only 8 weeks left!!

Wow how time has gone!!!

These past 6 weeks have truly gotten away from me...I have finished work in the gym and now I can really concentrate on preparing for the arrival of our baby :)

I have made a list of things that I want to get done before baby and just haven't been able to get to it while I was working. It felt like as soon as my shift ended it was game over. I didn't have energy to do anything on my list. But now, I am free and the list is getting done!

My baby bump is out in full force...and baby is moving all the time. When I say all the time I mean 10-15min without movement is rare. She is in a great position for birth (head down) and her long legs are kicking out my right side like thats where the exit is...I can physically see a foot or a knee every so often trying to escape out of my skin...my ribs have truly had beating but a kicking baby is a healthy baby so I try not to complain too much :)

My appetite is small as she is still sitting very high...I get full very fast and heartburn is a daily occurrence (TUMS are my best friend) I don't have any cravings...although always happy to eat dessert...but if you knew me before pregnancy this is not surprising.

All in all this 3rd trimester hasn't been too bad...just uncomfortable for the most part. Driving is my enemy as the sitting position is not favourable for the baby. I have a drs appointment tomorrow because there was some traces of protein in my urine...so hopefully all will be cleared up tomorrow (its summer now and dehydration can lead to protein in urine along with other problems) hopefully its just lack of fluids.

I will let you know how the doctors appointment goes and get back with more pictures!!!



I will finish this post with of course some baby bump pictures :)

26 weeks down...14 to go!!!

We are on the home straight!! (this is a long post)

Baby Steens is growing growing growing! She is an active little bugger...kicking and turning and pushing around. It has actually startles me at times when Im not ready and I get a kick to my ribs or right across the front of my torso.

She is sitting very high in the uterus..I can feel her above my belly button now.

Health wise I have been feeling pretty good. I have had a few random down days...I have felt anxious on occasion and may have even shed a tear or two...its a very weird emotion for me and it always ends in confusion as I can't understand why I feel this way. Max is always great and reminding me its part of pregnancy and the hormones are on over drive. Other than my emotions, physically I have been good. Slight sciatica pain if I lay on one side for too long and some round ligament pain from the uterus growing and my hips stretching.

I see a chiro every few weeks just to help where my alignment has pushed out a bit (mainly my hips) but other than that I am keeping active at work and every now and then Ill hit the gym for some weights. I have been so exhausted after running around with kids for 5 hours a day I usually get to the gym once a week if Im lucky. I have also started doing a prenatal yoga class once a week for 6 weeks to help with stretching and just comfort as my belly grows...and its growing FAST!

From last week I have had very strong braxton hicks contractions...they are not painful but I can feel my uterus tighten right up and is very uncomfortable. This is usually brought on by jumping or moving too fast. My doctor has said to keep doing what I'm doing so I have not changed anything in my daily life. I want to go to the gym more but I can tell my body is tired and there is no need to add stress to my body. As much as I want to be a fit mamma I know my body and exercising and working on my feet all day is not ideal for me at the moment.

I have put on about 6kgs (13lbs) so far. All my rings still fit and its summer so its all maxi dresses and bikinis for me :) Im actually glad this is a summer pregnancy because I haven't had to buy any maternity clothes.

Eating has been normal...healthy balance meals. (eggs, veggies, meat, rice, pasta)
Cravings....chocolate thick shakes

So this is my life at the moment :) I am getting so excited to meet our little girl..we haven't confirmed a name yet but will definitely wait to surprise everyone when on her birthday!

over half way now!!

I can't believe I've been pregnant for 5 1/2 months!!! The first 15 weeks went by really slow...mainly because I was sick all the time and super exhausted. After all that went away I got a wave of energy and it seems like time is just flying by!

People are starting to notice that I am pregnant at work...my uniform top is a small and the bump is pushing through now haha. Outside of work none can tell until I mention it (they probably just think I've let myself go a bit)

I am hoping to finish work at the end of the term which will make me 32 weeks pregnant. We will have to see how I go though because I have started getting hip pain and round ligament pain which makes it hard to walk sometimes...let alone run around with kids all day.

I have also been feeling some braxton hicks (contractions) this is normal through a pregnancy but feels so weird because my uterus just tightens right up and feels hard as a rock! I always feel like I need to go to the bathroom and most of the time I don't...baby Steens just likes using my bladder as pillow I think.

So that is whats been happening with me over the last few weeks! Ive been eating very well...dont really have much sweet tooth pregnant which is not like me... Ive been drinking a lot of orange juice and salads which is a pretty good thing to crave!

So far I have put on about 4.5kgs and feeling huge...even though I know I will be getting a lot bigger in the coming weeks :X

Here are some pictures! ENJOY!

20 weeks 

20 weeks

yup..people know I'm pregnant at the beach...

 day out on the town with baby!

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!!!

Week 14 and getting bigger...

Update with my "bump"...i feel like i was in an awkward "fat" phase for a few weeks...i wasn't really showing a bump as much as a big tummy :( but well into my 14th week and the bump is coming out! It is definitely still bigger at the end of the day then the morning but i can tell the difference now which makes me feel better.

