24 weeks: Oh that sweet August buttery goodness

It's hard to believe that in 2 weeks and 6 days, I will be in the third trimester. Scaaary.

Anyway, Raina is now the size of an ear of corn. She gained about 4 ounces since last week, which puts her just over 1 pound. She's almost a foot long. Her body is pretty lean (although I hope not as skinny as an actual ear of corn), but she's filling out and she'll soon start to plump up. Her brain is growing quickly, and her taste buds are still developing. Her lungs are developing branches of the respiratory tree as well as cells that produce surfactant, which is a substance that will help her air sacs inflate once she hits the outside world. Her skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.

My uterus is about an inch above my belly button, and is the size of a soccer ball. See?



In other news, we think we've decided on a boy's name. We have not decided on a girl's first name yet. This is another indicator that indeed this little one is a girl. I have a long list of girls' names, but Kevin's not so sure about most of them. We have 3 that we agreed on, but I'm not sure I love any of them enough. The middle name is pretty much decided on, unless the first name ends up not going with it. I know you're intrigued :)

Kevin put his ear to my belly the other day. Jen told me at our high school get together that her husband heard their little girl's heartbeat by doing this. Kevin didn't hear the heartbeat, but he did hear Raina moving around, and even a thunk. Hearing her is one thing he can do that I can't, which is cool for him. Last night, Raina was kicking pretty hard, so I told Kevin to come watch and maybe he'd see a bump from the outside. At long last, he did. We'd been trying to get him to see it since I saw it...was that 1 or 2 weeks ago?

And I guess I should've given my readers time to cross their everything (see post below), because 10 minutes after publishing the post, I called the auto body shop about my Escape. Not. Done. Freakin' A. They close today at 12, and aren't open again until Monday. If the dude who is fixing my dearly beloved decides he wants to work on Friday (please, please work on Friday--maybe even just a half day), he might have it done by early next week. I don't believe this though, because when we called on Monday, Dec. 15, he said it might be done by the 19th. Then I called on the 22nd and he said, "I'd tell you it would be done by Christmas, but I'd be lying to you, so I'm going to try for New Years." So I'm thinking, "Sweet, as long as I have it back before I go back to school, it's all good." Nada. Granted, there have been some holidays in this span, and it had to go away to get frame work done, and the parts weren't arriving in a timely manner. He admitted it had been a little neglected with the weather we're having. And he said that the insurance company is on him to get it done as well. Well, yeah! They're paying for my rental car! So far, I've had the dang thing for 42 days. I can't imagine how much that is going to cost the insurance company. It's costing me $756 so far in the $18/day insurance alone! But I dare take it off because of the morons that I can't trust not to follow me so darn closely in horrible weather quite yet. *sigh* Needless to say, I had a hormone-induced temper tantrum in the car on the way to the chiropractor after I hung up the phone with the auto body guy. I bawled my eyes out, and I called Kevin to pout to him too. I just want my car back! I want the world to revolve around me and my Escape! :)

Catching up in pictures

I know, I've been a bad blogger. I feel bad, I really do. But here's a post in pictures to catch you up with what has happened over the last few days.

In short, Christmas Eve was spent at Kev's Grandma L's. We saw Kev's cousin's son Tyler, who used to be a baby, but is now 3. We only see them at Christmas, and to see that he was a kiddo who was talking and playing with monster trucks on the floor was a real change from the 2 year old we saw last year.

Christmas day was spent at Kev's Grandma F's. Here we saw another cousin's kiddo, Mason, who is 2, I think. This is was also a crazy change from last Christmas.

On Saturday morning, we headed down to Roch to visit my family. We arrived and opened presents immediately. I got a new camera. Now I don't have to rely on Kev to bring his home so I can update my blog. So I practiced using the camera.


The camera has a color tagging function where you can choose a color to tag, and it makes the rest of the picture black and white except for everything that is the color you tagged. For instance: Study of greens:


It was a good time, and even baby got some Christmas presents; a couple pack of onesies and some books to add to the book collection. Baby thanks Grandma :)

Later that night, I went to the local (smoke-free. i heart smoking bans) pub. I invited a bunch of facebook friends I graduated with. About 20-25 showed up throughout the night. It was a lot of fun catching up with everybody. We didn't have a 5 year reunion, so this 9.5 year get together was a good time. Here are some snippets of our good times.




Then Jen and I took a belly picture together. But unfortunately blogger isn't letting me upload it. Boo.

Yesterday, I braved the wintery weather and met up with K mom, L Dawg, and the engaged Sarah and Grant at the Olive Garden. We indulged in soup, salad, and breadsticks and good conversation.


We also found out where the OG stores their cheese graters.


And, lastly, take a good look. This is the baby's room "Before" picture. Although, this is not in it's original state. This is our paint color of choice (as mentioned in previous post, "Swimming" by Sherwinn Williams). We've removed the carpet and trim to make room for the white trim tomorrow and the "wren" colored carpet on Friday. I shall post pictures when those two projects are completed.




And now I must be off to the chiropractor. Cross your everything that I get my Escape back today. I will be back later to post the weekly update, with belly pictures this time :)

23 weeks: Merry Christmas

My primary source of produce-comparisons slacks when it gets this late. A papaya=weeks 22-24. Thus, I rely on my secondary source for a few weeks. A little overlap here, with an adjective placed in front of it. This week, Rain is a large mango. He's just over 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound. His sense of movement is well developed now, and if I dance around, he can feel it. Guess I'll have to hit the nightclub this weekend and shake my groove thing. Blood vessels in his lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that he's hearing are preparing him for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now--me yelling at students :), Rocket barking, loud piano music--probably won't faze him when he hears them when he's out here with us.

No belly pic available. Kev's camera is not dans la maison. It's not here to capture memories of my girth, nor memories of Rocket opening his Christmas presents this morning. We got him a stuffed animal dog wrapped with a treat to coax him to tear open the wrapping paper. It didn't exactly work. We're interested to see whether he'll rip the dog to shreds like he did with his elephant when he was a pup:

Or be nice to him and keep him in one piece. And he also got a new tennis ball. Traditionally (and by tradition, I mean the last 2 Christmases because that is the extent of his existence), we get him a can of 3 tennis balls on Christmas, and give him 1. When he bites a hole in it, we throw it away and give him the next, and then the next. Then he doesn't get another can until next Christmas.

What did I get for Christmas? 1 of 2 things I asked for. I got Kevin's completed baby name list! We compared name lists today. There was 1 common boy name and 3 common girl names. From there, we came up with a list of 6 boy names and 5 girl names. Now we need to try them out and see which ones we love and which ones we don't. Wanna know what the names are? Too bad. We're not telling. You'll know in April, though. Muhahahaha! And what did I not get? My fixed Escape. The auto body shop said perhaps by the new year. Good gravy, I hope so.

