Saturday, February 27, 2010

Frogs and Snails!

The minute the doctor walked into the ultrasound room and placed that little wand on my belly he exclaimed, "Wow, your baby is very photogenic!" For the following twenty-five minutes, Baby M showed off like a champ. Rolling, twisting, punching and kicking. Curling its little legs up into it's chest and then rocketing off the side of my ute. It was the cutest display of amniotic aerobics I've ever seen. Hubs hadn't seen an ultrasound of the baby since it was a mere 8 weeks old- and I found myself staring more at his face- the awe and excitement in his big blue eyes, the effortless smile that stretched across his face from ear to ear as he watched this baby, that he and I created out of the purest love, roll around inside of me- and less at the ultrasound screen.


While performing the ultrasound, the tech had asked me if I had been having any baby dreams lately. And truth be told, I had my FIRST one only two nights before. I began to share...


The night before the gender determination ultrasound, I go into labor and deliver a perfectly healthy, perfectly full term baby. Everything goes quite smoothly, so smoothly in fact, the doctors and nurses whisk the baby away for what seems like two days. I was so excited that I barely even notice and suddenly remember that I forgot to ask whether we had a boy or a girl! I quickly turn to Mike, asking him, "Honey! Well?! What was it?!" And he turns to me and says, "Oh, don't worry! I took care of it all. We had a baby boy and I even named him too!" Say what!? He proceeded to tell me that he named our baby boy Ian. A name that neither of us have ever discussed, have never even mentioned. So, in my dream I shrug my shoulders and then have a momentary freak out that I had forgotten to call out sick from work that day, since I had given birth and all. Baby boy Ian. Hmm.


The ultrasound tech starts laughing. She says, "I stand by that old tale. For 18 years it has never steered me wrong. Are you ready to know what you're having?" And with that, she had me roll onto my right side to shift Baby M's hiney into the air. The perfect money shot.


Without further a do, we are pleased to introduce BABY BOY M!!



What are little boys made of?
Frogs and snails
And puppy-dogs' tails!

As the doctor quickly pointed, clicked and measured, I felt my heart swell with so many different emotions. Excitement. Anticipation. Unconditional love. Peace. We will never forget the day we drove 6 miles down the road, come heck or high water (or 8 inches of freshly fallen powder and blizzard-like conditions) to find out that Baby M is not only a bouncing baby boy, but also that he is healthy. Growing like a champ and measuring almost two weeks ahead of schedule. Nothing short of just absolutely amazing... Thank you so much for all of your sweet comments, thoughts and prayers. Throughout the day yesterday, as my phone buzzed and dinged with each new comment, I couldn't feel any more blessed.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

BIG day for the "M's" Tomorrow!!







If you have a minute, could you send us lot's and lot's of good juju, thoughts and prayers tomorrow? Pretty please? Not only will Hubs and I be finding out if Baby M will be "sportin' pigtails or a baseball cap" (as my friend Aliya so adorably put it) but we're also closing on our first home!




We couldn't be more excited about either (no, really. We seriously could not get any more excited. It's disgustingly cute and annoying) and we're hoping and praying that the snow doesn't ruin any of our plans!!


Don't worry, we'll be sure to keep you updated!

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

My Internet Tell-All? Sounds Scandalous.

Just kidding. I never thought I'd write a post like this, but after reading so many others, it seemed like a rather fun thing to do (provided people actually like you, like to read you, want to get to know you better and therefore, ask relevant questions). Which brings me to my point: What, my dear readers, would you like to know about Hubs, myself, and Sheepie that I haven't already divulged in 14 months of blogging?






The floor is yours...

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Sunday Bump Day; 16 Weeks, 1 Day.



Total Weight Gained/Loss? Up 6 from my weigh-in at 12 weeks. Total gained? Nine. I'm calling it, "my winter layer." It's okay though. I'm alright with that. However, can we take a moment and talk about bust size? Yay? Nay? Well, we're going to anyway. I've always had nice bubbies. I've always joked saying that I wanted to "upgrade them" from their little 34B, but my husband has always loved them regardless, so 34B they would stay. Welp. This past weekend I stopped by the local Main Line bridal boutique to be measured for my bridesmaid dress for my soon to be sister-in-love's wedding that's taking place in November. I'm sure you can imagine the sheer look of shock and surprise on my face when the lady told me that not only was my bust measuring a whopping 37.5" but with my plans to nurse, I should order the next dress size up with a bust measurement of 38.5". Say what, dress fitting lady?! Holy smokes!

