Weeks 21-23

Well, I am totally failing at these weekly posts! I haven't updated in almost a month...oops!!!

Here we go, lets dive right in! I left off right after our 20 week anatomy scan and now I am about to go for my 24 week appointment and glucose test! Fingers crossed that I pass! :)

How Far Along:
21 weeks: March 15th - 21st

21 weeks (3.15.16)

22 weeks: March 22nd - 28th

22 weeks, 1 day (3.23.16)

23 weeks: March 29th - April 4th

23 weeks, 5 days (4.4.16)

Size of Baby:
21 weeks: 10.5 inches, 12.7oz, baby is the size of a pomegranate
22 weeks:  10,9 inches, 15.2oz, baby is the size of a papaya
23 weeks: 11.4 inches, 1.1lbs, baby is the size of an ear of corn

Maternity Clothes:
I have given up my regular jeans for good. They are just too uncomfortable! During the week, I'm wearing my maternity jeans some days, maxi skirts some days, and leggings and tunics some days. I have about 8 outfits on repeat! I like to change into workout clothes (if I go to the gym that day) or yoga pants and a tshirt as soon as I get home!

Easter Sunday (3.26.16)

Gender:
Sweet Baby Boy! He still doesn't have a name...maybe soon?!?!

Movement:
Ty felt him move for the first time a few weeks ago - maybe around 20 or 21 weeks? It was a very special moment for the both of us! He loves to keep his hand on my belly and wait for him to kick his hand. :) It is so sweet and something I will always remember! Within the last week or so, he has become VERY active! I absolutely love feeling him move and kick around! Around the beginning of week 23 his kicks started feeling more like movements, which is such a cool feeling! Ty can tell as well when he is moving, instead of just kicking.

Sunday morning we were laying in bed and Ty turned Clay Walker and Diamond Rio on his iPhone and we put it up to my belly and lets just say our little guy LOVES him some country music! He went completely nuts...it was too cute!

Sleep: I am still having leg cramps at night but (knock on wood) haven't had one in a week or so! That's the only issue I am having when sleeping! I do toss and turn a lot but seem to fall back asleep quickly!

What I Miss: Starbucks....I know I can drink coffee but I am really trying not to. I am not addicted to Starbucks or anything but I do miss getting it every now and then!

Cravings: Pickles, Pickles, and more Pickles.

Symptoms: Leg Cramps! Other than that I've been feeling great!

Best Moment of the Week:
21 weeks: Ty feeling him move for the first time - I'm not sure if it was week 20 or 21 but either way, it was awesome!
22 weeks: feeling his movements, not just kicks!
23 weeks: my best friend Melissa got to feel him move several times on our spring break trip to Waco!

Melissa and I in Waco at Magnolia! (23 weeks, 2 days)

What I'm Looking Forward To:
Hearing that sweet little heartbeat on Monday at my next appointment & painting his bedroom furniture this week

My cousin Karlie and I! I am 22 weeks here, and she is 18 weeks!

Georgia Peach & Sweet Home Alabama

Happy Friday!!! Today I am linking up (a little late) with Andrea from Momfessionals to talk about hometowns! I thought I would do my hometown that I grew up in, and where we live now and plan to raise our family.

First up - the town I grew up in....Acworth, GA!

Acworth is a suburb of Atlanta, about 40 minutes north, up 75. We are the red star in the map above! I actually spent the first 9 years of my life living in  Marietta, before moving to Acworth when I was in the 4th grade. When we moved out to Acworth, there wasn't much around compared to now. It has grown SO much. Everytime I go back I feel like they have built another neighborhood or shopping center or restaurant!

The last time I saw the house I grew up in! My parents moved to Birmingham about a year and a half ago and it was super super bittersweet saying goodbye to this house

Acworth was a great place to grow up. It was close enough to Atlanta that we always had something fun to do in downtown (braves game, coke museum, GA aquarium, etc), yet far enough away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

I attended Harrison High School, where I cheered all four years as well as cheered on an allstar team called Singray Allstars. That pretty much sums up my high school career. I don't remember studying much, but was very involved with cheerleading and our youth group at church!

The glory days!

Some fun things to do in and around Acworth include:

1. Kennesaw Mountain - hike, picnic, walk, etc. It's really gorgeous if you go around 9/11 because they cover it in American Flags. It will take your breath away!

2. Go see a Braves Game! They are actually about to move the Braves to Cobb County (the county Acworth is in) from downtown Atlanta. I am assuming the traffic is about to become a nightmare...yikes! But very exciting for Cobb County for sure!

