23 Weeks

It's hard to believe that tomorrow I will be 24 weeks along!

It's also hard to believe that if he were born now, he would at least have a chance of survival.  Is that totally morbid to think of?  I'm pretty sure it is, but oh well.

How far along? 23 Weeks

Total weight gain/loss: According to the doctor at our last appointment, 10 pounds gained.  
Maternity clothes? Yes.  Matt and I went and bought 2 pairs of work pants for me this weekend.  I have definitely "popped" within the last couple of weeks.  I can still wear regular skirts, but not for much longer.  I'm still wearing all regular shirts.
Stretch marks? None
Sleep: I've been sleeping pretty well.  I sometimes have a hard time falling back asleep if Matt's lamp is on (due to working late or not being in bed yet).  Here's a funny story Matt told me:

       Last week Matt asked me if I remembered yelling at him one night while I was asleep.  I was really confused because I had no recollection whatsoever.  He told me that he was reading and nicely nudged me and told me to turn and lay on my side.  Evidently I threw my hand in the air and yelled "Leave me alone!"  He sat there in wide-mouthed in shock for a minute.  He thought for sure he had woken me up and I was mad.  However, I remember nothing.  Scary! Best moment this week: We {somewhat} finished our registry at Babies R' Us.  However, we currently have like 2 monitors on there so we need to decide which kind we want (video or motion sensor).  Plus, we're still unsure of the car seat and stroller.  There are still some things we'll add and adjust and we'll continue updating our Amazon registry.  

Miss Anything? The ability to bend over and tie my shoe and pick things up.  It's not that I can't, because I can, it's just different.  I don't really know how to explain it.  
Movement: Yes. We think Matt felt him the other night, but we're not sure.  Soon though!
Food cravings: None.  When I'm hungry, I want to eat ASAP though!
Anything making you queasy or sick: Not really
Have you started to show yet: Yep!
Gender: Still a boy!
Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!
Looking forward to: Everything baby related...nothing in particular

Other:  One thing I've experienced daily (and for a long while now) is heartburn.  Tums is seriously my BFF.  I have a snack baggy of them in my drawer at work and usually have to pop one after work.  Also, I have really bad lower rib pain on my right side.  Standing for a long period of time is usually what causes it to "flare" up.  It hurts pretty bad, but definitely something I can deal with.

I am not a fan of this picture (I think I look like a witch!).  BUT, this is the shirt I made to wear on gamedays!  

So Sick

Obviously I was feeling pretty good yesterday, as evidenced by my post.

We headed off to our friend's house to watch the Carolina game.  Matt was feeling okay and I felt fine.

However, things quickly took a turn for the worse.

On the way over, I started to feel a tickle in my throat.

Throughout the night, my throat started killing me.  Coughdrops and water were NO relief.  I knew what that meant...

By the time we got home, I went straight to bed and slept terribly.  I knew I didn't need to swallow to sleep, but it was like I couldn't not swallow.  It was excruciating...like knives every time I swallowed.  I told Matt before we went to sleep that if I wasn't any better in the morning I'd be going to the doctor.  I just knew this wasn't good.

Sure enough, I still felt like crap this morning.  Eating cereal helped a little, but it was still bad.

I headed to Nason Medical around 9:00 and told them I thought I had strep.

I've had strep at least 5 times since I started teaching.  I never had it as a child which is odd because it is much more common in children.  However, I have enormous tonsils, so I think that makes me more susceptible.  I think I'm going to eventually need to get them taken out...

They did the strep swab and the tech commented on how enlarged my tonsils were.

The doctor came in and peeked and also commented on how huge they were.  I made sure to mention (even though it was on my paperwork) during his exam that I'm pregnant.

He came back and confirmed what I suspected...I have strep.

He prescribed Amoxicillin which is safe for pregnancy, but I was about in tears.  Not only was I in pain, but I felt bad that now I'm taking 30 pills for this infection, and even though it's safe, I've tried to avoid lots of things during this pregnancy.  I'm sure the lack of sleep last night didn't help.

I will definitely not be going to work tomorrow because I feel like absolute crud today.  Connor has been pretty active so that does make me feel a little better.

