Berry update! And other baby related thoughts...

Week 21!
How big is baby? Berry is now about 10.5oz and 7 inches long from head to rump. Not a blueberry anymore! I read that a baby bear weighs about 10.5oz when born, so Alex and I joked about shortening baby's nickname to "Bear".
Total weight gain: Not sure...at the doctor today (normal doctor, not baby doctor) I weighed about 3 more than my starting weight. So I think I've gained about 7 from my lowest weight?
Maternity clothes? Yes! I am having trouble finding maternity bottoms. I need to go buy some yoga pants or something because the same pair of capris are being worn way too often.
Sleep: I sleep rather well! Though I need more sleep than I used to, and I still occasionally take a nap.
Best moment this week: I was actually able to see movement!
Gender: is still unknown, though when talking to each other Alex and I usually say "he".
Movement: Has been so amazing! Getting very regular. Berry loves to be awake at night, and seems to sleep during the first part of the morning, and again in late afternoon. Right now s/he is actually moving around quite forcefully! Sometimes I will notice movement as late as 2am.
Belly Button in or out? Still in, but Alex has mentioned that it is getting more shallow.
Stretch marks? Mhmm
What I miss: Not much really. I love being pregnant, and I feel healthier than I did before.
What I am looking forward to: Alex getting a chance to see movement. He seems to be gone when it happens. Also looking forward to our next ultrasound, as we will be getting a face shot!
Milestones: I'm past the halfway mark!

I have read quite a bit of debate about the pros and cons of being "team green" versus finding out the baby's sex. So I just thought I would share my reasons for being team green -not finding out sex.
I think the main one is because my mom never found out her babies' sex during any of her pregnancies. I had 4 younger siblings, so I remember the excitement of waiting for my new little brother or sister to be born and then getting to meet them for the first time, and hear what name was chosen. I was only 8 when my youngest sister was born so of course I don't remember any negatives about it. Also it is getting more and more unusual to hear of pregnant women who don't find out the sex..and I like being unusual. Another reason I have is the shopping. So far I have only made 2 purchases for baby Berry. One onesie for each sex (for the homecoming outfit) and one gender neutral onesie. I have been to the baby departments and seen how adorable some of the clothes, toys, bedding, etc are. I would be broke by now if I knew what to buy. And then there is the patience factor. I am the type of person that -once I know what is going to happen, and how- thinks it should be done NOW. So I'm pretty sure that were I to know baby's sex, and see a 3D shot of facial features, and already having the names picked out...I would be far less patient when it comes down to the last few weeks of waiting. Last of all (for now) but definitely not least: I want Alex to be the one to tell me if we have a little girl or a little boy, and I think it will be more meaningful if he finds out for himself versus having a piece of paper from the ultrasound tech.

All that being said...I'm not someone who thinks everyone should try to be team green. If not knowing would stress you out, or if you would be too impatient...by all means find out! :)

Catching up...

Last week was busy...and warm. I do not like the heat anymore! I survived though, thanks to air conditioned buildings and cheap, ice cold mountain dew at the fair.

I passed my 20 week mark with baby Berry, and I had a birthday! The day of my birthday some friends of ours took Alex and I out for dinner at Olive Garden. It was very much enjoyed, especially since I had been craving their salad and breadsticks. I had a lovely surprise during the week when a package arrived from one of my dearest friends.

I feel so spoiled!

I got to talk to my dad the other day and it seems he is still slowly improving after his stroke. I wish I were closer to be able to help, but Alex and I pray for him -and those who are there- daily.

My niece had her heart surgery, and is recovering quite well! It has been a blessing to hear of her continued victories over health problems.

And...I really can't think of much else right now. There are a few other things I was thinking of posting, bu I'm leaning towards making separate posts for that. I just wanted to get a quick update published so any readers will know I haven't simply dropped out of the blogging world.

Human skunk?

This past winter Alex and I thought we had some sort of problem in our furnace. We would come home from being out all day and as soon as the heater kicked on we would smell skunk. It happened a few times a month, and usually towards night. We couldn't figure out why it wasn't constant if it was in the furnace, so we just assumed that there was, in fact, a skunk living nearby.

The problem stopped for a while, it had been months since we had experienced that skunky smell...then we went on vacation. While Alex was out driving with his brother he mentioned that someone must have hit a skunk recently, because the smell was so strong. His brother promptly pointed to a nearby driver with a marijuana joint. Alex and I both learned something new: marijuana smells like skunk while being burned, and apparently our neighbor is a user.

The smells bother me even more than usual right now because I don't like the idea of baby living around them. The same neighbor is also a cigarette smoker. I have often had to shut a door that was open for fresh air because of second hand smoke. Honestly, I think I would have preferred the skunk...

Ah, the joys of apartment living.

Blessed, crazy week.

