21 Week Bump......

There ya have it.... and just in case I might forget, Baby was moving pretty much ALL day, including as I'm putting this post up right now.... but its a nice feeling :-)

21 Weeks!

 Since I am a couple of days late with the weekly check-in, it's actually 21 weeks and 2 days today, but OH MY GOODNESS 21 WEEKS!  From now on, we're on the downhill stretch. 

Size of baby: banana..... by length anyway.  This means Baby is around 8ish inches long or so.  No wonder I feel movement all over my belly now!
Maternity clothes: all the time, and with no shame!
Movement: still every day, including as I am typing this right this minute!  Still nothing strong enough for Chris to feel, but there is nothing that makes me happier right now than feeling this little guy or gal move around and bump the heck out of my belly.  I love that I can easily tell what is Baby and what's not.
Food cravings: nothing major, but I want pickles WITH everything..... be prepared to be grossed out.... the other night I told Chris I REALLY wanted a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with bacon and pickles.... I didn't actually eat it, but I might today because my gosh it sounds delicious.... hey, the baby wants what it wants!
What I miss: other than the usual things, nothing much lately
Sleep: still pretty good
Symptoms: my back has been borderline killing me the last few days, but I don't think its pregnancy-related.... more like thanks to the 2ish days I've lived in the kitchen and been on my feet
Best moment this week: yesterday at the craft fair, one of the ladies who hadn't seen me in a while said, "ooh, you're belly is starting to get bigger!"  While yes, I am sensitive to the whole weight gain, when it comes to belly, that's fine.  I love people noticing.  Also, at our appointment last week, I found out I've only gain 2 pounds since the appointment a month before that.  2 POUNDS!  I was ecstatic!  The nurse said that she would have never known we had been on a cruise.  I can handle that.
What I am looking forward to: CHRISTMAS!!!!!!  I could not be more excited!!!!!

Its only Tuesday and already I feel like it should be Thursday, but its been a good start to the week.  I spent most of the weekend getting goodies ready for the craft fair.  I made petit fours, which I must say turned out beautifully, pumpkin scones, assorted truffles, iced sugar cookies, and homemade hot chocolate.  My best-selling items yesterday were the cakes and the truffles.  I just finished the cookies last night, so we'll see how those go, but only one person bought hot chocolate, which was kind of disappointing, but as Chris and I agreed, neither of us would really want a heavy drink like that at lunchtime, so maybe the timing just isn't good.  Overall, I do think that I sold more items than any of the other 6 or so ladies who were there, and I am happy with everything so far.  I knew going into this that we weren't going to make any kind of huge profit; it was really just to test the waters.  Hopefully today goes well too.  Even if it doesn't, it has still been a fun "holiday" thing to do.  And really, I am glad to have a break from the kitchen.  My back can't take anymore, so I probably won't be doing any kitchen time other than dinners until Christmas.

To update, our appointment last week went great.  My OB is currently on maternity leave, but will be back in January, and the midwife who is filling in was really nice.  She told us that the report from the anatomy scan was great - everything came back in the normal range, which is of course what anyone would want to hear.  She also found our baby's heartbeat immediately, and it was much louder and stronger sounding this time.  When it popped up, there was no mistaking - that's a heartbeat!  The only thing that I have to be checked for later on is the position of the placenta.  The scan report said that it is "borderline low-lying" which, from what I've read, is VERY common early on, and usually it corrects itself by the time you get re-checked (around 34 weeks is what I read).  The bottom line is that the midwife told me it is not something to be worried about, so I'm not.  It sounds like in the very worst case scenarios, it means you end up having a c-section, but again, not worrying about it right now.

I'm so excited for Christmas!!  Every year I get really excited, but this year it's even more meaningful for us.  Its the last major trip for us as just the 2 of us as a couple.  Even if Baby arrives late, s/he will still be 8 months old by Christmas - 8 MONTHS!  I love everything about Christmas, and especially the Christmas story.  I tear up in happiness so many times when I see it or hear it.  It really is the greatest story in history, and it is even more amazing to me now that I am pregnant.  There is NO way that I could see ONE person's life, let alone an entire world, being worth more than my child's life, and I haven't even met the kid yet.  It's just not happening.  So the fact that God could send a little baby is even more amazing to me this year.  I think it makes me see parental love already in a completely new light, and I love it.

