I was in...

so much pain after the physical therapy appointment - it was not funny. Friday night I could no longer walk...walk!!! I could take baby steps and slide my left leg along the floor, but could not lift it up without being in horrible pain. So from 4 p.m. and on Friday and then into Saturday morning I did not get up at all and gave my back a chance to calm down. (Things really flared up at work.) I alternated ice and hot packs and took Tylenol every 4 hours. Things finally calmed down enough that Saturday was a decent day. Sunday was pretty active again so the pain started coming back again last night. I did the packs again and will take some Tylenol today. The pain has never left, and probably will not leave, but it is at what intesity it is at that matters. Right now I am at a 2 - which is completely manageable. It's the 8-9 range that is when I cannot walk. I am contemplating switching to a chiropractor, but I have one more appointment with the physical therapist tomorrow and then we'll decide from there.

Baby has been very busy inside my stomach and it is crazy to continue growing - maternity clothes that were too big 2 weeks ago are now fitting! Here are some updated pics - the baby one is showing the size of my baby at 18 weeks - which is where I'm at right now. I think I was surprised at how big it is! I think I still have it stuck in my head that I have a 3-inch "embryo" in my stomach - not a full fledged baby!! :)

Had a day...

full of appointments! I had the dentist at 9 - physical therapy at 2:30 - and the nurse from the insurance company at 4:30. Finally I am at home and relaxing. :)

The dentist appointment was uneventful and again the bleeding gums are totally normal. I knew this but it is still annoying to spit out a mouthful of blood everytime I brush my teeth.

The physical therapy appointment was a little more interesting. I have failed to mention this on the website, but I have an old back/butt injury that is being agitated by the pregnancy. It started at about 10 weeks and has progressively gotten much worse. My OB sent me to physical therapy to see what's going on. We thought possibly sciatica - but the pain never runs down my leg so that does not make sense. This physical therapist did a much better job of explaining to me why this is happening than the previous one. Basically when I injured it the first time (this is in my left lower lower back, down by the sacrum) I made it susceptible to further irritation/injuries. I have gone 4 years without having much of a problem with it, and now all of a sudden it is unbearable. So the pelvis is made up of 3 different bones, only connected with ligaments and muscles. They are usually very tight and hold everything in. When I got pregnant, my body released a hormone to start loosening the ligaments in my abdomen area to prepare my body for child birth. Well...this previously injured ligament has now loosened probably too much and is severely irritated. What do you take? Ibuprofen. Can I take it? No. I basically have a 'loose' pelvis and every time I twist, turn, bend it hurts. If I can keep myself walking and working it gets much better. But if I sit for any length of time and then try to get up, I literally almost fall over on the first step because of the stabbing excruciating pain. He tried to do all these different pressure point and relaxation stretches, which worked to an extent but definitely did not take care of the problem. I am going back next Tuesday to be fitted for a certain sacroilliac brace or something? I'm still kind of confused about it all but I hope it gets better soon. It hurts so bad!!

Baby is moving lots and it is so much fun to feel. I'm trying to keep a journal of when the activity is to see if I can create a pattern. Probably won't do me much good, but it's still interesting!

Hope you're keeping warm. Even you Alli.

TTFN!

Definitely...

feeling the baby move lots!!! It started about 2 days ago - well actually I *thought* I felt it last week - but now it is definitely the baby. Jeremy even felt it last night with his hand!! I swear at one point the thing was doing sommersaults! It's the most amazing feeling ever. It really puts me at ease and makes this whole process feel even more real. What's even more crazy - in about 2 1/2 weeks I will have reached the 'halfway' point of the pregnancy. HALFWAY!! That is crazy.

