11 weeks

29 weeks left to go! You're about the size of a fig or a lime and you have officially graduated from embryo to fetus. You also have tiny fingernails, tiny legs and arms that you're kicking around (I can't feel anything yet, though), ears almost fully developed, your bones are hardening, and you can also hiccup.

Nothing too exciting to report on this week. I'm still hoping for a little more of a bump to appear pretty soon. I just think I look like I just ate a lot all the time and it's kind of bumming me out.  I know there are things going on in there, but it is really hard to just not feel fat.

As you can tell, had a sort of down week. I'm blaming it on hormones. Nothing serious. Just been bummed all week. About nothing in particular. Just bummed and tired. I think the weather is also bumming me out. All I want to do is run outside, and it is still a little cold for that. Daylight savings is in a few weekends, so that will be nice, too. More sunlight = happier Megan.

I've also been having a ton of weird dreams, too, that have been affecting my sleep. Usually they are just weird or a little scary (like someone is chasing me and I can't get away). But, I had one super, super weird one. I dreamt that I was breast feeding Jax. He was acting all crazy and I just pulled him in to breast feed him. It was so weird. I think it's me being worried that I won't be able to give him as much attention as I do now once you're born. I'm sure that won't be the case, I just don't want him to feel neglected. He is, after all, our first born.

Here are a few 11 week pictures. As a mentioned earlier, I'm feeling kind of ick, so I hate these pictures! Plus the lighting is terrible. Next time, we're taking them when it's still light out and we can get some natural light.

Symptoms: Tired, tired, and more tired.
Workouts: Got some a couple good runs in and some few walks. Did a killer shoulder/back workout one day that left me feeling it the next. I also did a ton of shoveling that day, so I'm sure that didn't help things.
Best moment this week: Going to the zoo with our friend Jocelyn and her daughter, Giuliana. It was a nice little glimpse into what hanging out with a baby all day is going to be like. And, it was amazing! Matt was so cute interacting with her, too.
Miss anything? Pushing myself to the max on a run or any other work out.
Next prenatal appointment: Two and a half weeks, and it can not come soon enough! It feels like forever ago since we had the ultrasound. It will be so great to be able to hear the heart beat and just know that you are growing just fine in there.
Things you've done this past week: We did the zoo on Sunday which was really fun. There are brand new jaguar cubs there. So, we went to check them out and they were so stinking cute.

Saturday night we went to see a show put on by Nick Offerman. He plays Ron Swanson in the show Parks and Recreation, which Matt and I both love. It was the perfect little date night and the show was really great!

10 weeks

Double digits, baby!! Here we are at 10 weeks. A quarter of the way through. The baby is about the size of a prune, and is growing quickly. It's unbelievable to think how small you were just a few short weeks ago. According to all the books, right now you're developing tiny arms with elbows, buds of baby teeth, stomach, kidneys, jaws, ears, nose, muscles, and hair follicles with little peach fuzz. Everyday it amazes me that this is happening inside my body.

Weight gained: At the last doctor's appointment I was up about three pounds. I'm still getting used to the weight gain. There are no real signs of a baby bump yet, just altogether rounder in the midsection. I think that makes the idea of gaining weight really hard when you just always look like you've eaten a big meal. I'm ready for a little bump!
Symptoms: There really wasn't too much action this week in the symptoms department. I'm not as tired as I have been in previous weeks, which is so nice! I did have my first real hormonal freak out. I was frustrated about something that wasn't even really that big of a deal and out of no where I just started bawling and couldn't stop. Matt was sweet and comforting as I was saying, 'I don't even know why I'm crying.' It was pretty laughable actually.
Food aversions: Really only vegetables, and I wouldn't even call them an aversion. They just never sound appetizing.
Food cravings: No really strong cravings, either. I'm waiting for one of those to hit. Hopefully, it doesn't happen until the weather gets a little warmer. I would hate to send your dad out in the middle of the night for Oreos or Cheez Its when it's freezing cold outside.
Workouts: I got in a few 3 - 4 miles runs this week and lots of walks. Now that I'm starting to feel less tired, I'm hoping to get more runs in. I've signed up to run a half marathon in May, and the doctor has approved it. I'd like to start up-ing my mileage for that pretty soon.
Baby items purchased: Does paint for the nursery count? ;) Since we're not sure if you're going to be a boy or girl, we decided to cover up the pink in the nursery with a nice neutral gray. I was also at Goodwill looking for maternity clothes (scored a pair of Gap maternity skinny jeans for $7!) and had to look in the baby section. I found a Packers onesie that I just had to purchase.
Best moment this week: Finally letting the secret out to everyone! On Friday I told my work about you and everyone went crazy. My boss, Jeanne, was tearing up. I'm very lucky to have a great boss that I would also consider a friend, so it was so great to tell her. Friends and family are now finding out, too.
Miss anything? This week, I really was craving just a glass of wine. Your dad and I went out for a Valentine's Date on Saturday to Crawdaddy's. A Cajun restaurant that we love so much. We actually had our rehearsal dinner there and have been celebrating Valentine's Day there for quite some time. I was planning on having just a glass of wine with dinner, which is OK according the the doctor. Anyways, we ran into the Jagows and Matt had told them the day before that we were expecting. So, I decided against the glass of wine. I just really didn't want to be judged. :)
Next prenatal appointment: March 15 ----> We get to hear your heart beat!
Things you've done this past week: We had a doctor's appointment on Thursday (which happened to be Valentine's Day). We were hoping to hear your heart beat. How great would that have been to hear your heart beat for the first time on V Day? Anyways, it turned out to be a little early. So, we have to wait until the next appointment. Lame. We talked with the doctor about genetic testing, too. And there's so much to think about with that! It's pretty stressful. We're thinking we don't really want to do any of it. We would never not have you because of something and it just seems like it would be added stress. Your dad and I are still discussing this so we'll see. After the appointment, we stopped at Gigi's cupcake shop which is right next door to the doctor's office to split a cupcake that was so flippin' good! Your dad and I were talking about making to a doctor's appointment tradition.

