Kicking

Lily kicks and moves almost constantly now. I can tell she is going to be hyper like Ross because she moves all the time! At first the kicking was always in one general area just under my belly button, now she moves all over the place. Her favorite place to kick is right under my left rib. That one is kinda annoying.
I have been spending loads of time on the computer trying to get my websites to start earning some money, and all that time in a chair really allows me to notice just how much she kicks. Also, all this time in a chair has really made me a lard-butt! I have always had a job that kept me active, and between switching to a desk job and not lifting weights anymore, I have really packed on some extra pounds! I know I am supposed to gain weight, but I have really gone overboard. I have outgrown my maternity clothes even! I don't mind the huge belly, because that is understandable, it is the flabby arms and huge thighs and chunky butt that I have developed that is starting to bother me. I am really going to have my work cut out for me getting my figure back after Lily is born!

Heartburn taking over my life

I have acid reflux so I have dealt with heartburn for a long time, however, I have never had anything remotely close to this! I have been taking Zantac 150 twice a day for a month now and have STILL managed to polish off an industrial size bottle of extra strength Tums. I have to time my day around my Zantac and it still doesn't even always help. I feel like if I open my mouth fire will come out. Tonight I haven't eaten anything because my esophogus hurts so bad. I have already eaten 5 Tums and chugged Malox and I STILL have heartburn!!!! It doesn't matter what I eat either. Today's heartburn has been worse than ever and I haven't eaten anything bad that would usually be the culprit. THIS SUCKS!

Oh and to top it all off.....my beloved fan doesn't work! Does anyone know an electrician in my area that won't rip me off? I have to have someone come fix this stupid thing, I don't want to have to sleep in Lily's room for the next two months!

What a difference!

What I USED to look like, and what I look like now. Tonya hasn't changed a bit!

28 Weeks

My boobs are STILL growing!! I seriously don't know what to do about it! I went shopping the other day and had every worker at Bloomingdales searching through all the bras for the biggest size they could find. and it is still tight. It is so annoying. They hurt and get in the way, and are just plain uncomfortable. The giant boobs are more of a discomfort than the prego belly. This top I am wearing in these pictures is a MATERNITY XL. They say that maternity clothes are supposed to have extra room in the bust, well apparently not enough for this freak of nature! Also, if you will notice in the picture, I no longer have ankles. Earlier this week Ross and I went camping in the Keys and at some point during that trip my ankles disappeared. I now have swollen leg stumps that reach completely to my balloon feet.

87 days to go

To some of you that may sound like it is just around the corner, to me....It sounds like FOREVER! I guess it is because I am now only working 2 days a week and I have no social life, but it seems like the days are ticking by so slowly. There are a few social events coming up in May, and it seems like forever until they get here. I have plenty to do around the house with all of my websites and sewing projects and what not, so I am not bored, I am just having a hard time adjusting to the lack of people in my daily life.
I keep trying to think up things to do, but my bad veins have limited me so much. I can only stand still for about a minute before my leg starts to throb. Not to mention, that they look horrible! I am going to gross you all out and post a picture of them! They are only on one leg, which to me is very strange, but my doctor said that isn't all that odd. She said that my uterus is probably squishing an important vein that feeds that leg. The picture of the one on the inside of my leg, no that is not a bruise, it is a circular cluster of veins.....Strange, but intriguing at the same time. I have been walking for 30 minutes every evening (if anyone wants to join me, Zelda and I would love the company) just to keep from being so lazy. I feel like such a slob sitting down so much.
In that second picture I was trying to show you how my inside-out belly button shows right through my clothes. We have a mirrored wall and I was trying to take the picture that way, but Zelda couldn't stand not having all of my attention long enough to take a good picture!
Oh, and that mirrored wall is a funny thing too. Every now and then when I am around the house I will forget that I am pregnant and that I am so big and walk through that room and scare myself with my reflection. I guess I have gotten used to the way it FEELS to be pregnant, but not used to the way it LOOKS.

WAHOOOO!!!! I got a FAN!!!

I am so happy! For the past 2 nights in a row I have slept with such blissfull sleep because we finally got the fan installed!!! Yah!!! Thanks to our hero Tony who came over and helped Ross install the fan that has been sitting in a box since January! I still wake up hot because I refuse to give up the down comforter, but all I have to do is stick my leg out to the cool beeze and I am comfortable again.
Now, if we could just get the other fan up in my sewing room (converted garage with no A/C......in South Florida!!!!) I will be in heaven.

