Name Game...OVAH!

We’ve finally come up with a decision!!

We are naming our little girl….

Avery Ann Levesque

We appreciate all the input and suggestions from everyone. It gave us a lot to think about.

People may be wondering, what is the reason behind this name?

Well, it’s simple. “Avery” was the first name on a street sign we saw after we found out it was a girl. I assume this is how most people decide on their unborn child’s name, looking outside the window while driving and saying the names on street signs until one sticks. Besides that, we both really liked it and we eventually figured that it was a sign (literally and metaphorically) and since we could both agree on it, we would go with it. Ann was simple enough as this is after my mom and a name I’ve always liked.

Spelling was the only other thing we weren’t sure about. I kind of liked spelling it “Avary.” That way we could call her “Ava” for short. That is until one of the good natured mommy bloggers pointed out that it was one letter away from the word “Ovary” and completely ruined it for me. So we are sticking with the original spelling as I’m sure our little girl will have a tough enough time growing up with a uni-sex name. Though I'm sure I'll call her "Ava" for short just to confuse things.

There you have it. Only took us a month and half but we figured it out.

All in all, if you are planning on having kids I’d recommend thinking about names now. There’s just so much to consider that you don’t even think about and by the time you find out if it’s a boy or a girl all you want to do is name ‘it.” Or, just do what we did and name your child after a street sign on the way home from the hospital.

Meanie Head

People say some ridiculous things to pregnant women. I don’t really understand why. Everyone knows that pregnant women are usually not in their best shape, have problems with their skin and they are hormonal. So why say anything at all? I jotted down the top 5 nicest things people have said to me this week and the meanest, including the absolute meanest of all mean. All very true…

5. Mean: The person doing my toes told me my big toe was “very big” and proceeded to tell me that I would need a “Spa Pedicure” because of how bad my feet looked. Well if I could see them, I’d probably care more.

4. Nice: My husband told me that I looked very sexy this week and I wasn’t even wearing makeup to cover my acne ridden face. He’s catching on to how this whole pregnancy thing works. Compliments and ice cream has allowed him to have a very peaceful existence these last 6 months.

3. Mean: Girl on “Baby Center.com” told me that she read my blog and thought that it was “OK” and “Not things most pregnant women could relate to.” Uhhh, OK, your right. Pregnant women don’t care about naming their child, they don’t wear maternity clothes and they hate food. I should be talking more about  high heels and martinis. Maybe for the next one.

2. Nice: My sister in law told me today that I don’t even look pregnant from the backside. This was even with me sporting non-maternity yoga pants after an enormous B-Fast. Best thing all day. 

1. Meanest thing ever: Awhile back my hair stylist looked at me and said “You are going to have a girl. When you find out what you are having ask me how I knew that.” So, yesterday while I’m at my appointment I asked her “How did you know I was having a girl???” Her response” Well, it was from an old wives tale.” I asked her “Which one??” She said “The one that says that when you are pregnant with a girl, she sucks all the beauty out of her mom and you just look so tired.”

Yes, my hairdresser basically told me I was ugly and then to add insult to injury, decided to give me “The Rachel.” Not our finest appointment together. I do usually like her a lot and she normally does a good job when she isn’t insulting my physical features while giving me nostalgic 90’s locks so I will be going back and yes I did still tip her.

Bottom Line: Unless you are handing a pregnant women ice cream or something as equally as delicious, you don’t get to say anything remotely negative to her. And if you are, that better be a big ice cream.

Hairy Scary

I will admit, I’m an absolute wuss. I have the pain tolerance of a small child. Even though I stub my big “Martin Toe” (this is a family thing) every other day on average and smack my long appendages into everything, I still can’t handle pain.

No, this is not me prematurely freaking out about the pains of child birth. I’m basically in denial and refuse to even think about that right now. I’m still trying to convince myself that it’s not “that bad” and that my baby will just roll out after I pass out from sheer embarrassment of an entire room looking at my “Who-Ha”.

This is neither here nor there, the pain I’m talking about is waxing. When you are pregnant some women have the delightful experience of having longer nails, lushes locks and excessive body hair. Since I’m an obsessive shaver anyway this has been no big issue for the past 6 months. Now with my ever growing  stomach and my toes becoming a distant memory it’s getting more and more difficult to reach my legs and nearly impossible to even see other areas.

