An Exciting Week (& 17 week update) 7-31-12

Since this blag is supposed to be centered around my pregnancy, I'll give that update first.  Tom and I had our 4th appointment with Dr. Tydings this morning.  I was a little anxious because they were giving me the results of all my prenatal blood work, but I passed with flying colors!  Iron is great, no signs of Downs or Trisomy, hormone levels are great.  The nurse said I presented with one of the most perfect scores she had ever seen.  I told Tom later that this <motioning to my belly> was built for making babies (again apologies to my friends/family that experienced issues with infertility!)

As for symptoms, I've been feeling much peppier.  However, the cravings continue, I'm hungry most of the time, and my ankles have swollen a few times.  Also, I can actually feel my uterus now.  Like when I bend over or when I prop my leg up in the shower to shave.  It's a strange sensation.  And I think I've felt my little bean move, but I can't tell if that's gas or what... 

Now onto my rather busy week...I can't remember the last time I had such an activity filled week!  I left Louisiana Thursday morning and drove to my mom's in Birmingham.  She was keeping my 1 year old nephew, Andrew, and was tasked with picking up big brother Will from his school.  So I unloaded the car, loaded Andrew (who IS by far the NASTIEST child I have ever encountered - he loves to be dirty and sticky) into the mom's van, and we set off to get Will.  Necia (one of my 3 best friends) works at Will's school so I went to her classroom first so she could inspect my growing belly.  She had just seen me 3 weeks before so she wasn't that impressed.  We gathered Will and his stuff and loaded everyone back into the van with Will saying, "Granny, where's my snack?"  They apparently have a routine.  We deposited the children at my sister Meghan's house for the night, and then headed back to mom's.  Necia came by and had homemade soup and salad and we sat up until midnight just catching up on girl talk.  

The next day was "L-Day"!!  Laura (my best friend from IL) was arriving to spend the weekend.  She's a little nuts.   Drove 9 hours Friday morning to get there, and then turned around and drove 9 hours back on Sunday morning. At any rate, she arrived in time to eat lunch at the house with us and hang out and relax for a few hours.  Then, at 3 we left for Mom's wedding rehearsal.  She is a minister in the "Church of Life" and will marry anyone that's in love  :o)  So we tagged along with her and just made an adventure out of it.  The couple mom was marrying were students of hers several years ago and they decided to get married on Lake Logan Martin.  Laura and I just sat on the covered patio making conversation with some colorful characters and watching a massive rain storm roll in.  When mom was done rehearsing, we picked up Meghan and headed to the Olive Garden, our traditional eating spot.  I feel very sorry for the people sitting around us as the 4 of us can pick the most inappropriate dinner conversation topics (maggots, maxi pads, poop, etc).

Laura is a professional photographer (Books Photography) so she and I got moving early Saturday morning and headed to Meghan's to take pics of the boys.  Meghan has a really pretty entrance to her neighborhood with ponds and gazebos so we decided to do it there.  IT WAS HOT and Will the 4 year old thought it was funny to make Mimi (me) chase him around the pond.  But we got some good shots of them and it only took about 30 min.

Andrew 1 Year Old

Will 4 years old

From there we left Meghan as she had to study and take a test online, and we went to pick up mom for pedicures and some shopping. I'm not a huge fan of pedicures.  I like the massage part but that's about it.  So I meditated my way through it and ended up with some florescent pink toes.  I wanted to wait for Meghan to finish her test so she could come eat with us, so we killed time walking around Target.  When we got there, I needed a snack so I went to their little snack bar and ordered a pretzel.  The lady took my order and then came around to rub my belly and tell me I was having a boy.  Too funny.  And then she gave me this cake ball on a stick for free, which I was craving since one of the little shops at the Summit where I rubbed cake smelling lotion on my hands.  I bought my first 2 baby newborn outfits - one for a girl and one for a boy.  Mom also bought me a couple pairs of girl booties.  I just need to wait 1 day, 13 hours, 30 mins, 29 seconds to find out if it's a boy or girl!! 

We ended up killing enough time that we were able to meet Meghan for lunch at Jim N Nicks.  While eating, she tells us that she'd like to go with Laura and I to "Sips N Strokes", which is an art class offered in Birmingham where you take your own wine and try and imitate the instructor in painting a famous work of art.  Ours was "Sunflowers" and "The Scream".  None of us will be quitting our day jobs any time soon  :o)  This is the point in which I lost my ankles.  And I mean they were GONE. 