3. Check out the World of Coke! This place is awesome! It is in downtown Atlanta and right beside the GA aquarium.

4. Go to the GA Aquarium! It's a wonderful aquarium & a family friendly place to go!

5. Go to the Marietta Square for shopping, food local restaurants, and ice cream!

There's a little train right in the middle of the square I remember playing on when I was little, our family's favorite Crepe restaurant is on the square, lots of people take prom and wedding pictures here, and we took our senior cheerleading pictures on the square! This place holds lots of special memories!

I loved growing up in Acworth - it was a wonderful, family friendly town that is very dear to my heart. So many memories! It is for sure weird going back now that my parents have moved over here to Birmingham. It still feels like home, but I don't have a "home" to go to now when I am there.

Ok, now onto my hometown now!

Ty and I bought a house this summer in his hometown of Trussville, AL. Trussville is a cute little town northeast of Birmingham. I fell in love with place when Ty & I started dating. I was familiar with the area because my parents grew up near Trussville. When we started talking about where we wanted to raise our family, it was kind of a no brainer. This little town already had my heart!

It has a cute little downtown area with old houses, gorgeous tree-lined streets, a grassy "mall" area where people play, picnic, bring their dogs, etc. (if you've been reading awhile, this is where Ty proposed to me!)!), and they also have a very charming Main Street. They are about to revamp our little downtown Main Street area, which is kind of sad because I love the old business buildings, but I think it will be great when they are done!

Some things to do in Birmingham:

1. See a Barons Game - we may not have a major league baseball team but the Barons bring quite the crowd! They are the White Sox AA team and Thirsty Thursdays are pretty popular around town during baseball season!



They even do Friday Night Fireworks that I must say are pretty impressive!

2. Oak Mountain State Park - hike, picnic

3. McWane Science Center - awesome place to take kids!

4. Eat your way through Birmingham

And there you have it! Love my hometowns!!!

18 - 20 weeks!

Happy Thursday friends! I'm a little behind on my pregnancy updates so today I am combining weeks 18-20! I cannot believe I am halfway through the pregnancy already! In one way it feels like we have forever to go, but I think it will go by just as fast as the first 20 weeks went (or I hope so..)!

How Far Along:
18 weeks (2/23 - 2/29)
19 weeks (3/1 - 3/7)
20 weeks (3/8 - 3/14)

Size of Baby:
18 weeks - 5.6in, 6.7oz, size of a sweet potato
19 weeks - 6in, 8.5oz, size of a mango
20 weeks - 10in & the ultrasound tech said he was 13oz!!!, size of a banana

Maternity Clothes: I feel like on a daily basis the words "the jeans are goners" come out of my mouth. My regular jeans with the band are just SO uncomfortable now. I only have 1 pair of maternity jeans though. I'm not sure if I should buy another pair though because it's about to be shorts weather! I'm just not sure if I can make it another 9 weeks of work without another pair of maternity jeans. Today I told my pregnant friend, Amanda, that I might just have to drive home with no pants on because I was so uncomfortable! Before you judge me, my drive home is close to an hour & by 3:15 I am already so ready to put my yoga pants on! If you're local and you spot me on 280, just don't look! (ha!!!) I broke out my maxi skirts this week and they were HEAVEN!!! So comfortable! I think they will get a lot of use the rest of the pregnancy!

18.5 weeks!

 

Sleep: I am sleeping pretty good, but I feel like I am waking up a lot during the night. Only once last week I slept through the night without waking up! I am sleeping with a pillow between my legs and trying to stay on my side the whole night. I have been falling asleep a lot on the couch in the early evening (like 7-8pm) and then going to get in the bed around 10 each night.

What I miss: wine (duh)

Cravings: I really haven't had many cravings throughout the whole pregnancy. Everytime I'm at the store I want to buy ramen noodles or kraft mac & cheese and I've been wanting DQ on the weekends!

Symptoms: I have had 2 cramps in my calf this week (I call them Charlie horses but I've said that to 2 people this week and they had no idea what I was talking about so I will just call them cramps from now on!!) and I've only had about 1 my entire life so I think it is pregnancy related. They wake me up in the middle of the night, are SO painful, and then my calf is sore for days after. I have been drinking lots of water, OJ, and milk so I don't know what else to do to help prevent them!

Best Moment of the Week:
18 weeks - feeling him move more frequently
19 weeks - he dropkicked me for the first time while I was driving to work and I loved it
20 weeks - seeing him at our 20 week anatomy scan. That is probably our last ultrasound, which made me sad, but the next time we see him he will be in our arms!!!!!!!!! That makes me so excited!

Someone didn't want his picture taken yesterday!

