The place where one porkchop is required.

Week 29 and updates.

2012-01-26T08:00:00.000-06:00

Lots to talk about this week! I don’t even know where to begin.

Let’s talk about the baby first!

Here’s where we are this week:

Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is growing bigger to make room for his developing brain. To meet his increasing nutritional demands, you'll need plenty of protein, vitamins C, folic acid, and iron. And because his bones are soaking up lots of calcium, be sure to drink your milk (or find another good source of calcium, such as cheese, yogurt, or enriched orange juice). This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in your baby's hardening skeleton each day.

Images and content courtesy of babycenter.com

How far along: 29 weeks

Total weight gain: +23.5 total. This is +0 from last week. No weight gain is surprising, but my appetite has tapered off a bit since my stomach is running out of room in there, so I guess this is why. I’m still well within the normal range.

Sleep habits: Other than the frequent bathroom breaks, sleep has been going very well. I still end up on my back and struggle to breathe when I do, but otherwise things are great in this area. It’s a bit harder to shift around or get up quickly since my center of gravity has changed.

Maternity clothes: I recently found a maternity band in my drawer. I have no idea where it came from because I didn’t wear it the last time. I can wear it under regular shirts, and it looks like a second shirt and provides coverage for my belly. I’ve been wearing the crap out of this garment, so it’s allowed me to bring back some of my pre-maternity shirts. While they fit tightly, they still aren’t obscene and showing any skin. It’s like I have a whole new wardrobe. This is a good thing since it’s been extremely hot here lately, and most of my maternity clothes (other than shorts and tanks from my first pregnancy) are winter. It’s not quite shorts/tank weather right now, so I’m in that awful in-between phase.

Best moment of the week: My best friends came to visit me (more on that later in this post). I also had a cervical length and growth ultra-sound today, and everything was A-Ok with both. Baby J is growing right on track (my Dr. was a bit concerned he was behind based on my measurements), and my cervix is still fully in tact (I had lots of pressure and cramping last week, and she wanted to make sure everything was still good).

Food cravings: I’m back on a tuna fish kick again. Of course I can only eat it in limited amounts, so this is a bad craving to have. I think I over-indulged in king cake way too much this past week, so that craving is gone now.

Symptoms: I’ve been having lower back cramping that comes and goes randomly. It’s identical to menstrual cramping. There’s also lots of pressure down below. The culprit – J has already positioned himself head down. He seems impatient like his big sister was.

Movement: His movement is a lot more forceful and obvious on the outside. Sometime he kicks/punches so hard that I’m sure someone saw it from far away. It’s crazy! I think he’s slowly running out of room in there, so it’s not as frequent, but he can still be stirred easily just if I drink water or even talk. He likes to position his butt on the right side of my belly. Even if I put my hand on it, he doesn’t move it. Lazy kid! He hiccups quite frequently. It’s the weirdest sensation, and it lasts for at least 10 minutes every time.

The nursery: My wonderful friends flew/drove in to help me with this nursery this weekend! While we had a little too much fun in NOLA the night before and didn’t get as much done as we’d hoped, we did finish up the stripes and curtains!

Allison is starting to paint the stripes!

Beth is getting in on some action!

It was a joint effort – Dusty helped, too!

Here’s a little sneak peak of the finished product (more pictures to come later once I have more things in place):

Kent was a sewing fool! She made a gorgeous set of curtains for J’s room!

Here’s another sampling of what’s in store for the nursery:

1. Old lamp I found in my house. I spray painted the base with Valspar Aqua. I love the way it turned out!

2/3. I found some inspiration artwork on Etsy and DIY. The frames are old black frames that I found around my house and just spray painted with the same aqua paint I used for the lamp.

4. The chevron fabric for J’s curtains

5. His bedding

6. Adorable birds that I had made from The Fish Box on Etsy. I’m going to make a bird mobile to hang above his changing table.

Here’s a closer look:

7. Fabric palette for pillows and the changing pad.

Joe spent the day working on assembling the crib. Now I just need to hang the curtains, get a dresser and start putting up all of the odds and ends. Lots left to do, but we’re slowly getting there!

New stolen idea of the week:

I want to hang these in the corner near his crib. I still need the stars and some other colors (probably orange).

I got the inspiration here:

What I’m looking forward to: Finishing up the nursery.

What I miss: Not much right now.

Next appointment:

Since I had bad cramping and pressure last week, my OB requested that I have an ultra-sound to check my cervical length. I had pre-term labor with Anna and had time-table contractions at 35 weeks, so we’re being overly cautious at this point to avoid that again. When I went in for my Gestational Diabetes test last Thursday, she set me up for an appointment on Wednesday, January 25 to have the cervical check as well as a growth ultra-sound for baby J. He measured a 1 1/2 cm. behind the last two appointments. While that’s not too significant, my Dr. wanted to be check on things just to make sure J is growing as he should be.

Admittedly, I was super excited to see J again and totally relieved when everything checked out A-OK. He’s measuring right on track or ahead in some areas (his head was a few days bigger than some other body parts). My cervical length checked out fine, too. My fluids are where they need to be. All in all, it was a great visit. J is head down and in position!

Here’s a picture of him from today:

He has the same exact profile as Anna!

The other images are freaky looking, so I won’t post them here.

He was pretty active today – opening and closing his mouth, moving his arms/hands all around. Oh, and he’s still a boy!

I’m still waiting on the results of my Gestational Diabetes test. My next appointment is Friday, February 3. I’m starting the every two weeks appointments now. I can’t believe it’s already that time!

____________________________________________________

So, my friends Beth and Kent drove in this past Friday, January 20th to help out with the nursery. Our plan was for them to arrive on Friday afternoon, head out to NOLA for the evening, paint/sew on Saturday, take it easy that night, and then head back to NOLA on Sunday for beignets and day time fun.

Little did I know that they had something else in the works!

They both arrived around 4ish in the afternoon (give or take a few), and it was so awesome to see them again! We sat and chatted for a bit and then headed out to NOLA (with Joe) to have some fun.

We stopped off at Napoleon House for dinner. It’s a quaint little place with delicious NOLA cuisine. Right after we get our meals, I look to my right and see Allison and Dusty walk in! I had ZERO clue they would be coming, so it was a total surprise. An amazing surprise. I sat there completely stunned, and it took me a good hour or two to finally realize that two more of my closest friends on the planet actually came in to see me! ME! I felt so special and blessed to have them there. It was truly the best weekend a girl could ask for, and I thank Beth and Kent for arranging it all and keeping me totally in the dark about it – good job!

Here’s video of the moment they arrived:

I’m also glad they came because now we have pictures of our weekend.

Joe is an honorary member of our little group!

Dusty is talking to baby J.

Then…as we’re sitting at Pat O’s, another SURPRISE. My friend Aly (in the middle) comes up and joins our happy little group! Again, TOTALLY surprised.

I’m so happy that we’re all together again!

I wish I had a slice of that pizza right now!

There are many more pictures that shall remain private simply because what happens in NOLA stays in NOLA. Of course I had a sober front row seat to everything since I didn’t drink a drop, but I’m not spilling any secrets!

Saturday we had a late start based on the previous day’s festivities. I posted the nursery pictures above since that’s what we spent most of the day doing – motivating ourselves to paint and relaxing around the house.

We went out that night to a delicious local restaurant that served creole cuisine. It was a hit!

Here we are in front of the place (Joe was the photographer):

Once we got back home, they surprised me – YET AGAIN – with a baby shower for J.

Adorable Saints hat from my friend Mandy.

Joe especially liked this one even though it was a Mustang. He may have to suppress his Chevy obsession while his son wears this one.

I got this Rock N Play Sleeper from the girls – little did I know how fantastic these things are. They’re all the rave now!

It was such a fun little shower – I got lots of cute onesies and other baby items, diapers, etc.

We left fairly early the next morning to go back to NOLA for the daytime fun. Dusty and Alyson were leaving to go back home later in the afternoon, so we wanted to get an earlier start.

Here we are at Café Du Monde:

Here I am imitating Tyrone.

Crack is whack, yo.

My bump looks HUGE here!

After we dropped off Dusty at the airport. Beth, Kent, and I went out to eat at my favorite Mexican restaurant in my college town. It was so nice to have a relaxing meal without toddler interruption! I am so thankful that my wonderful in-laws watched Anna this weekend so I could have some Natalie time with my favorite people on earth!

Once we got back home, Anna was there, and she had a blast playing with Beth, Allison, and Kent.

We spent the rest of the evening watching TV and relaxing and went to bed fairly early since Allison’s flight was super early, and Kent/Beth had a long drive ahead of them. Plus, I had to work the next day.

It was am amazing weekend full of fun, great food, and great friends. It’s one of those memories that I’ll cherish forever and think about when I’m all old and decrepit. There aren’t many friends like these girls, and I’m forever thankful that they’re a part of my life.

Week 28.

2012-01-17T08:00:00.000-06:00

After a Saints playoff loss, this past week wasn’t one I’d want to re-live, so I’ll just dive right in to the baby stuff.

Here’s where we are this week:

By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. She's also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

Images and content courtesy of babycenter.com

How far along: 28 weeks

Total weight gain: +23.5 total. This is +1.5 from last week.
1 lb. over the normal weight gain and 3 lbs. less than the maximum weight gain, so I’m doing great!

Sleep habits: Sleep has been going well. I have been having some issues when I wake up and am on my back, but there’s not much I can control about my positions throughout the night. The hardest part of sleeping at this point is the frequent bathroom trips and my overall inability to get out of bed as quickly as I used to be able to (from the weight gain and heavy stomach).

Maternity clothes: Still wearing them. Today I’m wearing my pre-pregnancy pants, but they are fully unzipped. I needed some black pants and didn’t have any options, so I went for it! Thankfully, my long shirt hides everything, so it’s all good.

I’m tempted to buy a few more shirts to carry me through, but I guess I’ll just work with what I have for now.

Best moment of the week: My mom, sister, and Jackson came over this past Saturday to help me paint the nursery. We didn’t get much done, but it was nice having them there.

Food cravings: Right now I’m craving King Cake, but that’s not abnormal for me this time of year (Mardi Gras).

Symptoms: Pretty bad cramping on my lower left side. It was kind of miserable yesterday to the point where I almost drove myself to the hospital, but it has since subsided. I definitely over-did it this past weekend painting the nursery and trying to get control over the massive amount of laundry that is always piled up. I seriously need a maid.

I’m also having lots of pressure, so I’m not sure if he’s dropped and locked into birthing position or if he’s just chilling out low. The cramping and pressure yesterday had me convinced I was about to go into labor.

Movement: Most days he’s pretty active although I did have a worry moment this past weekend and “forced” myself to eat some cake to get him to move. He moved immediately and then hiccupped for about 30 minutes. His movements are much stronger now, and he’s started shifting inside to where it makes my entire belly move like a wave.

The nursery: I spent this past weekend painting the walls in preparation for my friends Beth & Kent to come in and help me stripe the main wall. I really like the colors (click here for all of the nursery details) and hope that the stripes turn out like I’m imagining them!

I also spray painted (in aqua) some old frames I found and added Joseph’s DIY art into them. I really like how they turned out! I took it a step further and spray painted an old lamp in the same color which will be used on his dresser/changing table (which I still have to buy). I will probably paint the shade in stripes. Still undecided about that.

There’s still lots left to do, and hopefully we’ll be able to get it all done. I also need to get back all of the stuff I loaned to my sister (PNP, swing) and all of my nephew’s clothes ‘cause my poor child will be naked if not!

What I’m looking forward to: Beth and Kent’s visit. Finishing up the nursery. 4D u/s.

What I miss: Not much right now.

Next appointment: I have an appointment on Thursday (the 19th) for my gestational diabetes testing. Hopefully I pass with flying colors because I’m not exactly the world’s best when it comes to restricting myself.

See ya next week!

84 days to go!

Week 27

2012-01-11T08:00:00.000-06:00

Not much going on this past week, so I’ll just jump right to the baby stuff.

This week, your baby weighs almost 2 pounds (like a head of cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long with her legs extended. She's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes, and perhaps even sucking her fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. While her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if she were to be born now. Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and they don't bother her, so just relax and enjoy the tickle.

Images and content courtesy of babycenter.com

How far along: 27 weeks

Total weight gain: +22 total. This is +3 from last week. UGH! Based on the pregnancy weight gain calculator, I’m a little ahead of where I need to be. So, yeah, I need to slow my roll. A delicious Southwestern Egg Roll from Chili’s. Or a pork roll from Chinese House. Or a Crescent Roll.

Here’s to hoping I’ll even out next week. That seems to be the trend with this pregnancy. Where I’d gain only one 1 – 2 lbs./week with Anna consistently, this pregnancy I’ll gain 3, not gain, gain 3. I guess it all evens out. My body is going to do what it wants to do, but I don’t need to help it along by eating two servings of everything. Or three.

Sleep habits: Sleep has been quite good this week, fortunately. Other than Anna crashing my bed a few times, I’ve been sleeping soundly and falling back to sleep quickly after waking up. The bad dreams have stopped, and while my dreams are still vivid and memorable, at least they’re not panic inducing anymore. I can’t sleep on my back any longer. I wake up in pretty bad pain, achy pain. My stomach is certainly heavier now, and it’s quite apparent when I have to get up from a lying down position. That’s no fun.

Maternity clothes: They still fit. It’s a miracle. My bump is a lot higher up now and more bump-like, so I’m kind of digging the tight shirts to showcase my belly. Of course I always wear a sweater on top to hide my butt. So, I guess that kind of negates the cute bump shirts.

Best moment of the week: The Saints win against the Lions this past Saturday was pretty wonderful.

Food cravings: No true cravings or aversions this week. I’m ravenous, but any food will do.

Symptoms: Some minor cramping – especially on my left side. My hormones seem to be more in check this week, thankfully.

Movement: He’s equally active and not active. Some hours he’s moving non-stop, then he won’t move for another hour or so. I get worried. It’s like he senses it and gives me a huge stomp in the bladder. Good times. He alternates between sitting on my bladder all day or hanging out behind my belly button. I can feel kicks and punches all over now which is pretty weird. I can see all of them from the outside as well. His kicks were so hard the other night that he was making my phone (that was perched on my stomach) move and bounce. Kind of weird and fascinating all at the same time.

The nursery: I’m counting down the days ‘til two of my BFsF, Beth over at Unskinny Boppy and Kent, come on down to help me out with the nursery details. They’re going to help me paint the wall stripes as well as sew the curtains (Kent sews), make some pillows and other odds and ends.

This is what I’ve done thus far:
1) I purchased his bedding – woot! I got this entire bedding set – crib skirt, bumper, two sheets, pillow, comforter – for $45. It’s in mint condition.

2. I purchased the fabric for the curtains, pillows, and changing pad cover that Kent will be sewing.

Curtain fabric:
I decided on an orange chevron fabric for the curtains. I wanted to break out of the monochromatic color scheme of the bedding and add pops of colors with accents and other details. After lamenting over different choices, I finally decided on this fabric:

Joe says it looks like the Whattaburger design. While I agree, I think he fails to see how fantastic it will look in the final design. Patience, dear grasshopper.

This is what they will look like hanging (the image above is a truer example of the real color, these look a bit darker):
Image courtesy of Castle Creek Designs

Pillow fabrics:



Fabrics below are from fabric.com

Hopefully we’ll have a little fabric left over to make an orange chevron pillow as well.

Changing pad cover (minky fabrics):

3) The artwork
This has kind of been a tricky spot this past week. I kind of/sort of started the whole decoration process without any input from Joe. I figure, eh, decorating is more my domain than his, so it’ll be OK. Wrong! He wants to put all of his Coca Cola collection in the room as well as bright car posters and things that just won’t go. I figure when baby J is older and we decorate his toddler room, we can bring all of that out, but for now I’d like his nursery to look like a nursery and not a Coca Cola/Dale Earnhardt museum.

