Vietnamese Waltz & Baby Bump Update

With the popularity of dance shows these days, we all have been able to see many different types of dances performed. In fact, these different types of dances have become more well known to society than ever....well, some members of society, but not all. Case and point - Binderclips and I are watching TV one night and the following transpires:

We're watching So You Think You Can Dance and they announce that one of the couples is going to perform the Viennese Waltz next.

Binderclips: "Really?!" he says surprised as he looks at the TV (as if he and it are having a conversation or something)


Hulabuns: I look at him very confused, then look at the TV with the same confused look as if I've missed something it's said. I even think 'Did I miss something?' to myself.


Binderclips: He's staring at the TV baffled as if the TV is providing some long explanation as to what he's so surprised about


Hulabuns: I, again, look at the TV confused wondering what on EARTH he's doing and having an imaginary conversation with it about. I say "What is going on here?" looking at him then at the TV and back again while making a hand motion back and forth as well.

Binderclips: "I didn't know the Waltz was a Vietnamese dance" he says as serious as can be.

Hulabuns: I bust out laughing

Binderclips: "What!?" he says still as confused as ever

Hulabuns: I respond with "It's Viennese NOT Vietnamese" still laughing

I love my life. lol

Any who, here are some updated pictures...just a warning, I've really blown up since my 23 week pictures. Today I'm 25 weeks and a day and I feel the baby moving all the time. In fact, Binderclips can feel it move also. It's great.

Hope you enjoy the pictures! Have a great weekend. Later gators!!

PS We successfully got moved - YAY! That's why the LoveSac (Larry the LoveSac) is all wrapped up in the background...just fyi :)

Morning Beauty

I looked in the mirror today to be confronted with this:

I was really impressed with the mere height of it, the picture below shows that a bit better though (as creepy as I look in it). lol

If you're asking yourself if I decided to try a new hairstyle, the answer is no. I woke up like this, and I will tell you that I'm very familiar with crazy hair (I have naturally curly hair, so my hair can be classified as "crazy" 95% of the time), but I've never woken up with it looking quite like this before. Don't I look beautiful? Ok, don't answer that - I really don't want to know the answer. In any event, I felt like I needed to share how I looked with you all. A bit embarrassing? Maybe. But I'm ok with that (you all remember my Conversation with a Llama and My Halloween Costume idea posts, right?). Embarrassing myself is one of the things I do best, so why not laugh with you guys?

In other news, Binderclips and I have been packing for our next move (can't you tell by all the boxes in the background?). Yes, we did just move not too long ago, but now we're moving to an apartment in the same complex with NO STAIRS. Our current place has approximately 40 and going up and down 40 stairs with a baby just doesn't seem like the best way to go. So, they're letting us move into a lower unit with no stairs, thank goodness. Wish us luck on the packing! We got a lot done last weekend, but still have a lot to do this weekend.

I know you guys are probably getting sick of seeing these pictures, but why not bore you with some more? Below are my recent belly pictures. I'm 23 weeks today and my belly has blown up! Yesterday, I said to Binderclips "My belly is really getting big, isn't it?" He didn't respond at all (which is not uncommon, he's usually not really paying attention to me, especially right after work when he still has work on his mind). So, I said "Do you hear me? I'm trying to conversate with you..." To which he responded "Yeah, sorry. I want to conversate with you too" but then gave me a look like conversate meant something else (boys will be boys I guess). "I'm serious. Do you see this?" I said pointing to my belly "It's really starting to stick out there." In which he responded with "You really want to talk about this? 'Cause I don't think it's a good idea."

I did want to keep talking about it, but he did have a point. When we were taking a labor and delivery class a couple weeks back he made the mistake of telling me I looked as big as the lady who was 7 months pregnant. (In his defense he meant that she looked really small for being 7 months, so he didn't mean any harm by the comment. But, of course, I didn't take it that way at the time.)

Any who, I hope all is well with you guys out there! Later gators!

My How a Week Makes a Difference!

This Thursday will be 5.5 months for us! Where does all the time go?? Within the last week I have grown tremendously - just look at me!

