An Uplifting Story

At the end of yesterday's post I promised I'd have more uplifting news next time. And I do!

Today after work I stopped by Trader Joe's to pick up a few things for dinner. (Which is going to be fabulous, by the way. Italian-stuffed chicken breasts with homemade garlic bread and steamed broccoli) But that's not the point. While in the store I saw a couple shopping together. What was strange about them was that they didn't "go" together. The woman was in jeans and a ragged sweatshirt. She had stringy hair and deep tan lines and kind of looked like she hadn't showered in a few days. The man, on the other hand, was nicely dressed in a collared shirt, khakis and nice dress shoes. I heard him ask her what kind of chips she liked, and I just thought this was kind of strange. Why would you need to ask your wife what chips she likes? Shouldn't you know? Personally, I know that Adam's favorite chips from Trader Joe's are their Organic Blue Corn Tortilla Chips. But I only heard their conversation in passing, so I soon forgot about them.

Until I left the store. They were right in front of me with a loaded cart. I saw the man take out his wallet and hand a $20 bill to the woman, and then go on his way. I can only assume that the woman was homeless and the man saw her outside the store and took the time to bring her in and buy her groceries. It put a big smile on my face.

So I encourage you all to go out and do something kind for someone this week. It could be for your elderly neighbor, your irritable co-worker, or hey....the fat waddling pregnant lady in your life! Just sayin....

Sick.....Again

Remember when I caught a cold 3 weeks ago? Well I got sick again this weekend. That's right....sick twice in 1 month. Blah.

According to my Dr. it's quite common for pregnant women to get sick multiple times throughout a pregnancy because our immune systems are compromised. I don't care if it's normal. I'm sick of being sick!

It doesn't help that the weather is still dreary and gray. I'm n0t usually a hot-weather kind of girl, but I've never been more ready for Winter to end and Spring to come. The cold weather just seems to be dragging on. I can't wait until the weather is sunny, I feel healthy, we are in our new house, and I have my baby in my arms. We're so close!

I'll leave you with a few more ultrasound pictures to oooh and aaah over. I promise my next post will be more interesting/uplifting. =)

Trying to hide from Mommy and Daddy. Look at those fingers!

Kissing his hand.

4D Ultrasound

Today was our 4D Ultrasound.....an amazing experience! Our little guy was either being shy (like his mommy) or stubborn (like his daddy). He was awake the entire hour that he was being recorded, but he had his hands in front of his face! He was moving around and kicking, but unfortunately never really moved his hands away from his face for a good picture. I guess that's the risk you take when doing a 4D Ultrasound. You just don't know if your baby will cooperate! Overall we're really glad we got the chance to get a peak at our little guy before his birth day. I can't wait to actually meet him! Here are some of the clearer face shots. Enjoy!

What a big yawn for a little guy! He kept trying to either lick or eat his fingers. And then at one point it looked like he was eating his toes. So cute!

30 Weeks

3/4 of the way there! I had another great Dr. Appointment yesterday. Here are my stats:

Blood Presure: 121/67 The lowest it's ever been at the Doctor office during my pregnancy!

Weight Change: -1 lb since last checkup. How that happened, I have no idea. (Did you catch my last blog post? I eat all day long) This brings my total weight gain at 30 weeks to 17 pounds. My Dr. is happy with that and so am I.

Belly Measurement: 30 cm. Right on target!

Baby's Size: 3 lbs. I have absolutely no idea how the Dr. knows this just by looking at my belly. I think 3 lbs is the average baby size for a 30-week pregnant woman. Anyways, the point is that he's measuring perfect. =)

Little Baby Nullmeyer kicked the Dr. 3 times while she was listening for his heartbeat. I thought it was really cute. She again commented that she loves to see/feel an active baby inside the womb, so she's happy she got kicked! She asked about my kick count. Basically they want to know how long it takes for me to feel him kick 10 times after a meal. They'd like it to take no longer than 1 hour to count 10 kicks. When she asked me how long it takes to count 10 kicks, I said 5 minutes. Yep! He loves mealtime....it makes him squirm and kick a lot.

I'm really looking forward to "seeing" our baby this weekend during the 3D/4D ultrasound. My Dr. assured me it is perfectly safe, so now I'm even more excited! Hopefully I will have a video to post on here afterwards.

Feed Me!

