26.12.12

The Un-Update

39 weeks today! Hip still not good. Better than it was initially but it still hurts :-( I got in to see the chiro on Friday, which I think helped, but now it's kind of plateau-ing. This really needs to get better. And Adam's knees are bothering him - so we are both LAME (get it!!). Saw the doctor last Wednesday, measured 37 cm, was up to about 151 lbs. Baby was still really high. Went again today, still measured 37 cm, lost about a pound and a half (which both the nurse and the doctor said was unusual over the holidays!), and had my first vaginal exam (I was too curious to wait until next week)... the exam confirmed pretty much what I was thinking - 1cm dilated, 0% effaced, and Baby is at -4 station (is that wording right?). So the doctor said he probably won't come this week. Which is somewhat disappointing, because obviously I want to meet him, but it's also kind of a good thing (if he's right), because it will hopefully give my hip more time to heal before labor. My doctor will also be gone the 1st and 2nd, may be here on the 3rd, so part of me is also hoping that Baby decides to come when he's around so I don't have to deal with a random doctor for delivery!! Kathryn said that if Baby was born on the 5th, he and Rowan would be exactly 10 months apart, which would be kind of cool :) Anyway... that's me trying to look at the bright side!! Oh also, I had a slight pinkish discharge Christmas morning (TMI, I know), and the doctor said that's a good sign - means my cervix is getting ready for labor.

Christmas was good. I got some really nice glass mixing bowls (they were on my wish list!) and an entire waterless cooking pot and pan set from Adam, and an ice cream maker (also on my wish list!!) from Roger and Diane. I think Adam really liked his gifts, too.

My mom gets in to Milwaukee tonight. It will be really nice having her here. I pick her up tonight, and Erin is coming with me so I'm not by myself. Adam would not do very well sitting in the car for three hours with his injured legs.

Annnnnnd three days until my birthday!! :-D

17.12.12

It's not what you think...

So yesterday at church, I was trying to rush from one building to another before Sunday school. I'm sure you can imagine how good I am at rushing while walking right now (aka I probably think I'm rushing but I'm moving at the same exact speed as when I'm not rushing)... but anyway, "rush" I did, and I think I pulled a muscle in my left hip. It's very uncomfortable and it's making me limp, but I'm sure because of my unborn child people just think it's the pregnant waddle. I'm not waddling!! If I was waddling, or it was due to my pregnancy, I'd be ok with that, and I would admit it... but since I'm just limping, I don't want people to think I'm waddling when I'm not yet!! Silly but frustrating. And painful. I just hope it feels better before I go into labor, because I don't want to have to deal with this limp AND, you know, giving birth.

Unrelated, yesterday (for a while, actually) I wanted chocolate-covered pretzels. My favorites are at Trader Joe's, but it's been a while since I've been there, so I checked at our local grocery store. The only ones I could find were chocolate-flavored covered pretzels... super sketchy!! What does chocolate-flavored even mean besides GROSS/fake?? So I decided to make my own! I think I can figure out a better way, but what I did was melt chocolate chips with a little bit of butter, drop a pretzel into the choclate-filled bowl, and then fished it out with a fork to tap off the excess, and let it set/cool on wax paper. It took a while, but it got me some chocolate covered pretzels! I probably should have done the rods/stick pretzels so I could dip them easier... maybe next time :)

14.12.12

My Visit to Cairo

I mean to the Chiro... pretty much the same thing, right? ;-D

Apparently I don't have any torque in my uterus, which is good. And, once again, he said I don't need to change or remove anything, yay! He asked me if I had any varicose veins (no) or if I have noticed any swelling in my legs at the end of the day (no again). I told him I had gained weight in my legs (besides boobs and baby/belly, that's where my weight gain has been), but he said that is fine/normal. And he said my weight gain - about 33 pounds all told as of my last appointment - is fine. He again predicted a fast labor/birth, so I'm hoping he's right! Not TOO fast, but I'd rather not be in labor for more than 24 hours...

Hospital birth class tonight and tomorrow... it would be really good if Baby waited until at least after this weekend to show up so we can take the tour and know where to go in the hospital when he arrives :)

Pregnancy Math

37 weeks + 2 days =
My shirt doesn't quite cover the belly...
don't worry, I have a tank top on underneath
Greek yogurt for breakfast = bad heartburn

Cheddar Cheese + bread = really bad heartburn

7up = temporary relief

Having Baby = Relief until next pregnancy!!


12.12.12

Ready to go/37 weeks

I finally got Baby's car seat installed (thank you, fire department!!), so he can officially arrive any day now. When that will be however, is still a mystery... it would have been awesome if he arrived today - 12/12/12 - but since it's already late afternoon, I think we'll have to wait at least one more day.

Had my 37 week appointment yesterday. I didn't have the doctor check my dilation/effacement because I didn't want to stress myself out unnecessarily. I might have him check if I get to 40 weeks, we'll see. But he measured me and I was at 35 cm (same as last time!), Baby's heartbeat was 148. He predicted that Baby will be around 8 pounds, and said that he seems like he is still head down. Not much else to say, 38 week appointment next Wednesday if I don't have Baby before then. I think he'll wait until after that, but what do I know! :-)

That's about it... except a random customer I was helping said, "You're just so cute!" to me, which made me smile.

6.12.12

Good news...

Group B Strep test came back negative!! Woohoo!! No antibiotics for me and my baby :-D

5.12.12

36 weeks

You have at least one more week to go, Baby! Then you can come whenever you're ready.

So we had a busy weekend, especially Saturday. I had choir practice in the morning. Had to leave that early so we could do our maternity/belly pics (and family photos). We saw them on the photographer's digital camera and there were some really good ones. We had Jasp in a few of them, and it was so funny because at one point, we were sitting on the ground for a picture and he just came up and sat down right next to me and the belly, and looked right at the camera! What a good puppy :-) Until he peed on one of the photographer's bags... then we put him outside for the rest of the time. Come on, Jasp, really?? After the photos (which we should get in a couple of weeks), I went to Madison and hung out with Jessica at the mall. That was a lot of walking for pregnant me, and even though it wore me out, I was glad to be active. Then I came home and Adam and I went to the Sound of Music with Jef and Erin! It was fun. But wow what a long day! Also, while I was in Madison, Adam painted the bathroom! It looks great!! I love doing these little things that make our house more "us" and homey (even though it's Adam doing the "doing" in this case). I know our house is a work in progress, but I like it. I got new bath mats for it Monday night, and it is almost complete (still need trim and curtains).

Sunday after church, one of my former Sunday School girls came over to help organize things in Baby's room. She opened all of his toys and cups so we could put them away, and helped with organizing some of his clothes. I bought her lunch since she was such a big help! I think that's mostly what I did Sunday besides cook a week's worth of food for Adam in case he was working out of town... which he isn't! Yay! Also yay because now my cooking this week will be very minimal :-D

So... 36 weeks! 28 days till due date, although most people I talk to think I won't make it to January. We shall see! Only God knows. Still have heartburn, and from talking with my chiropractor and my doctor about it, there's not really a whole lot to do but... you know... have the baby!! Once he's not compressing my stomach and esophagus, it should go away. That will be very nice... and speaking of my doctor, I had an appointment on Friday. I only gained about half a pound since my last appointment, but the last two times I gained like 4 lbs in 2 weeks, so maybe I'm just averaging out now. He said my weight gain was good, Baby is head down, and his heartbeat was 142. We also went over my birth plan, which he was fine with. I saw my chiropractor Monday morning, and he said I should have a quick labor and a "torpedo baby" that comes out pretty easily (I am praying he is right!). He also did his "test" thing and said I didn't need to change anything! Awesome!

Otherwise, things are still going well. Baby's room is coming along, hospital bags are mostly packed, ordered the last few things I know we'll need right away and haven't gotten (diaper bag, breast pump) and... yeah. Just waiting for Baby now! :)

4.12.12

Workin' the Belly

So today on my lunch I ran some errands (getting things done makes me feel productive!). The most important one I wanted to do was to take a sample of our well water in to get tested. Adam thinks there is something wrong with our water. So my father-in-law gave me a testing kit, I got it all ready, and took it in to the health department. When I gave it to the lady, she said that I couldn't use the form I had because it was from 2009, and if I wanted to submit it with a new form, it would be $22. Ok, that's not a crazy large amount, but I was expecting to pay a lot less. So I hesitated, and she said, "Well, you look like you're about to have that baby pretty soon here, let me make a phone call and see if I can get you a deal." So she called someone, gave me a new test kit, and said to bring it back and I could get even more tests done to it than the $22 would have gotten me, and it would cost only $2!! Awesome!! She said, "I always tell people to come in when they're pregnant." I guess that's the way to get things done at the health department!

Also today, on another errand, I was making some returns of duplicate baby items and things I know we won't use. I went to one store (I won't say which), and asked if I could return these items, and no I don't have a receipt because they were gifts. The cashier says they don't do returns, only exchanges, and they usually only do exchanges with a receipt. Buuuut she called her manager over, gestured to my belly and referred to how I got these as shower gifts, and is there anything we could do? The manager said, "Well, our policy is that we don't do exchanges without a receipt, but we'll make an exception for you this time." AWESOME! So I had to get some different items to exchange them for, since they don't do straight returns, but at least I have some things I need and will use as opposed to these things I don't! Thanks, Baby in my belly!

Also funny - I was talking to a couple of the tellers on my way to lunch, and one was helping a customer at the time. One of them said something like "you may not make it till Christmas" and I turn and say something like "yeah you just never know," and then I head out to lunch. Then, later that afternoon, one of the tellers said that the customer she was helping didn't realize I was pregnant until I turned around.  I mean, I can tell the difference (hello hips) but for the most part, Baby is ALL out front!

