Smiling Through the Rain

I had my 23-week check-up today with my OB and everything went perfect. Blood pressure is great, no glucose in the urine, belly is measuring 23.5 weeks. She found the heartbeat (in the upper 150's) and got kicked by my baby at the same time. This little one does not like the doppler anymore! On Monday, I'm doing my 1-hour glucose tolerance test. She loaded me up with my lab sheet and bottle of sugary orange fluid. I am SOOO freaked out that this a test I'm going to fail miserably. Yes, I'm still on the metformin, but stupid PCOS increases that risk so much and let's face it- I have been loving the sweets lately. So I'm anticipating having to do the 3-hour test in the near future. But wouldn't it be a lovely surprise if I'd just pass the 1st time??? Because if I don't, you all may not hear from me for a while. I'll be wallowing in my own self-pity pool, envying all of you out there eating your carbs and sweets...

I really can't even believe that I'm 23 weeks pregnant. Actually, I still can't believe I'm pregnant . It still doesn't seem possible. Since I work with my OB/GYN, I can look up her schedule on my computer to check for my next appointment since I never write it down. It still takes my breath away every time I see my name on there in an OB-recheck slot. Seems like a huge scheduling error! Yet, here I am. My belly is growing larger by the minute it seems! I've gained 12 pounds now, which is actually less than I anticipated. I'm shooting for less than 30 total, but we'll see how this never-ending appetite and swelling from the August heat affect me... That, my friends, is the sexy belly that I'm about to be exposing in a bikini on a cruise ship in 11 days! You heard it right- I'm not buying maternity suits. Gil and I are proudly strutting our stuff in my pre-pregnancy bikinis. I've had to look at fat men in speedos at the beach all...

I realized that I've had several new followers over the past couple of weeks and I thought I'd give a recap of what's been happenin' for us since we started TTC 2 years ago. THE BEGINNING: My husband and I started TTC in June of 2008 after we'd been married for 4 years. I'd been on birth control for a LONG time since I'd had irregular cycles forever. Never thought much about it, kinda considered myself lucky . Somehow in the back of my mind, I always felt I'd have trouble getting pregnant. I remember even playing the "what if" game with my husband regarding us having kids. THE OB: When I quit taking the pills, I also stopped having periods. Which equals pregnancy if you're most girls. But not me. So I went to my OB who gave me provera to start my periods. This wasn't even always working so she ran some labwork which came back abnormal. My FSH:LH ratio wasn't right and my testosterone was like that of a bodybuilder. THE R...

Aaron completed his 4th straight OKC Memorial Marathon today! He ran the half-marathon (13.1 miles) in 2 hours, 6 minutes. That's his best time yet and I'm SOOO proud of him. He actually even looked fine after the race like he could have went farther. The picture below was when he passed the State Capitol. It was between miles 3 and 4. Here's the three of us after the race. My shirt says "Future Runner Just Like Daddy". And my sweet husband was considerate enough that even after running 13 miles, he brought me a bottle of water and an orange juice before getting himself anything. He says he didn't want me to get sick. :) Maybe you're saying, where's the picture of him crossing the finish line? Oh, let me tell you... he came in earlier than I anticipated and I got so excited that I fell off the bleachers I was watching from. Even though I popped back up really quickly, it wasn't enough time to get the camera ready. :) Next year, we're both ...

Gil and I are doing great. Lots of movement, belly is growing, weight is heading upwards... Oh, and I've even been sleeping better at night finally. Which I also realize will soon be ending again with the 3rd trimester closing in and then a newborn entering our lives. :) So, I'm savoring it while I can. The reflux has gotten lots better and my heart is even obeying by staying a good rate most of the time. I am mostly posting today to let you all in on a little lesson I learned tonight. DO NOT DROP NAIL POLISH IN YOUR BATHROOM!!! It will shatter into a million pieces, splattering hot pink (the only color worth wearing) polish ALL over the walls, door, and tile floor. Not to mention your legs and feet (somehow missing my toenails...) After Aaron and I scrubbed the mess up, it looks decent in there. If we just repaint one wall, re-grout the tile, and eliminate that door. And dang-it, I loved that color. Aaron offered to replace it but says I have to use it in Wal-m...

I want to thank my friend, Vicki, for making me this adorable shirt!!! I had actually bought materials to make my own this weekend and hadn't gotten around to it. I'm glad I didn't because she did a much better job than I would have and this shirt is SO soft. (Plus it's stretchy, which is a must-have with this rapid growth.) I went to lunch with my friends from PA school today and it's really excititing because 4 out of 7 are pregnant right now. We're all really close together (from 14-28 weeks along) so we'll have a great play-group with our little ones! Next, the back pain is still pretty bad. It's better when I'm lying down, but never goes away. Even after a weekend of doing little, it hurts about the same. Thank you, Catie , for giving me hope that it could actually go away before this pregnancy is over. Aches and pains annoy me because I don't like anything to take away from bonding with this baby! But I've gotten to feel lots...

