At Year's End

Can you believe it? 2007 is almost over! It feels like it was just the end of summer and K. was headed home and we were discovering our family was going to grow by one. 2007 was a great year. I have no complaints. The pregnancy was rough there for a few months but we are past that and headed down the home stretch. I can almost see the finish line off in the distance.....

The year started with my neck surgery on Jan 19th. I had two discs replaced with bone and a plate with four screws placed down my spine. That wasn't fun but almost a year later I am not having the problems that I used to. My neck is stronger and I only have problems if I really over do it. My migraines are still temperamental. Sometimes I can have a month full of them and then there will be months with no sign of them. For a while there I questioned whether or not surgery was the right thing for me but I think I could honestly say now that it helped.

In Feb. K. moved to VA to live with her mom. She wanted to be near both of us but was convinced VA was a better place to live. We had moved here to Michigan to be close to her only for her to move again. We were all stuck in a tough spot where we could fight it but then we put K. in the middle of an ugly court battle and it wasn't worth the pain and stress on all of us. So she moved away, I continued to heal from my surgery and stayed busy selling some stuff on eBay for extra income and she was back mid June for the summer. In April I visited northern CA for my cousin's bridal shower then in June P. and I went to the wedding that I was honored to be Matron of Honor in. The wedding was gorgeous, we visited with family we hadn't seen in a while and spent a couple days in beautiful Tahoe.

The summer was a blast. S., J., H., and C., came for a visit over the 4th of July. We spent a week at a cottage near Lake Michigan with some friends. We did a lot of camping and spent summer days with family and friends. On Aug 3rd K. returned home to VA and our pregnancy tests came out positive. And you basically know the story from there. Once the morning sickness passed life got a lot better. And Christmas was amazing. P. and I had such a fun holiday season together enjoying the beauty of it all. We are so thankful for the life we live, the things we have and the future that is ahead of us. We took advantage of everything the Christmas season had to offer and I am sad that it is coming to an end. K. arrived a week ago and we only have one more day with her. It has been a great week and I will be sad to see her leave. To be honest the whole visit went much better than I expected. We have had a lot of fun together celebrating Christmas, playing games, seeing movies, shopping and spending time with family and friends. As I type she is making a fort out of boxes with her school friend Allie. The giggles are refreshing. The late nights have been tiring though and about midnight the other night during one of her sleepovers I asked P., "Do boys have sleepovers?". I can't imagine they are quite as loud or giggly though.

K. has been so excited about the baby. She didn't notice my tummy under my jacket at the airport so when we got home P. took her into the room that used to be the study and she saw the crib and rocking chair. I took my jacket off and she saw my belly and has been consumed by the idea of a baby brother since. She talks to my tummy and rubs it all day. Everyone we see she shares our news with them. She has made it her job to figure out his name and so far likes Jake the best. On Christmas day K. and P. both got to feel AND SEE him kick which was the best Christmas gift I could have asked for. It has been so fun to have K. so excited about the baby. I am not going to know what to do without all the baby attention when she leaves. It's too bad she won't be around more to be a big sister to her little brother. I can see her getting tired of him pretty quick though after changing some diapers and listening to him fuss. But in the meantime she is thrilled with the news and I am thrilled she is thrilled. Because I am thrilled too.

So, here we are. Just 2 more days in 2007. I have to say this has been one of the best years of my life. I am happy with my life and thank God for the life He has given me. I owe a lot of my incredible happiness to my husband too. He makes life so enjoyable for me. I don't know what I would do without him in my life. And my dogs bring me an amazing amount of joy every day. They are the definition of true companions. And then there is this little guy in my belly that makes me smile every time I feel him move. I have yet to get tired of it.

2008 looks bright. It will bring a world of change. Thank you to my friends and family for being such a special part of my life. And thanks for being a part of my pregnancy through this blog. Happy New Year to you and yours.

Just call me Betty......

Yesterday I was little miss Betty Crocker and darn proud of it. I tried my hand at sugar cookies and have to admit they came out pretty good. I used a mix for the dough but still had to roll it out, cut out my shapes with my new cookie cutters, bake them to perfection then make some icing for decorating. The first batch I rolled the dough too thin so the cookies came out brown and crispy. Each batch got better and better until I had lots and lots of sugar cookies. P. and I decorated them last night with green and yellow frosting and sprinkles. We had a nice time together catching up on our days and enjoying our first annual cookie making day. Boy I sound so mom-ish now. My mom and I used to make thousands of cookies at Christmas so I have a long way to go to match her Betty Crocker status. Next year I will add a few more recipes and see how it goes. I have a couple years before my kids really know if I am the cool cookie cooking mommy that I think I am.

