24 weeks!

I've been feeling really sore lately. I guess it's just my tummy muscles stretching, but at the same time I can't distinguish if maybe I'm having Braxton Hicks, which sometimes start around now. Sometimes I feel just plain sore, and other times I feel really crampy. Nothing feels abnormal enough for me to alert my doctor though, so I'm just taking it all in stride.

Yesterday was my step-sister's baby shower and it really got me in the mood to have one of my own. :oP Even though I don't have anything for the baby yet, I still feel way more prepared this time around, maybe that's because I know what to expect both labor-wise and what I'll need item-wise. You should have seen my sister's face when me and another gal were trying to explain the different types of diapers to her and which ones were our favorites (the girl and I both agreed that we love Pampers). She looked like she was about to have a panic attack. I told her to just try every brand and stick with what works best for her. I know (like I said) that I love the Pampers, however, for the longest time my sister Amber didn't mind using the cheapy Wal-Mart "Parents Choice" kind for her kids. Eventually she switched to Huggies, because the cheap ones leaked too much. Me personally? I can't stand Huggies.They're overpriced and I've never had good luck with them. I don't like the tabs on them and they run larger than regular diapers so it's hard to gauge which ones to get.

But yeah, my step-sister got a lot of really cute stuff (mostly clothes and mostly pink) which made me want to go shopping! :oP

Tomorrow is my monthly check-up but this time I'll be seeing the other doctor at my OB office, Dr. Dalla Riva. He's actually the doctor I initially wanted to see but I didn't think he took my insurance. :oP Dr. Hulsen is out of town and he wanted me to see Dr. Dalla Riva anyway in the even that I have Christian on a weekend in which he's not on-call. Allison loves him so I'm sure I will too.

So here's where I stand for this week:

How your baby's growing:

Your baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him at just over a pound. Since he's almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.

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.

Well, it's back to work for me. Ug. I hate Monday's. Working 10 hours is so exhausting!!

I've hit the 6 month mark!!

How your baby's growing:

Turn on the radio and sway to the music. With her sense of movement well developed by now, your baby can feel you dance. And now that she's more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about as much as a large mango), you may be able to see her squirm underneath your clothes. Blood vessels in her lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that your baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing her for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as your dog barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze her when she hears them outside the womb.

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.

It's the little things...

I went and got my haircut today for the first time in forever. I didn't get much cut off, just mostly a trim but I did have her give my bangs a good cut. They're now about a 1/2 inch shorter than what they were (they were past my nose, now they're right at my eyebrows) and I feel like a new woman. :o) I am very pleased with my new 'do and I'm sure Mark will be too. He didn't mind I was getting my haircut but he's always really suspicious because he's sure one of these days I'm going to come home with a buzz cut. He'll be pleasantly suprised at how much hair I didn't cut off!

I joined a new forum online TwilightMOMS. I really like being apart of their group, so far. Unfortunately I've already been chastised for posting a topic in the wrong place on my first day. God forbid. Some moderators are so effin' touchy. I'm new, okay? Give me a break! Sheesh.

Unlike the original forum I joined, this group is for ladies who are over the age of 25 and/or have children and/or are married. So its nice that not every other post is "OMG. Edward is SOooOo HAWT!" I just about had it with Twilight Source when a bunch of preteens freaked out because they're doing a podcast at 10:30 in the morning and *gasp* they're all going to be in school! How dare they do a live podcast when (according to the teeny-boppers) all their "fans" wouldn't be able to listen. *rolls eyes*

At TwilightMOMS they talk about "Twilight," of course, but we also discuss other things including TV shows, music, personal issues, etc. It's nice.

***

Pregnancy-wise, I've had the worst heartburn lately. Ew. I hate heartburn. Other than that, I've been feeling pretty good. I've been craving chocolate milk which sucks because once I drink it, within an hour I feel awful. I hate being lactose intolerant. It really puts a damper on eating anything good like ice cream and cereal. *pouts* And yes, I've tried Lactaid tablets, Lactaid milk and even soy milk. They all make me sick. I don't know what my deal is.

Well I'm feeling a tad drowsy so I'm going to lay down with Aidan for a bit then get up and do some laundry. ET is having a sneak peek at the new "Twilight" trailer at 6:30 and then "Ugly Betty" and "Grey's Anatomy" come after that, so it should be an exciting night, entertainment-wise.

Yeah. I'm a dork.

Late post.

It's almost 9:30 at night which means I really should be in bed, but I'm trying to avoid it at all costs because going to bed means going to sleep and then going to sleep means I just have to wake up and go to work in the morning and who wants to do that?! So I figured I'd take a minute to congratulate my best friend Doug and his wife Randi Marie -- their ultrasound today revealed that they are having a little girl! You know what that means? Now the marriage negotiations begin! Obviously, we're kickin' this old skool which means we get a dowry if Zatanna marries Christian. The bidding began at 2 chickens and a duck, but I'm thinking if Johnny Lingo (read on to get more info about Johnny Lingo) can get 8 cows then we should be able to obtain something near there. I mean, that story takes place in Polynesia. This is America and one cow equals like a car or something over there, right (or down there)?

