Almost 21 weeks...

So we're nearing the 21 week marker. (Well, we're a couple days off, but still super close.)

Josh was home tonight-- and we totally were able to see the baby kicking just watching my stomach. I'm pretty sure she's a natural-born athlete. My back pain is unfortunately worse and today was the first day I had swelling in my knees :/

Today, also, was highly hormonal. I am normally a coldish, stoic person-- however the hormones turn me into a crybaby. I found someone who is willing to take the foster dogs in if her husband will allow her, but if not she has offered to donate all heartguard necessary for his heartworm treatment plus $100 towards vet expenses. Way, way cool. She and I hit it off REALLY well, and ironically she is friends with the wife of someone Josh knew back in Sniper days.

So, as a comparison, this was taken at our last midwife appointment on 11/17/10:

These are today. Literally, just taken and uploaded. 12/3/10. Growing too fast to even consider the fact that I'm only HALFWAY. Uggghhhhh.... 

Side note: It's bedtime. Sweet dreams.

Baby bumps

Over Thanksgiving, the baby seemed to move way stronger and more frequently when Josh would talk to her.

He's back in training now, so I played a video I have of us... and anytime he would talk in the video, she would move around and kick strong. To the point that I was able to see her move a couple times. When Josh stops talking in the video, she stops moving. It's crazy. She knows her daddy.

Post-Turkey day....

Currently, I am beyond OVERFULL.... I made hodge podge for supper, and sent some and some cinnamon rolls with Josh back to work.

Josh came home Tuesday night. I go to sleep and wake up middle of the night... wide-awake... then my laptop and Josh's computer turn on, mine was playing music. The light in the living room that I leave on in case of going to the bathroom... began flickering. I went to turn the laptop off, as it was in the other bedroom. Tristan would NOT come into the room. It was creepy as can be. The cat then laid on my belly until I got ready for work at 5pm.

Wednesday, we had our second Ultra Sound, and our baby is healthy. As of today, we are 20 weeks and 1 day pregnant. The development is completely healthy, heart rate of 158.

We got to see the facial profile more than anything else this whole ultrasound. The tech said this was the most active baby she'd seen in her entire career. I do believe I have a soccer player in my abdomen.

The front of the face is creepy, but the hands and feet are so meticulous now!

IT IS A GIRL: Perry Georgette Fletcher. I'm so ready for the remaining 20 weeks to finish up and to have my abdomen to it's original size and a kid waking me up every other hour... Josh is excited too, I think.

"Aunt" Lizzie gave us our first official "Perry" baby gifts... a couple of super cute beanies that she crocheted for her, some initial hangers, a personalized diaper bag, and a growth chart :) They're fantastic-- AND NOT PINK, woo hoo. I'm not a huge fan of pink on baby girls- at least not mine. Personally, I do not like the color by itself... unless it's LOUD.

We had turkey day in Kansas City, which was nice. Josh's folks got to meet my folks and I think everyone got along pretty well. Josh and my dad got along really well.

Almost 19 weeks

Josh has been gone to training since mid-October just about... almost a full month. I haven't spoken with him in over four days. I'm going crazy. Most of the days he called, we didn't have much to talk about of any importance... just chatted like we would over breakfast. I feel like there's so much I should tell him now though.

...for example, the fact that one of my stray dogs is heartworm positive and it breaks my own heart to know it. He's such a sweet boy. Fortunately, he's going to be treated and *should* be okay, but they're just such good dogs I hate that they'll have to experience it. For those unfamiliar with the parasite: Heartworms are transmitted via an infected host mosquito. The microfiliae (eggs) and larvae enter the blood stream, and as adults enter the heart and other organs. They generally classify infection level as Class 1-4, with Class 1 being the earliest stage and Class 4 being a goner. Carter is only Class 1 so far, but it still frustrates me that such a good dog has to deal with this. Treatment starts with regular Heartguard administration-- this kills the larvae and microfiliae, and sterilizes the adult parasites-- effectively breaking the breeding cycle. However, they then have to kill the adult parasites-- since they will still grow and complicate things. This treatment is arsenic-based and is delivered directly into the spine and is EXTREMELY painful for the dogs.

