Pregnancy Pillow

I got this pregnancy pillow from Walmart.com The main reason I picked this one is because of the position the lady is in in the bottom right picture. I really like sleeping on my back but slightly on my side & having the pillow all around me really lets me stay in that position. I also sleep like the 1st picture on left & kinda hug the pillow.
At first I was worried that this pillow would be too bulky in my queen size bed with me, hubby & my 2 dogs--well, really the dog that's 70 lbs because the little one is only 5 lbs & sleeps above our heads. It's actually no problem at all. Then I started thinking that they put a really small lady in the picture & made the pillow look much bigger than it really is. The picture is pretty accurate--I'm 5'8" & now 180 lbs so I'm not small.
I'm really happy I ordered it & I'm not sure I'm gonna wanna give it up when I give birth!

25 week pregnant belly

A picture of my pregnant belly at 25w4d. I took it this morning on my way out to jury duty. Boy oh boy am I looking slobbier & slobbier every week!

24 week pregnant belly

I've been slacking with blogging. Mainly the reason is because I was settling into a new apartment.
This is a picture of my 24w2d pregnant belly.

Hip Pain

I have been sleeping absolutely terrible at night, especially the last few weeks. There are 2 major problems, my hips are in severe pain & I have to pee. I'm not quite sure which one is actually waking me, but when I wake up all I know is I'm hurting & I also have to go to the bathroom.
Before getting pregnant I was always one to sleep on my side, especially on my left which is a major plus for preggers because doctors say it improves circulation. My 2nd sleeping position is on my back & occasionally on my right side. Sleeping on your back after the 1st trimester is a major no no when pregnant because the baby's weight can press on your major vein & can diminish blood flow to your brain and uterus, and can make you dizzy, short of breath, or nauseated. So at night I try & stay on my sides, especially my left side. When I wake up both my hips are in so much pain, especially the side I was sleeping on....so I get up, walk to the bathroom which will stretch things out a bit, pee then go back to bed & lay on the opposite side. I do this about 6 times a night. I googled about this & it was recommended putting a pillow between your knees which I started doing. The pillow I was using was very thin & didn't seem to be helping much. My bed is also a firm bed so I'm sure that's adding to the pain too.
I can't take much more of this so I went online last night before bed & bought the All Nighter Total Body Pregnancy Pillow by Leachco from Walmart, especially since I still had $45 left from a $100 Walmart gift card I got for Xmas. I couldn't decide between the one I got & the Snoogle, they both had great reviews. I picked the one I bought because one of the positions the lady is in in the picture is on her back. I don't plan to lay directly on my back but kind of on a slant so this is the one I bought. I can't wait until it come & when it does I will definitely write a review.
Last night was the first night in a few weeks that I slept really good. Well, better than normal...I only woke up about 3 times instead of 6+ & I wasn't in terrible pain. I had also used a fluffier pillow between my legs & I had worked all day so when I got home I was super tired so that might have helped a bit. I'm sure the *real* reason I slept well was because after a huge chunk of sleep I woke up on my back which I am very unhappy about. I then went back to sleep on my side & used the bigger pillow that really seemed to help a lot. When I woke up this morning I felt the baby kicking so I'm guessing the laying on my back this time didn't do anything to my little one, thank god. Lets see if this will continue or if it was just a one time deal. I will continue to use the fluffier & see....I just can't wait to get my pregnancy pillow!

UPDATE: using a thicker pillow between my legs made a big difference....I really didn't have pain in my hips since using a thicker pillow...yay!

23 week pregnant belly

A picture 1st thing in the morning of my pregnant belly at exactly week 22 & 5 days (22w5d). I probably should take it on the same exact day each week but I don't. I'm lucky I remember to take it at all ;)

We have a name!!

