The one where I disappeared for a month... WHOOPS

So uh, remember that one time, I was going to write on a blog and update everyone about the pregnancy? yeah, uh, about that. Kind of fail at life on that one.

But I have excuses (so much work! family issues! college reunions at homecoming! working on the house!)... however I will not bore you with them. Just know that I'm sorry for being so forgetful...

Speaking of forgetful... you remember when I talked about The Stupids?! Totally found out there's a medical awesome term for it: Preg'nesia. It has also been to blame for triggering Tim's comment last night saying "Do we live in a college dorm!? Seriously, we are grown adults, what the heck!?"

I wish I could say we were doing something uber cool, or Tim was playing a game of beer pong or something... but it was actually about dinner. We were having leftover food (his Red Lobster from Sunday and my Jimmy Johns from Monday... I've been cooking dinners frequently. Obviously) and he went to get some lemonade. Well it was empty so he rinsed out the pitcher but it was still gross (days of sitting with leftover crud at the bottom). He asked where the other pitcher was and I informed him that was the only one we had, so he would just have to hand wash it. He opens up the dishwasher and tries to put it in there and I told him "Yeah, that would work, if we didn't run out of dishwasher detergent like 2 weeks ago."

Sooooo I haven't been so awesome at the whole cooking/grocery shopping thing. Uh... I'll work on that...eventually....

Moving on from my obvious domestic skills...Like I told you last time, we had our gender ultrasound and found out we were having a little boy! Three weeks later we had our actual doctor's appointment and I was a little worried they would switch and tell us it was a girl. Not that I wouldn't want one or the other, but I feel like I wouldn't trust either until the baby actually came. And I'm a planner. So having to spend 5 months without planning things like the name, or colors for the nursery... not cool. BUT it was confirmed, we are definitely having a little boy!

The rest of the visit didn't go so well though :(. We were told that the baby has an arrythmia, meaning he has an irregular heartbeat that skips around or pauses. The doctor assured us it was pretty common, as the circulatory systems are still developing but at our next appointment she will check it again. If he still has the irregularities they are going to bump up the frequency of my appointments to every 1-2 weeks until it corrects itself or delivery, just so they know what is going on as much as possible.


Eh, that news wasn't great but the doctor wasn't concerned so I told myself I wouldn't be either... and then she had more to add.

The whole point of the 19 week ultrasound I had was to check the baby, do measurements, check the organs and vital systems, check the face and spine; basically make sure everything is forming as it should. Apparently the little boy is measuring great physically, he's actually 2 days ahead... but his organs aren't. They had a hard time getting a view of the organs and being able to check his systems. The doctor was really vague about all of this, but told us we aren't going to worry yet. She wanted me to come back in a few weeks to redo the ultrasound, to see if giving him a little more time to develope might do the trick... so our next ultrasound will be November 8, and hopefully all is well at that one! Tim told me later (in my stressed-out, worst case scenario emotional mess state that I worked myself into) that it is after all his son... and he will be ready when he's damn good and ready to be viewed. I just had to laugh at that, because yep... even though I'm a planner Tim is the DEFINITION of a "winger." I can't even get him to commit to a place to eat dinner! (you know... with all my culinary skills in high gear I never have to ask that anyway...)

SO that's where we're at. A few other updates:

1. We have offically decided on the name... Aiden Ryhan. Ryhan is actually Tim's middle name so we thought we'd keep that tradition. I'm just so glad we finally came to a consensus. We're both a little.. uhhh... stubburn.
2. We finished the ground work on the nursery! We painted the walls and Tim installed a chair rail. We have absolutly no idea what we're doing with this whole home improvement stuff, but we wing it. Sometimes it works... sometimes not so much. Luckily this time did though! It looks great!
3. We got the crib! Mom and dad took us shopping and let us pick out the crib and they got it for us (some kind of tradition in mom's family that the grandparents buy the first crib!? Or she used that as the excuse... I have no idea BUT I am very grateful! Thanks mom!)
4. We finished the registry for the baby shower! Everyone keeps asking me about it so I figured I might as well get it done now!
5. Aiden has started kicking up a storm at certain times. The rest of the time I'm pretty sure he's just chillin in there, legs and arms crossed, probably even sleeping. Again, this is Tim's child haha. BUT when he does kick (usually after I have a fair amt of chocolate) it is the weirdest feeling! I kept getting it confused with a rumbling stomach, but finally got a good defined KICK and knew what it was. Tim keeps asking if he can feel it from the outside yet but sadly not :(
6. WE ARE HALF WAY THROUGH THE PREGNANCY!!! I'm at 20 weeks... only another 20 more weeks until we meet this guy!

