Tick tock, tick tock

I feel like time is slipping away from me soooo fast! I'm quickly approaching the end of this pregnancy and I'm not ready for it to be done!! Bri's room isn't done! I don't have all the things I need! I'm not sure I'm ready for labor and the decisions that come with giving birth! UGH!!! I'm a planner and things are not going as planned. I. Don't. Like. It! Welcome to parenthood right? LOL!

Sleeping is starting to suck! The worst part about that is I'm wanting to sleep more. I tend to only get a couple of hours in at a time before I'm sore everywhere. To top it off today I was suddenly struck with a cold. I have no idea where the heck it came from but I don't feel like a happy pregnant woman!

O.k. I'm done complaining. On to better things....

Christmas was wonderful! Lots of great presents for myself, Ben and Bri. I had to laugh at my nieces. Not too long ago Aunt Shana was the one to hug and kiss. Now Brielle is the one to hug and kiss. They're just a little excited for her to get here!

This weekend my friend Courtney took some maternity pictures for me. Honestly I didn't want to do them. It was a crappy day for me and I wasn't in a good mood. Boy am I glad I changed my mind! I've only had a sneak peak of what we did but they are beautiful! See for yourself!

Old Wives Tales

One popular old wives tale is that if you have heartburn while pregnant your child will be born with hair. If this is true Brielle should come out looking like a hair model! LOL! The heartburn I've had this week is unbelievable. Actually its been down right painful! It seems today things are under control but we'll see how long that lasts.

This week we had our final birthing class. During the class we practiced some comfort measures that can be used during labor. While practicing the instructor asked Ben "when you're facing Shana and she has a contraction what can you do to comfort her?" His answer was "give her a kiss and tell her I love her." LOL! That wasn't exactly the answer the instructor was looking for. Apparently it was a very good answer though since all the girls in the class thought it was so sweet. The instructor said "That's a wonderful answer! I'm sure she would appreciate that. What I was looking for was back rub though." You gotta love my husband! He's so sweet!

Ben fired the drywallers this week. He wasn't too thrilled with them so he told them to get out. Ben's dad, my dad and Ben hung the drywall this week. We're getting it finished soon. We were able to get someone to do it that does AWESOME work! We're very excited to have him helping us.

While time seems to be flying things are going along slowly but surely. It would be great if time would slow down a little bit and everything else would get done faster. LOL! I don't know that there's any real happy spot for a pregnant woman though.

Well I'm off to shovel some snow! That has become my favorite activity of late. Yeah, I know I'm crazy. I can't help it though!

9 weeks to go and counting!

Today is week 31 of my pregnancy. Where the heck has the time gone? I feel like it was just yesterday when I was at the store buying the pregnancy test. Now here we are with only 9 weeks (maybe less, maybe more) left!

Nothing too exciting to report this week. I had an appointment with my doctor. I'm still measuring ahead but as we know Brielle is the perfect size. Ben and I had some questions for the doctor about her feelings on some procedures and the whole labor process. I think the talk helped ease both of our minds....for now.

Tonight I went to Erin's for my workout. Due to the holidays and other happenings it's been almost two weeks since I've been there. Boy oh boy! I could tell I have been slacking off at home! Tonight was a good reminder that I need to keep up on my strength training not just my cardio. So back to using my hand weights I'll go. At this point I don't want a set back with my fitness.

No pictures of Brielle's room yet. The drywallers didn't make it over last weekend. They should be here this weekend so I'll have pictures soon!

A couple of photos

I had Ben take a couple pictures of me on Thanksgiving day. I was 29 weeks pregnant. Sorry about the lack of smile. I had no idea when he was going to click the pictures and I was kind of talking to him still.

Front Shot

Side Shot. Holy Belly! It almost feels like it showed up over night! It took a few weeks though.

Ultrasound Number 5

Sorry about the lack of posts. There really hasn't been too much going on.

On Tuesday we had our 5 ultrasound (4th growth ultrasound). Ben wasn't able to get away for the appointment due to a busy schedule (yay for someone in our house working) so my mom came along. I think she had fun seeing Brielle.

Going to the appointment I was very anxious. This was the first ultrasound Ben could be at. I was convinced that I was going to get bad news. At my previous two doctor's appointments I've been measuring ahead. Significantly ahead. I was sooo worried that Brielle had a big growth spurt in the last 5 weeks and was huge (which would be a problem).

The appointment started off well. My weight is good, my blood pressure is awesome, my sugar numbers are where they should be and my urine was good. The ultrasound was fun. We were able to see Brielle open her eyes and she "talked" to us. When Dana (she's the ultrasound tech) was done with all the measurements she let me know that I have no reason to worry about the baby's size! Brielle weighs about 3 pounds 6 ounces! She's in the 54th percentile. Basically she's PREFECT!! I was so happy to hear that news.

The doctor came in and asked me a few questions. When he did his usual check of my ankles he told me I have a little bit of edema going on. EEK! He said I shouldn't worry about it. It's normal for swelling to start happening in the third trimester and the swelling I have is very minimal. Drinking plenty of water (which I slacked off on a few days before my appointment) and putting my feet up will help with the edema. All in all it was an excellent appointment.

So now with only 10 weeks left I'm dealing with some anxiety. I'm worried about labor, I'm worried about being prepared, I'm worried about things I know are completely irrational but I worry about them anyways! I think it's all part of the "joys" of being pregnant. Oh, one of those other joys is aching hips! Holy cow! It hurts to sit, it hurts to lay down, it hurts to stand. Basically I constantly feel like an old lady. Lovely!

Hopefully in the next few days I'll have some pictures of Brielle's room. We've been taking pictures along the way. The drywall will be going up this weekend. Before you know it the walls will be painted and we'll have the crib in there.

Buying Maternity Clothes

This week I finally received an unemployment check. After paying bills I decided I could finally use some maternity clothes. After all, I am 7 months pregnant and my regular jeans were starting to get uncomfortable. Since my mom recently lost her job too (she worked at the same place I did) I figured it would be fun for the two of us to go shopping together.

So there we are. I'm a first time preggers and my mom hasn't been pregnant in over 30 years. We're standing in the maternity section at Kohl's. We pick out a bunch of tops, a few pairs of jeans and head to the dressing room. While trying on the clothes nothing really feels right. After a small discussion we decided to head to Motherhood Maternity. We figure there we'll be able to get help with how things should fit and what size I should wear.

When we walk into Motherhood we are promptly greeted by three very nice sales women. They ask what I'm looking for and I tell them some warm tops and jeans. The sales girl explains that the sizing goes based on your size before you were pregnant. Just get the size you were before in maternity clothes and they'll fit. Then my mom asks the question we've both been thinking "How large do your sizes go?" The answer isn't what we were looking for. They only carried up to XL which is a size 16/18 pre-pregnancy. My reaction was "Oh. I guess I won't find anything here then." The sales girl looks at me and says "what size do you think you need? What size were you before you got pregnant?" So I tell her I was a plus size. She then asks how far along I am. Once she hears I'm 7 months she says they'll have plenty there for me to wear.

So my mom, two of the sales girls and I walk around the store picking out jeans and tops for me to try on. All of them in size XL. They set me up in a dressing room and I walk in fully expecting to not be able to fit into anything that I've picked out. My heart turned heavy at that thought because I had some really, really cute items picked out. I take a deep breath and step into a pair of jeans. They fit! OMG they fit!! I quickly pull on the adorable sweater that I really want. It fits too!! Needless to say I'm beyond happy. I step out of the dressing room for a little fashion show. My mom loves the outfit as does another mom helping her daughter shop. The sales girl comes over and asks what I think. "I love it! It fits!" I say. She loves it too but she doesn't think it fits. She points out to me that the top is in fact too big!! The shoulders hang way to low on me. So she goes off and gets me a size Large.

As I'm getting ready to put on the smaller sized sweater I remind myself that if it doesn't fit the larger size does. I slip on the sweater and it fits! It looks even better on me then the larger sized one! I practically ran out of that little dressing room to show off. Everyone agrees that the sweater looks much better. Then they ask if I tried "the pillow". What pillow? Well there's a pillow in each dressing room that adds 3 to 4 months to your belly. By putting it on under the clothes you know how things will fit down the road. So I go in to put the pillow on. I about died laughing right then and there! I looked so funny! Granted the pillow puts me at over due it was so amusing to see such a big "belly" on me. The good news is the clothes still fit.

After trying on clothes for about an hour I narrowed down what I was going to buy. I decided to buy the tops in size Large and the pants in XL. I was a happy camper leaving the store. Not only were the clothes cute and comfortable but I actually looked pregnant!! When I wear my other clothes I just look fat. I was very excited to wear my new outfits and finally look pregnant.

