4 Months

Our Bug AKA Peanut is now 4 months old. I can't believe it! I keep expecting to see these big weight jumps & nope, not happening. She still weighs less than some people's 1 month olds. Crazy! Our crazy amazing love bug is

10 lbs & 22.5 inches long!

Nope, not a typo, she really is only 10 lbs and the doctor is fine with it. :) She tells me she'll catch up when we move her to solid foods which she recommends around 5 months since her head is still a little wobbly. I've cheated & let her taste a few foods but she's definitely still a breast baby. :) So, to pictures!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

yes, she has attitude

4 Months old

3 Months!

Our miracle is 3 months old, I can't believe it. She's growing & changing so quickly! At 2 months she weighed 8 lbs 6 oz. Because I'm still doing wound care for my csection I asked to weigh her yesterday which was Halloween & her 3 month birthday. A whooping 9lbs 4oz! I was shocked because I completely expected to see 10-4. I just had a feeling she'd be that big. I can't believe she weighed a whole lb smaller. Oh well, she's still growing & gaining. Here are a few pictures!

12 weeks old(23 Aug)

3 Months Old(31 Oct)

 

Happy Halloween

Katie Ladybug

10 Weeks Old

2 months

Our Miracle(aka Peanut or Bug) is 2 months old. I can't believe it! My how she's grown!!

July 31st- 5 lbs 12oz 17.25 inches
August 8th- 5lbs 3oz 17.75 inches
August 14th- 5lbs 9oz 18.25 inches
August 28th- 6lbs 9oz 19 inches
September 16th- 7lbs 12oz 19.25 inches
October 2nd- 8lbs 6oz 20.25 inches

Life is great! I love being a mom & I love watching Mike as a dad. He's a great dad. Most of the time at least. :) We just got back from visiting family in California. Katie got to meet a bunch of people for the first time but my favorite meetings were my dad & Mike's grandpa. I will cherish all the pictures I took on vacation & really all pictures I've taken of Katie. I need to do a 2 month photo shoot & will try to get to it this week. Monday we were driving home still & today was Katie's 2 month well-baby aka shots! No way I'm trying a photo shoot with a fussy baby. :) As you see, she's growing so fast. I can't believe my tiny baby is already almost 8.5 lbs and that some newborns are that size. She looks & feels so big! I'll post pictures later this week, once I get a good photo shoot in. :)

4 weeks

Baby Girl is 4 weeks old today. That is CRAZY! I almost spelled it with a K, not sure why. Krazy! :) Katie is getting so big & so heavy. I was sure she'd be over 7lbs today but nope. And I just knew she'd be like 20 inches but also nope. 6 lbs 9 oz & 19 inches long. She gained 1 lb & 1/4 inch in 2 weeks. She's eating like a rockstar which is frustrating at times aka frequent night feedings. I miss my sleep! Being a mom is exhausting work I tell ya. She goes through way more diapers than "average". 10-12 my butt! :) It's all good though. Do I feel like a mom? Nope! I don't know if it's because this is all so natural for me & I'm not getting that "I don't know what I'm doing" new mom feeling. I know what I'm doing because I've grown up around babies & I've wanted one since before we got married. I definitely never got that "afraid I'll break her" feeling some moms get. Anywho, Motherhood is good! I love being a mom, even if sometimes I feel like the babysitter. She's a REALLY good baby & hardly ever cries. Even when she does it's rarely loud. She does have her lungs & she can use them but usually she doesn't use them to their full potential. :) Anyways, I guess that's all for now. I'll leave you with a picture.

4 Weeks Old

Baby Girl!

I should've written my birth story a long time ago when it was more fresh in my head. I shall write what I remember.

Being on hospital bedrest sucked major ass! I seriously hated it & had a few mental/depressed shutdowns. The best nurse, the charge nurse, who was there for all 3 IVs I needed over the 2 week period even thought I was mad at her because I had shut down & wouldn't eat or talk to anyone. I had a few awesome nurses & a few crappy ones. I got great care & crappy care but what do you expect from a week hospital bedrest stay. On Monday, July 30th, I knew my friend was being admitted to have her beautiful son & I was so excited. I also didn't want to see my doctor because I wasn't happy with him. Haha! I shall remind you that I admitted I was a bitch in the hospital. Anywho, my doctor walked in & asked me whether I wanted to be induced that day or a few days later. Um, what?!?! NOW! Induce Now! Well, it was going to be later because Silva had 8 deliveries that day. YES, 8! Later that day (I don't remember the time) Silva checked me & surprise, surprise, I was already 1cm dilated! Whoops! The previous plan was to put in a cervix dilator over the next day & a half and pitocin would be started Tuesday night or Wednesday morning. Already being dilated meant cervix dilator that night & pitocin at 4 am! The dilator worked & I was 2cm at 4am. Pitocin was started around 5. Contractions, oh goodness. As weird as it sounds I loved feeling the contractions. They hurt but I was able to breathe through them fine. They kept telling me to let them know when I wanted the epidural & I kept saying "ok, go ahead & let him know" but apparently they didn't realize I meant I wanted him contacted then. They told me it could take an hr + for him to get there so I figured might as well inform him. Thankfully another women needed her epi so I was next. Surprisingly it wasn't so bad. I was scared I wouldn't be able to stay curled up during a contraction because they had always caused me to throw myself backwards but I was fine. After epi I felt NOTHING! No contractions at all. They were picture perfect contractions too. I'm told levels of 200 are what cause you to dilate. Mine were 250-300. But.......I wasn't dilating. Oh, I forgot to say at 8am, Dr. Stephens broke my water which is what really started my labor & contractions. So, at 4pm and not even 4cm I was told I had to have a Csection. It highly upset me. I wasn't against a Csection before labor, I almost wanted one, but when I knew I HAD to have one I wasn't happy. It was scary! But I wasn't dilating & also baby girl was refusing to drop. It turned out she was stuck up there. A funny thing is they had to put on an internal hb monitor on her head because she kept moving. I tell you, it is the most amazing thing to look over & see her hb continually. Anyways, Csection! Scary! They came in to switch my regular epidural to a Csection strong epidural. It didn't take affect as quickly as they wanted & I was told if I still felt anything when I got into the room they would put me to sleep. NO! I did not want to be put to sleep! Thankfully meds had fully kicked in by then. Laying on the table with my arms out like I've seen on all the shows was so surreal. I was having our baby, she was coming to this world through a cut in my stomach. The drug doctor told me that after she came out if I wanted to take a nap I could. Jerk cursed me because as soon as he said that I was instantly dead tired. Nearly the whole time they were cutting me I had my eyes closed & I was focusing on what I could feel & thinking how weird it all was. I was resting but making sure I stayed awake. Then the moment was here & our daughter was born!

Katelyn Marie C. was born on July 31st, 2012 at 5:12 pm weighing 5lbs 12 oz and only 17.25 in. long.

Hearing her cry was so surreal. She came out so healthy & with no complications at all. Everyone kept saying how much she looked like me. Mike ran off to be with her & I laid there in denial. I was not a mother & we did not have a daughter. They brought her over for me to see & I still couldn't believe it. It was truly a dream.

Meeting Baby Girl!

When it was time Mike went with Katie to the nursery & I slept! I just let myself fall fast & hard asleep. Next thing I knew I was being tranferred back to my bed & being wheeled back to my room. There was Mike holding our daughter. Recovering from a Csection is NOT easy. My body fought hard! I started shaking more & more and the pain was crazy. I think they gave me 5 different injections of pain meds & anti-shaking meds. The shaking just got more & more violent to where they had to hold my arm down when the blood pressure cuff was going. Finally after what seemed like forever the shaking subsided and life with a baby begun. Breastfeeding...... was an adventure! Because she was so little with such a small mouth & because my breasts & nipples are so large it was hard for her to latch properly. She barely ate anything the first 24+ hrs and I was faced with them either supplementing her with formula or her getting an IV. I forgot to mention baby girl was born with her daddy's blood type which meant a higher risk of jaundice which she did develop but a small case. She was put under the lights. Back to formula. I finally, after fighting with the nurse for an hour, agreed to supplementing with a syringe(drops into her mouth) but not a bottle. Baby girl needed food for energy and I was not willing to let her be stabbed with an IV just to keep her off formula. The supplementing worked & the next day we went back to breastfeeding. Thank goodness! By noon the next day, as I was sitting in the nursery talking with the best baby nurse ever, Annette, the doctor told us that baby girl's levels were good enough to be sent home if I was ready. Now, that's scary! I was scared I wouldn't be able to breastfeed properly without Annette's help. She was the biggest cheerleader seriously! She spent at least 3 hours in our room over baby girl's first 2 days helping me feed her. She was also a lactation specialist. At 5 o'clock Thursday evening Mike sprung his 2 girls from the hospital! Luckily my mom & sister had showed up Wednesday afternoon so I had A LOT of help!

