The Sick

First? Let me just say OH MY GOD. I never remember being sick like this before.  Now, this hasn't been the kind of sick where you just cannot get out of bed, its WORSE! I cannot get IN bed!

I got sick somewhere in the beginning of last week. Over last weekend I thought i was getting better. Better meant develloping a terrible cough like nothing i had ever experienced.  My whole belly still feels like it is being ripped apart everytime i cough.  Then there is the sleeping. Ohhhh the sleeping. Or lack thereof.  Basically anything that resembles a reclining position is out of the question with this cough.  The den has become my sleeping quarters for the past 3 nights, (I decided to finally spare the husband the misery of sleeping next to me)  and when i am not sleeping (which is 3/4 of the night) I am planning and constructing new pillow fortresses that may allow me to sleep in a comfortable/cough free position for more than an hour at a time.  Throw in the ridiculous back pain that i have been having in general while sleeping these last few months and you have a great combination.

 Also? you really take for granted being able to take whatever cold medication/sleep medication you can when you are not pregnant.  I finally went to the doctor with the hope that she could give me something.  She prescribed me Codeine syrup. The little bottle looked so promising. Alas, it was nothing but a tease. The doctor said it should help with the cough and help to make me sleep. She also warned I would likely notice the baby get sleepy and move around less. Yeah right. since my last post it has been like a crazy little animal in there, climbing all across my belly, and having parties. The one thing I did notice from the syrup was that I got crazy dry mouth and throat.  I actually started fantasizing about swallowing olive oil to moisturize it. I'm not joking. Yeah that's not normal right?

Anyway,  I am back at work. I only took wednesday off.  Here is something else about me.  I get crazy guilty when I take a sick day.  Whenever i finally make the decision, the guilt makes me think; Am I really that sick? Can't I just suck it up?  This time however, i realized that my clients would probably be thankful that my plague and I stayed home.

I am hopeful that the end of this is in sight. I feel bad also for my little baby who is probably wondering what the heck is going on out here :(

Here, for your viewing pleasure is a photo of my sick den. Notice the skilled pillow fortress design? I will call this the Sleep-Sitting instillation. And that was done in the dark! HAH! I'm so talented.

26 Weeks

Oups.  Things got a little busy around here...or maybe i got lazy.... and missed my 25 weeks post.  I've been sick most of this last week, my first big cold since being pregnant. Ugh, you really realize how much you rely on cold meds when you can't take them :(   Hopefully the light is at the end of the tunnel.

I've still been going to the Chiropractor, and while my sciatic nerve pain seems to have mostly subsided, I am still dealing with the annoying back pain. It's so hard for me to sleep in now, when i have the time, because at that point my back has totally had enough of that horizontal position business. I bought a stability ball so sometimes I use that instead of a chair when I am at the computer, because just sitting in the wrong position is often painful.

Work is getting a little tougher. With standing on my feet all day I need to take more and more breaks to rest my feet and legs.  My varicose vein worries keep nagging at me. I see them starting already and I feel a lot of pressure at the back of my legs by the end of the day. I went to a place to look at support stockings and the first lower priced option made me feel like a grandma stuffed in a sausage. Yes this is my best description. All in all, they made my legs feel sad.  My next option, only slightly better, were far more expensive and I am hesitant to spend all of that money on something that i may decide i hate and not wear. Also, the weather is warming up, do i really want to wear those stupid hot things all day?  I am torn about this. I need to think about it a bit more, going to ask my OB for her opinion at next week's visit.  I realize this post sounds a bit negative, truth is this whole sick thing has given me a case of the blahs. What the husband likes to call me being a "grumpy little munchkin".  I know I have had it pretty easy this pregnancy so far. I consider myself lucky, I really do.  Looking forward to a new week.

How far along? 26 Weeks

Total weight gain? About 16 pounds

Maternity clothes? Still some regular tops

Stretch marks? No

Sleep? See above. Ugh.

Best moment this week? Hmm hard to say since I've been sick all week

Miss anything? Advil cold and sinus

Movement? Not as much the last day or two, could baby be feeling the effects of my blahness?

Food cravings? Not as much the last week. Only starting to get my sense of taste back.

Food aversions? Not really

Labor signs? Shouldn't this be a question for the end of the pregnancy?? no real Braxton Hicks yet

Symptoms? Pretty sure I saw the first signs of colostrum.

Looking forward to? Feeling like myself again!

