Week 22 (10/23-10/29)

So I hadn't gained any weight at all until month #5 when I gained 5lbs all at once. Since that last appointment (on 10/7) I've gained another 5lbs!!! I'm trying to not focus on the pounds because I don't feel "big" or "fat",  just hungry all the time. I also don't want to just blow up. If I continue on the trend of 5lbs per month until the end I'll end up gaining 30lbs total which seems like a lot for my small frame. Also I would think that people tend to gain more weight towards the end so gaining so much now has me worried about where I'll be at the end. We'll see what happens.

I came back to my exercise classes this week after missing two days last week from being in Miami. The first thing my instructor says is "WOAH! You're super pregnant now!", It hadn't even been a week!  I took her class on Wednesday and then came back and saw her again the following Tuesday. I guess that was enough time to see a big difference. The belly is front and center. My grandmother bought me this Bio Oil which I've been using but I'm worried about my clothes getting all oily now. I think investing in cheap little tanks to wear under my regular tops is key to using the oil because it does keep my belly nice and moist (sounds so awful) all day. When the belly isn't moisturized, it's itchy which is a reminder that the skin is stretching!

The baby is kicking like crazy this week. It makes sense since this week the baby gets to be the size of a spaghetti squash and weighs 1lb!! I've started reading my Bradley methods book and we have a lot of practice to do. From simple things like sitting positions to more elaborate relaxation exercises, we have a ton of homework. One thing the book says to do whenever possible are the infamous Kegels. Squeeze ladies!!!! Squeeze!!

I also had intended to sign up for prenatal yoga once I moved down to Miami in a few months but I go home and check the mail and Hov got a package which is strange. He tells me to open it and he had ordered an at-home DVD set for vinyasa prenatal yoga. Have I mentioned lately how sweet my husband is? I'll start doing those on the weekends when I don't have my exercise classes.

Another great thing this week- we got an "offer" or whatever you call it. Someone is interested in renting the house which is great but the couple has a basset hound which is not so great. We were hoping for a no pets situation but we'll see what happens.

I'm really excited to go to Miami this weekend to visit with Hov. Archie will not be coming this time, we tried to use the pet-sitting e-mail list that went around the Bio department but that didn't work out so we decided to board him at pet paradise. It's better than just leaving him at the vet where they kennel him the entire time, he needs way too much human contact to be able to handle that. At this place at least he gets two twenty-minute "play sessions" every day so he can release some energy. It ends up being the same price as flying down with him and this way I don't have to deal with a potentially yappy Archie on the plane. I hope it works out, it got good reviews online and some people I know said it was pretty good. Fingers crossed.

Miami was great, I arrived on Friday and left Monday morning. We relaxed on Friday and on Saturday met with some of Hov's friends to watch football and then had dinner with my grandparents and slept over at their house. The rest of Sunday was low key, we just walked around the mall and tried to go to sleep early since I had to be at the airport at 6:15 for my flight at 7:15. Cut to Monday morning and we didn't hear the alarm and of course I didn't set mine because Hov said he set his and we are waking up at 6am. Needless to say I missed the flight. I was lucky and got on the next one at 9:30 but not without a little fee. Touche american airlines.. Touche.

Hov felt the baby kick for the first time while I was down there which was really exciting and of course he said the belly looks bigger. Can't get around that. New weird pregnancy symptom- darker hair. Not cool. Not cool at all.

Week 21 (10/16-10/22)

TSo to make things more confusing- the original OB had my due date as February 28th, then when I went to the specialist they suggested more towards March 5th because the baby was a bit on the small side but the regular OB decided to keep it the same. I think it'll end up being in March though. A lot of the things I read say that the first baby tends to stay in a little longer than anticipated so we'll see if that holds true for me. If we go by the regular OB then this is technically week 22 but I'm not changing everything again, so we'll stick with the March 5th due date and just ride it out and see what happens.

In good news, we are officially registered for a Bradley course which begins in January. It's cutting it super close but it's not the full length 12 week course, it's a bit more condensed so hopefully we finish it before this little monkey decides to make the grand entrance. We were given an assigned reading so I already ordered the book on Amazon and am waiting very impatiently for it to come so I can get started. I also ordered a breast feeding book which I hope will help as stories of cracked nipples and mastitis have me terrified.

