20 Weeks!! We're half way there!!!

Well, ladies and gentleman, we've reached yet another milestone. We're half-way there to meeting our daughter!! HALF WAY! This first half has gone really fast and while I'd like to say I'm peppy and doing all sorts of things, I'm feeling very much the opposite tonight. I'm just plum tired and I think the end of the school year is catching up with me. Tomorrow is my last day seeing school-aged kiddos but I've still got birth-3 as I kept that caseload all summer. It's not like we have a reason for a little extra cash flow and a reason for me to go places besides the mall...:) Here's the belly this week - which Adam has informed unprompted is "going straight out." He's the best husband I could ever ask for. :)
Our little girl has been much more active this week and I feel her regularly now. I still haven't felt her on the outside as well as we did last Saturday night due to her "stinkerness" of holding still as soon as I touch my belly, but we're getting close again.

Here are the really good pictures...of our little girl!! Enjoy! The first one is the front of her face. This one is almost always not the most pleasant and makes her look a little scary...but she's our little scary one and I don't care! :)


Next is her tiny little arms...and her little bitty fingers! We can't WAIT for that little hand to grab our fingers...
And the next two are her profile pictures. The first one turned out better than the second one but since they are our daughter and are amazing, I'm putting them both on. :) Enjoy!! And check our all four chambers in her heart! And her amazingly cute little nose!

Oh and I suppose I could inform you of our stats this week...

Baby:
measuring somewhere around 11oz. (judging by the u/s and typical weight at this point)
10" long from head to heel (they start measuring this way from now on since her legs are not so tucked to her torso)
beautiful as all get out. Trust me. :)

Me:
Ugh, this is a harder post...total weight gain is ~14lbs already. I took a big jump these past two weeks, but especially this past week. I blame the baby. :) Of course!
Feeling kicks regularly - as in a very active baby in the morning, tapers off for a few hours over lunch, and then kicks more on the way home. Then a bit at night before bed. I think she was up at 5am this morning, but it could have been those darn birds making a ruckus outside too...

98%

So I would now consider myself about 98% wrapped around the fact that we're going to be the proud parents of a little girl in exactly 4 months and 18 days. I've been saying her/she easily and have even tried out what I'm pretty sure might be her name with great success. She's still being a little stinker especially today now that we've stopped calling her "he" from when I was convinced she was a boy (sorry baby if you're reading this years from now). I still have some ruling out to do for names but I think we MIGHT be set. And no, sorry friends and (persistent) family - we're not telling until she gets here. :) You'll have to pay for a year or two of college in cash to receive that top secret info. It's a realistic option, if you think about it. (wink wink)

Tonight we decided to get off our bums and take the dogs for a much needed walk since the scale was a "little" high yesterday...it had only been about 3 weeks since my last appointment and I gained *gasp* 5 lbs. FIVE POUNDS!! I chalk at LEAST 1/2 lb. up to water that was still in my system from prepping for the ultrasound that hadn't been peed out at that point. The nurse said to believe what I needed to...in a nice way. I finally felt a little more connected to her yesterday as she made a few jokes and seemed more at ease with us. Baby's heart rate measured at 150bpm during the ultrasound and then 146bpm during the visit with Dr. Coleman right afterward. Her heartbeat doesn't really follow the "boys are low, girls are high" philosophy...as she hasn't all along with several symptoms and my carrying her low.

Other things from yesterday...wow...I just got too tired to do anything but stare off into space. More tomorrow...Adam wants the computer for his newfound love, Facebook. I told him it was great. :)

Post-Ultrasound Post

To say I'm shocked would be one of the most understated things I have ever said. I think I'm more surprised about the gender of our baby than I was when Adam proposed. Can you believe it's a...........................................................

GIRL!??!

