cantanythingprivate-deactivated asked: WOW you look as if you are 20 weeks along already! Your belly button is almost poking out and everything, I am curious to see how BIG your will get hah, I felt huge early on because I was bigger than most people at the same point but your way bigger than I was.. best of luck momma

Thank you! It’s a trip cause my last pregnancy i was didn’t start to show til the end of 4 months early 5 and it was only a pudge. I’m excited to see how big i’ll get to this time around!

9 week belly bump. Seriously?!

9 WEEKS.

Your new resident is nearly an inch long — about the size of a grape — and weighs just a fraction of an ounce. She’s starting to look more and more human. Her essential body parts are accounted for, though they’ll go through plenty of fine-tuning in the coming months. Other changes abound: Your baby’s heart finishes dividing into four chambers, and the valves start to form — as do her tiny teeth. The embryonic “tail” is completely gone. Your baby’s organs, muscles, and nerves are kicking into gear. The external sex organs are there but won’t be distinguishable as male or female for another few weeks. Her eyes are fully formed, but her eyelids are fused shut and won’t open until 27 weeks. She has tiny earlobes, and her mouth, nose, and nostrils are more distinct. The placenta is developed enough now to take over most of the critical job of producing hormones. Now that your baby’s basic physiology is in place, she’s poised for rapid weight gain.

The horrid cramping has started to ease itself. I still get it daily but not as frequent but the downside is when i get them, they’re hard and sharp. My next prenatal couldn’t come any sooner. It’s hard to stay “stress-free” but you have the nagging worrying sitting on your shoulders.

Nausea has gotten worse, but only at night. If i catch a wave of it in the afternoon it’s very minimal and snacking on something makes it go away. But at night, i catch myself with no relief until i get myself to fall asleep.

I’m starting to get “baby brain”. Oh joy.

I’m also starting to break out. Thanks baby — just what mommy needs. Benzoyl Peroxide is the only “acne” solution i can use and yet — that doesn’t seem to work 100%. So extra care to my skin is a plus since i am a skincare junkie.

8 Week belly bump — Sorry for the low quality pic… better ones soon ;)

NEW FOUND.

After reading through some of my old pregnancy books, i stumbled upon the section of morning sickness. Even though i posted a few tips that work for me, i ended up giving other options a try that my book recommended, and BOY did i find something that works better then EVERYTHING i’ve done.

Ready for it?

PEPPERMINT TEA.

Not only does it taste good, it’s caffeine free and took my nausea away litterly after a few sips. Impressed much?

So for all you mommy’s out there — give peppermint tea a try if you haven’t yet found a remedy to help ease your morning sickness (;

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Hi mommy!

1ST PRENATAL.

Finally! I felt like today would never come and now it’s already over. I wish i could see the baby a little longer and watch his / her heart flicker a second more. But back to “life”. I have good news and some bad, so let’s start this off with a positive note (;

Good news? Baby has a strong BPM of 170 and i even got to see my little nugget move an arm and his / her head up and down! Amazing since my OB was like we’re probably not going to see any movement, but if we do we’re gonna be lucky & thankfully i got lucky (:

Bad news? First, my amniotic fluid sac is abnormally small at where i should be. There should be a huge black ring around him / her but as you can see, the baby is very snug inside of his / her sac. Resolution? Nothing. I can’t do anything to change this so uppin’ my water intake will do no good. It’s just going to have to “naturally” get better / bigger on it’s own. Second, we finally got a closer look at the cramping and found out they’re contractions. Not braxton hicks or anything, but actual contractions. I didn’t even know you could be this early into a pregnancy and have contractions, but unfortunately i have them and it’s a concern for baby. So sadly at the moment i’m at a risk of miscarriage. But we’re staying optimistic since the baby is showing all good signs. The only thing i can do thus far is to take it easy and hope for the best. My OB was really good with her pep’ talk about “this happens sometimes without an explanation but we’ll get thru this…” so i’m hopeful. I’m almost 9 weeks leaving me 3 more weeks of “high risk” and then i’ll pretty much be good to go.

So i’m hoping for the best for my baby (;

MORNING SICKNESS.

Is finally kicking in. It wasn’t a steady wave that hit me slowly - instead it came over night. If there is one thing i can’t stand it’s being nauseated. So a few morning sickness remedies that are suppose to “help” —

• Ginger. I refuse to chew on ginger, so i substitute it with ginger candy and Canada Dry ginger ale (;.
• Saltine Crackers. Light weight and filling — and in case you do vomit it won’t be tough to get it out.
• Sleep. You won’t know you’re feeling sick if you’re sleeping.
• Breathing Cold Air. Seems to help me. So i just step outside or roll down a window and bask in the cold air.

Unfortunately, these don’t always work. So if you are expecting a miracle then sorry to fail you so soon. Just a few helpful tips to help alleviate some of the miserable-ness.

STRETCH MARKS?

I know this is a huge concern for any pregnant women. Nobody wants them and everybody fears of getting them. Here’s a few tips i would like to share since this is pregnancy #2 for me and i was able to get away with being stretch mark free my last pregnancy (:

1. Genetics. I honestly believe that if you’re mother has them, you’re at a higher risk of getting them.
2. Don’t Scratch. With your growing belly it’s going to get really really itchy. Whatever you do the best thing is not to scratch. My tip is when it gets unbearable, grab your belly lotion, balm, etc. and just lather and rub the area vigorously. I swear it may not be as satisfying as itching, but it’ll help alleviate the itch.
3. Moisturize All The Time. When you feel dry, when you feel stretchy, after showers and before bed. The more moisture your skin has the more elasticity it’ll have thus giving you more stretching room. I personally use Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Stretch Mark Lotion cause it contains Vitamin E, Collagen, and Elastin, all great ingredients for your skin and baby.  

I’m not claiming to be an expert and i know some will and will not agree with my tips and opinions, but thankfully i did get away no stretch marks my last pregnancy. I started of at 98 lbs and added 55+ lbs and i was literally ALL baby. Do these tips really work? I honestly think they do but i wouldn’t knock them until you give it a try (;

WEEK 8 (2 MONTHS).

Webbed fingers and toes are poking out from your baby’s hands and feet, his eyelids practically cover his eyes, breathing tubes extend from his throat to the branches of his developing lungs, and his “tail” is just about gone. In his brain, nerve cells are branching out to connect with one another, forming primitive neural pathways. You may be daydreaming about your baby as one sex or the other, but the external genitals still haven’t developed enough to reveal whether you’re having a boy or a girl. Either way, your baby — about the size of a kidney bean — is constantly moving and shifting, though you still can’t feel it.

I finally got my first wave or morning sickness, TODAY. Woke up feeling okay but as i packed up my daughter and started my daily 60 mile commute, and my first destination to dropping her off at daddy’s, i started to feel queasy. With it pouring down rain here in Seattle, i couldn’t really roll down my windows and the heat or air conditioning mixed in with the smell of the hundred of different air fresheners i have in my car didn’t sit well with me either.

Fatigue seriously comes and goes. One day i’ll be so tired and cranky i can’t do anything but other days i have such bad insomnia i’m frustrated that i can’t just fall asleep.

My belly bump is getting big and i’m starting to look like i’m 4-5 months pregnant already. It’s kind of embarassing since i’m only 2 months as of TODAY. But none the less — a new belly bump photo will be posted sometime this week since i’ve grown from my last picture (;

My  hands been getting severe cramping and i’m honestly not going to be suprised if i end up having carpel tunnel. But that’s something i’ll discuss with my OB on Tuesday (;