Bump Date: Week 19

Please excuse the coats behind me. ;) 

How Far Along?  19 weeks. 
Size of the Baby? Baby G is the size of a mango. He/She weighs .5 lbs and is 6 inches. 
Maternity Clothes? Yes, ma'am! Please put me on speed dial/text if you see Old Navy having a store-wide sale. 
Stretch Marks? HA. 
Gender? We will know this week (Thursday --- expect a text or email)!! I've been saying "she" a lot more now, but it is also in my nature to second-guess myself and then guess incorrectly. ;) Basically, I have no idea and am excited to find out! 
Name? We've had a boy name set since the days we were dating. We think we have two solid girl names, but that could change! 
Sleep? Sleeping really well at night - most nights. Ginny kept us up last night. I think she's trying to prepare us for what's ahead. 
Cravings? This week was all about Mexican food. That's pretty much my norm, though. ;) 
What I Miss? Friends and family that are far away (though fortunately a quick drive/flight from us). 
Movement? Possibly some flutters but I don't know that I can really tell if that's the baby or not! :) 
Symptoms? Thankfully, this pregnancy has been relatively symptom-free. It is too early to be nesting, so Dave should probably get ready for that, because I am going crazy with wanting to clean/organize/complete projects. There are so many house projects that we've been putting off that I would like to get done before baby G arrives. I am trying to get as much done while I have the energy and motivation! So far, good progress has been made on the room we threw all our random stuff office aka soon to be guest bedroom. 
Belly Button? In, and I suspect will be in for quite a while! 
Best Moment of the week? I went out to dinner with two good friends that are moms, and we literally talked about babies the entire time. I suspect I know what my favorite moment of this week will be! 

Bump Date: 18 weeks

How Far Along?  18 weeks.
Size of the Baby? Baby G is the size of a sweet potato. He/She weighs 5-6 ounces and is 5.5 inches. 
Maternity Clothes? Maternity is much more comfortable and flattering --- this weekend Momma Andersen visited and helped me shop for some basics to get my wardrobe going. Here was the damage: 

Can you guess my favorite color?

A pair a jeans, a pair of work pants, three tops, two dresses, a swimsuit and shorts for $230! I averaged about $25 per item of clothing --- only paid full price for the jeans. It's been an ongoing mission of mine not to pay full price for clothes. I do think Dave's heart stopped every time our Mint.com app showed a purchase.... ;) 
Stretch Marks? That ship sailed long ago. Perhaps I can just remove this question. ;)
Gender? Our next ultrasound is scheduled for May 1st! Can't wait to find out if we're having a son or daughter. We both think boy, but will be ecstatic either way. *I should mention that I am a terrible guesser. When given the choice between true/false with no idea what the answer could be, I am pretty sure I end up guessing correctly 30% of the time rather than 50%. 
Name? We've had a boy name set since the days we were dating. We think we have two solid girl names, but that could change! 
Sleep? Sleeping really well at night - most nights. 
Cravings? Citrus. Cupcakes. Craft Beer. Thankfully, I can have a lot of two of these items. 
What I Miss? Please see third choice above. I will say, though, I'm enjoying trying different non-alcoholic cocktails that are full of citrus-y goodness. For example:

Strawberry Lemonade Spritzer

Movement? Nothing I've noticed yet! Can't wait to start feeling some movement. 
Symptoms? Thankfully, this pregnancy has been relatively symptom-free. Other than some nausea towards the end of the first trimester, I've been feeling pretty good! I finally have my energy back. :)
Belly Button? In, and I suspect will be in for quite a while! 
Best Moment of the week? Momma Andersen visited this weekend and we went out to dinner to celebrate her birthday, spent the day shopping, and were able to catch one of my favorite folksy cover bands last night over coffee/wine (for her). It was a really fun weekend!

I'm also loving that people really *know* I'm pregnant now and will ask when I am due. I went from getting "hmm, is she pregnant?" looks to "you're not due until when??" comments --- which I actually love. Baby G is supposed to grow from 6 ounces to 10 ounces in the next two weeks. I am definitely feeling the growth spurt --- I am hungry all. of. the. time. In the meantime, I'm going to take advantage of this energy! 

Bump Date: 17 weeks

One of these days we'll use our dslr for these photos. ;) I'm red because my pale midwestern skin has not seen the sun for 6 months. Hooray for 78 degrees yesterday!

