Bébé Week 21 Update

I did take this picture on Saturday, but after the week I had, I was happy to do nothing in particular this past weekend. Please excuse the tardiness of this post :)

Also, I don't know if I've mentioned this before or not, but both my parents are going on a mission trip tomorrow to Ghana! I know it's a once-in-a-lifetime kind of trip, but I am anxious for them to get home safe. If you could keep them and their group in your thoughts and prayers, I would definitely appreciate it :) They get back on the 13th and my mom is hoping to come for a visit over Labor Day Weekend. I'm pretty calm about it, but like I said, I'll be much happier when they're both home safe and sound.

Today's date: August 1, 2011

How far along: 21 weeks and 2 days

Total weight gain: I'm at a loss of 6ish pounds to date. I'm slowly getting back to my pre-pregnancy weight, but luckily not too fast!

Size and growth of the baby: 
Jill is now the size of a banana! Her digestive system is busy creating meconium (a tarry black substance made of swallowed amniotic fluid, digestive secretion, and dead cells), which will fill the first diaper after birth. And her womb is now stocked up with her lifetime supply of six million eggs (the number will drop to around one million by birth) {per}

Sex: It's a girl! My Jillybean

Maternity clothes: Pants are maternity unless they are my gauchos from 5 summers ago. I wear a mix of regular and maternity shirts. No matter what I wear, it's quite obvious I'm with child :)

Sleep: I've been pretty tired, but part of that could be the sinus stuff/allergies I've been fighting. It's not an infection because my mucus is not discolored, but I'm pretty tired of sniffling and sneezing/the headaches. Anyways, I had to sleep with a humidifier to help and it was easier to sleep on my side because I didn't toss and turn as much. However, I would wake up from time to time on my back and my lower back would be sore. 

Best moment(s) of the week: Feeling movement, picking/browsing for clothes and hair bows, and hearing her healthy heartbeat this morning at the doctors :)

Movement: I don't feel her everyday, but I feel her moving more than I have. I don't feel kicks per se, I think she's more of a somersault/rolling baby. I did feel a movement at the movies the other day and it was super cute!

Food cravings/aversions: Same aversions as before. Hot chocolate, black bean & lemon soup, crescent rolls, oatmeal, tomatoes, and anything cold are my biggest cravings at the moment.

Morning sickness: I still take Zofran everyday at lunch just to be safe. I felt nauseous a few times, but it could have been from all my allergy drainage. Otherwise, my appetite is much better than before :)

Symptoms: Obvious baby bump, peeing a lot, a few stretch marks (but I don't mind!), lower back pain in the morning, heartburn/acid, gassy, and pretty emotional.

Labor signs: None

Belly button in or out: In

What I miss: Nothing really :)

What I'm looking forward to: Registering, seeing my mom next month, and finding out if my placenta has fixed itself.

Preferences and Choice: Part Two

Now why would I split this post up into two? Well, as I said, the first one reflected my desire to let Jill learn early on about preferences and choices by giving her a variety of toys and gear. This post is all about mama.

As I said in the first post, by planning and day-dreaming about Jill and her future, it causes me to plan and day-dream about mine. Since I still have no idea "what I want to be when I grow up", I am planning the other big thing in my life - owning and decorating a home :)

I have always had expensive taste. I seem to be drawn to items or designs that cost quite a pretty penny without realizing it. What can I say? :) The funny thing is, I'm also a bargain-hunting, thrift-store shopping, DIY crafter. I am totally fine with giving a project my own elbow grease to get it looking how I want. I always figured I was just very eclectic and could be happy with anything.

Over the past 4 years, I've done a lot of soul-searching. Around this time 4 years ago, I was pretty close to the bottom for me, (though not rock bottom). I was transferring schools from a private institution to a 2 year junior college, I had horrible grades and I had a problem with drinking to be drunk every day of the weekend. I was a mess. I started seeing my counselor that I've had since 9th grade and did some intense therapy for the entire summer. Something I learned during this time had to do with my true personality. I have played a specific role in my family for so long, I didn't let myself become the person I truly am. I was always this drama queen that brought the family together either through trying to help me with my crisis or by keeping everyone entertained. The warning signs I thought were me being depressed turned out to be what I needed to recharge. Ever since this revelation, I have tried to experience new music, food, activities, etc. to see what I truly like and dislike. It was almost like meeting myself for the first time.

