Lima Bean: Week Twenty Three

How far along: Twenty Three weeks as of Wednesday, March 19, 2014. 
Size of baby: Lima Bean is more than 11 inches long from head to heel and weighs just over a pound (about as much as a large mango).
Maternity Clothes: Same old, same old.  But Mark's mom surprised me with a lot of new spring and summer maternity clothes recently, which I am so grateful for.  Hoping I can wear them when the weather warms up a bit.
Movement: Lots of movement.  I notice it more at night, more than I ever did with Henry.  Lima Bean even moves in the middle of the night after I take a trip to the bathroom or roll over.  I don't remember Henry being this active at night.  Makes me a little nervous about her sleep habits, not going to lie!  Although Henry didn't sleep through the night until 10 months, so maybe fetal movement patterns don't make much of a difference.
Sex of baby: It's a girl!
Sleep: Finding it a little harder to go back to sleep at times after my frequent bathroom breaks.  But nothing bad at all.
What I miss: Wine would be nice to unwind at night!
Cravings: Chinese food again.  So weird.  But easy enough to satisfy!
Symptoms: Exhaustion.  I had a crazy work week this week and worked way too much.  It really took a toll on me physically.  It didn't help that Mark was out of town for several days.  Luckily for me, my parents were in town and helped me out a ton, watching Henry and cooking dinner.  I don't know what I would have done without them. 
What I'm looking forward to: Taking Henry on some little adventures before Lima Bean arrives.  We are considering traveling to Denver in May to spend a few days.  Mark will be there anyway for a work trip, and I have never been to Colorado, so I thought it might be fun to do a little babymoon.  I need to check with my doctor to see whether I should make the trip at that stage in my pregnancy.  We also want to go into the city to the zoo and some museums when the weather improves.

Lima Bean: Week Twenty Two

How far along: Twenty Two weeks as of Wednesday, March 12, 2014. 
Size of baby: Lima Bean is 11 inches long from head to heel and weighs almost a pound, the size of a spaghetti squash.  She now resembles a miniature newborn, according to the baby growth website!
Maternity Clothes: Still the same.  Mostly maternity pants and a mix of maternity and non-maternity tops.  I am living in my leggings this time, too.  Mostly because other than leggings, the only bottoms I have that really fit are my skinny jeans.  I really need another pair of maternity jeans, especially since there appears to be no end in sight to this long and cold winter.
Movement: Going strong!
Sex of baby: It's a girl!
Sleep: Fine.
What I miss: Having a larger wardrobe--especially pants and dresses-- to choose from!
Cravings: Junk food chips--Doritos, Cheetos, you name it.  Not a good thing to crave.  But I am trying to be judicious in my portion sizes.
Symptoms: Tiredness.
What I'm looking forward to: Spring-like weather.  Please, please, arrive soon!

Lima Bean: Week Twenty One

How far along: Twenty One weeks as of Wednesday, March 5, 2014. 
Size of baby: Lima Bean is about10.5 inches long from head to heel (the size of a carrot), and she weighs about 3/4 lb.
Maternity Clothes: I can still wear two pairs of pants with the belly band, but that's it.  My old maternity jeans are still too big--I am thinking it will be at least a month or more before I can wear them without them falling down.
Movement: Lima Bean is a mover and a shaker, and I love each and every movement.
Sex of baby: It's a girl!
Sleep: Fine.  Not having any back or hip pain.
What I miss: Deli sandwiches.
Cravings: Remington Grill sandwiches.  Too bad I can't have them! 
Symptoms: Mostly just tired.  My skin has cleared up for the most part (knock on wood).
What I'm looking forward to: Having two children and seeing them interact!

Lima Bean: Week Twenty

This tunic does not make me look pregnant at all.  But trust me, I do!

How far along: Twenty weeks as of Wednesday, February 26, 2014. 
Size of baby: Lima Bean is about 6.5 inches long from head to rump, 10 inches long from head to heel (the size of a banana), and she weighs about 10.5 ounces.
Maternity Clothes: About the same as last week.  I have a lot of long tops that I will be able to wear for several more weeks.  I did purchase three more tops, though, so I will have a little more variety.
Movement: Baby girl is a mover and a shaker, and I love each and every movement.
Sex of baby: It's a girl!
Sleep: Fine.
What I miss: Soft cheeses and a glass of wine.
Cravings: We were in North Carolina visiting my parents for several days this week.  One of my all-time favorite restaurants, Remington Grill, is there.  I may or may not have eaten Remington Grill's barbeque chicken sandwich and french fries three times in five days!  I can't get enough and really wish Remington Grill would open up here.  It's a pipe dream, though.
Symptoms: Still just feeling tired most of the time.  I don't think it's going to ease up anytime soon.
What I'm looking forward to: Buying clothes for a little girl!

Lima Bean Is...

A GIRL!!!

My maternal instincts were correct!  We are over the moon excited.  We can't wait to experience life with both a boy and a girl.

