Longtime friends, shopping, showers, and other various activities

This past weekend, my best friend from birth, Alyson, came to visit. We had a great time catching up, and I picked her brain on all things pregnancy and baby related. She has the most adorable daughter, Cecelia, who just happens to be my Goddaughter. I had a baby shower to attend Saturday morning, so Aly was able to swing by and visit with Jordan. That afternoon and evening, we enjoyed a nice dinner at Bonefish Grill, followed by some great shopping. There's not anything better than dinner and shopping for quality girl time. On Sunday, we enjoyed breakfast, followed by the baby section of Target and creating the beginnings of a baby registry at Babies 'R Us. I say beginnings, because there are items Chris and I will need to pick out together, and the rest of it I'll have to do as I go along, because I was overwhelmed with all the products and decisions.

I was also able to venture out into our yard a little Saturday afternoon while Aly was out visiting other friends to do a little weed maintenance. Please see the note below about the amount of rain we've had. This has only helped jump start the grass turning green, but the weeds are out of control. I knew it was bad, but I didn't realize how bad our yard was until Chris was able to mow it Sunday afternoon. Much better, but it still needs more love and attention.

Chris has started umpiring as of this week. So far he's schedule with Cager to do two games a night, on Monday and Thursday nights. We have this week and next left of our bowling league. It's been fun, but I'm ready to have my Wednesday nights back. I have bible study every Monday night with a small group of senior high girls, and we attended the MSU vs. Memphis baseball game last night. I'm pretty sure my social calendar hasn't been this busy in a while!

Looking ahead, this weekend Chris will be in Canton/Madison with Cager umpiring a big tournament. Currently they have 6 games to umpire on Saturday and possibly 2 on Sunday. Although I'll miss my husband, I'm looking forward to a relaxing weekend, most of all a maternity massage on Saturday!

I'm feeling great, which is such a nice change. Riley has become quite the kick boxer and tap dancer, but it is pretty cool to notice her moving around. I'm very excited to get to meet this wonderful child and get to know her very soon!

Date night and more rain....

This past weekend, Chris and I had a real date. Granted, this might seem normal to most people, but this was something we haven't done in a while. We enjoyed dinner at El Porton, our favorite Mexican spot, while watching the basketball tournament. Then we ventured over to the Malco to see Vantage Point. I enjoyed it. Chris said it was a little predictable, and it could have stretched out more, but it was Friday night dinner and a movie, and I was pleased.

Saturday was a very lazy day at our house. It rained on and off most of the day, and I enjoyed the comfort of my pj's until mid-afternoon, when Cager came over to hang out and stay the weekend. Maris soon joined us that evening, and we had a double date! Two nights in a row! This time we went to see the movie 21, which is about the college kid who counts cards at the black jack table. I thought it was a little long, but Chris and Cager were practicing their counting abilities promptly Sunday morning after breakfast!

Sunday it rained all day. I don't mean a little. Our yard is marshy. Sunday was also Cager's birthday, but due to the rain, the 4 of us just hung out at the house until late afternoon, ventured downtown to Jillian's, then we had reservations for dinner at Texas de Brazil. Yum'O! Matt and April joined us, and we all enjoyed a nice dinner together. It's taken my body 3 days to get back to my "normal" pregnancy weight.

Have I mentioned the rain. Chris discovered last night the creek that runs behind our house actually flooded, and the water level came up pretty close to our flower beds, which is a distance of probably 25 yards or so. I'm dreading the rain we are expecting in the next few days because we need some time to dry out.

Pregnancy/Riley update:
I'm finally beginning to feel her kick/punch me. I noticed it the first time on Saturday morning, I could feel her hiccup which was so cute! It kinda creeped Chris out, but he'll get used to it. I've also reached the stage where my stomach is beginning to stretch more, rather than just fill in the the space where the 6 pack of abs belongs. It's just weird...that's all I can say. I'm also experiencing my face beginning to break out, which is new to me since I've always had fairly good skin. I've been a user of Neutrogena since I was probably 12, so I'm just adjusting to this new hormonal shift, and grateful it's not nausea or migraines.

Riley Elizabeth Nichols

We had our 20 week sonogram today where she did all the measurements of the brain, heart, kidneys, bones, etc. Included in this, we were finally luckily enough to discover we have a baby girl on the way! We are both very excited to have an identity assigned to this wonderful child, as well as to know she's healthy and growing just as she should be. I'll try and get a couple of sonogram pictures scanned in tonight.

Pregnant Rudolph

What I thought was just a scratchy throat this weekend was my body's way of telling me to be prepared for my first cold in a long time. Chris even went to Walgreens somewhere around 10 pm Tuesday night to get cough drops, but it hit me while at work yesterday morning, so I promptly fired up the search engine, checked the approved cold medicines on my OB clinic's website, and drove right next door to Walgreens. Yes, I drove; heels and 40 degrees doesn't exactly scream a nice stroll. So, I've been watching the clock every 4 hours so I can take my next dose of Sudafed, and going through Kleenex like they are going out of style. I did decide to stay home today and spare my co-workers from the delightful sound of blowing my nose every 5 minutes and coughing between. Currently, I look like a pregnant Rudolph.

