24 Weeks

24 Week belly update:

23 Weeks, 6 days

I am currently typing this entry on my brand new LAPTOP! Wheee! Bought and paid for via my own future wealth - ie financial aid. The desktop computer I have is running at about 45 in human years (10 computer years = 1 human year) - still pretty decent but not as quick as them young 'uns. Initially I thought....ooh Macbook would be lovely for school, etc. But it comes at too a lovely price (starts at $1200). So I did my research via consumer reports and amazon.com customer reviews. And then I found a great deal on a smart little laptop on a random run to Office Depot. It was the very last of it's group- the display copy at a nice comfy price. The memory and ram was even better than the one I was looking at online and the total price was lower with the added softwear (anti-virus and Microsoft Office 2007). Thus I pranced home happily with my new trusty laptop (or actually waited in the rain for an hour because the buses are late and on snow routes still with a bag full of books) and tested it out. I had also run over to the PSU bookstore and loaded up on my books and a few supplies earlier in the day so I am set and ready to go. GRAD SCHOOL, HERE I COME...with baby in tow.

I had a grumpy boy on my hands this week when we got so snowed in that all of the flights were getting canceled. Dave had airline tickets to Cali to visit his family for Christmas. He moped until the moment he was boarded on that plane and was assured he could go. And I'm so glad he was able to. His flight was practically the first Cali-bound flight with Southwest Airlines that actually left the airport since the snow began dumping on Sunday. His family was also pretty thrilled he made it, since I'm sure they were also glued to the airline and weather updates.

Speaking of snow though. Boy howdy did it snow. We're still just barely digging ourselves out of it days later. For a few days, my car was nestled under a good foot+ of snow. The 15-25 degree temps held for over a week. Only now have we surfaced above freezing at a nice and warm 35. I only wore one layer under my thick coat today instead of two and skipped the leg warmers :).

I barely made it to my Dad's for Christmas. I had invited Cory to have Christmas with my family this year since all of hers is in Iowa and she was not leaving town this year. We were afraid we were stuck in Portland, however. Not a single bus was running into Tualatin and my Dad was not about to drive in the foot+ of snow to Portland to come get us. Luckily, the snow began to clear in the afternoon and I hitched a ride from a co-worker. My Dad was able to at least pick Cory up from her work in Tigard. With seemingly infinite cable television, fondu, cheesecake, stockings, and snow, we all had a jolly time.

It feels like a whirlwind is finally over. Dave and I are just sitting quietly listening to records (and playing with new laptop technologies) tonight. I think we're both digesting all of the food and activities over the whole week. I feel like I can finally sigh and relax.

Baby is thumping away and I start school in less than two weeks. Life is all pretty exciting right now.

23 Weeks

I had a dream a few weeks ago that I gave birth to our son but had to return to work so soon after, I never got a chance to meet him. Dave had to take the responsibility of caring for him, naming him, and taking him home from the hospital. All day at work, I was so anxious to leave so that I could go home and meet my son. After some aggravatingly slow hours of work, I finally got to return home. However, when I returned, I found out then that Dave had opted to name him Bounten Bendge Miner. What the hell kind of name is that?!! I asked him. I told him I thought we'd already decided to name him Benson (not sure where this came from either). Dave said he couldn't remember what it was and had to name him in order to leave the hospital. I was furious!
I woke up still a little furious but managed to calm down before telling Dave the dream. For a few days afterwards, he continued to refer to our little man as 'Bounten' and thus received a few glares from me.
Well little "Bounten" seems to be growing quite a bit these days. I swear I got bigger just in the last couple days or so. I got that pregnant pouch thing going on, instead of the big round belly I have been carrying. According to literature, he'll be doubling his weight (already a pound) in the next four weeks-- packing on about 6 ounces a week! Now I know the math here is not quite right. 6 ounces times 4 weeks is actually 24 ounces (about a pound and a half). But that's what the prego literature says and I am choosing to ignore this discrepancy. I imagine I'll be looking pretty large as I hit third tri.

Here's 23 weeks:




















And my prego-friz hair. Good times.

22 Weeks, 2 days

Baby's first snow day:

22 Weeks

This boy is getting strong! I was cranky last night so I took a bath (warm, not hot, don't worry). Of course, I feel a bit like a whale these days with a growing-by-the-day belly looming well over the bathwater crest. I was reading one of my prego books at the time and I started to feel the baby move around. I looked down at my belly and, sure enough, he was breaking through. I could feel and see each kick! I hollered to Dave to come see the kicking himself. However, as soon as Dave showed up and was glued to every move of my belly, all became quiet on the home front. About 10 minutes after Dave gave up and left, the little guy started moving around again. I hollered to Dave again, who came running but to no avail---a stubborn one, our son.

