19 weeks!

Today I am officially 19 weeks! Three more days until our ultrasound - we are so excited to get to see the baby!
It's been a very good day so far - we both slept in this morning and then we went to a late breakfast at Lou Henri's, a great little diner in Iowa City. I had way too much to eat, but that's how it's been lately! I'm hungry all the time!
Anyway, this morning Aaron felt the baby kick for the first time, so that's pretty exciting! Up until now I've been able to feel the baby but as soon as I would tell him to try to feel, the baby would stop moving!
Today the baby is 6 inches long from crown to rump and weighs about 7 oz. Looking at how much weight I've gained, it's a little depressing to think that only 1/2 of a pound can be attributed to the baby! :)
21 more weeks to go!

Yawn!

It's Wednesday - halfway through the school week - and I'm tired! Today was a busy day for me at school. In the morning I was at the Center for Disabilities and Diseases (it's right next to the dental school) to observe the Pediatric Dentistry residents at work with kids and adults with special needs. It was a very interesting morning, as there was a wide array of patients with all different kinds of disabilities. Then, in the afternoon I was scheduled with a little four-year-old boy who has lots of cavities - it was supposed to be his third visit to get more cavities filled, but today he was not going to have it! Poor guy, he put up with it the first and second visit, but today even with nitrous he would have fussed through the whole appointment. So it was a good experience for me to get to use the nitrous with him, and also to see when you decide to call off treating the patient. Hopefully his parents will decide to spend a little extra money and have him sedated and seen by faculty. The other patient I was scheduled with this afternoon was a little girl who is a month from being 2 years old. I did a very short exam with her, brushed her teeth, and put on some fluoride - all with her crying and yelling! It was a day for yelling and screaming and crying!!! She did calm down as soon as we were done - as my instructor said, she was exhibiting completely "age appropriate behavior." :) Even with all of the fussing and crying, I still love to see the little kids - it's very rewarding when you can earn their trust, and also rewarding to do everything you can to keep them from having problems in the future (Please, mothers everywhere, get rid of the sippy cups with juice! :) ).

So now I am home - Aaron works this evening, so it's me and the boys. I was going to take them for a walk, but I only had one leash - the two leashes we normally use are in Aaron's car from when we went to my parent's this weekend! I took them on a walk one at a time, which I think really confused them but they did pretty well. They really don't like to walk on sidewalks that have been salted - I'm not sure if the salt itself is sharp to their paws, or if it is more of a chemical reaction. I felt bad when they would hold up one paw at a time as if to say "OUCH!" so I tried to wipe them off and then avoid more of the salted sidewalks... They are just fine now, so I'm not too worried about it. Still, I'd like to know what it is about the salt that bothers them. Anyway, now they are snoozing - I've been a good girl and I've done some studying since Aaron isn't here right now. And now I'm burned out from studying and I'm going to watch Top Chef! Good night!

Just 7 days...

Until we find out whether we are having a girl or a boy! It feels like the last week went by pretty quickly, so I'm hoping this week will feel the same! I'm really getting excited for this next appointment - not only to find out the sex of the baby, but to get to see the baby on the ultrasound! Super exciting!!!
I feel like I'm having a bit of a growth spurt - I got on the scale again this morning, and it's definitely going up! It would be depressing except I know it has to go up so the baby will grow - still, I haven't weighed this much since my freshman year of college! Good ole' Freshman Fifteen - well, I'm not sure exactly what I gained that year from my senior year of high school, but I know the cafeteria food, late night pizza, and meeting for coffee (latte's) all the time didn't help!!! I think I'm still 8 - 10 pounds off of what I weighed the most in college, so I'm actually fairly encouraged because I know I've lost the weight before!
Still, looking in the mirror, it is just a weird change to watch. I don't have a waist anymore - I just feel thick in the middle - and now I just want a belly to pop out so I look more pregnant and less fat! lol It's ironic that the women are the ones who carry the baby and go through such a body change, when we are the ones with the body issues already! :)
Anyway, it's snowing this morning - it hasn't snowed in a week or two, so it'll be nice to cover up all of the dingy snow. I hope it doesn't snow too much though, otherwise we'll lose a lot of patients the rest of this week! I just want it to warm up soon... :)
Hope you are all having a good week - I can't wait for next Tuesday to post what we are having!

baby kicks... or punches???

