Life of it's Own

So it's official. The belly is taking on a life of it's own. I know, it doesn't seem possible, but it's true. Take these two examples from the last three days...

Example One: Our UPS guy comes to work twice a day. I am not usually the person you signs in packages, but we have a small lab so we all know good old Howie. I hadn't seen him in the last week or two, and was up front making copies when he came in on Thursday. Our GM was signing everything in, so I said hello and headed back to the lab. A little later the GM came in and shared the conversation that occurred after I walked out...

Howie: *Huge eyes filled with shock* "MAN, she looks like she swallowed a watermelon! I didn't even know she was pregnant, and now it's like BAM! Giant belly!"

GM:"Yeah, we were all pretty amazed. One day she just came in and THERE IT WAS!"

I laughed at the story, thinking it was odd Howie hadn't noticed the belly before, but enjoying that someone noticed the pregnancy.

Example Two: I was downtown yesterday taking care of the car stuff and getting the ticket dropped. I walked into the courthouse and had to check in with the security guard. This is the conversation that occurs...

Me: *Smile at nice lady as I hand her my keys and purse*

Security Guard: "Well, my GOODNESS, you are as big as a HORSE BARN!" *Laughs hysterically at her the shocking nature of my stomach and her own cleaver metaphor*

Me: *laughs with her because, a. she was a sweet old lady, and b. WHO SAYS THAT??* " I guess I am! I actually have three more months!"

Security Guard: "REALLY? Good Luck!" *continues to laugh as a walk away*

So, yeah. You can TOTALLY tell I am pregnant these days. Somewhere around watermelon/horse barn size. I clearly has a screwed self image because I don't think I look THAT different. Still, there is no denying the belly. It really has taken on a life of it's own. What are people going to be calling me in May??

Points for the Day

First off, Agh....my stupid blog is annoying me. I have no idea why, but if I attempt to go to view my own blog, no actual posts come up. This drives me crazy. With the wonderful help of Twitter I found out that everyone ELSE can see my blog. This is comforting, but still annoying in the whole WHY MEEEEEE??? sort of way....

Second, I am off work today. This is an awesome fact of life. LOOOOOVE days off work.

Third, I finished painting the nursery walls this morning! We are painting the molding and getting it up tomorrow. Should be pictures for you all by Sunday!

Forth, I have a new review up over at Chic Shopper Chick! Take a look if you have time!

Fifth (I have a lot of points to make today) I went to the eye doctor this afternoon and somehow got into this huge discussion about IVF. It's as if I wear a sign that points to my stomach and says "IVF Baby!". It isn't even like I brought it up. This was my first time to this doctor (LOVE HIM...maybe because of the IVF connection...not positive) and we were chatting about kids and I was telling him this was our first, bla bla bla...then, next thing I know he is pouring his sweet little eye doctor heart out about how him and his wife couldn't get pregnant and they tried and they tried, but she has endo really bad, so they did IVF...and then they did it SEVEN TIMES, and on the last frozen cycle from the seventh IVF, this one with a serogate, it finally worked and now they have a perfect ten year old son. Of course, I am not sure he would have opened up so much if I hadn't been like, "We had fertility issues as well...", "yeah, I have endo really bad..", "yeah, we eventually had to go to the big guns and do IVF too!" Still, it was such an interesting conversation with a basic stranger. It is honestly amazing how many people are touched by infertility.

Okay, I am off to take care of getting the tags and registration on our car...and then taking care of the ticket Nick got for having expired tags and registration on the car. One of those things I have really been WANTING to get done on my day off...since October. Now looks like it is a must on the to-do list!

26 Weeks

So lets see what is new this week...well, the baby is nearly two pounds and is 14 inches long! I find that pretty amazing. He or she has now fully developed all five senses. According to my online sources, the baby will now sway to a rhythm. I find this hard to believe, but maybe this is because I have a hard time keeping a rhythm now. Something about the baby being better at it than me is a little sad... besides that, the sweet baby is just growing away. Putting on fat and practicing breathing to get ready for life out here in the real world!

