It's a Girl!

So, we found out the sex on 3-28-2007. As we suspected, it's a girl. We have narrowed the name down, but think we'll keep that part a surprise. The kid was all over the place during the ultrasound, and my belly was lopsided as heck. She forced me to lay on my side, which I hate (see submission regarding pregnancy pillow), and I've had a stitch in my side since yesterday afternoon. I'm really starting to feel pregnant now. All of a sudden I have this belly, fluttering inside, and I can't get up out of anything easily. I attempted to run inside my office this morning, and my legs were heavy and my belly jiggled. It was like the Michelin Man dream you have when you want to run fast, but everything is so heavy. I've decided to start taking yoga again, since I have been lazy as can be. Luckily we walked like crazy in London, but I need to keep up some type of routine so I can birth this kid.

European Vacation

So, again, it's been a bit, but we have been busy bees. We just returned from Ireland/England this past Saturday. It was a wonderful trip, but man, are we exhausted. We both got sick, and after a night of complete misery, and me freaking out in the bed because I couldn't breath and head weighing a million pounds I went to the doc, and I have a sinus infection. Thankfully they gave me some miracle drug called Omnicef (a penny from the drug sales goes to impoverished children in Africa). The lady I saw was a nurse midwife, so she told me she would take care of biz, and she didn't even try to convince me to have the kid in our 75 year old bathtub at home.

Back to the trip....

We started in Ireland, which we absolutely loved, I only wish we had more time there. We were in County Clare, about ten minutes from Shannon airport. It was total countryside. The people there was so nice, and the stews were hearty and plentiful. Every entree was served with an assortment of potatoes of every kind: mashed, au gratin, boiled, chips...you name it. There were four plates alone of all types of potatoes. The inset shows the absolutely wonderful hotel we stayed in while there. It was totally cush, uncommon in Europe, since most rooms are teeny tiny (see later conversation on London room).

We are waiting for my parent's to publish their shots from Ireland, since we forgot our camera for the crazy day at the Cliffs of Moher. These are cliffs that stand over 200 meters high, and line the western coast of Ireland against the Atlantic. Luckily, when we visited, they had just completed a several million dollar undertaking that built a visitor's center into the cliff, as well as paths and barriers between you and the inevitable fate of death. Previosuly, you could just walk right off the edge if these things. Just one month prior a woman and her child were "blown" off, but the locals in Doolin said she jumped. Yipes. Anyway, the wind was absolutely crazy, and she could easily be blown off. People were literally leaning back into the wind, which allowed them to stay upright in that position. Nuts. The journey there was also an adventure. Trent was the designated driver (on the left side of the road). He did a great job, but was pretty stressed and generally pissed for the 2-hour round trip drive to and from. I don't blame him, the roads are so narrow, and people drive really fast. He was hugging the left side of the road, and we even ran into the curb a few times on the return trip. We got a bit lost on our way back, and that almost caused a walk out of the driver, but he kept his cool (a lie), and we were back on track after stopping twice at the same place for directin. A side note to this is that directions from anyone in Ireland are very general: such as, "Go up there a bit, where you see the signs go left, then you'll see it after a few crossings, love."

The wedding was great! The Irish start these things at 4-5 in the afternoon, then eat, do speaches, etc. until 11:30, then the band starts playing! We left at 2:00 to make the last bus, but they were still partying. My Dad (Frank) had closed eevry local bar with the 30 year olds for the three days prior, so by the time the wedding rolled around he was donezo with the old whiskey and Bulmer's (cider). Trent ended up singing in the bar with the locals and grilling this guy named Damo, who was our local connection during our stay about the IRA.

I will say Ireland was a blur, it went so fast, and we did so much, and as I said, we were up to all hours in the pubs. They technically close at 11-11:30, but they'll let you stockpile drinks and stay there as long as you like. Even the hotel stayed open at the Night Manager's discretion. However, the first night, the Irish boys were pulling down their pants, and falling, so they shut down, and the next night, a fellow Baltimorean starting dropping the F-bomb all over, so they closed then as well.

The day after the wedding it was off to London. Our rooms were definitely more what we expected. Small. You could barely fit the luggage and yourself in it. Even the lift carried only three people. Speaking of which, I had to pay $180 for the extra weight of our luggage on the flight to London. Ryan air only allows 35 pounds. Bah.

