15 Weeks

I can't believe that I'm almost 16 weeks along!  Time is flying now!!



Okay, the shadow is really driving me nuts!  I need to figure out how to get rid of it!

How far along:  15 weeks 4 days
Size of baby:  Baby is the size of an avocado and weighs about 3 ounces and measures between four and five inches from crownt-to-rump.
Weight gained:  About 2.5 pounds so far.
Maternity clothes:  No new purchases but my sister-in-law dropped off some mat clothes for me.  yahoo!!  I haven't worn any yet but probably will any day now.  My dress pants are getting quite uncomfortable!!
Workouts:  Got in a couple of workouts - a walk followed by a Pilates session and a 20-minute Turbo Fire workout followed by a strength circuit.
Symptoms:  Nothing major this past week - I feel like I'm getting my energy back! :)
Food Aversions:  No aversions!
Food Cravings:  Nothing specific but my favourite meal this week was BBQ steak, corn on the cob, potatoes, and spinach & strawberry salad!
What I Miss: Nothing specific.
Gender:  Not sure!  We're not going to find out.  I go back and forth between thinking it's a girl and boy.  Right now I'm thinking girl, but that could change in an hour. ;)
Movement:  none yet.
Stretch Marks:  none yet.
Sleep:   Sleep is okay.  I may have to invest in a body pillow because I find it difficult to get comfortable even with the extra pillows propped up here and there.  I've also been getting up at least once to use the washroom every night.
Baby Items Purchased:  Nothing new this week but my sister-in-law dropped off a huge bin of gender neutral newborn clothes!  It was fun to go through everything!
Best Moment This Week:  Definitely going through all the baby clothes - just makes it seem so much more real!
Looking Forward To:  my next prenatal doctor's appointment in a couple of days and hopefully starting to feel the flutter movements of the little bambino soon!

Weekend Trip to Boston

I surprised Danny with a trip to Boston for an early birthday gift.  We both love Boston - it's one of our favourite cities to visit, but this particular weekend the Toronto Blue Jays were in town to play the Boston Red Sox.  I had booked the trip a few months ago and tried to keep it a secret but finally caved in and told him a few weeks beforehand.  I wish I could have held out longer but I was so excited!!

We left after work on Thursday and drove to Freeport, Maine, to stay the night.  We caught the train from Freeport early the next morning and arrived in Boston around 10:30am.  We were able to get an early check-in at our hotel.  We stayed at the Marriott Copley and it was really nice!  The two floor lobby was huge and had connections to a couple of shopping centers.

We headed to the Cheesecake Factory for lunch.  I was craving a salad so ordered this Southwest BBQ Chicken salad.  I never crave salad - definitely a sign I'm prego!!

Doesn't it look amazing?!  Dan orded a lunch pasta which he thoroughly enjoyed!

We spent the rest of the day shopping and walking around the Copley area.  We came across the memorial site from the Boston bombings that had taken place just a month before.  It was so surreal and sad.  There must have been hundreds of sneakers, ball hats, shirts, and so many flowers.

We went to UNO for supper and then picked up Reese's peanut butter cake from The Cheesecake Factory for dessert and headed back to our hotel to watch the Bruins/Maple Leafs hockey game on tv.

And yes, it was as good as it looks!  Yum!!

On Saturday we headed to a new-to-us breakfast place - Charlie's Sandwich Shoppe.  It was such a unique little diner!  Dan tried their famous turkey hash and I had the french toast.

Saturday afternoon we spent at Fenway to watch the Blue Jays and Red Sox.  We had great seats, enjoyed a Fenway Frank (yum!!), and had a great afternoon!

After the game we had a quick supper at The Cheesecake Factory (no, we cannot get enough!) and spent the rest of the evening relaxing in our room.

On Sunday we headed to The Cheesecake Factory (where else, right?!) for brunch.  I ordered waffles with fresh strawberries piled on top.  Oh my.  SO good!  Even the maple syrup was warm! mmm!

