Monday, March 10, 2014

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!

Sunday, March 9, 2014

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!

Sunday, February 23, 2014

Loving Big Brother

A couple of times a day, Mark gives Lima Bean a kiss by kissing my stomach.  Yesterday, he did this while I was sitting on the couch with Henry.  Henry saw Daddy lift my shirt a bit and kiss the baby.  He must have thought this looked fun, because he proceeded to copy Daddy.  He lifted my shirt and gave Lima Bean a big ol' wet smooch!  Then, seeing the reaction he got from Mark and me, he did it again and again and again!  After giving the baby a kiss, he would look up at Mark, give a huge grin, and clap his hands!  I thought I would die from the cuteness.  It was the absolute most adorable thing, and I even teared up in my emotional pregnant state. 

A few photos of the adorable big brother, who has been a little neglected on this blog during all of the Lima Bean posts.  Not to worry, though, he is definitely not hurting for attention from Mark and me!

Hidden Hiller Chronicles: Week Seventeen

I had no memory of wearing this sweater in the 15 week picture until I uploaded it.  Ah, well: at least you can see how much bigger the bump is two weeks later!
How far along: Seventeen weeks as of Wednesday, February 5, 2014. 
Size of baby: Lima Bean is about 5 inches long from crown to rump and weighs about 5 ounces, as much as a turnip.
Maternity Clothes: I tried to wear a pair of maternity jeans this week, but they were too baggy because I stretched them out so much last time.  They literally wouldn't stay up.  So, still wearing regular pants.  I can wear one pair as is, and the rest I have to wear with a belly band.  I have plenty of long tops, so no need for maternity shirts yet, although I have a couple that are shorter that I have worn.
Movement: Still feel movement, and it is getting stronger and more frequent. 
Sex of baby: We will find out in less than three weeks!
Sleep: Fine.
What I miss: Deli sandwiches and soft cheeses.
Cravings: Finally feeling like Mexican food!  It was so funny--it's all I wanted during Henry's pregnancy, but this time, I have craved Asian-inspired and Italian food.  This week I made honey lime enchiladas and they were outstanding.  Still have that "sweet" undertone I have been craving, though.  Also, deli sandwiches.  I want a turkey sandwich!!  I already have my order ready for my first post-baby lunch: Boar's Head spicy chicken, pepper jack cheese, honey mustard and onions on sourdough.  Mmmm...just have to wait approximately 23 more weeks!
Symptoms: Tiredness, bad skin, some sharp waves of abdominal pain that I think is round ligament stretching.
What I'm looking forward to: The anatomy scan.  Soon!

Hidden Hiller Chronicles: Week Sixteen


How far along: Sixteen weeks as of Wednesday, January 29, 2014. 
Size of baby: Lima Bean is 4.5 inches long from crown to rump, the size of an avocado, and weighs about 3.5 ounces.
Maternity Clothes: I have worn two sweaters so far.  I can still fit into four pairs of pants, two that are made of extra stretchy material and two that are normally too big, and still are too big, actually (although I suspect not for long!)
Movement: Still feeling Lima Bean a couple of times a day.  Mostly when I am going to bed at night, probably because I'm relaxed and still.
Sex of baby: We will find out in four weeks!
Sleep: Just fine.
What I miss: Over easy eggs, soft cheeses.
Cravings: Salads, mint oreos (to counterbalance the salads), barbeque chicken.  This baby is all about dishes with sweet undertones.
Symptoms: Mostly just horrible skin and a little extra tiredness.  Some days are worse than others, even if I get the same amount of sleep the night before.
What I'm looking forward to: The "big" ultrasound where we see Lima Bean again!

Other notables: I had my 16 week appointment this week.  Mark had a work obligation, so I took Henry on my own.  He has gone to every appointment so far, because I keep scheduling them on days I don't work!  He does great because I always bring crackers for him to snack on and he gets fawned over by everyone at the office.  We heard the heartbeat again (152 bpm) and I had a pretty long discussion with my doctor about attempting a VBAC.  For now, that is the plan.  Henry's C-section was the result of a multitude of circumstances that all aligned to make it very hard for me to have him normally--my water broke, so I had 24 hours or so from then to give birth; I wasn't dilating on my own so I had to be on Pitocin; Henry's cord was wrapped around his body, so the increased Pitocin contractions were squeezing him too much and causing his heart rate to decelerate.  Anyway, all that to say, my doctor thinks the C-section wasn't because of my physical body structure, which was great to hear.  I know VBAC rates aren't great, but I am hoping I can achieve it.