17 Weeks!

Well, once again I can 't quite believe that another week has gone by. Here we are at week 17, and my little baby (who according to a former-midwife is going to be a boy) is now the size of an ONION. That is, a very large onion, since this means the baby is now on average about 5.1 inches, and 5.9 ounces!






I have to say that I did spend nearly all of this week in bed though. From Sunday until Thursday I was so unwell, it hurt to do nothing. My head was throbbing. Now, I am still stuck with a very congested nose and a slight headache, but I am just glad that my head isn't hurting as much as it was. Friday I forced myself to go to work because I had so much to do but it was probably for the best. Fresh air was needed!

Other than the sickness this week has been pretty uneventful. Although last night did have a 10pm trip to McDonalds...haha, not much else has happened! I definitely have a bump though. Today at church one of the ladies (who I'm pretty good friends with) said, "Sara, you look like you've eaten one too many pork pies." Hahaha. I was also told that I "definitely look pregnant" - so I'm hoping that I'm slowly getting over the just looking fat stage of pregnancy!




The best part of this week was the new Wii game we got, so I've spent most of my time this week (when not in bed) playing on the Wii. It made my head hurt even more.

Sorry not a very exciting week! I have listened to the baby's heartbeat over and over again this week to make sure he or she is okay despite my not feeling well, and it's pumping away! Oh - and I might as well mention some "name ideas" that we've been having. If you don't like them please keep your comments to yourself, haha! So far we like for a girl: Abigal or Penelope. For a boy we like: Levi or Noel. We really need to think of more names but 1) it's hard to agree on anything and 2) there aren't many names that haven't been corrupted by some snotty kid I've met before. hahah.

That's all - from inside the womb...

Your Baby: Week 17

Baby's skeleton is hardening, changing from rubbery cartilage to bone, and fat is finally accumulating around it. The umbilical cord is getting thicker and stronger, and those little fingers and toes are now topped by one-of-a-kind prints.

:)

16 Weeks!!!

I know I keep saying this, but seriously - time is going by so quickly. I'm 16 weeks today (an avacado!), and every time I think about it I keep thinking I'm at 12 weeks because I feel like I was just there yesterday.

On Thursday, Adam and I drove 8 hours through snow and traffic to get to his parents' house for his dad's birthday. We got together with his entire family and went out and did ARCHERY! It was so much fun, I didn't think I would enjoy it as much as I did. It was cold but sunny so it ended up being probably as nice as it could be! Being around his family, I keep hearing, "I can see your bump!" So, I think it's official - there is definitely a bump there!

One of the highlights of the weekend was Adam's parents gift to us - they bought us a stroller!! (pram for English people.) We had one picked out at Babies R Us, so we went there but ended up deciding on a different one! It's a travel system so its a car seat, and a stroller suitable for newborns up to toddlers...so cool! Here are some photos!





And, here's a photo of little baby bradley in my tummy at 16 weeks :)




And the baby's development for this week......

"Watch what you say... tiny bones forming in baby's ears mean the little one can now pick up your voice. Eyebrows, lashes and hair are starting to fill in, and taste buds are forming. And, if you're interested, an ultrasound might be able to determine gender."

I can't believe it....my little baby is growing too quickly already :)

15 Weeks Pregnant!!

I can't believe I'm already at 15 weeks. Time is flying by way too fast! I'm definitely starting believe I have some kind of baby bump even if it is small! Either that or it looks like I've been eating way too much!

Well, I am so excited today because we just got a playpen on Freecycle that would have cost us £90 new, and it's in practically new condition! Here's a photo of it...anyways it's really nice and I'm so excited about it! While we have quite the collection of baby stuff accumulating, most of it has either been very cheap or free. The only thing we have spent money on is a few little things here and there that were on sale, and the crib which was £70. It's fun getting free stuff, hopefully since we are getting a lot of free stuff we will be able to get SOME new things. There's a swing I really want thats at Babies R Us, and I would REALLY like to get a pram (stroller) new. We have found one we really like, again at Babies R Us, and its half price from £300 right now...unfortunately we can't get it quite yet though. It's all fun though!!




















The heartbeat monitor Adam gave me has still not lost it's wonder! I wake up every morning wanting to hear my beautiful baby's heartbeat!

The heartbeat monitor came in handy last night, since we went to a really nice dinner that Adam and the youth group put on to raise money for their missions trip to Uganda this summer. After an appetizer, main meal, and 1 1/2 desserts, I ran to the bathroom and was very, very sick. I went home and immiedietly fell asleep. It was nice this morning to be reassured by the heart monitor that my baby is unaffected by severe sickness! Sometimes it feels like the action of being sick MUST have some affect on the baby - but it doesn't seem like it does any harm!

I've also started having what I'm sure is Sciatic nerve pain. It starts at my lower back on the right and goes down to the top of my right knee - it's extremely painful and makes my thigh feel numb, and my lower back hurt a LOT. I think I am going to call the midwife tomorrow to see if there is anything I can take for it. Apparently it is just caused by the way the baby is positioned, and it's pretty common. Either way its very painful.

SO. 15 weeks! Unbelievable...my baby is now the size of a naval orange at about 4 inches...and from "I-am-pregnant.com" ...

Your baby is growing at an amazing rate and looking more like a human every day. Because your baby's skin is so thin, you are able to see blood vessels through the skin. Lanugo hair covers your baby's body, but it will be gone when your baby is born. The hair on the eyebrows and head continues to grow. Some babies are born with little or no hair and others have a head full of hair! If you have an ultrasound at this point, you might be able to see your baby sucking its thumb. Even though the eyes continue to move to the front of the face, they are still widely separated. Your baby's ears look like normal ears and continue to develop externally. The bones that have already formed continue to get harder and retain calcium. The baby is very mobile and flexible at this point. She can bend her arms at the elbows and wrists and she can also make a fist with her hands.


