Watch the love grow!

The other night I was putting the u/s pictures away in the keepsake box. But before I put them away, I had to put them on the table in sequence of events and just admire how much the baby is growing and changing.

From a little peanut, to a hungry little Babycakes sucking its thumb.

Of course, I had to share.

I'm bummed that I have to wait till week 32 to see Babycakes again. B and I decided that we are going to get a 3D u/s, creepy as they are, there still pretty cool. And besides, all the cool kids are doing it.

All the activities

What are you doing in there Babycakes?

You have been so active the last few days.
Its like you are having your own holiday party in there. Do you like football? We watched football all day yesterday and you were just going to town in there. Or do you like parties at the neighbors house..or maybe you were trying to tell me you didn't like the neighbor singing along to Phil Collins.
Either way, I have to say, I love it. Its such a awesome feeling.

Its not about you.

That's all I have to say.
Yea, right. You know I have a lot more to say than that.
In all seriousness, I want to know how someone can take MY pregnancy and make them about them?
I am NOT sorry we are not finding out the sex. It's what I want.
You will have to wait like everyone else. Once Babycakes is here, feel free to buy all the gender specific clothing you want.

That was not there last night

Holy Santa clause. Now that is a baby bump.

I am not kidding when I say I went to bed and woke up twice, maybe three times, as much more pregnant than the day before.

Maybe this is why it is so hard to bend over?

You'll have to excuse the crappy cell phone picture. I was telling a few friends about the bump and they insisted to see pictures. Unlike my friend Merin, I do not carry a camera with me at all times. So this is as good as it gets. In the work bathroom. Sounds dirty, doesn't it.

21 weeks

Bending over

Is over rated. I mean, seriously, who needs it.

I have now resorted to slip on shoes of any kind. Let me tell you how well that has been working out me. Not very well. It has either snowed or rained for the past I don't know how many days. And of course mother nature cant make her mind up. So it snows one day, rains the next. So whether its snow, rain or puddles of melted snow, that crap is still out there and of course I step in it. Needless to say, my socks get wet every.single.day. But slipping on my shoes is SO much easier than bending over to put shoes on. Actually bending over to do anything sucks. And its only going to get worse.

The results are in

I know you have all been patiently awaiting to know the sex of Babycakes and well................

*

*

*

ITS A SURPRISE!!!!

We told the u/s tech that we didn't want to know the sex and she did a wonderful job of getting all the measurements she needed without revealing anything. Babycakes is weighing in at 10oz and everything is perfect and right on track.

Babycakes had enough towards the end of the u/s and rolled towards my back.

But then entire time Babycakes had its thumb or entire hand in its mouth and was kicking up a storm. Its was so funny.

Here are a few pictures for you.

HALF WAY!!!

I cant believe we are at the half way mark.
20 weeks and counting. Time is sure flying by!
When I think about it, I kinda spaz out. I think I have so much to do. I thought it would be a good idea to wait until after the holidays to start on the nursery, register and help set a date for the baby shower....but NO.... I totally have to take charge and start NOW!

NBR - Not Baby Related

I wanted to take a moment out of my day to wish every one a wonderful, happy Thanksgiving.

Every Thursday, the nesties have Thankful Thursday and we all say what we are thankful for. Well, I am going to share with you, what I am thankful for. So here is my list.

1. I am thankful for my hubby. He is the most amazing man I know. I love that I can tell him anything and we have the best time together.

2. I am thankful for a healthy, growing baby and thus far an easy pregnancy.

3. I am thankful for my parents. They have given me so much and they have scarified so much to make sure I never went with out

4. The rest of my family, in laws, siblings and half family included. These are all amazing people and would go to the ends of the earth for you. We may not spend a lot of time together, but when we do it always makes for a good story.

5. My friends. Near and far. I know that no matter what, they will always be there for me even if we don't talk as much as we used to.

6. My job. Even on days when I want to say fuck it all and walk out the door. In these tough times, I am grateful that the hubby and I both have steady jobs.

7. The material things in life. I honestly believe I take for granted a lot of the stuff I have.

8. Health. Not only mine, but everyone who is near and dear to me. 2008 has been a rough year on my family.

9. My dogs. I could not imagine my house without them. It seriously warms my heart every day when I come to see how happy they are to see me.

