Oh, and...

...I really want a pedicure and a soak in a hot tub.

My last NST

I had my last NST today!! This time next week we'll have our little baby girl with us. It's a little unreal actually. At my BPP last week the ultrasound tech said that she's back to being head down, so YAY for that!!! If I go into labor on my own in the next week, we're all set. Of course, I'm not holding my breath.

The baby shower this weekend was REALLY nice. Mom did a great job putting it together (like always) and it was a lot of fun with family and friends. In fact, even the lady who was MY nanny when I was little came. She just had her first book published and she's having a book signing on Saturday (the 14th), so all things being equal I'd really like to go to that but we'll see.

I don't really feel as stressed as I have been feeling (or I'm blocking it out and replacing it with tiredness) so that's a good thing. Tom is still freaking out majorly at random times but all in all I think we're on a pretty even keel as far as the baby goes. The room is pretty much finished (just need to get the empty boxes/bags out of there, vacuum, and put up her shelf...oh, and put the valance above the window...but it's ready for her. Of course, she'll be in the bassinet in our room anyway for a while so it's not a huge rush. This does mean, however, I need to pick up our room a little. And I think we're going to have to take the baby monitor we got back because the receiver doesn't work downstairs (which is why we would need it in the first place). Luckily we bought it at Babies R Us and they'll just take it back on our registry.

T Minus 11 Days

So we only have 11 days left!! I'm getting so freakin' excited and Tom has started just freaking out in general. We still haven't decided 100% on a name but I've pretty much thrown everything out of the window and gone back to perusing the baby book. Why can't I decide??? I want to love her name, and I don't love any of them. *sigh*

Orion was sick yesterday. Poor little guy had a fever, was all stuffy, and achy (he said his leg hurt). So, just to be safe, my doc prescribed me some antivirals. I have to take one a day for 10 days but it should keep me from getting the flu if I've come in contact with anyone who's had it. Monkey seemed fine today though. He was starving. LOL

I'm really looking forward to this Saturday. Mom's having a baby shower for me and we're going to go play bingo afterward. It should be a good time! Danielle's going and we'll have some girl time...should be nice.

37 Weeks Pregnant

Another great doctor's appointment today!

We had our Thursday BPP and doctor's appointment today. Went well...nothing to report so that's always good. Seems that while I feel like this pregnancy has been dragging on forever, at least it's been uneventful! Nothing out of the ordinary which is just how I like it.

I signed the official "this is your appointment" paper for the c-section on the 16th. We have to be there at 0530...and I can't have any coffee. This is probably a bad thing, but I'll be drugged eventually and won't care I'm sure. We can't wait to meet our little girl!!!

For some reason whenever we ask Orion what his little sister's name is he says "Moo". I hope to God that she's not a fat child/teenager because I have a feeling we'll be calling her Moo for the rest of her life. It would just be cruel if she were pudgy...then we'd have to come up with a different nickname.

Tomorrow is a busy day for us (well, more for me). Orion and I have an appointment in Gladstone at 9:00 and after that I'll need to drop off Avon stuff. Works out well because the person I'm delivering to basically lives right across the street from where I'll be. At noon I have a meeting with Malissa to get her all signed up to sell Avon and tomorrow evening is Jodi and Jon's Halloween party. I was thinking about going as a pregnant beauty queen. Would be funny at least. Saturday night is *actual* Halloween and we're going trick-or-treating with Rylee, Jason, and Danielle this year. It's supposed to be super rainy, so I think we'll probably end up at the mall. Not the same as real trick-or-treating, but at least it's warm and dry. Plus, Orion probably just won't care either way. He's going to be a frog prince (though the costume I made looks more like a lizard king) and I'll have to get lots of pictures since it's the first costume I've ever made.

36 Weeks Pregnant

She's still breech...*sigh*

Well, we had our second BPP today. Little girl decided to keep sitting, so we're going to have to figure that out. We did schedule our c-section though, so unless we go into labor on our own we're set for 7:30 am on the 16th of November. Danielle is going to take Orion Sunday night and keep him during the morning and then bring him to the hospital in the afternoon. I think it'll work out well...he'll get a chance to play with Rylee and probably won't be TOO upset that Mom and Dad aren't around. He probably won't even miss us even a little.

The doc did give me some suggestions on how to get her to turn over so we'll try those and see what happens. He's not so sure she won't turn over, so that's good. And that way, if I *do* go into labor, we'll be able to hopefully progress the way we should. Of course, after my experience with Orion, I'm highly doubting that labor will come on its own. Then again, I shouldn't count on anything. heh

We had originally decided on the name Piper, but changed it to Abigail because Tom really liked that name. I was OK with it until earlier this week when I went completely hormonal and realized I didn't like it at all. We've switched it back to Piper, but we'll see what actually ends up on the birth certificate.

It's getting so much closer and I'm feeling a bit stressed out, but not too bad this minute. We did finally buy her mattress (can't beat $36!) so that's out of the way and she actually has a crib to sleep in. We moved it over a couple of nights ago and put some of her safari stickers on the wall. I have a shelf that we're going to put up in there and hang her name letters from. It'll be super cute, I think. I was worried that the room wasn't girly enough (even though I'm not the biggest fan of pink), but it turns out that Babies R Us has pink safari stuff! I've change our registry to include some of that, so hopefully we'll be able to add a little bit of pink to her room by the time she gets here.

27 Days!?!?!?!?!?

Time for extreme panic to set in.

I started my twice-weekly NST's/BPP's today. Abby is still head up (little shit), but everything is looking good. She met their requirements for heart rate increases...just barely, but still met them. After that, I had an appointment with anesthesiology over at Labor and Delivery. I'm not really sure why because it seemed like a waste of time, but at least it's done now. They basically went over my chart, saw that I've had two back surgeries, and I told them that the spinal worked with Orion but they just had to put it higher than the scar from the surgeries. They said OK, put a note in the chart, and I left. Besides, the chances of getting the doc that I met with today for anesthesiology are slim to none anyway, right?

We finally got the crib moved over into the baby's room and will spend part of tomorrow cleaning up Orion's room. It's mostly just putting toys that made it under his crib into his toy box, so it shouldn't take forever. Of course, putting me on the ground at this point is sure to make it take longer. I don't do bending over well. heh However. I did find it in my power yesterday to shave my legs. It was interesting, to say the least, but they got (mostly) shaved. It's even worse that I did it in the shower. hehehehe

Our baby shower that my mom is throwing is going to be on November 7th, and then a week after that, we'll have our little Abby here!! I need to get to the craft store and get her letters for her wall...it'll give me something to do. Of course, I still need to finish Danielle's Halloween costume, so once that's done, then *maybe* I'll get to the store. ;)

Haven't posted one of these in a while, but here is this week's :

35 Weeks Pregnant

We're SO in for it...

We had our first BPP and a doctor's appointment today. Everything looks absolutely perfect. Abby's measuring great and in the 44%...this is all great news. EXCEPT. At 34 weeks, my darling daughter apparently has decided to turn around. Instead of being head down like she has been the entire pregnancy, she thought it would be a good idea to make herself breech. What the hell!? Of course, this is MY child we're talking about, so I knew it couldn't be as easy as it's seemed to be. heh

Everything is going well on this end though. We're slowly getting things organized around the house and trying to clear things out that we don't need. We had that garage sale a while back and this weekend we're having another one...sort of. Mom and Dad have a bunch of stuff to get rid of too, so we're headed down that way for the garage sale. We've already taken everything down that was left over from the one we had here, so hopefully things will sell. I don't know what the weather is supposed to do this weekend (because I haven't checked...I'm lazy) but it'll be in the garage so it'll be dry there regardless. Hopefully people feel like coming and checking it out. I posted it on craigslist a couple of times and so I'm hoping that helped.

