week 14
Welcome to the second trimester! This week's big developments: Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb. Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another. His kidneys are producing urine, which he releases into the amniotic fluid around him -- a process he'll keep up until birth. He can grasp, too, and if you're having an ultrasound now, you may even catch him sucking his thumb. In other news: Your baby's stretching out. From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 inches -- about the size of a lemon -- and he weighs 1 1/2 ounces.
I'm throwing myself a party here....whoop whoop! Made it to second trimester!!! Hollaaaa!
It all started on Sunday. I decided since I spent most of Saturday relaxing (felt super guilty), minus the couple hours of playing disc golf with my cousin Rob and climbing all these crazy hills, I would go nutso with cleaning on Sunday. We're talking vacuuming three levels of house and stairs and scrubbing floors and four bathrooms, donating things we really don't need anymore and marching up and down the stairs. Then I remember that only a few work pants still fit me and it's time to check out maternity stores at the Mall of America before it's too late.
Motherhood Maternity
Has some super cute stuff, but was I ticked there were only a few talls in their jeans. Yes, they were around $30, which I thought was great, but the only talls were in large or extra smalls. I tried the larges on and was swimming. Maybe eventually I'll fill them out, but I'm hoping most of the weight goes to the belly.... I became frustrated, plus, nobody wanted to help me and I had no idea what I was doing, so I left.
Next stop New York and Company
My friend Wendy suggested checking out their comfy pants because they come in longs. I knew this since my whole wardrobe is from NY&Co, but I haven't seen any pants without buttons for awhile there - or maybe I just wasn't looking. I mean, I LOVE NY&Co but vowed I'd stay away since they don't sell maternity clothes and I'm mad that I can't pay my bills online (they don't like my password). But I walked in and scored big time.There in the tall section were three stretchy work pants that will last me at least a couple more months! YEAH!!! And they were 45% off. They are called the Hudson pant...they look all fancy but really...no buttons, no zippers...just comfort!!! Check em out! http://www.nyandcompany.com/nyco/browse/subcategory.jsp?categoryId=cat1300006
Next stop Gap
In the way back of Baby Gap is a maternity section. There were definitely some cute stuff and I found some jeans in long! I tried on the shirts first which all looked weird on me because I don't really have a belly yet. But I will be back once that time comes. The jeans were awesome and I bought them. BUT, they were $70 and I'm worried I could grow out of them IF I gain more weight in my thighs and butt, which is probably a given the way I've been eating (yes, I ate an entire Chipotle burrito). Karl's reaction to seeing the pants in the bag was priceless. "What the heck is that stretchy band??? Whoa!"
Next stop Old Navy
I was disappointed by the single wall of maternity clothes. There were no long pants, but there were some long sleeve shirts on sale that I bought three of. I was happy with my purchase.
By the end, I was wiped out and so hungry that I ate an entire foot long sub sandwich. Oops! Monday came and I woke up at 5:00 a.m. so I could have breakfast with my brother Mike, my lovely husband Karl and our favorite pastor, Vern. I don't remember the last time I woke up that early, but I actually felt pretty awake and it felt really great to catch up and have that time together. All our schedules are nuts, so it was just really nice. Have I mentioned how much I miss Vern?
Off to work I went and soon I was flying home to cook dinner so I could make it to the big annual association meeting for our town home. Shocking enough I cooked up some deer meat and it actually tasted really good. Shhhhh.
I'm a member at large and had to be at the association meeting (no getting out of this meeting this time). I get to the meeting, where my brother said he was pretty sure only a few people would show....but I'm thinking, we're raising our monthly dues to $40+ a month, I think there will be more than a few people. I won. Over 30 people showed. Still not enough for quorum, which makes me think we have a few too many renters in our little community. What a stressful meeting that was, and LONG. In the end I decided to resign! I felt weird doing it, like I'm stripping pieces of my identity away, but I really do need to pick the things that are most important to me right now. Time is so valuable and this body isn't as it used to be. And life is about to enter a whole new level of crazy. My head started pounding during the meeting and I realized I was going to play an hour of volleyball next, so I better suck it up.
Quarter to nine at night and I'm racing off to Eden Prairie next to play volleyball. At this point headache is out of control, my eyes are closing and basically I want to curl up on the court and fall asleep. No go. I play for an hour. We win two of the three games. Yeah!!! And I actually hit a ball really hard...really felt my stomach stretch on that one. I roll in to home close to 11 and dive into bed. Karl is still studying but I'm glad he's awake so I can kiss him to pieces.
Tuesday morning comes and I purposely sleep in an extra 45 minutes because I know it's going to be rough. Sorry work, but trust me...you want me awake. And boy, is my body and baby mad at me. I'm so not feeling good. But I survive and head off to Bible study after work. It's refreshing. There are new faces I want to get to know, but I'm too exhausted to ask questions and keep thinking about bed. Wednesday comes and I'm still incredibly wiped out, that I find myself nodding off at work and on the couch when I get home. But at the same time I'm getting super stressed about daycare and figuring out what we want to do. In my head I think things are going to work out, but from what I hear, I need to get my butt moving. I just don't know what to do.
Finally Thursday comes and I'm able to go on a nice long walk after work and decide to take today off (Friday) so I can get some writing done. I love writing. I need writing. So back to revising my book I go and chasing after my dream. It's what I want, but now I have this new mindset that maybe my time and plan is different than God's plan for me. I need to let the control go, but at the same time keep dreaming and trying. I can't give up. It's still going to happen (I feel it in my bones), but it might just take longer to get there. I know I don't have these feelings inside of me for kicks and giggles. They are there to push me and I need to listen to them. So writing here I come!!
More good stuff to come next post!!!