Side Note: While you may find it humorous... I currently do not: I tried to make Freddy wait to go outside til I finished submitting my paper which only meant I was scanning it into the computer, had to attach and send it with an email. He warned me he had to go, so he wet and messed simultaneously. Peed on himself: Needs a bath. While this was happening, I yelled out... and Carter happily obliges by lifting his leg ON Freddy. I need a dog-nanny :(

We had another midwife appointment yesterday. Josh, naturally, was not there. However, it all went well. I forgot my list of questions for her, but the baby seems healthy with a strong heartbeat of 150 beats per minute. The midwife was surprised when I told her I've been feeling the baby move for about a month now, she says it was probably gas bubbles... I say I'm farther than they think. They scheduled our next ultrasound on Wednesday November 24. This made my mom angry because it delays me and Josh leaving by a day, but at least Josh SHOULD be able to attend, which he'll love. The other option was to have an ultrasound towards the end of December, which was their next earliest appointment. Mom's angry because she feels I should've waited, since "the baby will come when it comes and be a girl or boy regardless when you do the ultrasound. You knew you were traveling. Dinner will be no later than 4pm on Thursday. That will give you 4 hours of screw around time considering your drive." It's a 20-hour drive. I don't even honestly want to go to Thanksgiving anymore. It's frustrating.

So we'll know how big the baby is, that it is developing properly, and if it's a boy or girl (as long as it's not modest...) next week. In time for the holidays. I have taken new pictures, we're almost 19 weeks:

It's hard to imagine I used to have abs... 

Week 18

Officially 18 weeks pregnant. Cool, right?




We're getting big. The heartbeat is averaging 136-152 beats per minute right now. Josh was able to hear that when he was home for Veteran's day.

I am always hungry, always thirsty, and always tired. I found a pair of BEAUTIFUL stray dogs the other day, but I think we have homes for them, finally! It's awesome.

So the baby is super active. Josh even got to hear it punch the doppler a few times while rolling around when he was listening to it yesterday just before he had to leave. I hate that he has to leave so much, though I am grateful that he gets to come home too. I did a last-minute dash to cook for him, which left the kitchen a MESS... I've worked on homework for most of today and really need to jump on finishing a paper for my Brit Lit class.

Back to work, I guess. I really need to finish more work than I have been. Officially two assignments completed, though. Woo Hoo!!

THE PICTURE POST...

I've promised pictures.

We are almost 17 weeks now... and I'm pretty sure we're stuck in a growth spurt. My "happy trail" itches non-stop... I sit with a tub of lotion massaging all afternoon while trying to work on homework!

For the full-size comparison

The penguin Josh bought for the nursery.... he's stoked. 

What's new, you ask?

I have to still take and upload the newest photos... but seeing how I've worked on homework all night tonight so far...

Though, I'm finally starting to get the hang of my statistics... it's taking me a while to do it, but I'm horrible with the numbers and formulas anyway, so I'm just proud I'm getting it right.

I worked a 12-hour shift yesterday, and by the end of it, by poor back was screaming and begging for mercy. Today, I worked in the morning. Had to stop at the store for a new SD card for the new camera, and a new calculator to work on the statistics.

I ordered a fetal doppler today, the cheapo version, but it had good reviews. I think Josh will LOVE it when he comes home... it means that whenever he and I get to see each other, he'll at least get to hear the kid's heartbeat. I'm excited for him, even. We can also take it on the holidays to let the families listen in. I think dad and mom will both like the shot to see the in-progress pregnancy that way.

I drove a neighbor to the store for some milk since her car is broken... and when I get home within MINUTES of leaving-- I find that the cat and both dogs are centered around the pedestal stand of our kitchen table. I figured there must be some food from the dog bowl under there. I move the table slightly, and Fifer starts chasing a mouse across the floor. Iorek steps on his tail and gets him in one bite. He was really mad when I didn't let him eat it. (He could get parasites and whatnot from it.)

We came with some great new flavors at work, which I'm stoked about: White Chocolate Peppermint, Cranberry Crumble, Cherry Cordial, Milk n' Cookies, Dirty Snowball (Caramel-filled Chocolate cake with coconut cream frosting), Peanut Brittle, and many others! This season will be a lot of fun, and I'm looking forward to it.

On to the normal things I talk about:

I desperately miss Josh. It's harder each day I talk to him, especially as things seem to go wrong. I think our washing machine is dying, and quickly. I'm tired, all the time. Fortunately, I cleaned the house really well today.