Watermelon

I have been eating watermelon, a lot of watermelon, for about 2-3 weeks now. I love it. I have always loved watermelon but lately I NEED it. I don't know if it is how refreshing it is, it's texture, it's sweetness or that it relieves the pregnancy taste in my mouth while I am eating it but something about it is working for me. Lately I have been eating about a pound of watermelon a day. Watermelon is not in season, making it an expensive craving but like people are telling me, it is better than craving hot fudge sundaes all day. I crave those too but give in to my watermelon craving more often.

Some sweet ladies at P.'s job heard of my watermelon obsession and sent a Christmas gift home to me. Check out the picture. So funny. What a perfect gift that put such a big smile on my face. I am going to go cut it up right now and dive in to my third serving of watermelon for today.

24 Weeks!

24 weeks today! And feeling good. Feeling fat but feeling good. My email updates say he has gained at least a quarter of a pound since last week and is the length of an ear of corn. His body is filling out proportionally and putting on more baby fat each day. My uterus is the size of a soccer ball. Wow, that explains a lot. His taste buds are developing and I guess so are mine. I can almost eat my normal pre-pregnancy diet but still have an issue with chicken. It doesn't look or sound good so I don't have a lot of it.

Our weekend was low key but fun. Friday we did some Christmas shopping. Saturday was ITT's Christmas Party at the Hilton and it was a great time. They had dinner, dancing, carolers, a magician, gifts, Santa and karaoke. P. and I got all dressed up and I enjoyed my new lease on life after finally feeling better. We ate a lot, danced all night, caught up with friends and watched some very funny and entertaining karaoke. We took advantage of our last Christmas party without kids and stayed out until almost 11:30pm. Late for us, not for normal people, but we were proud to be two of the last 20 people or so at the party. How often do you get to do stuff like that? We had an all around great time. These pictures are all from the party.....

One more week until Christmas. I am sad December has gone so fast but am looking forward to celebrating Christmas with family and friends. 6 more days and K. comes home. She will be here for a week. It has been 5 months since we have seen her and over 2 weeks since we have spoken with her. I can't help but be a little nervous about having her home again. But it should be fun and busy but different than the life we have gotten used to lately. We will share our wonderful news with K. and hopefully she will share in our excitement.

We hope you all enjoy your holiday. Take advantage of this beautiful time of year and make sure to stop and smell the cookies. Spend extra time with family, give thanks for all your blessings and be nice to people. Try to keep in mind the real reason for the season. Baby Jesus was born on Christmas Day to save us all and give us these blessed lives we have today. Merry Christmas to all our loved ones near and far.

Raising Boys

So I have been reading this book on raising boys and find it quite interesting. Actually it gives me anxiety but it's better to deal with it now than be unprepared. It basically says boys are a handful and we just need to learn to love them for who they are. I can do that right? According to the book it is important for boys to find mentors amongst family and friends. Besides having a great dad as a mentor I plan on surrounding my boy with strong male role models that can help us raise him to be the best man he can be. Another interesting thing the book mentions is that boys go through a period of growth in their ear canals that causes a temporary loss of hearing. A good warning to not always assume they are not listening, they actually might not be able to hear you.

There is a funny section in the "Testosterone" chapter titled Brains Go Out the Window. There is a period of time where hormones take over making your boy dopey and disorganized. You have to act as his brains until he can get control over the changes. Testosterone is what scares me most about having a boy. But the book makes a good point. Just as a good husband understands his partner's PMS, a good parent of a boy understands his testosterone.

And last but not least, a boy's brain develops slower than a girl's so it is your job to help it grow as much as you can. This will obviously call for more patience on my part. I think in general boys call for more patience than girls but with understanding and preparation I can rock this boy thing.

Today I had this neat realization that this baby is a complete union of P. and I. I was looking at our ultrasound pictures again and realized this little boy is a mixture of our physical features, our talents and abilities, and our hearts. How special is that? We made him out of love and he is half P. and half me. I wonder how it will feel someday to look at our son and see ourselves. I will be so proud.

6 lbs!