Maternity Clothes: Sort of. When you spend most of your days in scrubs and most of your nights and weekends in black yoga pants- there's really no need. But I did splurge a bit on some new Spring wear from Old Navy Maternity. Killer sales last week. We're talking 7 shirts, 2 dresses and 1 pair of leggings for 106 dollars. Free shipping too. Boo-yah! (Too bad one-third of it fit me like a tent and was promptly returned via UPS. Le sigh.)

Sleep? I stayed awake until 10:30pm last night! Do you know how exciting that is?! Probably not, but let me tell you, it's awesome.

Best Moment of the Week? I'm not going to lie. I pretty much dopplar the belly every night before I go to sleep. Baby M's heart rate is consistently in the 150's!


Movement? Nada. Nothing. Not even a flutter. And I even tried the trick where you lay in the dark with a blanket over your belly. I'm feeling a whole lot of nothing.

Food Craving? Fresh fruit. And cereal. And randomly, a hot dog from Home Depot. Don't judge.

Food aversions: Grilled chicken. Red Meat. Burgers. Steaks. Pork ch-- (I think I just threw up in my mouth a little).

Morning sickness? Random bouts of nausea here and there. But definitely on it's way out.

Gender? I have an ultrasound scheduled for February 26th. I'll be one day shy of 17 weeks and I'm pretty much going to bring treats with me and bribe the ultrasound tech into telling me if she can catch a glimpse of Baby M's goods. Nurses love Dunkin Donut munchkins. I know from experience. And after my doctor's appointment on the 19th, she said I didn't even need the treats. I could just ask nicely.
Score!

Belly Button? So very out. Again, I can't help but mention that I'm starting with an outtie. And well, there's really no place else for it to go...

What I miss? It's beginning to get a little bit uncomfortable to sleep on my stomach. And I luuurve me some sleeping on my stomach. I also really miss crunchy spicy tuna rolls. And boobs that don't hurt all. the. freaking. time. Oh, and being able to bend over and put my socks on without exerting a whole lot of energy.

What I'm looking forward to: Potentially finding out if Baby M will be sportin' blue or pink on February 26th!

Weekly Wisdom: Not feeling particularly wise this week... Sorry, readers!

Milestones: 16 weeks down, 24 to go! And the doctor said my belly is measuring a week ahead of schedule! Let's hope that doesn't mean Baby M is ginormous!

Thursday, February 18, 2010

23. 43.


23 (work) Days left as an outpatient chemotherapy infusion nurse.




43 Days left as an official Pennsylvania resident.

43 Days until I become a stay at home wife/Suzie Homemaker.





I'm almost speechless.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Want To Win Something Really Cool?



Enter Aliya's Giveaway. She's a fabulous real life friend of mine with a growing graphic design business and she's giving away a FREE (c'mon we all love free things) blog re-design! You can check out some of her custom work at her personal blog webpage, The View from My Shoes:






or her professional design webpage, Aliya Rinaldi Designs:

If for nothing else, head on over to her blog, check out her work and tell her how fabulous you think she is!

Happy Tuesday!

Monday, February 15, 2010

I Dreamed a Dream...


Early on, I told you all that this would not always be an "oooh, awww, how cute" pregnancy blog. Well, this is going to be one of those posts. The "un-oooh-awww" kind. We need to talk dreams. Assinine, crazy, "what-the-eff" pregnancy dreams. Mine started around week 8 and I haven't been able to shake them since. Let's recap a few of my favorites, shall we?!


First dream:

I stumble upon a sleeping lion in my backyard. He's slumped up against the corner of the fence and he's not just any lion. He's the gigantic lion from Narnia. I say to myself, "Hm, sleeping lions never hurt anyone! I want to pet him!" And as I reach my hand out to pet him, he wakes up, freaks out and begins to chase me around the neighborhood. COPS car-chase style. Over fences, through swimming pools (I know, I know. Pretty athletic for a pregnant lady) until I finally wake up. Random? Yes.


