Bump Bound - Week 12

(Originally written 09/19/12)

Baby is the size of a LIME!

Whoa, I need a tan!

12 week development - Courtesy of babycenter.com  

The most dramatic development this week: reflexes. Your baby's fingers will soon begin to open and close, his toes will curl, his eye muscles will clench, and his mouth will make sucking movements. In fact, if you prod your abdomen, your baby will squirm in response, although you won't be able to feel it. His intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into his abdominal cavity about now, and his kidneys will begin excreting urine into his bladder.  Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and in your baby's brain, synapses are forming furiously. His face looks unquestionably human: His eyes have moved from the sides to the front of his head, and his ears are right where they should be. From crown to rump, your baby-to-be is just over 2 inches long (about the size of a lime) and weighs half an ounce. 

You guys.  Its official.  I can no longer button my pants.  I’m sure its mainly still gas and a few extra LB’s but my pants are definitely not buttoning.  Its just such a weird feeling to be able to button your pants one week and then the next, nadda.  I couldn’t even button them if I wanted to.  My shirts are also getting tight.  The button down blouses I wear for work are popping open at my chest.  So I can’t wear those anymore.  Then my non-button cotton dress shirts are getting too tight around the chest and belly also.  I actually got stuck in one of my shirts this morning.  Really.  I was STUCK!  I got it on, but couldn’t breathe so I knew that wouldn’t do.  When I tried to take it off I found myself spinning in a circle in my closet with my shirt up around my head.  It took a good minute to get it off.  Sigh.  

We told a few friends and some more family this week!  It was so great to see people’s reactions. I even got flowers at work from one of my closest friends!  It was very special!

I experienced some pretty intense cramping this week.   Like, to the point where I almost doubled-over in agony.  I’ve never experienced pain like this.  It was in my abdomen, creeped into my side and into my lower back.  It didn’t feel like typical female cramping or bloating cramping, but it also didn’t feel like something was wrong so it didn’t worry me too much.  Do you want to know what it was from? TMI Alert!!!  Apparently it was because I needed to poop!  Even though I had already gone twice that day!  I’ve always been a very “regular” person.  The two days prior to that, I didn’t go at all.  I’ve never gone more than a day without “going” so my stomach was pissed! After two more poops that day which would make a total of FOUR times, I was feeling great! LOL.  I’m screwed when it comes to the pain of child birth.

Our first official, official doctor’s appointment was this week.  I finally got to meet my new doctor.  He was alright.  I mean, he was fine, but I can’t help but compare him to my last doctor.  She was amazing and I’m so sad that she’s no longer my doctor.  I’ll have to get over that I guess.  We got to hear the heartbeat again and got another ultrasound!  The sound of the baby’s heart is seriously the best sound in the world.  We both get teary-eyed every time!  It was also crazy to see how much bigger the baby is this week compared to the ultrasound last week.  Its amazing how fast they grow from week to week. 

This one kind of looks like a crab

We may have a bit of a drama queen/king on our hands

I also had to give blood at this appointment.  Although, it wasn’t your typical blood-giving experience.  She took the blood from my finger and I had to produce enough of it to fill in 6 big circles on a sheet of paper.  It was like paint-by-numbers, but with blood.  So weird!  And, my fingers weren’t cooperating.  She had to stick me THREE times!  Ouch.  One of my fingers didn’t appreciate it and now I have a bruise to show for it.  Who gets bruises on their fingers? I guess there’s a first time for everything. 

Ouch!

Bump Bound - Week 11

(Originally written 09/08/12)

Let’s get real personal for a minute.  Pregnancy farts.  Why has no one ever mentioned these butt assassinations before?  They are so bad that instead of calling them SBD’s I am taking it upon myself to rename them SBB’s (Sudden Butt Bombs) because no one see’s them coming and they have the power to take down an army.  PeeeeeUUUUU.  The bloating has been bad, but up until this point the farts have just exploded inside my tummy and haven’t escaped.  So as you can imagine, when I actually had one knocking to come out I eagerly proceeded and breathed a big sigh of relief.  OH. MY. GOSH.  That was amazing!  The relief only lasted for about five seconds and BAM!  What the?  What is that smell?!?!  Its not possible that I just produced that smell.  Not. Possible!  Right as my eyes started to water from the burning smell my husband walked into the kitchen to give me a kiss.  I started laughing so hard, and hung my head.  “I’m sorry.  I couldn’t help it”. 