I think that's about all I've got for now! I will try to update again soon... I also want to give a shoutout and say Happy Birthday to Chelsea (edited: this was written on her birthday, but published the day after. STILL COUNTS!)... Amazing how those friends you've had since 7th grade, you can still remember their birthdays, yet I can't for the life of me remember what I ate for lunch yesterday. Eh, priorities!


Lastly: some pictures for you!

 

The one with the Gender!

I know... I'm sorry I've been neglectful. Life has gotten in the way, but I'm not going to unload it here.. just know that it's been a roller-coaster.

ONTO THE GOOD NEWS!

We had our elective 3D ultrasound on Saturday and my mom, dad, sister and Tim were all there to find out what we're having. We sat there for a good 10 minutes while we tried to get the baby to move to show us the "goods."  And I realized during that time that this kid is DEFINITLY ours... with our, uh, best attributes...

The baby had its back to us when we first got a glimpse... Back to us, legs crossed AND arms crossed. The ultrasound tech kept trying different angles and was getting nowhere, so he... started poking baby. Like, legit pushing on my stomach repeatedly to make the baby move. And you know what baby did? Shuffle around a little (as in get off me, How RUDE--in Stephanie Tanner-voice) and would go right back to his comfortable sleeping position. CAN WE SAY STUBBORN!?!?

The big news--its a boy!

I was so totally wrong about my little diva. Apparently all my symptoms are just because of my stubburn, pain in the neck little BOY who I already love, but holy cow is this kid gonna be a handful!

Not much else to update... we started on names but couldn't decide... and since we're both stubborn we're stuck on our top 2 favorites each... and neither one seems to be budging. Hopefully we'll figure it out in the next 4 months!

The one with the survey

Ok... I'm  not feeling on my "A" game these days, and I think it's because Timmy has given me a cold. He CLAIMS he can't give me a cold if he doesn't have a cold himself but I disagree... that kid has the immune system of a god and NEVER gets sick (the last time he was sick was almost 2 years ago when the Army gave him the live flu virus). BUT I argue that all those little germs he's picking up from the high schools where hes recruiting at are CLEARLY jumping onto him and coming home with him. Because you know... I'm not out in public all day too but WHATEVER... I'm a little cranky these days too (yeah, in addition to hormonal..yayyyyyy!).

So instead of updating you on my adventures of trying to find a comfortable sleeping position and making Tim watch hours of "Ghost Hunters" where I won't let him fall asleep because hello? I can't watch that stuff alone... I'll just cop-out and do a survey today!

Due date:
March 9, 2012

How far along are you now?:
15 weeks & 6 days

Boy or girl?:
Ask me again in 2 days, around 11:00am!

Was baby planned?:
Uhhhh... define planned :)

Do you know who the babies father is?:
Well... since I was in Texas for work a week before I got pregnant, the ongoing rumor is the baby will be a little Jesus or Juan. I have faith that Timmy's BLINDING WHITE genes will put that rumor to rest ;)

If so, who is it?:
Timmy... or Juan...

How did you find out you were pregnant?:
Well they have this test that you pee on. I thought I was doing it for a science experiment, but apparently my body had different plans!

What were your first symptoms?:
At the very beginning? Tiredness and bloating

Who did you tell first?:
Timmy... I decided to wait until after the baby to tell Juan

Who was with you when you found out?:
Shadow and Callie (our pups) haha

How far were you when you found out?:
4 weeks... it was 2 days before my period was due

What was your reaction?:
The first time I took it, shock... then when I showed Timmy and he called me a crazy lady (see here) and I took it the second day... I felt smug. Then scared. In about 2 nanoseconds. but some excitement too I guess...

What was the baby's father's reaction?
First day he called me crazy (again... ) or maybe just said he didn't see it. Whatever, details... The second day I didn't get to see his reaction because I, uh, you know... TEXTED HIM THE PICTURE AT WORK... Hmmm someday I'll have to ask the guys in his recruiting station if he puked. and then when he got home he was a little excited too...