Today I wore one of my new outfits. I started getting annoyed with my new jeans. They kept sliding down. It looked like my butt was suddenly on the back of my thighs. Since Ben and I were at the mall doing some Christmas shopping I decided to stop into Motherhood to try on a smaller size. I said to Ben before we walked in "They'll probably be too tight but I would rather find out for sure." The girl that helped me the yesterday was working. She immediately greeted me and asked if I needed help. I told her the problem I was having with the jeans. She gave me a few suggestions but I had tried them already with no luck. Into the dressing room I went with a size Large jeans. I pull them on and they fit! Holy. Cow. I go out and ask Ben if they look too tight. His answer "nope". He asks the sales girl what she thinks. "They look like they fit" she says. I think they fit pretty darn good too. So I go in to get my other jeans back on. I can hear Ben ask the sales girl "So is the large a size 14/16 pre-pregnancy?" "No" she says. "They're 12/14 pre-pregnancy." I was over the moon hearing that!

Can you believe it? In January before I got pregnant I was wearing a size 22 even some size 24. Now I'm pregnant and buying size 12/14 clothing! It just goes to prove it's NEVER too late to get healthy. Plus it's a great boost to my ego

Welcome to the Third Trimester!

Well here we are - the start of the third trimester. I'm a little freaked out! I noticed today that I have only 90 days until my due date!! Holy. Cow. In 90 days or less I'll be a mom. I don't know that the world (much less me) is ready for that. LOL!

Not much has happened this week. Brielle is as active as ever. I'm learning her waking and sleeping times. She's pretty darn predictable. I'm not sure but she may have had the hiccups the other day. It felt like a belly spasm to me. She's taken to stretching a lot lately. Some times the stretches can get pretty uncomfortable for me. I'm sure she enjoys a good stretch though.

Next week we start our birthing classes. We'll be finished with them before Christmas! We're starting to talk about our birth plan too. All of these preparations just make me think of how much we have to do but how fast time is flying.

Ben tells me that Brielle's room should be ready by the end of December. Right now it's just a matter of Ben getting over his cold (he's been sick all week) and getting our hands on some money. We had sold something that gave us plenty of money to finish the room and get our travel system but I haven't received any unemployment money in over a month. I'm fighting with them on that. All I can do is sit and wait to hear back from them right now. So needless to say things are tight and unfortunately that "extra" money is now going to go to bills. So much for that idea. We still believe that things will work out in the end.

So not much going this week just a lot of freaking out and planning. I'll let you know if anything exciting happens.

Approaching the end of the Second Trimester

Wow! It's hard to believe that I'm almost two thirds of the way through my pregnancy. I really am baffled. Where has the time gone? I feel like I just looked at that positive pregnancy test last night!

While time is flying we're doing our best to get ready for the arrival of Brielle (hehehe! I love using her name). Ben is working very hard on the room. It will be done before you know it! Last night he was on a roll and didn't want to stop. I keep reminding him he needs to take a break every now and then so he doesn't burn out. I think the excitement is keeping him going.

We've had two doctor's appointments in the last week. The first one was with our high risk doctor. We had an ultrasound and an echocardiogam to check Brielle's growth and heart. She is doing wonderfully in both areas! As of last Tuesday she weighed about 1 pound 13 ounces. They say she was a few days ahead but nothing to be worried about. Her heart is looking wonderful as well! They tell us everything is looking perfect.

The second doctor's appointment was with my OB yesterday. She is very pleased with my weight and my blood pressure. She did mention I am measuring about 2 to 3 weeks ahead. Since we know Brielle isn't overly big there's nothing to worry about. I was having an overly emotional day yesterday. Every little thing was bugging me. The problem is I'm a freak about being prepared. Unfortunately somethings don't go on my timeline and it's hard for me to handle. Since it was my first day of being in tears we chalked it up to hormones. I'm going to keep on top of it though so things don't get out of control. At my next appointment I'll receive my Rhogam shot. That's one thing I'm not looking forward to.

Today I called and signed us up for our birthing classes, a tour of the hospital and a car seat class. Talk about being slapped with reality! All of the sudden things seem really real! Wow! From here on out I have a feeling time is going to fly!!

I must admit - I made a mistake

Yes, it's hard to believe but I made a mistake. In my sleepy, cold induced haze I said that no one had guessed the correct name in the hint #2 thread. Well looking back through the guesses last night (I'm writing this on Thursday afternoon. It will be posted Friday evening) I caught the proper guess. I scanned right by it twice!! So I apologize for missing it. Congrats to Jennifer on the proper guess. I have a slight feeling that a "little monkey" may have told you of a few ideas we were tossing around but that's what I get for sharing ideas. LOL!

We have a plan on how to inform our families of the name so that is why I am delaying the posting of this entry. I'm actually adding a picture of myself so you can see for yourself how the announcement is being made. What do you think?





Brielle Marie. We talked and talked and talked about her name for a long time. We have known for a little over a month (or two) that this would be her name (her middle name was decided on well before she was even conceived). We wanted to use it ourselves and make sure we were OK with it. At this point we are. Will things change in the future? I sure hope not but I do know plenty of people who have changed their minds at the last minute. I truly hope this doesn't happen to us.


So thank you all for your guesses. There were a few beautiful names thrown out there that I really liked as well. I was impressed on how many of you probably looked at a map to get name ideas! Happy Halloween!!

Job update

I received news today that I did not get the position that I've been interviewing for. It's been over 6 weeks since I started the interview process so it's been a long road. While it sucks not getting this job, I'm sure it is for the best. There is obviously something else out there for me. I've also been contemplating making a career change for some time. Maybe this is the kick in the butt I need to make the change.

So I'm going to keep looking and thinking about what to do. Like I said before Ben and I have made some great decisions in the past. I'm sure we'll receive clarity on what to do from here on out soon.

Thank you to everyone for your support and well wishes. Without them I'm sure this bump in the road would be horrible!

6 months! (and name hint #2)

Wow! Wow! Wow!! On Thursday we entered week 24 of the pregnancy. Holy cow! That's 6 months! I've been growing a little person for 6 months! That means I have as much as 16 weeks or as little as 12 weeks left. Wow!

Thankfully the little person I'm growing has been good to her mom for the most part. She did assert her hold on me with wicked heartburn not too long ago. It was the most horrible heartburn I have ever had in my life! Thankfully a late night trip to the store and 2 Rolaids Soft Chews later I was alright. I'm not never far from those Soft Chews. (Yes this is the same story from a week or so ago. Can you tell how much it affected me?! LOL) I've also learned not to leave my house without snacks. You never know when an uncontrollable hunger is going to hit!

With these new "accessories" I had to upgrade my purse to a slightly larger one. I now always have the aforementioned items along with my glucometer and a bottle of water. It's hard to think in a year from now my purse will more then likely be filled with toys and baby snacks!

We've had some great guesses of the little girl's name. So far none of them have been correct. It's been a lot of fun to read the name ideas. Some have been very beautiful, some have been pretty common and others have been, uh, unique. Since we don't have a correct answer it is with great pleasure I give you baby name hint #2!!

Her name is the same as an east coast city.

Happy guessing!

P.S. No new news on the job front.

Staying Healthy While Gestating

I've been doing my best to be a healthy gestator. I would say so far I'm doing good. I have lost about 20 pounds since getting pregnant (I was down a little more but in the last few weeks I've gained a little). I wasn't trying to loose weight but when you change your diet to stave off gestational diabetes that's what happens. Also I've kept active all through my pregnancy. I've done a variety of activities including kickboxing (no contact of course), zumba, water aerobics, walking and working with my trainer Erin.

Out of all of these activities I have to say that the biggest help to keeping me healthy is working with Erin. I know if I don't keep up with my exercises and diet my workout will not be easy at Erin's! Not that Erin will "come down" on me but in order to keep up with what she wants me to do I need to be healthy (or at least well on my way to being healthy). As my pregnancy progresses my workouts with Erin have evolved. I no longer do much on the floor and we are concentrating on balance a lot right now. We have fun talking about being pregnant, babies and future goals. I always look forward to heading over to see her.

Today Erin and I updated my measurements. While it may seem silly to take measurements while pregnant it actually makes sense. After all when you gain weight while pregnant you should gain a little fat and all the other weight should be due to the baby. This means your arms and legs should still be fit even though your abs give away. I am happy to report that since I've been working with Erin I have lost a total of 12 inches (6.5 of those in the last 10 weeks)! Yes people that's right. I've lost 12 inches while pregnant (we got our positive test back shortly after I started working with Erin).

The most amazing measurement to me was my hips. My last set of measurements I definitely didn't have a baby belly. I'm starting to get one now. That posed a challenge for measuring my hips this time around. There really is no way to measure my hips right now without the baby getting in the way. I was completely ready for that measurement to go up. Well my hip measurement did not go up. It actually went down 2 inches!! That's with the baby in the way! WOW!

