Wow.. I'm officially a SLACKER

So, it's been over a year since I've last posted.. technically, I did not post at all in 2010. I was busy!! In case you haven't done the math lately.. Anna is now a scary 22 months old!! I CANNOT believe she will be TWO in just 2 months. Watching her grow up so far has been amazing. I still can't believe she's ours. She's walking and talking up a storm (more like running and gabbing a mile-a-minute) She's on the go, non-stop and we love every minute of it.

The real reason I signed onto here is because I am going to be starting a new blog... Starting Monday, the hubby and I are starting the MUCH necessary act of changing our lifestyle, and I need as much accountability as possible. I will post "before" pictures with measurements - no matter how ugly they are. And I will be updating with progress as we go. I have a solid 60+ pounds to lose, but only 20 of them will get me back to pre-prego weight. The other 40+ were accumulated before I could blame it on Anna. :) So, here I go into the world of watching everything I put in my mouth and making sure it's healthy. I can't believe I let it get so out of control... but I'm putting a stop to it and taking back my health and body. I have a closet full of clothing that I am hoping to give away in a year. I want to get pregnant again and hopefully NOT have the complications I had this time. I want to be a cute preggo, not a blimp. So I'm asking YOU to help. Keep on me.. ask me about it and make sure I kick my own ass, or kick it for me! Here goes nothing...

6 Months Later...

It's been 6 months since our lives changed forever, and if I had told you that I had ANY idea of what it would be like, it would have been a bold-faced lie. It's more amazing than words can describe. I survived the last 25 days of last school year, cherished my two weeks before Summer School started, and rushed home everyday of Summer School. Now, the new school year has begun, and I feel like she changes everyday - from the time we drop her off at 7 in the morning, til we pick her up at 4:30 in the afternoon. She has two bottom teeth which she got in the middle of July and has been working on those upper teeth for the past few weeks. She's pretty much crawling - although it's not quite fluent, she gets around. (Yes, I really did just use the word fluent to describe my child's crawling ability). Her personality is hilarious and proves that we're going to have our hands full. She loves standing up and giggles each time she pulls herself up - she's hot stuff, and she knows it. Ethel and her have become fast friends, despite the handfuls of fur Anna pulls out each time she "pets" her. She's a ham and that's putting it mildly... anytime anyone comments on her cuteness she breaks into a huge grin. She laughs hysterically at the littlest things which then in turn make us laugh until we cry. There's this little house on her excersaucer that has a door, and when you open the door, there's a mirror. She will sit there, open the door, look in the mirror, laugh and then slam the door shut - only to repeat it ten more times. It's priceless. We had her baptized last month and while the Pastor was pouring the water on her head, she turned around to see where that darn water was coming from. The whole congregation got a kick out of that. Needless to say every little old lady who walked by during communion commented on her and the Pastor told us that in over 400 baptisms, she's the first to do that. That's our Anna! I have fully ventured into the art of making baby food -- no preservatives here! She loves trying new food, and we've yet to find something that she doesn't like. In her 6 month check-up, we found out that she's as long as a 9 month old and weighs as much as an 8 month old, and is totally healthy! :) Here's hoping we get the rest of the house baby-proofed before she starts walking...

2 Months

Today, Anna is two months old. I just can't believe it. Although, the amount in which she has changed is HUGE! Her first month, she just kinda laid around trying to focus her poor little eyes, ate and slept. Now, she's rolling over whenever I put her on her belly for Tummy Time, she's constantly looking around (now that her vision allows her to see up to 10 feet away!) and she's SMILING!! I swear, her smile makes me melt. There's something about toothless grins in an infant that are amazing - somehow, not quite the same effect with a 90 year old. ;-)

We took Anna for her 1 Month photos at Sears last month. They did an amazing job despite her being uncooperative (and that's putting it mildly). It was hard not to spend hundreds of dollars on each pose! Instead, we bought a package with the CD so I can print as many as I want!

Probably the worst part about her turning 2 months old, is the fact that I go back to school next week. I think it's quite possibly the hardest thing I've ever done. I've watched her grow over the last 9 weeks and haven't missed a thing. Now, she will be spending her days with her Pop Pop (Tony's Dad). What if I don't get to see her crawl for the first time? Or miss her first giggle? The thought literally makes my heart hurt. I honestly don't see how people go back to work so quickly after their children are born, but to each his own. I could stay home for the rest of the school year and all summer and not get bored. She's fascinating. Her personality is already showing and I have a feeling we're going to have our hands full, to say the least. She is always moving, even when she's sleeping she squirms. I'm pretty sure that's why she eats all the time - she's constantly burning those calories. I hope it continues, for her sake.
Now, I just have to count down 25 school days starting next Monday - wish me luck!