I’ve come to terms with the fact that I’m gaining weight but I refuse to be Sasquatch for the next 3 months. That’s why I’m thinking that I may need to start waxing. Maybe this is weird for a person my age but I’ve only had my eyebrows waxed one time in my entire life. Why do you ask? Could be because after my waxing experience I left the salon with 1 and ½ eyebrows or the fact that I almost died from the pain.

However, I’ll be making my first waxing appointment for next week. The whole enchilada! Basically my entire lower half. I’m completely petrified but for the good of myself, my marriage and the other people that will have the pleasure of seeing me in dresses this summer, I will be doing it!

Please stay tuned for my next post about treating inflamed skin while pregnant or the embarrassing moment in which I swear in  a complete stranger's face. 

“Pass the Placenta, Please…”

While sitting on a plane well over a year ago on an exciting business trip to New Jersey I read the last page in the back of a “Time” Magazine about women choosing to eat their placenta. Now, looking at the “Time” magazine’s current cover with the toddler latched on to his mom’s boob with the question “Are you mom enough?” underneath seems kind of silly now. I think that it takes more for a woman to eat her own placenta then to have a grown child latched on to her.

I must not have read the article well because I still have no idea what it said the reason is why women eat it, however, I’ve been watching the new season of “Pregnant in Heels” with my favorite Brit with a speech impediment, Rosie Pope and in one of her episodes a women did consume her placenta and said it was to help with “Post Partum Depression.” I’m not sure why or how but I decided to do some research to find out what other benefits there are to eating this.

Pros: helps with post partum depression, shrinking of the uterus, associated to helping other health problems associated to childbirth, contains many minerals and vitamins for you and your baby, ability to improve breast milk supply, increase energy and prevent anti-aging.

Cons: You are eating your own placenta

So despite the fact that January Jones and other celebs are doing it, the cons out weigh the pros for me. I will not be consuming my placenta at birth. I may be a terrible awful mom for not doing this but between my weak stomach and gag reflex I think that delivery day will be messy enough as is without me consuming a part of my body.

On another note I did find this website with very yummy looking food items you can make with your placenta. Good luck trying to cook any of these in the hospital room. MMMMM, MMMM, ENJOY!!

http://www.twilightheadquarters.com/placenta.html

Sausage hands..

I feel like such a dud. There is nothing new, exciting or interesting going on with this baby at all. I’m not saying my baby is lame but she’s really just doing nothing. And I’m feeling relatively good for the most part. Yes, I still have heartburn but ice cream is really doing the trick, and I’m still tired but isn’t everybody?

I think the only new symptom that I have is that my fingers and toes have swollen to mini sausages. It’s highly attractive. I told my boss about it and his only response was “Oh, sorry you have man hands.” He is very sympathetic to my situation. So my emails and blogs are a little more difficult to type and it takes me a little bit longer to get them out. The only big downer about this new developing symptom is that I will soon need to part with my wedding band and engagement ring. I’ve taken off all the other rings besides those two and I’m struggling with the decision.

I heard that if you decide to leave them on and they can’t take them off at the time of delivery they will have to cut them off your fingers. So this has set me into a mild panic because if they cut them off, I don’t think hubby will be replacing that engagement ring anytime soon. So, in the next week or so I’ll be taking the plunge. Between having no wedding ring and a face full of acne I’m basically the best candidate to be on the next installment of “16 and Pregnant” because lets face it, not all those girls are 16. I’m sure Maine is on their list of “Go-to” states for future stars so just keep me in mind if you hear about a casting call.   

"Hey Mom, I'm starving over here..."

I try not to be too judgmental when it comes to motherhood because number one, I’ve never had a child so it’s easy to say people aren’t being good parents when you yourself aren’t one because you don’t know how hard it is. And number two, I try to live by the motto “to each their own” because I wouldn’t want someone telling me how to live my life.

HOWEVER, after seeing the new “Time” magazine cover I thought that the kid was a tad bit too old to still be breast feeding. Again, just my opinion. But a lot of people are supporting her and saying that this is natural and “what boobs are intended for.” OK, yes, that’s true, but just a question. How old is too old? I can accept that breast feeding is natural and great for children but when does it become inappropriate?

