Tuesday, December 27, 2011

34 Weeks

How Far Along: 34 weeks

Weight Gain: 27 pounds

Aches, pains and other: My pains move around randomly. Today it's my hip, yesterday my back. Somedays my cootchie-pops aches and other days it doesn't. But there is always some sort of pain.

Milestones: This is the last week that I will not have an OB appointment until he is born.

Oh yes! This was a Christmas present from my husband and I not-so-secretly love it. The brand name is "Forever Lazy" and I want to help it live up to it's name. It is warm and fleece and on a cold, rainy day like today, it is heaven. Too bad I can't wear it to work. Extra special bonus, it will fit while I'm pregnant and after I give birth. Yes, I look like Violet Beauregard and my husband keeps making inappropriate comments about the zipper in the back- but damn it's comfy.

On the baby front, all is good. I think I will manage to keep the weight gain between 30-35 pounds. A far cry from the 20 pounds I wanted to limit it to, but way better than last pregnancy's 50 pounds.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

33 Weeks

How Far Along: 33 weeks

Weight Gain: 26 pounds

Aches, pains and other: Recently, he has been causing extreme pressure on my lady parts. To the point that they were swollen and painful all the time. He apparently moved a little though because for the last two days the pain has been gone. Thank you, little feller! He continues his assault on my ribs.


Milestones: He is head down.
You'll notice the tank top is required because my shirts are getting too short.


I've been absent for a few weeks. I have been busy with Christmas and stuff and just plain exhausted. I am lucky to stay awake until 9:00.


But all continues to go well. We had an ultrasound last week that showed him to be perfect. Like I said above he is head down, but he is currently facing forward. He really needs to turn around and face backward for em to have the best chance at a VBAC.  But he has time, and I wonder if him turning around might have something to do with the easing of the pressure and pain I've been having in my unmentionables. I hope so.


Things are coming together to prepare for his arrival. Diapers have been ordered, a friend gave me a huge tub of little boy sleepers, the nursery is done. I just need to dig all the little baby stuff out of storage and get it cleaned up and we will be ready to go.

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

30 Weeks

How Far Along: 30 weeks

Weight Gain: 25 pounds

Aches, pains and other: This baby is all up in my ribs. In fact, it feels like he is stretched out like an upside down Vitruvian man. I don't know how he can be in so many places at once.



I also ache from just below my ribs to below my hips. Every muscle in that area feels like it has been subjected to an extreme workout. I guess it has from the inside out.

Milestones: Nursery is done!

Dat belleh is gettin' big! And I feel every bit of it. Extreme over indulgence over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend did nothing to help the situation.

In theory, I only have about 10 weeks to go (yikes), in reality it's more like 11.5 or so. I should really get on buying this child some clothes, blankets, etc but there are just so many other things to buy this time of year. Also, we are having another ultrasound at 32 weeks and I kind of want another confirmation that there is indeed a penis in there before I spend money on blue. I have looked at my 20 week u/s pictures a million times and I still can't see what the tech saw. With my daughter it was clear and I knew before the tech even said it out loud.















Standard OB appointment this morning. All is well with the babe and best of all I got confirmation that I do not have gestational diabetes. I was assuming that no news was good news but it is nice to have the confirmation. Especially when it is 3 days until Thanksgiving and there is dressing, mashed potatoes, rolls adn pumpkin cheesecake to be consumed. The bad/good news, the baby has moved way up and now my stomach capacity is way down. Good for controlling weight gain, bad for filling up on Thanksgiving deliciousness. First world problems.

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Photo Card

Merry Presents Christmas
Shutterfly has elegant Christmas party invitations for your holiday party.
View the entire collection of cards.

Monday, November 14, 2011

How Far Along: 28 weeks

Weight Gain: 20 pounds

Aches, pains and other: Just my back still. Every night I end the day by taking and bath a putting a heating pad on my back. The flashes of sciatica are coming more frequently. I am afraid. Very afraid.

Milestones: Officially in the third trimester by any standards.

I clearly didn't pull out all the stops when getting dress this morning. I can't believe how short this shirt is already. I also can't believe I still have 12ish weeks of growing left to do.

Amazingly, this week, despite eating crappy most of the time, I actually didn't gain much. About .8 pounds. Which is about normal but for me that is an almost negligible weight gain. Maybe, maybe, maybe, my body has finished with the massive preloading of fat for the little guys final growth push. 

Honestly, I am just about to the point that I don't care about the weight gain anymore but I'm not 100% there yet. I still worry about weighing in at the doctors and showing a 5 pound gain in a 2 weeks. But Thanksgiving is coming up so, you know.

In other baby preparation news, we finished painting the new nursery and will be moving all the furniture in next weekend. I am very worried about messing with Caroline's sleep but we don't have a choice.


