23 Weeks

Total Weight Loss/Gain: Up 12 pounds total.

Size of Baby: Claire is the size of a grapefruit!

Maternity Clothes: Yes. How will I ever wear pants with buttons and zippers again?

Sleep: I'm sleeping really deeply right now.

Movement: Yes, I'm feeling it everyday now! It's an amazing feeling! Like her mother, Claire is not a morning person. She is more active as the day goes on!

Cravings/Aversions: My mom heard about my pumpkin pie craving last week and made one for me last weekend! Thanks Mom - it was delicious! I'm also craving french fries from McDonalds. I'm such a health nut - lol!

What I Miss: Eating without fear of heartburn.

Gender: It's a girl - Claire Campbell Todd!

Mood: Not trying to whine, just keeping it real: I'm exhausted and overwhelmed. The bags under my eyes have never been this dark, ever! Work is insanely busy - I'm either in meetings or tutoring every second I'm not teaching. Doesn't leave much time for planning lessons, grading, or this "cutting back" business everyone keeps mentioning. When, where, how? We've had something going on every single night this week so far and we'll be out of town the next two weekends. I need a nap. And a pedicure. 

Symptoms: My ankles are starting to swell. My heartburn is bad lately - twice this week I've had what can only be described as true reflux - acid literally coming back up. Oh, and I threw up a whole separate time the other night - totally out of the blue. I think my gag reflex just isn't what it used to be and it doesn't take much. I choked on some water in bed one night and all of the sudden, I threw up all over myself. Cam was right there and was pretty freaked out. It was lovely.

Milestones: The nursery is painted and it looks great! I'm really happy with the color. Can't wait to see the room with furniture in it! We've also combined our office and guest room into one room and it's looking nice!

Anything Else You'd Like to Share: Cam sold his truck and got a new (to him) truck this week that is carseat/baby friendly! It is really nice and he loves it, which makes me so happy! Now, we've both sold our old cars and gotten family-friendly ones! Feels really great to have that done!

What I Look Forward To: Meeting our Claire. I just can hardly imagine that moment! It will be wonderful!

P.S. I promise I'll post a bump picture soon! I keep thinking about it and then forget to do it before I change into my pajamas at night. Cam & I aren't picture takers at all, but I have a feeling that will change when Claire arrives!

A Special Weekend

I've been meaning to blog about the weekend of the gender reveal. It was such a special weekend and I don't want to forget anything! Thursday night Cam's parents came into town from Houston. We ordered pizza and just hung out. I wasn't sure I would be able to sleep since our big appointment was the next morning, but I did somehow!

We got up the next morning and Cam, his mom Jennifer, and I headed to the doctor's office, where we met my mom and sister. I was so excited and a little nervous - I wanted to get the show on the road and make sure everything looked healthy. Thankfully the sonogram went really well - everything looked healthy and after 45 minutes of trying to wake her up to "reveal herself", we finally got the news that it was a girl! Everyone was happy and teary eyed! I actually cried several times during the sonogram - it was just so neat getting to see her look so fully formed and sweet! Afterward we spread the news to our family and friends (and Facebook...duh!). Cam, Jennifer and I stuck around for my doctor's visit, which went really well too. Baby Claire's measuring exactly on schedule! And I absolutely love my doctor - she was so excited for us and is just so knowledgeable about everything.

Now that we knew it was a girl, of course we had to go shopping! Jennifer, my mom, and I went out that afternoon and found several adorable things for Claire. We were on the hunt for a Feltman Bros. dress to bring her home from the hospital in, but didn't have luck with that. Friday night all of the family went to eat dinner at Gino's, one of our favorite Italian places. It was delicious and everyone was in a very happy, celebratory mood!

Claire's wardrobe after a weekend of shopping

Saturday, the ladies went shopping again, this time with the addition of my sister Elizabeth and baby Grace! Grace was very confused as to why people were looking for clothes for another baby! We went to tons of cute places and found lots of nice outfits, especially at Janie and Jack. They have such beautiful clothes! We're very lucky to have such wonderful family who bought such nice things for Claire!

And now a picture overload!

Beautiful dress from Pinky (my mom)

Pretty in pink for Springtime from Gigi (Cam's mom)

Of course I had to get a Halloween outfit for my little pumpkin!

Adorable outfit from Aunt Lizzie. I hope Claire's big enough to wear this on her first Valentine's Day!

 I'm totally obsessed with this sweet suit from Pinky.

Gigi knows every girl needs a functional and stylish wrap!

Denim from Gigi. When I think about Claire in this and a pair of leggings, I squeal!

Saturday night we had everyone over to our house for dinner. Cam's aunt and uncle and their family we're in town, so they came over too. We made burgers, watched football, and celebrated Cam's aunt Tricia's birthday! It was such a fun night! Dessert was cupcakes with pink icing! I was prepared with food coloring to make the icing either pink or blue!

