23 weeks and going strong!

 

Symptoms?

I’m very thankful that my symptoms are becoming less and less. I have some general discomforts such as back aches, the occasional headache or heartburn.

For headaches, I use:

Melted coconut oil + peppermint essential oil. I rub it on my temples and base of my neck and it really does dull the headache if not get rid of it completely. Since IB profun isn’t approved to take while pregnant, I’ve really been doing research into more natural ways to beat the pain.

For back aches:

 

I have Patrick rub it on my back at the end of the day and so far I have nothing but good reviews for it. I picked mine up from Whole Foods for around 8 dollars?

Heartburn:

I still will take the occasional TUMS but have started to research a few other more natural alternatives. I’ll let you know how those turn out.

I’m still taking my Diclegis but am going to start trying to lower my dosage and see how my body reacts to that. Fingers crossed I won’t have to refill it this month!!  🙂

OH! My feet and hands have started to swell. I unfortunately find myself not wearing my wedding rings more often than I do wear them. 😦 I would be devastated if they were to get cut off!

Cravings? Aversions?

It has finally hit me. I crave sweets. 😦 Chocolate ice cream, cakes, strawberries, fruit….. the list could continue on forever. Anyone want to lend me some self control? That would be great, thanks 😉

Sleep?

Sleeping pretty well. 🙂 Occasionally I’ll have an off night and wake up every couple of hours so that I can pee or readjust but I’ve been very thankful that the last couple of weeks have been filled with restful sleep!

Belly button? In or out?

Still in. Definitely stretching and changing though! We shall see if it pops out.

All things pregnancy:

I’m pretty much in the keep on baking stage so things have been fairly routine on this end.  We are still in the process of combining the offices, sorting all of our stuff and emptying Bennett’s room so that we can paint and add furniture back in.

So one thing that I find interesting is now that I’m pregnant, I swear I was bitten by the “everything must be clean” bug. I’ve NEVER been one of those people who excel at keeping things clean and organized but in the past month, wow! I find myself vacuuming, sorting, rearranging, scrubbing and keeping everything picked up! It really is something that I hope I keep up. I really enjoy having a clean and sorted house so fingers crossed I can keep some sort of organized system once Bennett comes.

We purchased his carseat last week! 🙂 That is exciting. We actually already have it installed in our car…. mostly because it would just sit and take up room if we were to store it inside.

I made super cute vintage airplane burp clothes 🙂

Krystal blessed Bennett with the cutest little outfit ever!!!!! ❤

^It really does amaze me how quickly my body is changing.

I’m very thankful to find AMAZING deals on maternity clothes. 🙂

What’s going on with Bennett Journey:

Turn on the radio and sway to the music. With his sense of movement well developed by now, your baby can feel you dance. And now that he’s more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about the size of a large mango), you may be able to see him squirm underneath your clothes. Blood vessels in his lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that your baby’s increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing him for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as your dog barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner — probably won’t faze him when he hears them outside the womb.

I feel him kick and flip around all the time. 🙂

 

Click any picture to enlarge | An update over the past month!

Easter! A candid Patrick took of Kelci seeing my belly

Excited Uncle Chad!

17 week workouts

Easter! 17+ weeks!

18 Weeks ^

  

Gender reveal night!

 

19 weeks and Bennett’s first beach trip

 

More pregnant workouts!

19 weeks 6 days! Where’d the belly go?!? 😉 Gotta love big tanks.

Symptoms?

Where has the time gone? During my last post, I was expressing my love for Diclegis. I STILL have a very fond love and affection for the little white pills. I take two at night and BAM! No more nausea or vomiting. I think I mentioned this before though, they knock.me.out! I’m usually an early morning lover (5am, NO prob!) but these pills keep me sedated until 8. Since they are sleep aids that are delayed, they start working around 4-5 am which is GREAT for not waking up nauseous BUT  the waking up problem is challenging. It got to the point where I could wake up and hear Patrick kissing me and saying goodbye in the morning but I just couldn’t open my eyes and respond which worries Patrick a little.

