It's been a year!

One year ago today, 11.22.08, Cole was simply...

THIS.

An entire life in one teeny little line. The most beautiful little line I have ever seen, still to this day.

Vote for Cole!

http://gapc-vote.com/?p=1872107

You will be given a few 'offers' before voting, but every one has a 'skip' option!

I would really like it if Cole would stop growing...

Not only would I get my actual money's worth out of these clothes, but there would be no GROWTH SPURTS.

Aka the DEVIL.

Cole went through his 3 month spurt a wee bit early - and we were back to eating every 3 hours through the night. He pushed his bedtime back at the same time, so Mom and Dad were in a world of hurt. Sleep started at 12:45, then we were up at 4, 6:30, 9, 11, and then we would either wake up for the day or go back to sleep until 1 PM! It was like being a newborn again, with days and nights mixed up. Granted, I have ALWAYS been like that, but over the past 3 months, I've been conditioned to go to bed by 11. Midnight is suddenly an ugly hour. And don't get me started on the lack of naps - on Saturday, the man was awake for 8 HOURS STRAIGHT.

We've never gotten off every 2 hour feedings during the day, but he even bumped them a bit closer to an hour and 45! Just when I put the PNP back up in our room, when I'm ready to pull out my hair and lose it... he STTN again. Ahhhh sweet relief! He went down last night at 11ish, in his crib at 11:30, and he slept in the crib until 5:30. He was fussing then, almost to a cry, when I went, got him, brought him into bed, grabbed the bottle - and realized he was fast asleep again. Munchkin did not wake up until 9am!

We still have no interest in rolling from back to belly, which Mommy is grateful for at the moment. He does love his feet, and is now exploring things with them! We put him in his stroller last night during dinner under the ceiling fan (his favorite thing in the world at the moment!) and when we were cleaning up, Chris noticed he was trying to put his feet up on the tray. Sure enough, he really was! I put my hands there, he started kicking my hands. The boy has aim! He's also started drooling, blowing spit bubbles, and chomping/licking everything in sight - especially his hands and my shoulder!

I am amazed at him every day. He is becoming such a little person, not just a baby! He is so alert, so nosy, so interested in EVERYTHING. He's such a happy guy! He LOVES his bath especially. He will splash around, kick his legs, swing his arms, and laugh! Every once in a while, he'll even get so excited, he'll let out a squeal! He is the happiest bath baby ever.

Speaking of the little man, he's waking up. Have to cut it short!

Thank God there is INSURANCE.

-Induction, delivery, epidural, pediatrician, circumcision, hospital stay
Total cost of 07.23 to 07.27: $17,674.80

-Two rounds of betas, quad screen, and weekly blood work to monitor cholestasis
Total cost: $2901.00

-3 ultrasounds
Total cost: $1105.00


Total for all hospital claims: $21,680.80



Total out of pocket expense?



$0.



Dear Aetna,

<3

that is all.

Long time, no post...

It's been the most exhausting and exhilarating 2 months of my life!



Cole is such a good baby. I definitely won the baby lottery with him! Granted, he's president of the Crap Napper Society, but sleeps so well at night that I won't complain. Most times, he sleeps through the night. Last night, he went down at 10pm, woke up to eat at 6:30, and went back down until noon. NOON! The last time I slept until noon, I was pregnant!



Cole is such a big guy! My handsome little man is not so little. At 2 months, he is the size of your average 4 month old. At birth, he was 7lbs, 6oz, and 20". At one month, he was 10lbs, 14oz, and 22 3/4". At two months, he was 13lbs, 10oz, and 25"! That's 89th percentile for weight, and 99th for height! Considering I'm 5'1", we know it didn't come from me! :D



He has also started rolling! He rolled one day at 7 weeks, but I'm pretty sure it was unintentional. I don't really count it. It took him about 10 minutes, and never showed another drop of interest in it again... until Saturday (10.03) when he went down for tummy time, and just threw back his head, threw back his arm, picked up his leg, and kicked himself over. He did it twice on Sunday too! Now, back to belly we are showing no interest in - which I am quite thankful for. It's been pointed out to me that rolling while changing poo diapers is an Olympic sport that there is no practicing for.

Cole did have his first ER trip - talk about scary. He had one hell of a fever the day after his shots - 102.5. They sent us in, they took blood (from a vein people! No little heel prick!), had to use a catheter for a urine sample, took a chest xray, and we are waiting on cultures. Preliminary results are all negative, so it looks promising that it was strictly over his shots. They are slightly worried about GBS, since I was positive and dialated so quickly after they broke my water that I only received one dose of antibiotics.



We are currently on our second of 2 weeks out in Pittsburgh... it's COLD here! I had to go out and get him a hat :D It's a little difficult to live in a hotel with a baby, but luckily the company sprung for the suite - which happens to be a King Suite with a Jacuzzi! Cole is the happiest camper in the monster bathtub. It's practically a pool! He is the happiest bath time baby - he will not sleep at night without his bath. He's a serious creature of habit. His night routine MUST start at 9:30 or Mr. Crankpants comes to visit.



A few things for the moms-to-be - my list of useful and junk. I plan on making a full post, but for now, a quick list. Now, this is just what I discovered - I know there are people who hate gowns, who swear by the mittens, who loved t-shirts... write it on your own blog. :D

Get:
SwaddleMes - at least 3 if your kid is a puker like mine!
Carter's speedy exit creepers (onesies that snap all the way down the front, no over-the-head, easy belly button access)
Sleep n plays (snaps for the day, ZIPPERS at night. You never want to try to match up those tiny little snaps in the dark!) Carter's and Old Navy sell ones with flippy hands (built in mittens) to keep life simple.
BABY LEGS (do you know how hard it is to get jeans on and off a baby?)
Carter's Gowns - until he hit 3-6m clothing, he never wore anything else for bed. Keep things simple for middle of the night diaper changes! And they have flippy hands!
Gerber Burp clothes - the kind that are like cloth diapers, NOT the terrycloth ones. 3 for $8.99
Shout Advanced - again, especially if your kid is a puker like mine. (To be crazy cautious, I put it through a double rinse cycle in the washer. My skin is super sensitive, so I can only imagine his is too. I can only use All Free Clear detergent for myself, and I have no problems with it. Neither has Cole.)
Dr. Brown's Formula Pitcher. Now, it is by no means a neccesity. Cole has a lactose intolerance and we had to switch him to Similac Sensitive. No matter how long you let the formula sit, there will be SO much foam on the top, it was bad. I would scoop it off with a spoon after making his bottle. The pitcher mixes the formula without incorporating air into it, and what tiny bit of foam is in there will stay in the pitcher as you pour out bottles. You can also add a little Mylicon to the bottle, but I've found Cole spits up more (he has reflux) when he gets the drops. It also has oz measurement along the sides, so you can make a full day's worth of formula at one time, pour out bottles, and when the man is hungry, I just grab a premade bottle out of the fridge.

