24 weeks (6 months) and growing...

So it is official, I was able to use my belly as a tray today for lunch! There isn't anything much more amusing than sitting your bowl of top ramen on your belly while you eat. I was by myself but I laughed out loud anyhow. I feel like there is a basketball popping out of my tummy. I can't believe how quickly time is passing. This little guy is VERY active. He or she is moving around all the time and it is the most amazing feeling. Lately, I have been looking down at my belly and wondering who this little person is...what he or she will be like and look like (hopefully not skeletor). I really want to know who this is...I want to meet the little one. Only three more weeks and I start my third trimester, wow this is going quickly! Can't wait!

22 weeks!!

I have been feeling better tummy wise which is a big relief. There is nothing quite like a twelve-week-flu to make you want this child be an only child. However, now that it is over I might be willing to do this again. The back pain is the worst right now. It is there when I sleep, sit, stand, walk and just about everything else! I think the baby is back on my sciatic nerve because my right leg goes numb and aches terribly...

I guess if you are someone who hasn't been pregnant than I really am not the person to promote pregnancy. I have come to terms with the fact that this is the way I am able to have children, but it is not the magical experience I always thought it would be. I thought I would have a glow and it would all be wonderful...sweating, nausea and weight gain are not my idea of a glow or wonderful. I am guessing people just don't talk about the reality of pregnancy. There are so many bazaar experiences that nobody told me about, do people forget all of this once the baby comes or do they just not talk about it? I think some of these things should be common knowledge or at least talked about, it could be one of the best forms of birth control! Gas, constipation, excessive hair growth, sensitivity to smells, fatigue, heartburn that radiates out my back and lack of ambition were never explained to me and What to Expect When You are Expecting just sugar coats everything.

On the plus side the baby is moving all the time now and that really does make everything worth it. I love feeling it move and kick and roll over, it is a little weird but it is the most amazing feeling. I think most everyone has gotten the chance to feel the baby move now, Joe gets to feel it all the time. The other morning, I rolled over to snuggle and he had his back to my belly and he felt it kick on his back...it was so cool. The baby really kicked Brice hard, one of the hardest kicks I have felt so far. The first time it rolled over or switched positions in my belly I thought it was heartburn on Thanksgiving but when I felt around I could actually feel the baby pushing out on my stomach, it was truly amazing! I laid flat on my back the other day (which you are not supposed to do and I only did it for a few minutes) and when I put my hand on my stomach I could feel exactly where the baby was! It was lounging on my right side right above my hip and curved. I really doesn't get much better than that. Well, I have 4 months from Monday until my due date...this is going by so quickly and yet I am almost ready to meet this little one (I still need a little while). The nursery at our new house is completely empty so I have some work to do before baby can come along. One step at a time....

Baby Names

I think choosing a baby name is one of those really fun things to do until you realize the responsibility that goes with it. The fact that the little one doesn't get a choice in his or her name and it is something that sticks with them forever is quite a big deal! I have had my little girl's name picked out for a very long time...Lucy has been it forever. When I think of a Lucy I think of a super sweet person with a great heart and it isn't a name that you hear very often. Then we have the boy name...this has posed to be a more difficult task. There are a lot of great boy names out there but none of them have really jumped out of us or really stuck like Lucy. So, we have a few choices and we are hoping that if it is a boy we will know when we get to meet him. We are also hoping that if it is a girl, she is a Lucy because we don't have a backup :) So the new poll only has boy names and Eli is one of the new front runners thank to Joe looking online at baby names while I packed diligently. He was going with "E" names and Eli popped into my head and Joe loved it so we will see what happens. Have fun voting and we will see what happens!

Skeletor....

For as much as I have been through so far it still seems so surreal to think that I have a person growing in my belly! Yes, all the symptoms are there and yes we saw the first ultrasound but nothing can make it as real as watching the baby yawn and stretch inside of me on the last ultrasound. Also, none of my clothes will fit, but the yawn was adorable! We were able to see the heart, brain, kidneys, legs, arms, eyes, nose, ears, elbow...every thing except what would tell us if baby is a boy or a girl. There were a couple of times where it would have been so easy; both Joe and I said that it was really hard to restrain ourselves from finding out. However, we did agree that the baby needs to get a lot cuter! The face that you see in the ultrasound is not cute! It isn't even a little cute, it is flat out creepy! I am convinced that I have Skeletor growing inside my belly! It kept playing peek-a-boo and it was the creepiest thing to see it bobbing up with the Skeletor face. I really wasn't anticipating that. Also, we found out that the baby is very flexible, its foot was all the way up by its ear. My mom and my friend Jen were there to see it when all the medical stuff was taken care of. It was a very cool thing to share with them. Diane had to work so we brought her the pictures when we were done with the appointment. Overall it was an amazing experience and one I will never forget...


