FINALLY!! A Kick!!

I felt her!!! FINALLY!! It was last night when Patrick and I were driving to Gainesville to look for houses! It was so cool! I feel so much better now that I've felt her move around! It's a really hard feeling to describe, but I'll try. Imagine an air bubble at the bottom of a shampoo bottle working it's way up to the top and then kind-of popping when it got to the top. That's kind-of what it was like...except the "bubble" was popping just under my skin in my stomach. Cool, huh?! I was feeling some bubbly stuff and I told Patrick that I think I might be feeling her. Then, about 15 seconds after that, there was a big, strong kick that completely startled me. I actually jumped in my chair and said (to Patrick) "oh my gosh, I definitely feel her." Then, I sat really still for the rest of the ride trying to feel her some more. I felt little rumbles after that...but nothing as big as the kick that startled me! :) How cool is it to feel that there's a little baby moving around inside me! ....so cool... :)

THINK PINK, PINK, PINK!!!!!! :)

Well, today was the day.....so, start thinking PINK! IT'S A GIRL!! :) AHHHHHH!!! I can't believe it! ...I never had a hunch...or a preference...but, for some reason, I can't believe it's a girl!! How exciting to finally know!! :) I must say that after having gone through this today, there is NO WAY in a million years I would have passed up finding out what we're having! Some people decide not to find out and let it be a surprise...which is great! But, WOW!! ...what an awesome experience it was to find out today!! I mean, I have a daughter! And Patrick is going to be a dad to a little baby girl!! :) ...which he will be so perfect at!! And now I get to talk about her and how she's doing....and I can imagine what she'll look like and think about her as my little baby girl...I can't stop thinking about it; I am SO, SO excited and I have never been as happy about anything as I am about our news!! I can't wait to see who she looks like! Whether she is a red head or white head....this baby is going to be adorably and fantastically CUTE! :)

AHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

SO, about the appointment, the sonogram was first. If you've been following the blog, you know that I still haven't felt any baby movement. So, lately I was starting to worry...just a little...about why I may not be feeling any movement. One thing I was thinking was that maybe the baby was growing a little slower than normal (and was smaller than usual), and perhaps that's why I couldn't feel the movement. So, when she was measuring and checking everything for the baby, she wasn't saying anything. So, in my head, I was wondering if everything was alright. So, I finally asked, "Does everything look alright?" She said that everything looked great. At that moment, I felt pure relief and immediately got teary eyed (big surprise, I know). Earlier, she asked us if we wanted to know the sex and we, of course, said yes! So, shortly after she assured me that the baby was developing properly, she found what she was looking for....and she said, "it looks like a girl!" I couldn't help it...my breath was completely taken away and...yes, the tears were flowing. I actually never looked at Patrick; I just held his hand the whole time. The screen was on my right, and Patrick was on the left, and I couldn't take my eyes off the screen. I guess I should have taken a look at him to see his reaction...but I couldn't stop looking at my baby GIRL!!! :) We're really very happy. :)

These are two of the sonogram pics that I got. You can click here if you want to see the others. I really like the lady that does the sonograms, but she's not very good at getting the good pictures! She gets such great shots while we're looking at the live sono, but she never hits the "take a picture" button at the best times! She mostly took profile pictures. There were so many good ones that I wish we had. One of my favorites this time was a profile- she was sucking her thumb! :) We could see her mouth and tongue just working away! She looked perfect. ....I said with the first sono that the baby had Patrick's lips....she definitely still has Patrick's lips... :) ;)

What a great day....

HALF WAY THERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh my gosh!!! I'm already 5 months!!! 20 weeks!!! I can't believe that I've already been through half of the pregnancy! I feel like it went really fast, and I wonder if the second half will fly by. I feel like it can't go fast enough right now...wanting to know the sex of the baby, wanting to have a good baby bump, not just a fat looking stomach. :) But overall, everything is going really well...although, no new excitement. I still don't feel pregnant, still not in maternity clothes, and I've not yet felt Baby K move. :( I know my doc said it could be anywhere between 16 and 24 weeks...but I'm ready, darn it! At my appointment 3 weeks ago, she said it would be "any day." Well, here I am, half way through with no baby movement! I told Patrick that I wonder if it's the extra fat on the outside of my stomach. Could that be?? I'm gonna go with that for a few more weeks....then I'll start to worry. No use worrying now! :)

