My Bump, My Bump, My Lovely Baby Bump

Well, I'm finally feeling, and looking, quite pregnant. After a wonderful weekend in Cleveland, full of lots of walking and eating, my mind and body were reminded that I am definitely 25 weeks pregnant now.

Left to Right: 12 weeks, 16 weeks, 20 weeks, 24 weeks front/side

My BabyCenter email claims that the mini-Cooper can be compared to a rutabaga this week, but I think my belly is just taking on the shape of eating a sammich the size of my head at MELT.

People keeping asking me how I feel, and I feel sort of bad that I don't have anything interesting to report...

• I did start with the typical lack of energy early in the first trimester. 
• I never had any morning sickness or nausea of any kind.
• I haven't had any acne, swelling, rashes, or other skin- and fluid-related maladies.
• I only had a brief and mild aversion to the smell of car exhaust and other men's colognes, as well as anything that smelled fishy that shouldn't smell fishy (i.e. not fish).
• I haven't had any weird cravings, per se, but I should have bought stock in dairy cows; I can't seem to get enough milk, cheese and ice cream.
• I just started to have the occasional bout of heartburn, which supposedly can be attributed to the baby growing hair (and, hair does determine texture and color right around 25 weeks).
• For now, weird dreams and "pregnancy brain" seem to come and go.

...and that's about it. I'm still working out twice a week with a trainer, and doing prenatal yoga once at week at the local women's hospital. I keep waiting for the proverbial other shoe to drop but, as the wise and positive Meredith said, "There doesn't have to be another shoe."

In other news, we're keeping busy with writing our will, prepping the nursery, learning CPR, and finishing the long process of settling in to the house (I promise there will be before/after photos after the last piece of art is hanged and the nursery is finished).

One year ago tomorrow, we arrived in Pittsburgh after a week-long drive from Arizona. Since then, we:

• Planned a wedding
• Helped my parents finish rehabbing one camp and building the other
• Got married
• Got me a job
• Bought a house
• Got pregnant
• Got Matt a job

The title of this blog site is "There's No Place Like Home"; and, if I would have closed my eyes and tapped my heels one year ago, I might have found myself in exactly the same place. Life is good.

The Gender Games

As of today, I’m almost 23 weeks! More than halfway – yay! 

Baby at 18 weeks

At this point, the baby is done developing and I can now expect to see significant growth spurts and weight gain. Fun fun. By now, the baby could be growing my red hair and developing Matt’s blue eyes but, more importantly, the baby has definitely decided if it’s going to be a boy or a girl.

Since we’re not officially going to find out the gender of our mini Cooper, I thought it might be fun to test some of the most common wives tales for predicting gender (Parenting.com: www.parenting.com/gender-predictor; and, BabyCenter.com: http://blogs.babycenter.com/mom_stories/at-home-gender-prediction-tests/)

Be Still My Beating Heart

Next time your OB pulls out the Doppler to listen to baby’s heartbeat, ask her to tell you what the heart rate is. According to legend, 140+ beats per minute indicates a girl, and below 140 a boy.

We have yet to record a BPM less than 150...  It’s a girl!

Sweet and Sour

Craving ice cream every single day? Some people believe this means it’s a girl. If you have to have salty or sour stuff, then it’s a boy.

It’s not just ice cream – these days, I’m all about dairy in its many magnificent forms...  It’s a girl!

Chinese Birth Chart

This ancient method uses your age at conception and the month you did the deed to determine gender.

I was 31 when we conceived in October 2011...  It’s a girl!

Potty Time

This one’s a little out there. Pee in a cup (you’ve been doing it at all your prenatal appointments anyway, haven’t you?), mix a tablespoon of Drano in, and watch to see if it changes color. Green = girl, and blue = boy.

I find this one to be a little strange – perhaps less of a wives tale and more viral Drano hype. I went to the bathroom feeling like Bill Nye the Science Guy – alas, it was a bust. We got nothing more than frothy, pee-colored foam. Gross!

Even and Odd

Legend has it that the Mayans determined a baby’s sex by looking at the mother’s age at conception and the year of conception. If both are even or odd, it’s a girl. If one’s even and one’s odd, it’s a boy.

Well, both by age and the year of conception are odd, so...  It’s a girl!

Unlocking the Mystery

This is one for a friend to try. Place a key in front of your preggo friend and ask her to pick it up. If she grabs it by the narrow part, she’s in for sugar and spice and all that. If she picks it up by the round part, it’s snips and snails.

We weren’t sure how to pull this one off, since I would know what Matt was doing if he dropped a key in front of me. Luckily, pregnancy brain helped us out. I actually picked up a single key, on my own, without realizing what I was doing. Ta-da! … It’s a girl!

Spot On

If you’re breaking out like crazy, blame it on your girl babe. The belief goes that girls steal their mother’s beauty, hence, those annoying zits.

