WEEK 22: What's Happening

How Far Along:   22 weeks 1 day

Baby's Size: 10.5" about the size of a Papaya, approx 12.7 oz (they've started to count her arms and legs into the measurements, so she really didnt' grow 3.5" this week, more like 1")

Total Weight Gain: 8 lbs

Maternity Clothes? Slowly but surely becoming my only clothes.

Stretch Marks? Nothing new, but that black line has appeared!

Sleep? I've started dreaming about the baby. Whether she is here, or she is still in my tummy. She is definitely in my dreams. 

Best Moment this Week: We had a good weekend, got to see my family at my brothers' birthday celebration, Jeremy's brother came in from New York for a visit with his girlfriend Stacie, and we got to spend some much needed friend time with Carla, Em, Kalin & Jav. It was great!

Miss Anything? Just sushi this week!

Movement: OMIWORD. Yesterday when I was getting ready I looked down and my belly was flat on half, and the other half was bulging out. The baby was 100% on the right! I had to show Jeremy because I was so freaked out by it! Good to know its not fat in there, it's just a baby! Weird to know that she can move my whole belly wherever she wants to go! THAT CAN'T BE GOOD FOR MY POSTURE!

Food Cravings: I craved a jumbo baked potato this week from BJs Brewhouse. I even waited a whole day for it because Dove had made me some yummy steaks and brussels sprouts the first night. So we went for lunch on Saturday and I ate EVERY BITE of that potato. It was DELICIOUS, and just what I had wanted!

What Makes you Queasy: Chicken. BUT NOT EGGS! This weekend was the first time since pregnant that I could eat both a scrambled egg, AND a deviled egg at Patty's house. I just had one each time in case it wasn't over... but YAY! It is over! Perfect timing too! Bitsy is laying up a storm! 3 eggs yesterday! I even had enough eggs to bake cookies when Uncle Matt come to visit! (Jeremy said they were his favorite cookies I've made yet! I used dark chocolate kisses and pecans in them!)

Gender: It's a girl - and she certainly has a mind of her own. LOL. When I want to sleep, she wants to move, when I want to move, she makes wants me to lay down. 

Labor signs? None, but DANG this girl is low. I feel like there is a bowling ball sitting on my pelvic bone. The pressure is INTENSE! On Saturday my legs stopped working for a little bit because of the pressure on my nerves! I had to buy a belly belt - it looks like one of the back braces my Daddy used to wear, but it supports the pregnant bellies... I hope it helps even just a little! 

Symptoms: Morning sickness has passed for now! I only feel sick after a coughing fit (thanks to 'pregnancy congestion') or if I have eaten something with a strange flavor. I keep a pack of napkins in front of me just in case I need to spit something out these days... I feel so bad when I do too - but I suppose its better than the alternative!

Wedding Rings On or Off?  Off  mostly, but on Saturday I was able to wear my ring ALL DAY with no trouble!

Mood: I have been pretty tired, but getting excited. I have also been in productive mode. Trying to get stuff done (as slow as it happens, little by little - I really wish I could move faster and do more things!) But so far I have organized the kitchen cabinets (which had run amuck since Jeremy has been helping with the dishes) and I have gotten quotes for health insurance (Babies add like $400 to our premiums!) and life insurance quotes (now we have to worry about getting the mortgage paid in full if one of us were to perish) and wills (what happens if both of us should perish) and all of that TOTALLY NOT FUN stuff. But its better to get it done now, before the pregnancy fog sets in, so that it can't be contested. 

What's the Daddy-to-be Doing? He is exhausted. The last 3 weekends or so have been non-stop with something, a migraine - a work thing - visits - etc, and though we try to keep up on everything, with me unable to do alot of things (like cleaning! or lifting!) I need to call him in for help alot. I have got a system where I make lots of piles and then have him help me all at once. He has also been dealing with a work situation thats gone array for the last few weeks, and its taking away from his work time - so he has to work on his family time... which is very frustrating for both of us. We are really hoping it settles down soon. Lots to do, and no time to do it! We are trying to simplify all of our plans to make things just easy, and keep a nice flow happening, so we don't feel upset or stressed when something we want doesn't pan out.