Overall this week was a fantastic one. I went down to Miami for Wednesday-Sunday and got to spend time with my husband and also got to see my family down there too. It was so wonderful being with him, coming back was not fun. I arrived on Wednesday while he was still at work so Archie and I made ourselves at home in his dad's house. My FIL (father-in-law) came home before Hov did and while I was trying to wait for Hov to get home, he had a big plate of food ready for me before I could protest. I'm sure if I had protested it would have been useless anyway. His dad used to cook for the restaurant they had so all the things he makes are delicious. I think more than the food being delicious (which it was) it was just different. Hov and I fall into the trap of making the same things over and over so having a few days of different food was fantastic. By the time Hov came home I could barely move I had eaten so much. It had been two and a half weeks since we had seen each other and while I tried to send pictures and show him on Skype, his mouth dropped open when he saw how big the belly had gotten. He couldn't believe it.

Thursday was a pretty uneventful day, he went to work and I spent the day working on my prospectus and getting up every hour and a half to eat something. Friday was a bit more eventful, I had an appointment at 1:30 with a practice that has both Ob/Midwives which is what I was looking for. They deliver out of Baptist hospital which has a nice maternity ward and some of the rooms have tubs you can labor in which is fantastic. The only problem is it's super far from my FIL's house. The midwife was great and she made me feel comfortable. It was a short visit but I think that'll end up being who we go with. I took the opportunity while I was in the area (I wasn't in the area but close enough) to go get a treat I hadn't had in a long time. It's called a raspado. The best description is a sort of Nicaraguan snow cone. Instead of the sugar syrup that people put on the shaved ice in the states, we put dulce de leche on it. Sounds weird to you but it's heaven to me.

I hadn't had one in years and now I'm probably going to make sure I get one every time I go down. The doctor's appointment was really the only thing I had set in the schedule for the day but to be honest I was getting kind of tired. I forgot what it was like to be driving around all day long (took an hour and a half to get to the doctor) and Miami traffic/drivers coupled with the GPS being stupid and me taking a few wrong exits had me at my limit. I drove back to my FIL's house where Archie was waiting. This was the first time Archie had been left alone not in a kennel. He somehow managed to get on top of Hov's bed and find the windowsill, this isn't a problem except Archie is scared of jumping off beds. So once he jumped up there, he was stuck until I got home. It was a pretty funny sight seeing him in the window when I pulled up.

By the time I got to the house it was around 4:30- I talked to my mom for a bit and accidentally fell asleep until Hov got home at 7. Naps are so dangerous now. They are all I want but taking one leaves me with a really crappy night's sleep later on. Hov and I had an unenventful Friday, we just relaxed and ate Friday night dinner with his dad. His dad made whole fried fish, salad, home-made fries and some marinated anise. Absolutely delicious. I ate until capacity. I probably ate more than I normally would have just because 1- it was so good  and also 2- I wanted to eat at least half of the fish for whatever guilt/guest reason. After dinner I was so full but I wanted something cold and sweet so Hov humored me and we went to the store where I got three pints of sorbet (lemon, mango and strawberry) and one pint of pistachio gelato. I asked him what he was getting and he said he didn't want anything. I think those of you who have been keeping up know what is to come...

Saturday came and the plan was to go spend the day on Key Biscayne with my family. My mom and her husband John were visiting my grandparents so we wanted to have lunch with them and also take advantage of them being on the water to go for a dip. My girlfriend Dani was also going to come which I was really excited about. Hov and I went to the fritanga to pick up lunch (anyone not familiar should make sure to hit up Pinolandia in Miami the next time they go) for everyone. We got to the key and ate, got into a mini debate with my grandmother about why I would ever want to go with a midwife instead of a trained Ob, had my family listening to the belly for like half an hour with stethoscopes, met up with Dani, went down to the beach and relaxed for a while. The beach was amazing. Why we don't do that more often, I'm not sure. We went back up to the apartment around 5 to wrap up and go but first Dani had brought us a present which was so sweet. It was the first official baby present and it couldn't have been more perfect.

