Bump at the beach!

It is finally warming up in Perth!!! I was lucky enough to get down to the beach after work last week and get some extra vitamin D on the baby bump...

there will be more of this in summer...Not looking forward to being hot in the sun but hot weather means less clothes I have to try and fit into and more bathing suits to show off the bump :) 

Ultrasound!

It was quiet amazing what an ultrasound can show nowadays...its almost too much! The plus side is the technician and doctor are able to rule out any symptoms or chances or illness or deformities very early. The downside is you see a baby still developing without the cute chunky cheeks but the skin and bones...and of course the heartbeat.

Here are some pictures and videos from our 18 week scan...

The first is a close up of the beating heart <3 it continues to show the actual blood flow through the different parts of the heart!! amazing...

This second video shows our baby girl moving around and even swallowing! The technician than changes the camera to the 3D view and it gets real! Noticing all the fingers, eyes, nose, etc...

and here is a picture of her leg...hopefully she doesn't inherit the "Sokol Feet" which are HUGE...John walks around in a size 14 and I am a women size 9...

One last picture of Baby Steens...probably won't get anymore printed images until our little girl is here in person!!! 20 weeks to go!!!

We are having a....

GIRL!

Opie waited so patiently to find out if she was gonna have a little sister or brother...and after the picture was taken we realised that she is a dog and could care less...or even see the color of the balloons and her face was left still confused...but for everyone else...we are having a baby girl!!! 

We found out this afternoon and were very pleased to see a strong heartbeat...active movements and of course the news of a girl :) Lucky Max will be filled with a house of girls still...hopefully not too much pink but I'm sure a lot of drama, dancing, tutus and love! 

I will be posting some pictures of the ultrasound soon! 

17 weeks and feeling good!

Welcome to week 17...almost to the half way mark of my pregnancy and feeling so much better than the first 3 months.

We will be finding out the sex of our baby in 10 days!!! I wish i could say I want to be surprised...but i can't handle the wait haha

Any guesses???

All the children at work want me to have a girl (not sure why) but it is very cute to hear 3 year olds get excited about a "baby in my tummy"

Boy or girl,  Max and I are excited to just become parents in the new year to a healthy happy baby!

I haven't put on any weight in the last 4 weeks (even with my cheeky cheeseburger every now and then). We saw the doctor last week and saw a strong heart beat and growing baby so my weight isn't an issue...the baby should be doubling in size over the next few weeks so I'm sure the scales will change soon :) Even though the scale isn't changing...my body definitely is! There is a slight baby bump and my boobs are definitely bigger than normal (finally) haha I've always had curves but I am feeling "thicker" now. Not sure how to shop for any clothes at this point as my body continues to change...will wait until the seasons change and a bigger bump appears before I spend money on maternity clothes.

Food wise I haven't really had any real cravings....I am happy to eat anything! Although, McDonald cheeseburgers have gotten a  lot more appealing to me...I have never been a huge fast food eater but I don't seem to turn away from a cheeseburger now a days.

My main diet is pretty much the same as pre-pregnancy minus raw fish, medium rare meat and runny egg yolk...I haven't worried too much about changing my diet as I usually am a healthy eater. What I miss the most is probably sushi...I love sushi. Raw tuna and salmon mmmmm!

Exercise has been a tricky one...I am so tired after running around the gym with kids all day. I train with my personal trainer once a week and try to get in at least one more session a week of just strength and moderate metcons. I think I am lucky in that my work is pretty physical and can get a lot of exercise by just showing up to work everyday. The real test will be after the pregnancy and committing to a fitness regime to get back into shape..especially since I hope to go back into muay thai after the baby :)

Next post will be the baby gender reveal!! Look forward to writing that one!!!