12 weeks

It has been a long 12 weeks, but we are so excited now that we can finally share baby 4 with friends and family! What a difference it makes when people understand that you aren't avoiding them, but the circumstances around them. Social gatherings with alcohol welcome a million questions on why you're not imbibing, the teachers lounge at my school is a frenzy of smells at lunch time that send me running to the bathroom, and if I sit down or stop moving, it is apparently instant permission for my eyes to shut and stay that way until morning...so evening activities = struggle. However, the nausea is subsiding, the energy is coming back and the joy of welcoming baby#4 is enough to keep us celebrating! I did a terrible job documenting my pregnancy with the girls, so my goal is to be a little more on top of baby 4. It's not too often that the last baby gets the best baby album, but we'll try!

How far along? 12 weeks

How big is the peanut? one half ounce...about the size of a plum.

Total weight gain/loss? +4

Maternity clothes? Not yet. Holding my breath til summer when I don't have to wear work clothes.

Sleep? Yes, please. All.the.time

Symptoms? Nauseous, tired, achy

Food cravings? Crab salad. Weird, I know.

Food aversions? Chicken, cottage cheese

Gender? Gotta be a girl

What I miss? Having energy

What I'm looking forward to? Telling the girls

Milestones? Saw baby's beautiful profile

Bump? Seemingly impossible to hide at this point.

12 weeks.
I'm running out of shirts that hide my bump
(and my love of ice cream).

 At our appt., they reassured my that my previous concerns from our first ultrasound were common. However, when they checked for a heartbeat and couldn't find one, they sent us straight for an ultrasound. We were so scared at what we might find, but sure enough, baby had a strong heartbeat at 165 and everything looks great! I'm going with the old wives tale on this one...this baby's getting hand-me-downs.