Well, that's it for now.  I will try to have a bump picture to post later.  For now, here are the 3 pictures from the anatomy, now in good scanned-in quality, and also some other pictures from the cruise:

profile

sweet little hands

...and Skeletor!

love this picture of us

first formal night

great family pic

second formal night

Back from the best vacation ever - pictures and bumps and updates, oh my!

Everyone returned home safe and sound at different times Monday night.  Chris and I made it back to Ottawa a little before 11:30pm, and the rest of the family got back to Arizona sometime late evening as well.  Its been about 2 weeks since the last post, but it was a very busy 2 weeks.  Today as I'm writing this I am 20 weeks and 3 days pregnant, so we'll start with the 20 week highlights, and then I'll have up lots of cruise and bump pictures....

Size of baby: cantaloupe..... that just sounds HUGE to me
Maternity clothes: just got my shipment in from Motherhood, and now I have a fair amount of shirts that are long enough to cover the band on my jeans, so comfy
Movement: every day!  It's the most awesome thing ever.  The entire cruise, Baby was moving SO much.  Its incredibly distinct now, especially after I eat pretty much anything, or am around loud music (like on the cruise) Baby just starts popping away.
Food cravings: GRAPES!  I canNOT get enough of red seedless grapes.  I could just eat tons of them right now
What I miss: I finally really missed alcohol when we were on the cruise.  It would have been nice to sip a pina colada, or enjoy the free champagne on those certain cruise nights, though it is a small sacrifice to go without, so oh well...... still really miss my old body, including being able to walk up more than 2 flights of stairs without getting winded like a morbidly obese person.  Weight is still the hardest.  I wish there was someone who could understand that.  Everyday I remind myself that I will only get bigger, but that doesn't make it easier.  I was so faithful to the gym on the cruise, but still the scale goes up.  Unfortunately, crying about it doesn't help either.
Sleep: I cannot believe how well I slept on the cruise, but I have been sleeping GREAT
Symptoms: other than a growing belly, nothing to complain about
Best moment this week: lets call it best moment of the last 2 weeks, and that was when one of the cruise crew said to me when we played shuffleboard, "you're 5 months pregnant, but you are so small!"
What I am looking forward to: the craft fair next week, where I am very hopeful to sell lots of my delicious goodies, and then Christmas!

The cruise really was the best vacation I have ever been on.  Aside from being in Canada, my only time out of the US was about 6 years ago when I went to Cancun, but that was nothing compared to this trip.  I have never felt so spoiled or pampered in my life, and I loved every minute of it.

Since I was pretty limited in extra things I could do when it came to getting off the ship, Chris told me to do whatever I wanted at the ship's spa, and let me tell you, BEST massage of my life!  I got one on our first evening, as we were setting sail.  From traveling and just sitting all day, my back was in a world of stiffness and pain.  I checked with the staff to make sure they were trained in prenatal massage, and the girl I talked to said, "oh yeah, those Philipino women will know exactly what to do" ..... and oh she did!  I had no back pain the rest of the cruise, save for a smidge of sciatica on one of the last few nights.  It was sooooo great.  I would have gone back 1 or 2 more times had it not been so expensive.  I also got to have a pedicure, which I haven't enjoyed since the day of the wedding.  That was also quite nice.

Our first stop was in Labadee, Haiti, and it was just really beautiful.  There was a roller coaster there that everyone (except me of course) got to take many turns riding.  Here's a few pictures of that:

Jeff & Chris

Jeff & Cindy

And here's Jeff and Chris on the beach in Labadee with their very oddly shaped beer bottles:

 After our stop in Haiti, we spent a day at sea, which was great.... just laying around in the sun by the ship's pool, listening to music.... ahhh.....  That night was the first formal night on the cruise.  It was fun getting super snazzed up, although being pregnant and wearing nylons when you have to go to the bathroom constantly is really annoying!  Here is a picture of Chris and me from that night:

Our next stop was in Cartagena, Columbia, and it was pouring for most of the time we were in port.  Chris and I made it just off the shop and a very short walk away before realizing that this was no fun.  We were only there until about 1 that day, so we went back to the ship and just relaxed with some coffee, which was still very nice.  The next place we went to was Colon, Panama, which was okay.  Cindy and I found some great knockoff designer bags.  I felt really nervous at first when we went off the ship because the girl doing my pedicure had told me the night before that her manager told her that if she went off the ship to make sure she didn't go alone.  That did not sound good to me.  But, the 5 of us hooked up with another couple who was trying to negotiate a cab, but the driver was trying to charge them a lot, so we invited them just to walk with us, and it was great.  We found a huge shopping area (where we got our purses) that is guarded and does not allow locals in, so we were very safe in there.  We did find something very different in Panama's clothing stores..... have you ever seen a mannequin like this in the US? ....

