Wednesday

34 weeks

We have a break from our weekly NST appointment this week for good behavior (and it's the holidays). I do have a growth ultrasound on Friday to check the fluid levels and see how big this baby is. My guess is 6lbs if he's gaining at the rate the books say he should be.

We still need to finish decorating the nursery and washing his clothes. I also need to pack a bag and buy a b-milk pump. But honestly, if he decided to come out tomorrow, I'm ready. Dad's ready. The dog? Not so much, but he's going to have to deal with it. I've been sitting in the recliner chair in the living room lately to get the dog used to me sitting there and him not on my lap. So far, he likes to sit at my feet and whine when I'm in that chair.

Friday

A convo with the OB's nurse

Her: How are things going lately?
Me: pretty good. I think I might have a rash on my stomach though. I have tiny red blotches all over.
Her: Oh honey, those are just your stretch marks starting to come in.

Great.

Saturday

Nursery progress

It's starting to look like an actual nursery in there, but we still have some work to do finding new homes for all of the stuff we used to store in that room.


  That rug is on a trial basis. It doesn't match, but I'm just seeing if I like the idea of putting a rug there.



And a peek of what it really looks like when the closet doors are opened...


The only stuff baby-related in that closet is what is hanging in the organizer thing. Everything else is ours (including all the books on that bookshelf that need to go somewhere else.)

Tuesday

Coming home outfit

As I'm getting everything washed and put away from the shower, I'm on the lookout for the cutest "coming home" outfit for my son. The hubs wants him to come home in something Fighting Illini, but the smallest Illini outfit we have is 3-6 mos and it's second-hand and looks worn. Right now, I think a cute monkey onesie is the top choice, but I might do some shopping still.

Anyway, while I was looking at all this cuteness, I found a sleeper thing that someone gave us that says "Born in 2011." While I do hope that's the case sometimes, I really don't think that's the best option for the youngster.

Sunday

Shower part #2

Yesterday was my "friend" shower. It was a great time and I have to give props to my friend Katie for planning everything down to the smallest detail with absolute cute-ness. I think everyone had fun and enjoyed themselves.


Katie made that It's a Boy! sign! She's so crafty.


This salad was awesome to eat and looks good too!


The cupcakes were delish too, but I think I liked the cake pops better. I didn't get a photo of those...


A cute Cardinals outfit!


These are washcloth cupcakes all the way from Dallas!


This might be my favorite onesie of the day. Dirty Dancing is one of my favorite movies. 

After the shower, I was absolutely exhausted, but stayed up until 10:30pm. I did not MOVE from where I fell asleep until 630am! That has not happened in MONTHS. I usually have to get up for a bathroom break at least twice.

Thursday

31 weeks

I forgot to post that last week I weighed 236 and today I weighed 238. The little man is growing up a storm and all his hair is giving me some serious heartburn! My hips hurt. My back (only on the left side) hurts and my arches hurt if I don't wear tennis shoes all day.

He's a little swimmer, kicking and throwing his arms every which way, at all times. Even during fetal monitoring yesterday, he was moving the entire time and the Dr. came in to say "wake him up, he's not moving enough." After that, he decided to move away from the heart rate monitor and I could not find it again for the next 10 minutes. Such a brat already!!

Monday

Too much fluid

Last week at the OB appointment, I found out I am carrying too much amniotic fluid. She didn't seem to make a HUGE deal out of it, but at the same time, wants to monitor me weekly from here on out. So I was shuffled into another room to be hooked up to the same monitors you wear when in labor. I sat there for 30 minutes sans contraction, so I was free to go. I'm not sure what will happen if I do have a contraction while sitting there (I have Braxton Hicks all the time now) but I definitely know to bring more entertainment than just my phone next time.

From what I gather, too much amniotic fluid can cause preterm labor or for the cord to come gushing out when my water breaks and be under the the baby's head, which would cut off his oxygen = instant c-section. He could also wrap himself up in the cord and get all tangled.

Wednesday

30 weeks

This has been a busy week for us baby-wise. I put together the stroller and car seat, and picked up the crib. The dresser is almost ready to come back in from being stained in the garage. I had an ultrasound yesterday and was able to get some 3D images of our little man.

He has tons of hair and I'm pretty sure he has my mouth! I had this fear that he would look exactly like the hubs and people wouldn't even know I was part of this process.

We are also attending birth class this weekend. I know the hubs is really looking forward to that one!

29 weeks

I weighed in this morning at 234. At my last doctor visit I weighed 235 on her scale Nov. 3. I am pretty pleased with myself the past few weeks. However, it is getting more and more difficult to sleep for more than a few hours at a time due to all of the hip and back pain, and pillows in the bed.

