HALFWAY!!!! TODAY IS HALFWAY DAY!!!

I can't belive it. 20 weeks today. Damn! I'm halfway there!
First, props out to Ashley for her birthday! I'm with you in spirit, Love!
Also, I have had requests for the places I am registered. If you want to know, I am registered at Babies R Us and Target. I would love homemade gifts from my friends- But a gift is not necessary at all. Keep that in mind!
Now, the big news- I felt the baby kick! I am feeling the baby kick every day now. I love it! Yesterday and today have been the most active for me. Whenever I finally sit down for a minute, I get a nice little percussion in the pelvis. Thanks baby W!
I am really looking forward to the time off for labor day. We are going to our family cabin in Nothern Wisconsin. I get to see my gorgeous nephew, and maybe take a quick dip in the river. And Roast Corn on the cob over the fire- here I come!
We are also going to see our godson Mason for the first time in about two years. I can't wait. He is such a cutie- he's 5 now! What do little boys like? I have all the little girl gifts down. I'm not sure about the little boys...
Other than that, we are just working on making it through August. Friday is September, and I am ready. I will miss the summer. I can already feel the bite in the air.
If you are reading this right now, you owe me an e-mail.
M.

I'm making a list...

It's baby shower time, people!
I am so excited about the idea of a baby shower. Look at the baby stuff! It is so cute!!! I can't help myself. Registering and looking at all of the stuff is super awesome.
I updated my registry, and I love to think about being prepared for the baby. I just LOVE the preparations. I could wash baby clothes and stuff all day long. (I know, I should read this about a month after the baby is born, if I can keep my eyes open that long). But at this point, it is more fun that going out on a Saturday night!
It looks like we might buy a truck. We never bonded with the Liberty, and Dan has wanted a truck for a long time, so we might just trade it in and get what he wants. It would be nice to finally be able to haul the things we need to haul to WI for Bernie and Glady... and bring back our baby armiore! That would be sweet.
I feel the need to clean and decorate the whole house. Could I be nesting this early? I want to scrub the walls, man.
Anyway, we are going out for Thai food with my favorite Shan to the non tonight, so baby is looking forward to that. Bring on the spring rolls!!!
M. :)

19 is alright!

It's 19 weeks today. I had my much anticipated doctor's appointment, and it went really well. I love hearing the baby's heartbeat. Every time I hear it I smile.
My uterus is up to my belly button now- the doctor was pushing it around- it's pretty big in there!I am feeling good. I have gained about 4 pounds too much, so I am going to try to be more careful with the weight thing. (Not that I'm not careful already!)
Tonight we went and added more items to the baby registry. I have never had more fun, I swear! I love all of the little things for the little person inside of me. I think we are going to need to get rid of a whole bunch of stuff for the baby. Anyone who comes to visit gets dibs!
Everything else is going well. I have baby on the brain! I'm excited to be showing more, and I can't wait until I am even bigger.
Now, to bed. I need to get some more sllep.
Thanks boppy for the ultimate gift of slumber.
M.

18 is not for sleeping

I am doing well, but I am having trouble sleeping. I wake up, and can't get comfortable. The more disturbing aspect of this is, when I am tossing and turning, I moan slightly, and this wakes Dan up. Sorry honey. I'll try to be more quiet when I am restless. CRAZY!
I am in the office today, and out all day tomorrow for training.
If you want to catch me at home, call today!
M.

BOPPY

Here is my constant PM companion, and my little secret for sleep.
Boppy, you are fabulous.
M.

Everyone Has an opinion.

Good morning everybody.
Dan and I had a wonderful weekend. We were able to spend the day in Chicago on Saturday. It was GORGEOUS. It was in the high 70's and sunny, and the whole town was sparkling and new. We walked around our favorite shops, took a WOW BAO picnic to Watertower place (That was beautiful) and we had a lovely walk through Millennium Park and Grant Park. We then had a lovely party with many of our friends here in the area. (Thanks Pete and Chris!) It was heaven.
Yesterday, I spent much of the day with Dan grocery shopping and doing some advance cooking. I made 8 meals yesterday. I was so tired! I can really tell the difference in my energy level when I have marathon jobs to complete like that. It will be nice not to cook at all this week, though!
I thought I would comment on the advice we are getting. It's amazing. As soon as you are pregnant, you are told what is the best way to do things. No matter what, people will tell you exactly what they did, and why anything else is nothing short of child abuse.
Some of our neighbors talk about not getting an epidural every time they see us. I'm always making jokes about how I would have the baby in Columbia if they would give me more drugs, and then I get subjected to the lecture about how the epidural is REALLY for the DCOTOR and not the mother. Bull$hit! Is the Doctor pushing a softball out of his penis? Nope. I think it's for the mother. Anyway, how would she know? She never had the time to choose. If you have the baby 9 minutes after you get to the hospital, there are not a lot of choices left for you when it comes to pain medicine... Anyway...
We are also catching lots of flack for finding out what the baby is. It's the first question out of everyone's mouths- do you know what you are having yet??? I think we have decided not to find out. You are dammed either way with this argument.
If we do wait, everyone is pestering you like, YOU ARE TORTURING US! FIND OUT OR WE WILL DISOWN YOU.
You can't win on that one either way, man.
The budda is getting bigger, and I do think the boppy is helping me with sleeping, although my sleep is still kind of crappy anyway. But I think it would be worse without my trusted pillow and friend.
Happy Monday. It's 18 tomorrow! YAY!

To snip or not to snip?

I've been reading lots of information on Circumcision. Now, we don't know if it's even a boy or not, but we need to be firm on our decision either way.
What do you think? Should baby match daddy, no matter what? Should you leave the penis in its natural state?
I'd love your thoughts...
Also, just a little sidenote, I hate bugs while I am pregnant. Funny, since I am usually pretty Zen about the bugs, but they totally squeeb me out right now. Maybe it's my maternal senses trying to protect me from germs or something. EEEEWWWWW. It makes my hair stand on end just thinking of it.
M.

