GTT

Glucose Torture Time

Naw, it wasn't that bad.

I had my glucose tolerance test today. It was hard to motivate myself to do it because it was just a walk-in instead of an appointment. All I knew was I had to do it before I leave town for Christmas so I was running out of days to procrastinate.

When I was pregnant with Griffin it was a 1 hour 2 fnger prick test.

Apparently here in WA they are a bit glucose phobic.

It was a 2 hour, 3 arm vein pricks, 5 vile of blood kinda test. Except we were there for 3 hours because of the no appointment thing. Sounds worse than it was. It would have been super relaxing since they room you wait in has recliners and an abundance of fun old magazines. They even had comfy throw blankets in there.

That is unless you are taking a 2 year old with you. BUT he was really good. He had his token temper tantrum at the beginning then was so good and watched Finding Nemo, had a boat load of food healthy snack, and played with his stroller for a while. Got a tad restless during the end but who can blame the guy. It actually went by pretty quickly.

Could have done without him slamming his little body into me as I had a giant needle sticking into my arm though. Bully.

We shall see what the results are soon! I have to say with all the running and vegetable eating I have done this pregnancy if I have gestational diabetes I may just give up all hope.

Poor Andrew got a little bit of the bitchiness thrown at him this morning. I got ridiculously mad at him for saying he wanted to eat breakfast before putting lotion on my itchy back. "Sure, you have your breakfast! I'll just starve until noon today all the while getting the lifeblood sucked out of me! With an itchy back...but please...eat your cereal." Yeah, I see the ridiculousness of it. Sorry, babe. He truly is the BEST HUSBAND EVER! I always  feel so lame after I get upset with him because I know it was all in my head. He rarely does anything to warrant me getting upset. I'll be playing the hormone card on that one.

I seriously cannot complain because if discomfort/pain means I am growing my sweet daughter I will take it times 100! Totally friggin' worth it! One step closer to seeing her sweet face!

6.5 months, little girl! She did good this weekend though. I ran 7 miles with Shelly and she didn't even smush my bladder all that much!

Innocent Confusion

I asked Griffin where Baby Elliot was.

He lifted up his shirt and pointed to his tummy.

I think he is in for a big surprise come March!

I'm so curious to see how he reacts to getting his very own baby. Can't wait!

I lifted up my shirt and pointed to my tummy and said, "Here is baby Elliot." He shook his head and poited to the cookie he was holding. In other words, "That ain't no baby, mama. That is you eating one too many of these bad boys!"

Ouch.

E. Coco, Jetsetter

I am totally not doing anything during naptime right now. I switched Griff's clothes to his new dresser and put up E's adorable PINK and TINY clothes and now I am sitting here feeling guilty for not doing the second coat of hot pink paint on the laundry room ceiling.

Yeah.

That's right.

I blame that decorating job on the hormones and whatnot. It's in the dungeon downstairs so I don't think it really matters...but I'm already second guessing that decision. Not enoug to change it...but enough to say, "maybe that's not the best choice." and move on to doing nothing.

Anyway!

I just was sitting here pondering things. Griff and I are going back to TN/KY/GA after Christmas for one last pre-Elliot trip home and I realized that before this little nugget is born she will have been on (gasp) 18 airplanes. 18! Seriously! I think the trip home in January will be me calling it quits since having a 2 year old climb/sleep/kick/carrying through airports when the stroller doesn't cut it and it's getting a bit more difficult the larger I become.

18! She will be born with a little pilot hat on.

She is quite the wiggle work in there. She isn't head down yet and I swear she is like her mama and completely changes position a GAZILLION times a day. I can't sit still either so I understand. But it is different than the Griff. He kicked and stretched (oh lordy did he stretch) a lot but his kicks were usually in the same general area.

Ellie Coco was kicking as far to my left side as possible when I went to bed last night. Like creepy almost on my back kicks that made me all queasy as to where my uterus has floated to. Then when I woke up this morning she was back at my right upper rib cage. I'm not sure if even a miracle blanket will keep this little tiger in her cage. We shall see!

Anyway, I literally have nothing to report but wanted to avoid getting off the couch to do something productive. Mission accomplished! Can't wait to meet my little girl for goodness sake!

6 Months!

I hit the 6 month mark! I am so ready to meet this little girl!! She is getting more and more active in there. She is doing some type of Zumba as I'm typing right now. It's so fun to watch my stomach move and jolt around. She gave all the family members a good kick over Thanksgiving break too just to say hi.

I should take my pictures in the morning...I look a tad tired in this one. Mr. Griff has had a bit of a grumpy day trying to get used to the Pacific time zone again I think.

I have an appointment tomorrow to check up on things like *gulp* my weight. I'm slightly concerned that it has increased WAY too much being that I was out of town for almost 3 weeks which involved a LOT of eating out, Disney World, Thanksgiving, and a lot less running than I have been doing. According to my scale though I'm right at a total weight gain of 10 pounds which is still 3 under the recommended amount....we'll see how accurate our scale is (crossing fingers that it is!). I've been 3 under the whole time thanks to the projectile vomiting that occurred quite a bit during the first 16 weeks. NOT worth it. I would rather weigh a ton right now but it is what it is!

