So What Wednesday

This week I'm saying So What if.....

• I drool a little when people start talking about really yummy food.  I'm a pregnant woman and lets be serious people, food is one of the only things I think about.
• I have finally talked Andrew into going on the kind of vacation/babymoon/anniversary trip that I want to go on.  It involves zero camping, but we will be doing a little hiking around down in Gatlinburg in the fall!  I'm so excited!
• My dreams are becoming way too realistic and a little scary.  The other night I dreamed I had to teach myself to drive a manual transmission while pulling a trailer with engines on it that were tied down with wires and string.  Oh and my mom had a mental breakdown and was living with us in the dream too.  A little too scary for me!
• I'm getting sick of telling people my due date.
• I'm not ready for summer to be over but I'm ready for all of my fall TV to start and that includes football.  I can't wait to eat my weight in nachos, my mom's stromboli and my dad's chicken wings while we watch the Buckeyes and the Steelers.
• I check the menu for the work cafeteria at the beginning of each week so I can plan the days I want to eat there or at other places.  
• There are a lot of things about food in this post, maybe I should have had breakfast before I wrote this.
• I spent a significant sum of money getting my hair cut and highlighted last night and Andrew didn't even notice.  It is a lot lighter but it was dark in the house when I got home/he worked three hours of overtime so maybe it was too tired to see the difference.
• My hair is the thickest it's ever been in my life and I'm scared to death it will all fall out after I have the baby.

What are you saying so what to this week? 

Week 15 Bumpdate

I'm having a hard time believing that I'm at Week 15 already!  I keep imagining how much more time there is to go and it seems so far away but I know it will go fast.  I've really popped this week and depending on what I'm wearing, it's pretty obvious that I'm indeed pregnant.  We've even started prepping the spare bedroom that will become the nursery.  Andrew hurt his back this weekend, so we plan to move the full sized bed downstairs once he starts feeling better that way we are ready to go once we find out what we are having.  I also have to clean out the closet, which I am NOT excited about at all!

• How far along? 15 weeks and 1 day
• How big is baby? According to my What to Expect App, the baby is as big as an apple and about 4 inches long and weighs 1.75 ounces.
• Weight gain? I'm going to stick with 4 pounds at this point.  I will be weighed again on August 7th.
• Stretch Marks? I don't think I developed anymore in the last week and I've been caking on the cocoa butter lotion as well as some soothing therapy lotion for my chest. 
• Maternity Clothes: They are becoming more and more a part of my regular routine.  My mom better get on sewing those clothes, though I'm afraid it may never happen.....
• Sleep: I slept so much over the weekend because of the cool weather and having the windows open.  I still have a hard time getting comfortable and have to wake up around 3am to pee and then struggle to fall back asleep till 5am which is my normal weekly wake up time.
• Cravings: Potatoes, cheese, peanut butter straight from the jar, chips and salsa/queso, strawberries with sugar, french toast and bacon.
• Food Aversions: Pork/hot dogs/brats are still the biggest food aversions.
• What do I miss: My chest and belly being normal, but I knew this was going to happen.
• Symptoms: Mood swings, round ligament pain, frequent trips to the bathroom and having a hard time adjusting to fall asleep.
• Anything else? I have really been in the mood to cook lately and have even already been planning some of the freezer meals I want to make before the baby is born.  I've also felt like nesting a lot recently and have been cleaning and trying to get the house reorganized.  I'm also coming to find that I need to rest in between tasks and can't do too many things at once because it really wears me out.

Rocking the bump at 15 weeks and
wearing maternity clothes!

A wonderful summer weekend

The weather in Columbus was mostly amazing and it made for a great summer weekend!  I've been determined to have as much fun this summer as possible and since I've been feeling so wonderful I've been able to do more than I imagined.

On Friday night I went to a concert with one of my good friends from high school.  The Under the Sun Tour came to Columbus and included many of my favorite 90's bands Vertical Horizon, Fastball, Gin Blossoms, Sugar Ray and Smashmouth.  The bands were awesome (though we did leave before Smashmouth, the last band because we didn't want to sit in traffic on the way home) and we danced the night away and even met a local radio DJ celebrity!  It was a great night for great music and having fun with an old friend photobombing the drunk people next to us, dancing around like fools and singing our hearts out.

