Week 16 Baby Bump: Q & A

We are pushing along in the second trimester! For all those who missed it - we're having a girl! And these days I am feeling SO much better. My belly still hasn't really "popped" yet, and I'm feeling like I'm somewhere between fat and pregnant. I definitely feel like this little girl is "stealing my beauty"...as the old wives tale goes...so I generally don't feel very attractive. LOL Other than the occasional backache or migraine, I am generally loving every minute of this pregnancy!

1. Are you having morning sickness? NO! Okay, well just sometimes. I would say it is 90% gone.
2. How is the fatigue? Getting better...most days I can at least motivate myself to wash the dishes and take a shower.
3. Frequent potty breaks? Yes. Please make it stop.
4. Sense of smell? SO much better! I no longer have to hold my breath when I open the pantry door. 
5. What are your cravings? Icees and Mexican food. Burritos everyday!
6. What makes you most nauseas? Yogurt, fish, red meat, and really strong smells.
7. Do you have heartburn? Yes, but it's not that bad (yet). Maybe a couple times a week.
8. Have you been moody? For sure.
9. Have you been crying a lot? I cry about EVERYTHING.
10. Weight gain/loss? After I initially lost 8 pounds, I have now managed to gain another 3 pounds back!
11. Do you have an innie or an outie? Innie.
12. Any stretch marks? Nope.
13. Have you felt the baby move? YES!! And I've got a serious issue with anyone who says it feels like "butterflies". Please, this does not feel like fluttering little butterflies. Muscle spasm, pop, someone flicking you from the inside...and even those don't really describe it. But with this whole "butterfly" idea in my head, it took an entire day of baby-movements for me to realize what was happening! Thank goodness Google was there to tell me it was my baby that I was feeling.
14. Have you made your first baby purchase? Yes. On the day we found out she was a girl I went right out and bought some pink leggings with ruffles on the bum :)
15. Do you think it will be a boy or a girl? If you recall, at week 12 Mark and I both thought the baby would be a girl...and we were right! And most of those old wives tales were dead-on too.
16. Do you have any names picked out? Yep. This baby has been named! On the way to our gender-determination ultrasound we agreed on the "perfect" name...of course it was a girl name, so our fingers were crossed that we would be having a girl!
17. Who will be the baby's favorite person? I'm still going with Melinda...since she will probably be around the baby every day :)
18. Who will spoil the baby the most? My mom. Definitely. And it's already started too!
19. What has been the most fun about being pregnant? Finding out the gender and feeling her move for the first time! And since we know the gender, and we have a name picked out, I love to hear Mark talk to her and rub my tiny belly.
20. What has been the most surprising? How quickly my morning sickness disappeared, and finding out that our intuition was correct that we were having a girl!
21. What have you liked the most/least about your first/second/third trimester? A couple weeks into the second trimester now and what I love the most is felling her move, feeling like I can actually connect with her, talk to her, and that I can start planning the girly details of her nursery. What have I like the least? Bleeding, congested nose...Baby Brain/Gestational Amnesia/Extreme Forgetfulness...vivid bizarre dreams...serious cramping (as my uterus is rapidly growing)...and I've got the "dropsies". I drop EVERYTHING. Bowls and plates are shattering to the ground, shampoo bottles are breaking, and I'm shocked that I have not chopped off a toe yet with how frequently I drop steak knives.

This baby is a...

GIRL! I kneeeeeew it! We are so excited for this sweet little girl. Dresses and bows and painted fingernails....I am in heaven.

We went to Fetal Fotos for the ultrasound, because our next OB appointment isn't until the end of May. It was well worth the money, and I would highly recommend Fetal Fotos. It was very spa-like and they gave us tons of printed photos, plus a digital copy of the photos, and a DVD of the entire ultrasound. I think I am most excited about the DVD because instead of us just telling our family what the baby was doing, they can see it! She did not stop moving for a single second. She was kicking, and waving, and yawning, and she even did a complete somersault for us! At one point the ultrasound tech poked the baby with her fingers to try and get her to un-cross her legs (to get a better veiw) and she kicked her right back! She's a sassy little thing.

It was so surreal to see this tiny baby moving inside of me...and yet, I don't feel a thing! I'll be 16 weeks on Saturday, so maybe in the next week or two I might start feeling something (although I have no idea what to be looking for).

We were going to wait until Thursday to tell our family the gender, but there were so many conflicting schedules that we just ended up doing it last night. So, we had 4 iPhones and 2 iPads going all at the same time with FaceTime to our parents and siblings (they pretty much all live out of state). Plus we had Melinda and Robbie and Graham over at our house...someone had to help hold all those phones! I had the box (from the picture above) all wrapped up and Mark and I opened it up to reveal the pink balloons. It was so much fun, and it felt like everyone was there with us! Thank goodness for technology!