Stinky feet!

I had an appointment on Monday and all was well. We heard the heartbeat again and you could hear the baby kicking the uterus, which was pretty cool. Today I'm 14w2d. Second trimester, yes! I'm right on track with symptoms. When the WTE book says something new could happen in the next week, sure enough it does! This week was round ligament pain. Ouch! I have wonky hips, so I'm not surprised that I'm already feeling some pain in them. I imagine it's only going to get worse. One symptom I never expected was stinky feet! Yesterday my feet were uber sweaty and, this is gross, I could smell them while sitting at my desk. And now, sitting here blogging I could smell them again. I said to my husband, it this a pregnancy symptom!?? And sure enough, it is! Gross!

My next appointment is the end of March, I need to go in to have the blood drawn for my quad screen, then 2 weeks later I'll have my 20 week scan. I declined the first trimester screening, so I haven't had a scan since 6 weeks. I'm really looking forward to another one!

Introducing Jerseysaur

Hello everyone! I am a new blogger to Pregosaur and I would like to introduce myself. My name is Jerseysaur and I am 23 weeks pregnant today.

Like so many other strong beautiful women out there, the road to get to this point was not easy. Before I get into the details let me set up the story for ya... My husband and I met in college in New York and have been together ever since. He proposed to me before my senior year of college as he had already graduated and I knew this was the person I wanted to spend my life with and start a family with someday. We married two years after that and closed on our first home three days before our wedding. The first year of marriage were trials and tribulations associated with picking out countertops and light fixtures. We renovated the whole house before we moved it, at this point babies were not on the forefront of our mind.

After our first anniversary when things started to settle we decided to stop birth control. EEK. For me it was quite emotional and such a change in thoughts, for so long it was "Please NO" and now it was "Pretty Please Yes".

We got pregnant three months after getting off our birth control. I remember thinking how easy it was and how beyond excited we were. We decided to wait to tell our families in person and were seeing them around the 8 week mark. The evening before we were to leave I started spotting and passing clots, at 3am I woke up with labor pains in my back. I passed our baby shortly after. It has been a year since that date. We never got to tell our family we were even pregnant.

Of course we were heartbroken, it made our marriage stronger and we pushed thru. We waited the few months the doctors told us to and tried again. Months of nothing. As the new year turned, my depression was rearing its ugly head and we decided to start testing. I had an HSG, everything looked good, they said I may have had a blockage but the procedure could have cleaned it out. The husband had his sperm checked and that was all normal. I started Clomid that month and it worked again. We were excited but hesitant. This pregnancy did not last long either. Again heartbroken, I screamed and cried. I saw a side of myself I never saw. I had hit rock bottom. I was angry, so very angry. The doctor told us we could try again if we were up to it the next month with no pills or we could wait.

Well as crazy as I was, there was NO waiting. My husband actually had to have surgery the week I was ovulating and I was so upset. We were forced to hold off but that didn't stop us, we had to have sex at least once. Shortly after we went on vacation to Washington DC with clomid in tow, only to have AF never show up. I took a cheap test down there and saw a faint line. Of course I did not believe it at all. Gave it a few days and took a digital test to see the word 'Yes'. I was in disbelief. For real?!?!

The first 12 weeks were Hell, I went to the doctor and had my blood tested. So far so good. I felt like I was in the twilight zone. How was this possible. At the first trimester screening we saw our baby moving and jumping around so quickly the pictures are all blurry. I cried so hard. This was actually it.

My world has flipped inside, outside and backwards in the last 365 days. I sometimes have the 'this is too good to be true' feeling and up until recently would check the TP for blood after going to the bathroom. Now that I can feel our baby girl move, its at a whole new level.

I thank you for reading my story and look forward to sharing the rest of this journey with all of you. ♥

Well, I admit to being a terrible 'saur :-(

I am currently 15 weeks and 6 days and feeling a lot better. For my first 3 months, I was constantly sick and couldn't eat much. I pretty much became a hermit and wouldn't go anywhere or do anything. Poor Mr. Bakersaur had a lot to deal with!
I've been to 2 different doctor appointments since my last appt and both have been great! Both times I got to listen to the heartbeat which was amazing and baby's heartbeat sounded perfect. I also learned that so far I have gained absolutely no weight! I was shocked to learn this as I was getting much bigger and just felt like I was weighing a ton. It never occurred to me that it was BABY that was growing and not my fat.

Mr. Bakersaur got me a doppler for Christmas and until I was almost 14 weeks, I was never able to find baby's heartbeat. When I finally did, I almost cried because I was so happy! I now use it at least once a week between appointments just to calm my nerves.

I also think that I have started to feel some movement. I didn't think about it the first time I felt it but last night after I coughed, I got a heavy fluttering feeling a couple of inches below my bellybutton. I ran to tell Mr. Bakersaur and he was just as excited.

Our next appointment is February 18th and *hopefully* we will be able to find out the sex of the baby!!

Cankletown

I've had swollen feet (or, as it's technically called during pregnancy, "edema") since about 16 weeks. Some days it's better, some days it's worse, but although it looked painful - the tops of my feet swell to the point where there's a little lip of flesh hanging over the tops of my shoes - it really only felt stretched and tight and would usually subside with a nightly foot rub from Mr Bibliosaur. Until yesterday, anyway.