The doctor's appointment...

...went well. It was basically just a check-up so no ultrasound or anything. I did get to hear Abby's heartbeat though, so that's awesome. It was kind of even cooler that I got to hear her heartbeat and mine simultaneously. Turns out I don't have to start going twice a week next week, but get to wait until the week after. Actually, I'll only go once on that Thursday, have an ultrasound and a doctor's appointment, then will start the NST's the following Monday. I get to go every Monday and Thursday...yay!

Tom cut his finger pretty good last night. He was working on a part for the fish tanks and sliced his pointer finger on his left hand open. My husband really doesn't handle blood well, and handles needles even worse than the blood. He barely let me look at it, but I saw that it was bad enough that we'd need to go get him some stitches. Unfortunately, urgent care doesn't do stitches, so we had to go to the ER (which means a bigger co-pay of course). Since he cut his finger with a razor knife, they obviously wanted him to get a tetanus shot. The poor guy did not like that one little bit. And they had to use a needle to get the lidocain into the wound, so that didn't go over well either. Ten stitches later we headed home. Luckily, it was a Thursday night at 5:30 and we were only there an hour and a half. He's sore today, of course, but holding up.

Crazy?? Perhaps, Rabbit. Perhaps.

Yesterday marked 32 weeks! I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow (just a check up I'm assuming since they didn't schedule an ultrasound), and then next week will start going twice a week for the NST's and growth scans. I can't believe it's that time already! Amanda is planning a baby shower for me on Saturday, so that should be fun! I'm looking forward to it. I've also been looking a lot on craigslist for baby clothes and some other things that we still need but haven't really found anything TOO promising. Hopefully we'll get some of it knocked out and set up before she gets here!! Apparently she weighs 4 pounds this week, and I'm pretty sure at this point that I'm either having David Beckham's love child or a future member of the Rockettes...

So, with Tom laid off, I figured now would be as good a time as any to go back to school. Of course, I won't be starting fall term because then I'd be gone right in the middle to have Abby, but I'll be starting winter term. It's completely insane, I know, but I'm eligible for some awesome grants (instead of adding more student loan debt). I have a lot of classes that I need to take out of the way, but will probably start taking the rest of the pre-reqs for the nursing program. Tom says he'd be more than happy to stay home with the kids if I could be his sugar-mama, so we'll see. heh I will need to get a new laptop which may cause a bit of an issue, but hopefully we can work out a trade or something. I'm going to start checking craigslist daily to see what we can come up with. I had an awesome laptop, but it's completely toast, and I won't be able to do everything I need to do on our desktop unfortunately. It just doesn't have the stuff I'll need...and it's our only computer so Tom would probably get irritated if I was bogarting the darn thing and he couldn't play on it either.

We've been down-sizing the house a little...about six months (maybe more?) ago we got rid of Monty (the snake) and then on Saturday we got rid of all of the fish tanks that were upstairs. We have only one fish tank left, downstairs in the basement, and we're just going to concentrate on that one since it's a saltwater tank. It's prettier than the ones we had upstairs, and much more fun for us to work on and maintain. We're hoping to get rid of a couple of the cats soon (Gidget and Goldie, probably) and give them some good homes. Never in a million years could we get rid of Cisco or Guiness, but we're not *overly* attached to the other two and it would be a lot less work/mess/everything to get rid of them. Of course, I'm still heart-sick for a dog, but that will happen in time and really, with a brand new baby, now wouldn't be the time to even think about getting one anyway! That's all I'd need...a 2-year old who won't stop going even for a second, a brand new baby who needs *everything*, and a puppy who I would have to potty train. No thank you.

Toss all the homework I'll be doing on top of that, and I'd be likely to shoot someone. ;)

The weather has cooled down some and started the rainy season so Orion's allergies seem to be doing a bit better. I love that it's colder now, but Tom hates it. Then again, the man has no body fat.

32 Weeks Pregnant

Who needs sleep?

We've hit 31 weeks!!! 7 1/2 weeks to go...yay! (Or..."Holy shit! Where did the time go!!!???" as the case may be.)

This baby is sitting SO low!! I wake up every morning with sore hips...LOL Maybe that means we're more favorable for a natural birth?? Or she just likes the "Pelvic Pillow"...

The doctor's appointment went really well Friday. Our little one is measuring in the 40th percentile (so RIGHT where she should be), and I haven't gained any weight in a month. I'm stoked about that. We'll have another appointment next week (the 2nd?) and then the week after that I have to start going twice a week for the non-stress tests and the bio-physical profiles. I can't believe it's already time for those...but they're fun and I'll get to see a lot more of the little one!

Poor Orion has allergies. Normally, it's not an issue, but they hit in full-force the last couple of days. Sunday he started getting the runny nose and it all went down-hill from there. Poor little guy tried sleeping Sunday night, but with the snot running down the back of his throat he started coughing so hard he threw up. Everywhere. And Mommy doesn't handle throw-up well...at all. He ended up sleeping in our bed that night because we were worried about him. He'd wake up unable to breathe even and we wanted him close (because we're paranoid parents like that). He did OK yesterday (even got his nap in!) and last night wasn't too horrible. We were giving him some childrens' Claritin, but it doesn't seem to be helping much...other than the fact that he's not puking I guess. Otherwise, he is in great spirits until I make him blow his nose. He hates that.

31 Weeks Pregnant

Apparently our refrigerator was possessed!

We've had the refrigerator for a while. It's a side-by-side with the water and ice in the door. The water has NEVER worked, but the ice did, so we'd use it from time to time and the ice bucket is great for filling up the cooler when we go camping.

Saturday night Tom, Orion and I went down to my mom and dad's. We had a bunch of stuff to take down for the garage sale (they have a much better location than we do) and got there around 5:00-ish...which means we left here about 4:00. About 12:00 we roll in the door to home and I hear this water noise. Thinking "what the hell?" I turn on the kitchen light. The water portion of the refrigerator decided to start working. On its own. And who the heck knows how long it was on. It's not like it was just dripping. No, it was like someone was pushing a glass against the lever as hard as they could. There was water all over the kitchen floor and dripping into the laundry room under it. Luckily, it wasn't dripping through the ceiling but through the vent and light fixture, so there's hopefully no huge damage. The water *did* go under the flooring in the kitchen, but luckily we have some extra so we'll be able to replace that.

*sigh*

Only 8 1/2 Weeks Left

Well, we're in the home stretch!! I have another doctor's appointment today (with an ultrasound) to check in. Tom will get to go with me, so that's good. Then, I have an eye appointment on Monday to check everything out because of the diabetes and pregnancy. They'll have to dilate my eyes, which sucks. I hate that part...but not as much as I hate the part where they blow air into your eyes. My eyes are watering right now just thinking about it.