Needless to say I'm very excited! I'm a busy girl on the health front. I'm growing a little girl for us to love and I'm becoming a healthier person! How awesome is it going to be when I finally have my little girl to hold and I'll be a healthy mom!! It's an exciting time for me and I couldn't be happier!

Ben and I were talking tonight about how we are going to stay healthy to be a good role model for our daughter. I always tell him stories about Erin's son Grady and how he knows that exercise is good for you. Grady has great role models in his parents. I want us to be great role models for our daughter. So Ben and I are making plans to start running together when I can run. Admittedly I hate running. I don't think many people really like running when they start. It's something that grows on them. We're talking of adding a running stroller to our registry. The best way to show our daughter how to be healthy is to have her involved from the get go.

So thank you Erin, Geoff and Grady! Ben and I hope to one day have the healthy family that you have. Who knows maybe in a couple years we'll run one of those marathons with you!

Hello new friends!

I've noticed that I have some new followers. How fun! I never thought anything in my life would be interesting enough to actually blog about. Then when something did happen I never imagined I would have so many hits on my blog. It's fun to share this journey with new friends and old. I hope you're enjoying this trip with us. It's hard to believe there's approximately 17 weeks left! Where has the time gone?

Tomorrow is the start of week 23 of my pregnancy. Wow. Just....wow! Every day I'm so happy to feel our daughter "have a party" inside of me. She's so predictable that it makes me laugh. It also gives me hope that she will adjust to a schedule when she arrives. I may have just jinxed myself!

Since my last blog entry a few things have happened. I went to a second interview at the company I really want to work for. It was very promising and I left there with confidence that I would be working soon. Here I am a week later and I'm not working. I'm not sure if I'm putting too much hope into this job prospect or what. I called to follow up on the interview and it sounds like they are close to deciding but it may be another week yet. Lovely. I just want to jump into this job and get as much done as I possibly can before I have to take leave. And how the heck do you tell someone "Thanks for the job offer! I need an extended amount of time off in 17 weeks or less."? Everything I read says I should inform them before I accept any offer they give me. That makes me worry that the offer would be rescinded. Legally they could say that I require special arrangements and they can't accommodate me. I know that if they did that I wouldn't want to work for them but deep down I can't blame them. And if they don't rescind the offer I'm in no way covered by FMLA. That means they can replace me when I go on leave. So much to worry about.

If I don't get this job I have to give serious consideration to how hard I should search for a job. I need a job but is it worth it? Should I just wait? Should I work part-time? Can we survive if I don't work? All things I have to think about. All things Ben and I are tossing around. I guess when the time comes we'll know what to do. We've some how been lucky enough to make sound decisions up to this point. Hopefully our streak continues.

On to baby news - Her room is coming along. It's completely down to the studs! We've been taking pictures along the way. I'll try to share some with everyone soon. Right now it looks like a tornado went through there! It's exciting to think about how it's going to look when it's done. I was just saying to Ben last night that I wished we had some more money. The ceiling could be a lovely tall ceiling that slopes towards the windows. I could add some beautiful pendent lighting that would hang so nicely from the slope. While those thoughts are nice her room will still be absolutely wonderful! Her closet will be widened by a whole foot!! What a lucky girl! It's already a huge closet. Needless to say mom is slightly jealous!

Last night was my first experience with baby induced heartburn. Let me just say this is the worst heartburn EVER! Seriously I could not stand it! Since I didn't have anything in the house that is ok for me to take I had to head out to the store.....it was almost midnight! Of course being so late there was no way Ben was letting me go alone so he took me up there. I bought some Rolaids soft chews. Two of them and a bath later I was able to sleep comfortably. I was thinking that maybe it was the food I had for dinner but I had the same thing for lunch today with no problems. Apparently she was just letting me know who is in charge. LOL!

I'm taking an idea from my friend Amy. We have decided on a name for our little girl. We have not shared it with anyone yet. While it may be a while before we share the name I thought I would give hints to what it could be. I know there are some people who read our blog that are super sleuths so this could be fun! If the name is guessed I'll have to get permission from Ben to confirm the name as we haven't decided when we'll share the name. In the mean time everyone can have fun trying to figure it out!

Baby Name Hint #1: She will be the only member of our house (that's between myself, Ben and the furkids) that won't have the letter "a" in her first name. (LOL! Yep! I even did the same hint as Amy!) Happy guessing!

Registery DONE!

Over the weekend Ben and I finally had some time to go and register for the baby. We had a TON of fun doing it! At times it was a little overwhelming but we took our time and talked our choices over....mostly. I can't tell you how many times I heard the scanner go off while I was looking at something. I think I asked Ben "what did you just add?" about 100 times! LOL! The best add has to be the bib that reads "My mom is hotter then your mom". I about died laughing! If you know me I'm NOT hot. It's nice to know that my husband thinks so though.

We do have one or two more items to add but we'll do that soon enough. For now we can check this task off our list!

Oh! This weekend we also had the new windows installed in the baby's room. Oh my goodness! They are soo much better then the old windows. Ben said when they removed the trim from the outside the only thing holding the old windows in was two small finishing nails! He could actually spin the whole window! So it sounds like the new windows are safer, more quiet and more energy efficient! YAY!

A job hunt update

This job hunt it like a new relationship: All of the good signs are there but no commitment!

I didn't update after the assessment because there wasn't much to update. I took the test on Monday. I didn't hear anything. I called on Friday and they said they needed to have a meeting and would get back to me.

On Tuesday of this week (yesterday) I received a message that they were sending out an application. They said to fill it out and send it back in. I called back and left a message offering to go down and fill out the application. I didn't hear back from them.

This afternoon I receive a call and it's the HR guy. He wants to set up a second interview with me. So now I go in on Thursday October 9 for an interview with 4 people. From the sounds of it I'll be meeting with each person separately.

So that's where I'm at. Still waiting for that commitment

Little girl kick your dad!

Last week I noticed that the bumps I was feeling on the inside seemed to be getting stronger. Sure enough I notice that if I placed a book on my belly it would get bopped. So I decided to see if I could actually feel my little girl from the outside. While lying (grammar police: is it lying or laying? I can never get those right*) on the couch I put my hand on my belly. Sure enough I got a good thump! The question was did I know it was a thump because I could feel it from the inside too?

On Friday I was POSITIVE that I was feeling the baby from the outside. Excited I hopped into bed and woke Ben up. "Put your hand here and press down" I told him. Of course the party that was going on in my belly ceased to exists. After waiting a while I apologized for waking Ben up and started went to bed. Of course Ben didn't care that I woke him up and said to wake him up again when the party started back up. Just as I was drifting off the sleep it felt like the party was starting back up. I waited a minute or two to make sure there was plenty going on. Of course as soon as I woke Ben up and he put his hand on my belly the party stopped.

The next night was a similar night. This time I was feeling the bops but poor Ben wasn't. It doesn't help that she is most active in the middle of the night! We aimed for Ben to hopefully feel her within the week.

Last night I had some chocolate milk before bed. That usually gets the baby moving within a couple of minutes. It didn't work last night though. So off to bed we went. Ben kissed me goodnight and went to sleep. I watched a little TV. While laughing at Leno the party started in my belly. I pressed my hand to my stomach and promptly got kicked (or punched or perhaps head butted). I waited for a couple more bops to make sure they were nice and strong. They were. I woke Ben up and grabbed his hand. On to my belly I put his hand......nothing! Ugh! Seriously! Come on little girl! Kicky your dad!

After a few minutes of sitting there I told Ben I guess she wasn't going to kick him. Just then there was a nice strong bop and an "Oh yeah!!" coming from Ben. She FINALLY kicked him! Just for good measure she bopped him again.

Needless to say dad went to bed a very happy dad!

*Edit: With the help of this great website I found out that lying was the proper word I was looking for......I think. LOL!

Seeing Baby Girl!

Today we got to see our little girl again! It was a lllloooonnnngggg wait to see her though. When we got to our appointment (15 minutes early) we were told they were "running a little late". Well "a little late" ended up turning into a two hour wait. Ben was starting to get very upset. I had to remind him that if we had an emergency other people would be put off too. He calmed down a tiny bit.

What really calmed Ben down was seeing our little girl. The first image we got to see was of her face and she was "jawing" at us. LOL! She was just "talking" away and waving her arms. So. Cute.

Everything is going very well. Her brain is developing normally, the kidneys are good, her stomach is developed, her bladder is good, she has all 4 chambers of her heart and she's definitely a girl. There was one heart area we couldn't see because of the way she was sitting but Dr. B wasn't overly concerned. We found out she's measuring right on schedule. She weighs about 14 ounces and is 9 inches tall.

