30 weeks + 2 days

Yup, definitely feeling pregnant now...there's no doubt about that. I guess the 2nd trimester blissfulness is over :(, but that's okay! All for a good reason. This week has been particularly rough because I've been battling this nasty cold/flu type sickness that's been going around my office. I missed a few hours of work on Friday, felt blah all weekend, missed half a day Monday, all day Tuesday, and forced myself to go into work today (surprisingly made it through the day). I'm hoping the worst is over. I really feel like my immune system is taking quite a bit longer than normal to kick the crud! Hopefully I am better by Friday, which is when we will be driving to TX for Christmas.

30 weeks. Sick, no makeup. I almost thought about cutting my head out of this photo- this is about as real as it gets!

Other than feeling like poo, everything else has been great. We've been keeping busy around here...with all the Christmas shopping, etc. going on. The baby seems to be doing great regardless of how I'm feeling, so that's good. He/she is just as active as ever and constantly moving around and getting hiccups several times a day,  and sometimes waking me up with them at night (so cute). Frank is jealous because I've gotten to "hold the baby" all this time. Yesterday he informed me that once the baby is born he's going to hold the baby all the time because it will be his turn (ha!!). I'm a pretty big baby-hog myself, so we'll see how that goes ;)

I've been slowing down,  not quite as energetic as before. It takes a little longer to get around...I feel sort of like an old lady! Sleeping at night can be a struggle, I'm waking up more often at night. I noticed myself getting a little out of breath sometimes, and the light-headedness (especially at church) seems to be making a comeback. I guess those would be the current pregnancy symptoms going on. Just an overall sluggish feeling.

We will be going on what will probably be our last big roadtrip before baby this weekend, woohoo! Driving to TX to visit with my family over Christmas, it's about an 11-12 hour drive one-way. I'm looking forward to it! I like roadtrips with the husband, we have a good time and it's fun chatting and hanging out with no distractions. I'm really appreciating our time together just the two of us, I know it will be ending soon.

Sooo...is it bad that we are now less than 10 weeks away from the due date with absolutely no names picked out, no nursery furniture/decor, and the "baby room" is still full of all sorts of random non-baby stuff? We should probably get on top of all that. We are pretty much the biggest procrastinators in the history of procrastinators....obviously. I had a nightmare the other day that we had the baby and a week went by and we still didn't have a name!

Frank did surprise me with a carseat yesterday, though. Yay! I think we have most of the basics that are absolutely necessary, so we are probably doing better than what I think. Plus, we still have plenty of time, right?! Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas! :)

Coffee tables are overrated

Comfy seat!

29 weeks

29 weeks down, 11 more to go!

I took the 3 hour gestational diabetes test last Tuesday, extremely boring, not fun drinking a super sugary drink and getting blood drawn 4 times, but I knocked out a lot of baby shower thank you's! No gestational diabetes, woohoo! Far from it, I wasn't even close...glad that's over with.

I had a Dr's appointment today and everything looks good. I've only gained a little over a pound since my last appointment a month ago! I was sooooo surprised with Thanksgiving and everything, and honestly a little worried. I usually gain a pound a week. The Dr. said it was okay to have a few weeks where you don't gain a lot, and everything else looks good & measured correctly, so I guess I shouldn't complain. Still at +16ish pounds. I am in the process of switching doctors, yeah...it's pretty late in the game now, but I am definitely switching. I have nothing against my current doctor, he's a really nice guy, but I would really like someone who is a little more natural minded. Still going to be going to an OB, but he's known for being more natural in his approach to birth, so we'll see. Who knows, I could have that first contraction and be screaming for the epidural, but I hope it will be as intervention free as possible (as long as everything is progressing normally).

Today I "for sure" felt hiccups for the first time! It was so cute. I've probably felt it before but just didn't really notice. While I was sitting at my desk at work my stomach started jumping every few seconds in equal intervals, so I rested my hand on where it was doing that and it definitely felt like hiccups...lasted a minute or two. Also, sometimes if the baby is being quiet and I want to feel a kick I'll start patting or pushing around on my stomach and wake the baby up so he/she will kick. Is that wrong? Haha, I feel like I'm already an annoying mother, but I like feeling those kicks! I don't do it very often, I guess I should just let the baby sleep in peace!

Cheeseeee! 29 weeks - This was taken a few days ago, but close enough.

29 week frontal belly view...since I have such a long torso the baby seems to still have plenty of room.

That is about it for last week. We are trucking right along, and luckily I am still feeling really good.

26, 27 & 28 weeks

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind, so that's why I haven't been posting...whoops! So I'm going to try and play a little catch up today. Here are my photos at 26, 27 & 28 weeks (today). I basically look the same, but I can tell I'm growing!

26 weeks

27 weeks

28 weeks

We had a great trip to Michigan to visit Frank's side of the family for Thanksgiving. The drive there and back (25 hours total), was actually not bad at all. I had to stop maybe one extra time on the way there and back to stretch and have a bathroom break, but that was it! Also- we bought a new car right before our trip! We now own a '13 Sonata SE 2.0 and I am loving it. This will be our family sedan for a few years and Frank is now driving my old Elantra. While we were in Michigan I had my first baby shower. Frank's family was nice enough to host one on an already super busy holiday weekend, I loved getting to see everyone...just wish I had felt better during the shower. I ended up with a day of the stomach virus (bleh!). Luckily it was just a 24 hour bug and I only had to suffer for a day. I bounced back pretty quickly and felt back to 100% within a day or two. The Sunday after Thanksgiving Frank and I attended our nephew, Austin's, baptism. We are his God parents :). It turned out to be a really fun trip and as always, we loved seeing everyone and hanging out "up north"!