Notes to the Little One: Well kiddo, you have recuperated quite a bit after your migraine last week. Thankfully the morning sickness has quit, so now mommy can eat what she LOVES and its great because you can taste all the deliciousness I feed you as of now. I'm hoping you liked the brussels sprouts... I LOVE THEM. And of course the Mac and Cheese (Auntie Carla makes some YUMMY chorizo mac!). It's really nice for your Mama to be able to taste her favorite foods, and know that you are tasting them, too!

It's really funny to watch how people react these days. It's like they all see YOU first. Uncle Bob even went to hug me, and then stopped and pat the belly before the hug! It was really cute. I have obviously started showing because I notice more strangers looking at my tummy than at my face. They must not be sure, because they don't say anything. (I am sure that I am waddling too - thanks to the bowling ball reference above.) You are already stealing the limelight! (Which is good, because Mama doesn't like to be the center of attention!)

Your Mama found you some really dreamy bedding for your crib, its from Pottery Barn but was a fraction of the cost. It goes well with the teal and yellow we like so much, and looks pretty with the picture we want to hang in  your room too. :) It's really hard for me to choose 'girly' stuff - as I have never been one to lean towards girly. This one has blues, yellows and greens in it, and lots of simple patterns - nothing too frilly - but beautiful just the same. There are even hand sewn flowers on the curtains!

Your grandma and I want to make you some bedding, too - but we were having a really hard time finding fabrics that we liked. I heard of a place that has some really cool fabrics that I have to take a little trip to, but its nice to know there isn't a really big rush on finding the perfect ones now. Slowly but surely your room is coming together! I hope that you like it!

WEEK 21: What's Happening

How Far Along:  21 weeks 1 day

Baby's Size: 7" from head to rump the size of a pomegranate 

Total Weight Gain: 7 lbs

Maternity Clothes? Just bottoms so far, but my prepregnancy tops are starting to be uncomfortable too. 

Stretch Marks? Nothing new, but the itching has begun.

Violette with her first Migraine - 8/16/13

Sleep? Not much the last few days due to an INSANE migraine. I was debilitated from Friday morning until late Saturday, and after dark was the first attempt I had to go anywhere or do anything. However sleep was not an option! I was on the couch most of the time with cold compresses. Last night I slept FINALLY for about 8 hours. We saw the doctor Friday and he said I should wait it out if possible but could call him if I couldn't deal anymore and he would give me the last resort Imitrex. Then with the ultrasound he took he said it looked like Violette had a migraine too because she was very sedentary and was positioned all slumped over with her hands on her head. That made me very sad. I know that its constricted blood vessels in the brain, so its possible that she did feel some discomfort from the headache - I think she must have been feeling my stress as well. I usually don't miss work - it was really, really hard for me to not go in - but I honestly could not move without feeling like I would fall over in pain. Driving was not an option. And then the strange man came... more on that later. All in all it was a terrible Friday.

Best Moment this Week: Eva Dog coming home from the doctor - just as peppy as ever, only one GIANT lump less!

Miss Anything? Sushi - I have been CRAVING it lately. I even looked it up and it seems that one of my favorites might be cooked 100%! I will have to call my favorite restaurant and see if that's the case. 

Movement: A lot of movement early in the week - Violette likes to move around quite a bit. She moves from left to right and back again, I feel her little feet kicking my bladder and then my ribs. She is quite the wiggler!

Food Cravings: SUSHI - and FINALLY back to Peanuts! :) Oh how I have missed peanut butter!

What Makes you Queasy: Chicken. 

Gender: Girl! Still getting used to calling her Violette!

Labor signs? None

Symptoms: Morning sickness is still there, but it seems to be tapering off - may just be from the Migraine though, but the last 3 days have been morning sickness free. We shall see! A new symptom is the pregnancy waddle. Yep. It happens, and its uncomfortable and at times painful. Overnight almost, all of a sudden there was a definitive BUMP and a waddle to go with it. AND now I am SUPER SLOW! It takes me 2x as long to get somewhere. It's quite frustrating!

Wedding Rings On or Off?  Off, though from time to time I wear it on my necklace.

Mood: I am okay right now, I think that the migraine is almost gone! I don't plan on overdoing it today (Sunday) because I don't want it to even get a glimmer of rebirth for the week ahead. 

What's the Daddy-to-be Doing? He was pretty freaked out this weekend - with Eva getting her mass removed from her foot, me staying home (for the first time since we've been together) with a Migraine and then the strange man that was obviously up to no good at the door. Yea, I better tell you about that.

