23 Weeks

... And another week down. This week was pretty rough because on top of being pregnant, I had an awful cold! Sore throat started on Saturday night and didn't resolve until Monday night, and starting Monday through today my poor nose has been so stuffed! It makes it so difficult to get a good night's sleep! But I had two rounds of soup, thanks to my MIL and SIL, and I've been trying my best to rest, so I'm beginning to feel a little better. Can't wait to be healthy again!

Pregnancy-wise, I've also had a rough week. Yesterday I woke up and my belly just ached. The abdominal muscles that run horizontally from the spine to the abdomen (my anatomy lab professor would be so mad that I don't remember what any of those muscles are called!) were SO sore. It honestly felt like someone was blowing a beach ball up inside my belly and my muscles and skin were just trying to stretch to accommodate it. I didn't realize pregnancy was going to hurt! haha Today has been MUCH better, so I am very thankful for that. However, I know that I am sure not done growing yet!

Tyler had been moving like wild recently, even as I speak! I used to know how he was positioned in my belly, because at out last ultrasound he was head down and I only felt kicks to one side of my belly, however now I feel them all over all the time... if I had not seen him in our ultrasound 2 weeks ago, I'd be convinced he had 8 legs haha.

So other than my belly expanding rapidly, and Tyler moving rapidly, we have no crazy news for you. Please continue to keep Tyler in your prayers, that he continues to grow and plump up as he should! And please keep me and my ever expanding body in your prayers... I know I'll need them as the next few weeks pass by!

22 Weeks!

I've made it to 22 weeks! I feel like each week that passes is such an accomplishment, and I love the milestones because it means I'm one step closer to having that little baby in my arms and not my stomach!

This week has been a fairly uneventful one. I am still feeling my little papaya move all the time! It's funny because I feel like he moves so particularly... for example, when Duke was beating UNC about a week back, he was moving like crazy, and when I'm getting excited while watching tennis, he moves like crazy. It may just be me, but I'm convinced that this little man is already taking after Daddy and loves sports.

I'm still pretty achy too, and I hear that isn't going to get better anytime soon. I asked the midwife about it, because my entire abdominal wall would just ache at times and she said because I've never had a baby and because I'm so fit, my body is going to have to work hard to pull my abs apart as my baby grows. Well, thank you midwife! At least I still get to hear I'm "so fit" while I'm gaining pound after pound (maybe midwives are just trained to say that kind of stuff? haha). I also ache SO much when I sleep! I'm getting much better at sleeping on my side (not like I really have the choice of sleeping on my belly these days), but I think the weight of my belly stresses out my muscles. Whenever I wake up to go to the bathroom (which is often!) I am surprised by how much I hurt. I'm seriously thinking about investing in one of those Snoogle or Boppy pregnancy pillow... they are $50 but I hear they are worth it. Let's see if I can talk hubby into it!

Recently, Jordon and I have been challenging each other to get more into the word everyday. It's really important now as we really need to trust God with our situation and with the growth and development of our son. Well I decided to read a random Psalm the other day and stumbled upon psalm 139:13-16:

¹³ For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

God created my little one :-) And He knows everything about Tyler's life already, so I suppose there is no use worrying in it right now. It's good to know someone much bigger and greater is in control.

I started reading Psalms out loud too, because I read that the baby can hear, particularly the sound of my voice, now. Last night he was definitely squirming about when I was reading, so I guess he likes it! I'm just so excited for this little guy to get here :-) Thanks to everyone for all of the encouragement... please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers!

21 Weeks

Officially 21 weeks preggers, which means I'm on the downslope of this pregnancy! The biggest change in baby this week is how much he MOVES! I means it is crazy! I haven't felt a ton of big kicks like I did last week, but I feel him squirm and flip around SO much. And they are strong enough that Jordon can feel them from the outside too (however last night Tyler would move around, and then stop right when Jordon put his hand on my belly... Tyler apparently likes to tease Daddy already). Last night I made the mistake of drinking Coke with my late dinner and it sure made that baby move! ALL night long. Anytime I'd wake up to use the bathroom or something , it felt like I was waking up to him doing flips.

