Halfway!

Ok, so I've been halfway since Saturday but just updating now. :)

The last 20 weeks seem to have gone by so fast, and yet it seems so long ago that I found out I was pregnant. The good news is my sickness is finally easing. I did have a bit of trouble today, but luckily it passed quickly. I sometimes forget to eat. Always leads to no good. But it's hard to remember to eat when you're not hungry. That's one thing I am getting worried about. So far I'm still under my pre-pregnancy weight, but now only by 2 lbs. Now that I am feeling better and able to eat, I know that I'm going to start gaining weight. Yes, this is good for the baby. But at the same time I started my pregnancy overweight so the amount I should gain my the end is much less then someone of "normal" weight. I also would love to not gain weight and still have a healthly baby. For me, I've been overweight for the majority of my life and as much as I'm ok with it, I struggle as well. Sometimes it's just hard to look in the mirror and know my growing belly isn't because of weight but because of a growing baby. But if I look in the mirror from the neck up, I'm happy with what I see. My skin is in great shape, I feel like I have that "glow" that everyone talks about. I can also tell in my face I have lost weight and that makes me happy. I'm hoping that post-pregnancy I can stick to it and lose weight so I can be in better shape to run around and play with Isabella. The problem I forsee with this (or I should say one of the biggest problems), she is due Nov 12. Right after that we have Thanksgiving, followed by the Christmas season. All the while I will be at home. Yup, could be difficult.

Gary and I have been working hard the last week to get going on the nursery. As I posted last week, we got the curtains up and we love them! This weekend we got even more involved, and it's even better! Since we can't paint we are working around the cream colored walls and making the most of it. As much as I would love to have a lilac base, I'm working with the cream. And I have to say, it looks good. We are using peel and stick reusable wall decals. Easy to apply, no mess, and looks like real wallpaper. We found the perfect Disney Princess border featuring Belle, Cinderella, Aurora, and Tiana. We also found a giant mural of a castle. Couldn't be more in love with that room! Tonight I started a new project for Isabella. We got wooden letters to spell out her name. I painted them purple and decorated them with ribbons and over decals and such to make it a personalized gift for my little one. I am so happy with they way they came out. I can't wait for them to be dry to so we can get them on the wall. Now all we have to do is wait for the furniture and load it up. My dad is almost finished with the bench, which I will then be making a custom cushion for. Then he will be refinishing the dresser. Decided that the bookcase we have isn't going to work, so we will be getting a smaller one. I also picked out the area rug that I want, going to be pink to match the curtains. And then we just need a crib.

Isabella has been moving around more lately. Hoping soon that Gary will be able to feel her too. He's jealous that I get to and he can't. We have been using our at home heatbeat device. And we're finally able to hear her on there. Doctor's appointment next week. It seems like forever since I've gone, and yet it's only been 3 weeks. We have just found out so much since then. I can't wait to share the news with our doctor. Which just sounds weird. Isn't the doctor supposed to tell us what we're having? But also some concern for this next appointment. We will be talking more about the development of the kidneys. I feel like this is becoming more real to me, and even though 90% of the time it's nothing, there's that 10% that it is something. And although surgery and whatnot can correct the problem, I don't want her to start her life out like that. Also at this appointment I'm going to bring up the concern I have with my knees. Thankfully I'm not pregnant through the winter or I don't know what I would do. I can barely walk without a pregnant belly to carry around then, I don't know how I would handle it. But I have had a few bad days already, and I'm not looking forward to more when I'm further along.

So work has been difficult on me as well lately. Working 8 hours a day on my feet is getting tiring. By the end of the week I'm worn out. Thankfully I was able to talk to my boss about working less closing shifts so that will hopefully make it a bit easier. And my awesome coworkers have been nice enough to be understanding and help me out a little more then usual.

I was going over the calender tonight and writing everything in. Well, let's justs say we're busy. Lots of traveling involved. A few weekends at home, a few in CT, a few in Winterport, one in NH, and even one in VT! I am probably most excited for VT for a couple reasons. I finally get to see my roomie Jackie! And we're going to Ben & Jerry's and doing the factory tour. I've also never been to VT so it shall be a new, fun adventure. And only a 4 hour drive each way. lol

In the coming months, there's so much to look forward too. I'm going to keep working away at the nursery. I'm going to celebrate the birth of a new nephew. I get to celebrate the weddings of a lot of wonderful family and friends. I get to reconnect with old friends. I get to gain a new sister. I get to welcome my daughter into the world and share a love greater then anything with my husband. 2011 is looking really good.


I'll leave a couple of newer pictures of the work Gary & I have accomplished in the nursery:
Her own castle!:

The border:

Closeup of the border:

Kickin'

So a little back information first. So I never wanted to have children because I found pregnancy to be disgusting. Having something growing inside of you being "normal" just seemed wrong. Generally when something is growing inside of you it's a tumor, cancer, or something else that is just bad. I never had a problem with adpoting and thought that it would be a wonderful thing to adpot. You get to give an unwanted child a home full of love and you don't have to go through pregnancy. I still feel the same way about pregnancy, although I am pregnant. I now understand though the reason for having "your own" children. I have never felt so much love for anyone in my life then I do for my husband. Having children really is the ultimate expression of that love. We are creating a symbol of out love and it's greater then anything I can really explain. I have never felt more in love or closer to Gary then I do now.

