Worries

I have a new set of worries on my mind now. I'm worried about my social life in the coming months, and after the baby is born. I know of one other person/couple who have a young child that I'm around socially on a consistant basis. I think it's hard enough for me to be social with my good friends, seeing as I have other responsibilities and different focuses than they do (ie: marriage, home, etc). It's hard enough now to coordinate schedules and agree on being able to hang out. How much harder will it be, knowing that I will have a baby in tow? I don't want my social circle to collaspe, or feel like I'm missing out on even more because of the baby.
I'm sure I'll find other friendships with new moms, but it would be seriously upsetting if my older friendships faded or died because of different priorities and lives. I obviously can't and will not be able to do things spur of the moment any more. Which my unmarried, un-babied friends will be much more ale to do, and may not really want to include me and baby on such adventures. It's all a little complicated. I guess all I can do is hope for the best and see what happens right?

Baby Dudley Is...

Well the day is finally here, and Ken and I have found out that we are having a baby

BOY!!!

 

 

I don't think it has really hit me yet,  that in 4 short months, I will have a son. It still feels so surreal, even though I've been feeling this boy kick for almost a month now. Like is this really happening? I have a son. My baby is a boy. Reality has not hit me fully yet. This is so crazy!! 

I'm a mom, and I have a son!!!

And as I'm typing this, the baby my boy is kicking up a storm. That is such a highlight of my day, I love it. There seems to be so much to do now, with a baby shower, sorting out the nursery and getting the decorations up, moving Andy out of the nursery and into the office, so much stuff to do! Little steps I guess. I am so excited, I know this baby is truly a blessing from God.

Almost 21 weeks

Ok so I'm finally updating. I was nervous about the 20 week ultrasound, but it went well, even though it ran late. It was at St Elizabeth, so I had an intern doing most of my exam. He had some trouble getting measurements and pictures, only because the baby was moving so much! Flipping over completely, doing 180 turns, everything. It took about 30-40 minutes before the intern got frustrated with the baby (hah) and asked the sonographer to come in to finish. The intern kept making me laugh though, he called the baby a turd! I asked not to know the gender right up front, and it was a good thing, because very quickly after he started the ultrasound, it was pretty apparent.
I can't decide what the gender is honestly, I'm not sure if "apparent" means clearly a boy or clearly a girl. Oiy! The intern called my mom, and after some confusion over getting her to answer the phone, my mom now knows the gender and Ken and I still don't know. I'm glad I only have to wait a week, the suspense is already too much! I'm getting the party details together this weekend, so I don't have to stress too much the day of. I'm just excited for it to be Saturday!

Ken also finally got to feel the baby move this morning, after I had breakfast. We were trying last night to get him to feel the baby, but the baby was being a turkey. Even after half a cup of coffee, juice, and a small meal, every time Ken would put his hand on my tummy, the baby would stop moving. Of course! Ken got frustrated/impatient pretty quickly, like after 30 minutes, but I'm glad it worked this morning. He got a big goofy grin on his face when the baby kicked for him.

Now the next step is registering, and trying to figure out how to get Cyndi (Ken's mom) up here at least, for the birth. Money is tight for them in CA right now, so we're hoping to use some airline miles on Ken's credit card to help or completely purchase her ticket. The timing may be kind of hard to figure out, but we'll get there. We still have time.

Baby Dudley at 20 weeks:

9 More Days/19 weeks

9 more days until I have the 20 week ultrasound. And I'm halfway through this pregnancy. Um WOW!!! Crazy to think it's already half over! I'm getting really excited for the gender reveal, and I've definitely been feeling the baby kick, if not every day, at least every other day. Usually in bed when I'm resting before trying to go to sleep. I had some really big kicks tonight while watching tv, which made me laugh and almost cry at the same time. I can't wait until the kicks are strong enough for Ken to feel.
I also got a phone call from the Dr's office, and my triple/quad screen (still not sure which one they did, ha) came back all negative. Good to hear, even though I wasn't worried. 

18 weeks

We had the 18 week appointment today, and it went well. My DR listened to the heartbeat by doppler again, and I had to hold my breath. I didn't hear a steady heartbeat like I had previously, but my DR just laughed, asked if we heard it, then said that the baby was moving a lot! Definitely reassured me today.
Next is our 20 week ultrasound, where they will be checking a lot of the body and systems, and also (sort of) telling us the gender. After that I see my DR again at 22 weeks.

I think I've felt the baby move today. I was driving home, on my way to get gas, and it felt like a bubble popped in my belly, for a second, then it was gone. I'm not really sure what I should be looking for, but from what I've heard, and after talking with Ken and Andy, I'm pretty sure it was the baby and not something else or whatever. Kind of exciting!

Happy

So glad this week is over. It was slightly stressful week, especially at work and with finances. I think I'm going to be one of those lucky women who is sick the entirety of the pregnancy. I'm over it about 90%, but times at work, and if I go longer than 2 hours at home without eating, I feel like I'm going to hurl. It seems to hit me suddenly too. I have another week until my next appointment, which I'm excited and nervous for. I'm glad the triple or quad screen done, I'm not sure which one my Dr said. Neither Ken or I have any genetic abnormalities in our families that I know of, but there is always a chance, which is why I'm slightly nervous. I guess we shall see.

