Two Recent Tidbits:

During our last ultrasound little Blue was being completely uncooperative.  Her spine was facing us, and the technician couldn't get her face or parts of her heart.  I got up, walked around, poked my stomach a bit, gave Blue a talking to, and tried again.  She hadn't moved.  The technician eventually gave up, but just before it was done she said "Oh!  Look!  She's patting herself on the back."  "Sure," I said, "She's all proud of herself for being such a stinker and refusing to move....I wonder where she got that from...KRISTIN."

Lying on the couch the other night:
Me:  If this daughter of yours doesn't stop kicking my bladder I'm going to get really mad.
Kristin:  It's her way of making a joke.
Me:  Not funny.
Kristin:  You better watch out...soon you will have two trouble makers in the house...whispering in the corner...scheming and plotting against you.
Me:  I gotta pee.

Here We Go Again...

Registries suck.  Seriously.  The idea of them is nice.  They have always been a great shopping/reminder list for myself.  Plus the idea of walking around with a little price gun thing and scanning everything you love is appealing.  The whole process sounds like fun.  Until you actually do it and find yourself staring at an entire aisle of bottles.  Followed by an aisle full of diapers.  Followed by an aisle full of shampoos.  Decision after decision.  It's overwhelming.  And exhausting.  But decisions have to be made.  The baby needs bottles.  And diapers.  And shampoo.

When choosing where to register we went with the hometown favorite, Target, and thought we would also go with the old standby, Babies R Us.  But once I started looking at Babies R Us?  It reminded me a little of our last registry experience.  Expensive items and pushy sales people.  When they called me three times in one day to discuss our registry and offer "helpful advice," I decided I had had enough and shut it down.  There is something to be said about Amazon's lower prices, absolute absence of sales people, and zero aisles.  :)

Strawberries, Anyone?

Before becoming pregnant and during the early stages of pregnancy I often heard people talk about foods that they used to LOVE that they no long could stomach the thought of.  I didn't get it.  How could you all of a sudden just think that a certain food you had always loved was gross?

Well, I officially get it.  

Example #1:  Chinese food.  The thought of Chinese food makes my stomach turn.  I have pushed through and eaten it once.  While it didn't make me sick, the effort it took to actually eat a meals-worth of food was just not worth it.

Example #2:  Strawberries.  Perusing the fruits and veggies at the store several weeks ago, I was surprised to find that strawberries totally gross me out.  I used to buy them every week whether they were in season or not.  Now I steer the cart clear of the display.

Other examples (including foods that literally make me sick):  Yogurt, fruit juice, greasy foods, fried foods, eggs, and salad (I think the greens are what make it so unappetizing).

I have become a somewhat picky eater.  I'm hoping that it all goes away after pregnancy because I don't like being so high maintenance.  :)

And so it begins...

Well, it's happened.  I've officially started cleaning.  And purging.  The other day I decided I needed to go through the stuff in the bathroom.  For those who haven't seen our bathroom, it is litterally the size of a closet.  We have one small medicine cupboard and 6 bins that sit on a shelf above the toilet.  That's the total of our bathroom storage space.  How much stuff could we possibly fit in such a small space?  You'd be surprised.  By the time I was done I had an entire large garbage bag FULL of stuff to throw out.  Which is kind of sad.  And disgusting.  

Now on to the hallway closet, the bedroom, living room, dining room, kitchen, and basement.  I think I'm going to need to go buy more garbage bags...

Starving

I woke up in the middle of the night STARVING and craving...

pickles?

Nope.

ice cream?

Nope.

licorice, BBQ sauce, a Chipotle burrito bowl

(all of which have been common cravings)?

Nope.

SweeTango apples.  

Which is just completely bizarre.  

But whatever. 

A Baby's View

We received a free mobile with something else, and since it doesn't match our planned decor, we decided to give it away.  Kristin snapped a couple of pictures to send to one of her coworkers who is also expecting and then said "I know, let's see if it works.  You lie down, and I'll hold it over you."  I don't really understand why one of us had to be lying down with the thing flying over in order to test its working ability, but it seemed like an appropriate request at the time.  I was in the middle of something and didn't want to go lie in bed, so instead I just sort of sat on the floor and looked up.

Sitting there, I realized that mobiles are made all wrong.  They are really made for adults looking straight at them vs. a baby lying underneath.  I mean, who wants to stare at feet and butts all night?