Front view

You can barely see it in this one but my veiny-ness is in full force.  If you look closely you can see my veins  big time. Kinda gross, but this isn't uncommon while pregnant and they are sticking out all over my chest area also. I kind of have a blue tint to my skin because so many are visible (but please refrain from any smurf jokes). ;)

For some reason you can't see it as much in this picture, but I feel much much bigger than I was!

Now after seeing pictures of me, wouldn't you love to see pictures of the baby??!! Well, I try to never disappoint - so, here you go! (I've taken the liberty to add captions for what I believe the baby is saying in the pictures. I also should add that these pictures make me ridiculously happy, every time I look at them I can't help but smile.)

Are you talkin' to me?

Ok, ok, I get it you're talking to me....now stop shaking me all around, it tickles!
( I swear if you compare this picture to the one above it - it appears that the baby is smiling. Just look at those pushed up cheeks!)

What? Sorry, I'm very very busy in here...there's lots of thumb sucking to be done and you can bet I'll be the one to do it!

Oh yeah, that feels good - just stretching the legs a bit here. Man, do I wish I had a little more room, this space is kind of small! 

Zzzzzzzzzz.....

I hope you all enjoy the pictures as much as we do! Later gators!

Do I know you?

The other day I went to the kitchen to get something to eat because I was hungry. I picked up a bag of pumpkin seeds and saw a chocolate treat and decided to eat that. My intention was to take the pumpkin seeds back to my desk to eat them, however in the middle of eating my chocolate treat something happened....

...I totally forgot what I was doing... I mean - totally forgot. As I stood there (still eating the chocolate and holding the bag of pumpkin seeds) I wondered 'what am I doing here in the kitchen?' As I continued to eat my chocolate I started to think 'well, I am kind of hungry'. It was at that point that I realized that I had already gone through the thought process of 'I'm hungry, I should get something to eat from the kitchen' because:

1) I was already in the kitchen

2) I was already eating a chocolate

3) I already had a bag of pumpkin seeds in my hand that I was planning on eating

Also, on several occasions I've forgotten words in the middle of sentences. One day Binderclips and I were having a conversation about something (I forget what exactly - are you surprised?). Anyways, I could not remember what you call that thing that things are shipped in, you know that's made out of cardboard, that's square....what do you call those things again? 

Unfortunately I could not remember the word and Binderclips had to say "Are you talking about a box?". "YES!" I said enthusiastically "that's exactly what I'm talking about!" I felt relieved that the descriptions I had provided had helped him figure out what I was talking about. All he could say was "Really? You really could not remember the word 'box'?"

What I'm describing above is called 'mommy brain'. Did you guys know something like this existed or happened to pregnant woman? I didn't, that is, until it happened to me. I mean I had heard of it - and you know, I thought that it may have been some weird made up thing, but it is REAL. Let me explain why*:

The brain actually shrinks during pregnancy! Now, we don't lose brain sells or anything, but the brain does restructure itself as a pregnant woman's metabolism changes. The restructuring is primarily having to do with the connections between cells and is supposed to help mothers prepare for motherhood. Interestingly, the brain begins to again increase in size 1-2 weeks before birth! Weird, right? In the end, it ends up being stronger than it was before. YAY! 

In short, babies (in utero) are head (well, brain) shrinkers!! Maybe from now on they should call it "Mommy Brain aka Shrunken Brain Syndrome"?

Any who, I hope all is well with you guys! Wait, what? Oh pictures, you mean you want to see pictures? Oh ok, but only a few as I am starting to really show and become more self conscious. Here you go!

I'm 20 weeks and a day (that's 5 months and day) today! :)

Have a great weekend everyone! Later gators!

*This is the simplified explanation, there are said to be lots of other things that contribute to "mommy brain" also, just something to remember (if you can remember anything) ;)

A Literal Sausage Fest & More Belly Pictures

Let's just cut right to the chase, shall we? I kind of suck at posting and reading other blogs since I've gotten pregnant...now, I'm not making any excuses but I have felt pretty terrible. This baby is majorly kicking my arse.

Lately, I have gotten my energy back enough to go to the gym, however when I get back I am completely exhausted. (One day we came back and I fell asleep on the couch to wake just after 8:00am [you know, when I should be starting to work?] VERY confused. I had no idea where I was or what day it was.) Also, I do still have nausea (BOOOOO) and yesterday I felt ridiculously full even though I hadn't eaten that much. My friend put it this way "You feel like you've swallowed a watermelon, right?" And, that was EXACTLY how I felt.

