20 Weeks

I officially made it to the half-way mark of this pregnancy yesterday!  This week things have changed a bit with the measurements.  Since the baby is not quite as curled up, there is a measurement from crown to rump as well as head to toe.  So this week both of the fruit comparisons actually make sense - one for each measurement.  Babycenter.com says that it is about the length of a banana this week - about 10 inches from head to toe.  Thebump.com says it's about the size of a cantaloupe this week - about 6.5 inches long and about 10.5 oz:

Photo Courtesy of thebump.com

There is apparently a lot of swallowing going on inside me right now.  The baby is swallowing several ounces of amniotic fluid every day for nutrition as well as practice for his digestive system.  According to thebump.com, the baby's taste buds are working now, so whatever I eat, the baby will develop a taste for.  With this knowledge, I plan to eat a lot of tomatoes just to spite his tomato hating daddy.  HA!  I have been feeling the baby move more consistently now.  Starting on Friday I have felt it at least once a day.  It's pretty exciting and such a cool feeling!

(Warning:  I am about to write about our weekend in Milwaukee.  If you are only interested in baby stuff, skip down to this week's belly shots below)

Matt and I had a very fun weekend!  We took a road trip up to Milwaukee to see some of my friends and to watch a Marquette Basketball game.  The car ride was a little rough as I had a hard time remaining comfortable for 6 hours in the car.  My back was giving me a lot of trouble.  I can't even imagine what this is going to be like when the baby gets bigger!  Probably no long car trips in my near future!  Once we got there we had a wonderful time!  We did dinner with Kerri and her boyfriend, Chris, on Friday night as well as some drinks afterward at the hotel bar, Blu.  Saturday we hoped to go to AJ Bombers for some burgers, but the place was so small and we had a party of 12 so the wait was WAY too long.  We did get some Bloody Marys before leaving the place though:

One thing I really miss about living in Milwaukee is the Bloody Mary.  The garnishes they put in them are like a little appetizer.  And this is everywhere you go in Milwaukee!  At AJ Bombers, since they are known for their burgers, they garnish their Bloody Marys with about a quarter of a burger patty covered with cheese and wrapped in bacon.  Yes, that is meat wrapped meat . . . I definitely ordered my Virgin Mary for the garnish!  Another thing I love about Bloody Marys in Milwaukee is that they always come with a beer chaser.  Even my Virgin Mary came with one, which Jackie's fiance, Willie, was more than willing to take off my hands.

After we left AJ Bombers, we decided to eat at The Safe House.  Kerri brought me a cake and everyone sang to me for my birthday (which is Saturday).  It was nice to be able to celebrate my birthday with my friends who I normally don't get to celebrate with!

After lunch, we headed over to a bar close to the Bradley Center for a flip cup tournament.  We had signed up for this flip cup tournament back in October, so I was actually scheduled to play.  I clearly did not partake in this activity, but luckily Stacey subbed for me.  I still had some fun watching and talking to people though. 

Sabrina, Stacey, Matt and Kerri playing in the Flip Cup Tournament

Sabrina, Kerri, Jackie and Me

The Whole group - Willie, Stacey, Me, Kerri, Matt, Jackie, Sabrina and Jamie

Later on at the game, it was Fr. Wild night.  They actually had a bobble head of Fr. Wild that everyone got.  Of course we had some fun with our bobble heads at the bars after the game.

Fr. Wild hanging out in Jackie's Hood

Fr. Wild getting crazy - Drinking with Matt

High Five with Kerri, Jackie and Chris

As you can probably tell by the pictures, we were pretty much done by this point in time.  I was about to tell Matt that I was just going to take a cab back to the hotel since my back was hurting and I was getting tired, but luckily everyone was ready to go.  We headed back to the hotel where upon realizing that I hadn't eaten anything since lunch, I promptly ordered Pizza Shuttle.   Matt unfortunately fell asleep before it got there, but I enjoyed it!  I realized that this was my first time eating Pizza Shuttle sober - not quite as good, but it still hit the spot!