Tuesday, November 8, 2011

27 Weeks

How Far Along: 27 weeks

Weight Gain: 20 pounds

Aches, pains and other: My back is starting to ache at the end of the day so I'm taking baths every night. I assume this will continue until February. More concerning is that I occasionally get a second of the sciatica that brought me to my knees at the end of my last pregnancy. I am terrified of that coming back.

Milestones: 85% chance of survival if he was born today. ::knock on wood::

This picture is actually from Saturday but I decided to put up a picture that proves I can actually look decent and don't always look like hammered shit.

27 weeks!! By some guidelines that is the third trimester. I generally consider 28 weeks to be the start of the 3T though, so I have one more week to go.

I had an OB appointment this morning that included my glucose challenge to test for gestational diabetes but did not include any mention from my doctor about the fact that for the second month in a row I gained 8 freaking pounds. I guess they know that pregnancy weight gain has it's own pattern for everyone. I'm onto appointments every 2 weeks now and that really hit home that I am no longer newly pregnant but actually entering late pregnancy. Holy Moly!

The appointment also included a real discussion on my decision to VBAC. He is so supportive and encouraging. He told me that they won't put a deadline on me and that we won't even start discussing Plan B until at least 41 weeks. He gave me a 60-80% chance of success if I go into labor on my own.

I am so encouraged. I've read so many stories from women who's OB's are not at all supportive of their decision to VBAC and do everything to set them up for failure. Given that my OBs let me try to induce for 4 days last time around before calling for the knife, I truly believe that they understand that vaginal birth is the most preferable choice.

I still have so much to do. The baby has almost no clothing. I still need to sign up for the newborn diaper rental, my toddler needs a new bed so that the baby can have a crib. We need a new stroller but that is a post in itself.

Monday, November 7, 2011

It's been three years

It's been three years....

Since I put on this dress


And said I do to the best man I have ever known.


Neither of us is always perfect but we are perfect for each other. Although, most days I don't think I deserve such a sweet, supportive man. I don't take for granted how lucky I am.

3 years down, at least 30 to go. I wish it was 300.

Friday, November 4, 2011

Con-artists have nothing on toddlers

At almost two, my daughter has taken an interest in the potty. While I would hardly say she is potty training, she likes to sit on the potty and a few times the timing has been right when she is sitting there. Once she even told me ahead of time and we got to the potty in time for her to pee. But for the most part, peeing is done in the diaper and that seems just fine with her.

So why on earth was I sitting in the bathroom with a naked toddler who was on a frog potty at 4:00 AM this morning? Because she conned me, that's why.

It started with some stirring in her room right as the clock hit 4:00. I ignored it. Then she started talking. I ignored it. Then she said, Mommy. I still ignored it. This happens a lot. If I ignore it, she will generally entertain herself for a little while or even go back to sleep. But not today. Today, she pulled out the big guns. "I go pee pee on potty," she shouted.

Me: What did she just say?
Scott: Grmph, huuh. Zzzzzz
Caroline: I go pee pee on potty (louder, this time)
Me: She said she wants to pee pee on the potty. Can she be serious?
Scott: Zzzzzz zzzzzzz
Me: I know she is lying but I'm going to do it anyway, just in case.

So I stumbled to her room, pulled her out of bed, stripped off her footie pajamas and diaper, and put her naked on the froggy potty. She sat there, we sang a song and nothing was deposited into the potty. It didn't matter though. She had achieved her real goal.

Mommy was up and she was naked. Life was good.




Thursday, November 3, 2011

Halloween recap

Last October 31st my daughter was just under 10 months old, not walking and certainly not eating candy yet, so we never considered taking her trick-or-treating. She just crawled to the door and smiled at all the kids and gummed the credenza. Being the ridiculous person that I am, I did buy her a costume. And it was, of course, ridiculous. But adorable.
That's my little witch on the right. The costume was over the top and of course Caroline hated it. But my God it was cute.

This year, being full-fledged, card-carrying toddler meant Caroline got to go trick or treating for the first time. I was determined not to be insane when I picked out a costume. As much as I loved the froo froo Tinkerbell costume, I knew it would be cold on Halloween night and a coat would simply not go over Tinkerbell's wings. Yes, I am the Mom who makes her kid wear a coat over her Halloween costume. It snowed two days before Halloween here, People. Anyway, I poured over the costume catalogs and after consulting Scott, decided she would be an adorable gnome.
Adorable, yet not too hindering or obnoxious. Right?

Of course, my child hated it.


By the time we left the house, there was no hat and no cute little shoe covers. But there was an awesome pumpkin. (The only Jack-o-lantern in our house actually, because some of us never found time to actually carve the pumpkins we bought weeks ago).




