13 weeks!

Pregnancy Highlights

 

 

How far along?

13 Weeks - Hello 2nd Trimester!

 

Size of the baby?

3" from crown to rump, aka a medium shrimp

 

Maternity clothes?

No, although they would probably be more comfortable.

 

Gender?

I've got 5 votes for girl

Hardy's Dad and a couple of my co-workers are saying boy.

 

Sleep?

We're still not BFF's ::cries::

 

Symptoms?

I'm feeling pretty good.

I get the occasional pulling/pinching

sensation in my lower abdomen

 

Milestones?

We made it to the 2nd Trimester...

I can remember when I first found out, it felt like a lifetime

for two weeks to pass and now I'm already 3mos...unbelievable!

PJ is forming his/her unique fingertips right now as well as vocal chords.

 

 

***Wishing you all a great weekend, the forecast is showing it to be beautiful!

36 days....

I can almost hear the welcome song now....

 

Goals

Recently I've been thinking...

 

As Hardy says "That could be dangerous"

 

 

There are two specific things I would like to attempt/accomplish now that there's a baby cooking.  

 

#1  I'm really interested in going natural with the birth.  Thanks to Emily's blog (www.journeyofparenthood.com) I read all about her experience with the Bradley Method (husband coached childbirth).  If I can, I don't want an epidural...I want to try and tackle this thing head on - - God forbid I get a migraine during the whole process...that would be pure hell.  I've seen how long it takes for an epidural to wear off, although I know every one is different.  But if I can help it, I don't want to worry with them poking me in the wrong place, experiencing tremors (then sore muscles afterward from trying to fight the shakes) and dead weight legs.  I want to be alert and functional as much as possible after it all so I can soak it all in and "enjoy" the experience.  I also think the Bradley Method would be a great way for Hardy and I to bond over the process even more.  Having him be the focal point and my guide through labor would make me more comfortable - I think.  I'm looking forward to studying up on it!

 

#2 I want to breastfeed...as long as every thing is in my favor (I know some women can't...either no milk to produce or even sometimes the baby is allergic).  It's definitely the cheaper route compared to the price of formula and I know it's healthier for the baby.  My only concern is how I'll be able to continue it after returning to work.  What will I do, hog up the one and only women's restroom we have in our office to pump every 3-4hrs?  Yea  I don't see that going well (so if any of you reading pumped while maintaining a normal work schedule, please SHARE YOUR TIPS!).

 

Sleep

I almost wish I had an "I'm asleep" monitor to see exactly how long in a night I am really asleep.  The last 6 weeks, I usually have no trouble getting to sleep, but once I hear a noise or get up for a potty break I have a hell of a time trying to fall back asleep.  I toss and turn so much, I'm pulling the fitted sheet off the mattress.  It's bad enough I pull and tug at the comforter, now I'm taking the sheets off the bed as well.  DO ANY OF YOU HAVE TIPS ON HOW TO ACCOMPLISH A FULL NIGHTS REST WHILE PREGNANT??  I've tried Benadryl (which the doc said was safe), but it only lasts a few hours....and I don't need help falling asleep, I need help staying asleep lol.

 

This weekend Hardy's been battling a sinus infection, so I've been trying to nurse him back to health.  Sat/Sun were awful - between his snoring and coughing (which I know he can't control) I barely got two straight hours of sleep.  In fact, at 3am Sunday morning I went downstairs and slept on the couch (the new improved low rider).  I tried to do that again last night after laying in bed for an hour still feeling wide awake, but then I thought I was hearing noises and couldn't last.  To love scary movies and haunted houses the way I do, you think I would be used to weird sounds....but I'm a coward when I am alone and hear things I can't identify.  I slept on and off for a while, but at 6:30 when it was time for me to get ready I was slooooooooooooow.  Luckily my boss understood and allowed me to come in late so I could get a couple of hours of uninterrupted sleep. 

 

I've had a feeling I'm off kilter all day....when you don't get to work at your normal time it really does mess with your brain (at least with mine it does).

12 Weeks!

Pregnancy Highlights

 

 

How far along?

12 Weeks

 

Size of the baby?

Weighing in at a whopping 1/2oz, the size of a key lime

 

Maternity clothes?

No, although they would probably be more comfortable

than trying to fit my bloated-ness into regular pants.

 

Gender?

I've got 4 votes so far and it looks like all of you are thinking the same thing....

 

Sleep?

Ahh who needs it any way

 

Symptoms?

I think my boobs grew overnight. 

I haven't grown a complete size, but my normal cup runneth over.

 

Updates?

I went for my monthly check up on Wednesday.

PJ's heartbeat was still in the 160's!

I've actually lost 3lbs since my initial visit, but Dr said that was normal

 

Milestones?

I am happy to have officially made it to 12 weeks...

