The Dreaded Words...

Bed rest until further notice, possibly until I deliver. I got those dreaded words yesterday at my doctor appointment. I wish i could remember more of what they told me, but it became a blur. I can't do much of anything except lay, shower, lay, use the bathroom, and lay. I have what is called an incompetent cervix. My cervix has started to funnel, which means it's opening internally and shortening. The weight of the baby and my uterus could make it worse. So that's why I'm on bed rest. I also have to take progesterone to relax my cervix. I go back on Monday to get re-checked. Please pray it's lengthened some. It can revert back to normal, and I can carry him to full term. For now, we have to take it week by week. I used to think every week was going by too fast. Now it seems like forever. It's definitely going to be a long haul. I'm feeling nervous, worried, depressed, bored, and miserable laying here, and it's only day 1. I'm not one to sit still for long periods of time. But I'll do whatever I have to do to keep him in there for a while longer. He's ok, and still moving around a lot. That makes me feel better. I just need to remain positive. Bryan and I are so grateful for the outpouring of love and support. People are being so great. I'm overwhelmed with emotion. Feel free to send me good book suggestions (I have plenty of family members who should not let me down in this category) and movies/tv series to watch. If you get bored and want to come visit, I'll be here. And everyone is getting a scarf for Christmas. I'll fill you in more after my next appointment. Please say your prayers.

Symptoms of Pregnancy

Lately I've been wondering if blondes get pregnancy brain drain worse than others.  Man, do I feel stupid these days.  I have had 3 instances this week alone of either pregnancy brain or just a crazy pregnancy symptom.  Let me elaborate.

~There is this smell in my kitchen that I can't find.  And I am the only one who can smell it.  It has different scents.  Sometimes it smells like a bad floral scent, other times it has a hint of wet dog, and at times it is a mixture of a Frito & a bad floral scent combined.  Anytime I am in my kitchen I am on hands & knees searching for the source.  I have yet to find it.  Everything I smell smells fine.  But I keep getting a whiff of it here and there.  So I have resorted to cleaning every square foot of my kitchen.  It started with removing everything from the counters, and doing a thorough cleaning of the counters/sink/faucet.  When that didn't work, I cleaned under the sink.  When that didn't work, I cleaned out all of the bottom cabinets, under the fridge, and the floors.  I walk in after work today to a whiff of that smell (that only I can smell).  So now I know how I'll be spending my Saturday - cleaning the oven, under the oven, behind the oven, under the fridge, in the fridge, all of the top cabinets, the microwave and the garbage can.  None of these places smell when I smell them, but I refuse to believe I'm crazy - there is a damn smell, and I'll be damned if I don't find it!

~The second thing that happened this week:
I found my wedding ring here:

Where is that you ask?  Let me zoom out.

Oh, it's just the hanging fern on my front porch.  

Let me explain how it got here.  As I was punishing the kitchen with every cleaning supply imaginable yesterday, I decided to take off my ring & bracelet so I wouldn't lose/ruin them.  When the cleaning was getting crazy, I decided I better take my jewelry up to my room.  Before I made it up to my room, I decided it was necessary to take down the hanging fern so I could water it a little bit later.  I get up to my room & put my bracelet away.  Then I proceed to water all my plants, and hose off the front porch.  I get back inside & realize my ring isn't on the counter.  Then I think, "Oh yeah, I took my jewelry upstairs."  I go upstairs to only find my bracelet.  I decide to retrace my steps.  When I go out the front door I remembered how I had practically power washed the porch and siding.  I began to pray we had good insurance on my ring.  Thank goodness it was just chilling in my fern.  

~ And the last thing, and probably the more sad thing, that happened this week: 

I left the most delicious, baked spasagna dish sit out on the counter, ALL NIGHT!  I did it again.  UGH!  It was so delicious, too.  

 

26 Weeks

I had my 26 week photo session with Laura on Thursday.  

Things have been going pretty well!  I still can't believe I'm at 26 (almost 27 weeks).  Pretty soon I'll be at 30 weeks and will only have 10 more weeks to go.  That kind of makes me nervous.  He's moving around quite a bit throughout the day.  That always makes me happy.  Except for when my bladder is full & it's a fast walk to the bathroom.  My back is starting to hurt.  I can't get comfortable at night.  I heard good things about this pillow called the Snoogle.  It does help at night, but I'm not certain it's going to take away the back ache.  It certainly takes up the whole bed.  I do notice more heartburn after I eat tomato based things.  I've had this problem pre-pregnancy, but now it seems more regular.  I have always been more of a salt tooth, but lately I've been wanting sweets, like ice cream.  Maybe that's to relieve the heartburn.  And I still am loving me some peas.  Bryan went grocery shopping for me today.  I told him to get more peas.  This is what he came back with.  The biggest bag of frozen peas ever.  And it turns out we didn't even need any.  Guess what side we're having with every meal from here to eternity?!  I can't wait! 

