Wow, it's been a while!  Finishing up my last day of my 27th week and am ready to head into the final trimester!  Things have been really busy for us as summer has come to an end.  We're definitely ready for some fall weather and for things to cool down.  To kick off the fall, we're heading to the U of M vs Air Force game this weekend.  How exciting, Maddy's first trip to the Big House (in utero of course)!  While it won't be the same without being able to tailgate, I am glad that we're getting in one final game before she comes. 
The pregnancy has been going well.  My weight gain is 13 pounds so far & I am officially at my heaviest ever.  My belly is really tight & I'm not sure how it's going to continue to stretch.  :)  Also, Maddy is getting progressively stronger & her kicks aren't so cute at times anymore.  She moves most of the day & right at bedtime.  Unfortunately, she also wakes up when I get up to pee in the night so that always makes it interesting to try to fall back asleep. 
We've been slacking on taking pictures of my progress, but here are a few from the last few weeks.  I'm also going to include my bikini rocking day at Little Presque in Marquette (26 weeks).  :)

17 Weeks (Actually 18 as of today)

Time is flying by!  I can't believe I'm closing in on the half way point.  One major event this week was feeling the baby move!  It happened on Sunday night around 10pm.  I was laying in bed on my back & Jon was in the shower.  He started hollering for me to bring him his face wash & when I turned to get out of bed, I felt it!  I then layed back down and waited for it to move some more.  He kept yelling for his face wash and I had to tell him to hang on because I was having a moment!  When I told him what happened, he quickly threw a towel on & came running over to feel my belly.  Unfortunately, I had to break it to him that the baby was too small for him to feel just yet.  He was kind of bummed, but instead layed his head on my belly.  He likes trying to listen for the baby.  He thinks he can hear it moving, but I'm pretty sure it's just my insides & gas jiggling around.  Since he seems so excited, I just go with it.  :)

Here is the pic from week 17.  I feel like my belly has kind of popped this week, but it might just be me.  I also think that it would look bigger if my boobs weren't so massive! 

I've grown 3/4 of an inch in circumference since my last post & gained 3 pounds total.  I find the weight gain really hard to believe since I eat like a horse!

Looking forward to our Ultrasound on Monday!!

14 Weeks!

The second trimester has brought with it some great things such as no nausea, more energy and my hormones seem to be less out of whack.  One big change that I've noticed is that I'm not too much of a morning person anymore.  I discovered this last weekend when I slept in until 8am on Saturday and Sunday.  Usually I'm up around 6:45 or 7am.  In addition, I definitely could have slept longer if we wouldn't have had so much going on.  I'm also finding that I am able to stay up later.  Instead of the 8 or 9pm bedtime that I had in the 1st trimester, I'm staying up until 10 or 11pm.  Jon enjoys that because he is such a night owl and now has someone other than Bella to hang out with.  :)

Here are the latest stats on the pregnancy:

The baby is supposedly 3.5 inches long and about the size of a lemon.

Weight gain: 1 lb

Belly circumference: 33 1/4"

Bust: 37"

In addition, I'm starting to fill out around the midsection.  This was a new development over the weekend.  They say that's supposed to mean a girl....

Week 11!

Well, week 11 is technically coming to a close since week 12 starts tomorrow.  However, I figured I'd better get these pics up!  Today I had to use my belly band for the first time.  I'm amazed at how well it keeps my pants up and is so comfortable.  The main changes so far have been that I've already gone up a cup size.  Anyone who's had a baby knows how hard it is to find a good fitting bra that is comfortable and supportive.  I'm struggling to find one that isn't super expensive & still does the job.  Hopefully this weekend.

Our 10 week doctors appointment went really well.  It was amazing to see the baby go from a black dot with a heartbeat at our 7 week u/s to an actual baby form at the 10 week u/s.  It's quite active in there too.  It kept rolling over and thrashing its arms and legs.  It was a crazy experience! 

As week 11 wraps up, I'm getting a little concerned about weight gain.  I had gained 1 pound as of last week, but then lost it this week and actually according to the scale this morning have lost another pound!  I'm now 1 pound less than I was pre-conception.  The reason I'm concerned is because for normal weight gain I should have gained 2-5 pounds by the end of next week.  I just don't want it all to come at once later in the pregnancy!  Otherwise, I'm feeling great & have been extremely thankful that my nausea started to go away around 10 weeks.

Weeks 6 & 7

I've been a little M.I.A. lately, but have finally uploaded some belly pics.  Here they are:

And here are some from this week:

Belly circumference: 32 1/2"
Bust circumference: 35 1/2"

I forgot to measure during week 6...oops!  I'll make a note of it each week from here on out so that I can chart my progress too!  I wasn't planning on doing the bare belly photo (except for my mom because she requested it), but it seems to show more at this point.  Maybe if my bump becomes more obvious in my shirt later, I'll revert to that.  Sorry if it is annoying to anyone!  At least I'm not posting my bare belly on Facebook!  Also, I happen to think that pregnant bellies are one of the most beautiful things in the world.  :) 

I suppose I should probably try taking pictures when I have make-up on too.  It's too early to look like the zombie mom!  On a side note, my sweet belly week by week stickers were designed by my co-worker, Dana.  She's really getting into using her Adobe software...bonus! 

We also got to hear the heartbeat last week.  It was a strong 143.  The ultrasound tech said anything over 80 is good so we were happy.  I'm looking forward to week 10 when I have an appointment here in Grand Rapids with my OB-Gyn.  It's been amazing so far to see the progress and we consider ourselves lucky that we've already had 2 ultrasound pictures and it's only week 7! 

Get out of the way!!!

Today I had my first, "drop everything and run to the bathroom because I'm going to puke" episode.  Luckily I didn't actually get sick, but it freaked me out how quickly it came on.  I've been feeling pretty good otherwise and have learned that small, frequent meals are the best way to keep me from feeling sick.  Although, when I do have my appetite and something is tasting good to me, I have been known to completely gorge myself on it! 

We had an ultrasound this week and found out just how many babies we have growing in me.  Then, next Friday I will have another one because they are keeping an eye on something.  Hopefully we'll be able to share that news soon! 

There's a BABY in there!!!!

I tried to tell Jon when I got home last night that I had left my phone at work and we couldn't check the message.  Of course I couldn't say this with a straight face because I was too anxious to hear it.  It was amazing hearing our nurse enthusiastically shout, "you're pregnant"!  My beta number is 387.  I believe that between 5 and 425 is normal for the 4th week.  I have to go in for blood work every other day until my number reaches 2,000 (it should be doubling or tripling every 2-3 days).  At that point, I will go back to my doctor in Warren for a final ultrasound and will be released from the IVF program!! 

We are so excited and if I thought it was tough to concentrate before, it is nearly impossible now!!  I think the hardest thing is not telling everyone that we know.  While it's not "Facebook Official" yet, we are telling close family and friends.  :) 

Can't wait for my test tomorrow!