Pregnancy Update: 21 Weeks!

I'm 21 weeks along today! And I am so excited that it's finally December! Not only does it mean listening to Christmas music is now a given (even though I've been obsessed for the past two months), but my husband and I both have birthdays coming up this month! We're planning a special weekend getaway to Vermont to eat at our favorite restaurants for his birthday; I can't wait!

It's been a busy week! For Thanksgiving, my husband & I trekked down to New Jersey for his extended family's Thanksgivukkah. Even though we're already halfway along, we wanted to wait to share the news that we're pregnant until we saw the entire family in person. Everyone was shocked! With the shirt I was wearing, I thought I would be able to hide my pregnancy a little, but as soon as someone hears the words "pregnant" or "due date," everyone comes rushing in to pat the belly! I honestly didn't expect everyone to be so excited for us, but it made me feel loved to have so many people thrilled for our new addition. :)

When we got back to Boston, we had another exciting event awaiting us: our first concert at Boston Symphony Hall! I bought tickets to the show a few months ago featuring a Brahms piano concerto & Beethoven's 7th symphony, knowing that at this point in my pregnancy, our little one would be able to hear the music! When my mom was pregnant with me, she went to the orchestra and I have been musical all my life. It was special to me to be able to be doing the same thing for my son, 25 years later. He was kicking so much, especially during the Beethoven piece! I loved it. Keep kicking little man! :)

Week: 21 weeks!

Gender: Boy :)

Total Weight Gain: Just under 4lbs still! I really don't know how - I eat so much. 

Exercise: Mostly just walking this week. I definitely need to start doing squats again, it makes me feel stronger. Something to strengthen my back would also be helpful! Any ideas?

Nutrition: Well, you know, it was Thanksgiving ;) 

Food cravings/aversions: I loved applesauce with my latkes at Thanksgivukkah! So yummy!  

Signs of Stretch Marks: Not yet! :) 

Maternity Clothes: Still loving cardigans and long shirts. In the photos above I'm wearing my new shirt from Motherhood Maternity.

Sleep: This has definitely been the hardest week sleeping so far. If I don't prop a pillow under my belly, the weight of it is just too much and it causes me to wake up. :/

Feeling: Busy! Preparing & traveling for Thanksgiving and trying to get our Christmas cards ready to order has kept me pretty frantic this week! I haven't really had time to do any fun things for Hanukkah.  

Baby Movement: Oh yeah! Especially at the orchestra. :)

Belly Button In or Out? In

Wedding Rings On or Off? On

What I miss most this week: Eggs benedict! Extra hollandaise please! 

Best moment this week: It's a toss up between the concert & the Thanksgiving pregnancy reveal!

Looking forward to: My husband's birthday in a couple weeks!

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Are you doing anything to celebrate Hanukkah this year? Also, any exercise suggestions for back strengthening? Preferably moves I can do without any equipment. Thanks for reading! I love hearing from you! :)

xo kristen genevieve

Pregnancy Update: 20 Weeks!! Halfway!!

I'm officially halfway through my pregnancy today!! I'm so excited to meet my little man this April and can't believe how fast these past 20 weeks have gone by! Its pretty crazy to think back on my pregnancy so far, because its been a lot different than I expected. 

I don't know that many people who have been pregnant within the last 10 years, so I turned to my two sisters-in-law for advice. One has three kids (the youngest is 9) and she had rough pregnancies - extremely sick for the first 20 weeks each time and then continuing nausea until she gave birth. 

My other sister-in-law has Type I Diabetes and gave birth to her daughter 18 months ago when she was only 33 weeks. She had very rapid weight gain near the end of her pregnancy due to swelling & pre-eclampsia. Her daughter spent 2.5 weeks in the NICU after birth. It was a really tough time and it made her reconsider how many more kids she wanted to have. 