It's so funny to sit here on the computer, and feel little bumps from the baby. At first I thought I must be imagining it, but now I am very certain of what it is! Little Baby Brummer is saying hello! Aaron and I are getting impatient about finding out whether we are having a boy or girl - I think the next two weeks are going to feel like forever!!! When we were in Des Moines, I found a little snow suit that would be just right for this next winter - it was at Von Maur and was marked down to $12! The only catch - it's blue! :) I bought it anyways, because it's a 50% chance that it's a boy- however, I'm sure that I just confirmed that indeed we are having a girl! :) We'll see - at least we have a Von Maur in town so I could take it back if it's a girl. Either way, I still may keep it because maybe someday we will have a boy!

I'm really ready for the cold weather to move on - I know it has warmed up a little, but it is still cold enough that I have to really bundle up to walk to the bus stop. I'm ready for spring! Let's melt away the snow!

Fun in Chicago...

We are back from our long weekend in Chicago with my parents - we had a very good time and ate very well!! :) On Saturday we went to a matinee of Wicked, which was really fun (a lot different for us the second time around as Aaron and I know all the words to the songs because we have listened to the CD way too many times! :) ). We went to dinner afterwards at Gioco, an Italian restaurant near our hotel. We stayed at the Blackstone (thanks to Aaron's Marriott discount :) ) which is right on Michigan Ave. so there were some really great views. It's a historical building and we got to take a quick tour on Sunday evening - we even got to see the Presidential suite on the top floor, and "The Smoking Room" where some of the Republican big-wigs picked Warren G. Harding for their presidential candidate. It really was a neat thing to see, and fun to imagine all of the famous people who had been where we were standing! Anyway, Sunday morning we went to M. Henry, the top rated restaurant out of 4300 in Chicago on Trip Advisor! We went for brunch, and it was so good! It was so hard to choose what to order because so many things sounded so good! We went shopping after that - we stopped at Pottery Barn Kids and Babys R Us and another mall. We've decided on a crib from Babys R Us - I'll post a picture sometime. I really like it - it's very simple and has clean lines.
Some exciting baby-related news: Yesterday and today I have definitely been feeling the baby moving! It's so exciting to actually feel something, even though they are just little tiny bumps. I can't wait for some bumps that Aaron will be able to feel!

Chicago time!

Tonight Aaron and I are headed to Chicago with my parents! We are excited for a little get-away and time off from reality. We are staying in a Marriott downtown (of course :) ), and tomorrow we are going to see Wicked! Aaron and I have seen it with his family, but we loved it so much we are very excited to see it again! Hopefully we will have some good shopping time to go look at cribs and such - too bad we don't know what we are having yet!
Anyway, I'm hoping it warms up soon - it is just so bitterly cold and I'm not thrilled to think about what the utility bill is going to be next month!
Have a good weekend everyone!

Diapers and formula

Yesterday when I was at the Motherhood maternity store, they asked for my contact information so they could send coupons between now and my due date. I decided sure, why not, and the clerk told me that two of the companies that send out coupons are Huggies and Enfamil. This makes me laugh, though, because these are two companies that I probably won't use when our baby is born - not because I don't like the companies, but we are planning on breastfeeding and cloth diapering. I don't think it's all that ground-breaking to say that we plan on breastfeeding, but the cloth diapering is still something that I don't think many people get. I have my reasons for cloth diapers - one of the biggest reasons is environmental impact of disposable diapers. We live in a very disposable society - anything you can use once then throw away is very convenient, well convenient for us in the short term. The diaper companies know what they are doing when they get you hooked on the convenience - you are a customer for years!
The financial benefits of cloth diapers are another reason for me - the average amount spent on disposable diapers is a couple thousand dollars per child, whereas with cloth diapers it can be much less, and the diapers can be used for more than one child. Sure, there are costs for laundering the diapers, but they are still far less than the cost of disposables...

