Christmas Miracles

Just a quick post to show a couple of pictures mainly.  Christmas came and went so quickly, it barely feels like it was here.  I flew out on Friday night with only a slight delay, John flew out on Saturday night with the exact same delay.  All in all, it was a fun trip.

My cousins and I did cookies Saturday morning - a family tradition.  The older cousins help the younger cousins roll and cut sugar cookies and then decorate.  We did a few less this year, which is the way to go because many of the younger kids get tired and eventually wander off.  We'll be adding another to the mix next year -- he'll be even less interested than the 7 year old... ha. 

Sunday my dad and I did our annual present trek while John went to Arrowhead Stadium with my uncle and cousin to check out the Chiefs.  If nothing else, he got to see another stadium!  And they were the early game, which meant that he and my Uncle John were able to make it back to the house to catch the beginning of the Bear's game which is all they were really concerned with.  (With a nice little stop over at Gates BBQ -- one of my favorite places on earth)

Sunday is our big family gathering and present opening.  I was terrible and didn't get any pictures of the craziness that ensues -- to give a brief idea, there are 11 (??) kids under 18 in the family... most of which are under 10.  So it becomes a little bit of a madhouse.  But, as they get older the easier it gets to go through everyone.  I brought my dad up to the current century with a digital camera this year.  I thought it was time for him to join the digital age, especially with a grandson on the way!  (Christmas Miracle #1)

My talented and beautiful cousin did my eye make-up for me, so I actually showed up to Christmas with more than just mascara on.  (Christmas Miracle #2)

Our last picture just to the two of us!  Yikes....

 

Christmas day we travel back home to Chicago.  There was no blizzard this year so we didn't have to go with our fall back of my dad driving us back.. a welcome relief to this pregnant lady who probably would have made the 9 hour drive turn into 12 with the various stops I would have had to make.  

The big news of the weekend --- Katie and Marla got engaged!!!  Marla proposed on Christmas morning.  She made a great video of pictures of the two of them with the tune of "Marry Me"... I think everyone cried.  John and I weren't back yet, but we heard all about it.  (Christmas Miracle #3)  I'm so excited for them!!  What great years 2013 and 2014 will be!  Can't hardly wait..

So that wraps up Christmas.  We had a great time with family, of course it always passes too quickly and I never get enough time -- but it was great to see everyone.  One good thing about this timing (that helps counteract the sadness over missing some of the greatest beer releases of the season) is that I got an "interim" visit with my family..... I didn't just show up the next Christmas with a baby.  I think that would have been a mind trip...  

I hope all had a wonderful and safe holiday!  Can't wait to get this new year started and see what it brings.

75% cooked

I have promised pictures -- and pictures I shall deliver!  I'm nearly 75% done with this pregnancy business, and I can't even barely believe it.  We finally went to Buy Buy Baby today to kind of check it out and touch two of the more important items we are looking to buy, the stroller and the car seat.  It was a good trip, as we were able to figure out important things like "how the hell does the car seat come off the base?  Why are there so many buttons?  What do you get for an extra $220?"  I think we were able to answer most of those questions, and now the fun of registering begins. 

What else is new?  Doctor's appointment was yesterday for my 30 week check-up.  I think I've gained more weight in the last week and a half (Christmas food is so good) than I have the entire 29.5 before it.  Heartbeat was at 137, belly was measuring on track... and the swelling in my right hand is not a sign of strange things to come, just probably the way I'm sleeping and/or having to do with the bruise-like feeling I've had in my hand for the last 3 or so months.  Lack of movement isn't anything to worry about yet, and it seems like he just has some off weeks.  Today he was grooving along while I worked, so he's definitely still in there.  I don't go back for three weeks to get back to my even numbered week schedule.  John and I are signing up for a class soon (perhaps tonight if I finish this quick enough). 

Below are the last four weeks for your viewing pleasure. 

Week 27: The Calm Cucumber

Week 28: The Cribbed Cauliflower

Week 29:  The Capricious Cabbage

Week 30: The Bubbly Butternut Squash

It's starting to be much more obvious in regular clothes now, so I've definitely graduated to the "oh, you're pregnant" stage which is much better than the "are you pregnant or fat" stage.  I'm a big fan.  I'm hoping it will also provide my work with visible proof that my leave needs to be determined sooner than later.  

As for nursery, I have a couple pictures that show a little bit more of how the prints are being used.  

The crib with the Eat Well Travel Often print hung above.  The Chicago Bookshelf print will be hung to the left above the eventual glider.  

Our shelving which we have to figure out the spacing for still.  The dresser/changing table will go below.

From the front door, the print to the right we got in Ireland while we were there.  Our next thing we  need is new (read CLEAN) blinds.... Hopefully that will happen soon because these ones are gross!

We are getting close to the end game, and we are wrapping our heads around being ready for it.  I think we are nearly there.  After going to the baby store today, it's definitely feeling more and more real and the realization that we will bring home a baby in about 10 weeks is sinking in.  

Next is a quick post on Christmas and all the festivities of Kansas City and Chicago.  I don't think there is too much going on otherwise... other than the fact that I'm getting used for a dance floor again.  Still a bizarre feeling, but I'll take it.  This kid might not know Bach or Mozart when he gets here, but he'll certainly enjoy Maroon 5, 90's rap, and various other pop culture icons... not sure if that's good or bad yet. 

Short Update

This is just a short update to give a picture of the crib and another print that I purchased a few weeks ago that came back from the framer.  I've been a little behind where I was hoping to be in updating on my blog, but work has been a bit insane and of course I do love to just throw in way too much life "stuff" - like Drinksgiving for 20+ of our closest friends, a concert, birthday celebrations, holiday parties... the usual.  Tonight is the first night I haven't had something planned since last Monday, and I'm loving it.  I have to work of course, but at least that's the only thing I have planned, other than relaxing and possibly falling asleep on the couch.  