It didn't matter though, she was all over the trick-or-treating. My formerly shy little monkey, went right up to the doors and showed no hesitation taking candy from strangers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_profilepage&v=3qOiQJsqeOc

It was going great until a zombie/monster type thing opened their door and Caroline promptly lost her shit. That was the end of trick-or-treating and the beginning of a very long crying freak out. I was afraid she would be scared to go to sleep or have nightmares, but neither was a problem. The crying was stopped by introducing her to the wonderful world of lollipops.  Sugar is a cure all.

My fears that she was traumatized by it all were for nothing as last night, she tried to go trick-or-treating again.

Monday, October 31, 2011

26 Weeks

How Far Along: 26 weeks
Weight Gain:18 pounds
Aches, pains and other: My bladder currently has the capacity of a walnut. I'm already at the point where I feel like I am about to burst with only a tiny trickle to show for it. Hopefully, he will reposition soon and get off my bladder.
Milestones: We finally painted the new nursery

Today's belly pic brought to you by Halloween!
I continue to consistently put on at least 2 pounds a week despite all efforts to stave off the massive weight gain. I am really hoping it will simmer soon. I am not at all looking forward to next week's OB appointment and not just because I have to take my Glucose Challenge. I'm seriously considering taking my food diary printouts to prove that I am not dining on Reese's and buttercream frosting. But they don't care. They just look at the number and don't care about excuses.

If there is any doubt about where those pounds have gone. Check out the bagginess of the sweater at 22 weeks versus today. Umm, hello there belly. I've started measuring ahead which is no big surprise as I think he is going to be a very big baby.

  Happy Halloween!

Friday, October 28, 2011

A big, whiney weight vent

I am at a complete loss when it comes to my weight gain right now. It is simply impossible. At 19 weeks, I had gained a whopping 4 pounds. I was feeling smug. I'm all, "I've got this."  Famous last words. Fast forward to today, 25 weeks 4 days and I have a gained a total of 19 pounds.

What the effing eff!!!!?!?!?!?!?!?!

If you can't do that math let me help you, that is 15 pounds in just over 6 weeks. Or 2.5 pounds per week for 6 weeks. How is that even possible?

Have I been eating fettucini alfredo morning, noon and night? No. I hate alfredo sauce.

Did I crawl into an extra large tub of movie theater popcorn and eat my way out? No. I wish because that would mean that I have both seen a movie recently and got to eat popcorn. Sadly, neither of these things have happened.


In fact, I have continued to carefully track my calories almost everyday. Most days look like this.

Where my daily goal is the number of calories required to maintain my current weight. When it should take 500 calories over and above this number to gain a pound a week, my current rate of weight gain suggests that I am consuming 1250 extra calories per day!! That is simply not the case!!

Am I perfect every day? Of course not but I am on target most days and the days I go over I do not go over by thousands of calories. For the last week, I have eaten a more gestational diabetes friendly diet which is lower in carbs and have almost eliminated refined carbs and the result, I gained 2 pounds.

I know some of this is water retention, but by looking and my hands and feet I can tell that it's not a lot. 

I don't know what to do. I am on the path to gain at least 50 pounds while I'm pregnant just like last time. And that weight did not fall off. It stuck around until I forced it off. I don't want to have to start all over again. I feel like giving up and just diving into a pizza.


I am frustrated. Very, very frustrated.



Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Things that have made me cry today

Ahh, pregnancy hormones. I have cried several times today and it is at this moment, only 9:09AM.


- The story of the 2 week old baby rescued from the Turkey earthquake rubble
- Every picture I see of Baby Lisa
-An interview with the man who is "Elmo" (those kids he was visiting were just so freaking happy to get to hug Elmo....crap, here I go again.)


Monday, October 24, 2011

25 weeks

How Far Along: 25 weeks
Weight Gain:16 pounds
Aches, pains and other: There is no delicate way to this, my crotch hurts. After a weekend of lifting and wrangling my toddler, I am usually sore on Mondays. Especially in the part of my body bearing the weight of the little man.
Milestones:25 weeks down 15 to go.


I have gained 10 pounds in 6 weeks. Amazing. I admit that I haven't been perfect but 10 pounds in 6 weeks when I had only gained 6 during the first 19 weeks of pregnancy is astounding. I am continuing to try to keep it under control but some of it is out of my control. I'm trying to stick to a Gestational Diabetes type diet even though I don't have GD. It's a great way to eat healthy and keep calorie control. It also helps regulate blood sugar which is good for pregnant women whose metabolism is a bit altered.

I can't believe it is only 15 weeks until my due date. That seems so short but when I think it is 3.5 months until my due date that seems like all the time in the world. When I think of  much going on before then, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, my daughter and husband's birthdays, I wonder how I'll ever get ready for this little guy.

It will work at though. It always does.

