Bump Update - Week 30 & 31 on the East Coast!

It would be really silly to try and elaborate on how amazing it was to visit the east coast. There just aren't adequate words for how perfect it felt. I'm just going to post some pictures and hope it captures how grateful I am to be able to visit home, to have Ed in great health, to have such an amazing family and to have friends who are so generous with their lives and share so much time with me. I came home feeling very humbled and thankful for all the moments I had with those that mean so much. I know, I'm a huge sap, and I wish I could blame it on pregnancy, but no, I'm just completely in love with my friends and family! :)

Dinner in Alexandria, picture stolen from Michelle :) 

Emilia's first visit to Omi's house

Next photographable moment was the baby shower. There were several pictures of me opening presents and of the group but I feel like this one present represents my general struggle to open gifts with my belly and the table in the way. It was a wonderful brunch. My friends are way, way too generous. I'm very thankful. Also, I may or may not have had three servings of french toast. We are talking small plates here... but still... I could've eaten another 2 plates. :)

 Ken's birthday was up next! He got some fun things, one of the best being a book for him to read aloud to Emilia and my baby. We were all singing along when prompted, of course.

And then Christmas was upon us before we knew it...

Somebody loooooved her uncle. If ever I felt her fussing, I just walked over to Ed and had him say nice things to her. He seemed to know exactly what to do. Bodes well, yes? :)

Those pictures leave out so many other wonderful moments: karaoke, dinner with Carolyne's close friends, dinner with Ed's close friends in VA, a massage from Laura, Ken's birthday lunch, lunch with Lizzy, dinner with Michelle.... just little moments that didn't get the camera out but were unforgettable nonetheless. I could go on, but this would be the world's longest post. So let's skip to the baby stuff and leave the pictures with a huge, ginormous thank you.

Bump updates! Two weeks in one... 

How far along? 31 Weeks today

How Big Is Baby? Baby feels huge! Simultaneously bumping the top of my belly and my hip joint. Last week we were a 15.7 in cabbage and today we're a 16.25 in group of four navel oranges. I have no idea how they come up with this stuff. My midwife said baby is due for a growth spurt. I don't know where the room is gonna come from....

Sleep: Still waking pretty regularly thanks to bathroom breaks and joint/muscle pain, but I'm mastering this whole zombie functioning in the middle of the night. Guess this is sleep training. May need to invest in a biiiiig body pillow. Poor Ed is getting less and less space as I get bigger and acquire more pillows!

Best moment this week: Just being with family, seeing friends and having people feel my belly. It never happens here so I love when I get my belly rubbed. Seeing Carolyne's face when the baby moved around was just amazing - but seeing Omi's face when she met Emilia was 10 times as amazing.

Movement: What a wiggly worm! Seems the visit home was well timed, because this baby was really ready to show off for everyone. It took awhile at some points but mostly baby was plenty happy to show everyone wiggling talents. All arms and legs in there apparently.

Symptoms: Heartburn has taken a break! Yay! Other than that, I'm just really tired, very frequently. I'm swelling a bit for the first time. My feet were like hot dogs on that flight home. I've been instructed to take more epsom salt baths which should help, and to generally rest. I can get behind that protocol!

Food cravings/aversions: Ice cream. Ice cream of all kinds. All the time ice cream. No aversions anymore but I'm still mostly avoiding pickles and 'stir fry.' 

Gender: Can't believe how soon we'll all find out. 9 weeks is not very long, especially when you consider some women give birth around 38 weeks. That'd be the week after my birthday. Yeesh!

Belly Button in or out? Surprisingly, no developments here. I thought for sure we'd be out by now, but it's still pretty normal looking until I'm on my back.

What I miss: Being able to sit quietly. Lately, no matter what I do, this little one is active all the time and makes it hard to just sit and zen out. If the constant waking during the night is sleep training, this is definitely life training.

What I am looking forward to: Our childbirth prep class starting this week. I feel pretty ready and positive about the whole birth experience, but I also feel like there's an experience worth having in taking a prep class.
 

Funny moment of the week: Walking into moms house with Ed and all my high school friends... so weird to think of us all doing the same thing some 10 years ago for game nights and random get togethers.

Labor Signs: Very infrequent braxton hicks. So weird when those come up... it's like my belly turns into cement!

Weekly Wisdom: If you're lucky enough to have an amazing family and a loving group of friends, do your best to thank them and tell them how much you care for them. Hug them often and never take for granted they know how you feel.  

