2009 - The Year of Heartache and Joy

So, with the end of the year quickly approaching (only 6 hours left in my time zone!) its time to do a quick recap of the year. This blog is very new... though most of the people who read this probably already know most of the info, i'm going to recap anyway. Since this blog is dedicated more towards infertility and pregnancy my year review will focus on that rather then going into the ups and downs of life and work (thats another story for another blog!).


The year started with a lot of excitement. After 6 months with no real health insurance I could finally get the RE consult I so desperately wanted. By Janurary my husband and I had been trying for a year. My cycles were all over the place and I was tired of being told "you're young, it takes time". As soon as that health insurance card came in the mail I called up the SGFC near my job and made the first appointment. The initial appointment was terrifying, but good. We scheduled tests to make sure all was okay and then after everything came back the plan was to do an IUI with clomid. I left feeling reassured that I would be pregnant soon!


First up was bloodwork and an ultrasound quickly followed by an HSG. My bloodwork revealed high FSH and my ultrasound showed a low antral follicle count... both indicators of egg reserve issues. My doctor was very optimistic that since I was young it shouldn't be a problem, but none the less I was a little crushed. We arranged to do my first IUI with clomid next cycle so I was all ready to call when my period started. 


Well, it started, but when I called there were insurance issues... they didn't have authorization. I could pay for the cycle up front with the potential for reimbursement later or wait. I decided to wait, but was frustrated. I was also frustrated because I couldn't really tell if my period had started fully or not. I was having weird spotting that never really made it seem like my normal first day. Oh a whim I took a pregnancy test and was shocked to see a positive result. I had hoped i'd get pregnant quickly, but I certainly wasn't expecting that!


So, I duitifully called the RE and went in for bloodwork. At first all looked okay but quickly it became obvious all was not well. My numbers would go up a bit, then almost double, then only go up a bit. It became a waiting game every few days... me waiting anxiously for the call with todays numbers. I went from positive miscarriage was inevitable to positive things would be okay. It was sheer hell and it lasted for 2 long torturous weeks. My first ultrasound showed nothing, at which point the word ectopic was used. Now on top of everything else I have the fear of an ectopic pregnancy. I am thankful that the pregnancy wasn't ectopic... a few short days after this ultrasound began the worst few months of my life. While i had accepted the fact a miscarriage was inevitable it crushed me. 


I spent all of March and April depressed. I was petrified to start trying again, yet I was more determined then ever. My husband and I had a vacation planned for early June so we decided to postpone any sort of fertility treatments until after we returned. My period of course decided to show up while we were on our vacation in June so that meant the earliest we would be starting would be July. While i was nervous, I was also excited. 


But. my period never showed. Instead I got that amazing positive result!



This time, everything looked perfect. At 6 weeks we saw the heartbeat and our little bean for the first time.





It was also at this point that my all day sickness set in with a vengeance. The joy of being pregnant quickly disapaeared. I was torn between obtaining what I had wanted for so long and feeling so horrible. I spent many a time on the bathroom floor crying because I couldn't throw up and I couldn't make the pain go away. To say it was rough is putting it mildly. My doctor prescribed me zofran, the lifesaver. Without that I would not have been functional (i was sleeping less than 3 hours periods at a time due to nausea). At my 11 week appointment we heard the heartbeat. It was then I finally started to accept that maybe this pregnancy was for real. Until that point I had been convinced something would be wrong. I finally broke down and told my family, all of whom were thrilled. 


Finally the second trimester hit and my nausea eased up... for the first time in weeks I felt like a normal person again. I had more energy and I could eat food again! I even had the beginnings of a bump... not that noticeable yet, but I knew it was there. I also made the decision to switch from a traditional OB/GYN to a midwife. While my OB was nice, I always felt rushed. I also really wanted a natural birth and knew that my best chance of having one was at the free standing birthing center near my house. I met with the midwives and went on a tour and felt 100% happy. I wasn't rushed, I didn't sit in a crowded waiting room for 25 minutes for my 5 minute appointment, I didn't have a nurse tsking over my weight. It was wonderful.


October came the most exciting point in my pregnancy so far, the ultrasound. I was a ball of nerves going in, but seeing our baby on the monitor was amazing. I was in awe the entire time... i could have spent hours sitting watching. My husband and I were both thrilled with the tech announced it was most definitely a boy. The entire pregnancy we had suspected girl, but we were both more then thrilled to be having a boy. The ultrasound was over too soon... at least he was cooperative and we got some great photos. 