And can't forget Kevin. What did he get? He gets the privilege of not having to carry his child. And a happy wife. A happy wife is a happy life, so that's a perfect give in and of itself.

Tagged again

and on a cop-out! This one's similar to the one below. 4th picture folder, 4th picture. See, my mac organizes photos based on year, so "picture folders" are labeled as years, and well, sometimes that's not very exciting. This is one of those cases. Hence, this picture is a boring one. A master bathroom "before" picture.


Oh, and the washing machine does work. Let's just say "operator error" and leave it at that.

The reason I don't clean these days

I hosted a piano recital at my home for my 5 lovely lady students. Thus, I cleaned my house for about 5 hours. BUT not the entire 5 hours, you see, because I couldn't stand for very long! I'd sweep a bit of the floor and my right hip would hurt. I'd sit down. Then I'd get up and sweep some more and then sit down. Then I had to mop up Rocket's paw prints. So I'd do a little bit, then sit down. Then I dusted, and washed dishes, and cleaned the bathroom. It has never been such a painful job before. Now that the recital is over (it went well, the students had fun, the families were appreciative, they loved my punch), all I'm going to do is sit the entire rest of the night. My house does look quite lovely, though. Cleanest it's been at least all week. Maybe even longer than that.

Oh, and our washing machine doesn't work. At least it didn't 5 hours ago when I tried. There's no way I'm walking down the stairs to the basement to check if it works now. Because, you know, that means I'll have to walk back up. The only reason I'm hoping it doesn't work is so that I can get a new washer. But that costs money. Money that ideally should be used towards other things. But if the cosmos want me to get a new washing machine, let the cosmos speak.

Off to sit on the couch. If you need me, you'll find me there. And bring a snack while you're up... :)

I've been tagged

I was getting kind of jealous of all of the blogs I read and people were getting tagged except me. I wanted to have a little bit of fun! Now a high school friend, Jen E. let me in on the action. Thanks Jen!

Here are the Rules: go to Your Pictures file go to the 5th folder open up the 5th picture and post it then tag 5 people when you are done.



This was Rocket's first birthday. I bought him a party hat and put it on him, because I'm cruel like that. Here he is trying to get it off. Two more pictures into this file (the 2008 file), and he's happily enjoying his Frosty Paws ice cream WITH his hat back on, so he found out that wearing the hat wasn't so bad if you get a treat for doing so.

Now I'm tagging: Kristin S., Liz S., Laura D., Leah F., and sweetpea.

Gender predictors

These are kind of fun:

Just mommies gender quiz
75% chance: Girl

Ancient Chinese Gender Predictor
Boy

Babyman
Boy

Sex Ratio
90% chance: Girl

The Bump Chinese Gender Calendar
Girl

Baby Gender Predictor
70% chance: Girl

Old Wives Tales
73% chance: Girl

Wedding Ring
Boy

Childbirth.org quiz
86% chance: Girl

In summary: 6 out of 9 (66%) predict girl, 3 out of 9 (33%) predict boy.

Two interesting points to mention:
1. Not sure why, but most of the websites that picked girl gave me a percent chance. The websites that predicted boy never gave me a percentage.
2. The last few mentioned orange juice. Oranges are my newest "must-have." Not so sure I'd call it a craving, but I just love them so much right now. I eat one every day, and now that we have OJ in our fridge, I drink that in the morning. Shhh don't tell my midwife though. She doesn't want me drinking juice, the silly lady.

A happening

I saw the baby kicking today! She was kicking pretty hard, so I looked down, and within a few seconds a little bump rose and fell. It was super cool. Hopefully she'll do it more tonight so Kevin can see. He felt her kicking again last night. Lovin' it!

I'm feeling the itch to register soon. Within the next month, at least. I spent some of the snowy morning today researching cribs, mattresses, and rockers/gliders in my Baby Bargains book. It was a bit overwhelming, but made me change my mind about our previously made-up minds regarding the crib. At first, we were turned off by the selection at Babies R Us. Cheaply made furniture does not float our boat. We considered going the Amish route, which was WAY too expensive. Then we considered the homemade route by asking my dad to build the crib, which after today, I realized wasn't a good idea because of safety concerns. Not that I think my dad would build a deathtrap, but because the cribs you buy have to pass certain safety standards. I realized today that there's so much more to it than having a crib made in the brown maple we love. Even down to the nitty gritty things like hardware, it's better to have something that I know has passed safety standards. So, we will buck it up and buy a decent-quality crib at Babies R Us and be happy.

We braved the snow this evening to go to Wal-Mart for groceries. As usual, I wandered the produce looking for the food item that represents my baby this week. I had never paid much attention to papayas or spaghetti squash before, but holy moly they are big. I held it up to my stomach (and when I do this, I wonder if people are wondering what the heck I'm doing), and I told Kevin I was unsure about pushing something that size out. He was so kind to remind me that Raina has many more weeks to grow, and she'll only get bigger. I weighed the produce, too, and was semi-comforted that they weighed a hefty 3 pounds, which was 2 pounds heavier than Raina is right now.

22 weeks: Mama Paquita

Mama Paquita
Mama Paquita buy your baby a banana,
A ripe banana, and a papaya.
A ripe papaya that your baby will enjoy!

Rain is the size of a papaya (or a spaghetti squash) these days, which is the equivalent of 11 inches, and we know he weighs at least 15 oz. His nipples are sprouting, and his cute little face is fully formed, including his eyes. He has lanugo (fine hair) that covers his body and deep wrinkles, which will fill in when he adds a padding of fat. His pancreas is developing steadily. He can now hear outside noises. Last night Kevin and I read "10 Little Monkey's Jumping on the Bed" to him. The book was a gift from a friend. I was the narrator, and Kevin was unenthusiastically the doctor. A very annoyed one, to say the least, even though he had the easiest part. Hopefully the baby enjoyed it, though. Rain is starting to settle into sleep cycles, snoozing about 12-14 hours a day.

I may start noticing stretch marks at this point. Let's hope I've kept them at bay. I've been using Jafra's Royal Almond Body Oil religiously lately, as I've heard that it works to keep stretch marks away. I also notice I lose less hair, which makes my already thick hair thicker. After baby's born, I might lose the excess in clumps. Scary! My rings are getting harder and harder to take off each night. I'm not sure what I'm going to do--wear them as a necklace, or buy an inexpensive, plain band in a size bigger to wear until my rings fit again. I just don't want people staring at me--pregnant, no rings--wondering if I'm an unwed mother.

