Week 17

Tomorrow starts week 17 of my pregnancy and I am starting to feel like the time is going by really fast. I am starting to feel a bit better... still nauseated a lot, but no longer throwing up my guts. I feel massive, but everything else is the same size except for my belly. Everyone call tell I am pregnant now (instead of looking fat) and everyone was rubbing my belly like I was Buddah at my dad's services. Watching my belly grow has been pretty amazing. I feel that Corey likes watching it grow and tells family and friends to check out my bump which I find absolutely adorable. I don't know what I would do without my amazing, supportive husband these past few weeks.

Corey and I are still taking weekly belly shots (although we missed the week when we were in Colorado) and we still haven't loaded any of them onto the computer.

As for size... it sounds like my baby is the size of an avocado now and measuring between 4.5 to 6 inches! It must be a HUGE growth spurt week. Most say they feel their baby move around 16-22 weeks and I asked Anja today when she felt her little girl and she said in week 18. Hopefully I feel our baby in the next few weeks. I am sure it is such a great reminder that there is life in there that you are solely responsible for.

I have a doctors appointment tomorrow morning that I invited my mommy to and she is really excited. At that appointment I will schedule my ultrasound to find out what we are having! I hope I am having it done the following week and I can't wait to start shopping! There are only so many things you want gender neutral!

The best man in the entire world

The best man in the entire world (also known as my father) past away on Tuesday April 19th. It was a shock to us all and I am not sure if that feeling will ever go away. I can say that I am blessed I got to speak with him that afternoon and tell him I loved him. His services on Friday and Saturday were beautiful and somehow I got the courage to get up and say how much he loved my mom. It is still a shock and I am living in a fog. I don't know if it will ever feel real that my dad is no longer with us and is spending the rest of his days in Heaven. I am thankful that he is no longer in pain and he has been reunited with his mom and Manny. I am sure they are having a blast in Heaven and my dad is finally able to run and do the things that have been limited a lot of his life. I am sure he is up there building jigsaw puzzles like he did every day and ordering things on Amazon.

I haven't been to work since Tuesday night and I feel I will never be ready to go back. Being really busy sounds good, but the fear of speaking with people keeps me from going back. I probably will try to go to work on Thursday this week. Today (Monday) I stayed home. I slept in and then went to lunch with Anja. I cancelled appointments I didn't want to go to this week and I scheduled others. I called a therapist and am waiting to hear back. I figured it would be good for me to speak to someone about how I feel my dad suffered on his last day with us. If it wasn't for feeling like he suffered I would be doing a lot better than I am right now. Being pregnant through all of this isn't easy either. I can't take (or drink) anything to numb the pain and I try not to stress or cry too much for fear that something bad would happen to my baby. I am sure my dad had that as a plan - he wanted me to have this baby and he wants me to get through this without taking anything. After I talk with someone who isn't related to me I feel I will be at peace with a lot of things. Now I just have to patiently wait for a call back.

I love you so much daddy and I pray that you are running in Heaven!

Colorado

So much has happened in the last few weeks and all of it was not good, but I will get to that later. Dakota's pacemaker surgery in Colorado went really well and she was such a trooper. She had to have the surgery done twice since her resting heart rate was too low. They took her in for surgery the following day (Saturday) and she was great and came home on Sunday. We came right home after picking her up and she was so happy to be back. I think we all were. That was an exhausting trip! With the horrible storms through Wyoming I am just glad we made it there and back in one piece. Now she just has to rest for 5 weeks. She is getting her stitches out this Wednesday and should be seeing a cardiologist here in Utah in the next few weeks to make sure everything is still working properly. Glad my Pookie is doing great!

Orange

Today marks 15 weeks and according to The Bump and Baby Center my little one is now the size of a naval orange. My belly is finally less fat and more pregnant. I have an indent in my hips from love handles to belly and my belly has gotten pretty hard. Here is a quick picture I took on my phone yesterday to send to a friend, but shows my belly well. I still have Corey taking weekly pictures, but we haven't loaded any of them onto the computer yet.