Well, I've been wanting good, homemade deli sandwiches lately, but Patrick reminded me that I'm not supposed to have deli meats (b/c of some bacteria that may be in them) unless I heat the meat to steaming first. I just think this is ridiculous, but Patrick is a rule follower and he'd like me to follow all the rules. :) (I am also a total rule follower, but a reasonable one..) So, basically, I should just eat fresh fruits and veggies with an occasional piece of lean chicken (I mean, no protein would be unreasonable) for my entire pregnancy. Well, I just got my trusty cell phone right out and called my doctor. (They probably love me....calling all the time with the random "can I eat/do this" question)! The nurse didn't hesitate at all before telling me that deli meat is fine for me to eat. SO, turkey and cheese, here I come!! :) Patrick will be happy to know that I am offically cleared to eat deli meat....I guess it's kinda like following the rules! :)

You may remember that I have a doctor visit this Friday. We'll have our second ultrasound, so we'll be able to see cool stuff like the development of the brain, lungs, heart, liver, kidney.....and hopefully the SEX ORGANS!!! Lets hope Baby K cooperates!! Any guesses on boy or girl??? My dad thinks it's a girl; Patrick's dad thinks it's a boy. My mom is hoping for a girl; I'm still torn! I guess it's good to not have a preference- I think either would be SO FREAKING CUTE!! :) :) Ahhhh! Can't wait to find out and spread the news! Stay tuned...

A little stressed...

So, I'm going to use this little blog of mine as a bit of a rant....therapy if you will! It's gonna be a long one, so feel free to skip this one! So, y'all know that I am a senior in dental school, right?! Well, I've been staying Alpharetta for the past 2 weeks doing an externship in Atlanta. It's been great and relatively stress free being away from the typical bump and grind of the dental school. Well, Patrick and I are heading back to Augusta (school) today, and the past 2 mornings I've woken up with a nervous feeling. Ugh. I guess my mind and body know that I'm going back to that place for more crisis management. Sadly (my Dad pointed this out to me a few days ago), dental students become extremely good at constant crisis management. Dental school can sometimes feel like one big crisis that you're trying to figure out how to fix, correct, or make right. Well, I think the reason I'm feeling nervous is that I have 3 main crises coming up! The first and most troubling- I've got the biggest patient based test of my entire career coming up in just 3 weeks! It is the licensing exam needed to actually become a dentist! Actually, this would normally be alright except that it requires a very specific type of patient of which I have NONE! Non-dental people (no offense) have no idea what kind of stress this causes. Everyone in my entire class is looking for the same 3 type of patient's that fit an extremely narrow criteria. We are entirely responsible for finding these patient's on our own with no help from the school. So, here I am trying to convince family and friends (b/c it's really nice to have a reliable patient-one that actually comes- for the most important day of dental school) to let me take xrays...and I'm finding myself hoping that they have cavities!! How horrible! Well, anyway, no luck so far. (Except, of course, for a not-to-be-named family member that has to go fishing instead of helping this pregnant, stressed mama pass her dental license). Anyway, back to the crises- long story short, I NEED and I don't HAVE any patients for my dental boards. Three weeks and counting. That's crisis #1. You're thinking....there's more??!! Yes! When I get back to school....I still have a few requirements to finish WHILE also looking vigorously for board patients. No problem, we've got a little over a month, right? Wrong. I go back for one week, then we have spring break (we couldn't be in clinic even if we wanted to), then back for another week, and then it's BOARDS! Then only TWO WEEKS left of clinic after that. Crises #'s 2 and 3 are the few requirements I have left to complete. They've recently changed the root canal requirements given to us when we first began. What? You mean they changed a policy 3 months before graduation and expect us all to be able to complete it their way with no problem BEFORE graduation?? Yep. That's what I'm sayin. I love dental school. So, I thought I had all my root canal stuff figured out and almost complete, but not with the new policy! Yipee. Guess I'll be working on that while trying to find board patients. Anyway, crisis #3- this is a case that began very straight forward and then the sh*t hit the fan. Absolutely not my fault, but definitely my problem to fix (dental school again). So, when I get back to school, I'll bring this patient back in and get to start over on a very important, very REQUIRED (for graduation) portion of her treatment. Yes, I said start over. (Another dental school thing). Of course, this entails lab work on my part before sending it to an outside lab which can take up to a month to complete. People, one month is only about a week before graduation! Most people are thinking, great! You have one week to spare. Nope, not unless everything goes perfectly smooth with no bumps or unexpected problems....this basically doesn't happen in dental school....remember that whole crisis management thing?? There's a reason we're all so good at it....there are A LOT of them! This case is absolutely no exception! Of course, I thought I was done with this part before I left for my externship 2 weeks ago....I was ahead of the game! But not anymore, so now I'll be starting over on this patient while trying to create time to find board patients. Ugh! Plus (I forgot about this one) I have a presentation this Wednesday morning on a patient that took me 2 years to complete treatment. Gotta love how everything just falls together, huh?!