Obviously, I'm joking. I'm super-happy for them because I know that even though Doug said he just wanted a healthy baby, what he really wanted to say is, "I want a girl." :o) A baby is a baby regardless, but it's still exciting.

As for me, I'm 22 weeks today, which means BabyCenter update!

How your baby's growing:

At 11 inches (the length of a spaghetti squash) and almost 1 pound, your baby is starting to look like a miniature newborn. His lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and he's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath his gums. His eyes have formed, but his irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. If you could see inside your womb, you'd be able to spot the fine hair (lanugo) that covers his body and the deep wrinkles on his skin, which he'll sport until he adds a padding of fat to fill them in. Inside his belly, his pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is developing steadily.

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.

It seems like week after week, these little developmental updates seem to get shorter. Or maybe it's just me. *shrug*

I had a bad day pregnancy-wise today. I woke up, dry heaved so badly that it made me lose my bladder (TMI, I know but it happens sometimes when you are pregnant) and I felt awful cleaning up after myself. Then nothing would stay in my stomach at work but instead of coming out the way it attempted to this morning, it started coming out the other end (if you catch my drift). I took a Reglan around 9am, started to get sleep about 45 minutes later, but luckily was able to continue the rest of my workday, which is the most important right now. Ug. I never want to have another day like today. I was miserable with a capital M.

Tomorrow we're attending a birthday party for Mark's best friend's 4 year old daughter. I have no clue what to get for her. It's just so hard to buy stuff that's age appropriate for kids anymore because some of the toys are too "baby" and others are too advanced. *sigh* Looks like a last minute run to the Toys R Us is going to be in order.

I suppose I should get to bed...but now a footnote for those of you who have no idea who Johnny Lingo is you can visit this website and get the full story (you have to scroll down a bit until you see "Johnny Lingo" in italics). I originally first heard the story of Johnny Lingo when I was in junior high. My step-grandparents had a machine (I guess it could have been microfische but it played audio while showing pictures) that played the story for me and my step-brothers. Then, later on, when I went on a temple trip, they showed the video of "Johnny Lingo and the 8-cow Wife" and I completely fell in love with it. The story has such a good message, even if you aren't religious. And I always wanted a husband who adored me as much as Johnny adored Mahana.

My favorite line in the movie, that still cracks me up to this day is, "Mahana, you ugly!" What a horrid father. But he learned his lesson. :oP

I would also like to mention that dowry is usually given to the husband as a gift from his new wife. In this story, Johnny Lingo gives Mahana's father the 8 cows. I dunno if it's backwards in Polynesia or what. So technically Johnny Lingo didn't get 8 cows, he gave 8 cows. In America, we do it the right now -- we get the goods and the girl. ;o)

Good night!!

Boringness.

I have spent my Saturday doing something I haven't done in months--sitting around playing video games. :oP I usually don't feel like it or Aidan doesn't really give me the option, but today I got really lucky. But now I feel like I've wasted an entire day away and have got nothing done. Not that I really had anything to do in the first place, but I still feel lazy.

I've been trying to get Aidan acclimated to being a big brother. I talk to him all the time about the baby and have him talk to Christian. Last night he showed my belly his sippy cup and then in a loud whisper said, "The baby's sleeping!" It was too cute. He's also been giving my tummy kisses whenever he leaves. I think he'll be a good brother once he figures out what is going on. Right now I think Aidan is just humoring me. He probably thinks I'm nuts!

I can't believe that on Monday I will be 22 weeks. It seems like I've come so far but yet I still have so much more to go. It's almost daunting. I want to start buying stuff for the baby, but my mother-in-law informed me it's still too early. I don't think it's too early. One more week and I'll be 6 months along. When IS it appropriate to start buying for a baby? Sheesh.

I've been steadily adding a couple of things to my Wal-Mart baby registry. It's HERE if you want to take a look. :o) Wal-Mart really doesn't have a lot to choose from but it's the best price-wise and with the economy looking as sad as it is right now, saving money is what's important.

Mark and I have decided to buy a cradle for our bedroom since space is limited in the house. We figured we would keep Christian in our room until he grows out of the cradle and then move him into Aidan's room. That way both children get the amount of sleep they need. I don't want Christian waking Aidan up and vice-versa. I still have no clue how I'm going to rearrange Aidan's room to accomodate another child. *sigh*

I suppose that's it for now. I changed my layout again, but I think this is the one I'll stick with. :o) I'll be updating with what's going on with the baby this week in a couple of days. So until then...ciao!

New Layout!

