Thursday, December 30, 2010

Halfway Mark!! 20 Weeks!!

20 weeks

Well, we've made it to the halfway point!! It feels like it's gone so fast and at the same time, it feels like so long ago since we found out about our little bundle!! After we found out what we were having last week, I hit Baby Gap the next day and stocked him up on some super cute stuff for next winter!! Fearing he might be a big boy, I bought them with hopefully some room to grow!

Christmas was wonderful! Judy spoiled him already and got him tons of little outfits! He also got his first pair of Nike Jordan tennis shoes, just like his daddy used to wear! I felt a little overwhelmed Sunday morning after Christmas. The baby's stuff was everywhere, our stuff was everywhere, and I just felt like I wanted everything clean!! I took down all our Christmas stuff on Monday, which was early for me, being only 2 days after Christmas. But it felt great to get it down so we can start organizing it and the storage room.

This week has been a little more rough than others. I'm starting to feel the pregnancy a lot more. My bump is definitely there now and I feel like it makes me walk slower and my back hurt. It's probably just going to take some getting used to. I went to the gym Monday night and it was so hard! The walking wasn't bad at all, but the light weights and leg lunges were hard. I used to be totally confident in the weight room and now I just feel out of place. There are so many things I used to be able to do that now I can't do so I spend a lot of time just trying to figure out my next move. The worst may be the bathroom visits!! It's ramped back up again and I feel like I'm in there all the time. What doesn't help is that I'm so thirsty that I drink tons of water, but I feel like just lookng at a glass of water makes me have to pee!! I'm getting up 2-3 times a night which doesn't help! With all the cleaning and organizing and everything on my mind, sometimes if I wake up to go to the bathroom, I have a hard time getting my mind to shut off so I can go back to sleep.

Little man is starting to get on a little bit of a schedule it seems like. I'll usually feel him move in the morning - 8am-9am is when he starts and then at night usually right around 9 or a little after. The rest of his movements are a little sporadic, so it makes me nervous if I haven't felt him for awhile. We started talking showers today!! Judy is throwing one and my sister and my mom wants to also! It's so exciting to think about! I feel so grateful that so many people want to do these for us. We had a bunch for our wedding and we felt so loved.

We're hoping to get the crib ordered in the next couple of weeks and maybe the dresser. We decided to buy a new dresser to match his crib so we can have the old dresser in the room now for storage for our clothes. I feel like there are a million things left to do to get the house ready and luckily we have plenty of time. I just tend to get so far ahead of myself and just go from Point A to Point ZZZ and get overwhelmed by how much needs to be done. We just need to take it a step at a time.

I've been having a weird feeling this past couple of days in my stomach. It almost feels like pressure and sometimes a pulled muscle. Down in the lower part near my pelvis I feel little flutters every once in awhile, but not like 'baby kicking' flutters. I'm trying to document as much as possible b/c I have some friends who are also pregnant or trying and I want to be sure to tell them the things I went through or compare notes!

Thursday, December 23, 2010

It's a BOY!!!

19 weeks

We got the best news yesterday!! We are having a little boy!! We had a few issues with the appointment and some scheduling issues, but someone was totally watching out for us and we were still able to get in and see our little man yesterday.

He was a perfect little model! He looked at us straight on, he gave us his profile and he even rolled on his stomach and we have a picture of his whole spine. He was moving around like crazy and had his sweet little hands up by his face, but never covering it. We got a picture full on of his little 'man parts' so according to the sonogram tech, there's no question!!

Our sonogram tech was so wonderful. She let us look at him for a good 20 minutes and pointed out his organs - we saw his heart, his bladder, his brain and his stomach. We also got to see his little spine and femur.

She took measurements and he looks about right for his age. The due date was moved up just a little bit to May 15th from May 21st, but they aren't officially changing it. He weighs about 11oz and is so cute!

My mom and I think he's going to look like me. From the ultrasound pictures, it looks like he has my face shape, my mom's nose and my mouth. Granted, it's so hard to tell right now, but that's what we're saying!

Nick and I went out to dinner last night to celebrate at Salty Iguana and realized it was the same place we decided on the boy name months ago! So, we came up with a 'fake' name to call him now - Carlos. Being at a KU place, we went over some basketball player options - Kief, Sherron, Selby, but decided on Carlos. We are going to call him that even at home so we don't slip and say his real name to anyone before he gets here!

Our families are so excited! We called all the parents and Mia right away. I sent a text to a bunch of our friends and everyone is so excited!! We are going to tell the rest of Nick's family at Christmas in a couple of days. We showed Nick's mom and my mom the pictures last night!!