I don't know what changed, but yesterday the swelling went to a whole new level. The tops of my feet swelled to a point they've never reached before, and my ankles puffed up until bending them was painful - I had cankles from hell. It was actually almost frightening to look down at my feet and see just how swollen they were.

Everything I've been able to find online says to try to keep your feet elevated during the day (this isn't really practical at my job, although I'm trying to stay off them as much as possible), and then offers the cheerful advice that the swelling usually goes away after giving birth. Which I suppose is very comforting to someone who is 36 weeks pregnant, but since I'm only at 23 weeks, the idea of waiting that much longer for relief is just depressing.

I already use compression stockings occasionally, and I've read that using a lotion infused with peppermint oil can help promote good circulation. Does anyone have any other home remedies that worked for them?

Riding the roller coaster

I'd been warned that morning sickness sometimes returns later in a pregnancy, usually around the third trimester. So when I started feeling oddly sick late last week, I initially attributed it to my old friend nausea rearing its ugly head again.

And then it went away.

And then it was back.

Away. Back. Away. Back. Often multiple times a day, and the weird thing was that it didn't feel like morning sickness. Don't get me wrong - I felt nauseated. But it was a different kind of nausea...kind of like motion sickness. Do you know the feeling when you're on a roller coaster and your stomach feels like it's dropping out of your body? You don't exactly feel like you're going to throw up (well, some people do, haha!), but you feel unsettled, like your insides are sloshing around. But of course, I wasn't going on any roller coasters, and most of the time when I felt it, I wasn't even in a car - just sitting peacefully on the couch or lying in bed.

Finally I realized that it wasn't me - it was the babies. I've started feeling them much more over the last week or so, and since there are two of them in there, space is already getting a little cramped. And every time they started vigorously flipping around, I began feeling queasy.

At first I thought I must be crazy. I'd never heard or read of anyone else feeling sick solely from fetal movement! But, lo and behold, a quick google search showed that other women (like these ladies) feel the same thing. The explanation I've read is that the baby is pushing up on your stomach and making it churn, which sounds logical enough. But it's still utterly bizarre to be peacefully reading a book or using my laptop and suddenly feel like I'm charging down a massive drop on a roller coaster! Has anyone else experienced this?

P.S. Good news! After eating like a mofo for the last month, with a big focus on protein and full fat dairy, I've finally managed to claw my way to the midrange of the recommended weight gain for someone with my BMI (as you may recall, I'm hardly an underweight waif, but I was struggling to put on enough pounds). I'm now pretty much exactly on target for my 22 weeks - this is a huge relief and I can finally relax a bit, knowing I'll be able to meet the all important week 28 goal!

Where's the magic?

I know this may not be the right season to complain (Merry Christmas, eh?), but I need to get something off my chest. For the last few weeks, I've been really struggling with a growing frustration with my body.

When I read in pregnancy books about what's happening with my body, it's like a faraway dream. I'm supposed to be happy and comfortable, chock full of fabulous second tri energy. Instead, I'm perpetually living in an exhausted haze. Rolling onto my other side in bed is becoming more and more difficult. My belly has grown to a size where my back is starting to ache, and putting on my socks is becoming a daily challenge. And speaking of my feet, they swell to the point by the end of each day where the tops of them actually make a little lip over the edge of my shoes, which is about as weird and gross looking as it sounds (my job involves a certain amount of standing/walking, and although I've minimized that as much as I can, I simply can't put them up all day - compression stockings have helped somewhat, but I'd love any other suggestions you can come up with to try to reduce the swelling).

The problem is that most ordinary pregnancy books - aside from my beloved multiples book - treat twins or supertwins as just a "little extra pregnant" and never discuss the difference in physical stress that you experience. Even though I'm only 21 weeks along, I'm experiencing what someone pregnant with a singleton doesn't feel until the third trimester; the average baby weighs 12.7oz at 21 weeks - double that for two babies, and that alone pushes you to where a singleton sits at 26 weeks, not to mention adding in the extra weight from extra amniotic fluid and blood, a larger placenta, plus the strain of a plus-sized uterus, etc. etc.

Well, at least I'm not expecting octuplets, right?

I feel so incredibly guilty even writing any of this. I've been given such a wonderful blessing - not one, but two wonderful little boys that I already love with all of my heart and soul - and I am so grateful and thrilled that we're having them. But some days, especially in the evening when I'm exhausted and my feet are like two fat sausages, and then I read about what a magical time this is supposed to be in a pregnancy...well, I feel so tired and frustrated that I want to cry. It doesn't help that it's mid-summer in Australia, so I'm battling heat as well. I honestly cannot imagine how much harder this will get over the next few months...I know that I can handle it, I know that I will handle it, that I'll find ways of coping, but it's a frightening thought sometimes to realize that I still have another four months to go.

Is there anyone else out there who wants to be experiencing the blissful magic of being pregnant and instead just feels crummy all the time? Please tell me I'm not a bad person for feeling like this, that I'm not alone!