How Far Along?  17 weeks.
Size of the Baby? Baby G is the size of an apple/turnip/onion, depending on which iphone app I'm reading at the time (...yes, I have three). 
Maternity Clothes? Still able to wear most of my clothes, but maternity clothes are fitting much better and are way more flattering (and comfortable). Plus, I love being able to show off the growing bump and most of my regular clothes have cleverly concealed my stomach in the past. 
Stretch Marks? That ship sailed long ago.
Gender? Our next ultrasound is scheduled for May 1st! Can't wait to find out if we're having a son or daughter. We both think boy, but will be ecstatic either way. 
Name? We've had a boy name set since the days we were dating. We think we have two solid girl names, but that could change! 
Sleep? Sleeping well at night. I am getting my energy back and don't feel like I have to take a nap every day. 
Cravings? Strawberry lemonade. Dairy Queen. Mexican. No Jitos.
What I Miss? WINE. Up until now I haven't really cared about it --- but my citrus craving has me wanting some white wine. 
Movement? Nothing I've noticed yet! Can't wait to start feeling some movement. 
Symptoms? Thankfully, this pregnancy has been relatively symptom-free. Other than some nausea towards the end of the first trimester, I've been feeling pretty good! Still extremely a little emotional at times.
Belly Button? In, and I suspect will be in for quite a while! 
Best Moment of the week? In general ---- getting my energy back! Dave and I spent the afternoon at Fireside on Monday, and we were able to spend a lot of time on the porch throughout the rest of the week. I also took a Prenatal Yoga class with a good friend of mine who is due one week after me. Even though I am not exhausted all the time, it's still hard for me to adjust to how easily I tire during workouts and housework/yardwork. 

I've tried a few non-alcoholic beers and have been pretty unimpressed so far. ;) Last night I was able to go out with the girls and I ordered a "no jito" ---- white cranberry, apple, lime, mint and soda water. It was delicious and I'm going to try to make my own this summer (fits right in with the citrus craving!). 

Looking forward to: 
Mom Andersen visit this weekend!
Arizona trip in May! 
Chicago Babymoon over Memorial Day weekend!
Vegas in June!

"No Jito" aka heaven in a glass

how soon will I lose sight of my feet?

Bump Date: 16 weeks

I learned that pose from the school of Barbizon.

How Far Along?  16 weeks. 
Size of the Baby? Baby G is the size of an avocado. 
Maternity Clothes? Still able to mix my regular clothes with some new maternity pieces. Thanks, Mom, for the outfit above! Maternity jeans are the best, and I may never take them off. 
Stretch Marks? That ship sailed long ago. ;) Gotta embrace them! 
Gender? Our next ultrasound is scheduled for May 1st! Can't wait to find out if we're having a son or daughter. We both think boy, but will be ecstatic either way. 
Name? We've had a boy name set since the days we were dating. If it's a girl, we are going to have a tough time choosing! 
Sleep? I'm still sleeping like I'm in the first trimester. I could sleep all day and night. Too bad you can't stock up on sleep...
Cravings? SWEETS. So odd, because I've always craved salt. I can't say no to lemonade or baked goods. A friend told me she was bringing chocolate cake with chocolate frosting to a party tonight, and I thought about it ALL DAY. 
What I Miss? Stella Artois. The last beer I had before finding out we were pregnant! 
Movement? I haven't felt anything yet, but we heard baby G moving around during our Doppler Thursday. 
Symptoms? Thankfully, this pregnancy has been relatively symptom-free. Other than some nausea towards the end of the first trimester, I've been feeling pretty good! The sleep, though ---- I am tired by 8 and sleep until 7 during the weekday (later on weekends). Dave's been enjoying many nights of playing Playstation while I sleep (to the sounds of Battlefield). ----- and perhaps I've been incredibly a tad emotional. 
Belly Button? In, and I suspect will be in for quite a while! 
Best Moment of the week? Hearing the heartbeat at our 16 week appointment. We also celebrated Friend Easter (aka Feaster) today with our close friends, and I'm so happy we have a great friend community for Baby G to grow up with in Iowa. We are the last of the group to have a baby, and Baby G is going to have a great group of playmates! 

Baby / Momma Update: I'm very thankful that this pregnancy has been going well so far. Heartbeat was 150 at our 16 week appointment, and hearing the baby move (even if I can't feel it yet) was so cool. According to old wives tales (aka not scientific in any way), any heartbeat over 140 means we're having a girl and craving sweets means girl, while very little morning sickness means boy. So it's up in the air! ;) 

We were initially planning on going on a quick weekend trip (Babymoon: Part I) to Kansas City this weekend to see an MLS soccer game (it's never too early to encourage baby to love soccer), but I ended up with a really bad cold earlier this week and I'm still not 100%. We decided to stay home since it would be cold and the game is outdoors. Colds during pregnancy are no joke, and it doesn't help that there are like 2 medications that are "safe" to take. Fortunately, I am feeling better and we're making it a staycation in the beautiful Cedar Rapids. ;) I'm looking forward to watching this belly grow and feeling some movement in a few weeks!