The only thing to change is the belly....

See? Here is the evidence.
Exhibit 1. Same knobby knees and elbows
Exhibit 2. Upper arms....no noticeable change in girth
Exhibit 3. Same deathly pale skin tone.

However, check out the basketball! So I went to see the nutritionist today and found out that fruit is in fact, a carb. Who knew? I lumped it all together into the fruit category. Apparently the blood sugar issue stems from the fact that I don't eat at a consistent time each day, and I consume about half of my carb requirement in the form of craisins. News to me.

That being said, she also told me that my levels weren't bad. In fact, it was clear I was enjoying a megasurge of sugar at two hours (and was I ever feeling good) but at three hours, I would crash and burn. Which meant I ate more craisins.

I did find out that I do a number of good things. I don't like fatty stuff. I like peanut butter and sunflower seeds. I don't eat buns with the hamburger (ha ha ha to all those who roll their eyes!)

However, I should lay off the Pepsi. Or switch to diet. ICK! I will cut down on the pepsi, and try not to replace it with OJ, which is also doing a number on my blood sugar levels.

On the plus side, I can eat lots of meat and on the down side, I can eat lots of vegetables. Unfortunately, I dislike most of them. Which is why I was eating lots of fruit :)

Also, potatoes in any form (including fries) are not a vegetable. I knew this, but I tried to convice her that in fact, it was. I tried :)

That being said, my levels were actually pretty good except for the two hour. The biggest concern is that my doctor wants to avoid a C-section at any cost, and also wants to make sure the baby doesn't get too big. So for two months, I can do it. On the plus side, they weighed me and I am at 144 so that means I have gained about 20 pounds so far, and that makes the doctor really happy.

Goodbye craisins, you've been a real friend. Good bye OJ, I know you didn't mean to do it. Pepsi, I just need a little time for myself....it's not you, it's me....(sob!)

Nothin' left to give....

So I had my one hour glucose test on Tuesday. I fasted all night and did everything the doctor told me to do. I go in at 8am and drink this nasty orange crap that had a definite cheap gin/ cheap tonic aftertaste. Bleeeech! Wait around an hour and have blood drawn. Go back for my checkup and the baby is all good and really active....

Get a callback and I failed the 1 hour by a few points, which meant I had to do the three hour glucose tolerance test. For some odd reason, this glucose tasted MUCH better...alot more sweet. But then I got really shaky and I had to lay down. I got blood pulled 5 times over the course of three hours.

For those of you that don't know. I hate needles. I used to cry lots. I'd flail and gnash my teeth. 2 year olds behaved better them I did. But them I got sepsis, and after a 10 days of icky blood draws almost constnatly, I got somewhat used to the idea. Then I had my miscarriage, and that was an epic disaster of blood draws and failure to get IVs going. I am conditioned to blood tests now. I don't like 'em, but I can tolerate them.

After the three hour test, I went to work. However, my left leg kept bothering me and started to hurt really bad. Due to the blood clot issue in June before the wedding, I got sent back to the hospital for another blood test. Sigh! I'm not even sure they got blood. I think there is nothing left. So I'm still waiting on the labs.... Update. It's positive....again

At this point, the bets are on if I make it to the Halloween delivery date. I'm putting cash money on early delivery.

Any takers?

Oh, and another update, the three hour glucose came back and I'm all good. HOWEVER, my doctor thinks the numbers are "a little on the high side" and he's worried about me having a big baby. Considering I was almost 9 pounds, and all my grandma's kids were 9-11 pounders, he asked me what I would like to do. Plus diabetes is rampant on both sides of the family, so I figured what the heck. As insurance will cover the nutritionist, why not take advantge of it?

Plus, then I have a medical reason to take frequent breaks.... Some would see this as a hassle, I see it as a golden opportunity! I know I haven't been eating as well as I should be (It's been crazy between the work and the wedding), but from what I can gather, I may be eating way too much fruit and juices. Not that the two can a day pepsi helps. (But it is caffiene free). It seems as though I am not getting enough carbs. I eat lots of meat and fruit, but anything in the starch family has been off putting. So it will be interesting to see what they say.

