Week 18 - Ouch

Well this has been the week of pain. My sacroiliac joint has been leaving me stuck to say the least. There has been several times this week were I have been stuck on the floor unable to move. The pain sucks! Poor Dave has no idea how to help and I had no idea what would work either. Lucky for me I work for the Physical Therapy part of the hospital and a Co-worker Merrie is a life savor. She has given me exercises adjusted me and most of got me set up with a Sacroiliac Belt. I would not be free to move around without it. I have also started sleeping with two Tempurpedic pillow. Let me paint the picture for you. I lay down on my left side. I pull a pillow up close to me and rest my right knee on the pillow and arm. Dave climbs in to bed and pushes the other massive pillow against my back. So I'm nice and snug. This hold me in a position that doesn't hurt my SI. It's kinda like being stuck on the floor between the wall and the bed. But I can sleep and that's all that matters to Dave and I.

This week Dave and I have been pretty anxious to start the nursery. Only problem is no room to move the office yet and all the other furniture that is in the room. Dave is super worried that we are running out of time and I am wanting to nest.

This was also a week of first. I tried baby food for the first time. I liked the carrots but hated the mixed veggies! No I didn't just go buy some baby food and say I'll give it a try. I helped with the stroke support group at work and the main topic was trying different diets that stroke patients end up having. The baby food was an example of a pureed diet. I think the baby food could have used a little salt and pepper.

I also found myself taking a trip back in time reading letters and looking at my baby pictures wondering what our baby will look like. There were several things that I came across where I would announce that "I am only having a girl when I have a baby!" I laughed hard, way back when I knew I would be having a girl too! I also became a little nevors wondering what kind of mom I would be. It's strange how much you can worry when your expecting! Dave has also had his fair share of worrying. We bought diapers the other day and you could look in his eyes and see the math problems he was working out in his head. This is what I saw in his eyes.... 8 to 12 diapers a day = so many boxes a month = $$$$.

Week 17th It's A .............

This week has been one of the most exciting weeks. To start Dave and I were able to have a mini vacation. We spent the week up at the family time share in Tahoe. It was nice to swim, drive out of town and enjoy cool weather. Reno has had a strong heat wave and our house has been 90 degrees or more for about two weeks. Heat + Preggers Cheryl = Really BAD MOOD SWINGS!

On Tuesday 7/21/09 I had a dentist appointment and a sonogram. This was the first time Dave got to see a Sonogram that lasted more then 5 mins. He just sat there and stared at the screen the whole time. I tried super hard to get him to look at me but had no luck. He watched as they measured all organs and the baby. He later told me is was very nervous and just wanted to hear the baby was healthy. He did look at me for a second when we were told the sex. The tec didn't say a word he saw how we were just staring at the screen so he typed IT'S A ..................( sex goes here)! He put in the sex at the end. But I'm not ready to share it in this paragraph. I cried smiled and Dave smile. We were excited for sure. We left, in hand with our pictures and the second I got out the door I jumped up and down and said oh my god. Dave said I have to Pee! I said oh my god,....so do I. We had both had to go really bad and had not had the chance. LOL Not really how I picture the moment being, but still funny and great. After our potty break we hugged and smile. We did not tell anyone! Most people have been upset with us because they suspected we knew the sex and we weren't sharing. We really didn't care! Dave's mom tried like heck to find out and my mom tried a little to. On Wed.

I signed Dave and I up for our Birthing classes. They were almost filled already. We start in Sept and they end at the end of October. Our doctor will be very please as this is something he brings up that we must do at every appointment. We also attended the Ace's Game. It was a great game and the Ace's Won! Dave and I just kept talking about how excited we were about the sex of our child. On

Thursday 7/24/09 we had our second ultrasound. This time we had my mom, dad, grandma, Dave's mom and dad, Dave and myself. We wrote down everyone's guess at what the sex will be and told the tec that Dave and I very much wanted to know but we did not want our family to know. I do have to say that this was quite the experience having all the family there. Listening to their comments and watching all of them attached to the big screen tv that was introducing our baby to to the family. My Grandma was sure our baby is a boy and name our baby Lukas. Our baby moved all over the place and all Baby Guinan wanted to do was show us his/her sex. The tec would have to move or stop a lot because she didn't want to give the surprise away to the family or give them a peek. I think she really enjoyed all the comments our family members were making and crack a few jokes that only I could hear. After about a 1/2 hour she kicked my family out and shared the sex with Dave and I. She printed out our photos and gave us our DVD and off we went. Outside of the building I grabbed my mom, dad and grandma. I gave them each a cupcake I had baked ahead of time and said enjoy but be careful because the answer is in the middle. My mom found her answer in 1 second flat then Grandma then what seemed like an hour because I was so excited my Dad found his. They were all excited and hugged and kissed me. We then parted ways and I went to see my sister. I gave her a cupcake and she was super excited and said that's what I wanted! I'm going to buy (Sex goes here) a lot of (color goes here) things. It was then off to the lake to give cupcakes to Dave's Parents. They were very excited and happy. We then watched the DVD with Dave's Dad and Mom. There was still one very important person to tell. Dave's sister, but she is all the way in Boulder so we couldn't mail her a cupcake. So I made her one out of tissue paper with the answer in the bottom of the wrapper. and sent in the mail with a few sonogram photos. Two days later I got an excited call saying she loved her cupcake. The surprise inside of each cupcake was a charm that said IT'S A GIRL!. Dave and I are very excited to be having a baby girl! It's what we both were hoping for. She also appears to be very healthy and active. What else could we ask for!

