Daddy's strange behavior...

Sunday April 8^th 2012,

24 weeks 5 days,  I am surprised I remembered. At this point I just know that I STILL can’t have my wine.

So, long time no see….School is in session and while my course is not horribly demanding, it is taking up many of my mental gears just KNOWING that I have it looming over my head. I think about it at least every day, it is a source for anxiety, as if there wasn’t enough of that already. I can’t WAIT until this semester is over. 

Highlights that I should catch up on…..last prenatal visit went well. Case went with me, and I was just beaming having him at my side. I think it is a pride thing when your husband shows up to these visits, “Soooo, how many visits did your husband go to…..”.  As a scientist I look at it like this, the amount he cares is proportional to the number of prenatal visits he is willing to endure.  Personally I think you are doing awesome to get them to show up to 2, the 2 required ultrasound visits. Right now, we are already up to 2 and planning visit #3 (3D Ultrasound not required, out of pocket expense). I am stoked. I was just so happy he went with me last time, it made my day. I didn’t even require him to go, he went on his own accord! I was just shocked and amazed, and proud to have his love and support. It really does mean a lot. The rest of the visit went well. I had only gained 2 lbs over 5 weeks (which is the least amount I have gained thus far). Charlotte’s heartrate was 161, and she was active. BOY is she active. Case felt her move for the first time last night, the look on his face was priceless. Pretty much any moment I stop to settle down, she starts moving. She also moves a lot after I have eaten, and for some reason, when I shower. 

With only 2 weeks left in my second trimester, things are getting close. The extra room in our home that once housed all the crap that I have been hanging onto and wanting to keep for various reasons, is getting cleaned out and ready for Charlotte. Some things are getting relocated; most of the items are getting sold or given away. It is very common and almost……. traditional, to paint the nursery.  Most parents I know have put some (at least *some*) effort into the nursery room decorations. Sadly I am not a home decorator. Currently the disagreement on the Dalton table is painting the nursery. Now, I am a very…..level headed girl, and one of the reason I married my husband was because he too was very reasonable. I am not the one insisting we paint Charlotte’s room; Case is INSISTING we paint the nursery. My big 6’7 burly husband is throwing a fit to go buy pink paint and paint his little girl’s room. This may not seem to odd to most people who don’t know my husband, but if you do, you know that he is not a painter. As a matter of fact, I can’t even twist his arm into performing general home maintenance.  I have one sink that doesn’t work, a hole in the wall, a leaking hot water heater, the front porch that needs a coat of paint, bushes that need cutting back, garage cleaned out, 2 broken garage doors, the list goes on……and he is having a fit to paint a room that is already painted a nice cream color. It isn’t like this room NEEDS paint, it looks fine! This is out of character for him and about the least reasonable thing (well, wait, maybe I should take that back. He has this Jeep thing but that is another story) he has ever suggested doing. I know this is a common thing for parents to do, but to each their own, it isn’t something I would do on my own. I just see no need to paint a room for an infant that can’t see colors that well. What if she doesn’t like the color when she is old enough to decide on her own? If she colors on the walls with markers, we will just have to do it again. If we pick some gender specific color, what if the next child is a different gender? It just seems like a lot of wasted effort to me. Then one day when we move, we will have to paint it AGAIN, because who is going to want a pastel room?  I honestly don’t get it.

 In marriage I learned to pick and choose my arguments, and painting a room is not an argument worth fighting over. For whatever strange reason, Case feels very strongly about this, and I respect that. Arguing over whether or not to paint a room is rather silly and not worth the fight, so I have put my bull horns back in their little case for another day.  Now that I have got over his insistence, I think it is sweet and cute. I have been working hard on cleaning out the room and getting rid of things so that he will have plenty of time to paint her room.  I have been thinking about a color that would go well with Charlotte’s pink room accessories (passed down form dear old mom! Hahah) and I think I like a very very very light green. Like Easter egg green or lighter. That would also work well if the next child is a boy. Mom, Momma June, and Momma Mel have all agreed to purchase the furniture, so those should be rolling in the door sometime here soon. I want to have her room ready for the furniture to go in, so I had better go hop back to it. Anyone need a red couch? Dehumidifier? I have a stack of purses and dresses…..  The things we do, right! heheheheh  <3 my cute little family!