“Oh my gosh!  That was you?!?!  I thought that was the dog!  That is the grossest thing I’ve ever smelt.  The air is just thick in here!”  

A few days later, again in the kitchen, I let another one.  My husband has impeccable timing.  Poor guy.  The second after my relief he walked into the hazy air.  He gets a puzzled look on his face and I kid you not, says “Are you cooking eggs?  It stinks in here!”  BAH HAHAHAHAHAHAHA  Sorry babe.  You’ve fallen victim to another SBB!

We had a minor scare this week and as a result had an impromptu ultrasound.  Our first appointment with the doctor isn’t until 9/19 so it was pretty exciting to see our little grasshopper earlier than we had anticipated.  The baby is healthy and on track with a heartbeat of 157 beats per minute.  This was the first time my husband was able to see and hear the baby.  It was amazing to watch his face light up when he heard the heart beating for the first time.  That’s something I will never forget.

My clothes are starting to get uncomfortable this week.  I never had much room to expand in them to begin with so with all of the bloating they are really tight.  At the beginning of the pregnancy I scored a good sale at Sophia and Isabel and got two BellaBands for $6 each!  Holler!!!  They are normally $22 each.  Until this week, I haven’t felt justified in wearing them.  I mean, c’mon, I shouldn’t need a pant extender for gas!  I finally broke one out and wore it with some shorts last weekend.  It. Was. Splendid!   I also scored a new bra at the Motherhood Maternity outlet.  It was $10!  Normally $35.  Again, SCORE!!!  My bra has been leaving giant divots in my skin.  And this new bra is 2, yes TWO cup sizes bigger than my normal bras.  Can we say AWESOME!?!?!  Truthfully, I still have a little room to grow into it, but its quite comfortable. 

AND…….As if being pregnant isn't already a gift in itself, you get a ton of FREE stuff when pregnant.  Just for shopping at Motherhood, I got coupons for a ton of free items.  Like cool items.  I was able to redeem a baby sling as well as a hooter-hider!  ALL. FOR. FREE!  I still need to redeem my car seat cover.

Bump Bound - Week 10

(Originally written 09/01/12)

I keep talking about hormones, but wow!  They continue to amaze me.  How is it that these invisible emotion bubbles can wreak such havoc?   One minute I feel like myself, and the next, someone has awoken the beast.  Its crazy!   I thought my mall episode a few weeks ago was bad….Until yesterday.  I woke up not feeling well, with a migraine headache and hunger pains that wouldn’t quit.  Have you ever been nauseas and starving at the same time?  It’s a strange feeling.  All of the sudden I burst into tears.  Like inconsolable, couldn’t catch my breath, kind of tears.  Why?  Because I was hungry.  My feelings weren’t hurt.  The world hadn’t ended.  I was just hungry and nothing sounded good.  The one thing that did sound good was unattainable at that moment.  All I wanted was a Costco muffin and Costco was closed.  My husband came over to me and was like “what’s the matter?”  Trying to catch my breath I started laughing and crying all at the same time.  I knew why I was crying, and I knew how stupid it was.  It didn’t matter.  I couldn’t stop.  We both began laughing at the irrational meltdown I had just experienced and my husband was able to calm me down.  Aye, aye, aye.  At least we can laugh about it.

Food Aversions?  I would say so.  As you just read above, I’m having some major food aversions this week.  Nothing sounds good to eat.  My husband keeps trying to get me to eat protein and that’s the last thing I want.  When I do want to eat, all I want is carbs.  Carbs, and more carbs.  I know the baby needs some protein but yuck!  This week’s been a bit rough in the food department.  

Smells that I can’t stand this week?  Everything that has made me gag up until this point is still making me gag.   

New to the list?

Eggs.  The smell of eggs is terrible. 

