It's A Girl!

Last month, we found out that Baby Musselman is a girl. While I couldn't be more excited, I have decided that Luke and I will probably go broke buying baby girl clothes! They are just so much fun!

I had my monthly check-up today. Baby girl is doing well. I am finally starting to gain weight; I gained four pounds this past month.


Lately, things have been going really well. I feel great and have started to actually look pregnant. I also found out that I survived Merck's layoffs and still have a job. It was such a relief!

25 Weeks.

The Unexpected "Joys" of Pregnancy

As my pregnancy progresses, I quickly learn that I don't have the best luck. I have had a lot of cramping lately, but started having terrible cramping around midnight last night. It made me feel like I couldn't breathe at times. I thought maybe stress and other factors were getting to me so I waited to call my doctor until this morning. Of course, Dr. Jones wanted me to get to the office immediately. When I got to the office, he did a full exam along with blood work and a urinalysis. It turns out that I have kidney stones. While they will not be fun to pass, it is one of the better things that could have caused the cramping. (I'm trying to look on the bright side!) I was running a slight fever so there is still the fear of appendicitis, but it seems unlikely since the urinalysis came back signaling kidney stones. Now I simply have to drink a lot of water and wait this thing out. I'm hoping for a quick passing!

On a positive note, baby celly started kicking this past week. At first it felt like little air bubbles, but the real kicks began last night. I was able to feel the kicks with my hand on the outside of my belly. While this is a really neat experience and it's fun to finally have confirmation that the baby is moving around, I'm not sure how I feel about it. Honestly, it feels like an alien is taking over my body. I think baby Musselman is practicing kickboxing in my belly! He/she is very active.

I Blame Everything On Pregnancy...

As the title of this blog entry denotes, I blame everything on pregnancy. Seriously, every part of my body is involved in this pregnancy! For starters, I seem to be losing mass quantities of brain cells on a daily basis. Not only do I seem to get dumber everyday, but my memory is shot as well! Second, I am breaking out like a teenager. It is even more frustrating that there simply isn't anything I can do about it. My eating habits have gotten even worse than they were pre-pregnancy. I now have trouble eating ANY form of meat. As a result, I average two to three peanut butter sandwiches a day. On the plus side, I doubt baby Musselman will have peanut butter allergies! Finally, no matter how much sunscreen I applied while on vacation, my skin still got terrible sunburns. The worst part was that the sunburns looked like strange rashes. I love pregnancy!

The good news is that I am starting to actually look pregnant. It is really exciting! I love my newly round belly and look forward to the continued growth. It makes the pregnancy seem so much more real. Here are a couple bump pictures at 18 weeks.

16 Weeks

Tomorrow marks the beginning of my 16th week of pregnancy. So far, my pregnancy has been progressing fairly smoothly. The sickness has finally subsided and the hunger has kicked in. I get especially hungry at night. Honestly, it is fairly annoying because I usually have to eat a second dinner around midnight. Hopefully this doesn't have any reflection on the baby's sleeping patterns! I still haven't gained much weight. Since I started this pregnancy, I have gained two pounds. I finally have a slight baby bump. For me, this is incredibly exciting. I am really looking forward to the continued growth of my belly!

Decorating the Christmas tree. It was the best deal of the year. $20 for any tree on the lot!

13 Week Ultrasound

We're Expecting!

I guess it's time to share the good news; Luke and I are expecting our first child next June. While we are incredibly excited to bring a new addition into our family, I'm not so sure baby kitty is sharing in our excitement! I am currently about 10 weeks along and Baby Musselman has a healthy heartbeat of 170 beats per minute.

We found out about the pregnancy on election day. I thought I had the flu, but the doctor told me otherwise! My response to the nurse telling me the pregnancy test was positive, "No, it's negative. It isn't possible that I'm pregnant." You see, Luke and I had an appointment lined up to see a fertility specialist the following month. I was in such disbelief that I had to take two home pregnancy tests to confirm the news after already having both blood and urine pregnancy tests at the doctor's office.

