Growing!

My belly is certainly expanding!  This week my abs have been sore but I haven't been working them out.  And the area right around my belly button is really sore to the touch.  It's all from my abs stretching and even separating (eewww) to make room for Baby Girl!  Well here are the results of that happening!  I pretended to do crossfit today so I stretched one of my pre-pregnancy crossfit outfits over my bump.  The shirt is almost too short to fit over my belly now.

And this picture was just for my own curiosity.  I've been told that I don't look pregnant from behind, well I can't see that for myself so this was my way to see if people are lying to me just being nice.  I think I'm a little wider in the mid section than before, but I don't mind, my excuse is that it's just evening out to help with the weight distribution :-)

On a side note, at my doctor's appointment this week when I was able to sit up the nurse came over and said "let me help you up" but I sat up on my own before she could finish the sentence.  She looked surprised and said "Oh, your abs still work!"  My reaction: "You're telling me they are going to stop working!!???"  Oh yay, another thing I wish I didn't know!  Yes, my abs will end up stretching too much to do their normal job, fun, fun, fun!

27 Week Update!

This week Baby Girl is the size of a rutabaga! (I'm not sure what a rutabaga is....) but she's more than 14 inches long and weighs more than 2 lbs.  Her brain is even more developed this week and now not only can she hear sounds and feel movement but she can react to them!  She might jump if startled by a loud noise!  She can also recognize mommy and daddy's voices too!  This week she has also started opening her eyes, up until this point the eye lids were fused shut.

I have one smart cookie growing in there.  At today's appointment, the nurse put the doppler on my belly to find her heart beat and right away Baby Girl kicked it off.  When the nurse put it back she kept kicking at it.  So the nurse stopped and said, "Now listen, as fun as it is to see you move, we also want to hear you."  And just like that Baby Girl cooperated. 

She's been moving like crazy this week.  Her dance moves are so strong that you can actually see her jabbing my belly.  It's definitely making me less productive because I can't help but stop and watch her moving around, it's absolutely amazing. I can't wait for Dan to be home to see it too, Baby Girl might get a midnight ice cream snack tonight to get her moving in the few hours that he will be home!

Today I also had my glucose test.  The drink didn't taste bad at all but after chugging 50g of sugar I didn't feel so wonderfully afterwards.  I'll get a phone call in 2-3 days if I failed and and have to go back for a 3 hour test.  So let's hope I don't hear from the doctor's office any time soon!  They also switched me to appointments every 2 weeks instead of monthly (this is routine now that I'll be in the 3rd trimester, where has the time gone) which I'm fine with, it's twice as many times to hear Baby Girl's heart beat! Today her heart rate was 146 and strong. 

I feel like my belly is growing double time.  I can still fit into my non-maternity summer dresses, but I'm guessing that won't last much longer, I have no idea what I'll do for the fall since maternity clothes still look ridiculous on this shorty.

I've learned that there are lots of strangers out there that think they have x-ray vision.  I've been told that I "must be having a boy."  I reply saying, "no, it's a girl."  To which I've been told, "no, you're too small for that to be a girl." or "Just wait, you'll see."  Thank you random strangers, but I think I'll stick to the news the doctor and tech gave me who actually looked at Baby's GIRL anatomy.

I've been feeling pretty much the same lately, except the back pain is getting worse.  I'm going to invest in one of those maternity support belts to see if I get any relief.  And the pregnancy brain is getting worse as well.  I forget anything that I don't put on my calendar with reminder alerts. I'm going to have to start setting reminders for everything from putting on my shoes (I wore my flip flops to work twice this week, luckily I had shoes in my car) to doing laundry to picking up Hubby at the airport (luckily he knows about my condition and calls me 50 times before getting on the plane)!

Biggest dilemma of the week: what to wear to my baby shower?  What will the weather be like then?  What size will I be then?  Where the heck can I find maternity clothes that actually fit me?

