Lil' G Week 18.... It's a GIRL!!!

Week 18 (2/2-8/14)

This was a busy and FUN week!!! Work at Pima County was very busy! We have a group of students in clinicals and I have to meet with them when they reach their halfway point (80 hours)..... well this was the week it happened so I was all over Tucson meeting with them at their clinical sites. I was also tracking the new group of students who are working in the online portion of the course. 

THEN Lola developed this weird looking thing on her paw that grew pretty quickly.... I took her to the vet and they are thinking it's a "Mast Cell Tumor". They put her on meds, and will remove it on Wednesday to biopsy and confirm the diagnosis. Prayers for our sweet Lola Mae!

The red mole looking thing is what I saw first, but the tumor's growing quickly underneath...

 She got excited at our party and made her paw bleed so I doctored her up... so pitiful.

And FINALLY, we had our anatomy scan!!! See below for details on the gender and our "Sex Party"!!!

Due Date: 7/7/14!!

The baby is the size of: a sweet potato! (5.6in. 6.7 oz)

"Your pregnancy back pain may have you tied up in knots (see below), but your baby's getting ready to bust a move. At five and a half inches long and five ounces in weight, she now may be large enough for you to feel her twisting, rolling, kicking, and punching his way around the womb. Plus, she's developing yawning and hiccupping skills (you may feel those soon, too!) and her own unique set of toe and fingerprints." http://www.whattoexpect.com/pregnancy/week-by-week/week-18.aspx

Gender: It's a GIRL!!! It feels so great to finally know! And to be able to say her/she/DAUGHTER!! We had our "anatomy scan" on Thursday and of course it was a little nerve wracking! Adam had to work and I hadn't heard from him by 30 minutes prior to the appointment (not like him!), so I started to panic that something happened (he flew that day). He called 25 minutes before to let me know he was on his way..do NOT do that to a pregnant lady! I'm not the type to get anxious prior to things like this, except for the last hour leading up to it... I was so excited/nervous/scared. We would not only be learning about the gender, but looking at all of the baby's anatomy and organs to make sure she was healthy. What if something was wrong? I could not get that thought out of my head. Thank goodness everything looked great! and of course the anticipation was killing us! We sat in that room as the tech went over each body part/organ methodically.... ok great! now tell me if it's a boy or girl!! It was beautiful to see her sweet profile (she has mine ;), and her heart beating (we could see all 4 chambers!), but as they were showing us her abdomen, I could see in between those legs... I didn't see anything "sticking out" so I was sure I already knew the news, but I didn't want to get ahead of myself... I was beaming!! FINALLY we got the appropriate view and sure enough!! A little baby girl Gazda!! I started crying and Adam went into a little panic! It's no secret that he was 100% sure it was a boy! He even had bets going.... Sorry babe lol! It took a while for it to sink in for him (and to be honest, I think it is still sinking in for both of us), but he is beaming now too! He did have a few choice comments after we left the ultrasound....if you know Adam, you know they were inappropriate and hilarious... let's just they included things like the expense, and the things he used to think about girls... and his daughter may be doing them someday... I reminded him she's still just a fetus so he can chill for a while..    

We immediately called our family to share the big news!! Everyone was ecstatic! Especially my family on my Dad's side... like I said before, there hasn't been a girl in 26 years and there have been 9+ boys. I've made my Nonie proud ;). We also shared with anyone else who wanted to know that did not live in Tucson... of course we got a few texts from our Tucson friends "pretending" to live elsewhere...?!?

On Saturday, we had our "Sex Party" also known as a gender reveal, and we were finally able to share the exciting new with everyone!! It was such a great time!! 

Baby girl's dancin' feet! I drank a coke before the scan to ensure she cooperated... she did, a lot! 

Our Party!!

We announced by both revealing the contents of our boxes ;)

And this was just fun!

                             
                                        
                                         Big Sister, Lola!

                           The whole gang! Notice all the blue ;)

Symptoms: I'm not saying better/good anymore! Let's just say I'm learning to deal with the symptoms... Each day is different…  I have more energy for the most part, but still nauseous most days. I also still have the sinusitis (constant stuffy nose) and headaches. The weepiness has only increased… I find myself wanting to cry all the time, for no good reason at all. And odd pains in my hips and belly as the baby grows! When I'm lying down, I can feel her swimming around :). And when I'm really active it feels like the baby is purposefully pushing on every angle of my uterus.. not the most comfy feeling. And there are more that may be too much for a light-hearted blog.. but rest assured I'm taking notes! The things they don't tell you before you get pregnant! 
As for maternity clothes, I'm not completely there... I only have one pair of pants that still "work". I did buy a pair of maternity yoga pants. Also, I have several maxi dresses (see the one I wore to our party) that I bought last year from Victorias Secret that have rouching on the side so they work perfect! I actually bought them knowing they'd be very versatile (I got them in 4 colors/patterns) :). 

Sleep: Still pretty much impossible since I get up every 2 hours to pee and reposition, but my new snoogle pillow has been a tremendous help with relieving pressure off my hips/back etc. If you don't have one (pregnant or not), INVEST! Even Lola loves it :)

Cravings What I can stomach: Like I said, the nausea is still around so food isn’t always appetizing, but at least my appetite is back! This week I’ve gone for Orange Juice (I could drink a gallon a day), pineapple, strawberries, iced tea, and cheerios... I'm sure there's more, but that's all my preggo brain can remember. One day, I was up north (Tucson) working around lunch time, so I decided to pick up some Cheesecake Factory on my way home. I love that place. So much to choose from, so I ordered crab cakes, quesadillas, a sandwich, salad and soup.... I wasn't expecting Adam to be home when I got there.. hehe. I couldn't eat the quesadillas because of course they had bell peppers :(. Adam took care of them for me though! 

THEN I started craving chicken wings! I decided that would be what we'd have for our "Sex Party", BUT I felt we needed to taste test them first... So, I ate them Friday night, Saturday at the party, and then made sure there were plenty of leftovers for Sunday. YUM! 

Oh, and I just have to say that Adam has been wonderful lately, really going out of his way to make me happy/comfortable.... BUT if he gets another one of my food orders wrong, I'm going to go ape shit! He's done it 4/4 times so far (not like I'm keeping track or anything). Today he called on his way home and said he was at Whataburger, wanted to know what I wanted and I told him... explicitly... chicken strips with GRAVY and don't forget the ketchup (he forgot the ketchup last time). First of all, if you are a Whataburgian you know that the chicken strips (and texas toast and fries) just aren't the same without the gravy (AND fancy ketchup). Second, what is this new business with Whatabuger offering "other" options?? No one wants your crappy ranch or bbq sauce when they could have that gravy. Third, Adam claims he never gets the chicken strips so he wasn't aware of the great gravy appeal... And he claims to be a TEXAN??

And what kind of mean joke is this?

Food Aversions: Still can’t do bell peppers, mushrooms or certain meat, and pizza doesn't have nearly as much appeal as it used to :(...

Total Weight Gain: 5-6lbs and 3.5 inches around my waist! Lil G is growing! I haven't "popped" yet, but I definitely have a belly.... carrying very low and wide. I also learned that my placenta is anterior (so in the front of my belly closest to my belly button). That, plus I still hold onto my habit of tightening my abs all the time, so my belly is flat, but protruding.. an interesting look. I'm working on not tightening so much, but I hear it's good for labor and after, so yay! 

Activity: I’ve brought my “daily 300’s” down to “daily 150's” (my hips aren’t handling squats and lunges too well) and yoga twice a week, but walking or any aerobic activity gets me a little winded so I'm taking it easy there but still doing my best to stay active (work has definitely helped with that!).