Baby W is 17 weeks!

I missed a belly picture this week because the chalkboard has been blocked for the past couple of days as we are Matt is cleaning out the office and painting for the soon to be nursery...so this is the closest to a bump picture that I've got!

How far along? 17 weeks 6 days

Baby's Development:  Baby is about 5 in. long and 3.5 oz.  and as big as a turnip (gross!) Body fat is beginning to form on the baby and will continue to accumulate throughout the rest of the pregnancy.  Loud noises are starting to startle baby (doorbell, dog barking) but baby will become more accustomed to these noises once they are born from hearing them in utero.  Fingerprints are also forming on fingers and toes this week!

Maternity clothes? Yep! 90% of all bottoms are maternity now.  If they’re not maternity bottoms, they are leggings or yoga pants…and those don’t really count! I can’t even do my pants with the bella band anymore…but I’ll be honest, I was never a fan of that!  I got a pair of pretty comfy Liz Lange black work pants from Target.com this week that I’m really liking!  My shirts are still regular shirts, but I do like the maternity tank top I got from Target.  I feel like mine are getting to be too short. 

Weight Gain? I’m still in the negative compared to my pre-pregnancy weight, but only by a pound or two.

Am I Showing? I think I “popped” last week, but still nothing crazy, I don’t think. The difference between real baby and full belly food baby is quite comical, though. 

Sleep? Sleep is still so-so.  I broke out the pregnancy pillow again this week so I might try to use it.

Exciting Moment? Finding out Baby W’s gender and having our gender reveal party! We were very worried that we might not be able to have it because the little one was not cooperating, but after some sweet tea and jumping jacks, we got the shot we needed!  I still am in awe that I am going to have a SON! It definitely has NOT sunk in yet!



My sweet parents



Gender:  Sweet baby BOY! Elliott Alexander Whitman (thankfully we decided on this name before we were even engaged! We chose Elliott after Matt’s dad’s middle name and Alexander after my dad’s first name.)

Stretch marks? None yet..I am lathering up in Burt’s Bees belly oil and thick lotion every morning!

What do I miss? Getting a good night’s sleep!

How have I been feeling? Still pretty good! I’ve been noticing I am starting to get short of breath really easily recently, so that’s been fun (NOT!) and I had my very first *almost* fainting spell last week too.  I was at Target on my lunch break (apparently…I go to Target a lot!) getting my sandwich grilled when I started to feel really light-headed and my ears started ringing.  I was right next to the Starbucks they have inside, so I went to go sit down for a minute.  The Starbucks employee was really sweet and brought me some water and cheese and crackers…I guess it was low blood sugar or something!

Movement: YES! I love it! I have been feeling little “pops” like crazy…I’m wondering if this little boy ever goes to sleep! I feel them during the day and even at night when I wake up to use the restroom. I love love love it! I can’t wait until Matt can feel it from the outside…hopefully in the next few weeks now!

Food cravings:  Fruit (apples and peanut butter…but only red delicious apples), cheese (Colby jack or cheddar) and crackers, random Nutella cravings. Thanksgiving was amazing now that food is my friend again!

Food aversions: Still chicken and marinara sauce.

Rings on or off? On! Hopefully staying that way for a while!

Happy or Moody most of the time:  Happy, but still easily irritated!  

Looking forward to:  Our 20 week anatomy scan on December 14^th!

It's a...gender reveal party!

This weekend was full of fun and excitement for us! Saturday morning our ultrasound appointment was at 9 am, but it was about an hour and 15 mins away closer to where my parents live.  I thought I had set my alarm to give us plenty of time to get ready and go, but I get the alarm I chose was set to only go off on weekdays, not weekends! So needless to say we woke up LATE! Mega late! Like..45 mins. before we had to be there late! We called and let them know and ran out the door!

When we got there (we used Images from the Womb in Suwannee) we rushed to fill out paperwork so we could get to the good part! We hadn't seen Baby W on an ultrasound since week 8, so we knew a lot had changed! It was so cool to see the baby on the big screen! We could see the spine, and all the ribs and even the arms and legs!  We got a couple of 3D/4D ultrasound pictures printed off, too!  The owner of the place, bless his heart, tried SO hard to get a good picture of the "goods" so he could tell us the gender, but baby was NOT having it! The legs were together and crossed at the knees and weren't moving.  He suggested I run around the office and do some jumping jacks (luckily nobody else was there but us!) but it still didn't do us any good! He suggested we come back another day and try again! I was like...no way! We have a gender reveal party tomorrow! He was really sweet and squeezed us in between two appointments and told us to come back at 12:30.