Ultrasound update and more

'Ello there! Just wanted to stop in and tell you about our ultrasound we had on Friday.

First up, I only gained 1 pound since my last visit. Grand total: 11 pounds. The baby is measuring right where she should be. She weighs 15 ounces. I'm not sure on the length. Her heartbeat was 124 bpm. We saw the four-chamber heart pumping, the stomach, the kidneys, the spine, and all sorts of other cool stuff. It was amazing to see her in there moving around. At that moment, she was head down with her legs up and around my belly button. The doctor seemed to deem everything as normal and working beautifully. We didn't get to see Raina's face because she was facing towards my back, but that's okay.

My favorite part was when we saw her little hand waving at us.

The latest baby dream went a little something like this: It was our first day home with the baby, who was a boy (again). He needed his diaper changed, and it was the first poopy one, so I called Kevin over to come and help me so he could learn. I set the baby on the floor in this tiny, wood-paneled room, and looked up to see if Kevin was coming. When I looked down, the baby was a white piece of paper cut out like a gingerbread man. He had brownish yellow stains on him, which was the poop. We got him all cleaned up (at least I assume, because I don't remember this part of the dream), and put him down for a nap. Then the next thing I remember about the dream is sitting around a table talking to people, and all of a sudden thinking, "Oh my gosh! I have a baby! I can't just sit here! I need to go make sure he's okay!"

My parents came up on Friday night and stayed until just about an hour ago. My mom and I spent almost all of yesterday baking cookies (and this is after reducing our numbers from last year). Meanwhile, Kev and my dad worked on the baby's room. They tore the carpet out, and tried to find a way to put an overhead light in the ceiling. The ugliness and uselessness of the room in its present state is more than enough to motivate us to get the new trim and carpet installed ASAP. Maybe (just maybe) over Christmas break I'll spend some time painting the trim, since it should arrive by then. Then all we need is some carpet, a closet organization system of some sort, and we're ready to move in!

Today, my brother, Kathy, and Zach came up to celebrate my dad's and my birthday. We had quite the feast (ribs, mashed potatoes, corn, broccoli, fruit salad, bread), and now we have quite the leftovers! 'Twas grand times.

Just say it.

There's no doubt I'm showing.

Week 21: Bananarama

Raina is the size of a banana this week! Up until this point, the produce measurements were taken from crown to rump. This week starts the head to toe measurements. She's about 10.5 inches long and weighs about 12.7 ounces. We'll find out for sure on Friday at our REAL ultrasound how she's measuring up compared to her peers and bananas. She's busy gulping several ounces of amniotic fluid every day, both for hydration and nutrition and to practice swallowing and digesting. Her taste buds are actually working now. Apparently, some studies show that after birth, babies are most interested in tastes they've already experienced through amniotic fluid. Do you think it's true or they're just saying that so it makes me feel guilty for not eating enough vegetables?

Kevin felt Raina move for the first time last night! She was kicking away, so I put my hand on my belly where the kicks were, and felt one on the outside (as I have felt before), so I called Kevin over, and he finally felt it too! It was just one little tap, but he was pretty excited about it, in his own little way.

My dear friend Jessica, who is 28 weeks pg, and I got a chance to meet up this past weekend. We hit up Babies R Us and the Mall of America for some baby and maternity shopping. Mostly, we discussed the essentials. She found a crib she liked and ordered. Then we moved on to strollers and infant car seats and made a big decision together in those aisles. Nothing big--just what we plan on using for the stroller. We're both pretty excited about it, though. She bought me the book Baby Bargains for my birthday/Christmas/congrats, you're having a baby! gift. Surprisingly, when I got home and read the section on strollers, the authors agreed with us! We are so smart. Our plan is:
This:

Plus this (or something like it, you get the idea):

Equals this, being used by Naomi Watts. Click on the picture to see the whole thing.:

We figured that since we'll have infants in the summer time, what's the use for the big, heavy travel system when the baby is just a bitty thing? This is the compact way to go.

We also took some time out and paused by her Christmas tree to take a picture together. Me=20.5 weeks, Her=28 weeks. She knows how to turn her body to be flattering, and she's wearing black, which is why you can't see her cute, cute belly.

21 week belly pictures to come soon!

Fo reals?

A parent of one of my students told me today that I've popped. I have noticed that my stomach is noticeably hard. Every week my belly button gets shallower and shallower, rounder and rounder. I had a dream a few nights ago that my belly button popped out and looked like a mushroom. Scary thought.

20 weeks: Halfway there!

Knock knock!
Who's there?
Cantaloupe.
Cantaloupe who?
Cantaloupe with you tonight!

Yeah, dumb. I know.
Rain is the size of a cantaloupe now. The size of a melon you'd definitely share with others. One you can't eat all by yourself (at least in one sitting). His digestive system is making meconium. That's baby poop made out of the amniotic fluid he's drinking, digestive secretions, and dead cells. This black, tarry poo is going to show up in his first diaper. Can't wait! He's measuring in at 6.5 inches and 10.6 ounces.

How am I feeling? In general, I guess you could say better. There are some times that I need a snack and I need it NOW because I feel sick, but those urgencies are decreasing.

Rain is definitely moving around in there. I feel him more and more every day, mostly once my students have left the building and he can have some peace and quiet. Then he continues bouncing around on and off for the rest of the evening.

I seriously can't believe I'm halfway done incubating this little being. The time has flown by! In celebration of the halfway point, here are a few dorky full-body shots.



And the one where I look like a sasquatch:

Turkey Day

Kev, Rocket, and I are heading down to Roch in the morning to celebrate Thanksgiving with my dad's side of the fam. Traditionally, the feast is devoured at my grandma's house, but this year we're mixing it up a little and it's at my parents house instead. Should be some good times.

I hope you all have a great day tomorrow, and are able to share in festivities with family and/or friends. Safe travels, readers!

19 weeks: Hello, Mango.

This week we're going tropical, because Raina is a mango! Which brings to mind one of my favorite SNL skits of all time:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbgK8fNpZJE

Raina should measure about 6 inches and weigh about 8.5 oz. Vernix caseosa, which is that nasty, greasy, white substance made of lanugo, oil, and dead skin cells (yummy) now coat her skin, shielding it from the amniotic fluid. Hey, if you had to take a 9-month-long bath, you'd be pruny and only wish you had the vernix, so don't judge. Her brain is designing specialized areas for her senses. Her arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of her body now. Her kidneys continue to make urine and the hair on her scalp is sprouting. If she comes from my side of the family, there's sure to be plenty of it. Here's the belly status:



She's been moving around a lot lately. Yesterday was the most she's moved ever. Those kicks were so strong, I thought for sure I'd be able to feel them from the outside so Kev could have a feel. Not yet, I guess. She was kicking me last night when I woke up to get a drink of water. She's kicking me right now. And what does that little being look like? Only the cutest little baby in the entire world! Here you go, finally!