Last week things went back to normal daily grind. This past Friday my sister flew into town for the weekend. I hadn't seen her since May, and she's the first person in my family to see me pregnant. We had fun having sister time and she was able to come with me to another baby shower that was hosted by the wives of the pilots Frank flys with. The baby shower was at the O Club on base and the squadron Christmas party was right after the shower, it worked out perfectly! I feel so blessed to have had 2 showers two weekends in a row. We definitely have a good start to the baby stash now! We just need to start cleaning out the spare bedroom to make room for it all!

Frank left this morning for Burlington, VT and he will be there working all week :(. It was either now or January, and we figured he might as well get it over with now. I wish I could go with him, but I have to work, such is life. We are planning on either driving or flying to TX for Christmas in a few weeks, I'm guessing we'll drive. I need to figure out the dates for that...but we will definitely be in TX for at least 4 days or so.

As far as pregnancy stuff goes, still feeling great. I feel like I am slowing down a little bit, though. Maybe just a tad more tired that normal. We stayed out pretty late for the Christmas party last weekend and I was pretty beat the whole next day. Other than that, no weird aches or pains or annoyances. I've probably gained about 16 pounds now, and my belly button is starting to poke out a little, ahh!! Oh well. It seems to be all in the belly region...which I hear means boy, but who really knows. Tomorrow morning I have the 3 hour glucose tolerance test. Really, really, really not looking forward to it. But, I guess it has to be done. I plan on bringing my iPad for entertainment, hopefully it won't be as bad as some people make it sound...and hopefully I pass with flying colors! I am going to be soooo starving by the time it is over with.

 I can't believe we only have 12 weeks left now. It seems like such a short amount of time! With the holidays and everything, it's just flying by. I know the last month or two will probably drag, though. We can't wait to meet this little guy/girl...

Oh yeah- YAYYYYY third trimester!

25 weeks

25 weeks

Frank and I had a good weekend catching up & hanging out since he is home from Vegas now. I had a Dr.'s appointment today, and the one hour gestational diabetes test (had to drink the nasty orange sugary drink, which actually wasn't nearly as bad as I was expecting!). So yeahhh....I FAILED! I have to go back in a few weeks for a 3 hour test. Not sure how I failed, I fasted for 12 hrs before the test just to be safe, even though they said I didn't have to....so I don't know. I really hope I don't have gestational diabetes, that would suck! I guess we will find out in a few weeks. My Dr. and nurse seem to be pretty certain that I'll do fine on the next test, but I'm still a little worried about it. I can't help but feel guilty about it, like somehow it's my fault that I failed. Until then, I'll just be making sure I'm eating as healthy as I can...no more ice cream & cookies for me :(. Not that I was eating a ton of that to begin with....

That's about it. The baby is moving around a lot...and should weigh close to 2 pounds now! I can't believe we only have about 15 weeks left until we have another little person joining our family.

24 weeks...6 months?!

I guess I'm 6 months now. Wow, that's a little crazy! But, I have about 4 months left. I don't think I'll ever fully understand how people get 9 months out of a full pregnancy. By my calculations 40 weeks divided by 4 is 10 months. Even if you didn't count the 2 weeks before conception, that's still 9.5 months. Hm...whatever.

 Anywho- I feel like I'm repeating myself a lot in these posts so I'll keep it short this time. Everything is still going great. Let's see...gaining weight, check. I went to the chiropractor today and I had gained 5 pounds since my first appointment there a month ago! Eek. So apparently I'm still on the pound/week plan. The chiropractor is seriously awesome, though. Best decision ever.

As far as the baby goes...I can't believe how strong and how much this little guy/girl moves! I rarely go more than 15 minutes without feeling kicks and rolls. It's what I wake up to every morning, not complaining at all! Baby really goes crazy after I eat and when there are loud noises. I'm only 24 weeks and if the kicks are this hard now, I can't imagine what they will be like at the end. I think my uterus is supposed to be the size of a soccer ball at the end of this week (AHHH!!). That in itself is crazy to me...how does a soccer ball fit in there? I suppose it does. The baby is about 1.4 pounds and almost 12 inches long (a whole FOOT!).

This past Saturday I meet with a doula and we chatted a while about birth and other pregnancy stuff...Frank is probably really glad he wasn't here for that, ha! I am still not 100% sure I want a doula, but she was very nice/knowledgeable and I think she would be awesome if we decide to do that. I'm going to think about it a little bit before I make any decisions, I still have plenty of time.

Well, this turned out a little long anyway. So here's the belly pic at 24 weeks...

24 weeks!

Just for fun- here are pics from the last 3 months...

5 months

4 months

3 months. I laugh at this photo now because I seriously don't think I looked pregnant at all, but at the time I thought I did.

DON'T FORGET TO VOTE TOMORROW!!!!!!

23 weeks 1 day

I've been in Vegas the past several days and it was so nice & relaxing. I really enjoyed being there and hated to leave this morning! I didn't do much, but that was fine with me. I was able to spend a lot of time with my friend Cathy....we hadn't seen eachother in a year so we had a lot of catching up to do! Unfortunately, Frank had to work at least a few hours a day...so we never got a full day to do things together. Either way, it was a great time and we were able to go to dinner just the two of us one night, and we also went to a Cirque Du Soleil show (which was pretty awesome). Baby Prokop loved the music at the show and was moving around a ton when the music got loud. I noticed the baby moving a lot more this week with loud noises. On the plane, every time the flight attendant started talking over the loudspeaker or one of those "ding" sounds went off when we got over 10,000 ft I could feel the baby jump. It was super cute. Baby has been moving more and more...especially in the mornings when my alarm is going off,  but haven't quite managed to roll out of bed yet. I think the alarm wakes the baby up too.