As November began it became more and more obvious to all around me I was pregnant. While I had told my closer coworkers I didn't tell everyone. However more and more people began to ask me how I was feeling and when I was due. I am thankful that after the rough first few months things have been relatively uneventful and easy. Sure, its getting harder to get comfortable at night and I ache in new places, but being pregnant has been an amazing journey. The most amazing part by far is feeling this guy moving around. The novelty still hasn't worn off and every time I feel him moving I just want to sit and watch. Sometimes its uncomfortable, but I find it reassuring... his way of telling me that everything is okay.


And now, with the year coming to a close, i find myself in the home streach. Just a short 2 1/2 months and Eirik Lysander will be here. It still seems surreal to me at times that I really am pregnant... i have to sit and pinch myself and assure myself this isn't a dream. After all the heartache at the beginning of the year I am ending the year excited and optimistic. Its been a roller coaster of a year and while good things have come to pass, I am glad that it is over and I can move forward into 2010. Next year will bring more change and new challenges as I adjust to being a parent... bring it on. =)

Enjoying Doing Nothing

At the moment I am really enjoying the fact I have nothing to do. I mean, sure, there's work, but afterwards I come home and... nothing! The past year has been spent with classes and then pile all the Christmas prep on top and well, I've been slightly busy the past month. Its been a long time since I've had the chance to come home from work and not have to worry about anything! I know that come March this lovely freedom will disappear, so I am enjoying it while I can! Lots of goofing around online and playing of my new Wii.

Pregnancy wise I am feeling really good! Overall I can't really complain too much... things have been pretty easy and pretty uneventful! Yes, its a little harder to get comfortable at night and sometimes when the baby flips about I cringe, but I wouldn't sit and whine about how horrible everything is. I guess I have a different frame of mind considering how long it took me to get here and what I went through. I have the beginnings of stretch marks now... something I knew was coming but hoped would stay away. My stomach doesn't itch TOO much, but when it does it drives me crazy! I've been putting lotion on, which helps a lot. My next appointment is on Wednesday, where i'll find out if I gained a ton of weight with holiday food. Considering my appetite is almost gone and I've really not been indulging too much I am hoping that I haven't gained more then 2lbs... I guess we'll see. I also get the results from my glucose test. Fingers crossed I passed!

Now I am off to play the wii... i got rock band today(my game splurge!)... can you guess what I am going to be doing all weekend???

Merry Christmas!!

It never ceases to amaze me... you spend so much time preparing, planning, wrapping, cooking and then POOF its 9pm and the day is over! It seems like the older you get the quicker Christmas disappears! This Christmas was a little more relaxed then previous years, at least to me. I'm the one that has to cook so I should know. ;) 


First up, the tree, with gifts! Sorry the photo's a little blurry. 





I have to say, my gift this year was a total surprise to me! I gave my husband nothing to go on and about a week ago he said "I think i've really done it this year, you're gonna love your gift". I was a little nervous I have to admit! Imagine my shock and surprise this morning to find a Wii! Now, let me back up here a bit and explain my husband does not do video games at ALL. He is not a gamer by any stretch of the imagination and always thought I was silly for wanting a Wii. I keep saying how I want one but can't justify buying one at the moment with all the other baby stuff that needs to be done... but now I have one!! I am really excited too. Of course i didn't get too much time to play today (as I said above, I cooked!) but I did get a little classic mario as well as mario party played. I also have a star wars game which i'll have to investigate tomorrow. Most of my relatives over seas sent money, but my parents did send a gift for the baby! its little slippers that rattle. VERY cute!


My brother and father in law came over for dinner, which was nice. We ate and relaxed. I made Christmas Pudding (English tradition!) which caught on fire beautifully!





Afterwards we all opened christmas crackers and put on silly hats and read our jokes. I will refrain from posting the silly hat photos here in case my husband kills me.


The cats enjoyed their Christmas gifts! A new scratching post!





Later my brother decided to cover Sebastian in wrapping paper... silly cat....





I hope everyone else had a wonderful Christmas! I know I am looking forward to a weekend full of Wii playing. =)

Cloth Diapers!

So today I got my first cloth diapers!





