17 weeks

(note: for some reason I accidentally left my 16 weeks post in draft mode 

which is why it's just publishing!)

Happy Thursday!

I look forward to Thursday's now, like most people look forward to Friday's.

Baby Girl is now 17 weeks old & the size of an Onion!

I am terrible with these phone selfies!

Fun Stuff:

Gender: It's a Girl!

Name: Undecided

Fun Facts: 

• Her rubbery cartilage is now turning to bone.

• And she's growing some meat on those bones — putting on some fat.

• She's growing a stronger, thicker umbilical cord, too.

Sleep: Horrible! I'm still making frequent trips to the bathroom. I'm tossing & turning all night long. I do finally sleep in til about 10 or 11 now though. And I still haven't bought that body pillow! 

Clothes: Nothing has changed from last week. I am still living in my jeggings & leggings. I try to wear any shirts that are longer. 

Cravings: No food cravings...this week it was Tahitian Fruit Punch! (It's caffeine free!)

Symtoms: This entire week I have either woken up with a headache or went to bed with one. Tylenol is my new friend. I also wake up with slight lower back pains.  Also I'm getting sudden bursts of tiredness in my legs (if that makes sense). I can walk from the bedroom to the kitchen & suddenly my legs feel like they're about to give out as if I just ran a mile. If I sit down real quick, the pain goes away. I also still have a stuffy nose all day and random moments of shortness of breath. And I can't forget the very itchy skin!

Best Moment of the Week: Finding a few shops on Etsy that I will be buying tons of bows from & it won't cost me a fortune. 

What I'm looking forward to: Feeling those flutters! Still no movement yet. Also looking forward to next weeks ultrasound. And...still tossing names back & forth.

What I miss: Getting some good, comfortable sleep! 

16 weeks

Today our baby GIRL is 16 weeks!

She is the size of an Avocado.

I need to pull out my pro-camera for these weekly pics. 

But for now here's a cell phone pic. I am SO not good at these mirror selfies.

Also, why the hell do I look more like 32 weeks instead of 16 weeks!

So here's the fun stuff...

Gender: It's a girl! We did home made gender reveal cupcakes with the family. One cake was filled with pink icing. We are soooo thrilled! Now we just need a name! :)

Sleep: I get up frequently to pee of course. I also can't seem to get completely comfortable, so I toss and turn all night. I used to be able to sleep in, but now I am up at about 8:30 everyday. 

Clothes: Still wearing my regular clothes but I can't wear any of my dress pants. Only jeggings & leggings! I bought my first 2 pair of maternity jeggings and they are wonderful! 

Cravings: This week I haven't craved my usual ice cream & tomatoes. Instead I craved Tombstone pizza. 

Symptoms: No morning sickness luckily, but I can definitely feel my body growing & stretching.  I feel some sharp pains when I get up after sitting for a while. Also I'm breaking out all over my chest & shoulders and slightly on my face. It's driving me crazy!

Best Moment of the Week: Baby shopping with the sister-in-law, Samantha! I haven't made any purchases yet, but I enjoyed looking at all the sweet dresses, shoes, & bows. She is going to be one stylish baby.

What I'm looking forward to: Feeling baby movements. Sometimes it's hard to really know you're pregnant because there's absolutely no movement right now. So it's like I'm just big & in pain for no reason. 

What I miss: I hate to admit this, but I sure would like a cigarette some days. BUT, I can honestly say without a doubt, I have not smoked one cigarette since the day I found out I was pregnant.  And of course I miss being able to comfortably sleep on my stomach.

15 weeks

Today baby Lawton is 15 weeks & the size of a Navel Orange!

So far I've had no morning sickness, still making lots of trips to the bathroom, a stuffy nose 

that won't go away, always super tired, and I can't get comfortable when it's time to go to bed!

As far as cravings go: ice cream & tomatoes! Not at the same time though. But I'm pretty much

starving all the time which is aggravating. So I've bought lots of things like walnuts, brazil nuts, yogurt, etc to help me out so I don't just pig out on junk food. :)

I'm Pregnant!

I am officially making a return to the blogging world to announce that we are FINALLY pregnant!

After 10 years of marriage, it finally happened.

We found out on November 30th after I took an at-home test.

So as of today, I am 14 weeks and the baby is a size of a lemon!

We had a blood test done to check for down syndrome & everything came back ok!

Hallelujah!

I have to say I've been lucky and haven't had too many issues.

I've probably had a total of 15 minutes of morning sickness the entire first trimester.

I've only had a few cravings: banana flavored ice cream pops & those fruit in jello cups.

I am tired a lot and don't feel like doing much.

I go to the bathroom a lot now...so much so that hubby & I have switched sides of the bed

so that I can be closer to the bathroom. We both hate it but it is more convenient.

We do know the sex of the baby but we're not announcing it just yet.

Still trying to figure out how we want to do that.

I am so thankful to everyone who prayed for us all these years.

I just never thought this day would come.

Sometimes I still can't believe it and sometimes I question if it's right since I am 

37 years old. But I know everything is done on God's time!

For those suffering with infertility, let me tell you the various things I did:

My hubby & I have been together for 13 years (since I was 24)!

We have tried for kids since then (yes, even before we were married).

We went to various doctors and fertility specialists. 

