Things you shouldn't say to a pregnant woman....

So we are in our 23rd week this week- 2 weeks away from viability and about 5 weeks away from being able to deliver at our hospital. In the last few weeks as my belly has grown (which I must say I am very excited about) I've come to notice that people cant help but comment on it and pregnancy in general. It is amazing the things that people say to pregnant women that you wouldn't dream of saying to a woman who isn't pregnant.


FOR THE RECORD: Sense of humor required....
Comments from family are significantly different from strangers and I have not been offended by anyone I love (a few strangers yes)- However we'd love for our family and friends to remember this is OUR baby- Michael and I made this child together and we do very much value the opinions of our family as many of you have been here before- but if you make a suggestion and we don't like it or it isn't part of our plan that's OK but PLEASE don't be offended if we aren't using your suggestion. What worked for you may or may not work for us but we ARE open to suggestions. 

So as a PSA here is a list of things you shouldn't say to a pregnant woman ANY pregnant woman... 
#1- "My labor was 25 hours and I was in so much pain!!!" or any similar version of the like... UNLESS a pregnant woman ASKS you to share your labor story with her please don't assume that we want to be horrified by how long, hard or painful it was. You may feel that you are preparing us for what could happen but every woman, pregnancy and labor is different there is no connection to how yours went and how mine might go. The baby must come out and when it does it might not be pleasant or painless there is no alternative! :-)


#2-  How far along are you? (me, 6 months)..That's it?  Are you sure you're not having twins?You are huge!!!! You look like you might pop tomorrow!!!"
No woman pregnant or not wants you to comment on how big YOU think she looks. Not only is it Rude and you wouldn't make weight comments to random strangers who aren't pregnant, but pregnant woman worry more than non-pregnant woman and you might just send them running to the doctor to make sure they aren't gaining to much or are at risk for early delivery or GASP!!! have a twin hiding in there somewhere. You may think that's over reacting- but pregnancy makes hormones do crazy things to your brain. We cant help it. 


#3 - "Oh My God- it sucks that you have to suffer through the summer heat!!!" 
Do not tell them how difficult it is to be pregnant in the heat of the summer. So far Summer in Texas is wonderful-the heat is actually making my pregnancy EASIER- because guess what I get to swim every day if I want to and besides- If you are hot in the middle of the summer it's your own damn fault :-)  air conditioning exists and so do fans! Hormonal women need not be reminded.  


#4 - "You are breastfeeding aren't you?!" 
Do not ask questions about choices for my body and baby like you are automatically condemning me if I say something contrary. It does not in any way determine your WORTH as a mother if for some reason breast feeding doesn't work for you. "breast is best" comments can make some pregnant women break down and cry- you have no idea if she might have an illness that makes it impossible for her to breastfeed. And if she is choosing not to breastfeed at all its not really any of your business unless she wants it to be.
HOWEVER: "Have you decided if you are going to breastfeed or not?" is an acceptable question as long as it's not followed by a lecture on how "HARD" it is to breast feed or how sore or tired I'm going to be- or even that you think I should formula feed. 


#4- "Just you wait...." this is typically followed by "till you don't get to sleep" or "till your up all night miserable with a crying baby" "or till your toddler is running and getting in to trouble" Guess what people...Pregnancy itself is no picnic sometimes and you don't sleep much now either so...no big surprise there. OH and It's no big secret that babies cry and don't sleep through the night- we do not need to be reminded and certainly not in the tone of voice that suggests that You resent your own children because they cried or didn't sleep. If parents have been making it through sleepless nights for eons we can too! 


#5 "Are you sure you want to eat that?"- Yes damnit I do- so back up and shut up. If I wanted something else I wouldn't be eating this, and if I cared if it was going to give me heartburn I also wouldn't eat it. Sometimes you eat what you want and if it doesn't agree with you- so be it. . .We don't need any comments about too much this or too much that. I'm going to eat hot dogs because the baby WANTS them regardless of your opinion on what's in them or how bad you KNOW they are for me. (for the record my doctor said they are just fine in moderation LIKE EVERYTHING ELSE) :-) 


I have had all of these things said to me in the last few weeks by strangers or people I don't know well at all. 