I think the only one of us who likes all of the pillows in the bed is the dog!

Sunday

Nesting project #2

Because our house was built in the late 1990s, we had a plethora of brass finishes when we moved in. We have slowly been updating them to more modern styles, and the fireplace was no exception. This is what it looked like before - actually on the day we moved in.



This is not a huge project, but my mom and I both needed to paint the brass off of our fireplaces, so we split a little can of high-heat black paint. Before painting, I scuffed up the brass with an SOS pad.

Here's what it looks like now.


While it may not look that different online, it makes me happy to not see the dated brass every time we are in the living room.

(And I did wear a mask while painting and had a fan on to keep the fumes to a minimum.)

Wednesday

28 weeks

This morning I weighed in at 231. That's down a pound in case you are keeping track!! I'm hoping that's just from all of the walking I've been doing every night. I have a route around our neighborhood that is 1.6 miles. I'm not moving very fast, but at least I'm trucking along.

I had my first shower last weekend and we now have a queen-sized bed full of baby things. I'm scared to open them/put them away because I'm not sure what I should keep versus what I should return. So, for now, they will stay in piles according to their gift receipt. After my next shower, I'll evaluate and make decisions. Speaking of decisions, I'm finding it more difficult to make them. I'm usually pretty quick to decide what I want, but there are just too many options out there for everything!! I've spent the last two evenings crawling the internet, reading reviews and searching for the best price on a car seat/stroller travel system and a pack'n play/bassinet combo. I know that I want to have a two-fer if it's available so I don't have to buy as much stuff (and then store it later). So a pack'n play with a bassinet can pull double duty and not have me buy a bassinet at all. Seem silly if you are only going to use it for a few months to purchase two things.

On another note, this weekend is our 5-year wedding anniversary!! I wish I could celebrate with some wine, but we are already planning a trip to stay at a winery that has cabins next spring, so I'll just have to wait.

27 weeks


I weighed in this morning at 232. I have been on the treadmill most days after work and I lifted 2x this week with my 8lb hand weights to begin working my guns up to carry my XL baby around. Next week begins the third trimester!

Friday

Rough week

At 26 weeks, I weighed in at 232 lbs. The doc told me I've now gained all that I was allotted to gain during the entire pregnancy. She told me to not drink soda (I don't), not eat fried foods (I don't) and not drink much juice (I only drink it to take my daily dose of fiber for necessary reasons).

In addition to that bad news, she also told me I will have to take the glucose test again in 6 weeks to make sure I haven't developed gestational diabetes.

I'm not having a good time this week.

Sunday

Don't hate me...

But I'm really not a fan of being pregnant. I do think I'm one of the lucky ones who doesn't have a terrible pregnancy, but I thought for years that I would just LOVE being pregnant. I thought I'd love feeling the baby move, have a growing belly and all the attention. The truth is, I don't like any of those things. I feel like a bad mother already saying that I don't like to feel him move, but I really like it better when he's asleep and still. I don't like all the banging around and pushing on my bladder. I don't like being able to see his movements through my shirt.

As we approach the third trimester, I'm already looking forward to giving birth and being done with this process. I think the next few weeks will go by quickly and then the holidays always fly by. So, by the time it's Jan. 2, I'll be ready to do this thing. And, that week will be 37 weeks, so maybe he will be ready too.

Tuesday

The sugar

Yesterday, I went to the outpatient lab for my glucose test. You know I have a sweet tooth, so I actually didn't find the super sugary drink too terrible. I'm not a huge fan of orange soda, but it was alright. The part that I didn't like was not being able to drink water for an hour, and I felt like I had eaten too much. I didn't really feel like puking (and wouldn't risk re-doing the test!) but just sort of icky afterward.

Luckily, my results are normal, so I don't have the 'betes or the sugar (whichever slang term you prefer) aka gestational diabetes.

As a coworker says, now I can eat that donut if I want to.

Monday

Crazy kid

Last night was a crazy sleep for me. I went to bed after watching the Cardinals win (go birds!) and fell asleep without any problems. Around 3:30 a.m., I woke up to what felt like a seizure/temper tantrum going on in my stomach. I've been feeling the baby move for several weeks now, even on the outside. But this, this was nutso behavior. I got up and walked around a bit (a glimpse into my future, I bet) to see if he would chillax. I think he was mad because I went to bed hungry. He seems to be more active when I'm hungry.

He finally went back to sleep, and so did I. The next time I woke up, it was after a crazy dream. Basically, I was solving Law and Order SVU crimes in the hospital where I work. Just call me Olivia Benson.

Friday

Missing my waist

I took this photo as a "before" of our master bath. I should really post about how it looks much better in there now (with simple hardware and lighting upgrades) but instead I am missing that waist and those legs!!

