Scheduled the big ultrasound...

So I finally called to schedule the "big" ultrasound... usually it's the one where they tell you the sex. As most of you know, we aren't finding out so for us it's the "big" ultrasound because it's the first one where it will actually look like a baby and it's the only remaining ultrasound in Kaiser's prenatal plans unless something goes wrong (knock on wood). We have ultrasound appts scheduled at a local career college that are for fun and picture purposes only though. I'm excited for this Kaiser one though because they'll be pointing out the chambers of the heart, all the muscles, brain, etc... it will be so much cooler than seeing our little gummy bear when it barely had arms and legs! Anyway, the appointment is Dec. 18th... I'll be 19w, 6d (half way to the end!!!)

15 Weeks and Dad's Visit

So Dad and Pam came to visit this weekend. It was fun! I got a ton of maternity clothes on Friday... and we had a good time faking out grandma with the fake belly they let you wear... I put on the belly labeled 7 months and Pam sent grandma a text with the picture... she thought it was my real belly! Ha! I'm only 3 1/2 months! She was sure I was having twins... at that size I should be having sextuplets! We told her it was the fake belly... I guess she's never heard of such a thing... but it sure was fun to mess with her !




That same day I took them to look at the nursery furniture we picked out... Dad took a better picture than the web ones I added below... And he's going to buy it for us! WOO HOO! And now we're getting the tall dresser too! I'm so excited to finally start working on the nursery! My goal is to get the room cleared out by the end of the week (we'll see!), then paint, and then start ripping out the carpet next week and clean the concrete slab real nice. I think we're going to have to buy a piece of the bedding set (like the wall hangings) so I can make sure the colors match. I'm thinking of doing a two-tone room... very cliche or "traditional" if you will. Possibly yellow on top and green on bottom with a chair rail inbetween. I love working at Lowe's! We're looking at the flooring this week too. I brought home some sample pieces, just waiting on Brian to take a look. He closes for three nights in a row so it might be a while before we can discuss it together. (I hate it when he closes.)



Anyway, that was the most exciting part of the weekend... but on Saturday we went to Apple Hill. It's a group of farms up near Placerville in a city called Camino. A lot of the larger farms have little stores and people come set up craft fair booths and sell stuff and I think Dad's favorite part was getting upset that no one caught a fish at the little pond at one of the farms... oh yeah, there's apples everywhere. Can you believe NO ONE got a slice of apple pie??? I would've if they didn't have stupid gluten in them. At least Brian got a hot apple cider. That was a fun trip but towards the end Pam and Dad were just excited to stop and wine taste on the way back, lol... big surprise!


For dinner we went to Mary's Pizza Shack since they serve gluten free pizza. Brian and I had been there once before but it was 4th of July when we went and the place was dead. We weren't so lucky this past Saturday. They were pretty busy and not very quick... and then... they served me glutenous pizza! After I started scarfing down half a slice the server ran up to us and said, "Don't eat that! It's not the right pizza!" Uhh... too late! So, since I'm full of hormones I got all upset and started crying because I had been SO good about not eating gluten for the health of my baby and he ruined it. But while I was crying in the bathroom Brian made the guy feel really bad about it. I almost felt sorry for the guy! They did honestly feel very sorry and apologized up and down and we got our entire dinner for free.... at the expense of my comfort for the next two days. YES, I only ate one half of a piece of pizza and I felt like crap for 36 hours or so. Ick. But I ended up getting my gluten free pizza and continued to eat. In the end I guess it wasn't SO bad. Could've lived withtout that snag in the plans though.


But, all in all it was great weekend. Brian and I ended it by finishing up the first trimester in the baby book and looking at baby names. Don't ask, we're not telling. (Plus we can't find names we like!)

First Day of Second Trimester!!!!

Woo Hoo! We made it past the first trimester!! Happy second trimester to me, happy second trimester to me, happy SECOND TRIMESTER, Happy second trimester, TO ME!

Okay, now that I've gotten that out of my system... here's how were celebrating...
Today I am going to Burlington Coat Factory to...

BUY OUR CRIB!!
(sort of)

Brian has a couple deals going on at work making the nursery furniture slightly more affordable so we're "buying" today for the deals but putting it on layaway (90 days) so we can pay it off little by little.

Here's a bigger photo but converted into a toddler bed.

Also, we think we've decided on a bedding set. It's called Snug as a Bug and features little bugs sucking their thumbs! Super cute but very baby. We probably wont buy the bed set as we don't need the bumper or comforter but we like all of the accessories (diaper holder, mobile, wall hangings, etc).

