17 Weeks

So, the good news is I am AMAZING at gaining weight.  By Wednesday, I had already gained three more pounds, which I attribute largely to all of the delicious peanut butter and bacon sandwiches I ate.  Not peanut butter sandwiches and bacon sandwiches...peanut butter/bacon sandwiches.  Don't judge me.  It probably wasn't EXACTLY the kind of high-protein snacks my OB meant for me to eat and I probably shouldn't have put on 3 pounds in a week and a half, but they were delicious and I have zero regrets and you should go make yourself a peanut butter/bacon sandwich.

The bad news is my stomach is AMAZING at producing acid, and from Thursday morning until...now, my stomach has been in absolute turmoil and I'm a little afraid to eat now.  The only thing I've been able to eat without my stomach feeling absolutely agonizingly painful is cereal.  If I drink lots of milk, I can eat things like bread too.  It's been fun.  I'm hoping this is temporary because cereal is boring...although, I love any excuse to drink more milk!

How far along? 17 weeks...the size of an onion!

Maternity clothes? None yet
Sleep:  Rrrrrrrrrrrough.  Very rough.  I've had to get up a couple times in the middle of the night to pee, but the WORST was that nausea/stomach acidity thing I had going on in the second half of the week.  I literally woke up in the middle of the night once because my stomach hurt so bad.  I couldn't tell if I was queasy or hungry or having heartburn or what, and I was too tired to find a solution so I just laid there for hours. Ugh. Ewww plus, I started grinding my teeth again.  That happened when I was pregnant with Jenna too, but at least I know I stop doing it once I'm not pregnant anymore!!!
Best moment this week:  Jacob set his alarm and woke up early on Saturday morning, JUST so that he could clean the kitchen for me before I woke up.  He is a total star.
Miss Anything?  Not having a super acidic stomach...
Movement: Yes!!! I'm pretty sure those little twitches are baby kicks.  I love it!
Food cravings: The first half of the week, it was basically anything chocolate and of course the peanut butter/bacon sandwiches.  The second half of the week however...I think I really went off the deep end.  The ONLY thing that I wanted to eat was a fruit and yogurt parfait from Espresso Royale.  Specifically.  The trouble is, Espresso Royale is in Champaign, IL while I am in Texas.  But I was so desperate...I just wanted to eat something that didn't make me want to completely die so I sent a pleading e-mail to the Espresso Royale company.  

For the record, I have not heard back yet.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Apparently coffee, anything that is rich, has chocolate, has citrus, or is spicy.  And whatever else ups the acid level in your stomach.  Things that help me NOT be sick: sleeping upright, drinking tons of milk, and the essential oil mix my wonderful friend AK mixed up for me. 
Have you started to show yet: Well I would say yes, but at the church BUNCO night I mentioned to a few people that I was pregnant and they kept saying they couldn't tell!!  Which...I really have no good response to. "Well...I am."  or  "Yeah well, I'm trying to make my baby really skinny."  or maybe  "Thanks, it's because the baby is snuggled so closely with my organs that my stomach acid is hanging out in my esophagus and sometimes my mouth.  Nice to meet you, by the way." 
Gender: A little girl!!  Jacob and I have been trying to narrow down some names this week...so fun!!!
Labor Signs: None
Belly Button in or out? It depends how I'm sitting or standing, but it's usually at least 50% out...sometimes almost all the way!
Wedding rings on or off? On! Hooray!
Happy or Moody most of the time:  Happy, except for when my stomach was blugh
Looking forward to: I know this is a little further off, but June is going to be full of so many fun visits!!  I keep thinking about it and I absolutely can't WAIT!

16 Weeks

Well, something happened this week that I NEVER dreamed would happen...my doctor told me I need to really try to gain some more weight.  Yep.  Try. To GAIN.  Apparently I've only gained about 3 pounds this whole pregnancy!!  :-/ Now, to be fair, the first time they weighed me I was wearing jeans and boots and I've been wearing yoga pants and shorts for every weigh-in after that so...let's take that into account and add a few extra pounds on for that.  But still!!!  She said I should shoot for gaining 15 lbs. over the whole pregnancy and that she thinks I'll have a tough time doing that.  Um...15?!  Did I or did I not gain 40 POUNDS when I was pregnant with Jenna without batting an eye?!  My first thought was obviously...cha ching!!!  I can definitely do more high-protein snacks throughout the day!  Ice cream has protein, right?  I'm all over this!!  But then for most of the week I've actually been feeling really guilty.  I don't want my baby to be malnourished!  And I didn't really realize it but I think I've been struggling more with the idea of weight gain during this pregnancy than I ever thought I would.  I've NEVER been a "watch-what-you-eat" kind of girl, but I guess I subconsciously became that a little bit.  I mean I ate plenty at meals and obviously didn't hold back on the Easter candy or anything, but I would get hungry around 10 or around 3 and would tell myself to hold off until lunch/dinner.  I mean you only need an extra 300 calories a day and I was pretty sure I was eating enough at meals to fulfill that but I guess not.  Anyway, I'm snacking a lot more this week and drinking more milk.  I definitely want my baby to grow big and strong and really have no reason to be afraid to gain weight....I lost it the last time, I can lose it again!  And I love to snack so I'm really looking forward to that part!