I have gained 6 lbs since my last appointment 4 weeks ago! Proof my appetite is back with a vengence. Guess it is time to cut back on the donuts and ice-cream. Darn. I knew it was too good to be true! But I am ok with that, I had a feeling I was eating too many treats and truly want to eat a better and healthier diet for our little man's sake. I can maybe chalk a few of those lbs up to the normal holiday weight gain most people experience so overall I am right on track....right? :)

My appointment went well today. Everything is going great! Like I said, I am gaining weight now, my urine test came out normal, the baby's heartbeat was at 146 (normal and healthy), and my ultrasound report came back perfect. My placenta is in the right place and my cervix is the right length. Looks like I got an A+ on my progress report.

23 Weeks!

Is my tummy smaller? It looks smaller. It has been 2 weeks since my last picture and it doesn't look any different. No one can tell I am pregnant let alone 5 1/2 months pregnant. This lady at church called me "tiny". No one has ever used the word tiny to describe me. It is kind of nice. I guess it is better than people calling me huge. But it would be nice to get a little recognition for all the work this pregnancy has been. I feel huge, but I don't look it. I really shouldn't be complaining.

Nothing new on the pregnancy end. I am enjoying my new appetite a lot. I was supposed to have my monthly doctors appointment today but my doc was called away on an emergency c-section so it is rescheduled for tomorrow morning. I have some questions to run by him and am looking forward to hearing the heartbeat but other than that the appointment shouldn't be anything too exciting.

Baby Boy Stuff

My wonderful cousin K. and her sweet mom sent P. and I some celebratory baby boy stuff this week! I got the box during the afternoon and waited for P. to get home from work to open it. We were so excited to get our adorable baby boy outfits, one perfect for P., one perfect for me and one that is so sweet and snuggly I wish I could put it on. I took pics of just the little pictures on them because I thought they were so precious. See if you can tell which one P. liked best and which one touched my heart. Can't wait to put our little guy in them and remember our family that is sharing in the excitement right along with us, no matter how far away they are. Thank you K. & C. and K. & D.!

Let it Snow!

Here are a couple pics of our recent snow accumulation. So funny seeing our summer swing hanging from the tree out in the cold. I love how our backyard looks in the winter with the trees and barn next door. It looks pretty but boy has it been cold, with no signs of letting up. The high temperature for the 7 day forecast is 35 degrees. I picked up 3 movies from the library today to keep us busy while laying low this weekend. TGIF!

P.'s First Craving Assignment

P. passed his first craving test with flying colors. Last night I saw ice-cream on t.v. and I had to have some. Not just any ice-cream though, Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia, Ben & Jerry's Half Baked and Peppermint Stick. About half way through Ugly Betty last night I said, I need ice-cream. P. said ok, what kind? I sent him with my list of the above flavors and added bread and eggs and he headed out in the cold to get me my craving. It's not so much that it was a pregnancy craving because ice-cream has always been my favorite dessert, favorite food for that matter. But we didn't have any, and I needed some and I needed some specific flavors. Meijer didn't have Half Baked but he successfully substituted Miniature Dove Bars and I ended up eating all three treats last night. They were so yummy and I was so happy. I am trying to contain myself and wait a little bit longer before having some this morning considering it is only 10:30am. So, all in all my wonderful husband came through, not that I had any doubt. I am pretty sure he enjoyed the ice-cream too.

22 weeks and some....

18 weeks left to go! Piece of cake! Things have really improved for me over the last couple of weeks. I still have contractions and unfortunately some spotting over the past few days but life seems so much better now that the nausea has let up. The nausea was the worst. Pretty soon I am going to wish I could get a little bit of it back the way my appetite is returning. My 22nd week email update states "Your baby now looks like a miniature newborn and the first signs of teeth are appearing as buds beneath her gum line. You may start to notice stretch marks on your skin as your abdomen expands to accommodate your growing baby. No stretch marks for me yet but the belly is still quite small. Other changes mentioned include:
• Thicker, more lustrous hair. (Haven't noticed this much except that my hair is getting longer because I haven't cut it since April.)
• Increased body hair. (Embarrassing but yes.)
• Fast-growing fingernails. (Yes.)
• Skin changes. (No.)
• Skin discolorations. (Not that I know of.)
• Larger feet. (Not yet.)
They mentioned some other changes but I decided not to list them to keep a little bit of my pride. Being pregnant is not pretty. They always give advice for the week and this week's activity is: Take off your rings. NOOOOOO! I can't bear to part with it.