And here's the shot that Andrew took tonight:

Andrew has a had time paying attention to my bump seeing as his eyes won't move below my huge bazungas but that's alright. He'll be disappointed again when I'm done being preggo and stop nursing and they vanish back in to nothing. I'll let him have his fun while he can.

Her room is getting more and more pink! I stole a TON of pink clothes and fun stuff from Courtney's house when I was in town and I'm SO excited about all the cute clothes!!! I'll finish up the nursery eventually and put some pictures up. I'm just ready for her to be in it!

Elliot's First Race!

Elliot and I ran a 4 mile turkey trot in Murfreesboro on Thanksgiving with Andrew and Matt that actually was raising money for orphans in Africa.

We had PERFECT weather and I didn't have to stop and pee once! It was a success!

My hat blew off in the home stretch but I get a high off of passing people so I didn't stop to get it. We had to hunt it down but luckily found it eventually.

They didn't start the timing chip when you cross the start line so it didn't count for the time that it took to get through the crowd and across the start but my time was 36 minutes so it was probably closer to 34 and some change. That's what I'm telling myself. I got 7th in my age group of 41 women so that tells me that these unpregnant women need to hit the track more...

I actually got some slack from Matt about my slow times lately (uh...hello..I have over a pound of baby and baby making things bouncing on my bladder, buddy!) hehe...kidding. So, in an act of sleepy slap happiness I had Katie go into their room and switch his timing chip for mine. He heard us laughing and she ended up telling him but we kept it that way for fun. So technically Kat Spottswood won 3rd in her age group...I didn't stay for the trophies...oops. Oh well!

So, Elliot had fun during the race then enjoyed some yummy Thanksgiving food later on. Here is an unflattering picture to document the moment:

Stress...and....Praise....and some nursery pics for fun!

Long story---stressful day---have to vent. Long story short: Elliot looks just fine and her kidneys are dilated less than 4mm (barely) but enough to where the perinatologist is not worried and (thankfully!) doesn't need to follow up with me anymore. The end. And for some pink, here are some work in progress nursery pics:

 Got this dress before we started trying to get pregnant with Griffin back in San Diego with my mom. I can't wait to put in on Elliot!!!

 Formerly gold picture frame that I painted white and am going to put pics of her once she is out in the open. I put my fave u/s pic in the middle of her sucking her thumb.

Ya know...gotta have a big E, feather, and pink bird, right? 

My work in progress branches (Iooks better in person...). I found a bunch in the yard and have been progressively adding pink and frilly things to it. Andrew helped me hang it above the bed but it has changed even since this picture was taken. So, I'm sure it will morph into perfection by the time she makes her appearance.

Gotta slap some pink paint on those walls...
Now for the long and venty version:

Luckily my amazing husband decided to work from home for a little bit this morning so I could get a good long run in without the jogging stroller in hopes to calm me down for my appointment. Thanks, my love!

I had my perinatologist appointment and level 2 ultrasound to check out the Coco's kidney situation.

I have been getting increasingly stressed since they told us this last Wed. so i'm SO glad they got me in today instead of later in the week. I couldn't sleep last night and ended up just watching TV then crawling in bed with Griffin for some cuddles when he woke up waaaaay too early.

I get to the appointment and the first thing they do is send me back to talk with a genetic counselor (Andrew couldn't come with me). I don't know why they did that first but they did and I turned in to a giant stress ball and started thinking all sorts of crazy thoughts. She talked a lot about Down Syndrome, Trisomy 18, etc. Then she started talking about doing an amniocentesis TODAY and how there is a risk of miscarriage with the amnio. I just couldn't imagine doing it if there is even the slightest risk of that happening. But, anyway she just kept asking if I wanted to do that or the quad screen and blah blah, meanwhile...Andrew wasn't there so I was slightly majorly getting increasingly stressed.

So, after talking to this lady for a while I texted Andrew about the amnio because I just figured I should get his opinion even though I was 99% sure I didn't want it. It wouldn't change anything about our pregnancy except being prepared if we knew something was up. I also didn't want to lose my mind thinking about the what-if's if I could know for sure and be preparing. So, after I texted him they sent me to the ultrasound room which apparently is in a dungeon because I had no reception for 2 hours. Meanwhile Andrew was at home getting more and more worried and thinking about getting a neighbor to watch Griff so he could come meet me and I had no way of getting in touch with him. I felt so bad when I finally talked to him. No fun.

Anyway, the lady comes in to do the ultrasound and looks at EVERYTHING and makes sure it looks good. The last thing she looks at are the kidneys because E was positioned in a way that made it hard to see them. Agh. So they are measuring at 3.5 and 3.2. Phew! We did get some really cute profile shots of my little lady and she is so cute! She has her hands up by her face all the time and was snuggling with the umbilical cord. I will get her a blankie. Hopefully she won't get too attached to the cord and end up asking the doc to cut her a piece so she can sleep with it. The other babies may make fun of her.

