16 weeks

Yesterday, I hit 16 weeks. In the beginning of my pregnancy it felt like the weeks dragged on. We kept longing for milestones- being out of the miscarriage "danger zone", finally able to tell people, hearing the heartbeat. We still keep looking forward to milestones but it seems (at least to me) that the weeks are picking up their pace.

This week I am feeling great! I've been feeling good for a while now but I seem to be getting a bit of my old energy back. Don't get me wrong, I still sleep a ton at night but I actually have energy to do a couple things around the house in the evening after I'm done working.

This past weekend we went to an antique store near us because I wanted to look at the dressers they had to get some inspiration for the nursery and see if we might possibly find one that worked. We didn't find one and as much as I'd love a unique looking piece (this store is reasonably priced), a "mass produced" item might be more practical. We did find one that I really liked but it didn't have enough drawers to make it practical (the room is very small so we need as much storage space as possible) and it had a large tilting mirror on top. Not really safe. Another downside I also noticed is that many of the dressers we tried had drawers that were not easy to pull out and push in. This seems to be a key feature needed in a dresser as you're trying to hold Baby down, grab a diaper and get it on his or her little tush before he or she scampers away from you.

Without further ado- a 16 week belly picture:

The weather needs to warm up so we can take these outside. Our family has horrible lighting...especially at night!

I love this top- I just got it in the mail and it's made by a company called Lilac. They make clothing that can be worn before, during and after you're pregnant. Score! The website babysteals.com had a "steal" on some of the clothing earlier in the week so I bought this top and a dress that is a similar style. Aside from the clothes, my order arrived two days after I placed it. Super fast. (I'm not getting a kick back from these people I was just impressed with how quickly it arrived). As a side note- I generally do not look like this laying around the house working from home all day (far from it). I was going out to dinner with my friend Emily from grad school!

Week 16 Highlights
Cravings: ALL food
Aversions: Nothing in particular
Pounds gained so far: 4-5
Most looking forward to: Feeling the baby move (can't wait!)
Trips planned in the next week: 2! One overnight to visit Tina to go wedding dress shopping and another to visit Anne for  few days!

Most recent visit

On Monday we had another appointment with the midwives. Currently, I see the midwives every four weeks for what is basically a check up. They take my weight, blood pressure, answer any questions we have, inform us of any test results that have come back since the last appointment and THEN (!!!!) we get to listen to Baby C's heartbeat via the doppler (it's like a mini microphone they hold on my tummy- it makes me want to karaoke but I refrain.).

Yesterday, the midwife we had was Courtney, who we actually saw for our very first appointment at the beginning of November. As soon as she put the doppler on my stomach, we heard the heartbeat- Baby was apparently right there waiting to be heard. As we were listening to the heartbeat, we heard this "blurp!" and Courtney said that was a fetal movement and something (an arm, a leg?) was "whizzing by" the microphone. The last time we heard the heartbeat in December, it took the midwife a couple minutes to find it, which was not unusual, particularly because it was on the early side to hear it. The heartbeat was around 150 beats per minute. The first time it was 169 beats per minute. Some people say you can guess the gender based on the rate of the heartbeat. Basically, everything I've read has said this is bunk. Plus- which measurement do you use? Courtney let me know it varies of the course of the pregnancy as the baby gets bigger so I'm not sure how you really apply this gender prediction idea.

Speaking of gender, we've basically decided to not find out. I say basically because I have a strong desire to both know and to be surprised. Obviously both cannot happen. Charlie is falling more on the side of not knowing so that seems to be the consensus. Our "big ultrasound" (where we could find out the gender if we wanted to) is scheduled for February 8th. I can't wait! We haven't seen the Baby since 7 weeks in which he/she looked like a few little bubbles (see previous post). During this ultrasound they take lots of measurements to make sure everything is developing normally so we get a nice long look at Baby C. I'll be 19 weeks for this ultrasound and Baby C will look very much like a real human baby.

Great Expectations

I've been absent from the blog for a while. Partly because I wanted to blog about our trip to Alaska but that felt like a monumental undertaking, so like a true procrastinator I avoided it. But mostly because I couldn't share the biggest news going on in our lives over the last few months yet.

WE'RE HAVING A BABY!!!!

