Well, I think this should be the last entry in the "Pregnancy Journal", since this is it's 50th entry, and because, well, I'm no longer pregnant! All the new journal entries will now be found in the "Baby Journal"!

As I'm signing off on this one, I'd like to say goodbye to my big hard belly, acid reflux, weight gain paranoia, ugly maternity clothes, food restrictions, horrible acid reflux and the trials and tribulations of pregnancy related constipation and hemorrhoids. Although I had a relatively easy pregnancy, I can't say I'd like to do it again any time soon. And as much as I thought I'd miss feeling the baby move inside me, it's WAY cooler to feel him move on the outside!! :D

Moving on now to the Baby Journal!

Finally-for your reading pleasure-the birth story! (As best as I can remember!)

Around 1:30am on 3/24, I starting having my first real contractions. They felt absolutely nothing like anyone had described to me. I really think every little thing is so different for every woman in pregnancy. Anyway, I started timing them. They were exactly 10 min apart for a while, then very quickly they got closer and closer and were about 5-6 min apart. I still didn't think it was time yet because I could still tolerate them pretty well. I took a hot shower which felt GREAT, but the contractions continued. It was when I went to the bathroom and saw that I was bleeding. Chris and I were mostly concerned about this, so we headed to the hospital. We got ourselves checked in, and then they hooked me up to some monitors to watch my contractions and Henry's heart rate. She checked my cervix and said I was still only 2cm dilated.
She had us walk around to see if the contractions would get any stronger, but they really just became more sporadic. She checked me again after a long time of monitoring and I was still only 2cm. so she sent us home and said to come back when the contractions are unbearable or closer together.We had to do the walk of shame! In the parking lot, I broke down and cried,,, HARD, I just didn't want to have to suffer through these pains for 2 more days and have to be induced anyway. They gave me an ambien to help me sleep, which we did until about 10 I think. Chris went and got Mom from the hotel. While she was making lunch for us, my contractions were getting much worse. I was able to eat, but it was not easy! I just laid on the couch trying to breathe through the pain while Chris and Mom watched TV and tried to time the contractions. They said they were 6min apart, but I just didn't feel like it was time yet. I took another shower and laid down in bed. This is when they started getting REALLY bad. Mom said they were about 5-6 min apart now and about one min long. She made us call the doctor! I just didn't want to be sent home again! Dr. Javaid told me I needed to come on in. So we get to the hospital and they hook me up again to the same machines. This time Chris waited in the lobby while Mom looked on. They checked me after a little while and I was 5cm! I think she said I was completely effaced too... I don't remember. So she said they would admit me! They hooked me up to an IV right away. I was scared of the IV to begin with (never had one before) so the nurse tried to have a sense of humor about it to make me more comfortable. Then on her first try she blew a vein!! Another nurse had to come in and do it. It took her a few sticks to get it too because my veins tend to roll around, but she finally got it and it was not bad at all. After that, they took me to my room where I would labor and deliver my baby. By now I think it was about 3:30 or so. Our nurse Allison was AWESOME. She too was pregnant and I just can't tell you how great she was. Anyway, I labored in the hospital bed for a while and the nurse checked me again around 5:00. I had already dilated more to 6cm. She asked me if I wanted an epidural and I said I really wanted to wait until i was more dilated or at least until 6:00. By now, Nancy and Dave were there for support. I mostly was embarrassed moaning and groaning in front of them! I think we sent them out for dinner or something-I can't remember. Around this time I had the worst contractions yet. There was NO escaping them. They hurt so bad I felt like I might vomit every time. The anesthesiologist came in around 6:30. Chris waited outside for this, and Mom stayed. The epi-guy was hilarious. Just a funny, older dude who made me feel much better about having the epidural. They had me sit on the edge of the bed, hanging over the tray table thing while the nurse let me squeeze her hands. Of course I kept having contractions through the whole thing! He pricked me first with a painkiller of some kind, and then came the wierdness. Painful is really not the best description for what came next. It hurt a little, but mostly it was just WEIRD. I felt it go it and it kind of rattled my spine. If you have ever had a bad electric shock, you might know what I'm talking about.. That's just how it felt,,, in my spine! Buzzz. Then it was over. They had me lay on my side to let it kick in. Slowly, from my butt down I just started getting warm. The more it worked, the more warm and nice it felt. I could still feel the contractions, but instead of feeling a huge cramping pain, I felt pressure and a tiny tiny bit of pain "down-below". My epidural was light enough for me to still be able to walk around if I wanted, or go to the bathroom on my own. (I highly recommend this.) After a little while, I was checked again and was 8cm, and my bag of waters was bulging. The nurse said it should pop at any time and would be an explosion because it was so swollen an tight-like a water balloon about to pop. She was going to send someone in the pop it, but the doctor was not there yet and she knew as soon as my water broke, I would progress really quickly. Between 8:00 and 9:00, I went from 8cm to 9.5cm. The nurse decided to just pop my bag herself with her finger. It did not explode like she said it would. It just leaked out slowly. She checked me again and I was at 10cm! At that point, she said the only thing keeping the baby from coming out was my full bladder and the fact that he needed to move down a little bit. She drained my bladder so I wouldn't have to get up, then had me sit up so he would make his way down. This is when I started getting reallllly nauseous. She wanted me to start pushing so by the time the doctor got there, we'd be ready to go. Meanwhile, Dr. Javaid was taking forever to get there-plus she had to do a c-section before me. So we were pushing for the nurse mos of the time. Chris had my left leg and Mom had my right, and I watched everything in the mirror. It was somehow easier for me to push when I could see his little head crowning. By the time the doctor FINALLY got there, he NEEDED to come out. I needed to push really bad! I started to, and the doctor yelled "stop! don't push! I haven't even gotten my gloves on!" Once we were to that point, I think it took 3 pushes to get him out. They plopped him on my chest, and he immediately pooped! He also screamed and wiggled around really well. We were all surprised by how active his already was. He was sucking on his little hand and rooting around already! I hardly felt the delivery of the placenta and all that, and I only got one tiny stitch. Dr. said I didn't really tear, but I broke a blood vessel or something and that's what she stitched up. After they weighed him, cleaned him up and all, we decided to try to breastfeed. He latched on immediately. He ate from both sides for about 20 min. What a champ!

I will write about everything thereafter later. I need a break for now :D

Still no baby! But that's no surprise, is it?
Up down up down up down. That's me these days.
Holy crap! Not to change the subject, but someone just knicker knocked my door! Actually, I have no idea if that's what it's really called.. That's what we called it when I was a kid. Basically someone just frantically rang our doorbell and ran away. I wish we had a peep hole on our front door! I was a little scared to open it being home alone and knocked up and all.

