Musings of a Jelly Bean

We have moved!

I haven't forgotten about this site, but I have decided to do all my blogging on my main blog site.  Come on over and see our newest addition!

11 Days and Counting!

OH MY GAH.... Did you see that?  11 days.  That number scares me a little.  It is hard to believe that all that waiting is here, and at the same time I am sooooo glad.  This body is feeling pretty miserable.  Bless the hubs, he has had a 5 day stretch off and he has helped with Ms. JB immensely.  Tomorrow I head into work and I am a little nervous about how it will go.  I think the stress of starting my  classroom with new students is what is overwhelming, although I won't be there long, just knowing that I need to get it all up and running seems to overwhelm me.  Everything is laid out and ready to go so I really shouldn't worry, but I do. 

Days seem to be off and on with how I am feeling.  Getting sleep has been a huge factor in helping me have good days.  When things are bad... crampy, tight, lots of movement, pressure.. then the only thing that helps is laying down on my side.  I cannot imagine women who have to go on bed rest and who still have toddlers/other kids running around.  Daddy JB has been such a tremendous help. This week I will find out how things are progressing.  It would be nice to know where I stand before I entered the work week, but I guess I have to wait.  I did find out at the last appointment that my OB/GYN will not be on call on the weekends leading up to and after my due date, so if things happen during those times, someone else will be delivering Little Mr. JB.  The OB doctor said that if I am to be induced it wouldn't be until Tuesday, September 19th.  Ahhhhhhh... that is a long time!

Still Cooking!

We are still here.  Nothing has changed at this point.  I have been working full time for the last three days and I am currently doing everything in my power to keep my eyes open.  I am wiped out.  With Ms. JB I was able to stay at home up until delivery.  Things this time are a little different.  My ankles are huge balloons.  I wore my Dansko sandals today and they kept all the fluid above the strap line so I look like I have 80 year old ankles (aka. CANKLES).  All the fat, swollen tissue is just hanging out on top.  Needless to say, my feet are raised up and this old lady is hitting the hay when she is done here!  After some rest I might have something more say.

I think they call it NESTING

Nesting is in full force at the Jelly Belly household.  I am quite amazed at myself and the endless lists I keep making for myself.  It is rather amazing how much one gets done when they feel there is a timeline.  I recall with Ms. JB I went through the same thing but found that once she was born I was a little annoyed with the fact that I didn't have that ongoing list to keep me going.  Of course I was suppose to be diverting all my attention to the new baby, but for some reason I felt I needed to be completing task after task.  I don't think I will feel that was so much with Mr. JB.  Being that I will have two to take care of my time will be well-spent. 

I was in denial of the fact that I was in the Nesting phase until I had this idea of cleaning all the wood cupboards in the kitchen and then treating them with wood polish/treatment.  I was finally caught when the neighbors found me vacuuming out the bottom of the stroller.  I felt like a moron with the shop-vac sucking the nylon away.  I will say that the stroller hasn't ever been cleaned, but now it appears to look brand new!  Let's see.. what other things have I been managing to take care of: 
hosed off the siding on the front of the house, cleaned the garage door, cleaning outside windows, changing around furniture in living room, cleaning (on hands and knees) the shower while also cleaning the baseboards on my hands and knees, making frozen meals, sorting unused toys and boxing and bagging them for the garage, etc. etc.  I have a list of about 7 more things I want to accomplish this weekend.  Lets see if we get to it!

37 weeks

My doctor appointment was on Thursday and of course he didn't do much. The typical. Wait 50 minutes for his 4 minute exam and then go home.  Lovely.  I am having nothing that is happening that is 'regular' or 'timed.'  He is going to wait until my 38 week appointment to check me and see how things are going.  I am sure this little guy will be tucked away nice and tidy, not willing to budge for awhile.  I will say though that I am having some serious movement.  I am having movement at both ends of my uterus along with all other areas.  It is either him doing the Olympics with his head and shoulders or else he is running a marathon and his little butt and legs decide to take on a couple of miles in a short period of time.  There are times that the movement is so great that I break out in a sweat/hot flash and become pretty nauseated with his movement.  I have had some tightening and cramping that stops me cold, but then I am able to resume most normal activities once they have passed.  The part that is really getting me is the fatigue.  I know that chasing a two year old doesn't help, but if she (Ms. JB) doesn't nap, I don't have a chance to rest and catch at least 10 minutes of shut eye.  Without that rest, I feel useless.  Lord knows how I will mange with two, but in some way, I will. 
So I apologize for the disgusting photo or my gut, but it is all baby.  You can see the stretch marks starting to elongate off of the old ones.  LOVELY.  This photo is 36 weeks.  Come 38 weeks I will snap a photo too.  I will try to keep a post up and running every couple of days, but if you don't hear from me, then look forward to us announcing our new little guy.  I am still not sure how I want to combine the two blogs.  Not sure if I want to keep them separate or combine the two. 