26 Weeks

I told you I was HUGE!!! I haven't weighed myself lately, but I am sure that I have packed on some serious numbers! My belly has really changed shape too. I used to be huge in one spot, now I am huge all over.
Lily kicks constantly now. I have such a good time just laying on the couch watching my belly jump up and down all by itself. I can already tell that she is going to be alot like Ross.....so full of energy.

I'm HUGE!

I have now begun to outgrow some of my MATERNITY clothes! I am also starting to have some problems. I quit working at the bar because my veins have gotten so bad. Yuck. They are hereditary and my mom had them really bad, so I knew that it was going to happen, just didn't know it would be so painful. At first I was really concerned about the way that they looked, now, I just wish I could spend more than 10 minutes standing without my legs staring to throb. I have put on quite a few pounds and that makes my feet hurt. I have been trying to walk alot to keep up circulation, but then my feet hurt! Double edge sword. I'll get through this for the next three months, I'm just scared that the vein problem will continue after Lily is born. Pray for me that it doesn't.

Decorating

Several people have asked what colors I am decorating Lily's room in. Well, this is a picture of all the fabrics that I have used in the curtains. I call these colors "sherbet colors" but you be the judge. Oh, and YES, I did use ALL of these fabrics together. Her room is very big and the walls are white, so I had an opportunity to be a little loud with the curtains.

24 weeks

Hormones are crazy! I cannot sleep right these days. I know it is the hormones, because Ross is not at all affected, but I wake up in the night sweating! It is so gross. I kick off all the covers and everything, and I am just too hot to sleep. We bought a ceiling fan, but of course we ended up with the most complicated stupid thing on earth and we can't figure out how to install it! The other night I made Ross switch rooms and sleep in Lilly's room on the futon with me because there is a fan in there!
Anyone willing to come over and help us with this stupid fan? or have the number of a handy-man or someone we can hire to install it for us? PLEASE... I really need some sleep!!!

Lillian

My dad sent me this. This is a picture of my Great-Great Grandmother Lillian and her children. This is where we came up with the name for Lilly. She was born in 1863 in England and immigrated with her parents. She became a widow at 36 and lived to be 67. She played organ in the same little church that I was baptised in, and built the family home that my Dad and Aunt's still own today (we lived there for a little while when I was about 4). She died on Christmas Day 1932. Her oldest son (left at the top) is my grandfather's father

23 Weeks

I am 2 pounds away from weighing as much as Ross! I have gained almost 20 pounds. My doctor says that I can gain 35 and still be healthy, so I guess I will be out weighing him soon.
My belly is 40 inches around.
I finally broke down today and bought some maternity clothes. I feel so much better now that I can be comfortable in my clothes. Some of them are actually kinda cute. I should have done this weeks ago.

Changes.... not just my body

Sorry, but I am going to have to have a little rant here. All these pregnancy changes thus far have been pretty novel and exciting, until recently when I am starting to see some negatives. The biggest one is the work issue. I know I shouldn't be stressing because that is really bad for the baby, but it is hard to help. Joe Udell (the GM) won't let me work on the weekend nights anymore, so I am really pissed. Discrimination, I know, but there is nothing that I can do about it. The bar has less than 50 employees so they don't have to abide by the same laws as most employers. I could sue, but that really isn't feasible because the cost of lawyers wouldn't be worth it. I am really pissed because physically, I am perfectly able to do that job. I haven't been in any kind of trouble, missed any shifts or done anything wrong. The only change is the way that I look. And now, I am not allowed to work. I have worked every Friday night since working at O'Malley's and feel that I have built a really strong clientele, and now I am only allowed to work weeknights!
I guess I should have started using my degree years ago instead of remaining in the bar scene! So, ultimately, I guess it is my fault.
Sorry this picture is so bad. As you can see, I took it myself in the mirror and I really should have smiled, but I thought maybe it was time to put a picture of me from the front.

Baby countdown

Thanks Christy Hodge!

