Week 17: Don't Turnip your nose at me, Baby!

Annnnnd, we've got Turnip!

Baby is weighing about 5 ounces,  cartilage is turning to bone and sweat glands are developing. God knows, my sweat glands have developed. Poor Colby freezes every night because I need it 70 degrees to sleep.

I also self-diagnosed my.. self today with Restless Leg Syndrome. I always thought RLS was a pharmaceutical scam, but I've read that it's common in pregnancy. I don't get tingling or burning legs, per se, but if I sit or lie too long, I get super antsy and have to shake it off, literally. Someone on BabyCenter.com said bananas help, and coincidentally enough, I'd had a banana last night before bed... and slept for 4-5 hours AT A TIME. A new pregnancy record for me.

Kicklines in my belly make me happy

Totally forgot to post about my 16 week ultrasound on Saturday (8/21)!

So, first I had to drink the glucola drink to get my early glucose screening. Sort of tasty, but then, I was really thirsty after fasting for an hour. I got to the lab 50 minutes after drinking it, knowing I had an hour (exactly) to get the blood draw. I won't go into it all, but this particular lab needs to be mystery shopped the hell out of, because their customer service was a-trooooo-ciouuuuuus. 15 minutes of me yelling and crying and sweating later (not to mention walking over to the doc's office across the hall, twice) they finally got my lab orders and sent me in. THEN the lady has the gall to snap, "You haff a ten-minute window. So you haff nothink to worry about." Let's try that once again with tact, shall we? At least she was a really good phlebotomist (even though she yelled at me for haffing bad veins). Very gentle and no pain or bruising. So THAT will also go in the report I send to Management. Gotta be fair!

Seeing the baby on the ultrasound screen made up for it completely. All that sugar water made Baby Avocado daaaaance! Kicking and bouncing up a storm. I could feel the kicks while I watched them. Colby was with me and got to see the baby and hear the heartbeat for the first time. It was a bit overwhelming for us both.

Had a hard time getting Avo to show us the "goods" but Kathy the U/S Technician said she's 80-90% sure it's a ..... _______(???)
 

Baby Avocado did a little shuffle-off-to-Buffalo dance step across my belly button last night and then proceeded to try to kick a hole out of my right side. :) Too small to feel it on the outside yet, though. So cute!

Week 16: Holy Moly, Avocado Baby!

So it's week 16 (actually, tomorrow is) and my baby is an Avocado! 4.5 inches and 3.5 ounces. Its eyes are almost in place and it's growing toenails!

Apparently it's going to double in weight over the next few weeks. Every time I whine or complain about how I feel, Colby always holds me gently and whispers in my ear, "It's gonna get so much worse."

I'm starting to think about registering for baby items, but it's so overwhelming. I saw a convertible crib that can change to a toddler bed and a full size bed, but the reviews online are mixed.

Our 2nd bedroom is too furniture-filled now, but we talked about putting Baby in the dining room at first, so we can be within eyesight in our bed. Also, because AVOCADOS ARE DELICIOUS!

I bought a Boppy full body pillow last night. It's weirdly shaped like a gigantic embryo. It wasn't as nestle-y cozy as I'd hoped, but  I will say, I got the best night of sleep I've had since I've been pregnant! so I say it was $60 well spent. Hopefully that wasn't just a coincidence.

Colby and I need a get-away really badly. Now that I'm feeling better and it's still summer-ish, hopefully we'll be able to do that while it's Still Just Us.

Onesie Giveaway!

Onesie Giveaway! My friend Kate designs the cutest onesies you've ever seen. And you can enter to win this one here!

Baby Steps Blog is giving away a MoMoPics hand-stenciled onesie!
Click to Enter.

Baby Dream

I'd been annoyed that I hadn't had any dreams about Baby yet, or its gender or anything. But this morning I had the cutest dream (albeit a little bit "on the nose"). I was looking at myself in a full length mirror, naked, and I looked AMAZING. Skinny legs, perky breasts, and the tiniest hint of a baby bump. You know, the exact opposite of how I actually look.

I saw this little protrusion in my bump and upon closer inspection, it was a perfect little one-inch foot (much larger than a 15w foot would be) sticking out. I poked back and it flipped and then I saw its face, looking at me like through a fishbowl. Its face was perfect, like a 6 month old child's face, eyes open, looking at me, smiling, full head of hair, dimples, beautiful. I fumbled for my camera and took some shots. The flash made Baby flinch, and I said I was sorry.

