The end was nigh..

... but I had no idea.

Weeks 39 and 40 were pretty normal for me.  I was still feeling pretty good.. googling what contractions felt like, various ideas for how to jump start labor (evening primrose oil, castor oil -- so glad I didn't have to go that route, spicy food -- even though up to this point it had no effect).  Not because I was uncomfortable per se, more because I was getting impatient.  I started working exclusively from home, the idea of being 30 miles away from my hospital terrified me.  It would have been just my luck to drive in and then have to have a coworker drive me back to the city while I'm in pain.  It didn't sound like a good time.  

Week 40, coincidentally on our due date, I had a doctor's visit which was pretty anticlimactic.  I wasn't really progressing looking like labor, so we made an appointment for Monday morning to look again and schedule an induction.  I know that a lot of fear is involved with inductions for a lot of people.  I looked at it in a very "at least I know my absolute final day"... and was super relaxed about it.  I liked just having a deadline.  I guess that's the engineer in me.  He was scheduled to be induced on Sunday night, I was supposed to go to the hospital that evening at 6:30 and get all set up.  I never did make it that far.  Haha... but that's a-okay with me!

Otherwise, weeks 39 and 40 were pretty status quo.  I was still sleeping through the night, no swelling in my ankles or feet, and generally I just felt pretty good.  

Here are the pics - along with the last picture I took before he was born.  I took one on Tuesday morning on our way to the hospital - just in case.  So it's me 40 weeks and 4 days.  Looking back, I didn't think I looked that big.. I was super wrong.  I looked uber-pregnant.  Thank goodness to me I didn't feel that way.

Coming up will eventually be birth story (never though I'd be in to that, babies change things), and pictures of our new little guy.  He's pretty stinkin' cute, and we are pretty excited that we get to keep him..  

Week 39:  The Woozy Watermelon

(from my food poisoning where I was gross sick)

  

Week 40:  The Potentially Punctual Pumpkin

(clearly not the case)

Right before leaving for the hospital for our false alarm -- 40 weeks 4 days. 

Impatience is a virtue, right?

Doctor's appointment today (now yesterday) showed ...... NOTHING!  Ha.  Essentially what we expected.  Sure, I'm not due for another 2 weeks, so I shouldn't be surprised, but I guess I imagined her looking at me and being like -- the baby is totally on track for getting here early!  Or something that when said out loud sounds pretty silly.

The only thing we found out today is that I'm still measuring right on track, and he seems pretty comfortable in there and is essentially making no progress to make his grand entrance into the world.  BUT, he is still head down, so at least he's making some sort of effort in there.

Also, the doc said I'm only allowed to go an extra week and a half before they induce.  While that's fun to know, that means that I'm a month away from the absolute deadline for meeting him!  I'm impatient already and we have 2 weeks.... I don't know if I can wait a month!  I mean, of course I'll have to, but geez.... he's already making me crazy.

So, I'm thinking opening thoughts, and relaxing thoughts... and just trying to keep my patience up so that I can be ready if it still takes another 3.5 weeks.

As a girl in my Pilates class said, "I don't know why I keep thinking I'll go into labor early, they say 40 weeks and I'm not at 40 weeks yet, so I shouldn't be surprised if it actually takes the entire time."  Good call girl who's due a week ahead of me.  Good call.

And here's a picture of me at Week 38..

Full term madness

So, I should probably say something like this:

The bag is packed, we have clothes clean and ready for him to come home, and we are just so excited to meet this little guy now that he could come at any time.  

This is what I want to say:

Holy crap, he could come at any time and he would be a fully developed human, we have enough clothes to keep him clean for like 2 days, and our house looks like we vomited baby stuff everywhere.  I would keep in the fact that we are excited to meet him and I'm starting to get pretty impatient - so on THAT note alone, I would be okay with him coming out to meet us.  :)

John and I just can't believe how quickly the last part of everything has gone.  The first 12 weeks took what seemed like forever, the time until the body scan ultrasound never came quick enough - and now here we are like 15 weeks later and we don't know where the time went.  It's so insane.  But, it's good too.  We are much more excited, and generally much more prepared.  We have a few things that we still need, but he can at least come home and I don't think we'll have to wrap him in towels or something if he runs out of clothes.  So that makes me feel much better.  :)  

