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