I am the "pregnant lady" Stereotype

I can’t tell what’s bigger lately. My new found extra chin, or my already giant chest getting bigger and bigger. I think that between the two, they are going to start fighting for space. Geez!
It’s been an interesting week. Started off with a fantastic 3 days weekend that ended with our OB appointment. Then the weather decided to get tricky on everyone and snowed. But it snowed more in different areas. For example, it snowed quite a bit at the house and not very much at work. So even though we managed to get a decent 7inches at our house, Cole insisted I have good work ethic and that we’d take the truck and he would drive me to work… another reason to get rid of the truck. (to enjoy a snow day)

I was actually glad I went in. My boss is from Idaho and isn’t too understanding about people missing work at all for snow. I wish he would at least look at the WSDOT cameras at my exit and be a little more understanding. You can bet, if we didn’t have the truck, I wouldn’t have come in. My car wouldn’t have made it out of the neighborhood with out hitting a few cars. I was a good employee for our recent snow storm. I didn’t leave early and I didn’t come in late! :) the only down fall, is I had a pretty bad fall today trying to get to the car. I stepped on what I thought was wet concrete. Turns out it was solid ice and fell on my butt and lower back. Its starting to hurt but mildly.
Other than the snow, I am realizing I am WAY more sensitive than I have ever noticed myself to be. More and more people are upsetting me over the simplest things. I have actually considered cutting myself off from people until I can manage to 1. confront the people that are upsetting me and to let them know what they are saying/doing are upsetting me or 2. learn to get over it, and remember the pregnancy hormones have officially made themselves at home.
I’ve found myself either extremely hurt, or angry or crying over something silly. Even this week, Cole and I were watching re-runs of jersey shore and I started crying. So its official. I’m a pregnant women stereotype.
I like to eat, a lot. My body is definitely bigger, I am moody, emotional and sensitive, and tried at all times of the day. Here’s the thing, I always heard about how women can be bitchy when they're pregnant and how someone people assume that women use pregnancy as an “excuse” to be mean to others… well. I’m here to tell you. It’s100% NOT an excuse. I wish it was. I try really hard to control myself by trying to not respond to things that upset me. But its hard and I only do it because I’m pregnant and its expected that the pregnant lady is going to be “hormonal”.

But if people who aren’t pregnant could practice it as well, it would be a much easier way to live.

Anyways, I just thought I would say now, for the few that may actually read this, if I am mean.. yes I am hormonal. But it’s not voluntary and I don’t want to be this way. But it should not be always brushed off as “she doesn’t mean it, she’s just pregnant”. Sometimes I do mean it.
Now for the crying…. Oh the crying. I cry watching almost every tv show now. I love Vampire diaries. I don’t know why, but I’m hooked. Okay, I do know why. Everyone on that show is extremely good looking and I love watching them all :) The fantasy stuff is interesting too, but still…. The actors and actresses are hott! Who ever did the casting should get an award :)
Anyways, I cried watching that, I cried watching Jersey Shore (when Sammi went home and Ron was being and immature dee-bag and throwing her stuff around), I cried watching the NEWS! I don’t know what’s happening to me. I was even able to not cry at weddings anymore…then at my cousin’s wedding I cried and I had the hardest time!!! Wow! I mean I guess it makes sense since she’s my cousin and a BFF, but I thought I would be able to hold it together. That didn’t happen at all!
I think that’s enough ramblings for today. Next week I will post a 17wks picture! Woo hoo! Probably won’t be too much different from the 15 wk picture, but who knows. I eat like a teenage boy lately.


EDIT: I just remembered another crazy pregnancy symptom I am suffering. Severe memory loss.... yes. Also known as "pregnancy" brain. I actually got into my car the other day, put all my stuff down and couldnt figure out what to do next. Turns out... I completely forgot my keys in the house still. (My car is usually in our garage and unlocked so that how I got in it. ) WOW. It's scary. Also on two different occasions my friend Courtney, had to remind me of a conversation or something we did and I had no memory of it at all!!! I usually have a greta memory and am also really good with remembering names! But the child I am brewing is casuing me turn into an new person. A person who forgets!

3rd OB Appointment

So we had our 3rd OB appointment yesterday and it went well. It was very short though. Just a “how are doing? Any questions? Are you feeling the baby move yet?” and then they checked the baby’s heartbeat on the Doppler again and the doctor said “very good! 132”




Then she gave us the referral to the imaging center so we can find out the sex of the baby!!! We’re so excited but they won’t see us before 20wks, so our appointment to find out the sex is on March 21st! a month away! This is going to feel like the longest month ever!