However, early this morning the little one started getting active on the left side of my belly. I grabbed Dave's hand and plastered it to where the kicking was taking place. At first, all was quiet, and I was afraid the little one was being stubborn again. Soon enough though, he started up kicking on my left side and Dave felt it all!

Dave took these photos last night. I feel all stretched out already! Sorry for the picture and hair quality. This is pre-relaxation bath. My belly button's shrinking.

21 Weeks, 6 days

I feel huge, like my belly's going to explode! It's big and round and hard. I am pretty sure it's not intestinal back-up, since I "moved" about 2-3 times yesterday and already this morning! I think I may just finally "feel" pregnant. How the hell is it going to stretch out enough to contain a 7-8 pound (I hope) baby??!!!

21 Weeks, 3 Days

"It is not uncommon to experience leg cramps during pregnancy, particularly in the third trimester."

Third trimester??!! I just had my first bout of leg cramps last night. Oh I've read about them before in a "ho hum" sort of way but now, after experiencing them, they've taken on an entirely new meaning. Holy pain! I couldn't lie still without my leg radiating pain so severe that I was in tears. I finally got up, stumbled on my aching leg to the kitchen and downed two calcium pills. The pain started to lessen after about 30 minutes and I finally fell back to sleep. In the morning, it felt like I had twisted my ankle or something, my leg was so sore. It didn't wear off until about mid-day. Going forward, I'm taking calcium before I go to bed and eating bananas every morning. I never want to experience that again.

Another prego side effect I've noticed in increasing increments lately is my continuous forgetfulness and clumsiness. At one of my doctor appointments, I forgot and had to retrieve my water bottle at least four times (from the examination room, the ultrasound appointment desk, the flu shot sign-in desk, and the flu shot station). I keep mixing words up, saying things like "I'm halking wome right now" or "I'm heally rungry" and once I even said "where are the peanuts?"-- incert a similar sounding yet much less appropriate word for "peanuts" here. The worse was when I couldn't find the plastic wrap anywhere. I accused Dave of putting it back in the wrong spot. We ransacked the kitchen for it to no avail. The next day, I found it in the bottom of the fridge. I'm pretty sure that was my doing. I admitted my mistake to Dave but reminded him that at least I hadn't yet put the milk in the cupboard. We can deal with chilled plastic wrap but I'm not a big fan of rancid milk.

21 Weeks

Each week seems to go faster than the last. 1st trimester dragged by and the 2nd trimester feels like a whirlwind. I had my first "there's something different about you.." this week too! I guess I thought all my co-workers knew by now but supposedly there are still some that were not aware. She didn't want to approach the subject directly in case I was just laying on too many nacho supremes but she was hinting at my belly. I filled her in and told her that I was thrilled that I actually 'look' pregnant and she assured me that it was a definite prego-belly. I guess I'm finally getting to the point where it's much more an obvious baby belly than a nacho belly. And luckily, I have yet to start laying on the water-weight and get all puffy. So I guess overall, I'm feeling pretty good, even if I have packed on 14-15 pounds.

Here's 21 weeks:





















I did think that the moodiness and cravings were starting to dissipate but I guess I was wrong. The other night I needed a fast food gardenburger and fries from Wendy's. Nothing else was going to satisfy this. Dave and I had a 20 minute interval in which we could go achieve said food goals and be back in time for the ONE tv show I watch religiously (while eating)- The Biggest Loser. I was not going to miss that show and I was not going to watch it without the fast food garden burger and fries. Keep in mind, I hardly ever eat fast food. There's the occasional taco bell run but I haven't been to a Wendy's for a gardenburger in probably a year. What I didn't know was that gardenburger (the company) ceased selling their patties to fast food joints. As I stood salivating at the register, ordering my gardenburger, I had no idea that Wendy's had not only discontinued the gardenburger but never replaced it with any other veggie alternative!

Now I have to remind you that I was hungry. PREGNANT WOMAN hungry. I also had a PREGNANT WOMAN craving. And finding out that Wendy's no longer provided a gardenburger was the worst news to hit me since..oh boy...probably 911. I kid you not. I felt like I finally understood the uncontrollable rage of the Hulk when he gets big and green. Only I didn't get big and green, I just got red and mean! The poor cashier probably didn't know what to think. I ended up ordering a cheeseburger meal without the meat. I continued raging until I got home and stomped all the way into the apartment. It was then I realized the Sprite I ordered had no syrup and was thus a club soda. On the plus, I actually like club soda and when I finished devouring the food, I was actually ok. I started to even feel some remorse over my actions. I turned to Dave and told him to never let me get that hungry again or the Hulk will come out once more...

