The week of 21.

So yesterday, I turned 21 weeks and my sister turned 21 a couple of weeks ago but we are actually celebrating this weekend...so it is the week of 21!
I learned that the baby is the size of a pomegranate (which I must tell you I LOVE pomegranates.) Next week she will be a papaya and I don't like papayas, but that's okay.

She is well on her way to being a foot long (10.5 inches) and just imagining her growing is such an amazing experience.

I have started to refer to her as "My Little Mermaid" and she is constantly swimming around and bumping into my innards. Her real name is Gwendolyn Raye. Two names that are very special to both Joseph and I. Gwendolyn was my Mom's mom's name (my grandmother) and she passed away in 1993 from lung cancer. She was always such a driving force in my life.

Raye comes from both my Mom's Dad's name and Joseph's Dad's Dad's name (our grandfathers). My grandfather passed away right before Joseph and I met in 2009. I felt very lucky to have spent the many years I did with him. He taught me to drive and always let me know that he loved me. Joseph's grandpa, known as "Pop" died last year and I feel completely honored to have known him. He always let me know how glad he was to have me in their family. I took to him as I would my own grandfather and he came in my life at a time when I had just lost mine. The spelling of "Raye" comes from Joseph's maternal side of the family where many of the girls have the last name, "Daye" so it works.

Grandpa Pressley and I...yes I am adorable.



Pop and Nonny at a Clemson game

Unfortunately, I don' t have a photo of my grandma (aka Nana) on the computer, but once I get one, I will put it up.

On a different note, Joseph and I went and registered at Buy Buy Baby (which I just found out you can use Bed, Bath and Beyond coupons at the Buy Buy Baby stores!) and Target. While it was fun, it was also exhausting. I am sure I forgot to add things and I am sure I added things that I don't need. Oh well.

How far along? 21 Weeks

Total weight gain/loss: 2 lbs gained so far (gained 4 but lost 2)

Maternity clothes? All maternity and not ashamed.

Stretch marks? Yep, though they aren't getting any bigger/darker thanks to slathering myself with lotion on the daily.

Sleep: Sleep is getting better, though I can't wait to sleep on my back again. I registered for a Snoogle at Buy Buy Baby...hint hint.

Best moment this week: Feeling my Mermaid kick and squirm! It is such a sweet thing!

Miss Anything? The same things...sushi. Beer. Port wine. A margarita or two...or three.

Movement: The Mermaid is on the move! I am starting to see my stomach move a little

Food cravings: Sushi. Sweets.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Still not digging Chinese food...

Have you started to show yet: See the photo above! My midwife said that I am carrying more inside so who knows how big I'll get.

Gender: She is still a girl!

Labor Signs: Not a one!

Belly Button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? I'm mostly wearing my wedding band and have put my engagement ring aside. Though, I got agitated one day because someone told Joseph that he needed to get me a bigger ring...because I only had my wedding band on. Really? Because the size of your diamond really measures your marriage.

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy most of the time. I had a cry-fest one day, over nothing really and I've had one (or two) hormonal outbursts...I am trying to keep those to a minimum.

Looking forward to:  Seeing little Gwen next week for my second ultrasound! I also can't wait until Joseph can fell her swimming around.

18 weeks and counting

Technically, I was 18 weeks last week. Seeing as how I am moving at a slug's rate of speed I will go ahead and give a fun 18 week update with a 20 week update coming up soon.

How far along? 18 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: 4 lbs gained so far
Maternity clothes? All maternity and not ashamed.
Stretch marks? Yes...I am getting stretch marks in places I never dreamed of getting them. I've been lotioning up to try to avoid them but one circumstance involving sleep and a cockroach has got me shying away from my cupcake-scented lotion.
Sleep: Sleep is on and off. Solely sleeping on on side of another is tough. I long for some back sleep!
Best moment this week: realizing that I am almost halfway there.. BOOM!
Miss Anything? Raw sushi. Beer. Port wine. A margerita or two...or three.
Movement: Ooooh yes. Little one loves to do flips especially during worship time at church!
Food cravings: So far I've been raising Miss Gwen on bean burritos. While cravings have been at a minimum I have wanted some chicken tenders something fierce today.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Not really sick...but anytime I think of BBQ and Chinese food I make funny face and shiver a bit.
Have you started to show yet: Yup! The belly is poking out. I never thought that it would feel so tight, like a drum.
Gender: We found out that Ackerbaby is an Ackerlady!
Labor Signs: Not really. I've been having sharp pains for the past 4 weeks but I figured it was baby moving around
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? Both. I was one to wear my rings 24/7 but they've been getting kind of tight so I take them off at night and then more than likely forget to put them on in the morning.
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy most of the time.
Looking forward to:  Going to the beach for Labor Day. A year ago I miscarried so it will be wonderful to celebrate and enjoy looking at the ocean over my growing belly. Watch out Edisto Beach!