There have been a few things I’ve discovered in the last couple weeks. 1. As much as I love the taste of it, my stomach can no longer hold fast food easily. No McDonalds, no burger king, no arby’s and no taco bell. The last two really break my heart, but I have been so sick after trying to have fast food, so I am taking it out of my diet. You would think with no alcohol, no caffeine, and no fast food, I wouldn’t be gaining as much weight as I am! Well, I guess that’s the sneaky thing about carbs. Oh I’ve gained another 4lbs since my last visit. My doctor said “good! You’re gaining weight!” Which was not the response I excepted. I expected “its great you’re gaining weight but you might want to slow it down a notch.” Oh well… it guess its good! I guess in her eyes I’ve only gained 8lbs… but I’m counting sicne the wedding.. and as I’ve mentioned, I’ve gained a steady 4 lbs each other since the wedding!! So, if you care to do the math, you’ll know how much I’ve REALLY gained  but its not all from pregnancy, so I guess I’ll go with what my doctor thinks 



Also, I am more tired now than I was in my first trimester! Last weekend was a 3 day weekend for Cole and I. I took a 2 hour nap, but sat and Sunday and a 3.5 hour nap on Monday!! I also went to bed early each night. I had no problem at all falling back asleep. The bad side is that I waste my day away sleeping. The good side? Cole does all the laundry while I’m asleep. This is usually one of my duties of the house. But he finished 3.5 loads during my Monday nap!



Lastly, this post nasal drip is driving me nuts! I constantly have, what I think is a headache and is probably sinus pain. I went to buy a netti pot and they were out. So I grabbed a saline spray that is suppose to do the same thing as a netti pot. I wasn’t doing it right. First… is came out my throat. Then just came out of the same nostril, then.. Cole decided I was doing it wrong and pushed it really far in my nose and my nose started bleeding. So I’m just going to wait till I can get my hands on a normal netti pot and go from there.



Lastly, I’ve decided. Brody wins for the “has the most sympathy pains in the house”. He eats ALL the time and is always hungry. He’ll eat whatever you give him. He doesn’t even need to smell it first. He sleeps as often as possible and only on comfortable surfaces. Can only exercise for so long before running out of engery. Recently has had lots of gas, AND…… today he woke up with me on of my many trips to the bathroom in the middle of the night and as I left, Cole walked in to shower and I left brody in there. We both heard him whinning more than normal… then I hear Cole say “Brody!! No!! Stop!” HAHAHAHAH the little guy has had his pee pee accident in 2.5 years. Now, im not saying I had an accident, I just mean, he had to go really bad too and couldn’t hold it in any longer. Well, poor guy. He even tried to jump in the shower with cole before his accident. If he had made it into his shower and had his accident… he probably wouldn’t have been in trouble at all. Even though I doubt he realized there was a drain in the shower and if anything was trying to get dad’s attention.





Well… that’s the most recent updates!

Kauai, Sharon's wedding and dealing with my hormones

Kauai was a great time!! Rather than bored with the details, ill just point out a few highlights and add some pictures!

Although it rained most of our time there, it was still great to 1. not be working, 2. be in weather warmer than 40 degrees 3. see whales from our window 4. Free place to stay (Thank Mom!) 5. not be working… oh did I say that already?? 6. be with good friends

Waimea Canyon - it's a little cloudy :)

Sunrise the second morning...

Luau at the Hyatt in Poipu

Jurassic Park Falls

Waimea Canyon from the Helicopter

Hanalei Bay

In the Helicopter

After Kauai, Cole and I flew straight over to San Francisco for Sharon’s wedding! It was SOOO fun! I was her matron of honor so I don’t have a lot of pictures from the actual wedding, but here are a few from the rehearsal dinner and pre-wedding ceremony :)

There isn’t any pictures of it, but when we were leaving, and I was saying bye to Sharon, I had one of those “obvisouly pregnant” moments. (I’m going to have another right now talking about it!)

I was hugging Sharon and our families goodbye. As I started to hug Sharon (oh goodness.. here it comes) I remembered that I won’t see her after her honeymoon…I won’t see her in a few months either… The next time I’ll see her is a year from now! The baby will be 5 months old! I forgot, that this was the last time I will see her until after she gets back from Korea! I was soo sad (and I’m crying …not loudly.. as I write this. DAMN HORMONES!) that I tried soo hard to stop myself from crying that I started to shake uncontrollably! I was shaking soo much I could tell I was shaking Sharon, against her will, too! Poor Sharon.