No zits, spider veins, pregnancy mask, or any of the other odd and horrifying skin-related side effects of pregnancy...  It’s a boy!

Nice Ring to It

Pop off your wedding ring -- if you still can! -- and tie it to a string. Hang it over your belly. If it swings in a circle, a little guy’s in your future. If it goes back and forth, you’ve got a girl.

This felt 100% like an old wives tale, akin to not swimming after eating and itchy nose fool kissing; however, after trying two strings and each of us holding it, there was a noticeable and distinct back and forth movement to the string each and every time – which means…  It’s a girl!

Queasy Does It

Sick as a dog during the first trimester -- or still? Signs indicate you’re having a girl. Little or no morning sickness points to a boy.

I had not a hint of morning sickness or any general queasiness at all...  It’s a boy!

Snap, Crackle & Pop

Put enough baking soda into a cup to cover the bottom, then pee into the cup. If the baking soda fizzes, you’re having a boy, if it doesn’t react, a girl.

I guess I will retract my thoughts about Drano – maybe this is all about pH balance and chemical interactions? (My science-inclined friends are welcome to jump in here.) Nevertheless, after a clear non-reaction, drumroll please…  It’s a girl!

The Cabbage Patch

Cut one red cabbage into chunks, boil for 10 minutes, then set aside. Head for the bathroom, and pee into a cup. In a separate cup, mix 1 part urine with 1 part cabbage water. If the water turns pink or red, this indicates boy. If the water is purple, it’s a girl.

I have to say, this was pretty gross. First of all, when you boil red cabbage, you automatically get purple water to begin with. As doubtful as I was, the cabbage pee water turned red! All vegetable disclaimers aside...  It’s a boy!

Quiz Show

And just because I like lists, I tried a quiz too. The questions were somewhat similar to the wives tales, just listed in fun little poems. My result was 60% chance of...  It’s a boy! 


So, for those of you keeping score: That’s seven predictions for a girl, and four for a boy.

What do you think the mini Cooper will be: BOY or GIRL?

Some random thoughts before I lose my mind to "pregnancy brain" ...

Time for a little update…

As I type, I’m 19-20 weeks along.  I’ve been told that “pregnancy agrees with me” – I guess all those jokes about have “child rearing hips” and “being big boned” and “made for having babies” are starting to prove positive for us.

I escaped my first trimester with not a hint of morning sickness, or any kind of nausea for that matter. I had a slight sensitivity to smells, but nothing that made me sick. About the only negative thing I can report is a runny nose and a penchant for sneezing at 20 times in a row at least once a day. So far, I’ve only gained 2-3 pounds, so I’m sort of waiting for the other shoe to drop. Or, maybe I’m carrying around a little mini-me, who will be born too early and very small. 

We have an ultrasound on Saturday, so another photo will be coming soon. And, no, we don't want to know the gender. We're both completely okay with the idea of having a child together and, until we meet our bundle of joy for the first time, I can't really say if I truly "want" a boy or a girl. I just want a happy, healthy family.

I did have a bonafide chest cold a few weeks ago, which isn’t fun at all when you’re pregnant. Fortunately, I was far enough along that I could take a Z-Pak. I was down and out for a few days, though being genuinely sick might have been just what the doctored ordered. After a last minute road trip to DC for my company’s winter briefing, contact with 400 people, being on my feet for three days, and getting absolutely no sleep, suddenly being relegated to my pajamas and the couch and bad reality TV didn’t seem so bad.

The house is coming along, slowly but surely. Nearly everything in sight is finished, though we are using the nursery as the final resting place for what remains to be sorted. We’ve been jokingly calling it the “nursery hoard.” Once we get those last few boxes of stuff put away—and, I’m not kidding – most of the boxes actually say “stuff” on them—we’ll be tackling the last and most enjoyable part of moving in: hanging our art. This has been my favorite moment in every place I’ve lived, and I’m sure it will be just as satisfying to finally see the walls of our home warmed up with the pieces of memories we’ve both collected and purchased over the years.

I’ve also been working on the baby registry. Baby registry. How weird is that? One day, you’re adding “must have” books and CDs to your cart; the next, you’re trying to decipher what exactly it means to have the “best” crib mobile and choose between swaddling clothes and figure out how many BPA-free pacifiers we need. It’s extremely fun, though, to be picking out Buckeyes’ onesies and tiny little hats and mittens and socks. I think this one is my favorite so far:

 

The nursery is sort of complete in our heads, and needs to be pulled down from style heaven. We have a hand-me-down crib that just needs some lovin’, plenty of beautiful re-purposed furniture, and have already sold a pile of our duplicate books to start our stockpile of classic children’s books. I’ve dropped about 1,000 hints to my parents that I want my mom’s bentwood rocker that she rocked me in. My dad recently informed Matt that I’ll have not one, but three choices of rockers, which, if you know my dad, seems somehow exactly apropos.

