Peach Pick'n in honor of our little peach!

Today I went peach picking with my good friends Shelby and Beth and,

about half way through I realized that this week Baby West is the size of a peach! How perfect!

Baby West Has grown from This --->   

                               To this--->  

In just one week! You can't really tell, but it is quite a bit bigger!

Second Trimester (13 Weeks)

How far along?  13 weeks ...according to most, the first week of my Second Trimester

Total weight gain/loss: This week I lost a pound putting my weight gain back to 1.5lbs....must be all the walking in Gatlinburg.
Maternity clothes? Mostly just wearing comfy pants.
Stretch marks? not yet :-)
Sleep: mehh....getting harder to stay asleep through the night.
Best moment this week: We traveled to TN for a Family Reunion and had a wonderful time. We learned that Baby West will be the start of a new generation in our family.
Miss Anything? Not so much missing something, but missing out on zip lining and white water rafting with the family was a little sad.
Movement: I wish!
Food cravings: Still craving the dill, this week gummy bears
Anything making you queasy or sick: Car rides and strong smells

Have you started to show yet: I am able to tell that I am showing, but to most people I probably just look fat haha
Gender Prediction: I am keeping my guess on a girl
Labor Signs: No
Symptoms: Well this week I cried thinking about a great great uncle I met one time, simply because he wasn't at our family reunion.
Belly Button in or out? in
Wedding rings on or off? on
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy, but hubby might say different
Looking forward to: Starting our Bradley Method class soon-ish (mid July)

Funny Pregnancy Story: So I ordered a Fetal Doppler to listen to the baby's heart this week and when I finally found the heart beat, it was reading at 120 and then dropping. I was very concerned and had hubby help me make sure that I was using it right. As I became more and more discouraged the heart rate continued to drop. We listened very intently for about 30 seconds, then Hubby looks at me with a bit of a snicker and says "babe, that is your heart beat, you have it on a pressure point". We did find baby's heart beat once hubby did the searching and it was strong and fast and around 158 bpm... Never a dull moment in the West home.

More Photos and Birthing Options Update

Here are a few more photos from our Saturday outside...

A lime...because Baby West is the size of a Lime this week (when I saw a lime at Trader Joes I couldn't resist)

 A little snip-it of our worship session/Bible study picnic in the yard

 My Handsome Hubby :-)

Another shot of our Facebook announcement.

Quick Update on Birthing Options: 

The loophole that I thought we had found doesn't look like it is going to work out. The insurance would pay, but the prenatal care just wasn't what we were looking for. That means that in order to do our natural birth at the Birth Center, we need to pay quite a bit out of pocket. I still feel that Nova Natural Birth Center is the best care we could give a healthy mama and a healthy baby, but I want to make sure that we are being obedient to the Lord. Please join us in praying for direction on where to receive care, pray that God would make it clear to us and that we would continue to trust in Him for guidance.

The Start of my Baby Tracking Photos (12 Weeks)

How far along?  12 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: about 2.5 lbs
Maternity clothes? not yet... I do own a few shirts just for fun
Stretch marks? none
Sleep: I am sleeping pretty well, but I am becoming an early riser lately.
Best moment this week: We had our second ultrasound and we were able to see the heart beat and baby's growth.
Miss Anything? Chai Tea Lattes... I am trying to stay away from extra sugar to avoid higher chance of gestational diabetes
Movement: not yet
Food cravings: Baby Dill Pickles, Strawberries, Shrimp Fried Rice
Anything making you queasy or sick: Smells, usually things involving dishes...like dish rags shewww!

Have you started to show yet: I am super bloated and I am just now able to feel my uterus expanding so I am thinking in the next couple of weeks :-)
Gender Prediction: All I want is a healthy baby with ten fingers and ten toes. I have a feeling that it might be a girl but hubby and mom both think boy, so we will see. 
Labor Signs: No
Symptoms: extremely sore breasts, extremely emotional, and frequent urine
Belly Button in or out? in
Wedding rings on or off? on
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy, but it switches in an instant
Looking forward to: Announcing the big news publicly this weekend :-)

Little Gummy Bear (11 Weeks)

Today we had our 10-12 week ultrasound. We got to see Baby West's little heart flickering and the doctor says it is between 150 -160 bpm...perfect! Baby is measuring 4.22 cm crown to rump and looks just like a little gummy bear. We were able to see baby's spine and arms and legs, even a little of the face. Everything is right on target with growth and development, even mama's weight gain! We are just so excited and anxious to meet our little one!

Current Craving: Baby Dill Pickles :-)

Birthing Options (10 weeks)

The last few weeks have involved a lot of travel, a trip to NC and to Orlando, FL. Other than that the morning sickness has begun to die out and I finally have an appetite again. Cravings have included Taco Bell,  Cap'n Crunch, and I can always eat strawberries!

The main focus of our time lately has been deciding where to receive prenatal and delivery care. We would like to have a natural birth with a midwife at a Birthing Center, which seems impossible with our insurance. I have spent hours on the phone and computer looking for a loophole and it seems like we may have found one. If all works out as planned we will deliver our baby this December at NOVA Natural Birth Center via Manassas Midwifery. We also have a few backup plans if it doesn't work out.

Other Baby News: I am beginning to be able to feel my uterus above my pelvic bone, but so far the only thing I have to show for baby west is a bloated belly, still waiting on that little bump. We have our next ultrasound on Monday and we are planning to announce our pregnancy on Father's Day!