How far along? 27 weeks

Total weight gain/loss:  Up 11 lbs overall, 2 pounds gained in the past week again.  But the doctor didn’t say anything negative at my appointment today, just told me not to worry about anything so I’m taking that as no worrying about my diet either!  The numbers on the scale have reached numbers I’ve never seen before but it’s really not bothering me.

Maternity clothes?  I don’t want to talk about it.  Another disappointing shopping trip this weekend; what the heck am I supposed to wear?

Stretch marks? No.

Sleep:  No more or less. 

Best moment this week:  Watching her make my belly move!

Miss Anything?  Hubby.

Movement:  Crazy dance parties have begun!

Food cravings: No real cravings but I’m obsessed with the cool new coke machines they have at Noodles and Company.  It’s a touch screen computer and you pick what you want then you pick what flavor you want to add to it.  So I can get lime flavored water and it’s bright green, and it’s pretty awesome. 

 Anything making you queasy or sick: Bananas, Sweet Potatoes, and the trash can. 

Belly Button in or out? In but it’s looking more shallow.

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy.

Looking forward to:  Dessert, haha, super sweet tooth lately!

Random Maternity Items

This week I have noticed that putting a napkin on my lap does no good.  If I drop any food, which I do more often since I have to sit further from the table to fit,  it just lands on my belly.  I think I'll have to start fashioning a belly bib with my napkin.  [Quick Google Search]  Turns out people actually sell "belly bibs."  Apparently I'm not the first pregnant lady to have this problem.  But I think I'll hold on to my money and just place a napkin over my belly!

Another nifty belly accessory that I will be purchasing shortly is a maternity support belt.  This belt is said to support the belly to take some pressure off of the bladder and strain off of the back.  My back has been killing me this week. 

In other news, I have my glucose test tomorrow to screen for gestational diabetes.  I have to drink a bottle of fruit punch flavored liquid sugar, provided by the doctor, then get my blood drawn exactly an hour later.  If I fail that test then I have to go through a 3 hour test, getting blood taken each hour, so keep your fingers crossed I pass!

Bump Pictures!

Giant baby bump!  I feel huge, but I still have lots of growing to do!  Excuse the ill fitted top, I couldn't see how much extra fabric there is under my belly!  At the rate I'm growing there won't be any extra fabric soon!  

Class #2

Yesterday we had our second, and last, childbirth class.  We started out with some visualization exercises that almost put me to sleep (and did put Hubby to sleep).  Then we talked about reassurance and massage so I got to sit on the floor on blankets and pillows and try other comfy labor positions while Hubby gave me a massage and told me how awesome I was.  This was supposed to be a labor rehearsal but the ice cubes they gave us to squeeze to simulate contraction pain was a bit of a joke.  When the rehearsal was over I said to Hubby, "wow, labor is pretty easy" haha!  Hubby was very good at making me laugh and I wonder if this method will be successful during actual labor or if it will get him a palm to the forehead, we shall see!

We also talked about all of the medical interventions that are available during childbirth.  This convinced me even more that I want to try to stick it out for a natural delivery.  A needle in my spine and having to have a catheter since I won't be able to get up to use the restroom  does not sound like a good time.  The only thing I worry about is that if you don't have an epidural and they need to do an emergency c-section then they need to put you to sleep with general anesthesia and I wouldn't get to see Baby Girl until I was awake.  But they did point out that emergency c-sections only occur 1% of the time so that made me feel better.  I do need to talk to my doctor about episiotomy...if you don't know what it is, don't look it up, you don't want to know.  But I need to warn her that no matter how much local anesthesia she uses, if she comes at me with a pair of scissors, I may kick her.  Luckily they don't do that very often either.

The end of the class got into other nitty gritty stuff that I have to know but wish I didn't.  We covered the "goody bag" of stuff the hospital will give me to help my recovery and why I will need all of those lovely goodies.  They should have thrown in another relaxation session after that, that's when I needed it.  Okay, that's enough of that discussion, I want to forget about it until after I meet my Baby Girl!

Tonight is baby care class, I'm excited to play with dolls and I will try to snap a picture of Dan with one too.  It won't be the last time he plays with dolls!

Week 26 Update!

