Annoying Symptom & Goal Update

Let me first say that this pregnancy has been a breeze so far physically. Fatigue, but I love sleeping so it doesn't bother me. Mild nausea, but it was just reassurance that baby was healthy. Aches and pains, but I have a fairly high pain tolerance. The one thing that really annoys me though is the restless legs, or more accurately tonight, restless leg. Just one. The right one. The rest of my body was laying peacefully, but Righty here decides it's time to party. Since I'm now up and about, I figured I'd blog a little update.

Pregnancy: A-ok. All is going fine. Might have a UTI, but we're waiting for the culture to come back from the lab to make sure before starting any meds. I'm allergic to everything on the safe for pregnancy list except 2 very strong drugs, so my doctors have decided to wait for the lab. Those results will probably be in by my appointment on Thursday afternoon. I also have my next ultrasound on Thursday. Here's praying for a strong cervix!

Goals: Yes, I have an update! (Sorry Dawn, it's not a letter)

I've finally gotten back into reading! I just finished another Ellis Peters Brother Cadfael novel, The Summer of the Danes. Perhaps one of the best in the series! I stayed up later than normal finishing this, and then I was still awake a bit so I started my next book: Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, by Gergory Maguire. I'm skeptical on this one as I read Wicked years ago and hated it. At first it was fine, but by the end I wanted to tear the book apart to punish it for wasting my time on crap. Hopefully, this will be different. So far it is, but I'm only about 30 pages in. Unlike Wiked, I find myself not wrapped up in how this story relates to the story it's been spun off of. Here's hoping it doesn't dissapoint since I've got Mirror, Mirror sitting by the bed as well!

I've also started to cut fabric for Marc's quilt. Not much more I can say on that since it's a surprise as to what it looks like.

Kickin' It Team Blue Style

I don't think I made the announcement quite clear before, but yes we are expecting a beautiful baby boy! I honestly didn't care whether Sprout (now called Wee Man) was a boy or a girl, but knowing that he's a boy just feels "right." When I've pictured myself with a child, it's always been a boy. I guess it's just my subconscious letting me know I'm a boy mom type.

Things are going great per medical standards, even though I'm still terrified about keeping Wee Man in long enough. I know the cerclage is working. The progesterone is working. Acupuncture is working. All of these things are working to keep him in place for the duration, but I guess a mommy with a loss will always worry. And really, isn't worrying what moms do best? A couple stats here to keep track of just how well things are going:

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  Heart rate: originally 170, currently 160.
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  Cervix length: 3 days prior to cerclage 4.4cm, as of last Wednesday 3.88cm
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  Weight gain: somewhere between 3 to 5 lbs depending on the day

And now for even more exciting news - I definitely am feeling Wee Man kick! It's such a strange feeling, but I love it. Pretty much every day since Saturday (ok, so only 3 days so far) he's been thumping around in there. I've kindly asked him to not kick down so much for fear of him hitting the Cervix of Doom, but just like his mommy and daddy he's stubborn. Already so much personality!

Now the Great Name Debate begins. It's amazing how difficult it is to pick a name when you're definitely going to need it. Nothing seems good enough for my little boy! This doesn't  bode well for future girlfriends. If I can't settle on a name that is good enough, there will never be a girl good enough for my Wee Man!

One Year, One Day and One New Baby on the Way

In case you didn't know, yesterday was Wally and Liz's birthday/angelversary. The past few weeks were a little rocky emotionally, but like all special days the anticipation was worse than the event. I'm surprised at how well it went. I talked to them some, but I normally do that anyway. I did shed some tears, but not nearly as many as I had expected.

I know that they were meant to be angels. I know that they are watching over their mommy and daddy. I know they are watching over their little brother. The Wee Man is such a lucky kid to have them as gaurdians! And look below (nose and lips are pointing upwards) - Wee Man is just as cute as they are!

Old Wives Tales and Chinese Gender Charts *UPDATED*

So this afternoon is our big anatomy ultrasound. According to the poll, we're having a girl (by the way, thanks to Leslie who chose "stubborn child" - I think that's what we'll have too!). For kicks, I've decided to list 15 old wives tales' and chinese gender charts' predictions. Enjoy, and be sure to check back tomorrow (might be later tonight, but I'm not promising anything) for the big news!