I don’t even remember what she said, but it was something along the lines of “stop” or “don’t”. I think she meant the crying and not the shaking :) Anyways, I of course started crying really badly that even after I was done shaking/hugging her I was still crying, even to the car. WOW. I didn’t think I would cry that much! I was definitely sad she was leaving, but it’s not like they are leaving indefinitely or something. I think it HAS to be the hormones and a combination of the fact that I will have to give child birth before she returns… which scares the living daylights out of me.

 

Rehearsal Dinner Fun

the DRESS!

Amazing Shoes

The Bride is ready!

Lastly, I’m now going into my 16th week!! Now that I can admit I’m starting to “show” I’ll start posting pictures. Let’s just be honest, I’ve gained weight from being so hungry all the time and I’m bloated as can be. I’ll definitely admit, I’m a little bigger than some girls at 15wks, but I would still prefer the “you’re gained weight?” comments to just stop :)

So I’m “bigger” than most girls at 15wks, but from what I’m hearing… they will gain it all later :)

some Last Kauai Pictures

that black nub in the distance is a whale

Sunset the first morning

Sharon's Bachelorette and NT Scan Appointment

So much has happened and ill try to sum it all up!

Last weekend was a blast! I flew to Sacramento to see Sharon and we went up to South Lake Tahoe with 16 of her closet friends! We had shared a cabin between the 18 of us and it was a great time! The first day we drove up and just hung out around the cabin. That night everyone had drinks, except me, and enjoyed a little dance party with games. Also, to everyone’s surprise a male stripper was invited. I won’t into too much detail, but he was definitely an older man, slightly balding and had no rhythm. He was even clapping off beat.

I’m sure he did his best and as much as Sharon did not really enjoy it or like the idea at all, she was a good sport about it and it made the night fun. I mean, how awkward is it when a male stripper comes and the bachelorette isn’t being a good sport?? Seriously… he’s standing there in a thong…. what’s he suppose to do now?

Hahahaha, it was fun to watch and everyone seemed to have gotten a good laugh from the show. I’m glad I didn’t have one at mine is all I can say  Well, I guess I did if you count being brought on stage at Thunder from Down Under. Which , I will say, those dancers have AMAZING bodies (and lots of hair on their heads…well at least the one that picked me did) so I was kind of okay with it!

Anyways, the next day we walked around the town, watched the sex and the city movie and got ready to go out. I, of course, napped twice during the day. We also did a mini shower where the gifts were suppose to be travel related and Sharon had to guess who gave it to her. She guessed mine right. The Tiffany’s Desk Planner…. I want one 

We went on a party bus to get to the casino Mont Bleu and went to club Opal. Were there was a pretty nice VIP area sectioned off for us! Lots of pillows and a big both to sit in. It was a great night! I was definitely sad to leave my family again. Since I got to see Jennie, Ivy (my cousin in law) and my mom too. I miss Sacramento so much.

Tuesday, we went to our NT scan. We went to Washington imaging center in Issaquah. It was great except they request you drink 24oz of water 1 hour prior to your appointment. With my bladder being an issue as it is, I was stressing out the night before that I would have an accident during the appointment. I even had a dream that I did!!

Needless to say, I made it just fine. I did find out why I’m soo tired too! The baby is moving around so much!! It was nuts! What a busy body just like it’s dad. We don’t; know the sex yet, and are very excited to find out! The baby is acting like my uterus is an anti gravity machine and is flipping all over the place! Most of the pictures we got to take home are random. No normal pictures because the baby would not sit still! I hope this isn’t a sign!

(Heres a picture of the baby's hand at it's mouth)

It was an amazing sight though. Sometimes, I forget I’m pregnant and I just feel fat and sick. It was so great to see there is actually something inside me causing me to gain and feel sick. I, of course, cried when I saw the ultra sound, again! This time, being able to see the spine and the arms and legs was just so amazing! The baby is starting to look really human! I don’t think the feeling of “I’m a mom” has really set in just yet, but it did a little more when I saw the baby look like a baby,…. With a giant head.

Heres a picture from the back and you can see the spine and an arm :)

Friday Morning

It’s been a shameful morning thus far.




My morning sickness still sucks. Eating helps a lot. So, I’ve had a bowl of chicken noodle soup, and want another one… 2 pieces of toast and a bag of blueberries. Waiting in the sidelines, I still have a peach, a yogurt and strawberries.



