Oh my hormones

I hope that everyone has had (is having) happy, healthy holidays. I don't know about the rest of you, but thus far my holidays have been happy, sad, funny, exciting, infuriating, melancholy, stressful, anxiety-ridden, joyful... No, my name has not changed to Sybil, but I am beginning to feel like I have multiple personalities.

One minute I will go from a cheery "Happy Holidays!" to "If you don't get the $&*# out of my way I will shove a Christmas tree up your butt," to "WAAAA!!! Why do we have to chop down trees for Christmas? Or any trees at all? If we keep doing this then all of the icebergs will melt and we will drown. I don...don't (sniffle) want to drown (sob)."

I am chalking this all up to hormones (mainly, because if it isn't hormones then I need to be on some serious medication). What is so odd to me, is that this little blessing we call Blueberry is not only making my body change and at times, ache, but is messing with my emotions. He/she is probably sitting in it's warm, little (though rapidly growing) womb laughing at what a nut-job his/her mother has become. On the bright side, none of you need to worry about swearing around my kid for awhile because Blueberry has heard it all.

In other news, we get to find out the sex of the baby next week. We are so excited about that and to get to see this little person who is making me need to check into the Cuckoos Nest. Blueberry's heartbeat is strong and the nurses say that he/she seems very active. Also, all of my recent test results have come back negative. I am just so (sniffle) happ...happyyyyyy (cue the tears). All kidding aside, both Jon and I are thrilled that everything has been progressing nicely so far and although the thought of being responsible for a person is freaking us out a bit (okay, a lot), we can't wait for the baby to arrive.

I now have to go and get ready to close on our condo (say it again with me people, WHOOO HOOO!). Hope everyone enjoys the rest of their holidays. Happy #%^*#@! New Year.

It's a Hanukkas* Miracle!

OUR FREAKING CONDO IS SOLD! For those of you who have met me in the past two years, even if it was a brief encounter at a party or in an elevator, you have heard the seemingly never ending saga of our condo. I like to call it "How Sad it is to be Unit 1-1-1-3." If you haven't heard it (well, then I have probably never met you), I will give you a quick refresher.

Fantastic sort-of-single girl in her early 20's buys lovely one-bedroom condo 5 years ago at the height of the market. Girl gets married to equally fantastic guy a few years later. The two newlyweds and their giant Golden Retriever/Labrador mix dog settle (or squeeze) into their home. Marriage progresses, market declines. After a couple of years this fantastic couple decides to sell their condo. Fast forward nearly two years (YES TWO F-ING YEARS) and the girl is pregnant, the dog is more giant and the condo still has not sold. Until now!

Say it with me people - WHOO HOO!!!!

Like I said, if you have ever spoken to me you know how long this has taken and how happy both Jon and I are to finally be able to buy a house. And to make matters even better - WE FOUND A HOUSE! It is a great house, 4 bedrooms and three bathrooms in a, well, let's call it "transitional" neighborhood. BUT we got a wonderful deal on the house, it has been totally reonnovated and it is close to our offices and in the city (which is where we want to be). What's even better is that Blueberry won't have to sleep in a sock drawer. Though it would be cushy with all of the socks in there, it's probably not the best place for a baby.

We are scheduled to close on our condo on the 30th, then we close on our house on January 9th. Luckily my company is amazing (I feel like Tom Cruise or Katie Holmes with all of the "fantastics," "wonderfuls" and "amazings" I am tossing out in this entry) and we are closed for the holidays so I can pack, cancel services, order services on the house, etc. A lot to do in a little amount of time. Good thing my pregnancy exhaustion phase is over with.

Below is a new picture of me at 18 weeks (which is where I am now). I hope that everyone has happy holidays!

* Hannukas = the merging of Hanukkah and Christmas.

Boy or girl?

No - we have not found out yet. So don't let the headline of this entry mislead you. We have a few more weeks until our ultrasound and as I mentioned in an earlier post, we DEFINITELY plan to find out. It is driving me insane that I don't know yet. I can't believe that they are making me wait 5 months. So rude. I feel like a little kid before Christmas that is just dying to search for where the presents are hidden and peek under the wrapping paper to see what my gifts are. Sadly, I have no personal ultrasound machine (nor could I read one anyway) to help me "peek." And more importantly than finding out whether Blueberry will be a Blueberry or Bluberrette, I want to know that everything is ok in there. The last time I saw Blueberry he/she was a little speck in the photograph, so there were no features, bones, few organs, etc. I can't feel the baby yet (though I guess that should happen fairly soon), so I want to at least see it. Why is the doctor trying to torture me? Aren't doctors supposed to serve and protect, love, honor and cherish or live by the Girl Scout law? Just let me see my kid!!!

