I'm glowing apparently

A couple night ago my husband told me I was glowing and last night my friend told me the same thing. Part of it could be that I love the fact that winter is going away - I always have loved spring and fall the most! But part of it definitely has to be that right now and for about 2 weeks now I am just full out enjoying being pregnant. I have my energy back - we've been going for walks at night - with all the packing we are doing I feel as if I am accomplishing things. I am also greatly looking forward to our new condo and I can't WAIT to start the nursery and make our home "baby ready".

This all came about as soon as I found out that we would be having a baby boy. I also dream about the baby A LOT now. I think knowing what he is just makes it even more special. Last night at like 4:30am - the baby woke up and was dancing all around. I enjoyed just laying there feeling him move - well, until I had to get up to pee. I told my husband, I feel so selfish right now, but I love that it's just me and my baby boy and I don't have to share him. Don't get me wrong - I will be very glad when my husband can feel him kicking and moving I think that will be neat for him - but for the time being it's still just my baby and me. I also can't wait until I can hold him, even if it means sharing him with the rest of the world (which I know is inevitable) - but now is special mommy-baby time. Well at least mommy time because the baby doesn't really know we're "bonding" already. I think THAT'S what causes pregnant women to glow! :)

The Tale of a Crazy Pregnant Woman

Once upon a time, in the land of Pottstown a pregnant woman was getting ready for work. First of all, she has to hurry to try to shower and get dressed before her prince leaves for work - after all, she was wearing a maternity shirt that ties in the back. With that accomplished she felt good about herself. She sat down for a few minutes to watch the news, the continued with her morning routine. After completing her routine, the princess leaves her palace and gets in her chariot and heads off for a day of dealing with the commoners (this is a fairy tale after all). About 8 minutes away from her palace the princess preg-nikki looks in her review mirror and notices something just doesn't look quite right. Upon closer examination, she realizes that she has put on her eye makeup on just her right eye. "Oh the horror!", she squeals, and tries to decide what to do - wipe it off or turn around. Because mascara was also only on one eye, she decides based on the time, she has time to turn around. She is a princess - so nobody would DARE question her tardiness. After returning to her palace to set things right, she heads out once again to continue her day.

THE END

The Great Debate(s)

I am really kind of amazed at the various parenting "techniques" that are out there now. Now when I refer to "The Great Debate" that is having a baby now (or recently) may very well know the fastest way to get a group of hormonal pregnant women (or those that have recently had kids) going is to ask the question "Breast or Bottle?". I tell you what - if you are not armed with a well prepared and thought out answer you might just be kicked out of the mommy circle FOREVER!!!

When I first found out I was pregnant - I said - no way will I breast feed - formula is the choice for me. I don't know WHY I said that - part of it was that I did not want to deprive my husband of feedings or have to be the one to ALWAYS get up for middle of the night feedings etc. It just did not seem convenient. Well not too long after that, I was just plain old wishy washy on the subject - depending on the day, hour, or company I was in I might have a different answer. I hate being wishy washy. So I sat myself down - did A LOT of research - I tried to find unbiased (HA!), but really ended up reading up on both sides of it - and seeing what I could glean from it. After the research and a lot more thinking about it I decided to at least TRY it. I figured I can't go wrong that way - I will not feel like a failure if there is an circumstances that cause it not to work (I have friends that got terribly torn up about that), and if it works I will do it for as long as I want to - If I decide after several weeks it's not working for me and the baby - that's it. I feel better having made the decision.

Now as for the technique where you don't diaper your baby - but you watch for their "clues" that they have to go and then go hold them over the toilet while they do go - to that I say - WHO HAS THE TIME OR THE PATIENCE FOR THAT!??? That just sounds sick, twisted and wrong on about every level. YUCK!!! Besides with a baby boy I just see me and Josh ending up with a lot of wet clothes.

The move is on...

Well we are cleaned out for the most part and packing is underway! Already I feel more organized than I have before with any other time I have moved. During college I did my fair share of moving in and out of things, but I ALWAYS waited until the last minute. Labeled boxes and going through the house room by room is a good thing :) I guess the truth will come in like 18 weeks when we see how well the move goes. In the meantime - we'll be living amongst boxes - so if you come to visit - come to see us - not the house!!! Meanwhile, little peanut here has accumulated several things - he may be needing a small box of his own - ALREADY! At least what he has is adorable!

He's so small, yet needs so much...

