37 weeks

How far along:  37 weeks (on Monday)

How big is baby:  On Monday he will be approximately the size of a watermelon.  WOW.

 

Total weight gain:  I have gained 5 lbs since my first visit.

Maternity clothes: I am pretty much living in sweats at home.  I have one dress pair of maternity pants and one pair of maternity jeans.  I still wear my regular shirts except they are getting too short!  I have a limited selection of scrubs that still fit me for work.

Sleep:  Sleep for the past few weeks has been really rough.  I need help turning over in bed (awful, I know), no position is comfortable and my heartburn is AWFUL laying down.  The past couple nights I have only had to wake up 2-3 times to go to the bathroom so that is a plus!

Best moment of the week:  Getting the majority of the stuff we need for the baby bought.  If he was to come now - we would have everything we need to survive. haha.

Food cravings:  Ice cream.  Cereal. 

Food aversions:  I'm convinced that I will never eat meat again... :)

Symptoms:  Blurry vision, headaches, swelling feet/ankles, back pain and general discomfort.  I guess that's what you get when you have a WATERMELON inside of you! haha

Movement:  Movement is slowing down these days.  Just bigger movements when he moves.  I swear sometimes I can feel him "practice breathing" in there.  Pretty cool.

Gender: Still a boy :)

What I’m looking forward to: My next appt.  I love my appts!

What I miss:  Sleeping.  Walking without having to say "BRYSON SLOW DOWN! I CAN'T WADDLE THAT FAST!"

Next appt:  Frday - the 9th.  We have weekly appts now.  I love our doctor and I love going to my appts!

28 weeks

It's been 10 weeks since I have updated this... so A LOT has changed :)

 

How far along:  28 weeks

How big is baby:  The size of an eggplant... average baby at this point is 1.5 - 2.2 lbs and 13.6 - 14.8 inches.... (getting big!)

Total weight gain:  I am holding steady at about 10-15 lbs lost since being pregnant... no weight gain here because of my sickness in the beginning.

Maternity clothes: Only my one pair of jeans and a pair of comfy sweat pants... If I'm not at work - I am pretty much living in them. haha

Sleep:  Sleep is becoming a distant memory.  I toss and turn, I wake up to go to the bathroom, I get back from the bathroom and I am awake and can't sleep for an hour... etc.  Frustrating.  But I suppose it is just getting me ready for life with a newborn.

Best moment of the week:  Our painter came this past week and sketched out a tree that we are getting painted on the nursery walls... She comes to actually paint it on January 9th... I can't wait! Also - on Tuesday we start our 3rd trimester!

Food cravings:  Oreo ice cream with gummy worms and I'm really liking oranges these days.

 

Food aversions:  Still having a hard time eating any kind of meat...

Symptoms:  Thank goodness that my sickness has been gone since about week 22... I am hoping it doesn't come back in the 3rd trimester like I hear it can!  Other than that - lower back aches.

Movement:  LOTS of movement!  Especially when I lay down.  We like to watch the baby move every night before bed - I swear it is better than tv!

 

Gender: ALL boy! :)  I was so shocked when I found out!

What I’m looking forward to: My shower on the 28th! :)

What I miss:  I miss being on weightwatchers and losing weight.  I can't wait until I have the baby and can get back on weightwatchers... I really liked the program and am missing it!

Next appt:  January 12th. (from there on out we go every 2 weeks now instead of every 4!  wow... this baby is coming whether we are ready or not!)

18 weeks....

How far along:  18 weeks

How big is baby:  About the size of a sweet potato...5.6 oz and 6.7 inches

Total weight gain:  Nothing really... I think being sick has really stopped me from gaining any weight.

Maternity clothes:  Only my one pair of jeans.

Sleep:  I have been sleeping with my body pillow (life saver) and it helps a little bit.  Have been waking up at 2:30 a.m. every night and stay up for a half hour to an hour.

Best moment of the week:  Finishing painting the green in the nursery throughout the week... Nothing much else exciting.

Food cravings:  Cheese curds... soup... ice cream

Food aversions:  Still have a lot of food aversions... mostly hamburger meat.... this has been the same since the beginning. 

Symptoms:  Still sick with nausea and vomiting...taking zofran when I need it to get through the day, VERY sensitive to smells, headaches, lower back aches.

Movement:  Nothing that I can feel yet.... hopefully soon!
Gender:  No idea... I have a feeling its a girl but we won't find out until November.

What I’m looking forward to: Our ultrasound on November 2nd.

What I miss:  I miss not being sick... I try really hard to not complain about being sick but sometimes it's hard.  I hope that my sickness will end soon but I'm afraid I'm going to be sick for all 9 months. The nurses have been so nice about this when I have to call in to renew my zofran prescription... They tell me that I'm doing everything right and that the sickness will eventually stop and that they fell bad that I'm feeling so bad.  It's nice to have someone that has some sympathy about it.

Next appt:  October 26th.

17 weeks

How far along:  17 weeks

How big is baby:  About the size of an onion... a little over 5 oz and a little over 5 inches long :)

Total weight gain:  Maybe a pound or two depending on the day.

Maternity clothes:  One pair of maternity jeans so far... they are super comfy but not totally necessary yet... all of my clothes still fit though.
Sleep:  Tossing and turning... not waking up to go to the bathroom right now but just uncomfortable.

Best moment of the week:  Listening to the baby's heartbeat on Thursday night... it was in the upper 140's... Baby was on the lower left side and kept moving away from the doppler - stinker!  Also, we painted the nursery this weekend!

