My good friend A. told me about a prenatal massage at Dolce and I took advantage of it last night. I swear, my massage therapist had magical hands. I've never felt more calm and rejuvenated in my life! Apparently, the salon/spa does things a little differently than other places. They don't have the table with the belly hole in it, so they prop you up with 8 pillows of various sizes while you're on your side. The midget seemed to like it as well because he kicked me in the bladder the entire time. I had to get up to pee 3 times in the 90 minute session!! No worries, I fell right back into my trance when I got back on the table. What a difference a lil' massage can make!!
Our little fella has been bouncing off the walls a lot more lately. Dave still hasn't been able to feel him move, even though the baby's packed some good punches while his hand has been there. However, he has been able to SEE him move. I can see my stomach bouncing away after I eat, it's rather fascinating. His favorite toy still seems to be my bladder, which entails a lot more bathroom trips than I'd like. It's exciting to feel him more frequently now, about every other hour. It's so reassuring to FEEL that he's ok.
Our next ultrasound is this Friday at 22 weeks. I'm so excited to see how much our little guy has grown...I'm sure he'll look quite different than the last scan at 16 weeks!
Man, I'm getting excited! I'm closer to having this baby, than I've been pregnant.
I went to Last Chance today with Kyle & Bryan (never going again-that's a whole different story) and found the cutest baby crocs for our little guy. I also found a "My First Christmas" stocking and realized that this Christmas is going to be so mad crazy and exciting all at the same time! I better start shopping for Christmas presents early this year!!
I haven't been able to sleep very well the past couple nights. I'll wake up on my back in pain and switch to my side, but it doesn't help much. My back is killing me and I have to get up to pee at least twice in the night. And on top of that, I get so hot in the middle of the night, I'll wake up sweating. I'll look over at Dave and he's bundled up in his sheet and big furry blanket (he NEVER slept with anything before), so I know it's not hot in the house. It's only going to get worse, right? The past couple days I just wish I didn't have a job to wake up for so I could sleep it off. Yesterday at work, I could not get comfortable for the life of me. My bra was too tight (this is the second new bra size I've purchased-ack!) and my chair didn't have any back support. My office was hot and sticky. Blah, blah, blah.
Just when I start to close my eyes in frustration, the little guy kicks me. In the bladder no less. It's his favorite toy in there I think. And I smile. I tell him that he can kick mommy as much as he wants. Because I know how lucky I am to be in this position. Then I start to tear up thinking of where I've been and where many of my friends are now...hoping and praying that they'll be this uncomfortable soon. I hope that too my friends. It's the most uncomfortable, glorious feeling and I can't wait for you all to experience it...
Don't make fun! Here's the "belly shot" at 5 months (20 weeks)...NO sucking in. In my defense, this was taken right after I ate lunch. I really popped the last week and a half...I can tell by the look of my belly button ;) I'm so much bigger than I thought I was!
We've reached the half-way mark, I'm so excited! 
It's official: I have a pot-belly. Dave and I were debating who had the larger belly last night and I definitely won. He insisted he was bigger than I was, but then we laid on our backs in bed and compared. Yup, I won. I still walk past the mirror and think to myself, "time to work out". I don't look pregnant to myself yet...just very bloated.
The little guy has been kicking a lot more lately. It still comes and goes, but it's so exciting and is increasing in consistency. I was talking to a client the other day on the phone and gasped when the baby kicked. Sometimes I forget he's in there and it freaks me out! Dave still hasn't been able to feel him yet, even though there've been some pretty darn good kicks when he's tried. Hopefully soon.
I heard from my Mom yesterday that my youngest brother, Kyle, refers to this midget as HIS baby. He's told her that he prayed and fasted for so long for this little guy that he feels like it is his. Way to make me cry! I can't tell you how much the support of my friends and family has been through this painful journey of infertility. I know our little Kyle didn't know much about our struggle and he never said a word to me, but it means the world that his prayers and support were with us and he thought of us that much. He's the coolest kid ever, I'm tellin' ya.