On Sunday we woke up and packed our stuff then headed down to Chicago to see Nick.  As we were driving I realized that we were going to be passing right by Mars Cheese Castle.  Matt had never been to Mars Cheese Castle before but had spoken to me on the phone while I was there when we first started dating.  He had always been curious about since then, so we stopped in.  This was the last weekend in the building.  Behind the current building they are building a huge castle shaped building that they are currently moving into!  I can't wait to check out the new place!  Of course we bought some cheese curds to take home as well as some peanuts and some chocolate bars:

As I said, the cheese curds were a given.  We got the peanuts because Matt liked that they were called "Peanuts from Hell."  And yes, they live up to their name!  I only ate one of them and my mouth was on fire!  The chocolate was an early birthday gift to me.  We actually bought 5 bars - cleaned them out!  They are the Lindt Chocolate Almond bars.  I ate them all the time when I was in Europe and have had a hard time finding them in St. Louis.  We seem to find the hazelnut bars everywhere, but not the almond.  So we bought all five bars they had there!  Chocolate and cheese . . . I'm in heaven!

We met up with Nick for lunch in Little Italy.  It was far too short of a visit, but we were glad we at least got to see him for a little bit.  Finally we got home around 8:30 in the evening.  We were exhausted!  I put a load in the washer, did a bit of other unpacking and then went to bed. 

Monday morning came WAY too soon!  About halfway through the work day Matt called me to remind me that we hadn't taken my belly shots for this week!  So that is why this post has come on Tuesday instead of Monday.  We took the belly shots last night right at 20 weeks!  Here they are:



We plan to order the nursery furniture this weekend and start emptying the bedroom.  Hopefully we can get the painting started soon too . . . but one step at a time I suppose.  Halfway there!  So exciting!

19 Weeks

19 weeks as of yesterday!  I know I usually post on Mondays, but I was a little bit cranky yesterday!  (what, ME cranky????  I know, hard to believe!)  I know it was mainly hormones at play, but I was also very concerned with things about the nursery.  Mom and I went to Treasure Rooms to look at furniture over the weekend.  We found a lot of nice things, but none of which I was really crazy about.  There was a really good deal on a set of furniture, but it only came in black.  That does not go very well with the color scheme I have picked already.  I think the problem is that I KNOW what I really want for the nursery, but I think I'm the only one who likes the idea.  People ask what I really want and when I tell them they make other suggestions.  I have to wonder why anyone has even asked my opinion in the first place.  Lucky for me Matt gave me the best Valentines gift yesterday.  He said I can do whatever I want with the nursery!  This has eased my mind a LOT!  Now I can just delegate the work and not have anyone question me anymore.  Matt and I plan to go back to Treasure Rooms tonight to finalize the furniture decision. 

Anyway, back to the baby at 19 weeks.  According to babycenter.com the baby is the size of an heirloom tomato.  According to thebump.com it is the size of a mango:

Photo Courtesy of thebump.com

Or approximately 6 inches long and weighs about 8.5 ounces.  His or her arms and legs are now in the right proportion to the body.  The brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch.  So there is some big development going on inside me this week!  As far as movement, I can officially say that I felt the baby move!  It was last Thursday.  I was exhausted after work, so I lay down with the TV off and the light off just to take a 15 minute power nap.  As I began to relax, I felt little waves in my abdomen.  I know I have never had this feeling before, so it HAD to be the baby!  It was so cool.  Unfortunately I have not felt it again since that moment, but I know it won't be long till I feel it all the time!

My belly is definitely getting bigger!  Here are this week's pictures:

So that's about it for week 19.  Hopefully we will start making progress on the nursery in the next couple weeks so I can start posting pictures of that.  We'll see . . .

Till next time . . .

18 Weeks

Woo hoo, 18 weeks!  Baby is now about 5.5 inches long and weighs about 7 ounces.  According to babycenter.com, he/she is about the size of a bell pepper.  According to thebump.com, he/she is the size of a sweet potato:

Photo courtesy of thebump.com

Apparently the baby is moving around like crazy, although I'm still not quite sure whether or not I am able to feel it.  The ears are in the final position now which of course has brought up some jokes about whose ears the baby will get.  Matt thinks we may finally have someone who has smaller ears than me for longer than the first 2 years of his life.  We'll see I guess.