What a crazy week it has been! Wednesday my younger brother, Ivan, called Alex. He wanted to talk military. He just took his GED and ASVAB and was trying to figure out what branch he wants to join, and what job he would want. His scores on the ASVAB were high enough that he can probably have pretty much any job available. Crazy that my little brother is becoming a man.

Thursday morning I was talking to my oldest sister, Erin, and she told me that our dad was in the hospital. As we were talking, Heidi -who was the one who took Daddy to the ER- let us know that he had suffered from a minor stroke. The diagnosis at that point was that it will be a long road to recovery, but because he still had some muscle control it's more likely that he will fully recover.

Friday I talked to Ivan again and he shared that he and my other younger siblings had all heard about our dad. One of my little sisters had taken the news quite hard, but I was proud of Ivan when he also shared that he had given her a hug and let her cry and "snot on" his shirt.

 Saturday I called Heidi to get updates but she was at a birthday party, she said she would call me back, but that I should check facebook. So I did. As I scrolled through the news feed and saw my sisters' updates about Daddy, I also saw something else. My older brother is now engaged!! So I called him, and caught him at mealtime. But I passed on my congratulations. When I did talk to Heidi she told me that Saturday would probably be the hardest day for our dad, as the 3rd day after the stroke is when they expect the most brain swelling. They were hopeful though! My dad was in high spirits, and despite not having mobility in his right arm, was still able to get out of bed and around a bit with the help of a walker. She also said that he will probably be moving in with her and her hubby at least for a while. He was only near family when all this happened because he was in town to visit my older sisters.

Today was set up day for our county fair. Mom (Alex's mom) is the superintendent of the goat barn, and will be showing 11 or 12 goats this year. It was a long, stressful morning...and afternoon. But we got enough done to head home.
I checked facebook this evening and saw this status from my dad: "WE HAVE RIGHT ARM MOVEMENT !!!! PTL !!"
 How amazing is that? And what an encouragement! I know a lot of people have been praying for my dad and I ask that prayers would continue. And while I'm asking for prayer... this week my darling niece, Scarlette, who has already been through so much in her young life (you can read her story here) is having heart surgery, and I know she and her family could use your prayers too.

Today was also Mommy (my mom)'s birthday, so I called her and we chatted for a bit. I found out that Ivan is talking to a NAVY recruiter this week! When did we all grow up?

This whole week is fair and I'm sure to be busy but I will try to keep updates coming! What a crazy life we lead...

My busy day

Today started with a dental appointment. I was only slightly nervous about it. But it ended up being worse than I expected!
A bit of back story...I had only had experience with one dentist in my life, and that wasn't until I was 15 or 16. I remember that the cleaning wasn't bad, getting my first fillings wasn't that bad, but then on my last visit the doctor had not let the novocaine set in, and had drilled on a very sensitive tooth...which later got an abscess and needed pulled. Leaving me with a fear of ever needing any sort of drilling done on my teeth.

Today they started me with x-rays. For my first experience with dental x-rays I had to bite a stick and a machine circled my head taking pictures, but this time they had to take a dozen or so still shots by putting a film attached to a metal rod in my mouth and making me bite down on it. It hurt my mouth very badly! The films were cutting into the tender skin on the roof of my mouth and under my tongue, and the lady kept saying that I have a shallow palette. I was relieved when that was finished, but then I was told I would be getting a cleaning. The initial exam didn't hurt, but when they started using the tiny drill to get rid of plaque...*shudders* It was awful. I was told that my teeth weren't that bad for not having seen a dentist in about 6 years, but I have four cavities that need filled, the pregnancy has caused some slight inflammation of the gums, and they want to pull my wisdom teeth (which are not bothering me) as soon as possible after my baby is born. Which, added to the checkup and possible second cleaning in December, makes another 3 or 4 appointments coming up. I wasn't thrilled when I heard that. Seven hours later my whole head hurt, I couldn't chew, and it hurt my jaw to talk -just from a cleaning. I'm a bit terrified.

The good part of today was that I had my 20 week ultrasound (even though I'm at 19 weeks) The ultrasound tech was very careful about not letting Alex and I see baby's private parts, she even turned the big screen off a few times, so we are still gonna be surprised by the sex. It was so neat to be able to see Berry again. S/he has gotten so much bigger! I've been feeling pretty regular movement for about a week now, so it was pretty awesome to see the baby move at the same time as I felt it. I was a bit surprised that not all of what I feel is feet kicking, some of it is just bounces. We got to see and hear the heart beating, see the brain, the spinal cord, feet, legs, hands, and arms. But when it was time to get a good shot of the face Berry had decided to take a nap face down. No amount of bumping, talking, or moving would get him/her to flip over. So the tech told us we would just use it as an excuse to get another ultrasound next month. So she had us pick out a tiny crocheted hat and we were on our way. I'm pretty excited we'll have the chance to see baby again so soon! I asked about my weight gain at my appointment following the u/s. Because of wording I'm not sure if I have gained 2 lbs back from my lowest weight, or if I have gained 2 lbs total from my starting weight. Either way I feel its a pretty good way to start. Baby is growing fine, so I'm not really worried even if I don't gain any weight.