What was your parent's reactions?:
We told mom first because dad had just left to run an errand and Tim and I can't keep secrets to save our lives... she was SO excited and wanted to know when my dad and sister would be home because she was bursting at the seams. She was already testing out grandma or nana variations...

My dad was bombarded with the news when he walked into the house, just kind of looked at us, poured himself a drink (scotch maybe?) and just sat down... He told us congratuations but I don't think the shock wore off for a good 30 minutes! Then he called all his family and friends and got harrassed by everyone because he'll be the first one to be a grandpa! He already was lining out what SIU and Colts gear he would get the baby...

Any names?:
Uhhh one of the first days after we found out we started talking about names... and HATED each other's picks for names. We decided to table the discussion until after we know the gender :)... He can't hurt a pregnant lady right?!

Have you heard the heartbeat? If so what was the HR?:
Yes! twice at the doctor... first time was 165, second was 155...
Secret confession: I ordered a Sonoline B pocket fetal monitor last week for $53 and got it Friday night... I spent Friday night trying to find it with Tim cracking up at the sounds I was picking up (the placenta makes a "whooosing" noise) and it also picks up my heartbeat with the baby's... which sounds like a galloping horse. Add it all together and Tim thinks I've got a mini-version of Jersey Shore in my stomach, complete with baby fist-pumping. I've listened to it 4 or 5 times since but the baby is a little jumping bean and hard to nail down!

Baby ancestral types?:
my side: mostly Italian and Irish, but I've got some English and other random European bloodlines in there as well thanks Grandpa B!
tim's side: mostly Irish.... his siblings have names like "Loriegh, Bridget, Avryl, Culhain, Ehrina..." And we have a "MC" last name... do you sense a heritage there?!

Will baby have any siblings?:
For the first 3 months we swore we hoped we were having twins because this was the only time I was going through this... everyone has told me though that once you have the first baby you'll want more... and I don't think I want my child to be an only child... there's something special about having siblings so we'll see!

Have you and dad felt baby move?:
Not yet... I do have gas pains but I'm pretty sure its just gas pains...

Who will be in the delivery room?:
Tim... he did thist to me and he can be there to face the pain with me!

Will you use medication?:
oh HELL yes... immediately please!
On my first doc. appt I asked my doctor her views on medication in labor... She just started  laughing and said "Erica, I wouldn't ask you to get a tooth pulled without medication... why in the hell would I ask you to push a baby out without it?!"

I love her.

Did you have morning sickness?:
Yes. I'll just leave it at that. I'm sure you all have heard more then enough about it :)

Cravings?
Yep... and it changes EVERYDAY... the past two days it was homemade chicken noodle soup.

Did you have any mood swings?:
Does constant bitch mode count as a "swing?" (sorry Tim)

Formula or breastfeeding?:
I'm about 99.9% sure this baby will be lactose intolerant (as were my sister and I) so I'm just assuming formula. If the baby isn't... I'll cross that bridge when I get to it!

When did you start to show?:
I think in the last day or two I'm getting to the point where I can't suck in my gut anymore, and its started to get harder... so I suppose around now. I don't think that I look pregnant yet to strangers though. Just that I like my doughnuts too much.. (whatever dude, you only WISH you could eat all those doughnuts...)

Are you excited?:
Yes... we are getting really excited. When we were talking about the ultrasound appointment on Saturday and Tim asked if I wanted to swing by Lowes after the appt. I asked him why and he said, "Because you know we will want to go get the colors for the nursery right then, and that's what can be our project for Saturday afternoon!"

Who will help with baby after their born?:
Tim... the Army will give him 10 days paternity leave so he can be home with me. In my head right now I want to start off on my own... I want to learn my own way with the baby and figure things out without fear of others being there to watch my mistakes. This is all in theory though and when in reality I'm sleep deprived  and overwhelmed I have faith my parents and/or sister will be at my doorstep. Hey there's a reason we moved just 15 minutes down the road!

What is your favorite thing about being pregnant?:
wait... there's supposed to be a good part to this!?!

just kidding... hearing the heartbeat and sharing the excitment with Tim is pretty good :)

What is the worst thing about being pregnant?:
All. The. Symptoms! and no drugs to make it better!

What one thing do you miss doing since being pregnant?:
Tanning! that might be superficial but I haven't been pale since I was 15 years old. It's going to be rough in the winter...

