My Little Family of Nurses

So to make my long week even more difficult, I got a pretty nasty cold on Monday.  It came on fast and furious.  I'm done with the sore throat part of the cold, thank god!  I know I'm a total baby when it comes to pain, but I just don't think there's anything worse than a really, really sore throat.  Now I just have a head cold and runny nose.  Maybe it'll be gone by Saturday?  Here's hoping!  I'm really trying to go meds-free while pregnant, but will do what I need to do to survive this week.  I took a couple tylenol this morning to help with the throat pain and light-headedness.

Anyway, just wanted to share this pic of my little family who are all doing their best to nurse me back to health in record time.  I think it shows each of their personalities.

Uma:  She's our little teenage daughter who's so over it and too cool for school.
Bud:  Smiling, perfect
June:  Starring her dad down until he gives her the attention she NEEDS at all times.  I mean, why would you EVER stop petting her? 

26 Weeks...14 to go

Week: 26

Size (according to Babycenter.com):  It says, and I quote, “An English hothouse cucumber.”  OK….if you say so.

Total Weight gain:  4.5 lbs.  Side note, I’m fully expecting there to be one week where I gain 10 lbs or something crazy like that. 

Physically, I'm feeling:  Pretty sore and achy.  We had our Walk in Orlando yesterday.  I didn’t lift anything heavy or do anything too strenuous, but by the end of the event I felt like I could barely move.  I guess it just shows where I am with my physical fitness….not good.  Not good at all.  I was thinking about that woman who ran the Chicago Marathon 40 weeks pregnant and started to feel pretty damn lazy.  Not that I want to run a marathon in the next couple months, but I also don’t want to be sore just from walking around, you know?

Emotionally, I'm feeling:  Happy.  Work is stressful, but life is pretty good right now.  Honestly, I’m just very happy that I don’t have the laundry list of pregnancy symptoms (almost all of which are bathroom related…..ew) that are apparently common.  Knock on wood.    

Sleep:  Same.  I wake up once per night needing to go to the bathroom, but can usually go back to sleep.  The dogs don’t even react to me getting up in the middle of the night anymore.  June will lift her head and then dramatically roll over when she sees it’s me.

Baby's Movement:  Some days I feel him all the time.  Other days, it’ll only be once or twice.  I think I’m supposed to start counting kicks in the next couple weeks, but for now I’m not too worried about it.  If I started panicking every time an hour went by without a kick, I’d live at my doctor’s office.

What I'm nervous about:  My biggest Walk is this weekend in Jacksonville.  I’m equally nervous about it and excited it’ll be over.  I need to find $78,000 in 5 days.  Let’s do this.

What I'm excited about:  I’m excited that November is in a couple days.  Isn’t that a little crazy?  Just a couple weeks until the LAST Walk of the year (Nov 17^th) and then I can just enjoy Thanksgiving, UF/FSU game (hopefully), my baby shower, people I love coming home for the holidays, Christmas, my 6th anniversary, New Years, College Bowl games, and the end of pregnancy without work stress hanging over my head.

Anything else?:  From what I’ve read, this baby can now hear pretty well.  I hope he’s been enjoying the bullshit Top 40 radio that I listen to.  What if this kid comes out and naturally sounds just like Adam Levine and thinks it's totally normal to cry in falsetto?

Also, here’s a little nursery sneak peak.  My sweet mom is making a crib skirt for me so I went to the fabric store today.  I didn't buy anything yet, but this was my favorite option that I saw.  What do you think?

25 weeks...15 to go

Week: 25

Size (according to Babycenter.com): An “average rutabaga.” Huh?

This is all we could find.

I’m happy to read that the little guy is starting to put on some weight.  He is pretty much fully formed and just needs to gain some lbs and get some chub on his bones before his birthday.

Total Weight gain:  4.5 lbs

Physically, I'm feeling:  No complaints.  I can’t say I feel huge every week or this will get real boring, real quick. 

Emotionally, I'm feeling: Stressed, but only about work things.  There’s a lot to do in the next few weeks so it’s hard not to feel overwhelmed.  I’m doing my best to keep things in perspective, but that’s easier said than done. 

Sleep:  Same.  Although I slept from 1:00 am to 8:30 am today which is the most uninterrupted sleep I’ve had in months.  Soooooo nice.

