38.5 Weeks | Size of a .... Baby

Daddy playing a song for his little boy.  I adore this handsome man.

How far along?  38 1/2 weeks

Maternity clothes? Nothing but!

Stretch marks? No, I'm feeling rather blessed being able to still say 'no'. 

Sleep: Is important... I hear I won't get much for the next 18 years ;-)  Not getting much, but enough!

Best moment this week: Doing our feature shoot of boy's nursery & some maternity for a magazine/blog!  It was so fun and will be great to have the photos to share with him in the future.

Miss Anything?  My stomach.  I miss my stomach desperately in so many ways.

Movement:  Yes.  He has slowed down as there is clearly no space, but he's still sweet as can be with his little movements. :-)

Food cravings:  Nothing.  I hardly want food these days.  Eck.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Noises, surprisingly.

Gender: Bebe boy-o!

Labor Signs:  I have irregular contractions and intense pressure, to the point I think I'm starting to waddle.  It's okay, it means he's close!!

Symptoms: Emotional!!!!  I'm don't typically cry too much but I've definitely had a meltdown or two recently.  Don't ask my husband..... ;-)

Belly Button in or out?  Totally out.

Wedding rings on or off?  They're off as of the 30 day countdown.  I have a beautiful replacement from my husbands Grandmother though!!

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy, anxious, excited.... still!

Looking forward to:  That very first moment I lay eyes on our sweet little bebe!  I cannot wait for him to be in my arms!

18 Weeks | Size of a Bell Pepper

How far along? 18 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: I don't like this question.  Next, please.

Maternity clothes? Still working my pre-preggy clothes.  I do rock the belly band though! (Miracle worker, that thing!)

Stretch marks? No.  *fingers crossed*

Sleep: Not so shabby.  I'm coming into the RLS days.  But so is my hubs, so perhaps its my age, rather?!

Best moment this week: Watching my husband experience the Bebe moving for the very first time.  I cried.  Yep.

Miss Anything?  Not really.

Movement:  YES!  It is the most beautiful feeling!!  Bebe moves tons in the morning and then at bedtime <-- Hoping this isn't confusion!

Food cravings:  Nothing, really.  Food has been an interesting thing lately.  Don't want it but sure do need it.  Besides, no one takes pleasure in a hangry (hungry to the point of angry) pregnant chick!

Anything making you queasy or sick: Smells.  They are only intensifying.  Blehk.

Gender: Still dang sure that we're having a girl.  Judging by impromptu polls, so are our friends and family members!

Labor Signs:  No.

Symptoms: Early to bed, early to rise.  Oh, and headaches.

Belly Button in or out?  In.

Wedding rings on or off?  On. 

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!

Looking forward to: Tuesday, November 6th.  We get the incredible opportunity to learn more about Bebe's health and...... well...... whether he's a she he, she's a he she, she's a she he..... Boy or Girl!

15 Weeks | Size of an Apple

I had the pleasure of attending a costume Bridal Shower for one of my favorite friends this week!  My husband is Aleut so dressing as an Eskimo was kind of fun - and he thought it was 'sexy'. Ha! =)

How far along? 15 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: I can honestly say that I have no clue.  I'll know on Tuesday after my appt.

Maternity clothes? Not yet.  I did snag some steals this past week though!

Stretch marks? No.  (I dread ever having to answer 'yes' here.)

Sleep: Like a puppy.  I would nap every few hours if I could.  Isn't this supposed to cease in the 2nd?!

Best moment this week: Having quite a few people notice that it's a bump, rather than a spare tire!

Miss Anything?  Just sushi - still.  I miss hiking in the mountains, too.  Have to stay in low altitude. :(

Movement:  Still waiting for the flutters to start!!

Food cravings:  I've been craving soda a lot.  I am not much of a soda drinker, so this has been odd, but I only have sips here and there of Aaron's.  Nothing else has really been a 'must have' craving.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Lack of sleep and not eating quickly enough!  I'm getting much better at getting to food once I realize I'm hungry - definitely a good rule of thumb when pregnant: Always have a snack on hand!

Gender: The hubs and I are totally thinking a girl lately!  Isn't it crazy how quickly that flips?!  Who knows... only 5 more weeks till we find out!!

Labor Signs:  Too early.

Symptoms: Growing waist line and slightly moody.  Only slightly. ;-) (I don't like staying up too late!)

Belly Button in or out?  In.

Wedding rings on or off?  On. 

Happy or Moody most of the time: Hap-hap-happiness! 

