No, I'm not naming my baby that

My sister inexplicably loves Brett Favre.  I personally think he is a diva and after the whole sending naked pictures to a woman who is not his wife thing I pretty much think he is an ass.

Anyway, my sister has convinced my niece that I am naming our baby Brett Favre.  Any time someone asks her "What is K's baby's name?" she smiles and says "Brett Favre!".

Umm, sorry kiddo - but no way in hell am I naming my baby after that jerk.  Not that we've picked a name yet (Andrew and Wesley are in the lead), but he is definitely not going to be baby Brett.  No matter how cute Kayleigh is when she says it.

I guess our New Year's plans have been made for us :)

Yesterday my sister gave us tickets to the Winter Classic - the hockey game being played outdoors at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh between the Penguins and Capitals.  I grew up in Pittsburgh and my whole family is HUGE Pens fans.  So on Friday me, J, my parents, and my sister will head north.  She got us some hotel rooms and we should get up there around 8:00 PM (she works til 7:00 AM and we won't get on the road until 11:00 or so).

So there is no need to come up with NYE plans this year.  Not that I would be partying it up anyway.  Plus at least I know I won't be hungover for the game  :)

So excited for the game!  Now I need to go watch the 24/7: Road to the Winter Classic episodes that we have recorded.  Go Pens!!!

Happy Holidays!!

J and I are about to head up to Myrtle Beach to spend Christmas with my family.  Honestly to me it still doesn't really feel like Christmas and I'm not sure why.  But it will be nice to see everyone and hang out with the kiddos.

J is currently in the back room wrapping all of my presents. Nothing like waiting til the last minute! I still need to figure out how to wrap the gift to my niece - a toy shopping cart with play food. Very odd shape and I don't have a box big enough.

Anyway - I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday and that all of your Christmas wishes come true.  This will be the last Christmas for us as a family of two - soooooo weird to think about!

Cheers!

Met my goal... now can I quit?

34:00 run and 1:00 walk

I'm proud to say that last night at the gym I ran 3.7 miles, and with that mileage I surpassed the goal that I set for myself at the beginning of the year.  And with 10 days to spare.  I wanted to average 50 miles/month for an annual total of 600 miles.  I am now at 601.

600 miles would have been a piece of cake had I not gone and gotten myself knocked up.  My little running partner has made it a little more of a challenge the last few months.  But I say that completely jokingly - I wouldn't trade this little guy for all the easy runs in the world - or anything else for that matter.

Of course now that I reached my goal I keep hearing from everyone that I need to quit running. It's starting to kind of get on my nerves.  I want to say "Quit telling me what to do!", but I don't.  I know they mean well, but I know my body and I will know when it's time to stop doing what I am doing. 

Some of the people that are giving me this "advice" are people who were completely inactive during pregnancy and used being pregnant as an excuse to eat everything in sight.  I am not doing that.  I don't want to be like my friend who has a daughter that will turn 2 next week and is just now getting back into her pre-pregnancy jeans.  No thanks.  Plus, a healthier and more fit me will (hopefully) lead to an easier labor and delivery and recovery.  Fingers crossed.

Here is a breakdown of my annual mileage:

Jan - 38.9 miles in 5:50:38

Feb- 23.6 miles in 3:20:19  (had a stress fracture in my foot and had to take a few weeks off)

March - 60.9 miles in 8:24:28 (to make up for slacking in Feb)

April - 46.9 miles in 6:33:32

May - 57.7 miles in 7:53:23

June - 76.0 miles in 10:23:19  (my most impressive month)

July -  57.0 miles in 7:36:49  (BFP was July 30th)

Aug - 65.2 miles in 9:09:00

Sept - 49.3 miles in 7:14:00

Oct -  45.3 miles in 6:33:00

Nov - 42.5 miles in 6:17:28

Dec - 37.7 miles in 5:44:00

Grand total of 601 miles in 84:59:56  (3 days and 12 hours worth of running).  Yay me!

It's cookie time!

Last night I finally got started on some Christmas baking.  It's just not Christmas without some cookies.  Of course I wasn't about to make a bunch of cookies from scratch being that I am big and puffy and achy and really would have rather have been laying on the couch on my heating pad.

So I hit BiLo on the way home from the gym armed with some coupons and picked up some cookie mix and some break-and-bake cookies (yes, I've gotten THAT lazy).

While dinner was cooking I started on the Peanut Blossoms (peanut butter cookies rolled in sugar and then topped with a Hershey Kiss once they are done baking).  After dinner was the oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, and then I moved on to the easy break and bake ones.  All in all I finished four different kinds of cookies and was able to bring some to work to share with people so I don't pack on even more pounds.

My Peanut Blossoms

Cookie tin for work

Anyway, that was my contribution to the Christmas spirit for the day. Now time for my weekly check-in:

How far along? 24w2d - he's somewhere between 15 and 20 oz I think.

Weight gain/loss: +16 as of this morning. Based on the horrible aching in my back these last few days it seems that the recent weight has settled in my boobs.

Maternity Clothes: I've worn one maternity shirt (because it was cute) and I wear a pair of work pants every so often.  I ordered some jeans from Old Navy and they sucked so I had to send them back. Good thing I still have 3 pairs of normal jeans I can wear.

