25 weeks

Well, we've reached an important milestone .... Viability!  That's right, Sea Monkey is officially considered "viable" at this point.  What exactly does that mean?  It means that Sea Monkey has the chance to actually survive outside the womb.  Hard to believe that 3 weeks ago doctors may not have made an attempt to save him if for some reason he was born early.  But now, they will.  Right now, his chances of survival are 50 - 80%.  But next week, at 26 weeks they go up to 80 - 90%.  Pretty exciting stuff if you ask me.  Of course, we want Sea Monkey to keep cooking as long as possible .... well, maybe not too long.  I do eventually want him to come out. 


What's going on with Sea Monkey?
First of all, Mike and I finally decided on a name.  Yes, our sweet little boy is starting to get an identity ... and no, we are not sharing the name just yet.  Well .... the grandparents know but they are sworn to secrecy!!  I will say that some of the initial reactions were interesting, but I love the name and that's all that really matters.
Ok so Sea Monkey has a name.  What else?  Right now he measures about 9" long and around 2 lbs.  His veggie this week is an eggplant.  Which is the same as it was last week .... so I'm guessing he's really just getting fatter this week.  He's a fat egglplant.  How cute. 

Yes, I know what an eggplant looks like.  But pictures are fun.  Lately, our little eggplant, I mean Sea Monkey has beek kicking up a storm!  Mike's already been able to feel him kick at least once and I think he felt it again last night.  The kicks are starting to get a lot stronger each day.  Apparently these movements are practice for "life on the outside" and he may be pedalilng against my uterus as a "pre walking" skill.  As long as it's not on my bladder I don't mind.  I can see my belly move when he kicks but it's still not defined enough for others to notice it.  He's also beginning to open his eyes and can sense light.  The "What to Expect" app I have on my phone tells me that if we shine a flashlight on my belly, he might move in response to it.  So of course we were looking for a flashlight last night.  We didn't find one, but Mike thinks he has one in his truck.


What's going on with Mommy?
Now there's a loaded question .... and the answer depends on how much of the "truth" you really want to hear.  Really though, my biggest complaints recently are the continued groin pain that I explained in my last post Was that it?, and the recent insomnia I've been experiencing.  Two nights ago, I slept for a few hours and was then up - wide awake - from 12 (midnight) to 3:30 am.  Thankfully it was the weekend and I slept until 8.  But last night was pretty much the same.  I slept an hour here, and hour there.  Tossing. Turning (well, trying to turn.  That's become increasingly more difficult as well).  I love Sea Monkey, I really do.  But he's really getting in the way of my physical activity and making what were once simple tasks - shaving my legs, putting socks on, or climbing the stairs - seem like I should earn a trophy for completing them.  Only 14 weeks left and I can start to get my body back ....

This weekend I also discovered an amazing thing - NON ALCOHOLIC wine!  Now before you freak out on me, I did a little research.  It has less than half a percent of alcohol in it and it's so minimal that it's metabolized before it has any effect.  Through my research I actually found out that orange juice has more trace amounts of alcohol in it than my non alcoholic wine.  Now if you wouldn't be upset with me drinking orange juice, you can't be upset with me drinking non alcoholic wine. 

Sidenote: I'm really starting to hate how I look in photos.

What's going on with Daddy?
Mike's probably the better one to answer this question, but from my perspective, he's really been a saint.  Sure, I might get the occasional moan, groan or sigh when I ask him to do something, but overall he's been a great husband and father (to be).  He worked very hard this weekend - finishing off his "Honey Do" list in the nursery - hung a shelf and some other decorations, covered all the new plugs with plates and hung Sea Monkey's first initial on the door.  He asks, "What's wrong" when I groan or grunt trying to get out of a chair and graciously took over my dog duty (feeding & walking) last night without one complaint.  He's recognized that daily life activities are becoming harder and harder for me.  And while I'm doing my best to continue doing as much as I can for as long as I can, he's been really great picking up my slack.  I may not always notice or appreciate him - so I'm publicly (as "public" as this blog is) recognizing him and saying 

What's in store for the next few weeks?
* My doctor's appointments are getting closer together.  We're now scheduling them every 3 weeks instead of every 4. 
* My next appointment includes my first glucose tolerance test.  I have to show up, have blood drawn, drink some sugary drink and have blood drawn again.  If I "fail" I have to take a 3 hour glucose tolerance test.  All this to see if I have gestational diabetes.  Crossing my fingers for a PASS! 
(Non Sea Monkey related)
* My final paper as a student is due in about a week and a half and I graduate from my Master's program in 4 weeks!
* My parents will be visiting from Florida for my graduation and we will schedule an elective ultrasound to see Sea Monkey in 3D / 4D! 