Two stories. ONE – Diclegis ain’t cheap.  My OB gave me a manufacturer coupon which is suppose to make a 30 day supply (60 pills) only 30 dollars. Well, after my samples ran out at Easter and I was without any medicine that Monday, a trip to Walmart turned into a nightmare and I became a hysterical, sick, pregnant woman. I’m talking absolutely distraught. There are very few times during this pregnancy that I’ve really become horomonally upset. Well, this was one of those times. My sweet husband was able to coach me through the process of transferring the prescription to CVS and all seemed well…. until they also gave me a hard time about the coupon and I ended up paying $30 for 30 pills (a 15 day supply).

So, we went to Patrick’s grandma’s this past weekend for family reunion and decided to stay the night and go to the beach the next day. Halfway through the day I realized I left my Diclegis at home. It almost brought me into anxiety mode thinking that if I got sick, I still have a 2.5 hour car drive home.  Well, if Diclegis makes me feel perfectly normal at a 10, the next day I felt at a 7. Nauseous but functioning which is do-able. Coming back home and only having a few days left of the medicine, I decided to only take the pills when I have something where I HAVE to feel top notch the next day such as a newborn session or something like that. I’m writing this the day before 20 weeks and I’ve been diclegis free for 2 days and I teeter between a 6 and 10 BUT  it does feel good to not be on medicine.

Back to symptoms now that you’ve read all the wonderful world of Diclegis, nausea and vomiting. Hey, at least I’ll have some funny vomiting stories to tell at group gatherings. 😉

So, week 19! I can really feel everything stretching. My hip and lower back are aggravated but I think that’s due to the fact that I’ve had 2 newborn sessions within a 7 day period. Newborn sessions are HARD and then add being pregnant and they can be grueling. From here on out, I’ll have to have an assistant so I don’t compromise the baby’s safety and not throw out my own back.

Cravings? Aversions?

Fruit, Fruit, Fruit, Fruit. Strawberries and now big plump green grapes. Spicy mexican food always sounds good too. 🙂 OH. So last week I went to the grocery store hungry and somehow a can of whip cream (I think it’s called redi-whip??) ended up in my cart. Originally I bought it for the strawberries I had been eating but I found myself just squirting it into my mouth. Gross, I know…. Patrick laughs because at random times he will just hear that aerosol squirting sound and see me standing at the fridge. Luckily I think it was a one time purchased out of hunger thing because after a few days, it is still sitting on the top shelf of my fridge.

Still loving asparagus.

Still not feeling chicken which is sad. We use to eat a ton of chicken pre-pregnancy and now I think I’ve eaten it maybe 3-4 times.

Sleep?

Oh sleep. Week 18/19 have been interesting. I find myself waking up to pee all the time… which could be because I drink water all.the.time. I’ve started using a pillow in between my knees which helps my hips. I’m struggling to NOT sleep on my back. My most comfortable sleeping position is on my back, legs crossed and arms above my head. When you’re pregnant, they tell you NOT to sleep on your back so that you don’t squish the blood vessels that carry important stuff to the baby. I’m really trying but I wake up throughout the night on my back. 😦

Weight?

I am up 2ish lbs from pre pregnancy weight. It is a little crazy to think I’ll be gaining roughly 1 lb a week from here on out.

Clothes?

Non of my pre-pregnancy jeans or shorts button anything on my lower half has to be maternity or worn open with a maternity band. Sometimes I get disappointed when I go to put on an outfit expecting it to fit one way and once it’s actually on it looks NOTHING like I remember it looking like. I think my staples this summer will be shorts and a tank top.

Belly button? In or out?

In but definitely stretching. I’m not sure if it will ever pop out but I can foresee it getting flat.