Baby's Movement:  Feeling him more and more…mostly when I eat, drink cold water, or lay down.  I’ve felt him a couple times from the outside (which is totally creepy).

What I'm nervous about:  Ummmm….can’t really think of anything.  I’m cool as a cucumber this week, I guess.

What I'm excited about:  Slowly, but surely we are making progress on the baby’s room.  We gave my parents the desk that was in the office today so that we can move the queen size bed out of the nursery and make room for a crib.  I don’t exactly have the clearest vision of what I want to do with the nursery, but I have a lot of ideas.  We’ll see how it’ll all come together.

Anything else?:  A little Juno update…unfortunately, she will need surgery within the next few months.  We are going to schedule it sometime in late November or early December so she’ll be fully healed before February.  I HATED, HATED, HATED her recovery last time, but I think this time will be better.  The tumor is much larger this time so June will need a “port” which is basically a rubber tube that will hang out of her and drip blood/fluid for about a week to prevent fluid build-up (lovely, I know).  She’ll also be on Valum for 14 days in an attempt to keep her calm.  It’ll be hard to see her doped up for 2 weeks, but I’ll do anything if it makes her recovery easier.

The worst part about all this is that the doctor can’t say for sure that she won’t have to do this surgery again for a 3^rd or 4^th time.  It’s only been 16 months since the last time she had this tumor removed and clearly we don’t want to do this to her every year or so.  He said he’ll be very aggressive and try to get the entire tumor, but if microscopic cells are left behind there’s a good chance that it’ll grow back.  Leaving it alone isn’t an option because of the rate of growth.  There are vital arteries under the tumor and if they start to be affected by the tumor it could cost her the leg or worse.

It totally breaks my heart that she has to deal with this, but I guess I should be thankful that it’s benign and treatable.  It’ll be a tough few weeks, but then it’ll be gone.  Hopefully, for good.

Pre-Preg To-Do List

Years ago, I made a list of 5 things I wanted to accomplish before getting knocked up.  Let's see how well that worked out.

1.  Pay off my credit card.

Haha...oh Katie of 2008, you are a funny lady.  Here's the thing, Bud and I developed a plan to get this done before getting knocked up and were close....very close...to getting that accomplished, but then this summer happened and plans change.  Oh well.

2.  Celebrate my 5 year anniversary in Hawaii.

Well, it wasn't Hawaii, but we did go to III Forks.  It was delicious.  Same thing, right?

3.  Get in really good, smoking hot, bikini in public physical shape.

Bawhahaha...not even close.  Unfortunately I went in the opposite direction:

4.  Go to Europe with Bud again.

Nope.

5.  Let the girls see snow at least once.

Well, technically it snowed in Jacksonville last Christmas, but the girls didn't see it so I don't think it actually counts.  A lot people might think this one is really dumb, but one of my favorite memories ever is Emma playing in the snow in NC when she was young.  It's just one of those things that I seriously doubt will happen after we have a baby so I wanted to check it off the life To-Do list before the family expanded.  Oh well.

I guess this list just goes to show you that even the best laid plans are tossed out the window eventually.  Ready or not, here comes Honey Boo Boo Baby Roland.

Noah

No, that's not this kid's name.  Definitely not.

However, it is the name of Megan Fox and Brian Austin Greene's new baby.  Isn't that too normal to be a celebrity baby's name?  I'm always surprised when celebs name their kid something that isn't insane.  Even the seemingly normal celebrities try to out crazy each other with their baby names.  I'm looking at you Tennessee (Whitherspoon) Toth and Aleph (Portman) Millepied.  So I was fully expecting Megan Fox and B.A.G. to come up with something like Eaglevision Night Greene.

Oh, and just to be clear, this is not something I'm only paying attention to because I'm desperately trying to figure out something other than "Baby Boy Garro," which is apparently the name that Bud almost left the hospital with.  No, this is something I've always kept an eye on and given way too much time and attention to.

Edit:  Awww, thanks Uma.  People.com just reported that Uma Thurman named her daughter Rosalind Arusha Arkadina Altalune Florence Thurman-Busson and they are calling her "Luna."  All is well with the world of celeb kids again.

24 Weeks...16 to go

Week: 24 (whoa, that’s 6 months)

Size (according to Babycenter.com): An ear of corn.  Yay, it’s another produce that I like to eat.  Two in row!

Sorry I forgot to do the side profile, Meg.