17w5d. Those two little dots kind of in the midst of black straight out from her face are part of her hand. And then there's the heart, which is the black splotch in the middle of her belly, and then her cute little legs and feet, which are jumbled up way to the right. She's perfect :)

Update

I had my 18 week OB appointment today. Short 'n sweet. My BP's good, I've gained 3 pounds since the last appointment which makes a grand total of 10 pounds thus far. Right on track, thankyouverymuch. Rain's heartbeat was 152. What was once a noise barely above a whisper has now grown into a talking volume. The nurse commented on how active he is. Once again, he was moving and kicking around. I reassured her that this is his active time, and also forewarned my midwife when it was her turn to listen to his heartbeat. Once the doppler was on my belly, she said I was right and thanked me for the warning. I made an appointment for a 21 week ultrasound on Dec. 12, which is the same day I go to the MN Zoo for a field trip (oy). You see, I like to schedule appointments on field trip days so I have something FUN to look forward to. Although I truly hope the zoo trip will be fun. I just can't guarantee it.

Car accident update: My chiropractor wants to see me twice a week for awhile. He did a scan on my back, and my spine from my shoulder blades up was definitely misaligned. The very lowest vertebra was also out of line. I have two appointments with him next week, and we're going to discuss a chiro closer to home that I can visit for my second appointments of the week. There's no way I'm driving one hour one way twice a week after working for 8 hours. The good news is that I don't have to pay for these appointments. We're still working it out through the insurance companies to hopefully bypass the part where I have to hand over money to my chiro. Hopefully we can work it out where it'll be submitted directly to whatever insurance (hers, my car insurance, my health insurance) will do it. Whatever.

Kev and I both had baby dreams in the past few nights. My latest dream was that I looked at my belly and could see a clear outline of a foot pressing against my belly. Next thing I knew, I was holding a 3-6 month old baby BOY (again). I can't remember what Kev's was about. He usually doesn't remember many details.

18 weeks, my sweet potato pie

Baby Raina is a sweet potato this week. At the unplanned ultrasound on Monday night, we learned that she's measuring one day ahead. She weighed 8 oz (a whole half-pound!) and I wasn't told her length, but in the corner of the picture it says 15.0 cm, which is equivalent to 5.9 inches. That seems pretty much on-target with my produce-comparing source, so we're going with it. Nothing new to report as far as what she's developing; just that she's more mobile. I'm feeling it, and enjoying it. I can't wait until Kev can feel her too. Sorry I haven't uploaded the ultrasound picture...I haven't had a chance to scan it at work yet. Perhaps tomorrow I'll find a minute to do it.

Here's the belly pics, taken tonight (remember, morning vs. night makes a difference) since Kev's camera was MIA this morning when I was looking for it:



Not the best comparison with last week because of the time of day, but perhaps I'm getting rounder. I sure felt that way this morning when I got dressed.

I have an OB appointment on Friday. One of those fast, quick ones just to check my vitals and baby's vitals. My midwife hasn't called about the accident, so I'm sure she's not concerned. I read in What to Expect When You're Expecting today that babies are so protected inside that car accidents usually aren't a big deal. A co-worker told me today that during both of her pregnancies, she was in car accidents--one was a rollover--and all was fine and dandy. Reassuring.

Speaking of the accident: I feel much like I did yesterday, but less emotional. I worked a half-day today to get the best of both worlds (movement and rest). It was perfect. The sub that was there yesterday came back today. Isn't she amazing? Enterprise came and picked me up from work. They gave me a Dodge Magnum to drive. It's a beast of a vehicle, and I'm just glad it's not the '86 rust orange Crown Vic I "drove" in August while I got hail damage repaired. And by drove, I mean I drove home, parked it the garage, closed the garage door, and didn't drive it again until it was time to return it. We still don't know the status of the Escape--maybe I'll give the auto body shop a call tomorrow and find out what the dealio is on it. Tomorrow I also have a long appointment with my chiropractor to discuss what exactly happened and how he's going to fix me up. He said I'll be seeing a lot of him in the next few weeks. Whatever works, I guess :) Speaking of chiropractor, I've got 10 pages of paperwork to fill out for that appointment tomorrow, so I better get started on it!

I'm home

I walked into school this morning, expecting to get through at least half the day before I needed to go home and sleep. Anyone who knows me knows that, for me, little sleep=lots of emotions, lots of crying. I was fine unless someone who heard about the accident talked to me about it. The principal found out what happened, and told me I needed to go home. There was already a sub at school who came in error, so someone was ready to step into my place.

The kids arrived and were all confused why I was so distraught and there were so many adults in the room (me, the sub, the counselor). After writing some sketchy lesson plans down for my sub who's never subbed before (God help her), I called the kids to the back of the room for morning meeting.

I told them that I had been in a car accident yesterday, and Ms. D. was also in the accident, and that everybody was okay. I went on to say that I wasn't hurt, that I wasn't worried about the other drivers because I knew they'd be fine, I wasn't worried about my car. What I was worried about most was another person that Mr. F and I like to call little Rain. At this point, most were confused, some got it. I pulled out my ultrasound picture and showed them, and it all sunk in with them. Then I heard, "Why didn't you tell us?!?!?!" Which I responded with, "I just did. I wasn't going to just let myself get all big and fat and let you wonder," which made them laugh a little. Then I explained the ultrasound picture to them...where the head, the belly, the feet, and the heart were...and passed it around for them to see. One student asked, "When did you get pregnant?" and another asked when I was going to have the baby. It wasn't the "fun" way I envisioned telling my students, but that doesn't matter to me anymore.

I've been trying to get some sleep, but it's not working. I may have to drink some warm milk or Sleepytime tea or lather on some lavender lotion to induce some zzzzzs. My right arm, for some reason, feels like I've lifted weights. It's sore when I lift it, and it has that achy-muscle feeling. And my lower back is achy too. I've been keeping ice packs on these parts, hoping it will help a little.

P's insurance is covering everything for the car, the ER visit, and even reimbursing my sick day :). Sick days are precious when April/May/June rolls around. We're not sure of the status of the Escape yet. Being a 2008, it still has a lot of value so it likely won't be totaled.

