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Dress: Old Navy
Sweater: J Crew
Shoes: Naturalizer
Necklace: Lia Sophia

Tired Mama

Sweater: J Crew
Dress: Old Navy
Necklace: J Crew
Shoes: Naturalizer

Today at the end of the day, my class was getting ready to leave when one student turned to me and asked. "What are you doing when you go home?"

My response, "Going to sleep."

He laughed and then said, "What will you do when you wake up?"

"Sleep some more."

I am a tired Mama.

22 Weeks

How far along: 22 weeks

Development:  MiniDot is the size of a papaya

Movement: All the time. All of a sudden last week, I started to feel our little monkey dancing. Even RDog is now able to feel him.

Weight Gain: 22 pounds - It looks like I am on track to gain a pound for every week of pregnancy. :-( I'm having a really hard time exercising. Either I'm not feeling right because of the fibroids or I'm nervous to move and make them hurt. However, RDog has been pretty good about taking me on nightly walks so I'm getting a little bit of activity.

Maternity Clothes:  For sure! I can still fit into normal dresses if they have a high waist but everything else is maternity.

Stretch Marks:  None. But they are coming

Best moment of my week:  Feeling my little guy move all the time. That has helped me really start to comprehend that there is actually a person in there! Both RDog and I have started to talk to him a lot. I usually spend my car ride home after work chatting with the baby. And I have held up the cats to my belly so they can introduce themselves. It's silly but I'm really enjoying it.

Worst moment:  Feeling uncomfortable because of my fibroids. They are on my right side and are making my belly feel very tight and stretched out. I feel like I'm going to run out of room soon. I'm also having a hard time giving up control. I am a crazy control freak and it's sometimes hard for me to adjust to the fact that I have little control over what's going on in my body right now!

Sleep:  Good - still loving my Snoogle

Miss Anything:  My nice spring clothes. I'd love to wear a nice J Crew cami and pencil skirt right now.

Food Cravings: Berries, iced tea and sweets 

Aversions:  Still grossed out by most salads

Gender:  Baby Boy

Symptoms: I've been feeling really tired and I've been told my walk has changed to a waddle.

Belly Button: Mostly in but changing everyday

Rings:  On

Moody or Happy:  Pretty happy most of the time. Once in awhile I'll have a pity party about weight gain, RDog's nightly beer or fibroid pain.

Looking Forward: Finishing work! I have less than two months to go. I filled out the paperwork last week and everything is set to go. It is remarkably  easy to go on maternity leave.

April Purchases

Banana Republic Bracelet: $23.99
H&M Maxi Dress: $19.95
Old Navy Dress: $17.95
Old Navy Fold over Jersey Skirt: $12.75
Land's End Dress: $16.99
Walmart Dress x2 (not shown): $20.00
Walmart Maternity T-Shirt (not shown): $9.00
H&M Maternity T-shirt (not shown): $12.00
Motherhood Maternity Dress: $56.00
Motherhood Maternity Bathing Suit: $43.00
Banana Republic Necklace: $30.00

Total: $261.63

I checked off a few ticks on my maternity clothing list. The black dress is for the few dress up events I have coming up. The bathing suit is a must for summer pregnancies  I plan to spend lots of time in July and August in the pool. The prices weren't as good as I thought but I'm discovering that maternity clothes do not go on sale as heavily as regular sized clothing. Both items were the last of my size in my local store, so I had to snatch them up.

The item I'm most excited about is my H&M maxi dress. I saw this dress on a couple of bloggers and fell in love with the print. I was excited to find it in my local store and to find that it fits me! I better wear it soon though before my belly outgrows it!

Lovely

Dress: Walmart
Sweater: J Crew
Necklace: Martin and Osa
Shoes: Karen Scott

Funny story. While taking these pictures, I leaned back to rest my hands on the railing behind me and promptly smacked my palm into a pile of bird poo. Lovely.

I found this dress at Walmart a couple of days ago on the search for a cheap bra. I've had to increase my bra size twice this pregnancy. Some ladies may think that's great; I am not a fan. I miss my itty bitty titties.

But while I was bra shopping, I checked out Walmart's maternity section. The verdict; gross! Placed with the plus size clothes, everything is oversized and shapeless.

The bright part of my rare Walmart visit was spying this dress. In the regular clothes section, it was a great deal; $10. The stretchy fabric and high waist means that I should be able to get a few good wears out of it. And RDog really likes it too.

