5 month check up!

We went in for a regular check up. We heard our little ones heartbeat loud and clear and I have official gained a whopping 20lbs! That is amazing to me. Now only 15-20lbs more to go. This was the check the I had to drink the highly concentrated orange drink for the glucose test. I am praying I pass with all flying color because I don't want to go back in for more blood work and on top of that deal with gestational diabetes. Not fun from what I hear.

So no new news from this check up besides the new weight gain and doing the glucose test. The doctor said everything sounded great and he would see me in 4 weeks then after that it will be every 2 weeks! We are getting close!!!

Week 22: How I feel

Ouch....My Eyes
I had read in the books that your eyes become drier while you are pregnant. I didn't think this would be a problem with me, but apparently it is. I have worn contacts for 14 years and I've had maybe 4 scratches/ulcers in my eyes from sleeping in my contacts during that over decade long time span. I really do not enjoy going to sleep and waking up practically blind. It is very annoying rummaging through your stuff in the dark looking for your glasses and there are many of times I never find them and I am walking around the house like a zombie. Thus, I sleep in my contacts. I even invested on contacts that I am allowed to sleep in or where for long periods of time. However, my eyes must be really really dry now because everytime I sleep in my contacts I wake up the next morning with my eye red, swollen and being in major pain. Then I have to wear my old glasses for a week and put in these antibiotic eyedrops I had from a year ago. So I don't have to continously go to the eye doctor. I have to say now I've had about 5 scratches in my eyes in the last 3 months. So annoying. I guess I will just be taking these contacts on & off every night. Really not fun when you go to the restroom 4 times a night and trip over dogs or beds.

Is That A Line?
The dreaded line on the belly that I was hoping would come towards the end my pregnancy is here. Right now it is a very very faint line, but I see it. I hope it doesn't get darker. I don't think it is super attractive next to the belly button that will pop out soon. Another change on my body that I will just have to deal with the next few months.

Nom Nom Nom
Looks like I have a growing appetite now. Before the pregnancy I always had tons of leftovers with all my meals and I was rarely hungry. I basically ate like a bird. Oh boy have the times change. I now have nothing on my plate, I go for second helpings, then 2 hours later I am hungry AGAIN! This is so not like me, but I gotta do whatever it takes to makes this baby happy and gain a healthy amount of weight. I just know now I can eat a whole pizza faster than Mike. And yes that is a huge accomplishement. Tee Hee!

How I feel: Week 21

Daddy Felt The Kicks!
Since the baby started to kick. Mike has been very persistent on trying to see if he could feel the baby kick. For 2 straight weeks he didn't feel anything. And I felt so bad because I knew how bad he wanted to feel his little one like I did. Feel a part of the whole thing. Finally one night he felt the little kick and made a sound. I said, "Did you feel the baby?????" This time I was not disappoint with the answer. He had a big grin on his face and said, "Yes." Since then he has felt the baby several times. I am soooo thrilled that he FINALLY got to feel his night owl baby rolling and kicking in me. It was a wonderful moment!

Ugh So UGLY!
Ugh....the other night. Mike noticed on my hips the thing I was trying to avoid through out this whole pregnancy. Yes.....STRETCH MARKS!!! UGH!!!! I just wanted to cry!!! However, looking again after all the emotions had passed....they look like the small little marks I had during my growth spurt when I was younger. They are just more apparent because my butt is getting bigger. Yes, you heard right my BEHIND is getting bigger! I am kind of glad about this because I have no butt. However, I would love to have a bigger butt with out the war wounds that are being left there. Oh well.....the things that come with having a little one.

Loving TIGHTS & LEGGINGS!
At work I had several events that I was going to that I needed to look decent for. So I decided to shop a little because my current maternity wear (pants) made me look frumpy and not a glowing prego. I bought a cute dress, leggings, tights & a long shirt. And boy do the tights and the leggings comfortable. Why didn't I wear these before!?!  I want to wear them more often, but I need to find a few more tops and dresses that are more decent for work and not so casual or super dressy. I will be going on the hunt again, but I am feeling better now about shopping. Because I got so many great compliments about what I wearing before. And my husband said I was a "HOT MOMMA," which totally made my day! So I am motivated...I want to be a "hot momma" ALWAYS!