I didn't gain that pound they wanted to see. I actually lost 3. But again the doctor wasn't concerned. My blood pressure is excellent and my sugars have been great. The only "concern" that we have is the placenta is sitting a little low but Dr. B says it's moving up so there's no need to change my activity level. All in all it was a great appointment even though we were there for almost 4 hours.

I just wanted to apologize for not updating on the assessment testing. It was a very uneventful hour. I'm still waiting to hear back about the results. They did say it would take a couple of days so I'm hoping to have some news either today or tomorrow. I can't tell you how great it feels to have all the support of my wonderful friends! The notes on my blog, in my emails and on the boards I frequent have been wonderful. I truly am a very lucky girl to have you guys!

No second interview for me....

Instead they're bringing me in for assessment testing!! YAY!! I go in Monday at 8 am. I'll be sure to let you know how it goes (as always).

Status of Interview

So the interview went really, really well today. I was there for almost 3 hours. I met with 3 people. It was nice to learn more about the company and the position.

I'm excited about the position. It would be a mix of familiar work and new work that would be a challenge.

They're going to be doing call backs sometime next week. Hopefully I'll be on the list!! I'll let you know if I get a call.

An Interview!

I have an interview tomorrow at a company I really would like to get into. I'll be sure to let you know how it goes!

Buying stuff for Baby Girl!

I'm still unemployed but that won't stop me from preparing for my little girl to get here! This weekend we headed out to do some baby shopping.

First it was off to pick out a light fixture for her room. A local lighting store was having a beat the clock sale. If we bought what we wanted before noon we got 40% off the price. As we strolled around the packed store I tried to convince Ben that our girl needed a chandelier. He wasn't believing me. So I took a different approach and suggested the modern light fixture that was full of crystals.....yeah he wasn't having that either. I can't say I blame him. Once I looked at the price I wasn't having it either (over $1100). We finally decided how on two fixtures that we liked. One we really liked, the other was the "back up". After waiting in line to even talk to a sales person we were able to ask a few questions. We ended up buying our first choice. It's modern and chic and I love it!

After the lighting store we headed off to the baby furniture store. They were having a one day sale. We walked around and contemplated a few cribs that we liked. We also took time to sit in the big comfy chairs they have. After some discussion and debate we picked out a crib. Since we don't have a room to put it in we decided that layaway was the best way to go at this time.

After picking out our crib we headed over the the stroller and car seat area. We played with a few car seats and looked at a few strollers. Then it happened. One complete system caught my eye. I headed over to it and started playing around. The sales girl took plenty of time to tell us about the system. Once I took a look at the name she really didn't have to say much more. I've done enough research to know it is a top of the line system. Ben on the other hand asked plenty of questions. I finally got up the nerve to check out the price. Yep....it was expensive and it was marked down significantly. I knew in that there was no way I would ever be able to have this wonderful chic yet incredibly safe system. Ben freaked out about the mid-priced systems so there was no way he would go for this one.

The sales girl left us to play around with the system. It was at that point that I just about fainted. Not from being sick or pregnant or anything like that. No, I almost fainted because my husband turned to me and said "I want it"! HOLY CRAP! I was shocked beyond belief. Ben's reasoning for wanting the system are very well thought out. Not only do I love it (which I do) but it's super safe, it's light, it's easy to use and it's safe. Yes, I know I said safe twice but that's the biggest selling point to us. The issue is we don't have the money for this system. The discounted price is only good for the floor model. They're coming out with new fabric designs so they're getting rid of floor model. So we left there dreaming. We're hoping it will still be there when we get extra money.

So that was most of our Saturday. We had a good time and started talking about creating a registry soon. It's hard to believe that we're almost to the halfway point. before you know it, I'll be sharing baby pictures!

No worries!

I had a doctor's appointment today. It went very well! Little girl is VERY active. We had a hard time getting her to sit still long enough to get a good listen to her heart. We finally "pinned" her down but it took a good 5 minutes and 2 different dopplers to do it. LOL! I think we're going to have our hands full when she makes her appearance.

Today was work day 2 of being unemployed. I have to say it's not as horrible as I thought it would be. Granted there is NOTHING good to watch on tv during the day but I am getting a few things done around the house. I know if I'm home for too long I'll start getting bored. Thankfully it looks like I may not be home for too long. I've heard a "rumor" that one of the places I sent my resume to on Friday is interested in interviewing me. YES!

So I think I've used all my lemons up! It was suggested that I make lemon bars instead of lemonade.....it uses up the lemons much quicker!

When life hands you lemons....

make lemonade.

Today life handed me a big bag of lemons. I was let go from my job. I kind of saw it coming hence why I was looking for a job before. For some reason I was hoping that I would be able to make it through this pregnancy with my job. Apparently life had other plans for me.

Everyone goes through these hard times....right? I'm just paying my dues as an adult. I have no room to complain about this set back. Yes I don't have an income. Yes that means our family income has been cut in half. Yes that means I won't have health insurance in a few weeks. Yes that means I may not have the lovely new furniture I wanted for the nursery. But all in all this should be a new start for me. I'll work at temp jobs if I need to. There are plenty of ways to cover having a baby. If I need to I'll take advantage of those government programs I've been paying for for the last 15 years. I'm sure I'll be paying into them for many years to come so I may as well use them if needed.

Yes things will be rough. I will miss the wonderful friends I have made. But there are plenty of ways to keep in touch. When one door shuts another one will open.....eventually. It's scary to think of going through this pregnant but it will work out. Life is funny like that. Just when things seem so dark and horrible there is a light to lead you through it all.

Getting ready

This week has been a very busy week full of just about every emotion imaginable. We started off the week looking forward to our third anniversary on Wednesday. We didn't have much planned other than having our yummy cake (we have our cake top recreated every year) which we were going to enjoy on Friday. Unfortunately the morning of our anniversary we found out the father of a very, very close friend of ours had passed away the night before. We decided to cancel the plans we had made for that night and spend the evening together after all. We probably should have done that no matter what. But sometimes life makes you think you have to pack so much into it that you forget to take the time to enjoy each other. We decided that we were not going to take for granted the time we have to spend together.

Since we have a long weekend we decided to take advantage and start preparing our little girl's room (yeah, we need to pick a name real quick! Calling her "little girl" all the time will get on my nerves shortly I'm sure). First we headed to Babies R Us to pick up a crib sheet. We had decided on a bedding set and we want to match the paint in the room. The next day we picked up a bookcase and a mirror to go in the room. We starting with the little things that we can afford right now and hopefully we be able to buy the bigger things later.

Today we cleaned out our attic to make room for the contents of our former spare bedroom now known as baby girl's room (see! It's annoying!). After that was set we started taking down the walls and ceiling! OMG! There is so much insulation in that room! The thing is it's crappy insulation. Plus the room has crappy windows. All things that will soon be replaced.

Now that we have a good idea of what is behind the walls I was sorely disappointed. Ben had planned on making me a built in diaper changing station that could be switched over to an entertainment center. Well the room is part of a dormer. The dormer slopes the wrong way for us to fit the changing station where we wanted it. We were thinking it could go on the opposite wall but Ben banged a hole in that to see how much room we have. Now my closet has a hole in it! LOL! So there won't be the lovely built in changing station that I longed for. The good news is the walk in closet will be made bigger*!!! That's just what every little girl needs!

All in all the pregnancy is going fine. I've been feeling the tiny one move around every now and then. Nothing too strong but she does let mom know that she's there. My health is good although I'm still struggling to gain some weight. I think my body is still adjusting to the lower amount of carbs I'm eating. Ben plans to start reading us stories at night very soon. I found my book of Grimm's Fairy Tales. I have another book either packed away here or at my mom's house that I absolutely loved as a child. I want to find it so we can start reading that one together too. (I know, mushy right! LOL)

*Update: After talking last night we decided to put the built in changing station in the closet! We have plenty of room to make it in there. Plus no one wants to see where poopy diapers are changed anyway! LOL!

Talk about some exciting stuff!!

Yesterday was the start of week 15 in our pregnancy. This was also the same day we made our first trip to the high risk doctor (Dr. B). It was a long appointment but it was well worth it. All in all everything is going perfectly! Not too shabby for a "high risk" pregnancy if you ask me (or even Dr. B). We were able to see that our little girl has a nice strong heartbeat of 142bpm. Oh yeah! You read that right! WE'RE HAVING A GIRL!!!

Ben and I have had strong "girl" feelings from the get go. Ben actually had known from the start. The pregnancy test had barely said positive and he was already positive we were having a girl. I took another week or so to have that feeling but it was there nonetheless.

