It's official.

I look pregnant.

Before today, I've not had a stranger ask me when I was due straight up without my mentioning that I was expecting (except one guy, but I'm pretty sure he was on something and had no sense of tact). Today I've been outwardly asked at least three times, without my prompting. And I'm wearing a black shirt that makes me seem less big, in my opinion (see picture below). But nevertheless, I've reached that stage where people are confident enough to ask about the baby without hesitating or wondering "Is she pregnant or just a little chunky around the middle?".

The answer is most definitely, pregnant. Though when I'm stting down and slouching the chunky part is up for debate.

24 week photos

Ok so I'm not quite 24 weeks yet, but close enough. :-) These pics are of me in my new birthday outfit from my best friend in New York, and one of DH and me from a wedding we went to this weekend.

Pinched Nerve...I think

I think I have a pinched nerve in my lower left back, right where my back dimples are. (By the way, I found out today that those dimples are called rhombua of michaelus, and apparently they move apart during labor.) I have back pain, and then there's the pinched nerve feeling... I don't know what to do about it. It really exaggerates my pregnant-lady waddle I have going on, because when I stand up it really hurts then decreases the more I keep walking. Tonight I'm going to spend 30 minutes on a treadmill (walking quickly) to see if that aggrevates it or improves it. That and a heating pad. And my hips are starting to hurt, but I can't do anything about that.

During mass on Sunday, Beth was going nutso, I don't know why. My sister was next to me and she could not only feel but see the kicks... They're getting stronger and more frequent these days!

I promise I'll post some pics tonight from the wedding and anything else I can find. It's time for a 6th-month pic, since I am now officially (well, according to my little book) in my 6th lunar month of pregnancy. Yay!

My birthday

I had the most wonderful birthday ever! Which was really nice because I wasn't expecting anything major for boring old 24. :-) Little things happened throughout the day that really reminded me of what a lucky person I am to have such wonderful people who care for and love me. I had so many people come to dinner to help celebrate with us- it's nice being surrounded by everyone you know, even if they don't know each other! The only down side is I wish I could have spent more time with each person, and there were a few very important people that couldn't be there as well. They know who they are...

But back to the point of the blog. :-) I am starting to have major back pain as a result of I don't know what. I've decided that I WILL get back on my walking and stretching routine, which *should* hopefully help my back. I'm telling you, I'm okay sitting here, but walking hurts like the pain of a thousand knives. Is that from a movie? I don't know. It really hurts though.

I received a gift card for a massage at a spa, which part of me wants to wait until I get a little bigger but now I'm thinking would be a good time for a massage. If I wait too much longer they might have to wheel me in in a wheelchair. I also received a gift card from my boss in an obscene amount to the maternity stores (Motherhood, MiMi, and Pea in a Pod- all owned by the same company). I went into MiMi Maternity and figured I could buy $60 shirts or pants there, or I could head to Motherhood and buy $20 shirts there. So I chose the latter. Today, I lost track of time and went crazy like I haven't done since my parents paid for my clothing. I wound up buying a white tank that says "baby", a green dress, a cute sweater that ties right over my ever-growing belly for "cold" weather (yeah, right), some gray capri pants nice enough for work, and a pretty black and white shirt. I think that's all I got, but I might be forgetting something. I went $18 over the limit though, but it was worth it. I haven't shopped like that in forever, and I think I got it out of my system!

DH and I have decided to take birthing classes starting in late September since we're not sure when/if we'll be moving. We'll do the classes, which are for three consecutive weeks, at our current hospital and if we do move, then we can take a "refresher" course around Thanksgiving. I suppose it's better to be over-prepared than under-prepared, though I've heard once you get in the L&D room, everything you've learned goes out the window...Anyways, I'd like to think we're preparing!

We're heading to Austin this weekend to attend a wedding of two of my high school friends who are marrying each other. I expect I'll see some people I haven't seen in years who don't even know I'm married, let alone pregnant, so this could be interesting!

Braxton Hicks Contractions

They've officially started. I thought I had one at around 16 or 17 weeks (don't remember) when I visited my grandfather in the ER, but I wasn't positive. Last Thursday and Friday I definitely had one on each day. It was weird, all of the sudden my lower stomach got rock solid and it stayed that way for 15-30 seconds. Then it stopped. It didn't hurt, but both times just caught me off guard!

