17 Weeks and a few days!

Well, this week has been the first week where I felt like wearing maternity clothes was a necessity. I still have some normal clothes that fit fine, but most of my work clothes are pretty snug around the waist now. I've found that Old Navy and Gap are the best places to buy maternity clothes. As far as cost, Old Navy is great because you can find great deals on basic items like jeans, black pants, etc., and their return policy is pretty easy. Gap is also great because their maternity clothes are, usually, marked down pretty quickly so you can get the quality you want at a price that won't raise your husband's eye brows every time you come home with a shopping bag (love you hunny!). Here are a few items I would recommend to any future mama who is on the verge of needing maternity clothes:

Smooth-Panel, Skinny Jeans from Old Navy

Smooth Panel, Double Weave Trousers from Old Navy

Crew neck T's from Gap

Also, accessorize, accessorize, accessorize! Statement necklaces, infinity scarves, bright colored tank tops (for layering), and fun earrings. You won't grow out of these items and you can continue to use them after you get your pre-maternity body back!

Lately, I've been a on cooking kick. I've been combing cookbooks and cooking magazines for new recipes a lot recently. While it has probably been related to food cravings...Tyson doesn't seem to mind... and it's been pretty fun trying new recipes. Also, since summer is coming to a close we have been trying to use more ingredients from our mini garden, so there is a ton of pesto in our fridge and Serrano peppers in a lot of things. Tyson is waiting semi-patiently for a 'ghost pepper' to sprout, but we will likely have to wait until next summer.

In preparing for our "little bit", we've been looking at baby items we will need. Not to surprisingly, Craigslist has been an awesome source for baby items. It's a great place to find lightly-used baby furniture, high chairs, car seat bases, etc. for cheap. After I found out I was pregnant we created a list of baby items, so we could budget for buying all of it. Needless, to say buying used items on Craigslist is saving us tons of money and we can buy everything little by little. Some people might have issues with buying used items, but we are fairly frugal so it's worked out well for us.

The biggest change in my baby bump, this week, is that it's become more round...at least I think. Feel free to judge for yourself.

In order to continue the theme in which I compare the growth of our little bit to produce, this week it weighs about as much as a...Turnip!

It weighs about 5 ounces is about 5 inches head to toes. Also, as of last week our little bit's hearing has fully developed so now it can hear our voices. Hopefully, it recognizes more positive inflection in my voice rather than any negativity!

Books I've found helpful:

• "The Girlfriends Guide to Pregnancy" - it validates your feelings and gives some decent perspective.
• "Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way" - this book is full of tons of information about pregnancy and delivery. It also teaches you relaxation methods to practice (which are really comfortable once you master them) and to use during delivery. If you can't tell, I'm planning on doing natural childbirth.
• "The Baby Book" - this is an excellent textbook-style reference book.
• "What to Expect Before You're Expecting" and "What to Expect When You're Expecting" - These books are great sources of information about what you should do to prepare for pregnancy and information for your pregnancy. My major disclaimer is "What to Expect When You're Expecting" can be kind of overwhelming. It tells you about everything that can go wrong and the likelihood of it going wrong. You have to be sure you don't get too wrapped up in it and take for what it is...informative.