Monday, October 17, 2011

24 weeks

How Far Along: 24 weeks
Weight Gain:14 pounds
Aches, pains and other: It's getting harder to find a comfortable sleep position but luckily I'm so exhausted by bedtime that I don't have trouble falling asleep. Staying asleep is another story.
Milestones:At 24 weeks baby has a 50-50 chance of making it outside the womb. God forbid, we ever have to test this theory. I want him cooking for another 15+ weeks.
I pixelated my face out of this weeks photo. I had a freaky, unattractive look going on. I feel like my belly has really popped in the last 2 weeks. There is no doubt I look like a pregnant person. That's good because now nobody will pay attention to the size of my ass.

All is well pregnancy wise. We finalized the name for this little guy. But we won't be revealing it until we introduce him to the world. I am for some reason superstitious about calling the baby by his name before he is born.

I am really tired these days. I have so much motivation for things I want to get done but my energy just doesn't match up. It will be a miracle if we finish the new nursery before the third trimester. Which is, OMG, only a month away!!!




23 Weeks

How Far Along: 23 weeks
Weight Gain:12 pounds (According to doctors scale. 8 lbs in one month. How does that happen)
Aches, pains and other: Heartburn, heartburn and more heartburn.
Milestones: Really started being able to feel and see movement from the outside.


Saturday, October 8, 2011

How Far Along: 22 weeks
Weight Gain:14 pounds (What is happening?)
Aches, pains and other: Feeling OK, but my back gets sore after a weekend of toddler wrangling.
Milestones: Started working on the new nursery.



So, according the scale I gained 2 lbs this week. That means 7,000 calories over and above what it takes for me to maintain my current weight. That is 1,000 extra calories per day! That did not happen. Not only did I not eat that much (I know, I track) this is the first week when I have really been walking. I walked at least a mile 5 times last week. It's not a lot but it is better than nothing.

I still have 1 week to go before my next doctor's scale weigh-in. At my current rate, I will weigh in about 9 lbs higher than last time. I'll give you a minute to wrap your brain around that- 9lbs in 4 weeks. OK, it should be 7 because my last weigh-in was about 2 pounds too low. I think I must have been dehydrated. 9 pounds is going to get me a talking to. They'll make me do my 1 hour glucose tolerance test early for sure with that.

But, the baby is great. He's kicking up a storm. I love that reassurance. 





Wednesday, September 28, 2011

21 weeks

How Far Along: 21 weeks
Weight Gain:12 pounds (Things are out of control)
Aches, pains and other: This baby is low, low, low, low, low, low, low and that is causing a lot of pressure on my lady parts.
Milestones: Hmmm, none this week.


My weight gain is defying the laws of physics. I have been eating calories in the range to gain 1/2 to 1 pound per week, yet I have managed to put on 5-6 pounds in 2 weeks. I know water retention and all that but man it is crazy. This is the exact same point that in my last pregnancy I gained a huge chunk of weight so maybe this is just how my body does pregnancy. Bulking up for the growth spurt to come.

This little guy is very low. Having an anterior placenta that is positioned more at the top of my uterus is keeping the man down. When means he is right on my bladder all the time. I've got no capacity there. I can't imagine what it will be like in another 20 weeks. He is also getting very active, lots of kicks and punches. I love it. I don't think I could ever get tired of feeling baby movement. 




Tuesday, September 20, 2011

20 weeks

Halfway. Well, for people who have 40 week pregnancies it's halfway, I still have another week before I really think I am more than 50% done.

How Far Along: 20 weeks
Weight Gain:10 pounds (wha?!?!?!)
Aches, pains and other: Heartburn, heartburn,heartburn.
Milestones: It's a healthy boy!



Umm, remember last week when I was only 6lbs up total. Did I gain 4lbs in one week? Maybe. I didn't really track last week but I don't think I over ate by 14,000 calories. I'm blaming the pregnant lady's stand-by, water retention. My weight can seriously fluctuate by up to 5 pounds in a 24 hours period these days. Luckily, Fall has come to town and I am actually doing some walking. I've also decided to sign up for a Saturday morning prenatal yoga class.

And yet, I don't feel like my belly is really getting that much bigger. I'm not worried about the baby or anything, I know that it is growing fine. But when I look at my 16 week belly shot versus my 20 week, I don't see much difference. Not a big deal, I will be ridiculously large in no time. 










It's a.......

Leading up to my big ultrasound yesterday I, like many knocked up chicks before me, consulted many old wives tales and even a novelty to help me determine the sex of this baby. I don't do well with not knowing these kinds of things.

I looked at heart rate, chinese gender prediction, whether or not this baby was stealing my beauty, etc.

Then I broke down and shelled out $30 for this in a moment of weakness. I resisted it when I was pregnant with my daughter but I was weaker this time around.

Finally, after counting down the weeks, the days, the hours, the minutes, we finally had our big ultrasound yesterday.

First off, let me say that the baby is PERFECT! That is absolutely the most important. The growth is right on track, there are the right number of parts and everything is where it should be. You never, ever get tired of hearing the doctor say, "Everything looks perfect".

And now for the results

Old wives tales average= 60% in favor of boy.

