What is going on this week  ?

Baby’s energy is surging, thanks to the formation of white fat deposits beneath the skin (side note: darn right, it looks like I have an alien inside of my stomach. I am pretty sure that she is permanently doing summer- salts (sp?), sideways, in my stomach, oh man is that uncomfortable. I pretty much can’t breath when she is doing that). Baby is also settling into sleep cycles. Also this month, all five senses are finally functional, and the brain and nervous system are going through major developments.

Every day, about 200 milligrams of calcium is deposited in your baby’s skeleton, which is now hardening. With this rapid growth, it’s no surprise that your baby’s nutritional needs reach their peak during this trimester (could explain why I feel the need to eat all day long, except, I am not in the mood for anything and it is darn frustrating).

 

We are currently working on building up her furniture collection. My Aunt Jonda just bought us a brand new changing table off of Craig’s List that happens to match the crib we bought almost perfectly. I am super excited. Now we are looking for a white wood dresser to complete the bedroom set and possibly, if time and finances allow, a glider and ottoman.

10 weeks people Can not believe it. 

I have always considered myself a child/baby person but I am realizing that I seriously have no idea what to do. I guess I should finish up all of the “How-To” books I started reading. Ha-Ha.  

I plan to post a baby bump picture soon. If it helps you can just imagine an oversized volleyball under a T-shirt and that is pretty much what I look like.

A lot of strangers lately have been telling me that they think I am going to have a boy because of the way I am carrying. I honestly don’t really believe in that Old Wives Tale, all woman are different. However, It is freaking me out a little bit. I can’t think abou it…

 

PS. I have NOTHING against boys. Obviously, I married one. I am just a little petrified that after getting used to the thought of actually having a girl and bonding with a girl and preparing for a girl, It could come out a boy.

I am recently obsessed with brushing my teeth. Not that I do not normally like brushing my teeth but  for some reason I am really really into it. I just LOVE the feeling of the bristles against my gums and all I want to do is chew on them. Weird, I know.

I love the smell of my car air conditioner when I first turn it on. It smells musty yet, clean. I don’t know how to explain it but when I first turn my car on in the afternoon I sit there and smell the air from the vents for a few seconds before I start driving. I wish I could chew on that smell. Strange, I know.

My belly button sticks out more on the right (my right) side more than the left. I think it is because Lucy prefers my right side therefore there are more things pushing my belly button out on that side. You probably wouldn’t notice if I didn’t tell you or show you, but I think it looks weird. I can’t really explain it.

Vanilla Ice Cream upsets my stomach but chocolate does not. Chocolate things give me indigestion but chocolate Ice Cream does not. Weird. This is annoying because I really prefer Ice Cream that is vanilla with chunks and it upsets my stomach and gives me indigestion.

My vision has been a little blurrier than normal lately. Apparently it is because when you are pregnant, your eyeballs change shape. This is weird because your eyeballs are one thing that never grow or shrink. You are born with the same size eyes that you will have in your adult life. Why then do they change when you are pregnant?  Do they change back? Odd.

Anyway, just a few strange things that I have been encountering. No weird cravings yet… sorry Aunt Trish.

Well, my Dr. called to fill me in on the results of my Glucose Test (btw, that  was disgusting- they call it Glucola) and told me that it came back  normal. That was surprising because if you know me at all you know that sweets are not something I can go a day without. That was exciting, and surprising.

However, they did say that I have a low iron count and that I needed to take iron pills that they were going to call in right away. That isn’t very comforting when doctors use the phrase “right away”.

Bummer.

It wasn’t long until the guilt started to sneak into my thoughts. It is completely my fault. I have not been taking my prenatal vitamins because they were making me sick for a while and then I just got out of the habit of taking them. After I had not taken them for a while I rationalized my thinking by reminding myself that for millions of years, millions of woman have not take vitamins and have had perfectly healthy babies. I should have reminded myself that I do not have the best diet to not be concerned with the lack of nutrients Lucy will or will not be getting. Then, red meat- the number one source of iron in your diet, I don’t really like it. I may eat Taco or a Burger once in a while but when it started upsetting my stomach I just cut it out of my diet completely. Also, Vitamin-C helps your body to absorb the iron that your body takes in but because it had been giving me bad indigestion, I slowed down on that as well. So, all of these things combined have contributed to my iron deficiency and the reason that Lucy could be born prematurely and at a low birth weight… because I was selfish and thought about myself and my discomforts instead of her needs.