We headed to Fenway Park around lunch time to get tickets for the ball game.  We lucked out and were able to get good seats again!

It was a really warm day and I was hot with my black long-sleeve t-shirt on!

After the game, we went to The Cheesecake Factory for supper and then went back to our room to our room to watch the Bruins/Maple Leafs game on tv.  I thought we might get kicked out a couple of times when the Maple Leafs scored and hubby let out some happy hollers!! ;)

We got up early on Monday and caught the train back to Freeport and then headed home.  We had such a great weekend away!!

14 Weeks

How far along: 14 weeks 4 days
Size of baby: Baby is the size of a lemon!
Weight gained:  About a pound and-a-half!  My goal is to gain between 25 -35lbs.  I know I could gain WAY more and at the end of it all what matters is a healthy baby, but I'll be honest - it would be great to not look like a huge whale and still have a healthy baby!! ;)
Maternity clothes:  I made my first purchase in Boston on the weekend - got a pair of capris!
Workouts: My prenatal pilates DVD arrived so I tried out one of the 10-minute sessions (there's 5 total) and I also got in a 20-minute Turbo Jam workout.  I'm anxious to try out the other four 10-minute pilates workouts!

Symptoms: Still tired but not as completely exhausted and useless as I have been.  Maybe I'm starting to get my energy back?!  Let's hope! I had pretty good energy all weekend in Boston - we did a lot of walking and it didn't tire me out too much!
Food Aversions: I was actually able to have a couple of cups of (decaf) coffee this week!
Food Cravings:  Salad!  I cannot believe it!  My mother-in-law had made this awesome salad last weekeend and I loved it and kept thinking about it.  I then got the ingredients and made it for supper last week.  So good! I also craved a salad when we got to Boston.  I never crave a salad when we go out to eat.  Never.
What I Miss: Nothing significant.
Gender: don't know - we're going to keep it a surprise!
Movement: none yet
Stretch Marks:   none yet!  I hear that it's hereditary and no amount of creams will help if you're destined to have them, but I am determined to put forth my best effort to not get any - or at least reduce their visibility!  I started using Bio Oil as well as The Body Shop's Shea Butter.
Sleep – it's been pretty good this past week!
Baby Items Purchased:  Got a couple of super adorable girl bathing suits for next summer from the Gap.  They were on clearance and SO cute! 
Best Moment This Week:  starting to see my little bump!  It makes it seem more real!  Plus, starting to feel less exhausted!  yahoo!!
Looking Forward To – Getting started on some spring cleaning/organizing and making room for our little papoose!

13 Weeks

I'm about to officially enter my second trimester!  I really hope that what everyone says about the second trimester being the best is true!  If so, bring it on!!

How far along:  13 weeks 4 days
Size of baby: Baby is the size of a pea pod.  Fingerprints have formed on tiny fingertips and baby's body is starting to catch up with his/her oversized head.
Weight gained: Still none yet. 
Maternity clothes:  None.
Workouts: I got in a 5k walk this past week!  yay!! (finally!)
Symptoms:   Still tired, and starting to have some round ligament pain.  I had no idea what this was at first but once I looked it up I realized I've been experiencing some.  It's basically growing pains - specifically the ligaments that support the uterus.  I haven't had a lot of this but notice it some in bed if I turn quickly or sneeze or something.
Food Aversions: Coffee. I can handle an extra small with half hot chocolate during the work week but that's it.
Food Cravings:  Carbs and peanut butter fudge crunch ice cream (although I loved ice cream before....maybe I'm just allowing myself to enjoy it more!  A lot more.) ha! ;)
What I Miss: my energy!
Gender: don't know - we're going to keep it a surprise!
Movement: none yet
Sleep – it's been pretty good this past week!   
Baby Items Purchased:  Nothing this week.
Best Moment This Week:  finally getting in some exercise!
Looking Forward To – the second trimester and our trip to Boston where I hope to find some cute (& inexpensive!) summer maternity clothes!

