These are pictures of me taken in the same outfit every two weeks, from weeks 12 through 26. I will keep going through the end. 🙂

Marination Time: 26 Weeks

Size of baby: Baby is one and two-thirds pounds this week, and fourteen inches long. The size of an English hothouse cucumber.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 18 pounds. I am starting to feel my weight when sitting in one position for too long. Cannot imagine what another 10-15 pounds will feel like on, but I know I will find out!

Maternity Clothes: Yes. New stuff being brought out this week! I love my warmer weather options and am even excited about the outfit I have on today to travel to Kauai.

Sex: Baby girl.

Movement: It was a weird week for movement. Two nights this week I was very short on sleep and she did not move very much which naturally made me concerned. I think my exhaustion plus stress in getting ready to be out of town just affected her. By yesterday she was back up to her usual antics, and then some. DM and I think she’s making up for being so quiet the past few days. I am still tracking her moves to make sure nothing is strange.

Belly button watch: Innie.

Sleep: The sleep I got this week was good, just brief. It really affected me and LB both, so I will be trying to avoid that in the future.

What I miss: Not much this week. I was too busy getting ready for our trip to be reflective on pre-pregnancy life.

Cravings: A funny story for this week. I have generally ate very healthfully during this pregnancy so far. My default is some kind of salad with grilled chicken for protein and a mix of veggies and color on any given day. Which sure, can get boring. On Wednesday this week we were set to get just that, and I totally backtracked and we ordered pub food. Granted it was still chicken in my sandwich, but I went for the one with pepper jack and bacon on it with fried onion strings on top, all on a pretzel roll. And oh yes, sweet potato fries. Mercy! At least I don’t have mega cravings like that often!

Symptoms: I am continuing to fight some swelling and I think that symptom will be here to stay off and on. Over the weekend we were to head to the Irish American Heritage Center Saturday night for some St. Pat’s festivities. I had been on my feet getting stuff done around the house for about 8-9 hours and got in the shower to get ready to go, when lo and behold I look down and my legs and ankles are looking huge! So much for those plans. The rest of our night involved me sitting with my feet up and having a little “I thought this wouldn’t happen to me” pity party. Ha!

I also had some swelling on one or two other days this week, which was not necessarily predictable. Sometimes it happened at the end of the day, but twice I woke up puffy in the morning. Weird. I’m drinking water more than ever before now and with the exception of my pub food night, trying to watch the salt (which honestly should be happening anyway, even if salt/sour things are where it’s at for me during this pregnancy). The water also should help with my other new pregnancy symptom this week – first noticeable Braxton Hicks contractions. I got some belly tightening with a little pain, even, for the first time on Saturday evening when it was clear I overdid it. The pain was so fleeting but it got my attention. Since then, no pain at all, but now I’m attuned to the belly tightening sensation for sure. So far, this has been an every other day thing and very brief – maybe only one or two instances when I feel that way. It is awkward at work and sometimes happens right before I need to visit the ladies room. Today though, as we have been traveling, I think it definitely has been correlating to the movement/activity of going through the airports. I’ve had at least four but am counting on this being out of the ordinary for this stage of pregnancy. Water and putting my feet up help me relax that feeling fairly quickly.

Best Moments this week: We had a great time on St. Patrick’s Day with DM’s friends. There were at least half a dozen babies/little ones at our celebration at Chief O’Neill’s, and there will be two more in the mix next year. DM put the crib together this week and moved my grandmother’s over 100 year old rocking chair into the nursery. It is coming along! Also we could not be more excited to get away this week for our trip to Kauai. We are bringing work and lots of baby gear and “birth” related reading/tasks to do while away (don’t be jealous), but we will at least be in an awesome place while reading. And one more “best” moment – this week was one of my best friend’s birthdays, and while we were out to lunch to celebrate, she shared that she is pregnant and due at the beginning of October. We were with another best friend that is due the beginning of August. So, my two bridesmaid best friends will have babies within three months of our Little Bean – I can’t believe it!! All part of our “master plan” – ha!