So how is baby boy Nickel doing?  At 26 weeks, he weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches from head to heel.  He is the size of an English hothouse cucumber (there you go, Mom, a produce reference).  He's inhaling & exhaling small amounts of the amniotic fluid, and continuing to put on baby fat :-)  I think baby fat is the cutest.  

A couple of weeks ago I came to the realization that my growing baby girth was undeniable.  I can no longer maneuver around my car in the garage when I park a wee bit too close to the wall, and I would have to start wearing more of my maternity shirts.  I am still able to get away with some of my more blousy tops, but not very many of them.  Here's how I came to this realization.  It was a Friday afternoon at work.  I had eaten an unhealthy lunch of McDonald's, so I was already feeling pretty terrible about myself.  I leaned forward in my desk and heard the dreaded sound.....*RIPP*.  I ripped out the sleeve of my shirt!  I felt like Chris Farley in that exact moment.  I started singing "Fat Guy In A Little Coat" over and over.  Thank goodness I had a cardigan at work that day.  But who knows if I had just ripped it more & had been walking around all day with an already started tear in the sleeve.  Embarrassing.  So that is when I realized I have reached the full blown maternity clothing phase.....or at least very blousy tops from now on, or at least Bryan's t-shirts.  

OK, gotta go pee.  Have a good rest of the weekend!

Cubs v Cards

As all of you know, Bryan & I are in a mixed household when it comes to baseball.  Will our son be a Cubs fan or a Cards fan?  If I had my way, he would be a Cubs fan, but I really don't foresee that happening.  Given the fact that Bryan has a huge love of sports, an even bigger love for baseball, and an even bigger love for the Cardinals, I'm pretty sure this kid is going to be a Cards fan.  But until he can make his own decisions, I shall dress him in Cubbie blue!

It's a Boy!!

Here's my little man! I think he looks like me ;-)

2 weeks ago we found out that we're having a little boy!  I had a feeling it was a boy the couple of weeks leading up to our appointment.  The sono pics turned out great.  He moved around a lot.  He stuck out his tongue, yawned and sucked on his bottom lip.  It was so cute.  A couple of days after that appointment, Bryan was able to feel him move for the first time.  His reaction was pretty cute.  It was a mixture of excitement & weirded-outness (is that a word?).  I can feel it pretty regularly these days, but Bryan can't usually feel it unless I'm laying on my back.  I think I annoy little man when I lay on my back, but it's so fun for me!  

Tomorrow I hit 23 weeks.  I can't believe how quickly the time is going these days.  Maybe it's because my hormones are somewhat in check now, and I'm feeling a lot better.  Or maybe it's because I've been so busy.  Last weekend we got the landscaping done, the vegetable garden planted, and my potted plants planted.  I LOVE my back yard!  It's my zen oasis.  So I've officially given myself a time-out so I can relax & enjoy these days!  Pretty soon I'll be feeling miserable again, so I've heard.  

23 weeks (tomorrow)

Cravings These Days: 

-Peas (Weird, I know).  I'm not kidding, we have peas as a side dish at least every other night with dinner & I eat them at lunch, too. 

-Iced Latte w/ Carmel from Dunkin Donuts (I allow myself one on Fridays).

-Pasta (still).  I think we had a noodle dish at 4  meals last week.  And I ate leftovers at lunches, too! 

-Brownies.  But I haven't been eating these, I just want one every day.  But if you put one in front of my face, I would definitely eat it.  

I must admit I went a little crazy last Friday when Bryan left me home alone for a bit.  I was starting to feel bad that I hadn't bought anything for my baby, so I went to Amazon & purchased 8 of my favorite children's books.  My mom reminded me that I'll probably get some of those as gifts at my showers.  I couldn't help myself.  It was so fun to reminisce!
 
Next up on my list - start researching what I want to register for.  To all my mommy friends - I'll be coming to you to ask what is and isn't necessary to have.

I promise my next post won't be so delayed.  Since I'm on a "time-out", I have no excuses!