Registering has BEGUN!
I had been putting off registering because the last time I was at Babies R' Us I was completely overwhelmed. I just wanted to walk right out after I walked in. Last time I just stood on the bottle & nipple for literally 30 minutes with a blank stare. Wow....what an experience. So I began my registry online because it wasn't as bad as being there in person. I was hoping to go to Babies R' Us just once to look at the stroller and car seat. However, I started to think about it more I need to look at more stuff in person. I thought I would do this closer to my personal shower date in January. But my co workers wanted to throw me a shower at the end of November. So I went this week to Babies R' Us when I had a 1/2 day off. I figured going in the middle of the day wouldn't be as bad because I can take my time with out people rushing me and standing around me. My experience this time wasn't all too bad. I still have no idea what I am doing. I this was a PetSmart registry I would know exactly what I needed and want! But with this baby I have no idea!!! Maybe I will get gift cards and I can use them afterwards because I more than likely will making more trips then. The next place I need to tackle the registering will be Target!

How I feel: 20 weeks

Night Owl Baby!
This baby is definitely a Martin baby! It kicks like crazy at night. Little flicks to my belly while I am watching my shoes or laying in bed at night. I feel the baby also move during the day, but not as much as I do in the night. It is so surreal feeling the kicks and I am very much enjoying it. I just know these movements will get stronger as the baby gets bigger and it won't be as much fun at night.

5th Disease Testing
Kim had emailed me that my youngest niece Evella has 5th disease aka slap cheek. It is basically a rash that you have for several weeks on your face looking like you got slapped in the face. It is alot like chicken pox once you get it once you are immuned to it and never get it again. That weekend prior we had spent a little time with her at Traci's baby shower. Kim had looked up that 5th disease can have some harmful effects on pregnant women if they get it. Kim suggested that I get tested at my doctor to see if I was exposed to it or not. There is no telling if I was immune or not.They say 50% of women are immune so it shouldn't be a big deal and also the mainly effects to earlier pregnancies. I called the doctor and did a blood test to make sure. So if I did have it they would just monitor me closer because there is no medication to cure it. I didn't hear back from the doctor so I assume everything is okay.


Half Way There
I mentioned this in the 20 week ultra sound portion. But I really can't believe we are 1/2 way there!! This week seemed sooooo far away. The next 20 weeks will just creep up on us. I am really excited to meet our new baby. I am little nervous just to the life change and all, but it will be all worth it! Even though we are scared to death. It's all good!

20 weeks! It is really popping now!

20 week ultrasound!

Wow! I can't believe we are at 20 weeks and got to see our little one at the half way point. This day always seemed so far away for us. It was finally here and it was incredible! I love our ultrasound tech because she is so sweet and she is pregnant as well. She is due 2 days after me on the 25th!!

The ultrasound showed nothing, but great news! Heartbeat was at 160 and we got see all the heart valves pumping like crazy. The little spine was so much more intricate that we last saw at 14 weeks. The baby is just almost 1 whole pound and is in the 59th percentile! I also have gain in total 15 pounds! Woo Hoo!

We also confirmed the baby's gender and got a great shot. But of course I am not going to put that here until after we reveal the gender in January. :-)

Some snapshots of our cute little Martin at 20 weeks and 1 day.

Little Martin toes. Mike thinks the baby has my toes since 

the little pinky toe is so small compared to the others.

 

We have an Aggie in my womb!! Gig'em!!

Awwww....Looks like it has its' mommy's big eyes.

Baby definitely has Daddy's nose.

Week 19: How I feel

Finally told someone
I went to the dentist to get my teeth cleaned this week. So many great things during this appointment. (1) Baby moved for the first time (2) I finally got to tell someone what we were having.

