21 weeks

I wanted this little girl to think I had some sense of style. But lets be honest, I wear scrubs 45% of the time, sweats 20% and whatever is left I actually shower and get dressed. So the new maternity clothes came off, scrubs went on and back to work I go!

HOW FAR ALONG?:  21 weeks, I can't believe we're halfway! But I also can't believe I'm only halfway! I feel like this second half will fly with holidays and whatnot right around the corner. 

TOTAL WEIGHT GAIN?: I stepped on the scale Tuesday and I've gained 7 pounds. Then again, we did have a potluck at work last night, so maybe 17 pounds!

STRETCH MARKS?:  I hope never to see these beautiful things ;) I started pouring cocoa butter all over the parts that may stretch, so hopefully that will help.  Honestly though, I'm just relying on good genes!

SLEEP?:  At least 8 hours a day!

BEST MOMENT/S THIS WEEK?: I completely forgot to mention last week what my ACTUAL best moment was... After a lot of hard work, Brett finally managed to get us a copy of our proposal!!! So we now have a DVD to keep forever and ever and we've already watched it multiple times and I still cry :D

WORST MOMENT THIS WEEK?:  Last night at work! I was just busy and my legs were aching and tired this morning. If that's the worst thing this week, I'm ok with it!  

MISS ANYTHING?: Sushi. I did not realize I loved sushi so much until I got pregnant. My doc actually said I could eat it, but I'm just not sure. I feel like if I have it once, I'll want it weekly. Thoughts?

MOVEMENT?:  A little bit more often. I'm able to feel her moving around in there every couple of hours, if I'm not running around. 

FOOD CRAVINGS?:  Fresh fruit and a lot of it! I'm also baking a lot, I'm not sure if that's because I want to eat it or I just feel like baking. Luckily, I have coworkers who are willing to help me finish these things so that I'm not eating an entire apple crisp, or cake or batch of cookies ;)

LABOR SIGNS?:  No and hopefully not for a very long time. 

SYMPTOMS / MOODS?: I never think I have symptoms, until I read "What to Expect When You're Expecting," and realize, oh yeah, I have some of those... but nothing terrible, thank God! No crazy/moody meltdowns this week ;)

BELLY BUTTON IN or OUT?:  In.

WEDDING RINGS OFF or ON?: On.

LOOKING FORWARD TO...?: We have another ultrasound coming up in a couple of weeks and then the Book of Mormon. Other than that, I'm just excited to see what these grandmas have been up to! Brett's mom is making our baby bedding because I didn't see anything that I loved, so she sent me a pic of fabric samples and I'm excited to see how it turns out. My mom is making her some clothes, which I know will be adorable! We have excited grandmas!!!

20 weeks/Halfway!

I'm really tired today and didn't feel like taking a pic, but B made me so you get what you get today!

HOW FAR ALONG?:  20 weeks

TOTAL WEIGHT GAIN?: I've gained 6 pounds to date. I think that's pretty good. Most of the books I've read have said its normal to have gained 10-13 pounds by this time. However, I'm supposed to expect to gain 1 pound per week for the next 20 weeks... so there's that. 

STRETCH MARKS?:  I hope never to see these beautiful things ;)

SLEEP?:  It's glorious, and I'm still able to do it! I've always been a big sleeper, so I'm not sure I'll ever have problems with this until I get too big to be comfortable. 

BEST MOMENT/S THIS WEEK?: My week was quite uneventful, but I actually felt well enough to put in some extra hours at work this last week. I was called in Saturday night to do secretarial work/resource nurse (break nurse) work for 12 hours. For nursing time and a half, sure thing! Sign me up to do that job a few nights a week!  I also finally got my hair cut and eyebrows done this week after 5 months of neglect.... oops!  

WORST MOMENT THIS WEEK?:  Well, remember last week when I mentioned my bank account had been hacked? That money was returned, however, the bank neglected to cancel my credit card as well, so they've started using that. Idiots! It's now in the process of being fixed. It's so frustrating, why are people so stupid? 

