Welcome to Nine Months. I will be blogging here for
the next nine months about what it is like to be pregnant and take care of a young child!
I have one daughter who was born in January of 2002. Now I am expecting our
second (and final!) child the first week in December 2003.
Tuesday, August 26, 2003 Making Progress (25 Weeks)
I've been trying to hustle with the baby's room. There are only 15 weeks (or less) until the baby arrives. Since I am due December 5th, we are going to have to get our Christmas shopping done in October or November. So, I figured that now is the best time to get the baby's room as ready as possible. I finally found some border for the room. It has ABC's and 123's on it. It's really cute and will add some color to the room. I bought off-white curtains since I thought they would go well with the carpet. The carpet is not ready yet, but once we get it, we will assemble the crib. It's going to seem strange to actually use that room for something other than turtles and to hide junk!
Since my water aerobics class is over, I registered for a new one. This is an actual prenatal water aerobics class. The teacher is actually the same girl who ran the class that I took when I was pregnant with my first. She's really good and I remember feeling like I got a good workout. The class that I just took wasn't as good. Plus it's always fun to be around other pregnant women since you have so much in common. I feel like I am really out of shape this time. I am really trying though. I am still walking with my friend at the mall (who I am losing since she will be starting a job next week ). But, I get so short of breath after every little thing that I do.
Other than that, there's isn't too much else to report. I have a doctor's appointment on Friday. I don't have many questions for him, so it should be a quick one!
Tuesday, August 19, 2003 Where Is The Time Going? (24 Weeks)
I can hardly believe that I am 6 months pregnant already. Since I have been feeling better, the time is going really fast. I am so preoccupied with my little one and my hobby (photography), that the time is melting away. We finally picked out some carpet yesterday. The baby's room has hardwood floors that we want to preserve so we are having a piece cut and bound. I had wanted to go with a primary colors theme, but after we got looking I just couldn't picture any of those colored carpets in the room. We settled for a tan carpet that will go with anything. We still have a lot to do and only 16 more weekends before the baby gets here! (or less!!)
I'm starting to feel big, although I have not worn maternity clothes yet. It's only a matter of time. I keep going to the local thrift store and picking up bigger sized shorts. I am starting to feel the pressure on my lungs from the baby taking up room in my body. It makes me feel as though I am always short of breath.
I had a dream that the baby was born last night. What amazes me is that the labor is always easy and painless in my dreams. I wish it were so easy. Labor and delivery are really no fun. I'm not looking forward to it, or the healing part. Oh well, once I see that beautiful baby, everything will be alright. Oh, also in the dream it was a girl. I think that almost every time I've had a dream about delivery it was a girl. While I was pregnant with my daughter, I always dreamed that I had a boy.
I've added a 24 week belly picture to my collection. Scroll down, if you would like to see it.
Thursday, August 14, 2003 Pregnancy Heat (23 Weeks 2 Days)
I am usually a cold person. It has to be about 78 degrees outside before I even think about putting shorts on. I die in the winter time, because I am always so cold. Not when I am pregnant! It's totally different. When I was pregnant with my daughter, the pregnancy heat didn't start to happen until about October. And that was great! I would go out in the winter with the thinnest jacket on and be totally comfortable. I loved it! It was the first time I didn't feel overwhelmed by the cold winter. With this pregnancy, the internal is starting as summer is at it's hottest! I have the air conditioning running constantly. I'll go outside and think to myself that it must be at least 90 outside, only to go in and find out it's actually 79. It is absolutely crazy the things that your body does to you while you are pregnant. I think this is the first time in my life that I am not dreading winter!
Monday, August 11, 2003 Preparing For Baby (22 Weeks 6 Days)
Even though I still have a couple of months to prepare, it keeps hitting me that we have yet a lot to do! So far, we have acquired a crib and I have cleaned out a few thing from the baby's room, but there are still tons of things to do. I have yet to find an aquarium, filter and stand for the turtles. I need to sell the weight bench in the basement so I can move my art desk and photography supplies down there. We are currently shopping for carpet, border, blinds and curtains. Last night, we were looking for border. I think that I want to go for a primary colors theme and have the borders have crayons or rainbows on it. We paid .99 cents a roll for my daughter's border, but this time the only stuff I can find is $10.99 a roll and none of it even looks like what I want. Looks like I'll be keeping my eye on eBay since there were over 600 listings for wall border there.