I know they say to try diapers out before buying tons however these are being discontinued so I bought more just in case i fall in love with them and then can't find then anywhere else. The diapers are the bum genius bamboo fitted and then i bought 3 covers which are bummies super brite. Both were highly recommended by the women who I purchased the diapers from! I'll have to let you guys know how I actually like them after I start using them. =) I am going to wait till after my babyshower to purchase anymore diapers because I did set up a cloth diaper registry just in case someone wants to know where I am registered. My plan is to buy a few different kinds and brands and see what I like before making an investment. The best part of cloth diapering is the fact you can either swap or sell old ones or ones you don't like!


I've been spending my day doing christmas prep stuff. Cleaning the house, cooking christmas pudding, that sort of thing. I still haven't wrapped a single gift, which is odd for me because usually I am really far ahead! But, now I am off to make dinner, then wrapping. I can't believe tomorrow is Christmas!

Knitting Projects!

I'll start with the pregnancy related stuff. I had my 29 week appointment today (technically i'll be 29 weeks tomorrow). The good news is everything looked great, the bad news is i managed to gain 8lbs in 3 weeks. ARG! I don't feel like I am eating that horribly but for some reason I just keep gaining. I am really going to start paying attention to what I am eating and how much of what I am eating again.. Its just so hard with the holidays and whatnot going on right now... but this is starting to get ridiculous. My total weight gain so far is just around 40lbs!! i've still got 2 1/2 months to go! They also drew blood for my glucose test, so hopefully that comes back normal... fingers crossed!


Now non baby related stuff! I love knitting but between work and school I haven't had much of a chance to do any. Well, with classes done I have decided to brush off my knitting needles! My 2 christmas projects were gifts for a friend of mine: A christmas tree ornament and a coffee sleeve! 








The ornament is a little jellyfish! My friend who I made this for loves fish... and while i know its not a fish fish, its the closest pattern I could find online. The coffee sleeve was also really really easy. the first pattern I tried was for knitting it in the round, which while it sounds easier it was NOT. I gave up on that after 3 failed attempts and instead did it on straight needles. The downside is the seam which I had to sew up, but the upside is that it was SUPER easy.


Up next for my knitting projects are a baby hat for my little guy to wear for easter (its got bunny ears!!) and a christmas stocking for next christmas for the baby! Yes, its early to start knitting a christmas stocking for next year HOWEVER when I did my husbands stocking it took me 3 months to complete... so I figure I had better get an early start!

Snow!

Some photos from todays massive snowstorm! Its been a long time since i've seen snow like this... and i'm loving it! However i'm sure tomorrow when I am attempting to dig my car out it'll be another story... These photos were taken about 3:30pm today and there is probably at least another 4 inches so far out there since. 








I spent my snow day indoors relaxing! I should have done more Christmas prep stuff (write those cards, wrap gifts, actually decorate the tree that has been sitting in my living room since Wednesday) but instead I had a lazy day. I watched netflix on demand and worked on a knitting project. Apparently knitting is just like riding a bike because even though I haven't knitted anything in about a year it all came back to me very quickly. I also remembered very quickly why I hate kitting with double pointed needles!

28 week photo!

Just in case anyone is interested, here is the 28 week photo! I think I look smaller this week, but I also think this guy shifted into a new position! 





I have my next midwife appointment on Tuesday! Fingers crossed I don't have another 10lb weight gain!! I also get to do my glucose test... fun fun fun!


I'm supposed to get anywhere from 10 - 20 inches of snow by Sunday morning! If the weather cooperates and we do get a ton of snow i'll post some photos. =)


Random Question: Why is it when the word snow is mentioned everyone must run to the store for eggs, milk, and toilet paper?? Seriously people, do you not have enough to last you for 2 days??

Holiday Party, Irrational Fears, and Pediatricians!

So last night was my company Christmas party. It was a cocktail hour at a nice restaurant, so instantly I wasn't too excited to be going. Whats the fun in going to a cocktail hour when you can't drink? But I scrounged through my closet, found something nice to wear, and went. For starters what I wore made me look HUGE. It doesn't help that everyone else I work with is tiny and here I am, the walking blob! A coworker to some photos and in each pictures its glaringly obvious I am very pregnant! I am thrilled to be pregnant, but I have always had weight issues and gaining weight is difficult for me. I was very overweight in high school and most of college and I was always so proud of how much weight I lost so gaining weight now is bringing back bad memories. But, I digress, I get to the party and take a quick scan of the food offerings. I had anticipated only hors d'oeuvre's so I ate dinner before I came, a wise move! The only things in sight were: smoked salmon, a seared tuna thing, and baked brie. Wonderful! 3 things I can't eat! I did have a good time however and ultimately some food did appear that I could enjoy: crab balls and egg rolls. I didn't stay too late as I was tired and there is really no fun in being the only sober person in the room!

