22 weeks

So, here we are at 22 weeks!! I still can't believe how fast this is going! According to my weekly email update about what's happening inside my body, the baby is now almost a foot long and weighs in at one whole pound!! Nothing else too exciting going on visually, belly just keeps getting bigger! This week, someone said to me, "Everytime I see you, your belly is bigger!" Well, yes, that is the ultimate goal...would be worried if it was getting smaller at this point!

This baby has been busy practicing his/her soccer skills and dance moves this week! Eric and I have been better about our daily walks, as we have recently turned off our cable (another item off my 101 in 1001 list!!). We go for a good 2-3 mile walk, after that and some yummy dinner the baby starts doing a little happy dance inside my belly! It really is the most amazing thing to feel the little one moving around. Eric has felt it moving once, but usually the baby calms right down when dad puts his hands on my tummy. Sure hope the baby responds like that in the future!!

Let me tell you a little about life without cable. It is....AMAZING! So much stuff is getting done around the house, we've been enjoying the beautiful spring weather, and we actually get to hang out and spend quality time together! Don't get me wrong, we're still watching plenty through Netflix and Hulu and what not...but it's so nice to have the TV off and enjoy some peace and quiet as well! I highly recommend it!!

Don't have much to write about, so here are some pictures. None too current, but a little update!

Here is Baby B and I at 20 weeks.


And here is Eric and the new crib and dresser we've put up in the baby's room.


And here I am trying to get Bella to help test out the glider we'll be using, thanks to some great friends for sharing this (as well as a million other baby items!) She doesn't love it...

21 weeks

As of today, we are more than halfway done with this pregnancy. That, to me, is crazy! This is going by so fast, I can't even believe it! And we're on the downhill slide, so I'm sure the next few months will go even faster!

We've been working on the baby room. It has been converted from my belly dance room, so mirrors are down, holes from said mirrors are being patched, etc. Crib is up, dresser is up, glider is up...things are coming along! (Pics coming soon!)

I am making the switch to maternity clothes, slowly but surely! And man, are they comfy! We really should wear more pants with elastic waists...they are AMAZING!!! I'm going to save them for holidays...okay, maybe not really, but it sure sounds nice!

Also? I have been feeling the baby move over the past few days. I had thought I had felt it on several occasions already, but now know that I was mistaken! I first felt it on Sunday morning while I was rocking in the rocking chair. Since then, I have been feeling it move around in the evenings after our nightly walk. It's a somewhat bizarre feeling, but totally amazing at the same time. Feeling a little tap from inside is one of the coolest feelings! Now, if I could just catch it in time so that Eric could feel it!

This pregnancy business, is SO cool!

Top 10

I stole this idea from my friend, Aarin, who started a list like this when she was pregnant.

Here is my Top 10 list of things that people have said to me and that I recommend you not say to pregnant women. Luckily, I'm not able to have a full 10 yet and am hoping I don't get that far!

And if any of you have said anything on this list...I apologize for putting your comments on here!!

1. "I thought you looked like you'd gained some weight." When a woman tells you that she is pregnant, the correct response is "CONGRATULATIONS!"

2. "Pregnant in the summer? You're going to be so miserable!" Actually, I love summertime and I'm looking forward to it!

3. "Look at your little pooch growing." Please don't make me go into this again!

4. "You don't look too bad for ____ weeks." Really? You don't look too bad either, for whatever circumstance!

5. "You're just as far along as ______. She isn't showing at all and she hasn't gained any weight yet." That's great for whoever it is that you know, but all bodies are different and please don't try to make me feel like mine is failing in some way!

6. "Oh, Sarah! I barely recognized you!" Okay, I know I've put on a few pounds and I have a little bump going on, but I don't think that I'm unrecognizable!

We'll see how many more I have to add over the next 20 weeks!!!

Hi Baby!!

Today we got to make the trek to Grand Junction for our one and only ultrasound! I was so nervous and anxious this morning ... it was extremely difficult to get through half the work day! And luckily the 16 inches predicted for today didn't turn out to be quite 16 inches!

It was absolutely amazing to see our little baby! Baby did not want to participate for the whole viewing and was moving to get away from the ultrasound machine. The ultrasound tech told Eric and I to close our eyes several times, as we had requested to not find out the sex of the baby. Kind of funny knowing that an ultrasound technician in Grand Junction is the only person who knows the sex of our sweet baby!

