Was that...the baby??

Today has been a pretty lazy day for me, but I am taking advantage of this vacation because I know that it will never be this peaceful and relaxing! I was sitting on the couch when all of a sudden I felt a rather strange movement in my tummy. I immediately thought it might be the little baby, but I was unsure. A few minutes later, it happened again...twice in a row! It felt like popcorn popping in my belly! It happened so suddenly the second time that it startled me. The baby is about the size of an avocado right now and is moving all over the place. I am sure I will feel much more over the next few weeks as the baby continues to grow and develop!

16 week appt

Today was my 16 week appointment; my how it is going so fast, yet sometimes I think not fast enough! The baby's heartbeat is strong and solid, and everything else looked great! 

My only concern was so mild cramping that I experienced yesterday while facing the madness at the mall. The cramps were subtle, but enough for me to notice. They came and went, and then later in the afternoon I was perfect. The first question my midwife asked me was how much water had I drank at that point yesterday.  I am normally really good with the whole water thing; I carry a bottle with me everywhere and drink even when I do not want it. I was at the mall mid morning yesterday, and I had not had anything since my OJ at breakfast. She said that my body (aka the baby) was telling me to drink; I will cramp and contract because of the lack of water. Needless to say, once I ate lunch and had several glasses of water, I was perfect! Guess I will keep that water bottle with me at all times! I have never been much of a water drinker, but that has changed!

We will be rather busy the next 3 days, as I am sure everyone else is! Just imagine our holiday seasons with a little one in the future! Matt's parents and sister will be coming over this evening, so we are super excited to be able to spend some fun, quality time with them! I am trying to not eat everything in my sight during this time, although that can be rather difficult!

Cravings: of all things....SALAD! I am not complaining! That is a really good craving to have! I really crave the vinaigrette dressings!

Weight gain: 3 pounds since last appt in Nov, so about 6 pounds total (I was surprised!)

New purchases: 2 bras (much needed...I am bigger everywhere!), dress pants with no buttons or zippers (from my favorite store New York and Company), roomier shirts for the expanding waistline

Mood swings: oh yes, I have seen them this week! Poor Matt just has to deal with me! The smallest things will send me over the edge!

Sleeping: I can't seem to get enough of this! I am hoping to get a nap in every day of the next 3 busy days so that I can function and have more fun!

the tummy is growing...

I can definitely tell that I am beginning to get bigger, and a few other people have noticed it as well. It is not very noticeable, but for those who see me each and every day, it is surely there! 

Today I wore a belt that I have had for about two years, maybe even longer. It is a belt that serves no other purpose than to look cute over shirts. It is not made to hold up pants.  I have worn this belt on many occasions, but not in the past month or so. The belt fastens, and it has never posed a problem.  Well, all day long I fought with the belt as it continued to pop open. It was quite a nuisance. At first I thought it must be something wrong with the belt, and then I reminded myself that my 14 week old belly may not be too big, but it was getting in the way of my cute belt! I guess that will be the last time I get to wear the belt until after the baby!

Hearing the heart beat!!

We went to the doctor yesterday, and we got to hear the heartbeat for the first time! Matt and I were both speechless and so enthralled with the awesome noise! It was a good, solid beat, and everything looks great at this point.

Total weight gain: little over a pound (wow...wish it would stay that way!)

Cravings: soda (I have refrained from this one), Mexican, ice cream

Tiredness: yeah, I still go to sleep pretty early! I went to a movie last night with Leah, and I was fighting to keep the lids open!

11 weeks

I can still not get over how great I have been feeling! God has truly blessed me, and thus everyone around me! I am starting to tell a difference in my mid-section (very subtle), and I know that it will change so much over the next few weeks/months! 

I am a bit nervous about gaining too much weight over the holidays! Everyone gains weight during the winter; it's just a fact of life. Being pregnant makes that even easier, and I want to stay on track with the weight gain. I bought a DVD set called Fit Mama. I had some other pregnant friends recommend these to me, and so far I love it! I need to be more consistent, but anything at this point is better than nothing!

I go to my second doctor's appointment on Tuesday, so I am again anxious and excited to see and hear about the life inside of me!

Buying super cheap maternity clothes

While at a baby shower for another friend this past weekend, another preggo mama told me that Old Navy had their end-of-summer maternity clothes on sale for as cheap as $1.99. She recommended that I go check it out, especially since it would be April and May when I will be getting at my biggest. I surely did not think that I would be buying maternity clothes at 9 weeks pregnant, but anything to save us moola in the future!

I called my sis and asked her to go with me; I never like shopping alone. Plus, we always need each other to help make a decision! After digging and searching through all sorts of clothes, here is all that I got for a little over $60:

• 3 pair of capris
• 2 pair of bermuda shorts
• 2 tank tops
• 4 knit tops
• 2 dressy tops
• 2 dresses
• I think that's it...

I must say that I am pretty impressed with myself! Though I will not wear some of this for a while, it will be here sooner than I think! 

Telling my students

How and when to tell my 8th grade students has been a thing for me to think about. I knew I wanted to wait until the first doctor's visit. I thought that I might have to tell them soon, especially if I was not feeling well and would not be able to hide it. However, this was not the case at all; I have felt great! 

I decided that since most of the teachers I work with knew, the administrators, and even some of my past students, it would only be a matter of time before the secret was out. As part of their warm-up activity on Friday 11/7, I had 5 sentences on the board for the students to look at and determine what the sentences had in common. I had used the word "baby" in some way in the sentence. Sometimes it was a noun, a verb, or even an adjective. My 1st period class was really searching for the language arts answer, and one student said, "They are all simple sentences." I could tell by the look on some of their faces that they had an idea, but did not know what to say. When the answer finally came out, they were super excited and clapped, screamed, and laughed. Some of them are very upset that they will not get to meet Baby Johnson since he/she will  be born in the summer. I was amazed at how concerned they were with me. They wanted to know how I had been feeling, what my ideas were for names (and of course they had some!),was I going to teach still next year, and how cool it was going to be to watch me grow.  I knew they would be excited, but their level of excitement definitely shocked me! Not a day will go by at school without this baby being mentioned.