I feel like a bad momma thinking these thoughts, but I'm ready to have my body back. Everything is so mushy nowadays. I can't wait to seriously work out again. I know that many preggo women continue to work out while pregnant, but I'm lacking motivation and flexibility, and I'm so dang tired (and yes I would like cheese to go with my whine).


Wednesday

23 weeks

I had a rough week last week. Trying to fight a cold while pregnant is not a good time. Actually, I'm finding that doing a lot of things while pregnant is not a good time. I am starting to not be able to bend over easily, so cleaning the house (don't worry - they hubs does all of the "chemical cleaning" so I don't breathe in the fumes) or even putting on my shoes is a pain - literally. Last night, I was trying to vacuum under the fridge to get all of the dust off the vent down there. I had to get flat on the floor because sitting and leaning forward was so uncomfortable. And the sad thing is, I know it's going to get much worse!!

Other than that issue, I'm feeling great still. I can eat whatever I want (for the most part I don't have any cravings or food aversions) and this week I started feeling the baby move on the outside. So far, one friend and my sister have been able to feel it. For some reason, the idea of this grosses out my baby daddy, so he's staying away for now. Maybe he'll come around once he can SEE him moving around in there. :)

Sunday

Nesting project #1

To make room for the baby, I'm slowly cleaning out the current guest bedroom. We had a garage sale this weekend and I sold a bunch of clothes and the nightstand from that bedroom, as well as a lot of "junk." I was pretty pleased with $161 for all of my junk. My parents and sister, and even my grandma, brought over some of their junk to sell too, and total we made about $370. I was proud of that until I talked to the family across the street and found out they made $1,000!!

Anyway, in my cleaning out process, I found some of our wedding stuff. I've been holding on to every RSVP card and every congratulations card that came with a gift for the past five years. The hubs told me it was okay to let them go. I threw away the RSVPs, but I saw on pinterest an idea for a project involving the cards. Some other blogger had made a map of the places they went together, cutting out the map from colored scrap paper. I decided that my wedding cards could easily serve as scrap paper.

So, I sorted all of the cards into a "pretty" and "usable" pile (on the left) and the rest of them for the recycle bin (on the right). 

Then I traced a map from an atlas and cut it out, then traced again on the cards and cut those out - similar to the blogger's instructions. I bought a canvas (with a 40% off coupon so it was only $8) and painted it with some paint I had left over from another project. 

Then I glued with mod podge on the bottom and covered with two thin layers on top. I glued some fun squares as the places-we've-been-already markers ($2.99 in the glitter/bedazzle section)
I'm still considering putting some kind of working on there, but I don't really like "Oh the places we'll go" so much. I'm open to suggestions. Obviously, we need to work on our western states a bit.




Friday

21 weeks

I thought you might want to see an updated photo.

Weighed 221 this week and am obsessed with all things pumpkin. Or "punkin" as I like to say it.

Wednesday

That boy is big!

In addition to finding out we are having a boy, we also found out that our boy is already running big. Not quite too big, but close. So, I have to go back for another round of ultrasound measurements in three weeks. Based on the measurements they took last week, little Zeus (his current nickname) weighs 14 oz, but should only weigh 10 oz at 20 weeks.

I'm not sure if gestational diabetes is suspected already, but it is known to cause bigger babies. I'm hoping that's not the case. I'm thinking it's just two big people making one big baby.

Monday

It's a boy!! (for real)

In case we aren't friends on facebook, it's a boy!! The hubs is obviously over the moon. I'm happy about it too, but I really didn't care either way. I did buy an adorable Illini hat to wear home from the hospital (since it will be the middle of winter) last weekend, along with a fighting Illini onesie. My sister already bought him a set of cars/trucks onesies too.

Now that we know it's a boy and my shower dates are set, a few of my friends are asking about registries. I can tell you where I want to register, but I have no idea what to register for. None. I did end up starting two registries today, but I mostly picked out adorable things like baby loafers and cute outfits. I also registered for cloth diapers because I know I will need those. Other than that, I'm officially open to suggestions.

Tuesday

The unofficial answer is: BOY

Tomorrow will change our lives forever. I want to go to sleep for the night right now. I know once I get to work, 2pm will come quickly. It seems like we've been waiting for this a long time, so I'm super excited to find out if I need to shop pink or blue for the next few months!

It seems like everyone has been asking me lately, “Are you going to find out, or wait to be surprised?” I am a planner by nature, and while I think surprises are fun and certainly have a place in this world, this is not one of them.

In preparation for the official test, I’ve been scanning the web for other unofficial tests to determine the sex of my first child. Some are well-known, while others seem completely off-the-wall and outrageous.