For once in my life I am not at all excited about buying new clothes! I really don't like maternity clothes, but I am now getting to the point where I am going to have to buy some. Then....Ross brings home a huge shopping bag full of maternity clothes! Thanks Christy Hodge!
For those out of towners, Christy works at Shenanigans with Ross and recently had a baby girl. Perfect timing!
Have I told you all about my belly button yet?
Well, I was sure that I would have some suprises along the way, but this one is really freaking me out. My belly button is turning inside out! I have always had an innie, but now my belly button is on the verge of becoming and outie! It kinda hurts too. None of the books said anything about this and it is so gross. I am tempted to put a picture up just for the car accident effect. You know, you don't wanna look but you can't help it.

latest Sonigram pics

latest sonigram pictures. I can never tell anything from these pictures, but when you see it being done live, you can see so much. She moves and kicks and it is so cute. The doctor says that she weights 14 ounces. She is almost up to a pint!
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that last week I started to feel her moving around. At first it sort of felt like gas, but it is a little different. Sometimes she moves a bunch and sometimes I don't feel it for hours. I am hoping that is an indicator that she really likes to sleep. I think she is going to be a night owl though, because she never kicks in the morning and almost always starts moving around a bunch after midnight.

Starting to look pregnant

WEEK 20
I am finally starting to look pregnant. I know it sounds weird, but although I am much bigger around the middle, I don't feel nearly as fat! Up until the last few weeks I have felt really fat because I didn't really look pregnant, I just looked bigger. Does that make any sense?
As you can see from the picture, my belly has finally caught up to my boobs!
Of course now that people can see that I am pregnant, I have been encountering a few new things. The biggie..... people rubbing my belly as if a Genie were going to come out or something. People, please don't do this to pregnant women! Spread the word, tell all your friends. Just because it is a baby in there and we all love to touch cute little babies, it is still my stomach for now and that is just plain weird.
Another strange phenomena is people's questions. I love this one..."So who's is it?" I have gotten that one twice this week! I am thinking... if you don't know me well enough to know Ross, or at least know that I am married, what makes you know me well enough to ask me who I have been sleeping with? Kinda strange huh?
Or.... the other strange compulsion is that people tell you about past miscarriages that they have had or their friends have had. Do people really think that a miscarriage is what a 5 month pregnant woman would want to know about? I mean really!!!!!

Whose feet are these?

Week 18

Yesterday, as Ross and I were discussing the tile in our new place, I noticed that I am wearing someone else's feet! I have read about swelling, and how it is likely to happen, but I would have never expected my feet to look so funny. I don't really feel them getting big, and my shoes still fit, but they no longer look like the feet I am used to. and when you push on them you can tell they are swollen.
Also, Lilly has given me achne! Not that I ever had the clearest skin in the world, but I have never had achne like this. Hopefully my having zits now will prevent her from having a tomented teenage achne problem.

February 13 - Week 17

Week 17
It has been almost a month since I included a belly shot and I feel as though my belly has gotten really huge! Although I wonder if it will ever outgrow my boobs! In the last two weeks my belly has expanded an inch and I am down to only one pair of jeans that I can still fit in. And unfortunately the weather isn't playing along with my plan to only wear stretchy shorts and skirts. It is so cold and I have to keep doing laundry over and over because I don't want to buy anything new that I will only be able to wear for a couple of weeks. I am not yet big enough to wear maternity clothes, so I am kinda stuck in an in-between stage.

We're expecting a GIRL!

Sorry I haven't added anything in awhile. Today I finally got internet service at the new house. Also today we found out that our baby is a girl! At this morning's doctor visit the nurses snuck me in for an extra sonogram 3 weeks early just to see if we could determine the sex. I know now why they make these people spend so much time in school because I couldn't tell one way or the other. But apparently, it is pretty obvious to them. These pictures aren't nearly as cool as seeing it in real life. She moves and kicks and opens and closes her mouth. Strange thing that I can't feel it. The picture on the left you can see she looks like skelator, and the picture on the right was just a really cute shot of her feet! I am so excited to see that things are coming along fine. The other sonogram just looked like a pea, now we can tell there really IS a baby inside me. I have been a little worried because I have only gained 7 pounds and one extra inch around my belly. I keep reading that I will be feeling her moving soon too, but I haven't. I feel a lot of peace now after seeing this sonogram.
Oh, and we are definite on the name now.....Lillian Claire
My great great grandma was named Lillian, and we just liked Claire. We'll call her Lilly.
That is of course as long as she really IS a girl. My dad said that all the nurses and doctors were sure that my brother David was a girl too until he came out....SUPRISE!