10. My house that my husband and I have turned into a home. Soon to be filled with more love than we'll prolly know what to do with. Along with that will come the sleep-less nights, night time feedings and countless diaper changes. But we couldn't be happier and cant wait to meet Baby Cakes.

Once again, Happy Thanksgiving. And remember to take time out of your day to remind yourself of everything you have and tell someone how much they mean to you.

WTF

My skin is SO dry its not even funny. From my scalp down to my toes. No joke.
I've tried EVERY thing. Nothing works. In the past 3 days, I have gone thru a 3.25FL OZ of Suave lotion on just my face and hands. I do not think that is normal.
I even tried to exfoliate, yea, that only made it worse.

I've read that pregnancy can do a number on your skin, but this is just ridiculous.

I think tonight I am going to lather up and then wrap myself in saran wrap to hold the moisture in.

Making Decisions

B and I went to the dreaded Baby's R Us this weekend. And to be honest, it wasn't all that bad.

I guessed it helped that B knows the manager and he personally took us around and explained everything and showed us how everything worked.

We decided on a crib. Its the right color and best thing is, its a converter to its a lifetime bed.

I would love to get the matching low dresser, but holy smokes, that cost more than the crib.

Here is the whole set together.

As if that wasn't enough excitement for us, we also decided on a travel system. B has one requirement. "I don't want anything that I will look stupid pushing."

We both took a liking to this system right away. It has this awesome fabric that is wipe able. The picture isn't the best, but its a dark grey, with a lighter grey and lime green accents. It also comes with a base, so that will save us $70.00.

Mr. Sandman

Stop it. You have been sending me the most bizarre dreams.
Here are just a few randoms one I remember:
1. I couldn't for the life of me write a check and went thru an entire book of checks before I got it right.
2. I had to write Barney Stinsen, from How I Met Your Mother, a check.
3. B was holding a baby and dropped it.
4. I had some sort of complication and delivered BabyCakes early. Seems normal right? Oh, no....I don't know what the heck happened, actually I do. Thanks to my OB telling me her random dream of nursing a kitten, I too had the same dream? WTF!

Maybe I need to change my diet? Or maybe I need to stop watching so much TV.

Nesting

The nesting began last night. I decided to deep clean the kitchen.
I took everything off the counter, scrubbed the back splash, the counter tops and then wiped everything down before putting it all back, of course re-arranging it.

Then I decided since I had the pine-sol out, why stop there. I unloaded the bakers rack, moved it to a new location and wiped that down and again put everything back.

Once that was said and done, I decided to mop the floor. I got half way done and decided that I should probably hand scrub it. That is tonight's chore.

My kitchen is so clean, I don't want to cook in it tonight. Wonder if I can talk B into dinner out?

Random-ness

Yesterday I had the pleasure of celebrating my grandma's 75th birthday. She cried. I don't know if she was crying b/c she was turning 75 or the fact that the entire family was horribly singing "happy birthday" to her. Either way it was a nice evening.

Ya know, there always has to be one person at a family function who doesn't know how to to keep their mouth shut, thus causing family drama, and in my family, we could seriously do with out any drama. The fact of the matter is, this person has upset me time after time after time. And what do I do? I decide to not create a scene, b/c it is my grandma's birthday. But then, I stew over it all night. Then of course I cant sleep b/c I am that upset about it. And of course it continues when I wake up and I am in the shower re-hashing the whole conversation and saying to myself "what I should have said is...", or "what I would have liked to say" But, I am a bigger person. Then the waterworks start. AYFKM? Why do I let this person get to me? Ugh. Its water under the bridge and today is a new day.

Oh and I would also like to comment on how one of my grandmother's son's couldn't even bother to call or show up to celebrate with us. Not cool. Not.cool.at.all.

Things that make me cry

The CMA's were on last night. You're prolly already thinking WTH would that make her cry.
I am so glad I was able to stay awake for the entire show. Which is a huge surprise since it was on till 11pm.

Towards the end of the show, Carrie Underwood performed "Just a Dream" and it seriously brought down the house.

Carrie was introduced by a woman known as Leslie Ponder, the widow of a slain U.S. soldier named James “Tre” Ponder.

For your viewing pleasure I have included a link to youtube. But consider this your warning. It is a tear jerker.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYyAtSk_6X4

I'll figure out how to upload it later today so you can just click and watch.