All this coughing and stuffy nose has gotten me thinking. If Baby Nichols' genetics were up to me, I would only make a few selections. This child would have to have Chris's immune system, sinus cavities, and pretty much anything respiratory related. Chris never gets sick, I mean never. In the range of 5 years give or take that I've known him, I think he's been to the doctor maybe twice. I on the other hand, seem to be a regular visitor, not to mention my weekly shots I get for allergies. I would also choose Chris's teeth. I was very late cutting my baby teeth, had to have 12 teeth pulled while in Jr. High, then braces in high school. While I'm not afraid of the dentist, I'm a regular with my checkups. Chris never experienced braces, has perfectly straight teeth, what a blessing! I'll leave the rest of the genetic arranging to the big Guy upstairs. I'm sure He'll get it all figured out. I'm just wondering if he'll hear my requests, although at this point, it's probably a little late!

On a side note, I'll be lucky if Baby Nichols is born without feathers. Since I had chicken noodle soup yesterday, and it seemed to be no help to the cold issue, I went for the Chicken Sandwich from, of course, Chick-fil-A for lunch today. I couldn't help it. I had to run to the grocery store to pick up a few items, mainly more Kleenex, and it was just calling my name.

Panic Mode

So, we had our 17 week checkup this morning, and I anticipated nothing out of the ordinary other than a routine checkup. I would tell the doctor of my phase two of hormone surges, accompanied by a new found love of migraines, but I'm finding the new prescription helpful. We would discuss this minor cold/sinus/cough crud I've developed and list all the normal medications I'm not allowed to take. And wrap it up with a discussion about the time frame which I'm still allowed to fly, since we are planning on visiting San Antonio with the Garner's in May.

We got the first 2 points out of the way quickly as I made my way into position for the heartbeat monitor. So, after the cold gel was applied, Dr. Chauhan is using her knowledgeable skills of maneuvering this little microphone over my abdomen area searching for a rapid thumping sound. We wait, we've picked up my heartbeat, but nothing fast enough or strong enough for Baby Nichols. After about 5 minutes of hide and seek, she's got nothing, and suggests we get an ultrasound.

Needless to say, in the 3.5 minutes it took her to inform the sonogram technician, and for the tech to get setup, I panicked. I cried. I was having all the possible worst-case-scenario's go through my mind. It's natural, yet Chris assured me everything was fine, and not to get upset. Too late, tears were already interfering with my mascara.

So we have our ultrasound, and we have a heartbeat! What a relief. Turns out, I have an anterior placenta, which only means the placenta is more to the front of my uterus rather than in the back. It makes no difference for the baby, but it adds additional cushion/barrier which made it more difficult to detect the heartbeat.

Since we were there, we asked about gender. Baby Nichols was sleeping soundly, face down, spine towards us, legs together. After about 5-10 minutes we were finally able to wake him/her, and with a prompt response; he/she crossed it's legs, with the umbilical cord between the legs! Stubborn already. I wonder where he/she gets that from? So we have our next appointment March 24, Easter Monday, and we will hopefully be able to know gender by then, if we can get a little cooperation. Also, Baby Nichols is up to a whopping 5 ounces!

So after this little scare, we treated ourselves to a little Chick-fil-A, and I didn't even feel a little bit guilty! I've gained a whopping 2 pounds total, and until I start packing on the pounds, I'll continue to enjoy my chicken nuggets!

Cravings and Hormones

I'm choosing to share the better news first.

So, I've come to realize in this last week or so I LOVE Chick-fil-A. I've always enjoyed a chicken sandwich on occasion, or chicken nuggets when I'm in a hurry, but due to my current "condition" as Cager refers to it, I can't get enough of it. I'm fully aware of the fried selection of the menu, because that's the only side I order from, and you may be concerned of the potential of excess weight gain. Luckily, I've enjoyed the pleasure of morning sickness in a ratio over food consumption, so I've only put on maybe 2 pounds so far. Frankly, until my doctor tells me to put down the chicken biscuit, I'll eat until I'm content, or find something else to crave!

So, now to hormones and pregnancy. I've done reading all along at the ever changing stages of my body, and little Baby Nichols. After my UN-enjoyable first trimester, most all of the reading and discussion with my doctor, I was looking forward to my hormone levels stabilizing. Granted, I no longer great each morning with my head over the toilet, but apparently my body didn't get the message of the leveling out part regarding hormone levels. I've never been one to have migraine headaches, in fact, I can't really remember ever having one. I've always had headaches, but chalked it up with sitting in front of a computer 9 hours a day. But this week, I've had at least 3 maybe 4 mornings where the alarm goes off, and the pressure in my head wants to explode. Granted, I've had 8-9 hours of sleep, to only wake up with a massive headache/migraine. Now, maybe I missed something, but from the majority of the reading, the second trimester is supposed to be relatively stable, enjoyable, pleasant. Yeah, those somehow bypassed my house, and all they left me was a new surge in hormone changes.

Luckily Chris is doing a fabulous job as a husband to this hormonal wife of his. I'm off to take one of my new prescription meds to relieve me of this throbbing pain. The pill bottle is right next to the drink cup from Chick-Fil-A he brought home for lunch!

Best Friends

We are fortunate to have wonderful neighbors, and to make this even better, they have a Cocker Spaniel, Chex, whom Millie is best friends with. I don't mean they occasionally run around in the back yard together. This duo requires daily visits with each other, and they each get depressed on Sunday afternoons if the other has been away travelling. They share toys, bones, doggie beds, and they are even on the same type of Science Diet food, so they can eat at the other's house and not worry about the change of food.

Chex has been under the weather this week due to a kidney infection. Millie has been checking on her throughout the week, but this picture of the two of them is priceless. Chex is sleeping off her pain medication, and Millie is right there just in case Chex needs anything! Too Cute!