30.11.12

Additionally

Baby has been getting the hiccups more often - not sure if I mentioned that. Probably 3 out of the last 4 days! This morning when I woke up, Baby must have woken up, and shortly thereafter he got the hiccups. Can't wait to see them instead of just feel them!! 33 days till due date!

29.11.12

35 weeks and counting

So yesterday was 35 weeks! It's hard to believe that Baby could arrive in just 2 short weeks! We are still getting some things ready, and I think the next thing will be the car seat. I'd like to have it installed by next week, so we can have it checked and are ready, just in case.

My work had a baby shower for me last night, which was so thoughtful! People brought some snacky type foods (taco dip, fruit salad, veggies), and there was a cake. We got a lot of nice things - some clothes and blankets, swaddlers, bottles, a couple of books and stuffed animals, baby monitor, bouncy/vibrator seat, and lots of diapers and wipes! It was just so great of them to do that for me and Baby. The gifts filled my back seat and the available space in my trunk. I unloaded them all last night (Adam is out of town), but didn't really get anything put away. I did get some of our Christmas decorations out, put new Christmas sheets on our bed, did some laundry, put other laundry away, took the trash out to the curb, and did dishes! So I definitely got some things done yesterday, although not as much as I had wanted. But I was starting to get worn out, and I was getting some Braxton-Hicks that weren't going away, so I figured it was time to call it quits for the day. I took a shower and they went away, but I still decided that was enough for one day. It was nice to get the new sheets on the bed! And Jasp was a good snuggler.

I've been getting more heartburn, but my acne is starting to get better! Still there, still not great, but I can see improvement. I think it's because I have been washing my face only at night with this very mild all-natural soap and I haven't been touching my face and messing with pimples as much. I'm sure I won't see things go back to normal until after Baby arrives, but in the meantime, it's nice to see a change for the better.

Doctor appointment tomorrow afternoon, then I think I may start going in weekly... Baby will be here soon!! I also go to the chiro on Monday morning. The other day I did something and it really put my back out of whack, it was very uncomfortable. I don't know if he will want me to start seeing him weekly, but I will probably want to! I'll keep you posted...

21.11.12

34 weeks and job update

So, I almost made it...

I almost made it my entire pregnancy without throwing up once. Then Monday night I got sick. I have no idea what caused it. It must have been something I ate (I have to assume), even though I didn't eat anything out of the ordinary. I got maybe 2 and a half hours of sleep Monday night, getting up to throw up about once an hour until 5:30am. I didn't go in to work yesterday, which was a good thing, because I was finally able to sleep. I couldn't eat very much, but I ate what I could and made sure to drink water (and a small amount of 7up in hopes of calming my stomach). I also ate some ice, which was nice. Like sneaky hydration. Anyway... I was able to actually sleep last night, and this morning I felt much better. I'm still a little iffy, so I'm trying to take it easy on my food choices (not a whole lot sounds appetizing, but I'm eating) and staying hydrated.

Last night, Adam and I started getting things put in Baby's room. Adam painted and put in new carpet (that old carpet was just... wrong), and now it looks so much nicer! It's cozy, feels more roomy and homey, and it looks like a bedroom, not just a room with a bed in it. I will have to post pictures either later today or possibly tomorrow. Still no crib, so it doesn't look like a "baby's room" per se, but it looks really really nice :-D

Now, on to 34 weeks! I can feel (and see!) Baby move a lot more. Adam was even able to see him moving last night. I don't think he's exactly resting on my bladder, but sometimes I think he leans on it or elbows it, because I'll be fine and then it's like "yeah I guess I have to go to the bathroom!" haha. He is definitely growing. I've had a few people say that I he looks even lower than he did (and I was already carrying low), so I wonder how much longer it'll be! At least three more weeks, that's what I keep telling him - "I'm really excited to meet you, but you have to wait at least three more weeks, got it Kid?" (well, I usually refer to him by the first letter of his name, but that is still under wraps :-D)

So, it is official... I have accepted the post-baby part-time position! I think it will really work out well, because I won't be away from Baby too much, and we'll still have a little extra coming in. And I'll have 4 day weekends every week, making trips easier to coordinate. And Grandma and Grandpa will be excited to have Baby-time every week, so it's a win-win-win situation! And definitely an answer to prayer, since what I originally wanted was to come back to my position part-time (if I came back to work), and now I am doing just that!

See you on the flip-side! Six weeks till due date!

19.11.12

33 Weeks, awesomeness, and an answer to prayer!

So... now that I'm almost at 34 weeks, I'll give a quick update!

I didn't sleep that great on Wed and Thurs night, so I stayed home from work on Friday. Had a doctor's appointment Friday afternoon. It was another quick appointment. BP was normal, gained more weight, measured right on at 33 cm (at 33 weeks 2 days). Doctor said Baby doesn't seem too big and that I seem like I'm in good shape and will handle labor just fine. He also said Baby is still head down, and his heart rate was 150 bpm. I go back next week for my next appointment.

Friday night, Adam and I went to the B&B in Mayville, which was awesome! The building was really old (I think built in the late 1800s) and you could tell there was a lot of history. We had dinner and dessert at the restaurant on the first floor, the Beaumont. My steak and the garlic mashed potatoes they came with were delicious! Adam wasn't crazy about the batter on his fish (he got the fish fry) but everything else was just great! Saturday morning, we had breakfast and then explored a little. Mayville is a pretty small town, so we cruised up and down a little bit, and then went to nearby Theresa. We stopped at a candy store that had all sorts of crazy things made out of chocolate - calculators, cell phones, iPods, tools, chocolate Santa's sleigh filled with chocolate covered nuts, a veterenarian kit, a fire department kit/gift set, a mailman's kit/gift set... and much, much more!!! I just got some honey sticks and Adam got his favorite cheese that they happened to sell. After that, we went to a cheese factory, where I got some 1 year cheddar and Adam got some 11 year cheddar (it was 10 year cheddar that just had a birthday, according to the cashier). Then we headed to the largest antique store in Wisconsin. We got through most of the first floor and didn't even see the second or third floors! We found an amazing picnic basket for $18, some nautical bookends for $20, and a few books (my favorite being a Golden Book titled "We Help Mommy." I will be reading that one to our child(ren) regularly!! :-) Then we headed home, and I made chocolate chip cookies for Adam to eat while he was deer hunting the next day.

Last night, Michelle and I went to see Jersey Boys in Madison. It was awesome! I loved the music, and so did Baby!! There were a couple of songs (Sherry, for sure) that he was really rocking out to! I couldn't believe how active he was. I think I just might buy either the Jersey Boys cast recording or a Four Seasons CD for him!

I also realized something - I think that the reason I think I look "bigger" in my pictures is because except for certain moments (primarily turning over in bed or trying to get out of bed, or getting out of low chair or sometimes my car), I don't feel that big. I still feel relatively normal, (which is why it still surprises me when my stomach bumps into things) and I think that's why I'm still surprised to see how "big" I am in my pictures! It makes sense to me, at least. Not sure if that's the real reason or not! :)

And, I got some great news today that is really an answer to prayer. I have been trying to figure out my work situation for after I have the baby. I did not want to return to work full-time, but there were no part-time positions open in the area. My interim plan was to take my full maternity leave, come back for a few weeks at part time to transition back to work, and then either go back full time, or see if any part-time positions had opened up that I could pursue. I talked it over with my manager, so he knew what I was looking for and what I wanted to do. He told me initially that my position is a full-time position, so I couldn't come back part-time. Well, he called me into his office today to say that they were now able to offer me a job-sharing position with someone (same position that I have now), that I would work Mon-Wed, 20-24 hours a week! It is basically perfect, and truly an answer to prayer. While I would like to stay home full-time, it would make money a little tight (we could get by but it will be nice to have a little extra income) and we would have the added expense of health insurance for me and Baby (with no extra income to cover it). So... it's not official, but I think I'm going to take it. In addition to insurance and a little extra income, it will also give me "grown-up" time a few days a week, which I will probably appreciate (although I know I will hate to leave my baby!!!). I am still going to pray about it, and discuss it with Adam, but I'm hoping to let my manager know pretty quickly if I'm going to take it.

So that's my news for now! I will be sure to keep you updated :-)

8.11.12

32 weeks and counting


I am actually kneeling... it's a long story
 So here I am at 32 weeks! I really do feel like these pictures make me look bigger than I am. I know I'm big, and it's a good thing because I want my child to keep growing, but I just want this to be an accurate representation of what I look like! Well, this is what you get.

I didn't update about my doctor's appointment last week. It was my shortest one yet (I didn't have any questions). Gained a little more weight, measured 31 cm (at 31 weeks + 2 days, so I was right on), Baby's heartrate was good and Doctor said he was still head down. I go back next week (~33 weeks). Then, after my appointment next Friday, Adam and I are going to stay at a B&B in Mayville (shower gift from my dad and stepmom)!! We are very excited. We had such a fun time on our Adventure Day last month, and I'm looking forward to more adventures! Apparently, Mayville has the largest antique store in the state. AND I was in a play in 8th grade called "Mayhem in Mayville," so it will be fun to visit an actual Mayville :) I wonder if I'll be able to find my cast windbreaker before we go there...

1.11.12

Halloween Variances

I thought I'd do a little post about the differences between Halloween in California and Halloween in Wisconsin. Let me preface this by saying I'm not a Halloween expert by any means, so my brief post is based on general facts that I have observed.