How far along? 16 weeks...my baby can hear this week!!  Hello baby!!!!!!!

Maternity clothes? Still no!  I gotta say, this is very convenient.
Sleep:  Good, but I have had a few vivid dreams...I actually woke myself (and Jacob) up because I was laughing so hard in my sleep one night!  It was a suuuuuuuuper weird feeling, but the dream WAS really funny.  Stacy was wearing a pink and purple luchador mask and dancing around....you know what?  Maybe you had to be there.
Best moment this week:  Hearing Baby J's heartbeat!  I always love that!! Jenna and I also had a lot of fun with some friends at the zoo on Friday.  Jenna completely freaked when she saw the cheetahs...she's obsessed with cats right now and one walked right by the fence while we were there.  The first thing she said when she woke up from her nap afterwards was "RAWR!!"
Miss Anything?  Nope!  Jacob and Dan have been working on brewing their own beer, which you would think would mean I would want to at least try some, but it totally made the house smell like sweat.  They're denying it and blaming it on my crazy pregnancy nose, but I know what I smelled!!!!!!
Movement: I think I've been feeling her move!  Just little nudges here and there, but I'm pretty sure it was the baby!
Food cravings: DESSERT!  I'm finding EVERY excuse I can to bake...by the end of next week I'll have made about 6-7 different things in a 2 week period.  I wish I was exaggerating.  Also, burgers and fries!  We found a really yummy place this past weekend that wasn't too expensive...I'll definitely be back soon!!!
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope!  Sometimes I feel a really vague queasiness after I eat, but it's really so slight it's hardly worth mentioning.
Have you started to show yet: Yep!  I think strangers should be able to tell I'm pregnant now!  Or at least they'll wonder enough that they'll want to say something but will still be too afraid to accidentally offend me if I'm simply chubby so they won't actually say anything in the end...
Gender Prediction: Girl!
Labor Signs: None
Belly Button in or out? It's starting to pop out! 
Wedding rings on or off? Still on
Happy or Moody most of the time:  Happy!
Looking forward to: More reasons to make dessert!  We have a ladies BUNCO night on Friday and a small brunch on Mother's Day and I'm bringing dessert for BOTH! (and naturally, I have to be the one that brings the dessert so that  I can leave a large portion of it at home to snack on before and after the event...nomnomnom)

Jenna 1.4

Age: One year and four months
Milestones:  She's trying to say so many more words now...she'll even try to repeat ones she hasn't heard before.  It's so fun!!
My Favorites: Getting hugs, when she brings me books and then sort of waddles in a 180 and then sits on my lap so I can read to her, when she dances, and when she "sings" along with her Frozen cd...she'll sigh with Olaf and sing "ba-da-ba-da" during "Summer," sing "door" and "go" when they come up...it makes me smile EVERY time.  I also like hearing her say "belly button" which usually ends up sounding more like "bee-beep-bo-tee-beep"
Her Favorites: All things Easter! Hunting eggs, sitting on the Easter Bunny's lap, opening her Easter basket...oh my gosh, that was all SO much fun!  Sitting on the Easter Bunny's lap was definitely a HUGE highlight.  We weren't planning on doing the Easter Bunny thing originally, but went to the aquarium and the Easter Bunny happened to be there with no line so we just went for it.  We weren't sure how she would take it, since most kids are terrified.  We told her it was a bunny, put her on it's lap, and hoped for the best.  She had a totally blank face.  She slowly looked up at his face, slowly looked down to the furry paws around her waist, and when she looked up at us she had the BIGGEST grin on her face!  She had this look on her face that SO clearly said, "I am being held by a REAL! LIVE! BUNNY!  This is the BEST day of my LIFE!!!!!"  It was amazing. 

