17 weeks

Baby size: Baby Rice is the size of an onion. Or about 5.1 inches and 5.9 ounces. 

Total weight gain/loss: well I know for certain there is no loss going on over here. I will find out next week how much total I have gained. We will just blame the fair for that. 

Maternity clothes? I finally caved and bought my first round of maternity jeans this Hello, where have these been all my life? They are seriously AHHH-mazing. They are like leggings around the belly and oh, so comfortable. I honestly didn't even want to bother trying on my pre-pregnany jeans. They fit me perfectly before baby and suddenly my bump has expanded at a rapid rate so I didn't want to test it. Into a box they go...I still have some work pants that fit but I know I will have to invest in those soon. Enjoying this weather where I can still wear dresses though. 

bathroom selfies in my first materrnity dress purchase

Sleep: I seem to have reverted back to the first trimester on this one. I am falling asleep a lot earlier and just getting exhausted earlier in the day. Where did my second trimester energy go? Other than that sleep is great! Having some very wild and vivid dreams though. 

Symptoms: my daily headaches remain. The breakouts seemed to have decreased which is very much welcomed. 

Any making you queasy or sick? If you don't count the thought of ethnic food or my co-worker's driving, then nope.  

Cravings: all the bad food. Seriously, I could eat chicken fingers or anything fired for every meal. I don't, but I definetely could. Thankful for my green juice!'

Movement: none yet. Patiently waiting for those first flutters!

Miss anything? Salami!! I want it so bad! Really just a cold deli sub from Jersey Mikes would be on point. That got added to the delievery room cooler list for Jared. Along with champagne and sushi. 

Gender: unknown. But we have confirmed and finalized all the plans for the reveal at the tailgate on Saturday! I am so excited I can hardly stand it! Can't wait to find out if we have a little Mr. Or Ms. 

Best moment this week: I would have to say it is a tie this week. Between the fair for lunch with my team or my first prenatal yoga session. In case you didn't know, you can go to the fair for lunch and if you are out bu 1:30 you get your money for the ticket back. The footlong corndog, fried oreos, funnel cake, and lemonade made for a very happy preggers on Wednesday! 

My fisrt prenatal yoga class was amazing too though! I signed up for the classes at the welness center with the hospital where I will deliver. A team mate of mine did them when she was pregnant and said they were awesome. The first class was a lot of paperwork and yoga introductions. It was fun to get to know some other pregnant gals. We are all different stages in our pregnancies so it will be neat to get and give advice as we move along. Looking forward to doing actual yoga next week. 

Most looking forward to: our antomy scan next Thursday! Even though we won't find out the gender that day we still get to see our little babe again. Not to mention hearing the heartbeat again. Eep! 

16 Weeks!

Baby Size: the size of an avocado this week! Up to 4.6 inches and 3.5 ounces. I used to love eating avocado and making guac. Now, the thought makes me sick. Ugh. 

Total Weight Gain: 5 pounds since the beginning! My clothes still fit which is great. Some are a little more snug than others but I am mostly still able to wear everything.

Sleep: wonderful. No issues. I get up like clockwork usually between 6-7am to go to the bathroom though. 

Symptoms: well, my chest grew...again. These things are out of control! Time to invest in some new bras. I think that is where I have gained all my weight. But still feeling great!

Movement: I keep thinking I feel him/her but then it goes away. It is probably just gas and me over thinking it...

Cravings: still loving unhealthy food unfortunately. Thank goodness the fair starts this week! Not only is it one of my favorite places on earth, I get to fully indulge in fried fair food, preggo-style. 

Gender: the countdown is on for October 31st. Just 17 days away!!

Best Moment This Week: my co-workers started a Baby Rice Predictions. I love seeing what people are guessing for gender, birth date and weight. So fun! 

Most Looking Forward to: when we can hear the baby heartbeat with my stethoscope. I read that some women can hear between 17 and 18 weeks but we still periodically check :) I really just love seeing my cute baby daddy so focused on finding it 

Hurricane Harris at 15 Weeks

This weekend (October 3rd, again, blogging off) my best friend since forever got married!!! I have talked about Meghan a lot on here. I can't put into words what she means to me. She is more like my sister I never had. She married one of the kindest people I have met, Ryan. He already knows how lucky he is ;)

Hurricane Joaquin threatened to ruin their outdoor wedding in Atlantic Beach. It rained poured on Thursday and Friday. But, come Saturday morning there was nothing but clear skies and sunshine. It ended up being the most beautiful  and perfect 80 degree day for their big day! Everything went smoothly and the wedding was beyond gorgeous! [Yes, I sobbed like a baby the entire weekend].

