Shopping spree, 18 weeks

So apparently I have forgiven Old Navy for their sad maternity section, since I just bought a bunch of stuff at their online store (which, incidentally, has a TON of cute clothes).  We’ll see how it works out when it all shows up.  You never can really tell until you put it on, but it looked cute in the pictures.  Lots of undershirts and layering stuff, which I will wear constantly.  I also went out shopping last night aiming to find something professional looking to wear for my oral exams in 2 weeks.  My goal was to look nice, but not have to buy a suit, and make it obvious that I was pregnant (so maybe they would not judge me for not wearing a suit).  I think I succeeded in that endeavor.  I bought some new dress pants and a white collared shirt that looks really nice and there shouldn’t be any question about my delicate condition J  So then maybe they will also take pity on me and not ask too many hard questions!  Not that I couldn’t handle that.  And I can wear it all to work too and not feel overdressed.

Anyway, I have been feeling baby move quite a bit.  Not all the time but almost daily, which is pretty nice.  I am pretty excited for the kicks to get stronger so Eric (and others) can feel.  But for now it’s my little “secret.”  One of these days I’m sure it might get annoying, and even painful perhaps?  My cousin’s son kicked so hard that he cracked her ribs, ouch!

17 week appt

I went to the Dr. today for my 3^rd prenatal appointment, yay!  Here’s our stats:

Wt. – 160.something

B/P – 140/60 (whaaat?!?!?)

Baby’s heart rate – 150ish

The nurse took a long time finding the heart beat, but I could tell she was looking way too high at first.  Then while she was listening to get the rate, the baby kicked a couple of times, that was cute.  Then “Dr. G” (ARNP actually) came in.  I told her that now that I’m past the 1^st trimester I’ve started coming up with all these other things to worry about.  Mainly I was worried about my cervix – after having 3 prior D&C was it going to hold up and keep this baby in long enough?  She said it really wasn’t too much to worry about, women have 8, 9, 10 babies where the cervix gets fully dilated and they are all fine.  And in a D&C they really only dilate it a little teeny bit.  Also my cervix had measured nice and long and closed at my first appointment.  She said a lot of times, if it’s looking short at that first exam she’ll red flag someone to get checked again later on.  She said if it would make me feel better though she’d check it again for me.  So I said yes that would probably make me feel better, as much as I love having pelvic exams, blech!  So we did that and everything still looked good, phew!  She said my uterus is also measuring just perfect and I really should just try to relax and enjoy the ride now and I promised I would.  I did ask about my blood pressure though, so she decided to check it again and this time it was 120/70, so much better.  Yahoo!  High blood pressure is never something I want to have hanging over my  head.

So, my next appointment is August 27^th, and that will be my ultrasound plus follow up with Dr. H.  So HOPEFULLY in 4 more weeks and 3 days we will know if “it” is going to be a “he” or a “she.”  SOOOOO exciting!!!!  I guess I’ll have to extend the voting period for awhile longer. :)

17 weeks/1 day picture

Well I was taking some pictures this morning and my battery went dead, so this is all you get. I don't have time to hang around and wait for my battery to charge up again for more. I guess I'll have to take twice as many next week :) You're going to see this outfit a lot in the coming weeks, so far it's the only thing I can find that doesn't make me just look fat. Anyway, I can't tell a lot of difference between this one and the 14 week ones!

17 weeks

17 weeks and I am feeling huge already.  It’s hard to imagine how much bigger I am going to get.  Things get interesting with my changing shape.  About halfway through my round on Tuesday I realized that my boobs were really interfering with my normal golf swing.  No wonder I was sucking so bad!  Once I made the connection things seemed to improve a little.  I’m not sure what I did differently, maybe just my subconscious made the necessary adjustments?  One of the gals in my group also commented that my center of gravity is probably changing every day, so that could be an issue as well.  The baby now is supposedly the size of a turnip.  5 inches long and 5 ounces!  That seems so big, but at the same time so small compared to the relative size of my belly.  But there’s also a pint of amniotic fluid in there, along with the placenta (about the same size as baby right now) and all my organs getting squished and moved out of their usual places.  Anyway, I’ll take a picture tomorrow morning.  My next Dr. appt is on Monday, so I am excited about that, and getting to hear the heart beat again, and maybe getting to schedule my next ultrasound!  Yay!

Quick update

Ugh, work and school have been ridiculous! I’m so busy it is hard to find any free time. I do of course, and I spend it sitting staring out at the river at my Dad’s, or playing Farm Town on Facebook. And playing a little golf. Tonight is my league, and I haven’t even started my homework that is due tomorrow. So it could be a late night :) Sorry for lack of 16 week pictures. I can’t bring myself to be photographed with a cold sore. So I will have to get some for week 17 here in the next few days. I have been feeling the baby move I am pretty sure. It is sporadic and very subtle but -> oh yeah I think I just felt it right now. I have to be sitting really really still and “watching” for it. And it is almost always after I eat or drink something, especially if it is sugary. I had a big chocolate chip cookie for my lunch dessert today, so that should do it.