I did get a small laugh out of the situation though... Saturday night, when I was at work Brett called me to ask me if I'd ordered anything from mediamail (?), I said no that it was probably junk. He said, it's a package and opened it to find some crazy work out DVD about how to get a ripped body and six pack. I really thought someone was playing a joke on me, until I found out that was one of the many charges on my hacked credit card. Which, now that I think about it, makes me a little nervous that my address was known.  

MISS ANYTHING?: Cooler weather... nothing pregnancy related, I'm just so sick of temps 90-100s every freakin' day when I'm trying to sleep!

MOVEMENT?:  She's on the move! It's so fun to be able to feel her moving around in there!

FOOD CRAVINGS?:  Not really.  I am really loving Jamba Juice/Robeks but maybe because it's a sauna outside!

LABOR SIGNS?:  No and hopefully not for a very long time. 

SYMPTOMS / MOODS?:  After getting my hair cut, I realized my hair has just built up a tolerance to my current shampoo/conditioner which is why it's appearing greasy immediately post shower. Also, my hair is falling out like crazy and I know it's supposed to be opposite so I guess it's time to get my thyroid level checked again, otherwise I may be bald soon. 

I about had my first real emotional, pregnancy related meltdown this week.  I was called in late to work Saturday and I really wanted to get to the grocery store before I went. Why? Because they had huge packs of toilet paper on sale for $3.77, which is SO cheap! Anyway.... I went to the store, got some snacks for my coworkers and saw that they were out of said TP, so I went through the line hoping to get a raincheck. While in line, I was sweating to death because it's a million degrees, even inside the grocery store and I had on support hose for work.  Then I started feeling dizzy like I might pass out, probably because I had yet to eat, so I grabbed a water out of the cooler and started chugging it. Finally, I made it through the line and was instructed to wait for the raincheck, but they weren't doing rainchecks.  Instead they were subbing another TP. So I said I wanted 2 (the limit) and continued to wait. They finally brought them up to me and expected me to wait through the line again, which was now longer. So I was hot and pregnant and hungry and irrational and almost started crying; I put the TP on the ground and slowly walked out. But I NEEDED that TP, so my superman of a husband went and picked it up for me later. Thank goodness! I just couldn't let the deal pass me by! What a nut!

BELLY BUTTON IN or OUT?:  In.

WEDDING RINGS OFF or ON?: On.

LOOKING FORWARD TO...?: I don't have too much going on in the near future. We have tickets for the Book of Mormon next month but that seems so far away!  

Oh and Nana Nancy bought baby girl this adorable little thing: 

19 weeks

Oops! Took me awhile to get this one up here! I changed my work schedule so I'm always working the nights that I'm supposed to be updating this blog.  Needless to say, it's late... 

HOW FAR ALONG?:  19 weeks

TOTAL WEIGHT GAIN?: I'd say between 2.5 - 4 pounds. 

STRETCH MARKS?:  I hope never to see these beautiful things ;)

SLEEP?:  Still getting good sleep, I'm sure this won't last forever!  An occasional trip to the ladies room is sometimes needed, but other than that no real issues.    

BEST MOMENT/S THIS WEEK?:  I had a bunch of days off and didn't really do a whole lot, but I got in some R&R which is always good. The BEST moment was probably last night. B took me out to the movie, 'The Words.' I highly recommend this one, I really liked it! 

WORST MOMENT THIS WEEK?:  Worst moment is pretty easy this week... my bank account(s) got hacked into >:(  Someone tried to steal >$2,000 from one of my accounts but gained access to 5 of them. Thankfully the bank was pretty on top of it, but now I have a temporary debit card with a $100 daily limit. Getting groceries was fun :/  So we're now waiting on new debit cards, a new credit card and all new checks. 

MISS ANYTHING?:  Red wine & sushi. And having more of a social life.  I kind of feel like I'm not invited to many social gatherings anymore now that I can't participate in all of the festivities. 

MOVEMENT?:  Yes! Yeah:) I started feeling her kicking around this week and Brett can feel her, too!

FOOD CRAVINGS?:  Still no cravings. Am I really pregnant? 

LABOR SIGNS?:  No and hopefully not for a very long time. 

