14 Weeks Until "Baby Time" - HOLY BUSINESS!

On Thursday the 26th we had our latest appointment.  It was just a regular check-up, so no ultrasounds or anything exciting like that.  We saw the doctor this time and chatted for a few minutes before she took the belly measurement and used the doppler to hear the baby's heartbeat.  When she first placed the doppler on Lisa's belly we immediately heard the heartbeat and then it stopped.  She had to take a little more time to find where the baby had squirmed to in order to find the heartbeat again.  Tuna said that is scared him at first...Lisa knew it was typical of the baby to do that!   The doctor said that everything looked really good and we are always so thankful to hear that. 

The next appointment is on Valentine's and has to be done at 28 weeks - this is when the Glucose test is administered.  For this test Lisa has to fast for 12 hours and then consume an orange flavored drink that is chock-full of sugar.  Blood will be drawn in order to tell how her body reacts to the mass intake of sugar.  Essentially, it tests for the possibility of gestational diabetes.  Hopefully she will pass the test and not have to do the three hour test! 

Lisa's belly is growing everyday and we need to take a picture to post.  The chief complaint she has is sleep - or lack there of.  We talked to the doctor about Lisa sleeping on her back and she confirmed that it is not a healthy position.  Here is a little information from www.americanpregnancy.org regarding that:

What positions should I avoid?

Sleeping on your back: This can cause problems with backaches, breathing, digestive system, hemorrhoids, low blood pressure and decrease in circulation to your heart and your baby. This is a result of your abdomen resting on your intestines and major blood vessels (the aorta and vena cava).
Sleeping on your stomach: When you are farther along in your pregnancy, your abdomen undergoes physical changes and makes it more difficult for you to lay on your stomach.


Of course stomach sleeping (Lisa's #1 choice) was out a while ago and back sleeping (Lisa's choice #2) is now out!  How come no one tells you about this stuff?!!?

In other exciting news...
We have decided on a boy name!  And no, we are not telling anyone.  :)  We have 5 names on the girl list and we really like all of them and can't decide.  And no, we aren't telling those either!  Middle names were decided a while back.  We are planning on actually registering soon.  Hopefully.  We are still overwhelmed by everything, but we will figure it out.  Let's see...we got the bed moved out of the guest room and the armoire has found a home...we just have to get it over there.  We are using the dresser that was in the guest room and will purchase a crib (hopefully soon!).  We plan to have the baby in a crib in our room for the first few months...simply for the ease of it.  The baby is squirming around and very active.  Anytime Tuna tries to feel for the kicks and squirms they immediately stop!  Apparently the baby is quite stubborn and this frustrates Tuna! 

Many people have asked what Lisa's work plans are and how much time she will be spending at home with the baby.  As of today the plan is for her to stay home after the baby is born - until August.  So she would be home from early May to the beginning of August.  Then in August she will (HOPEFULLY) be returning to the school setting as a librarian in a school district closer to home.  If a librarian position does not open for her, it will most likely mean going back to to the classroom.  Lisa has been extremely blessed to have been able to work for her dad and if she could just move his office closer to home then working for him would be great.  But alas, it is not, and so she will be leaving the office in May. 

That is about all the excitement for now...HLSR BBQ is right around the corner and then Rodeo...YEE HAW!  Tuna will probably running around Reliant solo quite a bit this year, so if you see him, please make sure he stays out of trouble!

Thanks for reading our blog!
xoxo,
Tuna and Lisa

 

Musings of a Mostly Hormonal Mom-to-Be: The 24 Weeks Edition

*Disclaimer - I cannot be held accountable for anything stated in this blog post and if you hold me accountable I will simply blame it on the hormones.  This is just my perspective on my pregnancy...so far.  Sorry if it offends anyone.  Actually, I am not sorry.  And oh yeah, there is some cursing in this blog entry, not a lot, but some.  Consider yourself warned.

1. Speaking of cursing, I have come to realize that pregnancy hormones have allowed me to hone my cursing at other driver's skills (or lack there of) to an unprecedented level.  Sailors ain't got nothin' on me during the rush-hour commute.