As for me, I am still just rolling along. I feel like this should be getting harder, but honestly I still feel great. The baby kicks are getting stronger but are not to the point of uncomfortable. I am actually still loving every single one. I think I felt the first round of hiccups today...that or the baby really DOES have rhythm! We have been working like crazy in the nursery (final pictures to come soon!) and are planning to register in the next couple of days. All in all I am still doing good and loving every second of it! Now to the pictures...

Shirt down

Shirt up!

Remember When...

I remember back when I was in high school and early college and I thought it was really cute to show a little belly. Not a lot, just a little belly shirt with some jeans. A nice outfit. Perfectly acceptable for public. Apparently times have changed*. Last night I insisted on starting on the nursery paint. I really just wanted to see some of it on the wall because I am obsessive and COULD NOT WAIT another day. I changed into some painting clothes and got to work. Nick kept looking over and laughing at me and I kept being like, "Whhhhhat???" Finally he said he would go get the camera to show me...

oh. right...he then zoomed out to get a full body shot...For the record I would like to point out that I AM WEARING PAINTING CLOTHES. Actually, come to think of it, I have had those "painting pants" since I was 20, and yes they are totally stretch pants and no I cannot fit in ANYTHING else I had when I was 20, but still...STILL I find it impressive that I can get them over my 29 year old six month pregnant ass no matter how much belly may be hanging over. The shirt is Nicks...which does make it a little more embarrassing that it kept rolling up over the belly. Maybe I should invest in some larger t-shirts...

*for the record, I do know times have changed since the late 90's either way. Let me assure you that even pre-pregnancy I was not strolling around town in a belly shirt. Those days are long gone.

Project Nursery Part Two

Well the nursery is really coming along! I figured it was time to show you all everything we have done. I think this will be a three part series, seeing as how we are nearly finished. Still, I might stretch it out...you all know how I love to weasel multiple posts out of the same topic!

Anyway, we left off with all the walls cut down I think...just as a reminder, this is how it looked...

After that Nick pulled all the new electrical, which isn't really something I can show in pictures, but it was hard work! When he was done we were ready for drywall, but we had to leave our mark on our little house first! (yes, I know you all can see our last name, but since it is an image it wont be google-able. Just don't stalk me or my soon to be born perfect child. Deal?)Next the drywall went up. This took help from my brother in law and sisters who were real troopers holding that heavy crap up to the wall... I just watched.Once the drywall was up we (Nick) put on the joint compound. Three coats. You would think they could make wall building more efficient...And then this weekend we finally got to prime the walls! We are now totally ready for the REAL paint!
We are going out tonight to get paint and chair rail molding. I am so excited about it! Once the paint is up, we can actually put up the crib!! Because we own one now! (Thanks mom and dad!!!!) Anyway, our little office truly is going to be a nursery any day now.

Awkward

You know what I bet would be really awkward? Imagine in a hypothetical situation that you had a cold. Not a terrible can't-get-out-of-bed type cold, but more of a feel-just-bad-enough-to-constantly-complain type of cold. Say you had to work today and stopped in to a sub place on your way home to get lunch for you and your husband/wife (this story could be about a man...it is hypothetical. If the story was true, I would of course be to ashamed to share it, so it could NEVER have happened in real life...). You might not be sure why you went to a place you have to go inside anyways, because you sorta look like a slob in your purple sweat pants, but the sub sounded so good you couldn't resist.

Just imagine this sub shop is PACKED with people. Of course in this hypothetical situation it would be packed. You may decide to go fill up your drinks while you wait for your delicious subs, just so you are ready to walk out the door when the subs are done. If, say, you are standing there with two full drinks in your hand, and you are hit with the sudden urge to sneeze due to your annoying cold, you would be in a real pickle. I mean, both hands are in use. So there is no chance of getting your mouth covered in time. You would, I imagine, bolt for the table in the front that is empty so as to set your drinks down and cover your mouth. Of course, in this hypothetical situation you would not even come close to making it before the sneeze hit. You would attempt to muffle the sneeze, but this would only force the pressure out your nose rather than your mouth. This may, in the worst hypothetical case, lead to a large amount of snot to blow a huge bubble out your nose. It wouldn't fly across the room because due to your cold your snot is super thick, but it WOULD stick to your face. Yes. And you wouldn't be able to wipe your nose until you got to the napkin at your table. This means that your hypothetical super loud nose sneeze would draw the attention of all the people around you, and they would see the gigantic snot bubble and the aftermath of the snot-on-face. You would sniff...attempt to pretend that NEVER happened. But you would all know the truth. Then, you would have to sit there and continue to wait for your sub...surrounded by the people that just saw the entire terrible event unfold. Yes. That would be really really awkward indeed.

