This is a notice to the free world. . . at least to those that live in our area. . . Kylie now has her license!  Now, granted, it’s only a level 1 so she can’t have more than one passenger (I assume so she can’t take too many people down with her at a time), and she can’t drive after 11:00 pm.  So if you can minimize your road time to the hours between 11:00 pm and 6:00 am, you’ll increase your odds.  ;)  Of course, I’m kidding.  She does just well. . . as long as someone reads the signs for her.  ;)

But I just have to tell you the absurdity that is the DMV.  A couple of weeks ago, it came to my attention that her 6 months were up, and it was time to take her to get her license.  It seems to be a rather neat process.  You can go online and schedule an appointment.  They even show you what times are available for each testing station.  Because I was being proactive, there were plenty of time slots to choose from, so I picked one that was convenient and didn’t conflict with anything on my calendar.  1/23 at 3:30.  Perfect.  They even ask for a contact number in case they need to cancel or something. . . emphasis on “something”.  On the confirmation, they print the address (this will be important later), the time of your appointment and instructions that tell you to be there 15 minutes early.  You are considered late at 6 minutes past your appointment time. 

Everything was going well.  I left work early, picked her up at school and proceeded on to the DMV with plenty of time to spare.  We arrived at the testing station 10 minutes before our appointment (those that know me well will be impressed).  We were pleasantly surprised at the lack of cars in the parking lot (in hindsight, that should have been the first clue that something was amiss. . . emphasis on “something”).  With confirmation in hand, we walked to the door only to find a sign saying they had moved.  Brilliant.  A “pleasant” woman met us at the door and informed us they were having a meeting (whoever “they” were).  At least she was helpful enough to give us directions to the new address because I have yet to install high-speed internet service in my car, which leaves MapQuest to be of little assistance.  I raised my handy little confirmation and opened my mouth to express my extreme displeasure (surely they knew 2 weeks ago that they were moving!!), but resistance was futile, and time was wasting.  We frantically hopped back into the car, realizing that in less than 15 minutes we would be considered late for our appointment.  I referred to the helpful confirmation that I had printed from the internet. . . no phone number (keep in mind, they had mine. . . too much to ask, I guess).  Two calls to 411 finally got me the correct contact information.  The woman was short but nice and just told us to come on to the new office.  I mellowed a bit at that point. 

When we walked in the front door of the nice new facility, I saw a big waiting room to the right and people standing in line behind a sign that said “Please wait here for a number.”  (Yes, read it again if you need to.)  There was a line to get a number.  However, there was no sign telling you what to do if you had an appointment.  Kylie stood in line while I took a couple of minutes to get the attention of someone behind the counter.  I asked what I believed to be an appropriate question, “Where do we go if we have an appointment for a driving test?”  To my dismay, I was told to stand in line and, they would give me a number.  (One can only assume that’s why they tell you to be there 15 minutes early.)  Approximately 10 minutes later, Johnathan calls.  The conversation went something like this:

“What are you doing?”
“Standing in line for a number.”
 “Standing in line for a number?”
 “Yep.”
 “Are you serious?”
“Yes.”
 “How long have you been waiting for a number?”
“About 10 minutes.”
 “Just to get a number?”
 “Yep.”
 “I thought you had an appointment.”
 “Yep.”
 “And you still have to stand in line for a number?”
“I am as amazed at the absurdity as you.”

At 4:50, we finally left with driver’s license in hand.  The good news is next time, she can drive herself.

I felt it!!  I was sitting in traffic about to get on the interstate this morning (at 7:24 am to be precise).  I had just called Lindsey to see how Josh was doing (her youngest has strep throat).  We had only been on the phone for about 30 seconds when I felt this little pop in my lower belly where we usually find the heartbeat.  Actually, I felt a couple of them.  So I stopped mid-sentence and said, “I think I just felt Tater move!!”  I described it, and Lindsey said, “Yep, that’s it!”  (I’m pretty confident in her assessment. . . she’s had 3.)  Of course, I had to hang up and call Johnathan immediately.  He can’t feel it yet, but he should at least get to share in the excitement.  ;)

I guess I could have included this with the “Random Thoughts” post, but they just didn’t really go together.

We had a nice long weekend (we were off for Martin Luther King Day).  So we went baby shopping on Saturday.  That was fun (please note the sarcasm).  I was so overwhelmed.  First, I felt out of place because all the pregnant women in there were much more pregnant than me.  Then, there was just so much stuff.  All the cribs started running together.  At one point we sat down and I just poured out how stressed I was.  Johnathan kept telling me to get over it (lot of help that was) so, despite his “efforts”, I just got more frustrated.  Then, he finally suggested we take a piece of paper around and start writing down what we liked.  Well, when we asked for a piece of paper, the woman took that as a cue to start helping us.  I was less than thrilled with that.  The last thing I needed was some pushy sales person that probably worked on commission.  But she was so helpful.  It was great.  She even made me feel better about being there because she started telling us how long it took for beds to come in (some took 6-8 weeks).  We said that was fine because we weren’t due until July.  She commended us for being on top of things.  Most people come in and need something “now”.  So now we have some ideas.  Then, we went to Target and got more ideas.  Baby stuff is expensive.  I guess they kind of have you over a barrel because you need it.