A friend shared this chart with me to compare all of the “old wives tales” related to the sex of the baby. For me, it says I’m having a boy (my husband will be so happy). I filled it out with my answers, and I’ll let you know next week after the ultrasound if this thing is accurate.

Myth Description / Question
Response
Gender
Boy
Girl
Are you carrying low in the “stomach”, or high?Low
Boy
x
High
Girl
Are you carrying all out front, or all around your waist?Out Front
Boy
x
All Around
Girl
Does your belly look like a watermelon or a basketball?Basketball
Boy
x
Watermelon
Girl
Is your fetal heartbeat above or below 140?  The heart rate does in fact change at labor.Below 140
Boy
x
Above 140
Girl
Hold a pendant / needle / ring over your hand / belly / wrist. In which direction does it swing?Circular
Boy
x
Back and Forth
Girl
Is your husband putting on weight with you, or is he staying the same?Even
Boy
x
Gain
Girl
Are you craving salty foods or sweet?Sour / Salty
Boy
x
Sweet
Girl
Do you crave OJ every day, or do you not need it?Not Daily
Boy
x
Daily
Girl
What does the Chinese Birth Chart Say? (Age at time of conception and month)See Chart
See Chart
x
Is the combination of your age at the time of conception and the month you conceived even or odd?Even
Boy
x
Odd
Girl
Has your chest grown significantly in size, or has growth not been so dramatic?Normal Growth
Boy
x
Dramatic Growth
Girl
Is your face full and round, or not?Normal
Boy
x
Round / Rosy
Girl
Are you looking good during pregnancy, or notGood
Boy
x
Not Good
Girl
Do you have more acne now than before you were pregnant?Clear
Boy
x
Acne
Girl
Is your skin dry or soft?Dry
Boy
x
Soft
Girl
Is your hair more full-bodied and shiny, or thinner and dull?Full-bodied & Shiny
Boy
x
Thinner and Dull
Girl
Does your leg hair grow faster than before you were pregnant?Faster
Boy
x
Slower or Equal
Girl
Did you have morning sickness in your first trimester?Not Sick
Boy
x
Sick
Girl
Are you getting more headaches during pregnancy than before?Headaches
Boy
x
No Headaches
Girl
Do your pupils dilate after staring in the mirror for at least 1 minute?Dilate
Boy
x
Do not Dilate
Girl
Are your feet colder now than before, or do they get colder more quickly than before?Colder
Boy
x
Not Colder
Girl
When asked to show your hands, do you show them palm up or palm down?Palms Down
Boy
x
Palms Up
Girl
Which side do you lie on when sleeping?Left
Boy
x
Right
Girl
What color is your urine?Bright Yellow
Boy
x
Dull Yellow
Girl
Are you more moody than before?Not Moody
Boy
x
Moody
Girl
Do you eat the heel of the loaf of bread?Heel
Boy
x
No Heel
Girl
Does the maternal grandmother have gray hair, or not (natural or dyed)Gray
Boy
x
Not Gray
Girl
Has your nose changed shapes during pregnancy?Wider
Boy
x
No Change
Girl
How do you pick up a key?Bottom, Round
Boy
x
Thinner Portion
Girl
Do you pick up a mug with the body or the handle?Handle
Boy
x
Body
Girl
Are you performing better or worse with regards to working memory and spatial ability?Better performance
Boy
x
Lower performance
Girl
When you eat garlic, does it seep out of your pores, or can you not smell it?Seeps Out
Boy
x
No Smell
Girl
What do you think you are having?Boy
Boy
x
Girl
Girl
Total Responses
Boy
21
Girl
13

Wednesday

19 weeks

This morning, I weighed 214. Here's a belly shot with the tripod!!


Not the best shot ever, but you can see there's definitely a bump. I also sort of feel like people don't walk up to me yet because I look like I might have just given birth and not lost the weight yet. Kind of a in-between phase of large belly-ness. 

I still feel really good - except for the minor ear stuffiness - and am loving the way the baby moves around. It usually happens driving to and from work. Not sure if it likes the bass or that I am usually hungry or have just had breakfast. 

I can't wait to find out what it is next week so we can assign it a name!! We've had our names picked out for probably four years now, so the decision is made on our part. We just need an ultrasound to tell us which name to use. 

Thursday

18 weeks

At my checkup this week at the OB's office, the baby's heartbeat was in the 140s - lower than it has been. It was in the 160s last time, so I guess that means it's developing?  I gained nine - yes nine - pounds in the last four weeks according to her scale* and she said that was "a perfect weight gain so far" so I'll take her word for it. :)

She was shocked that I can feel the baby moving already - and have been for a couple of weeks now. I think the hubs' explanation says it best "He's strong like bull."** If it is a boy, and if he's anything like his daddy, he will be naturally super strong and my poor organs better watch out in the next few months.

