First Trimester: Check!

I know that time flies, but y'all... I can't believe my first trimester is over!  I'm about to be 16 weeks pregnant.  My goal was not to overload the blog with baby stuff, but I haven't put anything baby on here lately!   I have been all over the place - Houston, Iowa, New York... I don't even know where I'm from anymore.  Baby N is racking up the frequent flier miles.  I thought it was time for an update.

I have been extremely lucky and blessed to have a smooth pregnancy so far!  Here are some pics and info to catch you up, though there's not much to see quite yet!  Please forgive the small chalkboard - it's all they had at the Quad Cities Hobby Lobby.  And please overlook the institutional white wall.  I don't approve of white walls, but the renter of our corporate apartment in Iowa sure does.  They heart white walls.

Baby Growth:  Baby N is growing right on track.  I had an ultrasound at week 7 to confirm the pregnancy, but all we could really see was a peanut.  Since then, we've heard the heartbeat twice, and it's strong and healthy!

Pregnancy Symptoms:  Almost none!  I have not been sick at all.  The most I had was a bit of queasiness for a few days.  During the first trimester I had several bouts of exhaustion where I literally could not get up off the couch or bed for entire days at a time.  I thought I was going to sleep my life away.  Lately I have had a few achy feelings, but I think that's because the baby is growing!

Other Changes:  I can tell my stamina is not as great as it usually is.  I get winded walking Blazer up multiple flights of stairs, and I had to stop on the street and rest when carrying my groceries in NYC.  I can also feel my heart rate elevated a lot of the time.  I'm trying to work out 30-45 minutes most days of the week so I can stay healthy and control the weight gain, but I definitely don't feel like I'll be doing boot camp anytime soon.  I've been going to bed early and still getting up 2-4 times a night to go to the bathroom.  Not my fave.

Cravings:  lemonade, orange juice, cheese, Italian food, cereal, Chipotle (who's surprised?), and my weirdest craving to date.. Chili's.  I have not been to Chili's in 3 years, but one day, I was very specifically craving Chili's.  I knew I wanted to get chips and salsa and a quesadilla explosion salad.  Brent reluctantly took me there for lunch (he thought I was crazy), and it tasted exactly like I imagined.

Gender:  We don't know yet, but we are definitely finding out!  We have to wait until 20 weeks, so we're hoping to have news to report the first week of September!  You can feel free to guess in the comment section.