Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 31 weeks, 2 days

Baby Lomicka weighs: about 4 pounds

Weight gain: 5 pounds!

Maternity Clothes: a few, mostly my own for now

Sleep: Not too bad, better than usual

Best Moment this week: Showing Matt all the work I did on the nursery while he was gone

Gender: baby GIRL

Movement: a lot up in the rib area, and its more visible from the outside now

Food Cravings: Depends on the day, lately its Oreos

What I miss: Sleeping on my stomach and STEAMING hot baths

What I am looking forward to this week: making a list of questions for my dr. appt. next week

Symptoms: I hurt, in many different places

Don't ruin it for me!!

Ok, so this is MY blog. I can write what I want, right? It's a place for me to communicate with family and friends, but more importantly, just to write down my thoughts. So if you don't want to read it, you don't have to. You can blame it on pregnancy hormones if you want, but I am so irritated by people's negative pregnancy, childbirth, and baby raising stories. I mean, I am EXCITED about having a baby. I am THRILLED to have a child. And despite some minor inconveniences, I LOVE being pregnant. I don't understand why some people feel the need to tell you every gruesome detail about their terrible morning sickness or 36 hour labor and delivery and how miserable the first 3 months were after their baby was born. Are they trying to scare me? Everyone's story is different. Everyone's experience is different. Mine may not be the same as theirs. I pray to God that it is different than many of theirs. I'm just venting here, but I am so tired of the negative stuff. I can't wait for my baby girl to be here. I know it will be one of the most difficult things I have ever done, but this is MY life. Let me experience it for myself. If you are scrambling to think whether you may have told me some story about your experience, no worries :) I'm not talking to anyone in particular. It's more strangers than anything else. Love to you all!

Dreaming of the Slopes

This week I am home alone. Well, that doesn't differ too much from other weeks except that Matt isn't coming home at night. He is travelling for "work." The lucky guy is in Park City, Utah at an orthopaedics conference where he is being housed at a beautiful resort. They have a break scheduled every afternoon from 11- 3 so that they can ski/snowboard. Yes, life is tough in the world of hip and knee implants. I'd love to be there with him but seeing as how I'm pregnant, I can not ski. Being at home alone all day gives you a lot of time to think. I have realized that I love the mountains. I love the fresh air, the smell of the pine trees, and the sound of the stream. It's peaceful and beautiful and carries so many memories for me. As a child, we camped each summer in some beautiful places. Now that I live in the land of flatness, I realize that I never knew how lucky I was to live so close to many different landscapes.

One place I have always wanted to take Matt is Washington state, a place with such a beautiful landscape. I was lucky enough to visit Washington in high school when my brother graduated from college. I may have only been there once, but it's a place I've never forgotten and always wanted to return to. So now we are planning a way to get there this summer. Yes, we know the baby will only be a few months old. Matt is trying to get some guys together to go backpacking, and I just need someone to keep me company while they are on the trail. We'll keep you posted on the progress of vacation plans. All I know is, if he gets to go to WA without me, I will be one unhappy "doesn't get to camp"-er. So if you're interested, let us know :)

30 week picture

10 weeks?

Today I am 30 weeks pregnant. 30 WEEKS! Can there really only be 10 weeks left until she gets here? Some days I think back to when I first found out I was pregnant. I was worried everyday that something would go wrong, that I would lose the pregnancy. I wanted this baby, WE wanted this baby, so bad. I remember our future being up in the air and living with other people while we figured out what the future would hold. Looking back, I can't believe I wasn't more stressed out about it all. Just excited for what was to come. Now that there are only a few more months left, I am again filled with excitement about what our future holds. We are almost completely ready as far as supplies and the nursery goes. As a first time mom, I know that I really DON'T have any idea about what is to come. We're just praying for a healthy baby and safe delivery. After that, it's going to be a great adventure!

Stream of Consciousness

Trying a new blog style, just because. No filters. No real transitions. Just my thoughts.

Today is "warm" at 32 degrees. The snow is mostly all melted. I'm grateful that Kodi can get down the deck stairs by himself now. Going outside 15 times a day when it's 20 degrees is not fun. Why do dogs eat sticks? Why are they scared of the vaccuum cleaner? I HATE white carpet. I like wood floors. My day is going by too slowly. Some days drag on while I wait for the baby to get here. I know that will change once she's here. I am angry at BabiesRUs rewards. They are stupid. I want my $$. Matt leaves on Monday for a week. He gets to go snowboarding while attending an orthopaedics conference. I get to stay at home with the dogs. I am not happy about that. We've found a church. It is growing and thriving, but needs a bigger building. Met one couple, probably not going to be good friends. People in Indiana don't know what "love the outdoors" means. I wish the mountains were closer. Matt wants to go to Washington to hike this summer. He doesn't have anyone to go with him. I don't backpack or else I'd go. The baby will be a few months old then. We'll go "camping" close by. Obviously not in the mountains. I like the mountains and God's unfathomable creative beauty. I miss living in a place with varied landscapes.

Survey

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 29 weeks 3 days

Baby Lomicka weighs: 3 pounds, possibly more.... she's measuring a little big!

