Two Turkeys In The Oven

I started having some cramping the day after our ultrasound last week so finally on Monday I called my ob office. They referred me to the women's center at the hospital if things got worse and made me an appt at their office the next morning. My cramping got more intense and it was painful to even bend over at work - they were like period cramps but a bit more intense. At the hospital they were able to find the baby's heartbeat and run some tests. So we knew that little baby Hud was fine. They called the on call doctor at my practice who kept my am appointment and released me from the hospital. Yesterday we found out that my cervix is a bit shorter than it should be. They believe that my cramping is caused by pre contractions. I was able to see Hud on the ultrasound and was reassured that he was absolutely fine. He is not yet trying to escape but to prevent him from doing so they want to take some precautionary measures. Also, I had a procedure done several years ago that froze pre cancerous cells out of my cervix. Unknowing until now the procedure can weaken the cervical wall and can cause pre term labor. So ... they have put me on a medication that I take twice a day that prevents you from having contractions. Also, they are going to have me come into the office weekly and have my cervix measured to ensure that it remains the same length. My ob office referred me to Fetal Maternal Medicine where I have an appt in the morning. From what I can gather they will just re measure the cervix and make sure that all is well. If things get worse or if they see fit they may have to suture the cervix to prevent it from opening too early. Anyway, a lot to take in but from what I have read it's not extremely uncommon. I am just so thankful that the baby is ok. I will feel a lot more relieved after the appointment tomorrow. I was scheduled a few days off from work for the 4th so instead of going to the lake we are just going to work on getting settled into the new house and relax. Thanks for everyone's prayers.

The end of the month is always so busy for me at work that I am just exhausted.  I haven't been blogging this week because once I get home, I eat, shower and then want to sleep.  Trust me, I have lots of other things to get done, but my body can't keep up with these back to back 12 hour work days.  Just 2 more work days until I am off for 10 days!!!

So, so, tired tonight!! Worked today and then had a 3 hour meeting tonight. I have heartburn and can't go to the bathroom. I am going to force myself to eat a chicken sandwich and drink some juice and then off to bed. More later.

I am planning to take a picture each week from this point on. We went to a wedding this weekend, so I got all dolled up with my baby bump for the first time. My high heels lasted about and hour or so, but I had my flip-flops for back up. Here we are...

My nose is WAY too sensitive!  Its driving me crazy!  I can smell everything - good and bad - and to be honest, the world is a stinky place.  People are stinky. Places are stinky.  Ugh!  Not only can I smell everything, but the scent gets stuck in my nose forever.  Now I wouldn't mind smelling fresh baked cookies for a while, but of course, that's not the smell that gets stuck.  Brian and Wrigley are not helping matters in the flatulence department...dog farts are the worst...burnt rubber that makes your eyes water!  I hope this high frequency sniffer is temporary.

We are going to have a nephew!  The other turkey in the oven is a BOY!  I am so excited that our baby girl will have a cousin to be her "big brother."  He will have my brother's genes so he will probably have a big melon and a strong handshake...ha!  Its hard to believe that I am almost halfway through my pregnancy...I will be 19 weeks on Sunday.  It seems like we just found out we had a baby on the way.  We are going to a wedding this weekend and I am looking forward to seeing alot of our friends from Columbia that we haven't seen in a while.  It will be baby's first wedding!

I really feel like my belly had a growth spurt the last couple days.  Today I went to get dressed for work and had a crisis...had to bust out the belly band on my work pants for the first time.  Really it wasn't a good image day for me.  Getting bigger is a mental challenge for me, but I understand that it is inevitable and for the best reason in the world.  Our baby girl is about the size of a heirloom tomato this week! 

Today marks 20 weeks and tomorrow is the big day when we get to find out the sex of the baby. (Hopefully baby will cooperate!) 20 weeks marks the halfway point of pregnancy - full term is 40 weeks. So 20 weeks down and 2o more to go!! Bring it!! This past week I am now sure that I have felt the baby move. When it first happened I couldn't be sure. It almost feels like something pulling inside your tummy or like your tummy is rolling (like when you get extra hungry). Anyway ... it's amazing!! I read in my book that the baby usually is more active when you have started to relax and are laying down. They say that through your daily working and activity the baby is lulled to sleep by the rocking motion of your walking, ect. I read to get baby moving to drink a glass of milk or orange juice or eat a small snack and then lie down - the combo of your lying down and your baby absorbing the food energy makes he/she become active. Anyway - when the baby moves - mainly at night but from time to time while I'm at work it just leaves me in awe. While I am enjoying one of the good things about being pregnant and not trying to rush the phases I can't wait for bigger more powerful movements. I really can't wait for Will to be able to feel the baby. I think he's slightly jealous;) One of my new ailments is that I have this awful pain that comes and goes in my ribcage - mainly on my right side. I have heard that pretty much every part of you expands - including your ribcage to make room for your growing uterus and other organs that will be pushed out of place a bit. Anyway, it's weird and awful and since I'm paranoid it's on my list of questions for the doctor tomorrow.