At the end she did some 4D and it was so fun! I never had that with Griff and it is so cute to see her like that. It was hard to see her face though because of her lovey (aka umbilical cord).

Also for fun, at the end, she took the cord and it looked like she was trying to put it in her mouth. Disturbing but shows that she is quite the little jokester.

FINALLY. After the ultrasound tech left and I laid there for 20 minutes waiting for the doctor, she came in to tell me that everything was fine and that the risk of a chromosomal disorder or kidney problems is not increased. Thanks and have a nice day. 3 hours of stress and then a huge PRAISE.

As soon as I left the dungeon, I called Andrew and told him not to worry that everything is fine and I'm pretty sure the poor guy had about 2 hours of torture. I'm so glad we got good news at the end though. Makes it totally worth it...but I definitely wish I hadn't had to do that. Ugh.

So. Little Missy Elliot is healthy and precious and I just can't wait to get my hands on her and snuggle! Right now she weighs almost a pound...hence the bladder pain issues while mama is running. Here are some more u/s pics just for fun....

 Profile shot...

 I think she's doing kissy lips in this one. Okay, maybe not but she's still cute :)

 Covering up her face in an attempt to show her bashful side while also cuddling up with the lovey umbilical cord.

 On a side note I have two cysts on my right ovary and one is the size of an egg....gross. Hoping that doesn't affect future baby making endeavors :(

 

Elliot Coco!

She has a name! No more it. No more baby girl. Now it's:
Elliot Coco!

Elliot because we like it and Coco after my sista'. She's Courtney but Coco was the ol' family nickname and I think it's cute. She will be a purse designer. Elle Coco Designs.

We love it so if you don't, it doesn't matter and it won't change anything to say that you don't like it so just pretend. I probably don't have an issue with anyone who reads this blog since you all pretty much know this was our girl name.

Just a little jaded from when I was pregnant with Griffin. I had patients who basically told me I should name him something else. It irked me.

Now I'm afraid to tell people her name.

I think I may have better reactions in the public if I tell them her name when they have a cute little newborn to look at. Who could look at a newborn princess and bash her name? Right?

So, she will be called Elliot or Elle. Too many Ellie's and Ella's in the world so let's avoid those, okay? Even though they are super cute! If she is anything like G-thug, The Griff, Gryffindor, G-man....she will have a lot of nicknames too.

Our level 2 ultrasound and perinatologist appointment are scheduled for Monday afternoon. I'm nervous. I am hoping they don't find anything and will just set us free because they don't allow kids at the appointment and I would hate having to ask friends to watch Griff every two weeks. But, obviously I'll do whatever they suggest!

I'm discovering that pregnancy/childbirth are perfect times to live within driving distance to family. Maybe next time! Or if not, definitely the time after that!

Also, my car drove itself to the local consignment shop today. I couldn't stop it. So, I had to buy a couple things. Just the necessities. White faux fur vest for her first few months when it is still chilly out. Cute PINK RUFFLY pants! Little newborn sleeper...also PINK with a cute little bird on it. Yummy!!!

Also, not sure if she will be a dentist or have a fear of dentists but today I had my first cleaning since moving here...I know...bad. I'm about 4 months late on that one. Oh well.

She was kicking like a crazy person the whole time and I had my strongest Braxton Hicks contractions yet when I was there. Must have been the position I was in. It was strange having someone's hands in my mouth and my stomach jumping all over the place. I couldn't tell if they noticed. Now I'm the dancing belly freak. Oh well...I have clean teeth that I apparently grind. Oops.

Signing off,
Elliot's mom!

I'm in love!!!

Oh my. I'm so in love with my little girl! I love saying little girl!

I put my 2 favorite ultrasound pictures on the fridge and keep making excuses to walk in there and look at her.

I forgot to give the pictures to Andrew to scan so I did it the old fashioned way here at home. If ultrasound pictures and a digital camera could be considered old fashioned...

Here is the baby girl!

 Rearing up to kick me...she's a fiesty little thing!

 Sucking her thumb....be still my heart!

 This is either a fist pump, or a "knock knock...anyone out there??"

 Sorry...she looks a bit fuzzy in these...

 LOL

 Look at her little nose! Oh. My. Goodness. This thing needs some snuggles!

 Looks like she is yawning...getting bored with us, I guess.

And we're back to sucking the thumb.

Grandparents, they gave us a DVD of the whole thing so you can see her jumping around! Yay! We'll make everybody sit around for 30 minutes and ooh and ahh at our baby...kidding...well...maybe.

And then there were tutus...

It's a girl! A little pink, squirmy, healthy beautiful girl!

We would have been so happy with either but it's fun to think of all the pink I can buy now.

Or...the pink I have bought over the past couple of years that has been sitting in our closet...guilty.

