21 Weeks: The Registry

Brett with his beloved scanner. Technically I started out with the scanner at Babies R Us, until I heard a very timid voice behind me, "can I try now?" I never got control of the scanner again for the rest of the trip.

Okay, I'll admit it, this girl loves to shop. However, never in my life have I realized I know so little about how to buy for a baby. Walking into Babies R Us proved to be one of the most overwhelming tasks Brett and I have faced as a couple.  So we decided to start smaller - at Pottery Barn Kids. Bedding and cribs, that easy enough right? One would think - unless of course you are married to one of the few husbands in this world who likes to have a say on interior design choices. So the debate - white vs. espresso crib.

She says: White! It's easy, it's versatile if we have a girl later and we can more easily match other cheaper furniture with it - and it just happens to look a lot better with the bedding we chose.

He says: Espresso! It's a boy and espresso is more "masculine," it will go better with our other furniture.

So we put it to a vote calling my mother, who voted white. Despite telling mom she was the tie-breaker Brett insisted we go another round so we called his sister, who voted white. Convinced it is a female conspiracy against espresso colored cribs Brett asks Dan (his brother-in-law), who voted white. Do you see what I live with here? At this point I pulled out my pregnancy card - yup, I'm not proud of this move but suddenly these words just came flooding out of my mouth, "I am carrying this child for 9 months, the least you can do is give me a white crib and leave the room decor to me!" Yes, like a said, not a proud moment - but what can I say, the hormones finally got the better of me.

In the end - we finally got it done at Pottery Barn Kids and Babies R Us - whew!

20 Weeks: The Comeback of the Drama King

Last Friday we had our 18-20 week ultrasound appointment to check out Baby Fish and see how everything is doing. Since my parents were away at our cottage in New York for the majority of my pregnancy so far we thought it would be nice to have them present for the ultra-sound so they could see their growing grandson.

Where the parents were for the first part of the pregnancy - can you blame them?
View from our cottage on Keuka Lake in New York.

What a nice idea right? Well, for those also new to the baby world like us just a little fyi - they don't just check out that you have a baby in you and the sex in this appointment anymore. An hour and a half later we saw every finger, toe, eyelid, eye, nose, heart valve and brain functionality there is to be seen. I'm pretty sure I know Baby Fish's body better than my own at this point.

Our alert radars went off when our technician was finished and said "the doctor will come in and let you know what he thinks." Hmm....what's there to think about we had the genetic testing we are in the clear right? Well, in walks the all too familiar head of genetics for our hospital - DAMN! A few nervous looks at the parents and husband and the belly is exposed once again for a second look at baby. Turns out our little drama king isn't ready to let us off the hook just yet - ahh I knew that baby bliss feeling was too good to last.

After a lot of confusing doctor talk what we have been able to sum it up to is this - there is a 99% chance that everything is just fine, and that is what we are choosing to focus on. On the flip side there were a few things visible in Baby Fish's brain that we shouldn't be able to see right now that controls the flow of fluid around the brain. Because we have the genetic testing on our side there doesn't seem to be too much to worry about, but there is a chance these things are visible because there is a blockage somewhere. We go back in another three weeks for another ultrasound to check things out again and ensure it's not getting larger - which would indicate a blockage. The frustrating thing is the doctor couldn't, or wouldn't, explain what that means in terms of the effects on the baby. Best we could get out of him was "some mental affects."

Our little Drama King - look baby and mom have matching bumps!

The silver lining is that since we already went through all the drama of the CVS test I feel like a veteran at semi-shitty news from these appointments so it isn't hitting as hard as it did the first time around. Although I will say it took a little shininess off the pregnancy glow. Not to worry though - after a heavy, comfort food filled dinner with the parents baby and I had a talk.  We have decided that everything is just fine and these doctors can take their tests and monitors and shove it where the sun don't shine. We are officially at the half way point of the pregnancy this week and I just want to celebrate! Massages and pedicures anyone?!

19 Weeks - The Peek-a-Boo Bump

Well it's finally arrived - well sort of. Two weeks ago started a vicious cycle of not sleeping through the night. I'm not sure I clocked in more than one hour of sleep at a time, and the culprit? Little Baby Fish has been growing by leaps and bounds (5 1/2 inches long two weeks ago and 6 1/2 inches head to rump this week), and as a result there is simply just no more room in the belly. It feels like being stuffed for Thanksgiving dinner and all that constant pressure wrecks havoc on your lower back. The last two weeks I've felt more zombie than human - which is quite fitting with Halloween just around the corner. That was until my mother introduced me to this magical creation - the body pillow! Last night was the first successful night sleep in a while and I'm hoping that trend continues.

