34 Weeks

It's finally starting to sink in…I'm having a baby!  And I'm having a baby SOON!

Here's the update.

How far along: 34 weeks

Total weight gain: …25 lbs :(

Maternity clothes: Yep!

Stretch marks: I have one.  And it's very small.  

Sleep: This is ironic, but it's almost exhausting to sleep??  The amount of effort that goes behind turning from side to side during the night is getting out of control.  

Best moment of this week: Being able to spend the day shopping and running errands with my mother-in-law on Saturday :)

Miss anything: Sleeping comfortably.  Being able to get up off the couch without feeling like a whale.  Zumba.  Being able to stand up after I've peed without having the last little extra trickle down my leg…oh wait, was that too much?  Sorry.  I'll stop.  

Movement: Still lots of movement.  And it's becoming more and more painful the farther along I am.  

Food cravings: None.  Oh, except the other night I really wanted lettuce wraps.  Steven was kind enough to oblige and take me to Pei Wei.  They were delicious.  I don't really think that's pregnancy related though because I got "cravings" all the time before I was pregnant too.  Poor Steven. 

Anything making you queasy or sick: There isn't a particular food/smell that makes me sick, but I've had a few bouts of morning sickness return within the last week or so.  Ugh, it is so awful. Not nearly as bad as the first 20 weeks, but I was suddenly reminded why I will not be having children super close in age haha!

Have you started to show yet: Yup

Gender: Boy

Labor signs: Lots of contracting.  Not painful, but every day and all the time.  Nothing consistent, rhythmic or uncomfortable.  Just my body getting ready! 

Belly button in or out: Out.  It's weird.  Pregnancy is weird.

Wedding rings on or off: Still on :) no swelling! :)

Happy or moody most of the time: I'm a pretty happy camper.  I'm starting to get uncomfortable, but really, I'm doing great.  I'm busy with student teaching and my job.  I'm happiest when I'm super busy and I wouldn't have it any other way.  I plan on going this same pace until the day I go into labor.  

Looking forward to: My baby shower with my ward this Saturday.  I'm so blessed to have such great friends!

--Amber and baby

It's the final countdown!!

Well friends, I'm 29 1/2 weeks along and I'm about to embark upon the final 10 week countdown.

Is it weird that this still doesn't seem real to me yet?  I'm having a hard time imagining myself a year from now with a 9 month old…

Here's the update!

How far along: 29 weeks!

Total weight gain: gained 13 lbs total

Maternity clothes: Yes, yes, and yes.  

Stretch marks: Nope! (or at least, not yet!) My mom never got stretch marks though so I'm hoping I inherited that :)

Sleep: Aye…it's complicated.  Sometimes I'm ok in the bed and can sleep on my side.  Other times I can only sleep on the recliner (I'm a back sleeper).  Many nights I'm up from 2-4 just because I can't sleep.  The whole insomnia thing is for the birds! 

Best moment of this week: Having a baby shower in Arizona with my aunts, cousins, grandmas and two close friends that still live there! 

Miss anything: Sleeping on my back in my bed.  The ease of putting on shoes without help.  Bending over.  A belly that doesn't itch 24/7.  Hot tubbing.  

Movement: SO much movement. Maybe I'm crazy because this is my first and I have nothing to compare it to, but I'm convinced our little guy is on the "more active" side of the baby movement spectrum.  It is non-stop all day (and night) long.  

Food cravings: I actually haven't really had any cravings while I've been pregnant.  Since I've started feeling better food has never tasted better though! 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Not anymore, thank goodness! 

Have you started to show yet: Umm, yes :)

Gender: Boy!!

Labor signs: I've had a few braxton hicks starting about two weeks ago.  Very weird.  And extremely distracting.  Not painful in the least bit though. 

Belly button in or out: Um, neither?  It's flat and sticks out a little bit when I don't have anything on, but the moment I put on a shirt it pushes it flat again because it's so soft.  I don't really foresee having a hard belly button that sticks out, but I guess we'll see! 

Wedding rings on or off: On, thank goodness.  I already get enough stares from people because of how young I look.  It'd be even more terrible if I couldn't wear my ring!

Happy or moody most of the time: So happy.  In fact, I don't think I've been overly hormonal at all.  I've had exactly three "melt downs" (one was about a week ago…I didn't want to leave my husband haha!) in almost the last 30 weeks.  That's good for a woman even when she's not pregnant! 

