14 weeks!

please excuse the few-week hiatus! we just returned from a jaunt through Belgium, the Netherlands and France - pictures to come (including those weekly updates which I know you all sorely missed)!

       

bump watch: well folks, i think the belly has popped. the above photo was taken after i had stuffed myself at our end-of-the-year choir BBQ, so i was attributing some of it to food baby, but that bump hasn't gone anywhere yet as evidenced by my side-zip dress pants no longer quite zipping all the way up the side even if i "suck in" as much as possible. thank goodness it's warm enough for dresses!

sweet pea: is four and a half inches long and weighs in at two ounces. apparently, this equates to a large navel orange (and i suppose explains the belly!). baby is moving frequently now, although i probably won't be able to feel it for another month. milestones for this week: "practice breathing" and ears that have finally reached their final destination at the sides of the head, instead of in the neck where they started! just look at that bambino:

image credit from What to Expect When You're Expecting

best moment: last night, Kaiser slept on the floor by the side of my bed all night, instead of at the foot or in his open crate like he usually does. I like to think that he's picking up on sweetpea's presence, and his protective instincts are kicking in. it's especially sweet since he got a long overdue bath this weekend, and smells like oatmeal and baby powder. 

symptoms: feeling a little more tired this week, but i attribute that to having just returned from Europe with all the resultant travel fatigue, jet lag, and general craziness of getting the house in order to host the choir party. and yesterday i started to notice stiffness and pain in my hips when i would stand or walk after sitting for a prolonged period. it's not quite as bad today, but still bizarre - feels like my hips are going to dislocate or something. i chalk it up to relaxin, the oh-so-creatively named hormone that relaxes ligaments in the pelvis during pregnancy - a necessary development before sweetpea makes his or her debut!


cravings: honestly, not much at this point. i'm starting to feel full faster, and i absolutely hate feeling bloated so i do much better eating smaller frequent meals. 

what i miss: sipping pink moscato while reading a book on the porch. thankfully, reading a book on the porch sans moscato still holds all of its charms, but still. 

looking forward to: our anatomy scan (aka second look at sweet pea), which will be done towards the end of June! can't wait to see that precious little face again.