Catch-Up

I'm a completely awful blogger I know. I realized today that it's been almost 2 months since my last post! So I really need to update but at the same time, this all hit me a few minutes ago and I need to go to bed as I have to work in the morning. So I'll try to make this fast :)

Of course the most important update is about and for the baby. We found out last month at the 19 week ultrasound that it's...a GIRL!!! Yes, all that time of me swearing it was a boy and Jereme was right all along, she was a girl to spite me. The teenage years should be interesting! But in all seriousness, it was a great ultrasound and she is perfectly healthy. Wasn't overly cooperative with the tech as she was comfortable laying on her head on top of my bladder and didn't want to move or show us her gender, but the tech was marvelous and crazy persistent getting our little girl to move around. The only picture we couldn't get was of her face as it was the last measurement to be taken and she had had enough and absolutely refused to let us see and just hid behind her hands. It was actually pretty adorable. But our little girl id certainly full of personality already. During the hour long ultrasound, she gave a "thumbs up" for dad right after he was talking about how cool it would be and then got exasperated with the tech trying to see her gender that she struck a southern belle pose with her hand to her forehead like she was going to faint. It was adorable and Jereme and I were laughing hysterically with the tech.

Picture-wise, we didn't get nearly as good of shots as we did at the first ultrasound, but we have a good profile picture where you can see each vertebrae in her spine, which was really cool, the thumbs up picture and the gender photo of course, and some miscellaneous photos the tech took while taking measurements. I must say, the amount of detail in the ultrasound was amazing. Because the baby was holding still, we were able to count all five fingers on each hand (toes are still too small), the two hemispheres of her brain, all the bones in her arms and legs...it was incredibly reassuring to actually be able to tell what things were and see that she is developing perfectly. She's still measuring a few days small so our true due date is actually probably three or four days later than March 23rd, but it's not enough of a difference for our official due date to be changed.

Now for her name, which I'm sure you're just dying to know. :) We decided on Adriana Pauline. Adriana because it's important to me that I pass on my Italian heritage and, as she won't be receiving my very unique maiden name, Adriana was listed as a strong Italian name (originally Latin but used more in Italy than anywhere else). Jereme and I had a debate after finding out she was a girl about whether to spell her name with 1 n or 2 (Adriana or Adrianna), but settled on 1 as Adrianna is the more common spelling used today and Adriana is a little more unique today and it's also the original Latin spelling. Her middle name, Pauline, was Jereme's grandmother's name which we decided to use after ruling out dozens upon dozens of potential middle names because Jereme had an epiphany for one, and for two, he was really close with his Grandma Pauline and we decided it was a perfect way to honor her memory since our Addie will never meet her.

Other than that, we've just been working on getting Adriana's room together and ready. We have the crib all set up and made and most of the furniture bought. I've managed to get a lot of clothes on amazing sales so the most I've paid for any one item was around $1.50 and even then all but about 5-6 items I paid under $0.50 each for. I'm amazingly proud of myself for that. We decided a long while back to use cloth diapers, thanks largely to a friend of mine's influence and encouragement. We have quite a few stashed already that I've gotten second-hand or at sales but we still need to get some more prefolds as the ones I have aren't very good and we definitely don't have enough to get through a day, and we need to get several more covers to go over top of them to make sure she doesn't leak. But we'll figure it out. I'm hoping some of the cloth diaper stores I've been watching will have Black Friday sales so I can add to my stash without spending a fortune.

Health-wise, Adriana and I are both good. Other than measuring a few days smaller, she's right on track for where she should be developmentally even though I haven't gained any weight and have actually lost over 17 pounds since I got pregnant. Since I'm eating plenty and making sure I eat lots of the right foods and take my vitamins, my doctor's not worried about it. She said it's probably a combination of my eating better than I did pre-pregnancy and a higher metabolism than I usually have. I don't feel like my belly's gotten much bigger, but I need to take some more recent belly photos as I'll be 23 weeks along tomorrow and even though I don't *feel* bigger, I know I *am* bigger because my stretch marks have definitely changed and widened (which no one but Jereme and my mother will ever see!). I'm also starting to feel Adriana moving around more, especially when she decides to stretch out and do somersaults.

We also registered for our birthing class this week. we start February 2nd and have class every Wednesday until the first or second week of March and the day after our last class I have a Breastfeeding class/seminar which should be really interesting and helpful. Jereme's started asking for a "Coach" sweatshirt or t-shirt to wear to class. Silly man...hmm...that would be a cute stocking stuffer though. Shh...don't tell.

It's interesting that this year is our last holiday season without a little one to chase around and play Santa for. It's a little surreal and more than a little nerve-wracking. This time next year, our daughter will be around eight months old. It's kinda scary. Our whole world is about to change in more ways than we can even know. Poor Titan knows something's up, but he's still deciding what to think of all the baby toys and tools that have suddenly overrun our house. It took him a bit to figure out that he doesn't fit in her swing (although goodness knows he tried!) and the crib is not his own personal dog bed so he should stop begging to be put in it. He's been a very good snuggler for his mom though and has been incredibly smart. He seems to be able to tell whenever I'm stressed or getting myself worked up and upset and immediately starts begging to be held so I'll calm down. He knows if I'm holding him, I stay much calmer and just cling to him. Which is good considering my anxiety attacks are becoming much more frequent the further I get in my pregnancy, but I'm trying to go as long as I can with natural ways for dealing with them so I don't have to resort to medication to help control them. The thought of taking anti-anxiety medication while pregnant, even the "safe" ones, makes me nervous. Anti-nausea was one thing because I needed the nutrients I was losing, but anti-anxiety I'd like to avoid if I can.

Well, this has turned into quite the long-winded post. I'll wrap up as I need to get to bed for work in the morning. I'll try to remind myself to get back on in the next few days to post pictures from the ultrasound and Adriana's room and tell you about my current projects. Learning to sew, planning a "family garden" with mom for next year (thankfully mom and Burg are going to do the prep work this winter and get the compost in as I'm not supposed to be digging around in it while pregnant), and trying to get my house "baby-ready."

Until next time, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!