Happy Easter Weekend! (23 Weeks)

Happy Easter Weekend!!! 

I looooove Easter time.  Besides getting to appreciate Jesus' sacrifice and celebrating his resurrection (which is the real reason behind Easter), it's usually the first signs that spring and summer are on their way!  The pastels and springy colors of Easter get me so excited that the dreaded winter is leaving and warm weather is coming.  Plus, it's another reason to be festive and get together with family.  Holidays are the best!

At 23 weeks and 5 days, our little girl weighs as much as a grapefruit!  From head to toe, she is about 11 inches long.  Her nipples are forming, and her face is fully developed! Also, she is listening to our voices and daily activities.  It's so exciting knowing that when she's born, she will be able to recognize my voice!  

So far, these past few weeks have been relatively easy as far as pregnancy goes.  No swelling of the ankles, no back aches, no head aches, or morning sickness.  The only symptoms I have are fatigue and a growing belly!  Occasionally, I will feel round ligament pain as my abs are being stretched, but it will all be worth it.  

The armoire is almost finished.  It just needs one more final coat and poly afterwards.  It has taken a lot of paint to cover it, due to being mahogany, but already it looks great!  I will post pictures when I am done.  Also, my mom bought me a sewing machine at an estate sale the other day, so I will start working on my crib bedding soon.  Just need to order the fabrics!

Here is my 23 week bump!

Symptoms:  Some round ligament pain and general tiredness

Weight Gain:  12 lbs?

Cravings:  Green apples and anything I see on cooking shows

Stretch Marks/ Belly Button Pop?:  No stretch marks yet! Belly Button still an innie, but less than before.

Exciting Happenings:  Spring is here and baby is getting bigger!

22 Weeks!

Happy Weekend, Everybody!  

This week has been very busy for nursery planning.  I went to several fabric stores and browsed hundreds of online sites trying to get ideas for our little one's nursery.  I have the colors decided, and I know what I want the fabrics to look like.  I just have to find them now!  Also, we bought paint this weekend at Home Depot to redo an old armoire that used to be in my old bedroom.  It's a huge mahogany armoire that is going to be painted white to match the rest of the furniture in the nursery.  I can't wait to see how it looks when we are finished.  

At 22 weeks, our little girl is the size of a papaya!  She is about 11 inches long, and weighs about a pound! She has started sleeping in cycles now, and is definitely most active right before I go to bed each night.  I look forward to her goodnight kicks each evening.  

I felt pretty good this week, and my workouts weren't as draining as they normally are.  I got a few nice runs jogs in as well as some good swol' sessions in :) I definitely try to take advantage of my workouts when I am feeling good.  

Here is my 22 week bump picture!

Symptoms:  Not too may this week.  Just feeling a lot of kicks :)

Cravings:  After watching an episode of How I Met Your Mother featuring the best burger in New York, I have an intense craving for a good burger… still trying to decide where I want to satisfy this craving.  Any suggestions?  Still craving a lot of fruit as well.

Weight Gain: Almost 11 lbs. 

Stretch Marks?: Still none

Belly Button:  Still in

Exciting Happenings:  Nursery progress, feeling more kicks, and a bigger rounder bump!

21 Weeks

Thank you to all who had such kind feedback on our gender reveal video.  We are glad you liked it!  And we couldn't be happier to share the news about our little nugget.  

I am officially 21 weeks! Past the halfway mark!  Kinda scary if I really start thinking about it.  There's so much to do before the baby gets here, it's beginning to seem overwhelming.  I just need to make a giant To Do list.  On a more exciting note, Andy felt our little girl kick him for the very first time.  According to our ultrasound, she is laying transversely.  Where he felt her kick was more where her head is, so maybe she was giving him a high five :)  I love bedtime because that is when she is the most active!  I haven't felt her get the hiccups yet, but I think I just might melt a little when that day comes.  

At 21 weeks, our little girl is about the size of a pomegranate!  She is 10 1/2 inches from head to toe, and weighs over 12 ounces.  This week, her digestive system is starting to work as it preps for the outside world.  And, she already has all of her eggs in her womb - about 6 million! 

