Skin to Skin has taken on a WHOLE new meaning......

Hello Folks! I am now 24 weeks and 6 days pregnant. And while its only my own mother's intuition and not that of a licensed professional....I'm pretty sure Mia weighs around 10 lbs today! ;-) Which, by the way, is the reason for all that weight gain last month. I'm sure of it! ;-)

Things with me have been good for the most part. I think the heat and my new census count of 2 humans instead of the lonely old 1 have contributed to me feeling as tired or at least close to what I felt in my first tri-mester. I just got back Monday from my trip to Houston. It was a whirlwind tour indeed! We managed to squeeze 2 2nd birthday parties, a wedding shower and a family barbeque into a little over 48 hours. Yep, we're good. We also did get in some late night and Monday pool lounging which helped balance everything out. When I got home Monday night, I was so exhausted that I just crashed and burned.....finally today, I am feeling like I am starting to catch up a bit as far as sleep goes. (side note: Houstonites (specifically of the Wilson clan) are the nicest people around! Can't tell you how many times I was told how good I looked or how small for how far along I am! And while I'm sure they were just being nice, it was very enjoyable to hear :))

But enough with the small talk....lets get down to business. I have discovered recently (as stated in the title of this blog) that Skin to Skin contact has taken on a whole new meaning. I am pretty sure that this term is used by doctors to describe an action by a mother or father of putting a newborn on their bare chest in order to create a bond or comfort. Well thats not what I'm referring to. I have recently discovered, on my own body, places where pieces of my skin are touching....and not in the comforting kind of way. Lets start with the fact that Pre-Mia, my girls were perched on my chest (where they belonged) and never vetured anywhere out of the norm. It was nice and predictable to know exactly where to find them. As of recently, they have started wandering......I now can locate them sitting very comfortably ON MY STOMACH. Seriously?! Ridiculous. Or if I'm sleeping at night, I occasionally have to scrape them from under my armpits....sexy, I know.

Moving on down.....my stomach which used to be snug against my ribs and organs now spends its days lounging on my LAP! I didnt notice it until today when I was wearing a skirt. I caught myself tucking the top of my skirt between the two to avoid the awkward skin to skin that I was unaware was annoying the crap out of me. Well, now I am fully aware of it.....fully. Awesome. And even one more little gem.....the tops of my thighs which once only graced each others' presence when my legs were crossed in a lady like position now are best buds. Its a good thing because they are in CONSTANT contact. Fantastic.

I am not mentioning these things to draw attention to the fact that I was thin before or even the fact that I am not thin now, but to emphasize that when its a million degrees outside and your skin is making contact with your skin.....you sweat. I am a sweaty, pregnant beast right now. So.....consider this your warning: Sweaty Pregnant Beasts (SPBs) have unpredictable moods and ravenous appetites. Keep your hands and fingers away from their mouths and always carry with you deoderant should you be brave enough to schedule an outting with one.

Despite this blog, I assure you, I am not trying to get you to stop reading....seriously, I'm not. I just need to read this later to remember that maybe being this pregnant IN TEXAS, IN SUMMER time is not my idea of a good time....that's all. Its mainly just for me ;-)

Besides that, Mia, Dan and I are doing just peachy. She moves around ALL the time and I still find it super awesome and entertaining :) I sure love my little family. Even Luci, even though she still wakes us up at 5:00AM every morning. I'm convinced she knows whats coming and she's trying to break us in early. What a helpful little pup ;-)

So I leave you with this.....

24 Wks
and....

the full frontal ;-) you can tell by my glistening belly that I was not joking about the coco butter slathering ;-)

Please continue to keep our family in your prayers.

The Texas Giant has NOTHING on THIS roller coaster.....

Hello friends :) Today I'm 23 wks 5days pregnant. I woke up this morning after my first good nights sleep in what seems like months! This is great news both for me and hopefully for those who have been the victim of my raging hormones lately.

I want to start off by saying 'Thanks' to all of you who gave me peace about my last doctors visit. I want you to know that I am aware that weight gain is normal and that the amount of weight my doctor is "suggesting" is completely unreasonable for me at this point (as, again, I am an overachiever). I also don't want anyone to be worried about me. I was having a bad day....a REALLY bad day. I was definitely concerned about my weight gain, BUT I am not going to stop eating as that is completely out of my control at this point in time ;-) Chances are, I will have other bad days, but rest assured, I know that as long as Mia is healthy, the good days will far out weigh the bad.

