Pregnancy: Things No One Warned Me About, Part I

1. Heartburn. Oh, the heartburn.


2. Skintags. Enough said.


3. The widdle waddle way I may or may not be walking.


4. Mood swings.


5. The amazing feeling of having the baby kick or punch you repeatedly. It felt like a repeated heartbeat in my belly! Incredible!!

And I'm only 22 and 1/2 weeks into this!

Up Too Late Last Night

Yesterday I read Marta's post on Six Degrees of Separation.

Of course, I had to participate.

And then, when Mike got home from work, we played as we drifted off into sleep.

Mike: Okay, link Julie Andrews to Salma Hayek.

Me: Hmmmmm, okay, I got it! Julie Andrews was in Shrek the Third with Rupert Everett who was in My Best Friend's Wedding with Julia Roberts who was in Ocean's 11 with George Clooney who was in From Dusk till Dawn with Salma Hayek.

Mike: Alright. You're good. Please, go to sleep. It's past 1 am.

Me: Fine. But tomorrow, we play again!

Oh Marta, you have created a monster. :)

P.S. We tried one last one before we (finally!) called it a night. I know we got it, but I can't remember it right now - give it a try: Jonathan Silverman to Patrick Stewart.

Pregnancy Update

I knew the honeymoon phase of pregnancy couldn't last that long.

On Wednesday, FeeNo provided me with my first experience of heartburn. In my 32 years, I've never had it. Now, I've had it for three days straight.

Does it mean that FeeNo is going to be hairy? That's what I've heard: mothers with heartburn have babies with lots of hair. But both Mike and I were bald babies, so in my mind, that tells me that FeeNo will most likely be bald too. Right?

Maybe not.

All in all, though, things are going well. Another pound gained this week (that's a total of 7, people, 7 pounds in 21 weeks!) and a fetal heartbeat that was music to my ears. Unlike other appointments, FeeNo fully cooperated this week and didn't turn over when the doppler was on my belly.

Physically, I think I have officially 'popped'. My lower belly is hard as a rock and the hardness extends to my belly button. My summer suit no longer fits and I had to go shopping for various pieces of maternity clothes (pants, button down shirts, skirts, etc).

As far as FeeNo goes, I read that this is the week where he can hear the outside world. Mike and I have been reading to the belly for a long time now (since 6 weeks, I think) and I would like to think that the child is already well-versed in the poetry of Shel Silverstein and Jose Marti, as well as the rhymes of Dr. Seuss. My favorite of all the books we're reading is Hueves Verdes Con Jamon, the Spanish translation of Green Eggs and Ham. I am particularly pleased that the main character in the book is not Sam, but rather, Juan Ramon.

I think that's all for now. I'm looking forward to the official start of summer this weekend. And hopefully, the summer will fly right past me. That only means that FeeNo's arrival will come so much sooner and I really can't wait for that.

Not Making Light of a Death...

But one less Commie is always a good thing.

Read about it here.

Tagged

I got tagged by Freckle Face Girl.

Here goes:

What were you doing 10 years ago?

Ten years ago, I was a student at the University of Florida. At this time, specifically, I was preparing for a 6 week trip to Europe.

Five Snacks You Enjoy:

1. Dry cereal like Cinnamon Life, Honey Nut Cheerios, Rasin Bran
2. Ice cream
3. Peanut butter crackers
4. Carrots and hummus
5. Radishes

Five Songs That You Know All The Lyrics To:

1. Copacabana by Barry Manilow
2. Xanadu by Olivia Newton-John
3. Tiny Bubbles by Don Ho
4. Against All Odds by Phil Collins
5. You're So Vain by Carly Simon

Five Things You Would Do If You Were a Millionaire:

1. Pay off the mortgage
2. Invest
3. Buy a home in Hawaii
4. Buy a new SUV
5. Go on a shopping spree

Five Bad Habits:

1. Picking my cuticles
2. Leaving my shoes in the middle of the room for Mike to trip over
3. Picking scabs
4. Not taking the laundry out of the dryer
5. Leaving the shopping cart in an empty parking space when I go shopping

Five Things You Like To Do:

1. Travel
2. Nap (when I get a chance)
3. Shop
4. Play dominos
5. Go to the movies

Five Things You Would Never Wear Again:

1. MC Hammer pants
2. A mullet hairdo
3. Classic fit jeans
4. Banana clips
5. A pleather mini skirt

Five Favorite Toys:

1. Palm Pilot with MP3 player
2. New laptop
3. Mike's MP3 player
4. FeeNo's monkey toy that he received as a gift from Courtney
5. Cell phone

Five people to tag: (And anyone else who wants to give it a go)

1. acb
2. Courtney
3. Sofi
4. Occasional Confusion
5. The B.A.D Blog


Instructions: Remove the blog from the top, move all blogs up one, add yourself to the bottom.

