It's Friday!

Thank goodness I made it to the end of the week. It has been a long one for some reason! I have been feeling good, just a bit tired from work stress this week. There is no change at all with my leg vein over the past week and the support stockings don't seem to be helping much. They actually just feel like regular tights to me and I have to deal with pulling them up constantly which is so much more annoying than a sore leg! Luckily my mom is going to lend me some thicker- better support stockings to try out. Thank god it's not summer time! I can't imagine wearing those things in the heat!

We had a wonderful visit on Sunday with R, S and baby B. We went to lunch and then they came to our house for awhile afterwards. It was really nice to spend time together again. I was holding baby B at the restaurant for a short time and then it hit me "Wow- 4 kids would be really, really hard." I never figured it would be that hard but with Morgan and the 2 boys on my left and a baby in my arms, it was quite the juggling trick! (Sorry Amy- I know you are about to have this yourself so I am certainly not being negative for you- you have much more patience than I do!)

It was a fun time to see them all again and see how much their son is growing already. Although he still looks like a newborn compared to our baby- Morgan!

We also added to the family this week ourselves with a new kitty! The kids have been wanting a pet again ever since we lost our cat of 14+ years in the fall. They are so excited to have a kitten to hold and love again. Luckily, she seems pretty open to the kids picking her up constantly.

We are hoping to schedule another get together in February with R & S and will need to figure out what will work in our schedules. Unfortunately, Al is going on yet another business trip in 2 weeks which will make my life so much more difficult. I am already praying it doesn't snow that week!!!!

Our next Dr. appointment is Monday, 2/9 which will be the 27.5 week check up and the yucky glucose test! I am not looking forward to that drink again. EWWWW!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Dr. Appointment Update

I had my appointment on Monday for the monthly check up and here is the latest update at 23 weeks:

Most importantly, we had a quick ultrasound to get photos of the babies heart since he was moving too much last time to get clear shots. The ultrasound tech verified that the heart looked perfect- all 4 chambers were there and functioning normally. He also reconfirmed it is in fact a boy so at least there is no question left for R & S. The baby's heart rate was ranging from 147- into the 150's which is exactly where it should be. The baby is currently breech but I really don't think that is concerning this early. Here is the picture from the ultrasound with the little guy posing. Sorry, it's a bit small.






I gained 6 pounds since last month which isn't too bad considering I ate many, many sweets over the holidays! I was thrilled to have the woman dr. check me this week because I had to drop my drawers and bend over to show her my hideous vein on the back of my leg! She said it is quite common in pregnancy but said I need to buy support/ compression tights to wear all the time- except during sleep. I also need to elevate my leg whenever possible and use a heating pad if it gets too sore. We just need to keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't get swollen or have red streaks coming off of it. If that happens, they would need to ultrasound my leg to make sure I don't have any blood clots. Isn't it strange that nothing like this ever happened to me before? I guess this is just someone testing me from above to make sure I was as committed as I said I was. :)

Besides the blue snake crawling down my leg- I feel pretty good. The baby is kicking all the time and loves to do flips. R & S- I think you should enroll him into baby gymnastics right away!

We are looking forward to a family get together with R & S and baby B with all of us on Sunday. It has been awhile since we have seen them and it was hard to keep in touch over the holidays with everyone's crazy schedules so this is an exciting visit to look forward to! I really want to spend as much time with them over the phone/ email/ and in person as possible before the baby arrives. I truly feel like it will not only help with our friendship bond, but will also make the whole process smoother and happier for all! I hope the little guy will show his strength that day so they can feel a couple kicks.

Snap, Crackle, POP!

Well, it happened. My tummy has finally popped! It is bittersweet because I was actually liking the fact that I wasn't showing until now which has truly been a treat. But of course, I knew it was coming. We will be 23 weeks tomorrow so I guess I should be thankful. I have been wearing maternity clothes for the most part but luckily I have been off of work for awhile with the holidays so I have been enjoying the lounging clothes instead. It is going to be hard to get back into business attire next week for sure! I am a bit nervous now that I am officially showing of what reactions will be from people when they start asking questions. Of course all of our friends and family know, but I am thinking of people I know from my industry that I only see periodically or people that are casual friends at the gym. I just really don't feel like going into a long explanation to justify my decision here every time someone asks me "Oh, when are you due?" Let's just hope people will have a positive and supportive reaction so I don't feel like a freak show.

The little guy is kicking, flipping and moving like crazy! He is very active throughout the day, but still mostly at night between 8-10pm. The kicks were even strong enough last week for Al to feel a bunch of them from the outside. Hopefully R will be able to feel some too at our appointment on Monday morning (although I think that is usually baby sleepy time so not sure if it will happen.) We are also scheduled for another ultrasound to get better pictures of the heart since he was moving too much last time. Then of course is just the usual 4 week check up and weigh in. This one will be a doozie I am sure considering I have been binging on sweets for the past 4 weeks!

I feel good for the most part but unfortunately have been having a lot of bad stomach aches lately (similar to the first trimester) and then to top it off I am starting to get really tired. I never had that pregnancy exhaustion in the first trimester this time but boy am I am making up for it now. I pretty much need an hour nap every day lately which is obviously not going to work when I go back to the office next week! My other problem with the nasty varicose vein has actually gotten worse if you can believe that! It is spreading and just plain disgusting! I can't wait to ask the dr. about that on Monday.

Well here it is, my first official belly shot which was taken on xmas day. I hope my husband is not too freaked out watching me get bigger daily. It is so different this time of course because before, we could both justify it as me carrying our child. But now, I am carrying for someone else and I think the weight gain is a lot harder to accept for both of us. Of course he hasn't complained yet about it but I do feel more self concious this time around for sure.

More updates to come after next week's appointment.