And we're really excited! I am currently 15 weeks pregnant- officially in my 2nd trimester and due on July 5th. That's right, we could have a little Independence Day baby. Or a Caldwell 6th wedding anniversary baby (the 8th). I'm honestly hoping babe avoids the 8th as I'd still love to be able to celebrate our anniversary and possibly take trips without the guilt of missing our first born's birthday but, I'm sure by that time this summer, if I"m still pregnant, I wouldn't care. :)

Little Baby C at 7 weeks!

During the first trimester, I felt ok. I experienced pretty consistent morning sickness from about week 6 to week 11 (right before Christmas) when it started to get better. Most days I'd wake up feeling ok, have to eat right away but by 10 am I was feeling nauseous. I only got sick about half a dozen times but that was enough. By about week 11 or 12 I was finally feeling better and only experiencing occasional nausea. We wait to tell our families until Christmas- when we'd be at 12 weeks and when we'd be able to tell my family in person. We gave my parents, sister and aunt each an ornament picture frame with an ultrasound picture in it. Needless to say both of our families are very excited!

So, I know when I here of someone being pregnant, I want to see belly shots. So, without further ado, some are below. The first couple are some pictures to compare from before I was pregnant.

In Alaska in September.

After running a 5K in the beginning of October.

And here are some actual "belly shots":

7 weeks pregnant. Not much to see.

14 weeks. Definitely a bump there!

 I haven't taken a picture from this week yet. This is an awkward stage of pregnancy- you can tell something is going on in the tummy region but everyone's all "is she pregnant? or has she just let herself go?". I'm looking forward to getting a much more defined baby bump so as to be sure there is no question. I am also VERY much looking forward to feeling the baby move which should be happening in the next few weeks!

I plan/hope to use the blog as a journal of sorts- so I can remember my experience and all the weekly milestones and also keep family and friends up to date.

Fun Baby C facts from week 15:

• Baby is about the size of an apple
• Baby can sense light and if a flashlight was shown on my belly, he/she would move away.
• I am back to feeling pretty good! Still tired in the afternoons but my appetite has returned (with a vengeance) and EVERYTHING looks so good to eat.

That's all for now!

~KC

Naughty puppy

Someone thought she could just help herself to some food...

Phoenix

I'm sitting in the airport in Phoenix, waiting to board a flight home to DC. I've been here since Sunday for a work event and on Monday night Charlie joined me for two nights. He had a ridiculous time getting to Phoenix (missed his connection in Houston) and got in later than we had planned. Boo Houston airport.

Anywho, some thoughts on Phoenix. Anyone who tells you it's a "dry heat" out here is just trying to make you feel better as you sweat through your second shirt of the day. 105 degrees is hot no matter how you slice it. Hot doesn't really do it justice. I would more readily describe it as a visit to the sun, if the sun were made of concrete surrounded by desert. When I landed at the airport at 9:30 PM, the pilot said "Welcome to Phoenix, where the current temperature is 105 degrees!". Did I mention it was nighttime?!

After I accepted how hot it is here, I began enjoying myself. I was here for a Tribal meeting and I really enjoy working with the tribes. I feel that in general, the Native Americans I work with are much friendlier than their state counterparts and I really enjoy learning about their culture and how we can help them deal with their unique issues related to their community. During my free time I spent much of my time in Scottsdale, visiting the mall, eating and finding a self-serve yogurt joint (a la Sweet Frog for those in the Southern VA area).

After the meeting ended yesterday, Charlie and I had an ambious agenda for our afternoon/evening in Phoenix. We started by going to the Desert Botanical Gardens, which, b/c if was the 2nd tuesday of the month, happened to be free! Woohoo! And I'm glad it was free because although it was very beautiful, I was ready to head back to the air conditioned rental car after 1/2 hour. What can I say, I'm not built for heat.

Then we went and checked into our hotel for the night- the Firesky Resort (a Kimpton!) , took a dip in the pool and had a complimentary margarita (or 2, but who's counting?!). We then went to dinner at an organic burger joint which is a nice compromise for a organic loving girl and meat needing man. Finally, we when to an Arizona Diamondbacks game, to cross another stadium off Charlie's list. At the game- he caught a fly ball- something he has never done before. He was so pumped!

And now they're boarding. Gotta run...Phoenix was fun, but I'm ready to be home!

~KC