Leave:
One piece outfits without feet. Socks don't stay on. Cole ONLY wears socks when it's cold under babylegs. And the rare occasion he gets dressed up.
Mittens. They never stayed on Cole, I lost more than I owned. Get the outfits with flippy hands insted.
DON'T stock up on clothing! We expected Cole to be a decent size, so we stocked UP on 0-3 and only purchase 2 NB outfits. He wore NB clothes for a month, and we had to go out and get more. He only wore 0-3 for ALMOST 3 weeks. He didn't wear HALF the 0-3 clothes we had bought! You never know how fast or slow they will grow. Get a few pieces, basics in each size, build from there WHEN they get there.
Baby t-shirts. Nothing like having to adjust the clothing EVERY. TIME. You touch your child. They may as well be baby half-tops.


And my general FYI: Gerber onesies run a full size too small. By the time Cole got out of the hospital, he could no longer wear his NB t-shirts. NB fits preemie, 0-3 fits NB, etc. The sleep n plays run pretty true to size, but a tad short. Carter's are longer than most brands, and get the longest time's use in my house. BabyGap sizing is dead on.

Cole is here!

Cole’s birth story

We went in Thursday night at 8 pm. We were brought back right away to a Triage room – I had to wait for a room for about an hour - and I got the Cervidil right away. It turns out I had been having contractions all week, but I thought it was Cole stretching! I was a fingertip dilated already. Contractions picked up with the Cervidil in, so Cheri (my midwife) gave me an Ambien to sleep through the night.
Sleep didn’t go so well, seeing as my little man was sunny side up – and was not impressed with being monitored! They had to come in and track him down about every hour. He never liked the Doppler at any appointments, why start now? It turns out Cervidil was a big fail – it gave me contractions, but not regularly enough. Cheri came back in at about 7 am, checked me (a tight 1 cm) and gave me Cytotec to get contractions rolling. That really did its job, and hurt like hell in the process.

Cheri came back around noon, and told me she would be back after office hours, when she would break my water if it hadn’t on its own. She didn’t check me then – thank GOD, that hurts! – but told me she was ready to start Pitocin. My response was, “And my epidural too?” She laughed and told me that she would write the order for it, just to let them know when I wanted it and they would start the IV bolus. She was more than okay with that, since when my water broke, the contractions would really pick up.

Then the nurse’s shift changed.

I was doing really well laboring on my own, but contractions hurt like hell. I knew I was afraid of the Pitocin for a reason! Everyone in the room knew when I was having one, that they were to shut up in the process, let me breathe, don’t touch me or my bed… I couldn’t have yelled if I wanted to, I couldn’t bear the thought of using a muscle to do it. The pitocin was really kicking my ass at that point – contractions were coming every minute and they were actually off the monitor’s scale.

So I asked the nurse for the epidural.

The nurse, Cathy, gave me a lecture as to how it was risky to get an epidural too early, that I didn’t know how far along I was, how I should really try changing positions, a million other blah blah blah’s, and walked out. We moved me out of the bed since she said I should really stay off my back. The problem was, if I wasn’t on my back, I was having serious back labor because of his position. About an hour later, Cathy came back in, and I again asked for my epidural. This time, she rattled off a list of ‘natural birthing’ techniques. She really was pushing me to get on a birthing ball. Um, hey lady, I can’t imagine moving a muscle to scream, I have no desire to EFFING BOUNCE. When I told her no, she again just left.
Another hour goes by, she comes back in. At this point, I’m annoyed. I again ask for the epidural. She goes on this giant ramble about the birthing ball again. I snapped at her, told her I had NO desire for a birthing ball, I wasn’t getting out of the chair unless it was to get on the bed for my epidural placement. She continued with her birthing ball speech, and after the FOURTH time telling her no, I just closed my eyes and ignored her. It’s now 5:30pm, I’ve been in labor for over 21 hours without relief. Cheri calls, says she is leaving the office and will be over in a little bit. When she asked how I was doing, the nurse – while standing next to me, replied, “She rates her pain at a nine, but I think she might just be ‘allergic to pain’.” I thought I was going to DECK HER. She said something again about the birthing ball, and the only response she got from me was “OH. MY. GOD. NO.” She went to leave the room, and told my sister-in-law that she was going to go get the birthing ball to show me how to use it!

When my sister-in-law told me what she said, I got PISSED. I told her that if she comes in this room with that DAMN BALL, I WAS GOING TO F@*&ING CHOKE HER WITH IT. My SIL tried to intercept the nurse at the door, and told her that I did NOT want the ball, and she literally pushed past her and said, “I’m just going to show her how to use it.” I had to SCREAM at her “NO! I DON’T WANT IT!” then laid my head back, closed my eyes, and breathed through yet another endless contraction. The nurse stared at me for a minute, then backed out of the room – and took the ball with her.

After about a half an hour, Cathy reemerged. She sat down next to me and gave me a speech about how she was my advocate, and how she talked to the anesthesiologist who told her an epidural can last for days, and about some other patient’s natural birth that I didn’t even listen to… I finally cut her off midway through her ‘I didn’t mean to make you mad, I’m only here to help’ speech to tell her that when I say no, I mean it – and when I say it 4 times, I REALLY mean it. That isn’t an invitation to have your own ideas. Oh, and that whole allergic to pain comment – just because I am not SCREAMING my head off doesn’t mean I’m not in pain. Look at the effing monitor! I asked her if SHE would feel better if I were to start screaming through my contractions, then would she believe me? Then can I get my epidural? Cathy tried to rationalize it as ‘her way’ to describe my situation to Cheri, quickly apologized, and again left the room.

There was suddenly a situation in the Special Care Delivery, and Cathy would no longer be my nurse since she was needed there. YES! Danielle from the night before would be there for the next hour. Cheri arrived shortly after, saw me in the chair, and I watched her face drop. She asked me why I didn’t have my epidural. Insert story here about crazy nurse… Cheri was PISSED. First thing out of her mouth was “I didn’t want you to feel your water broken. I WROTE the order for the epidural, she had it.”

At this point, I had now been in labor for 22 hours. It was 6:30 on Friday night. Another nurse change, Erin was on duty, who would be there the whole time. I loved her! Cheri checked me, and I was a loose 1 cm. 22 hours of labor and all day of pitocin and I’ve only gone from fingertip to 1 cm?! She broke my water - and BAM. I didn’t know pain like that existed. I couldn’t breathe through the contractions, I couldn’t do anything. I was prepared for them to get worse, but I thought maybe they would ramp up, not immediately change! Luckily, I only had to deal with that for about 10 minutes before Dr. Davis came with that magic epidural. It was in place in about a minute. He was GOOD.

At that point, it was time for a nap. I was exhausted. I slept for about 2 hours, then my SIL and MIL came back in. We talked for about an hour, when suddenly, I had to poop. I know everyone says that means you are ready to push, but being as 3 hours ago I was 1 cm, no, I was pretty sure I just had to poop. After a very awkward conversation with Erin about how to go about that, there was no poop progression. She decided to check me to see how things were going, and yep, it was time to push. 1 cm to 10 in just under 3 hours.