To point out how silly this produce thing really is, the ‘What to Expect’ app is telling me that the baby is the size of an eggplant.  These two things are way different.  I can’t keep up with this shit much longer.

Total Weight gain:  3.5

Physically, I'm feeling:  Huge and hungry, but good.  The abdomen was still sore for a few days after my impromptu doctor’s appointment on Monday, but it’s all better now. 

As for the hugeness, I have a full 4 months to go so God knows I’m going to get a lot bigger, but damn...how much bigger can I get?  I’m happy that I think I finally look pregnant and not just bloated or like I had a big lunch.  Obviously, I’m happy to get as big as this little guy needs me to get (blah, blah, blah), but it is just really weird to have this stomach.  I can’t imagine what it would feel like if I normally had a really flat stomach!

I’m also feeling like a hungry, hungry hippo lately which according to what I’ve read is pretty normal in the second trimester.  The lack of appetite I had over the summer is a thing of the past, fo sho.  I’m trying to choose healthy snacks, but will definitely let myself have something if I really want it.  By far my favorite lunch/snack right now is cheddar cheese and ritz crackers.  Yes, I’m a 7 year old.

Emotionally, I'm feeling: Good, thanks to my doctor’s appointment this week.  Just getting some reassurance from the doctor that the babe is perfect is such a relief.  Being pregnant is nerve wracking.  I always feel like I’m going to mess this up somehow, but so far I think I’ve done pretty damn well.

Sleep:  Same.  I wake up once per night.  Most nights I can fall back asleep, but there were a couple nights this week when I couldn’t.  I guess it’s nature’s way of prepping me for 3:00 am feedings?  Also, I’m annoyed with myself that I can’t really sleep in anymore, but I don’t think I can blame that on pregnancy.  It’s probably just being 30.  Sleeping past 10:00 used to be a pretty regular thing for me, but now I’m lucky to make it to 8:30.  I hate being old.

Oh, here’s a little fun fact about me in case you don’t know…I don’t nap.  I WISH I did, but I don’t.  Even if I really, really, really want to I can’t.  And I don’t mean “I don’t nap except when I’m really tired/hungover/bored, etc.”  No, I mean I don’t nap…like ever. I hope that this will change when the baby comes, but who knows. 

Baby's Movement:  Same.  He’s an active little boy in the evenings, but is pretty quiet all day long.

What I'm nervous about:  Bud and I started our registry this weekend and it was a bit overwhelming.  I’m nervous about how in the world we’ll be able to make all these decisions and afford a kid.   I will say, however, that Bud won $20 on a scratch off last week so I’m pretty sure we’ll win the big one eventually.

What I'm excited about:  Bud and I started our registry this weekend and it was so fun picking out stuff for our guy.  Knowing that these will be the toys that will keep him smiling, the seats that will keep him safe, and the blankets that will keep him warm makes it feel very real. 

Side note:  We were at the store for almost THREE hours.  That’s WAY too much time in a baby store. 

Anything else?:  We were GIVEN a crib and a crib mattress this week!  That’s pretty incredible, right?  One of my mom’s closest friends was actually given a crib, but she didn’t need it and decided to give it to us.  We’ll set it up just to be sure that we like it and it seems safe, but we’re pretty sure that this will be it.  Cheers to free shit!

The One When Katie Goes to the Doctor For No Reason

I had an unexpected trip to see my doctor yesterday.  The final result (sorry for the spoiler) is that everything is totally fine and I have one healthy, active boy in there.  But let's step back for a sec.

When I laid down on Sunday night to go to sleep I started having sharp abdominal pains.  It's hard to describe any other way except that it felt like I was kicked in the stomach really hard.  It felt almost like I was bruised, but obviously I wasn't.  It kept me up a lot of the night and was still painful in the morning.  Just to be safe, Bud asked that I call the doctor so I did and just to be safe, they wanted to see me.  There's a lot of "just to be safe" during pregnancy.

I felt silly going in, but I'm glad I did for peace of mind.  It was worrying me so why not get it checked?  Long story short, it was Braxton Hicks and ligament pain from over-doing it on Sunday.  This is a big old "I told you so" moment from my better half, but thankfully he hasn't said that yet.  I guess yard work is off limits for the next few months.*  Bud really did not want me helping him on Sunday, but I insisted because we had a big project that we needed to tackle.  I honestly didn't do anything too strenuous, but I think the heat (it was about 115 degrees out, give or take a few degrees) and humdity (Bud had to change clothes midway through because the sweat was so bad) wore me out.

