24 weeks

 How far along: 24 weeks

 Total weight gain: 16 lbs I think.

 Maternity clothes: Yep, everything except for a few t-shirts and very loose shirts. I do have several non-maternity dresses/skirts (like the one in the photo) that I bought for maternity wear because they are loose and/or stretchy. I had to go to a specialty store and get fitted for a new bra, since I had outgrown all of my pre-pregnancy ones (and I'm not a "normal" size). $72 later (!), I have the best new bra ever!

Sleep: Still not sleeping well, and now that heartburn has started, it is even worse some nights.

Food cravings/aversions: Still nothing too interesting to report. I have definitely been a lot hungrier in the last couple of weeks. I'm trying to eat more fruit and veggies when I'm hungry, but sometimes cookies win out :)

How I'm feeling: Overall, pretty good. I'm definitely feeling more pregnant and having more normal pregnancy symptoms (heartburn, sciatic pain, mild back pain - likely linked to shoveling rocks and dirt all weekend!), but things are still progressing well.

 Symptoms: Heartburn, slight limp due to the sciatica, trouble sleeping, and starting to...um...produce (TMI). I woke up last night with intense back pain, and I realized it was because my cat had decided she needs to sleep right up against my back. I moved her, and she came right back. I finally gave up, gave her the bed, and went and slept on the couch!

 Labor signs: Nope.

 Belly button in or out: It is definitely getting flatter, which is really bizarre. My once very deep innie is now barely an innie.

 What I miss: I never thought I'd say this, but running! Even walking up a flight of stairs quickly makes me winded, which never happened before.

 What I'm looking forward to: Seeing our son! A blog friend had her baby boy this week, and it made me feel excited to meet our little guy. I'm also looking forward to finishing up the nursery in the next week or two.

How does your garden grow?

The answer before this weekend was definitely "very well....if you're trying to grow weeds." Since we moved in last summer, the back yard has been mostly neglected except for some lawn mowing and minor hedge trimming. We've been wanting to be "urban farmers," and we finally got down to work this weekend. It was interesting to say the least, with me 23 weeks pregnant and B only 3 weeks post surgery. We were VERY VERY VERY grateful for a few hours of help last night from both my mom and B's mom. They got down to work and made a lot of progress.

First, some before shots:
Weeds. The grey boxes are the planters we bought at Costco, and the wooden one was already there.

Weeds and ivy:

Weeds and overgrown shrub (and a pile of crap the previous owner left behind):

Back of the house flower bed that really needs attention:

And the 6 yards of dirt and 2 yards of rock:


We're definitely not done yet, so the after photos are more of the "half way" photos, but we have made a ton of progress:
Dirt and rock pile:

Weeds gone, weed barier down, planters set, dirt wheelbarrowed in, and gravel spread:

Weeds gone and shrub trimmed. We're going to spread dirt here for now. Next year, if the baby hasn't made us too overwhelmed, the chicken coop will go here:

Back area weeded, trimmed, and ugly bushes removed. Now to figure out what else to plant here:

Pile of debris that wouldn't fit in our compost bin:


We still have a lot more to do:
- Plant veggies in beds
- Plant dahlia bulbs behind beds
- Plant more flowerers in bed that has hydrangeas
- Plant something in bed next to garage where I dug up some overgrown bushes
- Bring in the rest of the dirt
- Finish weeding back ivy corner and plant something there
- De-weed the grass
- Get pation furniture
- Get hose reel
- Tackle ugly parking strip out front with remaining rocks and dirt

Although the list is long, we made a ton of progress and we're thrilled with the way it is going. Tonight we're off to the spa for some massages to soothe our aching muscles!

Mexico recap

It has only taken me a month to finally blog about Mexico. It feels so long ago at this point, and we're already longing for another vacation. We had such a great time. I think every couple needs time to recharge together - away from home. You don't have to always go far, but you have to get away from work, house chores, and the general monotony of daily life.

Went spent a week at an all-inclusive resort in Puerto Vallerta. It was a lovely low-key trip. We spent a lot of time lounging by the pool (in the shade) reading books, walking along the beach, soaking in the jacuzzi on our balcony, and taking afternoon naps. Bryan enjoyed the all-you-could-drink aspect, and for my part they did a great job of making fun non-alcoholic drinks.


View from our balcony:


When you marry a man that grew up by the ocean, he picks up EVERYTHING - much to the delight of other passing tourists.


We passed several baby sea turtles that were making their way out to sea.


I saw my first live sand dollar. They were everywhere. They make a fun butterfly looking print in the sand. I couldn't figure out what was making that mark until someone else walking by said "dig it up" and lo and behold there was a sand dollar there.