I bought this at the Renegade Holiday Market.  It's essentially the Chicago skyline on a bookshelf, where the titles of the books are the names of the buildings.  I'm pretty excited about it.

And our crib!  We moved it around about 3 dozen times, and think right now that this is the best use of the space in the room.  We have the "Eat Well; Travel Often" hung right above.  I have pictures, but not on my phone of course.  So I'll have to post a few more (and be as repetitive as possible).

I'm holding off on any other prints for a while - mainly because we don't have a whole lot of room in our little nursery, and especially because we don't have a lot of wall space.  I'm also a little bit nervous that if I get too many (like I would love to do) then it will start to turn into wallpaper.  Our next steps are getting a dresser, registering, and getting a rug.  So we are starting to narrow it down.

Otherwise, all seems to be going well.  I had my end of week 28/start of week 29 appointment last Friday.  Heartbeat was still strong in the 140's, everything seems to be going well from what my doctor could tell.  So that was good.  

One thing that I find frustrating right now, and nerve-wracking, is that he's really slowed down on the movement front over the last week/week and a half.  I used to feel like my belly was trying to escape from my body, and now there are times when I don't know for sure that he's actually there.  So maybe he's just starting to sleep during all the times that I'm awake and only move at night or when I'm not paying attention?  But it's a little worrisome.  My doctor said not to freak out about movement until week 30, that's when she wants me to focus on the counts and all that jazz.  I find that to be good advice (the not worry or freak out part) but geez, it's impossible to follow.  Any tips out there?  I tried some juice this morning, I'm drinking a ton of water. But he's still a little bit stagnant these days.  I'm trying to avoid calling my doctor since I go back to see her in 8 days - and I really don't think there is anything to worry about, especially since I saw her 5 days ago and everything looked good.  

I leave for KC on Friday, back on Tuesday.  That will be a nice little break.  Going to be a little crazy to be around all my family - but definitely looking forward to it!  Hopefully I'll be able to catch up on a LITTLE bit of sleep, although I kind of doubt it.  

And just another thought -- I seriously underestimated the intelligence of men apparently when creating a maternity policy... I like to think that they are smart/sensible people who run my company - but apparently the idea that I would be out for 12 weeks was completely lost on them.  All I can say is "wow".... But hopefully with a little prodding from me, they'll come to see the errors of their ways.  Until then I keep sending them emails about various other engineering company policies that all essentially say the same thing.  I have 80 days (to due date at least) to have them figure this shiznit out.  Cross fingers that at least they decide to meet the minimum instead of their current idea of 2 paid days, then borrowing vacation for the rest or taking unpaid...... (I did realize though that apparently my boss didn't realize that I would be out for 12 weeks, so he figured apparently that I would only need to borrow a couple of weeks of vacation because I would be back in about 3-4 weeks....really?)  My first question should have been "did you show your wives this policy"... I didn't ask that.  I did ask important questions like - how long is my job guaranteed, will I continue to get my benefits while I'm on leave, will you enact short term disability... all the things that I figured they had looked into.  Apparently "google" is lost on them?  I might have chosen an interesting time to work for a company that is exempt from FMLA.

Crib is in the house...

... and it will be put up promptly once we have some time.  So in about 19 years from now once he leaves for college.

Okay, I won't wait nearly that long, but honestly, who has time to put a crib together between work deadlines, Christmas concerts, tap takeovers (moral support), and brunch?

Say goodbye to the 2nd tri

Holy smokes!  It's two-thirds of the way over.  I can't believe it.  It has gone so fast, and I'm now less than 100 days away from my due date - which means it's really soon that we could be bringing this little guy home with us.  Yikes!

We are currently trying to enjoy as much as we can - while our house is reaching it's 15-20 life span apparently.  We went to another Bears game (season tickets are so amazing - I want them every year) and the weather was just beautiful.  I realize I'm wearing a poofy coat in the the second picture, but that was more precautionary so that I wouldn't feel cold and it was the end of the game.  And, it's the coat I bought at the end of last season on sale, so I'm trying to get as much wear from it as I can before I'm carrying a watermelon and it won't zip anymore.

See the sweet argyle scarf behind my left ear?  If we had been on time to the game, I probably would have gotten one.  Oh well, the spicy v-bloody mary and veggie burrito were worth it too.

Everyone looks happy because we won!!  It was a great game to be attending, it would have probably been a boring game to go to since it was essentially a blow out.

Just a random pic of the turned off Buckingham Fountain with the city skyline.  

So, how is our house falling apart you may ask?  Well, we had a chimney sweeper person (no, they were NOT dressed like those in Mary Poppins, nor did they sing and dance, or jump from rooftop to rooftop - seriously disappointing) come and check our dryer vent and our fireplace.  The insert in our fireplace is cracked (ugh) and the dryer vent through either their own methods of cleaning or through the problem of our venting being done poorly in the mid-90's essentially collapsed and fell apart.  That means we are a bit ghetto right now with venting our dryer through our back door because otherwise we could set fire to our building.  And as much as I do appreciate the work of our fine firefighters, I feel like I would like to not experiment with using a fire extinguisher.  So we are hoping to rip our ceiling a little bit and snake a new hose through there to fix our dryer venting.  

I guess that's the main of it, in the end it's more of a pain in the butt, and not actually that we are going to have our house condemned.  But seriously, as John said yesterday "it seems like owning our condo for the first two years was 'gravy' (yes, he said gravy?), and now we are getting essentially sh*t on at every turn".  I have to say that I tend to agree, although I don't know that I would have said gravy.  I'm hoping that these will be the worst of it, and we will only essentially be left with minor things after this - but I imagine that with such an old building it won't be.  I miss the days of calling a landlord when things were broken -- it's strangely difficult to dial my own number from my own phone.  I always get a busy signal.  