Looking forward to: Next doctor's appointment on Tuesday!  It's hard in the beginning months to 'feel good' about the bebe growing and developing properly when you don't have much of a bump and can't feel any movements; doctor's appointments are a sigh of relief!  I'm very excited to start feeling the movements!

So you got our invite, eh?

Hi, family and friends - maybe some strangers - hello, to you!

It is that beautiful time of the year (this year), when I get to share our wonderful news with you.... you guessed it - WE'RE PREGNANT!  <Can'I getta 'Whoop Whoop!'>  This week marks the official start of the 2nd trimester!

Aaron and I couldn't be more excited for the expansion that is taking place; our family, home, responsibilities, love <-- We're still working on adapting to the belly expansion ;-)

I would like to thank our wonderful parents and siblings for keeping their lips sealed - for the most part! - and want you all to feel welcome to blab away now!  Yippee!

Since everyone we know (including us) remains forever busy or lives too far away to see often, we wanted to create this blog to update you on the growth of Bebe Watkins - both now and after birth.  We will post regularly and welcome feedback, comments, suggestions, advice, etc.!  There are a lot of good Mums and Dads out there that don't need to be stingy with their tips and tricks! ;-) 

Thank you for visiting and we certainly hope to see you soon!

Love and blessings:

Aaron | Kels | BebeWatkins

Shopping | It's Like a Disease

Yup, a disease.... one of the better kinds to have, mostly.

We've recently snagged:

12 Weeks | Size of a Lime

How far along? 12 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +4 
Maternity clothes? Newp. None.
Stretch marks? No.
Sleep: Yes, please!  I love sleep and it's becoming much easier to fall asleep and wake up <-- thanks, bladder :)
Best moment this week: Woke up on Wednesday and did my morning belly feel prior to rolling out of bed.  This week, I officially 'popped'!  I woke Aaron immediately: "BABY!  Feel the bebe!"  He was stoked.
Miss Anything?  Still sushi.  I really really want a deli wrap far more than I've ever wanted just about anything.
Movement:  I think I have a handful of weeks before I get the pleasure....
Food cravings:  PB&J, Chocolate Silk, waffle fries.  I've indulged in all but the fries.
Anything making you queasy or sick: I'm pretty congested this week so it's hard to say if that's baby nausea or my cold.  The past few weeks have been remarkably better!
Gender: Still thinking a bebe king!  My SIL and I have had fun with the gender predictors - yea, yea, all 'old wives tales', we know!  BUT, they've all agreed on a boy-o!
Labor Signs:  Not this early.
Symptoms: Messing with my eating schedule is messing with my emotions.  Serious.  Also, flying (which I've probably done 3k times by now & never been scared) makes me nervous.  The only thing that makes me cry is being tired and books/movies <-- that's a first.  I'm starting to think I have a soul ;)
Belly Button in or out?  In.
Wedding rings on or off?  On. 
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!  What's not to love!  Except when my baby-mush-brain interrupts my ability to talk, type without suffering sudden dyslexia, or think.... 
Looking forward to: Hearing the heartbeat for the first time in 3 days!  We only were able to watch during our last ultrasound so we're both supAstoked to hear the beautiful sounds our bebe makes!  Oh, I almost forgot --> & WE GET TO TELL EVERYONE within the next few weeks!!!  

Sidenote: I had no intentions of going brunette.  Apparently, when you are pregnant (uh-hem - hormonal), color doesn't take the way it should.... & I first had cartoonish red-orange hair, then hot pink, then dark purple, and at last we landed here.  Mind you, this was all done by a very talented professional.  I'm not going to lie, I'm starting to like it a bit!  I've never been anything but my natural blonde, so it was definitely quite the <accidental> leap, but proving to be a good one ;)

8 Weeks | Again.....

I've had a plethora of mixed emotions about little bebe so far; but most of them were scaredy-emotions before our first OB appointment.  Thankfully, my mind, emotions, and even my body are feeling better post-doc! 

We were able to see our sweet bebe's <rapid!> heartbeat and even a teensy head!  Aaron says he looks like a bean, while a friend of mine demands he/she is Nemo's double. *rolls eyes* =)  We're pretty proud of our doctor, by the way.  She has a written a best-seller on infant/toddler care - +1 - she doesn't rush appointments, in fact, she begged for more questions - +1 - her husband is a psychiatrist, so she must be normal, not just frontin' - +1 - she is distracting at all the right times - +1 - she is patient, kind, and concerned - +1.  Yup, she's a +5!  (So far.)  SCORE!  We found a stellar doc.  

Bebe Watkins 1st Photo EVER!