Looking forward to: Starting my student teaching on Monday.  This spring is going to be a crazy ride, but I'm so excited to close a very fun chapter in my life, and start a brand new one! 

Until next time!

--Amber and baby

The "Honeymoon" Stage

I didn't think it would ever come.  I didn't think I would ever get there, but around 20 weeks something magical happened and I FEEL AWESOME.  

The most exciting thing about this change?  I love food again!  Steven and I joke that the way to MY heart is through my stomach.  I have missed food so much and it feels great to enjoy it as it was meant to be enjoyed. ;)

Now, I'll be honest, the nausea and puking hasn't completely subsided, but as a whole I am feeling MUCH better these days.  Man, if I had just known that the puking would "only" be the first half, I think it would've saved my sanity when I was 17-18 weeks along.  I was convinced that I was going to be one of the select few unfortunate moms that are sick the whole dang time.  And for the few moms that I know that are like that, I just want to give you a huge hug right now.  

Other fun things as of late:

-I am feeling our little guy move ALL THE TIME now!!  (is it sad that that comes second to me being able to eat food again?)

-I'm pretty much past the "awkward" pregnant stage.  Almost as sudden as the nausea went away, my belly decided to pop!  

-Steven has been able to feel our little guy moving too!  I never thought he'd be able to feel the baby's movements this early, but I've got pretty strong kicker in there…which may be a big issue later on.  Guess we'll see.  

-My maternity jeans and leggings are GREAT.  I could live in those leggings…they are so so comfy!

-No swelling (yet).  My ring still fits and my feet are just fine. 

-My belly button is flat!

All in all, we are happily humming along.  I'm a bit irrationally excited about the holidays this year…partly because my in-laws rented a beach house in Florida for Thanksgiving and partly because I get to spend Christmas with both sides of the family AT THE SAME TIME in Colorado.  It's going to be so great. 

ALSO, THE HOLIDAY FOOD.  Did I mention the holiday food?  My mother-in-law makes these sweet potatoes that are the best, and this blueberry-banana pie that I now look forward to every year.  YUM.  I'm drooling.  Gosh I'm such a fat kid.  I need to stop talking about food…

Speaking of which, dinner is calling!  

Until next time,

Amber and Baby Boy

It's a...

BOY!!

Steven and I will be welcoming a perfect, beautiful, bouncing (I'm sure) baby boy to our family! We are so excited.

Since we found out last week I haven't been able to stop wondering what our little boy might look like.  I personally think I married the most good-looking man in the world, and his childhood pictures are absolutely adorable.  I'm secretly hoping to have a little clone of Steven.  He was the cutest little boy!  I had so much fun looking through his pictures earlier that I thought I'd share a few...

 See???  The cutest!!  Age 4.  

 Steven's 4th birthday

I couldn't help myself...I love pouty faces! Apparently the soup he was eating was too spicy!

These were the earliest I could *safely* find.  They were taken during the Summer of 1991.  I know I have his baby pictures somewhere, but they're way up high and I need Steven to get them down for me haha.

It was also fun to look at his pictures in '91 because that was the year I was born!  It was fun to go back to my albums and find pictures of what I looked like during the exact same summer he was already stealing my heart...

Me and big brother Brandon

And just for kicks...a picture of my brother Jordan when he was almost 3 and myself at age 4.  

It has been so much fun *finally* knowing what we are having!  It just feels so much better to be able to say "him" and "he" instead of "the baby".  Since we've found out, it's almost felt like "Well, of course the baby's a boy!".  It just feels so right, to the point that I wonder why I didn't just "know" like some expecting moms do.  It's just meant to be!  

Stay tuned for the first 20 weeks bump progression...which, I'll be honest, isn't really that much.  But for those who have been asking, it's coming! 

Finding out!

It was Sunday July 7th, 2013.  Everything was normal, except that it wasn't.  I woke up to my alarm and got out of bed to get ready for church.