We're getting quite the eclectic start to our nursery.  Side note: we've actually started using the word "nursery" in every day conversation, so that it's not as shocking when we actually have to start using it that way.  We have a wooden moose (thanks Katie for our awesome present!), an orange corduroy aardvark (love him!), Paddington Bear, the Crawling Bear from when I was a kid (he doesn't crawl, but his shirt assures him he can), and of course our family motto print (Eat Well, Travel Often) -- this is probably a serious repeat, but I forget where I post things and who sees them, so figured I would also share on here.

And we are going to get a rug from Flor.  Molly works there and has been so kind as to off her services to help us getting it ordered (which I believe comes with a discount!).  Sorry for the poor quality of the picture - but I took a picture of the rug we want off my computer screen. 

We might change a couple of the colors out, I think the blue/green we will pick to be a bit darker to match the color in the print.  I'm excited for it though.  Should be fun, and bright!  

I wish I was better at figuring out those "inspiration boards", that would probably be a lot better presentation.  I'll work on that.  See what I can come up with.  I'm savvy, maybe not tech savvy, but I'm savvy.  I should be able to figure something out.

And finally, my last picture of my last week of my 2nd trimester.  I say adieu to the last 26 weeks, and bonjour to the final 13 weeks and 6 days.  

I'm pretty sure I'm not ready for this.  I don't think I'll ever be ready -- but I guess I don't have too much time left to think about it before diving right in. 

He's moving a lot more, although not consistent or anything.  I can actually feel him a lot more.  I don't notice any time more than others really, but I do realize that he moves around a lot more on Saturday mornings - which clearly is because Saturday mornings are the best time of the week.  So he's already brilliant!  Ha.. lame sauce, I know.  But it's cool to have him move around.  It's still kind of creepy since my body is no longer my own and moves on it's own accord, but you know, I'll take it.  Ha. 

I've realized in the last few days, now that I'm starting to actually feel big, I might have a bit more Hoyt in me than I would like, with worrying about weight and how I look.  I realize that getting round comes with the process, but I'm really struggling with it.  It's tough for me, and I have a hard time accepting that it's okay.  I'm hoping that as I start to feel more pregnant that it will help.  Until then, we'll see how it goes.  I just need to get myself moving and off the couch and maybe do some more walking and go to the gym or something (I'm paying that every month for a reason, right??).  So yeah, just some of the random things that I find hard .. I guess it's not so bad.

What was the favorite part of being pregnant for others?  When did you really feel pregnant?  I'm just getting there, and I'm 6 months in.. ha.  What are every one's plans for the holidays?  We are going to KC again until Christmas Day and then flying back home to Chicago.... doing something fun for our last New Year's as just the two of us... Should be a good time.

Personal gripe time:  Chicago bar bathrooms.  They are always so freaking cold!  Don't they keep heaters in there???  Grrr, gets me every time.  :)

Me eat cookie

I know I know, two posts within almost a matter of hours..... I'm inspired because I realized I forgot to post the link to the recipe to cookies that I made for our Thanksgiving feast.  I waited until Thursday morning, when we needed to be up north by about 11/11:30... But they were super quick and delicious, and embodied everything for Thanksgiving - pumpkin, dessert, and instead of the dried cherries I used dried cranberries to make it a bit more festive.

Here's the recipe - I HIGHLY recommend...

http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/pumpkin-oatmeal-cookies/

I didn't have parchment paper, so I just lightly greased the baking sheet.  I think that I probably cooked them a bit too long (and I was on the light side).  So definitely keep an eye on them.

They were a pretty big hit though, and they felt pretty light after such a heavy meal.

So enjoy!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Happy Thanksgiving to all!  I hope that everyone ate to their hearts content, laughed until their bellies hurt, and just enjoyed the holiday.  I know I did all of those things, and I'm still trying to figure out how to breathe with my abdomen being taken over by a nearly 2 lb baby.  It makes it really hard to gorge myself, which was slightly disappointing.  But, probably better for me in the long run.

We spent the day up north at John's parents house, my dad came in from Dayton, and we had a great time.  This time my dad used flour instead of powdered sugar for the gravy (oops!), John smoked a ham, Pat cooked a turkey, and we had all the regular fixing's and it was fantastic!  We all laughed and shared stories, exactly what I envision the holiday to be.  I can't even imagine what our next year will be like with our little guy being a part of it.  And if he's anything like JuliAnna's little boy, he'll be walking (!!!) or if he's anything like me, he'll will have no interest in walking whatsoever. 

On more baby related news, we have been working on the nursery transformation.  We decided to get rid of the green walls (which I have disliked since we moved in) and really get going on it.  It was quite the process as I'm a little bit of a mini-hoarder.  But we managed to box everything up, take the shelves off the wall, and get crackin'.  Actually, John did pretty much all of it.  He took the week off and spent it going up and down ladders and inhaling paint.  It was quite the success in the end.  He did a wonderful job.  We picked a gray color that is nearly the same color as the rest of the house, on accident, but I think it will go great as a backdrop for all of the things we have going in to the room. 

The other day we were listening to the radio, and the people were talking about "how you know when your guy is ready for a baby'... and most of the answers were the standard "he's noticing babies.... he wants to hold a baby...".  I realized mine this last week.  I realized how ready John was for our little guy when he started becoming a little bit crazed with house projects.  He has been a man on a mission.  We got a new faucet for our kitchen, we painted the nursery, we started looking at vanities for our bathrooms, and started talking about all the things that we want to get done in the next four months.  I wish I had realized all of these things before, I might have pushed or this baby thing a little earlier so that our house could have been in a much different level of completeness! 

I have promised pictures for a while now, and I would hate to disappoint, so below are some pictures of the room:

 Cleanest this floor has looked for as long as we've been here.  This wall is where we will have the crib, the non-window wall.

 The wall without the window will have the shelves on it, as well as the dresser/changing table.

 Now the doors to the closet need to be painted - they used to be the best looking thing in the room, now they look terrible!

