24 Weeks - Uncomfortable

Hi all,
    Happy 24 weeks to you ... or is it?!  Let me first preface by saying that I am so fortunate to have made it this far in my pregnancy without too much discomfort.  Dave referred to me as a 'super-human pregnant lady' because of all of the horrible symptoms I am supposed to be feeling, but am not.  The worst symptom I've had thus far is my incorrigible need to eat everything in sight.  Albeit ... not so bad :)

However, everything I read talks about the 2nd trimester being the 'golden' trimester.  The trimester of all trimesters that temporarily transports a pregnant woman into a world of euphoria complete with dancing puppies and chocolate rain drops.  


I'd like to find the person who created this delusion and smack his face.  Yes, HIS, because I'm sure it wasn't a woman who originally came up with this idea.


Yup ... I've officially started to feel uncomfortable.  I've been fighting it off for a week or so now, trying to mentally transport the feelings elsewhere.  Maybe if I ignore it, it will go away :) but, no ... it's here, with red eyes, scales, and breathing fire.  Now, again, I am thankful for not having gone through the troubles of a typical first trimester, so all of you women reading this who suffered 40 weeks of nausea, sore boobs, and heartburn, please put down your stones and pitchforks ... you win!

I am just feeling achy everywhere.  At work it's the worst.  My ass is killing me from sitting in my chair too long, and I am having increasing nightmares that it is going to lead to hemorrhoids the size of little terrorists.  When I go home and I try to sit down, the residual ass-ache from being in my office chair all day rears it's ugly head. It's like the horrible aftertaste of your favorite meal, but this aftertaste doesn't go away with a stick of gum.


I walked the dog yesterday for about 25-30 minutes, and I came home to a sore back.  The first thing I did was sit down, but I had to sit on the furthest right side of my butt cheek in order to avoid the "aftertaste".


Part of the reason why I am struggling with this so much is because I just didn't expect to be "here" so soon.  I know... I'm flying through this pregnancy, and I can't believe I'm already at 24 weeks, but I guess I didn't expect to feel like this until well into the 3rd trimester.  Dare I ask ... if I'm feeling like this now, what will become of me in month 8? I don't want to know ... I will probably morph into some unrecognizable creature by then.  Someone, please help Dave because he won't be able to save me ... no one will!  I can see it now ... my skin will have turned green, and I will grow a witch nose with a huge wart on it.  I will speak in the devil's language, my eyes will shoot fiery darts, and my belly will be so huge that little arms will sprout out from it in order to strangle anyone who comes near it.

I am also not used to gaining weight like this.  I've never been this size in my life.  I'm used to being able to get up in an instant to do whatever is so important to me at that time.  Now, I have to produce a GANTT chart in order to project manage my way out of a seated position.  My insides are constantly jockeying for position, but there are strict boundaries forcing them to make awkward small talk (ohhh good to see you too, how have you been? what are you up to these days? GET OUT OF MY WAY).


... oh, and if anyone responds to me with the typical, "ohhh just wait! this is just the beginning!!" I will immediately come over and sit on you and cut off oxygen to your brain :)


So ... who is the jackass that said that I'm going to LOVE this time of the pregnancy? Anyone want to stand up and take responsibility? No?? No one??  I didn't think so!


Ok Ok ... all in all, it's not so bad everyday ... I still have days where I feel mostly comfortable, but the aches and pains are more common now.  On the upbeat side, the baby is the size of an ear of corn!! Somewhere between 10.5 and 11.8 inches long (not including legs) and weighing in at about a pound and a half!


My preggo-brain "Instance of the Week"?  I've got that for you...


Getting ready to leave in the morning (rushing of course), I knew I had to bring Charlie boy to my parent's house before getting on the road to work.  I decided to bring the trash with me to put in the garage (see honey! I do take out the trash!).  Our garage is detached and is about 50yds from our house.  So, I place the trash next to the car and go in and out of the house 16 times before I've got everything I need, and make sure I get Charlie in the car.  I get in and drive around and open the garage door.  I get out and open the back door to grab the trash ... but NO TRASH.  Yes, I left it on the side of the road where my car was parked.  I had to get back in the car and whip back around to my house to get the darn trash and do it all over again.  Augh!