Birthdays

At the request of Dr. Storm, I am updating my blog. :-)

Last Saturday, the 19th, was DH's birthday. I had plans to buy him concert tickets to go see one of his favorite bands with some of his guy friends (I'm a good wife) but unfortunately the concert sold out. I even resorted to calling the radio station that was giving away tickets and begging- on air. It was interesting. Luckily DH heard me on-air and decided that was funny enough to be a good present, because they didn't give me tickets! So we went to vist DH's parents instead. We spent the weekend with them, grilling and relaxing with them and DH's brother and brother's fiance. I helped them mow their front and backyard on a riding lawn mower- with me, DH on a push mower and father-in-law on the weed eater, it took us a record 1 hour 15 minutes. So you can imagine how large the yard it! Bethany enjoyed the riding mower- bumping up and down for an hour was apparently like an amusement park ride because I REALLY felt her kicking me for the rest of the weekend!

We watched V for Vendetta Saturday night- I enjoyed the movie for the most part. I liked the plot, could have done without the slow-mo gore action.

Yesterday, Monday, I felt pretty miserable. It was like I was back in my first trimester again- no appetite, tired, headaches, nauseous...I left work early and went home to sleep. My brother was planning on visiting that night so I willed myself to perk up a bit. He showed up and we had a nice visit (DH had class that night). We made a cheesecake (yummy) and he took me to dinner for my birthday tomorrow, then we went to see the Body Worlds exhibit at the museum (link not working... http://houstonbodyworlds3.com/). VERY cool. My brother, being the nerd that he is, was naming parts the entire time and I learned how small a uterus really is to start off with... And now mine is huge... They also had a baby that was 21-22 weeks pre-born. I'm 23 weeks tomorrow so it really gave me a good idea of what Bethany looks like right now. Basically, a perfect little tiny body, about 7 to 9 inches head-to-rump.

Tomorrow is my birthday, I'll be a whopping 24-years-old. This is the age I will be when I have my first child, buy my first house, celebrate my second wedding anniversary. 23 was a fabulous age, I hope 24 is even better. I am meeting with friends to celebrate at the Cheesecake Factory- I am sooooo looking forward to some avacado egg rolls!!! And since we have plain cheesecake at home, I'll be indulging in some major cholocate tomorrow night as well. Mmm... Avacado and chocolate...

Feeling kicks!

Honestly, I've been feeling kicks for about 3 weeks now (since around 19 weeks), but now they're very obvious. She's a very active little baby! Last time I measured, my waist was 38 inches, and she's about 7-8 inches big right now (and she was measuring big). So I guess it's very possible for me to be feeling these kicks pretty strongly.

Ok honestly, I was bored at work so I kind of laid back in my chair and pulled up my shirt a bit and stared at my stomach (she's really going to town in there right now). I promise you, I SAW several kicks or jabs or pokes or whatever, right to the right and about an inch below my belly button. VERY obvious movements that didn't involve my bodily functions. :-) She's going nuts in there right now, and I don't know why! Maybe I should go eat? I haven't had any caffeine this morning. Regardless, this is one of the best feelings in the world, knowing my little baby is swimming around in there right now!

It's a...

???

Bad news! Baby didn't cooperate fully... The ultrasound tech wasn't able to get a clear shot of the gender organs, but at one point she said she saw 3 little lines are indicative of a.... girl! BUT!!! It's not a for sure, positive thing. The other news is that as of our ultrasound last Tuesday, she was sitting breech, so we get to have another ultrasound in October. Hopefullly then we'll have another peek, see if we can be a little more certain of her gender. :-) She's also measuring in the 95th percentile for her age catagory, which means she's a big one. Her daddy is proud!

We're still going to go with mostly gender-neutral items at this point. If we have a more definite picture in October then I might want a few pink items, but gender-neutral I guess is the smart thing in the long run, since we do plan on having a Neunuebel clan. ;-)

Our vacation was lots of fun, I'll post a pic or two when I have a chance!