Milestones:  Ed returns to work this week! He'll be taking it slow but I know he's very eager to try to get back to normal. Most of the visit home felt good for him, aside from standing or sitting for elongated periods, but now he knows he'll need to be aware of that when he's at work and manage his energy accordingly. I'm very happy for him but sad to lose my company here at home. The kitties and I will miss the companionship... and help getting off the couch. :)

Ed/Bump Update - Week 23

Great week! Mom is still here visiting and leaves tomorrow. I'll be very, very sad to see her go. We had all kinds of appointments and activities. I'll try to keep this a word light and picture heavy post. You guys don't need to hear me gush about how nice it is to have Mom here :)

View from Mountain Winery in Saratoga

Wine tasting at Sebastiani in Sonoma

Water tasting for me at Gloria Ferrer

The good stuff for these two :)

My "I'm totally relaxed and at ease with city driving" face

On our way to Cliff House for dinner

Ed is getting into the swing of his outpatient rehab and at home treatments. Everything is going well and he's feeling ok. No great noticeable strides at this point, but just having things stabilize and normalize is very nice. He's now playing the role of inspiration for people who are in the low parts of the syndrome at the rehab facility. He's feeling confident that things will keep progressing and is really settling in at home. Even though he's not nearly 100%, it feels like the very hard days are behind us.

I've been swimming more, trying to get some exercise in again. Although, I'm quickly approaching the point where my bathing suit will bust open at the side seams.

Now the bump!

Facetime pic thanks to Ck!

How far along? 23 weeks

How Big Is Baby? A mango? These size comparisons are a little bizarre. My bump app on my iPad says baby is about 11.5 inches... I've never seen a mango that big.

Sleep: Not so hot these days. I'm thinking calling it a love/hate relationship is apt.

Best moment this week: Mom and Ed both getting firm karate chops from the baby :) It's hard to pin down and isn't too frequent but it's amazing when I can get all hands on belly in time. It was hard picking just one best moment of the week though... it was really wonderful.

Movement: More noticeable and stronger. Baby takes long breaks but then delivers nice strong whacks or kicks right to my belly button area. I love it.

Symptoms: Crazy cravings? Emotional? Nothing unusual here :)

Food cravings/aversions: Seafood? My memory seems to be shot so this kind of interferes with this. Every time I open the cabinet and see my cans of smoked oysters I exclaim how good that sounds! But with the memory of a goldfish, I'll turn away from the cabinet and immediately forget that's what I wanted to eat. But let's be honest, I crave pretty much everything when the idea crosses my mind... pad thai, curry, mt tam cheese from cowgirl creamery, broccoli, pizza.... I'm covering the board really. 

Gender: How interesting are these graphics of baby names! 

Six Decades of Boys Names

Six Decades of Girls Names

If you click through on the links the graphic displays the names changing through the years until 2012.

Belly Button in or out? In.

What I miss: Hmmm I suppose wine still. But it was amazing how satisfying it was, just smelling the wines.

What I am looking forward to: Still the holidays. After such a nice long visit with Mom I'll be very sad to have her leave... can't wait to come see our family and friends! Maybe more short term I'm looking forward to planning something for Thanksgiving. Let the turkey and cranberry sauce cravings begin!

Funny moment of the week: Realizing that in the not too distant future, I will be able to do this: 

Labor Signs: nope

Weekly Wisdom: Wiggle your toes and breathe. I've been doing the driving these days and I'm a skiddish driver for sure. Trying to take deep breaths and just relax and not get all wound up is a good exercise, every day.  Doesn't help anyone to be tense and anxious.  

Milestones: Our first group prenatal check up was this past week. We were the youngest people there but thankfully not the only first timers. It's really nice having other expectant parents to talk to and to have as guides. And we bought our tickets to come home for Christmas! Yay! :)

And my favorite Emilia picture of the week :)

Ed/Bump Update - Week 18

Man, where the heck did the summer go? October already? Feels like there's been no breather at all since July. Ed's birthday is just around the corner and we're in the thick of my favorite part of the year. I love all the fall foods, Halloween, scary movies, Winchester Fright Nights, cider, and of course the cold, cold weather. 

It was a wonderful visit to Colorado. Everyone is doing so well. Emilia is wonderful and Carolyne and Joe are doing an amazing job. I know I keep saying that, but it's really true. And I'm sure parents never hear that enough from people. I can only imagine the self-doubt that creeps in when it comes to raising a good human, and I just want them to know how great they're doing. It's beautiful out there. The mountains, huge open spaces, and I had no idea how adorable all the houses were in the downtown area. It was a great visit and I can't believe it ended so quickly. I know Ed would have loved to be there.

Speaking of Ed, let's do our little update. He is still at rehab - which is a big 'little victory.' At this point in the past we've been forced to send him back to the hospital for relapse treatments so we're hoping we've turned a corner here. He's learning how to manage in his new state. Rehab is not necessarily a place where he's going to 'recover' his abilities, it's more a place for him to figure out how to function as he is now, while his body takes it's time coming back. He did spend a cumulative 10 mins on his feet yesterday, so, little victories! He's on a new weekly treatment and we're hoping that this change of plan is what he needs to start stabilizing instead of the roller coaster he's been on. According to my little baby tracker app, the baby is forming it's myelin sheaths over it's nerves, which is exactly what Ed is doing these days. I think it's kinda funny that Ed and the baby are working on something together. My pregnancy brain thinks it's sweet they're connected.