We went and grabbed some breakfast at IHOP.  I made sure to sweet tea and crepes with blueberry compote hoping that the sugar and caffeine would wake baby up a little bit! This time, we got there about 30 mins early!  He said we got lucky because the appointment before us came early and was already done we went back tot he ultra sound room.  Again, we tried to get baby to show us the goods, but this child is already stubborn like Momma Daddy! I got up again to run around, do some jumping jacks, and drink some more sweet tea! 

Finally all my "exercising" around the office helped! We were able to see 100% what the gender was! Matt and I were both so excited to find out! We kept teasing our Moms all day trying to make them think one way or another! All the grandparents thought it was a girl!

I stayed Saturday night at my parents house to help decorate and prepare for the party.  

Our invites:
I got these super cute invitations from Etsy from a great seller named Hank and Petunia.  We also got some party bunting and cupcake toppers.  They all turned out great and were very affordable!

Here are some more pictures from the party...

And the moment you've all been waiting for! Here is the video of the big reveal!

It's a sweet baby boy!

We had such a blast doing this gender reveal and even though it was an exhausting weekend, we are so blessed and feel so loved by everyone who came out to celebrate with us! We are surrounded by such awesome friends and family and we know what Baby boy Whitman will be very loved and oh so spoiled!

We can't wait to meet Elliott Alexander Whitman in Spring 2013!

16 weeks!

How far along? 16 weeks and 1 day…heading into my 5^th month of pregnancy!

Baby's Development:  Baby W is about 5 in. long and weighs about 3-5 oz…about the size of an avocado! In the next few weeks, baby will DOUBLE its weight…GROWTH SPURT! The tiny bones in baby’s ears are in place making it likely that baby can hear my voice.  Some studies have found that babies that are sung to while they are in the womb will recognize the same tune after they’re born.  Time to perfect my “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star!”  Baby now has both eyebrows and eyelashes, too!

Maternity clothes? Still mixing them in with my regular clothes…and still liking maternity clothes more! I pulled out the bella band again and gave it another try. I’ll be trying it this week at work to see how I like it. 

Weight Gain?  Still about -3 to -4 lbs. It fluctuates a lot throughout the week.

Am I Showing? Again, it depends on the day..there are some days when I feel SO pregnant…and others where I don’t as much. 

Sleep? Sleep is a lot better..I can’t complain!

Exciting Moment? This weekend we will be having out early ultrasound to find out the gender and our gender reveal party is Sunday!  I also have my 16 week appointment, so I am always excited to hear Baby W’s heartbeat!

What do I miss? I miss not being the lame pregnant lady.  I am loving being pregnant right now, don’t get me wrong.  However, I realized last weekend (at the Citizen Cope concert specifically) that there are some places that I am not going to have that much fun at.  Especially at a concert on the floor, when you have no patience and you have people smoking around you that you can’t get away from.  Pre-pregnant Larissa would have sucked it up because I’ve been waiting for the concert for 4 years and he’s my faaaavorite.  However, it wasn’t just me to think about, so I had to leave my awesome 5^th row spot and watch it on a big screen. We did stop by Krispy Kreme on the way home (and the hot sign was on), so all was right in my world, but I can’t deny that I was a little bit bummed.

How have I been feeling? Pretty good! Not much that I can complain about right now.  I’m happy to be settling into the magical 2^nd trimester quite nicely.

Movement: I think I felt my first legit kick on November 16th! It was during work at our Thanksgiving lunch and felt a little pop! It was awesome :)  Matt swore that he felt the heartbeat the other day when his hand was on my belly.  I’m excited to see how he’ll react when he can start feeling the baby, too.

Food cravings:  Alfredo from Olive Garden, grapefruits, apples and peanut butter.

Food aversions: Sweets, chicken, marinara sauce.

Rings on or off? On! Hopefully staying that way for a while!

Happy or Moody most of the time:  Happy but my patience is completely shot…with people…with waiting…in traffic.  Like…gone completely.  I hope it comes back sometime soon!

Looking forward to:  Finding out the gender of Baby W! Next weekly update I write we will know if we are team BLUE of PINK!

What do you think??

Our gender reveal party is this weekend and I couldn't be more exicted!!

We are hoping that little one cooperates on Saturday and shows us the good or else we will have nothing to reveal on Sunday! And the Grandmas will not like that!

Matt and I both have strong feelings that it will be a bouncing baby boy!

Of course we will be just as excited if it's a little girl...as long as we've got a healthy baby!