Intelligender=






Ultrasound says= BOY!!!!!!!! 

Not a money shot. We don't do privates on the internets.
I can't believe it. Even though I thought it was a boy, it was still a shock to hear it. It is so exciting to be going on a whole new adventure this time around. I was prepared for a little girl last time because I used to be a little girl. A boy. OMG. Dirt and noise and craziness. I can't wait to meet him.

Extra good news, now I get to shop because we don't have any clothes for a boy. We don't even have anything gender neutral as far as clothing goes except for some white onesies. I'm greasing up my credit card as we speak.










Monday, September 12, 2011

19 weeks

How far: 19 weeks
Weight gained: 6 pounds according to my scale. 4 according to the doctors
What's happening? Baby is growing, moving. I'm really starting to notice a change in my gait.

Doctor visit this morning. Nothing exciting to report. I did get the go ahead for a VBAC assuming my body knows how to go into labor. So, yay!. I really don't savor the idea of recovering from a c-section while trying to care for a toddler and newborn. I can't lie, I also just really want that birth experience.

All the water, I took on last week went away this weekend. Just in time for my Dr. visit weigh-in. My last weigh in was inflated by the salty movie popcorn I had eaten the day before. As a result I weighed in today at the same weight I did last appointment. The reality is that I gained about 2 lbs over the last month. Which is perfect. I'm really aiming for about .5 lb per week. That is plenty for the baby without adding to my already ample fat reserves. My Dr. is pleased with my weight thus far. All of my stats were good and despite being 38 and "elderly", I am having a perfectly healthy pregnancy. Just like my last "elderly" pregnancy.

7 days until the big ultrasound!!!! Pink or Blue?

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

How far: 18 weeks
Weight gained: 8 pounds (gah!)
What's happening?: Round. Ligament. Pain.   Oh my god, I do not remember it being this bad during my last pregnancy. I feel like I've gone a few rounds with Jillian Michaels but only between my belly button and hips. Oh, that sounds a little dirty. Not like that. The pain. The pain.






I can't believe I'm closing in on half way. This pregnancy has been flying by even though each week seems like an eternity. According to the scale this morning, I gained 2.5 pounds in a week. That may or may not be the case. My parents were in town and my very Southern mother cooked the whole time. I ate a lot of bread. We'll see how the scale looks for the rest of the week before I kick myself for those biscuits and gravy.


Saturday, September 3, 2011

Pre-baby to do list

Honestly, I can't even think of that much to do. With pregnancy number 1, the to-do's seemed overwhelming, but this time we already have a shitton of baby gear. We have childcare lined up. We have loads of baby crap. We have loads of feeding, nursing, etc crap. Wow, preparing for baby number 2 is a lot less time consuming than getting ready for the first one. Of course, I have about 115% less free time to prepare for this one than I did for Caroline, so I guess it all evens out.

1.  Switch my stepson  to the current nursery and turn it into a tween boy room and switch current teen boy room to nursery suitable for a toddler and an infant, possibly of different genders.

Not my actual baby room. I wish
Actually, this one makes my head hurt with the enormity of it. But it has to be done. Our house has four bedrooms but one is 2 floors below the others in the basement. Obviously, we can't put either of the little kids there and stepson isn't quite ready to be that separated from the rest of the family at night. Plus, I'm not ready to give up having a guest room. So, Caroline and the new baby will share a room for about 2 years (unless we get a new house between now and then). The current nursery is tiny and there is no way to fit two kids in there. Stepson's room is much bigger and unfair or not, he is only here part time so the switch is non-negotiable. But there is so much to do. I can't really start until I know whether we are having a boy child or a girl child and I know what to do about paint and decor, so I can keep my head in the sand about it for a couple more weeks.

The hardest part of this task with be cattle prodding DH into action...during football season. 

2. Get new furniture and bedding for new baby.

Easy enough. Just need to know the sex of this thing.

3. Clean and sanitize entire house.

Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha,ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. As much as I want this done, the only way it will happen is by hiring a team of industrial cleaners to come in and hose this place down. I just don't have the time or energy to tackle such a huge, futile task.

4. Buy new diapers.

My favorite task on the list. We cloth diaper and like many other cloth diaperers, I am addicted to buying fluff. I've been on the clean and sober, no fluff, wagon but now I am happily jumping off! I'm trying to be sensible though. Since I still have 5 months to go until the baby is born, I am only buying during sales or other incentive type events. I love DiaperShops.com because they always have a coupon for discounts or free diapers, but I'm trying to hold out for the really good deals. I'm also looking into renting newborn cloth diapers. If this baby is like Caroline, it won't fit into newborn size diapers past about 2 months and I'm certainly not investing in purchasing new ones, but I want my itty bitty in fluff, so rental looks like the best option. It would probably be cheaper to use disposables until it is big enough to fit in to one-size diapers, but we chose cloth diapering for reasons other than cost (though the cost savings are significant).