Any days you wish you weren't pregnant?:
No,  but there are days when I wish every pregnancy symptom would just go to hell

How many kids do you want?:
2 months ago? ONE

Now perhaps 2... I'm not even going to say the potential for 3 if the second one is as bad as the first!

How many pregnant women do you know?:
Two... one of the girls I work with and my cousin

Are you ready for baby?
define ready...

The One with the Cravings

Warning to Chelsea... you will probably be mad at me for this post because it will make you want to eat everything listed. Hey... I warned you :)


So people have been asking me if I've been craving anything, especially anything weird. For the past few weeks I'd tell them, no, not really... no huge cravings that I know of... but this is a lie. Not an INTENTIONAL lie, mind you, but still a lie. Or a blackout. I haven't decided which. Because there are some moments were some food is mentioned or there's a commercial on the TV and OMG I WANT IT NOW.


I always thought cravings meant something you craved throughout the pregnancy, so that's why I didn't think I really had any... because my cravings change about as often as my little diva changes my symptoms! One minute I'd be sitting there, trying to think of what sounded remotely good for dinner and what we had in the house when BAM! a Taco Bell commercial would come on the TV and OH MY GOSH I NEED A CHICKEN QUESADILLA RIGHT NOW!

And that's exactly how it happens... most of the time I'm not especially hungry, and nothing really sounds good. I'll nibble here and there but about once every 1-2 days IT will hit me... that got to have, don't care who gets it, what is this cost you speak of, craving for SOMETHING. Here is the list of the most persistant cravings... and possible most random ever:

1. Taco Bell Chicken Quesadilla. I think I've had this at least 10 times in the past month. Maybe more. I tend to become too overjoyed while eating them to keep track.
2. Sushi. Usually just sushi itself (a  nice California roll which is COOKED sushi)... but every once in awhile I will CRAVE that delicious spicy tuna roll... which is a big no-no for the raw fish and risk of mercury in tuna. Boooo.
3. Blue Moon Beer. Since when did this beer start running commercials?! I'm pretty sure it started the day I got pregnant, and all I want is a delicious Blue Moon draft, with an orange slice on the side.
4. Hot dogs. All day everyday. In fact, I had a footlong coney dog for lunch. Nutritious huh? Again, proving my theory that I'm carrying a redneck.

Those seem to be the nagging cravings that come and go. These are the random one-time cravings (for now!) that seem to have no reason!

1. Shrimp. Specifically, hibachi-style shrimp. I mean... who doesn't want to pay an arm and a leg for a few pieces of shrimp and rice (but a show too!)...
2. Brownies. If you recall, my random grocery shopping trip included the infamous pan of brownies that I ate (ok... maybe in like 2 days. DON'T JUDGE ME!) and haven't had the craving for since... although now that I'm thinking about it...
3. Breadsticks. Only from Fazoli's though and I MIGHT'VE gone through the drive through and ordered a dozen. and they were gone by the next day. maybe.
4. Cucumbers. With Italian dressing and salt on them. I had my fill and didn't look back... who needs veggies anyway.
5. Hershey's cookies and cream. I haven't been craving sweets this pregnancy but every once in awhile the need strikes...

I'll have to update you on anymore of the randomness. That's all I've got for now. I really do have a theory going that this little diva is going to LOVE McDonald's. uh oh...

The one with the Pain in the Butt

So Tim told me yesterday he thinks I'm becoming a pregnancy hypocondriac. I told him I really, truly wish I was, because it would mean I really WASN'T experiencing all this stuff. But alas, I speak the truth... and my body has now decided to jump in and wreak havoc that I can't (fully) blame on my little navel orange (approx. 4.5 in).

Have you ever fallen on your butt while roller blading, sliding down the slide too fast, falling off a place you weren't supposed to be sitting on, or even slipping on ice and landing right on your tailbone? (I mean... me either. I'm TOTALLY graceful and haven't done the above mentioned multiple times). A few days ago I SWORE I must've taken a roller-blading trip and fallen during my dreams because my tailbone HURT. Like... I would grimace and usually groan out loud when sitting and standing, and walking for that matter. It was THAT painful!

I didn't attribute it to pregnancy at first because really, how random? The baby is in the front, and the emotional/hormonal/nasal/intestinal issues I understood (as the baby is the perfect parasite according to my doctor) but my tailbone? What the heck!? Well I Googled--yes I know... I'm not supposed to but let's be honest, will I ever truely NOT Google?!--and couldn't find any defninitive answers if my tailbone issues were related to my pregnancy or very violent dreams.

