Baby A, Kick the Dog

Okay, so I wouldn't encourage anyone to really kick a dog, but I am definitely looking forward to my dogs laying on my lap sound asleep and being kicked by the baby.  How will they react?  Just thinking about the situation makes me laugh.  Will they get mad and try to bite back or will they just look at me with those puppy dog eyes and go back to sleep...or leave me for AJ?

Well, today, I would officially say I am one day closer to laughing at my confused dogs after being kicked by my stomach, aka Baby A.  I thought on Sunday I felt a kick on the outside, but since it was higher than what I had been feeling (inside), I wasn't expecting to feel or notice anything.  I was in shock and disbelief, so I chose to believe it was a figment of my imagination.  I swear I felt the kicking on Monday while at work, but again, I wasn't prepared for it.  Tuesday night, I felt thumping on my stomach as I was going to sleep, but my hands were nowhere near my stomach to feel it.

But today, I definitely felt several kicks.  In fact, when I thought I felt the first one, I pushed back...all over. :)  I was hoping to tick Baby A off so he would continue to kick.  It worked!  I felt it several times, but I had to basically cover my entire stomach with my hands and arms.  It was a funny sight for AJ to see when he came home.  He wondered what the heck I was doing and why I had a weird expression on my face.  Unfortunately, AJ didn't get to feel the kicks...still too inconsistent and feeling them is a rare occurrence.  Feeling the kicks on the outside was definitely the highlight of my day...I felt like eating a whole chocolate bar to get him all excited and kicking, but I restrained myself.

And you might be asking...Baby A?  What's the "A" stand for.  Well, if I knew, I'd probably tell you.  We do know his first name will be Willis; it's a family name, and it's important to AJ that we pass on the name.  AJ also wanted the same middle initial, but not the same middle name.  We have tossed around several "A" names, but have not finalized anything.  The baby will be called by his middle name, so until we have a name, I will refer to him as Baby A.

Week 20

Wow!  What a week.  We had the anatomy scan on Monday, AJ made the first baby purchase (out of both of us), and I went shopping for nursery furniture with the grandmothers-to-be! 

AJ and I had to keep moving furniture around in the room that will soon be the nursery.  Well, I pointed which direction the full size bed should be moved, and AJ moved it.  Then I took measurements, found out the configuration wouldn't work and had AJ move the furniture again.  It appears we have a set up that will work, and we began looking at nursery furniture online and using my copy of Baby Bargains to cross check ratings/quality.  With furniture in mind, I went shopping with both of our moms.  It was a wonderful trip, and I think we scored some awesome deals.

Hopefully we'll start working on the nursery soon, especially since we can pick up the furniture anytime after this Monday.  We thought we would have more time since most manufacturers wait for orders before making the furniture.

How far along?: 20 weeks 6 days
How big is baby?: According to What to Expect When You’re Expecting: Started the week as the size of a Cantaloupe and about to be a Banana.

Weight gain?: Last week I didn't get to weigh in since I was out of town, so this Saturday when I did my weigh in, I had gained 2lbs.  Total gain is 14 lbs. 
Stretch marks?: I looked this morning, and I have not found any. 
Maternity clothes?: Wearing them and loving them!  I can still wear most of my work shirts, but I have added in longer shirts that are quite comfortable to wear.
Sleep?: Aside from Monday night, when I drank caffeine for the anatomy scan, sleep is great.  I think eliminating caffeinated drinks out of my daily routine has greatly improved my sleep.  I can still sleep on my stomach.  The worst part is when I want to sleep on my back, but it is recommended I don't do so at this stage in the pregnancy.  Best moment this week?: The anatomy scan was the highlight of my (and AJ's) week!  It was awesome to see the baby and see him being so energetic. 
Worst moment this week?: Not sleeping well on Monday made Tuesday difficult.
Food cravings?: Bring on the seafood!!!
Symptoms?: None that I noticed this week.  Though I will say that last week, I failed to mention how ticklish my feet are now.  I haven't been ticklish since highschool, so it was weird to receive a pedicure, and it tickling so much!  I hope it goes away, I like being immune to tickling.
Exercise?: I officially have a tennis/racquetball tan!  I noticed the tan lines earlier this week, and I am loving being outside and moving around.  In addition to keeping up with tennis, I've been walking the dogs every other day (since they need to build their stamina back up), and continuing to lift weights every other day.
Movement?: Definitely.  I can feel the movement on the outside, but I can tell when he's active!
Belly button?: On the verge of an outie.  AJ even noticed this week.  I think his comment was "your belly button looks weird."  Why yes it does! It's half in/half flush.
What I miss?: Nothing really
Labor signs?: Nope!  Too early.
Purchases: AJ bought a green John Deere onesie and booties!  In addition, we bought some nursery furniture, but most of it was a gift from the future grandparents!  (Thanks again).  The grandmothers-to-be also bought the baby an outfit - my mom got him OshKosh Overalls and a white collared onesie and AJ's mom bought a set of Clemson onesies and a Clemson baseball hat.  Can't wait to dress him up on football Saturday's in his Clemson gear!
What I'm looking forward to?: I am going to the Beaufort Air show next weekend with my parents and AJ as a belated birthday celebration.  It's the only airshow I have ever enjoyed - it features the Blue Angels.  I am also looking forward to eating a funnel cake at the airshow. :)