I had to double check to make sure I really was already on week 26, it's flying by!

This week Baby Girl Veale is 14 inches long, the length of an English cucumber and almost 2 lbs!  She is inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid which is preparing her for taking her first breath of air on delivery day!  Her ears are even more developed and she's busy listening in on all of my conversations.

I'm not feeling wonderfully today maybe due to the super busy days I've had (all of which were very fun).  But I'm hoping this feeling doesn't last because I have a few more busy days ahead too!  Tonight is childbirth class #2 and tomorrow is baby care class.  I honestly thought baby care would be a great one to take just to get Dan more comfortable with babies, but the more I read the more I realize I don't know so I am glad to be taking it too!  I was looking at pictures of baby bath tubs today and seeing the little babies in that water made me super nervous!

This week I have ordered the crib skirt, window valance, wall decals, and fitted sheets for the nursery all through Etsy (I have an addiction) and am now patiently waiting for them to get hand made and shipped to me.  I should have realized that hand made things would take longer to get and I don't have that much patience at the moment, but I'm glad to have at least checked off the ordering!  I also ordered a Christmas present this week which I laughed about doing so early, but now it has me thinking that I'll probably want all of my shopping done before Baby Girl arrives!  The month between her due date and Christmas I certainly won't be spending in line at stores!!!

How far along? 26 weeks

Total weight gain/loss:  Up 9 lbs overall, 2 pounds gained in the past week again.  We’ll see what my doctor has to say about this rapid weight gain at my appointment next week…hopefully I’m not up another 2 pounds by then!

Maternity clothes?  A must!  Although I only have 6 outfits for work and I’m getting sick of rotating it but with fall quickly approaching I will hold out until I have to buy new weather appropriate clothes.

Stretch marks? No.

Sleep:  No more or less.  

Best moment this week:  Cirque du Soleil with friends and family!  I love spending time with my parents!

Miss Anything?  My energy and motivation!

Movement:  Not as much this week, but every now and then she’ll wiggle to let me know she’s still there.

Food cravings: Nothing really this week.

 Anything making you queasy or sick: Bananas, Sweet Potatoes, and the trash can.  

Belly Button in or out? In but it’s looking more shallow.

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy, except today, feeling yucky.

Looking forward to: Picking up Hubby at the airport later today and visiting Roommate and B this weekend! 

Double Digits!

Holy Moly, 99 days until Baby Girl's due date!  We are down to double digits, I can't believe how quickly she will be here!

Speaking of double...I have double of everything.  I have 4 eyes, 4 ears, 4 arms, 4 legs, 2 noses, 20 fingers and 20 toes, and coolest of all 2 heart beats!  Random thought of the day...

I had a fun filled weekend with my family but Baby Girl had me nervous.  I didn't feel her move at all.  I was going to call the doctor today because I was stressing about it but after my alarm clock went off at 4:45 am, my grimace quickly turned to a smile as I felt her kicking away.  It must have been the change in routine.  My parents are night owls and lately I like to be in bed early.  Also, we didn't sit still for much of the weekend, we were out and about so she must have not gotten bored enough to have a dance party in my belly.

And to go completely off topic again, we saw Cirque du Soleil Totem this weekend and it's a must see!  Seriously, go see it!

 

Nursery Progress

We've finally made progress!  Well, Dan finally made progress anyways!  He had a surprise four days at home this week and managed to get the floors done, patch up the walls, put the baseboards up, and set up the crib and dresser! I have a Superhubby!

Here's what our nursery looked like just 5 days ago.

The rugs were torn up, walls were nicked, and there was lots of trash.  It made me a little nervous but here's the nursery now! 

New floors and new furniture!  It's looking a bit like a boy's room right now but once I get decorating that will most definitely change!  More pics will come as soon as the room is looking girly!  :-)

In other news, now that the nursery and office have been cleared out and no longer make us look like hoarders, every closet in the house needs to be opened very carefully to avoid the avalanche of things falling out.  Now I have my work cut out for me over the next couple months!