The hotel did provide lovely biscuits every morning, which I surely enjoyed. We also had tea every morning, noon, and night. Heaven. Decaf girls, decaf. London was great too, a lot like NYC. We spent the first few days with my parents and covered all the sights. We also saw Guys and Dolls, with Don Johnson. Go figure. He was pretty good, although he high tailed it off stage every time there was a dance routine. No Vice moves there. After my parents left we spent the rest of the time with Rob (Otremba) and Valentina (Rob's lovely girlfriend, for those who don't know). They showed us all the sites, markets, and great shopping.

However, London is so damn expensive, even Trent and I didn't shop much. The dollar to pound conversation is horrible, so the pound starts out 1.5 times more. Plus, everything is double the price. So add that all together, and every meal costs $100, and every taxi ride $40. We also made the mistake of eating lunch at Harrod's (see inset) where my Dad picked up the tab, but I'm pretty sure the four rubens and soup we had with drinks cost him about $400. My sandwhich alone was 15 pounds (about $33). Add soup (8 pounds/$18) and drink (4 pounds, $10), and mine alone was about $61. I'm pretty sure I ate the same thing at Belvedere Market the day before we left for $8.95, and I thought that was a rip! We kept in mind that we were in one of the great world cities, so we rolled with it, and threw money around as we wished. Ha ha. All in all, we had a blast, but in our long travels, we were ready to get home. It was a beautiful, sunny day on Sunday, which was a welcomed change from the raw cold and rain of London.

I'll post the pictures here when I get them up for anyone interested in our trip.

I may do another post later tonight since Trent and I are on the way to the doctor today to potentially find out the sex of the bean. Stand by folks.

Well, it's been quite a while since my last post. Work has been very busy, and therefore it has left little bean writing time during the day. However, I have decided to take a ten minute lunch today, and update.

All is well. I feel great with the exception of some tiredness. I was in my L.A. office all of last week, so sometimes the time change catches up with me when I return. My co-workers were kind enough to throw me an early shower, and it was the most fun. We played some fun games, and in my office, it's cut throat, so you better be good. We played one game where you had to fish safety pins out of a bowl of rice, and it was nearly impossible to tell the difference between the rice and the pins. Most people only pulled one or two pins! I had three, almost four, but my count got disqualified, after I poured a bit too much rice out in the last five seconds. Like I said, it's cut throat, no breaks for the damn mother! See insert for examples of co-workers attempting this task. I got lots of cool gifts, and I'm my way to havng a fabulously dressed, and carried baby. I also posted some pics from the event itself. All in all, quite a good time.

In other news, I finally took out my belly button ring. What an ordeal. The
nurses at the doctor's office, who I am convinced all hate me, advised me to remove it before the navel popped. Great. I have had it for eight years, and it's never come out. Once I tried, and I ended up with a stripper ring, so I quickly switched it back. Anyway, I had Trent try to pry it open with his hands, but he continued to forget one vital component to the removal, and that was that my skin was attached. He pulled and prodded, all while I was attached to it. I feared the worst, and postponed for an additional two weeks. With the belly getting a lot bigger lately, I knew we had to do something. So, Trent got the Leathermnan, and literally cut the metal. He wanted to put it in the middle of the ring, to try to pry it open, but I knew that would only result in bloodshed, so I opted for the metal cutting. I'm happy to report, it's out now, and I look very weird with a naked belly button. Below please see before pregnancy shot, then shot of stripper type ring that was removed, and finally what kind of pregnant woman I didn't want to be...the one in West Virginia, riding the Spongebob craze, insisting she won't take the ring out because her coal miner husband likes to see it when he finishes a long day underground. So, I'm ring free, and this gives the nurses one more thing to check off their list of bad patient behaviors. Since I was three weeks behind on blood tests, and will be two weeks behind on my sonogram, they're just loving me. They don't like me because a 2:45 p.m. appt. doesn't always fit well into work day, or that I have to travel for work, or that I happen to be going to Ireland for a wedding! Seriously, the appt. lady is so mean, I almost cried at my last visit. I'm always apologizing for working, or not being able to have an appt. at 11:30 then again at 1:45 for a sonogram. It also doesn't help that my doc is only in Wed/Friday afternoons. So, when I book, she usually only has one appointment available. If I don't take it, I'm the trouble patient. If anyone has experienced this, please post your input. That is, if anyone is still even reading this thing.

Ok, that's it for now, I will take some pre-Europe pics and post before I gain excessive weight while away.

Breck

Well, I made it through four days in 9,000 feet of elevation. A little huffing and puffing around town, but overall I felt pretty good. I did some light snowboarding, but nothing too crazy, and I took a day off to hang with Ali. See inserted picture for us on the slopes! Ali made me dress up, she really wanted everyone to notice us. Who would have thought?