On my own scale at the house, I weighed 212 this morning. I'm mostly posting this here as a way to keep track of my weight gain for my own personal knowledge - not because I think you all want to know. Some of you have been reading this forever, and know that weight is an issue for me, so I'll continue to post about it. I'm sure it will be much more of an issue next spring when I'm trying to lose it all! Right now, it's just part of the process. After the baby is born and I have the go-ahead to work out again, you can bet my butt will be focused.

*I was wearing corduroy pants - those things weigh more than most pants!!

**The hubs has been calling the baby "he" for a while now. We do not know this for a fact. We find out in two weeks.

Sunday

Treats!!

I rarely eat anything from a gas station (or fast food for that matter) but when we go on a road trip, sometimes even the best planners don't have enough snacks. I love getting the Golden Graham treat bar on a road trip - it's my prize for sitting in the car that long, right? (I took this on our way home from Dallas in May - that was about a 12-hour car ride)


On Pinterest, I saw a recipe for making these treats at home and immediately had to make them last night.


They are so awesome!! I highly recommend you try these.



Saturday

Bedding!

Everyone has been asking me how I'm going to decorate the nursery - almost since day one. I really had no idea and I was trying to wait to see if the boy/girl decision (Sept. 21) gave me any inspiration. I went to Babies R Us a few weeks ago with a friend because she needed to pick up something. While we were there, I decided to peruse the bedding to see if anything jumped out at me.

Most of it was too "baby" looking for my tastes - lots of pastel colors and cutsey animal prints. I just didn't really like most of it. I was walking away pretty disappointed - not to mention SHOCKED at the prices. This miniature bedding is more expensive than the king-sized stuff I bought for our bed!!

Then, as we were walking toward the door, we spotted the clearance section. I found it. I loved this pattern and it was on clearance. I sent a pic to the hubs to get his approval and bought it.


The set came with a comforter, diaper holder, bed skirt, fitted sheet (the polka dot) and bumpers. I love the classy colors and that it's gender-neutral. I can add pink or blue to make it more girly or manly. The bunny's are cute, but not too overly baby-looking.

Wednesday

Eating habits

One of the things I was not prepared for was the way some things just do not taste or sound good to me. For example, chicken looks and tastes gross. We used to eat it almost every night. Clif bars don't taste very good - when I used to love them and bought a box from Sam's right before I got preggers. My sweet tooth is out in full force, and I'll be honest, I don't have the willpower I used to. I ate a Hershey bar yesterday and it wasn't even that good. I don't really like plain Hershey bars. I would not have done that without all these hormones running around!!

I do want to eat steak or red meat - something I rarely ate before. Luckily, we have that half a cow in the freezer so I'm good to go. I have some nice NY strips thawing for dinner tonight.

Thursday

16 weeks

I've lost my husband to his new teaching job and football practice, so I'm back to taking these photos myself.


  • This week, I weighed 207. Still a little higher than I'd like but at least not such a drastic increase.
  • The "bump" is definitely here. Yesterday at work, someone asked me if I were pregnant for the first time without any prompting or prior knowledge. She said she could tell.
  • My ear is still clogging up all the time. Almost every day now.
  • The skin at the top of my stomach is starting to stretch - I have an itchy dry patch that seems to go away when I lotion it up in the mornings. Hopefully that will prevent additional stretch marks to the ones I earned in college.
  • I can feel the baby moving!!! Such a strange sensation at first. I didn't really know what to expect, but it's super odd. Today I was wearing tight pants (my own pants, with the hair tie as a clasp) and I think the little nugget didn't like that so much. Whenever I sat down, I imagined it pushing back out because that's when I could feel it.

Two more strange things

I forgot one on my list!! My ear doing this strange clogged feeling, where my hearing sounds muffled in just the right ear for a while, then it will go away. I asked the OB about it and she said no big deal - all mucus membranes are expanding and producing more mucus. Great.

I started sleeping with a humidifier to see if that helps. So far, it's not, but it probably helps the hubs and his morning sneezing ritual, so I'll keep using it anyway.

Here's my 14 week picture - a different shot of my other weird thing. I'm finding this is so much easier than my belly band for now. I can just use a hair tie to keep my pants on. You can see that I'm not that much bigger, because the clasp is only about an inch and a half from it's original hook, but no way is it going to meet with its partner. Everyone is saying I'm starting to show - just a bit.


