The end is near...

Oh, I've been pregnant forever! Today I am 40 weeks and 3 days pregnant, but it feels like it's been twice as long!  Right around 39 weeks, I started feeling noticeably more uncomfortable.  Since then, I hobble around like my hips are broken, need help putting on tennis shoes and moan and groan every time I move.  Surely this must mean the baby is coming any day now, right?!

I certainly didn't help my comfort level when, on Tuesday, I fell (belly first) on a hard tile floor in the middle of a restaurant.  It was horrible.  I was with my co-worker who drove me to the doctor's office, where Brown met me.  I was monitored there for an hour or so, then was sent to the hospital for 4-5 hours to be monitored even further.  Everything was completely fine- Baby didn't seem bothered AT ALL, but I was pretty sore and my blood pressure sky rocketed from my usual 110/65 to 145/95.  I guess I was a little stressed?!  Next time we visit the Labor & Delivery unit, we better come home with a baby!

Speaking of bringing home a baby, this little one has been served an eviction notice!  If she fails to vacate the premisis by Thursday, she is being forced out against her will.  I have been feeling more and more miserable over the last couple days, so I'm holding out a little hope- but just a little. :)

This pregnancy has been rocky, to say the least.  Five months of morning sickness, an appendectomy and a frightening fall have not made for the most enjoyable experience!  That being said, it has had its fun moments.  All the ultrasounds (especially the one where we found out "it" was a "she"), decorating the nursery and feeling her move have been incredibly fun for Brown and me.  Everyone keeps telling me that I'll miss being pregnant.  While I'm not convinced of that, it has been an incredible ride.  So much has happened in such a short time.  I don't know if I'm ready for the sleepness nights and constant worry that a newborn will bring, but I'm really excited to meet her (and to dress her in all the adorable clothes that are currently overflowing her nursery)!

Growth Ultrasound, Thanksgiving, & Black Friday

So, last week we had an ultrasound to see how big this baby might be! I'm happy to report that she is COMPLETELY average (around the 50th percentile)!  At 37 weeks and 4 days, the tech estimated that she weighed about 7 lbs.  Of course, this measurement can be off by a pound or so, but it was nice to hear a nice, safe estimate. :)  The doctor said I was 1.5 cm dilated and 40% effaced, so I guess things are heading in the right direction!





Pic of the face- Looking right at the camera!

 



Profile Shot

 
We also hosted Thanksgiving at our house last week.  We had a small group of 5, so it was very low-key and relaxing.  What was not so relaxing was the marathon shopping on Friday!  I drug my mother along to my first ever early-morning Black Friday sale.  Babies 'R Us had 50% a glider/recliner that I really liked (and I had a coupon), so we set our alarms for 4:30am, were out the door at 4:50am, and were safely inside BRU at 5!  It really wasn't busy at all (I think all the crazies were at Toys 'R Us), and, after a few system glitches, we got the glider ordered, headed for the Starbucks in Randalls' for their Black Friday deal (BOGO Lattes!) and were on our way home to rest for a few hours before heading out again.

By the time the day was done, we managed to hit up BRU, Kohl's, Target, J Crew, Banana Republic, & Dillards- And even stopped by Central Market for breakfast ingredients for Saturday.  I will state for the record that it was entirely too much activity for my giant, 8.5 month pregnant self!  On Saturday, I was nearly in a coma...  It's amazing what a toll 30 extra pounds and a growing fetus can take on your body!

Speaking of my giant body, here's a pic of me taken today.  Only 10 days left till d-day!





38 1/2 Weeks

 

The Nursery is DONE (and some bump pics)!

It's so nice to have it finished! We're really happy with how it turned out. Brown painted the walls and assembled all the furniture, and I made the wall art, letters and decorated the room, so it was definitely a joint effort!

And here are a couple of me over the last few weeks:




31 Weeks



35 Weeks







 

My Baby Shower

On Saturday, October 16th, my darling friends threw me a baby shower in SA.   I had such a great time!  Thank you to Genevieve, Sarah, Cynthia, Gigi, Nikkie and Tirey for throwing such a wonderful party and to all my friends and family who made the day so, so lovely.

