You're Getting Sooooo Big!

I'm definitely much bigger this pregnancy. I mistakenly looked at pics from my first pregnancy and saw pics from my baby shower when I was 8 months pregnant. I was shocked because the way I look now is how I looked in those pics. Very depressing. There's 2 co-workers who make comments about how huge I'm getting EVERYDAY! Seriously, when you start hearing comments everyday from Monday through Thursday, you start to think that you really are gigantic and that maybe something's wrong. These are some comments I hear daily, "You're getting sooo big!", "Wow, you're really popping out!" and "Wow, you're due at the end of August? You have a loong way to go." I actually got mad at one of the girls and told her to stop. I totally don't feel bad because she should be more sensitive about what she's saying. She's been pregnant before and from the pictures I saw of her when she was pregnant, I'm surprised at her insensitivity...she literally blew up everywhere in her body, including her face (she looks great now though). Ever since I told her to stop, she's stopped making comments, but I see her obviously looking at my stomach everytime I walk by her. Am I being overly sensitive here? Hubs keeps telling me that I'm pregnant, not fat, but when you hear comments like this, you start to believe some of them. I even asked the doctor because I was concerned, but she said I was fine. I just have to stop comparing this pregnancy with the first one since I was so tiny. I'm just praying that this baby isn't huge. I was blessed that Nathan was small and only 6 lbs, so I'm feverishly praying this baby is small too.

Because I'm much bigger this time, my back is killing me each day. I only had back pain the last 2 months of the first pregnancy. The chairs at work do not support your back well. I've been doing almost everything possible to relieve the pain: walking around every 30 minutes, doing the back exercises, walking on the treadmill twice a week, elevating my feet, using a lumbar support pillow on my chair, getting short massages from hubby each night, etc. I'm debating whether to ask my boss to work from home 2 days a week instead of just on Fridays. The chairs at work are just killing me!

AI note: I was jumping up and down that Kristy Lee went home last week. My prediction this week is Brooke or Jason. They were just plain awful and boring. I do feel bad for Brooke - I have to agree with Paula for once though...if you mess up, you keep going and don't stop, especially since you have a band accompanying you. It was just so awkward to start over again and I felt really bad for her.

Leg Cramps

So the leg crampings have already begun. I’ve been reading about what I can do to relieve the pain or prevent it from happening. One website said to take extra magnesium, which some women claim works. It helps work together with calcium since magnesium relaxes the muscles while calcium stimulates muscles to contract. I was willing to try anything since nothing worked in my 1st pregnancy. One website listed some common food sources of magnesium:

• 1 oz. dried pumpkin seeds: 151.9 mg
• 1 oz. sunflower seeds: 100.5 mg
• 1/3 cup wheat germ: 90.9 mg
• 1 cup spinach spaghetti: 86.6 mg
• 1/2 cup boiled long beans: 84.3 mg
• 1 oz. dried unblanched almonds: 84.1 mg
• 1/3 cup tofu: 76.1 mg
• 1 cup nonfat yogurt: 43.4 mg

Seriously, who eats this stuff everyday and has this readily available in their kitchen?! The only thing I have is the tofu. Anyway, since I got different brands of free prenatal vitamins from my doctor, I tried the ones with and without magnesium. I swear when I took the ones with magnesium I’ve had no leg cramps, but the days I don’t take it, I start getting cramps in my leg and foot. So if you’re suffering from leg cramps, go ahead and try to take these supplements or make sure your vitamins have some magnesium in it (with your doctor’s approval of course).

AI prediction based on last night’s performance:
Who I think should go: Kristy Lee or Brooke
Who I think will go: Carly or Syesha

December Pics

Some pictures I've been meaning to post from December. AI side note: wow, was I wrong in my prediction this week! I'm shocked and upset Michael Johns went. Once again, Kristy Lee escapes.

We had such a mild winter with only 3 snow storms, so Nathan was happy to be outside anytime there was some snow.

Two years in a row we barely had any snow. We were only able to go sledding twice this winter and both of them barely had 2 inches. The third snowstorm we were all sick with the flu.

Port Discovery Children's Museum in Baltimore, MD. I highly recommend it if you're looking for something to do there. It was rated in the top 5 kid's museums (I think the one in Boston was #1). He loved it as we spend 3 1/2 hrs there and he didn't want to leave. It's perfect for 2 to 4 year olds.