We went into the appointment knowing we may find out what we are having but not getting our hopes up. We were fully ready to wait another 5 weeks. Dana, the ultrasound tech, was so great at explaining what we were looking at, why she was doing so many measurements and what it was all going to mean in the end. Well she was focused in on one area and looking pretty closely. To my untrained eye it looked like a butt with 2 legs. LOL! Well I was right. A few seconds after I asked if those were legs I was checking out she asked if we were going to find out the gender. We couldn't get the yes out of our mouths fast enough! That's when she confirmed what I thought I was looking at: those were little girl parts between those tiny legs!

We couldn't be any happier! Our little girl is measuring right on schedule. She is the perfect size for her age. Also the rest of the appointment went well too. My blood pressure is excellent. My sugar readings are pretty darn awesome and I was told my chances of ending up on insulin are 10 to 15 percent. Those percentages may change but I'll take them right now! The only "issue" we have is that I have lost weight instead of gaining it. The challenge presented to me by Dr. B (the man already knows I love a challenge) was to gain 10 to 15 pounds by the end of my pregnancy. That's a few pounds each month. I can do that. Bring on the full fat cheeses! LOL!

So all in all it was an excellent appointment. Now we're on to picking out names and setting up the nursery! All more fun then a barrel of monkeys!

To boob or not to boob?

For those who may not want to know about my internal struggles with a sort of personal issue (read: guys that don't want to hear about breastfeeding whoas), you may want to stop reading here. If you think you may have some advice for me (guys included) then read on.

Before I ever got pregnant Ben and I decided that we would formula feed our children. This was perfectly fine in our minds since we know plenty of children that were bottle fed and have no issues once so ever. I never had the want to breastfeed. I still don't.

So now here I am trying to decide what to do. I have no urge or want to breastfeed my child. BUT I have read all of the benefits that breastfeeding can have not only for the child but also for me (especially with gestational diabetes).

Now I'm torn. I still really don't want to breastfeed or pump but I want to to what's best for me and my baby. It seems like every article I read or every person I talk to (I have not talked to my doctor or our pediatrician about this yet) about this makes me feel horrible for even considering not breast feeding for at least a couple of weeks. I feel even more selfish then I originally did.

It's been weighing heavy on my mind lately. I was just about in tears over it the other day. I feel very helpless with this decision. If I breastfeed, I'm doing something I really don't want to do. If I don't then I'm labeled a bad mom and not looking out for my own health. I really don't care what other people think. These are the struggles going on in my own head.

This is the one area Ben isn't being very helpful. Who can blame him though! He wants to do so much with the baby. He admitted he would like to spend a little more time then I do with the baby each day for a while so he can get that great bond that I'll already have. He will love me no matter what my decision is and he's told me it's completely up to me. Any how there's no real point to this post other then for me to get this off my chest. Feel free to offer me any advice you may have. Maybe it will help guide me.

A girl with a curl

No. We don't know what the sex of the baby is yet. I'm referring to myself.

You see I grew up with ridiculously straight hair. I HATED it! Back "in the day" I would perm it. WOO boy! Those were a bad ideas. Perms weren't so nice back then. I ended up always looking like Sideshow Bob (as my lovely brothers would call me). Then I embraced my straight hair and just let it hang. That was fine and dandy for my alternative/rocker stage. As I got older I didn't necessarily want curls but just a little body to my hair wouldn't look so flat.

A little over 2 years ago I gave in and had another perm (my first in many, many years). Thank goodness perms are so much more forgiving now then they were back in the 90's. I loved my curly hair. It was almost too much curl. It was fun while it last......over a year!

I decided to let my hair grow out and see how it went. Eventually my hair grew out enough that all of the perm was cut out of my hair. So why then did I still have the smallest bit of body? Hmmm. It wasn't enough body to make a big difference but I can tell you it wasn't exactly straight either.

This year I noticed it had been getting harder and harder to keep my hair straight. By the middle of the day I would end up with random ringlets in my hair of very wispy ends. I was starting to get frustrated with it all. I couldn't seem to control my hair anymore.

Well now that I'm pregnant the curl has become much more pronounced. If I tried to wear it straight my hair looks as if it was fuzzy and fried! Last week I found some curl creme I had left from my perm. I put a little in and OMG! The waves I have! I was in shock! I was thinking it was a fluke and maybe the humidity was a little higher that day. So I tried it again. Same curls and lots of them!!

So I called Tracy (she's my awesome friend that does my hair) and had her pick me up something to boost my curls. I'm loving my curls while I have them! I'm not sure if they'll stay but they just might. After all my mom has naturally curly hair. Maybe my curls were just very, very delayed. Thirty years for curls is better then no curls....right? LOL!

So don't be shocked when you see me. I didn't go out and put a bunch of chemicals on my head while pregnant. Those curls have been making their way to my head for about a year or so now. I'm just thinking the baby helped them pop out! Hmmmm.......maybe we are having a girl. After all a boy wouldn't care about his mom's hair. LOL!

Hey! How'd that horse get in there!?!

Today we had our second doctor's appointment. When we arrived I was told my regular doctor was out for a delivery. They had me see another doctor. Knowing that they were short handed we were prepared for a long wait. Thankfully it was only a few extra minutes.

Back we went to do the usual pee test (for sugar & protein), blood pressure reading and weight check. The nurse frowned when she took my weight, looked at my chart and said "What's going on with you?" I replied that nothing was going on, I was feeling fine. She told me that I had lost 5 pounds in the last 4 weeks. Ben and I both replied "Great!" she was not as enthusiastic. Basically I was scolded for loosing weight. We didn't think much of the scolding since I spoke with the doctor about loosing weight a long time ago. When there's an issue I'm sure the doctor will let me know.

So into the room we go. Ben fussed with the chair to get comfortable. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention he hurt his back somehow. We didn't have to wait so too long in the room either. In walked the doctor and he proclaimed "We get to hear the heartbeat today!" So after a few minor checks we put the doppler up to my belly. We heard lots of swishing and then it was there. Our baby's heartbeat. It sounds much more like a horse then a heart. To be specific it sounds like the clanking of coconut halves to make a horse sound. We were told the rate was a strong 165.

Next was question and answer time with the doctor. First question came from Ben. Over the weekend and on Monday I felt like I had gas. The only problem was it was different then gas. It was much more of a rolling feeling. So Ben asked if it was possible for me to feel the baby so soon (at 13 and a half weeks specifically). The answer: yes! It's very possible that I can feel the baby! Wow! Just.......Wow! We're not sure if that was it or not but it was noted on my chart.

The next question was about my sugar readings. The doctor was very open with me on his opinions. He asked about my history and told me what his feelings were on my case. He did admit that gestational diabetes was not his specialty but that was his feelings. We were informed that our high risk doctor is very aggressive in treating gestational diabetes. After some more discussion the doctor advised me to go and talk to the high risk doctor. He said if at any time I'm not comfortable with them then we'll look at getting a second opinion. He was very sympathetic to my concerns and told me they were valid concerns to have. Needless to say having a doctor hear me out and validate my feelings made me feel very good. Once again we were very impressed with our doctor's office. It was nice for the doctor to hear out not only me but Ben as well.

Well that's all I have for now. Oh! In case you didn't notice, we're now in the second trimester! Yay! Off to bed for this momma. Baby needs some rest!

Blog Update

I've added a blogroll of some of my favorite blogs to read. Feel free to check them out. Be on the lookout for additional blogs to the list.

FYI: The order of the blogs on the roll will change based on who updaed their blog last.

Week 13!

Today we start week 13! Woo hoo! Sunday is the start of our second trimester. It's hard to believe it's already been 3 months! The baby is about 3 inches this week or the size of a peach. The eyes and ears are almost to their permanent position (they start out further to the sides).

I have good news on the sugar front. The last few days I've had some awesome readings! I'm very excited about them. I think all of the exercise I've been doing is FINALLY making a difference. I've added walking at lunch everyday and that's been great. Not only is it good for me but I seems to make the day go by a little faster. Getting fresh air is great!

On Tuesday I start my prenatal water aerobics class. I LOVE it!! It doesn't seem all that hard while your working out but boy do you feel it the next day! I can't wait for them to start up the Saturday class!

On the cravings front I've been wanting a Slurpee for about two weeks now. Unfortunately I know that will make my sugar go nuts! I suppose I could get a small one and make Ben drink most of it. LOL! That could be his way of helping.

So not true!

Everyone thinks that pregnant women have clear, glowing, beautiful skin. It's SOOOOO not true! I really need to figure out what I can do to get my pretty skin back!

On a nicer note - My sugar readings have been great today! I'm hoping that all of my exercise is catching up to me! I'm trying not to get too excited but with readings like these it's pretty hard not to!

I'm such a Taurus!