Just after Jeremy left to get some Tylenol for my headache, a stranger, a tall (about 6'5") African American man wearing a red t shirt and blue jeans just appeared on our porch and was BANGING on the windows and pushing the doorbell over and over.

Me with my migraine - I WAS FURIOUS. And delirious. At first I thought Jeremy had locked himself out, (you can't really see through the cut glass in the door) and knowing I had a migraine was still banging crazy like. So I opened the door and was a little surprised to see a stranger. I was still pissed off though, and asked the man "Can I help you?" with a bit of an attitude. He was taken aback and gave me some story about his girlfriend having a flat tire and could he use my phone. (SERIOUSLY!? Your like 30 years old and you don't have a cellphone... AND you don't know how to fix a tire?! AND your inconsiderate! Dude. That's like an EPIC failure in my book.) I just said "No." and closed the door and locked it behind me.

Then I went and called Jeremy to YELL at him for not locking the front gate. He was really freaked out then, rushed home and saw the gate was indeed LOCKED. This idiot had hopped our fence! Our 7ft tall fence! I called the police but they said it had been too long for them to send someone out. He said that one or two rings of the doorbell is normal, someone banging on the windows is not - and to call 911 next time and not open the door.

I am glad we are okay knowing that it could have been a bad situation, but I wasn't raised to live in fear or question everyone's motives. Obviously we don't have people like this where I grew up. I opened the door to yell at the person for being inconsiderate. You never bang like that unless someone is DYING or hurt really bad. I guess here its a sign that someone is trying to break in to your house. Obviously he wasn't expecting a tall white girl with an attitude. LOL (pregnant with a migraine will do that to a girl)

Well - I saw your face dude. And I know EXACTLY what you look like, right down to the spaces between your teeth. I suggest you pick a different neighborhood, or better yet a different line of work.

Jeremy however is still very upset with me. He made me call our security system so that I can know all the ins and outs - the panic button and the way to turn off the alarm, but still alert the police that I am in danger. We also set up a camera for the front door and ordered more for the back and entry. O Joy! Can't complain for the extra safety though, it just means he loves us. :)

Notes to the Little One: Well kiddo, it seems that you and mommy shared the horrible pain of this migraine - even the doctor said so - but you were still healthy and progressing so he wasn't super worried. I know it hurts... A LOT. I felt it too. It was probably the worst one your Mama's ever had! I am so sorry that you had to go through it with me. I hope that its the last one we ever get! The only good things that happened on Friday was Eva's surgery went well - and we got to see you! We were supposed to see you on Wednesday, but got a sneak peek a few days early. :) It hurt so much when he said that you seemed to be feeling it as well. I wished I could make it go away right then and there!

Your dad was crazy overprotective of us when the strange man came. We already have one of the best security systems in the neighborhood, but he went ahead and made it better - he said that he had to now that we were going to have a baby in the house. He said he has to protect his girls. LOL. It's cute how he has started nesting in his DADDY mode. :) Next thing you know we'll have fire extinguishers in every room and exit strategy's posted on all the doors. (EEK!) Oh Violette, this week was a doozie. Hopefully it will be the last doozie until we actually get to hold hands. :)

Mommy's friend Rochelle came to visit for a few minutes yesterday, and she said that all three of her babies came the way you are going to come. She is an amazing mommy, and her kids and grandkids love her so much! Someone had told me that you don't get to 'bond' with your baby when you have a C-section, but knowing that Rochelle did it with all three of hers gave me peace on that one. She calmed your dads fears a little bit, too - he really wanted to be there when you arrived, but he doesn't like hospitals or blood - so he wasn't sure if he would be able to stay in the room. She said that he can be with us, and not have to see any of that stuff - He looked really relieved. She also told me that you will probably be 2 weeks early! That puts your arrival around the second week of December. Looks like you will be here sooner than we thought! We are pretty excited! Thank goodness for friends like Rochelle. :)

Other than that, we have started to think about your bedroom, and what we want to do. It's already changed about 3 times this week, so we shall see how it all comes together. Once we have your furniture in place we will figure out a way to bring it all together. 

WEEK 20: What's Happening

How Far Along:  20 weeks 

Baby's Size: 6.5" the size of a small canteloupe (Doctor said 11 oz)

Total Weight Gain: 1.6 lbs (moving the right direction again!)

Maternity Clothes? Jeans and Yoga Pants

Stretch Marks? No, but I got crazy itchy last week and traded up for the oils everyone so deeply recommends. It seems to have helped.