I've been a bit stressed lately (at least for the last week...lol) because Tom got laid off from his job. Unfortunately, there just isn't any work going on for his company. The good news is that he'll get his unemployment and he's already getting job applications in for driving and we're cutting back where we can. It's a change from what he was doing but, ultimately, I think he'll be much happier. One of our friends works as a driver for Safeway. They're currently hiring and he may be able to push Tom through with his boss to get him hired. It would be great, but the hours would suck at first and he probably wouldn't get many, but it's a great opportunity. Plus, it's union, so that rocks. He'd get awesome benefits and they wouldn't cost us an arm and a leg. Right now we're debating on how we're going to do the COBRA continuation of coverage. With the baby on the way, we can't afford not to have health insurance, so we're working that out. With his unemployment we may be able to qualify for some other options, but it's something we'll have to look into next week after he gets his first check.

Orion is doing well...getting so freakin' big! I can't believe he's almost 2 1/2!! He'll be exactly 2 years, 6 months, and 2 days when Abby gets here. Apparently I was horrendously jealous when my little brother was born, so I hope that we can work through some of those issues when the new baby is here. I really don't want Orion to think that he's been "replaced" and being a stay-at-home mom will help with some of that I think because then I'll have more time to spend with him while the baby's sleeping and whatnot.

We finished painting the baby's room, but will have to paint it again because the paint was too thick to do an even coat all over. There's some spots that aren't painted (not huge ones) so it'll take a quick once-over to get it finished. We still need to move the spare bed downstairs and put the crib in the room, but it's coming along nicely. I feel like I have a little time left to work on things, but at the same time, I feel like there's no time left at all!

30 Weeks Pregnant

29 weeks already?

Wow...

I'm going to the doc's every two weeks now, and in about five weeks I'll start going twice a week. I switched doctors to one that I like much better and that is a bit closer. My friend who is a trauma surgeon at Emanuel suggested I transfer to their Maternal-Fetal Medicine Unit which is at Emanuel (so down by Lloyd Center) instead of driving all the way out to Beaverton to go to St. Vincent's. I get to see Dr. Buckmaster again! Yay! I saw him a couple of times at St. V's, but then he got the job at Emanuel. I couldn't go to see him because of our insurance, but that changed in July. Turns out, one of the two doctor's my friend suggested was this one! It worked out beautifully.

We've decided not to try to be induced this time around. Since they tried to induce three different times with Orion, I just don't feel much confidence in the procedure. heh While it would be nice to have a natural birth, I just feel that it will make me and Tom much saner not to have to go through all of that again just to end up with another c-section. The plan right now is that we'll do a repeat c-section on November 16th UNLESS I go into labor on my own. If I go into labor on my own, then we're all set for a natural birth (assuming everything progresses as it should).

Tom, Orion, and I went camping this weekend since it was Labor Day weekend. My mom and dad (and the girls) reserved a camping space at a place called Odell Lake in Central Oregon. It was an absolutely beautiful place. The lake is huge and there are tons of trees...even huckleberry bushes! We picked huckleberries and had them in our pancakes one morning...tasty! Orion had SUCH a good time that we definitely want to go back but it's quite the trek to get there (4 hours!!) so it probably won't be any time soon. The weather was OK but not gorgeous. It would sprinkle a bit and was cloudy the first two days we were there which wouldn't have been so bad if not for the wind and freakin' freezing at night. Yesterday, however, was absolutely gorgeous (albeit still windy) and I even got a little bit of a sunburn on my cheeks! We'll have to be better prepared, of course, the next time we go because we didn't have anything we needed with us.

We've been pretty busy around here doing not much of anything...lol Of course, last week we spent time trying to get everything gathered up for the camping trip and Wednesday night I had a battalion meeting. Other than that, we haven't done a *whole* lot...but despite that we still haven't painted the baby's room. Part of it is that we just need to get some stuff moved around downstairs so that we can get the spare bed down there and have the room to paint, but neither Tom nor I have the motivation most days. Horrible, I know...we're such procrastinators!!! Plus, we need to get new paint rollers and a new paint tray (which we'll probably do this weekend) so we're using that as our excuse as well. ;) I'm going to try to make some shelves for the room (and probably for Orion's room as well) so that we have space. I was going to make the changing table, but I don't think we'll need to. My brother left his dresser here (he didn't have the room to take it with him when they left and now it's a matter of someone helping him get it...it's big and heavy) and I made a joke last week when he was here about commandeering it for the changing table/dresser if he didn't pick it up. He just shrugged and said "I'm not really emotionally attached to it" so we may just end up using that.

So, the plans, as they stand right now for the weekend, are to move the bed downstairs and paint the baby's room. Sunday afternoon I have a meeting to meet with our new recruits for the reserves, but it shouldn't take long, so we should have *plenty* of time to get everything done that we want to.

29 Weeks Pregnant

I really don't understand it.

So, I don't understand why Orion feels the need to crumble a perfectly good piece of strawberry bread on the carpet literally RIGHT after I finish vacuuming. Or why Tom feels the need to leave the empty (but not rinsed out) mayo jar in the sink. Would it have killed him to take the extra 5 seconds to rinse it out and put it in the recycle bin? At least Orion is 2 and can get better, right? ;) I do have to give Tom props though...at least he didn't put the empty mayo jar back in the fridge! ;)

We hit 27 weeks yesterday! Wow, time is sure flying. Next week I'll even get to start my kick counts and then four weeks after that I'll have to start going to the doctor's twice a week. I'm thankful that we have some sort of insurance, but it would be much nicer if it didn't suck balls. My co-pay is $50 for a specialist (which the OB is) and I'll have to start paying that twice a week. And, of course, the co-pays and prescription co-pays don't apply to our deductible or out-of-pocket max. *sigh* It really didn't cost us anything to have Orion besides what I paid for my insurance through work...and of course that was all pre-tax, so that was nice.

This last weekend we decided to have a garage sale. OK, so we decided at 8:30 pm on Thursday night to have it Fri, Sat, and Sun. Surprisingly we made a few hundred dollars, which was nice. There's still tons of stuff to get rid of and we're planning on taking it all down to Mom and Dad's for their garage sale. Whatever doesn't go after that can head to Goodwill or the Salvation Army for all I care. We haven't needed it thus far, we probably won't need it any time in the near future. And I'm tired of all the clutter!

Until the end of September, Oaks Park does pre-school/toddler mornings on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. It only costs $6 for Orion (free for Mommy!) to go on all the kiddie rides he wants! A snack and story time is included, and it's all around a good time. We went yesterday morning for the first time and had a blast. First, we warmed up with the carousel...that was fun and Orion was *really* excited about riding the giraffe. After that we hit the Lewis & Clark ride, which is actually pretty darn creepy. A lot more rides (the boat, the roller coaster, and of course the motorcycles) ensued before the last ride of our day - the choo-choo train. The morning was in constant drizzle, but it was still a lot of fun and Orion loved the train whistle so much he was saying "CHOO CHOO" all the way home. Since it was on the way and the right time of day, we stopped at Tom's work on the way back and had lunch with him (or at least spent his lunch time with him). It was a really nice day.

Friday marks the beginning of a very busy weekend, but I'm really looking forward to it...should be lots of fun!

27 Weeks Pregnant

26 Week Image

I forgot to post this in my last blog post, so here it is...I think they're interesting anyway... :)

And while reading the "this week" thingy about the baby, I started to panic again. Apparently baby is 2/3 of the way through her stay in Hotel Womb. It's OK when I think in months or weeks. But to think of it in fractions like that kind of freaks me out...yet again.

26 Weeks Pregnant

I started panicking yesterday...

