Pregnancy Update

So I've had a couple of people ask how the pregnancy is going. Let me start by saying that everything with the baby has been fine. It has a nice strong heart rate and I've actually felt it move a couple of times. And that's what matters.

Unfortunately though, the pregnancy has been less than stellar. And by that I mean it sucks. I know, you're not supposed to say that, right? But it's true. Now do I think it's worth it? Of course I do. But it's been rough.

Tomorrow I will be 17 weeks and the whole morning sickness thing is just not going away. In fact, the last couple of weeks have been the worst. This last Thursday I actually had to go to Urgent Care to get IV fluids and a shot to help with the vomiting. The IV was kind of a nightmare because I was so dehydrated that it took them 4 tries to actually get the IV line in.

I totally realize that it could be worse--I have a friend who was on at home IV's through her 7th month with both of her kids. So I'm grateful that it's not that bad, and I am lucky because I do have good days peppered in.

I know that the second I get to hold this precious little baby in my arms, all of this will seem completely inconsequential. However, it is a long time until November :-)

Ryan's Baby Shower

This was actually the second baby shower for Ryan, but it was the one I actually knew something about! My friend Susan organized the whole thing and it was perfect. Four of my friends from California came down and it was great to get to spend some time with them.

I've always said that I am truly blessed with the friends that I have. Over the years we have all made many treks to attend each others significant life events--bridal showers, weddings, baby showers, you name it. I feel really lucky to have such wonderful people in my life.

Bryan played the part of Host while everyone was here, getting up and cooking us huge, delicious breakfasts, grilling incredible dinners and generally putting up with the estrogen increase when there were suddenly 7 women in the house (my mom and Christine's baby were here, too).

Overall it was a great time. But I do have to say that I really miss all of my California girls...

Pregnancy + Kidney Stones = A Bad Combination (or "Why I am no longer afraid of labor")

What a weekend. First off, I had a house full of my friends from California here over the weekend for my baby shower which was awesome (more on that later).

Monday morning I left the house to drop Christine off at the airport on my way to work. Right after we left I started getting intermittent pains in my back. After a few minutes they were every time I took a deep breath. I knew I wasn't in labor but I knew something was wrong so I called and left a message at my doctor's office. By the time we got to the airport the back pain was constant, and even though I felt like I had to go to the bathroom worse than I ever had in my whole life (a common feeling when you're pregnant) trying to do so was ineffective (sorry if that's TMI). Anyway, I figured I'd go ahead and stop by my office and let them know I wasn't feeling great and that I was going to go to the doctor and see what was going on. A couple miles from my office I was in excruciating pain and turned around to go back toward home.

Bryan met me at my doctor's office, but they were completely unhelpful and sent us off to the hospital. Without going into all of the details, I ended up passing a stone, and I have three other ones just hanging out in my kidney. We're hoping they won't do anything until after Ryan comes so we can just deal with them at that point. I ended up spending two days in the hospital, but I got tons of rest and since it was the same hospital where I'm having Ryan, it made me realize we definitely made the right choice. The nurses were absolutely wonderful, and because I was on the maternity floor, they were able to monitor Ryan throughout and make sure all was well with him, which was a huge comfort.

Pretty much everyone I've talked to has said that passing a kidney stone is much worse than giving birth to a child. It was definitely the most horrible pain I have ever experienced, and I can honestly say that I'm no longer afraid to have Ryan. I guess that's my little silver lining....

Crazy Dream

Last night I dreamt that Ryan was born 3 weeks early...but he weighed 12 pounds, 4 ounces!

I think I'm freaking out because I am so BIG! Two different people at church on Sunday made comments along the lines of "any day now, right?" Um no, I wish. Six more weeks, people, six more weeks.

Keep your fingers crossed that he comes early. If I have to go until July 15 I think I will lose my mind...

Baby Ryan's First Polar Bear

Sometimes my mom hits the nail right on the head. Our desire to have a polar bear themed nursery had to be modified because in my months and months of searching for bedding, fabric, etc., I found nothing. So we went with light blue and dark blue bedding, and figured we'd just find cute polar bear stuff to use as accents. Well my mom found this rocking polar bear and it is seriously the cutest thing I have ever seen! Bryan and I decided to name him Franklin.

Ryan's First Pictures

At our last doctor's appointment Ryan was finally facing the right direction to get some 3-D photos. He looks a little squashed, but I was still amazed by the detail. He gets his nose from my side of the family, and he definitely has the Colby forehead. I can't wait until we get to see him in person!

The Joy of Having Talented Friends

As most people know, I am obsessed with pictures, so I definitely wanted to have some pregnancy photos taken. What I didn't count on was that my friend Sharla, an amazing amateur photographer in the making, would be able to take these fabulous photos during one of her trips out to Arizona.

These pictures were taken when I was 28 weeks and 6 days pregnant.

Thanks, Shar, for capturing these priceless memories!

More Thoughts on Pregnancy

I know, I know, all I ever post about these days is pregnancy-related. But what can I say--it's the ruling force in my life right now.

This week, for the first time, I am really, really excited for Ryan to get here. I have been so consumed with other feelings--nausea, worry, anxiety, fear (mostly of the pain of labor), etc. that I just haven't been super excited. There have been moments, like every time I get to hear his heartbeat or see him moving around during an ultrasound, but it hasn't been an overwhelming excitement like it is now.

