Going Bananas: A Scare at 20 Weeks!

Baby is the size of a banana this week! 

How far along: 20 weeks

Net weight gain/loss:  7.6 lbs.

Maternity clothes:  Not sure why I resisted so long :)

Stretch marks: none yet

Belly button: still an innie

Sleep:  can't get enough, but still adjusting to not sleeping on my stomach.

Baby movement:  more than ever!

Food cravings: Sour Patch Kids and French Toast Sticks from Burger King. This kid knows what he wants!

Food aversions:  lessening, happy to say :)

What I miss:  my flat tummy :(

Looking forward to:  four. more. months.

Best moment this week:  our 20-week ultrasound today!

So here's the rundown on the past 48 hours. I have been having some bad cramping and back pain, and it started getting to the point where I was nearly doubled over in pain yesterday. I called my doc Monday and he said that was normal (?) and to take some Tylenol, rest and drink fluids - which was laughable since who can rest when chasing a toddler and working full-time? - but I tried my best to obey his orders, basically benching myself as soon as I walked in the door Monday night. Tuesday morning I took it easy, but the pain started to get bad as I was up on my feet more and as the day went on, and then I saw what no pregnant woman wants to see, EVER: blood. Terrified, I called my doctor, boss and husband, and off to be checked out we went. 

I was so grateful that his busy office was able to fit me in, and they did an ultrasound to check on baby and check his heart rate and all other indicators of distress, and pronounced baby healthy and happy. I mentioned that my urine sample seemed to have blood in it as well, which seemed to confuse them (did they not look at it? It looked like cranberry juice!), but they said I tested negative for a UTI. I was sent home, put on pelvic rest, and told to "take it easy". Annoying. Thankfully, I was going back in the AM for my anatomy scan, so I knew they'd be able to keep an eye on things.

After two extra strength tylenol and a heating pad wouldn't help with the pain, I went to bed at 7:00, hoping rest would. All night, when I woke up to go to the bathroom (which is unfortunately a very frequent occurrence), it was tinged pink. Knowing that blood in my urine and back pain was indicative of an advanced UTI, regardless of my lack of symptoms, I asked them to test my urine again this morning when I went for my twenty-week ultrasound. They did, and again pronounced it negative.

We had our ultrasound (pictures in a second), and all looked great! They measured everything and checked the length of my cervix, and baby boy is shut up tight in there, so that's great news!

The bad news, though, is that my doctor was wrong. From his office, I went to my GP, knowing that something was clearly not right and bothered by the fact that my OB didn't seem to care about BLOOD IN MY URINE, and within minutes, was told I had a raging (yet asymptomatic) UTI that needed treatment to prevent kidney damage and harm to the baby. UM, a.) DUH, and b.) how the hell did my doctor not catch that? I don't understand. Either way, I'm on antibiotics now, hoping to feel better ASAP, and baby boy is fine, so a happy ending all around. Just annoyed with my OB. 

On a happy note, here are some pictures of baby boy: 

Still a boy!

He looked directly at the ultrasound wand - creepy cute!

Baby's little profile:

And a 20-week belly picture from this morning:

Our Trip to China!

Don't I wish we went to actual China. Ha! No, rather Ava spit out this jewel the other day, when I took her outside roller skating down the street to the wall separating our subdivision from a main road:

"I think we in China, mommy. There's the big wall!"

Kids are SO adorable.

Halfway There!

As of today, I am halfway through this pregnancy! Like I said on Facebook, though, the first person to say, "Wow! It's just flying by!" is getting punched in the face. Unless it's one of you. Because I love you guys. But seriously, it kills me when people say that. Um, yes, I'm sure the past nearly five months have flown by for you, seeing as how you haven't spent everyday vomiting, your tailbone doesn't feel like it has been relocated, you sleep however you want and you can eat whatever you please without someone inside you throwing a fit, and you don't look like you have terrible style and an out of control beer gut! Anyways, just don't say it :P

Anywho, halfway there! Cheers to that! May the next 19.5 weeks  (feel free to come a couple weeks early, son!) be significantly easier and quicker than the last 19.5!

San Antonio Yet Again: The Witte Museum.

You'd think we actually liked hanging out in San Antonio with how often we've been there of late, right? While I can admit there are some fun things to be done there - the SA Zoo, Japanese Tea Gardens, Children's Museum, and now, the Witte Museum - we're not actually that enamored with the city. It's just a.) close, and b.) D's family LOVES it. The latter is the reason we found ourselves down there this past Sunday, since they had come up to see A's dance recital and wanted to take a trip the following day. 

While I recognize the value of having "nothing to do" while exploring a city, having a toddler (and being somewhat of a type-A person myself) doesn't really lend itself to a complete lack of structure, so we paid a visit to the Witte Museum in Brackenridge Park. I had heard really amazing things about it, and our visit the last time had been thwarted by a last-minute weather change, so this time I knew it was a must on my to-do list!