I know this is when people normally announce pregnancy,

but I could not have kept it a secret this long!

Old photo dump

Ahhh some of these are so cute and funny!!

Hummingbird Heartbeat

I went in for my monthly check up today.

 

Good news is my BP was within "normal" range.  I've been checking it every day during different times and it's been normal.  I think I just get nervous before I go in thinking something is wrong.  I need to kick the worry-wort out of me.  So because my BP is back where it needs to be, I don't have to back until April 20th.

 

I also got to hear PJ's heart beat and it was still in the 160's :).  The doctor was cute and said "Now according to grandma's, the higher the heart rate, the higher the chance you're having a girl.  I don't buy into that, but there's a fun fact for you to play with."   I love doctors with personality, it always makes me more comfortable.

 

Hard to believe I'll be 16 weeks at my next appointment.  Things started so slow, but now it feels like they're moving quickly!!

Low rider

Something pretty funny happened Saturday afternoon...one of those REAL L-O-L moments. We've had our current couch for a year now, one of my moms co-workers had given us an oversized chair and ottoman when we moved into our house and they gave us the couch that matched it last year. It's been a GREAT couch (and still is technically).

Well...Saturday, Hardy was trying to get me to watch a video on his iPhone so we both sat down on the couch at the same time and we heard a *crack*. I couldn't even concentrate on the video I was laughing so hard. We flipped the couch over to discover one of the legs had broken. Hardy started investigating and turns out this same leg must have been an issue for the previous owners too, because we found miscellaneous screws and nails where they had attempted to fix it. Hardy tried and tried to get it secure again, but the actual left side of the couch had split, so there was nothing to mount the leg on. Ultimately we decided to cut all the legs off (the weight would be evenly distributed anyway)....well you never know how 7" can help you, until you lose it. Once all the legs were off, we flipped the couch back over and I tucked the skirt under all around the sides and we tried it out.

Our legs now sit about 2.5" off the floor ha ha ha ha

If we want to use the ottoman, we'll basically be doing crunches, because our legs are now elevated above our heads. The couch still functions as it should, it's just a lower seat!! I can imagine myself now 8mos pregnant rolling off the couch onto my knees to stand up...ha ha ha. We'll probably get some new legs soon, but for now, we're enjoying our new ghetto low rider.

The Hunger Games series

Well I just finished book one (The Hunger Games) it took me longer than I would have liked, but I finished it none the less!!! A very easy and entertaining read, now I'm ready for the movie :)

I can't wait to start the second of the series....

Currency with Character

This evening my mom gave me a big ol' box of old photos and miscellaneous things....inside was this awesome $1 Disney Dollar and it's in perfect condition!!

Check out this retro currency from 1990. Nope I'll never get rid of it :)

11 Weeks

I'm not sure how I got a week behind.....or technically I was just slow at posting.  So just incase you're wondering, no the baby didn't magically develop another full week in just under 3 days.  Sorry these updates are probably dull and boring, eventually I'll have better answers or more exciting things to share.

 

 

 

Pregnancy Highlights

 

 

 

How far along?

11 Weeks

 

 

Size of the baby?

A fig, almost 2" long

 

 

Maternity clothes?

No, although they would probably be more comfortable

than trying to fit my bloated-ness into regular pants.

 

 

Gender?

I think I'm going to do a poll and let you vote!

 

 

Sleep?

Ahh who needs it any way

 

 

Symptoms?

::knock on wood:: I felt perfectly fine this week. 

 

 

 

Question to you moms:   Did you have the CVS testing done between 11-14 weeks?  If yes or no, would you mind sharing your reason?  Also did you have an amnio done later on?

 

Reaping the benefits...or not

As I'm sure most of you know, having a baby isn't cheap. You start paying out of pocket expenses when the baby is still baking in the oven. I've been doing a lot of research lately on my insurance benefits...and well they semi-suck. During our last appointment we spoke with the insurance clerk and she went over what our responsibility is...how many visits I will have, how many ultrasounds etc. It's funny, the doctor doesn't charge much (or at least what I thought babies cost to deliver), so I'm sure all that nice fun stuff will be added on by the hospital - boo.

I'm not one to ask for favors or help, because (for me) it's embarrassing. I like to fend for myself, period. Hardy and I are nowhere NOWHERE close to rich, we would definitely be more comfortable if we didn't have some credit card debt, but we do and we're trying to be as responsible as we can by paying it off. I can say we've never gotten a collection call or delinquent notice - but believe me upholding that is hard. Sometimes I wonder how in the world we do what we do, but it all seems to work itself out.