It is freezing here. I think the high is supposed to be 25 degrees today. It hasn't warmed up enough to melt any ice from the storm Sat night/Sunday so things are pretty slippery. Winter has arrived! For all of you in warmer places, I envy you. But I wouldn't give up my white Christmas for anything.

21 Weeks 2 Days!

This is week 21 of my pregnancy! We have known about our little boy now for over a week and I have no regrets about finding out he is a boy. Everything is different now. I think in all boy. Boy things, boy colors, boy talk, boy life. I grabbed a few books at the library yesterday. 2 baby names books and one called Raising Boys. I figured I needed to get ready for all the testosterone and energy headed my way. I have never really understood boys. Why they think and act certain ways has always been confusing and frustrating. I need to learn about how God made them and how to raise them. It's funny, because I always knew he was a boy. When P. and I look back at the conception we think girl but in my heart I always felt boy. I wished for a boy for my husband. When we saw him on the ultrasound at 11 1/2 weeks he looked like a boy. I always called him "he" and if you look at everything we bought prior to knowing it leans towards boy.

My weekly email update said he weighs almost a pound now. He is as long as a carrot and his eyelids and eyebrows are fully formed. They say you can most certainly feel him move now and that is for sure. He is a mover and a shaker and I love it. Well, most of the time. I am eating a lot now, gaining weight and the nausea has eased up quite a bit. I still have a hard time with certain smells and never truly feel like eating but never have a problem getting it down. The contractions are just a way of life now. I have them almost every day, sometimes all day or all night. Some are painful and some don't hurt at all. But they keep coming and I usually lay down, drink some water and wait them out. They feel like a hard rock expanding in my lower abdomen and last anywhere from 10 seconds to a minute. I will address them again with my doctor Dec 10th but right now they don't worry me too much. The spotting only happens now if I do too much so I avoid that as much as possible and it has been almost 3 weeks now since I have spotted. I still have headaches a couple times a week but am usually able to treat them right away with some doctor prescribed medicines and rest. My legs are starting to hurt though. Not sure if it is from the extra weight, bad posture, sleeping on my sides or varicose veins but they are achy and annoying. I don't sleep that well because I can't get comfortable. And my tummy isn't even that big yet....just wait huh? But overall things are improving and going well. I am encouraged. I am encouraged to find the perfect baby boy name for our son, encouraged to work on the nursery, encouraged to learn how to raise my son wisely, encouraged to get the house ready for our new addition and encouraged to have a wonderful Christmas holiday. So far so good.

A few other updates.....

*At the ultrasound they moved my due date from April 9 to April 6.
*Abby's eye is all healed up and she is happy and healthy. Except she doesn't like the recent bitter cold weather.

*I am almost done Christmas shopping. Besides a few local friends and P. I am ready to ship out my gifts before the holiday rush.

*We are shopping for carpet. The carpet in our dining room, bedroom and hallway is original carpet when the house was built and it is so old, stained and faded. I am shocked at how expensive carpet is and am not sure we are going to be able to make the upgrade anytime soon.

*And.....we decorated our huge, fat, tall Christmas tree Monday night. We listened to my Neil Diamond Christmas CD and managed our way about our very wide tree carefully with lights, beads and ornaments. Abby was all interested in what we were doing. Serra was a little nervous about all the excitement but in the end posed for a cute picture with our finished tree. Enjoy.

2 Years And Counting!

P. and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary yesterday. Can you believe it has been 2 years already? I have lived in MI for 2 years now. Some days it seems like 2 years has flown by and some days it feels like I have been married to P. forever. And to top it off I am pregnant with our first child! What an eventful 2 years.

I have to admit the first year of our marriage was really hard. It was hard to leave my job and friends in CO and move to a place where I didn't know anyone and couldn't find a good job like the one I had at the Navigators. And the weather was miserable. The day I moved here two years ago it started to snow and snowed for 21 days straight. It was followed by 16 straight days of no sun. I questioned, "What have I done?" on a daily basis. Then on top of the new marriage and new place I had a new step-daughter and ex-wife. Let's just say.....things were not easy. But we have come a long way since then. My marriage is strong, full of love and joy, and gets better every day. My relationship with P. is trusting and honoring. He is my best friend and we are an amazing team. We have a beautiful home, great dogs, new friends and always have enough food on the table and love in our home. I made the best decision of my life 2 years ago when I married P. on that perfect day in Laguna Beach, CA.