Pushing sucked. I’m not gonna lie. At first, it felt good to push, like it was a relief of some kind to the pressure. About 20 minutes into it, I started having this hip pain on my right side. Every push made the pressure worse. My contractions were still 2-3 minutes apart, and every time I stopped pushing to wait for another contraction, I thought my hip was going to break. My epidural was still in, but I was in tears with the hip pain. After an hour of pushing, Erin called Cheri to see what she thought. Cheri and Dr. Eichenlaub came in. It turns out Cole was stuck on my hip. Every time I pushed, I was pushing him harder into my hip.

Get ready to cringe.

So Dr. Eichenlaub pushed Cole back up, out of my hip, and had to turn him so I would have a chance at getting him out. One hour of pushing, undone in 2 minutes… then the fun started. I could hear Cheri and Dr. Eich talking, but I didn’t even hear what they were saying. MIL, SIL, and Chris told me afterward, and Dr. Eich the next morning, but I am so glad I didn’t hear this. Cheri had come up to my head at one point to tell me about once his head comes out, I still needed to push hard to get his shoulders out. There was apparently a big debate going on about whether or not he would be able to come out at all. I was pushing, they had gotten the vacuum ready, but decided it could be a danger to use it. He was either going to come out or we were going to the OR. I started tearing on the inside, so I was given an episiotomy. I had no idea I did actually – and Dr. Eich actually apologized that he had to do it the next day LOL. After about 5 more contractions, they were ready to pull the plug and head for the OR, which I again didn’t know. I pushed his head half way out, when my contraction ended. Talk about pressure! I was BEGGING for someone to pull him out – what I didn’t know was that they weren’t going to touch him – and I had to stay like that for 3 minutes until the next contraction. All I wanted to do was push, and I wasn’t allowed to!

I remember asking my SIL, “How far out is he?!” And her response? “I don’t know, you’re gonna have to ask my mom!” Another 3 contractions and Cole was out. He was born after 2 hours of pushing and 28 hours of labor, at 12:21 am on Saturday, July 25, 2009. He was 7lbs, 6oz, and 20” long… and the most perfect thing on earth.

The countdown is ON!

Thursday night, 8 pm...

Last blood draw is DONE!

Granted, there will be more after he is here to make sure my levels go down, but the last prenatal is done! Hopefully results will be in at my 1pm appointment and we'll be able to schedule everything with (almost) certainty today!

(For those that don't know what I mean, inductions are scheduled, but then you still have to call in before you go to see if they have a room. They won't start someone's labor intentionally without a place for them! :D )

I definitely FEEL the increase in the levels this week. I don't know how far up yet, obviously, but I have gotten even itchier - and a new pattern has emerged on my hands and feet. It's not a rash, I'm just... red and white speckled LOL!

I'll update later today!

Cole's eviction notice has been dated!

My liver numbers are still climbing.

The plan? Get to 38 weeks, and then GET HIM OUT PRONTO! If all goes well, he will make an entrance on next Thursday or Friday! I still need a round of blood work on Monday, and we are hoping all will be fine to hold out until the end of the week. I hit 38 weeks on Wednesday, 7/22. If the liver panel results come back on Monday that we can wait, I'll be induced depending on hospital availability.

I will know on Monday when we get to meet the little man!

Another Monday approaches...

and another blood draw is looming over my head.

This week is full term week though! This is the official 37 week appointment, even though he is measuring past that. Wednesday is 37 weeks exactly, so by any measurement, he is "officially" full term! Granted, I'm pretty sure my due date is just kinda tossed by the wayside with all the weekly testing now LOL! That means baby boy gets the green light - come on out at any time, buddy!

I cannot wait to meet my little man. I'm moving into full mushy mode LOL! Today, Chris and I drove down to the beach on a whim. Every weekend is becoming like a celebration - we always do something special, since we never know what weekend will be the last one alone! Last week, we did NOTHING. I know, that doesn't sound very exciting, but it was awesome. We slept in, and laid around the house all day, made dinner on the grill, and just got to be US. No errands, no rush, no hustle... just us. Today started off the same way, but it was so beautiful outside, we just had to get out. So we took the Cabrio out, dropped the top, and drove to the beach! We had chairs in the water and just let the waves roll up on our feet. Finish off with dinner at Sheetz, and if this was our last weekend together before baby, it was a great way to have it!

Results are in...

and Cole gets another week on the inside!

My numbers have elevated further, but I am still in the 'safe' zone. He doesn't have to be delivered yet! Blood work repeats on Monday morning, and we should have the results by my appointment on Monday afternoon.

We're pretty much ready for him now! Since my levels are climbing, I want everything ready now... I can't rely on having 4 more weeks. His pack n play is set up in our room, the diaper bags are packed, the car seat bases are installed... I just need to now pack the hospital bag, and *still* hang the artwork in his room! I am so incredibly tired lately, that it seems to continually fall by the wayside. I get exhausted by going up one flight of stairs! I only vacuumed half the house today, it was just too much to do at once. I struggle to keep this place clean now... where did my nesting energy go, and can I have it back please? :D

In other news, heaven is a bowl of vanilla ice cream, topped with chocolate syrup and frozen strawberries. Just to let you all know... :D

Almost there!

It's 1 am - which makes me 35w6d. That means Mr. Cole is officially measuring 37 weeks! My baby boy is full term! Blood results come back (again) tomorrow, so we will know if he has another week then. Hopefully we can have at least one more week, which would be best for his lung maturity, but he's officially made it out of the danger zone!

Good job buddy! :D

...and my body says "I QUIT!"

Not so good news on the home front, kids.

After a very unpleasant doctor appointment on Friday, followed by immediately going to the hospital to get my blood work, it's official. My body says NO MORE! Well, it's trying to say that. We just aren't QUITE letting it yet.

First, there is the protein in my urine. For about 6 weeks now, there has been a consistent small amount. It hasn't been anything to worry about though, since the amount was only +1, and I had no other warning signs for pre-e. Apparently, my blood pressure is now on the rise. It's not clinically high yet, but it's high for me. Add that to the +1 protein, and now we have warning signs that need to be watched regularly. Little bit of good news is my fifth disease blood work came back, and I don't have it - but I assumed that since they changed my niece's diagnosis. I also never have had it though, so I am not immune and still need to be cautious. And then there is my liver.

For a while now, my hands and my feet - ESPECIALLY MY TOES! - have been SUPER itchy. Like, I may have had mosquitos trapped in socks and gloves itchy. That went on for a week straight, and one day, I erupted into a full body rash. The rash disappeared 2 days later, but the hand and foot itch stayed. A week later, I broke into the rash again, and the next day, it was again gone. So at my bi-weekly appointment, I brought it up. I told Cheri, my midwife, that I was super itchy. She guessed "The belly?" and when I told her no, my feet and hands, I watched her face drop.

Uh oh.

She then told me I needed to go from the appointment to the hospital and get the blood work done then. The rash is unrelated, a typical pregnancy thing. Good thing it appeared though, or I would have never thought to mention itchy hands and feet! They swell up and down, so I thought itching would be a logical side effect of that. Apparently, I thought wrong.

Itchy hands and feet are a major warning sign of a condition where essentially, the pregnancy hormones are clogging up my liver and it's leaking bile into my blood stream. My body can handle a small amount of this, but any kind of concentration in my blood is a MAJOR danger. It's an acid - and it would work like an acid on my organs. Not only will it wreak all kinds of havoc on my organs, but it would also cross the placenta to Cole.

