HELLO
Mom to Iris. Wife to Todd. Our little family lives at the foothills of the Ozark Mountains in Fayetteville, Arkansas. We love it here and I love sharing little bits of our life.

© 2014 sarahfortune.

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Posts Tagged: maternity

Pregnancy Blog: 20 weeks

Pregnancy Blog: 20 weeks

HOORAY! This week I’m officially half way through the pregnancy. It’s hard to believe, but if I ever have any doubts I can just glance down.

The most exciting thing about week 20 is that I can occasionally feel the baby kick from the outside of my belly. Not only that, but I’ve SEEN it too. While I feel her moving a lot from the inside, it’s still very rare that the movement is hard enough to tell by hand, so Todd still hasn’t been able to feel it yet.

The other thing that’s on my mind is our big ultrasound next week. This will be the one where they take measurements, examine the organs, and look for any issues. Of course this makes me a little nervous because I just want everything to be okay, but I’m thinking good thoughts and counting down the days till I get to see her again. Oh, and that’s another thing. Since we found out the gender so early, they should be able to let us know if she really is a she.

This was a big week for another reason too – I took a little business trip to New York City. The little one and I both did great, although I do wish I could take back that whole ‘riding the subway pregnant with luggage and in heels thing’. Not wise.

I did get to add a few more items to the ongoing list of things baby has done before even being born.

Little baby, this past week in NYC…

● We stayed in a quaint, old hotel in the Upper West Side.

NYC

● Walked everywhere (but mostly through Central Park). I thought my legs were going to fall off, so lucky for you, you got a free ride.

NYC

NYC

● Stuffed our faces at the tiniest Indian restaurant ever.

NYC

● Visited Rosie Pope, the maternity store featured on the Bravo show Pregnant in Heels. While sifting through the Paige jeans I got my first, “How far along are you?” I’m not sure it officially counts though since I was in a strictly pregnant lady store.

NYC

● We browsed through bunches of baby shops. Oh the cuteness! But of all the stores, the only thing I bought was a little snow globe (I was soo good). My hope, little one, is that you can keep it always as a memento from your first trip to the Big Apple.

NYC

NYC

Random sites, tastes, & pictures:

● We ate carrot cake from a local bakery… In bed.

● Walked right past movie star, Julianne Moore.

● Watched the terrible news footage of Joplin. This hit close to home. Literally. I can’t stop thinking about how terrible this is for so many people.

NYC

NYC

NYC

NYC

NYC

NYC

I was happy to visit one of my all time favorite cities, but it also felt good to get home to the comforts of the slow paced south. I could have done without the the scary airplane ride through the storms though (see the mean clouds above). We’re safe, sound, and home and that’s all that matters.

Till next week…

Pregnancy Blog: 19 weeks

19 weeks

Well, it’s week 19 of project baby. Part of me feels like it has dragged on forever, but most of me can’t believe that I’m nearly HALF WAY through the pregnancy.

Lucky for me I have a friend to go through this craziness with. The only downside is that she’s 5 weeks behind me, so I’ll always be the bigger one. Awesome. This week I’ve decided that I officially look like a pregnant lady. I know I’ve been showing for a while, but now it’s like… bam! I’m waiting for a stranger to ask when I’m due, but it hasn’t happened yet.

This week I still feel pretty darn good… as long as I get lots of sleep, LOTS of food, even more water (with tons of fresh lemon), and bathroom access every twenty minutes to pee. I’m feeling the flutters and thumps of the little one much more frequently this week, which is my favorite part of every day. It’s still too early to feel from the outside, but with as much as she’s moving around I have a feeling that’s coming soon.

Next week I’ll celebrate the intro into my 20th week in New York City. I’m curious how it will go traveling pregnant (and alone), but hopefully not much different than before. Just a few less beers during my layover. Hah.

GL and I took a few preggo pics this week.
(14 weeks & 19 weeks)

19 weeks

19 weeks

19 weeks

19 weeks

19 weeks

Pregnancy Blog: 18 weeks

18 Weeks

18 weeks! Well, nearly 19 now. This week has been a busy one (but SO much better than the last). In fact, just this morning at 2:58 am I became an Aunt again! We spent the weekend cheering on Katie and Caleb, who are now Mom and Dad to Cole David Murry. He’s a cute lil laid back dude who arrived on his actual due date, which I hear is pretty rare. Seeing how calm Katie was during the whole birth process was really inspiring. Hopefully I can pull it together and be like her when my time comes.