Week 16

Dave and I started this week with the Annual Scottish Rite Family Picnic. I love this picnic, it's not summer in my mind until I go. It was a look of fun to see my friends and old boss Art. Art my old boss actually called me fat lady when I was leaving. It made me laugh so hard. But I had already got him a bunch with the old fart jokes so it was fun. We enjoyed good food and company. Everyone was excited to hear our news but a lot of them came up to me and just pointed at my stomach and I would say YUP! This week many people have stopped me in the halls at work or stores and would asked when I'm due. My baby bump is more noticeable to everyone. I thought that I might be bother by people just rubbing my belly but for the most part I like it. I get nervous when a stranger goes in for the rub but I think its best to share the joy of pregnancy with everyone. I even have started to call myself Buddha and say rub my belly for luck. That's only with my really close friends though. (I look like crap in the photo but here it is)

I have also had the worst luck with cravings. The other day I went to My Favorite Muffin because one of those muffins sounded great. While I was in line I could not figure out which flavor I wanted so I asked the lady to give me a dozen of the mini so I wouldn't have to choose right there, while she was making the dozen up I saw a bagel that looks so yummy my month started to water so I asked for that to. While my bagel was toasting I figure out which large muffin I had come in for so I ordered that to then I saw the fruit smoothies and had to get one of those. I walked out of there with 2 bags of food! So I passed out muffins at work all day. Ate the bagel and drank my smoothie. Kept the large muffin for breakfast today. The same type of thing happened to me in the drive though at Jack in a Box. I got stuck right there in front of the menu. All I went there for was two tacos each for Dave and I. I left there 2 bags to. Lucky I never eat everything I buy. I might be one fat chica if I did. Speaking of weight I'm very happy that I have only gained 3 pounds so far. It must be all the fruit and veggies I have been eating. Thanks to the morning/night sickness going down. I still have not been able to eat the C-H-I-C-K-E-N word.

As far as side effects of pregnancy this week has been the week of headaches, Sciatia, and no sleep. The headaches are the worst. My eye doctors office believes its the pregnancy that's changing my eye sight which would be causing the headaches. But I can't get in till August 18Th. My doctor two weeks ago had told me that my pelvic bone was moving and a friend at work who is a physical Therapist at work said that my right side was higher then my left and it was tilted forward which was pinching my sciatic nerve. So she gave so exercise to help me adjust my pelvic bone. Which seem to be helping. THANK GOD!

I have ended the week wondering when the heck I was going to feel my baby move. I'm very excited to feel the fluttering everyone is telling me about.

Week 15

This week has been a week of body change. More people have noticed that I have "popped out". This make me feel pretty good because it means that I just don't look chunky but I look preggers. But with the popping out comes stretch Marks. So I had a wonderful nurse named Maria who gave me a large supply of what is called Tummy Honey Butter. So every night I use it. It also helps with all the itching I have been experiencing in the belly area. The next change I have notice is insane leg cramps. The other night they were so strong I could not even bend my legs. I just laid there in bed with tears flowing, rubbing my belly saying I love you Love Bug! After about an hour and a half. The cramps calmed down and I was able to get back to sleep. So I have stated to take Citracal again at night. Another wonderful thing Dr. Bethel had supplied me with. It’s a Multimineral Supplement of Calcium and Vitamin D. and Genistein. Last is my breast area. I have no idea what the heck is going on with my nipples. They remind me of a page out of a brail book. I swear a blind person could read my boob and it would give them MapQuest directions to New York in brail, pictures and all. Not to mention how dry and sore they have become. So for this issue I recommend Breast Therapy by Gerber. It has saved my life! While I am on the subject of recommending thing I love my Prenatal Vitamin, PrimaCare One. Very easy on my stomach. It could be the fact I take it a night but I love it the same.

