19 weeks

How far along? 19 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: +.5 lbs

Maternity clothes? Yes, got some new stuff this week too. :-)

Stretch marks? nope

Sleep: Good, except for the weird dreams - and my husband's random, loud outbursts in his sleep.

Best moment this week: Finding out Peanut is a boy and having Steven with me at the ultrasound.

Movement: Not much, while I don't feel it much, it was confirmed at the ultrasound that he doesn't move much, especially when we want him too. He gets comfy and stays there.

Food cravings: none this week

Gender: Boy!

Labor Signs: nope

Belly Button in or out? still in

What I miss: Nothing at the moment. I'm feeling really great.

What I am looking forward to: Painting the nursery this weekend!

Weekly Wisdom: I'm not feeling very wise right now. In fact, the pregnancy brain is getting worse, and I seem to be forgetting words and the names of places more lately.



Baby's Development:


"Vernix caseosa, a greasy white substance made of lanugo, oil and dead skin cells (yum) now coats baby's skin, shielding it from the amniotic fluid. (Picture yourself after a nine-month bath, and the need for protection makes sense.) You might actually get to see the vernix at birth, especially if baby is premature." -thebump.com

"Your baby's sensory development is exploding! Her brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. Some research suggests that she may be able to hear your voice now, so don't be shy about reading aloud, talking to her, or singing a happy tune if the mood strikes you.


Your baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces and measures 6 inches, head to bottom — about the size of a large heirloom tomato. Her arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of her body now. Her kidneys continue to make urine and the hair on her scalp is sprouting. A waxy protective coating called the vernix caseosa is forming on her skin to prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid." -babycenter.com

Meet...

Mr. Lincoln Walker!

Look at these little adorable toes! I want to kiss them already.

And the results are...

20 Girl Votes

9 Boy Votes

It's a boy! (I think there are a lot of people that need to reevaluate their prediction methods.) Steven and I are more than excited that we will be welcoming a son into the world in November. After yesterday's appointment, it makes everything seem much more real. We also learned a little bit about our son.

He is his father's child. He is incredibly stubborn. (Some might say mother's, but I know that can't be where it comes from.) The ultrasound took about an hour because he refused to move, and when he finally decided he wanted to move, he would just do cartwheels sideways so that our view didn't change. The ultrasound tech and I poked and prodded him for 45 minutes! I even sat up and wiggled around several times! He'd move, but just enough to get comfy again. The tech said she had not had a baby be that difficult in a long time. I can already see that fun times are ahead. Anyone have a copy of The New Strong-Willed Child I can borrow?

*Ultrasound pics to come. I'm too busy lazy to do it right now.

Have you voted?

Less than 24 hours left for the poll!

If you haven't voted yet, be sure to click your prediction in our poll on the left.

Getting ready for baby

We have officially started working on the nursery.

Over the last couple of weeks I emptied the guest bedroom and closet, dusted, and vacuumed. This was not an easy task. It also involved emptying and reorganizing the living room closet, reorganizing some things in our bedroom, cleaning out Steven's closet, several trips to Abilities Unlimited (and another pile waiting in our kitchen), and piling LOTS of stuff into my craft room. We'll worry about that later.

Steven is home for the rest of the week, so he took advantage of his spare time this week and started on his part of the nursery work. The carpet and trim have now been removed! We will be going Friday afternoon to pick out paint and will be getting the new flooring sometime this weekend. Hopefully we'll make a decision on paint colors, technique, etc. today. Hopefully.







Minnie Pearl and Emerald were very curious about what Daddy was doing and what was making so much noise.

Bathroom - check

Well, almost. I still can't find a light fixture I like!

Here is the latest picture. After we take out the braces today and I get everything cleaned up I will take a better picture. I'm pretty excited about it though! I think my husband did a fabulous job with the trim.



Oh, and here is a before picture.

18 weeks

(*On a side note, see that gray wall behind me? That's my lovely new dining room!)


How far along? 18 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: -1 lbs

Maternity clothes? Yes

Stretch marks? nope

Sleep: Good, except for the weird dreams.

Best moment this week: Listening to Peanut's heartbeat, kicks, and flops with the help of the fetal monitor I bought Steven for Father's Day.

Movement: Some, I still have to be really paying attention to notice it.