Since I've posted last I've had another 29th birthday (this was my 5th one - do the math and you'll figure out how old I really am), which, was not as crazy as last year's birthday but was still  interesting. I was out of town on a business trip to Atlanta, GA and had a very stressful day. By the end of the day, my feet had swelled to 2-3 times their normal size. Seriously, they were unrecognizable (I called them my Miss Piggy Feet and Ankles). One of the nurses at the hospital I was working at took my blood pressure the next day and it was slightly elevated but I think the swelling was more so due to the heat (did I mention it was 90+ degrees there?), the stress, and the fact that I didn't drink nearly as much water as I usually do. The swelling eventually came down on Friday, but I literally had to lay down the entire day to get them back to normal.

Anyways, another thing that happened was that my co-worker (and someone who I consider to be a great friend) took me to a baseball game while in Atlanta! I love going to baseball games. I don't follow baseball that much now-a-days but I LOVE going to the games. It's one of my all time favorite past times. It was such a great time! (I also have a another blog I'm working on about everything having a "lame" theme during this trip - which, was very interesting and very much not lame. Only me folks, only me.)

When I got home Binderclips surprised me with Brewer's tickets also! So, I got to go to 2 games in 1 week - YAY!! However, unlike the Brave's game - the Brewer's game was a literal sausage fest. I'm not talking men everywhere (I mean there was that also, don't get me wrong), instead there were sausages EVERYWHERE. Sausage vendors, people dressed up in sausage costumes, statues of the people dressed up in sausage costumes, and posters of sausages everywhere you turned.

Also, I'm not sure I've mentioned this, but one of my recent facebook statuses was this:

ever since I got knocked up I've taken a strong disliking to sausages (take that any way you want to folks). ;)

I cannot eat them AT ALL. They make me gag. So, Binderclips thought that the sausages being everywhere at the game was hilarious (you could not even turn around without having a sausage in your face). He later said to me "Sorry the game was such a sausage fest." And it really was. Note to everyone: if you have an aversion to sausages do not (and I mean DO NOT) go to a Brewer's game.

Alright, well I guess that's it for now! I thought I'd leave you with some updated pictures of my growing belly. Enjoy!

First the clothed ones, you can see my growing bump more at this angle

Here's the view from the side, see not as obvious as the first picture?

Here's the front view.  Notice I'm wearing my "Wood is good shirt"?  Ironic, eh? 

Same angles as the pictures above, except now you can see my belly :) I will be 19 weeks tomorrow.

 I hope everyone has a great day today. Later gators! 

Bearing the Belly: 1st Tri in a Nutshell

Let's face it folks, I kind of belong in a nutshell. Am I right, or am I right? I do nutty stuff all the time and probably would be safest in a literal nutcase. But, they don't make them large enough for me -soooo, I have to go around living in my figurative nutcase - which, we all know, I rightfully belong.

Where am I going with all of this? That's a good question, I'm not really sure myself.

What I do know is that probably not everyone wants to hear about me being pregnant, but I'm going to share some of it anyways. I, for one, was shocked when I started going through the motions of being knocked up. There are things that just need to be shared, so that others won't be as surprised as I was.

Namely, the watery mouth, the sore ta-ta's, the constant nausea, the pregnancy sciatica, my new-found assertiveness, and my overall unstable emotional condition.

This is me today, I'm 13 weeks and 5 days along. I'm definitely starting to show. Also, for the record pictures like this seem to never be flattering. Blah.

Here's the front view. Not sure I will continue to post pictures like this, but we'll see.

PS Yeah I wear my pants low, what are you going to do about it? ;)

Let's start with the fun stuff, shall we?

Sore Ta-Ta's


This started back before we even went on our cruise, so in other words - not even a month into the pregnancy. I noticed that there was an overall soreness that I just couldn't explain. I mean, usually (and other woman know this) they get sore around that time of the month, but they were ridiculously sore this time.