Oh yeah, I look awesome.  Haha.

I'm excited to start getting all the pieces put together and really get everything going.  Crib is on the horizon, possibly stroller, and I'm still trolling craigslist looking for the perfect mid-century wooden dresser.  I've already gotten a Paddington Bear and an orange corduroy aardvark, and we have a stash of things from my Aunt Kelly and John's family... So we are getting there.  And we are getting excited about everything -- if only I could figure out what my maternity policy will be so that I can start getting prepared for that.  One day.... one day.

How's pregnancy treating me you might ask?  Well, so far it's been going exceptionally well.  My doctor says I'm looking good, I'm passing all my "tests", my glucose levels are ridiculously normal, my questions are pretty mundane, and I'm feeling great.  I'm having some serious problems in my left hip, a hip that hurt before and now seems like it's just kind of falling apart.  But the good news is that  I start PT this week to try and help me loosen it up.  As long as it helps me so that I can walk by the end of this pregnancy, then I think it will be a win for me.  I'm looking forward to that for sure.  

Oh fun fact - I finally was able to feel him move!  Now, I don't get to feel him very often, but it was pretty exciting to feel him really start moving.  I was starting to get really nervous, I had asked my doctor about it and she wasn't worried at all.  She said it could still be too early, and it would be intermittent.  But that Sunday after my appointment I was woken up by this crazy feeling in my belly.  I started pressing my hands and I could actually feel him on the outside moving around as well.  It was pretty fantastic, not going to lie.  But of course, it's like 9am and John is still not quite up yet.  I whispered at him to see if he was awake yet (he wasn't) so then I just laid there and hoped that John would wake up before the little guy decided to stop moving around.  Luckily, not too long after John rolled towards me and I was able to get him to put his hand and he actually was able to feel it too.  It was pretty awesome.  Not going to lie.  Since then, it's been really sporadic, but I like being able to feel it every once in a while.  He moved around a little bit after lunch/dinner tonight, so I was feeling pretty confident that he must be my kid if he's excited about Thanksgiving food.   Ha.

I wish I had more to say -- other than the stomach skin feeling like an Indian rug burn, it's been "easy" and I feel so incredibly lucky.  I'm hoping that there are no more all-nighters in my future (I still don't think I've recovered from that), and much more rest and relaxation.  John has been fantastic, and he gets me water and cooks dinner and does dishes... many of those things he did before, but he does them in a much happier way than he used to.  Ha.  

Without further ado - here are my latest pictures... I finally broke down and bought maternity pants and clothes.  I have to say, why on EARTH don't we just live in elastic pants?  They are amazing!  I didn't realize what I was missing, and I'm sad that I am waiting until nearly my 3rd trimester to get started with them.  I now essentially wear comfy pants all day long.  I heart pregnancy.  :)

(Oh yeah, and next Friday -- not tomorrow Friday -- is the start of my third trimester.... holy crap balls)

 Week 23:  The Peaceful Papaya (still not moving... still waiting)

 Week 24: The Erratic Ear of Corn (just felt movement!!)

Week 25:  The Effervescent Eggplant (still kickin')

I waited a little long to take the picture this week, but at least I managed to get it in before the next week rolls in.  Here's to my last week of the 2nd trimester!  Hopefully it goes as well as the others have been so far.  Looking forward to the final stage, and riding out the rest of this crazy journey.

Sandy Lake Michigan

It's been a while.  I've been so busy with work, it's a little bit overwhelming.  Hopefully these deadlines can end soon so that I can resume a normal pace and normal stress level.  Until then... yikes!  It's going to be quite the end of the year, but I guess that just means it will help everything move along a little bit faster.  Good and bad?

The other day I had a field visit, so I took the opportunity to take some pictures of the Hurricane Sandy effect on Lake Michigan.  I've seen some big waves on the lakefront before, and these were probably barely bigger than some, but with all the hype it was hard to resist walking over there.  Driving back along Lakeshore Drive, all the shoulders and pull-outs were full of people who had pulled over, gotten out of their car, and walked to take pictures.  People are a little crazy.

I walked over to Belmont Harbor and then walked along the lakefront down to Diversey.  So many people were out with cameras and camera phones documenting it all.  People were down by the edge with the waves getting their pictures taken in Mickey Mouse Fantasia style.  I saw some guy start screaming at some people who were on the lower level of the concrete path about how he'd seen people die that way and how dumb they were being.  They were sheepish after that.  I made a highlight reel for someone when I was engulfed in a giant wave - or at least I hope I did, because otherwise it was totally not worth it.  I was being exceptionally careful.  I was on the other side of the boulders on the GRASS - probably 75'-100' from the water's edge and 20' above it.  I turned my back and within minutes I was completely engulfed... Sheets of water on either side of me and over my head.  I was soaked across my back, but you couldn't even tell from the front.  It was miserably cold.  About 15 minutes later, I was hit by a second wave in a separate section of the lakefront.  I chose to take the bus home instead of walking the 2 miles back... I thought my legs were going to freeze up, and while they didn't freeze they did turn a lovely shade of cherry tomato red. 

Here is some of what I saw:

 Glad I made the trek, but really wish I hadn't gotten hit by those dumb waves... I also wish it could have been sunny so that my pictures didn't look so gray... but it was exceptionally gray that day.

Now for the pregnancy stuff.  Wish I had more updates.  I really don't, other than pictures - which I guess is better than no news, right?  I still feel great... I still fit in my regular pants and generally most of my clothes.  Some things are more comfortable than others.  I think it helps that I've always worn clothes that are more on the "bigger" side than on the "tight" side, so that probably helps a lot.  

I'm getting a weird burning sensation across the top of my stomach - it feels like an Indian Rug Burn across the meeting of my rib cage.  So that's awesome... Heartburn has started to intermittently set in.  I wasn't prepared for that at all because I've never had heartburn really in my life.  It's super aggravating so I truly feel for people that suffer from it on a regular basis. I don't know that I could survive.

