Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Sun, fun, family and 30

Now, that's how to spend a three day weekend.

Saturday was spent baking from 5AM until 8AM, then again from 11AM until noon. I made angelfood cake trifle, Peanut Butterscotch Chocolate Crispy Bars and Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownies. Sadly, after the first round of baking, I was cutting things up to put them into their travel containers and realized these didn't actually bake through. So, back into the oven then went. 45 minutes later, I had to pull them out and pray they set up enough to serve. Well, they were still soup when we arrived at the party. Apparently it was really tasty soup though as my cousins were fighing over who would get the batter soup off the pan.

The party was fantastic. A huge bounce house, kiddie pool for the little ones, a slightly larger pool for the slightly larger kids, horseshoes, what we call horse balls (two balls on a string that you throw to wrap around a ladder. I have no idea what the proper name is), grilled foods and great family. We came "out" to the family so it's official. Everyone knows we're hoping for a Christmas addition. My cousin, the hostess of the party even got me a personal birthday cake with a 30 on it.

AJ had an absolute blast on the bounce house. She didn't want to get out, ever. M went in with her a couple of times, but she was content to bounce around, even with the 12 year old boys in there. She fell, flopped, bounced and laughed the whole time. A fantastic day.

Sunday was another cookout. This one much smaller, just us heading over to M's brother's with his wife. Later in the day our niece showed up and we set up the sprinkler for her and AJ. Nice and low key.

Monday we headed up to what I consider one of the most beautiful parts of our state. A slightly larger cookout, but still fairly low key. AJ and her cousin, a couple uncles an aunt, two grandparents, four dog and three horses. More sprinklers were involved, added a slip and slide, which AJ HATED, mainly because M thought it would be okay to just let her go down alone face first. Not a fan. He tried to get her to go down again, I told him to hold her the whole way down, and he again pushed her from the top and let her go. Again, ending badly. So, that was the end of AJ on a slip and slide for now. Another function is planned up there in July, so hopefully it will go better.

All of this, slight sunburn and Memorial Day Weekend spent with my favorite soldier and kid. Yep, a pretty graet weekend.

Maternity Monday?

How Far Along: 10w6d

Total Weight Gain: It was a weekend full of cookouts and I felt pretty good, so I wasn't checking

Maternity Clothes: I did break out a pair of maternity capris. I ran out of shorts. Sadly, they fit. Blah!


Sleep: Slowly starting to feel back to normal on this one

Cravings or Aversions: Nothing specific

Best Moment This Week: We're finally "out". M is having a blast telling everyone now. I've heard the heartbeat and it's fast and sounds strong to me, so yay!

Movement: I'm waiting to feel those first flutters, but I know it will be a few weeks yet.


Gender: Right now, I'm thinking maybe a girl, but who knows.


Labor Signs: Please no.

Belly Button in or out: In


What I miss: Having bathingsuits. I need to shop for a new one, and since the last time I did that was 3 years, 20 pounds and 1.25 kids ago, I'm not looking forward to it at all.

What I'm Looking Forward to: First OB visit next week

Weekly Wisdom: I am not fat, I am pregnant. Now repeat and believe it


Milestones: 1/4 baked


What the baby is up to:

Baby's now the size of a prune!


With bones and cartilage starting to form and vital organs beginning to function, baby is making major progress. Body length will almost double in the next three weeks, and arm joints are now working. (Soon, legs will start working too.)

Monday, May 23, 2011

Maternity Monday

How Far Along: 9w5d

Total Weight Gain: Still the same as pre BFP.

Maternity Clothes: Not yet. Rockin the BeBand. M brought the maternity clothes down from the attic. Now to wash and sort them. I forgot how much I had. Still need a couple things, but I should be good for a while.

Sleep: Some days I'm still exhausted, but the past few days it's been less.

Cravings or Aversions: Nothing specific or new. Still no interest in dinner most nights, but now I want dinner for breakfast and not into breakfast foods.

Best Moment This Week: I think I found the heartbeat on my doppler

Movement: I'm waiting to feel those first flutters, but I know it will be a few weeks yet.