Sunday

Strange things

Maybe you've heard that pregnant bodies do all sorts of things, maybe you haven't. Here are some of the weird things I've noticed so far:
  1. I have a strange rash/bumps on my upper arms. I think some people have these all the time, but I don't so it's weird to me. They don't itch, are not red or pimples, just bumps. 
  2. I have a lot of dreams. Last night's dream was about an awesome food buffet. I was having a great time until the hubs woke me up. 
  3. I am starving. When I get hungry, I can usually wait a while until I eat. Now, I start to get shaky and a lil nauseous if I don't eat pretty soon. I also can't eat very much. If I eat too much, when I burp I throw up in my mouth a bit (gross, I know.) but that's apparently because the valve that closes at the top of your stomach gets loose. 
  4. I can't walk fast. I used to walk super fast to get to a meeting at work. Now, I'm the slow poke holding everyone else up. It's really annoying to start panting immediately.

Friday

Rockin' the radio

The baby websites and books tell me that the squirt can hear muffled noises. We recently bought a mom-car SUV so I have a pretty sweet Bose stereo system now. I mean, that thing can bass. So, I've been exposing the squirt to some nice rap music on the way to and from work. I like to turn it up so you can actually feel the bass, not just hear it. I'm going to love it when the baby comes out singing some serious beats.

13 weeks


As you can see, the hubs is now on board to take the photos. I didn't bother to fix my hair or put on makeup so this is what the baby will see me look like all the time.

Thursday

The damage is beginning

Written Friday, August 5, 13 weeks pregnant

I'm having a really hard time accepting this whole weight-gain thing. I don't really feel pregnant yet. Other than being beyond hungry every couple of hours and peeing twice as much as that, I feel pretty normal now. We did get to see the little squirt the other day for about an hour at my 12-week ultrasound, so I know it's in there. But, I just feel like I've gained several pounds and that I need to quit eating and work out more. I know HOW to lose weight and there's this little internal battle almost daily about should I eat more - no I should stay hungry longer, then the other side of me reminds myself that there is, in fact, a wee little baby (about 2 inches tall) rolling around inside my stomach and is probably hungry too.

I really don't want to gain more than 30 lbs. I started this journey at 195-ish, but we'll go with that. At 13 weeks, I weigh 202. One of the charts online says I should only weigh 200 next week at 14 weeks, so I'm already ahead of the chart. And I'm not happy about that.

Wednesday

11 week shot

Written July 24, 11 weeks

I meant to do this every week, but I guess I didn't think there was much to show for progress because I missed three weeks. The husband says he'll start taking these photos now.

I've also been reading that a lot of women take every photo in the same shirt, so I'm going to try to stay in this shirt. I like it and it's pretty stretchy. :)



Tuesday

Pregnant at work

Written Saturday, July 23 (11 weeks pregnant)


I started telling people at work last week. I wouldn't say I'm "showing" but I definitely look like I've gained a few pounds, and some of the people I used to work out with all the time were starting to stare at my midsection (or I'm just paranoid, not sure which is the truth). And I hate the rule that you have to wait til the end of the first trimester. The hardest part for me was being at work feeling miserable and pretending like nothing is going on.

Luckily, I never did throw up at work (or at home for that matter) but it was something that I constantly thought about and hated the idea of a three-hour meeting. That meant I was trapped without bathroom access and without food to keep the waves at bay.

Saturday

8 weeks shot

This photo is still horrible, but I took it one morning in a hurry before work. You get the idea - not much going on in the belly.

Friday

I almost told the hairdresser first.

written Thursday, June 30 (8 weeks pregnant)

The day I should have had my period, I got my hair cut and highlighted. I was thisclose to telling my hairdresser that I was probably pregnant. I was thinking about that last night while eating my 2am snack of saltine crackers. It's amazing what people will tell the hairdresser - or anyone really who isn't close to their friends or family. Maybe it's an outside perspective, or maybe it's the freedom of knowing they won't tell anyone else. But I didn't. One baby shower I went to had a game with questions. One asked the baby momma "who was the first person you told?" and I didn't want my answer to be the hairdresser.

This morning we had some dude in our kitchen measuring for new countertops (ya know, so we can do all of the things to the house we wanted to do before we are too busy changing diapers and not sleeping). I came out of the bedroom to find out my hubs had already told this stranger that we were expecting. Not that it bothered me - just noting that baby daddys do this too.

Wednesday

7 weeks shot

I know some people take photos of their progress weekly. I'm going to do my best. The husband says "I'll take these pictures later when you are showing." So, I guess you'll know when "I'm showing" because they won't be terrible photos like this:

Tuesday

The nausea settles in

written Saturday, June 11 (5 weeks pregnant)


This is probably TMI. Read on if you want to be grossed out.

