Ahhhhhhhhhhh . . .

So, the nurse called me and told me to take Extra Strength Tylenol, and then to get on my hands and knees and rock back and forth. After that, I am to arch my back "like an angry cat". I tried it several times now, and as silly as I feel when I'm rocking back and forth and being an angry cat, I have to say that I am feeling much, MUCH better. I still have the pains, but I can walk around and do my job without feeling like my insides are being ripped out. I still have to be careful not to overdo it, and I spend most of my evenings lying on the couch, but Jeff doesn't mind!

Round Ligament Pain

I've had a good few weeks so I'm not going to complain too much, but I now have what is called round ligament pain. As you can see from the picture, the round ligaments are on either side of the uterus, and as it grows, the ligaments are stretching. It causes stabbing pains in my abdomen, and makes walking difficult, at least for me. Although this is very common in pregnancy, some women barely have any pain while others have debilitating pain. I'd say I'm somewhere in the middle. I can still do what I need to do, but I do feel a lot better when I'm lying on the couch. Thank God for Jeff!

The other day, Jeff came home in a bad mood and was venting. Since he has such a deep voice, however, and he was almost yelling, I think he startled baby. Every time he raised his voice, she kicked! I tried to explain that Daddy wasn't yelling at Mommy, but I don't know whether she got that. :-)

Introducing Alivia Lou Heller

I have a new niece! Her name is Alivia Lou Heller, and my sister, Sedonia, had her yesterday morning at 3:36. She weighed 7 pounds 1 ounce, and measured 19.6 inches. She has a head full of pretty black hair, and she is the spitting image of Sedonia when she was born. I cannot wait til Christmas so I can go see her, but in the meantime, you can enjoy her pictures! The first one was taken shortly after she was born yesterday morning, and the second is from last night. I wanted to see the hair, so her daddy, Jorge, took some pictures for me. I swear, she is the prettiest little girl since Sedonia and Savannah were born!

Picture Time

All right, here are a few pix of our little Elizabeth. In the first one, her head is to the left of the picture, and she has her little hand up by her cheek. In the next two, though, she is facing the other direction. I picked the clearest photos, so hopefully you can make them out with no problem. I love the second picture - we caught her in a yawn! In the last picture, her legs are bent at the knee, and she is sucking on her thumb, so her little hand is up to her mouth. How cute is she!

It's a . . .

GIRL!! The ultrasound was so cool. Elizabeth was moving all over, kicking her feet and sucking her thumb. She yawned several times and her heartbeat was 134, which is lower than it has been (but still just fine), so I think she was trying to sleep and we kept disturbing her! We got a bunch of cute pictures - more of which will follow later - and a DVD of the whole thing. It was so amazing!!


(The picture is of the baby's legs in the air, and as you can see, there's nothing in between them!)

It's a Baby!

It's the coolest thing - when I start pressing on my stomach, I can feel where the baby is laying! She is slightly to the right of my belly button, and it's so awesome. Jeff can't feel any movements as they are still so faint, but he was able to feel the baby. I showed him where she was, and he said, "Oh my gosh, there's something in there!" He's so cute. :-)

We go on Wednesday for the gender-revealing ultrasound, so hopefully Baby is not modest, and will show us what we want to see. I've been dreaming of little boys though, so maybe it's a boy after all . . .

4 Month Belly!

I don't know how well you can see the difference, but the pic on the left was my 3 month belly, and the one on the right is my 4 month belly. I am definitely bigger, although the nurse confirmed that I have only gained one pound. Woo hoo! The baby's heart rate was 144 bpm, which worried me since last time it was 158, but the doc said that she might be sleeping. How cute is that! We find out two weeks from today what we're having, and I am so, so excited!

Falling Behind

For those of you who have been anxiously awaiting an update, I apologize! I've been meaning to post for nearly a week, but somehow I haven't gotten there. I am actually feeling better these days, if you can believe it! I have very little nausea, and I have been having more days without headaches than with. My worst physical problem right now is that my skin itches like crazy, but after the headaches and nausea, that's not much of a problem. However, I'd welcome any anti-itch tips. I have tried a few different kinds of lotion and some aloe vera gel, with limited success.

In very BIG news, I felt the baby move on Friday (yes, I know, it's Wednesday already, and I should have told you before)! I was sitting at my desk at work and I felt this strange tickle right below my belly button. It took me a second to realize what it was, but then I ran around and told everyone here. Several other times that day, I felt what reminded me of little bubbles popping. I didn't feel her too often over the weekend, but every now and then I'll get a little reminder that she's in there. It is the most exciting thing!

I took a 16-week belly shot for you, but I will have to upload it later. I'm off to the doctor today for a weigh-in and check-up, and then to schedule the "What Are We Having?" ultrasound. Fun!

Good Day

I'm having a feel-good day today, which is so nice. I think I will always have a minor pain in the back of my head, but as long as it doesn't get any bigger, I can still go on about my day. I've been making sure I get a little caffeine each day, and I'm drinking plenty of water, both of which seem to help.

Tomorrow starts the fourth month, can you believe it? It seems like I have such a long way to go, and yet, I'm nearly half way there. I just can't wait to feel the baby move! I am dying to start shopping, but I won't let myself until I know for sure what we are having. Otherwise, as Jeff says, we'll have a little boy who has a pretty princess room. So, for now, I make do with looking through catalogues! Isn't this Fisher-Price Rainforest toy adorable? There's a whole line of Rainforest items that I am just waiting to buy! Of course, they are gender-neutral, so maybe I could start a little early . . .