4 Weeks Later..

Who can believe it's already been 4 weeks since our angel made her debut? Not me! While there are times when it feels like she's always been here, it definitely doesn't feel like 4 weeks from surgery. (Which, might I add, recovery is still happening and I am not a fan) I can't help but have this underlying fear that something else is going to go wrong with my body - I mean if my uterus didn't cooperate during the surgery, what's to make it start now? I have no appetite - food is actually repulsive at times, I get pains in my stomach quite frequently, and nausea is my new friend. This is FAR worse than being 9 months pregnant. Although, I wouldn't give anything to be back there - I love having Anna here... it's wonderful (motherhood, that is). Just to look at her and know that she was created in my body is unbelieveable. Enough bitching..

She's fabulous. A good eater (sometimes TOO good of an eater) and she's getting better about her sleeping routine. Her second week home, she decided that 4am was a good time to go to sleep, but would only sleep until 8am and then would be up. Mommy was NOT a fan!! She's beautiful.. and I don't care how it sounds. It's not even just me who thinks so... complete strangers stop us in the stores and tell us how beautiful she is! Duh.. I wouldn't have made her if she wasn't going to be gorgeous! Who cares if she looks like her Daddy.. I see myself in some of the faces she makes and she definitely has her mother's guts when it comes to patience - she has NONE. If she's hungry, she wants it NOW! Not when you get around to whipping the boob out or getting the bottle ready. She rarely cries if she's recently been fed or changed.

I can't wait to buy her an Easter dress - Grammy and I are going shopping for it on Friday!! And then we'll have to take her to see the Easter Bunny next week! I will refrain from thinking about all of the germs that she will be exposed to in her 3 minute stay in the bunny's arms and will just sanitize the crap out of her afterwards. :) More pics to follow!!

Honey, We're Home!!

Well, after an excrutiatingly loooong 6 days in the hospital, we are healthy and home. Some people have heard the story from the beginning, but most of you have not, so I'm going to start there. This is a long story, so if you have to pee, do it now ;-)

Monday, we were informed by the doctor that he would be inducing me Tuesday morning at 9am. He said we were going to start slowly because my body wasn't even close to being ready yet. So, Tony and I tried to make Monday go by as quickly as possible and went to sleep praying for a quick night. The following morning we headed to the hospital.

Once at the hospital, we were taken to our room and I was admitted. At about 10 or 10:30 one of my doctors came in and administered Cervadil - a gel that gets applied to the cervix to start softening it. Let me tell you: that HURT, but it wasn't too bad.

Well, you have to sit in bed for 2 hours without getting up to let the gel sit on your cervix or else it'll all just come back out. And then, it's supposed to work for a total of 6 hours. I felt nothing but maybe some minor cramps towards the end of the sixth hour. Oh, and I couldn't eat the entire time I had this medication in me and I hadn't eaten since 5:30 that morning.

After this medication, they were planning on trying one called Prevadil. This one is like a coffee stirrer stick (that's how it was explained to me) that is inserted and must touch the opening of the cervix. The doctor who administered this one was an older woman who apparently felt it was necessary to insert her ENTIRE hand inside me to check my cervix and then AGAIN to insert the medication that happened to feel like a very sharp knife. I haven't cried like that in a long time - that's how badly it hurt. She apologized repeatedly that she didn't mean to hurt me, and I figured that wasn't part of the plan, but I couldn't stop the tears. At least they told me that I could eat once this was inserted.

Well, shortly thereafter I started cramping up - nothing too bad, just like bad period cramps. Thankfully, because I was allowed to eat, Tony was nice enough to go and get me a pizza for dinner. Since my body had made NO progress past like a finger-tip's worth of dialation, the word c-section had already been uttered and I wanted my last meal to be good.