There is a human, ALIVE in my tummy, clawing and kicking me.

19 weeks 4 days….

Actually if you add in the 3 days “ahead of schedule” growth of the baby, then REALLY I am 20 weeks today. THANK GOD I AM HALF WAY DONE! I can’t wait to meet my baby.

I hate that I am just now posting an update about my last prenatal visit, but all these totally unimportant things, like Grad. SCHOOL, keep getting in the way of my nesting. Lol 

The evening before my prenatal appointment was my parent’s 31^st wedding anniversary. Case and I met them for dinner, and we were all a buzz talking about the next day’s appointment.  Boy or Girl? I was feeling boy, so was my mom . Case was guessing girl. My dad had an advantage, he consulted with the “Great Oz” (Grandma Gibbs) who has so many grandchildren and great-grandkids, I don’t see how she keeps count. I honestly have so many cousins on that side of my family that cutting out sending Birthday cards significantly reduced my yearly budget. LOL.  Daddy was going with boy, until the Great Oz was insistent I was carrying a baby girl. The Great Oz has been wrong in the gender predictions less than a handful of times, pretty amazing considering Grandma has been predicting pregnancies for YEARS now. I wonder how she does it! Everyone had their own reasons for their guesstimates and it appeared we were pretty much split down the middle, 50/50. SOMEONE was going to be correct. 

That night, I could hardly sleep. I honestly don’t care if my baby is a boy, a girl, or mixed gendered. My baby’s gender has no effect on my love. To be honest, I would have these weird emotions and sometimes anger that people would ask what gender I thought I may be carrying; or which gender would I rather have first. This isn’t something that should stir my emotions…..I found it odd that this question bothered me. I am a strange bird, so for whatever crazy reason, every now and again, this question would hit me the wrong way. Times like these, I like to blame the pregnancy hormones. Why does it even matter “WHAT” my baby is…..it doesn’t. J Why is my baby already being “identified” as one thing or another; more importantly, why is it of any concern, it is a BABY. My heart would break as I thought about how difficult the simple question of “Are you having a boy or a girl” must be for parents of mixed gendered children. What if you really don’t know which gender your child is, how do you even respond to such an innocent question?  In due time, it will work out, but as a baby, the only thing it needs is care and love. Love is all that matters in a baby’s life, and not having pink frilly panties, or blue booties. I got a few strange looks from people when I would get tired of being asked which gender I wanted, and I would respond that “I honestly don’t care; boy, girl, or mixed gendered. My husband and I will love our baby the same no matter what, we are hoping for a healthy child.”

Ultrasounds have been known to be wrong, but as our ultrasound technician said, “You have a beautiful textbook photo of a little girl. These are excellent photos”. Looks like Case and I are going to be the parents of a baby girl! J More importantly, it appears that the baby is developing as it should be and mom and baby are healthy and doing fine. The baby was measuring just a few days early, so that was news that made me happy. The easiest decision for Case and I was baby names. We had a name picked out for either gender, and for our little girl, we decided on Charlotte Gene. Sadly, Case and I have been having a harder time deciding on a “new to us” car than what we should name our 1^st child! Hahahahahaha. It has amazed me how much closer Case and I have become to Charlotte after seeing her on the U/S photos, feeling her move in my tummy, and giving her a name. It is amazing how in just a few weeks, our baby has went from a tiny bean looking thing on an U/S photo, to a tiny human cocooned in my tummy. At this point, she is basically fully formed, and is just hanging out putting on weight. Case and I will rub my tummy when we want to feel close to her, and I have even been found guilty of talking to my own stomach. God, pregnancy makes you do some very strange things! LOL.  After experiencing pregnancy (at least up until this half way point) it really makes me sad for the beautiful and precious lives that will never be had because they were terminated and never given a chance to move, kick, and enjoy life. I now keep these terminated babies in my daily thoughts and prayers. It really breaks my heart. Oh god, another weird hormone thing…..here come my water works. WHY AM I CRYING! 

Charlotte’s movements have been getting stronger by the day. In just a few more weeks, she will be packing a mean punch. What started off feeling like tiny muscle spasms now feel like my tummy has a mind of its own (because well, it does. LOL) and I have no control over when I am going to feel a funny twitch/flutter. I love them, they are like little messages that say “Hey mom, just in here hanging out and wanted to say HI. Please send more strawberry short cake, love ya, thanks.”

