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Here is what you’re about to see:

• her first crawl-like move
• lots of playing
•  attempting to grab kitty’s tail and laughing her butt off
• hilarious peekaboo
• talking to grandma over skype
• stealing mommy’s drink
• first swing ride
• and more more more

The video is pretty long and was not made for the blog but for us, so if you sit through the whole 10 minutes, I’d be surprised. I did leave the funniest thing for the ending.

{all music is by Disney}

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I just finished rendering the 5Months video and won’t be able to upload it on Vimeo until my HD limit resets on Thursday which means I can’t post it till then, but it contains all the videos for the month and is a lot of fun..

In the meantime, I wanted to share this video that I’ve had sitting around for a week {shot on Andrew’s cell} of Alexis trying out her new convertible car seat from Maxi Cosi.

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Dear baby girl!

This is getting serious! You are one amazing curious wonderful determined hilarious fun bundle of energy! I don’t know for how long I’ll continue repeating that it just doesn’t seem like you’ve been here for mere 5 months and yet I can’t believe how much you have grown in such little time.

You’re getting more and more fun to be around. Everything makes you laugh, you’re interested in everything, you want to touch everything, you want to move, move, move. I just love you so much more with each and every day. You are a true joy to us!

This month it has been picture overload here because you’re just the cutest little thing and you’ve been doing so many new things. I have not been able to capture even 1/10th of your charm and sweetness and character. The way you look at me when I carry you or nuzzle me and give me open mouth kisses when we lie next to each other is just not something I will ever be able to properly describe or capture on camera. It will be something special for me to remember forever.

Here’s what is new this month:

at 4 months

You all of a sudden started reaching out and touching things when we carry you. We can’t go past a blank wall, let alone an item, without you reaching for it, or running your hands down it. Our bedtime routine has evolved from “saying good-night” to windows,pictures, lamp and monitor to “touching good-night”. Your favorite are our lamp and the monitor. When the routine starts, you are barely paying attention to windows and armoire, your eyes are on the lamp. Once we get to it, you grab the hanging switch and turn it on, then look at me in amazement, and then pull on it to turn it off and look at me again. You used to love touching the toy we call “no-fall-downer” (nevalyazhka), because you can’t tip it over, it just keep popping up. But you’ve moved onto the lamp. You love the monitor because you can attempt to get it in your mouth, though, of course, we don’t let you. (see video)

You have noticed our kitties. You stare at them in wonder like they are the coolest things you’ve ever seen and I can see your mouth curve into a smile and you yelp “Ah!” Of course, you always try to touch them whenever they are close enough AND put them in your mouth which is pretty much impossible. Initially you’d tentatively copy how we pet the cats, you’d gently stroke their fur, but now you just go and grab them with your hands full of fur. It’s so cute! Putting that hand in your mouth before we managed to wash your hands- isn’t so cute! The cats are strangely ok with you. They let you pet pull their fur.

You ADORE playing peekaboo. You laugh until you start hiccuping. When I hide and say “Where’s mommy?” you quiet down waiting for me pop up with “Here I am!” (see video)

I can’t tell whether you hate not being around us or you have started the whole “separation anxiety” but there are times (most of the time) when, if we leave your side, you crane your neck and follow us with your gaze and as soon as you can’t see us, you start crying. There are other times, when you’re so consumed with a toy, that you don’t notice it, until you do and you start crying. I hate the idea that until you have object permanence if you don’t see us, it’s like we fell off the face of the earth.

A couple of nights you have been waking up with your eyes wide open, ready to play and wouldn’t go to sleep. You’d fuss and fuss and fuss, until you start crying. Sometimes even the boob won’t put you to sleep. So daddy gets up and rocks you until you’re asleep again, unless you won’t go to sleep and then he wakes me up and I try to rock you, too. You usually fall asleep, but often it takes us 1.5 hours and neither one of us gets to sleep. Then other nights you wake up every 2 hours to be comforted by the boob or just my hand on you. I realize that you will not be sleeping well for many months. You’re not a sleeper and right now there’s just too much going on with you to sleep. I’ll wait, I’m in no hurry.

