Gas!

Hey, I never said that this blog would be all fun and rosy :) As much as I now love being pregnant, there are a few things that have become so incredibly uncomfortable, one of them being really bad gas pains/bubbles in my abdomen ALL the time. No matter what I eat or how much water I drink, they are always there!! They're the type of pains that can't be "relieved" either, so it pretty much hurts all the time. I haven't experienced any heartburn yet though which I've heard is common, so maybe I'm lucky.

I am starting to feel really big, I even feel like my face is starting to fill out but maybe I'm just being overly sensitive. I have to say though, over our christmas vacation I really felt pregnant! My capacity for food is growing and growing, but I'm trying to be really conscious of what I'm eating instead of just junk. Pickles are STILL a high priority in my diet as are olives, but I wasn't shy with the christmas cookies either ;)

Speaking of our vacation to San Francisco....we had the BEST time! I will post some pictures of "christmas with the Sestili's" on my photo blog in the next few days.

This morning I had my 23 week check-up with the doctor and it was great! She said that I'm looking good, as is our little boy. She did an ultrasound and I got to see his head/face, his little body, and his little winky again so there's no doubt he's a HE! All of my 2nd trimester blood tests came up negative for any concerns of defects or disorders, in fact, the doctor said that I was in the lowest percentage of a problem occurring...1 out of 10,000 - YAY!

She reminded me to drink, drink, drink water and to stay away from any fluids with alot of chemicals (bye bye decaf coffee). She reminded me to take my pre-natal vitamins and to not lift ANYTHING heavy, especially because I've been feeling alot of pressure in my abdominal area which she said is normal. Looks like Lee is going to have to go grocery shopping with me from now on - HA!

She suggested that Lee & I talk about cord blood banking and that we consider whether or not we want the detailed ultrasound to see more closely if everything on our boy is in working order - 4 chambers of the heart, all organs are formed, fingers, etc. So many things to think about!

Regardless of everything we need to talk about, I'm feeling great. I had a few weeks of feeling really overwhelmed (weeks 19-21) but that is all in the past, at least for now. I am super excited to get our nursery put together, to go on the hospital tour, and to sign up for childbirth classes. It really is true that as time goes on, it gets more and more exciting with the anticipation of meeting the little thing inside of you!

Belly pic, but this time....not just belly!!

Lee and I have finally gotten it together and taken some pictures of my full on pregnant figure. Now everyone can see what I look like in all my 5 month glory instead of just pictures that I take at work of my belly with my blackberry!

Here is the picture to enjoy....I will write more tomorrow.

22 weeks and counting!

This week marks 22 weeks (I think, although it could be 21). I better figure that out! Our little boy has been moving around ALOT in the last few days...I feel him all of the time - little pops in my belly here and there. I am totally in love with his little "kicks" and can't get enough of them...the experience is so amazing and I can now start to understand why some women say that they LOVE being pregnant. I couldn't even fathom that idea until now. Now it all makes sense and I am excited for the serious movements and kicks as he grows. Lee got to feel my belly move a bit last Saturday with the kicks or punches from our little bun. He thought it was very cool, however, I have to admit that I thought he'd be more excited. He said "wow, I felt it...that is great" and then took his hand off my belly and went back to watching his football game! HA! I assume this is the typical male response and completely understand.

We have chosen a name for our little boy, but I'm going to make many of my readers wait in suspense until we reveal it. Our family knows what it is, but that's about it. Maybe our best friends do too. We're thrilled with the name and we already refer to him by it so we're hooked. It fits perfectly with Reinis and is a very strong name with a ton of meaning for both of us!

Tomorrow we're leaving for San Francisco to spend Christmas with my brother, sister, and their families. I am so excited for them to see the growing belly and to spend some quality family time. We have a fun filled long weekend planned with a trip to the Science Center, lots of eating (YAY!), and probably movie watching. I spent last weekend making cookies for the trip so I hope my family is ready for them! Not only will we spend Christmas with my family, but Lee & I will be able to share Hanukkah with them this year which is always great. Maybe we should make latkes? Hmmmm.

Happy Hanukkah to all and a Merry Christmas too!!

First little kicks

What a week this has been! On Wednesday night Lee & I were driving to dinner with his family, but had to make a stop to pick up a package. Right after he got out of the car, I felt this weird little tapping in my belly...like someone was flicking me from the inside. It happened 3 times in a row and surprised the HECK out of me! When Lee got in the car I told him the news and he was so happy. He tried putting his hand on my belly, but I couldn't feel anything else. Probably too soon for him to feel it on the outside anyway.

