17 Weeks and a plug for baby sign language

     Matt and I decided we are going to teach the baby a little sign language.  It’s one thing we immediately agreed on.  Babies understand language way before they are able to express themselves.  This way they can tell you what they want instead of crying while you try to figure it out.  You don’t start until the baby is about 6 months old, because that’s when they can start to focus on what you are doing and their motor development is more equipped to make the signs.  It takes a couple months for them to understand what you are saying and start signing themselves.  I think it will be worth it, there are some big perks.  It promotes language development, prevents frustration (i.e. tantrums) because the baby has a way of expressing his desires and needs, and it develops his gross motor skills.  We borrowed a book from my sister and I’m really excited for when we can start using it!  You are also teaching your child a second language; you use American Sign Language.  I don’t think it sounds too hard either, you can choose how many words you teach your baby.  People use words like: milk, hungry, more, all done, please, thank you, hot, play, sleep etc.

     I probably sound like a delusional first time mom making all these plans as if it’s going to make everything easy.  I don’t expect easy, this is Matt’s child we are talking about.  Also, I’ve been a cynic since at least the age of 12 and I know what babies are like.  These are just things that I think will work for our family, and you will definitely be getting a report on how all of it goes once my perfect little angel has been here for awhile.

     We got some awesome deals at the mall this weekend.  We searched several stores for cardigans for Matt and they are so hard to find now.  We finally got two at Younkers, one for $7.99 (used to be $30) and one for $40 (used to be $68) then two onesies for $5 each.  One says “I © daddy” the other says “When God made me he was showing off.” I can’t wait until the garage sales start popping up!  I bet I’ll find some goodies there.  Also there is a huge goodwill that opened up not too far from where I live so I need to check that out soon.  I also got two maternity shirts at JcPenney’s, one was $9. 

     Maternity sections are so tiny and are often placed right next to the plus size section.  This makes me feel fantastic about myself, and there’s a point where I get confused about where the maternity section ends and the plus section starts. Especially at Target.  I’m going to wait until the summer clothes come out to buy any more.  I imagine I’ll want a lot of tank tops and shorts.  It’s a little depressing seeing all the normal new clothes come in for summer and not being able to buy them.  It will all be worth it though, and soon I can buy summer clothes for the baby!

• How far along? 17 weeks
• Total weight gain: hopefully I’m gaining weight, not losing it
• Maternity clothes?  Not really necessary yet, but I bought more this weekend.
• Best moment this week:  First realizing that I was for sure feeling the baby and then on Sunday morning Matt felt the baby move!   
• Miss Anything? Being able to eat whatever I want
• Movement: A lot, mostly when I’m sitting or lying down.  It’s gotten a little stronger since last week.
• Food cravings: Sweets, you should have seen my grocery cart.  It looked like a 5 year old picked it out.   
• Food aversions: Same as always.  I miss pizza.
• Gender: I say girl, Matt says boy.  Either way I can’t wait to pick out the Easter outfit next year.
• Symptoms: Except for the food issues I am pretty much symptom free.  But I did get exhausted from shopping the other day so fatigue is still an issue.
• Belly Button in or out? In, but Matt confirms that it is getting more shallow.
• Wedding rings on or off? On.
• Looking forward to: Wednesday, we have another doctor appointment and will schedule the ultrasound.  Only 4 weeks left!

This week

Last week

I was trying to tell if there was a difference by comparing the pictures on the camera but that was difficult. Especially since they aren't the same distance. I'm pretty sure Matt just told me that I'm bigger this week so I would let him go to sleep.  But there is a little difference, no?

16 weeks and my awesome birth plan

     The other night Matt killed a spider in our room so this weekend we did a thorough cleaning of the apartment.  Although I caught Matt “dusting” the hutch with his hand; nothing a death stare and a can of dusting spray won’t fix.  We only have a little over two months before we are moving to a new apartment so I need to get busy cleaning everything out and getting rid of more junk. 

     We never ended up celebrating Valentine’s Day; we had bible study that day.  Matthew did end up buying some beautiful gerber daisies for me though. J  Our group is splitting up into three groups because we have grown to 21 people and that is way too big for a “small group.”  So Matt and I will be leading a group for married people.  I’m going to miss my single friends though, I hate that we had to split up.  I am glad that we will be hosting at our apartment; it will force us to keep the place looking decent and it will be easier when the baby is here. 

