OMG Where did my belly button go!?!

Well, it's officially happened. My belly button has disappeared. I had to break down and take out my naval ring last night...the piercing was too red and angry to leave it in. Once the ring was out, I realized that my belly button is almost completely flat. No wonder it didn't like being pulled for that extra bit of metal. I also looked back at the "before and after" shots of my belly...from about 4 weeks to 24 weeks (OK, technically 24 weeks is tomorrow, but there's no guarantee I'll want to do my hair and makeup when I don't have to). Here's the comparison:

 Wow...even though I don't see the difference day to day, it's definitely there!!! I also had an ultrasound today. I was just supposed to have my cervix checked (long and closed, nothing but good news there!) but I had an awesome technician who not only took regular 2D pictures of our little man, but a couple of 3D images as well! Of course, he didn't want to cooperate, so the pictures aren't great, but we have them!

So there you go! I'm sad that  Ben couldn't make it to the appointment with me (stupid "appointment line" never returns calls...what's the point of even having it?) but I have another appointment in 2 weeks that he will be able to come to and my nurse said that if they're not super busy she'll pop us over to the ultrasound to "play" for a little bit. I really want him to get to see his son moving on an ultrasound, it's so different from just looking at the pictures!

It's been a couple of weeks...

Ben is home (YAY!) so no more worrying on that end. He's been home a few days now, so I haven't been online much at all since we have been running all over kingdom come getting errands done and generally enjoying the great weather!

Of course, this means that I'm back to hearing the sound of video games all the time, which is not my favorite. I also don't LOVE that he sits so close to the TV, it's bad for the eyes, but I can't seem to get that through to him (or he just doesn't care).  Oh well...if I really want less of that, I can always retreat to the bedroom.

In other news...

YAY! That's really what we wanted. OF COURSE we would have been ecstatic with a girl, no question about it, but both of us just really wanted a boy first. And yes, that is my stomach...I've had people ask if I just stole the pic with graphics off the internet somewhere. Nope...all me. We have bought the bedding for him:

We bought it mainly because it was the first bedding set appropriate for a boy that we LOVED and because of the price on Overstock.com, and, as we all know, once something leaves that site it doesn't come back. We were afraid that if we didn't buy it right away, we wouldn't be able to find it again, especially at the awesome price we got!  Ben also fulfilled his promise to take me to the fabric store and push the cart for me, so I got everything (minus purse feet) that I need for the diaper bag plus about 75% of what I need to start in on Monkey's quilt. Of course, I'll need to buy the batting and flannel, but I'm waiting for a coupon to become valid before I go back, because I really would like to save 50% on both of those things LOL! So, all in all it's been a great weekend/week!

I give up! I'll just make it myself!

So, after searching and searching for the perfect diaper bag (you know, the one where functionality, design, fabric, and price are all PERFECT) I give up. It's not out there. If I find one I love, it's $100 or more, and I'm just not willing to pay that much for something that is going to carry diapers (both clean and otherwise) and bottles, among other things. SO...I'm making my own. This way, even if I spend more (but I'm estimating it won't cost me more than $60 or so) I'll love everything about it. I have decided on this style of bag, designed by Amy Butler (see picture). Of course, in looking at pics online of this bag, I'll have to cut it down some, because it's huge. However, there is a blog out there with the dimensions that the crafter used, and I think it will be perfect! The really good news: the patterns for other diaper bags that I liked were in the range of $12 for one pattern...I got this book with 20 patterns for $16, including shipping. I'd say that's a good deal!

I'm just so excited, now I'll get everything I want, plus other projects included if I want to try them. YAY!

Halfway Done!!!

Woo hoo! I made it to the 20 week mark! So excited...that means it's all "downhill" from here! And can I just say that while I may not be the biggest fan of my Dr (no, I can't change and no I didn't pick her) I LOVE my Nurse Practitioner. She is, in a word, awesome! When I asked my Dr. about weight gain, she responded with "my patients only gain 20lbs on average." Ok, according to the National Institute of Medicine, women who are overweight should gain 15-25lbs, and obese should gain 11-20lbs. I am neither overweight or obese. In fact, pre-pregnancy, I was at the low end of the "normal" BMI weight range. So, according to the NIM, I should gain between 25-35lbs. My Dr. didn't even take into consideration my case...and the number she gave me is not applicable to my height/weight/BMI. So, when I asked my NP about this (did I mention I love her) she said that based on my height/weight pre-pregnancy, I should gain around 30lbs. And I'm right on track for that. Good.