Dear Baby,

Dear Baby,

Today is a very special day for your momma and daddy. A year ago today we got married. I married one of the most wonderful men in the world- your daddy. Although you will meet him soon enough I wanted to tell you a little about him, through my eyes. Someday you might cringe and say "aww mom but that's mushy love stuff", and it is but more than that its the truth. <3

Your daddy is a smart, funny, strong, respectful, loving and hard working man. He is so excited to meet you and help you grow. He loves reading about you as you grow each week, speculating on what you might be thinking or doing as you roll around in momma's belly. We talk all the time about how we want to experience and tackle different things that might come up as you grow (things we know we did or tried to do).  Your daddy takes good care of us, he has a strong faith in God and works hard everyday to keep us safe and warm. He also makes amazing french toast on Saturday mornings. :-) He drives a little too fast but we're working on that too... 

We cant wait to meet you but for now we'll keep looking at the pictures and smiling as your wiggles push against my belly. We've got a lot of nesting to do before you get here including a move to a bigger apartment. <3

We love you,
Love your Momma & Daddy

So it's been a month since my last post....

Sorry for being such a bad blogger lately. There has been so much going on with us that I've been turning into a pumpkin every night at 9pm!
So what updates to start with

• Michael got a new job thats going well- He's working at Arrow Electric and liking it so far. He has his own van that he takes to and from work and uniforms too (which he obviously looks handsome in! <3)
• I took a new position at my company and am working on some large projects that are giving me new experience and responsibility- really enjoying it so far
• We reached our halfway mark in the pregnancy this past weekend and are now just over 20 weeks. My belly is hard to the touch and is now protruding significantly :-) I feel like there is not nearly enough room in my abdomen for all my organs, food and baby. 

I bought this onesie at OldNavy. Not only does this express how I feel right now but I knew it would be the best way to describe a baby that came from me & Michael <3

Here is a Belly picture from Today May 31st. :-) The doctor says I'm right on track as far as weight and size :-) and we have another ultrasound on Monday the 6th. (and no we are still not finding out the gender!!!!)
• My Cousin Amanda came to visit this week, she is headed home tomorrow morning :-( We had a blast while she was here. Her and I got Pedicures and shopped, we went to the Rangers Game Friday night, and had great seats LOL last row all the way at the top. 

• Saturday the 3 of us went to the City Arts Festival in downtown Dallas, sampling yummy treats and checking out some awesome artisans. Sunday we drove 3 hours to Austin only to find it was 99 degrees downtown, but enjoyed the sites anyway. 

The view of Austin downtown from the roof deck at Maggie Mae's

Great picture Manda took of Michael and I on the shore of Lady Bird Lake. 

We went to dinner at the Iron Catus in downtown Austin. The food was amazing, the service...not so much. 

Michael and I at Dinner <3

Me lounging on the couch at the Hotel bar while Manda and Michael had beers. 

On the way home we stopped at the legendary Collin Street Bakery where my Preggo self bought $18.00 worth of cookies... I said to the man behind the counter. "Can I have 3 of every kind of cookie you have?" 

YUMMY!!!!!!

That's all for now!!!! 

Love,

Laura, Michael & Baby G

 

Updates, Updates, Updates!

Hello All you loyal readers! :-) hehehe to think I have loyal readers makes me giggle!

This post is all about updates and whats new going on down here!
Spring is in full force here in Texas, with temps ranging from 50 through 85 the trees are in bloom and pollen out in full force! We had an amazing weekend with Michael's parents and have Tony and Alicia heading our way in the next few days! We are loving having visitors and getting a little taste of home. If you are interested in coming for a visit let us know and we'll be glad to make some room!

On another great note Momma and baby are doing better every day- we have a doctors Apt tomorrow the 30th  to check to see how things are going and hear the beautiful music of baby's heart beat again. We also bought a super safe Baby mobile Friday night! We now own a new to us Toyota Camry with all the safety features! Now in case the deep rumble of Daddy's big truck isn't as soothing to baby as it is to Daddy we have a super quiet safe ride to lull baby back to sleep.

