My lovely baby bump....

Hooray, 19 weeks! I hadn't planned on posting this week, but I got some requests for bump pictures. Despite my protests that my bump is still not very big, the bump comments I've received at work this week make me think pictures are warranted. Here I am at 16 weeks:

And today at 19 weeks, 2 days:

















(One of these days I will take a picture where I'm not in sweats...)

And here's the weekly update--

Pregnancy: 19 weeks!

Sleep: No problems (knock on wood)

Gender: Still unknown. I took an online quiz and it said 60% girl, 40% boy, but since my bump is not big enough to clasify as "high" or "low" or "straight out" or "wide," it's hard to trust the results.

Feeling: Elated- I'm just so happy about our family and the baby and the holidays. I'm walking around smiling. Maybe this is the glow they talk about.

Health/Exercise: It's freezing out in the mornings-- 17 degrees with the wind chill this morning--but Mueller and I are still running! Now it's closer to 45mins and one morning we only walked, but I'm so pleased I've been able to keep it up.

Movement/Kicks: There has been a huge increase in movement-It actually feels like the baby is kicking now. I have felt a few low jabs and some flops almost every day since late last week. The Munchkin was especially active when we were out on Saturday night (see below)--maybe because he or she was enjoying the music? Stephen has not felt the baby yet, but we're hoping it happens soon. Maybe all the delicious holiday desserts will help...

Maternity Clothes: Almost every day. I had some luck at H&M this past weekend (they actually have a pretty decent maternity section). As I mentioned, people at work are noticing the bump more, and I think that's in part because the maternity clothes show it off. Luckily I've also found some new options in my old wardrobe that look good, so I'm not limited yet.

Belly Button: Still in. It better stay that way.

Highlight of the week: This was such a great week with so many highlights...We got to see my family this weekend and then went out with the Trinity kids on Saturday night for Paul's birthday:












And here's a cute close-up of us with Bryan and Abby:

And as if all that weren't enough, on Monday I had a lovely lunch with my friend Jen and her adorable 15-month old daughter, Delaney. Jen had lots of mommy-to-be tips and Delaney gave us lots of laughs. And Jen made me even more excited to be a mom when she said "Everyday I look at her and know she is the best thing I have ever done." Awww...

Plus, tomorrow night we are having a mini-freshman year reunion: Kristin is back from the UK for the holidays and we're going out with her, Jen & Brendan, and Veronica & Josh. I can't wait to see everyone :-)

Upcoming Milestones: In 5 days we will be half way there! And in 8 days it's Christmas!

The Truth About Life

As the girls at my bachelorette party can attest, I LOVE Beyonce's Single Ladies song and dance. When I found this I came to the realization that those bachelorette days may be far, far away.

18 weeks!

I'd hesitated to do one of these pregnancy posts because, well, there wasn't much to report. But, as you'll see, there have been some fun milestones this week. I'll take a picture and add it to this post soon.

Pregnancy: 18 weeks! http://www.baby2see.com/development/week18.html . The baby is about the size of a sweet potato and is now able to hear sounds like my voice, my blood flow and heartbeat, and loud noises outside the womb.

Sleep: No problems (knock on wood)

Gender: To be determined on May 11! I'm 50/50...Stephen thinks it's a girl...my Mom thinks it's a girl...Debbie thinks it's a boy. So, we have no idea.

Names: We've got a list going. We're trying to use family names, so that's limited our list a bit. More on this later...

Feeling: Great except two exhaustion spells last week.

Health/Exercise: The cold is finally gone. I'm still running--45mins to an hour almost every day. I've definitely slowed down and take walk breaks a lot and almost constantly need to pee, but I'm still doing it. Mueller runs with me almost every day now. We'll see how I do with the dark, cold winter mornings.

Movement/Kicks: Besides a few random pings and twinges, I hadn't felt anything. But Saturday night we were sitting on the sofa and I felt a good 10-15 kicks. It was sooo cool! I haven't felt anything consistent since then, but I'm hoping for more movement soon

Maternity Clothes: Yesterday was my first day in maternity pants and it was wonderful! Granted I had to roll them up or they would have fallen down. It was like wearing pajama pants to work. I think everyone should get a pair.

Belly Button: Still in.

Next Appointment: Since we're not finding out the gender and we are changing insurance the 1st of the year, we're not going back until January 4 (just before 22 weeks). That's the "BIG" ultrasound, where they spend a long time looking at and measuring the baby. He/she was pretty quiet at the last U/S so we're looking forward to seeing more of the baby and hopefully more movement at that appointment.

Upcoming Milestones: December 22 is 20 weeks-- Half way there!

Halloween

This is a little delayed, but we were lucky enough to have Holland and Ian visit us for Halloween. In addition to getting to announce Baby Lamont to them in person, we also announced it to the world (well, everyone in the world who was at the DC bars). Everyone looked supercute: Holland was a 70's flight attendant, Ian was Kenny Powers from HBO's Eastbound & Down, and Stephen and Helen were a Bun Maker and a Bun in the Oven.

Helen had to "stuff her bun" because the bump is still (at almost 18 weeks) not that big.

Jon and Emily (dressed as Seely Booth and Bones from Bones) joined us for a yummy dinner at Zaytinya (but without spotting Mike Isabella from Top Chef)followed by 3 unsuccessful attempts to battle crowds of pub crawlers only to wind up back on the Hill.

Of course Helen made sure that everyone drink a LOT to make up for her:


Stephen got lots of nasty looks from the parents of trick-or-treaters, thinking he was a dirty old man (in the absence of his bun in the oven) and Ian was a hit with everyone who had ever seen the show. Overall it was a great night and a superfun weekend. We're looking forward to seeing the Fergs again in January.

My How Baby Has Grown

Today we went for our 16/17 week checkup and also got an ultrasound. It's amazing to see how far Baby Lamont has come from the 8 week ultrasound when he or she was just a little tiny blob the size of a raspberry....


To the 16 week 6 day ultrasound where they look like an actual baby!


Baby Lamont is now the size of an avocado (5 inches crown to rump) and his or her head is measuring at 17 weeks. It must be that big brain! All of Helen's anatomy looked good from the inside. Her bump is even measuring 17 weeks too, despite it's small size.

Next ultrasound is the BIG one-- January 4!

Thanksgiving

This weekend we celebrated Thanksgiving with our family, (newly) extended family, and friends. Joey and Meg hosted both of their families (including parents, grandparents, siblings, in-laws, and cousins) at their new house. We were even lucky enough to have Ashlee join for the festivities. There was a TON of delicious food and great company.

We even took the opportunity to take a picture with Baby Lamont

(although Helen is only 16 weeks 2 days, she pushed out for this picture--in reality, even after all the yummy Thanksgiving food, the bump is not very big).

AND on Friday, Joey and Meg got engaged! We are so thrilled for them! Welcome to the family, Meg :-)

14 weeks: PRICELESS

We have finally let the secret out that Baby Lamont is expected on May 11, 2010. As you may know, sharing the news (and the reactions) has been quite "priceless," leaving more than one family member and one tall, loquacious professional usher speechless. It's so nice to be able to share our joy with our family and friends at last.

Anyway, enough about us, let's talk about the Munchkin. At week 14, Baby Lamont "...can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb. Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another. His kidneys are producing urine, which he releases into the amniotic fluid around him -- a process he'll keep up until birth. He can grasp, too, and if you're having an ultrasound now, you may even catch him sucking his thumb. In other news: Your baby's stretching out. From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 inches -- about the size of a lemon -- and he weighs 1 1/2 ounces."