As if that weren't bad enough, the evening news had a story about the Ottawa County Humane Society and how two of their workers found 3 pigs and a goat, mutilated and left in the wild.
Sickening and very disturbing. Whats even worse was the news showed pictures of those poor piggies.
WTH is wrong with people?

Now that I type this out, I am sure I would have cried even if I weren't pregnant and hormonal.

To all my "mommie" friends.

Thanks for warning me of what takes place at the 16 week appointment. Should I have read that in the book somewhere?

Christ almighty. As if it weren't bad enough they left me alone in the room for 20 minutes to stare at the cold, shiny metal contraption they were going to shove up my who-ha. I sat there and thought "shit, had I know this I would have shaved today." Shaving is a once a week chore these days. I just don't have time to do it before work. AND to make matters worse, it was the first time I met the Dr. Argh. At the least the stirrups were heated.

Moving on.

Dr. says "lets get some heart tones." And of course after about ten minutes of trying, no dice. Luckily for me the u/s room was open. So we headed down there and got a look at Baby Cakes.

The u/s tech said I had a galloping horse in there. HR of 146.

Baby Cakes wanted nothing to do with having his picture taken, the little shit turned his head. But he did keep kicking and waving his right hand.

Here is the latest picture. Its from the belly up, cause ya know, we aren't going to find out the sex.

ENJOY!!

The Name Game

We have a girls name picked out. Don't even waste your time asking what it is b/c our lips are sealed.
Reason being, I hate it when you say a name and someone says " oh, I know a Sara. I don't like her". Or, "oh I know a Bethany, her mom"....blah blah blah blah.
So my lips are sealed until the day Baby Cakes is born.

I will however, vent my frustration on a boys name. WTF is it so hard. I finally won the battle of using B's real name as the middle name and now I feel that nothing goes with it.
If you happen to be one of the lucky ones who knows what his real name is, I am open to suggestions. I mean after all, time is ticking.

I remembered!

I remembered to call the OB's office. Can you believe that? Not only did I remember to call but I actually thought about it before the 2 hour lunch break. God I hate that. You mean to tell me that every single person in that office is out to lunch for two hours at the same time? Ugh, whatever.

This phone call concerns me a little. Here is the run down.

Me: Hi, this Angela XXX and I need to either schedule my next appointment or know approximately when it would be.
Them: Are you a patient here?
Me: Yes.
Them: Are you pregnant?
Me: Yes, 15 weeks.
Them: And you have been here before?
Me: Um, yea. (AYFKM?)
Them: Hold on ( I get transferred)
Them: Hello?
Me: Yes, this is Angela XXX and I need to schedule my next appointment.
Them: OK, for what?
Me: To see the OB for the my next pg checkup
Them: Well didn't you schedule that at your last visit.
Me: No. Had I done that we would not be having this conversation.
Them: Are you sure. Whats you name again?
Me (OMFG) Yes, I am sure. The last appt I had there was at 9 weeks and then had my NT scan at St. V.
Them: Oh, well I guess you do need an appointment. We need to get you in this week next week at the very latest!!!


So I schedule the appointment. Hang up the phone and seriously wonder if I need to find a new OB.

In case you're wondering when the next appointment is, its next Tuesday.

Bob Evans: Take Two

Bob Evans this time around was a success! Baby Cakes liked the sunshine skillet. Thank god. I mean, could you image a life, well 6 months of no Bob Evans? Didn't think so.

In other exciting news, remember that list I was talking about? I found it. Not only that, but I now have Tums and Tylenol in my purse!

I seem to have tons more energy lately. I stayed up past 11 on Friday and 10 on Saturday. Sunday, I got up early (no thanks to the time change). I did three loads of laundry, I even folded everything that was in the dryer. Took down all the Halloween decor, cleaned the front porch and put out the fall decor. I even managed to stay awake for the entire Browns game. What a waste of my time. So glad I didn't spend the money to go....anyways, back on track.

Lets see if I can remember to call the OB today. I have no idea when my next apt. is and it bothers me to not know things.

I'm losing it

My Mind that is.