SYMPTOMS / MOODS?:  Nothing new. Just generalized boredom. I don't know what I'm supposed to do! If anyone has any suggestions of fun things for a pregnant lady to do, please share!

BELLY BUTTON IN or OUT?:  In.

WEDDING RINGS OFF or ON?: On.

LOOKING FORWARD TO...?: I don't have too much going on in the near future. We have tickets for the Book of Mormon next month but that seems so far away!  

18 weeks & baby Riley is a...

Today we had our second trimester screening and found out that our little nugget is a girl! I am definitely surprised! I went back and forth between what I thought our baby was. Initially I thought boy, probably because I thought that's really what Brett wanted.  Then during the first trimester we had an ultrasound and baby girl was not cooperating, but the doctor guessed girl based on the angle of her perineum. How accurate could that be?! But I rolled with it and thought girl.  Then we saw our obstetrician, who thought maybe he could see something that resembled boy. So like I said, I've been back and forth, and honestly didn't/don't care as long as our little one is healthy! But today it was confirmed that 'it' is indeed a SHE!

We are beyond thrilled! I think Brett might be just a little nervous about the thought of having a little girl! Over lunch I could see his wheels turning! I'm sure having our first born be a boy would be much easier on him, but I'm sure she'll be daddy's girl and have him wrapped around her little finger in no time! 

HOW FAR ALONG?:  18 weeks

TOTAL WEIGHT GAIN?: According to my scale, about 2.5 pounds. According to my clothes... I need some maternity clothing, STAT!

STRETCH MARKS?:  I hope never to see these beautiful things ;)

SLEEP?:  My sleep has still been pretty good. I'm back to working (nights) so I'm getting about 7-8 hours of sleep per night. Sometimes there's on interruption to pee but if I'm really tired, I find myself waking up in the same position I went to bed in.   

BEST MOMENT/S THIS WEEK?:  Getting to see our little peanut on the big screen! It's always so nice and reassuring to see the baby and hear the heartbeat. Also, watching Brett's reaction melts my heart a little bit each time :) He's going to be the best daddy on the planet! 

WORST MOMENT THIS WEEK?:  No real 'worst' moment this week. I was busy as heck on Tuesday at work which made for a very tired prego with hurting feet, but that's the life I live. 

MISS ANYTHING?:  Wine, craft beer and sushi. I have a feeling this answer will never change. 

MOVEMENT?:  Baby is moving, but I'm still not feeling it. I think it will be soon :)

FOOD CRAVINGS?:  Still no cravings. Am I really pregnant? 

LABOR SIGNS?:  No and hopefully not for a very long time. 

SYMPTOMS / MOODS?:  I've been generally happy. I get kind of bored, especially when I'm working night shift and most people are sleeping when I'm awake. I need a new hobby. I'm not sure if this is a symptom, I haven't read that it is, but for some reason my hair has been having issues where it looks greasy all the time. I could have just washed and blow dried it and it still looks greasy. Sexy! I didn't change my shampoo/conditioner recently so I don't know what else to blame it on but I hope it doesn't stay like this too much longer!

BELLY BUTTON IN or OUT?:  In. And I'm happy to report I removed the belly button ring and nothing crazy happened and it doesn't look like a big gaping hole... yet! 

WEDDING RINGS OFF or ON?: On.

LOOKING FORWARD TO...?:  Brett has some new and exciting things going on with his career so I'm happy about that. Just looking forward to the next few months and soaking up the good, the bad and the ugly of pregnancy :) 

PS Our friends Kaitlyn & Eric welcomed a healthy baby boy yesterday! So exciting!!!

And finally, I can't leave Brett out.  I think he might be a little jealous, so here is his pregnancy photo ;) 

16 Weeks going on 17

Oops! Looks like I'm already behind on the weekly posts!  Oh well, I don't feel like that much changes week to week at this point so it's probably going to be quite sporadic. Buckle your seatbelts, this is going to be a crazy ride!

HOW FAR ALONG?:  16 weeks, 6 days

TOTAL WEIGHT GAIN?:  I don't step on the scale unless I have a doctors appointment, which means next week I'll know. If I looked at the scale all the time, nothing good would result from it!  I just know my belly is becoming more and more visible and my pants barely button (I wear a bellyband instead of buttoning them at this point! Think it's time to get some maternity pants. Or convince the world that sweatpants are acceptable!!)