This week has been an interesting week. On Monday I was told by the nurse at the high risk doctor's office that I would probably go on insulin sooner then what I was thinking. Apparently my morning sugar numbers aren't low enough. It's frustrating since I know my after meal numbers are right where they should be.......or so I thought.

Apparently when you're pregnant they want your sugar readings lower then if you were not pregnant. Great! If I had known that I would've made some changes sooner! The nurse also had me very worried about the actual numbers. Thankfully that same day I went to visit a diabetes dietitian. She cleared up some questions I had. Unfortunately it made me doubt the doctor's office.

After giving serious consideration of getting a second opinion I had a breakdown. Let me tell you what: those are easy to come by now-a-days. After a lot of thought and a ton of research I decided to stick with my current high risk doctor. I know the actions we are going to have to take will only be for the best of the baby.

Here's where the Taurus part comes in. I decided that even though I've resigned to the fact I'll be on insulin, I'm going to make sure I'm not on it after the pregnancy is over! I'm watching my carb intake so closely people probably think I'm doing Atkins (I'm so not doing Atkins. I think that diet is a bit too extreme). I'm still working out with Erin. I'm picking up a prenatal water aerobics class (once a week right now but it will be twice a week after Labor Day) and I'm going to be signing up for a Zumba class. To top it off I'm hoping to find some extra money to start taking a prenatal yoga class. Right now that's the most expensive class and money is tight in our house. I'm not helping things by taking all of these class but I HAVE to. The way I look at it it's a matter of living a good life or living a miserable life.

So that's been pretty much the whole saga this week. On a lighter note we took our newest furkid, Ella, in to be spayed. She was just so mean that it had to be done right away. The night of no food or water for everyone the night before her surgery left some pretty amusing stories. Well, maybe not to others but they were hilarious to me. I think I just really needed a good laugh.

On Thursday we entered week 12 of our pregnancy. Many people think that this is the start of the first trimester but it's not. If you divide up the 40 weeks we actually have to go to just over 13 weeks to clear that goal. Not too much longer and we'll be there!

I think nesting is starting to kick in. Yesterday I cleaned the whole main level of the house. It needed it bad!! I'm looking at doing some windows and dusting down the walls soon. Today I took apart my fridge and freezer and gave that a good cleaning. It looks like a brand new fridge on the inside. I have plans to start tackling the basement tomorrow. Later during the week I'm going to clean out the walk-in closet in the spare bedroom (soon to be the nursery). After that my closet and Ben's closet are going to be gone through. My cupboards need to be cleaned and I have some junk drawers that are going to get attacked too. Every hour or so my to-do list gets longer.

This week Ben and I discussed some baby names. He wasn't too thrilled with the ones I've wanted for years. Ben made a suggestion that I wasn't too thrilled about either. So I did a little thinking and some research and I came up with a couple of names. We both really like the options but we're not going to set anything in stone yet. It's a start to even talk about names though. Ben has pretty much refused to even think about them up to this point.

We started making plans for the nursery too. Right now we have two themes in mind. We'll probably decide on one in a few weeks. We are going to be tearing out the walls and ceiling in that room. Right now it's a horrible combination of cork board and paneling. When we get done we'll have nice new walls, a new ceiling and a built in changing table/entertainment center. For our immediate purposes it will be a changing station but it will be suitable to use as a entertainment center in the future. We figure this will save us from spending money on a piece of furniture we won't be using all that often. Plus it gives up a little more floor space in the room.

Well I fee like I've written a book! It's getting late and this momma needs to head to bed. I hope all is well with everyone! Oh! Please feel free to leave me comments! You don't need to have an account. You can do the anonymous or name/url (which you don't have to put a url) options. I love the few comments I get so I thought I would stump for more!

11 weeks and whoa!

On Thursday we entered week 11 of the pregnancy. It's hard to believe in just 2 weeks we'll be out of the first trimester! This week the baby is the size of a lime. The head is starting to tilt back and the finger nails are growing.

On Thursday I also received a call I never thought I would receive. To fully explain we need to back up a little. Earlier in the week I was told that I was considered a "high risk" pregnancy. This label didn't overly concern me. I was diagnosed as insulin resistant last year so I knew that I may get labeled high risk. I've been fighting off diabetes for probably the last 4 years. Up to this point I've been doing pretty darn good. Even though I've struggled here and there I've kept my sugar under control with diet and exercise. I knew that getting pregnant would pose some challenges for me but it was nothing that I didn't think I couldn't handle.

I was referred by my doctor to a high risk doctor. They called, asked me some questions and upped my glucose testing from a few times a day to 7 to 8. I started to feel like a pin cushion! On Thursday the high risk office gave me a call back with more information. They fully expect me to end up on insulin at some point during this pregnancy. As a person who has been working so hard to stay off of pills, insulin is a possibility that never entered my mind. I immediately felt like the biggest failure as not only a person trying to stay healthy but also as a mom. It's a feeling I've been struggling with ever since.

I know I'm not a failure but I feel like all of the work I've done is for nothing. Thank goodness I have the most amazing support system of family and friends. My personal trainer Erin has vowed to help keep me in shape. She also was a great voice of reason to talk to the day I received the news. Just an ear to listen and a great workout can do the mind more good then you can ever imagine. My mom and Ben (yeah, that's DTB's name) have been beyond great. They've allowed me to be the overly emotional pregnant woman that I am. I've cried probably more times then what is really necessary but never once did they tell me my feelings weren't rational. They've been understanding and there. My two best friends who have themselves have been getting healthy were quick to offer me reassurance and to be there for me no matter what. Even an acquaintance offered words of encouragement that touched me very much. So as I start this new challenge, I thank everyone who has been so great. I probably don't tell them enough but I love them all more then they know and I never for a moment take them for granted.

The good news is that I don't have to start insulin right away. For now I'm going to diabetes education classes and keeping in very close touch with my high risk doctor's office. We'll know more information as time goes on. I honestly don't know if I'll end up on some kind of medication or insulin for life. It is a possibility but if I keep healthy it may just be for the pregnancy. At this point we don't even know at what point I'll need to start taking the insulin.

So I'm going to keep working hard. I still see Erin once a week. I'm also joining a couple of exercise classes. Thank goodness I'm starting to get some energy back! I'm going to need it!

Jinxed Myself

The first question everyone asks you when you announce a pregnancy is "how are you feeling". I've been very luck to be able to reply with "great!" Which has all been true....up until last night.

I woke up last night with the most horrible pain on the right side of my face. It feels just like a sinus infection. The only problem is I don't have enough symptoms to go to the doctors. They advised me to take the "wait and see" approach. So I headed home from work early today. I ended up taking a nice long nap and steaming my face a bunch of times. Unfortunately it's not helping. It actually feels like whatever I have is moving down into my neck and ears. So I guess that explains why I've had headaches for the past week or so. I'm probably been fighting this off for a while. I won't let myself suffer too long. It's no fun feeling like this.

In other news - the word is officially out. Family members are all informed and spreading the word. Some are still in shock, some are giddy and some are having a good ol' laugh. Thanks for all the well wishes from everyone. We really appreciate them all!

Ultrasound pictures are up!

Thanks to my oldest brother I can share our ultrasound pictures. Feel free to check them out!

One less thing to worry about

Today I received a phone call from the company I interviewed with before heading out on vacation. They ended up hiring someone else. That's o.k. I don't have to worry about how to handle the whole pregnancy/new job thing. Plus like I said before I love where I'm at so it all really works out for the best.

The nice thing about the phone call I receive is that they wanted to let me know how impressed they were with me. He said I was a top pick and that my resume and background was very impressive to them. They just thought that I would be taking a step backwards in my career path rather then forward. I saw it as a step up since it was a manager position.

So like I said, it's one less thing I have to worry about. At this time it wasn't meant to be. I'll now enjoy working with the great people that are at my job and have fun sharing my pregnancy with people who have become much more then just friends.

Ultrasound pictures to come soon!

Tonight I was able to have the ultrasound pictures scanned. My brother is going to crop them an put them in an online album for me to share. When I have the link I'll share it with everyone.

I wanted to let everyone know that soon this blog won't be as anonymous. I didn't use names on here to start for fear of being "found out" before we made the announcement ourselves (the blog is search able through Google). So as soon as we're through telling people you'll soon see the real names of Mom-To-Be (me) and Dad-To-Be (aka as DTB in this blog).

Tomorrow marks the start of week 10. I'm still very lucky that I'm feeling pretty darn good. I'll update more on what's to come this week tomorrow. For now I need to get to bed.

Yep, there's a baby in there

And it has arms, legs, a head and a very, very strong heart! I'm not sure what I'm feeling exactly. I'm more excited and more scared all at once. Ugh! My doctor is amazing though! She was very reassuring that everything I've been feeling is completely normal. She also took the time to make sure DTB was comfortable, involved and had all of his questions answered. She did not make us feel rushed or that any of our questions were dumb. I'm very happy we decided to go with her.