...Or at least you are led to believe he needs so much. It is no wonder the baby stuff industry is booming. We started our registry yesterday for the peanut - Babies R Us is out of control. I still can't believe that so much stuff comes with such a little tiny person. I have sent my list to a few cousins and a friend for their review so far - I am looking for what can I do without - what do I need to have etc. They are helpful. Seriously, a swing is not cheap $85 - and they can use it until they are 25 pounds so maybe 6-7 months. After that they won't want to be in one anyway - it seems to be the opinion of my review board that if possible get this used - consignment, garage sales or a friend - unfortunately I think they have all gotten rid of theirs. Other completely unnecessary items I have come across - diaper wipe warmers, bottle warmers (hello - coffee mug and hot water), etc. It is crazy - seriously. Plus I have found an issue with boy stuff - it is all SPORTS themed. Now, my hubby and I are sports lovers - but this is out of control. A friend told me the same thing happens when you are having a girl, but you realize that EVERYTHING is pink. All that being said - some of this baby stuff is just the absolute cutest things you could ever see. I have also decided that being pregnant is like joining a private fraternity. As we were walking around the store yesterday there was an endless array of people also registering that had great advice and ideas - some first time mom' s and some second or third time mom's - but everyone was great about sharing what they heard works etc. It was neat! I am looking forward to our child birth class in May - I think we will be learning a lot and hopefully make some new friends in the process.

Yay for sleep!

I would like to thank my body pillow, the peanut, my husband and my lucky stars. Somehow last night, the stars aligned and I got a full nights sleep. I laid down and woke up 15 minutes before the alarm was due to go off and realized - I have not moved from this position all night long. No trying to get comfortable, no getting up to go to the bathroom, and no baby wiggling around. It was a blessed event! I haven't been sleeping poorly, it's just that I get interrupted a lot - so this was a welcome change. Usually I always sleep pretty well on the weekends, but that is when I don't have to get up a drag myself into work.

Maybe tonight, after a night of nerdy goodness (we have nerd night), the stars will align again and I will have similar results. I may weep for joy if that happens. I am looking forward to a night away from cleaning and boxes so that we may have fun and enjoy ourselves with our nerd friends. Oh and sister - I am playing a new character tonight and she DOESN'T speak orc - so there will be none of that :) (For those of you who don't know - my sister and mother get a HUGE kick out of the fact that we play this game - in fact I know I have at least on cousin who does as well. But a night of fun and "normalcy" - here I come :)

Nothing you could say, could tear me away...

from MY GUY (my guy!). That is right, we went for the level 2 ultrasound yesterday and found out we are going to have a bouncing baby boy!!! Yippee! It is so exciting and it is so nice to know. I know there are those that say- finding out when they are born is the best - but it was WONDERFUL to find out yesterday, and I wouldn't trade it for the world. We went home last night and even went through names, we were pretty well set on the first name, but now came up with Aaron Christopher Young. Ahhhhhhhh, now I am even MORE in love with this little peanut. We got to watch him for like 45 minutes during the ultrasound. It was neat to see and feel him kick or move at the same time. He sure does move his arms around a lot. And he has my nose - we could see that clearly in the profile shot. He's got 10 finger, 10 toes, 2 kidneys, a nicely formed spine, a brain - all the right parts in all the right places. Also, the due date remains. He is measuring right on track.

Dear Baby Boy,
You are already so loved by your mommy and daddy, and grandparents, cousins and so many more people. You just would not believe it. Even though your cousins Sophie and Claire think they won't hold you, because you are a boy, they will - they might not leave you alone in fact. It's okay, they are the sweetest girls, and your boy cousins - I KNOW THEY will play with you. You even got the CUTEST little outfit yesterday from your Grandma and Pop (he thinks that's what he wants to be called), and Aunt Jess, and Uncle Dan (they had a girls outfit too, since we didn't know yet, but that will be promptly returned - probably for another baby boy outfit :) ). Your other Grandma has clothes for you already as well. I am telling you what, you are going to be well cared for. I am so glad I got to see you yesterday for so long and I am so glad you are healthy. Every little movement you make brings a giant smile to my face (and sometimes a tear to my eye because I am so happy). I feel you more and more every day - you sure do play a lot. Daddy and I talk to you nearly every night and your daddy said the sweetest things last night - it made mommy cry :) I am glad you are nice and comfortable in there - and we can't wait to meet you face to face in a couple more months and hug and kiss you! I love you!

Love,
Mommy

Holy Cow Batman - We're Halfway There

Yesterday I entered week 20. That's half way there. Crazy! The flutters have now turned into little tiny peanut kicks. They are so cute. Not very hard at all but definately distinct! Flutter were hard to feel but these are much easier! Yesterday the Peanut landed a couple of good kicks right on my bladder - which makes me have to pretty much RUN to the bathroom. I was telling my husband about this last night and his response was, "That's my girl/boy!" Speaking of Girl/Boy - T minus 5 days until we know - and I can't WAIT! Once we have that we can start doing all of the registering etc. and decide once and for all on a nursery theme. Other than that, things are good!

