Baby Senso #2: Week 36

^^Amelie & I with our red, white & blue on the 4th of July

baby's size: 
a head of romaine lettuce

i'm feeling: 
stressed out about the labor & delivery and just generally anxious about the baby's arrival 

food love: 
craving salty these days 

food hate: 
nada

pros: 
the house is pretty much set for the arrival of the baby - i just have a bunch of laundry to do 
i asked amelie is she was going to share her monkey toy with the baby and she lifted up my shirt and put it against my belly, it was cute 
the baby's head is already facing down 

cons: 
my blood pressure is little high so i'll have to go back to the midwife next week - let's hope this doesn't develop in preeclampsia which almost happened with amelie as well
it feels like there is no more room for the baby to grow, she also feels pretty far down, which makes it uncomfortable - i just feel like she is going to come sooner rather than later 

currently living in: 
a couple of tees are comfy 

looking forward to: 
meeting this baby! i'm going to prepare myself and pretend like she' due to arrive any day now, but it really is three more weeks until my due date though i swear i've already been having some braxton hix contractions. 

Baby Senso #2: Week 35

^^this is from our trip to Sardinia last week (34 weeks), it was lovely, but I was just so hot all the time - it was actually nice to come back to cooler weather

baby's size: 
a honeydew melon

i'm feeling: 
particularly moody these days and pretty tired

food love: 
peanut butter & jelly sandwiches on crustless wholewheat bread (it's amelie's new favorite too) 
steak fries (so happy that M&S sells them in their frozen section) 
berries of all kinds 

food hate: 
loving everything 

pros: 
my pregnancy carpal tunnel seems to be going away which is awesome and i really hope i don't get mommy thumb again when the baby is born. it was so painful with amelie for a few months after she was born. 
thoroughly enjoying nap time with amelie, i know i won't be getting tons of sleep soon so having a 2 hour snooze most days cuddling amelie is pretty nice. 

cons: 
leg cramps (charlie horses) in the middle of the night
being restless at night thinking about the labor & delivery 
getting up to pee sometimes 4+ times a night 
way too much laundry to do for the baby 

currently living in: 
the same old stuff - i ordered a bunch of clothes from ASOS and not one thing was a keeper! 

looking forward to: 
hanging out with my two girls - baby senso #2 could arrive as early as mid-July (amelie was 2 weeks early) and i really can't wait to meet her 

Baby Senso #2: Week 30

baby's size: 
a large cabbage

i'm feeling: 
generally fine 

food love: 
coffee cake (just dreaming of it though) 
pasta 

food hate: 
nada

pros: 
i'm feeling pretty huge these days, but at least it hasn't been as bad as my last pregnancy. i remember around this time, i would have to wear a pregnancy band nonstop because of back pain. it's still there, but not too bad. i don't think amelie quite gets it, but she will sing and give kisses to my belly and it's the cutest. 

cons: 
i wish i could fit into my old jeans! my clothing selection is becoming smaller and smaller as the bump is growing 

currently living in: 
anything stretchy and comfy  

looking forward to: 
cuddling a tiny baby and having her in my arms 

Baby Senso #2: Weeks 28/29

baby's size: 
butternut squash 

i'm feeling: 
mainly fine/the same as the past couple of weeks 

food love: 
chocolate
fried chicken sandwich (though i've resisted so far) 
cheese & crackers

food hate: 
loving everything 

pros: 
i'm pretty much finished with organizing everything and making room for baby #2's stuff, just need to restock on tiny diapers and buy a new car sear. i've also made my list for my hospital bag. 
i've been feeling lots of kicks lately and hiccups for the first time 

cons: 
this pregnancy carpal tunnel is not fun at all, my hands go numb so easily 
peeing nonstop isn't fun either 

currently living in: 
leggings & sweats 

looking forward to: 
meeting this little girl. i keep wondering what she'll be like - if she'll be the opposite of amelie, if they'll get along, etc. 

