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!