Summer weddings...

We have been getting wedding invitations in the mail for summer weddings, oh, for the past month or so. I've kind of ignored the whole possibility of seeing people we haven't seen since we moved to Tucson AND I BECAME A WALKING BABY MACHINE. The last time everyone saw me I still looked and acted like a normal human being; now I look more and more like a beached whale and I pretty much only think and talk about the baby. Goodness!

So, as you can imagine, attending social functions such as a wedding this summer is kind of terrifying. I tried on all the dressy maternity clothes I own last night and it was really frustrating...they looked cute about two weeks ago when I had a little belly, but now that my belly is BIGGER, they are looking scarier off the hanger and on me. Of course, my husband, having learned his lesson early on in this whole process, tells me I am beautiful no matter what I wear, look like, or smell like when I ask his opinion (potentially a smart man, but in reality you have a frustrated wife either way). Thank goodness my former college roommate, Tammy, is coming to town and is planning on shopping with me to look for something I'll feel more comfortable in. Tammy will tell me the truth and it'll be hilarious instead of frustrating! (I refuse to shop for something like this by myself, since my feelings on how I look change daily).

Yesterday I did go shopping, like actual shopping, for the baby. I was looking for his "take home" outfit; figured he'll need to look good for those first family pictures! There are of course a million cute things out, but there is a particular onsie at the Gap that I really fell in love with, so I'm hoping it'll go on sale later this summer, in addition to the matching hat.

Cycling went well last night...the bibs are super comfortable, but I was only on the bike for 5 minutes...going to work up from there as sad as that sounds! That's about it!

Blessings and more blessings!

Ever since our ultrasound all these great things have been happening in regards to the pregnancy! First, I've been feeling great for over a week now (yea! new record). Kevin found a belly button ring for me that I can wear throughout the duration of my pregnancy! That arrived today and is going to be perfect; so far my holes have started to migrate north and get a little farther apart, so if you know anything about navel rings, that means my current jewelry will be too small soon. Also, we received a bunch of boy baby clothes and an infant car seat from friends of ours who are expecting their first baby (a girl) later this week. Very exciting.

Then, yesterday I decided to see if I could find some cycling bibs for $35 or less...and if you know anything about cycling bibs, that would be a great deal. So, I go online and the lowest price I can find is $35, but the gift certificate I have won't let me make online purchases. I decided to check out our local Supergo and found a pair of Cannondale cycling bibs for $29. Amazingly, they were actually discounted even more at the register and I got them for $25 altogether! What a deal and I'm very excited to start riding my road bike again on the trainer tonight. I figure I'm in training now for LABOR. Regretfully, I was followed by an aggressive dog on my morning walk and so I'm thinking I'll have to change my routine to when Kevin is home for my daily walks because I don't want to be caught alone with a big dog like that again! And lastly, we qualified for a discount for the water aerobics I wanted to take this summer and it came out to less than $10 for my fee (originally $70).

So, with walking, riding, and water aerobics...I'm hoping my endurance and fitness will be good come the end of August! Keep me accountable: if you see me on chat, ask if I've worked out today!

Lastly, I was a little concerned last night about our baby because I listen to his heartbeat every night via a stethoscope and it sounded slow last night...like 100 beats/minute (usually it's around 140). I checked my heart rate and it was at 88, so I knew I wasn't accidentally hearing my heartbeat. Kevin gave me some orange juice, just to make him move around and he's been a little gymnast ever since in my abdomen, so I'm not worried anymore.

That's about it! Kevin has all the ultrasound pictures on his computer, so I'll post them as soon as I get copies!

IT'S A BOY!

But, you probably knew that already! We're still tossing the names around...Kevin claims he needs a couple of days to chew over the names now that we know "for sure" that it's a boy. Both of our moms came down to Tucson for the ultrasound appointment and that was too cool to have them here, seeing him live on the screen! We had a great afternoon of lunch and shopping; we so enjoyed having them both here for this day because it made it that much more special for us!