So I finally went to my last resort and called my doctor. Turns out, ready for this, it IS related to my little naval orange, as my body prepared for the massive basketball shape it would have to support. Simulataneously, your spine is curving to balance your weight the bigger you get, while your hips, joints, and liagments are becoming more relaxed and loose to accomodate widening and supporting the baby. From E-medicine: "Women experience a progressive increase in the anterior convex shape of the lumbar spine during pregnancy. This change, termed lordosis, helps keep the center of gravity stable and over the legs as the uterus enlarges."

Don't worry-- there's a picture to illustrate!

Oh my gosh, I know how jealous you all are of this, as it sound EXTREMELY fun and not painful AT ALL. But you lucky ladies will just have to wait until you get knocked up to experience these joys!

The other shifting and changing going on is something called round ligament pain, which occurs in your lower abdoment and happens when you strain your muscles that are slowly stretching out and expanding for your increasing stomach (uterus is entirely too adult for me to use seriously). I've learned... in conjuction of course with my bruised butt... that when you cough or sneeze... it creates and incredibly sharp shooting pain sensation in said area.

The key, then, is to avoid you know, coughing and sneezing... but when you're dealing with allergies (HI NETI POT) its not so easy to just switch off.

I swear I'm not complaining (much)... and I swear I'm not exaggerating. I can't even make half this crap up if I really tried (seriously... a bruised butt!?). Hopefully next week all my hunches about my little diva will be confirmed... but as Tim pointed out, any son of his is bound to be a pain in the butt JUNIOR soooo it looks like the good times will just keep rollin' either way. :)

The one with the Neti Pot

Well I'm back with some fun, new, exciting symptoms! I literally told my doctor this morning that I must be having a girl and she will be a DRAMA QUEEN because holy mother of God I feel like I'm up to my eyeballs in symptoms!!

New life event: Allergies!

Now, I know that the summer-fall transition is always a time for allergies, and every year I might get the occastionally stuffy nose.. but this year it OUT OF CONTROL. I have TERRIBLE post nasal drip... where I can feel it all day long in the back of the throat, and all it does is aggrivate my already-annoying acid-reflux! WHAT THE HECK!?

Two weeks ago I was self-medicating (under doctor's approval!) with nightly Benadryl-induced comas, that at least offered me SOME relief from the runny nose, post nasal drip, and itchy eyes.This is not really an option during the days however... as my new bosses tend to FROWN on sleeping on my desk (probably with drool) in the middle of the day. Whatever, I'm pregnant, but apparently that excuse isn't good enough... slavedrivers! :)

SO I started taking Claratin-D but decided it stopped working after 2 days. Have I mentioned I'm impatient? Well... I am. I like things NOW. But... apparently allergy medications don't work like that so I was told that I need to try to take it for at least 2 weeks and see if that helps. (Rude Claratin!)

Well then I started googling... even though I've been forbidden from my husband, doctor, mom, friends, etc from googling because OMG those women on those boards will scare you about their 15 miscarriages and their kids with 3 arms and obviously it is SO COMMON AND OH MY GOD WHAT HAVE I DONE TO MY CHILD BY SLEEPING ON MY RIGHT SIDE!? (True story... one lady blamed herself for sleeping on her SIDE for her miscarriages).

SO... GOOGLE. I googled Post-Nasal Drip rememdies for pregnancy and you know what kept coming up? The dang Neti-Pot. I don't know how many of you have ever even heard of this little gem, but basically its a teapot-like devices (smaller scale and plastic) that you fill with warm water and salt, and send it up your nose. You tip your head forward and to the side and the water is supposed to run out of the other nostril. HOW SICK IS THAT?!

During a particularly bad cold last winter I gave it a shot (my sister had one) and I honestly couldn't tell if it did anything, other then feeling incredibly weird. Never gave it a second thought until GOOGLE KNOWS ALL. So I got the neti pot, salt and water and attempted to clear my sinus cavities last night and see if it would help... SHOCKINGLY ENOUGH...IT DID!

I probably should've warned Tim that was what I was doing in our bathroom... So that way when he walked into the bathroom to get something he wasn't totally bombarded by the sight of water flowing out of one of my nostrils but whatever... WELCOME TO THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF PREGNANCY, where there is no room for shame! I used it again this morning and it seems to be helping. It hasn't completely kicked the post nasal drip, but I also don't have a runny nose anymore, so YAY for that!

