My Pregnancy So Far

My pregnancy is flying by and I can't believe my due date is quickly approaching.  It used to feel like I had all the time in the world to prepare for baby P's arrival aka this life changing event, but not so much any more.  Being pregnant now for 28 weeks (starting my 3rd trimester) I can say that it isn't really what I expected, or rather I guess the truth is I had no idea what I should expect.  I mean I had heard some random things from friends who have had babies- crackers were their best friend (true), tums were the only thing that worked for their heart burn (luckily only had heart burn 1 time), etc. but hearing those things can't really prepare you for the experience you are going to have while pregnant.  Partly because every pregnancy is different, and partly because there are frankly too many pregnancy side effects to share each one of them with someone.

Once people know you are pregnant by far the most frequently asked question you get is, "How are you feeling?"  Pretty much every conversation will start with this.  Which is a very nice, considerate and valid question.  But when you respond "I'm feeling good!  Things are good!" know that in the back of your head you might be thinking... except for the leg cramps, itchy belly, the 20+ trips to the bathroom per day not to mention those during the middle of the night, aches and general uncomfortable feeling, difficulties sleeping, feeling tired and shortness of breath for no reason, feeling so full you might explode after each meal, and some other things that are probably not blog appropriate.  And these are just the things I've experienced, not mentioning what went down (or came up) the first couple of months, because that was just brutal.  Though I will say 'morning sickness' was worse than I had anticipated as well.

I don't want to sound like I'm complaining- the truth is from what I can tell I've had a very easy (knock on wood) pregnancy so far and know how lucky I am to be able to say that.  These 'side-effects' of pregnancy are minor and completely worth it, but if anyone asked me what being pregnant is like these are the things I would tell them about.  Basically any type of symptom you experience during pregnancy can most likely be directly linked to being pregnant.  For example, at one point I googled 'heart skipping a beat feeling during pregnancy,' and 'blood in tissue when blowing nose while pregnant,' and sure enough lots of pregnant women were experiencing those things as well.  On the one hand- weird, on the other- good thing it's not just me!

There are some perks to being noticeably pregnant.  In general people tend to be a little more considerate towards you, especially at grocery stores.  I've had cashiers take my grocery basket from me and open a new check out lane for me, despite the many other people clearly ahead of me waiting in line.  And I've had the baggers at Publix, who are required as part of their job to offer to help take your cart to your car for you, ignore my "no it's really ok, I can do it" response and just push my cart out for me anyway, one lady saying, "We don't want you doing that."  One cashier wanted to help me take a thing of paper towels out from under my cart, which was totally unnecessary.  At some points you want to say, "Really, I can do it, I'm not disabled, just large.  I'm sure the lady a few lanes down with 3 screaming kids in her cart could use more help than me."

Many years ago I was at a concert, waiting in a very long line for the bathroom, when one lady in line made it her goal to get everyone to let a random pregnant lady move to the front of the line.  I remember thinking ok fine, but is that really necessary?  Now speaking from experience I can tell you yes, completely necessary and nice thing to do if you are waiting in line in front of a pregnant woman.  I will be your best friend if you let me cut ahead of you in the bathroom line.

One plus I wasn't expecting was the maternity clothing selection.  Once you get over the fact that you need to shop in the maternity section the clothes really aren't bad.  Most everything I have bought so far are things I could see myself wearing even if I wasn't pregnant.  And the sooner you allow yourself to wear maternity pants the better- they are the most comfortable pants you will ever wear and they don't even look like maternity pants.  I spent over an hour in a maternity store yesterday, can't tell you how many things I tried on and they just weren't the right fit or style.  Finally I found the right sized items I liked and at the check-out the lady asked my due date to put into their system and when I told her July 26th she gave me an "Oh girl you look good!  That's soon."  Since she didn't have to say anything I decided her comment wasn't just to be polite/complimentary, and the fact that she sees more pregnant women than most each day made me appreciate her comment that much more.  So thank you check-out lady at Motherhood Maternity for making me feel a little better about myself, despite how large I feel :)

Bees, Bats, Birds...

Being a homeowner is pretty great for the most part, but sometimes you are reminded just how fun it can be. Within the past week I discovered that we were sharing our home with more creatures than we knew (fun right?).  While walking Roxanne around the yard I noticed a bee going into the wood board overhang right below the gutter on the side of the garage.  Then I saw another one go in.  And then I realized there were about 6 other bee holes along that board.  I walked around the rest of the house and spotted another bee going into another hole way up above the second floor.  Turns out we have carpenter bees, and while I was convinced our house was going to fall apart the exterminator assured me they are common and the damage we have is not really that much compared to what it could be.  

While the exterminator was  inspecting the attic making sure the bees hadn't made their way inside, he discovered something else.  He came down from the attic and said, "Well, the good news is you don't have bees up there, and I hate to be the one to tell you this, but you do have bats up there."  The look on my face must have been priceless and full of disgust.  Basically we need a screen to cover the vent that leads from our attic out the back of the house.  So within the next week or two we will have the exterminator get the bats out and put up a screen, and spray inside the bee holes and patch them up.  