Once I started to find out who I was, I started to realize how different my tastes are from what I thought they were. I do still have expensive taste, but not as much as it used to be. I also realized that, when we do have a home, it's about making myself and anyone who enters it to feel at home. I like cozy, familiar with lots of color. I went from loving kitchens that looked like this:

{via HGTV Designer Portfolio - Designer Gail Drury}

to kitchens that look like this:

{via At Home in Arkansas Magazine August 2011}

{lovelovelovelovelove}

I don't care if all the rooms follow all the rules for interior design. I just want my personality to come out. Granted, Phil's personality with have to come out a little too since it's his house too I'm told, but I want people to see that. I want to feel like it's my little hideout from the world where I can celebrate any season, and relax with my family. I want the warm fuzzy feeling and not the oohs and aahs from others.

What I'm getting at is, it's important to find yourself in what you do. Whether you're decorating a home, looking for some new music or whatever, make it about the real you. If you don't know the real you, it can be a little scary. Trust me, I know. However, no matter how fearful you are, it's so worth it to get to know your true self. It's almost a little fun at times :) I'm no expert, but I have been there. Now that I'm mostly on the other side, I want you know it is possible and worth it. So blast your 80's music and paint your bedroom wall a crazy shade of orange. It's your preference and your choice. Never let your friend's expectations of your likes dictate your decision. For once, it is all about you!

Preferences And Choice: Part One

I've had a roughish week in terms of work, dealing with incredibly rude drivers and fighting off a possible sinus infection. I cannot put into words how very happy I am that tomorrow is Saturday. With such a rough reality surrounding me this week, I've done lots of planning and day-dreaming. Having Jill is definitely going to change things, but I'm also looking forward to other changes in the future. Changes like Phil officially earning his degree, moving and owning a house, being able to create a nursery for Jill, etc. I also have been watching lots of my favorite shows on DVD and this particular episode of How I Met Your Mother really sparked something in me.

How long do we take to make up our minds about our likes and dislikes, just to realize they've changed? How often do we put someone in a category for what they like just to have them tell us a few years later that they're just not that into whatever it is anymore?

{This will be split up into two different posts today just because of all the pictures/examples I have :)}

Knowing I will be registering for Jill soon, I suddenly realized how much pressure I had to make everything match. To pick a theme and get a matching stroller, car seat, pack-n-play, bedding, etc. Yeah, that's really cute, but with the nursery I'm planning for Jill, that won't really work. And to be honest, I'm not into owls, or bright green elephants, or monkeys. Sadly that's most of my options of matching everything. I even saw a car seat that, I'm assuming, was supposed to look like sliced apples with the seeds exposed, but really it looked more like a female body part to me. Ick!

I won't reveal the nursery theme just yet because I won't be able to do anything solid with it until we move out of our small apartment. Honestly, Phil and I could make the 2nd bedroom a small nursery, but I know we'll have visitors and such and I really don't want to have to get rid of all the furniture inside. Too much hassle. Anyways, my point is, I think I've decided I don't care if things match. I don't care if everything I get for Jill is overly feminine or not. I want her to decide for herself what she likes. The nursery will be fairly feminine and she'll have lots of hair bows and dresses in true southern style, so don't worry about that ;) I will show you what I mean with a few of the things I'm considering for the registry/buying myself.

{via BabiesRUs}

How cute is this play-mat? And the best part? It's ocean themed. I would love if Jill was into sea life and watching Finding Nemo. I want to give her the option to love the ocean.

{via Target}

This I thought was really cute. It has lots of bright colors and it has cute-sy insects in it. I don't want to have lots of overly feminine items because she might be a tree-climbing, dirt-scooping tomboy and that's perfectly fine with me. I think all girls go through a short tomboy phase anyways. 