Novice Here!

I have been freaking out a little.  (No, not going psycho over the whole deal)  I feel a little lost when it comes to "contractions."  I have felt my fair share with the birth of Ms. JB.  With her I had felt nothing prior to my water breaking.  Once the water broke the contractions were HORRIBLE.  I recall using the death grip on the bed rails as I tried to calmly make it through each contraction.  Folks, there was nothing calm about anything. Shakes, sweating, curling up in a ball and hating every minute of it.  Of course relief came with the epidural.  They tried something else before the big guns and I don't remember it helping at all.  See the entire problem is I never felt any contractions prior to my water breaking so I have no idea if they will be any different.  I have heard that contractions tend to be much worse once the water has broken. The thing that freaks me out is I am having lots of movement and tightening, but is it a contraction?  I really don't think it is, but I guess I will find out more information at my 37 week appointment this week.  Does anyone have any insight into this?

36 weeks, 6 days

UNCOMFORTABLE!  Lots of baby movement is going on and making movement, relaxing, and life in general, pretty unbearable.  Soon this will all be over and a new phase will be started, but in the meantime we are working on getting through each day.  I have my 37 week check up in a couple of days and I am sure I will have more to share then.

Spread baby Spread

I am pretty sure my hips are spreading.  I don't recall this too much with JB#1, but man oh man, my hips are soooo sore!  I haven't been doing anything that would cause me to be sore.  No heavy workouts, long walks, squats, blah blah.  Has anyone else experienced this with their pregnancies? 

On the whole subject of workouts and soreness.... I am a little nervous about how this pregnancy will go.  With JB#1 I was swimming and working out up to the few days prior to delivery.  This time....not so much. With a 2 year old toddler I am chasing her around, carrying her places and carrying on conversations with a two year old.  Not so much of a workout.  I wonder how much this will affect my labor and delivery along with my recovery.  I know that I am really excited about getting back into the workout routine once I am healed enough.  I have no choice after baby comes.  A healthy body is a must, but what will happen before then?  The hubs doesn't help too much when he keeps complaining about how worried he is regarding this delivery.  It doesn't make me feel any better, but he just doesn't get it.  It has been so hard to fit in workout time with this pregnancy.  Some of it is laziness, while the other (predominant) factor is time.  Evenings are the only time, but the hubs gets home at 5, I have to do dinner, then there is a little bit of time, bedtime for JB#1, and then a remaining hour before I HAVE to hit the hay.  Part of the issue is guilt.  The hubs works all day and then I do feel a little bad about ditching him and putting him on dad duty the remainder of the evening.  I know he doesn't mind, but I still feel a little guilty.  Once JB#2 comes, everything about "routines" will change so it may be a good time to readjust how we do things around here. 

Shower #2

This past weekend my sister's in law and two of my good friends threw a baby shower for me.  It was perfect!  The place was darling, the group was small, the treats delicious, and the presents were wonderful.  JB#1's shower was wonderful and we had a lot of people in attendance... although it was almost to the point that I didn't really get a chance to connect with everyone there.  I kind of felt like people came, dropped off presents, watched, and then left.  This time......I got a chance to really connect with most everyone. We had mimosa's, veggies, fruit, sandwiches, and delicious banana cake.  (the same one we had at our wedding... my favorite!)  We all got to write cute messages on newborn diapers along with creating custom designed onsies for Jelly Bean.  Here are a few photos from the event. 

A BIG thank you to everyone who came or sent along messages/gifts as well!

35 Weeks

Where is time going?  I swear things are moving so quickly, time wise, not delivery wise.  I feel ginormous and am busting at the seams almost everywhere.  I haven't developed any new stretch marks.  Wahoo... although three of my old ones have elongated by a centimeter or so.  Lets hope that another 5 weeks won't send theme zipping up to my neck.  I have been frantically working on the nursery this week.  My family and great friend are throwing a baby shower this weekend and it would be nice to be able to bring things home to a room that is ready.  I started out with sage green on the bottom and blue on the top.  I found some darling animals that came in pairs which I had planned to use as the separating border, along with some stenciling.  Once I painted the blue on top I almost threw up.  UGLY ELECTRIC BLUE is what it turned out like.  Yuck.  So back to the paint store... this time I found a soft tan color that is in the bedding and went well with the green.  Once the tan was up it looked a heck of a lot better.  Once I started to temporarily place the animals up I became more interested in the original border that I swore I wouldn't put up.  Once the hubs and I compared, we were sure that it looked way better than the animal figures.  The colors are all complimentary and very cute to say the least.  The bummer though is that one of the rolls was a misprint, so now we have to wait to get the other wall finished.  I will say though that the hubs and I are total retards when it comes to putting up wall paper border.  You would think it isn't that hard, but it took us forever to figure it out.  I almost gave a desperate plea call to my mother to help me over the phone.  We couldn't even figure out if the border was prepasted or not.  Stupid is as stupid does here.  Finally we found some directions and managed to make a mess of the floor before we finally got the border up.  I love it now.  I will post pictures once we get the other roll!