Mark McGrath introducing Vertical Horizon

Meeting a local celebrity DJ, Jimmy Jam from the morning zoo on WNCI 97.9

Such a fun night with a great friend!

Saturday morning we headed to an auction about 10 minutes from our house, thankfully most of it was held indoors because we were dodging rain drops most of the day.  We managed to get a few good finds and headed home around 1:30 to get ready for a big family dinner.  My great aunt is here visiting from Florida and Andrews parents invited her, my grandma and my parents up to their house for dinner.  We had a great time walking around Andrew's mom's prairie, having a lovely dinner together and sharing lots of stories.  Thankfully the rain cleared up before we headed up to their house and the weather ended up being amazing!

Sunday morning we did our typical go to the grocery store and do laundry routine and then headed to the Ohio State Fair for most of the afternoon.  Normally the weather is horribly hot during the week of the fair, but Sunday was oh so perfect, a light breeze, about 73 degrees and partly sunny!  We enjoyed lots of yummy fair foods, got in some people watching, saw some of the animals and headed home after about 4 hours.  Everyone must have been taking advantage of the great weather because I have never seen so many people at the fair in my entire life. 

My legs are killing me today after all of the standing, dancing and walking around I did all weekend, but I know that being active can only be good for me during this pregnancy.  I did make sure to drink plenty of water and try to sit down as often as I could, but I'm still feeling a little worn out.

So What Wednesday!

So what.......

• If I'm already stressed out about paying for childcare.  I mean this baby won't be born till January but I have to start worrying now, it's just in my nature.
• That I'm going to a concert on Friday and I'm so excited I can hardly stand it.  All my favorite 90's rock bands in one place INCLUDING Sugar Ray!? Heck yeah!
• If I keep saying we shouldn't make plans on the weekends and then I turn around and book us to do a ton of things.  I don't want to miss out on all the summer fun.
• If I'm finally getting back into cleaning mode.  Doing just a little each night seems to be the easiest thing for me right now.
• That I'm in denial about my baby bump a little bit.  I can still fit into some of my regular clothes but then this morning I couldn't button pants that I could last week and about died.  I know this is supposed to happen.....bring on the belly band!
• That my mom is supposed to make me some maternity clothes and I'm worried she will never get them done.  She's been working on my kitchen curtains for 6 months now.....I think I might be out of luck.
• If I had Andrew take me to Taco Bell last night because I wanted to try the new double steak quesadilla, it was good but not what I was expecting.  Add that to the list of pregnancy cravings.
• That I have been hiding people on my newsfeed on Facebook like no other this past week.  Everything is getting on my nerves and if you post too much, post things about religion or politics consider yourself off my newsfeed!

What are YOU saying So What to this week?

Week 14 Bumpdate and Week 13 Ultrasound photos

It's official, I'm now in the second trimester and man they aren't kidding, I feel great!  All I seem to want to do is eat and I have a lot more energy.  My Ultrascreen appointment went really well and I got to see the baby move around for 40 minutes.  We have a 1 in 10,000+ chance of the baby having Down's or Triostomy 18 which is really amazing, I'm not sure what I was so nervous about going into this appointment.  I've added my ultrasound photos for those who didn't get to see them in my post about the baby appointments.  I promise to also get better about posting photos with my bumpdates!

• How far along? 14 weeks and 1 day
• How big is baby? According to my What to Expect App, the baby is as big as a naval orange and about 4.5 inches long and 2-3 oz in weight!
• Weight gain? I would say around 2-4 pounds at this point.  At my ultrascreen, they weighed me and I had not gained anymore but I've been a lot hungrier since Friday and have been eating a lot.
• Stretch Marks? I'm getting more on my chest than I had. My skin is also really dry which is annoying since I normally have very oily skin. 
• Maternity Clothes: I ordered more from Target and they should arrive this week.  Most of my pants are getting really tight so in comes the belly band for assistance.  I can still manage to fit into a few pairs of jeans and capris without the belly band because they are stretch.
• Sleep: I'm starting to struggle a little more with sleeping.  I have a hard time getting comfortable enough to fall asleep and my night time heartburn has been awful.  It kept me up half the night on Saturday.  My round ligament pain seems to be worse around 8-9pm as well.
• Cravings: Cheese is still the biggest one, peanut butter, grilled cheese and tomato soup, tortilla soup or corn chowder, coffee (don't worry I've been drinking decaf) and mashed potatoes. 
• Food Aversions: I don't seem to have many but I'm still grossed out by hot dogs/brats as well as lunch meat.
• What do I miss: I still miss my wine and I miss being able to get comfortable in bed fairly easily.
• Symptoms: Mood swings, round ligament pain, back aches if I walk too far or stand for too long and night time heartburn.  
• Anything else? I'm just happy to be feeling better and to have more motivation to get things done around the house. We are also super anxious to find out what we are having but have to wait another 6 weeks at least....bummer!