To answer your question, no, we didn’t pick anything.  However, we are now aware of the fact that we have completely different tastes.  ;)

Hee hee!  I’m wearing my first completely maternity outfit today (even down to my compression pantyhose).  For the first time, I feel like I actually look pregnant rather than just looking like I need to back away from the table a few times.  Every once in a while, I will catch myself in the bathroom mirror when I’m changing clothes, and I have to stop and kind of hug my belly.  This has to be the only time in my life that I will actually be excited about having a big, ole belly.  I can’t wait until I’m huge. . . although I’m starting to wonder how I will put on socks much less those compression pantyhose.

New thing: I’m hungry a lot, but I can’t eat much at one time.  I went to the grocery store last night and bought a bunch of stuff.  My office now looks like the snack aisle at Kroger.  ;) 

Gosh my belly itches. . . .

Okay, I’m venting today.  To all you mothers who say, “Oh, I loved being pregnant”, I say, “Whatever.”  Now, granted, I have yet to experience quickening (which I am really looking forward to).  And I have a way to go before I get a kick in the ribs or bladder (looking forward to, but maybe a little less than the “flutters”).  So far, the only things I can boast are nausea, frequent trips to the bathroom, fatigue, inability to sleep (helps tons with the fatigue), stuffy nose, sore tailbone, headaches, back pain, sharp abdominal pains (absolutely normal. . . do not panic, Dad) and things I can’t mention in mixed company.  Do not get me wrong.  I am not disappointed in being pregnant.  I am absolutely overjoyed.  And I still believe that this is the greatest miracle in the whole entire world.  And I haven’t met a symptom that would keep me from doing this again (however labor, delivery….terrible twos and the teenage years come to mind).  I know it is all worth it.  I’m just not having fun yet.  Yes, I know I will eat these words later (not even saying probably).  I’m just ready for the “good stuff”.  (Okay, so I’m impatient.  Most of you already knew that.)

We hit 15 weeks yesterday.  So in about 1 week, hopefully, I will feel my first flutter.  But I will admit that while I’m writing this I’m trying to be very still and quiet to see if I feel anything.  That is the thing I’m looking forward to the most (surprisingly more than labor).  Once Tater is big enough, others will be able to feel or see kicks.  But quickening will be like “our little secret”.  Nobody will be aware of it but me and Tater.  Our first bonding experience.  That, to me, sounds so cool.  Yes, I will let you know as soon as it happens. . . that’s when I’ll eat the words from my first paragraph.  ;)

Okay, here’s a quick update for you curious folks.  We went to the doctor yesterday.  Tater’s heartbeat is 156 bpm.  Now, for those of you who prescribe to old wives tales, I have read it’s a fallacy that you can tell the sex by the heartbeat. . . but if you want to place side bets, knock yourself out.  ;)   

Now, for those of you who fussed at me about my concern over gaining too much weight, I gained 7 pounds since the last visit. . . which was only 4 weeks ago.  My total gain is only 8 pounds, so in the grand scheme of things, I’m doing well.  However, this week it’s Subway instead of Taco Bell and McDonald’s.

I have to go to the hospital to have blood drawn for my alpha-fetoprotein test.  This will tell us if Tater is at an increased risk of having certain birth defects and genetic abnormalities.  I will go on 2/2 or 2/3.  Then, we have an appointment the next week to get those results.  Extra prayers would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks.

We are scheduled for our ultrasound on Valentine’s Day.  (I know. . . .how fun!)  Hopefully, we will somehow be able to post a picture on here.  We’ll see.  No, we have not changed our minds about finding out if Tater is a he or a she.  The nurse told us to make sure we tell the technician about our decision, and they won’t even write it on the results.  That means that later on if we change our minds and want to know, they won’t be able to tell us.

Big things on our list right now are discussing names and decorating the nursery.  Ugh  We’ll keep you posted.

It has been a very quiet week. Kylie has been on a band trip so it has just been the two of us. . . I mean, three of us. ;) We have done a lot of napping and a lot of nothing else. We did get the Christmas decorations taken down and put away. However, I believe that our neighbors are going to disown us if we don’t get the tree out of the driveway.

So we listened to the heartbeat again last night. That was only the second time this week. (Johnathan is much better at finding the little booger than I am.) It was very strong and loud. Music to our ears. ;) Tator seemed to keep running from the device because Johnathan had to keep moving it. It was funny.

I am feeling much better these days. Not nearly as much nausea. . . but chicken is still off my list. I haven’t had any real cravings yet, but I am at least able to eat now. I haven’t quite felt that “boost of energy” you’re supposed to get in the second trimester. Either I’m not there yet or it has just been a really lazy week. . . or maybe both.

Christmas was great. Our church provided a devotional guide for us to do Christmas Eve. Johnathan, Kylie and I had some really good discussions over it. That helped us focus on the true celebration of Christmas.

