Second Trimester in Pictures; I'm Back After A Break

1. Still pregnant.
2. I'm now in the third trimester
3. Glucose test tomorrow
4. I needed to take a break from blogging for a while.


Belly Pics:

20w5d

21w5d

22w5d





23w5d





24w5d





25w6d





26w6d





27w6d





Picture of Father's Day/V-Day Cake:



Col.dsto.ne Cream.ery Cookies 'n Cream cake. Our first and it was delicious!



The nursery is not done yet, we need to wash the bedding, put the trim back up on the window, buy a new window shade and hang up that and the valance, put up the decals and then get the light dimmer installed. Other than the floor trim and dimmer, the rest will get done in the next week!

The armoire/wardrobe to the right of the door;
the room does not have a built-in closet.

We got a new La-Z-boy recliner for the nursery
instead of a glider. I have the pink knitted blanket
over the armrest that my grandmother made for me.
We should get a new lamp; the desk lamp works
for now. We also will buy a clock/cd player/radio.

The lighting is terrible, sorry. Changing table to the left, dresser to the right.
A friend gave me a gift last Friday of three books for the baby, her first!
I have them displayed on the dresser. The wall behind the dresser, chair and
changing table is gray. The rest of the walls are pink.

Here is the crib; nothing like some we saw, but
it is brand new with the nursery furniture set and
is convertable. Notice the pink? A color I swore
we'd never use. Sigh. I insisted on the pink/gray
walls too!

Crib picture to show the bumper; its very cute.
Also there will be a decal saying of "Dream until
Your Dreams Come True" above the crib on
the wall. Fitting, no?

Here is her wardrobe with some of her clothing
collection that I keep on adding to with the
help of my mother. The size dividers have been
ordered and should arrive tomorrow.

All in all, I think that so far I've had a pretty normal pregnancy aside from the twice-daily injections and vitamin supplements. I had to move the heparin injections down to my thighs which has been quite painful and is resulting in a lot of bruising.

I scheduled my maternity photos for August 25th after work.

Finally, could I be more blessed to be having three baby showers? My mom and step-sisters are throwing one at Mom's house on August 20th for my side of the family and some friends. DH's sister, SIL, soon-to-be SIL, and his mom are throwing one for his sides of the family and some friends on July 30th at my MIL's house and my co-workers are having one for me on September 14th at work over the lunch hour. Its like having three Christmases and I'm sure I'll cry at each and every one.

The baby was a violent kicker, mover and shaker up until the past week when its more regular with sleep time and then play time. Sometimes when she's been quite for too long I jiggle my belly a little or rub it and she'll wake up and give me a "pity" tap or kick. I just like to know everything's alright.

We're in the middle of a massive heat wave here in Iowa so I've been staying indoors, hydrated and relaxed. My feet hurt constantly, mostly the ankles and outside ridges so DH has been generously rubbing them. He also sent me 50 roses yesterday in a large bouquet. They were on sale for $6/dozen so I bugged him for a week to send me a dozen roses. I like how he went "above and beyond". I spent my lunch hour making them into arrangements with the vases I had in my office. You like?



I've not had any further ultrasounds but I'll be trying to talk them into at least one more before the baby's due/born in October.

I've gained maybe 9 pounds. I'm sure I'll put on a lot more in the next 2 1/2 months. At least 20 lbs which is nuts. I don't eat a ton because I get full really fast but I think I'm eating pretty healthy, considering I'm still feeling picky and icky about certain foods that were ruined for me thanks to morning sickness.

We got a dishwasher which I love and have been needing for years. It makes ours a happier home. It also ate up a lot of our money. Things are very tight, but we'll be okay.

All in all, I'm happy every time this little girl moves even in the slightest and while I can't wait to meet her, I'm enjoying every ounce of this pregnancy. I actually fell asleep counting her kicks last night.

Thank you all for being patient and supportive while I have been absent. I will continue to keep you posted. No pun intended. :)

20 + 21 Week Updates

I'm not going to lament over how long its been since I posted. I will explain that work has stopped allowing us to go on the 'net for anything remotely personal outside of lunch hours or before/after work. I've typically blogged during work hours so that sucked. Also I was in trial during my 20th week so that was shot and this week was crazy at work.

I'm sorry.