On the 7Th I had another Doctors appointment. Real quick on. I heard the baby's heart beat and It sounded stronger then ever and then more lab work was ordered. I then signed the contract with the OB. Good news all we have to pay him is 180.00 for the whole pregnancy. That doesn't count sonograms but that's OK with me.


Saturday was a very long day for me. We had a Rainbow Girl installation. So I was busy from 8AM to about 4PM. My body once again warned me that I was doing too much as I started to bleed again yesterday. This was my reminded to sit back for a little while. Dave my hubby had agreed to do Rainbow Pop for six months and watching him interact with the girls made me day dream a bit about how great of a dad he is going to be. The rainbow girls we're all very excited to find out what we we're having. I think everyone of them asked me twice if I knew yet. Then they were telling me how I should raise our child and what activities I should put them in. One of the girls suggest that we move to Texas and put are baby in a pageant, but don't let her wear makeup. Then tell the crowd that this is what a beautiful child should look like. I laughed by butt off because that is something I could see myself doing! One of the girls also gave me a beautiful flower arrangement for helping her with her term.


After the installation we went to Toy R Us to look for a BBQ game called Bongo. We couldn't find it there so I told Dave that we just go home. We then get into the car and he starts driving the opposite direction of home. I figured that he wanted to try Wal-Mart to see if they had the game. Well Dave pulls into the Babies R Us parking lot and parks. I looked at him and said "What are we doing here?" He replied "well we are going to have to buy baby stuff aren't we?" So we get in the store and he says "well what section do you want to start in?" I say bath stuff but he said let’s start with cribs. So we looked around Babies R Us for a while and then went to Dinner, during dinner Dave talked about how influenced the rainbow girls were by their parents actions and what kind of parent he wanted us to be. And I share with him my thoughts. It was a good way to end the week!

Week 14

This week Dave an were planning on going to Onion Valley to camp and fish. We had bought all the food, fishing license, taking time off from work and were packed up ready to go. Dave's truck was to be out of the shop on Tuesday and then Wed and then Thursday came a long and still no truck till 7:00PM. 3 hours after we were to leave. Our campsite is about 5 1/2 hours out of town. A long ways to go for only 3 days but we really wanted to go. So off to the shop we went to pick up the truck. We get there and its still not finished. We ended up leaving there at 12:30 in the morning. Dave said his truck was not running to hot but the mechanic said it would get better after it burned out the crap that needed to be burned out. We get up at six to hit the road to plan was to get breakfast, stop by the in laws to pick up the ATV and It then cold springs to return a car we borrowed from a friend. We get to IHOP and the truck just start spitting fluids out, we decided to drive the loaner car back and stop by a friends house who is a mechanic to have him look at it. That end up not happening cause the truck over heated 3 times. So back to the shop it went. We then went home to try packing my car up for camping somewhere else and after two attempts we call the trip off. There was just know way we could get all the needed items, two dogs, my pregnant butt and Dave in my Jetta. was now 2 in the afternoon anyways. So we ended hanging out at the river for a while and then going to the Ace's Game for the 4Th of July. By the time the fireworks had started I was cramping really bad and I felt the same in the morning. So I pretty much laid around the house on Sunday.

Books

Since Dave and I started this journey to be parents 1 year ago I have read my fair share of books. 13 in all. And each one I have found useful in one way or another. So here is a list of what I have read and my quick opinion on the book.

Pregnancy sucks for men By Joanne Kimes and Jeff Kimes. This was the first book I bought when Dave and I agreed we were ready to be parents and start trying. My fave one so far. It puts pregnancy in real terms (meaning my kind of humor). I also think it's the best one out there if your trying to get your man to read a baby book. Dave has read some of this and he hasn't read since the 2ND grade. His words not mine!

Pre-Parenting, Nurturing your child from conception By Thomas R. Verny and Pamela Weintraub. This book is thought provoking but a hard read. A lot of information about passed studies on how your voice and actions can affect an unborn child. I suggest you read before your pregnant or you run the chance of falling asleep every time you pick it up.

Belly Laughs by Jenny McCarthy. This book was loaned to me by a friend. This is just a fun, honest details type of book, straight out of the mouth of Jenny McCarthy Funny and crude, again my type of humor. A very funny quick read. It took me about 2 hours cover to cover. Her and I think a lot alike. I would recommend reading it when your stressed. It actually made me relax.


What to expect when you're expecting by Eisenberg, Murkoff, and Hathaway. I think this is a cult favorite among all mothers and mothers to be. You almost can't say your pregnant if you haven't read or at least received this book as a gift. I liked it and found it to be a quick reference guide when I have no idea what is going on with my body. I go back to it at least once a month.