I totally failed at taking photos in Vegas. I didn't take ONE! Frank and I had plans to take photos by the Vegas sign with my pregnant self but that never happened....FAIL.

It was definitely the lowest-key Vegas trip I've ever been on...we never even walked around the strip once. BUT, we did eat some really yummy food at some restaurants off the beaten path, and I'm pretty sure I have gained a few pounds just in the past few days.

23 weeks....long day of travel!

Front view - 23 weeks

This week Baby P is over a pound...probably around 1.1-1.2 pounds, and a little over 11 inches long. I have an app that counts down to your due date and I only have a little over 16 weeks left! I'm now at about +12 pounds (or maybe a few more if you count all the crap I ate in Vegas...whoops). I definitely need to start eating better now that I'm home. He/she seems to be more and more active and I love feeling movement most of the day. Frank has been feeling it pretty regularly too, it is so neat. This week I've also had the first stranger ask how far along I was. I guess it's finally obvious enough...although most people still just stare and don't ask because no one wants to be THAT PERSON that asks someone who isn't actually pregnant. The TSA guy at the airport today was officially the first person to ask how far along I was and if this was my first.

I can't even begin to say how completely blessed I've felt during this pregnancy. Everything has been going so smoothly so far (knock on wood), I would have never expected it to be like this but I am so thankful. Frank has been absolutely amazing and has gone above and beyond what I have ever expected, and I love sharing this with him. We are both sooo looking forward to February...or maybe early March? Seeing him get excited about our growing family just makes me fall even more in love with him and I can't imagine what it will be like seeing him as a dad. I literally cannot wait. It's hard to be away from him now, even for a few days. It almost feels like we are just starting to date again, ha! I miss him already and I just saw him this morning...guess I'll have to keep busy the next 10 or so days until he's home. Corny, I know, but it's how I feel.

Well, I guess I should stop now before this becomes a huge sap-fest! I could go on, but I'll spare everyone. I just wanted to say how truly blessed I feel and I am not taking one second of it for granted. I am so undeserving of all that I have.

Alsoooo....we have a new nephew! Austin Joseph was born on Oct 26th (my sisters birthday). He was born to Frank's sister Laura & her husband Paul...this is their 8th! He is suuuch a cutie and I can't wait to meet him over Thanksgiving. We found out that our baby will be the tie breaker in Frank's family for boys vs. girls...right now there are 18 total nieces/nephews (9 boys, 9 girls).

22 weeks plus a day :)

Time is really starting to fly by! This week was pretty low-key so I won't bore everyone with the details. Baby Prokop is now about a pound or so (yay!) and is supposed to double in the next month (yikes!). That probably means the pounds will really start piling on! I'm still famished about 24 hours out of 24 hours in a day... so it is apparent that this baby needs food & lots of it. I'm still hovering at about +10 pounds, but depending on how much I've eaten that day it could easily be up to +12. I'm pretty happy with the weight gain so far....we'll see what happens towards the end!

My pre-pregnancy jeans are not really working out so much for me anymore. I still wear them every now and then with my belly band thing-a-ma-jig and it works ok...but it's just not that comfortable at all. I have one pair of maternity jeans and I've ordered one more. So, I've been wearing a lot of tights in the meantime! So much more comfortable.

The baby has rowdy days and no so rowdy days. Sometimes it freaks me out because I'll get so used to feeling the baby bouncing around in there all day and then I'll go a day or two were I don't feel much at all (compared to the rowdy days). Usually if I sit there long enough and poke around on my belly he/she gets going and lets me know everything is FINE MOM! :) Right now baby is definitely awake and having quite a time, probably because I just ate a massive bowl of cereal.

Hmm...what else...I am flying to Vegas on Thursday! So excited to get out of Alabama for a few days and enjoy the desert. I'll be there until Tuesday, so it'll be a suuuuuuper long weekend. We are treating it as a sort of mini "babymoon" since it doesn't look like the big trip is going to work out before Feb.  I can't wait to relax a few days and see my friend Cathy!

After I get back from Vegas I'll be meeting with a doula to talk about different birthing options and the way the hospital I'm delivering at handles birth. I'd still like to attempt to go natural, or at least explore/understand all the options. I think a doula will at least get me pointed in the right direction. If I like her I may just have her along for the birth too! I never thought I'd be someone who'd consider a doula, but here I am...

The chiropractor appointments are going GREAT. I feel amazing and literally have no lower back or hip pain anymore. I have noticed I am sleeping better at night and not waking up with any back or hip pain :)

22 weeks

From the front you can't really tell! Ha

Oh yeah, I almost forgot! We received our first gift off of the registry this past week & our first piece of baby gear....a pack and play!

The baby says "Thanks grandma & grandpa Prokop!"

21 weeks

I don't really have a lot to talk about this week...not a lot of news around here! I have been seeing a chiropractor every other day for the past week now, and it's been going good so far. Still not sleeping that good at night, but it's not horrible, so I probably shouldn't complain! Frank had to fly nights last week, which means that he doesn't get home until around 11 PM. Not a fan of night weeks, but it's over now!