Chilling in the hammock (and teasing me at the same time!)


Watching the sunset:


Sunset over the infinity pool:


One day we decided to venture off of the property to check out downtown PV, a harrowing 30 minute cab ride away. Although very touristy, we managed to find some delicious local food. For less than $5 USD, we got 4 tacos and a 1L coke.


We wandered along the boardwalk in downtown and I had to make a wish in one of the amazing sand sculptures.


We even managed a very fun game of tennis. It wasn't easy due to the heat, being out of shape, and me being pregnant, but we had a fun time. Bryan had never played on astroturf before, so we had to give it a shot (ha!).


The resort had a lot of activities that were free, so one morning we joined a group going on a bike ride. We watched some dolphins at the "swim with the dolphins" excursion (sad after seeing The Cove) and then got to hold some parrots. It was a nice way to get out and get some exercise, but it was pretty hot out!


One morning after breakfast we took a walk down the beach to a little tiki hut. Bryan said we'd never make it (let's be honest, pregnant women get tired easily, and us Northerners have trouble with that much sun), but we made it in about 2 hours.


Not a bad place to spend your birthday (even if they spell your name wrong).


All in all, we had a great time. Many people there had tiny kids, so it is a place I'd consider going once the little guy gets here. He wouldn't be allowed in some of the nicer restaurants (where they food was miles better than at the buffet), but that will be our new reality soon! I took my 18w shot while we were there. I can't believe how much bigger I am at 22w! That update to come soon.

Halfway point

This week I hit the 20 week mark in the pregnancy. It is fun to see the progression over time so far.





How far along: 20 weeks

Total weight gain: 10 lbs

Maternity clothes: Mostly. I only have one pair of non-maternity pants (stretchy skinny jeans) that I can still wear. I have several non-maternity shirts/sweaters that I can still wear, but I prefer maternity shirts as they are much more comfortable. My boobs are rapidly outgrowing even the maternity t-shirts though!

Sleep: Sleep? What's that? I haven't slept well for months, and it's killing me. My body doesn't hurt, I'm not anxious, I just can't stay asleep. B bought me a fancy pregnancy pillow that came this week, and it just made things worse. I often end up on the couch, and I seem to sleep better there. I've even stumped my doctor, since I can fall asleep just fine. I used to need a full 8 hours to feel good, but now even 6 hours feels great since it is so rare. I guess I'm just getting ready for baby.

Food cravings/aversions: Thankfully my eating has been pretty normal the entire pregnancy. My only pregnancy "need" has been grape juice. We always have to have grape juice in the house. Odd, since I hadn't had grape juice in years pre-pregnancy.

How I'm feeling: Minus the lack of sleep, I feel really good. I really can't complain, as overall it has been an easy pregnancy.

Symptoms: Besides the growing belly and the kicking baby inside, not many!

Labor signs: Thankfully no. A few round ligament pains this week, but that's it.

Belly button in or out: Still looks normal. I did have to take my belly ring out this week. It looks naked after having been adorned for the past 12 years.

What I miss: SLEEP! The occasional glass of wine after work.

What I'm looking forward to: Finishing painting the nursery this week so we can move all of the generously donated baby stuff from friends and family out of our living room.

B, pre-surgery, painting the nursery ceiling. It's white, but it paints on pink before it dries.


Last Sunday, we got to see the baby again for the first time since 10 weeks.



We also learned......IT'S A BOY!!! We knew it would be, since we had a girl's name we agreed on :) I'm still grasping that we're having a boy. I know nothing about little boys! Time to learn about construction equipment, matchbox cars, and Thomas the Tank Engine. First things first though, we need to come up with a name for our little guy, and that isn't an easy task. Thankfully we have some time still.

Pregnancy makes me sappy

I sit in the chair, watching the nurses and doctors shuffle around him.

In pain, he winces and scoots over on the hospital bed and pats the space he has just made beside him, for me to sit there.

I move next to him.

He closes his eyes as the morphine sets in.

He grabs my hand, because there is a level of comfort that your spouse can provide that no one else can.

As the morphine takes hold, he looks at me and reminds me to “Always take you ovaltine.” I laugh.

It’s quiet for a moment, so he quietly starts singing. He hates quiet. I know the pain is better if he’s singing.

He looks at me and apologizes for keeping me up so late – tells me that I should go home and sleep.

I ask if he’d leave me all alone in the hospital, and he says “Of course not.” I remind him that I’d never leave him alone either.

He looks sad and says he feels badly, since I’m pregnant.