     I’ve been reading a lot of birth plans lately, they can get really long!  I thought people were being unnecessarily picky at times but I found a birth plan that one of the local hospitals lets their patients fill out and they give you a lot of options.  I’ll have to ask my doctor if they have a birth plan to fill out or if I should write my own.  Mine will have instructions such as:

*no loud, obnoxious women will be permitted entry

*no “I love lucy” jokes if it’s a girl.  Singing “Lucy in the sky with diamonds” is okay

*Matt will follow the baby everywhere because even though I know they take steps to prevent kidnappings, a combination of Chris scaring the crap out of me and my tendency to watch too many crime shows has me a wee bit paranoid. 

*we are donating the cord blood no matter what my MIL tells you

*If the baby is a boy, Matt wants him circumcised.  However, you will have a hell of a time tearing him out of my arms while I scream “DON’T HURT MY BABY!!!”

*Before I get an epidural my method of controlling the pain is pelting unsuspecting people with ice chips.  It’s a scientific form of meditation.

*I will appreciate some help from the lactation specialist but there’s a point where I will get irritated that they are telling me what to do.  I remember feeling annoyed for my sister when hers seemed to stalk her.

     I’m working on the whole circumcision thing and the anger management.  Can you believe I’m 4 months along! 

• How far along? 16 weeks (4 months!)
• Total weight gain: ???? we shall see next week.  Maybe I should get a scale?
• Maternity clothes?  I’m slowly putting my normal clothes into storage.  Goodbye beautiful fall/winter dresses L
• Stretch marks? lots
• Best moment this week:  Learning that the baby should start being able to    hear now.  I serenaded Matt with a horrible rendition of “I will always love     you” because I was trying to annoy him.  (Doesn’t it sound like we have a very mature relationship?)  So maybe that’s the first thing the baby heard. Poor baby.
• Miss Anything? summer, having the willpower and energy to bake and complete other domestic projects
• Movement: I have no idea.  I swear I kept feeling a bunch of kicks yesterday but I don’t know if it was a vein throbbing.  Today I felt a couple nudges.  I really don’t know what else it would be and the nudges moved to a different side.  So maybe it really is baby?  I told mom that I was disappointed that I was so confused.  Mom said “Oh you’re gonna feel black and blue inside the last few months.  But it’s so cool.” lol
• Food cravings: cookies, pickles, milk shakes
• Food aversions: I have a feeling I will never be able to eat fast food again.  We got taco bell two nights ago and I don’t even want to tell you what it smelled like to me.  Plus I tried to eat a chicken sandwich this weekend and that was a total fail. 
• Gender: About 5 weeks until we find out!
• Symptoms: just the normal eating issues, but it’s getting better
• Belly Button in or out? In
•   Looking forward to: Defeating Matt when we find out it’s a girl in 5 weeks. J We should make a bet.

Matt's attempt at taking a picture

I don't think he gets that the angle makes a difference.  He normally takes one picture and starts walking away.  Ignore the messy counter! 

Matt has an interview tomorrow!  Pray that he gets the job!

Don’t be the honey badger, give a shit

     Ever since childhood I’ve been very passionate about saving the earth.  It started with animal rights I believe; then I added more causes like recycling, the right to life, not wasting things, and then I became the littering police.  I’m a tree hugger. I’m sure I was a joy to live with.  We went camping the summer after senior year of high school and on the way there my friend Laura was about to throw a pop bottle out of the car window.  I was really quiet in high school, I was “that sweet and innocent girl” (except when people got mad that I started dating Matt because he was my ex-boyfriend’s friend and I got called a few choice words but that’s a different story.) Anyways, everyone was really shocked when I screamed at the top of my lungs and told Laura “don’t you dare throw that out the window and litter!!!!!”  I think I scared the crap out of her.  I was also furious when they attacked a tree with an axe later that day.  Can you see why I chose to cloth diaper?  Any other choice would have made me a total hypocrite; except “elimination communication”, which would make me go insane.

     The point is we are supposed to recycle in my home. Matt has been taught all about it and while he doesn’t really care about the cause, he normally does it to avoid being nagged. He was doing well for awhile.  Lately I’ve been finding things in the trash that were supposed to be recycled.  This morning it was my jar of strawberry jam (that had enough jam to make another sandwich which also made me mad; what a waste) and a bunch of plastic bags.  Two days ago the soda box was sitting on the counter, empty and it needed to go into the recycling bin.  So I picked it up and low and behold there was trash shoved in it, including a bunch of candy bar crumbs.  I may have dumped it all off on the counter, recycled the box and walked off in a huff.  I’ve nagged, I thought about putting a sign above the trash that reminds him to recycle, I’ve tried the guilt trip about his child’s future, and nothing has changed.  So I decided to put the recycling right next to the trashcan even though there is no room and it wont look pretty, and I’m going to put a picture of the honey badger on it that says “don’t be the honey badger, give a shit.”  If that doesn’t work I’m going to tell his mother.