While this was going on, they also had to start administering antibiotics to me because I am positive for GBS - a bacteria commonly found in 25% of women that can cause illness/complications in newborns. Well, I'm already a big baby when it comes to needles and I wasn't happy that they had started the IV shortly after I had arrived. It was in the top of my right hand and hurt. I was retaining so much fluid that it was a little on the difficult side to find my veins. Well, when the nurse started allowing the antibiotic and saline solution to flow in my IV, the back of my hand started to burn really bad and get puffy. Turns out, the IV wasn't in my vein at all and the medication was just going under my skin on my hand. They turned off the IV and called for someone else to come and start a new IV on my other hand - this time on the side of my wrist.

Well, the crampy contractions continued through the entire night - I could feel my entire abdomen tighten and release every 2-3 minutes but it wasn't crazy painful, however it did make sleeping pretty much impossible. I think I slept for like half hour increments. The medication was to stay in for 12 hours and that block of time was up at like 5 in the morning. The nurse was nice enough to take it out right on time and that was much less painful than the insertion.

My doctor who was out skiing all day Tuesday, came in Wednesday morning to check and see if I had made any progress after 18 hours of induction medications. Nope, I was still about 1 cm dialated. He decided to start the pitocin drip at about 8:00 am with the intentions of checking me again at lunch time to see if it was helping at all.

This was the part I dreaded the most. I have heard NOTHING good about pit drips and the contractions that they cause. Well, they started the IV drip and within maybe half an hour or so my contractions got a little stronger, but still nothing serious. They just became a little more regular and lasted a little longer. There were even times when I didn't feel them at all. I figured that couldn't be good - how could they be dialating my cervix if I couldn't even feel them??

Well, we had an AMAZING nurse who had actually taught our childbirth education classes and she started talking to me about what she thought our options were going to be when the doctor came back in to check me. She said that he was contemplating 1) having me go through the cycle again: Cervadil, Prevadil and Pitocin and seeing where that left us the next day. 2) if I was making progress, continuing the Pitocin drip, but increasing the dosage more frequently than the every 30 min they had been using or 3) Calling it quits and having a C-section. Needless to say, I was PRAYING that I had made leaps and bounds since that morning, but I wasn't holding my breath. By the time the doctor would be in to check me, I would have been in labor for about 18 hours and was exhausted. The idea of doing it for another day truly scared me. I mean, what if I did progress and then was too tired to push her out? Then I would need an emergency C-section which is even worse than a planned one. Both of our sets of parents had taken off work to come and wait in the hospital because we weren't going to know what was going on until the doctor came in at lunch time.

Well, the long-awaited moment came and in walked the doctor. He checked me, and I had made no progress. I was still 1cm dialated and 60% effaced. We started talking about the two options - restarting the cycle of medication or scheduling a c-section. I asked him what was to say that we wouldn't be in the same situation the following day or worse, that I would be too tired to push? He said that he was afraid of that too, but there was no way of telling. We completely understood that and knew he was just being truthful with us and we appreciated it. So, Tony asked him if we could have a minute to talk about it and he left us alone. Tony told me that he couldn't make this decision for me, but he supported me either way. The idea of a section scared me, but I was more scared of an emergency one or for Anna to go into distress after another 24 hours of contractions - that would have been 32 hours of labor. We decided to go for the C-Section to be safe and have everything over with. Tony went out and told the doctor and he told us that it could be as soon as 2:30 (it was currently 1:30ish) or as late as after 5. We said we didn't care, just let us know where and when to be ready! Tony went to the waiting room and told our parents to come to our room so we could give them an update. Then I told them we were going in for the section. My mom started to cry but we all kinda knew it was the lesser of evils. While we were all talking, the nurse came in and said "They're ready for us NOW, let's go!" Apparently there was a gap in the schedule and they were going to take advantage of it.

I was kinda glad - the thought of sitting there thinking about it for another 4 hours was intimidating. So I signed the consent forms: having surgery by my doctor, allowing Tony in the OR and the formality of accepting blood if I were to need it. We went up to pre-op and talked with the doctor who would be administering my Spinal Block and he told us that if it didn't work properly they would have to put me out completely. Ok.. I can handle this.

