Blame it on the Hormones...

I have been enlightened by something throughout my pregnancy so far. I never fully understood just how powerful the all-mighty hormones are. Guys - you really shouldn't beat yourself up for not understanding women, just blame it on the hormones. My fellow pregos and moms, this one's for you.

When you're sitting at work and the room suddenly begins to feel like a sauna - only at your desk...blame it on the hormones.

When you begin to notice white flakes coming from your scalp though you've never had dandruff before...blame it on the hormones.

When nothing can keep you from finding someplace that serves chicken salad sandwiches...blame it on the hormones.

When you wake up in the middle of the night SCREAMING from that nasty charlie-horse that you feel the whole next day...blame it on the hormones.

When you can't keep your eyes open and it's only 7pm...blame it on the hormones.

When you get stressed out about trivial things...blame it on the hormones.

When you look at your belly and notice little black hairs longer than any leg hair you've ever had - even in the dead of winter...blame it on the hormones.

When you brush your teeth and you look like Dracula because of the blood from your gums...blame it on the hormones.

When you forget that you were re-tracing your steps to remember what you forgot...blame it on the hormones.

When your ears never seem to cease producing insane amounts of ear wax...blame on the hormones.

When your face looks like you're growing planets...blame it on the hormones.

When you get head congestion that never clears up...blame it on the hormones.

When you find yourself crying for absolutely no reason - and you know it's irrational...blame it on the hormones.

When you realize that kankles are real and that you are growing them...blame it on the hormones.

And finally... (Well the last one was really funny but John made me take it off. It was a bit to personal. It might embarrass the guys.)

Belly Update!

Here's the latest on my growing belly. It's finally going out instead of to the sides!!!! YAH!

2nd Sonogram

We went in for our most recent monthly Doctor's Appointment at 24 weeks. My doctor took several times to find the heartbeat apparently because of my anterior placenta. (Meaning it's in the front.) Fortunately the heartbeat was loud and clear, indicating that everything is healthy. I have been really nervous though because I still have not felt much movement. It seems every week I get those emails from Baby Center and they talk about being able to see kicks and I can't even feel them!

When she found the heartbeat I said,"good, he's alive" and John was surprised that I was that worried about it. Basically she told me that everything is fine. She said for one of her children, she didn't feel it until 28 weeks. It's just frustrating. She mentioned that if I don’t feel anything in the next two weeks then I can schedule another sonogram for my peace of mind.

So... that's what I did. On Friday I still had not felt much. I mean, I feel little flutters here and there but they are very sporadic and I have a hard time distinguishing between the baby and what I think are gas bubbles. Anyhow, I called my doctor's office to schedule the Sonogram thinking it would be next week sometime...

The call nurse acted like it was an emergency and told me they wanted to see me that day! When I told her how far along I am, she sort of freaked and said that usually when you're that far along they admit you to the labor and delivery unit at the hospital for monitoring. WHAT?! I told her what my doc said about the anterior placenta and that she indicated that this was for my peace of mind and that everything else was fine. Naturally my doctor was out of the office so the nurse said she could not make the call to do a sono instead of sending me to L&D and that she needed to talk to another doctor. As it turns out, she called me back and said that L&D was not necessary and they had an opening for a sonogram at 1:00.

Luckily John got out of class at noon so I called him and told him what was up. He met me at the doctors office. Everything is wonderful. Baby Farns is movin and groovin, but mom can't feel him. He's a sly one. The placenta is HUGE! At least it looks like it to me. It literally is right on top of him, between my stomach and him - right in the front. He has to kick really hard to get through that cushion for me to feel him. The sonographer told me to push down on my stomach when I'm laying down and I should feel him kick me. She did it while I was looking at the monitor and I finally understood what I was feeling. I could feel the kick as I watched him. It's really hard to explain - not really a flutter like everyone describes. More like a pop - like a popcorn kernel in my belly put maybe a little stronger. I am feeling him more now that I know what he feels like. It's still not huge and we can't see it from the outside yet. That's coming though. Hopefully in a few more weeks. I'm just happy that he really is healthy - not lethargic like I feared he was. : )

I'll post a few pictures later. They didn't turn out as well this time but he's bigger and harder to see in one shot. We scheduled our 3D/4D sonogram for April 16th at 5:00!!! I'm soooo excited!!! I can't wait to see our little "butter baby!"