Craughter!

Okay, I know the whole combining-two-words-into-one thing is soooo 2002-2004 (AKA the years of Bennifer). But there's just no better way to describe what happened to me last night. Was I laughing? Or was I crying? It's really hard to tell!

It all started when Michael was filling something out for us and said, "Okay, is it h-a-I-l-e-y?" This is just one of those simple ways Michael makes a funny. Of course my husband of nearly 3 years (and boyfriend for 5 and a half years before that) knows how to spell my name. He says things like this and doesn't even think he's being that funny, but to me it's hilarious. I went into complete hysterics. I laughed so hard, tears were rolling down my cheeks. I felt like I was laughing but I sounded like I was sobbing... and my nose even got all stuffed up!

Maybe I needed to release both emotions but rather than cry for no reason (as I've done before) my body took advantage of the surge of emotion and combined the two into one ridiculously cuckoo display (thank God MT was the only one to witness it).

Hence the need for a new word: Craughter. Or we could call it "Lying" - but that just doesn't sound right.

Glow-Schmo

An old wives tale says that when you're pregnant with a girl you lose your looks because your daughter steals them. I'm 100% okay with this! I will gladly give up anything of mine for my baby.

Sure, I can still look cute (with the right outfit) and have a good hair day when I put in the effort (rarely). Sometimes I even find that my make-up is doing its job of making me look fresh and pretty. But I ain't glowing, y'all. Not even a little.

Unless...

When they say "glow" do they mean, "getting all dry and flaky around the nose and chin?" Cuz if that's the case, I be glowin' big time!

I've been told by two men in my office that I'm glowing. Sure, it's nice to hear, and of course I'd like to believe them. But then I remember these guys are Financial Advisors. Schmoozing is what they do best. Maybe they see my dry patchy skin and dark circles under my eyes (oh, did I mention the acne?) and their instinct is to "rebalance my portfolio" with some good old fashioned sweet talk. It's nice, actually... but it only lasts until I see my reflection in the mirror.

All for you baby girl :)

Over halfway there - 22 weeks!

This past month has been one of extreme growth. On Sunday, I was asked by the Home Depot cashier when I was due. It totally caught me off guard. I didn't know what she was talking about at first! I swear I went to bed one night and woke up the next day with a balloon in my belly - a squirmy balloon that likes to kick me in the bladder. Sleeping has become more of an issue. I'm a "back sleeper" but am supposed to be a sleeping on my side nowadays. I have impingement syndrome in my right shoulder so my left side is more comfortable - but Michael's on my left and he tends to favor his right side. As you can imagine, this makes for a lot of "air sharing." If this lovely experience doesn't wake me, rolling onto my back will because Baby GT has discovered this is the BEST position in which to practice her dance moves. Either way I'm awake now and wouldn't you know it, I gotta go to the bathroom...

Steve insisted he be involved in the belly shot this time. We have jealousy issues.

Another development - anytime I exert more than the normal amount of energy on something, I'm overcome with exhaustion. It doesn't last long, but it's annoying. Especially since we're in the middle of trying to set up the nursery. Every few minutes I gotta take a break and sit down for a bit. Michael has been very understanding, but I'm sure it's annoying that he has to pick up so much slack. While he spent Sunday stripping off the molding, sanding the walls and moving furniture up from and down to the basement... I spent the day sitting on the bed, folding clothes, and watching re-runs of America's Next Top Model. Sometimes I feel guilty, but then I remind myself that I'm actually two people right now.... a thought that often talks me into taking a quick nap.

Other than that, I'm still doing pretty good. No more major neck/back issues (knock on wood). My ribs still ache, but the doc confirmed this was totally normal and just something I gotta live with. I have found I can live with a lot - as long as I'm assured that it's normal and not something wrong with me that I'm probably going to die from. This is what goes through the mind of a pregnant lady who was already a worry wart to begin with :) My poor daughter is in for it.

Having a day

I just got back from bawling my eyes out in my office bathroom. Want to know why? So do I. I was sitting here at my desk trying to get some work done and BOOM - suddenly I'm overcome with the urge to cry and need to make a run for the bathroom before my co-workers can see.

What the hell??

Okay, I KNOW it's normal to have your emotions be all over the place when you're pregnant... but it's one thing to let your eyes well up at work when you read a sad (or touching) story online. It's another thing to find yourself sitting in a bathroom stall, blowing your nose and wondering why your tears won't stop flowing!

On the flip side, I do appreciate the random bouts of giddiness I also experience. When Mike or Steve do something that's probably not even funny, I'll laugh like no tomorrow. That stuffs awesome.

Tammy, if you read this... I am so grateful you wrote about your similar experiences because it allows me to feel somewhat normal. It's so great to have a support group of pregos to relate with!

Whoa whoa whoa...

... she's a LADY!

We decided to have the ultrasound technician put the gender results in an envelope for us so we could open it privately when we got home. Something about sharing that moment with a stranger just didn't feel right to us... although, it would've been cool to have her point out those body parts on the screen :) We barely got through the door before we sat together on our couch and tore open the envelope. First thing we saw was pink footprints. I figured it must be a bi-gender card and the blue footprints would be on the other side. Wrong. I looked at the word "girl" in complete shock. I thought for sure it was a boy during the ultrasound. As I watched my little baby move around and shy away from the camera, I thought, there's my son! Michael, on the other hand, was pretty sure he was looking at his daughter. And he was right! That was the first thing he said, by the way :)

Our daughter will be the luckiest girl in the world. Not only will she have a super cool boy cousin just 9 months older in Bellingham, she'll also have a best friend girl cousin just 2 months older here in Seattle. As if that weren't special enough, she'll also have all her second cousins on the Campbell side to play with and learn from. What a lucky baby.

