Strangest Dream Award

Last night I had the strangest dream. I dreamed that I had twin baby girls. They were the tiniest cutest babies I have ever seen. They were so small that they fit in the palm of my hand. I felt completely overwhelmed and thrilled about feeding the babies with tiny bottles. Later on in the dream, I went into the kitchen and my mom was there putting two hard boiled eggs on the kitchen counter. I left to tend to the twins, and then I heard a cry coming from the kitchen. I went into the kitchen and saw that the two hard boiled eggs had cracked, and the cries were coming from inside the eggs! I was shocked. I told my mom, "there are babies in there." She told me she knew that, and started peeling the cracked shells away from the egg. Then she got out a butter knife and started cutting the egg whites away from the egg. I felt so scared in the dream that she would cut one of the babies, but she didn't. She finally freed the babies and I cleaned them up quickly and fed them. I felt so overwhelmed that now I had quads instead of twins. I said, "mom, we need to make some more bottles." Then I woke up. This by far was the strangest pregnancy dream I have ever had. Not only did it seem so real because I was actually feeling emotions, it was just strange! Quads?? Babies inside of eggs? What in the world??

Go Big Girl! Boom!

Ok, I'm excited because I finally look pregnant, and not just like I've been eating too much!
17 week pic below. I feel so much fatter, but I haven't gained any more weight in weeks. Right now, I am up 10 lbs. I am right in range for the amount of weeks I am, and I want to keep it that way. Hopefully my weight gain slows down from here.

9 days til the u/s. I have to say, I'm starting to get nervous! I still can't wait though. I really can't.

Official

I'm for sure I felt the baby move this afternoon! Tim was rubbing my stomach, and I thought I felt something. Of course when he stopped, the feeling was gone. He rubbed again, and then all of a sudden I felt it! In my lower stomach I felt the most wonderful sensation. One that can only make you smile. It felt like a thick bubble bursting in the middle of my stomach. I also compared it to the way it would feel if someone put paint on a paintbrush then splattered it on you purposely, only the paint lands in one general area. I know none of that makes sense. Wouldn't make sense to me either if not for the fact that it happened to me.
My headache is finally gone.
It's Friday.
My baby moves.
Only 12 more days to the sonogram.
I'm feeling good.

Can-Can Dancer

Yesterday I thought I felt the baby move. I'm still not sure if that's what I was feeling or not because it didn't feel the way that other women describe the early movements. I've heard early movement feels like flutters, butterflies, or bubbles. I was lying down on the couch and all of a sudden I felt something that felt like KICKS. 6-8 light pokes . Rapid, light pokes. I pictured the baby doing the can-can and kicking me with both feet one at a time. I guess there really is no telling right now what that was that I felt. Time will tell.

Oh yeah. I've landed in Headache City, and have been here for two straight days. Please don't offer me any Tylenol.

Wait a minute....

Feeling good. Definitely have that second trimester energy boost. I've been feeling like my old self. I've been cleaning, cooking, doing laundry, and doing the things I used to do. I did forcefully vomit twice over a the last three days, but I think it was because I ate too much in one sitting. Lately I haven't been really hungry. Then all of a sudden the hunger will hit me like a bag of bricks. Then I gorge myself on whatever meal it is I'm eating. Then I get sick. Then I vomit. I'm figuring out with pregnancy you can't do things the way you used to. Before, I wouldn't eat if I wasn't hungry. Now I see you have to eat even when you're not hungry to keep a disaster from happening.
Also, I am waiting, hoping, and wishing I can feel the baby move. About an hour ago Tim rubbed my stomach and it felt so good and relaxing. Then wait! I thought I felt something. I told Tim to stop, but when he did I felt nothing at all. I told him to continue, and I felt it again. When he stopped I felt nothing. I pressed the right side of my lower belly and it was tight and hard. Kind of like a 2-inch knot was pressed against my stomach. I don't know. This could all be in my head. I'm just looking forward to the day when I know without a doubt that I felt the baby move. I'm hoping that will be soon.
Wednesday, I had an encounter with the tiniest being I have ever seen in my life. I went to the hospital to see my cousins baby who was born prematurely and is now in the NICU. She is about 3 weeks old and 3lbs, but she is so small. I have never seen anything like it in my life. I got to help give her a bath and wash her hair. It was a very special experience, but also exhausting. She has to be handled with such care and she's so tiny that it makes you tired just giving her a 10 minute bath. It made me wonder what it's going to be like for me in 5 months. I know this is different because the baby is a preemie, but it's still a baby nonetheless.
Overwhelming.
Exciting.
Humbling.

