Progression 5 to 30 weeks.

It's a GIRL!

I guess I didn't quite realize just how far behind in blogging I was thus far in my pregnancy. Somehow, it has been 20 weeks since the last time I wrote. Therefore, I'm not 5 1/2 weeks away from my due date and I haven't even announced that little Baby Dykes is in fact....

A GIRL!!!

We aren't really sure why but we totally expected a boy before we even ever thought about trying to conceive. It's just what we had in our heads and before we found out I would even goto garage sales and tell myself not to buy the cute little girl clothes because I wouldn't need them. Needless to say, we were absolutely wrong.

It's funny because the day of our ultrasound is still so crystal clear to me. We hosted a gender reveal party so we did not want the ultrasound tech to tell us the gender of the baby right away. We had her write it on a piece of paper with an ultrasound photo and seal it in an envelope so that we could immediately deliver to a bakery where we would have cupcakes made with pink or blue filling in the center.

For some reason, however, as soon as we entered the room where we would have our 20 week ultra sound, I knew. I remember telling Skylar that I was suddenly feeling that the baby would be a girl. He kept insisting that I had no idea and to just wait and see. I think this was the first time he admitted to himself as well, that we could totally be wrong in our suspicions.

Do you know how yucky it was to go through our ultrasound and then have to wait TWO days to find out the gender of our little one? Thankfully, I was the maid of honor in a wedding that weekend so I was able to find distraction in that. Everyone at the wedding kept telling me it was a girl, however, I still can't explain the shock when we found out that she was in fact a little princess instead of a little prince.

Fast forward to Sunday afternoon and we invited all of our closest friends and family over for a backyard barbecue. We had two special cupcakes made with white cake and white frosting on the outside so nothing would be given away or confused. With everyone gathered around, we picked them up and smashed them in one another's face. The frosting was such a light shade of pink that we had to take a couple double takes inside the cupcake before we realized it was a girl. Meanwhile, all of our guests were screaming "WHAT IS IT?!" because it was so hard to tell.

Below are a few of my favorite photos from the event :)

I would say that it's safe to say our faces say it all. We were incredibly nervous, beyond surprised, and incredibly ecstatic. Despite our suspicions that baby was a boy, we are beyond thrilled that she is in fact a little girl. I should note that we had already bought a travel system in the color red at this point. I had thought that was pretty gender neutral, however, the same night as the reveal party Skylar had me return the red one and order it in pink, can we say Daddy's Girl already? I'd say so.

Motherhood: Expectations.

I am always curious to hear from other new mom's about what they expected to be like as a parent versus what actually happened once their little one entered this world. Therefore, I thought it might be fun to write down some of my expectations now so that I can revisit them later to see what stuck and what didn't.

Here goes:

I am not going to have an epidural. 
I'm going to breastfeed versus bottle feed even if I'm not quite comfortable with the idea. 
I want to make my own baby food once she starts solids. 
I'm still going to have a clean house even though I have a kid. 
I'm going to sweep more often so my little girl isn't crawling around in dog hair. 
She will not sleep with us, no matter how much she fights it and how much we want to cuddle her. 
She will have a set bedtime every night.
I will still take care of my personal hygiene in the manner I do now. 
Her clothes will all be washed separately of ours with "Free" detergents. 

Good Intentions.

I started this blog when I got pregnant with every intention of writing regularly and documenting every little milestone of my pregnancy. I think most women go into pregnancy with every inclination that it's going to be tough but we don't actually comprehend the exhaustion and roller coaster of emotions that come along with it until we're facing it dead on. My pregnancy has not been complicated in the slightest. I had pretty rough morning sickness in the beginning- but I can't say I was any worse off than other mothers who have went through the same thing. My second trimester was smooth sailing. My energy levels were great and I can't say I really had that many complaints. Of course, nearing the end of my third trimester, I'm starting to become a little whiney (okay, maybe slightly more than a little whiney). However, even with the constant need to pee, annoying pressure everywhere, back pain, and round ligament pain, I can say I'm truly blessed. There are so many mama's out there just struggling to get to the finish line of full gestation. I just have some routine aches and pains.

I can tell you that I'm definitely getting anxious. I would love to just sleep through the next five weeks and have our little one in our arms. However, I am also trying to live in the moment and enjoy these next few weeks with my husband. We have never had to share each other's company for long periods of time. It's always been the two of us against the world besides your normal visit with friends or family. We enjoy spending our time together and it's rare that we do things one without the other. It'll be interesting to see how we adapt to having another living human being in our household. I can't say that I'm not worried about losing ourselves in parenting, as you hear so many horror stories, but I plan on doing absolutely everything in my power to keep our marriage strong and to the remain the team that we have been for the past five years. I couldn't envision my life without this man and there is no one else on Earth I would rather do this with. He's my warrior, my rock, and we're each other's number one fan. I cannot wait to see him enter his role as a father, as I know little Z will have him wrapped around his finger from the moment she takes her first breath in this world. God has blessed me beyond measure with the life I've been given and I hope there is never a day that I come to take that for granted.

15 weeks {Bump}.

Little Baby Dykes is growing fast! We are so thankful and blessed by God for a healthy and uncomplicated pregnancy thus far. Despite how crappy and frustrated I have been with my morning sickness and other symptoms, I can't help but feel overjoyed by the fact that in just a few short months we will get to hold our little baby in our arms and see all of our hard work, tears, frustrations, and love pay off. This journey isn't easy but oh my how it is worth it!