Remember when I said, I’m not eating more but I’m gaining weight? Well, that’s all changed. I’m eating more and gaining weight and there’s nothing I can do to stop myself  I guess its good that its all mostly good for the baby! I did feel like it was necessary though. I felt like a mack truck hit me this morning and had such a hard time getting out of bed and vomiting that I was 40min late to work.



I’ve been reading my “what to expect” book and it told me that my body is working to make this placenta and even when I’m asleep, its working away. Which is why pregnant women are so tired. Well, I hope that placenta is almost done cause I don’t know how much me and my work will be able to handle this!



Next note, something no one mentioned about pregnancy, at least not to me and now I have it. My hair is growing like crazy. I actually only really notice it on my legs, but I feel like a drag queen trying to stay fem. Its nuts!!!! I can’t imagine how its going to be in the summer when my legs are showing and from the morning to night I have a 5 o’clock shadow showing! This is going to be interesting.



Well, this is the last post for the week, as I mentioned in me other post, I will be in Lake Tahoe and enjoying my time with my cousins. Next week, we have an appointment at the imaging center and really look forward to the next ultra sound!

2nd Appointment and Stats

So I am noticing on the baby community boards on the various websites that they put stats of mile markers of the pregnancy in their signatures. Although, I think it’s a great idea to keep track of these things, im going to go ahead and put it in a post rather than in my signature. So here it goes!!!

BFP: 11/29/2010

EDD: 8/8/2011

FU/S: 12/28/2010

FHB: 1/28/2011

That’s all there is for now! So wondering what these crazy acronyms are?

BFP= Big Fat Positive. The first day we got a positive on our HPT(home pregnancy test).

EDD = Estimated Due Date

FU/S: First Ultrasound

FHB: First Heart Beat on the Doppler

Obviously the first two stats are the most exciting, but the list will grow and I will try to update it here and there. Now that we are out of the first trimester and into the second, Cole and I are more excited than ever to watch our little Van Gundy grow!

Anyways, since FHB says 1/25/11 which is today, I guess it’s a good idea to mention how it went!

Nothing too thrilling, but still tears came, nonetheless! They weighed me.. ugh. I’ve gained 4lbs since last appointment which was a month ago. So she said im gaining weight very well and I look good! (I’ve actually gained like 14 total since I became pregnant, but they didn’t weigh me till 8 weeks. So…. Im just going to let them think 4) Keep in mind, I had a little food binge after the wedding too!!!

Also many kind women have told me about their weight gain and how they gained the most in the first trimester and not to worry. Not everyone can be skin, bones and baby. The dr didn’t seem concerned about my physical size, so I’ve decided to not be concerned either. Everyone has a different pregnancy after all!

Next she put the Doppler up to my belly and we heard the heartbeat. Yes, this made me cry on the table, which I am sure made it more difficult to hear. But it went like this… dub dub dub dub dub dub dub dub dub dub dub dub dub dub dub dub dub dub. She told us that the reason it would get faint is because the baby was moving around a lot which is good and healthy!

I still have a hard time accepting that there is something living inside me. So anytime I am faced with that fact, I cry a lot. Currently, I am only a pet parent and the mom of 2 loving doggie, who I think of as my children. Brody is my handsome young man, and Taylor is my beautiful little girl. Amazing to think they will finally be put in their “place” as the family pets and no longer my furry children. Yes, I realize how pathetic this paragraph sounds, but it’s the truth.

As for news besides pregnancy, Im headed to Lake Tahoe this weekend for my cousin’s bachelorette party. I know, pregnancy and bachelorette party probably don’t sound like they mix, but Sharon’s one of my bestest friends and its at a cabin. So I won’t necessarily be running around a lot. It will be a lot of fun and really nice to see her! Hopefully I will update with photos next time around:)

short update and Taylor news!

Status: sick in the morning with easing up around 2pm.




This is going to be a short post. Still been crabby lately and it doesn’t help that I got the smallest bella band, and its already tight. I’m not “showing” per se, but I am getting bigger. My bloated uterus is “showing” though. I really can’t wait till the morning sickness goes away and I can start working out again!!



Yesterday I planned to go to the gym after work. But on my way home, my stomach started to turn. Once I got home, lunch came up and that was the end of me trying to workout till after the first trimester.



On the plus side, Cole and I get our little girl back this weekend! Taylor is coming home, whether she wants to or not!  We are so excited to have our little missy back. Brody is almost too well behaved at our house that hes become a little boring . We’re not used to the house being so quiet and undisturbed.