Welcome to 17. Please drive through.

So, week 17 is a good one so far. The belly is growing, and everything is going well. I was super hot and thirsty today, which I am sure has something to do with my black suit in the 85 degree heat. In any case, I am now back home in the air conditioning and my blessed maternity shorts.
Thank you dear lord for maternity shorts and all of their stretchy front paneled bliss.
After almost pushing Dan completely out of bed with all of my needed pillows, I have now become the proud owner of a boppy pregnancy pillow. Have you seen these things? If I can figure out how to post a picture on here, I will make sure you see them. Now there is much more room for Dan in bed. Hopefully, I'll get more sleep out fo the deal, too.
We have been thinking about taking a very small babymoon during this second trimester of pregnancy. Maybe we would go to Chicago and spend some time in a nice hotel, or maybe we will just go up to Door County and spend some time there. We could go on a larger trip, but I think it would be more stressful than relaxing. Too long in the car, and the petit bebe does not like it. I'm not sure I want to fly anywhere, either.
We have received lots of baby accoutrements from neighbors. It's amazing how much stuff you can get for such a little person. I'm washing seat covers, washing clothes, and getting everything ready. I'm glad I'm doing it now. I'm not even sure how you would get all this stuff done at the end of the pregnancy.
We're going to plan a trip to WI to pick up an old armoire we had at the MIL's house. I can't wait to turn it into a baby armoire a la Martha Stewart. It's going to be fab.
I am thinking about dropping my fall accounting classes for grad school. I have hardly any time now, and I'm not sure how I'll fit them in. Gotta ponder that one a little more...
Happy Wednesday.
M.

Thank you Super Jake!

Super Jake is a little boy who died from cancer in this area. His parents started a foundation, and his foundation had a garage sale today. IT WAS AWESOME.
For ten bucks, you can buy a garbage bag of any type of clothes you want. I found Gap maternity jeans, kahki pants, maternity shirts, and the best part, a bazillion different baby clothes. They are so cute!! I bet I have 50 or 75 different outfits! The whole bag was only ten bucks! (I thought they deserved more, so I donated ten more to the cause, but the clothes still cost only ten bucks!)
I can't wait until Dan gets home to see all of the booty. (He worked today.)
I washed all of the new baby clothes and our clothes all day long! The washer and dryer are still going. Little baby clothes are so cute! Siunce we don't know what we are having, I bought boys and girls, and I bought a bunch of neutral stuff. I want to go out and buy baby hangers!
I don't know what we are going to do tonight, but it's going to be fun and relaxing.
Yay for cute baby stuff.
M. :)

The Newest Post

It's been a crazy week.
First, I want to give a shout out to pregnant ladies everywhere. The reason why the look a little funny when they bend down to pick things up, or do any movement involving their stomach muscles, is because it is PAINFUL. That's right. Your muscles are in use holding a whole human in place, and they are tired. I have to learn not to use them as much.
Sleeping is also more difficult. I have recently discovered the joys of round ligament pain. What is it, you might ask? Per Baby Center's website:

It's generally a brief, sharp, stabbing pain or a longer-lasting dull ache that women commonly feel in the lower abdomen or groin, starting in the second trimester of pregnancy. You may feel it as a short jabbing sensation if you suddenly change position, such as when you're getting up from a bed or chair or when you cough, roll over in bed, or get out of the bathtub. Or you may feel it as a dull ache after a particularly active day, say when you've been walking a lot or doing some other physical activity.The round ligaments support your uterus in your pelvis. As your uterus grows during pregnancy, the ligaments stretch and thicken to accommodate and support it. These changes can occasionally cause you pain on one or both sides of your abdomen. You may feel the pain starting from deep inside your groin, moving upward and outward on either side to the top of your pelvis (where your hips are). The pain is internal, but if you were to trace it on your skin, it would follow the bikini line on a very high-cut bathing suit.

In other words, switch sides you are sleeping on = PAIN.
Get up too fast from a chair = PAIN
Laugh or cough too hard = PAIN

Now, it's not so bad. More of an annoyance, really. But, never ever laugh at the way a pregnant lady gets out of a chair. You'd look like that too if getting up meant stabbing pain.

The car broke down this morning. The battery was shot, so we jump started it, and it died half way to the shop. That took up more time this morning than I would like to admit.

Dan has to work this Saturday. I will probably try to get to the pool to swim, as well as finish the veil for Emilie's wedding, and finish some books I am reading.
What should I be when I grow up, people?
I'd love your ideas.
M.

Sweet Sixteen

I love that it is sixteen today. Big changes are afoot here, but I can't talk about them until September. Or October. So don't ask. :)
It it hot here today like my skin wants to melt into a puddle whenever I walk outside. I had to wear hose with my suit today, and it was hot and uncomfortable. I think I will wear my maternity pants tomorrow just so I do not have to wear hose! TOO HOT!
Poor Dan is in a warehouse today, and the heat index is over 110. This is just crazy. We need to get the man some air conditioning. STAT.
I have my 16 week Dr. appointment today. It's only for blood, and a yes you are still pregnant check, but I really want them to do the doppler thing again. I love to hear the baby's heartbeat. It is very reassuring.
Otherwise, I am just drinking water, and working on work type stuff. I'm glad I am out of that heat, if even for a little while.
Maybe I will go swimming tonight, or maybe I will clean the house for the impending visit of the offending Mother and sister. For some reason, Mom had been extra cranky the past two times I have talked to her. Maybe she's hot too. They will only be here overnight. I can do that visit standing on my head. (yeah, right.)
More after the D R.