I think it becomes inappropriate when my child and my husband can have a verbal argument about whose turn it is to have some boob action from mom. Yes, I think right about then it becomes mildly unsettling. I think it may also become embarrassing for the kid. You think this kid on the “Time” magazine is ever NOT going to be made fun of for sucking his mom’s breasts for all to see? Even if he was an infant on the cover he would still be ridiculed for years to come.

I can respect everyone’s opinions on the subject because I’m at peace with my decision to remove my baby from my chest before she can start asking for it, whether she is “ready” to or not. And that's just me. I can't accept the line, "I'll stop breast-feeding when he/she is ready to stop" because if that was the truth I think many of us would be home schooled. 

But again, what's your opinion? When should kids stop breast feeding? 

20 week Ultrasound: Take Two

Today I went in for an Ultrasound to finish up our 20 week scan because Baby Levesque did not want to sit still and they couldn’t get any pictures of her brain and heart. No biggie, just the most important organs. We do have plenty of pictures of her femur though which she tends to flaunt. So back to the hospital we go…

I’ve been lucky enough in my life to have only had to go to a hospital once or twice but I have had to experience the waiting rooms at the dentist and doctor’s office and I’m fully aware that you will without doubt have to wait a good 15 minutes before seeing anyone. HOW Freaking EVER, these ultrasound techs know that we have been specifically instructed to come to our appointment with a full bladder and not to mention we are PREGNANT! So, it wouldn’t hurt if they put a little pep in their step instead of making me wait 30 plus minutes to see them. I can’t wait to see their faces when I send them back their bill for this second ultrasound with a bill for my UTI treatments. That will make a point.

When you finally get in there, it’s another 30 plus minutes of pushing directly on your stomach to find your baby. My U/S tech took mercy on me and allowed me to “empty” my bladder because Baby Levesque decided that she didn’t want to move at all for this round.

Despite initially wanting to hurt everyone including the friendly tech, the U/S did go well and I didn’t pee my pants. A successful day for a pregnant lady. Our baby is completely heads down and ready to go but she is not moving. Our tech did everything in her power to make that baby move her head and there was no way she was going to. She did stick out that good old leg for all to see but that was about it.

The good news is that because she decided she didn’t want to move, we got some awesome freaky 3D pictures!! Since I’m scanner challenged I’m currently waiting for Jon to come home to post pictures so stay tuned. All the other stats are good.

1. It’s still a girl!..Woohoo!
2. Heartbeat is 147
3. Weighs 1.5lbs, perfect
4. Her freakishly long leg has corrected itself
5. Her stomach is measuring a week ahead of itself but lets face it, she was going to be cursed with my Buddha belly whether she liked it or not!

All is good!!! J

I'm very lucky.

Lately I’ve been acting almost like a 2 year old to my husband. It’s really not my fault. With these hormones I can’t seem to articulate what’s wrong with me. It’s tough to really get the words out. So, like a toddler, I turn to the only two things I can do, I hit him and/or cry uncontrollably. Calm down, I don’t hit him hard, not hard enough to leave a mark so you can’t prove anything.  It’s true though and I do feel bad so in honor of our 8 months of being married and 3 years together, I’d like to list my top 5 reason why I’m grateful for my husband. Especially during these past 5 months of being pregnant.

5. He gets me ridiculous ice cream requests. Yesterday was black raspberry ice cream with extra, extra, extra, extra chocolate sprinkles. And he delivered!

4. This week he did attempt to make me dinner. I think we may be suffering the cancerous repercussions later for consuming burnt food but I appreciate the effort and the Shepard's pie didn’t taste bad. J

3. He watches Revenge with me on Wednesday nights. This is the only thing that helps me get through the work week and I think he realizes that and doesn’t say a word about it

2. When I’m tucked cozy in to bed with my amazing Boppy pregnancy pillow (Super Sexy addition to our bedroom set I may add) he will get me water and take the dog out every night. 

1. Lastly, I know it’s tough for him but he keeps a straight face when I cry about anything and everything and doest make fun of me or say a word. He sits there and he just listens to all the completely idiotic things I have to say.