What I'm looking forward to: settling on his name....we are in a pickle right now - we can't decide between Tate and Garrett! Cast your vote if you'd like. :)

20 weeks, 1 day - before our Dr. appt!

Yesterday when we had the anatomy scan, he had his feet stretched out the whole time, he held his hands together for us, and kept his legs closed most of the time (little stinker)! I am so thankful we did the gender scan at 16 weeks because if we would have waited until yesterday, we might not have been 100% sure it was a boy! He was being a little shy. ;)

Our tech gave us several pictures and a CD with some short 10 second videos on it. They did this at the gender scan to and We LOVED watching the videos! Our pictures were better at the 16 week appt but our videos were way better this time! He sucker punches me several times, waves to us, and gave us a thumbs up once. :) Oh how my heart longs for the day he is in my arms!!!

Lately around here...

I still haven't done the 18 week update (maybe I should try to do every 2 weeks??) but I thought I'd do a little "what we've been up to" post since this space has been all about baby Latham recently! 

I've hosted/been to 3 baby showers in the last month! First up was my sweet friend Tyler! Her sweet baby girl Mabry is due in just a few weeks and we have prayed for her for so long! I can't wait to snuggle that sweet angel! 

A few weeks later I traveled to my hometown to attend my friend Stefanie's baby shower! Her daughter Jo Lynn is due in April! Stef and I have always walked through life together and have always laughed that our lives always seem to go down the same path. She is 32 weeks in this picture & I am 17 weeks! Glad we get to navigate motherhood together!  

And finally, This past Saturday I helped host a shower for my sweet friend Rachel! Her baby girl Ruth Ann is due in May and considering we live 10 houses apart, I'd say we are pretty stoked to be raising our babies together! I am due 10 weeks after her and I am so excited about raising our little ones together! We've already got Ruth Ann a boyfriend! 

Love this picture of us. Laughing. We are always laughing!!!

Other than baby showers, we took my nieces to the American Girl Doll Store in Atlanta and had a ball...

Emma turned 4 and she had a nice birthday dinner of hamburger and green beans! #rufflife #seewhatididthere 

And we thoroughly enjoyed a day off together...

And we had some special visitors a few weekends ago!!! We love the Cash Family! 

Sweet sweet Wesley! 

That about wraps things up! We have been super busy in January and Febaruary and I'm ready for a few weekends where we can stay at home. I desperately need to tackle the "junk room" that needs to start turning into a nursery! 

17 Weeks!

So I am actually 18 weeks today but I didn't post last week (shocker) so I thought I'd do the 17 week update and then hopefully the 18 week update later this week!

I finally went get some maternity jeans & tops and when I looked in the mirror and saw the bump, I was shocked! I wear loose tops all the time so I hadn't really noticed it had popped out yet! But there it is...

 

How Far Along: 17 weeks (2/16 - 2/22)

Size of Baby: 5.1 inches, 5oz, baby is the size of a white onion

Maternity Clothes: loving my new maternity jeans!!!! I bought a new bra, jeans, and 2 maternity tops last week at Ross. I can still wear my regular jeans but I like my maternity jeans better :) So much more breathing room! ha!

Gender: Sweet baby boy! Who still remains nameless. Poor kid!

Movement: I am still not feeling him move consistently but I do feel like its more than it has been in the past few weeks! I was feeling him move last week on the way to school when I was listening to Taylor Swift so I texted Ty saying he liked TSwift - he was not amused. ;)

 

Sleep: Great! I hate sleeping on my side but I started sleeping with a pillow between my legs and that has helped a lot!

What I miss: Same ole Same ole - wine, sleeping on my stomach, coffee

Cravings: no real cravings or aversions!

Symptoms: does busting out of my pants count as a symptom?

Best moment of the week: Seeing my sweet friend, Stefanie at her baby shower! Our lives have always followed down the same path, so it only makes sense that we would be pregnant together too!

What I'm looking forward to: feeling him move consistently!

16 Weeks!

I am 16 weeks this week (almost 17 weeks!). I was so sick this week (with just a head cold) but couldn't take anything. I also had a VERY busy week and went 90 to nothing all week, which didn't help me get any better. I am finally on the mend and hoping an extra day off (Thank you President's Day!) will get me back to 100%! Even though this was a rough week, it was also the most exciting week because we found out our little love is a BOY!!!!!!! We are so thrilled and cannot wait to meet our little man.

 

Here is the 16 week update:

How Far Along: 16 weeks (2/9 - 2/16)

Size of Baby: 4.6 inches, 3.5oz, size of an avocado

Maternity Clothes: none yet! But I think I am going shopping tomorrow! :) Still wearing the band with jeans, and changing into yoga pants as soon as I get home from anywhere.

