Ultrasound, Ultra-baby!

Good morning!

We had our third ultrasound yesterday and everything is still looking normal! In fact, he weighs two pounds, which could put me closer to 26 weeks than 24, or he's just huge...Since my last appointment I have gained about 7 pounds and at the last ultrasound he was 11 ounces so I imagine a growth spurt is right around the corner. I've been feeling more stretching sensations in my sides and getting leg cramps in my calves just about every night, not fun.

He has been moving a lot and I even noticed that he had the hiccups the other day so that was fun! We saw him moving his mouth as though he was eating and putting his hand up near his face, so cute! I'm so excited to meet him!! Nothing really major to report on, the ultrasound tech is going to leave a note for my doctor to see if I am in fact farther along than we thought, pushing my due date from April 8 to March 29 or maybe even earlier. We shall see in a couple of weeks though! Since it's not that great of a difference, they aren't changing it immediately but they do want to check just in case I stay on track now and go into labor at say 35 weeks (not full-term) but it is actually 37 which is full term.

We found a new apartment! It is about 250 sq. ft bigger, has two bathrooms, and washer/dryer in the unit! We are pumped! It is still an apartment and we were kind of hoping for a house, but this is still in our price range, and definitely an upgrade from where we are now. It's on the third floor which is fun but also a lot of stairs...not a big deal though. We are still in the northend (the area we live in now) and within 10-20 minutes walking distance to three different parks!

We leave for Christmas in San Diego tomorrow and we are pretty excited! I'm not going to lie, though, this whole not white Christmas thing is freaking me out. We still have green grass here in Boise, it's been cold and we have had some snow here and there, but the ground is bare. We watched a PBS special last night called "Christmas in Yellowstone" and it showed shots of Jackson and the Tetons blanketed in snow and Brett understood what I meant about what it really means to have a white Christmas! That's ok, Christmas is Christmas :) and we are excited!

Inheriting a barrel chest and a big head from someone... ;)

opening his mouth!

Mid-week reflection

Ok so... I just typed a whole blog post and it was erased. That was super annoying. Let me try again...

Today was the first time an adult asked me about being pregnant, though it wasn't as much a question as it was, "so you're pregnant, how far along are you?" It kind of took me by surprise but I appreciated her boldness. I think it's a music teacher thing... Who knows...

I guess I can't really hide my bump anymore. Since the rest of me isn't growing is much more obvious that I'm not just putting on the holiday plumps.

As far as what's new and different, I still surprisingly have no distinct cravings. I have here and there on occasion needed a particular something right then and there (bacon a few weeks ago) but nothing that I must have or can't live without. I have recently been more indulgent on junk-ier items like cookies and ice cream, but still pretty much maintaining a balanced diet. I do have to have a substantial snack in between meals or else I crash. I'm talking like granola bar, cheese stick, and a piece of fruit, it used to be that just one of those would tide me over.

Besides food stuff, changes that I've noticed is the amount of blood that comes out of my mouth when I floss...super disgusting, totally normal, but definitely an unpleasant experience. My heels I wear I have to buckle and they are becoming increasingly more difficult to reach. My hair looks fuller, not because there is necessarily more of it, but because it's not falling out as quickly as normal, I thought that was interesting. No swelling yet in hands or feet, no stretch marks or pronounced veins, standing or sitting for long periods of time can get uncomfortable and some sleeping positions just don't work anymore. My sense of smell is even more heightened than before which is definitely a bummer in some cases because there's a chance nothing actually smells like B.O. around me, that's just my nose interpreting it that way... Weird.

He has been kicking a ton which is really fun and a different kind of sensation from anything else that I don't even know how to explain it, maybe like flutters in your belly? Sometimes he'll kick so hard that it makes me twitch! Strong little guy, that baby Lofgren. It's also kind of funny observing when he kicks more frequently. For example, it's always around 8 or 8:30 at night when he feels super active. Throughout the day, I'll get a kick or two every so often. It's also funny when I talk, he starts kicking if I stop, as if he wants me to talk again. Maybe that's just me, but I'd like to think he likes the sound of my voice :)

I'm working on trying to exercise more again; I slacked off once my job started up (which is going awesome by the way!). I've definitely been very busy with subbing which is literally the perfect job for when you're pregnant. Especially when I have a student tell me I'm pretty just about everyday, it's super cute :-) I also love when some kids just come up and give you hugs even though they've never seen you before. Kids are just so great!

I have another ultra sound next Wednesday and looking forward to that, hopefully all is well and normal, fingers crossed! I'm starting to get a bit anxious and just want him to be here already! Patience has never been one of my strong points...

Other than that, just plugging along. Looking to try and find a bigger place to rent but there isn't too much this time of year. We are touring a place tomorrow so we'll see how that goes. I'd love to start actually setting up a baby room!

One last thing... We got these from some friends of ours; they are so cute! So excited to start getting baby things and definitely looking forward to a baby shower and Christmas in San Diego!!

23 weeks!

So people are FINALLY noticing that I am pregnant. Well, maybe they noticed before and weren't sure but luckily I work with kids and they are not afraid to ask. I have had some pretty funny questions directed towards my baby bump. "Oh you ARE pregnant...I just thought you ate a lot of food." Some kids think they are being clever by asking if I have any kids and when I say, "not yet" then they ask...or the 1st grader who straight up said, "You look like you're pregnant!" I love it. Granted, if I weren't pregnant, I might love it much less, but hey, atleast I already dealt with that in Korea! ;-)

Anyway, I am at 23 weeks, sorry for the delay in progress pics...it's been a kind of crazy few weeks. Everything with the little one is still going very well. We are going to take a childbirth prep class starting next month and that should be interesting. Some of you may have seen my post on facebook about watching a video on childbirth and just about passed out. I don't like seeing it, talking about it, knowing about it, or anything. I'm very interested to see how the actual birth goes-I'm more worried about the whole bloody phenomenon of it all and not so much about the pain...worth it though, right?!

I'm so excited for March and watching basketball since I'll be slowing down with work by then and it's the BEST time of year. I swear this kid is going to come out saying, "Go Zags! Stupid refs!"

Here are some pictures!!