Class #1

Dan and I went to our first childbirth class last night.  This is something I had been stressing about.  First, I didn't know how we were going to find the time to get one in, I don't know Dan's schedule ahead of time and all the weekend classes are booked solid until well after our due date.  Secondly, I didn't really know how much I wanted to learn about childbirth because the thought of it terrified me.

Turns out one of Dan's trips got cancelled and he got a last minute four days at home.  I also know he's scheduled to fly back into DC next Wednesday.  There just happened to be a two night class that happened to fall on those two nights with one slot left so I signed us up last minute and off we went.  Dan and I both feared that they would show us a birthing video which neither one of us really wanted to see.

The class started out great. They took a minute to point out some of the discomforts of pregnancy then showed a picture similar to this to help explain why I feel the way I do.  Look how squished all of my organs are thanks to Baby Girl!

Then they jumped right into labor, starting with the signs of labor and when to get to the hospital.  I really liked how much she mentioned the benefits of laboring at home for as long as possible; Hubby doesn't like this idea and actually wants to find a hotel right next to the hospital to stay in closer to my delivery date so he can get me to the hospital right away.  I was hoping that the teacher strongly pushing laboring at home would get him to lighten up a bit, but he brought up the hotel idea again on the way home from class so I guess it didn't sink in!

They went through all the stages of labor until the actual delivery.  The entire class was focused on natural delivery without any medication.  I was very glad to see this since hospitals have been getting bad reps lately for intervening too much into what is supposed to be a natural process.  My favorite quote from the instructor is that "labor pain is purposeful."  Our natural instinct is to avoid pain at all costs, this is why many women ask for drugs the second they get to the hospital.  They know the pain is going to get bad so they want to avoid it.  But labor hurts for a reason.  Your body morphs to allow the baby to come out, painful, yes, but necessary.  Without drugs inhibiting you, you can feel your body telling you when to push and you have more strength to do so.  Also, walking and changing positions helps decrease the chance of needing a C-Section but with an epidural in your back you can't get out of the bed. 

Whenever I tell anyone that I do not want the epidural they laugh and tell me "just wait!"  I know that I've never experienced anything remotely close to childbirth so I have no idea of how intense the pain is.  But I can learn ways to help cope with the pain and not give in to the epidural. The epidural scares me, I don't want anyone going near my spine with a needle, and I don't want any part of my body to be paralyzed even temporarily.  While I'm sure I will be fighting to just give in and get the drugs, I know it's just temporary pain with an amazing end result.  Our bodies were meant to deliver babies so it must be something I can handle.  And hey, if I do give in, all you nay-sayers can come back and say "told ya so!" and I'll just take it in stride.

The last portion of class was going over relaxation techniques and ways that Hubby can try to help me relieve some of the pain during contractions.  Although I'm getting the impression that Hubby is way more stressed about the delivery than I am so maybe I'll need to recruit a second coach to calm him down!

They did show a lot of video clips including a delivery, but thankfully not from the dreaded angle.  It was more so we could see the facial expressions of the delivering mother and the way her husband coached her.  I really enjoyed the class and am glad we did it.  I am now much less nervous about the process and more confident that I want a drug free delivery.

We'll see what next week's class brings!

Week 25 Update!

This week Baby Girl is 13.5 inches long and weighs a pound and a half.  According to TheBump.com this is the size of a cauliflower.  Whoever writes these articles must live in a produce super state because I do not think I am going to find a 13.5 inch cauliflower.  But I digress, this week Baby Girl's nostrils have cleared and opened up and she can practice breathing.  Her tiniest blood capillaries (I think that's the right term, I writing this from memory after reading articles earlier today) are also forming this week giving her formerly translucent skin a pinkish glow.  Her hair is also starting to get some pigmentation and she is gaining some body fat, all of which is making her look less like an alien and more like a newborn.