Second dream:

I'm perusing the goods at a local thriftstore. I come across a coin purse. It's made of tie-dyed fabric and has a beaded panda bear face on the front of it. I don't use a coin purse, but have recently found the need for one since my current bag as taken on a good 5-7 pounds in loose change weight. Intrigued to see how much said coin purse could hold, I open it. Much to my surprise, I find 400 dollars in it. What do I do? If you guessed pocket the money and purchase the purse, you're dead wrong. I insist on calling attention to my monetary find and refuse to take the money home, as "the money should really be donated to the thrift store." I actually said that to the cashier behind the desk. No joke.


Third dream:

Now, keep in mind, I never have dreams like this. I'm stranded on a tropical island. I'm wearing what looks like a shredded toga. I stumble upon what looks like an abandoned camp site. I practically trip over a sleeping Johnny Depp. And no, not any Johnny Depp. But Johnny Depp dressed as Captain Jack Sparrow. We speak no words, but commence immediately in a lovemaking marathon that would put any porn video to shame. Am I serious with myself? This man was dressed as a pirate. Hat and braids and pirate costume and all. I couldn't make this up if I tried.


I find it mildly hilarious that in none of these dreams am I pregnant. None of these dreams include a baby. These are just some crazy-ass dreams.

In other news, I have a slew of backdated posts that I need finish. Weekly "bumpdates," (or updates from the bump, rather) as well as a few other "funny things my husband says," posts. Hubs and I are currently knee-deep in house business and between that and work and baby-ness, I'm finding less and less time to blog. Not to mention that my job tried to block blogger. What a travesty! But that lack of blogging will all change soon! I promise! We'll be closing on our new house at the end of this month and could use all the good juju and prayers you could muster for us! They're greatly appreciated! Happy Monday!

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Snowed In With Sheepie.

It's still snowing...

and there's absolutely no sign...

of it ever stopping...

Ever.


One of Those Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Days.

Just call me Alexander and please give me a few minutes to vent. I promise you'll laugh at my frustration, complete with pictures.


For starters, I have had this horrible head cold for days now. Six days to be exact. And it moves from my sinuses to my chest and back to my sinuses and I hate it. I can hardly breathe as it is, and congestion certainly isn't helping matters. It also hurts like the dickens when I first wake up in the morning and try to swallow. I might as well be trying to swallow shards of glass. I know, I know. I have this lime green paper tacked up to the bulletin board, highlighting "safe meds during pregnancy," but really? "Cool mist humidifier, Robitussin DM and Cepacol" isn't going to do a whole lot for me now. Why even bother? I have a major case of the grumpies.


Next, Sheepie is a very bad dog. Do you hear me, Sheepie? A VERY BAD DOG. Let me enter into evidence pictures number 1 and 2.


Picture Number 1:
Anybody notice anything different about any of these pierogi?

Perhaps we should take a look at Picture Number 2:

Those are Sheepie teeth marks. A Sheepie Nibble, if you will. Bad dog, Sheepie. Bad Dog.

Moving forward, I would like to enter another picture into evidence against Bad Dog Sheepie. All I want to do is lay on the couch, catch up on mindless DVR'd television and drink lot's of hot tea, however, Sheepie has other things in mind. Take for example, picture number 3:

That would be the ripped to shreds (and half eaten) order summary from the recent online shopping spree Hubs let me indugle in. I typically never need to return clothes. I've been the same size, give or take five to ten pounds (five to six beers, a few chicken wings or 2 years of heavy drinking in college) since my senior year of high school and therefore, never need to return clothes. Except when ordering maternity shirts from Old Navy. I am not a small. A small pretty much makes me look like a boat. No joke. Therefore, I need to return the six shirts to avoid looking like I'm wearing a muumuu. Thanks for destroying not only my return shipping label, but also my order summary, Sheepie. I'm sure they won't need either of those things when I try to make these returns.

I'm snowed in. I'm pregnant. Like an idiot, I attempted to shovel a bit this morning, in an effort to de-snow my car so that I could think about going into work. My street wasn't even plowed. And god forbid, I be the only house on the block that doesn't shove their 10 feet of sidewalk. I would be shunned for eternity. No jokesies. Let's just say I shoveled for approximately fifteen minutes before I became a wheezing mess, ditched the shovel somewhere in the front yard and crawled back inside.

I am so over this day.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Have You Seen My Sheepie?



With all of this baby talk going on, one would almost think that we've forgotten our first "baby," Sullivan! Fortunately, for his sake, that will never be the case, even though Hubs jokes about changing his name to "Distant Memory." He's continues to be the most spoiled Sheepdog this side of the pond!

