No Missing Person Reports Please...

WOW.  Just wow.  I am officially the world's worst blogger!  My last post was when I was 24 weeks pregnant, and now Ryder is 3 months old!  A LOT has happened in that time!  A rough end to my pregnancy, and a very small but wonderful baby boy!  This is just a small note to say I will come back and fill in very soon! 

24 weeks

I'm 24 weeks now, so here's a little list of what's going on with me:

 I feel like a bloated bull frog. 

We're still waiting for Ryder to get a little bit bigger and a little bit stronger so Daddy can feel his kicks too!  He keeps trying, but no luck yet. 

My hormone's are severely out of whack, and I'm ready to feel like myself again.  I have turned into a big crybaby.  Seriously, my tear ducts are tired.

I pee all day, and a lot of the night.  I'm about to have my mailing address changed directly to the bathroom.

Throwing up is few and far between now! (Hallejuah!)  Sometimes foods still don't agree with me, but for the most part, Pukey McPukerson has left the building!

I'm getting bigger by the minute, there isn't a stitch of pre-pregnancy clothing that I can wear now.

I really love feeling Ryder move... it reminds me he's in there and makes it all feel a little more real.

Til the next time lovelies!

24 Week Baby Belly

Brain Fart

It's been awhile, I know.  Sorry about that.  Just add this blog to the long list of things I can no longer keep up with, due to lack of brain function.  My brain seems to have taken a hiatus over the last couple of months.  I have heard of pregnancy brain, but this is on a whole other level of ridiculousness.

One day I thought I was cooking dinner, until I walked back into the kitchen and found dinner in the pan, sitting on the counter, patiently waiting to be put in the oven.  Sorry guys, did I say dinner in 10min?  What I meant to say was 30min.  I go to the grocery store, and forget to pick up things that are actually written on the list.  One time that meant waffles... which in my house is ALL my 8 yr old wants for breakfast, so Mom caused a slight crisis.  I left a load of clothes in the washing machine for two days, because I forgot they were in there.  You just can't do that in Texas, especially when your washing machine is located outside in the garage.  Hot weather and wet clothes do not mix, and I had to wash that particular load of clothes twice to get the smell out.  Do you see what I am working with people?  Or rather not working with.  It's a miracle that I remember to wear pants when I'm going out in public.

But in other news... we had our 20wk anatomy scan of Baby Ryder a couple of weeks ago, and I am happy to announce he's still a boy!  HaHa I kid.  No really, from what we can tell he is a beautiful healthy baby.  I do have to have another ultrasound at this months appt. due to the fact he was laying on his back and they couldn't get a clear shot of the spine to check it out.  But on the plus side, I get to see him again this month!!   I had not felt Ryder move previous to the scan, but during the ultrasound we were watching him on the screen...and he rolled over and at that very same instance I felt a thump in my stomach!  It startled me so much that by reflex my hand flew down there and I stuck it directly into the gel.  It had been worrying me that I had not felt him, and that most pregnant women I knew had been feeling there babies long before 20wks.  Of course worrying, turns to the fear that something is wrong and then that just weighs on you heavily.  Now since the scan he has taken up disco dancing, karate, and soccer... I don't know what magic juju was in that gel on my stomach, but thank you Ms. Ultrasound tech! 

Ryder at 20 wks (maybe about to fist pump?)

A bit of an attitude maybe?  Can imagine where he'd get that from... *coughcough*

Jason and I have decided he's flipping the bird in this picture.

Stressed

I have been so overwhelmed lately with choosing baby stuff.  I feel like my head is spinning.  Cribs, diaper bags, bedding, strollers... and I'm just not in LOVE with anything I find.  I'm afraid my poor son will not even have a crib to sleep in when he gets here, because his scatterbrained, stressed out mother could not get it together.  The two things that I did pick out, a crib and a diaper bag are SOLD OUT.  Just kick me when I'm down will ya?  So now I have to start a whole new search for two things I thought I knocked off my list... just great.  Picking out the things he will need is actually a lot more stressful than I anticipated... hopefully things will start to come together soon, so I can actually enjoy shopping for Mr. Ryder.