So, to compromise, I nixed the bird/owl theme and decided to introduce a vintage/retro/modern (contradiction, right?) theme to make Joe happy while still maintaining the overall concept.

My friend Allison is going to create three canvases that will go behind his bed – one will have a vintage Chevy Camaro (Joe’s favorite car), the other will be an old Chevy truck, and the middle canvas will just be the letter J.

Here’s an example of the look we’re going for that will be used on the canvases using the colors of the nursery:


Image is from N. Eve Designs on Etsy

Here’s some artwork that I DIY after finding a design I loved on Etsy.

I will have it framed and matted like above using some frames that I had left over from when the room was a guest room. Total cost = $0!

Since the frames are black, I will probably spray paint them all aqua.

I love the alphabet concept, so I’ll be adding in some alphabet artwork as well.

Here’s my DIY version:

Again, this will be framed and matted in an aqua frame.

I also love the artwork below and will try to DIY it myself and add to some shelving or the dresser/tables in his room:

Image is from Trendy Peas

Image is from Trendy Peas

Image is from Sycamore Street Press on Etsy

I guess the two basic concepts of the room at this point are vintage cars and the alphabet. My friend Allison came through once again and found an adorable set of letters that she was able to DIY/mimic in papers that match the nursery colors. Here’s what she’s done so far:

Inspiration photo:
Image is from mypaperlust.blogspot.com

Here’s her DIY version:
I love, love, love them!

Other to-dos:

1) Create a bird mobile like this inspiration photo:

Image from Design, dining, and diapers

Since I can’t sew worth crap, I found a seller on Etsy who made me 6 birds (in colors that match the nursery) for $15!

Check out The Fish Box

Now all I need is the wreath and hanging string. This mobile will go above J’s changing table.

Still to do…
1) Pick out paint colors. I’m still undecided, but I think I’m leaning towards a mid-level beige/brown color and off-white/cream stripe. The stripes will be on one wall only – the wall behind his crib. The other three walls (small walls) will be painted in the beige/brown color. Since we have a lot of patterns and things going on, I think a room full of stripes will be overwhelming.

Still not sure if I’ll do a wide stripe like this:
Image courtesy of projectnursery.com.

Or a narrow stripe like this:

Image courtesy of Nursery Notations

My plan this weekend is to paint the base coat on the walls so it will be ready to go when we want to do the stripes once Beth and Kent get here. Slowly but surely!

What I’m looking forward to: Beth and Kent’s visit. Finishing up the nursery. 4D u/s.

What I miss: Same as last week – I miss the ability to get things done without having to wait on other people to help me (ahem, Joe bringing stuff to the attic).

Next appointment: My last appointment was January 5th, but they moved it to the 6th because my OB had an emergency delivery. The baby’s h/b was 140. When she measured my belly, she said I was a little behind – I was measuring 25 cm. at 26w3d, but she said as long as we’re not 2 cm different, we’re still in a good zone. Of course I worried and Googled since I never had this problem with Anna, and it seems like this is fairly common. He could’ve just been in a weird position at that moment which may have skewed the measurements.

I have to go back in two weeks on January 19th for the gestational diabetes test. They like to take it right at 28 weeks there. I have to force myself to eat two Snickers bars for a few days prior. What a sacrifice!

See ya next week!

91 days to go. Eeek!

Happy New Year / Week 26

2012-01-03T13:11:00.001-06:00

I hope all of you had a safe and fun New Year! Did you stay up ‘til midnight or crash and burn before the ball dropped?

For the first time in many years, Joe and I had a stay-home kind of night, and it was simply fabulous. We typically head over to listen to my dad’s band play at various venues, but this year that didn’t seem like a feasible option since I’m knocked up and all. Baby in my belleh + cigarette smoke + drunk people all over the place = recipe for disaster. So, little Joe got to spend his first New Year’s Eve safely in my belly while safely at home.

Earlier in the day, Joe’s parents, brother, and grandmother came over to grill and pop some fireworks. It was a fun, relaxing day with good food and good company. When the night finally came, it was just Joe, Anna, and me, and we spent the evening watching old movies (like Twins) and popping the remainder of the pretty fireworks, the ones that light up the sky!

Anna had ZERO fear of the loud popping noises and even wanted to light some off herself. Maybe in a few years kid. Nah, never. I’m way too paranoid about kids and fireworks. Hell, I had mini-panic attacks just watching Joe light them off. Then again, sometimes he is a big kid, so I’m not sure how much safer it was having him light the fireworks vs. Anna.

Anna hit the hay around 10:30, and Joe and I stayed up ‘til about 1 a.m. which is no small task for this pregnant woman. I’m usually sawing logs at 8:30 p.m. these days, so I was very proud of myself.

All I can say is that 2011 is a year that I want to erase out of my book of life (with the exception of getting pregnant). I was certainly happy to close that chapter and open up 2012. I actually mooned the year at 11:59 p.m. and opened my arms to embrace the new year. I’m hopeful that this year has some great things in store for my entire family – it’s much deserved after the crapfest that was 2011. Onward and upward!

And just for funsies, here are two images that greatly sum up how I feel:

How was your 2011?
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26 weeks and counting…
The network of nerves in your baby's ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. He may now be able to hear both your voice and your partner's as you chat with each other. He's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of his lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when he's born and takes that first gulp of air. And he's continuing to put on baby fat. He now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches (an English hothouse cucumber) from head to heel. If you're having a boy, his testicles are beginning to descend into his scrotum — a trip that will take about two to three days.

(What the heck is an English hothouse cucumber?)

Images and content courtesy of babycenter.com

How far along: 26 weeks

Total weight gain: +19 total. This is +1.5 from last week. Based on the pregnancy weight gain calculator, I’m exactly on track, so I will pat myself on the back now. If I can reach my back, that is.

Sleep habits: I’ve had some horrible dreams lately. Like so vivid that I actually wake up in a panic, and it takes me a while to fall back asleep – even when I watch a few episodes of Golden Girls. I’m still peeing frequently and expect to continue this wonderful trend for the rest of my pregnancy, so I better just get used to it. In fact, I know it will get worse. I think it’s just God’s way of preparing you for the sleepless nights ahead. I’m kind of terrified of them since I have a toddler who has very sporadic sleep habits lately – some nights she sleeps like a dream, others she’s all up in my business.

Maternity clothes: Yeah, they’re getting tight. I have a feeling that I’ll be splurging on some new maternity pants in the near future. While they still fit comfortably, if I gain any more weight in my butt/thighs/belly, they will move from comfortable territory to “we should make people wear these jeans when we want to torture them to get them to share intelligence about their country” territory. I told my friends that I was going to embrace my bump this time since I was always trying to cover it up with Anna, but I find myself sinking back into the same mindset where I feel not cute at all and wanting to mask it. It’s really ridiculous to think that way since bumps are quite beautiful.

Best moment of the week: New Year’s Eve was pretty fabulous. It was fun seeing Anna get so involved with the fireworks and getting to spend the day with family.

Food cravings: Tuna fish. I know it’s a no-no in large amounts, so I’ve stayed under my weekly allowance. I’m back on a salty kick this week. Chips, carrots w/ dip, and the fabulous potato salad that my mother-in-law made for us!

Symptoms: Not many symptoms other than being a hormonal basket case. My new motto this year is TTBN (think twice, be nice). I have a tendency to spout off in anger, and I need to learn to reign it in now that my daughter is a perceptive little beast. It’s hard to keep my hormones in check these days, but if I keep chanting this motto, hopefully I will react less and take a breather before saying anything.

Movement: He seems to have finally moved up. Although I keep saying that, and then the next week he’s using my bladder as a trampoline. Earlier today I felt movement right near my belly button. I’ve also been feeling light little hiccups every now and then. It’s such an odd sensation.

The nursery: I added this new category since it’s something I’ll be dealing with over the upcoming weeks/months. I saw my countdown ticker today and nearly crapped my pants that I’m in double digits now (98 days ‘til my due date). Two of my best friends on the planet, Beth over at Unskinny Boppy and Kent are coming for a visit mid-January to help me with the nursery and to hang out. Beth has MAD decorating skills (just check out her blog), and Kent is an amazing seamstress, so I’m really excited to have the extra help in getting everything together for Baby J’s room.

This is what I’ve done thus far:

1) I purchased his bedding – woot! I just love Craigslist. Know why? I got this entire bedding set – crib skirt, bumper, two sheets, pillow, comforter – for $45. It’s in mint condition. The retail price is usually $330 for the set, but it’s half off online – it’s still $160+. I love, love, love deals – especially when I don’t feel like I’m settling. I love this set and am so happy with my purchase.

Beth and Kent (and Joe) are going to help me paint the nursery and try to put it together as much as we can. Kent is going to sew the curtains, so I need to finalize the fabric I want to use before they come. I have less than two weeks – EEEK!

Here’s some of the fabric I’m considering for the curtains although I’m not 100% sold on any of them yet. I haven’t priced the fabric yet, but I’m going to assume it’s probably pretty pricey and out of my price range. It wouldn’t make much sense to spend $300 on curtains when I paid $45 for the bedding, so I may have to find a more economical option.

We’re still throwing out paint color choices and how we want to do the walls, but here are some options I’m mulling over:

Light stripes (seems like the best option):
Image courtesy of projectnursery.com.

Solid color background with center stripes:
I’m not sure where this image is located, so if it’s yours, please let me know, and I’ll link to you.

Beth has some Dutch Boy: Half Moon Bay that she can bring. I love, love, love the color, but I’m not sure how it will look with the off-white trim and beige ceilings (yes, our contractors painted our darn ceilings to match the walls).

ETA: Beth already designed an amazing board for the room! What do you think?

2) I spent my last day of my holiday break cleaning out the baby room. That room has worn many feathers since we moved into our house in 2007. It was first a workout room, then it became a guest room once I got pregnant with Anna, then it was my Piggy’s Place craft room, and now it’s going to be Baby J’s nursery. I left it a complete and utter mess with my Piggy’s Place stuff, so it took me forever to organize all of my crafts into boxes and put them away in storage. Now the room is completely empty and just waiting to be painted.

Still left to do:
1) Paint the nursery
2) Order a dresser for the nursery since Anna is using the one that matches the crib
3) Put the crib together
4) Add other decorative pieces

Some ideas I’m considering:

An alphabet wall

Image courtesy of projectnursery.com

An alphabet tree:
Image courtesy of AirlieCreations on Etsy

This fantastic artwork that my friend Allison said she can make for me (that’s the bedding, by the way):

Not sure where this image is from – please contact me if this is yours, and I’ll link to you.

I’ll take that lamp, please!

What I’m looking forward to: Beth and Kent visiting me! We’re not only going to be doing nursery stuff, by the way. We’ll head out to NOLA and have some fun (which is all we know how to do when we’re together).

I’m also looking forward to getting a 4D u/s of the baby. I can’t wait to see him again.

What I miss: I keep forgetting that I’m limited while I’m pregnant. I’m extremely impatient, and I’m married to a wonderful man, but he likes to do things at his own pace. This is a recipe for disaster when I’m in a gung-ho mood and ready to get things done. So, I take it upon myself to lift things I shouldn’t and over-do it when I absolutely shouldn’t. So, I miss having the strength and freedom to just get ‘er done.

Next appointment: January 5th. I never did get the orange drink for my gestational diabetes test, so I’ll ask for it at my appointment and probably have to go back within a few days for the 1 hour, boring ass test.

Merry Christmas / Week 25

2011-12-28T21:50:00.001-06:00

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and got to spend lots of quality time with your family and friends. Oh, and hopefully Santa was kind to you and yours, too!

We had an enjoyable, low-key celebration at our house. When I say low-key, I mean inexpensive. Since Anna is at a wonderful age where she knows nothing about iPods, iPads, Mac computers or $200 shoes, we were able to cheaply satisfy her Christmas wishes. She consistently asked for the following:

A blue slap watch
Lots of puzzles

We, er Santa, came through. Thanks to a wonderful online toy store and their super low Melissa & Doug prices and fast shipping (we got our order the next day!), Anna had a very happy Christmas. I got her other odds and ends things (crayons, markers, stickers – stuff like that) and made sure to wrap everything just to make it more fun for her to open it all up.

I was lacking in one department, though – the BIG gift. The WOW gift. The one that instantly catches her eye when she walks into the room. A blue slap watch and lots of puzzles wouldn’t do the trick, so I found an awesome little castle tent at CVS, of all places, to satisfy the big gift need. Oh, and it was $20. SCORE!

Cookies for Santa, carrots for the reindeer.

Unfortunately, Joe got to the cookies before I could take a before picture of them. Of course he didn’t eat the carrots, so I just put them back in the bag.
Santa left his mess. Typical man.

Anna made it half the night in her bed before waking me up at 4 a.m. She had a little accident, so the Santa pajamas that I so lovingly dressed her in that night were not able to be featured this year. That’s OK, these were a good alternative.

She was well aware that Ho Ho was coming that night, but when she came into our room, she made no mention of it at all. In fact, we all kind of overslept until about 8:30ish before we finally dragged ourselves out of bed to start Christmas day.

Anna begins slowly.

Then she decides she’d rather open gifts in her castle. We weren’t passing her the gifts quickly enough.
So she decided to make fart sounds with her mouth to hurry us along.

Daddy joins the fun.

Making funny faces.

Round II at Mimi’s house!


Oh, and this photo has nothing to do with Christmas, but if you’ll kindly remember the Hell Girl post I posted last week, I found this gem when I was unloading the pictures from my card.

Joe’s face says it all! This was right in the midst of the meth-like hysteria that Anna displayed most of the evening.

Don’t let that sweet face of hers fool you. That child was hell girl.
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25 weeks and counting…
Head to heels, your baby now measures about 13 1/2 inches. Her weight — a pound and a half — isn't much more than an average rutabaga, but she's beginning to exchange her long, lean look for some baby fat. As she does, her wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and she'll start to look more and more like a newborn. She's also growing more hair — and if you could see it, you'd now be able to discern its color and texture.

Images and content courtesy of babycenter.com

How far along: 25 weeks

Total weight gain: +17.5 total. This is +1 from last week. I was scared to step on the scale this week and was pleasantly surprised to see only 1 lb. after the major feast-eating I’ve been doing over the past few days.

Sleep habits: Still peeing every hour on the hour, but my sleep has been very peaceful, and I’m able to go back to sleep easily most nights. The nights where my mind starts racing, I turn on Golden Girls and am able to fall back asleep rather quickly. That show always makes me feel at peace.

Maternity clothes: They still fit, but now they’re fitting more like maternity clothes and less like clothes you wear on bloated days and still have room in them. I’m hoping that I’ll be able to use what I have for the remainder of my pregnancy without having to go out and buy anything new. I can still fit in regular tops, but I have a feeling those days are limited since my bump is growing now that the baby has officially moved up a little.

Since I love comparisons, here are side-by-side comparisons from week 25 with Anna and week 25 with Joseph. I’m carrying almost identically which is so odd to me! I may be a little rounder in the front with baby J.

I do apologize for lots of things: 1) My naked, white belly, 2) my pajamas and 3) my dirty mirror (in both sets).

I did spare you from my makeupless face, so be grateful!

Best moment of the week: Christmas was pretty cool. We got a few things for Joseph from my family, and it was so neat and precious to get little boy stuffs. We got some bath gear from my cousins, and an adorable little outfit from my aunt and uncle. I love, love, love it!

Food cravings: Sweets have been my craving this week. Mainly the cupcakes that I made for Joe’s 33rd birthday. He’s a Christmas baby, you know! I think he got maybe 3. Anna and I ate the other 21. :-|

Symptoms: I’ve been a little weepy lately, but I’m not sure if it’s baby-related or life-related. I’ve been having some mild cramping which I’m chalking up to growing pains with baby J. I know he’s definitely moving up in the world as I don’t feel him playing trampoline on my bladder much anymore. The heartburn I was having last week has subsided a bit, thankfully.

Movement: His kicks are much more intense and closer to the surface now. I can also see him rolling around in there which is pretty darn freaky.