For those of you going through Sheepie-withdrawal, here are just a few pictures taken by our very fabulous and absolute favorite dog walker while on her usual jaunt with him this past Monday.




Sheepie with a "snow-stache"


Typical Sheepie-ism. Rolling in the snow.

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Our First Baby Purchase!

Okay, never in my entire life did I ever think for a minute that Hubs and I would sit down, spend an hour on Consumer Reports and once armed with what seemed like limitless knowledge, purchase our first "baby" item. With little to no argument. For those of you whose interest I've peaked, it wasn't even a crib.


Hubs and I are very lucky in so much that the company for which Hubs works supports healthy lifestyles. Each year Hubs is given a "fitness allowance" which basically pays a certain percentage of a specific piece of fitness equipment. In the years that he's worked for this company, Hubs has purchased some pretty sweet equipment. A great road bike, for instance, followed by ginormous and quite manly adjustable hand weights.


Eventually, it was in the works that we'd eventually splurge on a nice road bike for moi, so that I could accompany Hubs on his bikerides across town. That is, until we learned that this year, the "fitness allowance" has been stretched to cover jogging strollers. Say what!?


As soon as Hubs nonchalantly mentioned this from his comfy spot at the kitchen table, I dropped my can of pledge and practically ran out of the room to sit with him. I don't jog. I've never jogged. In fact, I have what's known as "exercise induced asthma." Basically the only way I can run, even short distances, is with one of those nifty little handheld inhalers. Awesome. I long for the days back in high school when I could run a five minute mile with the greatest of ease- but those days are long gone. I can barely walk more than a few miles before I'm a wheezing mess.


Despite my lack of jogging, I knew we needed a jogging stroller. I've heard such fab things about these strollers (mostly from blog-stalking) and from a few of the Mom's at work- and I truly have all intensive plans to start walking immediately post-baby. Granted, apparently you're not supposed to put baby in one of these until they are atleast 6mo. old, so clearly we've got some time. However, Hubs' fitness allowance must be taken full advantage of by the end of March.


Hand brakes versus no hand brakes. Locking front swivel-wheel versus non-locking front swivel wheel. 12" AW wheels versus whatever the other black wheels were. Red, Black, Orange? Do we need the Ironman model? (Er, Hubs, I don't jog. Let alone train for marathons. I'm pretty sure we don't need the Ironman model).


After a lot of review-searching, spec-comparing and of course, the most important decision of all, color-choosing, we finally placed our order for one of these:



The BOB Fitness Strides stroller. I think I love it. Actually, I'm pretty sure I love it. And I can't wait to register for all of the shiny coordinating attachments that go with it. Like, for instance, the Car Seat Adapter. Or the Weather Shield. Or the Handlebar Console. And we'll obviously need the Warm Fuzzy. I. Am. So. Excited.

And so.. baby-shopping begins...

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Dear Inconsiderate Mailman: Ever Hear of Snow Boots?

[Written February 3]

Call me crazy, pregnant and hormonal (go ahead, I'm waiting...) but Mr. Mailman, you are on my shit list. Why? Because of the kind reminder you scribbled on the back of my husband's mail which you then proceeded to place strategically half out of the mailbox so that I wouldn't miss your intended message.





Underneath Mr. Mailman's kind reminder, you will see my written-in-the-heat-of-the-moment reply that I am still unconvinced as to whether or not I will stick it in the mailbox tomorrow. Before I share with you my reply, bear in mind that it snowed approximately one inch overnight and the temperature has been in the mid 40's since I woke up this morning at 8am. There is hardly any snow on the ground, let alone any ice. A dusting, if you will. My reply reads as follows:


Mail Delivery:


Apologies for the unshoveled snow from overnight. I am pregnant, work every day from 5am-6pm and my husband travels out of state for work Monday through Thursday. If you have the phone number of a young child that wouldn't mind shoveling a small stretch of sidewalk for a nice price (or an extra snowblower, even) please do not hesitate to pass it along. Until then, I am really and truly doing my best. Thank you for the note.


Sincerely,

[Our Address]


After careful review and a phone call to Hubs, he suggested that I do not place said letter in the mailbox, as we do enjoy and would like to continue to enjoy receiving our mail in a safe, unthreatening manner. Hmph.

Hump Day.. Er, Rather Bump Day?

