Quick Post

Sorry I haven't been updating, guys! As you know, we've been super busy lately...looking at and buying a house has been pretty stressful and time consuming! Not to mention trying to get our current house ready for the market--it's crazy! Anyway, I just wanted to let everyone know that all is well despite being a little stressed. I feel great, and I'm actually not sick! Hooray! Here are a couple of pictures from the last couple of weeks:

Week 17 aaaaaaaaaaa Week 18

As you can see, I am getting rather massive! :) I've had quite a few people tell me lately that I am looking "really pregnant." I'm not sure whether to be happy about that or not! I'm so excited that you can see that the baby and my uterus are growing just fine, but it's a little depressing to see my waistline grow day by day.

We have our anatomical ultrasound scheduled for June 20, and we should find out the sex then (as long as Freedlet cooperates!). I am actually going to call tomorrow to see if we can get it moved up just a bit so I can tell my kiddos at school! They are so excited!

Today's Appointment

We had the 16 week appointment with the midwife today, and everything still seems normal. The heart rate is in the 150s (still hinting at a girl!) and my weight gain is good, so the midwife seemed pleased. We talked with her about an earlier ultrasound, but she really dissuaded us. She said that ultrasounds done before 19 weeks or so can be difficult to read and may cause unnecessary worry. The ultrasound tech could "maybe" see something unsettling, but there'd be nothing we could do for a couple of weeks until we could get another ultrasound. I was okay with that, because I generally believe there is too much unnecessary worry and intervention done in pregnancy. We also opted out of the AFP-tetra screening for the same reasons. I can't find the statistics now, but I have read that a pretty large percentage of women get a positive/abnormal test result, but only 1-2% of those women actually have babies with genetic abnormalities. The midwife said it depended on whether or not having a positive result would affect any of our decisions--which it wouldn't. We wouldn't have an amnio, we wouldn't terminate, so there's really no point for us. I can see why people who are high risk or who have a family history would opt for it, but it's just really not for us!

Anyway, we are off to dinner now, so I'll write more and post pictures later!

Update!

The crown molding is DONE and it looks great! Chris had some huge difficulties in the beginning, but it looks so beautiful now. It's really amazing what caulk can do :)

Can't you tell how proud he is??? Everything in that room obviously needs to be painted (it hasn't been touched since we moved in), but the crown molding looks so pretty!

Tomorrow is when I am officially 16 weeks, but I felt like updating today anyway. We have an appointment with the midwife scheduled for Thursday, and I am so excited to hear the heartbeat again! I think I am also going to ask for an ultrasound. We weren't planning on getting one until 20 weeks, but we should be able to tell the gender now. I think it will help Chris feel more involved; he will be able to paint the nursery, buy some clothes, etc.

He started trying to hang the crown molding today, and it's not going so well. The brad nailer we bought doesn't hold long enough nails, so we're going to have to hammer in 2-inch nails by hand! The pieces of molding we bought are also kind of warped (I think that's normal), but it's frustrating Chris because it's difficult to get them to lie flat against the wall and ceiling. Of course, we didn't have any finishing nails on hand, so Chris had to go back out for a THIRD time to buy some. I have a feeling he won't be in the greatest mood when he returns.

We got the carpets cleaned today, and they look amazing!!! We didn't realize how disgusting our living room carpet truly was. When we moved the crates and took up the pad we had laid, there was a clear (but nasty) line of dirt surrounding the pristine area that was protected. What is REALLY nasty is that it must have been pretty much all urine. Suki just LOVES to pee in her crate, and I guess she splashed it around. Yuck! The carpet guy looked at it and said he'd do his best, but it didn't sound too promising. When he finished, though, we were amazed! If we hadn't known about the urine/dirt ring, we wouldn't have noticed it. It looks totally normal...whew!

My legs are FINALLY starting to feel normal again! I was so sore on Wednesday and Thursday that it was affecting my walking. Chris really made fun of me and kept calling me an old woman. I seriously looked like it, too--I was hunched over and walked very, very slowly.

We went shopping at Lowe's today and bought crown molding and chair rail for the nursery! Chris is going to get started on it tomorrow evening, but it will probably take a couple of weekends to complete. Especially since neither of us have any experience putting up molding...

I also think I'm going to start shopping for a few maternity clothes. My normal clothes sort of fit, but they are really not that comfortable. My jeans still work just fine because I always buy them bigger than necessary, but my work pants are unbearable! I'm thinking of just buying 2 pairs of pants--one black and one khaki so that I can wear most of the shirts in my closet. I could also do with buying a couple of shirts...in case you haven't noticed in the pictures, my bewbies are getting HUGE! My shirts that were already a tad low-cut are now downright inappropriate! And my conservative shirts are looking a little provocative as well. I definitely do NOT want to spend much money on maternity clothing, but I think I need a few basics.

