Magic Etch A Sketch

Have y'all seen this before? There was an article on cnn.com recently about this guy who does some incredible artwork with the Etch A Sketch. The article is gone now, but you can see his gallery on his website. The Michael Jackson montage is my favorite, but they are all incredibly impressive!

A note about bellies

I'm all for manners and social graces, but some white lies just don't cut it. Sometimes when I tell people how far along I am, they like to say things like "I looked like that at 4 months!" or "I can hardly tell you're pregnant!" I don't really get why people say things like this. First of all - HELLO. Look at me!

Second of all, I wonder if people are just trying to make me feel better about myself. That's nice and all, but it's really not necessary. Besides the fact that I know I look like I swallowed a watermelon and I will absolutely not believe anyone who tells me I don't look pregnant, I understand that having a baby means your stomach pokes out. And I'm perfectly ok with that. In fact, I think it's pretty amazing. So when the kids in the hospital (and we all know kids are more honest than adults) say things like "your big, huge belly is in the way!" or "why is your stomach sticking out so much?" I take it as a compliment. It means I'm growing a nice healthy baby.

Newsflash

Whoa, is it seriously July already? Let's see...what has happened in the past 2 months since I last posted?

~Took an anniversary trip to Asheville, NC where we visited the Smoky Mountains, hiked to a bunch of waterfalls (including one where we were led by a volunteer guide dog named Spot), and watched hippies with dreads play drums.

~Went to Texas for a few days, saw my family, had a baby shower, and spent many hours studying for the ACE personal trainer exam.

~Took the personal trainer exam (which was required for my job); didn't pee my pants or pass out from hypoglycemia (which I was worried about since it's a 4 hour test with NO BREAKS) thanks to the super nice proctor who made exceptions for me due to my condition of being with child. Officially got certified though I officially don't know how to train persons.

~Laughed when I found wheat in Jared's pockets while doing laundry. Laughed even more when I found wheat in Jared's belly button.

~Began nesting. Bought a crib, car seat, and stroller; washed and organized all the baby clothes, blankets, etc; found an awesome pediatrician that gives out her cell phone number, makes house calls, and doubles as a lactation consultant.

~Grew a lot.

Update on the growth of the little one

Mother's Day - 23 weeks

I know the lighting is terrible in this picture, but check out how pointy my belly is!

I'll be 24 weeks in 2 days and according the the Mayo Clinic, baby should be measuring 15 inches long! What the heck? That seems gigantic!

Interesting events since last update:

1. Near fainting episode on the bus. I was sitting down comfortably on the bus on my way to work reading Husband-Coached Childbirth when suddenly everything started to go dark. I knew immediately that I was about to faint and I started sweating like crazy. To make things worse, my stop was coming up really quickly and I was afraid I would be passed out and miss my stop and it would be an hour before the bus came back around to it. Fortunately, I willed myself to remain conscious and was able to make it to my office without passing out.

What I learned: My doctor says I need to increase my salt intake. My blood pressure has been low lately (92/45, 100/60). Jared bought me a giant bag of sunflower seeds to suck on.

2. Ice pick headaches. Has anyone heard of these before? They're basically very short (1-2 seconds), very intense pains in my head. They're so intense I feel like I'll pass out if they last even a second longer, but they always go away very quickly. I've had them for years, but hadn't had any in 6 months until a couple of weeks ago, when I started having them multiple times a day. So my OB sent me to a neurologist.

What I learned: The headaches are nothing to be concerned about. Just an overactive or easily irritated occipital nerve. The neurologist calls these headaches "migraine volleys." Also while I was there, she so kindly informed me that 1) I have a very long neck, 2) I am a weakling (that was the exact word she used when telling me that I have "basically no musculature" around my neck and shoulders and that I need to do some strength training) and 3) I have a heart murmur. Thanks, doc. Actually, she was very nice and informative, but I walked away thinking 'really? She just called me a weakling?'

3. Mother bear showed her face. I was rear-ended on my way home from work last week. There was no damage to the car, but I was incredibly angry that this woman hit me (and didn't even get out of her car!). I yelled at her to watch where she was going, then got back in my car and drove away. I was too angry to think straight and didn't get her insurance info. We were both heading down the same street and she ended up in the lane beside me with her windows rolled down. At this point, I started to really worry about the baby and I decided she had not learned her lesson, so I yelled at her again. I was shocked that I did this since I never yell, but I can only attribute it to fiery maternal instincts. Turns out, after consulting with my doctor, I needed to go to the hospital to get checked out and make sure I wasn't having contractions. So I ended up in labor and delivery for an hour or so, hooked up to a monitor.

