BumpDate: 16 weeks

We're a couple of days into week 16 now and baby is definitely making his or her presence know. I broke out the maternity pants for the first time this week - definitely need to thank my friend C for talking me into buying them when I was just seven weeks. It was nice to have them there when I was ready to take the plunge.

I am also pretty sure I am feeling the baby move. I wish someone else could feel it and tell me for sure. But it happens so often and it's the exact same thing/feeling each time that I think it has to be. If it is, the baby is most active in the evenings and when I start eating. (He or she must love food like it's mommy.)

Other than those two tidbits, it's been a pretty quiet week. Our house is progressing faster now - which is good because I am noticing that I am wanting to clean and organize more, which I think means I am starting to "nest". It's pretty annoying to be a mama bird with no nest.

Here's your week 16 picture:

Dirty Thirty

Monday, February 18th was my birthday. My 30th birthday to be exact. Ug. Not going to lie, I was dreading this birthday. I remember my mom turning 30 and I thought she was so OLD at that point. (I was 7). My original plan was  to do something that involved a lot of adult beverages. Well, Baby Ripke put a damper on that. (Remind me to thank him or her later.) Instead, my mom and I went to Des Moines for a lot of shopping. We should have taken some pictures, but obviously, that slipped my mind. We hit up a lot of stores and each of us bought some furniture for each of the houses we're building. (Yes, my parents are building as well.) Then we spent the remainder of the trip looking for maternity clothes for my expanding waist line. Luckily, we hit the jackpot at Old Navy and I may be breaking out my new maternity skinny jeans this weekend. :)

We ended our Saturday with a trip to PF Changs and dinner with one of my good friends, T. (Again, should have taken pictures). After dinner, all three of us saw the movie Safe Haven - a must see! Sunday morning we headed up to Ankeny to meet up with my aunt, cousins and their families. It was great to see everyone and being around the little kids got me even more excited for Baby R!

Monday was my actual birthday and also a work day. Ironically enough, my counterpart and office mate also has the same birthday as me, so it was fun celebrating together. We grabbed lunch with another friend and indulged in some cupcakes. Monday evening we headed over to my parent's for dinner and some dutch apple pie. (yum!) 

29, like the year 2012, was a challenging year. There were a lot of positive things that happened, but forever in my mind, my 29th year will be over shadowed by fertility treatments and heartbreak. However, at the same time, it was also the year we found out that Baby R was on the way, and for that, I will forever look at my 29th year and smile. 

The dirty thirty has a lot of exciting things coming up and I'm excited to get started. I can't believe next year at this time we'll have a six month old! 

BumpDate: 15 Weeks

I know you have all been on the edge of your seats waiting for the latest BumpDate. If you can't tell, I skipped week 14. Why you ask? Because I woke up the day I turned 14 weeks and I swear my bump had disappeared! I was so bummed. I chalked it up to losing all my bloat and thought I probably wouldn't show for a few more weeks.

Turns out, it was the calm before the storm. It's like my uterus inhaled really deep Monday and by Friday, had completely pushed out. (Well, actually I think up. I know where the baby is and it's not where my bump is. It's just pushing my stomach and intestines out of it's way.)

Monday I could button my pants, by Friday, not so much. I think I am officially in leggings and other forms of spandex until I fit into my maternity pants. I am hoping it's relatively soon. In true Katie fashion, I have already built up a nice supply of maternity clothes, but am rather limited on what I can wear with leggings. I'll probably be wearing the same five outfits to work for the next 2-3 weeks.

Updates from this week - we had another doctor's appointment during week 14. They're so short and sweet now. Doctor just checked Baby R's heart beat, answered some irrational questions I had and told me when to come back! (March 11th is our next regular appointment.) He also had me schedule my anatomy scan!!! Not revealing the date, but it's soon and I can't wait to stop calling the baby "it".

Other notes from the week, I think I MIGHT have felt the baby moving or shifting around. I am 90% sure that I did, but it's still so early, it's pretty sporadic in between episodes. I can't wait until I feel it moving around 24/7. (Watch me eat my words shortly after that happens...) We also made the pregnancy "Facebook Official" this week - that was a lot of fun. Finally, I think I am starting to FINALLY get some energy back. The nausea seems to be 98% gone (still don't feel awesome if I don't eat) and I have not been dragging by 2 pm every day.

Without further delay, here is this week's bump picture:

BumpDate: 13 Weeks

Heeeellllooooo Second Trimester!!!

That's right, we (the baby and I) made it through the first 12 weeks. And - seeing how it's Wednesday already - almost half of the 13th week. 

Making it to the second trimester is such a huge relief. Don't get me wrong, I know something can go wrong at any second, but knowing that my risk is so miniscule now, is a huge weight off my shoulders. I have found myself obsessing less over every twinge and pain and I haven't been poking my boobs as much. (Probably should provide some context there - every time I get nervous that something is going wrong, I poke one of my boobs to remind myself that they're still extremely tender and thus, I'm still pregnant.)

I went in earlier this week for a fetal heart check and the baby's ticker is still strong as ever - in the upper 160's! We have another appointment next week on the 13th. Then we'll have one four weeks later and two weeks after that we find out the gender!!

Any guesses?

The second trimester has also proven to bring some much needed relief from morning sickness. Last week, I was still battling it from time to time, but this week is much better. Other than some round ligament twinges and the fact that I haven't recovered all of my energy yet, I'd barely know I was pregnant!

Here's an updated picture. I was kind of sad that my bump didn't look bigger, but then I compared it to my 11 week picture and you can definitely tell a difference. Can't wait to take another one next week!