Here is a picture of us on St. Pat’s, followed by a picture of DM putting together the crib in a freshly painted nursery. DM also painted the dresser as well – we just need some fancy knobs to go on it and it will be ready to go. One last sappy comment before signing off – DM has amazed this pregnant lady very much of late with the speed with which he has tackled nursery projects and honey-do’s…not that I would have expected less, but I have to brag on him for a minute or two!! 🙂

Marination Time: 25 Weeks

Size of baby: Baby is the size of a rutabaga (this makes me chuckle).

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 18 pounds. I almost threw my coffee at my monitor at work this week when “The Bump” sent me an email about “losing my post-pregnancy pooch.” RUDE. I’m just nearly six months along and already they are trying to bait me with lotions/potions and products to rid my body of the evidence of growing a human. Seriously – these companies have awful timing with their email campaigns. SCARE TACTICS.

Maternity Clothes: Yes. I’m ready for warmer weather and wearing my cute dresses and tanks in a week in Kauai and after that in Chicago…COME ON SPRING!

Sex: Baby girl.

Movement: Lots! We had brief 24 week appointment at the midwives this week and when trying to catch her heart beat on the doppler she was moving all around – silly bean. Heartrate was good and steady in the upper 140s/low 150s.

Belly button watch: Innie. This week I have officially moved to “soccer ball” status in terms of belly shape – I like it!

Sleep: Tired, still. I must be tossing and turning more than I think at night. I have a lot less upper thigh pain/stiffness by sleeping propped up compared with sleeping on my side with a pillow between my legs, so for now, I’m like the Queen of Sheba propped up on my pillows at night. Poor DM can’t really spoon me that way.

What I miss: Being able to caffeinate to get through the afternoon or slumps during the weekend. I am actually looking forward to having her on the outside just so I can have a little coffee to power through sleep deprivation (sad, but true!!).

Cravings: Meh, I did not crave too much this week. I really enjoyed some garlic and paprika spiked hummus at Trivia with friends on Tuesday night, but there was nothing I.had.to.have. this week.

Symptoms: I sported high heels for a two hour happy hour work event on Monday this week, and stood the whole time. My legs did swell a tiny bit that evening/the next day following this little experiment. Interesting! The work event was cool – it was a happy hour for attendees of a major healthcare executives conference and Mayor Rahm Emanuel spoke.

Best Moments this week: An excellent night out at Chicago Cut steakhouse over the weekend. DM finished painting the nursery – it looks awesome. Pics to come later! Another good visit with the midwives for the 24 week appointment. She let us know that birthing in a tub is an option, and I did not think that it was at Prentice, so that is something to think about. And I connected with our doula this week for an initial introduction and to get things rolling there. I think we will be happy with our choice to use her.

Marination Time: 24 Weeks

Size of baby: Baby is just over one pound and twelve inches long, about the length of an ear of corn.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 17 pounds.

Maternity Clothes: Yes.

Sex: Baby girl. We think we have two names that we’re between, and will wait to meet the little lady before giving her her moniker. The scare tactic emails from BabyCenter and other sites at this stage of pregnancy are not helpful – e.g. “Baby Naming Pitfalls to Avoid” – aren’t there enough other ways in which we’ll inevitably screw her up in life?! Naming her should be fun! (Though I get it, naming her “Apple” is probably a no-go).

Movement: Lots, everyday. She even gave DM a couple of courtesy kicks when he returned home from business travel this week (she rarely cooperates!).

Belly button watch: Suspicious tugging around the navel this week after a huge meal… hold on, innie!

Sleep: Tired again this week. Side sleeping is not my thing, so I’ve done some sleeping propped up in bed. I usually wake up after about six hours to go to the bathroom and then catch a couple more hours after that.

What I miss: My waist – ha! 🙂 But seriously, I did not miss too much of anything this week.