I have read that kicking can feel sometimes like gas bubbles at the beginning, but these were no gas bubbles which I've had plenty of...they were way too strong and hard. Just to be certain that I felt him, the little man was at it again LAST night at almost the same exact time in the evening...7pm. Maybe that happens to be his active time of the day. Last night there was even more movement. 1 kick or punch in my upper belly, one a little lower, and then this flutter of movement like he was turning over. All I can say is how A-MA-ZING!! I know I'm one of a trillion women who have experienced this sensation, but WOW...it felt so incredibly special to me and is such a miracle. I want it to happen all the time now :)

I'm FREEZING....

Lee lit the pilot light on our heater the other day, but smelled something funny coming from it and is worried about horrible fumes (see - can't get away from them). SO, just to be safe we are not using our heater until someone comes to look at it and it's COLD out. Probably not that cold to people on the east coast, but it's all relative...I'm from the east coast and have acclimated very nicely to west coast weather:) To keep warm I'm drinking hot apple cider and then climbing into bed to watch TV with Rocky! Hope everyone else is warm and toasty tonight...

Do all maternity dresses look like nightgowns?

On Saturday, Lee and I had to attend a holiday party where the attire was "cocktail" and I knew I couldn't get away with wearing my maternity jeans. Since none of my black pants fit anymore, I was left with the choice of a maternity dress that I just purchased from the Gap. On the internet it was so cute, a very pretty blue shirt dress that buttons up the front with a tie waist. I was excited to wear something new and cute so I spent a few minutes ironing it and then put it on. Lee walked by me right as I was trying to figure out the tie at the waist and said "nice nightgown". The dress looked horrible on me!! It was so enormous that I looked like a little girl playing dress up. The only thing I can imagine, is when I'm 8 months pregnant it might actually look good, I have no idea. I will tell you one thing though, I will NEVER look like the girl from the Gap website. Why can't they make cute maternity clothes for shorties? They make pants in short sizes which is great, but what about dresses or skirts? It's not fair! Luckily, I tried on a dress from my closet that was not maternity, but expandable in the front and it fit great. In fact, it looked even better Saturday night than it did the first few times I wore it because now I can really fill out the chest area :) I wore it with black boots and felt great...phew!

Everything else this week is going well. Lee and I worked more on our new place over the weekend and are finally feeling settled. We still have a few boxes to unpack that are stored in the baby's room, but we figure that we'll get to them when we buy the furniture and set up the room for good.

Sleeping is still rough because I just can NOT get comfortable at night and am always subconsciously nervous that I'm going to sleep on my back for a long period of time. Hopefully I'll get more used to sleeping on my side in the next few weeks.

Belly time!

So this week marked 20 weeks of my pregnancy which is HALF way to hatching! When I mentioned to Lee yesterday that we are half way there, he said "oh, see...that wasn't so bad!". We both laughed at his joke knowing very well that it's been a tough road for me (and him) so far, but completely worth it. My energy level has been great for the last few weeks until this week, sadly. I have been completely exhausted again and experiencing some serious headaches. Must be those raging hormones! My appetite is raging also which I'm embracing and not fighting at all. Lee hasn't had to make any runs for cravings though which is very lucky for him ;)

I FINALLY got a pair of maternity jeans that fit and let me tell you - OMG, they're comfortable!! They were delivered to me this week at work and I changed into them right away. Looks like they will be the staple of my pregnancy wardrobe going forward which means I may have to get another pair. If anyone is interested in what I bought, here's the link GAP JEANS.

With the holiday season upon us, I can't help but think of next year and how our Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, and Christmas will be celebrated with our little man! I am already planning his outfits - haha!

Here is this week's belly pic...

I'm still growing!

Holy Moly, I am starting to grow OUT of the bras that I bought a few months ago - AH! Unlike jeans, there is no rubber band trick for bras. Looks like instead of spending my money on maternity clothes, I will continue to buy bras. Does Victoria's Secret have a frequent shopper card? :)

Smells and a first!