For those who can't tell, the stuffed animal is a monkey which is amazing since I've been calling the baby my little monkey since day 1. Hov then informed me that his friend calls his daughter his little monkey and I told him he could suck it and I wasn't going to stop calling the baby my little monkey. If you pull on the monkey's tail, soft baby music plays which is adorable. Then there is a pack of three little newborn-sized onesies and a very practical packet of wipes. Dani was joking how hard it was to find asexual baby gifts since most things are very pink=girl, blue=boy type things. I think she did a great job and I LOVE LOVE LOVE what she got. Hov couldn't get over how small the onesies are, I think it's starting to hit him that there is an actual little person in my big belly. After we opened the gift everyone said their goodbyes and we went back to my FIL's house with the intention of showering and getting ready and heading to Hov's friend's house to watch the FSU game and be social...

We get back to the house and Hov goes to the bathroom and I guess I fell asleep because the next thing I remember I wake up and the FSU game is on and I ask Hov if we are going and he just laughs at me. I didn't realize how tired I must have been but that seems to be the trend nowadays. I also wake up to discover that half my ice cream stash is gone!!! I should have known. One exciting thing that happened for the first time is while we were watching the game, I had my hand resting on my belly and the baby kicked it. The baby has been kicking for a while, that's not the exciting part- what is exciting is that I felt it on my hand.

Sunday came and I didn't want the weekend to end. Hov made me a delicious omelet breakfast and Archie and I were on our way. We stopped three times to pee and also made a pit stop in gainesville to see my brother Eddie. He and I had some frozen yogurt and caught up. He also hasn't seen me since I've been pregnant and couldn't really believe it. I think for most people it's this abstract thing and it wasn't really happening until he saw the belly. We had a nice visit and were back in Tallahassee by 6pm. My books came while I was in Miami and I was pleased to see that both my natural childbirth book and the breast feeding book were waiting for me when I got home. I am about 1/3 of the way through the childbirth book, it has a lot of stuff for Hov and exercises we need to be practicing so I think this is one we're going to be using until the baby comes.

Since being home the baby has decided to take up zumba... or maybe it's gymnastics. Whatever the baby is doing, he/she is moving around like crazy. If I lay down and stare at my belly I can see when the skin moves a little where the baby kicked. I tried recording it but it's too hard to see on video with my breathing getting in the way of things. I guess it makes sense since the baby is getting pretty big now. This week the baby should be the size of a banana! We are in the second half of this pregnancy after all, I guess I better get used to all the acrobatics!

I hate not having Hov with me but I am going down again this coming weekend- I fly this time instead of driving so that's good. The seatbelt was pretty irritating on my belly. I need to have a really productive week and get some writing done so I can get out of here!!! We had our first "showing" of the house today and according to the property manager got really positive feedback so hopefully this house will be rented soon. Feeling good this week!

Week 20 (10/9-10/15)

The baby is the size of a small cantaloupe this week! That makes me feel better about this big belly I have now. I've been going to my exercise classes but it's getting a lot harder/more awkward to do certain things. It still makes me feel better to get my exercise in. I'm trying to keep things in check, at the last appointment I had gained 5lbs which for the total pregnancy isn't too bad but it was all in the last month. My doctor told me to try and keep things in check and not go too over 1/2lb per week. There are 20 weeks left so about 10 more pounds total. My chocolate milk obsession probably isn't helping my cause, especially since the gallon size Lactaid has only been in 2% the last two times I had to refill. Since I had only bought fat free everything for the last ten years of my life it was like heaven on earth drinking 2% again... Like eating real ice cream after only having frozen yogurt forever.

I've been having a hard time concentrating on anything lately. I'm at work right now and all I can think of is how badly I want a cupcake. I don't want the hassle of making an entire batch, instant gratification is the name of the game. I think I'll give in and actually pay for baked goods instead of making it myself. I need to start keeping the house show-ready. I sent the paperwork and pictures to the property manager so she can start showing the house next week. Hopefully we get someone quickly and lock down a year-long lease. Knowing the mortgage is paid for will be a big relief.

I came back to my lab after teaching on Tuesday to find that my amazing husband had sent me flowers to work. They have been brightening up my desk and providing a glorious fragrance to lab all week. He is the best!

