Sciatica... SUCKS!

So there is this great thing about pregnancy. Sciatica pain. Pain that starts in my lower back and goes through my right butt cheek and down the back of my right leg to my calf. OUCH!!! It hurts to bend over, pick things up, get up, stand for long periods of time. Sometimes I even have to have Nathan move my right leg for me so I don't have to and then it doesn't hurt as badly. Online it says it could help to lay on the opposite side or to use heat or cold on it. I guess we need to buy a heating pad or something. I know it is part of being pregnant, but it has been a little bit more painful than I thought it would. Oh well - in the end I will have a beautiful baby to hold and love. It will all be worth it!

Don't "turnip" your nose at me! Baby Week 17

Good morning - not much to report around here.

I've been feeling really good and real pregnant, my days of even laying a little bit on my tummy are over. Back to training my body to be a side sleeper. Hopefully I don't keep Nathan up too much with all my tossing and turning.

Baby is just hanging out and growing. I haven't been feeling things on a regular basis, but that is fine. My appt last week went well. It was just a check up and the baby's heart beat was 156 - just perfect is what the doctor said. We find out on the 17th of April if we are having a boy or a girl. Any more guesses??

Here is the baby's quick update...

Your baby weighs 5 ounches now (about as much as a turnip), and he's around 5 inches long. The umbilical cord, his lifeline to the placenta, is growing stronger and thicker. Your baby can move his joints, and his skeleton (until now, rubbery cartilage) is starting to harden into bone. Some of it will remain cartilage for years after he's born. A newborn's skeleton has 300 parts (a combination of bone and cartilage). As your child grows, some of these parts harden and fuse together. By the time your baby reaches adulthood, he'll have just 206 bones.

Here are the baby pictures....

House Inspection

We had the house inspection last night - it went really well. There were a lot of little things that need to be taken care of. Lucky most of them will be a really cheap fix and we live really close to both a Lowes and Home Depot so that is convienent! It will be a nice honey-do/daddy-do list. Nathan and my dad will have lots of nice bonding time! And in all honesty I really am looking forward to that part in particular. The father-in-law/son-in-law bonding. My dad built my parents house with my mom's dad. It really brought them together and made them very close.

Nathan didn't have a lot of that father/son bonding experience growing up. He learned a lot at the hands of his Grandpa Wolfe, but it was different stuff than what we'll be doing at the house. Nathan naturally has knowledge of how to do them, but I can't wait for him and my dad to do things together. I'm sappy I suppose, but I think it will be great.

I wish I would be able to paint and participate, but that won't be the case due to my lovely bun in the oven!

I will have an update on this and a baby update for you tomorrow!!

OH - on a very happy note - we found out on Easter that my cousin Raelynn is pregnant and due two weeks after me!! That makes 4 of the 6 cousins expecting children this year. Kyle and Sarah are about 32 weeks along, my cousin Derick and his wife Wendy are 27 weeks, I am about 17 weeks and Raelynn is about 15 weeks!

It is going to be one hell of a good time at family get togethers!! I can't wait!

BELLY Pictures and House Update....

I only have a minute - it is a VERY busy Friday at the office.

My baby appt yesterday went great! The heart rate was 156 - which is perfect! My next appt is the 17 of April - same day as the BIG ultrasound! EEK!! I'm really excited.

Best news is - WE GOT THE HOUSE!! They jerked us around some, but in the end they accepted the offer. I'm really excited. Can't wait to get the signed papers back from them and get things rolling. I'm a happy camper. We will close the week of April 21st and that way we can paint and move in slowly throughout May which will be nice and much easier for me.

Here are belly pictures... I put week 12 and week 16 so you can see the difference. In the 16 week one - I'm not sticking my tummy out anymore than it already is - Nathan said that was a more "pregnant-er" stance. :-) Whatever works!

Nothing clever to say.... Baby Week 16

Another week has come and gone. Mom and baby are very much looking forward to spring. Between my last update and this one I have busted out of my regular clothes into maternity clothes. GOOD TIMES! Nothing like jeans with a sweatpant waistband! Other than that I've been moody and tired. A lovely combination and Nathan is loving it I'm sure. :-) Actually to me the 1st trimester was easier as this one I am having bad headaches and the moodiness and such. But oh well! I can deal - as can Nathan because he knows said moodiness/mood swings are brief (for the most part.)

That is about it from here...

This is what the baby is up to (with my own editorial comments:

At 4 1/2 inches long from head to bottom, and 3 1/2 ounces, your baby is about the size of an avocado. In the next three weeks, she'll go through a tremendous growth spurt, though, doubling her weight and adding inches to her length. Her lower limbs are much more developed now. Her head is more erect than it has been, and her eyes have moved toward the front of her head. (Aunt Christina says she hopes the baby has Nathan's eyes... and here I thought I had pretty ones... guess not.) Your baby's ears are close to their final position, too. Some of her more advanced body systems are working, including her circulatory system and urinary tract. (Peeing in the same fluid it inhales and swallows... YUMMY! No one can said it is too gross as we were all in a uterus at one point doing the same thing!) Her heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, circulating her total blood volume through her body many times. By the end of your pregnancy, this will increase to about 190 quarts. The patterning of her scalp has begun, though her hair isn't recognizable yet. (Will baby have Daddy's low forehead or Mommy's high forehead?) Although closed, her eyes are moving (slowly), and she's even started growing toenails. (And if the baby is a girl Daddy will have fun painting them just like he will mommy's when she can't see or reach her feet anymore this summer!)

We found a house!

We are putting an offer in on this house today!! EEK!! I'm nervous, anxious, excited, overwhelmed, hormonal, scared and a bunch of other feelings all rolled into one!!

http://pub.realcomponline.com/Detail/C/4/3/02CE64EF80CC43.htm

I'll keep you updated on how the offer goes and if/when get the house! Feel free to send a prayer or seven our way!

An apple a day... keeps the OB away??

Week 15 is here!! 5 more weeks and we get to find out if it is a boy or a girl! YAY! I'm looking forward to that!

I felt the baby move for the first time on Monday. It happened twice and was a sort of flutter feeling (and no it wasn't gas). :-) Today I have felt more like a tickle feeling that I can't get at. It is still pretty early to feel things consistently, but I enjoy what I do feel. Remind me of this in 3 months when the baby is kicking my ribs and bladder and I'm grumpy. :-)

Another part of being pregnant are having really vivid dreams. Yeah that is great and all when they are NICE dreams. But last night I wake up to having a dream about my parents being murdered and my brother not caring and Nathan was no where to be found and I was all by myself. It was HOOOOOORRIBLE!! Seriously jacked up. I woke up crying and woke Nathan up and made him hold me until I felt better. I hope I don't have one of those dreams again anytime soon!


As for the baby - here is the update:

Your growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump (so that isn't even counting its legs!!), and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of an apple). She's busy moving amniotic fluid through her nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in her lungs begin to develop. Her legs are growing longer than her arms now, and she can move all of her joints and limbs. Although her eyelids are still fused shut, she can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, she's likely to move away from the beam. There's not much for your baby to taste at this point, but she is forming taste buds. Finally, if you have an ultrasound this week, you may be able to find out whether your baby's a boy or a girl! (Don't be too disappointed if it remains a mystery, though. Nailing down your baby's sex depends on the clarity of the picture and on your baby's position. He or she may be modestly curled up or turned in such a way as to "hide the goods.")

The first picture is a real baby from a 3-D ultrasound taken at 15 weeks. I think that is pretty cool!! Amazing how much detail you can see!