So, I log in and look at my cute little pregnancy ticker at the bottom of my last post and realize "OH. MY. GOSH. We're not in triple digits anymore." Today marks 26 weeks and we only have 98 days left to go. Of course, if we do a c-section it'll be a little bit shorter amount of time. I completely freaked out.

When I was at Freddy's the other day I was looking in their paint department and one of their $5 mis-mixed gallons of paint was perfect for the base color of the baby's room. I picked it up (can't beat $5!) and we'll start painting this week. Now I just have to figure out how to get the trees and animals on the wall!

Tom took his vacation this week because they're really slow at the shop. That blows, but at least he has some vacation time he can take. It'll be nice to spend some quality time together when we're not both running or exhausted from the day. Thursday we have an ultrasound and doctor's appointment, and I'm really happy that Tom will be able to go with. Because of work he hasn't been able to make it to any, really, and Orion hasn't gotten to go either. It's too hard to wrangle a two year old when you're laying on a bed with gel all over your tummy. heh This way, they'll both get to go and see our little girl. I'm excited.

The candle party was fun. Five people showed up (which is better than last time) and we had a good time. I didn't get as many sales this time, but that was fine. It was nice just to get together with everyone. My friend Jodi started selling Pure Romance, so I promised her I'd have a show for her as well. We'll do that the weekend after Labor Day and have another reason to have everyone over to play again!

OUCH!

So, apparently, toothpicks are stronger than they appear. Last night I was picking up Orion's room and knelt/rammed my knee into one. Don't ask me why there was a toothpick in my 2-year old's room, but there was. And it went through my jeans...then into my knee about a 1/2 inch. It hurt a lot. I tried to get it out, but couldn't, so ended up going to urgent care where they pumped it full of lidocaine and pulled it out. Then they proceeded to stab me in the arm with a tetanus shot. Yay for me...

We hit 25 weeks last week. It's amazing how quickly time goes!!!! Tom, Jason, and David (Tom's dad) finished the roof this morning, so that's finally out of the way. I have a candle party tomorrow, and that should be fun. I'm hoping I get a better turn-out this time than I did last time.

I've decided to pay Amy $25/week to clean my house. Sure, I could do it, but I'm exhausted most of the time, and Tom doesn't want to do anything since he works his butt off all day, which I completely understand. It's just hard at this point to do it all myself. So, it's worth it to me to pay someone else to do it. It's hard being pregnant and then trying to find the motivation to do anything. Add a very active toddler to the mix and it's almost impossible. I cleaned for the candle party, of course, and finally finished the downstairs. It's SO roomy down there now!! Tom's hoping to move a fish tank down sometime this weekend if Nash comes over early for the party. If not, it'll happen eventually I'm sure.

25 Weeks Pregnant

It's a busy couple of weeks!

Well, we've hit the 24 month mark this week. Yay! I had a growth scan and doctor's appointment on Monday. Our little girl is measuring PERFECTLY and is super freakin' active. They had to wait for her to fall asleep to get a couple of the measurements. I'm going to have my work cut out for me.

I asked the doc about the extreme tiredness and all he said was that it was probably a combination of the heat and where I am in the pregnancy. OK, that's fine, but what if it's not? He hasn't even drawn any blood since I've been pregnant, and on top of wanting to know that everything is fine, I'd really like to know what my A1C is. I asked him if we could do that test, at the very least, because I was curious. He just said that it was probably about 5.2-5.4% based on the growth scan, amniotic fluid measurements, and my blood sugar numbers. Granted, he's an old guy and probably knows what he's talking about, but I'm not the type of person to just take someone's word for it just because they're a doctor. It kind of freaks me out a little. My next appointment is in three weeks, and then we'll have another ultrasound three weeks after that. It'll put me at 30 weeks, so two weeks after that I'll start my NST's and BPP's twice a week.

Monday afternoon I had lunch with some friends from out of town (Phil from California and Tracy from Florida) and then Tom and I had dinner with them that evening. Amanda watched Orion and I got to ride the motorcycle with Tom (though I realize I probably shouldn't)...it was a lot of fun. We went to Red Lobster because Phil had been raving about it and Tracy wanted to try it. Plus, we were close by since we all met at Phil's hotel in Tigard.

Tonight I have a battalion meeting (yay) and hopefully it won't run too late. I may have to stay after and type up some letters since my laptop is toast and I don't have any word processing programs on the computer here. There's only a few things on the agenda and no one has said anything about any training tonight. If we can get the head honcho to keep from yapping for an hour about whatever, we should be good to go.

Friday night I'm going to a bachelorette party, which should be fun. It's apparently a "man hunt"...so whatever that means. Monday night I have a focus group on grocery shopping (hey they're paying me $80) from 6 to 7 and then Tom and I will meet Jeanette and her husband at Old Chicago for drinks and dinner. I'm not sure if we'll take Orion or not yet since more than likely he'll be majorly melting down about that time, but he has been content staying up later these days. Thursday night we have a wedding out at Edgefield for a fellow reserve and his significant other (which is the girl that's having the bachelorette party this Friday) and I've offered to do the pictures for their reception. I'm getting quite the portfolio going!! I'm not sure when we'll take a breather from everything, but it seems to happen this way. We'll either be really busy or not busy at all.

Tom still needs to get the roof finished, but he's been working on it. Poor guy has to do it all by himself at this point, but at least when they delivered the shingles they put them on the roof so he won't have to pack them up himself. There are a couple of boards that he's having to replace before he lays the tar paper down and he started that last night. I'm sure he'll work on it again this evening after we watch Rescue Me (I love "On Demand") and have dinner.

24 Weeks Pregnant

At least it's cooling down some...

Seems to be getting cooler. I'm thankful it's "only" made it into the high 90's the past couple of days instead of nine million degrees.

I've been SUPER tired lately. I'm not sure if it's the heat and being a little bit dehydrated (though I've been trying to drink a lot of water) or if it's something else. I have a doctor's appointment on Monday morning, so I'll ask them to run some tests just to make sure. The doctor hasn't done any blood work since I got pregnant, so I find that a little odd. He hasn't even done an a1c!! It could be anemia, my thyroid, anything. Anemia is easy to fix so hopefully it's just that or needing to drink more fluids.

Holy freakin' man, Bat Cow!

So, apparently, God decided we needed heat and humidity here in the Pacific Northwest. For the last couple of days, it's been over 100 degrees (try 109 and 110) with at least 40% humidity. I'm pretty sure I'm going to die of heat stroke...or dehydration...or both. We have the AC on in the kitchen and about five million fans (OK, only 3) pushing the air through the rest of the upstairs. Even the basement isn't the cool oasis that it usually is. Granted, it's not bad, but it's not great either. I have absolutely refused to cook anything for the past couple of days (and I'm sure today will be no exception since it's supposed to be just as hot). It's not too bad...Monday we had Taco Bell and last night we had Hot Pockets. Gourmet cuisine, dontcha know? The other things I have also refused to do are as follows : cuddle, wear clothes, take a hot shower (they've all been ice cold), and play outside unless the garden hose is involved. Orion doesn't seem to be doing too badly (he's like his father and always cold anyway), so that's at least something.