12 Weeks

How far along:  12 weeks 4 days
Size of baby:  Baby is the size of a plum!
Weight gained: None!  According the scale at the doctor's office, I actually lost about 1 lb.  (what?!)
Maternity clothes:  None yet, although my pants are starting to get a little tight.
Workouts: Zippo. (see symptoms below)
Symptoms:  Unbelievably tired.  I'm useless.
Food Aversions: Coffee.  I can handle an extra small with half hot chocolate during the work week but that's it.
Food Cravings: Carbs, carbs, and more carbs (specifically Kraft Dinner!)!
What I Miss: getting in a tough workout
Gender:  don't know - we're going to keep it a surprise!
Movement: none yet
Sleep – I'm usually in bed between 9-10pm and will wake up between 3-5am to use the washroom and sometimes have a difficult time getting back to sleep but otherwise can't really complain. 
Baby Items Purchased:  Found the cutest pair of swim shorts at the Gap!  Of course, we don't know what we're having and we're not going to find out but I couldn't pass them up for only $5!
Best Moment This Week:  being able to (finally!) share the news with our extended family and friends!
Looking Forward To – SO many things!  Getting a baby bump, decorating the nursery, and the 2nd trimester which I hear is when I'll get my energy back!

All About Baby Stymiest - Q&A

How did you find out you were pregnant?
Took a pregnancy test!
What kind of pregnancy test did you take?
Clearblue
How many?
Just one - it said "Pregnant" so it was pretty obvious!
What were your 1st symptoms?
The girls were SO tender and sore!
Who did you tell first?
The baby daddy - my hubby! :)
Who was with you when you found out?
I was by myself in the washroom and then told Dan a couple of minutes later....it was 3am!  I was going to wait to tell him when he woke up later in the morning but when I went back to bed he was awake so I shared our exciting news!  Then of course we couldn't get back to sleep!!
My 1st reaction:
I was SO happy - I had tears in my eyes and I thanked God for this incredible miracle and blessing!
Was your baby planned?
Yup!
How far along were you when you found out?
4 weeks and 2 days
How did your parents/family react?
Everyone was so excited!  It was so much fun telling them.  We shared the news with Danny's parents first, then his sister and brother.  Then we shared the news with my Dad and brother the next day since we were celebrating Dad's birthday.  This is the card I gave to Dad to share the news:

Due Date:
November 8, 2013 (two days after my birthday!)
Do you know the sex?
It's too early to find out.
Will you find out the sex?
No - we like the idea of the surprise!
Any names?
Yup - but we're not sharing. ;) 
Have you heard the heartbeat?
Yes - it was so amazing.  We actually recorded it and I listen to it all the time. :)
How do you feel?
I feel incredibly blessed and so excited!  And unbelievably tired.  I also especially miss my Mom during this happy time.  I'd love to sit down and chat with her about her pregnancies and go shopping for baby stuff, etc.  She knit a few baby blankets for her future grandchildren before she passed away and I'm so thankful to have a tangible gift for the baby. 
Any morning sickness?
No, thank goodness!  I feel the worst in the afternoons/evenings - just so tired and not quite myself but haven't actually been sick.
Do you have any food cravings?
Carbs!! (especially Kraft Dinner!) And milk to drink with the carbs!  Early on I had a craving for McDonald's McChicken sandwich but not as much now.
Do you have any food aversions?
Just coffee - after about 5 or 6 weeks.  I can handle an extra small with half hot chocolate most mornings but that's it.  And I have an aversion to blizzards from DQ but can definitely enjoy my fair share of hard ice cream!
Do you have any mood swings?
I don't think so?  I'd have to ask hubby this one! haha  I am definitely more sensitive and emotional than normal though!
How far along are you now?
12 weeks 3 days

Stymiest Family Update

So I haven't fallen off the face of the earth.  The absence of posts lately have been because I have been completely useless.  Unbelievably exhausted.

The reason I've been SO tired.....

We are so excited for the arrival of Baby Stymiest in early November!!