Anatomy & Monitoring

It is still a girl! Our little lady looked so big during today's ultrasound! She was squirming around and kicking me all over during the scan but they still managed to see all the crucial parts they were looking for. She is measuring on target and developing according to schedule.

On another note, we were given some concerning news. The perinatologist noticed the umbilical cord is directly in front of the cervix (where baby is suppose to exit at birth). This condition known as vasa previa, it is very rare and potentially dangerous putting us at the top of the high risk delivery list. This condition requires very close monitoring and delivery by C-section before the mother goes into labor.

They are also suspecting something called velamentous cord insertion. Which means the umbilical does not connect directly to the placenta. This leaves a portion of the cord blood vessels exposed and vulnerable to rupture, especially if the mother goes into spontaneous labor. This was all very scary but we are glad to have wonderful specialists monitoring our pregnancy.

It is possible for the umbilical cord to move up and away from the cervix over the next several weeks and we will keep our fingers crossed that all will be well. We will have ultrasounds every 2 weeks for the remainder of the pregnancy to keep an eye on baby's growth. Please keep us in your thoughts. xoxo

Braxton Hicks = Anxiety

Okay, I need the advice of all my formerly pregnant friends out there again. Today I had a strange sensation that the baby was stretching out in all directions and I felt a pressure/tightness in my low belly. No pain. This happened to me last night while driving home from work too. So I hopped on google and read through many different descriptions of Braxton Hicks contractions and determined that's what it was.

At 17 weeks, I felt like it was a bit early to have BH. So I called my Dr. and he assured me it is okay at this point if I only have one or two per day. He is so nice but my anxiety level is still through the roof! My pregnancy has actually been quite an uphill battle since day one and every little "ping" puts me in high alert.

I did read that BH can be brought on when the baby is very active. Well we know this little lady is quite the mover, at 3:30am it felt like she was having a dance party in my belly. I really hope the BH are just a result of all her activity.

If you could please share you stories of when you started to experience BH, how frequent were they, what you did (if anything) to keep them away....or any helpful/reassuring info you might want to share. I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanksgiving, Ring test, and....

Thanksgiving weekend was special and memorable for so many reasons. We spent the holiday in Indiana with my grandparents and had a wonderful time eating and eating and eating! I started to feel the baby right around 16 weeks, maybe a little earlier but it took me a couple days to realize this really is the baby! I appreciate all the descriptions everyone contributed to help me figure out what it might feel like. I have to say that I think everyone is very different. The most accurate way to describe my experience is having the sensation of popcorn popping in my belly. I'm pretty sure these are actual kicks...I don't think I ever felt "flutters" just the kicks. We've been told this is a very active little one but I'll get to that in a minute.

While we were in Indiana my family performed the "Ring Test" on my belly. For those of you who are not familiar, the ring test is supposed to predict the gender of the baby (according to some people). You place your wedding band on a very thin necklas chain and hold it steady over the belly (or some people have told me you can do it over your wrist). The ring starts moving (all by itself, it's true and very freaky). If the ring starts moving in a circular motion the baby will be a girl, if it moves back and forth in a line it will be a boy. Here is my ring test.

Or you can see it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4OFlx5xl58

It definitely moved in a circle! Sure enough, last night we went for our gender ultrasound and we are having a little GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She is quite the active little lady according to the ultrasound technician. She was bouncing all around stretching her arms and legs, arching her back, practicing her kicks, yawning and putting her hands in her mouth! It was so amazing, I can't even explain. Greg was completely mesmorized by our tiny little girl and possibly a little intimidated at how active she is! I tried to tell him that ever since I started feeling her move it seems like she never slows down! We are so thrilled and feel so blessed to have a little daughter on the way :)

Flutter:

to wave or flap rapidly in an irregular manner

As a first time prego I feel so clueless. At my OB visit last week the nurse asked me, "Are you feeling any fetal movement?" Ummm....I dunno. I'll be 15 weeks tomorrow and I feel little pokes and jabs in my "low belly" all the time, but I think that is called round ligament pain (because I am growing....rapidly).

The nurse explained that I will start to feel flutters. Ok, that doesn't really help me either. All you previously prego ladies know gas and constipation are pregnancy's two best friends. I feel all sort of things going on in there! My pregnancy book says it can take longer for 1st timers to feel movement so I'm trying to be patient but I am so excited!