I'm so happy to say that we FINALLY have a name for the baby! After weeks of looking for girls names on the credits from TV shows, reading baby names books, looking at my baby names iPhone applications, listening to the names of the TV characters (especially on soaps) we have finally decided on a name!! There is a TV show on USA called Burn Notice that we both like a lot & we like the female character's name a lot.
Our last name is very Italian & I want to have an Irishy first name. We are both born in America--I'm Irish & he's half Irish & half Italian. I had also mentioned in a different blog post that we (I) don't want a popular name. Me growing up with a very popular name there was always another girl in my class with the same name. I also don't want a unique name or a name that always gets pronounced wrong. My husband thinks I'm putting to many requirements on picking a name...I'm sorry if I don't want the name to be the same as my cousins, or sound exactly the same as our niece that will be around 8 months old when our baby is born--of course if we had really love the name & had said for years that when I have a baby I wanna name it this, then I would think about it but that's not the case at all. I'm also doing all the thinking! Grrrr!!
Well all this has finally come to an end! I will no longer be driving myself crazy thinking of a name. Now this name isn't written in stone, I'm not gonna start embroidering her onesies with the new name but I am no longer thinking for a name. If someone asks us what her name I'm gonna tell them....

"Fiona Ashley"

All different sites & books kinda have different origin/meaning but most of them have basically the same thing....
Fiona--the name origin is Irish/Celtic (I actually seen a website say Scottish). The meaning is: fair, pale, pretty/beautiful. It's not a popular name here in the United States but it is kinda popular in Ireland so that's cool.
Ashely--the origin is English. The meaning is: from the Ash Tree field. Not really sure what that means but the name sounds really pretty together. We were thinking of Ashley as a 1st name but it's of course a pretty popular name at #13 on the SSA for 2007 (the list for 2008 wasn't available yet).

I am just so happy to finally have a name! Her nickname will be Fi (Fee)....sooo cute!

Seeing movements

This is one pregnancy milestone I was NOT expecting so soon! I'm sitting on the couch & the baby is kicking a lot. I pulled up my shirt & looked down at my ever growing belly when I saw my belly jiggle in the spot I feel the baby kick. It's so wild! I told my husband to look at first (as usual) he didn't see it but then he did! It's such an amazing feeling! You can see the VERY VERY slight move on the right side between second 7 & 8...and I mean very slight. If I get a better video within the next few days I post another one. It seems like when I'm ready to record she kicks like crazy, if I have the video recording she doesn't wanna kick.

Pregnancy, Labor & Delivery Books

I'm not a book reader but since I'm pregnant I've been reading books. Usually what I do is read before I go to bed--I could read a chapter or I could read 2 pages. When I first got pregnant I was CLUELESS about pregnancy. I am an Licensed Practical Nurse but I've only worked in nursing homes since having my nursing license. Also when learning about it in school, the year was almost over so we VERY quickly went over this stuff...and I mean quickly.
The first book I bought was the famous What to Expect When You're Expecting. I read the month before the month I'm at-- so if I'm 5 months pregnant I'll read month 6. A pretty ok book but I'm not crazy with the way it's set up- I don't really like the 'question & answer' format.
My favorite pregnancy book was Jenny McCarthy's Belly Laughs. I've always liked her style so I knew I'd like her book. She made my laugh the entire time & everything she says is so true. It's a really good book for fun & brief information about pregnancy but I wouldn't read it as my only pregnancy book, just not enough information. If you like her style then I would definitely get her book.
The book I am currently reading (only have like 2 pages left) is The Girlfriends Guide to Pregnancy. This book is pretty good. There is definitely a good amount of information in it. What I'm finding with it is she brings up things I would never have thought or worried about...so it's basically making me worry a bit more. One example is when she speaks about worrying about the results of an amniocentesis. After results ruling out Downs Syndrome (which I was worrying about big time for some reason) she mentioned how we will start worrying about other things like a strawberry birthmark or cleft palates. I would have never really thought about that!
L&D Book I'm looking for:
Now that I'm 22 weeks pregnant, more then halfway there, I'm looking to get a Labor & Delivery book. I want something that will talk about everything--what will exactly happen from the start of labor to when the baby is out of my body (and whatever else I may need to know). What options I will have. I do have to have the baby in the hospital, I can't have a home birth because of the medication I'm on. I wanna know about contractions, pain techniques, pain management, available medication-what are my options & what's the side effects, birthing options that are available in hospitals (I know it differs from place to place), emergencies that might come up, what to look for....everything & I mean everything that I need to know about hospital births.
If you know of a good book please leave a comment with the name. Thanks!

