23 Weeks + A New England Baby Shower

How far along? 23 weeks!

Total weight gain: 18 lbs.  

Gender: Girl

Baby is the size of a(n)...: Grapefruit! She is about 1 foot long and weighs a little over a pound!

Maternity clothes? Yup- basically living in maxi skirts, maxi dresses, and the most comfortable pair of maternity jeans ever (from Kohl's).

Best moment this week: Showering #ittybittysmitty with my closest friends from New England! (More on this at the bottom of the post.)

Worst Moment this week: Sleep has been pretty bad this week. Ryan and I ended up switching sides in the bed in the hopes that I might not toss and turn as much. While it may have helped a bit, I still wake up constantly and have to roll from side to side, which is quite the process these days. I'm definitely a stomach sleeper, so it's been tough to retrain my body to get comfortable in other positions.

Miss Anything? Surprisingly, not much food related. Ryan and I have been making a bigger effort to work out more frequently now that spring is upon us. Working out the way I used to is definitely something I'm starting to miss more and more.  I can barely run a quarter of a mile without huffing and puffing. Squats feel weird because my belly touches the top of my legs every time I squat down. Plus, everything just feels... heavier.

Cravings: Fruit, red meat, chopped salads, ice cream

Symptoms: My preggo symptoms haven't been too bad this week! I still have heartburn...and I'm pretty sure I will for the rest of this pregnancy. I've also been getting pains in my ribs on the right side.

Looking forward to: Spending all my free time with friends up North before we pack up and drive away in 13 days.

In other news (kind of)... last Saturday afternoon, ittybittysmitty and I had our first planned baby shower. I say planned because my wonderful coworkers threw me a surprise baby shower during a faculty senate meeting before school a couple weeks ago. Rachel G., Rachel F., and Bergie hosted a beautiful shower at Rachel G.'s house and really made me the babe feel so loved. Thank you girls so much for your friendship and generosity! And thank  you to everyone who came and spent their Saturday afternoon with me!

Love these girls SO much! 

22 Weeks

So... technically today marks week 23, but I've had this post written for a couple of days now and somehow forgot to hit publish. 

How far along? 22 weeks!

Total weight gain: 18 lbs.  

Gender: Girl 

Baby is the size of a(n)...: Spaghetti Squash! She is about 1 foot long and weighs about a pound already! 

Maternity clothes? Always a yes these days. The other day I was trying to get dressed and pulled down my spring clothes since it's getting warmer out. After about 20 minutes of pure frustration and realization that NOTHING fits over my bump anymore, I finally gave in and Ryan and I headed to Kohl's to get some maternity tops. They didn't have much, but I did get two more tops to add to my small maternity wardrobe. 

Best moment this week: This week was Spring Break, so you'd think the best moment of my week would have been something fun and outdoorsy, but in reality, the best thing I did all week was finish up my PPA for student teaching and pretty much wrap up my Master's degree! Now, all I have to focus on is packing, moving, and our growing family! 

Worst Moment this week: Coinciding with the best moment of my week, the worst moment was definitely a series of moments spent spread out at our kitchen table working on this culminating binder. It took literally ALL day Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday to write, organize, and put everything together. 

Miss Anything? Still red steaks and seared tuna.  

Cravings: All the fruit. Red Meat. Also, my craving for Strawberry Puffs has come back with a vengeance. I'm SO frustrated I can't find them in the stores ANYWHERE. Everyone has Trolli peach rings, but not the strawberry puffs! Grr! 

Symptoms: Pretty bad heartburn throughout the day, ankle swelling, and some gum bleeding as of late. 

Looking forward to: Enjoying these next few weeks in Boston and spending as much time with our friends as possible. Coming up, we are planning a trip to the Aquarium, a duck boat tour, a baby shower for #ittybittysmitty, and lots of little hang outs with the people we love up here. (***Side note- I wrote this on Wednesday- we have since been to the aquarium and the baby shower. Both were amazing and recaps will be coming soon on our fun-filled weekend!) 

20 and 21 Weeks ... HALFWAY with some BIG news!

This past week, my momma was in town visiting from Georgia. Clearly, blogging took a backseat to spending time with her...and if we're being honest, blogging also took a backseat to school work and a two-week teaching takeover that I am now halfway through with. In four short weeks, I will be graduating...again! The only difference this time is that everyone has to call me Master Sarah from then on. (Right, Rachel G.??!?)

