Don’t you just love this time of year?!? I know I do. I can
feel it in my bones that a new year and new chapter is going to start soon. Not
to mention that Valentine’s Day is less than two months away. ;-)
Pregnancy Update:
Woweee… to say that I’m tired would be an understatement. I
am downright lethargic. Please, don’t ask me to move or get up to answer the
phone. I don’t want to go to the copier. I don’t even want to get up to pee. I
want to sleep!
I’m averaging about nine hours a night right now
(interrupted, of course) and it’s nowhere near enough. I try to stay up later
because I keep wondering if I’m getting too much sleep and it’s causing me to
feel more tired, but I can hardly keep my eyes open past 8pm. I think I would
be fine if I could have caffeine throughout the day, but sadly I am against it altogether
while pregnant (to each their own, I’m just against doing it myself). I try to
nourish my body with energy boosting foods, but it’s of no use; I’m still
tired. I’ve brought it up to my OB a couple times, but she assures me that it’s
normal for a Mom of a toddler, who works full-time, to just be tired all day
long.
I’m tired of being tired. Hrmph!
If you missed it before, I have to have an ultrasound every
four weeks until my 20 week appointment to check out the thickness and length
of my cervix. I’m at high risk of cervical incompetence; that’s a fancy term
for early dilation (which means I could deliver the baby at any time). I just had
my 16 week appointment today. My cervix is “perfect” at the moment (it’s at a
four if that means anything to you), so it looks like I should be good as long
as my 20 week goes well. While they were checking out the cervix, I caught some
glimpses of the baby kicking and squirming all around. The ultrasound tech was
nice enough to even take an “outside” look to see the baby’s head as well, and
she shot me a good picture.
FYI – We got an early look at the gender. Nothing is set in
stone though because the “parts” aren’t developed enough to be certain (that’s
why women go in at 20 weeks for the gender look), but we have a pretty good
idea. Nope, we aren’t telling until we are sure!
I also got a chance to hear the baby’s heartbeat. I’ve seen
the heart flutters on the screen multiple times now (because of my many
ultrasounds to watch to see if I was having twins), but nothing compares to
hearing your baby. I could have listened to it for hours.
One last note… the stomach flu and whatever bug I have right
now has set me back 6 pounds. I’m not complaining really because I feel a bit
lighter on my feet and my belly is rounding out nicely, but I just hope I’m
getting everything I need from what I eat and drink to keep the baby healthy. I
mean, prenatal vitamins can only go so far, right?
Christmas:
Christmas was a great time for the Brink family. We had three Christmas parties to attend, and then Christmas day was circled around Emma
(and Mom, Dad, Gene and I) getting gifts and playing the day away. She was
exhausted at the end of all the festivities, and so was this Mommy. I took down
the Christmas decorations three days after Christmas. We are moving on! Or
trying to… I keep finding toys for Emma that I forgot to put out.
Side note – We taught Emma all about how Christmas is a
celebration of Baby Jesus (He’s a baby because that’s the only way to keep her
interested at this point). Well, low and behold, she got five new baby dolls on
Christmas morning, and guess what all of their names are. That’s right. Baby
Jesus.
I hope Jesus isn’t mad at us for flubbing that up. :-/
New Years:
Well, we’ve decided not to do anything this year for New
Year’s Eve. Besides going grocery shopping. We were invited to a few events
this year, but I just can’t get in the mood. Like I said before, I’m tired all
the time. Plus, whatever we did would have to be kid friendly and eventful for
Emma. It’s just all too much this year. We have a wedding to attend on
Saturday, so that’ll be our chance to go out and have a fun time.
Other Notes:
I’m really looking forward to Valentine’s Day. I always do,
but this year it’s on a Saturday, so it’ll be our date night out and I think we
are going to try to make reservations for Maggiano’s! So dinner, maybe some
shopping, maybe a movie, who knows!
I’m using the gift cards from Christmas to buy some new
maternity clothes. Of course with Emma I didn’t get big enough to wear them
until it was summer clothes time. This time, I’m busting at the seams at just
16 weeks!
Work is kicking my butt. It has gotten so busy and I’m
always doing so many things. I think that’s a big part of my lethargy lately. I
may sit at a desk, but my brain must be on overdrive because I am pooped.