On the movement front, I'm waiting.  I've tried a couple of things to see if I'm just not paying enough attention, so I've spent time relaxing before going to bed trying to concentrate, and I've had the exact same response as I had in Ireland -- I fall asleep.  So, I'm either really bad at this intuitive thing, or he's just not really moving in a way that I can feel him yet.  Either way, I would like it to happen soon, I think that would be a good way to ease some of my anxiety.

We are starting to look into classes.  They are so expensive... I was shocked.  I figured it would be like "you're going to spend a fortune having a baby at our hospital, let's go ahead and give you a break on this one".... Strangely enough - no.  It's one giant money-making scheme I tell you!

Our roommate moved out this last weekend, so we are free and clear to start making updates to the spare room and start the transformation into a nursery.  That's exciting, overwhelming, exhausting to just think about.  We have to start by moving out the desk, which means we have to make room for the desk elsewhere... and move shelves and paint walls, and get rugs, and get baby things.  I don't know quite where to start, but I heard from a really smart friend that we should look into a crib sooner than later - especially with the holidays coming.  So that's probably going to be one of our big pushes (pun intended?) in the next few weeks.  Hopefully we find something we can both agree on that doesn't make me faint with cost.  Looking forward to getting some of these projects started though!  

So, I guess I'll just cut to the chase and show the latest pictures.  I put Weeks 21 and 22 next to Week 8 just for comparison sake.  I guess it's safe to say that my belly is bigger than I thought it was...  In the morning I look almost normal, but by the end of the day with gravity and tired ab muscles it definitely sticks out more.  I'm really into comfy pants. 

Week 21:  The Boy Banana (Chalupa Batman!!)

Week 22:  The Stationary Spaghetti Squash  (Still chillin' without me feeling anything...)

So there you have it.. the latest and greatest from our little world here in Chicago.

Tomorrow is bridesmaids dress shopping... I think that me in my 6th month of pregnancy is equal to me 3 months post partum, right??

Oh, and I finally broke down to get a body type pillow, and I think it's helping.  I don't have as much of an urge to sleep on my back anymore, so the panic of denying blood and oxygen to the little guy isn't as strong.  Means a little more sleep for me!

Can't believe it's already November... so close to Thanksgiving and then rolling into Christmas.  This is going to go so fast...

I'm s-m-r-t

I booked the flight home from Christmas this morning for me and John... unfortunately I booked it to fly from Chicago to Kansas City.  Of course, there is a glaring error here.... I no longer live in Kansas City, so that makes it impossible to fly home there.  

I didn't notice until Katie called me wondering why we were in Kansas City for actual Christmas Day this year, as oppose to flying home and being in KC for Christmas Eve.  I had no idea what she was talking about.  Bless Southwest Airlines for letting you reschedule flights without charging a change fee.

So let's just hope that I'm more successful in booking our flights to KC, and that I don't end up with 2 flights coming back to Chicago.  

I apologize for anyone that when they said "pregnancy brain" I immediately discounted it, and chalked it up to an excuse (not in a malicious way!!!  in a non-understanding way).  I don't know how much of it has to do with pregnancy hormones, etc, but I have to say that there is something to being forgetful since I'm constantly thinking of approximately 6,716,234,655,998 other things at the same time.

I'll post pictures soon.  Still not feeling Chalupa Batman moving around... still fitting into my jeans from pre-pregnancy... still able to wear a dress (albeit a more flow-y one) I had in my closet from 5 years ago to the wedding this weekend.  I swear, I thought it would be a lot different... I assumed that you got pregnant and then immediately got big.  I was pretty far off.  I know there is a lot of growing going on in the next 4 weeks while I finish out this second trimester, but I'm starting to worry my coworkers think I'm lying.  

Introducing -- Chalupa Batman

If you don't watch The League on FX then that reference means nothing to you.  If you do watch The League, then you know that it means we are having a little boy!  

I know, I've said this entire time that I was thinking we were having a girl (mostly probably because that's what I wanted).  But about 3 weeks ago when we didn't get to find out what it was, I (and apparently John as well) started thinking that it was a boy.  I think it was mostly because of the idea of Murphy's Law or something like that.  Whatever you think, the opposite will happen.  So I started thinking that it was a pretty good bet that it was a little boy growing away in there, although we both kept it to ourselves.

But we finally got our organ ultrasound last Friday.  We were almost thwarted for a second time because when I had made my appointment for Friday I assumed that it meant they would understand everything based on the doctor's notes that I was supposed to be getting an ultrasound.  When we sat down in the office to wait for my doctor I started getting nervous because there wasn't a single word being said about an ultrasound... seemed like bad news.  Luckily when my doctor came in and asked if we were getting one today and I responded with a hesitant "I thought so?" she immediately left the room and must have put the smack down on either the ultrasound folks or the front desk folks because within minutes she was back in the office saying that they were going to be able to squeeze me in.  Phew!  Disappointment averted.  

When we sat down for with the tech, she asked if we were interested in finding out the sex and John and I without hesitation and I think in sync both said "yes, definitely".  I think that's our strongest response to this whole pregnancy thing yet!  Hahaha.  So luckily at the very end everything aligned and he let us see his goods!  After about 40 minutes of staring at a screen with sort of clear/identifiable images of various body parts she finally has the eureka moment and while looking at the screen says "there you go, that tells you what it is - what do you think?  Boy or girl?".  John and I are both staring at the screen, I'm terrified of guessing the wrong thing ("yes honey, when we were looking at the ultrasound we totally thought you were a little girl...") but I took a chance and assumed that what we were seeing was on the outside, not the inside.  Thank goodness that gamble paid off!!