Today after work I finally called the pediatrician to schedule an interview and was shocked to find that I couldn't get an appointment until Jan 27th! My midwife is going to kill me! I'm supposed to have a pediatrician consent form turned in by 34 weeks and Jan 27th is 34 weeks on the nose! I'm just going to have to explain to them thats the earliest appointment I could get. I had no clue it could take that long to get an appointment! So, to all my pregnant friends, call sooner rather then later!

I had the most bazaar dream last night. My pregnancy dreams are odd, but last nights just takes the cake. I left my husband because apparently he was doing hard drugs and cheating on me big time, but I didn't go home I moved in with a friend of mine, and I had the baby early but my baby was a kitten (well, at first it was a kitten then suddenly it was a girl with purple and blue hair...) and we had to sneak back into the place my husband was staying to get all the baby things because I didn't have anything. VERY odd.

Also, I am having irrational fears. IVillage is wonderful with message boards, however sometimes I think too much information and reading is a bad thing. In the past 2 weeks 2 women with due dates close to mine (one jan, one feb) have lost their baby's suddenly. They went to the hospital for decreased movement and then found no heartbeat. I've already been nervous about this because an old coworker of mine had that happen to her sister, but reading about two people in such a close span just makes my mind work overtime. I am really trying to relax and be less stressed about things, but now if I don't feel movement for a while I start to over analyze things. I sometimes think the internet can be more stress then its worth. You can google things and discover so many stories online that make you shudder. I know that the chances of something going wrong now are about 1%... i have a higher chance of getting in a serious car accident driving on 95 into work tomorrow... but it still freaks me out. As much as I am trying to enjoy every aspect of being pregnant and I wouldn't wish for things to go by any faster, sometimes I wish this little guy was here.

Now I am off to write Christmas cards. yes, i am a little behind this year... oh well! They'll get out by the weekend. =)

Braxton Hicks and No More School!

So I'm 99% sure i've started to get Braxton Hicks contractions. I could be wrong, but i've had a few episodes where i'm uncomfortable and then I notice my stomach is really hard. Its so weird! Normal, but totally strange. If I wait a few minutes and then feel my stomach again it feels totally different. It really freaks me out a bit that my body is already starting to prepare for labor!

I have been putting off the hunt for a pediatrician for a while now, but I really have to set up an appointment ASAP. The birthing center requires us to have a pediatrician chosen and a consent form signed by 34 weeks, which I realized is quickly approaching! I have a recommendation from an old coworker so tomorrow at work I am going to call and try and schedule an appointment. I know hes great with kids (he comes with glowing reviews from a few people I know!) but I need to make sure hes okay with an alternative vaccination schedule. While I am totally for vaccinations, I am not for all of the vaccinations they give kids so young! Just one example I can think of is Hepatitis B... i didn't get that vaccination till i was 15 and now its given to infants! Since this little guy isn't going into daycare I think he'll be okay if we do a modified schedule. Basically he'll get less vaccines at each visit and the space between the vaccines is a little more. I hope my husband and I both like this guy because I don't know anyone else in my area with small kids... i'd have to start a random hunt for a doctor!

My graduate classes are officially done for the semester! I took my last final this evening. I am taking the spring semester off so that means no more classes for me till June when I am taking a summer class! I'm hoping that I don't completely loose motivation during my little break. I really thought about doing the spring semester since all the classes are online, but I quickly realized that was a bad idea. Instead I decided it was better to just take the semester off and ease myself back into classes in June. I have 3 classes left to take: 1 summer, 2 fall semester and then i'll officially have my M.S. in Biotechnology. Scary! I'm really looking forward to relaxing after work again and on the weekends. Lots of knitting and reading will be done! I have to enjoy all this time I have now because I know in March i'm not going to have the same freedom!

Now I am off to bed because I slept horribly last night. Note to self: Drinking about 3 large glasses of water after 6pm is NOT a good idea and will result in a minimum of 5 bathroom trips during the night!