One doctor finally told me (after an HSG test), both of your tubes are blocked and 

you will have to have IVF to have children.

There was just no way I wanted to finance an expensive procedure that might not work.

I've had two friends who did that & it didn't work.

So, I researched and read articles online like crazy.

I read where some women got pregnant after the HSG because the dye from the test actually opened their tubes somehow.

I read where some women said taking metformin helped them get pregnant. 

So I asked my doctor to put me on that (500mg once a day).

I've never had a normal cycle to save my life- sometimes I'd get it once a year, sometimes I'd get it for 3 months straight, etc. So for that, I decided to try this stuff called FertilAid.

FertilAid suggested taking 3 pills a day- which I did for about 2 weeks, but then I dropped down to one pill a day for the next two weeks. 

I promise you, not even a month later my cycle was finally normal. I stopped taking the pills, and my 

cycle came every month like clock work which was a miracle for someone who had never 

experienced that.

I also bought an ovulation kit from Amazon and used that. For me that wasn't a big help. I stopped using this after about 6 months.

And finally, I went to the Dollar Tree and bought LOTS of pregnancy tests. 

Because anyone in our shoes knows, buying the nice tests adds up.

I would buy like 20-30 at a time and tell the cashier they were for a baby shower game.

And like many other stories out there- I finally just gave up thinking about it.

I just figured, "forget it, we're just not gonna have kids, I'm over 35 so it's too late".

And then BAM, I'm pregnant.

I honestly think it was a combination of the HSG test,  the metformin, and the FertilAid. 

I feel the HSG test did do something to my tubes, the daily metformin for the last 5+ years, and then finally the FertilAid to regulate my cycle did the trick. (I started the FertilAid in late 2013 so I actually got pregnant a little over a year after starting these pills).

I'm no doctor, so of course you have to do your own research.

What worked for me may not work for you.

Anyways, I hope this info is helpful to someone out there.

I'm Alive!

Since my last post in March...

We've traveled to Mexico, Belize, & Honduras.

I've been to two concerts:

Cher & Journey.

Both were AMAZING!

I started a new job as an assistant manager.

Love my job...finally!

The hubby graduated with his Bachelors Degree in Political Science!

Law School is next!

And currently we're in the process of planning our

10 year anniversary party!

Venue has been booked.

Invitations have been ordered.

Vegas & Nola

Time to play catch up on our recent travels!

We spent Valentine's Day weekend in Vegas this year.

I always tell the hubby I'm sick of going to Vegas because 

we go so much & I'd rather visit some new places that we've 

never been to before.

But...we always have a blast in Vegas each and every time!

This time was no different.

We went because my brother invited us as this was

his "honeymoon."

So we were there with my brother & his wife and

my brother's best friend & his wife.

It just so happened that my best friend's sister & her husband

were also there that weekend as well as another friend of mine

that drove up from Arizona.

We gambled some, caught two shows Zarkana & Zumanity (which we didn't really care for either show), hopped on a party bus and went to 3 clubs (Haze, Surrender, & Pure), walked the strip, ate lots of great food, & had an overall fabulous time!

  

I almost hit $500k!

 

Toe socks I wore to "try" and help my feet from a night in heels!

These just helped with friction, but that's about it.

 2 weekends ago we decided at the last minute to go

to Mardi Gras for a day.

I'm glad we went because we had a great time, I can say I've

been, & I just love going to Nola.

The city is already full of crazy people but I think

Mardi Gras brings out the crazy people to the 10th power!

We'll be back in New Orleans next month because we're going on a one week cruise to Mexico, Honduras, & Belize. 

I'm so happy it ports out of Nola so we can get there a day early

and enjoy the city again without so much chaos!

My New Business...and a GIVEAWAY!

For the last several months I have been working 

on an online jewelry boutique!

I finally launched my site yesterday, and I would love

for you all to take a look!

It's called:

Sparkling Shimmers by Carolin. 

I'm having a Grand Opening Sale as well!

30% off using the code: carolin.

I also have $6.00 flat rate shipping.

It doesn't matter if you order 1 or 10 items,

as long as it is being shipped to one address you pay

one flat rate for s&h!

If you're on Facebook, please like my page:

www.facebook.com/sparklingshimmers

If you're on Instagram, you can follow me at:

@sparklingshimmers

If you're on Twitter, you can follow me at:

@sparklingshimm

If you're on Pinterest, you can follow me at:

@sparklingshimm

I'm still not 100% done.

I am waiting on some custom jewelry tags to come in

and I am trying to find a designer to create a nicer landing 

page for my website so I can have a featured item of the

day/week.

Of course this is a one woman show so I'm sure

things will be a little slow for me initially.

I'd appreciate if you ladies could help me out & "PIN" any 

pieces that you see & like!

Finally, I am having a GIVEAWAY!

The winner can pick out any piece on my site that they like!

(Must be a U.S. Resident.)

Here are the 4 simple rules:

• Like my page on Facebook
• Follow on Twitter
• Leave a comment
• Follow this blog (which isn't listed below but I will verify when the contest ends)

 Tweet about the Giveaway

Leave a Blog Post Comment

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Read more at http://www.jeffbullas.com/2012/12/13/15-steps-for-creating-a-successful-social-media-giveaway-contest/#eR4SdtAxL6VUwpSJ.99

  

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