This past weekend Frank & two of his friends ran the Coosa River Challenge race. I ended up not going...but their time was about the same as last years. I have no idea where they ranked because they left before the official results were posted. I'm hoping they have them online soon! On Sunday Frank went to Tuskegee and flew some skydivers. He used to do that long before we met, back in Michigan...I'm sure he had a blast. I drove there later in the afternoon and then we drove a few miles further to Auburn and watched Argo with some friends. We both liked it! We hadn't been to a movie in FOREVER. Since we were in Auburn we went to Chipotle...twice. Once to get some food to sneak in to the movie, and again after the movie. For the record, I didn't eat the second time we went in under 3 hours...but Frank did! Haha. Soooo good, why we don't have a Chipotle in Montgomery is beyond me. It was nice hanging out in Auburn for a little while. That was pretty much our weekend.

Today we went to the Dr. and finally had our anatomy ultrasound :) :)

21 weeks. I swear I don't live in lounge pants....only when I'm at home!

It was awesome seeing the baby - much different than our ultrasound at 9 weeks! The baby definitely looks like a baby now, with little arms and legs flailing around. He/she was actually pretty chill most of the time, putting their hands and arms in front of their face making it hard for us to get a good picture!

Oh the humanity! Please quit with the poking and prodding!

 Baby was a little dramatic, and did a few face palms, haha. Pretty much the cutest baby ever, but of course I am biased. We got some close ups of the hands and feet and all ten fingers and toes are there. All the organs and bones look good. The baby weighs a little over 12 ounces and the tech said that they'll be close to a pound by next week.

Hi baby!

 They turned off the big screen when they checked the lower body parts...soo, it's still a surprise! The tech said she could tell the gender, but it's still a mystery to us. I'm glad we stuck with our original decision not to find out! It was soooo tempting, though. I almost changed my mind last minute.

He/she was a little shy, but that's okay :)

20 weeks - halfway!

Finally, the time that is left is shorter than the time that has passed - yay :)

Looking a little rough, 20 weeks

This past week was a little rough because I was battling the worst cold EVER. I usually get one or two a year, they last a few days and completely knock me off my feet. I had to take a sick day on Thursday and thankfully I am feeling much better now. It's no fun being sick when you can't really take anything for it. I basically sat next to my humidifier running on full blast with a large box of tissues for 3 days straight.

Baby seems to be doing good. Kicking around a lot more, I'm feeling movement off and on all day. Frank felt a teeny tiny little kick from the outside this week. He still hasn't felt the bigger ones, it's hard to know when to expect it because they usually come out of the blue. So unless he just sits there with his hand on my stomach 24/7, it's easy to miss. You can actually see my stomach moving from the outside a little too! So far it seems we have a pretty active baby in there, more backing for my case of a little Frank. 

This week the baby is about 10 inches long (head to toe), and weighs about 11 ounces. I can't believe that a 10 inch miniature person is actually residing inside my belly. That's just crazy to me, but apparently it's true! We have an ultrasound next Monday and I am soooo excited. We haven't seen the babe since 9 weeks and I can't wait to see how much bigger he/she is and watch them move around.

I've also been working on a registry, researching various baby related things,  and trying to figure out what we'll need. We still haven't bought anything, but it still seems pretty early. So far we only have a few play-suit type outfits that I've bought. We've also been talking about possibly purchasing a new car. I test drove the new Sonata last weekend and we are also looking at a few others (Altima, Camry, etc). Both of our cars are 10+ years old. I guess it's time we grow up and get a safe, reliable, adult car since we'll be toting around a baby soon.

I'm still feeling great (besides getting over the cold). I have been noticing that my lower back and hips are starting to feel a little sore and stiff lately, and it's getting harder to get comfy when I'm trying to fall asleep. I'm being proactive and made an appointment with a chiropractor and plan on going regularly throughout the rest of the pregnancy and after the birth. I've read that it helps keep everything aligned for an easier birth (maybe, if I'm lucky) and hopefully will help with regular pregnancy pains as well. I have never been to a chiropractor before, so I'm looking forward to it! My first appointment is tomorrow. Other than the beginnings of random aches and pains, no complaints. I have energy and still feel like my old self :).

That's about all on the baby front. Frank is gearing up for the big Coosa River Challenge Race that he did last year, it is this weekend. Last year he and his friend got 3rd place. It's a pretty big race so I was very proud of them! They haven't trained quite as much for this year, but I know they will still do well. The race is a 3-4 mile trail run, with about 3 more miles added in throughout the race, an 85 ft. rappel, 8 mile mountain bike, 7 mile kayak down the river, and various surprise challenges thrown in the mix. I think it took them about 4 hours last year. I will be out there cheering them on!

19 weeks

This was a good week- pretty relaxed and non-eventful. We did go to Panama City beach this past weekend with our friends Jason & Nicole, that was fun! This is the perfect time to go to the beach here, late Sept - mid Oct. There is no one there, the water is still super warm, and it's still sunny and warm outside too. We enjoyed some beach time, seafood, and the guys spearfished on Sunday while us girls had ourselves a girl-only beach day. I came home last night, but Frank stayed today (for kite-surfing) and he should be home within a few hours.

The big things this week as far as the baby goes are more movement (yay!), and the belly is realllllyyy starting to grow now. I'm finally starting to inch myself out of that in-between phase where I sort of look like I may be pregnant, but sort of not.

Where did that come from!?

Panama City Beach

Spearfishing catches

Dinner on the rooftop, live music was a bonus!

 

How far along? 19 weeks!

How big is baby? 6.5 inches crown to rump, 10 oz. Large melon week :)

Total weight gain/loss : Geez. The pounds are a-gaining...that's for sure. Probably getting close to 8 pounds total gained so far. Seems to be about a pound a week or so now.