Check out the new ride and the sweet air visors that Ryan got us for the truck. It was finally nice enough to give the big red girl a wash and put on her new shades!

In other news Michael and I checked out the Fort Worth Zoo on Sunday and that place was awesome. Ranked in the top 5 Zoos in the United States it was great. Here are some of my favorite shots!

Crazy Hippos running around in the water! 

Ele-fante! <3 my favorite

Mamma Hippo relaxing in the tub! 

This big kitty is doing upside down kitten head pose like our little Kitten girl does all the time! Priceless picture! 

Big white Tiger laying right behind the glass in the Tiger enclosure

Mamma taking a nap and Daddy keeping watch! 

<3 Much love for now! 

Ohhh BABY!!!!

So by this time most of you have already heard the big news....Michael is officially Licensed in Texas as a Electrician :-)
Hahaha not the news you were expecting by the title? :-) Ok here goes the really big news Michael and I are expecting our first baby!!!!!!

We were waiting until we had our first doctors appointment before we put a blog post together. Here is what we know so far:
Based on what we had calculated we were 8 weeks & 3 days today. However when the Dr. was doing the ultrasound today she said we were measuring a week behind that which puts us at 7 weeks & 3 days. Which is a little sad because that means one more week of All Day sickness, but she did give me some anti-nausea meds to help out with the yucky belly feeling!! Baby's heart rate is 156.25 beats per minute and looks great.
Depending on which week we use to measure baby is measuring between the size of a Blueberry and a Raspberry!  (Berry baby, Berry baby!)
Baby G- making his/her first online debut! (that's right folks we are NOT finding out the gender of the baby before Birthday Day... which is expected to be on or around October 21st!

Picture of baby doesn't look so much like a baby yet. In fact baby looks a little bit more like baby bunny! The part that looks like bunny ears is actually the yolk sack that helps feed baby in the first trimester.  We go back for our next sonogram in April!

We've been taking pictures every week of my belly too! Belly bump! 7-8 weeks.

Throughout all of the morning/all day sickness Michael has been amazing. He is super excited about becoming a daddy. He has been helping around the house and making toast for me when ever I feel like I could eat. I could not ask for a better husband or greater support. I am proud to become a momma with such a wonderful daddy to share it with.

On top of everything else we have Michael's parents coming down to visit us next week and then Tony and Alicia at the end of the month!
So excited to have some family here visiting.

Thank you also to everyone who sent us parent-to be, new home and Valentines cards we really appreciate all the Love!
and we love you all back soooo much.
Love,
Michael, Laura & Baby

Hidden Cove Park & Marina

So I just posted about the going's on around here over the past few weeks but wanted to follow up with some pictures recently taken on our weekend adventures!.

We found a great park here called the Hidden Cove Park & Marina...

Licenses, Friends, Warm Weather and a TX living

Wow, what a crazy few weeks it's been. I'm officially the proud wife of a Texas Licensed Electrician!!!!

Michael has been studying hard, taking practice tests and prepping for his Texas Journeyman's License test. On Thursday February 17th he sat for the test and passed with flying colors. He starts training for a temp job with the electric company tomorrow which will take him through the end of May.

Another wonderful thing! Thanks to our good friends from home Rich & Carly, we've met a wonderful couple, Sally & Fred, and have started a great friendship! They are truly a blessing!

Our Driver's licenses finally came in the mail and we discovered the walking/biking trail behind our complex.   We're settling in and getting used to the area. We've been here almost 2 months now! We've scoped out the best grocery stores, shopping and food. Speaking of food... for all those who come to visit us, this is where we'll take you!!! BEST CHICKEN DINNER IN THE WORLD!!!!

Babes Chicken Dinner House Frisco
they have Smoked Chicken and Fried Chicken.... Family style like Wrights from home but 8 million times better and CHEAPER too!!!

We have lots of family headed our way in the next few months and can't wait to see everyone!!!.

Love you all!
More exciting news to come!