Stop the train on the weight gain....

So, who would have guessed it-- apparently, I am gaining too much weight too fast!

I went to my monthly appointment today and met Dr. 3 in the OBGYN practice. I liked her as well as the other doctors, although she seemed a little more rushed, than the other two. In any case, for the first time in all my visits, my weight was mentioned. Apparently, in the last month, I jumped up by 9 pounds, meaning that according to the measurements they have taken of me, I have gained 20 pounds at 20 weeks. According to Dr. Couret, they prefer that I would have gained closer to 10.

In retrospect, I think that my eating habits in the last month, have turned to a little excessive on the sweets. My first three months, I was really good. But now cottage cheese has been replaced by cookies, apples have been replaced by chips. And maybe, when I went to Silver Diner at eleven at night, I should have picked EITHER the bread pudding or the large oreo malt shake, not both. So from now on, I will go back to my healthy snacking ways. Don't worry-- I am sure I will still eat as much as I ever did, but maybe I will just make the portions a little smaller and not eat until I am stuffed.

Here is the thing, though: suddenly, everything tastes amazing. Granted, things like crepes with Nutella in them are always going to taste amazing, but even things that are normally "alright" are now awesome! And snacking is just so much fun. These are feelings I have never had before.

Other doctor news:
-the doctor reiterated that everything from the sonogram looked as it should. All the organs are present and now they just need their time to grow and mature.
-for the first time, they used a tape measure to check my belly growth. The tape measure doesn't lie-- I am right on track for where I should be. Apparently, my uterus is now 21 centimeters long. That's just a little scary; I'm not gonna lie! (Scarier is the fact that at first, I accidentally typed inches instead of centimeters and it took Glenn laughing at me to go back and change it. Oops.)

Unborn and already he has a fan club....

So, I am happy to report that although he isn't born yet, my son already has a Facebook group dedicated to him. If you are unaware of what Facebook is, it is a networking web site, where you create a profile for yourself and people connect with you. It has been a great way for me to meet up with my old classmates from Oakton and touch base with people all over the world, who I may not have talked to in years!

Although originally created for college students, it has also become exceedingly popular among high school students. As such, one of my students created a group on Facebook called "James Morgan Rife". Already he has 21 friends! Can you believe it? So, if you are a member of Facebook and would like a good chuckle, search for his group and take a look. :)

The decoration begins...

And so it begins... the decoration of the room, that is. Yesterday, the bedding I ordered came in so we spent part of our snow day putting that onto the already built crib.

Ignore the fact that the valance is currently attached to the crib, for lack of a curtain bar to hang it on. It was a great deal for all the pieces and I demonstrated to Glenn how to use a diaper hanger (not pictured). Then, after a jaunt out to see No Country for Old Men (which left me saying, "Eh, so what?), we arrived home to another big box-- the stroller. Or to be exact, the Quattro Tour Travel System from Graco. Coincidentally, the crib sheet that came with the set matches the polka dots on the stroller we decided on.

After much playing around, I think we finally have all the levers and locks and snaps figured out.

Speaking of No Country for Old Men, on our trip to the movie theater, I discovered one of the many things I love about being pregnant-- besides the whole, carrying my child thing. We went to the movie at Reston Towne Center, which (take my word for it) always creates a headache where parking is concerned. Giant parking garages galore and they are all always full. So we drive up with 10 minutes to park, get to the theater and sit down for the movie. As usual, we begin to drive past rows and rows of cars. Amidst them all was the oasis of one single parking spot left untouched. Three spots down from the elevator, no less. As we begin to turn in, my peripheral vision notices there is a sign at the spot and I groan. This is probably a spot for a cop or some VIP of Reston Towne Center. But no!!! My dear friends at Reston Towne Center have had the good sense to install two "Expectant Mother" parking spots in their parking garage. I have yet to figure out why, but I don't really care. It saved us 20 minutes of looking for a spot and we were able to get to our movie on time.

Although I wasn't all that impressed with the movie, Jamie seemed to like it, as he kicked me a lot throughout the film. Maybe it was all the gunshots in the movie. He wanted to know what in the world was going on!!! (In case you are one of the few unknowing ones, Jamie is the baby's name-- short for James)

Other perks of being pregnant:

1. I am going to become really strong, carrying all these baby carriers and getting the stroller around.
2. The obvious one-- ice cream and popcorn are actually recommended snacks over things like pretzels! Who would ever have thought that popcorn is a great source of fiber, but my Cooking Light tells me it is so.
3. Everybody is nice to you (with the exception of scary men at Fudrucker's in DC-- right, Linds?)
4. People constantly spoiling me and insisting on doing things for me that I am sure that I could do....
5. Being able to do really dumb things and then saying, "Ah, it was the pregnancy", so then Glenn doesn't get too frustrated.

Lists, lists, lists....

Now that we know we are having a boy, the organizational Melissa has come out and taken control. This Melissa is the one who LOVES lists. My mind has begun to be crowded with lists of things that need to be done before July 11, which I realized today is 7/11 (what a great day to be born). So now I have started a list of what needs to be done to make the nursery pretty, what needs to be done to reorganize places like "under the bathroom counter" and the linen closet, lists of the items that I am going to need to buy myself to spruce up the room, lists of all the things I need to research to make a good decision. Don't get me wrong-- I love lists. They make me feel more in control of what I need to do. I am actually wishing I could take off work just to start working on these lists.

