Big News!

No, not the baby yet.

But I did shave my legs this morning! And I managed not to fall over in the shower!

I'm thinking that ^starshine is right when she said that we might just have a little diva on our hands. My little Buttercup is not going to bow down to peer pressure and come when everyone else is ready. She's just going to go on her own schedule.

Which is fine. It's not too much longer before my parents will be here and then she can just come on.

I have had a few contractions this morning that did sorta make me think "ouch." But again, nothing in a constant rhythm.

X-man turns two on Monday so "he's" taking cookies for his class today at CDO. I did take pictures of them (they're little frogs...made by a local bakery) but I promptly put the camera back in my hospital bag so as not to forget it.

I'll be out getting his birthday present (any ideas? I'm thinking some Duplo building blocks) and then I'll be resting at home until it's time to pick him up.

My OB appointment is tomorrow and I'm very anxious to see what he says. At our last appointment he said that if I made it to my due date and hadn't had the baby yet, he'd schedule me at the hospital. I interpreted that as if I hadn't had the baby by Thursday (tomorrow) - and I know my due date is Saturday - then he'd go ahead and schedule me (but I don't know if it'll be over the weekend or on Monday or what). TC interpreted what the OB said as if I haven't had the baby by Saturday, he'll wait until Monday to schedule me which means in may be later in the week before we're scheduled. Men.

Hopefully, though, I'll have progressed past the two centimeters from last week and will be closer to ready to go.

Thankfully this little one hasn't found that nerve that X-man found that he kept "plucking." It was really uncomfortable and gave me a start every time he did it. This little missy just likes to put my bladder in a vice grip which, admittedly, doesn't feel very good either, but it's better than that crazy nerve X-man found!!

For anyone interested...

I'm still here and still pregnant. I think that I'm one of those women that fall into the "stripping membranes does squat" category.

No biggie. What's a few more days when I've already been pregnant this long?

And my tonsils are fine, thank you!

Well, the OB appointment today was a bit more interesting than previous ones.

I gained two pounds this week (up to 184...that's 29 pounds gained!). He said the baby had dropped some more, which is good.

He did an internal and I'm 2 cm dialated. Then he stripped my membranes. Great Ouchies, Batman!! We'll see what happens. I've read about ladies giving birth within 24 hours of being stripped and then ladies that have had their membranes stripped twice because nothing happened the first time!

I can say that I've had a few contractions since my appointment and they've gone up on the pain scale from a 2 to a 2.5 (1 is no pain and 10 is HOLY MOTHER!).

And you know that your internal is going swimmingly when the OB says, "I know you have a cervix up here somewhere!" Gah!

Bags are ready

I have my bag and X-man's bag packed in preparation for impending birth. And this time around, my bag doesn't have nearly as much stuff as it did last time...I have a better idea of what I'll actually need.

And you can bet that I've got TC's red vines in the bag!!

I do think I'll bring my boppy as an added pillow help for when I nurse Miss A.

I didn't find the boppy to be at all helpful for nursing at home and I wouldn't suggest it for anyone. But in the hospital bed, I'm hoping that it will help prop her up a bit more than those pitiful hospital pillows did last time. And I'm pretty sure I was at my personal allotment of pillows.

I've got X-man's bag packed with two sets of clothes, some pajamas, a sippy cup, diapers and I'm going to put some snacks in the bag in case he goes to a friend's house who doesn't have children. I don't have any toys in there yet and I probably will make an exception to the "teddy doesn't leave the house" rule just this once. It is a special circumstance.

But what I'm really hoping is that Miss A will come on her due date because my parents are already planning on coming that weekend and then I wouldn't have to worry about who's going to take care of X-man.

But we all know what they say about the best laid plans...

Oh, Baby!

I had an OB appointment last Thursday. No weight gain (still at 182) and my blood pressure was great. The doc said that next week he'll do an internal and see if I've had any progress. I really didn't start having contractions until Wednesday, so I hope that all these contractions are doing something.

Tonight, TC is at a friend's house. They're having a guy's night watching Spinal Tap.

I'm having a bowl of ice cream and watching my DVR'd Garth Brooks concert from last night.

Let me tell you about Garth Brooks.

He is my all-time favorite singer. While I'm watching this concert, I'm just imagining actually being there at the concert and I'm tearing up. And no, I don't think it's just pregnancy hormones.