I also think I need more sleep...Suki has been waking us up early, peeing on the floor regularly, and being generally annoying. She's really cutting into my sleep time, and it's driving me crazy! Anyone want a dog?

Minutia

I have plenty of little boring things to blog about today. First, have I mentioned how my hormones are out of control? I've started crying over everything, and Chris and I have been arguing nonstop. We went and looked at baby furniture last weekend, and I cried when we looked at a crib. I could just imagine our little Freedlet lying asleep in it, and I literally broke down in tears. I think Chris was confused and a little scared--someone needs to talk him through my hormonal craziness! Tonight we argued BADLY about the idea of me using sunless tanner before going to the beach. Most of you know that I am blindingly white, and Chris makes fun of me constantly for it, especially when we are at the beach. I was talking to him about getting a spray-on tan for the beach in July so my huge belly doesn't cause anyone blindness, and he freaked out about the possibility of chemicals seeping into my skin! He said some hurtful things, and I threw my cell phone at him--oops! In any case, we talked it through (with the help of Rebecca, our proxy therapist), and we discovered that Chris feels like he isn't involved enough in the pregnancy and I feel like I don't want to share my private, little, secret pregnant life with anyone just yet. I feel like everyone will be involved when I really start showing, and the control's all mine for now. *sigh* I really need to be more relaxed and give Chris some control and decision-making abilities.

In more positive news, I am definitely feeling the baby move now! I thought I felt it starting around 12 weeks, but I was pretty sure I was crazy and imagining things since I was so early. I read that most women don't feel movement until about 16-22 weeks. I talked to my midwife about it, and she said it could be movement (since our baby is so "eager") or it could be gas :) I dismissed it as the latter until a few days later when I felt it again! I have been consistently feeling this pulling sensation in my uterine area/lower abdomen every few days, and I can really feel it when I'm lying very still or in the tub (I think the warm water stimulates Freedlet). This morning, though, I felt it BIG TIME! I was driving to work, and I always wear my seatbelt very low across my abdomen. I very distinctly felt pressure against the seatbelt and tiny flutters of movement! Exciting, huh?

I also went to my second prenatal yoga class yesterday afternoon...oy!! I am SO very sore today. As in it hurts terribly to walk up and down stairs. When I walk down stairs, I feel like I am going to topple over. When I walk up stairs, I feel like I am climbing a mountain. Any way you look at it, I am seriously uncomfortable. I guess that's what I get for being completely inactive during my first trimester.

And finally...I saved the best for last...a picture! Chris took my picture tonight, so it is technically 15 weeks and 3 days. I'll try to stay on a strict weekly schedule, but I usually forget on Sunday nights.

14 Weeks aaaaaaaaaaaa 15 Weeks

Whaddya think? Any change from last week? I feel bigger, but I don't know if I actually look any bigger.

Thanks for reading, and I'll talk to you all soon!

Warning--This may be TMI!

Wow! I think that today I officially began looking like a pregnant woman...at least when I'm naked. My belly seems to have gotten much larger (my pants left those nasty red marks around my waist today), I gained a pound (finally!), and I have lovely blue veins making a road map on my chest and boobies. This all may be TMI for some of you, and I'm sure this blog will eventually make you realize you know WAY too much about me. Here's the deal--if a post includes something that may make you queasy, I'll put a TMI warning in the title (like I did on this one).

Also, I think I'm getting the swing of energy for the second trimester. All of a sudden, I feel like I need to take on about 500 projects. I'm thinking about making my own cloth diapers, planning a vacation (like we have the money!), and I'm dying to do some cooking and baking. I also feel the need to become a foster parent RIGHT THIS INSTANT (don't worry, Chris has already put the keibash on that one). I think that's mainly due to a situation at school that leaves me feeling like I could really be helping children much more in a home setting that in a classroom. Anyway, along with projects come [drumroll please] wishlists! I'm now in the market for a serger, since you apparently can't make quality cloth diapers without one. Well, you can, but it takes much longer and is a huge pain the butt. I would really like a Bernina, but that's probably overkill for what I need. A Singer or Brother would do just fine for my purposes. I will probably head over to Hancock tomorrow or over the weekend to see how much I need to save up in order to get one.

Michael, Rebecca, Chris and I are going to make a trip to the opening day of the Goochland farmer's market on Saturday. My midwife says it is the absolute best one in the area, so I'm looking forward to getting some organic greens, asparagus, and spring onions! She says there's also a ton of organic meat and eggs, so maybe Chris will get a treat, too :) I wonder what other produce they will have this early in the season...maybe some early strawberries, rhubarb...I don't know what else! Maybe I'll have to try my hand at a strawberry-rhubarb pie!!! I've never had it, but I remember Grandma Sally trying to cajole me into eating it as a kid. I always thought rhubarb was very weird, but I'm sort of into weird foods now anyway!

That's all for now, folks...time for bed!