That's all for now - 14 weeks, 6 days and counting.  Although I'm secretly hoping Sea Monkey decides to join us a week or two early.  "Full Term" is technically considered 37 weeks ...

Was that it?

I know, I've been a bad blogger - No updates for quite a while.  But honestly, there hasn't been much going on. 

For weeks now I've been feeling Sea Monkey moving and groovin' inside of me and it's one of the coolest feelings in the world!  Except when he kicks my bladder.  But thankfully, he seems to have moved into a new position and has left my bladder alone for a while now.  Anyway, for all those same weeks I keep asking Mike if he wants to try to feel Sea Monkey moving.  I'll sit in my recliner and say, "He's moving!  Do you want to feel it?"  And Mike is so good - he always leans over and puts his hand on my tummy.  Sometimes Sea Monkey would get shy and stop moving, and other times Mike just couldn't feel it. 

Last night we went through the same events.  I had just eaten 2 small Twix candies (impulse buy on the clearance / reduced price rack at the grocery store) and Sea Monkey was jumping around!  I again ask Mike if he wants to try and feel Sea Monkey.  Again, he places his hand on my tummy.  Each time Sea Monkey kicked, I'd look at Mike and say, "Did you feel that?"  Usually the response is "No."  At one point Sea Monkey kicked, Mike looked at me and said, "Was that it?"  YES!!!!  That was Sea Monkey!  I was beyond thrilled that Mike finally felt our little monster moving around.  It was a special moment that Mike was finally able to feel him.  I couldn't stop smiling. 

In other news:
I had a doctor's appointment yesterday.  My regular doctor was out sick so I saw someone new.  He was really nice, and since he's one of the doctors who could possibly deliver Sea Monkey, I was actually happy to have a visit with him. He did a quick ultrasound in the office to check in on Sea Monkey.  Doctor's words: "He's perfect."  My response? Of course he's perfect!  He's a little bit of me, and a little bit of Mike.  What could be more perfect than that?!  I didn't say this out loud, but I was thinking it.  (No offense to the rest of the parents out there who think their babies are perfect).  I was sad Mike couldn't be there to see the ultrasound, but I had no idea I'd have one.  I saw the heart beating, and even got a glimpse of his face.  He was sucking his thumb!  TOO CUTE!  When the doctor asked if I knew what it was, I told him "Yes, it's a boy."  He double checked and when he saw it was a boy, he said, "Oh yes, he has a big pee pee".  I nearly fell off the table trying to not laugh. Mike would be so proud - Sea Monkey has a big 'pee pee'.

Over the last month, I've been experiencing some serious groin pain.  Not fun at all.  It makes turning over in bed, walking and putting pants / socks on much harder than it should be.  I've done some advanced medical research - yes, I mean I 'googled it' - and found that I may have something called Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction (SPD) also referred to as Pelvic Girdle Pain (PGP).  Both sound fun, right?  Well what the heck is it?

See the Symphysis Pubis Joint?  Well basically this joint and ligaments that hold everything together get relaxed and stretchy (thank you hormone 'relaxin') before you give birth.  When you have this condition, the relaxation / separation happens too early and you're in a ton of pain.  So I asked the doctor what I can do about the pain.  He said take Tylenol.  Wahoooooo that should help me for the next 4 months.  (Do you sense my sarcasm?)  I know Sea Monkey will be worth all the pain, but man it's killing me!  Just ask Mike - I look like an elderly person hobbling around the house.  And add in the dogs pulling me around when I walk them at night .... totally not fun.  I was pretty much in tears last night after walking the dogs and climbing back up the stairs.  Just the thought of having to put on socks and pants is enough to make me want to become a nudist for the next few months.  Ok, pity party over. 

What is Sea Monkey up to? 