So far, the pregnancy has been exciting, but rough. I can't believe this olive-sized baby can have such an impact on my body! My moods are terrible. I really try, but cannot control them at all. I can't sleep, but am tired all the time. I vomit non-stop. Whoever came up with the term "morning sickness" was sorely mistaken. I am not sure how women can possibly gain even a pound during the first trimester. At this point, I am just trying to keep from losing too much weight.

We Really Need to Get Better at this Blog Thing...

So, it's been a few months since my last post. I know, I am terrible at this blog thing. I honestly do have good intentions. Unfortunately, life always seems to get in the way. Since September, Luke and I have hardly had a free weekend. Luckily, things are slowing down a bit for the holidays. I can't wait! For those of you who don't know, Christmas time is my favorite time of the year. From my guilty pleasure, Black Friday shopping, to baking Christmas cookies, watching cheesy Christmas movies and tree decorating, I absolutely love every aspect of the holiday season! Now we just need some snow to go along with the cold weather.

Since it has been so long since my last post, I will simply post pictures. For those of you who have been waiting for pictures of our newly finished basement, I will leave those pictures for Luke to post since it has been his and my dad's project for the past eight months.

On the beach in Holland, MI

Cheering on our Missouri Tigers!

Wedding FunCollege Roommates

To Grandmother's House We Go...

Luke and I are in the process of driving to Holland, MI to visit his grandparents. I have to say that I LOVE my Verizon wireless internet card! The technological advancement of internet access through cell phone towers makes car rides much more enjoyable. I can keep myself up to date on all the latest celebrity gossip, US Open scores and election news.

So far, this drive has taken much longer than it should. Unfortunately, we still have two hours of driving ahead of us. Part of our delay was by choice; Luke and I stopped in Springfield, IL to visit the Yutzy family. My favorite part was the time we spent jumping on the trampoline with the eight-year-old, Benjamin. Of course, I am now trying to convince Luke that we need a trampoline at home.

Not long after leaving Springfield, Luke and I decided that we were getting hungry for dinner. I'm not sure why, but food is always an issue in our world. It didn't help that we were in the middle of Nowhere, IL. After passing a few respectable exits, we took a Joliet exit. I should have known that this was a bad idea when I asked for food suggestions at the gas station and the attendant mentioned Boston Market, Baker's Square and Applebee's. She even cautioned that Applebee's is "really good, but a bit on the pricey side." As many of you know, I am not a fan of "casual family dining restaurants" so all of these options were disappointing. As a result, we spent over an hour at the exit and ended up eating at a Cracker Barrel after the wait at a Japanese Steak House was too long. I know, Luke is a saint to put up with me!

Now it will be after midnight when we get to G & G Chamberlain's house. I am looking forward to spending some time with the grandparents, but not looking forward to Lake Michigan. Luke's grandfather seems to think I am going to swim in the lake. There are a couple big reasons this will probably not happen. 1.) I like to touch and see the bottom of the body of water I am swimming in. 2.) Lake Michigan is WAY up north. This means it will be cold.

Well, this post is getting rather long. I think I will go back to singing all the songs on my iPod to Luke. He's a very lucky guy!

Hernia Surgery

Since Luke and I returned from our honeymoon, we have been anxious for some desperately needed rest and relaxation. Fortunately, this wish came true. Unfortunately, I had to have hernia surgery for this to happen. For those of you who are lucky enough to have never experienced this procedure, I will be the first to let you know that it could quite possibly be considered cruel and unusual punishment! Basic acts like sneezing and urinating make me instantly cry because it hurts so bad.

Since I have been laid up for more than a week, I have had a lot of time on my hands. Many of you know that this has been difficult for me as I can't stand wasting time. I am going completely crazy! I never thought I would be so anxious to go back to work. Unfortunately, I have almost three weeks off.

Luke has been a saint during this time. He has gone out of his way to attempt to make me happy. I am a very lucky girl!

Here are pictures of my incision.