I had no reason to take a pregnancy test that morning.  I hadn't been having any symptoms, and I was still a day early.  But, I'm a notorious "stick-pee-er" and thought, "what the heck".  I was still groggy, and went about my business.  As I was just stepping into the shower I remembered, "Oh ya!  My test!" (literally, that's how non-excited/expecting I was about that pregnancy test that morning).  I was floored to see a positive result!  I collapsed on the toilet seat, put my face in my hands and starting bawling.  I wasn't even expecting to react that way!  I was so overwhelmed!

Once I collected myself I ran over to my cell phone to call Steven.  Half way through the ringing, I realized, "Crap!! I can't tell him now!  He's taking his board exam!".  Yep, he had woken up early that morning to go and take Step 2.  It was an 8 hour test which meant that I had to wait until 5:30 that evening to tell him that he was going to be a dad.  It was 7:30 in the morning then.  LONGEST DAY OF MY LIFE.

It was a whirlwind getting to church, and the primary lesson during sharing time was not easy on my "on the surface" emotions.  It was the first Sunday in July, and the theme that month was "Families Can Be Together Forever".  I was a mess.  I had to keep running back into the bathroom to wipe my eyes so no one would notice.  Luckily I had something fun prepared for singing time that was unrelated to the theme so I was able to act normal.

We have 8:30 church this year, so I was home by noon.  Time went by excruciatingly slow that afternoon, but because I had time on my hands, I figured I could come up with a "cute" way of sharing the news with Steven.  I started going through my book collection and found Dr. Suess's "Are You My Mother?".  I decided that I would write "Father?" and tape it over the "Mother?" on the front cover, write a little note from the baby on the inside cover, and wrap it up and give it to Steven when he came home.

His reaction was perfect.  He had a small look of confusion at first that quickly turned into realization.  He ran over and gave me a big hug and wouldn't let me go.  I think the poor guy was in shock, well actually, I was still in shock too and I had had all day to absorb the news!  However, the shock quickly turned into excitement, and I had to BEG him to keep the news from his parents for a day.  He is the worst liar on the planet so this was asking quite a lot from him.  I had already ordered flowers to be sent to our parents announcing the news and his parents' flowers were being delivered the next day.  My parents, however, didn't receive theirs until the following week.  My mom and I are really close, so that week was a long one for me.  I even lied to her and told her I had started my period that Monday.  I just wanted everyone to be perfectly surprised and not expecting anything at all!  It was perfect!

A little side note- I did overhear Steven later that evening announcing our news to his gamer friends online.  This was hilarious to me.  He was so excited!  But really?  Do you really think these random people all over the world care that you're going to be a dad??  Maybe they're that close, I really don't know.  It was so funny.  The man cannot keep a secret if his life depended on it and he just HAD to tell someone!

All in all, it was the perfect day (aside from the waiting).  We are so thrilled to be parents!  March can't come soon enough!

Stories of the first trimester!

Hi friends!  Well, if you haven't heard already, The Neeley Crew of Two is soon going to be a Crew of Three...which is very exciting.  Only one major problem-I've gotta come up with a new name for our blog!  "Crew of Three" just doesn't quite have the right ring to it.

Tomorrow I will be 15 weeks, and right now I'm feeling...better :).  I still throw up just about every single morning when I get out of bed, but I get through with my "morning puke", eat a good breakfast, keep my snacks on hand at all times, and I usually have a pretty good day after that!  This semester all of my classes start in the afternoon which has been a tremendous blessing. I've been plugging along quite nicely.

Now lets rewind about 9 weeks.  At 5 weeks 6 days (yes, I know the exact day!) I was SLAMMED with morning sickness.  Actually, it was more like "all-day-all-night-sickness" and "heave-till-you-burst-capillaries-under-your-eyes-sickness".  It was...horrible.  Ugh, it was so awful.  I lost 10 pounds.  I was in Arizona for weeks 6-9 when it was at it's worst.  It was such a blessing to be with my mom!!  I don't know what I would've done!  I also came down with bronchitis while I was in AZ so I was just a ball of hormonal, sickness mess.  Good times, yo.

I would definitely say that my biggest symptom has been nausea, but there were also a few things (actually two things) that NO ONE warned me about.  First of which is that you MAY experience extreme nausea accompanied by extreme hunger.  Conflicting feelings?  Not when you're pregnant!  Holy cow!  I don't know how it's possible, but I feel the sickest on an empty stomach and vice versa (hence the necessity of having snacks on hand!).  Usually when I feel like I'm about to die, I'm also freaking starving! This usually turns into a vicious cycle of eating and throwing up...at least it did during the first trimester.  Now that I'm "officially" a second tri girl, it's just in the mornings.

