16 Weeks: Holy Guacamole

16 weeks, woohoo! That mean only 2 more weeks until we find out the sex. The 2nd trimester is so much better than the first, not a lot is going on with me other than my expanding tummy and some other minor symptoms here and there. This past week we have been researching cribs, dressers and gliders for the baby room, very exciting. We also narrowed down the babies name, which will be announced with the babies gender. Overall we are just totally excited, God has truly blessed us.

From the Baby Center:

Get ready for a growth spurt. In the next few weeks, your baby will double his weight and add inches to his length. Right now, he's about the size of an avocado: 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. His legs are much more developed, his head is more erect than it has been, and his eyes have moved closer to the front of his head. His ears are close to their final position, too. The patterning of his scalp has begun, though his locks aren't recognizable yet. He's even started growing toenails. And there's a lot happening inside as well. For example, his heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, and this amount will continue to increase as your baby continues to develop.

Pillow Talk

Some of the sweetest times in our marriage have been during "Pillow Talk". This is a time before bed, in some insane hour in the night or early morning where Brian and I have the sweetest conversations about what is on our mind. It is a time where we don't have the distractions of the world (tv, phone, computer) and we can just focus on each other. Lately our pillow talk has been between 3:00 & 4:00am, that is a time when we usually wake up for a bathroom break (thank you BB) and cannot go back to sleep because we are already somewhat rested (we go to bed around 9:00pm) and our mind starts working. Most of our pillow talk is about planning for BB and the business.

We also wonder if our early morning awakeness is God's way of preparing us for the baby! Right now, we have sweet conversations... in less than 6 months we will be doing feedings and taking care of the baby. I am sure we will still have our sweet pillow talk moments once the baby comes, it will just be different (but not in a bad way). It will probably be more like "Your turn... or I will warm the bottle, you change the baby, hehe.

Goodbye Mexican Food Restaurants :(

Most of you know that Mexican food is my absolute favorite. I love nachos, queso, bean and cheese anything (tacos, tostadas, burritos) and cheese enchilada's. I have had "issues" with Mexican food throughout the pregnancy, but thought it was due to the heavier type of foods. On Sunday we went to eat at a local Mexican restaurant and I thought if I have bean and cheese nachos and queso then I will be fine... WRONG. I don't know what the deal is! If I make these things at home, then I am fine, but if I eat them in a restaurant then I am sick for the rest of the day. I am assuming it is the extra grease, but who knows. So anyways, I am taking a short leave of absence from Mexican food restaurants... this will probably help my weight at my monthly weigh-in's, but still depresses me.

Our 5th Anniversary

Brian and I celebrated our 5th anniversary on Saturday! Looking back, I am just totally amazed on how far we come, thank you Jesus! I can honestly say that Brian and I have built a solid foundation of marriage and are ready to take it to the next level of being parents. Thank you also to all of our family and friends who have loved us an supported us though our journey.

We typically just do the traditional (or modern) anniversary gift every year... this year it was wood! I gave him a hand carved statue from Indonesia that means "Love of my life", he gave me a picture frame. We ate dinner at Kona Grill, one of our favorite restaurants and just hung out in the evening.

I will say that it is strange thinking we will have to get a babysitter for our anniversary dinner next year... my oh my are we in for some changes.

Is BB a Boy or a Girl?

I added a poll to the right hand column... We want to know if you think BB is a boy or a girl. We find out on February 11th, so stay tuned.

15 Weeks: The Apple Of Our Eye

15 weeks and things are still going good! My baby bump is becoming more noticeable, which is exciting. I think my weight gain is on track... I don't know for sure because I am not getting on the scale or looking at the scale at the doctor's office. I figure my doctor will tell me if there is an issue. I am still going to the gym 3-5 times a week, doing 45-50 minutes of cardio... apparently exercising during pregnancy will help during labor and in getting my post-body back after delivery, which sounds good to me! I am trying to wear all my cute pre-pregnancy clothes now because in a couple of weeks they will be history, haha. Which brings me to my next upcoming task of finding some maternity clothes. Tops should not be a problem, but finding jeans and pants long enough may be an issue.

Only TWO weeks and 6 days until we find out the sex! I seriously cannot wait to start working on the nursery.

From the Baby Center: Your growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of an apple). She's busy moving amniotic fluid through her nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in her lungs begin to develop. Her legs are growing longer than her arms now, and she can move all of her joints and limbs. Although her eyelids are still fused shut, she can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, she's likely to move away from the beam. There's not much for your baby to taste at this point, but she is forming taste buds. Finally, if you have an ultrasound this week, you may be able to find out whether your baby's a boy or a girl! (Don't be too disappointed if it remains a mystery, though. Nailing down your baby's sex depends on the clarity of the picture and on your baby's position. He or she may be modestly curled up or turned in such a way as to "hide the goods.")

