26 weeks!

How far along:  26 weeks (forgive the mess!)

Size of baby:  Lettuce. I'm having a hard time visualizing that.

Weight change: Not sure. I didn't weigh myself this week.

Maternity Clothes: Yep, I'm still in combo mode. Most of my pre-pregnancy shirts still fit and I'm 100% in maternity bottoms.

Stretch Marks: No, but I'm sure they're coming.

Sleep: What sleep? I live off of coffee at this point.

Symptoms: Nausea is still pretty bad. Some days I feel like I'm back in 1st tri. Gagging and dry heaving and I'm not happy about that. Speaking of 1st tri, apparently my hyperemesis and the excess throwing up that came with it caused quite a bit of tooth decay issues. Nothing like going to the dentist and being told you have 4 cavities. Awesome! Most of my shoes are uncomfortable too. I'm not sure if it's pregnancy related or the fact that it's hot and humid. Also, my belly button hurts like hell. I think the lap surgeries have worn it out and it won't pop.

Best Moment of the Week: Lots of fun nursery stuff this week! On Sunday, we ordered the crib and dresser. It's going to take 8-10 weeks to get here so that'll be fun putting together when I'm near full term. We also ordered our area rug for the nursery and it's so pretty! We also finished up our registry together with plenty of time to spare. Let the shopping begin!

Miss Anything: I finally miss sleep more than liquor. Although, I had a moment when my wine club called asking if I wanted to renew my membership. Insert sad face here.

Cravings/Aversions: I've wanted a chocolate chip cookie for a couple of days. I had the same craving last week but when I went to Starbucks, I also picked up a brownie and chocolate graham cookies. I ate all of it to on my way back to the office and had the mother of all stomach aches later. Needless to say I'm reluctant to get another cookie.

Showing Yet: Yep. I'm at that stage where people think it's okay to just touch my belly uninvited. Yesterday my hygienist pointed out that my belly looks like a soccer ball then proceed to touch, rub, and give it a shake like it was going to drop from under my shirt. Oh people...

Mood: I'm okay outside of the nausea.

What I am Looking Forward to: Birthing classes! DeeJ and I are going to an all day class tomorrow. It'll be fun to see other pregnant people in person. We might even make some friends!

Week 25!

How far along:  25 weeks!

Size of baby:  Cauliflower? Meh, my stomach is a little lumpy this week so I guess it fits.

Weight change: 6 pounds

Maternity Clothes: Hell yeah. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Stretch Marks: Nope

Sleep:  Still little sleep. I have trouble getting comfortable, even with piles of pillows under me. The cats don't help either. They want a piece of the pillow fortress too.


Symptoms: Lots of nausea this week and Braxton Hicks. I've had BH for a couple of weeks now, but it seems a little more intense this week. I'm also starting to have really bad lower back pain and my feet start hurting after walking for 20 minutes. Derek insists that I start getting prenatal massages twice a month. I'm going to take him up on his offer.


Best Moment of the Week: Getting to see Baby TeeJ on Thursday! She was sleeping with her back towards us so all we got to see were her really long legs and her strong and beautiful spine. At 24w5d, she weighed 1 pound and 12 ounces. She's getting to be a big girl!

Miss Anything: Still liquor, but I also miss being able to move about freely. There are so many tight spaces I used to fit myself into and I can't fit anymore, but I seem to find that out the hard way. One of my co-workers put it best; it's like being a cat without whiskers.

Cravings/Aversions:  Last week I listed cravings but forgot to talk about aversions. I definitely have my share. For example, at my office, the hand soap in the bathroom makes me want to puke. It just smells God awful. It's so bad that when I leave the bathroom, I go to wash my hands a second time in the office kitchenette. I also gag on cue when I smell fried foods (which breaks my heart... I love fried shit!), and sugar. So sugary drinks and foods are often off limits because I can't take it. Zofran is still my friend and it helps a lot. Seriously.

Showing Yet: Yep. People remind me every day.

Mood: I'm good! I think it's mostly because I'm on vacation until the 30th, but hey, I'll take it!

What I am Looking Forward to: My next appointment as usual. I was supposed to go back in 3 weeks which would put me as just shy of 28 weeks, but my OB is on vacation. So I'll be 28 weeks and some change when I go back for my Glucose test, Rhogam shot and whooping cough vaccine. Yay! More needles!

24 weeks! Which means... It's V Day!

So I've actually never done one of these check-ins before. Let's see if I can keep it up!

How far along:  24 weeks! We're officially at our viability date!