So, I'll have to scan the US pics but she sat indian style for a while, did some karate kicks, and she kept putting her little fist in her tiny little mouth. Oh. My. Goodness. I love her.

And I love being able to say her instead of it or him/her or whatever. Feels more and more real.

We are truly truly blessed and I am so happy to have good report. There is one tiny bit of stress/worry that we will be following up on. The ultrasound tech finished up then told us to wait in the room for the OB. This was my first time in the office and I had no idea if that was the norm or not but we were so excited at finally getting to see the little cutie that I didn't think much of it.  The OB came in and I could hardly understand what she was saying because she had a really strong accent but apparently the baby's kidneys are measuring at the upper end of normal. They are supposed to be between 0-4mm  and they are 4 (which doesn't seem abnormal to me...) but she wants us to schedule a visit with a specialist tomorrow. I heard the word specialist and my internal mommydom started freaking out. Even though she told us to not worry about it...come on...I will worry until this little nugget is born.

So, now I'm counting down till I can call the specialist office in the morning and hoping hoping hoping they can see us before the 20th when we leave for the South for 17 days! I can't go that whole time without hearing what is going on.

We will see! Anyway, we are super excited to know that she really is a girl and my 4 year old niece really is psychic because that is what she predicted all along. Now...to cover the nursery in PINK! I'm not changing the bedding because honestly it was pricey and it is gender neutral, but I can definitey girl it up a bit :)

TTFN!

5 Months!

Yay! Halfway to baby! My favorite thing to do lately is watch my little bambino/a dance at night. So cute!

I'm surprised they're not dancing now considering I accidentally drank a little cup of regular coffee today. Oops!

So, without further adieu, here is the 5 month money shot:

Don't worry, I'm not having a pregnancy related leg deformity...forgot to take my cell phone out of my pocket. Oops again! This was around 8 this morning.

And here, no cell phone, and after lunch:

I get bigger throughout the day..

As a woman who worked in the cafeteria at good ol' St. Francis used to say when I was preggo with the Griff, "You're getting on out there, girl!"

2 days till ultrasound!!!!

3 days!!!

Oh my goodness. Usually weekends go by so fast having Andrew home and staying busy....but...not when you have an ultrasound on Wednesday!

Slowest. Weekend. Ever.

And we even finished ridding the kitchen of ugly wallpaper an painting it grey...looks MUCH better. Even though there is much much more to do in there. One day...

So, at this time on Wednesday we will be gearing up to see the little munchkin that has been jumping around like a maniac lately!

Is it a girl or a boy? Can't wait to find out so I can put the finishing touches on the nursery!

We have our names picked out so all I need is a gender and I can go buy some cute little wooden letters and decide if the room needs to be painted or not. Can't wait! Can you tell? I'm slightly impatient.

Anyway...I'll talk about that once we know :)

Well hello there, little kangaroo!

Tonight was Griff's first night in his big boy bed! I couldn't decide when to start putting him in there....we still have about 4 months till this little nugget arrives but I knew I wanted to before then just because. Our master bedroom is HUGE and a pack n play won't fit in there so he/she will be sleeping in the crib (or if they are like Griff, a swing in their bedroom) after their born, so he is getting evicted.

Anyway, I have procrastinated this week with work and had a ton of assignments to grade tonight. We decided to put a baby gate up so Griff couldn't escape. It turned out that he can't even open the door with the baby gate there so he just stood there knocking politely for a while saying, "Mommy! Open it, mommy."

Cuteness! So I opened it and snuggled with him for a bit while Andrew put in the video monitor just for fun. Then I put him back in the bed and he whispered night night and we left.

Then we came out into the living room and watched the monitor while he stood on the bedside table...wandered around his huge bed...etc.

Meanwhile, I didn't grade anything.

When he finally went to sleep, I started working. Good, right?

It was until this little jumping bean started kicking like a champ. He/she hasn't been kicking much lately which honestly has been freaking me out. Like waking up in the middle of the night wondering if something was wrong and movin around trying to get him/her to kick so I could calm down and go back to sleep...paranoia.

So, I was happy that the kicks started back up again. AAAAND...for the first time we could see my stomach jump with the kicks! Andrew got to see it and we both felt some good strong ones which is just magical. I LOVE it! Cutest kicks in the world!

So, then in lieu of working I stared at my stomach waiting for more kicks and getting all excited whenever my stomach moved.

Then I buckled down and worked.

Procrastinator. This child is already distracting me from my work! I was not planning on taking any time off when they were born but if they are this cute and distracting in the womb....I may have to :)

I really need to lose 3 pounds.

Okay, obviously my poundage ain't going anywhere till the end of March'ish. I just crack up at that quote from the hilarious movie 'Mean Girls'. Skinny Rachel McAdams keeps telling her friends that she really needs to lose 3 pounds so that they will tell her she is skinny. Don't know why it makes me laugh.

