21 weeks...feeling good.

I thought I'd post a picture proving that the bloating has not taken over yet ;-) however, I know it is inevitable...may actually be pretty funny. I started week 21 yesterday and even though I had to call in sick due to asthma-related issues I am feeling good today. I am feeling kicks often now and it is so cool. She is most active when I sit down. Kary is still having difficulty feeling them all the time but that should change in a few weeks when she really starts to grow. We went through our registry and have added and deleted some stuff. It is insane how many expensive things such a tiny little person needs. We are hoping we get most of what we need at the showers and don't have to break the bank to prepare for her. I am in the process of planning out my maternity leave. At first I thought an October baby wasn't the best situation for a teacher's schedule but actually it could work out nicely. I am planning to take off all of October and November and ideally I'd like to be off until the new year but that all depends on if we can afford for me to do that. Kary's job is going fantastic but it takes years for a hair stylist to really make good money. We'll just have to see. I would really like to spend as much time with her as possible. They grow so fast! My pregnancy seems to be flying and dragging all at the same time. We are starting to organize and design the room and have adapted our four-legged babies' sleeping arrangements so they are not too shocked when baby arrives. I am almost done teaching for the year and cannot wait to relax this summer and just concentrate on staying healthy and nurturing my little baby girl.

Baby Prepping Chaos!

Today we decided to go baby registering. So, after an 8 hour workday (with no break) I came home, changed and we were off. We stopped at Panera first and I ate a delicious veggie sandwich and a big salad to get me energized. The people at Babies 'R' Us were very nice. Maryanne (from Pittsburgh) stared into my soul as she explained lots of things to me, many of which I already know (thanks to Lynn!) We took the info from her along with my awesome list Lynn helped me make last weekend over lunch. We went through each section. Kary had the scanner mostly because I am incredibly indecisive. I would have wavered between every option. We spent about 2 hours at babies 'r' us and a worker named Dean would pop up every few aisles and explain things that Maryanne already told us. Kary would pretend to shoot himself with the scanner as Dean walked away. But he was a sweet little old hairy man. We registered for a lot there and after about 4 trips to the bathroom, a few rests in the glider and sore feet we were done and off to target.
When we got to target it was a much different experience...no congratulations...no help. Just a pissy woman handing us a scanner and saying, "You're supposed to get a gift bag but we haven't had any in months so...yeah." We knew just what we wanted at target due to our weekly visits so we started scanning away. It was not as overwhelming. We didn't get as much and may need to add some stuff. We weren't there too long and by the time we left it was pouring down rain.
When we got home we decided to take a look at everything we already have and we pulled it all out of the closet.





By the time we did this we were so tired but managed to somewhat organize it and put it all back in. She already has quite a lot for such a small person.






After a very long day now I have a hyper baby. I was eating some mac 'n' cheese and while resting my bowl on my belly she let out a kick..I think she approves of all the stuff we picked out ;-)

Halfway there, Baby!!!!!

So I am now 20 weeks...halfway there!! Finally I am looking pregnant.(but still rockin my skinny jeans...booyah!) I've noticed people treat you a lot nicer when you're knocked up. It's weird to be walking through the grocery store and have people just smile at me after looking at my belly. I have been feeling pretty good pregnancy-wise but came down with the bad cold this week and had to take tylenol for the first time since I got pregnant. I also just found out I have to wear my heart rate monitor for another 2 weeks!! no!! It is so uncomfortable. This past week I have been attempting to sleep with a horrible stuffed nose, sore throat, and a big 'ol heart monitor digging into my side...luckily a tiny little kick from baby girl makes it all better. Today we bought our first girl clothes. We had to add pink to our androgynous baby wardrobe...but she will not be a pink freak...with the exception of her frilly pink tutu ;-)

Sweet Baby Girl :-)

Monday, May 10th was the day we finally got to meet who has been swimming around in me the past 19 weeks! The experience was amazing! Kary and I had been counting down the days mainly due to our insane curiosity of wanting to know if we were going to have a daughter or son. We never imagined it would be such a cool experience. We arrived to the OBGYN at 3:30. We were called right in to the ultrasound room. The room was big and dark. The nurse had me hop up on the table and put the goo on my belly (surprisingly warm goo) There was a screen mounted up on the wall and one behind me. The nurse started moving the wand around my belly and instantly started clicking pictures and labeling them. For about the first 5 minutes I had no idea what I was looking at. Apparently it was baby's bladder and some inner guts of mine. Then we saw a flash of a spine which was very cool. The nurse said she already had a good idea of the sex of the baby and referred to the baby having a "hamburger" which means GIRL! I was instantly thrilled. I would have been just as happy with a boy but I secretly really wanted a girl. Apparently little baby girl was feeling shy and was burrowed into my pelvis (really making me have to pee) She stayed like this for almost 10 minutes as the nurse was jamming the wand into my pelvis trying to get her to flip around. I even got up at one point and peed (in the toilet) and danced around the bathroom trying to get her to turn over. When I returned she was still keeping her head down but after I gave her a stern talking to.."Listen baby, my insurance only covers one sonogram so you better flip your ass around and show me your adorable little face before you really piss me off!" (the nurse enjoyed this) She actually listened and the next movement we saw was her turning around and putting her thumb into her mouth. So cute! Then we switched to 3-D and saw her dainty little face...we instantly fell in love! Sure she was sort of alien-like but our little alien. Kary kept his eyes glued to the screen and stopped at one point and said, "Shit, I have a daughter." but he said it happily :-) We ended up being the last appointment that day and got to watch her dance around and rock out in my belly for about an hour. We saw her little mouth opening and closing and we saw the four chambers of her heart beating strong (relief to me considering her mom's heart lately!) Her heart rate was at 161/ minute.
When the nurse was all done with the measurements we went to another room to meet with the doctor. We couldn't stop looking at the pictures. Now it seems so real!! When the doctor came in he said and I quote, "You got a phenomenal kid here" wow! I don't think the news could have been better. Her head measured great, no cleft lip, and her growth rate is right on target...except, she has long legs, which is not too much of a surprise considering the lanky Chesley girl genes. This made us very happy. Of course, she still has a lot more growing to do and we would love her phenomenal or not. Now it's time to get that tutu and figure out how to outfit all her rock 'n' gear with a splash of pink.