2. I hate all pregnant celebrities.  Apparently every single one of them never experienced any sickness and can eat whatever they want and stay slim and have time to go to Pilates everyday with their private trainer.  I want to scratch their eyes out.  Especially that Victoria's Secret model I saw this week on People.com who is running around the beach in her teeny tiny bikini at 5 months pregnant. 

3. The best thing about maternity pants is that you never have to worry if your fly is down.

4. I am a stomach sleeper.  I miss sleeping on my stomach.  A lot.

5. TMI.

6. Whoever said that women are supposed to have boundless energy in the second trimester is wrong.  All I want to do is eat and sleep.

7. Pregnancy is not for the faint of heart.  This is some tough shit.  Props to all the moms out there!

8. Unsolicited advice is always so helpful.  <sarcasm>

9.  When I tell women over 55ish that we have decided not to find out the sex of the baby it is 100% guaranteed to incite a conversation about how ridiculous it is today that women have to know the sex of their baby and that when they were pregnant they just had to wait until the baby was born to find out.

10.  TMI.

11. The generosity and excitement of our friends and family has caught me totally off-guard.  Completely.  Honestly, it makes me feel like I should have been a better friend and way more excited for others when they were pregnant.  So, I am sorry for anyone out there who has been pregnant and I wasn't more excited.  I really sucked at that.

12.  I am a little worried that the following is still true for me...even now that I am pregnant:  if I see a puppy my heart pitter-patters and I can only think about how much I would love a puppy.  Conversely, when I see a baby I want to run the other way.  I am still gonna be a good mom, right?

13.  TMI.

14. Confession: I have a "B" bump and not a "D" bump.  It is getting more like a "D" bump each day, but that is the main reason I have not taken or posted any bump pictures.  My bump isn't all that "cute" just yet.  Shallow?  Perhaps.

15. Tuna has been the best husband I could ever imagine.  He has supported me, never questioned me, and been my rock.  Our relationship has been elevated to another level since we found out we are going to be parents.  I cannot wait for him to finally be a dad.  He has taken such great care of me that I know he will be such an amazing dad.  So much so that I am worried I could be displaced by the baby!

16. I still cannot believe that I am pregnant.  Honestly.  I never thought this would happen for us.  Ever.

17. TMI.

18. The idea of registering has been the single scariest thing I have encountered.  How in the hell am I supposed to know what I need and what brand is best?  Or what my baby is going to like or not like?  So many questions...  And thanks to everyone for their input on FB.  It has really helped.

19.  I get really mad when I talk about how we want to raise our child and people snicker.  This has happened several times.  Look, I get it.  Nothing in our life is going to be the same.  What we have planned, our kid is probably going to disrupt that plan in some way.  Nothing is predictable with kids.  But when I tell you how we hope to parent our child and that we have an idea of how we want our child to be I really don't need your little look or comment that is pitying or condescending in the "you just don't have any clue" way - keep that to yourself.  Thanks.

20.  The first thing that people do when they see me or find out that I am expecting is look at my stomach.  Just sayin'.  It doesn't really bother me at all, I just find it really funny.  In fact, I probably did the same thing to other pregnant women. 

21. I find myself making sure that I don't leave the house without snacks in my purse.  I am convinced this is just my body's way of preparing me for when the baby arrives and I have to pack snacks.  I call this "snack dress rehearsal".

22. When all is said and done my only wish for my child is that he or she is a good person.

23. I am in awe that our bodies can carry and nourish and grow a baby.  That is simply amazing.

24. 9 months apparently = 40 weeks (in pregnancy years).

25. TMI.

26. I cannot figure out this whole heartburn thing.  No matter what I eat or how much I eat I get heartburn.  I have been through a bottle of Tums in the last month.  By the way, the Wal-Mart brand of Tums is much better than the actual Tums (unpaid advertisement).

27.  The internet can be a scary, scary place.  But I have also been reassured by some of the information I have found, too.

28. Back to the cursing...Tuna thinks I shouldn't curse because the baby can now hear me.  I am not sure how I feel about that.

29.  I think that 3D ultrasounds are kind of scary.  I am not sure why, but they creep me out.

30. I haven't had any weird cravings.  But the 2 things I have eaten the most of are peanut butter and salsa (not together).

