Weeks 16, 17 & 18!

Greetings Family & Friends!

Happy Fall to everyone! I am doing well. I have been very busy. Last week was my first week of travel (for work) and it was great! This year I only have 5 weeks of travel (this has NEVER happened)! The reason being is that I have 2 retired Guidance Counselors doing 7 of my 10 counties. I will be done traveling by October 29th and am pretty excited!

Like I said, this week was really good! I got to see my friends Libby & Margie, while in White Plains; my Uncle Wes & Gordon, while I was in NYC, and went to see my cousin Brianna, Aunt Sherry & Uncle Sherm at Mercyhurst for Brianna's family weekend (she is a junior this year)!

Traveling so far hasn't been too tiresome, although, too much standing=swollen ankles=yuck! They don't hurt but they look terrible. And it was pretty hot on Wednesday when I was standing all day at a SUNY event at the Jacob Javits Center in NYC. (It wasn't hot inside but my body just knew what was going on outside). But when I get back to my hotel, I prop my feet up and they are all better by morning.

Over the past few weeks, baby teRelly has gone from an avocado, to an onion, to a sweet potato! In the last two weeks, baby has formed those little bones in his/her ears, eyebrows, lashes and hair is starting to fill in, the skeleton is hardening, and the baby now has one-of-a-kind finger prints! This week, the little sweet potato is becoming more mobile; passing the hours yawning, hiccupping, rolling, twisting, kicking, punching, sucking, and swallowing. And baby is finally big enough thatI 'll soon be able to feel her/his movements.

They also say that this is the time when you will start to feel "puffy", well I certainly do. I feel like my body is expanding an an exponential rate; while I know this is not true, some days I would like to "call in sick" due to this. While I was in White Plains this past week, I spent a mini-fortune at Destination Maternity (including Motherhood Maternity & Pea in a Pod, plus they have a day spa just for future mommies) and I should now be set with clothing until after I have the baby in February. While I was trying on clothes, they have this belly pillow that you can put on so that you can see if the clothes will fit later on in your pregnancy, looking in the mirror was a little................... interesting. I'm glad that this happens a little more gradually and I won't have a big belly when I wake up one morning.

On other notes, Rob is doing well. He has been very busy at the farm, they are in corn chopping season now and chop about 50 loads a day (sometimes more if it's a good day). My friends Libby, Kel and Jules are starting to think about baby showers and are chomping at the bit to find out if it will be a boy or a girl. On October 15th, Rob & I will go to an ultra sound and try to find out. I say "try" because I have been told that these little people don't always like to cooperate.

I hope everyone doing is well! Lots of love!

Welcome weeks 14 & 15!

Greetings Family & Friends!

Happy Labor Day weekend! It has been a very busy 2 weeks for me. With summer coming to an end and students moving back to campus, we have been very busy here at work. Exciting work news-I finally got a new computer which means I don't have to wait 45 minutes for my computer to start up in the morning and can be much more productive throughout the day!

As for baby news, this weather is not my favorite for sure. My ankles have been swelling the last two days and I'm not so in to that. Don't worry, I have been putting my feet up, but it makes it difficult when there is so much to do when you get home from work at night. Last night, I made a second batch of peach salsa, which may be spicier than the 1st. But soon the garden will be done producing and there will be a break until next summer.

On to baby stuff:

So, I have been feeling pretty good! Tired, but good nonetheless. The 2nd trimester has been better than the first!

Baby Stats for week 14:
from thebump.com:
Baby's now the size of a lemon!
Your adorable little fetus is busy with thumb sucking, toe wiggling, (not so cute but equally amazing) making urine, and breathing amniotic fluid as the liver, kidneys, and spleen continue to develop. Lanugo (thin, downy hair) is growing all over her body for warmth.

Week 15 (which begins today):

from the bump.com:
Baby's now the size of a naval orange!
Continuing the march toward normal proportions, baby's legs now out-measure his arms. And, finally, all four limbs have functional joints. Your fetus is squirming and wiggling like crazy down in the womb, though you probably can't feel the movements just yet.

I'm also supposed to start experiencing a shortness of breath but that has been happening before this point. I have noticed it more when I'm interviewing students and I get really in to the interview.

from about.com: pregnancy & childbirth:

Your baby may have developed the habit of sucking his or her thumb! The skin is very thin and you can see the blood vessels clearly underneath.

Your baby is about 70 grams. The scalp hair pattern is developing. And the heart is pumping about 25 quarts of blood a day. This will increase to about 300 at term.

Also, my heart is increasing its output to supply the baby with oxygen. Your enlarged heart is pumping about 20% more blood than pre-pregnancy. This volume will actually increase throughout your pregnancy for an ending increased heart output of 30-50%.

So, some pretty exciting things that are going on. Also, I got a cute journal from my Aunt Sherry called, "Out of the Mouths of Babes". It's a book to keep track of all the things kids say and what age they said them at. I'm pretty excited to use this although sometimes Rob says some pretty funny things that would probably fit! Thanks Aunt Sherry!

Have a fantastic weekend all!