I have to say, that was hands down the most amazing experience so far in my life. To see him moving and his full little body in there was wonderful and made it all so real. It was also so cool to see where I've been feeling the most movement is right where his little feet are so that's what I've been feeling! I love looking at all his little pictures and have showed them off to everyone at work today!!

Monday, December 13, 2010

How I knew I was pregnant

I feel like I hear people all the time say, 'I knew I was pregant because...'. Well, just so I don't forget how I knew, here's my story, which is more of how I didn't know!

Late August was the first month we were going to officially 'try' to have a baby. We were planning on September, but it just happened that 'prime time' would fall the last week of August. So we gave it a shot, did the few things you're supposed to do when you're trying and just hoped for the best. Being it was our first month to try, we weren't expecting it to happen and were prepared to keep trying as long as we needed.

A couple of weeks went by and for some reason, I just felt like it didn't work. No big deal, we'd try again the next month. Aunt Rose was due mid-September so when at the first KU game over Labor Day a couple of beers made me feel a little queasy, I looked at Nick and half jokingly said 'well, maybe it worked after all.' I didn't really think it did, so when the next night I had crazy heartburn, I didn't really think much of it. We had a housewarming party with some of Nick's friends and I decided not to drink because of the heartburn and the fact that the day before it had made me feel a little off.

The next weekend, we had another housewarming party, with the same group of friends and the heartburn was back. This time I thought it was from something I had eaten so I just ignored it. I was having some slight cramps and Aunt Rose was due that next week. I had taken a pregnancy test the Friday before just for the heck of it and it was negative. Or so I thought - there was a 'faint' plus sign but I thought it was just how the test was supposed to look and took it as a negative. Somehow, a few girls at the party seemed suspicious and were asking me if I was pregnant since I wasn't drinking. I said no, honestly believing I wasn't.

That Monday (the day Aunt Rose was due) was the Chiefs Monday Night Football game. We were going to the game and to tailgate with a huge group of friends. I took a pregnancy test that day at lunch to be sure I was ok to drink and it was negative. As we were tailgating, we found out that a bunch of friends from the party that weekend had all thought we were pregnant and were talking about it after we left. Nick and I were cracking up and in fact, we were all joking about it! I told everyone that I wasn't pregnant, as I had just taken a test that day.

Well, the week went on and still no sign of Aunt Rose other than normal cramps. I started looking online and sure enough, a lot of women said they had cramps during the first few weeks of pregnancy. I didn't want to get my hopes up, as we had a false alarm just a couple months before that felt very similar to this one. I waited as long as I possibly could to be sure we'd get the most accurate test reading. That Friday morning I woke up so early, knowing I was going to take the test. I decided to use the 'pee in a cup' method rather than directly on the strip to try and get more accuracy. I did the deed, set the test down and went to throw everything else out in the garage. That took maybe a total of 15 seconds and by the time I got back, here's what the test said:


I was so in shock, I almost didn't believe it. I went to wake up Nick and showed it to him and couldn't even get the words out! I was crying and laughing and speechless! Luckily he's the calm one and just stayed calm and said how exciting it was. I took another test just to be sure later that morning, same reading. So I made an appointment with my general family doctor and around lunch time that day, she was able to confirm the great news!!
So, that's my long, drawn out story for how I knew (or didn't) that I was pregnant!

Unexpected pain

18 weeks

I knew that getting pregnant was going to cause my body to go through a ton of changes. I knew I would gain weight, maybe get sick, maybe be more tired, etc. What I did NOT expect was how much pain I would be in so soon!

I've been dealing with headaches on and off pretty much all of the 2nd trimester. Most of the time, caffeine takes it away - but I don't want to drink pop so I'm trying to slowing stop using that remedy.

Well, in the last few weeks, everything from the waist down has started to hurt. From lower back (what I think is Sciatica) pain that sends sharp shooting pains down my leg, to hip pain that makes it impossible to sleep, to now sore calf muslces! I don't know if it's the extra weight or what, but it's not comfortable! Luckily, I have an amazing husband who is always there to try and work out the kinks when I'm in pain!

On a much happier note, baby has started moving a lot now. I feel it all the time. Some days more than others, but it's crazy and wonderful. Sometimes it's weird because it just reminds me that there is a living thing in there. But it's always just wonderful and makes me feel so connected to the baby. I can't wait for Nick to be able to feel it also.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

My poor husband

17 weeks

I've heard people talk about how 'emotional' you get during pregnancy. Not being a big 'crier' over little stuff normally, I haven't had any affects of this so far. Until this last weekend...I was mad for no reason and crying at the drop of a hat!! And while all this is happening, I'm totally aware of how irrational and ridiculous it is, but just can't seem to stop myself!