     And now for something completely different.  It’s finally starting to seem real to me that there is a baby on the way.  All of a sudden I started thinking about how awesome it will be to have him here for the holidays.  I keep imagining dancing around to the ghost busters song and decorating for Halloween with him (while he sits in a sling or his bouncer and looks at me like a crazy person.)  Oh and can’t you picture him/her posing with pumpkins for a photo!  Think of the baby Star Wars Halloween costume!  I am getting way too excited.  Even though the baby won’t care too much about the holidays yet I can always pretend.  As he gets older I will be able indoctrinate him into my holiday obsession.   At the very least I can teach him or her to be a recycling fiend.

Matt's Baby Safety Ideas, 15 weeks

     First, I hope this post doesn't sound mean to Matt, we bicker about things all the time because it is funny.  So I didn't really get mad at him for any of this, I just laughed.  

     We went to Target the other day because I can never think of any other store to go to and I want baby clothes!  So I was looking around and Matt was sighing and we came across the safety section.  The conversation proceeded thusly:

Matt:  “Why do you need to put covers in outlets?  I’ve never seen a kid try to stick its finger in an outlet”

Me: “Maybe not but they try to stick objects in them”

Matt: “I don’t believe that, I’ve never heard of any kid doing that” (proceeds to go on a tangent)

Me: “YOU did that when you were a kid!  Your mom told me”

Matt: “Well I don’t remember that, it seems pointless. Can I get a Darth Maul action figure?”

Me: “Not with THAT attitude”

     I also told Matt I want a wipes warmer and he said “they don’t need that, that’s stupid.”  I told him since I hate the cold so much I figure our kids will too.  He said “they won’t remember it anyways, they don’t have the capacity.” Then I threatened to attack him with wet wipes and see how he likes it.  I can see how this is an unnecessary purchase but I don’t want to touch cold wipes either, so case closed.  He also refuses to use those baby carriers that you wear on your body.  To be fair, he has not complained about using cloth diapers .

     The other day he said he only wanted this one kid.  I asked him why and he said “you have no idea how hard this pregnancy has been for me."  Seriously? LOL When I asked what specifically is so terrible for him he said “I haven’t had pizza in months” Which is a lie, I've found pizza boxes on the counter when I come home from work.  My food aversions are starting to go away a little, so fingers crossed!

I'm pretty sure much of my baby bump last week was just bloat, because it shrank.  So no picture today.

How far along? 15 weeks, 1 day

Total weight gain: No idea but I doubt I gained any weight, although I've been trying to eat more.

Maternity clothes? I bought 7 shirts from old navy and target, and got my target ones in the mail a couple days ago.  I might wear one to work tomorrow but I don't necessarily need to yet.

Best pregnancy moment this week: I SWEAR I felt a little nudge today.  Just one nudge, and it didn't feel like a stomach thing.  So possibly feeling baby was a real upper :)

Miss Anything? Energy!  I took a 1 1/2 hour nap today, because I was exhausted from barely doing anything.  Then I did dishes and stuck a load of laundry in and it wore me out.  

Food cravings: I'm on my 4th popsicle in the last 2 hours.  Don't judge.  Oh and I really want chocolate chip cookies.

Looking forward to: decorating the nursery.

I'm not making this shit up

     The first part of my post is going to be a little gross, just a fair warning.  There is this trend called the “lotus birth” which is where you birth the baby and wait to cut the umbilical cord.  In fact you never cut the umbilical cord.  You carry the placenta around attached to the baby, in a bag or bowl and let it fall off when it’s good and ready.  Side note: If anyone I know ever decides to do this, I will not be carrying that baby til it falls off.  Some people rub lavender, sea salt, herbs and other things on the placenta to help it dry out and keep from smelling.  Now when it finally falls off, some people bury it or stick it in their freezer.  I found an article where, a year later, they used the placenta to make an art project.  I’m not joking.  They unfroze it and used it like a stamp or something.  The rationale behind all this, is that the placenta has an emotional and spiritual connection to the baby.  It seems to me that it would also be a bacterial connection once that thing sits in a bowl or bag for a day.  The whole thing just freaks me out. 

