"Hey pal, eyes up here!" ...And Other Pregnancy Woes

I've wanted a baby for a while now.  Now that the bun is in the oven... I could really be over the whole "being pregnant" thing (16 weeks to go).

I get a lot more attention now.  And it's not the kind I want.  I'm identified now by "the bump."  Men stare at it (at least I think they're staring at it, could be my other growing assets I guess, *snicker, snicker*).  I've been referred to as "the pregnant one" more than a couple times now.  Today I found out that there's a person in my life who thinks I'm incapable of doing something, "because I'm pregnant."

Well I'm here to tell the world that most of the time, I forget I'm pregnant.  If it weren't for the frequent trips to the restroom and a belly that's suddenly in my way all the time... I could block it out and get plenty of other things done.  Not only am I capable of creating and carrying a tiny little person in my body for 9 months... but I look damn good doing it.  There's not a thing that I can't do.  Sure, there's the medically restricted stuff like don't drink alcohol or get a tattoo... but you get the point.  So when it comes to something simple like working 50 hours a week or planning a party?  BRING IT.  If you expect to see me barefoot and in the kitchen baking a pie, you better not hold your breath.

My new favorite quote by the way...

"If you can't handle me at my worst, you don't deserve me at my best."  

So to those who think I'm just hormonal all the time?  Please see above. =)

Can you tell this got me all riled up?  I hope I don't seem ungrateful or anything like that.  I couldn't be happier that there's a little guy just chilling inside, waiting til he gets a little cuter to come out and grace the world with his presence...

But save the special treatment.  I don't need it.

Ode to My Belly Button

My belly button has always been an "innie."  One of the first things I noticed with the whole 'getting pregnant' thing (ya know, outside of the baby bump) - is the ever so slight change to my poor belly button... it's a lot more shallow now and I'm pretty sure it's only a matter of time before it pops out the other direction. 

I got my belly button pierced when I was 17.  It hurt a lot and I passed out almost immediately after.  In my defense, it was a BIG needle... and I'm a total wuss.  Anyway, I've found some super flexible belly button rings that should allow me to keep it pierced throughout the pregnancy (so claims the website).  I've got a tiny one in now, and I've already got one that says, "It's a Boy" on the end of it.  It's a good two inches long.  You're supposed to be able to cut to fit, but I do have to wonder... who is the person that actually needs the full two inches?  Less than 19 weeks left, there's NO way... at least I hope!

So, Belly Button, dear little friend.  You've been a part of me for quite some time now.  I'm confident that you'll return to your natural innie position, sporting the shiny beads that once drew attention to my once tiny tummy.  Until then, Belly Button!

Preg-osaurus Ashley...

Easily the most feared creature on the planet for the next 22 weeks... she'll be the sweetest, kindest and most caring of animals one moment... and the next? 

She gets a little moody (maybe a little hungry...) and WILL bite your head off if you get in her way. 

She'll burst into tears at the drop of a hat (she still has feelings), and yes, she'll go full circle before you know what hit you. 

In fact, you might not even see it coming...  (Hint:  Try not to move... she can't see you if you're not moving!  However, you are much easier for her to catch the closer you are!)

Comfort Food

There's more than just one food that comforts or puts me in a better mood.  Since I have a bit of a sweet tooth, I'm pretty easy to please. 

M&Ms and strawberry cheesecake are probably my go-to comfort foods.  Tonight the quickest choice to ease a rough day was a shamrock shake.  Yeah it's my second one this week... oops.  Doesn't make it any less comforting.

I'm a bit more predictable than I'd like.  One thing you might not have expected? (I sure didn't)  This baby thing is freaking me the crap out.  There's a list of 27,000 baby names on a single website.  I don't have time to look through 27,000 baby names, much less pick ONE that this kid is going to be stuck with.  Once I know if it's a boy or a girl that will help... I'm also partial to 'A' names... probably because mine starts with an A (as does the word, AWESOME).  Plus I want it to mean something cool.  I do have a boy name that I like (starts with an A), but nothing I'm super excited about yet if it's a girl.

The friggin' hospital also called tonight to pre-register me... I'm not having this baby until September... unless they've got another idea in mind.  THAT freaks me out even more!  Plus I've got a second set of fingernails and an extra heart, brain and every other internal organ, growing inside my body.  Creepy... sure hope it likes McDonald's...

I don't mean to seem ungrateful.  It's just overwhelming to think about... of course a lot of things are.  At least there's no sign of a chocolate or strawberry cheesecake shortage...

The Baby Story

I'm still Kind of a Bad Ash... just with a baby!  I'm about 12 weeks pregnant, due September 9.