Random pregnancy stuff from the past month:

– SO week 16, I’m sitting at the mechanic’s watching Good Morning America and all of the sudden, wiggle wiggle wiggle. pause. wigglewigglewigglewiggle.pause.thumpwiggle.thumpthumpthump. At 16 week 3 days I KNEW I was feeling the baby move. I texted Patrick and then kept waiting for more. I felt like a crazy woman though trying to contain my excitement in a room full of mechanics who obviously don’t know the importance of what was happening.

From then on out, I feel baby every single day. 🙂

Probably the biggest thing was finding out at 18 weeks 3 days…… IT’S A BOY!!!!!!! We had the worst sonogram lady though. If you know Patrick and I, you know we love small talk and will crack jokes at anything. Well this lady was NOT amused by our personalities. I drank a huge glass of orange juice prior to the sonogram in hopes that the sugar would get him moving. Well, the sugar didn’t kick in and so the sonogram lady had a tough time seeing everything. While she is scanning, she goes, ” There is the leg, let’s try and find the kidney’s, that’s a penis and oh look there’s an ankle. I immediately looked at Patrick like, “Did she just say what I think she said?!?!! WE’RE HAVING A BOY!!!!” I couldn’t stop smiling. 🙂 Bennett Journey Tobler, I love you already.

Will he have my toes or Patricks?!?

My sweet little boy ❤

The name:

We both love Bennett and we wanted a cool middle name that was a little different than the norm. We originally wanted Ace but could just imagine a 2 year old saying, “My name is Bennett ass Tobler”. So we nixed Ace and continued on our search. We were at PDQ at the begining of the pregnancy and you know how they call out the names when the order is ready? Well, talk about the perfect way to pick out a name for a kid! hahah “David, your order is ready, David.” OHHHH we both like David! So, Bennett David was going to be the name until a week before the ultrasound, Patrick started ancestry.com (the free 2 week trial) and we found out his great grandpa’s name was George Journey. From the moment we heard Journey, we fell in love. We loved that it was unique and a family name. SO, Bennett Journey was decided. 🙂

Gender Reveal Festivities:

After we found out the gender, we had decided from the start that we would go buy the bringing home outfit right after. We went to Babies R Us where I had started our registry online (talk about overwhelming!!) and started browsing. Talk about disappointed. We found some onsies we liked and got them but decided to head to the mall to try and find something we really loved. I’m obsessed with baby Gap, I mean how can you not be?!? Well, talk about perfect timing. Their clearance was also 40% off. We ended up buying 5 outfits for $20 bucks!!! Love love love.

H is for Handsome

Love my mommy and Love my daddy baby gap onsies

We then had to wait until Wednesday to get all the family members together. We went out to chili’s and had everyone wear what color they thought Baby Relbot would be. Both Patrick and I’s mom’s wore pink. Both our brothers wore blue and our sister in laws wore pink and blue. The oldest niece was decked out in pink and the nephew sported blue and the youngest niece didn’t want to participate ;).  I had bought a cake with Bennett’s name on it and made cards with letters to each relative and signed Bennett’s name. The hostess and waitresses were SO sweet and super helpful. I had called ahead and they were just as excited as my family! Hahah they were making bets on the gender and asked when they could find out! What a perfect night full of great food and my loved ones! AND it was Bennett’s first, “Let’s celebrate your life” events. 🙂

Other things:

Bennett went to the beach for the first time. 🙂 Patrick and I are beach lovers and we are SO excited to take him next year when he is actually here 🙂

At the end of week 19, Patrick saw Bennett kick for the first time. I feel him ALL the time and so I’ve been trying to grab Patricks hand so he can feel it. He hasn’t been able to yet. 😦 Well, we were sitting on the couch after dinner and I could feel him kicking so I lifted my shirt and saw a kick! Then Patrick rushed over and HE saw him kick!!!! THUMP! So stinking cool. We love being able to call him by name and pray for him using his actual name. I can’t wait to meet him ❤

So, when you get pregnant, it is AMAZING how much your world revolves around baby talk. Nursery ideas. Imagining the future. I feel like it’s all we talk about. The excitement is bursting from the seams in this household!!

