Not So Wordless Wednesday: 7 1/2 Months!

Well, I have 9 weeks left and I am ready to get it over with. Let me clarify. I am ready to meet my little boy, but I am still terrified of childbirth. As life begins to move in slow motion, I am thinking, oh crap, I've got so much to do. I don't know what to do first. I'd like to stop working now so I can focus on the task ahead of me. I will continue working for at least 3 more weeks and then see how I feel. As I get bigger by the minute, I try not to take it to heart when EVERYONE feels the need to comment on how big I'm getting. I especially love the comments about how big my butt is and being asked if I'm having twins. Happy Wednesday!
~Joan

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Happy New Year!

Okay, so I know I'm like 3 weeks late, but better late than never!

Here is my 6 months picture (notice I am sporting the Macy's Path to Peace O bracelet that my sister gave me for Christmas). I just turned 7 months this week. Unfortunately, I've already gained all of the weight I'm supposed to gain for the whole pregnancy, and I still have 3 months to go. I guess I'm eating too much. I just love food though. Somebody stop me! The nurse literally had to weigh me twice because she thought the scale was wrong or that she had read it incorrectly. Sorry. The scale does not lie (isn't that what the host of Celebrity Fit club always says). Anyway, my second trimester rocked! Now that I'm entering the third trimester, life is getting increasingly difficult. Putting on socks, shoes and underwear, shaving, cleaning, and walking up steps, all seem like Olympic sports these days. And a good comfortable night's rest is a thing of the past. I can't complain too much because I have had a really uneventfully pleasant pregnancy, so thank God for that. I hope you all have had a great start to your new year.

**Prayers for Haiti: Click the button in my left sidebar to donate to disaster relief for the people in Haiti. May God bless our brothers and sister in Haiti!


~Joan

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Things I Took For Granted

10 Things I took for granted before becoming pregnant:

1. Breathing: I have not been able to breath for 3 weeks. They say it could last for the rest of my pregnancy. WTH?! You mean I might not be able to breath for the next 5 months?!

2. Running: I think if I ran right now, I would definitely need a medic. Sometimes I forget and catch myself "running" up the stairs. By the time I reach the top, I am panting like a dog in heat.

3. Cleaning: So I had stop cleaning for a while because I just didn't feel like it. I recently got the bright idea to clean the whole house. Why do I feel like I've run a half marathon?

4. My Memory: Not that my memory was the greatest before pregnancy, but now I can't even remember what I was just about to type.

5. Patience: Again, not that my patience was the best before either, but slow and/or bad drivers are getting the horn a little bit quicker these days.

6. My Body: I have gained 14 pounds and it's kind of weird weighing more than I ever have in my life. I know it's normal, but still weird. I wonder what my body will look like post-pardum. Actually, I'm a little scared that my body as I once knew it will be gone forever. It also doesn't help when people say things like, "Dang girl! You gettin' big! Um, gee thanks...

7. Sleeping: I am used to sleeping on my back or my stomach. Yeah, great. Can't do either of those now.

8. Privacy/Personal Space: I normally keep to myself, especially at work. Now everyone is always in my business. Everyone has an opinion about what I eat and what I do. Everyone wants to touch my stomach. I am quite the showpiece right now. I'm not sure how I feel about all the attention. It's okay sometimes, but at times it can be a little annoying.

9. Grooming: Shaving and doing my hair is like asking me to perform surgery at this point, and I am no doctor. My hair takes 3 hours to do, and I just don't have the energy. I am close to giving up on shaving my legs. Can't see...can't reach...who cares...

10. Portion Control: I used to pride myself and attribute my girlish figure to exercising portion control when I ate. I have always loved food, but made it a point to never overeat. Well, that's all out the window. If I had a dollar for every time I used the old "baby has to eat" excuse every time I'm going up for my fourth or fifth helping of food, I'd be rich.

Just sharing. I'm not complaining. I'm just saying...

~Joan

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Wordful Wednesday: Interview with Preggers

Since I've been quite the SLACKER in keeping you all abreast of what's going on with my pregnancy, I thought I'd answer some of the most frequently asked questions. Feel free to ask more questions in the comment section, and I'll be sure to answer them next week.

Q: Have you been sick?
A: I've actually been extremely blessed and I have not been sick at all. Just sick and tired of being sick and tired. I have gas strong enough to destroy a small village. **Warning: Standing downwind from me is dangerous!**

Q: Do you have any cravings?
A: Yes. FOOD! I loved food before I got pregnant, and that love has only been enhanced since I've been pregnant. There's not a moment of the day when I am not thinking about food. Everything is fair game when it comes to food. I've been eating more chocolate than ever before and I've never been a real chocolate lover. I am scary around a bag of Hershey's Miniatures.

