Incubation

So I just passed my gestational diabetes test. I failed one blood glucose, but not two. Two would mean I'd be officially, but temporarily diabetic. One means. . .I don't know, but according to the nurse it's "not urgent", and my midwife will talk to me about diet at our next appt. Hmmm. . .does this mean NO yellow cake with chocolate frosting? I'm confused. So I've been the model food pyramid and eaten all, well mostly good things for at least a week now. Which ain't bad considering I've wanted to dive into a tub of doughnuts for the most part.

We did get to see another ultrasound last week, which was completely crazy. I mean, you look at it in disbelief. "You can't be serious?!". So from that ultrasound we have the latest picture of our boy, in utero. . .

I mean, what? How is this even possible. Next he'll be flashing a peace sign or something. He's still moving around like crazy, which is a good thing because "it's indicative of fetal well being" - however, my uterus may disagree. Sometimes I wonder if he's not going to bust through like that scene from Alien or something. But I'm encouraged and relieved. Things are going well, the pregnancy has gone very quickly, and as far as anyone can tell, we're having a healthy baby, and that's pretty cool.

Yellow Cake and Chocolate Icing

28 weeks and counting! Things are moving right along and we're getting more and more excited. I have realized in the last week that my sweet-factor has jumped off the scales. I CRAVE sweets. I mean, I've always liked sweets as much as the next guy but never CRAVED them. Like I can't live without them. I ate a Twix bar for the first time in about 14 years yesterday and I cannot tell you the euphoria then ensued. I told Kent that I'd "split" it with him when I bought it in the check out line, and subsequently apologized after the first cookie was down because there was no way he was going to pry that second cookie outta my hand.

On the same Target run I purchased a Better Homes and Gardens with the exclusive topic of Halloween. I'm not usually a big Halloween gal but this year it's all I can think about. I mean I bought BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS HALLOWEEN SPECIAL EDITION. I think today I figured out why. IT'S ALL PICTURES OF HALLOWEEN SNACKS! Ghoulish Goodies, Spooktacular Cupcakes, Pumpkin Cakes, Skeleton Cookies. . .what the heck has happened to me? Is 20 pounds not enough? I've got three more months to go, I can't be piling on the cake now! I'll be 2 hundo before I know it! Halloween is just a big excuse for me to chow this year. Granted it is the leading event of fall, my favorite season. . .cool air, the smell of dried leaves, football, chili; but I'm pretty sure the leading factor is the SWEETS.

So other than this most recent craving discovery, things are going very well. Ankles are swelling, heartburn is flaring and naps are just a routine part of the day. He moves around like an contortionist acrobat and uses my bladder as a treadmill. My nose has become very attuned to musty odors and I can't stand hearing people chew and smack while eating (probably just envious because they're eating and I'm not) or the taste of powdered eggs (just about the only thing I won't eat right now). But I won't complain. . .I'm ecstatic about having a baby and will take what comes with it. I'm extremely fortunate to have this wonderfully amazing husband who tolerates my irrationally crabby times with grace and welcomes me home with massages and pampering. "Honey, can you bring me ________", "Honey, can you grab _____ while you're up?", "Honey, can you ____________" the list goes on and on. He deserves a yellow cake with chocolate icing. And maybe I'll have slice. . .or two.

July is Gone Already?

I figure I should at least get one post in for the month of July. My contributions to this "blog" have been ridiculously small considering all of the current events. Baby boy coming, summer shenanigans, Harry Potter - what more could one ask for? But alas, my last post referenced the Bud Light swear jar commercial, ah well. Best intentions.

I'm a little over 1/2 way through the pregnancy. 23 weeks. I can't really complain about anything. I have developed a belly in the last few weeks, but continue to only have minimal symptoms - heartburn is the symptom of the month. Raging, fire-breathing heartburn. But if that's it, I'll do just fine. First no morning sickness, now a little heartburn. I'm afraid this will all catch up to me in the third trimester, but I'm trying to stay in the moment.

It's hard to believe sometimes what's really going on. I mean, right now, there is a little human inside me wiggling around. He moves a lot. Isn't that crazy? And in another few months, he'll be wiggling around in our arms. How does this happen? We have a nursery picked out, but it's empty right now. We completed registries at babies 'r us, target and amazon.com, which was both fun, and completely overwhelming. Talk about too many choices. . .oy. Babies 'r us superstore is like a Super Target with only baby items. We got out our little checklist from Consumer Reports, then proceeded to use their Best Baby Products book to register for the "CR Best Buy" for what felt like 3,000 items.

I would post the pics from our last ultrasound, but I only have two. One of his legs, and one of his, well. . .man tackle. The ultrasound tech was obviously impressed and thought it should be on our fridge. So there it resides.

I guess that's all for now. I'm going to try to post more often, I suppose I can only go up from here!

the mind boggles

could there possibly be more options for general baby care items? i'm trying to work on a budget, just to get an idea of how much money we're going to need for the ol' start up costs, and i'm going to beat my head on the desk. first off, i don't do well with options. one of the reasons why in 'n out burger is one of my favorite eating establishments, the menu consists of: the burger and the cheeseburger. oh and fries. ah simplicity. . .anyway, i'm trying to work the consumer reports route, just to trim down the herd. but with most items, they don't even know what to tell you - ". . .it's basically your preference" - well if i knew what that was, these decisions wouldn't be an issue; however, i happen to be one of the least informed/knowledgeable pregnant females this side of the mississippi. and i do REALLY mean that. when your husband has to tutor you on your own fertility cycle, you know things are bad.

anyway, so far i've narrowed it down to one stroller. which from what i can glean from the lousy description, can also double as a car seat - god help us when we have to figure that one out. that's all i got so far. according to my check list, i only have about 20 more "things" to get.

1st appt. with Midwife

Very uneventful appt. which is just fine with me. They have a fabulous clinic over there, and I am both relieved and excited to have a midwife - they are fully on board with the birth that I want and put me at ease.

She tried to ascultate fetal heart sounds, but we didn't have any luck, so she did a portable sonogram to for reassurance. We saw the heart flutter and we saw it jump around and move. I know this picture isn't the best, but you can make it out. You can see it's little arms and legs too!

Next appt. is in June. :-)

No Longer an Embryo. . .

It's now a FETUS.

For those of you who don't know already, I'm 11 weeks pregnant. . .I can hear the gasps of horror. I know, it's truly unbelievable. . .I have to remind myself occasionally that I'm supposed to provide for someone other than myself in less than nine months. I guess more like seven months? I go from stages of being totally elated to being completely terrified. Which I hear is thankfully normal.


I was extremely thankful that I didn't have loads of nausea and vomiting in the first couple months. I did have nausea, and still do, but nothing like what I assumed I was destined for since my mother had morning/afternoon/night sickness. So far so good. We go for our first appointment with the midwife on Tuesday and I'm once again excited and terrified. I think being a nurse has put me in the position of knowing just enough to be dangerous. I know just how many things can go wrong between now and delivery, and it amazes me that there are as many babies coming out with all of it's parts and pieces as there are. I mean, it's a freakishly alien process. Just crazy.

So, I couldn't NOT blog about this anymore, so this is my first. There really isn't much to describe though. My belly has actually popped a bit, but I believe I had a little head start in that department pre-pregnancy. I can be ravenously hungry, nauseous and bloated all in a matter of three minutes. I'm sad some days, can't stop smiling others. Oh, and I'm basically back in adolescence as far as the acne goes. That's great fun. A little blast from the past. Kent and I will gladly accept all the good vibes that you want to send because we're gonna need it!