20 Weeks, 1 Day cont.

I made Dave take some belly photos tonight to show how big I've gotten over the last week. My belly just seemed to pop out this week! I apologize about the hair- I spent most of the day working on the drapes and it was pulled back to avoid frizzing. Speaking of friz, I seem to be blessed with the pregnant frizzy look. It's starting to get on my nerves.

Fully covered:




















Belly exposed:




















Front view:




















Tada! Here are the finished drapes! I love the colors:















I bought a few clothing articles I couldn't resist last week so Cloonan helped me model them:

20 Weeks, 1 Day

I'm officially over the halfway point so the reality is setting in. Mr. Squirmy continues to prove his presence more and more. This morning his kicks kept jolting me. I mean, they weren't strong kicks or anything (by gosh he's hardly big enough yet) but he seemed to enjoy aiming at areas in my abdomen that have a lot of nerves. Think: the doctor-hitting-knee-with-hammer feeling but inside your abdomen. Yikes it's weird.

I spent the Thanksgiving weekend in Reno with most of my family. I don't think Mr. Squirmy went hungry. I ate so much-- and I felt entitled to it. Our flight was on Thursday at 6 am, which meant I had to be up at 3 am. I was wired until around 9 am and then I crashed. On top of it all, I decided to come down with a cold the day before I left. I felt pretty miserable. I did manage to play some penny slots with my grandma in the hotel casino before passing out at 9:30 pm. It was a whirlwind of a weekend with the fam and I hardly felt I had time to breathe. I got back home yesterday afternoon and then headed off to Ikea for drapery fabric. I'm going to make the drapes for the baby room today via Cory's sewing machine and her sewing expertise. They're red and cream striped with a second red solid. That'll probably end up being my theme. It's clean and streamlined, like I like, without having to dive into the stereotypical blue on blue for boys.

I've also noticed I can feel my pulse just about all the time. When I'm laying on my side, I can feel my blood pounding through my face, head, neck, hips, etc. Or when I'm sitting up and reading, I can see my wrist just pulsing. I even showed it to Dave, who thought it was freakish. However, it sort of makes sense when you think about the fact that my blood production has basically doubled.

My belly seems to be popping out more and more. Particularly, this past week or so. My belly button is even starting to thin out. I wore my biggest non-prego jeans last week for what I believe will be the last time. They kept cutting into my belly and I even resorted to undoing the button when I was sitting at my desk at work. So now I'm down to two pairs of prego jeans, two prego skirts, some elastic waist skirts and yoga pants. Unfortunately, as much as I'd like to, I can't really wear my yoga pants to work. Bummer. Otherwise I seriously would. Everyday.

19 Weeks

Getting close to halfway! My little monkey likes to stand on my bladder these days. On the plus side, I'm not constipated! I chalk it up to being a vegetarian and all the beans and nuts I like to eat.

So...I must admit to my recent netflix afflixion. How does one live before netflix? I signed up a couple weeks ago and found to my excitement that all the baby movies I could want to see are only a mouse click away! In fact, Father of the Bride II came in the mail yesterday. After work yesterday, Scarlet and I mixed up some cupcakes (with blue frosting to celebrate!) and watched the movie together. Expectedly, Dave opted for a boys night out. Father of the Bride II has two babies in one movie!! Can't get better than that. It even makes up for my lack of cable and ability to watch the great "A Baby Story" reality TV shows on lifetime. Because I would if I could ;).

I weighed myself at the gym yesterday and it showed a healthy five pound gain from my weight about 4 weeks ago- bringing me up a total of 13 pounds. This is supposed to be perfectly normal, but it honestly feels more like 23 pounds. None of my old pants and hardly any of my old skirts fit anymore! I'm living in yoga pants at home these days.

Ok, so I'm done whining about my packing on the pounds. I know I can start working them off again in five months or so. And really, 13 pounds is completely fine at this stage. Overall, I've been feeling great. I have much more energy these days and can stay up late again. Last night, Dave and I were up until about 1 watching Hero episodes on netflix instant (I love netflix). I do seem to have less energy and enthusiasm about going out at night or much in general. Dave and I think it's the 'nesting' syndrome.

Oh! Dave also mentioned that his mom and step-father may be able to give us a crib from their furniture store! I'm so excited! It's supposed to be really nice. It'll be such a nice help to get that taken care of. I've been a little stressed over the sheer amount of items we are in need of: stroller, car seat, bedding, diapers, breast pumps, blankets, bottles, bassinet, etc etc etc. We haven't even started getting things organized! The baby room is still a storage room of boxes at the moment. I must admit, I've been a bit of a procrastinator. My friend, Michelle, recently had a baby boy (named Talon). When I told her we found out we were having a boy, she offered to give me Talon's old clothes! That'll be such a help!

Below are my 19 week photos. I don't think there's too much of a change from last week. I do look rounder from the front though...