Baby Names

WOW! I can't believe how difficult it is to pick a name for the baby! When you hear a name it makes you think of someone you grew up with, someone ugly or someone mean so you don't want to name your baby that. This is a VERY difficult thing to do....this is one thing this girl will have for the rest of her life! She will be 90 years old & will still have this name! One thing we are lucky for is that any name will pretty much go with our last name.
My husband likes a certain name & so do I but, his sister just had a baby in November '08 & the only difference is the 1st letter--like "Kacey" & "Lacey" (sorry not a great example but you get the idea). I don't want 2 cousins that aren't even gonna be a year apart with names that sound almost the same.
Then we both like the names Emma & Ashley. Both of these names are on the top 10 most popular names. Me growing up with a *very* popular name there was always another girl in my class with my name, kinda annoying. I just know there would be another Emma in her class.
Now thinking I'd really like to have an Irish first name since our last name is really Italian (I'm Irish & he's half Irish & Italian--we are both American tho). We both like the name Fionna. It's a very pretty name & not popular. I don't want a "unique" name I just don't want a very popular name...it can be #200 on the list of names instead of #3 like Emma is. Today I found a really cool website BabyNamesOfIreland.com. The list of names for girls & boys has audio so you can hear how it's pronounced. I TOTALLY fell in love with a name--Ryanne (pronounced Rye-ann) I text messaged my husband to tell him & he's not really sure, he said he has to think about it. His friend's son's name is Ryan so he's kinda iffy about it. I told him if he says yes then that will be the name, I will not change it. I'm crossing my fingers!!

22 week (21w6d) Pregnant Belly

My week 21 & 6 days pregnant belly picture. I haven't really noticed much of a difference this past week, maybe slightly. According to a picture in my "What to Expect When You're Expecting" book I'm carrying low...which shows that that Old Wives Tale is false for me because I should be carrying high since it's a girl, lol! BUT I am getting wide so the Old Wives Tale for that is true.

Kicks from the outside!

As I lay on my back on the couch I can really feel the baby kicking pretty hard--I still think it's supposed to get harder from what I read, this kind of kicking won't wake me up at nite. I'll put my hand there & I think I can actually feel something but since I feel it in my stomach I'm not sure if I'm actually feeling on my hand too or if it's in my head. I told my husband to put his hand on my stomach about 2" below my belly button & just leave it there for a bit. At first when I felt the baby he said he didn't.....then the kicks seemed to get a little harder & he thought he did felt something but he wasn't sure...all of a sudden the baby let out a few stronger kicks & he said "yeah, I felt that one!", then again!! It's so cool for him to feel her...I'm also feeling her much stronger today too! Maybe she's kicking saying "hello, I'm hungry!" because I'm starved, time for dinner.....

Baby Powder

Who ever invented Baby Powder is a great great person! Ha, all kidding aside...
I'm a nurse in a nursing home & I'm at work for 13 hours (I work 3 days a week). In those 13 hours I'm on my feet walking for probably 11.5 hours. With all the weight I've gained so far with my pregnancy lots of the weight went to my upper thighs & butt....so now there seems to be lots of heat (ahem, and sweat) in that area. Also the scrub pants I wear kinda hang in the crotch just a little so there's friction from my legs rubbing & it starts getting very uncomfortable. After a while of this happening I thought of trying baby powder. I have never really used baby powder before but I figured let me give it a try....boy oh boy that stuff is great! The irritation that I was getting stopped & makes me feel so fresh! Now I started using baby powder under my boobs, under my armpits & in my shoes too....this stuff is great!!