Maternity clothes? I do have some maternity clothes, but most of the stuff I have is for the winter, so I haven't really worn much of it. I have yet to wear maternity jeans, but I can wear the shirts. Last week I wore some tights and a tunic and it was seriously the most comfortable I've been in probably forever. I think I'm going to stock up on tunics and tights and wear them forever.

Bump? Yes. I am now coming to the realization that most strangers I run into probably think I'm pregnant (if I'm wearing a tight shirt). Most are still too nervous to come out and ask when I'm due, but it's pretty obvious at this point I think. I wore a bikini at the beach this weekend and saw some photos of myself and I was surprised at how pregnant I looked. Sometimes I catch my reflection in the car window and I'm like "Holy crap! I have a big belly!"

Sleep: I've been sleeping okay...still waking up at least once or twice a night. I have good nights and bad nights, but it's not horrible. I am noticing it's becoming more & more difficult to get comfortable.

Best moment this week: Baby dance parties! A week ago today I felt a thump from the outside while I was laying in bed and the baby was moving a lot. The movement is still pretty light, but it's getting more and more noticeable. I feel it at least once a day now and it's so neat. Still feels like little twitches/thumps...no big kicks yet, obviously. Hanging out on the beach all weekend was also a great time!

Most Ridiculous Moment of the week: The moment when I was putting away groceries I had bought and noticed our freezer was getting too full...something had to go. Soooo, I figured it was a good time to polish off that carton of ice cream (it wasn't full of course, but still!). Then there was the 9PM hamburger run from Five Guys...baby is hungry!

Worst moment this week: No worst moments :)

Food cravings : The appetite is really growing. This week I have been hungrier than ever, I swear last week I didn't think it was possible to be more hungry than I was. Apparently it is.  I told one of my co-workers that I feel like I'm constantly thinking about food and the next time that I can eat. It is impossible for me to be full for more than an hour or so. I am always snacking throughout the day and just try and make sure it's at least healthy. Yesterday I had a huge breakfast and cleaned my plate...not 20 minutes later I was thinking about a snack! Haha

2 pancakes, 2 eggs, and 2 bacon & a small cup of coffee later...still sort of hungry...

Food Aversions : None at all. Bring on the food!

Pregnancy Symptoms: Does being hungry count? Restless nights, and this week I have noticed some lower back aches...yayyyyyy. But other than that, feeling great & energetic.

What I miss : The standard stuff-  a big glass of wine, sleeping through the night, not feeling like I could eat an entire horse 24/7.

What I am looking forward to : Vegas trip in late October! I'll get to hang out with Frank since he'll be working there for about 2 weeks, and I will get to see my best friend Cathy & her husband! Soooo excited!

Upcoming appointments/events:   Next appt is Oct 15th (my little brothers birthday!). We will finally get our anatomy ultrasound, and I cannot wait. I'll be 21 weeks.

18 weeks

I guess the biggest thing this week is I have really started noticing more movement...which is awesome. It's still not that often, but I feel it every day now! Today I ate a few sour gummy worms I felt some of the biggest thumps I've had so far, and it happened several times in a row. It was the neatest thing. I can't wait until it gets strong enough for Frank to feel it too.

I had a Dr's appointment today and was really excited because we were supposed to have our anatomy ultrasound. Well, turns out the ultrasound tech took a vacation day and wasn't there....soooo, I ended up having a regular check up and had to reschedule the ultrasound. I was a little bummed because I was sooo looking forward to seeing the baby (our last ultrasound was at 9 weeks at my first appt). I guess I'll have to wait 3 more weeks. The good thing about that is the baby will be even bigger, so maybe it will be better to wait. I've gained 5 pounds since my last appointment 5 weeks ago! Eek! The Dr. didn't seem too concerned, though. I guess a pound a week is about average now. So far I've gained about 7 lbs total.

This week I've also been doing a lot of research on childbirth, and came really close to signing up for a natural childbirth class. I decided to wait for now...the schedule of the classes didn't really work for us. This may be the only class offered before February in Montgomery, so I may be winging it! The reality that this baby is going to have to come out somehow is starting to hit me! Ha

18 weeks!

Other big news this past week, my sister-in-law Angela and her husband Jason had a beautiful baby girl on the 19th (her name is Samantha Jane). Frank and I are aunt & uncle for the 17th time! We have one more niece or nephew coming in October, and then it will be our turn in Feb :)

17 weeks

Frank got home from his Spain trip on Wednesday, and on Thursday night we went to an outdoor summer symphony concert. It's finally cooling down enough around here that the nights aren't totally unbearable, so it was actually pretty nice spending some time sitting outside & listening to music/spending time with our friends. Unfortunately Frank had to work all weekend, so I haven't seen him too much since he got back. We did go out Sat. night after work and had dinner with friends and went to the Sandbar (an outdoor bar on the river downtown). Good times :) I keep thinking to myself that we won't be able to just do whatever we want, whenever we want in a few months. Must take advantage of every opportunity now! Sunday, after Frank got home, we went to mass and then watched football and ate dinner. Typical weekend at the Prokops.
As far as the whole pregnancy thing is going- it's going just fine :). Nights are still restless with crazy dreams...I'm waking up probably 4-5 times a night (ugh). But, that's how it goes, and after this baby is here I'll probably be getting up that many times a night so might as well get used to it! I woke up this morning with pains in my upper stomach muscles...that was not fun. I think I may have slept on my stomach on accident (or some other weird position) and it hurt so bad that I woke up, luckily it went away after a few hours. Still eating everything in sight. I won't even tell you guys how much junk food I ate today...yeah, today was not a good eating day. Other than the eating and restless nights, I have no complaints whatsoever. It could be much worse, so I am counting my blessings! Oh- and also this past week I finally started walking again. I tried running a few times...it felt so weird that I stopped. I'm just not used to having my stomach feel heavy when I run. I'm sure it won't hurt anything, but it's just uncomfortable. I am kind of mad at myself for not running for 3-4 months straight! I'm pretty sure if I would have kept it up that I would have gradually gotten used to it. I guess for now I'll stick with walking :(.