It's a girl!! We're having a little girl!! This will be grandchild and granddaughter #3 on one side and grandchild/granddaughter #1 on the other side!! I am still trying to wrap my head around the fact that I was SO wrong as I was thoroughly convinced I was having a boy. There is no question, by the way. There were three distinct "lines" on the picture that definitely means girl. I had to sign a waver that stated I understood that the tech wasn't 100% sure, but as soon as she found our little girl's "parts" she ran for the consent form and I said, "It's a girl, isn't it?" to which she said quick sign this...and then said yes. :) I had told her we were sort of hoping for/expecting a boy so she said sorry...but we said no!! Not sorry! So happy for a healthy baby girl!! I think I was more upset that I was wrong and had such strong instincts/feelings that I had a boy in there. But now we can say SHE is kicking me or SHE is sleeping or SHE is going to be the cutest little thing we've ever laid eyes on. :) Some other bonuses - SHE has 2 slightly older girl cousins who have lots of cute girl things to use...SHE will get to wear all sorts of adorable things...SHE is going to be amazing!! Her stats include that she is 12oz give or take 2oz and she was measuring right on her due date of October 15th. More info on Thursday when we are 20 weeks along in this adventure...

I would post u/s pictures but Adam is currently "in class" in our office until 9pm. The class he's currently taking is awesome and he can watch the lecture online from home. If only they could all be that way...so most likely tomorrow I'll post the u/s pictures. We've got two great profile pictures and her arms...and one more I can't remember at the moment.

We're so blessed that everything looked good and we were able to find out about who our little peanut girl is. I can guarantee you Adam will be praying for a left-handed softball player. :) Maybe she'll be in track like her mom...nah, she can do softball. :)

Pre-ultrasound Post

OMG. In less than an hour we will know (hopefully) if we will be having a son or a daughter. OMG. OMG. OMG. More excited than you know!! Not sure what to do with myself as I left work a little early to stop at home, guzzle water (I guess Musc's a little old-fashioned there? I've heard it both ways on the water/full bladder idea), and meet Adam at the hospital. And if it's a boy, I think I'm in love with our name we've chosen...either of them. :) I also think it's a boy. There, I said it (although I think I have said that already)...Baby sure is kicking so hopefully s/he keeps this up so we can get a good shot! Wish us luck!! Will post more later when we know!! I'm having a baby!!! Ah woo hoo!!

A MOST Amazing Night

So this past weekend we went to WI for my friend, Steph's, bachelorette party and some long overdue time in Sturgeon Bay visiting Adam's brother, Tommy, at his apartment. Friday's ride home was long for some reason but uneventful so that is always a good thing.

Saturday, Adam, his parents, and I went golfing at a local course (Fox Hills) for 9 holes of...terrible golf!! Adam and I played rather poorly while his mom and dad seemed only able to hit the ball far and straight. Hmmm...at least someone did well! We went for pizza afterwards and went back to Adam's parents' house. We quick packed up his parents, Adam, and the dogs and I sent them up to Sturgeon Bay to visit Tommy and go for another round of golf in the afternoon. I showered and left for Green Bay as it was Steph's bachelorette party that evening...being the MOH, I had to be up there early for some fun pre-party time...during which we got some of the best cheesecake ever for later that night. We then headed out to Fratello's in Green Bay which was a GREAT time as a friend from college who Steph and I haven't seen in some time was there so we had the best time catching up. We went out a bit (I really lucked out as the bar we went to was not smokey at all) before heading back to her new house for cheesecake and wine (water for me...I was thirrrrsty!) before I accidentally passed out on the couch...I woke up to Steph saying my name and realizing that everyone was gone...oops. I fully blame Baby Schmidt. :)