We had our big anatomy scan on February 24.  I was very, very anxious for the scan and eager to learn whether the baby looked healthy.  Thankfully, Lima Bean checked out just fine.  I made our doctor run through the gamut of body parts, head to toe, and tell us that they were looking good. The ultrasound technician, like everyone, made a comment about how busy Lima Bean is.  We are in for it!  We got some cute pictures of Lima Bean I will share in the 20 week post.

Like last time, Mark and I asked that the technician not reveal the sex during the ultrasound but instead to write whether the baby is a girl or a boy on a piece of paper and put it in an envelope for us to open at dinner that evening.  Because our appointment was early in the day, I had the envelope in my purse at work all day.  It was so hard to concentrate on work!  But I was not tempted to peek because it is so fun to find out just the two of us.

This time, we headed to a restaurant aptly named Proof for the big reveal.  I brought up our plan with the waiter early on, because I wanted to make sure they had something pink or blue they could use when bringing out dessert.  He told me that they did not have fresh berries on hand, so we couldn't do ice cream topped with strawberries or blueberries.  But the waiter said they could come up with something. 

Surprisingly, it wasn't that hard to concentrate on the appetizer and entree.  It wasn't that hard during our reveal for Henry, either.  I think it's because I just "knew" each time what we would be having.  When it came time for dessert, the waiter asked for the envelope, and as I was handing it over, told us that they had something in mind for the reveal and that the chef had done a gender reveal at the restaurant in the past.

It was only while we were waiting for dessert that we got a little nervous (for lack of a better word, because obviously there was no wrong answer here!).  But a couple of minutes later, the waiter brought out the plate of white, pink, and purple sorbets, and right away I knew my instincts had been correct!  And perhaps that little ladybug was telling me something, after all.  I said, "It's a girl!" and may have teared up a little from happiness.  We opened the envelope and saw the pink paper where the ultrasound technician glued two photos revealing the sex and wrote, "It's a girl.  Congratulations!" 

Mark and I spent the next fifteen minutes or so taking photos of each other with the dessert and telling our families.  I took a picture of the sorbets and sent it to my family, and Mark did the same.  It was funny because both of our mothers couldn't figure out what the sex was based on the picture.  Apparently the purple sorbet looked a little blue in the photo.  So then we had to spell it out a little more obviously for people!  Ha. 

It was a wonderful evening, and we had a great time.  I love learning this way.  It is so fun to have the anticipation of the surprise, and to share it just between the two of us.  We cannot wait to meet our baby girl!

Lima Bean: Week Nineteen

How far along: Nineteen weeks as of Wednesday, February 19, 2014. 
Size of baby: Lima Bean is about 6 inches long from head to rump (the size of an heirloom tomato) and weighs about 8.5 ounces.
Maternity Clothes: I finally washed my new maternity jeans so I could start wearing them.  Other than that, I have three pairs of non-maternity pants I can wear with the belly band.  And leggings.  So, my wardrobe is quite limited.  In desperate need of warmer weather so I can wear dresses!
Movement: Still feel movement, and it is getting stronger and more frequent. 
Sex of baby: We will find out in less than a week!  I still think it's a girl.
Sleep: Fine.
What I miss: A glass of nice red wine would be great right about now.
Cravings: Salads with lots of dressing, hummus.  Relatively healthy this week.
Symptoms: Mostly just feeling really tired at the end of the day.  By 8:30 when Henry is down for the night, it is all I can do not to go to sleep myself.  Unfortunately, there are always things I need to do when he is asleep, so I don't end up getting to bed before 10:30 at the earliest.
What I'm looking forward to: The anatomy scan.  Soon!

Lima Bean: Week Eighteen

How far along: Eighteen weeks as of Wednesday, February 12, 2014. 
Size of baby: Lima Bean is about 5.5 inches long, the length of a bell pepper, and weighs almost 7 ounces.
Maternity Clothes: Still no pants, only a couple of tops.  I have to say, I pulled out my bin of maternity clothes this week and thought, "Ugh!" when I saw them.  I am already tired of them and I haven't even worn them yet.  I think they wore out their welcome during Henry's pregnancy.  Will have to buy a few new things, especially for the warmer months.
Movement: Yep, and I love it!
Sex of baby: I had a dream this week that I was holding a boy baby.  In the dream, the baby was supposed to be Henry, but since he is 19 months old, that doesn't make much sense.  So, perhaps Lima Bean is a boy?!
Sleep: Fine.
What I miss: Oh, what I would give for a deli sandwich or pre-made chicken salad.
Cravings: Cinnamon-flavored things: cinnamon rolls, cereal, and coffee creamer have all made it into the lineup this week.
Symptoms: Tiredness, bad skin, some sharp waves of abdominal pain that I think is round ligament stretching.
What I'm looking forward to: This doesn't have anything to do with Lima Bean, but warmer weather so I can get outside, take Henry for long walks, and get some exercise!  I am so tired of the snow and winter weather.  This winter seems as though it will never end!