At the doctor's appointment yesterday we got an exciting little surprise.  We were there for our full-term appointment so she was making sure he was head down and all that jazz -- turns out he is -- phew.  Then she was like "well, if you want to, we could get a quick ultrasound, we can do that if she's available"... umm, yes please!  So we got to see him really quickly - confirmed he was still a boy, confirmed he was head down, and that he's hanging out in there with a stomach and a good heartbeat.  I like it!  So that was extremely exciting.  I think it was the best ultrasound for me, because I am actually starting to be impatient.  (As I said John, I don't know that I've ever waited this long for anything in my life....)  It was nice to see him, especially since he's been a little bit "slow" these last couple of days.  I never know that fine line between stupid freaking out and legitimate freaking out on the "fetal movement scale".  Wednesday you would have thought he was trying out for the NFL as a punter -- then the other two days you would think he was competing in some sort of nap tournament.  This fluctuation is KILLING me because I just don't know what his "routine" is that makes it so that I need to call my doctor.  I guess this is the first of many that I wish there was just an explicit instruction manual.  

I had another first the other day -- someone touched ... correction, poked, my belly.  Yeah... what the f man?  I was at a happy hour/meet and greet for work and earlier in the night some guy came up and introduced himself to me and was all about looking at my belly and talking about it (creepy, but acceptable in the sense that it was out there and it's been a nice conversation starter/continuer) and then as I was leaving for the evening, he sees me and pokes me in the belly and says "you get that baby home!".  Uhhh... really?  First off, it's like 8:15, second off .... really?  It was a little bizarre-o.  I'm not a fan.  But I do feel lucky that I've made it this far.  

Otherwise, things are going well.  No sense of when he'll be here, other than the fact that I feel like since I've not felt any sort of sense in anything, he's going to be late.  I can also still see my feet, which is excellent.  

I wish I had more to share -- but my next post will be pictures of how awesome John is and how handy he is becoming because he redid our spare bathroom and it looks awesome!  I'll have to post some pics of that soon.  I still have to take some good ones and put them up.  

I also need to post some pictures of my awesome baby showers!  It was such a great time, and so lovely to hang out with family and friends..... and a 30th birthday celebration for Katie McD at Medieval Times - which was still entertaining without ability to drink.  :)  And the ridiculousness that is Rosemont -- I did not realize that it was where all the Eastern European wannabes and Jersey Shore cast all met on Saturday nights.  Lots of hair gel, fauxhawks, mohawks, Ed Hardy v-neck t-shirts, and waaaaay too short dresses.  Wow, just wow.  We didn't fit in, but we had a good time.  

Here is the latest and greatest set of pictures.  My belly has gotten bigger (stupid stretch marks... I had been doing so well... ugh), but I think it's hard to see the difference in the pics here.  It's also gotten a lot heavier, which is not my favorite feeling, and I second my friend's description of a crowbar to the pelvis... I didn't know that was possible, but it's awesome.  Otherwise, I can't really complain too much.  It's been alright, just awfully tired.

So yeah, that's all I've got.  Enjoy the pics!

Week 34 : The Playful Pineapple

Week 35 : The Colossal Cantaloupe

Week 36 : The Collegiate Cantaloupe

Week 37 : The Wiggly Watermelon

Moving right along.... definitely moving

So, a quick update on the week-by-week.  It's been a little bit of time, I'm actually in Week 34 now but haven't taken the picture.  But I'm back on track.  How am I feeling, you might ask?  I'm feeling great!  Today I'm feeling full and my belly is feeling a bit ridiculous - but two days ago I think I actually forgot I was pregnant for most of the day because I felt so good.  So, that was a little weird.  Hahaha - but probably super lucky? 

Went to the doctor on Thursday - his heartbeat is strong at 156, size is spot on (32 cm for 32 weeks), and generally speaking all looks well.  My right hand is still swollen, some days are better than others.  The last couple of days have been baaaad.  I don't know what the deal is with that.  But, I'm sure it's due to the soreness in my knuckles and then this little guy making my body crazy.  My doctor still isn't worried about it.  I still have ankles, and my feet haven't gotten swollen or gotten bigger, so I guess I'll take what I can get.  Just as long as this hand thing disappears in about 7 weeks - otherwise I'm going to be a little bit annoyed.

He's moving a lot more now.  There are still some days where he doesn't move as much, but then there are days when he goes nuts.  I haven't been able to identify body parts (thank goodness --- yikes!), but I can tell that he moves more right after drinking some cold water.  So, that's kind of fun. 