From the ultrasound last Wednesday, check out that profile!!!!
I swear the baby looks like Andrew already!

Weekend Wrap-Up

I had been looking forward to this past weekend for a while.  My husband works for a large company and his region had won for best in the nation and they had planned a party to celebrate the win.  The area had not won the award since Andrew started working there so we didn't know what to expect.  Thankfully we didn't have to travel far since the event was held at the convention center in downtown Columbus, just a short 25 minute drive from our house.  We decided to stay at the hotel and my parents kept the dog for the weekend.  There were three hotels with bookings for the event and we stayed at the brand new Hilton, just across the street from the convention center.  The room was great (I didn't take any pictures as we weren't in there very long), but I was disappointed that we didn't have a view to the outside. We headed down to the convention center at 6:15 with the 3,000 other people who were in attendance.

Dinner was served shortly after and though the food was good, the lines were long and things were a little disorganized.  I'm not sure how they could have done things better though.  After dinner they had a comedian/impersonator take the stage and we were far from impressed.  Though he was funny, the set was just a bit too much and a little annoying to say the least.  Once that wrapped up we had the option of attending the fake casino or watching the dueling pianos, we opted for the latter.  Andrew was happy to have my 4 drink tickets and we watched the performers for the rest of the night.  Things wrapped up at midnight and we headed back to our room for some sleep.  I however did not sleep that night thanks to pregnancy heartburn.  

The dueling pianos, they were awesome!

The Beatles super set at the end of the night.

I should have had someone take our picture, these are not that good.

My silly face didn't work out.

Sunday morning a breakfast was provided for everyone as well as tickets for food at the Columbus Jazz & Rib Fest.  We didn't want to hang out downtown all day so we had breakfast, visited with the mechanics from other regions and headed down to get our food to go.  We took it back to my parents house to eat for lunch when we picked up the dog.  That afternoon, though I was dead tired, I helped my brother can some of his cucumbers into pickles and we also canned his hot peppers.  He grew a huge garden this year and I think was a little overwhelmed with the amount of vegetables he had come on so quickly. 

Pickles and hot peppers.

And on the agenda for this week, well nothing too exciting.  I'll post a 14 week bump-date tomorrow (things are going well) and I'm working on a guest post for another blog.  I also have meetings at work and a meeting for the church festival I volunteer for which is just two weeks away.  Hope that everyone had a great weekend!

Appointments for the Baby

I've had two doctor appointments for the pregnancy in the last week, one on July 10th and the other on July 17th.  My appointment on the 10th was an end of the first trimester check up to see how I was feeling, check the heartrate and check my vitals.  I've only gained 1lb, which I find so hard to believe and the heart rate was 150 with the doppler.  It took the tech a while to find it but she said that was normal and as soon as she did the baby moved and she quickly found it again.  My midwife told me that I'm having a textbook perfect pregnancy, my vitals are great, everything is growing and moving the right way and the heart rate is strong and healthy.

I've been reading so many baby books that they have answered most of my questions and only had a few to ask the midwife this time.  I go back for another check up on August 7th when I will be 16 weeks and I assume the anatomy scan will be my next appointment!  I am so team boy right now, but like everyone says I just want the baby to be healthy! 

My appointment on the 17th was the ultrascreen for Down's Syndrome and triostimy 18 which took place at an outpatient clinic near my work and not the doctor's office where I normally go. Andrew was not able to come due to being slammed at work so I took my bestie along for moral support, though I was pretty sure that everything was going to be okay.  The ultrasound portion of the test took FOREVER and by forever I mean about 40 minutes!!!  The tech couldn't get the baby to move into the right position and had me cough to excite the baby and lay on my left side to get a better view of things.  She had to check the nasal bone as well as the nuchal fold or fluid on the baby's neck.  All of my measurements looked good and she said the next step would be the finger prick blood draw, of course this was all I could think of.....