We will be combining offices in the near future and starting the nursery transformation. Here is my “Bennett’s Nursery” pinterest board in case you want to see what direction we are going in.

http://www.pinterest.com/ann_tobler/bennetts-nursery/

I’m halfway done and it is AMAZING how quickly we got here. I can only imagine how fast the next 20 weeks will go. SO much to do! I’m so thankful though. I’m thankful for a healthy baby, an amazing husband, wonderful family and friends. Thanks for following along!

OH! We also hired our birth photographer! For all who have asked if I’m photographing my own, I thought I would pass along the honor 😉 Check her out, she’s pretty awesome!

http://www.mandasphotos.com/

Baby gap goodwill find! $1.19

What’s going on with baby Relbot:

Your baby’s sensory development is exploding! His brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. Some research suggests that he may be able to hear your voice now, so don’t be shy about reading aloud, talking to him, or singing a happy tune if the mood strikes you.

Your baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces (Bennett weighed 8 ounces at the 18 week ultrasound so he probably weighs more) and measures 6 inches, head to bottom — about the size of an heirloom tomato. His arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of his body now. His kidneys continue to make urine and the hair on his scalp is sprouting. A waxy protective coating called the vernix caseosa is forming on his skin to prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid.

16 weeks 1 day

Symptoms?

WOW OH WOW OH WOW! I love Diclegis!!!!! So, they put me on a new anti nausea/vomiting medicine and it is AMAZING!!!! I haven’t felt nauseous or thrown up since being on it and the only side effect that I have from it is being a little bit more tired. I can deal with tired. I can deal with anything as long as I can keep my head out of a toilet 😉

Cravings? Aversions?

Since I have had no nausea, my appetite has returned with full vengeance. The first two days of not being sick, I couldn’t stop eating. After that, I went back to pre pregnancy hunger and have been able to eat on a fairly regular schedule. I have splurged this week on the sweets though because I’m FINALLY hungry and haven’t enjoyed eating in the past 4 months.

No big “pregnancy” cravings or aversions in the past week. Overall just happy to be eating again. 🙂 I have been eating a ton of strawberries though. I also tried ezekiel bread for the first time and Trader Joe’s Jalepeno Lime tortillas which are fantastic.

Sleep?

Since the new medicine is a combination of Unisom (which is a sleep aid), I am sleeping wonderfully. Waking up on the other hand is a challenge. The medicine starts to kick in around 3-4 am (I take it around 9 the night before) and so by the time 6 comes, I am still sound asleep.

Weight?

I am up 2ish lbs from the 10 I lost.

Clothes?

Slowly adding more clothes to my wardrobe!

Highlights of my week:

NOT THROWING UP!!!! 🙂

The warm weather we have been gifted!

Since I’m writing this half way through my 16th week, I have 2 “highlights” that I can’t wait to share in the 16 week update 🙂

I made whipped lavender, tea tree oil, coconut oil, shea butter “body butter”. 🙂

Went on a long walk with Patrick to enjoy the weather!

What’s going on with baby Relbot:

Your growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of an apple). She’s busy moving amniotic fluid through her nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in her lungs begin to develop. Her legs are growing longer than her arms now, and she can move all of her joints and limbs. Although her eyelids are still fused shut, she can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, she’s likely to move away from the beam. There’s not much for your baby to taste at this point, but she is forming taste buds. Finally, if you have an ultrasound this week, you may be able to find out whether your baby’s a boy or a girl! (Don’t be too disappointed if it remains a mystery, though. Nailing down your baby’s sex depends on the clarity of the picture and on your baby’s position. He or she may be modestly curled up or turned in such a way as to “hide the goods.”)

