BUMP REPORT – 21 Weeks

PREGNANCY WEEK 21

My age: 27

How far along: 21 weeks

How big is baby: the size of a carrot.  She is 10.5 inches long and weighs 12.7 ounces.

Exercise/Activity Level: Due to traveling for Memorial weekend, I got 5 days of exercise in this past week instead of 6.  I try to shoot for 5 days in a week, and if I make it to 6 then I feel extra good.  I did a lot of weight lifting at the gym again this week (feels so GOOD to be back to lifting).  On days I lift weights, I still try to do 40-50 minutes of cardio in addition to weights.  I did 2 outdoor runs this week….getting harder and harder to maintain running.

Maternity clothes:  I wear mainly maternity, but I’m still trying to wear some of my favorite shirts while they still stretch over my belly.  Motherhood Maternity was having an online sale for the holiday weekend, so I got a few more shirts that will arrive next week.  I love sales:)

Stretch marks: None.

Belly button: Innie.

Sleep: Good.  Minus one night where I awoke at 3:00 a.m. due to terrible heartburn.  My body pillow has been great.  Even while traveling and sleeping in a different bed for 3 nights I slept well.

Best moment of the week: We went out of town for Memorial weekend to southern Colorado.  It was a LONG drive (8 hours in the car each way), but the drive was worth it!  Our best friends took us to their parents’ ranch.  It was a fun weekend filled with fishing, playing with their dogs, going to a native American reservation museum, helping brand two baby calves, going to Four Corners (where Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico and Utah all meet), eating lots of home cooked food and riding horses (not me, but Eric did).  Here are a few photos to sum up the weekend:

Beautiful scenery along our drive down to southern Colorado.

Eric and I relaxing on the porch swing at the cabin.

The cows on the ranch.  The two mommas and their babies (about 6 weeks old).  HOW CUTE!

Eric got to help with the process of branding the calves!  That was very interesting to watch.

The calf with the finished product.

The ranch was so pretty.  Their cabin is right in a canyon.

Eric riding Smoke, our friend’s horse.

Me and my best friend at Four Corners (where Colorado, Arizona, Utah and New Mexico meet).

Four Corners.

Rowdy, one of their dogs was absolutely adorable.

At the Anasazi Indians reservation/museum.  Very close to Mesa Verde, where ancient native American’s lived in cliff dwellings.

Food cravings: Fruits and sweets.

Food aversions: Chicken (and fish….but I have always hated fish).

Symptoms: Growing belly, heartburn, sciatic nerve pain, low back soreness, leaking colostrum, shortness of breath and easily fatigue while running/exercising.

Movement: I feel stronger and stronger movements each day.  Soon Eric will be able to feel her too.

Gender: Baby girl!

What I’m looking forward to: Summer and the pool!

What I’m nervous about: Bathing suits, lol.

What I miss: My old body.  I love my new body and watching my belly grow nice and round, but I do miss my small waist and feeling light and fit.  I get out of breath easily and that’s hard to wrap my head around sometimes.

Next appointment: Tuesday, June 11, 2013.

Nursery Ideas

Now that we found out our baby is a girl, I can more logically start envisioning the future with this little one.  I’m imagining all the cutesy girly pinks, purples, laces and frills that are to come.  I also have started to think more practically about baby’s nursery.  After perusing through pinterest, I have a few pretty concrete ideas for how I envision my baby girl’s nursery.  My idea is to have a purple room with small accents of teal.  Here are some visuals that I found on pinterest:

This picture is exactly what I envision the nursery to look like.  I love the purple and pale gray with white furniture.

http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/56/14/d7/5614d743db2365bb52f4b0fc443334ea.jpg

I love the idea of adding small pops of teal with a purple room.  Teal is my favorite color, so of COURSE I want to add it as an accent.

http://www.potterybarnkids.com/products/brooklyn-nursery-bedding/?pkey=rromnurbynenv.

