13 Weeks!

 So exciting!
Total Weight Loss/Gain: Still down 2 pounds.
Maternity Clothes: I don't really need them yet, but as you can see in my last post, I went ahead and bought some. And I have to admit, I've worn the jeans quite a bit, because they are so darn comfortable.
Sleep: Ugh, I'm still having the most ridiculous, horrible dreams. A couple of nights ago I had a dream that involved characters from Mad Men and Wrestlers from my youth (the 80s) battling to the death. It all took place in a movie theatre. I don't know how my brain puts these things together, but it's weird.

Also, a lot of times I wake up in the middle of the night and can't get back to sleep. That is hard on me and Corey.

Movement: None yet.
Cravings/Aversions: Cravings- Grapes, Biscuits, Tilapia, Corn.
Aversions- Syrup. Gross.
Symptoms: I'm feeling pretty good these days, the problems with sleep are the main issues I'm dealing with.
What I miss: Lunch Meat.

What I look forward to: Everything! Anatomy scan, which is supposed to be 7 weeks from now, but I'm hoping we will get a sneak peek. But really, I'm just so excited about being in the 2nd Trimester and having so much fun stuff ahead!
Moods: Pretty good! I'm feeling much more in control of my emotions!
Milestones: Baby is a peach! And is developing vocal chords! Also, a lot of people consider this to be the first week of the 2nd Trimester, so that's kind of awesome!
Medical concerns: None! I'm feeling great, and we got the blood results back from the first screen that they do with the NT scan, and everything looked good. We are feeling so lucky. For someone who has dealt with so many health issues throughout my life, I'm pinching myself that everything has been going so well.
Anything else you'd like to share or vent about? We have been doing a lot of research on baby paraphernalia. First of all, holy crap, everything is expensive! Second of all, there are so many options! The most exciting thing? We have found a stroller that Corey and I agree on and love! It's the City Mini by Baby Jogger. We are in love with it and I can't wait to be scooting around with Baby G in it!

Also, this week I'm letting my workplace know and we are making it really official by announcing it on Facebook. Pretty scary, but I'm looking forward to having it out there and being able to talk about it. I've already told my bosses and my closest friends at work and they were all very sweet and excited!
Also, I want to share this picture of me with my crazy cat Ally. She and Strut always like to be a part of the photo shoots!
Bye!
Elizabeth

My Endless Love: the Snoogle!

I mentioned the Snoogle in my last post, so I thought I would devote an entire blog to this lovely product with the ridiculous name. A snoogle is a pregnancy body pillow. It is really easy to stretch around you and reposition. You can wrap it around your back or around your stomach, it can even be helpful for positioning the baby once you are breastfeeding. I have to admit, I felt a little bit stupid buying one this early in pregnancy. But, I've heard several ladies rave about how comforting they are and I became interested. I usually sleep with a pillow in between my knees at night anyway, so I thought this might work better. Plus, Corey was going out of town and I wasn't feeling well, so I decided to go ahead and purchase one. Of course it didn't arrive until the day Corey got back. But I still feel like it was worth every penny. Even though it is only getting down to about 80 degrees outside at night, the Snoogle stay cool throughout the night, which is one of the things I was worried about.
I've been sleeping like a baby. Strut is a fan as well.

If you are pregnant and unsure whether you should invest in this, I say go for it!

The one downside--it can be kind of unweildy. In the already clumsy state of pregnancy, having a giant pillow around while half asleep is bound to end up with at least one accident. I knocked over an open water bottle with it. Then I took everything off of my nightstand to dry it off and I decided that I didn't want all that crap on my nightstand anyway, so I ended up putting it on the chair in our bedroom and I'm planning to redistribute the junk to other locations once I get more energy. All's well that ends well, right?

So I think we should end this blog with a throw back - a video of Lionel Richie and Diana Ross belting out Endless Love. As cheesy as this song is, I totally love it. And today, I dedicate it to my Snoogle.

Have a great day!

Elizabeth

To sleep, perchance to dream.