This morning I made a plate of cupcakes to bring to work. Get half to work and realize I left the plate on the counter. Shhh, we wont be telling coworkers about the cupcakes.
While we are on the subject of cupcakes...last night I was making Halloween cupcakes (HAPPY HALLOWEEN) candy corn cupcakes to be exact, well I forget to spray the silicone pan and all 6 cupcakes either stuck to the pan or the bottoms burnt. Ugh, I never do stupid crap like that.

Yesterday I forgot to bring my lunchbox home. I know, I sound like I am five, but still, I had to "pack" my lunch in a Kroger bag. That's Klassy.

Again with this morning, I nearly stepped into the shower with my slippers on...maybe I was still half asleep.

I need to write everything down and even then I forget the list or where I put the list.

A week ago, I wrote a list of things I need to have on me at all times: tums, Tylenol, gum....you think I have any of that in my purse?

That Friends Episode

You remember the one where Phoebe is pregnant and asks Monica if she still has her fat clothes. Monica asks why and Phoebe say because she wants to borrow them b/c it would be cheaper than buying maternity clothes. Holy shit was she right. $44 for a pair of cords at JCP. Or how about the $70 pair of jeans at Mimi Maternity. Have these people gone mad?

Lucky for me, before becoming pregnant I lost about 15 pounds. So last years winter clothes were going to be too big. My fat pants bought me some time. But alas, they too are now snug.

Thank god for wonderful friends (thanks Liz) who kept some of their maternity clothes and were pg the same time of year. I've only had to purchase one pair of pants, which I had a 15% coupon for at Kohl's ($19 later). I now have 4 pairs of pants and you all better get used to seeing me in them! Shit is expensive.

There's no crying in baseball

That is unless you are 3 months pregnant sitting at home watching the Phillie's win the 2008 World Series. I am so glad to see someone other than the RedSux or the NYY win. I personally think both those teams are over rated. Phillie's haven't won since 1960, which is nothing compared to my beloved Indians who haven't won since 1948, but we wont get into to that.

I will admit, deep down I was hoping the Rays could pull it off. But hey, you cant have your cake and eat it, right? I'm sure they are beating themselves up pretty bad today (they did make a HUGE error in the 8th inning). But really, how can they. Look how far they have come. This was their first time EVER to the WS. So that has to mean something to them.

Crying must be my new thing. I cried while watching Obama's info-mericial. WTF is up with that? I guess I thought it was heartfelt and sincere and "just hit home" for what is really going on in the world today.

Second Trimester

Heartburn, indigestion and nausea. I feel like a walking Pepto ad, minus the diarrhea.

I am currently 14 weeks and 2 days pregnant. I feel as thou you could look at me and think "did she eat too much for lunch or could she be pregnant?"

I bought my first pair of maternity pants this weekend. I have to admit, there not that bad. And one of my girlfriends dropped off some of her maternity clothing this past weekend. Thank Liz, you were right these cords are super comfy. I have them on today.

In other news, B and I hit up IKEA this weekend and bought some super cute shelves for the nursery.

Aside from that excitement, not much new going on. I need to call the OB b/c I have no idea when my next appointment is.

Monkey Business

B and I (mostly B) have decided to do the nursery in Curious George.

While tooling the web today I found some super cute and some super expensive things.

Super Cute:

Peel and Stick Wall Stickers and Mural.

Super Cute, but super expensive and no way I can justify the price: The Bedding. For real, $260? Give me a break! I'll keep looking.

Sausage Gravy and Biscuts: A letter to Baby Cakes

First and foremost I just want to let you know how much I love me some Bob Evans Sausage Gravy and Biscuts.
Secondly, I did not think it was very cool of you to make me excuse myself in the middle of my breakfast only to high tale it to the public bathroom, (which you know I have a fear of) to make it in a matter of a like a nano-second (thank god there was a stall open) and get rid of my delicious breakfast.
NOT.COOL. Listen to me when I say this. I love food. I love Bob Evans SG&B. Maybe will we have to try this adventure again. Maybe next time I will get the sunshine skillet. Either way, you too will learn to love Bob Evans.
And from now on, if you don't like something, you think maybe you can wait until we have a little more privacy before you make me upchuck it and pee my pants?

Thanks, love ya.

A New Picture

As I previously stated, Baby Cake DID NOT cooperate.

This is about the best picture we got yesterday.

GREAT NEWS

We went for our NT Scan yesterday and everything is PERFECT!