The results came back today. My liver function test came back with elevated levels. I have it. Currently however, it's not yet in the danger zone. What does this mean? For one, Cole gets to stay put... for now. Two, Megan loses more blood - weekly, from here on out. There is a number that once I hit, Cole gets handed an eviction notice stat. Hopefully however, he makes it just two more weeks to 37.

I however, expected the test to come back normal. I freaked out at first, but then calmed down and figured it was just some precaution that wouldn't turn into anything, so I was completely blindsided by this news today. And didn't think to ask how far away from that "Bail" number I was. Genius. :\

So for now, it's a holding pattern. Wait and see. Google tells me that it's pretty darn rare for these numbers to hold steady, so I should expect them to climb, and fairly fast at that. When Cheri explained it to me on Friday, she said she's had 3 cases - and while 2 made it to 37 weeks, one had to be taken at 34. Luckily, we are mostly out of the danger zone with Cole - if he needed to be delivered this weekend or next week, we would be so close to full term that he shouldn't see much effect.

The only attempt I can make to help out my liver is to, basically, overhydrate. Realistically, it's not going to make a difference. Most times, you can't flush out the liver until the hormones have stopped producing. I figure however, even if I can get my little guy just one extra day closer to full term by downing a buttload of water for a little bit, then it's worth it. Plus, it's just water! I already know where every bathroom in the county is :D

That also means it's time to finish up with last minute things - time to pack the hospital bag, install the car seat bases in the car... I've already made up his bed, finished his laundry, and the toy bin is being picked up tomorrow. As soon as the pack-n-play is set up in our room, we're all set for him!

It's like a whole new house!

I cannot BELIEVE the difference new carpeting makes!

Carpeting went in on Friday. My house looks fantastic! Now if I could just get it all unpacked LOL! Cole's room is coming along nicely. It's a little messy currently, I need to get the artwork and shadowboxes on the wall so I can get some of that stuff off the floor :D I also have a ton of baby laundry to do. You would think with my king sized washer, those tiny clothes would be done in one load... unless you shop like I do! I am officially not buying any more clothes though, until he starts moving into 3-6 months and I can see what the weather is like. There are a few more purchases that need to be made before Cole gets here, but I'm pretty set!

I was pulling out the newborn diapers yesterday, and I got all teary. I know how tiny babies are, I have had decent exposure to newborns, but not to my own. Considering where they come out of, they better not be adult sized! But putting away those itty bitty diapers just made me want him here more than ever. I can't wait to meet my little man!

His crib should be here shortly - hopefully :D It could be another 2 weeks, but I am hoping it arrives before that. I am holding off on washing his bedding until I have somewhere to put it!

I had a surprise shower on Saturday. My SIL got me SO GOOD! I thought I was going to a surprise birthday party for her FIL. Even after I walked in and they yelled Surprise, I still didn't get it! I was looking at my friends, like what are they doing here? Just as it was dawning on me, my SIL told me it was my baby shower :D I was completely clueless! I loved it. I have the best in-laws in the entire world.

I can't believe the things I got at my shower either. I got the convertible car seat, the high chair, the most ADORABLE diaper cake you've ever seen... I can't begin to list everything. My friends and family were SO generous. Cole will be so loved, and I hope he grows up knowing and appreciating the kind of people that are around him. I don't know what I did in my life to deserve the priviledge of calling them my friends and family.

Things are almost falling into place!

Yes, I said almost. We all know I can't catch a TOTAL break!

After one major meltdown, realizing how far along I am and how little I have prepared, things have kicked into gear. I spent today making purchases and preparing the house - carpeting goes in on Friday, starting between 9 and 11 am! That means my house needs to be EMPTY - but that also means it can be filled up immediately after!

Today, I bought him a car seat. Speaking of, MAJOR shout out to healthchecksystems.com. Not only did they have my car seat, it was $5 cheaper than anywhere else, had a 5% off coupon, AND free shipping. I ordered it today at about 3 pm. Free shipping will have it here - no lie - TOMORROW. Talk about fast! But here it is, the Chicco 'Romantic' KeyFit 30:

We also purchased the swing today. I've been eyeing this one up for quite a while, and I officially had to have it! It's the Fisher Price Starlight Papasan Swing. It runs on batteries or plugs into the wall, so it's definitely perfect!

And - that's right, the shopping continued even further - I also bought his toy system for his second closet. One closet in his room is a good size, we will be installing a do-it-yourself custom shelving system in there. That of course, leaves the evil closet. The closet that is incredibly diagonal, with a pipe running down the side, which makes the thing impossible to handle. One side is 12 inches wide, while the other side is 15 inches. Adult hangers just BARELY fit in the thing - it's evil. Not to mention, you can't have anything in drawers, since the closet is so much wider than the door. So I found the perfect solution:

All that is left, is to get his dresser and bookcase! His changing table is currently stuffed in the back of the kitchen, the crib will arrive when it wants to LOL, and the only thing left is my diaper bag!

Everything else will have to wait until after my shower :D

And all that good news and progress is trumped by my newest bit of drama - my adorable niece, who I just spent time with over the weekend, has come down with Fifth Disease. My blood work was done today, so I will hopefully have the results tomorrow. My mom remembers 2 out of the 6 of us had it, but she doesn't remember which 2 LOL! So I have a 1 in 3 shot of having the antibodies :D Here's hoping I either have the antibodies, or just didn't catch the Fifth!

Cole's Crib has been purchased - again!

The BonaVita Peyton Lifestyle Crib in white:



and it should be here in 2-4 weeks!

Yes, I'm slacking on the crib. Well, not really. I ordered the Sorelle Gia 4-in-1 in mid-May. After 2 back-orders, I canceled and planned on ordering it from another site. I had to re-shop to make sure, again, that the Sorelle was the perfect crib... when I again came across the Peyton. I had taken it off the list when shopping a few months ago, as I couldn't stomach the price. After all, who knows if Cole will turn out to be a beaver and destroy the crib?

Suddenly, the price had dropped more than $100! I could manage it. Still a tad over, but I can do it... until you add shipping. The lowest shipping cost was $125, while the Sorelle had free shipping. Oh, and forget the price - even if it were a million dollars and I could afford it, I CANNOT afford an 8-10 week delivery time. :sigh: Looks like I'd settle for the Sorelle. It is a beautiful crib, so I really can't complain.

Until I called our local high end baby store on a whim.

Not only did they carry Bonavita, but they carried the Peyton Lifestyle. Oh, and they had it in the store (in the wrong color) but I could go see it and feel it. They did have one in white in the main warehouse, so it will be in in 2-4 weeks... or less.

Oh, and it's $50 CHEAPER than online, with NO SHIPPING OR DELIVERY COSTS, we can pick it up at the store when it comes in.

:::swoon::: Oh how I love you, Just For Kids. You might be Amish and carry NO HOURS on Sundays for church, but I. LOVE. YOU. Almost as much as I love the creator of Nexium.