Unfortunately my incision did not heal correctly. I developed major blood clots which I knew while still in the hospital that it wasn't healing right. I just felt like it bleeding too much & kept insisting something was wrong. A week later I found out I was right. My incision has been left open to heal on it's own. I have to drive either to the OB(once a week) or on post(the other 6 days) for daily wound care. I was offered surgery this last Tuesday to close the incision again but I decided against it. I just was not ok with another surgery & being off breastfeeding for 24+ hrs. The incision has healed about 30% in the week they've left it open so I hope we only have another 2-2.5 weeks of daily wound care left. Also hope my husband is able to take over the wound care because it is a major pain driving the 15-20 mins to the post clinic for the care. The nurse is seriously the sweetest girl ever & I learn more & more about her sweet daughter Emily each day but yeah, I'd gladly say adios to her. :)

Baby Girl has GROWN and I've already noticed it. I wanted to cry when my mother in law handed her to me a few days ago. I thought "woah, wait, this is not the baby I gave birth too, she's so big now!!!". I was right. Intially baby girl lost 9 ounces in her first week of life but grew 1/2 inch. The next week she gained back 6 of those ounces & grew another inch. YES, she's grown 1.5 inches in her first 2 weeks of life! Please tell her to stop growing!!! Even though she's still 3 ounces under her birth weight I swear she feels a pound heavier. It must be her longer body that makes her feel so heavy. :)

So, there it is. We have a daughter & I am A Mommy! (And Mike is a daddy!). Seeing Mike with her is seriously the most amazing sight. It makes me smile so full heartedly. :)

1 week old: 5lbs 3oz 17.75 inches

2 weeks old: 5lbs 9oz 18.75 inches long

37/38 weeks!

Once again I'm writing this from a hospital bed. On Tuesday I was readmitted for 10 days of hospital bedrest because it makes the doctor feel better. Mild preeclampsia but he feels better. I'm glad someone does! This doctor I learned is a flip flopper & will change his info to suit himself. He told me he should've admitted me a long time ago because I'm doing better which is a total lie. My labs didn't get better & those are his determining factor. My protein levels jumped 200+ in 4 days but....that doesn't matter because my labs; platelets, liver, & kidney; are fine. I keep getting told they "are trying to walk the fine line of my safety & the baby's safety". Trust me, baby is completely safe! I'm decent too. "Each day is golden". I can understand that but I guess mom's happiness & care doesn't matter. "I know it's hard but it's best for baby." Hard doesn't even describe it. It is the most stressful emotional roller coaster ride & it's not ending for another week. I've cried more these last 4 days then I have my entire pregnancy. I was & am told to report any symptoms/issues. When I do I get *shrug* "it's pregnancy". Please note: I am likely to bitchslap anyone who uses one of these phrases to me again.

Hospitals bring out the very worst in you. Your anger, your frustrations, every single ache & pain which gets magnified thanks to these contraptions called beds! Your body hurts so badly & all they have in Tylenol. "It's pregnancy". No, it's pregnancy on fire! I was told to move about my room to relieve strong back pain. I laughed! I'm not even allowed in the hallway. For MILD preeclampsia, where my labs aren't changing. They're not getting worse, they are still "great" or "good".

Happy Note: Baby is great! She now fights the monitors every time. Hides, kicks, hits, everything to show her displeasure. 20-30 min sections usually last 45-60 mins. Even I by the end am beyond done! I've had contractions, none of which I feel. The most I've had was 4 in 30 mins once. Sometimes I have none. They are just practice ones or easy ones to start prepping the body. If I watch the monitor I usually don't have them but if I relax & not watch then sometimes I'll have a few. Active baby is now uncomfortable baby. I admit I've asked her to stop moving around because it just was so uncomfortable. Especially with my muscles being so sensitive due to the hospital stay in the first place. :( I sound like a mean ungrateful mother but that is not my intentions. Everything just plain HURTS!

Back to good. I will be a mother sometime within/around a week. Silva(known liar) now says between 37-38 weeks. The original timeline was 38 weeks. I have a strong feeling he's teasing me & giving me false hope of an earlier induction. I am being inducted on Friday, in 7 days, if we an earlier one than yay.

I want an August Baby! 1st or 2nd! 8/1/12 or 8/2/12. Not that I get a pick. I'm doing another 24 hr urine today/tomorrow & that MAY be enough to decide induction. I'm not dilusional!!! I know labs have to move for labor to move! I can't wait to see the results tomorrow afternoon. I want to see if my protein levels will truly double in only 8 days. Well see!

In any case we are a mere 7 days, maybe less, from holding our beauitful baby girl! Our pretty much named baby girl. :) KMC or AMC! :) Our Everything & More! God's Amazing Miracle, his gift to us!

36/37 weeks

We'll... this is how I have to start writing my entries because my doctor refuses to listen or even consider my due date. Half the people agree with doctor & half the people say "well, mothers know best". A lot of good that does me, "knowing best" because I'm not listened too. I had an OB appt yesterday because of high bp. It was suppose to just be a bp check but ultimately was a regular appt. Strep test & all. My BP was really high thr first time & slightly the second. I wanted to be heard so I spoke up about a few recent things. They got the labs I did the Thursday & jackasses did it wrong so I was sent to be directly admitted to MC(maternal child) for at least 24 hrs. Here I sit at 3 am wide awake & not a happy camper. The lab messed up my 24 urine test so I am literally stuck here so I can do it in hospital. I did not screw up the at home version, the lab did. The intial blood work & urine screen here were perfect & I had 0, zero, proteins in my urine. Didn't matter, I'm stuck til at least 2-3pm, better not be later! Like I said not happy!
Should it come back my 24 shows protein which literally no one thinks it will & the level is over 300. Yeah, have to go from 0 to 300 in 24 hrs, then I'll be a July mommy because they will induce me today. High BP + Protein = preeclampsia and the only cure is baby is born!

So good parts I guess. Baby Girl is officially 6 lbs. 6 exactly! I was monitored twice yesterday & the second time she was sooooo active. Her hb got up to 180 a few times because she was just having fun (or pissed at being monitored). She is currently heads down. Good & bad since it'd be nice to plan her DD. Have an actual date. I'm hoping with my history of high bp they'll induce me a week or two early. Early/Mid August would be perfect. Because that's when I figured she'd be coming. :) Ok, typing this on my phone has literally taken me nearly 2 hrs. Sorry for any & all typos or sentences that don't make sense!

Update: I was thankfully released from the hospital but with not good news.
Good news first. Baby girl continues to be SO active. Daddy was finally there for one of our monitor sessions and he heard miss attitude's heartbeat loud & clear. Also the kicks she gave the monitors. She is so healthy & definitely not affected by any of my issues. I tell you, this little one is the toughest baby I know. I will forever be grateful for how strong of a fighter she is!
Bad News: My protein results came back over 300 for the 24 hrs. 369 in fact, now that I see it it's an interesting number. The only reason I was not kept there was because the doctor on call is not my OB. One of my OBs won't be there til Monday so thanfully Dr. Holder(on call doc) decided to let me wait out the weekend at home, not in a hospital bed, which I'm sure ALL the nurses are thankful for. I won't lie, I was really bitchy. I got 3 hours of sleep last night & that was with an ambien. I was highly emotional in there too, I cried more than once. I'm hoping Dr. Silva/Stephens let me stay on just bedrest for another week or two & I will fight to stay home unless they plan to actually induce me. I myself was born 3 weeks early due to induction but not for medical reasons, thank goodness. :) Hopefully if I am induced she'll come out completely ready to tackle the world (no problems breathing or anything).

Another happy note. My mom sent the box on Thursday so I was worried (with the recent issues) that I would get it in time for baby girl to wear the same dress I did 28.5 years ago. But today when we got home the box was sitting on the porch. Truly I think God helped because it should've taken more than 2 days, especially for a box that big. The dress is in the washer now & will promptly go into the baby bag. Also, my husband is taking great care of me! Strict bedrest with bathroom priviledges. Couch is acceptable & I'll sneak to the computer when I can(like now). :)

So, this Mama to be may just be a Momma by this weekend. Our daughter may be born this week. Time will tell.

36 weeks!

Here we are, 4 weeks from my due date! So surreal. I hit the big 8 month mark on the 11th! This last week each day I feel it more & more. My goodness! It's going to be a long 4 weeks if she makes us wait that long. :) Still deciding between 2 names but one of them got changed. My husband likes this A name better than the previous one. So, we kinda have his pick & my pick. He agreed the other night to use my pick so she should be named right?! Nope, because I don't know what name will fit her when she's here. Most likely it'll be the name I choose years & years ago but just maybe she'll look like his pick & the one that seems to big for our tiny little girl. We'll see but I'm not going to be selfish & throw out his pick just because he's ok with not using it. Like I said, maybe that name will suit her.

Ticker Info: 1)Supposedly she's 20 inch, 6 1/2 lbs, & ready for launch. Still working on the immune system. Wow, this ticker is not very correct! 2) Around 19 inches, weigh at least 6 lbs & gaining at least 1/2 oz a day. Ok.... I guess it's showing now that she is a week behind in her growth. At my ultrasound on Thursday our little girl was about 5lbs 7 oz. I know that's an estimate but still, she's small. I've thought about finally giving in & moving to the doctor's DD which is 6 days after mine, she's measuring on course with that DD. But I know for sure when we did our thing. My family came 2 days later & yeah....NO! Not happening! :) So, I am keeping my DD & if I go over, I go over. :) I may go over doctor's DD too. She is so stubborn! She was once again facing the floor so no picture that day. :( I was hoping to get to see her face & maybe that'd help name her but alas, no! She is our daughter for sure! :) She was also head down on Thursday so yay! I know she can still move & I've definitely felt her move. There were 2 nights of such activity it was insane. She was everywhere & pressing on everything.

