It's a.....

...BABY!


Nope, we didn't find out the gender.  But we did find out that baby King's anatomy is looking good.  Lucas was on call today and made it a couple minutes late...right when the babe decided to calm down and turn his/her back to us for the rest of the show.  We got one 3D glimpse of the face, but didn't get the snapshot.  You can see from the pictures above that it looks like we have a shy one!  The tech told us that he/she weighs about 10oz (68%) which is right on track.  We'll get the full report in a couple of weeks when we meet with my doctor (report minus the gender of course, which the tech said the babe definitely put on display while she asked me to close my eyes if I didn't want to know...I promise I didn't peek)


It was great to have my mom and Lucas there to see all the growing that is going on in there! It feels good to know we are nearly at the halfway point...just about 21 weeks until we meet the little one!

18 Weeks 2 Days

How Far Along:  18 weeks and 2 days

Size of Baby:  Baby is the size of a bell pepper, 5-1/2 inches long and weighs 5-7 ounces.

Total Weight Gain/Loss:  Up one pound at the doctor about a week and half ago.  Have been increasing my snacks to make sure I'm gaining the right amount.

Maternity Clothes: Belly band, sweats, a couple of maternity pants, long shirts.  I am in big trouble when I have to travel for work again since I am pretty much void of "working" maternity clothes.  

Movement:  Yes! See this post.  I am loving feeling the movement, even if it is inconsistent right now.  

Sleep:  Sleep is on and off for me right now, but mainly because I have had a nasty cold that just won't give up.  During the day I feel fine, but night is when the congestion hits me.  For the most part though, I'm sleeping great.

What I miss:  Well, a dose of Nyquil would have been excellent this past week... 

Cravings: Oranges still. 

Symptoms:  Larger belly, hungry every 2 hours

Best Moment this week:  I got my first stranger pregnancy comment! A woman next to me at church told me I looked really cute.  I thanked her and then she asked when I was due! It's nice to know that I may be approaching the pregnant, not just fat phase! 

Random Updates: Lucas is done with Riverside IM at the end of this week.. Praise the Lord! It's been a long month for him working.  My mom is coming into town on Wednesday because this THURSDAY, FEB 24 is our BIG ultrasound.  I'm glad that both she and Lucas will be there to restrain me from having the tech determine the sex.  I am so anxious to know, but I do think it will be a great surprise in July.  

And of course, a new belly pic.  It was a self-take since Lucas is at the hospital.

Bentley was very curious about the self timer

Lucas doesn't have a belly update this week since he is confined to the halls of Riverside County Hospital.  We did get to go for a little get-a-way last Friday on his day off.  It has been beautiful here in Southern California (last week in the 80s) so we headed to Dog Beach in Huntington Beach.  Afterwards, we met up with our good OC friends, Casey and Andrew for a dinner date with our dogs (Bentley and Ruby) at Lazy Dog Cafe where your dogs can sit with you out on the patio.  Bentley and Ruby were even asked for their order (chicken or hamburger).  We declined and instead they dined on ice water.  

Sandy dog

This is as far as he'll ever go in the ocean

Dog on duty

Have a great week!

Sickies a la King

My good friend Susanne wrote this week about "Sickies" at her house.  Well, sickies have now arrived at the King house.  Luckily for us, we have no vomiting, just bad head/chest colds.

Google images

So while Lucas can enjoy a nice sudafed or dose of Nyquil, I'm sticking to lots of fluids, vitamin C and my mom's chicken noodle soup.

Thump thump thump from the bump

Well maybe more like pop pop pop.  The other night (17w1d) we got home from dinner and I had a glass of OJ since I am loving oranges right now and am battling a cold with no cold medication.  I laid down to read a chapter of The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest and that's when it started.  I would describe the movement more like popcorn, not like flutters that some people describe it as.  It was so cool! Now I just wait until Luke is able to feel it too! I guess that's not for another couple of months.


Since then I've felt some more - once when I was sitting outside in the sunshine with Bentley...always when I am relaxing and sitting still.  I love it! 

The many personalities of Bentley

He is a self-learner

He is health conscious - got to stay hydrated!

He loves him some babies

He is a little self-centered

He is a 75 lb lab dog

He can be mischeivious, but he knows how to right his wrongs

He enjoys a good nap

And lastly, he has a face you can't resist.

16 weeks 2 days

How Far Along:  16 weeks and 2 days

Size of Baby:  Baby is the size of an avocado (4 1/2 inches long, 3 1/2 oz).

Total Weight Gain/Loss:  Probably up - I go to the doctor on Wednesday, so we'll see.  But I think I've done some catching up in the past two weeks. 

Maternity Clothes: Still working the belly band, but shirts are starting to get uncomfortable when they ride up.  Love my sweats still.

Movement:  Nope - but supposed to start soon! 

Sleep:  This weekend was rough in the sleep department.  Bentley is training us well for a new baby.  He has had some sort of stomach virus so between diarrhea clean-ups and mid-night potty breaks, I have not had any good stretches of sleep.  I have had a nap both days this weekend which has been delightful.

What I miss:  I think my answer to this will always be... Nothing compared to being pregnant!

Cravings: Still on oranges.  And bagels.  And anything bread related.  See note above that I think the pounds are sneaking in there now.

Symptoms:  Besides a belly that is starting to pop, I feel relatively normal.

Best Moment this week:  Last weekend at the middle school retreat, my 7th grade girls "figured" out that I was pregnant.  They told me they knew because usually I was so skinny! Ha! Very tactful.  If I wasn't pregnant, that could have backfired pretty quickly.

Random Updates: I think my belly has started to pop over the past week.  I wish I had a picture of just one weekend ago compared to this weekend.  I think it really was noticed by Lucas last Tuesday.  I had a purple shirt on which he said to me "I like your purple shirt".  I said "thanks".  He then immediately asked me if I had seen Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (i.e Violet Beauregard for those of you have seen it).  He is worse than my middle school girls! 

The belly at 16w2d.  Please ignore my horrible hair.  

 

And last but not least, the Lucas update.  Well I guess he was a little sensitive about his belly last week, so he's been doing some workout while I've been gaining. He's even been hired by non-other than Abercrombie and Fitch.  See his first spread below.

Until next time!

Love,

The Kings

Bentley has his own countdown

T minus 24 hours until Bentley's weekend "away" with his girlfriend, none other than Ms. Roxy.  I think Bentley can already sense her arrival.  Can't you see the anticipation in his eyes?

We have been fortunate enough to have a family from our church who also has a boxer, Roxy who is a little under a year.  We've had countless weekends which the Harris' have taken Bentley and vice versa.  Boxers, or maybe just our boxers, are dogs that require a lot of attention, something that a dog kennel just cannot provide.

Bentley loves Roxy dearly.  They play non-stop all day until Bentley has reached his limit and just passes out for the evening (Roxy will finally give in, but she definitely has more youth in her).  How do they wear themselves out, you ask?  This may explain it below:

They definitely make time for more serious ways of showing their affection for one another...

So until tomorrow, Bentley will just be found here, resting up!