Please share with me your stories about "flutters" and "kicks". I would like to think I'll be able to distinguish my baby from say gas but I just don't know what I'm looking out for!

Goodbye First Trimester

Today I am 14 weeks pregnant. Some people say the first trimester is over at the end of the 12th week, and others would argue it is the end of the 13th week. Either way, the 1st third of my pregnancy is officially complete. I noticed the change in my symptoms right at week 12. It was almost like someone had pressed a button allowing my unpleasant symptoms to magically subside. I can not express how thrilled I am to have the 1st trimester behind me. I will not miss the:

-nausea
-barfing
-loss of apetite
-constant worry/anxiety
-zombie like fatigue
-20 nightly trips to the bathroom
-migraine headaches

The second trimester has brought on many new (more pleasant) experiences:

-extreme hunger attacks

-an intense love for salty foods
-reduced worry
-3 maybe 5 nightly trips to the bathroom

-my new bedtime of 8:30
-much more energy

-my highly emotional mushy side
-my round BELLY!

Whoa Baby!

What we have really been up to...

...trying to keep this cutie a secret for 13 whole weeks!

For those who have not yet seen the news on FB, Baby Polheber is expected to arrive in May 2011. Words can not express how thrilled we are. This baby is such a little miracle and we can not wait to meet him/her!

Making an Effort

Last week we received a random magazine in the mail that was filled with fall cookie recipes. Typically, I'm not the baking type. I really enjoy cooking but baking is too exact. I'm just not a fan so I usually cheat and use mixes. I'm a little embarrassed about revealing this secret, but read on, I think I may have just redeemed myself.

I decided to make some Halloween treats for my grown up neighbors and that is exactly what I set out to do...three days ago. Yes, embarrassing confession number 2, it took me 3 days to bake cookies. I am exhausted but very proud! I gave these cookies my very best effort. They are beautiful and rather delicious! Still, I am exhausted. I don't know that there will be any home made Christmas cookies in my future, baking from scratch once a year is plenty!

Pumpkin Pecan Spice Cookies, Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Cranberry Walnut Pinwheel Cookies

I do love Fall.

Fun with the Fam

I know it might seem like all we do is ride bikes around Naperville and grow vegetables in the backyard, not true. We've been...busy....I know that sounds generic, but you'll have to trust me.

These pictures are a tad late! My dad, his new wife, and my brother came to visit us 2 weeks ago. Take a look...

The weather was little on the chilly side but that didn't stop us from seeing all the sites! Kamran had such a good time he decided to come back next week!

Kamran is interviewing for dental school at Midwestern and will be staying with us during the interview process. We are so proud of him and hope he will be staying in Illinois long term!!!!!!!!!!!

Cool as a Cucumber

I have to say the cucumbers have been the most successful product of the veggie garden thus far. I like cucumbers. A traditional persian breakfast might include cucumbers, cheese, pita bread, nuts, and fresh herbs. That was the whole purpose of growing the cucumbers, so I could occasionally make this breakfast that I enjoy so much.

Well I think I've hit my limit. After a couple weeks I was quickly over the breakfast idea. Then I moved on to cucumber salads, sandwiches, and even made cucumber soup (which Greg did not enjoy). I learned that Greg is not a fan of cold soup. I wanted to make pickles but apparently I have grown the wrong variety of cucumbers. There is a special "pickle cucumber" needed to make pickles. The skin on our cucumber is too thick. So I started handing out cucumbers to my neighbors.

Despite my efforts I can not keep up with the cucumber production...this is what I collected from the garden this morning.

If you live in the Chicago area and would like a cucumber, please don't hesitate to ask ;)

Love

My husband loves his kettle corn.

Saturdays

I spent last weekend working and Greg took a fishing trip to Wisconsin so I was really excited to visit the farmer's market this morning. We had the bikes out all ready to go but we didn't make it very far. Greg had a flat tire...boooo. Bummer, had to take the car.

So much good stuff. The fruits and veggies are great but there is also fresh bread, pasta, cheese, honey, flowers...on and on and on. Greg is showing off his freshly baked pie above! I think baked goods should be off limits at a farmer's market, how are we supposed to resist???

