happy mother's day everyone

I hope every momma out there has a calm and beautiful day. It's gorgeous here and I got a lovely card from Jay to start my day. We're getting ready now to have Jay's family over for a Mother's Day dinner, so I wanted to post before everyone got here.

Not much to update this week. Work has still been crazy, but what else is new. The girl's been kicking a lot lately, mostly in the early morning and late at night and in the presence of loud and fast music. This morning in bed I almost woke Jay up because it felt like she was doing jumping jacks. I'm starting to get to the point where I feel her everyday at least for 10 minutes or so, which is reassuring and alien-like at the same time. Jay can finally feel her, too, which makes it even better.

I'll be 24 weeks on Tuesday, which means only another 4 weeks until I'm in my third trimester. I feel like the time has flown by and that the next four months are going to go by in the blink of an eye. I'm starting to get a real nesting urge, so we're going to go register next weekend which will at least feel slightly like progress. Like I've mentioned, many friends are generously letting us borrow baby supplies, and just this week I got a big box in the mail from my Aunt Sue and cousin Megan from Maryland with all this adorable girl stuff in it. I started crying when I opened the box and saw all the adorable pink and purple clothes, a beautiful baby blanket, toys and books. It was so kind of them. Megan and I are the only girls on my Dad's side of the family, so I know they're excited to to add one more. I feel like there's so much anticipation around us, I just can't wait to meet our girl!

Hope everyone had a great week, and I'll leave you with a new belly picture:

sorry for the delay . .

It has been a very hectic week and half at work and so I apologize for not posting as I usually do on Wednesdays. It was probably the busiest week I've had since I started three years ago, and I was too beat to think about much else. And outside of work, things have been very busy also. Jay and I had an awesome first anniversary last Monday and went to the Melting Pot for fondue, which I've been wanting to do forever. We had a great time with tons of food. Here's a picture of us at dinner:
He also gave me some beautiful roses and wrote a beautiful letter to our girl telling her all about how we met and how excited we are to have her coming soon. I, of course, was bawling. I'm so lucky to have Jay in my life.

Then my crazy week concluded with an trip to the doctor to check on the girl and an awesome visit from my mom and my brother Keegan. Everything was perfect at the doctor; we actually saw one of the nurse practitioners, which I like more than even seeing the doctor because they spend more time with you. Like we found out that from 34 weeks on, I have to go to the hospital every week in addition to my bi-weekly doctor's appointments for a non-stress test to monitor the baby's heart because I have thyroid disease. We hadn't known this before, and while it's not a bad thing, it's nice to know that I have to plan for the extra time off from work. And they measured my uterus and I'm right at 22 centimeters, which translates to how many weeks I am. That was pretty cool to learn that those measurements would match all the way through the pregnancy. And I was also pleased to learn I'd only gained a half pound this month, for a total of 9 pounds. I'm under the norm for weight gain at this point, which is fine by me. I've been eating normally but I think going to the gym regularly like we have this last month has really helped. I hardly have any swelling, no varicose veins or stretch marks (yet), and if I can keep my weight under control, I'll hope to ward off any of those symptoms for a while longer. It also was good to hear because people tell me everyday how huge my belly is for 6 months pregnant and that I "have a long way to go."

The visit from my mom and Keegan was great. We went out to eat a few times, did some shopping, and I got to show them the baby stuff we like. I hardly get to see my family, so it was a real treat. It happened to be freezing here this weekend and raining everyday, so that sucked, but otherwise, we had a nice, relaxing time. Here's a picture of us:
Hope everyone is well. I'll update again soon.

i've developed a literal pain in my ass

To be honest, it's really my only pregnancy discomfort so far--sciatica. It literally feels like a sharp pain right in the middle of the butt check that stabs every time I put my foot down. It's bothered me off and on for about two months now, but recently, after I decided it would be good to wear heels to a wedding and dance in them, it has really flared up. As far as I understand it, it happens because the girl is sitting on my sciatic nerve, and she may or may not move the rest of the pregnancy. Usually it gets worse as you get bigger. We've been really great lately about exercising and going to the gym and I don't want to have to sit that out so I'm trying to find ways to improvise. The elliptical trainer has no impact, so I can do that and feel fine, but then I'm hobbling around the rest of the time. Yet even when I rest it seems to do nothing and even gets a bit worse. I guess I'll just resign myself to assuming the pregnancy waddle a bit early. Although I feel like I get major looks with my occasional waddle, I've found people are very understanding of pregnant women in general and just smile and get out of my way.

This week has otherwise been great; as I mentioned, we went to a wedding on Sunday and had a blast. It's been beautiful weather here for a change and I always root for a good day particularly for April brides, since I remember all to clearly our potential wedding rain-out. Here's a picture of me and my handsome husband at the reception:
On other wedding notes, our first anniversary is Monday. I can't believe it's been a year. So much has happened!! It's been the biggest whirlwind year of the five we've been together and I wouldn't change a thing. Even when times seemed tough--my weird bacterial infection and 5 days in the hospital, our trouble initially getting pregnant, having to move unexpectedly--I don't think either of us lost sight of the fact we make a good team and are each other's best friend. I'm just so excited and happy about this newest adventure we're embarking on now and I'm exponentially more in love with my husband today than I was on my wedding day. I didn't even know that was possible.

