Skelator

One week and we've gone from Orville to Skelator.  My poor child.  Last week we had our 20 week ultrasound.  It was all very exciting and scary at the same time.  This was the first time Eric would be there to see and hear the baby.  That part was actually really fun for me to watch.  Everytime something clearly showed on the screen, Eric laughed or made some interesting noise like he couldn't believe what he was seeing.   For me, it was way more painful that I imagined it would be.  Apparently the baby wasn't cooperating so I had to do lots of moving around and the tech did lots of digging, literally.   It was super fun to see and feel the baby punching and kicking everytime the tech pushed a little harder on it!   We left with a few new pictures including the one here, which is how the baby got its new nickname (courtesy of his/her father), Skelator.   

Once the u/s was over, I had an appointment with my doctor to review the results.  Everthing is on target with the due date.  The doctor then informed me that there were a few things "missing".  MISSING!?  Realizing he may have used the wrong word, he corrected himself.  Apparently there are 30 things the tech looks and measures for at the 20 week mark.  Because of the baby's positioning, they were unable to get good reading for six of these things.  I am sure the look on my face revealed panic so he assured me that everything was totally fine.  I would just need to come back in four weeks for another u/s so they can get new measurements.  Of course, even him telling me it was fine, didn't ease my mind.  The word "missing" stuck with me.  Admittedly, I freaked for about a day but then realized that it was soley the positioning of the  baby that caused this.  Besides, I have to look on the brightside, I get an extra u/s in a month!   It will be neat to compare these pictures to those next ones. 

And for the record, even though I was asked  twice if I wanted to know the sex of the baby, I declined, twice.  I don't, however, enjoy the fact that someone else knows what I am having and I don't!

My Little Orville Reddenbacher

It happened.  After all that worrying and doubt, I felt what I've been waiting for!  I guess technically I've been feeling this little bugger for a few days now but was unsure of what it was.  Many people describe the feeling as popcorn popping or little butterflies.  For me, my moment of clarity came while I was laying in bed last night.  There was a little bit of movement going on which caught my attention and then suddenly, POP!  There it was!  For the next few minutes I kept feeling these pretty strong POP's in the same general area.  Today was the same story.  There was lots of action going on throughout the day and now that I know what I am looking for, I can definitely tell the difference between those little love taps and other things (like, um, gas).   Just when I thought I couldn't take it anymore there he was letting me know she was in there.   More confirmation will come tomorrow when I go for my u/s, but in the meantime I am just going to sit and enjoy my little Orville Reddenbacher popping away in there.

Mean Girls

I have plenty of women in my life who warned me ahead of time about all of the advice I would get, whether I asked for it or not.  Most often, I am more than happy to hear what others have to say about pregnancy and newborns.   I love asking the gals in my life to tell me all the things I need to know...even those things you can't find in any preggo book.   The more I know, the better.  Recently, I've noticed that women take the opportunity to relive their pregnancies while bombarding me with all the bad news they can think of.  Almost always they start the story with "here is something they don't tell you".   Or they lie and say, "I am so happy for you" and continue to tell me how miserable I am going to be.  In the last week I have heard:
my teeth are going to get screwed up, my feet will swell, I'll have to buy all new shoes because my feet will grow a size, my face is going to break out, I am probbaly going to gain 87 pounds, I'll never lose the baby weight, my boobs will hurt like never before, I don't know what tired is and when I said my back was hurting me a little bit, I was told I have no idea what a backache was.  Wow.  I saved the best for last.  Yesterday I was told by someone at work that I probably wasn't showing because I started off being so heavy!  Are you kidding me?  Who says that!?  I was always feeling self-conscious and worried about not showing already and then to have someone say that!  Wow.  It was my first near-tear moment at work (pregnancy related at least).  I am a little surprised that women, all of who have gone through this themselves, would say these things to another woman.  Of all people, they should know it doesn't feel good to hear these things.  I just feel like everyone was being so negative!   I mean, it obviously can't be that bad if women continue to have babies, often more than one!  

