Herman is a...

Bump, Chick-Fil-A & Flutters



13 week Bump



We are at 14 weeks today and Herman is the size of a lemon!!  Most likely s/he is around 3.4 inches and 1.5 ounces (doubling his/her weight since last week!).  His/her kidneys, liver and spleen are starting to do their jobs and s/he's growing fuzzy like hair to keep her warm inside of me. 

I figured it would be fun to share my Hump Day Bump Day pictures with all of you!  It took me a while to convince myself that my 13 week bump to the left wasn't just bloat/chubbiness/Thanksgiving leftover.  Once I felt that my abdomen was a bit harder, I believed that it was really Herman in there.  This is the week that my clothes started not fitting.  Thank goodness for friends, Donna passed down 3 boxes of clothes for me to use during this time, which helps a ton (not just for my waist, but my pocket book too!) Thanks, Donna!
 

14 week Bump


My 14 week bump is starting to creep a little higher.  Supposedly that's a sign that it might be a little girl, but we'll see!!  We are scheduled to head back to First Peek Ultrasound  on Dec 23 @ 7:30pm to find out if it's a boy or a girl and even plan to get a DVD of the whole thing!  99% of people that take a guess think that Herman is a girl.  We even had a Chick-Fil-A psychic guess the gender and our pre-picked name for that gender! 

Chick-Fil-A story: my boss had gone to pick up Chick-Fil-A for us and I asked for the largest size and biggest amount of nuggets with all the sauces.  She placed the order but forgot the sauces and told the cashier, "I forgot that she wants all of the sauces." The cashier replied, "She?! A woman is eating all of this?!?!"  My boss let her know that I was pregnant and her reply was, "OH! I got it, let her know that she's having a baby girl and her name will be Charlotte."  A lot of you know that we decided months before we even got pregnant that if we had a girl that we would go with the name Charlotte!  This was the freakiest thing and when my boss told me, I started crying on the spot at work (emotional pregnant lady =P).  Anyway, we'll see if she's right.  I've made a promise to Matt to let go of all superstitions if it ends up being a boy, I'm never stacking a plate again in my life ;). 

Also, on Monday morning I was sitting at my desk, and all of a sudden I felt flutters in my lower left abdomen.  It lasted for over 5 minutes and came back again a few minutes later.  After speaking to other moms, I'm pretty convinced that it was little Herman saying hello!  It felt like a little fairy fluttering her wings or butterfly kisses inside of me.  It was the most amazing feeling ever!

Our little Herman: By the next post, we'll actually know if you're a her or a man!! You are growing so fast and we can't wait to see you again.  I love watching my belly grow because that means that you are growing so fast inside of me.  Regardless if you are a her or man, we are just excited to know that you are growing up to be healthy and strong.  We love you so much and can't wait to have you in our arms.

160 beats per minute

I can't believe we've already made it past 12 weeks.  Herman is now the size of a plum (over 2 inches long and .5 ounces).  S/he can open and close her fingers and her organs are starting to grow really fast now!

Honestly, I know that it's now "safe" to tell people, but I still feel really weird bringing it up. Other moms and dads have agreed with me that "revealing" can be really awkward, but I'm getting more and more confident that it's time.  I've told all of our friends and family and slowly telling the rest of my coworkers. 

A couple weeks ago I was freaking out (as you saw from the last post) so I convinced Matt to take me to First Peek Ultrasound in Oak Park.  They make dvd's of 3d pictures taken of your baby and get the sound of your baby's heartbeat saved in a stuffed animal.  It was crazy seeing Herman, s/he was flipping and moving and couldn't even sit still for a moment (no surprise from a child coming from Matt and I).  We ended up buying a stuffed elephant that has Herman's heartbeat and every time I feel nervous I give it a squeeze to hear her/his heartbeat again.  Matt's agreed to let me go back to this place once or twice a month until I can start feeling Herman move inside (a compromise from me buying my own fetal doppler and searching for Herman's heartbeat on my own). 

We hit 12 weeks last week and had an appointment with one of our midwives at Swedish Covenant Hospital on Dec 2.  Everything looked good (except for the fact that I lost 3 pounds, but she said that is okay).  Herman's heartbeat measured a solid 160 bpm.  Avg heartbeat is 120-160 bpm, so, again, no surprise that Herman's heartbeat is going strong and at the top of that range :)!

I promise to have pictures of my bump next post, but I will say that a teeny bump is starting to form.  I had dinner with Sandy and Christine last week and she freaked out when light hit me just a certain way to point out I was showing just a bit :). 

As far as symptoms go, I have much more energy (no more 7:30pm bedtimes), I haven't had morning sickness in almost 2 weeks (yay!!), but these two things have been replaced by dizziness and headaches, which I'm learning to handle.  I took a free prenatal yoga class through the Chicago Bump Club, which was really great!!  It helped me really connect with myself and Herman, and I'll be glad to confirm that the emotional symptoms have not passed, because while meditating I starting crying to myself thinking about how I'm going to become a mom in 6 months. =P. 

Our little Herman:  You already have so many people loving you.  You've got so many aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc. that think about you and pray for you all the time.  I just know that you are going to be the most amazing child and do nothing but bring smiles to everyone.  Your dad and I are doing our best to fix bad habits and pick up good ones so we can be amazing parents to you.