18 Weeks, 4 Days

We had our big ultrasound and the verdict is.....

A Boy!!!

Here's my little man showing off the goods:
















Dave was pretty proud of his little exhibitionist.

And a picture of his cute legs crossed. This little guy was moving and squirming all over the place!















Stubborn, like his mom, he was not about to show us his cute profile so we got his frontal alien-like face the entire time. It was really cute and a bit creepy at the same time.















That is...until after a bunch of prodding, shaking, turning, and poking, the ultrasound technician finally got him to turn from his side so we got the cute profile picture if only for an instant.















He was pretty comfy with his back to us-- although he had no trouble showing off the goods plenty of times. We also got to see him stretching his legs up to his head and suck on his thumb. Yes, I've got me a thumb sucker....and I was hoping to avoid all that.

Well, Dave and I are stoked and even a bit surprised. Everyone insisted we were having a girl. Trish (Dave's sister) was absolutely convinced we were having a girl. A few friends at my office wouldn't even accept the possibility of me having a boy. And Dave's work is known to produce baby girls, with very few baby boys. Against all odds, we are having a boy.

Dave is so excited, he's even starting making up songs on the fly about his new son. He's still getting used to using the phrase "my son" and has been constantly repeating it since the appointment. I find it all very cute.

Now we can finally get down to naming him and fixing up his room. Project!!!!

18 Weeks

So I got my official congratulatory letter from PSU of my acceptance into the Masters of Public Administration program. Please note that I applied right before I found out I was pregnant. Being as stubborn as I am, I know I can't back out now. I'm setting myself up for one class Winter term, skip Spring and then return again in the Fall. I know I'm crazy but grad school will open a lot of doors for me.

Dave turned the big 2-7 this last week. We went hiking at Multnomah Falls and chowed on homemade chocolate chip cookies. It was nice to actually have an entire day off together.
















On the pregnancy side of things, I think I'm much nicer now. I'm still a little grumpy at night but that just may be me normally ;). At least I'm not tearing down tree branches and breaking things anymore. I have a lot more energy and even managed to stay up until 2 am last night!! Of course I only stayed out until 11, then went home to ball my eyes out to a less-than-great film (Miss Conception) and read my book. But I did stay up! I think it's a new record.

Anyway, I'm really only writing this to procrastinate on laundry and cleaning, so without further adieu....18 week belly pictures:

17 Weeks, 2 Days

I've been a little hyper lately. Last night, I couldn't stop moving and bouncing. I had had one delicious orange cream soda and suddenly I was like a kid with ADD. What is with these insane sugar highs I get??? I need to be a little more cautious, perhaps. Doesn't help that the little parasite seems to make me want sugar all the time. My little Scapegoat.

Speaking of, my belly seems to be growing overnight. Literally, not figuratively. The night before last I kept rolling around and I'd feel this tumor-like thing in my stomach appearing to get larger over the night. I love sleeping on my back. Love it. And now it supposedly cuts off my circulation to sleep on my back. I did learn a cheat position where I sleep on my side but my head and neck are facing up or I angle myself using Dave as a big prego pillow. Thinking of prego pillows, I've considered investing in one. I've been tossing and turning a lot and my sleep is getting interrupted by more than my screaming bladder. I only know it'll all get worse. Woe is me.

I had a dream that I lost 7 pounds and then I kept flying around in an orchestra booth you sit at at the opera. It was pretty awesome and a bit scary I managed to get the "falling feeling" while sleeping! And I think people were trying to kill me but that's pretty common in my dreams these days.

On Saturday, I took a nice long stroll down to Hawthorne (about 2 miles there and back for me). The weather was gorgeous. It had been off and on raining all day but I managed to hit a sunny break. The leaves covered the sidewalks in their brilliant yellows, oranges, and reds. I love Oregon this time of year. It's beyond beautiful!

On my way home, I was passing The Yoga Studio that sits only about 10 blocks from my house. I was thinking to myself - 'wouldn't it be great if they had a prenatal yoga class I could try out?' as I walked by. I saw a flier with a woman in a yoga position as I was passing and it took a moment before it dawned on me that the woman on the flier had a big...round...belly! I stopped and turned around to look. Sure enough, the flier posted a brand new prenatal class on Sundays that started last week.

So....I checked out that prenatal yoga class yesterday as a drop-in. The class wasn't nearly as intense as my usual yoga classes but I got some benefit from it and I feel like I have a better understanding of the pregnant body. However, It was a little hoky- she had us chant at the end. I can deal with that though. The positions and stretches were fairly intense. We did a lot of squatting and I will soon enough have killer-thighs and prego abs for child-bearing.