Baby Cakes did not cooperate with the sonographer ( I hope I am spelling that right). I told B, it is defiantly his child.

Half way thru her trying to get measurements I had to go empty my bladder. Yea, that didn't help. When I came back the sonographer said "Oh sure, stand on your head now." B laughed.

The doctor came in and said the spine looked fine, the neck measured fine and Baby Cakes had bone structure in the nose. Heart Rate was 175.

I had to have a finger prick and send the blood off to a lab and once the results come back they will compare that will the u/s tests. Overall the Dr. said Baby Cakes and I were both healthy as could be YAY!

But there is more good news.
Apparently MTHFR is more common than we thought. According to this Dr., 2 BILLION people in the world have it! And being that I only have the one gene mutation vs. the two I'm even better off. Add that to the wonderful u/s and Baby Cakes and I are looking pretty good. We should have a healthy un-eventful pregnancy!

TMI

Too much information is what you are going to get.

First off, I feel like there are 5 pound weights in each of my boobs. Not to mention that I now have "spillage" and have to go bra shopping. I'm sure B will enjoy that....not. Hopefully he will let me go by myself.

Second, I pee when I sneeze. And if that wasn't bad enough if I sneeze to hard I gag. And to top that off, just when I thought I was past the m/s (morning sickness) I thru up for the first time last week (in the afternoon mind you) and peed my pants. AYFKM?
Don't get me wrong, I love being pregnant. Love it! But this is just the beginning. I'm barely out of the first trimester. Just wait until the gas starts.

And lastly, I wake up every night to pee around 3 am. I have mastered the art of getting up, walking down the hall, going and crawling back in bed all without opening my eyes. Thank goodness I only wake up once a night....for now.

Information overload

I decided to take a break from work and read the Target email. Free Shipping! Well I managed to find my way to the baby pages. Baby cribs, changing tables, car seats, this, that and anything else.
Oh.my.goodness. I seriously have NO idea where to begin. My head is spinning. I looked at so many cribs, especially converters (b/c I think that is the most practical way to go for the money) then I clicked over to car seats. ACK! I decided to go back to work. Yet here I am blogging. No motivation. Have I mentioned how tired I am?
I think I need to consult my "mom friends" and see what they have to say.

Sleep, sleep and more sleep

I feel like I can't get enough sleep. I got 8 hours on Saturday night, then took a 2 hour nap on the couch (that's how I like to watch Sunday football). I proceeded to do nothing the remainder of the day and went to bed at 9pm. NINE! What am I, 8 years old? I slept the entire night, with one bathroom break, and woke up at 5:30 still tired.
I realize little baby cakes is just so busy these days, but seriously. I would like some normalcy back in life. Not to mention the Browns play MNF at 8pm. At the rate I am going I will be lucky to make it to half time.

The first Ultrasound

There s/he is. Its not much. Just ten weeks along. Looking more like a baby and less like an alien.

Heart rate was 180.

Even thou I am high risk and every little thing freaks me out, there is a good side. I get to see the baby more. As of now, I have an u/s (ultrasound) at 13 weeks, 16 weeks, 20 weeks and 25 weeks.

Next u/s is Oct. 15. That day is going to be a fabulous day. It also happens to be our 3 year wedding anniversary.

I would say thats positive

Did you get a good look at the picture? By no means is that second line "faint" or "barley" there.

Of course I didn't believe it, so the next morning I had to pee on another stick. And if those two weren't good enough for me, I had a friend give me a spare digital test.

All three test showed positive. B said "babe, they are 99.99% right." Then he proceeded to freak out, but in a good way.

So I made the call to the doctor and of course, they couldn't get me in that day. I mean seriously people. Do you know me? I couldn't sleep that night. I went in to the doctors bright and early, peed in a cup this time, not on a stick. And waited. Waited. Waited. And waited some more.

By now I had pretty myself had myself convinced all three of those test were wrong. FINALLY, the doctor came in with the good news. I was indeed pregnant and my due date is set for April 26, 2009.

And so it begins

I honestly thought it would never happen. We had been trying for what seemed to be forever. A year went by and we decided to see if there was something inhibiting us from conceiving. After learning I had MTHFR, I had just about given up hope.


Three months after that day at the doctors, we learned our lives would be changed forever. We could not be any happier!