Your favorite activity is still scooting with leg support. If we don’t give you leg support, you somehow squirm yourself around the mat to face whatever it is you want.

4.5 months

Your hand coordination spiked up. You can now hold small board books and flip pages (but mostly shove them into your mouth). You can hold and pick up everything in your reach: calculator, bottles, toys. It’s so much fun carrying you around because you reach out and try to touch everything in sight and you’re just so interested. I love curiosity- that’s the cornerstone of learning.

You have now figured out the concept of purposefully calling for attention. Daddy was folding laundry while you were sitting in a swing one day (the hope was that you’d get rocked to sleep). Then suddenly you make a “fuss” sound. When daddy looked up to see what’s wrong, he saw you staring at him with a huge smile on your face. He was so excited to tell me about your new milestone.

You rolled again (tummy to back). There was no problem or hesitation in you. You just looked up at me, and rolled, as if to say “Silly mommy! You forgot that I had already rolled twice at 2.5 months, I can do it, I just don’t care to.” So that’s that. You like being on your tummy, so there has never been the need to roll more than a few times. And obviously, you’re much more focused on crawling, that rolling seems boring to you. Point taken. Moving on.

UPDATE: I keep having to add to this post, as days before turning 5 months, you keep reaching milestone after milestone. As we were reading the cloth Peekaboo book, for the first time ever, instead of try to chew on it, you actually kept reaching out and opening the covers to see what’s under them. I don’t know if you really got the concept of hiding or it’s just a coincidence but it’s pretty cool either way.

And here’s a big one: you can sit unassisted. You can’t get into a sitting position on your own yet, obviously. But if you are sat up, you’ll sit for as long as you want or until you decide that you’d like to move now, at which point you’ll roll into a crawling position. You really dislike being stationary. Sitting is a new thing to you, so you’ll do it for a few minutes or more if there are toys involved. But otherwise, you just want to go, go, go. You still tip backwards once in a while, though, especially when mommy is behind you and she starts talking, you HAVE to see what she’s saying, so you look up and bam! I always catch you, of course.

You are slowly working on rolling from back to tummy. Obviously, you’re more interested in that type of roll since it would put you on your tummy and into crawling position. You can’t do it yet, though. You get as far as your side and you haven’t figured out that you can go further. But you have plenty of time, you’re only 5 months, little girl. I do love watching you figure things out, though. All I ever want for you is curiosity and determination. And then success in everything will follow.

A new thing you’ve been doing is vigorously shaking objects in your hands. Whether it’s a rattle or a cloth book, you’ll grab it and just go crazy shaking it. I really want to get it on video, but so far I haven’t been able to. Sometimes, you’ll shake your arms when there’s nothing in your hands and it looks like you’re beating your chest like a gorilla. It’s kind of funny! :)

At almost 5 months

Your first crawling motion. You’ve been trying to crawl, but you haven’t had enough strength to pull yourself up. That is until 1 week ago, on Father’s Day, when you started to pick your butt of the floor just a little bit when your scoot with leg support in an effort to get on your knees. It’s so much fun to watch you try to do it. AND I managed to catch on video your VERY FIRST ATTEMPT at REAL CRAWLING! You pulled yourself up all by yourself and moved forward! YAY! It’s funny because I was so excited, that I would be walking around all pumped and then forget why I was so excited, until I’d remember “Oh, I caught Lexi’s first “crawl” on video!” {the joys of first time moms!}

Now after that first crawl attempt, you’re much more efficient at moving around. If I leave you on the mat to go grab a cup of tea or throw in a load of laundry, I always come back to see you a foot or two further than where you were facing a completely opposite direction. I think with this kind of determination a few more weeks and you will start moving on your own, which means we have to begin baby proofing. Hey, at least you’re super adorable in your knee pads.