Baby's First Car Accident

Happily heading home after work yesterday, I got into a lovely car accident. The man in front of me was turning in to DQ. His signal and his brake were a little late, but I was still in control with stopping until my co-worker rear-ended me. All I remember was hearing/feeling smash-bounce, smash-bounce, smash-bounce as I crashed and bounced between the two vehicles. All while feeling completely safe and calm while it was happening. I pulled over to the side, the man parked in the DQ lot, my co-worker couldn't get her van to run. It was leaking anti-freeze, and her airbags had deployed. I got out of the car to assess the damage. It's not good. The left headlight was gone, the left fender was dangling. The whole back end of my lovely Escape was no longer there. The hazard lights I had turned on were useless because there were no tail lights. In fact, my friend/co-worker Stacey called to ask me if that was P's (co-worker's) van she saw by DQ, and I said yes it was, and I was with her, and she had no idea b/c she didn't recognize my Escape.

Everyone's fine...The dude was okay, P's hands were hurting, I was worried mostly about the baby. I called Kev and he came. After the cop took stories, and the tow truck came to tow my Escape and P's van away, and several co-workers stopped to see if P and I were okay (so nice...), Kev and I went to the ER to check on the baby. While we sat waiting, and waiting, and waiting (even small-town ERs are ungodly awful in this department), I could feel the baby moving. The nurse came to check the baby's heartbeat (140 this time). I felt re-assured that baby was okay. But an unplanned ultrasound was the greatest thing that came out of the whole ordeal. It was so cool to see baby Rain moving and kicking and arching his back. I have pictures, but my scanner is broken, so I'll scan them at work.

As for the Escape...we'll find out today.
As for me...I'm sore today, and tired. I hardly got any sleep last light reliving the crash. And thank God we had chiropractor appointments previously scheduled for today. That's going to be wonderful.

Crib bedding

The original plan for crib bedding was to save a few bucks and just buy some crib sheets and a dust ruffle. That is, until I spotted this crib bedding a few weekends ago at Burlington Coat Factory during my shopping trip with K-mom.
Note: Crib bedding only. I don't want the curtains, decorations, diaper stacker, etc. That's too "themed" for this girl.

Kev and I went in the store yesterday so he could get a look in person. We both like it, but I'm afraid to make the commitment. What if I end up liking something else better? Such is the commitment phobia/frugality I've been known to have my entire life. I don't like to jump into "big" decisions like this and spend the money on something I might not end up loving. However, the price is right. To top it off, it's organic cotton, which isn't necessary, but it's a definite plus in our books.

Kev will be gone next weekend. He put his stamp of approval on the bedding, and says if I like it, we can buy it. Perhaps this purchase will be made next weekend, then :)

What do you think? Should I make the step, or should I wait to see if I find another great set? Cast your vote with the poll on the right.

17 weeks: P.U.! (updated)

Baby Rain is now the size of an onion. That makes him 5.1 inches and 5.9 ounces. His skeleton is hardening, changing from cartilage to bone, and fat is accumulating around it. His fingerprints are in place. Hopefully we won't need to be putting ink on them too many times in his life.

I think I can feel him move. It's mostly in the evening, when I am no longer up and about constantly. The light flutters I feel are always in the same spot on the right. It's also easier to feel him if my legs are closer to my chest so that I "squish" him. I know it's mean, but it's too cool to NOT do when I haven't felt him for awhile.

I had my first baby dream last night. Rain (not Raina) was born at 17 weeks (yikes), but he was healthy and so cute. I was going to my 6 week appointment after the birth, and put Rain in the backseat of the car, in his infant carrier, but that was on the floor, not in the base that's attached to the car. When I realized this, I was obviously flustered that I didn't think of putting it in the base. My mom was with me, and as we walked into the hospital for the appointment, I told her that I didn't remember anything about the birth. I remember walking into the hospital, and the next thing I remembered was being at home. So maybe that's my subconscious' way of telling me, "It doesn't hurt that bad! You won't even remember the pain!"

Here are the pictures of the week. The fogged-up look is due to the fact I had just taken the camera out of Kev's truck, which had been sitting in the cold garage all night. Cold camera + warm house = foggy lens. One of these weeks, I'll take a decent picture.

16 weeks--Holy Guacamole!

First, the belly pictures. This morning, they were taken by Kev and his mad photography skills. Hard to compare between this week and last. I thought I was turned the same way I usually am, and lo and behold, I'm not.





Raina is now the size of an avocado! She's about 4.6 inches and 3.5 ounces. The anvils, hammers, and stirrups are forming in her ears, which means she can now hear my voice. That means a lot less swearing and a lot more book reading, I guess. Kidding about the swearing mom. I don't do that. ;) Her eyebrows, eyelashes, and hair are starting to fill in, and her taste buds are forming.

K-mom and I went shopping this weekend. I needed a mood lifter (long week at school that only a fellow teacher would understand), and a onesie was what was going to do it. We hit up Burlington Coat Factory (my first time there--they seriously are more than great coats!) and the mall. The weekend after Halloween= great sales on Halloween onesies, so I took a risk and bought a few. The one in the middle is from BCF and it says "So cute it's scary" and the bottom of the ghost costume lifts up. The one on the right is from Baby Gap. A candy corn with the words "short and sweet." Who could resist? The onesie on the left is from Auntie K-mom, who also couldn't resist. There's a giraffe on the front and it says "watch me grow," then the butt is a giraffe face. Raina loves it already and thanks you for your unnecessary generosity. She also says, "Being with my mom would've been more than enough. xoxo, Raina."

Is that a donut or a baby?

People are starting to notice my bump. I know what you're thinking, "How could they NOT notice how fat you've become!" Right. Actually, I like to think I'm pretty good at hiding/covering it most days. Not that I try to anymore.

Two stories:

On Friday I was talking to one of the aides at school and another one, whom I've known for awhile now--we go way back to when I used to work at the YMCA and her kids were in the programs, approached me and said, "I heard some news about you today, and I talked to you earlier and you didn't say anything!"
The other aide chimed in, "What? What did you hear? Because I think I know what you heard but I haven't heard it yet."
Aide 1, to me: "Congratulations"
Aide 2: "I knew it! I was looking at you the other day during science, just staring at your belly, thinking, there's got to be a bun in there. So sorry if you thought I was staring at you, but I was just trying to figure it out." (apparently I didn't notice this gawk-a-thon)
Blah blah blah....

