Pregnancy thoughts at 21 weeks

These are random thoughts, but I felt like sharing them.

I had a dull pain in the right side of my abdomen tonight. I was concerned for a while- John just assumed it was the baby growing...and he was right. I found my answer HERE
"Round ligament pain is due to normal changes that take place in the body during pregnancy. It is caused by stretching of the round ligaments attached to the uterus. More commonly it occurs on the right side of the pelvis." Interesting. Well- maybe not considering I ate 3 homemade pizza burgers for supper.

I have had more cravings lately- many of them involving peanut butter. Blue Bunny Ice cream was on sale and I got some "peanut butter panic". YUM.

I realized that almost all I have drank for the last month is water. Almost all fruit juice has citric acid in it, and I don't like drinking milk (except chocolate milk- and chocolate is off limits because of heartburn)...so WATER it is. I do vary it up some with cold water and hot water:)

Wearing pregnancy clothes is so fun. I even hauled out some shirts that before pregnancy made me look a bit fat. Now I don't care if I look fat:) Also, I can wear tennis shoes with any outfit and no one ever questions it.

The acne at this stage of pregnancy is ridiculous. I have tried all my normal OTC acne face washes and lotions. I have resorted to plain water for the most part, and that doesn't work either.

Someone told me when I was 9 weeks pregnant to start buying diapers now. I was very timid and even stood in the diaper isle with coupons in hand...but I gave the coupons away to a new mom who was buying diapers. This week I did start buying some diapers at Walgreens on a super sale. After all my coupons and RR deals they were $2.99 for a 40pk.

Pro's of being pregnant: the only year my new years resolution can be to "eat more", pregnancy clothes, I get to buy baby clothes not just for gifts, the obvious end result:)

Con's of being pregnant: NAUSEA and sickness- especially the kind that doesn't go away after the first trimester, heartburn, not great sleep (mostly because of nausea), bad acne.

I'm over half way...WOO HOO!
I was feeling not very crafty after seeing Lori's post about making PANTS, and Sarah's post about lining a bag...then I saw this on Vanilla Bean's blog and I felt better:)

Shopping!

I went shopping today (mostly for groceries and other things I needed) but I ended up at a few thrift stores. See what I bought from Goodwill BRAND NEW still in the box and my other good deals on my other blog. Go here: Being Dutch Gets You Much
Hint:

"These pretzels are makin me thirsty"

"These pretzels are makin me thirsty" is a line from Seinfeld where Kramer gets a line in a movie and tries to come up with the best way to say it. (Photo from the 80's tees.com website)

I have been thinking about that line a lot lately because I am saying to myself, "This baby is making me sick" in some of the same voices he uses.

I love baby Shaler, but I still have those bad nausea days and nights and I can't remember feeling "good" anymore. It is nice being able to see the pictures and video from the ultrasound...so that when people say it will all be worth it in the end- I can SEE when they mean:)

They said at the ultrasound that baby shaler was measuring a bit small- but I expected that based on many things. It wasn't enough to change my due date, so that will stay at June 20 but I will expect to go late.

Everything else went great at the appointment. According to the ultrasound tec. he looks like a "very healthy baby". I think John had a hard time seeing the baby right away (it does just look like a bunch of white moving around), but eventually he understood where the parts were.

I still avoid meat and lots of other foods on my bad days, but on my good days I can eat about anything...especially ice cream. I think ice cream is really the only thing besides salad that I have craved and I eat a salad every day.

Here is my 20 wks. picture (taken shortly after I polished off a DQ Blizzard).


I see my midwife again in less than 3 weeks, so hopefully they will say I have gained some weight- because it feels like I have!

Right now I am spending some time worrying about what to do with my flex benefits at work. If I have the baby before June 30, my current flex benefits can be used, but if he comes on July 1 or after then next years flex benefits need to be used. AHHH...
John told me the other day that he learned in Human Growth and Development (one of his classes) that a pregnant mother should not be stressed out because it can be bad for the baby. I hope that means he will continue doing the dishes and cooking for himself...because it makes me happy:)

The verdict is in...