Oh yeah, and another thing that we need is a girl's name! We have a boys name that we picked out with the first pregnancy, Carson. My husband has come up with several names that I like, but none have hit me yet as the one. His favorites are Corissa, Patience and Julianne. My daughter's name is Maleena so we want another not-so-common name that sounds nice with it. We still have time though. It just feels like it is flying so fast!
I found this silly website that tells you what your chances are of having which gender based on old wives tales. Here are my results:
You have a 31% chance of having a boy.
And you have a 68% chance of having a girl.
And Here's Why...
You are carrying the extra weight out front, so it's a boy.
The hair on your legs is not growing any faster during your preganacy, so it's a girl.
Girls are carried high. You are going to have a girl.
Sleeping in a bed with your pillow to the north indicates that you will be having a boy.
Your feet are not colder than they were before pregnancy. You are having a girl.
You refuse to eat the heel of a loaf of bread. You are having a girl.
Dad-to-be hasn't been gaining weight along with Mom-to-be, so it will be a girl.
The maternal grandmother doesn't have gray hair (dyed or natural), so a girl will be born.
You had morning sickness early in pregnancy, so you are expecting a girl.
You are not looking particularly good during pregnancy. Therefore, it must be a girl, because girls steal their mother's looks.
Your chest development has not been very dramatic during pregnancy. You should expect a boy.
Since the sum of the mother's age at conception and the number of the month of conception is an odd number, it will be a girl.
Your urine is a dull yellow color, so you will have a girl.
You have a craving for salty or sour foods, which means that it is a boy.
Your nose hasn't changed during pregnancy, which indicates a girl.
You have been craving fruits, so it is a girl.
Your baby's heart rate is 140 or more beats per minute, so it's a girl.
You must have orange juice every day, so it's a girl.
You are not having headaches, so it's a girl.
Your belly looks like a basketball, so it's a boy.
You show the back of your hand, so it's a boy.
You use the handle, so it's a boy.
Wednesday, August 06, 2003 Summersaults (22 Weeks)
Starting at around 2:30 today, I was having a cramping feeling. It felt like interstitial pains, but I don't think that's what it was. After while, the pains moved to my back. It was quite uncomfortable so I decided to lay down for a little while. As I am relaxing on the bed, I can feel the baby moving around like crazy! My husband even saw my belly jump. After while, the pain was less intense. My pregnancy book didn't provide any real good reasons why the pain was occurring, but I came to my own conclusion...the baby was doing summersaults. When I had my last ultrasound done, the baby's head was down. I would feel movement only on the lower right side of my abdomen. Today, it was at the very top of my stomach. Since I feel back to normal, I am guessing that the baby is back into the normal position. I sure hope so! And I hope that he/she stays in place, because I don't care to go through that again!
Monday, August 04, 2003 The Appointment (21 Weeks 6 Days)
The appointment went quick as usual. The doctor listened to the heartbeat, asked if I had any questions and that was pretty much it. She couldn't explain the electrical shock to the belly feeling. She just advised me to keep my eye on it. Surprisingly, it hasn't happened for a while. It could have been ligaments stretching, I suppose. I gained 8 pounds in 4 weeks! Wow, I hope I don't continue at this rate! I asked the doctor if I am on track with the weight gain, so she checked my chart from the last pregnancy and I am only one pound heavier at this stage that I was then. That made me feel better. I ate so terribly this weekend. I was so health conscious with my first pregnancy. I'm trying to be good this time, but I'm finding my self in a lot of situations where there is junk food. And I am having a hard time restraining myself. I am going to the grocery store today and plan to stock up on healthy foods. I have been feeling tons of movement everyday. It's probably from all the sugar this poor baby is getting from me!