Other than that there isn't much new. Although, this week I find that cheez-itz/cheese nips/ baked cheese crackers....whichever name you recognize them by...are amazing! My new favorite snack.

So I'll sign off with the one quick shot we got of Berry's face. Isn't s/he a cutie?

Three's a crowd.

In the past two weeks I have had to ask my hubby to kill three spiders. Three of them! Number one -the size of a quarter- was too many in my books and made me nervous about going in to the kitchen for a week. Number two was tiny, and wouldn't have been too bad except that my dear kitty poked and prodded the thing until it started my way. I was barefoot and defenseless! I saw number three tonight, sitting on the wall by the doorway into Alex's study room. Just waiting for me to walk by so he could attack, no doubt. Thank goodness for my fearless Alex! He can just walk up to the nasty things, tell them they are in the wrong house, and then kill them with nothing but a napkin or a tissue. (Though for my sake he put the first one through the food disposal) Ahh, the downside to summer.

Just answering a few questions.

I thought maybe it would be fun to share some of what's happening with me and baby right now. Some women fill this out for every week, but I doubt I'll end up doing that.

My 18 week bump.

Week: 18

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I started out losing weight, so even after having gained a pound, I am -6lbs since I got pregnant.

Maternity Clothes: Definitely! I had to start wearing elastic waistbands at 8 weeks, so I'm not surprised.

Stretch Marks: Haha, yep.

Sleep: I sleep fitfully. I often wake up when I try to turn over. Thankfully I've adjusted much better to not sleeping on my tummy though.

Movement: Yes! It's very exciting because Berry is starting to kick hard enough that I'm certain it's baby, not just my imagination or food settling.

Food Cravings/Aversions: Not really any major cravings. I seem to want pastries a lot, and I still crave coffee often. I seem to have an aversion to pretty much all green veggies except salad, and the stuffed pepper I was craving this week. In other words, it all varies all the time.

Gender: It's completely unknown. Alex and I sometimes refer to Berry as "he". Though I'm not sure whether I actually have any kind of intuition about it, or if I'm being influenced by the larger percentage of people who think it's a boy based on my pregnancy so far.

Belly Button - In or Out: still innie

What I miss: Deli meats, and sleeping through the night...and getting up from our sunken in couch without grunting!

What I am looking forward to: My next ultrasound!

Bit of Wisdom: Hmm, I think the best thing I am still trying to grasp is to enjoy each day of being pregnant and let myself get excited about the baby growing inside me, not wasting time and energy worrying about what could go wrong.

Best Moment of the Week: So far? Earlier today when Berry was kicking really hard and Alex was able to feel it! It was more obviously baby than last time it happened. Berry seemed to be head up and swinging feet at the bottom of my tummy.

I had something all typed out..

It's just been one of those days, you know? One of those days when I register on a new forum and yet every time I try to start an introduction thread I get taken back to the registration page to review my info. When I run out of bobbin thread on my sewing machine over halfway through sewing a hem onto a 20 foot long banner, when I get a long comment typed out to post on my dad's facebook status and accidentally click to go to a new page, when I have almost two paragraphs typed out for what I intended my post to be about and then bump "refresh" with the heel of my hand, and a day that I find out that I lost one of my favorite earrings sometime over the last few days...but I have no idea when or where.

And I realize that I just made myself sound like a real whiner. I just can't believe how many things have gone wrong today! I never ever want to use my blog just to vent though, so I'm going to make this post more positive...

I have realized that either being pregnant, or taking the prenatal vitamins, has made my fingernails a bit less brittle.

The terrible dry skin that makes me look like I have a disease on my face is starting to get a bit better. Yay for tropical smelling Bath and Bodyworks lotion!

Though I had over 8,000 pictures stored on the laptop that died yesterday, we may be able to save them off the hard drive. By the way Dad- if you're reading this- how would you like to share some of your computer knowledge with me when you come visit??

The new laptop my love got me for my birthday came equipped with some free game trials, including the addicting "Plants vs Zombies" and a song by Ninja Tuna...which just made me laugh.

I made zucchini bread today which tastes amazing topped with some cream cheese...and I can claim it's healthy right? Green veggie and some dairy?

The livingroom is vacuumed. Which makes me very happy!

Did I mention that the summer semester is half over now? Yay!

Also, I've been a little more certain about when I feel Berry moving. At first it was easy to think I was just imagining things. Oh, and we have the big ultrasound coming up! And if you were wondering...we still plan to be surprised by baby's sex.

I guess that's all for now. We'll see how tomorrow goes, hopefully I will get a chance to say what I was planning on, haha. Not that any of it was really life-changing.