Luckysaur- Week 25

Here we are at week 25...the weeks just keep ticking by. They seem to be going so much faster now. I'm not sure if it's the time of year or the new job. Either way I don't mind. I can't wait to meet our little girl and the faster we get to that point the better as far as I'm concerned. I always thought that I would love being pregnant. As much as I love feeling Sophie kick around in there, I'm ready to be back to my normal self again (with our new little one, of course). Does anyone else feel the same way?


I haven't done one of these questionnaires in a while so I decided to add one back in today.

How far along?- 25 weeks

Total weight gain/loss- A LOT! Seeing the numbers on the scale increase as much as they have has been the worst part of pregnancy for me.

How Big is Baby?- A rutabaga!

Maternity clothes?- Definiately. My belly's getting bigger by the day (along with everything else on me).

Stretch marks?- No new ones yet. I know that it may not help, but I've been slathering my belly with lotion every day when I get out of the shower. I figure it can't hurt.

Sleep- I'm currently a 3 pillow sleeper. I have one for my head, one for my belly, and one for my back. So far this is working out great for me and I'm sleeping very soundly. I'm hoping that this continues for a while longer.

Movement- Oh yeah... Mr. Luckysaur and I could see it from the outside for the first time this past weekend. Sophie was super active right after dinner on Friday night. I was lying down on the couch and every so often she would kick and my belly would move. She's getting stonger!

Food cravings- Nothing in particular. I'm usually hungry for a big lunch, but I don't seem to snack as much during the day as I had been.

Gender- Our little Sophie is a girl. : )

Labor Signs- None so far.

Belly Button in or out?- Still in...yeah!

What I am looking forward to- Everything. Haha. I'm excited about Christmas even though it will be the first one that I'm not spending with my family. We spent Thanksgiving with my family this year, so Christmas we'll be with Mr. Luckysaur's family in St. Louis. I'm also looking forward to my shower which is planned for 01/30. My sister and mom are hosting it for me back in Florida so I'll be heading down there in January (yeah!).


I took a picture last week even though I didn't post it. Here's my week 24 picture.


And here's my week 25 picture.

Butterflies in my stomach

For the last few weeks, I've been waiting impatiently to feel our twins move. I knew that for most women it happens between weeks 16-20, and I thought I had a good chance of feeling it earlier since we're having twins. But week 16 passed uneventfully. Week 17, more of the same. But this week...well, this week is different!

Yesterday was the start of week 18, and yesterday, I felt our babies move for the very first time! At first I wasn't sure that what I was feeling was really movement, but this pregnancy has given me enough gas that I was pretty positive it was something different. And then I felt it again. A flutter, low in my belly.

I've read that for some people it feels like bubbles or a goldfish flitting around. For me, it feels like butterflies - the nervous kind you get in your stomach when you're about to make a speech in front of a large group. A nervous, fluttery feeling, but without the anxiety - just the lightly flipping sensation in my stomach.

After I realized what I was feeling, it now seems like I suddenly feel it a lot more (although I've probably actually been feeling it for longer than I knew, but simply didn't know what to feel for). It's not constant, but sometimes when I'm quiet and still, I feel the gentle fluttering.

And then, earlier today, low on my right side...a soft flick. Flick. Flickflickflick. FLICK. Now THAT was a kick for sure! There is absolutely no way it could be mistaken for anything else.

Feeling them move is the most incredible thing - it's extraordinary to actually feel new lives inside me! Mr Bibliosaur is beyond thrilled with this new development - he keeps eagerly asking me if I'm feeling them move again: "Can you feel them now?" "No, not right now." "Oh. Well how about now?" I can't wait until he can feel them kicking from the outside so he can experience this too!

Luckysaur- Week 23

I'm feeling like I look bigger this week. I think Sophie has been doing some growing in there since I last posted. I've also gotten three comments from patients this week asking me when I was due so other people seem to be noticing it too. Here we are at week 23...


We hit a big milestone this week...Mr. Lucksaur was able to feel Sophie move last night. I've been noticing that her movements have been getting stronger and stronger lately. They started out as little twinges, but now they feel more like thumps from the inside. Now I know why no one can tell you exactly what it feels like when a baby moves around inside. It's very hard to describe the feeling because it's not like anything else that I've ever felt before. I felt Sophie from the outside a few nights ago when she started moving around as I was getting into bed. I was lying on the couch last night after dinner and she started moving around and I was able to feel it again. I pulled Mr. Luckysaur's hand over to where I was feeling it and sure enough she gave us another kick and he was able to feel it too. We were both so excited. Mr. Luckysaur kept rubbing my belly and talking to Sophie, which I think is the most adorable thing ever. He is going to be a great dad. I can't wait to see him interact with her in person.

Time is flying by so quickly. I can't believe Thanksgiving weekend is finally upon us (for those of you in the US). I'm heading back down to Florida with Mr. Luckysaur to celebrate the holiday with my family. I'm looking forward to seeing my family and friends again, but I'm also really looking forward to all the food! I like turkey, but the side dishes (and desserts) are my favorites...mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potato casserole, corn casserole, and pumpkin pie. YUM!

What Thanksgiving dish are you the most excited about?

Confession

When I very first became pregnant, women told me to enjoy our sex life while I could, before the morning sickness struck. When the nausea hit, the same women told me to look forward to the second trimester, which apparently was full of hot sex, especially because a lot of them seemed to feel amazingly confident and sexy with their new pregnant body.

