Little Lady

I know I'm late making the blog announcement...but here it is!! Yep, Monkey is a girl!! We're elated, and getting even more excited! :-)

Now, before I go any further I have to say I am not entirely convinced that our "she" is a she. You see, after the ultrasound as I was scrutinizing the photos we got it became more and more clear to me that our little Monkey had "her" feet in the way of the money shot. Of course I didn't realize this DURING the ultrasound (that would have been way too convenient, lol). But since then I have asked my Dr about it and she said their techs are very good about not "calling it" if they're not sure...and I know the tech most likely took more pictures than the one we got printed out. She also said she wouldn't hesitate to buy pink at this point, which did make me feel better. But still, there is a part of me that just isn't convinced! But until the next ultrasound (probably in mid-June), we are running with the pink theme!! :-D

Without further adieu, here is our little girl:

Waving at Mom and Dad...and sticking her tongue out.
Uh-oh, a little brat already!

And here's the "girl" shot. Can you see her feet? Knees are on the right, bottom is on the left...and feet are right in the middle. It's her left foot that's really the problem, lol.

They were able to get all the measurements and photos they needed at the ultrasound, and Monkey is perfect! She measured 18w2d on 4/22 which is right on track with my due date and with the last ultrasound. She is also in the 30th percentile on the growth charts at this point. That kinda worried me, but my Dr isn't worried about it and said she's a "uniform" 30th percentile...meaning she's just petite as opposed to being misproportioned (different percentiles for different measurments--head, abdomen, etc). And that's a good thing. :-) This doesn't mean she'll be a small baby in the end, but she is on the small side right now. My Dr also said this is more normal for little girls, so that's another reason to believe "she's" a she. :-)

We also learned that I have a low-anterior placenta. Say what? That means my placenta is on the lower front wall of my uterus...coushioning most of Monkey's little kicks and wiggles. :-( No wonder I haven't felt much yet!! I have felt a few movements, but only one or two at a time and only every few days. Stupid placenta...I want to feel my baby!!! :::pouts::: But on the bright side, it's because of this that I'll need another ultrasound to re-evaluate placental position again. My Dr said it will probably shift up as my uterus continues to grow, but if it doesn't it may cause issues for delivery...mostly in the case of needing an emergency c-section because as of right now my placenta is in the exact spot they'd need to make the incision. And though they do it if they have to, you don't want to cut through a placenta as it is EXTREMELY vascular. So yeah, let's pray that sucker moves up just in case a c-section is necessary (emergency or otherwise--I was a breech baby forcing my birthmom to have a c-section, and I wouldn't put it past my offspring to do the same thing to me...).

Hmmm, I think that's all from that appointment. Next up: regularly scheduled appt on May 18th. Then hopefully 4 weeks after that I'll get that follow-up ultrasound and we can confirm GIRL! Until then, we're going to plan and shop (keeping receipts, lol) and start on the nursery! More updates to follow...

~Abigail~

18 weeks!!

I really can't believe we've made it to 18 weeks!! Praise God for a healthy baby and complication free pregnancy so far! And of course we pray it continues that way! :-)

Our next ultrasound is only 4 days away, and when I made the appt almost 6 weeks ago it felt like it would never get here!! We're almost there, aaaaahhhH!!! Hopefully Baby will cooperate and we'll know whether Monkey is a boy or girl! I seriously can't wait! I've been working on starting a registry (with just the basic stuff and the help of this book), and I can't wait to add some more gender specific items! Plus just the whole knowing part...I imagine it will make this all seem so much more real! I really don't know how some people wait until delivery...I would go insane!! So Monkey, please cooperate with us on Thursday and give the ultrasound tech the shots she needs, okay?

So I thought it would be fun to do a couple comparison pictures. The first picture I took was at 10w6d, so I decided to wear the exact same thing and take another picture. Here are the results.

















Left: 10w6d Right: 18w0d Um, yeah. TOTALLY can see that the little Monkey is growing when I do it this way!! That makes me happy. :-D And I'm also pleased to say I'm still on track for weight. I've gained a total of 8 lbs so far, which is right on track for a grand total of 25-30 by the end (healthy is 25 to 35lbs total). I'm trying not to stress out about it too much...it's supposed to happen. LOL! :-)

After Thursday (assuming we get to make a Boy/Girl announcement, hehe) we'll have to start thinking about getting the nursery ready! We're thinking of painting it either a light green or yellow, but we also need new carpet (we ripped it up several weeks ago because the cats ruined it). AND we can decide on crib bedding and plan the decorations!! When I say "we" I have a feeling it will mostly be me...haha...but I don't mind as long as Scott participates with his opinions.

Okay, nap time for me and the Monkey. I'm working tonight plus the next two. Hopefully that will make Thursday get here even faster!! :-D

~Abigail~

New Car!

Yesterday Scott and I bought a new car! Oh wait...I haven't even told you the story of how his car died yet...

