Bump-Date! 18 Weeks!

Jake and I are so bad at taking a weekly picture... It's because we usually take it right when we get home from church, but the last two weeks I didn't go!

Today's Date? April 28

How far along? 18 weeks

Baby's Size?  5 1/2 to 6 inches head to rump, and at least 7 ounces! The size of a bell pepper! ;)

Days until next doctors appointment? Two weeks from today on May 12, we'll be doing the big ultrasound!!!!!

 Total weight gain/loss? +9 lbs

Maternity clothes? I have my belly band. But I only wear jeans to work. Other than that I wear gauchos and sweats.

Stretch marks? Not on my tummy.

Sleep? It's getting harder to fall asleep and stay asleep. I can't find a position that doesn't hurt my neck, besides laying on my back... But the baby/uterus/everything is heavy enough now that that gets uncomfortable real fast. Plus it's not recommended.

Best moment this week? Okay, this was a rough week! I was sick, really sick, every single day except for Tuesday afternoon. Jake and I went to the temple and actually had the best experience of our temple going days! It was the highlight of the week. 

Movement? I still feel him or her every night when I lay down for bed. And this week there were a couple of other times! It's really neat!

Food cravings? I was so sick this week... Bleh to food. I ate a lot of mac and cheese, but then on Friday night I puked up mac and cheese for the first time. It was so SAD.

Anything making you queasy or sick? I can't seem to find anything that doesn't make me queasy or sick this week. Friday at work my headache turned to blinding migraine and I had to have Jake come pick me up. I spent the rest of the evening throwing up everything from my bowl of mac and cheese, to crackers, to water, to ice chips. I couldn't stop throwing up. So at midnight we went to the ER. They gave me the "pregnancy cocktail" through an IV. At first I had a really weird reaction. My body went numb from head to toe, then I felt like I was going to pass out, then I started throwing up. But eventually I started to feel a lot better and my migraine went away. Jake was supposed to take pictures for me to hang over the nuggets head someday but didn't. It was late, so I let him off the hook. ;)

Have you started to show yet? Yep! This week I'm 35 inches at my belly button. That's +1 1/2 inches from last week!

Missing anything? I miss not having a daily headache more than I miss not having to take a shot every night.

Gender of baby? Jake still thinks definitely girl, and I feel pretty positive that it's a girl, too! Two more weeks until our appointment, three more weeks until we get to know!

Labor signs? Nope!

Belly button in or out? In!

Wedding rings on or off? On!

Happy or moody most of the time? This week- zombie?

Pregnancy symptoms this week? Blasted migraines, no energy, round ligament pain, sore back, nausea, puking. 

Looking forward to? Feeling the baby move more consistently and finding out the gender! Picking a name! We had a definite boy name and a definite girl name picked out but we might change... It's so fun to decide! 

Bump-Date! 17 Weeks!

I'll get a picture next week!]

Today's Date? April 21

How far along? 17 weeks!

Baby's Size?  5 inches and 5 ounces! The size of an onion! ;)

Days until next doctors appointment? I had one today and we heard the heartbeat! My next one is in three weeks on May 12 and we'll be having THE ultrasound!!

 Total weight gain/loss? +9 lbs, which is -2 lbs from last week. Probably because I've been puking more and eating less, for fear of puking more!

Maternity clothes? No but my clothes are way uncomfortable. I like dresses and maxi skirts pretty much. Even my belly band was just not that comfortable this week. 

Stretch marks? Not on my stomach! ;)

Sleep? I love sleep. I need so much of it! I still haven''t got my energy back after the first trimester! I wake up multiple times a night to roll over or to pee but fall asleep again easily. Taking a nap in the middle of the day makes a huge difference in how I feel.

Best moment this week? Definitely my doctor's appointment. We heard the baby's heartbeat and the doctor said that the baby was feisty and was moving a ton! She had to keep moving the doppler or whatever to follow the heartbeat. :) I love my appointments so much!

Movement? I've only felt movement when going to bed at night. A few minutes after laying down if I lay on my back Jake and I can both feel the baby moving. It's seriously so much fun!