Weekend Recap

Saturday we went out for our first real "house hunting" experience- very exciting! We drove through several neighborhoods with our realtor and walked through 3 houses. The first house was a dirty mess, it was a foreclosure so it hasn't been fixed up at all, not even vacuumed. It was sort of neat to think how we could totally redo the house, but considering I'll be 8 months pregnant when we finally buy a house, I don't know how much help I'd be doing something like that. The second house was AMAZINE, they'd obviously been watching their TLC and HGTV "sell this house"-type shows. We'd have made an offere if we'd been ready to buy. The third house was a 70s, out-of-date ugly thing. Definitely not. After talking it out with the realtor, we decided that to move into a house in November, we'll need to close in October, which means we need to seriously look to buy in September. Which is next month. :-)

On Saturday when we got home, I was relaxing on the sofa when I felt the baby kick. I've been pretty much feeling them every day, but this time he or she was really going at it! I called DH over to me and he put his hands on my belly, and he felt his first kick. :-) He was so excited and so happy! It was another reality check for him- this is really happening!

Tomorrow is the big day! We're heading right out after the appointment to go on vacation to the beach, so I won't be blogging again until next week sometime. But hopefully by then, everyone will know so I can post it publicly. :-) Until then!

8 DAYS!

*8* days until we find out if I'm carrying a boy or girl!

Let the polls open... Please repond to this post and give me your vote- BOY OR GIRL?


The results will be posted AFTER both sets of grandparents have found out. :-)

I got it!

With the help from some friends, I decided that I wasn't ready to give up my belly button ring yet. So I purchased a "maternity" ring from here. I bought the first ring listed on the page. It came in the mail yesterday, so of course, I cleaned it and stuck it in. I had to trim it quite a bit, since it was so long it was uncomfortable. I can't imagine I'll need it longer, but if so, it was only 4 bucks. :-)

Only one more week until we find out! The anticipation is wonderful! I want to have mostly gender-neutral items for the baby, but I think that buying some little pink socks or baseball-themed onesies are defintely in order. :-)

This week I researched slings and pouches. I think I've narrowed it down to having one of several, to see which is best for what. I really like the looks of pouches but I think slings might be easier to discreetly breastfeed in public with. I'm still debating a wrap- I'm thinking since they're two-shoulder instead of one shoulder, they might be better as the baby gets older.

I really like these and these pouches. I haven't found any slings yet that I'm in love with... But to help you get the idea (if you've never seen a ring sling before), some can be found here. Next week, I plan on researching cloth diapers!

Physical Therapy

This week I started physical therapy for my neck. It was prescribed by my internist, who is a genius and the best doctor I've ever visited. Anyway, we have fantastic insurance so the copay is decenet per visit, and I will go three times a week for 4 weeks. So far this week I've been twice, and she's talked to me about the pain (the headaches), applied heat to my neck, massaged my neck and showed me how to do some stretches. It's soooo wonderful, she can tell just by feeling my neck where the tension and pain is. So this is something I'll be doing for the next several weeks.

I also decided that I wasn't ready to part with my belly ring, so I ordered one. It's made with PTFE, a medical plastic substance, and has a metal ball on either end. I'm looking forward to getting it soon since my current one keeps falling/slipping out since I lost one of the metal balls...

We have a slow weekend planned. DH has a final to study for, so we'll probably go to Barnes and Noble so he can study, I'll be the person sitting in the aisles reading books. :-) Most likely pregnancy and labor books, of course. So far, I've been told to check out some Dr. Sears books and another one- can't remember the title right now. I just finished the entire Scarpetta series by Patricia Cornwell (fiction), so I also need to find another writer to get hooked on. Preferably another series-type thing, because I like reading about the same characters in different books. Suggestions?

I want to, but I can't.

I've tried four times to take out my belly button ring, to let the hole close up. Every time I've put it back in, I can't help but feel I'm losing a part of me. It's pathetic, but when you think about it, I've had it since January of 2002. It's been quite awhile! I figured I'd just let the hole close up, but I'm not ready to let it go. I keep hoping it'll fall out and I won't notice, so it will close up on its own. That hasn't happened yet. I'm so torn!

18 week photos

Big belly.

Ignore my face. :-b

This photo was taken July 16, 2006- our one year wedding anniversary. It's at St. Mary's Cathedral and we were lucky enough to be able to attend mass on our anniversary date at that church. :-)

The year before!