 Well this week, he's about the length of an ear of corn.  One veggie I didn't need to google.  I actually know what an ear of corn looks like.  He's starting to put on some fat and probably weighs about 1.5 lbs now.  (He better because I feel huge!)  His hearing is getting better and better and now he can hear loud noises like the dogs barking.  He's starting to grow hair too, but it's white because he hasn't developed pigment yet.

Just as Sea Monkey is growing, so am I.  Take a look at how big I've gotten since week 10!

 

With still 4 months to go, I'm slightly terrified at how big I'll be in July!  

We've also been working on a name for the little guy!  We narrowed down a list of 100 names to around 35.  Then we finally got down to the final 3.  No, I'm not spilling the beans!  Mike has a favorite, I have a favorite and there's one name we both like.  We still have plenty of time to make a decision, but I'll be honest, I'm already getting used to calling him my favorite name!  

I'm officially 23 weeks pregnant and making my way through the 24th week.  Still a ways to go but looking at this chart makes me realize we're getting closer and closer each week! 

Nursery!

WARNING: Photo Overload

Well .... after weeks of planning, agonizing over paint colors, putting together furniture and having carpet installed, the nursery is just about done!

I didn't take a before picture before we started looking at paint colors, so this is the best I can do for a "before" photo:

Next steps were to start painting and getting rid of our junk.  It took forever, but we finally decided on paint colors.  We decided on 3 walls tan, 1 wall green.  I did most of the painting one week after work.  Here's the tan part completed:

With the last wall (green) completed, the room is starting to come together.  We've even made some progress on getting rid of the junk!  

Next we had new carpet installed.  The carpet was 7 years old and it was .... well ... disgusting.  Here's the before new carpet photo:

Of course I took photos of the carpet while it was being installed.  Here's the new pad going in:

The new carpet is going in!  So exciting!

It got too hectic to take an after photo.  Considering this room was done first so the furniture for the rest of the house was stored in here so the other rooms could get done.  It was a crazy day!  The carpet was installed a few weeks ago.  So since then, Mike and I have both spent a lot of time building furniture and other baby items.  

Here are the "after" photos!

(of course, Hooper snuck into this photo.  I swear he still thinks it's his room)

There's still a bunch of stuff to be done, but it feels so good to have the big things completed.  Mike and I nearly threw the dresser out though - the instructions were HORRIBLE and I actually just finished putting it together this morning.  I love the way the furniture looks but it does scratch very easily, which is really too bad.  

As I mentioned in What do we REALLY need?, I've kind of taken a break from buying things.  I also promised my mother I'd slow down.  It's hard .... I have fun shopping for Sea Monkey and I really enjoy it.  And now that the nursery has finally come together, I want to fill it with cute things.  But I'm trying to take a break, slow down, and relax.  And in case you really don't know me at all, I have no idea how to relax so it's pretty hard for me!  Plus, I have a lot of 20% off coupons to Babies R Us that I hate to see go to waste.  Oh, and a bunch of coupons for Carter's!  I can't make any promises, but I will try to slow down and relax.

In other news - 

My body feels like it's breaking down.  I'm having a very hard time bending over to pick things up off the floor because my belly is so big, so I'm forced to go into a squat position every time I need to bend over.  Because I'm not accustomed to squatting on a regular basis, my legs are now KILLING ME!  The worst part?  I can't just pop 2 Aleve and be done with it.  Instead, I hobble around like I'm 80 years old and moan and grunt whenever I need to move.  It's very attractive.    

Sea Monkey is a busy little boy.  I'm feeling him move more and more often and I love it!  I'm still waiting for the day Mike can feel the movement from the outside, but so far no luck.  I'm very grateful Sea Monkey has changed positions though, and hasn't kicked my bladder in a few days!  

Mike and I have started talking about names.  We narrowed down a list of 100+ names to 35.  We continue to disagree and have yet to come to an agreement.  I have my favorites, Mike has his.  But one thing we agreed on was the middle name.  And no, you won't find out what we finally do decide until Sea Monkey makes his appearance into the world!  

That's all I've got for now.  18 weeks, 1 day and counting......

A little bit of this, a little bit of that ...

A few misc. comments and updates .....

Hiccups
This morning, I'm sitting at my desk reading an article.  Picture it .... I'm leaned back in my chair, hands holding a stack of paper and resting on the top of my belly.  All of a sudden, my belly twitches, and my hands kind of pop up.  A few seconds later, the same thing.  I realized Sea Monkey had the hiccups!  How cute!  It was really neat to be able to feel it. 