Anyway, according to my calculations, I have gained 4 pounders with my little bean. He/she only weighs about 7 ounces...so....uh....hello Kim Kardashian butt. Well...not quite so curvy and sexy...but ya know. We can dream.

I love it though. I love my baby belly! It lets me know there is a baby in there! I talk to it. Does that make me a freak?? Don't answer.

Little 7 ouncer is also a black belt. I feel tee tiny little karate chops a lot these days and I also absolutely love every single one. Last night I laid around for like 2 hours before I could fall asleep. Don't know what the deal was there. I laid there for a while. Read some of my book. Watched the Office. Ate raisin bran...then fell asleep. But as I was laying there saying in my head, "Go to sleepppp....you are verrrrrry sleeepppyyyyy...." this little bundle of preciousness let out one big kick. It felt like I had a guinea pig in my stomach and its tiny little foot just kicked at me. Love.

I even worked out for an hour on the elliptical yesterday and painted Griffin's big boy furniture...you would think that would make a pregnant woman crash. It's a true mystery, people.

Anyway, about the poundage. Yesterday, Griffin and I were playing outside and he wanted to go on a walk around the block. We live on a hill so behind our house you go up the hill, circle around the block and then back down. Griffin...AKA hardcore trainer in training....grabbed my hand and made me run up and down the hill with him like 4 times. I think he thinks I'm just letting myself go.

I said, "Little Griff, it's going to take a lot more than a hill workout to rid the fact that you will no longer be an only child in 4 months." He just stared at me like I'm some delusional freak. Which, maybe I am.

But he is the one sitting in front of me in a St. Bernard costume because I am stronger than him and I think it's cute.

I win!

Money Maker!

My neighbor came by the other day with a phone number for me to call. It was a survey company who calls to get a certain demographic to ask questions about random things.

This particular survey was for pregnant women. Check. Between the ages of 18 and 40. Check. Who are awesome. Check...okay that one wasn't on there. But anyway...

So, I called and got accepted to come in to answer a question about a product and get paid 45 bones cash money! I'm pretty sure I can spare 15 minutes from my busy shedule. My pimp...I mean husband met me and rode with me so that he could take Griff to a park during it so he wouldn't be a distraction...I know...Griffin?? A distraction?!?!

Exhibit A: Griffin during our Bible Study tonight...he snuck back where we put the dogs and started barking. Which got them barking.

He ranged from "Mommy.MOMMY!MAMA!PUPPIES!CAKE!!!" to running around and opening/closing (read:slamming) all the doors in the house to harrassing the dogs. Oh well, what're ya gonna do?

So, this little nugget is already bringing in the money! He/she is going to be our little money maker! Woohoo!

Scary dogs!

I read the other day that little feti at 17 weeks can hear loud noises and startle when they hear them...it rang true today. These crazy dogs started barking (probably at one of the cats that they see a million times a day yet still think something monumental will happen and the cats will spontaneously combust or something if they bark really loud. Sigh.) Anyway, right after they started barking Baby Spot let out a major kickaroo...they scared the little nugget. Sad. But really cute!

The bambino is still chilling on my right side. Must be extra cozy over there.

I finally figured out a new midwifery group, new hospital, and new ultrasound appointment. Unfortunately it won't be next week :( or Monday the 8th :( but it is now Wednesday the 10th! Finally..I'll be over 20 weeks by then. I think I deserve a trip to Anthro for a cute post-baby outfit for my patience....our budget says otherwise...

So. Prayers for a healthy little kicker. Prayers that having an appointment at 2:15 (middle of naptime!!*gasp*) then an ultrasound at 4:15 (G may be losing it by this point...) won't make Griff resent his sibling already. Thanks!

The JJ, Bella, and Zacky won't find out till 7 or 8PM their time what their next grandchild will be that day...sorry guys!

We have had names picked out for uhhh like 2 years so I am so excited to call the little nugget by their name already!  Then we still have our names for our Rwandan son or daughter picked out too. Can't wait to see who is waiting for us there either!

And I think we're off to the park to enjoy this lovely chilly fall weather!

Oh, man!

So...I had my 20 week ultrasound scheduled for November 8. I have been so anxious for it! I haven't had any ultrasounds yet and just want to see this little nugget. Make sure he/she is healthy. See how cute he/she is. See if it was a he or she for heaven's sake!

However. Dum dum dum.

Our insurance is changing effective November 1. My OBGYN/Midwife group is not on our new insurance. They're fine but I'm not in love with them, I'm just annoyed about my dang ultrasound! I wish this could have been effective Dec. 1 or something a little more convenient for me. Did Andrew's company not consider me in their decision?? No? Oh. Well. Anyway.

Sooo...Andrew scheduled an ultrasound for me next week without me knowing because I guess somehow he knew I may have issues with this new situation.

They mentioned to him that they wanted me to be 20 weeks at the ultrasound. I may be only 18 weeks at the time of the new u/s.

Alas, we are going to show up and see if they will do it anyway. The worst they can do is tell us to leave.

