Random Update

Today I am 23.5 weeks! I am looking forward to reaching the next milestone of 24 weeks and knowing that with severe medical efforts, Jack would be viable outside the womb after 24 weeks. Although, I've told him to stay in there until at least 38 weeks. ;)

This week, heartburn and acid reflux have decided to take over. In addition, I've had a migraine for 2 days and am not sure how to get rid of it. I hope it goes away soon so I can make it through this last week of work before Spring Break!

Here are a few close ups of my "bump" or "mountain" as I see it now. I'm still only up 9-10lbs at this point but feel like my stomach makes me look 20lbs heavier.

In addition to Jack's progress, I am sure most of you heard we are building a house. I am SO excited to have our OWN home where we can paint and decorate however we want. Although we didn't originally plan to build, I love our house already. Our lot is much smaller than we would have preferred but at the time it was the best decision for us and [ our family ]. I love saying that. :] I cannot wait to post pictures of the progress. Michael meets with the construction manager this week to get an estimated timeline of events but we are currently scheduled to close in June. I just hope we get in the house before Jack makes his big debut. :) 

Here's the sketch of our elevation from the website. 

Our siding will be gray and the doors/shutters will be black:

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Our kitchen! 

Our counters are a slightly different color and we won't have the sunroom off to the left

because I didn't want to eat into our (already too small) yard. I am excited for recessed lighting and an island in the kitchen. This is the model home.

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The floor plan:

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And here's our lot and the SOLD sign on it. :)

Two houses behind us have large black lab mixes so Cooper will make new friends, too.

That's all for now!

Love, 

The GROWING Goodins 

Not quite 23...

This blog post is coming a half week later because I was waiting on our doctor's appointment before posting so I could post Jack's most recent size and weight findings. I'm sure you are thrilled I did. ;)

Mini G's size: According to Baby Center, at 22 weeks a baby averages to be 11 inches long and weighs about 1 pound. At 23 weeks, a baby is just over a pound. We are in the middle of these two weeks with Jack and he is measuring 1lb 8oz! We really do have a linebacker on our hands. :) He is also measuring 24.5 weeks all over, too. His weight balances out with how big he is measuring so that makes me feel better but I sure hope this baby slows down or I'll be popping out a toddler.

Weight gain: I'm currently up 8.5 - 9 pounds at this point and continue to go to Zumba once a week and am trying to walk a few days a week since the weather is warming up. I really hope to stay on target with weight gain and with Jack already weighing 1lb 8oz of that plus my uterus and fluids, I'm feeling pretty good that the weight gain isn't all me.

Best moment this week: Seeing Jack's wiggly self this morning at the ultrasound. He is head down and his body was wrapped along my right side with his feet on my left so he's definitely taking over in there. The ultrasound tech just kept commenting on how much of a "mover" he was. Our second best moment of the week was finding out that our house should close in June instead of August. I'd LOVE to get into the new house before Jack arrives.

Food cravings: Still nothing major. I did have to have Michael go out and get me a chocolate shake the other night and think of soft serve chocolate ice cream often. However, with saving for a house and trying to stay on track with weight, I try not to give into cravings unless I can't live without it...

Symptoms: Round ligament pain and heartburn, still. After fighting off strep, I'm definitely tired all the time but am hoping that gets better.

Looking forward to: Continuing to feel Jack kick. I absolutely love that feeling. For now. ;)

We continue to see the high risk doctor ever 3-4 weeks to monitor his kidneys. We met with Dr. Rink from Riley Children's Hospital today and he seemed very positive. He informed me this is the most common thing they identify during pregnancy and that 80% of babies outgrow Hydronephrosis in utero. The 20% that don't ends up being roughly 1 in every 500 pregnancies and can usually be fixed with a simple surgery. At this point, if that is the only thing wrong with Jack, I can handle it. Keep the positive thoughts coming our way; we appreciate them. :)

 

Love, 

The GROWING Goodins 

Halfway, folks!

Yesterday I hit the 20 week mark. I'm so excited to know we are halfway to meeting our little man! I'm also excited to go back to the high risk doctor in two weeks to check on him. I'm staying positive with his Hydronephrosis and am thankful we get to continue to see Jack every 4 weeks. I'm especially interested to see how much our little chunk has grown.