Otherwise, Matt and I are just plodding along, trying not to fret too much. Every once in a while I think the both of us temporarily panic about our child having some horrible disease of deformity. And there’s nothing very comforting about the idea of paying bills, PLUS a mortgage, AND the never-ending list of obligations that come along with parenting. At the end of the day, we are very much in love with each other and our new home. Honestly, I’m only worried about two things:

1. How we’re going to juggling three jobs between the two of us and raising a child
2. The cats jumping into the crib

Everything else will work itself out.

It's a bird! It's an alien! It's a baby Cooper!

For those of you who aren’t on Facebook or our speed dial or close enough for word of mouth…

…I’m pregnant! I’m due July 11, feeling incredibly healthy, and more than just a little excited. 

So much has happened since my last post. We limped our way through Thanksgiving and Christmas, and were able to be with the people we love the most. Moving closer to family was such a perfect decision. The holidays were a great time to be around friends and family, but we also had so much more going on, it felt pretty crazy at times. With two full-time jobs, I was working 70 hours some weeks. Matt started a new job at a company that provides specialty pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical products, related services and targeted therapy management programs. And we were slowly, slowly telling folks about the bun in my oven. We broke the news to just our immediate families over Thanksgiving, and told the rest of the world after New Year’s.

After spending the worst week imaginable at the home office for job #1, I rushed home to finish up the semester for job #2. I had a few days off and then started with ASU’s spring semester, but this time with only two sections instead of four. 40 students versus 80 is a huge difference! Matt is settled in at the new job, still learning the ropes, but getting better every day.

I’m working out with a personal trainer twice a week and doing prenatal yoga. Matt is ready an expectant father book, and I’m following the growth of our newest family member via the wonderful BabyCenter emails. We do not plan on finding out the gender, but are already compiling a list of names for both. We kind of like the idea of meeting the little one before deciding. We’ll see how that goes!

In other news, I’m part of a 3-pronged pregnancy study, which provides a little extra money, some extra oversight for the baby, and a free Graco car seat! We have plans to go see the Suns play the Cavs in March. I’ve never really explored the Cleve, so I hope to visit with friends, eat good food, and have a nice local weekend vacation. We’re looking into maybe attending a Buckeyes basketball game as well. I guess focusing on sporting events is just a fun and easy way to bring out the road warriors for a weekend. We hope to take a little “babymoon” sometime in June, and maybe maybe do something relaxing for my birthday on July 5…if there’s no baby yet!

Otherwise, we will spend my second trimester finishing the never-ending task of unpacking, which was nearly impossible during our the hectic chaos that was November and December. As soon as we’re settled in, we have to get started on pulling together the nursery. Luckily, Matt already did some work on the room, stripping out the ugly chair rails and patching the walls, before painting it a comforting shade of campy green. We’d like to freshen up the ceiling and trim, and breathe new life into the built-in bookshelf. A friend of ours has a crib, we have a few odd pieces of furniture, and my parents have a stash of antiques that we might raid. I have confidence we will create a warm and loving space for baby Cooper.

We send our love to you and our home will soon be in shape to have open doors for visitors. We hope that you all are enjoying a happy and healthy start to 2012. Hugs!

1-Year Ago Today...

...I had back surgery.

Before surgery, I had the worst year of my life. I was in pain every day, which was just icing on the cake for a number of personal and professional issues. In fact, when I first arrived in Pittsburgh, I got ‘2010’ tattooed in Roman numerals on my wrist, so I could always remember that I made it through such a rough year, as a stronger and smarter person.

Since surgery, everything has changed. 

In April, my husband (then fiancée) and I quit our jobs and moved back east to Pittsburgh. I was deemed “fused” at an ortho here during my 6-month follow-up appointment. I finished eight weeks of physical therapy merely days before we left for our 2-week wedding extravaganza in up-state New York. We were married July 30. Shortly after Labor Day, we found the house of our dreams, and became homeowners in mid-October. Throughout the late-summer and early-fall, we took three mini-honeymoons. And, now we are embarking on starting a family of our own.

And I have done all of that without being in pain.

I was lucky enough to have a talented surgeon, Dr. Doerr, who is generally a wonderful person. From my first appointment to my last post-surgery follow-up in February (before we left AZ), I was treated with respect and kindness by Dr. Doerr and his staff. Every step of the way, I was comfortable and informed – two essential coping mechanisms. I even was able to help a teenage acquaintance here in Pittsburgh through her own journey with the same surgery by passing along some of the same information and wisdom I learned during my experience. I am incredibly happy that the path I took in 2010 lead me to Dr. Doerr. 

Today, I am whole again. Literally.