Insomnia is starting to be a problem. I wake up at 4 a.m. for my nightly bathroom ritual and from that point on I am wide awake!! Even before that I toss and turn around 3:30 a.m. and try to avoid getting up so I can sleep a little more. There are the obvious symptoms and problems you have with pregnancy that you think about when you're trying to conceive, but there are some that nobody tells you about. I was thinking last night about the things with pregnancy that I never expected: 1. My belly growing hair. I don't like it and it's very weird! 2. I was prepared to grow out, but not necessarily wider as well. 3. Headaches, heartburn, and insomnia. These things are known pregnancy symptoms, I just expected some sort of break from them. However, on a daily basis I deal with one if not more of these problems. 4. Exhaustion - compared to the first trimester it really has gotten loads better, but I'm no where near where I was before getting pregnant. I still need to take a nap almost daily. 5. *LOVING* being pregnant. I was rubbing my belly last night (it really does feel good) and Jeremy said he's scared that after the baby is born I'm going to miss my belly! I think he's right. I love this so far. Sure the symptoms aren't always fun. But there's a baby in me! A little heartburn/hair/insomnia really isn't all that bad!!

TTFN. :)

So I just...

had my doctor's appointment today and it went well! I think I confused people with the ultrasound statement - I don't get it until the next visit! I had to have this visit in order to make that appointment. So February 22nd at 3:15 p.m. we will find out what our baby is!! I'm so excited because these last 4 weeks seemed to have flown by, so I'm hoping the next 4 do as well.

The baby is doing great - 156 b.p.m. Pretty consistent. I also felt it move!! This time it was for real. I have questioned it for about a week now, but when I tried to listen to the heartbeat with the Doppler at work, I must've pushed directly on the baby and it literally punched back! I told my doctor about it and he said it's actually common for that to happen. The movements I feel are few and far between right now, but still very exciting when they happen. I've only gained about a total of 1 pound since getting pregnant - but I'm up 3 since my last visit so I think I'm on my way and so does my doctor.

TTFN!

16 Weeks!

14 weeks

16 weeks

Not sure if there's a whole lot of difference in 2 weeks or not - but if feels like there is! I guess it does look like it's maybe coming out further now than before. Oh well :)

Just have to add one little comment: That is the Vikings team I know and love! Good job yesterday guys!!

I have my next doctor's appointment Thursday and then we finally get to make the appointment for the big ultrasound!! I'm so excited for this because then I can finally start making decisions about how I want the room, gliders, bedding, etc. All of it. I just hope we can actually find out and that the baby is healthy!

For some reason or other I've been seeing lots of different stories or news articles about people have trouble conceiving at all. And then today one of the ladies I chat with online lost her baby at 15 weeks. The whole process is so fragile and scary - I don't think I ever realized how lucky we were to have gotten as far as we have with as little trouble as we've had. We're truly blessed.

TTFN!

I think...

when you become pregnant God puts this sign on your forehead that is invisible to you, but visible to everyone else that reads "Please - I'm stupid - give me any advice you can." :) Okay - so I'm not trying to offend anyone here and I really haven't been offended...yet...but I have realized that this pregnancy has seemed to have given the right to anyone who has been within 50 feet of a pregnancy - maybe not even themselves - to give me any and every thought they have on how to have a 'right' pregnancy. Avoid this. Don't eat too much of that. Don't do this. Do that. Please!!!! Do you not realize that I really have NOTHING to do with what's going on inside of me?! Yes, I have control over what goes in my mouth but other than that - I have absolutely nothing to do with it!! I just smile and nod and know that their intentions are good. And then make a mental note not to do this myself down the road!!

Another funny thing - having a memory you never realized you had. It is very cold here right now, average of about -5 or so, and I took one step in the snow on my way to work and just stopped. It sounded like North Dakota snow!!!! I didn't realize that the previous snow on the ground didn't crunch, but when it's 15 to 20 above zero snow doesn't crunch. I just stopped and smiled because without even thinking of it I instantly remembed North Dakota snow. Crazy!!

TTFN :)

Heard the...

heartbeat again today and it was great! It's becoming a game though, between the baby and me. (Which is kind of fun :) I wouldn't believe without going through it myself, but I think this child may already have a personality!! I'll put the Doppler on my stomach and find the heartbeat, and then you hear this "woosh woosh" sound and the heartbeat is gone. So I move to the right side of my belly and hear the heart beat again! Then "woosh woosh" and it's gone. Move to left - and same thing again. Back to the right, back to the left. It was so funny today.