Ohhhh, a finger prick that sounds like fun!  I've seen this movie too many times.

After filling the little dots on the paper with my blood I went to talk to the genetic counselor who explained the test further to me and said I would have my results by Monday.  She did assure me however that everything was perfect, my measurements were good and things are progressing right on track!  Here are some photos from the ultrasound!

So What Wednesday

So What.....

•  If I should own my own UDF ice cream factory, I have been going there so much this summer it's unreal, but ice cream has been a craving that I cannot stop.  It's mostly dairy products in general, but ice cream and cheese are the two biggest!
  
• If I still feel like my pregnant belly looks more like I'm having a food baby rather than a real baby."
  
• That I still giggle a little when reading my Bradley Method book when they show the naked pictures, they remind me of those old "joy of sex" books.  I'm so mature!
  
• If I have to remind myself NOT to talk about how cold it is at my work since my poor husband does not have A/C at work and has been sweating through his clothes all week.
  
• That I had a meltdown yesterday when Andrew told me he couldn't come to my Ultrascreen today, I know it's not his fault that he has so many issues at work this week and that he can't leave work early.
  
• If I would rather just stay home from work so that I could bake and cook all day.  I may also already be planning freezer meals for when the baby is born.
  
• That I am obsessed with absorbing as much information as I possibly can about pregnancy and natural child birth.  I have been reading books like crazy, reading birth stories constantly and spending way to much time on The Bump.  I just want to be really informed.
  
• If I have a girl crush on my midwife, she is amazing!  She always makes me laugh when she answers my off the wall questions and reassures me all the time that my pregnancy has been text book perfect and I should have no issues if I want a natural labor.
  
• That Andrew thinks I will be screaming for an epidural at the hospital.  Here's hoping that doesn't happen!

Week 13 Bumpdate!

Woohoo for week 13 and starting to feel like myself again!  I am so happy to be feeling better, to be eating the foods that I love again but let me tell you I'm really starting to look pregnant.  The proof is in more bump photos below (and I think these are better than the ones from last week).  I have my Ultrascreen this week which will test the baby for Down's Syndrome and I'm excited to get to see the baby one more time before my next ultrasound at 20 weeks!

• How far along? 13 weeks and 1 day
• How big is baby? According to my What to Expect App, the baby is as big as a lemon and about 3 inches long.  I'm anxious to see it at the ultrasound tomorrow!
• Weight gain? I would say around 2-4 pounds at this point.  
• Maternity Clothes: Still about half and half.  I have been using the belly band and wearing a larger size in tops.  My button downs are totally useless as I cannot button them over my chest.
• Sleep: I slept well all weekend but it was a struggle to get out of bed.  My round ligament pain is worse at night so it's really hard to get comfortable.  Once I am comfortable though I'm out like a light and floating off into crazy dream land.
• Cravings: Cheese, this has by far been my most consistent craving and I mean most anything with cheese, sparkling water (my other long time craving), ice cream, Mexican food and guacamole. 
• Food Aversions: I am still grossed out by anything that is in the shape of a hot dog.  I also don't want to have anything to do with lunch meat or wraps (though a taco would be okay, a cold lunch wrap seems sickening)
• What do I miss: Being able to button my dress pants, sleeping without a sleep bra and a glass of wine on Friday night.
• Symptoms: Mood swings have been the major symptom recently as well as trouble concentrating, getting full quickly and peeing a lot.
• Anything else? I have been feeling a lot better since rolling into the 12th week, my food aversions are not as bad and the foods I don't want are ones I shouldn't be eating anyways.  I've still been pretty crabby and moody, it's really easy to set me off and so many people get on my nerves these days.  I really have to try hard to control myself when I feel the need to freak out.  

I was going to take another belly photo this morning but the lighting was terrible, I'll post more with my 14 week bumpdate along with our ultrasound pictures from tomorrow (I'm hoping we get some even if it is for the ultrascreen).  

Week 12 Bumpdate - 1/3 of the way there!

I can't believe that I'm writing my week 12 bumpdate already and I'm starting to have a little bump of my own!  It was really hard for me to take a bump photo this soon because I was not what I would call skinny before finding out I was pregnant, but hey that's life.  Things never happen the way you expect or at least that's been the story of my life!