UPDATE: Things seem to change daily now. You have been getting up on your knees pretty well all day today (6/28/12) and trying to move. You still need leg support to move or you get frustrated,but you have grasped the main concept for crawling. You flail your arms and legs and when that gets you nowhere you try to pick your belly and butt off the floor by getting on your knees. Keep up the good work!

You’re losing your hair, girl! We cannot wait to see what it’s going to come back as. I am sad, though, because I LOVE your hair! And I also cannot even picture you as a blondie!

It’s very apparent to me that you’re growing and changing in more ways that we can see. We finally installed a new convertible car seat ( to hell with that infant one that was too hot and uncomfortable) and you love it. You spread your legs like a baroness and enjoy the ride. We went out to get some food and walk around with daddy the other day and you didn’t mind riding in the car one bit. You had so much fun being out and 4 hours after your previous nap, you blissfully fell asleep in your new car seat. That has NEVER happened before. We’re so excited to be able to take you places now and now that you are comfortable enough that you can fall asleep in your car seat.

You now look for fallen objects. This is HUGE, girl! You drop your toy and look down to see where it went! You actually understand the world. I love all the thinking going on in your brain.

You have developed a sense of humor too. Besides, laughing at pretty much anything, from a goofy face to a sound , you now crack up at specific things like the first time you put your toe into your mouth sent you into a laugh, or when one of our kitties sniff you, or when mommy carries you around in a funny way. I love that!

And just a few days before turning 5 months, you’ve developed a pincer grasp. You know what that means? That you are officially ready for solid foods, since that was the last thing we’ve been waiting on. We won’t do solids till your 6 months birthday anyways and we’ll be trying Baby Led Weaning method, but it’s still fun to reach that milestone. (which means I need to hurry up and research high chairs, safe dishes and read the book on BLW)

You’re not really crazy about playing with toys (you do love to chew on them, though), you’d rather socialize with mommy and daddy, but lately since you started being able to move on your own a bit, you’ve been giving me 2-5 minutes at a time to do things while you try to crawl and squirm around the mat.

You also started sticking out your tongue and keeping it out. So for the past few days, all your photos look like this, you silly girl!

It’s clear how much you love your mommy and daddy and how much you enjoy our company. We have inside jokes already and it’s so much fun that you get them. When I put you on your tummy on top of my chest and you start crawling forward, you always end up with your slobbery mouth on my nose or eye or cheek and I start screaming saying “Ne kushai moi nosik!!! Ne kushai moi nosik!” (Don’t eat my little nose!) and you laugh and purposefully put your mouth on my nose and try to eat it. Same thing happens with the eye once you’ve moved past the nose!

You also have the most precious relationship with your daddy and he’s just SMITTEN by you!

You have no signs of teeth. Zero. And I am happy to keep it that way.

Your favorite toys currently are this Apple Park Organic Bunny teether & rattle (since you love it so much, I just ordered a Bunny Lovey from the same company) and Wonderworld Twisty teether and there are so many awesome things that we’ve discovered you love that I cannot wait to write about. But it’s definitely trial and error with you when it comes to baby products.

Soon we’ll be going to see grandma on daddy’s side in Orlando, so that will be a lot of fun and I am a bit scared since it is a 3 hour drive and we’ve never really driven that far with you. I hope you’ll do good.

I’m not sure how I feel about all these milestones. You’re going through them way too fast, I already miss my little girl. You are really something special. I am starting to see how you’re so much more than we ever imagined you’d be, so much better. And do you know what I love the MOST about you? That you have such a a STRONG personality! You know what you want, you demand it, you go for it, you’re curious and interested in everything. You have determination and drive, along with a fun spirit, even at this early age. These will be your best gifts when you’re older, trust me!