Food cravings: peanut butter & jelly sandwiches

Gender: We'll know tomorrow! Hopefully.

Labor Signs: nope

Belly Button in or out? still in, but Steven did announce yesterday that he can't wait for it to poke out, "because it will be funny." Um, thanks babe. :-)

What I miss: Nothing at the moment. I'm feeling pretty great.

What I am looking forward to: Our ultrasound tomorrow!

Weekly Wisdom: Laugh everyday.



Baby's Development:

"Head to rump, your baby is about 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a bell pepper) and he weighs almost 7 ounces. He's busy flexing his arms and legs — movements that you'll start noticing more and more in the weeks ahead. His blood vessels are visible through his thin skin, and his ears are now in their final position, although they're still standing out from his head a bit. A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around his nerves, a process that will continue for a year after he's born. If you're having a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If you're having a boy, his genitals are noticeable now, but he may hide them from you during an ultrasound." - babycenter.com

"Your fetus has become amazingly mobile (at least compared to you), passing the hours yawning, hiccuping, rolling, twisting, kicking, punching, sucking and swallowing. And, baby's finally big enough that you'll be able to feel those movements soon." - thebump.com

New toy!

Mr. FedEx delivered my new toy on Monday!








No, I didn't get another animal.

I got a spiffy new lens and lens hood! Love them.

Our Zoo Date!

Last week Steven was lucky enough to get off work a couple of days early after working storm duty in Russellville. I picked him up in Batesville on Wednesday. On the way home he announced that he had already made plans for us for Thursday - a trip to the zoo! We hadn't had a date in forever, so I was pretty darn excited.

We had planned to get up early on Thursday and leave the house by 8, so that we could hopefully get to Memphis, enjoy the zoo, and leave before the hottest part of the day. That didn't happen.

But wait. Wasn't it almost 100 degrees on Thursday?
Yes. Yes it was. I believe the high was actually 95. When we left the zoo and got in the car, we heard on the radio that the heat index was 107. That hadn't stopped us though! We love the zoo.

I think our favorite exhibit was the new Birds & Bees exhibit. It is awesome! It's pretty much a big, caged garden with LOTS of birds flying around. They let you get right up next to them. One of them even flew by Steven and hit his stomach with its wings! It's a seasonal exhibit though - only there until Labor Day - so go see it!





We got sno cones too!


One of the red pandas was on the ground! They are usually 100 feet up in a tree and really hard to see. Isn't he cute?


The polar bears are also a favorite of ours. We love to see the polar bear feeding. They were very playful that day.





The sea lion show was also fun. They had a good time showing off their tricks and talents.







Sleepy kitty :-)


The elephants were feeling the heat, too. They were enjoying spraying themselves with water.


Yep, we love the zoo.

17 weeks

How far along? 17 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: -2 lbs

Maternity clothes? Yes

Stretch marks? nope

Sleep: Decent

Best moment this week: Our trip to the zoo yesterday!

Movement: Yes! I love it!

Food cravings: peanut butter & jelly sandwiches

Gender: Not sure.

Labor Signs: nope

Belly Button in or out? still in

What I miss: having control over my emotions

What I am looking forward to: My ultrasound next Friday!

Weekly Wisdom:



Baby's Development:


"Your baby's skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone, and the umbilical cord — her lifeline to the placenta — is growing stronger and thicker. Your baby weighs 5 ounces now (about as much as a turnip), and she's around 5 inches long from head to bottom. She can move her joints, and her sweat glands are starting to develop." - babycenter.com




"Baby's skeleton is hardening, changing from rubbery cartilage to bone, and fat is finally accumulating around it. The umbilical cord is getting thicker and stronger, and those little fingers and toes are now topped by one-of-a-kind prints." - thebump.com

When will we learn?

It seems that every time Steven and I plan to leave town, a natural disaster or horrible storm occurs. A few times we have gotten lucky with his crew not being called out. Though more often than not we lose that battle. This weekend was no different. We had made plans to go to the river today, just the two of us because I have to work every other weekend this month. Well of course Arkansas got pounded by a huge thunderstorm, complete with straight line winds and tornadoes. Poor Steven didn't even make it home on Friday. I was planning to go to Batesville to pick him up Friday evening, but before I could even get home he called and said they had been called out. This time he is in Russellville, Arkansas.