I went to the doctor yesterday. I had and continue to have a problem of nausea, but not so much throwing up, and issues with it going the other way. At one point this week, I'd irritated my hemorrhoid to the point of the toilet being full of red water. I alerted my OB as the internet said to do. She referred me to my primary care provider (or PCP), who said I should go to the ER or that she could see me July 13. I said that's bullshit and not happening. So I reported back to the OB what the PCP said and she says to come to her office at 9am the next morning to see the nurse practitioner. Deal. I also need to bring a sample with me... oh.

I immediately leave work because there's no way I can collect said sample at work, and I didn't feel so hot anyway. It's always nicer to be at your own house with your own toilet paper and comfy pants in these situations.

I go in and explain everything. They say not a huge deal unless I have a fever. The sample says I do have rectal bleeding, but not the kind that is up high in the GI tract (which = more serious problems). She prescribes me some high-powered butt foam that has a numbing agent to make my bottom less painful (turns out that stuff was $45 so I told the pharmacy they could keep that 5-day prescription) and I'm on my way.

I have my "real" first appointment with the OB next week - at 6 weeks.

Friday

Minor procedure

written Saturday, June 25 (7 weeks pregnant)

This week (at 7 weeks) I had to have a minor procedure done "down there." Apparently I've been carrying around a polyp on my cervix for a while now, and my OB wanted to get it out of there before the baby gets any bigger - mostly because she said it will eventually bleed and scare me. And, the baby came out of the right side of my lady parts, whereas this little bugger was on the left, so it did not interfere with anything baby-related, yet. 

While it only took about 15 minutes to get the polyp out, it was the strangest thing because it was like the OB was controlling crazy-hard period cramps with every pull on this polyp. It turned out to be more painful that she said it was going to be, but also bled much less afterward. She gave me a monster pad to wear the rest of the day, and all I really needed was a liner. 

In other 7 week news, I've found several strange things happening already to this pregnant body:
  • I can smell all kinds of things - luckily none of them have made me nauseous, but the folks in my office need to step up their coffee-breath prevention, stat.
  • For some reason I like two pillows when I sleep... I've always liked one very flat pillow. Now, I want two. I don't get it.
  • I need a nap every day. Do not come near me if I haven't had it yet. Not only do I feel more sick the closer to the end of the day, but I feel like I just cannot go on without a nap. 
  • I already feel fat. I'm trying my best to know that it's because of the baby, but that is not an easy mindset. I want to stop eating and work out more but I know that's not going to happen. 

Wednesday

Two lines on a stick

Written Saturday, June 4 (4 weeks pregnant)

We got back from Dallas on a Tuesday. I should have started my period on Wednesday. Thursday morning, I took a pregnancy test. Positive, but just barely. The second line was thinner that the first. The hubs says "I'm sure you'll start your period tomorrow." Friday morning, I took a pregnancy test. Positive, for sure this time. The hubs says "I'm sure you'll start your period tomorrow."

At this point let me explain that a while ago, I ordered 40 ovulation strips from amazon for $9 (compared to 7 for $13 at the store). They came with 10 free cheap-looking pregnancy tests. The hubs says these are unreliable. 

Saturday morning, I took a "real" pregnancy test. Positive.

At this point, we are both in shock. We had been trying for several months with no luck, but with the hubs still not having a job, we decided to hold off for a while. Then boom. It happens. So not only were we unprepared emotionally for this news, I'm really mad at myself for having two glasses of wine in Dallas. For MONTHS I had been so good, not taking any chances on the weekends with alcohol. Of course, the one time I decide to go for it, I'm actually pregnant.

Monday

My favorite breakfast

I've probably mentioned this before, but I love eggs in a basket. I usually only eat them at cracker barrel, but the other day I decided to make them at home. I'd already had a piece of toast for breakfast about 7am, and it was close to 11 and I didn't want any more toast, so I made them with English muffins instead. The "basket" part was a little too small, so the eggs overflowed into the pan, but they were still really tasty. Plus, I could control the amount of butter (none) and where the eggs came from (here).



My favorite part is dipping the extra piece in the yolk - so good!!

Saturday

New countertops!!

The hubs finally broke down and let us get new countertops in the kitchen. They are solid surface - similar to corian brand, but from a different company.

I LOVE them already. The kitchen feels bigger somehow - I think because the backsplash is much thinner on these babies compared to our old formica countertops. We still need to paint around the edge where the old countertops did a little damage when we ripped them out. I just spackled so that's why they are white.

In case you don't remember what they used to look like, here's that same piece of countertop when we first moved in two years ago - white appliances and all.


I hated the green-on-green look, so we replaced the floor last winter and finally updated the countertops. You can just barely see the new floor in the top picture.

Friday

Awesome smoothie!

