T-minus 11 weeks and counting...

I am halfway through my 29th week and I can't believe that I have roughly 11 weeks left of this pregnancy. It seems like such a long ways away, but then again with Thanksgiving tomorrow and Christmas in less than a month, I'm sure the time will fly by pretty fast.

As much as I'd like to say that we're ready for Christian, we are so totally NOT. Other than updating our registry and talking a couple of times with Mark's mum and aunt in regards to a baby shower, we really haven't done much in paving the way for child number two. It's not that he's unwanted by any means -- I am ecstatic to be a mommy again. We have just been, well, lazy.

We are so ready for Christmas though! We put up our Christmas tree on Monday night because Aidan was at Mum's and Mark was home, so it seemed like a good time. Usually I put up the tree by myself the day after Thanksgiving, but I didn't know if I'd have the energy to put together a 7 1/2 foot tall tree this year. It was so nice to decorate it with Mark though, after two years of doing it by myself. :o)

We had Aidan's Christmas pictures taken on Monday as well. Thanks to Portrait Innovations we were able to get the prints the same day, so I'm half-way finished addressing my Christmas cards. If all goes well, I will be mailing them on December 1st, which will be a new record for me!

We've talked amongst ourselves about gifts for the family and whatnot, but we really haven't nailed down our Christmas list yet. Mark and I have both been making Amazon Wish Lists for each other, but even that was hard for me. Other than a few books and the most awesome pair of jammies known to man, I don't really have a deep want for the things on my list. :oP Don't get me wrong, everything would be nice to have, but I'm not like dying to have any of the items.

Well, I need to get back to work. It's our last day until the 1st. w00t!! Until next week, here is how Christian is doing:

How your baby's growing:

Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is growing bigger to make room for his developing brain. To meet his increasing nutritional demands, you'll need plenty of protein, vitamins C, folic acid, and iron. And because his bones are soaking up lots of calcium, be sure to drink your milk (or find another good source of calcium, such as cheese, yogurt, or enriched orange juice). This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in your baby's hardening skeleton each day.

See what your baby looks like this week.

It's here.

Today is the day of the dreaded glucose test. I just keep telling myself it's only one hour out of an entire day and that I can deal with that. I'm sure that drinking the glucose stuff isn't even half as bad as I remember, but right now all I can think of is puking my brains out. Wish me luck!

I am officially the biggest klutz in the world. On top of having issues with my kidney's and the Sciatica, I can now add knee pain to that list. Early yesterday afternoon, I decided to stop by Mark's work to spend some time with him. There shop just opened their expansion and I hadn't seen that either, so I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone. We walked down Grand and had lunch at this super yummy place called the Gelateria. I had the best hot ham and cheese sandwich ever made, by the way. I highly recommend it.

Anyway, on our way back to the shop, I tripped on the sidewalk but instead of just tripping myself up a few steps, I did an almost face-plant on the concrete. Luckily I sometimes have the reflexes of a cat, and threw my purse as I was falling down so that I could throw my hands out in front of me, protecting my tummy from damage. Unfortunately in doing so I skinned up my palms pretty bad, but other than that I felt okay.

Mark showed he was the best husband ever because not once did he laugh at me. He took me inside the shop to clean me up and while he was disinfecting my hands, I told him that my left knee was bothering me. I was a little aggravated because the fall tore a whole in my expensive maternity khaki's, but that wasn't the worst of it. Mark lifted up my pant leg to expose a huge abrasion and my knee began to swell. Whenever I put weight down on it, my kneecap just didn't feel right.

William, Mark's boss, got out the first aid kit and put some Neosporin on the abrasion and put a big piece of gauze over it. My knee was throbbing by this time, so I thought it would be a good idea to go to the Urgent Care center to be looked at. So I drove all the way back to Illinois to the Urgent Care center in Edwardsville. Luckily they weren't busy at all and I got right in. Unfortunately I was stuck with the same jackass doctor who told me I had asthma or acid reflux last year when really all I had was a sinus infection. So the visit didn't go all that well.

First off, he wanted to X-ray me and when I asked him if that was safe for the baby, he looked at me as if I had sprouted another head on my shoulders. He was like, "Baby?" and I told him I was 7 months pregnant. Then he basically refused to treat me. He said there was nothing he could do for me but he did want to give me a tetanus shot. Um. Why? It wasn't like I tripped on the sidewalk and fell on a rusty nail. I told him I wasn't comfortable with that and that I would update my tetanus shot after the baby was born.