I also invested in my first pair of prego pants! I found them at Ross for $7. They are super comfortable and slimming. Why aren't all pants made like these?? Seriously. Once you go prego-pants, you never go back. They do, on the otherhand, make me look even pregnanter. If that's possible.

16 Weeks, 5 Days

Belly Photos!!!






























Well the bump is growing! It's kind of cute, I think.

I had my 16 week OB appointment on Friday and got to schedule "The" ultrasound for the 19th. If the little grapefruit behaves, we'll get to see its hoo-ha to determine what sex it is. I'm excited but not overly anxious. The weeks seem to be going by so fast now that I have a feeling the appointment will be upon us in no time.

I ended up with a mild cold over Halloween so I elected to stay in with Dave and watch "Cannibal the Musical" and eat black beans and rice. We did, however, end up at a party the next night when I was a bit more energetic. Dave and I both raced to Goodwill for last minute costumes and paraded around with Cory as Gresham-ites. For those of you outside the Portland area, people from Gresham to us city folk are like people from Shelbyville to the Springfield residents (channeling the Simpsons here in case you weren't following me). To add to the effect, I topped my costume off with a "Pink for Palin" sign that read, "Make more war and babies" and "I heart Alaskan drilling."
















In this photo, I was trying to go for that annoying-lady-you-are-crammed-next-to-on-the-bus look. My chin doesn't really stick like that....I hope.

I think my costume just may have done the trick to sway the vote-- for OBAMANATION is upon us!!!! Dave and I chowed on pizza at my Dad's while we sat glued to the television on Tuesday night. To add cherries to my cream soda of an election night, Merkley gained the Senate seat over the Republican incumbent, Smith, bumping the Democrat hold in the Senate up another notch. It's exciting to think my kid is going to be born under the first non- old & white guy president.

Last night, my band played a show at Dante's. The sound was awesome! I had a great time but was pretty much done-in by the end of the night. Lucky for me, most of Dante's is non-smoking! So I didn't have to worry about being around all those cancer-sticks. It was kind of fun to play to dancing drunk people. I really do enjoy the dancing drunk people. They went nuts at the end!

On Stage:
















And...here are some of the dancing drunk people (notice baby bump in the background ;))....

15 Weeks, 4 days

I'm feeling good. I'm trying to get my sweet tooth under control and I have one good day under my belt. I've been tracking my nutrition info on www.babyfit.com. I can track my iron, calcium, folate, vitamin C, etc. Plus how much fruit/veggies I consume as well as cups of water. It's been really helping me get a grasp on the best things to eat. I've been craving beans and now I can kind of see why. They're the richest source of iron, folate, and protein of anything I eat (on a vegetarian diet). On the plus: When I eat two servings of beans a day and some veggies, I can usually rack up all my dietary folate needs! Sweet deal. I guess all those burrito cravings are a good thing...*snicker..snicker*. I'm not doing so bad on calcium either and I'm also always coming in over my protein needs. However, even with the beans, I'm only coming in half on my iron but that's supplemented with my prenatals (as long as I can remember to take them). Not too bad. And Dave still thinks I need to eat steak. *Humph!*

I'm bigger than a pumpkin now!:




















Dave being cute:




















And....Barefoot and Pregnant in the Kitchen!:

15 Weeks

Well....Dave is a little sneak! Last night he called me up "from work" to tell me that he might be home late because they had gotten slammed. I didn't think anything of it. Turns out he'd gotten off an hour early so that he would have time to go to Powell's before coming home. When he did eventually come home, I also thought nothing of the bag of books he had in his possession because it's not uncommon for him to go to Powell's or record stores before work.

He plopped the bag in my lap and told me he'd picked up a few of my favorite authors while he was there. I pulled out "Emma" by Jane Austin, "Wuthering Heights" By Emily Bronte, "Robinson Crusoe" By Daniel Defoe, "High Five" by Janet Evanovich, and "Slaughterhouse-five" by Kurt Vonnegut. At the bottom of the bag, I stopped and stared at an unusual book of love sonnets by Pablo Neruda. Love sonnets?? I looked up at him quizingly. He told me to turn to page 39. I could feel something lumpy inside and I knew he was up to something. On page 39, taped up to a big of twine, dangled a gorgeous sapphire and diamond ring. I managed to skim the first line of the poem, "I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz..." when he got down on his knee and pulling the ring from the book, he proposed. He had completely taken me by surprise so I was shaking but eventually managed to nod yes. I think. It's all a little blurry right now.

Anyway, the poem reads:

I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz,
or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.
I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,
in secret, between the shadow and the soul.

I love you as the plant that never blooms
but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers;
thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,
risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body.

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.
I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;
so I love you because I know no other way

than this: where I does not exist, nor you,
so close that you hand on my chest is my hand,
so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep.