We decided that we'll be making our announcements now. We have a good feeling that everything will go fine. So we start telling people.......soon! So hello to all of you that just found out about our big news. We hope you enjoy the trip!

It's been a while

I just wanted to take a second to say hello and let everyone know we are doing well. Today marked week 9 in our pregnancy. It's hard to believe. Time seems to be flying by. Right now we're trying to decide when we're going to make our announcement. We're still thinking it will be the end of July or so. We'll see though after our appointment on Monday.

We're having a great time on our vacation. I haven't had any difficulties. It's nice to get away and relax a little. Hope all is well with everyone! I'll update more soon!!

New Job?

I'm seven and a half weeks pregnant and going for a job interview. I really had stopped looking for a new job because I love where I'm at and for the time being things are going well. This opportunity presented itself though and I just could let it pass me by. I'm struggling with the guilt of possibly taking a new job and not telling them up front that I'm pregnant. For right now I'm just going to concentrate on doing well at the interview. Who knows, it may not even get past the first interview (of course I told myself a few weeks ago that I probably wouldn't get an interview). Wish me luck!

We also leave for our trip to Colorado on Wednesday. I'm so excited I can hardly stand it!

Seven Weeks

Yesterday we hit the seven week mark! It was accompanied by almost a whole day of being nauseous. Lovely. The only time I didn't feel sick was working out with Erin. Even then I had moments that I had to pause to make sure I wasn't going to puke on the weight bench! (Ick, I know)

The itching is still there and as strong as ever. I try to put up with it during the day because the antihistamine the doctor gave me makes me so sleepy! It doesn't really help with the itching either so basically I'm itchy and sleepy. I noticed that I do need to take the antihistamines before bed otherwise I can't get to sleep after I go to the bathroom because I keep itching. With the antihistamine I'm too tired to itch!

Oh, yeah that reminds me. This week I've been getting up to go to the bathroom like clockwork (about 2 am)! It's such an adjustment for me because I so rarely ever got up during the night before.

Chocolate covered raisins have become my newest craving. I find it interesting that I've been craving lots of chocolate (milk, cookies, raisins). I'm usually not much of a chocolate eater. I guess everything really does change. Next thing you know I'll like mushrooms and beets. Ha! Even saying that statement made my stomach turn! Thank goodness! LOL!

This weekend is going to be a busy one. DTB and I have to prepare for our trip to Colorado. We have some shopping to do, a house to clean and bags to pack. On Tuesday I go to my original first appointment. It's with the nurse and I've been told it can be pretty uneventful. The "big" appointment will be when we get back from our trip. That's when we'll see the doctor and hear the heartbeat! Fun stuff!

This week the baby will grow a bunch. It will actually double in size. A lot of important development is happening too. The heart is continuing to grow and is separated into two chambers. The brain is also developing at this time. The arms are more then just stubs but there are no fingers yet. The legs are starting to form (no toes). The lungs are starting to take shape along with the intestines, pancreas, eyes and nose. The over all size of the baby from head to rump is about a half inch (or the size of a BB).

Possible cause of itching

The itching was so bad last night that I hardly slept. Even when I did sleep I was scratching in my sleep. So This morning I called my doctor's office to see if there was anything I could do. They told me that I needed to go in and see one of the doctors. Since I already had a dentist appointment I ended up taking a half day off of work to go and get checked out.



The nurse took me back and checked my height, weight and blood pressure. She brought me to a room and asked a few questions. Since I hadn't been given an due date she figured it out on the wheel. I'm due February 13, 2009. Looks like I know what I'm getting for Valentine's Day! LOL! Since I know I ovulated a little earlier then day 14 I'm guessing my due date will be more around the 10th. I wouldn't doubt if neither one of those days is right since this is my first and first babies tend to be late.



Anyway back to my appointment (I actually had a huge post from this point on but stupid blogger ate it! So now you get a shorter version).

The doctor thinks that I have a liver problem. Apparently this is common later in pregnancy and I'm the first person he's seen having this issue so early. From the sounds of it there is too much bile in my blood. I was told that it can cause complications but in all the years he's been in practice he's never had anyone have complications from it. Of course he's never had anyone have it this early either.

So the course of action we're taking is antihistamines. I also went and had some blood taken to confirm that it is a liver problem. If it isn't I'll need to have more tests done to figure out what is going on. Since I didn't see the doctor who I'm working with I'll follow up with her later on. If it is a liver problem and the antihistamine doesn't work there is another medication I can take that will absorb the bile so my body doesn't.

It's not the best news to receive this early. It's also worrisome to me since this is a crucial time during the pregnancy. But since the doctor didn't seem overly concerned I'll try my best not to worry about it. That will be much easier to do if the antihistamine works!

I'm off to pout about my post that was a million times better then this one being eaten alive! It's time to take some meds too!

Edit to add: I just did some searching online about this. Apparently this condition happens earlier in pregnancies that are MULTIPLES!! I'm so kicking DTB's ass if that's the case! He keeps saying we're having twins. He keeps trying to assure me this is a good thing since I'll only have to be pregnant once. I really need to stop looking stuff up online.

Six Weeks!

Thursday marked the six week mark in our pregnancy. We're halfway through the first trimester and that much closer to sharing the news with everyone. The book I've been reading says from now till the end of the first trimester is the most crucial time. This is the time when most miscarriages happen. The reason for this is because now is the time for major developments. The heart, nervous system and so much more is starting to grow. There was is illustration of what the baby looks like......I think I'm having a tadpole! LOL! There is a definite head and a heart chamber but no legs. Just a tail.

This week the morning sickness came on a little strong. It was accompanied by dizziness and an uncontrollable itch! I think I'm going to scratch myself raw it's so bad! Every square inch in my body is itchy. I think DTB is probably getting sick of scratching my back but it drives me nuts!!

On Saturday I went for a massage. It was nice but not as nice as I would like. Now that I'm pregnant I can't get a deep tissue massage. After working with Erin and kickboxing class I really could have used a deep tissue massage. It's better then nothing though. I'm sure the farther along I get the better that light massage would feel. I'm trying to figure out how wrong it would be for me to tell everyone to get me gift cards to the spa so I can get massages all the time! Hehehehe!

Saturday was also the first challenge of being with friends and drinking. DTB and I had a plan for me to carry around the same drink all night and he would drink it here and there for me or I could dump it out. I didn't have to do that though. I drank water all night and no one even noticed. I was asked point blank when we planned on having kids. My answer was a sheepish "eventually". It was hard to say that since this friend is leaving very soon. I know she would be so happy to hear our news but I just couldn't share with her and not everyone else. She will still be happy and I'll point her to this blog so she can keep up with us. I'm just hoping her prediction doesn't come true.....she said I would have twins!! That would be nice on the pregnancy front because it would be one and done but I don't know about raising twins. That would be be more work then I really want. LOL!

Today I went shopping for some shorts for our vacation. I've been loosing weight and I'm in between sizes. I ended up going to a total of five store to get what I needed. I again found myself wanting to cry but I managed to keep it in. I am pretty pissy though. LOL. The friend I went shopping with suggested that I park in the expectant mother spot. She said "hopefully it will curse you and not me". Oh if you only knew! LOL!

Well it's past my bedtime and time for my nightly scratch.

You have GOT to be kidding me!

UGH! I hate it when you have a name picked out for your baby and then something comes along and RUINS it! GRRRR!!! I never thought I would be so emotional and irrational about a name but here I am being all of those things. Pregnancy really screws with your sensibilities!

Counter

I've added a visitor counter to the page. I thought it would be nice to track how many people are sharing our trip.

Getting fit, needing sleep!

This week the tiredness has really hit me. I can't seem to get through the day without desperately wanting a nap. Most days when I get home I take a nap, workout a little, eat and head back to bed. I have managed to fit a little reading in too. I'm not sure how I'm doing it but I am.

I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to the weekend. I can sleep in and take naps whenever the urge strikes me! It will be glorious and I plan to enjoy every minute of it! LOL!

Today I started a kickboxing class. When I signed up I didn't know I was pregnant. DTB and I talked it over and decided as long as I stay in the moderate zone I'll be fine.

It was an interesting class. In addition to the kickboxing moves the instructor mixes in yoga and Thai Chi. I was hanging in there today until we spent several minutes with our heads down. That made me want to puke! So I stood up and hopped back in once I was feeling better. I think next week I'll talk to the instructor on moves I can do that won't make me want to puke.

Speaking of puking, I feel a little more nauseous everyday. On the advice of my friend Dawn, I bought some lemon drops to suck on. That seems to help a lot! The only problem is the sugar. I'm insulin resistant so I'm going to have to find a sugar free alternative. For now the lemon drops will do though.

