Braxton-Hicks?

So today I'm just sitting here at my desk minding my own business when all of the sudden I feel this immense presure exuding from my belly! It was the weirdest thing ever. I got up and walked around a little and it went away after about 15 seconds. Of course it kind of concerned me, so to GOOGLE I go. Found out that the symptoms I had sounded just like Braxton-Hicks contractions. But BH don't usually start until 20 weeks (I'm just shy of 16 weeks), so I was on the worried side. When I went home at lunch I used the doppler and listened to Whatsit, and he sounded just fine, so that helped put me at ease. When I had another one after lunch, I called my doctor. The nurse said that as long as they aren't coming regularly or more than 4 an hour, I should be okay. Just to take it easy and call if I felt concerned about it.

Can I get an AMEN?!

So I called Mom for our ritual morning converstation while we're both supposed to be working... She told me that Jamie and Colby are going to be leaving their positions at the camp! Well of COURSE John and I would LOVE to have that job, so I told her that and then a little later I called Dad to talk to him about it. He, in turn, called Ezell and then called me back - with a date to come INTERVIEW!!!! Wow. John and I talked about it at lunch and then a LOT more after work. We are both so ready to leave Joplin and our jobs - I can't even describe how excited we are about this prospect.

I think the reason I'm the most excited is because this job would mean that John and I both would basically be working from home. I mean, we'll still have to go to the "office" but it will be right there on the campgrounds and I'll be able to take little Whatsit with me without having to interrupt the workplace. Not to mention the fact that John will be right there as well - I can't begin to say how many good things I can list because of this job.

The only down side is going to be trying to sell our house... But we have faith that God will take care of us. So it looks like we'll be going down on the 26th to talk to the board and convince them that they can't live without us.

So about those headaches...

I decided that I'm going to do something about these headaches... So I made an appointment for a massage at the YMCA. It's free with my membership, so that's a HUGE perk.

Well, I went to get the massage and the lady was SUPER nice and did a really good job, but it just wasn't quite as deep of a massage as I probably would have liked. But I didn't want her to be too rough, because I don't want to do anything that might be bad for me right now. It sure was relaxing, though, and I felt good afterwards.

Dr's Appointment

Got up this morning to go to the doctor for my monthly check up. John was going to go with me, but that was before we rented the doppler - the only real reason for him to go would be to hear the heartbeat, so he just stayed home. Stinker.

So basically, I get to the doctor at 8:15 (appointment is at 8:30). Get called back promtly at 8:30 and get to go in the cup and get weighed (I gained a pound) and then get sent to the exam room. The nurse came in and listened to the heartbeat - I asked her if she thought it was a boy or girl and she goes, "OH! Don't make me say!" And I said, "Well, I've had a feeling all along that it's a boy." And she responded with, "If I had to guess, I'd say boy." =) Then she said, I don't think Valery is here yet, but she should be here really soon, so just sit tight.

Good thing I brought a book.

35 minutes later, Valery came in. Finally. I was starting to debate about taking a nap on the exam table!! Hehe! Well, she talked to me for a few and then felt my belly to see if she could feel my uterus and that was it. 5 whole minutes with the doc. Wah-hoo. Good thing I'm not paying for all these visits or I'd be one ticked off momma. Anyway - I got to make my appointment for my "big" ultrasound - Sept. 19. I wanted it earlier, but the tech is only there on Mondays and Thursdays and the Monday I wanted, she wasn't going to be there. So I said, "Okay, how about that Thursday." And the receptionist goes, "WEEEEELLLL... Since Valery's new, we haven't gotten her Thursday schedule yet, so we don't know what weeks she's working..." So I had to bump it ANOTHER week. Oh well. At least the baby will be big enough by then that we should be able to see the sex without any problems (yes, we're finding out). The other good news is that my OB/GYN practice just bought a 3-D ultrasound machine and Valery said it should be up and running in no later than 5 weeks, and since my ultrasound is scheduled for 6 weeks from now, I'll almost for SURE get a 3-D ultrasound!!!!! YIPPPEE!! John's super excited about that, too.

Maternity Clothes!

I got a package at work today from Mom - it had some friendship bread in it (YUM!) and a really cute green maternity top from Walmart. I had to take it home and try it on at lunch. It looks so cute! I still don't really *look* pregnant, though, so this shirt just looks normal. Pretty soon, though.... I need to go buy some other stuff, but I don't really wanna spend the money right now.

Just go away already!!

Had another REALLY bad headache today. Ended up going home at noon and sleeping the rest of the afternoon. I guess it helped a little, but WOW. All I really remember is John coming home at 5 and being surprised that I was home and in bed. I had no idea that I'd been asleep so long. I don't know how many more of these headaches I can take!!

Jeans and Headaches and Heartbeats, Oh My!

John finally got his bonus from last month on this paycheck. So I got to go find myself a pair of pants that would actually fit me. My jeans aren't so bad, they're just getting tight - and that makes it hard to sit in them all day. So we went to Target and I found a pair that I like... I tried on some maternity pants, but WOW - I think they must make them for women with ghetto booties. I couldn't see myself EVER fitting into a pair of those. But I guess I shouldn't be too sure.

Yesterday I woke up with the worst headache - I think it's from sleeping with my head at weird angles through the night. Anyway, it didn't go away ALL DAY LONG. I took Tylenol, drank some Dr. Pepper, tried to lie still on the couch... NOTHING worked. I ended up going to bed with it still hurting. But it was okay when I woke up this morning. I'll tell you something that was GREAT about the day, though - John was home from work all day and spent the afternoon cleaning. He did the dishes, took out all the trash, vacuumed, and picked up clutter that was EVERYWHERE. He deserves the "Husband of the Year" award.

Then TODAY I got a fetal doppler in the mail that I rented from sweetbeats.net. I can use it at home to listen to the baby's heartbeat. So John finally got to hear the little thing today at lunch. He looked so proud. He's gonna make a great daddy. I'm probably going to spend way too much of my time for the next month listening to the little thumping. It's such a comforting sound.