Attempting to Relax

Hi there,
As the heading implies, I have been ordered to try to take it easy! Last Thursday, I became super sick with a jaw that felt like I just had my wisdom teeth removed (sans anesthetic), a super sore throat, and a chest that felt like someone had kicked me over and over. Needless to say, I was miserable and in a lot of pain. I thought I could beat it with sleep, so I tried that, but then during the night, it all came back and Mike took me to Urgent Care early Friday morning. I was given orders to rest and relax and stop moving at 150%. (While this may be easy for some, it actually is hard for me to take it easy and unwind because I feel like I could always be getting something else done if I am just laying around. Apparently, I need to get over this though!) Anyway, my vitals were all good, and while the doctor could speculate about what was wrong, he said he truly couldn't do anything for me anyway since I can't take anything other than Tylenol (which by the way, does nothing for me! - I can't wait to have my wonder drug, Advil, back in my life post-pregnancy.) So, I tried to take it easy this weekend, but I also needed to get a lot accomplished and I managed to do just that while getting some rest in too!

Coming up this week, we have my monthly OB visit to check on my health and the baby's health. I am excited that Mike can make this appointment with me because we will get to hear the baby's heartbeat! Mike couldn't make it to the last OB appointment, so he hasn't actually heard the baby's heartbeat since it was super super faint. When I heard it at the last appointment, it overwhelmed me because it was so amazing, so I can't wait for Mike to get to have that same experience! Next Monday then, we have the ultrasound with Dr. Davidson, the perinatologist at St. Mary's. I am praying that this goes well and we find out that I have a happy and healthy baby in my belly once and for all. I know the doctor can see a lot in this scan, so hopefully nothing out of the ordinary appears. We are also really hoping to find out what our little baby is at that appointment! It is so crazy to me to think that a week from now, I could know what gender our child is!! I honestly have no clue what the end result will be, but my intuition is leaning towards one gender, so I guess we will just hopefully see. And yes, if we do find out with fairly good certaintly what gender the baby is, we will share with everyone in advance. What we aren't going to share in advance are the names we have picked out for a boy and a girl (there has to be some surprise!) :)

On another note, I have started noticing my expansion happening at a more rapid pace now! I didn't think I had changed a whole lot thus far, but over the last couple of weeks, I have really noticed some belly changes in myself. My stomach has hardened in such an odd way and I can feel my uterus moving closer to my belly button. My belly is starting to take on a much more pregnant lady look as well, which is making the whole experience feel more real to me! I can't wait to feel the baby move, so hopefully that is soon!!

I'll keep you posted about the next appointments! Enjoy this beautiful weather!