Matt has been very sweet and Gizmo has enjoyed lounging around all day with me.

Needless to say our Babies R' Us trip is delayed...major bummer :/

Here's to hoping tomorrow is better and the antibiotics kick in soon...

Operation Nursery Part 2

Painting is done!

I got lots of two comments on Facebook when we posted our painting pictures about me being in the nursery while we painted.

Needless to say, as soon as Matt saw those comments (and did some googling) I was officially banned from the nursery until the paint dried.

Matt worked really hard in the nursery all morning long and the nursery is officially finished painting!  I was allowed in to do a few touch ups on the trim.

It looks fabulous...he did SUCH a good job!

Proof that I was not in the room!

Touching up the ceiling

All done!

All done!

All done!

Next up on Operation Nursery:

• Move the dresser in
• Set up the crib
• Finish our registry

We'll be working on the last part of that tomorrow.  We are going to head to Babies R' Us and finish up our registry.  I started it online, but am eager to get it finalized.  

We are now 22 weeks along so here's how we're progressing...

My work outfit on Friday

How far along? 22 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: 10 pounds.  I guess I somehow gained 11 pounds in 4 weeks?!  Still not sure how accurate that is.  Instead of stepping on the usual doctor scale this time, I stood on a regular bathroom scale!
Maternity clothes? I am going to have to get some maternity pants for work.  I wore this outfit to my appointment on Monday and to work and I'm not sure how much longer I can get by with regular pants and my bellyband...

Stretch marks? Not yet, and hopefully not ever...
Sleep: Was kind of rough this week.  Even though I was sick with a cold, I still had some trouble sleeping at night.  Overall I can't really complain though 
Best moment this week: Finishing the painting in the nursery
Miss Anything? I think we all know the answer to this question...Honestly though, a fountain Coke Zero or Diet Dr. Pepper would have probably had me feeling 100% better immediately ;)
Movement: Yes. Still not all the time, so I think what I'm feeling are some hard kicks or punches. I read that he is now sleeping 12-14 hours a day, which I thought was kinda low?  I don't know.  He is still acting like a little punk and stopping all movement!
Food cravings: Not really, however I did have a scary situation yesterday.  Matt and I were picking up more paint at Lowe's and while I was sitting and waiting for the paint to finish up I started to feel bad.  I was hungry and SO tired.  After leaving Lowe's we went to pick up my car from the shop.  We were going to get dinner after that and I just knew I had to eat ASAP.  We went to Los Reyes which was right down the street so I could start eating their chips and salsa.  I was scared I might pass out!  I felt SO much better after eating...the fact that Los Reyes is my favorite restaurant didn't hurt either ;)  Oh, and Connor LOVED it because he was moving around lots last night!
Anything making you queasy or sick: Not really...evidently aside from needing to eat...
Have you started to show yet: Yes
Gender: Still a boy!

Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? In and still very deep
Wedding rings on or off? On...only a matter of time before they come off though I'm sure
Happy or Moody most of the time: Tired?  This week was rough, especially Wednesday.  I probably should have taken Wednesday off from work as well.  I literally could have fallen asleep at recess.  I have been happy though and not any more moody than usual
Looking forward to: Going to Babies R' Us tomorrow and registering!  Whoop whoop!

Personality?

Now that I have officially met little Connor move, it makes me wonder what his personality will be like.

I know it's still early, but he seems to be stubborn (like me) and shy (kind of like both of us).

Every time I feel him moving around, I'll put my hands on my belly.  Usually, he stops kicking me.  At night, he'll keep it up a few times, but always stops pretty quickly.

The real kicker (no pun intended) is that every single time I move my shirt aside to see if his kicks are visible, he totally stops.  No movement at all.

It's quite frustrating.  At this point I wonder when Matt will ever feel his son move!

I'm sure as time goes on he'll be moving much more frequently and at some point I may even wish he'd stop moving so much.  Time will tell.

