Are you sick of hearing about my pregnancy yet?

Hope not!! Because we haven't been doing too much exploring around Japan lately and the pregnancy is really all that's going on with us right now!!

We've got our next appointment on Thursday. It's my 15 week appointment, but I'll technically be only 14 1/2 weeks. But Tim is going to be gone on a business trip for a week and half so I scheduled it early because he really likes to be there for all the doctor appointments. We don't have an ultrasound scheduled this time though. Our next isn't until mid-January. I'll be 20 weeks then and we should be able to find out the gender then!

In the last few days, I've started feeling quite a bit better and my appetite has finally returned!! And it had returned in a big way!!!! Which is great because a woman of average weight pre-pregnancy is recommended to gain 25-35 pounds throughout the pregnancy. And since I lost 15 pounds in the first trimester, I need to regain those 15 PLUS the recommended 25-35 which will be quite a feat in a mere 6 months! Luckily the morning sickness seems to have flown the coop and I am back to cooking healthy, filling meals. My goal in the first tri was just to eat, now my new goal is to eat HEALTHY! I'm also getting back into my walking routine and prenatal yoga. I'm really beginning to enjoy this pregnancy so much more now that the mind numbing fatigue is edging off and the nausea is finally dissipating!

Oh, by the way, now that I am 14 weeks (in 4 hours), Squiddy is about the size of a lemon and is covered in fine hair. The Squid is moving a lot too now, though I can't feel it yet.

Oh, and I'm officially in maternity clothes only now...and my high heels are shivering in their storage bin in the storage shed. *sigh*

Thanksgiving and Belly Shots

We just got home from Thanksgiving dinner at a friend's home. They were wonderful enough to invite us to their home, thus sparing the poor pregnant woman from having to cook and clean up after Thanksgiving dinner. I am VERY thankful to them!! I decided to include two belly shots, as I've had a few requests and this is the first week that I feel like I have some belly to show. They are both from today (13 weeks 3 days), one before the turkey dinner, and one after. You'll notice QUITE a difference between them!

13 weeks FINALLY!

So today is the official beginning of the second trimester! Unfortunately, I am still exhausted and not feeling quite myself. Though it's not nearly as bad as the first trimester! Squiddy is now about 3 inches long and can suck his/her thumb!! My belly is starting to pop out and I am officially in the in-between stage where nothing fits me! My pre-preggo clothes are a joke, and maternity clothes are like tents! So I wear the same pair of yoga pants everyday! Which is no big deal, because I'm still too tired to leave my house! So no one is the wiser! I have another appointment in two weeks, but no ultrasound planned until the BIG one at 20 weeks. I recently made our first Squiddy-specific purchase: a new, gorgeous, sling to carry the little darling in! Granted, I already have a lovely black and white one that is perfect for carrying a large tot in. But it's just a wee bit big for a newborn. Not that my shopping craving has subsided in the least! Now I'm searching for the perfect wrap for summer! GypsyMama makes a gorgeous light weight batiked wrap that is perfect for carrying a baby in the hot summer months. I know EXACTLY which pattern I want, and now I'm just searching for it used!

We're making plans now to visit our very good friends in Guam in late February as a sort of "babymoon" before we officially become a family of four. We're really looking forward to seeing them and it will be a nice break from the cold weather we've got here!

In other news, my college room mate got engaged last week and is planning a summer 2010 wedding!! So, those of you who know Jo, wish her congratulations! She is going to be a gorgeous bride!

Bennet is currently in the throes of the terrible three's. About a week after his birthday, the body snatchers came and took my sweet darling and left behind a whirling tornado with a ferocious attitude! Despite the fact that he does not yet say the word "no", he's mastered the dirty look and angry shout that so clearly lets us know EXACTLY what he thinks of us!

Tim is busy working long days, but he always makes the time to come home and spend his lunch break with us! He's become quite the chef lately as well! He's really taken to his new role as Expectant Daddy (a.k.a. slave to the gestating queen) wonderfully!!

10 weeks today!

And our appointment went great!! The obstetrician decided that we will be able to deliver Squiddy at the (semi) local Naval hospital instead of having to travel to Okinawa for the second half of the pregnancy!! We also got to peek in at Squiddy today. I couldn't see the screen very well, but Tim got to see the baby's heartbeat. He even saw him/her moving!!! I'm pretty jealous, but we got a great picture so I'm ok with it!



That's Squiddy's head on the left and body to the right. The legs and arms are curled up so you can't really see them. But if you look hard, you can see the face!!

Oh yea, Squiddy is officially no longer an embryo today, but a full fledged fetus!!