At this point I have 15 weeks left to be considered full term.  But if Baby Girl decides to take after her mommy and daddy she could very well be here in 9 weeks!  So I am starting to freak out a little.  This feeling combined with my physical changes are making me feel and act like a stereotypical pregnant woman.  In the past week I went from not feeling pregnant to feeling incredibly heavy and sluggish.  I'll take a moment now to complain a little bit about the new list of things that are becoming increasingly difficult for me:

1.  Getting up from a lying down position.  It must be because my ab muscles have stretched but I can't simply sit up from lying down any more.  I need to use a sort of rocking motion to get some momentum to get up.  I'm sure I'd be quite hysterical to watch.

2.  Washing up in the morning and evening.  Our vanity is at the perfect height that the roundest part of my belly hits it while leaning over the sink.  I think I will need to buy another step stool for the bathroom.  Yes, my side of the bed is only a few feet from the bedroom and there is already a step stool there that could be moved back and forth...but see #3.

3.  Picking things up off of the floor.  Leaning forward is a no go.  I've been told all along that it's bad on a pregnant lady's back to lean forward so I should always squat down to pick things up.  I had been ignoring that since I hadn't gotten very big and hadn't gained much weight.  But all of that has changed and over the weekend I leaned over to pick something up and had the worst back pain I've ever experienced so now that's over.  The problem is that with a belly and decreased coordination/balance, one must squat in a wide stance.  For someone who typically wears dresses and skirts this can be an issue.

4.  Going up the stairs.  I have no problem actually going up the stairs, the problem is a few seconds after I reach the top I get completely out of breath and have to stop for a moment to calm the heart that feels like it's beating out of my chest and get some air.  This is an alarming and annoying symptom for someone who is normally in good shape!

But I know all of this is only going to get worse so I just continue on with a smile on my face.  Just thinking about the end result makes everything worth it. 

Hubby's latest work trip got cancelled so they flew him home for 4 days!  It's so nice having him home every night.  He's also made a lot of progress on the nursery.  He has finished the hard wood floors and is working on the base boards today!  My parent's are coming to visit this weekend so my Dad can set up the furniture for us too.  This has me feeling much better.

How far along? 25 weeks

Total weight gain/loss:  Up 7 lbs overall, 2 pounds gained in the past week.  I’m thinking I need to cut back on the mac & cheese.

Maternity clothes?  A must!  I only bought work clothes since I could get away with the elastic band on my jeans and summer dresses, but I'm getting to the point where I'll need to switch to casual maternity clothes too.  I just wish they weren't so expensive!

Stretch marks? No.

Sleep:  A lot more dreams this week. 

Best moment this week:  Having Hubby home!

Miss Anything?  My energy and motivation!

Movement:  Yes!  Usually just at night and in meetings.  I think she gets bored when I sit still for too long!

Food cravings: Mac & Cheese is a favorite.  Cravings vary day to day.  Weirdest one of the week was ramen noodles.

 Anything making you queasy or sick: Bananas, Sweet Potatoes, and the trash can.

Belly Button in or out? In but it’s looking more shallow.

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!  

Looking forward to: Going to Cirque du Soleil this weekend!  And having my parents come visit! 

Diaper Bags!

Choosing a diaper bag was one of the hardest baby purchases to date!  Any shopping I've done recently has been for Baby Girl, which I love, or for maternity clothes, which I hate.  The diaper bag really felt like something more for me.  I love purses but for the next couple of years the diaper bag is going to replace my purse, so I should love the diaper bag I choose too, right?  I spent countless hours going over reviews of diaper bags.  There were lots of bags with great reviews for under $100, Skip Hop brand bags get great scores for functionality, but they look like diaper bags (yes, I realize they are diaper bags but we've had this talk about irrational thinking...); they are a cute baby accessory, but not a cute mom accessory.  Next I delved into the world of expensive diaper bags and I was sold, there was no going back.  I narrowed it down to three brands, Ju Ju Be, Petunia Pickle Bottom, or Coach.  The selling factor ended up being Coach's unique marketing strategy.  They call their bag a multipurpose tote, it just happens to have elasticized pockets that fit bottles and a matching changing pad, but it's not being labeled as a diaper bag.  So to me this seemed like the best option because after diaper bag days I can just use it as a tote bag.  And the colors are pretty awesome.