Well it's late for this girl. I'm surprise I've been able to make it through this post! Oh! I do want to mention that we're heading out on vacation in 2 weeks! I'm so looking forward to it. Let's hope I have the energy to do all that I want!

Mmmm.....Cookies!

I had a nice, relaxing weekend. DTB was out of town and I did a bunch of nothing. Well I did make cookies but that's about it.

In the last few days I've had some cravings. First one came on Friday. I wanted a warm chocolate cookie so bad! I ended up not having one but I thought about them until Saturday night.....when I made cookies! LOL! I did notice that the cookies have to be warm or they don't hit the spot. Hopefully this will pass other wise I'll be doing a ton of baking!

On Saturday morning I woke up and had the overwhelming urge to drink chocolate milk. That's an odd craving since I do not like milk. I guess my body is telling me to get used to drinking milk. LOL! I headed out to the store for some groceries and I picked up some chocolate milk. I could have drank the whole carton in one sitting. I'm pacing myself though!

I'm feeling a little better about the whole "being a mom" thing. I have my good days and bad days. I suppose I should enjoy the good ones.

This weekend I decided that we may use cloth diapers when the baby comes. I only overwhelmed myself by doing research online. HOLY COW! Cloth diapers have changed a TON over the years. There are so many choices in style and materials. I think I'm going to start off checking out diaper services. I also have to keep in mind that not all daycare centers take cloth diapers. Who would've thought all of this would be so hard. No wonder pregnancy lasts so long...it takes that long to figure out what the heck kind of diapers to use! HA!

Pregnancy Brain?

The last few days I've noticed I'm not as "sharp" as usual. Is it possible that "baby brain" has set in already? Does that make this "pregnancy brain"? Let me tell you this: IT SUCKS!

Seriously! I'm not one to be absent minded but I have been. I'm only about 5.5 weeks pregnant. How can this crap be happening already? Maybe it's not a true case of pregnancy brain. Maybe I'm just so preoccupied with all the things that I worry about (I'm a HUGE worrier. Not about health, just about being ready) that I'm becoming absent minded.

Tonight DTB and I went out to dinner. I paid with my debit card. We left the restaurant and headed off to Target to pick up a few items. When we went to check out I look in my purse for my card and IT'S NOT THERE! I was so pissed!! This is a MAJOR problem. Thank goodness we weren't far from the restaurant. I was able to head back and get the card. It made me so upset. I'm always so good about making sure I have my card back.

I almost cried. It's very hard to deal with not being yourself whether it's baby related or not. The thing that freaks me out the most is that there are SO many other changes on the way. It's exciting and freaky as hell all at one.

I'm pretty much scared most of the time. I'm a perfectionist. Perfectionist don't make good moms. I'm so afraid I'm NOT going to be a good mom. It's a vicious cycle. I just need to get over myself and learn to be flexible. It's going to be tons of work. Thank goodness I don't have to do this all alone.

Exercise does a baby good!

I'll be the first to admit it! I am in no shape to have a baby! I'm overweight and out of shape (well round is a shape lol!). I was actually working on correcting those problems then poof! We're pregnant (yeah, it's still "we're")!

When I called to make my first doctor's appointments I specifically told them that I was on a weight loss plan and I was working out. I wanted to make sure that it was o.k. to keep up what I was doing. They are completely fine with me loosing weight and working out. The only restriction is I need to get plenty of dairy and I can only workout at a moderate level. No more high intensity sweat sessions.

So tonight I worked out with my trainer and friend Erin. I started going to her right around the time I got pregnant. Boy that girl kicks your butt!! Seriously! The first time I worked out with her I felt wonderful but oh so sore! The next week was when I found out I was pregnant so we've taken the intensity level down a bit...or maybe I'm just getting used to it. Either way I get an excellent workout with Erin!

After my workout I felt fabulous as usual and Erin asked if I have noticed a difference since I started with her. I have noticed that my clothes fit a little looser but that's about it. I know other people have noticed a difference since just this morning my mom commented on it and Erin commented on it. YAY!! I'm on my way to being a fit pregnant lady!

I've really noticed that I don't feel sick when I workout and for a while afterward. So that leads me to believe the baby likes it! Hopefully he/she will be nice and svelte just like his/her daddy! My goal out of all of this is to not only have a healthy baby but to come out of pregnancy a healthy mom too! I hear it can be done so that's what I'm doing! Wish me luck!

Holy cow!! I fell asleep!

I think this pregnancy thing is catching up to me!

Tonight when I got home from work I sat on the couch to watch the news for a couple of minutes. Well I woke up an hour and a half or so later all covered up on the couch. I fell asleep!! Just like that! No warning, no nothing! The best part about this story is apparently I got up at some point, grabbed a blanket and went back to napping. I don't even remember doing that! LOL! My friend Amy called the sudden falling asleep "pregnancy hormone induced narcolepsy". LOL! I think that's the best pregnancy term EVER!

The last few days I've had some major cramps! I keep worrying that I'm losing the baby but the cramps aren't horrible. After asking some pregnant friends on a local baby board and doing some research on my own, I figured out that the cramps are completely normal. My body is making room for the baby by expanding my uterus (sorry boys! Probably TMI). I better get used to the cramps, they'll be happening a lot for a while!

I've been staying on the eating every 2 and half hour or so schedule. That seems to help keep the tummy from getting upset.

Work to be done!

Now that we have an addition to the family on the way, we need to get things ready! Our "spare" bedroom has been a mess for months! We couldn't even allow a friend to sleep in there much less a baby!

So today I spent a few hours throwing junk out, organizing and general cleaning. It took me a few hours but I got most of it done. Dad-to-be (DTB) and I talked about what changes we want to make to the room. We have our work cut out for us!! We're thinking of ripping out all the walls, putting rewiring the room and putting in all new lighting. Good thing we did a lot of work on the rest of the house already. We'll be able to do most of the work ourselves!

Since I was working on the room I started to think about how we will want to decorate the nursery. I started looking at cribs and other furniture. I think we narrowed down what we want and it's SOOOO affordable! We're not going to rush things though.....we need to get through the first trimester first!

I'm feeling good and still in a little bit of shock. It's all sinking in though and I'm starting to get excited!

Gotta get a doctor, read books & prepare!

Since deciding to start trying to get pregnant I have envisioned myself working closely with my doctor. She works in a Family Practice and does everything!

This morning I cheerfully called up the doctor's office to give them the good news! There was a hitch though.....my doctor no longer deliveries! Crap! They offered for me to do my prenatal with her then switch over to an OB at 36 weeks or I could just go to an OB. Decisions, decisions!

After talking it over with Dad-To-Be we decided it would be best to see the same doctor throughout the pregnancy. Off I went to the local baby board that I joined last night (yep, I couldn't wait!). From there I received some excellent recommendations. After doing a little research online I settled on a doctor. She has excellent ratings all across the board. My comfort level was elevated even more when I called the office and a REAL PERSON answered the phone! Holy cow! I didn't know doctor's office actually answered the phone! LOL!

To my surprise I found out that how far along you are is not determined by your ovulation date but by the date of your last period. I'm SOOOOO clueless! So with that in mind I'm actually 4 weeks along, not 2 like I had thought. Bonus for the people in our lives that have to wait! You'll find out 2 weeks sooner then I thought!

My first appointment will be July 1. That's just an appointment to get everything in order. On July 14 we'll be seeing the doctor and going over whatever it is we go over. Doesn't matter what it is. Even paperwork is exciting at this point!

Since I figured out I'm truly clueless about being pregnant I decided to head to the bookstore. I've always been a good student so reading is the best way to go....right? I picked up "Your Pregnancy Week By Week". I figured I can read along as we go through the pregnancy. Dad-To-Be got the "Dad-To-Be" version of the book I got. Apparently it doesn't go week by week but it does give good information. He has another book to read as well to help him prepare.

I thought I should put a little blurb in here about how I'm feeling. I'm hanging in there. Still in shock. I do feel a little sick but that's been happening since Monday (the day before we tested). I'm not sure if it's nerves or just a little morning sickness. Either way I can keep it under control by eating every couple of hours.

OMG! We're Pregnant!

I can hardly believe it! Tonight we took a pregnancy test and it came up POSITIVE! (O.k. I'm them one who had to pee on the stick but this is a joint venture.....right? LOL! At least for now it is). It's such a shocker even though we have been trying. I don't think anything can really prepare you for such a HUGE change in your life. Part of me wants to jump around and dance while another part of me is just sitting there....in disbelief! We actually did it! Our third try and we're pregnant! How in the hell am I going to keep my mouth shut about this? LOL!

The best way to get through the first trimester without blabbing to too many people is this blog. Look for updates All. The. Time!