So here's my confession: I'm 16 weeks pregnant, and I don't feel sexy. At all. Not even a little bit.

I'm sure my ridiculous allergies don't help, but it's more than that. I don't feel confident or empowered. I feel fat. I feel bloated. I feel unsure and incredibly self-conscious of how my body looks. I'm hyperaware of how heavy and low my breasts have gotten - they're not the perky girls I used to be secretly proud of (because seriously, I had a FAB rack). I feel strangely off balance with a bump that now extends out well beyond my bust line, and immensely self-conscious about how it sticks out. I see the stretch lines forming on my stomach (yes, already!) and the last thing I want to do is let someone else check them out at close view.

This is, to say the least, extremely unusual for me. I've always enjoyed myself in the bedroom, and I don't know what to do with these new feelings. Mr Bibliosaur has been fantastic - very sweet and encouraging, always telling me that he still thinks I look sexy and beautiful. But I don't feel sexy and beautiful, and that makes it hard for me to get in the mood. I won't estimate the number of times we've gotten it on since I became pregnant, but I think there's a distinct possibility that it could be easily counted on two hands.

So I know this is all very TMI, but does anyone have any tips? Wearing lingerie doesn't do anything for me, and I've never been one to set the mood with candles and music, etc. (I secretly find those things super cheesy and certainly not a turn on). Is there anyone else out there who just didn't feel sexy when they were pregnant? How do I get my confidence back?

P.S. Don't you love these books? I still find it hilarious that there's a market for romance novels about knocked up women.

Can Puppy-sitting Cure Baby Fever?

Apparently, it can. I spent the weekend with my husband's parents new puppy, and for the record, it is the cutest thing on earth. However, it is seriously crazy.

The experience began so nicely. DH and I had a great breakfast and then headed over to his parents house. We chatted while they were still getting ready to go, and the puppy was being an angel (of course). Then..... they left.... The poor little guy was really not feeling good, but despite that he had wayyyy too much energy and is obsessed with biting to the point of drawing blood. I really thought this was going to be easy and super fun. I mean, who doesn't love being around puppies?! DH and I played with him and actually got a kick out of his puppy antics. Then my husband wanted to go watch the hockey game and stay over night in the city with his friends, and at the time I really knew I needed to be supportive because he really did deserve a night out. However, I did not anticipate the night this puppy would put me through!

After DH left we were ok for a couple hours. Then the puppy started not feeling good and even though I was watching him like a hawk he still managed to have extremely, extremely messy accidents all over the house. I am not kidding it was one of the grossest and exhausting nights I have been through in a long time. One good thing that came out of it is that apparently I can deal with a lot of sick poop, so hopefully that part of a baby will be no prob. The frustration of not being able to talk to the little guy to figure out what was going on, and taking him out COUNTLESS times for him NOT to do anything until the second he came inside was beyond me.

Keep in mind that the fatigue aspect of this pregnancy hasn't even come close to letting up yet, and I tend to fall asleep (whether I like it or not) at about 8:30 or 9 every night. This particular night I managed to squeak in a half an hour while the little monster was asleep and then had to monitor/ try to keep him from drawing blood until about 1am. Not cool. I was a wreck by that point. I was supposed to be able to just put him in his house and he'd sleep... ummmm no... that did not happen he barked and cried and banged around his house for almost half an hour before I buckled and took him into bed with me. Now this was the cutest part of the night. He was such a little snuggler! That part was nice. Waking up every two hours from 1am until morning was not. I had to call my husband and beg him to come home at about four o'clock in the morning. Although, I felt bad it was worth it to save my sanity.

Anyway, I had strong, serious doubts about my ability to deal with a screaming baby for any longer than I dealt with the poor little puppy. This was intensely scarily eye-opening for me. My husband tried to put it in perspective to say at least I wouldn't be running outside every time I saw the baby sniff the floor because at least a baby wears a diaper, but seriously, I'm not sure I'm cut out for this role as a mother. It's terrifying to think I might do a bad job at it, it's not like you get a second chance! Granted at least babies don't bite as much as a puppy either... so maybe there is some hope, and if not at least I have another four months to forget about this experience.

I also had my first experience with crazy hormones this week. Wow. It's like PMS times a thousand. It was over something so silly too! It is my birthday coming up in about a week, and this birthday will definitely be unlike many that came before it. First of all, it's the first time I've been able to be home for my birthday in about three years, and second, it's not like I will be having an celebratory adult beverages for obvious reasons. So rather than plan a regular party I planned a Partylite Party so that my friends and family could start their Christmas shopping and I would still get to see them etc. Well, so far two people are coming of more than thirty. Hmmmm, so I was already upset that being pregnant changes your friendships more than I anticipated anyway, but I can't even count on them for my birthday? Not even my sister will come, and that unfortunately, was the straw that broke the camel's back. I actually got really mad at her and said all the things I hadn't even known I wanted to say to all my non-existent "friends". I should feel bad, but I'm still so upset that I can't even help myself. So currently I will not be celebrating my birthday except with my amazing husband.