Food cravings? All of my cravings so far have been for things like mac and cheese and soft rolls and fruit. But this week I felt like "real food" a lot and wanted to eat more. But food keeps making me sick. My appetite is growing but when I try and eat a real meal rather than a small bowl of mac and cheese or some fruit, I puke it up. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday I was SO sick all day. Easter I thought I was okay so I ate a yummy Easter dinner with Jake's family and was totally fine until hours later when I got home and I threw up all night. So weird and getting so frustrating!

Anything making you queasy or sick? Smells! The smell of Carlisle Beauty makes me sick. The perms and colors just smell so strong and makes me sick. It's been getting worse and worse, not better and better. Not enough sleep= miserably sick until I get enough sleep. Eating makes me sick like half the time and not eating makes me sick. I used to be more sick in the mornings and now I feel sickest in the evenings.

Have you started to show yet? Yep! I'm gonna start measuring my waist every week because a growing number will be fun to see! I wish I knew what I started at, but this week I'm 33 1/2 inches at my belly button!

Missing anything? Just the days when I didn't have to end every day with a shot. I HATE THE SHOTS. And I wish I could eat and feel good.

Gender of baby? Jake is still feeling girl, I really don't know... We have the appointment to find out in three weeks on Monday, May 12, and we are keeping it in an envelope until we get to Louisiana so that we can find out with my family. So to tide me over from that Monday to that Saturday I am going to do a bunch of old wivestales and see what they say we're having! ;)

Labor signs? Nope!

Belly button in or out? In!

Wedding rings on or off? On!

Happy or moody most of the time? This week I was a monster... Jake worked over 71 hours! He worked Monday-Sunday even though Sunday was Easter! Isn't that awful?? And I worked over 30 hours, which used to not be a lot for me, but it was three 10 hour days and one day that I worked the evening for 4-5 hours. So it made me feel sooo super sick all week long. Plus I never saw Jake and it all just led to me being grumpy as can be.

Pregnancy symptoms this week? Still been getting headaches. Still have round ligament pains. Still pee every hour or more. Still tired all the time. My back still hurts. I get heartburn a couple times a week. And then there's the nausea that haunts me all of the time... And feeling queasy right after eating and whenever hungry...

Looking forward to? Not working anymore so that (hopefully) I will feel a lot better. And finding out the gender!! How will I wait??! :)

Bump-Date! 16 Weeks!

Today's Date? April 14

How far along? 16 weeks!

Baby's Size?  4 1/2 inches and 3 1/2 ounces! The size of an avocado! ;) (I'm assuming that my silly app, that tells me which produce my baby is as big as, is referring to the baby's weight...)

Days until next doctors appointment? One week from today on April 21, we'll be hearing the heartbeat again!

 Total weight gain/loss? +11 lbs

Maternity clothes? Just my belly band that I love! I want one in every neutral color!

Stretch marks? Not yet :)

Sleep? I wake up probably three-four times a night to find a new comfortable position, but I fall asleep again easily.

Best moment this week? Jake felt the baby for the first time Sunday night! It's so slight it's not any stronger than my pulse but I was so excited that we could feel him or her moving! Also talking with two of my sisters-in-law, Kayla and Shalina, who are also pregnant. It was so much fun! Kayla is in her third trimester with her first baby, me in my second trimester with first baby, and Shalina in her first trimester with her third baby. It was so good to talk to girls who know what pregnancy is like! It made this feel more real talking about it with others. It was fun, I wish we could get together more often!

Movement? I am pretty sure that I felt the first movements, called quickening, a couple of nights ago. I was laying in bed on my back trying to fall asleep and had my hand on my tummy. I was kind of zoned in and felt little thumps or flicks that I know wasn't anything else. Then on Sunday night, like I said, I was laying down and could feel them stronger than the other night and so I had Jake try and after a couple of minutes he started recognizing it when it happened! Coolest thing ever! I can't wait until the baby is stronger and stronger!