In Wisconsin, costume choices must take the weather into account... because Halloween is pretty much always cold. Not as cold as December - February, but too cold to go around in a t-shirt weight costume. In California, you may need a coat, but you probably don't need to wear long sleeves and leggings under your fairy princess costume.

Also, in California, everyone trick-or-treats on Halloween. Makes sense, right? Apparently, here in Wisconsin, they schedule trick-or-treating by town, and it could be any day in the last week of October, not necessarily on Halloween. I'm not sure if that's just a Southern Wisconsin thing, or if that's all over, but I think it's a little weird! They publish in the local paper when each city or town will be doing trick-or-treating. I only went trick-or-treating probably twice in my life (twice that I remember... once when I was about 10 and once when I was about 15)... but both times it was on October 31st!! Crazy Wisconsin-ites!!

31.10.12

Another coincidence...

31 weeks on the 31st!

My mom got to feel Baby move!! Not a lot else to update yet. Doctor appointment on Friday afternoon :) We'll see how we're both growing!!

30.10.12

Crazy/cool

Today I saw Baby moving through my shirt. Sitting there at work, and I look down, and I can see his little knee/elbow/heel/whatever sliding along the outside of my belly. It was amazing :)

24.10.12

30 weeks (woot!)

Does anyone even still use "woot?" Wow, I am out of the loop.



Adam says I look smaller in this picture than I looked last week...

So... 30 weeks! Approximately 75% of the way there! Give or take a mere ten weeks before we meet our little one! I can hardly believe it :-D

Baby is moving a lot. Some days more than others, but he is definitely strong! I feel most of his kicks up above my belly button (thankfully, since I'm carrying so low, he hasn't been bothering my rib cage... yet!).

My mom is coming out next week (one week from today) for one of my baby showers. I'm excited to see her, but I think she's mostly excited to see my belly :) I was able to schedule my next doctor's appointment while she's here, so she can go with me.

Annnnd that's about it for now!!

22.10.12

Quick and Chiropractic

Ok - going to keep this short (if I can!!)

Met with Denise (our Doula) this weekend. Getting more prepared for the birth of our little one! Next project: work on and finalize our birth plan.

Had a chiropractor appointment this morning. I always feel better after he adjusts me, with one exception - my pregnant tailbone! It is always tender after I am adjusted. I think it's because it's off and he puts it back in place, and I think it's off because I tend to sit on one foot (kind of like half-cross-legged) when I'm at work. I put a note on my computer that says "Don't sit on your foot!!" which will probably make anyone who reads it think I'm a weirdo, but as long as it actually helps me not sit on my foot, I don't care! So my chiropractor did his little "test" things of what I'm missing or doing wrong, and once again came up with NOTHING! Yeah!! So my twice-daily regimen of vitamins and supplements, trying to stay active, and doing excercises and stretches is all working! And I hope that the end result is a not-crazy-long labor and, above all else, a healthy baby!!

Ha! I did it. Short and sweet.

20.10.12

I love my husband

I woke up this morning and got a CRAZY leg cramp. It literally took my breath away. Thankfully, it went away quickly, but Man! That hurt. So I got up to tell Adam about it (he was up and making himself some eggs), and he said "Oh, I was going to make you breakfast in bed!" So I managed to get back in bed with the Jasp and my best husband ever brought me breakfast in bed! Scrambled eggs and cinnamon raisin toast. He is so wonderful :-) I just love him.

19.10.12

Good News

My blood glucose test thing came back normal! According to the range, I am at the top of the lower 30% (if my mental math is anywhere close to being correct... and if that makes sense and is possible??). Anyway, no gestational diabetes for me, Yay!!! Praise God!! My anemia test (as far as I can tell) came back a little low, but they said they would call me if my numbers didn't look good, and I didn't get a call, so I think I'm on the low side but ok. I've been taking an iron supplement off and on, not every day, but maybe 3 days a week. Maybe I'll try to take it every day? The main problem is that I typically take my iron at lunch, and I also typically eat a pretty calcium-heavy lunch... and if you consume calcium and iron at the same time, it inhibits the absorption of iron, which defeats the purpose of me taking an iron supplement!!

So I'll have to celebrate! Maybe I'll go to Olive Garden and get a few desserts... just kiddding! I'll celebrate by continuing to eat healthy and being conscious about my protein intake :-D And, let's be realistic, I'll still have the occasional treat, of course ;-)

I'll end with a bonus picture:


please note our fancy bathroom curtain... it's a towel
I think this one is a pretty accurate representation of what I look like now. Getting bigger every day! Grow, Baby, grow!! :-D

16.10.12

29 weeks

So! I'm a day early for 29 weeks, but I had my doctor's appointment today, so I'm just going to update now.

I had my glucose test (the one-hour one) and iron/anemia today - haven't gotten results yet. They said I should get results later today, and that they will call if the levels don't look good - so no news is good news!

My actual appointment went well - gained more weight, and I measured 30 cm, one cm ahead of schedule again. But my doctor said, as of right now, he doesn't think the baby's going to be too big and that I would handle labor well and I seem well prepared/in good shape. Listened to Baby's heartbeat, it was around 155 bpm. I also asked him about time limits on pushing, because in my reading, they say that some doctors put a time limit of two hours on the pushing phase. My doctor said there's no time limit, and that more often he has patients getting tired and asking for intervention before he would even want to get involved. Once again, I think that God has helped me choose a doctor who is going to be easy to work with and is open to letting me have a natural childbirth!! He also said that Baby is head down, again, so I was happy to hear that. He also notated in my chart that I want to have a natural birth - so it's officially on my record!

I think that's about it. Still dealing with heartburn... no specific trigger foods, that I've noticed :-/ Oh well!

12.10.12

Hello, Third Trimester!!

Alternate title: 28ish weeks

Time is flying and also going so slow. I can hardly believe that there's only 12 weeks (give or take) before we meet our little guy! But on the other hand, it's like COME ON how am I supposed to wait 12 more weeks?

Things are still going pretty good. I've been getting heartburn more often at night, so I am working on not eating too late, and not going to bed right after eating. Our little guy is moving a lot these days. Last night, he gave a couple of really good, strong kicks that Adam got to feel, and I said to Adam, "if he's kicking that hard now and he only weighs just over 2 pounds, how hard is he going to kick and elbow me later??" :-D

My only other complaint/issue is a stuffy nose that has gotten worse since Monday night. I've had a stuffy nose off and on since I got pregnant, but Tuesday I went through at least 40 tissues throughout the day at work. I even took my temperature, just to make sure I wasn't actually "sick," and I was at 98.2. So no worries about a fever, but goodness gracious my nose has been bothering me. I wish I could just take a deep breath through my nose!! We moved the humidifier into our room (we've been keeping the door closed for house-heating purposes) and I think that has been helping, because the last two nights I've actually been able to breathe enough through my nose to sleep! The days before that I literally had to breathe through my mouth to get enough oxygen, which made my throat really dry.

Other than that... things are going well! Took 28 weeks pictures on Wednesday, and I think I look bigger in the pictures than in real life... I guess that's what they mean when they say the camera adds 10 pounds or whatever? I mean, don't get me wrong, I know I'm big - I'm growing a human, after all. But I see myself in the mirror, and I don't think I'm as big as I look in the pictures. Whatever - all that really matters is that Baby and I are healthy, and that he's growing and developing as he needs to!!

3.10.12

27 Weeks Update + Fun Weekend

So I didn't update last week... Friday I went to the chiropractor. I'm getting tested for gestational diabetes at my next doctor's appointment, so I asked him what he would recommend if it came back positive. He said he would be shocked if it came back positive, but that I would need to do a high-protein, low-carb and low-fruit diet, and work on building muscle, because that uses sugar. So I'm really hoping I don't have it, but if I do, obviously I want to be prepared and will want to change my diet however necessary. I get tested October 16.

This Saturday, Adam and I decided to "get away" and spend a day just the two of us before Baby comes. The B&B plan didn't really work out, so instead, we spent most of Saturday exploring/having an Adventure Day in various small towns, went to an apple orchard (actually 2!), and then out to dinner for Adam's birthday. We ate at the Dorf Haus, which is Adam's favorite restaurant in Wisconsin, and afterward we walked out in their little garden area that has a gazebo. On our way to the garden, we saw this crazy crooked shed... the picture isn't great, but it was hilarious!!


 At first, we were going to have an early dinner and then go to Olive Garden for dessert (we have talked about doing this for-ev-er and have never actually done it), but Adam filled up on other sweets after dinner so we postponed dessert until Sunday. We ended up ordering 5 desserts for the 2 of us... talk about sugar overload!! But it was fun, and we got to try a bunch of different things.


The first course
Saturday, Adam got to feel our little guy move quite a bit. Up until now, he had only felt jabs or kicks, but on Saturday he felt him move along the outside of my stomach, as if he was rubbing his elbow or heel against my uterus :-D He thought it was weird and cool at the same time.

So now, today, is 27 weeks! Yesterday was 6 months, according to my method of calculating. Only three months (give or take) until we get to meet our little guy! I'm very excited.

I've also noticed that I'm a lot more emotional. I'll either get way more worked up than normal in response to something, or I'll just come out and need to cry when nothing has really happened! Thankfully, it hasn't happened a lot. I feel bad for Adam, but he's been great and very supportive. I know everything's ok, and 99% of the time I'm completely fine, but sometimes it (whatever "it" is!) just hits me!! I like being pregnant and all, but I certainly won't miss the crazy pregnancy hormones!!

Last thing for today - I got a pregnancy wedge pillow for under my belly. I just got it yesterday, so I've only used it one night, but so far I like it. I think I will like it even more once I get bigger and have more belly to support! But I slept pretty well last night :-)

26.9.12

26 on the 26th!