In the meantime, I'm off to rest.  I left work early today (around 9) because I'm not feeling good.  I could tell yesterday I was starting to get a cold.  If I wasn't pregnant I would have toughed it out at work.  But, I figure now is as good a time as any to really take care of myself.  I napped earlier and will be going to bed early again tonight.  Last night I was asleep by 8!  I was however woken up (and Matt too) around midnight with a severe charlie horse in my right calf.  Hurt SO bad!  It took a while to fall back asleep after that, but I eventually did.

Gizmo has been the perfect companion today

I'm off to rest and hopefully catch Connor in the act of moving.  It's like he knows I'm watching him!

Introducing...

We now have a name!

He will be Connor Robert Walton.

This name was my favorite and it has really grown on Matt.

We knew his middle name would be Robert after both of our fathers.

Some of the other first names we tossed around were Grant, Justin, Daniel, & Nathan, among some others.

Today we picked up our nursery furniture (thanks to the Walton's for bringing their truck up here) and we also started painting the nursery!  Here are some pictures

Putting on the first bit of paint

All smiles!

Even Uncle Thomas helped out!

All dry...looks SO good!

All dry...looking good!

We tackled a wall and a half...looks so much better once it's all dry.

A sneak peek of his dresser.

We are very excited to finish up his nursery!

Here's our 21 week update

How far along? 21 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: I go back to the doctor tomorrow.  As of last count I was down 1 pound, but I'm sure I've put on some weight.
Maternity clothes? I am wearing maternity shorts, jeans, and capris. However, it's still pretty dang hot here so I wear skirts and dresses every day to work.
Stretch marks? Nope
Sleep: A little better, but still having a hard time.  Weekends are much better, although I haven't slept past 8:30.  
Best moment this week: Oh so many...getting our nursery furniture picked up, starting on painting the nursery, and in unrelated baby things a Carolina win!
Miss Anything? Same old same old. 
Movement: Yes.  Definitely not all the time, so I think what I'm feeling are some hard kicks or punches.  I'm definitely feeling him more frequently though.
Food cravings: None.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Certain smells...my sense of smell has gotten a lot better.
Have you started to show yet: Yes
Gender: Boy!  Connor Robert Walton
Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy.  The other night Matt said something and gave me a funny look and I started laughing then I started crying.  I couldn't help it.  That was really the first time I've felt like I've had "pregnancy emotions"
Looking forward to: Finishing painting the nursery and starting to get it set up.  Also, working on our registry.

Halfway There!

Nothing like posting my 20 week post at 20 weeks 6 days!

20 weeks:  Belly with how I normally stand

20 weeks:  Sucking in...see, some of it might just be more belly and less baby ;)

How far along? 20 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: I go back to the doctor on Monday the 8th so I'll find out then.  I'm SURE I've gained something though.
Maternity clothes? I am wearing maternity shorts, jeans, and capris.  However, it's still pretty dang hot here so I wear skirts and dresses every day to work.
Stretch marks? Nope
Sleep: Not as good.  It's like I'm paranoid I didn't set my alarm or that I won't hear it.  I have no problem falling asleep, escpecially after feeling him moving around.  
Best moment this week: Picking out and ordering our nursery furniture!
Miss Anything? Same old same old.  I made teriyaki chicken for dinner this week and I just couldn't eat it.  So sad...it's my favorite meal!
Movement: Yes!  Love feeling him squirm about.  On my way home the other day he was moving and grooving to this song.
Food cravings: None.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Uh, yeah, that teriyaki chicken.  I thought I was going to throw up.
Have you started to show yet: I would say so.  Someone commented today that I'm starting to look round from the front.  I do feel like my stomach's shape is changing.
Gender: It's a boy (with no name!)
Labor Signs: Nope
Belly Button in or out? In...I've got a really deep one so hopefully it'll take a while
Wedding rings on or off? On 
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy, but I can tell I don't have a ton of patience at work!
Looking forward to: Finishing setting up the nursery...our furniture is here!

20 Weeks, 1 Day:  Can you spot our little photo bomber ;)

20 Weeks, 2 Days:  First thing in the a.m.

We're excited about the Carolina Georgia game this weekend.  Hoping for baby and I that it's not too terribly stressful!