Well, I have to head out for bed now.... Ciao, folks!

Hormones...

I must have hormonal overdrive.

I keep feeling like getting a baby baby puppy to raise with the boys, and ultimately, the kid. Something that bonds with the kid instead of Josh and Me exclusively (Iorek is Josh's, Tristan is mine...)
or really... any little baby animals... sheesh.

Josh bought the baby a huge stuffed penguin to match the nursery. I'll post pictures when I get a new SD card for the camera... the one we have doesn't fit the new camera, unfortunately.

I'm huge, also. I can no longer button most of my pants-- only the pants I have that are size 11... I was a size 5-7 pre-pregnancy. Crazy noise.

My hips began hurting today- not as bad as they will, I'm sure. Ditto for the back, though that one gets pretty bad already. Today was rough. Josh had to go back again... shortly thereafter, the puppy I'm babysitting crapped on the carpet... then the cat threw up on the couch... then trying to clean up the poop... I threw up on the carpet. Oh glorious pregnancy, only how many months left?! That's right. 6. I hate this.

This weekend

I get my husband home for this weekend, woo hoo! It's exciting. Crazy as it sounds, if it weren't for the pregnancy, this distance could provoke a ton of "Romeo and Juliet" in us, I think. It's still sad that he will miss some of the pregnancy stuff, but we'll manage, and I'll keep him posted as much as I can.

There's not a whole lot to report as of right now. I have a dentist appointment tomorrow. I hate going to the dentist, they always make me feel bad about my habits-- and I strive really hard to have really good habits :(
I'm staying up later than normal nowadays, I think because I miss Josh.

On the plus side, I am sleeping through the night- which I think is because I'm not sleeping in the same crotchety bed with him... I have spent these last nights in the spare room on a muchly plushy bed, and I don't have to roll to his side of the bed partway through the night because he shifts his weight like I do with the other bed in our room. I have to pee a lot more urgently when I first wake up now though.

Side note: The cat is sleeping ON the turtle tank... took a picture, Josh will laugh his butt off.

And I don't want to participate with Halloween. I hate the "holiday"... uggh... rattle the dogs up too much.

Well, off to bed, sleep well folks!

Sunday

It's Sunday.
Josh left this morning.
I have not felt motivated all morning.
I feel like a heap of dirty laundry. Just sitting there. Which reminds me, I should switch up the loads.
Maybe I'll take the dogs to the square locally, and just walk them around a while. They'll probably really enjoy the break. The fresh air will probably do me well also. Poor dogs. Poor, chaotic house. I have a HUGE to-do list over the next week, and am overwhelmed and undermotivated. Time to kick into overdrive, I guess.

On the plus side, I guess... there are fewer distractions from husbands and I don't have to cook as much and we'll save on groceries.

Speaking of, I guess it's lunchtime. I suppose I'll eat some lunch and walk the dogs and get some air.

GoneGoneGone

I think it's hitting me that Josh leaves Sunday just now. He has to report in by 8 a.m. This means: I worked today, and he's over drinking with the neighbors for his going-away BBQ. Just to throw it out there: these are the neighbors I don't like. There are two couples he's with right now: Couple A and Couple B. Couple A is a husband and wife with two kids. The husband seems nice enough for an out-of-place redneck, the wife is trashier than a landfill. Couple B is a husband who works two days a week, a much busier wife, and five kids ranging 6 months to 5 years. I do not like couple B because I have witnessed them both get completely drunk with all of the children in the house, and I cannot at all condone behavior like that since no one there was able to make sound decisions if a situation arose. Since I am home by lunchtime every day, I get to watch the wife from Couple A have an affair with the husband of Couple B. I don't respect this either. 
Maybe they sense I don't like them, because while they'll talk to my husband, they completely ignore me. As in: do not even acknowledge my presence or when I pipe into a conversation. I do not appreciate this either, and therefore, I am stuck at home while my husband gets drunk with neighbors I don't like at a "going-away BBQ" that is for my husband, purchased by my husband. 
The hormones don't help this either.


Conclusion to last blog: We're at a stalemate. Josh still wants to circumcise, I still don't. More news later on that front.