They found a pair of scrubs for Tony to wear - let me tell you, Kodak moment and I totally wish I had had a camera up there, he was adorable! They then wheeled me back to the OR. I was trying to not get nervous and I really didn't have time to think. They slid me over onto the table and had me sit up and lean forward with my gown open. The spinal didn't really hurt at all, but let me tell you, it was the weirdest feeling ever when he was pushing the catheter into my back. They had me lie down on the table and my legs immediately started to get warm and tingly. They started swabbing my belly which was also going numb, but I could still feel it. Next thing I knew, the doctor was asking me if I could feel him pinching me - ha, I didn't feel ANYTHING! Then they brought Tony in and started the surgery.

At 2:45pm on Wednesday, March 4, 2009 our little girl came into the world. The words out of the doctor's mouth before he lifted her out were "Well kids, you made a good choice, this kid's a horse!" And all I could think as they took her to the warming table was "Oh, my God, she's huge!" Her cry was the most wonderful thing to hear and Tony was actually able to stand up and watch her be pulled out. After they had Anna wiped off, they brought her over and laid her next to my face so I could see her and give her a kiss. She promptly pulled out my oxygen tube from my nose. :)

At that time, the nurse, Tony, the pediatrician and Anna were ushered out of the room and went down to the nursery to take care of Anna. Once they were gone, I remember hearing the doctor telling someone to order some blood incase I would need it and saying that I had a boggy uterus - it wasn't contracting back down, it was staying squishy and was bleeding. I could feel the tugging and pounding on my insides and the doctor actually asked for one of the othe OB's to come into the OR to give his opinion of what to do. I remember watching my blood pressure drop to about 53/37 and thinking, "Wow, didn't realize that bloodpressure went down that low" and thinking that I still felt fine. They kept asking if I was ok, and I kept telling them yes. Then my doctor leaned over the drape and told me that my uterus wasn't clamping down and that they might have to do a hysterectomy to stop the bleeding. All I said was "OK". I really didn't comprehend just how serious the situation was at the time. All I remember thinking was "Anna will be an only child, the only grandchild, crazy spoiled and I don't have to worry about birth control anymore" But I was still calm. I remember also asking if my husband was aware of what was going on. I was told that my doctor had actually gone downstairs and told him.

About an hour after Anna was born, they finally got the bleeding to stop and were able to staple me closed. (Grossest thing ever: To hear a staple gun and feel the tugging in your abdomen where you KNOW they are stapling you)

I was then wheeled into recovery and was told that I was going to be receiving blood to replace some of what was lost. After about 15 more minutes, Tony, the nurse and Anna were by my side and it was a little emotional. Tony had been downstairs rocking with Anna praying that he wouldn't lose me. Thankfully, God listened. Anna is beautiful and perfect in every way and we couldn't be more blessed. I still don't think I will ever understand JUST how serious it all got. We have thanked our doctors repeatedly for saving my life, but Thank You is only so much.

My doctor has since told me that while they were trying to stop the bleeding they had to do some funky things and my fallopian tubes may have been made smaller which makes me a higher risk for ectopic pregnancy the next time around and they may have even accidentally closed them. But in the doctor's words, I still have the house to hold the baby, we'd just have to get pregnant in a less-traditional way. I'm not sure what we'll do... but I do know that we have an angel and couldn't be happier.

March is tomorrow..

And still no Anna - to everyone who said I wouldn't make it til March: Gee thanks for jinxing it. I think if Anna has her way, she'll just stay in there forever. Wouldn't you? You have someone to carry you around all day, you have a constant supply of food (without even having to chew!), you can sleep whenever you want to and it's a constant 98.6 degrees everyday. Sounds like the life to me!

Well, we had our 38 week check up last Wednesday and because of my issues before (high blood pressure, etc) the doctor decided to do an internal so he would know where we are in the ballgame. Ha! The game apparently hasn't even begun. I am not dialated or effaced. I also asked him if there was any way to determine about how big Anna's getting - since the nurse at the hospital was nice enough to tell me my belly was huge and that Anna was going to be a BIG baby... so he decided to send us for a growth scan ultrasound. Yet again so we'd know where we stand. If for some reason I'd be in labor for a long time, he wants to know if it would be worth continuing or if the baby is SO big that we'd be better off with a C-section.

So.. we had our appointment for a growth scan on Friday. The first measurement the girl took was Anna's head circumference and the first one determined that she was measuring 40 weeks and 3 days!! Keep in mind, I was 38 weeks and 4 days at the time. Her head is over a foot around. I told the girl I don't care about the size of her head, that's soft, it'll smoosh on the way out.. what about the rest of her?? Well, after completing a bunch of other measurements, it was determined that she could weigh about 8lbs 10oz - "Holy Shit" were the first words out of my mouth. Then she told us that there's a 20 oz swing and she could in actuality be anywhere from 7lb 6oz to 9lb 14oz! CHUNKY BUTT!!