Look at all these pockets!  And there are four pockets on the outside too!

So now that I picked out the diaper bag for me, I am refreshing the shipping page every five minutes patiently waiting for it to arrive.  Yes, I'm way too excited about this diaper bag.  But I'm just using up that allotted pregnant lady irrational thinking time. 

24 Week Update!

This week Baby Veale has grown to almost 12 inches head to toe, the length of an eggplant, and weighs a pound and a half.  She will steadily be gaining half a pound a week as she gains body fat and builds bones, muscles, and organs.  Her little face is almost fully complete including eyelashes, eyebrows and hair on her head.  But right now all of that hair is white since there’s no pigment yet.  

 

My weekly pregnancy update e-mail informed me that my uterus is now the size of a soccer ball, I didn’t really want to know that, but now that I do I figured I’d share, you’re welcome.  This is probably why my belly button is starting to look a little shallow.  Turns out there’s a lot of things I don’t really want to know about.  I know I should sign up for a birthing class because they will tell me a lot of useful things, but honestly, the less I know about how Baby Girl Veale will be entering this world, the happier I will probably be on her delivery day.  The more detail I know, the more worried and stressed I’ll probably be.  Baby Girl is coming out that day whether I know all the details or not; ignorance is bliss!  I certainly do not want to watch any birthing videos.  I do not want to see what is going to happen to my body and I do not want Hubby to see what is going to happen to my body.  He’s not even allowed to see it that day, he is staying right up by my head the whole time and I think he’s fine with that.   I know I’m probably being irrational again, but aren’t pregnant ladies allowed to be? 

On a more fun note, today is our third wedding anniversary.  Our wedding was the most fun day of my life.  I was so happy to be marrying Dan and my Mom is quite the wedding planner so for me everything was stress free and just perfect!  On one hand I can’t believe it’s already been three years, but on the other I feel like we’ve been together forever.  It has been almost ten years since we met.  That day is one I’ll always remember.  The first time we met was also sort of our first date considering it was freshman year of college and we had no car to actually go out anywhere, but we walked around campus and played Foosball for way too long, just the two of us.  I didn’t think of it as a date then, I can’t really explain how I felt that day, I didn’t have time for boys in high school; between dance and school work I just wasn’t interested in anything else so this was new for me, but I knew he was something special.  Looking back I think it was love, even on that first day, but since it was a new feeling for me, it took me quite a while to realize it!  We were good friends that year but never let it get to be more, although neither one of us was serious with anyone else during that time.  Sophomore year we realized that our friendship was more than that, it was love.  I take that back, I realized it sophomore year, turns out Dan realized it soon after we met.  I was clueless though and even though he’d walk me back to my building after all my classes and come hang out and watch girly tv shows with my friends just to spend time with me, it took me a little longer to realize what was going on.  But he was patient and we’ve been together ever since.  And I tell you, that patience has been a virtue during pregnancy, he puts up with so much!  

How far along? 24 weeks

Total weight gain/loss:  Up 5 lbs overall. 

Maternity clothes?  Yes! Bought more clothes over tax-free weekend, all you MA people, we have to pay tax on clothing in VA, at least you get one break while living in Taxachusetts.

Stretch marks? Nope, but I am worried about it since my bump is growing so quickly!  I lather on the cocoa butter, morning and night!

Sleep:  No worse than my pregnancy usual. 

 

Best moment this week:  Can I go with worst moment this week instead?  Going to the dentist was horrible. I had read that your gums can be more sensitive while pregnant but this is an understatement.  It was absolutely horrible, I was grateful for that little bib they put on me, it was covered in blood :-(

Miss Anything?  Hubby.  He’s been gone all week for work.

Movement:  Yes!  Usually just at night and in meetings.  I think she gets bored when I sit still for too long!

Food cravings: Mac & Cheese and when I watched an episode of Project Runway where they went to a candy store for supplies I had a real yearning for licorice. 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Bananas, Sweet Potatoes, and the trash can.