We had originally thought jungle theme but they all look too boyish and we love the idea of Disney but can't find anything that's not Pooh and Pooh is so overdone. The only other Disney is way to generic looking or sports themed. And we have considered the option of doing a frog theme but they tend to look very cheap or very boy. Nothing cute AND neutral. Again, we haven't made the FINAL decision but wanted to post it to see what you all thought!

Second Appointment

I just got back from my second appointment. Today was the icky pap smear appt. I know, TMI. But I got to hear the heartbeat for the first time! I was actually worried because it took her a while to find it... at first I thought there wasn't going to be one and was getting a little freaked but she found it! 153 bpm. Then she was feeling all over my abdomen and said the uterus was perfect size and that the bone structure of my pelvis was perfect for childbirth. I guess that means I've got wide hips lol. Anyway, it was a pretty basic appointment. I've lost 2 more pounds but my p.c. midwife said I've got "plenty of reserves" so the baby is fine. LOL. Yeah, yeah, yeah... just say it... I'm fat. She wants me to gain a total of 25lbs throughout the entire pregnancy. Right now it seems so hard since the meals I eat are tiny... I'm full after a few bites. I eat more often but my body's not used to it!

The next ultrasound wont be until mid to late December. Next appointment is December 2nd and will be the same as most: pee in a cup, listen to hearbeat, weigh-in, blood pressure and ask questions. Today I also did bloodwork for the first round of optional screening for some birth defects and diseases. We opted out of an NT scan which is an ultrasound where they look for Down's Syndrome or a risk of it... but given that we wouldn't terminate because of it we figured there was no need for it... plus the Dr. said we're at a really low risk and didn't see the need for it either and the blood test will also give us an idea if we're at risk of Down's or Trisomy 18.

Not to get too technical but if you're interested, the blood test will measure "free beta-hCG" and "PAPP-A" (a protein) and if the PAPP-A levels are lower than usual and the hCG levels higher than usual it means a risk of Down's. There will be another blood test somewhere around 18 weeks for other things.

Anyway, that's the latest. I'm feeling a little better lately. Especially on my days off. I'm trying to get out of the house more too and that seems to help... keeping busy and walking around. I can eat more things without getting grossed out but I still don't care much for chicken. It's really weird. I hope I like turkey in time for thanksgiving!

First weird craving??

So I haven't had much to update lately. Still feeling crappy and nauseous and still tired. But I thought I'd let everyone know what I had for breakfast today....

Nachos with mustard. Took some tortilla chips, shredded cheddar cheese and melted them in the micro... then dipped them in mustard. Delicious. Although towards the end the chips were too salty so I peeled off the cheese and ate the cheese dipped in mustard. (It's not really that weird if you realize it's my own "gluten free" version of a Cheese on a Stick from Hot Dog on a Stick)

So far that's my weirdest craving. Not too weird yet though... like Christine's peanut butter and pickle sandwich!

(And don't worry, I had two glasses of V8 Fusion to get some veggies and fruits in on the meal)

Well, I still haven't taken a picture of the ultrasounds but dad was able to send me the picture Brian sent him from his phone... so here's a preview =)

(Just so you know, the baby isn't missing it's right arm... it's on top of the chest... baby was waving!)

Our First Appointment!

We got to see our little gummy bear! Today at our first prenatal appointment they did an ultrasound. As soon as the midwife turned the monitor our direction we saw a very clear picture of our little blob. She first showed us a "snapshot" she took to measure the baby. Baby was 2.78cm from "rump to crown" and that meant baby was 9weeks, 4days... about 3 days older than we expected so our new estimated delivery date (due date) is May 8, 2010. Then she switched the monitor to "live" movement. The baby was moving much more than I expected... I really didn't expect to see much movement this early. While we were watching the baby move it appeared as though the baby was waving at us. It was so cute! It was really weird watching the movements, thinking about how the baby was inside me and growing into a human that I would hold eventually... and take care of and raise, and watch first steps, hear first words... way cool. It made the pregnancy so much more REAL. The baby stopped moving and the midwife was saying, "Move baby, they like watching you move" and proceeded to "stimulate" the baby with the ultrasound wand and baby started moving again. How neat!

I'll be posting the ultrasound pictures as soon as I can. I don't have a scanner at the moment so I'm going to have to get creative. I might just have to take pictures of the pictures... we'll see how that comes out.