We still don't have a name yet but we may decide to keep it secret until she arrives anyway... I've been told by a few friends that if you don't want opinions, wait to share the name until after the baby is born. People don't want to be rude when it's "official." Sounds like good advice to me! We'll see...

Until then, I'll just have to refer to her as Baby Girl Thompson. Or Baby G.T. for short :)

Here she is sucking her cute little thumb!!

I should've known she was a girl during my last blog entry. Michael doesn't dance. She's her Mama's daughter!!

Dance, Pants, and a Pain in the Neck

I am 18 weeks along now and changes are definitely becoming more noticeable! I feel my baby practicing dance moves daily - as well as the occasional karate chop/kick. My ribs are starting to ache now that my stomach is insisting they make way. Work pants that I could still zip up and wear with a belly band just last week, are now so friggin' uncomfortable that my wardrobe has dwindled down to two pair of pants that I trade off each day with different tops. I can't seem to find ANY decent maternity pants for work! I'd love some suggestions - just don't bother suggesting Target, Old Navy or Motherhood. Too short, too big, too nerdy.

All things considered, my pregnancy has been smooth ridin' so far. Sure, there was some nausea, food aversions and headaches... but can I really complain? Not until last week. Cause unknown, I found myself with the worst neck pain I have ever experienced. It started out as my regular back pain that I've been living with for the past month or so - but somehow it moved its way up to my neck and out through my shoulders. By Thursday I was barely able to swallow. The pain was so intense, I left work at 11 that day and spent the entire afternoon on the phone with the physical therapy offices my OB referred me to. I knew I needed to get in to see someone right away but of course they were all booked until the following Tuesday (causing "mini" tantrums on my part for Michael to enjoy). Finally, one was able to fit me in on Friday at 9:15AM. After a miserable night sleep that I gave up on at 3:30 in the morning, I was in even more pain and unable to eat because swallowing water alone made me want to cry. Michael came with me to my appointment and got to witness me bawl in reaction to the PT's examination. She determined that I had a bulging disc in the base of my neck that was pushing forward into my throat. She was concerned about how quickly this happened and wanted me to have a MRI and start taking muscle relaxers immediately. Then the conversation basically went as follows: Oh yeah, you're pregnant... so instead, wear this neck brace and use this TENS unit (that will shoot electrical pulses into your neck) and here's a towel tied to a rope that I want you to secure to a door nob and hang your head in for five minutes at a time. Oh, and go ahead and take the occasional small dose of that super effective Tylenol for your pain!

I listened to doctors orders and barely moved the entire weekend. By Sunday I was eating solids again and today I'm back to enjoying only the preexisting back pain that I now have a fond appreciation for (it just seems so polite and mild by comparison). I have a follow up appointment with the PT tomorrow where I intend to give back the neck brace, tens unit and towel noose. I'll ask her for advice on how I should attempt to prevent a recurrence too. I'm not even 1/2 way through my pregnancy... I sooooo don't need a recurrence!

In spite of this experience, I still don't like to complain because I know how fortunate I am to be pregnant. And even though it seems unnecessary for my face to share some of the pregnancy weight I'm gaining, I have a new appreciation for my body that I never could have imagined before. It's truly amazing.

Especially now that baby does the boogie!!

Here I am at 18 weeks:

I heart NY

I just got back from a fabulous Mother-Daughter trip to New York. I had been there once before with Michael and we had a great time together but... the shopping opportunities are just wasted on him. I remember thinking how much fun it would be to go again someday with my Ma. She was born there, but moved away when she was five and hadn't been back since. We had talked about going for awhile and finally decided to book the trip as Christmas present to each other (we booked it back in September, before I was pregnant - good thing because I wonder if we would have done it otherwise??).

We arrived on Thursday evening, stayed until Monday evening and were able to fit in ALL of the main things you want to do in the city. We took a carriage ride through Central Park; took pictures from the top of the Empire State Building; walked miles upon miles through Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Little Italy, Soho and the Fashion District. We saw two Broadway shows; viewed the Statue of Liberty and Ground Zero; rode the subway and ate deliciously fatty foods. It was everything we wanted to do and we had so much fun doing it.

The thing about being 17 weeks pregnant while touring NY: you get to see a lot of public restrooms. And I mean A LOT. I could show you pictures of the touristy things we did, but most of you have either seen these places for yourself or seen pictures of them already... so where's the originality?

Instead, allow me to present to you...

Tour De New York - Prego Style

(public restrooms - how they rate and where to find them)

Rating key:

YUCK = dirty, stinky, no paper towels etc...

ACCEPTABLE = nothing special, may or may not smell great but has all needed amenities

NICE = clean, smells okay

WOW = everything you'd want in a public restroom and MORE!

Times Square Information Center - ACCEPTABLE

Mott Pho Bang Restaurant, Little Italy - ACCEPTABLE

Bloomingdale's, Soho - NICE++



Europa Cafe, Central Park - ACCEPTABLE

Heartland Brewery, Empire State Building - NICE

Azalea Italian Restaurant, Theater District - NICE

Toys R Us, Times Square - NICE



New World Stages, Theater District - NICE

The Brooklyn Diner, Times Square - NICE

Essex World Cafe, Ground Zero - ACCEPTABLE

Century 21, Ground Zero - YUCK



Hotel Chandler Lobby, Midtown - WOW

Not pictured: Planet Hollywood - NICE, Rockefeller Center - NICE, Gershwin Theater - NICE

All in all, most public restrooms I visited were A-O-K. But if you REALLY wanna enjoy everything NYC has to offer, maybe don't go prego style. That said, it was still one of my most favorite trips I've ever been on. Probably because I love my Ma so much :)