So what did he do? He gave me a prescription for antibiotics and sent me on my way, with instructions to keep my knee iced and elevated until Monday. Why antibiotics? I guess he figured that I would get a mean infection from my non-wound. WTF? That guy was a total quack.

Mark and I collectively decided not to get the antibiotics filled and just talk to Dr. Hulsen today. Because I was feeling rather poopy (and sore!) last night, I decided to forego seeing "Twilight" at midnight and catch it sometime today. I came home, elevated my knee and iced it for 20 minutes every hour until I went to sleep. I can walk on my knee today, but it still hurts like a bitch. Taking a shower was the WORST. It burned so bad. It's still really swollen and I'm starting to develop one of those gross blue-ish purple bruises on it.

I'm just glad the baby is okay. It's weird, all day yesterday something just didn't feel right. Like driving to work, I felt like everyone was being really reckless and I just felt like something would happen. I'm just glad it was me bumping my knee on the sidewalk and not something much, much worse.

Well, I should get my butt in gear and eat some breakfast. Looks like a bland morning of toast and a banana for me! Yum!!

Why I am not a math wiz.

I was wrong last week. NOW I'm in my third trimester. :oP I kept thinking to myself, "That just doesn't sound right," so in the middle of last week I opened up my copy of What to Expect... and realized that I was a week off. Ah well.

This week is the dreaded glucose test. I took the entire day off of work because I wasn't about to sit and wait all day to take the test and I really didn't feel like taking the test and then go to work. So I'm taking the test at 9:15 and then I'll have the rest of the day to recover. :oP I'm sure it won't be horrid at all, but I'm such a baby about doing stuff I hate.

Mark and I went to Walmart last night and messed with the baby registry. I have to say, Walmart kind of sucks. They really didn't have much, so I'm going to have to go online and make sure that I have everything on there that I want. Mark's mum has decided to throw me my baby shower after Christmas, so that should be fun!

I bought Christian a bib that says "I love my Big Brother." :o) It's so cute!

Other than that, not much is going on.

How your baby's growing:

By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. She's also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

See what your baby looks like this week. (Or see what fraternal twins look like in the womb this week.)

Note: Every baby develops a little differently — even in the womb. Our information is designed to give you a general idea of your baby's development.

Baby Center says that the baby is only 14 and some inches whereas What to Expect... says the baby is around 16 inches. :oP

We have reached the final frontier...

I am officially in my third trimester as of today! w00t! We're in the homestretch! I just have to get through the next 13 weeks and then I'll be able to hold, cuddle, kiss and play with my new little boy! Omigosh. I think the reality of it just hit me. I have only 13 weeks to get everything together and other than an outfit, some socks and a pair of pj's, I have nothing for Christian. Egats! Thank God for Christmas!

We had some excitement this week -- I spent Wednesday and half of Thursday in the hospital. That was obviously completely unexpected. I woke up Wednesday feeling just fine and even remarked to myself on the way to work how uneventful this pregnancy has been (in a good way). Around a quarter to 7, I started to cramp and then my back began to hurt. I kind of brushed it off for awhile but then when the pain got so bad that I couldn't sit at my desk, I began to worry. I called my OB's office, but they were closed so I had to page the doctor on-call. Dr. Dalla Riva called me back and asked me the usual questions (was I bleeding, etc.) and then said I should probably scoot my butt up to the office to be looked at.

I left work feeling like I was going to be back there in no time. I even left some of my work on my co-workers desk because I figured I would be back. Mark went with me up to the doctor's office and I'm so glad because driving while you're in that kind of pain sucks. I had to wait forever to see Dr. Hulsen because I didn't have an appointment which really sucked too. When I finally got to see the doctor, he checked my cervix and said it was long and closed which meant that Christian wasn't attempting to come anytime soon but there was blood in my urine and he was concerned about a kidney infection.

So I was sent down to Labor & Delivery to be monitored, get some IV fluids and have an ultrasound on my kidneys. Christian was just fine the entire time, but I was having small contractions which they said was probably just my uterus being aggravated by the back pain. The ultrasound came back to show that I am retaining fluid on my right kidney and it could be because I'm trying to pass a stone or just because my ureters are dilated because of the pregnancy.