Tom got a new motorcycle this weekend...well, new to him. His brother Chris has a bike that he never uses and wanted to get rid of, so Tom offered to take it off his hands...like any good brother would do. heh He got it running right again and has been riding it to work. Last night he went for a long ride down by the river where it's cool and said it was a lot of fun. I'd love to go with him sometimes, but of course, I'm not supposed to ride the motorcycle while I'm pregnant...LOL

Alicia and Tim moved out this last week/weekend and in with her parents. Why they didn't just do that to begin with is beyond me, and I'm sure I've pissed her off in some way because she's semi-blocked me from her Facebook. I'm sorry that she doesn't like kids and that 2 year olds get into everything, but that's the way they are. And I'm NOT sorry for voicing my opinion that she treats my brother like crap. If being concerned for my family members is something to be pissy about, then be pissy I guess. Eventually she'll have to learn that the world doesn't revolve around her.

I hit 23 weeks in the pregnancy yesterday! I'm really excited...and next week I have another ultrasound (which I'll have to ask Tim if he's still able to watch Orion for). I love seeing our little girl on the monitor!! And, I know we said we settled on a name (Piper), but I'm not thinking that's going to work for us. Neither of us are super in love with it and it was the default because Abigail was on the Top 10 list last year. We'll see what we end up with, but I have a feeling we'll just say "screw the lists" and go with what we love.

23 Weeks Pregnant

My poor little monkey. :(

So, I got a letter today from the doctor's office stating that because of the way they were storing their vaccines, they fear that they may not have been effective. So, I have to go take Orion in (on the 3rd) for his 1st and 2nd Hep A shots and his pneumococcal shot. This will be the second time he's had them and I feel super horrible. Granted, he probably won't know the difference, but Mommy will!! Perhaps some Starbucks (for Mom) and a chocolate chip cookie (for the monkey) will help make everyone feel better on that day. Plus, what happens if they have the vaccines twice??? That kind of freaks me out.

I'm 30

So, this Saturday I turned 30. Everyone figured I'd freak out about it, but I really didn't. It's just another birthday for me...Sunday I had a lot of fun with Tom. We went to lunch at Claim Jumper and it was really good. It was nice to have some time alone with him. :) In the morning we had gone garage saleing, and that was a lot of fun too. ON my actual birthday, I went to a movie with Amanda. Tom had had plans but Amanda didn't get me back in time to actually do them. Needless to say, Tom was not happy. Then, Mom and Dad were supposed to come up Saturday night, but apparently my dad ruined that, so all in all, the day was a bust...which is why we made up for it on Sunday.

Amanda got me the Aerosmith Guitar Hero and Tom's parents gave me $50. I'm STILL trying to figure out what to spend the money on, but the video game is pretty dang cool. Unfortunately, it's not a two-player game, so Tom doesn't get to play unless we go head-to-head. It's still fun though. ;) I don't feel TOO bad about it though, because at one of the garage sales he got a slot car track and slot cars. He's set them up in the basement and is having fun playing with those. The idea was that he was getting them for Orion, but we all know better. He's such a kid (Tom, not Orion). LOL

22 Weeks Pregnant

We finally decided on a name...

Amazing, isn't it? After weeks and weeks and weeks of trying to agree on a name, we've finally come to a decent conclusion! We wanted a name that was cute, not too common, but not so "out there" that no one could pronounce it or spell it. So....we chose the name "Piper". She'll have the same middle name as Mommy so it'll be super cute.

The next step, is figuring out how we're going to decorate the room. I personally like all manner of animals (particularly giraffes for some reason) and there's also a really cute crib set that's the ABC's/123's and animals. The colors are vibrant and pretty but not girly by any stretch of the imagination, and I think we'll end up going with that one. I guess we'll see when we actually get a chance to start decorating the room. This is, of course, impossible to do at this point since Tim and Alicia are living in that room. ;)

It's weird to be on the downhill swing of the pregnancy now! Less time to go than I've already got under the belt. I think it's a pretty good feeling too, though. Scary, but good.

We've stopped letting Orion use a binky for bed time. That's going OK I guess. He doesn't settle down right away like he did when he was using the binky which means he's up WAY later than he needs to be (either for his nap or his bed time), but he doesn't sleep in any longer so I feel like he's not getting enough sleep. While he can be cranky at times, I figure that if his body needs more sleep it'll eventually make him get it. It's not like I can force him to fall asleep and stay that way.

21 Weeks Pregnant

It's a girl!

Well, now that I've had some time to get used it, I can post. LOL There's pretty much no doubt whatsoever that we're having a girl. I'm excited...and terrified. I'm sure it'll be great though. We don't have a name picked out (not one that we can agree on anyway), no idea how we're going to decorate a girl's room, and are looking for alternatives to frilly and pink. Obviously, we're not "girly"...either one of us. So, in the interest of future shopping trips (shoes, clothes, etc.) when she's a teenager, we're going to make Uncle Jason take her. heh

I've been slacking.

So, last week I was a total slacker and didn't post anything!!! I guess I'll have to catch up. ;)

The weekend before this weekend Tom, Orion, and I went to the beach for the day. Actually, we went down Friday night and stayed...then played on Saturday all day. We even went to the cheese factory! It was a lot of fun just to get away and be a family for a while. It'll be even better when just Tom and I can get away, though I won't complain if we don't get to. My mom and dad have offered to take Orion for a weekend whenever we're ready, so that's awesome.

This weekend was the 4th of July. It was actually A LOT of fun. Tom had Friday off so we hung out and went to the river since it was so freakin' hot out!! Saturday was the holiday and we had a lot of fun that day too. We hung out around the house in the morning, and then around 3-ish we went to Jason and Danielle's for a bbq and swimming. It was really hot out then too, so the swimming was awesome. Orion had fun playing with Rylee and Tom and I had fun just kicking back with friends. I made strawberry shortcake (which was tasty of course) for dessert. Saturday night we went to the house of one of Tom's co-workers. He lives on the river and they were going to be lighting off fireworks. Apparently, the term "illegal" doesn't mean anything to them (or their neighbors) and despite the fact that we didn't got to a "big" fireworks show, we still got to see the huge fireworks...with the loud booms. Orion actually fell asleep during it and stayed asleep until we got him home. Of course, it WAS about midnight when we left, so he was super exhausted.

I was able to upgrade my cell phone last week as well...YAY!!!! I got a BlackBerry...and love it. Of course, when people call it a "crackberry" they aren't kidding. I'm freakin' addicted to downloading ringtones for it! Plus, I don't have to get on the computer to read my email which is nice when we're out and about. I *did* leave it at home and "unplug" when Tom and I went to a movie on Friday night, so I guess I'm not THAT addicted.

Tomorrow we'll have another ultrasound and hopefully (this time) find out for sure if we're having a boy or a girl. Tom can't get the time off work to come so I'm not letting anyone else go with me either. I'm going to be the only one that knows and I'm not sure I won't torture Tom with that knowledge. heh I'm evil sometimes. Apparently the little one is about 6 1/2 inches long and weighs about 10 1/2 ounces...getting big!!! It's 20 weeks (tomorrow) so I'm halfway through!!!

20 Weeks Pregnant

Just a little tip from me to you...

Do NOT go to a nude beach without taking bug spray. This has been your weekly Public Service Announcement.

