"The Fat Lady"

Today's doctor's appointment was awesome! I was just expecting a boring regular check-up but it could not have gone better :-) We met Dr. Campbell and he was awesome! He was super friendly and took the time to talk with us instead of just rushing through like "Dr. Bland" we had last month. My blood pressure was great, I measured good and the nurse found the heartbeat as soon as she placed the monitor on my belly. Then she told me I was so tiny which was amazing since minutes before the other nurse shared with me that I have gained 10 pounds in a month!!! ahh!! I have never weighed this much in my life and I'm sure it's nothing compared to the heiffer I will become! :-) The heartbeat was 160 beats per minute. It slowed down a bit since last time, which is good. The heartbeat was very loud this time and the nurse said it was so strong they could probably hear it in the waiting room...ha. I also found out I can go back to my better, cheaper, prescribed allergy pills!! yay! maybe now I'll get some relief!
The best news ever was when Dr. Campbell told us we get to come back in 2 weeks (not four!) for the sonogram and to find out the sex! woohoo! We are scheduled May 10th and now we really can't wait! I can't wait to see him/her flipping around and finally know what clothes we can buy. I also should start feeling some movement in the next 3 weeks or so...super cool!
Lastly, to explain the title of this post. Today, one of my students decided to write a story about me. He titled it, "The Fat Lady." He drew me as a giant circle with a tiny head and arms and legs. He drew a baby in my belly and wrote boy pointing to the baby. The story is about me growing gigantic and taking over the world.

barf, nosebleeds, and asthma attacks...oh my!!!

so glad he's by my side...but keep that damn flower off my face! I'm allergic!!!






I have started week 16 (4th month) I am definitely noticing that I am pregnant and so are others. My pants barely fit and I have been holding them together with a hair tie. My shirts that once fell at my waist are now belly shirts...it's quite odd. I've never had a weight issue and not been able to fit in clothes...luckily, I have a good reason to be packing on the fatty pounds!
For weeks, I could not wait until the general public could tell I was pregnant. That way I would not just look like a chubby girl who drank a bit too much in college but rather an adorable tiny pregnant lady ;) Unfortunately, my first encounter with a stranger commenting on my pregnancy was from a teen girl at target who walked by me and said to her friend, "Uh oh...somebody got preggo." At the time it kind of pissed me off. I am a week away from being 30!...I am married!...and we tried for almost a year!!! haha! I guess I should just think of it as a huge compliment that I look like a teen. Turning 30 and gaining weight is a rough combo so I'll take some girl thinking I'm an irresponsible teen who got "knocked up!" ha.
This past weekend has been rough. Friday night Kary and I went out for Chinese food after I went to a performance of my students dancing the polka. I had a bad headache all day that day and our meal was interrupted by me dashing to the bathroom and barfing up my entire meal...there goes $10! The toilet was filled to the rim with rice and tofu (yum..huh?) When I went to flush, the toilet was broken...I walked back to the table, eyes watering and make-up running, and told Kary I'd be in the car. But, I ate the leftovers the next day and they were delicious. I also had an asthma attack later that night and again on Monday. Each morning since Friday I have had the joy of waking up with a nosebleed. We got a humidifier for our room and today was my first morning with no nosebleed! yay! haha....my allergies are ridiculous, I can barely sleep since I can't breath out of my nose and my nose runs constantly. I thought the second trimester was supposed to be the easiest! oh well.
This Friday we have an appointment...we'll hear the heartbeat again and get a chance to talk to the doctor about any questions we have. Then we'll make our next appointment to get our first sonogram and find out the sex!!! We have been thinking girl...but now are getting the boy vibe...we'll see what they find: "peep" or "hoo hoo"....We can barely wait!!

POP goes the BABY!

It seems as though overnight my belly has popped! Today was my "coming out" at work since apparently there is no hiding my baby bump. I am now 15 weeks and feeling good. I have been working out on wii active every day and rubbing the cocoa butter like crazy. My mom and I are in the process of planning my shower for this summer. It will most likely be on June 26th at my mom and dad's house in PA. Kary and I are working on our plan to get all the furniture out of the guest room and start to organize. With 5 months left it seems like a long time but I'm sure it will go fast.
The weather has been super hot here and my allergies are horrible. I started zyrtec yesterday and getting some relief. Kary has been working hard on the yard doing a major overhaul and we are hoping to get a patio set this weekend so we can enjoy the weather.
Brooklyn and Brixton don't seem to understand what is going on yet. When I say that a baby is going to come they run to the door and bark as if he/she is going to be delivered to the front door..ha
Baby is now about 4 inches long and is busy growing like crazy. It is such a strange feeling to have my belly grow right before my eyes. I cannot wait until I feel movement!