I just had to say that today is September 26 and I am at 26 weeks!! :-O

25.9.12

Borrring...

So I really only have a couple things to say. The first thing is that last night I saw that I have a slight linea nigra! Weird!! I showed it to Adam, who had just read about that for our childbirth class, and he said, "That's really common, it occurs in about 75% of all pregnant women." He wanted to reassure me not to worry about it! How great is he? :-)

Also, my hips started hurting. Mostly when I'm sleeping and shortly after I wake up. I am pretty sure this is normal, but what a pain! (Figuratively and literally). I am going to talk to my chiro about it on Friday, but in the meantime, I'm trying to figure out if I should try sleeping with a pillow under my hip, or what I can do to help alleviate this pain...

Also, Adam and I are trying to get away for a night while it's still just the two of us. Maybe this Friday - we are looking at doing dinner to celebrate Adam's birthday (we still haven't gone!) and then a night at a B'n'B near the restaurant. Then the next day, we'll explore whatever area we're in, or a nearby area, because there are some cute little downtowns that need exploring! So that's the plan.

That's about it for now. 26 weeks tomorrow! My little guy keeps growing and growing! I probably won't update until Friday, so hold tight until then :)

21.9.12

Five and Twenty Weeks

:-) Not too much to say, except that I love my baby! And if his recent movement patterns are any indication, I have to assume he is going to be a soccer player! Lots of kicks (from where I think his feet are), and some other movement, but mostly kicks!!

Doing a lot of research for baby items. Car seat, burp cloths, sheets... Adam and I decided on a stroller and have the car seat narrowed down to 2, so those are two biggies taken care of, at least!! :-) Any recommendations on items for our registry that might get overlooked?

17.9.12

Love

So Saturday, I went to Cheese Days with Michelle and Popp. We had fun, and we got the famous cheese curds before the line was crazy long!! But I was pretty worn out by the time I got home, and I hadn't really eaten a lot, so I was frustrated, tired, and hungry. So Adam says, "What do you really want to eat?" And I said "Potatoes." And he said "Do you have potatoes? Do you want to make some?" And I said "well I have them but I don't want to make them, I just really need a nap." So I went to the fridge and got out tortillas and cheese for a quick "cheater quesadilla" as I call it (in the microwave as opposed to the stovetop). But then I saw that my maybe one-week old tortillas had mold on them. Are you kidding me. So I was just done at that point, I threw away the tortillas and just went to bed. So while I was napping, Adam made me mashed potatoes and garlic toast. I think he's made food for me once, maybe twice, ever. It was so sweet of him, and the potatoes were very good! (He used garlic salt instead of garlic powder on the toast, so that didn't turn out as well, but he gets an A++ for effort.) It was just what I needed. As I have said before, he is a wonderful husband and I am so thankful that he's mine :-)

14.9.12

24 weeks

Let me just start by saying I'm so glad and thankful that I'm married to Adam. I love him so much and can't believe how God-lucky I am to have him as my husband.

So, had another doctor's appointment this morning. I think up questions to ask him, and I always anticipate that I'll get pushback or resistance, but I think my doctor is pretty agreeable to me pursuing a natural birth however I want to do it! Which is awesome!! I'm very thankful that I chose a good doctor who seems to be fine with my preferences.

Anyway, I gained about 5 pounds and measured 25 cm. My little guy had a nice strong heartbeat, and the doctor said based on where he found the heartbeat, he's probably already head down (good job, Baby!!). My doctor is good with me having a doula, and said that nothing abnormal showed up on the ultrasound at my last appt for my ovarian cysts. He said that if they found something unusual at my post-natal appointment, they could possibly do another ultrasound, but that often they go away on their own (which I know is common). So, overall, Baby and I are doing well! :-)

11.9.12

Hogwarts and a torn meniscus

So my little sister just turned 11 (Happy birthday!!) and I decided that what I wanted to do for her birthday was to send her a Hogwarts letter. She is totally into Harry Potter - she has read the entire series at least twice, has a poster or two up in her room, wants to get a wand... you get the idea. So Adam got some parchment-style paper from Joe, I practiced my fancy writing, and got the letter all ready. Adam found a Hogwarts seal and a Platform 9 3/4 ticket. I cut out the seal and put it on the top of the letter and included the ticket instead of a book/equipment list. Rob happened to have some leather punches and we used an "H" as a seal for the letter. I also stained the envelope with tea to make it look more parchment-y. Maybe later I will put up a couple of pictures. ANYWAY I thought it turned out pretty awesome if I do say so myself, and my only disappointment was that it didn't get there in time for her actual birthday. If our kids are into Harry Potter, we're totally going to do Hogwarts Letters for them as well :-D

Also... Adam found out that he tore his meniscus! Which explains the pain and swelling in his left knee. He is supposed to stay off of it for two more weeks, to give it time to heal (hopefully), and we'll see how he's doing then. He said that the pain and swelling are already getting better, so I am praying that he heals quickly and does not need surgery (depending on the severity of the tear, he might need surgery if it doesn't heal itself). So he's still taking it easy. I'm also hoping he's well enough to come to the next Bradley class with me on Thursday.

Well that's it for now. More to come later this week!

7.9.12

23 weeks and then some

I'm a little behind on my update. :) So as of Wednesday, I am at 23 weeks.

Updates: Tuesday I went and saw a customer that I haven't seen since probably December, whom I used to see every week at my old branch, to let him know my news. He was very excited for me, and asked how everything's going at my new position. It was good to see him; he's a nice guy.

Wednesday was 23 weeks! That afternoon/evening, I wasn't feeling great, so I stayed home from work on Thursday. I'm glad I did. I think I was having either Braxton Hicks contractions or round ligament pain (I think they were Braxton Hicks). They weren't painful, per se, although they were uncomfortable, so I'm glad I stayed home to handle them. I am still having some discomforts today (Friday), but so far I think they are better than yesterday. Walking helps.

Last night was my first Bradley childbirth class. It's an entire class of first-time parents! Adam couldn't make it (he injured his knee and has been dealing with it since last Thursday :( He took this week off but wouldn't have been able to sit through the class), but other than that, it was good. We did some stretches and exercises (all of which I have already been working on, holla! Thanks for loaning me the book, Denise! I'm way ahead of the game), and got to know the other couples. It went a little late, and it's in Middleton, so I didn't get home until 10 last night. But I think the class is going to be very beneficial. Oh also, we were practicing relaxing at the end of class, and when I got up, I saw a spot on my shirt - I had leaked! That was kind of weird! Thankfully, my friend Ashley just gave me some breast pads that I will be able to use. I probably won't start using them every day unless it happens again. I will probably wear them to my Bradley class from now on, though, assuming I remember!

So that's about it for now... next doctor's appointment is a week from today, so expect another update then!

31.8.12

Chiropractically speaking...

I saw my chiropractor today. And he said I'm doing great! He said I'm going to have the healthiest baby boy :-D I've been taking probiotics, but I recently changed brands, so I wanted to have him check out my new kind to make sure it's ok and to see how many I should be taking a day (my old probiotic had 2 billion whatevers and my new one has 15 billion, so because I didn't want to overload my system, I've been taking one) (I just looked it up - it's 15 billion live cultures per capsule). He looked it over and said it's fine, and to take one a day for the rest of my pregnancy and two a day while I'm nursing. And he did the "pressure point check thing" to see what my body is missing or what I'm doing wrong, and there was nothing! Again, I don't put too much stock in that part of it, but still, even his little system couldn't find anything I need to do or change :-)

I mentioned to him that my tailbone has been kind of hurting, and he said it's because of the relaxin, and that for the next 6-8 weeks everything is loosening, and to just stand/walk or lay down as much as possible as opposed to just sitting... which, of course, is what I do all day at my job :-/ so I'll just be more conscious of standing when possible, and walking on my lunch, like I did yesterday. And laying down at home.

That's pretty much it for now... thanks for stopping by! :)

30.8.12

Awkward

Is it possible to feel like you have to throw up without feeling sick or nauseous? It kind of feels like I ate too much breakfast (even though I ate a smaller amount than I normally do) and like it wants to come out of my stomach, but I don't really feel ill. Weird.

Anyway... so for the most part, my pregnancy has been going great so far, and I'm very pleased and thankful. I did have an "awkward" moment last night though: I was cutting my toenails and man but my tummy was getting in the way! I would bend over to cut, sit up, take a break, then go again. I'm glad I did it now, while I still can! Guess I will just have to do a pedicure the next few months for maintenance... aw shucks!! :-D

29.8.12

22 week update

Well, the main update I have for this week is movement! Lots of movement! I think it's especially fun when our little guy kicks right after Adam or I say something that I can imagine he would have an opinion on. :-) I think he's pretty opinionated, if his activity so far is any indication! And

Also, since I'm still dealing with acne, I decided to try makeup to cover some of my redness. I don't wear makeup on a normal basis (haven't since senior year of high school!), although I do wear makeup for special occasions or for going out. But I know that with my dry and acne-prone pregnancy skin (on my face, thankfully the rest of my skin hasn't had dryness issues), my liquid makeup probably wouldn't work so great. And I am trying to avoid products with chemical sunscreens, which my foundation has. All this led me to consider the mineral powder-style makeup. I tried some at Kohl's that was ok, but I figured I should get the "real" stuff. My mom has the Bare Minerals makeup, so when she was out I tried hers. We also went to the mall to a Bare Escentuals store, and figured out what colors I would need and things like that. So, I got a starter kit, and so far, I really like it. I'm still not using it every day, but when I do wear it, it doesn't look like I'm wearing a lot of makeup, and it covers my redness, which was, after all, my main goal. Another plus is that it has natural sunscreen - yay! So, I'm a big fan of the Bare Minerals makeup. :-)

And I have to put this for posterity - today is Adam's and my 2 years, 2 months, & 2 days anniversary AND our little one is 22 weeks old!! :-O That is pretty amazing if you ask me!!!

