30 weeks

Hard to imagine, only about 2 more mths to go. wow! time flew by. Fatigue is coming back. I have also noticed being super sensitive and over-thinking everything. it's like PMS multiplied by ten. there comes a point when you stop feeling so super glamorous and start feeling fat. the thankful reminders baby sends me makes it all feel better. i can tell she is getting cramped for room but she is still rolling around. i experience more rolls than ever before. when she kicks i just wish i could grab her little foot and kiss it. the other day i felt an appendage in my ribcage. it burned and caused some discomfort. i massaged it and eventually she moved.

i am eating like a pig...there are days when i could just never stop. it's really hard to control your appetite. it's not like you are starving or anything...just feel like you could keep popping things in your mouth. Twix isn't always the best thing to pop....but with Halloween around the corner, those bags of individual ones make it hard to resist.

i have had a bit of nausea again too. the beginning of the week felt a lot like the first trimester. i could tell i was having a hormone spike since i began to break out. i swear my breasts are continuing to grow. i read that once your milk comes in your breasts will seem to double in size over night. oh help me big man in the sky... i'm going to need a back brace.

Haven't had any cravings, per say. there are certainly things i find more delicious than others. I experienced that PICA sensation they speak of. It's when you smell something that isn't eatable and wish you could eat it (or some even do). Mine stemmed from when ted was trimming back the bushes to unveil the creepy steps in our backyard. he hacked away at a cedar and let me tell you....i could not have tasted that cedar any more unless i ate it. i wanted to roll around in it and douse myself in cedar smell. it was the silliest feeling.

My mom is getting all excited (as am i) for my shower. it sounds like quite an event, with catering, flowers and 30 guests. what a time i have ahead of me! i am thrilled that this has made her become so involved with me. we have our moments, but we have truly begun to bridge a gap. ( i say this and watch....i'll jinx myself). Our baby will be coming into this world already loved by so many people. it's really exciting to see who gets involved and overjoyed about the arrival of your child. women love babies.

I still miss my Colorado friends so much. I think about you all the time and wish i could see you. I really miss being able to hang out, even if for an hour so for coffee...it isn't the same being without you. i cherish the times we did share when i lived there. good friends are very hard to find. (sob sob)

The heat has finally lifted. with the chillier weather coming, i look forward to sweaters and pants! it has been a very long summer...and i will not be sad to see it go.

Happy Fall!

29 weeks and loving the buddha. Thanks to Meredith for snapping pics when i ask her to! I've been documenting my growth pretty religiously. I have a book at home that i try to write in when "events" turn. i was pretty good about it when i was in my first and second trimesters. It seems now, there hasn't been much change except the growth of the belly.

i sit here at watch her kick and squirm. i lift my shirt to tap her telling her i like to communicate with her. we have a Morse code, it seems. she kicks, i poke, she kicks, i pat her...she knows she's safe and then relaxes. too fun.

I am going to the Dr every other week now. So far, nothing has changed. i go, i am weighed, i pee, have my blood pressure taken and then hear the baby's heartbeat and am sent on my way. Not much going on.

Sleeping has become more difficult as she gets heavier it is more difficult to turn over to the other side. i have less of the limbs falling asleep though. back pain has been moderate. i have been so exhausted it's unbelievable. my body temperature has risen and it feels like the room is over 80 sometimes. doesn't help that the temps outside are hot too - over 80 in October....ridiculous. i want Fall. this isn't Fall.

work has been fine. Meredith and I are forming a very wonderful friendship - one in which you know will last beyond the work atmosphere. she is really funny and reminds me of a mixture of a bunch of other friends. we keep each other entertained. it's too bad she lives so far away. She is in york, which may not seem far, but it is far enough where you just have to take the entire day to hang out.

i cannot wait to have this baby. i'm getting more and more eager to meet her! I also cannot wait, however, to move into our house and be able to spend a month or so of hopefully, quieter times with Ted. the past few months have kept him busy and me preoccupied. i miss hanging out on the down times....so November may offer us some time to spend enjoying each other before the baby makes her acquaintance. they say to pamper yourself before the baby comes, enjoy romantic dinners, get a pedicure, spend time with your friends. i'm sure once we move i will be all about nesting...have i mentioned how excited i am to move? :-)

The house is so close to being livable, i can see it.....it's almost there. Drew came to help this week which allowed Ted the help he needed in laying the tile in the kitchen/tv room/foyer. not that he couldn't do it himself, but having a second person there really speeds thigns up. plus it's good for morale. Baby, we are almost there. just a few more projects and we'll be set. You are my super-fantastic, ultra-wonderful, marvelous man!