SOOOOO...what do you think? BLUE or PINK??



15 weeks!

Um...I think my behind is growing more than my belly!

 How far along? 15 weeks 1 day

Baby's Development:  Baby Whitman is the size of an apple or navel orange! He or she is about 4 in long and weighs in at a whopping 2.5 oz. All four limbs now have functioning joints and baby is wiggling and squirming like crazy. Baby is also forming taste buds and may now be able to see light and if you were to put a flashlight up to my belly, they would probably move away from it.  Baby might also be sucking their thumb!

Maternity clothes? I like them better than normal clothes still.  They are still mixed in with regular clothes and leggings, though.  I have found some CHEAP and really comfortable clothes at Ross of all places! And Lord knows I love me a good deal!

Weight Gain?  I am still under my pre-pregnancy weight, somewhere around -4 lbs depending on the day.

Am I Showing? Nothing crazy, but I definitely think I have a little bump now! It’s harder to suck in and I think that people who know me and know I’m pregnant can tell.  I’m not quite to the point where someone is going to stop me in Target to ask me when I’m due, though. Although..holy boobs! They are growing like crazy! I had to go up a bra size early on around week 6..but it might not be long before I have to do it again!

Sleep? Sleep is a little better this week! Hallelujah!  I realized that the reason I am waking up during the night and sleeping poorly was because of sinus yuckiness.  If it gets really bad, I will take a Sudafed or Tylenol sinus ( don’t worry, I checked to see if they were ok first) and that will help.  I actually slept through the entire night on 11/6…something that hasn’t happened in months!

Exciting Moment? Last weekend we went to Agatha Christie, a Taste of Mystery..which is a murder mystery dinner type of show.  It was SO good! It was the first one I had ever been to and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it!

Matt also surprised me with Citizen Cope tickets for Friday, 11/9! I am SO excited! He is my favorite artist and I have been DYING to see him since back in 2008.  Every time he comes to town, I have an event that I just cannot miss.  Last year, it was my company holiday party.  The year before that, I was out of town for a bachelorette party.  I have been listening to his music all week to prepare…it’s gonna be awesome!

I got a new car! While I liked my Jeep Patriot, we really wanted to get something a little bigger that would be more comfortable for everyone (MATT) when the baby came.  The Patriot is a pretty small SUV and if it is just me in it, it’s totally fine.  But Matt kept saying how he felt like a sardine whenever he drove it haha.  It also only has a 4-cylindar so whenever we drove it, it always sounded like it was struggling. 

This is not mine, but it's exactly what mine looks like

 After much debating and back and forth, we decided on a 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee (yes…we are a Dodge, Chrysler, and Jeep family)! I didn’t want an SUV that looked too much like a mini-van, and although we were really looking hard at the 4 door Jeep Wranglers, I am happy with the choice we made. We have one stylin’ baby-mobile!

So after all of that, I would say it’s been a pretty good week!

What do I miss? Nothing really this week…

How have I been feeling? *knock on wood* I don’t want to jinx myself, but for the past week, my headaches HAVE gotten better.  I did get a bad one on Sunday that I couldn’t get rid of, but other than that, I am feeling pretty good!

Movement: I don’t know! There have been a few times where I *think* I might have felt something, but I’m not to the point yet where I can for sure that is was Baby W or it was just gas!  Hopefully in the next few weeks movement will become more distinct.

Food cravings:  Quiche (don’t ask…), fruit, and salty stuff still.  I think Baby Whitman was tired of my finicky appetite because I have definitely found it this week! I go from full to starving in a matter of mintues.  Not like..oh it's time to eat...but more like sick to my stomach, I am going to pass out if I dont get food in my stomach NOW!

Food aversions: Still not digging chicken, marinara sauce, or sweets.

Rings on or off? Still on!

Happy or Moody most of the time:  Happy I think! Matt might disagree, but he’s not here right now J

Looking forward to:  Gender scan and reveal party next weekend!

14 weeks!

How far along? 14 weeks 1 day

Baby's Development:  Baby Whitman is the size of a lemon and its hair and eyebrows are starting to fill in this week and they are covered with a downy coating of hair called Lanugo (for warmth).  Baby can also now squint, frown, grimace, pee and possibly suck their thumb!

Maternity clothes? For work, I’m either in a dress or my new maternity pants from Motherhood Maternity.  I have one pair of jeans that fit ok still, but for others, I am doing the hair band trick.  I think the maternity clothes are much more comfortable and flattering.  They make it look more like I am pregnant than I just ate two double cheeseburgers.