Cravings: I actually wanted something sweet this week, but only because I was in range of a World Market where I knew I could buy the good European stuff. I may have demolished a package of honey filled thin waffle cookies (Dutch Stroopwafels)… random, right? Baby was happy, I was happy. Otherwise still passing up cookies/sweets in favor of salt/cheese. I’m trying to drink a lot more water than usual, which for me, means any water at all. Instead of 64 ounces, I’m doing well with 40 on purpose, and trying to increase it. I’ve just never been a big water drinker but know it is very important to be on top of, especially once I get to the third trimester.

Symptoms: BabyCenter says LB grew about four ounces this week, and I’ve been feeling a bit of an energy drain. I’ve had a lot of work to do, so did not get to work out during the weekday evenings like I wanted (I’m a weekend warrior, if nothing else). I’m glad today’s Friday, and looking forward to my workouts and “me time” coming up this evening and over the weekend to hopefully put some spring back in my step! I need to keep active with 16 more weeks to go!

Best Moment this week: We had a great time in Indiana with my parents last weekend. I hit up a Zumba class with my mom, and we enjoyed a leisurely dinner out, watched a movie together, and made great progress on going through some baby clothes and toys that had been kept from my childhood. I threw out a lot, also, which was therapeutic in “making room” for LB. I just need to channel that into my own house now as we go through stuff. Her nursery was formerly used for storage, so we have some work to do.

HOLY COW – It is March and we have four months to go! (Whaaaat?!)

Marination Time: 23 Weeks

Size of baby: Baby is eleven inches long and the size of a large mango.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 16 pounds.

Maternity Clothes: Yup! Despite the fits and starts and pending returns coming back on the credit cards, my maternity wardrobe is in full swing and I’m enjoying coming up with new combinations of the pieces.

Sex: Baby girl

Movement: I can see her under my skin – weird! It is reassuring when a meal gets her going, though.

Belly button watch: Innie.

Sleep: Still so so tired this week. LB and I must have been in some sort of more serious growth phase this past week because I cannot live with less than 8 hours’ sleep. I realize this is normal for a lot of people to get, but I’m normally in the 5-6 hours a night camp to balance work and teaching and life stuff, so needing more sleep is no bueno!! Throw in a bunch of baby/nursery projects on my mind to try to make headway on in the next couple of months, and I’m a pretty crabby camper these days. I find myself wishing for caffeine, or legit vacation time.**

**Time off for attorneys is not really ever time off – see point #6 in this article. Now don’t get me wrong – I worked hard for this profession and make a decent living, but as my pediatrician friend put it best, “It’s like you’re always on call then, huh? At least we rotate call, and my shifts are my shifts.”

Anyhoover, back to LB.

What I miss: I’d rather have a glass of beer, wine or cocktail over any other indulgent snack or sweet I could think of this week. I’m still not needing/wanting sweets with this little lady, and while I will eat them sometimes as like an “oh I guess I can since I’m not really having anything else extra” – it just doesn’t do it for me. I miss the ritual of unwinding with a drink. Unfortunately, a cookie does not do it for me (and frankly I can do without the sugar buzz and acrobatics such fare creates in my uterus). Again, this coming from a girl who had a lot more chocolate when not pregnant than while pregnant now – it is odd.

Cravings: Carbs some, but mostly I’m dreaming of seafood this week. DM and I will be enjoying some with my folks in A-town this coming weekend. Also, while I have not wanted sweets so much lately, the fact that I’ve enjoyed Fig Newtons from time to time while being knocked up deserves another mention on the blog. I probably had not had a Fig Newton since college, and then, a few weeks back, all of a sudden that sounded like a nice treat in a sea of other sweets that just did not sound good. So, we have twin pack Fig Newtons that I take to work with me for a snack maybe once a week, like I’m in second grade. And that’s been sort of fun.

Symptoms: Mega grouchy this week due to another month end and feeling like I just cannot get enough sleep.