I feel like my bump gets bigger every day!  I imagine the random stranger touching my belly is just around the corner.  For those of you who know me, you can definitely tell I am pregnant.  However, for strangers I think it is harder to tell.  I think they just think I am chunky.... or have a beer belly.  There was a new nurse at my doctor's visit on Monday and she asked if I was 8 weeks pregnant.  8 weeks!?  Most people aren't even showing at 8 weeks.  I think my pregnancy hormones made me feel a little more offended than I should.  Oh well, at least I'm not being asked if I am having twins or triplets. Alas, here is the 21 week bump pic:

Symptoms:  Got light headed and dizzy this week for the first time in my whole pregnancy.  I think I drank too much water that morning and not enough food before I went to work.  I told my doctor, and he said it was probably just low blood sugar and to call him if it kept happening.  Also, I had an evening of morning sickness again this past week.  No big deal, just odd after having no morning sickness for almost a month.  Other symptoms include increased RHR and respiratory rate, and a lot slower mile splits on my runs.  /cry

Weight Gain:  Almost 10 lbs!  I don't worry about being able to lose the weight after the baby, but I do hope my skin isn't saggy around my midsection.  That thought haunts me.

Cravings:  pineapple, raspberries, blackberries, dark chocolate (although I've been resisting), and pasta salad.  I am already looking forward to this weekend.  The hubby and I are going to break out the new weber kettle tonight and grill and make asparagus and pasta salad!  Seriously can't wait... I've been looking forward to it allllll week.

Gender:  GIRL!!!!!

Stretch Marks?:  None yet, but my belly button is starting to look funny.  Still a very deep innie, but just weird.

Exciting happenings:  Andy getting to feel the baby kick

Baby Ingrassia's Gender Reveal!

It's the post you've all been waiting for!  Baby Ingrassia's gender reveal!

We are so excited to share the news with everyone!

We hope you enjoy our video :)

Love, 

Future Mommy and Daddy

(PS. if the video below does not play, follow this link to view it on Youtube.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAcv2oid4Hg

20 weeks! And my lovely baby bump

I am officially 20 weeks! That means I am halfway through my pregnancy!  Our little nugget is half-baked and is already the size of a cantelope/banana.  I really feel like my baby bump has begun to make an appearance this past week.  Sometimes I wake up at night and my round ligaments feel like they are being stretched to their limits.  It feels like someone has their fist inside my belly and is kneading on my stomach muscles.  Slightly uncomfortable, but at least I know the baby is moving and getting bigger! Grow baby, grow! 

This was such a special week for us because we had our mid-pregnancy ultrasound and got to reveal the gender to our families.  After not seeing the baby for a couple months, it was so refreshing! Our ultrasound tech was great.  She was so quick and thorough and explained everything as she was doing it.  We got to watch her take measurements and pictures of the baby for about 30-35 minutes!  At one point, baby even waved at us.  It made my heart so happy.  Baby was very cooperative and super active throughout the whole photo shoot.  Afterwards, the tech went to enter all of the measurements and the doctor on duty came in to tell us that everything looked great.  Fluid levels were normal, and baby's growth was normal.  I was so relieved to hear those words.  I am looking forward to my 20 week appt on Monday to talk to my doctor more in depth.

Before the ultrasound tech began, we told her that we didn't want to find out the gender while we were at the hospital.  Instead, we had her print out an ultrasound picture revealing the gender to us and sealed it in an envelope.  After our appointment, we drove to New Town where we got married.  Our plan was to stop and grab a tasty treat to celebrate with, but we were just short on time because we had a lot to do before our families came over that evening.  So we went straight to the spot where we said our vows and opened the envelope.  Such a surreal moment.  I am still in shock and can't wrap my head around it.  Stay tuned later this week for our gender reveal.  I am so excited to share the news with everyone!

Here is my 20 week bump picture!

Symptoms:  Round ligament pain and increased RHR

Weight Gain: 8 1/2 lbs

Cravings: green apples, baked potatoes, pizza 

Gender: Stay tuned!