24.8.12

Movement Pt. 2

Adam got to feel Baby move yesterday, too! After dinner, he came over and put his ear down on my belly like he was going to listen to the baby, and he got kicked (or tapped, whatever) in the ear! Then he popped up and looked at me, and I said "Did you feel that? That was him!" and he was like, "Yeah I felt it!" Then he put his ear back down and got tapped again! Twice in a row, perfect timing! Later, he felt a kick with his hand. :-D Bonding time with Daddy!!

23.8.12

Movement!

I definitely felt my little guy movin' around today!! I'll count today because I'm sure, whereas before I was just "pretty sure." It is awesome!

Less awesome (as in not awesome at all) - I have a cavity! Now I'm just trying to determine how I want to handle it. I don't really want to do anything unnecessary while I'm pregnant, but if I leave the cavity until after I have my baby, it might get worse/infected. I'm going to talk it over with my doctor and my chiropractor to see what my options are. :-( Not what I wanted to hear today! Especially frustrating because I take good care of my teeth! I've even been flossing pretty regularly since I got pregnant! Lame.

21.8.12

Doctor's Appointment Recap & more!

So I didn't really update about my doctor's appointment - probably because there's not a lot to update. I think this was my shortest appointment so far. I have gained some more weight, which the doctor said is good, because I hadn't really gained much before. He also measured me for the first time, and said I was right on at 20 (I'm assuming that is centimeters). He reviewed the measurements from the ultrasound and said everything looks good. The measurements, according to the tech, showed that I'm maybe 1-2 days off on my due date, so they aren't going to change anything and basically he's right on track :-) I realized that I asked the ultrasound tech about the cysts I had, and never really got an answer from her, so I'll have to ask my doctor next month about them. I'm not overly concerned, but it would be nice to know if they went away on their own.

I decided to count yesterday as me feeling my little guy's movements for the first time. I've been feeling a lot of things recently, but yesterday morning, I was feeling things, and I hadn't eaten or anything, so I'm pretty
sure it was my son moving around! Telling me "Good morning. Mommy!" :-)

Saturday we went to a rummage sale that my friend told me about, which was pretty much a GOLD MINE of baby clothes! The prices were $0.25 per item or a paper grocery bag FULL of clothes for $3. My mom and I filled up three bags of clothes, and got about 140 pieces (onesies, tops, bottoms, sleepers, etc) for $9! We figured it out to be about 60 outfits. I still have to match things up into actual outfits, if it's not obvious, but my mom was great and washed all the clothes for me. Thanks, Mom!

That's all I have for now! :-)

17.8.12

It's a...

BOY!!!!!!

Ultrasound went great, the tech was really good about not referring to the baby by "he," and she said our baby is really cute :-D We got the cupcakes, took them home, and did the big Skype reveal! Adam's dad, step-mom, and Joe came down, my mom was there, and we got my dad, Julie, Sean, Siobhan, Grandma and Grandpa, Kathryn, and Rowan all on Skype. First I did the "string test," just to see if it was right, and the string test said boy! Then we opened the cupcakes and saw BLUE frosting!!! :-D

So excited, can't wait to meet our little guy! Here's one picture from the ultrasound (they gave us a CD with a bunch of pictures on it):

This is my favorite one :-) Looks like we got ourselves a thumb-sucker!!

Baby Dream

No, I didn't have a tiny dream :) I had another dream about the baby!

In my dream, on Wednesday night, I had had the baby Wednesday night. He was a boy, and he wasn't early, they were just way off on the due date. He was healthy and weighed 8 lb 3 ounces, and I remember telling my mom, in the dream, "I guess we don't need that ultrasound!" I had a really easy and fast labor (I really hope that part comes true!), and the weird part was that he could talk. We took him to church and some friends saw him, and I asked one of them, "Isn't it weird that he can talk already?" And no one else seemed to think it was weird. Either that or they were just being nice to me! haha...

So... Ultrasound today! I told Baby Wednesday that I would get to see them, but they wouldn't get to see me for a few more months! :-D

More information to come!!! Stay tuned!!

15.8.12

20 Weeks

I just thought that recently, it seems like the name of my blog should be "Excessively Baby" instead of "Excessively Megan!" The baby is mostly what's going on in my life right now, so that's why (pretty much) all posts are baby-related :-)

Officially halfway! Although as I was talking it over with Adam last night, we might, of course, be just over halfway or not quite halfway - we just won't know until Baby arrives! And speaking of arrivals, my mom is coming to Wisconsin today! Her flight gets in tonight!

I think that's all I have for now! Stay tuned for ultrasound updates sometime after Friday :-D

14.8.12

It's working!

So I've been looking online for natural acne treatments, and I read that tea tree oil may be effective. I confirmed that it's safe with my chiropractor/natural wellness resource, and... it's working! I definitely still have acne and redness, but it's gotten a lot better already, after only a few days of using it. I have diluted it with water to about 3.5%, so it's not as strong as the 5% some recommend using for acne. But... I can see improvement!! Yay!!!

What else... not too much to update. Still feeling some things that might be movement, but I'm not convinced. I guess it's because it feels like it's too strong for it to be Baby (yet). I think some of the things I'm feeling are just little spasms or muscle tics. It might be Baby, who knows!

I also think it's interesting when people comment on my belly. Some people have said, "You're not showing very much," and others have said, "Are you having twins? Showing that much already?" I don't put much stock in what they say, one way or the other, I just think it's interesting because I'm one me, and everyone seems to have an idea of what is "normal." From all I've read, there's not really a "normal" size to be, because everyone is different! So I just find it amusing to go from one observation to the opposite from one day to the next! And either way, I like showing :-D

Last update for today: a woman from church told me on Sunday that she has a maternity dress that she thinks will fit me that she would like me to have. She is probably in her 70s... and this is one she wore when she was pregnant! So I'm thinking this dress is at least 40 years old, give or take! Of course, I said, "That would be awesome!" and I picked it up at her house yesterday. It does, indeed, fit, although it's a little short for me (I'm more torso and she's got longer legs) and I think it needs some kind of gathering (maybe a ribbon or small belt) under the bust, because it just kind of goes out from the top. But it's cute! I sent a picture to Adam, who's working out of town, and he likes it! I think once I get a ribbon, and maybe leggings, I will be able to wear it :) How cool is that??

9.8.12

Symptoms

Let me start off again by saying that I am so grateful to have had an easy pregnancy so far! No real serious/bothersome symptoms, aside from acne which is just frustrating and annoying, and occasional heartburn if I'm not careful.

This morning, I got strong leg cramps in each of my legs, separately, while I was still in bed. WOW the right one still hurts!! I have had very slight leg cramps every once in a while before I get up in the morning, maybe like three or four times so far, but I just flex my leg really quick and it goes away and I'm fine. This morning, whatever I did wasn't helping. It did go away after a minute or two, but all day my leg has been sore. Not good!!! A friend of mine said that breathing deeply and trying to relax can get rid of the cramp. I think I tried that, but I don't know how well I did at relaxing... hopefully this doesn't happen again, although if it does, I will try to do a better job at relaxing... and flex or massage my leg as necessary. Thankfully it's always happened while I'm still in bed, so at least I'm not going to fall over or anything!!

6.8.12

Food pt 2/Symptoms

So I know I'm not a perfect eater. I think I do pretty good, and even though I do indulge every so often, I usually can limit myself and not go overboard. Most of the time :-) So it's really frustrating to have this hormonal pregnancy acne. I know it's, if not caused by, at least heavily influenced by, hormones, but you would think that eating smart/healthy would also help with the acne... but I'm serious - my acne is the worst it's ever been. Probably TMI, but it's true, and it's frustrating. I know I've actually been pretty fortunate as far as not having a lot of other painful or uncomfortable symptoms, so I shouldn't complain...

Also, I realized I haven't put one of my symptoms/discomforts on here yet: heartburn! It took me a while to realize what it was, because I've never suffered from it before. And thankfully, it's been pretty mild when it has struck, but I have had some infrequent heartburn. Now I sit up after I eat and try not to lay down for a while afterward...

I've had a few moments the past couple of days (especially today) when I thought I might be feeling Baby move. I'm not really sure though, and I'm not convinced it was really Baby, so I'm not counting today.

Unless it happens later today! In which case, today would totally count :-D

3.8.12

Food

So I was doing a lot of pregnancy research before we were officially "trying," because I wanted to be really prepared, and I figured, you only have 40 weeks DURING the pregnancy, so you should be as prepared as possible beforehand. (I had a similar approach to choosing baby names - this is a name the child is going to have for the rest of their LIFE, so you should make sure you take the time necessary to pick a good one, even if that means picking names before you are even trying to get pregnant... which I used to think was a little silly but it turns out to be what we did!).

Anyway, during my pre-pregnancy research, I saw a lot of information about foods you should avoid or limit. And luckily for me, it's like I was born to be pregnant! Or, at least, that I naturally don't eat most of the things you are supposed to avoid:
lunch/deli meats - I don't eat
raw/undercooked eggs - I actually prefer to overcook my eggs
fish with high mercury content - I don't eat any fish
caffeine - I do drink some tea, but cutting out/cutting back on caffeine has been easy. I do miss my occasional Pepsi (and I did have about 6 ounces of Pepsi when I was in Hawaii, but that's it), but for the most part, I've been good on really limiting my caffeine. I will still have an iced or hot black tea every now and then, but other than that, I am mostly sticking with herbal tea, juice, or water
unpasteurized cheeses - I'm sure I like some of these, but I rarely purchase/eat them
unpasteurized juices - can you even buy these anywhere?