Something made me really happy today though. Ken and I were talking this afternoon, and he placed his head on my tummy. I asked him "hear anything?" and he said "no, just normal tummy rumblings". So I asked him to move down, since the top of my uterus is at the top of my belly button (so says all the baby development websites). I again asked him if he could hear anything, and he said yes! He said it sounded like a sloshing, or when you hear someone moving underwater. How cool! I'm sure he was hearing the baby move in the amniotic fluid, even though I can't feel anything yet. The smile on his face was priceless though, it made me so happy.

Changes to my tummy are still subtle, I can only really notice it is I'm laying on my side, then the bottom half of my tummy feels more round and filled out. Just standing up though, I don't think you can tell really. Still waiting for that tell tale "belly bump".

Almost week 16

So I've been feeling very weird this last week or so. I've been experiencing the round ligament pain more steadily, which I'm guessing is a good sign. And while Ken and I can notice very subtle changes, but I've been having feelings of that I'm not pregnant. I don't look pregnant like any other slimmer woman would at this point, and it's hard to imagine a baby the size of an avocado is swimming around in there somewhere. I'm really trying not to stress, I'm sure everything is fine, but it feels weird. I want to look pregnant. I think I should at almost 16 weeks right? Overall it all makes me worry that something is wrong, and I'm sure that feeling will not go away my entire pregnancy, no matter what I do.
So generally, feeling weird and sort of emotional this week, and trying not to worry or stress too much.
My OB was just slightly concerned that I had not gained any weight yet, and actually lost weight in the month I saw her last. I've been really trying to eat like a pig (healthily of course... mostly) but eating every 2 hours is really hard. It is easier at work, since the kids eat every 2 hours and I get a lunch break, but at home and the weekends is difficult. I'm not used to having to eat this much, so I've been getting annoyed when my tummy rumbles after I just ate something. Weight gain is harder than I thought it would be as well. My bathroom scale is off though I think, so it's hard to get an accurate reading. I think I've gained weight and the same afternoon it says I've lost. Kind of frustrating. Babycenter website said to eat a milkshake every day, it gives you added calories and calcium from the ice cream. If we weren't so broke that would be a great plan!

15 weeks and an update

Ok, so I've been meaning to write for a week now, and up until this moment, I haven't felt the desire or had the time. My 14 weeks appt went well, although it was short. She just heard the heartbeat again with the Doppler, and sent us on our way. We have more appointments at 18 and 20 weeks. 18 weeks is the blood test for genetic disorders, and 20 weeks will be when we (my mom) will find out the gender.
I don't think I've mentioned this yet on here, but Ken and I are doing our gender reveal a little different. My mom will be the only one to know, until we have a gender reveal party for friends and family. She may plan it differently, but I think she will order a cake that will be dyed either blue or pink, so when we cut into it, everyone and we will know. I think it will fun for everyone to guess and see what everyone thinks, and since Ken and I don't care about the gender, it will be a fun way to find out with our loved ones near.

I will be 15 weeks tomorrow (Tuesday), and I've already noticed some changes. It's not drastic yet, but I've personally noticed that my belly is bigger, and I think I am kind of showing, not just looking overweight now. Maybe that's me though, I can't tell. Bending over and down all day for work is getting more difficult already too, I need to learn to squat. I may be in trouble in the coming weeks, haha. Everything is still going well.

14 weeks

I am SO NERVOUS for tomorrow!!!!!

I can picture this appointment going both ways, and I'm trying to keep calm, but the closer it comes to the time (tomorrow, the 26th, at 930 am), I am getting more and more nervous. My symptoms have lessened since 12 weeks, and I know that's normal. I guess I don't feel pregnant yet, because I'm not skinny, so I'm not showing. I have noticed that my belly is slightly bigger, but beyond that, it's a weird feeling. It's almost hard to picture a tiny child, a tiny being, a baby the size of a lemon, who weighs an ounce and a half, is swimming around somewhere in there. I guess it wont feel real until I see the ultrasound tomorrow and see the baby actually there, alive, heart beat strong, moving.

Prayers please, and thank you everyone.

Cravings and Aversions

So this is more for my own documentation, but I wanted to talk about my aversions and cravings I've been having. Last night was the most intense aversion, I was making oatmeal and my roommate left out the jar of peanut butter. It smelled funny and made me go "ugh" but then I sat down to eat, and immediately had to put my bowl down and run to the bathroom. Apparently I can eat it or even smell it now. Which is so sad because I love it! Ken is currently eating a box of peanut butter cheerios I bought because I had one bowl and couldn't continue. My other aversion so far is mustard. I don't like mustard at all anyway, but if it's mixed in something, like egg salad, I'm fine. Not anymore. So weird.

On to cravings: the main ones I can remember right now are fried chicken, wonton soup, and fries of any kind (not together!). My craving for wonton soup hasn't quite been fulfilled yet though, I ordered a carton a while ago, and while good, it wasn't the same soup I remembered eating from my childhood, which was disappointing. And I've discovered that my fried chicken has to be from Church's in Lakewood, other places, including safeway, it's not the same taste at all. At least fries are easy to fulfill.

Almost 12 weeks!!