Here is another visual of mixing teal with purple.  This picture shows a little MORE teal than I actually envision.  I’d rather it be more pops of color, rather than equal parts purple with equal parts teal.

http://www.inspirationfordecoration.com/

I think I always wished to be a princess as a little girl.  The canopy over the crib screams princess to me!  I really want to find a canopy and maybe a cute little chandelier like this picture shows.  I just think it is adorable.

http://projectnursery.com/2012/07/gallery-roundup-crib-canopies/

One thing that is good about using an accent wall (purple wall) and accent pieces (like pops of teal), make it easy to transition if our 2nd baby is a boy.  When baby #2 makes his or her way into the world, we can always simply repaint the one accent wall to a blue or green and it’s a fairly simple transition.

In general, I’m just SO EXCITED to have this baby and I can’t wait to meet her.  Getting ideas for the nursery are just one way for me to get more excited about her.

BUMP REPORT – 20 Weeks

PREGNANCY WEEK 20

My age: 27

How far along: 20 weeks (HALFWAY THERE!)

How big is baby: the size of a banana (6.5 inches from head to bottom and 10.5 inches from head to heel – starting next week the baby’s measurements will always be from head to heel).  She weighs 10.6 ounces.

Exercise/Activity Level: This week I exercised 6 days and felt great.  I lifted weights more than I have done so in weeks previous.  I’m someone who has always known and loved the perks of lifting weights (I used to be a personal trainer, after all!).  But for some reason I sometimes slack in the weight lifting department from time to time.  Cardio exercise becomes my main focus and I lose sight of my muscular strength and endurance.  I am noticing that cardio is becoming more and more challenging as the pregnancy weeks progress….so I thought, why not resume some lifting?  So this week I lifted full body several days, got 4 runs in (3 outdoors, one indoors), and used cardio machines on non running days – arc trainer and the upright bike (yes, I always consider the bike the “lazy man’s cardio machine” but I kept my heart rate up, so it counts!)

On the subject of running – I am noticing a trend lately: TIGHT CALVES!!  At first I thought it was a one-time fluke, but then it’s pretty much been every run.  I’m trying to keep my calves stretched out, but this is affecting my running and causing me to take more walking breaks because it gets so bad.

Maternity clothes:  I scored big on maternity this week!  My friend Bridget brought me a boatload of maternity clothes that I can use.  In fact, the white pants in this week’s bump picture are Bridget’s pants.

Stretch marks: None.

Belly button: Still an innie.  I have a feeling that I will eventually pop out to an outie…it gets more and more shallow daily.

Sleep: Eric is so sweet and always wanting to take care of the baby and I as much as possible, so this week he insisted we buy a body pillow.  I used it for the first time last night and admit it does help side sleeping to be more comfortable.  Also, on the topic of sleep, my dreams continue to be absolutely bizarre and outrageous!  Last night my dream was all about how I was part of the black market combined with the mob, it was kind of suspenseful and scary!

Best moment of the week: I have to label this best moment(s) this week:

1. Ultrasound.  The anatomy ultrasound we had was by FAR the best moment of the week.  We spent 45 minutes watching our baby kicking, punching, wiggling and eventually settling down and hiccuping.  She is perfectly healthy (waahoo!!) and beautiful and OURS!  Both Eric and I were blown away by how real our baby is.  It was also pretty darn cool that we found out she is a GIRL too!

2. Friends and family’s reactions.  My family is huge (I’m one of 8 kids!), so our baby is the 10th grandchild on my side.  Well, there are 8 boys and our baby will be the 2nd girl….so my family seems very excited to start balancing that ratio out.  It felt SO GOOD to hear such excitement and positive reactions from my family.  My friends also are very excited for baby girl too!  It was cool that we were able to have a small BBQ to share the news with a few friends.

3. Concert.  We have a lot of concerts on our agenda for this summer.  The concert we went to this past weekend was Dierks Bentley, Miranda Lambert and Randy Houser.  It was a fun night with music and friends.

4. Strangers noticing my pregnancy.  On Thursday, I had the first stranger ask me when I was due.  I was sort of dumbfounded since I had not gotten that question before, but I proudly told her the beginning of October.  It was the cashier at Walgreens.  Then yesterday a older Walmart employee who was helping me find something asked when I was due.  I told her it’s a girl and she said I should name the baby Joann (that was her name, of course!).  I must say, it feels pretty good to have people notice my pregnancy…it means I’m past the “fat looking” stage.  Speaking of which, here is a progression of weeks 12-20.  Weird to think I thought I was “showing” at 13 weeks!