Sunday Cam's parents left pretty early to head home and Cam and I rested for the rest of the day and watched football. I was a little weepy all day with the Sunday blues. I was so happy and excited, but I was sad that this weekend we'd looked forward to for so long was coming to an end. We're so blessed to have so many wonderful people in our life who are just as excited as we are about baby Claire! This is a really special time in our lives and I'll always remember this weekend as one of my favorites ever!

22 Weeks

Total Weight Loss/Gain: Still up 9 pounds

Size of Baby: Claire is the size of a papaya! Maybe I should eat one in her honor!

Maternity Clothes: Most definitely!

Sleep: I'm not getting enough of it, but I'm sleeping well when I do. I'm trying to be more concious of laying on the recommended left side while I'm sleeping, but sometimes I end up on the right.

Movement: I think I finally felt something yesterday! I was sitting at my desk at work and I felt a couple of thumps in my lower abdomen. I focused closely but didn't feel another one, although I did start feeling them again at the grocery store and at home that night. If this is movement, Claire is one active little girl at night! It is the coolest feeling ever! The movement is very low in my abdomen, so since my placenta is covering the top front of my belly, maybe there's a little opening at the bottom where movement can get through. Amazing!

Cravings/Aversions: Grapes and pumpkin pie. Not together silly!

What I Miss: Nothing at the moment.

Gender: It's a girl - Claire Campbell Todd

Mood: Stressed! Everything's crazy right now and I'm feeling it. I feel like we have this big looming January 30th deadline and have so much to complete before then. Not just fun baby stuff - but things around the house we still need to do as new homeowners. Add my crazy job to the mix and you have one overwhelmed woman on your hands! I'll admit there have been several stress-induded tears in the last few days!

Symptoms: I forgot to take my beloved Zantac a couple times this week and OMG, the heartburn. Some of it still seeps through even with the medicine, but it definitely helps a lot. I'm also discovering that a big meal at dinner makes me feel so full and uncomfortable that I pretty much have to go straight to bed!

Milestones: We've picked a paint color - it's a really pretty mocha color. The free weekends between now and the end of the year are few and far between, so Cam, my Dad, and Corey are going to paint the nursery on Sunday. I'm looking for bedding and have ordered several fabric samples to check out. I've found one bedding set I really like online, just need to see the samples. More to come!

Anything Else You'd Like to Share: We signed up for a childbirth/infant care class and a breastfeeding class in November. They had a breastfeeding class available on the night of December 19th, our third anniversary, but I decided to spare Cam that horror and signed us up for the November one instead.

What I Look Forward To: Holding my baby girl - I can't wait!

21 Weeks

Total Weight Loss/Gain: I'm up 9 pounds total.

Size of Baby: Baby's the the size of a pomegranate and the length of a carrot. No wonder it's getting harder to bend over!

Maternity Clothes: I wear them pretty much all the time, with the exception of t-shirts, pajamas, and clothes for lounging around the house. 

Sleep: Sleeping pretty deeply these days!

Movement: Nope. I found out at the anatomy scan on Friday that my placenta is anterior, so it will be a few more weeks before I feel anything. I'm actually a little relieved! I teach middle school. Middle schoolers don't know how to walk down a hallway in any kind of sane fashion, so walking down the hall inbetween classes is like walking through a war zone. I worry about Claire getting elbowed, etc. At least now I know my placenta is providing some padding between baby and the outside world! I think I am feeling some sensations/pains associated with baby moving. This morning at 4 am I could feel these sensations around where the baby/placentra are. So while I can't feel her movements directly, I can feel when her movement affects other parts of my body.

Cravings/Aversions: Sweets! I have an embarrassing amount of candy in my house right now. I made cupcakes this weekend and colored the icing pink once we found out we were having a girl!

What I Miss: Being able to be on my feet without them hurting so much. Between work and all the other life stuff that needs to be done - I am usually out of the house about 11 hours/day. My doctor told me last week that I am going to have to start doing some things different since I am 20 weeks pregnant, but it's hard to cut back. There's just always too much to do!

Gender: Sweet little girl - Claire Campbell Todd!!!!!!!!!!!!! Of course I felt attached to this baby from the start, but there is a different level of bonding now that we know the gender. Everyday Cam asks me, "How is Claire doing?" and I find myself at work stopping to think, "Is Claire okay? Am I pushing Claire too hard today?" We love her so much we can hardly stand it!

Mood: Very emotional! Ever since they pulled my baby girl up on the ultrasound on Friday, I have been a weepy, pregnant mess. But they are happy tears! I just feel extremely attached to Claire, Cam, and the rest of our family right now - stepping away from that and doing "regular" stuff right now just feels unnatural. I just want to stay home and take care of them!

Symptoms: I think the baby is sitting on my bladder because when I go to the restroom first thing after I wake up, it feels like my bladder is numb. It's a weird feeling!

Milestones: Finding out she is healthy was a huge milestone and such a relief! And finding out she is a little lady, of course!

Anything Else You'd Like to Share: I feel so blessed to get to bring this little girl into the world.  I can't wait to find out what our sweet little Claire Campbell will be like!

What I Look Forward To: Getting to work on the nursery - I plan to look at paint this weekend and soon Cam will start moving the furniture out of the nursery. 

