Skeletor {23 weeks!}

We had an appointment with our OB on Monday and we got the times mixed up so Brad missed the appointment by 10 minutes. :( But it was a really fast appointment. They checked my uterus size and it was only measuring a week ahead now and they listened to the heartbeat. Then they sent me on my way. Our next appointment is in a month and I have to do a glucose test. Ugh.

Halloween is right around the corner and this year we are just going to hang out at home and hand out candy. But my friend Wendy posted a link to this adorable shirt to our Facebook and I knew I had to buy it!

 Isn't it the cutest ever?! :)

 

Last weekend we did get the crib put together. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be. It only took me and Brad 30 minutes, maybe. No pictures yet because we are still missing the bed skirt and bumpers. But once the nursery is all put together I will be more than happy to show it off! :)

Here is some info about Bean this week from BabyCenter.com:

Turn on the radio and sway to the music. With her sense of movement well developed by now, your baby can feel you dance. And now that she's more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound, you may be able to see her squirm underneath your clothes. Blood vessels in her lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that your baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing her 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 her when she hears them outside the womb.

The growing belly:

Not much else going on this week...

<3 Brad, Jenna, and Bean

Keep on swimming... {22 weeks}

Some of you might not know this about me, but I'm a swimmer. Ever since I was little little. Then all throughout my elementary, middle, and high school years I swam on a swim team. I love swimming. So, I decided that I should probably start exercising to take care of little Bean and myself, and naturally I chose to swim. And now that I have this belly I float so much easier. Haha. But it's made me feel so much better in general and also a lot sleepier. I am hoping that I can keep this up throughout the rest of the pregnancy!

We wanted to take a moment to say congrats to Brad's cousin Megan on the arrival of her new twin boys, Anderson and Greyson and also to my Brother's Sister Krista on the arrival of her new baby girl, Khloe. :)
Also, my friend Kristin is about to pop any day now with her new baby girl Sonora, so we am hoping next week we will be able to say congrats to her!
So many babies happening! Haha!

As for us... from weeks 22-24 Bean is the size of a papaya (average size: 10.5-11.8 inches, 12.7-20.8 oz).
This week from BabyCenter.com:
At 11 inches and almost 1 pound, your baby is starting to look like a miniature newborn. Her lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and she's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath her gums. Her eyes have formed, but her irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. If you could see inside your womb, you'd be able to spot the fine hair (lanugo) that covers her body and the deep wrinkles on her skin, which she'll sport until she adds a padding of fat to fill them in. Inside her belly, her pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is developing steadily.

The Bump:

I bought this necklace a few weeks ago for Bean. <3

(Yes, it is a bean necklace, haha.)

Next week we have an OB appointment and I have a cute Halloween shirt that I am SO excited to share! Yay!

<3 Brad, Jenna, & Bean

Pain in my... {21 weeks!}

This week my main concern has been the never-ending-constantly-hurting pain in my back. Ouch. Some days is worse than others, and the others make me waddle around my office like a super pregnant woman, I'm not even that big yet, geeeez. I know it comes with the territory of being pregnant, but I was finally feeling great and loving the second trimester and now I waddle. Haha.

Another pain I am having is the nursery. We finally have Bean's room cleared out and ready for some furniture but I seriously cannot commit to anything I see on the internet. I really think I am making a bigger deal about the nursery than I should be, but Brad said that I wasn't acting too crazy, so I guess I am okay. I am hoping to have at least one piece of furniture picked out by this weekend so we can order it along with this adorable quilt that I found. So you may be waiting a while to see any pictures of her room.

We did finally get our registry somewhat put together. There are still a few things that we are researching and stuff (like bottles, why are there so many different types?!) but if you would like to check it out, feel free. :)
We are registered at Babies R Us (Registry #: 47462933) and we have a wish list for baby clothes at Carters (Click here).