Gender: IT'S A BOY!!!!! He has no name yet, and I am not sure when that argument will end (ha!!!). As of right now, Ty is calling him Hank & Sam and I am calling him Rhett - ha!

Movement: I cannot wait until I can feel him consistently! I usually feel him (or what I think is him) every few days.

Sleep: Sleeping great, just not long enough. I went to bed late every night this week because we were so busy. I was exhausted and sick but I finally got to rest on Friday after school and slept almost 12 hours. Whew! I felt better yesterday. :)

What I Miss: I'm sure this will continue to be the same answer - wine, sleeping on my stomach, and coffee

Cravings: My cousin Karlie was talking about ramen noodles in a text the other day and now I want them. Does that count as a craving? #someonebringmealltheramennoodles

Symptoms: My belly is so hard and huge after I eat!!!! (is that a symptom?? ha)

Best Moment this week: As soon as the ultrasound tech showed him to us on the screen, I asked if his heart was beating and she said "yes". That's all I cared about. I didn't care boy or girl, I just wanted him to be ok & healthy! I loved hearing that precious heartbeat! They also gave us a CD of videos along with our pictures and we have loved watching them!!!

What I'm looking forward to: feeling him move consistently!

The bump still looks like I need to lay off the cookies but its getting there. :)

1st Trimester!

Happy Hump Day! I'm back today to share my 1st trimester highlights!! Like I said in the last post, I have been feeling great! I'm going to compile my whole first trimester into 1 post and then hopefully update weekly after that! I am 15 weeks this week but here is the update from when we found out (week 5) though 12!

Pregnancy Highlights:

 

How Far Along: 1-12 weeks (or is it 13? who knows, I read different things that said when the 1st trimester ended)

 

Size of baby: The baby went from the size of a red lentil (week 5) to the size of a clementine (week 12)!

 

Total Weight Gain/Loss: ummm, I'm slightly self conscience about this right now but from my 8 week appointment to my 12 week appointment I gained 7 pounds!! eeek! When the nurse weighed me I was mortified. We got in the room and I asked Ty if she weighed me wrong...ha! But, I haven't been sick at all and my stomach growls NON stop so I'm eating all the time. I know I could be a little more healthy snacking than I am right now but quite frankly, I really don't care :)

 

Maternity Clothes: Towards week 12, I wore the band with my jeans unzipped for the first time. I thought it was too early for that but after talking to some people I felt a little better about that. At school, I've been pretty much wearing tunics/dresses and leggings everyday. We have jeans passes and casual Fridays but jeans are getting less comfortable by the day. Even my stretchy ones & even wearing the band with them. I really need to go look for some maternity jeans and dress pants! I have a lot of loose tops so I think it will be awhile before I need to get any of those, but I do want some, because I will be showing off that bump when it finally looks like a bump and not that I ate too many cookies...hehe!

 

Gender:  We find out next week! At the 8 week appointment the heart rate was 173 and at the 12 week appointment it was 172 so lots of people are saying girl but we will see!!! I have had 2 dreams that it was a boy and Ty has had one dream that it was a girl! I can't wait to find out!!! Ty would have no problem waiting til the baby is born to find out but I cannot do that. #sorrynotsorry

 

Movement: through week 12 I had not felt anything, I am just now starting to feel what I think are flutters!

 

Sleep: As I mentioned before, I went through some insomnia around week 11 but it lasted a few nights and then I was back to normal. Around week 12 & 13 I felt like I was exhausted way more than normal (like falling asleep at 5:00 every afternoon), which is weird because usually that's when women say they get their energy back!

 

What I miss: Sleeping on my stomach, wine, coffee

 

Cravings: I haven't really craved much, but anything sour and gummy I am LOVING. And I'm not usually a candy lover! I also totally bought some Kraft mac & cheese at the store the other day and ate the whole box. Yes, you read that right. I am a sucker for some Kraft mac & cheese!

 

Symptoms: Not many symptoms! I got nauseous around weeks 6-9 on and off - only a handful of times and Sprite always helped! I am tired all the time so I don't know if I should count exhaustion as a symptom... :)

 

Best Moment the 1st Trimester - Hearing the sweet heartbeat twice!!!!! I was so nervous about the 8 week appointment and we saw that little nugget on the screen and that little heart fluttering I cried!!!! I have wanted to be a mom my whole life and there it was - our sweet baby. At the 12 week appointment, I was still very nervous but after hearing the heartbeat I instantly felt relief!

 

8 week ultrasound

 

What I'm looking forward to: We find out the gender next week!!!!!!!  I also can't wait to see him/her again! :)