Eating Organic

It doesn't get any fresher!

I am really enjoying the veggie garden!!! I might have to ask Greg to help me expand the garden space so I can plant a wider variety of veggies next year!

Summer time in the city

We've been having such a fun summer! Have a mentioned how much I love summer time in Chicago???

Of course we had to make an appearance at The Taste...food was incredible!

Downtown is the place to be in the summer!

Cooling off in the fountains at Millennium/Grant Park.

Naperville has outdoor summer concerts and theater every weekend, and it's free!

Lastly, just a couple shots of my veggie garden growing out of control! I've always wanted a vegetable garden but I had no idea how fast this stuff would grow!

Sorry this is such a jumble of stuff all rolled into one post. I've been really bad about updating the blog. I'm going to try and do a better job of documenting all our summer adventures! On Saturdays we ride bikes to the Farmer's Market, this is one of my favorite weekend activities, will promise to take pictures :)

I left my heart in...Sacramento

Last weekend we flew to Sacramento for a wedding. The company was fabulous, the venue was GORGEOUS, the food was delicious, and we had an amazing time!

The happy couple enjoying their first dance! I love going to weddings, especially now that we are married. You can marvel and enjoy all the beautiful decor and fabulous food knowing you didn't have to plan a thing!

Above, my handsome husband looked divine in his wedding party get up. Below, my shoes eventually found their way off, this is not unusual.

Sacramento is definitely on our list of place we would consider living in the future. As much as we love Chicago, there is just something super comfortable about the west coast. We will miss you Sacramento!

Returned Visitors

Our Robin family has returned to our front porch light and we can no longer use the front door (again) thanks to these three. Mama and Papa Robin are just ask protective as they were last year and I have learned my lesson. For those of you who don't recall the bird attack last year lets just say it was a little embarrassing.

The babies are a lot cuter now that they have some feathers. I love how they sleep, head slung over the side of the nest like "I give up".

And a quick shot of my Irises. I know this is our second spring here but I'm still amazed at how flowers just grow. No watering needed. Love it.

New link

http://www.mylifetime.com/my-lifetime-commitment/breast-cancer/petition/breast-cancer-petition

Try this one. I just closed the sign in box and was able to sign the petition without signing in.

Please Read

Proposed Mastectomy Law Change

I'll never forget the look in my patients eyes when I had to tell them they had to go home with the drains, new exercises and no breast. I remember begging the doctors to keep these women in the hospital longer, only to hear that they would, but their hands were tied by the insurance companies.

So there I sat with my patient giving them the instructions they needed to take care of themselves, knowing full well they didn't grasp half of what I was saying, because the glazed, hopeless, frightened look spoke louder than the quiet 'Thank you' they muttered.

A mastectomy is when a woman's breast is removed in order to remove cancerous breast cells/tissue. If you know anyone who has had a mastectomy, you may know that there is a lot of discomfort and pain afterward. Insurance companies are trying to make mastectomies an outpatient procedure. Let's give women the chance to recover properly in the hospital for 2 days after surgery.

This Mastectomy Bill is in Congress now. It takes 2 seconds to do this and is very important. Please take the time and do it really quick! The Breast Cancer Hospitalization Bill is important legislation for all women.

If there was ever a time when our voices and choices should be heard, this is one of those times. If you're receiving this, it's because I think you will take the 30 seconds to go to vote on this issue and send it on to others you know who will do the same.

There's a bill called the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act which will require insurance companies to cover a minimum 48-hour hospital stay for patients undergoing a mastectomy. It's about eliminating the 'drive-through mastectomy' where women are forced to go home just a few hours after surgery, against the wishes of their doctor, still groggy from anesthesia and sometimes with drainage tubes still attached.

Lifetime Television has put this bill on their web page with a petition drive to show your support.. Last year over half the House signed on. PLEASE! Sign the petition by clicking on the web site below.

http://www.mylifetime.com/my-lifetime-commitment/breast-cancer/petition/breast-cancer-petition

Clicking the above link and supporting this petition will take less than 30 seconds. If you feel comfortable posting the above information on your blog I would encourage you to do so. Everyone knows someone that has been affected by breast cancer so do it for your family and friends. Thank you!