This Weekend Sucked

OK, so we went to Brooks for Tom's helicopter thing. I had no delusions whatsoever that he would be spending time with Orion and I except for at night and in the mornings when we woke up. BUT, I didn't expect that he would pretty much ignore the fact that we existed this weekend. Granted, I did stay in the motor home a lot reading, but really, what else was I going to do? It still was no excuse for me to have to repeat things six times before he even realized I was talking to him or for Orion to have to cry all the time because he wanted to spend time with Daddy. He could have spent time with Daddy, but it wouldn't have been any fun because the only thing Tom said to him this weekend was "no" and unless Orion was in Tom's direct point of view playing with his tools, Tom didn't say three words to him either. I know he was having fun, and for that I am happy. But it's ridiculous. There's another helicopter thing in September at the same place and I think it would just be better if Tom went by himself. Granted, he'll forget to eat, but he's a big boy and can figure that out on his own. It's just no use for us to go and feel horrible the whole time. Plus, I'll be 7 months pregnant in September and the last thing I want to do is spend all week chasing a toddler and then all weekend trying to keep him out of everyone's hair. And yeah, I understood that we wouldn't spend time together, but when he actually utters the words "I didn't come here to spend time with you and Orion" he just sounds like a douche.

It would be really nice if I could justify a weekend for me, but I just can't see how. I feel guilty when I spend money since I'm not working, which blows. Plus, all the things I like to do they frown upon while you're pregnant. Shooting, white-water rafting, riding horses...there's really not a whole lot my doctor will consent to since I'm already technically "high risk". *sigh*

Orion has learned how to climb over his baby gate, so I'm not sure what we're going to do about that. He came into our room this morning at 2 am and wanted to climb into bed with us. That's all fine and dandy, and yeah, the snuggles are nice, but he is going to have to learn that he can't just sleep in our bed whenever he wants to. We put him back in his bed (well, Tom did) and then he was right back in at 5. Since I'd been awake since 2 (once I'm awake, I'm awake), the second time I just got up myself and let the boys sleep. I've been sleeping like crap lately anyway, so it's not really like I'm missing out on much...lol

I can't wait for July 7th! We'll have our next ultrasound then and hopefully the technician will be able to tell us what we're having. Tom won't be able to come to this one because he's already taken a lot of time off the past few weeks. It sucks, but it'll be fine. He's gone to a couple which is really nice but with his position at work now he just can't get to them all. We were super disappointed that we didn't get to find out at this last ultrasound because more than anything he really wanted to be there for that. It bums me out that he won't be.

I started feeling the baby for sure last week, which was really awesome, and felt it a lot this weekend. Apparently it likes chili. heh

18 Weeks Pregnant

17 Weeks

Well, this week marked the 17 week mark! I'm almost half-way there!!! It's amazing. We had our ultrasound on Tuesday, but the technician sucked monkey balls, so we still don't know what we're having. I have another ultrasound in three weeks (on the 7th), so hopefully we'll find out for sure then. I hate being on pins and needles waiting. The technician didn't even look and said that basically, since I wasn't anorexic, he wouldn't be able to tell. That may have been the case, but he didn't need to put it that way...ya know?

Last weekend was fun. The girls' mom, aunt, and grandma went with us so it wasn't as relaxing a time as it could have been, but it was still a good time. Orion had fun on the beach (it was his first time!) and liked to throw the sand everywhere. He got wet a couple of times but overall, still had a blast. When we were leaving he saw the beach again and said "Beach? Ocean? No beach. Bye bye ocean." He had this horribly sad voice when he said bye bye too. Made me sad and want to take him back out one more time. But, we had the girls with us so that wouldn't not have been feasible or easy.

This weekend is the heli competition in Brooks. We're leaving today around noon and I still have the shopping to do. It's only for a few days, so it's not a lot of shopping, but I need to get the necessities...heh Unfortunately, Tim is parked behind me right now and I can't leave until he gets up or I wake him up...depends on what time it's getting to be. They like to sleep in. ;)

17 Weeks Pregnant

This weekend is gonna rock!

So, this weekend Mom and Dad are using Shelly and Cris' beach house because the girls' birthday was yesterday. It's going to be a family get-away. Tom, Orion, and I are headed down there tonight after Tom gets off work. I'm so excited!! We haven't gotten away together in a very long time, and Orion's never been to the beach. It'll be fun! Then, next weekend we're taking the motor home down to Brooks for a helicopter competition (R/C). Tom's really excited to go and while it's not really my thing, they fly the helicopters at night which is super cool to see. And even if it's boring to me, I get to spend more time with my honey doing stuff that he enjoys, so that rocks.

After I got back last week from my mom and dad's, Tom had arranged for Tim and Alicia to watch Orion while we went out to dinner and a movie. I had a really good time and it was desperately needed. We went to Outback (Tom had the crab, of course, and I had chicken) and then went to see "Up" which is the new Disney/Pixar movie. Yeah. So, those kinds of movies aren't supposed to make you cry. This one did. Twice. Now, in most instances I would chalk this up to pregnancy hormones, but I am not the only one that cried when they saw this movie and the others weren't pregnant. I highly recommend the movie though...it was REALLY good and I laughed much more than I cried. I'm hoping we can get out more often now that babysitting is fairly convenient at this point, but we'll see. We don't want to spend a lot of money because we're trying to save, but we can always just walk around the mall or go to $2 movies at McMenamin's. :)

My blood sugars have been somewhat decent the past few days. In fact, for four days in a row I had awesome sugars and got to put stickers in my log book. heh Then, this morning I wake up with a 127 as my fasting number. What the hell!? I think that's the worst part about being pregnant and diabetic...you never know what you're going to end up with. For instance, I could take my insulin one day, eat a baked potato and have a perfectly beautiful blood sugar number. The next day, I'll take the same amount of insulin and eat the exact same baked potato, and I'll crash in two hours. Still more frustrating is the day that I take the same amount of insulin, eat the same baked potato, and end up at 200. There really is no rhyme or reason to this silly disease when you're pregnant. It blows. I am, however, handling it quite well I think, and even when I'm not at perfect numbers my doctor doesn't seem to mind too much. He's pretty cool.

I can't wait until Tuesday!!! We love seeing the little one on the ultrasound screen. I have an idea of how I'm going to decorate the baby's room, so that's cool, and Tom seems to like it so we'll go with that. We're having the hardest time agreeing on names, which is frustrating, but we have a baby name book now that we're going over with a fine-toothed comb. We'll find something we both like eventually...let's just hope it's not when the baby's five. hehehe

Go to sleep!!!!!

Orion will NOT take a nap anymore!! He won't stay in bed!! All he wants to do is play, which is understandable for a 2-year old, and if he weren't such a little shit when he doesn't take a nap I would have no problem with the no nap thing. Ugh. I feel like the meanest mommy ever every time I tell him to get back in bed. *sigh*

Alicia introduced me to the evils of Guitar Hero. I'm addicted...it's SO much fun!!!!! I'm having a hard time putting it down and stepping away...though I haven't been on it at all today. My pointer finger is numb so I'm trying to see if I'll actually gain the feeling back in it. heh

We've moved into week 16 for the pregnancy, which is pretty cool. We'll have our Level 2 ultrasound next Tuesday (on Tom's birthday) and find out for sure what we're having.

16 Weeks Pregnant

Oh what a week...

So, this past week I was in Salem helping out my mom by babysitting my dad. He is recovering well from his surgery, but that just means he's trying to do more than he should. Throw in the fact that he can't drive for six weeks, and that makes for a very cranky daddy. Maybe "cranky" is the understatement of the century. Between Dad, the girls, and Orion, mine was the most well-behaved of the two year olds. The girls would throw fits (not huge ones because I nipped those in the bud) and Dad would throw fits that rivaled a three year old not getting the piece of candy he so desperately wanted. I actually had to yell at him a few times like I was talking to the girls. He's angry all the time and just plain a pain in the ass to deal with. I was never so happy to be home in my entire life...and I missed Tom terribly.