Next week is the BIG ULTRASOUND! Counting down the days to when we get to have a peek on the baby and check everything out. I'm still not sure if I'm feeling the baby move at all, but today at work I could have swore I felt something for sure. Right after I ate a powdered doughnut (I know, I know)....baby was probably all hyped up on the sugar, for about 2 minutes, I could feel little taps a little stronger than they were last week. So, we'll see. Also at church last night I was getting some weird feelings too (maybe it's the loud music?).

Here's the 17 week belly. I still feel like I am not showing, but when I see the photos of myself I feel like they make me look bigger than I really am. Who knows. Frank notices now, so I guess I'm at least showing little bit!

17 weeks

Sweet 16 weeks

16 weeks and now, currently chipping away at week 17. This week the baby is about as long as a red onion (approx 5 inches long, and weighs about 4-5 ounces). I was grocery shopping today and just happened to notice the red onion section, so I decided to humor myself and buy one and send a photo of it to Frank (he's still in Spain for now). I'm kind of surprised that something as long as the diameter of a red onion is currently residing inside of me right now....that's pretty big! Weren't we on raspberry week not too long ago?

This week I've been noticing a few things...The first thing I've noticed is that my clothes are definitely getting a little more snug. Before now I could at least button my jeans, but they were really uncomfortable. Now I have several pairs of pants that I couldn't button even if I wanted to...not that I really even try at this point. I'm at this awkward stage that makes me too big for my old clothes, but still way too small for maternity clothes. I've bought a few maternity shirts, but haven't worn them yet. They aren't really obvious maternity shirts, just a little stretchier and longer than regular shirts. Right now I'm just wearing all of my pre-pregnant longer shirts.

Also this past week I started feeling strange feelings that maybe, possibly could be the baby. I'm not quite to the point where I can say "Yes, that was for sure the baby!". I know exactly where the baby likes to hang out because of my doppler. He/she likes the lower right area, that's where I always find the heartbeat right away. The past few days I've noticed if I'm laying really still on my side, sometimes I feel this little tap-tap (or pop, or twitch...). It's always around my lower right, and it's only when I'm laying really still. It's such a light feeling that if it happens during the day, I don't notice at all. So, this could, or could not be the baby. I like to think that it is, but it's still super early. I know some people can feel things this early, I guess time will tell. If they get stronger over the next week or two I guess I'll know! 

Another thing that has been going on is restless nights. They've been slowly creeping up, but now it seems like I only get one or two really good nights of sleep a week. Maybe it's because Frank's been gone a lot, not sure. I'm waking up multiple times with the CRAZIEST DREAMS EVER. All the other times in the past that I've said I had crazy dreams, no...they do not compare to the crazy that happens in my pregnant dreams. It kind of freaks me out. They are always super intense, but not quite nightmare-ish. I literally wake up every night and have to pep-talk myself into believing that this is real life and my dreams are not real. 

Red Onion Week (haha!)

I don't really feel like I'm growing that much the past few weeks...but that's fine with me. I quite enjoy being able to sort of sleep on my stomach.

Other than all of that, things are going just grand. Frank left on Wednesday to pick up some jets in Spain that were broken from their Romania trip. He was supposed to be back a few days ago...but we all know how that goes. They have been delayed a few extra days and it's looking like he'll be back Wed/Thurs (hopefully Wednesday!). The hurricanes in the Atlantic, along with some tanker issues caused the delay. I'm sure he's having fun on his Spain vacation, though :)

15 weeks

Happy Labor Day! Hope everyone had a fun weekend! We ended up camping at Lake Wedowee with some friends and had a pretty good time...it was so hot, though! Last night it started raining so we left this morning around 10AM and drove back to Montgomery...home sweet home. Yay for a much needed shower and toilets! Today it's been raining all day, good day for hanging out inside and being extremely lazy :)

Lake Wedowee - Alabama

It almost feels a little weird to say I'm 15 weeks now. It's sinking in that I really am pregnant (finally, it took 15 weeks!), even though I still don't really feel like I am! The belly is slowly growing a tad bit every week and I'm kind-of, sort-of showing....I think. You can definitely tell when I wear tight clothes, still can't really tell in regular clothes. 

It's been great having Frank back. He is going back to Spain this week to fly one of the jets home that didn't make it back on the initial trip back a few a week or so ago. Luckily he'll only be gone about 5 days this time :)

15 weeks

How far along? 15 weeks

How big is baby? 4-5 inches, about 3 ounces

Total weight gain/loss : +2-3

Maternity clothes? Nope, just wearing longer shirts and using my belly band

Bump? There, but still questionable to strangers.

Sleep: Hit and miss. Sometimes I'll wake up several times a night and have crazy dreams, other times I'll sleep like a rock. I actually slept pretty good in the tent this weekend, I'll sum that up to Frank bringing the air mattress.