It's a strange place to be in when you are the first one of your friends to change this dramatically I suppose. I really thought it would be different. Thankfully one of my friends is pregnant too, but she lives much further away, so it's different for her. I face the changes of my friends almost every day at least she can excuse them based on distance. Strangers have been more interested in me than my closest friends have. It's a devastating realization that I have to come to terms with sooner than later. Thankfully my husband is so supportive that it makes me miss them less, but it's still tough. Anyway, I was shocked at my response to something that I would normally be fairly calm about. Thanks hormones, but now that I have experienced you I'd like you to go back where you came from.

In other news, I am eighteen weeks today! I have an appointment with my midwife this week and I'm going to ask about the vaccine to put my mind at rest about that. I get to have my hair done that day too so hopefully that will brighten my spirits! I'm seriously 25 and finding greys popping up it's not very cool. Also, we have our BIG ultrasound on December 2, so hopefully the baby is feeling "showy" that day and we will potentially find out what the gender is. The hospitals around here are so stupid. One won't even TRY to find out the sex and the other will only do it if it's obvious and won't even tell us at the time- they wait and write it in the report so that I have to wait for a call from my midwife to find out, which could be days later! Now that I made the decision to find out now I really want to know!

Anyway, sorry this was such a convoluted post, but I'll write a more organized one soon!

Back to normal?

Things are slowly getting back to normal in the Citysaur household, after a jarring and emotional week last week. I was swamped at work when I returned on Monday - I was gone a week and a day, and walked out in the middle of a work day with virtually no notice. But I'm getting back into the swing of things, both at work and at home.

I'm 21 weeks today, and I finally got around to taking a new belly pic, my first since week 17.

I've had this shirt in my closet for a while (ever since the big maternity shopping spree) but today was the first day I wore it to work. Because it's fitted, it needed a bit of a belly before I actually looked pregnant in it and not just fat. I tried it on this morning and figured I looked pregnant enough, so it passed the test. :o)

In other news, our crib was delivered last week, and Mr. Citysaur had it put together in about an hour! It's lucky that we were actually both off work that day, as the UPS guy called me when he came to deliver it. Because the box was so big, he didn't want to just leave it in our building office. We have a good UPS guy! Here's the finished product, sans mattress and bedding and all of that fun stuff, of course:


We also moved the spare futon out of the nursery finally, and we'll be getting rid of it this weekend - no place to keep it in our 2-bedroom loft! And on Sunday, I found a glider and ottoman on craigslist for a great price, so that also has a home in the nursery now. It's slowly coming together, though we still have quite a bit of work to do yet. My father-in-law is building us a changing table/dresser combo, my mom is buying us some carpet tiles to lay down over the hardwood floors, and of course then there's all the decorating! But I feel pretty good about where we are in the process at this point.
On the opposite end of the spectrum from where we are on the nursery is how I've felt lately about all the decisions we have left to make! I had a bit of a freak-out session last night when I started to think about all the big, major decisions we have to make - and soon! Where will Benjamin stay when I return to work? What pediatrician will we take him to? How am I going to fit pumping into my work schedule, and where in the world am I going to do it, when I work out of a cubicle? What school will we send him to, eventually?


That's the one decision, ironically, that sent me into the biggest panic, and it's the one that's the farthest away. We live downtown in a mid-size city that isn't used to having families living downtown yet. Our inner-city schools leave a little to be desired...sometimes a lot. Most families in our area flee to the suburbs when it's time to send the kids to school. But Mr. Citysaur and I are different. We want a different experience for our child - not so different that I want to send my child to a struggling school where drugs and guns and gangs are daily issues though. However, the likelihood is that we'll leave this city altogether before Ben is school-aged anyway - so therein lies the irony of why that particular decision sent me over the edge!

I finally just told myself to calm down and take things one at a time, so that's what I'm doing. First up on the list? Find a pediatrician!

Luckysaur- Week 21

Hello all! Another week has quickly passed...here we are at week 21. Only 133 days (give or take a few days) left until we get to meet our little girl.



I had a discovery this morning. It's kind of hard to see in this picture, but above the indentation from my pants and underwear is the beginning of the linea nigra (along with my innie belly button which I hope stays that way). I got out of the shower this morning and looked in the mirror and there it was. I have fairly dark skin, although my belly is pretty pale since it hasn't seen the sun in quite some time, and I've read that the linea nigra is more prominent in darker skinned people. I'll take this over stretch marks any day. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that those stay the heck away from this belly!


I got to hang out with my mom and sister this weekend in Florida. It's so hard living so far away from them, but we're trying to make the most of the situation by getting together as often as possible. I got to meet my new "nephew" while I was there too. This is my sister and her 7 week old baby boy, Barkley. He loves to bite right now which is why we kept sticking the lollipop chew toy in his mouth every few seconds. Haha! I'll get to see them again at Thanksgiving, which is only a few weeks away, but I'm sure Barkley will look much different then than he does now. He's going to be a big boy...look at those paws!


We did some shopping while I was in Florida. Sophie made out BIG time. Her granny is already spoiling her like crazy. She got all kinds of clothes...this kid already has me beat in the clothes department. We also got a few more things for her nursery. I'm excited to start getting it all set up, but since it's still our office right now I need to wait to have DH help me move the office furniture around to make room for the baby stuff. We'll see how fast that happens. I tried to start some of it myself last week and ended up feeling crampy so I stopped. I told DH about it and he's not letting me lift or move anything anymore. I'm not complaining though.

