24 weeks, 3 days: Pictures!

First things first. I just read Krissy's comment about the name. I was going to post this yesterday, but for some reason decided to wait. But, I know a lot of people are wondering. It isn't 100% official yet and may not be until the day she is born, but her name is probably going to be "Addison Grace". Don't hold either one of us to this though. The middle name really hasn't been discussed (this is just what I like) so it's bound to change. There you have it. Hope you like it!

These were taken last night. Yep! The 20 pounds is definitely showing now.

These were taken in the bathroom mirror. My brother is curious to see how big the flower tattoo is going to get.



And here is a pic of some of the clothes we have already accumulated. It's so fun putting stuff away.

One more. This was Christmas Eve!

Love ya! - Erika

24 weeks, 2 days: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Better late than never. Michael and I had a great Christmas. We went to Gainesville the weekend before Christmas to hang out with my mom, Jim, Jesse & Tiffany. We went to Silver Springs in Ocala to check out all the lights. Then we traveled to TN on Tuesday to spend some time with Michael's family in the mountains. We opened gifts Christmas morning with his parents and sister's family and then headed back to Gainesville to do Christmas with my mom that evening. The traveling wasn't bad, but being 24 weeks pregnant does make it a little difficult to get comfortable in the car. The baby got a TON of stuff for Christmas. The nursery is packed with clothes, blankets and accessories already! I can't wait to start assembling everything.

I'll post a picture update probably tomorrow. Hope everyone had a great holiday!

-Erika

22 weeks, 2 days: Doc update!

Another appt, another weigh in. And the number is...124!!! 5 pounds since my last appt, 20 pounds total so far. So far??? I still have 18 weeks to go. I look in the mirror and can't believe it. I don't know how it's physically possible, but people do it all the time so we'll see how I hold up. They reviewed my ultrasound results and everything looks great! The heartbeat was 150 bpm today so she's still growing strong. Who could ask for anything more... I go back in 4 weeks for my next appt and glucose testing. In January we start our childbirth classes. That should be interesting. She's still kicking and moving around all the time in there. My brother-in-law, who is an ultrasound tech, will be giving us a freebie while we're in TN next week. I'm excited about that. I think he normally does heart monitoring, but that doesn't matter. Having access to the machine is great! None of us will know the details of what we're looking at, but at least we'll get to see our little one again. It should be fun!

A few other things...No headaches for awhile now. The heartburn has subsided and the leg tingling isn't as bad as it was. I still have the tiny pain under my upper ribs, but was told today that it is my cartilage stretching and nothing to worry about. I had my first fall about two weeks ago. It was raining and wet and I slipped. Luckily I feel backwards and was able to catch myself for the most part.

I promise to post again before Christmas!

Love ya! -Erika

20 weeks, 3 days: Still growing...

Here's my belly pic at 20 weeks. At my last appt (two weeks ago) I still weighed 119, same as three weeks previous. So the weight gain is more under control than it was in the beginning. Still, I feel huge!

I'm feeling really good. The baby moves ALL the time and I love it! I'm at the point now where I can feel her whether I'm lying down trying to feel her or just standing up moving around. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and she's doing flips. Michael and I sat there one night and just wondered what it is that she's doing in there. I never could have imagined how fun and amazing it is to have a person growing inside of you! I just can't wait to meet her. The nursery is now completely painted and the furniture moved in. It still needs some arranging and a lot of decorating, but I can't believe it's finished. Here's a picture of the walls and the bedding that we have.

It's another two weeks before I head back to the doctor. Until then, I'll keep you updated if anything new comes up!
- Erika

18 weeks, 6 days: A big weekend

A lot of stuff took place over the weekend. Michael, his dad and brother painted the nursery. It turned out exactly like I pictured it. I've been trying to stay away from the smell, so I'll post pictures when it's a little more complete. My brother dropped off the furniture for the nursery and the crib is now set up. And, most importantly, Michael was able to feel the baby move yesterday. It felt like she did a complete flip! It was pretty fun to share with him what I've been feeling for the past couple of days. I can't wait to have more "first's". They're fun to experience...well most of them.

-Erika

18 weeks, 3 days: Our baby girl!

Here she is! Legs spread open for the world to see that she isn't a boy (and you would be able to tell). Isn't her bottom cute...

Profile pic. I love how you can see her spine.
Her little foot...

Another profile picture. That's the cutest nose I've ever seen!

I'm going to work on getting the video transferred to digital so hopefully I can post a link soon. I've already watched it about 5 times so I'm worried I may wear out the tape!

Love ya!
Erika

18 weeks, 2 days: A special note...

Hi all! It's me...the baby! Today was a big day for me. Mom and dad got to see what I looked like today and I was a show off. I was flipping and turning all over the place, but did take a moment to strike a pose for one of my first still photos. And...what did it reveal? I'm sure you all want to know. Okay, okay. Here goes...