Anyway, at some point I thought "we have gone crazy"...and I wondered if "normal" parents-to-be spend their evenings looking at mobiles from a baby's perspective.  I'm guessing probably not.  

PS - The mobile worked just fine.

Drumroll, Please...

Today we had another ultrasound, but this one was a biggy - they measured everything on Blue, and we got to find out the gender.  

The technician started with measurements on the head.  And while she was working away, measuring the brain and skull and heart and spine and stomach and kidneys I thought "really?  Do they do this on purpose?  Save the gender for very last?"  Yep.  Pretty much.

Anyway, so at some point the tech finally said "okay, here it is, Baby is showing you the gender."  Kristin and I just stared at the image on the screen.  I could definitely see the two legs but had no idea what to make of what was between them.  Ha!  Finally the tech said "it's a girl!" 

If I hadn't been lying down I probably would have fallen over.  I had pretty much convinced myself Blue was a boy.  So much so that I have been referring to her as him for weeks now.  Hope I didn't completely mess her up :)  We do have a picture of her parts, but I don't want to embarrass the poor kid already!.  

Anyway, needless to say, we are thrilled!  Time to start shopping...and no need to repaint the office/spare room turned nursery.  Blue will have a girly, purple room :)

Kristin asked whether we needed to rename Blueberry to something more...girlish.  I said heck no.  Blue is Blue.  She has been since the beginning :)

One more picture from today:  When I first saw this one on the screen I thought "she's practicing her high kick!"  Kristin thought "she's practicing karate!"...which I guess means whether she decides to be a Rockette or a black belt she'll be all set to go. 

Insomnia

Middle of the night insomnia:  I fall asleep only to wake up a few hours later.  I then spend several hours sitting around, basically waiting to fall asleep again.  It gives me lots of time to:

Watch shows I have never seen.  I am almost done with all 6 seasons of Numbers (Season 6, episode 1 is currently playing in the background) - almost every episode has been been watched between 2 and 6 a.m.  What did insomniatic pregnant women do before Hulu?

Google things I shouldn't Google which leads to learning things I don't really need to know like "The top 10 most embarrassing things about childbirth."

Make list after list of all the things that need to be done that I don't seem to have the energy to do like clearing out the office/spare room/nursery or going through every box and bin in the basement and purging all unneeded items.

Freak out about things that either (a) don't need to be freaked out about or (b) I have little or no control over.  Like my ever-increasing weight - weight that seems to keep piling on at an excessive rate no matter what I eat or do. 

Think about Blue.

Be hormonal...really hormonal.

Baby Brain

Baby Brain is the idea that pregnant women and new mothers suffer from some type of cognitive impairment - specifically regarding memory.  I have yet to experience this.  I have, however, found that I am experiencing another issue - doing things that make absolutely no sense.

I wrote about one example a few days ago.  I was at the store, I got tired, and instead of just going to find a place to sit and rest for a minute I went through the checkout line, took the groceries I had purchased to the car, sat down for a rest, then finished the rest of my shopping.  Duh.  

Today?  Another example.  I have been craving banana bread lately and have taken to making it myself rather than buying it.  This morning as I was puttering around getting ready for the day (around 7:30) I went into the kitchen and saw we had a ton of bananas ready to be made into delightful loaves of bread.  Instead of continuing on with my morning and making a plan to make banana bread this evening or later this weekend, I immediately pulled out the Kitchen Aid and started mixing.  

Last time, I made a double batch which gave me a large loaf and 4 mini loaves.  Because I had 9 bananas and didn't want to waste any of them, I decided I needed to make a quadruple batch, completely oblivious to the fact that I could stick the extra bananas in the freezer and use them next time...or that throwing away a few bananas, worth less than $1 wouldn't be the end of the world.

I mixed up the dough, filled up the bread pans, and stuck them in the oven.  It wasn't until halfway through the baking process, when I opened the oven to check on my loaves, that I realized I had made A LOT of banana bread.  7 huge loaves to be exact.  What the heck?!?  I better go make room in the freezer.  And I better stop buying so many bananas.

Tears

Nothing on TV tonight except a movie I haven't seen in years...  

Queue the tears.  Yes, tears.  Over 13 Going On 30. 

Can anyone say pregnancy hormones?

You got the glow!