I was having excruciating back pain yesterday at work (I work on my feet all day) so I called my OB's office for suggestions to try over the weekend. Well, being on the cautious side, they were worried about it being a sign of premature labor so they had me come in immediately. I left my patient's waiting for me after quickly explaining and headed 10 minutes away to our downtown office. While waiting for my ultrasound, it occurred to me that something could be wrong. And my heart nearly crumbled. It was all too familiar of a feeling that in just a few minutes, I could be hearing what I got so used to... Bad news. And let's face it, I can't imagine losing this baby. It's hard to even type those words because it's so painful to think about. Gil is my whole world and everything I do all day centers around him. I try to sleep well so that he/she is rested, I eat good food so he/she is nourished, I work so that I may support him/her. Good news is everythin...

21 weeks... Gil and I are doing well. So well in fact, that I feel like I'm growing larger every single day . How big is this baby??? I have to admit I'm getting a little nervous that this little tyke is working on some kind of world record and I'm not sure how this is going to work out... And more importantly, how long is this tank top going to work out? Finch totally called it when she asked how much longer I could wear the striped one and boy was she right. I busted right on out of that one. My new friend below might not stick around long either. :( If this grosses anyone out, blame my cousin Catie . She requested 21-week belly pics and I can't stand to disappoint her! Tell me what you think- I'm getting some pretty kickin' curves about now, so I think I may be about ready to try out for Playboy. :) If anyone wonders what the view is like from up here, this is it. My toes are barely peeking out from behind that belly. I can still paint them thank goodnes...

After much thought on the matter, we have decided to go on the cruise. I really appreciate all of your advice on the matter and I'm glad to hear that so many of you are traveling out-of-the-country even later than I will be. My doctor has given me the thumbs up since my pregnancy isn't high-risk. Even though it's hard to convince myself of that considering what we've been through. So, I booked it with the travel agent tonight. We did put insurance on it for the 1st time ever just in case we need to cancel. Even though it's only 4 weeks away. We are leaving from Orlando, Florida. We stop in CocoCay, Bahamas; St. Thomas, Virgin Islands; and St. Marteen, Netherlands Antilles. I'm REALLY excited to go to the last two (I've been to CocoCay) and I'm excited for Aaron to go on a cruise since he's never been. Oh, and I've finally been feeling little Gil move around a ton this weekend. (S)he kicked hard enough that Aaron even felt it this morn...

I need advice here. My husband and I LOVE to travel. We go on several trips a year and love to go on beach/sun/water type trips. We would really like to go somewhere in the next 4-6 weeks before this little person joins us. I think it would be good for us to get away and enjoy time together. Plus, I could really use a break from work. But, I'm really nervous about travel. I obviously won't go anywhere past 28 weeks. Our travel agent (who is awesome) has given us a couple of suggestions of destinations in the U.S. we could go to. One is San Diego and we could go to Sea World which I think is super fun. Another choice (my husband is leaning towards) is a cruise to the U.S. Virgin Islands. Now, the good thing would be that if I needed medical care, both are U.S. and have great hospitals. However, my back is starting to HURT after being on my feet for long. And we'd be away from home. For those that have already had kiddos or have made it to the 25-26 week point...

Let's be honest here... I never, ever dreamed that I'd be writing a 20-week-post. Even 10 weeks ago, this seemed like a crazy goal. But yet here I am... and I'm thrilled about it! So forgive me for posting a photo shoot of my enlarging belly and almost bragging about the fact that I'm pregnant. I'm just kinda shocked to be here and I'm so appreciative that I am. This belly signifies everything that I've worked so hard for over the past 2 years. It erases so many of the tears and replaces them with joy. The road we took to get here will forever be a huge part of who I am and who I will be as a mother. And it has made me cherish every single second of this pregnancy. Who knows if I will ever be given this opportunity again? I'm going to soak this up as much as possible! So, without further ado, here's my naked belly in all its ever-enlarging glory. Gosh, I just wish I'd start to show... :) I had to switch to a new tank top this week d...

Dear Baby Gil, I do appreciate that you are giving your mommy peace and quiet and resting like a good baby. However, I've been VERY anxiously awating those little kicks of yours for several weeks now. I've felt a couple of bubbles and one good movement that seemed like you were rolling over in there. But guess what? That's it. And I'm still not positive any of it was actually you. So, I worked really, really hard to get you in there and I'd LOVE the reassurance of feeling you move around. Of course hearing your heartbeat every night is great, but let's get a little more motivated in there! I can't wait to complain about how much you hurt my ribs or stomp on my bladder. Come on, little one, kick me as hard as you can every now and then just to remind me that you're in there!!! Love, Mom

I would like to start by thanking Little Gil for giving Mommy such wonderful new breasts. Very sweet gift and I love them! I'm kinda upset that I haven't always had these delightful curves... The problem is that my bras hurt . Not just a little uncomfortable, but kinda painful. So I tried on bras today and realized that I couldn't even fit in the next cup size either. (I have to admit though that I wanted to proudly walk out and tell the sales lady that I couldn't fit in the 34C ...) So, my question for all of you who have experienced this sudden "enhancement", how much did your milking station grow during pregnancy and when did you have most of the growth? For instance, if you grew 2 cup sizes, did you do this during a certain part of pregnancy? My reason for asking is I don't want to go buying larger bras if I'm only going to outgrow those in a couple of months too. I'd like to know what size these bad boys are going to get so I can plan accord...