Best Moment this week: This week was kinda “meh,” but we are looking forward to time with my parents this coming weekend and going through my old baby clothes and toys in Indiana. Also, DM and I did have an awesome date night at Boka and seeing Argo last Saturday night, before Argo won Best Picture at the Oscars on Sunday. We are doing a pretty decent job of making dinner reservations at some top bucket list restaurants in Chicago, and have been trying to keep an eye on movies, musicals and other events we’d like to make it out to in the next few months before baby arrives. In all, it was a great weekend last weekend, even if I’ve had a case of the grouchies!

Marination Time: 22 Weeks

Size of baby: Baby is the size of a spaghetti squash.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 15 pounds.

Maternity Clothes: This week I got some cute non-maternity workout shirts from Athleta – the Breathe Tee. I sized up to a Medium, and they are a longer style. I also have wrapped up a lot of my maternity shopping from now until I outgrow the items I’ve purchased (hopefully this won’t happen until I’m into April and looking at just May and June left!).

Sex: Baby girl

Movement: I think she is getting stronger. This week the little thumps are getting my attention.

Belly button watch: Innie.

Sleep: I’ve needed some extra sleep this week following our fun and active weekend. I can’t help but notice how much I need downtime and extra sleep to catch up on the weekends now, though it is still nothing like the first trimester exhaustion.

What I miss: I had trouble getting comfortable at night some this week and found myself missing sleeping on my back or curled into DM’s side like I used to. I’ll be looking forward to getting back to that in July!

Cravings: Vietnamese, carbs, cheese (still, yes – I will be in deep doo if this little one is lactose intolerant! My girlfriend had to give this up while breastfeeding).

Symptoms: Still feeling generally awkward getting in and out of our car (a crossover). Otherwise, no complaints. The past couple of weeks I’ve had energy and even felt really cute. I’d be happy to bottle up this part of pregnancy and have it last as long as possible!

Best Moment this week: Seeing the nursery get started in a great way. DM’s dad and DM worked throughout the long weekend to install wainscoting on the walls. They measured it all so well and I think they actually had fun doing it! They also sandblasted my dad’s dresser from his old room at my grandma’s. We will be painting it white. We also pulled the crib pieces out, and I think it is going to be a winner. Between all of that and starting a registry at Buy Buy Baby with DM’s mom over the weekend, there was some great progress made towards getting ready for LB.

And a couple of more pics with my little helper.

Marination Time: 21 Weeks

Size of baby: LB is the length of a carrot this week.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 15 pounds.

Maternity Clothes: I’m excited to be in maternity clothes most of the time – I do love my elastic waist bands! When I get home from work or being out though, even those can feel too restricting. That end of the day bump swell just calls for yoga pants ASAP.

Sex: Little Bean is a BABY GIRL!!!!! We are thrilled to know she is a SHE. For sure, that is. We did have the sneak peek and I may have purchased a few girly things on super sale after Christmas – I’m glad I won’t need the return policy!

Movement: Yes – her kicks are a nice reassurance that she’s growing and thriving in there!

Belly button watch: Innie.

Sleep: I’m sleeping well this week.

What I miss: I found myself missing raw sushi more this week and well, had some. I picked some salmon (low mercury) from a reputable restaurant we frequent often, along with the tempura and unagi choices we’ve been making since I’ve been pregnant. This is probably going to become more regular now that I’m further along, in reason. YUM.

Cravings: Sushi. Spicy/stinky cheese and crackers. Ribs and pulled pork grilled by DM. Luckily with DM’s folks in town we will be accomplishing a lot of good eating this week (Kyoto and Publican, in addition to food at home).

Symptoms: Filling up fast when eating, only to be starving another hour or two later. This started to some extent around week 16, but it is pretty regular now.

Best Moment this week: Our 20 week appointment was awesome. We watched LB on the screen for over 45 minutes while the tech took tons of pictures. I had to shift around a lot and even go back in for a few more pictures after the fact – fortunately all looked great. Of course, in your mind, you are wondering if there are more pictures than normal being taken of any particular part, and the tech was actually very cognizant of this and reassuring when she simply needed a different angle. It was surreal – heart, brain, spine, limbs, kidneys, everything. And we found out our LB is indeed a girl! Our daughter!!! She measured right at the 51st percentile, which made me feel great to know the little one was neither too small nor trending towards being a 10 pounder, at least not right now. We received a list of natural childbirth classes to consider and are adding that to the to-do list, along with our reading list.