We celebrated our anniversary last night with chocolate dessert at the Melting Pot. It was so good. I am sure our little man is going to be a dessert lover with the amount of sugar I provide him.

Oh, and we got a new car this weekend. We needed a bigger, 4-door car for the baby. It just happened that after we got our tree Sat. we saw a 98 Honda Accord for sale on the road. We stopped, drove it, thought it was perfect for us and bought it. It is a weight off our shoulders to have a car that will work for our growing family now. We will put the Accord Coupe up for sale sometime this month. I would love to drive it as long as possible before I have to move to my slower, more mommy-like car but we have to do what we have to do. But I am happy with my new Honda, it is still me, just a little slower. But that's what kids do to your cars....

Happy Thanksgiving!

We spent Thanksgiving this year up at the Soaring Eagle Casino in Mt. Pleasant, MI. It was a nice time with P.'s parents, brother, niece and nephew eating the turkey buffet and playing some games. We celebrated again today with our own Thanksgiving feast at home. It was wonderful. We had turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing, cornbread muffins and cranberry sauce. I was pretty proud of my first Thanksgiving Dinner and feel better about having a family to cook for someday.

Yesterday we decorated the house and put up lights. It looks so beautiful and festive. I love my decorations. It's almost like each one has its own story and special meaning to me. I would love to get more but that would call for a bigger house.

Check out our Christmas tree! We cut our own today on some land up north. It was only $18 and is big, beautiful and smells really good and fresh! It looked a lot smaller out in the woods and does a good job of filling up our front window and more. I will put up a picture after we get it all decorated and stuff.

I love the holidays. Don't you?

It's A Boy!

I look like a huge whale all spread out on that bed. But a happy whale. Besides my wedding, the ultrasound today was the happiest hour of my life. We saw our little boy, his hands, his legs, his heart.....everything. For the first time I am at a loss for words. I can't even begin to describe the joy I felt today.

This is a picture of P. and I right after the ultrasound was finished in the hospital. P. held my hand through the whole thing.

Here is our little boy from the right side. It is a profile view of his head on the far left, neck, body and arm at the bottom. You can kind of see his leg wrapped up next to him on the far, far right and the little dot above his chest is apparently the umbilical cord floating around up there. I love this picture because it looks like he has chubby cheeks like me.



Here are his feet. You can see the bottom of his left foot on the left and a side view of his right foot on the right. The right foot is turned down and you can see his two leg bones, the fibia and the tibia then his heel and the side of his right foot. He was moving all over the place the whole time so I am so glad we got such a sweet picture of his little feet and toesies. Guess I am turning into a real mom using words like toesies.....



I call this one this alien picture. You will see his very alien like face on the right with his big eyes, nose and mouth. He is looking right at us. You can see his body to the left of his head with the dark spot being his heart. Amazing huh?



And here is the picture that made P. and I both cry. It's hard to figure out unless you know what you are looking for so I will try to help. On the left you will see three objects. The top object is a butt cheek, the bottom object is a butt cheek and in between you will see his little pee pee. P. says not to call it little. But there it is, plain as day, between his cute little butt cheeks....our little boy. Our nurse said, definitely, it is a boy. We got our boy.

Here is another profile picture of our kiddo. His head is on the right with body on the left. I liked this one because its almost like I can see his cheek bones, nose and lips. They are so sweet looking. And above his little face is another object, it isn't the umbilical cord this time, it is his elbow. His arm was up there moving around when she took this picture.

Again he is looking right at us. His head/face is on the right with just his chest on the left. This is a funny picture. It makes me laugh. He looks pretty goofy, almost like a little old Asian man, squinting and laughing. But you can definitely see his eyes, nose, lips/mouth and heart in this one. As I write he is kicking me in my right hip, saying time to pee and go to bed mama.




And last but not least, my favorite picture....our little boy's face. Up close and smiling at us. All you can see is his head, his face. On his face you can see his eyes, his nose and his open mouth that looks like a smile, or like he is talking to us, saying hi. It's almost like I can see his personality, even in the womb.
So, there he is. Our baby boy. In 20 weeks he will be born to us and we will be a family. I am very blessed. God is good. He answers prayers. He takes care of us and loves us even when we don't deserve it. He gives us gifts, like our children, to make life meaningful and fulfilled. The struggles only make us stronger. What a day. What a beautiful life I have. And the best is yet to come.

