The last 2 weekends

Mike and I have been pretty busy the last 2 weekends, mostly thanks to the increased energy that I have been feeling lately. I am 17 weeks today, so here's a new picture (the baby really seems to be growing a lot lately...)

The baby has also been moving like crazy, I feel him or her several times throughout the day, and Mike even got to feel the baby move for the first time on Sunday night--he was pretty excited about it!

Mike gave me one of my Christmas presents this past weekend--it's from a web comic called Sheldon Comics, and it is one that Mike and I both enjoy to read. This comic is a flow chart about whether or not to eat a cookie, and the end result for all the answers is to just eat a cookie!

On Saturday, we had the Schimmel Family Christmas in Ankeny. In Schimmel tradition, the gifts were hidden throughout the house, and we had clues that we needed to follow to find our gifts. This year the clues were in word scrambles and codes, so things got interesting... turns out I'm better at word scrambles than Mike ;)

We also had a delicious dinner! Bruce made prime rib and baked potatoes for dinner and creme brulee for dessert--it was absolutely AMAZING!

Before we left Ankeny, Mike and I stopped by Kohls. My mom had sent me a gift card to buy myself some maternity clothes, and holy cow, you can get a lot of stuff at Kohls for $50! I got a long sleeve black t-shirt, a button sweater, and some new socks.... and we still had $8 left over, so we picked out some onesies for the baby :)

Here's a random picture of Meatloaf looking very relaxed while Mike petted her.


As I am getting more of my energy back, I am also getting more of my appetite back. I can finally say that I have gained weight for the first time in this pregnancy--I weighed myself this morning, and I have gained half a pound :/ Its not much, but it's a start. So as I was saying, food is finally looking and sounding good... not all foods yet, but some foods, which is more than what it had been in the past. Mike got a HyVee gift card a few weeks ago from work, so we treated ourselves to some crab legs--and expensive beer for Mike, sparkling grape juice for me--and we had ourselves a little stay-at-home date during the snowstorm last Saturday. We watched National Lampoons Christmas Vacation, and just relaxed... it was nice.

On Sunday, I made my mom's beef stew for the first time.... something about snowstorms gives me the urge to make soups, so I called my mom and got the recipe. It tasted just like my mom's!

Movement

I have reached another milestone in the pregnancy--I can feel the baby move! I first felt it on Friday after school, and wasn't quite sure if it was the baby, but I've been feeling it ever since, so I know for sure it's the baby. I can only feel it when I am sitting or laying down--I would guess that's because I'm not moving and can feel his or her movement better that way?

Everything I read about the baby moving said it feels like flutters or bubbles, but it doesn't feel like that to me... mostly it just feels like something bumping the inside of my lower stomach. It is still too early for Mike to feel it--we tried, but failed... maybe in a few weeks when the baby is bigger and stronger :)

15 Weeks

We had our 14 week appointment last Monday (and I have been meaning to blog about it since...), and Dr. Leeds says everything is looking and sounding good. We got to hear the heartbeat again, this time for a little longer than last time, and he measured my tummy and told us that I am measuring right where I should be. I had lots of questions for the doctor about my appetite (because I have almost none), weight loss (because I am still down 11 pounds from my starting weight), exhaustion (because I sleep 10-12 hours a night and am still tired), and mouthwash (because brushing my teeth has turned into quite an experience)... and his response to all of them was, "You are pregnant, that is normal." I really like the doctor that I have chosen... he is very calming, and I always feel reassured and less worried when I leave his office (thanks to all the girls who recommended him to me :) )

Our next appointment is a big one--the ultrasound!! We will finally get to see our baby!!

Here's what I look like at 15 weeks.

For the fun of it, my sister got a gender predictor test for us. She happened to find them on sale for $2 (and I checked on Amazon--people pay $30 for this test normally :/ ) According to the package, it is 90% accurate, according to the directions on the inside, it is 82% percent accurate, and according to all the angry reviewers on Amazon, the test is only sometimes accurate... So long story short, we took the test, and it says that we are having a BOY. My sister took the test, and it says she is having a GIRL. By the end of the month, we will both know what we're having, so we'll see if it's right...


On Thanksgiving night, Mike and I made a quick stop at Wal-Mart for some cream cheese, and we ended up buying a bunch of baby clothes that were on sale. We had a lot of fun going through the racks and seeing what we could find, and this is what we came home with.