How far along? 24 Weeks, 4 Days

Total weight gain: 15lbs+  yikes ... it's hard to see this number continuing to grow! 

Maternity clothes? Yes, but I am still wearing quite a bit of my normal clothes.  My plan is to head to Destination Maternity in Natick this weekend ... I've heard it's a gold mine for good, quality maternity clothes! I'll let you know!

Stretch marks? nope, thank god!!!!!!!!

Sleep: ahh sleep. I spent this past weekend in Lake Winnipesaukee at my wonderful friend, Lisa's house.  Thanks to no dog, and some good ear plugs that I bring whenever I travel, I slept so great!!  We'll see how long this feeling lasts now that I'm back to reality and have left the Resort de Lukiewski! (thanks Lisa, and Mr. and Mrs. Lu!)

Best moment this week: Spending so much time with Lisa, Nikki and Christine and their gentlemen at the Resort del Lukiewski was the BEST this weekend.  They brought up a margarita machine and made me a nice virgin margarita :) which was ALMOST close to being near the real thing!!  Nothing like friends and a beautiful home on a lake to perk you up!

Miss Anything? REAL MARGARITAS!

Movement: Yup!!! This little guy is kickin' and screamin' throughout the day.  I love when it happens during meetings ... so hard to keep a straight face :)

Food Cravings: Back to missing ham and cheese sandwiches.  Augh ... 

Anything making you queasy or sick: nope! I'm even back to chewing gum successfully!
Gender: BOY!
Labor Signs: Nope!

Symptoms: Swollen gums. Yeah, of all things.  My gums are sensitive, and puffy and when I floss, they sometimes bleed.  Apparently this has to do with all of the hormones and should go away eventually.  I also still have an achy backside from sitting in my office chair all day, but I have done nothing about it yet.  Go figure!
Belly Button in or out? in... still ... but barely!  things are starting to look really weird!  I am suddenly sporting a strange mosaic of veins around my belly button.  Not very noticeable, but strange, nonetheless! All signs point to it being normal, so I'm just going to go with it!
Wedding rings on or off? on

Happy or Moody most of the time: Feeling great for the most part!
Looking forward to: We are inching our way into the 3rd trimester! Also, we are working on the nursery! I will show pictures in next week's post! I can't wait for it to come together!

23 Weeks - The Booby Nightmare

Hi All!
    I can't believe it ... in one week, I'll be 6 months pregnant.  Holy smokes, did this just get real or what?  Annnnnd enter panic mode where I start thinking of all the things we have left to do ... breathe!!!


Well, I promised to deliver to you the preggo brain "Instance of the Week".  I can't think of anything outrageous (or rather, out of the ordinary) that I did, but I will share with you my freakish dream ... that's sort of preggo-brain-related, right?


Alright, ladies, put the men and children to bed for this one, because it's going to get a little descriptive.  Sorry dad, I know you're reading this, and it has to do with boobs.  Breastfeeding, to be exact.  If you can't hack the details, then skip down to the next paragraph featuring GREEN font!!


Well ... let me preface with the fact that I tend to have really weird dreams as a non-preggo anyway, so I'm not really surprised that I'm having strange dreams now ...


Last night I had an ongoing dream about breastfeeding.  By ongoing, I mean to say that even though my dream was interrupted with 48 trips to the bathroom, every time I went back to sleep, it was there waiting for me as if my mind had this dream recorded on some sort of mental DVR. 

Anyway, my dream was about how I was breastfeeding.  The baby was there (though strangely he was involved in NONE of this!) I was in the hospital and the nurse was showing me how to breastfeed.  In my unrealistic dream, I was able to get things "flowing", on the first try! (ya right, if I could only be so lucky).  I was not breastfeeding the baby, though, I was pumping into a test-tube.  Yes, a test-tube.  Not a bottle, a test tube that you would see in science class.  The test tube had markings on it, 2oz, 4oz, 6oz and 8oz.  

