Boy or Girl? What I'm Eating and 14 Week Update!

We will find out the gender of our little nugget next week and I can not wait!  Boy or girl? My best friend, Jill, had a cute idea when she was pregnant and created an online poll that people could log into and put their guess in for the gender, birth date, weight and height. I thought this would be a lot of fun especially because we have so many friends and family not in the Las Vegas area.   A lot of times people ask to see my belly to help them make a guess but since it's changing so much and different depending on what time of the day you see me, that may not be the most help! Here is the link to the website if you would like to wager a guess: http://www.expectnet.com/games/BabyAngioni

My bloated belly that liked to come and go at different points in the day has not been leaving nearly as much. It still goes down, but not completely. My jeans still fit everywhere but my belly so I have been using the belly band to make them more comfortable. I can still button them but sitting all day would not be very fun. It will be too hot for jeans soon anyway so I need to do some shopping this weekend and get some light summer dresses I can wear to work. I'm getting to that in between point where things are fitting differently and it's getting harder and harder to find something to wear in the morning. (More on the "belly" below).

It is so fascinating to see how my body is changing. It feels like all my internal organs have all shifted up to right under my ribs and nothing is where it should be. When I suck my tummy in it still kind of sticks out...weird! :) I'm looking forward to seeing the changes over the next few weeks as I start to show more and will do everything I can to NOT look like Jessica Simpson (and hopefully not have a 10lb baby!). If I do have a 10lb baby I probably will look like Jessica Simpson... so don't judge me. LOL!

My appetite has definitely increased. I have been trying to eat the same way I did before I got pregnant and so far so good...with a few exceptions. Here's what a pretty standard day looks like:

Breakfast: I have to eat a small bowl of cereal right when I wake up because my stomach is completely empty. This has helped to keep whatever nausea may have occurred at bay. The two times I did not do this I paid for it so it is now part of my daily routine. My real breakfast occurs a little later. I eat two hard boiled eggs (sometimes just the whites, sometimes the whole egg depending on my mood). Sometimes I eat one egg and save the other one for later. I throw in a turkey sausage when it sounds good, but less so recently. I also like oatmeal and bring the packets to work.

Snack:  By 10:30am it feels like I haven't eaten for days and my tummy is growling, so snack #1 is up! Sometimes it's a piece of fruit (apple, orange, tangelo) and sometimes it is cheese (either a mini Babybell or a cheddar rectangle from Target) and I eat it with a few Triscuits. Sometimes it's both the fruit and the cheese depending on how hungry I am. Either way, what ever doesn't get eaten now will get eaten later. :)

Lunch: By 12pm I am ready to eat again. I try to bring my lunch as much as possible but sometimes I go out with my office. If I bring my lunch it is usually chicken breast with veggies (mushrooms or asparagus.) I have cut out broccoli for now for obvious reasons. :) Sometimes I bring a steak salad. I try to get in some protein no matter what I bring. If we go out for lunch, what I get depends on where we go. We went to Jimmy Johns the other day and I got the Vegetarian sandwich with no mayo. It's yummy! Provolone, avocado, cucumbers, tomato and lettuce. No chips, just a drink.

Snack:  Even if I eat everything I brought (or bought) for lunch, I still need a snack around 3-3:30pm. I will eat which ever thing I didn't eat earlier plus I have some pistachio's which are yummy. I also make a little snack bag of baby carrots and grape tomatoes which is perfect because it's already portioned out. I also really like the sugar free Jell-O snack packs and the pudding ones, too. Sometimes I save a snack or bring an extra so I can eat it on the drive home. :)

Dinner: I eat whatever Marco makes! God love that man. :) I don't eat anything once dinner is over (about 7-7:30pm) and I take my prenatal vitamins at night. I try to drink water throughout the day, including a bottle on the way to work and one one the way home.

Indulgences: I don't usually drink soda. I find myself wanting it more now. Root beer has no caffeine so I pick that when available, but it does have a lot of sugar...Diet Coke has no sugar but has caffeine. Darn. Also, Blizzards from DQ have been a weekend favorite a few times. I choose the mini size because I know if I chose anything larger I would finish the whole darn thing without question. So, mini it is and I convince myself that is a better choice because I can still have some! :) Strawberry Cheesequake you are delicious!

Our 14 Week Update:

Our 14 week check up went great. We heard the baby's heartbeat, which is amazing every time. It's really cool to hear how much faster it is than mine. My doctor showed me where the top of my uterus is (no, I couldn't find it on my own...) and it's about an inch or so below my belly button. This leads us to the magic question of "what the heck is making this big 'ol belly if the baby is still below my belly button??"

The answer is my internal organs and bloat. Score! This is officially my 'non-baby' bump and I plan to rock it like there's twins in there! (Don't worry, it's just one!) I figure it's all caused by the baby anyway, so what the heck! :) The first picture was taken in the evening when the belly seems to enlarge the most. I got really excited this week and thought maybe the elusive "popping" was starting but I don't think I'm quite there though. The down side is that this can make the hernia worse and there have been a few days when the belly is a-bloating that the hernia has hurt when I move or touch it. A little scary, considering there isn't even a baby up there yet! Apparently this is perfectly normal and some people just have more of this (bloat) than others and some get none at all. Maybe next pregnancy I will be one of those people. :)

Here is a side-by-side pic of night time bloaty 'non-baby' bump and a more normal 'during the day' bump. I felt like I needed to take these and put them next to each other to really show what was happening...

And this was when I woke up the next morning.

This was at night, right before bed.

 
WOW! What a difference!

Here is the first pic I took when we found out.

Ignore my ugly hair...it's still wet and we were running out of the house to catch the new Avenger's movie!

How far along? 14 weeks 
Weight gain: 1/2 lb this week 
Maternity clothes? Not yet, but if this bloating continues it will be sooner than later!
Stretch marks? No 
Sleep: Pretty good this week. Getting up once or twice a night to pee. 
Best moment of the week: Going to my cousin Joey's wedding and hearing the heartbeat again! 
Miss anything? We went to Fogo de Chao (it's a Brazilian steak house) and it was heavenly, but I needed the meat well done. It was still good, but I will probably want a nice medium steak come November.
Movement: Not yet.
Food cravings: Still liking the grape and cherry tomatoes.
Anything making you queasy or sick: No 
Gender: I can not wait to find out!!! It's amazing they can do it so early. :) 
Symptoms: Perma-bloat...that's really the main thing right now. I did notice that when I lay down and suck my tummy in that there is a small bump that doesn't go away and it's under my belly button. I found the baby! 
Belly button in or out: In 
Wedding rings on or off: On 

Labor Signs: No 

Happy or moody most of the time: I was more moody this week. Hey, it happens!

Looking forward to: GENDER CHECK NEXT WEEK!!!!!!! I can barely contain myself!