I then headed up to Sturgeon Bay first thing Sunday morning where we all went out for breakfast before visiting Adam's aunt & uncle at their cottage before Tommy's baseball game. At which 95% of the infield was grass...odd. They do things differently in Door County I guess. :) After we picked up the dogs and headed back to Adam's parents' house to relax and rest the rest of the evening. To say we were all tired was an understatement. So there we were, relaxing, watching TV, and it happened. Adam's mother was telling us about the finale of a rather gory show (I forgot the name...) when I felt it - I had been resting my hand on my belly in anticipation for the long-awaited "outside" kick that we would be able to feel with our hands!!! It was on my right side and I felt like my ring finger (that s/he kicked) went flying off my tummy!! I didn't hear a word Sherri said after that and quick grabbed Adam's hand and said feel it! Low and behold our cooperative baby repeated the same strong kick right into his hand...it was amazing. I've never felt it on the outside to this point and was so excited I cried a little....what a truly amazing thing. Adam's been waiting so patiently for this and while he'd rather have had it happen in private so we could have that moment together, it was still the best night ever (well, one of many I suppose). S/He has been kicking here and there and I felt him/her again this morning and now s/he's kicking my computer that's sitting on my lap. Or maybe it's b/c I'm wearing shorts that are a bit too small in the waist now...either way it's really neat to feel him/her on the outside.

Tomorrow is another BIG day in the Schmidt Baby saga. Pending cooperation (which may vary since this baby has Adam's DNA) :) we will find out who's in there tomorrow...we have the gender ultrasound!! Pray for me at 3pm when I start drinking water (and then chugging the main amount when I get to the hospital in case they are running behind) and hope that I don't pee my pants. At 4pm, we go in! We'll post the results tomorrow evening after we tell immediate family who will then spread the word to everyone otherwise we'd be making 100 phone calls in a few hours. Wish us luck!! More tomorrow!! (PS. I secretly think it's a boy...in fact, I'm rather convinced...).

Addendum to yesterday

I forgot to update the baby's size!! (according to babycenter.com)

Baby:
Length: 6" from crown to rump (next week will be a huge jump b/c they include leg length)
Weight: 8.5oz.
Size: roughly the size of an heirloom tomato (which I won't be able to eat this week). Heirloom tomatoes are a rather huge variety.

Me: I think we can officially say weight gain is somewhere b/c 10-11lbs...leaning towards 11...that was a big jump since last week but I blame it on the 10 cookies I ate at a work seminar Thursday afternoon...woops.

19 Weeks - Almost Half Way...

Today officially marks my 19th week of pregnancy/baby #1. I really couldn't feel much better. S/He is starting to have stronger kicks/punches which I hope means that sooner rather than later Adam will be able to feel the baby kick from the outside. He's dying to do that and I'm dying to have him feel the baby. I think it will make it just that much more real to him when he's able to feel that little stinker in there like I can. Well, sort of like I can... :) Speaking of stinkers, s/he must know I was writing that b/c after a quiet few hours, I just took another kick to the gut. :) Just a little one.

I'm feeling really good and there's not much to post about. I tried the flashlight trick tonight in an effort to wake the little peanut up so maybe Adam could try to feel him/her but after kicking/punching me all day (boring car ride to Des Moines, 3 hours, long conference during the day, 3 hour car ride back = bouncy, moving baby!). But the flashlight trick didn't work. For those of you who are wondering what I'm talking about, the baby now (and has been able to do this for a while) will flinch/move away from a bright light (ie. flashlight on tummy) at this point. Apparently, s/he was either too tired or doesn't really mind the light. Adam will have to wait.

As for the rest of the family, things are also going well. Jessie has continued her quest to be a GREAT dog and now doesn't leave the yard for anything. Not even our friends' dogs, Andy & Sadie, who are really tempting to play with. She even likes to just relax and hang out with Maddie after she FINALLY gets all her energy out after running all over the place for a few hours. Now all we have to do is get her to stop barking at familiar anything/people/dogs, peeing upon being greeted by new people, and hunting stuff. We're really pleased though and the AMAZING weather doesn't hurt either. It's been in the low/mid 80s here this week and I LOVE it.
We're heading up to WI this weekend to visit Adam's brother, Tommy's, apartment in Sturgeon Bay. Saturday night I will be attending my bff, Steph's, bachelorette shin dig which will be loads of fun! Speaking of her wedding, I just tried on my dress (that I bought 2 sizes too big) and it almost fits in the tummy...hopefully they will be able to let it out and the baby will hang out in terms of size until July. Then we'll be all good. :) Now, to find the right seamstress in Muscatine...