5th Month appointment

Had my monthly doctor's appointment today. She weighed me at 176, oh lord another 5 lbs....thank god I'm pretty tall (5'8") so it doesn't show badly....even my doctor said "where are you hiding it?" hope it wasn't just to be nice, lol! We went to listen to the heartbeat & wow! The heartbeat was strong & so clear, it was a beautiful sound. She also measured my belly for the 1st time. She asked how I was doing & after I told her everything she said to "keep up the good work" which I found funny. It was a nice quick visit.
I had asked her about getting another ultrasound...the tech at the last u/s said that she didn't think they would need me to come again unless the doctor ordered one. The doctor said the insurance only pays for 3 & that one was my 3rd. She said we will see how things go & the doctor could always come up with an excuse if we needed one--- I took this as seeing if I will actually really need one & if I won't then we will make up an excuse to have another one....maybe wishful thinking. Anyway I do plan on having a 3D/4D ultrasound at about 26-27 weeks so I'll get to see my girl then...yay!

Baby movements

At the beginning of week 18 I started feeling something & thought it could be the baby. Since this is my 1st baby I'm not really sure what kicking feels like. The pops & tickles I was feeling wasn't often & I only felt them when I would lay down & concentrate on it real hard. It wasn't something I felt everyday either...I would feel it one day then I wouldn't feel it again until a few days later.
Well lately, as I entered my 20th week, I'm really starting to feel things. The feeling I'm having still aren't hard kicks but more like the butterflies or bubbles...kinda like a fart under water, lol! I'm feeling it almost every time I'm laying or sitting down & I don't really have to concentrate on them as hard as I was before. This is very exciting! My baby girl is definitely getting stronger, soon enough I will be feeling those kicks that will wake me in the middle of the night.

20 week Pregnant Belly

My belly is growing! Here is another morning shot of my pregnant belly at 20 weeks. It's crazy how big it looks at the end of the day...the food & bloating makes my belly look like I'm 9 months pregnant! It's really a crazy difference so I will continue to take my belly shots in the morning before I eat or drink anything.

I really think my belly really started to look pregnant between 18 weeks & now at 20 weeks. I can really see a difference...it's really exciting! If you look here you can really see the difference in a week. I've been getting very wide in the hips & my butt has gotten really big. When I'm at work the ladies ask me if the baby was growing in my butt, lol! Oh well, the joys of pregnancy!

Moving!!

For the past 2 years we have been saving so that we can get out of our 1 bedroom apartment and buy a house. We are sick of paying rent...why give the landlord money every month, that could be going towards a mortgage! We also knew when we started that we were gonna have kids some day.
Now that I'm pregnant we really need to get out of this 1 bedroom apartment. We went to the bank to see what the chances of getting a loan & it didn't look very good. With this economy the banks are not giving people loans, especially people like me & my husband that killed our credit with all the years of partying and not paying our bills. So we decided we'd really try & fix our credit before applying but in the mean time what would we do with the baby when she comes?!
Well we are getting a new apartment!! We are moving a couple blocks away into a 3 bedroom! I am so excited about this....I'm gonna have a nursery! I honestly thought we would be here in this apartment when the baby came and we'd have to stick it out for a couple months. But when you really think about it there is no room! Yeah the baby would fit BUT nothing else would! We are also going from a 4th floor walk up to a 2nd floor private house.
I am just so happy!!! I'm gonna have a NURSERY!!

19 week (18w6d) Pregnant belly

Did a quick picture of my belly this morning when I woke up. I like to take my pictures in the morning because it seems like I get VERY bloated as the day goes on & I figure I'll get the most accurate picture in the morning.
I guess I'd rather accurate than pretty because I look like a hot mess in the morning!

