This week is the end of my second trimester and our bambino is the size of a rutabaga.  My weekly baby email updates say that our little girl is breathing and even showing brain activity.

I spent this week sightseeing around Paris with my friend Allison, who was visiting for the week, and eating a lot of delicious Parisian food.  Dusty spent most of the week working but did find some time to sightsee and be our food tour guide.

Gender & Name: It’s a girl of course and I think we might have picked a name.  We’re not shouting it out to the world quite yet and will probably wait until she’s born before doing so but we’re pretty happy with this very hard decision (at the moment).

Weight Gain:  Like I said last week, there’s no scale in our Paris apartment but I’m assuming I’ve gained a few pounds.  Although I’ve been doing a lot of walking this week I’ve also done a lot of eating!  Paris has such delicious pastries!!

Maternity Clothes: It’s quite cold at the moment in Paris (50s and low 60s with quite a bit of rain) so this week I’ve been wearing maternity jeans and t-shirts with a cardigan or jacket.  Saturday and Sunday have gotten much nicer and so I was able to wear a dress on Saturday with tights and Sunday I lounged around in shorts.

Sleep: The bambino and I have adjusted to the time difference and are sleeping quite comfortably.  I’m only waking up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and fall back asleep right away.  I most definitely roll out of bed these days and no longer pop up with any pizzazz.

Food: I’m still craving anything sweet and have enjoyed quite a few éclairs and other tasty pastries!

Movement:  She most definitely adjusted to the time change this week and is back to her regular self.  Not only was she still adjusting to the time difference these first few days but I was doing so much walking that I think I was lulling her asleep quite a bit during the day.

I just told Dusty today that weeks ago I was so amazed at how she moved and how I could feel the little flutters happening, and those movements were nothing compared to what I’m feeling now.  I’m definitely not tired of her pokes, jabs, and stretching, and love every moment I can feel her movin’ and grovin’.

Belly Button: My belly button is pretty much flush but sometimes it’s kind of half in, half out.  The top is popping out, but the bottom is still in a little bit (especially after I’ve eaten a big dinner).

Mood: I was in a great mood this week, how can anyone not be in a good mood while in Paris!!!   Overall, I’m feeling really good and feeling very lucky that I haven’t had any major pregnancy symptoms (other than my belly getting bigger).  What’s hard is deciding what’s happening to my body because of the pregnancy and what is happening because of the walking around I’ve done with week.  It feels really good to be moving around though and I’ve made sure not to do too much!

Best Moment(s) This Week: Best moments this week were sightseeing around Paris and having such a great time with Allison while she was here as well as going to the French Open with Dusty.

Missing Anything: Being in Paris makes me really miss wine and all of the lovely things I’m not supposed to eat.

Looking Forward To: Spending lots of quality time with Dusty while we’re in Paris and enjoying some nice Paris weather next week (the weather is forecasted to be in the high 60s and low 70s).

Weekly Picture:  This week’s picture was taken outside our Paris apartment and across the street from the Bastille monument (the opposite side from last week’s picture).  Behind me is Canal Saint-Martin that connects to the Seine.  I’m wearing a stripped cotton H&M dress I got last week when our luggage was lost.

***My weekly posts are written during the week and then posted the following week, after I’ve taken my weekly picture and I’ve had time to edit them.***

This week our bambino is the size of an eggplant or a head of lettuce.  She’s getting her immune system ready for life outside by soaking up my antibodies.  She’s also growing eyelashes this week.

The first half of the week I spent preparing for our Paris trip with lots of packing, cleaning and seeing a few friends and family while Dusty spent the time squaring away last minute stuff at work.

The second half of the week was spent traveling (and settling into our apartment once we arrived).  I’ll have a separate post on our travels later.

Weight Gain: I went to the doctor’s on Wednesday and I’ve officially gained 11 pounds.  There’s no scale in our Paris apartment though so I won’t be able to weight myself again for a while.

Maternity Clothes: This week I wore leggings and stretchy shirts while in Omaha since it was so warm out and I was trying to save my good outfits for our trip.  The very last part of this week I wore maternity jeans with maternity t-shirts and sweaters because it’s quite a bit colder in Paris.  We lost our luggage for a few days so I promptly went to H&M maternity and bought a pair of jeans, t-shirts and a dress.  Wish I had been to an H&M maternity months ago!!! It is fabulous!

Sleep: I got lots of sleep the first part of the week while in Omaha but things most definitely got a little dicey the last couple of days this week.  Sleeping on an airplane while you’re pregnant is very difficult (at least for me) and I only got a couple of hours of sleep when normally I’m close to narcoleptic when in cars and planes.