Now we are waiting until Monday to hear from the doctor if I have to be induced.. God, I hope so. I am so uncomfortable and NOTHING is easy anymore. Sitting down to pee is a chore - guys have no idea how easy they have it. Getting up off the couch or out of bed takes 5 minutes and an awful lot of huffing and puffing.

We are going out for a "Date Night" dinner tonight because for all we know it could be our last for a few months!! I'll keep you posted on what the doctor says on Monday!

**The pic at the top is a not so clear pic of her grumpy face that the girl was able to get on Friday - I'd be grumpy too, that's my uterus in her face! Hahaha...

And the Countdown Begins

So, here we are - officially considered full-term no matter when she comes now. I am a day over 37 weeks and have less than 3 weeks to go. Everybody is saying there is no way I'll make it to March, let alone the 9th. My stomach feels bigger everyday and she's definitely dropped - I can breathe again, AND barely any heartburn anymore!! Wohooooo!!!

I know it's been a while, so let me think back to fill you in...

February 4th, we had a doctor's appointment. My feet were REALLY swollen, my blood pressure was high and when they tested my urine they found protein. These signs when put together point towards toxemia or pre-eclampsia. They don't know what causes it and it only affects pregnant women. SO, the doctor said he was sending us to the hospital for monitoring to see how Anna was doing. We went over to L&D - scary thought of being at the hospital at only 35 weeks, and they hooked me up to some monitors to check her heart rate, movements and my blood pressure. I was there for a little over half an hour, and they said everything looked fine.

Fast forward to the following week, doctor's appointment again, swelling is worse in my feet and now my hands are swollen too.. blood pressure is a little high and protein again - the nurse even apologized when she saw it. Doc sent us over to the hospital again, and said he'd meet us over there because he had a delivery to attend to. Hooked up to monitors again, everything with Anna looked "marvelous" to quote Dr. Marks. He then asked me what kinds of activities I was taking part in at home. My response was "At home? Sitting on my ass and watching tv with my feet up!" To which he responded "So, you're still working?!" and I said yea.. and he said "You're done!" I asked "Done Friday, or done today?" He said "Today!" Well, that wasn't going to go over very well because my long-term sub was scheduled to come in Thursday and Friday to shadow. So, doc compromised and told me that I was allowed to go to work Thursday, but that was it. AND.. I get to have monitoring at the hospital twice a week. Fun Fun!

Well, this past weekend, we had our last shower and went shopping and bought EVERYTHING else we needed to be ready for baby Anna.

Now it's all a waiting game - I'm spending my days at home, watching tv and trying to organize all of this wonderful baby stuff. Mom says we're going to have to move out so that there's room for everything! Tony thinks I'll go into labor next week, I'm hoping for the end of this week. That probably means she WILL wait until March just to be difficult. :) Hopefully the doctor will check me tomorrow and tell me that it'll be anyday now! Cross your fingers!

I can't believe..

It's already the middle of January! Where has all the time gone?? I'm officially 32 1/2 weeks pregnant and only have 7 1/2 weeks to go - and that's only if she decides to stay in the oven for the full 40 weeks! Technically she's full-term in 4 1/2 weeks.. scary. Tony thinks she's coming the last week of February. I dunno... although it would be nice to miss being uncomfortable during conferences the 2nd and 3rd of March! Ha.

I'm beginning to think that there is like NO amniotic fluid in there anymore... all I feel are limbs and her butt and back all the time! My ribs are killing me and I dread when she finds my bladder each day - I would totally take those little "love taps" she would give it when she was so much smaller, but considering she weighs somewhere in the neighborhood of 4 lbs now, they're full-fledged punches. And ya know that wivestale about heartburn = hair? This girls coming out with a 'fro judging by how much I've been burning lately! Tums don't even cut it anymore, I had to buy some Maalox. And talk about swelling! I have given a new definition to the word "cankles". My feet get so swollen it hurts to walk by the end of the week. I have 2 students who know to bring their chairs with them when we go to sit down on the rug so that I can prop my feet up.