Today, a parent of a child I taught two years ago when she was in 2nd grade said to me, "What's new with Mrs. F?" The way she said it made it seem like she heard a rumor somewhere and was going to the source to get the scoop. I, of course, said "nothing's new" because I'm not ready to "come out" to parents yet, whether they're my students' parents or former students' parents. Well, that answer just wasn't going to cut it with her, because I knew she knew. So I pulled her into my classroom while her two sweet cherubs waited outside my classroom door, wondering what in the world we could be talking about. All I said to her was "Yes," and she said, "I saw you the other day and I thought, either she's had a donut or that's a baby in there." And I said, "Really? You can tell?" She replied, "only a little bit, and it's also in your eyes, like, "I've got a secret."" And she promised not to tell anyone. Then she said congrats, and touched my belly. Then, seeing two curious noses pressed against the glass of my classroom door, she rubbed my arm, and said, "What a pretty sweater!" As we opened the door, she said, "So where did you get it? TJMaxx?" "Nope, JCPenney." "Oh right. Ok! Let's go there and see if they have one in my size!" To which Faith, my former student, said, "You were in there talking privately about a sweater?!" Haha...I love that family.

Luckily none of my students have said anything yet, and I don't see parents often enough for them to start getting curious. That time will come soon, though. I'm sure of it.

15 week belly pictures

Here they are! Not much change since last week. And yes, I'm wearing the same pants I wore in my picture last week. My pants are on a one-week rotation. These ones are comfortable and they're the last pair of non-maternity pants that fit me. I relish that.

Knock knock

Who's there?
Banana.
Banana who?
Knock knock.
Who's there?
Banana.
Banana who?
Knock knock.
Who's there?
Orange.
Orange who?
Orange you glad I didn't say banana?

Baby Rain is the size of a naval orange this week. He's a whole 4 inches long and weighs 2.5 ounces. His proportions are getting more "normal," his legs are longer than his arms, and all of his legs and arms have functional joints. He's supposedly squirming and wiggling like crazy in there. Sometimes if I sit really still and concentrate, I think I feel a little tickle. But I'm not sure if it's me breathing or actually him.

How am I feeling these days? In terms of the pregnancy, better. But my allergies are still bothersome. After my chiropractor appointment yesterday, they've lightened up a little. I'm hoping I don't have the throbbing headache anymore that I've had for the past few days. I went all night last night without waking up to blow my nose, so that's a huge accomplishment.

I don't have any cravings anymore--not even potatoes. And no taste aversions either. I've even made suppers with hamburger a few times without wanting to hurl.

15 week belly picture to come.

It won't be the last time...

I had a baby appointment this afternoon. A lovely, quick, just-what-the-midwife-ordered appointment. Kevin came along for the experience, which was fun for me. I told him about the big light placed strategically at the end of the examination table, and the reason why there's something that says "Caution: Hot" underneath the green padding of the table. After waiting for our midwife for a good 10-15 minutes, he got fidgety so I engaged him in a few rounds of "Rock, paper, scissors" and thumb wars. That seemed to take his mind off the long wait.

Highlights of my appointment:
*I've gained 5 pounds since my last appointment, which is right on target. You're supposed to gain 1 lb per week. This makes a grand total of 7 lbs since my pre-pregnancy weight. This also puts me tied with my heaviest weight ever. I will soon break that record. Next week, apparently.
*My belly is where it should be in terms of size, which is reassuring. I was beginning to think I was the size of a house.
*We heard Raina's heartbeat twice--once with the nurse, and once with the midwife. Her heart rate was 160 bpm this time. Both times she was kicking and moving around, which is exciting. It won't be long before I can feel her tumbling around in there. Then it won't be long before I'll wish she weren't. They found her hiding much higher up in my belly than I expected--probably about 2-3 inches below my belly button!

And now to address the title of this post. My allergies are at an all-time high right now. The nurse said they're worse when you're pregnant. As I was typing about entertaining Kev above, I sneezed and peed my pants a little. I didn't even think I needed to use the bathroom. I'm just glad it happened at home and not at school or somewhere else. I'm sure this is only the beginning of the joys that lie ahead.

14 weeks

I know it has only been 4 days since the last belly picture. I'm going to take them on Wednesdays from here on out. Wednesday is the big week-change day.



Rain is the size of a lemon now. I know what you're thinking. Last week was a peach and this week is a lemon? That seems sort of backwards. I agree. I wasn't the one who came up with the produce metaphors. Anyway, this week Rain 3.4 in long and 1.5 oz. He's sucking his thumb (oh no--braces on the way!), wiggling his toes, making urine (ew), and breathing amniotic fluid. His liver, kidneys, and spleen continue to develop, and his lanugo (thin, downy hair) is growing all over his body to keep him warm.

The word is spreading at work. Good times. My co-workers are amazed I could keep it a secret this long, and they are so happy that I get to leave my horrid class in April.

Lettin' it all hang out

This message is brought to you by the word Hallelujah!

I told my principal the big news today. At first I caught a glimpse of "oh shit" on her face, but after a few seconds of chortling on her part and silence on mine, I said, "surprise!" (there we go again with me not knowing what to do in moments of awkwardness) and she replied back that she's not surprised. This is the way things happen in a school. One person has her baby (that co-worker I mentioned last week is due tomorrow) the same time another announces her pregnancy. So basically she was thinking all along, "Who could be next?" 'Tis I. 'Tis I.

And before I told the principal, two other events occurred.
1. A co-worker came up to me and said that she heard some good news was happening in April. Apparently at the aforementioned co-worker's baby shower last week, the wine got to flowing and the word slipped out. I hate to speculate which of my wine-loving friends spilled the beans, but it's only obvious. You know who you are. But don't worry...I'm not mad. It was a great secret and you kept it for such a long time.

2. I told my team of fellow 4th grade teachers. None of them had a clue. HA! I'm such a great secret-keeper.

It feels so good to not have to hide my belly anymore behind zip-up hoodies or fleece vests.

I'm not sure when the rest of the school will find out, but I'm sure word will spread to most by the end of the week. If not, I think we have a staff meeting either tomorrow or next Wednesday, so I'll tell those who don't know then.

We're here!

I celebrated entering the 2nd trimester yesterday by shopping and taking a new belly pic.

Leah and I went to Woodbury yesterday to Motherhood Maternity. I shopped, and she supported my purchases. I got three pair of pants, and I'm very excited to wear them and work in comfort this week. We also went to Old Navy and scored some non-maternity, but still workable, deals.

Before I left home, I took new belly pictures. These are more representative because they were taken in the morning and not after a full day of eating. I'm wearing the maternity jeans I bought at Old Navy when I went shopping at the MOA back in September.



According to the poll, a majority of you thought that my huge belly size last week was because of bloat. I agree. The baby's position is much too low for it to be noticeable yet.

I have a busy week ahead of me:
Monday: meeting after school and piano lessons
Tuesday: telling my fellow 4th grade teachers the news and then my pre-observation meeting with my principal when I tell her the news.
Wednesday: Principal observes my math lesson. This may be the first math lesson all year when my students actually listen.
Thursday: Post-observation meeting and piano lessons
Friday: Field trip and OB appointment. It has been too long since my last visit, and I'm excited to hear the heartbeat again!