So exciting to think about my little one growing inside of me! I can't wait to start to feel him or her kick!

That's all for now - next week I have my 16 week midwife appointment which hopefully goes well!

14.4 Weeks, and I Know He or She is There!!!

I LOVE my husband! For valentines day he gave me what I have been wanting for a few weeks - an at-home fetal heart monitor! I heard from loads of people that I shouldn't try it because otherwise if I can't find the heartbeat I would be worried, but I wanted to try anyways. I have heard from a few friends that theirs worked and they loved it, so I thought, "why not!?"



When Adam first gave it to me I immiedietly ran upstairs and tried it. I didn't get my hopes up since like I said, I'd heard mixed reviews. We tried for about 15 minutes, but all we got was a bunch of rumbly noises...no heartbeat. I wasn't worried, but I wanted to hear something that resembled a heartbeat! Anyways, a few hours later I went back to it and read online some "tips on finding the heartbeat" with an at-home doppler. With a full bladder, lots of gel, and a better idea of where to look, I found the heartbeat within minutes! I was SO excited. I counted out twice in a row and it sounds like it is going at a rate of about 145-147 bpm. Ahh! I can't explain how awesome this was - and just to mention, I had not yet heard my baby's heartbeat! Although I had my Ultrasound, they didn't let me hear the heartbeat, and didn't even give me an accurate bpm since the baby was moving so much. So, I'm overjoyed!

This morning the second I woke up I grabbed it and again found the heartbeat within a minute. I could just listen for hours...it's so incredible to think that that is the heartbeat of MY little boy or girl. I guarantee this new toy will get it's money worth...every day for atleast the next 6 weeks when I have the next Ultrasound!!

One of the COOLEST parts of the doppler is that it comes with a cable so I can upload the heartbeat onto my laptop and burn it onto a CD. If you watch the little video on here, I've just uploaded the heartbeat and put a photo of the ultrasound we got at week 12. :)!

Well that's all for now! I KNOW I need to start posting of the baby room so far. We have a changing table, crib, and lots of other random stuff. We have about 30 newborn onesies that were just given to us by a friend from church, as well as some crib sheets and a couple toys. I'm so excited! :)

That's all for now, will probably update again on Sunday when I will be 15 weeks!

14 Weeks and some important dates!

I can't believe I'm already at 14 weeks...time is absolutely flying by! First of all Baby Bradley is officially the size of a lemon! And below is what is currently happening in his/her little world...

"Your adorable little fetus is busy with thumb sucking, toe wiggling, and (not so cute but equally amazing) making urine and breathing amniotic fluid as the liver, kidneys and spleen continue to develop. Lanugo (thin, downy hair) is growing all over the body for warmth." (Thebump.com)

This has definitely been a baby weekend, yesterday Adam and I went to Bristol (just over an hour away) to pick up the baby crib we got. It's really nice, solid pine, and it turns into a junior bed which is awesome! Then today, we went and picked up a changing table which we got on Freecycle! SO awesome because we had no idea what quality or anything it was, but come to find out it matches pretty well with the crib, and despite some scratches on it, it's great condition and from Mothercare (which basically would have cost us over £100 new).

AND I have finally had a few people tell me I have a bump! I usually get offended at it though because I feel like it's probably just fat and I'm not showing yet...hahaha. It seems like a lot of people don't show until later anyways, so I'm not that worried. I DO really want one of these at-home heartbeat doppler things. I know that some people say not to get them because you'll just get worried if you can't hear anything, but I know a lot of people who have said they work great so I'd atleast like to try it!

Well the important date is: March 23! This is the date of our next ultrasound where they will (hopefully) find out if we are having a little girl or boy!! I can't believe that I am only 6 weeks away from finding out. It seems so unreal still. I just can't wait until I can finally feel the baby kick!!

That's all for now, hopefully I'll post some pics soon of the crib, changing table, and sheep I painted on the nursery walls.

The exciting world of baby furniture and cloth diapers!

Okay I know I just posted 2 days ago, but if I don't post soon the next one will be way too long! First of all, we have made our first "big" purchase which is our baby's crib! We got it on eBay for a decent price considering it is John Lewis (for you Americans, it's a really quality brand!). Anyways, we go pick it up on Saturday in Bristol which should be a fun day out!



ALSO....I have joined the "obsessed with cloth diapers club "- which I was convinced I would never join. Then again I also thought I would never breast feed and now I am pl anning on it! :)

Either way, I have found this AMAZING website called www.littlelamb.co.uk. It's a family-owned and run company so they sell their cloth diapers at HALF the price of other retailers. Also, they use all natural materials. I really want to try to Bamboo diapers and the microfibre ones. A distant cousin of mine who lives near me has also offered to sell me some of her cloth diapers which are pre-folds that she never used. I think I'm going to buy those off her but then get about 10 of these ones that I like- they are WAY too cute to pass up!! Although the idea of pre-folds is very intimidating to me...don't know why!!!






The other advantage to the little lamb site is that they have given me an account number and if I have any family or friends who want to help me pay for some diapers then they can just go on to the site, click "pay by installments" on the left, type in my account number and they can put money in my account! (My account number is 0011 ) SO if you feel so compelled to help out, it would be EXTREMELY appreciated .... we are already swamped in the cost of all this baby stuff. It's insane how expensive they make things just be cause they know you need them. Most of the stuff we will get will be second hand, which I don't mind but I do wish we could get some things new!

Well I think that's all for now! No complaints on the pregnancy front, I still have a cold though. Also this baby is a very hungry one because atleast once a week I wake up at 2am starving. It's getting a little ridiculous!