They were so sore, in fact, that on one of the trips that Binderclips and I took I realized how serious it was:

We were at the Enterprise Rental Car counter. Binderclips was talking to the guy behind the counter about our reservation as I waited. While waiting I got kind of bored, so I decided to try to be more involved in their conversation. As I leaned forward my ta-ta's came in direct contact with the counter. Immediately I repelled away from the counter as if we were 2 positively charged magnets. Then my lip started to quiver - that's right I was holding back tears people, it hurt that bad. Binderclips stopped talking to the guy for a minute and looked at me, I think he could tell I was going to start crying. He said "Everything ok?" to me and all I could do was say "I don't want to talk about it" while holding my tears back and holding my chest like it was a safe. From that point on I have guarded my ta-ta's like they are a national treasure.

Watery Mouth

As I write this I'm experiencing a case of this, just so you know. This also started back before we went on our cruise. I started to notice that my mouth was watering constantly and especially if I was hungry and smelled some good food nearby. I kept telling Binderclips "My mouth will not stop watering, it's like a rainforest up in there." And, it was. You know how the rain forest is an ecosystem? Well, so is my mouth - but, it's an ecosystem for bacteria apparently. That's why soo many pregnant woman experience gum issues during pregnancy. The watery mouth causes excess bacteria to develop along the gum line, many times causing gingivitis. TMI? Probably, but this watery mouth issue also contributes (at least it did for me) to the constant nausea - which, I will get to next.

Constant Nausea

Whoever decided to call it morning sickness was a jackhole. Calling it morning sickness is like calling road kill that's been sitting in the sun for 8 hours a delicatessen....grossly misleading (in several ways, if you get my drift). It should be called Constant Nausea (I mean why not call a spade a spade?), because that's what it was for me. Was I nauseous in the morning? Yes. But, I was also nauseous in the afternoon, at night, and the entire time in between. Did I throw up? Yes. Interestingly, I only threw up select things that I ate though. One morning, while travelling I had a chicken biscuit, some hash browns, and an orange juice for breakfast. Apparently the baby no-likey orange juice because that's all that came back up.

The point is, for some, the nausea is constant. I was so nauseous that every time I went to the doctor I lost weight (which is not uncommon). This leads to the last item I'll discuss for today - my overall unstable emotional condition.

Overall Unstable Emotional Condition

I'm going to call this OUEC for short. The very last time I went to the doctor was on 4/4. Binderclips gave me a virus of some sort and I was feeling awful, so the doctor wanted to see me. The first thing they do when you get to my doctor's office is weigh you. Well, since I had been sick for a week my weight loss hit an all time low. I got on the scale to notice that I had lost 5-6 pounds total over the course of the 1st trimester. On my previous visit just a week before, I had lost 4 pounds total. Additionally, the day I got sick (consequently a week before the 4/4 appointment, in the evening and AFTER I had seen my doctor during the day) I was running a 102 degree temperature. 

I read in all my books that you do not want to let your temperature get over 102 because it can be harmful to the baby. The night I had the fever I called my doctor and she told me to take tylenol and drink lots of water - that I would be ok.

So, when I arrived at the doctor and had lost even more weight and I had such a high fever the week before and was hormonally imbalanced to boot - I was an emotional wreck. The nurse made the mistake of telling me "We'll listen to the heartbeat with the Doppler also while you're here." But what I heard was "We'll listen to the baby's heartbeat to make sure you haven't killed it with your weight loss and high fever..."

As soon as she left me alone in the exam room I started crying. When she came back in I was still crying. All I could say to her was "I'm sorry. I'm an emotional wreck, I was fine before I got here" while continuing to cry.  Even after we heard the baby's heartbeat I still continued to cry. I found out that not only did I have a virus, but I also had a sinus infection AND pink eye. As soon as I got out to the car I called Binderclips - sobbing. "What happened?!" he exclaimed. "Everything's fine. They did a Doppler and I heard the heartbeat, so I didn't kill the baby" I said then continued to sob. I eventually let him go because I just couldn't bare to talk about it any longer (I'm certain he thought I had officially lost it at this point). 

I could not stop crying and I had no idea why. Actually, I think the mere thought of me having accidentally killed our unborn child was overwhelming and I just could not get myself back together. I even cried the entire way home from the doctor's office.