On the plus side, my doctor was very happy that I asked for the referral, and I even asked for a follow up 3 hour test, well, I'm sure you all know the reason why... :)

Man that's an ugly baby

OK, so I'm stealing a Stephen Lynch lyric (one for two on the good looking baby). Steph was in town last night and we were looking up baby pictures of friends who have recently had babies. Fortunately, most of these children fell into the "yup, looks like a baby" or "wow! that's actually a cute baby."

Then there were the others.

You know of what I'm speaking.

Some babies are not cute.

In fact, they are downright ugly.

Everyone has been telling me that I will think that my baby is cute, no matter what he looks like. I beg to differ. I think I can be honest with myself. I'm going to notice if it is an ugly baby. As Steph said, one of her friends make the comment "The baby has such nice hands..." that's code for "But a really ugly face."

In fact, I don't expect cute. Most babies have a misshapen head, some bruising, and squall alot. I may think the toes and fingers are cute, and there will be "oh, we have a baby and it's healthy." But there will be no "this is the most beautiful baby ever." In my opinion, most babies aren't even cute until about 3 months of age. My comment will most likely be along the lines of "yup, he looks like a baby."

So, in the interest of science, we went on a bunch of hospital online nursery sites and looked at the babies.

Baby cuteness follows a bell curve.

There are about 10% of beautiful babies. The ones you coo over and inspires strangers to approach.

Then there is an additional 10% who are cute. Like a regular baby, but with better skin, or more alert eyes.

The next 60% are the average baby. Would be difficult to pick out of a lineup. Bald, squinty eyed, looks like they run an illegal gaming operation. Most babies fall into this category, and realistically speaking, so will our baby.

The next 10% are the "sorta ugly" baby. These would be the "nice hands" baby. Most parents aren't willing to admit to this. We've all seen them; usually they turn out to be nice looking kids and adults...it just takes time to grow into their features.

The bottom 10%. "Wow! that's one ugly baby!" Your brain screams this as soon as you see the baby. You are forced to hold it, but you immediately give it back in fear that ugly is contagious. Granted, it's not the baby's fault, there are just some really unfortunate instances. One baby we found was over 11 pounds. It had no neck...it was jsut a round ball of flesh...like a mini Jabba the Hutt. Another baby had some issues (hydroencephalus?) and had a tremendously large noggin. It looked like what would happen if Frankenstein was a baby. It was actually scary. I did feel sorry for the poor little thing.

Stephanie and I discussed the ethics of starting a website "uglybaby.com" and what would happen to us if we did. I mean, looking at the baby pictures killed about 2 hours. It was definitely fun. But it was also time consuming.

I guess I don't really have a point, except that i hope the baby will be on of the 60% like me...."yup, average looking" And if anyone says the baby has "nice hands" I am on to you!!!

The spookiness begins

So, he has been kicking away for some time now, but mostly I was the only one to feel it. As of Thursday, we have a new milestone. You can see him kick, and he does this weird camelback thing where if I lay on the bed, both sides of my belly sort of cave in, but you can see how he is moving. Usually he sits with his face towards my back. Like he's mooning the world.

So after a terrible day at work yesterday, I decided the best thing to do would be to take a bath. Apparently, he loved it. I don't know if the water offered him more of a weightless feeling, or if he liked the sound, or what, but he was ALL over the place. My entire belly was going, it looked like popcorn in there! I was laughing so hard that Eugene was compelled to investigate, and he was laughing too because I could put water in my belly button, and watch him kick it out. Plus, when I got out, he was still kicking up a storm. It's funny because Eugene can now SEE the baby move, which makes it a little more real for him, I think.

I will probably look back at this post in two months and remember how cute the kicks were. Only 105 days left to baby time! That doesn't seem like nearly enough time to do everything we need to do.... It's six paychecks people!!!

Good News

I got a call from the ultrasound reader guy (that's his OFFICIAL title) and everything looks perfect! 24 weeks, 2 days, almost 2 pounds, and about 14 inches long! No cleft palate! No Cleft Lip! MY BABY WILL BE BORN WITH A FACE!!!

Now, I am somewhat reassured.....

Top Picture

Our version of "The Scream" . Actually, he was swallowing (we got to see it in realtime 3-D)

Second picture

The boy with his hand on his head. I think we is asking God "You gave me to THEM? Do you have ANY IDEA what you have just done? Oy!"