Dr. Hulsen and the urologist decided to keep me overnight for observation, making sure I didn't get a fever or my white blood cell count didn't elevate. Ug. I hate staying in the hospital and I hate staying in the hospital hooked up to an IV even more. I hardly slept because of the hard bed and the fact that I had to pee every five minutes. I couldn't eat anything in case they had to take me into surgery to put a stint in my kidney, so I was STARVING. The nurses weren't exactly accomodating either. It was the worst.

I was able to go home Thursday after they checked my white blood cell count, which was better than the day before (probably due to the huge dose of antibiotics they gave me through my IV on Wednesday). They also hooked me up to the fetal monitor just to make sure Christian was doing okay as well, which he was. By noon, I was at home in bed, eating a Big Mac and watching "Stepbrothers" with my husband. That was where I was the happiest.

I still wasn't feeling 100% on Friday so I stayed home from work. Saturday though, I had enough energy to match Aidan which is saying something. I almost got all of the laundry done! Unfortunately, my back pain kicked in early in the afternoon and that shot me down for the rest of the evening. I finally broke down about 2am this morning and took one of the Hydrocodone that Dr. Hulsen prescribed me, but it didn't help whatsoever. Obviously the pain meds they gave me at the hospital were of a much higher dose. :oP

I'm okay this morning just dealing with a cranky 3 year old, who's pissed because I won't let him have his binkie unless it's bedtime or naptime. He keeps trying to tell me he's tired, but Momma didn't raise no fool. He pulled that with me yesterday and ran around for 4 hours with his binkie before he actually took the nap he said he wanted. *sigh*

Anyway, here's where I am this week:

How your baby's growing:

This week, your baby weighs almost 2 pounds (like a head of cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long with her legs extended. She's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes, and perhaps even sucking her fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. While her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if she were to be born now. Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and they don't bother her, so just relax and enjoy the tickle.

See what your baby looks like this week.

Note: Every baby develops a little differently — even in the womb. Our information is designed to give you a general idea of your baby's development.

*snore*

I'm a little out of it this morning. I was feeling really nauseous so I took a pill and it has knocked me flat. All I really want to do is go to sleep. For now I'm just sitting at my desk, feeling like a zombie because there isn't much else I can do. :oP

I'm 26 weeks today and according to the Baby Gaga website this is my last week before my third trimester, however according to What to Expect When You're Expecting, I will be in my third trimester in 2 weeks. *sigh* Everyone has a different opinion apparently!! I think I'll just go along with Baby Gaga because I'm sooo ready to be further along in my pregnancy!

Thursday afternoon I bought Christian his first outfit, a pair of footie pajama's and some socks. They're so cute! I finally told Mark that I didn't care what he or his mum thought, I felt it was high time I did some baby shopping!! I just don't remember clothes being so expensive, even for Wal-Mart. That's the sign of the times, I guess.

I also had to go out and by more clothes for myself. I couldn't fit into the jeans I had just bought a month or so ago anymore. O_o They were too tight around the butt/thighs area and one of the pairs I bought started tearing where the belly band meets the jeans part. *sigh* I hope I don't get any bigger otherwise I'll be going into the extra-large's and that would really depress me.

I'm so excited that November is here because now I can start planning my Thanksgiving dinner!! Mark and I made our first turkey together last year and it was a lot of fun. I am super excited for this holiday season. I'm going to try to make the most of it. I just wish the weather would cooperate. 74 degree weather in November is just not cool in my book, unless you live in Hawaii.

Well, I think I'm going to take a bit of a nap before breaktime ends so here's where I am this week:

How your baby's growing:

The network of nerves in your baby's ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. He may now be able to hear both your voice and your partner's as you chat with each other. He's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of his lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when he's born and takes that first gulp of air. And he's continuing to put on baby fat. He now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches (an English hothouse cucumber) from head to heel. If you're having a boy, his testicles are beginning to descend into his scrotum — a trip that will take about two to three days.

See what your baby looks like this week.

Note: Every baby develops a little differently — even in the womb. Our information is designed to give you a general idea of your baby's development.