What I’m looking forward to: I’m thinking about having a 3-d/4-d ultra-sound in January just to take a peek in on him again. I know I won’t be getting another one at my OB’s office, and there’s no way I can wait to see him until April. I did a 3-d u/s with Anna, but she didn’t cooperate the first time, so we had to go back. The best time, according to the calendar on the website I went to, is mid-January for me.

What I miss: I can’t think of anything that I miss right now.

Next appointment: January 5th. I still have to get to the Dr. to get the orange drink for my Gestational Diabetes test. Since Joe is off of work tomorrow, I may take a trip over there to get what I need. I’m not looking forward to this test at all.

Blech.

Hell girl / Week 24

2011-12-22T15:47:00.001-06:00

Joe and I always feel like we’ve won the lottery when it comes to the temperament of our child. She’s sweet, mild-mannered, calm, loving, nurturing – basically any wonderful adjective you want to throw in there will work. I know that most parents probably say this about their child, so you’re probably taking what I’m saying with a grain of salt, but I promise you that she’s a sweet little girl.

With that said, take the antonym of every word I listed above, and that’s what we had a few nights ago when we took Anna to see the Christmas lights at a local park.

The day started out fine, she was happy and pleasant. She even made an art collage for her friend who was going to be there. Here’s her artwork:

When we first got to the park, she was still well-behaved. She listened to what we were telling her, and she was really excited about the lights. Then all hell broke loose. Hell girl replaced my angel girl, and we then became “those parents” – you know the parents that you pity because they have a demon spawn for a child?

I’m not sure if the air was laced with meth, but our normally calm and quiet child was literally bounding away from us, running faster than we could run, hitting and kicking and pinching and scratching when we picked her up, laughing maniacally at us when we’d reprimand her, climbing rock walls that weren’t meant to be climbed. The only thing that separated her from Satan at that point was that she didn’t have a tail or a pitchfork.

It’s truly embarrassing when your child is the only one misbehaving. All of the other kids were quietly enjoying the lights. Ours was pulling on them and making them catch on fire (true story).

After two hours of this nonsense, we finally decided it best that we leave. As we were walking to the car, Joe put her down for a split second. She took this as an out and actually ran away from us towards cement steps and traffic. My fat, pregnant ass ran after her (in 4” boots, no less), but of course I move slower than molasses in January at this point. Fortunately, I just made it before she had a mouthful of cement. I was ENRAGED. And embarrassed.

I vowed then and there to keep her locked in a cage for the rest of her toddler life.

Totally kidding about the cage, but damn if I wasn’t thinking about it at that point. She was a wildebeest. A wildebeest with a curly afro of hair and Spongebob Square Pants teeth.

We’re still pretty traumatized about the night and are debating whether to bring her out in public again before she turns 18. I’ll have to get back to you on that.

Now that things have returned to normal in her brain and the meth high has worn off, she’s back to her old sweet self (thankfully). Today is her school Christmas party. She got to wear pajamas today, so I put her in the Santa pajamas that I bought for her last year. They still fit!

I promise her hair looked cuter in person:
You see that look she’s giving the camera? This is how she looked at the Christmas light display except she had fangs and was frothing at the mouth like a rabid dog.

So, I just realized this will be my last post before Christmas, so I hope all of you out there have a wonderful Christmas day with your family and friends!

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24 weeks and counting…
Your baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him at just over a pound. Since he's almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.

Images and content courtesy of babycenter.com

How far along: 24 weeks

Total weight gain: +16.5 total. This is +3.5 from last week. I’m feeling very…puffy. It was kind of shocking to see a 3.5+ weight gain after two weeks of no gain, but it’s all necessary and to be expected. I’m right where I need to be as far as the weight gain goes, so I’ll just keep focusing on that. While it’s hard for me to see myself this way (just being honest here), I know the baby is healthy.

Sleep habits: Sleep is still going well with the exception of a toddler kicking me all night. Anna’s newest thing is that she’s scared to sleep in her room because there are worms and butterflies in there. Last time I checked, her room was worm and butterfly free, so I am chalking it up to toddler hysteria. Last night I tried a different approach (instead of caving and letting her sleep with us) and just held her hand until she fell asleep in her bed. It worked! She lasted in her bed ‘til 4 a.m. which is a record for these past few weeks. So, once she moves into our bed, I can kiss my peaceful sleep goodbye. Who would’ve thought that my toddler would be keeping me up at night!

Maternity clothes: I tried on my non-maternity bloated day jeans this morning. HA. DEAD. YEAH RIGHT. Yeah, they don’t fit. Like at all. Anywhere. :sobs: If I continue at this pace, I won’t even fit into my maternity jeans anymore. I have no idea what’s going on with me, but every part of my body is puffy, not just my belly. I should probably slow down on the carb-y stuff like loaves of bread and 2 lbs. of mashed potatoes. I can’t keep using pregnancy as an excuse to eat everything I want because eventually I will have this baby, and who wants to deal with 20 lbs. of extra stuff that shouldn’t even be there to begin with?

Best moment of the week: I’m honestly trying to think of something, but it’s been a hum dinger of a week for many reasons. Let’s hope that things are better in 2012!

Food cravings: Food.

Symptoms: I haven’t had many symptoms this week. I think Joseph is moving up, so I no longer have the sciatica. He must’ve moved in a new position because the heartburn isn’t as bad either. It’s been a pretty nice, symptomless week! I’ve had a few hormone flare-ups, but I never know if it’s baby-related or just stress-of-life related. Maybe a mixture of both. I just have to say that Joe has been the most amazing husband ever, and I can’t thank him enough for being so wonderfully supportive through all of my pregnancy craziness!

Movement: As usual, Joseph picks and chooses times to be active. The times he’s not, of course I worry. Then he starts using my bladder as a trampoline, and I think, “Why the hell was I so worried?!”

What I’m looking forward to: Christmas in just a few days! I’m looking forward to Anna’s face when she sees what Santa brought for her!

What I miss: I can’t think of anything that I miss right now.

Next appointment: January 5th. I realized a few days ago that I will be 26w and some change at my next appointment. At my last appointment I asked my OB when I’d have to take the Gestational Diabetes – drink that nasty crap drink – test. She told me that we’d do it at the appointment after next. At that point, I’ll be 30 weeks which is outside the 24 – 28 weeks window. So, I called the office and told them, and I have to go pick up the drink next week. On January 5th, I’ll have to guzzle flat tang drink and sit there for an hour while they tell me if I can continue eating like a carb-fanatic or if I have to start watching my diet more. My fingers are crossed that I can continue eating mashed potatoes.

A visit with Ho Ho / Week 23

2011-12-14T08:00:00.000-06:00

There aren’t many days left before Christmas, so we’re trying to cram in every bit of holiday fun before the big day arrives. Last year we took Anna to Bass Pro Shop for pictures with Santa, but after arriving and seeing a mile length line, we opted out. So, yes, Virginia, I have no pictures of my child with Santa Claus for 2010. Not wanting a FAIL repeat this year, we made plans to get there much earlier than last year and were expecting a long wait again. Fortunately, Bass Pro got their act together and handed out time tickets for pictures. So, our wait time was cut in half as we now had an appointed time for the big visit with Santa.

Anna behaved like an angel for most of the day. That is, until 30 seconds prior to meeting Santa. Core melt-down time began, and mommy stress was through the roof. I can’t say as I blame my child. I mean, we were there for two hours before we got to see Santa. She had played on every toy, begged for every piece of candy in the store, ran around and had her fun. Since she takes after me when she gets hungry, my sweet child turns into Sybil on speed.

I’m so glad there’s a name for our disorder now. It’s called hangry. Lots of people suffer from this disorder.

The legal definition: When you are so hungry that your lack of food causes you to become angry, frustrated or both.

I should have this one tattooed on my forehead:

We were up next for our pictures, and Anna decided at that moment to pitch a fit when I told her to put back on her sweater. Then she ran away and wanted to play with the stuffed animal fish that they stupidly displayed right where all the kids were standing. She was absolutely frenetic, and I was absolutely panicked that we spent all this time, made all of this preparation for her to miss out once again.

But, just like that, she went from a total psycho back to her cute and well-behaved little self. It’s quite impressive how she can turn it on and off like that. It’s also quite scary. Is my child insane? Perhaps so, but at least she got a good picture with Santa this year.

Here’s video of Anna’s big Santa meeting (I apologize for the shakiness of the video – FLIP camera kinda sucks):

Anna’s visit with Santa

And here’s a cell phone shot of the event (the original photo hasn’t been scanned in yet because I’m too lazy, but I actually like this version even better). Anna tends to really cheese it up in photos, and while it’s cute, it’s not necessarily the most photogenic approach to take. Her Christmas photos are no exception.

My nephew’s Santa photos were taken at a local mall the next day. When my sister posted them on Facebook, I must’ve laughed for a good minute at how ridiculously hilarious and adorable they turned out:

I’m still perplexed about Santa’s green Grinch hands. What was he thinking? No wonder Jackson was so scared!

I digress…

After the photos were finished, we high-tailed it out of that madhouse and went out to eat at Texas Roadhouse. Anna had a few more melt-downs in the restaurant which always makes for a pleasant dining experience, but she finally got herself together and defeated the hangry disorder.

We left the restaurant and went to see our new baby cousin (Joe’s first cousin’s baby girl Ellie). She’s 4 weeks old and is the most precious baby ever. It was so fun watching Anna interact with her – especially since we’ll have our own little one soon! Anna is going to be such an amazing big sister. She’s gentle, quiet, and she’s totally willing to change poop diapers and feed the baby. SCORE! It’ll be like having my own little elf around to help me out!

Here’s the big sister in training – she’s a pro already:

The next day we spent the day at Anna’s grandmama’s house (Joe’s grandmother) watching the Saints beat some Titan tail while dining on chili and hot dogs – perfect cold weather/football game day food.

It was a wonderful, non-stop weekend with lots of memories and fun. I wish all of our weekends could be like that!

How’d your Santa photos turn out? Link ‘em up in the comments section!

How’s Christmas shopping coming along for you? I’m proud to say that since my child has such easy requests (a blue watch and puzzles), I managed to get way with spending $83 total on her gifts this year! I’ll post next week what I got her since this post is getting to be ridiculously long.

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23 weeks and counting…

Here’s where we are this week: Turn on the radio and sway to the music. With her sense of movement well developed by now, your baby can feel you dance. And now that she's more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about as much as a large mango), you may be able to see her squirm underneath your clothes. Blood vessels in her lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that your baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing her for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as your dog barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze her when she hears them outside the womb.

Images and content courtesy of babycenter.com

How far along: 23 weeks

Total weight gain: +13.0 total. This is –.5 from last week. I am on a two week trend of no weight gain. In fact, I lost .5 lb. this past week. I have no idea how that happened considering the amount of chili and hot dogs I ate on Sunday (oh, and honey rolls from Texas Roadhouse on Saturday). Pig, I am. According to the pregnancy weight gain calculator, I am a bit below average, but I don’t think it’s any concern at this point. The baby is shifting things around in there, so my stomach is getting pressed up. I’m going to assume this means my appetite is a bit less or my fear of heartburn (which I’ve been getting a lot) surpasses my desire to eat as much.

Sleep habits: Sleep is great. Yes, I have multiple pee sessions/night, but I quickly fall back asleep after. My stomach is starting to feel a bit heavier, so when I do wake up on my back, it feels…off. I’m not really sure how to counter-act this back sleeping deal since we only have a queen bed with zero room for any other pillows other than what we currently use.

Maternity clothes: Unfortunately, I have no belly shot to show you this week because I’ve had zero time to do anything creative like I wanted. Or even to take a random photo. My bump is starting to really pop, so most of my regular shirts that I was able to wear this whole time are starting to fit very snugly. I thought that boy bumps were supposed to be rounder and more basketball like. This isn’t the case with me. Like with Anna, this bump is more wide-set and extends around my entire mid-section, so instead of looking pregnant, I just look like I’m wearing an innertube around my waist. Not a flattering look, people. Thankfully, it’s winter, so I can wear lots of bulky stuff to cover up this uncomfortable part of my pregnancy before the full bump is here. I definitely want to embrace my bump and wear form-fitting stuff, but now is not the time. Maybe in a few more weeks when things round out a bit (if they ever do).

Best moment of the week: Taking Anna to get pictures with Santa (Ho Ho – as she calls him), spending the weekend with my in-laws and also getting to meet my new baby cousin Ellie.

Food cravings: No real cravings this week. I’m still on a baked potato kick. Oh, I did crave some macaroni and cheese, so I made some last night, but it didn’t satisfy my craving at all because it was basically disgusting. I know I’ll be eating some delicious baked macaroni on Christmas day with my family, so I can just wait!

Symptoms: I can actually feel things shifting around in my belleh, so I know it’s only a matter of time before there’s no doubt to anyone who sees me that I’m indeed knocked up. I officially popped around 24 weeks with Anna, and I think the same will happen this time. I lovingly refer to this feeling as “innard shifting” which is exactly what’s happening. This is a really cool representation of what happens to your organs during a pregnancy:

Click here

With innard shifting comes lots of weird cramps and jolts. Some are miserable, most are tolerable. I find myself having a hard time standing up quickly or getting out of bed quickly – there’s lots of pulling and stretching going on in the inside when I make quick movements. It’s kind of unsettling.

Other than the innard shifting, I’ve been having some serious heartburn. I don’t remember having this issue with Anna, but it makes sense since my stomach is behind my boobs now. If I lie down after eating – even a few hours after eating – I pay for it dearly. I haven’t caved and eaten any Tums yet, but now I think it’s time. They’re just so disgusting that I’ve avoided them thus far.

Movement: Some days little Joe moves most of the day, other days he’s not as active (which always makes me worry). I realized in the middle of the night that I hadn’t felt him move in quite some time, so I touched my stomach and felt a firm area. Once I pressed on it, he moved away and then woke up and kicked me the rest of the night. Never wake a sleeping baby, yo.

What I’m looking forward to: Christmas at my mom’s house and a nice, relaxing NYE at our house with the in-laws.

What I miss: I want to say that I miss feeling thin, but I’m scared that will come across the wrong way. I love growing a child, but I do admit that it’s hard to see your body gain weight in such weird places and not really be able to do anything about it. It’s totally worth it, but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t hard sometimes.

Next appointment: January 5th

Oh, Christmas Tree! / Week 22

2011-12-06T19:25:00.000-06:00

With Christmas quickly approaching, I realized I needed to get my butt into gear putting up the few decorations we have. I waited too long to nag Joe to get the fall decorations from the attic (since I’m in such a delicate state and can no longer do it myself), so our house was barren for fall. I didn’t want to make that mistake for Christmas as well.

So, I nagged. A lot. And Joe, being the great man he is, finally succumbed to my nagging and pulled out the 2,000 bins of Christmas crap that we store annually in our attic.

What’s unfortunate is that even with my impatience, the decorations sat in our garage untouched for about a week until I got off of my lazy butt and started unpacking everything.

I’m going to be honest and tell you that decorating for Christmas is a chore. Every single year this is how it plays out in my mind prior to the decorations going up…

<<soft Christmas music is playing in the background, the fireplace is warm with fire, the house is filled with the fragrance of cinnamon candles and a pot roast cooking in the crock pot, the cats are snuggled near the fire, Joe is wearing a turtleneck sweater while holding a mug of hot chocolate, Anna is prancing around in angel wings and singing White Christmas>>

My reality…

<<Superman is playing in the background, this is the 25th time we’ve watched it for the day, the fireplace is over-flowing with soot and embers from fires that we had days before, but it’s cold and dark tonight, the house smells like cat box and garbage that hasn’t been taken out in three days, the cats are puking on the carpet – never the wood or tile floors, Joe is sitting on the sofa playing Angry Birds while wearing a hole-y t-shirt, Anna is eating Velveeta cheese and crying because she wants to ride her bike outside even though it’s dark and rainy>>

Add in 2,000 white lights that no longer work, all of them tightly wrapped into the garland I need to hang on the mantle, and what was supposed to be a wonderfully charming Christmas experience has turned into my own Clark W. Griswold nightmare.