Actually, I'm feeling him move around a lot lately, which I love.  I think he's started to move positions too because I haven't had any nasty kicks on my bladder in a day and a half.  It's been wonderful to not feel like I'm going to wet my pants every 5 minutes.  Amazing how the smallest things can really make your day. 

Furniture
Yesterday, the dresser for the nursery was delivered.  I was thrilled because it was shipped via FedEx and they always deliver around noon, and since we both work, we are never home to accept delivery.  They also never leave the package even when you put a note on the door asking them to leave it.  Anyway, I had called customer service in the morning practically begging them to contact the driver and have him leave it for us.  Amazingly he did!  And Mike, the most amazing husband ever, got right to work putting it together as soon as he got home.  Well after 2 hours of struggling to read the instructions, and fighting with the 1,000,000,000 pieces of hardware, he finally gets 90% of it together.  Then I realized he had put the sides on wrong.  Poor guy.  Now we (ahem, I mean Mike) have to take the entire thing apart and start all over.  We love the way the furniture looks but the 2 pieces we got from this company (DaVinci) are so hard to assemble!  Not to mention they scratch very easily as both the dresser and crib already have scratches on them.  Bummer, but honestly I'm not shipping them back because of a small scratch here or there. 

                                        

Sleep 
What's that?  Last night I was up from 1:30 am - ....? probably about 5:00.  Tossing, turning ... thinking about how we could possible take apart the dresser with minimal work.  Thinking about baby names and if Mike and I will ever agree on something.  Thinking about my stupid performance evaluation and how I don't have the energy to fight the things I don't agree with.  Ahhh the mind never stops.  Meanwhile, I've got 2 dogs, a cat and a husband who are peacefully snoring away.  Yes, all 4 of them were sound asleep as I paced up and down the hall trying to get my mind off all the crazy stuff going on in there and relax enough to fall asleep.  Which I did.  20 minutes before my alarm went off.  Yeah, I'll be super fun to be around today. 


Sea Monkey
Ok, now that I'm done complaining, I'll fill you in on what Sea Monkey is up to these days.  I'm 21 weeks and 4 days pregnant. Which means Sea Monkey is in his 22nd week of development.  This week he's as long as a spaghetti squash!  this is another vegetable I've never even heard of so yes, I googled it to see what it looks like.  If you don't know either, here's a photo for you:

Now that we've had our vegetable lesson for the day ..... Sea Monkey weighs about a pound now!  He's got eyebrows, eyelashes and maybe even some hair.  He can see light and dark, hear my voice, my heartbeat and my gurgling stomach.  He's also developing his sense of touch as brain and nerve endings develop, and he could be reaching for his face or pulling on the umbilical cord to experiment with his new sense of touch.  Amazing how quickly he's developing! 

It will be another week and a half before my next appointment and we don't have an ultrasound scheduled again until June.  However, there are some places you can go and get an ultrasound whenever you want.  I'm planning on scheduling a trip there in May when my parents are visiting from Florida.


18 weeks and 3 days to go .... but whose counting?  Oh yeah, I am. 

What do we REALLY need?

When we first found out we were expecting Sea Monkey, I got so excited to buy, buy, buy.  Now, I'll admit, I'm slightly terrified by how much 'baby things' cost, and trying to figure out the difference between essential and luxury.  

On one of our first trips to Babies R Us, Mike had some serious sticker shock.  We both did.  We couldn't believe that a crib or dresser alone would set us back $600.  Maybe for the folks who win powerball this was acceptable, but it certainly wasn't the reality for us!

Recently, I've been thinking about "What do we REALLY need?"  Sure I could be a minimalist.  I could take the advice from the woman I wrote about in Everybody's Got An Opinion and not buy a crib and let Sea Monkey sleep in the laundry basket.  But we're not that crazy.  We're pretty much done furnishing the nursery - crib, mattress, glider, changing table and we're waiting for the dresser to be shipped.  We have the car seat / stroller, bouncer and swing.  And the pack and play.  Who can forget that?  I've started buying diapers and wipes and we have a few clothing items.  In all honesty, we've kind of taken a break from buying things.  Mostly because I hate spending money .... or as Mike would put it, because I'm "cheap".  I suppose I take after my father in that way, whom we've affectionately nick-named the "heat mizer". But I digress ....

