Quick update

This pregnancy is moving right along. It seems to be speeding up the further along I get. I don't know how that is, but people warned me it would happen. Saturday I will be 25 weeks and while that's just a little over half way, I have a crazy feeling the last three months go the fastest. I'm actually not doing too bad getting things together. We've pretty much got the nursery done. (That just sounds so weird to say. I have a nursery....in a few months, I'm gonna have a baby, I'm gonna be a mommy.) There is is still a few odds and ends that we need to do and then I'll post some pictures.
The purchase of the week was a breast pump. That's even crazier to me. I'll admit, this contraption kind of freaks me out. It had a dvd that came with it and you know I had to watch it. It's been said time and time again, but these women really did look like cows being pumped, having all these wires coming out and this battery pack plugged into the wall. Now I know it's natural and I've always said I was going to breastfeed, but I'm a bit nervous. I've heard horror stories of women who couldn't stand it and I've heard stories from moms who said it was the best bonding experience they've ever had. The one thing they've all said is, be patient. Guess we'll see. I'm hoping that when I hold my little girl in my arms for the first time, it will all just be a natural feeling.
I've officially felt her kick now. I think it started a few weeks ago. I absolutely love it. I could just lay there all day and feel her moving around. Jarrod felt her for the first time Sunday. Every time I would have him put his hand on my belly, she would stop moving. I secretly think she does this on purpose and is laughing her head off in there. But the other day we were laying down watching tv (I was behind him) and she kicked really hard and he felt it in his back. Hopefully the further along I get, the more he'll be able to feel her. There really is something special about being the woman, the mom, who gets to carry her child around with her for the 9 months and feel her move and kick. I can only imagine how I'll feel when I see her little face for the first time.
...thanks for reading...

It's a girl!

Yep, we're having a little girl. Jarrod's already talking about hows she's just going to have him wrapped around her little finger =) The sonogram was so amazing. She's not just a little peanut anymore. The doctor said everything looked perfectly normal. Her weight was a bit small (39 percentile of other babies) but that it was absolutely nothing to worry about. She kept her mouth open almost the entire time, which the nurse said was funny because normally they'll just yawn and that's it but not her, she's gonna be a talker =) There were a couple of other pictures that were cute. She had her hand up under her chin in one and then another scratching her head. Jarrod thinks this means that she is already contemplating the mysteries of life, even in the womb (takes after her dad.) Alright, enough talking here's the pictures:



Girl!

Half way there

So, everything they say about the second trimester is true. I've had so much more energy. I've actually been able to keep up my workout routine at the gym, with some minor alterations. I tried jogging, but I got out of breath way to fast and it just felt "wrong," so I went with my gut and I've starting walking on an incline instead. Still lifting weights, I've just lowered the pounds and upped the reps. I've also tried cycling on the stationary bikes. Jarrod has picked up this new exercise, and by the time he's done he has sweat all the way through his shirt, so it's gotta be burning some calories right? I'm doing all this, not to lose weight of course, so far I'm right on track with the amount of weight I'm suppose to gain. But, I know if I stick with the program now, it should help me to shed the baby weight once I have him/her. Plus, I've done this routine for so long now, I can't just sit idle for 9 months (and it helps me to feel better about eating that Snickers bar after lunch =)
Another great thing about the second trimester is that I haven't touched a saltine cracker in about 6 weeks now. No more morning sickness. I didn't even have it that bad, but it was bad enough to remember. And the migraines I use to get once a week has cut back to like once a month.
But with the beauty of the second trimester, comes some pain. My lower back has been hurting pretty bad lately. I think part of it is because I sit at a desk all day at work and that seems to put more pressure on it. I don't know if it's my uterus trying to grow and stretch or if the baby is laying on it. My mom said that when she was pregnant with my sister, she had back pain because my sister wouldn't move from her back. I tried the exercise everyone kept suggesting. The yoga pose where you get on your knees and arch and lower your back. That really seemed to help a bit. I've never had a problem with charlie horses but oh my goodness, did I get one the other day. One in each calf. They hurt so bad. Someone told me it's a sign of potassium deficiency. Guess I need to get some bananas. Jarrod has been the best husband I could possibly need. He rubs my back when its hurting, and the other night when I was screaming out of pain from my calves he came in and rubbed the muscle until it loosened. He's gonna be a great daddy =)
I'm 22 weeks today, and it seems like I still have so much longer to go in my pregnancy. My sister asked me yesterday when I could come home for a baby shower. "I gotta get planning." she said. A baby shower? Isn't that something you do later on? And then it hit me. I'm over half way there. There is so much that has to be done. We've bought the baby bed, but have no idea what we are going to do with the nursery. People keep asking me about daycare. "Have you thought about what daycare you're gonna use?" "Have you started pricing daycare's around you?" "You really should start early." Daycare? I'm just trying to get to my next ultrasound! My next ultrasound: I go Wednesday for the "big one." I'm so excited and so incredibly nervous. As long as the baby cooperates we'll be able to tell if we're having a boy or girl =) But this is also the ultrasound that they look for problems/issues and see if they can notice any obvious deformities (we decided against the genetic tests.) I'm sure it will be fine, but I'm just waiting for Wednesday and waiting to hear those words "everything looks great!" Needless to say, my head has been spinning the past few weeks. But you know what? I wouldn't change it for anything.
...thanks for reading.....

"March of the Penquins"

So, I've noticed that I've started doing the "pregnant walk." Not constantly, but there will be times when I catch myself doing it. You've seen it. The woman you see across the store, that if you blink too slowly you might think was a penguin dressed in woman's clothes. So, maybe walk is the wrong word. I believe the correct rhetoric would be waddle. Now, the first time I noticed myself doing it I was suprised. First, because I was actually waddling and second, because it was so dang comfortable. It made me wonder why pregnancy does this to you. And I've narrowed it down to a few things. One, I've noticed that if I sit for too long my lower abdomen almost cramps up so the waddling is mixed with a kind of limp from the pain of putting one foot in front of another. Two, maybe the waddling is almost a natural walk but only looks like a waddle because you have all this weight out front in your stomach that is moving side to side with the motion of your legs. And three, its a well known fact that as you get bigger, you tend to stick you belly out a little more due to the extra weight and plus you want people to know you really are pregnant, not just putting on pounds. This jut of the belly paired with the arch it creates in your lower back also makes you more apt to waddle. So, whether is one or all three, something is starting to make me walk less like a human and more like a penguin. And to top it off, if you know me very well you know I've always walked with my feet slightly pointed out anyway. Maybe I just need to buy the black and white tux and "go with it." Hey, penguins are cute right?? I mean people actually paid money to go to the movies and watch them 'march'....or waddle =)
In other news, my friend Diane tagged my to list "7 things" about myself. I haven't forgotten, I'm just trying to come up with some ideas.

...thanks for reading...