Said stellar doc did give some bad news, though.... dun, dun, dunnnn.....

No. More. Rockshows. <-- Does nothing good for a rockstars wife.  >_<  She said the bass at a rock concert is so loud as is, but throw in a nice sack o' placenta and it's a million times louder - deafening, really, which is no risk we're willing to encounter.  She also mentioned how your adrenaline is lifted because of the noise level. Decibels-schmecibels.  <-- Also no bueno.  Guess I could spare my own hearing for a while, too ;-)   Hello, (insert girly tv show) and lounge-E nights!

Proud as can be, baybee!  Cheering you on from home :-)

So the final scoop -- We're due April 1st or 2nd (ultrasound tech said 2nd, doc said 1st) and since we don't want to risk no one believing us on April Fool's Day, we've agreed on the 2nd.  Yea.... April 2nd!  Bebe Watkins has a healthy heartbeat of 176 bpm, looks slightly like a bean and Nemo, is making Mama just the right amount of sick, and is needy already! =)  

Learning, Sharing, & Soaking Up the Great News

Well, for starters, this test is the fourth of the positives.  I have always heard of women taking multiple tests after seeing a positive; never understanding the concept since we all know that there are false negatives and never false positives.  Suddenly, I get it!  We'd talked about taking one and I simply thought it was too early (who likes to be disappointed?!).  Plus, I didn't want to take one with my husband for the pure sake of surprising him with the news!  So I took 2 without him knowing, both resulting in the obvious +.  Then I got to thinking about how I purchased the cheap ones, strictly with the + or - and needed a, well, more expensive confirmation???  (YOU make sense of that.  I give up.)  Oh, and I also dragged this out over 2 - 2 1/2 weeks, just to be 'sure'.  I made an internal pact that I would wake up before my husband, sneak to Walgreens to purchase the more-expensive-so-obviously-more-accurate-results test, and surprise him with a 'We're Pregnant' wake-up the next morning, IF the results were the inevitable 'pregnant'.  I did just that!  Next picture is my tool of good news.....

"We are expanding our home by two feet!"

I snuck into the room, waking Aaron up, holding this yardstick.  With the ever-confused look on his face, I crawled onto the bed and handed him the yardstick.  I got the typical response: "Shut up!" <-- Hey, that's better than what came out of his mouth on his 30th bDay after surprising him with a Taylor!  Ha!  Anyway, we hugged, kissed, hugged some more, kissed some more, had plenty more "Shut up's" and finally began letting the news digest.  The best news!  

My family was visiting from Kansas for their first time (Mum, Sister, Bro-in-Law, 2 nieces, 2 nephews) so we took advantage of sharing the good news in person!  We first went outback where my Mum was and handed her the same yardstick.  It took about 2 seconds before the tears were flowing like the Poudre River!  Then we went downstairs and gave it to my Sis and Bro-in-Law -- just as happy, but no tears <-- bummer! =)  Then we took it the front porch where my other Bro-in-Law was sitting; PS, we share a huge house with he and his wife and their 2 kiddos.  He said "You're expanding the house?  Where?  How are you doing that?  Did you get permission?"  Aaron simply said "Yea, adding two feet..... to the back..... of course we got permission!"  Rob: "Am I missing something?" (Seriously concerned.)  Me: "Rob, we're having a baby!  Get it.... two feet!" Bam!  He got it. 

Then we told my Dad....

It didn't end there - no worries - he called and continued the theme of overly-excited fam!

As for my sis-in-law, she already knew (shh... don't tell anyone!)  She actually was quite the peach and helped me to decipher if the first 3 were positive-positives or just positives or let's keep waiting.... or..... she told me "YES, K-Dub, you're pregnant!"  Let out a teensy squeal of excitement... hugged and kissed me... and kept her promise of never telling. ;-)

Then to my in-laws!  My MIL (mom-in-law) had her mother (my GIL!) in town and we weren't ready to tell grandparents -- only parents and siblings -- so we had to wait for a free night.  A couple of days later, she was able to meet us on a whim at Panera with Wes (FIL).  We purchased a delicious looking cinnamon bun and had the barista package it nicely in a box prior to their arrival.  The anticipation was killing me through dinner -- my husband poking and prodding me to 'Just do it already!" -- and finally we took her the bun, saying nothing.  "What's this?!"  "Wait, is this what I think it is?!"  Us: "YES! We're having a bebe!"  She jumped up and gave us hugs for days!  (She's been waiting for this day for  q u i t e  sometime!

Moral of the story: Our family LOVES babies!