And for all that, I’m a very lucky girl. J

Karma

Maybe it’s just me but before I even got pregnant I was kind of a jerk about being pregnant. You hear about all these pregnancy symptoms and I thought that none of this would happen to me.

I heard of women getting wicked bad heartburn. This is something that I have never experienced in my life and didn’t think that would change when I got pregnant. I eat mainly organic, I don’t eat fast food and I drink only water throughout the day. Why on earth would “I” of all people get heartburn or have any problems with indigestion?? Um, because it happens no matter what. So now I’m a sufferer of terrible heartburn every single day. I drink ginger tea because my mom has convinced me that tea, especially ginger tea, can cure any ailment in the world so this has been my go to treatment. Despite its best efforts I still suffer from it and I’m sure it’s Karma’s way of saying, “yeah, nice try with your healthy food choices.”

Not only did I assume that I wouldn’t get heartburn but I figured that I’d be one of those “cute” pregnant ladies that only gained weight in their stomachs and absolutely no where else. Whelp, it’s really hard to consume 300 extra calories a day and choose where about in the body it goes. Yes, I have gained a generous amount in my chest which I do appreciate but I think they have reached their maximum capacity and has started down the path to my legs and arms. Two places I’ve been lucky enough to not have to worry too much about in my life. So as I sit here and type this blog I’m taking breaks to lift my 5lbs weights  in an effort to minimize the “Bingo Arms” as much as possible before I break out any summer dresses.

Lastly, my other favorite symptom that has come about is my issue with my skin. I’m completely ecstatic that I have no stretch marks to be seen. I think I may be safe as my mother has little to none to be shown for but again, Karma is a beast and I can’t even imagine what she has in store for me during month 9. However, she has not spared me when it comes to ACNE! What the heck?  Usually I can handle acne. Just give me some Salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide and let’s deal with these bad boys. Nope, not so much when you are pregnant. Apparently it does something to something and now I’m left with a baking soda concoction to put all over my body in an effort to clear these suckers up which only seems to leave a mess on my pillow and nothing more. Way to go hormones.

So, as a warning to all my non-pregnant friends, don’t be like me. You may think you are going to bypass all of this crap when you are pregnant but you won’t. Granted, I’ve had an easy pregnancy for the most part and I haven’t had many terrible, awful symptoms, and you might not either. Just don’t go into it thinking you are going to be the perfect pregnant woman who doesn’t wear maternity clothes, eats only veggies everyday and can exercise 7 days a week. This is not reality. And if you are that person, let me know how that works out for you, and then watch me as I post a blog about you for being a liar. 

Pregnancy Brain

It was nice to see another fellow preggers write on her Facebook wall about Pregnancy Brain because most people don’t believe me that this is an actual thing. Yes, I’m a complete ditz and most people that grew up with me know that but I rarely forget a lot of things. In the past couple of weeks I’ve forgotten everything!! I think people are just starting to think I’m inconsiderate so I wanted to clear this up now.

If we have talked on the phone in the past couple of weeks, I promise you I was listening, but now I have no idea what we have talked about. My poor friend Katherine told me about her wonderful trip that she was about to go on to Chicago with her boyfriend, you’d think I’d remember that right? Nope, I’m fairly certain I was just as surprised the third time she brought it up to me than I was the first.

I’m even forgetting about FOOD. For a pregnant woman this is craziness. I make myself a nice breakfast for my husband and I to eat in bed but in the process, I put the breakfast down on a bureau to go take a quick call for work and then that was it. I didn’t even remember the breakfast until I was talking to my mom at around 2:00pm that afternoon. I looked up and said, “Oh, right.” Who does that?

And the worst pregnancy offense, leaving my dog out in the rain. I’m a TERRIBLE person, I know this. But this morning I brought the dog out like I normally do but then received an email for work, which led to another, another and then another. Ugh, by the time I realized that I left the dog outside it had been at least 15 minutes. Poor dog is sopping wet and just looks at my completely disgusted. I felt horrible.

So for everyone out there, yes, pregnancy brain does exist. It’s not an excuse it’s a fact. So forgive me for seeming self-absorbed and if I'm not listening because I am. You just will have the pleasure of telling me about your story during our next phone call as well and I promise I'll act just as excited to hear it. Fact.