Current Ailments

1. Super stong and quick-growing fingernails (they're so pretty, I want to paint them)
2. Heightened sense of smell (kind of a bad thing, especially with a cat box around the house)
3. A vein in my right wrist that I can see pumping through my skin. Really entertaining when I'm bored.
4. Who knew I had hair on my stomach?
5. I can see inside my belly button without having to move it around (not really a useful talent).
6. My back is like an accordion. I sit down and it compresses down. When I stand up, it pops and feels like the spaces between my veretebra increases by a huge amount. I've never heard it pop this much.
7. Itchy belly.
8. Emotional. Moody. Short-tempered?

Our 1 Year Anniversary

As of Sunday July 16, we've been married for a whole year. :-) My fantastic DH surprised me and took me out of town on many adventures, he even secured a day off of work for me. I was able to see family, visit the church we were married in, feed sheep, read the hearts written for us at our reception, eat peach ice cream, watch bats at dusk, antique shop, and enjoy my husband's company. It was really a great weekend. Plus my little car, who so faithfully takes us wherever we need to go with decent gas milage, surpassed 100K miles this weekend. And she's still going!

I don't know if it is our anniversary or the pregnancy but I'm SO emotional right now. It's funny, at a friend's wedding when I was only 10 or 12 weeks pregnant, I couldn't manage to cry a tear. But now, silly things like a song or commercial or even just a memory make me want to bawl! I've really been having to control myself, because once I start crying it's hard for me to stop, and my nose gets really stuffy and it's hard to breath. All because of pregnancy!

I'm also starting, just now, to have real cravings. I fixate on something until I get it. Recent examples have included an M&M Sonic Blast, chocolate (any kind), Dr. Pepper (non-diet) and other things that are really bad for me. Actually I just polished off a a bag of peanut M&Ms, a regular-sized bag. Lasted about 3 minutes and I REALLY want some more.

It's more than obvious that I have a pooch now. My dad jokingly and (hopefully) lovingly called it a pudge, I believe. I gave in and purchased two pairs of maternity blue jeans from Kohls and JC Penny yesterday, I couldn't hold out any longer. I have maybe 6 or 7 pairs of blue jeanas, and only one pair still fit, so it was time. I guess I should post another picture soon!

Besides the occasional headaches (no more migranes!), I am really feeling good. I'm enjoying being pregnant right now, I'm at a very pleasant stage. Almost 18 weeks, I'm waiting to feel a kick or a nudge from little baby... I have felt what *could* be the baby, but I'm not positive that's what it is. It's difficult being a first-time mom! Just as I was writing this, I felt what could have been the baby, on my left side maybe about a finger's length from my belly button. Maybe he/she is saying hello. :-) I read in a book that at this point, babies can hear pretty well, so I'm wondering if I should do the Mozart to the belly thing... Actually in the book I was reading, it talked about how this baby, after birth, would always quiet down when the theme song of a particular soap opera would come on... Because the mom watched it every day while pregnant. Definitely something to think about!

Wham, Bam, Thank you Ma'am

We had our third doctor appointment today... It went so fast! She listened to the heartbeat for maybe a few seconds, told me to pee in a cup, took some blood for tests and then I was done. If we hadn't have waited, we seriously would have been out in 3 minutes! I almost forgot to ask her about my headaches... Which she was no help anyways. She just said to ask the other dr. I'm visiting tomorrow about the headaches to call her to approve medicine. Fabulous. I did gain a whopping 1 pound though, which puts me back to my original starting weight of 135 (I'm not ashamed!). Although the weight has definitely re-distributed, I just can't tell from where though I know to where!

We did, however, schedule our next appointment- THE 20 week appointment. Wohoo! Come August 8, I will know if I'm carrying my Bethany or my Ethan. I'll start taking votes now. So far, I've got DH's brother and a few friends who've told me it's girl... Let's see what everyone else thinks. My "old wives tale" symptoms are- carrying high (I think!), high heartbeat, I've dreamt it's a girl (well twin girls, actually), and I wasn't very sick in the first trimester. I haven't done the "spin the wedding ring over the belly button" thing yet. But the dr. this morning told me I need to take out or find a non-metallic belly button ring soon, so I will have to make up my mind within the next 3 weeks! Eek!

