17 weeks and counting

We have had a very productive week as far as preparing for baby McCoy goes.  Kevin came home early from his week of vacation to spend the weekend with me, and I'm glad he did, because once we realized it would be his last weekend off until July (!) we decided to get some work done around the house.  First on our agenda was to clean out our office in order to turn it into a nursery.  Just going through that process made this whole baby thing seem a lot more real.  We spent the entire day Saturday cleaning, organizing and purging.  After loads of trash and even more bags ready to go to Goodwill, we ended up with this:

Since Kevin used the closet in the office for his clothes, I had to do some purging of my own clothes to make room in my closet to share.  I would consider this the first major sacrifice for this offspring of mine, sharing a closet with my husband!  Overall, it has been working out very well so far, and it was a great opportunity to organize and get rid of a whole bunch of stuff.  It was actually slightly easier to condense my wardrobe because I don't have many clothes that fit me very well right now!  Maybe it will teach me a lesson on living with less.  Kevin is doing his best to manage my "quaker" tendencies to save everything!

Once we had an empty room, we immediately realized that we would need some furniture to fill it up.  We realize there will be many things we have to purchase, but we are trying to get the nursery outfitted as cheaply as possible.  So we were thrilled to find a beautiful dresser on Craigslist, that will work perfectly as a changing table.  We also have Kevin's great grandfather's rocking chair that was given to us by his grandmother.  I think things are starting to come together.  Now we just have to find out what we're having to pick out paint and fabric, and then on to crib shopping!

As for how I'm doing this week, I feel fantastic.  I definitely "popped" this week, which I don't really think this photo does justice.  I am having fewer headaches, and have a good amount of energy.  I'm going to try and enjoy it while it lasts.

I have been sleeping really well, I think it is because I found the perfect orientation of pillows to keep me comfortable.  Here is Baxter enjoying all the extra cushion in my spot in bed.

Baby McCoy is growing like a weed, he/she is apparently the size of a pear and is growing bones this week(well they're ossifying).  I have not gained that much more weight since my rapid first trimester weight gain.  Maybe another pound in the last three weeks, I guess my body is shifting stuff around and putting it all in my belly.  I have still been feeling the baby move every once in a while, and it still surprises me every time.  From feeling the baby move, to getting started on the nursery and talking to my aunt and sister about baby shower planning, this may be the first week that all of this feels very "real" to me, and it is so exciting!

We're Having A Baby!

That's right, it's been (over) a year since I have updated this blog and I'm going to jump right back in, but for a good reason.  A great, wonderful, fantastic, the best reason ever.  Kevin and I are happy to announce we are expecting a little McCoy, or "mini mac" as my sister calls him/her, in late September.  I guess we needed to maintain the libra-ness in this family.  So why the updates?  Kevin has requested that we keep our mini mac off of Facebook on a regular basis, so to respect his wishes and keep family and friends updated I've decided to keep up with this blog.  Please bear with me, because I'm four months behind, and have a lot of catching up to do.  So feel free to skim over or completely skip this long "let's catch up" post.

Week 4: Positive pregnancy test!  We had a friend, Juliana visiting for the weekend, and although I didn't think that I was pregnant, I decided to take a test to make sure I was safe to indulge in a wine tour as well as other weekend festivities.  Lo and behold we found out, and had to keep it a secret from a close friend at the same time!  Kevin was honestly in disbelief/denial for quite a few weeks after this.

Week 6: We celebrated my dad's 60th birthday with a trip to the farm.  Unfortunately, we were in a car accident on the way home, and were little nervous about the effect on the baby.  Thankfully everyone, including the dogs were completely safe.  Our car wasn't even totaled (although it was close).

Week 8: We had our first prenatal appointment.  Kevin was still in disbelief at this point, and even asked the nurse if she had done a pregnancy test to confirm, while we were viewing the ultrasound!  It was really exciting to see the heart beat.

Baby McCoy at 8.5 weeks

Week 9: We told family and friends that we were expecting while on a visit home (to pick up our repaired car).  I think everyone was pretty excited!

Week 11: Our second prenatal appointment, where we had another ultrasound as a part of some first trimester screening.  It was amazing to see how much had changed in three weeks!  Our little guy/gal was moving around a lot, and Kevin and I both agreed that it looked to be in a very uncomfortable position. 

First trimester wrap up: Overall I felt great!  Although extremely tired, that was really my only complaint.  I experienced very little nausea, and generally felt good.  I gained almost 8 pounds in the first trimester, which is a little more than average.  I grew out of my regular jeans in just a couple of weeks, but have been enjoying my stretchy maternity pants!

We had a visit from friends Kylee and Andy around week 12

Week 14: Welcome to the second trimester!  Since I had felt really good up until this point, I didn't feel that relief of ending the first trimester.  I actually had a pretty bad cold this week, and couldn't really take anything that made me feel better.  I also started getting almost daily headaches at this point, which were tough to handle at times because apparently tylenol does nothing for me.  We did get to spend a week at home with family and got to celebrate Easter.

Fair Hill hike on our visit home

Our other babies on the ride back to NY

Week 15: Our third prenatal appointment, which was quick and uneventful.  I went by myself this time because Kevin is now on a rotation where he works or is post-call every.single.day.  I did get to hear the heart beat again though.  I felt better this week, and although I was still getting headaches they were milder and more controllable.  First Belly pics:

Week 16:  Aunt Becca came to visit for the weekend, and we had a great time shopping for skinny-girl clothes for Becca and maternity clothes for me.  I would say this is the first week where I am really showing.  Although I feel like I am looking more pregnant every day, my weight gain has slowed down a bit at this point.  I think it is because I have more energy, and am back to being a little more active, or maybe I gained so much at first that my body is allowing the belly a little bit of time to catch up.

That brings us to today, which is significant because I am about 85% sure I felt the baby move today!  I was sitting at my desk wrapping the last few things up at the end of the day and felt the weirdest sensation, and then a couple of more times after that.  I definitely had a "wow this is really happening" moment, and that realization is partially what motivated me to update this blog.  I had a sudden desire to keep track of everything that was happening so I could remember every detail as well as have something to share with family.  I have been really excited for this part of the pregnancy to start, so I'm sure you'll hear more baby moving talk in the next few weeks.

And Yay! for Spring finally arriving in Syracuse.  We had our first 70 degree day today, after weeks of snow (through March and part of April), followed by cold and rainy days.