Happy Birthday!

So for the past few days, Tim has been bugging me about what I want for my birthday. Usually I'd go for a shopping spree where I can venture from store to store and buy random stuff. But being pregnant and all, that didn't sound too much fun. Plus, Tim wanted to do something "different" for me this year.

I had no idea what he would do...ESPECIALLY since we spend most of our time TOGETHER.

Well, being the cutie that he is, he found a good way to surprise me.

This morning after waking up, he presented me with a pair of REALLY nice Yoga pants. Lululemons. I had never heard of them until this morning... I guess he went to the store and talked to the sales reps and they helped him pick out a pair for me. He said that there were a TON of other ladies at the store shopping the Lululemon line (while wearing their Lululemon items).

So today while at work, I did some research on this "Lululemon". (Pronounced "lu-lu-lemon").

It's a company based out of Canada...and a TON of yoga fanatics (and celebrities) LOVE their line of clothing and accessories.

Tim bought me a pair similar to the ones below... Black Capri's with a blue/turqoise band-top-waist. Their reversable, so on one side, the band is all blue. And on the other side, it's blue and white-and-gray striped.

They look like this on a mannequin (from a Japanese website):

And the long pants look like this on a real person (a very slim un-pregnant person).

I tried them on this morning... Ooh, are they comfortable! AND they give me a nice bum! haha! (Granted, this pregnancy thing has already given me a more booty-licious bum... but those pants sure give it an extra kick.)

:)

At work, I received a beautiful bouqet of roses:

That (above) is my cubicle. We've been in the process of transitioning our systems... so I have two phones on my desk (one is behind the roses). Notice my garbage can with foam board and a blanket on top...I put my feet up every so often.

After work, Tim took me to a nice steakhouse (that his co-workers recommended to him... they had just gone their the night before). The place was so cute!! We sat out on the deck and enjoyed a view of the green bayou.

We ordered their restaurant special, which allowed us to order a 4-course meal, including dessert. This is what we ordered...

TL: My appetizer, some sort of onion and red onion dish. Yummy! Tim ordered a bowl of French Onion soup (not pictured).

TR: Our side dishes...I ordered some German Potatoes (left), and Tim ordered some grilled Cheese Macaroni (right). Double good.

ML: Tim's entree, a 6oz Filet Mig.

MR: My entree, salmon...mmmm...SO GOOD!

BL: My dessert, Apple Strudel with vanilla ice cream. Delicious! I would go back JUST for the dessert!

BR: Tim's dessert, Raspberry souflee...VERY good!

At one point during our meal, Tim was like, "Ugh...I think I'm done. I can't eat anymore." A minute or so later he burped, and said, "Ooh, I feel better now. I can keep eating." haha!

29 Week Appointment

So yesterday was another doctor's appointment. We went in early for an ultrasound. Surprisingly, the office was NOT busy that day, so they got us in pretty fast!

The nurse was really nice and friendly. She did all sorts of measurements of our girl--head, arms, chest, legs, etc., and of my cervix. Then she went and brought Tim in to see.

Unfortunately for us, baby girl was having a grand 'ole time hiding her face from us... she was head-down-feet-up, and pushed her face down so we couldn't get a decent 3-D pic of her. :(
She's TOTALLY taking after me! :P

Here are some of the ultrasound pictures... one nice thing: they didn't charge us for the CD this time!

Looks like a "Nuttall Foot" to me!

I think that's her arm and hand up to her face...

It was SO COOL to see her moving around! She's so big! (Well, about 2 pounds). I don't know if you'll be able to see it from the following video, but she had the hiccups. Her head is on the right, and her chest is to the left... you'll see her chest "spasm" out a bit...that's the hiccup. We have another video of just her chest hiccup-ing, but I like this one better b/c you see her head.

