19 weeks Preggo

I am at 19 weeks along this week
I am not really showing. I have definitely gained weight (blerghs, about 12-14 pounds of it). I also haven't been great about what I have been eating.
I mainly just look like I did before I lost the weight. I fit into most of my bigger clothes. They just get tight by the end of the day. I have lost most of my good curves and gained more (ahem, in my ass).
I used to roll my eyes at pregnant women who would complain about gaining weight, but it is disarming to see your weight (something that as a woman, you naturally watch) go up and up.
I know I am gaining weight in okay proportions, but I would like to stop looking fat and start looking pregnant.

*I picked out this outfit to wear for the rest of my progression pics. I stole this shirt from my youngest brother--love the Old School with the Big Wheel
Quick poll question: How do you control your weight gain when pregnant? You can't diet? Do you act somewhat like dieting? Do you work out more? Or do you just try and lose it afterward?

Doctors update

There are not a ton of OB practices in Athens, so I went around yesterday and called a few to get an appointment.
The one that came highly recommended to me (2 doctors and one midwife) could not see me until July 20th!!! That would be almost 8 weeks without a doctor's appointment, which for this crazy new mom-to-be seemed excessive.

So I called the second one on my list and was a little (okay, a LOT) disappointed about the receptionist I talked to. Our conversation went like this:

TRS: Hi, I'd like to make an appointment to see a doctor. I am new to the area and am 18 weeks pregnant.
Stupid Receptionist: When did you move to the area?
TRS: the last week
***5 minutes of chitchat about her being from the Midwest and the weather...in which i tell her about my doctor's office in Michigan and she lectures me about getting my records from my doctor's office to them ASAP***
SR: Oh, so when did you find out you were pregnant.
TRS: uhm...15 weeks ago?
SR: Well, let me see when we can fit in new pregnancy appointments...hmmm...
TRS: Well, I don't need to go through the new pregnancy appointments...I'm 18 weeks along.
SR: and you just found out, so this is your first doctor's appointment!
TRS: No, I have seen a doctor every month since I found out at week 3...
SR: well, we just don't take people this late for their first appointment
***In my head I was screaming: what?!? First I was a bad mom for not finding out that I was pregnant or going to the doctor until I was 18 weeks and now you won't give me one!?!?!

Needless to say, this lady was not inspiring much confidence in this practice.

After my appointment today with the OB coordinator, I feel much better about the practice.
She was awesome!!!
She talked to me about every aspect of the practice...how each appointment will go...what delivery registration should look like...insurance and payments...EVERY THING! I was very impressed. Now, I know that she is not my doctor, and I probably won't see her a lot from now on, but if the practice is half as good as her...I think I will be in good hands.

I have an appointment with an actual doctor next week and then will decide about canceling the appointment on the 20th.

What would you guys do? Keep the appointment? Is it tacky? Have you ever OB shopped? What was the most important thing to you about your OB/OB practice?

I'm not dead yet

yeah, I leave for more than a week and I come back with a quote from Monty Python. I am just that big of a geek.

To give you guys an update, I will do it in list form:

1.) KW got in late but safe.
2.) We had a great time hanging out in Michigan for a day and then driving back home.
3.) Being reunited with Penny was sweet and fun. She has been my buddy since.
4.) Remember back in Christmas when my mom was sick? Yeah, she is sick again. And they are not sure what is wrong and the doctors are doing a lot of tests.
5.) Also, my parents have pseudo adopted a cousin of mine, who is difficult and has a troubled past.
6.) This all means that I have been spending more time at home in Atlanta rather than with KW in Athens.
7.) I have also been away from a good computer connection...hence my absence from the blog.
8.) I have been trying to find a new doctor in Athens, and it has been difficult. One practice that I like can't see me till July 20 and the one I am not thrilled about can see me tomorrow...blerghs. What would you do?
9.) My brother left his Tivo in Athens with me...and I will never go without another one again!!!!

There is a ton more to say...I will try and parse some of it this next week. So, how are you?

Delays

KW's flight has been canceled...and then he got a new direct flight...and then that one has been delayed.

There are big storms in Atlanta.

Right now, I'll just take him getting here safe.

Prayers are always welcome!

36 Hours!!!

please play this video from Arrested Development to listen to while you read...it enhances all experiences)


It's the final Countdown!!!


I feel the same way, Buddy.

I am starting to get a little sad about leaving the school that has been so good to us and the people that I have loved getting to know. I am more than thrilled to leave the weirdos that I do not like! HA!

I know we will keep in touch with the people we truly like, especially with the invention of Facebook.

My plans for the next 36 hours? Pack up my clothes and hope that everything will fit into the back of the Jeep, do a prayer and voodoo dance around the Jeep to last till we get to Athens, clean and dance around in anticipation of being reunited with my family.



I will see you, Lil' Princess, in a few shorts days and I promise tons of belly rubs. I know you will have a good time hanging out with your grandpa and dog cousins while dad male roommate* picks me up.

I may not post for a few days while in transition. Talk to you next from the Peach State!**

*when we first got Penny, KW refused to be called dad and would scream, "she is not my daughter, she is my roommate!" I am not a big advocate of dog=baby, but both of us know she is more than an animal roommate.

**Fun Fact-Georgia does not produce the most peaches in the US. That honor goes to South Carolina. Georgia does produce the most peanuts (or did at some point) but did not want to be called The Goober State. Wise decision, GA.

