{15 weeks}

Your Baby: Week 15

Continuing the march towards normal proportions, baby's legs now outmeasure the arms. And, finally, all four limbs have functional joints. Your fetus is squirming and wiggling like crazy down in the womb, though you probably still can't feel the movements.

How far along? 15 1/2 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: 5 lbs.

Maternity clothes? Don't need them yet, but I did get this one tank from Target that I loooove.

Sleep: Waking up a LOT.

Best moment this week: Making all sorts of baby goodies with Evan's mom in Idaho.

Movement: Nothing definitive... yet!

Food cravings: Nope.

Gender: We should know for sure next Friday :o)

Labor Signs: Nope.

Belly Button in or out? Still in.

What I miss: Running... I can't run like I used to.

What I am looking forward to: Mom comes to town next week!

Weekly Wisdom: They weren't kidding- the second trimester is GREAT.

Milestones: I've stayed up past 10pm every night this week. Amazing!

want {these little birdies}

Note to self: Add these music-loving birds to the list of things I want to put in Baby Sanchez's nursery. Aren't they just adorable? Maybe even add a third little bird to the mix? Aww, that would be too cute!!

{laurenalane.com}

Lauren Alane makes all sorts of precious, handmade little birds, mostly as custom wedding toppers. I'm hoping to grab a couple next time she updates her Etsy shop! Fingers crossed...

{pre-cious}

I hope our baby likes wearing hats, because this Baby Bear Beanie is the cutest thing I have ever seen!

{$15 @ Monarch Dancer}

{14 weeks}

How far along? 14 1/2 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: 5 lbs. {I'm down 2 lbs from last month!}

Maternity clothes? Things are getting tiggght.

Sleep: Waking up a LOT.

Best moment this week: Surprise ultrasound today, yay! Hi baby!

Movement: None yet, but Evan asks EVERY day, "Has he kicked yet?!" Every day. Makes me smile.

Food cravings: None yet.

Gender: We checked again today- pretty sure there's a sticker-outer down there!

Labor Signs: Nope.

Belly Button in or out? Still in.

What I miss: Sleeping through the night.

What I am looking forward to: Our trip to Idaho on Thursday :o)

Weekly Wisdom: Laugh hard and often.

Milestones: I'm getting my energy back, thank goodness!

{surprise!}

Happy Monday! I just got back from my monthly OB check-up with Dr. Biter. We were told that today's exam was just a routine appointment to check my weight, blood pressure, and urine- no ultrasound or anything- so Evan decided to let me handle this one on my own. Welllll, change of plans! I mentioned to Dr. Biter that the NT screening tech thought the baby was a girl, so we were unsure about the gender again. He immediately jumped up and said "Well, let's go find out for sure!" and carted me off to the ultrasound room. Seriously?! I was so excited, but really bummed that Evan wasn't there. Was I really about to find out the gender of the baby without my husband? Kinda sad to think about! Note to self: Evan needs to come to all appointments from now on, just in case.

Once we got all set up in the ultrasound room, Dr. Biter turned the monitor on and got started. The baby is so much bigger than 2 weeks ago. Crazy! Baby looked very comfy, all snuggled up in my belly with his/her back to us. Heart rate was good- in the 140s again. We had a tough time seeing "the goods," but we both swear we saw a "sticker-outer" down there. Dr. Biter said the baby must be waiting for Dad for the big reveal, which I'm ok with. Until next time, mystery baby! :o)

Since the little one has its back to us, Dr. Biter was only able to get one picture of him/her- the most precious shot of the back of baby's head, neck, shoulders, and ears. So cute. We have another ultrasound appointment in two weeks, so hopefully baby will cooperate and stop being so modest, hehe. :P

Love you, baby!

{14 weeks, 3 days}

{14 weeks}

Our little lemon...

Baby's now the size of a lemon!
Your adorable little fetus is busy with thumb sucking, toe wiggling, (not so cute but equally amazing) making urine, and breathing amniotic fluid as the liver, kidneys, and spleen continue to develop. Lanugo (thin, downy hair) is growing all over her body for warmth.