25 Weeks

Well you all sure do know how to make a girl feel better about being called "wide"! Thanks for all the great comments. Although I don't feel wide (yet) I do feel big. That feeling was backed up in South Carolina when we were sitting at the kitchen table. Mawmaw looked at me and said, " I think you are having a boy...and he's BIG!" Oh my. We will just continue to ignore how this possible "big boy" gets out. Nothing good comes from thinking about that now anyway...

So, lets get to the 25 week details! Our sweet baby C is now a pound and a half and 13.5 inches long. Apparently the babies hair is now growing and is the color and texture it will be at birth. It also said the baby now has more regular looking skin rather than transparent skin, and it also has lots of extra skin like a puppy. HA! Maybe I shouldn't laugh at my giant baby, but seriously, it has puppy skin!

As for me, all is well. Just getting bigger and loving every time the baby moves. I have started having some mild contractions, which is totally normal for right now. Nothing painful, just a tightening. I was really fine with the six hour trip to South Carolina, and honestly still feel pretty great. Today at work a guy who had never seen me before asked me when I was due, so I officially register as pregnant even to perfect strangers. Amazing! Now to belly pics...

Shirt down

Shirt up. Getting bigger everyday!

Something you should NEVER say to a Pregnant Girl...

So Monday Boo and I went out to lunch. We enjoyed ourselves, as always, and were heading out of the cafe to run some errands. While walking out we ran into an old friend of Boo's. At one time they were really close, so I knew her well, but hadn't seen her in years. She looks at me and says, "I am going to assume you are pregnant!" (Third person to mention it that I didn't tell...all three did know me before pregnancy, but still. Exciting to be showing!) I say I am and we talk about the baby, her son, and Boo's Avery for several minutes. Boo then gets a call and walks away and I keep talking. That is when it happened. She said the one thing you should NEVER say to a pregnant girl. (okay, I am sure there are lots of things, but this is near the top of the list...)

Boo's friend: So how far along are you?

Me: 24 weeks

Boo's Annoying friend: Wow! You are carrying just like me. I just got WIDER too! I never looked pregnant, my hips just got bigger...

Me: *stare at her in shock absorbing that she just called me WIDE*

Boo's completely obnoxious friend who I officially dislike: *takes in my look of shock and takes it as confirmation that I agree with her assessment* "Yeah, that's how it goes I guess! I never took on that baby belly look either! Just HERE" *Made motion with hands to simulate hips getting wider left to right rather than out like baby belly*

Me: "Hahaha...*laughter trails off to awkwardness as I fight the urge to tell her she is ugly* I guess you are right!"

Boo comes back and I point out that we MUST LEAVE. Because I hate her friend. Here is the thing, I REALLY don't think I am wider! I mean, maybe I have on pregnancy rose colored glasses, but I think my hips look FINE. Even if they don't, I am totally cool with them, why are you going to point them out and make me feel bad?? I guess I could point out that this girl hasn't seen me in years and I was much thinner then. That might have something to do with it...yes. It could. She assumed all the weight was baby weight when really a good 20 lbs is just "I got older and married" weight. Still...STILL. WIDER.

I'm Back!

We are back in town and online! Oh sweet Internet, how I have missed you! Anyway, I gotta get back to work (just came home to meet the cable guy...who basically called me a nerd after getting in my attic and seeing all my Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings stuff...in my own defence, at least it was in the ATTIC and not all over my house...) but I wanted to tell you that I am indeed alive and that the belly pic's are up on the 24 weeks post! better late than never...