Now the second thing that no one warned me about kind of crosses the "tmi zone".  If you're sensitive to that, you may not want to continue reading, but it's been nice having you :).

Are we ready?  Are you sure?  Ok, I'll fess up.

The second thing that no one, and I mean NO ONE, warned me about was that you may get extremely constipated.  Oy, that one has been killing me!  YIKES.  Also, if you take zofran while you're pregnant to help with the nausea, it's biggest side effect is that it can make you constipated.  This all leads to you being a plugged up hot mess.  I don't know why other friends/pregnant people didn't warn me about it. I mean, ya, it's kinda gross.  I certainly haven't been at the pinnacle of attractiveness lately, but I definitely would've appreciated a heads up about that one.  So this is for my friends who haven't had a baby yet, it MAY (every woman is different) happen to you.

Other than all of that I really haven't been dealing with much.  My face is constantly breaking out, and I'll get the occasional headache, but I feel like thats nothing compared the nausea and, you know, the poop thing.  But like I said, it's definitely getting better, and I'm hopeful that with each coming week it'll only get better...that is until I'm the size of a planet (and student teaching!), but I'll cross that bridge when I get there.

Being pregnant and knowing that a little life is growing inside of me makes me gush and squeal with happiness.  Our plan was always to wait to have children, but now that it's "our turn" I find myself constantly smiling to myself all day.  Regardless of what I've been through, and will go through later, I have no doubt that it will all be worth it a million times over.  What a wonderful and sacred calling I have been blessed with.  I couldn't be more grateful.  Now I need to stop typing before I start crying haha.   Three weeks until we know if we're having a little boy or girl!!

-Amber

Hakuna Matata

I've gone back and forth about whether or not I really want to hash out the gory details of our travel.  I'm still undecided.  It may just have to wait for another day as I'm still suffering from international travel PTSD.  Needless to say, the kidney stone thing was just the beginning of a long, arduous 48 trip.  Coming home wasn't fun either.  However the actual VACATION was incredible!!  I want to go back with Steven some day SO BAD. 

Our first day there us ladies went to the spa.  Initially I thought this was a little strange to do that on our first day, but it could not have been more strategically placed!  All I wanted to do after getting there was sleep, so the spa day was perfect!

The next day, Thursday, we went to Aldo Elephant National Park.  It was amazing.  I was so upset because the battery in my camera died that day, so I didn't get to snap the photos of the HUGE heard we ran into while we were there.  There were over 30 elephants in this group!  There is just something so gentle and wonderful about those animals.  They were by far my favorite during the whole trip!


This is some of what I was able to get pictures of:

  Seriously!? It does not get any cuter than that!

 

On Friday we traveled to Plattenburg bay so the following morning we could travel to Mosel Bay to do our great white shark dive.  On our way to Platt, we stopped by a big cat rescue center and we were able to play with young servals and pet a full grown cheetah!  She was beautiful!  We were also able to look at mercats, leopards and lions.  It was definitely a unique and a once in a lifetime experience.

 

 My favorite picture of the whole trip!

 

 

Once we got to Platt, we visited Monkey Land!

 

On Saturday my dad, Adam, I went on our shark dive!  It was amazing.  I want to go again, only preferable in December or January during their summer months.  It was pretty dang cold.  And by pretty cold, I mean brain freeze cold.  We bought the DVD that the dive shop made, but my parents have it and I don't have a copy...:(  Here are two little clips that kind of give you an idea:

On Sunday we went shopping and visited a reptile farm.  We got to see lots of cool snakes, and Adam was brave enough to hold them. 

On Monday we went on a Safari.  While we were out we saw Giraffes, Rhino (without horns, they had been poached two weeks earlier...SO SAD) and the king of the forest!  It was SO COOL.



On Tuesday we went on a "Cheetah Walk" where you get to walk alongside cheetahs and watch them hunt their prey.  It was crazy awesome!  This place is the only place in the world that has them trained to do that alongside humans. 

 

 

 

Wednesday was our last day and we spent the day shopping in Port Elizabeth.  The trip was a dream, and I can't wait to make it back someday!