Now that our baby has a name, the reality of being parents is starting to set in. Case and I are so excited, but I would be lying if I didn’t admit to being a little scared. I am going to be responsible for the upbringing of another human’s life. It is my job to protect, love, and teach my child about life. What do I even do? How do I not warp my kid?  I do my best to try and not get overwhelmed with the “OH GOD don’t screw up” and remind myself to just take it one day at a time, but I have my moments.  

Right now, Charlotte is hinting around that it is time to hit the hay. She (and myself) have hit a growth spurt here lately (as evident from my obvious protruding belly) and by her strength. I can tell when she is working hard growing, I get tired really easily. I already had one nap today, and I think I could sleep for 100 more hours! 

Like Luda says, “drop bows, drop bows, throw dem bows”

If you don’t know  Luda’s “Southern Hospitality” you should!  At least the first 30 seconds. Lyrical genius.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QWQVm9J5DM

18 weeks 1 day.

In less than one week, Case and I find out if we are having a little boy or a little girl. We are really not picky, and are just hopeful that our child is healthy and happy. Whatever little blessing is bestowed upon us, is the child that is right for us.

So……I *think* I took a ‘bow to the bladder the other day. I am pretty sure I would have went on believing that I had the world’s most annoying unproductive gas, had some kind ladies not told me “At 18 weeks along, have you felt your baby move yet?” I would have remained oblivious that such events could even happen before the month of “oh my God am I really going to get bigger” comes along and I can physically see my belly rolling from one side to the other. I have never had a baby in my tummy before, I don’t know what to expect, and I sure didn’t know that at a mere 4 months along, I would feel my baby’s head, shoulders, knees, and toes jabbing at me.

Dear one day hopeful Moms, file this under “crap other women tell you about pregnancy that is a bunch of BS”. Regarding what to expect to feel of my baby’s first movements, other women told me that it will feel like, “a small flock of beautiful Monarch butterflies, fluttering around your precious little buttercup garden of pregnancy bliss”.  Yea……expect women to basically tell you the same thing. Naturally, being a first time mom, that sounded like the most wonderful and beautiful moment of my life. What could possibly trump my belly feeling like a beautiful garden of singing angels with flutterbyes floating from buttercup to buttercup. I literally heard this music in my head just thinking about the possibility.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEulyxBCA6c . REAL FLUTTERBYES IN MY BELLY…… glorious and I could NOT wait!

 Boy was I ever disappointed. Butterflies were not exactly the feeling I had when I first felt my baby move. Let’s just say it was far from the glamorous feeling I was expecting. For me, it felt like a cross between unproductive gas and a muscle spasm. Unlike gas, once the immediate feeling of pressure, which lasted literally like 2 seconds, passed, there was no lingering “bloated gas feeling”. That was basically how I knew that it wasn’t gas and that it was my baby. It was really closer to the feeling of a muscle spasm, except one doesn’t usually get strange random muscle spasms in their midsections of their tummy. The best description I got from a dear friend of mine, and this was the most accurate depiction anyone has described to me yet;  it is that same feeling when you go fishing and the fish takes your bait. You know the feeling, your pole and line “pops” a few times, and as soon as you are able to realize that you just got had by the fish, your mind and reflexes lag. That is basically how it felt. The fish took my bait and by the time he was off my line and gobbling down my cricket, I was left going, “hey wait a min, I think it just ran off with my bait.” Just like fishing, I am still hanging out, getting my bait taken on a regular and a little more predictable basis now, waiting for the “big hit”. Looks like I have about 5 more months at this pond before I get to real in my big catch.  

Our Babymoon

I am now well into the throws of pregnancy…..

How do I know? It isn’t because of the fact that I am obviously pregnant and not just “thick”. It isn’t because FINIALLY strangers are confident in my condition enough to walk right up to me and ask how the pregnancy is going. Nope……..It is because I have finally lost count of how many months, weeks, and days I have been in this condition; and for breakfast this morning, I ate like a 12 year old during school lunch hour. I ate reheated frozen pizza and ranch dressing and thought it was the best food ever invented.  Yep….. pizza and ranch dressing, that is disgusting, why am I eating it? Last night it was Blueberry pie at 11pm. Thank god that 1^st trimester of sickness is over. I didn’t even realize it until I was doing my post vacation grocery shopping, where I impulse purchased over $120 worth of food. Canned beef spaghetti, LOOKS DELISH. Canned collard greens, divine. Off brand cheap tuna helper, YES PLEASE. Pickle loaf, never touched the stuff but that looks awesome! This packaged meat is past its purchase date, but it looks yummy…think I can still eat it? ROFL…….I went from sick to hungry girl, overnight. I still hate chicken and turkey.

