Moves like Daddy

Just when I was saying that things hadn't changed much and I didn't think they would for a couple of weeks, Clayton has moved.  For the whole first 23 weeks, as far as I could feel, he was head to my right and feet to my left.  I could feel him kicking all day long on my left side but no one else was able to feel it.  Well last night was the first time that I've been woken up by his kicking and apparently he has moved.  For about an hour last night, I felt like he was trying to dance his way through my belly button.  You can definitely see it and feel it now, that's for sure!  As much as I would have liked to sleep last night, it was so cool to watch my belly move around.  I think he's going to have some moved like his daddy ;-)

Weekly Baby Update

A few months back, I enjoyed reading a weekly baby update from a couple of college sorority sisters.  I believe that Kelly at Mrs. in Training started the trend among the two that I read.  As much as I liked reading their updates, I thought I would do one every now and then too.  Things haven't changed a lot over the last couple of weeks and I imagine that the next couple of weeks might be similar.  Here goes...

How far along: 23 weeks

Size of our baby:  Clayton is around 11 inches long and almost a pound. If you want to go by fruit comparison, The Baby Center says that he is a "Large Mango"  

Total weight gain/loss:  Total gain:  I am honestly not sure.  I usually forget to look at the scales when I go to the doctor.  My best guess is between 10-12 lbs.

Maternity clothes: Almost everything I am wearing these days is usually maternity.  I have a few t-shirts for work on spirit days and a couple of tank tops that were longer that I use for layering.  I was getting by for a while on regular pants if I used a belly band but even now that is pretty uncomfortable.

Stretch marks: None so far! Fingers crossed

Sleep:  Sleep is MUCH BETTER at night!  I can usually make it about 6 hours in a single stretch!  However, I still go to bed exhausted and wake up tired too..... not as tired as I could be though.   I could go with out the extreme fatigue in the afternoons though.  An afternoon with out napping is impossible!

Best moment this week:  Hmmm this week has been a rough one on the deployment front and the pregnancy front but I am a firm believer in finding the positive.  Best moment of the week was doing all of Clayton's laundry and sorting through to start organizing his things.  While his tiny size is very intimidating, his little clothes are just the cutest!

Movement: Tons of movement!  He has stayed in the same position pretty much the whole pregnancy.  His head is on my right and feet to my left so I feel his little feet on my left side all day long!  About the only time I can't feel him is when I am standing up.  His movement is still border line hard enough for others to feel him.  I think he could probably be felt from the outside if those hard kicks weren't so inconsistent.  For now, I am happy being the only one who gets to feel him :)

Food cravings/aversions:  Just about any given day, there is some kind of pizza to be had.  Also, I swap between Little Debbie zebra cakes and fudge rounds.  (I keep those in my car so that I can't eat a whole box in one sitting)

Belly button in or out: Still very IN.   I've always thought that I had a big belly button so I think it's going to be a long time before it would poke out.... if ever!

What I miss/What I am looking forward to: Miss: productive evenings after work since my time is spent sleeping in the afternoons.  Looking forward to: Upcoming baby showers!

Weekly Wisdom: I've learned that I am no longer driving this ship.  Baby wants to eat, we eat.  Body wants to sleep, we sleep.  Legs don't want to walk up the stairs. we sit.

Milestones: Over halfway.

Symptoms:  This question is a joke to me!  I am the poster child for pregnancy symptoms.  Fortunately, all in small doses.  So symptoms appropriate for public reading.... extreme fatigue in the afternoons, heartburn at night, need to pee every time I stand up, and back by popular demand this week after a long break from the big show....headaches and nausea! Woo Hoo!

Let's rewind...

This week I am 23 weeks along in this pregnancy.  It has been an interesting ride so far.  Let's rewind and play catch up from the beginning.

For a couple of years we have had two dates in mind while planning for this baby.  One being KP's deployment and the other being my mom's retirement.  These dates were pretty influential in our planning.  My mom has graciously offered to be our full time day care so her retirement date was very important to us.  On the other hand, we made an attempt to plan this pregnancy around a deployment... a failed attempt.  We got pregnant much faster than we thought it would happen... yes I know all the birds and the bees business so I'm not dumb when it comes to how we got pregnant faster than we thought.  However, it is what it is and I have come to embrace our NEW plan!

We found out that we were pregnant the first week in October.  It was a total shock!  I can't even remember why I decided to take a test in the first place. For whatever reason, I did and it was positive.  My immediate reaction was that KP needed to run out and get me another brand of test because I didn't believe it.  It was in fact true.  We had every intention of waiting until Thanksgiving to tell our families until my Nanny got sick.  I couldn't live with the idea of her passing away with out knowing about this baby so we spilled the beans in week ONE.  Wouldn't you know... she pulled through long enough to find out at week 20 that this baby is a BOY!

After telling the family, we immediately started having some complications and things got very scary.  I ended up at the doctor being tested every two weeks until they felt this baby was in it for the long haul.  The upside to that is that before week 20, I had already had 7 ultrasounds... can't complain about seeing my little boy flourish and grow!  I would say that things started to feel "safe" around week 10.  I started to show more, which made me feel good because that meant my baby was growing. In the mean time, KP was in and out of town for work ups before deployment and I was not only terrified about this baby but also learning to adjust to my new role of full time military wife.

At 16 weeks, I had a regular check up with out and ultrasound.  Fortunately, KP was actually able to go to this appointment.  When the doctor found out that he would be leaving for deployment before the big gender reveal, he gave us a freebie ultrasound.  The ultrasound was "inconclusive" with their best guess being a boy.  There was no doubt in my mind.  I saw the picture and this baby was with out a doubt a boy.  Even still, we waited until our big appointment at 20 weeks to confirm the gender before telling many people.  There was never any other option for me.  From the day that I found out I was pregnant, I said this baby was a boy and I was right.  I just had a feeling.  So Clayton James he shall be!

At 17 weeks, KP left for his overseas deployment.  He will be back "sometime" after the baby is born.  It has been quite a range of emotions. It has gone from confident, to terrified, back to some level of content.  We have gotten into a really good routine with communication.  After about the 2nd week, we have been able to communicate in some way almost every single day.  One of the things that really scared me was not being able to reach him if something bad were to happen.  Fortunately, all of those times that I have come across that I felt were really important to reach him right away, I have been able to just by chance.

So here we are, 23 weeks along.  It has been an adventure of emotions and pregnancy symptoms.  All in all it has been an easy pregnancy.  I haven't had any symptom more severe than another and nothing unbearable.  Some just annoying more than anything.  Clayton is growing fast and strong!  I can feel him kicking and moving almost all day every day. The nursery is almost ready (more to come on that) and the baby laundry is being done (more to come as well).  So join us for the other adventures that are sure to pop up along the way!

Sarah, KP and Clayton