18 weeks

I am almost halfway done, at the beginning of this week, I said I could easily be pregnant 20 months I am finding this such a joyous and easy time, but I know as I get bigger I won't feel the same way!

The HUGE progression this week is that I can feel her. Thursday I felt two knocks in my lower right abdomen. I thought it was too hard to be an air bubble so pushed that part of my belly in with my fingers and hey presto...two knocks again in the same place. I have become so much more aware now "listening" out for more movement. She seems very active between 3:30pm and 5:30pm but thankfully seems to sleep in the night as she never knocks to wake me up. I've heard so often "how amazing" the feeling is but I never imagined it was this beautiful. I almost want to cry whenever she lets me know she is there.

The other notable thing to mention is how much bigger I have suddenly gotten just in a week, as I mention at "17 weeks" I was told she would almost double in size. Last week I hardly looked pregnant and this week I am huge! I cannot fit into my jeans anymore and I had to buy my first official maternity jeans from Motherhood. They are so comfy, they have a wide elasticated band that goes right over my entire stomach.

My appetite has grown significantly, although there are no specific cravings I am leaning toward fruits and veggies, thankfully! Today I ate an entire avocado to myself.

Specs say this week she is about 5 and a half inches head to rump and her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place. When I talk to her I always ask her what she is doing. As if she has a whole bunch to do, but I think she is responds to my exercise and to our surround sound. I tell her how much I love her and how her dad and I can't wait to meet her. Today I told her all about my mom, her grandmother in Africa and how she would be having a birthday this weekend. I always wonder if she hears my voice.

Hospital Packing List

Since research and research some more, is my thing...Its not surprising that I already started my packing list. In fact I saw some girls on Baby Centers list and it got me thinking...So why not have a list I can edit at anytime :-)

Labor Bag:
-medical records for nurse, and all insurance papers
-lavender massage oil
-easily digestible foods (fruit, yogurt, crackers)
-hard candy
-comfortable loose pants, and a tank top
-extra underwear, slippers
-burt's bees chapstick
-camera
-Phone numbers of people you (Or hunny) needs to call
-Ipod soothing music
-Cell phone
-magazines

Hospital stay after birth:
-sleep clothes designed for nursing, no underwire (2)
-robe
-socks
-granny panties; I heard the mesh ones they give you at the hospital are gross and fall off.
-toiletries (toothbrush/paste, shampoo, soap, deodorant, lotion, light makeup, tylenol, lotion)
-favorite sweatpants, you betcha.
-soft cotton t-shirts, or tank tops, I liked tank tops.
-nursing pads, maxi pads (heavy flow)
-clips and hairbands and stuff.
-A pillow from home is nice, and even an extra comfy blanket
-change for vending machine
-Car Seat
-Breastfeeding pillow

For Baby:
-baby t-shirts with snap side closure (I'm thinking a onesie would irritate the cord?)
-Blanket for bringing baby home, it'll be Feb and cold
-Baby's going home outfit

17 weeks

9/17/09
Wow - time is flying by. At 9:40am I went into to see Dr Chortkoff for a checkup. They took my blood for the second trimester, weighed me- up another 3LB (total 135lb) and listened to our little girls heartbeat on the doppler. It was about 130bpm which Dana said was normal and she probably thought she was sleeping.

Over the last couple of days I have been feeling odd movement, I thought at first it was the liquid in my body moving around, then I thought I had gas byt today, I am pretty sure I can feel her moving.I read that at first its like a butterfly feeling which I definitely had a bit of last week but this week has been more of a motion feeling. I look forward to that feeling getting stronger.

According to my books and websites I should be feeling a little off balance and getting itchy skin with the stretching. So far I have neither. I hope and pray that it stays that way, I have made it thus far without the "usual" symptoms :-)

I did some reading on products for stretch marks. It seems lotions can't really prevent the stretch marks, if anything they alleviate the itchiness. The best advice seems to be that I don't gain weight too fast and that I drink plenty of water, both of which I am doing.

When I was weighed in my appointment I had gained 3lb from the last weigh in so overall I have gained a healthy 5lb. The nurse Jennifer said that I don't need worry, at this rate I will put on the suggested 25lb by birth. I just want my baby to be healthy and have enough poundage for birthing.

Well I am off to Yardage Town to see what sort of fabrics I may find for the very blank nursery.

4D ultrasound - 16 weeks

Good eating for baby and me

A friend of mine is a wonderful nutritionist, she suggested some great books to read on eating when pregnant that I wanted to share:

"Expect the Best: Your Guide to Healthy Eating Behavior Before, During and After Pregnancy"
"Feed the Belly: The Pregnant Mom's Healthy Eating Guide"

I hardest thing I have found is having to cut back on fish. I used to eat it about 3 to 4 times a week and now really have to limit my intake. I find green salads don't fill me and I have a constant urge for pasta and rice just to feel that full belly. I try to stick to the whole grains.ings"

Here is one of my favorite pregnancy meals that baby loves too:

Brocco Mac and Cheese

The ultimate comfort food grows up a little in this healthy version. It’s still rich and cheesy, but it also gets extra calcium from the dried milk powder and the broccoli. The top gets nice and crunchy from the breadcrumbs.

Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 33 minutes
Makes 6 servings

Baby Bonus:
More than 30 percent of your daily calcium needs—for Baby’s growing bones—wrapped up in cheesy goodness.

Momma Must-Have:
You get to indulge your comfort food craving without feeling the least bit guilty.

2 cups 1% organic milk
1 tablespoon nonfat dried milk powder
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
6 ounces organic shredded cheddar cheese
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 10-ounce package frozen chopped broccoli, thawed
8 ounces whole-wheat macaroni, cooked
¼ cup dry breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Spray an 11x7-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.
2. Combine the milk with the milk powder in a measuring cup or small bowl. Set aside.
3. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour. Cook, stirring constantly for two minutes.
4. Add the milk gradually, whisking after each addition. Cook for a total of 5 minutes until mixture thickens, whisking constantly. Remove from heat.
5. Add the cheddar cheese, salt, and pepper to the warm milk mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon until the cheese melts, about a minute. Stir in the broccoli and cooked macaroni. Transfer mixture to the prepared baking dish, sprinkle the breadcrumbs and Parmesan on top, and put in the oven.
6. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden on top. Let sit for 5 minutes before digging in.

Calories 276; Fat 13 g (Sat 7 g, Mono 0 g, Poly 0 g); Cholesterol 41 mg; Protein 16 g; Carbohydrate 28 g; Sugars 6 g; Fiber 3 g; Iron 1 mg; Sodium 383 mg; Calcium 360 mg; Folate 37 mcg; Beta-Carotene 290 mcg

16 weeks

It was a very big day for us today, we could barely contain ourselves waiting for 1:30 when we would see our child in a 4D ultrasound. We went to "The Ultrasound Experience" in San Marcos, the ladies that work there were excited and friendly and we even received a small gift for being referred by a friend. Best results for a 4D sonogram is 23 weeks so we knew our baby would look "skinny", the key reason for us making the appointment was to find out the gender, but seeing her up there, seeing her move, her heartbeat, her hands and nose, was priceless.

She was fast asleep when we started, she was clutched to the placenta which is as big as she is, when the tech started to poke my belly she started to move, she opened her mouth, she kicked her legs, moved her arms and hugged and rubbed her face on the placenta. We already know she is a cuddle bug. IT was crazy to see her moving so much and yet I couldn't feel a thing.


We took two pairs of booties to the tech and told her to secretly put whichever booties belonged to the the appropriate gender into a sealed box. We took that box with the ultrasound image inside displaying the gender parts to mom and dad's house, we invited Jessica and the rest of the family was there. We opened the box and all got the same news at the same time. We were not expecting to see the girl booties but are so overjoyed to be having the first girl Bruno grandchild. In celebration, Stephanie gave us this beautiful designer clothes from Mabels and mom gave us a sweet little robot for her room. Yes a robot...thats the theme :-)

THIS WEEK: Apparently she will double in size. Already she is about 4 1/2 inches long. I think I started feeling her, a fluttery, fizzy feeling at night but that could be so many things. My belly is still on the small size yet clothes are starting to feel more snug. I am loving the little VW Rabbit so much I even named "her" Jessica..as in Jessica Rabbit :-) The big craving over the last 5 days...fresh tart lemonade with bits.

BIRTH: Drew Jalen Davis was born today to proud parents Drew and Angelique and sister Mia. He was 7.1 pounds and is 21 inches long. He is a perfect little guy and I can't wait for our little girl to met her friends. Drew just born, Nayeli Jessica Flore's baby girl and her cousin Bennett Ritchie due in January!

What could it be?

15 weeks

4 months today! Gone are the days that people refer to months, everything is in weeks and we have 25 weeks to go! My belly has finally popped past the point of the "beer belly" and actually looks like a "bun in the oven" I even measured the bump and for those of you in the US it is a whopping 35 inches round.

Still...I feel awesome. Full of energy, no cravings, no worries or weird stuff. This little person is such a blessing. Yesterday I was tempted to do the inteligender, but the hubby wants to wait until our 20 week mark when its 100% accurate. The intelligender test is only 90% accurate. We will also find out the same time as the family which is very important to him. So we wait. Just a tad longer. :-)

I would say this week I have been consumed with decorating ideas. My parents brought us a pillow from South Africa with cute little robots all over. I LOVE ROBOTS, so will be using this one pillow as my inspiration. If its a girl I think I will lean towards the sunny colors: Orange, red and yellow. If its a boy I will lean towards the cool colors: greens and blues. I found a super deal on a Graco crib too...I will be going with my MIL this weekend to check it out! I'm very excited to get started...Thats the planner in me.


Another big move in the baby direction is we downsized our car! I sold the luxury shi-shi-la-la car and got the slick city economy car for the cool mom :-) This is my 6th VW and it goes like a bullet, the trunk space is super roomy, perfect for the Bob, its a heavy car with thick doors so very secure and safe too. Cutting our payments in half will help the budget for our little family.