A few times over a 2 week span while outside on our deck I could have sworn I saw a bird flying out of the side of our house.  At one point I realized maybe it had come out of the dryer vent, but when I looked at the vent and the flap that hung down covering the opening I convinced myself no, it couldn't have come from inside there.  Well then last week when I saw the bird again I sat and watched for about 10 minutes, and sure enough I saw it go in and out of the vent.  I love baby birds in a nest as much as the next person (not named Rob), but for safety reasons and my piece of mind, we couldn't just leave them in there.  Luckily the birds were still in the nest building phase, so no eggs had been laid yet.  Using some kitchen tools we got most of the nest building materials out of the vent- and boy was there a lot.  Now we need a mesh screen cover for that to prevent them from going back in.  

To Roxanne's delight that wasn't the end of the birds.  While out on the deck yesterday morning she discovered that another bird is building a nest in the rose bush right outside our kitchen window.  She was very interested in watching the bird come and go and would wait for it to come back.  

We have the perfect view of the nest looking out the window.  It's hard to see in this picture but if you look closely you can see a little bird head in the middle of the bush.

So the bees and bats weren't fun, but not all of the creatures around the house are bad.  I also took this picture at breakfast the other morning when about 6 deer strolled through our yard.

And our azaleas are in full bloom right now- which adds a nice blast of color to our back yard for about 3 weeks.  Bees, bats, birds, and a baby bump :)

Mom comes to visit, bump pics and a shower

Mom came to visit last week, and what a fun, productive visit it was!  We went out to some delicious dinners, got a relaxing foot massage, and did some baby/maternity shopping.  My wardrobe was lacking as I started to grow out of/not feel comfortable in a lot of my things, but mom saved the day on that front and got me some cute dresses, tops and maternity black/grey dress pants.  Mom brought her power washer for us (Rob) to use, and now we have a much cleaner driveway/front stoop. And mom also took on a project I refused to touch since we bought the house- cleaning all of the screens, windows and window sills!  So the front of our house looks much better than before she arrived.  I am very lucky to have such a helpful, loving, generous mom- soon to be grandma!

When you are pregnant everyone asks how you are feeling- and so far so good!  My biggest complaints at the moment are an itchy belly and some trouble sleeping.  I have rarely been one to sleep through the night, so add in some trips to the bathroom and not being able to sleep in my preferred (stomach) position and it's a real good time.  I don't want to know what it's going to be like in 2 months when I'm a lot bigger.  I've also had minor lower back pain, but lucky for me I also have an awesome chiropractor (who knows all about maternity issues/pains) who fixes me.  Below are some of my 23 week pics, which Roxanne decided she should be in as well.

Today I went to a beautiful baby shower for my next-door neighbor friend Abbey.  They bought their house shortly before we bought ours, and now we are both pregnant expecting baby #1.  It will be very exciting adding two new little ones to our cul-de-sac within months of each other!  Today I am 24 weeks and Abbey is 32.

20 weeks already!

Hard to believe it, but I'm halfway there!  This past weekend I hit the 20 week mark, which means this pregnancy is half way to the due date.  I had Rob take a few pictures of the baby bump at 20 weeks to share with you all.

I am realizing now that baby bump pictures are not as fun when you are in them.  I use to always love looking at other mama's baby bump pics on facebook, and would think why don't they post more pics so we can see how much they have grown?  Now I know.  I know my bump doesn't even look like much yet, but I feel huge already!  Getting comfortable with the whole body changing and growing has been more difficult than I expected for some reason.  I guess I just assumed I wouldn't mind gaining weight and growing out of my pants when I was pregnant, because that's what happens when a baby is growing inside of you and it's normal.  But honestly it was tough when those jeans didn't fit right anymore and I needed a belly band to keep wearing my dress pants comfortably!

A couple weekends ago my mother-in-law, Ann, and I went baby shopping.  We went to Target, Babies R Us, Buy Buy Baby (that store is crazy!  think Bed, Bath & Beyond but ALL baby stuff) and Carter's.  We had a really great time trying out strollers, finding what gender neutral clothing we could, and looking at all of the genius baby products on the market that I never knew I needed until now.  Luckily, Ann suggested I try on some maternity clothes.  I had convinced myself they weren't needed yet, but after trying on those maternity jeans- wow- so needed!  She will tell you my face coming out of the dressing room said it all - comfort & relief!  So yes I got some clothes too.

Valentine's Weekend

Rob and I had a pretty low-key Valentine's evening at home, but it was nice because Rob treated me to a delicious meal that he cooked.  On the menu: steak, bacon wrapped scallops, sauteed mushrooms and roasted asparagus.  And for dessert: german chocolate cake gelato.  I was pretty excited to give Rob his Valentine's gift.  Not only was did it go along with the Valentine's theme being red, white and black, but it was officially the first thing I bought for baby...