I had a "meeting" with Brooke and Madeline. They want to throw me a baby shower up here in December before I leave. It'll be a really small thing and that's fine with me, I appreciate their efforts. I had to make the registry which was fun and stressful at the same time. I had like ten internet windows open at the same time- one looking at safety ratings, another with a list of things you MUST get, another with a list of things you really don't need etc. In the end, Target had it all and I don't think I forgot anything. I wonder how effective registries actually are. We are really fortunate in that we don't have to buy much furniture. We are getting a hand-me-down crib from one of Hov's friends, whose little girl recently outgrew it, which is an absolute blessing. Also, we have a dresser and an armoire that we don't use right now that are perfect to convert to a changing table and storage for all of baby's needs. So in the end, the registry was great in that it was really just the rest of the essentials. Let's see what happens with that.

I'm going to be making quite a few trips down to Miami in the next few months, I'll be flying down twice and driving down twice before I go down for good. The times when I drive down will be fine, they are long breaks and I can take my time going down and Archie can come with. It's the times I fly that things get trickier, I need to find a good boarding place for him, he's too little and too much of a scaredy pants to just leave him at the vet or someplace that'll just put him in a kennel the whole time. There was a list of people in the Bio department willing to do pet-sitting, I'll try that first. I would just bring him with me on the plane but I think the fees to bring a pet are crazy. I need to double check on that before I do anything else.

The first drive down to Miami is coming soon, Archie and I are very much looking forward to it... especially because at the end of the trip is my favorite person in the world... and a box of fritanga. Mainly seeing Hov, but the food is a close second. For those of you who don't know the pure joy of Nicaraguan street food, I am sorry for you and your taste buds. I already have an appointment setup for next Friday to see a practice with OBs/Midwifes. I am actually meeting with one of the midwives but knowing that there are OB backups is always nice.

The weekend was a really nice one; my mom, John and my sister Ariel came to visit so it was a full house. They got here at like 1am Friday night/Saturday morning however you want to look at it. Archie was such a good little guard dog. He was very upset that strangers had come into his house. Once he was settled (still growling under his breath but allowing these people in his domain) everyone went to sleep. Saturday was a long but very productive day. Archie and I are used to getting up early which is fine but it's hard to keep a quiet house when his little nails tap on the wood floors every time he walks anywhere. I took him for a walk, dropped him off at the groomers, then I started making breakfast and by that time (around 9) everyone was up. My mom is hilarious with the belly, she'll stop me in my tracks to put her ear to it "grandma to baby, grandma to baby...come in baby" we tried listening with a stethoscope but can't hear anything really. The day was full- home depot, Marshalls, Macys, lunch at Buca di Beppo, Motherhood Maternity, Target and finally home. The original plan had been to go to the greek food festival at 6:30 but by the time we got home at 5:30 I was waving my white flag. Ariel and I were absolutely exhausted. Originally we had gone to Marshalls for a few new bras because I can no longer be in denial about fitting into my regular bras, last weekend I had bought two, one that was a C and one that was a D thinking I could grow into them. No dice. They both were snug as a bug.

My mom was absolutely adamant about buying maternity/nursing bras for me. I finally gave in and went to Motherhood Maternity at the mall. I had thought the store would be astronomically expensive but it was actually a lot more reasonable than I had anticipated. They had a buy 3 get 1 free promotion for the bras which at first I ignored because I figured the bras would be super pricey. They weren't too bad though, each one was between $20-25 and when we walked in we were expecting these giant, white, super non-sexy bras but it looked like a wall of regular bras. My mom made sure I tried on approximately a zillion bras. We basically hijacked one of the ladies who worked there (who was a saint) and she brought me a bunch of stuff. I had to check my ego at the door big time. Regular size for me would be 34-B, I left with 4 bras in the 38-D/36-E range. I also looked in the clearance rack and found a super cute pair of jean maternity shorts for $14.99! I couldn't believe it. They look just like regular shorts.

We had originally looked in Macy's for maternity stuff and they had a tiny section (which was the same brand as the store we ended up in) but while we were there we found two pairs of jeans.. Well one pair of jeans and one pair of what I would describe as pajama jeans or jeggings or however you would describe a super stretchy and comfy jean-look-alike. Anyway she got me both. I think she was in the whole "I'm your mom let me do something for you" mode because she was not letting me pay for any of it. Anyway, the bottom line is I now have 4 bras, two pants and a pair of shorts to grow with me and I don't think I'll need any more maternity stuff. Well, hopefully I won't need any more maternity stuff. The pictures in the jeans show the maternity jeans with and without a top covering the belly part. I think they look like regular jeans and are super comfy.