The ultrasound confirmed that there is in fact only one baby in there and we measured right on track, with our due date still August 27. Heart rate was 150 and baby weighed in at 10 ounces, which seemed big to me but our very sweet technician reminded me that is still smaller than a can of soda! We were also informed that my placenta is in the front, which doesn't really mean anything unless we wanted to have more ultrasounds but also that it may be more difficult to feel kicks and punches, as there is more 'stuff' to get through!

This all seems so much more real now that we have seen the little one growing inside of me! So, thought I'd share some of the pics we got to see today!!!

Baby was hanging out or sleeping on knees

On the left is the abdomen and on the right is the cutest face ever! Maybe I'm biased...


Itty bitty hand


And some tiny feet

3D image of cute little face!

And a little video (the blob in front of the baby is placenta)

Elliott Marie

This weekend, I had the immense pleasure of meeting my sweet niece, Elliott Marie. She is definitely one of the most beautiful babies EVER! She was born at 12:25am, weighing 9 lbs. 9.7 oz. and almost 23 inches long! She has lots of brown hair and a nice tan complexion. She makes super funny faces and sleeps with her mouth open, which I absolutely love! She loves to eat and sleep and is very good at both! She gave me a run for my money during a diaper change and getting her ready to go home! I'm sure we'll be great friends and that I'll be her favorite aunt...at least on the Leitnaker side of the family!

Being around Miss Elliott was amazing and made me that much more excited about the little one who will be entering our lives sooner than later! It's still amazing to me to think about a little one just relaxing and growing inside of me right as we speak! I can't wait to see our little one playing with his or her cousin, Elliott!!

On another note, we had another appointment with Jasmine today. The baby's heartbeat is at 140...nice and healthy! And measuring at 19 weeks, which is right on track as we'll be 19 weeks at the end of the week! We have another exciting day coming up on Thursday, as we'll be having our ultrasound! I cannot wait to see our little baby!!!

Dream A Little Dream...

I know that I have done a lot of talking about some of the not so fun aspects of pregnancy. However...I am totally loving the dreams that come along with pregnancy. Dreams are always so interesting to me anyways, but now they are just amazing! Pregnancy dreams definitely make the list of the top 10 cool things about being pregnant!

Over the weekend, I had a dream that Kate Gosselin and her daugher, Leah, showed up to take my bellydance class. In my dream I didn't think anything of it, just greeted them and got them dancing.

In another recent dream were tons of people I went to middle school or high school with. Most of whom I haven't spoken to in several years. Funny to have their names and faces pop into my dreams.

I've also had a few funny baby dreams. In one, the baby was born on August 15th (don't know if that means anything!) but the baby only weighed a little over a pound. We were at a beach house with Eric's parents, in Florida, and I was carrying around this tiny baby, perplexed at the size. Everyone just kept telling me everything was fine, the baby just came out really small.

I've also had some not so funny dreams, so that were down right scary. In one, a family member passed away. No one wanted to tell me while I was pregnant so they were sending texts back and forth from this person's phone, answering my facebook comments, etc. That dream was totally scary and not fun at all, but still totally vivid.

I have read that dreams become more bizarre and easier to remember because pregnant women are more likely to interrupt a dream-filled cycle of REM sleep by waking up during the night for any number of reasons - bathroom, middle of the night snack, re-situating, etc.

I wish I had started keeping track of some of these crazy dreams. But some of them have been so interesting, I don't think I'll ever forget them!

The Madness Begins

Today is one of my favorite days of the year. I don't love to watch college basketball the entire season, except for the Cats, but once the tournament comes around...it's a whole different ball game!

On the other hand, I'm super antsy right now waiting for my sister's baby to arrive! Tomorrow is the official due day, but I have been waiting very impatiently this week for the little one to arrive. I'm pretty sure that since the forecast I heard on my way home from work called for up to 16 inches of snow, the baby will be on it's way shortly after I-70 is closed! Or...this 65 degree weather will continue and we won't have to worry about the weather, for once!

We are at 17 weeks! Can't believe how fast this is going! I keep hearing that we may be able to start feeling the baby move over the next few weeks. However, it may feel like gas. I'm still unsure about whether or not I'm feeling my sweet little baby or a gas bubble, which is an unusual thought! I don't want to get too emotional over a little gas, but I also don't want to blow off the first time I feel the baby moves because it may just be gas! Oh the weirdness of pregnancy!!

I have been feeling GREAT the past few weeks! It is so nice to have some energy back and be up for some physical activity almost daily, as opposed to coming home and napping on the couch, eating dinner, napping a little more and then heading to bed! We have another appointment at the end of the month and have scheduled our ultrasound for April 1. I am so looking forward to that day!