Dilation has begun!

But the doctor doesn't think I'll deliver early--right on time, in fact. I guess that's ok with me, but tell that to my new cankles.

I'm happy to be on vacation for a week and a half, and then I only have to go into the office for a few days next semester. It'll be nice to relax and get some last minute stuff done. I feel like I've been slacking off, and Jerry's doing all the work. He says he doesn't mind...

Our car seat is scheduled for delivery tomorrow, and after that, we should be well set up for the arrival. So many clothes! We've been doing laundry (well, Jerry has) and folding day and night, but the piles of clothes are not getting any smaller.

4.5 weeks to go!

I've had three showers in the past three weeks, and I'm exhausted! We're very grateful, though--we received a lot of useful baby things! Thanks, especially, to Mom and Dad for our stroller. I'm sure the baby will love it!

Here's a pic from the ladybug-themed shower (34 weeks):

In the last few weeks, I have heard plenty about my size--that I'm small! I certainly don't feel that way. I'm sure I'll balloon up a good deal this last month, though.

I think I'm ready to get this show on the road. I twisted my ankle a few weeks ago, and it just hasn't healed properly because of the extra weight. I'm trying to stay off my feet as much as possible, but I do have to get up to go to the bathroom occasionally! Just getting ready for work in the morning is exhausting. It's actually kind of frustrating--I have so much to do and so little energy to do it! I don't even know how much good I'll be during the holidays--they're just coming at a really bad time.

The water retention that everyone talks about has finally arrived! I am resisting the removal of my wedding band as long as I can--which might not be that much longer. I can't even move it around on my finger anymore. I don't want to remove it at all--it's such a part of me. But I don't want it to be cut off either!

Weird pregnancy symptom #325

I've been really fortunate to escape a lot of the major complaints of pregnancy so far: no morning sickness, no bloating, no bleeding or gestational diabetes. However, although the books do mention this symptom, it definitely seems like one of the stranger "benefits" of carrying a baby: nosebleeds. Since there's extra hormones and blood floating around, this makes them more likely. But let's just say it's really difficult to drive with a tissue stuck up your nose and your head tilted back. And postnasal drip is EXTRA enjoyable.

Add this to my growing list that includes exhaustion, foggy brain, sweating and strange nail growth. I only have 9 more weeks left--I'm a little curious to see what else Mother Nature brings me in what seems like a short period of time.

New pictures!

Here are a few:

28 weeks, 5 days

29 weeks, 2 days. I finally figured out how to turn off the flash. Don't know what is going on with my eyes!

Jerry and I are so grateful and blessed to have FOUR shower offers! One is at work, the other three are various friends and family who have generously offered. We're very lucky! Hope we can scrounge up enough guests to make it worth everyone's effort!

Only 11 weeks to go, and I'm getting a little nervous. Strangely, though, it's not about the labor part (although I am sure a meltdown will occur at some point). I don't feel ready for the baby at all! I think part of it has to do with Jerry's job situation, but we have to make the best of it right now. The other part of it is all the people who are saying, "Enjoy the quiet now/get all the rest you can now/the first three months are the worst," ad nauseum. Thanks. I got it--having a baby around is hard work. Adding stress to the situation by saying those things is NOT HELPFUL.

I am still feeling pretty good, although sleeping at night is a challenge. Just rolling over in bed involves three point (and four and five) turns. Dealing with the hormonal rollercoaster is the worst part, I think. It amazes me how quickly I can turn on the waterworks. It's pretty embarassing to have a meltdown in the middle of Main Street at the Magic Kingdom, like all the two-year-olds without naps. All because of a hot dog.

A head shot, just for Kristi!

25 weeks

I am slowly losing track of my nether regions. Hope all is OK down there.

Quack, quack

I am now waddling. It's an interesting feeling.

Also interesting now are my sleeping habits. My body typically feels like lead, so when I try to roll over, it takes me a lot longer and wakes me up more. I bought one of those maternity pillows, which is mostly comfortable, but adds to the drama of the roll-over process. I'm trying to enjoy sleeping in a regular bed as much as possible, though, because I have heard that a recliner is in my late-night future.

After my shameful doctor's appointment a few weeks ago (I know that many of you are aware of the amount of weight I gained, so I won't put it in writing), I am happy to report that my eating habits are back to (relatively) normal.

We now have a nice stock of baby gear, thanks to Matt and Jen. Tons of clothes, a bouncy chair, a booster seat, a pack n play, and other odds and ends. We are very grateful! Now, let's just hope that the kid is actually a girl, as predicted; otherwise, we'll have to start from scratch with the clothing.

And for anyone else who asks, no, we don't have a name yet! And if we did, we might not tell you!

Updates

I know I haven't posted in awhile, but I hope these two pictures will make up for it.

The 23-weeker

The 20-weeker

I guess it's pretty obvious how much I've changed.

Everything is going well, except for the rather large amount of weight I gained in one month. I am trying to eat properly, I'm just hungry all the time!

Jerry has finally been able to feel a few kicks, which he is very excited about!

Baby movements

It is really hard to pinpoint when I actually felt movement, but I think it was 16-17 weeks. I would feel little flutters off and on, especially when I laid down. I have a lot of gas (yes, really, I went there), so it's hard to tell the difference.

Now, I can pretty much distinguish between when I eat the wrong thing, and when she's moving around. They're sort of like little thumps and bumps. Very cool. I look forward to the first jab in the ribs that will remove all doubt. I'm almost at 20 weeks (halfway there!), which is a great birthday present!

We haven't decided on a name yet, but we hope to use Betsy as a middle name, in honor of my grandmother Betty.

Registering was YOUR idea

Jerry has been pestering me to start a baby registry for several weeks. My goal was to go through all the stuff Matt and Jen saved for me from their two kids first before I registered for anything--apparently, they have an attic full.