Oh, and about the carpet...

It is bought and paid for! Thank you Lowe's, for having competent employees and subcontractors.

The carpet had to be ordered, so it should be in by Monday - we will get a call when it comes in and schedule a date then. I'm hoping for Wednesday the 17th. Cutting it close, yes, but really - that will have me at 33 weeks. THAT is cutting it close.

I also had to cancel the crib (Drama!) since it was yet again back-ordered further. I could get it faster by canceling and ordering from a different website - so we canceled. That of course, has to be reordered now... so much money going out at once has cheapo Megan in convulsions. :D

But, the crib should be reordered on Friday, with delivery in 2-3 weeks. That puts the arrival time right around July 4th.

Oh, and since the crib was re-back-ordered.... It is now showing as available. Cute, huh?

Rules of War

Painting War, that is. This war had begun 5 years ago, and is just now ending this week. Let me describe the rules:

Rule #1 - lay out the rules before painting begins.

Some of us grew up with lazy mothers, who didn't want to paint - so she painted EVERYTHING - walls, ceiling, trim - the same color. Moving from there, into apartments where everything is white, I would have no knowledge of basic rules of paint. You will see all the following rules could have been avoided if THIS rule had been followed.

Rule #2 - Ceiling paint is not a gimmick.

After painting the walls and ceilings in the living room, hallway, up the stairs, and upstairs hallway in a lovely shade of tan called Devonshire, I was then informed that ceilings should be white. So when I painted the bedrooms, I painted the ceilings white. What kind of white you ask? White! The same can of white paint I had for the trim - white is white.

No. White SEMI-GLOSS is not the same as white ceiling paint. Please revert back to rule #1.

Rule#3 - Get more paint than you need when you buy paint the first time.

Paint is reformulated all the time, especially now for VOCs and all that stuff. So when the paint was first discussed, over the phone with DH already at Home Depot, I then learned about finishes. I wanted flat paint, seeing as we live in an 1850's townhouse - our walls are FAR from perfect. I was promptly vetoed, seeing as flat hides wall imperfections, but is apparently impossible to clean.

Imperfections versus Dirt? No contest.

So I vote eggshell. He wants semi-gloss. And I don't write down which one we buy - and since we had the perfect amount, I didn't keep the can. So when I go back to get more for touch ups a year later, I find myself staring at the paint aisle. The can was white with blue and red on it.

Eggshell has blue trim with red writing.

Semi-gloss has red trim with blue writing.

So I buy semi-gloss, figuring that he knows about paint way more than I do, I would have conceded to him. I get home, make the touch ups, HOLY SHINY SPLOTCHES ON THE WALL.

Guess it must have been eggshell.

Go to Home Depot, get a quart of eggshell, HOLY MATTE SPLOTCHES ON THE WALL. The semi-gloss was closer. And now I have to re-roll the entire thing. Luckily in the living room, I can just re-roll the spots since the lighting in the room doesn't give it away. So I work my butt off the whole day.

THE FARKING LIVING ROOM IS PAINTED IN EGGSHELL. It was WAAAY closer before. Moral of the story - write it down. Oh, and if you keep a consistent color throughout your house, USE A CONSISTENT FINISH.

There are more rules, but they will have to wait... Off to paint yet another white shiny ceiling.

Alright Lowe's... keep it together for me.

The measurement is scheduled for tomorrow evening, and we should hear the results shortly after that. Considering I have already killed the pink carpet in Cole's room, this BETTER work out. I have hope for you Lowe's... don't let me down!

I wanted everything done by 30 weeks - that is tomorrow. I don't have another 3 weeks to burn on yet ANOTHER store and yet ANOTHER measurement!

::let the freak out commence:::

Fuck Home Depot... and Carpet Mart too.

So, as I wrote earlier about the carpet being installed... yeah, let's say it will NOT be done by those two places.

First Home Depot - We were called last week after the measurements, and we were told $2700. We went in last night to schedule the appointment for round one of installation. We went back and sat down - first off, the old guy was so SLOW. He was reading over the entire quote, and that alone took 10 minutes. As he's reading, he says about removal of vinyl flooring in accordance with HAZARDOUS regulations (that we specifically told the guy NO, we will carpet over it, we don't mind the quarter inch ledge between two rooms... and 5 year old vinyl is not exactly hazardous, thanks.) and so he says "Oh, then we can subtract that $700..." That of course peaks my interest. I start reading the page (I can read upside down, thank you years of childhood boredom) and I see the bottom of the page says $4400!!!!!!!! Ummm WTF NO. The first page says $2700, so I would love to know where this number is coming from.

Apparently, $2700 is for CARPET ONLY.

"Well, you are getting 1300 square feet of carpet, that is a lot... we can take off a room to reduce that." Uh, no, we are not taking off rooms, we are not picking a different carpet. Our foyer wasn't measured properly (wasn't supposed to measure the whole thing) and they said they would have to come back out and measure (yet another $35), and now you want to jack the price up that we were told and saved up for by $900?! OH HELL NO. So I told dude off, got up, and walked away. Chris mentioned about how he had already paid for the measurement, so he was going to go get the file - no problem. He comes back with hand written measurements, not the file LOL, and I start looking over them.

And it clicks. How is it that carpeting MAYBE half an 1800 square foot house, do we need 1300 square feet of carpet?!

Bedroom 1 - measured as 12'x11'1". Reality? 19'x11'. Yep, that's a TAD off.
Bedroom 2 - measured as 12'x17'2". Reality? 15'x12'3". Are we in the same house?
Hallway - counted as bedroom 3 for some reason - measured as 17'4"x12'. Reality? 16 FEET BY 30 INCHES. If you can tell me how 16'x2'6" (40 square feet) equates to 17'4"x12' (208 square feet), I will pay you the $4400 they wanted for carpet.

Needless to say, we won't be using them - and we've burned $35 and 2 FUCKING WEEKS on them.

So today, we go to CarpetMart. Okay, they are running a special, Good time to buy - and they would be able to install quickly. We get to the carpet, we are looking around, literally looking at 100 different carpets - and dude is BREATHING DOWN OUR NECKS. He is standing right behind us the whole time, making comments, even as we are walking down this HUGE aisle. We did find a carpet we liked, in a manageable price range... Chris says, Let's do it.

My only problem - I forgot the paint swatch. I can't be sure that it will match the paint - and since we have an open floor plan, that color is in the living room, dining room, foyer, up the steps, and the whole upstairs hallway. I will not be repainting that! Chris is already filling out the paperwork for the order for the measurement... so I walk over to Chris and say Wait. We can run around the corner and get the paint chip from Home Depot, and come back - I don't want to spend another $30 on a measurement if it doesn't match. We don't like any other carpet here, I want to get the paint chip so we don't waste more money.

Also, I have some slight qualms that their best padding is SO expensive. We were told by a friend of the family who used to install carpet - Go BEST with the padding, and cheap but decent with the carpet.

Doesn't this DOUCHEBAG sales guy have the NERVE to say to me (right after saying the $30 is NOT refundable), that no, the $30 can be refunded if we don't like it, but if we leave, he won't be here and he doesn't want us to WASTE ANYONE ELSE'S TIME. I of course, DO NOT THINK SO. I say "OH HEEEELLLLLL NO. We can leave now."