So, I think these are the main reasons I have woken with a nervous feeling for the past few days...I just have so much to look forward to! :) I am, however, looking forward to getting back to my fabulous dental school friends. I will miss them tremendously when all is said and done and we all go our separate ways! At least there's always those people who know exactly what you're going through. Without them, where would I be?

So, this one got a little long. Props to those of you who actually read the whole thing.....especially you non-dental folk! Here's to a better than anticipated week...who knows...maybe getting back to dental school will surprise me!

19 Weeks!!

One more week down! :) No real changes this week...everything is about the same. I guess my belly is growing a little more...but not in that really cute baby belly way...more like an overall expansion way. :) But that's alright! I still don't feel any baby movement quite yet...hopefully that will come soon! My favorite stretch jeans are still fitting, so I haven't had the need to get into the maternity stuff yet. Overall, I couldn't ask for a more pleasant pregnancy. Baby K has been pretty nice to me so far!

FYI- for those of you who don't know, Ian (my brother) and Elizabeth (his wife) are also having a baby and are due on THE SAME EXACT DAY AS ME!! Crazy, huh?! And, no, we didn't plan it. :) (Believe it or not, we get this question ALL THE TIME)! Anyway, they just found out yesterday that they're having a BOY! I am so excited to have a nephew coming- my very first!! I already bought him some baseball onesies! (We are very much a baseball family)! I am so excited for them. Ian was particularly thrilled, as he was really hoping for a boy! ....a future catcher!! Can't wait to meet him!

Prepare to be shocked...

Well, I did it. I cut my hair 10 inches! (About 11 after all was said and done). It's really, really short....shorter than it's ever been before. I like it, but it's going to take some getting used to. Patrick is a little shocked as well...he said I look like a mom now! :(

BUT, it was all for a very good cause, Locks of Love. For those of you who haven't heard of it, it's a non-profit organization that takes donated hair and makes custom made wigs for kids 18 and under who have diseases that cause their hair to fall out. They need a minimum of 10 inches to make the wigs, so that's what I had to do! My hair grows fast, so it'll be alright! It'll just take me a while to get used to it! ...pray for some fast growing hair!

Before and After!!!

So, for those of you who didn't know, I had an insane pregnant moment about a month ago and decided, on a whim, to put BRACES on my teeth. Ugh! WHAT WAS I THINKING?!?! Obviously, I was delusional. I had braces for years when I was in elementary, middle, and high school. But, I had a few teeth shift slightly because I didn't wear my retainer. Sooo....my pregnancy kicked in and made me decide to get braces. Welllll....I decided a month later that that was a REALLY stupid decision...for LOTS of reasons! So, anyway, now they're off....and my teeth are slimy and smooth, and I'm so excited! I ate pizza and mexican without getting food in my teeth and without the constant butchering of the inside of my lips! :) It's just great! I have a new found respect for adults who subject themselves to braces....never again for me! So, here's the before and after!


One of my teeth (#9 for you dental folk) actually moved back to where it's supposed to be...the others that shifted barely moved at all and I'm just going to deal with that! I am so glad to be metal free!!!