The nurse was having me pump up to the 8oz marker, but kept telling me that I was only to feed the baby 4oz at a time.  All this doesn't sound too strange, but it gets crazier.  The way I was pumping was the strange part.  If you've ever donated blood, you know that the IV needle that they insert into your vein is attached to a small, clear tube where the blood flows through to get to the bag.  Well, this was similar to how I was pumping, except there was no needle involved (thank god).  The long, clear tube was attached to the test tube that I was to fill.  This is where it gets, icky/strange.  I had to insert the end of the clear, plastic tube into my nipple!!! Yup! it would get inserted into my nipple, and then the milk would flow through the clear tube and into the test tube.  Holy crap.

The next part is sort of, funny, I suppose.  I wanted to freeze the milk, and I insisted that the best way to do this was to take the filled test tube and pour half (remember, baby can only get 4oz!) of the milk into ziplock plastic bags.  Well, I no matter how hard I tried, I could NOT get the right amount of milk into the bag.  I kept spilling everywhere, which meant I had to stick that stupid plastic tube back into my stupid nipple again to get more milk!  

When I finally woke up, I decided that I am going to add a fantastic breast pump to my registry (no tubes allowed!), along with these little freezer bottles you ban buy to properly freeze your milk.  Oh, and I am now officially freaked out about breastfeeding.  And ... donating blood, too ;)

OK OK, for you wimps, the detail is over. (even though, secretly I know that you all read that, haha!) 

So thank you for this installment of Preggo Brain "Instance of the Week"! Stay tuned for next week's compelling drama. 

Other that that, I am starting to feel the affects of pregnancy a bit.  Though overall I can't complain, I've had such a great pregnancy so far, I am definitely starting to feel a bit uncomfortable.  My butt hurts from sitting in my office chair too long.  I'm also not getting used to having to struggle to get off the couch and/or out of bed.  I get tired quickly when I walk the dog.  But, the worst ache this past weekend was my back.  I decided it would be a great idea to clean the house, which left me with an aching back that wouldn't quit.  My solution???  BRING ON THE CLEANING LADY!  Yup, with the money I'm saving from not going to my trainer anymore (and not drinking!), I somehow convinced Dave to let me get a cleaning lady.  Secretly, I think he's not putting up a fight because it means I won't stress about the house, and I also won't be nagging him to help clean :)  it's a win-win for everyone!  Money well spent.  I got a great quote from Minute Women cleaning out of Lexington.  They are supposed to start this week, so we'll see how it goes!

This week, little man is the size of a grapefruit! Somewhere between 10.5 and 11.8 inches (this is head to bum, and does not include legs and feet!) and about 1.5lbs!  His face is just about fully formed, and he's started the "cooking" process, as I've called it.  He's just in there baking, and building fat deposits (thank you for that added fat, buddy, I can barely fit into my pants as it is).  He is estimated to gain about 6oz per week moving forward.  Yikes.

A fun fact that I read is that he has started to grow hair, but that the hair is completely WHITE! It has no pigment yet!  So, bring on the picture of the week.  Yes, I drew our baby as Einstein ;)  Oh ... and doesn't the camera add 10lbs???

How far along? 23 Weeks, 4 Days

Total weight gain: 15lbs!  yikes ... better lay off the chocolate. 

Maternity clothes? Yes! Pregnancy brings out the best in people! My WONDERFUL friend Michelle Carpentier Collins gave me a big bag of maternity clothes that she used during her pregnancy. The clothes are amazing and I can't believe how great she is to think of me :) Oh and a big shout-out to her hubby, Todd, who came to the Andover High School Softball banquet to help watch their little girl, Rylan.  What a trooper he was, and great hubby!

Stretch marks? nope, thank god ...  I look everyday and I'm still looking clean.  I also haven't gotten the "pregnancy line" yet.  I'm hoping both will forget to pay me a visit.

Sleep: ahh sleep.  Sleep has become difficult this week.  I'm able to fall asleep without a problem, but it's the damn pee breaks every 2 hours that are killing me.  Each morning I'm waking up more tired than the day before.  You might think that I would go to bed earlier to help with this, but watching the Bachelor has apparently taken priority over my well-being.