Baby Senso #2: Week 27

Ok, so I'm failing at updating the blog as much as I would like, but will try to post a little bit more!

baby's size: 
a head of cauliflower 

i'm feeling: 
huuge, but generally happy though i was very moody at the start of this weekend

food love: 
mcdonald's hash browns 
strawberry shortcake 
decaf iced green tea 

food hate: 
can't think of anything 

pros: 
i'm finally slowly getting around to organizing all of amelie's old toys and clothes and making space for the baby. all was good at my last midwife appointment and baby senso #2 is growing nicely. 

cons: 
leg cramps and starting to get numb hands quite frequently. i feel like everything is starting to ache more these days. 

currently living in: 
a soft jersey maternity t-shirt dress i bought in the states

looking forward to: 
finishing all of the organizing for the baby's room, plus it's amelie's 2nd birthday next week! oh and i bought the solly baby wrap after reading so many good things - it's so soft, i can't wait to try it out! 

Baby Senso #2: Weeks 20/22

baby's size: 
spaghetti squash 

i'm feeling: 
like i need to stop eating so much, i don't want to gain tons of weight of baby #2, but it's proving to be difficult 

food love: 
dark chocolate 
strawberries
plus i'm liking chicken again 

food hate: 
not too much actually 

pros: 
we found out baby #2 is a girl! poor girl will be wearing a bunch of hand me downs from Amelie, but i'm really excited to have two little girls

cons: 
just feeling generally large

currently living in: 
the same old maternity clothes and anything stretchy 

looking forward to: 
going to america in a couple of weeks! 

Baby Senso #2: Week 18

So I'm failing a little bit at these chalkboard pics, but at least I have one with just the bump!

baby's size: 
bell pepper 

i'm feeling: 
a little bit tired these days and hungry all the time 

food love: 
mcdonald's cheeseburgers (it's happening again!)
jacob's mini cheddars (how did i not know about these before!) 

food hate: 
chicken (just the thought makes me sick) 

pros: 
starting to feel some flutters and kicks 

cons: 
we had a little scare one night when i thought there might be something wrong with the baby - i had really bad pains in my belly and we ended up in the emergency room to get checked out, but all ended up being ok 

currently living in: 
my regular j.crew jeans with my old maternity band i just found 

looking forward to: 
finding out the gender next week and my 30th birthday weekend 

Baby Senso #2: Week 16

As you can see, chalkboarding this time around is not as easy with a toddler around. 

The bump around 16/17 weeks. 

I love the way Emily of Cupcakes & Cashmere did her pregnancy updates so I've taken hers as a template to use for Baby #2. I think the chalkboards & these posts may be short & sweet mainly due to little miss Amelie taking up a lot of my time!

baby's size: 
avocado

i'm feeling: 
huge already - you definitely pop much sooner the second time around - i'm already wearing maternity clothes

food love: 
cheese & crackers with an apple 
anything mexican 
canned chicken noodle soup - so weird i know 

food hate: 
nothing much actually 

pros: 
heard baby's heartbeat 

cons: 
going to bathroom all the time! 

currently living in: 
maternity leggings and comfy tees 

looking forward to: 
upcoming visits from my sis, going to the US, finding out the gender

Week 36

How far along? 36 Weeks, 6 Days
Total weight gain: About 15 kilos, baby girl is getting pretty heavy to carry around
Gender: Girl
Sleep: Waking up for the bathroom and due to pregnancy carpal tunnel particularly in my right hand, pretty uncomfortable for the past week especially
Best moment(s) this week: Our virtual baby shower, making more progress on Baby Senso's room, and the foodie festival we went to in Brighton today.
Miss Anything?: Just not feeling huge anymore. I've started to wear A's t-shirts more and more since they are way more comfortable now than anything else.
Movement: Yes, lots of stretching her legs to the right of my belly
Food cravings: Still chocolate, more specifically chocolate covered pretzels. The McDonald's cheeseburger craving has started to come back, but I've resisted!
Labor Signs: Nope
Belly Button in or out? Outie
Wedding rings on or off? On still, but my hands have been getting more swollen so I usually leave them off when I'm just at home
Happy or Moody most of the time: More and more moody. There's just a lot going on with just a few more weeks to go and I'm just all around emotional.
Looking forward to: A calm few weeks (hopefully!) ahead with time to just focus on preparing for the baby. That means laundry, organizing, freezer meals and general nesting plus sleeping all I can. A and I have been taking advantage of being able to eat out and going to the movies (Bad Neighbors is so funny by the way and so appropriate to our lives right now).