It's A...

GIRL!

Claire Campbell Todd is healthy and beautiful.

Friday was one of the happiest days of my life. Our girl is just so sweet - she held her hands up in front of her eyes like she was playing peek-a-boo for most of the ultrasound. We could even see her moving her little mouth up and down like she was talking to us. It took 45 minutes for her to open up her legs enough for the tech to tell us the gender. During that time, we took two breaks and I did some ridiculous dancing and stretching in the bathroom to get her to wake up and move around. What a prim and proper little lady she is! 

Baby Claire is 12 ounces, or as my doctor put it, the size of a can of coke! Cam has never wavered in his belief that this baby was a girl, and he was right! Even so, when they finally told us the gender and we all cried/laughed/cheered, I looked over at him and he was just staring at the screen with a look of complete shock, joy, and amazement on his face. To say I couldn't love him more is an understatement. I am so so so lucky to have such a wonderful daddy for my baby. I couldn't be happier or prouder that Claire will share a middle name with her Daddy. It's also pretty special that she is the first girl in the Campbell family (Cam's mom AKA Gigi's family) since Gigi herself. 

We're so blessed to have such a loving and supportive family. It was wonderful having my mom, Cam's mom, and my sister with us for the big reveal. There were lots of tears and smiles! And also lots of shopping - Little Miss Claire Campbell has lots of beautiful things to wear already! I'll be writing a post about the weekend soon - it's been so much fun that I cried this morning because I was sad it was coming to an end. But the truth is...the fun is just beginning!

20 Weeks

Total Weight Loss/Gain: I'm up 8 pounds total.

Size of Baby: Baby's the size of a banana.

Maternity Clothes: Yep-bought a few more this week. 

Sleep: Pretty good!

Movement: Still nothing...I think. This weekend I felt a couple little pulling sensations, but I don't know if that's movement or not? I keep waiting for some lightning bolt and I don't think that's what it will really be like. My sister told me movement at this stage does not hurt and what I felt this weekend did hurt a bit, so I just don't know.

Cravings/Aversions: Nothing in particular.

What I Miss: Nothing at the moment.

Gender: We find out tomorrow! The anticipation is killing me! I'm so excited for the weekend. Cam & I are both taking the day off from work and Cam's parents are coming in town!

Mood: Okay - it's just been a very stressful week at work. Hence this post being a day late!

Symptoms: My stomach just feels different - it's a bit harder and it feels more like there's something in there, if that makes any sense. And heartburn.

Milestones: Reaching the halfway point! I cannot believe we are here already! In some ways it's gone fast and sometimes when I think back on those long pukey days early on, I realize it has been a long journey. Pregnancy is really special and I can already tell I'll be sad when it comes to an end, regardless of the nausea or heartburn. The high point so far was hearing the heartbeat for the first time - there was so much reassurance and beauty in that strong sound after days of worry and uncertainty. I'll never forget it. The low point is definitely a day early on this summer when I threw up four times in one day. No one knew we were pregnant yet. It was hell. I remember being on the bathroom floor crying and asking God out loud to please help me feel better. I will never forget that either - ha!

Anything Else You'd Like to Share: I feel very blessed to be experiencing this! It's truly a miracle!

What I Look Forward To: Friday Friday Friday! We are so excited!! I'm looking forward to finding out the gender, but also to making sure everything with baby looks good and healthy! Once we know if it's a boy or girl, we can shop and really get going on the nursery!

19 Weeks

Total Weight Loss/Gain: According to my scale at home, I'm up 6 pounds total. Yikes...3 pounds since last week. Guess baby's growing!

Size of Baby: According to The Bump, our baby is about the size of a mango!

Maternity Clothes: Yes! I adore them and want to go buy more.

Sleep: It's been okay. I've been very congested over the last week and a half, which has led to some trouble sleeping. Last night was better though!

Movement: Not yet! I really want to feel something.

Cravings/Aversions: I heart sweets! I also really want fried pickles from Pluckers!

What I Miss: White wine, margaritas, orange juice and other acidic things that aggravate the good old acid reflux.

Gender: 9 more days! I'm so excited! My in-laws are coming into town for that weekend, and my mom, sister, and mother-in-law will be at the ultrasound with me and Cam. So much fun!

Mood: Pretty good. 

Milestones: Getting a car that is child friendly! I love my Escape - it is beautiful and comfortable. One car down, one to go!

Medical Concerns: All seems well. I did have the high blood pressure episode last Friday, but haven't dealt with the same thing since then. I think it was a combination of being really tired and sick.

Anything Else You'd Like to Share: I really want to feel a flutter of movement! I know it happens at a different time for everyone, but it's possible that I could feel something now. I'm not sure I've really sat still long enough lately to feel it though. It sounds paranoid, but I just want the reassurance that baby's doing fine in there! I guess the massive amount of heartburn could serve as that reassurance that baby is doing exactly what he/she's supposed to.

What I Look Forward To: September 14th - I am so ready to know what this little mango is!