With some of the physical discomforts aside it has been fun to finally welcome my lil peek-a-boo bump. What is a peek-a-boo bump you may ask? Well it's what I've dubbed my belly since each morning I wake with a "semi" flat tummy but with each meal the belly grows until a certifiable mini bump appears by the end of day - finally!  Brett made me laugh out loud the first day he noticed the bump stating he was "so proud of me." Umm, yeah cause you caught me - I've totally been faking this pregnancy up till now;-)

18 Weeks: Calls from "Daycare"

This week seems to be pretty similar to the past week only sleep has become more and more fleeting during the night. No sleep + a particularly rough week at work has made it hard to keep it together with grace. I just keep thinking "if I just was well rested this wouldn't seem like such a big deal." So while I try and keep my pregnancy emotions at bay - yesterday I got a very interesting call.

The phone rings and the woman on the other line said, "Hi, this is Lorraine from daycare..."  Daycare?! I'm pretty sure Baby Fish is still the exclusive resident of Casa de Mommy at this point. A few ticks later my brain caught up - she meant doggie daycare for Huck! My second thought is, uh oh, I never get mid-day calls from "daycare" something is up.

Our happy puppy when he's not getting in trouble at daycare.

Apparently a week and a half of lazy parents meant that Huckster had more energy than he knew what to do with and it manifested itself as "mounting" every dog at daycare until it got him into a bit of a tiff - which led to the "Can I speak with you?" call. I spent the next 15 minutes listening to a lecture on my dog's mounting and suggestions on training techniques or possible trainers I should look into to correct the situation - try having that conversation with a straight face I dare you. I assured her that we took the situation seriously, but it was still suggested that he get his "issue" taken care of prior to coming back. So yes, we are the proud parents of a puppy kicked out of daycare - I couldn't help but see a foreshadowing of things to come.

17 Weeks: Baby Boy Style

Sorry kids - still no bump to be found. To set aside my own anxieties about my lack of growing tummy as I head into my 17th week of pregnancy (all the books say the bump should pop around 13-16 weeks) I spent sometime daydreaming about my stylin little man to be. I have to admit, I was a bit stumped on where to start with baby boy clothing. All my personal experience has been with dressing the ladies, myself and all my fabulous little nieces. As a child I would judge the quality of an outfit by how high my skirt would twirl when I spun in the dressing room with my mom barely visible under a pile of ruffles and lace. That's when I realized, this will probably be the only time I will get to style my little man the way I want before he reverts into his toddler years of sweatpants and spiderman t-shirts. As I perused the clothing at Baby Gap I have found that I apparently want to dress Baby Fish as a little old man in gingham onsies, cable knit sweaters and sliders. Perhaps it's because we are heading into fall right now but I just couldn't get enough of those cozy one-pieces - if they made them in maternity I may even rock my own pair this winter.

Baby Boy Style by mkfisher04 featuring knit jeans

Thirty, Pregnant, and Barefoot in the Bar

October 4th marked the big day - leaving the roaring 20s behind for the dirty 30. Brett and I were both blown away by the support of our friends and family who showed up at Box Social last night for a celebratory drink (faux-drink for me). And while I wasn't technically barefoot in the bar I was tempted on many occasions to ditch my heels as the night progressed - yes I'm still holding on to the dream that pregnant women can rock heels with the best of em. We can't thank everyone enough for last night, it sure made the birthday a pretty special day and we have a lot of love to give to everyone who showed up. Needless to say I'm pretty sure the next 30 years will be very different than the first 30 - so bring it on baby!

A gathering of friends at the Box Social for cocktails to celebrate the “Dirty Thirty.”

Left: Adriane, Myself and Kyleigh trying some new lips on for size.  Right: Sheila, Myself and Phoebe - the original PWG volunteer crew at Dress for Success!

Left: Jackie and Adriane showing off their dirty stashes for the Dirty Thirty.  Center: My second attempt at blowing out my birthday candles - I got anxious and jumped the gun the first go around.  Right: Shannon (Box Social owner) and Brian showing off their specs.

Brett did a lovely toast to the evening - don’t worry - mine’s just Pellegrino and pomegranate juice with a twist of lime - I can faux-tini it with the best of them.

16 Weeks: Sober Weddings

This weekend we celebrated the union of two great friends of ours, DJ and Lacey down in Central Oregon at Brasada Ranch - this marks our second wedding of the four we have planned to attend during this pregnancy. I'm happy to announce that this wedding was far less dramatic then our first one:-)

While the "bump" still remains a bit elusive at this point it still proved difficult to find a dress that would fit for the wedding. After trying on everything in my closet and a little help from a friend I finally found something to wear - hallelujah! The right accessories and shoes can turn any beach dress into wedding appropriate attire:-)

It's an interesting thing, attending weddings dead sober. You spend the night cheersing with a water glass, explaining why you aren't drinking (because I have no visible signs of being pregnant), and  I have discovered that "Tipsy Megan" has much better dance moves than "Sober Megan."  In the end, it was a great wedding, with wonderful people and I even got to talk baby shop with a few recent mom's who were giving their advice on my Doctor debacle (more on that later). The biggest win of the night is that I even hit my goal - stay awake till the end of the wedding! They say the tiredness and first trimester symptoms should be going away by now but I'm not seeing the "glowing" at the end of the tunnel quite yet.