I saw The Last Mimsy today. i don't know that I'd recommend it, although I did enjoy it. It tried really hard to be something special but it just sort of missed the mark.

Oh, and just a reminder.. I consider this little blog to be a real journal for myself and I try to be as honest as possible. I never meant for anyone to take any of it personally. It's nice for me to be able to write all this stuff down for my own form of therapy, and then maybe there's someone out there reading along that can somehow relate.
That's all, folks!

Still pregnant.. Still depressed..
Why do I feel like a failure because I'm not naturally going into labor? On one hand, I'd love to go ahead and schedule an induction today with my favorite doctor. Then everyone would be happy. Well, except me. A big part of me WANTS to wait. It is better for the baby! It is better for ME! For those who want to know why I didn't just schedule an induction the second I was overdue, please read this and then leave me alone:
"Attempts to induce labor don't always succeed; many fail and the mother must then undergo a c-section delivery. C-sections performed after a failed induction are associated with higher rates of complications, infection, and longer hospital stays. Induced labors have higher rates of fetal distress and more often require the use of forceps, stricter bed rest, restriction of food and fluids, and more frequent monitoring of the baby's and mother's vital signs. Labors are often longer and women get epidural anesthesia more frequently, suggesting that induced labors are more painful."
I'm glad that I CAN make an educated decision about this. I just don't feel like childbirth should have ANYTHING to do with convenience for anyone. I think a LOT of first time moms choose to induce, sometimes a bit early just because they are uncomfortable, anxious, or just like to have a schedule. Then they labor for 20+ hours, get an epidural right away because contractions form pitocin are MORE painful than natural contractions. Is it really worth it? Is it really worth risking a c-section (yes, I really want to deliver vaginally-I also think women who choose to have an elective c-section just to avoid damaging their hoo-ha are incredibly ill-informed. But I digress..)
Writing all this down is actually making me feel much better. I'm just feeling so much pressure from the people around me. I try to tell them why I am waiting things out and they just look at me like I'm crazy. Nobody wants to hear the medical negatives. They just want to see the baby-then run away quickly! Oh my gosh this venting feels good. I needed to remind myself why I didn't want to be induced in the first place. I'm doing the right thing by waiting. I am doing the selfless thing by letting the baby come on his own terms instead of when it is convenient for everyone else.
By the way, this is nothing against women who have had medically induced labor. I understand. I just really don't want it for myself.
HOWEVER, I will not be one of those nearly 3 weeks overdue still waiting for the baby to fall out. If he's not here by Monday, I'll go ahead and do it. He will be 9-10 days overdue. That's fine with me.

Ok, now that the meltdown seems to have subsided I can give another update. I went to the doctor today. There has been NO CHANGE since last Wednesday which just does not make me feel any better. Still 2cm dilated and about 60-70% effaced. They checked me to make sure I'm not leaking amniotic fluid.. Of course I am not. Everything is fine. But get this-he was checking the baby's heartbeat, poking around my stomach and whatnot.. He says, you know you're having a contraction right now. I said, uh, really? it just felt like the baby was sort of stretching out really hard. He said it was definitely a contraction. How crazy is it that I couldn't hardly feel it? But I recognized the feeling and I have felt it many times in the past. In fact, I felt it a bunch of times today. I just always thought it was the baby stretching his little bum out really hard! Now I know!

To keep us busy, my Mom and I have been going to afternoon movies.. Today we saw Wild Hogs. Yes, I knew what I was getting myself into. No, I do not recommend it. Tomorrow I think we are going to see The Number 23. I'm sure it's not that great, but at least it's closer to the kind of movie I like.

So tomorrow morning I have my Post-Due Date Sonogram. They have to make sure baby is ok. Then, if I'm STILL PREGNANT, I have yet another OB appointment on Thursday to discuss induction. I don't want to have to be induced dammit! Then again, I also don't want to have to be pregnant for another week.

Still no freaking baby!!! And now that Mom is in town and we eat out for practically every meal I am gaining weight so rapidly it feels like all that hard work throughout the pregnancy was a waste. I extremely depressed. I woke up this morning feeling nauseous and crampy but knowing full well it means NOTHING. Then I weighed myself thinking because I didn't eat a whole lot yesterday maybe the number might have gone down since a few days ago. NOPE. UP ANOTHER 2 LBS. That's FIVE lbs. gained since THURSDAY. I had a complete breakdown. I couldn't stop crying. I'm so F*cking tired of my weight going UP. I'm even more tired of people telling me not to worry about it and that I'm too obsessive about it. Y'know why? Those are the same people who will judge me when I don't magically lose all the baby weight in 3 months. I DON'T WANT TO BE PREGNANT ANYMORE!!!. I've done everything I can next to drinking castor oil to get this baby out. If one more person tells me to take a brisk walk, I will punch them. I've been walking non stop for the past week. Last night I speed walked around my neighborhood for a half hour in the rain, ok?? I've done the walking. I ate the nasty eggplant parm. I'm squatting. I'm drinking the red raspberry leaf tea. I'm eating pineapple by the pound. And yes, we've even done that OTHER thing that supposedly brings on labor. So, NO more suggestions, please! This baby doesn not want to come out!

I'm annoyed also because I seem to be on a continuous leak. For instance, while I was walking, suddenly it felt like I'd peed my pants. But it's just this clear discharge. I've been having this for a while now and when I mentioned it to two different doctors, they both said it's not amniotic fluid and don't worry unless the "gush" keeps going. Whatever that means. This is another reason why I hate being pregnant. The doctors convince you that no matter how weird, scary or disgusting, pretty much everything is normal. So you convince yourself not to go to the doctor when something happens because you're sure you'll just be wasting their time. So I could be walking around with a leaky bag of waters and not know it.

Can you tell I'm depressed today? I'm thinking about calling my doctor today to see if I can come in today instead of Thursday. Please people,,, send some labor vibes my way.