     There are a lot of trends my generation is following that scare me and seem unsafe to me.  My mom didn't practice any of these and I turned out just fine.  To each his own, that’s part of being in America, but my baby wont be wearing a beaded necklace for teething,  (it’s an amber necklace that supposedly stops the pain) or eating solid, unmashed food at 6 months, (baby led weaning) or attached to her placenta for several days (Matt should just eat it) and we wont be co-sleeping (we are not sound sleepers). He will definitely be immunized and will sleep in our room for several months, be breast fed and cloth diapered.  I’m looking into donating the umbilical cord as well.  I’m also trying to convince Matt that we can afford for me to stay at home.  So now that you probably learned something new that you didn’t want to know, I’ll leave you with this:

On the off chance you thought I was serious, Matt will NOT be eating the placenta.  That’s nasty.

Speaking of nasty, there's been a lot of drama around my family this week and I think we all need some comic relief.  You should watch this video.  I apologize if you think it's really stupid.  It's about the honey badger.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r7wHMg5Yjg

14 Weeks, and My Embarrassing Scary Story

    First I have to share what happened last night.  It was the middle of the night and I had just woken up from a nightmare that involved my mom telling me a “true” ghost story.  I’m not sure what woke me up, but all of a sudden I heard some beeping and it sounded like my camera turned on and off, I could hear the lense going in and out.  The first time I didn’t think much of it, but the next two times it scared the crap out of me.  I refused to open my eyes because I didn’t want to see a ghost or let it know I was awake.  So I tried to wake Matt up without being conspicuous, and told him to turn it off.  He got up, turned on the light and said “it IS off.” Which scared me even more.  So he went to sleep.  Then the lense went in and out again.  I woke Matt up, and he realized that my old camera was running out of batteries and that’s what was making the noise.  So he took the batteries out.  It still took me a couple hours to go back to sleep because I had gotten so scared.   I kept thinking “what if the ghost is trying to take a picture of itself!” Lol  I thought about just throwing it outside but that’s littering.

     Yesterday we went to my parent’s for dinner because my brother is moving to Minnesota and it was his last night.  So mom made enchiladas and we talked and watched Yo Gabba Gabba and then a movie. During dinner Caroline said “Why is Julie always coming here?”  lol thanks Coco. 

Sophie's idea of cuddling is climbing on top of you and shoving her face against your face as hard as possible.

     On Wednesday we had our monthly doctor’s appointment.  We heard the heartbeat, yay!  It was 153 bpm.  I asked the doctor if I’m going to show earlier since I’m short-waisted or if that just depends on the person.  She said I will probably start to show earlier but some women get lucky and don’t show til after 20 weeks and hardly look pregnant.  I told her I WANT a baby bump; I’m looking forward to it. I shan’t be ashamed of it.  I can’t imagine I would ever get depressed about the weight gain.  My mom told me I was beautiful all the time when I was a kid and as a result I am filled with a strong sense of conceit.  In fact, although I had some body issues in high school, I was SO conceited that I assumed any boy who flirted with me must like me, and I figured the reason no one asked me out was because they must be intimidated by me.  True story.  I cringe when I read my high school journals, they are so embarrassing.  I didn’t go on a rant and tell the doctor all of this by the way; I stopped at “I can’t wait to get a baby bump.” 

     We started taking pictures, I know its silly to take a picture in a brown shirt in front of the brown shower curtain, but oh well.

I think this was 5 or 6 weeks, its basically just the "before" picture.

13 Weeks

14 weeks!  I made it bigger since the color is so similar, I promise not to wear a dark brown shirt anymore.  

Total weight gain: Minus another 3 pounds.  So I’m back at my high school weight.  I’m trying to eat, but I keep getting full really fast.

Maternity clothes?  I’m starting to look for some, my belly band is getting tight.

Best pregnancy moment this week: Hearing the heartbeat again, finding out that baby is only a little bit below my belly button.

Miss Anything? Eating normal portions.

Food cravings: Ice cream!  Also, tacos made at home.

Food aversions: Same as always, but I’m feeling less turned off of things.

Gender: I’ve come to the conclusion that even if I don’t get a girl ever, I will be happy.  Just as long as I don’t have boys that like to torture animals like on the movie we watched last night L

Symptoms: Not able to eat as much at one time, a little fatigue.  Also my dreams might be more vivid but I’ve always had really vivid dreams.  Sometimes I can control parts of my dream, I’ve ended a lot of nightmares that way.

Looking forward to: getting a baby bump that the average person will notice.  Not the “is she pregnant or fat?” bump.  But it’s getting there!