From the Avocado to the Onion

No post last week while Baby Huber was an avocado! I LOVE the fruit and veggie comparisons I get from The Bump! The "onion" is about the size of the palm of my hand with a crown to rump length of about 5 inches and a weight around 5 ounces. Baby's skeleton is hardening, changing from rubbery cartilage to bone, and fat is finally accumulating around it. His/her umbilical cord is getting thicker and stronger, and those little fingers and toes now feature one-of-a-kind prints. He/she is all about practice in preparation for birth by sucking and swallowing, the heartbeat is regulated by the brain and about twice my own heart rate. Life happens fast! I still haven't felt any movement from the inside, but am looking forward to the first punch or kick!

This past weekend Shawn and I visited Barnes & Noble to get pregnancy and gardening books. I bought What to Expect When Expecting and What to expect the First Year. I have almost finished the 600 page "expecting book" - it is great and really makes me feel at ease about the changes I my body is going through - they are all extremely normal. In fact, I'm pretty boring compared to some of the horror stories other people have told me about their pregnancies! My worst complaint is a headache! I did have a fairly severe headache on Sunday which was about the 3rd day in a row I had experienced a headache. It finally subsided on Monday night and I haven't had much of one since!

This past week I had TONS of energy and feel about as normal as a pregnant woman can feel at the gym. I can do just about everything I could before but I try not to get out of breath which makes me knock the intensity down a couple of notches. I do get out of breath sometimes just by walking up the stairs at home and by 4th period at school when I talk I get out of breath. I have become fairly forgetful, too, and feel like I'm losing brain cells and gaining pounds in the form of cottage cheese!

Last weekend I babysat a two year old boy (son of two of my co-workers). I got to witness my first diaper change (thanks, Ashley!) and got some tips from a Mom! I felt a little uneasy at first being that I had never been around a small child and had no idea what they were or were not capable of doing on their own! He was such a joy to play with - we spent most of our time in the backyard with a football, soccer ball, kickball, and basketball. I hope I get some more experience before my little one gets here!

We find out the sex at my next ultrasound on April 8!

I had my 4th month doctor's appointment with my lovely Dr. Rahangale at UNC. I've seen her four times now, and I'm seeing her in April, so I hope I don't have to trade her out for the other four at this point. So far each of my appointments have gone smoothly because I am such a boring patient - what they want until "labor day"!! I did get to hear the heartbeat Thursday which is always reassuring because I know that he or she is still thriving!

Week 18 here we come! :)

xoxo
Megan

The Naval Orange

"A mother's joy begins when new life is stirring inside... when a tiny heartbeat is heard for the
very first time, and a playful kick reminds her that she is never alone."

15 weeks and 4 days

We've heard the heartbeat many times (and I think our dogs can too!), but no kicking yet!!! I should start to feel kicking in about a week once I'm into Week 16 - I'll keep you posted. My dogs have gotten very protective over me lately - when I'm sitting on the couch they both want to lay on my stomach - and not because it's a big cushion yet. We're convinced that they know there is a baby inside there!

We are still overjoyed that we have been given this precious gift and Shawn looks at me with these little puppy dog eyes every night and reminds me that we're going to be parents soon - he is so cute:)

We still don't know if we're having a boy or a girl, but I'm convinced that it's a boy and have been from the start. I seem to be holding most of my weight in my rear end and legs and I'm carrying really low with a round belly. I've heard these are signs it's a boy from some mothers and a girl from other mothers.

No morning sickness or true nausea to report STILL!! Hooray! I definitely have my days where I do not feel up to par, but things are going very well and are actually quite easy thus far. Comfortable clothes and flat shoes are a priority - I wasn't saying that even 5 months ago! High heels and pencil skirts are in the dark corners of my closet nowadays. Even though there is no morning sickness I do have headaches every single day. I go to bed with one, wake up with the same one, and teach all day with one. I starting getting headaches exactly when The Bump told me I would - at the start of the second trimester.

I now know 4 other girls that are pregnant so it's exciting to be able to share our experiences together. We're all within about 2 - 3 weeks of one another.

I had a magnificent weekend in New Bern this past weekend with some amazing AGD women to celebrate the marriage of Neda and Harold! The weekend was a blast and it was so nice to see Heather and Angela. Even without the alcohol I was still able to cut a rug like a white girl all night long at the reception.

Shawn sold his Infiniti yesterday to prepare for a sedan. Shawn was very sad to see his sports car go. Even though I hated that car I will miss it - more for him than for me. I couldn't imagine putting my child in the back seat even though Shawn seemed to think it would be just as safe as the tahoe - hmmm....maybe he was trying to convince me that we didn't need to sell it. I think we are going to get a Honda Accord - not sure who's going to get which car now??!! I love my Tahoe, which I'm glad we bought now that a baby is on the way!

The pictures were taken last night! We'll be posting new pictues each week!

The Lemon

Time for another weekly update on Baby Huber!! He or she is growing so fast! I never knew how much a baby develops each week, but it is crazy how a cell becomes a human with nails, hair, eyes, organs, a voice, breath, and life! We are still overwhelmingly excited! This week Baby Huber can suck his/her thumb, wiggle his/her toes, make urine, and breath amniotic fluid as the liver, kidneys, and spleen continue to develop. Thin hair is also growing to keep the blossoming baby warm! How cute! - or not really so cute yet......

I had a great night at Lindsay's engagement dinner with friends - how nice it was to go out with a large group of wonderful people, something we don't get to do too often in the depths of Chatham County. I had great conversations with some new moms and dad's; comforting and scary all at once - but I got some great tips from some awesome new parents.

I'm so ready to register (and actually started yesterday) and can't wait to know if our little lemon is a boy or a girl. We are really fascinated with going green and providing our baby with the most organic products as possible. Seems like so many "things" we buy for our babies are actually unhealthy for them at such a fragile age unless they truly are organic. A bit more expensive, but our baby is priceless.

Not much to report about me, still pregnant which is the most important thing! It truly has been easy going. I'm in my second trimester so the fatigue has really worn off and I actually have some energy by the end of the day. I've been really busy in the evenings so getting a work out in has actually been difficult - hence the legs and butt rapidly changing right now! I hope I fit into my bridesmaids dress this weekend - yikes! Still no morning sickness to report :) Fingers crossed!

I'm just staying really healthy eating lots of foods with calcium and Vitamin C and D and taking my daily prenatal vitamins! Drinking water seems to be my biggest struggle, especially teaching rambunctious children that shouldn't be left alone for more than 30 seconds! I've got to get better because the water really does make you feel quite normal all day and night.

Hopefully we're going to start taking pictures of the bump tonight - I've been nagging at Shawn to take them. We'll start posting a new updated picture each week!

xoxo
Megan

Here they are, the first pictures we've taken!