Symptoms: Cement bowel and excruciating rib pain.  Either a tear in the connective tissue or a hairline fracture.  Awesome.

Gender:  It's a boy!!!

Sleep? Sleeping ok.  The heating pad it helping a bit.

Best moment this week? All the little kicks and punches this little man is dishing out. I love feeling him in there  :)

Movement: Yep - he's an active little bugger in the evenings. Still waiting to be able to get J to feel it. He's never quick enough.

Food cravings/aversions: None.

Belly button in or out? Still nicely in, but the top fold feels weird. I hope that doesn't mean it's making it's way out.

What I miss? Pooping and not being so achy.

What I am looking forward to? Getting started on the nursery - hopefully during our time off for the holidays.

Milestones: Hitting V-Day this past Sunday!

What I'm nervous about: I have my glucose test next Tuesday and I'm afraid that I'll fail it and have to do the 3 hour test.  Ugh.

And this week's bump pic. I had a different one, but I look kind of rough in that one. It's not been a great morning...



Made it past V-Day!

Yesterday I hit the 24 week mark, which people consider 'viability day'.  Meaning if this little guy decided to make an early appearance he would at least now have a chance to make it.  Having a pediatrician in the family I know that 24 weeks is still way too early and I'm praying he stays in much much longer, but at least I know the doctor's would try to save him now.

This past weekend we were up in Charlotte to spend some time with J's family since we will be with my family for Christmas.  It was a pleasant weekend, except after having the dogs in the house and the car the whole time my allergies kicked in to high gear. I am still sneezing and congested. Ugh.

We hung out with his parents, did a little last minute Christmas shopping for ourselves, went to visit some friends, and for the most part just relaxed.  The drive up was kind of uncomfortable (between my ribs, back, and bladder I do not enjoy long car trips at the moment), but it wasn't awful.  We got stuck in traffic for an hour on the way back yesterday, which my pregnant bladder was not amused by.

Oh, and when we got home last night our front door was wide open. Not just unlocked, but open about a foot and a half. And the packages that I had been hoping to get before we left were sitting in the foyer. What the hell?!?  If the UPS guy put them in there, then why the hell didn't he shut the door?  And why would he open the door in the first place?  Nothing was out of place and it didn't appear anyone had been in there, but it is still very unsettling. And since I am the one that locked the door this one is pretty much on me. Oops!

Anyway, here is some of what we bought this weekend:

I thought this pillow was just too cute

Backseat Driver onesie

J picked this one out - we got little brown pants to go with it

This is from Old Navy - kinda small, but it'll fit as a newborn

On clearance at Old Navy

Happy birthday sweetie!

Today is J's 39th birthday.  Not sure he is thrilled with being another year older. I make fun of him all the time since he is 5 years older than me (not that he acts his age!),  but I think it's hitting him that he will be 40 next year.

To make his birthday a little better I made him a cake yesterday. We had some last night since we will be heading out of town after work today.  It wasn't the most beautiful cake in the world, but he seemed to think it was yummy so that's all that mattered.

He calls it his smurf cake

Blowing out the candles and making a wish

Also yesterday when I got home from the doctor (last second appt to try to see if there is anything that can be done about my excruciating rib pain) there was a package from my friend up in Charlotte.  She sent us a Christmas card and the sweetest outfit for our little guy. 

I love the little doggy on the jacket

So sweet!

She got us the 3 month size so it will be perfect for him next summer.  I couldn't stop smiling once I opened it.  Almost took my mind off of the horrible pain in my ribs.

And for the record, there isn't much they can do. I have a prescription for Lortab and I bought an ace bandage to wrap around it to try to put some pressure on it to relieve the pain a little.  Apparently I will be experiencing discomfort due to my ribs spreading to make room for the organs that are shifting.  My horrible coughing fits just aggravated it and made it a lot worse.  And that 'pop' I heard and felt yesterday was most likely the connective tissue. Excellent.  I told J if this last for the rest of this pregnancy I might go insane.  At least the Lortab might take some of the pain out of dealing with his brother this weekend.  (I'm kidding - I will not take a narcotic just to deal with his crazy family. I'm trying to make do with just Tylenol unless the pain just gets too bad. Gotta keep this little guy safe!).

Bath time!

Last night it was time to give the pooches a bath. We'll be heading up to Charlotte this weekend and I didn't want them stinking up my new car.  Plus they were just starting to smell a little ripe - being big dogs I think they get particularly stinky.

First up was Boone, our chocolate lab.  I love Boone, getting him was my idea since I thought Baxter looked lonely.  But I have to admit, this dog is just nuts.  He is a beautiful and he is sweet, but there is just something wrong with that dog!  He reminds me of Marley from Marley & Me.  We met the mom when we picked him out, but not the dad. Something tells me they didn't want us seeing how nuts he was.  Either way, Boone got plopped in the tub and lathered up.

He's a lab so of course he loves water, but he isn't overly fond of having it poured on his head.  And he is incapable of sitting still, so keeping him in the tub is always an interesting feat.