Old symptom returns. Boo.

So after an amazing lunch today which included a giant homemade chicken salad sandwich, I've had more air in my tummy this afternoon/evening than I have since the dreaded first trimester bloat we all love and know from the pictures from about weeks 11-14...great. I'm hoping it was just a fluke or perhaps the chicken salad (which did NOT do this to me Sunday night when I made it) because I do not miss this symptom. Adam told me to take care of it while he is gone at his softball game this evening. I told him I'd try to wait until he gets home like a good wife would/should. :) I'm that wife. Definitely.

Baby is still moving and shaking. At least s/he was nice enough to just kick/punch today instead of rolling around making my uterus/stomach feel so strange. I greatly appreciate it, Baby. :)

Other than that, I'm pleased that each passing day gets me that much closer to summer vacation!! How did I ever live without it? (And I haven't even had it yet)... :)

Holy Movement!

Let me preface by catching up since Saturday...Saturday was Adam's last class of his month of weekend MBA classes. I decided to "celebrate" the day by ceasing the severe neglect of the floors and just do an overall clean of the house. It wasn't too bad (save the floors) to begin with, but it took me the morning and an hour or so in the afternoon...and this didn't include the floors. Adam got home about an hour early so we spent some time outside while the girls/dogs ran all over the place getting their energy out. We then met friends in the QCs at Olive Garden since the baby heard a commercial on TV earlier that morning/day and thought it was a good idea. It was the best idea. We got home and did a few more things around the house which included Adam working on the landscaping rehab out by the front of the driveway and me vacuuming the floors before super-mopping! It felt sooooo good to get the floors that clean (yes, it's been a while...I'm not a chronic mopper) so we went to get ice cream at Culver's per Adam's suggestion. Just one good thing after another, I tell ya. :)

Sunday morning we got up and went to church. LONG church. It was a good message and all, but we must have been there for an hour & 20 minutes at least (Adam will add an hour to that total). Then came breakfast at our favorite mom & pop place in town before heading to Menards for rock to fill in the open spots in Adam's landscaping project. I ran to get groceries, cards, and other things before we went to Adam's softball game (that lasted 2 innings b/c they won by so much). Adam then needed to stop and get 10 more bags of rock on our way home. Who'd of thought it would take 20 bags of rock to even out an area that looked like it really didn't need that much? Needless to say, the project is finished and looks amazing. I am no longer embarrassed when people enter our driveway. We then hung out the rest of the night and relaxed after Adam changed the oil in the lawnmower...a daunting first-time task since the filter was all but super-glued onto the engine in a peculiar place.

As for the baby...MOVING!! I've been feeling kicks/punches lightly here and there for some time now. But since the weekend, it's a SURE bet that I'll feel him/her every day and likely several times a day. Yesterday (Sunday), s/he really started doing somersaults (which I had felt very sporadically up until that point) which actually feels really weird and sometimes makes me want to be sick. Not sick really, but it's this odd feeling in the pit of my stomach that makes me feel like my stomach is about to drop out from under me or something - and that's not even an accurate description. Let's just say it's really weird, but at the same time I like it b/c it means s/he's moving around, growing, and being healthy (hopefully). As for the punches and kicks, they happen more often later at night when I'm relaxing on the couch (normal at this stage of the game to feel them only when I'm still/sitting/quiet) or sitting at my desk at work. I notice the baby rolling easily no matter what activity I'm doing be it walking, sitting, riding in a bumpy husband's truck whereas the kicks/punches are lighter and only noticeable when I'm relatively still. However, I've noticed that the punches and kicks are getting stronger and I really don't question if I'm feeling the baby or air bubbles any more. I definitely know the difference.