The Bottomless Pit.

So from the second I turned 6 weeks, til about a week ago I have spent my pregnancy with my head in the toilet puking up various vital organs.  But slowly I have started to feel better and now only throw up half the week instead of the whole 7 days.  Accompanying this new found freedom from the bathroom, comes a wicked appetite.  It's like I am trying to make up for the 3 months of food I either couldn't stomach or couldn't even bring myself to eat.  If you are serving me food, it's best you set the plate down quickly and get the hell outta dodge before you lose a finger... I don't know where this beast of an appetite came from or where it's been hiding, but I'm gonna have to reign this monster in or I am going to be nothing but fat rolls and eyeballs. 

Gender Reveal 2

Ok, so I somehow deleted my previous "Gender Reveal" post.  So after cussing the computer, blogspot, and myself, I am going to attempt to re-write it the best I can.  Here goes.

We wanted to find out the gender of "Baby Ray" by way of a Gender Reveal Party.  Well I wanted to and Jason just went along with it.  Since Jason and I have decided to only have one child, "Baby Ray" will be our only child together, so I wanted to make a big deal of this milestone in my pregnancy.  So spawned the Gender Reveal idea.

On Thursday 2/23 we had a ultrasound scheduled to find out what the gender of "Baby Ray" was.  I was so excited!!  When I first climbed up onto the table, the ultrasound tech instructed us to cover/close our eyes since she didn't know how he/she was positioned in my tummy.  So with all eyes covered and closed she lowered the wand onto my exposed stomach, and then told us to keep them closed while she tried to locate and take pictures of he or she's gender determining area.  We finally got to open our eyes and watch our sweet baby up on the screen for a few minutes.  After all the gel was wiped from my tummy, and maternity jeans hiked back up to their original position she sealed the picture showing the gender and handed it off to my friend Amanda for safe keeping.  She was my insurance of being able to keep the surprise in case I had a moment of weakness and an envelope in my hand.  Once we left the office the tech called the baker and told her whether she would be baking a blue or pink cake.  The wait to Saturday was going to be a long one, there were people in the world who knew the gender of my baby and one of them wasn't me!!

("Baby Ray" at 16 weeks)

Friday I was kept pretty busy running from store to store, stocking up on anything and everything blue and pink I could use for decorating my parents house, where they party was being held.  (Thanks again Mom and Dad).  I hardly slept Friday night, I kept jumping up thinking it was time to get up and get ready to go, I finally gave up the sleep effort at about 6:30 Saturday morning.  Then what seemed like 100 years later, it was time to get up and go!  I headed over to my parents to help set up and prepare for our family to arrive!  Then noon rolled around and everyone was there, we corralled the men into the house where the women were already crowding around the cake waiting for the reveal, then it was FINALLY time to cut the cake that held the answer I had been waiting months to know! 

(Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Oh How We Wonder Who You Are...)

My husband and I stood at the back of the cake and faced our family as we cut into it... I was the first to see (Hahaha!)  I tried to keep my reaction and composure under control as to not give away what the inside of the cake revealed.  As I got the piece cut we held it up for the room to see that beautiful BLUE cake!  I was so happy to know who my baby was!  I woke up Saturday morning not knowing who was sharing this body with me, and Saturday night I went to bed as Ryder's Mommy :)

(It's a Boy!)

(The inside of our cake!)

(Annoucing our little boys name, Ryder Richard Ray)

(Us with my Dad, Richard.  Excited that we gave the baby his name!)

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

On January 20th I had my first ultrasound!  My husband and I arrived to greet a waiting room of people there to support us, and get a first peek of our little "nugget".  We were the last to get there, because I am always running late.  As my troop and I headed back to the ultrasound room, I could feel the butterflies in my stomach... a mixture of excitement and nervousness. 

The technician instructed me to lay down and lift up my shirt, then she applied a gel to my naked tummy that surprisingly wasn't cold.  She placed the wand on my stomach, moved around a bit, and then there he/she was on a big screen at the front of the room.  I immediately burst into tears, and then had to pull myself together just as quickly, because the shaking of my stomach was distorting the picture of my beautiful baby.  I actually laid there holding my breath as much as possible so as not to mess the picture up. 