All the bridesmaids after the rehearsal!

Meghan was absolutely STUNNING. She seriously looked like she stepped out of Southern Weddings magazine. These pictures do not do her justice.

pregnant Matron of Honor and her fantastic helper sidekick husband.

I could not be happier for my best friend and her new husband! We love you so much Mr. And Mrs. Harris!

15 Weeks

Forgot to take at 15 week belly shot. Oops. But thats the best side shot from the weekend I could find. 

Quick Update: baby is as big as a navel orange or 4.0 inches and 2.5 ounces. I feel great! Have been sleeping less with all the weddings and excitment (totally worth it). 

Best Part of This Week: aside from my best friend's wedding, was hearing the baby's heartbeat at our check up! It is so magical to hear. I fall more in love every single time! We also set our date for our gender scan, October 29th! But, we still won't find out until Halloween. 

All About That BASS! (And 14 weeks)

This weekend (September 26th, because my blogging is off) two of our best friends got married! I have known Hillman since high school and we've been close friends for 10 years! He married his long time college sweetheart, Nicole. Her and I quickly became friends back when they first started dating in 2007. She also played an important role in getting Jared and I together. These two are perfect for each other. We couldn't be happier for them! It was also Baby Rice's first wedding...even if he/she attended in my belly.

The wedding was held at Figure Eight Island Yacht Club, where Hillman and Nicole first met. I have never been to a wedding there, but it was just as wonderful as I expected. Everything was beautifully done but low key, just like them. These two were not even phased by the rain that came during there ceremony, which ended up soaking both of them. They just smiled through it.

Chinn made it all the way from Chicago!

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Bass! We love you both so much!!

14 Weeks

Size: Baby Rice is the size of a lemon! 

Total Weight Gain: not weighing myself at home. Will have to wait until the next appoingment. But, all clothes are fitting still! Minus that pair of pants I had to unbutton at work. Minor. 

Sleep: still wonderful and sleeping like a grandma. Loving it. 

Symptoms: no real symptoms still. Feeling grateful all I have is headaches in the morning. 

Movement: still none yet.

Cravings: aside from wanting to partake in the glasses of champange at the wedding, none. I am still just against ethnic food and healthy things. Thank goodness for green juices. 

Gender: unknown. Reveal is set for October 31st!!! We had a lot of guesses at the wedding this weekend though. People are leaning more towards girl. I still have no idea!

The best thing about this week, besides seeing two of our friends get married, was celebrating our two year wedding anniversary!! I can't believe not only that it has been two years but I'm pregnant. I can remember when we first got married we talked about waiting until our 3 year wedding anniversary to start trying for a baby. Oh how life changes. We celebrated in typical Lauren and Jared fashion, dinner a Kanki. Not all our days together have been a fairytale but they are fun and we learn everyday. I can't wait to start the journey of parenthood with Jared. I love doing life with him! Cheers to two years and the last one just the two of us! 

13 Weeks and Making it Official

I think the saying these days goes something like, "it isn't official until it is Facebook official."? We of course made sure that we had told all family and close friends prior to hitting upload. Honestly, it doesn't feel any more real after putting it out there. However, it was so nice to get all the sweet congratulations from people we haven't seen in a long time!

This was our "social media announcement" picture

13 Weeks

Baby Size: baby is a big as a peach! About 0.81 ounces and 2.9 inches long. 

Total Weight Gain: hanging out at roughly 3 lbs from the start! 

Sleep: perfect! Taking full advantage of being able to sleep peacefully and comfortably. 

Symptoms: no real symptoms. My chest continues to grow, we are up two bra sizes at this point, oy vey. Headaches in the morning are still common. 

Movement: none yet. Can't wait to feel those first flutters!

Cravings: no real cravings just really strong aversions. Holding true with my simple American foods like chicken fingers and greasy burgers. I also love a sweet treat! My favorite is ice cream or frosty [yum]. 

12 Weeks!

Lots of excitement this week!

Baby Rice is the size of a PLUM!

First, We decided to do the optional 12 week nuchal translucency ultrasound which tests for risks of trisomy 13, 18, and 21. Even though I knew my risk was pretty low I really just wanted to see the baby again. Boy, was it worth it! He/she went from looking like a tiny bean to an actual baby in my belly! Of course I sobbed like any hormonal pregnant woman. I had spent the days leading up to the test very anxious. I have had zero "normal" pregnancy symptoms. Which to me meeant something was ultimately wrong. However, the scan confirmed that everything was 100% a-ok! On top of the scan we got to hear the heartbeat for the first time [swoon]. Ever since nursing school I have been obsessed with fetal heartbeats. There is just something so magical about that sound. Hearing my own baby's heaartbeat was everything. There are no words to explain. I couldn't hold back those tears of relief.