HisBoysCanSwim

There is a great pregnancy blog that I read often called HisBoysCanSwim.com. The writers of the blog is a married couple blogging about their pregnancy. It's a great blog for me to follow because me & "Jane" have the same due date so a lot of what she is experiencing right now I am too. My favorite blog post is The 9 months of Pregnancy Song...to this day I find myself singing it, it's so funny...it got stuck in my head!!
If you haven't heard of them check them out!

BIG ultrasound results....

Today was the day I've been waiting for for weeks, the big ultrasound! As the days got closer I get more & more excited but, as soon as I entered the waiting room I got sooo nervous. Unfortunately I'm "the glass half empty" kind of person when it comes to things that could hurt me...I guess it's me subconsciously preparing myself for the worst. As we're waiting for 50 minutes I got more & more nervous (why do they make appointments at these places?!). Finally we get called in.
What a difference a few weeks make, the side profile of the baby was crazy! For some reason the lady doesn't give us great pictures or she doesn't get great pictures...I know I saw some crazy stuff on that screen.

She took lots & lots of measurements and said everything looked good. For some reason the baby's head didn't want to move so she could get good shots & measurements there..I had to lay on my side, pee, drink orange juice (even tho I drank some right before I walked in). Figures, my baby is being difficult already! She did get a picture & said she thinks she sees something abnormal around the head that's very common that she wanted to call the doctor for a look. For those 30 seconds my heart stopped, I just don't want to hear anything is wrong, even if it's 1 in a billion chance. The doctor came in & of course the baby's head was moving all around and he was able to get what they needed. He took a look & said everything was fine, he didn't see anything wrong. That is soooo what I wanted to hear, I guess the position of the head made the tech see something that wasn't there. I am soooo happy!! According to all measurements the baby is 100% healthy!! The heartbeat was 143 which was good.

Now the fun stuff!! According the all the Old Wives Tales I did they all pointed to me having a boy....I did a lot of them. I wanted to know so badly if we were gonna have a boy or a girl....I really want to start making my baby some cute things. Here's the results...we are having a....

Baby GIRL!!!!

This picture of course isn't the greatest, seeing it on screen was perfect...it was very easy to tell it's a girl. Look at those two little boney legs, just like her mom! This was so exciting....it really makes things feel so differently knowing we are going to have a daughter!

Baby? Gas? Or in my head?

I am 18 weeks & 1 day today (actually 18w2d since it's 12:30 am) and figure I should be feeling something by now but for some reason I feel like it's in my head. It seems like I only feel it when I lay there thinking about it. Since starting week 16 of pregnancy I started to *really* concentrate on feeling for the baby, especially when I'm laying down in bed at night. I think I concentrate so hard that these feelings are all in my head. Today while laying on the couch on my right side I felt like 3 bubbles, one right after another, in the middle of my stomach below my belly button...kind of like pops. Is this gas or is it the baby??! It seems like when I lay down & focus on my belly I feel something....am I really feeling something?
I guess I'm rushing something that will happen soon enough...and that will be keeping me up at night.

Only 2 more days until my "big" ultrasound!!! Monday morning I will be the 1st one there!!

Orgasmic Dream

This blog post is a perfect example as to why I don't want anyone (ie. friends, family...) to know about this blog. I wanna be able to talk about anything, and I mean ANYTHING, I want to and here it goes....
I've read in a bunch of pregnancy forums of how these pregnant women had orgasms in their sleep & woke up to them. Well last night, actually this morning, I had a dream I was masturbating (which is strange on it's own). While masturbating I started having an orgasm, and at the end of my orgasm I woke up still having one. What a weird feeling that was to wake up to. I don't know if I was moving in the bed, making noise, saying anything....I'm just so glad my hubby had already left for work because I would be so embarrassed. I don't think I actually had a real orgasm because I would normally be very sensitive down there & I wasn't. I really hope that doesn't happen again, it made me very (mentally) uncomfortable in a way.