I've kept this very big secret (for the most part) since the beginning of the year.  In fact, I've been keeping a secret since late 2009, because that's how long we've been trying to get pregnant.  It took 15 months and a ton of tests to figure out what the deal was.  Months 6 - 12 I took a progesterone supplement... then we tried clomid, more hormones and tummy shots... I took my temperature every morning for over a year... in December we switched to the big guns and tried a combo of hormone creams - the last option before venturing down the in-vitro route.  Luckily, the hormones did the trick.  There were some hiccups early on, but three sonograms later, everything is looking great.

I spent a lot of time being very frustrated over the past year.  I pretty much felt like a failure... and a whole lot of disappointment and confusion surrounded that.  You'd never know it though - this girl puts on a happy face.  Until recently of course... these pregnancy hormones are making me a bit crazy.  =) 

So anyway, it was a rough 15 months, but since January 2, I've been on top of the world.  Filled with worry about the baby, yes, but that's at least normal and rational. 

The past two months I've felt pretty good.  Nausueus about 90% of the time, hungry ALL the time, frequent potty breaks and my pants are getting tighter.  No weight gain yet, but I hear it's coming, lol. 

Baby's heartbeat at 12 weeks was 155 bpm and measured 6 centimeters.  Right now it's measuring 6 days bigger than it's supposed to be.   Sounds like we'll find out if it's a boy or a girl on March 28.  Place your bets now!

Remember When...

One of the activities during my TWO weeks off of work so far has been watching movies... lots of movies.  It's one of my favorite things to do.  Anyway, one of the movies was "Now and Then."  I've seen it before of course, but today it got me thinking of all the fun things I used to do when I was a kid, and how priorities have changed over the years.

Grade school consisted of countless sleepovers with friends - playing light as a feather, stiff as a board.  Riding your bike everywhere, playing hide and seek, staying close to home.  Life before cell phones *gasp*.  Having a new best friend every other week.

In junior high and high school it gradually switched to boys.  I settled in with a group of friends who shared interests and classes.  Passing notes with gossip and dirty jokes on them.  I kept a ridiculous amount of them (see below).  Reading through them... it's amazing the stuff we wrote on a piece of paper and passed in the hallway... Hours spent talking on the phone (pre-texting - again, *gasp*).  More sleepovers, group dates, break-ups, first love, drama.

In college there were a number of memorable experiences.  "Sweet Ass Suitemates," living in the world's crappiest house... oh and getting a college education of course.  Seeing the dancing deer head in the back of a truck that we swore up and down was a real deer (in reality it was stupid college boys playing a prank), late night trips to Walmart, dancing in the street in a penguin costume, house parties and nights out (once I was 21 obviously)...

In adult life it's work, doing whatever I want, spending time with co-workers who became friends, catching up with the life-long friends kept from grade school, junior high, high school and college, spending time with the new friends I've met since.  Priorities have changed.  Life seems to get more serious with more responsibilities and bigger decisions... the upside?  I'm still having a pretty good time. =)

Yeah, I Dance in My Kitchen

So as I'm busting a move to a commercial playing, "You can get with this, or you can get with that" while packing tomorrow's lunch... my sister walks in and comments, "there's just never a dull moment in this house."  Even though it's just me, my husband, two dogs and a cat, we're a fairly amusing bunch. 

So that made me think about the last two days spent indoors thanks to the weather.  During that time...

• I cried watching Father of the Bride.
• The puppy farted so bad that I literally looked around the room for a pile of steaming poop.  And this happened more than once...
• I had a Veronica Mars marathon, and was very upset to find out that there is no Season 4.
• I hid this month's edition of Cosmo when company came over... nobody needs to know I still read that (oops) or have a subscription (double oops).
• Tried to teach the puppy how to shake.  Instead, she picks up her food bowl and carries it around... "please sir, can I have some more?"
• I cleaned the entire house and used my new glass cleaner thingy from Norwex that made my cleaning activities way more fun (as I kept saying, "wow! come look at this!).  I even cleaned the ceiling fan in the master bedroom - me wobbling around on top of the bed was a site to see I'm sure.
• Watched both dogs go outside in the blizzard.  They were NOT happy, until they found the big pile of blown snow in the corner to play in.
• I thought about wrapping Christmas presents and working on a craft project... and decided laying on the couch sounded like a better idea.
• Recovered most of the day Saturday from a really fun Friday night Christmas party... from which one of our cars is STILL downtown, lol

Back to work tomorrow... but only one week left until I'm off for two.  Time to start thinking how I'll be ringing in the new year...