In other news, I had my second appointment this morning. Which I went to alone because Tim made the mistake of asking "Are you just going to complain to the doctor about all the symptoms at this one? Because I've already heard those" when I asked if he wanted to go to that appointment. Well not with that attitude mister! Everything is going well though... I was down 1 pound, which I had already lost 6 pounds my first visit... so at almost 15 weeks pregnant I'm down 7 pounds... wait, what?? No worries, doc said that's not uncommon and that she has faith I will make it up :)

I got to hear the heartbeat again today... a very health 155bpm (Tim was mad he didn't go when he heard this... hmmm should've listened to my complaining dear!). We made our next appointment for Oct 13, and we get to have the gender ultrasound!

But, I am impatient (warned you!) and we are going to a local ultrasound place that does gender scans starting at week 15, next saturday when I will be 16 weeks. We honestly don't care whether its a boy or girl, we just want to know :)... We are planning on testing some of those old-wives tales thanks to my friend Lauren who sent me a site with 51 of them!! Clearly they're all VERY scientific and I have faith the results will be....entertaining if not quite accurate.

That's all I've got for now... Probably not as snappy as my usual posts but I'm trying to at least give everyone an update :)

The one with the Pregnancy Stupids

Have you ever felt like the connections are just not being made in your brain? Like the little neurons are having some serious communications issues the likes of Dr. Phil can't even fix? As if your hair was not just blonde, but the blonde-ness had seeped into your actual brain?? That, my friends, has been my life the past week. And I'm dubbing it "Pregnancy Stupids" because honestly, I think I would need to check myself into a padded room if I DIDN'T have an explanation for it!


Recent events involving Pregnancy Stupids:

1. Repeating the question I asked my husband 1, 2, 3 times, all immediately after the other, until he finally got tired of repeating his answer and just silently looked at me... I didn't even realize I kept asking the same thing!
2. Forgetting my purse in my desk drawer, making it halfway home and pulling into the gas station because I had been on E since that morning, and finally REALIZING the purse was at the office. Added to that my husband was out of town for the week. So I ended up doing what any normal 24-year-old, married and pregnant girl would do... I called my mom. Who graciously brought me gas money and a good dose of sanity for my hormone-crazed  mind. (THANKS MOM!!)
3. Calling Tim in a very accusatory/panic-driven mood because the day he left for Fort Knox, I went to turn our AC on (that had been on that morning and I cut off) and IT WOULDN'T COME ON! I called and bitched at him (it was all his fault for leaving me for a work commitment and leaving WITH the AC ON, which I had to turn off... BUT STILL SOMEHOW HIS FAULT!) and bless Tim, he tried to talk me through checking to make sure things were running and finally just told me to let it sit for an hour and see if it cooled down.... which after the hour, and it was still not cool, I went to the wall thermostat to glare at it and its 80 degrees accusingly, only to realize I hadn't switched it to "COOL" 
4. Having to have a colleague ask me 4 times for the same document before it suck in that I literally just had to open up an new email, attach a document, and send it off. For some reason remembering all those steps just really boggled me...
5. Remembering my to-do list to the point where I had to REWRITE it every day on a new post it just so it would stay fresh in my mind... things like "Call Insurance Company before XX date--BIG DEAL TO GET MEDICAL BILLS PAID!"

I'm sure there are more examples of the pregnancy stupids, but this is all I can remember.  Can I chalk writing this post up with more amusing stories to a fault of the pregnancy stupids!?

mom... you need to buy more dogfood and pick up our medicine... mom... mom... MOM!

The one where I return

Ok... OK.. I KNOW! I know I said I would update this (fairly) regularly and...clearly... lately I have not. I apologize but I really do have good reasons for it!

Reason 1) I got a new job! I'm still with my agency, and actually in the same office AREA but I'm switching divisions and I'm upgrading from my cubicle world to my own office... with a door and everything! We'll work on the window thing later...

