The Janzens: Bumpdate Weeks 20-22 & Why We Nicknamed the Baby Baker :)

These weeks are starting to fly by and yet it also seems like forever until I will actually get to hold this baby. I was planning on sharing why we nicknamed the baby Baker in the IVF post but I haven't finished that post yet so you can read the ~~weird~~ reasoning behind the nickname at the end of this post :).

Week 20, February 11th-February 17th, 2015

5 months!

How I am feeling: I started feeling a little more pregnant this week. I had some stiffness and soreness in my upper back between my shoulder blades. I think it is from sleeping on my side. My stomach felt tight and big this week for the first time. This might be TMI but I have noticed after I pee that the baby moves around to find a new spot. Almost as if saying "Thanks for all the extra space Mom!" I had my first baby dream this week. I had a dream that we only had the diapers that we got for free from the pharmacy baby boxes (which is 2-3) and we needed more but weren't in a hurry to go get any. Jake's parents were also here visiting in my dream.
Size of the Baby: 6.5 inches, Banana, 10.6 oz
What is the Baby up to this Week: This week the baby's skin will become covered with waxy-like substance called vernix which will protect his skin from becoming scratched or chapped. The baby is also starting to produce meconium, the result of digestion, which will accumulate in his bowels and eventually pass during delivery or in his/her first diaper. (I get this info from one of the baby apps on my phone.)
Best Moment this Week: Making it to the halfway point and having fewer weeks ahead than behind!
Food Cravings: I am missing some of my favorite snack foods that I used to eat like animal crackers, graham crackers and twizzlers. Those were my go to school snacks or car riding snacks and I miss them. I did find some "crackers" that might be more like a cookie that are really good but when Jake saw the Tom and Jerry box of crackers he made a joke about marrying a 10 year old. What can I say . . . I like fruit snacks, juice boxes, fruit loops and I still order kids meals.
What I Miss: Animal crackers, graham crackers and twizzlers.
Most Looking Forward To: Our upcoming trip to Paris and Spain.
Thankful for: A healthy pregnancy.
Weight Gain/Loss: +2 pounds (+4.5 total)
Clothing: I wore maternity leggings for the first time and I tried on lots of maternity pants this week. I was able to borrow/have lots of maternity clothes from Emily and Annie but most the pants didn't work even though we are all about the same height and size. Plus, over here everyone wears skinny pants so I wanted to get some of those. (Skinny pants are actually pretty necessary when you walk everywhere. If you wear boot cut pants and it is rainy or snowy your pants absorb the water and that just doesn't work so it turns out skinny pants might actually be practical.) After trying on a lot of maternity pants my stomach was really sore the next couple of days from all the bending. I realize that sounds weird, but it turns out bending in half isn't as easy as it used to be and it is only getting worse. I found a few pairs of pants at H & M which I was excited about. It turns out pants shopping isn't fun while pregnant. My hips and butt aren't really big enough to hold up my pants and since the waist is looser to allow for your belly to grow I had a hard time finding maternity pants that would stay up since I'm just now getting a belly. I borrowed Jake's belt and that seems to help. Guess there is a reason my Grandpa Otto used to call me "No Butt at All." I did get that from him.
Sleep: Jake started getting sick this week (which might have been from me being sick last week). He had a hard time sleeping several nights because he was coughing so much so for the first time ever I slept on the couch. Usually, if I am sick and coughing Jake will sleep on the couch and also if he is sick and making noise he will also sleep on the couch :). (He rocks.) I felt really bad since I was probably responsible for his cough so I moved to the couch around 4 am one night. Thankfully our couch is super comfortable so it wasn't a big deal. When Jake woke up he thought I might have been kidnapped and then realized I probably just moved to the couch. Plus, I have a feeling he might be spending a few nights on the couch once my belly plus my maternity pillow start to slowly take over his side of the bed.
Exercise: I worked out three days this week doing cardio (walking with incline intervals) and weights. I've been trying to build up my back muscles so my shoulder doesn't hurt so much when I sleep.
Movement: Lots of moving and I started talking to the baby more now that he/she can hear me. It is fun when I say something and then feel a kick.
Gender: Surprise!