27 weeks!

Thats the 27 week photo! Not the best photo of me... but you can really see how big I am getting! One of the managers at work commented yesterday about how much I had suddenly popped! Of course this followed with the huge list of "how are you feeling" questions. I am SO tired of being asked how I am feeling! I mean, do they really want me to go "well, I have to pee every 2 hours or so and my back is killing me and my hips ache and parts of my body are swollen that shouldn't be, my boobs are leaking on a regular basis, i am exhausted all the time, i've recently developed some nice hemorrhoids, and my hormones make me feel like i want to cry"


So I shouldn't be allowed to watch anything sappy with baby's in... its just not good for me. I'm kind of half heartedly giving the new show Mercy a change. I miss ER and I wanted a medical drama to watch. I know I could watch Grays Anatomy but i am so far behind in it at this point I don't feel like getting myself involved. I decided i'd start with something new, fresh, and give it a change. The show is... okay. Its got its amusing moments and some of the patient stories are interesting... but i'm not 100% sure its going to last more than this season. Anyway, the last episode had a 19 year old women who gave birth to her baby. Originally she was going to put it up for adoption because the father was out of the picture and she had no idea what to do but then after seeing the baby she changed her mind and wanted to keep him. We can all see how this ends... girl realizes she can't take care of the baby and changes her mind. Anyway, the scene where the mother realizes she can't do it is when shes sitting in the car and the baby wakes up and she has NO clue what to do. And suddenly I went "THAT'LL BE ME! I'LL HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO DO!!" Yes, I started to freak out. I sat there last night thinking "why did i want to have kids? I know nothing about kids! I have no experience with babies! This baby is going to cry and i'm going to freak out and not have any idea what to do!" Of course after a while the rational side of my brain kicked in... but still.. the closer my due date gets the more frequent those little freak out episodes become! I'm assuming this is totally normal first time mother stuff... at least I hope it is! I keep reading everywhere its a learning curve and you figure it out and its different when its your own kid... still, the thought of suddenly being home alone with an infant is a little terrifying!

Exhaustion and Exercise

I am only just barely in the 3T according to most of those little trimester calculators! According to some I was there Monday, others say today, and yet others say Friday! Its so confusing! I guess in the big scheme of things it doesn't make a difference what trimester you are in, you're still pregnant. ;) 27 weeks already... wow, where did the time go?? Things seemed to go so slowly in the first trimester and now I am entering the home stretch! Less than 90 days to go (in theory!). Physically I am pretty prepared... we have a cosleeper, a crib, carseat, breastpump, clothing, bedding... all the big essential gear. Mentally however I am beginning to freak out. I am guessing everyone hits a point where they go "I'm having a BABY". Well, I am at that point! Last night in bed I suddenly started having all those fears and doubts. I tried for so long for this and now i'm wondering if I am really ready for this. Of course I then feel weird because I am so worried... and its not normal worried either. Its weird things like "What if my husband and I get a divorce and my kid has to go through what I went through?" or "What if i die and miss most of his life?" or even worse still "What if hes deathly allergic to the cats and I have to give them away?". Yes, these are the thoughts that go through my mind!

It also seems that my utter exhaustion is returning. I am finding it harder and harder to stay awake at night. I think its a mixture of cold weather, getting dark early, and being pregnant. I've always gone to bed early in the winter... its dark and cold outside and bed is so warm. But now I get home at 5pm and feel like I could pass out! In fact its 7:30 now and I am already planning on getting into bed within 30 minutes. Thankfully I am still sleeping through the night pretty well. Most nights I only get up once to pee, however sometimes its been 2. The worst is weekends because I find myself getting up to pee at about 7:30 and then I am unable to get back to sleep so i'm up early almost every weekend. Thankfully I am also not too uncomfortable at night either. I added an extra pillow for back/butt support which has done WONDERS for my back pain. I'm slowly but surely forcing myself back to the gym. I went once last week and once this week so far. For me thats good! I tell myself that if I don't keep going now its going to be harder to get back after this guy is born. I also find I feel better on days after I exercise!

In non baby related news I am furiously baking Christmas cookies! I have 3 more kinds to do by Sunday night... not too bad. Its busy, but once they are done and in the freezer I can relax a bit! My classes are almost over, I have finals to take this weekend. Next week I can sit back, relax, watch Netflix DVDs, and knit! I am looking forward to it. =)

Another baby item purchased!