Other updates: I'm almost finished with getting everything together for my hospital bag, just need the car seat to be delivered to be completely ready. We also had a tour of the hospital where I will be delivering. It was very quiet and calm with a bunch of private rooms and also birthing pools, which is now making me think possibly a water birth? I need to do some more research, but it sounds like it could be calming? We had our first NCT (National Childbirth Trust) antenatal class this week, which is actually taught by an American whose been living in the UK for years which is cool. She gave us our range of May 6 to June 10 of when Baby Senso could arrive. May 6 is Tuesday! Though I cannot wait to meet baby girl, I hope she stays cozy in my belly for a little while longer.

Our Virtual Baby Shower

Living in a new country with a baby on the way is hard. Especially when few of your family or friends are nearby. I am so lucky to have a friend like Dianne who coordinated a baby shower for me even being so far away from everyone. Complete with everyone via Google Hangout, decorations, games, presents and cupcakes, it was everything I could have wanted! 

^^Right before the shower, we had our first Sunday lunch since being in England. A's sister and her bf stayed over the weekend and took over the cooking. Plus there's A putting together the decorations.

^^Look at those Yorkshire puddings! So good! 

^^Filling up my plate and loading on the gravy. 

^^Yum

^^Then it was time to set up the computer & TV for the shower!

^^Andrea had fun with Google Effects. 

^^Here's the setup we had, facing the laptop/camera and seeing everyone on the TV. Notice A's cardboard construction to hang up some of the decorations since we have very high ceilings. It worked so that no one could see it except for those of us in the room! 

^^After a quick pregnancy update and baby trivia, it was time for the best part! I bought 5 different kinds of baby food for A to try. He didn't need the blindfold though! 

^^Lol, this may have been the cauliflower & cheese, it smelled so bad. Surprisingly he liked the fisherman's bake which was tuna, corn, tomatoes, etc. gross! I am definitely making my own baby food for Baby Senso! 

^^Next it was time for gifts, and A loved his Baby on Board sign for the car!

^^Checking out some of the gifts, these are the special edition UK Little Princess baby bottles, so cute! 

^^And we took a group screenshot with everyone, though a little blurry! 

^^After our goodbyes, it was time to devour these funfetti cupcakes complete with rainbow chip frosting I've been saving since it has been discontinued. 

^^Goofing around afterwards since A was not willing to pose for any pics. 

Thank you to everyone who joined the shower. 

Baby Senso is already so loved and spoiled and we cannot wait for her arrival!!

If you happen to live far away from a friend and are thinking about how to put together a shower, here is what Dianne included in our virtual baby shower to give you some ideas. It lasted a total of about one hour and included people from 4 time zones from the UK, Italy to Boston & Connecticut & Texas. 

• The best way to be able to see and hear everyone at the same time that is free is via Google Hangout. You can use up to 10 total accounts. We only had a couple of problems with people dropping in and out, but nothing too major. 
• Dianne sent me a box full of goodies including wrapped presents, decorations (the onesie garland & Baby Senso garland), and cards with wishes for the baby and words of encouragement. All with instructions on what to do with it all. 
• Once everyone was in the hangout here was the agenda: 
• Introductions
• Update on the pregnancy & baby 
• Baby Trivia (found here)
• Baby Food Game for Dad
• Opening Gifts
• Goodbyes
• It was the perfect way to get everyone together and even though we weren't in the same room, it was still a great celebration and would not have been possible without all of the coordination of Dianne! Thank you so much DL! :) 