My dentist starts chatting & asking questions about our pregnancy then he asks the question that everyone asks, "Do you know what you are having?" I said, "Yes, but we are keeping a secret, but I am going to tell you because I have been dying to tell someone." He laughed and promised he didn't know our parents and would keep it hush. I laughed as I told him. It felt great! It was really surreal finally being able to say it out loud that we are having a...... (not till the shower till everyone will find out). I also told the ladies at the front desk since I was on a roll. I didn't care if they knew too. I only see these people twice a year. So what the heck! I can't wait to annouce it to everyone at the shower in January.

We go in for an 20 week ultrasound this week, which will probably confirm the gender because I am not completly sold on what it is.

Rebellious Dogs!
I just want to strangle our 3 dogs. The dogs were originally getting out through the back of the yard. So I decided to take charge after one of their escapes in the evening. I huffed and puffed at 17 weeks and fixed the fence succesfully by myself. They never got out from that access point. SUCCESS!!

Now....there is a part of the fence in our front yard where a tree fell from Ike. The fence is much lower and Mike had fixed at one point, but there is another part that the dogs were climbing over. All 3 including hefty Mr. Bentley. When Bentley first did it 9 months back the other 2 dogs couldn't do it and he climbed over very seldomly. Now it is practically everyday with Lucy. Last week I thought I would give my carpentry skills a try again. I just placed one of the metal sheets higher than the fence so they couldn't climb over. I thought it would work. FAIL!!! Bentley & Lucy still climbed over their same side. Then all of the sudden when I trying to stop the other two I see Maverick in the corner of my eye run back and jump over the 6 ft rigged fence I had built. I was just amazed that he could do that. I never saw him as a jumper. Then I had to go get them down the street as usual, but this time I had to refrain Lucy from killing poor little chicken. She is nuts!

After many the escapes my stomach always tightens up from the stress and always worries me that it is hurting the baby. And worse....l;ead to misscarriage. I finally asked me to PLEASE fix the fence. Mike finally fixed the fence so hopefully now they won't do it again. I really need the dog whisper out here to help us with their escaping. Hopefully walking Bentley and the 2 other dogs will help with the want to get out. I just can't have another Coyte accident happen again. I couldn't live with another incident like that again the guilt just destroys me.

Nursery in the Works
We had our garage sale the weekend before to clear out the room. So we are good to go starting to work on the nursery!!! Yay! I didn't know when we would start, but one evening this week while I was watching my show I noticed that Mike had disappeared. I walked in the hallway and saw pieces of carpet in the hallway. He had started to rip up all the carpet in the room!! WOO HOO! He took it all out. All we need to do now is finalize paint colors and paint the room. Then work on the floors! I can't wait to start working on it! It will be sooooo much fun!! Finally get to decorate a room for a baby!!!

Felt the Baby!!

Today I am exactly 19 weeks and I went to the dentist to get my teeth cleaned. As I was laying in the dentist chair the hygienist was talking to me and all of sudden I felt my abdomen area move from bottom to the top on the right. It felt like a huge gas bubble rolling. I knew it was the baby moving since it was hard right in that area. I was shocked and in the middle of our conversation I held the area and just said, "Ohhhh....Whoa." The hygienst asked, "Did you feel the baby move." I responded, "Oh yeah." I really wanted to jumped up and down for joy. I had to stay calm, but it was so exciting to finally feel our baby move. It is surreal!!!

Week 18: How I feel

Hello to My Teenager Skin
It has been known that I NEVER have problems with my skin. Only when I am extremely stressed out is when I break out around my chin area. Even after I stopped taking birth control my skin went a little wild, but went back to normal. I can remember as a teenager that I rarely had a pimple. Just recently I have these huge mountains of ugliness just pop up on my face. Literally it feels like everyday Mike points to me and says,"Did that thing just pop up in 1 day???" And the answer is always YES! It is extremely frustrating since I wash my face day and night. I take care my skin more now then I did before I was pregnant and I have the worse skin problems. I know it's because the increase in hormones, but can't I just have that glowing skin that you hear pregnant women have?? I guess not....maybe in a few weeks!