Gender: Right now, I'm thinking maybe a girl, but who knows.

Labor Signs: Please no.

Belly Button in or out: In

What I miss:  Eating. I can barely finish a serving size that I used to find to be no problem. Also I miss my sweet tooth. A neighbor brought over a cheesecake sampler as a gift to us. It has been torture to look at it in the fridge and have no interest in eating it. Normally I would have that thing polished off in a day or two. So I guess the lack of a sweet tooth is a good thing, at least for my weigh-ins.

What I'm Looking Forward to: Telling family. There's a big family gathering this weekend, a celebration for my cousin's son who is seizure free for 18 months, and free of all seizure medications. A huge celebration is in order, as the epilepsy started at 13 months for him and he is almost 5 now. Also, not sure if I'm really looking forward to it, but I'll be 30 by the weekend.

Weekly Wisdom: Baby store registry checklists are a load of garbage. No baby needs all that stuff.

Milestones: 1/4 baked by Wednesday

What the baby is up to:

Your Baby: Week 9

Your little embryo has now officially graduated to fetus-hood. Adding to the excitement, a Doppler ultrasound device might be able to pick up the beating heart. With basic physical structures in place and increasingly distinct facial features, baby is kind of starting to look like... well... a baby!

Friday, May 20, 2011

5th Season

It's officially the 5th season. I'm not sure who else in the country gets the bonus season, but I know we do. Sometimes it's worse than others, but this year, it sucks.

Mud Season is here in full force

It's cold, rainy and just plain gross. Almost Memorial Day and I have yet to even see if my shorts still fit. AJ will outgrow all of her shorts before she gets a chance to wear even one pair.

I was really hoping to start planting vegetable seedlings for the less hardy plants soon. Sadly, only peas are strong enough, at least in the scope of veggies we actually eat.

I really hope to not have to wear a jacket on my birthday. Blah!

Thursday, May 19, 2011

I'm Eating!

Ok, big deal, right? Well, it is! Morning sickness has been kicking my behind. After a brief lul over the weekend, it came back double strength of what it was. I was whimpering at my desk trying not to retch in my trash can at the office. I have horrible memories of being pregnant with AJ and actually vomiting in my trash can at the office, in front of someone :shudder: I've been a wreck, and not able to take care of AJ very well. Thank God she's pretty independent.

Ahhh the joy that is Zofran. One tab so far and I'm eating lunch. I haven't been able eat lunch in a while. I feel bad complaining about the morning sickness, as I always compare mine to my friend who had it so bad she was on a PICC line throughout her entire pregnancy (both times). So I always say, "It could be worse" "It's not that bad". But for me, it's the worst it has ever been. I'm hoping those days are behind me for a while now.

I wasn't able to get the nurse to attempt the doppler at the appointment today. That was a bummer, but I wasn't really surprised. Guess I'll just have to believe that there is something making me this sick, and that something better be cute come December :)

Monday, May 16, 2011

Telling Secrets

I have never been a fan of secrets. Until now. AJ is into whispering jibberish into my ear. It is seriously one of the cutest, most awesome things I've heard from her (aside from the "I you" she used to say in response to me telling her I love you). I love this kid! She makes me smile all the time.

Maternity Monday

How Far Along: 8w5d
(Note: I am so nervous to be posting this. For some reason I feel like something is off, but I have no reasoning behind it.)
EDIT: Ok not so nervous anymore. Vomiting has made a first appearance after a day of feeling great.

Total Weight Gain: No clue.

Maternity Clothes: Not yet. A couple days last week I went to work rockin the BeBand. On Thursday I picked up some dresses for comfort. Unfortunately I got to wear one then it turned cold and rainy. Back to unbuttoning before the end of the day.

Sleep:  Some days I'm still exhausted, but the past few days it's been less.

Cravings or Aversions: Earlier last week I couldn't even think about food. I had Ramen for dinner, and even that was gross. It was all carbs, and that's it. As the week went on, I started feeling a bit better for a while. Friday night I had a PB&J in the car on the drive home since traffic was horrid and I felt like I should eat something. That sat in my throat until 8:30PM when I told M I wanted Chipotle. Sadly, there isn't one close by. I guess Chipotle could have been a craving, or I could have just been hungry. Eh, who knows.