29 weeks, almost

Seems like forever since my last blog. I have new pics to post, but have been busy with other stuff and then when i think to do it, i'm too tired to sit in front of my computer at night.

baby is growing..rapidly. over the past two weeks, i have begun to experience a decrease in the amount of oxygen i can consume while sitting down. She is very high so when i am sitting it is very uncomfortable. i have been hungrier and eating more. i am growing out of clothes that have fit me up until now, including some maternity stuff i had. i feel movement all the time now. it is more distinguished too. i wish i could tell which way she was in there, but after discussing it with the Dr., she was able to help me feel the head and sort out the direction in which she is "swimming" i feel most, if not all of her movements to the right of my belly button and below my right breast and then in the rectum...yes, she is kicking me there (odd feeling). my back is becoming stiffer and bending is challenging and often painful when her head is low. my energy is picking up, but can be short-lived.

this past weekend i washed all of the 0-3 mths clothes i have. i moved all the baby goodies that were taking up a huge chunk of the spare room to the new house. i cleaned the master bath at the house, cleaned windows in the bedrooms, cleaned the apartment, went to a Baby Expo with mom, which, it turned out, was pretty cool for coupons and free gifts. i am starting to freak out about things i should be doing to prepare for baby's arrival....decide on a daycare, find a pediatrician, get the nursery furniture picked up and put together, pack for the move, buy thank you cards for shower gifts, the list goes on....my head is full of things.

the house is getting closer and closer to being livable and i'm getting more and more anxious to move in. cabinets need ordering, counter tops need picking out, appliances need buying. feels like crunch time. luckily, ted's brother came this week to help out. there is so much to get done in a short period of time...

when i can, i will post new belly shots. i found a photographer who takes wonderful pregnancy shots but he is way expensive. maybe if we get some extra money from the shower, i can have some done. I was also thinking i could have Barb or Donna take some...they are artsy!

i cannot believe baby has two more months to grow. i'm going to be HUGE! i'm carrying all in the front and very high. this is just starting to get good. :-)

26 weeks

i'm at the can't-eat-enough-give-me-that-if-you-aren't-eating-it stage. it's lovely. i love food. food that i never loved has become friendly with me. although oddly enough, pretzels gave me indigestion yesterday and so have left a bad taste in my mouth. gross. apples...yum. soy protein drinks - must have in the AM. pasta - do whatever to it - you're mine.

as i thought i would, i am enjoying pregnancy a lot, though trying at times. i forget sometimes that i need to slow down when i walk which causes cramps that stop me in my tracks. i feel like i'm 50 pounds heavier when i get out of bed (when i've only gained 20), my butt has been over processed cottage cheese since day one, i get brown spots on my face when out in the sun too long, i fart uncontrollably, i snap when you look at me wrong, the heels of my feet hurt if i stand in place a bit, my boobs are bigger than two over-sized watermelons, limbs fall asleep when i get comfy in bed, my back is in spasm more often than not, and i itch like mad on my belly and my chest every other day! hey - this is great! seriously, with all of that going on....just to feel the baby kick and move around makes it ALL worth it! it just blows my mind how much your body changes to accommodate growing another human being. it's amazing that it's possible at all. so, i'm NOT complaining. i'm just stating...so you may laugh at will. this material will be humorous for me to read after the fact. and to think, i'm going to get bigger... :-)

the laminate flooring is laid in the nursery and master bedroom. it looks awesome! i'm so excited to see the rooms unraveling! baby will love her room! i love our room, just love it. i'm so excited to see the kitchen get started. again, my superman is super wonderful! thank you, thank you! sorry i cannot help out more.

beauty grows within

Ok, the laminate flooring and the tile for the kitchen/tv room are on their way. Ted has indicated that the gas lines need replacing as does the water heater.

If there is one thing i have learned from watching home remodeling shows, it's this, you will invariably run into all kinds of hurdles when you set out to complete project A. Project A becomes sub-part a, b, c, d, e and sometimes even f. challenging...i still don't know how he does it. How do you keep your wits about you, my dear?

Little girl has been thumping away today. it amazes me when i read that my moods affect her. if she is feeling my day today, i apologize....you shouldn't have to feel stress this early in your life! i wonder if she feels my frustration when i am driving. I wonder if she feels my emotions when i just want to up and cry for no reason at all. i wonder how we will be able to console one another once she is born....because no matter what happens right now, i am able to run my hand over my belly and lightly remind her i love her and somehow, everything to me is OK.

I picture her in my rear view mirror when i'm in the car. I imagine her crying in the middle of the night. I see another infant smile and wonder what her smile looks like. I hear a child laughing and hope our girl is the happiest in the world. Becoming a mom is going to be an incredible experience. I am only experiencing part of that now and it lights up my world. I sit and wonder if she is comfortable, all squished up inside of me. I sit back and probe trying to get her to play with me. I talk to her when i think she is napping. I sing and remind her that i know no lullabys. I ask her what music she prefers to listen to. I try to imagine what she sees, feels and tastes. all of it, yes all of it.....is the most precious thing on earth. our baby, our daughter, our precious little girl.

hey, where'd it go?