On a super great note, my sister is a licensed cosmetologist and she is going to give me a much needed haircut today, it has been like a year or two since I had a haircut so I am letting her do her magic. John is changing out the closet door in the guest room (it's broken) and my mom is going nuts deep cleaning the house. All in all, this weekend has been packed with activities and house things.

After such a full house, it feels strange for things to be so quiet. It was a loud, crazy and great weekend. We are officially done with the first half of this pregnancy. I can't believe we're half-way through. I feel like it wasn't that long ago that I woke Hovik up from a nap with the positive test in my hand. Things are going pretty quickly, and the closer we get to the end, the scarier it becomes. Hopefully the second half of this adventure is as calm and stress-free as the first half. Stay tuned!

Week 19 (10/2-10/8)

So my belly has officially passed my boobs. It seems like it just has popped out from one day to the next. It's kind of crazy, sometimes it seems like I can feel it getting bigger and moving out. I've been going to my exercise classes this week and it makes me feel awesome. I'm sore but I'm sure that'll go away in a couple weeks after I'm able to go consistently. Still not sleeping perfectly but at least I'm able to get 6-7 hours even if they aren't all in one uninterrupted session. I'm not able to sleep on my back or even on my right side, it's almost exclusively on my left side. I normally sleep on that side anyway but there is something about not having an option that makes it a little uncomfortable.

People have started commenting on the bump.  It's nice and scary at the same time. Nice in the sense that it makes it more real and I don't just look chunky, scary because I have this big bump and we haven't even reached the halfway mark (20 weeks). I've been moisturizing the belly so hopefully that along with keeping a steady weight gain and solid diet will keep the stretch marks away.

My dad came in on Saturday which was nice. This house definitely gets lonely, even with Archie here. We went to Super Perros and stuffed our faces with amazing Colombian food. It was glorious. Sunday came and we went to Azu's brunch (chinese buffet galore) and then to the movies to see Prisoners. Archie actually ended up hurting his paw somehow and then went OCD and tried to chew it off so we slathered it in Lidocaine, gave him a Benadryl, wrapped the paw up and safety-pinned an airport pillow to his neck so he couldn't take the bandage off. The pillow lasted about five minutes before he figured out how to take it off but he did eventually stop messing with the bandage. The grand finale of the weekend was actually Monday morning when we went to my appointment for the big ultrasound.

The day started off not ideal- we were supposed to go to the Maternal Fetal office (not my normal Ob) for the follow-up appointment and do the ultrasound there. Hov is in Miami so obviously he wasn't there but the idea was to have my dad video the ultrasound so we could send to Hov as soon as we took it. We walk in and they tell us we can't video the ultrasound. So I call my regular Ob and ask if I can't just do the ultrasound there since they never have a problem with the video. After a few times put on hold they tell me the ultrasound tech is booked up and they can have her call me to see if she can squeeze me in. I already had an appointment with the doctor so we left the Maternal Fetal office (but not before they told me I owed them $320). As we walked into my Ob office the tech called me to tell me she could fit us in. They saw us pretty quickly and we got some pictures and a video :)

After the ultrasound we were sent to see the doctor just to check in and I was told the office manager wanted to see me. She comes in and asks me what happened that morning that she was told I called and had demanded to be seen today. I almost started laughing, I mean I know I was a little frustrated with the video ultrasound thing but I certainly didn't think I had demanded to be seen. Even my dad looked confused so I know it wasn't just me. I guess my frustration + a bad game of office telephone= me demanding to be seen. Anyway, she just wanted to clear up that I wasn't raging at their office and I told her exactly what happened and hopefully cleared it up.

As far as the ultrasound goes, the baby looks great. I am right on track and so is baby. Baby has all ten fingers and ten toes, all the organs look good and baby looks to be a good size. The doctor says the baby probably will be around 6-7 pounds and she'd be perfectly happy with that. The Ob actually still had the due date as Feb 27-28th and the Maternal Fetal place had it as March 5th. So lets just say somewhere in that range I should be having baby.