Except take Joe out of the equation this year because he was actually at work. And Anna wasn’t really eating Velveeta - she was eating Kraft.

The one bright spot about this year’s decorating adventure was that Anna was actually able to participate for the first time, and she actually enjoyed doing it. So, while I sat untangling 2,000 broken white lights, she started decorating the tree for me. Granted, most of the ornaments are in the same 2 inch spot, but her efforts were greatly appreciated, and I left everything exactly where she put it just to let her know that I’m proud!

Next year I’ll need to buy a Christmas phrase with five letters!

Now we just need some presents beneath this tree! Santa?

I’m not sure if you’ve heard of this adorable FREE service, but you can have Santa Claus send a personalized message to your little one HERE. Anna’s video turned out so cute – I can’t wait for her to watch it. I think she’s going to freak out because I was able to personalize it just for her. I may play it all year so she’ll continue being a good girl. This Santa thing really does work.

Speaking of videos, I was able to capture a short video of Anna singing and decorating the tree. As I said before, her little singing debut really made my night – even though she only knows two phrases to two different songs (Oh, Christmas Tree and All the Way) and meshed them into one song. At least you can see how excited she is about decorating the tree and actually taking part in Christmas this year.

Anna’s singing debut!

Since Anna is a bit older and more into the spirit of things, we’ve introduced the Elf on the Shelf phenomenon into our house. The only difference is the elf we’re using was a free one that someone gave us last year, and we don’t have the book. I made up poem in place of the actual story. I think it explains it well enough.

Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
You better be good this year,
The freaky ass elf is watching you.

I leave ass off when I say it to Anna because that’s what responsible parents do.

Anyway, Anna has lovingly named her elf JoAnn (my mother-in-law’s name). My daughter has a slight obsession with the name JoAnn and also with her maw maw. I think it’s pretty cute!

Here’s JoAnn the elf:
We were a few days behind with this whole thing, so JoAnn has only appeared in different spots twice – the first morning we found her riding Anna’s bike, but I forgot to take pictures because I fail.

This morning JoAnn was taking a dip in her own little elf bubble bath made of cotton balls. I’ve seen pictures of entire sinks filled with cotton balls, but I only had about 10 cotton balls left, so I improvised. Either way, Anna missed it because she was in a really bad mood this morning and didn’t care. At least I have a photo!

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22 weeks and counting…

Here’s where we are this week:
At 11 inches (the length of a spaghetti squash) and almost 1 pound, your baby is starting to look like a miniature newborn. His lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and he's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath his gums. His eyes have formed, but his irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. If you could see inside your womb, you'd be able to spot the fine hair (lanugo) that covers his body and the deep wrinkles on his skin, which he'll sport until he adds a padding of fat to fill them in. Inside his belly, his pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is developing steadily.

Images and content courtesy of babycenter.com

How far along: 22 weeks

Total weight gain: +13.5 total. This is +/-0 from last week. I think the baby has moved up just a bit, which, in turn curbs my insatiable appetite a bit. Which, in turns, curbs my weight gain. It’s so weird how I can gain 3 lbs. in one week and 0 the next. According to the weight gain calculator, I’m smack dab in the middle of below average and average gain, so I think I’m doing just fine.

Sleep habits: Sleep has been pretty great this past week. I’ve gotten a break from the sciatica and the bladder pressure, so I’ve been very comfortable. I still have random bouts of pregnancy insomnia where I’ll wake up in the early hours and stay up an hour or two, but it’s nothing the Golden Girls can’t cure. I actually enjoy the quiet time where I can jump on my phone and catch up on things without having a toddler asking me to wipe her butt or fix her a snack. My dreams have quieted down a bit, too. The baby seems pretty active at night – especially when I’m on my back. No matter how hard I try to sleep on my side, I always wake up on my back.

Maternity clothes: No updates here – I’m still wearing them. I haven’t really bought anything else as I feel like I have enough staples to get me through for now. The baby hasn’t moved up very much, so my bump is still in the same spot – maybe a bit higher some days than others. It’s starting to round out more and look less fat-like, so I’m glad about that. Next week I promise to have an updated belly shot picture. I want to do something cool like my friend Liz over at Bon Temps Beignet. She has showcased her beautiful bump in a very artistic way. Isn’t she adorable?!

Best moment of the week: Hearing my sweet child singing Christmas music while decorating our Christmas tree. She’s such an angel on earth, truly.

Food cravings: My appetite hasn’t been as strong, so I haven’t had many cravings other than just normal stuff like pizza and red sauce. Which, thanks to Dominos, was satisfied!

Symptoms: I kind of over-did it this past Sunday when I spent the entire day cleaning my house and putting up the Christmas decorations. By the end of the day, after walking around for hours, I had the pregnancy waddle down, and my hips/butt/legs felt like I weighed 2,000 lbs. Even though I don’t pull out the pregnancy card often, I have to understand my limitations while I’m pregnant. Hours of hard-core organizing and cleaning are just not possible right now since this baby likes to hang out so low. The constant pressure really takes its toll after a while.

Other than that, I can’t complain. Little Joe has been a wonderful little guy so far (knocks on wood).

Movement: He’s a wiggler. He’s super strong when he kicks/punches. You can easily see all of his movement from the outside now – Joe even got a glimpse the other day. He tends to move most when he hears my voice or Anna’s voice.

What I’m looking forward to: Christmas!

What I miss: There’s nothing I miss at the moment.

Next appointment: January 5th (moved from January 3rd)

21 weeks and Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-30T08:00:00.002-06:00

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Ours came and went so quickly, but it was a great day with family and good food. I tried out the Pioneer Woman Mashed Potatoes, and they were delicious! The only problem was that I made 10 lbs. of them. I’m not sure why there was such a disconnect between my brain and the potato peeler, but I must’ve thought I was feeding an entire army of people or something. I made WAY too much, and, sadly, threw about half of it away a few days later. Oh well, at least I have a crappy cell phone picture to remind me of its short life span:

I also made baked macaroni and cheese – again, I made way too much!

I finished it up with this dessert – Pumpkin Crunch Cake. It was AMAZING! I’ll probably make this every Thanksgiving/Christmas (or Monday in June just because I want to eat it). It’s so easy, there aren’t many ingredients, and it’s a hit!

We spent the day at Joe’s grandmother’s house. She has a lot of acreage, so Anna got to spend the day riding on a golf cart with all of us.

Anna with Paw Paw Bruce

Joe and his mom

My cute husband!

Our only family photo!

Anna with Maw Maw and Uncle Chris (and her slinky)

Enjoying the leaves

____________________________________________________

21 weeks and counting…

Here’s where we are this week:
Your baby now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long — the length of a carrot. You may soon feel like she's practicing martial arts as her initial fluttering movements turn into full-fledged kicks and nudges. You may also discover a pattern to her activity as you get to know her better. In other developments, your baby's eyebrows and lids are present now, and if you're having a girl, her vagina has begun to form as well.

Content and images are from babycenter.com

How far along: 21 weeks

Total weight gain: +13.5 total. This is +3 from last week. I blame Thanksgiving and my insatiable appetite. I figure I’m over halfway done at this point. I gained 30 lbs. total with Anna, but I had her at 37 weeks. I guess I’m on track for the same gain with this baby. I just looked at the weight gain calculator, and I’m exactly on track. So, YAY!

Sleep habits: Since the baby refuses to move from my bladder, this means I have to pee every 30 minutes all day, all night. I can always fall back asleep quickly if it’s before 3 a.m. After 3 a.m., which I have lovingly deemed as my baby witching hour, I have a super hard time falling back asleep. My mind is racing about everything, and the only cure, besides cowbell, is watching The Golden Girls. This has become my nightly (or early morning hours) routine.

Maternity clothes: Yep, wearing ‘em and enjoying ‘em. It’s especially nice to wear full-panel pants on Thanksgiving day. I may make this an annual tradition even when I’m not pregnant.

Now ask me if the clothes look cute on me. Nope, they don’t.

This is because my bump has somehow mysteriously disappeared. Never mind, it’s not a mystery. The reason it has disappeared is because my son is trying to fall out. He just refuses to move up.

Do you see what I’m talking about? I am 20 weeks here.

Believe it or not, he was even lower than that throughout most of my ultra-sound.

While Anna was pretty low initially and in the last few weeks, she was middle-of-the-road for the most part. So, my bump was nicely shaped and in a good position. Right now I have a FUPA. Iz sexy.

Best moment of the week: Thanksgiving was great! Getting to spend the day with Joe’s family and seeing how happy Anna was really made my entire week. It was such a beautiful day, too – perfect weather – chilly, but not too cold. Sunny.

Food cravings: Fortunately, I’ve actually been craving decent stuff this week. Apples have been at the top of my list. So have salads. However, my salads are not very healthful for any human to consume, so that probably Xs out the good factor.

Mmmm. Cheese. Mmmm. Tons of Ranch Dressing. Mmmm. Lots of green olives.

Symptoms: I go from feeling tons of pressure on my bladder and having the inability to pee freely (sorry if that’s TMI) to having horrific sciatica. Since he’s so low, I get to pick and choose between those two experiences. The bladder pressure is the lesser of two evils, so I’m quite thankful my little bean has been camping out there for the past few days.

Other than those issues, I feel fantastic! Most days I’m full of energy. 2nd tri is bliss!

Movement: Most days he moves quite a bit. It’s pretty sporadic, though. Lots of kicks here and there and the nothing for a while. I have to shake my belly from time to time or talk loudly to wake him up. If I could just attach an ultra-sound machine to myself 24/7, I wouldn’t have to do such things!

What I’m looking forward to: Christmas with my family!

What I miss: There’s nothing I miss at the moment.

Next appointment: January 3rd. I had an appointment today (after I totally spaced and missed my appointment yesterday by accident), and everything checked out great. H/B was 149 average. He’s measuring on track. The u/s results were good. I won’t have to have the gestaional diabetes test until my 28th week, so I’m glad I don’t have to drink that nasty stuff anytime soon.

It’s a… (20 weeks)

2011-11-22T16:14:00.002-06:00

Decide for yourself:

It’s a…

Please excuse my bare belly.

BOY!

So, my Intelligender prediction kit was correct! Oh, and my mommy intuition was also correct!

If you watched the video above, you already know how ecstatic Joe was to find out he’s going to have a son. He has a very close relationship with his own father and is looking forward to having a great relationship with his son (and daughter, of course). Now we have the best of both worlds!

Other than finding out the sex of our child, everything else checked out OK during the ultra-sound. We had an issue finding the left arm because he kept it beneath his head, but he finally moved it in the end and did a little wave.

Here are some more pictures:

The money shot.

Little baby foot! I can’t wait to nom on it!

He’s facing the scanner. You can see his eye sockets (eeeek) and his little chest.

This is a view from his left. I labeled the parts since it’s always so hard to make out these photos.

We’ve decided on a name as well (I’m pretty sure). Joe wants to pass down his name to his son, so this baby is going to be Joseph Bruce <lastname> III. I’m not sure if we’ll call him Joe, Joseph, Little Joe or some other variation of his name. Anna has tons of nicknames, so I’m sure I’ll come up with quite a few for our son.

We are just so very excited and thankful that God has blessed our little family with a daughter and now a son.

_____________________________________________________

20 weeks…

Here’s where we are this week:

Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. He's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel — the length of a banana. (For the first 20 weeks, when a baby's legs are curled up against his torso and hard to measure, measurements are taken from the top of his head to his bottom — the "crown to rump" measurement. After 20 weeks, he's measured from head to toe.)
He's swallowing more these days, which is good practice for his digestive system. He's also producing meconium, a black, sticky by-product of digestion. This gooey substance will accumulate in his bowels, and you'll see it in his first soiled diaper (some babies pass meconium in the womb or during delivery).

Image and verbiage from babycenter.com

How far along: 20 weeks

Total weight gain: I've gained 10.5 lbs. total (down 2 lbs. from last week - must've been water weight). It's so odd because I don't remember losing any weight when I was pregnant with Anna (I steadily gained), but I actually feel fatter with this pregnancy. I thought boys were supposed to make you cute and girls were supposed to steal your beauty. My skin is glowing, but my ass is growing!

Sleep habits: Since Anna’s toe disaster, I haven’t really wanted her to sleep in her bed. Call it mama guilt or insanity, but Anna has been sleeping in our bed the past week. Which means we get no sleep. Old habits die hard because my child is still sleeping like this:

And we still have a queen bed. And two cats. And I’m less stick-like now. I also have the inability to sleep late…ever. Even on weekends when sleeping late is a requirement. Nope, I’m still up at 6:30 a.m. Even the roosters are like hell naw.

Maternity clothes: I finally bit the bullet and bought some new jeans from Target and also a few new tops.

I also bought some of these maternity leggings from Motherhood. Oh man, are they comfortable. However, I can’t help but feel like I’m wearing pantyhose, so it really limits me with the tops I can wear (even though they’re not sheer at all).

Since I’m long-waisted, normal tunic-length shirts fit me like regular shirts, so I have to be careful so as to not look like this chick:

I stepped out, for the first time, in boots over jeans and felt OK in them. I actually sent this photo to my friend Kent (my personal stylist) to make sure I didn’t look like an asshat going out in public. These are my Target jeans and my new tunic shirt that is supposed to be long.

I did put the other boot on, by the way. And, yes, my mirror is disgusting. Welcome to my life.

Best moment of the week: Finding out about our son, of course!

Food cravings: Baked potatoes are topping my list lately. So is cheese. Lots of cheese. Lots of cheese + being pregnant + prenatal vitamins = hell on earth. Heed my warning.

Symptoms: Oh my gosh, sciatica is hell on earth. I never had this with Anna, but my son enjoys tormenting me by sitting low on my ass nerves. If you look at the video above, you’ll see how low she had to scan to see him. He likes to hang out on my bladder and my ass nerve all day long. Move up, son, move up!

Movement: My son has been a bit quiet lately, so I like to shake my belly to wake him up. Either that or I just talk – that always seems to get him moving. I love how he responds to my voice. It’s downright adorable!

What I’m looking forward to: Thanksgiving! I’m going to attempt to make the Pioneer Woman’s Mashed Potatoes and also Pumpkin Crunch Cake. We shall see!

What I miss: I miss nothing.

Next appointment: November 28th for my regular monthly appointment.

19 weeks and a banana catastrophe.

2011-11-16T11:33:00.001-06:00

Let me preface this post by saying that there are moments in life where I royally fail as a mom. Granted, I’m not giving my child steak knives or matches to play with, but sometimes there are mini-moments where I wish life was a DVR that I could pause, re-wind and erase.

An erasable moment came this past Tuesday in the wee morning hours – 5 a.m., to be exact. I’m not sure if Anna is going through some toddler growth spurt, but my ridiculously picky child has turned into the human garbage disposal. Now instead of forcing her on the ground and putting food in her mouth (not that I’ve done this…or have I), she’s always asking for something to eat. I like this. Except when it’s 5 a.m.

So, when she came into my bedroom at that time and asked for something to eat, I gladly pointed in the direction of the kitchen and told my little independent gal to get a banana and a Nutrigrain bar. She fetched the bar with no problems. The banana, however, came at a price.

A significant price.

The banana bunch was sitting atop a metal cooling rack on my counter. When Anna grabbed the bananas, the cooling rack (and bananas) came tumbling down. The problem with this is that they tumbled down in a very bad spot. Her big toe.

I cringed.

She cried.

For an hour.

And one surgery later, I now know why.

Yes, I said surgery. When it first happened, I had no idea where the rack fell. She was in such a state of hysteria that I couldn’t get a word out of her. So, I just assumed it was one of those crappy funny bone/hurts for a few minutes/you move on with life type of deals. However, as the morning went on and my child’s poor toe turned bright red and the toenail bright purple, I knew this was going to be a significant deal. Even still, I didn’t think it would be that significant.