With all that being said, at 17 weeks, 6 days I was relaxing on the couch when I suddenly felt something in my belly. It took a minute or so to process and I realized that the baby was kicking. After realizing what happened and talking to Gary, I called my mom. I started crying and couldn't stop. I was so freaked out and disgusted. My worst nightmare had finally come true. My mom was so excited about it and trying to be understanding and reassuring but nothing was helping. Gary tried to comfort me but again, it wasn't helping. It's been a week and a half since that first time and little Isabella has been kicking a lot more. Every time she does, I have to convince myself that it's just a muscle spasm so that I can remain calm. I know that her kicking is a great sign. It means she's there, healthly, and moving. All good things. But it doesn't help me be ok with it. It still grosses me out. So with all this being said, please no one touch my stomach. I am not ok with it and I might seriously punch you in the face. :)

So it might seem like I'm not excited but I am. I mean yes, I am grossed out by knowing she's growing inside of me, but I am very excited to have her and for her to be here. So excited in fact that yesterday after finding out that we were having a girl, Gary and I did some shopping. A couple of cute dresses and such later, we started working on the nursary. Curtains are hanging. I love them. They're perfect. I will leave you with pictures of the curtains and of course, the first picture of our baby girl.

It's a girl!

We were so excited today to learn that we are having a girl! Isabella Kay Jones, expected November 12, 2011. :)

What a crazy day it has been. Ultrasound appointment was for 8am today. We got there, and while waiting in the waiting room, Gary's glasses randomly broke and fell off his face. Good news is he had a backup pair of old glasses in the car. We got to go into the ultrasound and our tech, Nate, was such a great guy. Very friendly and put my nerves at ease. Most people don't realize what the mid-pregnancy ultrasound is, other than finding out the sex. But in fact, it's quite a big checkup. They check everything on the baby - heart, lungs, kidneys, spine, head/brain, bowels, arm/leg bones, and anything else you can think of. Everything was looking good, only one concern. The kidneys had extra fluid in them. This could mean something, or nothing. The doctor said that everything on the baby developes at different rates so it might just mean that the kidneys are developing faster then the bladder or the connection to the bladder. Basically what it means for us is we are having a 2nd ultrasound in September. They will check the kidneys again and make sure that they are developing correctly, and if not then we will have to have an ultrasound done on the baby after she is born. Doctor also assured us that in most cases, about 90%, this problem is clear and gone by 32 weeks. So yes, I am going to worry a bit but I know everything else is perfect and exactly what it should be so I'm not going to fret too much.

So Nate was asking me what everyone thought that we were having. I said a girl, which meant that I thought it would have to be a boy. And then he told us that everyone was right, and we had a little girl. She was spread eagle so not much doubt to it. Although he said he would never give a 100% answer on a girl, he said he was very certain. As soon as he told me it was a girl, I started crying. I was just so happy that I couldn't stop.

After finding out that were having a girl, we made our phone calls and headed out to Babies R Us. Our registry is finally complete! We had fun scanning some girlie things, and of course buying a few things too. A couple of super cute dresses. Gary picked out a pink Red Sox outfit (of course). I love the buy 1 and 1 50% off  clearance racks! We also went to Walmart and got out nursary items - removable wall decals including a border! We also picked up beautiful pink curtains. I was torn between a pink glittery set and a white with pink polka dots and Gary said that we should have a "pretty pink room" so pink glittery curtains it is! Now I just need to get a rug, a crib set, and a crib and the nursary will be complete. And I'm willing to accept help on these. ;)

Emotional Overload

So the last 2 weeks have been an emotional overload, to say the least. First there was the ER extragravanza. Memorial Day was great. Went to the casino, saw an amazing concert with Gary. BSB & NKOTB rounded out my boy bands that I wanted to see when I was younger. So much fun. After that, things took a turn for the worst. Gary's grandfather was in the hospital. We were able to go and visit him on Tuesday. We could tell that he wasn't doing well. The best thing about it was that we were able to make him smile and see his joy and excitement when we told him that the baby was healthy and growing strong.

On Friday we got a call saying that his grandfather had passed away. On Saturday night, we got a call saying my uncle Van had unexpectantly passed away. It was an overwhelming amount of emotions for one weekend.Monday we went down to the wake for Papa and to be with the family. One plus side to losing a family member, is being able to see all the family members you generally don't. I know that this meant a lot to Gary. Tuesday was an even more overwhelming day. We started the day with a beautiful service for Papa, followed by a great reception. We were able to be at peace with Papa's passing and knowing that he is now with his wife, who he missed the last 8 years. It was also nice to see the family so much and just be the support system that we all needed. Gary got to spend time with his Godmother, and he was thankful for that.

After the reception, we went to my Aunt's house to be with my family. Again, not the best circumstances but so grateful I was able to see them. And we will be able to see them again next week when they come to Maine for a family gathering to remember my uncle.

After all of this, on little sleep and being sick, I got home today to a wonderful piece of mail. A packet of information on my upcoming ultrasound. Gary and I cannot wait! June 20 can't come fast enough. Not only will we find out what we're having but I will be able to be put more at ease knowing that everything is ok with the baby and just seeing our little one again is going to be amazing.

Checkup

I had my monthly checkup today. Things are looking good. I've lost 5 pounds this month. Yes, pregnancy has been the best diet for me. Baby's heartbeat was strong. Normal is between 110 and 160, our little ones was 130 at first, and then a little poke and went up to 151. :) I had to have a screening done for my liver because during the ultrasound they saw a slight fat mass. Otherwise, everything is great. Blood pressure was fine. Guess it was just because I was in the hospital that it was high. Katie (one of my nurses) is going to be setting up my ultrasound, we're shooting for June 13. If we can't get in then, we should have it by June 20. :)! I can't wait. It was amazing seeing our little one last Friday, and I'm excited to see she/he again. And of course to find out what we're having. I'm hoping that Baby J works with us and lets us see everything. No legs crossed!