So the last big expensive item on my baby list was... the breast pump. I have been debating back and forth over the breast pump... do I buy it now or buy it after the baby is born? And then, what kind! I knew I had to get a good breast pump because this sucker is going to be used daily at work, so after researching I had settled on either the Medela pump in style or the freestyle. I really was drooling over the freestyle but the higher price tag had me on the fence. So today what do I see at the Babies R Us weekly flyer? 20% off the Medela Freestyle! That is an amazing deal on a breastpump that is NEVER on sale! And the best part is the coupon could be used online and had free shipping! So now my last big must have before the baby arrives baby item is purchased! WOW. Yes, there are other things I still need, but nothing with a price tag quite that high. =)

Today I am officially starting my christmas baking craziness! I have to have all my cookies finished by the 14th for my husband to deliver to his students, so that gives me a week. Not bad! I'm hoping to do 3 kinds today (maybe 4) so I can slowly finish the rest off after work next week and next Sunday. I also want to put the lights up today, but that requires my husband fishing the holiday boxes out of the basement. If I start harassing him now I should be able to get the lights up before it gets dark!

Yesterday we had our first official snowfall! Sadly it was barely enough to make the ground outside look white. For some reason my area gets less snow then about a half a mile away! It always happens that way. But, it looked pretty and made me feel all excited about winter and Christmas! I am almost ready for christmas... I have to go to the pet store and get the cats a scratching post and then I think I may be just about done!

In cat news Laia (The fluffy white cat) is mad at me. She gets chronic ear infections, so every few months I have to give her drops in her ears which she despises. I'd noticed her digging in her ears again and that they were looking a little nasty so yesterday morning I started the drops. Needless to say every time i walk in the room I get a death look. It doesn't help that the drops make her fur all greasy so she looks ridiculous! Poor cat!

Alright, off to do laundry and start baking. I am determined to have a productive day!

A moment to discuss TV

There are only a handful of current TV shows I watch right now. My TV gets absolutely no channels so I watch everything via Hulu. Hulu is the best thing ever!! Before all the major TV stations put their shows online I had to resort to youtube and other methods to keep up to date on my shows. My husband and I are not large TV watchers (in fact he doesn't watch at ALL, just DVDs) so we both agreed not to spend money on getting cable or anything like that. Needless to say if you turn our TV on right now all you're going to get is static because we didn't even upgrade with that whole digital switch thing!

But, I digress. This is about my current TV habits! Most of my old favorites are off the air, leaving me looking for new shows to fill the void. I have tried to get myself into more light shows with amusing plotlines that will make me laugh. Why? Because I get too caught up in drama shows and they tend to (in my opinion) start off reasonable and then go off the deep end. At least with comedy you expect the deep end. =)

With that said, here are my current TV shows: Glee, The Office, Fringe, Scrubs, and Ugly Betty. The office has been on for ages as we all know. I however only got into it about 2 seasons ago. While so far this season has been good, it is also a lot more serious. It still always makes me laugh out loud though! Ugly Betty has also been around a while. I started watching in the first season and really loved it. The second season was okay... and then things got kinda meh for a while and I almost quit watching but kept at it and this season has been better then ever! I am really impressed with the show so far. Scrubs I didn't expect to be back this year. Like everyone else I assumed it was over last year and was prepared for it to end. However, I must say I am pretty pleased with the way the show has continued! Its almost like a new show now. Its got the same scrubs humor and quality, but a completely different feel. I'm not sure in the long run how it will catch on, but i am amused.

Glee and Fringe are my two new shows this season. Yes, i know fringe started last season however I didn't start watching. I wanted to, but i told myself i'd be good and not get hooked on anything new. Well, over the summer my friend informed me that I HAD to watch fringe and i spent the summer catching up on the first season and I was hooked. I loved the x-files and I am a sci-fi dork with a science background... how could I not love fringe?? I'm worried however that because of its timeslot its not doing so well... it has a lot of competition on Thursday nights! I've got everything crossed that the show makes it for a renewal next season. Its starting off like the x-files did... lots of "stories of the week" episodes with just enough mythology storyline thrown in. And then of course there is Glee... my guilty pleasure! The show is a little out there and crazy, but I love it! I can't quite explain why, but from the first episode i was addicted! I watched the pilot at the beginning of the summer thinking it was a new summer show and was disappointed to find I had to wait until September to see another episode! Now I have just heard they are taking it off the air from December till April!! I am crushed!