Maybe someday we'll learn our lesson and start leaving town without actually making plans.

Our Kitchen - the neverending work in progress

A few of my friends have requested that I post pictures of the work we are doing on the kitchen. Well, it is definitely a work in progress. I'm not sure it will ever end at this point.

Done so far:
painted the cabinets (Never again.)
replaced and refinished the ceiling (That was an experience!)
took out ancient lighting fixtures

In progress:
painting the walls
taking down old chair rail

To do:
paint trim
find new light fixtures
replace blinds
hang photos
get new door/drawar pulls
get new baby proof latches
get new baseboard for dining area


Wishlist: Well, more like the extended to-do list.
replace stove
replace flooring
replace counter tops
tile backsplash behind stove

Before:

It actually looks better in these pictures than it did in person.

In progress:

The raspberry color will only be under the cabinets in the kitchen area. Everything else will be gray, including the dining area.

Kicking and Screaming

Thursday night I felt my first baby kicks! I was lying in bed, and at first I thought I had imagined it, but then I felt it again! Friday morning when I woke up, I still wasn't convinced. I thought maybe I'd been half asleep and dreamed it. I went to stretch out on the couch for a bit and felt it again. Still not convinced, I changed positions and waited. Yep, still there, and in a different place! They are still light enough that I have to be paying attention to notice it, but it sure is exciting. Now I just can't wait until Steven can feel it too.

Oh, and the screaming? That's because we have way too much junk! This week I made my 5th (yes, that's a five) trip to Abilities Unlimited, and I'm still not finished. Can someone please explain how two people that have been married less than two years have so much junk?

16 weeks

How far along? 16 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: -2 lbs

Maternity clothes? Yes

Stretch marks? nope

Sleep: Last night was horrible.

Best moment this week: Listening to Steven talk to Peanut.

Movement: None that I felt.

Food cravings: fruit

Gender: Not sure.

Labor Signs: nope

Belly Button in or out? still in

What I miss: sleep

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

Weekly Wisdom: Watermelon and an ice cream sandwich do count as a balanced breakfast. :-)



Baby's Development:


"Get ready for a growth spurt. In the next few weeks, your baby will double his weight and add inches to his length. Right now, he's about the size of an avocado: 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. His legs are much more developed, his head is more erect than it has been, and his eyes have moved closer to the front of his head. His ears are close to their final position, too. The patterning of his scalp has begun, though his locks aren't recognizable yet. He's even started growing toenails. And there's a lot happening inside as well. For example, his heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, and this amount will continue to increase as your baby continues to develop." - babycenter.com

"Watch what you say... tiny bones forming in baby's ears mean the little one can now pick up your voice. Eyebrows, lashes and hair are starting to fill in, and taste buds are forming. And, if you're interested, an ultrasound might be able to determine gender." - thebump.com

15 weeks

How far along? 15 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: - 3 lbs

Maternity clothes? Yes

Stretch marks? nope

Sleep: It changes everyday.

Best moment this week: When I realized our next ultrasound is less than 25 days away!

Movement: None that I felt.

Food cravings: fruit

Gender: Last night I dreamed Peanut was a girl.

Labor Signs: nope

Belly Button in or out? still in

What I miss: not knowing what heartburn felt like

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

Weekly Wisdom: Cold pizza isn't such a good idea for breakfast anymore. :-(



Baby's Development:




"Your growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of an apple). She's busy moving amniotic fluid through her nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in her lungs begin to develop. Her legs are growing longer than her arms now, and she can move all of her joints and limbs. Although her eyelids are still fused shut, she can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, she's likely to move away from the beam. There's not much for your baby to taste at this point, but she is forming taste buds. Finally, if you have an ultrasound this week, you may be able to find out whether your baby's a boy or a girl! (Don't be too disappointed if it remains a mystery, though. Nailing down your baby's sex depends on the clarity of the picture and on your baby's position. He or she may be modestly curled up or turned in such a way as to "hide the goods.")" -babycenter.com

"Continuing the march towards normal proportions, baby's legs now outmeasure the arms. And, finally, all four limbs have functional joints. Your fetus is squirming and wiggling like crazy down in the womb, though you probably still can't feel the movements. " - thebump.com