23 Weeks

I am 23 weeks pregnant today. I saw both the fetal specialist (who did the amnio) and the regular OB-GYN this week and everything is going along like clockwork. I haven't gained any more weight yet and all measurements for Baby are on target.

I've been having a lot of trouble sleeping, waking up every 30 minutes or so and not really ever getting to deep sleep. I'm not hot (or cold) and I'm comfortable. And I am tired and my mind isn't racing. So sleeping shouldn't be a problem. With the doctor's advice and a half a Unisom later, I slept for a solid 6 hours last night before I woke for the first time.

I've also got one ankle that swells if I am on my feet a lot. It's strange to have one normal foot and one that is twice it's size!

So How's Baby?

Doing very well, thank you for asking. He is one pound, one ounce right now and all his measurements are right on target. We saw some great ultrasound of his heart - all four chambers beating strong. But he still won't show us his face. Even as a fetus, Baby is frustrating his parents. This side shot is the best we've gotten so far, even though he is hiding behind his arm.

And in this ultrasound picture, you can see an arm and a foot. Baby seems to prefer to curl up than stretch out. But when he does stretch, I've been able to feel him kick from the outside of the belly. Marc keeps missing it, though, and Baby will only do it about once a day. Again, driving his parents crazy. Oh, are we in for it!

22 Weeks

I am 22 weeks pregnant today. And I am wearing more layers lately than I EVER thought I would pregnant, especially in April. Let's take today for example. I was wearing:

undies (of course)

pregnancy hose(which are remarkable comfy),

a camisole (because all the maternity work clothes seem to assume I want to show off my boobs),

a slip (since maternity work clothes are never lined)

and a dress.

Before pregnancy, I would have just had the undies, the dress and maybe the hose. And all these layers make going to the bathroom 10+ times a day a challenge.

21 Weeks

I am 21 weeks pregnant today. And man, do I have to pee. All. The. Time. The worst is at night. If I hold it, I am in pain. But if I get up and go, I am up for almost 2 hours tossing and turning trying to get back to snoozin'.

We have decided which room will be the baby's room, and I have cleaned out a lot of the junk we had in there. I've also cleaned out the garage, and am having a yard sale tomorrow. Marc and I had a lot of duplicate items (blenders, toasters, etc.) and we just stored them in one of those places. I also cleaned out our Christmas items and have a lot of lights and extra decorations for sale. There are still some boxes with china, pictures and knick knacks, and I just need to figure out where I will store them.

Years and years ago, I found a diaper bag at Marshalls or TJMaxx that I just loved. It was a black Nine West microfiber bag with a changing pad, bottle cooler, and a gingham check inside. I thought it was fabulous and just what I would want if I had a kid. So I bought it to give to someone as a baby shower gift. I remembered liking it so much that once I found out I was with child, I began doing extensive Internet searches for it, to no avail.

Well, as I was cleaning out the garage, I found it in a gift bag in a box of stuff. With a bag of diapers inside. I am SO excited!! We have our baby bag!!

But, if you invited me to a baby shower and I never gave you a gift, I am really sorry. I meant to give you the nicest baby bag ever.

Atchley Kavanaugh Wedding

Saturday, Marc and I attended the wedding of our friends Leslie and Mark. Leslie was a grad student in Marc's office and she and I are good friends. They now live in Austin, Texas but chose to get married in Athens.

Leslie was absolutely lovely, and we cleaned up pretty well, too.

We had a wonderful time at the wedding reception! One of our favorites, the Highballs, was the band and we had great food and friends. It was so much fun that Marc broke his chair! (And he was able to hold himself up and not fall into the cupcakes.)

Which was a good thing, because the cupcakes were delicious. I snuck one before the cake was cut (Sorry Les!) Baby needed a cupcake!

Boys Will Be Boys

The boys had so much fun playing together in Alma. It got me a little more prepared - and a little scared - for the boy that will be joining us soon. There was rough housing. . .

. . .and movie watching.

Then they decided they didn't want their picture taken -

Unless they could be super silly!

Say Cheese

So how hard could it be to get a picture of all the kiddies? First we had to get Bowen to look at the camera.

And then we had to get Jesse to put down the sword. And ask Hudson to let us see Bowen's face.

But Hudson wasn't happy with that. Even if Bowen gave it two thumbs up.

And then everyone (almost) gave the thumbs up for a picture. And since Carly couldn't quite figure it out, Weldon was a great helper.

Deep in the Heart of Georgia

Friday, I spent the day in South Georgia with my family - the best place to be! Everyone couldn't be there, and they missed out on some good times, great shrimp, sausage and crab legs, and a wonderful day talking, laughing and sitting outside watching kids play.

We, of course, had to take the obligatory cousin picture. And then our moms took the sister picture.

And Mama wanted a picture of the belly. It's getting big!

Lindsey and Chris joined us and brought baby Hinson. He is 8 weeks old and SO cute, and everyone fought over the chance to hold him. Hudson and Bowen wanted to know why Grandma wasn't paying attention to them. I was very happy I was able to make Hinson stop fussing for a while. It made me think I might be able to do this Mom thing.

20 Weeks

I am 20 weeks pregnant today - HALF WAY THERE!!

Mine! All Mine!

Lullabelle loves her squeaky stuffed animals and her chew bones

Mine! They're My Toys!

Happy Easter Y'all!

Doggie Dash 2010

This morning was the 19th annual Doggie Dash, a 1.3 mile run/walk put on by the Vet School. And it was the McMotte family's 1st annual participation in the Doggie Dash.


This is Sandy before, happy to be outside, peeing in new places, no idea what lies ahead.



And this is Sandy after. After finishing second to last, beating only the Chihuahua. After pooping three times. After I dragged her the last mile of the 1.3 mile course.



Lullabelle finished right before Sandy, as she and Marc kept Sandy's pace as a show of family solidarity. But it was so hard for her to do; she wanted to run ahead the entire time.



But it was a lot of fun! For most of us anyway. Both Marc and I won a door prize - a gift certificate to Locos (which we've already used) and a gift certificate for a cone at Ben and Jerrys (which I will use asap!) And both dogs got some treats before heading home to sleep the rest of the day.

19 Weeks

I am 19 weeks pregnant today. And I feel good! The warmer temperatures help a lot. And Marc and I did some shopping last week and I have a few more options when it comes to clothes for work that are comfortable. I also got a good chunk of my hair cut off, so it takes a lot less time to wash/dry/fix.

We went to the doctor for a check-up this week, and everything looks good. No ultrasound, but they measured my belly, listened to the heartbeat and weighed me. I've gained 8 pounds so far. I know it's not much, and I've got a lot more to come, but it was still hard to see that number on the scale.