Ludicrous

I spoke to my perinatologist today who told me about his conversation with the head geneticist at the genetics lab. In summary, he said it was the most ludicrous thing he's ever heard (referring to what my Atlanta doctors and geneticist told me). Basically, none of what they said makes sense to him. Holy cow. Crazy!

Goodbye dear belly ring

The doc's office told me today to take my belly ring out - boo hoo.

Before I left work, there was a good smell coming from the kitchen on the floor below. I went to the grocery store/Publix to get a prescription filled (from my favorite pharmacist, Sara - Hi Sara!) and Jennifer texted from work to say the good smell was fried chicken. So I thought "ooh-ooh-ooh" I'll get a fried chicken leg from the deli, which I did, and it cost $.02! How is that possible? I kept asking the clerk "are you sure?" I haven't had fried chicken in like a million years - it was good. Then I went home, put my work out clothes on to walk on the treadmill and got a little depressed about feeling like a big fat cow - but then I had to kick myself in the ass for thinking like that.

When I got home, the dogs were inside because it was raining outside. I came in, was throwing away some things at the trash can in the kitchen, turned around and bam there were three poop nuggets on the floor (spread out) right behind me. So, I came in, greeted Max our old, decrepid Basset Hound and he followed me into the kitchen and immediately pooped on the floor. I cleaned it up, scrubbed the floor, sprayed lysol, went into the hallway toward the bathroom and bam more poop on the floor (where I had just come from - Max must have greeted me and then pooped all the way behind me). He's getting me ready for baby poop-ville. Thanks Max!

Justin has decided that Rufus' name is now Rufus-Pierre because he was watching Hells Kitchen (after the assistant Jean Pierre).

One point of clarity, Justin is my favorite pharmacist-to-be and soon enough he will be my favorite pharmacist (but I'll still love Sara)! Go Justy Go!

GG it is

It's official, the baby's nickname will be GG.
I have my 20 week ultrasound week after next.
We've been watching Le Tour de France all month and today I'm feeling a little lost since it's over - wondering what in the heck we're going to do now (since we've been watching it every day for so long). Cycling has been an important part of our lives and the excitement gets in your blood. Years ago I scheduled my tonsillectomy so I could be home to watch the Tour and we went to the Tour (for the 100th anniversary) in 2003.
My Mom and Sister will be here to visit in a month and I'm getting excited about that. My Mom is taking a month long cross country trip with best friend from college and they are visiting friends across the country.
Justin and I have three weeks of honeymoon left until he goes back to school - I always tell him I'm going back to being a single woman and then he reminds me that I'm still married. This will be his last academic year and the year after will be clinical rotations. His school crazily assigns rotation sites (cities) randomly and we are keeping our fingers crossed that he will get our town so we can actually live together - he'll find out this fall.
GG and I are doing well. I feel well and I can feel her moving. I'm still just focusing on passing time and doing it day by day.
Hope you all are well!

A blonde moment or a pregnant moment?

This is hilarious!

I just asked Justin to look at one of my jewely box drawers, which has been hard to open/close the last several days. I couldn't figure out why it was all of a sudden hard to open/close and I had previously taken the drawer out and looked inside to see if anything was stuck in the way. Justin pulled the drawer out, looked inside (found nothing), then looked at the bottom . . . finding one of my panterliners stuck to it.

Earlier this week, while getting ready for work, I had taken the back off the pantyliner and laid it on the bathroom counter. At some point, I pulled out the jewelry box drawer to get earrings out and pulled the drawer such that it came all the way out and fell on the counter (and I slid the drawer back in). I remember now thinking "I swear I thought I got a pantyliner out" but after not finding it in the vicinty, I finally gave up looking, got another one (thinking I was losing my mind) and went to work.

So this explains where my missing pantyliner went. HA!

I haven't laughed this much or this hard or cried while laughing in months. I hope Baby GG enjoyed it (hey, that could be a nick name, GG for Gardner Girl).

Nickname help

We have decided to officially give Baby Girl Gardner a nickname (one for while I'm pregnant).
We'd appreciate your help - please send me your nickname suggestions.
Our friend, Miller, suggested Miller except he means it as a real name (he says pronounce it with an A sound on the end, for a girl - go figure), but we'll add it to the nickname list. And I don't like peanut, it's cliche. Justin keeps calling her Sandra, Jr. but it doesn't roll off the tongue.
I'm looking for something cute and spunky.
Thanks in advance!

Great news!

Yippee! My Quad Screen blood test results are NORMAL! A big relief. One step closer.

Is that baby?

I think I officially felt baby last night and again today. My first pregnancy it felt like a butterfly or moth fluttering; this time it feels like a thump or a ripple. Go baby go!

I've also had my first freak out(s) the last two nights at bedtime, vividly imagining what happened the night I lost my first pregnancy (which started in the middle of the night). I'm not sure why I'm thinking about this now (almost 6 weeks before the time it happened at almost 23 weeks). I wonder if I'm feeling more confident after the good ultrasound last week and now I'm looking to the future? I keep trying to focus on the fact that there's a 99% chance that I won't have another abruption; it's been hard to push the bad thoughts from my mind. I do NOT want to have a pregnancy filled with anxiety and negativity . . . I'm trying to think happy thoughts.

It's a GIRL!

It was a crazy day at the perinatologist's today. The big news is that we are having a GIRL. The long, complicated story is that we didn't do amnio. The doc said everything on the ultrasound looked "perfect", so I'm feeling a little more confident and keeping my fingers crossed that this good stuff can actually be real and will actually last!

Husbands are GREAT

The title of this post makes it sound like I have plural husbands, which I don't, just for clarification purposes.
My husband has been OUT OF CONTROL in the handy husband department. He has been fixing, assembling, cleaning, rearranging, etc. I love it!
There's nothing sexier than a man scrubbing a tub/shower - so that's next.
Keep up the good work Justin!

This is not funny - false alarm!

We're at our friend's house in NC for the weekend. I just went to the bathroom and there were slight streaks of bright red on my undies. I immediately started telling myself not to freak out and to remain calm and then I started trying to figure out what to do. I was going to put on a pantyliner to be able to see if there was anything new. I asked Justin to come in the bathroom with me and upon further investigation . . . I discovered that the bright red was actually fuzz from the (presumably new) red towel that I had used for my shower today (I had fuzz everywhere after the shower). Holy shit! How nerve wracking and what a relief! I am now 1000 times more appreciative for the pregnancy I have right now - thank you, thank you, thank you! I'm sure I'll be able to laugh about this later.