Food cravings: Fruit, raisinettes, raisin bran cereal, and Gatorade.

Here is a picture I took of my kitchen counter the other day….you can’t tell I eat a lot of fruit, can you??

I made this fruit salad to take to a friend’s birthday party over the weekend.  And no, I didn’t use any of the fruit from the other picture:)  This was all bought in addition to that.

Food aversions: Chicken.  One day I will be brave and eat it.  Or try.

Symptoms: HEARTBURN (really bad this week!), low back gets sore when sitting, growing belly, calf tightness while running (overall harder time running), leaky tatas, crazy dreams, frequent urination and an overall feeling of discomfort from growing.

Movement: I have been feeling the baby moving regularly now!

Gender: Baby girl!

What I’m looking forward to: Memorial weekend.  We have a road trip planned with friends to southern Colorado.

What I’m nervous about: Memorial weekend:)  The long car ride.  I’m looking forward to the trip though!

What I miss: Feeling light when running.  I feel so “heavy” and slow while I run now.

Next appointment: Tuesday, June 11, 2013.

Grandma loves you

My mom sent me the sweetest card after she found out our baby is a girl.  The card is written not to me, but to our baby.  I started tearing up as I read through it.  This is my parent’s 10th grandchild and it will be my in-laws’ first grandchild.  This baby is already loved by so many people.  This card is just a nice reminder that our baby holds the hearts of other besides Eric and I.  My mom writes:

“She’s A Girl!

This is wonderful exciting news!!  A little precious Baby Lute.  You are a miracle, special made creation in your mother’s womb.  You are our 2nd grand daughter with 8 grandsons.  Yes you are special.  A first Lute grandbaby at that.  Being a “first born” you will have many responsibilities.  But that will come later.  Right now you are safe in your room and it is your job to grow & listen to your mother’s voice (dad’s too).  You have loving parents and a great God to get to know.  I love you and will be praying for you as I have been.

Love, Grandma”

Anatomy Ultrasound – REVEAL INCLUDED!!

This morning I woke up with butterflies in my stomach.  Today is the day we got our ultrasound to find out if our baby is 1. healthy and growing and 2. a boy or a girl.  I got up early, went outside for a run with the dog (it was a warm and gorgeous morning for it too!).  The entire run all I could do was think and pray about our little baby.  My prayers were answered: God is giving us a 100% healthy little baby!  I couldn’t stop smiling (or crying) during the ultrasound.  I was super excited that our baby is measuring on track and PERFECTLY healthy!  God is so good and we feel incredibly blessed.

Right after the ultrasound.  (Sorry for my scary eye makeup–I cried during the ultrasound from happiness).  Eric and I were just blown away at how REAL this quickly became!

Tonight, we had a small little BBQ where we told some of our close friends the baby’s gender.

I made cupcakes with appropriate colored filling (pink or blue on the inside).

We filled a box with balloons…..what color balloons do you think will come out?!?

 

 

Well folks PINK BALLOONS, it’s a little GIRL!

Eric and I couldn’t be MORE thrilled for our healthy little girl.

I’m excited to be a mom to a daughter!

BUMP REPORT – 19 Weeks

PREGNANCY WEEK 19

My age: 27

How far along: 19 weeks

How big is baby: the size of a mango (mmmmm, I LOVE mangoes!) – 6 inches long and weighs 8.5 ounces

Exercise/Activity Level: Did my usual 6 days of exercise this week.  One of my days at the gym I decided to run sprints (well, more like intervals, since my sprints were at a 8mph, when I used to run sprints up to 10mph), and that was an excellent workout.  I was super sweaty from that.  I wonder if other gym-goers have noticed I’m pregnant yet, or if they just assume I’m packing on weight in the midsection.  If they do notice my pregnancy, they probably think I’m a crazy pregnant chick for running so much!  (More power to me – I feel great from working out!)  My overall week for exercise consisted of 3 days running and 3 days of cardio machines (with two of those days I lifted weights too).