I kept her out of school that day since she couldn’t even put pressure on it. When her pediatrician’s office called me back and recommended bringing her to a podiatrist, I was kind of floored. I mean, certainly it will just fall off and she’ll be fine, right?

Wrong. Very wrong.

When the podiatrist came into the room, he immediately said, “Ouch, yeah, that toenail has to come off.” I’m thinking, OK, can we do it now? Obviously I wasn’t thinking clearly. Not many toddlers would sit quietly and sing kumbaya throughout this process. Hell, not many adults would either. OK, no one would. Toe nails are disgusting enough. The removal of them leaves me speechless.

Then he recommended the surgery first thing this morning, Wednesday morning. We could chance it, let it fall off on its own and go on about our business, but he was concerned that if she had any lesions beneath the nail, they could eventually become infected and turn into something much worse than an ugly toenail. I just want to do what’s best for Anna, what will leave her the least psychologically scarred in life.

So, going under general anesthesia to have the toe nail removed was the best option. We showed up at the surgery center at 6 a.m., and they took her back within 20 minutes. Everyone on the staff was so wonderful. They played with her and really calmed her down (and me, too).

Once she was gowned up, she was given some happy juice (Versed). The effects of it were quite hilarious. She was acting like a drunk college kid, slurring her words, bobbing to and fro, laughing out of context. Joe got some video of it, but I don’t want it to viral and then have CPS bang on my door for making fun of a drugged up kid.

Since I like pictures, I’ll show you the Versed progression right here:
She’s starting to feel just fine.

Bwahahaha, mommy, I’m so happy and funny.

Hurt toe? Pshaw – I could eat off my toe and still be happy!

Who am I? Who are you?

Just call me little Cheech. Or Chong.

*R(*Q&*JCKA*(@&( drool *(@*(*$*( drool

After the Versed kicked in, Anna was really on board with going with whomever wanted to take her back, so I was glad. I was honestly thinking I’d have to lie under her the entire surgery because she would be freaked out. She’s always such a trooper, though. I have no idea why I doubted her for a second.

The surgery itself only lasted about 10 minutes. We’d just sat down in the waiting area and were ushered back in seconds it seemed. I’m glad of that because the longer I wait, the more nervous I get. I didn’t even have time to be nervous.

The coming out of anesthesia part was the worst part of the whole experience. Anna was inconsolable for about an hour. She screamed, kicked, cried, pulled at her IV and bandages – it was a mess. I’m so glad the nurses warned me about this because her behavior was certainly uncharacteristic and a bit frightening. And Exorcist-like.

This is what mom laziness will do for ya:

I’m trying to keep the mom-guilt at bay and just understand that things like this will happen. This is just the start of many more freak accidents that I’ll have to worry about for the rest of my life. It’s the price we pay as parents!

I had a few doubts about the surgery, but I’m glad we did go through with hit. The Dr. said that there was a significant lesion beneath the nail, and if we’d let it go, it probably would’ve become infected at some point. From what I understand, foot infections are really horrible to get rid of, so for the few hours of craziness we faced today, we’ll save Anna lots of grief later. I’m glad we went this route even if it means my child will be without a big toe nail for a while. Thankfully, it’s winter, so no one will ever know!

And for those of you who are brave souls, here’s what the toe looked like the day it happened (it was actually worse the second day – 100% of her toe nail was black at that point).

_____________________________________________________

19 weeks and counting…

Here’s where we are this week:

Your baby's sensory development is exploding! Her brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. Some research suggests that she may be able to hear your voice now, so don't be shy about reading aloud, talking to her, or singing a happy tune if the mood strikes you.
Your baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces and measures 6 inches, head to bottom — about the size of a large heirloom tomato. Her arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of her body now. Her kidneys continue to make urine and the hair on her scalp is sprouting. A waxy protective coating called the vernix caseosa is forming on her skin to prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid.

Image and verbiage from babycenter.com

How far along: 19 weeks

Total weight gain: +12.5 total. This is +2.5 from last week. If I don’t slow my roll, I will only be able to roll. A 3+ lb./week weight gain is a bit startling. If I keep this up, I’ll be twice the weight I was with Anna. I do vaguely remember gaining rapidly during the second trimester and then evening out in the end. I hope this is the case this go ‘round ‘cause mama’s joints are shouting at me right now!

Sleep habits: The constant peeing in the middle of the night is getting old. I didn’t have this issue with Anna. I think the baby is Occupy Wallstreeting my bladder and staging a sit-in there. So, in light of the fact that I pee every 30 minutes/night, my sleep has not been peaceful. I’m still having crazy dreams, too. The other night I dreamt (or is it dreamed?) about the baby. The love I felt in my dream was so incredible. Oh, and the baby was a boy in my dream. :)

Maternity clothes: I’ve yet to buy any new maternity jeans or shirts (I still only have one pair of mat jeans). I’m still wearing my regular shirts (the long ones) and one pair of non-maternity jeans and one pair of non-maternity pants. The zippers are fully down by the end of the day, so I need to go shopping STAT!

Best moment of the week: Nothing really stands out. I have to say that the whole banana-toe incident overshadows any good moments this past week.

Food cravings: It would probably just be easier to list the foods I don’t crave.

Foods I don’t crave:
None

Symptoms: Super sharp lower back pain on my right side. If I lie in a bad position or get up too quickly, the pain is so intense that it nearly brings me to the floor. It almost seems like the baby is pressing against a nerve or some kind.

Movement: Lots of movement throughout the day and night. It’s still pretty low. The baby also responds with a kick when I talk. I’m sure lots of people want to kick me when I talk. This baby gets a ring side seat!

What I’m looking forward to: 5 days until my big ultra-sound on November 21st. It can’t come soon enough! I’m so glad I have an appointment first thing!

What I miss: There’s nothing I miss at the moment.

Next appointment: November 21st for my big ultra-sound and then November 28th for my regular monthly appointment.

18 weeks.

2011-11-08T17:47:00.000-06:00

I realized last week that if I go into labor at 37 weeks again like I did with Anna, I am now more than halfway done with this pregnancy. The thought is a tad bit…frightening.

Here’s where we are today:
— My teeth are growing enamel all over the surface for protection.

— All air passages inside my lungs have finally arrived and are well formed.

— My thigh bone (femur) is now about an inch long (or 2½ cm).

— My body releases stress hormones if I'm poked with a needle.
— Head to rump, your baby is about 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a bell pepper) and he weighs almost 7 ounces.

The details…

How far along: 18 weeks

Total weight gain: +10 total. This is +3 from last week. Although it seems like a lot, the weight gain calculator I’ve been using tells me that I’m right on track. This 3 lb. gain could very well be from the Halloween candy I’ve been gorging on the past week. As a selfless act of motherhood, I’m eating Anna’s candy to prevent tooth decay in my child.

Sleep habits: Insane dreams. TOTALLY insane. Other than that, the sleeping has been going well this past week. Sure, I wake up to pee about 10 times/night no matter how I limit my liquid intake before bed, but I can easily fall back asleep now. This time change has really screwed me up, though. I actually wake up before my alarm clock now and am ready to turn in before 8 p.m. I’m such a party animal. I was thinking the other day how vastly different my life is now. I used to turn in no later than 2 or 3 a.m. and sleep ‘til noon. I never thought I’d be one to wake up before the rooster crows.

Maternity clothes: My two pair of pre-pregnancy pants are hanging on for dear life. I have one pair of maternity jeans that I really like, the other pair pretty much sucks and was tossed to the back of my closet a few weeks ago. I ordered some tall boots, so I’m going to attempt to rock the skinny jeans, tall boot look soon!

Best moment of the week: I’ve started my nesting phase of pregnancy. Perhaps early. Not sure. Regardless, my house (and my sanity) is loving it. So, the best moment of last week was the fact that I actually spent my free time re-organizing closets, drawers, and cabinets instead of sitting on the couch eating potato chips (my usual activity). I have to eventually clean out my craft room to make room for the baby, but I’m putting that off until the very end.

Oh, and watching my two favorite people spend time together:

Sorry for the crappy cell phone picture.

Food cravings: I’m on a chips and salsa kick, but that’s not necessarily a new craving. I could pretty much eat chips and salsa for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I’ve been making a lot of breakfast foods lately – biscuits (not out of a can), cheese grits, eggs, waffles, blueberry muffins. Anna ate EIGHT muffins the other day. She keeps telling me that her belly is big because of all of the muffins in it. I’d say so.

Symptoms: I’ve been having some random vision issues the past few days, but I don’t know if it’s pregnancy related. I had some pretty bad pressure and hip discomfort the other day, so I’m going to assume that things are shifting around or the baby is hanging out low.

Movement: Lots of movement throughout the day and night. It’s still pretty low. Since I have a super long torso, I imagine this baby will hang low just like Anna did. I don’t think she was ever in my ribcage.

What I’m looking forward to: The big ultra-sound on November 21. Less than two weeks away! I’m also looking forward to the holidays and spending time with family (and eating good food, of course). I love this time of year!

What I miss: There’s nothing I miss at the moment.

Next appointment: November 21st for my big ultra-sound and then November 28th for my regular monthly appointment. I just heard back from my OB regarding my PENTA/Quad Screen results – negative.

17 weeks.

2011-11-01T08:00:00.000-05:00

Wow, the weeks are flying by. I can’t believe I’m already 17 weeks! Here’s where we are now:

— My belly is making digestive enzymes to break down food. Thank you belly!

— I am starting to make blood cells inside my bones—just like big kids!

— My head is bigger than a golf ball—and much better looking too!

— My foot is about one inch long (about 2½ cm). I probably have the best feet in the family!

— My new body fat will keep me warm and store energy.
— Your baby weighs 5 ounces now (about as much as a turnip), and she's around 5 inches long from head to bottom.

The details…

How far along: 17 weeks

Total weight gain: +7 total. This is –3 from last week. I’m going to assume the day I weighed myself last week was a bad water retention day. This +7 total weight gain was confirmed at my OB appointment yesterday, so I think I’m right on track.

Sleep habits: Anna has been sleeping with me the past few nights, so I haven’t been sleeping very well. It’s hard when you have 3 year old legs and arms jabbing into your sides all night. Other than that, I’ve been sleeping fairly well. In fact, this past weekend I managed to sleep in ‘til 9 a.m. on Saturday AND Sunday. I can’t remember the last time I slept that late. It was glorious!

Maternity clothes: I can fit in two pairs of pre-maternity jeans/pants, but I’m primarily wearing maternity jeans and regular shirts/sweaters now. Now that my bump has arrived, I find that people are staring at me and wanting to comment but not quite comfortable in doing so yet. I’m tempted to get shirts that say, “Yes, I’m pregnant” printed on them just to satisfy their curiosity.

Best moment of the week: Feeling lots of movement and getting to take both kids Trick-or-Treating.

Food cravings: Baked potatoes have been on the top of my list this week. I must be in my carb phase right now.

Symptoms: Not many symptoms this week.

Movement: I can definitely feel movement super low in my abdomen. Some kicks are so obvious that I look at my belly to see if I can see them from the outside. As I’m typing this, the baby is kicking right below my belly button. I just love this!

What I’m looking forward to: Finding out the gender, of course. I found out at my last appointment yesterday, October 31, that I have to wait ‘til November 21 for the big reveal. Are they insane?! The ultra-sound tech comes to my OB’s office once/week, so she has no openings until then. This is going to be so tough! Joe wants to not find out at all until the day I deliver. He’s so hoping that this baby will be a boy that he wants to go the rest of my pregnancy thinking he’s going to have a son.

What I miss: There’s nothing I miss at the moment.

Next appointment: My last appointment was Monday, October 31st. It was just a regular, run-of-the-mill appointment. I gave some blood to do the quad screening for spina bifida and other genetic abnormalities even though I was on the fence about any testing like that. The baby’s heartbeat was 143 average. My next official appointment is on November 28, but my official big ultra-sound/gender reveal appointment is on November 21st - my mom’s birthday. I hope I can hold out that long! 3 more weeks! Eeek!

_____________________________________________________

Halloween

Halloween came and went rather quickly, and my major mom FAIL of the week was not getting pictures of Anna in her costume. Then again, she went as the Super Hero Girl (her birthday costume), so it’s not like I don’t have any pictures of her in this garb. I just feel so bad! I had my camera with me and everything, but the card was not in it. DOH!

Joe had to work (and didn’t feel well anyway), so it was just Anna and me last night. We went to a really nice neighborhood and hit up about 20 houses or so. Anna had such a blast! She kept saying, “Mommy, we go to more doors now?” She definitely had the “Trick or Treat” saying down, but I had to prompt her to say it each and every time. She waxed shy every time we’d approach new people. I think she loved being outside so late at night and actually getting candy from people. I think she thinks this is normal – you knock on someone’s door and get candy. Let’s hope she doesn’t try to do this throughout the year.

16 weeks.

2011-10-28T08:00:00.000-05:00

My 16 weeks post is a little late because I wanted to wait until I went in for my second breast ultra-sound before posting. I wanted to be able to give an update about my office visit since many of you reached out in response to my post. Fortunately, everything checked out OK, but my experience there was pretty traumatizing and deserves a post of its own. Let’s just say that my experience was so bad because of the Dr.’s lack of bedside manners that I’m going to file a formal complaint against this woman. Yes, it was that bad.

Not to be a tease with that, but I don’t want to post about it here and have it over-shadow my weekly baby update and updates about Anna.

16 Weeks:
— Girls my age have noticeably more jaw movement than boys.

— I am strong enough to get my mother's attention with a good kick!

— I turn toward something touching my mouth. Maybe its food!
— Right now, he's about the size of an avocado: 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces.

The details…

How far along: 16 weeks

Total weight gain: 10 lbs. YIKES! I went from zero lbs. to 10 lbs. overnight, it seems. I’m so bummed! 10 lbs. seems like quite a bit this early in the game. Then again, I’m almost halfway there, so maybe not. If I think about it like that, I’m far less likely to curl into a ball and cry.

Sleep habits: Sleep has been OK. I’ve been waking up every few hours to pee which is a pain because it’s always a toss up whether I will fall back asleep or not. If Joe’s snoring is manageable, I will fall back asleep quickly. If he’s sawing logs or if my anxiety kicks in, I can kiss sleep goodbye. I don’t remember having so may sleep issues with Anna, but I also didn’t have a toddler waking me up every once in a while.

Maternity clothes: The bump is here. I see people staring at me sideways and ready to comment but holding back just incase. I always want to shout out and say, “Yes, I am pregnant. No need to feel awkward.”

Here I am at 16w2d:

I am a lot bigger at this stage than I was with Anna. For comparison purposes, here is a 16 week bare belly shot of me when I was pregnant with Anna:

16 weeks with Anna - Where’s mah belleh?

And to show you that I was pretty much the same size at the beginning of both pregnancies, a photo (I’m even wearing the same jeans which is pretty pathetic and means that I need to shop more):

5 week photo with Anna

5 week photo with new baby and ratty looking jeans that need to be retired. Gee, I’m even wearing a gray shirt both times.

So, what does this mean for me? Will I be whale size by the time this baby arrives? Eh, who cares. It’s all for a good cause, and if my stomach gets too heavy, I’ll just hire someone to hold it up for me.

Best moment of the week: This week has been pretty crappy. Car problems (over $1k to fix), a horrible experience at the Drs. Wait, the best moment is that the baby started kicking! How can I let that crap overshadow something so darn amazing?

Food cravings: I basically crave…food. Hot food, cold food, spicy food, mild food, salty food, sugary food – all food. At this point, all foods are fair game, and if you leave your hand laying around, I may even eat that, too.

Symptoms: Sleepy, moody, weepy – just a ball of pregnant fun!

Movement: YES! Little pings here and there. It was so obvious the other day that I could almost *almost* see the baby’s movement from the outside while looking at my belly. I just love the baby kicks.