I guess I just need to take it all in stride.  People are going to say stupid things and I just need to remember to blow it off as best I can.  It's just one of those pregnancy things I never expected.  Now THAT is something that they don't tell you!

Doubt

19 weeks in and I have to say I am very much enjoying my second trimester.  No more nausea, manageable heartburn, and increased energy.  It's great.   I am, however, suddenly feeling a little bit of doubt.  Without those sure signs of pregnancy I felt early on, and with a barely there belly and no feeling of movement yet, I started to question whether I was still pregnant.  Of course, I know I am but this in between stage is such a funny place to be.   I know someone who is due 9 days after me and when I saw her, all I could do was stare at her very obvious baby bump.  Then I started to panic.  Where is mine!?  I have a 20 week u/s coming up so I am sure this will ease my mind but in the meantime, can't I just feel a little kick or something!?

Am I the Only One?

I think this next topic is too funny not to mention.  I can't imagine I am the only person who stresses out about planning "pee time" on Dr. appointment days.   Usually around lunchtime (my appointments are right after work) I start to "plan" when I pee, knowing I have to perform when I get to the doctors office.   2:00pm is my cutoff time, the last pee.  After that I down two bottles of water.  By the time I get to the office I can barely contain myself.  Luckily it's the first thing you do when you get there. 

It's probably different at each office, but I find the whole thing very unscientific.  You basically pee into a mini solo cup and write your name in Sharpie on the side.  Then there is a little door above the toilet where you place the cup (with no lid, mind you).  It's just weird.

One of two things happen in this bathroom.  A) you forgot to plan pee time and you have nothing to give the solo cup.  B) you have too much to give and can't cut it off!  this happened to me last time.  I literally laughed out loud in the bathroom thinking "my cup runeth over". 

Yes, a pretty gross topic, but I know I am not the only one. 

Getting Eric Involved

I've heard many stories where husbands can start to feel ignored or unimportant during pregnancy and after the baby is born.  The other day, while he was rubbing my barely there baby belly, I asked if he ever felt like he wasn't included in this whole thing.  I've been getting so much attention lately and I am the one who, eventually, gets to feel the baby and take care of it for a few more months, so I thought maybe he might feel left out.  He answer was quite comical.  He laughed and told me not to worry about that.  He said he feels really included every time I:

    - ask him to stop at Outback on his way home from work
    - text him a list of food items I want from the store...only to have changed my mind later
    - nag that we need to get the second bedroom cleaned up
    - read the weekly update from BabyCenter (which sometimes creeps us both out)
    - rub my belly in order to get out of things
    - make him carry all the laundry upstairs for me
    - tell him to pickup hay bales for my fall decorations because if he doesn't, I will, and that isn't safe. :)
    - nudge him in bed on a Sunday morning and say, "it's time to make the donuts" and he jumps out of bed heading to the nearest Dunkin' Donuts.

Girlfriends Advice...Part One

As I've mentioned before, I had been given more advice in the last four months than ever before.  Here are some of the "tips" I received so far.   Some I will follow, others maybe not.  I'll let you guess which is which.

- Bassinets are a waste of money (and space)

- Baby moons are a must. 

- Don't over buy newborn sized diapers.

- Wait until after the baby is born to have a baby shower.

- Don't over think the little things about being in the hospital.  In the heat of the moment, none of the worries will cross your mind (at least not the little ones like making sure you are cute for pictures immediately after delivery).

- Buy both a pink and blue "coming home" outfit.  One to use, depending on what I have, and the other to give as a gift. 

- Butt paste- buy it in bulk.

- Sleep now or forever hold your peace.

- Don't go overboard on maternity clothes.

- Take time to make sure Eric and I are on the same page each week regarding babysitters, events, responsibilities for the week.

More to come later I am sure.