Week 34

How far along? 34 Weeks, 6 Days
Total weight gain: A little over 13 kilos
Gender: Girl
Sleep: The same as before, just getting up maybe once a night
Best moment this week: That's a tie between the Thai food I had the other night and a successful DIY tassel garland for the nursery
Miss Anything?: Having more energy and fitting into my old clothes. I have an entire suitcase I left packed up of all the clothes I can't fit into anymore.
Movement: Yup, she was very active yesterday, kicking and squirming non-stop. I think she's having a lazy day today :)
Food cravings: Chocolate all the time, in all forms. I have my Cadbury creme egg saved for later today. Plus bread, any kind, I love that there is so much variety of whole wheat everything here - pitas, english muffins, regular sliced bread, etc.
Labor Signs: Nope
Belly Button in or out? Outie
Wedding rings on or off? On still
Happy or Moody most of the time: Not too moody I don't think, just getting irritated sometimes when I'm tired.
Looking forward to: My virtual baby shower next week! My sis sent me a box of funfetti and I have some rainbow chip frosting stocked up so cupcakes are definitely happening for it. Plus, I'm really looking forward to organizing all of the baby's stuff. A and his friend Toby put together the crib and dresser last night so now it's time to decorate and get everything organized.

The sofa we ordered is arriving at the end of the this week so I hope to share some pictures of progress on the new place soon. Plus we finally have a landline and wifi set up so I can blog some more. Notice the header is updated and I'll try to do a quick recap on the long Easter weekend as well!

Week 32

Chalkboard is back, though i'ts not the best one I've done since I'm lacking inspiration and had to rush to finish it before A had to go watch the F1 race. Header still not updated, will get to it eventually.

How far along? 32 Weeks, 6 Days
Total weight gain: Up about 13 kilos
Gender: A little girl
Sleep: It's so difficult to move from one side to the other in bed, but other than that, I've been sleeping pretty well. First night in our new bed last night was very comfy.
Best moment this week: Satisfying my food cravings - see below
Miss Anything? Walking without waddling
Movement: All the time
Food cravings:
Part 1: Pepperoni Pizza  I gave in finally and had a pepperoni pizza from Pizza Hut. I was slightly embarrassed walking towards the entrance, but when I got home and took a bite, it was incredible and exactly what I was craving for so long. *Note: I probably haven't been to a Pizza Hut since I was little  and normally would never get pizza from there!
Part 2: Hot Fudge Sundae! I had the sudden urge for a hot fudge sundae and A didn't even know what I was talking about! I made him google it (he spelled it sunday) and then I tried explaining, "no it's not just hot chocolate sauce or melted fudge." I figure at least England being more similar to the US than Italy would have it so we try the supermarket, no hot fudge in a jar, just chocolate sauce. Next, we end up at the McDonald's drive-thru across the street and it went something like this:
A: "What kind of sundaes do you have?"
McD's: "Strawberry & Toffee"
Me in the passenger seat: "Whaaaat, how do they not have chocolate!" Starting to rant about how they have it in America.....
A: "Ok, what kind of McFlurry's do you have?"
McD's: Cadbury Creme Egg, Flake, M&M, Oreo...etc. 
Me to A: "Ahhh, I don't know, I don't want anything then, back out of the drive thru! How do they not have chocolate sundaes....rant rant....ahhhh order a cheeseburger" (out of panic) 
A: "Ok, I'll have a cheeseburger then."
McD's:  *Laughing* "Just a cheeseburger?"
A: Uhh yeah. Thanks. 
Me: Crying and laughing as A takes the single cheeseburger. All I wanted was some hot fudge. 
I didn't even want the cheeseburger, but A being the good husband that he is, took one for the team and ate it for me. The story continues since I couldn't kick this craving - I google "Hot Fudge Sundae Chichester" and then remember there's a Baskin Robins in the movie theater nearby. Yes! I know they'll have it and they do! Except, it was 10pm and they were already all closed up. Sad and hot fudge-less I told A we had to come back tomorrow and went home to a bowl of shredded wheat with skim milk, cinnamon and a banana. The next day, the craving was satisfied :)
Labor Signs: Nope
Belly Button in or out? Flattened
Wedding rings on or off? On, but a little snug at times
Happy or Moody most of the time: Pretty happy since moving probably because everyone is so pleasant and nice here!
Looking forward to: Working on Baby Senso's nursery. We bought her a sheepskin rug that is so soft.