Feels Like Christmas Eve and Christmas is Tomorrow....

It is the night before our ultrasound and I am going through a whole mess of feelings and emotions. First, I am really excited. Second I am nervous, anxious, happy, eager, distracted and restless. I have kept myself busy today to help pass the time. My friend R. came over for a few hours which helped a lot. My nesting instinct has set in and all of a sudden I feel an urgent need to get my house in order before the baby comes. I worked on the nursery today. I went through my closet and cleared out everything that doesn't fit anymore. Amazing how I have lost weight but nothing fits anymore. I am still about 8 lbs lighter than when I got pregnant but pants are not big enough and shirts are not long enough. Supposedly there is a chance K. might be in town this weekend so I spent some time on her room. It would be great if we could see her and finally get to share the news with her in person.

So, tomorrow is the big day. Feels like I have been waiting for this day all my life. I pray the baby is healthy and everything is OK. I hope and pray we find out if it is a girl or a boy. I don't know what I would do if we didn't have the opportunity to find out. I am just so excited. P. took the day off tomorrow to take me to my appointment and spend the day with me. He is such a great husband. I will update my blog tomorrow with hopefully some good news and a picture of our little boy or girl.

Last Night

Last night P. and I were watching the movie Blood Diamond when I felt a few big kicks from our little one. I put P.'s hand on my belly and he felt his first kick from our very active baby. I was so excited to finally share the movement with him!

Let it Snow!

Last night P. and I kicked off our holiday season with a bang. Not only did we get our first snow, but a local radio station started playing continuous Christmas favorites while on our way to the Gerald R. Ford Museum for their annual Christmas Tree Lighting Celebration. It was a perfect night. By about dinner time it had started to flurry and I went outside to catch a few snowflakes. Who would have thought a Southern CA girl would have been so excited about the first snowfall of the winter? The tree lighting thing was fun with about 20 trees decorated differently by local groups. And we got to check out the Ford Museum for free. We had cookies and apple cider then headed home happy to have found a new Christmas tradition. I know it is a little early for Christmas but there is something extremely exciting about the upcoming holiday for me. I can't wait to get our tree, decorate the house, shop for family and friends and bake cookies. I look forward to pulling out my favorite Neil Diamond Christmas CD, spending long hours wrapping gifts and watching A Christmas Story and It's a Wonderful Life. Here are a couple pictures from last night. Happy Holidays to All.

19 weeks!

Today I am 19 weeks along! Can you believe it? Almost halfway done! And I am still alive! Baby is still alive! I know that sounds funny but as a first time mom you are almost surprised when each week passes and you are another week closer to being a mom and having a baby. 7 weeks ago I wasn't sure how I was going to make it much longer with the morning sickness and other symptoms and here I am. Still making it. Sometimes barely but I am making it. And this morning at my 19 week doctors appointment I heard the heartbeat. It beat at 150 beats/minute and sounded strong and perfect. I gained 2 1/2 lbs. A little less than I hoped for but it is a start. We are headed in the right direction. Last week helped by being at home with my parents. They made me eat, fixed me healthy meals and I didn't have to lift a finger. I was so well taken care of and well fed. My parents nurtured me as I nurtured my baby with food, lots of water and rest.

They measured my uterus for the first time today. It was 20cm and they said it was about average. I ran my complications by the doctor and they said the ultrasound next week will answer all our questions. I am curious why I feel so much pressure so low in my belly. I wonder what is causing my contractions and spotting. Next week at the ultrasound they will look at my placenta, measure my cervix and uterus and check to see if everything is OK. I am anxious to see how things look, how things are progressing and finally get some answers. I will either be relieved and reassured or we will have some new obstacles to face.

I feel pretty good. Morning sickness is still lingering but I think it is letting up a little bit. I was prescribed Pherergan about two weeks ago and took it for about a week. It makes me tired so it is hard to function while on it. I can't tell if it ever helped but I am back to dealing with the nausea on my own. The headaches have been miserable. But today I was told that its just another symptom of pregnancy and like everything else will eventually go away. The contractions have lessened with hydration but I still don't think dehydration was the problem. I drink a lot, a ton, of water and pee all day every day. And night. But who knows. Like with everything else, as long as the baby is still flip flopping around in there its OK.