Smiling Mom
42
Dayngrous Discourse
Freckle Face Girl
It's My Blog and I'll Blog if I Want To

FeeNo at 20 Weeks

Wow!

FeeNo has a profile! And a little nose!

Check it out:

As an aside, the doctor told me that it seems I am not gaining enough weight. WHAT? I was told to GAIN WEIGHT! Hahahahahaha, I love it!

Never Mess With a Pregnant Lady Who Just Happens to Be Hungry

This is a joke, right?

I just got home from work, my mouth watering as I was opening the door. All the way home, I was thinking "there's gonna be somejuicy steak leftover from from last night. You hungry, FeeNo? Mama has some good food for you!"

Guess what?

HE ATE MY DINNER. FOR BREAKFAST.

How can anyone eat leftover steak at 10 in the morning?

Someone is going to pay when he gets home from work tonight.

What Did You Think?

I am away from a computer for the entire day tomorrow, but I am super interested in finding out what everyone thought of tonight's final episode of The Sopranos.

I am going to take the rest of the night (and possibly all day tomorrow) to finish processing it.

Comments are welcomed and encouraged.

Good News

On my last visit to the doctor on Wednesday, I had blood drawn to check my hemoglobin A1c. Even before pregnancy, I was very careful with caring for my health, which ultimately led me to become pregnant. After learning of the pregnancy, I obviously became even more aware of how diabetes can cause so many complications to FeeNo and myself.

I have been on top of my health and the results of the test show it.

I am proud - yes, proud - to report that my levels are almost that of a 'normal' person. That is, of someone without diabetes. This reduces the risks of complications significantly. Coupled with the fact that I am feeling good and that FeeNo is growing at a beautiful rate, I think I can commend myself on a job well done thus far.

And my daily prayers of a healthy and positive pregnancy have been answered too - I'm halfway there and haven't had any symptoms that are out of the ordinary. Not even for a healthy woman with no health conditions.

I thank everyone that reads this blog for asking how I am, and checking back often to see if I have posted anything new. Your positive vibes are helping, I am certain of it.

Now, let's hope and pray that the second half of this pregnancy is as successful as the first half has been. And when it's time for FeeNo to come out, let's hope it's as smooth as can be.

Until then, I anxiously await FeeNo's arrival. Already, I couldn't love this kid more. Imagine how I'll be when I can hold FeeNo?

I'll be a blubbering fool.

Beast of Burden

I hear this song playing on the radio. It makes me want to get up and start dancing. Not the kind of dancing that you would do in a club. A kind of dancing that you do when you are home alone, dusting the house. Or a kind of dancing that you might do in your underpants when you think no one is looking. Something like that.

I went to see the doctor today for a 19 week visit. Once again, things look really good. I heard FeeNo's heartbeat again - it was in the 140s. Very good.

And I have gained another 4 pounds. So... that's 12 pounds lost, then 2 gained, and now, another 4 gained. I should be happy, since that's an actual loss of 6 pounds overall, but then the doctor mentioned my belly. Or should I say: my bellies.

(As an aside, when my best friend, acb, was pregnant, she referred to her bellies. She called them 'mama belly' and 'baby belly.' )

The best part is when he said that FeeNo is pushing my fat upwards. That's why my upper belly (mama belly) is so flabby and my lower belly (baby belly) is so tight.

That's all I needed to hear to be convinced that I am very sexy. A sexy beast.

I'm going home, finding the Rolling Stones CD and popping it in to dance tonight.

Poor Mike: he has his very own Beast of Burden on his hands.

FeeNo, The Dinosaur

I finally got around to scanning the latest ultrasound picture of FeeNo.

Once again, the child does not want to pose.



Here, you can see FeeNo with head down, probably trying to figure out how to get out of my belly.