Best Moment This Week: Still no bleeding. I have my first nurse visit this week. I'm going to see if she would be willing to attempt the doppler, since my next appoitment isn't until June

Movement: Definitely not yet. I did break out my cheapie doppler that I purchased when I was bleeding the last time but still saw a healthy baby. Sadly it arrived the day after the loss. I took it out of the closet it was stashed in, but since it's a true cheapie, I didn't hear anything good, even the box says not to expect anything until 14 weeks. Bummer.

Gender: Right now, I'm thinking maybe a girl, but who knows.

Labor Signs: Please no.

Belly Button in or out: In

What I miss:  I miss enjoying being pregnant. Nerves are getting the best of me the past few days.

What I'm Looking Forward to: Hopefully hearing a heartbeat soon.

Weekly Wisdom: Rainy days are great for being lazy

Milestones:  Nurse visit.

What the baby is up to:

Your Baby: Week 8


Your baby is growing like mad, putting on about a millimeter every day and continuing to straighten out in the trunk. Though you can't feel it yet, baby is moving those little arms, legs and (now only slightly) webbed fingers and toes like crazy.

Monday, May 9, 2011

Maternity Monday

How Far Along: 7w5d

Total Weight Gain: No clue.

Maternity Clothes: The bloat still seems to be less than it had been, still there at the end of the day though.

Sleep:  I wish AJ went to bed before 9PM, as I'd love to be in bed by 7 most nights. However, I have been waking up restless in the middle of the night and moving to the couch to let M get some sleep.

Cravings or Aversions: Nothing specific. I have to smell something before I know if it's something I want or not.

Best Moment This Week: No bleeding yet. Big milestone for me.

Movement: Definitely not yet, only gas movement for now.

Gender: No idea. However, we consulted our favorite Filipina lady and she said girl. Logically it's no better than the Chinese Gender Chart or any other tests/tricks, but she does have an insanely high accuracy rating. We shall see.

Labor Signs: Please no.

Belly Button in or out: In

What I miss:  The 24/7 nausea can be rough, but it's not everyday (yet), so I'm just happy for the good days.

What I'm Looking Forward to: Showing.

Weekly Wisdom: Today I am pregnant and I love this baby. (I'm keeping last weeks, because it's important to me this week)

Milestones:  In two days I'll be 8 weeks. That means so much

What the baby is up to:

Your Baby: Week 7


Baby's brain -- both hemispheres! -- is growing fast, generating about 100 new cells every minute. Arms and legs are emerging as joints start to form, and a permanent set of kidneys (baby's third!) is now in place.

Monday, May 2, 2011

Maternity Monday

How Far Along: 6w5d

Total Weight Gain:  No clue. After the gain I'm afraid to look at the moment.

Maternity Clothes:  The bloat seems to have let off a bit. It's still there as the day goes on, but I don't feel like my pants are making me into two sausage links.

Sleep:  I slept 12 hours last night, and wish I had slept more. That's how that's going at the moment. Chasing AJ is starting to be very difficult.

Cravings or Aversions: Nothing specific. I have to smell something before I know if it's something I want or not.

Best Moment This Week: Feeling horrible. I'm so happy for every symptom.

Movement: Definitely not yet, only gas movement for now.

Gender: No idea

Labor Signs: Please no.

Belly Button in or out: In

What I miss:  Being able to enjoy a nice day with AJ. I am so tired so quickly right now, but I'm not complaining at all.

What I'm Looking Forward to: Telling more people soon.

Weekly Wisdom: Today I am pregnant and I love this baby.

Milestones:  I am two days from where it all went to pot last time. This is going to be a very stressful week.

What the baby is up to:

Your Baby: Week 6 Growing like crazy, baby is starting to sprout eyes, ears, nose, cheeks and chin. Those little hands and feet- still webbed like paddles- might wiggle by week's end, the heart is beating (almost twice as fast as yours!), and blood is starting to circulate.