"Why are you seeing bump pictures for the first time this week," might you be asking? Well, the answer is simple. For the last 13 weeks and 4 days, there hasn't been a bump. There's been a lot of bloating and a little bit of food baby, but certainly no definable baby bump. Until this week. For reals. Everyone at work is saying, "you've popped!" And although that makes me sound and feel like a giant piece of Orville Redenbacher (with extra butter, I might add) I do believe they are telling the truth. Because there most definitely is a little sumthin' sumthin' going on down there. A little sumthin' sumthin' that doesn't go away when I make a meager attempt to suck it all in. Well, sure. Go ahead and see for yourself.
AP's 13 week Baby Bump

I freakin' love it. Granted, it's still in that awkward stage where those who are out-of-the-baby-loop find themselves staring uncomfortably at my midsection debating over whether or not I'm expecting or if I've just eaten a Double Baconator from the fast food joint down the road. But it's there. The beginnings of the much sought-after baby bump.

13 weeks, 4 days - Pretty soon I'll remember to do these on the same day each week.

Total Weight Gained/Loss? Up the same 3 from last week

Maternity Clothes: Soon. But not yet. I have broken out those maternity Citizens that I talked about in this post but they're still too big and I don't quite have the belly needed to fill the bellyband yet. Has anyone else noticed that a lot of the maternity wear out there basically looks like a potato sack with an empire/babydoll wasit and some sort of polkadot/stripe pattern with a ribbon placed somewhere strategically on it? Gee, I can't wait.

Sleep? Yes, please. All the time. Waiting for the much talked about sudden burst of energy. Any day now...

Best Moment of the Week? Splurging on the fetal dopplar (that Hubs didn't know about until he read it on this blog, I'm sure. Happy Valentine's Day, Honey!!) and listening to Baby M's heartbeat every single night when I get home from work. I'm that obsessed. I admit it.

Movement? Nada.

Food Craving? I'm all over the place. Love me some fresh fruit recently. Strawberries, grapes and pears!!

Food aversions: The thought of red meat still makes me want to vom.

Morning sickness? Still around from day to day. Mostly right after breakfast and right before going to bed. Just nausea. No vomiting. Thank God.

Gender? I've been feeling girl ever since the beginning, but it's most likely due to the fact that deep down, I really really want to have a baby girl. Really. Girls at work think girl (since my looks have well, been a little worse for wear the last few weeks) but Hubs and my Father in Law apparently made some sort of deal with the Big Guy that it has to be a boy. And my Mom and Dad? Just want it to be happy and healthy.

Labor Signs? Ask me in July/August. From here on out I'm deleting this irrelevant question.

Belly Button? Oh geez. It's an outtie to begin with. And it's already a little more out. And the belly ring? It has got to go. Like, yesterday.

What I miss? Feeling like myself. It's been a rough couple of weeks, what with house-buying and a recent family emergency, and being pregnant certainly hasn't helped any. I just don't feel like me. I don't really look like me, either. I pretty much think I look like an overtired, super cranky homeless lady. But Hubs still says I'm the sexiest woman he's ever laid eyes on. Even sexier now with this baby growing inside of me. But I'm pretty sure in the Handbook, it says he's supposed to say those things. Some sort of husbandly pact.

What I'm looking forward to: Findout out the sex of Baby M. Hopefully within the next month!

Weekly Wisdom: Don't wish away the early days. I always said that it felt like weeks 3 through 12 moved insanely slow, but I can already feel the days starting to pick up. And I don't want to wish the next six months away! I want to enjoy it!

Milestones: Making it safely and healthily into the second trimester!

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Why You Should Never...

Send your hungry, cranky and pregnant wife to the grocery store alone.

Here's what she'll come home with:



- Overpriced and unsalted pistachio nuts
(that she won't even eat because she just realized they're unsalted)

- The big box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch (yup, the one that sells for like, $7.00)

- Ice cream (in two different flavors)

- Enteman's Cinnamon Buns
(which she hasn't had in about seven years, but they just looked so good)

- hot dogs (ew. gross. i don't know why.)

- one and ahalf pounds of white American cheese

- the biggest jar of Kosher Dill Pickles she could find

- three diferent types of Hummus

- multigrain dark pretzels (for Hubs, of course)


- and a box of Twinkies.
(which, the last time she had them, was probably when she had those Cinnamon Buns).



My latest food obsession? Extra peanut butter sandwhiches on potato bread. We're talking so much peanut butter you need the biggest glass of chocolate milk paired with it, just so you could swallow...
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