We went to see Dr. Bale last Thursday.  Baby's heart is beating strong and he/she is definitely growing.  He said everything looked great with me as well.  I will go back in 4 weeks for my big ultrasound and another exam.  We're really looking forward to seeing the baby again!

Matt and I have been keeping busy as usual.  I was getting a bad case of cabin fever with all the snow we have been getting lately, so it has been a good thing to get out this past weekend!  We have been celebrating birthdays galore!  On Friday we celebrated our friend Kirby's birthday, Saturday we celebrated Anna and Vicki's birthday and then Sunday we celebrated my dad's birthday.  So it has felt nice to keep busy and see our friends. 

I bought my first pair of maternity jeans and actually wore them out this weekend!  Matt LOVED me in them!  He said that this whole motherhood thing is a good look for me.  So my belly is definitely growing!  Here are this week's pictures:



"I'm So Juiced to Have a Kid!"

Anyone who knows us well knows that Matt and I have a very unique relationship.  They may also know that Matt likes to quote TV shows and movies.  Because of this, sometimes the things we say sound insincere even though we both know that we are very sincere.  This has worked out great for the almost 7 years that we have been together.  However, with pregnancy hormones in play, it has not been working out quite as well.  Here is an example:

I say, "I love you Matt."
He says, "And I'm fond of you." (this is from an episode of Family Guy)

Normally I would just laugh at this remark and know that he really meant that he loves me too.  This is one of the ways Matt actually shows his love - through his sense of humor.  However, with the pregnancy hormones flowing through my body, I REALLY need to hear the words - I LOVE YOU.  This has been a source of some tension between us. 

Another example is when I ask him about the baby.  Because this baby was not planned (very much wanted, but definitely not planned) sometimes I need some reassurance that Matt is actually excited about having a baby.  So I sometimes prompt him about this:

Caitlin:  "So Matt, are you excited about the baby?"
Matt: (sarcastically) "Eh, I can take it or leave it."

Now I know he is just being sarcastic when he says this, but again, sometimes a pregnant lady just needs to hear the words. 

So when I confronted Matt with this, the poor guy didn't know what to do.  His natural response to everything is to joke.  As I mentioned above, he likes to use his sense of humor as a sign of love.  So since I told Matt I needed to hear the words, that's pretty much what I got.  As he left every morning he'd kiss me good-bye and say, "I love you, I love the baby."  It IS nice to hear, but it is obvious his heart is not as into it as it was when he said things jokingly.  So of course this confuses the poor guy even more.  Really all I wanted was to hear something, ANYTHING that would prove to me that Matt was REALLY excited about the baby.  I got my desire last weekend.

We went out and Matt had a few cocktails.  I, of course, was driving home and Matt was telling me a story about how he accidentally said some curse words in front of some kids.  I told him he really needs to work on that since we have a child coming into this world soon and they soak up everything like a sponge.  I told him whatever we say our child will say some day.  I suggested he go back to using some of his favorite phrases from Will Ferrell movies (I told you he likes to quote movies!) like, "Son of a bee sting!" and "Mother of Pearl" instead of the obvious alternatives.  He started laughing and said, "Yea, do you think our kid will really say 'Son of a bee sing!'?"  I told him that if he said it enough the child would pick up on it and absolutely use it.  Just the thought of our little kid saying this made him smile and he said, "I'm so juiced to have a kid right now!"

And there it was . . . pure and total excitement about our child!  It was so exciting to see the joy on his face and to hear the excitement in his voice.  Since then Matt has shown many other signs of excitement about the baby.  He has even started talking about when we should start to try for baby #2!  So Matt is REALLY excited about our baby and I don't think I need to question it anymore.  I'm lucky to have such a fun husband.  He's going to be a wonderful daddy!