Creeping Up

Dress: Old Navy

Cardigan: J Crew

Bracelet: Banana Republic

Shoes: Zellers

The warmer temperatures are slowly arriving and causing me to miss my spring clothes. ]

Last weekend, I did some digging through my closet to find something springy that still fit. I found a few Old Navy dresses, including this one, that I bought last year. The high waist helps it still work at almost 22 weeks but I imagine that it won't be working much longer. The front of the dress is creeping up higher than the back.  I expect, at the rate I'm growing, this will dress not work in a couple of weeks.

So for the next few days, I am going to try to wear as many of last year's spring dresses while I can, even if it is cold and rainy like the weatherman predicts!

Hit The Trash

Blouse: Forever 21
Pants: H&M Maternity
Shoes: Chaps
Bracelet: J Crew Factory

This blouse is an old Forever 21 find that I have had for several years but have rarely worn. When I did wear it, it had to be tucked as I did here to avoid the pregnancy look (not a good look if you are not pregnant).  Now  that I am indeed "knocked up" I thought I'd give this blouse another try.

The verdict: I still don't like it. It's too shapeless and I am fighting to keep any shape I have left. The silk has also started to disintegrate in the back near my bra straps. So this blouse is hitting the trash. You really do get what you pay for sometimes.

I'm reaching a point where I really miss my "nice" clothes; J Crew silk camis, my spring cotton skirts, my sheath dresses. Maternity clothes are so cheap feeling. Sigh. . .

Wannabe Necklace

T-Shirt: H&M Maternity
Skirt: Old Navy Maternity
Shoes: Naturalizer
Purse: Kate Spade
Necklace: J Crew Wannabe

A little weekend wear from last weekend.

It was super comfy but still felt stylish enough to wear for weekend errands (furniture buying!)

Work to the Max

Dress: Old Navy
Sweater: J Crew
Necklace: Banana Republic
Shoes: Naturalizer

This Old Navy dress is seriously so comfortable, it felt like I was wearing pyjamas.

I've always felt weird about wearing maxis to work because of the pyjama factor, but today was a perfect day to try it out. It was jeans day and it was a professional development day (so no students).

I got lots of compliments from my co-workers (I work with some ladies who are super sweet) but I'm still not sure if I'm ready to début the maxi look in front of students. It just doesn't feel professional enough for regular school wear. Maybe I'll feel differently in June when things get really relaxed (and when I get really big and can't fit into anything else!).

Sky and Water

Blazer: Martin and Osa
Tanks: ASOS Maternity
Pants: H&M Maternity
Bracelet: Banana Republic Factory
Shoes: Chaps

RDog told me today that my top reminded him reminded him of a M.C. Escher print.Of course, I had no idea what he was talking about so I had to Google it. Oh my artistic husband!

Bare Legs

1. 

Sweater: J Crew
Dress: Zellers
Shoes: Zellers
Bracelet: Banana Republic

I was inspired by a fellow teacher who has been going tights free for the past week. It was a bit chilly on the legs, but lovely to free of constricting tights! They have been feeling way too tight for my belly lately.

I was a bit shy to show my legs because they are still heavily marked up from my winter battle with eczema  The eczema is gone from my legs but there are a few scars that remain.

I'm thinking about using some form of light self-tanner to cover the scars up a bit. I haven't used self-tanners in many, many years. Back in my university days, I used a Jergens cream that gradually over time darkened the skin. I don't believe it is made any  more (at least I haven't seen it in stores in years). Any self-tanners users out there who have any recommendations?

This is Canada

Blouse: H&M Maternity
Pants: H&M Maternity
Shoes: Karen Scott
Necklace: Lia Sophia
Bracelet: J Crew Factory

Today had a high of +5. I am wearing sandals. This is Canada bitches!

20 Weeks

Weeks 19 and 20 have been really rough weeks.

It started over a week ago on a Thursday. My tights were really hurting me. Now, tights can often me uncomfortable on my belly but normally I can readjust and find a spot for the waistband to rest comfortably. That wasn't happening on this day. I couldn't wait to leave school and get in my car so I could take the darn things off.

I thought the pain was gas so I did some things to rectify that, spent a sleepless night in pain and went to school the next morning. That probably wasn't the smartest thing; I spent the day hobbling through the hallways or reclines in my desk chair. To stand or sit up straight was painful.

I also noticed a large lump on the right side of my belly. Now when I think about it, the lump had been around for a few weeks but I didn't often notice it. It only appeared on weekends when I was relaxing in bed with hands on my belly really searching for baby movement. I thought it was part if the uterus or my baby and didn't think that much about it. Now the bump was noticeably sticking out of belly at all times. It was large, hard and PAINFUL.

I went home and called labour and delivery and they told me to go to the Emergency Room. I ignored that advice; I did not want to be one of those first time mothers who runs to the hospital with every little symptom. I called my mother and asked her what I should do. Her response: "Go to the hospital." I asked RDog. His response: "Let's go to the hospital." Finally after the pain got worse and worse, we went to the hospital at 9 that night.