As for the pregnancy... things are well.  Starting next week I get to go every week and check in with the doctor. 

LOVE/HATE time:

Love:  I LUF me some Chocolate Teddy Grahms.  Why didn't I discover these sooner.  I bought some for Ms. JB the other day and I think I have polished off a 1/3 of the box.  It takes me months to go through those kind of treats with her.  With me eating them, it will be less than a month. :(  When this pregnancy is over I will have some serious dieting changes going on here.

Hate:  At my last appointment I found out that I am GBS positive.  Total suckage.  I made the mistake of looking for information on the internet, and ended up having to turn the darn thing off. As I have been finding out there are a lot of people who have tested GBS+ with their pregnancies.  It is a little more comforting to know that I can chat with a few who have been there.  For awhile I felt like a total stress ball; no one to talk to about it, still haven't talked to the dr. yet, and horrible misguided information pulled up on the internet.  I am praying that things will go smoothly and I hope that I get to the hospital fast enough to have the full round of antibiotics. 

Good Lord Lady!

We just got back from a lovely evening of EATING.  Grandpa and Pat are in town from Ohio and offered us a couple hours of babysitting so the hubs and I decided to visit the Cheesecake Factory.  (His first, my second time.)  Either way, we ate way too much.  Who doesn't when they go to this place?  I ended up taking home more than half of my dinner, knowing that I had to save room for the hubs and I to share a piece of cheesecake.  Ahhhhhh... sinful Brownie Sundae Cheesecake.  Needless to say my belly feels like it is going to pop.  LITERALLY.  The few times in my life when my belly has been tight, firm, felt like I am in shape, has been when I have been pregnant or my gut was blown up with gas for my appendectomy.  (Too bad I didn't get to fell it for the latter event.)  I have pretty much thrown the concept out the window that someday I will  have a firm stomach. As long as  my waistline stays smaller than my hips, I can see my toes, and my gut doesn't  protrude beyond my bahemeth boobs, then I will be ok.   But when you look at this photo all my criteria has faultered.  No, I can't see my toes standing up.  Yes, my gut protrudes beyond my boobs.  Yes, my waist is bigger than my hips.  I am in trouble! This photo is only week 32.... Good Lord I have 8 more weeks to go.

33 Weeks with a little love and hate!

33 weeks is here.  That means 7 weeks left, if I make it that far.  hummmm?  I have almost NOTHING ready.  I finally got the toddler out of the crib and now the room is ready to be revamped into a boys scheme.  I have no bag ready, nothing washed, blah blah blah.  JB#1's birthday is this weekend, so once all the festivities are over I will be in high gear to get all things prepared and ready.  Hopefully we will come up with a name as well, that hasn't even been decided upon either.  Poor little guy.  I haven't weighed myself in two days so I have no idea how the weight gain is, but lately it tends to fluctuate between a 0-2 pound weight gain over the course of two weeks.  I have my next OB appointment next week so we will see what he says.  I do have belly pics to post, but I just haven't sat down to dabble in any of the picture  mayhem that awaits.

So onto the LOVE/HATE relationships:

LOVE:  LOVE EBAY.  After learning my valuable lesson I can see why people become so seriously addicted, and in-debt, while shopping there.  I like tinkering around the baby department looking at all the things I want, or that I want to sell.  I think I need to do a little more reading before I get to carried away.  I did make two purchases though, this and this. (Although the base I purchased matches our base with a neutral color, not navy.  I just couldn't find the right picture.)

SECOND LOVE:  The cake like brownies that I made that are awaiting me downstairs once I finish this post!

HATE:  I can say that I hate being the big ole pregnant lady that totally wipes out in front of a crowd of people at the local Fred Meyer.  I slid on a piece of paper that was on the floor and luckily my left knee caught the entire impact.  Nothing like a hard-ass linoleum floor to bear the brunt of your weight.  I freaked out a little because I was so scared about the baby.  Luckily everything seems fine today. My knee and hand are sore, but baby seems to be back to his normal self.  I ended up having a swarm of Fred Meyer managers come and hunt me down after I had walked away embarrassed as heck.  They were very kind and gave me all the information I needed if I felt that I needed medical attention at a later time.  Next time I will look where I am walking!