So in case you're curious, yes, I'm STILL PREGNANT!! I was really hoping for a St. Patty's day baby, but it just wasn't meant to be! Our first sonogram actually estimated the due date being closer to 3/21, so let's just go with that now.
I'm not sure if you are familiar with the old wive's tale that eggplant parmesan can bring on labor.. Well, we went out to a really nice Italian restaurant last night just so I could eat the stuff. Man.... I am NOT a fan! It was so gross! I felt sick during and after eating it and NOT because it was sending me into labor! Uhhg I can't even think about it I disliked it so much. Well, now I know. :D

Yikes! Had a rough night last night.. Let me preface this with the fact that a few hours after my exam yesterday, I was spotting with light cramping. I called the nurse just to be sure, I know this is a pretty normal thing after a cervical exam, but it just felt like I was bleeding a little more than what I had expected. She said it was normal, yadda yadda and if it continues after 24 hours or if I bleed heavily, call the doctor. So I just stopped worrying about it.
All night I was cramping. It got so bad by 4am I couldn't sleep at all. It was almost constant pain.Then every time I went to the bathroom there was blood. The worst part for me was that every time the pain would start to subside, I would lay down to try to sleep and that's when the reflux would come up with a vengeance!! So I just stayed up. The original Frankenstein was on AMC this morning so I just watched that :)
Around 7:30 or so, the cramping finally stopped. Thank goodness! Mom and Carrie are flying in today around 1pm and I was really hoping to enjoy my few last days of freedom with them!
Here's another thing.. And this might be TMI for some of you so if you are easily grossed out, stop reading here!!
I'm pretty sure I have been losing my plug little by little. Yesterday I saw a little something in the toilet that was questionable looking,, and I just figured it was blood from the exam. This morning, twice now, after going to the bathroom there has been what looked like a bloody boogar floating around in the toilet. I figure it's might just some more blood from yesterday, but it also happens to look a little yellowy and well, like a big boogar. Pregnancy is a beautiful thing, isn't it?

Bread gooooooooooooood!!! Fire BAAAAAD!!!

Okydoky. So it turns out there was a little bit of progress made since Friday. The Doc said I've effaced a little more since my last visit, but he didn't give me a number to go by or anything. I am now dilated to 2 CM which is good news. He also said that the baby has dropped even more since last week. I asked if he think the baby might come soon, aka, on time, and he said I should still schedule a post-due-date appointment for a sonogram and a NST but in his opinion, I probably won't make it to next week.
A girl can hope!

ps..
For the record, I am still under 30lbs (probably not for long though!) and have no stretch marks! Hoorah!

Wow.. It really is THREE days until our due date! too bad I'm pretty sure baby will not be coming any time soon. I don't feel any different than I did last week. I'm going to the doctor again today, so we'll see if there has been any progress, but I kind of doubt it.
Although, it would be nice if he came Saturday or Sunday because one of my favorite doctors will be on call then.
Mom and a close family friend are coming up for a visit tomorrow which I am very excited about! It'll be nice to have someone to hang out with during the day.

Two different people this week had the same reaction when I told them when the baby is due. When I say "this Saturday!" the look at my belly and say, "NO!! Wow! Good for you!"
What exactly does that mean? Good for me? Should I be bed ridden by now? Are they shocked that I can still go out in public without the baby just plopping out? People say the weirdest things. I just say "Thanks!"

Well, I will make sure to post an update after my doctors appointment.

Guess who woke up this morning with a sore throat and sinus congestion.
Nope, not me.
Chris said last night he felt like maybe he was getting sick so he took a bunch of vitamins and a cold pill before bed. Looks like it just made things worse. So what do we do now, huh? This baby is supposedly coming real soon and his daddy might not be able to hold him without wearing a face mask or something. Or even worse, he gives the cold to me and then our whole freaking family is sick. It's just not fair. We tried so hard to not get sick.

Doc says I'm 50% effaced (funny how that changes from doctor to doctor, huh?) and a full centimeter dilated. Progressing totally normal! And I officially gained 3lbs since last week which the doctor seemed happy about.

I stubbed my little toe HARD!! It is quickly becoming a swollen purple vienna sausage. Plus I'm having some crazy sciatica just on my left side right now. It's usually not so bad because it comes and goes rather quickly but today it's just like a constant pain. Sucks. Owell, could be worse. I still feel better than I did last weekend!

So I have my 39 week appointment in about 30 min. I can't imagine there's been a whole lot of progress since Monday. I certainly don't feel any different. I have a feeling now that this kiddo will not make his appearance at least until his due date. He seems quite comfy in there right now! And that's fine with me. I'm realizing all the little things I should probably get done before baby comes.

Oh, I took a quick picture of myself a minute ago because I was feeling cute and a little cheeky despite my swollen toe and sciatica.

Guess I'm really experiencing some of that pregnancy insomnia. I woke up about an hour ago (3:30am) and decided to just give up and mess around on the computer for a while. I'm having some light cramping and lower back pain right now, but nothing worth worrying about. I am a little worried though that I'm coming down with a sinus type infection. Yesterday morning I had a terrible sinus headache that seemed to take forever to go away, and now my nose is all runny/stuffy. Wow.. There really couldn't be a worse time! Can you imagine if I had this baby with a cold, and then I'd have to wear a face mask or something whenever I'm near him? That would be kinda sad.

This house makes very strange noises at night that I never really noticed before.

Ok, I guess I'll try to go back to bed now. Wish me luck!

10 days till our actual due date!
Y'know, up until recently, I was convinced this baby was going to come a little early. Now I'm starting to think it's just the opposite. I just don't *feel* like he's coming any time soon. I also think having the doctor tell me I need to eat more kind of screwed me up. I was so distressed by that whole mess that I ate way more than I needed to and I think that's exactly why I've been feeling so so crappy lately. Yesterday I went back to a similar eating plan as I was doing before, except I added a few things here and there to up my calories. I feel so so much better today that I don't see how it can't be directly related. I even think that baby is feeling better today. He's been moving around like crazy all morning! I finally felt good enough to get a little exercise this morning too.

It is definitely getting more difficult to get some sleep-at night at least. I've been able to take a few fabulous daytime naps. I get up a good 3 or 4 times a night just to pee, and then just finding a comfortable position in bed takes a while. BUT I still have been able to get a good 6-8 hours of sleep a night so really I can't complain.

So much for feeling good this whole pregnancy.. For the last 4 or 5 days, I feel like I have been hit by a truck. I have NO energy. My back constantly hurts. The Acid Reflux is so bad, it honestly feels like it never goes away. I always feel like I have hot vomit in my throat. My cramping just goes from bad to worse back to bad. I really thought I was going to be one of those people who could exercise and whatnot up till the delivery, but at this point just making it down the stairs to do the dishes is a huge accomplishment. Plus, I feel absolutely disgusting. Big fat giant smelly slug. That's what I feel like. I think I'm gonna go try to take a nap now. :(

Nah. No such luck. Doc said I was probably having a little "false labor" (duh). I did finally dilate,,, a tiny tiny bit. She said I'm fingertip dilated now. I'm supposed to be "taking it easy" now. And for those of you who were concerned about the whole not eating enough thing, you'll be happy to know I managed to gain 4 lbs. in 3 days. There ya go.