Week 21, February 18th-February 24th, 2015

How I am feeling: I felt pretty good but I started to realize this week that I hadn't really slowed down much since I got pregnant and things were starting to catch up with me. It isn't uncommon that I have to jog/run to catch the metro in the morning in order for me to then catch the bus before it leaves. I realize that relaying on running to the bus or metro probably isn't the best plan especially when the metro involves running up a flight of stairs. One morning this week I had to run/sprint to catch my bus and that was after I was already sore from trying on maternity pants. The next day I started setting my alarm to go off 5 minutes earlier because it just wasn't going to cut it to run anymore. I also walk really fast and have realized I need to listen to my body and slow down a bit if things start feeling uncomfortable. I also had some leg cramps in my calves while sleeping and in my quads after a few days into our trip (probably from all the towers we climbed).

We had a great time on our trip. I thought it would be fun if I called it a babymoon but I think those are supposed to be more relaxing and considering we averaged about 20,000 steps per day I don't think I can call it a babymoon. It was hard traveling to new places while pregnant because of the new/different foods and not being able to read the menu. You aren't supposed to have unpasteurized cheese, deli meat or undercooked meat and we ran into all of those things on a daily basis. We eventually started telling our waiter that I was pregnant so they would know I needed my meat cooked thoroughly and that I wouldn't be drinking wine. Then Jake had the idea that I would just tell waiters that I am pregnant from now on when we travel since I never drink and I prefer my meat well done. He is a funny guy.

Size of the Baby: 10.5 inches (I think the big jump in size is because now the baby is measured head to toe instead of head to rump), Carrot , 12.7 oz

What is the Baby up to this Week: As the baby's digestive system develops, he/she will begin to swallow amniotic fluid and absorb small amounts of sugar. Inside my uterus, while there's still room, the baby is actively moving around, kicking and flipping positions. I may be able to track patterns in his/her movements.

Best Moment this Week: We got our Finnish Baby Box in the mail! I will be posting about that but I haven't had time to take pictures of all the fun stuff yet!

Food Cravings: Sweet cereal like Lucky Charms or Fruit Loops with marshmallows :). While we were in Malaga we saw an American food store and I found a small bowl of Lucky Charms which I was SO excited about. I had it for breakfast the next two mornings and it was awesome!

What I Miss: Not much.

Most Looking Forward To: Our trip to Paris, Malaga, Cordoba and Barcelona, Spain.

Thankful for: Jake making sure I slowed down. He kept saying how we were going to walk slowly and not run anywhere :). Since we packed in backpacks for our trip he made sure to take some of my heavier things (like toiletries) so that my bag weighed less and he kept asking how I was feeling. It is fun seeing him fuss over me especially since he didn't really do that before I got pregnant.

Weight Gain/Loss: +0.5 pounds (+5 total)

Clothing: I wore maternity pants for the first time and it was great. It made my belly really pop out since the waist sits lower and doesn't cut across the bump. I tried on a few more maternity pants and noticed how sore my stomach was from trying on pants a few days ago.

Sleep: Great with all the hotel pillows! I used to think having more than two pillows on your hotel bed was a bit much but now I am so thankful we have at least 4 because I used 3 each night :). I had one for my head, one for behind my back and one between my knees.

Exercise: I only worked out once this week because I was super busy/stressed at work trying to prepare for being gone and because my stomach was pretty sore from trying on clothes and running to the bus.

Movement: Lots of movement when I touch my stomach and talk to my stomach. I like to tell the baby about his/her Dad and things we will do together once he/she arrives.

Gender: Surprise!

Week 22, February 25th-March 3rd, 2015

How I am feeling: The baby moved to a weird spot really low where my left leg bends and meets my stomach (now that my stomach is sticking out) and it was uncomfortable when I sat and walked. I tried putting pressure on that spot to give the leg or whatever was jammed in there not enough space so it would move but that didn't really work. After about two days it moved which was nice. I'm hoping that doesn't become the new comfy place especially during the long plane rides coming up in April. The upper back between my shoulder blades feels tight and I can feel my ribs starting to spread apart. That is a weird feeling. It isn't constant but it sure doesn't feel very good when it is happening.

Size of the Baby: 11 inches, Spaghetti Squash, 1 lb

What is the Baby up to this Week: The baby's senses are really developing this week. Taste buds are forming and nerve endings are developed enough for the baby to experiences the sensation of touch.