So much to say...

Well, I haven't updated the blog in a while-  Initially, I was just too lazy to scan my 24 week ultrasound photos, but then life just got crazy!  Here's a quick recap of the last 2 months:

• Really started to feel the baby move around 22 weeks- from the inside and out.  Brown got to feel her, too. :)
• Right around the same time, my morning sickness truly went away- Such a relief!
• Had an ultrasound on August 19th to make sure my placenta had moved- It did!  Baby looks perfect and everything is in the right spot.  She's measuring right on track (but, I still haven't scanned the ultrasound pics)!



8/19/2010 - 24 Weeks

• I started taking prenatal yoga classes- So much fun and made me feel so great!
• I also started taking a cake decorating class with my friend, Jennifer.  Also, so fun!



My first practice cake :)


• On September 10th, Brown had a double hernia surgery.  Poor guy was in sooo much pain!



Post-op with a stuffed animal from the nurse

• On September 16th-17th, I started to get really severe vertigo and began throwing up uncontrollably.  I also got some strange abdominal pain.
• On September 18th, I went to the ER for the ever-worsening abdominal pain. Turns out it was a ruptured, infected appendix.  Went into surgery that night and stayed in the hospital for 4 more days. The vertigo doesn't appear to have been related to the appendicitis, but who knows.  It was a miserable week!

I think that about covers it!  For obvious reasons, I never got to finish my cake class and had to put the yoga on hold.  Everyone in the Jarmon house is slowly getting back to normal.  Baby Girl was a total trooper and got through surgery without any problems.  All things considered, she and I are very, very, very lucky.  The docs were worried about pre-term labor and a recurring infection, but so far, so good.

On a lighter note, my dogs have been gracious enough to help me test out the new baby gear.  I'll close out this entry with some absurd photos.  :)

 

It's a GIRL!!!!!!!!

I'm sure most of you reading this already know by now, but IT'S A GIRL!  We found out at our doctor's appointment on July 15th. We are sooooo excited!  When the ultrasound tech told us, I shrieked and Brown grinned from ear to ear. Baby Girl was measuring 10oz and in the 63rd percentile.  All her measurements were completely on track, but her legs were measuring a week ahead!  Taking after her momma already. ;)

Tiny feet!!!

Pic of her face and little hand

We will have to go back for another ultrasound on August 19th.  I have a low-lying placenta that is sitting slightly toward the front, so they want to check on it to make sure it moves.  It's nothing serious- Worst case scenario is that I would need a c-section if it stayed where it was, but my doctor and nurse seemed convinced that it would move.

I think I've started to feel the baby move in the past week or so.  Nothing really obvious yet, but I'm pretty sure it's her.  Based on where the placenta is sitting, the nurse told me it would take a little longer to feel movement, so hopefully I will feel more soon.

My morning sickness definitely seems to be going away.  The last time I threw up was 2 1/2 weeks ago, and I haven't taken a Zofran in about a week!  I still don't feel great, but definitely better.  I still have aversions to coffee and peanuts and food in general just isn't as good as it was pre-pregnancy, but I can't complain if the nausea is on it's way out!!

I think that's all for now.  Not much else going on except for stocking up on little pink clothes (and, man, have I already stocked up!!).  I can't stop buying all the tiny, cute things.  This little girl is going to be SO well dressed!

I'll leave you with a photo of my expanding waistline, taken last Thursday at 20 weeks, 6 days. Enjoy!

Captiva Island

We just returned from a trip to Captiva Island, FL for Seiji and Suzanne's wedding.  The whole weekend was great and the wedding was absolutely beautiful.  Here are a few pics from our vacation:

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An anniversary, an ultrasound, and my ever-expanding self

So, in the past few weeks, a couple blog-worthy things have happened.  The first was our 2 year wedding anniversary on May 31st.  I was kinda bummed out because I thought I felt too bad to be any fun. Going to a restaurant or even a movie sounded like it would just make me feel worse. 

Brown completely came through.  I'm usually the cook of the family, but since I was out of commission, Brown bought steaks, shrimp and asparagus and made us a perfect anniversary dinner.  We also popped a bottle of sparkling cider to fill our wedding champagne flutes.  It really turned out to be a lovely day, in spite of my relentless nausea!