STRETCH MARKS?:  I hope never to see these beautiful things ;)

SLEEP?:  This week my sleep pattern has been really regular. I've been up by 7-8 am and sound asleep by 9-11pm. I haven't been tossing or turning, just getting some magical sleep and the occasional weird dream.  I sometimes think day shift would be a good thing but you just miss so much time away from the kiddos it doesn't seem worth it. At least when I'm at work, baby will be sleeping (eventually) and when baby gets big enough to go to school, I can sleep during those hours vs. working 12 hour days and having kids asleep both before I leave for work and when I get home.   

BEST MOMENT/S THIS WEEK?:  This week was fabulous! My mom was out here visiting! We got A LOT accomplished! We painted the nursery, put together the crib, hung curtains, went to IKEA (bought & assembled the purchases) and cleaned our our extra storage closet (outside of our apt) and hung bike hooks. Our bikes were being held in the nursery. I'd love it if we could put them in the bike rack our apt complex provides for us, but we had two bikes stolen last summer and I'm just not willing to risk it again!

Besides working my mom like a dog, we spent some quality time together and went to the beach for a day, taught her how to golf and pampered ourselves with a mani/pedi. 

WORST MOMENT THIS WEEK?:  Taking my mom back to the airport :(

MISS ANYTHING?:  Wine, craft beer and sushi. I have a feeling this answer will never change. 

MOVEMENT?:  Baby is moving, but too small to feel anything yet! Probably within the next few weeks!

FOOD CRAVINGS?:  No real cravings. A lot of times I feel hungry but nothing really sounds good. I went through a rut for a few weeks where I just didn't want to eat anything I cooked, or cook for that matter, so baby got a lot of take out. I just need more recipes! 

LABOR SIGNS?:  No and hopefully not for a very long time. 

SYMPTOMS / MOODS?:  I poke at B a little too much, but all in fun. I don't think I've been any more snippy than pre-pregnancy. 

BELLY BUTTON IN or OUT?:  In, along with my belly button ring still.... which I need to take out, yesterday. 

WEDDING RINGS OFF or ON?: On.

LOOKING FORWARD TO...?:  Next Thursday (9/6) we have another ultrasound and get to find out the sex of our baby if it cooperates! 

Here is the baby's nursery. The walls are a grey color and yes the curtains are blue. I plan to add all kinds of colors/decorations once we know the sex. 

Big Announcement!

Well, we made it Facebook official, so I guess its real life. Brett & I are expecting our first baby February 7th, or 1st, or 2nd... the doctors seem to be having a difficult time determining the due date.

I'm going to try to post weekly updates to keep the family updated & to keep a little journal for myself during this exciting time! I stole this layout from my friend, Kaitlyn, so here goes the first post:

HOW FAR ALONG?:  12 weeks 5 day, or 13 weeks 5 days (it really depends who you ask!)

TOTAL WEIGHT GAIN?:  Nada, but I'm sure that won't last too long. 

STRETCH MARKS?:  I hope never to see these beautiful things ;)

SLEEP?:  My sleep schedule is all out of whack! It doesn't help that I work nights, I'm sure. I can pretty much sleep anytime, anywhere. Although my complete exhaustion has pretty much resolved, so I'm beginning to feel human again. Or at least I was, until I thought I had enough extra energy to pick up extra shifts at work... 

BEST MOMENT/S THIS WEEK?:  We had our Nuchal Test this week, which involved a really high resolution ultrasound and we received a DVD copy! This was our third ultrasound but the first time we got to HEAR baby's heartbeat! He/She was doing all kinds of flips and showing off, wonder where that came from ;) The baby was showing all of it's parts, except the private parts, modest little thing! We'll have to wait until September 6th to find out the sex. 

WORST MOMENT THIS WEEK?:  My golf game today ;) 

MISS ANYTHING?:  Wine, craft beer and sushi. I have a feeling this answer will never change. 

MOVEMENT?:  Baby is moving, but too small to feel anything yet!