Only 8 more days until our 4th and perhaps second-biggest DAY of this whole adventure so far. Pending cooperation (which might not happen since he has half of Adam's DNA...jk), we find out who's swimming in my belly! Adam informed me yesterday that I have a baseball player in my belly no matter what s/he thinks or likes. I told him not to be THAT dad, to which he smiled and just said, "baseball player." I laughed and said he's asking for an artist. :) Most of you know we're a rather sports-oriented family.

Today was also an expensive day in the Schmidt household. We had our new water heater installed ($175 - reasonable but money spent just the same) and the Murano went in for its 100K mile tune up that was 8K miles overdue. That also ended up being hundreds less than we had anticipated so while we spent a lot of money today, it was almost half of what I had expected. YAY!!! More money for baby!!

Well, the dogs are BEGGING me to go outside and even though Jessie is pretty good at being outside and staying in her e-fence on her own for short periods of time, I'd like to let them both run for a bit longer with me out there. The countdown to Gender Day continues! :)

Rainy Friday

It's been raining here ALL DAY today. I woke up at 4am (go figure, another trip to the bathroom) and it was pouring. Woke up again just before 6am, still pouring. So it rained and poured all day and ended up making me (and baby) pretty sleepy. It took all I had in me to go back to work after lunch with Adam and friends. I'd have much preferred to take baby home and take a big, long nap in a darkened bedroom with the TV on super-quietly. But since I get paid the big bucks (ah ha ha ha!) I thought I'd head back to work to help my family on the financial end. It turns out I got more done than I had anticipated and stayed longer than I thought I might...I only used a 1/2 hour of comp time. Not bad for a sleepy, rainy Friday at the end of the school year. :)

Adam informed me at lunch that I should go with him to a conference in St. Louis from May 31-June 2nd. I didn't realize he was kidding but when I said hey, I could probably swing that at work since I'm not seeing kids any more by then, we'd just need to call the kennel for the dogs and head out the door! So we'll talk about it more this weekend but we might be heading to St. Louis (which I've wanted to explore since coming to IA since there are lots of commercials about why we should go visit) at the end of May! Adam told me I'd be stuck in the hotel while he's "working" b/c pregnant women can't go anywhere alone. I'll have to remind him of this next time I go "alone" to the grocery store. Or Walmart. Or when I want to go shopping just to look. :)

18 weeks and the secret pop out

I'm officially 18 weeks along! Yahoo! Lots of good things happening now...

Update on baby/momma stats:

Baby: Length: 5.5"
Weight: 7oz (almost a half pound and up 1.5oz since last week!)
Movement: currently noticeably kicking at least once a day (sometimes lots more!) with some tiny little punches too. Kicks are usually on the left side whereas punches (lighter taps) are usually on the lower right side.

Momma: 18 weeks, 9lbs gained to date. Unless you're counting the amazing chocolate fudge ice cream I just ate...I might be a little over that number. ;-) I thought the belly popped out last week but then baby must have grown a bunch and repopped again this week. Just check out the pictures. :)

I'm feeling really great which makes me feel a little guilty for all those women who feel like junk for much longer than I did (and my junk was mild). I have lots of energy but by the end of the week I'm usually sleepy, as I am right now. I thank God every day that so far things have gone well and that we're both healthy (to our knowledge). We continue to count down the days until we find out who's in there and share with that great info with you (May 26th). We've gotten lots of guesses from family and friends but I think the majority is leaning towards boy, which I would have to agree with. Adam just reported he has no clue so I would guess his wishful thinking option is boy. :) We both would like this one to be a boy but would be just as happy and thankful for a girl. We're just thankful I'm pregnant to begin with!

The BH contractions have really subsided and if I'm still having them, they're less intense and I hardly notice. Thank you extra liquids and trips to the bathroom. The baby is moving more and I always thought the movement would feel more like punches and kicks only, but I'm starting to notice that sometimes I'll be at work and all of a sudden I'll be very aware that I can feel my uterus and that it feels like something bulky (hmm, baby?) is moving across the front of it. It's an interesting feeling...and I'm just waiting until the day when I finally wish the baby would beat me up internally just a little less. We're so blessed and lucky...more soon!