So lately I've been looking at lists.  Partly because I'm a weirdo list maker anyway, partly because we really have no idea what we're doing, and partly because, well - they're out there.  I googled "must have baby items" to see if I could get a list of things we really need vs things people think they need.  I suppose it's very subjective since one list I found was only 1 page, while another list was 3 pages.  Helpful?  No.  I think my inner Girl Scout is coming out because I'm finding I tend to gravitate towards the longer lists.  Better to be prepared and not need something than to be pulling my hair out at 3 am because I don't have a pacifier because 'so-and-so' told me I didn't need one but it would sure come in handy right now.  And a bottle of rum.  Rum will always come in handy.  I'll be sure to have plenty of that on hand as well.


Back to my original question - What do we really need?  I'm asking for suggestions here - and it's rare for me to actually ask for anyone's opinion or advice. So mark this day in history, and take advantage - give me your opinion!  What do we really need?   


Photo Update: 
Here's my belly photos from weeks 9 - 20

    

Half Way There!

We have officially made it to the halfway point!  20 weeks down .... 20 to go. 

In retrospect, the past 20 weeks have flown by.  But at the same time, when I think about the day-to-day .... it feels like an eternity.  Oh what I wouldn't do for a nice cold glass of wine after a crappy day at work.  Let's take a look at what's going on right now:

How Far Along: 20 weeks, 1 day

Size of Sea Monkey: Banana - I know, the photo above says Mango, but I took that snapshot from my app the day before my fruit got updated. 

Cravings: Ice Cream.  Normally, I am not a huge ice cream eater ....

Gallons of Ice Cream Eaten: 2 .... trying to be good

Sleep: What's that?  I get a few hours at a time, but Sea Monkey thinks my bladder is his personal trampoline so I'm frequently getting up at night.  Not to mention it's nearly impossible to find a comfortable position (yes, already).

Sex of Baby: It's a boy!

Weight Gain: I'm not answering this.  Let's just say, everything I lost before the wedding is back.

Names: The one and only thing Mike and I are keeping a secret until Sea Monkey enters the world.

Symptoms: FATIGUE ....

Fetal Movement: Lots!  We might have a little athelete in there as he moves around a lot.  It's still very strange to feel him moving but I can't wait for Mike to be able to feel the kicks from the outside!

What you’re looking forward to: Flip Flops, potentially cutting down to working 4 days a week, and the end of my school career (I graduate from my Master's program on May 19th!)

What baby is doing this week: (Taken from What to Expect) How big is your baby? About the size of a large banana — and speaking of bananas, if you eat one this week, there's a good chance your baby will get a taste, too. That's because he swallows a bit of amniotic fluid each day (for nutrition, hydration, and to practice digesting), so he eats whatever's on your menu — and gets to put those developing taste buds to good use. So go ahead and nosh on those nachos (or crunch those crudités): Your baby may develop a taste for them when he’s older.

What your body is doing:  (Taken from What to Expect) You may start to notice some stretch marks as your body expands and your belly and breasts just keep on growing. These pink, red, or purple streaks appear when the supporting tissue under your skin gets torn as skin stretches (and stretches and stretches) during pregnancy. Not every woman gets them, though you're a likely candidate if your mom had stretch marks during her pregnancy or if you've gained weight rapidly. So go ahead and slather the cocoa butter — at least it’ll keep your skin from drying out, even if it won’t keep those marks at bay.

There's also a growing list of things that are getting harder to do each day:
* Shave my legs
* Pick things up off the floor
* Get off the couch (THANK YOU MIKE for going to storage and getting the recliner for me. It's more firm and much easier to get out of!)
* Use the sink without soaking my belly
* Tie my sneakers
* Cross my legs

But as much as I know it sounds like I'm complaining, Sea Monkey is worth every little bit of sacrifice.  Mike and I are getting so excited and just can't wait to meet our little guy!  We are still working to get the nursery put together.  We decided to take a break this weekend - we are still worn out from all the work we had to do when the new carpet was installed.  There's 1 piece of furniture we still need to buy, and the glider has a broken piece we're waiting to have replaced.  I think I also need a retail vacation - I'm surprised I haven't had a heart attack at how much we've spent so far, and I get a little anxiety thinking about all the things we still need.  We did, however, make a trip to the Carter's outlet and got 2 cute outfits for Sea Monkey.  I gotta give it to Mike - he picks out some really cute things!  