Food cravings? Watermelon, pineapple, other fruits, cottage cheese with yogurt or cottage cheese with peaches, spaghetti, hard boiled eggs, water water water. Super glad to be past the phase where all I could eat was macaroni and cheese! The last ten weeks I have eaten SO much mac and cheese. Happy to be over that!

Anything making you queasy or sick? Smells, especially the smell of perms and colors while I am at work. Whenever I overdo it I feel sick the rest of the day. If I don't eat often enough I feel sick the rest of the day.

Have you started to show yet? Yes! No denying it, folks! :) The belly is popped!

Missing anything? I still just miss not taking a shot in my stomach every day. I hate them so much. There have been two that I seriously hardly felt at all and every other one has been super not fun.

Gender of baby? Jake thinks definitely girl, I think that I think it's a boy... I don't have any motherly instinct telling me what it is yet. But we find out 4 weeks from today, on May 12! :)

Labor signs? Nope!

Belly button in or out? In!

Wedding rings on or off? On!

Happy or moody most of the time? Happy! Unless I'm at work and then I have to admit no matter how hard I try, I get the grumpies.

Pregnancy symptoms this week? I've been getting headaches, they're the worst! And I still don't have as much energy as I used to. Round ligament pain. Sore back (I KNOW that's only gonna get worse!)

Looking forward to? Feeling the baby move more consistently, hearing the heartbeat and knowing that everything is okay in one week, and finding out the gender in one month! Exciting things ahead!

Bump-Date! 15 Weeks!

Today's Date? April 7

How far along? 15 weeks!

Baby's Size?  4 inches and 2 1/2 ounces! The size of an apple! ;)

Days until next doctors appointment? Two weeks from today on April 21, we'll be hearing the heartbeat again!

 Total weight gain/loss? +10 lbs

Maternity clothes? Not yet, but I've purchased a belly band, because my jeans are too tight around my waist, and I LOVE IT! 

Stretch marks? Not yet!

Sleep? Oh how I love sleep... I still sleep pretty soundly! Have super strange dreams every night.

Best moment this week? I just have moments where it hits me that I'm really making a baby! They are so awesome! I feel overwhelmed with happiness and gratitude and excitement for what's to come.

Movement? I can't feel any movement yet.

Food cravings? Fruits, mac and cheese, water .

Anything making you queesy or sick? Smells and being hungry mostly.

Have you started to show yet? Yes! My uterus has popped out just a little bit! I can totally see and feel it. It's exciting!

Missing anything? You know what?? No! I'm pregnant! And I don't miss not being pregnant, that's for sure!

Gender of baby? Jake thinks definitely girl, I think boy! We find out in 5 weeks on May 12!

Labor signs? No!

Belly button in or out? In!

Wedding rings on or off? On!

Happy or moody most of the time? I feel happy most of the time. When I am feeling sick or hungry/dizzy then I get kind of grumpy.

Pregnancy symptoms this week? Most days I am only nauseous only in the mornings and if I stay up too late (huge improvement), still tire really easyily, and still having what I think is round ligament pain... Btw, my blood thinner shots suck suck suck suck suck!

Looking forward to? The end of the semester because I think I will feel much better without the stress and responsibility of school. Okay, and of course to find out what we are having! It's killing me!

Bump-Date! 14 Weeks! Second Trimester!

Today's Date? March 31

How far along? 14 weeks, finally in the second trimester!

Baby's Size? 3.5 inches, the size of a lemon! ;) 1.5 ounces!

Days until next doctors appointment? Three weeks from today on April 21, we'll be hearing the heartbeat again!

 Total weight gain/loss? +7 lbs

Maternity clothes? Not yet, but I've purchased a belly band because my jeans are too tight around my waist.

Stretch marks? Not yet!

Sleep? I need lots. But I sleep soundly at night!

Best moment this week? I think just being in the second trimester! Looking forward to feeling better!

Movement? I can't feel any movement yet.

Food cravings? Salads, mandarin oranges, mac and cheese, bagels and cream cheese, popsicles, corn pops, spaghetti, water water water, fruit drinks... About the same. Oh, club crackers. I munch on those nonstop when I feel yucky.