Maternity clothes:  This past week it dawned on me that I can only wear some of my non-maternity pieces for only a little longer, so I found myself wearing some of those items this week.  I must admit that non-maternity clothes are so uncomfortable, though.  When I wear regular clothes, I look less pregnant and more “thick” (not very flattering!)….and when I wear maternity clothes, I feel that I look more pregnant.  So the moral of the story is: I look better in maternity, but feel sad that my huge wardrobe is dwindling down to a small wardrobe.

Stretch marks: None.  I hope I never have to answer yes to this question.

Belly button: Innie, though I notice my belly button is getting slightly more shallow.

Sleep: I officially have to sleep on my side.  Lying down on my back hurts…it feels like there is a weight in my tummy that presses down with gravity.  So sleeping on my side helps.  Unfortunately my shoulders and hips ache from side sleeping.

Best moment of the week: Waking up on Mother’s Day to my sweet husband bringing me tulips and a card in bed.  My emotions got the best of me and I started sobbing.  How sweet?!

My beautiful flowers on my first mother’s day. 

Food cravings: Fruit and sweets.  I eat so many apples and strawberries that I should invest in stock.

Food aversions: Chicken.  Sorry this answer is so boring.

Symptoms: Hip aches from sleeping my sides, heartburn, frequent peeing, back pain from sitting, sore calf muscles while running, general fatigue, growing boobs (they are having another growth spurt – TMI) and occasional round ligament pain.

Movement: I THINK I started feeling the baby this week.  It’s hard to tell, but I keep feeling the same thing after several days.  It sort of feels like a little twitch in my lower abdomen.  Or almost like air bubbles.

Gender: Unknown, but WE FIND OUT TOMORROW!  My guess is girl, but I’ll be happy with either boy or girl.

What I’m looking forward to: Looking forward to seeing our baby on the ultrasound.

What I’m nervous about: Long car ride over Memorial weekend.  We have an 8-hour trip (per way), and I pray that my back doesn’t kill me from sitting so long!

What I miss: My small boobs.  HAHA!  I really, honestly do!

Next appointment: Tuesday, May 14 at 9am.

19 Weeks (from thebump.com)

We are just days away from our anatomy ultrasound!  Getting super excited!  Here is thebump.com’s information about 19 weeks pregnancy.  -Katy

At 19 weeks, you’re probably getting psyched for your mid-pregnancy ultrasound. Most parents-to-be think of this test as the chance they get to find out baby’s sex. But you actually will see a lot more than baby’s boy or girl parts. The ultrasound technician will scan pretty much scan all of baby’s body to make sure everything’s developing properly. Don’t leave the place without getting some printouts from the scan to take home with you and show off. Of course, going in for your test isn’t the only thing you should be planning ahead for around week 19, you should also probably start the search for a pediatrician. Start by asking some family and friends for recommendations and then make a few appointments to meet with the docs. So what do you think it is — a boy or a girl?

your baby’s the size of a mango!

At about 6.0 inches long and weighing in at about 8.5 ounces, she’s getting there!

your baby at 19 weeks

• Developing a protective coating over her skin, called vernix caseosa. It’s greasy and white and you may see some of it at her birth.
• Working on her five senses. Nerve cells for her sense of taste, hearing, sight and smell are developing in her brain.

pregnancy symptoms at 19 weeks

• Aches and pains in your abdomen, caused by your muscles stretching to accommodate baby.
• Dizziness or lightheadedness
• Leg cramps: one way to ease the pain: Extend your leg and flex your ankle and toes toward your knees. Or enlist your partner for a calf (and back!) massage.
• Hip pain. If it bothers you at night, try sleeping on your side with a pillow between your knees.

2012 – Year of Races

Running is such great exercise for both body and mind!  After dreaming about it for years, I finally ran my first half marathon in the spring of 2010.  Ever since that first race, I have loved training for half marathons.  Accomplishing such a feat as 13.1 miles is such an amazing feeling!  Up to date, I have ran 7 half marathons since that first one in 2010.  Eric and I have had 2013 in mind as our planned year to have a baby.  With this in mind, I made the most out of 2012 as far as racing goes!