Kat is coming!!! The organizer extraordinaire will be here on July 3rd and we can style up the nursery. I am beyond excited!  10 days till vacation starts and 10 days till Kat gets here!

I am very happy to say that the Nix house is cool this week!  We had a new AC unit installed on Saturday and our house is back to normal.  We are able to cook again without heating up the entire house and we aren't sweating as soon as we get out of the shower...oh, the simple things!

We started the 19th week yesterday. The baby is 6 inches long and weighs around 7 ounces and is the size of a large mango. In exactly a week we find out the sex of the baby! My doctor's office obviously does things a little later in the game. The few other PG's that I know have already found out the sex and are a little behind me in the pregnancy calendar. I'm jealous - I wanna know;) Here's the breakdown of the predictions:

Boy

Lee

Laken

Jennifer (w/t a large Tyler head)

Girl

Will

Mom

Sandy

Noelle

Most peeps have not weighed in on what they think the baby is but have expressed what they want - as if I can produce just that! I really don't have a feeling one way or the other. I am just praying for a really healthy baby!!

I hope the week goes by super quick -I also can't wait to see another ultrasound of Baby McTyler. It's so nice to see how the baby is progressing and see and have reassurance that he/she is all safe and sound.

It has been a really stressful week and I think I finally reached by breaking point today.  Yes, there was a mini-meltdown this evening, but I got it together.  Tomorrow is Friday and it couldn't get here any faster.  Only 2 more weeks until we are off work for a week.  I would call it a vacation, but we will be here so I guess its a "stay"cation.  Either way, I am so ready!

The upside of today is that BOB arrived, as did the changing table and the tree for the wall.  I will be nesting all weekend so I can start building the baby's room.  Feeding the OCD!

Blogging got trumped by a phone call from an old, dear friend. To hear her voice was great...and it didn't feel like 15 years had passed.

Today was extra long. I felt like my day would never end. 9 hour work days are not for pregnant girls - at least not this pregnant girl! Today was also miserably hot - temps got to 97 degrees and the heat index was 105!! Thank goodness for Spinx and their crushed ice. Can't wait to get situated at the new place. I really miss Benson. I stopped by to check on him after work and he is fine but I miss that little cat. He is highly upset that he's not with his family right now and proved that to us by pissing on our rug - lovely!! Thanks to OdorBan the hard to get out and hard to handle cat pee smell is gone so hopefully it can be salvaged. Tomorrow I am off of work and will be at the new house getting some things done. 10 more days until we find out the sex of the baby!!!

I ordered the crib and changing table today, so I am excited for it to get here and we can start building the nursery!  I found this really cool tree for the wall that is my inspiration for the room and I will order that tomorrow.  The shelves that I want are at Lowes and I'm sure I will score a cool lamp somewhere in town.  I feel like the room is already coming together even though its only in my head.  The furniture should be here by the end of June!

Here is the tree...

I need more hours in my weekend!  I know, get used to it.  Anyways, I have been busy as a bee today, but still have so much to do.  I hope that I will feel a little more caught up by Tuesday.

We did get a new TV for the bedroom (32 inch LCD) so now I can rearrange the furniture and make room for the bassinet.  We also got a Flip Ultra HD Camcorder, so I am stoked about using it when our baby girl gets here...I'm sure we will use it before.  Look out for some videos on the blog!

I have heartburn so bad I can barely breathe!! My Tums and Zantac are no longer doing the trick - I am going to have to see if I can get a prescription for something that will last all day. This stuff is terrible and it doesn't even matter what I eat.

So our AC is still out!  We were hoping that the part would be available today, but it looks like Monday or Tuesday....ugh!  At least its not August!  I'm not sure if its because he was hot or for fear of Pregzilla appearing, but last night Brian went and bought a window unit for the bedroom so we could sleep comfortable.  Let me say, this thing is kicking some cold air out!  I was snugged in last night and slept great.  I actually think that Wrigley got cold (or maybe he just wanted to snuggle extra close.)  I had my CPR certification this morning.  Now I'm going to take a nap so I can be social tonight...ha!  When we have plans with friends, I have to take naps on the weekend so I don't fall asleep at 9pm!