We got to share our news about the baby’s sex right away with my parents, and then shared it with DM’s folks in person with some cute pink frosted cupcakes (for Valentine’s Day… and for our little girl!). We also got to send some texts to siblings and friends that “our little Valentine is a GIRL!” We had a lot of fun with that. We’re glad to have DM’s parents in town this weekend to start nursery preparations and just spend some quality time together. Time is going fast.

We posted our news to the Facebook world with the pictures below, and the caption “Walks with Darcy won’t be the only thing getting us out of bed this summer.”

Oh yes, and blog world, meet Darcy. Darcy is our 2 year old goldendoodle dog. She is amazing. We love our furbaby, and she will always be my first baby, even if (when) she gets neglected this coming summer when LB arrives. She deserves some blog entries of her own sometime soon. Yes, she is the cutest, floppiest muppet ever.

Marination Time: 20 Weeks

Size of baby: Little Bean is 10.5 ounces and 10 inches long. Baby Center says banana this week. This finally seems long/large-ish to me!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 14 pounds. Ohhh BABY. I’ve jumped a little the past two weeks, and would say it has made a remarkable difference in the appearance of the bump/looking pregnant. Last week I was a little down about getting some cute outfits together, but this week I’ve had a lot of positive feedback now that I “officially” look pregnant and not just a bit chubby. 🙂 I’m feeling great and am eating pretty healthfully, so I’m choosing to not feel too badly about the Mayo guide’s “you likely have gained 10 pounds now” recommendation. I was a little on the smaller side anyway pre-pregnancy, and I’ve got the Jessica Simpson fear in me, so I think we’ll be ok. (Sorry Jess – 70 pounds is a lot!).

Maternity Clothes: This past week I became very conscious of the dwindling days I have left in pre-pregnancy anything. I have some cute Boden faux wrap dresses that have served me well, but it is about time to graduate to all maternity all the time. A vent – despite a LOT of trial and error, I have found very few cute things in smaller-ish sizes without wacko prints, bows on top, or gross/awkward necklines while looking for maternity wear. I have actually had some better luck buying dresses 2 sizes up in non-maternity for the babymoon and summertime. Unfortunately, it is still dead winter here in Chicago and I need some additional options. While Pea in the Pod makes some nice things, I am not willing to spend upwards of $100 for individual pieces of clothing that I will wear only for maybe a year total of my life, max, provided I actually have two or three pregnancies during the same seasons of the year. Some of the cheapest stuff has worked out best for me – thank you Old Navy and Gap for some basics! Have also had some luck with brands Seraphine and Asos Maternity – not too expensive. And Rosie Pope for more splurge-y stuff. I also have bought stuff through random vendors on Amazon.

Sex: Next Tuesday is our 20 week appointment. I’m more eager to know all is going well with Little Bean, but it will be very fun to also know which way we’re going – pink or blue! DM’s parents will be in town just three days after, so we might find a cute way to tell them our news. My visit to my folks isn’t for two more weeks and I don’t know if my mom will forgive me if I keep the sex under wraps until then!

Movement: Lots! I’m noticing 10am and 10pm are popular times, as well as about 20 minutes after I eat. DM got to feel the baby kick last Tuesday, after four days of me shouting come down here! and him then sitting around waiting for baby to make a move, with nothing happening. He gave a little lecture to LB on cooperating with his/her papa!

Belly button watch: Innie.

Sleep: I was short on sleep this week but getting in some workouts helped me make it to Friday.

What I miss: I would have enjoyed being able to have some wine this week. It is the first time during this pregnancy that a glass (or half a bottle…) sounded good to me.

Cravings: Had to have tacos this week. Mission accomplished.