Not completely related to sleep but added to the lack of it I’m sure was me being a little worried about a decrease in air pressure during the flight that can reduce the amount of oxygen in your blood, but as my doctor said, it doesn’t pose a risk if you’re healthy and to promote circulation I should occasionally walk up and down the aisle and drink plenty of water.

And since we’ve arrived in Paris I’ve had difficulty with sleeping because there’s a seven hour time difference.

Food: I’m craving anything sweet this week and can’t wait for a nutella crepe!

Movement:  More and more movement everyday, or at least it’s more and more pronounced.  Dusty’s now able to feel her at some point each day when she’s really moving around.  She’s on a pretty regular schedule of when she’s awake and when she’s asleep.  Being in Paris has thrown her off a bit and I’m hoping she’ll acclimate to the time change soon.

Belly Button: My belly button is completely flat and will soon be an outie before I know it.

Mood: Overall, I was in a good mood this week, getting excited about our trip and feeling positive about a final doctor’s appointment, giving me a thumbs up before we left.

Best Moment(s) This Week:  I had a few great moments this week.  First was seeing my stepmom while she was in town and visiting about the baby.  She gave me some really cute gifts for our bambino.  Second was leaving for our trip and then finally arriving in Paris after a few delays (and only 7 hours later than originally planned). My third favorite moment was getting our luggage after it being lost for 48 hours!!

Looking Forward To: Sightseeing in Paris with a girlfriend of mine, Allison, who’s in town for the first week we’re here.

Weekly Picture:  This week’s picture was taken outside our Paris apartment and across the street from the Bastille monument.  Behind me is the where the marche de Bastille is held.  I’m wearing a Gap maternity sweater and H&M maternity jeans.

***My weekly posts are written during the week and then posted the following week, after I’ve taken my weekly picture and I’ve had time to edit them.***

Our bambino is the size of a cauliflower this week!  She is enjoying her new sense of equilibrium and now knows which way is up and which is down.  She’s growing more fat and more hair too!

This week we celebrated Mother’s day which was really spent taking care of Dusty who had the stomach flu.  I guess this was a little preview into my future as a mother, who, no matter what day it is, will be taking care of her family.  I did feel really bad for Dusty because he never gets sick and this one really put him down for a solid 48 hours.

We spent the rest of the week recuperating from Big Omaha as well as preparing to be gone for 5-weeks.  Preparing doesn’t mean that we’ve packed yet but really means that Dusty’s just been working nonstop, trying to get in all of his necessary meetings before we leave and I’ve just been trying to get logistical things done like purchasing euros from the bank, getting renters insurance for the apartment we’ll be staying in, and coordinating with the rental agency so there will be someone waiting with keys when we arrive.

Maternity Clothes: I bought a few more maternity items this week to prepare for our trip including a few shirts, a dress, tank top and leggings.  It suddenly got really hot this week, in the 90s, and so I wore lots of cotton dresses and maxi skirts.

Sleep: I still feel as though I’m getting plenty of sleep but I can most definitely tell I’m waking up more and more during the middle of the night.  Warning to myself, drink more water at the beginning of the day and less right before bed!

Food: Still no specific food cravings but I sure do love desserts!

Missing Anything: This week I noticed how difficult it’s starting to get to do things, simple things, like bending over and picking something up or carrying things up our stairs to the apartment.  I miss my strength, flexibility, and general ability to bend over and pick something up without thinking about it.

Movement:  Still lots of movement from our bambino!  It’s getting a little easier for Dusty to feel her when she gives me a really strong kick but most of the time I’m the only one that gets to feel her move.

Mood: I’m in a great mood this week.  I feel very lucky that I’ve had few negative pregnancy symptoms along the way.  I’ve started feeling a few extra aches and pains that weren’t there before but nothing major.  I am trying to regularly do yoga and exercise so that I can stay in shape and stretch those sore muscles.

Best Moment(s) This Week: My favorite moments this week were celebrating Mother’s day with our families and getting a new sewing machine for my Mother’s day gift.  My other favorite moments were getting some coral yarn in the mail for a baby blanket I’m making for the bambino and co-hosting a sewing party for some friends at our place.  Look for separate posts for more details on both!

Looking Forward To: I’m looking forward to packing for our trip and getting everything checked off my to-do list before we leave next week!

Weekly Picture:  This week’s picture was taken outside the Joslyn Museum before we went on the Omaha Young Arts Patron Art Crawl.  My dress is a Liz Lange Maternity Woven Maxi Dress in Plum from Target. I’d also like to note that it was windy and so the side view of me from above makes it look as though my backside has grown just as much as my belly, this is not accurate.  Here’s a better picture to show I’m not growing in both directions!

***My weekly posts are written during the week and then posted the following week, after I’ve taken my weekly picture and I’ve had time to edit them.***