Weight Gain? It fluctuates between -3 to -5 lbs during the week.  I always weigh myself in the morning after using the restroom.  I am still not back up to my pre-pregnancy weight, though.

Am I Showing? It depends on what I’m wearing.  If I am in normal clothes, it just looks like a muffin top. Haha If I am in leggings, a dress, or my maternity pants, then it looks like a teeny, tiny, barely there bump.  I did sent some friends a picture of it to make sure I wasn’t just imagining things and they confirmed!  I really wish leggings were not frowned upon in the work place because I would be in those suckers 24/7 if I could!

Sleep? Sleep is still so-so.  I am starting to wake up more throughout the night for various reasons.  My neck has still been bothering me, and it’s difficult to get comfortable.  I am going to get a massage and facial (I am counting DOWN the days!) with Matt’s mom this weekend, so I am hoping to release some of the tension in my neck.  I’m sure it’s from sitting at a computer and typing all day.

Exciting Moment? Val’s Halloween party! I hate living so far from some of my BFF’s and unfortunately, with our busy schedules, it’s difficult to find time to get together.  So, we use Valerie’s kid parties to hang out J  We got to hang out with Natalie’s baby, Everleigh a little more and see all of Emma Grace’s friends in their cute little Halloween costumes.  Val and Jake did such a good job decorating and there were so many yummy treats there!

We also booked our gender scan appointment! We couldn’t wait until 20 weeks, so Val recommended the Imaging place she used and we will know if Baby W is a girl or boy on November 17^th!  We have also scheduled our gender reveal party for November 18^th! I only have one day to keep it a secret!

What do I miss? Getting a good night’s sleep!

How have I been feeling? Other than the headaches and the sleeping issues, I’ve been feeling great! I definitely have more energy than before.  I mean..I’m not ready to go run a marathon or anything, but I’m not taking as many naps in my car during lunch. This week I have really noticed a difference in my energy levels.  I didn’t get a big surge of 2^nd trimester energy like I have heard some people get, mine has been much more gradual thus far.  Let’s be real, I am still going to bed by 9:00 pm every night, but I am not as hazy/groggy during the day.  I have also been having a good bit of heartburn lately..and it seems to always strike in the morning.  I am also still getting the round ligament pain in my lower abdomen on the side whenever I do anything like move in bed, or sneeze/cough.  Although I read that begins for most people around this time, I have had it from the very beginning…I think even before I knew I was pregnant!

Movement: None yet..I can’t wait to feel them!

Food cravings:  Definitely still craving fruit.  I am also definitely liking the more salty foods compared to sweet (BOY, maybe?)  My cravings are so random and weird.  I will see someone eating something or hear of a food and I can’t stop thinking about it! Someone mentioned Fried pickles and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about them!  Well..I’m liking pickles in general, honestly…how cliché, right?.  Breakfast is the hardest for me because it’s hard for me to want to eat anything because my mouth is always so dry in the mornings.  I wonder if that’s another pregnancy symptom?

Food aversions: Sweets, chicken, marinara sauce.

Rings on or off? On! Hopefully staying that way for a while!

Happy or Moody most of the time:  Happy, but still easily irritated!  

Looking forward to:  My massage and facial with my MIL!

12 Weeks!

How far along? 12w6d

Baby's Development: Baby is about the size of a plum and weighs about ½ oz. The fetus is also beginning to demonstrate reflexes like grasping, sucking, and hiccupping, although I can’t feel any of these yet. 

Maternity clothes? Nothing new here

Weight Gain? -6.5lbs I officially weigh less now than I did for my wedding haha..isn’t that ironic…all that work I did to drop weight.  I’m sure most of it has to do with muscle tone and all that jazz, I still think it’s funny. The baby has doubled in size in the past three weeks! Grow, baby, grow!

Am I Showing? No, and I’m ready!

Sleep? Sleep sucks right now. I’m sooo tired because I haven’t been sleeping well at all.  I usually get up 3-4 times a night because I can’t get comfortable or I have to pee.  My neck has felt so cramped that it’s giving me headaches all the time.  I tried a massage and that didn’t work as well as I had hoped.  I probably need to go to the chiropractor again.

Exciting Moment? Apparently I jumped the gun on my exciting moment for last week because the second trimester isn’t until 13w3days…oops!  My exciting moment this week was going baby furniture shopping! Matt’s parents were generous enough to help us out with decorating Baby W’s nursery, so Sunday we hit up a couple of places to look around.  We found the crib and the dresser! We are still on the hunt for a good glider, though.  Matt and his dad are going to pick up the crib and dresser today, although they will be in boxes for a while until we can get that office cleaned out. 