Can of Worms, part 1

Here is where I start opening up that mommy blogging can of worms...okay? I am starting to have a lot of birthing and baby questions, and I am not satisfied by what Google is telling me. So I am asking you, the blogosphere, for your opinions. You can tell me I am crazy, and I won't hate you...much. You can give me your honest-to-goodness-scare-the-crap-out-of-me truth. I think I'm ready to hear it.
Are you ready? I'm not.

But here it goes.

I am currently looking into my options of how to get this child out of me when* (hopefully around Nov 20th) it is done cooking. My mom has always advocated for the epidural and my sister in law had scheduled c-sections for hers (because of health problems). So I started asking around and I have several friends that are Bradley Method completely natural...and at first that just scared the pants off me. But now, it seems like there are some benefits that I can get on board with...and maybe I might be able to do it? Ugh, I don't know. The one thing I do know...I don't want to limit my options. People have said that if you have a midwife or a doula that your likelihood of not taking drugs/pitocin go way down. But is it necessary? How do you find one?

I am currently looking for a new doctor when we move to GA, and I didn't really interview my last one because I knew she wouldn't be the one at the end. So, do you "interview" doctors? How do you do this? Even though this move to GA may not be our final move before the baby comes,* I think I should treat it like it is...right? Blerghs, this is all so confusing.

So if you can shed any light on the following areas:
-What birthing option did you try for/end up with? Like or Dislike?
-How instrumental was your doctor in keeping with your birth plan?
-Did you use a doula/midwife?
-Did you interview doctors (or midwives)? How did that go?

Help!


*if--yeah, I'm still too scared to be presumptive...it is a quirk of mine. Call me superstitious or crazy. I just want to let God, the baby, and the universe know that I KNOW I am not in control and nothing with this is 100% for sure.

Maybe I have more substance than I thought

Alright, I will admit it. I love stupid reality tv. Not the "I'm a celebrity Get me out of here" variety or Big Brother or even American Idol. The faux-scripted kind...like the Hills.

However, I actually had to turn off the last episode of the Hills (where Heidi and Spencer get married). I was watching to see Lauren's last episode, but I can't handle all the Speidi. It is too much.

Some-Friend of Heidi: "Heidi, which champagne bottle should we open first?"
Heidi: "The most expensive!"

SFoH: "What is the wedding going to be like?"
Heidi: I want it to be over the top and dripping with diamonds...

Ugh, I just can't handle it.

I can handle the stupid over the top indulgences every other week, but why not this one?

Is it because there is supposed to be a marriage in there, under the hoopla? And being Catholic, my nature is to think of marriage as a sacrament (that which brings you closer to God)...

Now, I'm not saying I got married in a potato sack carrying a pack of carnations, but this over the top-ness is too much. The same goes for the Whose Wedding Is It Anyways and that new Hitched or Ditched show. It skeeves me out.

Maybe you can do a lavish wedding and still be focused on the wedding but it sure seems difficult. For me, my mom was the one who wanted to pomp and circumstance...so she focused on that...I focused on making sure I was married by the end of the day. It worked for me.

All this to say: Kdubs mocks my addiction to pop culture fairly frequently saying things like, "You are very smart, why do you watch/read such dumb things." I usually answer, "well, War and Peace gets a little dull the 18th time around." But maybe turning off the Hills signals that I may be less addicted to pop culture than I expected.

Hold on, there is some new updates to Popsugar. BRB!

On My Own

Sing the title out with all of your Les Mis goodness...

Sidenote 1: is it just me or is the singing voice in your head much more talented and less pitchy than the one coming out in your throat? Yeah, I thought it was just me.

I have a lot of free alone time on my hands with K-dubs being in Georgia. And I have found some non-creative but all together lovely ways of filling them.

1.) Watching pointless TV and movies on Hulu (and the non-gov't sanctioned Hulu type sites), catching up with programs on their respectable network sites (I'm not trying to be illegal, I promise), and watching Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune with the roommates (can anyone tell me why the stupidest person always wins WOF?).

2.) Keeping my stuff clean so I do not let my roommates on to how big of a slob I am.

3.) Making dinner with and for the roommates (it is a lot of fun cooking for people who haven't eaten everything I make and aren't lactose intolerant).

4.) Went to the doctor for my last Ann Arbor check up. I got to hear the heartbeat and everything seems good.

5.) I have also been working out regularly. This is very good because I was worried I was gaining weight too quickly after my time with nausea that could only be calmed with hangover food. I have given up my tater tot ways and with my new energy have gotten myself back to the gym.

6.) I have also taken to reading...A TON! Right now I am working on the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde My sister in law got me into it, and they are so good. It is totally unlike any other book I have ever read. It is weird, and I had to suspend reality a bit when reading it. But the characters are so great and the plot is wonderful!

Also reading, Clive Cussler books with my nephew, Mikey
He is a really advanced reader but his mom doesn't want him to read stuff that is too advanced in content (sexuality or other themes). These books seem to be a perfect fit. A lot of action, some history, great characters, and fast plot. It also is wordy enough to slow him down a bit. He is like me in that he can gobble a 200 page book in a day.

If you have any other suggestions on what to do with some alone time, I would love to hear it. New books, activities? I have 10 more days alone, and I need to fill it up!
Sidenote 2: isn't that a much less whinier way of saying, "BLAGH! I AM WITHOUT KW FOR 10 MORE DAYS! WAHHHHHH!!!"