22 weeks

Well Happy late 4th of July!  We had a good weekend filled with family, fun, good food, and a little bit of scariness.  For the past several years my mom's side of the family has celebrated Christmas during the summer simply because it is easier for more people to be able to come.  We do a tree, traditional Christmas dinner and gifts.  It's really a lot of fun.  That's where the family, fun, and good food was.  The little bit of scariness was when Levi and I had to head to the ER with a sharp pain in my lower abdomen.  I had sneezed early that morning (Saturday) and apparently pulled a muscle.  (Pathetic, I know)  Anyway, the pain was almost immediate but really just a nuisance (yes, I had to look up how to spell that).  As the day went on it got a little worse and a little worse.  While we were out at the lake for our Christmas we went outside to take a family picture in which I had to walk down and then back up a hill.  I'm pretty sure that's what did me in.  We came back in to do the tree/gifts and I just couldn't get comfortable in the chair and I was in tears.  My mom went and talked to my aunt who is a nurse and they told me it was time to go to the ER just to be safe.  So off we went.  At this point I was in A LOT of pain and honestly really scared.  (I have these really scary birth stories in the back of my head -both have turned out wonderfully -but still scary)  We got there and they wheeled me back and got me hooked up to the machines that monitor Lydia's heartbeat and contractions.  Her heartbeat was very good and I was not having any contractions.  They asked me about a billion questions (which we decided later was good to get them out of the way because they would have to ask me them at some time anyway).  The nurse that was working with me was wonderful and very helpful and informative.  Turns out she is also the mother of a friend I did my student teaching with.  After almost 2 hours of monitoring and questions they told me to go home, take some Tylenol, and lay down.  They said I would probably hurt for a few days but there wasn't really anything else that could be done.  I was bummed that we had to miss the rest of the Christmas weekend and I learned that I don't like having to have people do things for me.  I also learned that if I were to ever get put on bed rest I just might go CRAZY.  One day on the couch and 4 movies later I was bored and restless out of my mind.  Yesterday was a bit better because I was able to get up and walk around.  We had already planned to spend the day with Levi's parents for the 4th so we decided I could lay around over there just like I could do here at home.  I did take it easy but was able to do a little bit of cooking, swimming and of course firework watching. 

In other news, my last doctors appointment went well.  Not much to report except that she told me I could start taking Zantac to try to prevent my heartburn rather than treating it with Tums.  Umm..hello, Zantac is my new best friend!  Also, my appetite is FINALLY coming back and the nausea is continuing to subside.  Things are looking up and I am really trying to stay positive about all the things going on.  I know there are women all over the world who would love to have annoying symptoms if it only meant that their little one was on the way.  I am reminded of this every time Lydia starts doing gymnastics in my belly :)

Here's what else she is up to this week:
At 11 inches (the length of a spaghetti squash) and almost 1 pound, your baby is starting to look like a miniature newborn. Her lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and she's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath her gums. Her eyes have formed, but her irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. If you could see inside your womb, you'd be able to spot the fine hair (lanugo) that covers her body and the deep wrinkles on her skin, which she'll sport until she adds a padding of fat to fill them in. Inside her belly, her pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is developing steadily.


Until next time!

****EDIT****
I forgot to mention that I had my first "we have a baby" dream.  It was a weird complicated dream but the main thing I remember is that the baby had dark hair (like Levi's) and super chubby cheeks!