17 Week Bumpdate

First off, I want to express my gratitude and love for each and every single one of you!  Your condolocenses and sympathy for my Aunt's passing mean more to me than I could ever express.  It was a tough week last week, with visitation and her funeral, but her funeral was beautiful, the church was standing room only, and all of my family came together to support her daughters and husband as they grieved.  We all shared our great memories of her, and there were just as many laughs as there were tears.  She is in a much, much better place, and that is what puts me at peace.  Again, I thank each and every one of you for reaching out.  I can't even explain how happy you all make me.

Anyway, on a different note, let's get back to the weekly bump dates!  I missed week 16, since that was last week, but we will pick back up with week 17…

How far along?: 17 weeks 

Size of baby?: A sweet potato or 5.5 inches and 5 oz

Total weight gain?: up 1 lb from my previous appointment a month ago, to make it 4 lbs as of my check up last Thursday.  Which was a huge surprise considering that we had Christmas, a birthday party and New Years stuck in there…where I ate anything and everything I wanted!  I don't expect this slow weight gain to stick around for long though…I am growing a human after all ;)

Sleep?: sleep has been pretty great, except I just wish I could make it one full night without having to wake up to go to the bathroom…that's getting pretty dang annoying!

Maternity Clothes?: Still living in my maternity leggings…they are like butter in heaven (or at least what I expect butter to feel and taste like in heaven…).  The hubs and I also picked up a few basic maternity 3/4 sleeve and a couple basic maternity short sleeve tops for layering.  I mainly wanted them just for the length to cover my hiney when wearing my leggings…ain't nobody wanna see a preggo behind jiggling in her maternity leggings! 

Stretch Marks?: Nope! But I am lathering up with bio oil and Palmer's Cocoa Butter every night before bed like I did last time, so I'm hoping to keep those at bay!!

Best Moment this Week?: Going to my "16 week check up" which was actually at 17 weeks, and even though we didn't get to see the babe, we did get to hear it's heartbeat!  I honestly questioned my doc and asked him if he was sure that it wasn't my heartbeat we were hearing because it was so strong and loud!  The absolute BEST sound in the world! 

Have you told family and friends?: Yes!!

Miss anything?: Ha! This week my craving for sushi has hit an all time high!  I have never wanted a salmon roll and california roll more in my life...

Movement?: YES!  It is becoming increasingly stronger each day and I'm no longer questioning if it's gas or the babe anymore…Actually, while working out last Friday, I was doing some ab work and I couldn't decide if he/she was having a dance party in there or if he/she was just ticked that I was disturbing its warm little slumber!

Food cravings?: I am trying to do a much better job of not giving into everything I want like I did over the holidays, but there are just some cravings that are just too strong to avoid.  Case in point, I have been loving anything super spicy!  Indian and Thai food have definitely become my fave weekend picks!  And, give me sriracha or red pepper flakes on anything…yummy in my tummy!  What are the old wive's tales on what spicy food cravings mean?  Is that girl or boy???

Anything making you queasy or sick?: Nope!  Which is a blessing and a curse…because it just means that pretty much everything sounds good to me right about now!  Ha!

Have you started to show?: I do have a definite "food baby" going on.  Which, as any preggo woman knows, when you are pregnant, especially at this stage in the game, you want people to know that it is in fact a baby in there and not just bloat from too many beers or cookies from the night before!  So, I'm still struggling with that "in between" stage.

I know I promised a better bump picture this week, but never the less, I failed…my goal this week: GET A STAGED (with makeup and hair did) BUMP PICTURE!!!

Gender prediction?:  I'm still going to say boy, just because I want to prove my husband wrong! No, I honestly don't have a premonition either way with this one like I did with Madden, so it's actually kind of fun! And we won't know either way until the little nugget joins our family on his/her birthday, as we aren't finding out!! 

Labor signs?: heck no!! Let's hope this isn't a question at all, since we will have a scheduled c-section!!

Belly button in or out?: it is definitely becoming a lot more shallow…and the top part is trying to pop out :)

Wedding rings on or off?: On!

Happy or moody lately?: I have been very happy…in fact, I've been told at least 3 times in the past week that I am just "glowing" and that I look super happy.  Which, I don't know about the "glow" thing, but I definitely am going to enjoy each and every minute of this "honeymoon stage"!

Looking forward to?: I know this is a ways off, but I'm so excited to see Madden as a big brother.  He has this thing of asking to talk to the baby almost nightly and it makes me so incredibly happy to hear and see his excitement!  He is so ready for a little playmate and to have someone else steal his spotlight for a bit…as he is becoming increasingly spoiled ;)  

Until next time...