14 Weeks: Our Lemon

Well here we are at 14 weeks, I still cant believe I have about 6 months left... that seems like so long. Hopefully time will start flying by once we find out the sex and start getting ready for the baby. I am starting to out grow my pants and definitely feel more comfortable in loose fitting shirts. The baby will "pop" out of my pelvic bone (when I start seriously showing) in a couple of weeks.

Only 3 weeks and 6 days until we find out the sex (but who's counting). That is when the real fun will begin!

I went ahead and told my boss this week about the pregnancy, and the conversation went well. I was just glad to get it over with!

From the Baby Center:

This week's big developments: Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another. His kidneys are producing urine, which he releases into the amniotic fluid around him — a process he'll keep up until birth. He can grasp, too, and if you're having an ultrasound now, you may even catch him sucking his thumb.In other news: Your baby's stretching out. From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 inches — about the size of a lemon — and he weighs 1 1/2 ounces. His body's growing faster than his head, which now sits upon a more distinct neck. By the end of this week, his arms will have grown to a length that's in proportion to the rest of his body. (His legs still have some lengthening to do.) He's starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair, called lanugo, all over his body. Your baby's liver starts making bile this week — a sign that it's doing its job right — and his spleen starts helping in the production of red blood cells. Though you can't feel his tiny punches and kicks yet, your little pugilist's hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active.

Thank goodness for the Bella Band

I have reached the point of my pregnancy to where most of my normal jeans & pants are too small around the waist (especially by the afternoon), but I am not ready for maternity jeans. What does one do in this situation??? Let me tell you... The "old fashion" method, which is still widely used is to put a rubber band around the button and button hole... this give you a few extra inches. The new method is the Bella Band. It is a band that you wear over the top of your pants and covers your button and zipper area, so you can unbutton and unzip (if needed) you pants. It looks like I am wearing an undershirt and will help prolong the life of my pre-pregnancy jeans! The other neat thing is that the bands will serve a different purpose in all stages of pregnancy (as shown in the picture above). I have some high level meetings this week, which is requiring me to dress up (I have been just wearing jeans, etc.). The bella band totally saved me from having to go buy new work pants. Thank you Bella Band and whoever created it!

The Bumbleride

On Friday night I took a meal to our friends Travis and Jeni, who recently had their baby. Jeni mentioned a baby store that I had not heard of called Baby Earth, so yesterday Brian and I went to check it out. It is a very cute store that has about everything you would need for your baby, but is not overwhelming like Babies R Us.

Pretty much the first thing you see when you walk in is their wide range of high end strollers. They happened to have the Chicco stroller I was considering, which would match the car seat we are getting, but they had all these other fun European strollers as well. Jeni mentioned on Friday that they were considering the Bumbleride stroller to go with the Chicco car seat (It seems everyone is getting the same Chicco Keyfit car seat, I know about 4 people who have it and love it).

While we were looking at the Bumbleride, Travis and Jeni came into the store to purchase the stroller. It was really fun watching Brian and Travis with the stroller, they were giving it a thorough inspection and it was just really cute. Learning to collapse the stroller was an interesting experience as well.

The neat thing about the Bumbleride is that it is a regular stroller and jogging stroller combined. Brian likes the rubber wheels, and the fact that it will grip better on all surfaces. It is also very functional and lighter than the Chicco stroller we were looking at getting. The smoothness of the ride by far surpasses Chicco as well, in fact there is no comparison!

The stroller is a little more pricey, but the cost can be justified since I will only need one stroller instead of two (normal and jogger). Thank you Jeni and Travis for telling us about Baby Earth and the Bumbleride!

At Home Doppler

Every time we see the doctor they use a doppler to hear the heartbeat. My friend Shelley let me borrow her at home doppler so I can hear the heartbeat when I want. The doppler at the doctor's office is 8MHz and can pick up the babies heartbeat at around 10 weeks. The home doppler is 3MHz, so I knew it would take more time before hearing the heartbeat. My doctor said it may even be 20 weeks before I could hear it.

I have tried periodically but today I was able to pick up the heartbeat! It was beautiful and such a sweet moment. The heart was beating strong at about 150-162 BPM. I know the baby is developed to the point that it is moving around (we saw it on the last sonogram) and I believe it because was moving around on me when I was trying to hear the heartbeat because I would get a strong heartbeat and then would have to adjust the placement of the doppler because it moved! I have already listened to it 3 times today! Such a huge blessing! Now I cannot wait to feel it move, which will take another 5-7 weeks.

