One Holiday Down

I got a call from my doctor's office Tuesday afternoon just before we were going to head out of town for Thanksgiving that I had elevated blood levels from the glucose test I took the week before. As I am super emotional right now and cry very easily, I choked back my tears and tried to steady my voice when the nurse asked when I was available to take the 3-hour fasting glucose test. I replied, "I am sure we need to do it sooner than later, right?" She replied they could get me in the next day, and I informed her I would be going out of town in a few hours. Somehow I managed to schedule my screening for Monday at 8:30 without crying, but as soon as I hung up the phone, tears streamed down my face. I knew it! I just knew it! When my doctor told me at my last appointment that I had gained a little too much weight between that appointment and the one 4 weeks before, I thought, "I bet I have gestational diabetes." My sister did. My brother has Type 1 diabetes and has had since he was 4. I tried to be careful during my pregnancy, but I admit I didn't try hard enough. So now I sit here, braced for the diagnosis after tomorrow's "try not to vomit after you drink this nasty drink on an empty stomach" test. Did I also mention it is a FASTING glucose test that lasts THREE hours? Who needs food when you're 30 weeks pregnant?

I am really glad the Thanksgiving weekend is over. We spent over 24 hours in the car over a short 4-day period. My ankles and fingers swelled up so bad it wasn't even funny. We broke the trip up into segments, stopping overnight in Houston each way, but it did little to alleviate the swelling. At one point I joked with Hubs that one of my ankles had a goiter because it was so swollen. Not only that, but I don't sleep well in strange beds as a rule, and haven't been sleeping well the last couple weeks due to being pregnant because it is uncomfortable to lay in any one position for an extended period of time.

I did, however, really enjoy catching up with Hub's family, especially his grandpa who is so excited to be a great-grandpa. We spent Thanksgiving day at grandpa's girlfriend's house. She made a fantastic dinner and an even more awesome pecan pie that Hubs and I ate between just the two of us. :D You had better believe I got the recipe. We also enjoyed showing off the 3D scans of our baby girl to all of his friends and family. It was a novelty to all of them as well, and they all loved it as much as we did. None of them had seen anything like it before.

Hopefully I will be able to finish getting the nursery cleaned out and set up this week. I also hope that I will be able to get our little Christmas tree out and set up. I contemplated decorating our house for the holidays, but realized I would be 8.5 months pg when I had to take it down, and so opted to only put up a tree. *sigh* Perhaps next year I will be able to be a bit more festive with our baby girl who will be almost a year old by then. (WOW!)

She is definitely a girl!

We had our 3D ultrasound today, and I have to say it was completely awesome! We got to see our baby girl in 3D glory. And yes, she is a girl! She was not at ally shy about proving it either. Every time the tech rolled over her bum she put her stuff right out there as if to say, "Yep, I'm a girl. Still a girl. Sorry dad!"

Below are a few pictures from our session.

She refused to put her hands down during the entire session. At one point she opened her fingers and covered her face, and then put her other hand up, palm open, and used it to cover face as well. She even went so far as to shove her feet up in front of her face. Silly baby girl! I just want to "beep" her nose!

Here is my sweet baby letting us know that she is bored with being viewed and we can go away and let her nap now. (Her hand is still up next to her face on the left side of the picture.)

I love this shot because you can see her perfect little baby hand covering her eye. My eyes welled up at the sigh of that beautiful hand. I can't wait until those fingers wrap around mine.

Here she is, all beautifully sacked out. She has her daddy's lips.

Today made the baby so much more real. I no longer have just a wiggly belly with a supposed baby in it. I got to see my little girl. The whole way back to the office I could just envision her using the bouncer I picked up yesterday, wearing the clothes I put in her dresser, and using the Winnie stroller. I LOVE being a mom, and I can't wait to hold my squeezy, chubby cheeked little baby girl. Not that I needed to be any more emotional than I already was, but I am just so full of love and emotion right now. I am a mommy!

Crazy Crazy

I seriously can't believe another week has already flown by. I had every intention of blogging at least twice last week, but as we can all see, that never happened. There just seems to always be some reason that keeps me from blogging. *sigh* This week was also very crazy, not just busy, but dizzying.

I found out this week that the next Harry Potty movie was supposed to come out last Friday (the 21st), but has been pushed back 8 months to July 17 for a wonderfully selfish reason - ticket sales are better in July. Hubs says the decision was also because there was an apparent writers strike leaving few movies to be released in the big movie summer season, but the only reason I saw was pure greed. The producers came right out and said they made better box office sales when they released movies in the summer. Well fine, I will not be seeing HP the first couple weeks it is in the theater if for no other reason than that Hollywood will not get the majority of my ticket sale. Greedy jerks.