Being that I was in such a bad place during my last post, I completely neglected to fill everyone in on the totally AMAZING things that are happening with my body and mind at the moment. So here goes....

Regardless of all the weight gain, I have, to date, remained stretch mark free!! I have also bought stock in Palmers coco-butter lotion, as it is nightly slathered, by the bottle, onto my stomach, ass and boobs. Speaking, of the girls, I was also forced (although it didnt take much arm twisting) to buy my first C-cup bra! Yes, that's right, your little Margaret is growing up (and out) ;-) This, as those who know me well will attest to, is a day that I was pretty sure I would never see sans a purchase of tube socks to fill said bra. Besides that, my belly button (old faithful as I recently refer to her as) has held strong, remaining in her stance as an "inny" although, between you and me, I feel her days are numbered :-/

Besides that, my little Amelia is like an acrobat on speed! She is constantly moving and kicking and doing this weird drop-down-like-an-8lb-weight on my bladder thing I am assuming to test my timing as far as running to the nearest bathroom without peeing myself. So far I've been successful, but I can't lie...there have been some close calls. I was sitting on the couch the other day too and it looked like my stomach was popping a bag of popcorn! I must have sat and stared down at it for at least 15 minutes.....thank God I do these things in the privacy of my own home. If someone saw me, I feel like I might be commited. Between the 20 minutes downward gaze at my bare belly, and the conversation I am having with my unborn child, I can't say I would blame them though. Seeing as how she's been so much more active, Dan felt his first kick a couple of weeks ago!!! It was so exciting for me and for him :) I, of course, cried. But it really was an awesome moment. Now, he can feel her almost nightly. She already takes after her hard-headed Daddy though, and refuses to perform on demand. When my mom was over the other day, she started her little kickboxing routine and of course, the second my mom's hand arrived on my stomach, it was break time. Thanks for making me look like a liar, Mia ;-) Anway, its been really awesome to feel her every day. I feel like I have a whole new attachment to her :) And just when I thought it wasnt possible, it makes me fall even more in love.

I'm headed out of town this weekend with Kristin and Cooper. We're going to Houston for Alivia and Addyson's 2nd birthdays and for Lauren's wedding shower! its going to be a busy one, but I'm looking forward to it :)

Besides all that, I guess I'm just trying to find some balance in everything. Lord knows I could use something to even out these mood swings.....I'm a little scared if I can't manage it soon, someone may get hurt ;-)

Thanks again for all your support, keep praying for us! We love you guys! :)

well.....that probably could have gone better.

So, today I am wrapping up week 23 and going to start week 24. I had another Doctors appointment today. Let's just say, I've had better......

As far as Mia goes, everything is good. Her heart rate was strong at 150 and I am measuring about 24cm - generally you measure in cm within about 2 of the week you're on. Since I'm just about 23 weeks, to be 24 cm is "normal".

Aside from that, I had my first complete meltdown at the doctor's office (well, technically, it was "completed" in my car when I left the doctor's office). I was concerned going into this visit that I had gained too much weight this month. According to everything I have read and heard, at this point in my pregnancy, I should be gaining about a lb per week. Well, being the over achiever I am, I decided to double down and make it a nice round (no pun intended) 8 lbs in 4 weeks. Yes....that's right. 8 lbs. Yikes. Well I can attribute a lot of this to my new found philosophy that eating whatever I want, whenever I want is my God given right. I am going to gain weight anyway, why not do it while enjoying the finer (fattening-er) things in life, right? Wrong. I started to tear up when she told me "yeeaa....thats a little on the high side" maybe you should just "watch a little closer what you're eating". WHAT?!?!?! She may as well have said that I was scarring my unborn child for life because I could not drive by a McD's without salivating, because I'm pretty sure that's what I heard. I was embarassed and totally mad at myself. That just happened to manifest itself as tears and hives....it really helped with how good I was feeling about myself at that very moment. Really helped.

I had a few more questions to ask her. I had been having a pain just above my belly button that was pretty persistent. Her answer: its just your stomach stretching. Of course it is. 8lbs, 4wks....makes sense. I asked her some other stuff too, but I can't remember what.....its a blur.