The weekend got a lot more exciting on Saturday when Rob's best friend Hayes, Caroline and their pup Oliver came down from Michigan for a visit.  We've spent Valentine's days/weekends with them before, and it was great to be able to do it again.  We had some good meals out, cooked some good meals in, watched a lot of the Olympics and House of Cards, some video games were played, did some shopping, they went on the CNN tour downtown, to the Varsity and Piedmont Park one day while I was at work, and we made multiple trips to the dog park so the dogs could get some energy out.  Oliver dominated the obstacles at the dog park, and surprisingly Roxanne even did one of them too after barking at him the first few times he did it.  She did take a tumble right off the edge one time, but she was fine and got up and did it again.

                                       

Girls weekend in PA

Last weekend I had a really great visit with one of my best girl friends Linds (we met in 2nd grade).  I last saw Linds a little over a year ago, but it had been 2 1/2 years since I was back in PA and since I'd seen Savannah (Lindsey's adorable 3yr old daughter). She was just a babe back then, only 8 months old.  Now she is an actual mini person with her own hilarious personality.  I loved spending time with her and getting to see Linds in her element as a mom.  It also made me realize that in a few short years I too will have my hands full with a little one of my own!  I will need to work on watching every word I say and not letting the little one see me crack up when they do something bad.

Sav really wanted to take our pic with the snowman

It was so nice to just talk and catch up with Linds, and with all of the life changes going on with both of us it's important to be able to spend that time together now.  I know things will be a little different once the baby comes and definitely not as easy to pick up and go away for a long weekend.  One afternoon we went shopping and stopped at Babies R Us where I had Linds point out any must haves that I will need.  It was fun, really helpful and eye opening.  So.much.(expensive).stuff.  Babies need so much stuff- and big stuff- that really is going to take up all free space left in this house.  I knew this to be true, but going through all of the aisles and seeing everything you will one day own right in front of you makes it even more real.

Saturday night we had a fun dinner with Kelly (high school friend, who is also due in July with baby #2!).  I don't know how it's possible, but I don't think I have seen Kel since my wedding.  We clearly had a lot to catch up on because we were at the restaurant for over 3 hours!

Baby P got some of his/her first gifts already from Linds, her parents Mary Jo and Tom, and and Kelly.  So sweet of them and such adorable, tiny, gender neutral things :)

My only regret of the whole weekend is that we didn't take nearly enough pictures!  We didn't even get one of just Linds and me, but here is a selfie gem with two of my favorite girls...

I saved the best news for last...

Now that you are caught up on the highlights of last 4 months at the Porter household, we have one more important update...we're having a baby!  It still doesn't feel real as I write this, but I'm now into my second trimester and baby Porter is due at the end of July!

We are feeling all of the things you would expect first time parents to feel - mostly excited, happy, anxious, a little in disbelief, but also nervous and scared for all that it to come that we have no idea about until we experience it. We've decided not to find out the gender until he or she is born.  We think it will make the birth day that much more exciting, and it is one of the only true surprises you can experience, so we are OK waiting for it.

Strange to think I'm a third of the way there and I haven't bought a single thing related to baby, and haven't even started thinking about names.  I know it's only been 15 weeks, but it is starting to feel like my pregnancy is flying by.  I think I can say that now because the worst of the 'morning' sickness is over.  But for 6 or so weeks there it was bad, worse than I expected it to be.  All I can say is it really shouldn't be called morning sickness when you feel sick all day, every day.  There are still a few mornings here and there where I get sick, but luckily they are few and far between.  I'm not showing yet, but I'm sure the bump is not too far away now.

Rob has been the great, supportive husband I knew he would be.  Always asking if he can get me anything, helping out more around the house and always appreciating whatever 'meals' I did cook/buy/warm up during the first trimester when there were only a handful of things I could stomach.  I always thought it would be fun to find a creative way to surprise him with the good news I was pregnant...until I actually got pregnant, and then I couldn't imagine keeping it quiet long enough to surprise him.  I took a test very early one morning (without him knowing) and I was shocked to see the + sign.  I found him downstairs making breakfast and said, "OK, don't freak out, but I might be pregnant....I took a test and it's positive," and then I showed him the stick.  He was caught off guard because I am never up that early, and said something like, "Wow really? And I thought you just wanted a breakfast sandwich or something."

And here is our fur baby helping to announce the coming of our human baby :)  We really do treat her as if she is our real child sometimes (all the time), and I know I'm not alone and there are lots of other proud puppy parents out there reading this!  But I honestly am a little nervous for what bringing a new baby into the home will mean for Roxanne.  Both because for once in her life all of the attention will not be directed at her, and because she does not like kids.  She isn't mean to kids, I've never seen her be mean period, but she is just very nervous and unsure of kids and their loud squeals, quick sudden movements and how they act in general.  I'm hopeful it will be different when it's a baby that is part of her family, who she will have to interact with to some degree every day, who she will see slowly get bigger and grow up into the crazy 5 year old she currently dreads.  For now we tell her to enjoy these next few months where she is still treated like the only child and every toy in the house is most definitely hers.