I had convinced myself it was a boy, so the ultrasound just confirmed that for me...if you don't know the whole story: I had a dream the morning we found out we were pregnant that I gave birth to a baby boy; so that is why I thought we were having a boy this whole time!

In other news, I've been feeling good! This means eating everyday and taking two walks a day which is really making me feel better.

That's about it! I'll be posting ultrasound pictures tomorrow...for now you can check out a picture on my husband's blog.

Welcome to "Name that Condition"

You may have noticed I'm posting a lot more often this week and that is because a lot more has been happening...medically at least. Suffice to say, I did not start my walking regimen yesterday or even eat solid food all day!

I was for sure I'd wake up feeling better yesterday morning, a little weak from my mostly liquid diet, but better for sure. Well, I woke up with a stabbing ear ache and coughing up some lovely green mucus from my lungs. I thought the ear ache might have been from allergies and my nose draining somehow, so I stuck out the pain until 10:00 in the morning...then I called the doctor because it was getting worse (the story of my medical life lately)! I talked to the nurse and she got me in at 11:30. By the time I checked in and was sitting in the lobby tears were already coming down my face from the pain. This continued until the doctor showed up an hour after my appt time and I think I kind of freaked him out. I told him the tears were from the pain, but he insisted on asking if I was stressed out, if everything was okay at home. Good grief! Despite this, he did start me on antibiotics and some anesthesia drops for my ears.

I actually really liked this doctor, even though he's not my usual physician, but my favorite exchange of the appt went like this:

D: You're pregnant?
Me: Yep
D: How far along?
Me: 20 weeks
D: Really! I can't even tell you have a belly! (I pull my maternity shirt tight over my belly) Ahhh! A little one!

Smart man, this one. The one thing every pregnant woman wants to hear is that she doesn't look as pregnant as she actually is, and I'm not being sarcastic, as this was true for me also.

Today is better so far; I've eaten a little something for breakfast and been able to drink some water, in addition to no new medical problems! Kevin says it happens about every other day this past week, so I won't be holding my breath for tomorrow's health outlook!

Thanks to everyone who has been letting me know about the names: Kadin and Mikayla seem most popular among you!

Name Meanings

I received an email that stated:

"NAMES I FEEL, NEED TO HAVE A MEANING BEHIND THE NAME, AS IN BIBLICAL TIMES WHICH STATED THEIR CHARACTER. ALL THE NAMES YOU PICKED ARE LOVELY, DO THEY HAVE A MEANING TO THEM?"

Why yes the names do have meanings and here they are:

Kyle means crowned with laurel in Hebrew
Kadin means friend in Arabic
Madalyn means high tower in Greek
Mikayla means who is like God in Hebrew

Of course, some of these names have multiple meanings, so if you go look them up yourself, you might find additional or alternate meanings.

The Name Game

Being pregnant, I tend to change my mind almost every hour about various subjects. Kevin will argue that I also did this before I became a walking baby machine, but that's up for debate. Of course, the big deal for me right now is what to name this new addition, so here are the current choices:

If it's a boy:
Kyle Daniel or Kadin Daniel

If it's a girl:
Madalyn Ann or Mikayla Ann

Yea, yea, you guessed it, we're trying to stick with our respective initials. Leave a comment as to which you like best or even suggest something else! I'm going to want to name this child as soon as the anatomy screening comes back from the ultrasound technician (which happens on April 20th)!

And the winner is...

First, a health update: Last night I ate my first solid food and IT STAYED DOWN. I stuck with liquids again today until dinnertime and, cross your fingers, dinner is still in my tummy.

I think the baby is happy I'm eating food again. He/she was really active while I was on that liquid diet, but since I've been able to eat a little, the baby has settled down some.

Last night we had our latest appointment and found out there is definitely only one baby (according to my uterus size), in addition to hearing the heartbeat again. Also, I just make the cut for low risk in regards to glucose screening, which means no gestational diabetes test for me (if you know how I fear needles, this is like winning the lottery). I am gaining weight right on schedule, about 10 pounds so far and should gain about a pound per week from here on out. The baby weighs almost a pound now according to the midwife. I think that's just about all of the exciting news we found out.