Seriously though, I think I am 17 weeks, 4 days.

It has been a while since my last post, so I apologize to anyone who may have been board enough to actually keep up with me and Lil Bean. I do enjoy entertaining people so I have missed you, and hope you will continue to check out my random musings about my 1^st time pregnancy. Case and I have returned from his vacation (notice I said “his” vacation) J I really enjoyed watching his race and am so proud of him for all of his hard work to accomplish a very difficult goal. He is amazing and is already turning out to be an awesome Dad. The Mojave Desert is not really my thing. It is dusty, and I can’t grow a garden there. Actually, NOTHING grows there except for Joshua trees, which I don’t recall ever eating so it is useless to me. Arizona was a nice place to visit, but not my kind of place to live. The friends that Case and I visited in Phoenix were great hosts and made us feel so comfortable. They were the very definition of “Southern Hospitality”. I really liked Sedona AZ, and in particular, Rock Springs Café. That little restaurant/saloon reminded me so much of home. It was a small mom and pop business, known worldwide for their pies. http://rockspringscafe.com/ Everyone there was at least 10lbs overweight and friendly; just like home! J It was a nice visit, but I missed home. Arizona just doesn’t have what Alabama does, my family.

 I love my Southern Heritage. It is hard to say that and have people who are not from the south understand what you mean. The South has a blemished history which was part of the overall culture of our country 100’s of years ago. Everyone was guilty of racism and unequal rights, not just the people who lived in the South. Hollywood has skewed our history toward that of the “Rich White Plantation” owner. Those people were very few and far between. Most Plantation owners treated their slaves well, after all they paid a lot of money for that person’s ability to do work, and they sure as heck didn’t want a lot of sickness, death, or emotional drama. Of course that isn’t going to be a very interesting movie now is it? And it is true that not all owners were as nice, just like there are some not to nice people today. 99% of people, Black, White, Indian, ect. were just dirt poor. The southern side of my family was sharecroppers, and I had to do some serious digging at Ancestory.com just to find a single person that was of some notability with even a little bit of money. (John Balch who was the owner and builder of one of the oldest, still standing, wooden homes in America. Located somewhere in Mass. Apparently he was a pilgrim.) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Balch_House .  Poor Southern sharecroppers had to make do with what they had, because they didn’t own anything. I am proud of the portion of my Southern Heritage that honors hard work, independence, and ingenuity out of necessity. I am not a big Hank Williams Jr. fan, but he most defiantly hit the nail on the head in his song, “Country Boy Can Survive”.  This goes for us “Country Girls” too. J In my young single days, I snubbed dates with boys who couldn’t drive a tractor. Hey, push comes to shove; a girl has to eat somehow so I need to know what your physical work capabilities are. Advanced Computer programming is great, but can you take care of me and a family with just your hands? No? Sorry time for me to move on. Of course this is me we are talking about, and I have been called strange. I think I am just old fashion myself. Speaking of garden, this Wednesday is Ash Wednesday and time to start my seedlings for the spring and for my maternity photos. I need to get Case out to the field to disc it up, and start getting it ready for spring. WOW, I have totally rambled off course and by this time, have probably offended most of humanity. …….. oh yea…. I am pregnant. I almost forgot…….I wonder if I have any blueberry pie left.  J

....and so we start Trimester 2

14 weeks, 1 day : WOO HOOO officially out of Tri 1 and working on Tri 2. I am over 33.3% done! (thank god).

01/25/12

Mood – sentimental, and relaxed. The endorphins from DanceTrance are still hanging with me….ahhhh feel so good.

Symptoms – Indigestion, Heart burn, fatigue and swelling in my feet. Feeling much than I did in Trimester 1, but still not as good as my prepregnancy self.