We met with the midwife Wednesday who brought out the monitor to listen to the baby's heartbeat. She had Josh record it on his phone to take with him to training, which he loved. He likes the midwife WORLDS better than the OB-GYN doctor we saw for the first prenatal exam. I think mostly because she's a woman, and I love her because she's frank and honest about everything. 


I suppose I ought to shower and work on some homework for a while now. Then I am going to try to crochet out of the book my bosses got me. 


Oh yes: My bosses and co-baker at the cupcakery put together a goodie bag for while Josh is gone to keep me busy: 
Baking with Julia (Julia Child.) 
a couple knitting/crochet pattern books
some needles
and a bunch of yarn


Way cool, and beyond unexpected of them. :) I am fortunate to work there, no doubt.
 

Oh, decisions!

So, we've settled on names for girl or boy. That much is great.

With that said, I will not list them here. For selfish reasons, naturally. I enjoy creative names and would not want them to become common. It sounds crazy, but I feel it is a rational fear. If you are directly interested, you're welcome to call or email me directly and I will inform you accordingly. However, this blog is far too public (even if there really aren't any people out there interested in my boring day-to-day pregnancy.)

Josh leaves in exactly one week. He will be gone until Thanksgiving. Hopefully at that time we can get another ultrasound to determine the sex so he can be there. He says knowing the sex will help him feel close and bond with the baby even while he is away since he is missing much of the prenatal development. He will come home again for Christmas and New Year's day. This unfortunately will extend his training until June. If I give birth in April, that's a lot of diapers and mid-sleep feedings all on my own. :/

So, since he is leaving and I will be responsible for carrying out our communicated will for the child and birth, we are trying to iron out all the wrinkles before he leaves (which is why at 9 weeks our nursery was set up, and why by 14 weeks, we have both names picked out and settled.)
Today, I've been looking up a lot of information on whether or not we should circumcise if we have a boy. I have decided I do not want to circumcise if we have a boy (mostly.) since I feel it is the child's decision rather than my own, and that most male animals in nature have sheaths on their penises. Why should I change this for my son? It doesn't seem to hurt other animals in the natural world, and I see no reason to force it upon my son. As far as I've read, most reasons for later-in-life circumcision are due to hygiene problems or religious decisions, both should be my son's responsibility.
With that said, Josh likes the fact that a circumcised penis is "normal" and "cleaner"-- both things I can completely understand. We've talked about this once before, but it's our topic of the night tonight and should be interesting. I've been reading A LOT about it this evening.

I mean, we've decided in almost all other aspects of this pregnancy and birth that natural is better... such as birthing through a midwife, natural birth without pain meds, breast-feeding.... why change now?

With that said, I was working on a load of homework tonight and realized just how much work I really need to put into my own discipline levels. Buckling down, we are! It's been a lazy day. Unfortunately, I got Josh sick. I had what I believed to be a HORRIBLE sinus infection, but now Josh is definitely NOT feeling well at all. Same symptoms, only he can actually take medicine to help, which is helping him some it seems.

Well, I suppose I should settle in with my bowl of ice cream for the night and relax! I'll try to work on photo uploads soon, whenever I figure out how.

To keep all in the loop...

To those who do not know me: I am Chelsey. Currently a baker and student by profession, Marine wife for life, and knitter and painter by hobby...
The family is as follows:

Josh: Husband
Tristan: Best Friend and Loyal Mutt
Iorek: Sweetest Mutt and Snuggler
Fifer: The tail-free orange tabby cat.

On the way, we have a kid. We are currently 13 weeks pregnant, and Josh was not at all comfortable posting photos and the updates on Facebook for the world to see. Therefore, we are starting this  blog for our families and friends to periodically catch up with us, since I will not always have the time to email everyone.

I currently bake cupcakes for a living, it's an almost-full-time job, so I get to come home to bake, putter, and play with the pups. We just rehomed a litter of foster puppies we bottle-fed from 2 weeks old. They're all doing fantastic in their new homes. My husband leaves in about a week for training, and he'll be gone until June :(

There's nothing too terribly exciting in our lives right now aside from the facts already mentioned. We'll be taking the boys (the dogs) to the beach this weekend, which I am sure they will enjoy. Tristan LOVES chasing the waves. Oh yeah, we're in North Carolina, so we're on the coast.