The two things I do miss eating that I am supposed to avoid are hot dogs and bean/alfalfa sprouts. I don't eat either of those very often, but there have been a few times since getting pregnant that I could have had them... totally worth it to avoid, but I do miss them!

2.8.12

Pictures... finally!

Bump!

I like this one because you can see the shadow under the bump!!
Also because I liked my outfit yesterday :-D

4 months

According to my calculations/method, I am 4 months along today!

Also, I must say that the BeBand/Bella Band thing is the BEST thing ever!!! It is definitely my favorite maternity-related item so far.

 I was trying to put a couple of pictures in here, but apparently my browser is not up-to-date enough to add photos... guess I'll try again later!

1.8.12

18 Weeks Update

Today is 18 weeks for me and my little one! Not a lot to update since last week - I still haven't felt Baby move (at least, not that I have recognized). There have been a few times when I thought I might have felt something, but I'm pretty sure I haven't felt the "real thing" yet.

I realized that pretty much all day I am tensing my stomach muscles - not consciously or intentionally, but when I think about it, I can "relax" my abdomen and my tummy sticks out a little more. It's not painful or uncomfortable, and I don't think it's bad or a problem to be dealt with, I just think it's odd. I've also had some more round ligament pain (still pretty infrequent). For the most part, I still feel the same as I did pre-pregnancy, except that I get tired more often/easily and now when I bend over to get things, there's something in the way :)

Two weeks until we get to find out if we're having a boy or a girl, if Baby cooperates! I may have mentioned this before, but we are going to do a mini-reveal of the gender while my mom is out visiting. We will have my in-laws and mom with us, and we will get my dad, step-mom, Sean and Siobhan, and possibly my grandparents and Ian and Kathryn on Skype, and all find out together :-D It should be fun. It might be a little tricky working out everyone's schedules, but hopefully we can make it happen!!

Also, by my calculations/method, I'll be 4 months tomorrow!! Exciting!! :-D

25.7.12

Also...

Adam noticed today that my belly button is already changing... it's usually pretty deep (I mean I think it's a pretty normal depth), and now it is MUCH shallower! WEIRD!!!!! Also this morning, I really looked pregnant in the outfit I was wearing. Most of my shirts are softer fabric so they tend to "hug" my body more, but I was wearing a button-down over a tank top, and the button down definitely made me look noticeably pregnant! :-D

How many months pregnant am I?

Today is 17 weeks. Not too much to update since Monday; however, I have been wondering how people calculate how many "months" pregnant they are. If you go with the idea that a month is 4 weeks, and pregnancy is about 40 weeks long, that is 10 months, so right away that doesn't work. I have seen some websites that have a chart, and for a few of the months, they have (I believe arbitrarily) made them 5 weeks long instead of 4. I have heard some people say you take the number of weeks you are and divide by 4.4 (the average amount of weeks in a month). So for me, I would be 17/4.4 = ~3.8 months. That is kind of labor intensive (pregnancy pun not intended). I guess I can use that, but I came up with a different idea. Maybe someone else has also thought of this "method," but I haven't seen it anywhere, and I have done a fair amount of googling on this topic, so I will go ahead and call it my idea. I go by my due date, January 2, and count backwards. So December 2 would be 8 months, November 2 is 7 months, etc. While this may also seem labor intensive, I just wrote it on my calendar when I figured it out and now I don't have to do any more figuring! My method is also pretty close to the division method, because it puts me pretty close to 4 months (August 2!!) :-D

So... how would you/did you/do you figure out how many months pregnant you are?

23.7.12

The results are in...

No UTI!! Yay!!!

Adam and I are going to go to Olive Garden and a movie to celebrate! :-D

Also, we went out on the boat this weekend, and I have a hard time getting back in the boat from the water without landing right on my stomach (on the edge of the boat), so I asked Adam about fashioning some kind of step or ladder for me to use. He was able to come up with a makeshift rope ladder that, with me leaning on Adam for support, enabled me to get on to the boat with no tummy landings! What a great husband I have!! :-)

18.7.12

16 weeks & check-up

I kept putting exclamation points at the end of my post titles. I am trying to not overload this blog with exclamation points, only because I don't want to lessen the value of them when I do use them. So understand that I am very excited about my post titles, even if my punctuation doesn't seem to reflect it :)

16 weeks today! Went to the doctor and Adam came, again. He will probably just come to the next one with me, for the ultrasound, and then I may not have him come with me every time after that. He has to take off the entire day when he comes with me, so we'll see if he keeps coming.

The appointment went well. The doctor said I am right on track for growth, and we got to hear Baby's heartbeat again! I also did another urinalysis test, to make sure I don't have a UTI anymore. So be praying! I won't find out the results until Friday or Monday.

I can hardly wait till next month when we'll get to take a peek at Baby!! My brother and sister-in-law did a big gender-revealing party with my nephew, Rowan, and while I don't want to do that, I thought I might do a version of it. I want to have the ultrasound technician write down the gender, and then get my dad, step-mom, Sean and Siobhan on Skype (my mom will be with us) and all find out together. Then I'll just make the announcement on Facebook, probably :) So that's the plan for now!

16.7.12

Clothes and Bump

I bought my first maternity clothes/items yesterday! I am going to need a dress for a wedding in a couple of weeks, and my nicer dresses are starting to get a little tight, so I bought one at Target yesterday that should last me quite a while, if not through my whole pregnancy, yay! I also bought another dress, a shirt, and a Bella Band to extend the life of my pre-pregnancy work pants (and any other pants, but I mostly got it for work). Used the Bella  Band today, and so far I really like it!

I'm not really showing a whole lot yet, but I do like showing. :-) A few people this weekend said they could tell, and of course Adam can notice it a lot as well.

Doctor's appointment got switched to Wednesday, so I don't have to wait all the way until Friday! Then, in 4 weeks, we will be finding out if we are having a boy or a girl! :-D I can hardly wait!!

13.7.12

Another dream

So I mentioned that earlier this week I had a dream that we were having a girl. Well, last night, I dreamed that we had a boy! In this dream, I actually had the baby really fast (and easy! yay I hope that part of my dream comes true!), and the baby was early (basically I had the baby now), but he was about 8 pounds, so he was totally healthy. When I dreamed we were having a girl, I just saw an announcement and knew we were having a girl, I didn't actually see a baby girl. Isn't that interesting! So I guess I'm an equal opportunity dreamer :-D

11.7.12

15 weeks

I can hardly believe I'm already at 15 weeks!  Next doctor's appointment is next Friday. I'm still feeling pretty good, but I've been getting lightheaded more easily when I stand up from reclining. Also I've been dealing with a stuffy nose a lot of the time, which isn't painful, but it can be annoying. I like breathing.

Yesterday my belly started to show a little more. I noticed it before I went to work, and one of my coworkers noticed it, too! Still wearing my normal clothes, although my friend Ashley loaned me some maternity pants and sweater, along with some books! Thanks, Ashley!

I would like to know why there isn't a standard way to determine the "months" of pregnancy. If you look online, there are a bunch of methods, charts, and what-not. I guess this is why they go by weeks. That, at least, I can keep track of!!

175 days or 5 months and 22 days until Baby's due date!! :-D

9.7.12

An Update

We'll have to see if I can come up with a better title than "An Update!" haha...

Well, I tried some Greek yogurt, and while I don't think I could eat an entire container plain, with fruit I like it! It is definitely different, more tart than regular yogurt, but I do like it. Adam couldn't believe the amount of protein in it, and one of the flavors I got (honey) has two ingredients: milk and honey. He was impressed by that as well. And I definitely like the 10 extra grams of protein! So I think that will be a regular addition to my diet (at least my pregnancy diet, and maybe beyond!)

Last night I had my first dream about Baby's sex, and in my dream, we were having a girl. I don't necessarily think that that's my intuition and that I'm right, but so far I've mainly just had dreams about being pregnant, not about Baby!! I had quite a few dreams about telling people I was pregnant until we actually told people.

Also, even though I am not really showing yet, I think Baby is starting to rearrange my abdominal organs. My stomach felt kind of funny today, like a muscular thing, not like indigestion or nausea. This has happened once before, although the first time it was PAINFUL, and this time it is just irritating.

Finally, I do think the pure aloe is helping my acne. I'm still red and it's not great, but it's definitely improving. I will keep it up and see how much it helps over time.

That is pretty much it for now!!

5.7.12

14 weeks!

So today I am 14 weeks, 1 day! Today is 7/5/12 - 7+5=12, which is also my favorite addition problem! What a great day! :-D

I think the aloe is helping. Still not great, but I think I can see a difference. We'll see if it really helps if I use it consistently (every day or every other).

I have also noticed that I am more sensitive to heat. I'm not sure if it's because this summer is especially hot (like, record-breaking for Wisconsin hot) and I've been getting more used to the not-as-hot Wisconsin summers, or if it's because I'm pregnant! Usually I wait and wait before turning on the air, but these days I have been giving in a lot more easily.

We spent our 4th of July at home, watched a couple of fireworks shows from our yard, and used snaps, bottle rockets, and sparklers (the good, old-fashioned, metal kind that they don't sell anymore!) to have our own show! Jasp did not like the bottle rockets or these other ones that sound like gunshots that Adam had. I didn't like the "gunshot" ones, either! But we had a very nice, relaxing 4th.