As the title implies, in 2012, I had a “year of races” since I knew 2013 would be a pregnancy year.  In 2012 I ran 4 half marathons, 1 10-mile trail race, and 1 5K race.  It was a very accomplished running year!  I hope post-pregnancy I will be able to get back to some races.  So far during pregnancy I have run a 5K race.

May 2012 – Colfax Half Marathon, Denver, CO

I have run the Colfax race a few times.  In May, I didn’t realize this would be the 1st of 4 half marathons for the year.  It was a beautiful day and I had 2 friends who also ran in events that day.

June 2012 – Slacker Half Marathon, Georgetown, CO (at high altitude!)

Boy was this the hardest race I’ve ever done (and my WORSE personal race time too).  The race started at Loveland Ski Resort and ended up in downtown Georgetown.  The race has an overall altitude drop, but it was STILL AT ALTITUDE!!  The race started at 10,800 ft and ended at 8,500 ft.  I don’t have asthma, but I had to use an inhaler mid race.  Thankfully, I had convinced my best friend to run this torture race with me, so I wasn’t all alone!

August 2012 – Firefly 5K Run, Denver, CO

This was a “just for fun” race with 3 of my girlfriends.  The race started in downtown Denver after dark.  All the runners were decked out in reflective and glowing gear.  It was so much fun to participate in.

October 2012 – Highlands Ranch 10 Miler (Trail Race), Highlands Ranch, CO

What a challenging race!  I did this 10 mile race as a training run for my upcoming half marathons.  It was a trail race that was HILLY and MUDDY!  I ended up placing 2nd in my age group, what a huge accomplishment!

November 2012 – Heart Center of the Rockies Half Marathon, Loveland, CO

This race was absolutely gorgeous!  The snow capped mountains were in viewpoint throughout most of the race.  We ran around 2 lakes as well.  I loved this race.  I got CLOSE to my PR too.  My PR is 2:06 (which I ran in 2011).  This race I ran in 2:08….so close!!

November 2012 – Valparaiso Half Marathon, Valparaiso, IN

My sisters (me in pink, sister Melody in blue, her friend Kelly in light pink, and sister Maggie in raspberry) are also runners, so I convinced them to run a half marathon all together if I came to them for the race.  It was so much fun!  We dressed in tutus and it was a big hit!  I was hoping to break my PR at this race (since I trained in Denver and came down to sea level for the race).  Due to a high-wind storm,  I ended up finishing in 2:11….so my PR still remains at 2:06.

Gender Prediction Quiz!

We are just days away (less than a week!) from our big ultrasound!  For fun, my friend helped me take a 15-question-quiz to predict the baby’s gender last night.  Here is the quiz and my answers:

1. How pointy is your bump (are you carrying high or low)? – Unsure quite yet (maybe more on the high side??)

2. Do you know the baby’s heart rate? – 140’s-150’s at last appointment

3. How has your skin changed during pregnancy? – I guess it has gotten better since I’m not on any acne medication and my face is pretty clear even without it.

4. Did you have a lot of nausea? – Yes, the 1st trimester was really nauseating!

5. Do you have any cravings? – Sweets and fruits.

6. Are you legs extra hair during pregnancy? – No, they are the same as usual.

7. Does your husband have more brothers or sisters? – Brothers (one).

8. What is the shape of your bump (out front verses all in legs/butt/thighs)? – More out front I guess.

9. How has your face changed during pregnancy? – I’ve been told it’s more full.

10. Are your feet more cold or less cold during pregnancy? – No change.

11. Do you crave fruits and sweets or salt and meats?  – Fruits and sweets

12. Is the baby’s dad gaining weight? – No.

13. Has your nose increased in size? – No.

14. Has your chest stayed the same, grown or shrunk during pregnancy? – Grown.

15. Is your urine bright or dull colored? – Bright if I’m dehydrated, dull if hydrated.

______________________________________

RESULTS ARE IN!!  (According to this quiz):

Congratulations, after evaluating all of your answers, we can conclude that there is a 66.7% chance that it’s going to be a GIRL and a 33.3% chance that it is going to be a BOY.