Mike's Pick:

I can't find a photo of the one I picked out online .... trust me, Mike's is cuter. 

What's Next?  I suppose we're still adjusting to the fact we're going to be parents.  The animals are still adjusting to the fact they're going to have a human little brother - Hooper is taking it the hardest.  I found him sleeping in the bassinet of Sea Monkey's pack and play the other day:

 I'm hoping by the time Sea Monkey makes an appearance that Hooper realizes all these cool new places to sleep are not for him.  The dogs appear to be adapting far better than Hooper.  

Well I'm sure that's about enough from me today.  On a non-Sea Monkey note, I've got to finish a paper on Jack Welch (*yawn*) this week, and I'm praying I get some sleep tonight. 

How many parents does it take to put together a pack and play?

 Pack and play .... sounds simple enough, right?  WRONG!  But they're supposed to be easy to put together, right?  That's what I thought.  And I guess it really was easy to put together until we had to add the little bassinet and changing table thing.  That's where it got very complicated.

First of all, the instructions booklet for this thing is like 50 pages long. You'd think for such a long instructions manual it would be super easy to figure out what to do.  Well we did alright until we had to put together the changing table part.  The manual said to "insert metal poles as shown in the picture".  So I look at the picture which is about one square inch.  Ok, I can barely make out what you're showing me in the picture.  Thinking, "how difficult can it be?" I put the manual down and try to just figure it out.  Yeah that was a failure.  It took both Mike and I a good half hour just to figure out how to get the stupid support pole through the fabric.  We were pulling and pushing and wishing the damn thing was made of velcro instead of sewn shut.  Who the heck writes these manuals?!  They need to fire that person and hire someone who can be a little more descriptive.  FINALLY, we figure it out.  Small victory for the parents to be!  Now, onto the bassinet ....

The bassinet wasn't too bad.  My struggles with the changing table helped me with the bassinet part.  But .... once we had it all put together, proud parents standing looking at their achievement, we realize ..... we have 2 extra pieces.

Do you see those two poles in my hand?  Yeah, we have no idea where they go.  (Sidenote: Mike really needs to take a photography class.  I know it's an iphone but is it too much to ask to get a clear picture?!  Love you Mike!!!!) Anyway ...... we gave up trying to figure out what step we missed and why we have extra pieces.  Of course we still have 5 months to figure it out so I'm not terribly worried yet. 

Here's the best part of the story - we decide to put the pack and play in our bedroom.  This is where Sea Monkey will sleep for the first few weeks.  I know, why do we have it set up so early?  Well a few reasons -  #1 we wanted to be sure we know how to use everything and #2 - we want the dogs to be comfortable with all the changes happening in the house.  So back to getting the pack and play in the bedroom.  We have it all put together and we don't dare take it apart to move it since it took long enough in the first place.  So we try to carry it through the door.  Ok, great. We're in the hallway.  A creative "pivot" and we're about to bring it into the bedroom when we realize it doesn't fit.  What?  Are you SERIOUS?  It fit through one bedroom door, why won't it fit through the other?  I thought they were the same size.  We didn't take the time to measure, but apparently they're not the same size.  So we do what any other completely exhausted and frustrated parents would do ..... we try to shove it through.  We tilt it, we push it, we pull it.  Nothing.  It's not working.  I also don't want to ruin a brand new pack & play.  So we realize the hard truth and half take it apart ... just removing the top portion with the bassinet and changing table, and finally get it in the bedroom.  Ahhhhh FINALLY! 

I really didn't think we were going to need a Ph.D to put the darn thing together, and in all honesty, it made me feel pretty stupid.  How are we going to raise a child when we can't even figure out how to put his pack and play together?  Sort of makes you think about all the fun things we'll do that will make us feel stupid.  But then again, I think about the day we were in Babies r Us and we saw this very young couple who looked like they should have been going to a party instead of pushing a 2 year old around in a carriage and Mike said to me, "Hey, if they can do it .... we can do it."  :-)