I Heart New England

I already miss it. Last week I had a mini family vacay up to Providence, RI to visit sister and F.B.I.L. (Future Brother In Law). It was so nice to get out of Wilmington and NC for a couple of days and see Meg and Matt. My favorite thing about Providence in October: the wonderful weather! I love fall. It is my absolute favorite time of the year. The cool crisp air...the colorful changing of the leaves...apples and pumpkins...I can't get enough of it!



My parents and I left on Wednesday morning and drove the 13 hours it takes to get to Providence. Note to all: 13-hour car rides are not comfy when you are 27 weeks pregnant. I don't think my dad realized how often we were going to have to stop for pee breaks and for me to walk around. Every 2 to 3 hours we had to make a pit-stop. Luckily, dad was understanding. I slept for the majority of the trip. There is something about long distance car rides that just put me to sleep. I woke up in Providence with Megan helping me out of the car. Nice way to arrive after a long drive.



Even though we did a lot of stuff, it was definately relaxing. Plus my parents, sister and I haven't really had family time like that in a while so it was really nice to be a family again. Usually when Meg comes to visit she can only come for a few days and there are so many other people for her to see we don't really get to spend a lot of time together as a family. We went apple picking and to dinner on Thursday and on Friday we went to Newport and shopped around. Mom and Dad left Saturday morning for Maine, and Meg and I went shopping and to a Columbus Day festival in Federal Hill. Then we did some more shopping and had dinner and dessert. It was so nice to not have to work, not have to worry about what I needed to do that day, and not have any stress for a couple of days.



Meg also got to feel Skeletor moving around. He's become so active these days and now other people can feel him too so it's a nice thing to share with others. Meg was also amused by how big my belly has gotten. The last time she saw me was in August at my shower. It's amazing much my belly has grown. Only 12 weeks to go!



I have so much to do in the next couple of weeks it is a little overwhelming. But I'm excited to start working on the house. It is going to be surreal living in my Great Granny's house. I'm happy though. I can finally start working on the nursery and start the nesting process. I have a feeling that this project is going to make my pregnancy fly by.



Speaking of the nursery, I have decided to have a forest theme with trees and owls. Nothing creepy! And I want to find those letters to put on the walls for his initials. I found some cute ideas online at Etsy and at Project Nursery. I've also narrowed down my names. Although I'm not entirely sold on a first name yet, I decided his middle name would be Kellum which is my great granny's maiden name. The contenders for first names are as follows: Owen, Mason, Jonas, and Miles.

I have my next appointment at the end of the month and mom is coming with me! We get to see Skeletor and I'm so excited! Hope everyone has a great week!

Don't Be Cruel

For those of you who know me, I have struggled with my weight throughout the years. Before I got pregnant, I had reached a weight that I was very happy and healthy with. I worked out, ate healthy, was a vegetarian, and was very proud of my weight. My family health history is not the greatest, so I wanted to get a hold on any issues that may affect me in the future. For someone this weight conscious, gaining pregnancy weight has been a little hard. I still eat healthy and work out, but it is still a struggle for me. The cravings that I have are hard to deal with especially when it is not something I would usually eat. So needless to say gaining weight is not something that comes easily to me.

So I had a doctor's appointment on Wednesday with the horrible Dr. Vogel. Let me make a declaration: I HATE DR. VOGEL!!!!!

He is a nasty and vile man! Not only was his bedside manner very stale and abrupt, but he proceeded to tell me I was overweight. I admit, I have gained 10 lbs. in one month which was shocking to me when I got on the scale. How did this happen? I hardly eat enough for me let alone for the baby too! I may indulge once a week on a sweet or something, but I do not eat fast food and I make smart choices when it comes to my food. So when he saw my weight gain he automatically assumed that i gorge on burgers, fries, cake, ect. I tried to tell him that if anything I've been concerned about not eating enough, but I got the sense that he didn't believe me. Apparently I was overweight at my last appointment too, even though the other doctor said I was right where I needed to be weight-wise. I wanted to claw Dr. Vogel's eyes out! I don't think I would have been so annoyed if he had also been a little more helpful. He didn't make any suggestions about what I need to be doing to keep a healthy weight or managing my weight. As a health professional, I would have hoped for a little more advice and a little less criticism. Needless to say, I really hope that Dr. Vogel will not be delivering my baby!

On the upside, Skeletor is doing well. Moving around a lot and keeping his mama on her toes with his kicking and jabbing. My glucose test went well also, so no gestational diabetes to worry about. The next visit I get to have another ultrasound, so I'm really excited! Next week I'm off to Providence to visit Auntie Meg and the F.B.I.L. and I'm so looking forward to it. Can't wait to have some fall weather!

Ballroom Blitz

First off let me apologize for the extremely depressing blog that preceded this one. My hormones have been getting the best of me lately, and it's been a little hard to deal with all my emotions. I'm trying to get through everything by keeping my mind focused on Skeletor and our impending future.



One thing that has distracted me has been the constant movement that Skeletor has been doing inside my belly. It is soooo weird!! I cannot believe that their is another human being inside of me right now. It keeps becoming more and more real everytime he kicks me, everytime he switches sides, and everytime i see my belly move. He has been all over the place this past week. It's like he doesn't have enough room inside me, and he is constantly trying to stretch out. For all I know he could be doing laps inside there...although like I said before there probably isn't enough room for that.