Reason 2) Tim has been blowing the Army away with his mad skills and has been in a flurry of boards. First he had to go to the "NCO (Non-commissioned Officer) of the Quarter" board for his battalion (in recruiting world, his battalion is Indianapolis--which covers all of Indiana and all of Illinois). He kicked serious butt on that board so he got sent to the NCO of the Year board for his battalion next, and again kicked butt. So they informed him with 3 days notice that he would next be sent to Fort Knox, KY for NCO of the Year for his Brigade (which covers the entire midwest). So that is where Tim left for yesterday, and where he'll be until Thursday. If he wins this one he goes to the NCO of the Year board for ALL of Army Recruiting. Kind of a big deal... and maybe I like to brag a little :)

Reason 3) I was dog-sitting for my friend Chelsea while she was in fabulous Jamaica so my week was spent in a little limbo between my house and hers in the evenings.

SO its been very hectic but I am back!

And good news! I'M OFFICIALLY IN MY SECOND TRIMESTER! YAYYYYY!!


Bet you though the pregnancy symptoms would disappear or at least ease up? ME TOO! Guess What? The little PEACH (3 in long) is still working up a flurry of excitement over here! The latest development... LACTOSE INTOLERANCE! Yes, apparently you CAN grow back into it (as I thought I got rid of this at age 5) and so goes all your dreams of ice cream induced comas and cheese-filled quesadillas. THANKS PEACH!


Now for the normal person, they would diligently cut out all lactose products from their diet, right? Well I went out and bought sherbert, and I had Tim wander the aisles of Wal-mart searching for something called SOY MILK--as he cringes as he asks the sales lady where it was. But these were the easy changes... the real hardship comes with CHEESE. Because suddenly, everything I've ever wanted to eat most in the universe, contains CHEESE. That salad I eat? Cheese. Those muffins--cheese strudel. Everything on the Taco Bell/ Qdoba menu that I crave now on an almost hourly basis--CHEESE.

Its a cruel, cruel world this little peach is coming into!

BUT hopefully I will figure out a way around this. Mostly it just gives me the most irritating heartburn and acid reflux known to man (have you ever felt like there is ground beef stuck in your throat? When I have dairy it is that feeling 24/7). Luckily Prevacid seems to help a lot (and is safe for pregnancy--thank you for the small miracles!!).

We have also realized that now that I'm in my second trimester, and able to you know, eat, I should NEVER EVER BE ALLOWED TO GO GROCERY SHOPPING ALONE EVER AGAIN for the following reasons:

1) I forget all sense of "meals" when wandering through those glorious aisles and instead pick out things that alone seem delicious, but tend to be ONE part of a normal person's meal. Let's look at strawberry jam for instance. Most people would at least buy bread with this and put it on toast, if not peanut butter also and make a sandwich. I however, had a huge urge to just take a spoon and eat the jam out of the jar. Yes, clearly that is healthy/normal.

2) I buy things that have zero nutritional value at all. My recent trip? Brownie mix, three boxes of toaster strudles, chocolate chip cookies, and jello mouse-pudding among other equally nutritious things. Please explain how my baby is craving a certain nutrition from any of that!?

3) I tend to ignore prices in search of things to satisfy said cravings. Again, witness the fact that that shopping trip to include the brownie mix and a few other items, making a total of two grocery bags, came out to be a whopping $53.00! I still have no idea how I managed to do that. Before I could get an entire week's meals for that amount--lets not even talk about how much of that brownie mix/toaster struddles/cookies are left after 3 days.


So... looking back at all this I clearly should not be left alone with a purse in a store that sells food. And as we saw earlier, Tim's idea of grocery shopping is picking up packages of Ramen noodles in mass quantities.

So little peach, thank God we have family dinners at grandma and grandpa's house on Sunday nights. Otherwise, I think you might pop out with a Taco Bell wrapper around your little body.

The one with THE CRAZY

So folks, I am FINALLY inching my way out of the first trimester and setting sail into the second. Today started 11 weeks, so just a few more weeks to go (don't even get me started on how 40 weeks makes 9 months?). I am happy to report though, that the never ending nausea seems to be easing (Yes, I did actually knock on fake manufactured wood as I typed that. I'm taking no chances here, people).


What doesn't seem to be easing? The never ending emotional ride. And I wish someone would give me and Tim a helmet for this stuff because it is not going to be easy. Especially if it gets worse, as people have warned me.


I'll give you a few examples of THE CRAZY that has been invading our household. (Hi TIM! Look, I'm telling other people about THE CRAZY so you know I'm not really mad at you, I'm just emotionally unbalanced!)

