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!

10 days since my last tummy picture

Thought I should add another tummy shot. Feels to me like it is growing, but can't really tell much in a photo.

Good news! The house closing is looking like it will be on time and within the next few hours Ross and I will be HOMEOWNERS!!!

If ya'll wanna come help Ross with the moving, he would love it. We are renting a truck on Friday.

Another cool thing is that Brandi has decided that she wants to stay here at the mold spot. This will work out great for us AND her. We don't have to break our lease and worry about the landlord suing us, and Brandi gets a new pad without having to pay a security deposit! She will have to knock down the walls in the bathroom and re-drywall because of the mold, but she is convinced that she can convince a few folks to help her.

At our last doctor visit we got to listen to the heartbeat. It took awhile for the lady to find it with the machine so she said that she thinks the baby will be a girl. She said that all the babies who are hard to find are girls :) I am still having the feeling that it is a boy. I can't explain why, but it is just a feeling that I have.

I am in Week 13 now, and the books say that the baby will grow more this month than any other month. So, I will be making sure to be using lots of that belly oil that Sam got me! Some say that oils and such to prevent stretchmarks are a myth, but just in case, I'll be using it everyday!

Ross and I have been tossing around ideas for names, but we can't think of much. So far, I like Lillian. My great great aunt is named Lillian and I like the name Lilly, but I can't think of a middle name that would go with it. I love the name Malachy for a boy, but everyone that I mention it to says it reminds them of 'Children of the Corn'. I don't watch horror films, so I didn't think of that.

Any suggestions?

Health Insurance SUCKS

The United States is really screwed up when it comes to health care issues! I never had to worry before because I am a relatively healthy person with no medical problems. Well, aparently being pregnant is "high risk" and no insurance company will take me! The state insurance commission has something called a risk pool that is supposed to lump all the high risk people together, but aparently that doesn't apply to me either!
My advice to you all, if you don't already have health insurance, get it now before you get any kind of sickness!
If any of you have any ideas for me to get insured PLEASE let me know!!!

My first BLOG ever!

1st pic (yellow tank top)= me on my 30th birthday, 6 weeks.
2nd pic (white tank top)= Dec 23, 9 weeks
3rd pic (white T)= today, 12 weeks. As you can see, I no longer have the ab definition thanks to my "protective layer" of fat.
and of course, this pic to the left is the baby the day after my 30th (6 weeks)

Jasmin inspired me with her belly watch site. People are always asking me how I'm feeling or am I getting sick, now I will refer them here. Plus, I think that this may be good because none of my family (besides Brandi) is around close by.
As of today, I am 80 days (12 weeks) pregnant. I don't know how much weight I have gained because I am one of those people who refuses to own a scale. I used to weigh myself at the gym, but it has been about 10 weeks since I have been there! I definitely have put on some pounds though most of them are in my boobs. I have gone up 2 whole bra sizes and am now at the point where I am worried that I will have to special order a bra to fit. I have built a nice layer of "protective cushioning" fat around the middle for the baby. I can still wear all of my pants, although it won't be long before I will have to retire most of them.
I was getting nausea for a couple hours a day, but that has diminished to only a couple of times a week for an hour or so.
I have had some cravings, but right now I have the opposite of cravings. Things I usually love are now gross to me. Pizza, cheese, Chinese food!! Last night I thought I wanted Shrimp and by the time I went to all the trouble to get shrimp, I ate one and was no longer interested. Throughout this whole thing I have only made Ross run out a couple of times, once for Tang way back in the beginning, that I still drink almost daily. He has gone on two or three trips for popsicles. Not just any popsicle though, they have to be the Minute Maid ones that are triangle with no stick (sticks make me sick!!??!!). And this week I had to bribe him to go get me Coffee ice cream, which I ate the whole 1/2 gallon in 2 days!