I think that's all I have for now!

2.7.12

Dermatological Manifestations

So I have had a pretty smooth pregnancy so far, for which I am extremely grateful! However, there is one symptom that I have been experiencing - acne.

Ever since Junior High, I have dealt with acne. Never severe, but mild to moderate acne that is very persistent. I know that my acne is at least partially hormonally related, because going on the Pill helped my pimples and when I stopped taking it to get pregnant, I noticed an increase in pimples. And so, ever since about 5 weeks, I have had an increase in my acne. Not just on my face (although that's the worst!), but also on my shoulders and back, where I don't usually have an issue with pimples. What a pain! I know it's a very common side-effect, but I had hoped that my acne might lessen during pregnancy. So far, I have not been that lucky. And I have read that certain acne treatments are safe during pregnancy, but I am hesitant to use them nevertheless. I have used benzoyl peroxide a handful of times, and I can see results when I do, but I am leaning more towards just dealing with it until after delivery so I don't worry about it affecting Baby's development. The past couple of days I actually used pure aloe vera gel (not the green stuff you use for a sunburn, I am talking about the drinkable, refrigerated kind) on my face to see if dryness was a factor. I can see it helping a little (I think), but still... acne. It's worth it, because it means my hormones are in overdrive making a BABY, but it's still a pain.

Also, this weekend, I think I started to show a little more. I still look pretty much the same and my clothes fit, more or less, but I think my expanding uterus is starting to shift everything else around. I am trying to be conscious about eating enough protein - I don't eat very much meat, so that leaves me with eggs, dairy, beans, and quinoa. Any other non-meat protein source suggestions?

27.6.12

Natural Childbirth


Thanks to those of you who took the time to read my whole LONG announcement post!

I thought I'd do a whole post updating about where I'm at with natural childbirth. My goal is to have an unmedicated/no interventions birth, and I mentioned this to my doula, who is very supportive. She has loaned me a few books, including the Bradley birth book. I have just started reading it, but so far it seems really good and informative. I have looked into taking the Bradley class, and the only downside is that the closest one to me offering a class at the right time is in Madison, which would be about a 40 minute drive. Doable, although not ideal. That is what we will probably do.

Adam is also very supportive of me having a natural childbirth, which I think will be helpful when the time comes.

For now, I'm trying not to look too far ahead (I know I will need to plan ahead for the class) just so I'm not overwhelmed with too much information all at once. I will probably read through most of the Bradley book sooner rather than later, though.

Speaking of where I am now, Baby has fingerprints and is about 3 inches long! Isn't that amazing?

**I also wanted to say that 2 years ago today I married the man of my dreams, the love of my life, Adam! Time flies when you're in love! We have many adventures to look forward to!! :)

25.6.12

Guess what... (warning: long post!)

April 24, 2012 - Adam and I had just started "trying" to get pregnant. My period was due to start any day, and I was waiting before taking a pregnancy test because I figured it would be negative and I didn't want to waste a test just to have my period start that day (frustrating). I decided I would take the test just so I wasn't sitting around wondering. I could hardly believe when it said "pregnant" (it was a digital test)! So crazy!! So all day at work I was thinking about how I would tell Adam. I am so thankful he was home and not working out of town!! So when I got home (before Adam), I wrapped up the test in tissue paper and hid it in my dresser drawer. When he got home, I said (after we had been talking for a few minutes), "I have a present for you." And just like it was scripted, he said "For me, or for us?" and I said, "For us." I took him into our room and took out the wrapped test. He looked at me, and had NO idea! So he started to unwrap it, and when he finally got to the test, he said, "Shut up!" (that's what he says when he's really surprised) and just stared. Then he kissed me, and just stared at it some more. He was speechless, and neither of us could believe it! How amazing!! And how blessed are we to get pregnant right away, when so many couples try for months or years before they get pregnant!

May 2 - Today I am 5 weeks pregnant, using the free online due-date calculators. Adam had ordered a surprise for me the day we found out, and it came today. So once I got home from kickboxing, he set it up, and took me out to our field, where they are growing winter wheat. He took me to the middle of the ocean of green and said (among many other sweet, romantic things), "To give thanks for and celebrate our baby, how would you like to send off some paper lanterns?" It was SO sweet and perfect! We had watched Tangled and I had told him how I would love to do that (the lanterns), and it was too perfect that we could even do it to celebrate our baby! He took a few pictures, and we sent off two: one for if it's a boy, and one for if it's a girl. I have the BEST husband ever!

May 10 - Today I am 6 weeks and 1 day pregnant :) So far, no nausea (a hint of it this morning, but I've still been able to eat, no problems). Yay! I had my doctor's appointment today to "confirm" my pregnancy, and to schedule my first prenatal appointment. The doctor came in and said "Congratulations!" We talked for a few minutes, reviewed my vitamins/supplements, and he gave me a referral for my OB. First prenatal visit will be May 22, which will be one day before 8 weeks! I'm nervous and excited. He said the first 12 weeks are the most risky for the baby, so I will probably limit who I tell before then. We are going to Hawaii (we leave the 12th) to visit Rob and Jenni (Adam's brother and sister-in-law), and we'll tell them when we are out. Then I will be home in California May 30-June 3, so I'll get to tell my family in person, which is perfect! That will be right after 9 weeks. When I get home, we'll tell Adam's dad and his wife, and his other brother. Then, a few weeks after that, I will tell my job, and then the world! Theoretically, I wouldn't really mind telling "the world" before I tell my job, except that I have Facebook friends from work, and I want to make sure my supervisor hears it from me, not just through the grapevine.

Due date - January 2, 2013. Not exactly when I wanted to be giving birth in Wisconsin (if you have ever talked to me about this, I always said that I would prefer NOT to give birth in the dead of winter!), but I am so thankful for this baby and just trusting that God knows what He's doing! And I'm thankful that I will get to meet this baby sooner than if we had waited to try for a baby due in the spring or summer :) This also means that potentially, I could have our baby on my birthday (December 29). :-)

May 12 - Adam and I told Rob and Jenni the exciting news! They were happy for us and very helpful - they loaned me "What to Expect When You're Expecting," which has been very informative.

May 13 - Adam got me my first Mother's Day gift - a plumeria/puka shell necklace! Thank you! :-D

May 16 - 7 weeks today! I told Adam our baby has already been to 4 states - Wisconsin, obviously, Illinois for the airport, California - layover, and Hawaii!. What a jet-setting little one!

May 18 - I got to see Tricia (a friend I haven't seen in about 4 years!) because her husband, who is in the Coast Guard, is currently stationed in Oahu. We met up at the military hotel and went in the pool and watched some fireworks (which turned out to be a little disappointing but still fun). It was funny because her husband, Mike, was going to get drinks for us, and Adam said he'd have a beer, and I said I would just have a Pepsi or Coke. Mike gave me such a hard time, "Come on, you're in Hawaii, live a little" etc. I was laughing to myself! I think it will be funny once I tell people, I'll text Tricia to tell her why I wasn't drinking that night!

May 19 - Happy Birthday, Rob! Had some nausea today, thankfully still no vomiting! I think it was triggered by the ocean and bright sunlight. I was fine, and the next minute, I was not so fine. I ate a little after that, which also helped.

May 21 - Tomorrow is my first prenatal appointment! Adam should even be able to come with me :-) I talked to the nurse at the appointment desk and I think they might do a sonogram (yay!!). I have something I'd like to do for my family if they do it at this appointment. I will be sure to write all about it tomorrow! A few more hints of nausea, I am keeping my fingers crossed that it doesn't get any worse :) No real problems eating or keeping food down, but not everything sounds good. For example, I ate a lot of noodles in Hawaii because most other things felt like they wouldn't want to stay in my stomach. Everything else is going great! More updates tomorrow!!

May 22 - Adam got to come with me to our first prenatal appointment. After taking my history and doing a brief exam, they said they could do an ultrasound if I was interested. Um, yes!! So I went down the hall to the ultrasound room, and they did a transvaginal ultrasound, because our little peanut isn't even the size of a peanut yet!! (He or she is closer to the size of a kidney bean, our doctor said). Best of all, we got to see the heartbeat! I was so happy I was laughing, I couldn't believe it!! The tiny little heart beating so fast. Adam and I were just amazed!! They gave us three pictures of our baby (one for Adam, one for me, and one to keep with no fingerprints on it). We're also going to make some more copies. I just can't believe we saw our little baby's tiny heart beating!!! Also, the doctor saw that I have two cysts on my ovary, which he said is really common and should go away after about 11 weeks (I think). They said to limit "bouncing" physical activity until then (the nurse said "like jumping on a trampoline" - I like her!) because it could make it more painful. But because I have two instead of one, the nurse said that I could have had twins! :-o maybe next time? ;-) What a wonderful day!!!

May 23 - 8 weeks today! More nausea last night and today. Still no vomiting. The nausea isn't bad, but it's like taunting me: you might have to throw up, and you're at work! I got some ginger snaps, lemon-ginger tea, and saltines (I tried to go with Goldfish crackers, figuring they were pretty bland, but I am going to try the real-deal saltines to see if it makes any difference). The ginger snaps are good. They tided me over around lunch time, anyway. Sometimes I wonder if I'd feel better if I did throw up, but something tells me that wouldn't really give me relief. I was doing so well the first few weeks! I hope it doesn't get worse than this. My boobs also started hurting last night. Up until now, I've been able to sleep on my stomach still, which has been great. Last night I tried and WOW I could not do it. So that's a bummer.