My goal tomorrow is to start up my walking regimen again! Wish me luck!

Today's real post!

So since Thursday my body decided that rejecting food in the form of vomit and diarrhea was the way to go, so the midwives put me on an all liquid diet for the past 24 hours. Thankfully, I kept it all down...the threat of an IV may have helped. Despite all of this, I am still feeling yucky and now my husband is sleeping in the guest room because he doesn't want to get it. I figure I must be looking pretty unhappy if he's scared of getting it...the boy didn't even move out when I had morning sickness, but I guess that isn't contagious.

We celebrated hitting the halfway mark today (20 weeks) with dinner at beyond bread...all this meant was a bowl of soup for me, but it was good to get out. I am too excited that every week from now on is on the down slope of this whole being pregnant fiasco. I'm sure some ladies just completely love the experience of being pregnant, but I have no desire to ever go through this again no matter how cute that baby is (can you say adoption for our next child?). I'm not sure Kev would survive taking care of me and a toddler if we tried to do this natural for a child #2!

That's all for now, next appt is on Monday, so I'll try to post after that!

A Delayed Post...

Blogger was down, so here is my delayed post from Thursday...

So, the news I have is indirectly related to baby...I feel yucky. This is probably due to the fact that Kev and I spent last night in the ER waiting to have my infected, pussing, incredibly painful right eye examined because Benadryl made it worse! Turns out I have an infection (conjunctivitis?) and have to do antibiotic eye drops for the next week, three times a day. Now where did I pick up this fabulous little infection you ask? Well, that's a good question...seeing as I was frequenting middle and high schools the past two weeks, I assume I got it there. If you've been in contact with me recently (like the past week), wash your hands a lot and be on the lookout for red, pussy, painful eyes. Regretfully, I've felt like crap since waking up this morning...now this could be from lack of sleep, the sore throat I'm now experiencing, or the queasiness. All three just aren't making me a happy camper. Baby has been particularly active, most likely due to the change in his/her schedule I assume! Our next appt. is on Monday, so I'll give you an update then. That's it for now!

I would post more but...

Just a brief aside...and I warn you that this one is bigger than the last! Thanks Grandma Pam!

Yea for an update!

Just a brief update: I am feeling good most of the time...a few yucky days here and there. My belly seems to grow in spurts; Kevin's mom took a picture at 18 wks and I think it will definitely rival the picture she took at 16 wks! I'll keep you updated on when that picture is posted! I had been experiencing little flutters and such feeling the baby move, but my first real good thump occurred on March 24th, right before Good Friday. The midwives call this your "quickening" date; whatever that means! Since then I get thumped pretty regularly about 3 times a day...usually around the times when I eat slightly larger meals than my typical grazing. If I miss out on a larger meal, then the thumping gets really insistent; one of the girls I talked to said my baby is already ordering "womb" service...hehe.

On the cat front, for those of you that didn't know, my cat has become an annoying terror since I became pregnant. She would wake us up at all hours of the night, multiple times and meow as if she was dying. We sent her to Kevin's mom's house for a week or so, but that didn't seem to help until I started playing with her right before we go to bed! Now she sacks out and lets us both sleep as much, and as late, as we want!

In other news, we have a doula: a.k.a. a birth assistant. Now I hear you thinking, isn't Kevin your birth assistant? Yes, yes he is, but how would you like to be the ONLY encouragement for a laboring women if labor goes on and on for hours. Also, since neither of us have really experienced or done this before, I thought it might be nice to have another assistant there. Now, I hear all you family members saying "I would gladly encourage you during your birth" and of course I know this. However, there are certain things I will feel more comfortable doing and saying to someone I won't be seeing the next day than to a family member who will remember it for the rest of my life, so that's one of the reasons I wanted a doula.

And lastly, we finally have a date for our ultrasound: April 20th at 11 a.m.. That's it for now!