I ate lots of awful stuff like hamburgers, fries, and onion rings. We all felt a little gross, so there was a good deal of salad in the mix the last day or so.

We were able to watch the Maryland/Duke game at a bar called Eric's, which was nice too. Thanks to big Will Bowers, we came out victorious. There was a guy in the bar waiting for the game to be over, so we could stop looking so stressed. Of course, he was barking this at us in the last four minutes, and we almost smacked him upside his head since we were more irritated by his distraction then we were stressed about the game. I think he may have had a few too many sips of Tuaca. Trent bought a shirt as a memento of the win.

All in all , it was a fun trip, and the boys didn't wake up too hung over, despite our trip to a local bar where Jay had beer, a bottle of Boone's Farm (served pink in a wine glass), followed by a chaser of Jack Daniel's. Trent and Janson also sipped of the fine fruity beverage. They actually sold the Boone's by the glass, which at first Jay asked about, but the guy was like, the bottle costs about $5.00, so you might as well just go for the bottle. So, we ordered their finest flavor--Snow Creek Berry, or was it Strawberry Hill? No matter how you slice it, the liquid smarties went down smooth for all the boys at the table.

Ultrasound, Sleepy Comfort, Crazy Bag

Well, today Trent and I went for our first ultrasound. As we waited with the other parents, I bitched of my bladder being so full, and Trent announced he was bored. Needless to say, we were both ready to get in there.

They finally called us in, and rubbed me with the "heated" gel. She prodded for a bit, and we saw the bean in action. This kid was all over the damn place. Upside down, rightside up, leg up, sucking thumb...She had a hard time getting him/her in the right position, but I coughed, and jarred the little thing, and it started hopping into shape. Even better still, I got to empty my bladder, and the view was much clearer. Walter Bean drank a whole lot while we visited with him/her, and had a case of the hiccups. It likes to hold its right arm over it's head a lot, and once it waved at us, which was nice. We waved back.

Doc said everything in the 'ole womb looked good, but we'll wait for the results of the blood tests when we go back to our whispering OB on the 19th. Yes, the doctor only whispers, she never speaks in a regular speaking voice. I've brushed up on my lip reading, and see that coming in handy when she whispers things like push, don't push, relax, etc. later on.

In other news, I bought a full body pillow to help me sleep better. I think I may have bought this too early, because nothing rests on top of it. It is the shape of a big candy cane. I thought it would help me sleep on my side, but it just made me hot, and caused muscle spasms throughout my neck. I may give it another few tries, and then closet it until it's needed more. Or, I wasted another $60 on a useless item. Feedback on this item, is welcomed.

Lastly, I bought one other baby item...a diaper bag. Erika Goldwater, a fellow shopaholic, recommended a variety of Mia Bossi bags. The day she sent the link, I immediately felt a sense of urgency to get one. I went to EBay, and snapped it up for a whopping $10 less than retail, and free shipping. Soon after, I spoke to my Mom about the bag, the price, and the features. She asked what I was getting for the price tag, and I of course couldn't point out too much that was different other than the fur-covered (and machine-washable!) changing pad, and of course the fashionable look. I felt a bit guilty, but hey, the baby hasn't been spoiled yet, so on behalf of the baby, I reassured myself. I also asked Trent how much would be too much for a bag, and he said $500, so I felt much, much better. I missed his ceiling by at least $200 bucks! Thanks Trent! Picture of said bag included. That's also me in the pic. Stick it.

The Real Deal

12-ish Weeks

So, it appears I've grown quite a bit since my swimsuit picture, but I swear the doctor says I've only gained 2.5 pounds. I've left out my head in these shots, since I am looking gross 90% of the time. I must be having a girl because they say girls steal your looks--not that I was working with much to begin with (again pay no attention to my swimsuit pic on that one).

I have also posted a pic of Trent's belly. He's about six months along, as you can see. He needs to slow himself down. You can also see his butt has grown just like mine. No more designer jeans for us!

Otherwise, things are going swimmingly. Next week we get some blood tests, and such, and I get to valet park in the Obstetrics entrance of GBMC. I already feel like a celeb! What doesn't make me feel like a celeb is paying $3-5.00 every time I go to the doctor. That place is making a mint from all the sick people in Baltimore. No validation. I don't really care about the money, it's the principle of it. That must be why the rooms are so fancy there. Speaking of which, if Chris Heine is reading, who's palm do we need to grease to get the royal treatment?

My pre-pregnancy Pics

It took me a while to find a picture of me with my pre-pregnancy bod, but I finally found one. Pay no attention to my face, I looked so different then. I've also cut my hair shorter, it blew in the wind too much.