Maybe I'll talk about the other items later...I really don't want to bore people with all this pregnancy stuff, but I do want to share how I'm feeling with you guys along the way.

Have a great day everyone! Later gators!

I Might Be Growing a Penis...

....or an extra vagina. At this point we're really not sure what it is, honestly. So, I have a growth, you see. Wait, maybe I should back up a little bit here...

You know when I went on that cruise back in February? Well, while I shared a very embarrassing story where 4 people embarrassed themselves at once, I kind of left out something else that happened. I think I shared that on the second day of the cruise we stopped in Freeport and went snorkeling and kayaking, didn't I? Well, if I didn't tell you before, I'm telling you now. The couple we went with and I had a great time doing these things, but Binderclips - not so much. He kind of hates water, so much so that when he gets into it, his main goal is to get out of it ASAP. Needless to say, he did not snorkel for very long (maybe 2 minutes max) and the picture of us kayaking is the only time he stopped paddling, otherwise he was full speed ahead in making it to land.

While snorkeling my foot touched some of the poisonous coral and that's where the growth came from. Errr, I mean, that's not right either. I think this growth is giving me memory loss...

So, where was I? Oh yeah, the second day we went to Nassau and went on a Pirates of Nassau and Historical Tour where I was attacked by a Pirate. No joke, check out the picture below.

On the third day, the cruise ship travelled back to Port Canaveral and so we were at sea all day. So, what did we decide to do? Spend the entire day in the hot tub or lounging in the sun, that's what! In doing so, we ran into the couple we had been having our formal dinner with every night...you know, the one we all embarrassed ourselves in front of on the first night? By the end of the cruise we had made great friends with them. They decided to hang out with us, which was awesome because they were a blast to hang out with.

Anyways, they decided to share some exciting news with us...they had went to take a pregnancy test in the Medical Center on the cruise ship and they were expecting!!!!! She went onto describe that the lady in the Medical Center had given her the test that was clearly positive because it had 2 lines on it.

We were all sooo excited for them but I began to think to myself 'My Aunt Dot is late, maybe I should just go take a test...' but (and this is a big BUT) I'm always late - I mean ALWAYS. At this point I was a week late, in the past I had been up to 10-15 days late. Also, I cannot even tell you how many pregnancy tests I had taken up to this point. Because I have endometriosis it's not uncommon for Aunt Dot to be late. Additionally, Binderclips and I were told that we could not conceive on our own - in fact, we had tried fertility drugs with no success. Our next step was to either do IUI or IVF per our doctor (I had already taken the class to learn how to give myself shots and everything).

So I ask Nancy "Will you go down to the Medical Center with me?" I continue by saying "It's going to be negative, it's ALWAYS negative." When she said yes we decided to head on down for a quick test.

So, I peed in a cup and we waited. Then finally the lady came out and showed me the test. She leaned over the counter and while holding it in paper towel like it was a baby bird or something, I looked over at it.

To my surprise, there were 2 lines. In my head I said 'there are 2 lines', well at least I thought I said it in my head, until the lady looked at me and said "Yep, there are 2 lines." In shock I said "That means positive" frantically to her...at this point, Nancy pointed out to me later that the lady was looking at me trying to figure out if it being positive was good or bad...She responded with "Yes" in a scared type of tone. That's when I lost it, I mean I lost it people, I started crying hysterically and so did Nancy.

After explaining that the hubs and I were told we couldn't conceive on our own and we had been trying for about a year at that point, she started crying too. We honestly thought we wouldn't be able to do it on our own, so you can imagine how surprised I was.

So, you see, I do kind of have a growth and it could have either a penis or a vagina. We'll find out around 20 weeks what we're having. We are very excited and I couldn't help but share this story with you all. Hopefully you guys can cut me some slack from not posting that much, I have been really sick. Whoever decided to call it morning sickness is an evil person....morning sickness many times lasts all day/night and it has for me. In fact, I've lost some weight during the 1st trimester, but they say it isn't that uncommon and that I'll start to put on weight soon enough. Baby Binderbuns (as my friend likes to call it) is set to arrive on (or around) October 20!

Any who, I hope this story brightens your day, it sure brightened ours! Later gators!