I start my new job on Monday. As much as I enjoy having all this free time, I really like having some structure too. I'm looking forward to getting back into the work groove again. Especially since I'll only be there a week and a half before I get a few days off again!

I hope everyone is having a great week!

Luckysaur- Week 20

We've officially made it to the half way mark! I can't believe how fast it's gone. There are only 20 weeks left until Sophie makes her appearance. I can't get over that! I really hope that time keeps flying by as fast as it has. Here's my week 20 picture. I don't think the picture does my bump justice...it really is there. Haha.


Last Friday was my last day at my job. It was pretty uneventful and I wasn't sad at all. I was actually ready to get out of there. Monday morning I got a call from HR at the second position that I interviewed for and they offered me the position! Not only will I be employed again, but I'll be making more money than I was at my previous job. Yeah! My start date is scheduled for November 16th. The only downside is that I will only have 6 (or 8, if she comes by c-section) weeks with Sophie after she is born before I have to go back to work. That bums me out a little, but it comes with the territory. I knew when this happened that I wouldn't be covered by FMLA anymore. I'm trying to stay positive about this and I'm thinking that I may see if they would be ok with me working part time for a couple of weeks after I return. That may help ease the transition of having to leave my little girl to go back to work.

Since I have two weeks in between jobs, I booked a flight (courtesy of frequent flier miles) to go back to Florida to visit my family. My mom and sister are so excited that I'm coming and are ready to go baby shopping! Whoo-hoo! I've started to get a few things for her room, but I really want their help on figuring it all out. They are great decorators. I wish they didn't live so far away.

Speaking of the decorating the nursery, Mr. Luckysaur and I bought Sophie a dresser off of Craigslist a while back and painted it. That was during my sleepy first trimester and I never got around to blogging about it. It was an awful cream color with brown top that I unfortunately did not capture on film to share with all of you. We turned the monstrosity into a crisp white dresser to match the white crib that my mom is planning on getting us. We're going to put a changing pad on top and use this as her changing table as well.


I really like all the pink stuff out there for girls, but I'm drawn more to bright, primary colors for some reason. Let me tell you, if you are having a girl and you want primary colors, forget about it. Bedding sets don't exist in this color pallet for girls. I fell in love with the colors in this blanket that my sister bought for us back in September. Not only did it have the colors that I wanted, but it was polka dots which I love. The blanket came from Target and they had a sheet that matched it too, well an entire bedding set, but it was definitely for a little boy. We're going to go with the blanket and sheet from Target instead of continuing to search for a bedding set. Yesterday, while strolling through Pottery Barn Kids at the mall I stumbled upon the perfect crib skirt to go with the sheet.



Did you see that sticker? Yep that's right, marked down from $59 to $19.97! Call me frugal if you want, but I love deals like that especially from Pottery Barn.

Have you all heard of Etsy? If not you need to go check it out. It's a site with all kinds of handmade (and vintage) goodies. I love that site and I've bought a ton of stuff off of there especially for my wedding earlier this year. I searched the site for nursery stuff the other day and I found a really cute banner that I thought would be great over the crib. Being the thrifty crafter that I am, I decided to try to make one myself instead of buying it. I'm a little biased, but I think it turned out great.


I WAY over estimated the number of flags that I would need and ended up with over double the amount. If anyone is interested in one of these, let me know.

Last but not least, I found this picture at TJ Maxx that I thought would be cute by the bookshelf that we're planning on buying. I added the little butterfly to the b although I'm not sure if it's going to stay there or not.


So there you have it...a lot of the little details and none of the stuff that Sophie's actually going to need. Haha. Those will come in time. The decorating is much more fun!

The Watermelon Effect

By Tanya N. Cook
Web Exclusive from Mothering.com

They say that I should be ashamed of you. That I should hide you under clothes, buy creams to ease your grip on me, even go under the laser to erase all evidence of your existence. But I am proud of you.
I may never wear a bikini again, but that has less to do with you than with the little saggy pouch underneath my belly button that you decorate.
Catching a glimpse of my bare stomach I am shocked. Somehow in my mind, it still seems as though it should be flat and smooth as it was before, in my other life. But there you were, no longer wide and red like angry lightening, but narrow, crooked and silvery, a remembrance of what was and what is, like the way a lover's first kiss sears your skin long after his lips have left yours. For a minute I am angry with you. I hold you responsible and almost, almost succumb to the desire to purge you from my body, as if in your absence I could return to girlhood.
I hold my little pouch in my hands and look at you - really look - here you show the too fast expansion of my lower abdomen to accommodate First Daughter; there you mark the growing girth of my waist for larger, Second Daughter. Smiling, I remember my belly, round and full, crossed every which way by you, dark pigment on light. Suddenly, my joke about swallowing a watermelon seed doesn't seem so outrageous. I know I don't truly want to be rid of you. There is no going back and I want your presence to remind me of that.
I find an empty cardboard box and pull out clothes from my closet that I have been saving for five years. Why I am nostalgic about them, I do not know. Into the box, I put that pair of slacks I bought for my first office job and the dress I wore underneath my gown for my college graduation. I slip my hand underneath the waistband of the sweats I'm wearing and rub my palm across you, silently thanking you. Thank you for helping me to let go of who I was and embrace who I've become.