Pregnancy: Man oh man! Everything is getting hard. Some days I feel awesome & normal. Some days it is so painfully obvious I'm pregnant. Sleep is hit or miss, pain is usual, headaches are more common, exhaustiveness is a most of the time thing. I've had no braxton hicks, no baby hiccups, no ribs kicks, but I've had pelvic pain. Oh, pelvic pain. I waddle like crazy some days. :) I finally definitely look pregnant! Pregnancy sucks sometimes but it's such an amazing experience. I can see why some people miss it, once they forget about all the limitations & pain. :) Kicks are the best thing is the world. When they're not in the ribs(for those that experienced that), in bladder, or in a very sore muscle!!! :)

35 weeks

Cha-Really?! 35 seems big too. I think every week from now on will be big. I can't believe we're 5 weeks from our due date. My app says we're 35 days from it. Cha-really?! Crazy! :) Some days are great & I feel completely normal & other days are torture and I don't think I'll make it to the end. I had an issue with my pelvic bone I guess not being aligned right & it was the most excruciating pain I've ever experienced. Walking was barely possible & took every bit of strength & will power. Thankfully it was only like that for a day & got better each day to where I was a normal girl again yesterday. Today....zombie! I feel so exhausted today. :) Awesome part of pregnancy, I finally have long thick nails. Actually they're a tiny bit annoying. :)

Tickers, what do they say today: Ticker 1: Gaining an ounce a day, brain development carries on at a super fast pace. Ticker 2: I'm a little less than 19 inches tall & all my organ systems are complete & being finalized.
That's so surreal. So So Surreal! She's probably not 19 inches, I think she'll be a short baby but who knows, she does have a tall daddy. Short mommy, tall daddy. :)

Welp, I don't know what else to write. It was an non-eventful week, nothing exciting to report. Plus my brain is only functioning at half mass because of the zombie-ism. Should be a fun day. :)

34 weeks!

Seems huge. Like I've said, I don't know why but even number weeks seem so big. I am 2 weeks from the big 36 weeks and when I've told baby girl she is allowed to come if she wants. Ok, that can't happen. I can't be a mom in 2 weeks! I can't even imagine being a mom in 6 weeks! I was just thinking this morning that I can't imagine being at/around my due date. I see her coming early but I also see her coming late, so late. She is STUBBORN! so late I definitely could see. But she's also already causing issues so maybe she's anxious as well to come. Saturday all of a sudden her weight hit my pelvis like a freight train. The muscles were SO sore & walking was uncomfortable and even got painful. Very Very Painful! Walking has actually been difficult at times. I thought maybe I strained the muscles when we walked or something because while I understand it's my 3rd trimester & I have a nearly 5 lb baby in there it seemed way too sudden & harsh. I may've been right. The muscles still hurt but when I wake up I'm not wanting to cry in the corner & actually I didn't have pain getting out of bed. The pain, discomfort, & difficulty walking will come back through the day and by night I'll be waddling but oh well. :) That IS pregnancy! Speaking of which I got the good ol' "you wanted this" & even "you knew what to expect" from the hubby. While I knew it'd take a toll on my body & that my back, hips, & pelvis would hurt.....I had NO idea! :) Hubby is SO excited about her though. He also said "I can't wait to see her" which was a 'holy moly' slap in the face. You mean this baby isn't my imagination? She's real & others know about her?! Really?! I don't know why my husband acknowledging that she's coming soon kinda made me take a step back or realize 'um, yeah, she's coming' but it did. Mike use to get mad at me when I'd aggravate her to make her kick me. I am paranoid though & at times I'd need her to move just to reassure me. He did the same thing the other night, he aggravated her to get her to kick him. They say too that they move less later in pregnancy because they're squished. Um, no one told baby girl! She moves throughout the day. She use to be super active at night & sometimes still is but I feel her more during the day when I'm doing stuff than at night. I was always told that walking around put babies to sleep because they're essentially rocked. Nah, that's time to say Hello. Or maybe she's saying Good Night. Anywho!

Ticker Time: The one on her says: 18 1/2 inches, 5 1/2 lbs, & still trying to wiggle. Lungs are almost fully developed. Alright, definitely a wiggler but I can't believe the other 2 things! So, let's see what ticker 2 says: Over 5 lbs & 18 inches long. Kidneys are fully developed & the liver is finishing up. This one would be more accurate for my small flower. Still, I can't believe she's 5 lbs. I can't imagine a 5 lb baby in there. Not happening, just not happening! We won't know her TRUE weight until she's here but in 12 days I will get an estimate of how big she is. My last scheduled ultrasound! Scary but will also mean ONE MONTH til DD. :)

I've been so paranoid lately that something is going to go wrong. We are SO close to the finish line and my biggest fear is to have all this ripped away from me & us. I fear we'll find out she's not growing as strongly anymore, I fear I'll have to deliver soon because of complications, & I fear we won't be holding her in our arms. I honestly can't see myself holding OUR child. I've held countless babies, wishing they were my own, but I can't imagine actually holding our own child. That is & will be so surreal. And I know I've used that term a million times this pregnancy. Sorry, it's still surreal & I'm still in denial that it's truly happening. This could all be a horrible long season of 'Dallas' where it was ALL JUST A DREAM! Ok, it's not. It's real. I just fear something will go wrong & I know the fact it's winding down is putting it more in my face. Enough of debbie downer or paranoid polly! :)

Names: Yeah, we're getting there. Except we don't talk about it. I've discussed this with friends, that actually giving her a name is scary to me. The whole fact of fearing she'll be ripped away. That giving this child a name will jinx us. Stupid I know but it's how I feel. Don't give her a name & you're not attached, it wouldn't be as hard to lose her. Completely not true, I know this, but ugh, whatever! I'm weird & psycho. We're down to 2 names. My husband doesn't know this but I do. His pick & my pick essentially. I know an old high school friend named her daughter one of the names & I have this really weird thing about naming a baby the same as people around me. Well, this friend not only spelled the name the way we will if we choose the name but also spells the nickname the exact same way. I only like the spelling this way & Mike is VERY particular on how this nickname is suppose to be spelled. Grrr! I don't want to name her the exact same name & spelling as someone else. Her name has to be HER name! The other name I know Mike likes but he doesn't like my spelling. *shaking head* I may be willing to slightly, barely, alter my spelling but certain parts are set. Haha! I know I'm making this way harder than it has to be. It's just a name but it's also HER name, I want it to be just right. Definitely making it way harder than it has to be. I'm hoping by the end of the weekend she'll have a name. Or we'll at least discuss it. :)

And that's about it folks. I am 34 weeks & we have 6 weeks til my DD. Yay!

First L&D Visit

No worries, I'm not having this baby yet. I went to my OB appt & my blood pressure was very high. My laying down was higher than they like also so off to the hospital I was sent. Imagine my surprise & worry when I hear "you need to go now" & knowing my dumb husband forgot his phone at home so I was off on this adventure alone. I was sitting making my next appt almost in tears because I was so scared. I'm now on weekly OB visits because of it too. :( Get to the hospital & get admitted which seriously was horrible to me. Just knowing I was admitted to L&D or technically Maternal & Child was so scary. Go back, get in my "triage" bed, & get hooked up. Blood pressure was nearly perfect! 122/82. I should've been able to go home right, my BP is perfect & that's why I'm there right..... Not so fast. Non-Stress test & bloodwork. Baby Girl's hb stayed mostly between 147-154 & she slept most of the time. I would've been released sooner if I just could've peed on command. That was frustrating! All in all I was there for 2 1/2 hrs & trust me, I was beyond ready to leave. The last hr was trying to pee & waiting for the results on that.

Good news! Baby Girl had her FEISTY moments & I do mean feisty. At the OB she kept moving so it was hard to get her hb & she only stayed still for about 10-15 seconds, then proceeded to kick the doppler head to let the nurse know she was DONE! At the hospital she decided to make that nurse play chase & kicked that doppler(I guess that's what the round thing is called) a few times also. She did not appreciate being bothered! Once I heard my BP was normal I was calm, I knew everything would be ok. It is a little crazy surreal to be hooked up to monitors but it is so amazing to get to listen to your baby's hb non-stop for quite a while. I was hooked up for at least an hour.

Sop, after 2 1/2 LONG hours I was released. Blood Pressure great, No gestational diabetes(found that out at OB), No signs of preeclampsia, & no stress on baby. We are Good To Go! Dr. Kacenga(which this is his last week & that makes me so sad because he seriously is the most attentive & thorough doctor there) mentioned partial bedrest but nurse said it's probably not needed right now because all the tests came out great. Obviously if my BP continues to be high at the OB then I might be put on bedrest. I'm pretty relaxed as it is so I'm not worried about that. I was told no more Curves which makes me sad. :( I will miss my ladies! It sucks being pulled off so early (33.5 weeks) but whatever I guess. I just hope I don't have another L&D check until at least 36 weeks. I do not want to do 2 hr visits each week.

So that's all. It was scary but everything was great. No worries at all. :)

33 weeks!

Another weekly installment of what's going on in this pregnancy! I'll tell ya what! Insomnia, Aches, Pains, Exhaustion, & Hyperness. The fact that our little angel is a low hanging out baby has brought wonderful pelvic muscle strain/pain/aches. TMI but I'm about at the point of putting ice packs between my legs because those muscles HURT! She seems to hang out on my right side & kicks the left side. I felt her up in my ribs this morning & maybe she's still there but she's also causing pelvic pain. I've learned that when I deal with insomnia it's a 5 hour sleep time. I sleep for 5 hrs, am awake for at least 2 hours, & then can sleep for another 3ish hours. Those 2 awake hours screw with you for the rest of the day. The nausea is usually always around. Basically every day I will be hungry but nothing sounds good. NOTHING! I do crave fast food but half the time even that makes me think 'yuck'. That's not normal! Well, it's probably normal for the 3rd trimester but for me it's not normal. Haha! :)

Ticker Info: Both say she's 18 inches & she's about 5 lbs. I'll go with the 4.75 lb one because that's more likely.