5. Stock freezer with meals. 

I didn't do this last time and regretted it. This time will be different. I'm hoarding recipes on Pinterest and plan to start prepping just as soon as the weather cools and it isn't a million degrees in my kitchen. Again, this all must be done with a toddler attached to my leg just to add a little extra challenge.

6. Buy boy clothes

 If it is a boy.

What else? I don't know. Spend time with Caroline? Always. Sleep? As if. Dates with husband? Whenever we get the chance. I know I must be missing a ton but for the life of me I can't figure out what it is.







Friday, September 2, 2011

Where's my cane? Where's my teeth?

Elderly multigravida. Second or more pregnancy in a woman who will be 35 years of age or older at expected date of delivery."

If you are over 35 and pregnant, sneak a look at your chart sometime. You will see the word "elderly" on there. What? Elderly? Yep, in the world of obstetrics, once you reach the ripe old age of 35 you are elderly. Seeing that word is, disconcerting, upsetting, offensive, tear inducing. It's just a medical term but why the eff did they have to choose that one. Elderly!! WTF?


Is there some sort of AARP for Elderly pregnant women that enables us to get discounts?

Monday, August 29, 2011

17 Weeks

How Far Along: 17 Weeks
Symptoms: An unwelcome return of first trimester exhaustion
Showing?: Yes.
Weight Gain: 5 lbs
Milestones: Hmmm, I can't really think of anything this week.

The face is pixelated because it is not good. Scary. Very scary.


Of course, the day I decide to wear a sundress with the intention of keeping a sweater on over it is the day the HVAC system in my building is on the fritz. So I am roasting and that is doing nothing to help the overwhelming exhaustion I am feeling right now. It is the first trimester all over again. Yesterday, I took a 3 hour nap and still managed to fall asleep shortly after 9 last night. Only to feel like I needed a couple of more hours when the alarm went off this morning. I hope this passes. I hope I'm not getting sick.

In other news, the pounds are coming on. I am ravenous and it is what it is. I am trying to make healthy choices but I don't always succeed. The worst is when I don't bring enough food to work and end up having no options other than the vending machine. It doesn't help that people are always offering me sweet treats. Their way of helping to fatten up the pregnant chick. I'm trying though. Still need to find some time and energy for some exercise.

Only 3 weeks until the big ultrasound to find out the sex of the baby. It seems like forever!



Temporary Blog Name Change

Let's face it. I'm not talking about much these days besides my pregnancy so I've temporarily replaced the title of the blog to reflect that. I may still post about other things as the spirit moves me (and fall inspires me).

Monday, August 22, 2011

16 Weeks

How Far Along: 16 Weeks
Symptoms: Still, just the constant peeing.
Showing?: Yes.
Weight Gain: 4 lbs
Milestones: I officially broke out the Snoogle for sleeping.

And for comparison.
Slowly but sure the belly is rounding out and getting bigger. Side by side, you can really tell the difference. I tried to wear that black and white shirt last week and it was not a good look. I'm fully in maternity shirts now. Still not noticeable to a stranger though. Given the size of my ass it will be a while before my belly looks out of proportion.

I weighed in lower this week than I did last week. I think that is mostly because last weeks weight was inflated. I happy with my weight gain though. 4 pounds at 16 weeks is pretty good. Last pregnancy I was pushing 10 lbs by now. My eating has been pretty good. Not perfect by any means, but I am conscious of what I am eating and I'm not considering the baby in my belly to be a license to eat.

Now that the weather has decreased from "surface of the sun" hot to merely "interior of a volcano" hot, I have been getting out and doing some more walking. Usually, I have passenger in the stroller who decides about halfway that she wants to walk and help push. That slows me down but at least I'm still covering some distance. I've also managed a little prenatal yoga.

4 weeks until we find out the sex of this little one. I can not wait. I am getting so itchy to do some shopping for this little guy or girl.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Planning the escape route

For anyone who doesn't know the birth story for my daughter, the quick version goes like this: 4 days of induction resulting in less than 3cm dilation and a c-section. 6 nights in hospital, 2.5 hours before I held baby for first time, 5 days for my milk to come in. The long version is here.

It was not the nicely medicated, textbook birth that I had envisioned. I honestly didn't give the possibility of a c-section any thought because if there is one thing the women in my family can do well it is push out babies.  I secretly thought that if I really wanted to I could do it without an epidural. That's how badass at delivering I thought I would be.

I was wrong.

But now I have a second chance. At my first doctor's appointment this pregnancy at 7 weeks, my doctor brought up the possibility of a VBAC. I said I couldn't think that far into the future. And that was true, at that point I was only focused on the keeping the little pea sized embryo in it's cozy home through the first trimester.