As I mentioned earlier, we celebrated Valentine's Day on Saturday. Your dad is just the greatest. He did get me flowers and candy (Snickers and Skittles, my favorite!), but he also wrote the sweetest card in the world. He's just the best. I love him so much. I got him some candy and a card, and I also got these prints of Lambeau Field, Camp Randall stadium, and Miller Park and hung them in the basement as a surprise. There the perfect addition to our "Man Cave."

Finally, we spent Sunday painting the nursery. It actually didn't take too terribly long. The pink is now officially gone, and replaced with the gray. It looks so much better! I still want to add stripes to one of the walls, but I've got lots of time to think about that.

9 weeks

Nine weeks!! Moving right along. Our little gummi bear has graduated from an embryo to a fetus and is about an inch long. All the books say about the size of a green olive. I promise to start taking some belly shots soon. I always seem to forget.

Weight gained: About two pounds. It definitely feels like so much more. It's almost time to switch over to maternity pants.
Symptoms: Almost all nausea has pretty much subsided. (Knock on wood!) I'm not having to snack as much so I'm not feeling sick. I'm still really tired all the time. I'm hoping that I'm feeling a little preppier within the next few weeks. And, the worst of all, the ole intestines are pretty blocked up. No fun at all.
Food aversions: No real standouts this week.
Food cravings: Still loving cereal and peanut butter sandwiches. So good.
Workouts: Got in a few good runs this week. The fatigue makes it so difficult though. On Saturday, I had every intention of going for a run, but then had to do with a long walk followed by a long nap. Did some lunges yesterday with some dumbbells and my legs are pretty sore today. I can't wait for the weather to get nicer so that I can run outside again. If nothing else, I am still getting in my morning walks with Jax for about 30 minutes.
Suspicions on gender: Last night I had a dream that it was a girl! So, now I'm leaning that way. Give it a few weeks until I change my mind.
Baby items purchased: I went to Goodwill to look for maternity clothes and found a bunch! Right now, I definitely just need pants. I found a few good pairs of pants for work and I'm going to check a few other thrift stores for jeans. I did find a great summer dress, some tops, and a nice hoodie. It was a definite Goodwill score. I hope to thrift as much as I can. Maternity clothes can get so expensive!
Best moment this week: Telling my friend, Katie Dionne, that I was pregnant. She screamed and was crying happy tears. Such a sweet, sweet person. Love her.
Miss anything? We went out for a friend's birthday party on Saturday night. Not going to lie, it would've been a lot more fun if I could've had a few beers. :)
Next prenatal appointment: This Thursday! Which also happens to be Valentine's Day.
Things you've done this past week: It was a pretty low key week, which I definitely needed. We did head to Menard's this weekend to pick up a few paint samples. We'll be painting the nursery hopefully this weekend. We'd like to do light grey and then have one wall with dark grey stripes. The previous owners had the room pink for their daughters. Since we don't want to know what you're going to be until your born, we're going with neutral grey. Here's what the pink looked like with the previous owner's stuff.

