28 Weeks, 280 daily trips to the bathroom...

So, here we are again. I'm now 28 weeks and 5 days pregnant.I'm not sure why I always pick Wednesdays to update, maybe its subconsciously my least favorite workday.....it is, quite obviously, my least productive ;-) We'll go ahead and start off by telling you how I'm feeling. I feel hot. All the time. And I can't "feel" it, but I'm pretty sure I'm the smelly kid in class now too. Fantastic. At this point, I make at least 181,566 trips to the bathroom in a given day. I'm pretty sure I would get more done if I just moved my work space into the bathroom. I am in constant disbelief that I can get up, go to the restroom and it seems like just as I sit back down, I have to pee again. Its unreal. LUCKILY, I feel like most of those trips are sqeezed into my waking hours, as I have only had to get up in the middle of the night a handful of times (until now, because I just jinxed myself I'm sure) to make a bathroom run. Its funny (I use this term loosely) though, because Dan and I will be in bed at night watching TV and I will get up no fewer than 3 times in a given 1 hour show to go to the bathroom. He's asked me on more than one occasion "You're kidding me, right?" Yes Dan, I am just doing this as a big joke. I think its really funny to have to hurl my enormously disproportionate self over my wonderful full body pillow only to pray that my feet hit the ground before my face does, all the while trying to ensure that I am not crushing my little mini-me by inadvertently putting too much weight on my stomach. Hilarious! No. It's not a joke. At least not one that I am playing on my husband....although, I'm not yet convinced that my daughter doesnt have her mom's sick sense of humor and is inside me laughing hysterically at how many times mommy has to pee in the course of a day. I can't help but smile and hope that she enjoys good, dry humor as much as I do :)

Besides that, I am just feeling really tired a lot. I know its normal, but I guarantee the heat is not helping at all. Oddly enough, I don't feel like I've gotten a whole lot bigger (my scale is laughing at this comment right now....and yes, my scale reads my blog), but I'm just starting to feel bigger. I am noticing more and more that while in a sitting position, I am officially unable to reach things on the ground by bending forward....and often not by bending to the sides either. Basically, there is a lot of stuff on the ground by my desk that someone is probably going to need to pick up soon ;-) At home, I am trying to stay as active as I can. I still enjoy cooking a lot, mainly because I still enjoy eating a lot. That, and I know that after Mia gets here, my cooking days will probably be on hiatus for a little while, so I'm trying to get it out of my system now. I learned the hard way the other day, that I am no longer capable of taking on more than one task at a time, as my brain no longer has capacity for such things. It also no longer has the capacity to recall information that I was just given either. Its making it really fun for people I am communicating with on a regular basis. I'm sure they just are flashing back to when I used to drink.....as I pretty much did the same thing as far as repeating myself and asking the same questions over and over again ;-)

As far as Mia goes, she is still as active as ever. I can tell she's getting a lot bigger though because now instead of watching my stomach "pop" with her cute little jabs, it now physically relocates. She is all over the board and it's super entertaining to watch :) WEll.....for me at least. She's had the hiccups now a couple times and it is one of the weirdest/coolest things I've ever felt. She's just like a real person! Its so crazy. I'm growing a human inside of me.....God is pretty crazy awesome if you ask me :)

Well I think that pretty much sums everything up. I have another doctor's appointment this Friday. Shouldnt be anything too exciting, I mean as far as tests or anything. I did get the results of my tests back and I do not have gestational diabetes or anemia. I am also not carrying any sexually transmitted diseases....at least none that they have identified yet ;-) KIDDING MOM! I have still been having Braxton Hicks contractions on a regular basis. They seem to be a little more powerful than they used to be, but are still at unpredictable intervals and still not painful....just a lot more noticeable. I'm going to bring it up on Friday when I talk to my doctor, but I'm sure it's nothing to worry about.

Dan and I are taking a road trip to Austin this weekend! It will most likely be the last time we get to get away together, just the two of us, so I'm really looking forward to it :) I will definitely make sure to take tons of pictures with only landscape and no people....I know how fun those are for others to look at ;-)

Until next time......