We have been going over some baby names lately. For a long time I was set on Addison for a girl. But then I started realizing how popular and trendy it was, which made it way less appealing. The camel’s back broke when I heard that my dad’s neighbor’s friend’s daughter’s name was Addison. So now the front runner is Lillian. Of course no one would ever call her that, but I think Lily is SUPER cute. I still really like Addison and maybe if we end up having two girls it will still get used. Maybe it won’t be as popular in a few years. Boy names have potentially changed as well. We were only considering Ryan or Brandon originally. Now Seth and Nathan have been added pretty high on the list. Names are HARD! I am not really keen on picking something over the top and weird, but at the same time I don’t want the names to be boring and too common. So it is hard to find a balance.

Whew! Back to work!

Just when you thought it was safe...

So after about week 13 or so I figured I was pretty much in the clear as far as the nausea and vomiting goes. But nooo, I have thrown up now TWICE in the last week. Now, granted, I think there were reasonable explanations for both occasions other than just plain old "morning" sickness. We already discussed last Friday, with the junk food. Today I think I was poisoned by mayonnaise that may have possibly sat out too long...on my sandwich...sitting on my desk. It took me at least 2 hours to eat the whole thing, which was probably more time than mayo should be allowed out of the refrigerator. So anyway, I got home, did a little workout, took a shower, suddenly felt violently ill, and threw up. I still felt pretty sick after that but managed to choke down some cereal for dinner and I'm feeling a little better now. Which is good because I think I am dehydrated and need to chug some water before bed.

Oh my goodness, two blogs in one day! What is the world coming to??

Update

Soo, spotting has pretty much run it’s course.  Cold sore is doing the same.  Doctor prescribed some huge horse pills for me to take but it didn’t really make a bit of difference, oh well.  As of this morning I had gained 4 pounds since my last appointment, so that’s good.  Just about another week until my next appointment and getting to hear the heart beat again, I am really excited about that.  I am going to have to get at least one more pair of nice maternity pants for work.  I am down to just a single pair that don’t cut off my circulation when I am sitting down, and I just can’t bring myself to wear the same pants day after day.  I’m thinking I really want to get a massage, my shoulders are so tense sometimes I feel like I’ll never be able to relax again!  My prayer is the baby is not affected by stress yet, maybe he’s too little.  4 more weeks of school and that should really make a difference.  I’m HALFWAY done with the quarter.  And yet there is still SO much to be done in the short amount of time that is left.  I have to keep telling myself, one day at a time…

Matthew 6:34 - Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

I heart maternity pants

So, I stayed home sick from work yesterday, went in for an hour today and then came home again. Sunday night I just did not sleep at all for some reason, and woke up with a massive cold sore. This is like the worse one I have had in years. I also was spotting a little bit yesterday and today. Due to "events" over the weekend I wasn't too surprised by this but since it hadn't gone away yet I called the doctor this morning just in case. The nurse agreed that it's pretty normal and it should go away today or tomorrow, just no more shenanigans until it stops. ;) She is asking the providers if there is anything they can give me for my cold sore.

So anyway, back to the maternity pants comment. I got home today and changed into my new capris I bought over the weekend. They are super comfy. Why don't all pants have elastic waistbands? Why must they only be for pregnant women? Seriously, I will be wearing these for years to come, pregnant or not, I guarantee it. And speaking of maternity clothes, I went to Old Navy this weekend... their maternity section was SO pathetic! I could not believe it! Maybe they are in between shipments or something but there was literally like 2 dresses, some yoga pants, and some tank tops. I think I am officially black-listing Old Navy.

What is 36D?

The answer is: the size of the two bras I purchased today. Eric and I were walking down the Valley mall, cruised by Victoria's Secret, and sort of on a whim I thought I'd go in and try on some bras. Imagine my surprise when I was still bulging out of the 36C! It was like there was no difference at all! A little incredulous, I finally asked for some help and the sales person confirmed that yes, the D fit much better. I didn't realize how uncomfortable I had been until I got the new bra on, whew, what a difference. I guess I should have taken a clue from the deep indentations in my boobs after taking off my old bras ;) Anyway, I'm quite proud, and crossing my fingers that the change might be permanent. But not really hopeful. I got a pretty good deal, too, 2 for $40 which isn't bad at all for VS. Yay!

Retraction

Okay so forget what I said last night about fried food and ice cream. It did not treat me well once I got into bed. I was doing fine and then I laid down and immediately had to throw up. Twice.

Today I think Eric and I are going to go shop for an elliptical. He decided that is what he wanted for his birthday (which was back in May). I'm going to benefit from it as well, so I'm okay with that. It will be nice on the days when I am on call and can't go to the gym. Or just don't feel like it.