It was almost impossible to get a good picture of you this time, because you wanted to wiggle your way into a crawling position. I ended up with 2 decent pictures: one way – too serious, another – cross eyed. I chose crossed eyed because you can just see your personality shine through it. So when you read through this in many many years, remember- you didn’t give me much choice! LOL

I’ve put together a 4th month video illustrating a lot of what you do these days and I’ll try to do one each month until you stop changing so fast. I’ll post it in a few days, if you nap well. :)

For my readers:

While I will be writing about all the things we’re discovered that have proven to be useful or that Alexis loves, since I get asked a lot about things you see in the photos, here’s a list of everything I can think of:

Tiny Love Gym
Tiny Love Supermat ( the best freaking thing EVER)
Tiny Love Sunny Stroll Arch
Infantino High chair cover
MiYum Cat in the Hat toy
Brown Hairband from Etsy
Maxi Cosi Pria convertible carseat.
KneeBees red knee pads
Crawlings yellow knee pads
Fisher Price Excersaucer
Lamaze Cloth Book
Mutsy 4Rider Stroller
{if I missed something, feel free to shoot me an email}

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Lexi has been full on laughing for over a month and a half now but I had not been able to catch it on video, because the laughs were always spur of the moment and it would just ruin it to go run for the camera. This time, we were in the bathroom and just happened to have the camera and hubby nearby.

The quality sucks, because Andrew isn’t so good at focusing the camera well while shooting, so the first part is out of focus. I had just gotten out of the shower and was brushing my hair when the Muppets song came on, so I started singing it to Lexi. For some strange reason the words “Mannah Mannah” caused her laugh hard and long and we were able to get it on video.
{Don’t mind her glossy cheeks covered with petroleum jelly to prevent the drool rash, my wet hair, bra top, and legs in the frame}

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{Written on 5/25/2012}

If you hate getting up a few times a night to soothe/feed your baby, take heart in this: someone has it worse (and also the obvious: your baby NEEDS YOU). The night log below is surely going to make you count your lucky stars. And this post will serve me as a reminder to keep things in perspective!

{Play suit by Polarn O Pyret}

Just when I thought we were doing better with night sleep, the 4 months wakeful hit. I remember saying that we had hit the wakeful period at 2.5 months because she went from 1-2 wakings to 4-5 and someone commented “Just wait till 4 months, it’ll be like having a newborn” They were right. She soon started waking up EVERY HOUR. But it was nothing we weren’t used to. So I managed that just fine.

And then it hit: TEETHING. For the past 3 days I’m pretty sure my little girl has been teething based on all her symptoms (pulling on ear, chewing everything in sight, grabs our knuckles and rubs them on her gums side to side, drooling like a mad woman, chin rash from drool, refuses boob until really hungry, bites, all the usuals). She’s miserable at night, she’s miserable during the day. All we can do is manage her pain/symptoms and give her as much love as possible, even in light of her new night “schedule”. But then again maybe I am wrong. I don’t see any teeth or swollen gums, but I hear it takes a while to see those. I’ll give it a few more nights to find out, but so far we’re going under the assumption it’s her gums.
Update: she seems to have calmed down a bit and doesn’t appear in pain. Nights are still iffy (4-5 wakings) but that’s normal for 4 months regression. So still exhibiting symptoms of teething but she’s not in so much discomfort. And I’m loving having this log to show her when she’s ready to have her own babies (to scare her off haha)

It was the worst night from the “number of wakings” standpoint since Lexi’s birth. And it will serve me as a reminder for when Alexis goes back to waking up a mere 2-3 times a night that I should be happy, that it could be worse, that IT WILL PASS and most importantly that what will matter years from now is HOW WELL and lovingly we handled it (because any sleep deprived parent can tell you – it’s easy to build up resentment on little sleep)

So Self, come back to this post often, every time you feel like Lexi should be sleeping, every time you get upset she isn’t.

And everyone else, feel free to bookmark/pin this if you feel it will help you keep things in perspective.