Speaking of greedy jerks, I recently put my pooches back on Sci.ence Di.et dog food to eliminate Maggie's diarrhea problems, which has been 100% successful. However, when I went to the pet store this weekend to buy another bag, I about died of sticker shock. $50 for a 35 lb bag! :0 Excuse me? Do the makers of SD dog food know that the country is in a recession? Needless to say, I am negotiations with the organic dog food maker who supplied our pooch food before I switched back to SD and we are going to try out a couple of different formulas to see if we can find a better pooch food for my pups. She thinks Maggie's issues were due to the protein content of the previous food being too high. I hope we can find something that works for us because her food is $54 for a 50 lb bag, its organic, they don't use corn fillers, and they deliver it to my door for free.

As for my doctor appointment on Tuesday, it went well. My doctor told me that my pains were common pregnancy pains and nothing to worry about. Whew! It was so nice to hear her say that. She also said that like me, she didn't think my cramps were braxton hicks either. I was cleared to travel for Thanksgiving, but told that we had to pull over every two hours so that I could walk around and stretch. I tried to tell my doctor about the nurses, but apparently I am really, really, really hormonal right now because the second I opened my mouth to tell her what was going on, I started bawling. Luckily hubs was there and filled the dr in on my problem. My doctor surprisingly didn't seem really surprised. She apologized and said that unfortunately, she had no say over who works there because she is one of 7 doctors in the office, and she is the newest one there. However, she did say that she would have a word with the nurses and felt bad that I was having such a horrible experience with them.

I spent the last two days cleaning all of my stuff out of the baby's room. I am quite pleased with my progress. I am about 90% done, and boy am I feeling it. I only need to clean out the last of the odds and ends, get Sweetie to move the heavy boxes into our closet, take the bed apart and store it, and then put up the crib. I even moved Baby Bean's things into the newly emptied closet. :) Yesterday we went to Lo.wes to pick out paint, but Hubs talked me into waiting until after our 3D ultrasound on Tuesday on the off chance that our little girl is really a little boy. (I sure hope its a girl!) With that in mind, I couldn't open all of my pink onesies and get them all washed up and into the dresser like I wanted to either. :( I guess it is all okay though because there really isn't enough time in one weekend to clean out the room out and paint it and get it set up, especially since I am still not done cleaning it out.

It has become really obvious this past week that my pregnancy hormones are in serious overdrive. I cry about everything. Mags decided to have a pansy dog day, and I went to work and cried about it for an hour. Yesterday I was getting ready for my day when a song came on my MP3 player that made me sit there, hold my belly, and cry. I think I cried 4 out of 5 days at work for one reason or another. At least I haven't cried about the stretch marks taking over my backside and thighs yet. lol I guess that could be because I am just happy there aren't any on my belly. I have also started to gain a slight waddle. It is usually only after I get up from sitting for a while because my muscles tend to get a little tight. Once I've taken a few steps things loosen up and I am cleared to walk normally.

If I don't get the chance to blog again this week, I wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving. If you are traveling, please do so safely. :)

Week In Review (In Rewind)

Yet another week and weekend have flown by so fast I'm not sure if I missed it because I blinked, or if I missed it due to the extreme exhaustion that has set in and makes my first trimester exhaustion look and feel like nothing in comparison. Either way, the week is gone and I have officially reached...

The Third Trimester!!!

That's right. I hit 28 weeks yesterday. I don't know why the exhaustion decided it couldn't wait until the trimester officially began, but it reared its ugly head a full week early. I also thought that Baby Bean still had plenty of room to do flips and barrel rolls, but if she looks anything like she does here, she probably isn't going to be doing much more flipping and rolling. I guess we're both running out of space. lol

We had a wonderful visitor at our house this weekend too. My dad came out! AA had a fare sale for this weekend, so I pulled out the credit card and bought my pappy a ticket. He flew in Saturday around noon and we took him straight for the best Texas BBQ around here. We spent the rest of the day talking about life, watching some TV (intermixed with football scores for dad), and a movie. Sunday afternoon we sat around and talked some more, took naps, and then went to Sweetie's and my favorite Cajun restaurant for some serious crawfish. Before we knew it, the weekend was over and Monday morning came unpleasantly soon. After just a day and a half visit, my dad went back home. :( I felt depressed about it all night. I have been really blessed the last three weekends with my little brother coming out, my going home, and then my dad coming out. Now I won't see any of my family again until the baby is born and my mom comes out to help the new parents get accustomed to their new roles. We're going to see Sweetie's family weekend after this, but they aren't MY family, so it provides little comfort. Not only that, but we might not get to go at all now (see the following).