FOOD CRAVINGS?:  No real cravings. 

LABOR SIGNS?:  No and hopefully not for a very long time. 

SYMPTOMS / MOODS?:  I have a super sense of smell and occasionally gag, but no nausea (Thank God!). I don't think I've been moody, but maybe that's a question for B.

BELLY BUTTON IN or OUT?:  In, along with my belly button ring, which I really need to take out since I'm not 16 anymore!

WEDDING RINGS OFF or ON?: On.

LOOKING FORWARD TO...?:  The month of August! We are going to San Diego next weekend, Brett's performing all weekend at the Comedy Palace and we will get to spend some time with my college friend, Alisa. And my mom is coming to visit at the end of August, so I'm already working on my to-do list for her to do while she's on "vacation." 

Well three months ago I vowed I would start working out again, I did work out today. And very few others between then & now. I've lost 75 lbs!!! Totally kidding, that would be gross anyway :) What have I been doing the last three months? Clearly I've been way too busy to blog to the universe...

I honestly don't know what I've been doing. Work, sleep, repeat. The American Dream! Brett has been all over the country doing stand-up and I've been doing my best to schedule myself the days he's gone so we can hang out when he is in town, but this fall a lot of the gigs were last minute.

I ended up going home in November, unexpectedly. One of my BFF's from a million years ago, lost her mom to cancer. It was a short trip, and not for a fun reason, but I did get to see quite a few people and catch up. I saw all three of my brothers, my sister-in-law, my three nephews, one of my nieces, my grandma and my aunt and a few friends. My oldest brother decided it was his duty to make me a bottomless vodka + something else that must have been alcohol filled because this girl was (a) DRUNK & (b) so hungover on my flight home. Thanks, bro.

I was seriously so hungover, even though I vomited an insane amount the night before. My flight was direct, and for that I was thankful. I flew Allegiant Air, which is so cheap & always direct, which I love! But you know, as a typical American business they try to add on costs to everything... priority boarding (who wants to be the first person on the plane?) ... seating... baggage... etc. So anyway, I was the person with a carry on, no specific seat and one of the last on the plane. I found an empty aisle and parked myself next to the window to nap off the hangover. Until a larger lady, who required a seatbelt extender, decided to sit in MY aisle. Still, there was a seat between us, so I figured it couldn't be too bad.

I dove into my Oprah magazine to learn all about everyone's favorite things when the beverage cart came around. I desperately needed that $2 Sprite so I wouldn't vomit all over this woman. Then she says to me, "When did they start charging for drinks?!" Now, I could have taken the easy way out and said, "I don't know?" The end. But instead I said something about how it probably started around the same time they started charging for bags and isn't it ridiculous and whatever else my numb brain said. This statement seemed to open the flood gates, I learned way too much about every single person in her family and their problems. No nap for me. Pounding headache upon landing. Empty gas tank when arrived to car. All of this = sick call to work. I still feel hungover almost 3 weeks later. Blah...

Anyway, then I worked a whole bunch more and then my mom came to visit me!! She happened to have a terrible flight experience in June when she last visited and received a $200 voucher from a certain airline. We had such a great time. We shopped til I dropped, I don't really care if I don't shop for 6 months. We had a girls day (which was her Christmas gift) that started with a trip to the Farmer's Market, then had a fantastic brunch followed by a spa day. Mani, Pedi, Facial and hot stone massage, all of which she's never had! She deserves a day or 30 of pampering :) We spent an entire day at the beach, and did a lot of lounging/relaxing. It was great! It was sunny and 70-80* here and she missed the Midwest's first blizzard!

Now we're just a few days away from Christmas. I can't believe it. Time is flying! Brett and I are spending another Christmas together in LA. Last year was so nice. It's nice seeing LA as a ghost town, it doesn't happen often.

Tomorrow I'm back to work, then we're having what should be a super fun Christmas party through my work that Brett is performing at, and then I'm working for a few more days. Looking forward to my stretch off around Christmas! I know one gift I'm getting, a much needed camera! Soon I'll be able to post photos again!! I think I might superglue this one to my hand so I don't drop it in the ocean or get it stolen!

Happy Holidays!!