What do I miss? Good, solid sleep! And not having headaches this often.

How have I been feeling? Eh…so/so.  The headaches are making me pretty miserable.  I’m pretty sure they’re either sinus related or because of my stiff neck issues.  Who knows..but I’m ready for it to stop! Other than that I’m good!

Movement: Nope..but Im super excited for it to happen!

Food cravings:  Mashed potatoes and fried okra 

Food aversions: Still not digging the sweets or meat.

Rings on or off? On! Hopefully staying that way for a while!

Happy or Moody most of the time:  Happy I think…just cranky during the week because of lack of sleep..and probably a little bit of pregnancy hormones, too.  

Looking forward to:  We have set the date for our gender check and gender reveal party! Woohoo!

11 weeks

How far along? 11w6d (I'm actually 15 weeks now, so this is a little old)

I know, I know…I skipped a couple of weeks.  Week 9 and 10 basically consisted of me waking up to go to work and coming home and going to sleep 8 pm with multiple naps during the weekend…seriously! I was SO beyond exhausted!

Baby's Development: Baby W measures about 5-6 cm and weighs about 14 grams…about the size of a large plum.  Baby is making hormones like insulin, the liver is producing bile, and the bone marrow is making white blood cells.  Most of the baby’s body systems are fully formed and Baby W is now in “maintain” mode for the next 28 weeks.  (OMG…I will have a little baby in just 28 weeks!)

Maternity clothes? I went ahead and got some maternity work pants.  Mine were getting difficult to button! Matt’s mom was nice enough to gift me with a Motherhood Maternity gift card, so I went there to look around.  The pants I got are SO comfortable!  They look like black skinny work pants, but feel like thick leggings.  I love me some leggings, but let’s be honest, they just make me feel exposed…especially at work, so these new pants work great! I also got a bigger size bella band, but I’m not sure if I’m keeping it or not.

Weight Gain? -5lbs

Am I Showing? Still just bloat, I think.  It isn’t as bad as before, though.  But I definitely feel more fat than pregnant right now haha

Sleep? Sleep is so-so.  Sometimes I am out and sleep all night long.  Most of the times I am waking up 1-2 times a night to use the restroom or get comfortable.  My hips are beginning to hurt from sleeping on my side all the time, so I can only imagine what they will feel like when I have a giant belly!

Exciting Moment? Making it to the 2^nd trimester! ( I roll over weeks on Tuesday, so as I am finishing this post, I am technically 12 weeks).  We also have our next OBGYN about on October 19! Woohoo!  I want to hear that heartbeat one more time, and then we will (FINALLY!) announce on Facebook! There have been so many announcements for Spring babies, so Matt and I are excited to finally join in on the fun!

What do I miss? Feta cheese!

How have I been feeling? SO much better! I feel human again! The nausea is gone for the most part and I feel like I can make something for dinner and do some laundry without needing a nap in between! The only negative thing going on is I have been getting headaches like crazy!  People that know me know that it’s pretty typical for me.  But these feel a lot different!  Sometimes I can get rid of them by going to bed…sometimes they linger for a few days.  I really hate to take Tylenol because there were a few days a couple of weeks ago when I had to take it EVERY day and it really worried me.  They’ve gotten a little better, so I try to just tough it out unless it gets unbearable. 

It really still hasn’t sunk in yet and especially now that I’m not feeling as crappy…I don’t even feel pregnant some days! I was talking to my BFF, Val last night and asking her when it sunk in for her with her first, because it’s so crazy for me to think about the fact that there is a BABY growing INSIDE of me!

Movement: None yet..

Food cravings:  Fruit and more specifically oranges for sure! I am averaging about 6 mandarines or clementines a day!  Hope that’s bad for me!  Haha My craving are weird, because I will crave something and eat it for a couple of days, and then I am done with it.  Besides oranges, it’s cheeseburgers, frostys, and cheesy baked potatoes (all from Wendys…how convenient!) and I had a random craving for pita bread and hummus the other day. 

Food aversions: Sweets, any kind of meat, Italian food, and BBQ! BLECH to both! I am trying to get my protein in other ways like eggs and peanut butter now that I can stomach more things.

Rings on or off? On! Hopefully staying that way for a while!

Happy or Moody most of the time:  Happy this week, but I can definitely tell I have a shorter fuse and get irritated quicker than before…especially when it comes to driving!  

Looking forward to:  Our next appointment, finally announcing to the world and finding out the gender soon(ish).