I will now leave you with a couple pictures I took before we left for South Carolina...

here is me and my little sister in our matching red! Aren't we adorable? My older sister saw this and didn't like that she was left out for one minute...

Here is one of me and Nick...just because

And finally, here is a picture of me and Mawmaw in South Carolina. This is Nick's grandma and we just adore her. We wanted to go see her and let her see me pregnant before I got too big to want to do the drive, and I am so glad we did. The funny thing about this picture is that Mawmaw HATES having her picture taken. Whenever you try she doesn't like it one bit. When we walked out of the house I gave Nick the camera and said, "take our picture!" Mawmaw started with her "Oh NO!! I don't like pictures, I don't TAKE pictures!" and I looked at her and said, "Mawmaw...it's for the BABY!" And then what happened?? Everything changed. Well OF COURSE she will take a picture for THE BABY! She was more than THRILLED when it's for THE BABY. This child already has the entire family wrapped around it's little finger. We are all doomed...

Random Bullets

No, I still haven't loaded the new belly pics. I promise I will show them to you all eventually, but I am still bumming computer time at friends and families houses, so I don't have access to my pictures. We are actually heading out of town here shortly, but I thought I would jump on here and do a quick post... because I am addicted to my blog. Anyway, here is a quick update on all things bio girl since the computer went down...

• My newest post is up over at Chic Shopper Chick! Check out the review here if you have time!
• We had a hell of a wind storm here on Wednesday night. Nick and I got home to no power. It came back on after a few hours, and it allowed me to get out of making dinner so it sorta rocked. Still, will the terrible weather, can't you please give my little state a break?!?!
• I have decided I love Pizza Rolls. They are amazing. It's like that first time I had them in middle school and I thought they were a gift from God. I forgot about that love until we were at Arielle's birthday where I ate a "heaven roll" and I am now hooked. Some may say they are not healthy, but there is no way my heaven rolls could do wrong...
• Did I tell you all I almost died of over eating pasta? I did? Well, just a reminder warning. Don't do that...
• I have started watching American Idol again. I cannot figure out why they let all the annoying people in this year, but my guess is they are attempting destroy the show so they can get back to normal lives.
• Our power was out when Lost was on on Wednesday. That means the DVR didn't tape it. This hurts my heart more than I care to admit. I would watch it online, BUT I HAVE NO INTERNET.
• I had a really vivid dream that they baby was a girl. A girl with blond hair. It was super odd seeing as how I have seen so sure this baby is a boy. Nick also had a dream it was a girl, and now he is convinced...

Okay, I guess I really need to get my work done on this computer so we can leave town! I will be back Monday. Hope you all have a wonderful Valentines Day weekend!

24 Weeks

24 weeks of pregnancy. You know what that equals? That basically equals six entire months pregnant! I know. I am just as amazed as you are. Now, lets see. The sweet baby is somewhere around a pound and a half these days and is all of a foot long. According to Amalah this means I should eat a foot long sub to celebrate. I will seriously consider it. I also learned that I will be feeling the baby have hiccups here soon. Plus it said that Nick (or I guess anybody if I let them get close enough) will be able to hear the babies heart beat if they put their ear to my stomach. That just seems like crazy talk. Nick and I did get to watch the baby kicking the other night. It was pretty amazing to actually SEE my stomach move around!

I guess the biggest news of the week in my head (okay, I might be a touch morbid about this one) is that this is the week when the baby has a good chance of living if it was born today. There is something comforting in knowing that from this point on my body is not the babies only chance of survival. Now, not to say I am nearly ready for this baby to be born, there is still a lot of growing to do, but still it's good to know!

As for me, do you all get tired of hearing that I am great? Hope not because I am still golden. I did manage to nearly kill myself by overeating pasta on lunch the other day. Oh man, it was bad. B.A.D. I made enough lunch for two days, then I decided I would just eat them both. Yeah. Terrible idea. Over the next four hours I was MISERABLE. The baby was also miserable and gave me several kicks in the gut to let me know that he/she was NOT OKAY with this level of discomfort. I guess it is good to know that there is a limit to the amount of food I should consume in one sitting...