Best moment this week: we had our monthly doctor's appointment, and everything is looking great! Also, Dave and I started testing out colors for the nursery (pictures to follow in a future post).  Dave also removed the horrible pink-floral wallpaper border.  That's a big thing off the list! Now we just have painting and replacing the carpet, which we are actively working on!  Also, I went to my cousin's engagement party and got to see some family and friends I haven't seen for a while.  It's funny to see their reactions to this giant body that has taken over!

Miss Anything? I'm still missing running this week.  I am taking Charlie for long walks, but they are getting to be a bit tougher and tougher.  I am going to continue to suck it up, though ... I need the exercise (15 lbs!!). 

Movement: yes! At the doctor's this week, I learned that my placenta is in the front, though, so the little man has to kick through the placenta, to get to my skin ... aka it's harder for me to feel a lot of the baby's movement. It's also harder for Dave to feel his kicks from the outside.  It reassures me, though, that when I do feel his kicks, that they are really strong ones! They better be ... he doesn't know it yet, but he's already started his training regimen for his soccer scholarship :) Now, if only I could somehow make sure he was using both his right AND left feet when he boots me in the gut!!

Food Cravings: Some jerk in my office keeps bringing in fun-sized candy (snickers, hersheys, etc) and the baby keeps making me eat it.  must ... stop ...

Anything making you queasy or sick: strangely, this week I got grossed out chewing some gum.  I am just not having it ... I can only chew it for a few minutes before I have to spit it out.

Have you started to show yet: 15 POUNDS PEOPLE.  augh.  This question is beginning to depress me.  This week will be the last week that I have this question on here.  It's only going to get worse!
Gender: BOY!
Labor Signs: No (I'm afraid for when I say yes to this one)

Symptoms: hmmm ... just starting to get uncomfortable, really. And other than my recent chocolate addiction, no real symptoms to report.
Belly Button in or out? in... still ... but barely!  things are starting to look really weird!
Wedding rings on or off? on

Happy or Moody most of the time: Feeling great for the most part!
Looking forward to: continuing on with the work on the nursery! Also, tonight I am going out with another preggo from work. We're headed to Babies 'r Us to get working on our registries!

22 Weeks - Preggo Brain

Hi Everyone!
    First, I would like to thank everyone for reading this!  We had intended for this blog to be a way to share our journey with our family and friends who are overseas or otherwise not local.  I can't believe how many people have come out of the woodworks saying that they're reading this and enjoying it!  Someone's gotta laugh at our (and by our, I mean MY) expense!!! 

That being said, this week I've realized that "pregnancy brain" is a real and true thing.  It's actually something I've noticed happening here and there the last couple of weeks, but I didn't want to admit it.  I always thought that pregnancy brain was an urban legend, or something that pregnant women used as a scapegoat for their otherwise normal life midhaps.  Nope ... it's an absolute truth in life, and I've witnessed it a number of times.

I usually have my act together ... but lately I'm finding that my act is ... not only not together, but it's gone haywire.  I don't hear what people tell me, and of what I do hear, I can't remember it anyway.  I am bringing random things with me from one room to another room, where they clearly don't belong..  For example, the other day I went into the kitchen for a glass of water, and I walked back into the living room with a dirty spatula.  True story.  If this continues, I vow to keep a "preggo brain instance of the week" for your enjoyment.

This week's statistics - our little guy is somewhere between 8-11 inches, and is just over a pound!!! He is now the size of a papaya! I can't believe it ... but then again, I think about how much I've blown up in the last few weeks, and it actually makes sense!  See for yourself :)

How far along? 22 Weeks, 5 Days

Total weight gain: 11+ lbs. Our scale broke (haha very funny, the preggo queen broke the scale) so I can't keep up until we get a new one! I will find out next week at our next appointment.

Maternity clothes? My new favorite website for preggo items is Zulily.com. I bought a great silk pregnancy dress.  I think this is something I can wear post-baby, too, while I work to get back into shape!

Stretch marks? nope, thank god ...  I don't know if the cocoa butter is working, or if I just am just counting down the days until the first stretch marks appears.

Sleep: Sleeping pretty well, except I am up every 2 hours (literally on the dot) to pee.  I'm getting very sick of this fast.

Best moment this week: feeling lots of kicks all day!! I'm loving it!