Sleep? Yesterday I slept until 9am and then I took a 3 hour nap. Exhausted much?

Best Moment this Week: Jeremy & I went for our diagnostic ultrasound on Wednesday. They are set up very cool, huge tv screen on one wall with a couch beside the ultrasound table so Dads can be comfy. They dim the lights and everything - its like watching Baby TV. More on this in the notes to the little one.

Miss Anything? Sushi. What I wouldn't give for a Rock Shrimp Roll from Miya Sushi!

Movement: Here and there, baby seems to go back to their favorite comfy spot all the time. :)

Food Cravings: I craved Tamales last week. That was new for me. And I really wanted a Ham & Cheese BLT with mayo on toasted sourdough. Too bad the doctor told me to steer clear of MAYO! (That and the lunch meat rule made me steer clear... )

What Makes you Queasy: Chicken. And whenever my stomach is empty.

Gender: It's a GIRL!!! Violette Elora Sawyer! I tried to be cute and spread the word via nail polish - I had chosen Violet for Violette and Blue for Maddox, and sent out a text saying "which will it be?!" and some people got that one, but no one got the answer with the Purple nailpolish... LOL. So it was all for naught.

I did make her a logo/emblem though! {C'mon, did you really think I would wait on THAT?}

Labor signs? None

Symptoms: Exhaustion, Fatigue, Pain and last but certainly not least annoying - Morning Sickness. WILL IT EVER END?!!?!?

Wedding Rings On or Off?  Off :(

Mood: Excited

What's the Daddy-to-be Doing? He is so happy to know he is having a little girl. He actually texted me 10 hours after we found out with "WOOOHOOOOOOOOO!!! It's a GIRL!!!" which made me laugh out loud.

Notes to the Little One: You really don't like to get your picture taken, do you little one? I am sure it's uncomfortable - the movie we watched said that you hear a high pitch sound from the machine. You certainly know where to hide to make the doctors grimace. Dr. Lee was so very patient though. He tried to get you to come out and play for about 15 minutes, and then he told me and Dad to walk down to the bakery and get a pastry and an orange juice and walk back - and that should get you moving. HOUR DELAY! When we got back, tummy full of sugar, you still weren't awake but at least you had moved into a space where he could see you better. FINALLY, he told us that you were a baby girl! :) I said to your dad, "DOVEY! It's a VIOLETTE!" and the doctor said "Now THAT is a cute name!" he he.

And then I saw your chubby cheeks and started to giggle. Just like your Mama :)

He took a few more measurements and told us that you looked very healthy, but since he couldnt get to every part of the test that I would need to come back for a third diagnostic checkup in one month. (MORE BABY TV TIME!!) See Violette, everyone likes to take your picture so you will need to just get over that shyness quick! You have a picture every 3 weeks with Doctor Medrano, and now you get NOT TWO, but THREE fancy 3D appointments! And we just made it to the halfway point!

Uncle Pookie was joking the other day that the ultrasounds were PROOF POSITIVE that you were an alien. He even made a collage of your ultrasounds and pictures from the movie Alien. That is why we are posting the 3D of your face today, so that Uncle Pookie can see that you are much more human than previously thought. Sadly, the scan messed it up so you can't really see the shadowing, but on my copy you can easily see two eyes, a nose and a mouth. The doctor said that your face is still developing so we won't know who you look like until we see you again later on. BUT! At least we know you aren't an alien! :)

WEEK 19: What's Happening

How Far Along:  19 weeks 1 day

Baby's Size: 6.5" (10 oz) the size of a Mango

Total Weight Gain: 2.6 lbs (all caught up again!)

Maternity Clothes? Got my maternity jeans last week, they are a little big on me but they have room to grow. Most importantly, They're long enough! 

Stretch Marks? No but the itching has begun! I had been using cocoa butter balm but have started using the oil... the sticky greasy mess grosses me out, at least with the oil it will spread more nicely.

Sleep? Last night was filled with crazy dreams. In one of them Auntie Agnes carried around 40 different purses and they all did different things - one turned into a filing cabinet! LOL. Where does my subconscious come up with this stuff? And if she really has one of those she better show me how to use it because I want one that stores all that goodness in a compact hand bag!