Although, bitching aside... it was hilarious when she had the hiccups last night and I could watch my stomach bounce with each one. And I love that I can feel her butt up at the top of my stomach. She almost feels like she moves in slow motion anymore - I guess she does considering her lack of space for the cartwheels she used to love doing.

We went to the doctor's last night and he said everything seems to be fine. We have one more appointment at the 2 week interval and then starting next month, we go weekly! Still can't believe that.

Well, in case you haven't noticed, this is being posted at 4 in the morning - I couldn't keep my eyes open by 7:45 last night, but yet now I can't keep them shut this morning. Guess I'll go work on my Maternity Plans -oh joy! <3

I know, I know, I know... it's been forever. I'm sorry! Life's been a bit hectic. Let's see.. what to update on first. Last I posted, we found out it was a girl. Well, since then, we've actually had a third ultrasound (totally not normal) but since Anna was such a little squirmy worm, they needed to get some more pictures and that resulted in the tech breakin' out the 3D/4D wand!! It's not the best picture, but it's WAY better than those stupid 2D ones! Of course as soon as the tech put the 3D wand on my stomach, Anna put her arm across her face - diva already. It almost even looks like she's flicking us off.. classy like her mother. (Oh, and to make Tony feel better, the tech checked, and she's still a girl)

She's a VERY active baby - so far Mom, Adrienne MIL and Mandy have felt her move. Mandy was a bit grossed out by it. Haha..

At our last appointment back at the beginning of December, I got a shock of learning that I had gained 13 lbs in the month of November (bad baby!) but they didn't seem too concerned about it, so long as it doesn't continue. Well, we had an appointment this morning, and I only gained another 5 or 6 this month, so we're back to a little closer to normal.

She was sitting sideways(breech) at the last ultrasound and I could feel the hard spots on my sides where her head and butt were, but the other night she was EXTREMELY active and was doing a lot of acrobatics and I had a feeling she had flipped. So we asked the doctor this morning and she felt around and grabbed her head down at the bottom! Then Tony asked if she could show him what she was feeling for and she helped him grab Anna by the head - I thought he was going to pee himself he was so excited!

Now we get to go to the doctor's every 2 weeks for the month of January and then every week in February.. wohoo!

OH!!! AND.... Tony surprised me Christmas morning by having gone out and bought the crib for us!!!! He's the best... honest. So we've got most of the nursery situated.. Mom and I are making the quilt and bumper pads this week. And my aunt and uncle have a mattress that they're giving us. I painted wooden letters hot pink and hung them on the wall this afternoon - it looks cuter everyday!

And honestly, I swear that I can see my belly get bigger each day - and compared to some pictures that I've seen online, my belly really isn't that big! You tell me.. although the pic is from the front and distorts it a little ;-) You can see, no stretch marks on the front yet!! Cross your fingers it stays that way.. the ones on my hips I can deal with later.

PS - Like the crooked line down the "middle" of my belly? Cute, huh?

We're having...

A little girl!!! I still can't believe it.. Little Anna Marie :) The appointment for the ultrasound was not one of the best days - I had a ridiculously full bladder when I got to the office, 1o minutes before my appointment and then had to wait another hour before I was seen! I was in tears in the waiting room because I was in so much pain. Luckily the tech let me partially empty my bladder before we got started. (I definitely would have peed on her table) But once we got started she found the little one right away and started attempting to get all of the measurements she needed for the dr. I say attempted because Anna was less than helpful in sitting still. The entire ultrasound lasted for an hour and included me rolling on both sides in hope of capturing the right images for measurements. Tony was literally crawling onto the table to get a better view at the screen and just could not get over how much you could see! And at the very end she zoomed in on the part between the legs and asked Daddy what he thought it was - he guessed girl and was right! At the time of the ultrasound I still hadn't felt her move - the tech told me it was probably a blessing because she had a feeling that once I started feeling it, it was going to be a 24/7 occurence. Well, as of Monday I have felt her move - A LOT. The girl's gonna be an acrobat or something. I thought I felt some fluttering Monday morning, and then Monday night was jabbed multiple times while laying in bed with either a fist or a foot. And now I write this at 4 am because I got up to pee and evidently so did Anna. She's at her somersaults already today! But the actual feeling doesn't keep me awake - just the thought that that's my daughter in there :)