I think a lot of it is that I'm realizing that I have more control over the changes coming in my life than I previously thought. No, I won't be able to determine his disposition, but my attitude will definitely influence that. I might not be able to have the house perfectly cleaned, the laundry done and dinner on the table at 6:00 p.m. every single day, but that's OK. I think there is so much societal pressure to be a "good Mom" (whatever that is) and if you focus on that, you'll miss a lot. I don't want to wake up one day with a grown up son wondering where the time went and regretting all the time I spent scrubbing floors instead of playing with him at the park or reading him books or whatever.

I guess I'm starting to become a little more realistic about the things that are coming my way. And in all reality, I wouldn't change a thing. I realize that in this day and age a lot of people can't stay home with their kids. I feel so blessed that I can.

Baby Ryan Update

So apparently my child is huge.

I went in this morning for a regular appointment and an ultrasound to check his growth progression. I was a little nervous since I haven't gained any weight in almost three weeks, but I do appear to be growing so I knew it'd probably be fine.

Anyway, as of today I am 28 weeks and 3 days along with a due date of July 15. However Ryan is measuring for a due date of June 30, and my uterus is measuring at 30 weeks. Oy vey. So we go back in two weeks for another ultrasound. It may be that he just had a growth spurt which could throw off the numbers. If not, and he's continuing to grow at the same rate, they'll move my due date back.

There are definite benefits to that, namely not having to be pregnant as long. But I really wanted to have 4 weeks off of work before his arrival, and I really, really want him to be a July baby.

Stay tuned...

So Much to Do...

So the countdown is on...Baby Ryan's scheduled debut is in 13 1/2 weeks (though I think he'll come a week early because he loves his Mama). Between now and then we have a ridiculous amount of stuff to get done, specifically finishing the nursery. I really didn't think it would be such a long process (note: ALL home improvement projects are a long process) but it's a challenge when Bryan and I both work all day and have a ton of other committments. I know we'll get it done in time, but when I walk in there and see a concrete floor and white walls it seems a little much. Especially right now, because I'm back to wanting to sleep as much as possible. I'd rather sleep than do just about anything else. Not that that matters a whole lot in terms of the nursery because in all reality, Bryan is the one doing the work. Pulling up carpet, ripping out baseboards, getting everything ready to paint...it's all him.

When I first got pregnant 40 weeks seemed like forever. Now I'm glad we have that much time to get ready!

Childbirth vs. the Dentist

Many of you know I have an extreme fear of childbirth. Not the usual, “man, that’s really gonna hurt” kind of fear, but rather the “if I think or talk about it too much I will cry” kind of fear. Not a good thing considering my current condition.

I have also always hated going to the dentist. A combination of many bad dental experiences, the whirr of the drill, the pain at the injection sites of the numerous Novocain injections once said Novocain wears off…you get the idea.

Well today I had one of those lovely trips to the dentist. The dentist was really good, and a super nice guy. I had to have 4 fillings replaced. He knew that I don’t numb well so we started with 5 separate Novocain shots which we both thought would do the trick. It did, until he hit a nerve. Fun stuff. I got another shot and we ended up leaving a part of one of the old fillings in. Of course this was all after my heart was racing so badly following the initial shots that he left me to just relax for a few minutes after he took my pulse.

All of this leads me to wonder, which will be worse—childbirth or the dentist? I remember when I was about 10 or so, my mom had this horrible infection from a tooth and she had to get all of this work done and said it was definitely worse than childbirth.

So all of this gives me hope that I’ll make it through just fine. And you know, they don’t give you a cute little baby boy to take home after you go to the dentist…

There's Definitely a Baby in There!

Sorry I have been MIA and gone so long without a post. I've had some requests for prego pictures, so I'm finally obliging! My best friend Christine was here a couple of weeks ago for a quick visit and these were taken while she, her husband Gregg and her adorable new baby girl Kylee were here.

I can't believe how quickly the time is going. I am currently in my 23rd week--more than halfway there! Some of you know we had a few weeks of worrying about whether Baby Ryan had Down's Syndrome, but come to find out my doctor had given us completely false information and we had basically worried for nothing. Ugh. The good part though was that we got to see a wonderful specialist and have a very detailed ultrasound that showed how perfectly all of his little body parts are developing--his hands, feet, heart, brain, kidneys, the whole nine yards.

So for now I'm enjoying the processs and eagerly anticipating the arrival of Ryan in July.

Yay for babies!

Pregnancy Myths

One thing that I have found to be true about pregnancy is that it is truly different for every woman. Some women love being pregnant and have an amazing experience. And then there are the rest of us.

One other thing I’ve found is that pregnancy is full of myths. Here are a just a few:

Myth: You will have clear, beautiful skin during pregnancy.
Reality: Your chin will break out worse than anything you ever imagined possible, requiring you to purchase a variety of new cleansing products as well as full coverage foundation. These things aren’t particularly effective, but at least they make you feel like you’re doing something to address the problem.

Myth: Once you hit your 2nd trimester, you will regain your energy and feel fabulous.
Reality: While you may no longer feel like you’re going to toss your cookies from the time you get up until the time you go to bed, you are far from feeling fabulous. 8:00 is still your preferred bedtime and you continue to make as few commitments in the evenings as possible so you can make that bedtime a reality at least on occasion.

Myth: Shopping for baby stuff is fun.
Reality: If you consider spending hours researching products in books, on websites and on message boards fun, then I suppose this isn’t a myth. However when considering large purchases like a crib, car seat/travel system, etc., you become keenly aware that the wrong decision will not only lead to wasted money, but quite possibly the death of your child through some freak, 1 in a billion accident. Someone has to be that 1, right??

Don’t get me wrong—I am absolutely elated for the baby to get here. I just wish I could skip the whole pregnancy part with the same end result…

Oh yeah, and pictures will be coming soon.