Um....a 4lb 12 oz baby in me? 18 inches?! You must be joking. Some days I DEFINITELY feel the pressure from her but to think she's that big is crazy. She, that big of a thing, can not be inside me currently. That's just unbelievable. Only 7 weeks to go! Only 2.5 weeks until I'm 8 Months!!! "Oh but you're 33 weeks, you hit 8 months last week". No! I go by the real date, I go by the 11th! I'm a firm believer that pregnancy is 9 months, not 10. I will hit 9 months ON my due date, not at 36 weeks. That is seriously one of my BIGGEST pet peeves!!! It drives me bonkers! *So now you know*(cue music).

All in All, pregnancy is great. It's getting harder, I'm probably slower, but it's all good. We're basically ready for her to come. Well, aside from needing to wash & santize some essentials. But I have 7 weeks left to go & I'll probably be ready by July 11th. With a month to finish up tiny last minute details. :)

32 weeks

I don't know why 32 weeks seems like such a big milestone but it does. I am 32 weeks! Only 8 more weeks to go, less than 2 months. :) Tomorrow is Father's Day & yes, it's still surreal that we're expecting a baby this year. That we have cause to celebrate because Mike is a dad in waiting. :) She's been relatively active this week, off & on. I believe Monday was super active day for her. I felt her somersaulting and just really being all kinds of wiggly. Mike even felt her moving in there. It's been a more uncomfortable week. At one point she was uber low & against my spine. It was hurting to stand at the counter & put together a snack. Yup, she's getting bigger. :)

Ticker info: One says 4.5 lbs & the other says just over 4 lbs. Apparently she's 17.2 inches long (or so).  Almost a foot & a half baby in there. *shaking head in disbelief* I would definitely believe the length if she's tall like daddy. I'm only 5'3.5 now(use to be 5'4.5) but her daddy is 6'3. Will our daughter be short like me or will she be tall like her daddy? I can't wait to find out & I will enjoy watching her grow up.
More pregnancy fun. Insomnia is back. For some reason my body/mind hates the 2 o'clock hour. 4 out of the 5 days I have been wide awake by/around 2:30 in the morning. I generally stay awake til nearly 5 am. After falling back to sleep I'm usually awake between 7:30 & 8:30. Exciting I know. Heartburn has decided to come back quite a bit. Usually it's only mild but it's present quite a bit. Also....nausea!!! 3rd Trimester morning sickness? I've heard of this but it'd never happen to me, right? I haven't gotten sick yet but I was very close the other day. Hopefully it just stays in the nausea phase. It does suck that nearly every single time I eat anything I get nauseous. Food is repulsive most of the time. We were suppose to go to dinner last night & I actually opted to stay in. WHAT?!?! That's not me, I never turn down going out to eat. Ugh. Even now as I write this at 3 am I feel nauseous but it's definitely from the cold water in my hot tummy. A friend had this in her first trimester, I get it in my 3rd. The only upside to 3rd trimester morning sickness (if it gets to that point) is I'd probably not gain a bunch. Woohoo! Doctor only has me at 14 lbs gained. Awesome! :)

Baby stuff is coming along. I've gotten most of the stuff we need. I need to go through a bag of stuff I purposely threw everything into that I didn't want to deal with. I think mostly bath/kitchen stuff. I've washed quite a few loads of baby laundry & I still have lots more to do. I do have the pad & a sheet on the crib. Saving my jungle themed stuff for later so for now it's just a light pink sheet with tiny white roses. Then her 3 stuffed toys sitting very nicely in there. I started to write out everything we have but that's boring & will take forever. We have a lot of stuff. :) And I can say that if she came today we'd be ready. My bag isn't ready yet but we have everything I think we'd need for a newborn. I think! I'm hoping to do a little more shopping with Mike this weekend. Pick out fun stuff mostly, I've already seen a few toys I want but I wanted to get all the essentials first. :)

It's getting closer & closer and I can't wait. Hopefully less than 2 months til our baby girl is here! :)

7 months

June 11th, 2012! I am 7 months pregnant today & you probably can't even tell. 2 more months to go! The day started with insomnia. From 2:45 to about 4:30 I could not sleep. I turned my alarm off & decided to skip Curves. The whole time I was awake I felt little missy moving & grooving. At times it'd keep me awake which was frustrating but what can you do? When your baby wants to move & groove, she wants to move & groove. :) I finally went back to sleep & the vivid dreams started. Unfortunately the last one upset me horribly. I have a friend who in October 2007 passed away suddenly from a brain aneurysm. She has visited me in my dreams 4 times before & the last 3 I was aware of her being gone and we talked about it. It's not a regular dream, it's a real time visiting with each other type of dream. This time was different & very odd. I won't go into detail but I woke up completely confused & upset. What did it mean? A friend told me she thinks she (jenny) was just letting me know that she's watching over Baby Girl & I. Maybe that's true, I hope that's what it meant. It's also nice to have a guardin angel watching over your baby. :)

Names: We may be close. Mike had a dream in late December about having a daughter with a specific nickname. We were pregnant but unaware of it. We've gone round & round with names since then. We were watching TV and one of the names I liked popped on the screen. He asked if that's how I would spell it too? Yes, I would. He doesn't like the name so I'm not sure why he was even asking. He asked what her nickname would be with that name? I told him. He likes said nickname. So, ok, take a leap Lisa. I tell him (because I've toyed around with what names go along with this nickname he dreamt of 6 months ago) 2 names that could also use it. He likes both! OK, we have our names right?! I don't know. I like the nickname too & it actually popped in my head when I was looking at a plague a friend made for me/baby girl. It seems too easy though. We've fought time & time again over names, over him agreeing to a name. Then all of a sudden it's as easy as that. "Yup, I like that name & that name". Do I like it though? Do I truly like the name & can see it for our daughter? Why must it be so darn hard! Mike I think prefers one name, a friend prefers another, & my sister prefers an alternative to our second choice. So, there are 3 names floating around but 2 of the names only have 1 letter difference, they're basically the same name. I don't know if I'm having an issue because we're actually close to naming her or if it's because I don't truly love the names. I have a love/hate relationship with the names. And part of me wants to just go back on ol' reliable that I've had picked out since before I got married. But it can't use the nickname Mike dreamt of 6 months ago. Grrrr, it's frustrating. So, I'm giving it time & seeing what feels right. All I know is her nickname will end with "ie". (ex: Kellie, Sallie, Pickl-ie) :)

31 weeks

Here we are for another installment of the week update. 31 weeks! Sleep is hit or miss really. This morning is the first time my insomnia has really hit. And by insomnia I mean being awake enough to actually get out of bed. I'm not including the mornings were I toss & turn for hours. Apparently baby girl has hair because I have heartburn this morning. It could've also been the meaty pizza or the buffalo wings which was oh so tasty. I also think baby girl likes spicy foods because she sure likes to jump around after spicy foods. Another thing she's been fond of lately is laying as low as she can go! Oh, I'm not fighting a rib monster like so many, I am fighting a pelvic monster. I worry sometimes that she'll push or stretch in such a way that she starts labor early. We've had a talk, she must wait at least another 5-6 weeks to make sure she's big & healthy enough. I still find it amazing that she seems to listen to me & respond. Anytime I'm concerned about not feeling her I just talk to her & ask her to move/kick & within a minute she'll do just that. Call me crazy but I swear she understands. Maybe she just likes being talked too but half the time I'm whispering so maybe there is some ESP going on. Mike has asked more about her lately. He'll ask if she moved that day or how much she's moved. She's definitely not as active as she has been but she's still squirming once in a while. I wish she squirmed more so he could feel her. A few judo kicks in the evenings for daddy to feel!

Baby's room/stuff is coming along. I washed a few loads of baby laundry this week. I washed her newborn clothes, socks, hats, mittens, burp clothes, & lots of blankets-receiving & bed ones. I also washed her car seat fabric parts. I need to wash her playmat since the person who I bought it from didn't care to pre-wash it. Yuck! I just ordered replacement parts for my breast pump. All in all, her stuff is coming together. We still need a swing but actually, that might be solved. Now it's time for ALL the little stuff. We do have some of the little stuff already but I know there is a ton of stuff we still need. Shopping trip! I keep wanting to involve Mike in the shopping but he's not big on baby shopping really. Maybe I can get him to tag along on Sunday if I feel like doing the little things shopping.

Ticker Time: Nearly 4 lbs & 17 inches. Holy cow! I figured she'd still be close to 3 lbs & chances are she's about 3.5 lbs right now but still, WOW! Bigger & Bigger she gets. She better stay a little small. I don't want no Jessica Simpson 10 lb baby popping out of me! :)

Well that's about it. Still in amazement that we're about 2 months from holding our very own baby girl. OUR baby girl. Not a niece, not a friend's baby, not staring at a stranger's baby wishing she were mine. Our Daughter! I can't wait! But I gladly will! At least a few more weeks. :)

30 weeks(& a few days)

30 weeks....seriously?! I am in the single week countdown phase now. 9 weeks * days. There are still times when it's not real & it seems like a cruel joke. There are still times I don't feel pregnant because she's sleeping and I don't feel her. My stomach definitely sticks out more & I notice it touching/hitting the sink/counters. Driving my parent's suburban it was very obvious because my stomach touched their steering wheel. Going through ALL of our baby shower stuff it was obvious & overwhelming. We put most of it away & then I'm left with odds & ends, thinking to myself "where the *bleep* do I put these?!". Nesting is necessary, you have to make room for EVERYTHING you need for a baby. The sad thing is we're not even done getting everything. I still need plenty & it seems we have nowhere to put it. Deep Breath, it'll be ok.