I have THE best husband in the world.

Last Wednesday, I asked DH what we our weekend plans were. He said, don't worry about it! He has a sneaky way of surprising me, so I didn't know what to expect... But I knew our one year anniversary was about a week away so it couldn't be a huge ordeal. I expected lunch and a trip to Rice Village to shop for maternity clothes. Well I was right about lunch! We went to a yummy little pizza place and then he wanted to go by Borders "to browse a little bit." Well it had started raining so I figured he was just waiting for the rain to subside since Rice Village is an outdoor mall. We "browsed" in Borders for a bit then around the time it stopped raining he said okay, so we left. As we were driving away he mentioned wanting a latte so we pulled into a center with a coffee house and as we started to walk toward it, he detoured into a spa! He had made an appointment for a 50 minute massage for me! I was so shocked, it was a VERY fancy place too so they really treated me well. They offered him wine while he waited but no wine for me since I was there for a prenatal massage! WOW it was amazing, I told her about my neck pains and so she spent a little extra time on my neck and shoulders... my neck pain is gone. Nada. Zilch. I feel amazing. The rest of the massage was very nice, but I am so overwhelemed that she was able to work whatever it was out of my neck. I've had *minor* headaches since then, but nothing out of the ordinary from my daily, non-preggo life. He really shocked me! He said it was my pre-wedding anniversary present, because next weekend for our actual anniversary he's planning a trip...

Again, another surprise. He's been dropping hints- I know we're going somewhere by car, not to the north or east, water is *not* the main component but a factor, and it's a series of events. I'm so excited! Our 1 year anniversary, already. I know time flies but sheesh, we still feel like newlyweds. I hope we always do. :-)

I'm feeling better.

Dare I say the past 2 days for me have been fantastic? *knocks on wood* I've had some neck pain and some headaches, but it hasn't been bad enough to the point where I have to take the Vicadin. This makes me sooooo happy! I have been a little crampy though, my lower left side of my abdomen has been hurting a little bit. But again, nothing severe like before. Thank you all for the thoughts and prayers!

I went for a hair trim today, I needed one but mostly I was looking forward to the hair wash. When that gay guy went to town on my head, massaging away and rubbing my temples, I thought I was in heaven. It really made me want to go for a real massage, but in time. Maybe. If we can afford it. By the way, have I mentioned yet my birthday is in August? *wink*

I have been experiencing other pregnancy symptoms that I probably shouldn't write about on a public blog, even though it's my blog. I'm not sure how comfortable I, or you, would feel about reading some of these things. If you really want to know, ask. I'm keeping a separate journal of these other changes so that next time around, I know what's happening, or should be happening, at certain times. Something that I will tell you is the bloody nose and the "pink toothbrush" (bleeding gums while brusing teeth)is becoming more common, I believe it's due to the increased amount of blood circulating in my body. Fun.

Tonight we are going with some friends to the Astros game versus the Cardinals. I'm hoping it won't rain so we can see the fireworks since we didn't get to see them on the 4th (it rained that day too). Pretty soon I'm going to need an ark to travel to work.

Drugs :-)

The Vicodin is helping lots! I feel soooo much better. The prescription said I can take 1-2 every 4 hours "as needed" but 1 a day has been providing the pain relief I've needed. I don't actually take one until I need to, because sometimes I can take a nap and it will help. I'm so happy to be feeling like normal again, I just hope they go away before I run out of my prescription!

Today I didn't have to work. We visited my grandma and mom and several family members in Conroe this weekend, it was really nice to go spend some time over there instead of just the day like we usually do. We went Friday night and I left this afternoon, DH left last night (had to work). I went to another maternity clothing store and tried on a couple of dresses- I really felt like I was starting to show. I know in the pics I don't seem that big, but I can tell and DH can tell. My mom bought me a beautiful maternity dress, something I could wear to a work meeting or to a wedding. And it doesn't look too maternity, it's just so cute!

We purchased a book awhile ago that is a day-to-day journal of the baby development and of my progression (found here.) It's really neat, I recommend it to anyone newly-pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant. :-)