On the less spiritual side, there were lots of presents and family. I had a fairly maternal Christmas. ;) First, I got all the clothes that my mom and Kylie made me try on back at Thanksgiving. Johnathan gave me the Willow Tree statue of a pregnant woman holding her big belly. It’s called “Cherish” and the card says “Awaiting a miracle”. Love it!! And I got a diamond pendant of a mother and child. Pretty fond of that too. I also got a gift card to Motherhood Maternity. . . that will come in very handy, very soon. And I got a pedicure spa. As a matter of fact, I used that today. Johnathan got a brief lesson for later on when I can’t reach my own feet. ;) Tator got some things too. He/she got a couple of blankets (baby stuff is so soft), a bib, a set of picture albums and a duck that will float in the tub and play “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”. Very sweet!

I think that does it for today. I’m going to lay on the couch and finish out my last lazy day. We need to start the nursery soon. That should provide a lot of fun stuff to talk about, especially since we aren’t going to find out if Tator is a he or a she…so stay tuned.

I’ve realized through this blogging experience that I think in incomplete thoughts. Or maybe, I only type or say part of my thought, and then I seem to fill in the rest with “…”. Anyway, a lot has happened in the past couple weeks. Seems like forever since I have blogged.

When we last left Johnathan and Angie, they had found the heartbeat, and had posted it to the website. The rest of that story is this… (there I go again)

We ordered a monitor that let’s us listen to the heartbeat. It’s a fiesty little machine, and it loves to make a racket when you don’t have enough gel or use it wrong. But that’s beside the point. It came the Monday a week before Christmas, and Angie and I were both excited. So when we got home from work, we immediately hooked it up to try and listen. Now the machine is not hard to use, but it does say use a lot of gel, and Angie took that serious… lots-o-gel. But we tried and had no luck… and we kept trying… but no luck. That was even more frustrating, but at some point you start wondering: 1. Do I suck at this? 2. Is the doctors machine just better? 3. Is this machine broken? or 4. Is something wrong. As much as we knew everything was ok, and didn’t get too alarmed, that number 4 is sitting there in the back of your mind. But after about 30 minutes we gave up said we try again on Tuesday.

So, Tuesday rolls around, and we try again… this time, we try for about 20 minutes and no luck… getting even more frustrating (and honestly, tired of hearing the thing squelch every time you move it). But finally we hit gold!!!! whoosh, whoosh, whoosh… it was awesome, and so reassuring. That’s what got posted. We’ve listened once more since then, but try to keep it to once a week or so. We have another appointment coming in early January. I’m hoping that we will do an ultrasound that time.

Ok… lazy day… tired of typing… so the rest of the story will come later. Aw… come on… you know you like the suspense. If you are lucky, Angie will read this and post some more. :)

I’ll have to come back and tell more of the story, but we recently received a baby doppler to listen for the heartbeat at home. It has a great feature that allows us to save it to the computer. There’s a lot of background noise that I need to figure out how to clean up, but it’s still amazing as it is. And to think we are just at 12 weeks!

Baby’s Heartbeat – 12 Weeks

So as much as I love it when my husband posts, I thought it was important to share my side of the heartbeat story…sort of a he said/she said thing.

We got to the doctor’s office on time – 3:30 (note to self: go early. . . before they have time to get behind).   Around 4:15, Johnathan tells me that he has a conference call at 4:30.  Ummm. . . that threatened to only slightly interfere with my plans.  But he made it all better by saying that if it came to choosing between a conference call and listening to our child’s heartbeat, it would be no contest (yeah, he’s good).  So we were finally called back around 4:45 (yes, he was on the phone).  He continued talking while the nurse did her thing (blood pressure, urine test, etc).   He missed the fact that I have only gained one pound, and I don’t have HIV (whew. . . lol. . . standard test, I guess).  In fact, all of my blood tests came back with good results.  Finally, we are escorted to a room, and the nurse says she’s going to get the fetal heart monitor.  At that point, Johnathan announces to the people on the conference call that he won’t be with them much longer. . . “she’s gone to get the heart monitor.”  (I’m sure they were having fun with that bit of info.)

Then, Dr. Perales showed up with the device.  I was so excited.  If I had smiled any bigger, I think my face would have cracked.  Johnathan dropped the call at this point.  She had me in the room with the “cool chair” (don’t ask).  She reclined me and lifted me up.  Then, she put the thing on my belly and everything is a blur up until the point that we heard “whoosh, whoosh, whoosh”.  It was the most amazing thing.  I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.  I looked at Johnathan and at that point I think the reality hit us both.  This is real.  Really real.  There is a little life in there.  Living, growing. . . thriving.  Then, it hits me. . . “I need to breathe!”  I had been holding my breath.  So I gasped for air, and the monitor made an awful noise because my abdomen jumped.  While the doctor looked for the heartbeat again, Johnathan called our house phone to leave the beating heart on our answering machine (we listened to it with Kylie later that night).  We have ordered our very own fetal heart monitor.  Once that gets here, we will record it and put it on the site. . . for your listening pleasure.  ;)