Anything making you queesy or sick? The smell of just about everything still makes me feel yucky, being hungry is a killer, and sometimes I feel sick even after eating.

Have you started to show yet? I think so... But it's still probably all the carbs I eat all day long!

Missing anything? Feeling good after eating. Not feeling sick, tired and worn out 24/7. Not taking a shot in my tummy every day.

Gender of baby? Jake thinks definitely girl... I have no idea! We find out in 6 weeks on May 12!

Labor signs? No!

Belly button in or out? In!

Wedding rings on or off? On!

Happy or moody most of the time? I feel happy happy and blessed unless I feel sick and then I feel anxious and grumpy.

Pregnancy symptoms this week? Nauseous, tired, still having what I think is round ligament pain...

Looking forward to? Finding out the gender!! I'm already dying to know! 

Bump-Date! 13 Weeks!

Today's Date? March 24

How far along? 13 weeks

Baby's Size? 3 inches, the length of a peapod! ;)

Days until next doctors appointment? I had one today! It was my first time hearing the baby's heart! Next one is on Monday April 21! Here is the LAME video of the baby's heartbeat (Jake forgot it was his job to record it so you hear like one second of heartbeat and then my doctor's voice. Oh well!)

Total weight gain/loss? +7 lbs

Maternity clothes? No but I prefer not to wear my jeans because they are tight around the waist and it's uncomfortable.

Stretch marks? Not yet!

Sleep? I still need like 12 hours to feel okay the next day. I wake up once or twice to pee every single night.

Best moment this week? Hearing my baby's heartbeat for the first time!

Movement? I can't feel any movement yet.

Food cravings? CANNED MANDARIN ORANGES... all the time. Still mac and cheese, bagels and cream cheese, popsicles, apples and peanut butter, corn pops, spaghetti, water water water, fruit drinks...

Anything making you queesy or sick? The smell of just about everything still makes me feel yucky, being hungry is a killer, and sometimes I feel sick after eating. My bloodthinner shots still make me feel sick.

Have you started to show yet? I think so... But it's probably just all that macaroni!

Missing anything? Feeling good after eating, not feeling sick, tired and worn out 24/7. Not taking a shot in my tummy every day.

Gender of baby? Jake is still thinking girl... I'm still kind of thinking boy. We find out in 7 weeks on May 12!

Labor signs? No!

Belly button in or out? In!

Wedding rings on or off? On!

Happy or moody most of the time? Moody probably. :)

Pregnancy symptoms this week? Nauseous, exhausted, round ligament pain...

Looking forward to? My second trimester!!

Bump-Date! 12 Weeks!

I'm copying this questionnaire idea from a few I've seen on pinterest! This is old, but I couldn't post it until we announced! My 12 week update:

Today's Date? March 17

How far along? 12 weeks

Baby's Size? 2.5-3 inches, the size of a lime! ;)

Days until next doctors appointment? One week, March 24!

Total weight gain/loss? +7 lbs

Maternity clothes? No but I prefer not to wear my jeans because they are tight around the waist and it's uncomfortable.

Stretch marks? Not yet.

Sleep? I need like 12 hours to feel okay the next day. I wake up once or twice to pee every single night.

Best moment this week? Going to take announcement pictures with Jody!

Movement? I can't feel any yet.

Food cravings? Mac and Cheese, bagels and cream cheese, popsicles, apples and peanut butter, corn pops, spaghetti, water water water, homemade pizza...

Anything making you queesy or sick? The smell of just about everything... my house, my school, my work, perfume, people... and if I'm ever hungry, I'm sick. And sometimes feel sick after eating.

Have you started to show yet? I think so... But it's probably just first trimester bloat!

Missing anything? Feeling good after eating, not feeling sick, tired and worn out 24/7.

Gender of baby? Jake is thinking girl... I'm kind of thinking boy. We won't find out for a while!

Labor signs? No!

Belly button in or out? In!

Wedding rings on or off? On!

Happy or moody most of the time? Usually I am happy or feeling sick... But at work I think I get pretty moody. My tolerance for rude customers is gone!