Third picture

Regular ultrasound. Now you can see he only has one nose. Thanks Jessica.... :)

Last Picture

He is covering his face with his arms...which is how my dad, my brother and I all sleep. Must be genetic. Oh, and you can't tell, but he has three pairs of shoes in there, becasue that's genetic too, right Jess?

So everything looks pretty good. just waiting for the final say so from the Dr. Oh! And he is definitely a boy, because he finally showed us his junk....

Wedding Roller Coaster

Picture explanations

Top: Jessica and Adam getting frisky at the reception.

Second: Jessica and Addie with one of the pilfered cake grapes (ummmm sugary goodness)

Third: Eugene and I kissing (or hugging) Look at Owen on the left in the tux...he didn't want to see and "disgusting kissing..."

Fourth: One of the nice shots...it was nice and green there.

Last: I am lecturing Adam and Jessica about the impropriety of picture one...(tee hee )

We planned on going to Milwaukee for last minute wedding things on Wednesday. I found great roses at $7.49 a dozen and we picked up some jordan almonds. However, the "getting" to Milwaukee was a little problematic. All day Monday and Tuesday, my left leg was killing me. I thought I had a bad charlie horse, which is pretty common in pregnancy. No biggie.

Wednesday morning, before we planned to leave for Milwaukee, I realized my lower leg was red and swollen. Eugene insisted I call the dr., which I did and left a message. While in the car, en route, I get a call from the nurse. "Go to the nearest ER." "Huh? I'm on my way to Milwaukee, we have wedding stuff to do." "Well, we are pretty sure you have a blood clot in your leg, and if it moves, it could kill you, so go to the ER." It seemed to be a convincing argument to me, so we turned around and headed back to Rapids (we weren't FAR out of town).

While waiting in the lab, we run into my aunt and uncle (small town) and after the test was run, I thought it would all be okay, and we could be on our way. I get a call from my dr. "The test is positive, you have a blood clot. You are probably going to be going into the hospital for a few days..." "No I'm not. I'm getting married on Friday, and I think I need to be there." So I get sent to the ultrasound lab and they scan my leg. I did have a clot, but it must have dissolved (which would explain the feeling that my calf muscle was being ripped off my leg.)

All in all, we found out I can no longer fly (we had to go to Minneapolis for a honeymoon....) I am at an increased risk for developing another one while pregnant, and I get to wear support stockings. (Hellooo Retirement! Seriously, we might as well pack up and move to Boca....I actually was wearing support stockings with shorts. Yes, I was at home, in private, but once the slide has started....)

The wedding itself went off well. The two ring bearers (both 4) were allowed to carry the actual rings, which were then examined, removed from their boxes, looked at, and fortunately not lost. Everyone walked down the aisle too quick (I think we only made it to 1/2 way through "In My Life" and we were all up there. But the weather and location were fantastic. It was perfect. The food was great, the cake, divine. My niece and I did all the flowers (9 boutoneeres, my bouquet, and both bridesmaids' flowers) in under an hour. Some roses, baby's breath, and hostas to add flair. They looked pretty good actually. Steph's mom was teasing me for getting the flowers done 1 hour before the ceremony. But they were cheap and looked good. Also, although you can't really see it, Steph did an outstanding job getting me into the dress. It was a feat of both skill and engineering. She really was the "maid of honor extraordinaire" she claims to be. I highly recommend her services to any future brides.

Lots of family and friends were able to attend. My dad's brother and sisters live all over and it was the first time in 13 years they were all together (the last time being my grandpa's funeral.) Even though we kept it a small wedding (about 120 people max) it was hard to talk to everyone, which I really do feel bad about. I tried...

As Eugene is deciding whether to change his name or not, I am still officially an "Engwall". Overall, being married feels no different. The weird thing is when someone asks me about "my husband" I have to think a minute...my brain tries to process it..."husband? and that would be....?" Before it clicks..."Oh, Eugene. Yes. We're married." I keep thinking of the Seinfeld episode with the woman and her "fiance". Pretty soon, we are going to have to have people come over to "see the baby".

And Jessica, I do have more pictures that I got printed out and will be sending you along with the yarn I forgot to give you....