   Click any image to enlarge

This household is welcoming SPRING!

 

Symptoms?

 

So, I really thought that my nausea was coming to an end but after 3-4 days of Heaven, it returned. Have you ever vomited so hard that you can’t breath? Yea, it’s AMAZING! haha Every meal I make or anything that I want to eat, I always think, “Is this something I’m willing to eat in case it comes back up”. For instance, a banana coming out of your nose is a lot less painful than shredded wheat!

I did just pick up a sample of a different nausea medicine in hopes that it’s more gentle on my body.

Exhaustion. I did find out that I was anemic at my last appointment, so I’m working on putting more iron into my diet! They asked after testing my iron levels, “Have you experienced any fatigue”. Is that a trick question?? I do believe creating a human and fatigue go hand in hand 😉

 

Cravings? Aversions?

I had my first “real” pregnancy craving. I actually DREAMED about this food. What was making my mouth water? Kanki! I eat at Kanki about once a year for my birthday but I just HAD to have it. After months of busy schedules and little quality time, we decided to splurge and spent the evening scarfing down the delicious Kanki.  It really was a wonderful evening.

Ok, my second, less intense craving has been asparagus, steak and baked potatoes. I made these delicious  Parmesan crusted asparagus with homemade lemon aioli sauce.

 

Sleep?

So I’ve been sleeping better than the first 12 weeks. I’m waking up less during the middle of the night to pee which is lovely. 🙂

Weight?

So, I had to go to the doctor this week for an ear infection. The nurse told me that since my last appointment which was in December (for an ear infection!! ugh) that I have lost 10 lbs. I did talk to my OB though and he wasn’t concerned. He said with time, the weight will come and to not worry about it.

Clothes?

My maternity jeans or my normal jeans with a belly band.  I’m just starting to embrace tighter shirts now that the bump actually looks like a baby bump and not a doughnut bump. 🙂

Highlights of my week:

We heard baby’s heart beat for the first time AND set a date for the anatomy scan which will reveal the GENDER!!!

We rented our house in Youngsville!!! Patrick renovated it after our last tenants moved out and the water leak happened and now it’s rented for hopefully another few years.

Our Kanki date night was so perfect and wonderful. ❤

What’s going on with baby Relbot:

This week’s big developments: Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another. His kidneys are producing urine, which he releases into the amniotic fluid around him — a process he’ll keep up until birth. He can grasp, too, and if you’re having an ultrasound now, you may even catch him sucking his thumb.

In other news: Your baby’s stretching out. From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 -4 inches — about the size of a nectarine— and he weighs 1 1/2 ounces. His body’s growing faster than his head, which now sits upon a more distinct neck. By the end of this week, his arms will have grown to a length that’s in proportion to the rest of his body. (His legs still have some lengthening to do.) He’s starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair, called lanugo, all over his body. Your baby’s liver starts making bile this week — a sign that it’s doing its job right — and his spleen starts helping in the production of red blood cells. Though you can’t feel his tiny punches and kicks yet, your little pugilist’s hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active.

15 weeks 1 day.

 

15 weeks 1 day. Hello there baby!

 

Trying to get a picture with Rocco!

 

 

My own baby feet! Wasn’t I just SO cute 😉

Click any image to enlarge.

12 weeks 1 day

12 weeks 5 days. BYE BYE 1st trimester.

SO, not too many pictures from 10&11 weeks except this one:

Jenn’s surprise 30th bday which was 90’s themed!

but I am really starting to see a change throughout week 12. The baby bump is starting to show more. 🙂 Can you tell I am loving the green tank top? I forgot that I wore it at the beginning of the week SO it resurfaced at the end (after it was washed of course!) Top outfit consists of my normal jeans and a Target tank top. Bottom outfit is target maternity shorts and a target tank top.

Week 10 and 11 were still rough. It was a mental challenge not knowing when the constant feeling of HORRIBLE would go away. I’m SO thankful that the symptoms are slowly residing and I am starting to feel like myself again. I could be on top of the world!