Here is a picture with my head included..ha

Easter Weekend

This past weekend I got to see my family for the first time since we found out about the baby. It was so awesome to see everyone and be spoiled ;-) My mama made sure I was resting and my dad made sure I kept stuffing my face. The weather was beautiful and it was awesome to cuddle with baby Isla Rose and play cops and robbers with Mason. They surprised me with an early birthday celebration. My mom made an ice cream cake and Jess and Andrea got me really cute maternity shirts (my first ones) My mom got me a gorgeous turquoise necklace that will keep her close to me even though we're separated by 500 miles.
While in PA, I started to notice that at night my stomach gets very tight. My sister (2 time mom) said it is my muscles stretching. It's super uncomfortable but I'm sure nothing compared to what is about to come. I am 14 weeks now and officially a third of the way there. I am feeling pretty good besides my extreme allergies. My doctor did not give me the ok to get back on my allergy meds so I'll have to settle for some over the counter stuff, which I am sure will make me super jittery. My asthma meds are also not recommended so I am going to use my rescue inhalor as needed and hope my breathing is ok. Our fetus can hear this week so I'm sure Kary will be spending lots of time yelling random things into my belly. I have also started cocoa buttering my belly every night. Stretch marks are not an option!
We still have 2 weeks before our next appt and 6 weeks before we find out the sex and get our first sonogram. Now, I'm just watching my belly bump pop and enjoying spring break and being pregnant. I miss my family like crazy but will see them at the end of June for my shower. It is always hard saying goodbye to them. My mama gave my belly a kiss as we left...so cute!


Here are the 2 shirts I got for my birthday. Jess got me the polka dot one and Andrea got me the blue tank top. Both are big for now but I'm sure they will fit by my birthday.

12 weeks!!!

This is the last week of my 1st trimester. Most of my energy has come back and the nausea is pretty much gone. I still gag every once in a while brushing my teeth and I still have super smelling powers but I think mostly now I'm just going to feel the wrath of the fatty!
I told my class the news and they were thrilled. They want to keep touching my belly and they refer to him/her as "skittles"...no idea why but it's kind of cute. One little girl asked me if it hurt when they put the baby in there...ahh! she thinks you got to the hospital and arrange to have the baby put in..haha...today another little girl asked me how Mr. Gaffney and I made the baby...I ignored her..haha. Then while reading about the ant life cycle we read the word "mate." They asked me what it meant and I said to reproduce and make baby ants. Then one boy got all excited and asked, "Hey, does that mean you and Mr. Kary flew into the air and mated to get that baby in your belly?!" I just laughed and said, "mooooving on." I'm sure the questions will keep coming but that's their parents job to educate them about that.
I am having trouble with my skin with lots of break-outs on my face..thank god for foundation. I am hoping that will go away soon as I move to the second trimester. I am looking forward to my 2nd trimester as I have heard it's the most comfortable you feel...considering ;-)



little baby bump...but it's there

Beating Heart Baby!!

Today we finally got to hear the heartbeat! We were very excited but nervous. The appointment went really well. Kary was super excited to be able to be part of it. The nurse asked us like 100 family history questions. We do have a little history of twins....yikes. When she put goo on my belly I started to get nervous especially since she said there is a good chance we won't be able to hear it yet. The nervousness was gone in about 10 seconds when we heard it! It was "whoosh..whoosh...whoosh" and fast...170 beats a minute. The nurse said that was normal though for this stage. (some say that means a girl) It was super cool to have proof that there is a little somebody in there. He/she was low on my left side just hanging out. Kary and I were joking that our fetus is already a spazz with that rapid heart rate and most likely anxiety...haha. The doctor said we heard it so fast because I'm small and not a "large" woman...he said with them he has to sift through a lot of stuff...ha. We got a lot of reading material from the nurse and Kary was excited to share the part about pooping with me in the waiting room. Good stuff. He is amazing and has been so good to me. He always stops at the grocery store to get me all kinds of delicious healthy food and always makes me laugh. I have recently gotten back some energy and have started working out on wii active...gotta keep those thighs and booty in check! We are scheduled to go to our next doctor appt on April 23rd then the one after that we will be able to find out the sex :-)





Here is a bunch of reading material we got. We will probably sign up for the baby CPR
class and I'm trying to get Kary to take the bootcamp for first time dad's class..haha


Here is an outfit Uncle Sean picked out...and yes of course a little girl could also wear this! we'll just put a pink hat on her head :-)

Monsters ate my consciousness!!!!!!!!!

I am 10 weeks now and the past 2 weeks have been EXHAUSTING! I have not been doing anything strenuous whatsoever...the problem is I have no energy! The fetus must be busy growing like crazy! It now is starting to look more like a baby and less like a tadpole. I have been napping everyday and going to bed early...however, I wake up and am still exhausted! I am hoping it goes away in the 2nd trimester because there is too much to do in a day and I don't have time to be sleepy..haha. I have been eating an insane amount of fruit...I love green grapes, strawberries, bananas, oranges and granny smith apples. I have all of these in the fridge at all times...yum!

We decided on a monster theme for baby even before we knew he/she was officially on their way. Kary and his mom and brother scored some awesome monster stuff a few weeks ago and I'm getting excited! There is even a "Naughty Monster" which is a monster pillow they sit on and it has a timer you can set and when the timer goes off it says, "You can get up now, but don't be a naughty monster." I'm sure we won't need that for years, but it will be Kary's ADHD baby...haha....that's all for now. I am in bed and it's naptime! 10 more days until we hear the heartbeat! :-)