Tanya Cook is a sometimes writer, part-time graduate student, and full time mom. She lives in Madison, Wisconsin with her husband and two daughters.

Luckysaur- Week 19

It's been a crazy couple of weeks to say the least. I swear my life has been a roller coaster ride since the beginning of 2008. I'm not the type of person that enjoys that type of lifestyle at all. I much prefer a little consistency in my life and I'm hoping that I find it sometime soon.

The low of the past few weeks was finding out that my position at work has been cut and that I will be out of a job as of Friday. Mr. Luckysaur and I make a decent living, but we can't make it on just one salary for long. Financial instability, health insurance needs, along with just feeling plain rejected, make me very nervous about my current situation, but I truely believe that things happen for a reason. Luckily, I had already started my job search a few weeks before this happened. I'm still waiting to hear back from that position about coming in for a second interview. In the meantime, I found another clinical research position, similar to the one that I previously applied for, and submitted my resume for that one as well. As of this afternoon, I have two days worth of interviews completed for the second and newest research position. I'm now playing the waiting game for a call back on this one as well. I don't want to jinx myself, but I have a really good feeling that the job may be mine.

The highest of highs the past two weeks was definitely having our big ultrasound and finding out that we are having a girl. I can hardly put into words how amazing it was to be able to see all her little body parts and to find out that she is healthy and developing right on schedule. This was our third ultrasound and most likely our last until she arrives unless something unforeseen happens that would warrant another ultrasound. As much as I'd love to see her again, I'm hoping that we don't have anymore ultrasounds. Here are some pictures of our little 8 oz beauty, Sophia Avery...

We were told Sophie is sucking her fingers in this picture...how cute!

Here are the three lines of her girlie parts that prove she is indeed female.

I feel like my belly is growing on a daily basis now. It's definitely getting bigger and harder to the touch. I've also felt what I think to be the beginnings of kicks. I have finally gotten to the point where this pregnancy feels real and it's very exciting.

Here's Sophie's and my week 19 picture...

The Hiccups!

I had heard from several women that aside from feeling the baby kick, you can feel when they have the hiccups too! I had never heard of this until actually getting pregnant, so this was news to me. After I started feeling the baby kick, I started to wonder if I would be able to recognize the hiccups.

I asked another mom how you discern the difference between kicking and hiccups and she said that they are more regular and rhythmic than kicks, and that I would "just know." I really hate it when people say things like that "You'll just know." Because really - what if I don't?!

Well, I hate to admit it but at 24 weeks and 3 days, I felt the baby with the hiccups for the first time and I did - I just knew :) It was the strangest sensation because it was much more subtle and less noticeable than kicks but it was definitely in regular intervals, just a few seconds apart. I wonder what the baby thinks when she is in there, with the hiccups... does it bother her? Does it annoy her? Or confuse her? I guess we'll never know... but feeling baby's hiccups inside your belly is definitely a very strange/cool part of being pregnant!

Twenty-Six Weeks

Today I am twenty-six weeks pregnant and by the end of the week, will be entering the third trimester! I cannot believe it. Ninety-eight days until my little girl's EDD. Of course, first babies can arrive up to two weeks past their EDD, but I am definitely entering the last phase of this pregnancy.

Our baby girl at 25w6d - measuring about 2.5 lbs.

So far, so good. I had an appointment yesterday and we got to see Libby again. She's getting big and according to my OB's measurements, she is about 2.5 lbs. I have gotten bigger too and am now up 3 lbs. from my pre-pregnancy weight. Not too bad for being nearly two-thirds of the way there. Because I am considered obese, I set a goal with my doctor of not gaining more than 15-20 lbs. So I am feeling good about where I am. Some of my pre-pregnancy clothes still fit (especially the tops) and I feel confident that once the baby arrives I may actually be smaller than when I got pregnant. We shall see. Best of all, my blood pressure has been great and I have had no issues up to this point. Beginning with my next appointment, on November 9th, I start seeing my OB every two weeks instead of every four as it as been since my BFP. I am also scheduled for my 1-hour glucose screening next time. I pray all is well with that!

I am officially done with all scheduled travel in 2009 and don't have any travel obligations for work until July 2010. Whew! I am glad. This last trip was uncomfortable. Long days, sore feet and back and a stuffy nose that came and went and came back again. I flew home stuffed up and that led to a blocked Eustachian tube that hurt so badly! It finally unplugged almost 12 hours after I arrived home with assistance from Sudafed (recommended by my doctor), a hot shower and ten minutes with a neti pot! The pressure was quite unbearable and as much as I hated to have to take medicine, it was the only relief. I am still stuffed up and am thinking it's seasonal allergies. I have, in the past, been allergic to the leaves that fall from trees and decompose this time of year. At my appointment yesterday I was offered the H1N1 vaccine and declined it until next time since I am not 100% sure whether or not I am fighting seasonal allergies or a head cold. That said, I was on the fence about the H1N1 vaccine, but my OB recommends that I get it especially since in the past 2 weeks children in my city have died from the virus. This way not only am I protected, but my baby will be too, once she is born.