I’ve been going for walks the past 3 months but the 12th week provided enough relief for me to return to the gym. 🙂

I also had enough energy to make some healthy snacks for the week! 

So the plan is to start updating week by week now that more changes will be happening quicker. I’m thankful for the second trimester and SO excited to hear the baby’s heart beat in 10 days. We saw it on the ultrasound but we have not heard it yet. I just know I’m going to cry! Haha.

Patrick and I are planning some fun day trips this spring and summer to celebrate our last year of being child-less. So much will be changing SO quickly this year, we really want to soak up our alone time and just enjoy every moment as this beautiful season comes to an end.

In the next couple of months we are hoping to finish the space above our garage, move patrick’s office into the new space, me into his old office and turn my office into the nursery. That is A LOT of moving around, a lot of cleaning and organizing and A LOT of stuff I just DON’T want to do.

Symptoms?

My acne is still there. Luckily, I can cover most of it with makeup, just don’t get too close 😉

I have started to get dizzy when I stand up quickly and I feel like I can feel my insides moving. If I move too quickly, muscles tighten up or if I sneeze, it feels like I’ve pulled a muscle in my lower abdomen. Very very odd.

Week 10 and 11 were still filled with nausea, vomiting, exhaustion and feeling horrible.

Week 12 – dare I say that the second trimester is welcoming me with loving and open arms??!?!?!? The past 3-4 days have been amazing. I have only had a few moments of nausea and being pregnant doesn’t seem too bad. 😀 I am praying that it stays like this. 🙂

Cravings? Aversions?

So, my appetite is slllloowwwwllly returning. I’m not very hungry in the mornings but the closer I get to lunch, the hungrier I become.

I have been craving fresh fruit, Panera’s Apple Fuji salad, Cheese, Bojangles french fries, and ICE COLD WATER.  I did have a small craving for key lime pie so I bought a slice from the store and after a few bites, it tasted weird. 😦

Jennifer surprised me with fresh strawberries 🙂

SO, you know what’s frustrating? Going out to dinner and ordering something, and once you finally get it, it’s not what you want.

Dinner with my mom at Olive Garden! Shrimp Alfredo sounded GREAT until I took the first bite of shrimp. YUCK.

Sleep?

So even though I’m tired, I’ve been having trouble going to sleep at night and staying asleep. I normally can pass out at like 8 but the past couple of nights I’ve stayed up until 10:30 and beyond. I’m hoping it’s just a phase.

Weight?

So, the past three weeks, I have lost another .5 lbs. Still no weight gain. BUT I’m not going to let it worry me. 🙂

Clothes?

I’m all for shopping BUT buying some maternity staples can get overwhelming.  Thankfully I have had AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING deals!!!! I did find two maxi dresses at Plato’s that I’m looking forward to wearing 🙂

Highlights of my week:

Shopping for maternity jeans. They are SO comfy… plus the sales woman had me laughing non stop. Thanks Jenn for coming with me!

Patrick putting his hand on my stomach for the first time while praying for the baby. It’s just a reminder that there IS a baby in there. ❤

I’ve had some amazing quality time with some amazing women in the past couple of weeks. 🙂

What’s going on with baby Relbot:

The most dramatic development this week: reflexes. Your baby’s fingers will soon begin to open and close, his toes will curl, his eye muscles will clench, and his mouth will make sucking movements. In fact, if you prod your abdomen, your baby will squirm in response, although you won’t be able to feel it. His intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into his abdominal cavity about now, and his kidneys will begin excreting urine into his bladder.

Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and in your baby’s brain, synapses are forming furiously. His face looks unquestionably human: His eyes have moved from the sides to the front of his head, and his ears are right where they should be. From crown to rump, your baby-to-be is just over 2.5 inches long (about the size of a lime) and weighs half an ounce.