Finally, last Friday night, Jerry said, "I'm pretty full from dinner; let's go to BabiesRUs to register before we go home." I kept trying to talk him out of it because of Melissa's Grand Plan, but he insisted, saying he wanted to do it so he could feel included (if he wants to carry around extra baby weight, he's more than welcome to do that too, if it makes him feel any better). I can't argue with that.

Ten minutes after we walked in the door, after we'd filled out the necessary forms and gotten our scan gun, I notice his eyes starting to glaze over. "Are you bored?" He insists not. Five minutes after that, he starts calling friends to pass the time, actually admitting to them that registering on a Friday night was his idea (Andy's response: "You dumb bastard"). Although I originally did not want to register, I was getting into it. He was losing more interest by the second. Then he started reminding me not to register for too many items, because of the baby stuff that my brother had for us.

WHAT DID YOU THINK WAS GOING TO HAPPEN WHEN YOU TAKE ME INTO BABIESRUS, PUT A SCAN GUN INTO MY HAND, AND LET ME START REGISTERING? DIDN'T YOU HEAR ABOUT MY GRAND PLAN?

*sigh* Good thing he's cute.

I was right!

First, let's get the obvious out of the way: yes, all either of us wanted was a healthy baby, no matter what.

Ok, that's done.

IT'S A GIRL!

Well, the tech is 75% sure, but we're going with that.

A lot of you have been asking about names, but we haven't decided on anything yet. And we may or may not tell people when we do. :)

AND, the doctor says I have three more whole weeks before I really have to give up sleeping on my back. Yay!

The 17th Weeker

I'm still slacking on posting my belly shots, but here's another to appease the masses:

I don't think it looks all that different from week 15, but it feels a lot firmer. I haven't felt any movement yet (at least, nothing that doesn't feel like gas), but I hope it will be soon.

I read in one of my MANY baby books (I even have duplicates of some of them) that I can no longer sleep on my back due to the weight of my uterus on major arteries. Bummer. It's my most comfortable position, and now I have to train myself to sleep on my left side. It's a work in progress. And my sciatic nerve is already giving me problems--typically not supposed to happen until late in the second trimester. I'm really in for it when the kid gets bigger!

Big ultrasound in two days! Jerry thinks it's a boy, I think it's a girl. Only 48 hours and we'll know who's right!

Another belly shot

I have really been slacking the last month in taking belly shots. But I don't really think there's a whole lot to see. Here's the latest:

15 weeks

For comparison, here's the last one (11 weeks):

I'm more convinced that the 11 weeks pic was mostly bloat. Or maybe it was just the angle.

On another note, it seems that an overwhelming number of people think it's a girl. Interesting. Only three more weeks before we find out! And then maybe I'll tell you all who was right. :)

I'm happy to be in the second trimester, and I'm now wearing mostly maternity clothes, even though they're still a little big. But I'd rather hike up my pants once in awhile than allow my regular pants to cut off my circulation.

A clear sign that it's time to move on to maternity jeans...

So I went home after work and changed into a pair of maternity jeans (thanks, Carol!). They're so unbelievably comfortable, I wish I could get away with wearing them when I'm not pregnant.

I'd like to thank Nate for this priceless quote...

Upon seeing the ultrasound photos: "Uh oh. With that head, it has to be a republican. I will call him Dutch." If it's a girl, he'll call her Dutchess.

I swear, I can't make this stuff up.

More pictures

Here are some ultrasound photos from last Friday's visit. It looks like a real baby, now!

I can't upload the video; it's too large. I'm not that tech savvy, so you'll just have to take my word for it that it's a great video!

Apparently, my father thinks that my 11 week belly is HUGE. Thanks, Dad. You know it's mostly bloat, right?

We find out the gender at our next appointment, on August 13! Hope the kid cooperates.

Some early pictures

Until I can get to a scanner, I thought I'd

upload a few pictures from early in my pregnancy. The first one was taken the day I found out: Mother's Day!

Four weeks!

Seven weeks.

11 weeks

The First Trimester scan

So, it's still too early to find out about the blue or pink. Jerry is disappointed, mostly because he wants to know how we should decorate the nursery. Guess we'll have to wait until 20 weeks, like everyone else.

I'll post pictures on my blog when I get back to the office (with a scanner) on Wednesday, since I have lots of sonogram pictures to include! I also had them record the show on a dvd for Jerry, since he couldn't be there. I'll try to upload that as well. So far, so good, though! Baby's heartbeat is 155 and sounds awesome!

Happy Birthday, Chopper!

Such an old man--he's 6 today. Hope he's ready to be a big brother. If not, perhaps he'll change his mind once the kid starts dropping goodies on the floor.

On another note, my jeans collection is quickly becoming obsolete.

My husband, the genius

"Everytime you curse, that baby in your womb loses one IQ point."

Welcome!

Someone suggested to me that I start blogging my pregnancy--that I'd regret it if I didn't do it, that I could have it bound when completed, that it's better than a journal--yada, yada, yada. OK, twist my arm (Thanks, Robin!).

I found out about the pregnancy at 4 weeks--we were so excited! I am now 11 weeks, 3 days into this pregnancy, and so far, it has been relatively painless. No vomiting is a BIG plus! Just some exhaustion and moodiness. I am starting to outgrow my pants, which is both a good thing and a bad thing. Good, because I know my body is doing what it's supposed to do, and the baby is getting bigger (hurray!). Bad, because I don't yet fit into maternity gear and right now, I just look fat. I am dealing.

This sonogram picture is from my last appointment two weeks ago. Does it look like a boy or a girl? Next one on July 10 is a big ultrasound/blood screening for birth defects, and it's slightly possible that we could find out the gender!