UPDATE: Here are the belly pics! Better late than never, right??

Shirt down...

Shirt up!

Technical Difficulties

Sorry I haven't been posting or commenting this week. What? I comment sometimes! Anyway, we are having computer issues at home. We have what they call "intermittent service". What does that mean? Well, it means I can log in and start typing, but then we lose Internet. I have to power all the way down and back up and I can try again. It is annoying I tell you. Very very annoying. Unfortunately it isn't an "emergency" (what do these people know?? I NEED my computer!!) so they can't come fix it until Tuesday. Lucky for me I will be out of town this weekend, so I think I can make it...

Anyway, I will find a way to post my 24 week post tomorrow, but it may or may not have a picture depending on how annoyed I get with crawling under the computer desk to reboot! Just didn't want you all to think I had fallen off the face of the Internet!

A New Walk

Well it's official. I have began to use the pregnancy walk...AKA the waddle. Yes. I know. I am ashamed. I hoped to avoid the waddle all together, but it appears that will not be possible. I went out to dinner last night (which, for the record, was wonderful. I love the Cheesecake Factory!) and when we got up to go to the bathroom on our way out, my little sister said, "Sarah...you are walking like a PREGNANT PERSON!!" Oh my. I had noticed the small change, but I hadn't thought it was noticeable to others. I guess I was wrong.

What I actually noticed first was that I kept stubbing my damn toe on door frames and corners. I was like, "what the hell is up? WHY am I constantly running into stuff??" Then I looked at the picture Nick took of me we the baby arrow shirt on. I was standing funny. Sorta with my legs apart a little. Totally not my normal stance. Since then I have paid attention, and I guess I am just automatically compensating for the shift in balance by spreading my legs a little farther apart. This somehow has led to an official waddle. When I really focus I can get rid of it, but as soon as I lose focus, I slip right back into the new walk. I guess there is no point in fighting it. Just a habit I MUST break after the baby is born!

Anyway, here is a picture of me and Nick in the state capitol! Yes, we are huge nerds, but we took the scenic route to the Cheesecake Factory and stopped at the overlook. We like all things dorky like scenic routes and state capitol buildings...Notice I had my hair done! Cut some little side bangs and everything!

I don't look like a girl that has to waddle from here to there...

Go Ahead and Make Fun of Me Now...

So I went to the doctor yesterday. I was working and I COULD NOT stop peeing. I mean seriously, I had to pee every twenty minutes. If I made it forty five it was a true miracle. It didn't hurt to pee like a UTI, but this was beyond the normal pregnancy pee. This was like, I need to pop a tent and just move right into the bathroom, sort of pee. After my 126,473rd trip to the bathroom, and once the lower back aches got bad, I decided better safe than sorry and that I should call. I haven't had a UTI in years, but from what I remember they were pretty close to hell. I did tell them I have no pain, just constant pressure and the urge to pee. They had me come in. The result? I have...a baby sitting on my bladder. Yep. That's the entire diagnosis. The nurse was really nice, but still I was pretty horrified. I mean, I am only 23 weeks! This baby will be weighing a hell of a lot more soon! But she said that the baby was SUPER low and that obviously it had positioned itself RIGHT ON TOP of my bladder. Totally normal to call...don't hesitate to call and double check with these things...bla bla bla. Still. I went to the doctor and got diagnosed with a baby. That I knew was there. Not my shining moment of medical toughness! I did hear that sweet heart beat so that made the entire thing worth it! Now all you people who have been pregnant before, feel free to point and laugh. I deserve it.

23 Weeks

Well the handy websites didn't give me much info on our sweet little baby's size this week. The exact wording was "over eleven inches",so I guess a little bigger than last week, and "a little over a pound", so yet again...baby is growing! The baby is now aware of my personal movements, and apparently can feel me dance. So it is so soon that the baby will learn his/her mama has no rhythm. So sad. The baby is also getting use to the loud noises I am around on a regular basis. The exact examples were the dog barking and the vacuum. Good to know Ellie won't freak the baby out, but if the pregnancy website people think I run the vacuum enough to call it a "regular sound" then they have clearly lost their minds.