Me and Mia at 28wks
and we decided that we're not the only ones going through this so......

Daddy at 28 wks :)

So I guess this is for real??

Hello again friends. I am now 27 weeks into this little adventure. You would think that given the length of time I have been working up to this point in my pregnancy, I would be more used to being pregnant. But, for some reason, this has hit me all of a sudden.....I'm PREGNANT. Like really pregnant. Like when I finally get settled on the couch and have the pillows arranged just the way I want and then look over to the coffee table only to realize the remote control is just out of reach, I consider actually just staring at the TV, that is not on, because the time and effort it is going to take me to get up and then re-situate just may not be worth it. Yes, THAT pregnant. You'll see in the picture that follows what I mean. I am sure that every pregnant woman feels like she can't possibly get more pregnant at some point, but I just thought that point would be around 36 weeks. Maybe it is for some women, it's not for me. I'm pretty sure that I have reached capacity. I even have a pain in my stomach just above my belly button that my doctor seems to think is just the feeling of my stomach stretching.....I'm convinced it's my stomach giving me an ultimatum: its me or the kid, but we're not both going to make it. Luckily, I have been able surprise myself in an aspect of stretching I never thought I would be familiar with. Let's hope it keeps up.

This week has been....different. On Monday I started feeling some Braxton Hicks contractions. I knew I had felt them before (not uncommon for someone even at my stage in pregnancy), but these seemed to be coming more often than before....like a lot more often. After a couple of days of lots of noticeable contractions at short intervals, I called the doctor on Wednesday, who had me come in immediately. I was very concerned with her sense of urgency, but comforted by the fact that I wasn't going to have to wait until today (Friday, my regularly scheduled Dr. appt) to find out if something was really wrong. When I got to the office she did a series of tests to make sure my body was not prepping for labor and that what I was feeling were ligitimately Braxton Hicks contractions and not the real deal. She also had me go in for another sono to check on the baby as well. Results from all of the tests came back and everything is perfectly fine. She informed me that chances are I am just one of "those" women who tend to have BH more often. She said there was nothing to worry about unless they became much closer together or painful, up to this point, they have been neither, although they have continued on a pretty consistent basis since. Once I knew everything was ok after the sono tech informed me that my cervix (sorry guys, but this is a no holds bard kind of blog) was long and closed, I could sit back and enjoy seeing my little girl and her perfectly proportionate (that's all I got from the tech) limbs. She weighs in at a whopping 2lbs now! I still have yet to figure out why her little 2 lb self has already cost me 24 lbs.....but i will take that up with her later ;-)

I went back to the doctor today for my regularly scheduled visit. Today was the glucose testing. I had to drink some orange crap that tasted like someone had made coolaid with only half the water required. I guess it could have been worse, but it wasn't good. I should get the results back from that test, which tests for Gestational diabetes and anemia, in a couple of days. The doctor said that if everything was good, she wouldnt call, if she calls, I will have to go through another series of tests that I hear is far less simple and involves an even grosser concoction - please pray for no phone call! Besides that, we now progressed to doctors appointments EVERY 2 WEEKS!!! WHAT?!?!  Only people who are REALLY pregnant have to go to the doctor every two weeks.....how could that possibly be me?! I just got pregnant like last week! I guess this means that this is not a drill. I am really going to pass a watermelon through a small opening in my body and I'm going to do that soon.

As far as my little princess goes, she is doing awesome! She moves around constantly still. Her little kicks are getting stronger and more agressive. I try not to take it personally though, as I'm pretty sure she's fighting it out with both the skin on my stomach as well as my bellybutton. In my opinion, they both had it coming ;-) The other night when we were laying in bed, Dan started talking to her. He was leaning in close to my right side and after hearing his voice, she mosied her way over to perch up right next to him. I love it, a Daddy's girl already :) It is so cool to think that she can already recognize our voices! I guess this means I should probably stop screaming obscinities to all the moron drivers who seem to follow me wherever I go.....we'll just go ahead and put that on the ole to-do list, right after teach Luci how to let herself out.