Anyways, it was just a sweet baby moment and wanted to share.

13 Weeks: Our Medium Sized Shrimp

Everything is still going great! A lot of people have asked what my cravings are, so here is a list of the most common... ice water, orange juice, citrus fruit, migas, Popsicles and mac & cheese. I used to crave cheese enchilada's all the time, but those cravings have subsided due to the massive heartburn the sauce gives me.

I was able to get back into an exercise routine while I was off work for the holidays and have kept up with it so far this week. My goal is to go to the gym 5 times a week for cardio and do weight training and yoga on the Wii Fit. My doctor said no to Body Pump which was my hour long weight lifting class at Gold's Gym.

Only 5 more weeks until we get to find out the sex of the baby!

From the Baby Center:

Fingerprints have formed on your baby's tiny fingertips, her veins and organs are clearly visible through her still-thin skin, and her body is starting to catch up with her head — which makes up just a third of her body size now. If you're having a girl, she now has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries. Your baby is almost 3 inches long (the size of a medium shrimp) and weighs nearly an ounce.

Last night we ordered Mama Fu's and had honey glazed shrimp in honor of our little (or should I say medium sized) shrimp. My "What to Expect When Your Expecting" book compared the baby to the size of a peach, I like this comparison better because we all know how much I love peaches! Ding Dang... now I need some peach cobbler.

Baby Carter Zingelmann is here!

I am pretty sure most of you knew that my best friend Leanne was pregnant with her second child. She had her baby on January 2nd and he is precious!

Carter Chase Zingelmann January 2nd, 2009 at 11:01 p.m 8 pounds 9 ounces / 20.75 inches

Mom and baby are at home, doing well! I hope to go see Leanne and the baby in the next couple of weeks.

5:00am: Back to work today

When the alarm clock went off today at 5:00am, I was was like "NO WAY". Brian was so sweet in trying to wake me up with sweet words and kisses. I warned him yesterday that today will be a bad day. You see... I have been off since December 24th. My preggo body has become accustomed to going to bed at 9:00pm and waking up between 7:00-8:00am. I also had a mandatory afternoon nap that lasted 1-2 hours and would sometimes even sneak in a mid-morning nap if possible.

So today is back to the real world. It took me about 20 minutes to get out of bed. I even called Brian into the room to tell him I would like to interview for the Stay At Home Wife position. I am happy to say that the morning monster did not come out in me and know it is because of my sweet husband who knows me so well and made my morning transition as easy as possible.

It is 8:00am and am already wishing I could take a morning nap. It is going to be a long day! I am going home at lunch to let Rodnee out, so I may sneak in a 30 minute nap.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra: BB's First Concert

A couple of weeks ago Brian told me to mark my calendar for Sunday, January 4th because we are going on a date... I had no idea what he was up to. On Friday he came home with tickets to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, I was so excited. I have been wanting to see them for years! I listen to their music every Christmas and just love them!

So last night we went to the concert and it was amazing. The music was great and they had an awesome light show! We also had fun stuffing our faces with nachos, pretzel's and popcorn. It was so much fun experiencing them live and was a sweet night with Brian.

The concert also was a great way to end my holiday break...

BB: 12 Weeks

We had a sonogram and 12 week doctors visit and everything looks good. The baby is measuring at 6cm with a heartbeat of 158. The sonogram was especially cool because we could see the baby moving... we are still just totally amazed! The technician was unable to get all the arms and legs in the same picture, but trust me, they are there!

So the big news is to mark you calendars for February 11th because we will be finding out the sex at 9:00am!

Our Baby: 12 Weeks

Pregnancy is still going good, I feel blessed. It is hard to imagine that our baby is the size of a lime, He is growing so fast. I am still pretty tired, but look forward to hopefully getting my energy back when I move into my second trimester next week.

From the Baby Center:

The most dramatic development this week: reflexes. Your baby's fingers will soon begin to open and close, his toes will curl, his eye muscles will clench, and his mouth will make sucking movements. In fact, if you prod your abdomen, your baby will squirm in response, although you won't be able to feel it. His intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into his abdominal cavity about now, and his kidneys will begin excreting urine into his bladder.Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and in your baby's brain, synapses are forming furiously. His face looks unquestionably human: His eyes have moved from the sides to the front of his head, and his ears are right where they should be. From crown to rump, your baby-to-be is just over 2 inches long (about the size of a lime) and weighs half an ounce.