Now for baby news...

(I'll post a picture once I get something together for the day, probably around noon PST)

How far along? 18 Weeks

How Big Is Baby? A bell pepper

Sleep: So nice now that I've built myself a full body pillow fort. 6 regular pillows and a big body pillow really do the trick. Wonder where Ed will squeeze in when he comes home.... :)

Best moment this week: Sitting around having dinner with the family, watching movies and just hanging around. I miss the big family gatherings we had on the east coast and doing so in Colorado really felt so wonderfully familiar and comforting. 

Movement: Still poking around to feel for anything. I thought I felt something when I was laying on my belly for a moment but I haven't felt anything since. 

Symptoms: Battling the dragon, but this week seems to be more of a weepy dragon than a fire breathing dragon. 

Food cravings/aversions: Savory food. Ck pointed out I seemed to be mentioning pizza a lot lately. Aversions? Heavily sugared things.

Gender: tbd

Belly Button in or out? In

What I miss: Certainty about the future, about day to day activities... At least, the semblance of certainty. 

What I am looking forward to: I keep sayin' it, but, I'm still looking forward to looking pregnant. I'm only up 7 lbs so far. Gotta eat more baconators like Lolo Jones!  

Funny moment of the week: Witnessing my first poop explosion. It was much more hilarious and much less disgusting than I thought it would be. Carolyne and I were laughing so hard we cried. Thanks Emilia! :)

Labor Signs: Ha.

Weekly Wisdom: Having a mentor, someone going through something first, really helps to soothe the nerves. Thanks for volunteering to be that Ck. I really feel like we can do this whole 'raising a good human' thing after seeing how great she and Joe were with Emilia. 

Milestones: Hitting a new weight range. Protein shakes are my friend! Makes me feel like the baby is finally hitting it's stride growth wise.

P.S. This is making my DAY right now:

I've got a cute, goofy little niece huh? :) 

Ed/Bump Update - Week 17

Hey all, quick updates this week because I'm not near a computer and I find writing on an iPad or iPhone enraging. 

I'm in Colorado visiting my sister, brother in law and absolutely wonderful new niece, Emilia Mae! 

I'll give more details later but I can say with absolute certainty that she is a sweetie pie. I held her for the first time today and I didn't break her or make her cry so, I felt like a real champion! Ck and Joe are amazing parents and are just so good with her. I've been taking pictures like crazy so expect a couple cute shots in later posts. 

Ed is ok. He's been moved from Stanford Hospital back to rehab. We're still working out this new weirdness that we're living in, waiting for things to change. Ed is holding up the best he can. He appreciates all the jokes and love sent his way, it does help a great deal.

Ok now for a quick bump update:

Wearing one of ck's maternity dresses!

How far along? 17 Weeks

How Big Is Baby? An onion

Sleep: Once again a rarity that is not enjoyable even when it does happen.

Best moment this week: Holding Emilia! Was just such a comforting experience. A teeny, tiny, warm, burrito of cuteness.

Movement: Nothing yet, but I am spending more time feeling around for him/her in there. 

Symptoms: I'm a complete dragon lady. Joe gave me the diagnosis and I'm in complete agreement. Mom said I could control my emotions but, I truly cannot. I'm a fire breathing, weepy dragon lady thanks to my dragon egg. So my sincere apologies to everyone who crosses my path. I'm aware of it and totally helpless to stop it. 

Food cravings/aversions: I was really into sweets, cheesecake and hot chocolate and ice cream. But I'm coming back around to food sounding pretty bad in general, unfortunately. Hopefully it's just the emotions and when they calm along with the stress, I'll enjoy eating again.

Gender: tbd

Belly Button in or out? In

What I miss: Being relatively level headed. Being in a rage spiral or having unexpected cases of the sads is exhausting.

What I am looking forward to: My next OB visit. We get to see the baby again and maybe find out the gender. I just can't wait to see the little alien. 

Funny moment of the week: Holding Emilia. She was passed out but had a big full body sleep jerk. It scared her and me equally. I think we both jumped a foot :)

Labor Signs: Ha.

