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!