month 4 {april}

actually got a pic on time! 17 weeks, 5 days

How Far Along: 17 weeks 5 days

Size: Tangy Pomegranate, creme brulee, a game console controller, and a chipmunk! (not combined, those are just the 4 different themes I can choose from in my app, in case you're late to this bumpdate game ;) )

Gender: It's a GIRL!

Name: Ada Charlotte :) We've had this name chosen (the first name at least; the middle name is a new addition) since we got married, and in that whole time we've loved it :) I like it because it is cute and feminine but still unique. I've never heard of anyone else naming their girl Ada, and it doesn't show up on any "top 100" lists, though similar names like Adelaide and Adeline do. I'm super hoping it stays that way, but who knows. With my luck it'll probably be in the top 100 for 2016! Haha (With my name as the #1 girl name for my birth year, I've always been hoping to gift my children with names that are a bit more unique.)

Movement: Not that I'm sure of. I thought maybe I felt it, but then I think I was actually just feeling the pulse of my hand haha :) I guess it's something to look forward to this next month!

Fun Fact: Did I say three of my coworkers were pregnant? Turns out it's four now! Haha we're going baby crazy over here at Boost. That makes for a grand total of 5/17, and 5/14 if you don't count the guys. ONE-THIRD of the girls on our team are pregnant! Madness haha. (Our team was a little bigger, but three girls just transferred to a different team within Boost.)

most pregnant (left) to least pregnant (right)

28 weeks, 24 weeks, 24 weeks, 15 weeks, 11 weeks

I also had a dance reunion thing and found out a bunch of my dancer friends are pregnant! It was so fun because, at the time, I was the only one who had publicly announced, so everyone else was news to everyone! Haha :)

not everyone is pregnant in this pic, but these are all the girls who came to the dance reunion! (15 weeks, 5 days)

Sleep: Welp the problem I mentioned last month made another appearance this month (pain in whatever hip is in the air when I lay on my side), so I guess it's time to really start looking for a pregnancy pillow. The pain seems to be influenced by excessive physical activity. When I felt it last month, it was in the days when I was hiking in New Mexico. When I felt it this month, it was the days following my dance reunion. Maybe I hold out a little longer because I haven't been feeling it lately :)

Weight Gain: So my brother- and sister-in-law decided to do no added sugar for a month, and I guess they inspired us because we decided to kind of copy them, though we only did so for two weeks (not because we wimped out, but because that's what we committed to . . . though, we did wimp out two days before we planned to, but it was actually only a few hours shy of two full weeks . . .  I guess we had committed to like 15 or 16 days). We basically just did no treats, but still had things with sugar like applesauce, PB&Js, and frosted mini wheats. We didn't change anything else about what we ate (AKA pizza and burgers and hot dogs for dinner all in one week), but I guess I eat enough treats that not eating any made a difference. I was pretty excited to see a number that was .4 pounds less than what I had weighed a week before since I'm now at the point where I should be gaining half a pound a week or something like that. Also, between my 13 week appointment and my 16 week appointment, I gained no weight! So pretty much, go me! Hahaha just making up for the first trimester I suppose :) But all in all, I'm up 14.4 pounds.

Symptoms: Throughout this month I have had some congestion, a few headaches, an occasionally tender sternum, soreness around my belly button, occasional stomach pangs when I lean a weird way or something, a slightly broken-out face, and I'm definitely having to pee more. Some of my symptoms I've heard of before, and others I'm like, "I seriously have the weirdest symptoms!" Haha. I also finally had to bite the bullet and buy a bigger bra because one day (out of nowhere) I was like owwwww haha.

Diabetes: Actually didn't annoy me so much this month! I felt like I had pretty good blood sugars, and my A1c the other day was 6.9, so a little higher than the previous time, but still under 7, so I feel just fine about it :)

Cravings/Aversions: Still bagels, and there was one time this month when I reallllly wanted Einstein Bagel. I've probably eaten there less than ten times total in my whole life, but once I started thinking about bagels and schmear and bagel sandwiches, I told Russ we had to go haha. It's the one pregnancy "craving" that I've used the pregnant card and insisted on haha :) I was also craving a green apple misto shake from Rita's for like two weeks (because I first craved it during our no sugar thing) and finally satisfied that craving on the last day of the month :)

Missing Most: My totally pain-free stomach! Russ seems to always have painful stomach issues; he's probably allergic to something, but we haven't bothered to figure out what. I, on the other hand, never have stomach issues. Like seriously. Even after I stuff my face with food, I might feel full for like 20 minutes, and then usually I'm fine. But now that I'm pregnant, I have all sorts of weird aches and pains! They're not constant; they usually have to do with something I ate or drank (soda is a no-no for me; good thing I only had it occasionally before anyway!). But it's kind of annoying when I'm used to not having anything like that! Haha but it's okay, it's really not a huge deal, and it's worth it for our little babe! :) Oh, and also, I miss having a bladder with greater capacity. Haha. I hate feeling like I have to pee suuuuuper bad, and then I go and it's like 2 seconds haha. Can't wait for this issue to get even worse! #sarcasm

Nursery: Well, we finally built the crib. Russ spent hours figuring everything out and making everything work, all the while getting frustrated because it was a complicated process. You see, we bought a crib from a garage sale for like $20 a few years ago. Then we realized it was one where you can lower and raise one of the side bars to make it easier to get your kid out of the crib -- but those have been recalled. So we realized we'd have to modify it so that it stayed solidly in place rather than adjusting. 

we had to add extenders on all 4 joints of the back railing

Russ finished the crib only to say that he didn't trust it, and it would end up falling apart as soon as our kid does any sort of consistent thrashing. So I'm pretty sure we're just going to buy a new crib after all. Better safe than sorry, I suppose! Hopefully that purchase happens in the upcoming month. Anything you love or hate about the crib you have? Any recommendations? 

Daddy: Russ is just so good with kids. Over General Conference weekend, he willingly played dolls with our niece Hadley. 

Then another week, he was so kind and consoling to our sad nephew. He really is the sweetest, and Z cuddled right up to him :)

Whatever I lack in being a mom, he will most certainly make up for it with how good of a dad he will be :) And I'm even more excited that we're having a girl, because I just think he'll be the best girl dad ever! :) As much as I hope our baby girl loves me, I also really hope she's a daddy's girl, too :)

Also, how stinkin' cute is he?!

Highlights & Memories: 

• We got our first big baby gift! Mom & Dad Holmes got us this awesome carseat/stroller combo. It made everything feel more real! 

• We also got our second big baby gift! Mom & Dad Petersen gave us some money to go buy a new crib :)
• Learning gender!! This was definitely the highlight of the month :) We are SO excited about our little girl!! :)

Can't Wait For: Now that we know gender, I'm really excited to work on the nursery and buy some baby clothes! I'm also excited for the next big thing -- baby showers! And like I said earlier, I'm quite excited to start feeling Ada move around inside me :) Also, I just bought myself a mother's day gift (haha), and I'm pretty excited about that, too! I'll share it on here when I actually get it :)

**ashleynicole