Viability

Yes, we have finally reached the elusive 24 week mark. I thought we would never get here! If I am being completely honest, it still doesn't feel totally real. I am feeling baby girl kick more, but even that doesn't make me believe there will be a baby in my arms in 4 months. It must be some kind of effed up infertility defense mechanism. I don't know.

I'm feeling pretty good. The sinus thing is gone, thank God! I still get headaches almost every day. I guess I'm just sensitive to crazy hormones! My weight is still going up, but not as rapidly as it did in the first trimester. My mom made another comment on how big I am. Which is annoying, especially since everyone else comments on how small I am for 6 months! You just can't win sometimes!

I have my next OB check in 2 weeks. I'm doing my glucose screening test that day. I think it's weird they said I could eat breakfast. My appointment isn't until 11:30am. She just told me not to eat anything sugary that morning. Seems odd.

I got my fabric today for the crib skirt. My mom can now get going on that. We still need to find some matching fabric for the quilt. That part will be much easier, I think!

We have a busy weekend coming up. Tomorrow night, we are going to see Wicked. I am so excited! I've wanted to see it for a long time. I can't wait! Then, on Friday (after I make rounds) J & I and the pups are heading to the beach! We really want to take the dogs to the beach before baby girl comes. I've posted several pics in the past of them at doggie beach. They are SO HAPPY when they are there :)

It's a long ass drive for such a short weekend, but we got to take this opportunity. I hate that I can't take any vacation time until my maternity leave. I always thought we would do a nice baby.moon, but we just can't afford the time off. Oh well, it isn't the end of the world! I'm having a baby, that is what's important!

I have made some progress in the baby shower planning. Hopefully at this point, I won't have to make too many more decisions! Speaking of decisions, the baby name discussions are difficult! J likes to shoot down a lot of my choices. I keep telling him to find some names & make a list. Yeah, that hasn't happened! I hope we don't have to keep the name Shrekalina!

So, that's what's going on at the moment! I'm so thankful to reach this milestone. I just hope everything continues to progress. Trying to keep up with life when I am definitely feeling my body slow down! Oh the things to come....


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Nursery Progress & belly pic

The first pic is me yesterday at 23 weeks. Funny how so many women patients of mine think I'm too small. Ha! They should see my scale!

We bought a recliner that rocks this past weekend. I know it is pretty masculine for a nursery, but don't care. I am all about comfort. And if I am going to spend time breast feeding & rocking baby girl to sleep, I want to be comfortable!

The crib mattress should be delivered tomorrow. You gotta love our friends at Am.azon :)

I am doing a beach theme for the nursery, so the pictures that are on top of the dresser will eventually hang over the dresser. I was so excited to see how well they matched in real life. You never know sometimes when you are ordering things off the internet!

Of course, I had to show you that Shrekalina already has a serious pink wardrobe! It is too adorable. My mom just bought her a bathing suit and sun hat for next summer. It is to die for. This girl will be well dressed!

Here is the fabric I am going to use for the crib skirt. I think it will turn out cute:)

Just one more week until viability. I'm starting to get the shower plans in motion. It reminds me a little of wedding planning, which wasn't my favorite activity! I am clearly missing a girly girl chip when it comes to event planning! I also have to start my registry this weekend. I'm enlisting my friend for help as well as my beloved baby.bargains.book.

I have some wicked sinus pain/pressure the last couple of days. My head and teeth hurt. I think it will be a Benadryl kind of night tonight. I hope this doesn't progress much more, it stinks not being able to really take anything for it:( I really don't mean to boo hoo about it, just the headache is pretty intense. Thank GOD tomorrow is Friday & I can take it easy this weekend. I am ready for some serious couch laying!

Interesting Birthday

This past Wednesday I celebrated my 39th birthday. I am still in disbelief that I am one year away from 40! Where did the time go? I remember how depressed I was when I turned 35. I was only 2 years into trying to conceive & so stressed about falling down that fertility cliff. Little did I know, I had already fallen down that cliff in my early 30's!

It definitely helped getting through this birthday knowing there is a baby girl growing inside of me! Without the use of donor eggs, I would never know this kind of hope. If you had talked to me 2 years ago, you would have gotten a very melancholy/bitter Jay! I'm trying not to fixate on the number. I just have to tell myself, I will be a good Mom, even if I am a little older!

I was supposed to celebrate my birthday at a fancy steak restaurant with J and my parents, but that didn't work out. I was on my way home from work when J called & said L dog was very, very sick. He was stumbling & his eyes were glazed over. Thank God J was home to see it happen. He scooped up our 100 lb lab & threw him into the car & raced to the vet. L dog wouldn't walk, so J had to put him in a shopping cart to get him inside the vet! Nothing more pathetic than a big dog in a shopping cart!