Nathan was brave to walk this all by himself.

Scary!

I didn't realize how much he loved to paint. He's actually quite the artist and draws really well. He gets that from Daddy's side, not me!

At Mommy's work on Christmas Eve. Every year everybody brings their kids to work on Christmas Eve since it's a half day.

They provide breakfast, videos to watch and get to meet Santa. He obviously doesn't look too happy here!

All the kids trying to play with Nathan's truck. The other kid eyeing his truck is my boss' son.

AI - Top 8

Thoughts from tonight's performance:

Michael - thought it was a good performance and hopes he moves on.

Syesha - love her voice, but she always picks songs that will be easily compared with another artist, which puts her in danger. She'll probably be going this week. I agree with the judges that her singing tends to be more mechanical, lacking of emotion at times.

Jason - not a fan of his, but he actually did well tonight. He probably redeemed himself this week.

Kristy Lee - awfully flat. She really needs to go. Does Paula ever hear anybody sing awful?!!

David C - one of his worst performance. I loved it how unhappy he looked after the judge's critcisms.

Carly - what's up with the angry performance? Not very fitting for inspiration week! She's so beautiful it would be nice to see her wearing some softer makeup to soften her harsh look with a softer song. This would have been the week to do that.

David A - loved it! His voice just makes me shiver sometimes. Great song choice for him. Not surprised since it is inspiration week and so many great songs for him to pick from.

Brooke - I'm surprised she didn't play the piano tonight. Performance was nice and ok....didn't blow me away as she doesn't have a power voice like Carly and Syesha.


Who I think should be the bottom 2 based on tonight's performance: Kristy Lee and David Cook. But David C will be safe based on his fan base and past performances. I should probably also include Carly in the mix since David will be safe.

Who I think will be the bottom 2: Syesha and Kristy Lee (with Kristy Lee escaping again)

It's A.....

girl!! The ultrasound technician said she was 80% sure. The camera was directed at the baby's bottom and it zoomed in and out (amazing to see how wide apart the legs were). She was only able to see the umbilical cord, but nothing below it. She did mention that she can see the labia. She couldn't say 100%, so she advised us to save our receipts and tags! :) I was overwhelmed by how clearly we were able to see the feet, legs, arms and the thumb sucking. We never saw that with Nathan..funny how he never was a thumb sucker.

So now on to picking names. We're leaning towards Kaitlin, but Dan wants to have more options. We also need to pick a boy's name just in case this baby was hiding his private parts!

AI note: glad to see Ramiele and Kristy Lee were in the bottom as I had hoped. But once again, Kristy managed to escape again. Argh!

AI - Top 9

Quick review of tonight’s performances:

Brooke – I agree that it did seem a bit rushed, but thought she gave an ok performance. Something seemed lacking in her singing.

Ramiele – ok, cute performance. Apparently she’s got great supporters like Kristy Lee who are voting non-stop for her as she’s never been in the bottom 3, even though she deserved it a few times.

David C – you can tell he’s trying to really be humble after his performances and giving credit now to all the arrangements (that just irks me even more that he’s trying so hard). I have to admit the performance was good, but I still can’t stand him and his attitude.

Jason – he did seem a bit more comfortable this week, but it always helps when he’s behind his guitar. I thought he did ok….typical and mellow.

Carly – I thought she did a great, beautiful job. She was definitely more relaxed this week. I do agree somewhat with Simon’s comments about her outfits….I would like to see her wearing some sleeves to cover up those tattoos!

David A – I’m so happy he did a great job! Such a beautiful voice!

Kristy Lee – ugh, she did ok. Of course she’ll be safe since this is her genre. What’s up with the bare feet?!

Syesha – I was waiting for someone to pick “I Will Always Love You”…I knew it was going to Syesha or Carly. This song is always the kiss of death since nobody will compare to Whitney Houston. It would have been nice if she kept the 2nd half of the song like she did with the first half. Very risky for her to try and imitate Whitney.

Michael – loved the bluesy gospel-like arrangement for him.

Simon has always hated country week, so I'm not surprised he pretty much hated everybody tonight.

Bottom 2 prediction who I think should go: Kristy Lee, Ramiele
Bottom 2 prediction who I think will go: Jason, Syesha