I'm just over 15 weeks now. Time seems to be creeping by!! They were able to get the measurements they needed on the third try for the first trimester screen, and my next appointment is on the 16th (Tom's birthday). It'll be another ultrasound, so I'm super excited to see the little one again. We should also find out for sure what we're having. They made a guess at the last ultrasound, but since it was so early, we're not taking that as 100%. Tom took the day off of work to go to the appointment on his birthday, so that's awesome. He'll get to be there with me. :) With this being the second pregnancy, me not working, and the position he has at work it's REALLY hard for him to get time off for appointments and ultrasounds. He's gone a couple of times, which rocks, and he'll be there for the big stuff...which is what's important.

I'm trying to figure out how to decorate another baby's room. With Orion is was super easy because we could use his name as a theme (outer space), but with this one, I have no freaking idea what to do. I know I have plenty of time, but even with as slow as the time seems to be going, it'll be time for the room shortly...and I'm a huge procrastinator.

The baby actually looks like a baby this week!!!!

15 Weeks Pregnant

Week 14

Well, I'm officially out of the first trimester as of today! YAY! I went back to the doctor's yesterday for the triple screen test again, and again, baby wouldn't cooperate. I'm going back again today (it's the last day they can get the measurements they need). If they don't get them, then I guess we don't get to do the screening. LOL I'm still feeling a bit run down and I feel like my house is always a disaster (and I've been cleaning it every day). *sigh*

My dad had a heart attack on Friday morning. Mom took him to the hospital and he ended up having a triple bypass surgery on Sunday. The scary part is that once they were in there doing the surgery, they found scarring from a previous heart attack that no one knew about! All is well, however, and they're thinking about letting him go home today or tomorrow. YAY!! God has answered many prayers this weekend. It'll be a long recovery, I'm sure, but he'll be back on his feet and his ornery old self in no time.

14 Weeks Pregnant

The ultrasound tech sucked.

So, Orion's birthday party went off without a hitch. We had a really good time and got to see some friends that we haven't seen in forever. Orion, of course, made out like a little bandit and can't even fathom playing with everything right this moment. The best present, however, was the "big boy bed" from Nana and Papa. It's a "Cars" bed, and they even got him a "Cars" bed set. He transitioned just fine from his crib and it was actually way easier than I thought it would be.

I had my triple-screen ultrasound today. Unfortunately, the tech couldn't see what she needed to see so I get to go back on Tuesday for another ultrasound. If they can see what they need to I'll also have to get the blood drawn that day as well. The technician really wasn't very good. She didn't do anything to get the baby in the right position other than push REALLY hard on me. It was so uncomfortable and hurt a lot. In fact, I'm *still* sore. Stupid lady. Although, I did get a cute little picture of its foot and its alien face. She wasn't able to see the sex of the baby (not that she even tried to look), so maybe we'll have a different tech on Tuesday and get to see then. If they can't see, that's fine too. I have the anatomy scan appointment on June 16th and they'll probably be more than able to tell then. It's on Tom's birthday, so that's fun. Hopefully Tom can get the time off work...and if not, that would suck. He really wants to go, so hopefully he can squeeze it in. Plus, it's on a Tuesday so it should be easier to get the time off (Wednesdays are always tough since there's no on there that day that can take over his duties...heh heh heh...I said doodie).

Everything else on this end seems to be going well. I'm super excited for tomorrow...I'm going to go get my hair done. They'll cut, color, highlight, lowlight...whatever it takes to make me look human again. OK, I look human now, but feel like a super frumpy mom type person. I might even bite the bullet and get waxed too...though I'm super freaked out to do that. It's gonna hurt because it's not the "normal" places that get waxed (ie, legs, eyebrows, etc.). We'll see if I have the guts to go through with it. LOL

13 Weeks Pregnant

Ugh.

So, as of today I had to break out the "fat baby here's your stretchy panel" jeans. I do have a cute little baby belly though. heh AND, I also felt the baby move today a little bit (maybe???), so that's cool.

Almost out of the first trimester!

Well, today is officially 12 weeks...which means the Tuesday after next I will be safely out of the first trimester. This makes me very happy! Apparently, at this point, gender is evident, so hopefully we'll find out at the ultrasound next week what we're having. I keep saying that I think it's a girl, but I really have no idea. I think I'm only saying it's a girl because I'd like it to be a girl. If it's a boy, though, we of course won't complain. My first boy is super easy, so what could go wrong with another one? hehehehe I think I just jinxed myself. I don't think Tom has asked for the time off, and hopefully Tim can watch Orion while I'm at my appointment. If not, Amy said she could.

Things have been going pretty well on this end. My brother moved back from Reno so that's cool. He's been spending a lot of time with his wife and coming by to help us out. I've been doing a pretty dang good job of keeping the house clean, if I do say so myself. Do you know how hard it is to mop your kitchen floor and actually keep it clean while it's wet when all Orion wants to do is walk all over it in his dirty shoes!? And I swear I have to vacuum every day because there's constantly squished crackers or parts of his dinner in the carpet. *sigh* And Tom's happy because he has someone to bitch to about whatever. Yesterday it was because I asked him to run to the store to get sour cream. I swear you'd think I asked him to cure cancer every time I asked him to do anything. It's kind of ridiculous.

Orion will be 2 on Thursday. I can't believe how fast time has gone by. It's really amazing. We're having his birthday party at a park by our house, so that should be fun...and hopefully the weather will be nice (it's supposed to be). All of the usual people will be there, so it'll be a good time, and a bunch of people that we haven't seen in a while said they'd be there too (Ashley, Pam, etc). Pam just had her baby on the 6th, so we'll see if she actually makes it. I'm not sure I'd be up for a birthday party outdoors that soon...hehehe

12 Weeks Pregnant

Middle of the week...thank goodness!!

I'm so glad today is Wednesday. It hasn't been a bad week, really, just long. I'm ready for the weekend and some cuddling time with my honey. We talked over the weekend, and I'm feeling much better. I got some stuff off my chest, which was nice.

Orion's birthday party is next weekend. I'm so excited about that! I still need to order the cake though...Originally, I ordered a rainbow cake from Costco, and was just going to add airplane decorations. Then, Tom and I were at Fred Meyer and we saw a Jay Jay the Jet Plane cake which would be *perfect* for his airplane themed party. We ordered that, and the next morning I called Costco to cancel the cake. No issues there. Unfortunately, that afternoon, the bakery at Fred Meyer called and said they were sorry but that was a discontinued cake that no one took out of the book. So, now we're back to square one. I'm sure it won't even matter what we get...it'll be perfect anyway. :)

Yesterday marked the 11 week mark. I'm almost out of the first trimester! Everything seems to be just dragging by. I know, though, it'll be over before we know it. I'm trying very hard not to be impatient, but I know I kind of am. heh

11 Weeks Pregnant

I feel like a single parent sometimes.

I know I shouldn't get upset about it. Tom works hard so that we can afford for me to stay home and raise our son (and whatever we're having next). I get this. That doesn't mean I feel any less crappy half the time. Tom's been working overtime to make for nice pay checks (which is great) but I feel like Orion never sees him, and when he does, it's for like an hour a day. We *might* get a bath done in that hour some days, but more than likely, we won't.