I had another dream last night that our baby was a girl. This time it wasn't Emma, or Hailey, or Izze, or any other baby that I know. It seemed more like it was our baby, and oh boy was she cute! I had some other really weird dreams too. First I was on this crazy kind of treasure hunt, and Mandy was there, but I'm not sure what we were looking for. Then at one point Eric and I were at this house, and there was this woman there causing us trouble. So we kept trying to tie her up in different places, but she kept escaping. It was so weird. And then later in the same house it turned into this big casino party, and there were people everywhere playing slot machines. I won $534 at one point, that was cool. Then suddenly there was like a scene from Harry Potter, I can't really describe it. Outside on the patio it was like a meteor came flying in and hit the ground, and created a big pool of green water that some people started jumping into. But it was really sinister and I was feeling really uncomfortable about it so I left to go find Eric. That is about all I remember. I should have written more down when I first woke up!

Ice Cream - 15 weeks

I have five pints of Ben & Jerry's in my freezer right now. I had some for dessert tonight, it was delicious. It was "Everything but the..." flavor. I also had ice cream earlier today at work, someone had made homemade strawberry ice cream for our team potluck. That was also very delicious. I have really developed a sweet tooth lately. I can't seem to get enough candy and cookies and ice cream and chocolate. Mmmm. Fried stuff is also treating me quite well. But I have been good and kept eating my fruits and veggies and whole grains in addition to my dessert fest of late. So far it looks like I have gained about 2.6 pounds according to my home scale. Not bad at all. I tried to go to yoga today after work, but found that they canceled Friday yoga for the summer. Booo! I wanted to go tomorrow morning then, but I remembered I have to be up late tonight for work. Going to bed here in about 10 minutes, but I don't think I'll be awake in time to make it down to yoga by 9am. Maybe I'll make it Sunday afternoon. I really think I need to get back into yoga. Work is stressing me out and I need to work on my relaxation techniques. If not Sunday then maybe I can make it Monday night....

My torso is really starting to get itchy. Must be a little stretchy stretch going on :)

Back to work

Well I am back to work after having 7 whole days off in a row.  Most of my days off I worked on my portfolio or did homework, but it was still nice to have a break from the day to day *stuff* I deal with in the office all the time.  Plus I got to spend some time sitting on the deck by the river reading business cases instead of sitting in my hot stuffy house.  My 15^th week has flown by and it has been wonderful.  One of those days sitting on the deck by the river I felt a little flutter in the neighborhood of my uterus.  I can’t WAIT to feel more of those!  Although I am sure before I know it, it will just be moving so much it will be annoying, keeping me awake at night, distracting me during meetings, etc, hehe. 

I was looking at my 9 week picture next to my 14 week pictures, and I have to say…. They pretty much look the same.  But, I’m sure another 5 weeks and there will be a noticable difference.  And THEN maybe we’ll know if we have a little boy or a little girl in there, and I can stop referring to it as “it” or “the baby.”  It’s a little person!  So weird!  I can’t wait!

14 week pics

Phew!

Well, I have to say today was about the first day in 12 or so weeks that I basically FORGOT about being pregnant. Not to say that I really forgot, but it has completely dominated my thoughts for so long that I almost feel like my identity changed a little. I became pregnant Amanda. But today was different, I was just me, it was nice. So thus, I'm not talkin' much about pregnancy today, so there! Nothing new is going on anyway, besides my pants getting tighter by the minute.

I had the day off from work but I spent most of my time working on my MBA portfolio. I realized I am truly proud of the work I have done throughout the program. Part of the process is to take our professors' comments on our papers and fix them so we have a pristine version of our work to display in the portfolio. I literally struggled with this because so many of my papers had few, if any, suggestions for improvement from my professors. Not to brag, but I am a pretty good writer when I really try to be. And I have TRIED! My GPA for the program is 3.91 so far, and the only reason it is THAT low is because I had one professor whose grading scale went straight from 3.5 to 4.0. So unless you were almost perfect (95% and above), you were getting a 3.5 (as opposed to a 3.7/3.8, etc). Furthermore, in that class I was plopped against my will into a group of random people on a project that was worth about 40% of my grade! Incidentally we did get a 93 on that project, which I believe was one of the highest in the class.

Anyway, it's been a very productive day, which makes me really happy. I'm not completely done, but EWU is closed tomorrow so I can't turn in my portfolio until Monday anyway. I have one more paper to revise, a 3 page reflective essay to write, and then I will be all set. I am getting out of my oven of a house tomorrow and heading out to the river to celebrate the 4th of July. Can't wait!

14 week belly pics tomorrow morning, I promise! Hugs and kisses everyone! :)

Home stretch

Just two more days and I’ll officially be in my 2^nd trimester.  Funny thing though, today and yesterday I’ve been feeling pretty queasy, after at least a week or so of feeling pretty great.  WEIRD!  I went for a long walk today at lunch and it really took it out of me, it’s SO hot out.  I can’t wait to be out at the river for 4^th of July, even if I do have a lot of homework.  It will still be better there than here.  I’m turning in my first case analysis for the quarter tonight at school, 6 more to go and I’m done!  And today is my Friday, I will be off work now until the 9^th plus that day I have a dentist appointment so I’ll be leaving early.  I so need a vacation!  I feel so burned out!  I really haven’t had a “vacation” since March last year.  I’ve had time off, but it was mostly just a day or two here and there, not a good chunk of time.  I can’t wait!  Just another hour or so and I’m home free for a WEEK!