Hard Times
& Tears

All about the life and times of Alissa, Erik, Bradley & co.

YES. Level 1 Human Baby.

YES. Level 1 Human Baby.

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My love for puppets goes way back. I love how I didn’t realize that I was supposed to crouch behind the puppet stage, and that the chair didn’t hide me.

My love for puppets goes way back. I love how I didn’t realize that I was supposed to crouch behind the puppet stage, and that the chair didn’t hide me.

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Alissa, on our dating anniversary (APR 1) in 2007.

Alissa, on our dating anniversary (APR 1) in 2007.

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I may or may not have purchased a Chef Puppet to entertain my yet-to-be-born daughter… - mlkshk

I may or may not have purchased a Chef Puppet to entertain my yet-to-be-born daughter… - mlkshk

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More of this please. eroispaziali: 1981 HOW REFRESHING IS THIS?! Oh my God, am I dreaming?! A girl without makeup holding a house of Legos instead of a pink dreamhouse or a princess wand, I can’t even…!

More of this please.

eroispaziali:

1981

HOW REFRESHING IS THIS?! Oh my God, am I dreaming?! A girl without makeup holding a house of Legos instead of a pink dreamhouse or a princess wand, I can’t even…!

(Source: eroispaziali, via robosheep)

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Everyone takes viznotes at Childbirth class, right?

Everyone takes viznotes at Childbirth class, right?

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For my wife on the anniversary of our marriage.

For my wife on the anniversary of our marriage.

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20 WEEKS: Movement

Movement has been detected. And then some. And then some more. They told me at the ultrasound place that because my placenta had an anterior placement (in the front of my uterus, on my belly side) it would take me longer to feel the baby move, since in that placement the placenta acts like a padding between the baby and me. So I wasn’t really sure when I would actually feel anything. There were a couple times last week when I thought I might be feeling her move, but it was really hard to tell. Then, last Wednesday, one day before I was 20 weeks, I definitely felt her move. Ever since then, it’s just gotten more strong and undeniable. Today, I also feel REALLY big. I felt small until this afternoon and then all of a sudden I felt HUGE. I feel like she grew a lot, like, this afternoon. So weird. Anyway, I love feeling my baby girl move.

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19 WEEKS: Finally, a bump!! I still look debatably fat rather than pregnant (according to me), but it’s definitely there! I’m really excited because I was starting to get down on myself that I didn’t have a bump yet. I wasn’t overweight pre-pregnancy and was only at most 10 lbs more than my ideal weight. So I was getting really upset that I was relatively so far along and looking way more fat than pregnant, while other pregnant women at the same stage or earlier were just looking cute and pregnant. In other news, I *think* I felt some movement in there yesterday. It’s hard to tell. I know I’m supposed to be late in feeling it (I think I am already) since my placenta is located anteriorly, but I might have felt something yesterday. Or it might have been a muscle spasm or something. I’m not sure. We’ll see if it continues. And another thing. I’m feeling a little nauseous in the mornings, and sometimes in the evenings, even though I didn’t feel like that at all in my first trimester. It might be in part due to the fact that I’m carrying two big bags with me to work everyday (one with personal stuff like lunch and water bottle and the other my laptop bag), but I’m not sure. The only thing that makes it better is a bagel with cream cheese. :D No, seriously, I swear. Speaking of weight, I’ve gained about 13 lbs so far, which is OK. It’s about 3 lbs over the recommended gain at this stage, but my doctor says it’s perfectly fine. I’m on the fence myself, but as long as I keep up a similar rate, I think I’ll be good. I would ideally like to not get over 30 lbs total by the end. We’ll see, as I don’t yet know what the weight gain is like in the late second trimester and third trimester. I know the baby and your body grows a lot, but I’m not sure how that correlates to weight gain. I’m exercising 3 times a week (pretty good, but down from my pre-pregnancy 5 times a week), and I’m starting prenatal yoga classes this weekend (I hear that strengthening your core can decrease the length and difficulty of your delivery, and I’m ALL for that). I’ll let you know how it goes.

19 WEEKS: Finally, a bump!! I still look debatably fat rather than pregnant (according to me), but it’s definitely there! I’m really excited because I was starting to get down on myself that I didn’t have a bump yet. I wasn’t overweight pre-pregnancy and was only at most 10 lbs more than my ideal weight. So I was getting really upset that I was relatively so far along and looking way more fat than pregnant, while other pregnant women at the same stage or earlier were just looking cute and pregnant.

In other news, I *think* I felt some movement in there yesterday. It’s hard to tell. I know I’m supposed to be late in feeling it (I think I am already) since my placenta is located anteriorly, but I might have felt something yesterday. Or it might have been a muscle spasm or something. I’m not sure. We’ll see if it continues.

And another thing. I’m feeling a little nauseous in the mornings, and sometimes in the evenings, even though I didn’t feel like that at all in my first trimester. It might be in part due to the fact that I’m carrying two big bags with me to work everyday (one with personal stuff like lunch and water bottle and the other my laptop bag), but I’m not sure. The only thing that makes it better is a bagel with cream cheese. :D No, seriously, I swear.

Speaking of weight, I’ve gained about 13 lbs so far, which is OK. It’s about 3 lbs over the recommended gain at this stage, but my doctor says it’s perfectly fine. I’m on the fence myself, but as long as I keep up a similar rate, I think I’ll be good. I would ideally like to not get over 30 lbs total by the end. We’ll see, as I don’t yet know what the weight gain is like in the late second trimester and third trimester. I know the baby and your body grows a lot, but I’m not sure how that correlates to weight gain. I’m exercising 3 times a week (pretty good, but down from my pre-pregnancy 5 times a week), and I’m starting prenatal yoga classes this weekend (I hear that strengthening your core can decrease the length and difficulty of your delivery, and I’m ALL for that). I’ll let you know how it goes.

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(via xkcd: Permanence)

(via xkcd: Permanence)

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