Best Moment this Week: Going to Paris, Malaga, Cordoba and Barcelona. Cordoba was probably our favorite place and that was a day trip by train. Malaga and Barcelona were probably the next best places and then Paris. We enjoyed our time in Paris but we enjoy traveling around smaller cities.

Most of the trip I had on a black fleece and a jacket so you couldn't really see the bump by you can here :). This pool and garden area reminded us of Emily's parents' pool and backyard. It was gorgeous.

Baby registering has also been a favorite. I loved baby dolls as a little girl. Every Christmas I remember asking for a new baby doll for several years. I had baby beds and blankets but I loved getting real baby clothes and real blankets best. Now I get to actually have those things because I'm having a real baby! I could look at baby stuff for hours. I love the onesies with cute prints on the butt like a monkey or strawberry or whatever. I am just so excited about all the baby stuff even though it is super overwhelming.

Food Cravings: I didn't crave tapas but we had a lot of that on our trip and it was pretty good once we found things I could eat.

What I Miss: I miss my friends and family. Doing all this fun baby stuff makes me wish I was able to do it at home surrounded by people I love. I keep talking to my new coworkers about baby stuff which is fun (for me - they might have a different opinion) but I don't think they really care, especially since the head of my department is a male.

Most Looking Forward To: Going home to visit and for baby showers!

Thankful for: Jake taking really good care of me on the trip and making sure I am taking it easy.

Weight Gain/Loss: +2 pounds (+7 total)

Clothing: Wearing maternity pants full time but still wearing normal tops. I might be able to wear some of the maternity tops soon since the bump is making itself known.

Sleep: Great! I am getting lots of indentations on my side from my shirt and shorts when I sleep and those can be painful sometimes since I pretty much just sleep on one side all night long.

Exercise: We walked between 15,000-25,000 steps each day of our trip plus almost every day we climbed a tower or walked up a hill to get a view of the city. I did go to the gym this week and somehow my workout top shrank since the last time I wore it.

Movement: Lots of kicking, moving and some dancing it seems like with legs and arms going at the same time. I don't feel much movement in the morning but the afternoon and evening he/she is pretty active. Before I go to bed the baby likes to move around and I have caught myself just staring at my stomach watching it move with a big smile on my face.

Gender: It is a surprise! We say "he" more than "she" but we tried to trade off the gender pretty equally. When we were in Malaga, Spain I found a girl onesie with a squirrel on it so of course I had to buy it :).

Why we nicknamed the baby Baker . . .

I have always wanted the gender to be a surprise ever since I was a little girl. This is very strange to most people who know me because I like to have a plan and be organized but there is something so fun about not knowing. It seems like most things in life aren't a true surprise anymore but this one still can be. Plus, since it took us about 2.5 years to get pregnant by the time we finally got pregnant we were "surprised" but mostly shocked that it worked. I knew I didn't want to just call the baby "It" or "the baby" so early on I wanted a nickname but I wanted one that meant something.

Otto

When we got pregnant in June we nicknamed that baby Otto. We choose Otto because when we did IVF the first time they transferred an 8 cell embryo (3 day old embryo) and the number 8 in Italian is Otto which also happened to be my Grandpa's name. Otto is also on the Swedish calendar as a name day. Each day there is a Swedish name that is celebrated on that day and Otto's name day is April 9th.

Baker

The second IVF try we had frozen embryos left over from June so they actually transferred a 5 day embryo which is called a blastocyst (meaning it had hundreds of cells instead of just 8 like the 3 day embryo). When we tried to pick a name we kept going back to blasto which made us think of "3, 2, 1 blast off" and space. Jake looked up animals that traveled into space. We figured we needed to give this baby a nickname after something that survived a big trip since this little one also needed to do that. He found that the first animal, that Americans sent up, that survived a trip to space and back was a monkey named Miss Baker. First of all, I love monkeys and this monkey wasn't just any kind . . . she was a SQUIRREL monkey! I was sold! So, that is how Baker got his/her name. We usually call the baby Baker or he/she instead of saying "it" but we aren't planning naming the baby Baker.

This is Baker's first picture. Just before they transferred the blastocyst embryo we got to see it and this time we were prepared and took a picture. We didn't have our camera when they transferred Otto but we were able to see him/her on the screen before the transfer.