Total Weight Gain: 3 pounds

Maternity Clothes: I have a few shirts, but mostly wear my own clothes

Sleep: is getting better now that I have more pillows around me

Best Moment this week: buying some more baby things and putting together the changing table

Gender: GIRL

Movement: quite a bit. She's stretching up more into my rib cage

Food Craving: Nothing really, just juice still

What I miss: Being able to bend over easily

What I am looking forward to this week: just spending more time in her room, getting things together

Symptoms: it's harder to breathe when I go walking or when I go up the stairs

Survey

So on one of the other blogs I read, the girl does this little pregnancy survey every week. Now, I probably won't do it every week, but I thought it'd be fun to do every now and again.

Pregnancy Highlights:

How far along: 28 weeks 5 days

Baby Lomicka weighs: just under 3 pounds

Total Weight Gain: 2 pounds

Maternity Clothes: I have a few. Mosty I just wear my own clothes. My jeans still fit with the help of a Bella Band

Sleep: I've never been a good sleeper and now I just get up 2-3 times a night to use the bathroom.

Best Moment this Week: Buying and putting together the carseat and stroller

Gender: It's a Girl!

Movement: This girl is a mover! She is particularly active at night

Food Craving: juice, any and all kinds. Last week I had the biggest pizza craving.

What I miss: As far as food, not a whole lot. Probably just deli meat. What I REALLY miss is sleeping on my stomach.

What I am looking forward to: my doctor's appt. on Thursday and hearing how she's doing.

Symptoms: lower back pain

28 weeks and counting

When we first found out we were pregnant, it seemed like time was passing so slowly. Each week that went by felt like a month, especially before we told anyone that we were expecting. Boy has that all changed. I think once I hit 20 weeks, it feels like time is flying by. Now that I am at 28 weeks, I feel like there is so much to do before she gets here! Today we bought the carseat and stroller, which made things feel very "real" to me. I mean, I just bought a carseat to bring home the baby that I've wanted for so long. I am so incredibly grateful and excited. I am trying to enjoy the next few months before she gets here. I know once she does, everything will change. But that change will be a welcome one.

Diapers

Top ones are GroBaby diapers and the bottom ones are SoftBums

When you are pregnant, people tend to give you lots of advice. Some I just take with a grain of salt, some of it I tend to think "what was the point in saying that?", and other pieces of advice I actually stop to consider. I know that we'll just do what works for us and hope and pray that we are good parents. Now that the time is getting closer to her arrival, preparations are in full swing. Stocking the shelves with supplies, doing load after load of laundry, and picking out a myriad of "things" we need for her. One of the things I've heard a lot about lately are cloth diapers. Now, they aren't the cloth ones you are thinking of that your grandma used. These are actually re-usable, brightly covered "shells" which adjust in size as your child grows. You just snap in the washable liners and go. When it's soiled, you throw them in the washing machine and you're ready for the next few days. After doing the calculations, we could potentially save $1000- $2000 in the first 2 years of her life. That's a lot of money. The true question is, am I brave enough to try it? The jury's still out.....

Pregnancy till now

23 weeks

21 weeks

20 weeks

18 weeks

17 weeks

We are at 27 1/2 weeks now and getting more excited every day. I thought I'd do a little update from the beginning till now on how things have been going. My first trimester was a little rough, but nothing to seriously complain about. Lots of food aversion and nausea, and some weight loss (not that I complained about that part!). The second trimester has been a lot better and I am one of those people that is really enjoying being pregnant. We are getting her room together and with the generosity of family and friends, have been gifted with many supplies that she will need. I'll post pictures soon of what her room looks like. Thankfully I found a dr. out here that I really like and so far everything is going very well with the baby. She's growing a lot more quickly now and is starting to fill out now that we are entering the 3rd trimester. So now we've got 12 1/2 more weeks until she gets here! Until then, the 2 dogs are keeping me occupied while the snow and ice keeps me housebound. Here's a few pictures of my pregnancy thus far. I'll post a new pic soon :)

The "baby" for now

Well, many of you know that we attempted to adopt a 3 year old dog from an animal shelter last weekend. Unfortunately, that didn't end well. The first day we brought him home, he snarled and lunged at me when I reached down for a bone. Hudson jumped in between us and we had to pull the 2 of them apart. At first I thought, "well, it's my fault. Maybe its just a little food agression from being in a shelter. He's in a new place and stressed out, we'll just give it some more time." But the next day, he snarled at Matt when we went to brush him. Then that evening, he jumped on our bed. We tried using verbal commands and gesturing, but he wouldn't get off the bed. When Matt reached for his collar to pull him off, the dog completely snapped. He bit Matt on the arm, started snarling and barking and refused to back down. I held onto Hudson while Matt pushed the dog out and shut the bedroom door. After that, I was pretty much a mess. Neither of us felt comfortable with the dog in the house any longer. I was petrified of being alone with him and was just waiting for him to snap again. Matt was ready to take him back right then, but the shelter was closed for the evening. So the next day (Monday) I took him back to the shelter and explained what happened. They apologized profusely and took him back (but kept our $100) and tried to offer me a puppy. After discussing our options, we decided it would just be best to get a puppy that we could mold and train. As crazy as we may seem, WE feel that this is best for OUR family. If you think otherwise, that's your perrogative. For now Kodi and Hudson are having a great time with each other. Hudson is doing well other than tripping over him and taking back any toys that Kodi might try to play with. They are both currently napping, Hudson on the couch, Kodi on the floor. Wish us luck with housebreaking and sleeping tonight!

Joining the blog world

Well, I guess I finally caved to the pressure and created a blog. Look back frequently to find new information about the pregnancy and our life here in Fort Wayne!