Lela Kay Huddleston

Our niece was born on December 18th and boy is she cute! We got in quite a bit of snuggle time this weekend when we were home for Christmas and she is just perfect. Kyle and Jess (Sean's brother and his wife) are already pros with her and we are excited to join them in the parenting club soon! 

Lela Kay Huddleston, 1 week old

21 weeks

This pic is at 20 weeks, just before my office's Christmas dinner party. 

How far along: 21 weeks

Size of baby: Length of a carrot, approx 10 inches and 3/4 of a pound. 

Gender: A girl! Carson Ruby Huddleston

Maternity clothes: Most of my pants still sort of work, but I'm generally most comfortable in leggings or a dress of some sort. It's on my to-do list to try on some maternity pants this weekend.  

Weight gain: I think about 5 pounds. I feel hungry most of the time and have had a couple of low blood sugar episodes, so I'm trying to eat snacks throughout the day. 

Movement: Yes, lots of movements now. Sean felt her moving for the first time last night (Christmas) -- that was really special. Today she was moving so much it was sort of making me nauseous. 

Sleep: It's been a little restless this week, but that could be due to traveling for Christmas. 

Symptoms: Nothing too crazy right now, other than hunger. We are moving into another house this week and I notice that I get tired much easier now. Packing has been a slow process...

Best moment this week: It was fun to get some presents for Carson this Christmas -- also for Sean to feel her move. His smile was pretty adorable.

Naming our little girl

Let's just start off with the fact that naming a human is tough business! Some people have preferences before they are even pregnant, but Sean didn't really want to talk names until we knew the gender and I was ok with that. People are very opinionated about baby names and from now on I will know to just be supportive and positive, whether I personally like the name or not.

I have kept an ongoing list of possible baby names on my iPhone for quite a while (admit it...you have one, too!) and it turns out we're not using any of them. I like girly names (think Lyla, Macy, etc.) but Sean wasn't so keen on them. We do both, however, really like gender neutral names. Thus, we landed on Carson Ruby Huddleston.

Carson just clicked with us -- it's a name that is growing in popularity for girls, but often has other spellings (Karsyn, Karsen, etc.). We decided to keep it simple so she doesn't have to correct people on the spelling her whole life. The middle name is very special to me and one that Sean was happy to honor. She is named after my paternal grandmother, Ruby, and I announced that at her 80th birthday party this weekend. If you would like to see a copy of the toast I read at the party, you can click here.  

We are moving into another house next week, after which we will start preparations for miss Carson. Our 19 week ultrasound showed a healthy baby girl -- this really is such a miracle to be growing a baby! God has shown us much favor throughout this process and I hope that somehow He is glorified through this pregnancy.

Update - 18 weeks

The holiday season always seems to be busy and this year is no exception. Sean has been busy attending multiple basketball games a week in the evenings and I have starting working a bit more hands on with the Phi Mu chapter here as their adviser, which I love. We will move into a one-story rental house at the end of this month and really need to get ourselves organized for the transition. It has a fenced yard and a 4th bedroom for sewing/office, so I'm pretty pumped.

How far along: 18 weeks

Size of baby: A bell pepper - about 5 1/2 inches long (seems like a big bell pepper to me)
In my weekly development e-mail I was informed baby girl now has fallopian tubes and a uterus, which immediately reminded me of a funny Yahoo! answers posted a long time ago. Click here and read the funny responses. 

Gender: A girl! We are close to a name selection.

Maternity clothes: I for sure feel bigger than I look. I'm traveling for work this week and tried on about 10 outfits until I found one that looked ok. For now I'm getting along just fine with leggings, etc. but think I will try on some maternity pants soon.

Weight gain: 1-2 lb so far, depending on time of day. My appetite is pretty much back to normal, except I still usually eat smaller portions (really, normal sized portions I should continue post baby) and don't crave sweets like I did before pregnancy.

Movement: A little flutter here and there. Could easily be confused with digestive movements and I usually only notice them if I'm very still. 

Sleep:I know this is just the beginning, but I told Sean last night that I felt pregnant for the first time. Like stereotypes -- sore back, swollen feet, etc. Still sleeping pretty well with just one or two interruptions a night.

Symptoms: Crazy hilarious dreams. I also have a very weak gag reflex -- some of the things that have set me off recently include: the smell of varsity boys basketball team, Sean's Wendy's one night and a gross episode of Duck Dynasty. lol

Best moment this week: My parents bought a stroller and car seat for us, which is incredibly generous. Wyatt was a little unsure about it, but Sean buckled the base into our car right away. We left it in there for the weekend and I daydreamed a bit about what it will be like with a real baby in there.