So technically, last week's entry was for week 13, but it was Wednesday, which was the start of week 14. That means I am just skipping talking about week 14 and moving on to week 15, where your baby is the size of a kit kat bar, or approximately 4" and the size of an apple. Of course, not all apples are the same size, but you get the idea.

Lo and behold, Mandi is finally starting to feel better. Monumental accomplishments include:

-"I drank a whole bottle of water today!"

-"This iceberg lettuce is delicious!"

-"I ate that whole plate of Lima beans!. Do you see right there? Where they used to be?"

The nausea seems to be significantly reduced, but she is still fighting drainage issues. She has an arsenal of methods for combating sinus troubles and they help with the symptoms. Her morning and evening routine for one day is as long as mine for the whole week. Whatever helps her feel better though!

So, let the trips to the buffet begin! And she might start eating more too.

Ben

Status Quo

Your pregnancy: 13 weeks

How your baby's growing:
Fingerprints have formed on your baby's tiny fingertips, her veins and organs are clearly visible through her still-thin skin, and her body is starting to catch up with her head — which makes up just a third of her body size now. If you're having a girl, she now has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries. Your baby is almost 3 inches long (the size of a medium shrimp) and weighs nearly an ounce.

From http://www.babycenter.com/6_your-pregnancy-13-weeks_1102.bc

Not much news to report this week. Mandi's been having some funny dreams lately. She's separately dreamed that we are having a boy and a girl, so no foreshadowing really there. The diet challenges remain and we are still looking for the light at the end of that tunnel. I have discovered that if I am going to have any veggies at all, I have to make them separately for myself. Due to laziness, apathy, and sometimes both, I have been eating raw veggies along with whatever mound of brown, carbohydrate-meat goo Mandi is able to tolerate. Sprinkle some fries on those cupcakes.

Things we are not fully aware of that might come to bite us later:
Day care. Holey Moley it is expensive. We need some grandparents to move closer.

Gear. There is so much stuff out there, I really don't know what you actually NEED. I am pretty sure that I need to make a list sometime. Crib, changing table, rocker, toys, monitor, toys, earplugs, Jamaican vacation. oh and a breast Pump: Enough said.

Sleep. We are both aware of what is coming. Mandi has a sister that was born when she was 14 (hi Jessa!), so she has been through most of the major elements of the early stages. I am the last of 3 and have very little experience with the tiny humans. I understand they mostly eat, poop, and cry, so we'll have alot in common. I am praying that this kid is healthy and happy. If it is a girl, I hope she'll take to sleep like her mom's female relatives, which is quite naturally and in abundance. I, on the other hand, am a fairly light sleeper because some parts of my brain are left on guard duty at night. If I have a dark, secluded and/or secure place to sleep, like a bank vault or sealed cave, I can hibernate for months.

I wonder how long we will have the child before I fall asleep at my desk at work.

Second trimester, where are you?

I will try to get Mandi to enter something on here sometime.
Ben

Baby Wants Taters and Meat!

This week has been a food adventure, filled with high hopes, a super bowl, and ending in microwaved potatoes. When Mandi started to feel better in general, she began to daydream about the foods she might like to have. Mostly they were comfort foods, including a rash of ground-beef-based recipes. We have had Hamburger Helper's Stroganoff and a homegrown Hamburger casserole dish that included ground beef, cream of mushroom soup, cream cheese (yes, I said cream cheese), topped with canned flaky biscuits. I am not going to lie to you, it is satisfying on a Paula Dean level, except her recipe might have included extra butter and a few bananas. We cooked several dishes last week and by the weekend, I pulled out 7 unique meals for leftovers. Needless to say, we do not usually cook that many dishes, but Mandi's appetite has been wavering from "hey that sounds good, let's make that!" to "What, Crackers!? Let's not even talk about eating right now." So, she has been a little frustrated with the nausea. Unfortunately, Sunday was also the day of the Carbohydrate, I mean, Super Bowl and, of course, we had our usual guests and usual smorgasbord of eats. Everyone is full within the first 5 minutes, but somehow manages to find a way to eat throughout the game. I believe Mandi's addition to the meal included 1 piece of toast. Her tailgating style might not be popular, but it's cheap and easy to prepare!

So, the saga continues. We're waiting for the second trimester to show up, so she can have some relief, but until then, we'll just keep on truckin'. If I can find it, I will put up a copy of the recipe mentioned earlier.

Ben