The picture above is a photo from our 12-week ultrasound and we couldn't be more in love already! Below are a few pictures of my baby bump progress. So far, I've managed to gain most of the weight in my bump area but we'll see how long that lasts. Unfortunately, feeling like crap means wanting to eat like crap. Carrots are one thing that I absolutely cannot keep down and we're interested to see if our baby has an aversion to them when he or she is older. So far, we are guessing that it's a BOY but I guess only time will tell if our instincts are right. 

So far, I haven't had an ridiculous cravings. Everyone knows I hate pickles so they're interested to see if I suddenly start to crave them. One thing my husband and I have noticed is that I'm willing to eat tomatoes and am actually enjoying them - another thing I absolutely hate. Chicken strips, mashed potatoes and gravy, and mini muffins have been about the only cravings thus far. Nothing weird about those, right (and of course this isn't all together)?

15 weeks {My Truth}.

I've been beating myself up for not posting more about my pregnancy thus far, however, I can't help but be honest in saying that this journey has not been easy. I wish I could say that I was one of those ladies who got pregnant and just went about their lives with this glamorous glow but that just isn't the case. I always expected pregnancy to be exhausting and I even expected to be sick from time to time but I was in no way prepared to be throwing up multiple times on a daily basis and to just feel like utter crap. I know this is all incredibly negative to say and I wouldn't change it for the world but I just wanted to put it out there for those women who are feeling the same way. It's okay to feel like you can't take it anymore: you just have to keep keeping on and remember to take care of yourself and the baby you're growing in the process. Just keep swimming, just keep swimming has become my mantra and knowing that in five short months I will be meeting my beautiful little baby makes this entire journey worth the temporary hell.

Thursday night I had been throwing up just about everything (including liquids) for next to 24 hours and I had a headache that I swore was going to kill me so I decided it was time to goto the ER. I could just tell that this wasn't my usual morning sickness.  Once I arrived they immediately started an IV and the doctor did a couple tests that determined that I had the stomach flu and that I was now severely dehydrated. I know it's going to sound really stupid to say out loud but I was relieved. I was relieved to know that I wasn't crazy and that feeling that absolutely terrible wasn't normal. They gave me three bags of fluids before I stopped throwing up and then I was sent home. 

I am now feeling like a new woman. I haven't even had the slightest bit of nausea since I left the hospital and it's been about three days now. I'm hoping that it sticks and the worst of my morning sickness is over. I'm telling you this to let you know that if you're feeling like you just can't take the pregnancy symptoms you're going through that maybe you should follow your instincts and get checked out. I had multiple nurse-call lines tell me that it was normal when it fact when I actually got checked out it wasn't. Being dehydrated isn't safe for you or your baby and can cause all sorts of negative affects. In this moment, you have to decide what to do for the safety of yourself and your baby. You have every right to feel frustrated, upset, impatient, and maybe even a little angry. So relish in it, have a cry fest, but then remember to find that silver lining and try to pick up the pieces of your remaining dignity and shrug it off, remembering that it's not going to last forever. There is nothing worse than feeling like you're at your whits end and then being told by another mother to just suck it up. It makes you wonder who these women had in their corner when they were walking in your shoes. Take their unrealistic advice, shrug it off, and do what you gotta do, girl. 

The biggest thing I've learned thus far is that you can't do everything. Being pregnant is a beautiful yet challenging experience and you just have to roll with the punches and know that not everything is in your control anymore. So just sit back and enjoy the ride and prepare for the whirlwind that is the rest of your life in motherhood :)

5 weeks.

Today is the estimated start date of my fifth week of pregnancy. We won't know exactly how far along I am until my ten week appointment on April 2nd, however, I can tell you that I'm definitely starting to note more and more side effects of pregnancy.

For example, the bloat has started to kick in with a vengeance. Obviously, we don't start to show until around the three month mark but I've heard about the brutal bloating in the beginning and let me tell you; it's no freaking joke. I just feel squishy all. over.

Exhibit A:

Also, I'd like to add that I'm an exhaustedly emotional roller coaster. I'll admit that I'm a bit of a cry baby to start with, however, pregnancy has added a whole new set of emotions and let's just say I cried seven times over a course of a four hour visit with my mom and sister yesterday. All results of stories that probably warranted zero tears whatsoever. 

Since becoming pregnant, I've had a serious aversion to plain water... which is obviously a problem since it's incredibly important to stay hydrated during pregnancy. I've taken to adding at least two lemons to my glass and lots of ice. It's helping and at least I'm able to drink it now. 

And let's not forget all the other sexy stuff... I mean, holy constipation. I read online somewhere that prune juice can become your best friend during pregnancy, and they weren't kidding. I've already went ahead and purchased a great big bottle and have been finding a way to drink at least a cup of it every morning as well as trying to incorporate as much fiber into my diet as possible. 

I can't really complain though and anytime I mention the exhaustion, hormones, and yucky side effects (i.e. constipation) to anyone, I try to make sure and follow with the most important fact of all: that I'd much rather be experiencing all of this and so much more and continue to be pregnant than to not be pregnant at all. It's hard not to complain when you're feeling like crap but in the big scheme of things it's all part of the grander picture: nine months until you get to hold that beautiful baby in your arms for the first time and suddenly, the last nine months of agony are all but a fading memory.

Let me know what side effects you experienced in your first few weeks of pregnancy in the comments below!