EXCUSE ME?! No, you are saying that YOU want the fucking commision. If you want it so badly, you can wait while we go to the OTHER SIDE OF THE SHOPPING CENTER and get the damn paint swatch! You don't 1.) tell me what to do with my money, and 2.) tell me to spend MY money so you don't have to STAY LATE if you want the commission so bad.

Luckily, we went to Lowe's. When we went in, we were immediately asked if we needed help, and when I responded with "Not yet", we were actually left alone to shop in peace. When we flagged him down for help, he was friendly, attentive, actually had a CLUE about what he was talking about, and all in all, a good shopping experience. We were trying to decide between two carpets - one way cut pile, one was loop. Loop was more expensive, but I had a worry about the dogs. Instead of telling us lies just to upsell, he explained that it shouldn't snag any claws, but it is a possibility - and it will pull ALL the way across the room. (Oh, by the way, Home Depot said oh no, that wouldn't happen! Good thing I didn't believe them to begin with.) Even though it was cheaper, he told us cut pile would be a better carpet in our house. So we picked one out, a very nice color called Golden Honey, also known as yellow lab. :D

To top it all off, we got BETTER quality padding (Lowe's best is thicker, anti-microbial, anti-mold and mildew, vs. just thicker) and a better quality carpet for LESS MONEY! WAYYYYY LESS MONEY!

Now let's just hope they are freaking competent in their damn measurements and we can get through this in one piece.




...otherwise I might have kill someone.

After well over a month of neglect...

I am back to the blog... momentarily, anyways.

There is so much going on right now! Today I have officially hit 29 weeks - just one week shy of 30 weeks! I don't know why 30 weeks seems like such a milestone to me - there is no difference between 29 and 30 weeks really, but 30 weeks just seems SO CLOSE to 40 while 29.... not so much.

This timing of course, only fuels my nesting rage. I don't know what it is about this little man, but I have been insane psycho nesting since somewhere around week 17. We are talking house changing, room ripping, full house remodel nesting. We always had too much in this house - Chris lived here for over 10 years before I moved in, so he had accumulated a LOT of junk. And of course, there are those typical "We haven't touched it in 5 years, but we might need it one day so we'll keep it" items... no longer. Everything has been thrown out! Everything has been emptied, removed, donated, and destroyed.

Home Depot has already come out to measure for the new carpeting, we are heading there tonight to set the appointment for the first installment - Cole's room, the upstairs hallway, and the stairs - which I am HOPING beyond hope it can be done Saturday May 30th. The second installment will be the living room, dining room, foyer, and master bedroom, hopefully around June 13th. And who would have ever thought that carpeting the stairs would be the expensive part? We are talking the REALLY expensive part! They are a separate labor fee, and if you don't want it done half assed with giant gaps on the stair foot, you are going to pay per stair. Installment one will cost 150% of what installment 2 will cost - and it will be HALF the carpet. Strange!

The crib has been ordered - it was on back order, so while not planned, we had to order it early. Now hopefully the carpeting will be here before the crib is! I will not want the crib sitting in the box, I will want it UP asap! I will be ripping carpet up this week as well - since the carpeting is wall to wall already, I need to paint the baseboards below it just in case. You never know where new carpeting is going to fall compared to the old stuff!

Nesting Must Have Product - I have been so crazy, we don't even bother with regular trash bags anymore for anywhere but the kitchen - we get the contractor bags. Heavy duty black nothing-is-getting-through-these-babies contractor bags - I highly suggest the Husky Contractor Clean Up Bags from Home Depot. Big yellow box of 42 gallon trash bags! I have gone through 2 of those boxes (32 count) since ripping up the house, and I need to get another box tonight since I used the last one last night. And no, the other brand from Lowe's is not the same - they aren't as strong and they STINK. No kidding - the whole kitchen panty now smells like those Lowe's bags.

My new ceiling fan has been put in the dining room, ceilings have been returned to white, every closet has been cleaned, paint has been completed/touched up, nursery is painted, furniture has been broken down and thrown out... and now it is time to start the last minute demolition before all the rebuild!

As long as the all of the new flooring is put in before Cole is here, and his room is completed, I can handle having to delay other remodeling... but all floors go in before baby!

That being said, Cole is still doing fantastic. I'm still measuring 2 weeks ahead consistently, and he's still a big boy :D I have been able to watch him move and wiggle and kick for a while now - I've been trying to capture it on video, but it hasn't worked out so well LOL. He is very active, and I love when he has the hiccups! I'm now moving into the stage where when he kicks hard, it hurts - it feels like being knuckled from the inside! He discovered my kidney was a fun toy a few nights ago, and I was pretty sure I was dying... but seeing as I lived, we're all god again. Just keep in mind kid, Momma has 18 years to exact such revenge... :D

Stretch Marks are the Devil.

And the devil has found me.

Well, technically I was never lost.

For those of you that are squeamish, now would be the point to stop reading - I have no shame of my stretch marks and will be describing them to you and their progression in great detail.




Well, the history of stretch marks began at the ripe old age of 16, otherwise known as puberty. I was a competitive gymnast, so this was a late onset, but still mind boggling all the same. Suddenly I had boobs, hips, and stretch marks on both locations. Small, little pink cracks, that quickly faded to a silvery white. Always being semi-aware of them while no one else would be, I reserved myself to boyshort bottom bikinis.

The first pregnancy stretch marks arrived at about 16 weeks. The silvery white lines left over from puberty now suddenly had pink tips to them. 2 on the left, 3 on the right - they were continuing to rip. Not long after, I noticed 2 pink tips on the right boob - sure enough, also ripping. That week, one on the left side had made a running leap up my hip, and was now a dark pink line about an inch and a half.

At this point, I had gained one pound.

I had already been getting nightly rubdowns by the husband, in an attempt to stave off such advances of the dreaded dark pink, and well, to be honest, it was getting difficult to whip around to attempt to view my hips. I just assumed the husband would be making me aware of any new developments.

Until yesterday.

After getting our of a particularly hot shower, I was feeling super tight and dry - like, wanting-to-claw-my-skin-off-itchy tight and dry - no more blindly applying lotion. It was time to check things out.

OH MY GOD THE HORROR I SAW!

They have progressed. They have started to wrap onto my back - it looks like I was attacked by a wildebeast with some nasty claws where there were once tiny pink caps, only to be replaced by a new and more plentiful multitude of pink dots, which now have me convinced I am turning into a leopard.

Well, I did gain 7 pounds last month. That could be considered alot for the body to handle at once. Not to mention, according to my latest belly picture, I had quite the re-popping. Looks like I am going to have a big boy! I am thinking I will run out of room before 40 weeks....

See what I mean? How will this continue for over 16 weeks? :D

All the hard work paid off!

All the stressing about calories paid off - I gained 7 pounds this month!

I made up for lost time. My midwife, Cheri, was proud :D She told me it was about time! They like to see a jump in weight right around 20 weeks, since that is when the spawn usually has a big growth jump.