May 25 - So I got a call last night from my doctor about my lab results. He said that everything looked fine except that I had a high level of bacteria in my urinalysis... so I am at risk for a UTI. I don't think I have one, because I haven't had any of the symptoms, but to prevent it developing, I have to take an antibiotic for a week. I am not really thrilled about it (and with my pregnant hormones I wanted to cry, but I mostly kept it together), but I'd rather take care of it before it gets bad/painful, and the doctor assured me that the antibiotic is not going to harm the baby. It is a little frustrating, though, because ideally I'd rather not take any medicines, but I suppose this one is necessary. I need to be healthy for my baby to be healthy.

I also found out my blood type - A positive. A+ :-D

I am considering hiring a doula to help with natural pain relief techniques during labor. I still have to do some research, but I think Adam and I would both really appreciate it.

May 26 - Went to Trader Joe's to get my cranberry juice. I got two kinds - one is pure cranberry juice, and one is a mix with white grape juice. I tried the pure stuff first and CANNOT STAND IT. I mean I really had to struggle to get a few gulps down. I later got some lemonade to mix with it, which makes it almost tolerable, but still not good. The other one is much more drinkable. I'm going to drink at least some every day. And now I'm about halfway through my antibiotic, so between the crazy strong cranberry juice (which would definitely kill any bacteria in my body!!) and the antibiotic, I am confident that I will pass the next test with flying colors and no UTIs. I also emailed a few doulas and heard back from two so far. One is part of a group of doulas that work in Madison, so I emailed asking if any of them work in my area, and one does (her name is... Megan!). I've emailed her and hope to meet with her soon. The other one I emailed is in Beloit, but apparently she is also due in January so she's not taking any clients at that time (understandably so). She said she could refer me to another doula in the area, so I will start with those two and see where things go. I told Adam some more about them, and although he's not crazy about incurring another expense, I think a doula as a support person, especially since this is my first pregnancy, will be really beneficial.

May 30 - 9 weeks today! When I got to California, my mom picked me up and I didn't want to tell her while she was driving, so I had to wait until she got home. Once we were home, I said "Oh I got some pictures taken last week and I have one for you," and she was expecting to see a picture of me, or me and Adam, but I handed over the ultrasound nonchalantly, and she looked, and put it down and hugged me so hard! And she said "When?" and I said "I'm nine weeks" and she said "When? When are you due?" , and I told her. She was so flustered and excited! Then she took my suitcase upstairs for me, because "maybe I shouldn't be lugging that around" she said!

May 31 - This morning I did the same picture trick for Ken, and he looked at it, and said, "Are you pregnant?" And I said "Yep!" And he chuckled and said congratulations and gave me a hug. Then my brother came to drop Rowan off, and Ken said "did you tell him?" And I said to Ian "I'm pregnant." And he said "Really? That's awesome, congratulations. If it's a boy, you won't need to buy a single thing!" And he said that "McGoughs make really cute babies," talking about Rowan, whom I was feeding at the time! :-) Later that day, I got to tell Kathryn, my grandma, and cousin Mark, and Taryn and Kyle. Taryn said "No way!! No way!" because I had told her we were going to start trying in the summer. So she, Kathryn, and my mom all want to come out, which would be awesome! It was so fun. I came over and gave my cousin a hug near the end of dinner and he said "What's up, Preggo?" :)

June 1 - I went to my dad's, and first I told Siobhan and Sean. It was a good thing I did, because I had Siobhan help me get all the family in the same room before graduation so I could make my announcement. That meant I didn't get to do anything clever or funny, but everyone was still excited when I just said "I'm pregnant!" I got lots of hugs and congratulations. I told them we were not really telling anyone besides family just yet, but my dad was too excited, and told his pastor and his wife. It wasn't really a big deal, especially since they don't know anyone I know anyway.

June 5 - Adam told his dad today. When I came in the house later, he said "Congratulations, mom!" :-)

June 7 - Got my first bigger bra... it is so nice to have a bra that fits again!! Also, I am 10 weeks and 1 day today!

June 9 - First chiropractor appointment since we found out about Baby. I asked the receptionist if I could still be adjusted if I was pregnant, and she said yes (yay!). So I got my adjustment, and talked to my chiropractor (he is also very knowledgeable about alternative health) about my vitamins and supplements I have been taking, and he said everything is looking good :-) He also said that I haven't had a lot of nausea/morning sickness because my GI tract has been handling the baby's waste efficiently. I always take what he says with a grain of salt, because
1. how does he know that for sure, and
2. some of the things he says are pretty extreme
...but it's still reassuring to know that it's ok to not have a lot of morning sickness. I'm still grateful for that! And I've had friends tell me they didn't have any morning sickness, and their kids came out fine, which is also reassuring :-) I am just having a blessed pregnancy so far! Can't wait until my next appointment (and probably ultrasound)!

June 13 - 11 weeks today!! Last night, Adam and I met with doula option #1 - Megan (who is going to be the doula for my friend Ashley!!). I had a lot of questions, because I wanted to know... well, a lot! She was very friendly, informative, helpful, and we both liked her a lot. We are still going to meet with at least one other doula, just to get a feel for how we connect with her. I'm not sure if we will meet with any other doulas, but after these two, we will be praying and making our decision hopefully soon.


June 14 - Meeting with doula option #2 - Denise. We talked with her for maybe 40 minutes or so, and really felt that she's the doula for us. She has a background in massage (and prenatal massage!), and so many other things seemed to just fit. She was also very helpful and informative, and I think she will be a wonderful doula for us!

June 16 - I was laying down on my back, and noticed that where I usually have a "dip" between my hip bones... there is no dip! I felt it, and it feels firm - I am pretty sure that is my uterus/baby condo!! I still don't show when I am standing up, but that is so crazy! I called Adam in to see it, and he can see (and feel!) it, too :)

June 22 - 12 weeks, 2 days! 2nd Dr.'s appointment today. Adam got to come with me again :-) They didn't do an ultrasound, but we got to hear Baby's heartbeat! I couldn't hear it at first, but Adam heard it pretty quickly, then it got louder and I could hear it. It is so reassuring to hear our baby's heart!! We also asked our doctor some questions about how he felt about natural childbirth and avoiding interventions, and he was surprisingly supportive of a natural birth and having us (me) make the decision if there is an option about intervention (e.g. episiotomy). So that was good to find out! We will start telling people this weekend, and making the announcement at our church.

June 25 - If you read through all this (or even if you skipped down! I don't blame you!), we are finally at... today! Now it is public knowledge that I will be having a sweet baby in a little over 6 months! (give or take, obviously). 12 weeks, 5 days today!! Watch for more evenly-spaced-out updates in the weeks and months to come!

18.6.12

Positive

I was talking to my co-worker today, who said that she felt like she didn't get anything done today. Then she said she had done this one thing (the first step in a few-step process). So I said, "Well, you're a third of the way there!" And she laughed and said, "You're so positive it makes me want to throw up."

:-D

13.6.12

Heyy

So I like to check my stats. I know my site doesn't get a lot of hits, and that's fine, because it's pretty much "under the radar" for the time being. But I checked today, and just wanted to give a shout out to my readers in Germany and Moldova! Thanks for stopping by :) Hope you have enjoyed reading about my crazy self so far!!

12.6.12

BHE

aka Best Husband Ever :-) My husband is amazing. He is so knowledgeable and skilled. He has done so much work around the house/yard that it's 2/3 new house. This weekend he hooked up our water softener (last weekend he installed it). He has also painted, installed (a lot of) trim, installed wood floor by himself, built an entire shed without blueprints or a real written plan, repiped our basement, built a dog pen, built multiple shelves (1 large one in our living room, in the front closet for shoes, above the stove for storage, above the washing machine/dryer, and our back storage room in the basement), replaced/installed 2 new toilets, and before I got here, had remodeled or mostly remodeled both bathrooms, not to mention all the things I didn't list here. I am so God-lucky to have him as a husband! :-)

5.6.12

Come on...

I don't shave my legs that often (see my Hippie post). However, when I do, I don't cut myself. It has literally been years since I cut myself shaving. I don't even remember the last time it happened... until LAST NIGHT! I was almost done and BAM right on my ankle bone I nicked a little piece of skin off that bled like crazy. I could not believe it! At least now I have an Ariel bandaid keeping it safe and clean :)

4.6.12

California!

AKA my last vacation/trip for a while!!

It feels like I have been gone more than home, recently. But now that I am home from California, I only have two vacation days left, so I will be saving those!! Too bad that means it's June and I can't go do anything for the rest of the year!! But I'm glad I went home, and that we went to Hawaii. Now I will be able to get into the groove at work, which will be a good thing.

Sean's graduation was great! He played a piano solo and gave a speech. I'm so proud of him! It's hard to believe my LITTLE brother (who is 16 and taller than me! has been for a while!) is now a high school graduate!! awwww!!!!! He's a great brother. I'm excited to see what God has planned for him.

Of course, I also got to see Rowan!!! Man, he is so different from when I saw him in March! He was so tiny, and now he is chubby and has dimples and is SO smiley! He is just a sweetie. He took a little nap on my lap, which warmed my heart, of course! I was more than happy to have Rowan time when I was out. We went out to dinner Thursday night (my mom and Ken, Ian and Kathryn, my grandma and cousin, and Taryn and Kyle) and it was really fun. We went to one of my favorite restaurants - Hibachi (like Benihana, a Japanese steak place where they cook right in front of you on a big griddle-surface). Oh that was delicious!!

Saturday, we went to the Huntington Library and walked around the gardens, which are very extensive and just beautiful! Saturday night I spent with Ian & Kathryn (and Rowan) and Sunday, after breakfast, I left for Wisconsin! All in all, it was a great trip. :)