Truthfully though, I always fall asleep before he does so I'm not sure on the last line ;). The ring is absolutely perfect. It suits me. The engagement is even better. I'm so lucky to have such a wonderful and supportive man in my life.
















We went out briefly afterwards to celebrate and play 80's trivia. He snapped a photo of my "belly bump" before we left. I think I'm actually starting to look pregnant!

14 Weeks, 3 days

I had one of the worst head aches of my life on Sunday. It was awful and I could hardly do anything. I had one a week or two before that. Yesterday, I could feel the beginnings of another so I called the OB-gyn advice line at my hospital. Just to be sure. Although the nurse I spoke with and I both felt it was probably just a tension headache, since it's too early for me to be experiencing preeclampsia, she thought it would be a good idea to go in and get my heart rate checked. She scheduled me in for later in the afternoon.

All is looking well. My heart rate was 125/69, which is perfectly fine. Although it's a bit higher than I usually come in at but I think I was pretty nervous. It's really only cause for alarm when it gets up to around 140. They also ran a urine test for proteins and sugar and I got another chance to hear the heartbeat. It's still there and going strong. I really appreciate the peace of mind this all allowed me. Since I can't feel it or see it, getting the chance to hear it really makes it more real. Now I can't stop thinking about that butterfly heartbeat in my stomach. My little parasite.

14 Weeks cont.

I forgot: I wanted to post a picture to show what a chub-chub I'm becoming.....yeesh:

14 Weeks

Being pregnant is weird.

In my first few weeks, I wanted bagels and nothing else. I went through a week of only desiring pizza...and nothing else. I think that week followed the Thai food week (lemon grass soup), however now I can't even think about Thai food. This week it's: burritos! I had two small burritos for dinner and I'm pretty sure that's my breakfast today as well. And probably dinner. Then next week, I'll want nothing to do with burritos. I'll probably have an oatmeal week soon. I can feel it. I bet popcorn's around the corner too.

I also can't get enough of the 'baby' movies. I ended up breaking down and actually buying Juno as well as Waitress. I've even watched Look Who's Talking about three times since I've gotten prego. I still am having trouble finding a used copy of Knocked Up. I'd buy that one in a second. I find they're good investments to add to my prego book collection. No sense in not adding the visual element. I also think I'm a sadist watching these films. Every time the baby is born, after all the pushing and moaning and screaming and sweat, I start balling my eyes out. Balling! I can't help it. Baby pops out and trigger the hormones. Dave thinks it's hillarious. I've watched Juno and Waitress both twice since we bought them and every time: baby comes out and I'm balling. Like clockwork.

I'm at 14 weeks. Officially 2nd trimester now, no question. Every text differs on when the 2nd trimester starts -- 12, 13, 14. But now at 14 weeks, there's no question.

I can even feel my uterus these days. It's popped above my pubic bone and when I have to pee, it pushes it up enough that I can feel it protruding.

However, I don't look pregnant. I just look like I might have had four burritos instead of two. And eaten a whole pie for desert. Half of my clothes fit these days. I'm having to say goodbye to a couple favorite skirts :(. I invested in two maternity skirts that adjust. One of which I can already wear when I tighten the adjustments. I'm in the annoying middle of the road phase where very little of my clothing fits anymore but I'm not big enough for maternity clothes.

And now my friends are even noticing. But not the people that hoard the seats on the bus. No luck there. I even tried forcing my stomach out more last time I was trying to stay standing up on the bus but no luck. I guess I just don't quite look pregnant enough to warrant a seat. Woe is me.

13 Weeks, 1 day

Well.....2nd Trimester!!! Most of my morning sickness has passed. I'll get a bout once in a while but it's on the tame side now. I'm still a hormonic mess. Dave describes my hormones as fire crackers on the 4th of July and that's pretty accurate. One minute, all is quiet, and the next minute I explode. Dave, being on the receiving end of most of these episodes, has been pretty amazing at handling it all. Also, when Dave's family came to visit this week, his sis left us with a plethora of baby books that he and I have both been devouring. He's half-way through a daddy-to-be book and really enjoys 'text-booking' all of my episodes.

Despite any nerves I might have had, I actually had a great time with Dave's family this week. Unfortunately, a bout of food poisoning left Dave's mom incapacitated on Thursday but Dave and I still went to the zoo with his sister, Trish and her son, Ethan. I couldn't get enough of that little guy, which I think means I'm getting maternal.















Dave's mom, Dave & Ethan, and Trish














Trish, Ethan, and I navigating the zoo.




















Also, Good Wood was well-received on Wednesday night. We ended up with a packed house! I couldn't believe how many people came out. It went pretty well and we had many requests for our next show.




