18 Weeks!

I am officially 4 1/2 months pregnant!! Wahooo! :) Everything is going very well, and I feel great! I'm not nearly as tired as I used to be and I haven't felt sick in weeks and weeks! So far, this pregnancy has treated me pretty well...I can't complain! I do get hungry very quickly, though. My meals/snacks only last me about 2 hours....then I'm hungry again. I feel sorry for my patients- their heads are right next to my very grumbly belly all day! I am constantly apologizing! :) I guess there are worse things than a grumbly stomach! As you can see in the pictures, I still don't really have much of a baby bump, per say. But, I'm definitely getting thicker. Okay, fine! I'll say it...I'm just getting a little fatter! :) My theory is still that my fat is being pushed out by the growing Baby K, and so my bump is actually fat...not baby. Although, I feel like I should be getting an actual baby (not fat) bump soon! We'll see! With a t-shirt on, you still can't really tell. I guess if you look closely enough from the right angle, you can tell. But, really, I just think I look thick. :) I don't know how else to explain it!


Nothing else too interesting has happened. I still don't really feel pregnant. I mean, when I was sick, I felt pregnant, but now I just feel like myself...my regular self. I don't really look pregnant, don't really feel pregnant, still don't feel any baby movement (I'm waiting everyday to be able to feel this baby moving)! SO, I just can't wait to really feel and look pregnant! I'll keep you posted! :) Stay tuned...

17 week Doc Appt

Me again! We had our 17 week doctor appointment today! Everything went well!...well, pretty much. Our appointment was at 3:50, although we weren't seen until 5:00!!! Ugh. It's pretty much like that every time. If I didn't like my doctor so much, I'd probably be much more irritated! But other than that, everything looks good. I have gained about 4 pounds to date, so I'm still in the normal range. :) She measured my stomach (technically, the size of my uterus) today for the first time. She said at this point, it usually grows about one cm per week from here on out! Yikes! We also heard Baby K's heartbeat again....still pretty cool! It was 141 today- it's decreased steadily since the first time we heard it- which is also normal! It probably wont decrease much more; she said that the full-term heartbeat will be right around there- 140 beats per minute. There was quite a bit of static between the thumps- Doc said that was the baby moving!!!

So, I said I was going to ask for a sonogram today...b/c I'm obsessed! Well, it was too late in the day to have the sonogram specialist take a look (she had already left for the day), but Doc said she'd be more than happy to have a look! So, we did! She said she's not nearly as good as the sono tech, but it was awesome to see Baby K again! Baby was moving ALL OVER THE PLACE!!! We saw the arms and legs (complete with fingers and toes) punching and kicking...of, course, I couldn't feel a thing! Doc said I should be feeling those movements very soon! Can't wait! But, really, Baby K was very active! It was really cool to see so much activity! Doc tried to look for any clues as to if we're having a boy or a girl, but she couldn't tell. :( It's alright, though! I was satisfied just seeing that little baby bouncing all over the place!! Doc was pretty funny; she said it's been about 15 years since she was "in practice" looking at sonograms! It even took her a minute to figure out how to turn the thing on! (...one reason we don't have any pics....we would have been there forever trying to figure that out)! She was just so nice to take the time at the end of her day to let us see our baby!

Still can't wait til March 30th (the real scheduled sonogram), but the satisfaction of seeing Baby K again will hold me over for a few weeks!! I'll keep you posted!

17 Week Bump!!

Well, I made it to seventeen weeks! Everything is going very well; I have no complaints! :) I was sick from about week 8 to week 12, but since then, it's been pretty easy! So, I went to Babies 'R Us for the first time- my first official baby browsing day! Patrick was a good sport and came with me. It was fun, we just kind of looked at different boy and girl clothes, cribs, strollers, high chairs...and lots of little baby gadgets. I did decide that if I'm having a boy that he's going to wear overalls! I love them! I found my favorite ones online- they were seersucker overalls...you know, the really small blue and white stripes?! Super cute! We probably browsed for about 30 minutes. I refrained from buying anything, but I don't think I can hold off much longer! Can't wait to finally get to buy all that cute stuff!!