Ok, here's the deal. I don't have a lot of time to write so I'll give the short version for now.. Basically I felt terrible all day yesterday. I had 3 contractions of some sort. They were bad enough to make me have to sit down and breathe through it. When I got home I just felt worse but didn't have any more contractions. I did however feel like I was going to barf and had terrible cramping non stop. This morning there was a little bit of a snotty discharge in my undies (I know, I know, TMI) and I decided I should go to the Doc just to see if there's at least been any progress with all this pain. I am about to leave! I'll let you know everything when I get back!

Caaaaaaaaaaaan't Sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep!!
And no, it's not because of the regular pregnancy things. It's because I am a light sleeper with a SNORING husband who insists on sleeping in the very center of the bed tonight. Oh, he's sleeping just fine! In fact, he'll probably sleep till 11, slowly get out of bed and ask me, "where were you? I was worried." Then because I essentially got up this morning at 4:30 am, I will want to go to sleep at 7pm, and Chris will not get around to coming to bed until 1am, waking me up by turning on ALL the lights, going to the bathroom with the door wide open and brushing his teeth etc. then asking me, "are you assslleeeeepp?" Then the cycle begins again.
Marriage is AWESOME.
So is sharing a bed with the deepest, heaviest sleeper on the planet.
It's AWESOME.
Can you sense my sarcasm?
Do you know any adults that have to snooze the alarm clock a minimum of 6 times in the morning before getting up? I DO!
I love my husband. I just had to vent a little bit. It's hard knowing that I probably will not get any sleep for a good year starting pretty soon and now that I have the opportunity to sleep, I can't because my hubby is sawing wood.

Ok. I feel better now. And here's the best part. Now that I have actually LEFT the bed, the snoring has stopped!!! What the hell?! I will try to go back to sleep, but I doubt I'll have any luck.

So.. Here's what the doctor said: I am now 75-80% effaced (thinned out) but still completely closed up (not at all dilated.) The baby is SUPER low now. She hardly had to do anything to reach his little head. She said that because I am not dilated but he's so low, his head is pushing on my cervix so much that it is totally bulging out. She said she hopes I start dilating soon or else things could start getting really uncomfortable for me. Then she got all serious and told me that there are Ketones in my urine which means that I have been burning more calories than I have been consuming. She said thats she is concerned that I am not eating enough yadda yadda yadda. This is all moments after me feeling so proud that I only gained half a pound this week. So now I feel terrible. I thought I was doing so good with counting my calories and eating super healthy. I know I could stand to gain a few more pounds though. I decided for the rest of this pregnancy I will try to eat healthy, but If I'm hungry I will feed myself. Up to this point, if I was hungry, starving even, after 7pm I refused to eat. Or if I'm hungry soon after lunch (which I often am) I will eat something instead of waiting till my afternoon snack. I'm just feeling really bad now. I don't know what I would do if I was somehow hurting my baby by trying to stay thin. The thought of that makes me sick. SO. Yes. I shall be enjoying myself some Mexican food and all of it's yummyness tonight. Plus I had Wendy's for lunch and it was fabulous. REFLUX BE DAMNED!

Out of curiosity, I looked up the definition of Ketones. I have to admit I was a little confused when she told me I had them because up until now I had only heard of Ketones in refrence to diabetes.. I'd always thought they show up in your urine when your blood sugar is really high, like you are essentially peeing the sugar out. Here's what I found: "Ketones are substances that are made when the body breaks down fat for energy. Normally, your body gets the energy it needs from carbohydrate in your diet. However, stored fat is broken down and ketones are made if your diet does not contain enough carbohydrate to supply the body with sugar (glucose) for energy or if your body cannot use blood sugar (glucose) properly."

Well, I had a hard time sleeping last night, and so did Chris for some reason. We both woke up around 4:30 and just couldn't get back to sleep! I always get excited on the days of my OB appointments. There was so much progress last week, I can't help but get excited! The thing is, all last week I had dull cramping and lots of clues that something was going on. This week, I've had very little cramping and with the exception of the other night no major complaints. So, I don't want to get my hopes up! Also, I'm a little annoyed that I have to see the Doctor that I don't like today. Last time I saw him, I guess the nurse didn't tell him he would be doing an internal exam so when he came in the room she looked at me, shocked, and said "Why don't you have your pants on?!!" Um,, call me crazy but you'd think a f*king gynecologist would be used to walking into the room and seeing a woman with no pants on, yet discreetly covered with one of those beautiful paper sheets they give you. It was like he forgot that he has to look at vaginas for his job. Whatever. I'm not being mean, am I?

Feeling MUCH better today. I didn't have any painful incidents last night, though I did wake up at 3am to pee and couldn't get back to sleep for a good hour. I took a new photo of my belly today because I was convinced it looked much lower than usual, but now that I'm looking at the pictures from last week, I guess it doesn't look all that different. Maybe smaller? Weird.

So glad I went to water aerobics class last night. I always feel really good afterwards, even if I felt like complete crap beforehand. The only bad part is the floaty-belt things they make you wear. It squeezes me right in the wrong place I guess, and pushes my guts in. It makes me have reflux through the whole class. I just keep burping and burping.. hehe It's all worth it though.

So last night around 1am, I woke up in the middle of what I THINK was a contraction. I haven't had any to speak of until now, so I'm not sure what they're supposed to feel like. I have however had lots and lots of dull cramping and doc said could be really mild contractions. Anyway, my belly hurt from right above my belly button on down. It was like a terrible menstrual cramp pretty much. Then, when it finally started to subside, I realized I was burning up!! I don't know if it was a prolonged hot flash, or maybe a fever. I got up, went to the bathroom (longest pee ever! hehe) and then I felt like I was going to throw up! We're talking extreme nausea. So I splashed super cold water on my face and stripped down to try to cool off. Meanwhile the cramping continued on and off. I never threw up-I just thought somehow it would make things worse. So I just laid back down in bed, tried to see if I could time these "contractions", if that's even what they were, and eventually fell back to sleep. I was too tired and out of it to really time anything, and besides, it felt like there was no definite beginning or end to them. The seemed to last forever. I still feel a little crampy this morning, but I do feel waaaay better.

Yesterday, I decided I didn't like the birth announcement that we had chosen. I redesigned the whole thing. I think it looks much better now! It took me forever though. I'm so out of practice with that stuff.

I didn't end up going to Step-Aerobics class yesterday. I just couldn't do it. My sciatica was so bad Sunday night and on and off all day Monday that I just thought I'll do more damage than good by going. I WILL however be going to my water aerobics class tonight. That I can handle.