31.  My stomach has shrunk.  I can now eat half of a pimento cheese sandwich and about 10 Triscuits and feel completely full.  For the whole day. 

32. I have come to realize in the past few days that I do have limitations.  I should not be lifting boxes and moving heavy objects.  This is hard for me to accept as I am a "doer".

33. Whiny Confession: In the next few months I will be working full time, taking 6 hours of graduate school, completing 130 hours for my internship, creating a graduate level digital portfolio, earning my masters, finishing up with School Art 2012, beginning School Art 2013, looking for a library job, surviving Rodeo, surviving BBQ, living life, preparing for a baby, and oh yeah, giving birth.  The thought of all of this is overwhelming, daunting, frightening, and has me shaking in my shoes.  I know I can do it, but as of today it seems like a lot.  And it is a lot.  I try not to whine as it is all stuff I have chosen to take on.  But I am scared as to whether or not I can get it all done.  Ok...end of whine.  I WILL get it ALL done!

That is all I can think of for now.  I suspect that my list will grow/change as time goes on.  Next up is an appointment on the 26th.  It is a regular appointment, so we will report on that afterwards.

xoxo,
Lisa

Anatomy Scan - Round 2

Hello Friends and Family!
We hope you all had a restful and relaxing holiday "season".  Ours was wonderful and way too short.  We kept thinking about how different it is going to be for us next year with a 7 month old!  So exciting!

On the 29th of December we had our second anatomy scan and monthly appointment.  Some people refer to the anatomy scan as a level 2 ultrasound or gender scan.  You may remember that we got sent to this same appointment too early (at 15 weeks), well we worked it out with the doctor's office and they are paying for our second scan (woo hoo)!  We started our day with the anatomy scan and everything looked great.  We could have found out at this appointment if we are having a boy or a girl...well Tuna REALLY wanted to know.  So he tried to bribe the doctor into giving him a thumbs up if it is a boy or the OK sign if it is a girl.  Luckily the doctor stuck to the task at hand and didn't give in to Tuna's request!  Although, after the scan was over he told us that he was in "the area" three different times.  We were both pretty clueless as to when, exactly, that happened!  Several people have suggested that since we didn't see anything that resembled "boy parts" that it is a girl, but we're not so sure about that theory!  The baby was measuring 21 weeks and 3 days - 1 day behind the due date and the heart rate was a healthy 156 bpm.  Many have also suggested that it is a girl due to the high heart rate...but you'll just have to wait until May to find out for sure!  ;)  Lastly, the baby weighed in at 15 oz.  Lisa was very excited to know this because she can deduct 1 pound every time she gets on the scale.  

Our appointment went well also.  Tuna met the nurse practitioner, Jane, and they bonded immediately.  He said that she was like "the mom that was everyone's mom".  Everything went really well and we were glad to get a good report. 

The baby is moving a lot everyday and occasionally can be seen from outside.  There is a lot of "tap dancing" on Lisa's bladder which is the strangest feeling so far.  Lisa isn't really showing that much for being 23 weeks, but has taken advantage of maternity pants (um, love maternity pants!).  This last week has been tough for Lisa as sleeping is becoming more difficult.  By nature, stomach sleeping is preferred, but it has become impossible.  "The internet" says that laying on the left side is best for baby, followed by the right side.  Mom laying on her back is also not recommended as it supposedly is bad for blood flow and can cause swelling in Mom.  Good grief!  The internet can be a little scary!  But luckily, Tuna has been very willing to sacrifice pillows, bed space, and even Lisa's legs flopped over on his - in an effort to make his "baby mama" happy.  What a guy! 

Everyday we feel so blessed to be on this journey.  We have no idea what is in store for us and we are just taking each day as it comes.  We probably won't have the nursery done until after the baby comes home, but we are really not worried about that.  We want it to evolve naturally and don't want to just throw stuff on the walls to have stuff up.  We want it to be meaningful and important.  There are probably some things we should be worrying about or doing right now, but we're not.  We are just enjoying the journey and thank you for coming along with us!

xoxo,
Tuna and Lisa