{via TwoBluePeas}

Now I understand this is still ocean themed, but how cute is this?! I mean, sharks are usually a favorite for boys, but it's a pink shark! Absolutely adorable :)

{via HappyFelties Etsy}

Again, robots are usually a boy thing. However, who could resist this? Plus, Phil really like the song because his marching band in high school performed it at one point. Cute yes? Watch out Phil, it's almost payday ;)

{via kynnabebe Etsy}

I feel the need to explain this one. My parents just got their sailing license this year and my dad has been taking fencing lessons for almost 3 years now. We keep teasing him that he is going to retire from the church to be a pirate. How precious would it be for Jill to dress up like a girly pirate and go sailing with her grandpa?! As soon as she's a toddler, I'm getting something like this for her to wear on sailing days :)

{via Scentsy - Consultant Laura Barndt}

I may not be into the entire jungle theme due to the fact that I don't like monkeys everywhere or giraffes because of this SNL skit, (I would just want to scream GIRAFFE all the time), but I do like lions! And I think Roarbert is so cute! I wanted to buy this particular Scentsy Buddy since it came out, but never had the extra money. Look out Laura, I'm finally placing an order for your August party! :)

Now, I do want to say that people who have everything match for their child are not wrong in any way, shape or form. It's perfectly fine if that's what you want to do. Sometimes it even turns out really cute! I just don't want to overload my child with just one specific thing because it would make me feel like I'm choosing their preferences for them. I want Jill and any future children we have to make up their own minds on what their likes and dislikes are. Plus, it'll be fun to watch them learn about themselves along the way!

Bébé Week 20 Update

{Today is a two-fer photo! I wanted a photo from the front to show that it's possible to tell I'm pregnant from the front :) }

I did get a phone call yesterday afternoon from my doctor that I was not expecting. Jill is absolutely fine, but I have a low-lying placenta. It sounds scary, but the research I've done through books and trusted internet resources, I think I have a good understanding. Essentially, the placenta should not be closer than 2 cm from the cervix. If the placenta is closer than that, but not covering the cervix in any way, it's considered a low-lying placenta. If it covers part or all of the cervix, it's called placenta previa. It can happen because the placenta hasn't moved up as quickly as the uterus and other muscles stretching right now. In about 85% of cases, the placenta will move up on its own. If it does not, then it can cause some problems. The worst case scenario is I could be put on bed rest, I could have some bleeding, I would need to have a C-section (because the placenta would try to come out before baby, making a vaginal birth impossible), or I could have placenta abruptio. I'm confident in my doctor that she will take care of me and I'm not too nervous. It is a little scary to know something is wrong, but it's nice to know that it's not really life-threatening :) Plus, I'm satisfied that Jill is healthy! I will have to go back in 7 weeks  for another ultrasound to see if the placenta has moved on it's own. Won't have to twist my arm to see my baby again so soon :)


Today's date: July 23, 2011

How far along: 20 week - halfway there!

Total weight gain: I'm at a loss of 7 pounds to date.

Size and growth of the baby: The size of a cantalope! Baby gulps down several ounces of amniotic fluid every day, both for nutrition and to practice swallowing and digesting. And, these days, those taste buds actually work! Studies show that after birth, babies respond best to tastes they've already had via amniotic fluid. Meaning, think about what you'd like your future child to eat as you prepare your own lunch. {per}

Sex: It's a girl! Jillian Rose

Maternity clothes: Pants are maternity unless they are my gauchos from 5 summers ago. I only wear non-maternity shirts if I want to look pregnant. If I wear maternity tops, it's hard to see the bump.

Sleep: I wake up 3-4 times a night to pee or just to switch positions. I keep waking up on my back, but I'm starting to get a little better about lying on my side.

Best moment(s) of the week: Finding out Jill is healthy, telling the world about her and feeling some more movement :)

Movement: I feel her every so often, but not everyday. Sometimes, when I'm gassy, it's hard to tell if it's just gas or both that and Jill. Phil was able to feel a kick the other night. It was soft, but it was nice to see his face!

Food cravings/aversions: Same aversions as before. Hot chocolate, Reese's Pieces, tomatoes, and anything cold are my biggest cravings at the moment.

Morning sickness: I still take Zofran everyday at lunch just to be safe. Slight nausea when I eat something too greasy, so I just need to watch out for that.

Symptoms: Nausea, peeing a lot, cranky, heartburn/acid, gassy, and pretty emotional.