So now we get to really get into this whole baby thing and start figuring out what we want, how much money we are about to drop (holy crazap is all I can say), and how adorable our little boy is going to be!  I can definitely stand to wait the next 20 weeks out - I say that now because I can still see my feet, tie my shoes, and I'm not swollen yet, etc. - but it seems more exciting now that we have more concrete information in place.

On the showing front, John thinks I am, yesterday my stomach felt so expanded I could barely breathe or sit up straight, but all my pants and shirts are still fitting just fine (aside from one pair that has a higher waist that I finally succumbed to a belly band for and then just decided I should stop wearing them entirely since they weren't comfortable and I had other pants that were).  So looking good so far!

And here are some new pics of Baby Boy McDonald!  I have more if anyone is interested, but I didn't think that posting Chalupa Batman's little boy privates on my blog was such a good thing to do - in 18 years he would probably be mortified...

It's the halfway countdown

Not a long post here, just a quick update on how everything is going.

I'm in my final week of the first half.  (The answer is "yes, that is insane")  I can't believe it's already halfway over!  The weirdest thing is that I'm still not feeling any different.  This makes me of course... nervous.  Because that's the name of the game I play.  My appetite hasn't increased, my stomach at the end of day looks bigger than normal, so I guess I'm starting to show.  Pat saw me the other day and apparently reported me for looking like I had a baby bump.  So, I guess I'm starting to look it?  Although I feel pretty confident I traveled incognito, especially since the trip from Dublin to London they sat me in the emergency exit row and I feel pretty confident that I'm not qualified for that.  Luckily for everyone the plane did NOT go down and I in no way had to operate any sort of safety procedure.  

Traveling while pregnant was pretty easy.  My doctor was completely supportive which definitely helped, but had a few ideas of things I needed to do to make it "safer".  I had to rest as much as possible (obviously), drink tons of water to stay hydrated, bring medical records in case of emergency, and of course wear compression thigh highs.  Now, I don't know how many out there have worn these sexy beasts (I feel few of my readers are over the age of 70 or at the risk of blood clots)... but they are super awkward.  I wore comfy pants on the plane and so you could definitely see the line of where the tights ended and the fat of my thigh over-topped.  My doctor had warned me of the difficulty of getting them on at the airport and had recommended me putting them on before leaving.  I wasn't prepared to wear them any longer than I had to, so I went against that advice.  So I contorted myself and tried desperately to NOT step on an airport bathroom floor while struggling into those things.  Not the best idea, but it did save me about 3 hrs of extra time being squeezed inside them.  The way back they were a little bit better because they were slightly stretched out from my previous trip.  So they were much easier to get on at the airport.  

Everything else was pretty status quo.  I think that it was a little harder for me to adapt to the time change.  I just never felt like I was switched over.  Some of it might have had to do with never really sleeping in, but I just never caught up.  So, I'm pretty exhausted now.  But, that should hopefully pass a little bit until I just am tired anyway.  I was still happy to walk everywhere (including the rental car place to our hotel -- approximately 3 km) and other than a little bit of sacroiliac pain (??), I felt great.  Next step for me is getting an SI belt.  

Now for what you are actually looking for -- pictures of the last four weeks.

Week 17: The Telling Turnip (although it told us nothing since all we heard was the heartbeat.. alright it told us that it was still beating)

Week 18: The Secretive Sweet Potato (since we found out nothing)

Week 19: The Mysterious Mango (still waiting)

Week 20: The Cultured Cantaloupe 

What's the verdict?  I feel like Week 17 looks bigger than Week 18.. and then back to big for Week 19 and then smaller again Week 20.

Oh - and still no feeling of movement.  I tried to relax and see if  I could concentrate and feel it while in Ardmore, instead I feel asleep in the bathtub, so it didn't quite work out.  Ha.  Hopefully that starts up again soon, it's starting to make me so (wait for it) nervous.  So I would really like to have that get going.

Friday is our big day, hopefully I'll have more ultrasound pictures and more exciting news about how it's growing!  When did everyone else start feeling movement?  When did you start feeling like you were actually pregnant?  I'm still waiting on all counts....

4 years ago

Four years ago, I was walking down the aisle.... It's always crazy to me how quickly time passes.  It seems like just the other day we were taking ridiculous road trips to California or Arizona to visit each other, and driving across the country to move me to Chicago.

But here we are, sitting in Ireland - the first stop of our honeymoon back those years ago, taking our first vacation just the two of us for no other reason than to vacation together since our honeymoon and I couldn't be happier.

What Johns lucky enough to have is a pregnant wife who was told to wear incredibly sexy thigh high compressions socks to fly to Europe, and someone who thinks she knows everything (in a very irritating way). What I'm lucky to have is someone to ignore that I'm wearing sexy thigh high compressions socks (And still think I'm beautiful) and who shakes his head in mock frustration when I've once again become bossy over something I know nothing about. Okay, I guess there is WAY more to all of this, but let me just say that I think I'm one lucky lady.

So Happy Anniversary!!  Can't wait to make it four score more!,

Vacation Underway

We made it safe and sound in to Dublin and we are officially on our vacation.  More to update soon and once we can upload pictures to our laptop (find a cable to charge it), I will post some more pictures and write some more.  More info will be on www.m-plus-j-plus-theworld.blogspot.com tomorrow. Until then this girl needs to sign off and get some sleep. We rent a car tomorrow and I get to learn how to drive on the other side of the road!!!  All while also remembering how to drive a stick shift.

Does it get less awkward?

I realize that I'm an awkward kid.. I get that.  I've always been that way.  I'm the one that after being thanked for throwing a baby shower, respond with "Thank YOU.......... for coming...... to your own shower.... yeah".  But telling people I'm pregnant has got to be one of the WEIRDEST experiences and one of the best ways for me to demonstrate my completely lack of social norms.  