What else? The baby is very active now and I can see her movements on the outside now. It's a trip! Now that I have no more travel planned I can get to some projects like making her a bird mobile and finishing up our nursery. We have our maternity/holiday family photo shoot in two weeks and I found some jeans and cute top to wear to show off my bump. The jeans are the LONG length ones by Duo available from JCPenny.com and I love them! I got two pairs...duo™ Adjustable Tab Jean and duo™ Classic Panel Bootcut Jean. They fit me WAY better than the pair I got from Old Navy and I am in love! Even better, they were on sale for nearly 40% off plus I used a Friends and Family coupon code to get an additional 20% so for about $50 I got both pairs! Yay! It's the little things, like well-fitted jeans, that can make a pregnant gal's day! I got a couple of tops that are fitted to complete the look for the photo shoot. When I first got pregnant I wasn't sure I'd want to wear fitted tops, but now that I have a bump, it's actually more flattering to wear a fitted top rather than a flowing one that just makes me look big all over. Who knew?

So...in my last week of the second trimester here's what's going on in there:

image source

The network of nerves in your baby's ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. He may now be able to hear both your voice and your partner's as you chat with each other. He's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of his lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when he's born and takes that first gulp of air. And he's continuing to put on baby fat. He now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches (an English hothouse cucumber) from head to heel. If you're having a boy, his testicles are beginning to descend into his scrotum — a trip that will take two to three days.

image source

Twenty-Five Weeks

I am twenty-five weeks and one day pregnant today. I cannot do a full update right now because I am on a business trip and away from home until next Sunday. After I get home I'll update this post with photos, links, etc.

According to the Mayo Clinic Guide to Pregnancy, I am entering my seventh month! That means the third and final trimester...EEK! I am closer to the the end than the beginning of this pregnancy...I sure hope to be ready! We start Bradley Classes in mid-November. And we have a hospital tour and breastfeeding classes lined up too. We've also ordered our car seat and bases (we're going with the Graco32).

This is my last business trip of the year and the last one I'll take before our LO arrives. In fact, my next business travel is scheduled for July 2010. Unfortunately, it will be three cities in three weeks! I am hoping to figure out a way to travel with our LO since I plan to still be breastfeeding then. We shall see how all of that is going to play out.

For now, this week, I am in Nashville at a convention. And boy am I tired! My body aches from head to toe! I think my ligaments in my pelvis are stretching because I have this dull ache with every step I take and if I sit too long. I have been staying hydrated and stretch each morning and night to help stay loose and flexible. But I am so looking forward to being home on Sunday and not having any more travels! I love to travel, but being that I have traveled every month since we started TTC (in March 2009) including two trips overseas while pregnant, I am ready to be home and just rest and nest!

18 weeks? No way!

Every week that goes by, this pregnancy thing becomes more and more incredible to me. For years, I have dreamed about being pregnant - and it's simultaneously better than and nothing like what I thought it would be!

I am very blessed to be having a fairly easy pregnancy, so far. No spotting, no morning sickness (except that one episode around 6 or 7 weeks), no major problems thus far. I am so very grateful for this. I have plenty of other stuff going on in my life, so it's a huge relief not to be dealing with pregnancy-related issues on top of that. What I have been dealing with so far are the very normal pregnancy side effects - having trouble finding a comfortable sleeping position, getting up at least twice a night to pee, and a relatively new symptom that popped up within the last week - heartburn! Tums used to make me gag, but they're already becoming my friend.

The other big issue I've been dealing with is emotions and mood swings. I'm trying my best to keep it under control, but I know Mr. Citysaur has been putting up with a lot more than normal lately. I was in the middle of a rant a couple of days ago, and he interrupted me (kindly) and asked (sweetly) if this was my crazy hormones talking. I proceeded to tell him that yes, it was, but I just couldn't help it! I was already an emotional person before becoming pregnant - I've always worn my emotions on my sleeve - so between that, the pregnancy hormones, and the emotional baggage I've got right now - I'm kind of a mess. I'm very lucky that my wonderful husband is so understanding of this. He has been my rock during this whole process. I don't know where I'd be without him by my side.

And lastly, I'm trying to prepare myself mentally and emotionally for the impending death of my father. He told us last Friday that he's ready to go - and though I knew he was probably feeling that way, it was still a blow to hear him say it. And it looks like he's developing pneumonia and an infection - which will likely speed up the end of his life. But I think I'm as ready as I'll ever be to face it and get on with the grieving process. I love my father dearly, but I know he doesn't want to live like this, and I respect the fact that he is ready to move on. I'm going over to my parents' house tonight to spend some time with him, and in the mean time, I keep my cell phone next to me at all times, just waiting for the inevitable phone call from my mom.

However, I just can't end a post that way...so I have to pull it back around to the positive. Five more days until our big ultrasound! And three more days until my birthday! It should be a fun day of celebrating - an official scavenger hunt sponsored by our local downtown business group in the afternoon, a late dinner with friends, followed by an improv comedy show. I'll try to remember to take pictures and post about it after. And of course there will be a follow-up post on Monday's big ultrasound!