Anyways, while my mom was here, I officially hit the halfway mark in this crazy journey called pregnancy. Looking back, the first 20 weeks seem like such a blur of nausea, excitement, and exhaustion. I just can't get over how fast it's all going by... Even though five weeks ago I would have said this pregnancy was moving at a snails pace...you know, in between all the throw up and what not.

Since I missed last week, here's the 20 week picture.

20 weeks

21 weeks

Yes, it was Red Sox day at school the day this picture was taken! Go sox! 

How far along? 21 weeks!

Total weight gain: 15+ lbs.  

Gender: Still girl...

Baby is the size of a(n)...: Pomegranate  

Maternity clothes? Yup. When Weezy (Mom) was in town, we did some hardcore maternity shopping and came up with virtually nothing. Until her last day, that is! We found some pretty great dresses and maxi skirts that have definitely been my go-to these days.

Best moment this week: Having my mom get to come visit and sit in with us at a doctor's appointment and hear the heart beat.

Worst Moment this week: Non-pregnancy related: Saying goodbye to our LG, whom we meet and share a meal with every Thursday. Pregnancy related: the heart burn. Definitely the heart burn. It does NOT let up!  

Miss Anything? Medium steaks. I just want some red meat, dang it!

Cravings: Watermelon, sushi, Stop and Shop's Rotisserie Chicken Salad (SO GOOD).

Symptoms: HEART BURN. All. Day. Long.

Looking forward to: Spring Break next week!! Even though all I'll be doing is working on my PPA for student teaching. After spring break, I'm pretty much done with school work associated with student teaching and I can just spend these last few weeks enjoying the experience!

In other news, the countdown is officially on. I haven't mentioned this on the blog before because we wanted to make sure as many people as possible heard from us, but Ryan and I are officially moving to Georgia in four short weeks. While I'm super excited to be back in the great Peach state, closer to our family and our friends we left behind four years ago, I'm equally devastated to leave New England and the AMAZING friends that have grown into family up here. This place honestly feels more like home than Georgia does and I know it's going to be a tough weekend in Mid-May when we leave. Expect tears. A lot of tears.



18 Weeks + 19 Weeks.... Because Life Gets Busy Sometimes

Ryan and I had an amazing weekend this past weekend. We found out the gender of our little nugget, attended an at-home Ernie Halter concert (so good!), and celebrated the gender of our child with our friends up North! Unfortunately, all of that fun comes at a price. I am SO SO far behind on school work and am starting to feel the effect this Monday afternoon. Boo. SIX. MORE. WEEKS.

We've been good about taking the weekly bump picture every Monday before I leave for work... but I never seemed to find a good time to blog last week while trying to balance all of the exciting things and not so exciting school work taking place. Instead of playing catch up and trying to remember how I was feeling specifically last week, I'm just going to post the picture from 18 weeks and call it a day. Half way point, here we come!

How far along? 19 weeks! 

Total weight gain: 13 lbs.  

Gender: GIRL!!!   

Baby is the size of a(n)...: Mango

Maternity clothes? Still yes. We finally went to Old Navy and purchased three pairs of maternity pants, which are just another level comfortable these days. Now I can finally put the boots and leggings away and move on to warmer weather clothes...even if the weather isn't actually any warmer. Wishful thinking, maybe?

Best moment this week: Where do I begin? Seeing our baby through our 18-week ultrasound last Thursday, finding out the gender, sharing the news with our family and later our friends.... all were pretty awesome.

Worst Moment this week: Still not being able to really take my prenatal vitamins without getting sick. I'm TIRED of getting sick. Any suggestions here to make this a little easier?

 Miss Anything? Beer. All the beer.

Cravings: Watermelon, California Rolls, Ice Cream, and Rice 

Symptoms: Leg cramps. Back pain. Random dizziness. Stuffiness.

Looking forward to: Lauren's bridal shower in Portland this weekend and spending next week with my mom!! Weezy flies up Saturday early afternoon and stays until the next weekend!!!

And just because I still can't get over how perfect everything was this weekend, here are a couple of pictures from our gender reveal party!! The theme Ryan and I went with was "Twinkle Twinkle little star.... how we wonder what you are!" Rachel M. made the cake and it was PHENOMENAL. Like... I wouldn't have changed a thing! 