Anatomy Scan!

We were originally scheduled to have the anatomy scan on April 19th, but due to a surgery that came up at the last minute, the doctor's office had to reschedule the appointment.  At first I was disappointed because I figured the appointment would be later, but it turns out they had an opening on Monday at a reasonable time! So much excitement...

As suggested, I had my first caffeinated beverage in over 16 weeks.  It worked because the baby was jumping all over the place!  The baby was moving so much it was hard for the ultrasound technician to take good still shots.  The baby started with the head on my left side and within a minute was flipped around with the head on my right side - reminds me how I use to sleep when I was younger!

Baby Bowers turns out to be a boy!  We are more than excited, and it's crazy to think that all of my gender dreams from the first trimester were correct!  It's amazing what our bodies and subconscious know.  He showed us his goods and then promptly crossed his legs and turned his back towards us.  We had a great view of his spine.

He was kicking, squirming, flipping, grabbing toes, putting his hands up near his head.  He seems to react to caffeine like I do - hyper.  He'd probably do the same if he had too much sugar - like a box of nerds and a couple handfuls of gummy bears. :)  It was awesome to see him bouncing and moving around.  He had a strong heartbeat of 145 BPM.  All is well, and we are happy to have a healthy baby.

I must say, though, on Tuesday, I severely regretted drinking the Diet Pepsi – not out of guilt, but due to the caffeine keeping me up and messing up my sleep.  Even when I drank caffeinated beverages, I would stop by noon so that it would wear off before bed time.  This was not the case on Monday, and I struggled to fall asleep and stay asleep.  I think giving up caffeine is the key reason why I have been sleeping so well during this pregnancy – that and my awesome bladder, which means I don’t wake up in the middle of the night to go pee.









Week 19

19 W 6 D

Since I'm posting on Sunday, I am technically 20 weeks along, which means I am halfway through the pregnancy!  So far, so good. 
How far along?: 19 weeks 6 days
How big is baby?: According to What to Expect When You’re Expecting: Started the week as the size of a Mango and about to be a Cantaloupe.

Weight gain?: Not sure since I was out of town when I do my weekly weigh in.
Stretch marks?: None that I have noticed, but not like I'm looking for any.
Maternity clothes?: Except for some hiking shorts, all of my pants/shorts are maternity wear with most of them being the below the belly style since I love those the best.  Shirts are still fine.
Sleep?: I love sleep, and there's still no issues of sleeping as a result of pregnancy.  I can still sleep on my stomach.
Best moment this week?: My sister's wedding was pretty awesome. The food was marvelous, and I definitely ate plenty.  If you are ever in Charleston, you need to check out the Swamp Fox on King Street.  I had to have seconds of everything!
Worst moment this week?: It was a great week, nothing terrible sticks out, which is good!
Food cravings?: Seafood - shrimp especially.  I fulfilled the craving the most I could this weekend - whenever there was an option of shrimp, I chose it.  I even ordered grits because it came with shrimp, but I didn't eat the grits - YUCK!
Symptoms?: None that I noticed this week.

Exercise?: I'm finally back to a normal routine!  I played tennis 3 times last week, and I worked out with weights 3 times.  Feels great to be outside in the sunshine, too!
Gender?: We hope to find out this week.
Movement?: I feel movement everyday, sometimes a few times a day, other days, I feel it a lot.  I think the baby likes chocolate cake - every time I eat it, some time afterwards, I can definitely feel movement.
Belly button?: I'd say it's half flush with my stomach, and half in.  So soon it will be an outie.
What I miss?: An ice cold beer would be nice...didn't help that my brother would tease me with his Bud Lights at the wedding reception.  The beer felt ice cold when he put it on my back...
Labor signs?: too early!
What I'm looking forward to?: Going to the anatomy scan and seeing the baby again - hopefully finding out the gender.  I also want to start laying out and buying the nursery furniture.