Not even at Victoria's Secret..... those were some busty mannequins!  Here's another picture from Panama:

Jeff, Chris, & Jim enjoying their Panamanian beer

After Panama, we were in Puerto Limon, Costa Rica.  Jeff went zip-lining, which I would have loved, and Jim and Cindy were supposed to go horseback riding, but it got cancelled.  But, here are some pictures from our time there:

19 Weeks!

We spent a while walking around in Costa Rica.  I tried going for round 2 of that after lunch with everyone, but I couldn't make it very long.  The heat/humidity, combined with Baby sitting precisely on my bladder that day was not making for an enjoyable afternoon, so Chris and I went back to the ship where we took a much needed LONG nap.

The next day was a day at sea and the second formal night.  Here's a picture of Chris and me from that night:

Our last stop was probably the prettiest - Grand Cayman.  We went to Seven Mile Beach which was unbelievably beautiful.... and yeah, you can literally see the belly in some of these!

Chris with his baby rock, Jeff with the Daddy rock, and Cindy with no rock

Finally it was our last day at sea, which also was the 20-week mark for our pregnancy.  WE ARE HALF WAY THERE!!!!  Its very exciting, and even more terrifying for Chris and me!  But here are the 20-week bump photos..... it is definitely here to stay!

And here are some random pictures:

Me & Jeff

One of our awesome servers, Georgiana, & Jeff

Jeff being silly

Chris and one of his many glasses of wine and champagne (he had to drink my share so it didn't go to waste)

It was a great trip.  I'm very happy to report that I did not get motion sickness, which I never have, but I wasn't sure if being pregnant would affect that in some way.  It was fun to have people notice my belly.  I had one guy ask me if I was smuggling a bowling ball, which I thought was pretty funny, and I got one belly pat from a stranger, but nothing very intrusive.  When I got brave enough to wear my 2-piece bathing suit, I don't know if I still looked more belly or just fat, but after seeing some of the women who had no shame in wearing a bikini despite not exactly being in the best of shape, I decided that comfort was more important.

Each time we went to a show, Baby started popping away like crazy, especially if there was loud music.  One night was dedicated to the 70s, the 70s Disco Inferno.  The next morning when I was laying in bed, Baby gave me probably the hardest movements I have felt so far - still had some disco fever left I guess!  Still nothing is really strong enough for Chris to feel, but soon it will be.  He thought he might have picked up one thump one night, but maybe not.

Today we are off to another doctor's appointment (should just be a monthly check-up), and then we get Bailie back this evening.  I have really missed her.  Next week is the Craft Bazaar at the Embassy, which will hopefully be lucrative for me, then the next week we have another doctor's appointment, then we leave the following week for Arizona!  And oh yeah, Thanksgiving's tomorrow!  I'm excited to make our turkey and pumpkin pie again this year.  And after Christmas vacation, the countdown to Baby is really on!  It's going to be a whirlwind, but we're ready...... I think :-)

Baby Piasecki is Really Growing!!

This isn't the greatest picture - in fact, I took a picture of the sonogram picture with my cell phone's less than great camera, but here is Olive at 18 weeks, 3 days!  We had the anatomy scan at 2pm yesterday and it was a pretty cool hour and few minutes.  Baby was all over the place for almost an hour, and gave the tech a fight at times when she was trying to take certain pictures, which was kind of funny.

Probably the coolest part was when the techs tried to take a 4D picture of the baby's face.  We're talking about a place that gives you a VHS recording of the anatomy scan, no DVDs.  I had no idea they had 4D capability, but it didn't matter because Olive was having none of that.  S/He had an arm in front of the face each time they tried, so they will probably have us come back after we get back to try again, which we're perfectly fine with if we get to see him/her again!  What was really funny in my head and Chris's was when they would be looking at certain things, say, the stomach or kidneys, and you could have told us that was just about anything and we wouldn't have had a clue!  But some things were very obvious, like the heart (because I had looked at pictures of what the chambers look like), and the hands, feet, and spine.  We have the picture above, a picture of one of the hands (it looked like Olive was clapping), and a frontal view of the face in 2D, which is actually really scary looking!  Baby looks like a creepy skeleton!  Chris said its our little Skeletor.  I've been calling the baby Thumper lately though, because after seeing how active s/he is, I know that all those "bumps" I've been feeling are completely validated as the baby!  I feel movement pretty much every day now, which is awesome.