It's amazing how fast you are admitted into emergency when you come in at 19 weeks pregnant with symptoms that may be appendicitis.

In no time at all, I was in a room surrounded by doctors. Yup, at one point I had four doctors poking my stomach. It wasn't appendicitis,  it may be a hernia; no one was really sure. I piped up, "What about those fibroids that were found at my 8 week ultrasound." The response was that they were so tiny, they couldn't possibly be causing this. The doctors decided that since I wasn't in extreme pain and my vitals were good, they would admit me to keep an eye on me overnight and get me in for an ultrasound first thing Saturday morning.

And that is the story of my first overnight hospital visit!

By 12 pm that night, I was snug in bed in a room in labour and delivery surrounded by crying babies with an awesome nurse who kept watch on me all night (and with tylenol to help with the pain). Oh and that awesome nurse, while admitting me, told me my weigh gain was just fine. Love her! Early that morning, I got my first taste of hospital food (gross) and was wheeled down to get my ultrasound.

The first thing the tech said was, "Did the doctors think it was your fibroids?" Thank you for agreeing with my tech! I felt all along that's what it was. She quickly corrected herself and said she couldn't really say and that I'd have to talk to the doctor.

After a very painful ultrasound - all that pushing on my stomach hurt, I was wheeled back up to my room where RDog and I spend the morning relaxing and waiting for the doctor.

It turns out, the pain was caused by my fibroids. They have grown! I have have seven growths, none bigger than 4 cm but they are all clustered together in one big lump. They are on the outside of my uterus so that's why I can see and feel them. The good news, they are far from the baby and the baby is doing fine.

I was then sent home with some anti-inflammatory pills. The medication does the trick but unfortunately it makes me feel really stoned! I can only take them at night because I would not be able to function at school. The bad news is, I can only take them until 24 weeks. So I will go back to the doctor in a few weeks to figure out what to do next.

So, there you have it; the recent drama in my life. Now on to the baby update:

How far along: 20 weeks

Development:  MiniDot is the size of a banana

Movement: Sometimes. . . I'm still trying to figure out what it feels like

Weight Gain: 20 pounds - 3 more came this week when I was too uncomfortable to exercise

Maternity Clothes:  For sure!

Stretch Marks:  None. But they are coming

Best moment of my week:  Seeing the bassinet my dad is making us and sharing the gender with family and friends.

Worst moment:  The pain of fibroids!

Sleep:  Better now. My medication knocks me right out.

Miss Anything:  Alcohol - I had a craving for champagne this week

Food Cravings: Candy - peeps, jubjubes, bottle caps, bely beans - I want it all!

Aversions:  The look of some salads I used to love still grosses me out. 

Gender:  Oh yah, I forgot to mention - IT'S A BOY!

Symptoms: I haven't notice anything but I have been pretty focused on the fibroids.

Belly Button: In, but quickly changing (and freaking me out).

Rings:  On

Moody or Happy:  Pretty happy most of the time except when I get loopy from my medication.

Looking Forward: Getting the nursery ready! Now that we know know the gender, I can decorate!

Parking Spots

Dress: Old Navy
Sweater: J Crew
Necklace: Lia Sophia
Bracelet: Gap Factory

Today I used the expectant mother parking spot at the grocery store. I was tired, my belly was hurting and after a day on my feet, I just couldn't walk any more.  I felt very guilty about it though and made sure to stick my belly way out as I walked into the store. I don't look THAT pregnant to warrant a special parking spot. Although I sure do feel it!

I did wear tights today (don't assume it was warm here - it wasn't) but I just couldn't handle the tightness any more so they were whipped off at lunch. Good thing I had shaved my legs or you would be seeing some hairy winter legs.

Whistle

Sweater: J Crew
Dress: H&M Maternity
Shoes: Naturalizer
Necklace: J Crew

New Uniform

Blazer: Old Navy
Tank: Motherhood Maternity
Pants: H&M Maternity
Boots: Naturalizer
Bracelet: J Crew Factory

This outfit (pants, tank and blazer) is quickly becoming my new "uniform", replacing my old combo of a pencil skirt, cami and Jackie cardigan.

I tried on a Jackie last weekend and with the longer tops I am now wearing, it just looked off. I have a few blazers now in heavy rotation. I love them because they are longer and they add some structure to a body that is rapidly losing it!

By the way, where did that belly come from? I swear, it was not there yesterday!

I Love Peeps

Blazer: Old Navy
Dress: H&M Maternity
Boots: Naturalizer