I met J at the vet & waited with him. I felt sick. I was fearing the worst, stroke, tumor, poison...(why am I such a worst case scenario kind of person?) After about an hour and a half, the vet came out to talk to us. She said L dog's labs were normal. He must have gotten into something in the yard that he was sensitive to. The gave him activated charcoal, 4 huge syringes full. I had no idea they gave it to animals. I have only seen it in the ER given to people who have OD'd or poisoned. It is pitch black nasty stuff.

They also gave L dog some antibiotics. We were able to take him home. He still couldn't really walk, so J put him back in a shopping cart & wheeled his sorry ass back to the car! I was so worried that night. L was breathing a little funny, so I woke up every hour or so to make sure he was ok. He was 80% better on Thursday, & 100% better on Friday. I guess he is just preparing me for parenthood! I'm joking about it now, but it was really scary. I've never seen a dog look so sick in my life.

I got a couple of gift cards for my birthday so I can buy some more maternity clothes for work. I went to the mall on Saturday to do some shopping. I was talking to my mom on the phone & she asked how much weight I have gained. I told her too much, but I don't think I look like I've gained as much as I have. I asked her if she thought it looked like it and she said yes! How rude! I was so sad I had to drown myself in a milk chocolate chip cookie from Mrs.Fields:( Thanks for the self esteem boost Ma!

This Wednesday I will be 23 weeks. I'm still feeling pretty good. Yesterday I had some cramping, which was worse when I was doing cardio at the gym. Thankfully, it was better today. I'm also starting to get some swelling in my feet & legs:( I'm wearing my sexy Ted stockings almost every day to help with that.

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day. After work I need to get J something sweet. He has been so good to me during this pregnancy, I need to find a small something to tell him thank you. My hubs is such a keeper, I am so happy he is finally going to be a daddy. It makes me smile every time I think about it.



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21 weeks

There is a lot rattling around in my brain, I'll try to spit it out in a somewhat coherent post!  So, 21 weeks today. It's really hard to believe I've come this far, but another 19 weeks to go, seems like forever!  I am finally feeling more movement by Shrekalina on a daily basis. Yesterday, I was in surgery & baby girl was active. I've decided this baby won't be able to be soothed unless I play a CD of the sounds of surgery :) No lullabies for her!

Operation finding fabric for the nursery is proving to be a little more difficult than I thought it would be! I went to several stores with my mom on Saturday. It seemed like all the baby fabric was too babyish, and the Hawaiian prints were too loud. I went online & found some fabric I really liked. So, I ordered it & got a call yesterday saying it was out of stock :( So, I found another fabric last night & ordered a swatch to make sure it will look good with the walls. If I ended up buying it, I will post the link.

The big accomplishment this last weekend was setting up the crib & dresser. J and I put it together pretty quickly & we did it without fighting :). I also had to clean out the entire closet in that room. Such a pain in the butt! My house is pretty small with very little storage, & a garage that has minimal storage. So, a bunch of stuff went to Goodwill on Saturday! And the rest went into the 3rd bedroom closet!

My 39th birthday is a week from today. It does help soften the blow that I am finally pregnant, but damn...39? How did I get to be this old? It's amazing to think we started trying to get pregnant soon after my 33rd birthday. 6 years. I have to tell myself there is some cosmic reason for the timing of all of this, that I may never understand. 

For my birthday present, J got me a prenatal massage gift certificate. I have it all scheduled for this Friday. I'm looking forward to it, as my low back is really starting to feel my expanding waistline! My MIL got me a gift certificate to the same spa for a facial. I plan to use that in a week or two. My skin is really dry & slack since becoming pregnant. Hopefully a facial will shine things up a little!

I know this may sound a little corny, but it's hard not to get a little teary eyed every time I feel a kick. I was starting to believe that this would never happen for me. And to see little baby girl clothes hanging in the closet, it is beyond my comprehension right now. So.very.thankful...I have my next OB appointment on Tuesday. I'm dreading the weigh in :(

On the work front, things have been very busy. My doctor is taking a shit load of time off this year. He is out the next week and a half, comes back for a week & then gone for another week. He's taking a week off every month this year. He will even be out of town on my due date. When he is out, I have to run the show. I have my usual schedule & then all the other pseudo emergencies that can't wait.  It is stressful when he is out. It's amazing how much time he is taking off, & he gave me such a hard time when I took some time off for the cycle! Double standards, what???

Anyway, I just can't let the work stuff get to me. I need to focus on gestating this baby in a happy, healthy environment! Phew, I am long winded tonight! My brain needs to shut down now! I hope you all have a good rest of the week. I'm looking forward to some Super Bowl action this weekend! Too bad my team didn't even make the playoffs this year! Oh well, it's all about the commercials anyways.