She's still obsessed with animals, and makes animal sounds ALL the time.  She doesn't always get them right (dog, cat, and horse are pretty interchangeable) but I just love hearing her excited "MEOW MEOW!" even if she's looking at a dog.  She also LOVES music and usually can't help but to dance around a little bit. 
Surprises: She has gotten really fearful! Particularly of any sort of vehicle...we'll be on our front porch and a loud-ish car, truck, or airplane will go by and she runs to me like it's coming after her.  It's equal parts sad and ridiculous.  Sometimes it happens if we're inside and it's something very loud like the garbage truck.  It even happened when we had the door open and a train several miles away blew it's whistle.  I mean, she's always been sensitive, particularly if she's tired.  She has been known to cry if one of us sneezed or yawned too loudly.  It makes me sad seeing it turn into full-blown fear though!  Hopefully she grows out of it soon?  Anyone else have experience with this?
Other Notable Moments: We went to some German Fest up in Tomball and they had a petting zoo, which was obviously a big hit.  Jenna was beyond excited to be surrounded by all the animals but it was almost like she was TOO excited to bring herself to actually pet any of them, which was hilarious. My personal favorite part was when she started moving her head forward and back like the chickens.

She was dedicated at our church.  Child dedication is basically Jacob and I promising in front of the church to raise her knowing Jesus.  We're trying to do that anyway, but it's nice to have the extra accountability!  We read Psalm 119:10-11, which says, "I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you," and talked about how we wanted that to be true of Jenna as she grows up.

 Looking Forward To... More words!! It's just my favorite favorite thing hearing her talk!

First Easter basket...contributed to heavily by grandparents

Chilling in bed reading

15 Weeks

It was practically impossible to get a picture without munchkin in it, so she's got a cameo this week :)

How far along? 15 weeks
Maternity clothes? Still no!  Although I did have to use a rubber band on one of my pairs of shorts this week
Sleep:  Pretty good this week!  No weird dreams, no waking up at 4 a.m.,  and no getting up in the middle of the night to pee...although as soon as I wake up, it is GO TIME
Best moment this week:  Oh man...to be perfectly honest, I can't remember a thing that happened this week.  Baby brain.
Miss Anything?  MY HUSBAND!  He's been traveling and had meetings until late for the last two weeks and I feel like I've barely seen him at all.  One more week of traveling and then I think things should settle down?
Movement: Not yet...
Food cravings: I haven't been as into food this pregnancy as I was with Jenna, so no official cravings, but I did eat several s'mores pop tarts
Anything making you queasy or sick: I get queasy/dizzy if I don't snack between meals, but other than that I feel pretty good most of the time!
Have you started to show yet: Yes, and it's starting to look more and more like I'm pregnant and less and less like I need to hit the gym.  Hooray!
Gender: Girl
Labor Signs: None
Belly Button in or out? Sometimes it gets pretty close to popping out!  Jacob hates it, but I love it and really want it to be a full outie...this pregnancy is my last chance!!
Wedding rings on or off? On still!  Hooray!
Happy or Moody most of the time:  Happy mostly, but with the occasional ugly mood swing...poor Jacob
Looking forward to: My OB appointment tomorrow!  I just love getting the confirmation that I'm pregnant...especially since I haven't had that many symptoms and am still wearing all of my old clothes and such. I mean, am I actually pregnant or not??  It feels hard to tell sometimes!!

14 Weeks

I know that it was over 80 degrees today, but our church is ridiculously cold so I was wearing a sweater

How far along? 14 weeks
Maternity clothes? Not yet, I'm still hangin' in there!
Sleep:  I've been having the weird pregnant wake-ups at 4 in the morning.  Slightly annoying, but apparently I'm very productive when I can't sleep.
Best moment this week:  Finding out that Jenna is going to have a little sister!!!!!  I'm so excited about matching outfits and putting on shows and copying each other and reading pioneer books and bike rides and dance class and t-ball games and church Christmas pageants and summer library programs and...I know I could do these things whether we were having a boy or girl, but it's just really fun picturing specifically doing all these things with our two girls!

Miss Anything?  No, actually. ...alright fine, I did sneak a little bite of a turkey sandwich, but I felt really bad about it, ok? 
Movement: I don't think so?  But I want to be so badly that I convince myself that any little stomach gurgle or heartbeat is actually the baby kicking.  I actually had a dream this week that she was moving around so much I could see her whole foot pushing out of my stomach.  And then she pushed her hand against my stomach and Jacob started holding it.  Super weird, but it was also kind of sweet?
Food cravings: I thought a lot about pancakes this week.  And grapes.  And I started eating bananas again, which only happens when I'm pregnant
Anything making you queasy or sick: Noooo, thankfully!! I've felt great this week!
Have you started to show yet: Yes.  Jenna always wants to lift my shirt and hug my belly...I don't know if she understands that there's a baby in there or if she just really likes bellies, but it's pretty cute.
Gender: Girl!!!  Woo hoo!!
Labor Signs: None
Belly Button in or out? Half of it is extremely out and half of it is extremely in.......I don't know what's going on.
Wedding rings on or off? On!! Score!! I've officially made it longer than I did when I was pregnant with Jenna!  I'm crossing my fingers that I can keep it on this whole pregnancy!! (Not crossing them too hard though, obviously.  I wouldn't want to cause any unnecessary swelling)
Happy or Moody most of the time:  Happy!
Looking forward to: Having the gender confirmed with an ultrasound.  It'll be a while, I know, and I know the blood test is supposedly super accurate but it'll be nice to have the confirmation