So the doctor's appointment was all good news.  I got another ultrasound which was fun and yes, I asked the doctor to reconfirm that the baby is a boy.  Pretty sure that's the first doctor's appointment I've ever been in where the word "testicles" was used.

Let's just hope that this hasn't been added to my chart:

* It should be noted that I help in the yard approximately 4 times a year so this isn't a big loss for Bud. 

23 Weeks...17 to go

Week: 23 (what up, Michael Jordan?)

Size (according to babycenter.com):  A large mango.  Can we all agree that the biggest mango you've ever seen is smaller than the smallest spaghetti squash you've ever seen?  These produce things make no sense. 

I really should be a pregnancy model, right?  I'm always so fashionable.

I am happy, however, that I finally am a fan of the produce of the week.  That hasn't happened since avocado week. 

Oh, mangoes and stickey rice.  I love you so much.

Weight gain:  3.5 pounds.  I guess last week was a fluke.  Phew!

Physically, I'm feeling:  Good.  Because I don't have Walks to worry about this month, I'm trying to get serious about pregnancy fitness.  I'm not doing anything drastic, just trying to walk more and I'm lifting my little weights.  My arms are so patheitc that I'm worried if I don't start lifting weights I won't be able to hold this kid. #youthinki'mkidding #i'mnot

Emotionally, I'm feeling:  Can't complain.  Taking a couple days off this week was some much needed and appreciated time off.  The first day I got a bunch of errands accomplished, but the second day I hardly did anything.  It was glorious.

Sleep:  About the same as last week.  I haven't had a night's sleep without waking up for a trip to the bathroom in months so that kind of sucks, but I'm getting used to it.  The bigger I'm getting, the harder it is to get comfy becuase I'm usually a stomach sleeper.  Fun fact (for those of you who've never been preggers):  You're not supposed to lay on your back or your stomach after 20 weeks.  That's tough to do.

Baby's Movement:  He's becoming more active every week.  I still feel it mostly at night, but it's starting to feel like jumping jacks, not just little movements.  He was pretty fired up for the UGA and FSU games last night (baby's first disappointment).

What I'm nervous about:  Nothing concerning the pregnancy this week.  I'm nervous about June's vet appointment next weekend.  Poor thing has a tumor on her left side that has me worried.  She had a tumor removed from the area in June 2011 and it's already back and larger than it ever was in the first place.  Obviously, I don't care what it looks like, but it'll kill me if it starts to effect her mobility.  She's a young dog with a lot of energy.

What I'm excited about:  I'm excited that my friends have started commenting on this blog.  Thanks, Grier, Allyson and Meghan!  Hint, hint, everyone else.

Anything else?  Look who got haircuts this week?  So freaking cute!

Dont' they look like puppies?

Our New Addition

Remember on Sunday when I said we were going to start looking at cars?  Well, we accidentally bought one later that day.  Bud and I aren't ones to overthink things like this so it's not really a big surprise that we impulsively got him a new ride without test driving 65 cars.  Besides, we feel pretty confident that we would have gone back and bought this one even if we sacrificed the next 4 weekends to car dealerships around town.  So what'd we get??

2013 Chevy Equinox

I'm too lazy to take a picture of the actual car so here's a shot off the website. 

I wish this was a picture of my backyard, but no...another picture off the website.

We were honestly planning on getting a Ford Edge or Ford Explorer, but had a REALLY, REALLY bad experience at Mike Shad Ford so that put the nail in that coffin.  We went there and said to the sales person, "We're interested in an SUV and would like to know the difference between the Edge and the Explorer."  The guy looked at us like we were idiots, pointed at both cars and said, "well, uhhh, that's the Edge and that's the Explorer."  I kept asking him very simple questions like "What's the difference between the Limited, the SE, and SEL?"  and his response everytime was "Just read the sticker on the side of the car and it'll explain what's on each car."  Whaaaaa?  Then, he walked us over to the used car side of the dealership and tried to sell us a 2010 model with 50K miles on it.  Whaaaaaaaaaa?  Bizarre.  Before I got all Whitney Houston on Being Bobby Brown ("KISS MA' ASS!") we decided to go home.