I'm a healthy little GIRL and mom and dad are so excited! They were able to see my heart beating, see me take a few breaths, and my feet were kicking all over the place. They have several pictures to post and share, but mom is still working on the formatting. She'll post them as soon as she can (or I'll kick her until she does). As for now, I'll continue to grow bigger and stronger everyday. I can't wait to meet everyone in April!

I better go. It's getting late and I'm sure I need a nap. Hope to talk to everyone soon!

Love,
Me...the little bean!

(P.S. My cousin Hannah helped decorate mom's belly.)

17 weeks, 6 days: Something new!

That something new is some of the worst pain I have experienced in my entire life...a charlie horse! We had our client dinner on Thursday the 9th. I was on my feet all day helping to get ready for the event and really didn't sit down until bed. And that night I woke up, screaming in pain. Who knows what Michael thought. I've only had a charlie horse twice in my entire life so I remembered to pull my toes back and the pain stopped within a minute or two. WOW!!! If I never have another one of those I will be very happy. Saturday my calf was still so sore that I could barely walk. It's feeling better today after doing some stretching exercises over the weekend. Now I'm back on the bananas (only half at a time) hoping that will help.

Thursday is the big day and I can't wait! Michael and I did a lot of prepping this weekend. We took a bunch of clothes to Goodwill, he primered the walls to get ready for the pink or blue paint, and we painted some of the closet doors around the house. We're going to get the chair rail this week and have that and the trim in the room painted by Thursday. Since Michael's parents and siblings will be here this weekend and they're willing to help, we hope to have the entire nursery painted. It feels a little early, but this will keep me from having to be around the paint fumes. Hopefully the baby will cooperate with us on Thursday so we can find out what S/He is. More on that to come.

I'm still feeling good. I have a few head pains here and there (like today), but nothing too major. I love eating the spicy, mexican type food, but I think the heartburn is starting to get to me. Who knows how much longer I'll be able to endulge in my favorites!!!

Better go. I'll post the good news later this week.

-Erika

16 weeks, 2 days: Another picture!

I'm running a day behind, but here's the monthly picture taken last night:

After getting over the initial shock regarding what the doc said about the weight gain, I've taken some of it to heart. I'm trying to tame my appetite a little by eating smaller snacks and drinking more water. It seems to be working. For the past fews days I didn't have the major urge to stuff my face every four hours like I'm used to. And I ate a bigger, healthier breakfast which seems to stick with me a lot longer. I also read up on a few things and the hunger does seem to get better about this time. Exercise? Started last night and did a mile and a half on the treadmill and some other strengthening stuff that I found on the internet. Let's just hope that I can keep it up! With the nausea behind me, the only thing that will get in my way are the headaches...which still sneak up on me. I got one Thursday afternoon (probably from being upset about what the doc told me) and it didn't go away until Sunday. Pure misery!!! I'm hanging in there though.

Everything else is still good. I plan on going to get my blood drawn again today for the neuro test they run on the baby. I wasn't nervous that much the first time, but I'm scared to death now!!! I just hope the same guy is working since he did a good job last time of not hurting me too much. I'm off to eat lunch so I don't pass out at the lab. Be back soon!

-Erika

15 weeks, 3 days: One of the best sounds EVER!

I went to the doctor yesterday and got to hear the heartbeat again. This time, I recorded it!!! I've been working on formatting it so I can post it to the site and here it is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgsJHhUDqKI

I love it! I've only listened to it about a 50 times so far. It makes me smile everytime I hear it. The appt went well...most of it. I met with the other doc in the office (they like you to go once just to meet him) and he scolded me for putting on 15 pounds so far. I can't wait to see my doctor again. I was so upset and a little confused on what I was supposed to do since I'm still always hungry. He said I could still eat, I just had to eat better. And for the record, I don't think I eat that bad. And I have to exercise!...(I know this). It's just hard. I mean to walk on the treadmill I have, but I'm now getting about 3 to 4 headaches a week and they're not fun. They vary on the pain scale with the one I have now being up there. When are they going to pass?!

Back to the good stuff. I scheduled my big ultrasound for Thursday, November 16th! They'll make sure things are progressing like they should and we'll find out if we are having a boy or a girl! Either one is fine with us. We just want a healthy baby! I'm kind of leaning towards a girl though. New belly pics next week since I'll be 16 weeks. Can't wait to show you that 15 pounds!

Few other notes (for my reference): I ate some sauerkraut today at lunch and loved it! It was so good. And it wasn't on a hotdog or Reuben sandwich. It was all by itself. I think that's a first for me. Who knows? Before this is all over I could be a vegetable lover. That's a bold statement.

Big game this weekend. Go Gators!

Love ya!

Erika

(P.S. - Love you mom! I know you're strong and you'll be even stronger when all is said and done.)