Labor signs: None

Belly button in or out: In

What I miss: Nothing really :)

What I'm looking forward to: Registering, and finding out if my placenta has fixed itself.

Bebe's Name

Jillian Rose

There's not a huge back story as to why we chose Jill's name, but it is me after all :) I have special reasons for doing just about anything because I over think just about everything in life. Hey, it makes life interesting!

I must preface this with our conversation about children. When we first met, Phil wasn't sure he wanted children at all. This is not because he hates children or that he's bad with them. To the contrary, he's always been good around children that I've seen. Maybe a little reserved, but it's only because they are not his children. After we dated awhile, (and after I showed him a few of my super cute baby pictures hehe), he decided he did want to have children after all. Specifically children as cute as me. He was fine with two, but I've always wanted four. I have finally convinced him that 3 could be a good number as a compromise! To be prepared, (again, because it's me!), we picked out two boy names and two girl names. We picked the boy names first. In the end, we gave the first choice name the same first and middle name initials as Phil's father, and our second choice the same for my father. Since we both have large families, (so many names are out of the question because they have been used), we tried to stick with family names and other names we like.

For Jill's name, I really wanted to honor my mother by having a "J" name since her name is Janet. We went through some "J" names and we both seemed to really like Jillian. I immediately came up with the nickname Jillybean and loved it! Phil originally said it was cheesy, but now he's using it too ;)

The middle name happened to work out really well by accident. My MIL pointed out that, all the current Coghill women have "R" middle names - Ruth, Renee, RaeAnn. So I wanted to keep that going. We looked through some of them and we came to the name Rose. I thought it went really well with Jillian and I remember Phil had a relative named Rosa so it was kind of a family name. Turns out, there was also a Rose in the family before so it really is a family name.

So that's how Jillybean got her name. It's a mixture of family, honoring family, and names that we like together. As far as what her name means, I found the meanings here.

Jillian - Youthful

Rose - Rose (Flower)

Happy Friday y'all!

Oh Baby!

{Look at those legs! What a squirmy worm :)}

My plan to make sure baby was awake and squirming may have worked a little too well ;) I had two 7.5 oz cans of coke, and I had a mini-dance party to 4 songs before we headed out the door. It took nearly an hour to get all the pictures necessary because baby would not sit still! The technician said it's wasn't the worst she's ever dealt with, but it did make it interesting.

Can I just brag on my technician? She was wonderful and talked us through everything! Any stupid jokes we I made, or any comments, she'd laugh or respond sweetly. I did express a little fear about the health of baby, and she was reassuring. Plus, the radiologist that watches the images come in as we take them didn't need any new photos or to talk to us after which was good. The tech told us if anything was wrong, we'd know today. Since I didn't hear a peep, I'm happy to report that baby is perfectly healthy with a heart rate of 152 bpm.

Without further ado, here is the video we took shortly after I found out the gender! Just to remind you, Phil found out at the appointment, and then he bought a gift for me to unwrap and reveal the gender to me. I do apologize for it being dark in the video. I think Phil was just really excited. My accent came out a little so please be nice! LOL Also, I want to point out that the camera cuts off as I'm saying "You can turn it off now please". I promise I'm not too bossy :)



You heard right, it's a girl! I was absolutely shocked because I was so convinced it was a boy. Phil said he was really rooting for a boy, but deep down he knew. I feel like a mommy fail, but since she's healthy, that's all I care about!!

As for her name...

Jillian Rose

My little Jillybean :)

I can't wait to meet you baby girl! I hope we show you just how much you are love by us as well as by God. I pray that we can bring you up to love and seek Him in all you do. We love you darlin'!
Love, Mama

What Will Baby Be?

The big day is fast approaching. I'm trying to come up with a few ways to ensure baby is awake, moving, and ready to show the goods since the ultrasound is at 8:30 a.m. Again, I honestly don't care what gender baby is, but I do worry about the overall health of baby. I'm sure everything is fine and I do have a peace in my heart that makes me very happy. However, being a natural worrier and new mom, I'm starting my journey down over-protective boulevard :)

For fun, I decided to have a list of old wives' tales to see what baby will be! I can't do the heartbeat being below or above 140 bpm because we haven't been given a specific number since the first time we heard it. It always sounded good and healthy, but we don't have an exact number.