It's 6:45 am and I have been up since about 5:00 am. I woke up wide awake and desperately wanting to CLEAN! I thought I already went through the whole nesting thing, but it looks like I'm getting another wave of it today. I can't do a whole lot right now though since Chris is still asleep and I don't want to wake him up vacuuming and whatnot. I keep having this feeling that this baby boy is going to come early. I don't know just HOW early though. I don't think I will make it to my 39 week appointment. Watch, I'll be 3 weeks overdue. I'm jinxing myself. I realized a couple of days ago that I have completely forgotten everything I read through this pregnancy. I read 3 different books on getting your baby to SLEEP and I don't remember any of it!! Wait, no, I remember how to swaddle. Yes. That's not going to do me a whole lot of good. I don't have enough time to go back and read them all again! I need CLIFF NOTES!! I wish Chris would have read some of these books too. Maybe he would have retained at least a little bit of the info.

Y'know what, while we're at it I'm going to jinx myself a little more. I'm going to post my stats. I've avoided this all pregnancy because, well, it's hard to come to terms with this kind of stuff. But I'm proud of how well I did, even though there are other women out there who didn't even try and had the same results as me. Here's the scoop: At 37ish weeks I have gained roughly: 24 lbs. I have no stretchmarks in sight (YET!) though I've been told those can come at the very last second. The biggest measurement change for me (other than the obvious belly) is these jugs! Holy crap! Please lord, tell me they will shrink back down to non-pornographic size one day! I feel like a walking freak show! (Sorry if this is all TMI.. I know there are a few brave men who read this journal.)

Wow.. This is quickly becoming my longest journal entry. Well, what the hell else is there to do at this hour? Chris is up now, so I can begin my cleaning rampage now. tah tah!

(Yes, I will now be dating my journal entries!) So here's something gross I'm sure you don't want to hear.. I can FEEL this baby "dropping". You want to know how I can tell he's dropping? I can FEEL my pelvic bone (well, really my pubic bone) actually expanding. It's pretty painful! I've been having more random cramping and last night I had a couple moments that took my breath away. I still don't think they are contractions though. I think it's just everything stretching out and getting ready for baby. Mom is FINALLY out of the hospital! She checked out around 5:30pm today. I thought they were going to let her out much earlier today, but it turned out they still had a few more things they had to take care of. She had a valve or drain or something that still needed to be removed. Anyway, things are looking up. Oh, another little bit of TMI-I bought a manual breast pump today. I was going to wait on a pump, since I have no idea how well this whole breastfeeding thing will go and breast pumps are ridiculously expensive!! Especially the motorized ones, holy crap! Well, I had a coupon for a few bucks off this manual one and I thought what the hell. We shall see. And no, I will not take pictures.. Sorry. hehe

So I copied and pasted all my old entries from the other website and was very disappointed to find out that NONE of the entries were dated! So all those important milestones that I was so sure to write down have no date to go with them. I have no idea when I felt the first kick and whatnot. I can guess, but who knows. Owell. At least we have some interesting journaling to look back on. As for Mom, she is still doing well but unfortunately has to stay in the hospital another night just to make sure she's ok. She should be going home tomorrow.

Ok, so Mom had her surgery around 12 today and as far as I know, it went really well. She is not quite awake yet but she will be soon and hopefully I will get to finally talk to her! As for my doctor appointment, the baby has moved down quite a bit and it still head-down thank goodness. And it turns out that all that cramping was making some progress! I am about 50% effaced but not dilated. Doc said the cramping could have been very mild contractions. He also said he is guessing the baby will be about 7 lbs. and possibly will come a little bit EARLY! I passed my Strep-B test and my weight/blood pressure are fine as usual. A+ for me! hehe

Mom is in the hospital right now for her gall bladder. She's been there since yesterday-they've been doing all kinds of tests. They just have a couple more tests to do this morning, and if all is well she will be going in for surgery soon. It's really no fun being so far away from your parents at times like this. All I can do is worry. Hopefully I will have a very positive update in a few hours. Oh, I also have my 37 week appointment in an hour so we'll she how that goes! I've been having cramping on and off for about 3 days now and have been wondering if it is actually mild contracting. So we'll see if we've made any progress since last week!

Ah, updates.. Acid Reflux is the newest complaint in the Thomsen house. I can't say I've ever experienced anything quite like it. And it doesn't matter what I eat or drink, it just happens. It's worst at night. I've even woke up in the middle of the night feeling like there's fire burning in my throat. Then I'll burp up the hottest nastiest STUFF. Its gross. And Tums aint cutting it. I've also been having pretty bad hip/lower back pains. A friend in my exercise class said the lower back pains could possibly be mild contractions preparing me for labor.. I'm not sure about that. Other than that I've been pretty good. Chris has been playing indoor hockey once or twice a week and it's so fun to watch! He's doing really really well. A couple days ago Chris and I went on the tour of our hospital. I can't say there were really any surprises. It looks like a really nice place to, well, give birth! I was doing fine until at one point, we were all standing in the hall near the "well baby nursery" and a nurse wheeled a little newborn right by us. I have to admit I got a little choked up at that point! What else.. Oh Mom is coming to visit today!! AND our second baby shower is also today!! It's a big day. Tonight, there is supposed to be some terrible snow/ice etc. so I hope everybody can still come! A friend has requested some more belly photos so I'll see if I can hook that up today :P Oh also, last time I went the the OB she told me that I'm measuring a little small (32 weeks as opposed to 34 weeks which is what I was at the time.) She said it's nothing to worry about, it could just be the positioning of the baby. He is head down and his little footsies are pretty much lodged into my right ribcage. It's nice to finally know what position he is in so I know what's what. Usually when I'm lieing down, I can feel his little tushy pretty easily. So fun! Stay tuned for new photos and stories about the shower. ps Please forgive any spelling errors. I've been up since 4:30 and it's 7am right now! I'm a bit sleepy.

I had a dream last night that I was holding my baby! I'm not sure where we were, but we were outside just walking around and he was so tiny! He was completely bald and just looked really sleepy. Then I sat in a porch swing somewhere and just rocked with him. I think that is my favorite dream so far. I think it'll be a good day today!