Exciting happenings: Ultrasound went well and upcoming 20 week appt

Maternity Clothes: Stifling the urge to buy some cute tops until warmer weather. I wear a lot of leggings, my one pair of maternity jeans, and use the rubberband/Bella Band technique on 2 pairs of my old jeans. I can still button 2 pairs of my old jeans, although they are feeling a little snug.

19 weeks and almost halfway there!

We are 19 weeks! Our little nugget is the size of a mango!!!  Baby is about 6 inches long now from crown to rump :) even longer if you count the legs!  This week, our little nugget is working on developing the nerve cells for their 5 senses.  Also this week, we will be able to see our baby via ultrasound again!  The tech will check all of the growing baby's anatomy, so we will be able to find out the gender of our little one as well.  So excited!  I can't wait to start turning my nursery ideas into progress.

What's your vote?
BOY?
OR
GIRL?

Saturday, I ran in the Sandmine Challenge in Crystal City, MO.  It's a 3-4 mile obstacle course inside an old mine!  It's really neat inside.  It looks like a huge cave.  I even got to wear an awesome headlamp because parts of the mine were so dark.  The obstacles were a joke, even for a 4 1/2 month preggo, but running through the sand was quite the task.  We ended up doing 2 laps of the race, which made the trek to Crystal City more worth it.  I successfully kept my competitiveness under control, and took it easy.  It was really frustrating to not push myself to try to catch everyone in front of me though.  I was proud of myself though and had a great time.  I would definitely like to do this race again next year when I can try to race it a little more competitively.  Here is a post race picture and my 19 week baby bump!

  

Symptoms:  Working out is becoming harder, but such a relief. Me and baby feel much better after we get our sweat on!

Weight Gain: 7 1/2 lbs!!! omg

Cravings:  Pizza and baked potatoes.  I NEVER used to like baked potatoes until this week.  Also, I've had to cut back on eating my green apples, oranges, nectarines and grapefruit because my tongue started getting sore like when you eat too much pineapple.  Too much acid I guess :(

Exciting Happenings: Successfully ran 2 laps of the Sandmine Challenge and my upcoming mid-pregnancy ultrasound!

Today is the Day!

Hurray!!! Hurray!!! Today is the day!!!

Now, obviously it's not D-Day, since we still have quite a way to go before then.  Neither is it the day of my mid-pregnancy ultrasound where we find out the gender of our little nugget.  What makes today so special, you ask?

Welllllll --- Today is the day my husband returns from Camp Shelby, Mississippi!!!!  He left the day after New Years for EMT training through the Army National Guard, and today he finally comes home.  Obviously, for safety reasons, I did not want to make it public knowledge that I was going to be alone for over 8 weeks.  But now that he's coming home today, I can shout it from the rooftops!!!  60 days.  That is how long me, baby, and Apollo (our great dane and lab mix) have been alone.  In the 7 years we have been together, he has had to go on several extended training sessions lasting between 8 and 12 weeks.  But this was the first time since we've been married. . . . not to mention pregnant for the very first time.  The days were long, and the nights were even longer that we have spent apart, but now we are finally going to be reunited.

I am making a special gluten free dinner for us tomorrow night to celebrate his graduation!  His mom's gluten-free baked chicken parmesan, gf stuffed artichokes, roasted asparagus, and maybe even some gf gooey mac and cheese.  No holding back!  Look out baby, lots of yummy food incoming!  I can't wait.  Cooking for one person for 8 weeks has not been fun.  In fact, it was kind of depressing.  Poor Andy, his main diet while he was gone has consisted of fried food or rubbery meats due to the wonderful selection in the cafeteria.  No wonder Mississippi is ranked number one in the country for having the highest percent of obese people!  Needless to say, he is looking forward to vegetables and healthier food options, and I can't wait to oblige him.

Poor guy, I have a whole list of "to-do's" for us to do when he comes home.  But most of them are exciting!  We have our anatomy ultrasound, gender reveal dinner with our family, nursery painting, and gift registry to complete!  Plus, catch up on some much missed familypod bonding time :) Stay tuned for my 19 week post... I'm a little behind this week. Until then, Happy March!