For instance, last Monday, I told a friend of mine from Baker after a meeting for ASCE.  We were talking and just generally chatting about if I was going to meet John at the bar for the Bears game, blah blah blah.  Then I just turned to him and said "do you want to know a fun fact?  You'll be the first at Baker to find out.  John and I are actually expecting a baby in March".  Then the best part, I had to run to the elevator to get my car in the parking garage and he had to run in the train.  So I essentially shared and dashed.  Oops!

Then today, I was telling my co-worker that I was pregnant (they brought in lunch today for our lunch and learn and it was deli sandwiches or a veggie patty...gross) because I was joking around about not being able to eat the deli meat.  After the lunch, I was talking with my co-worker about it a little bit and he asked my due date.  At that moment, the presenter walked up (who I had met an hour previous and only said hello to and shook his hand) and he says "what's happening in March?".  My reply, "well, I'm due in March... I'm pregnant".  Letting that just sit in the air with an incredibly uncomfortable laugh.  He looks up and sheepishly responds "oh geez, nothing like walking into a personal conversation".  I don't have a good retort for that.  Right now, it's nervously laughing while looking around for an exit and filling space with gasps, umms, and uhhs.  Doesn't help alleviate the situation for sure.

Did anyone else have a weird time telling people?  Does it get any easier and less awkward?  Is there a way to announce it instead of throwing it in the middle of an email with a lot of other information around it, hoping that it gets lost in the deluge of other extraneous information that I'm only providing so as to surround the announcement?

Side note - see how many times I used "pregnant" in this piece?  I must be getting a little more comfortable.  I also said it out loud a couple of times in the last couple of days.  Must be sinking in or something.

And now a random photo, just to add something extra to the post.  (And because it's one of the better smiles John has ever had in a photo.)

Sunny with a chance of baby showers!

So this Sunday I was lucky enough to help co-host a fun baby shower for one of our friends (Julia) who is due in November.  It was a co-ed shower, mostly so that we didn't have to figure out where to send the guys, and also because there was football on t.v. so they required little to no entertainment.

I got many of my ideas from either JuliAnna's shower (especially the poofs - which are so much fun to use, kind of a process to put together) or Pinterest.  I'm pretty good about not getting too sucked into the site, but I have to say that for planning parties there isn't really a better way to go.  Since Julia is due right in the middle of fall, we kind of figured autumn would be a perfect backdrop, hence the pumpkins, the colors, etc.  And KG and I found a fabulous tablecloth at JoAnn's that we couldn't pass up so it was essentially all based from there.

The tablecloth that KG found and we immediately knew we had to buy!

It was so much fun!  And the start of an eye-opener for what I'll be expecting, e.g., diapers, diapers, and MORE diapers.

Hands off to Dani for supplying a beautiful home to host (and amazing foods - cucumber sandwiches, pigs in a blanket, pumpkin cheesecake, fruit salad, mommy friendly sangria) and KG for being our leader in inspiration and design!!  I was just there to supply prosciutto flatbread and the cake pops.  :)

So here are the pictures I took, unfortunately I took them on my phone so they aren't excellent quality but you'll get the idea.

Happy showering!

I might have been a little into the poofs, but they were so much fun to put up.

The dessert area with cake pops, pumpkin cheesecake, and chocolate chip banana bread.  Someone with better handwriting should have written the signs.

The spread. Yumm!

More food and hot cider.

Our only "game" where we just guessed boy or girl and date.  We were going to turn it into a betting game, but didn't know if that would be in poor taste.  (Seriously who let that girl write on the chalkboards?)

 Little onesies along the mantle.  Paul and Julia are from Ohio so John and I made some Chicago styles to counteract the influx of Ohio State and Bengals gear.

Just a few of the boys hanging out and watching football.   

Oh and don't worry, there were more poofs to be had.  I guess no one really sat over there, but it was nice to know that corner was decorated just in case.

The verdict is....

... still out.  Goodness, all this build up and we found out NOTHING today... Okay, that's not true.  We heard the heartbeat again (156 bpm) so we found out that it's still in there, it's not a figment of our 4 weeks ago imagination.

I guess it's my fault.  I didn't specifically ask if I was getting the ultrasound.  At my last appointment my doctor had said that we were going to do the second trimester screening blah blah blah the next time which to me meant bloodwork and ultrasound.  For the record, it JUST meant bloodwork.  Bummer.  But, she gave me the go ahead to come back in 3 weeks instead of 4 weeks.  So I jumped on that opportunity and I'm most definitely going back on October 19.  We are doing the full work-up, ultrasound and seeing all the parts and whatnot then (at least as far as I know, otherwise we're waiting until the 3rd trimester at that point and that seems a bit excessive).

So until then, while I'm sad we didn't get more information today, I'm glad that we at least had the appointment.  I'm still "in the family way", so I guess I should enjoy the fact that my pants are still fitting.

Now I just have to figure out the best way to learn patience for the next 3 weeks.  I'll work on that while I try to learn how to NOT sleep on my back.  Ugh, this is going to move slow.

21 Wives' Tales

I pulled this 21 Wives' Tales that tell You if it's a Boy or a Girl from my friend JuliAnna's post (you can find her results here if you're interested - and as a side note, she had a boy).  I thought it would be interesting to throw it out there and I think most of them are a bit ridiculous, and some don't apply -- but why the heck not, right?  I should be finding out the gender this Friday, so thought this would be a fun precursor.

So here are my responses below, enjoy.

Sleep Position: Pay attention to which way you lay down in bed tonight.  If you prefer sleeping in your left side, you'll have a boy.  Right side?  You're pregnant with a girl.

BOY - I don't necessarily know what to make of this one since if I'm on my side I'm typically on my left side regardless of baby or not.  And now I'm trying hard to no longer be a back sleeper since I've heard that's bad.  Which then only means that I'm not sleeping well because if I wake up from moving in the middle of the night and I realize I've been on my back, then I start to panic that I've deprived the baby of oxygen for the last few hours.  But in strict answer of the question, I guess I'll go with left side.