I found a new OB group online that looked good and then Andrew asked a guy he works with who they used a few months ago and it ended up being the same group so I'll give them a call when they open tomorrow and see if I can get in with them.

It changes where we will deliver too. It will now be Evergreen Medical Center in Kirkland which apparently is a nicer facility anyway so I'm all for that!

Fingers crossed that they will scan my belly next Wednesday!! Griff will be attending with us and it is right at naptime...so...prayers please! If they don't le us, I may be a crazy person for a few days. Andrew, be warned!

I did have a dream that my friend Shelly gave me a ultrasound last night and we found out that it was a girl. Guess we will see how psychic I am! However, the ultrasound picture in my dream was a stick figure baby...that would be really weird...

16 Weeks, Baby!

I had my 16 week apointment with the midwife today (FINALLY!). It has been 6 weeks since I heard that precious heartbeat and my paranoia that something was wrong was setting in.

Granted I have been feeling this little bean kick a lot...my brain told me it was probably gas...even though Andrew felt it a few times last week. I don't remember him being able to feel Griff kickin' until I was a lot further along. I looooove to feel those little flutters. They melt my heart!

I feel so so so much better. No more nausea or throwing up which is like a Christmas present. Can't beat feeling normal! My blood pressure is really low for some reason. It normall runs low but is even lower than normal which explains why I am light-headed all the time but isn't reason for concern...until the fateful day happens when I don't just feel like I' m going to pass out but actually do...let's hope that doesn't occur.

A midwife student was in there today and tried to find the heartbeat for a long time...I started getting panicky and internally freaking out but finally my midwife took over and found it. This little avocado likes to chill on my right side apparently. The heart rate was 150bpm and super cute if I do say so myself.

I took the Griff with me and Andrew is out of town so I was slightly worried that he would ransack the place but luckily he stayed in the stroller and ate his lunch the whole time. When the midwife had me lay down on the table then raise the table up high with me on it I thought he was going to name this day, 'The Greatest Day in All the WORLD!" He thought it was amazingly wonderful and sat there with his whole face smiling and giggling. We should get one of those tables at our house...Andrew probably wouldn't complain either...

Anyway, 4 more slow weeks till we find out if it is a little girl or boy...can't wait!!!

And also we have the obligatory belly shot...I used the timer since my photographer is living it up in San Diego:

 And of coure the Griff had to make fun of me. He ran out towhere I was standing and lifted up his shirt and said CHEEEEESE!

He looks about 6 months along though...he lost his pants at some point after my appointment. I promise he starts out fully dressed in the morning.

And just for comparison's sake...this is me 4 months preggo with the Griff. (We were in London on our babymoon). I am going to make an unscientific observation...walking around Europe makes the bump pop out more...I think I'm bigger in this pic and in the one of me last month than today. I've been doing a lot more chillaxin'.

Kate Spade, baby!

So...I had an awesome girls' getaway in Palm Springs this past weekend! It marked the end of 98% of my nausea which is soooooo wonderful. The nausea is worth it but for me, the epidural-free childbirth is so much more enjoyable than projectile vomiting every day. Just sayin'.

So. We went to an outlet mall. I have no money. I did so good. I barely spent a dime.

Until.

Until....Kate Spade...and it wasn't technically my dime because it is going to be a Christmas present from my awesome parents...but...I couldn't resist.

Every time I say Kate Spade, I think of a Sex and the City episode (shocker) where all the girls are in the bathroom asking Carrie for tampons and she asks why they didn't bring their own. Charlotte holds up her cute purse and says, "I'd bring my own but they won't fit in my Kate Spade purse!"

So now when my little one needs a diaper I can ask a fellow mommy for one and say, "I'd bring my own, but diapers won't fit in my Kate Spade bag!" Even though they will...it is nice and huge. :)

They had some awesome diaper bags! I know I told Andrew that my Petunia Picklebottom diaper bag that I got for Griff would last through several babies...but...I think I was lying to myself. I have an affinity for overpriced diaper bags.

But really, this one will seriously be for at least 2 babies. I know this for a fact. Well...as long as Rwanda cooperates.

Here's a picture of the wonderfullness in all her glory:

Isn't she fantabulous?? The inside is a great bright green. Love. LOVE! The saleswoman said congratulations as I was leaving the store and I thought she meant for my awesome purchase...then I realized she meant cogratulations on the baby. I'm a loser.

Anyway, Betsy got the smaller cuter purse version but that is the one benefit of living far away from your best friends...you can buy the same things!

And an adoption news update: While I was riding across the Californian desert with my girls, I had a conference call with Andrew in WA and Gladney in TX and it was decided that they aren't going to change anything about our adoption right now since nobody knows what is going on in Rwanda timeline wise. We will have to update the home study (again) once this little sweetness is born which we expected. And they want at least a 9 month difference between when this on is born and when we bring home our child/children from Rwanda. Which would mean at the earliest a referral in August-ish.