Miss Anything? I really missed running this week. I keep trying to jog here and there during my walks with Charlie, but it just doesn't feel comfortable with this belly.   

Movement: yes! I'm feeling him a lot ... and I think I can tell which movements are his feet, and which are his arms.  So neat!

Anything making you queasy or sick: nope!

Have you started to show yet: see evidence above.
Gender: BOY!
Labor Signs: No (I'm afraid for when I say yes to this one)

Symptoms: nothing other than starting to feel a little uncomfortable at work if I sit in my chair too long. My tailbone starts aching ... yes, my name is Lisa, and I need a butt pillow.  what the heck. 
Belly Button in or out? in... but holding on for dear life!  I am very close to having neither an innie nor an outtie ... just a flat belly button. 
Wedding rings on or off? on

Happy or Moody most of the time: Feeling happy!
Looking forward to: getting plans moving on the nursery!

21 Weeks - Mover and a Shaker!

Hi All!
    Well, the only thing I can think of to mention here off the bat is ... we've got a mover and a shaker on our hands!

Baby boy has started really moving in the last week or so.  Even David got to feel a little soccer kick from our mini-athlete!  I thought it would be too early for him to feel anything, but with a little patience, and good timing, Dave was able to feel a big kick!

For me, I now realize that he has been moving for a couple of weeks now, but the movements weren't strong enough before to truly identify them as baby moves.  At this point, I have been able to decipher between wiggles/twists/rolls and actual kicks. 

It's funny, though, as I find myself in my career often times either running a meeting, or giving a presentation in front of people ... to be in a serious meeting and almost start laughing because I'm getting crazy Morse Code in my belly!  Talk about a distraction!

I also feel him shifting from side to side.  Sometimes in the morning after I've been sleeping on one side for a while and flip to the other side, I can feel one side of my stomach harder than the other ... like he's camped out and stuck his bum out at me or something.  It's sort of neat to feel exactly where he is from the outside.

The other change this week is that I finally took out my belly button ring. After 11 years of wearing it, and really not wanting to take it out ... it was Dave who convinced me.  Actually, he terrified me into removing it.  He told me that if I don't take it out then as I get bigger, the whole will get bigger, too.  All I could think of are those people who have the earrings which are big holes in their ears.  yuck. 

So ... I am belly-button-ringless.  But what I have noticed, and I am afraid to type it ... is that my ... belly ... button ... is ... changing.  It's totally creeping me out. I still have an "innie", but it is most certainly changing.  It's not quite as "innie" as it used to be.  It's only a matter of time ... whew ... I better get used to it!!

Now for this week's update.  Our baby is 15+ ounces! Almost a whole pound!!!  We had another ultrasound late last week, and the baby has gone from 11oz to 15 oz in about a week and a half! So I am sure that he is a pound now, but I just don't have confirmation yet.  Our next appointment is in a few weeks, so we will find out then!

Baby man is the size of a 'spaghetti squash' ... I had to google Spaghetti Squash because I couldn't picture it in my mind ... but my gosh, that's pretty big!

How far along? 21 Weeks, 4 Days

Total weight gain: 11+ lbs. Our scale broke (haha very funny, the preggo queen broke the scale) so I can't keep up until we get a new one!

Maternity clothes? Nothing in the last week, but I've got my eye on a pair of 7 For All Mankind maternity jeans ... yummmm.

Stretch marks? nope, thank god ... but I've started using my cocoa butter ... god I hope it works!

Sleep: Sleeping great!

Best moment this week: Dave being able to feel his first kick!

Miss Anything? switched to missing turkey sandwiches this week ... oh ... and wine ... yup! will that ever go away?

Movement: yes!

Anything making you queasy or sick: nope!

Have you started to show yet: yes! someone at work said "you've blossomed!", haaaa, that's a nice way to put it!
Gender: BOY!
Labor Signs: No (I'm afraid for when I say yes to this one)

Symptoms: not too much this week
Belly Button in or out? in... but for how much longer?  Oh man ... gross
Wedding rings on or off? on

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy and Excited!!

Looking forward to: feeling more movement, and getting our Nursery squared away!