I was introduced to Garth Brooks by a guy in band my freshman year of high school (and no, it wasn't Mr. Smith, for those that are wondering) at the end of the year band party. Well, I think I'd heard of him before that but not too much. Anyway, Friends in Low Places always makes me think of that band party. So, my infatuation with the G-man got stronger and stronger. I have every single one of his CDs (and several of those are "duplicates" because he'd re-release an album with one or two new songs). I did have a chance to go to one of his concerts with pitterpatter, but the concert conflicted with a scholarship audition for my Master's degree and I didn't go (and I think that I'd get to see my out-of-state boyfriend...TC...when I went to the audition).

Anyway, Garth still does it for me. He is an awesome performer and his recent milestone of surpassing Elvis as the best-selling solo artist in history tells me that I'm not the only one into Garth!

Now, if Garth would only come out of retirement and do a concert somewhere close by, I'd be there. And I'd probably pass out...

37 weeks, 4 days

Many doctors

Ok, so it was just two doctors I saw this week.

On Wednesday, I went to see my eye doctor for some reoccuring styes on my eyelid that started back in November. Sometimes they just get a little puffy but other times, they turn into a giant pimple. And they really itch and make my eyelid look swollen right along the lash line. And when your husband is eating dinner across the table from you and says, "Does that giant thing on your eyelid hurt?" you know it's time to do something. My eye doctor prescribed an antibiotic so I'm on day three of a 10-day dose.

On Thursday, I went to the OB where it was even less eventful than I imagined! He didn't do an internal (which I'm kinda happy about). I only gained one pound over the week (so I'm up to 182 lbs) and everything else looked good.

And I'm not complaining about being pregnant...in fact, I'm really enjoying it. My heartburn isn't near as bad as it was last time. Yes, I'm exhausted by 9:00 am, but I can take a nap when X-man goes down for his nap. I'm just really ready to meet Ms. A. I know it's going to turn our world completely upside-down, but I'm ok with that!

Another non-earthshattering appointment

I weighed 181 at my appointment yesterday. No biggie. It's probably due to the Ben & Jerry's I have in the afternoon. I didn't get that luxury the last time I was pregnant as I had a full-time, benefit-reaping job outside of the home. No place to store B&J at work!

Anyway, everything looked good and the OB did the GBS swab. While he was there, he did a quick check to see what was happening and I have not dialated one itty-bitty bit. At this point last pregnancy I was already dialated to a 4. This girl is determined to be completely different from her big brother!

All kinds of stuff!

Christmas was great! TC is still off work (doesn't have to go back until Jan. 3) so I haven't been on the computer too much.

We got several games for the Wii and we've been playing them. The game I got from TC's aunt is Raymon and the Raving Rabbids. It's a fun game, but it's got quite a bit of potty humor. The rabbit that appears to be "taking care of himself" under the lunch table in one of the games was enough to make me fall out of my chair laughing! TC got Mario Party 8, Zach & Wiki (this one is fun!!), Carnival Games and Namco Museum Remix (Pac-Man, Dig-Dug...games like that). I can't handle playing a game much longer than about 30 minutes. That's ok with TC...lets him get a longer turn to play!

X-man got some great presents...but his favorite has to be the tube from the inside of the foil. Of course. He really enjoyed passing out the presents to everyone. He had been told for several days not to play with the packages and we finally let him touch every single one! After about 30 minutes of opening presents, though, he got pretty tired of it and wasn't much interested. I opened the rest of his presents for him. And he's still playing with his new toys, too, so that's good!

I had my 34 week check up today. I'm up to 177 lbs...the weight I was when I first got pregnant with X-man. That puts me at 22 lbs gained. With X-man, I gained 22 lbs total. Looks like I'm going to go over that a little, but as long as it comes off this time as fast as it did last time, I'll be fine! I'll go back in two weeks (and I'll get the beta strep test) and then I'll go back every week after that. Whew! It's flying by!

We just started putting together the furniture for Ms. A's room. She's going to get X-man's dresser...it has a changing "table" on it. We got X-man a new dresser and even though it looks smaller, I think it will hold all of his clothes better!

Another Earth-Shattering OB Appointment

Not really. Seriously, it takes longer to drive there than it does for the entire appointment...pee sample and all!

I only gained 3 pounds this month. How's that for having Thanksgiving right there at the end? I'm up to 170 pounds which is still 7 pounds less than I was when I got pregnant with X-man. Obviously, Ben & Jerry's is good for you!

My blood pressure is good and baby girl's heartbeat is okey-dokey. The doc had to look for it in a little different place, but I can only imagine what kind of room she's made in there with all her crazy stretching and stuff!

Now, we start the every-two-weeks visits. And I'll be 30 weeks along on Saturday. How crazy is that?!? 10 weeks left (give or take some days) and we'll have a tiny baby in the house! X-man has no idea what's coming...

Dr Visit and X-man Sillies

I had an OB check up again yesterday...25 weeks.