Some people have asked if we or the techs could tell sex..... well, as I have said, we are committed to NOT finding out, but to be honest, we both agreed that we came out of the appointment thinking that the baby is a ........ we have NO idea.  Seriously!  And we like it that way.  I never thought I would be 100% on board with not finding out and that Chris would have to keep me strong on that, but now more than ever I love that we will be surprised.  We don't care whether we have a boy or a girl - we just want our healthy little Olive :-)

Right now we are sitting at the airport, and this will be the last blog post for almost 2 weeks, but I'm sure we will have lots of updates and pictures after the cruise!

Me and My Sweet Potato 18-Week Bump!

I'm a day late posting this, but by the time I got back last night from the volunteer reception, though it wasn't late, I was way more exhausted than I realized... as was evident later when I fell asleep on the couch.  I probably say this every week, but I really think the belly's coming out a bit more, though its more obvious when I look at my bare belly.  But last night, a woman I hadn't seen since I was 9 weeks, and who knew then that I was pregnant, told me I'm starting to "look more like a pregnant woman", which was kind of exciting to hear.  Its funny how a pregnant belly really becomes a conversation piece, haha.

I'm pretty sure that I felt my first stronger movements this morning!  I was laying in bed thinking about the scan tomorrow, and I was praying for God to help me not to worry.  In a devotion I read recently, it said that worrying just takes strength out of tomorrow, so I was praying not to be like that, because the worry switch is always turned to ON right before an appointment.  Then after feeling one little baby tap, I rolled onto my back and started poking around my belly, and there I felt it, about 1 or 2 inches below my belly button, that unmistakable little bump, bump, bump....  I would push around .... wait a minute .... and the bump would happen again.  I have decided that this is God's way of answering my prayers.  I tried to help Chris feel it, but its too early I think for him to know what he's feeling because I would feel something and say, did you feel that?  But he couldn't.  But it was still awesome!  And as if right on cue this morning after second breakfast, Olive gave me a little thump. :-)

18 Weeks and Sweet Potato Goodness!

Size of baby: sweet potato..... mmmm I could so go for ANYthing sweet potato based right now.... the point is, Olive is about 5 inches long right now
Maternity clothes: I just ordered a bunch of tops from Motherhood that were on clearance.  I realized recently that while all my tops still fit, they aren't long enough to cover the maternity band on my jeans, so this order will solve that!
Movement: No startling kicks, but those "pops" I started feeling have become much more consistent.  I can usually count on noticing them about mid-morning when I've gotten back from the gym and have had my late second breakfast / early lunch
Food cravings: really loving grapes and apples right now, Raisin Bran cereal, and anything peppermint flavored
What I miss: still the hard workouts, and also not looking like I have a beer gut (when I made my Motherhood order the other day, I really wanted a shirt that says "pregnant, not fat!")
Sleep: pregnancy insomnia has made a return.  Tuesday or Wednesday night was my last really good night of sleep.  Now I'm waking up around 3 and 4 and just tossing and turning.
Symptoms: a migraine tried to rear its ugly head yesterday.  I haven't had one in a year, and its really panic-inducing because I can't just pop a Maxalt now.  I got the flashing spots, which told me it should be on its way.  Thankfully after a lot of prayer and laying on the couch, I could see again, and only had a mild ache for most of the afternoon, with no nausea, which was GREAT, because usually one migraine knocks me down for at least a full day, sometimes a couple 
Best moment this week: having my almost-migraine go away, and Chris getting up 2 mornings in a row with Bailie for her usual 5 or 6am potty break.... I don't mind it, but it was very sweet that he did it for me - another good husband gold star!
What I am looking forward to: still so many things.... the anatomy scan, the cruise, EVERYthing about Christmas, including LOTS of holiday baking!

Yesterday we ended up needing a surprise trip down to Ogdensburg.  On Friday, when we were in traffic, another driver got our attention to tell us that we had a low tire.  After some pressure checking that night and Saturday morning, it was pretty clear to Chris that this tire was no good..... also evident by the big nail he later found stuck in it (probably picked up in the awesome construction nightmare outside the embassy right now, thanks Canada!).  There might not be much of anything in Ogdensburg, but even their very small Walmart has an automotive section that had our tires in stock!  So after our cleaners left, we headed down and made an afternoon / early evening of it.  I'm very thankful that we were able to found out about this and take care of it now, and not come home from say, the cruise, to a flat tire.  So God bless that man!