He/she moved and squirmed.  It rolled over, waved it's arms and kicked it's legs.  I have never seen anything so cool in my entire life.  I am totally in love with this little life inside of me, and I can't wait to meet you, my sweet baby.

("Baby Ray" at 11 weeks)

The Not so Pretty Side of Pregnancy.

Before I discovered that I was pregnant, my baby sister had made her own announcement of pregnancy.  My poor sister was sick morning, noon and night without much relief.  Fast forward a couple of weeks and oops, I'm pregnant too.  When I found out that I was expecting my very own bundle of joy I was only 3 weeks along, and in the 3 weeks to follow I felt fine!  I would look at my sister and shake my head with pity, and think, "I'm glad that's not me."  Well we all know what happens when you speak too soon! 

The day I turned 6 weeks, I didn't feel quite right.  The later in the evening it got, the worse I felt.  That night was our monthly bunco game, so I was a bit later getting home that evening.  I walked through the door, and greeted my husband as I promptly rushed by him and straight to the bathroom.  I'm sure we all can fill in the blanks on what happened next.  That night ended my reign over an easy breezy pregnancy. 

I'm 10 weeks now, and still battling sickness.  My doctor did prescribe me some medicine that has become my new best friend.  My husband and step-son, are becoming use to the noises in the bathroom, and don't run back there to check on me as often anymore.  My excessive sickness, led to the following conversation between me and my 8 year old step-son last night.


Jody: Mom, did you know that you were gonna get sick when you got pregnant?

Me: Yea, I knew there was a chance it could happen.

Jody: Well, you're sick all the time.  Did you know you were gonna do that?

Me: Well no, I didn't know that I would be sick all the time.

Jody: Well, I guess what I'm trying to say is... did you really think this thing through?  Because I know I wouldn't wanna be sick all the time.

Me: Yes son, I thought it through.

Jody: Eh, I don't really think you did.



Kids say the darndest things.

The Beginning.

Let's start with a little background. 

I met my now husband in July of 2009 through mutal friends.
On July 15th 2011, at his birthday party in front of our friends and family, he popped THE question.  (I said yes, of course.) 
We were married exactly 90 days later on October 15th 2011.
We honeymooned in Gatlinburg, TN (which is absolutely GORGEOUS in the fall, I highly recommend you go there).  
We came home and life commenced, which leads us to this...

My 1st ovulation post wedding was mid November.  The hubs and I talked about it, and agreed to start trying.  Our thought was, it would more than likely take a while before we actually conceived.... boy were we wrong.  Two days before I was to actually start my cycle, and become officially "late", a friend of mine told me she was absolutely convinced I was already pregnant.  I totally argued, thinking there was no way we were pregnant after the first try.  Fast forward to dinner time... I'm standing in the kitchen whipping up a masterpiece, no doubt (if you are familiar with my cooking, try not to laugh.  If you're not, lucky you.) when I realize, I have to pee.  I head to the bathroom, and figure "hey, I already have to go, and I have a test in the drawer... why not take one."  I did this mostly to prove to my friend that I was right and she was wrong, just for kicks.  I take the test, finish my business, and then looked over at the counter, prepared to throw the test away... but wait... I'm sorry... is that two lines?  I blinked, looked again... and immediately threw it down on the floor.  (Strange reaction I know, but I was in total shock).  I bent over, looked again, yep... there they were looking right back at me. 

So at this point, I've been hiding in the bathroom having my own private freak out for about 10 minutes. I finally came out and called for my husband to come... then quickly turned and shut myself back into the bathroom.  He came in the bathroom looking bewildered, and all I could do is point to the counter top where the test lay.  He picked it up, looked at me... and said (drumroll please) "Ok... why are you freaking out?" Not exactly the reaction I thought I'd get.  I guess I was hoping for him to gush, that I made all his dreams come true... oh and tears.  Eh, you win some you lose some. 
I ended up going to the store that night and purchasing another box of tests, came home drown myself in water and went and took all three at once... just to be sure, and oh we're sure.