Also, we are going to tweak our age preferences from 0-2 to 1-2 so there is no chance that our bio baby is the same age as our adopted baby. It all makes sense to us and we are so glad they are willing to work with us.

We hope that things speed up in Rwanda so that we can figure out a timeline, and we also hope that the ministry will work with us in waiting to match us with a child or children until August or September but I am really really hoping that by some miracle we get to bring home our son(s) and/or daughter(s) before Christmas of 2011 (slim possiblity) but I would love to have them home by them.

Let the praying continue! I can't really update that on the adoption blog since it's still on the DL but had to write it out.

So glad the nausea has (almost) disappeared!  I LOVE being pregnant but that gets pretty old and I'm ready to interact with the Griff again without being the world's laziest mom. Ready to start running again and I'm so ready for my next appointment. I want to hear the heartbeat again. I want to feel some movement in there! I feel like I'm feeling something but it's at the stage where it could just be gas and I'm not 100% sure. The tummy is growing though. Mostly at night.

This is one spoiled fetus though. First Italy and next month Disney....geez.

Anyway, Oct. 13 is my next appointment and then early November we will get to do the 20 week ultrasound. I'm so ready to see the little cutie and make sure everything is (hopefully) A-okay!

Signing off!

3 month belly shot!

Italy was awesome! The bump popped out while we were there but I think it was mainly a carb belly and not a baby belly...we shall see! Gelato and bambino didn't mix sadly but he/she sure did love the panini and pizza!

Baby's big bro broke my space bar so this will be short and sweet...here is the belly at my favorite spot in Roma!

 Technically 13 weeks...was waiting for Rome :)

Daddy at 13 weeks

We told Gladney the awesome yet complicating news and are waiting to hear back from them what the plan is...I feel much better now that they know but I still wish I knew how everything was going to work out. It got more complicated since Rwanda shut down any new applications to ratify with Hague but should still work out. We may just need to change our age preferences to between ages 1 and 2 to make sure these 2...or 3 aren't too close in age. That would make the dynamic more difficult for all of the littl fellas. My next appointment isn't until Oct. 13 and the 20 week ultrasound will be at the beginning of November. Can't wait to make sure this little bundle is healthy!

Yay! First appointment!

I feel like I have waited forever (6 weeks...) for our first appointment. We got to hear the sweet tiny little heartbeat today. It was the cutest thing I have ever heard. Seriously beautiful. I'm in love. Griffin looked pretty confused as to why we thought this was amazing. He'll understand one day.

Everything is looking good and I go back in another decade (I mean 6 weeks). They aren't about seeing me frequently but that's okay....I guess.

Besides the amazingness of the appointment I have been very sad for some friends this week. I know 3 girls who lost their babies. It is the saddest thing to imagine. I think losing a child would be the most difficult thing to go through and it has made me so very thankful for a healthy report at the doctor today. I don't want to take this pregnancy for granted at all. It is such a blessing to be able to get pregnant and have a healthy baby.

I praise God for the ability to carry this child and I will continue to pray for friends who have had heartache and had sweet babies go to Heaven.

To my little kumquat, you sound beautiful and I can't wait to see your little face and booty on the ultrasound in November! P.S. if you want to send me a message about whether to buy pink or blue I won't complain :) We love you so much!

Griffin keeps lifting up my shirt and kissing my tummy after saying, "BABY!" He is already the best big brother EVER~remember that when he steals your toys and fights with you.

Crizazy Pregnancy Dreams

I have had crazy dreams since getting pregnant but last night was out of control. I have been waking up for a couple of hours every night for some reason so I actually had 2 crazy ones last night.

One was that I was laying in bed reading a blog (that doesn't exist) of a friend who is studying abroad right now. Reminiscing much? In my dream Andrew kept telling me to put the computer down and go to bed.

Then after my bout of insomnia....

I dreamt of the rapture. I have recently re-read the first Left Behind book....a few weeks ago..so I'm guessing this has something to do with it.

First I was at my parents' house. But it wasn't their current house. It was some massive house. We were cleaning up  toys in the basement when...poof...the rapture. Except all Christians didn't vanish. Some did and some were left behind to tell the other people about Jesus (or Je-Su according to Griffin). Andrew was gone. I was at this huge house with my parents, sister, brother, and my childhood friend Emily Petrone.

One side effect of the rapture was the devil making some people mean. Emily was afflicted by this and was therefore trying to eat my fingers. WEIRD. So, everyone in my family decided to go out into the world except me. And the finger biting Emily.

They left us in the huge house.

Also my mom's parents were there. So as they were saying their goodbyes, I was getting sad. I hugged Dee and told him that I would miss his smell so he had to leave behind his cologne. As they were leaving some mean guys barged in and said that they owned the place now and we could stay but had to pay a million dollars rent per month. Dad wrote a check to them but unfortunately didn't leave his checkbook so I just assumed I would either be dead or find another place to live after a month.

Now...at some point a lady was pushing a baby across a dark lagoon in the middle of the night. Not sure what that was about but I remember it.