Welcome to the second trimester! This week's big developments: Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb. Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another. His kidneys are producing urine, which he releases into the amniotic fluid around him -- a process he'll keep up until birth. He can grasp, too, and if you're having an ultrasound now, you may even catch him sucking his thumb. In other news: Your baby's stretching out. From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 inches -- about the size of a lemon -- and he weighs 1 1/2 ounces.
I'm throwing myself a party here....whoop whoop! Made it to second trimester!!! Hollaaaa!
It all started on Sunday. I decided since I spent most of Saturday relaxing (felt super guilty), minus the couple hours of playing disc golf with my cousin Rob and climbing all these crazy hills, I would go nutso with cleaning on Sunday. We're talking vacuuming three levels of house and stairs and scrubbing floors and four bathrooms, donating things we really don't need anymore and marching up and down the stairs. Then I remember that only a few work pants still fit me and it's time to check out maternity stores at the Mall of America before it's too late.
Motherhood Maternity
Has some super cute stuff, but was I ticked there were only a few talls in their jeans. Yes, they were around $30, which I thought was great, but the only talls were in large or extra smalls. I tried the larges on and was swimming. Maybe eventually I'll fill them out, but I'm hoping most of the weight goes to the belly.... I became frustrated, plus, nobody wanted to help me and I had no idea what I was doing, so I left.
Next stop New York and Company
My friend Wendy suggested checking out their comfy pants because they come in longs. I knew this since my whole wardrobe is from NY&Co, but I haven't seen any pants without buttons for awhile there - or maybe I just wasn't looking. I mean, I LOVE NY&Co but vowed I'd stay away since they don't sell maternity clothes and I'm mad that I can't pay my bills online (they don't like my password). But I walked in and scored big time.There in the tall section were three stretchy work pants that will last me at least a couple more months! YEAH!!! And they were 45% off. They are called the Hudson pant...they look all fancy but really...no buttons, no zippers...just comfort!!! Check em out! http://www.nyandcompany.com/nyco/browse/subcategory.jsp?categoryId=cat1300006
Next stop Gap
In the way back of Baby Gap is a maternity section. There were definitely some cute stuff and I found some jeans in long! I tried on the shirts first which all looked weird on me because I don't really have a belly yet. But I will be back once that time comes. The jeans were awesome and I bought them. BUT, they were $70 and I'm worried I could grow out of them IF I gain more weight in my thighs and butt, which is probably a given the way I've been eating (yes, I ate an entire Chipotle burrito). Karl's reaction to seeing the pants in the bag was priceless. "What the heck is that stretchy band??? Whoa!"
Next stop Old Navy
I was disappointed by the single wall of maternity clothes. There were no long pants, but there were some long sleeve shirts on sale that I bought three of. I was happy with my purchase.
By the end, I was wiped out and so hungry that I ate an entire foot long sub sandwich. Oops! Monday came and I woke up at 5:00 a.m. so I could have breakfast with my brother Mike, my lovely husband Karl and our favorite pastor, Vern. I don't remember the last time I woke up that early, but I actually felt pretty awake and it felt really great to catch up and have that time together. All our schedules are nuts, so it was just really nice. Have I mentioned how much I miss Vern?
Off to work I went and soon I was flying home to cook dinner so I could make it to the big annual association meeting for our town home. Shocking enough I cooked up some deer meat and it actually tasted really good. Shhhhh.
I'm a member at large and had to be at the association meeting (no getting out of this meeting this time). I get to the meeting, where my brother said he was pretty sure only a few people would show....but I'm thinking, we're raising our monthly dues to $40+ a month, I think there will be more than a few people. I won. Over 30 people showed. Still not enough for quorum, which makes me think we have a few too many renters in our little community. What a stressful meeting that was, and LONG. In the end I decided to resign! I felt weird doing it, like I'm stripping pieces of my identity away, but I really do need to pick the things that are most important to me right now. Time is so valuable and this body isn't as it used to be. And life is about to enter a whole new level of crazy. My head started pounding during the meeting and I realized I was going to play an hour of volleyball next, so I better suck it up.
Quarter to nine at night and I'm racing off to Eden Prairie next to play volleyball. At this point headache is out of control, my eyes are closing and basically I want to curl up on the court and fall asleep. No go. I play for an hour. We win two of the three games. Yeah!!! And I actually hit a ball really hard...really felt my stomach stretch on that one. I roll in to home close to 11 and dive into bed. Karl is still studying but I'm glad he's awake so I can kiss him to pieces.
Tuesday morning comes and I purposely sleep in an extra 45 minutes because I know it's going to be rough. Sorry work, but trust me...you want me awake. And boy, is my body and baby mad at me. I'm so not feeling good. But I survive and head off to Bible study after work. It's refreshing. There are new faces I want to get to know, but I'm too exhausted to ask questions and keep thinking about bed. Wednesday comes and I'm still incredibly wiped out, that I find myself nodding off at work and on the couch when I get home. But at the same time I'm getting super stressed about daycare and figuring out what we want to do. In my head I think things are going to work out, but from what I hear, I need to get my butt moving. I just don't know what to do.
Finally Thursday comes and I'm able to go on a nice long walk after work and decide to take today off (Friday) so I can get some writing done. I love writing. I need writing. So back to revising my book I go and chasing after my dream. It's what I want, but now I have this new mindset that maybe my time and plan is different than God's plan for me. I need to let the control go, but at the same time keep dreaming and trying. I can't give up. It's still going to happen (I feel it in my bones), but it might just take longer to get there. I know I don't have these feelings inside of me for kicks and giggles. They are there to push me and I need to listen to them. So writing here I come!!
More good stuff to come next post!!!
