Heartbeat!!

So this has become our newest addiction... Watch the video to see why!


Baby Stroope's Heartbeat! from Griffin & Kami Stroope on Vimeo.

It's a little hard to hear, but those pulsing sounds are the heartbeat. We do this at least once a day and it's not only a relief to be able to hear the heartbeat everyday, but it's also a way for us to bond with the baby. It's funny because sometimes we'll be listening to the heartbeat and it will just go away and we can tell the baby is moving around and we have to search for it again. It's too early for me to feel any kicks so it's so neat to be able to know the baby is moving. Seriously... way addicting!

Week 16

And not much has changed!

I'm still about the same size as last week, even though my appetite has kicked into full gear! There's not much I won't eat these days and now comes the hard part - I'm hungry most of the time, but I only need to take in an extra 300 calories a day for the baby. 300 calories is not a lot, especially when I could constantly eat for about 18 hours a day. :)

Other than the food changes, not much else has. We're still anxiously awaiting our March 13 sonogram and hopefully the baby will cooperate and show us what we need to see! We did venture into Babies R Us this weekend, just to look around and get some ideas. I've been reading up on strollers, cribs, glider rockers, etc. and wanted to see some of the stuff in person. That was such a great idea because we were able to try everything out and pick out a few things we want. We haven't registered yet, but it's good to feel like we have a little bit of a head start on the massive list of things we're going to need for Baby Stroope.

This is probably the only time I'll ever say this, but here's hoping that I'll be noticeably bigger in the next picture I post!! Thanks for checking in on our journey to meet Baby Stroope!

My sweet, wonderful husband!

Griff had the evening off from playing last night so he decided that he would cook me dinner! He went grocery shopping and did everything to get dinner ready. It was so sweet because I've been pretty tired this week and most of the time don't feel like cooking when I get home. Here's a picture of him getting everything ready...
I told Griff that I was craving Mexican food, specifically tostadas, so he went to several different grocery stores to get all of the ingredients.

I also decided that I wanted a margarita... and for obvious reasons am aware I cannot have one, but that got me thinking about alternatives. I searched for a few recipes online but didn't find anything that really sounded good - so I decided to make up my own and it was great! Here's what we used:

1 can San Pellegrino Aranciata
1/2-3/4 C. light cranberry juice
1/2-3/4 C club soda
2 lime wedges
ice

This was enough for 2 drinks. It wasn't too sweet, but was super citrusy (I'm pretty sure that's not a word) and so refreshing. It hit the spot! And even Griff, who loves margaritas, enjoyed it.

I just wanted to thank my amazing husband again for a great night - He has been so great throughout the pregnancy, in so many ways. How many women can say they get a massage every day, their husbands clean the house, run errands, run to the store at 10pm to get me whatever it is I'm craving... I'm am a very lucky lady!

Week 15

And not many changes...
Still a tiny bump... :) I haven't been weighing myself so I have no idea if I've gained any weight this week, but I have a feeling that time will come soon enough! I have started wearing this thing called a Bella Band (Thank you Lisa!) and it is amazing! It's this spandex-type band that goes around the waist of my jeans. It allows them to stay unbuttoned and unzipped without my pants falling down. Most of my pants aren't too tight yet, except when I sit down. It's much more comfortable to have them undone, but to not worry about them falling down!

I've also started doing some weight training the past several weeks. Griffin and I made the decision to try natural childbirth (I know, you probably think we're crazy!) but that kind of kicked me into gear to start working the muscles that I'll need during labor. And now with the weather getting nicer and nicer I'll be walking a lot more to try and build up my endurance.

We also signed up for our prenatal classes at the hospital. We'll be taking the childbirth class that will involve everything related to giving birth, how to prepare, the hospital, and some newborn care. I'll also be taking a breastfeeding class and Griffin will be taking a New Daddy Bootcamp class. Hopefully between the classes, books, and lots of advice from friends and family we'll start to feel a little more prepared!

Week 14

A lot can change in a week! In the post last week I mentioned that I was going to post our first baby bump pic, but since there was no bump I didn't just want to post a picture of my belly. Well, that all changed last Friday. Griff and I went to Oklahoma to see my mom on Thursday night and before we went to bed he told me he thought I had a little bump. I didn't really think much about it because it certainly wasn't there when I got dressed Thursday morning. So I woke up Friday morning and got dressed and sure enough, there was a tiny bump! I really think it just happened overnight! I'm still fitting into my normal clothes, but there is definitely a little bump that is noticeable. See for yourself!

So I know it's not a very big bump yet, but it's so fun to be showing, even a little bit!

We had our 14 week Dr. appointment yesterday and everything went great. My blood pressure was really good and I've only gained 1 pound so far. I was a little surprised at that because my appetite has come back and I've been eating a lot more food, but I guess since I lost weight during my first trimester, I'm just now gaining it all back. We also heard the baby's heartbeat again (YAY!) with the Doppler, which is always so fun and bit of a relief. That was really it for that appointment - definitely my quickest one yet. The Dr. and I spent some time at the end talking about a preliminary birth plan and the chances of early induction (which is very common in diabetic women). It's good to start thinking about all of this now and to start planning as much as we can.

This next week our to-do's are to pick out the child birth and prenatal classes we want to attend. I think we'll try to do as many as possible, seeing as how we pretty much don't know anything when it comes to labor, breastfeeding, lamaz, taking care of a newborn, etc. My next Dr. appointment is on March 13 and I'll be about 18 1/2 weeks, so that's when we should know the sex of the baby! We're dying to know, so that time can't come soon enough for us. We'll let you all know if it's a boy or girl, but in the meantime don't forget to vote in our poll and tell us what you think!

Week 13

So yesterday (Tuesday) marked 13 weeks! However, there's really not much to report right now. My nausea and tiredness have eased up a lot and I'm feeling much better. I have started to regain my appetite, but mainly just for Mexican food. Last weekend we ate at Chuy's (our FAVORITE Mexican restaurant) on both Friday and Saturday nights... then I made tacos for dinner the following Monday. It seems I can't get enough right now!

I was going to post our first baby bump pic, except there is no baby bump to look at yet :( I'm so excited to start showing and finally "look" pregnant, but it hasn't happened yet. I'm sure though by the end of the pregnancy I'll be looking back at this post and laughing that I couldn't wait to get bigger! I may go ahead and post a pic later this week, just so we have a starting point for tracking my growth :)

Our next Dr. appointment is at 14 weeks, which is this coming Tuesday. We don't have a sonogram but we will hopefully get to hear the heart beat again with the Doppler. We will of course keep you updated and let you know how everything goes!