Ultrasound day!!!  Finally it got here and our little baby cooperated so we could see everything!  All my blood test results came back great - no Downs or Trisomy 18 and the anatomy measurements were all on track.  It's a GIRL!  Here are some pictures from today... 

I ended up in Greenville today for my first round of maternity shopping. The Old Navy in Spartanburg no longer carries maternity and the Target here was a bust. I ended up going to the Old Navy and Target there - both had a little bit better of a selection. I got a pair of black slacks for work, 3 super cute summer tops that I couldn't possibly pass up, and a new bra (Finally!!) I've been putting the big girl shopping off because I was a bit intimidated by all the stretchy bands and yards of fabric. Now I can't wait to go back! I also need to hit up a full fledge maternity store for some button up shirts, ect. I am finding that most stores with maternity departments don't carry maternity work wear - as if all every mother to be is not out there hustling - just hanging out at home and able to chill in bummin' clothes or casual clothes 24/7.

Our AC went out last night and the AC guy didn't make it here today.  He better have his ass here in the morning or Pregzilla might make a debut!  Needles to say, I am really crabby in the heat.  I am just trying to focus on the ultrasound tomorrow...less than 12 hours away!

Today I am 18 weeks - which is 5 months! This week the baby is the size of a chicken breast. I bought a super cute frame at work that is especially for sonogram pictures. I looked at our ultrasound pics from 12 weeks (our most recent one) to find a good one for the frame and that baby is so cute!! You can already see it's little nose and mouth. The baby totally has Will's little mouth. I noticed all this a few weeks ago but not in the same light. I guess the pregnancy is becoming more of a reality with each passing day. I spoke with my ob office yesterday and found out that the second round of Downs syndrome blood work as well as the rest of my blood work came back normal. I wasn't extra worried but was definitely relieved once I spoke with the nurse. I thought my nausea and vomiting had subsided at 16 weeks but I was sadly mistaken. I was cut a break for a few days and it has gotten substantially better however it's still there. I am now only having about one or two bouts of throwing up about every other day. Today was one of my throw up days. I am just thankful it hit me once I was done with work - once I get done getting sick I recover pretty quickly. My energy level is kind of come and go but the past 2 days its been up. After work yesterday I had the energy to vote, go to a produce stand, the grocery store, the pharmacy, and make dinner. Today I was able to take care of a few errands before calling it a day. Amazing! I hope this lasts! Oh also two women who were pregnant - like really pregnant came into the store today- they both looked so good. After talking to them I felt really excited and inspired. Meeting Mom in the morning to get some maternity pants and white oxfords for work.( I need opinions and reinforcement) My button up shirts no longer button. I am currently wearing camisoles and tanks underneath. ha!! Maybe all of my stops to the Hawaiian ice stand is not helping the situation but I just can't get enough of those things!!

I went to the grocery store today, list in hand.  Here are some random things that made their way into my cart...sweet gherkins, Fruity Pebbles and regular potatoes.  Now these may not seem strange to some people, but these things are never in my house.  Don't worry, I am not eating these things all together.  I was definitely getting weird signals coming from my taste buds...or from the baby!  Dang, those Fruity Pebbles were soooo good!

Round 5 for music...

Porno for Pyros - Porno for Pyros
The Sex Pistols - Never Mind the Bollocks Here's the Sex Pistols
Pixies - Doolittle
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Greatest Hits
Weezer - Weezer
Oasis - Be Here Now

I had a check up at the OB today.  Since there are 9 docs in the practice, I see a different doc every time because you don't know who will be on call when you go into labor.  Today I saw Dr. Rhodes...really nice, really laid back...and he sounds just like Ron White (minus the scotch and cigars!)  It was cracking me up and I hate that Brian couldn't be there to enjoy it.  I wanted to say "do they call you Tater Salad?"  Everything was good on the check up, so it was short and sweet.  My BP was good at 99/71.  Baby's heart rate was good at 153 bpm.  That's pretty much all that happened...so now we just wait until the ultrasound on Friday!!!