A Stranger Asked...
People that know me already know that I am pregnant so they are looking for the baby bump. They see it right away even though it's not anything to get too excited over. I am in that middle stage that some days I just look like I have a gut and some days I look preggo. However, for the first time this weekend I had a complete stranger, at our garage sale we had this weekend, asked me if i was expecting. I was so excited because that meant my bump was actually apparent!! WOO HOO! Strangers only ask when they know for sure or either just plain rude. Ha! This was definitely a monumental thing for me!!

Week 18

4 month check up

We went on our 4 month check up this past Thursday. I didn't know what to expect since it was the first time we just went in for a regular check up. The other times there were ultra sounds, pap smears, blood test, & etc. I didn't expect any new tests or ultra sounds. So I was curious to see what would happen.

The wait wasn't long this time...thank goodness. Usually the waiting room would be completely full of pregnant women who are about to pop! We went in about 9:15ish or so. Didn't wait long for the doctor either. He asked if we had any questions and then did what I was waiting to hear for a month! The heartbeat! He pulled that doppler that I hated a couple months back when it didn't detect the heartbeat. However, this time it took literally not even a second to find that little heart beat. It was beating at a strong 152! Everything sounded great! I was feeling good!

He then asked if we wanted to test for Downs. I said yes automatically. Didn't even ask Mike what his thoughts were, which I should have. I just thought it would just be a good test to take. So we stayed in the room for another 30 minutes to do my blood work. So I have gotten plenty of blood work in the past and this time it was the most painful thing I have ever experience. Usually it is just the prick of the needle for a couple of seconds, but this was excruciating pain from the prick to the drawing of the blood and afterwards. Just pain!!!

People have asked me why did I want to take the Downs test. And I tell people just to ease my mind, but then I start to think. If I did find out if we had a baby that had Downs what would we do we are literally 1/2 way through the pregnancy. I am not sure what we would do in that situation. That would be a pretty serious conversation between Mike and I because I am not sure how he feels about it. We will cross that bridge when we get there. Just taking it one day at a time.

I am really looking forward to our 20 week ultrasound which is scheduled for 2 weeks. I can't wait to see our little baby move. It will be 2 months since we have seen it!

Week 17: How I feel

Spots....galore
I've always had a few light sun spots on my face and the back of my arms. I had a lot removed when I graduated from college when I went to Korea. Some came back because of the hellish sun beams that we get here in Houston. A little bit of concealer always covered them up. However, I noticed the past few weeks and especially this week that I am finding more of these sun spots. And they are the darkest they have ever been. There not just showing up on the back of my arms like a game of connect the dots, but even my legs!! And even worse they spots are becoming darker on my face. I've heard this occurring of dark pigments on your skin, but this is just ridiculous. Concealer is barely covering up what is on my face. The back of my left arm is just now embarassing. I decided after we have our last child I will get the spots removed. They make very self conscious. Most people say it isn't a big deal, but to me they are. These spots are not like your typical freckles. They are HUGE!!!

I'm Part Of The Club
I attended one of our long time Cutco friends, Matt & Leeanne's, baby shower this week. This shower was for 3 girls due a month apart from each other. As soon as I walked in I felt so welcomed. I felt like I was part of a new club, The Preggo Club. We talked so much about each other pregnancies and we have gone through and what I should expect the months to come. It was really nice to chat with other gals. I am usually distant with people I don't know very well and stay pretty much to myself especially with women. I had a great time though listening to everyone's experiences.

I noticed since I have been pregnant that anyone who is a mother is the same way as the girls were to me at the shower. Opening up there arms to me and sharing there experience and genuninely interested on how I am doing. I am in the "new" club. Yes! Definetly different, but I am really enjoying it. I compare it to becoming an official Aggie. Only Aggie's know how it feels to be an Aggie. I guess that goes the same way being preggo. It's awesome!