• Bursting into tears at a Chinese Buffet. While I dragged Tim to go to said buffet (Chinese not being his favorite) I then decided it was a WONDERFUL time to unload on him about not doing enough around the house (which I was SO JUSTIFIED in my head!). When questioned what he's not doing, (after he had just done laundry and cleaned and swept the living room) the examples I came up with included "Going grocery shopping" "reading the baby books" and my favorite "not telling me I look pretty 24/7." Note: These are all horrible examples for the following reasons:
• Tim has been a soldier for the past 6+ years of his life, living in barracks with food provided, or having all of his check to blow on daily fast food runs. His version of grocery shopping includes buying ramen noodles, apples, maybe some deli meat (but forgets bread) and cereal (sometimes remembering the milk). I have said I will soon teach him how to grocery shop (THEN tackle, you know, how to COOK) but have not yet done so. SO really, I'm not sure how I can expect him to do the grocery shopping in this case.
• Tim has read a few chapters in the baby book, but he also has 5 sisters and 10 nieces and nephews. Two of his sisters lived at home when he was growing up when they were pregnant, so the concept of a pregnant woman is not new to him. I also make it a point to tell him every new thing I read in the book... so really, what's the point in him reading the book himself?
• Tim does tell me I'm pretty. I choose to imagine he does so only when prompted or I choose to brush it aside. He told me I was glowing when we first saw the baby and my response was "you feel like you have to say that whether I was or wasn't." So, hmmm. Maybe I should stop complaining and listen more?
• Volunteering to pick up Tim's dress jacket from the alterations place on my way home from work yesterday, since I didn't want him to go on Wednesday after the doctor's appointment. I wanted him to go to my parent's house with me instead. And this dress jacket had to be done and picked up ASAP since it has to be dry cleaned before Monday. I KNEW all of this. This did not stop me from calling him up in a frenzy because OH MY GOD YOU HAVE MADE ME DRIVE TO THE GHETTO TO PICK THIS UP AND SCARY GUYS ARE LOOKING AT ME AT 4PM WHILE I'M IN MY CAR AND HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME. 
• Ok. Maybe I knew to begin with the place he used (he still doesn't know Indy very well) was at the corner of Lafayette Rd and 38th Street. By an old run down mall we refer to as "Lafayette Scare" instead of Lafayette Square, and where they have bars on the store windows. And maybe, the place really isn't TERRIBLE, especially during the day, and is just 2 minutes out of my way on my drive home. STILL! HOW DARE HE MAKE ME VOLUNTEER TO GO THERE!
• Almost coming at him like a hormone crazed spider monkey when he very politely asked if one of the tubs of ice cream that I bought were for him. As in, asking if there was one he was specifically not to have. And in my mind he was TELLING me that he was going to eat all my ice cream and HOW DARE YOU DO THAT TO ME! And he ended up eating a very small bowl of ice cream in fear THE CRAZY would come find him in his sleep if he dared eat more.
• I actually bought the ice cream on impulse, not out of a craving. I figured eventually I would want ice cream and it'd be nice to have for those moments, but I was not knee deep in mint chocolate chip like a starving woman trying to fend off the animals from my life source. But... I guess I might've reacted like that. 

That's all I've got for now. I'm sure more episodes of THE CRAZY will come up, and I will look back on them like I'm doing now and just cringe. I honestly wonder why that man hasn't started turning our guest bedroom into a mancave, or at least why he still agrees to sit in the same room with me. By the end of this I think he will deserve that newer TV he's been hinting for (but maybe not so much the gun he also wants... at least not until THE CRAZY is gone.)

The one with Baby's First Picture

We had our first ultrasound yesterday!

It was wonderful to be able to see the baby, to hear its heart beat (a very healthy 165 bpm!), and know that everything is just fine for the little prune!

I won't even try to make any sarcastic comments about the moment, it was wonderful. Tim got a bit teary eyed when we first heard that heartbeat :)

Instead I will share the first picture with you and apologize for the quality. It was a 3D scan, printed on 2D paper, and then uploaded to a computer... so its gotten a little fuzzy in the mix... I added where the limbs are so you can know what you're looking at (since at 10 weeks it looks more like an alien then a baby :)).

We have our next appointment in September, and we can find out the sex of the baby starting at 16 weeks, so hopefully by the beginning of October we will know if its a boy or girl (and I can start shopping!)....