Ticker info: 1: 17 inches & 3.5 lbs 2: 3lbs & 16inches. Ok so my baby is on track with the second ticker, I guess I'll go by that one from now on. How I know she's more on with that one, My Sonogram!

I had another sonogram on Thursday & I took my parents. Baby Girl weighed 2lbs 10oz (+/- 6oz). I tell people she stays low in my belly and they don't believe me. Granted she was high for my OB appt on Tuesday & she had to get the HB from my upper belly which was cool. Thursday Baby Girl was curled up low. Always curled up on ultrasound day. She's stubborn too, she's always facing my spine on u.s. day. The tech FINALLY got a good picture of her face which was really nice but that's all we really got to see. The u.s. are for growth so they don't really care about showing you your baby and it's so hard to see anything on it. When they say "that's a femur" you just say "ok..." & trust them. Anywho, her picture. Here she is:

Well, I guess that's about all. Nothing new really. Sleep is still hit or miss and the exhaustion comes & goes. I think baths will soon be a thing of the past because they are starting to hurt. :( I'll probably give them a few more tries before finally switching to showers. :) That's all. Tschuess!

29 weeks

29 weeks. Seriously?! Not much is new really since I last wrote. She's active when she wants to be. Stubborn like both of her parents! Mike actually talked to her yesterday. Well, he said something which was kinda mean or off the wall, I seriously don't remember what, but he corrected himself/apologized to her. He wasn't even that close to my belly so most likely she didn't hear him in the first place but apparently he didn't want her to think that's how he really felt. It was most likely about her lack of moving for him. :) He's very impatient!

Ticker news: 16 inches & 3 lbs. She'll probably be about 3 lbs by our ultrasound on Thursday. Head hair is getting thicker, if she has any. :) She can open & close her eyes. Funny because I told Mike last night that I thought I read that she can open her eyes now. Apparently ticker 2 says now. Ticker 2 also says only 15.5 inches & nearly 3. Probably more true since she is a smaller baby. :)

In 2-3 days all my baby shower stuff will be here. The other day I went through & put away all the baby clothes I had. NB & 0-3 are in her dresser in our room & the bigger sizes are in the spare dresser. I'll start washing stuff when my parents leave next weekend. I'll probably just wash the immediate size. What's in her dresser. Most likely I'll get bored during the next 2 1/2 months & wash bigger sizes too. This may be weird but I got a square laundry basket at my shower & I'm so excited to use it. I always just carry the clean clothes to the bed to fold & dirty clothes are thrown in the corner of our hallway or in the laundry room. The basket will be strictly baby girl's! I'm so excited to use it. I've bought a few more items from wives here. I may get very lucky because someone has a baby girl just ahead of what I should be buying. I just bought 18 outfits, mostly 3 months, so her 3 month drawer has a nice amount of clothes now. Not including baby shower ones. By the time she comes/right after she comes, they should be selling 6 month sizes! SCORE! Oh, I paid a whole $14 for all 18 outfits! Cute outfits too!

Anyways, that's about it. Nothing too exciting, just slowly getting ready for our girl. Hopefully we'll discuss names again soon. Poor baby needs a name!

Baby Shower

For all who've been following or care my/our baby shower was on Saturday. It is STILL surreal to me & I even had a moment of 'this isn't real'. Everyone insists I have a baby bump but it's because of the belt right under my boobs. It kinda formed the bump if you made the fabric hug your body like the dress did. I even got a "are you sure it's not twins?". Thanks a lot, as if I didn't feel fat enough. It was fun though & my sister and mom put so much work into it. There was a pretty good turn out of people & definitely of presents. The worst thing at a baby shower is the opening of presents. Goodness Gracious it takes FOREVER & you're bored by the time it's only half over. I mean for the people watching. Welp, if you're me then it pertains to the opening too. I wasn't bored but I knew it was taking forever & I did my best to hurry up towards the end. I got some really great gifts!!! The number 1 was a handmade rocker from Mike's grandpa Russ. It is AMAZING! Even has a seat cushion, not just some hard wooden seat. I kept muttering "wow". I was stunned!!! If the photog would've shot my face you would've seen it. Teary eyes & stunned face. I got lots of clothes, some essentials, an adorable diaper bag, a few felt tied blankets, a baby bullet(oh heck yes), a baby doll for the baby, and I'm sure I'm forgetting lots. I got lots of diapers thanks to a diaper raffle. There was a lot of 'daddy love' items & only 1-2 with 'mommy love'. Meaning 'I Love ......'. Mostly it was daddy stuff. I told Mike that apparently everyone thinks she'll love him more. He replies "well duh!". She will be daddy's girl & he will be wrapped around her little finger! Want to see a few pictures? Here you go!

So, that was my shower. I'm sure I'm forgetting a lot of stuff but oh well. It was a great day! I still feel like we need SOOOO much stuff. Working on that though. Can't wait til my parents come on Monday/Tuesday & I can start unpacking all her stuff & getting her room more ready for her. It'll be here before you know it.

28 weeks

Hello 3rd Trimester, Hello! Is this for real? Am I seriously in my 3rd & final trimester for a pregnancy I still can't believe is happening? Oh it's happening & there is definitely a bouncy kicky punchy little girl in there. I think for the first time I had my "in my ribs/hard to breathe" activity from her. It was weird because it felt like she was in my ribs but she was kicking/hitting my lower stomach. She must've been STRETCHED out & being a little brat. I'm guess all of my eating made her mighty full too & she needed a little stretching before beddy night time. She's more & more active. I feel her all throughout the day now which is awesome.

Baby Ticker News: One says she's 2 1/2 lbs & becaming cramped. I'll feel more jabs & kicks. (Yup!) It shows a pumpkin for her size. A pumpy-kin!!! Another shows an eggplant. Definitely not as fun as a pumpkin. Another ticker says she's 15 inches. Wowza, bigger & bigger she gets. Yes, I know that's how it happens but it's still surreal. That not only am I pregnant, what crazy!, but I am QUITE pregnant & have a 2.5 lb 15 inch (or getting close to those numbers) baby girl in my belly. Our baby girl! Our nameless baby girl! :)

Today is my baby shower and while I feel a little guilty because I know others who don't get to have one I am so excited! My sister seriously put in so much planning & work. There is a definite theme & I know the invites match the thank you cards & also the decorations for the shower. JUNGLE THEME! I think it might be fischer price jungle. I got a small glimpse of the cake yesterday & it's A-MAZING. I wasn't suppose to see but my dad came around the corner & didn't know it's a surprise to me. It's a 2 layer fondant covered cake. A zebra lower level & even better, a TIGER top level! I also saw there are fondant animals. I know there is a lion or I think there is. I saw/remember zebra stripes, tigers stripes, & a little lion. I know it's silly but it makes me so incredibly thankful that they got me a fancy fondant cake. I would've been fine & plenty happy with a Costco half sheet cake, I expected that kind of cake. But I've always wanted a fancy fondant cake & it's seriously the most amazing beautiful PERFECT cake for me/my shower! It has tiger stripes ya'll! Tiger Stripes! (I love tigers)And zebra stripes and jungle animals! Seriously perfect! Now I wish I would've bought my sister something to give to her at the end of the shower. I know this day is going to be so incredibly special because she's making it so. She's making sure it's the best baby shower ever. I can't believe the planning & thought she put into this! For her baby sister! :) Down to the homemade sugar scrub party favors & the game prizes which are in jungle animal patterned bags! Oh, I'll be wearing a tiger striped dress to the party too, courtesy of my sister. Even my dress matches the theme! :)

This pregnancy keeps getting better & better & I can't wait to meet our baby girl. She will be so loved & so so spoiled. 3 more months or so until she's in my arms & I will enjoy every second. Though I will admit I'll be mighty anxious once our house is filled with all the baby stuff & gifts from today. Mighty Anxious!!! :)

Mother's Day

My first real Mother's Day! Yes I've celebrated with our dogs, they are my babies after all, but it was always bittersweet. I realized that celebrating with my dogs may be the only kind of Mother's Day I ever got but hoped it wouldn't be the case. I can't believe this year, 2012, is finally my year to celebrate it. I am a Mom, I am growing our Daughter!
So, I hit 27 weeks this week! Crazy, I am one week away from the 3rd Trimester! Even bigger is I hit 6 months!!! I am 6 months pregnant!!! Some people go by every 4 weeks equal a month but that makes pregnancy 10 months which irks me. I go by on the 11th I hit the month milestone. Crazy!!!