The move is upon us

About a month and counting until we are moving. It seems insignificant, since we are moving less than 5 minutes from our current place, however it has recently occured to me that moving is moving whether you are going 5 minutes or 15 hours away. So, I figure the best thing to do is to make a time line and a check list. To me it makes sense to save the kitchen for last as that is where the stuff that we use on a daily basis is - well the kitchen and the bathroom. But other than that - just getting started is half the battle. It the end it will be more than worth it - and as i told my hubby and my mom - I can't wait - the first thing I will do at the new house is run all my plates, silverware and glasses through the dishwasher - most of this stuff has never been anything but hand-washed and nothing sounds better (or cleaner) to me than a nice HOT pass through the dishwasher- it just seems so much cleaner than hand-washing. So if you have any advice or a desire to help - let me know - we'll sign you up for a shift - or 10 :)

When is the ba- baaaaaby due?

Today for the first time someone I don't really know looked at me and said, "Are you having a baby?". It's a funny thing to kind of watch people go through it in their mind - should I ask or shouldn't I. People that I see at meetings and networking events - I try to tell them when it's appropriate as to not leave them guessing too long. There is a comedian that will listen to (Brian Reagan) that has a joke about this whole situation where he says to a woman, " When is the ba-baaaaaby due?" and she says, "what baby?" and he responds, "The baby panda's down at the zoo - I heard they were due soon and I thought we could talk about it!" He goes on to point out that you don't guess at that ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, EVER! Maybe a nice glowing neon sine above my head would alleviate the stress for others. It would say "Yes I am, August 4th, we find out in 2 weeks - HANDS OFF MY BELLY!"

Ch-Ch-Ch-Chaaaaanges!

I hate change - I don't like it. I'm not talking about all the changes that are going to come about when we have the baby etc. - we've been told about them 10,000 times and I am sure that is just the start. I am just talking about a lot of changes in a short period of time. We settled on a new place to live, we bought some new living room furniture, and we just got a new car. That is a lot of changes in a short time involving money. I know you are saying - "Just you wait until that baby comes" Don't say it....in fact don't even THINK it in my direction :) The difference is we made these decisions fairly quickly and close together. The baby I have 9 months to prepare for the changes. That's about the amount of time I need to comfortably make a big change in my life. Another good example that God knows what he is doing when he gives us 9 months to have a baby.

So Sunday night I am not sleeping well thinking about these changes and if we did or did not make the correct decisions (I have now decided that we indeed have made good decisions). Anyway, as I am laying there I realize I have this weird heavy feeling in my belly and it goes with me no matter how I lay. The doctor has told me (among other things), if I ever feel pressure it is something I should go to the doctor about immediately. So I am laying there think - is this pressure??? is something wrong??? I did not sleep all that much. Anyway, Monday morning I delay going to work right away and call the doctor. The nurse practitioner calls me back and asks me all kinds of questions. After I answer them she kind of giggles and says, "Welcome to being a first time mom sweetie, the heaviness you are feeling is just the baby - it's getting big enough for you to feel it now!" I tell her thanks and that I will never call again, because now I just feel downright silly. :) Of course I will call again if I have a question that warrants a call, but that is only because she told me what the silliest question she gets all the time. Apparently some mommy's-to-be call because they are constipated (due to the prenatals etc.) and they are worried that if they try too hard to poop they will indeed push the baby out :) That made my question a lot better - in my mind at least :)

Boom goes the dynamite

I was a ticking time bomb I suppose. I am not the most graceful of people - or the most coordinated. Yesterday, I fell. Thankfully I did not fall that hard and nowhere NEAR my belly. I was still scared to DEATH. The man who walked out of a little breakfast place after his morning coffee can attest to that. He walks out and finds me sitting on the sidewalk - weeping - comes over and asks if I am ok - forget if I'M okay or not I say "IIIIIIIIIIII'MMMMMMMMMMM pregnant" in tears. This saint of a man - helps me up (I could have done that on my own but it was icy (the reason I fell) and it was just nice of him to offer. Then he went above and beyond the call of duty and walked me back to my car (about 1 block) and made sure I was safely inside before parting ways. I called my doctor right away and was assured that I most likely didn't even awake my dear sweet peanut. I was told to just take it easy for the day and get myself calmed down. A couple hours later I felt my peanut flutter and it brought the biggest smile to my face - all was good.