One the good side, maybe I will start feeling better and have more energy. And maybe she will not be born early or not have a low birth weight.

Did you know that chocolate is a contributing factor for indigestion? I did not. I was getting really irritated about how bad and how often I was getting it and wanted to read up on it a little more. I know that it is normal for pregnancy due to your body changes but I wanted to see if there was anything I could do to help the situation. Of course you should not eat too much fried food, spicy food or citrus but did you know that chocolate and mint are also contributors ro indigestion? I cracked up when I read that because it made perfect sence. I would eat chocolate and have the worst indigestion and shove mint Rolaids down my throat to help which was actually making it worse. Ha-Ha.. uh, sometimes.

So, by cutting  chocolate out of my diet (not all but most)I probably have had 70% less indigestion than before. Honestly. It is AMAZING! I am also now saving money on Rolaids.

Oh yeah! Doc says Lucy’s heartbeat sounds really strong and healthy and I am still measuring on target. She is going crazy in my belly and still really likes to hang out on my right side. I have not had any cravings and my belly button has not popped yet. My mom said hers did not but my aunt says she thinks it looks like it will soon… we shall see.

I can’t believe, still, that my daughter is inside of me. A real one. Weird.

Today I have another Doctors Apt, I will be having my Glucose Test.

 You are not allowed to eat sugar before your test. If you know me, that is a pretty difficult thing to ask. I know it is weird but that is why I decided to wait to have my test in the afternoon. Yes, that does mean I have to try and go all day without eating any to very little sugar but, that is good, any excuse to not eat sugar is a good one to me. I knew it would be challenging but also at the same time I knew it would be helpful, relying on God for a little extra self control today=0).

They also ask that you eat lightly all day. What the heck?! I am almost 6 1/2 months pregnant… I don’t rally know what “lightly” means but when baby is hungry, there isn’t anything I can do! Not that I eat a whole lot anyway, but, it is not like I can really starve myself as if I were not pregnant.  

So far so good.

On a side note, I am growing out of my shirts. For a while I was doing well, still being able to wear a lot of my non prego clothes that have the empire waists (most of my shirts) or my loose fit t- shirts… nope. I now have about 5 work shirts and a couple of dresses but as it gets cooler I can’t wear the dresses any longer. I have about 0 casual things to wear. Visit me at bed time and you will find that the only T-shirts I have only fit right under my chest, they don’t really stretch over my belly too well. I feel like one of those men that sit in front of the TV with their giant beer bellies hanging out, it is pretty cute. NOT. So, I think I am going to try  Goodwill. I have had some good luck at Ross (one of my personal favorite stores for clothes and home decor btw) but I am really really trying to pinch the penny and thinking that maybe I could find something even cheaper at the Goodwill (probably not very stylish). We shall see.

I tell ya’, this is my most favorite, scary, exciting and uncomfortable month yet.

You see, the bigger she gets the more I can feel her move and kick and roll… I feel her all the time so I always know she is there and she does things that make me laugh and… it is really quite a binding experience. It helps that Ryan can feel her and see her move in my belly too because that way he gets to experience her as well. She likes him, I can tell.

On the other hand, the bigger she gets the more uncomfortable I get. I don’t think I have slept through the night  once in the past few weeks. My muscles hurt, my nerves are pinched, my feet are tired, my stomach is full or sick, I can’t really get up out of my seat without looking like an 80 year old- or walk around without looking like an 80 year old… lots of physical issues.

The good things definitely out weight the “bad”.