I never anticipated to have an equally rough experience, but I prepared myself to not have an easy time being pregnant. I expected to gain much more weight than I have at this point, and to have a larger belly at 20 weeks. I also thought I would gain more all over my body, but so far, my weight gain has been concentrated in my belly - for which I am thankful! I expected my nausea to be more intense than it was in my first trimester, and to feel more sick throughout my pregnancy in general. I just thought that pregnancy would be a lot harder on me.

I feel lucky because I truly love being pregnant. The bigger my belly gets, the more kicks baby gives me, the happier I feel! Its true for me that the second trimester has been easier compared to the first, but throughout my pregnancy so far, I feel blessed to have had a fairly smooth experience. I'm looking forward to all the changes in the coming weeks!

Week: 20 weeks!! I can't believe I'm halfway through!!

Gender: It's a BOY!! We found out last week!!

Total Weight Gain: At the doctor last week, I got the official number - I've gained 2.5lbs since my last visit 4 weeks ago at 14.5weeks. I'm expecting that to pick up more soon!

Exercise: I've been walking a lot more this week! Its been tiring but I have a sweet husband who gives me long foot rubs. :) 

Nutrition: Similar to last week, I've been eating yogurt, granola & fruit for breakfast most days, and clementines & bananas as snacks. 

Food cravings/aversions: This week I'm craving clementines & mozzarella pesto sandwiches on a baguette. I've also been craving eggs over easy & eggs benedict - but I can't eat those. :(

Signs of Stretch Marks: Not yet! I haven't been as diligent with putting on the cream lately either. :/

Maternity Clothes: I finally bought my first official maternity shirt from Motherhood Maternity and I love it! I'll wear it in one of my photos soon. Its so comfortable & cute!

Sleep: Sleeping okay, still researching body pillows & procrastinating spending the money! ;)

Feeling: Great! I've had a couple mild headaches this week but I've just been too excited about finding out that our baby is a boy to care!

Baby Movement: The movements are becoming stronger & more frequent! I love it. :) My husband finally felt baby kick last night!!

Belly Button In or Out? In

Wedding Rings On or Off? On

What I miss most this week: My family back in Minnesota. They were so excited to hear the gender news but I wish I could've told them the gender and the name we chose in person. :) 

Best moment this week: Finding out that we are having a darling little boy!

Looking forward to: Thanksgiving! Even though I'm not looking forward to a long drive, I get to spend lots of time with my husband. We're breaking the news that we're pregnant to his extended family then, too!


Did your expectations of pregnancy match your reality? Did your pregnancy experience make you rethink your plans for the future of your family? Any advice for me for the coming weeks? I love hearing from you! :)

xo kristen genevieve

We're Having A...

My husband & I are so excited to announce that we're having a...

BABY BOY!!!!!

 

We just got back from our ultrasound and we couldn't be more thrilled!! I expected that I would be crying or laughing uncontrollably, but when we found out our baby was a boy, I just couldn't stop smiling! I'm over the moon excited today!! :)

 

It's so surreal to be able to finally picture what our family will look like in just 5 months! I don't even know how to put into words how different it feels knowing we'll have a little man in our lives forever. He is our darling boy, and I love him so very much already. :)

 

What made the entire experience even more special was that we have named our baby after my father. When I told him the news, he was speechless! I couldn't tell over the phone if he was crying (he never cries) but he was certainly emotional and just so happy for us. Its so special to know that we are adding another person not just to our little family, but to our greater family tree as well. I feel so much love around me today! 

 

On Monday, I mentioned in my 19 week update that we've felt strongly that we're having a boy since the beginning. I wasn't sure if I was having that feeling because I wanted a boy so badly, or if I really just knew. Everyone except me, my husband & my Dad said that they anticipated a girl, so it was really unknown! We are so happy to just have a healthy baby, and so blessed to be where we are.

 

Thank you to everyone who has been reading and supporting my journey documenting this pregnancy. Its been so fulfilling getting to know new people and to have a community that shares my joy!

 

Until next time...

xo kristen genevieve