15 weeks

I had my dr's appointment with the nurse practitioner at my new dr's office yesterday. The appointment went GREAT! I think that I will really like this office, and I think baby and I will be well taken care of. The M.A started off by weighing me. No comment. :) Then she told me she was going to draw my blood. I explained that I had already had my OB panel drawn at my last dr's office (5 vials!), and it should be in the medical records they faxed over. Well, she took a look and thankfully they did have the medical records. Well guess what? The old dr's office tested me for everything they were supposed to test for EXCEPT my blood type and hep B. The M.A was dumbfounded. She even had another person double check to be sure she wasn't missing anything. Well anyway, needless to say that is the latest blunder from that terrible dr's office. So she ended up having to draw my blood to get those tests done.
After that I met with the N.P. Super nice and supportive. She went over everything I needed her to. Specific weight gain goals (20 lbs), exercise, nutrition, breast feeding, etc. Then she did my pap and breast exam. I had to hold my breath while she examined my breasts because these boys are still sooooo sore. Later she showed me around the office and showed me the sono room which was very impressive with it's big screen t.v. :)
The last thing I did was get my big u/s scheduled. It's scheduled for 4/8 when I see the dr for my 18 week appointment. They said she will do a "for fun" u/s that they won't charge me for, but then we have to go back 4/10 for an u/s with a tech so they can do the measurements for the baby.
I can't WAIT to find out. I don't know how I will keep my mind off of this u/s that won't happen for another three weeks.
I am really thinking pink. Really. If I am right, we are well set on a name. Can't believe we already have first and middle name all set! I had planned to pick out three names for each gender and then let Tim pick which one he wanted once the baby was born. Well I gave him the choices yesterday, and he is set on one of them already. He actually likes it! REALLY likes it. That amazed me because every time I give him a name he promptly wrinkles his nose and tears it to pieces.
We will keep the name of the baby to ourselves until after the birth certificate is signed. Too many opinions that create doubt, know what I mean? You think you have a name all set that you really love, and then someone comes along and says "(Insert baby name here)? My aunt has a dog named (insert baby name here)!" Or, "I've always hated that name, but if you like it that's all on you."

Uh....Ligaments?

This morning around 3am I woke up with the worst round ligament pain that I have had this pregnancy. It's a weird pain because it's dull and consistent. There is nothing you can do about it either except pray. Good news is that I was so tired that I kind of drifted back to sleep amidst the pain. I think it was caused by me sleeping all night on my stomach. Although I do this nearly every night, maybe this child began to think s/he has had enough and inflicted that pain on me to get me off my stomach. Well it worked. I slept the rest of the night on my sides. Needless to say when I woke up, my hips were sore from sleeping on them for 4 hours. I guess I'm screwed. Can't sleep on my back the experts say. Can't sleep on my stomach the round ligaments say. Can't sleep on my sides the hips say. Who knows?
Tomorrow we go to a "baby show" at the Marriott in Fort Worth. I'm thinking it's like those wedding shows except this will be all baby stuff. They say they will go over new products, safety ratings, recalls, etc. I'm expecting for it to be quite interesting. I'm glad they are having this show before we start buying for baby. It's like it comes at a perfect time. I'm guessing I will be having the "big" u/s in 3-5 weeks. I will know for sure when it is scheduled after I see my new practitioner at my brand new dr's office on Monday. I can't wait. I just want to know if the baby is a girl or boy. I had been thinking boy for several weeks for several reasons, but now I am thinking girl. Unlike the reason I thought it was a boy, I don't have a reason why I think it will be a girl now. I'm getting mixed guesses from everyone else, roughly half on boy, half on girl.
Oh the time crawls when you need to know if you are destined to be the parents of a new baby girl or a new baby boy!

Motrin

I lost the battle.
Yesterday I woke up around 6:45am with a throbbing headache. I took tylenol and waited. Of course it didn't work. I took more tylenol. That didn't work either. Not to say that I am surprised because tylenol does nothing for me. I may as well be popping tic-tacs. Anyway, I tried my water trick. After I stepped down from my 12 year reign as Queen Motrin for fertility purposes, I discovered that sometimes, and I do mean sometimes, if I drink two glasses of water it cures my headache. That didn't work either.
Then I tried massage. Tim massaged my back and neck, and still no relief.
I tried to lie down in a quiet room. No relief.
I finally broke down. I sent Tim to the store around 5:30 to buy a pack of motrin.

I tossed two back with a swig of water and 15 minutes later my headache was gone!

I know I'm not supposed to take them, but desperate times call for desperate measures.
What happens when the pain is gone? Justifications begin. I pointed out to Tim that some women smoke their whole pregnancies. Some women still have a glass of wine daily. Some women eat deli meats freely. Some women still subject their bodies to higher temps than recommended.
I just had a motrin. Two motrin. I feel fine.

___________________________________________

Also, I am scared that my destiny is to be one of the women who say post-pregnancy, "Who me? I was sick my ENTIRE pregnancy!" Although it has gotten better, I have still been vomiting. I vomited three times 2 nights ago after drinking root beer. I don't know what to say. I think I am learning not to have so many expectations throughout this deal. Babies don't know what trimesters are, and they certainly don't respect boundaries and expectations preset for them based on trimesters. *Sigh*

13 Weeks!

Yayy! I'm so excited to finally be in the second trimester, although I won't officially be there until Thusday when I am 13 weeks and 3 days. Anyway, to celebrate we went out and made our first contribution to baby's layette. We bought a 3 pack of sleepers, 4 hats, and a 2 pack of booties. Gender neutral, but so cute. I can't tell you how many times I took the stuff out of the package. Know what I did?

Coordinated different outfits. Yep.

Danced the sleepers around. Yep.

Put my fist into the tiny hats and imagined a baby's head in it. Absolutely.

Laid the sleepers on Tim's chest to see what he would look like with a sleeper clad baby on his chest. Yep. Sure did.

Crazy? Of course.

In love? Don't you know it.