On a downside, because of my PCOS and a strong family history of diabetes, I had to do an early screener for Gestational Diabetes. Of course, I failed the one hour test and go in tomorrow to complete the 3 hour test. Positive thoughts, please! I've always known GD was a possibility with all the odds against me but I'm not ready to accept the side effects of that along with all the other issues we're already battling.

Mini G's size: At the 20 week mark, Jack should weigh about 10.5 ounces. However, he was estimated to weigh 10 ounces at his 18 week appointment so I am sure he's bigger than that already. Lengthwise, he should be the length of a banana. It's crazy to think how fast babies grow.

Weight gain: I'm currently up 6.5 pounds at this point and am proud that I have not gone crazy with snacking. This is another reason I know that my odds for GD are already against me because it's not like I've only been eating junk food all along and packing on the pounds. I've also been working out so I know that my diet and exercise may not be perfect but I am definitely trying to do that right thing and not just sitting at home eating donuts all day. The average weight gain for this point is 10 pounds so I'm hoping to stick to 25lbs or less for the entire pregnancy. We'll see how that goes.

Best moment this week: Stronger kicks! I absolutely love feeling Jack kick and the kicks are getting more aggressive so I know for sure that's what I'm feeling. In addition, Michael was able to feel Jack kick from the outside this week. I know it grossed him out because he referred to the movie 'Alien' but it's still a huge milestone.

Food cravings: No cravings. I've actually had little appetite this entire pregnancy. Nothing ever sounds good and when I do eat, I get full after a few bites. 

Symptoms: Round ligament pain and heartburn are the only symptoms I am battling right now. A lot of nights my knee seems to lock up and cramp but I'm not sure if that is pregnancy related or not. I've had some headaches off and on again but nothing too excruciating. 

Looking forward to: Continuing to feel Jack kick and seeing him in 2 weeks at our next appointment. <3 

This week's picture is taken more from the front view. The other pictures turned out blurry thanks to my husband's rush to get it over with. You can clearly tell that most of my growth this pregnancy has been up top and I don't mean my stomach. ;) Sorry to any boys out there.

Love, 

The Growing Goodins

19 weeks!

Mini G's size: At 19 weeks, Jack should be 8.5oz and 6 inches from head to rump. Baby Center says, "the size of a large heirloom tomato." However, at our 18w1d appointment, Jack was measuring 19w1d and his stomach was measuring 20w. They predicted that he weighed about 10oz based on that ultrasound (a week ago!). I think I'm going to have a chunky baby on my hands! :) 

Weight gain: Still only running about 5-6 pounds at this point. I know I'll start packing it on the last half of the pregnancy. 

Best moment this week: Nothing too exciting this weekend. I have felt a lot of movement and I'm ready for bigger movement. Remind me that I said this when I complain of him kicking me in the ribs. ;)

Food cravings: I really haven't had any cravings. I've been wanting something salty the past few days but have fought against it in hopes of sticking to my healthy eating plan. 

Symptoms: Round ligament pain; I've had a lot of stretching and poking on my left side. Minimal heartburn and still pretty tired. Because Jack is balled up in the bottom of my uterus he keeps kicking my bladder which has caused me to run to the bathroom every 10-15 minutes.

Looking forward to: More movement and my next ultrasound to see our sweet boys growth. I am going to be monitored for one particular reason with Maternal Fetal Medicine so in order to stay positive I am reminding myself that I'm just glad I'll get to see my baby's growth every 4 weeks. :) 

Here's proof that the bloat is gone and I'm gaining weight. Nevermind the fact that I've worked with almost 30 preschoolers today and look like a hot/exhausted mess.

Love, 

The Growing Goodins! 

Unexpected Ultrasound

Mini G's size: At 17 weeks, Mini G is 5 inches long from head to toe and weighs about 5 ounces.

Weight gain: Depends on the day but I am varying from 3 pounds to 4.5 pounds of weight gain. Not too bad in my books but definitely need to stay on top of a workout routine.

Best moment this week: We got a surprise visit this week due to a minor injury at work. My favorite moment this week was seeing our baby and hearing the heartbeat. I could listen to a baby heartbeat all day long. Second would be feeling the baby move. Although, the quick and sharp pains I am feeling aren't the enjoyable flutters I hear of. ;) I have felt them inconsistently all day and know it will only get worse once it's a foot in the rib.