Monthly appt- 4th month

Today I am 17 weeks & 1 day and I went for my monthly check up appointment with my ob/gyn. We heard the little one's heartbeat which she said sounds great, then....heard a bang. She grinned & said that was a kick! You would think after hearing a baby's heartbeat & kicking everyday you would get used to it....nope, every time my doctor has a big grin on her face, that makes me feel good knowing she likes her job. I wish I could feel my baby! I lay there sometimes & just try to concentrate soooo hard to see if I can feel something, but nothing yet.
I gained another 8 pounds this week, eek! I really gotta take it easy...since I'm pregnant I've gained 20 lbs already....I'm only 4 months pregnant!
I also asked her what the results were from the first trimester screening when they took blood & smeared it on the paper to test for Downs Syndrome...she said it came back negative--thank you god!! I also asked her if getting highlights in my hair was ok, thank goodness she said yes because my roots are bad!! It was a great monthly check up & probably the 1st time I left not feeling like something was strange, like she was holding something from me....lol, I'm so paranoid!

Crazy Dreams

I've noticed I've been having some crazy dreams. At first I thought it was because I had quit smoking & they say when you quit smoking you dream a lot. Now it's been almost 3 months since I had a cigarette & I'm still having weird dreams. I'm gonna start posting a quick summary of my dreams...if I remember them.
One I had the other day was VERY weird. Me & hubby have been together since we're 19/20 & we are now 31/32 (just a little background, not part of dream). My dream was that we "broke up" (I guess we weren't married yet) and I started dating someone else for a very short time which I think was my ex. I ended up getting pregnant with this other man's child but then ended up getting back together with my husband. I didn't know how to tell my husband that I was pregnant with this other guy's baby, if I was gonna tell him, or if I should have an abortion...I just didn't know what to do. Then I think I woke up.
What the heck is that all about?!! That is a TERRIBLE dream. I haven't had sex with anyone else in like 8 or 9 years (we broke up for about a year or so). We both wanted to have this baby & got pregnant very easy. Who knows, thank god it was just a dream.

The Pregnant Blonde (joke)

A joke my friend emailed me. I thought it would be cute to post on my pregnant blog. I hope this doesn't offend anyone.....

The other day my neighbor, who is blonde, came running up to me in
the driveway jumping for joy! I didn't know why she was jumping so
excitedly but I thought, 'what the heck', and I starting jumping up and
down along with her.
She said, 'I have some really great news!'
I said, 'Great. Tell me why you're so happy.'
She stopped jumping and breathing heavily from all the jumping up
and down, told me that she was pregnant. I knew she'd been trying for a
while so I told her, 'That's great I couldn't be happier for you!'
Then she said, 'There's more'
I asked, What do you mean there's more.
She said, 'Well, we are not having just one baby. We are going to
have TWINS!'
Amazed at how she could know so soon after getting pregnant,
I asked her how she knew. She said....
(You're going to love this!)

*
'Well, that was the easy part. I went to Sam's Club and they actually had
a home pregnancy kit in a TWIN-pack. Both tests came out positive!'

16 week (16w4d) belly photo

I haven't really had much going on so I haven't blogged in a few days....so I took a picture of my belly. Today I am 16 weeks & 4 days. I've been wearing my regular clothes...actually I'm in my "fat" jeans--the jeans I wore last year, before I lost weight on weight watchers. I'm able to button them still but it's much more comfortable to wear them unbuttoned...I gotta take advantage of these things.
Unfortunately I only have like 2 pairs of jeans I really like. I've been saying how I need to buy a few things but I never do. The other evening one of my Twitter friends mentioned she got good deals at OldNavy.com. They were having up to 40% off maternity clothes & free shipping. I bought 2 pairs of jeans $24 each & 2 long sleeve hooded shirts $11.50 each...not to bad when I see maternity jeans for over $50 each. I really didn't want to buy too much now because I'm only gonna get bigger...and at the rate I'm going I'll be HUGE by my 7th month! I just really hope these fit, I don't like buying jeans online. I really wish Aeropostale had maternity clothes because I really do like that store...oh well.