.

Food cravings: none

Gender: no idea

Labor Signs: nope

Belly Button in or out? still in

What I miss: not needing a nap everyday

What I am looking forward to: Steven coming home tomorrow

Weekly Wisdom: I'm all out of wisdom this week.

Baby's development:

"Your fetus is forming teeth and vocal cords... savor this, their non-functional phase. Baby is approaching normal proportions, with a head now only one third the size of the body. Intestines are in the process of moving from the umbilical cord to baby's tummy. (Much more convenient.)" - thebump.com


"Fingerprints have formed on your baby's tiny fingertips, her veins and organs are clearly visible through her still-thin skin, and her body is starting to catch up with her head — which makes up just a third of her body size now. If you're having a girl, she now has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries. Your baby is almost 3 inches long (the size of a medium shrimp) and weighs nearly an ounce." -babycenter.com

What do you think?

I realized this weekend that we will have our BIG ultrasound in a little over a month. I have set up a poll (to the left) where you can vote until that appointment. So what do you think, boy or girl?

Going on a treasure hunt

Over the past week or two I've been on a cleaning mission. I've been de-cluttering our house. I'm nowhere near finished and I've already filled our big trashcan outside multiple times and have a gigantic donation pile (i.e. my entire kitchen is buried). In the past, I have been a horrible pack rat. No more. I am incredibly sick of all this clutter, and am throwing away everything in sight that I don't believe would be a useful donation.

While cleaning out the craft room, guest room and closets I have found a lot of interesting things. I have also learned some things about my husband.

• He is just as bad of a pack rat as I am. He just hides it better.
• I discovered my husband has a collection of hard hats.
• He also has a lot of repair books for cars he no longer owns or has never owned.

Here are a few of the more interesting things I found in the craft room.

• Teen and Teen People magazines from 1998 and 1999
• enough Hanson posters and magazines to qualify me as a stalker
• Disney World ticket stubs from 1991 (Price on those? $33 each)
• enough loose leaf paper, binders, and folder dividers to supply a small school in Africa for a year or two

Then when I got to cleaning out the guest room and its closet I found some really sweet things too. Like these....

I know our little Peanut is going to enjoy these puzzles as much as I did. I'm surprised they even survived. I remember playing with these over and over and over.

I also found these....

These sweet little dresses were mine and my sister's. If Peanut is a boy, I guess these will go into the back of my closet to wait for myself or my sister to have a little girl.

I did it!

I am now officially a college graduate!

Please ignore my kitty giving the death stare in the background. :-)

12 weeks!

I can't believe how fast the first trimester has flown by! It seems unreal.

How far along? 12 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: - 3 lbs

Maternity clothes? Still not a necessity, but I've definitely outgrown a few things in my closet.

Stretch marks? nope

Sleep: Decent. My sleep schedule is completely out of whack.

Best moment this week: My "Happy Mommy's Day" voicemail from my sister-in-law

Movement: None that I felt.

Food cravings: pasta

Gender: no idea

Labor Signs: nope

Belly Button in or out? still in

What I miss: having a clean house

What I am looking forward to: getting the craft room somewhat organized and the carpet taken up in Peanut's room

Weekly Wisdom: The whole, "eat, even if you don't feel hungry," advice is ridiculous. Why eat when you aren't hungry just so you can vomit 10 minutes later?

Baby's development:

"As you move into the second trimester, baby shifts into the growth and maturation stage. After weeks in the critical development stage, almost all of baby's systems are fully formed." - thebump.com

"The most dramatic development this week: reflexes. Your baby's fingers will soon begin to open and close, his toes will curl, his eye muscles will clench, and his mouth will make sucking movements. In fact, if you prod your abdomen, your baby will squirm in response, although you won't be able to feel it. His intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into his abdominal cavity about now, and his kidneys will begin excreting urine into his bladder.

Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and in your baby's brain, synapses are forming furiously. His face looks unquestionably human: His eyes have moved from the sides to the front of his head, and his ears are right where they should be. From crown to rump, your baby-to-be is just over 2 inches long (about the size of a lime) and weighs half an ounce." - babycenter.com

Well that didn't take long.

My poor husband, everytime he gets a new vehicle I end up with it. Last year, he brought home the Altima. He really liked it. Then his work location changed and it made more sense for me to drive the vehicle that got better gas mileage. He handed the car off to me, and in all honesty, I didn't really like it. It was nice at first, but I'm just not a car person. Eventually we switched again, and I took my TrailBlazer back.

Earlier this year, Steven wrecked the TrailBlazer. He has been wanting another truck forever, so instead of another SUV, he got a truck. Unfortunately he didn't get to to drive it much. It had a few problems, so he took it back to the guy he bought it from to be fixed. In the meantime, he ended up driving a company truck for a while and just didn't have time to go pick his truck up. He finally was able to pick it up last weekend. He brought it home - and promptly handed me the keys. I'm loving it. :-) Don't worry, I'll let him drive it on the weekends.

11 weeks

How far along? 11 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: - 3 lbs

Maternity clothes? Still not a necessity.

Stretch marks? nope

Sleep: decent; I wake up between 4:45 and 5:15 every morning for a potty break.

Best moment this week: getting our first baby gift and finishing the first page of
Peanut's scrapbook!

Movement: None that I felt.

Food cravings: none

Gender: no idea

Labor Signs: nope

Belly Button in or out? still in

What I miss: having energy

What I am looking forward to: my SnoCone date with Steven this weekend!

Weekly Wisdom: It's too early for me to be wise.


Baby's development:

"Your baby, just over 1 1/2 inches long and about the size of a fig, is now almost fully formed. Her hands will soon open and close into fists, tiny tooth buds are beginning to appear under her gums, and some of her bones are beginning to harden.

She's already busy kicking and stretching, and her tiny movements are so effortless they look like water ballet. These movements will become more frequent as her body grows and becomes more developed and functional. You won't feel your baby's acrobatics for another month or two — nor will you notice the hiccupping that may be happening now that her diaphragm is forming." - Babycenter.com

"But, fingers and toes are no longer webbed, and hair follicles, tooth buds and nail beds are forming -- setting up a significantly more attractive future" - thebump.com