Week 18

I spent most of yesterday making truffles for my sister's wedding, getting my dressed steamed, and shopping with my mom, which why I am a day late updating my weekly progress, again.

Mom and I looked at dresses for the rehearsal dinner, at maternity clothes, and at two baby stores.  Wow, talk about an overwhelming day!  There is so much to look at and research - I picked up the most recent copy of Baby Bargains, which seems to be helpful on rating the different brands and when to spend the big bucks and when to skip the high dollar items. 
In other news, I am done with the PE Exam (I hope).  The exam was brutal, but I gave it my all and hope (and feel) that it is enough to pass.  There were some questions that I could quickly answer, others that I knew exactly what to do and what equations to use, others that I had to read several times before I could gather my sense to begin to work the problem, and others which made me think "HOLY CRAP! What did I get into?!"  Fortunately, there wasn't too many of those "holy crap" questions, but I still had to make an educated guess, and I hated not knowing what to do.  There were other questions that I thought I knew how to work the problem, but when it came down to the answer I had and the answers I could choose from, there were none even remotely close.  Oh well, it's behind me for now, and I'll hopefully know the results in 12 weeks.

How far along?: 18 weeks 6 days
How big is baby?: According to What to Expect When You’re Expecting: Started the week as the size of a Sweet Potato and about to be a Mango.

Weight gain?: 1 lb gain this week for a total of 12 lbs. 
Stretch marks?: No
Maternity clothes?: I continue to wear the "toddler jeans." every day.  For shorts, I can still wear my hiking shorts since they fit low.  Part of the shopping on Saturday included getting new maternity clothes - shorts and shirts.  Mom was good at picking out clothes I would like - though there was one tank that she gave me that has me wondering what she was thinking!  Overall, very good day (thanks Mom).
Sleep?: Still sleeping without any issues.  It seems I am back to my pre pregnancy routine of going to bed at 10PM and feeling well rested that getting up at 4AM is no problem - I actually wake up at 3:30AM.  Dreams are still CRAZY! But quite entertaining.
Best moment this week?: Being done with the PE...and shopping with mom.
Worst moment this week?: Taking the PE exam....haha, it was difficult, but really, I had a good week so I had to pick something that was bad...right?
Food cravings?: Nothing really. 

Symptoms?: None that I noticed this week.
Exercise?: I walked the dogs once for 30 minutes.  Now that the PE is over, I hope to resume my normal work out routine.
Gender?: Hopefully we'll know April 19th!!

Movement?: Definitely more often!  Though only I can feel it, not AJ.
Belly button?: Oh wow, it's on the verge of being an outie!
What I miss?: Seafood!  I eat my limit every week, but all I want is more!
Labor signs?: too early!
What I'm looking forward to?: I am looking forward to my sister's wedding - less than one week!  It's in beautiful downtown Charleston at the Francis Marion, so it should be quite the affair.
I also started compiling my "To Do" List now that I have free time, so I am eager to get it started.  So much to do, and so much time now. :) 

Dear Baby,

Tomorrow marks an important milestone in my professional and educational career; this is the second such milestone you were a part of, which is awesome.  You were technically just a few days old when I walked across the stage to receive my diploma for my Masters - little did I know you were growing inside of me!  I use to daydream while in my Methods of Materials class about having my Masters and PE - oh how I thought the day would never come.  Of course, timing is everything, and I am glad to have it behind me before you enter this world so that I can focus all of my time on you and AJ.  So tomorrow is a very important day for both of us - it's not just my future, but yours, too that will benefit.

While I love the moments when I can feel you (it takes my breath away), I ask that you refrain from bringing me such joy for just 8 hours of your precious life.  Every time you move, aka "flutter kick" as I call it, I want to stop what I am doing and enjoy the moment because I know in the coming months, those kicks will push on my bladder, and it won't be as pleasant and remarkable as it is now.  I have no time to stop and enjoy these moments tomorrow, not until 5PM.  In return, I promise not to eat anything that appears to make you excited, such as chocolate ganache cake!  Do we have a deal?

I have enjoyed our journey thus far, and it will only be better after tomorrow because I can take time to read about your growth, research the products I will need for your well being, and I can enjoy all those precious kicks.  I look forward to seeing you in just over a week, and I hope you're awake, happy, and full of movement...and not to modest.