Love/Hate Relationship

Love:  LOVE ICE CREAM!  Yes, I think that sweets and ice cream have been my ultimate craving for this pregnancy thus far.  I can polish off nice cold ice cream anytime.  I am trying to stick with the light ice cream just for the sake of calories and fat, but nothing beats a cold treat on hot summer days!

Hate:  UNDERWIRE BRAS.  Underwire bras are the curse of the devil.  Since I was in middle school I have had to wear underwire bras and I HATE them. When you are well-endowed  while pregnant and when not,  there is just no other option than an underwire bra.  I have had the blisters on the rib cage and the rubbing rashes under the armpits along with the groves in my shoulders and occasional rub marks on my back for years.  I hate it.  Being pregnant though creates a problem.  When I sit the wires like to rest on the pregnant belly because the rib cage is pretty much hidden under the ginormous belly.  This hurts and little Jelly Bean doesn't like it either.  He tends to kick like crazy and there isn't much I can do until I stand up.  Driving is the worst.  I did find a wireless bra the other day, but like always it provided very little support.  When I was pregnant with JB#1 I found a great maternity bra at Motherhood.  They are not nursing bras, rather just maternity bras. I snatched up two and since then I have nearly worn them to a thread.  The wire is plastic and soft, along with the wires don't reach my armpits so I don't have the uncomfortable wire poking and rubbing my armpit skin.  I have searched high and low at Motherhood and they do not make this type of bra anymore.  :( 
So there you have it, my Love~Hate relationship for the day.

32 Week check up

Yesterday was the 8 month check up.  I now move onto every two weeks I see the OB and then once I hit 36 weeks I will be there every week.  Good Lord this is going fast.

Things look well...Baby is still in the vertex position, 140+ heartbeat, my blood pressure is normal and I am not up any weight again. I spoke with him about the weight issue.  I am a little nervous that I haven't put much weight on...6-7 pounds.  He mentioned that he isn't concerned because the baby is still showing normal growth based on all of his measurements.  He mentioned too that I don't have any other areas of concern that would warrant him to be concerned; such as drug use, poor nutrition, protein in urine, high blood pressure, etc.  He just feels that the baby may not be as big as JB when she was born.  He is thinking maybe 7 to 7 1/2 pounds.  I kind of chuckled because that is what he said about JB before she was born and she ended up being an ounce or two away from 9 pounds.  Either way I will keep eating my yummy treats and drinking my water.

A Little Help is Needed

Topic #1
We are kind of in a bind right now regarding car seats and strollers. We have a two year old evenflo infant car seat that has one base and we plan to use it again for baby #2. Previously we only needed one base, but now that our daycare situation has changed we need two.  Of course, evenflo doesn't make the base anymore so I am in search of the appropriate base on eBay.  I am sure I will be able to get a base and this will solve our car seat situation, somewhat.  The other issue I don't have a clue about is whether to buy a tandem stroller or not.  We are big walkers and I know that eventually we are going to need to have a double stroller.  As I was shopping around for the baby #2 registry I couldn't decide between a tandem (front/back) that includes a fitting infant car seat  or not. If we don't get one that includes the car seat then it will be a long time before we can even put baby #2 in the stroller to take for a walk.  (Being that I am staying home for awhile, I can't imagine not having a stroller.)  JB is still too little to understand that she needs to hold on to the stroller or walk right next to it, instead she HAS to be strapped in.  So that is the dilemma.  Of those mothers out there with more than one child. and anyone else, what do you recommend?  What has worked well for you?

Topic #2
I am having the hardest time trying to find a paint color or a plan for that matter, that will work with this bedding.  The hubs chose this style and pattern.  It wasn't my top pick because I am much more for the blue transportation theme or aviation theme.  But now that all is said and done (and purchased) I need to come up with a plan.  I would like to use the light blue(sheep)  and the light green(whales) as paint colors in the room, but I also got the wall paper border (for free) that I can use too.  I don't really want the border up, but there is no way I am going to put crown molding up to separate the colors because we have bull nose corners in the baby's room and I can only foresee this as being a nightmare to install.  I think my only option is the border.  Drats!  I would love some ideas, or links of ideas too.

Is it possible?