I gained another 4 pounds this month so that puts me at 12 pounds total. I'm thinkin' that's pretty good! The baby's heartrate was great (she even kicked the doppler a few times!), my belly is measuring right on track and my blood pressure is excellent.

We did have to go to the lab for me to give blood. They have to check my iron levels and check for signs of gestational diabetes. I'm sure those will all be fine.

I did notice that my ankles were oddly absent last night, though. I guess I need to watch the swelling!

***

At dinner last night, TC mentioned how much his back hurt. So, after he got through bathing X-man and X-man was just playing in the tub (he loves taking a bath without the bathseat!) I walked behind TC and started rubbing his shoulders. Well, he closed his eyes and got one of those nice, big back-rub grins on his face. X-man was just watching him - spellbound! X-man had a sweet little grin on his face as if he was thinking, "Daddy likes that!"

So when TC pulled X-man out of the tub and we were drying off, X kept pulling on daddy's shoulders. We thought he was trying to get a hug or trying to pull himself up so he could get away from the towel (that goober!) but we finally figured out what he was doing...he was trying to rub daddy's shoulders like mommy had done earlier!

We laughed about that the rest of the night!

It's so cute bein' green!

Here's X-man in his froggy costume. I wondered if he was going to love or hate the suit. He thought it was cool the way his hands were covered up and he even let us put the hood on...which he kept on until we pulled it off! He had a good time at our church's Fall Festival. There were lots of kids there!



And just for the record, here's me in my full 25 week glory.

When Munchies Attack

I have got some serious munchies today (even more serious than normal!).

Maybe it had to do with having cottage cheese and pineapples for lunch, but it was really good and what I wanted. Then I had a few bites of Haagen Daaz Mango Sorbet (Fat Free, thank you very much), then a Little Debbie Oatmeal Pie and then a piece of Ethel M's Chocolate that I'm hording since they're not making their classic chocolates anymore.

And now I want some Pringles.

I think the problem is that it's 3:00 and X-man has been napping since 11:30...this is one long 'ole nap! And I'm bored. Of course, I have laundry to do, but that's even more boring than just being bored!

And little miss jelly bean is being one wiggley wart, let me tell ya! I think that X-man must have left his Dance Dance Revolution game in there from when he was cooking and now his little sister is playing with it!

Of OB visits and Stealth Teeth

I had my 21 week check up on Monday. It took longer to drive there then I spent in the offic (that includes the waiting room...since as soon as I signed in, they took me back).

Everything was good. I gained 5 pounds since my last visit a month ago which puts my total weight gain at 8 pounds. This time in my last pregnancy, I had gained 11 pounds since the previous appointment but had only gained half a pound up to that point. So I'm still in line with what I did last time weight-wise. And the baby's heartbeat was fine as was my blood pressure. In fact, TC was way impressed that my blood pressure was better than his (he gave blood that morning...good boy!).

I guess it's a good thing, though, that I totally forgot to go down the ice cream aisle at the store on Monday and get my weekly two pints of Ben & Jerry's Phish Food! Wonder if that had anything to do with the 5 pounds?

As for the stealth teeth, X-man has 'em. He's been really fussy since last week. And on Tuesday and Wednesday of last week he ran a fever. I was pretty sure it was due to teeth since I could see what looked like a giant tooth in the back on the bottom trying to come through. Well, yesterday I could see that the gums had broken there and a little tiny point was trying to come out. And then X-man giggled and I saw the top of his mouth. There, on either side in the back were two points that had already made their way through. Who knew! So, these stealth teeth are probably bicuspids which means there is quite a bit more tooth below the surface that needs to make an appearance. We'll all tough it out!

And I think these teeth are making X-man's tummy not so happy. He doesn't generally have very solid poopy diapers (he'll love that comment when he's 15) but the last few have been super runny! In fact, the nursery at church on Sunday came and got us after the service (before we went to Sunday School) because he had had two very runny diapers in the hour and a half he was there. I think they were tired of changing diapers.

Anyway, it's almost time for Homecoming and we'll be going! We haven't missed one yet, but it helps that my parents still live there so we always have a place to stay. And since it's TC's 10 year reunion, we'll get to see lots of friends that hadn't been to homecoming in a while! Ala Cumba!

Hamburger or Turtle?

Well, today was the big day! We had our ultrasound!

The baby was healthy and all the parts were there and in the right place. Right at the beginning, the doc said he was measuring the baby's head and I turned to TC and said, "Did you hear that? Our baby has a head!" That made the doc laugh.

X-man didn't care...he wanted to play with the toys.

So, the big news...

It's a girl!

