Bryan is Here!!!!

Monday, December 20, 2010

Alive and all is well

I know it's been yet another 2 weeks since I posted.  Sorry about that.  Know that for the most part all is well.  Everyone is doing fine physically, I'm just having a roller coaster emotional time right now with the holidays and the anniversary of the miscarriage and family and all the other wonderful stuff that comes with this time of year.  I have a post about it all that has been brewing for about a month in my drafts, but its not done yet, and that's part of why I haven't posted.  I keep thinking I'll finish it up and post it so I don't post something else, and its just not where I want it yet.  Once I finally get it don't I think you'll understand.

A bullet list update since my last post.
  • We drove 800 miles the weekend of December 10th - 12th to visit my mom and her husband.  That was an ....oh lets just say interesting....trip to say the least.  Time with mom was good, but her husband just doesn't get it.  We spent FAR too much much time in the car that weekend (30 hours total), and ended up driving back through the blizzard that hit the Midwest on the 12th.
  • Work has been absolutely INSANE!  I am SO looking forward to taking the week between Christmas and New Year's off to work on finishing the office and prepping the nursery for painting.
  • We are making great progress on finishing up the office.  All the painting is done, the trim is up, one desktop is all together, the other will be done tonight.  All we have left is to stain the desks (ok all A has left :-)) and put the legs on and then set it up!  I can't wait!  It will mean that I get my family room back!
  • We spent Saturday with my Dad's family for a Christmas brunch and then the evening back at dad's house.  It was an awesome relaxing time and it was just perfect. 
  • Yesterday I ended up having to transport a dog for the rescue group because the woman who was going to do it is VERY pregnant, and went into labor.  Unfortunately this put my total car time up to 9 hours for this weekend.  On top of last weekend and the work int he office, my back is SCREAMING at me today.
  • We FINALLY decided on Nursery Furniture!!! YEA!!!  Now as soon as the paining is done we can order it.  There's a matching crib and changing table, I just have to find a dresser and a bookcase in a similar color, which shouldn't be too difficult since it's all natural colored.  With all the dark paint we're using, I wanted light furniture.
  • I've decided I'm not going to divulge the theme of the nursery here until it's done, but just give you little teases as we work on it.  Those of you who know what it is, shhhhh no telling. 
That's all for now.  New pictures and a survey later in the week I promise!

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Strange Dreams & 21(almost) weeks

So there has been an unexpected side effect to this pregnancy that has surfaced lately...very.strange.dreams.  Totally and completely bizarre situations and circumstances have been popping up about nightly.  Everything from last week's images of my husband being surrounded by mostly naked pin-up models which I became half conscious during the middle of and totally started a conversation with him that was following the path of the dream.  He had NO CLUE what I was babbling about!  To Sunday night's perfectly rational conversation with little man while he was still in my womb, (but I could hear his voice loud and clear...strangely he sounded just like A) about how I just need to not stress and everything will be OK. (This was the night after Paige lost her baby).  And then last night random scenes of someone hunting down and trying to shoot A and I and nearly succeeding except for the intervention of an old friend we haven't seen or heard from in about 3 years, who got shot instead.  I told you totally bizarre.  I kind of get where Sunday's came from, and the pin-up one could be because as we were channel surfing right before bed, we stopped on a show on the Travel channel that was all about bikini destinations, but the shooting one, NO CLUE.  Its just totally weird.  And they're just so VIVID, and I'm remembering most of everything that happened, which is even weirder for me.

Yesterday's Dr. appointment went pretty good.  Little man was moving around so much that the nurse had a hard time getting a reading on his heartbeat.  She found it just fine, but he was SO active he kept interfering with her counts.  We did finally get a 152 reading though, so right on with where we were 4 weeks ago.  My Blood pressure was 120/80, so still good.  Unfortunately, as I suspected, the weight conversation didn't go so well.  I've put on 4 pounds since my last appointment 212.4 according to the Dr.'s scale eek!), most of it in the last week.  Dr. O told me that if he could wave his magic wand, I would actually LOOSE 10-12 pounds before this baby is born!  I asked him what he realistically was expecting, and he said no more than another 10-12 gained.  The good news is he said the best thing I can do is find a place to swim since it's easy on the joints and I'll be extra buoyant right now :-)  That's awesome!  I love to swim, I swam in high school, and truth is I've been wanting to get back into it.  The bad news is that means I have to squeeze my bloated body into a swimsuit UGH!  So today I will be researching where are possibilities in town to go and swim.  I'm also trying out a prenatal yoga class starting next Monday.  And it looks like it will definitely be back on the low amylose diet for A and I.  That will probably start next week after we get back from my mom's and clean out the groceries in the fridge right now.  My biggest struggle is going to be breakfast.  I'm really not an egg person on a regular basis, in fact, I've been on a BIG biscuit and gravy kick lately.  That's gonna have to stop.  In the summer I can do fruit and yogurt and be happy, but in the winter it's going to be tougher.  Throw that on top of having to get up a little earlier in order to eat breakfast at home instead of buying it a work (which I should be doing anyway I know) and its going to be a challenge.  I'll get there though, I have to.