What I’m looking forward to: FINDING OUT THE GENDER! When I talked to my OB’s office, they told me that I may be able to get squeezed in for this Monday, but I highly doubt it will happen.

What I miss: Not having to pee 2,000 times in the middle of the night.

Next appointment: My November 1 appointment was moved up to Halloween. Spooky! If the ultra-sound tech can squeeze me in, maybe I can find out if we’re having a ghost or a goblin – I guess the ghost would be the female in this scenario.

_____________________________________________________

A day at the pumpkin patch…
One of my absolute favorite fall activities is visiting a pumpkin patch. This year, time was slipping away, so I didn’t know if we’d make it out there, but we managed to take a trip to a new place this past weekend, and it was seriously the most fantastic farm ever. We missed the pumpkins, but Anna hardly noticed because of all of the other cool stuffs that were there.

We will definitely be back next year. We had a blast!

15 weeks & Anna is THREE!

2011-10-18T17:48:00.000-05:00

So, my little baby is now three years old. I must say that this age is the most awesome and the most tiresome. Her little personality is out in full-force. She’s funny, smart, kind, caring, loving and just all around wonderful. If you’re sick, she takes care of you by rubbing your head or giving you her Dot (lovey). She can speak in full sentences now and is always saying the most hilarious things like, “I AM ROSE NYLUND!” or “Mommy, look I built the Castle of Grayskull (out of Legos)!” She has an old little soul and will sit contently with me while I watch old sitcoms like Three’s Company, Good Times and Maude. She’s a mini-me and typically follows me around wherever I go.

Here’s her castle:

She’s a rough and tumble kid who likes to play in the dirt with the boys and run and jump like she’s an All Star Basketball player. Then she’ll spend hours sitting at the table carefully applying her make-up, putting on jewelry, walking around with purses and pushing her baby dolls in strollers. She’s a well-rounded kid, and I honestly have nothing to do with her coolness. She did it all on her own!

Anna is also a fiery little girl. She can go from 0 – 60 in 2 seconds and be happy one second and frothing at the mouth on the floor the next. There have been times where I’ve contemplated having her exorcised, and Joe was convinced at one point that she was bi-polar, but the more I learn about three year olds, the more I learn that this is just par for the course. You take the good with the bad. And even at her baddest, Anna is pretty darn good. We’re very blessed to have such a special child in our lives.

Anna’s favorites:
Color: Yellow or pink
Food: Hot dogs
TV Show: Dora or Wonder Pets
Movie: Tangled
Song: Anything by Katy Perry
Saying: “OHHHHHH, MANNNNNNN!” Like Swiper on Dora.
Toy: She loves her baby doll and her flower slap bracelet
Person: Mom
Animal: Chloe although she calls her White Harley.
Snack: Gold fish or Phineas and Ferb snacks.
Drink: Milk or sweet tea
Pastime: Playing on the playground, specifically slides
Height/Weight: 37 1/2”, 32/33

_____________________________________________________
Happy Birthday to Anna!
We celebrated Anna’s 3rd birthday on Saturday, October 15th. For a while there, I thought Anna would be the only kid at the party since the day I chose conflicted with other family events, but the turnout was great, and Anna had a blast!

I was a bit disappointed with the gym party, overall, because I had to keep asking the girl to guide the kids in what to do, but I also worked at a gymnastics club (different club) for 6 years, and we ran our parties much differently (and better). Maybe I was just expecting too much, but I shouldn’t have to ask the leader of the party to get the kids 15 minutes into the party (when they only had an hour of play time).

Aside from the lack of direction from the staff there, the party room was decorated great, and everything turned out nicely. The kids had fun, the parents had a good time chatting – it was a really good day.

Here are some pics:
She’s super happy the whole morning…until we get there.

My good friend Allison made this precious banner!

That pile on the right is a bunch of hand-made super hero capes that I gave to the kids at her party. It was such a fun project! I wish I would’ve taken more photos, but this is what one of them looks like on:

My nephew is the cutest Super Man ever!

Joe missed his golden NBA opportunity.

Shirley Temple reincarnated!

Super mom and dad (and 15 week baby bump)

The photos below are from later that night. Anna was so exhausted, but she still wanted to open all 2,000 of her presents!

Happy birthday, my sweet baby, we love you so much!
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15 week stats:

— My glands are making more and more hormones all the time.

— My whole body (except for parts of my scalp) responds to light touch.

— My brand new teeth are under construction.
— Your growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of an apple).

The details…

How far along: 15 weeks

Total weight gain: I have no idea, but based on the way my clothes are fitting, I’m probably up about 30 lbs. Ick. I’m scared to weigh myself.

Sleep habits: I’ve actually been sleeping a bit better. If I wake up in the middle of the night, I haven’t been having as many problems falling back asleep – even with Joe snoring in the background. My mind is also a lot more relaxed, less anxiety, so I don’t “think” too much when I wake up. This allows me to just fall back asleep without many issues. My dreams have been super intense and super vivid. (SAME AS LAST WEEK)

Maternity clothes: It seems like my bump has made an official appearance because the little bump I have now is not really disappearing anymore. I’m in that horrible stage where I look bloated, puffy, swollen, fat, like I’ve gained weight, and I’m sure people who don’t know I’m pregnant are just going to assume that I’m eating too many biscuits at Cracker Barrel. Oh well! My bump will be here soon enough, and I’ll miss this time when I can still see and paint my own toenails!

Best moment of the week: Anna’s birthday party was pretty great!

Food cravings: I’m still on a sushi kick, but at this point I have to keep my hands away for fear of eating them I’m so darn hungry all the time. I guess my body is kicking into gear since I spent the first 13 weeks basically disgusted by food. I knew I’d eventually catch up. Here I am!

Aversions: I could still eat my arm.

Symptoms: Exhaustion at night (I’m snoozing by 8 p.m.). I’ve had a few hormonal flare-ups the past week but nothing to write home about. My skin is kind of glowing which I’m digging. It makes up for my ever-spreading ass.

Movement: I’m not sure if I’m psyching myself out, but I could swear I’ve been feeling little pops here and there the past week. I know the baby is just above my pelvic bone, and since that’s where most of the pops are located, I’m going to assume it’s the baby and not gas. It’s probably gas.

What I’m looking forward to: I’m actually contemplating going to a 4d prenatal pics place to get a gender read on my baby. I just can’t wait until 20 weeks. No way, no how.

What I miss: Clothes that fit right.

Next appointment: November 1. I finally got my flu shot! Joe and Anna got theirs as well, so we’re all covered!

_____________________________________________________

Something a little serious…

I’ve contemplated whether or not to blog about this, but since this is going on in my life right now, I feel like I should be honest and open with everyone on here since it’s an issue that is SO important.

Back in 2009 after I weaned Anna from breast-feeding, I developed lumps in my breasts (that word makes me cringe, but I know it’s better than saying boobies or teats). I went in for an ultra-sound and MMG and learned that the lumps were actually dense scar tissue from over-pumping (I exclusively pumped for about 3 months).

Fast-forward to now. My very pro-active OB suggested that I get another u/s to compare to my scans from 2009 – just to be on the safe side. So, I did.

The lumps that I initially had issues with have all but vanished, but the tech did find another spot of concern. When the Radiologist came in to check, he didn’t seem too concerned and kept saying words like “benign” and “cyst,” but unless you get an all clear from a breast u/s, you leave feeling like you’ve just been punched in the gut.

This is basically what it looks like on the monitor (note - this is not my scan, this is just one I found online):

No one wants to see a black hole on a breast scan, right? It’s a bit alarming, but I typed in “benign breast cyst” and found this image, so that’s a bit comforting.

Anyway, the Dr. said that he didn’t think it warranted immediate action and to come back in 6 months. The date they scheduled me for is actually my due date, so we pushed it up to four months from now.

However, after Giuliana Rancic’s announcement yesterday, I feel compelled to get a biopsy. She’s only 36. She has no family history other than an aunt. She’s me. Well, she’s hotter, richer and a few years older, but you understand what I’m saying.

Even if it turns out to be nothing, it will be worth the peace of mind. And, if it does turn out to be more than benign, then early detection is key. I owe it to my daughter, my unborn child and myself to ensure that I’m here as long as I can be, and I’ll do whatever it takes to keep myself healthy for my children.

I think the minimum age for a baseline MMG should be changed to 30. Plenty of women younger than 40 have breast cancer. We live in a rose-colored world where we think breast cancer can’t touch us because we’re young, our family has no history, we take care of our bodies, we exercise, we eat right. Don’t fool yourselves. Cancer can happen to anyone. And it’s up to us to make sure we arm ourselves with knowledge and take the necessary steps to get checked.

Take that step today. I am.

14 weeks andplusalso.

2011-10-11T08:00:00.000-05:00

I’ve been posting so much stuff about the new baby that I feel like I’ve neglected my other baby. So, I’m going to start off this week’s post with some Anna cuteness.

We stayed at my mom’s house this weekend and decided to take a trip to the zoo aka rip-off central. Look, I’m the first to admit that I’m pretty frugal with most things, so my opinion may be a bit skewed, but a simple day at the zoo shouldn’t set you and your mom back $80, should it? $40 to get in, $40 on crappy food.

I guess the part that makes me most bitter about our zoo experience, other than the fact that none of the animals were out and about and every square inch was being renovated, was that we had to pay the initial admission to get in and then an additional fee to do other “fun stuff” within the zoo. Want to ride the “train”? $5! Cha-ching. Want to play in the cool water part of the park? $5! Cha-ching. Basically, the zoo is like the nickel and dime DirecTV packages – you pay for basics, but if you want the truly cool stuff, expect to double your bill!

Being the cheap bastard that I am, I opted out of all of the fun stuff which was just wonderful every time Anna saw the train pass by. There’s only so many times you can tell your child the train is full and that we won’t fit before she starts giving you the side-eye and totally doubting you as a mom. And then the mom guilt sets in and you really feel like a piece of crap for not spending an extra $15 for the three of you to ride on the train for a whopping 5 minutes.

Nah, I don’t feel that bad.

Here are some pics of our day:

Yay, we’re finally here!

I tried to get her to stand on one leg like a flamingo. She obviously didn’t listen.

Anna’s lovely locks!

This child refuses to pose for a photo!

Now that’s how you take a nap!

Yes, that’s a tongue.

Soooo serious!

This picture makes me laugh.

The coat of many colors.

Sill refusing to look at the camera! Oh, and she refused to let go of that map for hours!

Despite the rip-off effect, we managed to have a very nice day at the zoo. The weather was mild, Anna was relatively well-behaved – it was a good day. I did realize, however, that she is impatient just like me. We’d see an animal, and before I could tell her a little about it, she’d say, “More animals, mommy!” No dilly dallying with Anna!

_____________________________________________________

Anna’s Birthday:

October 10th came and went rather quickly since it fell on a Monday. Anna’s actual birthday party is this Saturday, but I still wanted to honor my baby’s birth date and do a little something special for her. So, Joe and I blew up balloons the night before and put them all over her bedroom floor. Since I had to leave for work early that day and wanted to sing her Happy Birthday before I left, I decided to wake her up by showering her with balloons on her bed.

She woke up and said, “MOMMY, WHAT’S THIS?!” She was so excited. I really wish I had it on video because the images just don’t do it justice. I also snuck in one of the cupcakes that we bought for her daycare class. A child should never be without cake on her birthday!

Of course I’ve waited ‘til the last minute to do everything for her birthday party, so I have to spend most of my evenings this week getting everything prepared. I’m not sure if many people will show up since it seems to be a busy weekend for everyone, but that’s OK – she’ll still have a blast!

PSA: No, that’s not a ring-worm on her shoulder. It’s a mosquito bite. Yep, every bite she gets looks like that.

PSA: Yes, that’s her real hair. No, it’s not a fro wig.
_____________________________________________________

The New Baby Stuffs:
— Growth spurt! My weight increased 60% this past week.
(Seems like mine did, too.)
— There are taste buds all over the inside of my mouth.

— I touch my mouth—a lot!

— Now my arms don't seem so small compared to the rest of my body.
— From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 inches — about the size of a lemon — and he weighs 1 1/2 ounces.

The details:

How far along: 14 weeks

Total weight gain: According to Natalie’s naked scale, +4. Up 2 lbs. from last week, ouch!

Sleep habits: I’ve actually been sleeping a bit better. If I wake up in the middle of the night, I haven’t been having as many problems falling back asleep – even with Joe snoring in the background. My mind is also a lot more relaxed, less anxiety, so I don’t “think” too much when I wake up. This allows me to just fall back asleep without many issues. My dreams have been super intense and super vivid.

Maternity clothes: This past weekend I was convinced that I was officially bumped out. However, today, nada. It’s so insane to me how you can look 4 months pregnant on Monday and not pregnant at all on Tuesday. I blame it on the fact that all of my innards are shifting and perhaps this is making digesting a bit slower. All of the food just sits there creating a faux bump. Oh well, I’ll enjoy these last few weeks of flat bellydom because once I do bump out and can’t even put on socks, I’ll be missing this time of ease!

Best moment of the week: Not really baby related, but singing Happy Birthday to Anna Kate!

Food cravings: Sushi, sushi, sushi. And Flips chocolate covered pretzels. I tried the peanut butter ones, and they’re equally delicious. Hence why I probably gained 2 lbs. in a week!

Aversions: I will pretty much eat my arm at this point. The ravenous hunger has set in!

Symptoms: Shortness of breath is the only complaint I have this week. Oh, and I was super fatigued yesterday and fell asleep in Anna’s bed while she was cooking me dinner in her play kitchen.

Movement: No conclusive movement yet.

What I’m looking forward to: I’m really looking forward to finding out this baby’s sex. I don’t know if I can make it for another 6 weeks!

What I miss: Not too much this week.

Next appointment: November 1. I need to get a flu shot before this appointment or my OB will have my head on a platter!

See ya next week!

13 weeks.

2011-10-04T17:59:00.000-05:00

Here’s where we are today:

—
I'm making all kinds of fancy facial expressions.

— If you could get a look at my private parts, you could now tell if I am a girl or a boy.

— My intestines absorb the amniotic fluid I swallow.

— My nose and lips are in final form.
— Your baby is almost 3 inches long (the size of a medium shrimp) and weighs nearly an ounce.

The Details:
How far along: 13 weeks

Total weight gain: According to my Drs. scale (while dressed), +3. According to Natalie’s naked scale, +2.

Sleep habits: What is sound sleep? I’ve forgotten. I can fall asleep easily, but staying asleep or going back to sleep after waking up is a true challenge. I think this is due in part to a lumberjack husband sawing some logs next to me. If I wake up in the middle of the night to pee and can’t fall back asleep, I usually watch an episode of The Golden Girls, and I’m able to relax enough (and block out the snoring) to fall back asleep. I’ve been having super vivid and bizarre dreams, too.

Maternity clothes: While I don’t have much of a bump at all, I still prefer to wear my maternity jeans. My stomach will start out flat in the morning and bloat by the end of the day, so regular jeans are unbuttoned by mid-afternoon. Why even deal with all that hassle? Maternity jeans it is! All of my tops fit just the same.

Best moment of the week: Hearing the baby’s heartbeat at today’s appointment (more details below).

Food cravings: Fruit, smoothies, milk, Mexican food

Aversions: After hugging the toilet after eating chicken salad, I’d have to say anything with chicken in it is on my aversion list right now.

Symptoms: I’ve been very luck to have very few symptoms with this pregnancy. Other than mild nausea, this baby has been very kind. I do have to say that I get winded very easily and have had some pretty significant indigestion the past few days – almost like something is sitting on my chest.

Movement: No conclusive movement yet. I say conclusive because I feel movement in my stomach, but I can’t tell if it’s the baby or the Mexican food I ate for lunch.

What I’m looking forward to: I’m looking forward to being pregnant in the winter this time. I think baby bumps in sweaters are so adorable. Plus, it will be nice to not be so darn hot this go round!