And then, of course, this weekend, Glenn and I went out and created the great list of things we need for the baby, otherwise known as "the registry". We walked into Babies R Us today, after many previous "scouting" visits, when we looked at things and figured out what we wanted to buy. I could have done it online, but that wouldn't give Glenn the fun of using the scanning gun. Also, it is just fun to see all these choices before me and choosing one. We made our way around the store, as intimidating as it may be, and I was left with a few questions about various products. Lucky for me, I have so many friends that have just recently had babies that I needn't look too much on the Internet. For example, where else but Jess would I have found out that rather than registering for burp clothes, I should just register for a pack of cloth diapers. I mean, they are made to be ultra absorbent, so why not.

Glenn, AKA Mr. Anti-"Stuff", was pretty good about registering for stuff and didn't put up too much of a fight with things. I did have to explain to him why we would need to get a small plastic carrier for wipes, rather than putting the entire box of wipes in the diaper bag. In the end, he saw my wisdom.

I know that many people are scared of Babies R Us, but for Glenn and I, it was a breeze. That's what you get when you put two planners together. People are still amazed at the fact that we already have the name picked, that we have the crib and the bedding picked, and that we have so little problem deciding on things like strollers and Pack N Plays. That, though, is part of the beauty of our relationship, I guess. We tend to think alike. We just explain our thoughts in very different ways.

On a side and very traumatic note, a bird pooped on my head today. Lucky for me, I was wearing Glenn's baseball cap. We had chosen to go hiking with two friends and were walking under a tree. Somehow bounced off the top of my hat, which I assumed to be an acorn. I squished my face up in frustration and rubbed my head to be sure, it had not left any acorn residue. But "residue" is what I definitely found. Or at least that is one word for it. I screamed in response and hopped around. I think I have heard that when a bird poops on you it is supposed to be good luck, and let's just say, from this incident, I will have some very good luck for a VERY long time!!!! Ugh!

It's a......

Yes, today was the big day. And I will go ahead and tell you what you have all been waiting for, although many of you already know the news....

It's a boy!

I have no doubt, due to the following picture: (Look for the small arrow pointing to "the package")

The technician-- we'll call him Bob so I don't have to keep typing the word technician-- asked us early in the ultrasound, "Do you want to know the sex?" I told him yes and he immediately said, "It's a boy." No doubt, no hesitation.

He proceeded to take about 50000 pictures and I craned my head to catch every little foot, arm, and leg (all in tact, might I add). I wondered if at first I would disappointed, but as soon as I saws his little hand move in that computer screen, any other thought was gone. That was my little boy and there could be no other way, and there shouldn't be. A little boy to take to football/basketball/hockey/swim... practice. A little boy to teach to plattl. A little boy to play on the already 9-boy-strong Van Welzen football team. What could be better?

The greatest part about the sonogram, that really got the adrenaline pumping, was seeing movement on the screen. At first, I thought it must just be because the man kept moving his little sensor thing. But then I kept seeing the flash of what looked like a little fist and a little arm. I asked the man, "Is he moving?" And sure enough, there before my eyes, he was squirming around. On another occasion, as Bob checked out a face shot, the baby opened up his mouth and you could see the big black hole opening and closing on the screen. According to Bob, he was saying, "Hey Mom, what's up!"

Of course, the baby made the ultrasound "interesting." Apparently he was very cozy down low in my pelvis, keeping Bob from getting all the shots he needed. So we had to do an internal exam, as well as a normal one. I didn't care. I just wanted to keep seeing the baby.

Halfway through....

On Valentine's Day tomorrow, I will officially be halfway through my pregnancy. I feel fortunate that I have been so healthy this pregnancy. No morning sickness and a normal weight gain. At this point, I am 14 pounds heavier than before the baby. I take pride in the fact that I have been able to do exactly what needs to be done to take care of both myself and my baby. And so, for the new picture of the month:

I have been told that I am getting bigger at a rapid rate. Lindsay saw me just last weekend in Raleigh and when she came to visit with the boys this week, she told me I looked twice as big. So apparently, something really is happening.

I have definitely found some staples in my wardrobe-- the pictured white tank top, for one. It is fun to get to try on a new set of clothes for a while. Some of my shirts are actually cuter than my normal clothes, but then again, I think I like everything more with my new and improved upper body shape, if you know what I mean.

While I am commenting on the pregnancy overall, I must say that today, for the first time, I felt what I know had to be the baby kicking. I was laying in bed this morning, dreading going out into the cold and ice. It was silent and I had my hands on my baby bump. And out of nowhere, there was a tap from under my fingers. Now, I have had what I think are baby kicks. I was unsure of these because it always seemed there was something else that could explain it. A gas bubble, my ever expanding innards, or something else going on in there. But this felt different. I felt it from the outside, a movement outwards. There is no other explanation other than a little arm or leg moving about. It was really cool and I successfully poked the little one until it did it a second time. I haven't felt it as strongly since, but then again, I think if I were laying without noise around me, I would feel it again.

There are so many things with this pregnancy that really, you can't put into good words. As a writer this is frustrating. Not being able to explain how it felt when I KNEW I was pregnant at two weeks along. Not being able to explain the aches and pains I feel each day or the throbbing I feel in my leg in my sleep. And now, I can't explain the way this felt or how I knew that it couldn't possibly be something else. But I did know. No offense to all those out there, but it didn't feel like a butterfly. Then again, I don't really know what a butterfly feels like either.

What can I not live without?

Recently, I went to visit Jess and Katie and she told me about an item I HAD to register for, called the ultimate crib sheet. It led me to think... what would my other mommy friends advise that I HAVE to buy? So if you have a quick suggestion, what are one or two things that you think I really should register for?