Wordless Wednesday-20 week belly style

I just spent time playing with my new photo.shop software, and can't seem to figure out how to load the picture. I clearly need to read the manual & figure this shizzle out! Here are a couple of pics from this evening. Wow, I look a lot bigger in the pics than in real life...I think...(of course I just ate some mexican food right before the photo shoot) L and T dog wanted to pose with mama. They are so going to miss being top dogs come June!

Almost halfway there/ Nursery plans

I can't believe I am approaching 20 weeks this Wednesday! Halfway mark is good, getting to 24 weeks will provide even more relief! I am trying to focus on the positives, and not get caught up in the possible negatives.

One of the fun things I have been working on it the nursery. I've decided to do a beach theme. The color of the walls is a very light aqua. The crib & dresser are "expresso". The curtains are a girly "shabby chic" white. I've looked at a billion different crib beddings & I didn't find anything that I love. Thankfully, my Mom is a sewing/quilting master & is going to do the crib skirt & quilt. Sometime soon, my Mom & I are going to head to the fabric store to pick out Hawaiian/beach fabrics. So fun!

I also found some cute framed beach art on Amazon & ordered 3. One is a sand dollar, a starfish, and a shell. It also has a similar color in it to my wall color. They should be here by the end of the week. I also found a cute palm tree wall decal, still deciding if it will look cute or cheesy. We really need to set up the furniture first to get an idea. We will put together the furniture in the next week or two.

I've been tempted to buy more clothes for baby girl, but have refrained. I know she is going to get spoiled by my Mom, MIL, and all of her aunties. It is fun to look at stuff online & daydream. In the 6 years of infertility, I never allowed myself to look at baby/nursery stuff, it was just too sad/hard. I feel giddy looking at this stuff now, but still afraid I am jinxing things. That fear will probably never go away. I may be pregnant now, but those old anxieties never go away.

Overall, I am feeling pretty good. Still tire easily when trying to exercise! Yesterday's 10 mile bike ride felt like 50! My DH was laughing at my specialness. It's hard to bike & gestate at the same time! Just so you know, we are biking on desert trails on dirt/sand which IS more difficult. I am slow though! I had the last laugh when J rode through some horse pooh & got it on his back! Serves him right for making fun of my chubby pregnant ass on a bike! Right?

I had another feeling faint/hot/pukey episode in surgery today. Ugh, it is so embarrassing! At least the nurses & reps are understanding. Today the rep ran & got some ice put it in a wet towel & held it on my neck. Usually that does the trick, not today. I had to scrub out & take a Zofran. Sigh. It's the heat that gets to me. They put this heat blanket on the patient & some cases I have to lean up against it & it is too much! The blanket is circulating 107* air.
I can't wait to see how I fair when it actually gets hot here in the AZ this spring!

Other than my occasional case of the "vapors", I really am doing well. The headaches have subsided. I am still hungry, but nothing like before. My belly continues to grow bigger :) I can feel faint movements of baby girl more frequently. I still use the Doppler every couple of days, not completely trusting what I think is movement. Still trying to believe there will be a sweet baby girl in my arms come June!


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It's a ....

Today was my 18 week ultrasound. I have been so eager to find out the sex since our 12 week ultrasound! I picked up my BFF from the airport at noon & we all had lunch before the big appointment! My mom met myself, BFF, & DH at the imaging place. Thank God the room had 3 chairs for my entourage!

Anyway, we had a much better tech this go around! She asked if we wanted to know the sex, & I said hell to the yes! She started the scan of the brain & worked her way down. When she got to the buttocks (doesn't that word always remind you of Forr.est G.ump? No? Just me?), the baby was not cooperating. She did some other measurements, then came back to it. I kept looking & said, "I don't see a penis" and the tech said no, because you are having a girl!

My mom & BFF let out a squeal, & my husband grew some new gray hair! I got a little teary, totally in shock. Everyone then whipped out there cell phones to text the news that Sh.rek is a Shrekalina! I had to get a quick wanding to check my cervical length which was 4.4 :)

The radiologist then came in to review the scan. He said everything was measuring properly & all of the organs were developing fine. My chance of Down's at this point is 1:7500. The only BAD thing is I have a marginal placental previa. He said it will probably move up as the uterus gets bigger, but I get to have another ultrasound between 26-30 weeks to determine if it has moved. Yay for another ultrasound! Boo for previa!

I am so excited to have a little girl! Oh, the shopping trouble I am going to get in! Let's face it, girl clothes are way cuter than boys! My mom is going to go nuts! She used to be a buyer for all the children's departments for a large department store for many years! She is going to be in baby clothes heaven!

I will try to post a pic later, most of the pics didn't come out that great. The 3D ones looked a little freaky just yet!So, we are team pink, and this pregnancy is starting to feel a little more real! Now it's time to figure out a name for little Shrekalina ;) Feeling so thankful tonight for my donor & RE for making this a reality.

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