Useless Ramblings -WHEW life has been so busy, I have hardly had the time to think about the thing growing in my belly.  I have been doing my best to support Case and help him get ready for his race in S. Cali. This has defiantly been a big goal for him, and I couldn’t be more proud. I remember how much he helped and supported me when I was working on my goal of competing in the Miss Alabama USA competition, large goals like this take months and years of preparations and he has been working so hard every single night for MONTHS to get ready. It has literally turned into a second job for him, working nearly everynight of week from 6-10pm. I am so proud of Case’s focus and determination. Not everyone has the gumption and determination to stick to a goal for so long or to tackle one so large. My baby has a good hardworking and determined daddy, much like it’s momma. J

School started back, so you will hear a little less from me. Sad. But….I gotta do what I gotta do. I need to get this masters done ASAP, so I have more time with the little beany, Case, and my family. I will be better for the sacrifices I make now, but man….it sure doesn’t make things easy. Lord willing and the creek don’t rise, my plan is to finish up this MBA program before kid #2 gets cranked out.  Like all goals, I will rely heavily on the love and support of Case, my family and friends. Without the love and support from my people, my “work, life, school” balance would send me to the nut house. I owe a lot to the people around me that support me, I can’t thank everyone enough. Told you I was in a sentimental mood. J

On a similar note, I have been overwhelmed with love and attention from friends and family.  I have already been showered with gifts, compliments, love, support and most valuable….encouragement. Pregnancy is hard, I can use all the wonderful encouragement I can get. Friends and family surprise me with small favors or little gifts every week! I dare to even say that I have friends and family that are more excited than I am. LOL. I already have more baby stuff than I do room to store it in. J You guys are all so wonderful, I don’t expect a thing from anyone, really…..but I do appreciate it, the gesture means a lot to me and I feel very loved and blessed. Not sure what I did to deserve such wonderful people around me for love and support, but man……am I glad you are here. J Thank you so much.

My next appointment is Feb. 1^st. I hope all continues to go well. In the meantime, I will chug along helping Case get things in order for his trip, and plugging away at my course work. I will post a quick update after my next appointment.

Fried Hamburgers and Sexy dresses

11 weeks, 4 days

1/7/12

Today, Case woke me up about 10:30pm…..ahhhhh glorious sleep, I better get it now while I can. I was half asleep when he gave me 2 assignments to complete today. One had to be done today, the other one just had to be completed in a timely manner. Assignment 1 was a new pair of Carhartt jeans from Preston’s in Athens, and a belt. Assignment 2 was a sexy (cleavage) revealing dress to wear out to dinner, for his birthday. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH you are joking right, a sexy maternity dress. I am about as likely to find that as I will some maternity insulated work bib overalls. Déjà vu……right. Again I am flooded with memories of my rant about maternity clothing. There are only 2 types of maternity clothing, “Corporate” maternity clothing and these horrible thin silky “Floucny” trendy floral tops that you would wear with some nice dark jeans and heels. Dresses of the maternity variety tend toward the “church going”, “Sunday Best”, “baby shower” conservative style.  ALL of these are made in muted colors in that thin polyester “flouncy” fabric. Insulated, thermal, or warm maternity clothing simply does not exist

According to retail America, if you are with child, you are strictly corporate, conservative, yoga practicing, and apparently burning up hot all the time….. I am apparently the only strange bird pregnant woman who is FREEZING COLD ALL THE TIME, and who wants rugged work clothing, real athletic clothing (not just yoga pants), and sexy dresses. I guess now that I am going to be a mother, I can forget doing any work outside, I should dump the idea of a hard workout, and looking sexy will never happen again. Other than my new elastic waist jeans, I am totally not digging my choices in maternity wear. It all looks so…..boring.

 I finally decided against purchasing anything else new, and would pull something from my own closet. I have a cute black, yellow, and teal blue dress I think will work. It is one of those dresses that is like a bubble skirt with a tighter band at the bottom. The bubble skirt will have plenty of room for the expanding belly.  The dress is low cut, which is all Case is concerned about anyways now that the little bean in my belly has so graciously blessed me with tata’s that I never imagined I would be able to have, without surgery. Lol J Thanks ‘lil Bean. This will just have to do…….now to attempt to squeeze my feet into my prepregnancy heels. I am not far enough along to have major foot swelling, but I have a mad case of plantar fasciitis in my left foot, that isn’t being helped by the new weight gain.