Is it possible to birth this little guy here and now?  Lord knows I don't want that to happen, but there are times when it seems that he is just ready to pop out.  Literally.  He must have some LONG arms, because he is poking and prodding all areas down there either trying to make himself comfortable, or trying to get out.  I told the hubs that if this baby comes early we have only 7 weeks to get ourselves ready.  That is not too long from now.  It kind of freaks me out some, but it is also an incentive to get my arss in gear!

Side notes: 
*I don't recall with Jelly Belly the need to go to the bathroom all the time.  While sleeping I do recall having to get up in the middle of the night to pee, and I still have to do the same with Jelly Bean, but the urge to go ALL day?  What gives?  More than half the time I don't even have to urinate.  He must be pushing on my bladder causing me to feel the urge.  I assume this is what a bladder infection probably feels like. This bladder pressure isn't working well for when I try to walk or exercise in any form.  I last for such a short period of time and have to get back to the bathroom.  Rather frustrating I tell ya!
*Maternity Clothing-  All I have been wearing lately are my three pairs of maternity shorts and the hodge podge of shirts and tanks that I have.  I have one gripe about the shorts. (and all maternity bottoms for that matter)  You know the wide elastic band that most clothing has?  (No, not the belly panel.)  Manufacturers need to put into their clothing an elastic band that is thick, sturdy, and won't fold on itself.  My belly is tight, so there is no reason for the band to fold over or flip.  I always end up stitching the elastic in place all over the waist to prevent this from happening.  This problem would be solved with that one simple solution. 

OK, enough griping for now... I am off to blog and hit the hay!

30 weeks

I am feeling more like 35 weeks lately.  This ole' belly of mine is GROWING quickly, which is making it much harder for me to do almost anything.  Getting up and down off the floor is almost always accompanied by a grunt or two.  Come nap time for JB #1, I almost always want to nap myself.  (This is not very helpful when trying to accomplish the world.)  Come evening I am ready to check out and hit the hay early.  Tired and Large are two words to best describe the current feeling.  I am also beginning to feel lots of pressure.  I am not sure if this is just due to the fact that I have already birthed one child and things are more "ready," or is it that this little guy is getting gigantic and wanting to tempt me with an early arrival.  I can only hope that this little guy makes it full term, but at times it feels like he may want to come earlier due to the fact that I can't keep him in there much longer.  I definitely am eager to talk to my doctor in two weeks to see what he has to say.

Hiccups!

With JB #1 I don't recall her having the hiccups too much. Some folks talk about how their babies, while in utero, hiccup non-stop which in-turn causes their bellies to shake and such.  We have been staying with my folks for the 4th of July weekend, and last night I think it is safe to say that I felt little Jelly Bean have the hiccups.  I woke up around 3:00 am due to the gigantic root beer I had before I fell asleep and my bladder was not about to let me continue sleeping.  After JB#1 woke up at 3:45 am with a soft muttering, I was bound to not be able to fall back asleep.  I managed to lie there, wide awake, waiting to fall asleep.  Around 5ish I could feel this light, constant, tapping in my belly.  It had to be the hiccups.  They lasted for almost five minutes and then eventually subsided.  I managed to fall asleep around 6, but then was woken up again around 7.  Ahhhh... The joys of being a parent.  Someday our kids will be teenagers and all they will want to do is sleep.  Even though I don't want my kids to grow up fast, I do look forward to that day!

I am still here

It seems that it has been eons since I have blogged over here.  Things are moving along great. I just hit 7 months on Wednesday and am officially into the third trimester.  I do believe that this morning I felt the baby do a full flip, maybe not a full flip but pretty darn close. It was that incredibly slow, tight, almost painful movement that was big and it woke me up out of my restful sleep.  The baby has been in the breech position and I am hoping that what I felt this morning was him setting himself head down.  I will know for sure once I feel the numerous kicks in my ribs.  JB ended up laying sideways for quite sometime and when I hit 28 weeks, I got to actually see her move to the head-down position.  (vertex I think they call it)  We were at a 3-D ultrasound appointment and she just kept moving like crazy.  Of course my doctor won't do an ultrasound from this point on, unless of course it is medically necessary, but I guess we just get to wait and see if he is really in the vertex position.  I am hoping for a vaginal delivery with number 2.  If I do have to do a cesarean, that would be OK, but I am really rooting for a natural delivery, of course with the blessed epidural!

25 Weeks

On Wednesday I had my 4 week check up.  I entered the office tired as heck and probably seemed like a real lame patient who didn't have much to say.  After working, driving like a bat out of hell to the doctor's office and then WAITING in the lobby for quite sometime, tiredness took over and I was pretty much useless.  My blood pressure was low (mellow), I heard the baby's heartbeat, and we chatted about my annoying allergies.  Wahoo.  Not a lot of excitement, but I will take a lack of excitement over some problem.