I can't believe it

We find out the sex of the baby in less than 4 days!! IT'S CRAZY!! I also can't believe that I'm almost halfway through this pregnancy! And as my loving friend Jess put it "Closer to the pain and agony of childbirth" (Maybe not her exact words, but I'm paraphrasing) Thanks Jess. :) I've been having A LOT of stretching going on inside - although thankfully my stomach is not showing any wonderful stretch marks yet. And I've still only gained 6-8 pounds. Baby is 6.5 inches long by now and I think almost weighs over half a pound? I still haven't felt it move yet... patiently waiting on that moment. We did buy one of those "DIY" baby heartbeat monitors the other day - it looks like a discman from the 90's with a foam covered cone coming out the back of it. Haven't had any success with it yet either, but it's still early.. I just couldn't pass it up at the consignment shop for $10.

A woman I work with has offered us her son and daughter in law's 4-1n-1 crib, dresser and changing table when they move out later this month. Their son is getting a "big boy bed" when they move into their new house. I was a little weary at first with it being used, but then Tony was talking to her yesterday and she said that they bought it at Penney's and paid $$$. I've looked on Penney's website, they have REALLY nice stuff! So we're going to go out and look at it in like 2 weeks. We've still only painted the base color in the nursery and as soon as we do the ragging on the crib wall I will post pictures of the beautiful color. (Or you could just come visit and see it in person!) ;-) TTFN!

Ok, ok, ok...

So, it's been over a month since my last entry - sue me! I've been busy making a baby, what have YOU done?? ;-)

I am officially into my 17th week and other than my boobs now being D+'s and officially being able to wear my maternity pants sans safety pin, life's been pretty uneventful. Tony was kind enough to take me bra shopping this past weekend - let me tell you that it was HORRIBLE!! I haven't been able to wear a bra with an underwire for years - they poke my underarms and now that I've got boobs growing out my armpits, I really didn't think that would be a good idea. So, try finding a D bra with no underwire - they officially look like your great grandmother's and they are so not comfortable. I finally settled on one that Tony actually picked out, bought two, only to wear it all day yesterday and want to rip it off because it was so uncomfortable. I talked to a co-worker who was recently in my shoes and she said I'm going to want the underwire for the extra support because pretty soon these puppies are going to feel like they're dragging on the floor. NICE! So, I guess it will be another trip to the outlet to try on underwires!

On another note - the baby is officially about as big as your outstretched palm. About 5 or 5 1/2 inches long and weighs about 3 oz. Crazy huh? I still haven't felt it move - although all books say I should be feeling it anyday. I've definitely got the baby belly going on now and it seems I'm steadily gaining weight. We have our next doctor's appointment next Wednesday (Oct. 1) and then two weeks later go in for our second ultrasound to see if it's a boy or a girl!!! YAY!!

If I happen to feel some kicks or punches, you'll be the first.. well, probably more like 4th to know!! :)

Sorry..

I know it's been a while, and I'm sorry. We've been crazy busy!! We went on a little vacation to my grandparents' house in Central PA to try to unwind before school started back up again. We went to Indian Echo Caverns, Lake Tobias and Knoebels!! We've agreed that all three places will be regulars on our list of things to do with our kids. Then we came back, and started getting my classroom ready for the new year. Tony moved all my furniture for me so I didn't have to do much, and he's already warned just about everyone that if they see me doing ANYTHING I shouldn't be, to yell at me. Nice, right?? Haha..

So, I'm officially in my 12th week. Next week is my last of this trimester!! CRAZY and scary all at the same time. After next week, I'm officially 1/3 of the way closer to childbirth. Blah! Could have done without that thought! My belly is starting to "pouch".. nothing major, but enough that I definitely notice it more than I used to. I was doing really well with the weight gain, til we went to grandma's. I love that woman, and I love her cooking even more. Needless to say, we had some type of pasta three times that week. Not to mention her delicious apple cake and pineapple apple pie. So I'm 3 lbs over where I should be, but I figure, it could be worse!

We go to the doctor next week, and we'll get to hear the heartbeat!!! We're going to be sure to record it on our cell phones - it will be my new ringtone, no doubt. Until then...

Baby's First Picture!

7 Weeks, 4 Days

Well, it's official, not only do I have most of the normal pregnancy symptoms, we have photographic proof that there's an alien in my belly! (Well, maybe not an alien, but look at that picture and tell me that's not what you see!) Haha.. I was hoping the picture would be a little clearer, but we'll take what we can get.