Without further ado...

Boy or girl? Girl or boy? I would say that this was one of the first thoughts that ran across my mind when I first found out I was pregnant.

Would the little one in my womb that was turning somersaults be a little ballerina or a baseball player? Bang on the drums in his father's footsteps or tickle the ivory's in mine?

So today we went to Prenatal Peek to find out. We watched as Ackerbaby turned flips and wiggled in my tummy. His/her little hands and feet wagging and waving. Instead of finding out at the ultrasound place, my mom bought two outfits from Belk, one boy and one girl, had the salesclerk wrap them in identical gift wrap and then put a card on each one indicating the gender of Ackerbaby. When we left the ultrasound room, the tech put a bow on the present that indicated the correct gender of the baby. We then went to Olive Garden with friends and family to find out....

So...without further ado....Ackerbaby is actually an....

Ackerlady!

Baby's First Lullaby

This post is as much to record a specific moment and time in the history of Ackerbaby as it is to let you, my family and friends, in on our little life.

At 16 weeks, baby can "hear". I'm not sure if this is mostly through vibrations and I am sure that Ackerbaby feels like "The Little Mermaid", having to listen though all that fluid, but I surely hope he/she enjoyed the first "lullaby" I sang him/her.

What song?

Carolina In My Mind by James Taylor

While this song is about our sister state, North Carolina, I love the sense of nostalgia that goes along with listening to James Taylor's voice and listening to this song in my Mom's car. I like to think that the song is about our South Carolina. The Carolina that will be the home to our little one. 

16 weeks and counting. Boy or Girl?

I am 16 weeks pregnant today. Or four months. Or 112 days.

However you want to count the measurement of pregnancy, I am definitely more pregnant than I was a few short months ago.

My waistline is growing, there are little movements in my tummy that could be contributed to either gas or Ackerbaby. My vote is for Ackerbaby.

Over the past four months, I have learned what miserable really means with almost 6 weeks of non-stop nausea. I honestly told the hubs that if my whole pregnancy was going to be plagued by nausea that we would have to adopt the rest of the our children.

I have learned what faith is by putting the life of my little one in God's hands and just enjoying having the baby here for as long as God decides to let me have him (or her). Also by stepping out and putting in my notice at work. Yep, that's right. I am going to try the good ole "stay-at-home mom" routine. (More on that later).

I have learned that sometimes spilled milk really does make you cry and yes, it is just because of the hormones. I have learned that putting your car keys and other random items in the refrigerator is a normal occurrence and that sometimes you will forget to wear your bra to work. Preggo-brain is real and it is here to stay.

So, I have learned all these things but what I have yet to learn is the gender of Ackerbaby...and that, my friends, we will be finding out this weekend.

Many people have weighed in. Some think Ackerbaby is going to be a girl, the majority think it will be a boy. I have dreamed that it was a girl but I have always called him, him.

So weigh in...what do you think Ackerbaby will be? Boy or girl?

Conquest!

In my last post, I mentioned that I would be writing about another huge announcement that involves beer, swords and shiny objects.
Well my friends, those shiny objects FINALLY arrived yesterday.
Over the past year and a half, Mr. Ackerman and his best friend of umpteen years have been praying and working on opening their own brewery here in Columbia.

Conquest Logo created by Jess MacCallum

Let me start by saying that I am SO incredibly proud of Mr. A and his partner. What started out as a dream and some talk over beers has finally turned into something tangible. A dream that has been realised. Through hard work and honestly a considerable amount of intervention from God (what??? Did I just say God and beer in the same blog post?) things have slowly come together.

Opening the very first crate - a hot liquor tun!

Conquest Brewing Company is located at 847 Stadium Way, near Williams-Brice Stadium. The brewery will produce a string of regular beers (including Sacred Heart IPA, Artemis Blonde, Brutus Stout and a hefeweizen) and will expand to seasonal releases as well as limited release beers such as The Finisher (sounds daunting, no?).