{This is written purely for entertainment purposes. I’m not looking for sleep advice. It is simply a stage we have to go through and keep Alexis as comfy as possible.
I WOULD, however, love to hear about your first teething experience- age, what helped, how it manifested, how long it lasted, how you knew she/he was teething, etc…
Teething isn’t something a lot is written about, as it’s individual so I’d appreciate any insight. }

Have fun reading the log! This is how it has been for the past 3 days give or take a few wakes.
*Crying in this case means constant whimpering. We try to never give her the need to outright cry.

{This is taken from my nighttime log as part of Pantley sleep system}

Nighttime routine:
Bath, massage, say good night to items in room, read 2 books, swing in the swing a bit, rock a bit.
7:19 Asleep in bed ( we co-sleep)
7:49 Up nursing (this is normal. She treats anything before 10pm as a nap and wakes up every 40 minutes)
7:55 Removed nipple, falling asleep…
In and out of sleep, rooting, with and without nipple
8:13 Awake, rocking.
Put down in bed
8:25 Awake, won’t nurse, rocking
8:33 Asleep
10:23 up, crying. I nurse.
10:32 asleep
Fidgety
Calmed her down a few times by putting my hand on her belly
10:45 Up crying, rocking
10:50 asleep
11:00 crying/whining, rocking
11:11 Asleep
12:00 Up crying, nursing
12:10 asleep
12:16 Up fully awake, change, rock for 29 min until asleep
12:45 put her down
12:50 awake crying, rocking
1:05 asleep
1:10 Up again, whimpering for 5 min, rocking, nursing
1:30 still rocking
1:50 down, asleep
1:55 awake crying, changed again, tried rocking, tried putting in a swing, let her chew on a chilled teether, rocking again
3:00 Finally asleep
3:30 Up crying, nursing
3:31 asleep
5:38 up crying, rocking
5:45 asleep
6:37 fully awake for the day, won’t got to sleep, won’t nurse, smile central.

Total snooze time for mommy and daddy: 4 hours 40 minutes with a million interruptions.

Now she spent all morning whimpering on and off (more on than off) unless she’s chewing on something or being bounced and thrown up in the air at which point she is as happy as a clam as long as it continues.

So what’s keeping me going even though I am running on 4 hours of sleep today and less than 6 each night for the last 2 days?

This little face! How could you not!?

{a little preview of her 3-6 months video. I know I still have to do the 0-3 months one too}

Comment: Tell me about your child’s first teething experience.

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1 MONTH OLD

{cute organic cupcake onesie is by My O Baby}

Yesterday was 1 month since Alexis came into this world. And while some people seem to wonder at how fast time flies by, I feel like it’s been ages. Ages since we’ve known her, ages since she’s been in our lives, and let’s be honest, ages since we haven’t gotten enough sleep.

It’s probably the sleep deprivation and her demanding schedule talking, or maybe the fact that we’ve considered her a part of our family a year before we even conceived her.

Either way, a month is nothing, compared to the vastness of experiences we’ll get to have with our daughter in years to come.

But for now, here’s what our 1 month old is up to ( from the last update)

The cooing has really picked up – this girl really talks to us.

As a 1 month special, I wanted to include a video. It’s probably boring to everyone but me, but I want it here for posterity. After a few months, I’ll compile a bunch of short videos together in a better fashion. But for now, just simple barely edited footage.

I’m speaking Russian to her, and basically all I am saying is prompting her to talk, having a sort of conversation like “Yeah? And then what?” If you understand Russian, don’t laugh at me too much :)

That is when she’s in a good mood, because she gets quite fussy at times.

SLEEP/FEEDING

Her schedule has been pretty much the same: she eats every 30-50 minutes during the day, naps about 20-40 minutes at a time. At night, feedings space out to every hour with one stretch of sleep being 2 hours. That means I get up to feed her 7- 8 times a night ( yes, you read that right!).