So, you may ask… Why is it scary? Well, sometime within the next three months I am going to give birth (hopefully much later and closer to three months than earlier, but having a baby come out of your… is scary no matter when it comes ). Do you know what that means?? AHHH. What the heck do I do with a new born baby? I have no idea. I feel completely un prepared. I know that there is no way to fully prepare but really, you think you know so much until you really think about it. What if? What if? What if? What now? You mean, I can’t go back to sleep? Why does she keep crying? What does that mean? oyoyoy

Apparently these are all very normal concerns that all new moms struggle with or worry about. But, I really need to stop. There is not a darn thing that I can do about any of it. I just have to lift all of my anxieties up to the Lord and have faith that He is going to take care of every single little part. Better than that, he already knows what is going to happen and has a plan for it. I can worry about what I am going to face and how I am going to handle it, but really, it is already worked out. I really hope a few extra hours of sleep are in that plan of His… hehe

So, what is going on in development this month for our little one?

If I let Ryan put an ear to my belly — he might be able to pick up Lucy’s heartbeat (he tried and she kicked him very hard in the head, not successful). Inside the womb, the formation of tiny capillaries is giving Lucy a healthy pink glow. She is also soaking up my antibodies, getting the immune system ready for life outside the womb (which could explain why I have been feeling a little more under the weather- I thought it was allergies). Eyes are forming, and baby will soon perfect the blink — perfect for batting those freshly grown lashes ( a flirt you say?).

She’s continuing to put on baby fat (only one pound for me this week!), she now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches, an english hothouse cucumber,  (what is that?) from head to heel.

 

Interesting Fact: In the vast majority of the world’s languages, the word for “mother” begins with the letter M.

PS. I am pretty sure my belly is sticking out WAY further than that!

We bought Lucy her crib yesterday. Awe. Her very first bed!!

It was pretty exciting.

My Aunt Jonda is a self proclaimed Craig’s List  junky and for weeks she has been emailing me 100’s of posts related to cribs and finally, we found one we liked! It was in good condition, a good price and not too far from our home. We went yesterday after work, inspected it and then purchased it. This is the first thing (besides a picture frame I bought Ryan when I found out I was prego) that we have purchased for our little girl (the first purchase of many I am sure).

It is white. I really like white furniture. Clean lines. Clean looking. Looks fabulous with the bedding I picked out. But, it being for a child (and future children Lord willing) I was a little hesitant, but you know what, this girl is going to have a darn cute nursery and if I have to bleach it everyday because of her dirty finger prints… bring it on!

I know that those of you with children right now are laughing at me… I know, I know… so naive.

 

So Ryan bought me some Maternity Underwear because most of my regular ones are getting pretty uncomfortable. They are amazing. I asked him what he thought about them and he said: “Well, I guess they don’t really make them to be attractive.” Ha-Ha. I guess not.

10 highlights from our week in Ocean City

1. Lovely day at North Side Park- 126th street.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Sad day. Ryan’s truck getting towed away… in fact, it is still there, in DE somewhere getting fixed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Getting dressed up for date night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. The sunset while on our dinner date at Fager’s Island Restaurant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. Enjoying our Wrapper’s on the Boardwalk… Heaven.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6. Babysitting and making “Uncle Ryan Sandwiches”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7. The kids on the Beach.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8. Lucy on the beach for her first time… tanning. HeHe

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9. Ryan Old School Crabbing. I think he caught the same crab about 10 times.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10. My Happy Husband. I think he had a good week! =0)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Update on little Lucy

Well, actually she is not that little according to the doctor. At my apt. today I measured in at 24, almost 25 cm (from hip bone area to top of fluid I think, you probably know where he measures better than I). He said that I am right on target. Yay. Aparently you should measure in cm’s the same as the week you are, in, for example; I am 24 weeks therefore I should be measurung in at 24 inches.

I have gained 6lbs. since my last visit which puts me over 2 lbs (2 lbs. over my goal). That could have something to do with OC Ice Cream and Chicken and Cheese wrappers. Good thing I walked about 100 miles while we were down there due to Ryan’s truck being out of commission.  

She is kicking like CrAZy!!! She kicked me for almost an hour straight last night while I was trying to go to bed. That was an unusual time for her to be up and kicking. She is not really a night person… she is already like her Mamma. Ha.

Alright, here we are at 24 weeks exactly. 24 weeks… HOLY COW!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

(this is Ryan trying to be a creative photographer)