I got bored with the baby layout and decided to do something different that I found on the createblog website. I'm not sure how much I like it yet so it might change.



Not too much going on here. Aidan and Mark have been sick with some type of bug since Sunday and my immune system is working overtime in order to keep the bug at bay. Sometimes I feel like I'm on the cusp of getting sick (my throat feels scratchy or my ears hurt) but then within an hour I start to feel ok again. So hopefully my super prenatal vitamins are helping me out! *knock on wood*



Christian must be doing okay because he's kicking the crap out of me on an hourly basis now (sometimes more, sometimes less). I received my first baby gift in the mail today -- a crochet afghan from my friend Dawn. Thanks Dawn! It's supernice and I've taken a picture of it with the camera on my iPhone so as soon as I can I'll post that. :o) Dawn also made an afghan for Aidan when he was born and he still uses it, so I'm sure we're going to get lots of uses out of Christian's as well.

Like I said, not a lot going on right now. The new TV season is now upon us so I pretty much have been scheduling my life around my TV shows (sad, but true). Mondays and Tuesdays are Dancing with the Stars nights, Thursdays are set aside for Grey's Anatomy and Ugly Betty and Sundays are True Blood and Dexter. If you haven't checked any of those shows out (especially the ones on HBO and Showtime) I HIGHLY recommend it. They're all great!!

I've also been re-reading the Twilight series because I absolutely adore it and can't wait for the movie to be released. I just mooched a ton of books off of BookMooch so as soon as those start rolling in, I'll have a huge selection of books to choose from to read for the very first time. Not that I don't already have a selection -- earlier this year I went through this phase where all I wanted to read were the classics so I have like Madame Bovary, Les Mis, and a bunch of other books sitting on my shelf that I never got around to, not to mention the half-way finished ones (like The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time).

If you're an avid reader and have a ton of books you really don't want anymore, I recommend joining BookMooch. It's such a great way to give and receive books from all over the world for free! Okay, so technically they really aren't free because you pay to send books to people but think of it this way -- I sent off like 6 books last week and it cost me near $15 to do so (one went to Canada). If you go to the store to buy a book, ONE book costs around that much (my copy of The Curious Incident... is priced at $13.95 and I bought it at Sam's Club). I am currently waiting to receive seven books. So basically I just got seven books for $15. You really can't beat that. If you want to know more about BookMooch, just visit the site or ask me. I've been a member for a year and a half now. :o)

I guess that's about it for now. I can't believe it's October already! Egats! Thank goodness I thought ahead and already bought Aidan his Halloween costume (he's going to be Buzz Lightyear). Now all I need is candy!! And hopefully I don't eat it all beforehand! Ha! :o)

Bah.

I haven't really been feeling like myself (again) lately. I felt like I was finally dragging myself out of the depression I had been in, but then Thursday it seemed to rear it's head again. I'm not sure why. But honestly, I hate feeling like this. I just hate EVERYTHING right now and that's not a nice way to live. *sigh* I, however, DO NOT want to do the medication route. What happened with the Lexapro was really scary. I just need to figure out how to deal with this myself. After all, I only have a few more months left until the baby is born. Then I'll medicate the hell out of myself if I have to.

One thing that goes along with my depression that I hate is my lack of energy and/or motivation to do anything. Our house was pretty much a disaster area when Mark came home from work last night. I could tell he was really aggravated with me and I really didn't care. He cautiously asked me what I had done that day, trying to make it sound like he was interested in my activities when really he was just trying to see if I had accomplished anything chore-wise. And I called him out on it. The problem with me is you can't guilt trip me into doing anything, however you can piss me off enough that I'll accomplish it then. And that's exactly what Mark did, although I can't give him credit enough to say that that's what he was hoping for.

So today I got almost all of the laundry done, including washing our bedsheets. I swear I'm going to stop letting Aidan drink juice in our bed. He's ruining our beautiful white and baby blue bedspread. *sigh* Easier said than done, though.

On the pregnancy side of my life, I'll be 21 weeks tomorrow. I wish I could be more excited about that, but I seem to be a bit indifferent right now. You can see all of the ultrasound photos at my Flickr site, HERE.

Christian is moving around A LOT now and my morning sickness (if you can call it that) had me taking the Reglan just about every 6 hours on command Friday. *sigh* I wouldn't mind it so much except it makes me so sleepy that I can barely function. :o/ I guess you take the good with the bad.

And since I probably won't feel like getting around to it this week:

How your baby's growing:

Your baby now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long — the length of a carrot. You may soon feel like she's practicing martial arts as her initial fluttering movements turn into full-fledged kicks and nudges. You may also discover a pattern to her activity as you get to know her better. In other developments, your baby's eyebrows and lids are present now, and if you're having a girl, her vagina has begun to form as well.

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.

I guess that's about it for now. I'm sorry that this post isn't more upbeat and cheery. Next time I'll try to liven things up a bit more. :oP