On Sunday morning, Laura got up early and headed for home.  It was a nice weekend with her!  I really wish we lived closer.  Mom and I went over to Meghan's to have birthday donuts for Meghan's 31st birthday.  We were planning to only be there for 30 min, but Meghan looks over at me and says, "I promise I'll take you anywhere for lunch if you'll help me reorganize my kitchen."  4 hours later I was enjoying some yummy Chipotle!  Then I went home and slept for a few hours and met back up with the family at the pool for a little late afternoon birthday swim. 

I drove home Monday after I went to the Apple store with Meghan and Dad to pick out an iPad for Meg.  She pooled together all of her birthday gift cards to get one, only to find out that next weekend is tax free. So she is painfully waiting the tax free weekend.  Girl's definitely got more patience than I!

So I'll update everyone on Thursday after my gender scan...wish me luck that the little booger cooperates!!

15 & 16 week update 7-24-12

OK I've been a horrible blogger for the past 2 weeks.  I gave myself a spanking.

I went to Gulf Shores to visit my uncle in the hospital the weekend before last.  He was supposed to have a routine back surgery - in and out in 24 hours - but is still trying to recoup.  He is 80 and over the past few years his mind has started to age, so my cousin Lana and I think the anesthetic and pain killers had a magnified effect on his thought processes and has caused a very slow recovery.  Lana sent us an email and said they were hoping he can go home around the 31st of July.  And I always seem to call when they are out of the room eating lunch...  blah!

This last weekend my dad and Tina came to visit for 1 night.  Dad just bought a new Harley so they wanted to break it in.  Brave souls - endured rain storms all the way down.  It's about a 5.5 hour bike ride.  But we got to visit for a few hours and went out to dinner together.  I love spending time with family!  Even if it's just donuts and Laura's for breakfast!

Other than my weekend excitement, we've been fairly quiet around here.  No OB appointments or health issues for me.  The cat had a UTI, and I'm glad I caught on before Tom magically made her disappear for peeing in the garage.  And Dillon had a poop virus but Margie was nice enough to keep him so he didn't pass it on to me.

Work has been steady.  One of my account managers won a large contract.  Very happy for her and the team.  Makes all this effort we put forth worth it!

I have noticed an increase in appetite.  And a new craving...home grown tomatoes.  This started when my mother posted a facebook photo of tomatoes out of her garden (she lives in Birmingham).  So I made the mistake of commenting on how much I wanted a tomato sandwich.  This prompted her to post a photo of her making a tomato sandwich.  Very nice mom!  Luckily when I went to visit my uncle I was able to stop at a few (3 to be exact) produce stands on the side of the road and pick up a few.  Just when I ran out Dad and Tina showed up and brought me some more.  I still have some left but just when I'm about to run out of those I'll be headed to Birmingham on Thursday to meet up with my best friend from IL (also Laura) so I'll have another supply.  I'm hoping to pick up a different craving, one in which I'll be able to buy from Winn Dixie.

Randa and Katie  - Chipotle Baton Rouge

Oh and the really big news...a Chipotle has opened in Baton Rouge!!!!!   YEA!!!!  This is my all time favorite place to eat.  I get a burrito bowl with white rice, pinto beans, barbacoa, mild and medium green salsa, sour creme, and cheese.  Then I get a bag of their salt lime chips to dip in the bowl.  YUM.  Too bad Baton Rouge is 60 miles away.  But well worth the 120 mile round trip.  I have no calls for the rest of the afternoon.  I'm tempted to drive over there now and pick up dinner.  Anyway I went over there last week and met up with my friend Randa from high school.   Randa and I have not seen each other since high school - 16 years OMG - but we have followed each other on facebook for a long long time.  So I hit her up last week to see if she wanted to meet up.  And we did...for 3 hours!  It's hard to catch up on 16 years during a regular lunch hour.  It's good that we have such flexible schedules!! 




So that's all I have...until next time!!

Growing Out

So here is the newest comparison.  I'm 14 weeks, 4 days.  I cannot find my camera so I had to use my phone, which ended up taking the shot in a different hue.  But it works for the purposes of amateur documentation I guess.  Oh and I actually wore makeup this time.  Laura (MIL) and I are going to have a late lunch.  MAMA'S HUNGRY!!

14 week update 7-10-12

Monday marked 14 weeks and what I would claim to be an official start to my 2nd trimester.  I really thought I would demand some sort of celebration.  Perhaps a cake or a special dinner.  Ended up just having a nice relaxing evening with the hubs.  While it was my first official 2nd tri day, I think I was anticipating what was to happen the next day...My 3rd OB appointment.  I really just wanted to wait until I heard that heartbeat on the doppler before I let myself enter into a more festive mood. 