Its good to be home. Don't get me wrong, I love CA. I mean besides the traffic and smog what is there not to love. The weather was sunny and warm, all my family and friends are there, there is plenty to do and see and they have some of my favorite restaurants. If I had more time and felt better I would have spent more time at the beach or tried to get to Disneyland, two of my favorite places in the world. But its good to be home, in my house, with my dogs, next to my husband in my slow paced, quiet life in MI.

Drano Test

While home in CA my best friend K. and I took the Drano Test. If you mix your urine with Drano crystals it is supposed to tell you if you are having a girl or boy. If the mixture turns brown it is a boy, stays yellow it is a girl. Mine turned brown. We took it a second time later that week and the results were inconclusive. The mixture didn't have the same reaction but within 5 minutes or so I had a brown line along the bottom and K.'s didn't. After researching the Drano test online I don't have much faith in it but it was still fun to do. We will just have to be patient and wait another week and a day to find out for sure.

California

Last week I spent the whole week at home in CA with my family. P. was away hunting and my wonderful parents offered to fly me home to spend the week with them. I am so glad they did. My trip was so nice. I got to see my family, my friends and spent one perfect afternoon in Laguna Beach with my dad. I rested, ate well and felt so well taken care of. Baby in my growing belly got to meet his/her grandparents and despite the usual morning sickness, headaches and contractions we did pretty well. It was hard to be away from P. and the girls for so long but being at home made the separation easier. Here are some pictures of my trip home. Thanks so much mom and dad!

I'm Back!

It's been two whole weeks since I have blogged. Boy do I have a lot to catch up on. I will briefly go back to a few highlights and move on. We will start with Halloween. This year P. had to work on Halloween night so I went over to a friends house and trick or treated as a hippie. It was a good time, got me out of the house and made me so excited to have my own kids soon and share these great fun holidays with.

Week 17!

According to the books, within the last week our little buckaroo has added yet another half inch to his overall height, making him nearly half a foot long! The umbilical cord, his lifeline to the placenta, is growing stronger and thicker. He can move his joints, and his skeleton, until now, rubbery cartilage, is starting to harden into bone. It’s amazing all the changes our little one goes through in one week!

I have been feeling a lot of movement lately but when I put my hand on my belly I can’t feel it from the outside yet. Which means P. can’t feel it yet and that is a bummer. My dreams have been crazy. This past weekend I dreamt that Tom Selleck was my doctor and he gave me an “ultrasound”. He opened up my belly, took the baby out, said it was a boy then put it back in. Last night I dreamed I was nursing a fish. I was so in love with my fish.

No good news on the morning sickness, migraines or gallons of saliva. Same old. But I am starting to look at it all like a way of life. I am more interested in my ballooning belly than anything right now. It has really made an appearance this past week and I love seeing and feeling the change. I have made a conscious effort to eat more lately. I can finally eat fruit again. It used to make me vomit. I still can’t eat vegetables, they make me nauseous just thinking about them. But they always have. I really want to eat vegetables because I know they are good for me and the baby but I deal with enough nausea that I can’t even think about making it worse.

P. has been busy with work and hunting. Abby seems to be feeling better, we will know more at her next appointment tomorrow. I still put drops in three times a day. Serra is as sweet and silly as ever. Nothing is ever wrong with that dog. I spend a lot of time resting. My uterus feels really, really low and since I have the time to rest I do. It can't hurt right? There won't be much rest 5 months from now, so I have heard...... :)

Pumpkins

P. and I carved pumpkins on Tuesday night. Here they are.

Week 16!

Week 16 feels like a milestone. I am getting really excited about the next few weeks and months. I thought it was a good time to take a picture of my belly....plus a couple friends were urging me to post one so they could see the sprout starting to grow.
The websites say that this week our baby is about the size of an avocado. His eyes are moving and he's even started growing toenails. They say that soon I should feel the baby move. Sometimes I think I feel a little flutter or twitch but I can’t be sure of what they are. They also say the baby hears external voices, sleeps and dreams by this week. He can open his mouth, move his lips, and swallow. He may be sucking his thumb and his facial muscles may lead to various expressions, such as squinting and frowning. I wish I could see those.

No change on the morning sickness. My nights are pretty miserable with strong waves of nausea coming and going. These days I concentrate on getting a good breakfast and lunch down before the sickness comes on and hope for the best at dinner. Lately it is rare that I get much down after 4pm or so. This worked pretty well for me over the weekend and I think I might have put on a pound or two. After our scare last week I am not too upset over the continued morning sickness. I am just thankful to still be pregnant. I am thankful for a lot of things. I bought a pair of comfy drawstring pants at Target this weekend that I love. I am extremely thankful for those. See pictures.