We've got our next doctor appointment this Thursday. No sonogram is planned, but I'm going to ask if they'll do one anyway! :) If not, we'll do all the regular stuff...weight, blood pressure, prick my finger...and then the cool part- listen to the heartbeat! It should be slowing down a bit from the previous appointments. Right now, Baby K is about 4 1/2 inches long, weighs only 3 1/2 ounces, and is about the size of my hand spread open wide. Pretty cool, huh?!

Well, as you can see in the picture, I guess I'm starting to "show" a little. I still just feel like it's mostly regular fat that's just getting pushed out a little by the growing baby underneath. The bump isn't very firm, so, right now it just seems...well....like fat! I think in the next few weeks, I may start to get a belly that looks and feels pregnant! You still can't tell I'm pregnant if I'm just wearing my regular everyday clothes- jeans and t-shirt or scrubs. I guess the baggy t-shirt look kind of covers the pooch!

Well, that's really all for now! I'll fill you in about the doctor's appointment later this week! See ya soon!

Crib for the baby...

So, I finally got the urge to really start looking at baby room stuff....mostly cribs so far! I tend to be liking the darker colors better! :) I found the first two Simply Baby Furniture and the second two at Pottery Barn Kids, and they are my favorite cribs so far...although, I just started looking! They're pretty cool b/c the Sleigh crib can convert to a toddler bed when the time comes. The other ones convert to a toddler bed, and then the side portions convert to a full-sized head and foot board! There are so many options! How do you decide?!?! What fun!

Breakfast in Bed!

Today I got breakfast in bed!! Scrambled eggs and bacon! (I think the bacon was almost fat and calorie free b/c it said "30% more lean" on the package)!

There are some perks to being pregnant! Even though I can't have soft cheeses, sushi, and margaritas (man, I miss those)....I get the special pregnant treatment from my wonderful husband! He has been so great, and I am so lucky! :)

Pregnancy journal

So, I decided that I'm going to try to be all organized and keep a pregnancy journal to document all the changes and events that have happened and will happen during the course of these 40 weeks! It's a great little book, and I'd recommend it to anyone! It doesn't take too much brain power to keep up with....(you remember what I said about pregnancy messing up your brain, so the less brain power required, the better)! So far, I have written things like how and when I found out, how I told Patrick, what our reactions where, who we told right away and how we told them, how I've been feeling, how Patrick's been feeling, doctor appointments...etc. It's been really fun so far! I can read it 20 years from now and remember the things I felt during my first pregnancy! And, my grown up baby can also read it! I think it will be a really great keepsake!So, lets hope I can keep it up!

Got some fun mail today...

Baby K got some fun stuff from my in-laws today(Barb, you've got to come up with a name so I don't have to keep saying "my in-laws")! My favorite baby clothing ever!!...ONESIES!!! They also sent a CD of sweet baby lullabies! Can't wait to actually have a baby to try out all this fun stuff on!! Thanks to Grandpop and Barb (need a grandma name here!) from Baby K! It's off to the Augusta Lynx hockey game for Patrick and me...

My First 5K

Yes, you read it right...I ran a 5K today...my first ever! I'm not exactly sure what possessed me to to take this on 4 months into my pregnancy. I've been reading that pregnancy messes with your brain...maybe this was a result of that! It was the "Heart and Sole 5K" benefiting the Children's Medical Center Heart Program. There's a nice story behind the origin of Heart and Sole, Inc. that you can read about here! Just scroll down to "more information." It's a very short read- even short enough for my Dad!

Well, for an out-of-shape pregnant woman, I didn't do so badly! My time was 39:05...just about 9 minutes after Patrick. I had to walk part of the way, but it wasn't as horrible as I thought it would be. As many of you know, I really hate running, so this was a booger for me. But, I'm really glad I did it! I always feel good after the fact! Maybe this can be my jump start back into physical activity.... :)

Props to my fellow dental school pals, Tara and Carolyn, who also ran today! Carolyn kicked some major booty by finishing 23rd out of everyone who ran!! WOW! Patrick said he couldn't run her time at age 17! ...and Carolyn's doing it at the ripe old age of 28!! :) ....hee hee! Love you Carolyn! It wont be long...then I'll be ripe and old too!