Along the lines of baby talk.  I have been really contemplating how to set up the sleeping arrangement for the first three months or so for little Jumping Bean. We have two floors and I am petrified of Jelly Belly literally jumping on the new baby while we are downstairs.  We use to let Jelly Belly sleep on the hassock or couch when she was VERY little and didn't know how to move.  But now, she is a monster on the hassock.  She likes to think of it as her own trampoline.  (Thanks to daycare.)  Regardless... I will HAVE to set up the pack and play downstairs  to use as a refuge from the jumping Jelly Belly.  But.....what do I use upstairs in our room?  I was thinking about buying a moses basket that can be used in our bed, or possible another pack and play.  I don't think I want a co-sleeper because they are so expensive.  I don't know... I am just in a dilemma.  Any ideas?

On another note... I have a serious case of the munchies.  I feel like all I want to do is eat in the evening.  I still haven't gained much weight, but if I continue my pattern I will return to ultra blimp status by the end of this pregnancy. I am so NOT a public person who shows much of their body in any way, shape, or form.  But I did decide to try and capture photos of this pregnancy.  I think I have only a couple of photos of me pregnant while I was preggers with Jelly Belly.  So here is a 23 week belly shot of me with JB#2:

 

6 Months Milestone

It is here!  The 6 month mark!  I officially am only wearing my maternity bottoms and still haven't ventured over to to the maternity shirts.  I still have a long ways to go.  I am feeling the little guy move more than ever.  I think I feel big bumps and then ticklish scraping of hands or feet.  Otherwise all is well.  I wish I could have an ultrasound at every appointment so that I could see how he is doing.  I also wish this so that they could measure his physical growth in all areas; brain development, organs, overall length, fetal position, etc.  I don't know of any insurance plans that allow this, unless of course I was Katie Holmes and I had Tom Cruise to buy me my own personal ultrasound machine.  (I got that from my sappy...horrible...STAR subscription.)  I don't think I am into converting into Scientology.

23 1/2 Weeks

I bursted the bubble with my students yesterday.  I wanted to make sure and chat with the kids before our big field trip today because it is getting harder and harder to hide my belly and I knew that I would have tons of parents attending on our trip who would be curious.  I ended up reading,  My Teacher's Having a Baby to my students.  Did they get it?  No.  It was a little hard for them to come up with what they thought I had in common with the main character of the story.  Of course they spewed out some of the cutest answers, but I eventually had to tell them exactly that "I was going to have a baby boy like the main character in the story did."  Finally they got it.  A few parents talked to me today about it, but not as many as I expected.

Things are feeling good, JB#2 is moving like crazy.  He is very active and likes to start doing his gymnastics once I lay down at night for bed.  I am thinking that flipping is his specialty.  Soon we are coming up on the 6 months mark.  6 months people!  My Lordy time has just flown by!

22 Weeks!

Today marks week number 22!  Yahoo.  For the second time I wore my preggo pants.  Ahhhh.... There is nothing more comfortable then a gargantuat elastic band to hold up your pants over your ever expanding belly.  :sigh:  Most people cannot tell that I am pregnant at all, but come the end of the day my belly seems to protrude nicely.  It is almost as if JB#2 likes to kick back after being held in all day with constricting work clothes.  As the end of the day approaches my tummy has less room and if I eat a large meal it hurts.  I tried to eat the ever-indulging scoop of ice cream tonight and I ended up having to give it to the hubs because it was just too much.  With a pressure pushed tummy maybe this will help control my portion size.  I still haven't gained any weight and it sure would be nice to not gain any so that when this baby comes I will be lighter than when I got pregnant.  I highly doubt this will happen, especially since I can tell I am just barely maintaining.  Wishful thinking I guess!

For those of you that have been hanging out wondering what the gender will be......I will fill you in.  I sent out announcements that included an "airplane" bottle of Jack Daniels wrapped in blue with a tag that read, "Please help us celebrate come September!" 

Did you get it? ... the gender that is.