So as for me, I am still great! I am actually sorta full of energy and feel better than normal. I have started going in to work an hour earlier so I can start getting use to my new schedule for after the baby and the transition has been simple. I am sleeping really well, but when I wake up and attempt to get out of bed my back usually aches. It goes away once I am up and walking around, so it isn't anything big. Just not the way you want to wake up in the morning. Even with the back issues, I am loving every second of being pregnant! So now to the belly pics...

First, check out the front of my shirt. My mom got it for me and I think it is hilarious!

Shirt down

and now shirt up

Movement

Nick got to actually feel the baby move for the first time last night! I am not sure what he was expecting it to feel like, but it seemed to take him by surprise. Maybe that is because we have been trying so long for him to feel it, and when it finally happened the baby gave what was undoubtedly the strongest kick yet! It was funny because we were laying in bed watching the UK game (just terrible...) and I felt the baby moving around. I took his hand and put it on my stomach. Same old routine. Ten minutes or so later we gave up and he moved his hand away. Thirty seconds later there was a kick. So, we started over. Hand back in place for another ten minutes, a lot more nothing, we give up and start watching TV. Thirty seconds and there is a serious kick. I grab his hand and am like, "This baby is moving like CRAZY. Keep trying!" and right then it was like BAM! A huge kick right into his hand. It was so hard that I felt it with my hand on top of his hand! Nick was like, "Um, yeah. I felt THAT" and then it happened again. Same spot right into his hand. It was like the baby was just teasing Nick all along and was finally like, "HERE I am!!" I was great.

In and Out...with a Two Hour Wait

I had my monthly doctors appointment today and it was yet again one of those situations where we were in the waiting room for an hour, waiting in the actual room for 45 minutes, and honestly talked to the doctor for maybe five minutes. I am so lucky that this pregnancy is going so easy, but after investing all that time, I wish there was more to say than, "You are doing great! See you in four weeks!" Not that I want him to like make a pot of coffee and have a discussion on politics, but it seems like my time is worth more than that. Lets TALK about the baby doc! Something like, "What do you think it is?? Boy or Girl? Is everything looking normal? What exactly is normal about it? Please give details..." Of course in his defence, he says "Do you have any questions or concerns?" and I always just say, "Nope!" *Huge smile and wave* I am sure he loves us. We help to get him back on schedule!

There are a few things that are worth mentioning from the appointment. First, this was going to be my first appointment without Nick. The wait is always so long, and it seemed silly to have him go just for the "See ya in four weeks!" discussion. When I walked into the office my cell rang and it was Nick. He was on his way. It was so sweet of him, and I was honestly glad for the company. Still, I really don't know if he will be back again until they promise some action after this long of a wait. (action being an ultrasound or the hope of a baby!).

Second, I managed to gain six pounds in four weeks. Therefore, I managed to more than double the entire amount of weight I have gained over the entire pregnancy. I would love to pretend that I have NO IDEA how this happened, but I think all the McDonald's breakfasts, and the cookies and milk and ice cream and pizza rolls and...well, you get the idea. I have been eating. They said not to worry about the six pounds because I needed the weight to catch up to where they want my weight to be. I celebrated this news by getting a Big Mac combo on the way home from the appointment. I wonder if they will be so okay with it next month...they also asked if I was exercising and I believe I took on the look of a deer in head lights. I stuttered and laughed, then said, "Well, I mean...I am sure I get SOME exercise, like, walking around the house" *Large smile hoping to close the subject all together*. She said she knows its hard, but I SHOULD try to exercise a little. Right.

Besides that, there was actual talk of birthing classes. Seriously! Apparently it is time to sign up for birthing classes! and a discussion on contractions and what is normal vs. what to call about. SERIOUSLY! They are talking to me about CONTRACTIONS. Like they think I will eventually have this baby and have to know about these things! I do the gestational diabetes test at my next appointment because I WILL BE IN MY THIRD TRIMESTER. Right. Crazy talk. So I guess it was an eventful five minutes of doctor/nurse time, and that is something...