I can feel my uterus when I press on my abdomen now. I think it's popped out above my pubic bone. It feels like a soft ball, probably about the size of a large grapefruit. It hangs on my left side a bit. Dave was pretty stoked when he could feel it this morning. It kind of adds a bit of reality to this whole experience. I still don't think I'm showing but then only half of my jeans fit these days and according to my home scale, I'm up a total of 4 pounds.

12 Weeks

About the fifth time that I got up to pee last night, I started wondering where all this water was coming from. Now seriously. Every time last night it was like I was unloading a geyser. And I'm not even drinking that much more than I did before I was pregnant. Aren't I supposed to retain more water if anything? Sometimes during the day I'll average once every half an hour and then it'll only be a trickle. I have to pee that bad and that's all that I get? No satisfaction! Then about 2 hours into the once-every-half-hour deal, I finally really pee. And then I'm good for ...emm..maybe 2 more hours. And sometimes I REALLY have to go. I rush to the bathroom only to find that I have to sit there for two minutes before anything happens and while I'm sitting there, I'm dying because I have to pee so badly. It's like I'm constricted! Oh yeah, it's a baby constriction.

Well anyway, after I returned to bed from that 5th trip to the bathroom, I found I had a text message from my incredibly pregnant friend, Michelle, announcing the birth of her new son, Talon. I'm so excited for her. I know in those last couple weeks she was downright miserable. I think she must have been pushing 42 weeks at that point. Makes me feel a little bad for when I was a fetus. I was supposed to be born on July 2nd and they couldn't get me out until they performed a C section on my mom and pulled me out on July 20th, weighing in at a mere 10 pounds, 4 oz. I think I get something to look forward too later on...

I was just about to approach the I'm-so-hungry-I'm-going-to-throw-up-phaze so just now I ran to the kitchen to get the last of the seitan I made earlier this week. I also snagged one of Dave's orange creme sodas. They looked so good! Sweetie, I know you'll read this and notice one of your sodas disappeared but it's only fair-- you ate my cookies.

I've been noticing more and more abdominal growth this past week. Mel mentioned last night that she noticed it a couple days ago. Really though, I just look like I ate one too many cookies. So I guess it may be a good thing that Dave took some of those off my hands last week.

Oh!!! I almost forgot. My band, Good Wood, has it's first show next Wednesday at Mississippi Pizza. I'm so excited! I haven't played a show in about a year and a half so I'm a little nervous. We're opening for an incredibly talented friend of mine who plays both cello and sings (AT THE SAME TIME). She's amazing. I'll bring my camera to the show and see if I can't swindle one of my friends into taking a picture or two. It should be a fun. Practice on Thursday went well and the song I was less than thrilled about has come together for me. It's probably my favorite one now. It's kind of funny how that happens. Everyone calls it the "Stripper Song" because it's downright perfect for that sort of *cough* thing. We also have a song that we nick-named the "Nike Commercial Song" because you can't help but feel some sort of inspiration when we play it...like you should be running a marathon. Trust me, if you heard it too, you'd be inspired.

11 Weeks 3 Days

Below my chin, I can see my stomach protruding. I keep thinking: oh my god, I'm getting fat again and then I remember that I'm pregnant. My weight is really only fluctuating about 2-4 pounds above normal according to my home scale. But my little blob is growing a ton right now, according to all the pregnancy literature. Also, MS is fading. I don't feeling like I'm going to throw up all day, just parts of the day now. Apparently hormonal production is starting to switch to the placenta so I should be feeling even more better (grammatical error allowed here because I'm lazy) soon.

I'm still pretty grumpy at night and then wired in the morning. Both probably equally annoying to Dave but he takes it well. He's a pretty good one, that man.

Anyway, I'm going to go now because I'm hungry and I have to get ready for work. Seriously, if I don't eat now, I will become a hungry monster shortly and wreck havoc upon this place in search of something to feast on. I'm feeling the empty stomach nausea coming on. It's really fun.

10 Weeks 6 Days

I fear constipation. I think I've been evading it mostly but it's always there in the back of my mind. I'm usually pretty good at getting my grains and leafy greens so it's usually smooth going. I had a pretty good schedule going 2-3 times a day (or more) and I felt pretty good about my healthy digestive system. However, now it's much more sporadic. I've taken to notifying Dave of each large event. "Hey sweetie, I had a big one this morning. Must have been the fiber.". And he usually responds with words of encouragement. However, I've read the horror stories: two weeks of nothing and then you're on the pot for three hours. Or those who've had to go to the emergency room to get their contents removed by machines. So I'm pushing the oatmeal, leafy greens, beans, etc down my throat and crossing my fingers that it doesn't get to that. I hope not to stoop to poop by means of Metamucil...yet.