Week 30

Sorry for the late post and the lack of the usual chalkboard (it's with the movers). We just moved to the UK on Saturday and we have been out exploring/adjusting, though everything is great! I really like the parts of Chichester we've seen so far, but more to come on that later. Also, I know the header now needs to be updated since it's no longer "Our Life in Italy." I'll work on that too!

How far along? 30 Weeks, 7 Days
Total weight gain/loss: Not totally sure because the scale is with the movers. I'm hoping it's not more than 13 kilos because I have been really good about sticking with a healthier diet since the doctor's visit a few weeks again. All is fine with the glucose levels too, it definitely must have been the overeating of pasta and dessert since our babymoon.
Gender: A little girl
Sleep: The past couple of night I've been waking up in the middle of the night, very uncomfortable and wide awake, but that might have to do with the change in environment too.
Best moment this week: Can't choose just one. First, our friends threw us the best surprise going away party. I was in a little bit of a mood earlier that day, but seeing everyone together cheered me right up. We weren't expecting it at all and it was such a wonderful afternoon with all of the friends we've made here in Modena. Second moment would be, the last ultrasound we had in Italy on my birthday. I'm so glad we were able to schedule this one last scan because they usually don't do one in the UK in the 3rd trimester, but it's routine in Italy. We had the nicest doctor who explained everything thoroughly to us. Baby Senso is perfect. She's about 1.4 kilos, already in the right position (head down), and we even saw her facial features and eyes opening. Although it was just a regular 2D ultrasound, she looked so cute and bundled and I cannot wait to meet her. Third, is having a good general impression of the new place we'll call home - both in the sense of the area and actual apartment. Plus, it's great to be able to speak English and just be in a country that has more similarities to the US than any other one I've lived in in the past few years.
Miss Anything? Wishing I could have had one last plate of prosciutto and melon before leaving Italy.
Movement: Tons, some very strong kicks too!
Food cravings: Bread, pizza, pasta, but I think it's because I've been cutting down on all of it a lot. I'll have some whole wheat pasta or bread and a treat here or there though to curb the cravings.
Labor Signs: Nope
Belly Button in or out? Pretty much all flat
Wedding rings on or off? Still on, hopefully won't have to take them off at all
Happy or Moody most of the time: Not too moody considering all of the stress of the move. The morning of the surprise party I was in the worst mood and I couldn't understand why. My reaction of the surprise party of me crying definitely helped and I cheered up right away after seeing everyone. I'm in a much happier mood since arriving in the UK.
Looking forward to: So much: 1). Getting settled into our new home and finishing all of this furniture shopping. We found a bed and mattress we both loved today, but a sofa is proving to be more difficult. We get the keys to the place on Thursday and then will officially move in the week after. The vacation rental we are staying in the meantime is perfect. It has a huge kitchen with everything we need and it's walking distance to all of the shops in town. 2). Checking out all of the cute cafes/shops around town 3). Having more Thai food from a local place we found that has the best pad thai! 4.) Groceries stores that are much more similar to the US.
*Not looking forward to driving in the UK!: oh how I miss huge American roads and don't really like small country lanes. I'm not going to drive the rental car we have for now, but just being in the passenger seat makes me nervous. So many roundabouts and confusing little roads! I'll get used to it eventually, I hope!