• How far along? 12 weeks and 1 day
• How big is baby? According to my What to Expect App, the baby is as big as a large plum and about 2.5 inches long.
• Weight gain? I think its safe to say that I've gained some weight at this point, but I won't know till Wednesday when I go to the doctor.  
• Maternity Clothes: I'm wearing some and relying on the belly band for my dress pants that are getting a little snug.  My mom and I went to Joann Fabrics over the weekend and bought a few maternity patterns and some fabric to make some clothes which I'm super excited about.  I have four more patterns on the way from Etsy!
• Sleep: I haven't been sleeping as well the last few days and haven't been nearly as tired.  We've been having lots of storms and rain and a few weeks ago I could sleep through them, this week, not so much.
• Cravings: Mozzarella sticks, french onion sunchips, cheese pizza, steak, sparkling water and really cold ice water.
• Food Aversions: Eggs which I miss so much, hot dogs, lunch meat and pork chops.  I was able to eat chicken several times this week and last!
• What do I miss: Being able to button my dress pants, sleeping without a sleep bra (which I've never had to do before but the pain is too much to not wear something) and a glass of wine on Friday night.
• Symptoms: Mood swings have been the major symptom recently as well as trouble concentrating, getting full quickly and peeing a lot.
• Anything else? I have been feeling a lot better since rolling into the 12th week, my food aversions are not as bad and the foods I don't want are ones I shouldn't be eating anyways.  I've still been pretty crabby and moody, it's really easy to set me off and so many people get on my nerves these days.  I really have to try hard to control myself when I feel the need to freak out. 

I really hate the lower right photo, only because I feel like
 I just look fat and not pregnant.  It could still be some bloat.
Please excuse my scrubby outfit, I was so uncomfortable that day!

 

A long weekend

I had an unexpected 4 day weekend over the 4th of July holiday and it was just what I needed.

We started off on Wednesday night by attending the Buckeye Lake Fireworks and as soon as the fireworks started, so did the rain.  It has rained almost everyday in Central Ohio for the last two weeks, we ran to the car only for it to stop raining when we got there, but thankfully we could still see the fireworks.  Thanks to the traffic, we didn't get home till 11:30 and I was pooped!

Thursday we didn't have any plans for the holiday but we wanted to go pick up Bessie who was still staying with Andrew's parents after her sickness.  She was doing WORLDS better and we could not wait to bring her home!  It rained off and on the entire day and after spending some time with Andrew's family, we decided to head home and relax.  I wasn't much in the mood for being in a crowd again or running from the rain.

Friday I went to lunch with my mom, grandma and some friends from church and we had a nice time.  Afterwards my mom and I went on the hunt for maternity clothes only to find nothing so we went to Joann's to look for patterns.  I guess not many people make maternity clothes anymore because the selection was dismal and we only found 2 patterns that didn't look like some awful uniform.  We got some fabric as well so I may have one outfit before too long!  I ordered more patterns from Etsy over the weekend as well, a few are vintage and should be really adorable!  We went out to dinner with my brother that night and headed home fairly early since I've still been really tired.

Saturday and Sunday we spent getting things done around the house.  I cleaned and Andrew worked on cleaning the garage out since we said goodbye to one of his project cars this weekend.  The Volvo 240 headed to the junk yard so now we have a little more room in the garage.  Andrew also managed to sell more parts from his engine swap and a little extra money is always nice, even if we are saving it all for other house projects.  I was feeling pretty good by the end of the weekend and managed to start cleaning/organizing the kitchen and living room and I hope to get the upstairs started this week.  

And on the agenda for this week:

• A doctor appointment on Wednesday
• A short work trip for Andrew
• Wrapping up the last week of the first trimester
• Going to either the Good Guys Car Show or Wing Zing this weekend with my dad!

Week 11 Bumpdate

Woot Woot - only one more week left in the first trimester!  My next doctor appointment is July 10th and I can't wait to hear that little heartbeat again.  I thought I was out of the woods with feeling kinda crummy, but Sunday was a rough day (after a weekend of camping) and it took me hours to get my headache and stomach issues to go away.