Hospital snacks.

Cole 5.15.11

Cole 5.15.11

Cole 5.15.11

Cole 5.15.11

Cole 5.15.11

Happy Birthday, Cole!
I can’t wait to watch you grow.

As for this week of pregnancy for me, my stubborn cold is gone, my baby is the size of a mango, and I am seriously getting bigger by the day.

18 Weeks

18 Weeks

18 Weeks

No new developments except Todd and I have been discussing baby names. Meaning, I think of them and Todd vetoes each one. There is one name that we’ve both liked from the get-go, but finding a middle name has been a challenge (a fun one at least). I’ll probably wait until we know the full name for certain before I post it, but at this rate that might not be until she’s born. Naming a person is a task that we do not take lightly – we certainly want to make sure it will suit her for the rest of her life. I feel lucky to have a simple (non-makefunable) first name, followed by a unique middle name. Fortune is actually a family name, so I love the added significance too. I’m trying to keep that in mind when thumbing through my name ideas. We’ll see.

Other than that, I’m feeling great and can’t complain (especially since the halfway mark is just around the corner!

Pregnancy Blog: 17 Weeks TAKE TWO

17-2sm

My apologies, but this week I may not sound quite as chipper. I’ve come down with a cold and it’s turned me into a huge wimp. Without the help of my beloved Theraflu or the miraculous Afrin nose spray, I’m kind of miserable. My eyes are itchy, my head is completely clogged up, and with every sneeze I worry that my baby is being hurled into the side of my uterus. With this lovely mood that I’m in, now might be a good time to share the not so cute side to being pregnant.

Let me reiterate that I’ve been very fortunate to have an easy pregnancy so far. That doesn’t mean, however, that it’s been all rainbows, kittens, and pickles. While so far the baby is doing great, I do have a few worries here and there.

To start it off, I’m Rh negative. This means that I have a negative blood type, which is somewhat rare. Todd is a conformist with his positive blood, so I have to get a shot called Rhogam in order to keep my blood from fighting the baby’s blood, if indeed the baby is born with Todd’s blood type. I think it used to be more of an issue back in the olden days, but supposedly with this shot there’s nothing to worry about. But of course I still worry.

Usually we pregnant, negative-blood-having ladies receive this shot at around 28 weeks. However, I was called in to get my first round of it last Friday because of yet another thing that’s been on my mind. Apparently my placenta is slightly low-lying and that can cause bleeding (which I’ve been fortunate not to have so far). To be on the safe side, they went ahead and injected me early. Apparently this low placenta thing is very common and my version of it is very mild. Ninety-five percent of the time the issue corrects itself, so they’re telling me not to be concerned about this either. Still, I worry.

To top it all off, my chart at the doctor’s office has a big fat red sticker on it which reads, “HIGH RISK.” This has nothing to do with my blood type, placenta, or the fact that I want to eat nothing except mashed potatoes. This stems from a past surgery that I had years ago and my doctor wants to keep a closer eye on me. She doesn’t foresee there being any complications and to tell you the truth, I actually prefer that they are treating me with a little extra attention. I wouldn’t have already had two ultrasounds, with at least one more on the way and I wouldn’t have the peace of mind that I do, despite the few worries that I have.

Maybe these are the things I’m not supposed to blog or talk about. It seems like a lot of the horrible, gross, scary things associated with having a baby you don’t hear about until after it’s too late (i.e. – pregnant). I don’t mind sharing and in the grand scheme of things, my worries really aren’t that bad. I feel blessed to be this far and if anything, it makes me want my baby here to love even more.

All of that being said, you may have noticed the title of this blog post being a little redundant since last week I also had a 17 week post. I had my monthly doctor’s visit today and all is well, except she doesn’t want to officially change my due date. She reinforced my fear that I might just be having a big baby. So, my due date is once again October 12th. I’ll leave you with a bit of bright news – I’m pretty sure I can feel the little one kicking me in there! It’s so surreal and it really makes me realize, hey – there’s a person in there! So crazy. And I love it.