My belly has plateaued for now I think. I don't think I have seen much change in it lately. But I suspect that in the next few weeks it is going to grow over night and I will be a big balloon. Haha.

And I *think* that I have felt Bean kick, but to be honest I have no idea what I should be feeling and I don't really want to say that yes, I for sure have felt her kick yet. But if she is, it is very low and usually on the left side. It's like she found the one part that my placenta isn't covering.

This week Bean is the size of a banana. Which could mean anything, I guess. Haha. This is also the last time that Bean will be sized every week. From here until labor she is sized by the month, so only 5 more fruits to go! Whoaaaa.
And here is what BabyCenter.com has to say:
Your baby now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long. You may soon feel like she's practicing martial arts as her initial fluttering movements turn into full-fledged kicks and nudges. You may also discover a pattern to her activity as you get to know her better. In other developments, your baby's eyebrows and lids are present now, and if you're having a girl, her vagina has begun to form as well.

Until next week...

<3 Brad & Jenna & Bean

Oh boy!... Or girl! {20 weeks!}

This morning we had our 20 week anatomy scan, where they measured Bean all over and made sure that everything is good. They didn't tell us anything bad, so I guess no news is good news! Bean was measuring 2 days ahead, but the tech said that this will fluctuate a little throughout the pregnancy. The appointment was by far the longest we have had. They told me to come in with a full bladder, so before the appointment I drank somewhere around 40 ounces of water and juice. And naturally I was late to get called into the exam room. So for most of the morning I was an uncomfortable mess who was afraid to sneeze because I would probably wet myself. When I finally got into the exam room, the tech said that my bladder was SUPER full and that she would try to go as fast as she could to get her calculations. Then after about 15 minutes, she let me pee. It was almost the highlight of my morning. Almost. Haha. She told me to go grab Brad who was still in the waiting room while she talked to the radiologist. When she came back she let us take a look at Bean and I asked her to find out the gender for us. Unfortunately, Bean's legs were locked together. Haha. Which makes me glad that we paid for an early gender scan a few weeks ago. Then she took some pictures for us and sent us on our way.

Profile (my favorite):

 Face and fist pump:

 Arm and body:

And now, for the moment you all have been waiting for... the gender! We decided to have a little party with some friends to celebrate/reveal the gender of Bean. I had a cake made and the inside filling disclosed the goods. My friend Helene did an AWESOME job of decorating her house for the occasion and she even carved a pumpkin for Bean. It was the cutest thing ever!

And here is the video of the cake cutting:

(watch the video before scrolling down!)

The Proof:

So there you have it. Our little Bean is a girl! We were both expecting to see boy parts and when the tech showed us that she was a she, we both got really quite. The tech was like, "Are you guys okay?" Haha. We are totally happy because she is healthy and that is what matters. :)

This week Bean is the size of a small cantaloupe! Which I didn't buy because of that listeria scare, haha.

And some fun facts about Bean:

Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. She's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel. (For the first 20 weeks, when a baby's legs are curled up against her torso and hard to measure, measurements are taken from the top of her head to her bottom — the "crown to rump" measurement. After 20 weeks, she's measured from head to toe.) She's swallowing more these days, which is good practice for her digestive system. She's also producing meconium, a black, sticky by-product of digestion. This gooey substance will accumulate in her bowels, and you'll see it in her first soiled diaper (some babies pass meconium in the womb or during delivery). If you're carrying a girl fetus, her uterus is fully formed this week and her vaginal canal is starting its development (which means that in about twenty-five or thirty-some-odd years, she could be just where you're at, Grandma!). She also has primitive eggs in her tiny little ovaries now, seven million of them — though by the time she's born, that number will be down to two million (still more than she could ever hope to use). And interestingly, your baby girl will be born with all the eggs she'll ever have. 

And finally, the bump. Which is getting more and more noticeable by the second. I had two people ask me when my due date was this week alone. I guess am actually looking pregnant now. Ha.

Until next week...

<3 Brad & Jenna