17 Weeks

I'm baaaack! I'm sure ya'll are getting tired of seeing the bump growth and reading updates but.... well get used to it! I still have plans to update this thing on OTHER things going on in my life, but these weeks just keep going by so fast and it's all I can do to get this bumpdate up every week!

How far along? 17 weeks! 

Total weight gain: about 12 lbs. 

Gender: We will know in 6 days!!!!  

Baby is the size of a(n)...: onion.

Maternity clothes? Yes, but I'm getting super tired of wearing leggings, tunics, and boots every day so I think a little shopping trip is in order. This mama-to-be desperately needs some pants that fit over this bump!

Best moment this week: Nothing is really standing out to me this week... it's gone by in such a blur. I'm starting to feel more like my old self, so I think the fact that there is no more nausea and the bronchitis is clearing up are probably a couple of the things I'm most grateful for this week.

Worst Moment this week: Probably the lack of sleep a couple night ago which led to a veeeerrrry long day at work and school all day on Wednesday.  

Miss Anything? Sushi. 

Cravings: Big grilled chicken salad, black olives, and, of course, pears! ...and starburst jelly beans! 

Symptoms: Tiredness and a little bit of dizziness every once in a while

Looking forward to: Our 18 week anatomy scan on Thursday!! What are you, little nugget??!! 

Any final gender guesses?? 

Have a great weekend, ya'll! 

16 Weeks

How far along? 16 weeks! 

Total weight gain: 10 lbs. 

Gender: Don't know yet. We scheduled the ultrasound for two weeks from today though! 

Baby is the size of a(n)...: Avocado! 

Maternity clothes? All day, every day. I can fit into all of my tops still, but maternity bottoms (leggings) are much more comfortable. 

Best moment this week: Hearing the baby's heartbeat at our 16 week appointment this afternoon! The doctor said it's strong and she could tell that the baby was moving all over the place in there!   

Worst Moment this week: This is a toss-up between having to go to urgent care for bronchitis on Monday and saying goodbye to Jake and Colee at the airport on Wednesday. Neither were very fun.  

Miss Anything? Sushi. 

Cravings: Pears. Give me all the pears. And ice cream. 

Symptoms: NO MORE NAUSEA!! WOO! I don't think I've really had any pregnancy symptoms besides little aches and pains every once in a while. I have however had a ridiculous cough and congestion that has kept me up most nights. 

Looking forward to: The weekend!! This week seemed to fly by so I'm definitely looking forward to a restful, but fun weekend! 

I'll be back later with a recap from our visit with our most recent houseguests!!! 

15 Weeks

So.. this picture was taken on Monday, but I've been too busy/lazy/tired to pull out the computer and upload it to the blog post. Better late than never though, right?!

How far along? 15 weeks! 

Total weight gain: 5-7 lbs. 

Gender: Don't know yet. Three more weeks! 

Baby is the size of a(n)...: Apple! It is 4 inches long and 2.5 ounces! 

Maternity clothes? Not much has changed here, except that my regular old leggings are starting to feel uncomfortably tight across my belly. My one pair of maternity leggings that sit really low are pretty much my go to these days. 

Best moment this week: There have been a few. To start with, our friend Rachel threw a joint surprise birthday party for Chris which turned into quite the surprise for Rachel herself when Chris proposed to her (and flew her little sister up from NC!). That was definitely a night to remember. Also, while it hasn't happened just yet, in just a few short hours we're picking Jake and Colee up from the airport for five days of fun!! Fun times this week!  

Worst Moment this week: The running theme for worst moment of the week is once again travel related. Poor Ryan got stuck in the Newark airport for seven hours due to flight delays and didn't get home until 2 or so in the morning, after leaving at 4 am that same day.  We're definitely looking forward to not flying much until this snow moves on out of here. 

Miss Anything? I havn't really missed much food related this week. I do miss sleeping through the night and I've been told I'm probably not going to get that back for years...so yay? 

Cravings: Still ice cream. Even when it's 7 degrees outside, give me all the ice cream. 

Symptoms: The nausea seems to be going away (Hallelujah!) but I've had a couple bouts of dizziness and just overall exhaustion this week. Where is all of that energy I was told I would get in the second trimester?!?

Looking forward to: These next few days with my bro and Colee!! And our next appointment on Thursday! 

Happy Weekend, ya'll!