Let's Talk About Sex, Baby!

The time has almost come for us to find out the sex of our baby.  We find out on Tuesday!  Well, actually the nurse already knows.  At my Dr. appointment last week (just a quick, routine check), the nurse saw what our little baby was.  That was not the purpose of the visit, and I was caught off guard that she saw.  She asked if I wanted to know, but I said "NO! Bryan's not here!"  Can you believe my will power?!  Bryan told me later that night that he wouldn't have cared if I found out without him.  UMMM, yeah right!  So only God & my nurse know, until Tuesday that is.  I'm leaning more towards boy now.

Bryan & I have decided not to find out at the Dr's office.  More like I've decided, and he's just playing along.  We're going to have the nurse put it in an envelope, and then later that night we're going to go have dinner and open the envelope just the two of us.  Then we'll start letting everyone know.  I thought about coming up with a cute way to announce it, but, let's face it, I'm not much of a trend follower.  I am Mikey B's daughter after all.  And I really don't think I can wait to start telling people after we know.  I might make all my peeps running in the IL Marathon the following weekend wait.  Maybe I'll be cheering for you at mile 3 wearing a pink shirt.  Or maybe I'll be cheering for you at mile 9 wearing a blue shirt.  We shall see :-)

The pregnancy brain drain is in full effect.  I can't remember how to spell words (I hope I used "effect" correctly in the previous sentence).  I misplace things.  I don't know how to use big words in my vernacular any more.  Today I swore the cleaning crew ate the 2 Hershey Kisses I had on my desk.  I was really sad b/c I was looking forward to that snack.  Here is my conversation with a coworker today:

Me:  Joel, I don't like to jump to conclusions, but I think the cleaning crew ate my Hershey Kisses.
Joel:  Are you sure they're not in your cabinet?
Me:  (Looks through cabinet) No, they're not in here.  I swore I left them on my desk right here.
Joel:  (Look of concern b/c he knows how I get when I don't have a snack every 2 hours)
Me:  Oh, I ate them yesterday!

We've made it to the 1/2 way mark, people!  (I said that in my best Oprah voice).  I'm at 20 weeks today.  OHHHHHH, I'm half way there.  Ohhhh, OH, living on....bread & pasta & milk & tea & Mexican food & a PRAYER!
 

Here's a picture from my 19 week photo session.  My friend Laura and I are having a lot of fun with this.  She is pretty awesome! 

More from me after Tuesday!

Happy Easter

Happy Easter, everyone!  Hope you had a wonderful day filled with family, food & eggs.  Mix my food coma with the fact that I'm still recovering from our Vegas trip, and I'm about out for the night.  For those who don't know, I took Bryan to Vegas for his 30th birthday.  He had a blast!  I quickly learned that Vegas is not the place for pregnant people, or small children.  I couldn't get over the number of families that brought their very small children to Vegas with them, and proceeded to take pictures of them with their iPads.  So bizarre.  But it was a nice trip, and we both won some money.  Bryan immediately went out and bought a new iPad upon our return home.  It was his b-day gift to himself.  He was jealous of the tourists and their fancy "cameras" in Vegas.  He took the picture above with the iPad.  I'm totally kidding!  I will never allow that.  

Before I forget, I was informed today that I was spelling the baby's name wrong.  It is Katara, not Katana.  Sorry, Grace.  So from now on "she" shall be called Katara.  At the end of the month we'll find out the sex of the baby.  I can't wait!  I'm dying to know what my little bambino is.  Am I having little Madonna or a little Ralph Lauren baby model?  I've been anxiously waiting to feel those first flutters.  They say sometimes you can feel flutters anywhere between 16-20 weeks.  I don't think I've felt anything different.  Everything feels like a rumbly in my tumbly, but in a bad way :-)

Overall, I'm feeling pretty good, and hungry.  I haven't had to start wearing maternity pants yet, so I'm pretty pumped about that!  Don't get me wrong, most of the time my pants aren't buttoned, but they're still not maternity pants!  But I am looking forward to wearing them because they are comfortable.  I also learned a couple of weeks ago that you should never, EVER, watch My Sister's Keeper while pregnant.  I have seen this movie before, and knew that it was very sad.  OMG!  I was sobbing so hysterically on the couch you would have thought Bryan ate the last of my mayo.  So if you were wondering, emotions can be out of control at times.  Speaking of mayo, I think it's time for another deviled egg.