Millions of peaches,

peaches for me. Millions of peaches, peaches for free. Look out! This baby is growing like mad. I'm at 13 weeks now, and the baby is about 2.9 inches and .81 oz. Rain(a) is forming teeth and vocal cords this week. His/her head is becoming more proportional to his/her body, and the intestines are moving from the umbilical cord to inside his/her tummy. On Saturday I enter into 2nd trimester. I hear it's fabulous. Let's hope so.

Rain(a) and his/her and he/she is getting a little redundant. I may have to alternate posts calling "it" a "he" in one and a "she" in the next. So when you see that, don't go thinking we know the sex. Because we don't and we won't find out until the big arrival.

I've decided that I will be telling my principal the big news on either Tuesday or Wednesday. Thank God I can finally get this out in the open. I have a pre-observation meeting, an observation, and a post-observation meeting with her next Wednesday and Thursday so they present the perfect time for a one-on-one news-sharing session.

A co-worker is having a baby soon; she's due next week. We were supposed to give the new mom and dad some advice by writing it on a paper teddy bear. All the paper teddy bears will be put together in a book. I had no idea what I could possibly say, not being a "real" mom yet, so I found a quote that said, "Always kiss your children goodnight, even if they're already asleep." --H. Jackson Brown, Jr. I thought, hmm...that's a good one. So I wrote it down. Eh.

Not sure what to think about this...

Your eyes will never be the same, so I encourage you to not look too closely, but here is my fat belly. This picture was taken yesterday towards the end of the day, which you know, makes a huge difference.




The enormous size could be the result of many things:
A. Gas/bloat
2. 8-week-long carb overload
III. No exercise for the past 7 weeks
D. The actual baby (although I still think this is unlikely)

Vote using the other poll to the right which you think it is.

P.S. Nobody better comment saying my belly is cute. I won't accept that "compliment" for another few weeks.

Ouch

I'm not feeling all that great today. This was also the trend for most of the weekend. I'm not sure if it's Round Ligament Pain or gas (exactly what you wanted to hear, but hey, it's all part of being pregnant) or what, but I have muscle cramps in my stomach galore. I've also had this spot in my back that acts up as the day progresses. I'm hoping my chiropractor appointment tomorrow afternoon will take care of that. Perhaps take care of everything.

My parents were up visiting us this weekend, and we had a whole bunch of fun. We went out to eat on Friday night with Kev's parents. On Saturday Kev and my dad chopped wood with my father-in-law and his dad. My mom and I hit up the farmers market where I bought some raspberries and potatoes, then we went to a few shops in town. When we got home we made Apple Kuchen, then lazed on the couch for a little while. We eventually put the dogs (Rocket and Tucker) in the car and met up with the boys at Kev's family "farm" where we hung out by the river to let the dogs swim, made brats on the grill, ate the Apple Kuchen, hid from the rain, and built a fire. My dad and I went on a short canoe ride down the river. Before we knew it, it was time for my parents to head back home.

Today is the 13th, and I'm not going to tell my principal today. She'll be gone the rest of the week anyway, so if gossip does start, at least she won't be here to hear it.

I took a belly picture yesterday, and let me tell you, it's not pretty for almost 13 weeks. I'll post it once I get a chance.

Uh oh

Today I pulled out the maternity jeans to wear. Not necessarily because I needed the extra room, but because the only other "good" pair of jeans I own are currently waiting to be washed. It has been a long week that included 2 nights of parent-teacher conferences.

I went to work this morning (a non-student, but conference and inservice day) and told my friend Pam who knows I'm pregnant that I got a new pair of jeans, *wink wink.* She said she noticed, and that I'm starting to show. Yikes. This scares me. Obviously she knows so she's more aware of it, but I work with 50+ women. Women who like to speculate. If she can tell, who else can? And really, I'd like to think it's not my belly that's showing, but my width.

My ideal plan is to wait until the 27th to tell my principal, and then make the obligatory whole-school announcement at the next staff meeting. Really, I'm quite sick of keeping this a secret. I almost feel withdrawn because I don't want people to suspect. I know that I'll act more like myself once I just tell everyone. Then once I tell the staff, I have to tell my students soon after. I'm not really looking forward to that. I'm not sure why--I just don't feel comfortable telling them yet. Maybe they'll be a little more respectful and quiet if they know there's a baby in the room (if you don't already know, I've got a very challenging and widespread group this year). Eh, probably not.

I put a poll over on the right side, just for fun. Additional info you may want to consider before you vote:
On the 13th, I'll be 12.5 weeks. My principal will only be there on Monday--she's gone the rest of the week.
The week of the 20th, I'll be 13.5 and into 14 weeks (2nd trimester starts at 13 weeks, 3 days)
On the 27th, I'll be 14.5 weeks
I have my second OB appointment on the Friday 24th.

On a good note, conferences are over!

Little Jack Horner

sat in a corner eating his Christmas pie. He put in his thumb and pulled out a plum and said, "What a good boy am I!"

The baby is the size of a plum now! Sitting here thinking about the size of a plum, I'm confused about Jack and his pie. Why would a whole plum be in a pie? Nursery rhymes are so confusing.

A request

Please please please! If you're friends with me on facebook, please refrain from mentioning any congrats or baby-related things on my wall for another few weeks. I haven't told work yet, and a few of my co-workers are my facebook friends. THANK YOU!

We have a heartbeat!

Kevin and I bopped over to the hospital today after work to give hearing Rain(a)'s heartbeat another shot. After a minute of searching, we heard it, 176 beats per minute. Then s/he kicked at the doppler. The heartbeat kept getting louder and louder. S/he really wanted to let us know s/he was there! So cool. I shed a tear, obviously. Five minutes later, Kevin and I left all smiles and just feeling more at ease that our baby really is in there, and that it has at least one leg.

I added pictures

of Rocket in his shirt down on the "Telling our parents" post.

I'm officially fat.

And it's too early to be baby. This weekend, I thought it had gone away. Nope. Maybe it has to do with the McDonalds I had 2 days in a row. Both yesterday and today, I had to wear my tummy sleeves because my belly is so big I couldn't get my pants buttoned. The bloat seems to be worse in the morning than at night. In more ways than one, I feel a little backwards. Most people are more bloated but feel less nauseous at night. Not me. I'm less bloated but more nauseous at night.

And as for the back-to-back McDonalds...I know, it's bad! But you know when you are hungover (this didn't ever happen to me much, btw :)) and all that sounds good is a nice, juicy McDonald's cheeseburger and salty fries? That's how it is with me. A 7-week-long hangover. I'm proud of myself for resisting the golden arches as much as I have.