So until the end of the exam tomorrow, take long naps and avoid the stress I am going through.  I promise not to put too much of a strain on you - I'll leave that to the brain.

Love,

Mom

Week 17

17 w 6 d

17 w 6 d

So I'm a day late updating the blog, but it's due to the great study effort I had yesterday.  From 7AM to 3:30 PM and from 7:30 PM to 10:00PM, I was working hard on the PE exam.  I took one sample exam, and if it's anything like the real exam I take on Friday, I should kick its butt!  I missed a few problems here and there, but part of it was due to simple math errors (Sta 76+00 - 73+00 = 100...uh, no Diana, it's 300).  I had the concept of the entire problem right, but the 100' threw off the answer.  I blame it on being so brain dead from studying, which is why I will not study on Thursday - I will just relax.  The only break I took was going out to dinner to celebrate some birthdays with my family.  My sister turns the BIG THREE OH this coming Friday and I'll be 28 just a few short weeks after her. 

This past week, I did make a quick visit back to the OB to give a tube of blood for alphfetoprotein (AFP) aka, the triple screen or quad screen.  Apparently, it's some sort of genetic testing and is generally used to detect neural tube defects.  Not like I knew any of this before giving blood, but the doctor said all he needed from me was a little blood, so I signed up!  I use to donate a pint every 8 weeks, so what's a small test tube?!  Here's more information: AFP; I'm not worried about anything, I just gave blood because it was easy, and if further testing were needed, this test would show it...supposedly...at least from what I read!

How far along?: 17 weeks 6 days
How big is baby?: According to What to Expect When You’re Expecting: Started the week as the size of a Onion and about to be a Sweet Potato.

Weight gain?: No gain last week means gain this week! 2lbs for a total of 11 lbs. I'm seeing numbers I have never seen before...it's crazy, but if the baby needs it, I'll gain it.  I think the baby has been generous and let some of the weight go to my boobs.  I have a one inch scar on my chest that I swear was laying flat on my chest, but now it appears to be part of my boob...who knows, I'll probably search my beach photos to see if I can find the scar and compare to what I see now. :) 
Stretch marks?: No
Maternity clothes?: Just pants, aka toddler jeans.  I call them toddler jeans because they have the elastic waist band and no button or zipper - reminds me of what little kids wear.  They are super comfortable and I can tuck my shirt in and wear a belt - two positives! Okay, three if you count comfort.  Other than that, no additional maternity clothes needed - shirts are still long enough.
Sleep?: Still sleeping on my stomach and sleeping very well.  I love sleep - I swear I'm getting the best sleep ever!  I also have crazy, crazy dreams.  So many random people in my dreams doing random things.  It makes me want to laugh so hard.  I did have one bad dream where a relative was passing away, but I made myself wake up (I was actually crying in my sleep).  In my dream, I was telling myself to wake up!  And I did, then went promptly back to sleep and had a better dream.
Best moment this week?: Seeing my sister this weekend!  It's always good when I get to see my sister or brother, and esp. when food is involved.
Worst moment this week?: Realizing that one of my study guides/practice problem books for the PE exam is MISSING 48 pages.  It's being replaced for free, but I had to pay $30 to ship it quickly to me so it's here before Friday.  Ugh, talk about cutting it close and stressing me out. :(
Food cravings?: Frozen Pizzas.  Tostinos pepperoni pizza FTW. 

Symptoms?: Itchy boobs - could that be a sign of growth?!?! :)
Exercise?: Just call me a slacker!  I exercised three times this week - two nights of weights and one night of racquetball.
Gender?: Hopefully we'll know April 19th!!

Movement?: I felt movement everyday!  It's awesome.  After eating a little bit of chocolate cake on Saturday, I definitely felt kicking.  The baby likes chocolate, so I should eat more, right?  I mean, it's a sign from the baby...
Belly button?: Definitely becoming a shallower innnie.
What I miss?: Nothing that I can think of right now.
Labor signs?: too early!
What I'm looking forward to?: I am ready to be done with studying, so I am looking forward to taking the PE on Friday and having my life back.  Related to that, I can't wait to clean my house!  It's such a mess, and I want to organize things and get rid of a bunch a stuff to goodwill.  I want to clean out the guest room in preparation of turning it into a nursery.  I also want to bake an cook - can't wait to make the truffles for my sister's wedding!  I just want FREEDOM from studying.