They gave me paperwork telling me to drink FOUR glasses of liquid an hour before my appointment in order to fill my bladder and be able to get the best picture. So since my appointment was at 2:30, I chugged 32 oz of water at 1:30. Well, we got to the office a little early because I was hoping to be able to sit in the waiting room and let my bladder fill. Well, no such luck. They took me back 15 minutes early. Then, as the girl is pressing the wand thing all over my semi-full bladder, she says "Your bladder's not quite full..." Well no shit! I told her that my appointment wasn't for another 15 minutes, so she went and did some other things, came back and starting looking for my ovaries, and cervix and such. Then she started pushing that damn wand over my now FULL bladder. Wow did that hurt!!! She showed us an image where you could see this flickering - it was the baby's heartbeat. It's beating at about 171 beats per minute. She said that was good. Finally, she printed out two copies of the best picture she could get of our little munchkin. :) We should be going back in about another 10 weeks to make sure everything is fully formed and to *hopefully* find out the gender!!! (Let's just hope he or she isn't being modest that day!!)

Next journey... doctor's appointment next Friday for my physical.. internal and external. Let me tell you how excited I am for that!! NOT!

The Journey Begins

Sorry I'm a little late, but we've been busy!!

We had our first appointment at the OB-GYN on Wednesday. It was with a nurse though, not with one of the doctors. Linda, the nurse, was amazing. Super nice and answered any questions we could think of. She went through the regime of questioning about family history and the date of my last missed period. She took out her little wheel thing that calculates the due date. Tony was like a kid in a candy store! He was so fascinated by it, she gave it to him!! What the hell are we going to do with that? Haha.. I love him though.

She also went over everything I should and shouldn't be doing and reasons to call the office or hospital.

She also gave us a bag full of all kinds of goodies! Free magazines and coupons for other freebies like diaper bags and formula samples. It was like Christmas in July!

Lastly, she set up our first ultrasound (it's today!!!) and the first appointment with the doctor for my physical. (Oh joy) That's next Friday. She also sent me for a complete blood work-up.

I had shown up at the dr's with a full bladder just in case, but of course I didn't need it. When we got to the Wellspan for my bloodwork, I bee-lined for the bathroom to relieve myself. I went in to have my blood drawn and after the girl was done, she informed me that I'd now have to pee in a cup. AHHHH!! I had JUST gone 5 minutes before! Lucky for me, I'm pregnant and that means I can pee on command (even after just going). By no means did I fill the cup, but she said it would be enough.

I know need to go to drink 4 glasses of water so that my bladder is at FULL capacity for the ultrasound in an hour and a half. I just hope I don't pee on the table. I'll fill you in on the details of that later. Wish us luck that it's only ONE! :)

First Things First

Chances are, if you're reading this, Tony and I have recently informed you that we're expecting!! And we couldn't be more thrilled.. and nervous, and anxious.. the list is neverending.

I am currently in my 7th week - only 33 more to go! Ha.. that sounds ridiculous. 33 more weeks.. who even talks in weeks in such large increments? I'll tell ya who.. pregnant women!

So far, I have been fairly blessed with an easy start on this long road. Yes, it's true that I can't make it through a day without a nap, and I am unbelieveably irritable, and I pee every hour.. oooh! And my boobs are getting HUGE! Too bad they're too sore to touch. Sorry hubby.. you can look, you just can't touch. I've only felt queasy on two days, and one of them it went away after I ate something - I'm just hoping that's a clue to an easy pregnancy.

We told our parents the first week of July. My parents were speechless and Tony's were, well, shocked. They're all very excited though. My mom has already bought fabric to recover the bassinet she used for my sister and I. And my sister has apparently bought something for me, but she's being really secretive about it. We shall see..

Our first appointment is next Wednesday - July 23. Only it's not even with the doctor.. just a nurse. I guess I get to be poked and prodded and interrogated about my life. I have 2 or 3 pages to fill out before I go too. She is supposedly supposed to schedule our first ultrasound that day too!! I just cannot wait to hear the heartbeat and see the baby on the screen - maybe then it'll feel real. Until the next time there's something exciting to post.. I'm going to get back to reading a ridiculous amount of parenting/birthing/pregnancy books. :)