At my last appointment on December 19th, it was my first official appointment with Susan Myers. She is absolutely wonderful! Kristin came with me to that appointment and we got to hear Gracie's heartbeat again (eeek!). Everything looked really good, except that when they first took my blood pressure, it was a little high. Susan asked me if I was nervous or excited to see her and why my blood pressure was so high. So, we took it again at the end, this time I was sitting down, and it was back to normal, thank goodness. We also scheduled my twenty week ultrasound on January 16th. I absolutely can't wait to see how much you've grown since we saw you on the 12th in December. Hopefully you won't hide in the back and shield your face with your hands. There's no need to be shy considering how many thousands of pictures I'll be taking once you're here. :)
Christmas Eve and Christmas day were so busy. We enjoyed dinner on Christmas Eve with Josh's family, where Josh received another favorite gift of mine: a Green Bay Packers bib. Josh and I enjoyed Christmas morning together, opening presents while the fake fireplace crackled on the TV, thanks to Netflix. He got Gracie the pink shelf for her room and two pink drawers to go in the cubby holes that I really wanted. He's such a good daddy in training. Then, we went to my mom's to open presents and she got me a neat little First Year baby album to fill out and put pictures in and Gracie's first Halloween story book, since my mom knows how much I LOVE Halloween. After presents, breakfast and spending time with my mom, we ventured over to Josh's mom's for presents and dinner. Josh's mom, Brenda, got me two things that I've been wanting for a while: a crock pot and a toaster, since we lost both of those in the tornado. I was so excited and have already used both of them. We made chicken and noodles, thanks Pinterest, in the crock pot and my first order of business with the toaster and what I've been eating every morning since I got the toaster: BAGELS! I am in bagel and cream cheese heaven.
December 28th was a hard day for my family because that marked a year that my sister, Megan, has been gone. I spent the entire day with my mom and we also went with Megan's friends, Samantha, Edie and Hannah, to see Megan and also to Orange Leaf for some comfort froyo. As emotional as it was, everyone was so wonderful and comforting that day, especially Gracie. That day was the first day I had ever felt so much movement from her. I like to think that she was letting me know that she was here for me on the hardest day of the year. And she has been moving and shaking every day after that, especially after I drink a caffeine free Dr. Pepper or a sweet tea.
On New Years Eve, I supervised while Josh helped my mom and dad move to the new house. I didn't anticipate how hard that day would be till we were sitting in the empty house at the end of the day. I walked into Megan's room and sat there for a moment, letting everything sink in. Her room was the last place that I truly saw her, played with her and laughed with her on the Christmas morning of 2010. Then, I walked into the dining room and completely broke down. Josh held me for a bit and it was amazing that he completely understood and simply knew why I was sad. When Mom saw me crying, she came and hugged me, too. I felt a lot better after that and Josh and I headed home so I could get dolled up and ready for our New Years Eve date. We went to our favorite place, Red Onion, and then walked around Books a Million for a bit so that I could spend the gift card he got me. We came home, relaxed, and watched the ball drop in NY. After we shared a midnight kiss, we went to bed and woke up to the year 2012. I loved our little date night and wanted to do something nice since we'll have little Gracie with us next year.
I wanted to include belly updates for Week 17 & Week 18 since I am a fail blogger and missed a couple of weeks.
How far along? 18 weeks
Total weight gain: As of December 19th, ONE POUND! Whoo!
Maternity clothes? Yes! And I got some sweet preggo skinny jeans as a Christmas present to myself.
Stretch marks? Always.
Sleep: Currently, I'm trying to transition to my side because it feels like too much pressure when I sleep on my stomach.
Best moment this week: Feeling Gracie kick or move or dance or whatever it is that she's doing
Miss Anything? Not being limited on caffeinated beverages. Lol.
Movement: A lot everyday since December 28th.
Food cravings: Fruity pebbles and any form of pizza.
Anything making you queasy or sick: The burritos that Josh made the other night and the filets that we made sometime ago.
Gender: GIRL!!!
Labor Signs: No
Symptoms: A little heartburn, but nothing too ghastly.
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: HAPPY :)
Looking forward to: January 16th, when I get to see Gracie's little face again.
Holly, i love reading your blog. It's so neat to read your chronicles of pregnancy! You are an awesome author, and of course photographer! May 2012 bring you and Josh only joy and wondrous experiences!
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