I said, "Hi, Baby! It's Mommy!" and the baby said, "Hi, Mommy!" I asked if it was a boy or a girl. He looked down and then said, "I'm a boy!" We played the poke-and-flip game for a while and then I said, "This is hurting me a little. Can we watch TV for a while?" He said, "OK. What's on?" I said it was a Mel Gibson action movie, and he said, "That sounds GREAT!" He talked just like his daddy, but with a little child voice. :)

Aliens vs. Exorcists vs. Ginormous Tatas

So I don't have a full length mirror in my home in a location where I generally see myself unclothed. It's in the kitchen, which is one piece of evidence that we may be rednecks. The only mirror I regularly look into only shows me from the cleavage up. If I stand on tip-toe I can see how my breasts are transmogrifying into something horrible and frightening. I don't do that very often.

But today I went to Motherhood Maternity in the mall to return some bras I'd bought the other day that fit when I was standing up in the dressing room, but not so much when I sat down.

I returned the bras for store credit, went to eat some lunch, and came back to try on jeans, which were on sale, Buy 1, Get 1 Half Price (plus the Illinois State Tax Holiday is going on until Sunday).

I miraculously found 2 pair of jeans that fit and that I liked. The pair I was wearing was an ill-advised Ebay purchase, a size too big, and they have been literally falling off me all day. I looked like a rapper with an unattractive blouse.

The sales lady also tried to find me some bras. She measured me and I told her the bras I'd just returned were 3 sizes LARGER than I was measuring and that when I stand up with my arms straight up, the bras fit me GREAT. But not so much when I sit down. Not believing me, for some reason, she handed me 3 bras in the size I measured. Um. What did I just say, lady? I handed them back to her over the door. "This one is 3 sizes smaller than the one I just returned. This one is 3 sizes smaller than the one I just returned. This one is 3 sizes smaller than the one I actually liked, even though it just fit on the last hooks." I asked her to find the one I had been about to try on when she decided to measure me.

I stood there, naked from the waist up, and decided, I haven't seen a horror movie in a while. Let's see what we look like in the full length mirror.

Well. I won't even describe what I saw, but suffice it to say, I would rather see all the "Saw" movies back to back for 3 days in a row.

Stretch marks? Really? Bright red claw marks down the sides of my stomach? Is something trying to get in, or get out? I've only gained FOUR POUNDS, people. Why the face??

I finally put my shirt back on and went back to help the sales lady find my bra. She was standing in the middle of the store, YAWNING AND STRETCHING. Huh. She said, "Did those work out?" (I was carrying out one of the first ones she'd handed me that I'd told her didn't work out).

Anyway, long story short, I bought 2 pairs of jeans and left. The other sales lady referred me to Betty Schwartz's, so I'll go there when I have gathered my getting-my-boobs-measured-by-trained-professionals strength (plus saved up some money, 'cause damn, its costs some MONEY to find a bra that actually makes you not want to rip your boobs off).

Also?  Two hours after a hearty lunch, and I'm starving. Is this the beginning of the end for me?

Week 15: Apples & Oranges

According to TheBump.com, Baby is now the size of an orange. According to BabyCenter it's an apple.

Either way, I'm hungry for fruit!

Not much else to report.... just trying not to gain more than a pound a week. I haven't been able to exercise, per doctor's orders, but I want to call and see if I am allowed to do anything at all, besides walking (and how much walking is allowed).

Last night I slept 4 hours in a row!! Been a while since I could say that.

Not feeling any movement yet. I might have to much pudge in my baby bump to feel anything for a while.

I am attending a friend's wife's baby shower this Saturday and Colby and I are going to "Shrek" the musical downtown on Sunday. We usually take the train and walk to the theatre, but I think this time I might insist we drive.

Week 14: Easy peezy, lemon baby!

So at 14 weeks (as of Thursday), my baby is apparently grimacing, stretching, and peeing inside me. It's 3.5 inches long, about the size of a lemon. A squinting, grimacing, peeing lemon.

This morning (Saturday) I woke up and was feeling my gigantic bump and above my belly button I felt a little hard lump. It's not there now, so I can only imagine it was the little one pushing its little foot out at me.

THERE'S SOMETHING INSIDE ME.

I thought at 14 weeks, it should still be below my belly button... that's where they find the heartbeat on the Doppler... but now I don't know. I'm carrying an awful lot of Bump in the upper part of the belly, and it's definitely hard. Very mysterious things going on in there.

The good news is I've only gained 3 pounds in my first trimester. If I can keep it to one pound a week, I'll be super pleased.

Colby is cleaning the bathroom now, as we have prospective buyers looking at the house this evening. The house is cleaner than it's been since I moved back in this spring. Great motivator!