I went to see a client this past week .  She is someone I usually see often, but it had been a couple of months since our last in-person visit.  When she opened the door she said "Hi, how are you?  You look different."  I said I was doing well, and we went inside.  Later she said "your face looks different, I can't figure it out...but anyway..."  A little while later she asked "have you ever been pregnant?"  I said "actually, I'm pregnant now."  She said "I knew it!"  "What, my growing belly?"  "No, girl, you got the glow!"  I sat there thinking "glow?  What glow?...I'm too tired and fat and miserable to have a glow."  

Case in point:  I went grocery shopping today.  I woke up early in order to beat the Sunday rush, but the store was still crazy busy.  Halfway through the trip I realized I was so tired that I needed a break (and then an idea occurred to me - grocery stores should put benches in the middle of aisles...brilliant, right?  Okay, so maybe it wasn't a brilliant idea, but it seemed like it at the time).  I realize now that I could have taken my cart to the front and sat on a bench there without checking out, but it didn't occur to me in the moment (blame it on baby brain).  So, I took my half-full cart to the front and checked out.  I took the first half of groceries out to my car then turned around and went back into the store.  After sitting for awhile, I got up and did the second half of my shopping.  The whole time I was sitting there I was thinking "I gotta figure this out...because in 4 months this is going to be so much worse."  I don't know what I need to figure out, exactly...maybe how to get more sleep...or how to take shorter trips to the grocery store.  What I do know is that by the time I left I was ready for a nap and the only hint of a "glow" was the sweat on my brow. 

Google Image...Gross.

We had the 16-week OB appointment today and got to hear Blueberry's heartbeat again (148 today).  I'm loving our OB.  She still seems to think Kristin is hilarious and reassures me about things I'm worried about without me even having to tell her what those things are.  Looking forward to our third ultrasound in a few weeks!

PS - I was searching for pictures to fit this entry and somehow wound up looking at photos of 17 week fetuses.  Um, gross (don't believe me?  Just do a Google image search)...I decided to forego the picture this time.

Worst. Week. Ever.

What a crazy past week.  Rather than writing a long, involved thing about how terrible it’s been I’ll just say this:  at one point this past week I was nauseous, throwing up, had heartburn, insomnia, a sore throat, an earache, an intense toothache (ended up being an abscessed tooth), and a migraine.  That was all at the same time.  So yeah.  This week?  I’m not a fan of being me.  Or of this pregnancy thing.  This cartoon, however, made me think of Kristin and her never-ending patience with me, my complaints, and all of my ailments...

Hello 2nd Trimester

2^nd Trimester is here!  Apparently this is when all the nastiest of the symptoms go away...

I can only hope.  I pretty much live on Sprite, crackers, and chili.  Yes, chili.  It’s one of the only things I can keep down these days...which is really weird.  Wishing I had some Western Family chili from home!

Numb Hands, Grateful Heart

I had an orthopedic appointment today.  I’ve been having issues with carpal tunnel the last few weeks.  The OB said that while this is normal, it doesn’t usually start until much later in pregnancy.  *sigh* Just add it to the growing list of never-ending symptoms…symptoms I’ll take, knowing what the end result will be. 

We got a call from the genetics counselor today – everything looks completely normal!  Such good news for us and our little Blueberry.

I have been gaining weight like crazy.  Seriously.  I’m hardly eating anything due to the nausea, but the weight keeps coming on.  None of my pants fit anymore!  I’m trying to be okay with this, but I am struggling.  I think I have spent so much time and energy losing weight over the past few years that it’s difficult to watch it all come back on.  My OB continues to remind me that it’s normal and some women put weight on faster or earlier than others…I’m trying to just accept it.  Kristin is being supportive – she even ordered me some shirts from Motherhood Maternity and literally dragged me into a Motherhood Maternity store to buy my first pair of maternity jeans.  They are pretty much amazing.  As is Kristin.

Hello, Baby

Today we had our first trimester screening/genetics counseling appointment.  This also meant we got to have a second ultrasound (12 weeks).  It’s amazing how different Blueberry looks in just a few weeks.  He/she (I’m convinced it’s a boy, but Kristin gets upset when I refer to the baby as a “he” at this point) actually looks like a baby!  

Blueberry was moving around like crazy, making it hard for the tech to get all of the measurements.  Kristin said she was nervous about the high energy level, but I thought all of the acrobatics were super cute.  

Blueberry also gave us a wave (or might it be a sign of defiance?).  Both Kristin and I agreed that it reminded us of...

Go Blueberry, go!