Q: Do you ever want a "drink?"
A: I rarely crave alcohol. However, I occasionally would not mind a bottle of Two Buck Chuck after hard week of work. Oh well, I'll have to wait a few more months for that.

Q: How far along are you?
A: I will be 18 weeks tomorrow.

Q: Are you having a boy or a girl?
A: I will hopefully find out next week. Stayed tuned!

Q: Have you thought about names?
A: Yes. We picked out names a long time ago. We have chosen a unisex name so the name will be the same if it is a girl or a boy. I've decided not to disclose the name of the baby, so I will refer to him/her as AV on my blog.

Q: Do you have a preference of sex?
A: I really just want a healthy baby, but I am secretly praying for a boy. I really will feel sorry for a girl because her hair will look a hot mess!

Q: Have you started a nursery?
A: No. We do have a room in the house, but we haven't thought about what to do with it. I was thinking about chocolate and blue or pink for colors depending on the sex.

Q: Have you been getting a lot of advice?
A: I have gotten tons of advice and most of it has been pretty positive. Some of the funniest advice I've gotten from people is about sex. I've heard candidly from several people that I should have sex every day so that the baby will come out easier. "Gurl, me and my huzbin had sex all throughout my pregnancy and my baby came out in two pushes." What makes this even more uncomfortable is that most of these conversations are taking place at work!

Q: Does anything annoy you?
A: Yes. Lots of things annoy me. This is yet something else that has been enhanced. Before I got pregnant, I had a bit of an attitude. Now my attitude is a bit more colorful. My lack of patience really shows. I try not to go off every day, but it is hard. People in general have just been getting on my nerves lately. I especially can't stand when people make smart comments about what I am eating. "Is that coffee you are drinking?" or "Is that a TV dinner? You should really only be eating fresh fruits and vegetables." MIND YOUR DAMN BUSINESS! This my body and if I want to drink a Coke every now and then, I will, and I don't want to hear advice from the peanut gallery. Unfortunately, my poor husband often gets the brunt of it. When he asks why I am yelling at him, I try to explain, "I'm yelling at the situation honey, not you. You see, when you leave boots at the bottom of the stairs, I just think about how I could have potentially broken my neck thus harming the baby, had I not been paying attention. That's all."

Until next week. Thank you for all of the well wishes!

~Joan

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Wordless Wednesday: Bun in the Oven

3 Month Belly

No morning sickness--just hunger and sleepiness!

~Joan

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How I Found Out I Was Pregnant

Disclaimer: If you are not into TMI, then you may want to skip this post.

Background info: A little over a year ago, I went off the pill and started a job where I traveled all the time. 8 months later, I was still not pregnant (I know you are saying, "duh! How can you get pregnant if you are never home?" Right! So anyway, my job had me so stressed that I decided I better get back on the pill because I didn't want to be pregnant under those conditions--not to mention I wanted to get rid of the horrible adult acne and the painfully heavy flow each month. Fast forward to July of this year. I quit my job and went off the pill for a month, and wallah, I'm preggers! It really is true that when you stop thinking so hard about it, it just happens.



How I Found Out: All of July of August I felt really depressed and tired. I actually thought I was losing my mind. I think I cried about MJ's death for 2 months straight. I was losing it! Then, the time rolled around for my cycle. I am like clockwork whether I'm on or off the pill. It always comes the same week by Thursday. It was Friday and it hadn't come yet. I was at my aunt's house with my mom and my sister. I explained to everyone how I was feeling and everyone told me I should take a pregnancy test. Being the frugal fannie that I am, I explained that every time I take a pregnancy test my period comes the next day and I'm pissed that I wasted the money. Well, Chrisite (my sister) told me that Baby Makin(g) Machine aka Futuremama was passing out dollar store pregnancy tests at BlogHer and apparently they are reliable. I said, "what the hell, I can spend a dollar, right?" I went to the dollar store and bought 3 tests just to be safe. Long story short, I peed on the stick and it was positive in like 2 seconds. I was definitely skeptical at first. I went home and took another one--positive again. I showed it to hubs and this convo followed:

Hubs: What's that?
Me: A pregnancy test.
Hubs: Uh huh. What's this mean?
Me: I'm pregnant!
Hubs: Stop playin! For real?!
Me: This is the second positive test.

He spent the next several weeks in shock. I don't think he really believed it until he saw the ultrasound last week. We both are very excited. Unfortunately, Hubs spends every waking moment worrying, and I spend every waking moment wishing I was eating or asleep. Do you think I was too harsh when Hubs was worrying last night and he told me he really needed someone to talk to and I said, "not me." I mean, I just can't go down the how-many-ways-can-the-baby-die path with him every day. Am I wrong?

Anyway, this story is way too long, so I'll write more later. BTW: Im 13 weeks today and I'm finally gettig back to my old self--a little. Don't let Hubs tell it though ;)

~Joan

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