Parents in training

So this last weekend on Saturday night we babysat for our niece and nephew, Manon and Aubrey.  They stayed overnight so we got a bit of a taste of how hectic life is with 2 kids (and one on the way!)
They were pretty awesome, went to bed really easy, but nevertheless we were pretty tired. We settled down for a movie and then just looked at each other and decided we both just wanted to go to bed. Hahah.  The husband made a comment of how we probably got more sleep with them over than normal, but then i reminded him that if they were our kids, we wouldn't just be passing out at 10, there would likely be other things to do!
The next morning we made blueberry and banana pancakes (sorry, no picture this time) then went for a walk to the park.  My sister in law and her husband came to pick the kids up at 10:30 a.m. and I seriously felt like It must have been mid afternoon! Anyway, we all had fun, it was nice to spend some good time with the kids before our own little one is here to keep us busy!

I love the second photo! Such a cute expression!

24 (and a half!) weeks!

Nothing too crazy exciting happening here this week. So far it has consisted of responsible things such as appointments for getting financial things and investments in order, getting taxes done, and going to the chiropractor to fix my broken self. I have had the urge to bake things lately. Anything really, but have not gotten around to it.  Speaking of which, there are a lot of things that I just haven't gotten around to doing lately. I think I have to get back to making a list of to do's.

How far along?  24 (1/2) Weeks

Total weight gain?  15 Lbs

Maternity clothes?  Still squeezing into some old tops

Stretch marks?  No

Sleep? Definitely not great, although the nightly pee's have decreased

Best moment this week?  Taking a comfort measures prenatal class with the husband :)

Miss anything? Um, being able to pee without practically taking my bottoms off, also sitting comfortably cross legged 

Movement? Feeling stronger kicks

Food cravings? Vegetables. I don't know if this is really a craving or just what my body feels it needs more of now. It's so much easier to eat fruit throughout the day, but (I have been trying to keep to the 2-3 servings a day recommended by my doctor) I would much rather have a plate of raw veggies to snack on.

Food aversions?  Nothing major

Labor signs? No

Symptoms? Think I'm having a growth spurt, or baby is because I have been feeling hungrier and thirstier. Same back pain and now a bit of pain in the tailbone when I sit. Also slightly getting worried that I am getting abdominal separation :(

Belly button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? On

Looking forward to? Going to sleep tonight with my magic bag. Sigh.

24 Weeks

24 Weeks

Its crazy to look back on all of the weeks of belly picks so far. A few weeks ago I felt like I was getting big, now I look back at them and think, my god I look small !

From sand to snow

Sunday night we got back from my best friends wedding is Punta Cana.  We had a pretty awesome time, wedding was beautiful, and the weather was amazing!  It was so nice to be able to just walk out the door with a quarter the amount of clothes on.  The Dominicans seemed to take a big interest in my bump and they liked to give their predictions on whether it was going to be a boy or girl. So far, more votes for boy, although this is mostly based on the old wives tale that you carry all in the front for boys.
The hotel was beautiful, and HUGE.  I should probably be thankful it was and all of the walking involved (my poor feet! not used to flip flops!) since we were eating usually three huge meals a day.....plus snacks.  I am not exactly sure of the amount of weight i gained since the scale I usually use is in need of a new battery (not my fault i swear)  but it seems to be 4-5 pounds in the last week or two. Yikes. Oh well, The eating was worth it..

Here is my 23 week quiz!  The pictures i'll post are from the beginning of the trip, but honestly I think the bump is pretty much the same as later in the week!

How far along? 23 weeks

Total weight gain? About 15 pounds....or close to it

Maternity clothes? Still wearing some regular stretchy or loose tops. Being short has its advantages, tops don't get too short as quickly!

Stretch marks? No

Sleep? Great on the trip! I think it was the bed being harder, but I was honestly waking up with almost no back pain. Amazing.  I could almost make it through the night with no peeing  (from the heat and getting dehydrated faster maybe....?)  Of course the first night I was home It was the same old story. Woke up today with my body feeling broken :(

Best moment this week? The whole week, really. Seeing my best friend get married, relaxing in the sand, sun, ocean. Comfortable sleep. Eating at all hours of the day. Sigh, what more could a girl (especially a pregnant one) ask for?

Miss anything? Not gonna lie, seeing people down those ice cold cervesa's was a little hard to watch. 

Movement? There is a constant party in my belly

Food cravings? Nothing major since i was eating so much variety of things, I was usually able to keep the cravings at bay. A few days i did crave chips though, until I bought a small can of overpriced pringles at the hotel "store".

Food aversions? Overly fishy tasting fish. Surprisingly there was quite a bit of this at the resort.

Labor signs? No

Symptoms? The returning back pain and noticing I am getting sock lines a little easier now....  :(I guess this is the start of water retention?) 

Belly button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? On

Looking forward to? Getting started on decorating baby's room!

22-23 Weeks

22-23 Weeks

Hopefully within the next few days I will get more trip pictures sorted and up on the blog! Lots more to share :)