Symptoms: Roly poly when getting up from lying down or when doing ab work on an incline at the gym. It is comical how I’m not even that big yet and need to roll. I’ve been emotional this week – a girlfriend and I went to Buy Buy Baby together to check it out and I choked up at a few of the baby toys. Really.

Best Moment this week: DM feeling the baby kick. And DM surprised me by ordering our crib this week to check it out in the future nursery (it was one we could not see in person, so would need to order it online to see if we liked it). And we had a Super Bowl party and I felt great throughout getting the house ready for it and hosting it.

Also (um – lots of best moments this week?) I had to take a two week hiatus from working out while I worked my tail off finishing up my fiscal year at the firm. I knew I’d need a shift away from my regular workouts sooner or later, which had been mostly circuit training (modified Shred, No More Trouble Zones and Burn Fat Boost Metabolism), with a little pre-natal yoga mixed in. I’m excited I was able to do this through almost week 18. As I was starting to get a little less comfortable with the jumping in those videos though, I’m now trying some prenatal circuit training classes offered at my gym. I also just went to my first Zumba class and I (and the baby!) LOVED it. It was a fun dance party and I could modify to keep both my feet on the ground whenever there were some jumps in the moves. I hope to become a Zumba regular (and that statement probably just aged me 15-20 years…but I don’t care).

I’m trying for about 4x/week workouts – and I need variety pretty much for every day of that in there to stick with it. I shoot for 1-2 weight/strength type sessions, 1-2 cardio type sessions, and prenatal yoga 1x/week. I definitely wasn’t this committed about fitness before getting pregnant, with the exception of the four months before my wedding and about year afterward during which I actually worked out 3x/week regularly – who WAS that woman?! But now, I’m finding that I totally stiffen up and feel more pregnant and achy when I’m skipping workouts, so it is enough to motivate me to keep going/aiming for something about every other day, even if it ends up being something light.

And now, for posterity, some serious belly pics! Here is a picture of me at seven weeks, and then a few of me now at twenty weeks. I’m amazed, for sure!

Marination Time: 19 Weeks

Size of baby: Little Bean is the size of an heirloom tomato.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 12.5 pounds. I have eaten more salty foods than any person should in a span of five days – oops.

Maternity Clothes: Yes. I broke out a couple of cute new dresses and tops that I thought I’d never be in when I first bought them. Now I’m worried they might not last me more than a couple of months! I’ve also ordered a sufficiently large number of longer statement necklaces to try to pair with my outfits… maybe to take the focus off the growing belly/elongate me? I find this trend funny, but I guess it works!

Sex: 11 days from knowing. Eek! Notwithstanding any sneak peaks we’ve had, I’m just not sure what we are having. I’ve dreamt about both little girls and little boys. Tally on the old wives’ tales from last week was pretty even, with one more in favor of a girl.

Movement: HOUSTON WE HAVE CONTACT. Today I felt LB on the outside!! Thumps through my shirt after a donut for breakfast. I haven’t craved sugar or sweets that much while being pregnant, but they get a reaction from the kiddo when I do consume them. Multiple other jabs during the day, and I’m noticing it more when at my desk in the late morning. Not a lot of movement at night so far.

Belly button watch: Innie.

Sleep: Insomnia this week. Meh.

What I miss: My old clothes and knowing how to dress myself. These boobs are ridiculous. My self confidence has taken a bit of a hit while I attempt to find new and cute ways to dress the bump. Shopping for our babymoon in Kauai is helping – I can’t wait to be a cute preggo on the beach!

Cravings: Salt – this week I had soy sauce in thai food, french fries, and lots of pita chips. Not the greatest for fluid retention. Will be trying to do better this coming week!

Symptoms: Some round ligament pain. I am wondering what kind of position LB is in and whether it coincides with what I’m feeling. Right now I feel like her feet are down most of the time. Major insomnia and tiredness this week, though that could be more related to the fiscal year end at work and making billable hours than to being pregnant!

Best Moment this week: Knowing DM will get to feel the baby at some point in the next couple of days!