The votes were close on my poll- It was back and forth and no one really seemed to know if "baby shaler" was a boy or girl until NOW!
I had no idea my Women's Clinic did 3D or 4D ultrasounds, but apparently they do!
The baby was kind of crammed by my uterine wall, so it was hard to get good pictures but it was fun to see everything. The baby looks healthy- 10 fingers and 10 toes.
And...










We are sooo excited!
Here are some pictures:


Check out his face!! (I added the arrow in Photoshop)

19 1/2 weeks

Checkup stats from last week:
I gained 2 lbs. (which is not a lot, but good enough)
They found the baby's heartbeat right away.
Things seem to be going fine.
I still can't tell if I have felt the baby moving or not. Maybe.

This week has been harder for me.

I have felt sick and have gone to bed with the laptop every night around 6pm. Also, there are certain foods that made me nauseous this week, and last week they didn't seem to bother me. I've been eating an apple every day, and at least one salad a day along with other foods.

Also, I started thinking about all the stuff I need to do/buy to get ready for the baby. I know I still have time, but I have been making lists of baby items I would like to get new, and items I can get from garage sales/thrifts stores/Craig's list.
I'll probably do a post in a week or so asking your opinion on some of those things.

I looked into health insurance for the baby which is REALLY expensive through my work. I need to compare prices elsewhere and see what the best deal is.

I guess I really am excited...I think I just can't wait for next week when we have our ultrasound and things will seem a lot more real.

19 weeks and National Western Rodeo

National Western:
We went to the National Western rodeo with John's parents, his grandfather and family friends (the real cowboys) and had great time. It was the first time John and I had seen bull riders score in the 90's. Here are some pictures:




19 weeks:

-Oatmeal cookie dough ice cream from Coldstone- YUM!!!
I have a feeling I might crave that in the near future:)

-My acne is driving me crazy. I photoshoped some of it out in the first picture:) I am trying all the natural things I can but nothing is working. I may just need to get out in the sun some more.

-My baby belly is really showing now. I can finally feel somewhat comfortable walking down the baby isles of Target checking out the stuff. MANY people comment on my belly- which is fun, but hopefully the people I see every day won’t comment on it every day:)

-Friday was a very good day. I got a lot done, and was happy doing it.

-A few evenings this week have been bad. What else is new.

-I can pretty much eat anything again (except the stuff that is banned b/c of heartburn: chocolate, tomatoes, citric acid…).

-Ice cream sits well with me.

-I still haven’t felt the baby move but I am OK with that. At times I think maybe I did, but it is probably just my upset stomach or heartburn.

-I see the doctor again tomorrow, and next week. In a little over a week we find out if our baby is a boy or a girl. What do you think??? (You can also take the poll on the side of my blog.)

17 1/2 weeks

I had a little bit of time after the 1st graders were lined up at my door before their teacher came to get them today. I decided to tell them that I was going to have a baby. "Oooooooh." They said. They asked if it was a boy or a girl. I said I didn't know yet...what did they think? One boy stared at my stomach (about 3 feet away from me) for a good 15 seconds and said "it's a boy". Another girl said "because your a girl- it will be a girl". They were hilarious.

What has changed for me this week?
-I have had a lot of headaches (mostly at night)- sinus related I think.
-My back gets tired from standing all day on my long days.
-I don't find myself craving food, but I find myself thinking about specific foods...and I can't stop thinking about them...which I think means I am hungry (or the baby is).
-Meat still doesn't sound good, but I am eating pretty healthy and I am eating more than I was the last few weeks:)
-Heartburn is still an issue. I have a bag of Lindt chocolates on the counter that I haven't touched, and I decided to try one tonight to see if it gave me heartburn. YEP! No more chocolates for me;)
-I have had more good days than bad. A few nights this week I have been able to continue functioning until 7:30-8:00! Other nights (because of the nausea) I am in bed by five laying down, and asleep before 8:45. I can tell when my pill wears off on those days.
-I am definitely showing. One of my guy teacher friends asked me if I ate too many french frys:)
-I started to exercise a little bit. Mostly walks.
-I stopped feeling sorry for myself (because of all the nausea). IF it ever goes away...GREAT! but if it continues...even thought I feel crappy, I can't be crabby:)


What else is new? John is busy with school. He is taking some Psychology classes, a history class, a philosophy class and a research class.