Food cravings:  Cheese curds... soup... ice cream

Food aversions:  Still have a lot of food aversions... mostly hamburger meat.

Symptoms:  Still sick with nausea and vomiting...taking zofran when I need it to get through the day, VERY sensitive to smells, headaches.

Movement:  Nothing that I can feel yet.
Gender:  No idea... I have a feeling its a girl but we won't find out until November.

What I’m looking forward to: Our ultrasound on November 2nd.

What I miss:  I miss not being sick... I try really hard to not complain about being sick but sometimes it's hard.  I hope that my sickness will end soon but I'm afraid I'm going to be sick for all 9 months. 

Next appt:  October 26th.

13 weeks....

How far along:  13 weeks

How big is baby:  About the size of a peach... almost weighs an ounce and is almost 3 inches long.

Total weight gain:  None yet...

Maternity clothes:  None.
Sleep:  Waking up a couple times a night... tossing and turning.  But I'm tired so I can sleep pretty easily.

Best moment of the week:  Starting to get a "bloat bump"

Food cravings:  Rootbeer!

Food aversions:  I have a lot of foods that I can't eat...  especially red meat, greasy foods, etc.

Symptoms:  Nausea, Vomiting, but more from mucus in my throat then from having morning sickness.

Movement:  Nothing that I can feel yet.
Gender:  No idea... I have a feeling its a girl but we won't find out until November.

What I’m looking forward to: Hearing the heartbeat. . we haven't been able to hear it yet and really hope at our next appt we will be able to.

What I miss:  Still not able to make plans because of sickness so I miss that and I also miss sleeping through the night (I know I need to just get used to it. haha)

Next appt:  September 27th.

 

Pregnancy week-by-week

How far along:  10 weeks 5 days
How big is baby:  Almost the size of a lime.  About 2 inches long.

Total weight gain:  None yet - I just got over being pretty sick (flu/cold) and I lost a couple pounds during that.

Maternity clothes:  None.
Sleep:  Depends on the night.  Some nights I don't wake up at all - others I can barely sleep.

Best moment of the week:  Tuesday - we got to meet our Doctor for the first time!

Food cravings:  None this week.

Food aversions:  Red meat, anything greasy.

Symptoms:  Nausea, Vomiting, but less than before. 
Movement:  Nothing that I can feel yet.
Gender:  No idea...

What I’m looking forward to:  Feeling movement! 

What I miss:  Being able to make plans.  I'm sick pretty often so I'm looking forward to being able to make plans more in advance than just that day.
Next appt:  September 27th.

 

This week has been okay... I was really sick Tuesday night - Thursday night and am recovering from the flu/a cold.  During that time I ended up dehydrated and was pretty miserable.  Today I met with the dietician and she said everything is on track with the pregnancy.  She would like to see me gain 15 lbs during the pregnancy... Pretty sure the pint of Ben and Jerry's I just ate will help with that ;)  I LOVE the video we have of the baby moving and watch it at least a couple times a day.  Our next ultrasound isn't until November 2nd and I hope I can wait that long! :)

The Housing Dilemma of 2011

So, as most of you know - Bryson and I are looking to buy a house...

We are torn on a couple houses for some very different reasons.

House # 1 -

1809 W. 1st Street

http://www.firstweber.com/homes/1100093_CWMLS-1809_W_1st_Street-Merrill-WI-54452

Pros:

• Whole house has been nicely updated... few changes need to be made.
• Partially finished basement that could be fully finished easily.
• Big garage
• Decent sized lot
• Patio in backyard

Cons:

• Smaller bedrooms... don't know if our stuff would fit comfortably. (may outgrow this house quickly..?)
• Location isn't ideal.
• Some issues that may be flagged on inspection. (nothing that seems TOO big of a deal though)
• 3rd bedroom small... (would be a nice craft room) and not sure if it is heated.
• Not too much we could do to it to increase its resale value.

House # 2 -

710 E. 6th Street

http://www.firstweber.com/homes/1100550_CWMLS-710_E_6th_Street-Merrill-WI-54452

Pros:

• Nice sized rooms. (master bedroom has HUGE walk-in closet)
• Well updated bathrooms. (jacuzzi tub downstairs)
• Nice sized fenced in yard.
• Corner lot - yard looks nicely landscaped.

Cons:

• Needs a new roof. (probably sooner rather than later)
• Only a 1 car garage (does have room to add on but for now its only a 1 car garage)
• No possible way of finishing the basement for added living space.
• Siding could use to be replaced eventually.
• Slanted ceilings in "master bedroom"  Not exactly sure where our bed would fit yet.

House # 3 -

N2527 Norwegian Road

http://www.firstweber.com/homes/1001779_CWMLS-N2527_Norwegian_Road-Merrill-WI-54452

Pros:

• Very large corner lot (almost an acre)
• Nice curb appeal... cute shutters.
• Attached 2 car garage, detached 2.5 car garage (would make a nice woodshop for bryson SOMEDAY)
• HUGE finished basement.
• Big upstairs living room.
• Updated bathroom upstairs.
• Room for growth (in value and in family size/etc.)

Cons:

• Inside is dated... needs quite a few cosmetic changes to make it "modern" (and all flooring upstairs needs to be changed eventually)
• Wood paneling throughout the house.
• As of right now - this house is out of our price range... and we don't think they will negotiate low enough for us. (waiting to hear from the bank on our actual "price range")
• Unknown when cosmetic changes could be done (financially)

So there it is - the housing dilemma of 2011.... Lets just pray the bank has some good news for us on Wednesday.... if anyone has input or advice... please let us know!

Love,

Bryson and Alyssa