8 Weeks left!! Holy crap! hehe I've been wavering back and forth now between being very very excited to finally meet our baby, and being completely horrified! I've been told this is natural and normal so, well I don't feel so bad for being scared. I'm not too too worried about the actual delivery part-it's everything thereafter that scares me! I also find myself thinking about things I will miss about being pregnant, which is very few. I'm afraid that I did not revel in pregnancy like some women do. I was in such a hurry for it to be over this whole time, now I'm regretting that I guess. I've been telling myself I should make a list of my positives and negatives of being pregnant.. So here goes. My Pregnancy Negatives: * Fat fat fat! I feel fat all the time, especially BEFORE I even gained that much! * My hormones made me absolutely psycho. This for me was by far the worst part of being pregnant. I feel like a mean hateful person one miniute, then the next I just want to cry for 3 days straight. I'm imbalanced to begin with, so i think I had it slightly worse than the next preggo lady. * Sciatica and tailbone pain * Food (for me) is no fun at all. As soon as I indulge in something I actually love or have been craving (ie Mexican food, junk food), I feel like crap afterwards. I've been eating light and healthy through this pregnancy not only so I don't gain too much, but because if I don't, I feel really barfy. * Getting sick and not being able to take meds. * Feeling like the ugliest stinkiest bhudda-like fatso on the planet * (Kids, don't read this part) Sex is like a scary carnival attraction. Nobody wants that! Not to mention the fear that you are somehow hurting the baby or that you are a total perv for wanting sex when there's a baby in there in the first place. * Whoever those women are that say they got pampered when they were pregnant were full of sh*t. People still cut me off in lines, steal parking spots etc. And forget about foot rubs and things of that nature. I have to be close to death to get that kind of stuff. OR I have to promise to return the favor, which in my opinion defeats the whole purpose. * Crippling Round ligament pain * Insomnia * Watching the scale go up up up * Growing freakishly large breasts and feeling them actually rest on your belly. Gross. * Peeing yourself in public places because you sneezed or coughed too hard * Worst heartburn EVER * Constipation/The opposite. Nuff said. My Pregnancy Positives: * Feeling the baby move * There is still silence in my house. I will miss that I'm sure. * Having a noticable belly is fun for about a day until you realize that people DON'T give a sh*t. Hmmm... Seems that's all I can think of. That's not good. Turns out pregnancy is kind of crappy. For some..

I guess it's been a while since I wrote an update! It's been pretty crazy around here the last few weeks. Chris and I drove down to Florida to visit my parents for Christmas and for our first baby shower. The drive wasn't too bad because we would stop every couple hours or so so I could walk around, and we stayed overnight in Calhoun, GA so it turned out to be more like two 7 hour drives. You never would ave known that my ankles were swollen if it weren't for the big indentation made by my socks! The visit was awesome as always. The weather was CRAZY-mostly between 70-85 the whole time. The only time it got colder was when I went to a water aerobics class, outdoors! THAT morning it was 45 of course. The baby shower was alot of fun-unfortunately, I was not feeling well at all during the whole present opening process. I felt like I had a fever and my stomach was turning like crazy! At one point, I had a bathroom emergency and unfortunately it was not a #1 kind of emergency. And I couldnt exactly take care of things because there was a room full of 30+ women just waiting for me. BUT other than all that, it was a really good time :D The drive back was not as easy as the drive down because we got to Atlanta-or close to it-right at 4:30, and were stuck in traffic for about 2 hours, so a 8 hour drive took closer to 10 hours. It was nice to finally be home. We were so exhausted on New Years Eve that we almost didn't go out. We ended up going out to dinner, then we went to the bar that we met at on New Years eve 6 years ago hoping to hang out there at least a few hours, but I gues the new smoking-ban somehow did not effect this particuar bar. SO we only stayed long enough for one game of pool, and Chris had one beer. Then we went home, and I fell asleep on the couch. Luckily, Chris woke me up at midnight to watch the ball drop and give me a smooch :D

I guess it's been a while since I wrote an update! It's been pretty crazy around here the last few weeks. Chris and I drove down to Florida to visit my parents for Christmas and for our first baby shower. The drive wasn't too bad because we would stop every couple hours or so so I could walk around, and we stayed overnight in Calhoun, GA so it turned out to be more like two 7 hour drives. You never would ave known that my ankles were swollen if it weren't for the big indentation made by my socks! The visit was awesome as always. The weather was CRAZY-mostly between 70-85 the whole time. The only time it got colder was when I went to a water aerobics class, outdoors! THAT morning it was 45 of course. The baby shower was alot of fun-unfortunately, I was not feeling well at all during the whole present opening process. I felt like I had a fever and my stomach was turning like crazy! At one point, I had a bathroom emergency and unfortunately it was not a #1 kind of emergency. And I couldnt exactly take care of things because there was a room full of 30+ women just waiting for me. BUT other than all that, it was a really good time :D The drive back was not as easy as the drive down because we got to Atlanta-or close to it-right at 4:30, and were stuck in traffic for about 2 hours, so a 8 hour drive took closer to 10 hours. It was nice to finally be home. We were so exhausted on New Years Eve that we almost didn't go out. We ended up going out to dinner, then we went to the bar that we met at on New Years eve 6 years ago hoping to hang out there at least a few hours, but I gues the new smoking-ban somehow did not effect this particuar bar. SO we only stayed long enough for one game of pool, and Chris had one beer. Then we went home, and I fell asleep on the couch. Luckily, Chris woke me up at midnight to watch the ball drop and give me a smooch :D

So the blood test went well-for once the nurse actually only had to poke me once! Usually I walk out with bruises all over my ars because they can't quite get a vain! yuck.. I probobly won't find out any results until next week or so. The regular Doctor's appointment was fine also. They're getting kind of boring actually! After my 31 week appointment (next month) I will have to start going every 2 weeks. Now if I could just figure out a way to sweet-talk my way to another sonogram! Stupid stupid insurance policies :(

Today I have my test for gestational diabetes and my 27 week dr. appointment with Dr. Fitzdreamy, I mean, Fitzgerald. THEN this Friday, Chris and I are leaving for Florida! I'm SO excited! I've been very homesick so I can't wait to be around the family. We'll be having the baby shower down there on the 28th! I'm excited to show off my newly aquired belly. :D Oh yah, there is no question that I look pregnant now.. Except my yoga teacher still tells me ever class that I don't look pregnant yet. Poo. Perhaps if I didn't wear my baggy pajamas to class... I have to go to the dreaded weigh-in today. Not looking forward to that-allthough I did make it through this month gaining exactly 4 lbs-not too bad considering I had to deal with all that yummy Thanksgiving food. So far I am right at the lower end of the reccomended weight gain, still in the healthy range, but not too much. It looks like if I keep doing what I am doing, I shouldn't end up gaining any more than 30 lbs. I should be pretty happy about that, but for some reason it still stresses me out.. Partly because I know I will eat alot the week of Christmas-it's just unavoidable so I doubt I'll be able to keep this months gain down to 4 lbs. I know I know, stop obsessing.. Easy for you to say! At least I'm eating healthy-I doubt indulging in my every craving is very good for the baby. Thanks for listening.... I mean, reading. :P