About our daughter: (from ticker) Over 2 lbs & adding lots of healthy baby fat. Her eyelashes have started! :) Another ticker says it's 2.4 lbs! Wowza! :)

I'm not sure if my husband has any special surprises for me which I won't lie, I do hope so, but the last 2 days have been amazing! Mike took a 4 day weekend so Friday we went to the movies, lunch, did grocery shopping, & then chilled. Yesterday...yesterday was the mega awesome day!!! First off Mike was in a cleaning mood. He cleaned up his part of the spare closet(baby's closet), cleaned the computer room, did the huge amount of dishes, & even cooked dinner which was amazingly good! More awesome was BABY TIMES!!! We (He) put together the crib & the baby's dresser/changing table. We moved the PnP(pack n play) & the dresser into our room. Our Daughter has invaded our house. :) It's so weird seeing the pnp & the dresser in our room. It's weird seeing the crib and mattress set up & ready for sheets! My baby shower is next week so lots more stuff will be added to that room in a few weeks(when my parents come). Best part of yesterday though. Our Daughter! After some ice cream she became VERY active. To where I felt her moving! Actually moving around with the occasional kick. I called Mike over & of course he was impatient and told me he didn't feel anything after 5 seconds. I told him that she was super active, I felt her moving in there. Thinking "how can you not? she's doing gymnastics in there or something". About 30 seconds later he finally felt our daughter's "judo kick" for the first time. It was a judo kick too, she has NEVER kicked that freaking hard. He looked at me because he thought I did it. Flinched my stomach or something. Nope, that was all our girl, she kicked her father! He felt a second kick too & then was done being patient. I don't know why he thinks I'd try faking a kick from her. I actually was concentrating on my breathing & relaxing so that anything he felt would be 100% her. Baby Girl continued to stay active for the rest of night. From around 8 until bedtime at midnight. At least every 45 mins or so I'd feel some movements & kicks. 2 am bathroom break, a few kicks. 6 am wake up, kicks started again. She's kicking me as I type. It's really nice to feel her so active because for around last 10 days she's been super shy & minimally active.

Great Great few days. Hit 27 weeks, Hit 6 MONTHS, & Mike felt his first kick! Truly amazing few days!

26 Weeks

Here we are, another week down. Another week closer to meeting our baby girl! Our nameless baby girl. My husband seems to hate every name I pick. Pick & fall in love with. His latest veto I gave up for about 12 hrs (including sleep time) but I seriously love that name & it still is my pick. We've yet to discuss names. I think he's overwhelmed with all we need to buy and the cost of it all. We finally bought a crib yesterday. It'll be here by Friday which is crazy! Not sure if Mike will put it up or if I'll get my dad to help when they come in 3+ weeks. :) I also want to pull the plug on the pack n play I want from Target! Hoping it fits in our car or I'll have to steal a friend's jeep for an hr or so. Well, she's already agreed to help me so it's not stealing. Unless I kick her out of the car while we're driving. JUST KIDDING! :) I think Mike is overwhelmed with everything though. I understand I've gotten like that too. But his parents are suppose to be paying for the crib & my parents bought the stroller/carseat combo, Yardsale Find! Oh, I got my first baby present from a friend here. So awesome! Yet so surreal! Baby Girl hasn't been as active the last few days which is starting to concern me. I still feel her from time to time but no super hard hurt mommy kicks lately. Also, I don't feel pregnant. You should not be having "holy crap, am I really pregnant?" moments when you're 25-26 weeks! :)

About baby girl: Our ticker says 14.5 inches! 2 lbs & plumping up! Our baby girl will soon be 2 lbs, that's crazy! :)

Symptoms: Sore Breasts, Heartburn, Aches & Pains, Stiffness, Sleep problems. Last night was the first time it was uncomfortable to take a bath. I'm a bath girl, always will be, but I may have to switch to showers soon. Little girl was making the bath not very enjoyable. :)

Well I think that's all. We're obviously way behind with getting stuff for our daughter/the nursery but my baby shower is in 2 weeks & we should be a bunch of stuff then. Can't wait! :)

P.S. Playard with Newborn Napper bought & assembled! How surreal! :)

25 weeks

25 down, 15 to go. Still surreal! I can't decide whether I'm starting too look pregnant or just super super fat. Each day is different. Still rocking(sadly) the double belly. I want it to become ONE belly so I actually look pregnant fully. To me my stomach is growing but in pictures I don't see a big difference between 25 & 10 weeks. *Shrug*

This weekend was cleaning time. Well, I started cleaning months ago. At first just closet areas but yesterday I moved onto a spare dresser in the spare room that'll be my extra/bigger sizes dresser for our girl. I want to get a dresser to go in our room for her which surprised Mike. I think, no I know he grossly underestimates all that you need for a baby. Plus all the stuff we'll get from our baby shower. That's in 3 weeks. Wooo Hooo!!!! I hope maybe the girls at Curves throw me a little shower too because those ladies make homemade gifts & they're so awesome. I'd love homemade blankets, quilts, hats, booties, etc. She'd be soooo cute in them. I need to get back to Curves, I've been a lazy butt. They don't even know what we're having yet because of my lazyness. Boo me! :)

Onto the star of this blog. Our Baby Girl!!! Our ticker says she should be 1.8 lbs & she's practicing breathing. Breathe Baby Breathe! Another ticker says 14 inches! Our big girl! :) So definitely by the middle-end of this week she'll be hitting those milestones. Aww, so exciting! I have my next OB appt on Tuesday. I can't wait to hear her heartbeat. I plan to record it this time. It should be SOOOO strong & loud!

May is going to be a fabulous month & I can't wait. So many great things will be happening!!! :)

24 weeks

Good Morning! Welcome To Our Baby Blog! Today I am 24 weeks! I refuse to change my due date just because our daughter is small. Our Daughter, still surreal. I had to remind myself when I was praying last night that I no longer can say 'he/she' when thanking God. It's all SHE! Oh my gosh! I think about buying girly things & it a little bit doesn't feel right. I really expected a Boy first, even though most of the pregnancy I felt girl. Who knows, my mind is crazy! We are 24 weeks & that's just insane! 16 weeks to go baby! I haven't talked about weight gain but so far I've only gained 7.5 lbs. I really need to focus on healthier eating though & more exercise because I'd really like to only gain 15 if possible. Probably impossible but I can dream right. :)

Our Daughter should be about 13.5 inches & weigh 1.5 lbs which she'll probably reach by next week. :) Ticker says about the size of Cauliflower! She can kick up a storm, let me tell you! I don't know how or why people count kicks. I'd rather just feel them & enjoy them then sit there counting them. She's kicking me so I know she's ok!

Symptoms Or Whatever you want to call them: SORE lower stomach muscle, it's especially nice when she stretches out against them. :) Sore breasts & nipples. Insomnia/Crappy Sleep! Headaches & Heartburn! I'm sure more stretchmarks. Fatigue, Less Energy & Less Stamina!
I actually slept great last night but I feel exhausted. Most of the week I slept like crap but felt fine when I woke up. People go on & on about how you don't sleep once you have a baby. They forgot to include it starts when you are growing the baby!

So, it was a great week, mostly! We found out the gender &&& I found out I'm cleared to fly in a month FOR A BABY SHOWER!!! My sissy is throwing me probably the best baby shower ever. She's so excited about it. She asked if I wanted a jungle themed shower (since my baby/nursery theme is jungle) or just girly! You throw it, it's your choice! I really don't care. I'm just happy I'm able to fly home for a shower, even if it's at 6 months. But my parents are driving out a week later to visit so that's why I'm able to do this shower in the first place. Yay!

Names: Well....I have my 2 choices & I'm not sure about baby daddy. He knows my choices & they've basically been my choices since the beginning. Now we can actually discuss them since we know for sure we're having a daughter. A Daughter! Soooo surreal! :)

Tschuess from a Happy Momma!

Gender Reveal

To say today's appt was annoying is an understatement. I had my OJ, a dark chocolate square, & my ice water. Baby was active at 10:45, my appt time. 11, still active. 11:15.....barely active. 11:25, ASLEEP! I was so pissed! "Did you have a good lunch? You should make an appt for when we first open, it's better at that time". I was good!!!! My baby was active when it was suppose to be active! At My Appt Time!!!! I'm sorry I didn't plan to be seen over 30 mins AFTER my time! Grrrr! Ask Mike, I was very bitchy!

So, because Baby C was sleepy, she didn't get the measurements she needed. She did measure head, stomach, & femur. She asked if I wanted to know what it was & I informed her I thought I saw a penis or balls. Ok, I thought I saw balls! I declared it was a boy. Um...nope. The "balls" were her girl parts. It's A Girl!!! I was so ecstatic! I actually put my arms up in celebration & I kept mumbling to myself "it's a girl!!!". I couldn't believe we're actually having a girl. Still a tiny bit in denial. I just knew it'd be a boy. Awww! So excited & everyone is so excited for us! Great Great Day!!! :)

We only got 4 ultrasound pictures. One showing us it's a girl & 3 head shots. Those creepy front view ones. I like side view, it looks like a human that way. Here is the best one!

Here is Our Baby GIRL!!! Our Daughter!!!
Measuring at 23 weeks & 1lb 4oz!

23 weeks

The weeks keep ticking by. 23 now! Almost 24 which seems huge to me for some reason. It's been an interesting week. I was convinced something was wrong because I barely felt baby c. I would feel a few kicks but within a few hours have convinced myself it was in my head. Baby C was definitely active yesterday though and I felt a kick from the outside for the first time. It was beyond the most amazing experience. How is our little munchkin? Let's see what my devices say!

Baby C should be...the size of a banana squash, about 12.5 inches! :) A full foot now! :) Eyes can open and ears, fingernails, & fingerprints are all developed! :) Our baby is starting to gain fat and his/her taste is maturing, along with touch & hearing!

