The First Belly Shot- 4 Months

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

There it is! The very first shot of the baby belly. Okay, it really isn't that exciting, seeing as how it isn't a full-on cute, round baby belly, but it is there nonetheless. Four months along and the belly is definitely poking. Yippee! Of course, for anyone who doesn't know I'm pregnant it still just looks like I've eaten a bit too much, but that's okay. Tommy loves telling me everyday, "Mumma! I can see your getting a big belly now!" Just wait, Tommy. You ain't seen nothing yet, kid.

We had our four month check up at the doctor's office yesterday and everything is looking well and good. Baby's heartbeat was a strong 151. Todd immediately said, "That definitely sounds like a heartbeat with a penis attached to it!" Hahaha. Silly guy. It definitely made the nurse and I crack up, which was his whole intent.

The ultrasound is now scheduled for March 16. I can't believe how fast it is all going. I remember with all of my other pregnancies that it felt as though time was moving in slow motion waiting to get to that appointment. Now I don't want it to come so quickly. The ultrasound marks the halfway point and everything always seems to speed up from there. Life is moving too fast.

For now I'm just going to do my best to move as little as possible to avoid further injuries. Today I tweaked my back climbing into the minivan. Yep. Ms. Graceful has turned into Ms. Clutz just like that. I was trying to quickly climb into the back of the minivan while the automatic door was still opening and underestimated my proximity to the door. Apparently there is a big metal nob that sticks out on the door. It caught my pants pocket and wouldn't let go. The door continued to open with me attached, and then sensing something dragging, began to close with me still attached. Here I am hanging by my pants in the doorway of the minivan, trying to reach the "open" button so I don't get squashed, while the door itself is slowing ripping my pants off of me. Now I have a big hole on the side of my favorite pants and a bruise the size of a plum on my hip. Yep. I'm cool. I can only imagine how the whole scene must have looked to our neighbors. Good grief.

Is this something I can blame on pregnancy too?

All Hail Yoga!

My neck and shoulders are still stiff and sore from last week's incident when I took on a door frame and lost. As a matter of fact, my neck and shoulders actually seem worse. Go figure this all happens during one of the busiest weeks I've had in a long time. A week full of birthdays, three doctors appointments, Joey's snack week for school (yes, a snack everyday!), more trips to the grocery store than I can count (blasted pregnancy induced memory loss!), mass for Ash Wednesday, an open house, and countless other things filling my days. Doesn't this kind of a thing always happen when you just don't have time for it?


It has been over a week and a half and I am not getting much sleep and I have had a constant head ache for the last three days. I did go to the chiropractor last Friday to make sure I didn't do major damage but my muscles are still all whacked out. Even Todd's super terrific backrubs are not doing the trick. It is craziness.


It has gotten to the point where I have started to dread bedtime. It seems the pain intensifies when I'm laying down for an extended period of time. I've tried just about everything. Oh, what I wouldn't give for some Ibuprofin!!!


Last night before bed my headache was getting pretty bad and I knew I wasn't going to be able to sleep. I decided to get out my prenatal yoga DVD, since I could actually turn my head from side to side for once, and see if the stretches and relaxation would help at all. By the time I was done with the video (though I only did portions of it) my headache was much better. And last night I slept better than I have in over a week. It was so exciting.


And more than that, I woke up this morning without a headache! Yahoo!


All praise yoga! Maybe I'll start a new routine of a half hour of yoga before bedtime. It was awesome. Here's hoping it works again tonight!

And Then My Heart Exploded

Just yesterday you turned six. And I was perfectly fine with it. I did great all day long. Not one tear shed. I was just excited to see how much you loved your gifts and to watch you enjoy your day.

Then, when I saw you sitting with your class in church today you looked so big. You lined up to receive your ashes, hands folded, and completely focused on the task at hand. I was the one waving wildly. Acting inappropriately to try and get your attention. You were so mature. So solemn. And when you finally saw me you smiled that heart-stopping smile and nodded your head at me. My boy. My big boy.

I felt my heart explode against my chest. Tears immediately filled my eyes and I just couldn't stop them from flowing. Watching you grow, finding new aspects of your personality, discovering your likes and dislikes with you. It is all magic to me. And I can't believe how grown you are already.

Love and pride filled my entire body as I watched you walk back to your seat, turn around, and give me that smile again. I melted into a pool of goo. What on earth did I do to deserve such a boy?

Birthday Wishes

The kid has his own mind. No cake for him. Make it brownies, please. And a side of Stars Wars characters, if you don't mind.

Ya just gotta love that boy.

Happy Birthday, Joey!

Apparently, I Am A Masochist

What was I thinking?

I must be a masochist

Or just plain stupid

Yesterday I decided that since my nausea has finally slowed down and my neck and shoulders were feeling slightly better it might be a good idea to start an exercise routine again. You know, to make up for all the extra calories I've been eating.

When I was pregnant with Ben I continued running up until my 8th month. I would have run longer but I developed spider veins and the stinking things were actually pretty painful so I had to stop. And, if I'm being honest, I was pretty ready to stop at that point anyway. It really wasn't comfortable to run anymore and I kept picturing poor Ben bouncing around in my belly and maybe even getting tangled up in his umbilical cord.