The ultrasound tech gave us her guess on the gender but the doctor said it was way too early at 11 weeks 6 days (exactly) to give a guess so it is still just a 50-50 guess.

Yes, I am obsessed with looking at these pictures!

Second, this week we got to share the news with our closest friends! It has been so hard keeping it secret from them especially when some were starting to catch on. We invited 25ish of our friends to a cookout on Friday, Septemeber 11, where we planned to surprise them. I fake drank a glass of white wine (mostly water) to trick the suspicious people. Just before dinner Jared gave the sweetest toast about how everyone there had played such an important role in our lives and how thankful we were for them. Then topped it off with something that went a little like "hope you all are ready to go through one more thing with us...March 25th were going to have another little Rice joining us!" You could feel the excitement. The rest of the night was spent filled with congratulations and ooh-ing and ahh-ing over the ultrasound pictures.

Finally, ended the weekend with a tailgate and game where I no longer had a secret to keep! Man, did that feel good!

First Trimester

I was a total slacker and didn't do weekly blog posts in the beginning so most of the first trimester is going to be rolled into one.

8 Weeks
Baby Rice is the size of a raspberry! Still feeling great!!

9 Weeks

We traveld to Meghan's beautiful bridal shower in Charlotte. Where Caitlin point blank asked me, " are you pregnant?" And I just could not keep the secret any longer. Plus I can not lie at all. Felt so good for one of best friends to finally know!

This is also the week we tried the wedding ring over the belly to see if we could determine gender. One time it swung back and forth which meant boy but then the next try is went in a circle which is girl. Look like its 50-50 ;)

10 Weeks

Baby Rice is as big as a prune this week! The thought of eating a prune sickens me though. Still having food aversions instead of cravings. It takes me forever to eat my breakfast in the morning just because I don't want to. 

11 Weeks

Baby Rice is a big as a lime. This week this mama to be attended her first tailgate [alcohol free I might add]. I was able to convince people that I was on call for urgent care which I was I could not partake in the jello shots or keg beer. My white lie worked and it ended up being so much fun! It helps that that NC State won. 

Symptoms: Throughout the first trimester it has been sleepiness as my main symptom. I am falling asleep on the couch after dinner around 8pm every night. I am starting to get headaches on a regular basis but they are usually early in the morning and go away once I have some sugar or a tiny bit of caffiene. Other than that zero nausea (thank goodness) and remaining true with the food aversions. Currently disliking vegetables, which I used to love, and any sort of ethnic food. So far with the food it sounds like a mini Jared Rice in there. 

Movement: None yet. I can't wait to start feeling that though! I am just afraid I will mistake the movement for digestion or something. 

Most Looking Forward To: Can't wait for our 12 week ultrasound and to finally share the news with all our friends! People are definitely starting to get a little suspicious. 

Telling Our Families

We split this up over some time and told each person in a unique way which I love.

First, was my mom. We shared the news in person on the way back from Ocracoke with a tiny Wrightsville Beach onsie. Jared caught the whole thing on video for me to cherish forever. Next best thing to telling your husband hes going to be a dad is getting to tell your mom she is going to get her first grandbaby. 

A few days later we told Jared's parents. I let him plan this one. We had to FaceTime with them since they live in Texas. Jared told his dad that there was something wrong with the oven and we got it all on video. But he definitely used the ol "bun in oven" to get them. Of ourse they were overjoyed to hear the news of their first grandchild too! Can't wait to celebrate in person with them at Christmas!

We waited until after the first ultrasound to tell our siblings just to be 100% sure it was actually happening. 

My younger brother, Michael was the first to find out since I was going to see him first. We were going shopping and my mom insisted that she would not be able to keep that secret all day. So I wrote him this little card:

It took him a minute to get what I was referring to but there was an "oh shit" moment when it clicked. 

Jared's sister, Charli Kay, was the next to find out. We sent her this Mad Gab for her to read aloud, "eye mag oinking toby man haunt." Which obviously translates to, "I'm going to be an aunt!" We FaceTimed with her since she was living in Nabraska at the time. It was so sweet how excited she was. She is going to be one amazing aunt!

My older brother, James, was the last to hear the news. In typical James fashion he had a less than surprised reaction even though I tried really hard to make it special. Clearly he is thrilled to be having a niece/nephew :)

It was starting to feel really real after telling our family. 

Belly Pics Beginnings

We started taking the belly pictures the week after the positive test. So we thought I was 4-5 weeks but really I was 6 and 7 weeks when we took the first two.