So here goes:

Week 20, cliff's notes:
Things I remember were wearing my business suits (not maternity) and having to wear them unzipped/buttoned and tucked in strangely while my long tops covered up the mess. It also wasn't comfortable while sitting down. Lots of kicking all week and I saw my stomach move when kicked/punched. One night I went to sleep at 6:30 pm and woke up at 6 the next morning. That was during the week. Food was consistently a problem for me because I find most food gross and I'm forcing myself to eat as healthy as possible.

We had our 20-week anatomy scan. We found out what we are having. Here's how it all went down (I guess it's not cliff's notes now):

I took a green piece of paper and folded it into a little card and it had a pink & blue question mark on the front. Inside it asked the u/s tech to write down the gender of the baby. We brought it to the scan and I was so nervous and excited...we had our favorite u/s tech, Ann, who's been doing 99% of my ultrasounds since January 2009. Everything looked fantastic. Normal. Boring. Perfect. That sucker was moving so much too. Yawned at one point. Everyone went, "Awwww".  Its head was on my right side with feet down on my left near my cervix. It explained the kicking (and punching) locations. Still measuring ahead, now by five days. So crazy. We asked Ann to get a picture of the "money shot" and write down the gender only if it was pretty obvious what the baby was. She said that ultrasounds can be wrong but after 20 years she was quite sure what we were having. She checked twice and took the picture while we just looked away from the screen, smiling at each other.

Anyone still wondering what it is? We left the appointment 100% sure it was a boy for so many reasons. But the envelope was still in our hands, sealed.

DH and I drove to the spot where he proposed, also near our first kiss location (stupid city expansion turned a cul-de-sac into a main road) and we went to a pavillion and sat down on a picnic bench. After much anticipation, excitement and smiles, we took out the make-shift mystery card and each grabbed a side of the card. Counted to three and opened it.....

















GIRL!!!!!!





I was shocked! I couldn't believe it!!! We went to our favorite mexican restaurant and I sat there, dumbfounded for the entire meal. Pretty much repeating, "I can't believe it. A girl. Wow."



So that's what we're cooking!

We had our gender reveal bbq on Sunday 5/29. We ordered a cake that was marble but with white and strawberry instead of the typical white and chocolate. The had a question mark and Baby O________ underneath with blue and pink balloons decorated on it.

After eating we had our moms cut a piece while I held the plate so they could scoot it on to it so everyone could see the color of the cake's inside. They all screamed because they too thought it was a boy. Everyone was very happy for us though and very excited for a girl.

Week 20 Belly Pic:

Won't post because blogger is a piece of shit. I will keep trying.



And here's this week's update because tomorrow I'll be 22 weeks, so just in the nick of time:

How Far Along? 21 weeks 6 days



Maternity Clothes? As much as possible. I bought a maternity bathing suit this week. Niiiice. No skirt though, I just couldn't do it. I got the shorts and a top and I love it! The top expands a lot so it should last all summer.


Weight Gain?  I was up 2+ pounds at my 20 week appointment and its holding steady. I might even be up 3 lbs total now.


Stretch Marks? Not yet. I make DH check too because I can't see under my belly anymore.


Belly Button In or Out? Very quickly flattening. Prediction still stands that it'll be an outie by the start of the 3rd Trimester.


Sleep?  I've noticed my hips have begun to hurt at night. That's new in the last week or so. DH and I switched sides of the bed so I could be closer to the bathroom so that's helped. Otherwise sleep has been the same. I will add that I vivid dreams and even more embarassing, I have some pretty erotic dreams. Apparently I want to have sex with B.ruce Wil.lis? That was out of left field.



Best Moment of the Week?  Every moment was the best, seriously. I just love this little girl with all my heart and I can't wait to meet her. We did buy the nursery set though, complete with crib, dresser and changing table. I wish I could talk to non-pregnant Christa and give her a hug, tell her that one day she would be feeling her little girl kick her and buying that longed-for nursery set.



Movement?  Plenty, and this week, kicking on my right side began. It could be punching, I don't know. Also there isn't really a pattern yet as to when she begins to move during the day but when she does I love it. Even at 4 in the morning. I smile and put my hand on my belly to feel her.


Food Cravings? Banana splits, watermelon, sweet corn on the cob, icees. I ate whopper jrs with cheese for about a week or so. I think I'm done now.


Gender? Girl. I'm still in awe. DH is eagerly anticpating the arrival of his "baby girl" as he keeps calling her. Oh and he wants a super pink nursery. I've talked him out of it and we are now looking at a purple theme.