Well I guess that's about it for now. I really am starting to slow down a lot more. I need more sleep, and more help getting up from a sitting position. I know I still have a ways to go....but I am happy that the days between now and when I get to see my little girl are closer to 0 than they are 280. I will still say this has been a pretty incredible experience and as much as I complain, and sweat, and grunt and bitch that I have nothing to wear, I wouldn't trade a day for anything in the world.

Please continue to keep our little family in your prayers!

I have included 2 pics below.....I figured there might be a time that you guys don't want to see what's going on under my clothes, so I'm transitioning into that now ;-)

that's A LOT of belly - 27 Wks

this is me demonstrating that I can still wear my pre-pregnancy shirts ;-) that poor shirt is fighting for its life here :) 27Wks

Just add baby

I know that I mentioned a while ago in a post that I would eventually post pics of Mia's nursery. Well, we finally got the last piece of furniture this weekend!! We have been waiting on the hutch for our dresser since we got the other pieces in April....we tend to jump the gun on these things, so its not like we were in any danger of it not getting here before her big debut ;-)

Dan and I have really enjoyed putting her nursery together. Its been a real bonding experience to pick everything out and decorate together. I feel INCREDIBLY blessed to have a husband who is totally and 100% involved in every nursery-related decision that has been made so far :) and I mean EVERY decision. Being that we wanted Mia's room, which was intended as a "study" according to the floor plan, to look less office-y and more little-girl-room-y, we did what we could to change it up, without having to paint. I, personally, love it. It is my favorite room in our house in every way. I can tell it's Dan's favorite room too. Sometimes I catch him in there just staring into the crib, or just sitting in the glider looking up at her name :) He's going to be such an amazing Daddy....Mia is a very lucky little girl.


To quote Dan from earlier today "Mia needs to hurry up and get here so I can show her what we did!" :) I had to remind him, that it would be ok if she waited just a LITTLE bit longer.

I have attached some pics of the room, I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

I know its kind of faint, but in pink and yellow letters 'AMELIA' is on the shelf above the door

I call this 'Mia's garden' and the frame above the flowers has baby pics of myself, Dan, Luci and a blank frame for our little angel once she gets here :)

her crib

Mia's Mural and the most comfy chair ever created.
*side note: the blanket draped over the back was handmade by Dan's Yia-Yia (Greek for Grandmother) for him when he was born. Its absolutely gorgeous!

our long awaited HUTCH!! and dresser. The knobs on the cabinets of the hutch are little yellow roses :)

View from the door when you walk in, it looks snug, but feels cozy ;-)

Dear Amelia.....

Today you are 25 weeks and 6 days into this little adventure. You could technically survive if you decided to make an early appearance, I however, would have a panic attack and die, so let's just hang in there for another couple or 14 weeks, what do ya say? At this point in time, your favorite things seem to be kicking and punching. You move almost constantly, and I'm sure to your annoyance, when you are not moving, I'm poking you to make sure you're still alive and well :) You seem to be very unlike your parents in that you have most of your energy at night. I can't tell you how many nights I have spent staring down and watching you maneuver your way around my stomach. Given the grace you lack, I fear you take after me already. It kind of feels like you will start to do something and then just fall to one side or the other. I am sorry.....that probably won't end at birth.

I'm writing this to you today to let you know that I'm ready for you. We don't have the rest of your furniture yet and don't have a swing or a bouncer, but what we do have is enough love to last you a lifetime. Me and your Daddy can't wait to meet you......but we will wait.....for at least another 14 weeks. This is VERY important! The love will still be here in 14 weeks....I promise. Only it will be multiplied by like a zillion! So brace yourself. You've got a lot of kisses coming your way little lady.

So, keep moving and in case you need any extra sustenance, there is plenty just to the rear....my rear. Feel free to take all you need.

I love you, Mia.

Love,
Mommy

25 Wks

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