Once Boone was washed and toweled off (with towels fresh from the dryer so they were nice and toasty) we put him in the crate (so he wouldn't get on the furniture all wet) and it was time to get Baxter.

Baxter is our yellow (almost white) lab.  He is 10 years old and quirky as hell. I have never in my life seen any animal so particular about where he poops.  When you aren't in a hurry to go somewhere it can be quite comical, but when the clock is ticking it can be somewhat infuriating.  Regardless of his quirks he is a very sweet and lovable dog.  He's also quite big (pushing 100 lbs) so lifting him into the tub is not easy.

Baxter is much better about sitting still for his baths (I think he mellowed with age), so his bath time isn't as bad.  I think he likes the full body massage.  We had to pay special attention to his ear since he ripped a piece of it off last week.  We didn't know about it until it was too late to do anything about it.  And we couldn't find the chunk of ear so all we could do is make sure it's clean and heals without getting infected.  Needless to say he will not be in any doggy calendars with his war wounds.

After bath time they were content to cuddle up on their dog beds and take a snooze.  And I'm happy that they aren't so pungent and won't totally wipe out my new car smell.

To cut or not to cut?

It's not really the question because there was really never any doubt that this little guy is getting circ'd.  But it was asked yesterday on The Bump and started a nice little debate.

I'll be honest, I was really surprised at the number of moms who say they will not be circumcising their baby boys.  I just thought it was a given - it's what's done in this culture.

Many of them stated that no, now only 50% of baby boys are circumcised.  I wasn't really buying that statistic, so I decided to ask Dr. Nic (my sister the pediatrician).  She has performed hundreds, if not thousands, of circumcisions in her 10+ years of being a pediatrician.  I asked her what percentage of baby boys that she sees being born are not circ'd?  She said it's a small percentage, and that's mostly hispanics and hippies (her words, not mine).  I know she's always excited when a baby boy is born when she is on duty because she gets paid extra for every procedure.  And very few times have I ever heard her complain about someone deciding to not have it done.

I did a little googling and it looks like it really depends on the area of the country and it varies greatly by race.  One study found that non-hispanic white males were circ'd up to 88% of the time.

Oh, and when I brought this up to J on the ride home from work yesterday his reaction was "That's just nasty!" So obviously there is no big debate needed on this subject, which I didn't think there would be.

So yes, our little boy will be having this done while in the hospital.  And for those people who say "God wouldn't give him that foreskin if it was unnecessary."  Well, God gave you an appendix, too, and you don't really need that to live, either. So go chew on that for a while.

I moved south to get away from this crap

Woke up this morning to 23 degree temperatures.  What the hell?!?  This is Charleston. And it's not even officially winter yet. It's NOT supposed to be this cold here!  If I wanted this kind of weather I would've stayed in Pittsburgh.

I think I am just overly cranky because I am still having pain in my ribs from pulling whatever I pulled last week.  And I haven't gone the bathroom in four days which is leading to some discomfort.  And I may have overdone it at the gym last night and I had a little bit of cramping and a teeny tiny bit of spotting which has me freaked the hell out.  And I am tense thinking about having to go to Charlotte this weekend. Really really really am not in the mood to deal with my brother-in-law.  I hope he doesn't think I am wasting my money to buy him a Christmas gift (call me Scrooge, but that waste of space didn't even give us so much as a card to congratulate us on our wedding. He can afford to buy cigarettes but couldn't drop $3 on a card?  Whatever.)

I keep telling myself I just need to get through this week and this weekend and then next week is a three day work week. Then I have a six day weekend and a two day work week the next week. Woo hoo!

Anyway, here is my check in:

How far along? 23w2d - he's a little over a pound and around 11.5 inches I think.

Weight gain/loss: +14.6 as of this morning, but as I said above, I haven't had a bowel movement in four days so my real weight gain could be less.

Maternity Clothes: No maternity shirts yet, but I do wear a pair of pants every so often to work. My normal jeans still fit.  I did wear a pair of maternity yoga capris to run in last night and loved them. Need to get a few more pairs of them.

Symptoms: As mentioned above - cement bowel is back full force  :(

Gender:  It's a boy!!!

Sleep? Sleeping well. I've been sleeping with a heating pad to try to loosen up and soothe my aching ribs.

Best moment this week? Our crib was delivered on Saturday and I bought the stroller yesterday.  Wow - this is really happening!

Movement: Oh yeah - and I even felt him from the outside on Saturday. I was hoping J could feel it, but then the little guy stopped moving.

Food cravings/aversions: None.

Belly button in or out? Still seems pretty far in, not that I'm complaining about that!

What I miss? Pooping  :(

What I am looking forward to? J getting to feel the little guy move.

Milestones: Finally buying some of the big items

What I'm nervous about: I was very nervous last night because I didn't feel good when I got done running and when I went to the bathroom I had a tiny bit of spotting - very very light.  All night I was laying on the couch concentrating on feeling him move so I could know that he was ok in there.  I was talking to him asking him to kick so I knew he was ok and it was bringing me to tears.

And here is this week's bump photo. I got yelled at by a friend on Sunday for not looking pregnant yet, but there is definitely a bump there: