26 weeks -- Happy New Year!

The past few weeks have been crazy because of the move, but overall it's been a good time :) I felt like a hungover whale after my glucose screening on Tuesday, but I managed to keep that glucola junk down so that I don't have to retake that test (well, no retake for that reason at least.)  Hopefully I won't get a phone call on Monday or so telling me I need to come in for the three-hour test... I will be a very unhappy camper.

Here are two new belly pics -- one with a thick-ish sweater on and one with just the underband covering :) I felt it necessary to take both because the sweater pic makes me look as big as I feel, but I realize that it could be a bit misleading. 

I'm carrying all bajillion pounds of my first pregnancy in my chest and belly... I've now arrived at a 36DD after spending about a month at a 34DD and I'm pretty sure that my stubbornness is keeping me from going up any more.  Sigh.  I get annoyed with the maternity clothes models who have tiny chests and perfectly round bumps.  Oh well.  I should stop focusing on my pregnancy "lows" -- like having to go to the bathroom at pretty much the most random places ever, like Lowe's, or needing help to roll over in bed.  This, too, shall pass ;)

I'm very excited for 2010 :) It's going to be one crazy year, I'm sure! I can't believe I'm considered full term in 11 weeks.  That bit of trivia is what inspired John and I to go ahead and put up the crib.  The mattress and bedding are arriving in a few days.  I'm very grateful to one of John's aunts for her incredible generosity -- she bought us all of those things!

Well, happy new year to everyone! I hope it's the best year you have yet! :)

22 week bump

Hi friends. Here's my bump. It seems a lot smaller in this picture than in my mind/in the mirror. Perhaps the black is flattering :) I'll try to get a less upclose-and-personal pic from the husband when he returns home. I figured I'd do this now before I forget and yet another week passes by.

Farewell, Belly Button.

So I've really "popped" in the last couple of weeks, and I've noticed that my belly button is making a gradual disappearance. I (ignorantly) thought that this would be a sudden, overnight kind of thing, but no, it's definitely been gradual. So far I have like 20% of it left as an innie, but I'm sure that'll be over with soon. I'll miss my belly button, and I hope it makes its return post-baby. I've read some stories of women who were left with very misshapen buttons, and that's something I hope to avoid.

We've signed up for Bradley method childbirth classes that will start in January. I figured we wouldn't have to start them until February or so, but apparently then I'd run the risk of going into labor prior to finishing the class (it's an 8 week course) and that certainly would defeat the whole point of taking a class. I've also scheduled my first coach sub... John's out of town one of the weekends of our class, so my mom will step in that day. That got me thinking -- should I see about a real coach sub for the big day? Like, what if John can't make it in time because of something? Should I try to line up a family member who can take his spot for that time? I'm pretty sure if I'm left to my own devices during labor, there will be much destruction in my path. Probably because I'll deny that I'm actually in labor until it's too late and I'll end up having the baby in my backyard or something. Seriously, this is a concern... I hate hospitals. If I'd thought any of this through, I probably would have considered a birth center. Sure, most of them are like a block from the hospital, but at least I would know that I wasn't actually in the hospital. I'm crazy, I know.

Apparently my uterus is measuring a week ahead of schedule. For those who haven't had the pleasure of having their uterus measured on the outside with a tape measure, this highly technical method states that the number of centimeters from your pubic bone to the top of your uterus correlates with the number of weeks you are in your pregnancy. Since I still have trouble finding the top of my uterus, I just figured it was right above my belly button or so at almost 22 weeks. Well, the doctor found my uterus yesterday (and made me feel it too, but I lost it again) and I'm a week ahead of schedule. So that's interesting. John had spoken to the baby a few nights ago and asked him to be born on April 3rd, which is a special day for his family, and it seems like this baby may be doing his best to oblige ;)

Other than that, friends, we're cruisin' along. Probably another 17 weeks or so to go :)

The big ultrasound

The big "20 week anatomy scan" happened today. I had originally been instructed to drink 32 oz of fluid prior to the ultrasound so that my bladder would be nice and full. The reason for that is so that the bladder would balloon up and push my uterus farther out for the world (and the ultrasound tech) to see. Such an instruction is very troublesome for any pregnant woman, given the fact that the uterus already sits on the bladder in an uncomfortable way, but it seems even worse for me because I suffer from a self-diagnosed condition called "marble-sized bladderitis."

Well, I attempted to drink that much fluid. However, I didn't count how many ounces I drank because my Panera cup didn't have measurements on it. I also started this procedure about 3 hours prior to the exam. By the time I got to the doctor's office, I had to go so bad that I ran to the bathroom and took care of the issue. I then helped myself to another glass of water and hoped that my bladder would refill in the 10 minutes or so I had to wait. Luckily, there weren't any further problems, and I'm glad I went when I did because holding that for another 1.5 hours would have led to a "I wish I had Depends on" moment.