Have you started to show yet:  Yup, I am most definitely looking pregnant.  I can  probably get rid of this question from now on…

Belly Button in or out? In but it’s looking more shallow.

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy! 

Looking forward to: Hubby flying home tonight for anniversary dinner, even though he’s leaving again tomorrow. 

Feeling Pregnant!

I can tell I'm nearing the third trimester as I'm now feeling more pregnant.  I've got some fun new symptoms!

1.  The rapidly growing bump is throwing off my center of gravity and killing my posture; result = back pain.  It doesn't kick in too badly until 5 or 6 pm but then it's bad.

2.  I now know where all of the public restrooms in the area are located.  Luckily this isn't every day yet, only when Baby Girl decides she wants to settle on my bladder, but then she has me looking for a rest room every half an hour!  On Sunday, after I visited the restrooms at Noodles and Company, Starbucks, Macy's and Barnes and Noble, I was hunting down another when Hubby told me it was in my head.  I assure you all, it's not in my head!

3.  I am so tired!  It doesn't matter how long I sleep for, when that alarm goes off I cannot get my head off of the pillow.  I guess it's good that it's inevitable that I will have to get up to run to the bathroom soon after the alarm goes off, otherwise I think I wouldn't make it out of bed.  Then even once I'm up, I need to sit down every two hours to refresh and then the battle of not wanting to get back up begins!

4.  I feel gigantic!  I haven't gained much weight but gosh it feels like I have!  Everything I do feels more labored and strenuous.  Just carrying the grocery bags in from the car gets me out of breath.  The worst is climbing into bed; our bed is very high off of the ground but it's never bothered me until now.  Recently I'd hoist myself up and sort of just fall into the bed.  So my most recent purchase:

Yes, that's a step stool to help me get into bed and I can't even express how much I appreciate this little step stool!

But overall I'm still feeling healthy and so grateful that I have gotten the chance to experience pregnancy and that I will have a little girl in my arms in less than four months!

Papaya Photo Shoot!

This week Baby Veale is the length, head to toe, of a papaya, over 11 inches long!  I almost didn't buy a papaya because they are huge!  Baby Veale is not as bulky nor does she weigh as much as a papaya does, but as far as length is concerned she's actually longer than this papaya.  It seems HUGE but it's only 9.5 inches long.  I have NO torso so poor Baby Girl is certainly smooshed in there and my bump is certainly going to be expanding quickly to keep up with her!  I already am feeling gigantic so I can't imagine how I'll feel in the coming weeks!

This was the first time I've bought a papaya; I'll have to google what to do with one.  Dan said "Do we have to eat that?" and crinkled his nose so maybe this papaya's sole purpose will be a photo prop.

Here's one of the bump!  It's growing and growing!

No doubt about it!

I'm pregnant!  Yes, you already knew that, but random strangers did not! Yesterday was the first day that someone I didn't tell mentioned my pregnancy; actually five separate people did.  And we all know that we shouldn't ever assume a woman is pregnant unless absolutely sure so now I guess I look absolutely, positively, pregnant, no doubts about it! I'm very happy about this although it does make me nervous that I'm getting closer to the random strangers touching my belly stage, I think I might need this shirt just in case!

Yesterday I left my building on the way to a meeting and got stopped by a coworker who asked me if I had news to share; why yes I do!  Then when I went through security the officer stopped me to tell me I shouldn't have gone through the metal detector since I'm pregnant.  (Which I didn't know, has anyone else heard of this?  I go through them at least once a week, this week three times.)  Then at the meeting someone looked at me and said "Oh, congratulations!  What are you having?"  (To which I always want to reply "a baby" just to be smart, but I am always nicer and say "a girl")  In a second meeting I was asked when I am due.  And finally on the walk back to my car when I stopped to wait for the crosswalk the guy next to me was smoking, looked at my belly and said "oh, let me get out of your way" and moved back a few feet so I was out of his smoke, which I really appreciated. 

I'm so excited about this milestone, I love being pregnant and I want everyone to know!  I am suddenly getting lots of belly looks though.  It's an odd thing to walk into a room and have everyone look at your belly before your face; I don't blame them though, it's just a new thing for me to get used to.