Best moment this week: Hanging out at the lake with friends and my husband

Worst moment this week: I'm getting these random, quick sharp pains in my abdomen, which I'm assuming is just everything moving around and growing in there. Sometimes it sneaks up on you, though! 

Food cravings : Still craving everything and hungry all the time. I am currently waiting on Frank to get back from the gym so we can order pizza tonight...Mmm. I can eat until I'm stuffed, but still be really hungry an hour later.

Food Aversions : They are pretty much all gone now. Eating plain meat, like a steak or chicken, that isn't mixed with something else still kind of grosses me out. I'll still eat it, though!

Pregnancy Symptoms: Peeing...a lot! Always thirsty & hungry. Random sharp pains that happen once in a while. Other than that, I still feel completely normal and not really that pregnant.  

What I miss :Getting to do the fun stuff...such as riding jet skis over big wakes, jumping off the dock into the lake, etc. I was a little sad that I couldn't partake in all the fun at the lake this weekend, but it was still a great time.

What I am looking forward to : Cooler weather!!...and possibly another camping trip.

Upcoming appointments/events:   Next appt is Sept 24th (anatomy ultrasound)

14 weeks + 1 day + 2nd Anniversary

Today I am 14 weeks + 1 day, and it's Frank's and I's 2nd wedding anniversary! He did make it home late Friday night and completely surprised me. I didn't expect him back until Sunday, but he showed up at 2AM late Friday night...completely unexpected surprise and I am so glad he is home! We spent the weekend doing basically nothing, and it was awesome.

Not a lot of new stuff happening this week. I feel great. Eating a ton, as usual. Pretty much no changes from last week. Frank likes to talk to the baby, even though he/she can't hear yet...it's really funny, though. I'm pretty sure that the baby is going to be totally scared of Frank when he/she is born! Haha. Here is a photo of me today and also a little video of me using the doppler to hear the heartbeat!

What are you doing in there baby?

14 weeks, please excuse the lack of makeup....it's very rare that I'm actually wearing it anymore!

 

Feeling very blessed this anniversary...I can't believe it's been 2 years since we got married. In a way it's flown by, but in a way it feels like we've been together forever and it was a million years ago. Frank and I are going out for dinner after he gets home. It's crazy how much more you can fall in love with someone in 2 years :)

I'm going to try and post a few photos from Frank's trip to Europe soon. He took a TON of them. I'm really surprised...usually he comes home with 2 photos on his iPhone, but this time he took a camera and camcorder and had a lot of photos and videos to show me.

13 weeks- 2nd trimester!

13 weeks! It feels weird to think that the first trimester is already over, it went by pretty quickly for the most part. This past week I have felt great! I have pretty much all of my energy back, besides from a day or two here or there...but nothing too excessive. I stayed awake until 1:30 am on Sat. night and I was so proud of myself! I even watched a late night movie and didn't get heavy eyes! That's progress from the 6:30 PM bedtime that was happening there for a few weeks. I don't really have any complaints from the past week or two...the mild symptoms that I do have are subsiding considerably :)

I had my 2nd prenatal appointment today. I have gained about 1.5-2 pounds since my last appt. a month ago....not surprising since I have been doing some SERIOUS eating lately. The baby's heart rate was about 167. I never had bloodwork done at my first appt, so they drew some blood for that as well. It was a fast appointment, I was in and out in 30 minutes. My next appointment will be in 5 weeks. They are going to do the anatomy ultrasound and we could potentially find out the gender if we wanted to, but we aren't going to. The doctor asked if we were going to find out and I told him we weren't...he was excited! He said that makes it a lot more fun for them because they get to announce at the birth, and that doesn't happen very often at all anymore. I am super excited to see the baby again.

Here is a photo of my pretty much non-existent baby "bump", I guess you could say. Or maybe it's baby bloat? I'm still not really sure. All I know is that in the morning it's just a little pouch and it gets bigger throughout the day and looks like this before I go to bed. I only have about 2 pairs of jeans that I don't need to use my belly band with, otherwise it's really uncomfortable if I button them. Of course, no one can really tell besides me (unless I'm wearing something really tight). But, my stomach is definitely larger than it was, for sure. I know that this is just my uterus pushing everything up higher, because the baby is definitely not where the bump is!

13 weeks belly bloat/bump/too many donuts??

 Frank has been delayed in Romania, so he won't be back until....well, who knows? He's waiting with a broken jet in Spain and it could be a week or more depending on when they can get it fixed. He wasn't originally supposed to fly a jet back, but turns out that he is. I just hope he's home before our anniversary next Tuesday! I'm not getting my hopes up, though. I really can't wait to see him, by the time he gets home he will probably have been gone a month. It's not as fun being pregnant without Frank here to pamper me (ha!). Really, though...he is so awesome and has been really great throughout the pregnancy so far. I am so blessed to be able to share this experience with him, that's really what I miss the most. I want him here to share the experience with me, it's fun to see him so excited. He is going to be such a good daddy. 

Besides "working" in Romania, this past week Frank went to a CFR Cluj soccer match, and has driven the Transalpina , which he said was an awesome/gorgeous drive. I'm slightly jealous.

Here are a few photos of Frank flying in the Mig-21 (Romanian jet). He was able to have 2 rides and had a blast. I got him a Go-Pro camera for his birthday and he got some really cool video as well, maybe I can post those when he gets back.

Frank posted this on his Facebook and one of our friends asked him if this was the highway to the danger zone...Hahahaha! Yes, yes this is the highway to the danger zone.