Now that I have managed that goal, I have begun thinking about how I'm going to get this kid out of me when the time comes. I previously thought that you couldn't go overdue and still have a VBAC, but I was wrong. That really opens up the door for me (I can't envision me going into labor before 420 weeks). The more I think about it and research it, I really, really want this).

This gives me a little added motivation to limit my weight gain and work on toning on flexibility. Excess weight can hinder chances for a successful VBAC and extra muscle is useful for pushing large parasites out of your ladyhole.

So that's my goal for February. That mean accepting that I likely won't have a baby before my 39th birthday on the 11th. It means considering my due date to be February 20th instead of the 6th. It means 6 months of worrying that maybe my body doesn't know how to go into labor. And 6 months of hoping that it does.








Monday, August 15, 2011

15 Weeks

How Far Along: 15 Weeks
Symptoms: Just peeing all the time
Showing?: Yes.
Weight Gain: 4lbs
Milestones: Maybe feeling a little movement

As you can see I finally got Scott to take the photo. The results are no less heinous. How many chins are there. But check out that cute little munchkin in the background.

 I had my monthly OB check this morning. Everything is as it should be. The heartrate was a nice strong 160. For the second time this pregnancy the dr. commented on how my uterus was really tilted waaay back. I never heard anything about this in my first pregnancy. Is it possible she put it back in wrong after my c-section. (I kid, I kid).

Their scale had me up 6lbs from last appt. I would be freaking out except a) I ate a lot of salt yesterday- pickles and movie theater popcorn (not together) b) I think my last weight was artificially low due to some dehydration. They have me at a net gain of 4lbs, which isn't too bad at 15 weeks.


I think I'm feeling a little dancing from this little one. There is nothing like feeling your baby move inside you. When I was pregnant with Caroline every movement excited me, it never ever got old. I'm really looking forward to feeling more from this little guy. I say guy because right now I'm feeling like it is a boy. That is based on absolutely nothing though. Next week I may think it is a girl. I won't know for sure for 5 more long weeks.



Monday, August 8, 2011

14 weeks

How Far Along: 14 Weeks
Symptoms: An unwelcome return of the nausea
Showing?: Yes. To anyone who knows what they are looking for.
Weight Gain: About 3 lbs
Milestones: Um nothing right now really.
Yes, in the bathroom at work again. (Dress from Old Navy Maternity)
 Man, all the weight I didn't gain is finding me now. This baby loves, loves, loves the carbs. I can't tell you how many potatoes I eat in a week. It does not love meat. The thought of meat, especially at lunch time just makes my stomach churn. So I find myself on a high carb, low protein diet that is a perfect recipe for weight gain. (This baby also loves watermelon and cheese. Not together.)

I need to sit down and do some serious meal planning for lunch to ensure that I get some protein. I'm seeing a lot of beans and rice in my future.

Exercise still isn't happening. I tried to take Caroline for a long walk down on the C&O Tow Path on Saturday but it was a disaster. She whined the whole time and we ended up covering about a mile in 40 minutes. Not a  fitness walk for sure.  Scott in the meantime managed to get a 4 mile run in so at least someone in the family is on the fitness path.

I am biding my time until September when the weather should break a little and hopefully I can at least do some walking.


Thursday, August 4, 2011

Monday, August 1, 2011

13 Weeks

How Far Along: 13 Weeks
Symptoms: This week for the first time my breasts are hurting, I have a metallic taste in my mouth. And I have been peeing like a Russian racehorse (that's not new but seems to have amped up)
Showing?: This baby is beginning to make itself known to the world. Though I really just look fat.
Weight Gain: 2 lbs as of this morning.
Milestones: I'm in the second trimester!

I really need to get Scott to start taking these pictures so they aren't always in a bathroom.




Heeelllloooo, second trimester. So good to see you. I am very happy to bid good riddance to your evil sibling the first trimester.  Now, let's just pause for a while. I would like to hang out here in the middle indefinitely. It's not that I don't want to meet this baby, but I am scared of the changes (excited and scared all at the same time). I'm scared of having less of me to give to Caroline. To Scott. To everything. I'm scared of the sleepless nights. I'm scared of the all consuming nature of newborns. But I am excited. What is sweeter than a newborn baby? Nothing. That's what.

So 2T, let's hang out for a while. I'll enjoy this happy stage of pregnancy and get used to the idea of what's ahead. You just hang in there and keep the weight gain under control- your love of carbs and aversion to meat is going to be a problem.

Friday, July 29, 2011

The secret may be out

This should be funny. Tomorrow we are going to a wedding for one of Scott's co-workers/friends. No one there knows I'm pregnant and we don't plan to tell until after the wedding. This is what I'm wearing and I won't be drinking (I always partake in an open bar.)