Size of baby:  Cantaloupe (Random fun fact: My family and I are from the Caribbean and DeeJ makes fun of me for hating cantaloupe. He calls a a staple island fruit and thinks it's crazy that I don't like it.)

Weight change: ~+5 pounds


Maternity Clothes: Yep, but mostly pants. I have a few shirts that I wear because I think they're cute though.


Stretch Marks: Nope


Sleep:  Or lack thereof. I get up about 3-4 times a night to go to the bathroom so I can be a cranky pants in the morning.


Symptoms: Mostly tired and still low energy. Both sides of my hips hurt while trying to sleep even with my Snoggle and another pillow. I have backaches when I stand for longer than 20 minutes and high heels are not my friend anymore. I also have random cramping in my calves.


Best Moment of the Week: DeeJ finally felt her kick! It was so awesome, especially since I've been trying to get the timing just right for a few weeks now.


Miss Anything: LIQUOR. I still stare at the 2 bottles of bourbon I bought 4 days before my BFP. I can't wait to crack those suckers open.


Cravings/Aversions:  Not too many strange cravings. Mostly stuff with bread and cheese. People around me, including DeeJ, find it odd that I don't crave things like sweets or eat at all sorts of foods. Ah well.


Showing Yet: Oh yeah... I'm all belly.  


Mood: I'm ok. I'm still anxious at times, but I *think* I'm finally starting to relax a little. 


What I am Looking Forward to: Seeing our baby girl at our appointment on Thursday! It's only been 4 weeks since the anatomy scan (which was perfect by the way), but it feels like an eternity.

Save the drama for yo Momma

Oh Mom...

So I'm going to start from the beginning. Last week, DeeJ's Mom offered to help us with the cost of Baby TeeJ's furniture. Sweet! After some urging from DeeJ, we finally started registry shopping as of last weekend. We went to Buy Buy Baby and Babies R Us. I kid you not when I say I have never, ever, been in either of these stores before. Why didn't anyone tell me those stores are like the Costco of baby stuff? Seeing the rows and aisles or tons of stuff, looking like a warehouse made me exhausted on sight. But, we went through the store taking note of what we wanted so that we could read reviews later. Eventually at Buy Buy Baby, we found the crib section. Holy balls are those things expensive or what? Anyhoo, one crib stood out. It was perfect and I loved it pretty much instantly. DeeJ agreed so we took note and kept it moving.

When we got home, we checked out our list, reviews and made a decision. We found our baby furniture! DeeJ immediately called his Mom, she said yes to helping us out and we're good to go! Right? Nope. Insert my Mom here...

The next day, I'm on the phone with my Mom and she asked what I was up to. I told her I was starting the registry. We started talking about the all of the things we saw and what I MUST have. A nice, joyful conversation that took a nose dive. It went a little something like this:

Me: Oh! We also picked our the baby furniture! Dresser and crib! And it's a convertible so we're getting the rails too!

Mom: That's great! Was it expensive?

Me: Not really. But we were nervous because when we told DeeJ's Mom the price, we didn't think she would still help.

Mom: <<crickets>>

Me: Hello?

Mom: Yep.

Sigh... My Mom is upset because she feels excluded. Okay. So I let her know that DeeJ's Mom's gesture was a complete surprise. Unfortunately, she really believes otherwise. Like we called his Mom and took her shopping with us. Okay. So how do I fix this?

Me: Well, I'm sorry you feel excluded. That's not how I meant for it to come across. There are still lots of things left for the baby's room that we can have you look at. Or what if we split it? His Mom gets us one piece of furniture and you get the other piece.

Mom: <<crickets>>

Me: Hello?

Mom: Yep

Followed by more silence then...

Mom: So what am I supposed to pay for? The party?

Oy... At this point, I give up. DeeJ overhearing my end of the conversation says in the background, "I don't care who pays for what. Your Mom and my Mom figure it out because it's not our problem." Then he walks away. I gotta say, he didn't say anything substantial, but who knew that would snap my Mother back into reality? Next thing you know, she apologized for making it about her and says she's here for whatever we and Baby TeeJ needs. And the conversation went on normally. I have to let him speak more often! 

After some thought, I realize that she probably lashed out because I'm her only child and this is her first grandchild. To her, this moment is just as special as going with me to pick a wedding dress or venue. It's a milestone. So I'm going to try and include her more. What does that mean for me? Another trip to Costco, er, Buy Buy Baby. She has the day off and my office closed early so we're off to browse! Just please, no more unnecessary drama.