Anyway, I'll get off my soapbox for now. :) No, really I don't want to be on a soapbox - this is just my place to explain why we are going to do what we are going to do. :) And I just find it funny what you get in the "free gifts" from stores for expecting parents - did I mention I also got a Playtex bottle with bottle liners from the Motherhood store when I registered? And Baby's R Us gave us a box with coupons and samples of Huggies wipes... lol They start so early with marketing!

Preggo pants revisited

Today I went shopping for a pair of dressy preggo pants as none of my pre-pregnancy pants fit anymore! I had tried on jeans at Target before and that was not fun - they did not fit at all! Then before Christmas I found some jeans at Kohl's that worked, so those were my only pair of preggo pants. When I'm in school I wear scrubs all the time, so those still fit (for now :) ). I did stop at the uniform store today to try on the next size up - they were huge! I ended up getting a different petite style in the next size up so they weren't quite as huge all over, and they do have elastic on the back of the waist. Scrub tops, however, are either very fitted if they are made for women, or they are cut completely wrong if they are unisex. I may have to get creative later on and do some alterations on the next size up.
Anyway, I went dress pants shopping today and was pleasantly surprised with Target - I found a pair of brown slacks there that are my pre-pregnancy size (which makes me feel better :) ) and they sit below the belly. I think they will be great for post-partum as well! I also went to the Motherhood store in the mall, and I found a pair of gray slacks there - they have a thin stretchy waist that goes all the way up over the belly. They should be pretty comfy! It was fun to spend some time at the mall today now that I'm starting to feel better.
Well, Tuesday is our 16 week appointment, and then we get to schedule the ultrasound appointment! Last time the doctor said that we would only have three weeks in between this one coming up and the ultrasound appointment, so that would be February 3rd! Exciting!

Hawkeye game

Tonight Aaron and I went to the Iowa basketball game - it was a close game with some bad calls, and sadly we lost. :( But we still had fun! Aaron got two tickets from the Marriott - they were actually courtside, second row! They were pretty great seats, and in the seats right in front of us there was a guy with his little boy, probably 4 years old. The little boy was so cute - he would cover his eyes from time to time, then watch the cheerleaders for awhile. Then he was eyeing our ice cream, and after half time he and his dad came back with some ice cream and he looked very happy. :) It was a fun night and only would have been better if the Hawks would have won!
Anyway, I'm very happy tomorrow is Friday - I am very ready for the weekend! I really need some time to do some research on daycare - it's really overwhelming at this point, but all of my books say I need to get on it because there are waiting lists! I'd really like it if the dental school said I could strap the baby on my back like a papoose and bring him/her to school every day! (seriously though, how cool would it be if the dental school had a daycare??? The University has a few, but several of them only take age 2 and up.) I've found a few places online that I want to call and check out - we'll see how it turns out!
Hope you all are having a good week!

Best day yet!!!

I think today has to be the best day I've had since I've been pregnant - I woke up feeling good (always starving, but still good :) ). I had a very busy day at school with a break at lunch for a Sloppy Joe from the cafeteria! Yum!!! I really am starting to feel better because a Sloppy Joe just sounded awesome - I went back up to the clinic after lunch and regretted not getting another Sloppy Joe! :) Then I had a busy afternoon again in the clinic and Aaron picked me up from school. We went to Texas Roadhouse, and I still felt good, and none of the smells got to me, and I ate lots of good food... I told Aaron today that I think I've turned the corner on this pregnancy thing - instead of feeling sick or just at 50% most of the time, now I feel good but am always hungry! It's wonderful to enjoy food again though. For awhile there nothing sounded good, and it was the most frustrating thing trying to figure out what to eat that woud sit okay. So, all in all a good day. I think my prego book says that from here on out I will probably average about one pound a week until I deliver - a little frightening to think about, but with how hungry I've been today I believe it!!!
Anyway, I'm getting a little guff about not posting any pregnancy pictures, but I have to say I'm really not showing right now. I just look like I've been eating what I ate today every day! :) I have a healthy pooch right now, but if you didn't know I was pregnant right now I think you'd just think I'm chunky. :) But, I'm posting two pictures anyway. The first is from Christmas day when I was 13 weeks and 5 days pregnant.