When I used the term insomnia last week I had a feeling I was going to curse myself. I was merely tossing & turning. Not getting good sleep but at least sleeping on & off. Insomnia is back now! The last 3-4 nights I've woken up WIDE Awake a few hours after we go to sleep. I'll stay awake for a few hours, then sleep for a few. I wake up feeling fine which doesn't make since to me. Usually I'd wake up exhausted because I didn't get a full night's sleep. Apparently my body is preparing for baby or something. I actually forced myself to go back to the sleep the first day it happened and I did wake up feeling exhausted. Waaa waaa! :) Oh well, all a learning experience. The heartburn comes & goes but usually isn't bad. Allergies, now that's a different story. They are BAD this week in Arizona & they are kicking my butt. I learned that my old PCM(primary doctor) is BACK! The one who found the problem & started treating it which resulted in "my condition" as my husband calls it. I should go see her for my allergies & I really do want to see her to thank her & to let her know the miracle she helped create. I full heartedly give all my thanks to her. Yes, I worked my ass off eating that special diet & taking all those vitamins/supplements, losing 30 lbs before pregnancy, but if it were not for her I wouldn't have known to have that special diet or to take those pills. She found the problem no other doctor could or would. She was the first one that didn't just tell me "lose weight, that's the problem". For that, this this miracle, I will always be thankful to her. Anyways, I should go see her for my allergies & maybe I will but I just usually think "I can make it without pills". Do I really NEED the allergy pills? Probably! :) It's been bad lately.

Anywho, once again I got carried away with typing. I tend to blabber on at 4-5 in the morning when I can't sleep. Oh well, that's my story, & I'm sticking to it. :) Happy Pregnancy! :)

Interesting

Being pregnant is so interesting. Saturday morning when I finally went back to bed I had an amazing little experience. First off, Baby C had woke up & apparently didn't want me to sleep. I love being pregnant & feeling our baby moving but sleep time is SLEEP time! What can I do though? I just let her/him settle down & go to sleep. Baby & I were falling asleep with my fur-son(dog) Hersh laying directly in front of me with his paws resting on my stomach. Back paws at the bottom of my stomach & front paws on the top. Well, Mr. Hersh started dreaming & twitching/kicking me which got a response from baby! So very weird but amazing. I had the biggest smile on my face feeling them interact in a way. Mike says they were fighting. Great, siblings already fighting. :) Hersh will be a great big furry brother. We've already seen him with babies & he is a huge mama dog, very protective & attentive. I've always wanted to see him in action with our kids. It's nice with nephews but I so badly wanted it to be our kids he was watching over. Now it will be. :)

Mike has touched my belly for the first time. He saw me pushing on my stomach & asked what I was doing. I told him you can feel the difference between just fat & the uterus. There is also a little knot on my uterus which not sure what that is but I could google it. Anyways, I had Mike feel for himself and he was surprised by the difference. I can't wait until you can actually start feeling the kicks on the outside so he can feel them too. I know some girls already can at this stage but my extra layer is causing that delay a little. I've felt a few kicks but they are not consistent enough to call him over to feel yet. Baby isn't cooperating either, He/She has not been as active the last few days. I still feel a strong kick now & then but I haven't felt him/her playing jungle gym much. Makes me want to run out to get a stethoscope to listen for the heartbeat. :)

Well, I guess that's about it. The ever fun bloodwork, tests, & appts continue. :)

22 Weeks!

22 weeks! Still surreal. I know I sound like a record but every day, every week is surreal. We have just under 2 weeks until we know what we're having & I seriously can't wait. It's funny because I always said I'd never find out what I was having, I wanted a delivery surprise! No way, no how was I finding out! When we first found out we were pregnant Mike told me he wanted to find out and I told him I didn't. He never pushed me, just indicated he wanted to know what we were having & that was enough. Obviously I wanted to know too because I agreed we would. I guess Mike didn't realize because he was telling co-workers we're not finding out the sex. Um, yes we are! I want to know so badly. Now I'm getting slack from other delivery day surprisers & have even felt somewhat attacked for my decision to find out. "There are so few surprises nowadays & delivery surprises make that day so special. You shouldn't find out". There will never be any bigger surprise than the one I got on January 7th! Ok, finding out the sex will also be extremely huge!!! Guess what, So Will Delivery Day! No Day & I mean NO DAY will be more special than the day we deliver our son or daughter! Ok, enough blabbing. To the important stuff! Baby!!!

Baby should be measuring 11.5 inches & weigh A POUND! Ticker says "Busy with baby workouts & playing somersaults". Oh so true. This little one is more & more active. The "I'm going to keep you awake", the "I'm going to jump on your bladder even though you just went", the "I'm going to stretch out & push against your muscle so you flinch in pain". It's so odd & so amazing. The other day I felt the baby moving so I put my hand under my pants & underwear, on my bare belly. Mike saw & asked if I was Al Bundee. I told him "no, baby is moving & I'm trying to feel it on the outside". He seemed surprised & happy. I think yesterday I finally for sure felt a kick/movement on the outside. Once you can regularly feel it on the outside I'll have Mike feel for them. :)

So, the fun stuff of pregnancy! Insomnia is back & I hate it. All week I've tossed & turned all freaking night long. I usually get 2-3 hours of good sleep, then get crappy sleep for a 3-4, & finally get back to good around 3-4 am. Well, it makes getting up at 5 for Curves hard! Also by the end of the week I'm fully exhausted by 9-10 am. Then again, I woke up at 4 am yesterday. It's not 3:30 & I've been wide awake since 2. Apparently my husband having trouble sleeping is enough to take me from tossing & turning sleep to WIDE AWAKE! Ugh! Next fun! My sore boobs are gone so I guess they're done growing for now. :) Oh heartburn. Glorious heartburn. It is almost instant with any spicy food. Spicy chicken sandwich, oh yes, spicy chips, oh yes, spicy anything! How funny that it took 21 weeks to start having issues with spicy food. Get use to it baby, mommy loves spicy! :) Mommy! :) So weird!

Well this is a long ramble-fest & yes it's mostly because I am wide awake at 3 am. I send out 2 Wishes!
Happy 22 weeks Baby! Nearly 5 months! &
Happy 30th Birthday Michael! My Baby Daddy!!!

OB Appt

I knew this would be a big appt because I knew obstetrix was going to suggest a bunch of appts & bloodwork. Goodness Gracious did they!!! I had a huge list of bloodwork including another glucose test which I have an appt for on Thursday. One day I need to do an EKG at the hospital because of my history of high blood pressure which was lower today then at my last appt! Yay! I go to Tucson on the 17th to check my adrenal gland. Then the 19th I have a growth &, thankfully because I spoke up, an anatomy scan! Finally we'll know whether we're growing a chico or chica! I can not wait! 16 days when you're already 21 weeks is TORTURE!!! Mike says "they'll REALLY be able to tell if it's a boy or girl". They could already tell now! Why must I wait?!?! Grrrr! I already have 2 more growth scans scheduled for May & July.

My appt today was fine. It was quick, aside from the endless waiting in between nurse & doctor. Baby's heartbeat was 159! Yup, still girl! I will be surprised if it's a boy but I suppose I'll also be surprised if it's a girl! I'll be surprised if I'm right & I'll be surprised if I'm wrong. I'm SOOOOOOO ready to be surprised & to see our munchkin! 16 days please be tomorrow! :)

Pregnancy wise update, why not. Heartburn, oh my gosh! It's been constant the last few days. I LOVE spicy food, LOVE it, but it's killing me. There are new spicy doritos that look like tubes & they are delicious but instant heartburn. My breasts have been sore the last week or two too. Still have "kill me" nipples when I get a chill. I've felt the baby basically every day for the last 7-10 days. Last night he/she decided it was party time at bedtime. Quite distracting when you're trying to sleep. I think that's about it for symptoms. Aside from the pregnancy brain & unbalancedness. :)

21 weeks

Seriously? I pre-wrote the 20 week update last week because we were heading out of town for a family funeral. Ugh, that long drive was killer! Anyways, I didn't get time to really to think about the fact I was halfway through my pregnancy. I hadn't been feeling the baby either but in the last week he/she has become so active! It's so crazy! 21 week! A week past halfway!!! Geesh! As I lay in bed Thursday night I started to think about the fact I'm pregnant. That I'm actually feeling the baby & that I'm halfway home! It's still, even at 21 weeks, SURREAL! :) So Surreal!

We got a lot of family time. Sometimes I was driven crazy & it was odd talking about "our baby" & all things pertaining to a pregnancy/parenthood but it was nice. I got to say "We're 20 weeks, halfway!" which is amazing but I didn't actually really think about that fact. My aunt told Mike he has to start talking to the baby. My fat roll was rubbed by a few different people which was kinda embarrassing but whatever. Most importantly I got to see all the stuff that has been bought for us/our baby. OUR BABY! Baby stuff for OUR Baby! Did I mention it's still surreal & I still am in denial. I went baby shopping with my  mom which was interesting. It was more of me hitting the baby section while we were shopping. I wish I could've baby shopped with my sister. I officially bought my FIRST maternity clothes. Not just a size bigger that'll be cute when I'm huge but actual maternity clothes bought from Motherhood. Mike & I went to the mall & we walked by Motherhood. I knew it was there & had no plans on going in there but when we were there something pulled me in. I got one pair of shorts & 2 shirts. Yay for Plus Size Motherhood clothes!!! I also put in the 7 month baby bump which really was so unbelievable. To see myself with that big of a bump & to know someday I'll look like that. It won't be wishing or hoping, it'll be reality. :) So amazing. I HAVE to take new pictures because I feel like I've blown up the last 2 weeks. I totally forgot to take week 20 pictures which makes me sad but I'll take week 21 pictures. Wow, week 21 pictures!!! :) The pictures are just for my reference until I actually start looking pregnant. Like really pregnant, not just "she may be pregnant but she's a big girl so who knows". :)

Baby Stats...... Well.... :)
He or She should be about 11 inches & weigh 15 ounces! Wow, our big baby!!! :)

19 & 20 weeks

There is alot going on here so I'm going to combine 2 weeks into one blog. Lazy I know!