I no longer have any morning sickness (yay) and nausea has gone down a lot. In place of those symptoms are bloating and indigestion. All in all I feel good...food is tasting good again and can finish my meals without giving it to Max (who has been eating for all of us).

Next check up is next week so will get back to you then!

Telling my mother

There are no words really....the video says it all. 

We bought her a cake to display at her end of ramadan party...the rest is history.

First Trimester DONE!

It has definitely been a long 12 weeks... we got to see the baby's heartbeat at 8 weeks, the developing foetus at 10 weeks and an alien looking baby at 12!

Starting from the first scan at 8 weeks...
This scan was amazing! We got to see a little jelly bean in my tummy with a strong heartbeat! I didn't personally cry but I can't speak for Max...(just kidding he didn't either haha)

Our next scan was with our OBGYN Dr. Lewis. We met him for the first time at 10 weeks and he gave us an ultrasound as well. Our baby was already very active at this stage with a strong heartbeat jumping around everywhere! Dr. Lewis was very happy with what he saw and so were we. Its hard to complain about all those symptoms when you can physically see what your body is capable of.

The final scan for the first trimester was our 12 week scan. This gave us some information about any health risks or issues the baby may have. I am happy to report that we got an A+ back from the doctor! Our baby has a strong heartbeat of 152 and we could see the arms, legs, spine, brain, feet all developing! The women taking the ultrasound had trouble getting a clear shot of our baby since it was jumping around so much! Not only that, it was actually hanging out upside down in my uterus...right against my stomach. This would later explain my indigestion and heartburn.

The ultrasound technician was quick to call our baby a gymnast haha (not knowing that I dedicated much of my life to that very sport) We shall see what happens once he/she is out of the womb I guess.

My symptoms at the end of week 12 had gone down a lot. I had a bit more energy and only nauseous if I was really hungry. So small meals throughout the day was key!

I have gained 2kg total for my first trimester...my dr., told me not to worry too much about my weight as I started this pregnancy quite fit and healthy. I train at the gym twice a week (if I'm not sick) and working everyday running around with my kindy gymnastics.  Prior to my pregnancy I was working through a collarbone injury and of course my very dreadful compartment syndrome. I am definitely staying active but haven't really pushed myself.

8 Weeks

Well...where do I start with my first trimester.
Nausea
Nausea
Exhaustion
Nausea
Zzzzzz

The next 4 weeks after we found out I was pregnant hit me hard. I was so excited to be growing a little human inside but at the same time not enjoying the process just yet. My first symptom was sensitive breast. This was crazy because Ive never been a full chested girl and was really excited to finally have boobs! (even if it came with a baby bump) The girls were definitely growing :)

The second symptom that got me was nausea...if i was hungry i was nauseas. Food was not my friend these first few weeks. Nothing tasted good and I had zero cravings. This is very weird for me because I love food and people always tell me I eat for 2 and now that I actually was I could barely stomach anything!

The third symptom was exhaustion. I was tired all the time! Growing a baby and the placenta and little yolk sac was really taking it out of me...I could barely make it to 8pm before passing out. Of course I knew it would all be worth it when our little human entered the world but for a few weeks I was not happy with how my body was reacting.

Fortunately, I didn't have any morning sickness! Woohoo (not counting the all day nausea of course)

That pretty much covers all the physical symptoms...I didn't put on any weight during these first 8 weeks which is probably due to the fact I wasn't enjoying food. I was however having moments of hormonal emotions...randomly crying (for no reason) This was weird for me since I am not a crier...I would just all of a sudden be crying and poor Max had to try and figure out why, even though I really didn't know myself!

Max has always been a very caring and thoughtful man (obviously why I married him) but he has really stepped up during my pregnancy as we are both experiencing this for the first time.

Finding out!

As most of you would know....Max and I just got married in March of this year. We always knew we wanted kids but never thought it would happen this quick!

We weren't exactly planning on getting pregnant right away but I stopped taking "the pill" after our honeymoon and would let fate decide. Turns out my body was ready and a month later I was pregnant. I had taken a pregnancy test the day my period was due and it came back negative...I figured since I wasn't on the pill it could be a bit irregular anyways. I took another pregnancy test the following week and still negative...after 3 weeks I decided to go to the doctor and she ordered me for a blood test. Apparently home pregnancy test aren't for everyone and you can still be pregnant with low hormone levels.

A week later (4 weeks late) i decided to try again with the home pregnancy test knowing that I was due for a blood test that afternoon. FINALLY! A positive read. Max had finished work late that night and probably had about 4 hours sleep before I decided to wake him up and show him...I couldn't just go to work and let him sleep haha. As tired as he was, he was up and excited with me and couldn't go back to sleep! The blood test confirmed the home test and it was settled...I was pregnant and the symptoms were not far behind.

Welcome to our baby blog!

Hello to everyone that is reading :)

I thought I would start a blog to remember my pregnancy journey. This is also a great way to let my family come along for the ride (even if they are miles and miles away).

I am currently 14 weeks along. At this point I have had a total of 3 ultrasounds. I will be going through my scans and how I have been feeling up to this point. Please feel free to comment or email any tips or ideas that you may have for me as this is my first pregnancy and could use all the advice I can get!

Hope you enjoy reading my posts and pictures and I look forward to sharing this journey with you!