I am hungry. Really hungry. All the time. Something has happened to my body or in the baby's development over the past week. All I want to do is eat! Until now my appetite wasn't too different than my normal pre-pregnancy appetite. But now it is in overdrive! I think the baby is starting to accumulate more body fat, and that probably explains my sudden need for thousands and thousands of calories. But hey, at least they're healthy calories. I made these yesterday and only ate 1 all day. What I'm really craving is healthy foods like salads and protein. Aren't these pretty, though?

It's not the kind of hunger where I see a McDonald's ad and suddenly crave a cheeseburger, or get the munchies late at night when I'm bored. It's more like I eat a healthy and filling breakfast at 7am and by 9:30 my stomach is loudly growling. And it comes on so suddenly! The other day I got hungry for lunch at around 10am and I went from being hungry to nauseous and faint in about 1 minute flat. I felt like I would get sick if I didn't put food in my body at that instant.

Speaking of food, I cooked a dinner last night that I knew Adam would like. I had the day off but he had to work. (a 12-hour day, unfortunately more normal than not). He likes really plain, basic food. Think meat and potatoes, or chicken and rice.

Last night I roasted this handsome bird:

We also had roasted parmesan broccoli....my camera ate the picture of it. That's how good it was. Plus some white rice that I cooked in chicken broth for added flavor. Again no picture. I didn't take one. You know what rice looks like.

I also made a special desert for Adam: Oreo Bites!

So back to the bird. It tasted great but the cooking process didn't go so well. Whenever I opened the oven door to check on the chicken, lots of smoke came out. Probably because I was cooking at such a high temperature (450 degrees). So then the smoke detector went off. It turned off after a minute but Riley kept sniffing the air because he smelled the smoke. So I opened the door to let in some fresh air. Keep in mind that I do this often, and Riley knows to absolutely not go outside unless I tell him to. We used to put up a baby gate but don't even bother now because we trust Riley not to run away. Even when I do let him go outside, Riley stays right on our front porch and comes back inside the second I ask him to.

So last night I opened the door. And Riley ran. He bolted off down the hallway outside, down the stairs, and into the parking lot! I ran after him calling his name, telling him to sit, telling him i had a "cookie" but he just kept running. I guess the smoke smell really scared the little guy. I finally got him to stop, but I then had to carry him all the way back upstairs and inside. Not easy when you're 30 weeks pregnant and your dog probably weighs 30 pounds. (But then, I see plenty of pregnant women carrying around their 30-pound toddlers with no problem. According to my Mom, it's just "different" when it's your child) Anyways, Riley dug his claws into me when we reached the door because he DID NOT want to go back inside. I now have some lovely scratch marks on my tummy. Thanks Riley.

Change is Coming

Whew! I just took a look at our calendar and there is SO MUCH going on between now and April 26th. While it's a bit crazy to think about all that will change over the next few months, all of the changes are good. And I think that keeping busy will help to distract me during the next 10 weeks. Because in 10 weeks I'm going to have a BABY! Here's what our calendar looks like:

February 14: Jeff Dunham Comedy Show
February 17: Dr. Appt
February 20: Last Childbirth Class
February 20: 3D/4D Ultrasound!!
February 20: V-Day dinner with Adam
February 26: We will officially have a new house!
February 27: V-Day dinner at Horatio's with friends
March 3: Dr. Appt
March 6: Cirque du Soleil
March 13: Baby Shower!
March 18: Labor & Delivery Hospital Tour
March 19: Nephew Josh's 12th Birthday
March 20: Move into new house??
March 24: Breastfeeding Class
March 26: Last day of Work
April 11: Adam's 29th Birthday!
April 26: BABY'S DUE DATE!


Absolutely crazy, right??

gDiapers!!

I have officially decided to use gDiapers to diaper our little baby's bum! I never thought I'd be this excited about diapers, but just hear me out on this one. These aren't just any old cloth diapers....they're the "Best of cloth and disposable".

Basically, the outer cover of the diaper is cloth. (92% cotton and 8% spandex to be exact). These can be used over and over and then washed in the washing machine. Sold separately are either cloth or disposable inserts. We'll probably start with disposable inserts and see how we like them. Basically this is the part that gets messy. After a diaper change, I will simply remove the messy disposable insert and either flush it down the toilet or throw it away! They're completely biodegradable, so I'll be helping to make the planet a happier place. =)

But let's face it....I'm not exactly the tree-hugging type. So why am I doing this? Most importantly the cloth diapers will be super gentle and comfortable against my little boy's skin. It will dramatically reduce or even eliminate diaper rash. Secondly, we'll be saving a ton of money! When you add up the cost of the cloth vs disposables (taking soap and water costs into account), the total cost of cloth for the first 2 years of the baby's life is half. Yep that's right. HALF THE COST!