As for the ultrasound itself, everything seemed to go well. The tech didn't run out of the room or look uber nervous about anything, but since she's not allowed to communicate anything that so much as smells like it's diagnostic in nature, I'll have to wait until I meet with my regular doctor to hear if anything's up. A few fun facts about Fahy child #1:

-- He enjoys hanging out upside down, facing my back. While most people wouldn't care if their babies hung out upside down, this fact weirds me out. I wish he would be upright, at least for now. I know, I know, come April I'll be glad he's hanging out with his head down.
-- He is occupying my entire "uterine cavity" and will not move his feet or hands or anything out of the way for the doctors to check on my amniotic fluid. Yes, I realize he's supposed to take up a lot of space, but if you read my post from long ago about cramped spaces, you'll remember that this also makes me nervous. Also, I've now added the word "cavity" as it relates to anything but teeth to my list of least-favorite words.
-- He weighs around 12 oz, which is slightly larger than your average 20 weeker. His head is around 17 cm in circumference.
-- He is not shy whatsoever about showing his boy parts. The tech was able to get several shots of them, so if this child comes out a girl after all, I'm going to be very worried.

All in all, it was a decent experience. He wasn't overly wiggly and cooperated most of the time, and I guess that's all I can ask for from my little one :)

The flu shot saga

So the little voice in my head has been nagging me to figure out where to get my flu shot. I called my OB yesterday to ask where I could get one, assuming that they had some in the office for we pregnant folks. The nurse practitioner suggested I check out the local Walgreens. Well, they were out, so they suggested Randalls, a nearby grocery store. After checking to make sure they had some (they said they had PLENTY), John and I went over there in the rain last night to get the regular flu shot.

I'm not sure what kind of training pharmacists receive in giving injections, but I learned a valuable lesson. If a pharmacist asks you which of the two of you wants to go first, do NOT offer. Let the other person be her guinea pig and you go second. Because yesterday I went first and felt as though I'd been harpooned. I've never been one to complain about shots, but this one hurt like nothing I've had before. John, of course, said that his didn't hurt at all.

Let's just say I'm looking for another grocery store to give me my swine flu shot in the next few weeks :)

16.5 weeks

Well, my exile from the practice of law is abruptly coming to an end. I got a call from the hiring partner at my firm last Wednesday, who asked if I could come back November 1st. I'm sooo glad to be going back, mainly because I was worried about starting work at 30 weeks pregnant and only getting in a few weeks before having to take maternity leave.

So, the 16-weeker and I went maternity clothes shopping. I desperately need stuff that fits and is appropriate for work. Apparently, maternity stores sell neither. It was really frustrating to only find random tops and such that don't fit or "work clothes" that are made out of disgusting, jersey-knit type fabrics that are not appropriate for most law firm jobs. Seriously, I can make myself a blazer out of my old college sheets, too, but I'm pretty sure my firm won't be too pleased letting me out of my office looking like that. Sheesh.

Luckily I have a few suits that I bought last year prior to losing some weight this summer, so they fit for the most part. With the help of some friends via gchat, I also ordered some dresses from Target that seem to have enough stretch in them to work for a while. No pun intended ;)

John and I went to look at a house yesterday, and when we told the lady there that we are expecting, she seriously couldn't believe that I'm almost halfway through the pregnancy. Like jaw was on the floor. I guess I'm smaller than average for this point? I don't know. I'm trying not to worry about that and I'm sure the baby is fine.. perhaps just hidden a bit ;)

I can't wait to see ND friends this coming weekend!! It's going to be so great :)

Next doctor's appointment is next Tuesday -- keep your fingers crossed that we can find out if it's a boy or girl!

14 weeks

So I figured that the trip to NYC would not boring. Our trips never are :) One fun tidbit from this past weekend --

As I sat in the front row of the church on Saturday, waiting for the celebration mass to begin for John's aunt, a lady who I'd met before but didn't remember came up to me to say hello. While we were exchanging the usual greetings, I noticed that she kept squinting her eyes and kind of glaring at me. Weirded out, I asked her if everything was okay. She was silent for a few moments before she asked me, "Are you pregnant?" I figured that someone had probably told her (God knows that word travels fast in families) so I said yes. She then replied, "I knew it. Your face is different, and I can always tell a pregnancy from that. In fact, you're going to have a girl, because no offense, your nose has spread out and gotten bigger." With that, she went back to her seat on other side of the church.

Later, though, I found out that she hadn't known about the baby prior to making her gender prediction or other observations about my face. Her sister knew, but she had kept it a secret because she didn't know if we were telling people yet. Weird huh?

Today I go to the doctor again. I'm slightly disappointed because I know that I won't get an ultrasound, but at least I get to hear the heartbeat :) Perhaps the doctor will show me where my uterus is, because despite Nicole trying to help me find it via emailed instructions, I couldn't do it. I'm the worst doctor ever.

More to come!