Update

Both Abby and I are healing. Wednesday we had quite a scare with the pregnancy. The cramping and spotting has gone away and I am doing just fine. I have been resting a lot and even got down a huge lunch at Panera Bread today. But boy was I scared. This pregnancy has been really rough but I love this baby so much. I don't know what I would have done if I had lost it. You don't understand the love of a mother until you are one. Today I am still a mom and I will put up with however many more days or months of morning sickness that I have to until this baby is born to us.

Abby seems to finally be getting better. I cannot be sure but yesterday she had another procedure done and we are praying it is the answer. The procedure was quite invasive but she is opening and using her eye more today than she has in the last month. She has new drops that don't bother her eye so much and she seems to have more energy. The doctor said we should see improvement within the next 5 days.......5 days seems like nothing compared to what we have been through. I need so much for this to finally be over and for Abby to start feeling better.

The weather is rainy and dark outside. I just lit some candles, curled up on the couch and am watching my favorite movie Moulin Rouge. Thanks for all your prayers.

The Sound of Life

Our baby's heartbeat was 157 this morning. The nurse found it immediately and said it was very strong. I laid there in silence hoping she wouldn't talk again so I could concentrate and soak it in. It's hard to explain in words the feeling of hearing the heartbeat. It means our baby is still living, growing and forming. For an expectant mother that is the best sound in the world. It is an immediate sense of relief, it warms your heart and it gives you a sense of accomplishment. Today I felt all of the above. And in 4 weeks I can hear it again and in 5 weeks I can see him or her. We have our 20 week ultrasound scheduled for Nov 20th at 11:15am. I hope and pray we have the opportunity to find out if our little buckaroo is a little boy or little girl. Everything else at my apt went well except for the fact that I have lost another 3 pounds. My doctor and nurse said that if the morning sickness doesn't ease up in a week that I need to go on an anti-nausea medicine so I can start eating more. They would like me to gain back the weight I lost this month and a little more if possible. Funny because gaining weight has never been hard for me. Eating a lot has always come easily. If someone told me before I was pregnant that I needed to gain weight it would have been a blessing. Now, it is a chore. It is almost 3pm and I can feel my daily "morning" sickness coming on. I just wish so bad that it would go away so I can start truly enjoying this amazing time in my life.

Yesterday was Serra's 5th birthday. We sang Happy Birthday to her and fed her a celebration hot dog. She is such a sweet dog. I just love her to death.

Week 15!

Today is the start of week 15! Each week I am so surprised and happy to have made it another 7 days. My tummy is growing, my appetite is growing and I have my next appointment tomorrow already. I am still dealing with morning sickness. As soon as I have the courage to say things are getting better they get worse. So we will just do like we do every week and hope this is the day things start to improve for good. I have started swimming at the gym and feel good about the new activity added to my life. My new favorite foods are frozen bean and cheese burritos and soft pretzels. Yum.

P. and I went camping again this past weekend. It was our last trip of the year, our last trip just the two of us. The next time we camp we will have an infant. That is really weird to think about. We took the dogs and had a nice time enjoying a much cooler but still beautiful weekend in the woods. If you compare the pictures of this weekend to last weekend's you will see the dramatic change in weather. Abby's eye is still not doing well so we kept her eye highly medicated all weekend and made sure she got lots of rest. I am going to call the Vet this week and see what the next step is because she is not healing. On a fun note, today is Serra's 5th birthday. We will cook her up a hot dog and serve it to her on our birthday plate tonight when P. gets home.
I will update again this week after my appointment. I can't wait to hear the heartbeat again. I should be able to have an ultrasound to find out the sex of our baby at the next apt. Wow, will that be something to look forward to!

Sweet Abby

My firstborn baby is sick and I am heartbroken over it. Abby hurt her eye about 2 weeks ago and after 3 Vet appointments and lots of medicines it is getting worse. If our last attempt doesn't work she will have to go see an opthamologist and maybe even lose her eye. They say she has an eye ulcer caused by a scratch, bee sting or infection. We caught it right away but even with all our efforts Abby is still miserable and I am distraught. There is nothing I can do to help her and every time I put her drops in she feels worse. It is so hard to watch my baby hurt and go through this. Please keep Abby in your prayers.