I think I should call this month the EMOTIONAL month. I am absolutely psycho! Chris on the other hand has become this uber supportive sweetheart who gives me belly rubs and foot tickles even if I don't ask for them and cleans up the kitchen all on his own! Remind me to thank him one of these days.. I wrote last time about the growing pains.. Well, they're worse. This baby is stretching me out! Now it's a dull pain that lasts all day and is especially bad when I walk down the stairs. For those of you who think I should be rushed to the hospital immediately, let me remind you that I had called my doctor and he has reassured me that this is all normal and probobly because the baby is sitting so low. There's not as much room to grow down there then there is in the upper belly. There is just alot of growing going on right now which is GOOD! It just hurts! hehe (refer to new belly pictures to SEE this growth!) He told me I could put a mild heating blanket on my belly where it hurts or even an Ice pack. So last night I was brave enough to heat up this little rice filled heating pillow that is for menstrual cramps and keep it on my belly for a while. Let me tell you, it felt heavenly! Unfortunately as soon as I would stand up it would hurt again, but while the heat was on it I felt great! I am gaining much more quickly now which really bothers me but there's really nothing more I can do about it. I still do my exercise classes almost every day-which means actually walking through the snow to go to a swimming class in a freezing cold pool. I'm gonna do it though, damnit! I also am eating as light and healthy as I possibly can. I'm eating at least the minimum calorie requirements daily, so if one more person gives me sh*t for eating a salad instead of ice cream and a cheesesteak just because I'm pregnant, well, I might hurt someone. I'm still gaining exactly at the pace and reccomendations of all my books and what the doc says, if not even a little bit more. It's so easy to become obsessed with weight gain during pregnancy. It doesn't help that I have in fact lost about 40 lbs in the past (yay me!) and got so used to expecting to see the scale either go DOWN or stay the same. It's very hard to train yourself to be OK with the number going UP! Well, plus I have to try to shrink back down as fast as I possibly can after the birth so I can fit into a little purple dress for a wedding. I've already had the dream where I'm barely squeezing into a size 20 dress and crying in the dressing room that I can't let people see me like this. Pretty terrible, huh? Well,, I told you this is my EMOTIONAL month, didn't I?

Wow, I guess it's been a while since I wrote an update! Let's see.. I had my first real experience with round ligament pains a few weeks ago.. Apparently it's completely normal,, just "growing pains" if you will. We had a check up a few days later and everything is fine! We met a different OB this time and we really liked her. She's good people :) The biggest news is that Dave and Nancy bought us our stroller last night! Chris and his dad put it all together and we tested it out in the house.. So exciting! There are a few photos of it in the pictures section of this site.. Also if for whatever reason you are curious about it, here is a link to the website with info about it: http://www.chiccousa.com/product.php?productid=189&cat;=5&page;=1 Baby is kicking much more now-but I still absolutely love it every time. He is especially active in the early morning and after meals. I've also enjoyed watching him kicking from the outside too! My belly bounces around like in the movie "Alien".. It's hilarious :D

So last night Chris and I went to our first birthing class at the hospital.. I have to say, so far it seems like a waste of money and time! It's a two hour class once a week for 6 weeks. The first class, we watched a video that showed an actual birth (seeeen it) and the "birth" of the placenta, then we practiced BREATHING slowly for like a half hour.. Oh, then the men had to give massages to the women. Then it was over and my back KILLED because we had to sit on the hard wood floor the wold time. What kind of masochist makes pregnant women sit on a hardwood floor for two hours!? Hopefully it will get better.. I'm bringing pillows next time.

I didn't feel baby move today at all and I was starting to really worry.. so a little while ago I put headphones on my belly and played a little classical music and guess who started kickin'! I guess the baby likes Saint-Saëns! He also seems to like Bob Dylan, but mostly when he's playing the harmonica :P

I'm feeeeeeeling FAT! Yes.. Big. Not round and cute, no. The belly is definitly coming out now, but still slowly. Seems like I'm pregressing kind of slowly. That's ok though, I'm not complaining! There are times now when I'mm be putting socks on or something, and bending over that far is not very comfortable. I can still comfortably sleep on my stomach though, wierd, huh? I'll take a new belly photo soon. I was gonna wait till I hit the 22 week mark this Saturday but I might do it sooner.

I can feel the kicking and movement much more easily now since the baby is bigger. Especially in the morning! I just wanted to write real quick how it feels while it's on my mind. I cannot imagine how much MORE I could possibly love this baby. Every time I feel kicks, it's like joy I have never felt before. As wierd as it may sound, it kind of feels like the first kiss! My heart just swells! I wanted to make sure I wrote this all down now, while I still love the kicking ;) I know the bigger the baby gets, the less "sweet" the kicking can be! Chris hasn't been able to feel him from the outside since the other day, but I'm sure he'll feel it again soon enough. By the way, in just a miniute, I'm gonna take a photo of my 20 week belly! It FINALLY is starting to look like there's something more than water and gas in there! heheh

I just had to make a quick update.. Moments ago, I was laying on the couch with Chris, watching TV. I could feel the baby kicking alot for some reason. I decided to feel down there, just for giggles,, but there it was! I could feel the baby kicking from the outside! I called Chris over, and he got to feel a couple of kicks!! What a STRANGE and amazing feeling! *edit-I am pretty sure I was about 19 weeks when I wrote this

Yesterday was the big day! My mom is in town and kept me company till the appointment. I was so nervous and excited! At first, our little Flip-Flop did not want to cooperate! He was wiggling and jiggling around but the cord was blocking the view of any "parts". The nurse had me use the restroom and move around a bit.. You should have seen me in that bathroom!! I was belly dancing, jumping around like a psycho trying to get this baby to move! On our second try, it still took quite a while. I really didn't care at that point. The nurse implied that the baby looked normal and healthy, and I could SEE his little heart beating. From that moment on, I could have cared less. He was alive and healthy!! But then, when almost all hope was lost, the nurse goes,, WAIT!! And pauses the screen.. She says "there is one leg,, there is the bladder,, the other leg, and there is the PENIS!" hahahaha!! I lost it! There was tears of joy in the room! Then we called the mothers in the room and let the nurse tell them the sex. I think they were surprised! I've been convinced this baby was a boy since 6 weeks, but those two were still thinking pink. I've always wanted to be a "boy-mom"! I'm not sure why... As much as I love the color pink and going shopping, there is something really special about a Mother and Son bond. A friend of mine who has 3 college age boys told me once that, "When you have boys, they will love you to no end when they are young. They can't get enough of you! It's when they turn about 15, that no matter what, everything you say to them is the stupidest thing they're ever heard." That stuck with me for some reason :D PLUS, I don't know if you all have noticed, but all boy-moms are incredibly sexy. Yeah, that's right. hehehhe I also am relieved because Chris and I already have a couple boy names that we are pretty sure about. It was the girl names that were really stressing me!! We were set on Lillian (Lily for short), or Margaret Anne (Maggie for short). But then I was noticing all these baby Lilies and baby Maggies! I was getting pretty frustrated. So now I don't have to worry about it again till the next one.... In 20 years! hehehe