Week 23 Update!

At 23 weeks Baby Girl is between 11 and 12 inches long, the length of a papaya, although she's much cuter!  This week marks an important milestone.  If Baby Girl were born this week she'd have a shot at survival outside of the womb.  While this takes off a lot of stress, it's only a 25 - 35% chance of survival so let's hope she hangs in there quite a bit longer!  Baby Girl's brain is working hard and she can sense my movements now.  Her hearing has also improved and she is listening to me talk and can hear other loud noises like Wally and Fenway barking! They say the more she hears now, the less she'll be startled by after she's born.

I had my monthly doctor's appointment this week and everything was great.  This appointment was with a new doctor that I hadn't met before.  There are four doctors in the practice and any one of them can deliver Baby Girl.  This was the third I had met and so far so good.  Out of the three I like two better than one but I don't dislike the third, it's just that the other two are so nice.  I'll meet the fourth at the end of the month but if she's anything like her colleagues I don't think I'll have anything to worry about.  I'm feeling incredibly lucky to have found this practice.

I have been feeling great lately.  I almost forget that my body is changing so much until I glance down and see it for myself...or when I bump into tables because I forget that I need to pull the chair out further now...or when I bump into people trying to squeeze through spaces I'd normally have no problem getting through...but aside from that, I feel great!  While I look obviously pregnant now, no random strangers have tried to touch my belly so that's a plus too.  Baby Girl is moving around so often now that it's become a comforting feeling that I expect while sitting at my desk at work.  The strong kicks are still only occasional and I immediately put my hand on my stomach hoping to feel it from the outside too!

Dan has started his new crazy work schedule and I'm getting accustomed to being on my own after work again which is nothing new for me, but this time I'm going from being spoiled by him to having to do everything myself again. Yesterday I looked at the full trash can, whose smell is my arch nemesis, and decided it could wait another day until Dan was home and able to take it out. I'm not looking forward to having to do that chore again. 

 I also had a pretty scary pregnancy brain moment this week.  I was coming home from dinner one night and just started following the car in front of me and didn't realize until they pulled into a driveway that wasn't mine.  Luckily it was a BMW and didn't take me into a bad neighborhood, I also had an idea of where I was and could route myself back on track.  Ooopps!  I hope I don't end up in Oklahoma one day...

How far along? 23 weeks

Total weight gain/loss:  Up 4 lbs overall.  I was worried the doctor might scold me for gaining 6 pounds in the month between my appointments (I didn’t tell her it had all happened in two weeks!) but she was just happy that I had finally gained weight and told me to expect rapid weight gain over the next few months and not to worry about a thing.

Maternity clothes?  Yes!  I can still work magic with an elastic through the button hole of my non maternity pants and my non fitted pre maternity dresses still fit but shirts and skirts are definitely maternity!

Stretch marks? No, just an odd tan line from my cut out swim suit!

Sleep:  I just expect to wake up twice a night.  

Best moment this week:  Hearing Baby Girl’s heartbeat, she worried me a bit and made it difficult for the nurse to find but it was there!  I only worried for a minute though because she started kicking where the doppler probe was being pressed down which we got to hear loud and clear!

Miss Anything?  I’m pretty content this week.  They had a non-alcoholic sangria at La Tasca so I gave it a shot this week, after getting reassurance from the waiter that it really had no alcohol.  I couldn’t finish it though because it still felt wrong!

Movement:  Yes!  She likes to kick the right side of my belly, I’ve been feeling it at work and at night.

Food cravings: Nothing in particular, but I did order pad thai twice this week!

 Anything making you queasy or sick: Bananas, Sweet Potatoes, and the trash can.

Have you started to show yet:  Yes, I went from “you’re so tiny for 4 months” just two weeks ago to “you still have four months left?!?” from the hair stylist yesterday… 

Belly Button in or out? In but it’s looking more shallow.

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!  

Looking forward to: Getting the nursery done.  Noticing a theme here?