17 & 18 Weeks

17 WEEKS

Size: Pomegranate {5.1" long}

Gender: Getting antsy about finding out! I'm still thinking it's a girl, but I keep having dreams about babies that are boys.  We'll find out next month!

Baby Names?: We haven't talked about any names recently. I'm sure once we find out the gender we'll be a little more on top of that.

Cravings: Triscuits, Thai food

Aversions: Guacamole, Salsa, leftovers, and Pepper.

Symptoms: I have the worst back pain I've ever experienced.  It's been difficult for me to sleep with it and I have to walk around a lot in order to not think about it.  I've also come to realize that I have to walk around right after I eat a meal or else I get sick.  Unfortunately, I learned that the hard way.
{And a thing called "stretch marks" have appeared. And that's as much detail as I will go into about those lovely things.}

Maternity Clothes: I've been wearing a few maternity shirts here and there, and I've been wearing leggings a lot because I need to go buy a new pair of jeans.

Wedding Ring On or Off?: Still on :)

Best Moment of the Week: There are several:
- Feeling Peanut move & kick for the first time.  It was such an incredible experience! I can only feel movement if I'm laying on my back really still.  I don't feel movement often because I'm hardly ever just lying down trying to feel Peanut kick.
- Christmas! We had an incredible Christmas here in Utah.  We spent a lot of time with family around this time and we got to spend time with my side of the family, which unfortunately is more of a rare occassion than a common one.  BUT we had a wonderful time and we were spoiled this year! Even though it was a great Christmas, I don't know whether I can spend Christmas away from my family again.  It was really hard being away from them.

Worst Moment of the Week: Getting sick on Christmas Eve.  That was no fun at all.

Looking Forward To: The New Year! Once it's 2015, our baby will be born "THIS YEAR!" I can't wait to get more involved in planning for Peanut.  I've held back a lot {thanks to Kurt} on buying things for the baby.  We didn't give, receive, or ask for anything baby related for Christmas because we still don't know the gender and we don't need anything right now for the baby.  Once I'm halfway through my pregnancy, I think I may cave and start buying things, much to the dismay of Kurt.

Nausea/Sickness: I've been throwing up lately, and it's really not an enjoyable experience {obviously}.  I love the moments when I'm feeling great, but I can tell if I'm going to throw up sometime that day- I just get this weird feeling that I will & it always happens.

Sleep: Sleep comes and goes. Some nights are good, some are bad, some are inbetween. Overall, I'm getting the sleep I need so I can't complain too much.


18 WEEKS

Size: Bell Pepper {5.6" long}

Gender: Still don't know but I've been thinking boy lately.  I've gone so long thinking Peanut is a girl that it's weird thinking about having a boy.  Either way I will be so excited to find out!

Baby Names?: Kurt & I haven't talked too much about names in the last couple of weeks.  I think we're taking a pause until we find out the gender.

Cravings: Cafe Rio, chocolate; The past couple weeks I haven't been able to eat Guacamole, but I can if it's from Cafe Rio.

Aversions: Guacamole {other than Cafe Rio's}, Pepper, Broccoli & Cheese

Symptoms: Terrible back pain, nausea when I'm dehydrated or hungry, and super dry skin.  My face peels like crazy.  Also, my hair is not nice and thick- I shed like crazy! Heartburn has come back but I'm doing my best to try to get rid of it naturally because I find myself swallowing so many different pills throughout the day that I'm trying to reduce the amount of chemicals I put in my body.

Maternity Clothes: Maternity tops and belly bands for my jeans right now.  I need to go buy maternity jeans and leggings because normal jeans and leggings are getting too tight and irritate my bump.

Wedding Ring On or Off?: On, which makes me happy. Hopefully my fingers don't swell too much over the second half of my pregnancy- even though it's pretty much a guarantee they will. They've swelled a bit, but not to the point where I can't put on/take off my ring.

Best Moment of the Week: New Years! Kurt and I are pretty lame and just stayed home and went to bed at 9:30pm.  But we woke up very refreshed and had a great start to 2015.  The first day of the year did consist of lots of football, which Kurt loved :)
Also, I went to the gym and it felt great! Kurt and I are working on getting me to the gym more than once a week.

Worst Moment of the Week: Honestly, I didn't really have one! The only thing I can really complain about is my seriously annoying back pain.

Looking Forward To: Finding out the gender! We are only a few weeks away & I am so excited! We are finding out a lot later in my pregnancy than I thought we would {I'll be just over 20 weeks}.  I get antsy when I see people announcing the gender of their little babies {especially when they have a later due date} but it'll be just fine.  Like I've mentioned before, I don't think we will announce the gender unless I just get WAY too excited and can't keep it a secret.  I am going to do my best to keep it as much of a secret as possible for as long as I can.  Who knows...maybe I'll hold out long enough & have Peanut before I even announce the gender!

Nausea/Sickness: Just when I don't eat enough or drink enough.  Or if I stay up too late.

Sleep: Depends. Some nights are really good {like the ones where I get 11 hours of sleep} and other nights are difficult.  The nice thing is that sleep reduces my back pain.  Maybe I just need to sleep all day.

So far, the 2nd trimester has been my favorite.  Even though I have bad back pain, I'm not as sick and I'm able to be so much more productive during the day.  I have been working on a nursery theme for Peanut's room, and I think I've finally decided on one! I can't wait to start decorating.  Now, we do rent an aparment so there will be no painting involved {thank goodness}, but I have found so many cute things to add to Peanut's room.  I'm getting so excited to make our apartment ready for a baby.  I know, I know...it's pretty early to be doing that but I just can't help it.

Hope you all have a wonderful first week of 2015!