 This is where we were thinking 4 weeks but really it was 6 weeks. Not much of a bump just left over pudge from an extended weekend of eating whatever I wanted at Ocracoke.

This was what we thought was going to be week 5 but really it was week 7. Also when we were still trying to figure out where/how to pose for these pictures. Do you wear the same outfit to see the difference better from week to week? Or just go with whatever you were in. Obviously new to this whole thing ;) 

Symptoms for this time period? Praise the Lord, not one ounce of morning sickness. The biggest difference I noticed was that my bras and bathing suit tops were no longer fitting appropriately. The other big thing is extreme fatigue. I am telling you, I have never been this tired in my entire life. There were several days I comptemplated taking a nap on my desk. I couldn't sit on the couch without passing out which is not super abnormal for me, but this is a totally different kind of tired. I guess growing a human will do that. 

Cravings? None yet. I have been able to keep up with my somewhat healthy eating habits (minus the Ocracoke splurge). If I don't eat ever few hours I get nauseous but that is not really new.

Fruit/Vegetable? At 6 weeks Baby Rice was as big as a sweet pea! At 7 weeks about the size of a blueberry.

What I miss? Wine and sushi. I haven't had the taste for coffee so that haseasy to get over. But, having a glass of wine after work is something I miss. All worth it though!

Looking forward to: not being so tired all the time and sharing it with friends. We are far from that since we are waiting to share it with more people until 12 weeks.

First OB Visit

On Friday, August 7th we went in for our first visit with the OB. This is where we would have an ultrasound, find out just how far along I was and get my estimated due date! Excited was an understatement because since the beginning we were just kind of guessing.

The appointmet was pretty routine...weight, blood pressure, pee in a cup...until we got to the room, the ultrasound machine was all set up and ready to show us our little peanut! I had butterflies and a nervous pit in my stomach.

The test was pretty uncomfortable [the term transvaginal should sum it up] but totally worth it! Even though the baby was just this itty bitty blinking bean on the monitor the emotions and love I felt for that little blip was overwhelming! The blinking part was actually the tiny heart beating, which is far too small to pick up on the doppler to hear just yet. But seeing that tiny little thing beat was unbelievable! 

We then got to find out how far along I actually was. The doctor measured the little bean, 9.4mm, which translates to 7 weeks excatly. Yep, a few weeks further than we had predicted. My due date was set for March 25, 2016! Hello, spring-march-maddness-baby!

So in love and smitten with Baby Rice already!!

Ocracoke 2015

Ocracoke weeked is undoubtedly our favorite time of the year. Is there anything that can beat being surrounded by your best friends for an extended weekend on one of the most gorgeous beaches in North Carolina? The answer is no.

This year was going to be a little different for me, being newly pregnant and all. Jared and I used the 5 hours in the car on the way there to discuss how and who all we would tell. Even though these are some of our dearest friends, it was still very early in the pregnancy and I wanted to be careful about the news getting out.

Well, sure enough within 5 minutes of being there I was offered a glass of wine. I declined saying it was a long trip. I had to pull my sweet Julia off to the side because I knew she could help me. She of course knew instantly with the wine decline as a dead giveaway. Jules was so excited and wanted all the details. She agreed to help me keep it hidden, playing off La Croix for mixd drinks.

That night a dinner, Jared, Will, Julia, Paula, Bunn, Lillie and I were the first to arrive. There was not going to be a better time to share this with all of them without others present. So I said, " guys, I am not going to be drinking this Ocracoke..."--silence--then lots of cheers and congratulations. Later we shared it with Virginia, Thomas, Hillman and Nicole. I coudn't keep it from Virginia, the baby lover, and Jared could not keep it from his bestie Hillman. It felt so good to tell them all. I know I say this all the time but we are sincerely lukcy to have such wonderful friends.

The rest of the weekend was spent silently celebrating our news, playing with Lillie Blue and Tripp, and soaking up the sun with a group of amazing friends.

Next time we make the trek we will have a little beach babe of our own in tow. I can't wait! Until next year Ocracoke. 

On the way home from Ocracoke we took the LONG way. Meaning, we went 4 hours out of the way, because I was bound and determined to share this news with my mom in person. Thankfully, Jared puts up with my requests. I did have a trip to PTs to bargain with. We told a little lie to my mom, said we had gotten on the wrong ferry and figured we would stop by Wilmington to see her. Before getting to her house we stopped and bought a tiny Wrightsville Beach onsie to give to her to share the news. It was such a special moment to have with my mom. Of course Jared got the whole thing on video for me which I will cherish forever!