Brrrrrrrrrrrr. It's cold.

TTFN!

Not much...

news to report! I guess that's good though, right? Poor Jeremy has not had a voice now for 2 days, and has spent the last two days home sick from school. He will go back tomorrow, but he's not really sure how to run a band practice without a voice!! We're getting hit with some bad weather here, so he may not even need to worry about the morning classes, but we'll have to wait and see with that one.

My next OB appointment is this coming Thursday and I don't expect it to be much of anything. The ultrasound is the appointment after this one, so I'm getting excited to be closer to that date!! I'm in full-blown maternity pants now and have retired most of the regular pants to rubbermaid containers. I think I may have felt the baby move - but I still can't quite differentiate between gas and the baby!!! :) I'm also FINALLY gaining weight - as I should be with my appetite! I have to tell you, I'm really enjoying this part so far! I feel great - have pretty much regular energy - and lots of different foods sound really good to me all through the day! Last night we had dinner a little early - 5:30ish - and then my stomach growled again at about 7 - 9:30 - 12 a.m. - 4:30 a.m. It's crazy. I can't keep enough down to keep the stomach from growling!

TTFN!

Saddened...

by the Packers loss. It stings a little. But quite honestly I understand that they really didn't play well enough to win. It still hurts! The office will be very sad on Monday - seriously.

We had a Christmas party to go to on Friday night and I spent...oh...about 3 hours trying to find something to wear! I'm definitely in that stage where regular pants will no longer fit and maternity clothes are just a little on the big side. I don't want to go out and by all new pants, just larger, to get me through these next few weeks. So I found one pair of jeans that is tight but wearable I suppose, and just threw those on. I wore them extremely low so I'm sure they looked funny, but they did the job. Then just threw a huge sweater over it.

A friend about 4 weeks further along than me just found out she's having twins! So we're going to do a clothes swap here pretty soon because some of the maternity stuff she bought is already going to be too small and some of my stuff won't fit for a few months.

Not much else is new. Finally have heat and I'm really not sure what the whole problem was, other than a busted pipe and a huge bill that we don't have to pay. We did write a letter to the manager stating that we were very disappointed that he left no one in charge in his absence. He commented back a few times with "Why didn't you call so and so?" Because you never gave us his number. "Why didn't you call me in Florida?" Again, you never gave us the number. You also never told us when you were going to back. Or where to send rent this month. Or who to contact to plow us out of our snow-bank-of-a-driveway. Or who to call if the heat goes out. Or who to contact if we have another mouse in the house. Do you see why we were disappointed?

Gotta go clean. TTFN!

Update...

on the heat issue. The owner of the house finally called us himself to get all this straightened out. Turns out he did in fact call the heating company, but the message never got relayed to the right people. So he's been waiting for a phone call as well and got none. He is frustrated because the managers haven't told him one thing about any problems with this house (which we've seem to have had more of this winter). So he now wants us to go directly to him with any problems and avoid the managers all together. Secondly, the heating company took over 4 hours to get over here to even look at the problem again. Once here, we had a different guy than last night and he stated that no - it is not the pump like the first guy said. (Which by the way he then took out and replaced with a new one, which was probably not necessary now). But this guy says the water on the floor means there is a busted pipe in the ceiling of the apartment downstairs and the heater is not working because it is not getting water - it's not that the pump isn't pumping it - the pump isn't getting water. (The first guy didn't even seem to care about the water on the floor). So now they have to come back tomorrow morning and rip apart the poor lady's apartment downstairs and find exactly where the leak is. He said it probably going to be messy and quite complicated. :(

The good news is I heard the heartbeat again today and it was as healthy as ever. I have also been grazing all day on anything I can get in my mouth!

And now, I'm finally warm. For now.

SO frustrated...