I think every first time pregnant woman tries so hard to do everything "right". Eat or not eat the right foods, take the best vitamins, not lift too much, sleep the right way, etc. I know that for me it's that way. I want so much to do all the right things so that my little boy is born happy and healthy. Some things are easier for me than others, like eating lots of fruits and veggies, taking vitamins, and not over exerting myself (so easy!). There are a few things though that are tough like NOT sleeping on my back, not eating cold cuts, and the hardest - not inhaling all of the horrible odors around LA. I have found that ever since becoming pregnant these smells are EVERYWHERE, especially when I'm out walking. There seems to ALWAYS be someone smoking, a car with really horrible exhaust, or lately smoke from all of the fires and the paint fumes in my apartment. I try so hard to avoid these fumes, but the one thing I CAN'T stop doing is breathing so I'm faced with a huge problem! I often wonder how bad these odors are for my little boy and worry a bit. Some instances of inhalation are just unavoidable like when I'm walking the dog and a really smelly car drives by. I try to hold my breath as long as possible, but it never seems long enough. I just hope that I'm doing enough "right" things, that I am counteracting all of the nasty things I'm breathing in. People who have kids have said that I won't be so paranoid with the first one which leads me to believe that our boy will be JUST fine. I'm sure that pregnant woman of the past inhaled just as much crap as I am and we all have turned out fine. Or have we? ;)

Yesterday for the first time, someone that I don't know noticed that I am pregnant! I was at the bank and the woman who I was sitting with asked when I was due - yay! I don't just look a little pudgy anymore, I guess I actually look preggers. That made me VERY happy and excited for my little bump.

This week I'm feeling good so far, but tiredness is plaguing me again. Might be the crazy change in temps throughout the day or the fact that I can't really sleep through the night anymore. Guess my body is getting ready for being up every 2 hours in the middle of the night, because I'm waking up lately about 3 times a night and not JUST to go to the bathroom. Earlier bedtime is a must these next few days!

Belly Shot!

Time for the weekly belly shot! Not sure if I've gotten bigger this week, but it sure feels like it. I am wearing my 2 pair of True Religion low rise jeans like they're going out of style since they actually still fit w/o a rubber band. 1 pair is on the verge of not fitting though which makes me sad.

Lately I've been having a ton of round ligament pain which my doctor says is totally normal. For those who don't know what that is or haven't been preggers, round ligament pain is what you feel when the ligaments around your uterus stretch and get thicker. Sometimes it just feels like cramps, but often when I move or get up from sitting or lying down, I actually get sharp little pains. It's a reminder that everything is growing down there, especially the little boy bun!

I've been craving a TON of salty food lately instead of sweets and I honestly believe that the person who invented ruffles potato chips and lipton onion soup/sour cream dip should be given some kind of medal of honor. All week, we've had a bowl of that dip in our fridge so that I can have some each night. Olives have been another HUGE craving. I am still loving pickles, but right now if I had to choose btwn an olive and a pickle...the olive would win!

Another person (male) in my office commented on how I am always eating. They do it in fun and I politely remind them that I'm growing a human inside of me and if they were in my shoes, wouldn't even last through the first trimester. DEFINITELY not through morning sickness. Lee is sweet though...he is convinced that our boy is going to be a huge baby (he was over 9 lbs) and keeps encouraging me to eat eat eat ;) He even brought me a bag of cookies yesterday from D.D. Reese (one of the best cookie stores in LA). I have a great husband!

In other news, our new place is shaping up just fine however we don't want to set up the baby's room until we have the furniture and can see if an actual guest bed will also fit in the room, so we're in limbo. I think we'll be buying everything in the next few weeks just so we can feel settled in. Once I decide for sure what we're getting, I'll post some pics of the items.

Ok, onto the belly pic...

Update

So I'm still riding the high from Saturday and finding out that we're having a little boy...wow! The coolest part of the ultrasound besides seeing his little "package", was that we got to actually see things like his head, skull, eye sockets, spine, hands, arms, little butt, and legs, oh and his heart beating!! It really took my breath away and I had tears in my eyes from the whole experience. It was by far one of the most amazing things I've ever seen! Lee and I celebrated with lunch at our favorite little sandwich place called Good Stuff. We even splurged and got the fried zucchini sticks - ha!

Everyone keeps congratulating us and insinuating that we'll either have a baby Jon Bon Jovi or a little baseball slugger like Lee was. So I'm wondering if maybe he can be a really great pitcher who plays guitar in a rock band on the side. Lee, and objections? :) Either way, I think he's gonna be a cutie and I just can't WAIT to meet him!

As far as picking a song to sing to my little boy bun, I decided on "Hey Jude" by the Beatles. No, we're not naming him Jude (although it was considered), but it's a song I love that I happen to know all the words too and I don't sound horrific singing. Maybe I do and I just don't know it, but I'm hoping that my little boy won't care so much. If he starts to cry every time I sing, then we'll be investing in Itunes even more than we do now :)

Tomorrow I'll post another bump picture. Till then....