Braxton Hicks Contractions and Mother's Day

I'm trying to get better at posting more often, but if it's 2-3x/week, then that will have to do. Immediate sidenote - the dogs were making a ruckus while having fun and the baby took a big ol' kick towards the front of my belly. That might be one of the hardest ones yet! I usually notice them the best when I'm sitting or things are more still. Back to the original line of thought...

Mother's day - well, pre-mother's day for me, was GREAT! Baby Schmidt got me a prenatal massage and pedicure from a nice place in town here. Our baby is really talented as s/he wrote me a note from the uterus that read something along the lines of..."I hope you like this mommy. You're going to need it since I like using your organs as trampolines. I can't wait to meet you and daddy!" which promptly made me cry. Adam is the sweetest husband and will make an amazing father...except for the fact that he wants to tie his/her right arm to his/her body IF s/he is right handed. He's already asked me for left-handed babies (all the better for baseball things) which he just might get since it runs on my side of the family and I am mostly left-handed. I told him I'll give him whomever wants to come out of there and there will be no hand-tying or I'll be tying him unpleasantly. :) Back to MD - it was a great day. We got up sort of early for an 8am tee time at the golf course a mile down the road. I definitely did not have my best showing but blame it on the extremely dewy grass and cold temperatures for the front 9. I'm not going to lie though - I had some pretty amazing drives around 200 yards. Woop woop! Then we went home for lunch and Adam cut the lawn before we went to Davenport for Adam's double-header softball game. The weather was nice and it felt good to sit and do nothing but watch the ball game, eat nachos, and soak up the cool sun. Then we went home and relaxed pretty much the rest of the night and I loved it. Great first pre-mother's day. I'm a lucky girl. :)

One thing that started since I posted last time was that I was noticing that my uterus was getting really hard here and there which at first I thought was interesting b/c it was so hard to the touch and I could feel it separately from the rest of my organs (new experience). Then it started happening more frequently and I started to get worried...I emailed a friend of mine who's about 30 weeks (maybe 31?) and she said that she started getting braxton hicks contractions (which is what I'm experiencing per the nurse and several other veteran preggers women I posted with/emailed about). Sunday night when I finally realized it was all normal I actually cried b/c I was so relieved. I didn't realize that I had been that worried about it until then. I started drinking more water (thus peeing even MORE often) which I was told will help and it's subsided somewhat. Adam works with a woman who is a secretary at GPC and used to be a birth coach. He checked in with her and she said to just change positions or whatever I'm doing at the time (ie. if I'm sitting, get up and move around; if I'm up, sit down). Thankfully it's subsided a bit so I really haven't had to try any of those things. It happened on my drive into work this morning (a mild one) but I wasn't about to stop and get out just so it would stop. :) For now, I'm monitoring it b/c if it happens more than 6x/hour I'm to call the doc and be worried b/c the contracting can change my cervix which can be bad for a myriad of reasons.

I'm winding down my school year now and am really getting the summer itch. I took some comp time this afternoon (just a half hour) so I could go home early and enjoy the weather while cutting the lawn. Yup! Bouncin' Baby Schmidt was the story this afternoon. My friend said that you're not supposed to just bounce just up and down but I reassured her that our lawn is not just up and down bumps and that we were bouncing all over the place. :) I'm SO pleased to admit that Jessie was outside with her electric fence collar on the entire time without Adam around or anyone to keep her entertained and not once was I worried she was going to cross the line and leave. She came every time I called her! Adam and I have really noticed a big change in Jessie the past week and a half or so. She seems to finally just "get it." She's behaving better and I'm not sure if it's b/c she and I are walking more and she has to mind me (or she'll be choked on the special leash Adam has for training heel). Overall she's just a better dog and we're glad! It's nice when they finally listen and get it. We have TWO great puppies! And Adam's bird launchers came today so now he'll be able to really train Jessie and refine Maddie's hunting skills this summer (launchers "launch" pigeons/birds in the air at the touch of a button) which I'm really excited for as I think Jessie might actually turn out to be a slightly better hunter than Maddie, who's quite good anyway. We're lucky puppy parents!

