Snips and snails, and puppy dog tails!

All of those ladies out there that say the second trimester is all flowers and butterflies, never had a chest cold that lasted 2+ weeks and daily headaches that border on migraine status. Don't get me wrong, I'm seriously happy the nausea has passed, but these headaches are killer!  Sometimes drinking a little caffeine will do the trick, which is more than Tylenol will EVER do.  And as for the chest cold...when it rains, it pours as they say, right?!  Just when I was getting used to sleeping more than 4-5 hours a night (the one thing I've been thankful for from the 2nd trimester!), I can't stop coughing when I lay down, which in turn, brings on NASTY headaches.  Needless to say, I've been a miserable mess lately!  But one horrible symptom that has pretty much disappeared is the constipation.  Thank the Lord!!  I was beginning to think I wasn't going to be able to push this baby out if I couldn't even poop!  

Talking about all these lovely symptoms, one may get the idea that I'm not enjoying being pregnant.  That's not the case at all!  Of course I'm loving it - but I'm definitely more excited about the end result than I am about my current state.  I hate to complain since I wanted this so bad - I feel like other infertiles out there reading this might think I'm ungrateful, or that they'd do anything to have morning sickness and constipation.  Trust me, I know how you feel, I was there not that long ago.  And while I am very thankful for my headaches and inability to have a bowl movement on a regular basis, it's a day to day struggle to remind myself of this!

Speaking of all the symptoms, I've been thinking about all the lovely ones that come along with labor and delivery.  This is mostly due to the fact that I've had the summer off work and can't help but watch TLC on a daily basis.  Those 'Baby Story' shows have a whole new spin on them these days!  I watch in complete horror now.  Adam walked in the room when I was watching one that featured a particularly horrific 'natural birth' (sorry, there's nothing natural about that!), and said I looked like I had just seen a ghost!

So I've been talking about my fears lately with family members (mostly since it's all I can think about these days!) and for the most part everyone has been very supportive and told me it's going to be okay, and not as bad as I think (I'm well aware they're all lying to me).  But, if you notice, I said for the most part they've been supportive.  My husband's aunt is the exception to this.  We were all out for a family get together last weekend and when it came up in conversation that I'm a little nervous about labor/delivery, instead of the typical comforting phrases every always says ('Your body is meant to do this', 'It's all worth it in the end', 'You'll be on such a high you won't feel a thing'...blah, blah, blah), she proceeds to tell me every gory and horrific detail of her agonizing experience giving birth to her son.  And I'm talking details...very specific details...very visual details.  I about threw up at the table where we were sitting.  Good thing pregnant women pee a lot because it gave me a great excuse to get the hell out of there!

Well, since we're on the topic of the lil' peanut arriving in about 5 months or so - let's get to the best news this blog has experienced since I announced our first round of IVF worked....the sex of the baby!!!  We had the gender-cake party with our parents this past weekend.  It all started with the ultrasound two days before the party.  The ultrasound tech found the sex within seconds of putting the wand-thingy on my stomach, so we all had our ideas of what that meant ;-).  I drove the sealed envelope straight to the bakery and ordered the cake to have either pink or blue icing in the inside.  Those were the longest two days!!  Well, I'll cut to the chase;  I cut into the cake and...well, see for yourself! ;-)

IT'S A BOY!!!   Reid Douglas will be his name...so no more "Lil' Peanut"!! :)  Adam didn't stop smiling all night!  He couldn't sleep and wound up coming to bed at 4:30am still smiling.  I asked him what he was smiling about, and his response was, "We're having a boy!".  He's so cute!  He was talking about all the things he can't wait to do with him; Bears, Bulls, and Hawks games, golfing, etc.  I sure hope Reid is a jock, or he's going to have one bored daddy ;-)

Well Reid has definitely made his presence know - I feel HUGE (I know it's only going to get worse!) and I can feel him kicking stronger and stronger every day!  I love feeling the little flutters - such a neat feeling.  I somehow doubt I'll feel the same when he's jabbing my bladder and ribs in a few months!  

Here's a picture of my 16 week belly - taken the night we found out the lil' guy is a lil' guy! 

And I'll leave you with the food of the week that resembles Reid's size.  

Watch what you say... tiny bones forming in baby's ears mean the little one can now pick up your voice. Eyebrows, lashes and hair are starting to fill in, and taste buds are forming. And, if you're interested, an ultrasound might be able to determine gender.