OK enough rambling.  Here's the survey:
How far along: 20 weeks 6 days
Total weight gain/loss: (switching to the Dr.'s scale, I don't trust mine anymore) +7.4, 212.4
Maternity clothes: All maternity or stretchy knit skirts (I LOVE my Old Navy roll top skirts!). Some regular shirts fit, but only on good show off my bump days :-)  I have GOT to get some leggings and maternity pants.  It is FAR to cold for skirts all the time!!!
Stretch marks: One new one on my belly, left side. The ones on my hips from puberty are ANGRY! I've started using Palmer's Cocoa Butter lotion for stretch marks, and it is taking most of the redness, tightness, and itching away. Loving it!
Sleep: Much better.  I'm waking up around 3:30 or 4 every night, adjusting the pillow and then usually right back to sleep.  I probably should get up to pee, but I know if I do I won't go back to sleep as quickly, and then when the alarm goes off, I REALLY have to go, so it forces me to get up.
Movement: Lots and lots just in the last 2 days!  My little boiler is going strong :-D
Cravings: Nothing weird.  We've been eating at the Mexican restaurant a lot lately on my prompting, and I've been using more rosemary than usual in my cooking.
Aversions: Still having issues with hot sauce.  Just the smell makes me nauseous, which is bad because A puts hot sauce on almost EVERYTHING!  Nothing else has been really bad.
Gender: Team BLUE!!!!
Symptoms: Nausea is tapering off to once or twice a week. Heartburn and Sciatica and in full force I keep a bottle of antacids in my purse, in my desk at work, in both bathrooms at home and in the family room!
What I miss: Deer Sticks :-(  A got his first dear this year a couple weeks ago and when it cam back from the processor there was 9 pounds of sticks, and I can't have any of it.  They're smoked, not cooked :-(
What I look forward to: Working on the nursery when I'm off the week between Christmas and New Year's
Moods: Up, down left, right, in, out....depends on the minute
Milestones: We chose a crib (I think) and got a LOT of work done on the office.  Carpets are cleaned, primer and first paint color are up.  We should have it all done by the end of next weekend, which will be a WEEK ahead of schedule!!!
Medical Concerns: um...just my weight really.  I'm so glad to have to really think of something to put here.
Weekly Wisdom: I learned the hard way over Thanksgiving that I'm not as sensitive to how much or little others want to hear about the pregnancy/baby stuff as I thought I was.  My advice based of that interaction, wait for questions and answer them concisely.  If people want more information they will ask for more.  Always respond to a question about baby stuff with a question about the other person's life/kids/work/whatever.  Finding the balance between keeping people informed and jeopardizing conversations is REALLY HARD.  I need to make a better effort.
Best moment this week: Feeling that first for real undeniable kick Sunday night.  Way too cool!

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Well Shoot!

Here I go again letting 2 weeks pass without posting!  SORRY!!!!

Things have been pretty hectic on the real life front and pretty quiet on the Baby front since our scan 2 weeks ago.  I have my next general checkup this afternoon, and other than that I really only have one piece of baby news...

HE MOVES!!!!!!

That's right, I'm actually feeling for-real movement.  It started late Sunday evening with just 3 or 4 kicks in about 5 minutes, and then nothing.  Yesterday after dinner, there it was again.  And now today, it's been a non stop bubbling in my belly!  I absolutely LOVE it!  But it's also making it VERY hard to concentrate!

I have to admit, I've been really wondering what it was going to feel like, and I think I've come up with the perfect description.  Think about heating up a thick, creamy soup on the stove top (like broccoli cheese or something).  No imagine what it looks like as it comes to a slow boil and those bubbles rise to the top and join together and then just POP! come through the thick surface of the soup.  That's what all these little kicks and punches feel like.  Soup bubbling in my gut.  And all of them are below my belly button (no real surprise since my uterus isn't really any higher than that yet.)  I've been trying to count, but I keep getting distracted and losing track. 

In other news I have a feeling the doctor is  not going tobe happy with me today.  If the scale at home is correct, I've gained nearly 5 pounds in the last week since coming off the met.  YIKES!  Guess we now know why I haven't been putting on much weight.  My 15-20 pound max gain seemed so attainable until this morning :-(  Hopefully we can get things back in check, but it looks like I'll be going back on the low amylose diet.  I've really been enjoying my potatoes too. *pout*  Oh well, all for my little man.

Finally, if you're the praying type, please add Paige to your prayers.  She was due the same week as I am and lost her baby this weekend due to a ruptured amniotic sack.  I have to admit it scared the &$(% out of me to read that this weekend, and I can only imagine what she is going through right now.  I know how devastated I was to lose a baby at just 6 weeks, I can't imagine going 20 and then having this happen.  She's understandably having a really rough time right now and has totally lost her faith in G*d, and could really use some extra prayers.

I'll update with stats and a survey after my Dr appt.