Baby Foot!


Full Profile


Full Profile with hand and foot near face



Skeletor yawning


Full Profile with spine


Halloween Costumes: Lego my Preggo and the Lego Man


My belly at 19 Weeks

A little time for my husband

I've been thinking about how much attention the husband gets when having a baby...it isn't a lot.  He doesn't look any different and it doesn't change how he feels physically so most, if not all, the attention goes to the wife.  Well, that is just not very fair to me because my husband has changed a lot.  He surprises me every day with how attentive he is to me and how responsible he has become.  Not that he wasn't these things before but they have magnified because of the situation.  Joe takes better care of me than I ever thought.  He takes his role as husband and father very seriously and I am the luckiest woman in the world to have married him.  Up until about a week ago I really didn't even go into the kitchen, I couldn't stand the smells.  The dishwasher stunk, what ever was cooking didn't smell good and Hamilton's food is in the kitchen and that was the worst of all.  So Joey has been so great at taking care of the cooking and dishes, he also is the Hamilton feeder.  He does all the little things that help make this process a little easier.  Now that I am feeling better and have gone 13 days without being sick I have been helping a little more but nothing compared to what Joe has had to do for the last 14 weeks.  He was been so amazing and I just think the husband needs a little credit for all he does during a pregnancy as well.  

Crazy Store Lady!

I am 16 weeks now and am feeling better every day.  However, I have come to the realization that my everyday clothes are no longer going to fit me.  I think it was in my last post that I was so excited because my clothes all still fit and I was very proud of myself.  Well, it sure is amazing what a week can do these days.  The pants that fit me so comfortably on Monday no longer would button on Friday.  So, I went shopping.  There are very few places to get maternity clothes around here.  Or if a store has clothes the selection is quite poor.  So, Jen and I went to the Streets of Tanasbourne. There is a GAP there with a maternity section along with a Mimi Maternity store.  Now, the GAP was great, they were helpful and pleasant and I found some nice jeans that are SOOOOO comfortable I may never return to a button up pants again.  Then we ventured over to Mimi Maternity...there was a blonde stick of a sales woman there who picked me as her pray for her commission.  She was so pushy and over the top I couldn't get out of there quick enough.  However, I needed some clothes for gosh sake and I wasn't leaving without some...so I stuck it out and started trying things on.  She returned to my dressing room 4 times with more things for me to try on!  I was so irritated with her I didn't even try on the items she brought.  I just stuck with my pile of clothes that I tried on and left hers on the floor.  At the checkout stand she wanted my address, phone number, e-mail and practically this first born!  I kept telling her "no thank you" in the most polite tone I could muster up.  Anyhoo, I got what I needed and now have extremely comfortable clothes and I won't ever go back to that store again.  

The 15 week mark...

Well, we have made it to the 15th week and that is great because a lot of risk has dropped.  To be honest, I really haven't been worried about the pregnancy at all.  I have been pretty calm, which is surprising for me.  I just figured anything that made me have all the symptoms and made me that ill was in there really good and wasn't planning on leaving any time soon!  So now that the majority of risk is gone that makes it a little nicer.  I have been feeling better and better every day which is also great!  The baby just keeps on growing, it is 4 inches now and 2.5 oz.  It is the size of an apple this week.  Speaking of apples, that is one of my newly added foods to the good list.  Finally something healthy!  Cheetoes, top ramen and chocolate milk don't really met the criteria of a healthy, well-balanced meal.  

This picture is from our first ultrasound.  We have another one scheduled for the 13th of November (I'll be 19 weeks) which is exciting because it should be a world of difference from the 8th week one.  

The Beat of a Heart...