As for the little man, he is perfect! The official ultrasound results, all of the measurements were right on target, nothing to worry about (the hip thing can't be diagnosed yet). Well, except one thing. His head is in the 80th percentile.

:::gulp:::

Other than that, I am measuring 2 weeks ahead in fundal height (24 weeks). I'd been reading my weekly emails, the one said about fundal height being equal to my belly button at 20 weeks, so I didn't think anything of it when I felt things real high, just figured it was gas. Nope... it was him. Cole just likes to hang out low most of the time, so even though the feeling is rare, it's him. Maybe he's just lost - his father's sense of direction. :D

I've hit that point in pregnancy where I can watch him kick me. This kid wants to play soccer apparently! He has quite the force behind those legs - which I do not appreciate at 3 am on my cervix. You can not come out yet little man! Stop trying to kick the door open! :D

Serious weight gain issues.

Never in my life did I think gaining weight would be a problem. Especially while pregnant.

I have 5 days until my doctor's appointment, and again, my scale is reading the same. I don't get it! I'm supposed to have gained more than a pound by now. I just hit 21 weeks today, so I need to be getting an extra 500 calories a day instead of the 300. I have been eating three times more than I have ever eaten in my life, so I didn't think twice about not hitting my calorie range. According to babyfit.sparkpeople.com, I should be getting at LEAST 2100 calories. The range is 2080-2380.

There are some days where it's a REALLY good thing I drank 700 calories of orange juice! It's bad when I enter all my food for the day and it says I've had 1000 calories. That of course sends me into a panic! I know Cole got his, since he gets them first, but I can't live off 500 calories! That could explain my lack of weight gain.

It's such a double edged sword, the entire new 'food and drink for pregnancy' plan. I have to be very strict about my water intake since the b/h, so with drinking so much, I don't get hungry. Then, you are supposed to eat healthier (which is all I have the taste for lately) and think about the quality of these calories that you eat - but healthy food naturally has LESS calories in it! I literally eat all the time too - there are times I will stop eating becuase I am tired of eating. Literally, like my jaw hurts and all I can think of that I did that day is eat. :D I even make sure that every day, I eat cookies. It's girl scout cookie season, I have a 10 year old girl scout niece, and I am pregnant!! You would think that would be an easy combination for calorie perfection, but nope, not even girl scout cookies do it! I'm only averaging about 1600 calories a day - that is way under what we both need. Of course, when I do head to taco bell, then I have a 1600 calorie dinner and blow that right out of the water :D

I've only gained one pound so far - that of course makes me wonder, if I end up having GD, what the heck will I do then? The only way I am getting even CLOSE to my calories is orange juice, iced tea, and cookies! The other question is which to worry about more, quality or quantity? And if I am under one day and then over the next, does it just even itself out?

I feel like such a pregnancy failure.

Houdini's Due Date

Don't get me wrong, never in my life have I felt more complete than with my son wriggling around inside me.

But at the same time, I feel so empty knowing that there was supposed to be another child, my child, who is not here. Who was supposed to be here. Even if I could go back and change it, I wouldn't, or I wouldn't have Cole. That of course brings a ton of guilty feelings, like saying that means I didn't want Houdini. I know that is not what it means, but it FEELS like that.

But I wish in some way I could have them both.

I was supposed to have a baby now.

It's weird, the feelings that come with this. I wish someone could just tell me how to feel, how I am supposed to feel. People always say that kids don't come with a handbook - neither does a miscarriage. You don't even know if you are "allowed" to be feeling this. At the same time, the guilt. The guilt of, I think about Houdini less now that I can feel Cole all the time. I have by no means forgotten my sweet baby, but the sadness is softened by the joy of Cole coming. I still think about Houdini all the time, but since the sadness isn't so life-consuming any longer, it brings feelings of guilt to replace that.

I just wish I knew how I was SUPPOSED to feel.

Well interwebs, time for the big reveal!

YOU WERE RIGHT!

IT'S A BOY!!!!!!!!

Cole Patrick is on his way!

We immediately went from the ultrasound to baby Gap outlet and bought him THE CUTEST outfit! We are so excited - I wanted a boy, but was SO SURE it was a girl! At the last minute, on the way there, I was asking Chris was he thinks it is - he told me "If I were putting money on it, I'd say girl. But just guessing? I say boy." Looks like Daddy was right!

Momma's little man is on his way!

...pics to come later :D

Gender Predictions

This idea is shamelessly stolen from Chrysallys :D

Madame Zaritska: The day you deliver, outside will be foggy. Your baby will arrive in the early morning. After a labor lasting approximately 24 hours, your child, a boy, will be born. Your baby will weigh about 9 pounds, 13 ounces, and will be 20 inches long. This child will have dark brown eyes and barely there blonde hair. (We both have blue eyes.. but good try! :D And a 24 hour labor for a 9lb.13oz. baby?! Bitch.)

The labor of love: It's a girl!

Babyman: It's a girl!

JustMommies: 67% girl!

The Bump Chinese Gender Chart: It's a boy!

Baby Gender Predictor: 69% girl!

Sex Ratio Test: 65% boy!

Wedding Ring Test: It's a boy!

Shettles Method: It's a boy!

Family and Friends: 50/50 EVEN!

Intelligender Kit at 11w: It's a girl!

Blog readers: 69% boy!



10 and a half hours to go!

47 hours and counting.

I was doing really good with waiting. The days were just flying by, and the big date was getting closer and closer.

And now it is DRAGGING. DRAGGGGGGGGGGGING!!

47 hours. I can survive this... right? :D

Nursery work has begun!

The tape is up, trim is done, and the rollers come out tomorrow!!

Well, 2 out of 3 trim is done, and 2 out of 3 rollers will come out tomorrow.. :D Because there is 3 days and 12 hours until we find out if the top of the room is blue or pink! :D The brown bottom of the walls and the white stripe will be completed tomorrow!

Pics will come up when the room is completed, an all in one type post. But for now, I bring you.... 19 weeks. :D

Husband FAIL.

Chris had some down time at work today between jobs, so he calls me up and we are talking about absolutely nothing - as usual - when the conversation takes a sharp turn.

DH: "Oh, and ya know, we need to register."

Me: "For... ?"

DH: "Baby stuff. We need to make a registry. I mean you know somebody is gonna throw you a shower, they will have to get invites and stuff out."

Me: "babe, we have plenty of time. We aren't gonna make a registry before we find out the sex, and people aren't going to throw me a shower NOW."

DH: "Well yeah, I just thought it might be fun to do it right after the u/s when we find out."

Me: "Okay, we can do that."

DH: "Oh and ya know, you said you were gonna make that list for me? do you have that?"

Me: "What list?"

DH: "All the friends and family addresses that you want invited to the shower, you said you were gonna get a list ready so it was already there."

Me: "uh huh."

DH: "What?"

Me: "Who called you?"

DH: "What?"

Me: "Who called you about throwing me a shower?"

DH: "Nobody. Why would you say that?"

Me: "Right..."

DH: "Okay, it was somebody, but I'm not gonna tell you who. But c'mon, you knew someone would throw you one..."