Yesterday I got a massage from Ken and it was exactly what I needed. Even with him pressing so hard on my back I was about fall asleep on that stomach cushion he had me lay on. I miss sleeping on my stomach so bad! He said I had bulged discs in my back and he fixed it, but now I feel like my spine is bruised so I have my heating pad on at work. Hopefully that with a few Tylenol will do the trick.

Today I am at work all day and when I get home I have to finish my final (my last assignment for these classes) and then shower and pack. We are still planning to leave around 3-4 in the morning so I am sure I will try to go to bed early in case I do not sleep well in the car. Speaking of car, we decided to rent one. I picked it up last night and we got a Chevy Malibu - that thing is huge! It will be great though for all of us to have leg room and a place to put all of our bags and Dakota's stuff. Hopefully her procedure on Friday goes well and we get home safely on Sunday.

What's in a name?

I find it shocking how many people have already asked us if we have names picked out. My reply is always no, although there is one girl name that I love and would love to have a girl just for the name. Okay, not just for the name, but I do love it! If I don't get a girl then I will get another pet to name haha! I have been thinking lately that we are having a girl so I would be stocked if I am right and I get the perfect baby girl with the perfect girl name! I have loved this name forever and it helps that it goes with Paskett. I have never thought about a boy name though and would be lost in picking one. Luckily Corey is okay with my girl name so we would definitely be set and in agreement. The boy name could lead to potential fights... that all of my friends have experienced with picking the perfect name. I need a baby girl!

Either way, Baby, your Mommy loves you a billion times infinity and can't wait for October! Counting down the weeks to something so big (and yet so small) has never been so exciting.

Favorites

I actually saw a favorites list on someone else's blog yesterday (that I stalk because I do not know them) and decided I should make a list too. Some of things I always love and some I love because of pregnancy. I am sure you will be able to tell the difference! My current list of favorites and things that truly make me happy. Not an any particular order...

Bread
Dakota Ray
Sunshine
PINK! (not the line but the color)
Raspberry lemonade Crystal Lite
Catching up with my mom and dad
Bananas
Baby's heartbeat
Day dreaming
Dinner with friends
Sushi
Massages
Holidays (birthdays and Christmas)
Always having my nails done
Photography
My job
Making new friends
Laughing until I cry... or pee my pants
And hearing my husband laugh
Learning from mistakes
Walks with Corey and Dakota every night during the summer
Traveling
Creating something out of nothing (art projects)
Being married to my best friend
Eating a healthy meal
Staying true to myself
Giving back to others and volunteer work

LEMON!

Boy, the things you can find online are just fascinating (and sometimes scary) but with the fruit/veggie tracker it makes it relatable to size of your baby. Right now at 14 weeks baby is now the size of lemon: 3.4 inches and 1.5 ounces.
Here is a breakdown from now to 21 weeks (when they start going by month instead of week):
15: Naval orange 4 in 2.5 oz
16: Avocado 4.6 in 3.5 oz
17: Onion 5.1 in 5.9 oz
18: Sweet potato 5.6 in 6.7 oz
19: Mango 6.0 in 8.5 oz
20: Cantalope 6.5 in 10.6 oz
21: Banana 10.5 in 12.7 oz

Some of these seem a little strange. For example at 13 weeks it said a peach and now this week is a lemon. To me a peach is larger than a lemon, but who knows. Sometimes this site measure from the width of fruit and sometimes they measure length. I can't believe how from this week to week 17 Baby will gain an ounce and then jump in spirts again!

Today marks week 14 and yesterday I decided to break the news on Facebook by posting Baby's 13 week ultrasound picture. Lots of nice words and congrats and I know people are really excited for us. People know that I have been waiting a baby for a long time!

Next doctors appointment is not until week 17 which will be the last Friday of April (the 27th). I can't wait for that appointment! Baby will be much bigger, have a stronger heartbeat and I get to schedule the ultrasound to find out what we are having. I use to think it was going to be a boy but now I am leaning towards it being a girl. I had the change of heart on Saturday and I have no idea what made me think that. Maybe from all the studies I have read about how sick women are when are having a girl? Hmmm.... only time will tell!