Week 28

How far along? 28 Weeks, 6 Days
Total weight gain/loss: Up about 12 kg, but saw the doc this week and I'm gaining too much weight too quickly so now it's time to slow down and stop eating so many cupcakes
Gender: A little girl
Sleep: It's getting much harder to turn to one side or the other, but I'm still mainly sleeping through the night and maybe getting up once or twice.
Best moment this week: We found an apartment in England and signed the lease! So, we haven't visited yet or have even seen the place, but it's in the area we want to live in plus it's all newly renovated with an open kitchen, finally!
Miss Anything? Being able to walk around without feeling out of breath.
Movement: These past two weeks, I've been starting to feel kicks that are a lot stronger. I definitely felt Baby Senso elbowing me the other day and she gets the hiccups sometimes too.
Food cravings: Still berries, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, just give them to me.
Labor Signs: Nope
Belly Button in or out? Flat, gross
Wedding rings on or off? On, though some days they are getting a little tight
Happy or Moody most of the time: Kind of moody because of the whole gaining too much weight thing. I LOVE food so it is so hard to say no to certain things, but I know I have to stay healthy for the baby and plus I don't want to have tons trouble losing the weight after I give birth. Moderation is key.
Looking forward to: Finishing all of this packing. There are boxes and suitcases all over the apartment, but I do have an Excel sheet to keep track of everything! I'm really looking forward to having two bedrooms in England so one can be for Baby Senso. A and I started designing her room today on Google SketchUp :)

Week 26

How far along? 26 Weeks, 5 Days
Total weight gain/loss: Up about 10 kg, I can't even imagine how much it will be by the end. I just hope I'll be able to get back to pre-baby weight soon after.
Gender: A little girl
Sleep: Same as the past couple of weeks
Best moment this week: This week went by really quickly and nothing in particular stands out, but I really enjoyed baking cupcakes for a colleague (red velvet, vanilla and carrot). It was good because I had the chance to bake and not have a million cupcakes to eat myself, but I still had the chance to sample some :)
Miss Anything? Wearing my normal clothes. It's difficult to be creative with what I currently have (that still fits) mixed with maternity clothes. I feel like I am always wearing the same things! I'm all about comfort these days.
Movement: This week particularly baby girl has been kicking at 6ish every day. I think she knows that is the time when dad calls and is coming home soon :)
Food cravings: Cereal and berries
Labor Signs: Nope
Belly Button in or out? Starting to go flat
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: This week I've been feeling really moody for no reason sometimes and just kind of bleh, but it passes quickly - up and down.
Looking forward to: Getting the move to the UK over with. Only one more month to go in Italy and definitely ready to be settled and to have everything ready for the little one.

Week 24

How far along? 24 Weeks, 6 Days
Total weight gain/loss: Up about 8 kg
Gender: Girl!
Maternity clothes? Yup, always maternity bottoms and a mixture of regular and maternity tops/sweaters
Stretch marks? None
Sleep: Still pretty good, maybe getting up once a night
Best moment this week: Finding Ben & Jerry's chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream in Varese yesterday. I do love gelato, but having some American ice cream was SO good.
Miss Anything? I miss not feeling exhausted after walking around for an hour or two. I am so tired after going up some stairs, let alone walking around for half a day.
Movement: Every day, I like when I feel her move first thing when I wake up.
Food cravings: Pasta, ice cream, strawberries
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope
Labor Signs: Nope
Belly Button in or out? Mainly still in
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: I would say not very moody, but I did cry when I was watching the Olympics today and the two Canadian sisters won gold and silver. A laughed at me and I couldn't understand why I was crying, oh hormones.
Looking forward to: Valentine's Day weekend in Rome this weekend! And buying some more cute outfits for the baby.

Week 22

How far along? 22 Weeks, 6 Days
Total weight gain/loss: Up about 7 kg! Whoa!
Gender: Girl!
Maternity clothes? Oh yes, every day. I'm so happy I bought maternity pants in the US, they are just so much more comfortable than wearing my regular pants with a belly band.
Stretch marks? None
Sleep: Either sleeping through the night or getting up maybe once
Best moment this week: a relaxing Friday night pizza, ice cream and movie at home with the husband
Miss Anything? Mmmm medium cooked steak
Movement: Yup, I feel the little one move every day particularly when I'm eating
Food cravings: Chocolate, any baked good with chocolate chips, yogurt gelato and randomly a cheese danish (specifically from Costco)
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope
Labor Signs: Nope
Belly Button in or out? Majority still in, but starting to become flat (p.s. I don't really like belly buttons or like how mine is changing/looking weird)
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: A little stressed with lots of changes happening soon, but overall not too emotional this week
Looking forward to: Babymooning in Paris on Friday! This trip is planned all around meals and my cravings of course.