So now I know what it feels like when she has the hiccups... I had felt them the other night, but we thought maybe my stomach muscles were spasming b/c the "movement" had a beat...they were consistent. It was cool to feel the same sensation during the ultrasound, and to see them correspond with her hiccupping chest.

After the ultrasound, we went upstairs for my doctor's appointment. Weight and blood pressure--check check. Urine sample--check. Then the doctor came in and went over the baby measurements.

Baby Girl is doing fine! She's just a little small, but perfectly normal (I guess she's in the 41 percentile for her current size/weight). The doctor showed only slight concern at the length of my cervix (the opening of my uterus). She said it measured slightly smaller in the ultrasound, so we did a quick checkup in the office... I guess my cervix is about 20% shorter than "normal" at my stage.

From what I've read on the internet, your cervix shortens, thins, and dilates just before going into labor in preparation for delivery of the baby. SO, ideally, my cervix would NOT be shortening. But it is... so she advised that I should stay off of my feet for long periods of time... on the weekends I should just sit around... I shouldn't exercise, or walk too long, or stand too long, etc. etc. etc. BOOO! She doesn't think I'll need bed rest (at least not yet) but just wants me to be careful. Boo hoo hoo! I was enjoying my (occasional) long walks around the block, or my yoga stretches.

After the appointment, we went back home and hung out for a little while before heading back to work. . I was feeling a bit down for the rest of the day...no more exercise. :(

Stomach Flu

I guess if you don't go see a doctor and have them diagnose you with something, then you might not have had it (as opposed to something else). But for me, I'm just gonna say it: Tim and I had a stomach flu this past weekend.

Tim went to a business lunch on Thursday and became sick soon after (so we thought it was food poisoning). He stayed home sick on Friday, and was still a bit queasy on Saturday. Sunday he was feeling good, Monday he was alright, and Tuesday (today) he felt a little gross again. His symptoms: nausea, vomiting (3 times), and diarrhea.

I started feeling gross Saturday afternoon/evening. Sunday morning--ugh ugh!! All Sunday my body felt SOOO sore! Had some slight stomach cramps (vomited a total of 3 times), slight nausea, no diarrhea. Peed a lot though. Food didn't sound good to me, so I just tried to drink as much water as I could (which wasn't a whole lot).

Monday I stayed home from work and slept all day. I'm happy that I was able to sleep (this weekend) as much as I did...it was hard to get comfortable with my back and joints hurting. It was NOT fun rolling out of bed to go to the bathroom or to get a drink. It was NOT fun sitting on the toilet to pee. Even walking was a pain! There were moments where I really started to feel claustrophobic and thought, "I seriously can NOT get pregnant again."

Luckily, by Monday afternoon I was feeling MUCH better. Aches and pains started to go away. Today, I'm feeling good again (except for having to wake up EARLY...REALLY early b/c of the time change! We should move to Arizona or Hawaii...) Oh yeah! And BECAUSE I'm no longer AS sore as I had been, I definately feel SO MUCH MORE GREATFUL that I'm (normally) not THAT sore. Blessing in disguise--without that EXTRA soreness, I feel like I can handle this whole pregnancy thing again...at least for now...

Things that helped during the flu: Yoga stretches, Body Pillow, Tim's massages, and an electronic back massager that I "borrowed" from my parents. :)

YOGA

So yesterday I stopped by the library and picked up a pregnant yoga DVD that I had on hold.
We popped it in last night to take a look... there are three women in the video--each are supposed to demonstrate different variations you can do during your different trimesters.

So I must say, the first-trimester lady in the video is HUGE! Okay, not HUGE huge...but DEFINATELY much larger than *I* am in my 2nd trimester!

I may have to go out and get a hootchie-yoga outfit so my growing belly and boobs pop out like the ladies in the video. :P Just kidding!

And what is with the lady's name?? Rainbeau Mars??? Strange mix of Rainbow Bright and Veronica Mars.

Anyway! Very excited to start yoga-ing every-other-morning with Tim.