I found some frozen fruit in my freezer that I bought months ago at Trader Joes and forgot about. It was a mixture of pineapple, papaya and mango. I let some defrost to eat and made some into a smoothie. The defrosted pineapple was good, but the other two were mushy and gross. Smoothie is the way to go. I mixed the frozen fruit with half a fresh banana (frozen probably would have been better though), a scoop of vanilla protein powder and some orange juice. It was really good and something different from my typical mixed berry smoothie.

Saturday

Farmer's Market

This morning I forced myself to get up and dressed so I could run to the farmer's market closest to my house. I came home with a few goodies, but I really need to make the effort to get up earlier and go farther to a better one. My friend Katie says the one by her house is awesome, but that's 45 minutes from me. I guess we'll have to plan ahead. Even the farmer's market at work during the week is better than the one I just went to.

Here's what I came home with:
I have my own tomato plants in the garden, but they aren't quite ripe yet, so I just bought one to tide me over. I haven't seen my FIL's garden in a while so I'm not sure if he planted sweet potatoes again this year or not, so I got two of those and then since we have been eating corn so often lately, I stocked up.

I also visited the Amish bakery booth - love them. I picked up a tasty raisin sweet bread - that actually turned out to be really dry and perfect for french toast.



It turned out great! The hubs even high-fived me after breakfast.

Thursday

My hammies hurt!!

Because I take yoga at work, at noon, on my lunch break, sometimes it just doesn't work out. Two weeks ago, I only made it to the second half of class because a meeting ran long and I scrambled just to make to the last 30 minutes - figuring 30 minutes is better than zero minutes. Then last week, I missed it completely due to another all-day meeting. This week, I blocked out my calendar and made it for the entire hour and gave it my all.

My hamstrings would like to say "thanks."

Zucchini Chips

I saw some zucchini chips on pinterest today and came home to make them for dinner. Of course, the hubs wanted no part of these things and had canned green beans instead. I thought they were okay, not amazing, but might be better dipped in some ranch dressing - if you like that sort of thing.


I dipped them in fat-free milk, then a mixture of bread crumbs/shredded parmesan/garlic salt. I didn't measure, so just do what you think looks good. I put too much salt, so go easy on the salt. Then bake at 425 for 30 min.

Ignore my classy green-lid photography. I just grabbed a tupperware lid because I didn't want to throw them on the bare table.

Monday

I'm around...

Just not here. I don't mean to neglect you, but I'm sorry to say that I've been a bad blogger lately. Please forgive me.

Thursday

Makes me smile

My favorite orange flowers are blooming at the house! I think they are tiger lilies but not quite sure.

Wednesday

Plate of food

Have ya'll seen the food plate yet? It's Michelle Obama's revamped food pyramid. I don't hate it, except for the fact that I think the bigger issue is portion control. The plate doesn't say that it's only 8 inches, or however big a normal plate should be. It doesn't say how big that glass of dairy is. It might help some who are really struggling to understand the food pyramid because I do think it is a simplified version. I know where I work (in health care)  that our diabetes patients who have a low reading ability are taught what they should eat on a similar set up. They have a plate and are taught to fill it with the correct portions of fruit/veggies/grains/meat on a computer - almost like a game of Tetris. They try to fit the correct food group into the corresponding slot.

What are your thoughts? Is this plate going to help the obesity epidemic? My guess is not much.

Tuesday

Back from Dallas!

The hubs and I spent the weekend visiting friends in Dallas last weekend. We made it a two-fer trip by visiting another two baseball stadiums (as part of our life-long goals of seeing a game at every stadium) and spent time with friends we don't get to see often. Because we went to two games in two days, I ate two hot dogs in two days. I know that's not a huge deal, but I don't LOVE hot dogs the way I love other things. However, I wanted to try the dogs in various locations to see which ones I like better. While it's been a few years since our last baseball trip (to both Chicago stadiums and Milwaukee), I think the Dallas hot dog was the best so far. I can tell you with certainty that it is better than the Houston hot dog.

The other interesting thing about both ballparks is the other food available. Houston had mac n cheese, while Dallas had a Sweet Baby Rays station. I wanted to try both, but I didn't want to overdo it. I knew we'd be in the car for most of this trip so that limits my work out times.

In Dallas, we went to a breakfast place called Ham and Eggs that had monster portions, including this biscuit that came with the hubs' omelet and fried potatoes, as a side dish.


Everything is bigger in Texas.

Wednesday

Pineapple Lites

These cupcakes were almost a bigger hit than the cookies and cream cupcakes last week. And they are semi-lite, as far as cupcakes go anyway. The ingredient list is so simple, I just took a photo:

  then combine:
 and bake according to the instructions on the box.

I decorated them with a chunk of pineapple on top and as you can see, they sort of fall apart. They are pretty moist and were gobbled up - even by the husband who hates anything "diet."