What I Miss?  Well when I was buying beer for our vacation this weekend, I was looking at all the fruity mixer options at the liquor store and thinking how good they'd be. But only for a split-second. Then I put my hand on my belly and smiled because of all the wonderful reasons I hardly drank any alcohol over the past 3+ years. Her. I stopped drinking for her. All those things I can't/won't do anymore are reminders of how I got to this wonderful place.


Symptoms: Heartburn, excessive peeing, picky eating, sensitive to smells (ugh, fish yesterday at the grocery store. Why have salmon samples!?!)

What I'm looking forward to?  Are you kidding!?!  That nursery is getting set up soon, my step-sister (bridezilla, can you believe it?) told me yesterday that she and the other sisters are throwing me a baby shower. What? For me? Okay I'm choking up now.


Weekly Wisdom:  Dressers for nurseries/kids come with safety features. If you try to buy just a dresser separately, they typically have removable drawers. Those are not safe for babies and little kids. I'm glad I did so much research instead of jumping the gun and buying everything separate without reading into it a little more. We saved a lot by buying the entire nursery set together.


Milestones: I'm in the middle of my fifth month, and we're only 2 weeks away from V-Day!!!! It will also double as Father's Day too. We're getting another cake and celebrating. I might even have some s-e-x then.


Emotions:  I feel overly emotional and have snappy mood swings. DH gets the brunt of it. Other than feeling like everyone else around me is a bunch of idiots/morons (thanks hormones), I'm elated most of the time just knowing I'm having a little girl in a few months.



Week 21 belly pic:

Also won't post because blogger is a piece of shit. I'm glad I at least was able to draft this. If it doesn't post I'm gonna freak.

19w3d

Life is rolling along. Slowly in my opinion but I've always felt that way when I'm looking forward to something. This weekend we'll be updating our landscaping and possibly fishing or golfing (I'll just ride along and perhaps chip and putt; I need to get outside), next weekend is Memorial Day weekend and our "gend.er party", so I have a lot to look forward to. Did I mention that my 20-week anatomy scan is next Monday? It's pretty much Christmas and my birthday all rolled into one on an excitement scale. Except this'll be the best xmas/bday I've ever had! I haven't been this excited since the lead-up to our wedding day!

I'll fill you in on the requisite pregnancy stats (if you are up for reading them) as I still need to document what's going on so one day I can fill in my pregnancy book. I figure I'll do that when I start nesting or something.

How Far Along? 19 weeks 3 days

Maternity Clothes? Pants and 100% maternity underwear. Also I'm still wearing that nursing bra. DH calls it my "easy access" bra. He thought it was some kind of sexy lingere till I explained how it works.

Weight Gain? I think I'm officially up 1.5 lbs but we'll see if it sticks around till Monday's appointment.

Stretch Marks? Not that I can see yet.

Belly Button In or Out? It keeps getting more shallow.


Sleep? In about 1 1/2 hour increments between pees. And I keep rolling onto my back in my sleep. That makes me have to pee more so I wish it would stop. I even have a pillow against my back but it doesn't seem to matter. ***I had a dream that the baby somehow transferred to DH and he went into labor and I was hysterical that I didn't feel a connection to the baby since he was going to give birth to it and I was really upset. I told DH about the dream and all he could say was: "Well that's kind of how I feel but without the crying and screaming."  Gotta love a perspective wake-up call, right?  He said he'll feel more connected when he can feel the baby kick or see it move, etc. I'm sure the ultrasound on Monday will help though.

Best Moment of the Week? Feeling baby's kicks from the outside. I'm trying to get DH to feel it but the baby quits when I put his hand where the action was happening. I'm sure he'll feel it soon enough.

Movement?  Tons. Right now in fact. Sometimes it really tickles too so then I giggle. This morning on the way to work the baby got really active so I started talking to it, saying good morning, etc. I wonder if DH thinks I'm loony.

Food Cravings? Yeah but they change and most meals are forced down. I ate sweet corn for dinner two nights in a row last week. I'm so tired of being picky but if thats what it takes to have a baby then so be it, bring it on.

Gender? I'm getting girl vibes still, but really I don't care either way. I just can't wait to find out!


What I Miss? Eating normally.

Symptoms: Same as every week except I am enjoying the continued lack of vomiting. Gagging, however, likes to sneak up on me when I'm over hungry or when trying not to choke on (TMI) sinus drainage.


