100 days remaining...

I just saw on my ticker that I have 100 days left. Seems like a lot at first glance, but the more I think about it...it's fast approaching! My schedule shows something going on every Saturday up until the baby comes. I like the idea of keeping busy so I won't sit and wait for the timer to go off. After all, my belly button has almost popped already. I know, the baby won't be "done" for quite a while ;) I'm sure I'll change my mind a few weeks down the road, but I'm VERY comfortable at this point in my pregnancy. It's been such a breeze so far. All the scares that I've had have turned out to be nothing to worry about and the symptoms are nothing to whine about either (although Dave hears a lot about my back pain since I'm trying to coerce him into massages-it's not working). Maybe it's the infertility brain creeping in, but I get SO irritated hearing the complaints of other pregnant women (I'm not talking the occasional complaint-but those who tell me every day how sick they are of being pregnant). I want to scream at them "I know so many women who would kill to be in your position right now"! It seems I need to put my sympathy hat on, because I apparently have no empathy for whiney, pregnant women.

100 days!

Weekend Hospital Visit

Dave and I stopped in at the Open House of the new hospital where I am registered to deliver. They are opening up to the public next week and had an open house to show the public the services they'll be providing as well as give tours. We got a great parking spot and walked towards the big tent with a crowd of people. There weren't signs anywhere so I forced poor Dave to "ask directions". We found out they were serving free lunch so I jumped in line for that. After about 20 minutes of waiting, we got some grub and sat with a group of old folks. I swear, I have never seen so many old people in all my life. It was like an elderly convention! After lunch, we ducked through the lines to pick out packets, brochures, and freebies for the things we were interested in (child birth classes, OB services, Pediatrics, etc.). Then we snuck into the front of the line where the tours were starting. The tours were expected to take about 45 minutes and all Dave and I were interested was the OB department. So...after we got through the doors, we jumped between tour guides to find the maternity ward. We walked through the waiting room, through the triage room, and were stopped by a few volunteers who offered to give us a personal tour. So cool! They took us to see the L&D room, as well as the postpartum rooms and the spa room! Then we got to see the nursery and relaxation room (dim lights with a waterfall for laboring moms). It was so zen-like!! The staff and rooms were so amazing, Dave and I left the tour feeling so excited that our little guy will be born there. Then to top it off, as we were driving home, I was reading about the amenities they offer in the postpartum "suites": huge flat-panel TVs, DVD players, pull out couches, AND mini refrigerators. We're stoked!

Cry Baby

I've been thinking a lot about how my life is going to change when our little guy gets here. People say that when they are pregnant they develop an immediate bond with the baby. I haven't really felt what others describe. I'm not "in love" with the baby yet. I'm in love with the idea. I definitely feel a bond to the entity that has taken up residence in my uterus. I smile when I look at his ultrasound pictures, when I read about how he's growing, or when Dave talks to him like Darth Vader - using my belly button as a microphone. Yet, my image of this kid is not of an infant. I get emotional watching dads play soccer with their 3-year-olds, envisioning a picnic with a 2 year old, and thoughts of visiting the zoo when he's 5. I tear up when I see 2T overalls and little croc shoes that would fit a toddler. That doesn't happen when I hold up a 0-3 month onesie. Why, you ask? I honestly don't know. Maybe it's a subconscious fear that I won't be able to take care of an infant. Perhaps it's denial, or self-preservation that this is finally a reality. A hesitation to idealize an infant in my life. I've ALWAYS been able to picture children in our lives...never a baby. Or maybe it's because God was preparing me for the bigger picture. No matter how we built our family - the end result would be the same...

I don't know what the answer is, but I'm excited to find out.

The Bee Bo Effect

Has anyone read the Belly Button Book? My mom gave this book to my niece and it calls the belly button a Bee Bo. I think that's so funny!

My Bee Bo just does not look the same. I have a "gut gauge" if you will that helps me track belly growth: it's a mole that started out on the very inside of my belly button. Does that gross you out? Get over it ;) That mole has now moved to the outside of my Bee Bo and I can tell I've grown in just the past week because it keeps inching its way further outside the hole. So weird! I should have started taking pictures of just my belly button early on throughout my pregnancy; then I could have done one of those quick lapse slide shows to demonstrate the belly growth. That would've been so cool! I know I could've been nominated for something doing that!

Cinnamon Bears

I must confess that I have a stash of cinnamon bears in my drawer at work. They are just my favorite thing right now! And almonds...mmmm. Luckily my cravings haven't been very "weird". They can be severe though...I try to avoid the thought of what I want, but if it stays with me for more than a few days, I'll treat myself to it. Only problem is that after that 3-day wait, I want to eat way too much of it! It's a good thing I have less room in there or I would ;) Since my 14th week, this has been a weekly adventure.

Alright folks...what have been your weirdest cravings? You don't have to be/been pregnant to have weird cravings!!

Bulging Belly

Dave got a glimpse of the comments I get on a daily basis now. While shopping in Flagstaff, I was asked 5 times (within 2 hours) when I was due, what I was having, how far along I was, etc. Dave was absolutely shocked that people would be so forward about a bulging belly. He has been trying to convince me that I don't look that big yet, but alas, it is more apparent than he lets on ;)

Proof:

(We were told to smell the trees on a tour, I'm not making out with it)

24 Weeks Today!

I've officially started the 6th month today, holy cow (technically, 23 weeks is 6 months-but who's counting)! The little guy is now about 1.4 pounds and is longer than 12 inches head to foot. Sometimes I look at my stomach and just can't believe there's a baby in there. Until he kicks me in the bladder or cervix, then I'm slapped back to reality. I've been feeling so great lately (there are minor complaints here and there of course), it's hard to remember how I felt before pregnancy. It's been good to me. All the hormones have treated me well. My doctor told me that I'd likely feel the greatest while pregnant and now I believe him. No cysts on my ovaries, clearer skin, no anxiety, and my moods aren't rocky all the time. And depression? Haven't seen that ugly beast for several weeks now. I do have the occasional emotional outbursts, but they're nothing like before. Dave can attest to that...we haven't had any major tiffs in forever. I'm really diggin' this pregnancy thing.