Even so, I've really missed running these last four months. As soon as the first trimester was over, and the danger of migraines was gone, I was going to pick it up again. Well, the nausea held on longer than I thought so here I am going into the fourth month and still not running. Still, I was determined to give it a try.

You know how all the experts tell you to take it slow when you are exercising during pregnancy? Yeah. You should listen to them. Unfortunately, I didn't. I jumped on the treadmill and though I started off much slower than I have ever gone, I worked my way up to a decent speed and kept it up for a half an hour. I was so proud of myself being able to muscle through a half hour run after not having run for over 4 months.

Then later that night my muscles started to tense up. I started walking more slowly and by the time Todd came home I was sitting in the living room, not moving. He immediately said, "Now what did you do?"

It only got worse as the night went on. My whole pelvic region down to my thighs and on through my calves were so sore I could barely walk. By bedtime I was seriously considering having Todd carry me up to bed or even just sleeping on the couch. I did manage to get to bed but even rolling over to switch positions was terribly painful.

I'm an idiot.

Note to self: You are pregnant. Your muscles are more relaxed than they normally are. They are not used to running three miles anymore. Don't do this again.

I was pretty sore this morning when I got out of bed but it has gotten a little better as the day has worn on. I did some pretty good (and painful) stretches which seemed to help a bit.

Here is the funny thing. I don't even really believe the experts who say that working out during pregnancy keeps you fit or makes labor easier. Or even that it makes getting back into shape easier after you have the baby. I think that is all a load of crap. I didn't work out AT ALL when I was pregnant with Joey and I only gained 23 pounds and bounced right back into shape afterwards. I worked out all the time with Ben and gained about 40 pounds and had the longest labor of all three of my boys.

So why am I attempting to work out now? I guess I just really miss running. Every time I hear one of my running songs on the radio I can't wait to run again. I love getting my blood pumping and feeling strong and stress free after a workout. When I felt okay yesterday I thought it would be a good opportunity to try it out again. My problem is that I get so excited about running that I can't hold myself back. I need to learn my limitations. So I probably will run again, but MUCH SLOWER and for MUCH LESS time and only for a couple months. I don't feel like dealing with those spider veins again.

Then again. Maybe this was all a sign. I mean, this is my last pregnancy. Maybe I should just consider chasing after my boys exercise enough. That and maybe a lame workout DVD when the mood strikes. There will be plenty of reasons to run after the baby comes, right? Perhaps I should just ease up on myself and enjoy this slothfulness while I can. Hmm. That does sound infinitely more appealing. Yes, it does make sense. It's all coming together now...

Making Up For Lost Calories

I'm finally starting to feel better. No, not my neck and shoulders. They are still sore. I'm talking about my morning sickness. It is finally beginning to subside. I still have waves of nausea every once in a while, but they are becoming less and less. And I am not having such a difficult time eating anymore.

Well. That's putting it mildly. I think my body is trying to make up for all the lost calories over the last few months because I kinda want to eat everything I see.

I decided to treat myself for Valentine's Day and I bought some tulips and my all time favorite chocolate covered strawberries. Look at these bad boys.

There were six of them, but just opening the box to take a picture I had to eat one. Just couldn't wait. Oops.

It is hard to convey the size of these puppies. You can't tell from the pictures but they are almost the size of my fist. They are huge. And they were all gone in less than twenty four hours. Maybe I should have gotten myself a dozen. Or, maybe not.

Remember all the chocolate and potato chips and ice cream I had gotten to try and tempt myself to eat when I was feeling nauseous? Yeah. Those are all gone. Obviously I am on the mend. Now I just have to remind myself to ease up on the snacks and focus more on the healthy stuff. Which shouldn't be too hard considering my biggest craving right now is grapes. As long as I have my grapes everything will be a-okay.

Then again, a KitKat does sound pretty good right about now.

Next Time I'll Turn On A Light

Why do I always get injured when I can't take pain medication?

I walked into the wall the other night. No lie. I have the egg on my head to prove it. And no, I will not be posting pictures, thankyouverymuch.

Sunday night Tommy woke up at 10:00 because he had to go potty, and as I was ushering him back from the bathroom (in pitch darkness) I walked forcefully right into the door frame. Nice. It made such a loud smack that Todd thought maybe I'd broken something. Nope. Just my head. No need to worry.

Except that it has affected my neck and shoulders too. Last night after taking a shower to loosen up my muscles it actually got worse. I couldn't turn my head to the left side. Nice. But after a rough night's sleep I am feeling a bit better today. Which is great, considering I kinda need to be able to move my head.

I swear I'm not a clumsy person. Really. I guess I just don't have great night vision. Or the ability to judge spacial distances in an area I am very familiar with.

So, a bright side. Let's see. Umm, at least I missed hitting my nose on the door frame because it would have broken for sure. And this nose is already big enough as is. And at least I can arrange my bangs so that the egg doesn't show too much. How is that for a bright side?

Still, next time I think I'll worry less about waking Joey and just leave the damn light on.