Now I don’t know what happened last night (maybe she got clued in that she’s a big girl now), but she slept for 3 hours before waking up, and then continuing waking up every 2 hours until the last feeding. That was amazing! Aaaaand today she’s back to every hour :) Lucky us!

Despite having to nurse that frequently at night, I’ve been doing pretty good with sleep. We all try to go to bed at 8 pm and end up getting up for the day by 7-8am. So in the end I get about 6 very interrupted hours of sleep.

Hubby is really lucky, because I try not to wake him up unless I need something, which means he gets to sleep 4-5 hour stretches. It’s for the better, because HE IS HORRIBLE when woken up, like he can’t function at all.

MSC

She also developed baby acne all over her face, which means along with her second chin, she now looks like a TEENAGE sumo wrestler.

After the first spontaneous outting with the Moby wrap, I thought I could actually go places with her. I was mistaken. We decided to go to Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods with Alexis and Moby wrap. Well, let’s just say she cried the whole way and in the Moby. So I spent the whole trip in the car nursing her or calming her while hubby shopped.  Realization: when your baby still eats every 30-40 minutes and gets really fussy when she doesn’t, don’t attempt to go places with her. Lesson learned!

So I’ll be waiting until she spaces out her feedings to at least a reliable hour or maybe 2 hours and for breastfeeding to become more comfortable before I start venturing out. She doesn’t like being in a stroller or a bassinet either, or anywhere for that matter, except for our arms and occasionally Boppy but with our attention included, so a few stroller trips I attempted were a disaster, especially in Florida heat. So I am pretty much stuck home nowadays, but I don’t mind. I want to rename the fourth trimester a ” Chill out and Snuggle Trimester”, because that’s what it’s going to be!

On photo: My first trip out with washed hair (still wet on photo, washed doesn’t mean blow dried) AND make up! Woohoo!
Wearing: Boob Design Nursing tank top. BTW, their spring collection is out and it’s awesome! 

And my final thought is this: I love physical books, so while I read mostly on my iphone on a Nook app, I thought it’d be a good idea to buy a few actual paper baby books when I was pregnant. WRONG! You know how everyone says you won’t have time to read books when you have your baby. Well, they are right, it’s extremely hard to read physical paper books! However, reading on my Iphone has been the best thing to ever happen to breastfeeding or to those hours that I spend with Lexi sleeping in my arms. Luckily, I only bought 4 books in a physical paper format and they’re still sitting on my table half read, while I keep buying and reading other books on my Nook. So I guess what I am trying to say is learn from me: if you’re pregnant, get used to reading on your iphone/ipad, or buy/register for a Kindle (it is SO a baby shower register-able item). And then if you get a baby who’ll only sleep on you, you won’t die from boredom!

Dress by Bungalow Bebe, hairband by Violet’s Velvet Box

On another note, I am half way done with the birth story. It’s hard when I have to split my time with Lexi AND writing intermittent posts. But I’m loving looking at the birth pictures as I work on them.

BABY QUESTIONS:

1. Girls who live in hot climates, what do you do about taking your little one out, since they’re not supposed to get into direct sunlight. The carriers are waaaay too hot, especially against a human body. Am I stuck inside until she turns 6 months and can use sunscreen?

2. How do you put a baby into a pram? Alexis seems to cry every time I do it. Do you wait till she’s asleep to go for a walk with a pram? How do you make sure she doesn’t roll around there (blankets?) and what about her head? The whole set up just doesn’t seem comfortable to me.

FUTURE POSTS:

{hopefully in that order}

Birth Story
Breastfeeding Challenges and Lifesaviors {along with some giveaways}
Best 1st Month Baby products {what we’ve been using}
Many many baby related giveaways to come {if there’s anything specific you’re interested in giveaway-wise, let me know, I’ll attempt to host it}

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So here it is guys!

You’ve been bugging me for 2 days  (in the cutest way possible) to post the sex of our baby.