Upset Stomach: Little girls aren't always sweet.  Extreme nausea means you are having a daughter.

GIRL - I'm not extremely nauseous anymore, but I hated life for about 2 weeks when I was throwing up 3-5 times a day and just the thought of grilled chicken made me dry heave.  Now it comes and goes in waves, usually based on whether or not I've had enough water (see this post for confirmation).

Soft or Dry Hands: If your hands are dry during pregnancy, you are having a boy; soft - expect a girl.

GIRL - My hands are pretty soft, but it's not winter yet so that's probably going to change when I get scaly and dry during the cold months.

Food Cravings: Your favorite pregnancy foods may tell you what sex the baby is.  If you're craving citrus while pregnant, you're having a girl.

BOY - I don't think I'm craving citrus, in fact I don't think I'm really craving anything in particular.

Adult Acne: If altering hormones makes your skin break out, expect a girl.

GIRL - I haven't broken out this bad since high school.  It's not pretty, especially with my particular aversion (for lack of a better word) of taking time to use make-up in the morning.

Graceful or Clumsy Pregnancy: If you feel as though you're gliding through the day, you'll have a girl.  Stumbling?  It's a boy.

BOY - I'm always clumsy though, so this makes no sense and doesn't seem like a good indicator.  As my friend Brian told me in college, "I didn't know your mom, but from what I know about her, if she had the foresight she would have named you Grace".  That about sums it up.  If this is an indicator though, I'm going to be destined for boys.

Face Weight Gain: If your face gets fuller, it means you're having a girl.

BOY - My face seems to have actually slimmed down, but that could have also been from the weight loss I had at the beginning of pregnancy (read back to upset stomach above, and also the removal of alcohol from my diet).

Sugar and Spice Food Cravings: Craving salt during pregnancy? Potato chips, pretzels, and popcorn means a boy is on the way.  Need a little something sweet?  Ice cream, chocolate, and candy means you're having a girl.

GIRL - I'm eating more sweets than usual, although I think it's mostly because I no longer allow myself to feel guilty about making that stop at the Dairy Queen or having the extra cookie.  Although, I guess I have been eating more donuts and I have to say those used to be a big no-no for me and now they are delicious.

Mood Changes: If you're experiencing pregnant mood-swings, expect a baby girl to arrive soon.

BOY - After talking this one over with John he doesn't think I'm experiencing mood swings so I think I'll go ahead and trust him on this one.

High or Low Pregnant Belly: If you're carrying the baby low on your stomach, expect a boy.  If it's high, you're having a girl.

BOY - So, I'm not showing really.  I've got nothing.  I guess if I had to choose something I would say low, since it's definitely not high?

Baby Weight: If you're carrying baby in front, it's a boy.  Is the baby weight spaced all around your middle?  It's a girl.

GIRL - It seems as though it's kind of just all over, and not isolated to a certain location.  Since I don't have a belly sticking out in front of me, I guess that means it's spaced all around my middle.

Pendulum Test: Dangle a chain with a charm over your palm.  If it swings back and forth: boy.  In a circle: girl.

GIRL - Although I'm not sure if I'm doing this one right.  Should I start the swinging and see what happens?  Or see if it just starts swinging on it's own?

Model Your Hands: "Show me your hands".  If you would hold your hands palms up, it's a girl.  Down?  You're having a boy.

BOY - ??  But I don't think I understand the question.  Why am I showing my hands?  I don't know, it seems silly.

Toddler Advice: Get baby advice from a nephew or friend's little boy.  If a toddler boy shows interest in your belly, you'll have a girl.  If he ignores you, it's a boy.

I don't know any toddlers - let alone little boys, so this one's out.

Eat Garlic: Guess the baby's sex by eating garlic.  If the smell seeps out of your pores, it's a boy.  If there's no scent it's a little girl.

GIRL - I have not been told that I smell like garlic when we eat garlic.  But maybe we're just used to it?

Key to Pregnancy: If you pick up a key by the round end, you're having a boy.  If it's by the long end?  A girl.

BOY - I don't know when I would ever pick up a key by the long end.  I did know what each meant before participating, but testing it out, it felt weird to pick it up by the long end.

Even and Odd Numbers: If your age and year of conception are both even or odd, it's a girl.  One even, one odd means a boy.

BOY

Baby's Heartbeat: If the baby's heart beats more than 150 times per minute, you're pregnant with a girl.  Less than 150, it's a boy.

GIRL - 156 or 153 at my last appointment.  (I feel like these are things I should remember without having to guess... all I know is that it was over 150)

Stress Test: A child tends to be of the same sex as the parent who is less stressed at the time of conception.

BOY - John and I are both pretty even keel, but I guess in the overall scheme of things he's less stressed than I am as a general rule (and I went back a couple of years ago in blog posts and read the ones where I cried at FedEx and just generally was overwhelmed so I think it's safe to say that John is less stressed than me).  I'm with JuliAnna here though, if this is a true test then we are always destined for boys.

Dream Meanings: If you dream about having a girl while pregnant, you will wind up having a boy and vice versa.

BOY - I have had only one dream so far and it was with a little girl.  But I think this is silly because I want a little girl, so clearly my subconscious is going to put that in my dream.

Breast Size: If your right breast is larger than the left while pregnant, you are having a girl.  If the left is larger, it's a baby boy.

I think mine are about the same.  I haven't noticed that one is larger than the other - just generally large.

(I liked JuliAnna's categories below, so I have stolen them and used them for my own)

A Child Called It = 2

It's a Boy = 11

It's a Girl = 9

This pretty much tells me that it's still a 50/50 chance.  Imagine that.  How very scientific.

Anyone have any thoughts about what it could be?  Get your guesses in before Friday afternoon!  Appointment is at 1pm, so hopefully we will actually find out.  Otherwise, I'm going to feel very silly for getting all excited.  Ha.