Plus, they're incredibly cute. I discovered this week that Whole Foods carries gDiapers. You better believe I rushed over on my lunch break and bought my first set of gDiapers. I excitedly sent a text message to Adam telling him the good news. His response?

"So wonderful. I'm so happy I am peeing my pants. I just can't hold back. Oh no now I'm crying happy tears. This is the best news since the invention of peanut butter"

He's really excited.

I, on the other hand, cannot wait to start using them. So I decided to try them out tonight.......

So cute!

I know what you're thinking....I'm being overly ambitious about cloth diapering. I will be so overwhelmed with my new baby that I will have a complete breakdown and end up buying disposable diapers. Honestly, I have gotten this response many times from family and friends over the past few weeks. But it just makes me want to prove to them that I can do it.

Busy Weekend

It's been a weekend full of fun, family, friends and food! And it's not over yet!

Yesterday we went to our second childbirth class during which they showed us a video of an actual birth. WOW. I definitely got teary-eyed, while Adam definitely almost lost his breakfast.

We rushed home to both get haircuts and meet with the Barkbusters dog trainer. After our busy day we enjoyed a casual dinner at Dickey's BBQ with some friends. Here's me at 29 weeks with my new haircut. (Just a trim)

Then this morning we went to church followed by the farmer's market. Now it's time to cut up some strawberries, wash my car, and head over to a Superbowl Party at our friends' house! Hope you are all having as good a weekend as I am! Enjoy the sunshine while it lasts. =)

Nothing But Praise

That's what I got from my Doctor today! Nothing but praise. =)

I had a great 28-week appointment that started with the dreaded weigh-in..........0 lbs! I was shocked. I just don't get it. I probably ate less this month due to the lecture I received at my last appt, but then I also exercised less because of all the rain we've been having. Oh well, I guess I should just trust that my body is doing the right thing. If the baby wants me to gain 7 lbs one month and 0 the next, that's okay with me. My Dr. was very pleased, and said something along the lines of "Oh I was never really worrried about your weight. You're doing great". HUH? You made me stress out for nothing?

My blood pressure was once again pretty high, and my Dr. declared that I have "White Coat Syndrome". As in, I get really anxious when I'm at the Dr. so my BP just naturally rises while I'm there. At home it's always normal/lowish.

She listened to the baby's heartbeat, which sounded great! She kept losing it, though, because Baby Boy Nullmeyer is a busy little baby! She said he's quite an active little guy based on the fact that she had to chase him around my tummy in order to catch the heartbeat long enough to actually listen to. Haha this makes me happy and terrified all at the same time. I want a nice calm little boy!

Finally she measured my belly and said it is 28 cm. Apparently this is right on track since I'm 28 weeks. My Dr. also said it was great that I have no stretch marks yet. Key word: YET.

She ended the appt by telling me that I'm "blooming". I guess I'll take that as a compliment! So overall, a perfect appointment!

Now that I'm in my 3rd trimester my monthly visits will become bi-weekly visits. WOW. I can't believe this is going so fast.

OK time to go eat ice cream. =)

Pregnant + Sick = Bad Combination

I really thought I could make it through these entire 9 months without getting sick. Wishful thinking Stephanie! I have had a cold since Thursday that has knocked me out. Adam has also been sick, except he gets to take drugs to aid his recovery. I'm so jealous!

Being sick while pregnant has been a new experience for me. Besides the usual symptoms, I'm completely zapped of all energy. I'm not sleepy, but my body just feels exhausted. It was an effort just to get off the couch yesterday to get Riley's ball out from under the couch. (A really annoying habit of his...he pushes it under and then whines until I retrieve it for him. Isn't he supposed to retrieve things for me??) Anyways, I wonder if this tiredness is what many women experience in the beginning of their pregnancies. I never really had that symptom, so maybe this is payback.

Did you know I am officially in my 3rd trimester?? 28 weeks today! I've got a prenatal Dr. appt tomorrow so I will report back with the results then.