Pregnancy symptoms this week? Nauseous, exhausted, round ligament pain...

Looking forward to? My next doctor's appointment! And seeing Jody's pictures!

J+R= THREE! Our Story

Our first appointment was Thursday, January 30. Jake and I skipped our Old Testament class to go see Dr. Isbell. I don't know why I expected to not be taken seriously... but I felt like who would believe that I could be pregnant? I can't get pregnant, that's my fate in life! I think I had convinced myself of that! But they were so nice to us and so excited for us. He thought we were 9 weeks along and I was so excited. The ultrasound measured the baby at 6 weeks along. So I was bummed to be barely pregnant but still STOKED to be pregnant at all! We scheduled another ultrasound for Monday, February 24. Then we went on our way with our first picture of our little baby! I have to admit this picture just made me very skeptical that this was real.... the circle is the yolk sac and the little white dot under the circle is my baby!

Right after the appointment Jake and I whipped up these shirts and we skyped my parents to announce it to them. It was so fun to see their reactions. Priceless!!

So to explain how stressful the week that we found out we were pregnant was... we were SO excited, believe me, but it was during a super super hard semester, I was sick all day long and to make matters worse, the day after we went to the doctor, on Friday January 31, Jake's job laid him off. He worked for On the Spot Cleaning and Restoration and they had been going through a really slow time with not very many jobs. They laid off all of their part timers, including Jake because he is part time from September-April for school. (He got another job the next week that he loves and it has turned out to be a huge blessing). We were heading to Utah that weekend to go see the Midway Ice Castles where Jake proposed. You can read about it HERE when I write the post... when Aubrae sends me the pictures... cough cough.... We put on our happy faces even though we were freaking out a little bit. We drove down Saturday morning and I got SO carsick!! So when we showed up to grandma and grandpa's house I had to eat something before we could drive the hour to the ice castle. Well grandma knows that bonine works WONDERS with me and so she went to go get me one to help with my carsickness. I didn't want to take a bonine and kill my baby! So I asked grandma if it was okay to take a bonine when pregnant. Her reaction was priceless, too. But I am still sad that she didn't find out in a cute way!! Oh, and the bonine worked wonders and I felt great the rest of the night. We had a ton of fun with grandma, grandpa, Jason, Kendrick, Aubrae, Zya, and aunt Trina's brother Trent..? and his wife and baby!

The next Monday I had a dentist appointment. I told the hyenist that I was pregnant and she told the dentist, my brother in law Josh. At this point we weren't telling anyone and had only told my parents and my grandma. But I had no problem with Josh knowing because I knew he wouldn't tell anyone. And he's cool. ;)

Then we went out to dinner with Jake's best friend Matt and his wife Aubrei. We heart them! We told them about the baby and had a blast talking with them all night. I also told one of my dear friends Courtney.

My next ultrasound was at 9 weeks, on Monday February 24. Jake couldn't be there with me because of his new job and it broke my heart! I got to see the baby moving around like crazy! Wiggling it's arms and legs and even it's body and head. It was so amazing to see! Here are the two pictures I brought home from that visit.

On Friday, March 7, we told Mom and Dad Cromwell, Dane and Shalina, and Tyson and Memrie. Everyone's reactions were so sweet they were so happy for us. It really made us feel loved. The Cromwell's send out a monthly newsletter that everyone writes in. It was going out this weekend so we put this picture in there, from when we told Jake's parents, and we announced that we were having a baby! It's so much fun telling people! The next day we heard from Monique, Mitch, Michelene, Jennnie, Adam, Josh, Zsahnae, Jed, and Kayla. It was so fun to hear their reactions! Thank you guys!

The next Monday I found out that I have what is called Factor 5 Leiden Mutation which is a blood clotting disorder. You can read a little bit about it HERE. To prevent a blood clot that would either kill my baby or hurt me I have to take a daily blood thinner through an injection in my stomach. It's called enoxaparin sodium injection, or, lovenox. It is not as terrible as I expected. The shot sucks because it stings/burns super bad and then even once the shot is over it burns/stings pretty bad for about 10-15 minutes. At least that's been my experience with them so far! I will be taking them the remainder of my pregnancy and one month postpartum. My goal was to be able to give them to myself but they are just so painful that I don't want to! If I HAD to I am sure that I could now that Jake has done it for me for a few weeks... But since I don't have to there's no way. I look away and hug a pillow. I am grateful for modern medicine though! It is all so worth it for a healthy baby!  

That Wednesday, March 12, I told Sherry, my boss. She was super sweet about it. I told a few other girls at work, too.

Then I sent my mom a package with a shirt for Sari...

And Papi/Tati mugs for my mom and dad. A while back my mom and I had the important conversation of deciding what their grandparent name would be. We know we loved Papi for my dad, my mom's was a little harder! Such a big decision! We decided on Tati and I have been in love with it ever since! I don't have a picture of their mugs!

To tell the three little brothers who are still at home, I wanted to do a candy poster. My mom was sweet enough to put it all together for me so that I wouldn't have to mail it. It said, "Hey baby (BABY RUTH) brothers! We wanted to take a FAST BREAK and tell you some news filled with MOUNDS of ALMOND JOY. I think it will make you ROLO-ver with SNICKERS! Now, I'm not having SIXLETS, but there is one little SUGAR BABY on the way! The HUBBA BUBBA and I have been STARBURST-ing to tell you the news! Our SWEET TART sure SKOR-ed for lots of RIESENS but EXTRA because he/she has you three AIRHEAD-s for uncles! Now don't go out on a shopping SPREE spending 100 GRAND just yet, the due date isn't until September! I hope the news doesn't make your brains ORBIT around the MILKY WAY! We love you all a CRUNCH (bunch)! huge and KISSES Jake and Rachel! We skyped them on Saturday March 15 and saw them read their poster and Sari open her shirt and mom and dad open their mugs! So much fun!

To tell Ben and Kaye we did another candy poster. Ben came over to grandma and grandpa's house early without Kaye and so he got it early! We said, "We are STARBURST-ing to tell you that we have a little SWEET TART coming Sept. 29! We are EXTRA excited because he/she will have a close cousin! (Ben and Kaye are pregnant too, due October 13!) We know our babies will be friends NOW AND LATER! We're sure they'll be AIRHEADS having MOUNDS of fun together! I know it will sound like a SYMPHONY when we get the two of them together! We will have to go on BABY RUTH shopping SPREE-s! We'll try not to spend 100 GRAND! I cant' wait for our little NERDS to be friends! Every milestone that the little SMARITES reach will be a RIESEN to celebrate, even when they first ROLO-ver! We love you a CRUNCH! Hugs and KISSES, Jake and Rachel

We called my grandma and grandpa Sant to tell them. Because we were able to drive to Utah we told my Hathaway grandparents in person with a candy poster that said, "Grandma and Grandpa, We wanted to say how much we love you and thank you for being LIFESAVERS! We're so lucky to have you as our grandparents! We have been STARBURST-ing to tell you that you're being promoted to GREAT grandparents! Expected to begin Sept. 29, 2014! This promotion doesn't come with the 100 GRAND dollar prize but it does come with lots of hugs and KISSES! We hope you take a FAST BREAK and relax while eating these treats... but don't ROLO-ver sick! Love, Jake and Rachel."

 We went to their house the weekend that Jody took our announcement pictures, that you can see HERE. And Jody's blog is HERE, check it out! So that weekend we gave the candy posters to Ben and Kaye and Grandma and Grandpa then on Sunday we had a family dinner with Teilani, Todd, Logan, Heidyn, Destry, Tanner, Ashley, Jason, Trina, Kendrick, Aubrae, and Zya and we waited for them to notice the poster because grandma and grandpa had hung it up. I think Jason and Trina read it first but Destry read it and freaked out and then everyone saw and it was so fun!

Jake and I just can't believe how blessed we are to have this little baby on the way. We have had so much fun telling everyone we love our good news! Thanks for being a part of it!

Fist-Bump For Our Baby-Bump!

 

Thank you Jody (see more of her work HERE) for these priceless pictures! We love you!