I HATE RENTING! I do NOT want to rent any longer!! Yes, we live in beautiful country and yes the owners of the house are super nice to us (when they are here in the summer, otherwise they live in MN but have a 'manager') but this house is old, it is not insulated at all (you can feel drafts by each window and door) and we are now going on 7 HOURS WITHOUT HEAT. This all started about 3 days ago when I could hear rushing water going through the heating vents - never heard that before. Went downstairs...there's water on the floor! Great! Went to church because I was late anyways, got home, and no heat. Called the manager of the property - who apparently is still in Florida. Okay - so call his son. Not there. Called again. And again. And again. And again. Finally took things into our own hands and called the heating company ourselves. They came at about 11 and stayed until 1:15 a.m. or later. Finally got heat running through it again, but it took a few hours to get the house warm again. Woke up, went to work, and came home. Freezing. No heat again! Called the manager's son again. And again. And again. And again! Finally called the guy in Minneapolis, whose wife promised me should would call the heating company herself. (They can't do anything without owner's approval.) Two and a half hours later - the heating company has yet to hear from anyone...so they can't really do anything. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! The son FINALLY calls back and so arrogantly asks "How's it goin over there?" Duh, we're cold. So, going by his not-so-believable-word, he is calling the heating place right now to authorize them to do whatever needs to be done. The frustrating part comes not from the actual house - but from going through all these hoops just to get heat. (Note - this would be different if we had an ice storm or something and there was a reason for not having heat). If we owned it, yes we would pay for it (which we've already offered to do but nobody seems to take us seriously) and it would be fixed. I don't care how much it costs - that's what comes with owning a house. But bottom line is it would be fixed. We wouldn't have to wait 7 hours just to get 'authorization' to even get this process started. Who knows - it could need a part that they need to order and take a few more days - we just simply don't know because nobody will come and look at it!!! I AM SO FRUSTRATED!

Whatever. I just want heat.

Can you say...

HEARTBURN CITY? Oh goodness it is not good. And this supposedly wasn't supposed to happen until the 2nd half of the pregnancy, but I've been dealing with it since about 10 weeks. Either way, I was hungry two nights ago at about 9:30 and so, thinking I was being healthy, I had an apple and a glass of milk. I went to bed at about 11. I was up at 2:30- with a raging inferno in my throat. And I mean to the point of crying raging inferno. I was in the bathroom for about 30 minutes, because when one system goes wrong the other always seems to follow suit, and finally got back to sleep around 4. Woke up at 7:30 and attempted breakfast. And about 30 minutes later - heartburn. At 8:00 in the morning! It was crazy. And the sucky thing is that I actually have an appetite now - I wake up so hungry and ready to eat, but sometimes eating is what triggers it.

So basically - here are a few of the things that I *think* will help my heartburn:
1) No more food after 9 or even 8:30. Especially not a full glass of liquids.
2) After it starts - stay upright for at least an hour! And stay upright for at least an hour after eating!!
3) Take the Maalox at the absolute earliest sign of heartburn - it seems easier to catch it little than after it reaches my throat.
4) No more acidic stuff after 4 pm - tomato sauces, oranges, orange juice, etc.
5) Soda is out. Just out. I feel dehydrated afterwards and the carbonation brings on the heartburn as well.
6) Little meals all day. They were laughing at me at work today because I was "grazing on my smorgasbord." Hilarious.

Okay, gotta head to bed.

TTFN!

Just had to...

repost this one...these pictures on top of one another are a little crazy. Can you say 'popped'? That was only 4 weeks! 4 WEEKS! Oh man, I'm gonna be huge.

14 weeks!

Well we seemed to have made it past the morning sickness round...for now anyways! I'm feeling great - really great. Here are some more recent pictures of my belly which changes by hour sometimes. The first one is a skin shot and that one is a little deceiving - I am that big at night, but some of that is bloating and camera angle. Also if you look at the second picture with clothes you can tell the tummy is still pretty well hidden. Check out that bruise on my arm too! We think that was from the phlebotomist at the hospital when I was in the ER - not from her poke but from the rubberband around my arm...it was pretty tight...too tight if you ask me!

TTFN!

Christmas 2005

Here are some of the pictures from our Christmas in Park River...it was a good time. Can anybody tell who Santa is?? Lilly the kitten will sleep anywhere on anyone, as long as you're warm. Also - Kyla HATES wearing clothes! Thus...she is naked half the time. :)