Stupid Blogger...I loved my layout on this one, but it looks like it has gone wacko as well.

Achy Breaky Belly

I'm sure this is a common symptom: the heavy belly. My gut feels SO heavy somedays, it's crazy! I'm doing pretty well with weight gain...so far 15 pounds (ALL in my boobs and belly). Hoping to keep it at a pound a week for a total of 35-40 pounds. That's my goal anyway. Back to the subject...I called my new doctor because this heaviness was so bad yesterday and I was having shooting pains in my right side. I thought they were ligament pains, but they were totally different than the ones I had earlier on. The doc gets on the phone and tells me, "that's because you've pulled, possibly torn that ligament on your right side. Didn't I tell you that when I did the ultrasound?" Uh, no! I sure wish docs would give all the info then and there so we didn't have to call them. Oh well, the baby is fine...so it seems this is just a minor inconvenience that I'll have to deal with.

New Doc

I got to see my new OB yesterday. He's a little on the weird side, but very nice. He did a quick ultrasound in the office to "make sure I was pregnant" and confirmed that there is indeed a midget in there. Once again, we have proof that baby likes to kick my bladder. He is measuring right on target (possibly a little ahead) and all looks well.

After my appointment, I ran to the grocery store and saw a couple walking out with their brand new baby. I started to get emotional and realized that I was tearing up for a very different reason this time. Very surreal.

Babymoon

Dave finally felt the baby move over the weekend. It was a nice anniversary treat. The baby gave 3 really good kicks and each time I asked, "did you feel that"? Dave says "I feel your stomach moving". Yeah, that's it boy Dave. I think he was expecting to feel an actual foot kicking him or something.

Dave thinks he's funny: (while I was trying to pick up the last of the laundry, I dropped a sock and asked Dave to pick it up for me) "You could get it if it was a candy bar". Boy was he lucky I was in a good mood! Rather funny actually.

Ultrasound Update

At the ultrasound on Friday, everything measured and looked perfect! A+ for the midget. While trying to get some good shots of him, he kept boxing me and bike pedaling into my bladder. Now I have proof that he does kick my bladder all the time! He looks so much bigger from the last ultrasound...it's so fun to see him growing!

22 Weeks Today!

Yeah for another week to check off the calendar! We have another ultrasound scheduled for today to check measurements and the baby's major organs. I have been so lucky to have so many ultrasounds to put my mind at ease....I really look forward to them. It's amazing to see such huge development over such a short period of time and I love to see the little guy jumping around in there, it's so fun.

After the ultrasound, Dave is treating me to a steak & shrimp dinner (not sure which restaurant we'll be going to yet)! Just a brief history: pre-pregnancy, I would only include red meat in my diet once or twice a month and the rest would be chicken, fish, or vegetarian. I just was not a red meat person, plus I was trying to keep meals more healthful. Since becoming pregnant, I haven't had chicken in 5 months! It tastes like trash to me. Seriously. I have become a huge red-meat eater and I can't get enough of roast beef, burgers, and carne asada. So weird!! The funny thing is that Dave is trying to lay off red meat, but with my new crave on the rise, he has no choice but to eat it. However, tonight I'll be ordering the steak & shrimp and he'll be having the baked potato & salad. Dave eating salad. HA!!!

Busy!

Today was a busy busy day at work! We found the "solution" to my swelling foot: walks. It must be poor circulation, because the more I sit or prop it up, the more it swells. I look like I have one hobbit foot! I've tried walking the two nights it's been the worst and the swelling goes down completely after 15 minutes. Glad to have that under control. Now, back to the busy days. I don't like them so much because I don't have time to sit and feel the little midget bounce around. He's been very active lately; I can feel him kicking about every other hour, but on busy days I get too sidetracked to sit still for very long. Oh well, I guess that means he'll be slamming me in the evenings when I can relax ;)

Braxton Hicks

Yesterday I started feeling some scary cramping. Midget was bouncing around like crazy for about 3 hours straight, so I wonder if that had anything to do with it. The cramping was very uncomfortable and kept coming, so I decided to look it up in my books and start tracking it. I counted 4 in one hour and decided to call my doc. Apparently I'm having Braxton Hicks already. Doc says most women have them after 20 weeks, but they don't feel them. Again, my super-sensitive body is freaking me out. I was told that if I have more than 6 per hour, to go straight to OB triage. I'm praying that won't happen and if it does, it'll happen in a couple weeks when we reach the 24-week mark. For some reason, that milestone makes me feel so much more comfortable. If anything were to happen, I'd want it to happen then.

The Rings are Off

I woke up yesterday morning and got ready to jump in the shower. I always take my rings off before I get wet, but it took me quite a while this time, so I decided to keep them off for good. I'm so paranoid they'll get stuck on there and I'll have to have them cut off. Not a good experience from what I've heard. PLUS, after looking in the mirror today, it seems that I have about an inch of regrowth already. I had my hair highlighted about 3 weeks ago and it's growing so darn fast! Not only is the regrowth obvious, but it's much more obvious since my hair has gotten darker! I've heard of that happening during pregnancy, but always thought it a myth ;) So, I'm off to get a touch-up on my hair before the trip and will be ringless through the duration of my pregnancy.