Best Moment this Week: Jeremy and I went through our 'storage' items that had taken ownership of the baby's room. It only took an hour or two, but the two bookshelves I had originally purchased for use in his storage shed finally got placed there (without argument - every other time he said WHY DO WE NEED THESE!?) So now we only have 2 pieces of furniture that need to go to good will (both living in his office now) and all of the baby stuff we have received thus far is currently residing in the babies room! The cradle is still in the living room, as that is where it will live most of the time ;) but everything else is now in the babies room. After we have the babies furniture in I will figure out how to store that stuff.
{We have certainly been blessed! We have swings, stationary play sets, baby carriers, car seats and more!}

Miss Anything? Sushi. Really fish of any kind. I have been eating a lot more shrimp these days because its the only thing seaworthy that I can eat AND stomach. I would really love to get to that stage of my 2nd trimester where I can eat normally again... (not that sushi or fish would be on that... maybe salmon)

Movement: OMIWORD. This weeks appointment with Dr. Medrano was terrible. Someone had told me to drink Orange juice before the appointment so that the baby would be on a sugar high and move about a lot so we could see what flavor our baby is... so I did! And Dang! This baby can move. It was only comfortable for me to STAND while in the waiting room. 

Food Cravings: Asian Noodles. When I am at home I crave Ramen noodles with steamed vegetables. :)

What Makes you Queasy: Chicken. The list has dwindled down to that.

Gender: No idea! That we were supposed to find out at the appointment - BUT the other doctor was out on vacation, leaving my doctor to tend to her patients which put him 1 hour behind schedule! The nurse staff that night was HERS too, and they SUCK. {My doctors staff would have told me right away that he was running late and that I should use the restroom or go get my water and a snack... something.} But these women said/did NOTHING. And by the time we were seen my child had crashed from its sugar high and was in hibernation mode bottom down. He tried REALLY hard, but he said the baby was sleeping. {Hence the ultrasound that also shows very little! We did get to see your face for a split second, :) } We even tried to hear the heartbeat (for the first time) but all we could hear was the placenta because of where the baby was sleeping... I was SO grumpy!

This Wednesday is my diagnostic appointment though, so hopefully the baby will be moving about since its in the morning, not at dinner time. Jeremy really wants to know, as does all of our family and friends - I'm happy either way. :) Prayers welcome! 

Labor signs? None

Symptoms: Still have the morning sickness. Still have the exhaustion. New to the group is lower back pain and extreme dizziness. (Fun! Not.) I feel like I am still on the Scrambler at Six Flags in my mother's tummy. (Grrr. I blame you mother.)

Wedding Rings On or Off?  Off :(

Mood: I am at deadline this weekend and yesterday we got through A LOT of goodness. So I am feeling productive today. It will be nice to put this 96 page book to bed! :) The biggest we have had in quite a while!

What's the Daddy-to-be Doing? He was very upset that you were sleeping when we were seen by the Doctor. He REALLY wants to know whether you are a Violette or a Maddox so that he can start talking to you and not feel stupid by calling you "Baby". I told him my Daddy called me "Baby" all my life, (with a few other fun nicknames of course - like Max & Zinger) and I can still hear his voice when I read the words. Alas, hopefully he will have his answer on Wednesday and he can come up with his own nicknames. :)

Notes to the Little One: You were doing some crazy back flips at the doctors last week - Dad told me to tell you that you are off Orange Juice for the rest of the pregnancy. He said I turned colors and looked sick! I felt you kicking my ribs one minute, the next it was closer to my hips. You just didn't stop moving! Until we were ready to take your picture that is. Silly baby! I really hope you are awake for our next appointment.

This deadline was a doozie. Its obvious that you prefer me to move around these days... sitting for hours at a time wasn't working - so I kept getting up and walking around every few hours. We watched that "In The Womb" movie the last two nights, and it says that when you get to 24 weeks you will sleep 90% of the time... and be REALLY ACTIVE the other 10%. ONLY 5 WEEKS TO GO! :) I just hope the other 10% is when Mama is awake! Though I don't know how reliable this information is, it also said that by now I shouldn't be feeling morning sickness anymore - and that's just a flat out lie! It was a really interesting film though, we got to see a growing baby girl from the beginning of conception to birth and see & learn about all that happens each week of the journey.

Right now it said that you were getting your senses - and that hearing was the strongest of them right now. It said you can hear our voices (in the lower registers) so it's a good thing we have been talking to you, hopefully you will recognize both mine and your dad's voices when you are first born.