At my last ultrasound they also saw a soft marker for Down's. This raised the risk from 1/2400 to 1/1200. At that point my Dr. immediately started trying to discuss amnios with me.  Ben and I already agreed that we will not do an amnio. When I talked to my NP, she said not to worry about it...that 1/1200 is less than a 1/10 of a percent chance, so essentially nothing to worry about. She also said that since they started looking for the soft marker they saw on my ultrasound, 75% of the patients she sees have it. And their babies are fine. Great.

Finally, in a little less than 2 months I get to go in twice a week for monitoring. Basically I go in, sit in a recliner with monitors strapped to my belly checking for contractions. Good thing I've got a Kindle...at least I won't be bored!

And now for will power to kick in.

So, had my anatomy scan today. Everything looks great...and our little guy or gal gave us the thumbs up!

 

Now here's the hard part: waiting for  Ben to get home so that we can find out the sex! The tech did put those pictures into a sealed envelope for me, so I have it sitting in my house taunting me, daring me to open it early and then attempt to re-close so no one would know. Right...I'd like to think I'm that smooth. I know that if I tried it would all go horribly wrong...paper would rip, and with my luck somehow the pictures would get damaged to the point where there is no hiding the fact that I opened the envelope. I'd better play it safe and not open it, but that doesn't mean it will be easy!

 

On another note...the Dr. thinks I may have a kidney stone, thus explaining the pain I've been in. If that is the case...I'm kind of SOL. I just have to wait it out and deal with it. OK, fine...but the thing there is that even if I did get better pain killers, the way this pain has been going by the time they kicked in the pain would be gone. I can't even try to preempt the pain, because I never know when it's coming on!

Ow. Ow ow ow ow ow.

So, I woke up at 3am Saturday morning in EXCRUCIATING pain coming from the general area of my right kidney. Of course, my first thought was: Kidney Infection. Wonderful. I knew Monkey was OK, because I could/can feel him/her moving around like crazy. Yay for finally feeling fetal movement! I went to the restroom, thinking that may alleviate some of the pain. Nope. It lasted for 10-15 minutes, and it was so bad that I seriously thought I was going to throw up. The pain from my miscarriage, when they essentially put me into labor with medications, wasn't that bad. I was sweaty, couldn't stop moving, and GOING to throw up. Then, suddenly, it faded away. This lovely episode repeated itself 3 more times: at 4am, 5am, and 7am. Each time I went to the restroom, drank some water, and dealt with it. After talking to  Ben  I finally decided to call the Dr.'s answering service around 10am when I was still having pain, although nowhere near how bad it had been.

When I heard back from the Dr (who I had seen 2 weeks before) she a) didn't remember me...not surprising, her interpersonal skills aren't the best and b) told me (after I told her everything) that she suspected a mild kidney infection, but since I don't have any other symptoms, like a burning sensation when using the restroom or a fever, to keep EXTREMELY hydrated and keep my bladder empty. My instructions are to keep doing that, and as long as the symptoms don't get worse and/or I don't develop a fever, I should be OK until my appointment on Wednesday. I seriously hope that I get some relief then, because this HURTS. It's not as bad as the first night, but definitely still happening.

Ready For a New Week!

This week has been LOOOONG! And it's not over yet! It's not even that I didn't have things to do...there have been (and still are) lots of phone calls to make, meetings to go to, business to sort out, etc etc etc, and it's not all done yet. However, it's been one of those weeks where I constantly feel like it should be a day further (ie Wednesday feels like Thursday etc). So I REALLY feel like today is Friday, but it's not.

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that the "big" prenatal appointment is next Wednesday, the 22nd. Of course, I won't know the sex of the baby after that one...that information will be given to me in a sealed envelope so that  Ben and I can open it together when he gets home. It's my choice, but that doesn't mean that waiting is easy! I really want to know so that I can start shopping and making things...less than a month more wait won't kill me, right?