Belly Pics Are Here:)

Thanks to my friend, Lacey, we took some last minute pictures of "the belly".  17 weeks folks! I've already been feeling this kid kicking for about a week now, and boy is he/she active! Let's see what all is going on in there...

How your baby's growing:

Your baby's skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone, and the umbilical cord — her lifeline to the placenta — is growing stronger and thicker. Your baby weighs 5 ounces now (about as much as a turnip), and she's around 5 inches long from head to bottom. She can move her joints, and her sweat glands are starting to develop.

I'm not exactly sure how big a turnip is...not sure I've ever even seen one? Wonder if they taste any good...... Anyway, *hehe* My husband actually got to feel the baby move too, which was a surprise.  We decided not to get the ultrasound at the hospital this time since it was pretty expensive, but are going to Baby Debut instead. Probably  around week 20, so coming up! Guess I should make an appointment, huh? 

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I won...What???

So, in my last blog I wrote about how stoked I was to enter all sorts of giveaways. If I knew how lucrative this hobby was, I would have begun years ago! Granted, I've had time on my hands to actually take the time to enter several different giveaway, and the more entries, obviously the bigger chances of winning. Here's just a list of items I've won in the last two weeks. I'm not bragging, I am just still in shock and super excited!

1. Glow Crazy- glow in the dark marker set for the walls. I'm setting it aside to re-gift for one of Charlie's bdays.
2. Chalkboard Tee- A t-shirt with actual chalkboard material so a bored child can doodle on her clothing.
3. Butt Paste- Seriously the only thing that works on CR's chapped bottom.
4. Ribbon Necklace- I wish I had a picture. I set it aside as jewelry for  CR one day.
5. EIO Kids Cup- Kind of like a sippy but without the spout. Supposed to be better for teeth.
6. $25 giftcard to restaurants.com
7. Children's Book- My Name Is Not Alexander
8. Home-sewn potholders- Very pretty with a Scandinavian design.

I realize that when baby #2 comes, I won't have time for this, but for now, it's what I like to do to relax. And as I told my hubby, if we actually use all these things as gifts and such we are saving money:)

My Growing Belly

16 weeks and kicking! Seriously, I can feel him already. Well, I guess you could call it more like "tapping" as they're not hard enough to feel like actual kicks yet. Not mush for craving or food aversions. Still have most of my energy. The only thing that makes me feel kind of queasy isn't even pregnancy related! Last week I discovered a lump under my arm that quickly grew, and another one popped up next to it. My husband told me to get it checked out, and apparently I have swollen lymph nodes due to some sort of infection. So the doc put me on an antibiotics, and I've been nauseated ever since. Well, it's only for a few hours a day, but still! Just when I was feeling better! Oh well.

How your baby's growing:

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.

And CR just woke up from her nap, so I will write more next week!

I am Obsessed with Giveaways!

I have recently discovered several bloggers who review products, and then hold a giveaway for previously said reviewed product. Among several products I've entered to win, there is a nursing cover, cloth diaper, baby shoes, etc. You can gain extra points by "liking" their pages on facebook, becoming a follower on twitter or blogger, and also if I blog about that giveaway! So for future reference, I may be randomly blogging about different giveaways, which will also let you know about things you can also enter to receive! I have to admit, after entering several today, I am addicted. Who doesn't love the possibility of winning free products, especially for your kids? I think I first got hooked when we received a coupon a couple days ago for a free single box of Cheerios that Corey and I had entered for a few months back.

My Growing Belly

Finally the second trimester has arrived! 14 weeks, and we had another appointment with Deana to make sure everything is right on track. Which it is. Baby's heartbeat was in the 160's, which is perfect, and he/she seems to be growing just fine! Call me crazy, but every appt. I have this secret wish that all of a sudden we will hear TWO  heartbeats. I'm kind of going through a twin craze faze, and can't seem to get past it! After dealing with one newborn, I think I could handle two, but like I said- call me crazy. Anyway, it probably won't happen.

How your baby's growing:

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.

   Babycenter.com

This isn't our ultrasound, but this is how developed our baby is at only 14 weeks!

My Daughter

CR is still in the clingy stage, but I'm just thankful that she still likes to cuddle. She has recently discovered that if she comes up to me and takes me by the hand, she can lead me around the apartment and show me things. At one point she was leading me into her room to show me her beloved box of shoes, and she looked up at me with the biggest grin on her face. She talks a heck of a lot of gibberish, but the only real word she knows is "Dada". And perhaps "Baby, which may or may not actually mean baby. She does eat some grown up food now (she loves eggs and toast), but still refuses to eat "real" vegetables. Hey, as long as she's still content eating the pureed baby veggies, I'm ok with that. I'm also seriously considering cloth diapering her. It's kind of scared me before, but she just gets so many diaper rashes lately- even though I change her diapers every two hours at least. It also helps that the cloth diaper giveaway I signed up for looks like a superb cloth diaper that so far everybody raves about, and they are cheaper than the normal cloth diaper. 

Here's the address for this giveaway if anyone is interested!

http://tnsfamilyvalues.blogspot.com/2011/03/gogreen-pocket-diaper-review-and.html