{say "no" to suncreen?}

You learn something new every day... I just read on The Bump that the American Academy of Pediatricians {AAP} recommends not using sunscreen on babies less than 6 months old. I would have thought the exact opposite- their skin is so tender and delicate so the more, the better, right? I've got so much to learn... :P


Here's a little explanation I found on www.parenting.ivilliage.com:

There are two very important reasons for not overusing sunscreen in young babies:

1. Infants and children have what is called a high body surface to volume ratio. What this means is that proportionately babies have more skin for the size body as compared to an adult. Sunscreens are made of chemicals. On the older child and adult, the chemical exposure is relatively minimal because the body surface ratio is smaller than a baby. Therefore, babies get a higher "dose" of sunscreen than do those older. While this exposure would most likely not cause any problems, the likelihood of an adverse reaction is greater.
   
2. Babies have a mildly impaired mechanism to keep cool by sweating. In addition, they have a greater risk of becoming dehydrated due to heat. Sunscreen can somewhat impair effective cooling by perspiration, so placing too much of it on an infant could be detrimental.

If you absolutely cannot avoid the sun during the first couple months, the AAP recommends using a non-chemical sunscreen, like California Baby SPF 30+. Good to know!

{crochet baby boots}

It's official- I need to learn how to crochet, STAT! Aren't these just the cutest little baby boots you've ever seen? If we end up having a little girl, I am definitely buying this pattern. Heck, I might just buy it anyway. I mean, who has time to crochet with a newborn? I need to get started now! I could make them more boyish... {I say as Evan rolls his eyes and says "Heck no, my boy isn't going to wear Uggs!"}

{click here for the crochet pattern, $3.99 on etsy}

{belly, belly, belly!}

As promised, here are several weeks worth of belly pics. Evan and I take them each Sunday, usually right before bed... which explains be why I look so exhausted in most of them!

I weighed myself yesterday, and I actually weigh a pound LESS than I did on December 18th, which goes to show that a lot of the "belly" you see in these pics has just been lovely first trimester bloating!

December 13th @ 10 1/2 Weeks...

December 20th @ 10 1/2 Weeks...

December 27th @ 11 1/2 Weeks...

How I feel @ 11 1/2 Weeks... HUGE!

January 3rd @ 12 1/2 Weeks...

January 10th @ 13 1/2 Weeks...

{this "belly" was gone the next morning, haha!}

{my sunshine}

Just ordered this precious "You Are My Sunshine" print from The Wheatfield on Etsy. I cannot wait to get it framed and up on the wall in our little munchkin's nursery. :o)


Shop owner, Katie Daisy, has several adorable prints in her shop. Here are a couple of my faves...

{all prints are $15 for an 8 1/2x11 or $22 for 13x19}

{13 weeks!}

Your fetus is forming teeth and vocal cords... savor this, their non-functional phase. Baby is approaching normal proportions, with a head now only one third the size of the body. Intestines are in the process of moving from the umbilical cord to baby's tummy. (Much more convenient.)

How far along? 13 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: 6 lbs according to my chiropractor's scale

Maternity clothes? I need the Bella Band with some of my jeans.

Sleep: At least 3 potty breaks a night. Ugh.

Best moment this week: We started cleaning out what will become the nursery!

Movement: None yet.

Food cravings: Not really craving anything.

Gender: Not sure. Dr. Biter says boy, but the NT scan tech said girl. Hmm.

Labor Signs: Nope.

Belly Button in or out? Still in.

What I miss: The occasional Coca Cola.

What I am looking forward to: Hearing the baby's heartbeat at my doctor's appt on Monday.

Weekly Wisdom: Time flies...

Milestones: I'm finally in my second trimester. And the baby's ears are developed enough to hear us. Yay!

{mother hoot and baby owl}

These handcrafted, ecofriendly Mother Hoot and Baby Owl shelves and peck racks from Maple Shade Kids are too stinkin' cute. Baby NEEDS one of these for his/her nursery, don't you think? :o)

{orange, blue, & red owl friends peg rack, $79}

{hoot the owl shelf, $59}

{mother hoot and baby owl peg board, $69}

{Yesss, I'm using his/her now... The ultrasound tech at our NT Scan said she thinks Baby Sanchez is a girl, so now we're back to ground zero. Arg!}

{nt scan ultrasound pics}

Evan & I went in for our little baby's NT Screening this morning, which is an in-depth ultrasound to check for Down Syndrome, congenital heart defects, etc. Good news- looks like Baby Sanchez is measuring a day ahead of schedule, size-wise, and all of his other measurements indicate little chance of genetic abnormalities. Yay!

{hi little baby!}

{baby's footprint}

{baby's head- bottom right, & torso- top left, with arms down by his/her belly}