Chinese Charts

Here we have my "chinese age" as 31 (dude! I'm only 30! wait...did I just say "dude"?), conception month is February. Result: GIRL

Here my chinese age is 31 again. Result: BOY

Here my chinese age is 32. Result: GIRL

Old Wives Tails

Here we have a quiz. Result: 60% chance GIRL, 40% chance BOY

Here is a list. I'm listing it as "topic (my answer): RESULT"

• Heart Rate (170): GIRL
• Weight Gain of Father (none, loss actually): BOY
• Weight Gain of Mother (what little is in the front): BOY
• Cravings (protein/meat, savory things): BOY
• Color of urine (bright): BOY
• Mom's Appearance: (same as before): BOY

Ring test. Result: BOY GIRL BOY GIRL. I guess we'll call that a 50/50 chance? Seems the most accurate to me!

FINAL RESULT: 9 for the boys, 6 for the girls. BOY

Stay tuned for the real result!

.          .          .

We have a very healthy, all-parts-there-and-perfect, bouncing baby BOY!

Look Who's Growing a Belly

Ok, ok. I already had a belly of blubber, but now there's a baby in there and pushing all the blubber out! In the picture, I'm actually sucking it in as much as possible. I'm gonna be huge, and I'm loving every minute of it!

One week until the anatomy scan. Vote on the poll, and keep the prayers and good vibes coming for a continuing healthy pregnancy and cervix-of-steel!

Random Update

I feel like I haven't been giving very good updates lately, so here's an attempt while I have a little brain power left at the end of the work day.

Cerclage
All is fine on that front now. I had a bit of a freak out the day after it was done. I had more bleeding than right after it was placed the day before, so that was quite disconcerting. I realized though that it was just because I had had a huge gas bubble that had finally moved and when it moved, it pushed on things and I did feel a lot of pulling in the cerclage area. The bleeding quickly changed to spotting, which in turn changed to nothing within 24 hours. I feel more secure with the cerclage, but I'm honestly still freaking out about every little thing. I know that's par for the course after a loss, but sheesh! I can't wait until next Monday when I can get back in for acupuncture. I've missed it two weeks in a row now, and I'm definitely feeling a negative difference.

Other Pregnancy Stuff
My mom rocks. She came over Saturday and on her way to my place, she stopped at JCPenny and bought me a bunch of maternity clothes that fit and were *gasp* NOT black and white. I have to for the most part wear plus size tops thanks to the boob gods for these knockers. As much as some women yearn for big ones, I'm so done with them! I swear finding work appropriate maternity tops that are not a) black, white or a combination thereof or b) ridiculously hideous is close to impossible. I've tried Old Navy, Gap, JCPenny, Nordstrom, Motherhood, etc. It's not that they don't have some nice looking plus size stuff, but most of it is not at all appropriate for me to wear to work. The conservative finance industry does not generally embrace knit anything. Where, oh where, are the plus size plain blouses??? If anyone knows, please clue me in!

In more exciting pregnancy news, I felt Sprout move once. Just the once, and the only reason I felt him/her is because he/she balled him/herself up on the right side underneath my belly button and pushed up until I felt like a new belly button would be made for me. Then Sprout did a somersault. That was pretty cool feeling - weird, but cool.

Also, anatomy/gender scan is coming up on the 16th. That will be a fun day! Any guesses?

Non-pregnancy stuff
I have a sudden urge to read some russian literature. I don't know why. I haven't felt like reading jack in months, but whatever. I'll find something at home. I think I have two or three books in that genre to choose from.

I also have a sudden urge to be very, very crafty, but I also have a very, very strong laziness gene. I think I really just want to go shopping and buy new supplies for new projects while leaving the others to gather dust. I won't do that though. Must. Finish. Quilt. For. Marc. Or, if I'm being honest, I must start it first!

Other than that, life is pretty much the same 'ol. same 'ol.