• How far along? 11 weeks and 2 days
• How big is baby? According to my What to Expect App, the baby is as big as a large plum and about 2.5 inches long.
• Weight gain? At this point, I'd say a few pounds.  I will get weighed again at the doctor on July 10th.  I have been able to feel a "bump" that is harder than my fat starting so I imagine that it won't be long before I start to show.  You'll just have to trust me until I post a photo, maybe for week 12.
• Stretch Marks: No more than the ones I had before.
• Maternity Clothes: I'm still living on the belly band since I can't seem to find dress pants.  I have some maternity shorts and capris that I wear on the weekends. Most of my jeans still fit just fine.
• Sleep: I am still sleeping really well once I fall asleep but I'm often very cold at night and it takes me a while to get to the right temperature so I can pass out.  I've heard cold hands and feet mean boy!
• Cravings: Cheese pizza, cheese, biscuits and gravy, steak, mexican food is still my biggest craving along with anything involving cheese.  I've heard craving meat and cheese can mean boy too!
• Food Aversions: Eggs, no matter how they are cooked, chicken, hot dogs and pork. 
• What do I miss: My boobs being their normal size, being able to wear my favorite button down shirts and coffee (it gives me terrible heartburn, even decaf)
• Symptoms: Exhaustion, mood swings, heartburn at night as well as night time stomach aches, boob pain/sensitivity, a little night time nausea/belly aches.
• Anything else? I have been in a pretty bad mood for the last two weeks and have had several meltdowns, which I'm sure is amazing for Andrew.  It seems as though it takes a while for my brain to wake up these days.  Some mornings it takes me HOURS to get going and finally feel like I'm accomplishing something.   

I  have two doctor appointments this month, my end of the first trimester check up on July 10th and the Downs Syndrome screening (which I decided to do after much deliberation) on July 17th.  I honestly mostly wanted to do it for the extra ultrasound, but it didn't hurt that my insurance fully covers this test.  Speaking of insurance, have I mentioned how AMAZING pregnancy care is where I work?!  Well it is, since I work for a medical school we have awesome insurance and I even get a free breast pump as well as a discount on child birth classes and a mega discount for having the baby at the hospital where I work.  The cost for all of my care plus the hospital stay is next to nothing, which makes me very happy!

What's going on

This past week and a half has been one for the record books and so much has been going on.....

1. Last Thursday our dog got really sick.  On Wednesday, Andrew noticed that her hind end was swollen up and she wasn't acting like herself.  She did want to play and she could hardly hop down the two steps to get outside.  By Thursday morning, she couldn't even walk and both of us called off work to take her to the vet.  She also wasn't eating, which is not like her at all.  I was so scared we would have to put her down and I cried the entire morning.  At 10:45 we rolled into the parking lot at the vet's office and they quickly discovered she had an abscessed and infected anal gland.  They drained everything out and put her on antibiotics.  Andrew's mom offered to keep her until she healed up since we both work all day.
   
   By Friday, she was bad again and was running a high fever, close to 104 so it was back to the vet I went after leaving work at noon for our impending camping trip.  She was given a shot to break her fever, cortisone for her swelling and put on pain pills.  Andrew's mom said she would still keep her so we could go on our trip (more on that later) and finally got her eating and moving around again.  She was in really rough shape for a few days but is almost back to 100% now.
   
   

   

   Laying in her basket at grandma and grandpas.

   
   
2. We went camping over the weekend and pretty much got rained out.  We didn't arrive until late Friday night because of taking the dog back to the vet.  Saturday morning the weather was great and we got the boats in the water, only for it to start raining 20 minutes later.  Every time we got out on the boat it seemed, it started to rain and by Saturday night we were sick of the weather and packed it up to come home.  I was disappointed but happy to sleep in my dry bed.
3. One of the walls of Andrew's parents barn caved in because of all the rain but thankfully none of the 110 year old barn structure above was damaged.  Andrew's dad is working hard to get everything repaired before the next big rain storm comes.
4. We've had 3 inches of rain in the last four days....CRAZY!
5. I have one week left in the first trimester - I'll post a bumpdate tomorrow.
6. I've been receiving so many compliments about what a good job I'm doing at work and it's making me feel wonderful.  I love my boss, I get along well with all of my coworkers and best of all is that I love what I do!  I can't imagine not coming back to work after I have the baby because I find my work so rewarding.