I've watched as my belly has grown bigger and bigger, waiting for the day when i would start to lose site of "things" below my belt.... well, it's official....6 mths is what it took to lose site of my privies!

It's really funny to watch your body change so drastically within such a short amount of time. I mean...your belly grows so big and all you may feel are some back pains and a ton of itching. i can no longer cross my legs and have instead, chosen to sit with them spread with a slight arch to my back to support the weight up front. wait til i get bigger. holy cow. where do i put it? i have four months to go here people...the toilet is going to become quite the obstacle. do they make seat wideners for pregnant butts? :-)

i tested the waters and threw out some maternity leave options to my employer today. It all must be discussed with the head honcho, so i am curious as to what will come back to me. I chose to try to leave for 8 wks and then work from home the last 4. i thought about part time from home but am afraid of losing benes. so what does a mommy do...keep her baby home with her while working from home? that's what i foresee. i'm sure, as with everything else, this will be a learning experience. how do you juggle breastfeeding, entertaining, answering the phone and drafting pleadings? the way i see it - who cares - it's only 4 wks. pray for me please....please let them work with me on this one.

let's see - food cravings? none. i crave nothing. i see you eating it...i want it. that's about all. my mind is going...i have trouble completing sentences and remembering where things are or go. My tolerance for annoying people has become a bare minimum - i find it excruciatingly difficult to hold back words. unfortunately, innocent bystanders are feeling the grunt of the pain. i have been keeping up with doing yoga and trying...when i have the strength...to not eat JUNK FOOD. i made excuses all weekend long because it was a holiday...but now....i have to watch it. i will balloon if i'm not watching...

i love my belly and enjoy talking about our baby whenever possible. i am so excited that the nursery is almost done...just flooring to install and it's ready to go! it will look so pretty when it's done. We have, again, ted to thank for that, as well as my dad who pitched in by painting the woodwork. yeh!!!

here's a picture of me this week... i think the baby plateaued for a week or so but i can sure tell she is cramped. her kicks are stronger and wider spread. she is catching up to where she should be on the growth chart.

i am so excited to Fall to start! we have been graced with cool weather lately and it feels fantastic to be COLD when you sleep! fresh air, open windows...summer is almost over.

oh yeah, i got my hair cut...a ton of it cut. i figured at the rate it is growing right now...why not?!

baby, baby, baby

this is our baby girl during her ultrasound on August 14th, 2007.

I wasn't able to get a picture of her legs, but we did see them. they are long, just like her daddy's. As you can tell here...she has some pretty long fingers too. Our little super model!

It took some probing and jostling around to see what gender the baby is, but finally she got a shot of her "sitting" on the lens for us. it was pretty obvious to me. Hello little girl!

We got to tour the birthing center that same day. It was just as i had hoped. My friend Jenni had her daughter Lily almost two years ago...when i was still living in Colorado, and her hospital labor delivery room was awesome. She got to experience that room (and delivery) all over again with the recent birth of her son, Harrison Lee on August 20th. 10 pounds 1 ounce! Congrats Jenni and Randy!!!!! Anyway...as i was saying, her birthing room was so cozy, i knew that when i have a child, that is the way i want mine to be. St. Joseph's Medical Center built a new facility and opened last November. Their LDRs are just as lovely as Jenni's...without the view of the Rockies. Complete with hardwood floors, flat screen tv and cabintry to make it look like home (kinda). Ted and i were both pleased. that 's a load off my mind.

last night, August 26th, baby was getting pretty active as we were sitting watching tv. I had been up and moving all day so i had felt very little during the course of the day. As i was sitting there feeling her bump and kick around i told Ted to put his hand near my abdomen, below my belly button and keep it there. He finally felt the baby kick!! Up until now, i tried to get him to feel her, but he didn't have any luck. finally! he commented...that's pretty neat! I think it will take him some warming up to appreciate her movements. It must be pretty strange to experience pregnancy as a man. He is so removed from it all. Me, my days are consumed by her. I eat, breathe, and sleep baby. literally. she's all i ever think about. :-)

The house is still coming along. Primer paint has been coated on all the walls in most of the house, minus a few rooms. BUT - it is coming along nicely. For those of you interested who didn't get the pictures sent to them, let me know and i will forward them to you. i tend to keep tabs on the house through the slide shows on Sony Imagestation. i don't ever mean to keep the progress that Ted has been making out of my blogs, but with the two things going, it is hard to mention everything on both.

i would like to say that I think Ted is the most amazingly ambitious person i have ever met....or even heard of. He knows how to do it all...and if he doesn't, he learns. no project has been too big for him and he has kept a level head throughout the project even through swift kicks in the butt by bugs, rodents, fungus and leaks. you are my miracle man, baby, and I want you to always know how much i appreciate you and all the hard work you are putting into building our future. I love you greater than the sky's vastness and all the stars within it.