I have been having some crazy dreams lately. I have always gone thru phases where my dreams are more memorable than others, but the last few weeks have been crazy. My dream last night takes the cake. It incorporates many things I noticed and/or talked about in the last few days. In my dream, I was hanging out with Harry Potter and the rest of the good guys. Minus Ron Weasley. Which is really disappointing, because don't we all love Ron Weasley?
We were fighting Death Eaters, everything was really dark and scary. I was also there to help (SPOILER ALERT...but really, the book has been out for many years and the movie was out last year) bury Dobby. I remember crying a lot and everyone acted like I was a big old weirdo. I then explained to Hermione that I'm pregnant and I have a hard time controlling my emotions.
In my dream, (SPOILER ALERT...but come on, didn't you see it coming?) there was no grand defeat of Voldermort.
Instead, he lived, and we all had to split apart and go to different universities and pretend to be regular muggles so the Deatheaters and He Who Must Not Be Named couldn't track us down and kill us. I went to Western Washington University
(mentioned in passing by hubby yesterday) with Hermione and Lee Jordan (the Weasley twins' best friend. Still no Weasleys appearing in my dream). We took on disguises and wore elaborately hipster clothing to blend in with the college folks. There was a baby that started out as the baby of Lupin and Tonks (sob) but ended up being my baby. No recollection of giving birth or anything. Just turned into my baby during the course of the dream. And Hermione and I had to hide the baby in our Freshman dorm room, which looked exactly like the dorm room I had freshman year. We definitely hid him in the drawer when we had to go to class. The baby was real cute and he wore very cute hats and overalls.
His hair changed color a lot, but no sign of any werewolf tendencies in the dream.
Anyway, one day, Hermione and I were hanging out with a bunch of very hip college students and eating lunch under a tree in an area that looked suspiciously like the South Mall at UT and what do you know, Ron Livingston walks by. Now, if you know me, you know that my husband looks quite a bit like Ron Livingston.
Ron Livingston
Corey
I rest my case.
So I think this may have just been my brains way of incorporating Corey into my dream without it really being Corey. In my dream, he was totally like his character from Sex and the City, Berger (an episode of which I watched yesterday. Not an episode with Berger in it, though). And apparently we had a romantic relationship and I was upset with him and we were no longer together. I don't remember any post-it notes making an appearance in my dream, though. But we had an awkward conversation, and after he left, Hermione offered me sympathy and gave me some of her cheetos (something I've been craving a lot lately). I tend to try and make some sense of my dreams after I have them. I honestly have no idea what any of this means. Other than the fact that I really like Hermione and I want to be friends with her in real life.
Bizarre Dreams -yet another weird thing they never tell you about pregnancy. Add this to the following list of things that I have learned in the last 8 weeks:
1) increased ear wax production. I have found little to no information about what causes this. But I can account for the fact that I have to clean out my ears twice as often, otherwise I can't hear people. On second thought, maybe I should just leave them clogged.
2) just because you are hungry for something doesn't mean you will feel like eating it once it is in front of you. I really love the idea of an assortment of foods right now, but I have had a few occasions lately where something is placed in front of me and I can't eat it. It looks really yummy, but I just can't. Maybe this is my bodies way of preventing morning sickness.
3) everything smells. I am a bloodhound. I wish I was exaggerating. I can smell someone sitting across from me in a meeting. I can smell the gum someone is chewing. And I most certainly can smell food and get grossed out by it.
4) You can look bigger and still weigh less. My body is rearranging itself in preperation I guess. Certain things are getting bigger and nothing is getting smaller. But I still weigh two pounds less than I did before this whole crazy journey started. Not that I couldn't stand to lose a little bit, but I'm confused by this as I've been eating a lot and I really don't care to lose weight now that I'm pregnant. While I often feel nauseated, I do not throw up frequently enough for it to have an effect on my weight. I have no idea how this works.
5) Now lets add to the growing list, bizarre pregnancy dreams. According to a recent study featured in Sleep magazine, increased emotional influence, sleep deprivation and altered hormone levels all contribute to the crazy ass dreams women have during pregnancy.
All in all, I can't decide if I am looking forward to falling to sleep tonight (Pros- girl talk w/ Hermione! Cheetos! Cute babies in hats!) or if I'm dreading it (Cons- Voldermort is scary; my snoogle could turn into Nagini, Voldemort's snake; more Ron Weasley, less Ron Livingston, please). But God knows, there is absolutely no chance that I would have a similar dream again tonight.
My predictions: I probably will dream about the Kardashians (read and watched way too much about them in the last three days)
and/or throwing an incredibly ugly shoe at a beautiful chandelier in front of everyone I know
I guess I will just have to wait and see. Ay, there's the rub.

Happy Sleeping!

Elizabeth