Anyway, back on topic. I've had several friends ask me if I qualify for "government assistance" since I'm pregnant. Honestly, I had never thought about it. In a perfect world insurance covers us 100% - - ha ha who was I kidding?? My work has Aetna right now and not only do I have a $1500 deductible, but they only cover 70% of the hospital ::jaw drops:: . So for curiosity's sake I went on online to see what these "government assistance" benefits were and if I was eligible. For some reason, I thought every one was allowed WIC, wrong....just goes to show how naive I am. I always thought WIC was there to make sure the mother/child got the best nutrition during and after pregnancy and technically they are, but only if you make like $0.50/week (okay a little more than that....but you catch my drift).

Another friend said even if you have insurance, you can apply for pregnancy only Medicaid which can be used as a secondary insurance after your primary is filed....ok I got really excited about that. I figure, I've been paying taxes steadily for 9yrs now, why not see if I can benefit from it? Uhh wrong...we make too much money for that, we even make too much money for PeachCare. How is it you can make too much money for "help", but you don't make enough to live on once the baby gets here? I guess these are things I should have considered before ditching birth control, but honestly I didn't think I would get knocked up, let alone so quickly.

Sooooo no wonder we have millions of people who don't work (and don't want to)....why would you when you can have all this free stuff handed to you? It's us - the middle class who get the short end of the stick. Because we are working and paying our taxes, we aren't allowed help. This is so twisted. I'm not asking for a million bucks, but if a woman with 6 kids under 10yrs of age all with different dads can get free cheese, milk, cereal (the list goes on) then I sure as crap should too. I know I know, you didn't get me pregnant and it's not your fault I even looked to see of I was eligible and was declined...but I'm making a valid point.

Now there's even the argument about birth control swirling in politics...

Some of the public doesn't want birth control to be FREE because they don't believe in it. Others don't want to "pay" to tell girls/women it's ok to have sex...aside from the fact birth control is used for other reasons of it's actual name - WOULDN'T PAYING FOR BIRTH CONTROL BE CHEAPER THAN PAYING FOR LAZY PEOPLE TO HAVE AN UNGODLY AMOUNT OF CHILDREN AND CONTINUE TO USE THE GOVERNMENT BECAUSE THEY CAN?!?!

::disclaimer::
I'm not bashing anyone who has used government assistance, I'm bashing the lazy ones who don't care about how many kids they have and don't take care of them, but continue to have them. I think those of us who do have jobs deserve assistance just like the next person....

::SIGH:: I almost wish I had never discovered the government assistance offers, because now I think it's a load of crap.

End. Rant.

10 weeks

Pregnancy Highlights


Size of the Baby?
An olive, or 1.5"

Maternity Clothes?
No, but now that it's warmer I've been wearing my capris and they are snug

Gender?
May can't get here soon enough. It would be great if we found out the sex just before our trip to Disney!

Movement?
Nope

Sleep?
What is sleep?!? I haven't been sleeping well through the night at all...

Cravings?
Haven't noticed any foods I prefer...but I am having a rough time with meat in general - it sounds good in my head, but when it's on my plate I could care less

Symptoms?
Insomnia this week

Hello there little olive!

LOVE Disney :)

Hardy and I are members of Disney Movie Club and of course Disney Movie Rewards (the codes you get from Disney DVD's and Blu rays). Well every now and then when you've redeemed so many Blu ray codes they let you pick a free Disney Blu ray and all you do is pay $3.95 s/h, heck yes!!

Because of this sweet deal we have gotten several free movies, just another reason to love Disney. They also have some pretty awesome prizes you can redeem with your points....but we are letting ours build for now (we have 7,600) you never know what awesome thing they'll add next. So if you own a lot of Disney DVD's or Blu rays and you've never put those codes on the website - you are missing out!! Join now at DisneyMovieRewards.com :)

And something I saw on the Disney Pixar Facebook page today...made me LOL

"I'm packing you an extra pair of shoes and your angry eyes, just in case"

Corny, but cute

I saw this on my cousins Facebook and I had to share it....it made me giggle

Just be yourself

All my life I've seen fake-ness and it aggravates me.  I just want to walk up to people and ask them "What's wrong with being YOU?" 

 

Why kiss butt just so you can say you are on top?

Why act a certain way because that's the way society says to act? 

Why try and use a cussword every time you open your mouth because YOU think it makes you look cool?

 

Most simply...

 

Why do you pretend to be someone you're not?

 

I assumed high school drama would end when high school ended.  That is unfortunately, not true.  In fact, sometimes in an office setting gossip and drama is even worse!  I'm not perfect, I've never claimed to be and never will claim perfection, because I'm not.  As humans we are not perfect.  I'm not ashamed of who I am and who I have become and will continue to become.  I am Amanda for a reason, just as you are whoever you are for that reason.  I just wish people would live your life as you know you should.  It's simple, just be YOU!!! 