Cantaloupe.  Ugh, just thinking about the smell makes me shiver.  We’ve had a great melon season this summer.  We’ve bought watermelon and cantaloupe pretty much every week, and it was delicious.  Well, not anymore!  My husband bought a cantaloupe and left it on the counter until he had time to cut it up.  I could smell it the minute I walked in the front door and it smelled sweet and sour at the same time.  Yuck.

Watermelon.  Same story as the cantaloupe.  We’ve eaten so much of it this summer that someone just has to mention watermelon and it grosses me out.  

My vitamins.  I’ve been taking the same prenatal vitamins for about two years now.  They have never bothered me…until this week.  Every morning when I go to take one out of the bottle, I gag.  Not to mention. They.  Are. Huge!

Bump Bound - Week 9

(Originally written 08/25/12)

I finally threw up this week!  Twice actually!  Believe it or not, its actually quite comforting and kind of exciting.  Since then though, I’ve felt fantastic.  Not really nauseous but certain smells trigger the gag reflex.  

Smells I can’t handle this week?

Fresh cut grass.  Bleh!  I can’t stand it.  

Perfume.  Seriously!  How much perfume do people need to wear?  I work in a high-rise and I swear everyone in the elevator stinks.  Even if no one is in the elevator, I can smell the people that were in there before.  They either bathed in perfume, or just came off a smoke break.  Its disgusting!

Doritos.   I walked into my co-workers office and he was eating Doritos.  BAM! The smell hit me and I nearly started gagging.  I held it in and quickly backed out of the room…..Work doesn’t know yet, so that would have probably given it away. ….Which brings me to the fact that I should probably tell work sooner rather than later.  Preferably, while I still have a job.  I have been SO moody that I have no patience for anyone.  Combined with being exhausted, I’m not the most sunny person to be around in the office.

 

My skin is starting to notice the hormones too.  Last week I was like “my skin is so clear.  This is so great”!  Pshhh I spoke too soon.  All of the sudden this week I’ve developed a tri-fecta of zits on my chest.  Sounds pretty huh?!  At least they’re not on my face yet.  Knock on wood!

We told our families the great news this week!  It was really exciting!  Everyone was so happy and it was a relief to tell people.   We really want to tell our closest friends but they are busy having their own baby right now so that will have to wait.  The downside is that we can’t tell anyone else until we tell them.  We made a promise.  But we can’t tell them for another week or two because this is their moment and we don’t want to steal their thunder.  Hopefully we can tell them soon.  Maybe once they’re home from the hospital and settled in, we’ll take them dinner and tell them that Makena will have a new playmate at the end of March.  I even made a onesie to do the telling for us when the time comes.  

 And a few others to throw her off.......

Oh and you guys.  I wanted a blizzard so badly this week.  All I want this week is ice cream.  I’m such a fatty!  I convinced my husband to stop and get me a snickers blizzard on our way home from the beach last Sunday.  I got snickers and he got cookie dough.  When the gal handed it to me it was like Christmas!  Like no joke.  I was so excited!  As we began driving down the road I took a big bite of my blizzard.  “Humph, this doesn’t taste as good as I thought it would taste.  Hun, does your blizzard taste funny?”  I say. 

He responds, “yeah, it’s a little weird.  What does yours taste like?” 

“Mine tastes like chocolate, oil and metal.”  As I take another big bite.  “Here!  Taste it!” 

“Nooooo.  I don’t want to taste it,” He says. 

“Ohhh c’mon.  Give it a try.  Its not bad, it just tastes weird.  If I die, I want you to come with me. Haha.”

“Oh, okay.”  He takes a bite.  “BLEHHHH!  That’s disgusting!  How are you eating that?  You need to stop eating that right now.  That can’t be good for you or the baby.” 

“OH CRAP!  The baby!  But I want ice cream SO BADLY!"

“Noooo.  You need to throw that away.  We’ll get you another blizzard later tonight.”  He says.

“Humph!  But its just so sad.”   And then the sulking began. 

And so, I had to throw away a brand new, full to the top, blizzard.   It was tragic!