We went to the OB for our big ultrasound today! It was awesome. Tyler is still officially a boy (thank goodness because I don't know how I'd adjust if I found out that my little boy was actually a little girl!), and that he had exactly 10 fingers and 10 toes. He also has 2 kidneys, all four heart chambers, the necessary heart valves and vessels, both hemispheres of his brain, a cerebellum, etc etc. He is perfect! It was very good to hear. And my uterus and cervix looked good and ready to keep on growing for baby. It was all very encouraging to hear, and both Jordon and I made sure to send God some extra thank-you prayers for his hand in helping my little man grow and develop. The picture above is a shot of the little one rubbing his eyes. He wasn't too active during the ultrasound (most likely because he moved ALL night long and was catching up on sleep) but he did rub his eyes, and he "waved" and he did this little pensive pose where he rested his chin on his fist like he was thinking. It was pretty hilarious. We also found out that he is head down and his feet are up and to the left of my belly... exactly where I felt those big kicks last week!

We almost got my due date changed to earlier today as well. Apparently last ultrasound (At 14 weeks) I was measuring 6 days ahead and today I was measuring 6 days ahead as well, so they considered moving my due date up to July 22nd (my little brother's birthday actually!). But they decided not to because an earlier due date would mean if I was late, they'd consider inducing me earlier on and that is definitely something I don't want to have done. This way we have a little more leeway room for baby to be later before they start scheming to get him out of there. I don't really mind either way, although I'm hoping he comes on the earlier date because I'm sure I'll be ready to get him out as soon as July rolls around.

I also was able to talk to the midwife about the trouble I've been having exercising. I have been getting pretty bad cramps when I run or do activity (like playing tennis) for more than 10-15 minutes continuously, and I was worried something was wrong. Apparently, I was actually having contractions (isn't it way too early to hear that word??) but she said not to worry about them unless they don't stop after I cease exercise and that I just need to bring my activity level down when I start getting them. So the good news is, I can still exercise, but I do really have to listen to my body!

Jordon and I are so excited that everything is progressing so well. It is crazy that I am already 21 weeks pregnant, when I feel like it was just a couple of week ago that I still had my nice flat stomach! Sooner than we know it, Tyler will be here!! Very exciting, but very scary, so please keep us in your thoughts and prayers!

20 Weeks

Finally reached the half-way point! Yes! This past week just flew by because Jordon and I were off vacationing with the Bridgewater Tennis teams in Hilton Head, SC. What a wonderful way to spend my break!

Living in the Shenandoah Valley, I have an obvious love and appreciate for the mountains and how God provided us with this beautiful backdrop for my life. However, spending time in Hilton Head has made me realize what am amazing creation He has in the beach as well. And not in the way that most people think.

The weather was nice, but definitely not swimming or laying-out worthy (temperatures ranges from low 60s-70). But everyday, Jordon and I would take walks out on the beach and it was amazing. We saw SO many different things, and I felt like a kid again, squealing over starfish, sand dollars, crabs, shells, etc. It was just amazing to see all of these things I never get to see at home.

Plus, the week really made me realize what life is going to be like after I have a little boy. Jordon and I stayed in the Men's team house, so I got my fair share of what living with a boy is really like (Jordon doesn't really count since he is a little more grown up and actually pretty neat for a guy!). Obviously living with 7 guys is a bit of an extreme, but boy did it scare me. First of all, they eat SO much. Four giant things of gatorade, 6 boxes of cereal (some of them costco size), 3 gallons of milk, and a few boxes of granola bars were gone in 4 days or less (and that was just breakfasts and snacks). You should have seen them down hamburgers an hot dogs... as scary as it was, it was almost impressive. And they are not very clean :-/ I'm hoping Jordon and I can teach Tyler early on how to be neat!!

As with the last couple of weeks, I'm really starting to actually FEEL pregnant. Not that the morning sickness and fatigue didn't do it, but having a belly really makes you feel pregnant rather than just unbearably sick. My belly is growing like crazy. It's funny because each week I feel like I'm getting SO much bigger than the last week, but then I'm surprised all over again the following week when I'm even bigger. I cannot imagine what I'll feel like when I hit the 3rd trimester.

I'm still pretty uncomfortable with my belly growing. It hurts every time I stand up or sit down because of all the stretching going on. However, I had been having pretty bad cramps from my uterus growing and those are starting to slow down in frequency, so I can't complain too much! And yesterday I felt the baby legitimately kick for the first time!! I've been feeling flutters a bunch over the past couple weeks, but I got 4 big old soccer player kicks in the left side of my belly last night!! I felt the first one and was so shocked, so Jordon put his hand on my belly and about 15 seconds later Tyler kicked again and Jordon was able to feel it. Needless to say, we were pumped! This morning I felt a couple kicks too, but I think I can only feel it when I lay in a particular position because of the way my placenta is in the front of my uterus (so I think it may cushion any kicks to the front of my belly). Anyway, it was amazing, and weird, and miraculous all at the same time. I've said it before and I will say it again, pregnancy is wild.

Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers. We head to the baby doctor on Thursday for our big ultrasound, so I hope to report back with good news and lots of new pictures of Tyler!

19 Weeks

Today marks my baby's 19th week growth b-day! As excited as I am to almost be to that half-way mark of my pregnancy, my mind has been focused on another little baby today... baby Lucas Aaron Robinson Jr., my precious nephew born this morning at 8:10am, at a whooping 8 lbs 15.4oz. Big boy! I am so happy for my bro and sis-in-law for their precious babe! And if my little boy is born exactly on his due date, Lucas and Tyler will only be 21 weeks apart (can you spell trouble??). Anyways, props to the other Mrs. Robinson for carry that heavy boy for 40 weeks (while working 12 hours shifts as a nurse), to Luke for buying and fixing up a house in time to welcome his little one home, and to the Tay monster for her new little brother. SO excited for you all :-)

As for my pregnancy journey... it has become quite the adventure this week. I feel like my belly is just growing and growing like a weed. It's so hard to believe I'm getting as big as I am because I wear mostly workout clothes and sweatshirts all day, so when it's time to hop into the shower or get changed or something, I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror and am like "When in the world did I get so BIG?" (although I guess I haven't really seen anything yet!) It just surprises me everytime! The other day I went into school with Jordon to help him teach PE, and we did a relay with the 1st and 2nd graders in which they had to dribble a basketball while running. Well when I dribbled the basketball, and it kept catching just the tip of my belly when it bounced up! haha. Never had that happen before!

Despite my growing belly size, I have been super active this week which I am LOVING. Being couch-ridden is probably the worst form of torture for a exercise physiology major/avid exerciser. Finally having the energy to get outside and move has been awesome. I've been running almost everyday with my tennis girls, walked up to and back from the park on Sunday in that beautiful weather, played some tennis with Jordon, and have been taking the pups for walks as well. I even did a plyometric workout with the tennis girls last Friday, which exhausted both them and me!

As excited as I am to be moving again, it is VERY frustrating. I have been exercising like a mad woman since I've been in college, so I am very used to pushing myself harder and harder each time I workout... I even consider walking in the middle of a run a sin. However, I obviously cannot be doing that while pregnant, and there lies my problem. I've had 2 experiences of EXTREME fatigue after working out "too hard" in the last couple weeks. I work out and feel great about it, but then half an hour later my whole body feels just exhausted and I cannot do a thing. Its difficult for me to gauge what is "too hard" for my pregnant body when I'm used to having such a higher tolerance pre-pregnancy. So I'm slowly learning to adjust my activity levels... it's still frustrating though. I know my baby will thank me for the physical activity later in life, but obviously not if it is too much, so I really need to learn that balance.

My belly is also just starting to be uncomfortable. I have that massive scar running from 3 inches above my belly button to the top of my pubic bone, so it is in the middle of belly-central and is stretching like crazy (and it hurts!). The midwife said it won't interfere with the pregnancy or growth or anything like that, but it will be a (literal) pain. I also notice all of my abdominal and oblique muscle get really sore easily. I did 3 loads of laundry a couple days ago, and going up and down the basement steps and bending over and such left me SO sore that night. Who knew doing laundry could be so physically demanding? And to top it off, I'm having a lot of round-ligament pain (pain from the stretching of the ligaments attached to the uterus), so anytime I sit down or stand up, I get twinges of pain. Sigh.

Yes, I'm officially one of those whining, complaining pregnant women... and it only took 19 weeks!

But on the bright side, I do have a WONDERFUL blessing growing inside me, so it is definitely all worth it. I cannot wait to meet my son! 40 weeks seems like way too long to have to wait for a baby, but as Jordon keeps reminding me, these past 19 weeks have flown by, so we can expect nothing less from these next 21. Also, after recommendations from 3 moms/mommas-to-be, I finally invested in a Beband.... a wonderful piece of elastic that slips over the top of your jeans and keeps them up while you leave them unbutton and unzipped. Yes! It is by-far the best invention in the world. I don't think I'm ever going to take this baby off.

Anyways, thanks for continuing to read about my pregnancy-escapades... I appreciate all the encouragement from family and friends! And I know Tyler does too!