Wahoo, time is flying by! I woke up this morning with a much more pronounced belly. Before I could just pass off as "chubby" or an "overeater", but now I feel like I look very pregnant. I cannot for the life of me suck it in anymore. So weird! We are slowly cleaning out the baby's room and plan to have the crib and dresser in there tomorrow. The bedding came yesterday and Dave and I are both very excited about it. It looks much better than it did in the photos.
On another note, I feel like I'm running out of time. I know I have quite a while left before this little guy comes, but I feel like there's just so much to do. Since we moved into our new house and we found out we were pregnant the same day as the move, my energy level has been squat and I can't get to organizing like I normally would. Very frustrating. I may just have to recruit my organizational nazi of a mother to help me.
TMI: you've been warned. So yesterday at work after standing up from peeing, I went to flush and saw that the water in the bowl was green. It freaked me out! I immediately wondered what I had eaten or what malady had caused this eery sight. Infertility is a funny thing...it is automatically an undertone whenever I fear something is ailing me. Apparently the janitor had just slipped in one of those "blue flushes" tablets and the water had not yet turned blue when I went to sit down. I laughed at myself for not thinking of that first, but turning to the thought of horrible diseases or food poisoning as the cause. 
I had my 18 week checkup today.
Good news: The baby's heartbeat was great and my weight gain has been a total of 8 pounds so far. Much better than what I thought it would be.
Bad news: My OB/GYN is moving to West Phoenix and will no longer be caring for me unless I decide to follow her out there. Not gonna happen. Although I really love Dr. BP, I'm not too keen on the idea of driving out to a Phoenix hospital to deliver my baby, let alone for appointments. So, I'm now looking for new doctors. Any suggestions ladies? I'm really hoping to find one affiliated with the new hospital on Higley & 60, but of course a good referral and positive research will be the deciding factors. You can cross of Drs. Linnerson, Butler-Poku, and Huish from your list. Who have y'all seen and liked?
Wow, we're getting closer to the half-way mark!
I've been looking for crib and dresser/changing table sets. I've narrowed it down to two for Dave and I to look at tonight. Hopefully tomorrow we'll finally be owners of some nursery furniture!
Next it's on to bedding. Ebay has the greatest deals on such cute sets, I'm so excited! And this is one area that Dave and I actually agree on. We don't want any animal or cartooney type themes so we're sticking with geometric shapes and blue/tan/brown colors. I'm planning on putting in some bids tonight, so we're getting closer to having a real nursery!
As soon as we've made our official purchases, I'll post some pics.
Brooklyn's arrival sort of slapped me into reality. I'm having a baby in less than 5 months!!! And I have nothing but a few cutes outfits I've randomly come across and have been gifted. So...it's time to clean out the baby's room and go furniture shopping!
Brooklyn is so cute and chubby! Mack called me at 12:25 and told me "you have to come right now". I got to the hospital at 12:40 just as Brooklyn's head crowned. 18 minutes later, she made her full debut. 8 pounds, 10 ounces, 20 inches long. Chubby little midget with Keri's nose. She's SOOO cute! She kept sticking her tongue out the entire time and looking around at everything. She's not much of a crier. Doc didn't arrive in time and Keri didn't like that much, but her nurses were absolutely fabulous. Mack Daddy is in Heaven and Mom is doing well. I can't figure out how to get the pics off my phone, but I'll post them as soon as I can (I wasn't given much notice to get my actual camera from home).
Boy do I love migraines. I used to get them randomly back in the day. Now they visit at least once a week and I can't shake them for the life of me. Chalk it up to more hormones I guess. I've tried tylenol, tried orange juice, tried caffeine. Nothing. I drink way more water than I'm supposed to, so I'm sure it's not dehydration. Any other safe suggestions?