Yesterday we spent the whole day filming and going to the doctor’s appointment and then I stayed up till 4:30 am editing the gender reveal video ( not the smartest idea! lol).

So now it’s ready. It’s far from perfect, but to make it perfect, I would need a lot more time.

A few notes before you watch:

• This video is intended mostly for friends and family, so it’s relatively long, but it shows the whole reveal process the way we experienced it.
• It’s really personal, emotional and sappy and at times really dorky ( mostly on my part as usual)
• The dorky parts really show me the way my friends know me.
• I have so many bloopers from this video that you will definitely get a follow up gag reel. ( i only included one blooper in this video. at the end.)
• The ultrasound technician said she was 100% sure of the sex of the baby ( and later looking at the ultrasound, there’s no doubt! )
• No, we’re NOT REALLY painting the baby room that particular color.

I am aware  that my “bawlfest” sounded like “ballfest” and my husband and I spent good 30 minutes laughing our butts off at that.

And I will be writing my 19 week update in a few days, but the baby was perfect and healthy.

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I can’t believe I am now officially in my 2nd trimester ( according to some sources. others don’t count 2nd trimester until the end of the 13th week)

STATS:

How far along: 12 weeks.

How big is baby: It’s a plum.

Total weight gain: 1.5-2 lbs ( I am at 136lb right now)

Sleep: Thanks to my relaxation apps, the sleep has been wonderful.

Best moment of the week: ULTRASOUND! We had our 12 week ultrasound on Wednesday. It was the first time we actually saw a real baby in there. Our first ultrasound was a blob in the middle of the screen. This time it was absolutely amazing! The second we saw the baby, it pushed off the uterine wall and jumped to the opposite side of the sac while turning our back to us. It was so cute. Afterwards it kept moving and jumping slowly but was very cooperative and everything was measured the first time. The Nuchal Fold measurements were fabulous. So now I am waiting on the bloodwork to get the complete results of the Down Syndrome screening.
So everything looked really good, but the tech REFUSED to let us see the genitals. :) lol She gave us a straight out NO! I don’t see what it would have hurt, but whatever, we’ll find out in September.
We shot a small video, not from the beginning unfortunately, because my hubby is a fumbler and couldn’t find the iPhone and then the camera on my iphone ( lol), but it’s still pretty amazing.

Food cravings: Still nothing. I’ve been eating cheddar as a way of adding calories, and I enjoy it more than ever before, but again it’s not an actual craving. I have more ,like, preferences, it seems, not actual cravings.

Food aversions: The aversions are getting better, at least aversion to food in general. I still can’t stand the idea of eating lettuce or sardines, but it might be because they remind me of the horror I had to go through.

Symptoms:
Nausea – It’s slowly getting better. I still get it pretty bad in the evenings, but I’m finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.
Heartburn – still there, but not as bad
Skin – I keep waiting for it to clear up- NOPE- it’s stubborn.
Round Ligament Pains: I think a few days ago I felt my first bouts of round ligament pains. Nothing since then, but it felt ….”different”.

Gender: At our 20 week ultrasound.

What I’m looking forward to: Finding out the results of the down syndrome screen in a few days.

What I miss:
SUSHI! ( I really need to order a sushi kit and make my own, but I hate cooking right now, so i don’t know if it’d get much use)
BEING THIN (I feel I am getting fat. And not the pregnant fat- that I can live with- I am afraid I am getting simply fat: my legs, my stomach, it’s just scary looking to me. I know it might not seem that way to you, but I was sooo much fitter and skinnier 6 months ago, I just really miss that state.
Playing tennis and rollerblading: it’s too hot to play and with the balls flying everywhere and the amount of exersion tennis gives me it’s just not safe.

Next appt: August 5th. (by the way, what happens on the non-ultrasound appointments? What’s the point of going to the doctor every month?)