I'm going on 26 weeks which means (and I'm hoping) only 11 to 13 weeks left. Damn it's going by fast! To think my little zombie will be here that soon...OH MY GOD! That's so close. Am I ready? Do I have everything I need to be prepared for a baby? Am I going to be a good mama? What if I have a mental meltdown when he gets here? Stop....relax and breathe.

The "Baby Bible" has begun to give advice on labor and birthing classes. I tried to read ahead so I could get informed, but I realized that I am NOT ready for that information. I made the mistake of watching a live birth on YouTube the other day. A little friendly advice: DO NOT WATCH!!! I don't know what I was thinking. I think I'm better off just reading up on the info instead of viewing what my body is going to go through.

Well, the next couple of weeks should be interesting!

Emotions are Running High

Today has been an emotional day for me. I'm 6 months now and I think the reality of everything is finally hitting me. I am coming to terms with the fact that my life is going to change drastically. It's not that I haven't realized this already. I know all the changes. I guess I just didn't think about all the changes that would affect me now during my pregnancy. I am lonely. I can't go out and do things with my friends like I used to do. I know it may sound stupid, but I don't feel like I'm fun anymore. I don't want to be one of those people who sits at home with her dogs just because she's pregnant, but I don't feel like me anymore. It's a little overwhelming for me.

To resolve this issue, I have decided that I just have to keep busy. That means lots of working out, going home to The Creek, and anything to pre-occupy my mind. I just need to stay busy and it will all pass. Soon I hope.

The Ever Growing Belly, Ladies & Gentlemen

I swear everyday when I wake up my belly continues to grow and grow and grow!!! I get up out of bed and I can literally feel my skin stretching. It is sooo weird. Needless to say I have taken stock in Nivea body lotion and Mama's Toning Oil. I refuse to have bad stretch marks or cellulite as a result of Skeletor. This is my daily mantra and oath to my former body. I will succeed!!!

Skeletor has also been very active in the past week. He has been kicking up a storm and rolling around in there so much. It is the strangest feeling and it is really difficult to describe. When he kicks it feels like a cross between a muscle spasm and popcorn popping. The other night I had my hand on my stomach and all of a sudden it jumped. He kicked the hell out of me! The left side seem to be his favorite. Sometimes when he shifts sides I can feel him roll through. That is the strangest feeling because the front of my abdomen all of sudden gets really tight and then it's normal again. I feel like the zombie chick in Dawn of the Dead right before she gives birth. Hopefully my little zombie doesn't want to eat the delivering doctor's brains.

Sorry to keep it short today, but I have to get moving so I can feel some movement from him tonight!

Have a great day!

Hungry and Tired

So it's been awhile since my last post and I apologize for that. It's been a little hectic since my last post with work and I have been exhausted! I think the excitement of the shower and seeing sister took a lot out of me. Plus work has been crazy. On days I want to leave early, I get really busy. On days I'm hoping to be busy, it's dead. But I'd rather be busy than not.

The baby shower was great! My sister did a good job of organizing it and I really enjoyed seeing family and friends. I got a lot of great stuff too! I got a lot of stuff on my registry and a lot of stuff I wouldn't have even thought about. I had no idea what a Bumba was, but I got one. And I definately won't have to worry about Skeletor being naked either. Plenty of cute outfits to put him in! It pays to have people who have been through babies before. They think of everything! I know I said I would post some pics but there should be some on my facebook page from the shower.

So my appetite has been pretty much at an all time low, but the doctor said I'm where I should be as far as size and weight goes. Nothing sounds appetizing to me. Don't get me wrong...if it's put in front of me I will probably eat it. But cooking is not something I enjoy right now. I think it's because I have no idea what I want to make, and I don't want to go through the process of making it either. I'm just too tired to cook. Man, I wish I had a personal chef right now to do that work for me. Hopefully my energy will come back in the next couple of weeks.

To close out on this blog I have a new revised list of names for Skeletor. Apparently, (according to Auntie Meg) he is already a legend with her soon to be nephews. So I have decided to let you guys in on some of my options. (Side note: Meg DO NOT even think of using these names) My list is as follows:

Beckett, Miles, Finn, Eliott, Sullivan, Elias, Owen, Mason, Dexter, and Abram

(These names are interchangable between being first, middle, or either.)

Input is greatly appreciated although that does not mean I will take it into consideration. Lol!


Have a great week!

Eat Your Fruit and Veggies, Dear

I absolutely love the fact that the Baby Bible refers to your baby's weekly growth by comparing him to a fruit or vegetable. It makes it a little easier to visualize the actual size of your baby. Not to mention it gives produce shopping a whole new meaning. For example, today little Skeletor is making the transistion from cantaloupe to banana (don't ask me how that works exactly, I always thought a cantaloupe was bigger than a banana). So the other day at the grocery store, I caught myself staring at the melon display with a very uneasy look on my face. A cantaloupe is not that small people! It's a rather large fruit, and it's in me right now! I ended up buying bananas, but I doubt I will be eating any this week. Seems a little strange to eat produce that represents the size of your baby.

Once I get past this week, Skeletor will be on two week intervals for his fruit-veggie-comparison. I have included the link for those of you who are interested to see what produce I will be carrying in the future weeks to come. The website is thebump.com and the chart is under pregnancy tools.

Today is the baby shower so I will have plenty to blog about and pics to include, and yes I will make sure there are some baby bump sitings as well. Hope everyone has a great day!!