I've heard that people start to get anxious once the end is so much in sight.  I'm still super happy to wait to have the scariness of taking care of a baby.  Haha, so he can take his time.  Remind me of this in like 4 weeks when I'm tired and giant and don't want to do this anymore.  :)  I can also stand to wait because I'm STILL waiting on my maternity policy.  I have tried to be so patient and understanding, but that ran out a few weeks ago.  Honestly, I'm like 4 weeks from being full-term, less than 7 weeks until he's due... and I still don't know how much time I can take off or if I'm getting paid for any of it.  It's extremely frustrating.  There is promise after promise that it should be released on "X Day" and when that day passes there is another one set in place.  I'm about to pull the "crazy pregnant lady" card and start being a pain in the ass.

Oh, talking about "crazy pregnant lady" ---- I was last week.  When I'm out in Lombard, I would say that about 90% of the office complex people smoke.  And they smoke right in front of the freaking door.  State law requires 15' from the door -- but that doesn't seem to make a difference.  The other morning, I couldn't take it - there was this old mafia looking guy standing outside the door as I walked in and he didn't even make a MOVE to get away from the door... I may or may not have looked at him and his friend and say "really?  could you at least try to move 15' away from the door like you're supposed to?"... his friend looks at me and says "I'm not smoking".  Really???  Clearly you're not smoking therefor I'm NOT TALKING TO YOU... instead of yelling at him and saying "no shit", I responded with "I realize that, but your friend is, and you need to be at least 15' away from the door, it's the law".  The guy apologized and moved away... I was worried that my car would be keyed or a horses' head would be inside my car the next time I stepped out.  Luckily, nothing of the sort -- and now when he sees me coming he makes a point to be clear out of my path.  I was going to say "I'm sorry, I'm just sensitive because I'm pregnant", but decided that I didn't even owe an explanation because it's rude that they smoke in front of the door and illegal and I just don't want them to do it.  Haha... So yeah, I'm ridiculous. 

Alright, this turned into something a lot more than planned -- without further ado, here are my week 31, 32, and 33 week-by-week belly pictures.

Week 31:  The Hyperactive Head of Lettuce (was moving like CRAZY)
Week 32:  The Jiving Jicama (again, moving like crazy -- we debated using a "j" sound or the "h" sound and decided on keeping it letter relevant, versus sound... you're welcome for the background info)
Week 33:  The Happening Honeydew

Have a great week everyone!!!  (Next up, the amazing work John has been doing to our spare bathroom!!!!!)

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. 

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.  :)

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...

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....

Round two

 

So, I don't feel like I'm showing at all.  I'm definitely not looking "pregnant", but I think people could think that I'm getting fatter?  So I guess that's a plus, or something.  

In case it's not very clear in the pictures - the weeks are labeled as such:

Week 14: The Limbed Lemon (soon after our last u/s that showed legs and arms that were punching and kicking and doing all sorts of crazy stuff)

Week 15: The Original Orange (it seemed appropriate)

Week 16: The Athletic Avocado (this is the week of exercise; my 5k and joining a prenatal Pilates class)

I also told my office in one of the more awkward moments in my life.  Luckily 2 of the 4 guys have kids so they at least weren't completely unsure of things to say... the other 2, I don't think they even really looked at me after I said anything.  I think they were a bit uncomfortable.  I pretty much just blurted it out while going over a schedule for a project, unprovoked, unexpected.  It was pretty awkward (I wish I had a better word for it so I didn't have to keep reusing it - really need a thesaurus).  But at least I no longer have to hide it and worry that someone will find out.  And my boss no longer has to whisper which I think he appreciates because I get the feeling he was having a hard time with it.  Which kind of makes me laugh.  So the cat's out of the bag! 

Oh, and my boss is currently working on the employee handbook which will now include a maternity policy, so I think that's a step in the right direction.  No more social media blackout, although I'm not really sure how that will ever get shared since I can barely say the "p" word.  When I told my coworkers I said "well, if we are going into 2013 for the schedule then I guess I should let you know that I'm due on March 8".  I didn't even bother with saying the "p" or the "b" word.  Yeah, I'm a weirdo.

Alright, that's all I've got for now.  Apparently all I needed for inspiration on this blog was to get ... wait for it.... pregnant (I said it).  Now I have all sorts of things to write about - please don't get sick of me!!

Making its photo debut...