22-Week Check-up and Ultrasound

I had my check-up and ultrasound today. Good news...I gained 2 pounds! The doctor said this is the first time she's seen me that I haven't had major ketones on my urine test, a sign of hyperemesis. She thinks we've turned the corner. Thank the Lord!

The ultrasound confirmed we are definitely having a boy! He looks great and was really playing around for us. In the picture below, you can see him punching his mommy. ;-) (He's lying on his back, his head is on the right side, and his arm is extended.)


This is a picture of his whole body; again, his head is to the right and he's lying on his back:


And here's a picture of his face. These pictures always freak me out a little because you just see the skeleton of the face, but here it is anyway. :-) That's an arm or shoulder right below his face. (Turn your head to the side to see it!)


Well, we're getting on a plane tomorrow morning. Lots to do before then! Caleb is excited to see his Mimi, Grandad, and Uncle Josh (and so are we!). I'll be back here in about a week.

7 Degrees of Randomness

GiBee tagged me for the 7 Random things meme because she said, and I quote, "she's pregnant and has nothing better to do but lay on the couch eating bonbons (HA!)." When Shalee tagged me, she just said I was slow. Apparently this is "pick on the pregnant girl" meme. :-) So, I got off my duff and decided to get this done. Here goes:

1) I hate the Geico commercials with the cavemen.

2) They annoy me to no end. Especially the one where the guy is looking at the sign in the airport and says, "4 feet by 5 feet, I'm looking right at it." It's annoying because the sign is not 4'x5'...that would be almost square. The sign is a rectangle and is more like 3'x5' or 4'x8'. I'm just sayin'.

3) Hubby swears I should have been a math major because I go off about that commercial every time it comes on. I CANNOT believe ABC has decided to make a whole show about these stupid, bitter cavemen.

4) My house looks like a bomb went off in every room. Seriously. Caleb can really do a number on a clean room. It takes all my energy to get one room straightened, and then the bomb goes off again.

5) In other news, we're taking a vacation next week to Michigan where we get to see hubby's middle brother, his mom, and his dad. Exciting times, people!

6) The only part about that I'm not looking forward to is the 3-hour plane ride with a 20-month-old who doesn't like to sit still. Hello portable DVD player!

7) The nausea pills have made a re-appearance. I'm tired of not feeling well. I'm 21 weeks pregnant, for crying out loud. Even though I still haven't gained weight, I'm not losing anymore, which is good. And the baby is moving A LOT. Also good.

So, I don't have the brain power to think of 7 people to tag for this, so consider yourself tagged if you're reading it. If you don't have a blog, feel free to leave your answer in the comments.

Also, this is totally random (shocking, I know), but I think my Mom needs to start a blog. Not that she has time with taking care of her 85-year-old mother, working a part-time job, keeping up with my Dad, and trying to visit her grandkids in her spare time, but I think she has some great stuff she could tell. Ok, I'm done.

I Made a Menu!

I haven't cooked more than one meal a week in probably months, so this is a big deal. The nausea is under control finally, but I still feel like I'm in the first trimester where smells and foods really bother me. I never know what's going to sound good until the exact moment I need to eat. But Justin and Caleb need me to get organized and at least plan some meals for them. ;-) Now, if I can muster up the strength and all else necessary to get myself to the grocery store, we'll be doing great!!

I was inspired by Stephanie, who just had a baby a week ago, has two older children, and planned out all their meals this week. I decided with just one child at home, I could at least make a menu!

Wed.
B-cinnamon toast, applesauce
L-ham sandwiches, grapes
D-chicken pot pie

Thurs.
B-waffles, bananas
L-fish sticks, pears
D-chicken and rice bake

Fri.
B-oatmeal, bagels
L-grilled cheese, oranges
D-taco soup (maybe chicken for Caleb)

Sat.
B-French toast, fruit
L-sandwiches
D-pizza for Caleb and sitter (J and I are going to a baseball game)

Sun.
B-cereal
L-out
D-Life Group

Mon.
B-cereal, fruit
L-PB&J sandwiches
D-lasagna

Tues.
B-cinnamon toast, fruit
L-chicken nuggets
D-chicken can-can (from Quick Cooking)

Wed.
B-bagels
L-at the airport
D-in Michigan with family

Happy Mother's Day

No man is poor who has had a godly mother. ~Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)

I am so blessed. I have an incredible mother. One who did not confuse trying to be my friend when I was growing up with actually parenting me. Now that I am older and raising my own child(ren), she is one of my best friends. She's one of the first people I call when I have something to say. I cherish this time.

She has been a lifeline during both of my pregnancies. When I was pregnant with Caleb, Justin was living and working away from home and she came to live with me during the last two months just in case I needed anything. She's always willing to take care of me when I'm sick and make numerous trips to the grocery store for remedies the nurses say might help.

I don't know what I'd do without her.

I love you, Mom, and thank God for you.