13 Weeks

How far along? 13 weeks...most definitely in second trimester at this point!
Maternity clothes? Nope, but I'm betting I'll have to start using a rubberband on my jeans in a few weeks
Sleep:  Pretty normal...I've had to wake up a couple times during the night to run to the bathroom
Best moment this week:  I had a girls night on Friday and it was just the best.  I won't say any more due to the embarrassing and childish nature of our activity, but suffice it to say it was a blast and just good for the soul 
Miss Anything?  I made a French Silk Pie this week and I was pretty bummed not to be able to lick the bowl! (Raw eggs...womp womp)
Movement: I don't think so
Food cravings: I was compulsively eating Easter candy all week, so let's just go ahead and blame that on the pregnancy...sorry you were so sugared up this week, baby.
Anything making you queasy or sick: I had some dizzy/queasy afternoons but usually a quick nap (read: several hours) would take care of it enough for me to function
Have you started to show yet: Yeah I'm pretty sure, or it's just all that Easter candy piling up...
Gender Prediction: I don't know!! We thought we were going to find out last weekend but the results weren't in yet so now we have to wait some more. Boooooo
Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? In-ish.  Depending how much I eat, the top pops out a little...so weird haha
Wedding rings on or off? On, thankfully!  I'm holding my breath though because I had to stop wearing my ring with Jenna at 14 weeks. Yikes!! Drinking LOTS of water this week to prevent swelling!
Happy or Moody most of the time:  I was a SUPER crab this week but I think that was because of the nausea
Looking forward to: Finding out the gender of our baby!!!!!

12 Weeks

Ok so, Jacob always makes fun of me for these clothes (which I wear like 70% of the time...at home ONLY, obviously.)  He calls it my Catwoman outfit and it's not great, I know.  I'm just feeling like I have a serious lack of summer clothes to wear in general, much less that show off my belly.  Oh well.  Picture more frizz in the hair, slightly smeared eyeliner and some sort of chocolate something in my hand and now you have a little picture of what I look like most days.  You're welcome.

How far along? 12 weeks...am I in second trimester?  It feels like I'm getting close!

Maternity clothes? Not yet, but I definitely had a pair of jeans that fit me at the beginning of the week and were preeeettty difficult to button by the end
Sleep:  Less naps, which has been great!
Best moment this week:  Seeing Baby J on the sonogram!  He/she was a little camera shy so we didn't get a good face shot, but I love seeing them move in realtime!  PLUS we found out that with all the blood testing they do for the pre-screen, they can also test for the gender!!!  They asked if we were interested and it was basically and instant YES PLEASE!  It'll be a week or so before the results come in and I have a feeling it is going to be the longest week of my life!!!
Miss Anything?  No, I've been content this week
Movement: Ok sometimes I really feel like I can feel the baby kicking, but I might just be feeling my heartbeat. Or hunger. Or gas. It's hard to tell, really...
Food cravings: Just...nutrients.  We have a friend living with us right now and it was his birthday this week and then a few days later it was Jacob's birthday so...between all the birthday desserts and special breakfast cinnamon rolls and muffins and whatnot...I just really need to eat a vegetable.
Anything making you queasy or sick: I felt good this week!  Although with Jenna, second trimester was when I started getting really sick so I'm crossing my fingers that that doesn't start soon!!  But also kind of anticipating it
Have you started to show yet: Definitely a little!
Gender Prediction: I don't know, but for some reason Jacob and I both started calling the baby a "he" during the sonogram.  I don't know if that was a sign from the heavens that we instinctively know we're having a boy, or if black and white fuzzy-ish silhouettes are just remarkably masculine, but either way I'll go with boy this week 
Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? Mostly in
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time:  Happy...how could you not be with all of the birthday celebrations and sonogram pictures and such?
Looking forward to: EASTER!!!!  I can't wait to give Jenna her basket and watch her hunt eggs!  I have no idea if she'll be into it or not, but it'll be fun either way!