New photos have been added! Just a few.. We are VERY excited about this coming Monday. We will be having our first sonogram! Plus my Mom will be here! Our plan (and I did have this OK'd by the Dr.'s office) is that Chris and I will go in first while Mom and Mom-in-law wait outside.. Then once Chris and I know everything is ok, and we have found out the sex of the baby, the two Mom's will get to come in and see! Chris and I wanted to have the moment to ourselves first, but we also wanted our family to get to experience it! I had a few yucky moments this week-a UTI that luckily only lasted about 3 days.. I just felt like crap. I'm getting the serious sleepies again too. I'll be fine until about 2:00 and then BAM! Must... lie..... down.... Our little peanut is also pressing against my sciatic nerve (yes, ALREADY) and the pain can be excruciating. I have been going to yoga, water aerobics and step aerobics and the exercise seems to help, but there are some times when I can't even straighten myself up after getting up out of bed. Remember the little old lady Ruth Buzzi played on Laugh-In? Remember how she walked, shuffling her feet with her back hunched over? Hitting men on the head with ther handbag? Yah, that's pretty much how I carry myself these days when the sciatica hits. We're allowed to abuse our husbands when we're pregnant, right? Chris had been beaten over the head with a handbag a few times by now, but it was always well deserved (in my humble opinion.) My face is looking rounder, which doesn't exactly make me happy, but it could be worse. Oh yah, like the chronic dry splotchy skin ONLY on my breasts, WHICH by the way have already grown to enormous proportions. I tried to go bra shopping yesterday but it was so depressing to see how freakishly huge they're gotten. I treated myself to a Godiva chocolate instead. Don't you try to make me feel bad about that! What pregnant woman has the self control to go to a Godiva store, and buy and eat only one chocolate? ME! Yes. Pat-on-back. God bless Ruth Buzzi. hahaha

We went to our 16 week appointment yesterday and all went well. We got to hear the heartbeat again! This time it was about 164bps. Chris and I had both planned on recording it with our cell phones this time since we didn't think to last time. We both had our phones out and even practiced beforehand. The doctor took his time so we could get a nice long recording of it and everything. By the time I got home and tried to listen to it, it wasn't there! I had forgotten to press "save" after I recorded it!! I was upset but then I remembered Chris recorded it to.. Well, not so much luck. Turns out he did the same thing as me! So once again we went home with no recording of the heartbeat. Owell.. It's still such a beautiful thing to hear. I am convinced that I have felt the babby move a few times now. I know, I know, everyone says it's too early for me to feel it, but I've read enough of those books to know that you can feel it as early as 14 weeks, and what it might feel like. So if I concentrate hard enough at the right times... Flutter flutter! Everyone else seems to think I'm just feeling gas bubbles, which, is probobly true but a girl can dream, can't she? And besides, don't you wish you could be as excited whenever you feel a fart bubble? hehe I asked the Doc if it was possible for me to feel the baby moving and he said "probobly not, but I know better than to argue with a pregnant woman!" This is how I know we'll get along real well. :D

This Saturday marked the end of my first trimester! Woohoo! I am now almost 15 weeks. I still don't feel all that pregnant.. Just heavy! Every once and a while my lower belly feels just slightly harder.. Not so much mush anymore! We also celebrated my 28th birthday this week with a giant seafood feast! hehe

Yesterday was our (roughly) 11 week appointment with Dr. Fitzgerald. I was really looking forward to this one because I knew we would get to hear the heartbeat. Folks, I can not emphasize enough how absolutely amazing it feels to hear your baby's heartbeat for the first time. There is nothing like it! I felt like I was walking on air all day and would get choked up just thinking about it. The heartbeat was 140 bps which apparently is right in the middle. Perfectly normal! And for those of you who were speculating, there was only ONE heartbeat thank goodness. :D

So I found this crazy website today in which Madame Zaritska "predicts" your birth experience. Here's the website: http://sheknows.com/about/look/736.htm Here's what she said about us! Madame Zaritska, our resident clairvoyant, wants to help you prepare for the arrival of your child. Here she does her best to predict certain aspects of your labor and birth experience. What she senses for you The day you deliver, outside will be blustery. Your baby will arrive in the afternoon. After a labor lasting approximately 16 hours, your child, a boy, will be born. Your baby will weigh about 8 pounds, 15 ounces, and will be 19 inches long. This child will have light blue eyes and a lot of hair. But there is more. I know you imagine your baby often. You wonder if your baby is safe and healthy. Why don't you go listen to a baby's heartbeat and think soothing thoughts about your own child. Hmm... I just did the test again answering the questions exactly the same and got a completely different response. Must be pretty scientific.. :P

Well, I took a photo of my growing belly yesterday. A few people had told me I should, and I was feeling particularly good about myself at the time. Well, soon after taking that picture, someone acted shocked that I had gained so much weight already. Now I'm not feeling so great. As much as people who have children tell you that it doesn't matter and especially once you have the baby you won't care about the extra weight, you have to admit there is ALOT of pressure on new moms these days. I'm embarrassed about how obsessed I've become. I'm hoping I'll be feeling better once I get into the 2nd trimester.

Alright, so I guess I should start writing mini-updates! It's hard to motivate yourself to do anything when you're feeling like me. I have a terrible cold and of course, I can not take any medication for it so I have to just ride it out. Today is the best I've felt it a while though, I can actually breathe through my nose, which is nice :) Other than my cold, I've been feeling pretty good! I've had no morning sickness at all, which I am greatful for, except for the fact that I want to eat everything in sight now! I've already gained about 5 lbs.! Seems pretty rapid to me.. I'm a bit worried! I've thought about posting my weight fluctuations on this website, but it's hard enough for me to watch alone-I can't imagine broadcasting it to all you guys! My Mom came and visited us last week for four days-we had a great time despite my sniffles. It's always nice to be around your family. I will be adding a few more pictures to the website today so check them out. xoxo