We bought our new fancy 'baby camera' - a Nikon D3000 last night. Thanks to my husband's gift for finding good deals on seriously ANYTHING, we saved $150 on it!! I was so excited and couldn't wait to get home to play with it!! I knew Nick wanted us to have it and he worked hard to find the best deal possible. So as we're messing around with it last night, we find out it doesn't have a 'live view' option where you can see the picture on the screen before you take the picture. Apparently, this is enough to make a pregnant woman start crying - seriously?!! I was so upset because I had done so much research and felt like this was the camera I really wanted...I could have SWORN in my research that it did have a 'live view' option, but that it wasn't as good as just using the little eye view finder. So, I just start crying and saying we need to take it back. (See- irrational).



My wonderful and patient husband starts looking more online and taking pictures of Oscar to show me how great the pictures are. He finally talks me down from my ledge and we have decided we are going to keep the camera and give it a shot. It's a great starter camera that takes amaing pictures! Below is a picture he took of Oscar to show me how great it is!

Monday, December 6, 2010

We've got a mover!

17 weeks

It's official! As of Friday, I've felt at least a little movement every day from Baby B!! At my appointment last week my doctor told me it would start happening any time and sure enough on Friday, at exactly 16 weeks, I felt a little movement. I felt it again on Saturday. At first, I wasn't totally sure because it was up by my belly button, which seemed so high. The doctor found the heartbeat down really low last Monday, but after talking to my mom, Nick's mom, Tracy and googling like crazy, it seems like the baby's head or feet could be up there and that's what I'm feeling.

Today, I'm feeling it a little more all around. I was getting ready for work this morning and I felt a little kick or movement. I felt like the baby was saying 'Good Morning Mommy, I'm awake too'. LOL! So of course, I told him/her Good Morning. It's so crazy to finally feel it move! And it's confirmed that what I was feeling at 13-14 weeks was in fact the baby moving. This feels so similar, just more often and a little stronger. Even though the doctor said that was too early, I know what I felt.

Another little side effect is my lower back pain! YUCK!! It's like a sharp pain at some points, but almost always at least an intense ache on the lower right side of my back. Last night, if I slept in certain positions, it would send shooting pains from my lower back, to my hip, all the way down my leg. It was like the back, hip and knee would throb the worst. I tried to adjust positions, but it would still catch me!

Nick and I went baby shopping this weekend. I think we picked out a stroller/car seat combo. We tested out the kind of crib we want and really liked it. We will probably register right after the first of the year. Right now, we're focusing on Nick finishing Grad School and the holidays!! A little over 2 weeks until we find out what we've got growing! I hope he/she not only cooperates but that they don't find any issues when they finally do the sonogram. I think I'm almost as excited just to see the baby as I am to find out what it is!!

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Thanksgiving and beyond!

15 weeks

Thanksgiving was a success. It was a total whirlwind, but it was great to see all our family!

Baby B apparently isn't a huge fan of Thanksgiving food however. I don't know if it was the heaviness of it all or what, but at both major meals, my stomach was upset. The funniest story from the holiday weekend was Thanksgiving night. We ate lunch with my mom and sister at our house, then in the afternoon, went to Gary and Judy's. Judy had spent so much time cooking and then forever cleaning up. The entire time, my stomach was a little rumbly so not only was I still full, I didn't even want to try and eat. Until right about 7:30 pm and then I was STARVING!

I didn't want to make Judy get all the food out again and I didn't want to run the risk of an upset stomach again. And, as has become the norm, all that sounded good was a cheeseburger! Well, being Thanksgiving night, NO fast food places were open. Erin and I even drove all around the area - McDonald's, Wendy's, Sonic, Burger King, Winstead's - NOTHING was open. I had almost given up hope until we were on the way back home and saw that a bar by Gary/Judy's had lights on! I got back to their house and called Saints and ordered a cheeseburger and fries to go!!

While it wasn't the world's best cheeseburger, it sure tasted like it that night. These crazy cravings are pretty funny!!

This week has brought an end to the belly band with my old pants routine. I think I'm finally past the point of that not only being comfortable but being in any way appealing. I'm giving the final pair of pants one last shot today but at lunch I'm heading out for some maternity pants!

We had a doctor's appointment on Monday and all looked good. She checked the heartbeat and said it sounded nice and strong! We also bought our video baby monitor. We found a really nice one for a great deal (gotta love holiday shopping deals) so we decided to get it. Our crib is also on sale so that may be the next purchase. We find out in 3 weeks what we're having and I cannot even wait!