Week 20

How far along? 20 Weeks, 6 Days
Total weight gain/loss: Up about 5 kg
Maternity clothes? Oh yes
Stretch marks? Still none thank goodness
Sleep: Getting up once or twice, the baby tends to move a ton around 4am for some reason!
Best moment this week: A felt baby move!
Miss Anything? Mmmm medium cooked steak
Movement: Yes! Baby Senso is actually moving as I write this and moves particularly when I eat gelato which I have been tons this week since I got my wisdom tooth removed
Food cravings: Citrus especially orange juice, and cheeseburgers of course though I haven't had one this week!
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nothing this week, but was in a lot of pain after my wisdom tooth since I couldn't take anything for it besides a couple of Tylenol
Have you started to show yet? Yup, there's a bump for sure
Gender prediction: According to a couple more old wives tales (Chinese gender chart & preference of laying on my right side), it's a girl
Labor Signs: Nope
Belly Button in or out? In, although the very top part is starting to look a little flat
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: A little moody this week, mainly hangry because my diet has consisted of yogurt, smoothies, bananas, gelato and tofu
Looking forward to: The next ultrasound on Tuesday to see the little baby :) Plus we booked our Babymoon to Paris for the end of this month! France is after all the place where A and I met, fell in love, and most likely where Baby Senso was conceived ;)

Week 18

Since I didn't have my chalkboard this past week, this week's bump pic is a little different. Being at the beach, A thought it would be perfect to take the pic there. As you can see, I couldn't choose just one pic and with so many great photographers in the family, there were too many good ones to choose from so here are two!

^^My pick

 ^^A's pick

How far along? 18 Weeks, 6 Days
Total weight gain/loss: Probably up about 3.5 kg, but haven't weighed myself this week
Maternity clothes? Same mix as 16 weeks, throwing in some maternity jeans as well for comfort
Stretch marks? None. I've been using Palmer's Cocoa Butter and also Kiehl's Soy Milk and Honey Whipped Body Butter 1-2 times a day.
Sleep: Mainly sleeping through the night
Best moment this week: Feeling stronger flutters, not quite kicks especially when driving on bumpy roads.
Miss Anything? Eating eggs over easy and ham
Movement: Not strong kicks, but definitely feeling something
Food cravings: Chocolate covered pretzels
Anything making you queasy or sick: Not baby related, but I got sick during the fishing trip we took
Have you started to show yet? Mmmhmm
Gender prediction: Only a couple more weeks until the next ultrasound so trying to convince A still!
Labor Signs: None
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy
Looking forward to: Feeling some stronger kicks!

And for an extra little something, check out this "making of" video sis-in-law made!
My favorite part is seeing A in the background "scurrying" with a handful of rocks to write 18 weeks. 

Week 16

How far along? 16 Weeks, 6 Days
Total weight gain/loss: Up 2.5 kg
Maternity clothes? Mainly wearing my regular clothes, adding in maternity tank tops and leggings
Stretch marks? Nope
Sleep: Pretty good this week
Best moment this week: Hearing the little baby's heart beating
Have you told family and friends: Yes, they all know!
Miss Anything? Being able to button up my skinny jeans
Movement: Possibly, but I'm not totally sure
Food cravings: an American pepperoni pizza, Italian salame piccante is just not the same! (also, I ate a cheeseburger for breakfast the other day, oops)
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nothing this week
Have you started to show yet? I'm still in that awkward pregnant or ate a little too much phase depending on the clothes I wear, but it's growing more and more each day
Gender prediction: I'm still thinking a girl :) and I'm still trying to convince Andrea that we should find out!
Labor Signs: None
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Mainly happy this week
Looking forward to: Vacationing in the Canary Islands for Christmas and escaping the cold.