Enough with my rant on maternity clothing…..so today I ventured out with Grandmamma June and Aunt Dale to Smalltown USA….Athens, Alabama. I love my Athens…..it has that quaint hometown feel. The thing I like the most about Athens – about 100 fewer traffic lights than Madison. J Sorry Madison, I have been sending my tax dollars into Athens here lately, I can’t seem to even drive across Madison without  wasting HOURS in traffic lights. While farther from my home, Athens has become a quicker trip for shopping and dinning, than Madison.

Every small town has one, an old school (REALLY OLD SCHOOL, like pre civil rights movement kind of old) greasy burger joints with the lunch bar counter. Huntsville has Big Spring Café, Decatur has C.F. Penn’s Hamburgers, Athens has Dub’s burgers…..every town has one. All of these healthy choices will often advertise, as soon as you walk in, that they have been using the same cooking oil for the past _____ number of years (at least more than 60 years in most cases). In a generation of organic, non-beef tallow, no high fructose corn syrup, whole gains only touted foods; you would think that these kinds of burger joints would have went to the way side years ago. On the contrary, these restaurants are just as busy as ever.  If you have never been to a burger counter like one of these, I suggest that you harden up your gastrointestinal track and take a venture down retro burger lane. This style of hamburger is what our grandparents grew up with before foods were baked, broiled, and grilled. I call it “retro” because you won’t find any modern fast food restaurants that make  hamburgers like this. These hamburgers are fried (in the 100 year old recycled oil) to the point where there is this glorious fine “crust” encompassing the hamburger meat mixture. Think Taco Bell was the first to come up with a “Meat Mixture”, no. These “retro” burger joints are not serving you a 100% beef patty, matter of fact, we aren’t really sure what it is….but it doesn’t really matter because whatever it is, it is an amazing slice of heaven between mustard, real hearty chucks of onion, and a bun. To be truthful, before I turn some of you folks delicate tummy’s into a wad….most of these restaurants supplement the ground beef with eggs and bread crumbs or crackers. This gives the fried burger that nice golden dark brown crust of heaven, it also gives the burger a softer consistency which is strikingly different than the tougher texture of a 100% ground beef patty. I do prefer the softer “reto” burger over our modern fast food burgers any day of the week. Basically it is meatloaf in the form of a burger, without the ketchup.

I have digressed…..I got lost in my own burger fantasy there for a moment. J The point of this story…..while Grandmamma and I were in Athens we noticed that Dub’s Hamburgers was still open. (Often these Mom and Pop burger places close early in the day on Saturdays). Her and I stopped, and ‘lil Bean had it’s first Dub’s Hamburger. Only the best mystery meat for my growing fetus. Pregnant with the inability to indulge myself in any vices……my Dub’s burger was like heaven.

My Baby TOTALLY looks like the Robot from Mystery Science Theater 3000

1/3/12

11 weeks fat

Had my 2^nd prenatal appointment today. Case was going to go with me on this one, but well…..he had went with me the day before when the office was closed. Yea………. So the day before today, (1/2/12) I was all gitty and excited because Case and I had the day off, and because he was off work, he was going to be able to go with me to my prenatal appointment and hear the baby’s heartbeat. I was so excited I could hardly sleep a wink. I could not wait for Case to experience the same elation as I had, when I first heard the baby’s heart thump. On Monday morning, he and I wake up at 7:30, shower, and head out the door just a few minutes early (that NEVER happens). He needed diesel, and we were about 20 minutes early, so we stopped at the Jet Pep. Some stoned guy bugged Case for gas money, of course not for too long though, at 6’7 and 270lbs, if the man says “no” you leave. LOL. Then off to my appointment we went. I was more excited than Case, but I could tell he was interested to see what this was all about as well. We roll up to the Medical Plaza, hmmmmmm there are not many cars in the parking lot, maybe the other offices are closed. We walk in, I turn the handle on the office door, “click, click”. A sign on the door said they were closed for the holidays. I promised up and down sideways that they had told me that my appointment was on Jan. the 2^nd. I KNOW THEY DID. I was so heartbroken, I nearly cried…..and I am not an emotional girl. Disappoitment swept over my face, and my big doe eyes must have broken Case’s heart. He gave me a hug, told me it was ok…. That ne needed to get up and get to work on his Jeep project anyways. No harm no foul. Lots more hugs and pats on my back.