Mom with Caleb a few days after he was born.

Looking Up

I hate to be overly optimistic, but I haven't had to take a nausea pill today, and I've kept down two normal-sized meals. That's definitely a vast improvement over the last couple of weeks. I even drove today (the first time since Saturday) so Caleb and I could go to Target and buy our neighbors a baby gift. And I'm cooking them dinner tomorrow, so you know things are better around here. It's about time.

I've been listening to this song a lot lately. I love it. I feel like God has been holding my life in His hands lately, and I've just been laying there. I'm so grateful. Enjoy.

A baby brother for Caleb

That's right...it's a boy!

My official ultrasound isn't scheduled until May 22, in which I will make them verify that information, but when I went to the hospital last week they did an ultrasound. My sister was with me since Justin was on a plane and my parents had not arrived yet. The technician asked me if I knew the sex of the baby. I told her I didn't. She asked me if I wanted to know, and I said, "Yes and no. My husband is not here and he would kill me if I found out before he did." (Wasn't that sweet of me? I think I showed a lot of restraint, don't you?) So she printed out a picture, and my sister sealed it in an envelope so we could open it when Justin returned last Saturday. My sister knew the whole time and was sworn to secrecy. My dad tried hard to coax it out of her, but she held the info tight.

I really thought it was a girl (as did the rest of my family) because this pregnancy has been so different than my last one. But, it is obviously a boy. We're excited that Caleb will have a brother so close in age to him. He's already saying "baby budder," although he has no idea what it means. It's cute.

So now we're discussing names. It's not easy. We had a really hard time deciding on Caleb's name, and both times I've had several girl names that I really liked. And I'm really picky. I prefer one that can't be shortened, means something significant, is not trendy, isn't the name of someone either of us has bad memories of, and I'm partial to Biblical names. So, with those criteria, feel free to suggest a name. :-)

A Little Humor

I was looking through my email today and found this interesting one from a former student.

Hi Ms. *****. This is Calderon, and I was sending you this message because I got arrested today, and I wanted to see if Officer Cox brought you my paper. I have the rough draft with me, but I can turn it in when I come back to school. I was suspended. Thank You.

The police officer had indeed brought me the assigned paper. It was quite the paradox...a student being arrested for not being very responsible but making sure the police officer gave his teacher the assignment on time.

Teaching high school brought many interesting moments my way. I'm not eager to return to the public school classroom, but it was exciting. :-)

One day this won't be a pregnancy blog...

This blog has been hijacked by a very sick pregnant girl. I'm hoping she's replaced by a very happy, able to eat anything she wants pregnant girl soon. :-)

I haven't had internet access at my parent's house for days now because of the weather, hence the lack of posting. Which could also be attributed to the nausea. And taking care of Caleb, who's been sick. All have prevented me from updating you guys since I got out of the hospital.

I'm staying with my parents this week while Justin's out of the country. Saturday and Sunday were still pretty bad days; I could only keep cereal down. I called the doctor on Monday and they said I could take the nausea pills every 4-6 hours instead of the recommended 8 because they weren't working at all. Right now I'm just functioning from nausea pill to nausea pill. I don't dare skip one yet. I'm still not able to eat much and nothing really sounds good. I'm eating a lot of cereal still and popsicles. I try to eat some fruit and other healthy stuff as I think I feel like it, but I usually don't get very far. I ruled out going to restaurants since every time I do, I lose my dinner in the bathroom. I'd rather take my chances in the privacy of my own home. :-)

We had to take Caleb to the doctor here on Monday because he wouldn't eat (he would just cry when he put food in his mouth) and wouldn't sleep. This momma and his Grandma were/are very tired from waking up multiple times a night with him! He has a really bad case of thrush. He's doing a lot better with the medicine they gave him and is finally sleeping through the night again. If it's not one thing it's 20 around here! (the dog is sick, too. *sigh*)

So, pretty much all I can think about these days is keeping Caleb occupied (which is easier said than done since it's been raining for days and he can't go outside) and trying to force any amount of food down my throat (and pray it stays there).

I hope one day soon to be back to "normal" and talking about something other than being sick. I know y'all are tired of hearing it, but this blog is functioning as my pregnancy journal for now. In a couple of years when I decide I want another child, I can look back at these posts and decide if that's really what I want to do! I told Justin when I was pregnant with Caleb that if we had any more children, they would have to come from his body. I now remember why I said that, and I wasn't nearly as sick that time as I am this time (and it ended about 6 weeks ago with Caleb!). I'm sure I'll conveniently forget all of this in the months to come; that mommy amnesia is pretty strong once you're holding your baby in your arms! ;-)

Until then, I have 2 1/2 more hours before the next nausea pill and Caleb is laying quietly in his bed, so I'm off to lay on the couch!

(Oh, I'm feeling the baby move a lot these days! It's finally big enough for me to feel the movements, and that is definitely a blessing!)