The sound of a baby's beating heart it amazing. It is so fast and such a relieving feeling. Joe and I went to the doctor and she says everything is going great and we got to hear the heart beat. It took her a few seconds to find the heart beat, which of course started to make me nervous. I was waiting patiently...sort of. The doctor said it was because the baby was moving around. Once she found it, it sounded amazing.
I haven't felt the baby move yet, it could take awhile. The fact that the baby is 3 and half inches and 1.5 oz. (the size of a lemon) is amazing. It has grown so much! My belly is also getting bigger. I really have a baby bump now, it doesn't look like I am bloated, it actually looks like I'm having a baby. Joey says that my belly feels like memory foam, it is pretty firm but still squishes. I am pretty proud though, all of my jeans still fit and button! It won't be long though...the jeans that aren't low rise probably won't fit this week.
I am really starting to feel better, today is a week since I last got sick! Yeah! That is the longest I have gone so far. I have had a little more energy these last two days. Today I am feeling a little more exhausted but I had a 6 day work week so that is to be expected. I am very glad to be in the second trimester though so we will see what it brings!

Size of a Lime

Wow, this little guy is growing quite quickly now!  It is the size of a lime!  I can tell that things have been growing because over the weekend my stomach popped out and it isn't going back in!  My pants no longer button (not comfortably at least) and it is quite interesting how this all seemed to happen over night.  We get to hear the heart beat next week on the 6th.  I am very excited to hear it, I've been told that hearing the heart beat makes it more real.  Everyday gets a little easier to believe that this is all happening.  However, it still doesn't seem that pregnancy turns into a baby.  Right now they seem to be two very separate things.  We will see how I feel when I hear the heart beat and start to feel it moving in the next month or two.

12 Weeks and Much Happier

Well, it has been forever since I last posted.  Mainly, this is due to the fact that the past four weeks have not been so easy.  I have felt sick, weak, nauseated, tired and just plain crummy.  I am really happy to announce that I am feeling much better the last two days.  I am just now starting my 12th week of pregnancy and have started to feel better.  I am starting to show and have a little baby bump which makes my mom happy and makes this all a little more real for me.  I am still in a surreal place where I don't think all of these things are due to a little baby inside of me.  The books say that it is the size of a lime now and that I will start feeling stretching in my mid-section and back.  I have been experiencing this for the last three days.  So far the staples in my diet are top ramen and chocolate milk...what isn't to love about those??  There will be more updates to come as I start to feel better and better...

Thank Goodness for Unisom and B6!

A brand new person!!!  I had four horrible days of nausea and vomiting and now I am getting back to normal.  I am feeling so much better and actually got out of the house yesterday for the first time on our vacation.  I'm not 100% yet and probably won't be for awhile  (or for the next 8 months) but at least I am able to get out of bed and enjoy my time off a little bit more.  I only have a couple more days off so I had better be able to enjoy them while I can. 

Joe has been great, he has made a few grocery runs for me already.  So far I have wanted: McDonald's french fries, cheetoes, veggies and dip, ginger ale, soda crackers, toast and chocolate milk.  We will see what the next few months bring as far as food goes.  

6 Weeks Along and On Vacation..

Well, we are now in Jersey and we are very glad to be away from our daily routine. However, I don't think our little lintel bean is very happy to be over here. The little beany baby is making me feel very sick today. I felt the worst today than any day yet. I was thankful that I didn't have class or work to go to. I stayed on Laura and Ryan's couch all day. I did bite the bullet and went out for dinner and it was a success. So finally at 10:00 p.m my stomach feels somewhat normal. We will see how tomorrow goes, I am hoping that it was the time change and switch in schedule that made me so miserable today. Wish me luck for tomorrow!

Just the beginning

I don't know if anyone can really prepare for being pregnant or having a baby. I have always been a planned and prepared person and this just seems so surreal to me right now. All the symptoms are there to reassure me that this is real and happening but I can't seem to wrap my mind around the big picture. I can't wait for the ultrasound on the 25th. I think that will help me realize that this is for real and not a dream. The worry is the worst right now, some days I am fine and think everything will go just as planned and then there are other days when I question every move in my body or every action that I take to make sure everything is going to be all right. I keep reading that this is typical and that every first time mom goes through this...first time mom...that sounds so weird! I am going to be a mom! Holy crap, I think I am going to go to bed now.... :)