The Grammy's were on last night. I suppose it might be interesting to look back and see what was popular. Mumford & Sons won album of the year with their album "Babel." Love them and was very happy to see them win. Gotye's "Somebody that I used to know" won for record of the year. Your dad and I love this song! It was the last song they played at our wedding. I remember everyone on the dance floor just singing it at the top of their lungs. "We are young" by fun. won for song of the year. Pretty good song, but it got old pretty fast.

Alright little baby. Keep on growing. Only 31 more weeks until you're in our arms. The idea of your dad snuggling you brings tears to my eyes. I can't wait to meet you. (And, yes, I'm going to say this every week.)

Names we love

Boys
Patrick

Callum

Callin
Liam
Finnigan
Lucas
David
Elliot
Boyd
Danny
Harris
Harrison
Peter
Samuel
Jude
Gabriel
Silas
Sawyer
Jonah
Mason
Elliot

Arie


Girls
Evelyn Grace
Genevieve
Vivian
Stella
Madeline
Molly
Lucy
Quinn
Adeline
Cora
Marley
Scarlett
Mila

Delaney

Corrine

Celia

8 weeks

Here we are at 8 weeks! You have officially graduated from blueberry-sized to raspberry sized. Our little gummi bear.

Weight gained: Not entirely sure. Haven't weighed myself in a few days. I definitely feel like I weigh more, but that could just be the bloating.
Symptoms: The nausea has pretty much subsided, but I am still tired all the time. Eight to nine hours of sleep a night is pretty much a must.
Food aversions: Not really anything specifically. I'm ok with the occasional cup of coffee now, and most dinners are sounding alright again. However, veggies still aren't super appealing and nothing really sounds amazing.
Food cravings: I've been craving Taco Bell for the last week. I haven't had any yet because I know it's super gross and not good for, but it is seriously all I can think about!
Suspicions on gender: I still really feel boy.
Baby items purchased: Nothing new.
Next prenatal appointment: February 14
Things you've done this past week: Well, we finally told some more people about you! Friday night we drove up north to Independence to your grandparents house. Dana and Rob were there, too. We were all sitting around snacking and then gave them all their little gifts. (A bib for grandma, a onesie for  Dana and grandpa, and a bib for Rob.) We told them they were thank you gifts for helping us move. Everyone opened them and freaked out! It was so great. Your grandma said she barely slept that night because she was so excited.

The next day was the big ice fishing contest in Independence. There, we told Chris and Lisa Smieja. Their daughter Nora is just over a year old, and we knew they would be so excited. And they were! It's so great to have friends be just as excited as you are.

We spent the day down at the ice fishing contest. Playing games, dancing, talking to friends, and there may have been a few beers on your dad's part. We went back home for dinner and I was pretty much pooped. Your dad went back out with friends and didn't make it back until close to 2. He had a great time, though.

Saturday morning, I convinced your dad to go for a quick run with me outside. It was about 6 degrees and very, very cold. Your dad was a trooper and didn't complain once. I am honestly the luckiest girl around to have such a supportive, encouraging husband. I love that man.

We were up bright and early on Sunday to head to Minneapolis to break the news to Andy. We left Independence at 8 and got up to the cities around 10. We have Andy the onesie and said he totally knew it! I guess he thought it was weird we just decided to take a random trip to Minneapolis on a Sunday. :) He's really excited though. He probably has the most questions about pregnancy stuff. It definitely is the most foreign to him.

After a quick trip with Jax to the dog park, we were back on the road to Milwaukee. On the way, I called Katy to tell her the news. She didn't answer the phone right away, but she did call back, and the first thing she said was, "I just had to call you back to see if you're pregnant. Every time you call I think you're pregnant. So, are you pregnant?" And that right there is why that girl is my best friend. It's like ESPN or something. (This is a movie reference. Please ask me about it and I will introduce you to the best movie ever.)

We got home and watched the Super Bowl. The Baltimore Ravens beat the San Francisco 49ers, 34-31. It was a great game. The Ravens were winning 28-6 in the third quarter when there was a power outage and the game was stopped for 30 minutes. After the outage, the 49ers were coming back strong. I was so happy to see the Ravens hold on to the win.

It was Groundhog's Day on Saturday and the groundhog in Milwaukee and the one in Pennsylvania both predicted an early spring. Well, it snowed today and is supposed to snow tomorrow, so I have a feeling they may be a little inaccurate.

It's been a great week. Each time we tell someone new about you, I get even more excited all over again. We truly can't wait to meet you. Seven and a half months to go.