I tell him to stop being silly. I’m fine.

A new nurse walks in, and he tells her that he was tired of me getting all of the attention, so he wanted some of his own. She laughs.

She takes him up to the surgery wing, and tells me where I can wait.

I give him two kisses before they wheel him away and tell him that I love him.

The nurse tells me they will take good care of him.

I love him.

I can’t watch them wheel him away.

There is always a small lingering fear that he won't come back.

A long 2 hours later the doctor comes out.

He's okay, although the surgery was more complicated than they had hoped.

I wait for another hour to see him.

His first words to me? "Hi baby. You should go home and sleep now. I'm sorry for keeping you up."

He's always worried about me.

I love him.

------

He's home now.

Of course, he still doesn't ask anything of me.

"You're pregnant, I should be taking care of you."

Of course, I don't listen.

We all need to be taken care of.

I love him.

I'm happy to have him home.

So is the cat, who won't stop following him around.

They are best buddies.

I guess we both love him :)

Grateful

Today I am grateful for friends that offer to help us an any way we need (we're doing okay!).
Today I am grateful for health insurance.
Today I am grateful for high quality doctors.
Today I am grateful for flexible work schedules.
Today I am grateful for snuggly kitties that are thrilled to have a mama at home.
Today I am grateful that my husband is recovering comfortably from his emergency appendectomy last night.

Last night was a whirlwind. Bryan had been having stomach pains for a day or so, and they were getting worse. We checked into the ER just after 8pm, and by 11pm (after waiting for 2 hours or so to be seen) the on-call surgeon was saying he was "textbook appendicitis" and would be hopefully in surgery by 12am. I think he finally went in about 12:30am, while I fretted (okay, cried - it should be against the law to give a husband informed consent and tell him about 50 times that he "could die" during surgery in front of his 5 months pregnant wife!) in the waiting room and watched episode after episode of Little People.

They came to talk to me at 2am saying the surgery had gone well, but it was more complicated than they expected so his recovery might take a little longer. I was able to see him about 3am, and he was doing well. I waited while they got him settled in his room and chatted with him a little, before I finally headed home and got to bed about 4:30am. Depending on pain control he'll either come home late today or sometime tomorrow. I'm off to see him shortly. I'm so grateful for the extraordinary care he received and how quickly they addressed the situation that we had no idea was so serious. Now he's short one more unnecessary organ and has 3 new holes on his belly. I can't wait to have him back home. It's very quiet without him!

Quick trip

I'm currently snuggled into my Hyatt hotel bed in the middle of a crazy work trip to DC. My boss finagled an invite for me to a Lynch Syndrome (hereditary colon cancer) meeting. It's a 1-day meeting on Friday. So that means I had the 6am flight out today, arrived in DC at 4pm, and I need to be at NIH tomorrow morning at 8am - which is 5am Portland time. PAINFUL after getting up today at 3:45a for my flight. Then she and I fly out tomorrow at 5:30p. It's nuts!

I love DC, and I'm sad I don't have longer here. I would love to have B along with me too. I wandered near my hotel to find some dinner, and I came upon a charming little French bistro. B would have loved it, and although I enjoyed my book and the lovely hostess that gave me extra food when she found out I was pregnant "to nourish the mama and the baby," I missed my other half. It feels odd to try out new places with him. He's SUCH a foodie, and everyone that has ever met him knows that about him.

On the baby front, things are going well. Here's me, rockin' the maternity pants, at 15 weeks last Saturday:


I feel like I look a lot bigger, although I'm only up 4lbs so far. The nausea has subsided, and was brief in duration. I'm still tired, but it is nothing like it was several weeks ago. I attribute most of the tiredness now to the trouble sleeping, which everyone "helpfully" reminds me is only going to get worse. Other than that, I'm feeling very lucky that I'm doing well, and I'm feeling especially grateful to have a supportive husband that is very engaged and excited about our impending life change.

In preparation of the baby, we've been looking at smaller SUVs. While we like our Mazda3, it's small and wasn't a car that either of us loved. Since we share one car, we agreed it was time to start looking around. We drove the Subaru Forrester, Honda CRV, Kia Optima, and sat in the RAV4 (it was too ugly inside to even bother driving). Bryan dragged me kicking and screaming to try out the Chevy Equinox. It is currently the top rated SUV in its class, but I really dislike American cars. After driving it though, this now sits in our driveway :)

So far so good. We decided to lease this time. Our car payment isn't any more than the Mazda was, so we traded straight across. I can't wait to break in the 4WD with our final pre-baby ski trip on Saturday. B said he's even going to give it one more try!