Food cravings: Fruit smoothies. I still want one all the time. Nothing else too odd. I'm having a harder time eating chicken but haven't really had many aversions, either. Still not much of an appetite.

Symptoms: Hello heartburn! It's a blast. This week was the first time I had to hit the Tums. Some headaches frequently and still exhausted every other day.

Gender: Because I had to have an ultrasound for a blow to my stomach at work, we got an unexpected ultrasound this week. I wasn't supposed to have our anatomy scan until February 18th but while we were there the ultrasound tech peeked and informed us that we're having a little boy! We cannot wait to meet our little man, Jack. Michael swears his name is going to be "Action Jack" and I just let him think it... for now.

Looking forward to: Feeling Jack move more. It's amazing to me. And I can't wait to start buying stuff for my little man. 

I'm a hot mess today so I will post a picture tomorrow. ;)

Love, 

The Growing Goodins! 

Here comes trouble...

For those of you who haven't heard, Michael and I are expecting! :)

"Mini G" will be gracing the world with his/her presence around July 11th, 2013. We could not be more excited!

Getting through the first trimester was a very scary time for me and I had many doubts throughout the weeks. After losing a baby at 10.5 weeks, I was constantly afraid we'd be told at our next appointment that there was no heartbeat. However, our doctor has been AMAZING and helped calm my nerves whenever I needed. As soon as I called with a positive pregnancy test they brought me in for blood work (at 4 weeks). I was then able to get an ultrasound at 6 weeks and 9 weeks. Everything was looking great and baby was even measuring big; that was comforting. With some loss of symptoms and some panic, I was able to sneak in another ultrasound at 10 weeks and got confirmation that everything was okay. We went back at 11 weeks because our 12 week appointment fell right around Christmas. I've had one visit since where she used the doppler so we could hear our sweet baby's heartbeat and since then, I am at ease. The heartbeat was beating a steady 150bpm. I know there are still risks and chances that something could happen but just making it this far has calmed my nerves.

We go back February 18th for our anatomy scan to find out if Mini G is a mini Amanda or a mini Michael. Most people have guessed boy and most of my fun and totally unreliable tests have said boy. We shall see!

Of course, I had some pooch to start out with so I am showing sooner than I expected. However, it is mostly bloat. Thankfully, that bloat is starting to go away and the bump is beginning to form. Here is a picture at 14 weeks and 1 day. It has seemed to flatten out a bit but I'm sure it will quickly grow again! :)

What I've been feeling/eating/etc.

Mini G's size: At 15 weeks, Mini G is a whopping 4 inches long and weighs in at 2.5oz. I am excited to see how big Mini G weighs at our 20 week ultrasound because our last ultrasound was at 10 weeks and he/she was measuring almost a week ahead at 10 weeks 5 days.

Weight gain: Still doing well and only gained a pound so far. The doctor said it's okay to workout so I am continuing zumba and may begin some prenatal yoga this week. Still haven't broken out the maternity clothes but am thinking about wearing some of the pants to work this week. My pants still fit but feel tighter by the end of the day.

Best moment this week: Hearing our baby's heartbeat! It is absolutely one of my favorite sounds in the world. <3

Food cravings: Fruit smoothies. I think about them ALL day. Other than that, nothing too strong or bizarre. I tend to want spicy food more often than I used to. I am trying to eat healthy and stay on track which has been relatively hard since I have little-to-no appetite. I will eat 2 bites of something and then feel completely full and won't want to eat anymore. 

Symptoms: Headaches. Headaches. Headaches. I've had a few run-ins with heartburn this week but nothing extreme yet. I am still exhausted and am usually in bed by 9pm.

Gender Predictions: I don't really have a strong intuition either way yet. I have had two dreams about a newborn boy, though.

Looking forward to: Feeling the baby move! I felt something last night in my lower abdomen that felt like barrels rolling. Pretty sure it wasn't just gas but Michael's response to everything is, "It's just gas." I'm hoping I don't have to wait until 20-22 weeks to feel more movement. 

Next appointment: Anatomy scan on February 18th. I keep begging Michael to take me to the outside ultrasound place at 16 weeks to find out the gender but he hasn't caved... yet. ;) 

I am mostly writing this blog to remember my pregnancy and share our experience with out of state (and country) family members. Feel free to stop by but you won't hurt my feelings if you decide not to read it. ;)

Love, 

The Growing Goodins!