What to eat when You're expecting by Eisenberg, Murkoff, and Hathaway. This book make me laugh. I think Dave took notes from it when he was the food Nazi. There were several weeks that went by where Dave watched and made sure what I was eating was healthy, healthy, healthy. I could have killed him, if I didn't know why he was food blocking me. If you could do the Atkins diet you might be able to do the best odds diet they recommend. There is no way in hell I could. I did get some good food choices from the book and the recipes are pretty good also.

After Miscarriage by Krissi Danielsson. This book helped me during one of the hardest times of my life. I recommend it to any one who has had a miscarriage or knows someone who has. I go back to it a lot even now when I'm scared it will happen again.

Preventing Miscarriage by Jonathan Scher and Carol Dix. I must have read this book 8 times. When you have no answers this book can help you find out the test you might want to take and the direction you might want to go. It also helped when the doctor would throw out his ideas as to what cause the miscarriage. Very informative but kind of a hard read.

Pregnancy after a Loss by Carol Cirulli Lanham. A must have if you are going to try again following a loss of Miscarriage, stillbirth and infant death. If you have been there it goes over all the thoughts you have going though your head and reminds you that it is OK to have them.

How to choose the sex of your baby by Landrum Shettles and David M. Rorvik. A friend gave this book to me. If you belive that this will work read it. It's say I should be having a girl. I'm not telling you the position Dave and I used ;) LOL Just kidding. We didn't even think of the book suggestions when it came down to doing the deed. LOL. but it was fun to see the different ways to concive the sex of your choice.

Pregnancy Sucks What to do when your Miracle make you miserable by Joanne Kimes and Sanford A Tisherman. One of my top 3. by the same people that wrote Pregnancy Sucks for Men. I like it because its honest and lets you know your not a terrible person if pregnancy is not the most wonderful time of your life. My favorite advice from the book is if you're put on bed rest, walkie-talkies will allow you to yell at your husband no matter where he is in the house. LOL. It's a funny book.

From here to maternity, by Connie Marshall. This book is an easy read and gave pretty good advise. If you don't enjoy reading a lot this is a good book for you.

50,001 Best baby names by Diane Stafford. This book has every name you could think of. I mean it it actually lists Cookie as a girls name. I find Dave flipping though this one a lot lately looking for the perfect name.

Before Your Pregnancy: A 90-Day Guide for Couples on How to Prepare for a Healthy Conception by Amy Ogle, Lisa Mazzullo, Lisa Mazzullo. I read this before I got pregger last July. It was easy to read and a good "break into the idea of pregnancy" book. A friend loaned it to me and I would recommend it to a friend also.

The Pregnancy Countdown book by Susan Magee with Kara Nakisbendi. I found this on the clearance rack at Borders. $1.99. I would recommend looking at the clearance books at Borders because there is always one on Pregnancy there. This book I have not finished just because you read it day by day. It gives you helpful hints and Pregnancy trivia like how big is your baby today. It says that today my baby is the size of a pear and weighs about 1 and 3/4 of an oz. I look forward to reading this little blurb each day. I try to share this moment with Dave.

Hope some of you find this helpful if you are pregger or are thinking about it.

Week 13

This week Dave celebrated his first Father's Day. I got him an outfit for a girl that says I love my Daddy and then I got him an outfit for a boy that says Daddy's little speedster. He liked them a lot and was shocked how small the outfits were. I was also finally able to schedule the appointment for my first trimester screening with the imaging office which helped me calm down. Then on Friday I had my appointment. Due to Dave's work taking him off the schedule a lot the last two weeks, Dave and I thought it would be best that he just work instead of him leaving for a while to go to the appointment with me. I invited my mom and Dave's mom to go with me. My mom was unable to make it but Dave's mom Loretta came. It was so awesome to see my baby on a big flat screen TV.
Baby Guinan just kept somersaulting and standing on its head, doing crunches and moving it's lips the whole time. The tec just kept commenting on how active the baby was. We were able to see the heart, the brain, several different angles of baby Guinan. Just as we were about to finish the exam Baby Guinan put it's had in the air as if waving goodbye. The tec was able to get an awesome picture of it. I was really happy but very sad at the same time because Dave was not here to experience this whole thing. I then later found out that I could have asked for a DVD and they would have recorded the whole thing. I so would have asked if I had know that that was a option. At least Dave could have seen what happened. To say the least I was very emotional the rest of the day. I did feel very thankful that baby Guinan is healthy so far and doing very well. Baby Guinan's heart beats at about 156 beats a minute.