21 weeks today

I went to my monthly OB appointment and was told to wait out in the lobby because things were a little chaotic.  Hurm........?  Not a good sign.  Within 10 minutes my OB/GYN doctor came running out the lobby door and sprinted across the roadway to the hospital across the street.  My doctor is a semi-older man, probably 55-65 years of age.  It was kind of cute seeing him sprint out of there knowing that he had an emergency delivery to take care of.  I am sure most people waiting would be a little upset knowing that your "appointment" is leaving right in front of you.  In addition, it takes almost a month to reschedule an appointment for the time you want.  For me it got me a little excited. I can wait any day for my OB/GYN as long as when it is my turn he is there when I need him.  Kind of like the principle, "what goes around, comes around."  Some woman was having a baby right then!  Thank the Lord he was there to help her!  That is what I want when it is my turn. Luckily the regular nurse was able to see me and run all the necessary tests needed, she even used the Doppler to hear the baby's heartbeat.  Ahhh... assurance.  After our appointment she was able to schedule me for tomorrow at the same time so that the doctor has a chance to talk with me as well.  Thank goodness because he has the ultra-sound images to review and share with me so I am very curious about his feedback/input.   I know I couldn't wait another four weeks for that.

20 weeks

20 weeks came and will soon be over. I had the BIG ultrasound today and things turned out great.  From the looks and sounds of everything it appears that baby #2 is doing great.  #2 squirmed around the entire time. Currently "it" is in the "breech" position and "it" managed to do a complete turn around from my left side to my right side.  Based on the measurements JB #2 is almost directly 20 weeks.  I got to see the 4 chambers of the heart, the bladder, kidneys, brain, cerebellum, toes, fingers, face, spine, and all the other adorable parts.  We found out the gender today as well but I am waiting to inform the masses once I have surprised all of the family. Besides the 64 ounces of water I had to drink in two hours, due to a rescheduling conflict, everything was calm and relaxing. 

So... Here is my poll.  What do you think the gender is?  Please do tell.

Where Has the Time Gone?

Things are moving along quite well.  At the last OB appointment they finally heard the heartbeat.  Every time they have had to do the ultrasound so that they could see the chambers moving.  Things sound good.  I had the 17 week blood work and everything came back clear.  Now the next phase is the big 20 week ultrasound where we get to find out the sex of the baby.  Wahoo! 

The only throw back lately was the horrible case of the flu that hit this house.  I would take it any day over my little Jelly Belly having it, but being pregnant sure doesn't help.  Retching and retching make for some horrible nights.  Things are better now and I just pray they stay that way!

Almost Month 4

4 months?  Holy cow!  Where has the time gone.  I am feeling very normal now-a-days and often times don't feel pregnant at all.  In the back of my mind I hope everything is OK, but for now I will take this middle of the road feeling.  Truthfully I am at the half fat/half pregnant feeling.  Clothes don't fit.  I pulled out all the maternity clothes and it feels like it will be eons before I will be able to fit into my preggo pants. I must find a comfortable in between.  I just pray that my current fat ass will fit into all the preggo pants with ease and some room.  I am about 12 pounds heavier than last time and who knows what it will be down the road.  I know I am not suppose to loose weight while pregnant, but I sure as hell am not going to try and put weight on.  No thanks!  The real treat would be having baby #2 and ending up lighter than I was when I got pregnant with #2.  Wishful thinking probably, but I will keep hoping for that.

As for the name, JUMPING BEAN, I think I will be changing that once we know the gender of the baby.  I have a girly nickname picked out, but none for a boy. 

Pee anyone?

I am at 14 1/2 weeks currently and not a whole lot has changed.  On Friday I wore my jeans to work being that is was "casual day" and all.  Lets just say that the jeans will soon need to be retired to the closet shelf.  This belly is not fitting into them.  I came home from work on Friday feeling like total crap.  Gassy, bloated, cinched in the middle, you know all the typical feelings when it feels like your pants are severing you in half.  I even pulled out all my maternity clothes to just see what I have for down the road.  I have totally forgotten a lot of the clothing items.  I put a few on and knew right away that I still have a long way to go before I can even come close to fitting into most of my clothes.  I do not enjoy the in between time.  Normal clothes don't fit, but maternity clothes are gigantic.  That is where I am and I know I will be there for another 12 to 14 weeks.  Fun times ahead!

What the Hell?

With my first pregnancy I recall feeling very normal.  Up until I started showing I would sometimes forget that little miss JB was cooking away.  Of course the crappy nausea wasn't fun, but that didn't last long.  With the new JBean I cannot believe how tired I am.  It seems that I have the energy to make it through the morning with JB and then at work I tend to do alright with all the little 5 and 6 year olds.  As SOON as I am home I just want to crumple into a ball and whisk away into dream land under my comfy covers in my gigantic bed that swallows me whole.  I have to fight every urge to snuggle in on the couch and let miss JB watch Elmo or Teletubbies while I drift off.  Screw dinner, all I want is sleep.  I am getting good sleep at night, but I just can't fight the sleepiness in the early evening.  It could be that I had a headache for two days and it is finally passed.  Who knows?  I just would like my spunk back.