At 19 weeks Baby can sleep & DREAM! :) What are you dreaming about Baby C? Ticker says Baby is 10.5 inches & 10.5 ounces! Oh goodness! He/She probably will hit this weight sometime towards the end of this week since he/she is smaller. But still, oh my gosh! :) Baby may also start hearing my heart beat & hear mumbled sounds. Hello Baby C!

Symptons: Fatigue, Nausea, Acne, Sensitive skin, Stretch marks, sensitive & painful nipples!

At 20 weeks baby's movements should become stronger because bones are hardening! Yay! I've felt some movement the last few weeks but not a ton. It'll be nice to start to feel them more! I might be able to tell when baby is sleeping or awake. :) Ticker says Baby should be 10.5 inches & weigh 13 ounces! Once again, probably will hit this about the end of 20 weeks. :) How exciting!

18

Today I am 18 weeks! 4 months into this pregnancy which seems amazing! I'm no longer going to go by my phone app because it says that baby right now at 18 weeks should be...

5-5.8 inches long & weigh 5.3 ounces

The ticker on my page says baby should be 10 inches head to toe, no weight given.
I looked at the ticker the day of my appt & it said at 17 weeks baby was suppose to be 6 inches & 7 ounces. At my appt baby weighed 7 ounces so she/he truly is measuring nearly a week small. I'm keeping my DD though. :)

Here is Baby C! Her(or his) beautiful face)

Please pinch me!

My appt on Thursday. Oh goodness! Chances are I will end up having to go back to the high risk doctors but I seriously hope it's not for a long time! Or at least not THAT doctor. He was a total dick & made me feel like complete crap. He basically told me I will have a hard & bad pregnancy no matter what. All my numbers looked good but those weren't good enough. "Normal" wasn't good enough. The fact I lost 30 lbs before pregnancy & lost 10 more in 12 weeks didn't even pentrate his ear. I've since started gaining back those 10 back but only about half so far. Didn't matter. He made me feel like crap about myself & that I will screw this up.

The actual ultrasound. It hurt & I basically just got to listen to Mike & the nurse. The nurse only turned the screen for about 15-20 seconds to show me my jack-knifed baby. My(our) Baby! :) It sucked not getting to watch her(him) move around but there is a benefit of only getting to listen & feel. I got to hear the amazement in Mike's voice, the first time he's seen his child. Mike got to see our baby scratch it's head to which he informed me I'm growing a monkey, not a human. :) I got to feel how big the baby was because head was at the bottom of my uterus & legs were at the top. It amazed me the paddle(or whatever) had to be moved SO much from head to legs. Then baby sommersaulted & head was at the top while baby jack-knifed itself. We only got 3 pictures & 2 were front facing creepy alien looking ones. The third is shown. I asked about gender but she told me it was too early for them to do an anatomy scan. She did try to look & it was a perfect time since baby was jack-knifed/clearly showing an open picture of the private area but baby just wasn't in the right area to be able to get the correct angle. Oh well, no hurry on finding out. I'm curious but I can wait a few more weeks.

All in all, baby is healthy and seeing the baby again on ultrasound makes it more real. Still in denial which is silly at 18 weeks but I just can't believe our dream is really coming true. 6 years & it's happening. 4 months in even! :)

17 weeks!

Baby C should be measuring about 4.5 to 5 inches CRL or the size of an onion! That's awesome! Baby C should weigh about 3.5 ounces! :)

This last week hasn't been too bad. I did my 16 wk update on Tuesday/Wednesday so you know what has happened those days. Doctor's appt. The no energy was better this last week, thank goodness. My husband doesn't understand how I can be so exhausted after doing nothing. He doesn't understand you're not normal when pregnant, you're so many things at different times. Walking Zombie, Highly Irritable, Irrational, Bitchy, Plotting a beat down. Talking to friends helps, get out that steam. If people didn't know me & just heard me lately they'd think I completely hated my husband & they'd wonder why I was with him. Then again, probably anyone not pregnant currently & hearing me might think the same thing. My husband has been driving me crazy. Ok, I said it! We also have good times & happy times. Today we're heading to Tucson & I'm hoping we can get in some Baby or Maternity Shopping. Ok mostly I want bras that fit. I doubt I'll find new clothes that fit any better than my current ones but who knows. Not easy big girl maternity shopping. Anywho, I'll insist on some ME shopping if I have the energy to do so. Darn unpredictable energy levels. :)

It's weird but I've kinda gone back to being in denial about being pregnant. I don't feel pregnant & saying I'm pregnant seems like a cruel joke, like fantasy. Who am I trying to pretend I'm pregnant, that our dreams are coming true? It freaks me out for it not to feel real again. There was a time when it felt real & amazing. Maybe it's just a defensive mechanicism. I've always been able to picture myself pregnant & with a child. I can't now. I can't picture myself hugely pregnant. It scares me that I can't picture it. Maybe I'm just freaked out currently. It'll get real again, especially on Thursday. I am SO ready to look pregnant, to feel the baby move, to see the baby move. I'm so ready for the next step. I don't want to rush the pregnancy but I'm just ready to FEEL it! :)

Updates, Updates!

My husband came home from his month long training thing at 1:30 am on Saturday so I didn't post for my 16 week update! 16 weeks! Crazy!

Baby C should be measuring about 4.3-4.7 inches CTR or rougly an avocado & weigh 2.75 ounces! My big baby!!
According to my blog ticker!: 5 ounces. HUH?!?! How could they be SO different? Supposedly the size of a grapefruit. (what it says today, 16 wks 3 days)


Today is another OB appt, yay, & my husband's first if he remembers! I've reminded him 3 times in the last 24 hours. I so need to hear the heartbeat. I had a bad bad dream last night & I desperately need to hear the heartbeat to reassure me everything is ok. I pray they find it on doppler because I've yet to hear it there. I've only seen it so far. Just under 5 hours until I'll be slimed & hopefully smiling ear to ear! Quick note: I also had a good dream in which we had a healthy baby girl! I won't buy clothes yet but seriously everything is pointing to girl. :) I can't wait to find out! Should be one month from today!

I'm horrible at updating. Well, yesterday got busy & I felt bad. So now here's the update!
I really liked my doctor yesterday, Dr. Kacenga. We heard the baby's heartbeat for the first time ever, 148ish(still girl range, yay) & my husband was not impressed. He said it was anti-climatic. I kid you not. What a spoil sport! My blood pressure was high & I brought up my cortisol problems from before so he threw away my paper for the 18-20 wk ultrasound & I'm now being sent for a high risk ultrasound on the 8th. Talk about scary. I have to pick up a copy of all of my medical records from the last year & bring them with me on Thursday(8th). I also have to take them into the OB for the lady to copy. Not sure if Mike will go to the ultrasound, as he asked if he HAD to go to all my appts. But it's an ultrasound, you get to see the baby, & that's always awesome. Maybe that'll be enough to impress him, actually seeing the baby moving. His baby!!! :) Welp, that was my appt. :)

15 Weeks

This seems so crazy, the number 15 seems so big! I know, silly. :) So, what's been happening with me?! Early morning insomnia! Grrrr! It's frustrating. I tend to wake up sometime between 12-2 & am awake until 3-4, something 5. I've tried laying in the dark & letting my mind wander. I've tried reading to tire myself. I've tried sleeping masks. Nothing works! I haven't been taking naps during the day, I'm not sleeping in late & bedtimes have varied to try & find the best bedtime for sleeping through the night. Nope! I've also gotten the pleasure of rock hard want to die nipples & lots of pressure in my woman area. I seem to have pains daily which I've learned is my life now. I guess it lets me know things are moving along. :)

Baby! Should be around 4 inches CRL which is roughly an apple or orange and weigh 1.75 ounces.
Should!!! But baby is measuring small. I'm sure he/she will catch up soon, at least I'm hoping. :) Still our baby, still growing inside me, Still Amazing!!! :)

Ultrasound

Today I went in for my est. due date/how far am I ultrasound. I expected to be what they were calculating which was 2 weeks ahead of my calculations. Instead baby is measuring nearly a week behind which literally is impossible. I could understand measuring a few days smaller but not a week. I know the days we had sex & when we didn't. Oh well, there is a what 6 day room for error right.

Baby C was VERY VERY active! They had to do transvaginal which I actually prefer because you see the baby better. C was moving her mouth non-stop and the nurses were entertained the whole time. They kept ooh-ing & aah-ing talking about how active she was. Basically doing somersaults in my belly. They asked if I felt anything yet, which hello shouldn't you know you can't feel the baby this early, & oh how I will! when I do start. :) That made me happy. I'm glad Baby C is SO active. The nurse was a little annoyed when I asked for the hb because that wasn't on the agenda & it's different for getting it on ultrasound. STRONG baby! 161! If you go by the HB gender test, DEFINITELY a girl! Makes 4 girl results & 1 boy result for the different gender guessing games. Chinese, Mayan, HB, Baking soda, & another one, Pointing to our girl!!!

Measurement I got:
HB: 161
CRL: 75mm

I got pictures too but they're blurry because she wouldn't hold still. Normal profile & head on ones. :)