So, those are my current thoughts on my current TV watching! Overall I am enjoying all my shows this season... some are more addicting then others and not every episode has been wonderful! I also have to say the Hulu desktop application has been a lifesaver! I subscribe to my favorite shows and then when I open the application it shows me what is new that I haven't seen before. Its simple and easy! Yay Hulu!

Nausea Returns...

I read about it in the books and I hoped and prayed it wouldn't happen to me... but of course it has. It was too good to be true... those 10 blissful weeks of feeling great! I could eat what I wanted, food tasted amazing again... yet now I am back to wanting only crackers and carbs... thats right, my nausea has returned! =(

At first I put my nausea down to holiday eating... I ate lots of foods that are not normally part of my diet! But alas, that is not the case. The odd part is that unlike before where eating made things better, now eating makes everything worse! Oh yes, i feel hungry all right... but about an hour or so after I eat I feel like I want to throw up. Its not bad enough yet for me to pull out the leftover Zofran I have in my medicine cabinet (though I have thought about it once or twice!) but it is enough to make me put the windows down in the car when I drive to work and has caused me to stop and do some deep breathing at work so I don't end up running to the bathroom.

In more positive news I got my camcorder today!! Of course I am dying to try it out on the cats, but they have been quite dull this evening. I'll have to get some catnip and a laser pointer tomorrow and see what fun things I can record. I have to make sure it works right so if it doesn't I can return it... ;) I was really amazed with how tiny and light it was!! I remember when I was a kid a family friend had a video camera and it was huge and weighed a ton! How far technology has advanced!!

I am now off to be a bad group member... my big end of the semester group project is due tomorrow and my group had originally decided to meet at 5:30 this evening for a final online chat session to make sure we were happy with the final power point. Well, I got online at 5:30 to discover everyone else had agreed to move the chat session to 10pm! That whole 3T exhaustion thing is starting to hit me and recently my bed time is more like 8:30pm... I can't imagine staying up till almost 11pm tonight and then getting up at 5:45am tomorrow for work! I mean, if I had to do it I would... but this group project is not worth forcing myself to feel miserable over! So, I am going to finish a few things and post a note with some comments on the final project and apologize that I can't make it at 10pm tonight to chat.

I'll leave you with the belly shot this week. Its a full photo... you can see my face! Apparently i've gained 10lbs since my 22 week checkup... and i can assure you that is not all going to my belly!

Thanksgiving Weight Gain

So I had my 26 week appointment today and it was as uneventful as ever! My husband and I talked and agreed there was no point in him coming to every appointment with me. I realized it was pretty pointless because he just sits there the entire time and then we leave! When it gets closer i'll probably have him come more, but right now everything is so dull and uneventful! I am up 10lbs since my last appointment... ACK!! The midwife wasn't concerned at all since thanksgiving just passed, but I am freaking out. I had really hoped to keep my total weight gain to about 40lbs (originally I wanted 30 but things change!). At my last appointment I was only up 3 so I thought "great! I can do this!". Now my total weight gain is 30lbs almost and i've still got 3 months to go! So much for keeping the weight gain down... i guess i just have to stop eating all the yummy food I want and focus on eating the healthier options! I also apparently now look pregnant because i've been stopped by quite a few people going "wow, you've poped!" That on top of a 10lb weight gain is just making me feel like a blob!!

Next hurdle is the glucose test right before christmas. Thankfully my midwife practice doesn't make you do the sugary drink with the fasting bloodwork. Nope, instead I get to drink 16oz of OJ and eat 1/2 a banana an hour before my appointment! WAHOO! I just have to remember to bring the OJ and the 1/2 a banana to work that day. =)

Speaking of Christmas, I am happy to annouce most of my Christmas shopping is done! I have to get something for my brother and some stocking stuffers, but pretty much the big gifts are done already! I even have all my stuff ready to mail to England, I just have to wrap and package! I even bought my own christmas present already on amazon! I decided this year for christmas I wanted a digital camcorder... nothing fancy and high end, but something to take videos of this little guy as my family is all so far away! So I got a great deal in their black friday sale on one that was recommended to me by my brother. I'm excited because i've never had a camcorder before, just a camera. I'm sure i'll be testing it out on the cats long before the baby arrives. ;)