I have learned to make my appointments early in the morning so Tom can tag along without being totally bombarded with work issues.  We arrived at 8:00 along with an older couple who had dropped in because she had felt a lump (I'm an eavesdropper).  The nurse popped her head out and instructed me to give a urine sample.  I was sporting a white tank and the good ole maternity pants that have the belly band that covers the belly area and rests just below my boobs to help keep the pants up.  The bathroom is located in the waiting room, so I made my way back there and closed the door.  I'm a little self conscience of people listening to me pee so I turned on the water a little.  After tinkling in the little cup and depositing it into the little door in the wall, I washed my hands and opened the door to head back to my seat.  Tom was facing me, and he gazed a me with a strange look on his face and made a motion to my belly area.  While giving my sample, I had to lift my shirt and let it rest at the top of my now protruding belly in order to see what I was doing - aiming into that tiny cup is no easy feat.  Apparently, when I was finished, I pulled the belly band back up but forgot to pull the tank back down.  Thank god Tom was with me.  I don't think I would have known otherwise.  Tom and I had a good giggle about it.  He's continuously amused by my blond pregnancy brain antics. 

When they called my name they led us back to the scale - which typically gives me a little anxiety.  I have not been as diligent about going to the gym as I should be.  So I stepped on the dreaded platform and tried not to hold my breath for fear the extra air would add to the number.  The nurse recorded my weight and announced I had LOST 3 pounds!   YEA!!!   We will not talk about the post in which I had gained 5 lbs and brushed it off by saying my weight fluctuates by about that much in a day...the rule is, gain = brush off excuse, loss = celebrate the wins!!

From there we headed to the exam room.  The nurse asked me if I had been taking my vitamins and iron.  Um...sort of.  Vitamins yes.  They are in these annoying blister packs and they sent me three boxes so they have ended up all over the house, which is a constant reminder to take them.  But the iron pills...they sent those in one bottle that sits on my bathroom sink.  I'm only supposed to take one every other day, so I just forget!!  And being the honest person I am, I admitted this to the nurse.  She scolded me and resorted to scare tactics about having to get a series of shots and intrusive tests if I didn't take my iron like a good girl.  Sheesh!  Tom nudged me in the arm, as if to reiterate what the nurse was telling me.  Like he has to take daily pills!  I got off the birth control pill because I no longer wanted to stress over taking a daily pill and stress even more when I forgot to take it 4 days in a row.  Now look at me.  **Sigh**

Dr. Tydings strolled in and was happy to see me again - I had attended his Normal Labor and Delivery class the night before.  I really like that he offers these free classes.  Gives some insight into what kind of doctor he is.  For instance, I learned he is pro-vagina (anti C-section).  At any rate, he strolls in and asks, "Have you been taking your vitamins?" ...   <insert another nudge from my supportive husband >

He pulled out the doppler and was able to immediately find a heartbeat.  This is a good thing because he then lost it and had trouble finding it again. But I didn't freak out - just waited until he had it again.  What a wonderful sound.  I wish it would have lasted longer. 

That was it!  I go in next week to have all of my blood work done for the first round of prenatal testing. 

OK NOW IT'S OFFICIAL - LET THE FESTIVITIES BEGIN!! 

A few weeks ago, I was thumbing through a coupon book and one particular ad caught my eye.  It was for prenatal massage. I took down the number and then looked back at the ad to see where the place was located, because I'm NOT a fan of driving more than 5 miles away for anything.  The address was listed as 332 Colonial Court.  Wait...  332??  I live at 333 Colonial Court!  What's better than a spa located just 5 miles away?  A spa located across the damn street!  Hell to the yeah!  So I made an appointment and went after my OB Appointment yesterday.  My way of celebrating this completed milestone  :o)

I also went ahead and made the ole facebook announcement.

So far I have received a great response!  I also posted a link to this blog.  I want to take a moment to thank Amy Bonfiglio for the inspiration to write this blog.  Not sure if she is reading, but her story is amazing and she has a wonderful way of putting her thoughts down on the screen.  I need to ask her if I can post a link here...  

All in all, yesterday was a great day!  Further celebrations included a trip to the gym, and stuffing ourselves silly at Tom's new favorite Mexican restaurant. 

Until the next update..