Other than that, we're just waiting for this two week wait to be over because two weeks from today, pending cooperation and some good leg spreadin', we'll find out who's in there! We're sharing the gender but not the baby's name. Sorry! Don't ask as you won't find out until his/her birthday. :) We are so excited and Adam always asks when he will be able to feel the baby from the outside. If movement keeps up like the kick I got at the start of this post, it won't be long! I think he's still got several weeks before he can feel the baby but who knows. It's still so inconsistent that I can't just have him sitting here with hand-on-belly all night. I have things to do! And I'm a pretty happy preggo person these days...I have lots of energy and just feel great. I'm a lucky girl!!

A Day of Shopping

I am so excited for today - a day of shopping at a nearby outlet center (Tangor Outlets in Williamsburg) with a few friends! I haven't gone "fun" shopping for quite some time and I'm wayyyyy overdue.

Something new in the past few days...I was sitting around watching TV Thursday night and all of a sudden my uterus started to feel sort of weird...(I also think it's weird that I can now feel an internal organ separately from all the rest) so I poked it with my hand to find my uterus was as hard as a rock! I poked/massaged it a bit to see if I could get it to relax and within a short time it relaxed on its own and went back to its current normal self (slightly firm, relaxed). I emailed a friend who's currently at about 30 weeks pregnant and she said it was either a contraction or braxton hicks. I was really surprised b/c I didn't think that sort of thing happened this early. She had also had the same thing happen around that time so hopefully that means all is well/normal. I'm not too concerned b/c it hasn't happened like that again really and she said if I get up to 6/hour, that's cause for concern. We'll just hope that my uterus just grows the baby and is fine the rest of the way.

I took my naval ring out yesterday. I was starting to feel self-conscious about it poking through my shirts and decided it was time. It now looks really odd to me with just a horizontally stretching hole above my belly button but that's the way it's going to be for now. I'd like to look around and try to find one that is flat on the top so I can still wear one but if I don't find one like that, I'm not going to worry about it. My doctor said I could wear one the entire pregnancy and that there are specific preggo naval rings out there. I'm not worried it's going to close or anything so again, not a detrimental thing if I don't find one. I'd like to keep it for extra motivation after the baby comes to take the weight off...

As for feeling the baby, it's still rather inconsistent but I am pretty sure I'm starting to be more sure that what I'm feeling is the baby kicking. This morning, for example, I was lying in bed while Adam was getting ready for his second-last Saturday class of this session and s/he kicked me pretty clearly twice. But chances are now I might not feel him/her for another day or two. Still normal for this stage.

Off I go to get ready for some shopping! Can't wait!

17 weeks

Here you go! Pictures of the 17-week belly. I knew I had grown a bit this past week, but the pictures sure don't lie! Wow! Maybe it's just me but I'm feelin' like this baby must have doubled in size this WEEK instead of how s/he will in the next FEW weeks. I was STARVING the first half of the week and that has slowed some. Had some round ligament pain today while at work (stretching of ligaments in the front of my body to prepare for "size changes") but I pushed on them a bit, some simple massage, and it was fine. A lot of it is in my lower belly or hip flexors right now. Completely off topic for a second - I got a balloon at work for finishing my first year as a guinea pig mentee in some new program, and every time Jessie (9-mon old puppy) realizes it's existence, she starts barking her big girl bark and gets all defensive. It's happening while I type while made me think of it. ;-) I hope kids are half as funny as dogs can be. :) Anyway, enjoy the pictures! I'm going to go eat dinner!

16 Week Doctor Appt

Woah! It's been a while since I posted! Sorry faithful readers...