 

Stop trying to impress people with your wealth, health, talents and your beauty.  There are so many "figures" in the spotlight that are crooked, who lie, cheat and steal and unfortunately they're passing the message to us that that behavior is acceptable - IT'S NOT!

 

Can't we all just get along?  To live in this "Great" country of the U.S.A.....we certainly DO NOT treat each other as equals.

 

 

 

 

END. RANT.

57 days!

I'm about to BURST.  I think I'm actually anticipating our Disney trip more than I am our 20 week appointment (pretty sad huh?).  We LOVE LOVE LOVE Walt Disney World (seeing Rachael's pictures is making me itch even more - I wish she would shove me in her car!)

 

I get excited when I see the signs for "Discounted Disney Tickets" at those Florida Visitor stands along the expressway...even though I never stop, it's a sign that we're getting closer.  Then seeing the signs for it on I-4 ahhhhh.  Of course the BEST BEST part of pulling in...is this:

 

 

It gives me goose bumps every time.  I can truly say there's no other feeling like the one I get when we pull into Walt Disney World.  Let me just say, Toys R Us is not the ONLY place where a kid can be a kid, in fact I'd like to believe THIS place is better :)

 

In the words of Spongebob Squarepants (yes I know he is not a Disney character)

 

I'm ready

I'm ready

I'm ready

I'm ready

 

 

 

 

Week 9

Pregnancy Highlights

 

As of Saturday, you were about the size of a grape!

 

 

 

By the end of this week, you'll be the size of a prune!

 

 

 

 

How Far Along?

9 weeks - 3 days

 

Size of the Baby?

A grape

 

Maternity Clothes?

Not yet

 

Gender?

May can't get here soon enough.  It would be great if we found out the sex just before our trip to Disney!

 

Movement?

Nope

 

Sleep?

Getting to sleep is no problem, in fact I'm in bed before 9:30 most nights, but I toss and turn all night long.

 

Cravings?

None, I would actually say there's a lot of food that doesn't appetizer me.  It doesn't necessarily make me sick, but I find myself not eating much.

 

Symptoms?

Unforgiving headaches, that is all.

 

What I Miss?

Nothing right now...I'm feeling relatively good.

 

Baby Center Update for week 9:

Your new resident is nearly an inch long - about the size of a grape and weighs just a fraction of an ounce.  He/she is starting to look more and more human.  The essential body parts are accounted for, though they'll go through plenty of fine-tuning in the coming months.  Your baby's heart finishes dividing into four chambers, and the valves start to form - as do their tiny teeth.  The embryonic "tail" is completely gone.  Your baby's organs, muscles and nerves are kicking into gear.  The eyes are fully formed, but the eyelids are fused shut and won't open until 27 weeks.  There are tiny earlobes and the mouth, nose and nostrils are more distinct .  The placenta is developed enough now to take over most of the critical job of producing hormones.  Now that your baby's basic physiology is in place, he/she is poised for rapid weight gain.

Oldies via Instagram

I found a scrapbook this weekend and was overloaded with memories!

From one of my first Disney trips, my OCD with Hanson to my first years with Hardy and fun times with friends :)

Wish I had a camera...

Are you ever driving down the road and see something so beautiful you wish you had a fancy camera to capture it with??

Well I do that often...and all I ever have is my iPhone.

These are a few photos I've captured with my phone...not all were while driving except the first two.

I call this first one "The Calm Before The Storm" since I took it today.

Week 8

Pregnancy Highlights

 

 

 

How Far Along?

8 weeks - 4 days

 

 

Size of the Baby?

A jellybean!

 

 

Maternity Clothes?

Not yet

 

 

Gender?

Won't know until sometime in May, but the heart rate was high yesterday (168)

so here's to hoping it's a girl (although we'll take whatever PJ is meant to be)!

 

 

Movement?

Nope

 

 

Sleep?

I love sleep, but I wake up at least once a night to pee

 

 

Cravings?

None

 

 

Symptoms?

Nausea only occurs when I don't eat breakfast on time.  Horrible headaches. 

Sore boobs, but those seem to have subsided for the time being.

 

 

What I Miss?

Nothing right now...I'm feeling relatively good.

 

 

Milestones?

The baby is now officially a "fetus" instead of an embryo.

 

 

Baby Center Update for week 8:

Webbed fingers and toes are poking out from your baby's hands and feet, his/her eyelids practically cover the eyes,

breathing tubes extend from the throat to the branches of the developing lungs, and the "tail" is just about gone. 

In the brain, nerve cells are branching out to connect with one another, forming primitive neural pathways. 

You may be daydreaming about your baby as one sex or the other,

but the external genitals still haven't developed enough to reveal whether or not its a boy or girl. 

Either way, your baby (about the size of a kidney bean) is constantly moving and shifting though you still can't feel it.