On the way home I saw the Chevrolet dealership and said, "Let's just look at the Equinox," which is all we intended to do.  Long story short, the sales guys were great (as in, they knew something about the car they were selling) and offered us a good deal.  Word to the wise, ALWAYS go on the last day of a month when you want to buy a car.  We didn't have the Altima with us (or even knew the model) and they offered us $1000 over the Kelly Blue Book value knowing that it needed repairs and had 116K miles on it.  It was too good to turn down so we went for it.

The best part?  Bud LOVES it.  Like, he-can't-wait-to-sit-in-traffic-LOVES-it.  He had a moments hesitation thinking that it might be a girly car becasue the sales guy thought we were looking for me and he may or may not have googled "Is the Chevy Equinox masculine?" before we made our final decision, but ultimately decided that it was the car for him.  I think it's quite manly.  He chose Black on Black (very Jay-Z). 

I think his favorite part is the fancy-schmance radio and iPod hook up.  We aren't very 21st century with our cars so this is the first one we've had with those kinds of bells and whistles.  It's very exciting.

My favorite part is that it's CLEAN (oh his last two cars were...uhhh...not clean), that it gets really good gas mileage, and is safe.  Fuck...I already sound like a boring mom.  Here's something to cleanse that palette.

Thank you, Allyson, for the introduction to Die Antwood.

Spilling the Beans

Finding out that I was knocked up was...ummmm....shocking and not shocking.  Not SHOCKING like "oh my god, how did this happen?!?!" because we did know how 2 Become 1 (Spice Girls, shout out!). 

It was shocking because when Bud lost his job in April we decided to put this little project on hold, for obvious reasons.  I found out on my lunch break on Friday, June 1st, 5 days after my 30th Birthday celebration that I'm SO SO SO glad I did early thanks to Jan and Allyson (June 8th was a little more subdued than any 30th birthday should be). 

Look at me...I'm sippin' chugging a Mai Tai and pregnant!  Sorry, lil baby! 

Wind-blown hair courtesy of Tropical Storm Beryl.

Ladies, I do NOT recommend finding out something like this on your lunch break.  Going back to work sucked to say the least.

We spent the next day digesting the information and Bud assuring me that it's ok.  It's not that I wasn't happy, I was very happy, but completely overwhelmed.  By Sunday, Bud was dying to tell our parents.  We went to my parents' house first where I completely flubbed the whole deal.  We hung out for about 20 minutes until my mom said something about Juno.  For some reason, I responded like this:

Me:  Juno’s having a great weekend.  She found out she’s going to be a big sister.

Mom:  Huh? (total look of confusion)

Me:  Juno is going to be a big sister (while tearing up and smiling like a weirdo)

Mom:  What are you talking about?  I don’t get it.  Is Uma pregnant? (Let’s point out, that would make Juno an aunt)

Me:  Nooooo, Uma’s not pregnant, but someone else is…

Mom:  (mouth open, jumps off the couch)  Really?  REALLY?  REALLLLLLLYYYYY????

Dad:  What’s going on?

Annnnnnnnnnd scene. I guess I should have been more direct, but whatever.  They got the news eventually.  I knew my mom was desperate to be a grandma, but I really didn’t anticipate how happy my dad would be.  They both were incredibly supportive, happy, and excited.  Who could ask for anything more?

We left PVB and met Bud's parents for dinner at Bonefish Grill.  We chatted for a few minutes and then Bud said, "So, you ready for a 4th grandchild?"  Clearly, he's much better at this than I am.  They were thrilled and very sweet.

That night, my mom was about to die unless Allyson knew RIGHT THAT MINUTE.  Luckily, I got her on the phone and was able to tell her before mom exploded. :)  Both of Bud's sisters were coming in town within the next few weeks so Bud and I decided to tell them face to face.

Some people wait to tell their friends until 12 weeks to clear the "danger zone," but at a minimum I think most people wait until they've at least had the pregnancy confirmed by a doctor.  Not me....I didn't have that option.  Before we could even see the doctor was Bud's 30th birthday party on June 16th.  There was no way I could get away with drinking water and acting lame so we went ahead and told our friends who were there that night.  That was at 7 weeks pregnant...definitely early, but that just goes to show you that superstitions are dumb.

I don't regret telling people early.  Thankfully, everything has worked out and there was no reason to wait, but even if something had gone wrong Bud and I would have wanted and needed our family and friends to know what was going on with us.