The second is on our trip to Phoenix, and I believe I was 14 weeks and 1 day pregnant that day. The Phoenix picture makes me look more pregnant because I have a billowy shirt on. :)

I will take more pictures soon, probably this Saturday at 16 weeks. We'll see. :)

15 weeks!

Photo is from Flickr- Jay Titcomb

So today I am officially 15 weeks along, and according to my book the baby is about the length of a pear! Aaron and I got back last night from our trip to Phoenix - we had a good time there despite the majority of the family getting sick about halfway through the trip! I'll try to post some pictures later - I'll have to do that from Aaron's computer though because he downloaded the pictures to his computer. Anyway, when we got back the house was 59 degrees! Brrr! Our dogsitter called us while we were gone saying that the furnace wasn't working, so we called our AHS people and got someone to go out and fix it. Well, they thought it was better, but last night it was cold, and this morning it was down to 51 degrees! So we got on the phone and called again, and the same guy came back and fix it - apparently some wire wasn't properly connected. Now it is a toasty 70 degrees in the house, and I'm going to turn it back down to where we normally keep it. But it's nice to know it can get to 70 degrees!
Well, it's nice to have the weekend to catch up and get ready to go back to school on Monday. Then the countdown is to Spring Break!

Heartbeat!

Today we had our second doctor's appointment and we got to hear the baby's heartbeat! Very fast - whump, whump, whump, whump... :) I forgot to ask the doctor what the rate was so we could guess the gender of the baby. Next time I'll ask! In two more appointments we'll have the ultrasound to determine whether we are having a boy or a girl- pretty exciting! Aaron and I will have a hard time not going overboard once we do find out what we're having!
Anyway, two more days of school and then it's Christmas break. I'm so excited for a break! Can't wait!!!!

12.5 and counting...

According to one of my books, this week the baby is the size of a little lime! When I look at my stomach, I can't imagine a lime in there. I'm starting to get a firm bit of pudge on my stomach, but I bet it will be awhile till I start to show enough for people to notice. I'm still fighting the queasiness, although some days are better than others. I'm hoping that it will start to go away soon though! Tomorrow we have our second doctor's appointment, and hopefully we will get to hear the heartbeat with the Doppler.
Today I had my two finals for my 1st semester classes. The first one was fairly difficult, but I'm sure I at least passed. :) The second was actually open book, so it was pretty easy. It would be pretty terrible if I don't get an A on that final! :) When I left school today, it was snowing - we've probably accumulated 2-3 inches so far and it's really light and powdery. I shoveled our sidewalk and driveway, which was probably in vain since it's still snowing, but at least if we have to do it again, there is less to shovel!
Anyway, three days left in clinic and then it's Christmas vacation!!! Maybe then I'll find the time and motivation to clean my house... :)

Chewie is picking up the slack...

So tonight Aaron and I were watching TV in the living room, and out of nowhere, Chewie comes in with the hand broom in his mouth! Apparently Chewie is sick and tired of our house being a pit, and he knows Mommy is not her usual pick-up-on-the-weekend self so he took it upon himself to do a little housework! :) What a good dog... I wonder if I could get him to clean the toilets too??? Poor Chewie got a little miffed when I had to take the hand broom away... Now he's licking the carpet. Okay, I get the hint - time to sweep the living room!

10.5 weeks and counting...

So according to one of my prego books, the babe is close the size of a strawberry right now. Cool! It's amazing how fast they grow - just 8 weeks ago the baby was the size of a poppyseed and did not even look remotely like a human! I am counting down the weeks till the second trimester - I am really ready to be done with the queasiness! Plus, I know I will eventually be pining to be the size I am now, but the grass is always greener... :) It'll be a nice to have a bump to remind me that there really is a baby growing and I'm not just feeling sick for nothing!
Anyways, Thanksgiving break was great but it felt too short! It was nice to catch up with the fam and we did have a lot of fun making tons of cookies! For pics of that, check out Ellen's blog. I'm looking forward to Christmas break - two and a half weeks away!

First time to see the baby!