Ahem. About 4 weeks ago we drove to Colorado to see my grandma. We didn't trust either of our cars to take us that far (plus the fact that if we took my car I'd have to drive the whole 700+ miles both ways because it's a manual...and I didn't want to do that!). So Scott's mom graciously agreed to trade us vehicles, giving us her Nissan Pathfinder for the weekend roadtrip in exchange for Scott's Chrysler Concorde. They swapped at Scott's work, and not five minutes down the road his mom calls him and says the battery light had come on...so she was taking it to the mechanic. Half an hour later...she called again and this time the car had caught on fire!! Thank God it was in the mechanic's parking lot when that happened.

So yeah...good thing we didn't take it to Colorado...we wouldn't have gotten very far!! And we're thankful it all happened under the circumstances it did. And what better place than the mechanic's parking lot?? They put the fire out very quickly...that wouldn't have happened had the car been at home or somewhere else! It seems as though the battery is what caught on fire. However that happens...

BUT this whole thing is also a blessing in disguise...at least that's how I'm choosing to see it. We were planning to sell or trade his car this summer anyway, but we definitely got more from the insurance settlement (the car was totaled) than we would have for a trade in...we even got more than Kelley Blue Book predicted we would. And with the insurance check we will be able to pay off two credit cards (woohoo, we'll own all our appliances after almost 12 months!!) and pay our taxes...unfortunately we still owed money for 2009 even with buying a house. Ugh! Anyway, we're also getting tires for my car (desperately needed!) and put a good down payment on Scott's new car yesterday.

Here is our new 2008 Toyota Corolla!! (pics from the AutoTrader ad)

This is the first car we've bought together, just the two of us...and we plan to keep it until it wears out...and it only has 34K miles, so hopefully that won't be for a loooooong time!! The only downside to the whole thing is now we have 2 car payments every month instead of just one...but without those two credit cards plus cancelling our LA Fitness memberships (we've used them once since last July...so yeah...) our monthly expenses will actually go down. So I guess I can't complain too much about a 2nd car payment. :-) The best part other than that we love it: we got it for almost 3K less than Kelley Blue Book values it at. I say we win. :-) :-)

Car shopping makes me want to get a new vehicle for me too. Hehe. :-) Maybe in 2 years once my Saturn is payed off. :-)

16 weeks!

Actually, 16w1d. Yes, the days are important. :::sticks tongue out at anyone laughing at me::: So mature, I know...

Apparently our baby is the size of an avocado this week. Probably weighs about that much, too. Of course, I have giant avocados in my fridge and I know Monkey isn't THAT big yet.

I *think*, maybe, possibly, I-don't-know-for-sure-but Monkay may have kicked me yesterday. :-) Nice Easter present, huh? I couldn't get him or her to repeat the act, so it's hard to say...but I did feel a distinct (but light) and very quick "thud" from somewhere within...and about 30 minutes after finishing a strawberry soda (with a whopping 45 grams of sugar...WHOA!!). AND I was sitting on the couch in a knees-to-chest position, so perhaps that cramped Monkey's space a little, lol. Who knows...it'll happen again eventually. Although I would not be beyond me to attempt recreating the situation again later today...soda, couch, knees-to chest and all... :::mischevious laugh:::

Easter Sunday, 4/4/10, 16w0d

Hmmm, is it getting bigger yet?? I can't tell...I think it is...I FEEL like it is, haha. My normal pants are getting tighter in the waist, but suprisingly still fit. These are maternity pants because they're just oh-so-comfy and I'm under the delusion that they make me look more pregnant than my normal ones. So don't burst my bubble. I do need to go shopping for shorts though. It's getting warm here, and the only shorts that are comfortable are a pair of trusty ol' black gym shorts...which are fine for around the house and a quick trip to the store, but not for going out or general-every-day use.

I got a picture-worthy heparin bruise last week (it's a blood thinner, minor bruises at injection sites are normal). I think I injected it a little too low and didn't get enough fatty tissue and I also may have hit a blood vessel (oops). Immediately after injecting it I could feel a nice little "bump"...kinda like a marble under the skin. I went back to bed, and when I got up a couple hours later there was a definite lump visible, at least an inch wide, but it wasn't bruised yet. Slowly throughout the day it got darker...and darker...and bigger...and darker...until this is what I ended up with the next morning. The hand is for size comparison...

(oh, and speaking of trusty ol' black gym shorts...hahaha)

Okay, so the picture doesn't do it justice...it looks way worse in person. The other little blue and yellow bruises you see are normal...no biggie. This one is huge!! I think it was actually a hematoma under the skin because it was quite raised and, well, bruised!! Whoops. Oh well...when you're doing two self-injections a day it's bound to happen every once in a while. Luckily I usually only have one nasty bruise at a time...but this one is/was by far the worst so far!

See what you're doing to Mommy, Monkey? You're so worth it though. And something tells me this is nothing compared to the next 20+ years. Bring it on. :-D

Okay, I'm going to go shower and then try to find some shorts for this summer...

~Abigail~