Hot liquor tun

Columbia has had a few brew-pubs including Hunter Gatherer and Liberty Tap Room but has not harbored a production brewery for many years. With cities such as Charleston, Asheville and even Myrtle Beach sustaining 1-8+ breweries, Columbia should be able to harbor at least one and hopefully more will pop-up around the Midlands making the area a beer mecca.

Tap handle designed by Mr. A and Mr. E (Joseph's partner).
Fabricated by Laserformn & Machine, Inc.

So far, Conquest has received tons of support for the local community (thank you, thank you, thank you to all who have commented, tweeted, messaged and called) and looks forward to brewing it's first batches and opening in mid-late September, right in the mix of football season. Check out coverage from the Free Times and WLTX.

If you want to keep up to date on the brewery, visit them on Facebook, Twitter or their Web site (currently under construction).

And remember: History is written by the victor.

The One About Baby A

Since we have officially announced our little news on Facebook (because you know that NOTHING is official until you post it on Facebook), I thought I would write a bit about our news!
Joseph and I are expecting a little bundle of joy! Or in layman's terms a baby. Knocked up. Pregasaurus-rex.  A bun in the oven.

Studio 13 Photography by Corrie Defelice

I will be 14 weeks tomorrow. It seems like just yesterday I took a test and instead of one measly line, there were two. Two. Two lines. Check the box. That means I'm pregnant. While there was extensive joy when I found out, there was also worry and a tinge of sadness for the baby we lost last year. There was such a cloud that followed the miscarriage that when I took the pregnancy test and saw that it was positive this time around, I got in the shower and cried with mixed emotions. But God is good and sovereign and has blessed us beyond our imagination.

Studio 13 Photography by Corrie Defelice

The first trimester came and went. Let me tell you something about the first trimester...whoever came up with "Morning Sickness"  lied. It was all day sickness and it comes with extreme fatigue. Instead of going to bed at 10:30-11:00 pm like usual, I turned into a pumpkin around 9:00-9:30 pm much to my husband's dismay. It felt as if we had no time together because I was going to bed so early. In the moment, I honestly thought this phase would never end. I forgot what it felt like to want to eat and to actually enjoy it.

It was also hard to balance the idea of complaining about the discomforts because of the miscarriage. Right after I miscarried, I would see friends complain on Facebook about their pregnancy ailments and I would get so upset because "at least they were pregnant". But now I know first hand their discomforts, but how do I complain about something that clearly means my little baby is growing and thriving?

Studio 13 Photography by Corrie Defelice

I have now graduated to official "Maternity" clothes as my regular pants and jeans do not fit. I tried every trick in the book to stay in my pre-maternity clothes including using safety pins and hair ties to keep my pants up to wearing loose, baggy tops that weren't so tight. But I find that I love maternity pants. They are super comfortable and I don't think I will ever go back.

And has anyone ever told you about prenatal vitamins? Um, hello long nails and long, glossy hair! I am a nail biter so it has been like a dream to have long, beautiful nails. I am due for a manicure soon. But what no one ever told me about is the horrible skin that comes along with pregnancy (for some women at least). I have had breakout upon breakout and nothing helps. Whatever happened to the "glowing skin" of pregnancy? It completely skipped me.

Studio 13 Photography by Corrie Defelice

Let's just go ahead and get it out in the open: smaller bladder. Yeah. The toilet and I have become best friends. At work, the stairs have also become my best friend since I see them ALL the time while running to the first floor for a bathroom break. But what happens when I have to waddle down and up the stairs? The dreaded elevator in our old building takes forever. I am talking a good 20 seconds for the door to open once you have reached your floor...so the question at hand is, what will I have more patience for? Taking 10 minutes to waddle up the stairs or 10 minutes to take the elevator? We shall see.

Studio 13 Photography by Corrie Defelice

So I am "due" January 22. Between now and then, I am sure I will have many questions and many things to figure out. I plan on posting updates and how I prepare for birth. Look forward to seeing my birthing plan, gender reveal, hospital baby bag, quest for baby names, wait...you have to get baby furniture?, birthing music mix, my reasoning for an "all natural birth" (which mainly has to do with my fear of needles) and all of the other things that happen while pregnant.

***Up next...another HUGE announcement which involves beer, swords and shiny objects.***