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RULES:

1. If you haven’t yet, join the challenge here: GET FIT and GET HEALTHY
2. Every Saturday come back to The Art of Making a Baby and ShutterMama to read the tips on how to be fitter, healthier and more confident.
3. Weekly write a post about your progress, following the questionnaire below, take a self-portrait (optional) and link up with us.
4. Don’t forget to grab the GET FIT challenge button on the sidebar and display it proudly on your blog or GET FIT post.
5. Link your post with Selfie Saturdays if you took your week’s self-portrait.

My entry for week 15

1. Height: 5’11, weight: 136 lb

2. Your fitness challenge(s) for this week: Special exercises designed for pregnancy to increase flexibility (daily) + Kegels (twice daily). An hour of walking/running + 20 situps every hour of the day

3. Your health challenge(s) for this week: Continue eating whole grains, veggies and fruits only with a few servings of kefir and sardines daily (sardines are low in dioxins and mercury)

4. How well did it go:

Fitness: I wasn’t able to work out the whole week for for very good reasons. So i don’t feel too bad about it.
Water: Drinking 64 oz a day
Food: Still not eating any sweets for some reason. Even my granola cereal without any added sugar tastes too sweet. I have been going crazy when it comes to potato chips (kettle cooked salt and pepper only) and roasted potatoes. I’ve been good about not allowing too much of them. Also I’ve been entering all the food I eat into a tracking website and making sure that all my vitamins, minerals, omega 3s and protein were at 100% or above. And I can proudly say I’ve exceeded 100% on most nutrients (except for zinc) and protein.
5. Failures and slip-ups: I’d say kettle cooked potato chips. I tend to eat about a serving or two of them a day, which is fine since I don’t eat ANY sweets at all. Otherwise, no complaints.

7. Advice to fellow GET FIT members: Honestly, I think I’ve given everything I have for now.

8. Self Portrait: This week’s challenge was a STOP MOTION VIDEO and I had so much fun making it!

<center><a href="http://www.shutter-mama.com/search/label/Get%20Fit/"> <span class="pibfi_pinterest"> <span class="pibfi_pinterest"> <img border="0" src="http://i788.photobucket.com/albums/yy169/sonyamarie89/getfit.jpg" /> <span class="xc_pin" onclick="pin_this(event, 'http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http://prebabyblog.com/2011/05/get-fit-get-healthy-challenge-week-17/&media=http://i788.photobucket.com/albums/yy169/sonyamarie89/getfit.jpg&description=GET FIT GET HEALTHY CHALLENGE WEEK 17')"> </span> </span> <span class="xc_pin" onclick="pin_this(event, 'http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http://prebabyblog.com/2011/05/get-fit-get-healthy-challenge-week-17/&media=http://i788.photobucket.com/albums/yy169/sonyamarie89/getfit.jpg&description=GET FIT GET HEALTHY CHALLENGE WEEK 17')"> </span> </span></a><br /> <a href="http://prebabyblog.com/category/getfit/"> <span class="pibfi_pinterest"> <span class="pibfi_pinterest"> <img border="0" src="http://prebabyblog.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/gethealthybanner.jpg" /> <span class="xc_pin" onclick="pin_this(event, 'http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http://prebabyblog.com/2011/05/get-fit-get-healthy-challenge-week-17/&media=http://prebabyblog.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/gethealthybanner.jpg&description=GET FIT GET HEALTHY CHALLENGE WEEK 17')"> </span> </span> <span class="xc_pin" onclick="pin_this(event, 'http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http://prebabyblog.com/2011/05/get-fit-get-healthy-challenge-week-17/&media=http://prebabyblog.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/gethealthybanner.jpg&description=GET FIT GET HEALTHY CHALLENGE WEEK 17')"> </span> </span></a></center>

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Yesterday inspired by the beautiful time of the year here in Naples and by our blooming like crazy neighborhood and quickly put together a video out of all my iphone videos that I shot while strolling/rollerblading around (well, and lying on a hammock).

If you’re still seeing snow, this might cheer you up