As for Jumping Bean, I am not liking it much.  I need a different nickname.  Hum.

Another Important Week

This Wednesday I go in for my second OB appointment.  I will be 12 weeks 6 days when I go in.  What I am most excited about is hearing the heartbeat.  At the first OB appointment the doctor just looked for the heartbeat.  There was one, occasionally.  It wasn't a steady picture and there was no audio to the ultrasound either.  So hearing the heartbeat will be nice.  Of course at the last appointment all of the baby's measurements are right on target, so that in itself means that this little baby is growing like they should be. 

I will get to tell the doctor about the nasty headaches I have been getting.  I don't remember having so many with JB, but now it seems like I get them every other day.  It could be the MS, but at times it really feels just like a normal headache.  I have been consuming way too much sugar lately and I have self diagnosed the fact that I have been eating too much sugar which is causing me headaches.  Of course this isn't probably the answer, but maybe it is enough for me to stop eating all the yummy Easter candy!

9 1/2 Weeks

Wasn't the title some trashy soft porn movie that I once saw?  Yikes, maybe it should be titled 9 3/4 weeks.  That would be better.  I am feeling very good.  I still have the occasional nausea, but for the most part, the sick feeling has subsided.  I have noticed that if I eat something that my body doesn't agree with, it lets me know.  We recently went to a Valentine's Party and something I had there, send my stomach over the edge.  It took a good 24 hours for it to pass.  It could have been the prosciutto (sp?), who knows, all I know was the food was grubbin' and I wanted to eat more than my social party share!  Another time!  I still keep losing weight.  I am down 5 lbs, but I really think a lot has to do with my sour stomach.  Once things settle, I am sure the weight gain will begin.  :(  I read a post over at Rachael's site that scared me somewhat.  Everything she said brought to the surface most things I fear with two children.  Most importantly...lack of sleep.  I don't even want to stress about it now.  That will have to be for later!

It is official!

Yesterday was my first OB/GYN appointment.  I had decided to wait awhile before going in.  I know some places won't even let you come in until you are 12 weeks, but my doctor would have let me come in a lot sooner if I wanted.  I felt like a veteran in there yesterday.  Of course my doctor is wonderful and made sure to make me feel at home with this new pregnancy.  With my existing medical condition he didn't seem too concerned.  He will continue to monitor me like normal and I can just pray that nothing happens.  So once he say the heartbeat he did the crown to rump length and the baby appears to be right on track.  Based on measurements the due date is September 15th, where as based on my last period the due date is September 14th.  Pretty close! 

If I had a scanner I would scan in the ultrasound pictures.

Fat Factor

It is official.  I am losing weight, little by little, but I feel like I am expanding at the waistline.  I know I have quite sometime before I really will start expanding, but towards the end of the day (after standing for quite sometime) I can feel my belly protruding.  I already have enough there that protrudes without being pregnant, but I am now noticing a little extra push.  Arggg.

I have totally given up coffee.  This happenend with JB and I have no desire to touch the stuff.  The hubs makes a pot and the smell repulses me.  I am even passing by the latte stands.  I am wondering if maybe this will be the end for good.  I don't miss it and I think I am ready to give it up.  I have no desire to go back.

This week is the big appointment.  Wednesday!

7 1/2 Weeks

I have scheduled my first appointment with the OB/GYN.  I am excited to stay with the same doctor that delivered Jelly Belly.  When I was preggos with JB I went in when I was 6 weeks and this time I am waiting.  I know they can't hear or see much until after the 8 week mark so I thought it would be best to go in around 9 weeks.  I can hardly wait to get their affirmative conclusion that there is life inside of me.  I do believe I am pregnant, don't get me wrong, it is just that I have miscarried before and when I thought I was pregnant I really wasn't.  That experience has scarred just how much I trust my instincts.  So, I can only count down the days when I get to go into the doc.  Wahoo!

Note:  Still have the nausea but it just isn't as constant. Good sign for now!

Still pluckin' along

We are at seven weeks for sure!  I will just repeat the same story!  The NAUSEA is still here!  I have a crappy cold right now and this doesn't seem to help the situation.  I would love to take some over the counter cold medicine to help alleviate the symptoms temporarily.  There are few out there that are ok, but truthfully, nothing is good when I am only seven weeks along.  It is important that I don't mess with the first trimester development, especially within the crucial twelve weeks.   Besides that, I found this photo and was in awe!  HE/SHE is the size of a raspberry right now.   Wow!  On the size note, a gal I work with just had her daughter today, via Cesarean.  Her little girl weighed 6 pounds and 18.5 inches long.  The crazy thought is that will be us soon!