What I miss: I miss having the ability to eat and drink whatever I want without having to worry or check Dr. Google if it’s OK.

Next appointment: November 1.

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So, this past weekend the women in my family and I went to St. Francisville, Louisiana to celebrate our annual Girls’ Weekend.

It started out wonderfully – we all met at Alexander’s in Baton Rouge for lunch and chatted away for hours.
Can you find me?

My wonderful Aunt Elaine and me. I <3 my family.

Then we caravanned to St. Francisville and purchased some tickets to tour The Myrtle’s Plantation.

The tour was great – our guide was fantastic. I felt fine the entire time, but by the time we got back to the room, I was feeling anything but. I tried to hang in there when we all played the Bad Santa game where you each pick gifts and then steal them if you want them (not sure what the technical name for that game is), but by the end of the night, I was feeling…off.

Then after a few hours of sleep, this is how I spent the next few hours.

Granted, I’m not a black lab, but this is much cuter than the real thing.

I’m really not sure if I had food poisoning, if my body was haunted by a ghost from the Myrtle’s or if I had some weird bug, but it was not pretty, and it was beyond ridiculous that I had to suffer with this ON VACATION! In a room with three other women. All of whom got to hear the beautiful orchestra playing in my bathroom.

Thanks to the miraculous healing power of Zofran, I was able to keep the urge to purge at bay most of the next day, but whatever demon I was battling took all of my life force and kept me from doing anything but sleeping and lying outside on the grass. I missed out on an entire day of fun because of this crap. I was not too happy. However, how amazing is it to be surrounded by loving women (most of whom are nurses) while you’re sick? It was like having my own personal staff of moms to take care of me. Not to mention my own mom was there to make sure I was OK. I’d have to say this was a decent sick experience just based on the love I felt from everyone.

I managed to recover the next day (the day we left) and got to go shopping and eat with my aunts and mom. Here we are right before we left the place:

Standing: My Aunt Cyndi, my Mom: Seated: Me, my Aunt Elaine

This is where we stayed:

This is the view I had while I was dying in the grass:

I want to especially thank my wonderful mother-in-law and father-in-law for watching Anna while I was gone! I came home to a clean house, a cooked meal, a cut yard, a cleaned off patio and a happy husband who got to spend lots of quality time with his parents. It was wonderful! I should go away more often!

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So, this blog entry is getting super long. I do apologize if you’ve made it this far. Only a little more to go.

I had my monthly checkup today to check on the baby. It was kind of a tense appointment because the first girl who came in could not find the baby’s heartbeat on the Doppler. Then my own Dr. couldn’t find it! It was a very surreal few minutes when she kept going back and forth trying to find the h/b. I don’t think I’ve ever been more scared. Honestly, I was already preparing myself for the worst, but then I could hear that sweet little whoosh sound, and I saw a look of relief on my Drs. face. She reassured me that it’s very common this early on to not hear the h/b on the Doppler. The baby’s h/b was a perfect rate at 152 – 155 bpm. She said it was a perfect heartbeat, so that made me happy.

Things to do:
Get a flu shot
Make a final decision on 2nd trimester screening for genetic abnormalities (still on the fence about this)

Now that I’m just a few days shy from 2nd tri, I’m going to get my flu shot. I wanted to wait as long as possible to get it, but my Dr. really wants me to do it sooner rather than later. She wants Joe to get one, too.

That’s about it for now. I’m just trying to finish the final touches for Anna’s Super Hero birthday party on the 15th and just hoping/praying that people show up! Her costume came in, and it’s just too cute for words! When she puts it on, she puts both arms up in the air and runs back and forth like a super hero. She really plays the part well! I love that little girl!

Week 12.

2011-09-27T17:28:00.000-05:00

So, I’m nearing the end of the 1st trimester, and I’m truly ecstatic to have these weeks behind me. While I’ve felt pretty fabulous this entire time, it’s always a little comforting when you have the first part behind you – just for peace of mind.

Here’s where the baby is today:
— My weight increased more than 75% just this week!

— All my bones are getting hard.

— My fingernails and toenails are coming in—just like the big kids.

— The right and left sides of my brain are connecting with each other.

— I now have my very own fingerprints.

— When my upper eyelid is touched, my eyes roll downward.
— From crown to rump, your baby-to-be is just over 2 inches long (about the size of a lime) and weighs half an ounce.

I spy baby crack.

I feel like I haven’t been to the Dr. in ages. My next appointment is on October 4th, and it can’t come soon enough! Hopefully I’ll be able to hear the heartbeat on the Doppler. I’m pretty sure I’m far along enough (I’ll be 13 weeks at the time) for that to occur. If not, maybe they’ll squeeze me in for an ultra-sound. Nah, probably not. If I had the money, I’d seriously buy a machine and just walk around with it all day. As it is, I can peek in on Anna throughout the day while she’s at school (thanks to the webcam there). I should be able to do the same with my unborn child, too, right?

Too much? Yeah, probably so.

Being the impatient person I am, I decided to waste money on the Intelligender test. I say waste because how accurate can a urine gender prediction test be, but it was accurate for my sister, so why not? I’m at least 8 weeks away from finding out on an ultra-sound what I’m having – that’s pretty agonizing for a person who can’t even wait for a bag of popcorn to pop.

Anyway, after testing with FMU (first morning urine), I got this result…

Wait for it…

Wait for it…

Here’s what it would’ve looked like had it been a girl:

Yellow…just like pee.

According to the Intelligender site, the tests have an 87.6% accuracy rate if tested with FMU. Of course the odds are pretty darn high seeing that it has a 50/50 shot of being right, so I guess we’ll see!

Needless to say, Joe was pretty darn ecstatic at the prospect of having a son.

How I’m feeling:

I’m feeling pretty great. I have very mild nausea, almost non-existent. I’m not really that fatigued. I mean, I go to bed at 8:30 or so, but I’ve always done that because that’s what boring people do.

I’m still only up about 1 lb. Maybe 2. I haven’t weighed myself the past few days. I’m not concerned because I know it will eventually start piling on, and then I’ll be like WTF is wrong with me?

Still not much of a bump, but that’s to be expected considering I didn’t show ‘til about 24 weeks the last time. Once I actually start showing, I will be posting weekly belly pics comparing last time to this time. You’ll just have to excuse my white trash clothes in these photos as most of the time I’m wearing pajamas and have my head cut out so as to not scare the children.

My hormones are much more in check. Joe thanks Baby Jesus for this. I feel much more stable and generally happy and well adjusted now. For a few weeks there, I was fully expecting my head to rotate 360 degrees.

What’s scary:

My sister and I are exactly 3 weeks apart in our pregnancies. She and I both had our first babies exactly 3 weeks early. So, if I go to 40 weeks and she has her second child early, we could technically have babies born on the same day. Our hospitals are 2 hours apart. My mom can’t break herself into two people, so what will we do?! I guess we’ll just worry about that when/if it happens. Let’s just hope that I go at 37 weeks again and she goes to 40. That way, there will be 6 full weeks between the babies, and I can be there while she’s delivering her baby and not still be drugged up on pain pills.

What’s also scary to me is that I had a really easy labor and delivery with Anna. Textbook. Will that happen again? My concerns at this point are that the on-call OB who delivered Anna said it was a good thing she came early as she wouldn’t have fit through my pelvis if she’d gotten any bigger. That’s a bit alarming. Will my body know to kick into gear again or is it too old to realize what the hell it’s supposed to do?! Again, I’ll just worry about that when it gets here.

In other news:

The count down ‘til Anna’s 3rd birthday is on! Just a little over 2.5 more weeks until my baby gets to blow out three candles on her cake. I can’t believe I have a 3 year old! And let me just state, for the record, that terrible twos are a joke. A JOKE. That’s kid stuff. 3 is when it gets real, yo. Prepare yourself. Call in an exorcist. Say a few Hail Marys ‘cause you’ll need them. The good thing is that in between all of the madness, 3 year olds are the most hilariously cute and sweet kids on the planet. My child is no exception.

Our fridge is on the fritz. It’s only 8 years old. We’ve already had it repaired once when the fan went out. Now we think it’s a compressor. So, we had to just bite the bullet and buy a new unit. The bad news is that it’s somewhere in Asia right now and won’t be here for another three weeks. Lowe’s (the place where we bought it) is kind enough to give us a brand new loaner fridge for the next three weeks. Now my child won’t starve!

Frigidaire SUCKS. I will never own another Frigidaire appliance again.

I get to leave for my annual St. Francisville girls’ trip in just a few days, and I can’t tell you how excited I am. I always have such a wonderful time relaxing with the women in my family. Hopefully some of them will be up for touring The Myrtles Plantation again. We all know about my ghost obsession!

Week 11. How ‘bout ‘dem Saints?

2011-09-20T08:00:00.000-05:00

Here’s where we are today:
— I open my mouth and can even move my tongue.

— I have eyelids, but they are fused shut.

— I can drink whenever I want.

— I sigh, stretch, and move my head.

— If I am a girl, my ovaries now contain my very own reproductive cells.

— For some reason, I love sucking my thumb. Usually the right one.

— Did you know I can grab things with my hands?

— Sometimes I just feel like yawning so I yawn!
— My vocal cords are forming. I can't wait to use them.

The good news is that the baby is looking more like an actual baby and less like some weird alien life form.

What’s happening…

I’m feeling pretty good. Most days I don’t even feel pregnant which can be a blessing and a curse. It’s a blessing because I don’t need to haul around Anna’s potty training toilet in case of sudden yack attacks, but it’s a curse because I often freak myself out thinking that something might be wrong. My symptoms were so strong with Anna that there was never any doubt things were moving right along in there. The 1st trimester is such a pain in the ass. I’m looking forward to at least feeling some kicks or stretching or something just letting me know that things are as they should be inside.

I have had some very mild cramping lately that I’m going to chalk up to growing pains.

I’m a little bumped out at this point. It’s not bloat bump, it’s baby bump. However, to most outsiders, I don’t look pregnant – just like I’ve eaten a huge meal. So, basically I’m in that horrible in between phase where people just think I eat a lot.

My main issue at this point is clothing. I can’t really wear my tight shirts because of my gut, but maternity stuff is overkill. Joe and I went on a little shopping excursion the other day, and I walked out empty-handed. Plus, we’re in the midst of a season change, so all of the cute summer shirts I’d traditionally like are out, but it’s too hot to start stocking up on turtle necks and sweaters.

Hurry up and change, weather! Mama is impatient and in DESPERATE need of some new clothes.

I just got over a head cold that may be a result of a recent weather change. It feels nice to be able to breath out of both nostrils again.

I haven’t weighed myself lately, but I imagine I’ve gained a few lbs. Maybe +1. I’m still able to wear my pre-maternity jeans, but I have to leave them unbuttoned. Most pants still fit me in the butt/thigh area. My pee stick hadn’t even dried yet when I was out of regular clothes w/ Anna, so this pregnancy is certainly different.

I’m a hormonal bastard on speed this go ‘round. I’m one fava bean shy of gnawing off someone’s face. I certainly hope that the 2nd trimester will bring some relief from these insane mood swings. I know Joe is hoping this as well. He’s been wonderful throughout this entire process, thankfully. I need to give him an award of some kind when all of this is said and done. Maybe I’ll win the lottery and can surprise him with a navy, black or silver Z28 Camaro – <--- his dream car.

One can dream.

How ‘bout ‘dem Saints?!
So, Joe and I decided to take the little bean to his/her first football game! We bought tickets for the Saints/Bears game on Sunday, September 18 – a surprise from Joe for our anniversary. We had a blast! How could you not enjoy a butt whooping game like that? Well, unless you are a Bears’ fan.

Sorry, Cutler. Perhaps your fans will be less douchey the next time we play you on your field. You know what they say about karma, right?

Here are some photos from the day:

Saints running in.

Glorious dome behind me!

Champion Square in the background.

We were idiots and didn’t bring cash with us, so we spent the better part of an hour running back and forth to ATMs to pay the parking attendant. This meant that we had to skip the Champ Square festivities and run to our seats to get there before kickoff. Oh well, you live, you learn!

It was all worth it since we finished with a beautiful score of 30 – 13 with 6 sacks on Cutler. It was a fantastic game. I’m just glad our offense AND defense were on fire this time. I don’t think I’ve ever seen them play with such fury!

The baby enjoyed the game, I think.

Anna got to stay home and play with grandma, so it was a great weekend!

See ya soon!

Quotable Quotes to Quote.

2011-09-14T08:26:00.001-05:00

Now that Anna’s vocabulary has expanded, she has turned into a 3’ ball of hilarity.

The other day it dawned on me that I need to write this stuff down somewhere because it’s just too cute not to.

So, if she keeps it up, I will share it all with you!

Quote 1:
While taking a bath…
Anna: Shut up, Shut up, Shut up (a lovely new phrase she must’ve learned at daycare)
Me: Anna, what did you just say?
Anna: Mommy, I said I love you.

Quote 2:
While sitting at the dinner table, Anna’s Uncle Chris was talking about a guy on TV and said…

Uncle Chris: That guy is SICK!
(Anna thinking he said “six”)
Anna: Yeah, he’s SIX…seven, eight.

Quote 3:
While watching an episode of Golden Girls, Anna stands up, points her arm to the sky (SHE-RA style) and shouts…

Anna: I AM ROSE NYLUND!

Week 10 and more.

2011-09-13T10:01:00.001-05:00

Here’s where things stand this week:

— I breathe in and out once in a while, even without air.

— My skin is getting thicker and harder to see through.

— I often prefer moving one hand more than the other.

— If I am a boy, I am now making testosterone just like dad.

— I roll over and can even do flips!

— My joints are a lot like my parent's joints.

— I already have more than 4,000 body parts—just 500 more to go!

— Today I am a little embryo. But tomorrow I'll be a big fetus.

— My hair is starting to grow on my brow and near my mouth.

Remember the adorable jeans that I bought from Old Navy? Yeah, they were horrible. They fit cute enough, but the belly band was just as tight as regular jeans. By the middle of the day, I was wishing I could go home and just slip into my comfy pants. Totally miserable! So, I’m bringing them back today.

THESE JEANS SUCK:

I’ve replaced them with these Secret Fit jeans from Motherhood.

Admittedly, most of their jeans make my ass look like a square, so I was apprehensive about buying jeans from there. This fit, though, makes my ass look rectangular, so I guess that’s a step up.

What’s happening:

- My OB’s office called me yesterday and told me that I was negative for Toxoplasmosis which is a relief since I still sometimes change out the litter box if Joe has ignored it for a few days. I do wear gloves, though, and our cats are pretty much inside 99% of the time. I also no longer have Vitamin D deficiency which I had prior to getting pregnant. I take 5,000 units/day, so it would be a bit ridiculous if I still needed more.

- I’ve filled out all of my family history paperwork and am done with all of the boring OB office visit stuff. I have another appointment in a few weeks where I’ll hopefully get to hear the h/b on the Doppler.

- I’m feeling pretty great, actually. Very, very mild nausea that typically goes away when I eat and stays away most of the day. My fatigue is bearable, no worse than it was prior to getting pregnant. I’m extremely hormonal, though, which is one super crappy aspect of pregnancy. Thankfully I have a very understanding husband who has been doing everything within his power (most days) to keep me from having a breakdown. My hair loss has subsided, and I’m finally getting to the place where I don’t think I’ll be losing any additional hair this pregnancy. This is good because I was seriously contemplating ordering a wig if the hair loss continued. It was a bit unsettling!

- Up until a few days ago, I’d had no weight gain. I weighed myself this morning, and it looks like I’m +1.

What else is going on in our lives…
Anna Kate is officially weaned from the paci! Words cannot express how elated we are that this thorn in our side is GONE. It took us nearly 3 years, but we’re here, and we still have our sanity (some of it).

Basically, I cut the tip off of one of her pacis. She took it and was like WTF, mom. She still used it, but I kept filling her head with mom lies. “Anna Kate, pacifiers are dirty and have poo poo on them. Pacifiers are only for little babies.” So, the more she associated pacifiers with poop and little babies, the less inclined she was to take one. Granted, this is probably not the best approach, but when you’re desperate, you do what you can. Even if it means telling your child her pacifier has crap on it. Don’t judge.