Pedicure / Cupcakes / Wonderful Sister

Wow sorry folks - was traveling the week of June 25th and then Monday I came down with a cold.  So it's been a while.

So I guess this can kind of be my 13 week update?  I'm very confused by the What to Expect app.  It says this is the last week of my first trimester, but all of the other apps say I'm in the first week of my 2nd trimester.  So I silently celebrated to myself on Monday, but will really be excited on Tuesday the 10th, after my next OB appointment (and I'll for sure without a doubt be into my 2nd tri).

On to the updates.  Rewind to the last update - which was about about maternity clothes shopping (still rockin them!).

Dillon's 8 year old baseball team won playoff game after playoff game, and ended up winning the whole tournament!!

I headed to Birmingham on Saturday the 23rd to catch Andrew's first birthday "party".  This is where the 'cupcake' portion of the post title comes into play.  Meghan made lime green, baby blue, and lavender icing cupcakes, as well as a smash cake for Andrew to play in.

Here is a video of Andrew and his smash cake - Will helps him out at the end :o) ANDREW'S FIRST BIRTHDAY - SMASH CAKE!!

Some more photos from the weekend:

The day after the party, Meghan, Tina, and myself went to my favorite pedicure place (Venetian Nail Spa on Hwy 280 - where none of the beauticians are anywhere close to being Venetian...).  They are expensive but the place is very nice and everything is sterilized.  So that would be the 'Pedicure' portion of the post title.

As far as the title of this post goes - Meghan asked why I had not updated my blog yet with the "Pedicure / Cupcakes / Wonderful Sister" post, so here it is.  Now you know where the 'Wonderful Sister' portion of the post title comes from  :o)

I set off for Atlanta on Monday the 25th for 2 grueling days of team updates.  I love to see my team and interact with them, but sitting in a lecture style "death by power point" forum is just not my idea of a super good time.  Aside from the challenge of keeping myself awake for those 8 hours, it was nice to try out the new maternity clothes and share the big news with my team.  At least I was comfortable for those 2 days.  Needless to say, I will not be doing anymore meeting where I have to sit for 8 hours a day - my ankles disappeared!  It was the craziest thing that has happened to me thus far.  I propped them up for most of the following day and they were fine.  The only other time I noticed it was this last Monday.  During Dillon's gymnastic tryouts, Tom and I sat in the bleachers for an hour straight.  It started to happen again so I just got up and moved around.

After my team meeting I went to stay a couple of nights with Grayson and Katherine.  Grayson had no idea I was coming.  I walked in the door and snuck up behind him on the couch.  When his eyes had focused and he realized it was me, he said, "what the heck?!?!?"  It was cute.  I wish I could have spent the weekend with him but I was starting to get anxious about coming home.  Something about living out of a suitcase that just gets tiresome!

I headed back to Birmingham to spend one more night with the family.  Will spent the night with us and he went poo poo in the big potty!  (For anyone reading this that's not aware, this is a major milestone as he is autistic and at 4 years old, his mama is ready for poo poo in the big boy potty!!) Very exciting night.  We also made Home Run Inn pizzas.  Once again I'm baffled that we don't carry these frozen gems at our local grocery store in Mandeville, LA.  If Birmingham has them, why can't we??  So that was exciting for me as well. 

Finally got home on Saturday to a freshly cleaned home.  Our cleaning lady had been here the day before and it's SO NICE to come home to a sparkling clean house.  Tom had done the grocery shopping so that was wonderful as well (I'm not going to talk about the diet Pop Tarts he bought me).  I missed my husband.  Sometimes a week is just too long. 

Pregnancy Update:  I think my morning sickness has disappeared for the most part.  It never really was all that bad.  Boobs are still sore but I'm used to it now.  I think they got bigger!  I'm still up peeing all night long.  I do have a baby bump now and I'm excited about that.  I have noticed spider veins in my legs...  and I've already talked about the cankles!  I check my rings every few days and I can still get them off.  Really the only huge negative came over the past few days when I woke up Tuesday with a little cold.  Today is Thursday and I feel much much better, but Tues and Wed were the pits (Wed was July 4th so that sucked).  I took benedryl and tylenol to break my fever, but that was it.  I'm accustomed to taking about a half bottle of Nyquil and sucking on cough drops, so not having these things was a bit rough.  Thank god I'm over it now.  This is the quickest I've ever gotten over a cold.  Something to be said for prenatal vitamins??  Meghan admitted that Will probably gave it to me.  Little petrie dish.

That's about all I can think of for now.  Maybe I'll try and take some bump photos and post them later?