Old Wive's Tales

Today I had my doctor's appointment.  BP's heart rate is 140.  People try and guess whether it is a boy or a girl based on the heart rate (old wives's tale).  If the heart rate is high, then it is a girl and if it is low, it is a boy.  The range is 120-160.  BP's heart rate falls exactly in the middle of the range, so I guess he/she doesn't want us to know, or guess, anymore :-)

The appointment went well.  I am measuring 1.5 weeks ahead and while we were listening to the heart beat BP kicked the doppler.  I am up 17 lbs total, which is right on track with where I was last time.  I am feeling okay besides the exhaustion.  I am trying really hard to keep active to keep the swelling down and weight on track.  I am trying to really watch what I eat for the same reasons, but ice cream, peanut butter, waffles, and cheeseburgers may be my biggest downfall :-)

Here is the latest picture of me at 25 weeks:

Sunday Funnies

Gwen calls McDonald's "Old McDonald's".

Pregnancy Update

I am a bit over 24 weeks pregnant so I thought I would give an update. 

I am finally feeling better.  I haven't thrown up or been nauseous in about 3-4 weeks.   I cut back my sodium and have been drinking more water so my swelling of a few weeks back is gone.  The pimples have subsided, I am no longer constipated, and I don't find myself getting as winded or dizzy.  I am still insanely exhausted all the time, have little to no tolerance for stupid people,  and have aches in my legs and back, but other than that I am doing okay.

I have been trying to do at least 30 minutes of exercise 5X/week.  I found a great 3.1 mile loop that has some semi-challenging hills (for me), so I try and walk that a few times a week. I have been taking Kaiser with me and he is pretty pathetic.  He can't keep up with a pregnant woman.  I try to get to the gym to lift 2-3X/week as well.  That's a little tougher since I actually have to get up in the morning and drive there.  I just keep telling myself that it helped me the first time, so it should help me this time too.

People ask me all the time about my cravings.  The fruit/berry cravings are back.  I normally eat 3-4 pints of berries (blueberries/blackberries), 5 apples, and a large pineapple, a week.  I could definitely eat more, but I have only been buying what I eat throughout the work week.  I love oatmeal (eat it almost everyday), peanut butter (whether in a sandwich, in a granola bar, or on a spoon), blueberry waffles, and cheeseburgers.  As for junk food I am loving salt (even though I am trying to cut back), am big into "gummies" (bears, red licorice), and ice cream (it's normal for me to eat ice cream in the spring/summer).  It's weird because I crave the sweet after lunch, so I normally don't have dessert at night.

That's really it from the pregnancy home front.  I can feel Baby Pink moving all the time.  The other night I felt her and Gwen wanted to too, so she planted her spaghetti covered hand smack on my belly.  Hopefully she'll feel BP soon.   My next appointment is a week from tomorrow so I will post an update again and a 25 week picture.  This pregnancy is FLYING by.  Better start getting the house in order as July 30th will be here before we know it.

Our Friend.........John Elway

In a past entry I wrote that we sat next to John Elway at dinner one night.  Gwen now seems to think he is a family friend.  Gwen is now obsessed and seems to think that we will be going out with him all the time.  I went to brunch with my friend Heather.  The conversation was as follows:

Gwen:  "Where you going mommy?"
Me:  "Brunch with a friend"
Gwen:  "John Elway?"

We are going to dinner tonight and Gwen asked if we would see John Elway.  I am just guessing he won't be in suburbia eating at Hacienda Colorado, but I guess you never know.

Needless to say, Gwen is now as obsessed with John Elway as the rest of the lunatic fans.  She fits in perfectly here in Denver. 

Happy Hour Thursday

I have decided to shift from Thankful Thursday to Happy Hour Thursday (God I miss my Thursday cocktail).  Instead of listing things that I am thankful for, I want to share things that make me happy.  Happiness is defined as delighted, pleased, or glad, as over a particular thing. I found that I was in a rut with family/friends/Gwen....etc. always being what I am thankful for.  Plus I found it a twinge disturbing by me saying that I am thankful for wine, when in reality, wine is a thing makes me happy (really, really happy). 

If you haven't noticed by my previous posts surrounding this pregnancy, I am miserable.  The truth is that there are some things about this pregnancy that do make me happy.  So here goes:

1.  It will end within 17 weeks or 4 months (praying for a full term baby of course)

2.  Baby kicks.  I love feeling BP moving around and kickine me, even if it is at 2:00 am.

3.  How nice people are to pregnant women.  I know once I have an outside baby that people will go back to their crappy selves, but it is enjoyable to have people so nice to me all the time.

4.  The anticipation of that moment when Gwen meets BP for the first time.  I tear up just thinking about myself holding these amazing little people in my arms and feeling nothing put pure joy and love. 

5.  Elastic waist pants.  They are awesome. 

Wordless Wednesday

Okay, a couple words...........now that we are prepping the house for Baby Pink, Gwen plays with her old baby stuff (i.e. baby toys, bouncer...etc).  Here she is sitting in her Bumbo.  I am shocked that she still fits.  I have included a "then" picture to see how she has grown.  The "then" picture makes me laugh when I remember how we would pick her up from the Bumbo and the Bumbo would stick to her because her thighs were so big. 

I Will Never Be One Of Those Pregnant Women

I don't like being pregnant nor will I ever. In fact, I hate it. I have no tolerance for heat, cold, or people. So even going to see my friends and interacting with my family, is a chore. I just want it to be July and for this to be over. And I am sure the worst is still yet to come.

When I was pregnant with Gwen I hated every aspect besides feeling her move around (and my relatively easy labor). When I got pregnant with BP, I told myself that I would truly embrace being pregnant and enjoy it. I can say with 100% confidence that it is a load of crap. I hate being pregnant even more this time than last time, which actually surprises me.  Why you ask??

With Gwen I was sick from week 5-20. It mainly included all day nausea, dry heaving/throwing up...etc. After week 20 the pregnancy was a breeze. I felt great, I slept great, I was laid back, and had no issues with pain...etc.

This time, not so much. You name a pregnancy symptom and chances are I have it or have had it. So on top of the same m/s as with Gwen, I get to experience exhaustion, constipation, major mood swings (not in a good way), depression, restless sleep, stomach aches, teenage like skin (actually my skin is worse than when I was a teenager), ligament pains, stress/mind racing, achy back, achy legs/feet, BP jumping on my bladder, hail damage on the back of my thighs,  and now cankles. I never once swelled with Gwen and I am already swelling with Baby Pink.  At this rate I am going to look, and feel, like an elephant by July.

I should feel guilty about this because I know that there are so many people out there who would trade places with me in a heart beat. And I want to love being pregnant, I want to be one of those glowing gorgeous pregnant women that can still function on a day to day basis instead of a frumpy, angry mess who can barely get herself off the couch or be a productive member of society.  But the truth is, I will never be one of those pregnant women, so I will suffer through the next 18 weeks until I get to meet my love, face to face.

I will leave you with one question.  Do you think once labor is over and I am all stiched up that they could give Mike a quick vasectomy?  The medical grade gloves will already be on and we'll be in the hospital.  Can't be that hard right??

P.S.  My labor better be about 1 hour long (enough time to get to the hospital) and feel like I am being licked by kittens.