So, I proceeded to my car where I called my husband and through the tears told him how awful of a mother I was because I had gained too much weight. He, being the awesome person he is, assured me that I was going to be the best mom...and that the extra 4lbs did not define me. I sure love him. I may not have expressed that as I assured him that the 4lbs was, indeed, the end of the world. I then proceeded to scare the crap out of my mother, who I am sure thought there was something wrong with Mia and would never have guessed that my reaction was to a few extra pounds....she had to reassure me that I was, in fact, pregnant! And there was a tendency for pregnant women to gain weight....and sometimes it was unpredictable. So.....eventually, the waterworks stopped, and I pulled myself back together. And I will get over it and start making healthier choices so that I can avoid future break downs.....at least in the weight department.

I am realizing that while pregnancy has been a super amazing experience for me, and the prospect of being a mommy makes me happier than I've ever been.....I am still a woman, and gaining weight is hard on me. Even if I know I am supposed to, but especially if it's more than the "norm".

Thus ends my Debbie Downer episode. Looking forward to kicking my next appointment's ass! :)

Here is me and my 8lbs (well, actually 17 lbs) at 22wks 2days

Is it hot in here, or is it just Mia?

Well folks, we've now crossed that infamous halfway mark and are well on our way into the second half of this adventure. I will be 21 weeks this weekend and I kind of feel like this half is already flying by. Its kind of like when you fill your car up with gas, and you end up getting awesome mileage, so you pretend like on the second half of the tank you can drive just as far as you did the first half, and its like you go 3 miles and you're on empty....thats what it feels like to me at least. Except that my skin still has 4 1/2 months to prove me wrong when ever I think 'its just not going to stretch that big'.

My first 14 weeks , I literally thought someone had figured out a way to stop time entirely. I would run home after work and get so excited about turning the page in my Pregnancy journal to see that my baby now had thumbs! Now, I totally forget that I have a journal until I finally get to sit down on Sunday. But honestly, by then, I'm so tired from the week, that I dont really care that she has hair folicles....wait, I mean, I care, but with Dan as her father, I assumed the best when it comes to her hair regardless of what my journal says. I think now, that this kid is doing her little tap dance routines on my organs at all hours of the day and I make a funny grunting noise when I have to sit down or get up (noises I was pretty sure you had to be 85 and have a replacement hip to make), I don't need to know what's going on as readily as I did in the beginning....because I am always very aware that there is a human growing inside me.

I just finished (hopefully) a 2 month long battle with the A/C in my apartment complex. The maintenance people were at my apartment no fewer, I kid you not, than 6 times to fix the same damn problem. Now, it took everything inside of me to not go off on the office staff after the 3rd call to report that the SAME thing was wrong with the SAME appliance that THEY were responsible for, but I am trying to keep my blood pressure down for the sake of the little dancer within. Lucky (I guess) for me, they were relatively quick to respond all 6 times, even if they chose to complete the task piece meal in order to test every limit of my patience. My new coming home routine due to the shenanigans consists of me stripping off every article of clothing upone immediately walking through my entryway and hoping the door closed before the the neighbors catch a glimpse and lose their lunch ;-) Because, I'm not sure if you knew it or not, but its like 1000 degrees outside now! And summer hasn't even started yet! What was I thinking getting knocked up in January??

As far as what's going on with me...besides the ridiculous aparment nonsense.....Well, I'm growing. Daily. There is no doubt whenever you look at me now that I am pregnant....or that I swallowed a cantelop whole. I am still feeling pretty good though. I have found that being on my feet for any extended period of time makes me hurt, physically hurt. Mia shifts down and gets all cozy in my pelvis and after a little while of that, I want to stand on my head to relieve some of the pressure. But, I guess thats to be expected. Nothing I am experiencing is out of the normal from what I've heard. Its just mostly that I bitch about it more than others ;-) I am also not able to eat as much (try as I may) and I assume thats because there is less room for all of those calorically sound (haha) decisions I've been making for the last 20 wks. That's probably not a bad thing. You can believe me when I say, she's definitely not going without.

After our last doctors visit, according to my books, Mia was about 2 oz bigger than the average (but nothing to worry about) so I am very curious on my next visit to see how I measure!

I guess thats it for now......
oh, here's a new pic - 20wks 2Days

and yes, those are underwear....I'm sure Dan is now mortified. I personally, could care less ;-)