12w4d

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

12 Weeks

How Far Along: 12 Weeks
Symptoms: Some hip pain
Showing?: My belly is definitely rounding
Weight Gain: Maybe a pound, depends on the day
Milestones: NT Scan
What a difference a week makes. Pants that I wore a week ago are now too tight. My fat pants are getting snug and my belly is rounder and firmer. I was hoping to be able to make it to about 18 weeks before telling work but I don't think that is going to be a possibility. My husband is, as I write this, retrieving my maternity clothes from storage and I am looking forward to the comfy elastic waistbands.

I am quite proud of the fact that I haven't gained much weight. By this stage in my last pregnancy, I had packed on 10 lbs. I am not proud of the fact that I haven't been exercising. It has been hot as balls here. At one point on Saturday, my car read 107!! So that's my excuse for outside, but there is no reason I can't be doing the prenatal yoga video inside.

In other pregnancy news, yesterday we had an NT scan done. It is always nice to go to the perinatal center because they have awesome ultrasound machines with giant monitors on the wall.  We got to see our little one sleeping. Not terribly exciting, and yet I could have watched for hours. We did have a brief scare, when the tech finally got the little bugger to move so that she could see its nuchal fold, it look huge (the nuchal fold that is). My heart sunk. She looked worried too. But a slightly different angle showed that in fact it was well within the desired range. In fact, our results came back really good...for a 38 year old and the perinatologist agreed with our decision to not undergo any invasive testing.

So with that and coming to the end of the first trimester, we are just about ready to go public. I am nervous about that for some reason. I don't know why. Maybe because it will make it all really real.

Monday, July 18, 2011

11 Weeks

How Far Along: 11 Weeks
Symptoms: Still some nausea and fatigue but it is getting better.
Showing?: No, but my gut is getting firmer.
Weight Gain: None so far!
Milestones: Baby is a fetus!

I had an appointment this morning. Should have been a quick step on the scale, pee in a cup, listen to heartbeat, see ya in a month thing. But when she ran the Doppler along my pubic bone repeatedly, there was nothing but the sounds of my innards (delightful, no?). I got a little nervous. I knew that at 11 weeks hearing the heartbeat on the Doppler was a little iffy but I was hoping we would get lucky and I wouldn't be in limbo for even a minute.

And it was only a minute. The ultrasound machine was quickly brought in and in no time we saw our little parasite bouncing around inside his comfy house. According the midwife, when they are that small and active it is hard to get a heartbeat. And apparently my uterus is tipped way back, which is the first I've ever heard of that. Anyway, that's enough about my girl parts. Munchkin is doing well and so is mama. No weight gain so far, in fact I was 2 lbs lower than at my last appt but that is mainly due to daily fluctuations.





Saturday, July 16, 2011

A thought on gift giving

Dear friends and family,

I know that Christmas is a long way away. Well maybe not that far. It’s July now so the malls should start putting up their decorations in about a month. And I know my birthday is even further.

But perhaps some of you are already wondering what to get the girl who has wants everything. Let me help you out.

This is NOT a good gift.

CIMG0070

It’s maxi pads! In a gift box!!!! They even have wings!!!!! What girl wouldn’t love to find that under her Christmas tree.

I’ve been wracking my brain trying to figure out the appropriate gift giving occasion for giving pads. Giving birth? Bat Mitzvah?

Friday, July 15, 2011

Shameless

With this pregnancy I have had quite a bit of nausea, especially early in the day. Yes, for me it really is morning sickness. When it finally subsides mid-morning, it leaves gaping hunger in it's place. I thought that I was finally getting to the end of it but this morning found me staring into the toilet bowl praying that I could just puke already and get some relief.

When I finished getting ready and went downstairs, I simply couldn't pack myself a lunch. Not only did that much movement seem unthinkable, but just the concept of food and thinking about eating later turned my stomach. Scott offered to pack it for me, but I couldn't deal with telling him what to pack because I couldn't think of food. This is a rare occurrence in my life. 

Anyway, by the time hunger hit, I had nothing to fight it with so I took myself to Chick-fil-a. I give you a moment for your mouth to stop watering. While waiting in line, I was so hungry I couldn't imagine a simple combo filling me up. I was soooo freaking hungry. So I decided to make it a large. But I was embarrassed. Because, you know, supersize me, American obesity, my own fat ass, etc. So I did what any self respecting pregnant chick sporting a  bit of belly fat would do.

I arched my back, puffed my stomach out and did my best impression of a noticeably pregnant chick who just wanted some freakin' waffle fries. I probably looked a fool but faux pregnant is better than fat girl supersizing.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

I am totally rocking the Bella band today. Not because I am showing or have outgrown my pants yet (though they are getting a wee bit tighter. But because I am so tired of my fat clothes that I squeezed myself into a pair of pre-pregnancy (#1) pants that go over they hips but have no chance in hellen of ever buttoning.

Still, a few months ago I wouldn't have been able to get them over my knees.

More awesome than that is the weather. After weeks of 90+ with high humidity....





I think a lunchtime walk is in order!