Weekly Wisdom: Be forgiving and cut some slack for people going through things - babies, illness, or just a plain ole bad day. If you're friends with me on Facebook I recommend that article on the 'comfort in, dump out' theory of communicating with people in times of crisis. ( http://articles.latimes.com/2013/apr/07/opinion/la-oe-0407-silk-ring-theory-20130407 )

Milestones: Becoming an aunt to a wonderful, healthy, strong niece that I cannot get enough of. I love imagining her and my baby growing up together all goofy and brilliant. :)

East Coast Vacation Part 2

And the trip continues! We left off on Monday with me teaching Mom's classes. She said she felt up to teaching the next day so we kept our plan to head up to the cabin Tues-Thurs. This time we finally decided to take a little detour and check out the Yeungling Brewery in Pottsville that is on the way. Well worth it. Although, forewarning, it was 1,000,000 degrees in the factory parts. I mean, ridiculously hot. Definitely made the sampling part of the tour at the end even more delicious.

These caves were carved out with pick axes, they couldn't use explosives. For such an immense network of caves, it was really impressive. And you could see the left over brick wall sections that were put up during prohibition.

This was upstairs where the actual brewing takes place. They had just finished for the day and it was extremely hot. The stained glass ceiling was put in because the original ceiling just magnified the sun streaming in, making it even more unbearable for the workers.

Outside was the canning area and it was so much nicer (temperature wise). The cans whizzing by are cans of Lite Lager. Fun fact, Yeungling doesn't water down their light beer.

The building across the way used to be an ice cream company created by Yeungling to produce profit during prohibition. Sadly, very sadly, this building is going to be torn down. I can't believe no one wanted to save it or repair it. I understand it must be expensive, but honestly, what a great old building - what a waste!

A couple of naps later... (at least on my part!)

Hello Cabin, it's been far too long! 

At one point I was reading on the hammock and I look over to see Ed creeping around the shoreline with some equipment - a machete and a rake. Turns out he was on the hunt for a snake that was swimming along the edge. Fella got away but I'm sure he and Ed will meet again.

The next day we were pretty socked in with fog the first half of the day...

But then miraculously - much like Kim's wedding, it all cleared, granting us one really nice half day.

My least favorite part of the cabin.... spiders.

Funny story, we were clearing a debris pile. I was helping because I wanted to be, well, helpful! And not just read all day on the hammock. So I'm helping, and everything is going well, until Ed grabs a branch and pulls it away revealing the LARGEST spider I have ever seen in my entire life. In person. In the wild. Outside of a zoo enclosure. I was so stunned with fear that I dropped everything, inhaled in fear, and started jumping up and down. I couldn't say a word. Ed - who had earlier seen that snake remember? - immediately paused and tried to get me to verbalize what I saw that was probably about to take him down. When he found out it was a spider he shrugged it off and then sent me to go read again. :) Later! I was validated when he saw the same spider at the bottom of the pile and agreed, it was a scarily large spider, and the largest he had seen up there.  Mhm. Never sleeping again. I would try to find you a picture of it, but let's be honest, neither of us needs to look at those kinds of pictures.

Thursday we made our way back to MD. The rest of the trip is a little foggy at this point. We went to see Michelle's performance in Ragtime at Kensington Arts Theater (which was wonderful - I hope you and Houdini know I wasn't just saying that!) and then had a little late night snack at IHOP. So many memories of Jekyll & Hyde at KAT and high school memories from IHOP! The next thing I remember is that we were on our way to get Carolyne on Saturday! It was a big surprise that she was coming in early so we just told Mom we were going to get El Pollo Rico and that we would be right back...

She was very happily surprised. Ed got a scolding from Mom for keeping secrets from her. Apparently that's only something daughters are allowed to do! :)

We went out for a night of karaoke and it was a chaotic wonderful evening. I can't believe this is the only picture I have from the night... but I do remember there was a lot of talking to people and singing and dancing and maybe even some tassels? :) It was a great, great evening. You guys, you friends and family, have no idea how much we miss you and how much more we miss you when we have nights like that.

In fact, I know I have one other picture from that night but it's stolen from Lizzy. So... thanks for posting it Lizzy :) If you didn't know, Lizzy and I have secret powers where when we're together we can take amazing pictures.

You see what not drinking does? It makes me turn bright pink from 2 beers. Oh flush face.

We (deliriously) made our way up to Gettysburg to see Omi early the next morning so we didn't get caught in Rolling Thunder traffic. Ed wasn't sure if he was going to be in town for the baby shower so this was his one chance to stop in and say hello.

The remainder of Sunday was spent doing some baby shower planning and then packing because Ed and I flew out early the following morning.

Oh Dulles, you are becoming like second nature to me now.

It was a wonderful 10 days and seeing so many good friends... in Alexandria, Silver Spring, Gettysburg and Virginia Beach. Thank you all for making time to hang out, we miss you more than we can say!

P.S. Happy day for same sex marriage supporters! Congratulations to all of us for starting to get things right. And on that note, hallelujah that measure in Texas also failed! Seems like a great Wednesday to me.