Friday night was a nice time though - we went to a restaurant in Quebec called Le Buffet des Continents with 5 other people associated with the Embassy.  The restaurant has buffet stations dedicated to different cuisines, such as Chinese, Greek, Italian, etc.  It was really good!  I also learned how you go to a buffet, sample everything, and not leave miserable.  I probably went back 4 times, but I put small amounts on my plate, and only took about 2 bites of everything.  Same thing with dessert.  So my belly was in good shape when the guy across from me was definitely in pain from all the food!  It was good though, and we had a nice time.

I think I have now entered the realm of steady weight gain.  Right now I am the same weight as I was through my undergrad years.  Its not as stressful to me anymore though.  While I do NOT enjoy seeing the number go up, even by half a pound or so at a time, I know its inevitable, and I have been really taking care of myself.  My only vice right now are the Jelly Bellys jelly beans.  If I can stay away from those,  I'll be doing good!  I have my first (and hopefully only!) glucose tolerance test right when we come back from Christmas, and the last thing I want is to fail that, have to take the 3-hour test, and then find out that I have gestational diabetes, so now more than ever I have realized how important it is to be balanced.  Guess its a good thing that dessert is not nearly as appetizing as it used to be!  (On a side note, it also makes me feel awesome that I have twice now been mistaken for the new female Marine at the embassy - it makes me feel like, hey I must still look like I'm in good shape, right?)

Today will mostly be a normal Sunday with football on all day, though we will start getting some of our things together for the cruise.  I can't believe we're leaving for that this week, and even more can't believe we get to see our baby this week! (Although, the way our luck has been, I'm not going to be shocked if the hospital calls me up to say they screwed up again and we have to reschedule.)  I'm so looking forward to seeing our little sweet potato-sized baby!  Hopefully s/he will cooperate with the ultrasound tech and let him get all the pictures they need.  So we will have new pictures that day, and they are also supposed to send us off with a video of the baby!

I told Chris that I've already learned that Olive is quite the stinker.  Earlier this week, I started feeling a lot of "pops", so I would put my hands on the spot on my belly where I was feeling them... and they would stop.  But, as soon as I took my hands away, they started again!  The consistency that's developed is what really makes me believe I've been feeling the baby now, which is amazing.  I can't wait for Chris to be able to feel it too.  I think it will be more real for him that there is an actual baby growing in my belly, though he does talk to him/her quite a bit, which I love.  Yesterday we were looking at baby things while we were waiting for the car to be done, and I just kept thinking, this is our life in 22ish weeks, give or take a couple!

This week is going to be quick, at least the next couple of days, for me anyway.  Tomorrow evening I get to go over to the ambassador's house for a reception that his wife is hosting for people who contributed to the Embassy bake sale last month.  Its really just for ladies, but now I'm thinking that maybe Chris SHOULD come because he did pipe the pumpkin stems on a lot of the cookies..... haha.  Then Tuesday evening we will take Bailie over to her "vacation home" (same place as during our last trip), and Wednesday morning, it will be time to go.  Our appointment is scheduled for 2pm.

I'll take and post my 18-week photo tomorrow... until then! :-)

17-week bump..... not much change from last week.....

Ahh pregnancy.... the one time when I feel okay with wearing horizontal stripes.  I definitely thought that I was popping last week, but I guess not so much.  Then on Monday when I put on my gym clothes, I looked unmistakably pregnant.  I guess its mostly fluctuating bloat still, though I don't feel bloated lately.... oh well, soon enough, I'm sure.

Nothing much to report for the week so far...  though I'm pretty sure our baby must be going through a growth spurt right now because I have been extra tired and hungry, right at a time when my energy has been pretty great and my appetite not so out of this world.  I'm still doing well with getting into the gym and eating well, though the gym may not happen today.  Chris and I went to the Embassy first thing this morning to get our flu shots, then he went to work and I went to my knitting group, and now I am home and exhausted from, well, nothing.

I am still feeling the random pops and tugs in my belly, and a few tickles here and there, but I think that I want to start feeling Olive so much that I have a hard time discerning what really could be him/her from normal gastric movement.  There are times when I just know that I'm feeling Olive without a doubt, but most times are questionable.  This pregnancy is definitely many, many lessons in patience, so I have no choice but to await those first hard kicks.  Mostly I just want Chris to be able to feel them.

That is all for now!  Pretty sure I'm about to settle in for a short nap... zzzzz....zzzzzzzzz......