This evening we made the official announcement on Facebook.  Now the world knows about our little Blueberry!  It was so awesome to finally tell everyone…and the whole thing is becoming more real.  

Pitter Patter

Finally met my OB today.  She was awesome.  She was straight-forward but nice – and even laughed at Kristin’s ridiculous jokes.  

We got to hear Blueberry’s heartbeat today.  Even though we’ve already had an ultrasound, it was awesome to hear it…and yes, the whole idea that there is a separate heartbeat inside me still freaks me out slightly. 

Family Vacation

We just got back from our Ricks family vacation to Yellowstone.  The driving out there and back included beautiful scenery...

but it also included me being really sick.  Poor Kristin ended up driving the majority of the way (17 hours each way).  I remember when we planned this trip and then had an insemination appointment Kristin said “Wouldn’t it be awesome if this works and then we go on this really long road trip during your first trimester?”  All I have to say is gee, thanks, Kristin.  

While it was great to see my family, I was pretty much nauseous and tired during the entire trip.  Weird eating and sleeping schedules with little time for naps (something I have been scheduling time for EVERY day lately) makes for a very cranky mommy-to-be.

The Gummy Bear Inside Me

We had the first (9 week) ultrasound today!  It was pretty much amazing.  Kristin was almost in tears.  I was just sitting there saying “that is so crazy!”  Honestly, it freaked me out a little…this moving being is actually inside of me!  The whole thing is a little bizarre if you think about it…right?

Anyway, the baby has a very good, strong heartbeat (178 bpm) and a HUGE nose that looks like a carrot (can you see it in the photo above?!?).  Please say that goes away.  When they pulled up the 4D picture Kristin said “it’s a gummy bear!”  What a fun day, and what a beautiful baby (even with the snowman nose).

This is supposed to be a good thing?

Okay, so pregnancy symptoms have totally kicked in (love the pics I found when I did  google image search for pregnancy symptoms) – constant nausea...

aches, pains...

sleeplessness, 

exhaustion,

and more.  I don’t get women who say they love being pregnant.  I have never felt worse in my entire life.  Ultrasound is tomorrow, though…can’t wait!

Yummm...

Oh my goodness.  Had my first major craving this past week – BBQ sauce!  

I couldn’t get enough of everything BBQ.  Kristin has been amazing.  She is already worrying about everything and making sure I’m comfortable at all times.  She insists that I not carry anything even slightly heavy and insists on giving me lots of foot rubs.  I keep telling her that I'm not an invalid quite yet, but I kind of love it.  

I am the luckiest girl around.

Blueberry!

We had our first OB appointment today!  We just met with an OB nurse, had a ton of tests done, and scheduled our 8-week ultrasound (okay, so it won’t happen until week 9, but how exciting!). 

Also, we have started referring to the little bug as “Blueberry.”  That’s how big baby is this week, and for some reason it stuck.  So hello, Blueberry!

Here, pee in this cup.

Went to see primary care doctor and got an official confirmation of pregnancy!  

The nausea has set in and is unbearable at times.  It seems a little early for this, but whatever.  I’ll take it.  

New sense of smell...

Flowers, particularly lilacs, smell amazing.  Seriously.  Amazing.

Pregnancy Test: Take 2

Took a second pregnancy test today.  Partly because I’m still in shock and partly because I just wanted to see it again.  POSITIVE.

Whoa.

This morning I took a pregnancy test and....

And then I just sat there.  And stared at it.  For like an hour.  Seriously.  And then I had to go to work.  So I had to stop staring.  I wanted to call Kristin, but knew she was in school, and didn’t want to interrupt her in the middle of teaching.  And if I did then she would have to act like everything was fine which I knew would be VERY hard.  So I didn’t call.  Instead I called Auntie Cassi (sorry Kristin – I had to tell someone!).  I spent the rest of the day pretty much freaking out.

Later that evening, once Kristin and I were both home, I tried to be all funny and creative in telling her the news.  She totally missed all of my hints, though, and I ended up just blurting it out.  It seems this is a pattern with us...we had a similar result when I proposed to her.  Ah well, it was still awesome.  She said she knew I was pregnant last night when I came home from work, made dinner, and then layed down on the couch and fell asleep without even eating a bite (I have been really tired lately)!  

The last year has been frustrating, annoying, stressful, and exciting all in one.  But today?  Today was just awesome, and I can’t help but think that this is the beginning of something spectacular...