Today I fell asleep with Brixton on my side and my hand on my belly. Baby girl was kicking around and we all napped together. Girls rule! Kary and Brooklyn better watch out ;-)
















"hamburger" privates


her cute little profile

update :-)

I visited my regular doctor today to get my cardiologist referral and he said it was not necessary to see one! :-) phew!! He said I do have SVT and it's not a heart "condition" but an arrhythmia. He said it is not life threatening and most likely will not occur again for years. (my last one was about 3 years ago) They did hook me up with a heart monitor for a few weeks to keep track if I am having frequent SVT attacks. That way if I am, I can go on meds. But, most likely I won't need to. Yay! Now, I can just focus on my sweet "feets" (fetus) and waiting for my first real kick! :-)

911

I was sure that my next trip to the hospital would be when I was ready to deliver the baby...but that was not the case this past Saturday. I have had asthma since I was about 8 and thought I was pretty familiar with what an asthma attack was. To me it was a rapid heart rate and shortness of breath. Turns out that was not asthma at all but a heart arrhythmia called SVT. I guess I have it..weird. Anyways I was showering Saturday morning and when I bent down to get my razor I stood up and my heart went crazy. I immediately jumped out of the shower with a full head of conditioner and yelled for Kary. He came running and brought me my inhalor. I took a few puffs and it didn't help. He moved me to the bed and got me ice water. I sat up unable to talk and took breaths and tried to stay calm. It had lasted for about 20 minutes (which was typical for when this happens) when Kary looked at me and said, "I'm really scared." The whole bed was shaking because my heart was pounding out of my chest. I was super freaked out but the cost of an ambulance ride and hospital trip held me off for about another 10 minutes. Then I looked down at my belly and realized it wasn't just about me anymore so I looked at Kary and whispered, "Call 911." He called and they had him check my pulse which was 200 beats/ minute. The ambulance showed up in about 2 minutes and about 8 big southern dudes were in our bedroom. I managed to throw on some sweat pants and a t-shirt Kary grabbed for me before they got there. They hooked me up to an oxygen tank and a heart monitor. When the medic was sticking heart things all over my back and chest he asked me if I had breast implants...I laughed. They tried a few things to slow my heart rate and nothing was working. The medic told me that since I was pregnant they really could not do what they usually do. They took my blood pressure which was low...weird...and loaded me on a stretcher down the stairs to the ambulance. Kary stood at the door and waved to me and smiled as they closed the door. As soon as I got in the ambulance I felt much more relaxed. The medic told me the OBGYN said it was ok to do the procedure he wanted. It would mean he would inject me with something that would stop my heart for about 2 seconds and reset it. This of course terrified me! Luckily, as he was about to do it my heart rate fixed itself without meds. I rode to the hospital and by the time we got there I was doing much better. The nurses instantly hooked me up to more monitors and scanned for the baby's heartbeat. At first she could not find it. It took her about 3 minutes to find it and it felt like an hour. I did not look at Kary because I knew he was worried too. Finally, she found it and said it was strong and that baby was just jumping all over not cooperating. Apparently, since the baby's heartbeat averages 160 beats/ minute my rapid heart rate didn't affect him/her too much.
We stayed in the room a few hours while they monitored me and I called my mom. Then the nurse gave us some towels so Kary could wash the conditioner out of my hair in the hospital bathroom. They took my blood and said I had low potassium and they gave me some pills, juice, and graham crackers. They told me I was good to go home and I needed to follow up with a cardiologist to make sure everything is ok with my heart. The doctor gave me instructions on what to do if it happens again. Risa came to pick us up and I was standing outside the hospital with hospital footies, shiny blue sweat pants, an old hot topic t-shirt and a giant messy curly afro...but I was just happy to be going home and to have a normal heart rate again. The whole thing was super freaky but I remained surprisingly cool and so did Kary. I don't know what I would have done without him. Now I am just taking it easy and hoping everything goes well at my cardiologist appointment. Next blog will be after our sonogram and we'll reveal the sex of the baby! Hopefully, no more drama til I poop on the delivery floor! ;-)