And the end.

The freak show has begun!

2 months!

Here is a very unflattering picture of me at 2 months preggo with my little eggo. Since I won't see some of my family until I already know if I'm cookin' a girl or a boy and will hopefully have a tummy by then...the progress will be seen here. So as not to shock you with my size and abundance when we meet again in person. I will ease you in to the puffed up version of Kat.

Nothing too exciting yet! Can you tell I had been lying horizontal for at least 2 hours before I convinced myself to get up to take the picture? I am a good 5 pounds lighter than the 1 month shot thanks to my friend the porcelain throne. It is worth every second of being sick though! I love this little bean and can't wait to meet him or her!

Telling the Fam

Since I told Andrew on an airplane and we live across the country from any and all family...we found it only fit to tell the visiting family in the airport.

It worked out that about a week after finding out JJ was coming to visit. And 2 days after she left, my mom, sister and her brood came to visit.

It still breaks my heart that Ted wasn't with JJ. He would have been so excited.

Dad wasn't able to come with mom and Court (or he knew it would be mass chaos and opted out since we'll see him in Italy next month...).

So....on to the stories.

When we decided to go for it and try to get pregnant, we were at JJ's house in TN. (Sorry, JJ...TMI...you have a lucky guest room :) It was funny because she had been out of town and when she got back had a HUGE zucchini in her backyard. We're talking massive.

I called it my magic fertility zucchini as a joke.

Apparently the joke was on me because it worked its magic! Katie took a picture of me with the huge veg so maybe she could email it to me to post on here...*cough*cough...hint hint :)

Anyway, we decided (I decided...Andrew thought it was weird and gross) to give Griffin a zucchini to give JJ at the airport. Thinking she may or may not get it, we also wrote a secret message on his tummy. He was noooooot happy about writing on his tummy so it ended up just being. "mama's = baby."

She didn't get the zucchini (although she said the thought crossed her mind) and it took her a few seconds but she definitely go the message...and she was excited!

When my fam came, I had put together mom's birthday present which was a little slate flower holder from Pike Place she eyed last time and I stuck the blue and pink onesie in there too.

I also put together a birthday gift bag for Judson since he was born last March 30...our little wonderchild is due on the 29th. Happy birthday Judson! A new cousin that you will be larger than! I just put some pink and blue booties in there.

I put the blue ones on top to throw Court off the scent.

However, they were both on to me because they are psychic like that and Courtney reached in and grabbed a pink bootie and screamed, "I KNEW IT!!!" Them mom looked up (she hadn't found the onesies yet) looked surprised for 2 seconds then looked at me poker faced and said, "I knew it."

What?! I was totally throwing them off for 2 weeks. Complaining about not getting pregnant and everything. We live across the country! How did they catch on.

Regardless, they were super  excited.

Mom is convinced it is a girl. She had a vision of pink a week before I told her. We shall see!

We will be absolutely THRILLED either way as long as this little munchkin is healthy and happy and survives Griffin's love. He loves babies. LOVES them. Poor Judson learned all about that. See:

And in ending....here is baby Spot #2errr3uhhh whatever at month #1 (and a very gross mama)

And a sneaky photo bomber...

Why a million blogs?

Because I want to document this little bundle as much as I documented every single detail of Griffin's pregnancy and first (sniff) 2 years. I have also kept my bloggy scrapbook going for our son or daughter in Rwanda. Couldn't leave this one out! I didn't want to blog about the pregnancy on Inside Kat's Head because even though there is nothing in writing saying that the ministry in Rwanda frowns on pregnancies during adoptions, we didn't want to risk it. Better safe than sorry! We will let them know once she is born.

We were in Spokane on a mini vacay when I learned about this blessing and I found out in the morning and didn't see Andrew all day because he was working and playing golf.

Even though the Grey's Anatomy finale had a memorable quote when Meredith told Christina that she was pregnant and was trying to figure out how to tell McDreamy...and Christina told her, "Why do you have to be creative? You found out squatting over a stick." So true. But. Alas, I had to think of a fun way.

So, Griff and I meandered through Spokane and decided to get a pink and blue onesie from the Gymboree sales rack that say "Brand New" on the front.

The "Big Brother" shirt didn't really fly with this one because we have known for 9 months that Griffin will be a big brother (his little bro or sis in Rwanda). So that wasnt' an option. And I thought this was more fun anyway.

So we got on our little puddle jumper to go home:

After we got on the plane I told A that I had to use the facilities so I went to the back of the plane. I asked the flight attendant if she would hand him the onesies when she was asking for everyone's drink orders and ask if he wanted a boy or girl.

She was so sweet and did a great job! He at first thought, "Wow, Alaska airlines is so nice, they are giving Griffin a gift." no...they are tiny and blue and pink. Then he thought, "Maybe Kat heard something about the adoption!"...then he knew that wasn't really a possibility right now...so THEN he looked at me with a look that said, "ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" He got it. It was cute.