As you'll see, I've really popped this week. I feel like I woke up last Friday bigger and rounder than even two days prior. Etta Roo decided she wanted to be in the picture, too

Our next doctor's appointment is May 2, but I realized with sadness that our April 1 ultrasound was probably our last look at the girl before she makes her grand entrance. As I understand it, unless there's an issue, they won't be ordering any more ultrasounds. I guess I'll just have to keep imagining her (and not as a teenager with booty shorts and big boobs, which is often the image I have in my head). I guess I still have fears about raising a girl . . .

Until next time, with love . . .

halfway there!

It's hard for me to believe, but I'm halfway through the pregnancy this week (all things considered, she may come earlier or later). I'm really starting to relax into and enjoy the pregnancy, especially since I'm much less tired than I had been. I still startle myself when I catch my reflection in a mirror unexpectedly. I'm that big?!?!? And I'm going to get bigger?!?!? Not necessarily in a "fat" big way, although I have those days, too, but more that its still hard to believe sometimes there's a little lady growing in there and that it all is happening snug inside my belly, which is no bigger than your average watermelon (OK, maybe a little bit bigger, but not much). I had a weird incident yesterday where I caught a glimpse of myself sitting down. Now, I'd always felt like when I was sitting that my belly just sort of disappeared under me and that it was hard then to tell I was pregnant. What a rude awakening when I looked to the side and saw that I was completely wrong! It's undeniable from all angles! I'm sure I've got plenty of ass spread, too, although I try not to think about it.

Here's the view:

On a very, very positive note, Jay and I have been meeting at the gym after work all this week, and will continue to do so. It works out well, we both arrive about the same time, and although I can only do about a half-hour on the elliptical and some light weights and stretching, it feels good to sweat. The weather is perking up here slightly, and I think that's energized us. That and the thought that in about four months we won't have the leisure of spending time like this again for a loooooooooong time.

A few people have mentioned that its a pain to leave comments because you have to sign in, so I've disabled that feature and you should be able to comment away without any hassles.

Hope everyone is well. Until next week . . .

19 week update

So here we are, recovering from the news that we're having a girl. I shouldn't say "recovering," which makes it seems like it was bad news -- which it's not at all. We love our girl more than anything in the world. But for some reason, I'm just very nervous about having a girl. I feel like I want her to stay in my belly for longer so I can protect her. As much as I'm fully comfortable with the idea that we're going to be good parents, I feel like these days girls are exposed and judged in different ways than even I was as a girl and that we won't be able to protect her for long. And my God, what if she's like me and hits puberty at age 9? Jay's decided already that we'll encourage her to play sports but NO CHEERLEADING--I can't bear the thought that she'll be out there being judged on her looks and how sexily she can hop around. And I want her to have good friends but not be too popular so she doesn't experience any more pressure than necessary. I know I have no say in these things, and that she's going to be who she wants to be and do what she wants to do and at the end of the day, all I care about is that she's content and has something to smile about as she goes to bed at night.

So once I come down from my nervous high, I just realize how much I love being pregnant and having her in my belly (my increasingly bigger, harder and hairier belly) and how much we can't wait to meet her.

But before she comes out, we've got to get a pretty room ready for her! Here's what we like for bedding:
And here's the crib we picked out:And here's the momma, who finally got contacts and looks like herself again (only very tired):

Everyone has been so sweet about us having a girl, as they are in short supply in both of our families. My mom and Keegan and my dad and Brie are all coming up to see us in the next month or so, which will be so much fun, and Jay's family and our friends have been so excited that it makes it hard to talk about anything else when we see them. All in all, this is a tremendously overwhelming and amazing time in our lives, and we try to take each moment as it comes and not wish it away for even a second, even when I wake up every morning with a stuffy nose and pee my pants a little every time I sneeze.

the smalley ladies

Here's the big one:

And more importantly, the little one:

it's a . . .

GIRL!!!

We just got back from our 18 week ultrasound and found out the good news. We're so excited! I was a bit shocked, having convinced myself it was a boy after first thinking it was a girl. I should have known my first instinct would be right. Jay was not shocked at all, given, as he says, "Well, there were really only two options."

She's developing right on schedule, and she's got all her limbs and appendages. I think she's quite cute already. It's remarkable how much she's developed since our last peek at her five weeks ago. Her arms and legs are all in normal proportion to the rest of her body now, and her body has caught up with her big head. The ultrasound tech was a bit stoic -- we had to ask if everything looked good, and when we said we wanted to know the gender she focused between her legs and calmly said, "See that area there? It's a girl." I guess we were expecting a bit more fanfare, like, "Oh, look! It's a GIRL!" But as we rationalized, they could care less about the gender, they just want to make sure the baby is healthy (as do we). So in the end, a most excellent visit all around.

We got lots of pictures and I'll post the best ones tomorrow. We just wanted to spread the good news as quick as we could!