BUMP REPORT – Week 18

PREGNANCY WEEK 18

My age: 27

How far along: 18 weeks

How big is baby: the size of a bell pepper (also a sweet potato).  Baby now is 5.6 inches long and weighs 6.7 ounces.

Exercise/Activity Level: I managed to get another 6 days in this past week of workouts.  I did 3 days of running and 3 days at the gym (mainly cardio this week, I sort of slacked on the weights).  Our Colorado spring weather pattern has been pretty funky the past 5 weeks in a row: a 1-day snowfall during the week and gorgeous and warm on the weekends….so May 1st it was snowing and we accumulated 6 inches at our house.  So that day I did my run on the treadmill.  Running on the treadmill is such a BORE!  Those miles felt like they took an eternity to run.  The other 2 runs were both outside running since the snow had melted and temps had increased.  Overall, I feel pleased with my exercise level again.  One of these days I’m sure it won’t be so easy.

Maternity clothes: I am one of those pregnant ladies who embraces the opportunity for new clothes!  I’m not sure why some women are so “proud” to wear a limited amount of maternity items throughout their pregnancies.  I  had one girl tell me recently, “I managed to get through my whole pregnancy with only one pair of maternity shorts.”  Oh please!  My honest opinion is that pregnant bodies look better in maternity clothes.  I am still very much mixing non maternity with maternity pieces as long as I can, but I am fully embracing wearing some new clothes:)

Stretch marks: None.  Though I did get sunburnt from laying out in the backyard on Friday.  Ouch!

Belly button: Innie.

Sleep: Still sleeping well again this week!  I had a friend ask me about sleep and I proudly boasted that I’m 100% thankful for my deep sleep during this period.  I’m soaking it up while I still can!  I am noticing that sleeping on my side does feel better.  I’m a back or stomach sleeper, those are becoming increasingly impossible.  Left side, here I come!

Best moment of the week: Going to Red Rocks Amphitheatre for a concert!  We saw Chris Tomlin (who we both absolutely LOVE!).  It was probably the best concert I have been to in my whole life!!  Eric and I have lived in Colorado for 5 years, and this was our first Red Rocks concert.  It was an out-of-mind experience!

Eric and I at Red Rocks for Chris Tomlin!

Chris Tomlin was amazing!

Between the amazing worship songs and the gorgeous scenery, God’s presence totally filled that place! 

Food cravings: This week on Instagram, one of my cousins posted a picture of swiss cake rolls.  So I instantly craved swiss cake rolls.  I notice that trend lately: I see something in a picture or on TV and I instantly crave it!

Food aversions: Still haven’t eaten chicken.

Symptoms: My back has started to feel sore when I sit too long.  I have to put a pillow in the curve of my low back and it helps.  Also, chiropractic is KEY for this….good thing I have a phenomenal chiropractor!  Also, round ligament pain has started rearing it’s ugly head.  I sneezed the other day and my round ligament hurt for the next several minutes FIERCELY!  Oh boy!  And lastly, I try to keep the TMI (too much info) symptoms to myself, but this one really freaked me out a bit (don’t read if you don’t want to know TMI!!!!!): leaking colostrum from my breasts several times this week.  I never knew it started this early on!  It’s crazy to me!

Movement: Still none.  I have a “feeling” it will be happening soon though!

Gender: Not sure yet.  Only one week until we find out!

What I’m looking forward to: I’m looking forward to summer.  My brother and his wife will be visiting us (and their two sweet kiddos!), we have 5 concerts lined up, camping trips and a trip to Florida.  I’m so EXCITED that summer is right around the corner!

What I’m nervous about: I’m nervous for our anatomy scan next week.  I just hope and pray that we have a healthy baby in there!  It’s nerve wracking to know that the anatomy scan is when we could find out if anything is wrong with baby.

What I miss: I’m a pretty content person…I really can’t think of anything:)

Next appointment: Tuesday, May 14 at 9am.