Today I was as lazy as our dogs.  I did some online shopping for a few maternity clothes and ventured out this afternoon to look for a cute pair of shoes to go with my new outfits.  There were a lot of preggers out today (or maybe I was just noticing them.)  Brian is out of town, so I caught up on some movies this afternoon and tonight.  Since I was unusually sedentary for me, I swear I think I felt a "flutter" today.  Well, it wasn't really a flutter, but more of a bubble kind of feeling that lasted for a few seconds each time.  I felt it twice - once right when I sat down and again when I got up later.  I don't know for sure if it was the baby (it could have been a gas bubble...ha!) but it definitely felt different.  I guess we will see in the next couple of weeks as I start to figure out the difference.

The past two days I have been off from work so I have been helping Will work on the new house. Today I am absolutley spent. I woke up from a nap a little bit ago. I needed a nap by 10 am - but I didn't actually get to take one until around 6. We got up super early this morning to go to an Estate sale after staying up late enough the night before to catch all of Letterman - so this baby is even more tired than usual. The house is coming along well. I can't beleive the transformation. I really wish we would have taken pictures through the process. I am actually starting to feel like I am pregnant and there's a little life inside of me! One of my new neighbors hooked me up with all these super cute maternity clothes. I will really only have to buy a few things now to supplement my new wardrobe - at least until it starts getting colder. My favorite are these tanks with built in bras that are comfy and flattering to the t's and the b. It's like all of a sudden I just starting sporting a small bump - that looks more like a baby and less like I gorged myself on a big lunch. When I got the clothes a few days ago I gave Will a fashion show and he suddenly noticed the bump. It did just sort of sprout out. I think the bump makes the baby more of a reality for us. Word on the street is that Burlington has an awesome Baby Depot inside so after church tomorrow Will and I are going to go and check out furniture and bedding for the baby's room. I am so anxious to find out the sex of the baby. Only 19 more days!! Per some ancient chinese chart that is 99.9 % accurate it's a girl. Also they say if you have severe morning sickness it's a girl. I truly don't have a preference. I just want the baby to be really healthy.

Well, the baby bump finally arrived.  I think that it showed up sometime between Sunday night and Monday morning.  I swear it just appeared!  SO this week was full of "Ohhh, your baby bump is showing" and then they go in for the belly rub.  What makes my stomach public property all of a sudden?!  I know that everyone means well, but I also know that its only going to get worse.  What to do?

The music project continues...round 3 was so good that I listened to it twice.

Korn - Issues
Tesla - Five Man Acoustical jam
The Cure - Wild Mood Swings
311 - Grassroots
Deftones - Adrenaline
Jamiroquai - Travelling Without Moving

Round 4 is loaded and ready to start jammin' in the morning...

Red Hot Chili Peppers - By the Way
REM - Reveal
Korn - Untouchables
Sweet Relief (various artists)
Queen - Greatest Hits
U2 - How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb

Today was stressful at work...I'm exhausted and my head is pounding, so I'm calling it a day and starting over tomorrow.

I'm back! Due to being in the midst of a move and not having internet rolling yet I have not been able to blog. But I am at Panera having an early lunch with my boo and decided to get in on their wi-fi. We had a doctor's visit last Thursday which went well. They didn't do an ultra sound since we will be having one on June 24th at Fetal Medicine when we get to find out the sex of our baby!! However I did get to hear the heartbeat on Thursday (which is always a wonderful sound to hear & eases my anxious mind), they did blood work (round 2 of the down syndrome lab work - which I am praying will be negative - the tests thus far have been), and they took a urine sample. I met with a new doctor. Now that I am out of the first trimester each time I go to the OB I will meet with a new doctor so I can become a bit familiar with all of them since obviously we don't know who will be on call when I go into labor. But really from prior appointments I was in and out. The next appointment will be a long one and they warned me it would take all morning. Will is working extra hard on the new house. The kitchen is almost done. Cabinets are in, hardware is almost completely installed, the kitchen floor is in, we ordered countertops on Saturday so they will be in next week. We picked out a bangin brushed nickel faucet for the kitchen sink. All the subway tiles have been put up and grouted. Painting has been done aside from a few touch ups. It truly looks like something out of a magazine. Will had an electrician come to the house last week so all the lights are working. We have can lights in the living room and bedrooms and Will put up a fixture we picked out in the hallway. New lights are also installed in the closets, laundry room, and a new fan and light combo was installed in the bathroom. Will and I worked in the bathroom most of the day yesterday scraping the tile and getting it ready to be re grouted. Really besides getting Greg to come out and finish up plumbing, sanding the floors, and some touch ups on paint, getting the counter tops installed, that is pretty much all the big things left. We are aiming to be in the house by Monday. OK more later. I am going to finish my chicken and rice soup before I have to be back at work.