Otherwise, things seem to be better. My constant nausea is less constant and I've had a little more energy lately- except for maybe yesterday. Yesterday was exhausting. I could hardly get out of bed. I stood in the shower for 10 minutes before actually doing any washing. I couldn't bare the idea of riding my bike into work today so I opted for the bus, which was a less-than-pleasant experience. Band practice followed work and I had an even worse experience riding the bus there. This woman who smelled of fritos crammed herself next to me. I had to sway to the left so I could even continue reading my book while she jabbered the whole time about how tired she was and how tired she was of complaining. I had to pull myself out from under her to get off the bus. Band practice ran later than 9 last night but luckily I was able to get a ride home. I made a sandwich and fell asleep soon after.

I do find myself absent-mindedly placing my palm to my abdomen these days. It's comforting to remind myself of that little heartbeat.

9 Weeks 6 Days

Last night I needed French Fries. I couldn't go to Holman's, because going inside there is like walking into a blanket of cigarette smoke. Sadly enough, they have the best fries in the neighborhood. You know the ones that are super crispy and served with a pot of creamy ranch dressing for dipping? Nothing could be better. To my amazement, however, the local corner store carried a greasy frozen brand, which I grabbed readily. I also grabbed some Heinz Ketchup (or Catsup) and I was on my way. I love this corner store. They sell everything from laundry detergent to brass knuckles. And frozen french fries, apparently. Also, the owner, who's there every night, rings everything up in pennies. Last night it was, "498 pennies, please". Very charming old man.

So, I'm 10 weeks tomorrow, which means my little blob is finally a fetus. Sigh. S/he lost the tail this week. I'm a little sad that I no longer have a little alien in my belly. I also had my 10 week appointment this morning. Dave and I rode our bikes to the Hospital, making it there 3 minutes late. I hurriedly tried to lock up my bike so I could get going but the lock kept dropping. The stress of getting to the appointment on time, the problems with my bike lock and my hormones all collided and I became a raving pregnant woman. Remember the tree branch? I did a number on my helmet and bike lock before Dave calmed me down and helped me lock it up.

We did end up making it to the appointment just fine. And I was so thrilled Dave came with me because we got to listen to the heartbeat. I couldn't believe we would be able to at just 10 weeks! The doctor found it very quickly with the monitor over my abdomen and suddenly this quick repetitive thud-thud-thud-thud resonated in the room. She moved the monitor away slightly and we heard my loud, thunderous (and much slower) heartbeat in the background. Gosh, I sound like a giant engulfing this little hummingbird of a heartbeat. The sound struck me as so funny I started laughing so hard that neither beats were audible. I forcibly tried to calm myself down so we could listen some more but all of us, Dave, the doctor, and myself started laughing some more. I think the excitement of hearing the heartbeat, to know that my little parasite is really there and growing gave me a new perspective on all of this. It feels more real now.


I haven't had a chance yet to post pictures of our first ultrasound. Well, actually it was technically our second. The second was to verify that the embryo was growing properly (another stressful experience I don't need to go into further detail on). The below is the 7 week ultrasound. I think the head is on the right and the bum is on the left but I can't really tell either side apart.


















My first belly shots at 7 weeks. There's no "baby bump" yet. I'm just a little chubby. ;)






























And here is 9 weeks. I look a little bloated (and probably am). It's really fun. Or it might be constipation. It's no "baby bump" yet. Ah the joys of pregnancy.

9 Weeks 2 Days

I found the inspiration to initiate this journal today through my morning sickness. Today it's been just a constant background reminder. All day I've felt on the verge of throwing up without actually having to throw up. I think it started when I took my pre-natal this morning.

Cigarettes are the worst trigger. A couple nights ago, I practically screamed out (in public, amongst people I might add) at Cory and Dave to not walk so close to me because they were smoking. I was going through a hormal-induced crazy moment. In order to calm myself down, I had a fierce encounter with a nearby tree branch. And I won.

So Dave and I are finally getting settled into the new place. I spent most of the weekend alternating between unpacking and watching cheesy movies or chick flicks. I've been really into the cheesy movies lately, having recently gone through an American Pie and sequals marathon day, Mean Girls, The Secret Garden, and the Fifth Element amongst other equally embarrassing movies.

Dave and I've been watching episodes of Arrested Development lately before bed, which I'd never before seen. I'm hooked. Last night, we'd just finished the 2nd DVD of the 2nd season, when we realized the 3rd DVD was not in the box. I was on the verge of having another hormonal flip-out as Dave and I ransacked all of our unpacked boxes looking for the missing DVD. Finally, and yet unsuccessfuly I might add, we settled on watching The Lost Boys. I was so tired from ransacking the apartment, I just fell asleep.

Anyway, I'm going to finish this here because I still feel like I'm going to throw up. I may put some 'before' week-by-week belly shots as well as a scanned image of our ultrasound up here for fun.