Last Thursday I was supposed to have my 4-week checkup. I had been having menstrual-like cramping lately, but didn't bother to call the doctor's office because I always get sent to the nurse's voice mail to leave a message that rarely gets returned without my calling back a second time. Like the time I nearly passed out at work complete with lights out. I'm no doctor, but I'm sure a pregnant woman passing out isn't a good thing, so I didn't appreciate the lack of interest on the nurse's part. It turned out I have anemia, and if I nearly pass out again, I get a free ride in an ambulance, which is what should have happened the first time (sounds pretty damn serious to me! So I send a BIG thank you to the nurses who sent me to voice mail and didn't return my call)! I also didn't want to call because IF the nurses return my call, they treat me like I am a big inconvenience. I am never snotty or rude, but they sure are snotty and rude to me. I'm calling because I am concerned and/or worried. Why does that merit the nurse's rude behavior? Between those two things, I don't bother to call when anything goes wrong anymore. I will just stick it out.

I digress. I needed my appointment last week because of the cramping, which I have read is NOT a good thing. But I chose to spare myself leaving two voice mail messages and dealing with snotty nurses because I was supposed to go in on Thursday anyway. Then Wednesday afternoon, a snotty nurse called to tell me that my appointment for the following morning was being cancelled. I almost cried. I thought, "Here we go." I explained to her that I needed to see my doctor and why. Her response, you ask? An exasperated, "I will transfer you to the nurse's voice mail." Oh good. Thank you. I will leave a message that won't be returned and talk to my doctor about it at my next appointment if my baby is still in there. Thanks for your understanding. ARGH!

Oddly enough, someone actually DID call me back within a few hours and I was told to come in and see the doctor on call. The diagnosis: braxton hicks. But I don't believe it. The cramps are always in the same place and my stomach does not harden when I get them. On top of that, my pelvic floor started aching on Saturday and has not let up since. According to what I've read, neither of those things are good.

At any rate, my appointment was rescheduled for tomorrow, and I fully intend to bring up the cramps and pain, ask if I will still be okay to drive 10 hours to Sweetie's grandpa's next week (since the dr last Wednesday told me not if the cramps don't let up), and let my doctor know about the snotty nurse situation. I sure don't want to have to leave a voice mail if I go into labor early, especially as I am considered high risk and should not give birth naturally because it could kill me!

Other than the nurse ordeal, everything is going great. The pregnancy is picture perfect. Next week we go in for our 3D ultrasound and I can't wait.

Fantastic Weekend

This past weekend I got to go home for the first time since moving here back in March. I flew home early Thursday morning and was met by my dad at the airport. It was a very teary hello for me. Once loaded up in the car, we headed to our favorite chocolate store and got a box of chocolate covered grapes and caramels. YUMMY! Then I treated my dad to a lobster lunch, after which we were both so pooped, we went home and fell asleep in front of the TV. Upon waking we headed to the electronics store to buy a brand new digital camera! It was so wonderful to be able to spend the whole day with my dad. I am very much a daddy's girl, and I have missed him immensely since we moved.

Friday I spent the day reconnecting with old friends. First up I went for a waxing with my old hair dresser who sent me home with a bag full of brand new baby girl clothes. Next I headed down to the place where we last lived to visit old coworkers and one of my BFFs. It was strange as I drove into town, remembering that the last time I had seen the place was as we drove out of town to move away, tears streaming down my face. I choked back the tears as I drove by all the old familiar places. I had lunch with my BFF and another good friend of mine before heading back to my parent's house. It was kind of a relief that as I drove back out of town I was glad we didn't live there anymore. Being in the city brought back the flood of painful emotions that caused us to want to move away in the first place: being in a job I didn't like and going through infertility. We were so unhappy there. The only reason I was sad to go was because of my friends.

Saturday was the day of the baby shower. My dad and I went to a local restaurant and favorite to pick up the gigantic carrot sheet cake my mom had ordered. While we were gone, my mom got the shower decorations and lunch set up for our guests. I had just a half an hour to relax before guests started arriving. Family I hadn't seen in years, and friends I hadn't seen in months. The shower was wonderful. My mom did such a wonderful job putting it together and obviously spent a lot of time doing so. We made out with some pretty nice baby loot too. All I have to say is I really hope this baby IS a girl because we have a lot of pink and purple clothes and blankies! Hopefully our 3D ultrasound in two weeks confirms it. *fingers crossed!* Thank you again mom for all of your hard work and the love you put into the baby shower. I really appreciated it. You're the best! (See baby shower pictures in the post below.)

Saturday night I went to a hockey game with my little brother, and my best friend and his wife. Due to a ticket SNAFU, we ended up sitting just three rows from the ice next to the goalie. We were up front to all of the action and body checks into the glass and any fights that occurred at our end of the ice (and there were a couple of good ones).

Sunday sadly showed up two days before I was ready for it. As my dad drove me back to the airport, I felt that I had just barely arrived, and that the weekend went by too fast. For the first time since leaving in March, I was homesick, and it took all I had to keep from crying the entire way to the airport. I hugged my dad goodbye and cried all the way to the security line, where I tried so hard to check my tears until I was on the plane. Before I knew it, I was back home, and the weekend was over. It did help ease my aching that my sweetie brought my pooches with him to pick me up and they were so excited to see me.