Morning Sickness
The tale here is, the sicker you are, the more likely it's a girl. Why? Your hormones are battling with baby girl's hormones, causing you to have an upset stomach. If you have hardly any sickness, it's a boy.


Verdict: Coming from a line of queasy ladies, it was only fair that I had a rough time with all day morning sickness. According to the tale, I'm having a girl.


Carrying Baby
The tale deals with how you carry baby. High will be a girl and low will be a boy.

Verdict: It's funny because I could have sworn that baby was moving up a few weeks ago, but now it's back down. According to the tale, I'm having a boy.


Ring On A String Test
This tale says that you place the mom's wedding ring on a piece of string and hang it over the belly. If the ring moves in a circle, it's a boy. If it moves from side to side, it's a girl.

Verdict: Both Phil and I took turns holding the ring. When I held it, it went in circles. When Phil held it, the ring went from side to side. According to the tale, I'm having a boy/girl.


Acne
This tale says the more acne you have, you're having a girl. If you have hardly any acne, it's a boy.

Verdict: I have been blessed to only get a few pimples on my chin  since the beginning. (A few being 3 total since I found out I was pregnant.) According to the tale, I'm having a boy.


Key Test
The tale has a key on a table and the mother has to pick it up. If she picks it up from the ridge part, (the thin part of the key), it's a girl. If she picks it up at the head of the key, it's a boy.

Verdict: When I picked up the key, I picked it from the head of the key. According to the tale, I'm having a boy.


Chinese Gender Chart
I'm not entirely sure how they determine it, but it is a chart that you can find here that takes the mother's age at time of conception and the month in which baby was conceived.

Verdict: Now I have a confession (and it may be TMI so I apologize!). When we conceived our precious surprise, it was right around my birthday. I mean within the 3 days surrounding my birthday. Since I don't know when I ovulated because of my PCOS, I did the chart twice; once for age 24 and once for age 25. According to this tale, I'm having a girl/girl.


Mayan Gender Calendar
This is the same concept of the Chinese Gender. The difference is, it takes the age of the mother at time of conception and the year the child is conceived. If both are odd or even numbers, it's a girl. If it's an odd plus an even number, it's a boy.

Verdict: Again, I had to do it twice since I'm not entirely sure what my correct age is. According to the tale, I'm having a girl/boy.


Cravings
This tale says if you crave sweets/fruits, it's a girl. However, if you crave meats and salty foods, it's a boy.

Verdict: I have actually had an aversion to meat up until 3 weeks ago. I also didn't really want anything sugary or chocolatey. If I wanted a dessert, it was something sour like Key Lime pie and Lemon Heads. Now I'm up for just about anything, put my appetite has really picked up over the last week or so. According to this tale, I'm having a boy.

Voting
I've had my little poll on the sidebar for awhile now. Even though it's close, according to this, I'm having a girl.


Intelligender
This is a test you can purchase at the local drug store. It only has a 90% accuracy rate and it's a little expensive, ($40). However, Phil and I bought it just for a little fun. I did read on the box after I brought it home that women with PCOS should not use it. Well, that's a little disappointing. I'm not sure how it affects a urine test, but whatever. I took it anyways so the results are being taken with a grain of salt, (which we were going to anyways).

Verdict:

According to the test, I'm having a boy.

Mother's Intuition

From the beginning of this pregnancy, I've had a feeling I'm carrying a boy. Not just based on my cravings, but for another reason. Due to the ectopic pregnancy last summer, Phil and I had already picked out names for a boy and a girl. Even after we lost the pregnancy, I wanted to keep the names. However, as soon as we found out we were pregnant in April, I immediately despised the boy name. I couldn't rest until we had a new name. I downloaded baby name apps and had a new list of names to talk to Phil about for about a week. We finally picked a new name that I love and I relaxed. I feel like that may have been a sign it's a boy. According to this, I'm having a boy.

The final tally...

Boy -  8

Girl - 6

According to the tales and such, we're having a little boy. We'll hopefully know for sure on Thursday! I can't wait to start calling our sweet baby by name!!