Deep breath...only a few more weeks.

Even though I have to wait (ugh) to find out the sex of the baby, it has been really fun trying to guess. I have been looking at all sorts of old wives tales and trying to predict the gender. I know people say you shouldn't believe them, but they had to come from somewhere, right? Here are a few examples of some:

It's a boy if:

• You didn't experience morning sickness in early pregnancy
• Your baby's heart rate is less than 140 beats per minute
• You are carrying the extra weight out front
• Your belly looks like a basketball
• You are carrying low
• You are craving salty or sour foods
• You are craving protein -- meats and cheese
• Your feet are colder than they were before pregnancy
• The hair on your legs has grown faster during pregnancy
• Pregnancy has you looking better than ever
• Your urine is bright yellow in color
• You hang your wedding ring over your belly and it moves in circles
• You are having headaches
• You add your age at the time of conception and the number for the month you conceived and the sum is an even number

It's a girl if:

• You had morning sickness early in pregnancy
• Your baby's heart rate is at least 140 beats per minute
• You are carrying the weight in your hips and rear
• Your hair develops red highlights
• You are carrying high
• Your belly looks like a watermelon
• You are craving sweets
• You are craving fruit
• You crave orange juice
• You don't look quite as good as normal during pregnancy
• You are moodier than usual during pregnancy
• Your face breaks out more than usual
• You refuse to eat the heel of a loaf of bread
• Your breasts have really blossomed!
• Your urine is a dull yellow color
• You add your age at the time of conception and the number for the month you conceived and the sum is an odd number

For me, the bulk of the "tales" indicate that I am having a boy. But according to some online tests, it is only a 53% chance. Like I said, we will know one way or the other in a few more weeks. Personally, I feel like Blueberry is a boy. I have been wrong before. It's rare, but it has happened. Truly, I don't care. I really just want him/her to be healthy.

Tummy Shots

Here are some photos taken last night of my expanding belly region. I swear this weekend I was getting dressed and both Jon and I noticed that it sprouted. I am currently 16 weeks/4 months and feel like this looks kind of big. But maybe it is just weird for me to see. I hope that I don't have a giant kid.

Enjoy!

Mommy's First Maternity Jeans

Today I put on my first pair of maternity jeans. My regular jeans still fit, but are getting very, very close to cutting off the circulation around my middle. I figured when one is pregnant, circulation around their middle section is probably important. Actually, I am going to go out on a limb here and say that circulation in general is probably pretty important. I have to tell you - I love these things. Not only are they cute and look like normal jeans (great pair of wide legs that I got from Gap Maternity over Thanksgiving), but the stretchy stomach is fantastic. All muffin top has been eliminated. I am not sure I will ever go back to normal - or as I now refer to them, stupid - jeans again.

Normally I would feel bad that my jeans don't fit as well as they once did or that when I button them I run the risk of severing my body in half. But, as there is a person growing inside of me and I am about 16 weeks along, I don't feel so bad.

However, sometimes with the good (baby growing, great stretchy tummy pants), comes the bad (being sick for the past few days and not being able to do anything about it). For the past two days I have had a migraine headache and been vomiting (sorry, gross I know). Unfortunately when you are pregnant there isn't too much along the lines of medicine that you can take to help you out. For the past two days I have been laying in bed, in the dark, with a cold cloth over my head wondering if it was possible for it to actually explode and if I would be disappointed if it did. What I would have liked to take for my pain was a percocet. What I was allowed to take was Tylenol. But I am paranoid and only took two (after calling the doctor to make sure that it was okay even though it was on the list of approved medications that they gave me). Let me say this, two Tylenol over the course of two day when faced with possible head explosion does not help. Luckily, I got through it. I feel that working through my pain is good preparation for the joy of childbirth. Well, that is until they give me an epidural :-)