Upon arriving home, I was welcomed by a wonderful surprise. Sweetie had been really busy all weekend trying to finish the floors and dry fitting the baseboards. He had begun to disassemble the bed currently in the baby's room, but quit when he realized how much I had stored under it. If it hadn't been for those boxes, the crib would have been set up and waiting for me when I got home. However, he pulled the mattress off the bed and bunked the beds in the spare room AND put my glider together. He also hung our wedding pictures in the front room that have been sitting behind the TV for months, and finished moving the last of the furniture into the room. I couldn't believe how much he had done while I was gone!

My next project is to get all of my stuff cleared out of the baby's room and start getting our nursery set up! Yay! Soon when people ask me if the nursery is set up, I will be able to say yes!

Baby Shower Pictures

The Spread (sandwiches, cake, and punch not shown here)

The Carrot Cake that weighed easily 20 lbs

A gift basket from a life-long neighbor

Like I said, it really better be a girl!

New toys!

Loads of blankies (most of them made with love) to be snugged in

Miscellaneous baby items

Figuring out how to get it all back home

Ren Fest and Baby Shower #1

My little brother and his good friend flew in late Thursday night to spend the weekend with us and go to the Renaissance Festival near Houston. We didn't do much on Thursday other than get dinner and let the guys take it easy after their flight. Friday we spent about 5 hours in traffic before finally getting into Houston late that night. It was Halloween as well as my sweetie's twin aunts' birthday, so we headed to their bar (yes, they own a bar) for their yearly b-day bash. My sweetie's 83-year-old grandpa was there and was so pleased to see my blossoming belly. He is so excited to be a great-grandpa. He gave the baby a hello rub and laughed when we told him it was a girl, since all three of his babies were girls too.

Saturday morning we took a bit of a sleep-in and then headed to the Ren fest, all dressed up in our Ren garb. We took a few pictures, but I look so utterly horrible there is just no way on God's green earth I will post them on my blog for public viewing. I guess we should have taken the pictures shortly after arriving rather than shortly before leaving the festival because I look beat down. We had a really good time, and amazingly, I spent relatively little money even though I went with a nice little budget. I saw lots of things I liked, but nothing I was willing to spend money on. My little brother did his fair share of shopping for both of us though, trying to get his Ren Fest costume built up. Our tradition is always to buy at least one thing every year for our costume. I bought a water horn for next year so that I wouldn't have to take a camel back or carry around a water bottle. Sweetie bought a wooden ale mug.

Sunday morning was spent driving home and just plain relaxing after many, many hours in the car, and many hours on our feet the day before. Monday morning my brother and his friend flew home, and I went to work (where I finished my second manual in two days!).

Today at work I had my first baby shower. A couple of ladies put it together for me, two of which are my neighbors. I couldn't believe how generous people were. Of course we got our crib and sweet crib mattress along with a Di.aper Ge.enie, awesome Ed.die Ba.uer baby bouncer, baby clothes from my registry, baby bath items, and a handmade baby afghan from my neighbor. The baby was so excited she was dancing for an hour afterward.

In pregnancy symptom related news, I am getting quite large and loving it. One thing I am not loving, however, is when my dinner continually backs up into my mouth all night long while I'm trying to sleep. Does anyone have any helpful hints on how to prevent that? Its not heart burn, it is actual stomach contents making their way back up into my mouth because the flap between my tummy and my throat isn't closing. I usually end up getting up and forcing my dinner back up just so I can sleep. Last night I woke up choking on it. I would appreciate any advice anyone has on how to prevent that.

I have also discovered that you can get knots in the arches of your feet. Mine are collapsing for sure, and I notice that when my feet hurt the most is when my arches are touching the floor where they normally wouldn't. I spend a few minutes each night before bed giving myself a foot massage and make sure my massage therapist gives them a special once over each session. Its a great reason to keep my weekly massage appointments. :D

Apparently going to the chiropractor is a complete waste of money at this stage in my pregnancy as well. I get everything straightened out only to have it shift back around during the night. Its not a big deal, it just makes me a little stiff for about an hour in the morning until everything shifts back. The upside of that is if I get a kink in my neck or back, I know it will shift itself back into position within a few hours. I am also glad I figured out pretty quickly that I don't need to spend any more money going to the chiropractor.

I was going to take a belly picture tonight, but apparently our camera is on the fritz. The good news there is that a new camera is on our list of things to get before the baby comes. You all might just have to settle with pictures from my cell phone until we buy the camera. I will post one in the toolbar that I managed to get last week while talking to my parents on the phone.

Up next: I get to go home for the first time since we moved!!!