Anna is now officially night potty trained, too. After putting countless pull-ups on her and her waking up dry, I decided it was time to just put her in regular panties at night and hope and pray it worked. Thus far, it has! She did have an accident the other night, but this was the first time in weeks she did, and I blame myself for letting her drink lots of fluids before bed.

Anna’s 3rd birthday is coming up in about a month! The party theme this year is Super Hero because she’s obsessed with all things super hero related. My good friend created an adorable graphic in Anna’s likeness (and other little super hero kids), and I made this invite for her party:

And as luck would have it, Zulily.com had a sale on the most PERFECT super hero girl costume ever:

The mask is a little scary, but everything else is perfection! Plus, I can put this on her for Halloween, too! $18 for a dual purpose costume? I’ll take it!

That’s it for now! See ya soon!

Week 9.

2011-09-06T21:53:00.001-05:00

Here’s where we are this week:

— My heart is almost complete.
— I now have testes if I am a boy and ovaries if I am a girl.
— I can turn my head from side to side.

— As the notches in my hands and feet grow, my fingers and toes emerge.

— Sometimes I hiccup, sometimes I don't.

— My hands touch each other and my feet touch too! (7 wks, 4 days)

— My new knee joints help me bend my legs. (7 wks, 4 days)

— Two hands, each with five free fingers. What fun! (7 wks, 4 days)

— I have ten free toes and they're beautiful! (7 wks, 6 days)

I ordered my official first pair of maternity jeans this past week after experiencing a very uncomfortable day in my regular jeans. Some days I’m more bloated than others, so I don’t think I’m 100% to the point of needing to be in maternity clothing full-time. I have to admit that I’m kind of looking forward to wearing maternity clothes again. I mean, it’s like wearing scrubs all day long. You can’t beat it!

Then by the end of my pregnancy I’ll be dreaming of zippers and buttons and a flat stomach again. I’m never happy, I tell ya!

Here’re the jeans I ordered from Old Navy:

When I was pregnant with Anna, it was in the middle of summer, so all of my maternity clothing from before is all summer. Granted, it stays warm down here a lot longer than most places, so I can still wear most of it, but the cute summer dresses and tank tops won’t be making their grand appearance this go-round. I guess this just means I’ll have to buy new stuff. Darn. What a pity.

Actually, it is – I hate shopping. I’m a dude, I swear.

Anna is still not really feeling the whole brother/sister thing. When I tell her I have a baby in my belly, she tells me that she also has a baby in her belly. Then I ask her if she wants a brother or a sister, and she always says, “No.” A few times she’s said she wants a sister. I guess we’ll know soon enough!

Oh, and I found out yesterday that my sister is also pregnant and is three weeks behind me. My poor mom.

Symptoms

My hair is hopefully on the mend. It better stop falling out soon or I’ll need to invest in some propecia. It’s pretty unsettling how much hair I’ve been losing.

The nausea isn’t as bad this time as it was with Anna. I get periodic waves of it, but it’s nothing I can’t handle. I’ve taken Zofran a few times just because I didn’t want to feel nauseated at all, but then I feel guilty for taking medications when not absolutely necessary.

I only crave crappy food – french fries, bread, mashed potatoes, has browns, tater tots – basically anything that doesn’t have vegetables or fruit in them. I’d like to say this is abnormal for me, but I’m this way when I’m not pregnant, so, eh.

I went to the Dr. today and did my OB paperwork and went over my blood work/lab results from my last visit. Everything checked out A-OK, fortunately. My Dr. wants to test me for Toxoplasmosis since I have cats (even though Joe has been cleaning out the box for me).

I haven’t gained any lbs. thus far. My Dr. didn’t see too concerned. The incessant vomiting from the week before could be the culprit.

I’m on the fence about the genetic screening test that is coming up soon. I still need to weigh my options with that. For now, I’ve opted out.

I have to get a flu shot in the next few weeks.

That’s it for now! See ya next week (or in between if I get off my lazy butt and load some cute pictures of my daughter).

Week 8 - A hellacious day.

2011-08-30T09:28:00.002-05:00

One thing I’ve been pretty stoked about with this pregnancy is that I don’t have the all day long, never-ending nausea. I’ll have random bouts of it throughout the day, but it’s nothing I can’t handle, and it’s far less than the first go-round when I was pregnant with Anna. However, I’d trade daily nausea for this one day of pure hell that I just experienced.

Warning: If bodily fluids gross you out, leave now.

I woke up around midnight on Monday morning feeling out of sorts. I wasn’t necessarily nauseated, just not feeling quite right. Trying to fall asleep next to a snoring husband is nearly impossible, so I grabbed my gear and went to lie down on the living room sofa. After a few short minutes, all hell broke loose, and the demons were released. When I say demons, I mean poop and puke – fun stuff like that.

I figured, eh, it’s probably just that little bug that Anna had last week. She was only vomiting with this thing for a few short hours. A few shorts hours of vomiting for me turned into an entire day of not keeping anything down or in. Every sip of water came right back up. The worst part about all of this was that I was on mom duty all day while Joe was at work. I couldn’t even fix my child food without running to the bathroom sick to my stomach.

After about 12 hours of this nonsense, I could no longer move. I called in reinforcements. Joe came home from work loaded down with essentials like orange sherbet (the only “food” I could think of that didn’t send me rushing to the bathroom) and bottles of Gatorade. My mom left work early to come and watch Anna for me. At her urging, I called my OB’s office to see what they recommended. Had I not been pregnant, I would’ve sucked it up, but at this point I was concerned about the lack of fluids and how it would impact my baby.

After waiting for what seemed like forever (and two calls later), the on-call nurse told me to head to the ER stat. How am I supposed to do that when I’m too weak to even walk?

I forced myself to shower and get ready, but halfway through, I needed help to even do that because I was just so darn weak. Then right before we left, the last bit of drink and sherbet that I managed to keep down finally made an exit. At that point, I knew I was making the right decision by going to the hospital.

We get there and only had to wait about 30 minutes before they put me in a room in the ER. I was hooked up to saline and given a shot of Zofran right away. That drug is nothing short of miraculous – within a few minutes, I felt like my old self again. No more nausea, no more pain, no more urges to purge. It was wonderful!

I guess from all of the pain of getting sick so much throughout the day, my entire abdomen, back and legs were cramping up. So, they took all kinds of blood and then decided, later on, to let me get an u/s to make sure that everything was OK with the baby. The blood results came back showing that I had high levels of ketones in my urine which is an indication of muscle breakdown due to vomiting. Other than that, all of my other levels checked out OK which makes me think I’m Super Woman!

I had to keep drinking tons of the best drink on the planet – Ocean Spray Cran Grape – to fill my bladder enough to have a clear u/s. Unfortunately, I was so dehydrated that even with an entire bag of saline and four boxes of Cran Grape that I couldn’t fill my bladder quickly enough. I had to wait and wait and wait. The worst part is that my mom and Joe were back in the first room where I was treated, so of course they were freaking out since it was taking so long.

We eventually managed to get a decent shot of the baby, and everything checked out well in baby land. I had visions that all of the amniotic fluid had dried up, but everything checked out fine. It’s amazing how you can be on your death bed, practically, and your baby is completely unharmed.   The u/s tech told me that the baby will always take what it needs from you, no matter what. Selfish little thing!

I was wheeled back into the first room and started feeling a little nauseated again. Oh, hell no! I started begging for more anti-nausea meds just to avoid that horror again. The first Dr. mentioned Reglan. Uh, isn’t there some class action lawsuit against this drug because it causes birth defects? When I told him that, he started naming off issues with it. Uh. No thanks. I’ll just deal. Then the next Dr. on call recommended a shot of Phenergan. She said it would knock me out pretty quickly, so that’s why they always give Zofran – way less side effects.

The idea of being knocked out sounded good at that point, so I agreed. And they weren’t kidding. I was slurring my speech and unable to walk after just a few short minutes. I wonder if there are any Phenergan addicts out there. I can see why. It’s was pretty darn nice!

We finally got discharged after the Dr. went over all of my test results and said everything checked out fine. They wheeled me out to the car which was a good thing since I couldn’t walk by that point, and I got in and immediately fell asleep. After that, I don’t remember much except Joe stopping for gas and feeling bad for my mom that she had to drive back home this late at night.

I guess I forgot to mention that we dropped Anna off at my cousin’s house down the street. She watched Anna for a year, so Anna feels right at home there. I am SO thankful that she was able to help us out like that and care for her while we were at the hospital. After Joe brought me home, he took off and picked up Anna from her house. I vaguely remember Anna crying for me when she got home, but after that, I was totally out until 1 a.m. when she woke up screaming for me. She eventually came into our bed and slept with us the rest of the night.

So, now I’m feeling 100% better, weak, but better. Thinking of yesterday and the horror of it all makes me shudder, but I got through it having a whole new appreciation for women who suffer from hyperemesis throughout their pregnancy. Bless you.

Today will be an all liquid diet day, and tomorrow I’ll start on soft foods like mashed potatoes, breads, etc. I’m actually able to think about food now without retching, so I’m definitely on the mend.

Here’s where the baby is today:

I am 8 weeks pregnant.

— If my face is touched, I turn away.

— Someday, my new diaphragm will help me breathe real air.

— The nerve connections in my spine are forming.

— I've been told I have nice ears.

— My belly now has an appendix.

— Now I have brains AND brainwaves!

— My collar bones and jaw bones begin to harden.

— Something else is moving. It's my hands!

Aversions: Water, fruit, vegetables, basically anything healthful for you

Cravings: Chili cheese fries, mashed potatoes, french fries, basically anything horrible for you

Symptoms:
Hair is starting to look normal again
Mild nausea periodically
Aversions, cravings
Sore boobs

There are some days where I honestly don’t even feel pregnant which can definitely be scary at times, but I’ll just be glad that my symptoms are few and far in between.

See ya next week!

Week 7

2011-08-26T08:00:00.000-05:00

Today marks the beginning of week 7. This time with my last pregnancy, I was in full swing with morning sickness and just general ickiness. The past few days have been really rough, but today was pretty darn near fantastic. No nausea, no food aversions, no extreme fatigue and exhaustion. Honestly, my pregnancy symptoms, or lack thereof, are a bit disconcerting, but I’m going to try not to worry especially since everything checked out A-OK at yesterday’s (August 22) ultra-sound.

Here’s where the baby is today:

— I have a really big head—it's one third of me.

— My kidneys are getting ready for action.


— I have hands but where are my fingers?


— The main sections of my lungs are just like a grownup's.


— Joints are forming in my wrists.
— I am glad to have feet but where are my toes?
— I twitched for the first time!
— You can see all four chambers of my heart in action.

Anna had a really bad stomach, puke-y bug this past weekend which was really tough because 1) I had to fight my own urge to vomit and 2) I didn’t get but maybe 30 minutes of sleep that night 3) it rips my heart out to see my child hurt like that. That coupled with a bout of nausea and major food aversions made for a very miserable weekend.

I was so weak getting ready for work on Monday morning that Joe had to bring a kitchen chair into our bathroom for me to sit in. Now that I’m feeling better, I like to sit in it because I’m lazy.

I managed to keep it together and make it to my first ultra-sound/blood work appointment. Every pregnant woman in my town had an appointment before me, so it took quite a while before we were able to get the U/S. Joe was on his lunch break, so it was a bit nerve-wracking having to wait so long. The U/S technician was the same woman who did our last ultra-sounds, so it was nice seeing her again. She remembered us right away because we’re just so damn cool and unforgettable. Or maybe she just read our folder and pretended to remember us.

She was able to find the baby pretty quickly and focused in on the heartbeat. 130 beats/minute, perfect heart rate. The baby is measuring a few days behind the original due date, but the Dr. is still keeping my due date as April 15th. I think the IRS should give me a huge fat refund check if my child is born on tax day.

Here’s the baby’s first photo shoot. It’s essentially a little blob.

Here’s Anna’s first photo:

They could be twins for real!

I labeled the above photo as leg 1 and leg 2 many years ago, but looking at the photo above, I don’t think legs were formed yet. Dumbness, I had it.

The technician decided to tease us and say we were having twins when she got a clear shot of the baby and the yolk sac. It really wasn’t funny at all. We’re still recovering from the trauma of that thought.

Symptoms and other tidbits:

Late last week my OB called to tell me that I had bacteria in my urine, so I’m currently taking 7 days worth of antibiotics (every six hours around the clock).

My hair is still falling out quite a bit although it does seem to be letting up a bit. Good thing ‘cause I wouldn’t look good bald.

I had a bad bout of nausea, exhaustion, food aversions that lasted about 5 days, but today (August 23), I feel fantastic and symptomless.

I’m still convinced I’m having a boy.

I announced my pregnancy to my FB friends and family, so everyone knows now.

I’m still trying to get Anna excited about her future brother or sister, but she’s not really on board yet. She loves babies (and is so great with them), so I’m really hoping she’ll love her brother or sister. I think once my belly starts to grow, maybe she’ll grasp the concept a bit more. She’s in a role playing phase where she likes to pretend she’s a baby. Let’s hope she doesn’t revert when the baby is here.

I have another OB appointment two weeks from now to fill out paperwork and discuss my blood work results from my ultra-sound visit.

My clothes are starting to get a little tight around my waist, but I’m definitely not showing yet – well, not until the evening, that is. Evening bloat is the worst! I leave home with my pants loosely fitting around my waist and come home looking like I have a 1/2 dozen muffins over my top. I got all of my maternity clothes back from my sister, but I definitely need to stock up on more winter clothing since I was pregnant during the summer the last time.

See ya next week!

Week 6.

2011-08-25T08:00:00.000-05:00

Today marks the beginning of week 6. This is what my little peanut looks like currently:

Pretty spooky looking, to be quite honest. It’s amazing how a life transforms so dramatically.

Here’s what’s going on inside:

- I am floating inside the amnion.

- There's a cord where my belly button should be.

- My windpipe is also forming.

- Already, my heart beats faster than my mother's!

- I have really, really short arms and legs.

- I can't pronounce cerebellum, but I have one.

- If I could see, I could see my insides!

- My brain now has five main sections. (6 wks, 4 days)

- More of my brain shows up almost every day. (6 wks, 4 days)

We’ve been telling a few more people here and there, but my pregnancy is still a secret to most people until we get to go to the first appointment which is next Monday, August 22. Joe is becoming more and more excited about the possibility of having a boy, and my gut instinct this go round is telling me boy. My early symptoms seem to be different in some ways, so I’m wondering if this is just a normal pregnancy thing or if this is because we’re going to be blessed with a little boy. Either way, I will be super happy.

My upper respiratory infection seems to be getting better, but it’s being replaced by other aches and pains that are just as irritating. It was nearly impossible for me to sleep last night because I have a super amount of pressure/pain in my lower left back that shoots through my ass and into my leg. I’ve read about sciatica, but I think it may be too early to be experiencing this. Whatever it is, it certainly sucks. I hope it doesn’t stay around for too long because I won’t be a happy camper.

No morning sickness yet, and I’m hopeful that will stay away this time. Things are starting to taste funny now, and I am wondering if I’m going to have any food aversions this time like I did the last. I’ve been craving more healthful foods instead of my usual carb-y nonsense, so let’s hope this trend continues although as I’m tying this, the thought of chili cheese fries seems more appealing than a salad. I guess we’ll see how this pans out over the next few weeks.

I’ve been having a hard time sleeping through most nights, but that’s because Anna has been waking me up nightly. The issue is that I can’t fall back asleep after this (which was never a problem before).

Oy, it certainly sounds like I’m complaining a lot in this post. I just wanted to write about all of my symptoms so as to never forget!

I’m looking forward to Monday when we’ll get to see the baby for the first time (and hopefully hear his/her heartbeat, too).