Let's back up a bit to last weekend. Since there's a lot to catch up on, I'll write the short version of most things. On Friday, I took the afternoon off and high-tailed my rear up to WI to visit with family but particularly my brother, Travis, and his girls Tab, Tate, & Tally, who were home from Alaska. Adam stayed back in IA with the dogs b/c he had class Friday night and all day Saturday. I had the best time seeing them and it just warmed my heart to see them and have Tatum warm up to me (after getting some much-needed sleep) and crawl into my arms at breakfast Saturday morning. Talia was always cuddly. :) It was hard to say goodbye but then I headed out for a few errands before meeting Steph in Green Bay for a quick lunch and to pick up my MOH dress before heading back to IA. Believe it or not - driving from GB to IA was slightly shorter than going back home to the lakeshore area. Odd...Sunday was spent with some friends buying flowers, having lunch, and then me spending the afternoon outside at our house planting flowers. I love 2nd trimester energy and body size. :)

Speaking of body size - fast forward to yesterday and today...the belly REALLY popped out and people are really starting to notice and say things about it!

Back to filling you in. Nothing special happened Monday other than I finished planting my pretty flowers while Adam did various things outside. We sure do enjoy this weather, as do the dogs, and plan to spend as much time outside as possible.

Today was a very productive day for me and baby. When I got up, I stepped on the scale and noticed I had gained roughly 2lbs in 2 days. Not a huge deal since I feel like one of those pounds was being carried on my chest all of a sudden. I then went to school until 11am, went out for lunch with work friends, and then went to two meetings at the office (that got done way early!). I was on my way home and was talking to Adam when he told me to turn around and go buy a TV from Best Buy for our bedroom. (The sensor on the TV isn't working and no remote works...we've bought 3.) It has been a source of minor friction when it's late, we're tired, and no one wants to get out of bed to turn it off. So I found a decent TV, bought it on a whim (something we NEVER do), headed to Target, bought a few things to wear, and then realized I need to speeeeeeeeed back to Muscatine or I'm going to be late for my 16 week (well, 16w5d) appointment. So it turns out I'm a few minutes late, pee in a cup, and wait for the doc to come in with the doppler so we can hear Baby Schmidt's heartbeat. She came in, put some goo on my stomach, started moving it around, and promptly made me laugh. It was like the Ha Ha Game and I could not stop! And of course, laughing definitely does not allow for an accurate heartbeat reading. (Ha Ha Game - lay down with your head on someone else's tummy. Repeat with another friend's head on your tummy. Make a friend chain, someone starts laughing, and pretty soon everyone's laughing b/c there are heads bobbing up and down everywhere.) Finally Dr. Coleman gets us serious and it happens one more time before I finally have to hold my breath to stop from laughing. Then...BOOM BOOM. BOOM BOOM. Our little one's heartbeat was SO strong and SO much louder/deeper than it was last time at 12 weeks! Heart rate = 142 bpm. Normal is 120-160 so we're good to go, smack dab in the middle. Yay!!! Dr. Coleman said everything else looked good. We asked her a million more questions and then scheduled the ultrasound appointment (angels singing "ahhh!") for May 26th at 4pm. Only 21 more days until we find out if our son or daughter is in there kickin' me around (with little baby kicks) in there. :)

We then came home and made salads and homemade pizzas for dinner. Then we headed outside with the dogs to enjoy the weather. Jessie did amazing with her fence and was tested by neighbors several times. Yay! Adam cut the lawn while I watered the new flowers, cut doggie toenails, brushed doggie hair outside (NOT to be left in the house), and planted my veggie garden about 80% full. I still have to start the tomatoes indoors (oops, forgot) and buy peas (which I know I did but lost) for Adam. Then the dogs and I came in the house while Adam sprayed the lawn with stuff to kill all the terrible weeds. I did some other cleaning while he was outside and then we relaxed while watching The Biggest Loser. I know I'm missing some things from this past week or so, but it's ok. More soon. Get this - Baby's constantly hungry today...