What I'm looking forward to? Finding out our baby's gender next Monday and starting to work on the nursery.


Weekly Wisdom:  People will constantly ask you, "How are you feeling?" when you're pregnant. Its as if they don't have any other questions...I've never really asked pregnant women that question other than maybe once. I just say "good" or "great" depending on the moment. If I say anything like, "happy" or "grateful" it just opens a line of questioning that I don't have the time or patience for, plus I am keeping some things private still.

Milestones: I'm officially weaned off the Prednisone; I'm not sure what that means in terms of changes in symptoms but if Dr. S feels its best to not be on it at this point then I trust him fully.

Emotions: I feel like doing more things for DH and for the past 4 1/2 months he's been taking care of me almost exclusively so its a change. Other than my mood swings, I am still, on a daily basis, grateful for every additional day I get to be a mother.

Belly Pics for 19w2d:

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

WFT Blogger?

I published a post yesterday and now its gone. I can't get updated stuff on anyone else's blog. What's happening!?!?!?!

18w4d

Here's how my last 20 minutes have gone:   poke, poke, poke......KICK!.....poke............KICK KICK!..........poke, and so on.

I'm not a big soccer fan so I'm hoping we have a punter on the way. :) I keep smiling when he/she does it and I even blurt things out like, "Okay I do know you're there!" and "Why hello! Can I help you?"  I eat constantly so he/she isn't hungry. I'm figuring complete boredom; what else is he/she going to do in there? Play jump rope with the umbilical cord?

So as you can see, we have plenty of movement/kicking and what I call poking. Pokes are light and the kicks make me jump and catch my breath because they startle me so much. DH finds it hilarious and boring all at the same time because he can't feel/see them yet. Oh he will.

Here are my updates for the week with some pictures to boot:

How Far Along? 18 weeks, 4 days

Maternity Clothes? Pants and some tops yet. I'm excited for this nice weather because I have some maternity capris I want to wear in public since I feel well enough to be somewhat social these days. I also got a new maternity shirt. You like?

Weight Gain? I was 196-ish the day of my transfer. Once pregnant I quickly dropped to 180 (morning sickness: the best diet ever....heavy sarcasm there). The past 4 months I've even dropped into the 170s. I cannot seem to get over the 180/181 lbs mark. I have a feeling I'm going to get scolded at my 20-week appt for not gaining any weight.

Stretch Marks? I think I'm starting to get some on my sides, or the old ones are getting darker? Stomach is fine yet.

Belly Button In or Out?  Still in but quickly changing, I predict an outie by the end of the 2nd trimester.

 Sleep? I caught some kind of cold (don't even get me started) so due to a sore throat Sunday night I didn't sleep and felt terrible so I took Monday off as a sick day. But I feel much better now and am only stuffed up. Other than Sunday night's suckfest, I continue to sleep in 2-hour intervals. That is because I pee 2-4 times each night. At least I'm not peeing in the bed anymore (accident free since 9 weeks!)...

Best Moment of the Week? Mother's Day.

Movement? Frequent, especially if I sit leaning forward. I think Junior hates it when I do that. Or loves it because he/she gets super-active. I'll get some kicking action about 2-3 times per day and I look forward to it so much.

Food Cravings? I feel like I'm regressing back to the super-picky stages from the first trimester. But I am eating a lot of fresh fruit and some cheeses so that's got to be good. I was eating frozen french pizzas for about a week but those are now done for good. I bought some sweet corn yesterday so I'll be eating that this weekend for sure.

Gender? Starting to lean to the girl side for some reason. We find out in 12 days!

What I Miss? Eating like a normal person.
 
Symptoms: Heartburn, tired, nausea (still), mood swings, frequent urination

What I'm looking forward to? Swimming. I can't stop thinking about getting in a pool and relaxing.


Weekly Wisdom: Don't think that morning sickness is gone forever once you feel better. It can come back when you least expect it.


Milestones: I'm being weaned off Prednisone this week so that's pretty cool!

Emotions: Specifically I nearly cry sometimes when I feel the baby being active. Or when something sad is on TV or in the paper. Otherwise I'm just so happy to still be pregnant.


Here are some pictures:

18w3d

18w4d

Jack, Milo and Bella enjoying the nice weather last weekend:

My first purchase for the baby:

I can't believe I bought this!  Also I got it on Ama.zon for less than three bucks so thats a steal...