Frank's in the backseat

Frank in a Mig-21

12 weeks

The babe is growing! Finally in the last week of the first trimester. Baby seems to be doing good in there...I just ate most of a frozen pizza (not my proudest moment...but, it happned) and listened for the heartbeat with my doppler right afterwards. I found it immediately...I think baby Prokop likes pizza, just a guess. Finding the heartbeat is getting super easy now. The baby should be about 3 inches long, so I'm betting that's why he/she is easier to find.

Frank is still in Romania and won't be back until around the 22nd...booo! Oh well, I really shouldn't complain. Three weeks is a walk in the park compared to how long some people have to be away from their spouse in the military.  He was able to go do a little exploring last weekend. He and some friends went to Sibiu and Brasov. They were also able to check out Transfagarasan, they really wanted to do these roads by motorcycles, but they weren't able to rent any. They also went to a castle, I believe it was Dracula's Castle. Yesterday at "work" he flew in one of the Romanian jets, a Mig 21, I'm sure he had a blast and it was probably a highlight of his trip.

Other than that, there hasn't been much more excitement going on around here. We are trying to come up with a "babymoon" plan. Thinking of a big vacation in October-ish? Maybe later. I'm not sure where I want to go, but I've thrown around some ideas in the Caribbean, Belize, Maui....and Iceland. Yeah, not sure what I was thinking when I was looking into going to Iceland in October. I really want to go, but Oct/Nov probably isn't the best time! It seems most businesses and tours shut down for the winter around Sept./Oct., so that's pretty much off the table now. Too bad, maybe some other time!

Oh yes, sooooo.....the Olympics are now over and I'm wondering what to do with all my spare time. Then I remembered....SHARK WEEK! Yes! I am convinced that Shark Week is strategically placed right after the Olympics so as to suck in everyone who has been glued to the TV for the past 3 weeks. Well, it worked.

11 weeks

How far along? 11 weeks

How big is baby? 1.5-2 inches long, .25-.5 ounce...growing! Fig week.

Total weight gain/loss : Still hovering around 0, maybe +1 pound...wondering when that's going to change because I have been eating A LOT! Like, more than it should be legal to eat, seriously! Someone take this carton of ice cream and hide it! It's getting out of control.

Maternity clothes? Nope! Still rocking my normal clothes, but 9 times out of 10 I have a hair band holding the button closed...shhh! Dresses are my friend.

Bump? There's a small one. You can only tell if I'm wearing something really tight, most of the time you can't tell at all. I can tell that my stomach is rounder and getting firm...eek! It's definitely not as flat as it was before. Since I'm pretty tall and thin, I think it will be a while before I show since the baby has a lot of room in there.

Sleep: Back to my normal sleeping schedule. There were a few weeks were the sleeping got a little ridiculous, as in 14+ hours a day. Sleeping on my side most of the time now, just because it's more comfortable. I'm noticing that I wake up earlier on my own and it's hard to go back asleep. Kind of frustrating on the weekends because I know my days of sleeping in are coming to an end pretty soon, and I'd like to enjoy it while I can! But nope, waking up at 6:30 no matter what day it is and it's impossible to sleep in.

Best moment this week: Probably listening to the heartbeat on the doppler. That's always the highlight of the day or week! Best sound ever. It's been staying around 170ish, sooo "they" say that higher heart rates mean girl, but I don't really believe in that. I still thinking we are probably having a boy! But, who really knows? Also- bought my first onsie sleeper at Kohl's this past weekend :). Since we aren't finding out the gender I'm going to buy whatever cute gender neutral stuff I can find since it's so hit and miss. Can't wait until the baby is here and I can do some real clothes shopping :)

Most Ridiculous Moment of the week: On Saturday I was really, REALLY jonesing for some chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream so I drove to Publix and bought some, with some sugar waffle cones (of course!). On drive home from the grocery store I was soooo excited that I busted out in come crazy made up song about how the baby wanted some ice cream. I was singing it at the top of my lungs and doing a little happy dance in the car while I was driving. It was the funniest song ever, and I was seriously cracking myself up. I swear, pregnancy is making me insane! Thank goodness no one was there to witness the ridiculousness!

Worst moment this week: Having to leave mass early for the 2nd Sunday in a row due to almost fainting. I've found out that it seems to happen when I'm kneeling or right after. Everything goes completely black, noise is muffled, I get really hot, sweaty, and dizzy and feel like I can't breathe. It really sucks. I had to leave before Communion this past Sunday, that was a bummer. I was at Mass by myself and didn't want to risk making a scene and passing out during Communion with no one there to catch me!

Food cravings : Everything. Ice cream. Salty things. Sweet things. Peanut Butter. Cheese. Fruit. You name it and I probably want it.

Food Aversions : None this week, they seem to be going away, thank goodness! I ate eggs for breakfast and it didn't gross me out...woohoo! Thinking about eating steaks or chicken (by themselves) still kind of makes me feel a little weird, but it's better than it was. 

Pregnancy Symptoms:   Hungry, tired sometimes, headaches off and on, thirsty & peeing all the time! Feeling generally lazy and unproductive 24/7.

What I miss : My husband! Feeling energetic and productive. And wine...mmm...wine.

What I am looking forward to : Frank coming home from Romania in 2 weeks. Also looking forward to actually showing and not just looking like I've had too many beers.

Upcoming appointments/events:   Next appt. is Aug 20th, and it's just a standard appt. No ultrasound :(.

Resolve for the upcoming week: Eating healthier. Now that the weird food aversions are mostly gone, I am going to start eating better. I did a big grocery run and stocked up on a ton of veggies, fruit, and meat. Looking forward to healthier eating!