Today we had our first appointment with the doctor, and our official due date is June 28, 2009! We are pretty much right on track with where I thought we are at - today I am 9 weeks and 3 days along. The doctor did a "mini ultrasound" today just to confirm how far along we are and to check out the baby. This kind of ultrasound doesn't print pictures or anything like that, but we did get to see the baby's heart beating! Very exciting! The rest of the appointment was pretty normal - lots of paperwork to fill out, bloodwork, etc. I really like my doctor - she talks pretty fast but she seems fairly laid back.
Anyway, the last few days I felt pretty horrible, but today I felt a little better (probably because it's the day of my appointment!). I can't wait to get past the nausea!!! Maybe just a few weeks more...
Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

GO HAWKS!!!

I'm watching the Hawkeye game right now, and we are just demoralizing Minnesota! And, Shonn Greene just beat Tavian Banks single-season rushing record! I'm glad I'm not a Gopher fan today! :)
The puppies are really cute right now - Reuben keeps curling up right next to Chewie or he even lays his head on Chewie. I think he's trying to tell us to turn the heat up! :)
Anyway, I felt pretty good this morning, but the longer I'm awake today, the worse I'm feeling. I think right now how I'm feeling is really related to how tired I am. I didn't sleep in a ton today - I woke up around 7 and dozed for a little while after that. That's still sleeping in, and I did go to bed fairly early last night - who am I kidding, I go to bed early every night! (at least lately... :) ) I think I'm going to go to bed after the Hawkeyes finish steam-rolling Minnesota.
Just a few more days till our first OB appointment! And, just after that is Thanksgiving! Hurray!

A good day...

Today has been a pretty good day - probably the best I've felt in awhile! I was still a little sick this morning, but this afternoon and evening I've felt pretty good! I even felt like I could eat anything at all, which is really rare!
A week from tomorrow is our first doctor's appointment, and I'm counting down the days!!! I know that it's not going to change anything since I already have a good idea of my due date, but it just seems so official... And it's just one more step on the way to getting to meet this baby!
So I was at Target yesterday shopping for one of my friend's wedding showers, and on a whim I decided to try on a pair of maternity jeans (I have to admit my next-size-up jeans are getting a little snug!). Anyways, I don't know what pregnant woman would want SKINNY LEG jeans!?!?! But the only style they had were that style, and even when I tried on a few sizes bigger than what I used to wear, they were still really tight! It was kind of a depressing trip, because honestly I didn't think I had gained very much weight so far! I'm optimistic that other stores will carry other styles - I'm think something more like a relaxed fit is going to be the way to go! :) I don't need the maternity pants yet, but I'm thinking in a few weeks it might be more comfortable! Maybe by Christmas break I'll be needing them - I don't think the jeans I have now would be very comfy for a plane ride to Phoenix!
Anyway, I have two tests tomorrow, but both for classes that are kind of "fluff" classes. I should probably get on with my studying... Hope you all have a great week!

Fun stuff!!!

I got a package from UPS today, and this was inside! Aren't they cute??? They clip on the stroller or car seat so that they can't be thrown out by the baby! Thanks Ellen and Jim! It's a fun reminder that there is an end in sight to this pregnancy business, and it will be worth it in the end!
Honestly, this first trimester so far has been so different than I imagined it would be. I had no idea how tired I would be, and how sick I would be! There are all kinds of smells that really get to me - it's funny some of the things that really set me off. When I was in the Oral surgery rotation, the plastic that the suction tubing came in smelled so bad to me, and when I open the fridge and there's leftover pizza or something like that, it's pretty bad too! Last night we went to Old Chicago with my classmate and her husband, and nothing really sounded good to me except chocolate milk! Then all of the food came, and that just about did me in - my nose is so hypersensitive now! I bought a book about morning sickness, and I really like it. It's very encouraging and doesn't just say "eat crackers in the morning" or "just deal with it - it will go away in a few weeks." I'm starting to figure out what foods always sit well with me - they are usually pretty bland! :) Today has been pretty decent as far as the past few weeks have been - maybe as I get the food stuff figured out, the queasiness will be a lot more manageable!
Anyway, it's less than two weeks till my first doctor's appointment - it'll be the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Hopefully we get to hear the heartbeat!

Fall table

I'm a little late in posting this, but better late than never! Aaron gave me flowers for my birthday, and he coordinated them to go with my fall decorations on my kitchen table! I thought he did a good job!