I'm not entirely sure how I feel about our museum visit. I will say that the dinosaur exhibit was cool, but not necessarily large enough to warrant the additional $5/person cost. Then again, with the animatronics I'm sure it was a really costly project, so I get it. In fact, I'll let you be the judge:

Aside from that, my disappointment has only to do with the fact that forty minutes in, my in-laws were already looking at their watches expectantly, and I'm not a person who enjoys being rushed through. I definitely didn't get to see half of the museum, and seeing as how what we did see was child-oriented, it wasn't exactly what I had in mind. That being said, Ava had a ball, and if you're looking for a fun, hands-on, learning experience for your child this summer, the Witte Museum is great for that purpose! Just realize that the HEB Science Treehouse makes up the majority of the child-geared exhibits, and happens to be outside (AKA go early! it's getting hot!)

Here are just some of the things you can expect to do with your child:

We only had time for one indoor exhibit after the science treehouse, so we chose to go with Texas Wildlife, thinking it would be the most interesting for Ava. We were correct for the most part, but unfortunately there was a, ahem, circle of life portrayal that upset her and made her cry :(

Though the Witte was the main part of our visit, we also enjoyed some time on the Riverwalk with A's grandparents, ate some BBQ at The County Line, swam at their hotel's rooftop pool, and met some nice firefighters that let A meet their arson dog and take pictures on their truck and with their mascot. Aww!

 Happy vacationing, Central Texans!

Word to the Wise Wednesday.

Did you know that some women need a higher SPF when pregnant? 

Me either. Ouch.

Our Little Mango: Nineteen Weeks!

your baby's the size of a mango!

At about 6.0 inches long and weighing in at about 8.5 ounces, he's getting there!

How far along: 19 weeks

Net weight gain/loss:   pounds

Maternity clothes:  embracing them, at long last. 

Stretch marks: none yet

Belly button: innie still :)

Sleep:  starting to not be able to sleep on my stomach, which is really awful for me :(

Baby movement:  YES! Frequent. He's a little soccer star.

Gender: Boy

Food cravings: Lemonade.

Food aversions:  still with the red meat, ice cream, and so on. Baby hates everything.

What I miss:  being not pregnant.

Looking forward to: my halfway point Saturday - thank God for repeat c-sections! Also, 20-week ultrasound next Weds!

Best moment this week:  going a couple days without Zofran - nausea has been back full force, so a much needed break!

My Son.

Wow, those words are complicated to write. I've been debating this post for some time now, and still remain uncertain about its eventual inclusion into the baby book that this blog annually turns into, but I had a few things to say about "gender disappointment" and a few things to clarify as well, so here goes.

It's no secret I wanted another girl. Partially, this is due to how super-duper amazingly awesome Ava is, and how much I cherish the bond we have together. Everyone has always said how girls are destined to be "daddy's girls", but Ava has always been my mommy's girl. She is possessive of me around my husband, and it is me she wants when hurt or tired or needing comfort. She's become more of a daddy's girl as my husband has trekked off to full-time work and then grad school at night, since he's more of a novelty than mommy, but even still, she remains my mommy's girl overall.

I have dreamt my entire life of having a daughter. And my feelings - which have taken nearly a month to process - might be different if I didn't already have one. But between having a little girl, having three sisters, watching five little girls - two of whom I've been with for five years - and, obviously, being a girl myself, I knew what I was getting into parenting Ava. I nearly never felt fear at becoming a parent when I was pregnant with Ava. I could relate to her, knew what she would go through and when, knew how to talk to her about puberty and boys and sex and all that would eventually cross our paths. But a boy? That scares me.

Part of it has to do with my experiences with boys as a nanny. Then again, I recognize that the dynamic is so very different - to a boy, mommy is queen, and other women - at least at the young age I step into their lives - cannot compete. Now, I don't want to compete with mama - I recognize the sanctity of that relationship. But if mommy knows best and is never wrong and can't be faulted, then it leaves the nanny in a precarious position where she's always wrong and at fault and needn't be listened to, and it's made for some really precarious nannying situations with little boys.

I know I shouldn't judge what parenting a boy will be like based on that. I know that as his mother, I'll be far higher up on the totem pole. But still, boys (at least in my experience) are noisy. They're dirty. The ones I have watched have lacked the empathy that little girls naturally have to be kind and sensitive to strangers and animals and those in need of protection. I know these are terribly offensive stereotypes, and I'm trying desperately to break myself of them, but I only know what I've experienced, and so, ultimately, I feel a bit scared this pregnancy in a way I wasn't with Ava.

(*Homophobes and Conservatives - of which none likely read my little piece of the internet - this would be a good time to tune out. I'm not interested in your hate mail.*)

Part of me now dreams that maybe I'm carrying my future gay son. Future son, if you're straight, we love you anyway :) If you do turn out to be gay, I promise to throw you one hell of a coming out party. Mainly, that I can relate to. Those are the men I know and love. I'm so terrified that I'll screw up and won't be a good "boy" mom.

But then, the other part of me remembers how much I love and adore the man I married. I know plenty of girls who are into bad boys, and that's all fine and dandy when you're young and unconcerned with the future, but for me? Sweet, considerate, sensitive and empathetic (not to mention devilishly handsome, hilarious and an all-American boy) were what I ultimately chose, and to have that as a role model for our son, to have my daughter - who has turned into a generous, compassionate and joyful individual - leading the way, and to have some of the best grandfathers and the best great-grandfather a boy could ask for? Well, that makes the fear subside. If my son turns out to be half the man my husband is, I would be nothing short of delighted. Gay, straight, athletic, academic, shy, outgoing: we LOVE you already, and can't wait to see what you have to offer this world. We have so, so much to offer you.