I'm just feeling quite lonely, I guess. I can't remember the last time Tom and I had a romantic anything much less flowers just because or a note saying "I love you". Then again, Tom's *never* been a romantic guy, so I guess I don't really get to complain about that either. I guess I just don't see why he doesn't get it (or guys in general for that matter). I'm home all day, raising his son (not to mention pregnant with his second child), trying to clean (let's face it, it never gets done), doing the shopping, cooking dinner (unless it's steak which he grills), etc etc etc, and then I'm still expected to want to have sex after everything is said and done (and I feel guilty when I don't want to). Ignore the fact that we don't actually have conversations about anything other than RC stuff, the fish, Orion, or the yard. I have to come up with conversation about what store we went to or how much I saved on the new mop I bought because my day is *really* that boring. Sure, I could go out and do stuff but then I'd feel guilty about spending money, even if it was just on gas to get there. It's like I live by myself with a toddler, except there's a third person to pick up after as well.

Orion and I do get out. We go for walks when the weather's nice and we play at the park or in the green area by the house. It gets us out of the house and Orion really enjoys it, so that's good. Almost every day he says "Walk, OK" because he wants to go play. It's nice that he's that active but I honestly don't know what I'm going to do when the baby gets here...it's hard enough with ONE, much less a toddler who wants to get into everything and a tiny baby. And, Tom will continue to work long hours so that I can continue to stay home...the worst part is that even if I wanted to go back to work, we couldn't afford the day care. So, I guess I really shouldn't complain about that either.

Orion and I heard the hearbeat!

Yesterday I had my doctor's appointment (like I do every two weeks). This time, Orion got to go with me because I didn't have a babysitter. He was SO good even though it was getting to be close to his nap time. While we were there, the nurse got the doppler thingy out and said we could try to hear the heartbeat, but that it was still early so not to expect anything. After about a minute of trying to find it, she found it!!! It was so strong and fast...it really was great to hear. While we were listening, I said to Orion "Do you hear that? That's the baby!" He looked at me like I was crazy and he was probably thinking "What are you talking about, lady? I'm the baby."

The doctor that I had last time that I really liked apparently transferred to Emanuel, so that blows. I finally had found a doctor I liked and he goes and leaves. *sigh* Just about my luck though. His replacement, Dr. Watson, is really nice as well though. He was great with Orion, and very pleasant...took the time to answer my questions (of which there were a lot because I was asking the same questions I asked last time since it was a new doc). He did suggest doing the first trimester triple screen, and that appointment is set for May 20th. They'll do a blood draw and an ultrasound. I'm a little freaked out about it, but I'm sure it'll be just fine.

The triple screen, for those of you who don't know, is a screening process for genetic abnormalities. They tell you what they think the odds of your baby having Downs Syndrome, Trisomy 13, and Trisomy 18 based on the level of chemicals in your blood and what the ultrasound shows. It's hardly accurate, and even less accurate in diabetics, but if the results come back abnormal, they can do further testing. We didn't have the screening done with Orion because it wouldn't have changed our mind about having him regardless of what the tests said. And, we thought it would just be a lot of extra stress if they did come back abnormal. I don't know though. If there WAS something wrong I'd like to be at least a little bit prepared. It wouldn't change us having the baby, for sure, but we could know what was in store if need be. Plus, I want to see the little one on the ultrasound. I'm torn, but I think we'll do the testing. It'll be fine anyway, right?

It's finally a fetus!!

Apparently, today marks the end of the "embryo" stage and now the little 'possum is finally a fetus! It's also reached approximately 1 1/2" long and has gotten rid of its tail. :)

Also today, unfortunately, Orion is being stubborn and refusing to take his nap. I think he's finally getting settled down, so hopefully he'll be out soon. Mommy needs a nap too...I'm exhausted.

10 Weeks Pregnant

Where does the time go!?

So, I can't believe it, but on May 14th, my little baby is going to be 2. Yes, TWO!!! Holy cow...where does the time go? It seems like just yesterday we brought him home from the hospital. I remember him being little, but I can't imagine how little. When I see a teeny baby, I think that there is no way Orion was ever that small. *sigh*

He's grown up so much...talking like crazy and even saying some complete sentences (if three words without structure or proper grammar count as a sentence). I think we're going to get him a "big boy" bed...that should be interesting. I may have to take every toy out of his room until he gets used to it so that he doesn't just get up and play the entire night (which he would totally do). We're also going to have to invest in a baby gate for his bedroom I think.

We decided to make his birthday party airplane themed and have it at a park here in Gladstone. He LOVES airplanes and helicopters (you can thank his daddy for that), so it seems to fit perfectly. My mom actually came up with the idea and that's why she's smart. I was thinking "pirates"....lol I'll make and mail his invitations next week and then start getting everything ready for the party. It's gonna be a blast!!

Since I like posting pictures I'm going to post a couple of the little man. The first is his ultrasound picture at about 5 1/2 months...



And this one is when he was three weeks old with Daddy holding him. He was so tiny!!



I miss my little baby...but I love my toddler too.

Into Month Three!!

Today marks the 9-week mark...yay!! Not much is different than it was last week with us on this end. Orion seems to have developed allergies (the poor guy). I figured I would give it a few days to see if it were just a cold or something, but I'm pretty sure it's not. He's got a stuffy/runny nose, watery eyes, and is coughing all the time (from the snot draining down his throat...ew). He doesn't have a fever though, which is what leads me to believe it's allergies. Well, that and the fact that the children's Claritin seems to be helping immensely.

Even though I'm not really starting to show yet, my clothes are getting tighter in the waist area already. It's really bugging me and now that we have some warm weather, I figure I'm going to have to go buy some new shorts soon. I've only gained about three pounds, so it's not because I'm just getting fatter, thank goodness...hehehe

Here's our picture for the week. It looks a little less like a fish/alien/weird thingy now...OK, well, it still looks like an alien, but a less ugly alien.

9 Weeks Pregnant

Pregnancy Brain Strikes In Full Force

So, I had a doctor's appointment yesterday. Around 2:30 I leave the house, get all the way out to Beaverton, and they don't have me on the schedule. I look in my trusty day planner (which I would go nuts without) and realize that my appointment was at 11:00 in the morning...not at 3:20 in the afternoon like I thought. My appointment the week BEFORE was at 3:20. *sigh* Luckily, they were still able to squeeze me in. I had a different doctor than the ones I had seen before, and I'm pretty sure this is the doctor I'll stick with. He rocks. And he knows my old doctor, so that's awesome. Everything seems to be going well, though my blood sugars are a little wacky. They did some adjustments and everything should run smoothly from here for at least a little while I think.

I mentioned to the nurse that I felt like I was going crazy. She had me elaborate and then had me feel out this little questionnaire thingy. The doctor has decided to place me on anti-depressants, and thinks they'll help with a plethora of things. Lately I just haven't had any energy to do anything, worry about the stupidest things constantly, and am just plain irrational a lot of the time. Tom's also mentioned I've been more on edge lately and all I really want to do is sit on the couch and eat crap. SO...hopefully this will even everything out. I'm definitely OK with it if it makes me feel more normal and there is really no risk to the baby, so that's good. I'm feeling very positive about my doctor/nurse team now, which makes me feel a lot better as well.

We've managed to make it to 8 weeks (and some change). Apparently the little 'possum is about 1/2 inch long. It's got four distinct heart chambers, is developing little webbed fingers and toes, and is even forming eyelids, ears, and it's little nose.

8 Weeks Pregnant