The day my husband leans over and says "Let's go baby shopping!" is the day hell freezes over, I die, and I become the reigning ice queen of hell. I drag him to BRU so often, he would be thrilled to never set foot in that store again. Plus, I can't get out of there without spending, oh, well, let's just say more than I should. I love my husband, but the man is cheap. :D

Husband, I married you. I live with you. I know you better than you know yourself - and your every mannerism. FAIL.

But it was really cute, he thought he was being all slick. :D

I love him :D

In honor of the interwebs...

There is now a "boyish" theme to my page. :D

I have total blog ADD. I can't stand it looking the same for too long, it bores me. I have the same issue with my tickers :D

So here's one more ticker for fun - but this one will last until it's done! :D

Yes, I did.

I did go to the grocery store, and buy strawberries and pineapple.

And I ate a full pint of strawberries and half the container of pineapple.








And it was delicious.

17w5d pic and update

New belly pic is up!

I had an appointment yesterday - and surprise! My first internal. My midwife Cheri was not amused that I was having contractions, and since some of them are painful, aka not Braxton Hicks, she had to make sure they weren't affecting my cervix. Let me just tell you - an internal where they reach ALL the way up and then AROUND and up further?!

OMGWTF!!!!!!! OUCH!!

Anyway, my cervix is still long, the contractions aren't having an effect, so I can just ignore them. I should sit through the painful real ones, but as long as they aren't happening often or regularly, I can ignore them.

I did finally gain a pound! Yay! Apparently though, I should be gaining more, so when I want that cheeseburger and fries (aka RIGHT NOW), I should feel free to have it. Awesome :D

The oranges cravings are in full force. I eat oranges until I am stuffed (one night I had 6!) and drink at least a half a gallon of orange juice a day. Fruit in general, really - yesterday's lunch consisted of running to the grocery store after the doc - since my oranges have to come from Stauffers! - and grabbing a half pound of pre-washed, cut strawberries, a pint of orange juice, and a handful of supersized wheat thins! Today, after talking to Callie, obsessing over fruit, I want strawberries and pineapples. Looks like a trip to the grocery store is in order!

I will have to have a specialized ultrasound later on (they think it will be too early to see it at the 20wk) to check spawn's hip - I was born with a congenital hip defect where my hip socket didn't close around the ball joint of my leg. There is about a 50/50 shot that it will be passed on to my child - I hope not. I was in a full body brace for a few months, and I was apparently the bad kid that could break out of the full body brace at 9 months old. my mom had to put 2 sets of 24 month clothes over top of the brace to keep me in it.

I have a feeling spawn is going to take after Momma - going to be a handful! :D

Finally - the big ultrasound has been set! Spawn will be revealed on March 16, 2009 at Noon!

Operation: Stop Braxton Hicks is in full swing

16w4d - first evening of Braxton Hicks. Mistaken for movement.
16w5d - still thinking it's movement... right? No.

In the beginning, the felt kinda cool actually. Like a little wave of pressure, a tightening for anywhere from 5 seconds to 2 minutes at a time. They aren't painful 9.5 times out of 10 - every once in a while there is one that stops me in my tracks - they are just very strange.

So in less than 24 hours, I have just downed a half gallon of Turkey Hill orange juice. And damn, let me tell you - it was GOOD. As a matter of fact, right now, at 11:18 pm, my wonderful husband is at the corner turkey Hill getting me another half gallon and butterscotch krimpets.

And for those of you NON-northeast people, you do NOT know what you are missing in your lack of Turkey Hill and Tastykakes.

And with that, he is home with my goodies! Yay!

A new belly pic

Well, that is the bump as of 15w5d. It's taken a while to post it, but yep... I'm huge! Everything inside my abdomen feels like it is ripping - sleeping is next to impossible - showing early isn't cracked up to be all you would expect!

In other news, the boobs have finally slowed. The final tally? 36G. G!!! I don't know how I am going to walk when I get to 9 months or so, but we'll have to find that out later. :D

10 days to my next appointment - when the big ultrasound will be scheduled! YAY! I am still betting on a girl, and still rooting for a little man :D Chris is feeling the same way. But there hasn't been a boy in over 10 years in family OR friends! It's about time for a boy. I will be 17w5d at the appointment, so it should be soon after that. Hopefully it will be that same week... cross your fingers!

Finally tally:

Boobs: 36D to 36G.
Bump: equivalent to 6 months.
Butt: Yup. Wider.
Weight gain: 0.

Now how the hell does that happen?!

Ahh the joys of pregnancy!

I've been blessed with lightning crotch. Daily. Between 2:30 and 3:30 pm. It's quite amusing actually.. until I'm coming up on 2:30!

I'm currently writing this blog post while laying on my right side, while I have my husband LAYING across my right! He isn't really amused with said position, but it is the only way I can get comfortable! I just tell him that he's doing his part - I'm far more uncomfortable! :D

Other than that, everything is wonderful. I had my 2nd appointment. Everything is going well! I heard the heartbeat again on the doppler - but it was impossible to get a numerical reading! Everytime the midwife would find the heartbeat, baby would hit it and run away! We couldn't get a reading for longer than 5 seconds at a time. That's my kid, being difficult already! Stubborn like both it's parents. I just say he/she doesn't like to be invaded. :D

Cheri (my midwife) also thinks I will feel it move early. She said based on how active baby was and my uterus being forward(? I think? Maybe it was high?I already forget why LOL!) that she's betting I will feel it long before my next appointment!

I also had my first strange cravings this week. I've had cravings, but not abnormal food. I've wanted things that aren't normal for me - like yesterday's 3 glasses of milk (I hate milk...)or the stuffed mushrooms at Red Lobster (mushroom texture make me gag)but nothing was abnormal for people in general.

Yesterday, I had popcorn. And it sounded REALLY good...

to dip it in BARBECUE SAUCE.

Yup. I wanted to dip my popcorn in barbecue. But, I resisted, strictly because I didn't want to go downstairs to get it.

Today, I REALLY wanted to dip barbecue chips into a vanilla milkshake. And I would have, if there wasn't snow on the ground :D I didn't want to go out and get a milkshake. I did make my husband bring one home from work though. By that time though, the craving was gone, so no dipping LOL!

That's it though. Nothing else for now!

13w3d... Hellooooo second tri!

It's official!

As of 1 hour and 45 minutes ago, I am in the second trimester. Out of the danger zone!

Good job devilspawn!!

New belly pic

12w4d... officially an E cup. Yes, that's right... an E. :::gulp::::

Bad blogger, that's me.

I've been anxiously holding my breath for 4 weeks now... and I still have 1 week to go. When that's done, I think I'll be back to normal - but for now, I'm still not breathing.

The morning sickness is starting to ease - there are days where I make it through without a pill! In fact, I made it three days in a row without one - and then it came back full force for two days, but I woke up today feeling good!

Until my dog puked on the floor. Then, not so good.

That's really all there is to report. Next appointment is February 2, at 2:30. I'll be 14w. I'll have the quad screen shortly after, another appointment in early March, and then the big u/s! I'll be 20 weeks on March 16th, so it should be right around there.

But for now, that's it!