What I learned: I was told my uterus was "irritable" (having small contractions) but it was nothing to worry about and the baby was fine. Also, the labor and delivery rooms are huge and look like hotel rooms. Sweet!

4. We started a childbirth class. We're taking a Bradley class and it has been really great so far. My main reason I wanted to take a class was so that I could be as informed as possible and make educated decisions regarding my pregnancy and birth. This class is 2.5 hours every Monday night for 12 weeks, which seems like an incredibly long time to some people, but I think it's great. There's so much to learn about pregnancy and childbirth and I am keenly interested in knowing what is going on with my body. I'm not okay with sitting back and being poked and prodded and cut open without having any idea what's happening. It's also really exciting to have 2.5 hours dedicated each week to talking about and getting excited about this baby. Last week, a massage therapist came to the class to teach the menfolk how to give massages during pregnancy and labor. That's a class any woman can appreciate.

Patio Gardening

I long for the day when I have a home with a lawn and space for a real garden, but for now, we are making the best of our apartment living and decided to try our thumbs at some vegetables this summer.

We planted tomatoes, cucumbers, yellow squash, okra, jalapeno peppers, banana peppers, and sugar snap peas.

I was interested in trying the Topsy Turvy tomato planter (has anyone tried it?) but Jared said we could make our own upside down planter. So we did. And it was free. Jared simply cut a hole into the bottom of a cheap plastic pot that we already had, inserted the tomato plant (so the plant was sticking out the bottom of the pot, turned it upside down and added soil. He also cut 2 holes in the sides of the pot and attached some rope. Then we hung it from our balcony. I'm excited to see how it does.

On a totally different note, I tried to do some maternity clothes shopping at Target today, but couldn't find anything that I wouldn't have to wear another shirt underneath. Seriously, if I am going to be pregnant in the sticky North Carolina summer, I sure am not going to wear any more layers than necessary. Why is it so hard to find shirts that aren't see through and have a modest neckline? Anyway, I gave up on shopping for clothes for myself and instead romped through the baby section with Jared. I've probably looked at Target's baby clothes 5 times this month, but today I finally bought something. My first baby purchase:

It's a girl!

I have to admit, I was surprised. For some reason, I just assumed this little baby inside me had to be a boy. Maybe because even before I was pregnant, anytime Jared and I talked about a future baby, we always referred to it as a "he." But I am definitely excited about this little girl. I felt her first kicks 2 weeks ago today and they have been getting stronger and more frequent ever since. It's so exciting to feel, I can't help but smile to myself when I feel her kick.

And just a few pictures to update those interested folks (mostly my family, I'm sure) on my belly growth:

15 weeks

16 weeks - taking a walk at the park

17 weeks

Just realized I missed the 18 week picture. Coming up on 19 weeks in a couple of days. I thought I was hiding my pregnancy pretty well at work, but when I announced last week to my coworkers that I was pregnant, they all said "oh, we've known for weeks. But thanks for letting us know anyway." Apparently they would talk about it whenever I wasn't in the room and try to guess how long I was going to wait to tell them. Plus, I've had 2 bold people ask me if I was pregnant before I ever said anything about it. So I guess it's now becoming obvious and there's no more need to hide the fact that I can't button my pants. Or zip them for that matter. Bring on the stretchy panels!

26 weeks till Baby Benson comes...

...and changes our lives forever. The ultrasound below was taken at my first appointment (10 weeks). I am 14 weeks now and had another appointment today. We got to hear the heartbeat again, but I still have a hard time believing there is a baby inside of me. At my next visit (18 weeks), we will find out the gender! That seems so soon to me. I still don't feel pregnant. And as far as looking pregnant, I haven't gained any weight yet, but I do think my stomach is sticking out more than usual, especially at night. Is that normal? Sometimes I show Jared my belly in the evening and he accuses me of sticking it out on purpose...it's a noticeable difference at night.) It's crazy to think that in just 4 weeks the baby will be developed enough to clearly tell the gender. My doctor said that you can actually tell as early as 14 weeks, but there's no additional benefit to having an ultrasound that early, so we'll wait until 18. Can't wait!