We are very excited and now I'm just trying to get used to the fact that we can call the baby a "she" instead of "it" like we did last time. And even though we haven't told anyone the name we've picked (except my sister), we could even call her by her name. See? All of that was just weird!

Anyway, off to beddie-bye...but not before the pictures (and if you click on the picture, it'll come up much bigger)...

17 week appointment

I had a great OB appointment yesterday. My blood pressure was good and I've only gained a half a pound since the last time. My OB said, "You're doing great with your weight. If I were pregnant, I'd gain 300 pounds...in the first month!"

I have an idea why my weight is doing so well right now...I don't eat near as much food for lunch as I used to! When I was working outside the house, I would either eat at the cafeteria in the school or I'd go to Sonic or Arby's and pick something up. Now, I eat with X-man and I try to eat pretty close to the same thing as he does so he'll eat his own food!

We heard the heartbeat and he found it right away. It was wooshing right along.

We scheduled our big ultrasound on September 20th...that's in two weeks!

Yes, we're going to find out the "brand" of our little jelly bean.

You'd think...

...that having been through one pregnancy, I'd know exactly when I was feeling the baby move this time.

Not so much.

But I'm pretty sure that last night I really started to feel the baby move. And again today. It's not real pronounced (nothing like the kicks to the cervix I was getting from X-man near the end of that pregnancy) but I'm 98% certain it's the baby and not gas.

So, yea! 17 weeks and the little jelly bean is wiggling!

An Open Letter to my Placenta

Dear Placenta:

Would you please start doing what you're supposed to do and take over all this hormone craziness running rampant in my body? Seriously. If throwing up twice on Tuesday night wasn't bad enough, I had to go and do it again this morning...with nothing in my tummy but pink (?) stomach acid. Really, that makes my throat hurt.

I'm ready to get on with the fun stuff and not have this nagging feeling that yep, I'm going to toss my cookies.

So, please get with the program.

I'll wear my cute Eddie Bauer wrap dress if you do!! (Ok, I'm probably going to wear it anyway, but maybe a bribe is in order)

The Secret's Out (and I don't mean the movie)

I'm going to go ahead and tell X-man's big news...because if we wait until he can type it, it will be quite the anticlimactic moment...

He's going to be a big brother!

I have had the "pleasure" of lots of morning sickness and utter exhaustion. Now with the last pregnancy I wasn't chasing a toddler around and I didn't have much morning sickness (oh, I had the morning queasiness, but didn't throw up but maybe a handful of times). This time? I can't even count the number of times I've been sick! And thankfully, most of it is after TC comes home from work so he can keep an eye on X-man.

We had our doctor's appointment yesterday and I was 157 lbs. That's a 2 pound weight gain which I think is just fine. Of course, the main reason I didn't gain too much last time was due to extreme heartburn and reflux...I'd prefer that to not happen again, but I'm afraid it's going to. I've haven't had any really bad episodes of heartburn, but I can feel it trying to creep back into my life. Yuck!

Oh, the heartbeat yesterday was great...just chugging along! All three of us went to the appointment and as the OB was listening to the heartbeat he turned to X-man and said, "That's the new baby!" X-man couldn't care less. While I think he does actually "know" that I'm pregnant (or at least that something's different with mommy) he doesn't have any idea that he's going to have a sibling to play with. We'll have to work on getting him acclimated to that situation.

That's our fun news and I am so excited! I'm looking forward to a new baby, but not necessarily the sleeplessness that comes with a newborn. However, I do know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and that, too, will pass.

August is Bustin' Out All Over!

Whoa! I have no idea what happened between Tuesday, July 31st and Wednesday, August 1st, but I have grown a belly (and my boobs are actually fitting in my bra again...dang shrinking things!). I'm 12 weeks 2 days today.

I didn't think I had much of a belly on Tuesday (my parents and sister left after spending the night and I didn't have much to show my mom in the way of baby) but look out now!

Even TC commented on it last night. We got into bed and I snuggled up in front of him. He reached his arm over my side and said, "You weren't kidding! It's like overnight you grew a belly!"

That's what I'd been saying all day! And I felt like everyone I ran into was secretly checking out my belly.

We'll start telling after my appointment on Monday. I'm really excited and I don't think we'll be able to hide it much longer.

On a quite related note, I'm trying out a different variation of morning sickness. For the past several weeks, if I'm going to get sick, it's usually around 4:00 after TC gets home. But this morning I decided to go ahead and puke. Ugh...that isn't much fun anyway, but it's doubly not fun when there is nothing in your tummy to come up! Gross!

I'm going to go have a little breakfast before X-man wakes up and see if that'll settle my tummy.