Next update is about the baby!  We got another ultrasound on June 3rd when I was 12 weeks and 6 days along.  Baby looks perfect! This ultrasound was for the first trimester screening, so we go to see the baby on the screen for about 10-15 minutes. It was lots of fun. :)

Final update is me! There have been a few requests to see "bump pics", so here they are!  (There's not much to see- I really just look chubby now!)  It's amazing that, while I've hardly had an appetite and haven't gained any weight, I look like I've been eating cheeseburgers for weeks! The first pic is at 4 weeks, the second at 12 and the last pic was taken today, at 14 weeks.

The Gummy Bear

We went in for another ultrasound on May 6th.  My doctor said she likes to do the "first" one when it's about 8 weeks or so, so we got a bonus one. :)

I'm really glad we got to go in again- It really looked like a baby! We could see the baby's arms and legs wiggling around- It was really amazing.  On the day of the sonogram I was 8 weeks, 6 days along and the doc said everything looked "perfect".  Our next appointment is on June 3rd and we should be able to hear the heartbeat then.

I'm still feeling pretty crappy.  I got a prescription for Zofran (an anti-nausea med) about 3 weeks ago and it has helped a lot.  I still feel sick and have NO appetite, but I can function most of the time.  My doctor told me that it ends for most women around 13 weeks... I hope that's true for me. These next 3 weeks better FLY by!!!

Baby's First Photos!

Today we had our first doctor's appointment and ultrasound! It was so fun to get to finally get to see the baby.  I'm officially 6 weeks and 6 days pregnant today, and I'm due 12/10/10! We saw the heartbeat flickering away on the screen (doc said it looked like it was over 150 bpm- Old wives tales say that means it's a girl!) and everything looked great.  My doctor likes to see the baby on an ultrasound after 8 weeks, so we'll be going back for another appointment on May 6th.  Our doctor called the baby a "peanut" when it was up on the screen, and Brown has decided that's his new favorite nickname.  So, we've got Emby, Nugget, and Peanut in the rotation now... Poor kid... ;)

Update on me: I've been SICK AS A DOG since last Friday. I'm nauseous ALL THE TIME and have thrown up about every other day.  Eating is such a chore- Everything sounds disgusting, but I'm starving.  I really don't know how I'll survive till my second trimester...  If I'm MIA for the next few weeks, this is why.

Tempura Tuesday

ALL I wanted today was a tempura shrimp hand roll (maybe baby loves shrimp??), so I found a gigantic Asian grocery store up north (literally the size of an HEB) and gathered my supplies.  I've never made hand rolls or any sushi-type item at home before (or ever fried anything for that matter) but I certainly have eaten enough of it, so I though I was qualified enough!  I decided to tempura fry some asparagus and carrots, too, because tempura veggies are delicious!!

I waited until my sous chef got home and we put together a pretty fun little dinner.  Brown took to frying quite naturally!  Can't wait till I can eat raw fish again so we can mix it up a bit, but it was really yummy, anyway.  :)

Our first few batches of veggies

The rolling station

The finished product!

Prepping for the "Big Reveal"

So, Brown and I have decided to tell our parents the good news in 3 days, which is Easter Sunday! Today I bought some "I love Grandma/Grandpa" bibs that we stuffed in plastic eggs and put in some adorable gift bags.  We'll be spending Easter with my family in San Antonio, then we'll head back to Austin in the evening and swing by his parents house.  I can't wait to see their reactions.  This should be fun!!

The supplies

The finished product :)

PREGNANT!!!!

I just had to take another digital test! I think I'm done now, but it is really great to see PREGNANT in the little window! This test is supposed to be a little less sensitive than the others, too, so it's good to see a positive on it. :)

I've been kind of a test-o-holic since Saturday night.  Those damn faint lines were pushing me right over the egde.  The pic below is just a few (sad to say not all) of the tests over the last few days.  They're all positive, but most with really light results.

Brown has officially cut me off from buying any more home pregnancy tests!  It was the right call by him.  I just don't have the will power!