My craving

I think I've found it. I've known it for awhile, but I wasn't sure it would last. It's been here for a month now, and I'm not sure when it will stop. When we went to my parents' house last weekend, my only food request was mashed potatoes. I had to have a scoop of mashed potatoes in the IKEA cafe after I saw Brooke's. Kevin made pork chops and potatoes Sunday night, and all I ate were the potatoes. Last week one of the hot lunches at school included tater tots. I almost considered paying $2.85 to get a tray full of them.

As if these signs weren't enough, I started to admit it last night at the grocery store when I sought out more potato products than ever before. Tater tots, potato/broccoli/cheese Lean Cuisines (and no other varieties), I even stared at the box of instant potatoes and considered it. I resisted. I tried to find potato soup in one of those convenient microwaveable bowls, but there wasn't any! I was very disappointed. We decided we'll go to the farmer's market on Saturday and get some actual potatoes, too. I guess there's just something so comforting about a spud to this little spud.

Speaking of whom has moved up from the size of a prune to the size of a lime today. Limes are big. You know what's the size of a lime? A red potato.

Telling more BFFs

Yesterday was another big news-spreading day.

I headed over to IKEA and MOA to meet 4 of my bestest buddies (Brooke, Kristin, Laura, and Steph) for a girly day of shopping and lunch. Stephie had never been to IKEA before, so we spent a lot of time there browsing. The rest of us hadn't been there for awhile, so it was nice to see the new stuff they had. I decided to purchase two nightstands for our bedroom to replace our hodge podge "set" of yore. When we made our way down to the warehouse to pick up the goods, I tried to lift the box, and found it small but on the heavier side. 2 months ago, I would've lifted it without thinking twice. But this presented the perfect opportunity to say, "Hey girls, could someone lift this for me? I'm not supposed to lift heavy things because I'm pregnant." Four jaws dropped, eyes blankly staring. "Are you serious?" Brooke asked, half expecting me to say I was just kidding. Not this time, my friends. Hugs and smiles all around. It was awesome. The girls were so nice and let me indulge in the salad bar at Ruby Tuesdays in the MOA. I also bought some tummy sleeves at Motherhood Maternity and some maternity jeans from Old Navy in case of emergency. I don't think I'll need them TOO soon, but when that day comes, I'm 30+ minutes away from any store which sells maternity clothes. Better to be safe than sorry.

On my way home, I called my friend Sarah who lives far too far away in D.C. I met her in college, first as a floormate in the dorms, then as a roommate for a few years.
Sarah: "hello?"
Me: "hello"
Sarah: "Are you pregnant?"
Me: pause "Yes"
Sarah: "I knew it. My mom is visiting and when I saw you called, I told her it was you and you were going to tell me you're pregnant."
After an always pleasant conversation that made me miss her, she said she had to get back to watching the Notre Dame football game, so I let her go. ;)
Guess that means I should call her more often, not just to give big news.

Later that night, we went to Kev's best friend Justin's parents' house to see the newly married Justin and Jen. Justin's sister, Jamie, was there with her fiance Brody, as well as the parents. We were sitting around a campfire, me drinking ginger ale, the rest indulging in beers of many flavors. We weren't sure how we were going to share the news here, so Kevin just came out and said, "We've got some news." ::long pause, cows mooing in the background::
Me: "We're getting a divorce." Everyone laughed. (What can I say? The silence was killing me.)
Kev: "AJ's pregnant."
Followed by congrats and hugs. Turns out the parents had a feeling, as I wasn't drinking at the wedding. Damn DD excuse wasn't enough to fool them, I guess.

First appointment

My first appointment was last Friday. It was long (most of that time was spent waiting), but good. My midwife-with-a-crunchy-name (but I love her anyway) is great.

We tried to hear the heartbeat, but I was only 9w3d and I've been told I have a tilted uterus/cervix. So...combine a tiny baby and a uterus that's far away from my abdomen and you get no heartbeat. But she did say we could bop in this week or next week and try again without making an appointment. I think perhaps we'll give it another try next Friday.

Next appointment is Oct. 24. That's so far away!

So, how are you feeling?

This is the question I get asked by everyone we've told so far (which has only been parents, my two co-worker friends, and Jess and Leah). The answer: since I found out, and up until now at 10w3d, I feel barfy. I wake up in the morning wanting to barf. I used to be able to eat 2 pieces of toast for breakfast, but now 1 does its job in filling me up. That helps. All day long, for the most part, except for when it gets close to lunch, I actually feel pretty good. It does help that I snack while the kids are at art/gym/music and I have a stash of Jolly Ranchers just in case I can't nosh on a granola bar because of the presence of children. I think I feel pretty good all day because I don't really have time to think about it. Then after school, I hit up my stash in my desk drawer again and I'm good to go until supper. I do feel worse once I get home though.

It's weird...I get full pretty fast. Tonight we ordered pizza, and it was cut in squares, and I only had 4 pieces. Call me a pig, but I used to be able to eat a few more than that. I'm sure that'll reverse itself soon and I'll eat the whole pie. Eh, at least then Kev can order his pizza with everything on it and I can eat my own ;)

Telling our parents

AJ's parents:
We drove down to Rochester with 2 books in tow: Week at Grandma's by Stan and Jan Berenstein for my mom

and Grandma, Grandpa, and Me by Mercer Meyer for my dad


They were wrapped up, and when we arrived at their house we waited for the perfect time when we were all together. The opportunity arose as we had congregated in the backyard. I signaled to Kev to get the gifts out of the car. He rounded up my brother who conveniently happened to be in town as well. We told my mom and dad that we had early anniversary presents for them. They opened their gifts, and were shocked and oh so happy. Later that day my mom and I exchanged information that made us both excited: I told her that we were going to use cloth diapers (I bet you didn't know that I was a cloth-diapered baby), and she told me that her labor with me was only 7 hours.

Kevin's parents:
I hit the clearance rack at Wal-Mart and bought a boys' size 4-5 muscle tank and wrote on the back of it: "I'm going to be a big brother in April" for our unsuspecting pooch, Rocket, to wear.

Not amused.

On our way back home from Rochester, we stopped at Kev's parents' house. I chatted with my in-laws while Kev practiced dressing something smaller than him. Rocket ran out of the car and over to where we were standing. Of course, he was excited to share the news so he had a hard time sitting still, but Kev's parents were finally able to read his message. Kev's mom asked, "What is that supposed to mean?" and Kev's dad said, "I know what it means!" They were excited and happy as well. A few minutes later, Rocket peed on the shirt. He really is excited to have a sibling. I promise. I just don't think he's excited about wearing clothes.