……..so…….day 2 of the 2^nd prenatal appointment. MULLIGAN. Case had already left for work by the time I had woken up at 7am. I was suppose to call him as soon as I called the Dr. office to MAKE SURE my appointment was today at 8:30. Apparently it was not meant to be for Case to be at this appointment, because at 8:25am, NO ONE WOULD ANSWER THE OFFICE PHONE. At that time, it was too late for Case to meet me there, so I called my mom.  She was ready to go in a split second. “Hey Momma, you wanna go t………..” “Yea hun, sure be right there (click)”. We go in and they put Momma in my exam room while they have me pee in a cup, take my BP (95/70, it dropped) and check my weight. I nearly fainted when I saw that I had gained 6lbs. 6 POUNDS!?!?!?! HOW?!?!!? I was totally flipped out. I had read online and in books that I was not suppose to gain more than 4lbs in the 1^st trimester. I just knew the Dr. was going to have a freak out on me. The Dr. walks into the exam room, and it was one of the 1^st things I asked……”have I gained too much weight, I saw where I gained 6lbs.” The Dr. reassured me that this was normal and I was on schedule to gain 30lbs over the course of my pregnancy. She tried to make me feel better by adding in that we ALL had gained about 3-4 lbs over Christmas break, then add another 1-2 lbs for the baby…there you go. This was not the most reassuring answer for me, but nothing I can do about it now. I was really nauseated and sick feeling, sure some days I ate a good bit, but it was balanced out by days where I hardly ate a bite. I really made a point to not over eat, and to try to stick only to the health things, limiting my junk/fast food. Oh well…….. it is what it is……I normally gain weight in my legs and butt, which are still the same size. Maybe the alien in my belly will rub my fat down to a thin layer with all that squirming around ‘lil Bean is doing in my belly.

Next they checked the fetal heart rate with the Doppler. No dice…baby was still to small for the handheld fetal Doppler to pick up any heartbeats. I did hear the blood rushing to my uterus……yea…..that is exciting….woooooo…. blood in my uterus. Get to the good stuff lady, I wanna see the creature in my belly! Mom and I got very excited when the Dr. told us that she had to have a heartbeat and that if the Doppler wasn’t strong enough, looks like another ultrasound was in store. The Dr. was about as excited about that as we were.  Yeaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!! MORE BEAN PHOTOS. We were very excited, especially since an elective ultra sound is normally an additional $75. Ouch. They take mom and I back to the ultra sound room, and this time, they performed the ultra sound on my belly….instead of more…..invasively like last time. J  The lady performing the ultra sound was so excited for us. We got to see Lil Bean move around, it pressed its little face right up against my belly at one point, did some flips in my belly, put its butt toward us, laid on its side, on its back, then again on its side, hands over its head, hands around its body, little legs going in every which direction……the ultrasound technician said, “My you have a very active baby in there”. Oh boy……an active baby, that means I won’t sleep a wink once those kicks become bigger and more powerful. It was so neat to watch my baby swimming around, kicking its little legs and arms, in my belly. Lil Bean wouldn’t set still for a photo for too long……and of course like all sonogram photos, my baby looks like some kind of alien. Of course I think it is great, but I am pretty sure the rest of the world finds the sonogram of the face, incredibly creepy. ROFL. I won’t force you to look at my naked pregnant belly, but you will have to look at my funny alien sonogram photos. Sorry ya’ll J.

We got to hear the heartbeat……boy that little heart was a pumping away at 171 BPM. We could see the tiny heart inside of Bean beating away on the sonogram. The Dr. said that if we wanted to put any stock into the old wives tale of being able to determine the gender of the baby based on the heartrate, then I am on tap for a possible girl. Everyone keeps asking Case and I what we want, to be honest, we just want a baby that has all 10 fingers and toes, and all its brain cells firing on all cylinders. We are going to get what we are supposed to have, and our baby will be  a wonderful blessing and loved, regardless of what gender it is……or what gender it may *think* it is in the future. It is our beautiful child and we love it no matter what………awwww J

 We ain’t greedy, we will take whatever…..more hands for the farm work and chores!

So be sure to check out my awkward baby sonogram photo! Maybe I should host a contest to see who can best describe what my baby looks like….. I said that it looked like the Robot from Mystery Science Theater 3000. LOL!!!