Wedding Season

And so it begins. Last weekend my childhood friend Amanda Wolfard married and wonderful guy named Zach. Zach caught the garter at our wedding so naturally their union was meant to be :) I am so glad that Amanda and Zach let us be a part of their special day. We had a great time in Arizona!

Update on the tanning situation: I chickened out and didn't do the spray tan, it was too short of notice. I was worried if it went badly I'd look orange. I ended up using good ol' Dove Energy Glow lotion which certainly helped my blinding white skin. I promise to try the spray tan for the next wedding coming up in May. Thanks so much for all the helpful advice, I'm a little lost in the tanning world!

The beautiful bride and her daddy

This is at the Grand Canyon Resort in Apache Junction, just gorgeous!

The happy couple!

Friends since we were munchkins

We founds these good lookin guys at the wedding!

At the reception with Mama Anne!

Had such a good time with my honey...we almost made it to the one year mark on the anniversary dance, not quite yet. Next month...Carson and Meghan, Weddings Round 2.

Need a Glow

Well friends, wedding season is upon us! I love weddings and I LOVE shopping for dresses to wear to weddings! So I have been shopping up a storm on every day that I've had off for the last week and a half trying to get ready for some upcoming events. Unfortunately, my dress buying skills are not as sharp as my car buying skills and I've been a bit indecisive. I've been to all of my favorite stores and tried on way too many dresses.

This morning I got super lucky and found two good options. A cute little number from H&M and another dress, completely different at Lord & Taylor, so I bought both. Now here is the kicker. I have been living in the snow for the last 6 months and believe it or not I started to blend in. I am pasty. The sun has started to come out now that it is spring but I don't know if I am going to be able to lay out in our backyard enough before our first wedding engagement in just 10 short days. This could be a problem.

No matter which dress I end up wearing I am going to need some degree of bronzy glow in order to pull it off. I have never, NEVER in my life, fake n' baked. I have used Dove Energy Glow lotion in the past but it takes time to build up and is very subtle. It's great to use on arms and legs but then the rest of you is still white. So what is the best (and healthiest) way to get a natural looking tan (that is NOT orange)????? If you are a tanning expert please help me!

Isn't this cool??? I want one.

Unplanned fun

So much has happened in the last couple weeks and I can't say we planned any of it! It all started two weeks ago with a little shopping trip to Target.

We were in desperate need of groceries and some household items so I spent a couple hours and did some serious damage. I loaded up my little Honda CRV and headed home. On the way home from Target I pass several car dealerships. I could see the Toyota dealer coming up in the distance and thought of the commercial I had seen for zero financing for 60 months.

My faithful Honda has been an excellent car but was in need of some major service repairs that were much more expensive than the value of the vehicle. I'd been thinking about buying a new car for months and had done lots of research but was waiting for winter to be over. Winter in Chicago is really hard on your car, lots of salt and moisture!

So anyway, back to my story. I decided to pull into Toyota and ask them about the finance deal and which vehicles it applied to. A five minute conversation turned into a test drive of the Toyota Highlander. My groceries are fine, it's colder outside than it is in my refrigerator!

I drove the Highlander around and it was very nice. But I wasn't excited about it. So we returned to the dealership and I thought that would be the end of it. The sales lady could tell I wasn't sold so she asked me if there were any other vehicles I was interested in?

Well...I reluctantly told her that I had been looking at a preowned Lexus RX 350 that was up for auction in Arizona. But the cost to have the vehicle shipped and transfer tax was very expensive.

She told me they rarely get any RX 350's on the lot but if I would wait a few minutes she could search their system and see if they had any. Well, there was ONE.

It was a 2007, white, great millage, IDENTICAL to the one I was interested in buying from the Arizona auction. I could not believe my eyes! So of course, there had to be a test drive.

I climbed into the SUV and the seat fit me like a glove. I was sold, completely in love, and an hour later they were running my credit!!!! Oh my god, what and I doing?!?!?!? I was scared to death to call Greg and tell him, ummm...honey, I think I'm going to buy a car!

I told the people at Toyota I was not about to buy a car without my husband seeing it first. Greg was at work so they suggested I drive the car over to his office and show him! Hahaha! I can just picture the look on his face!

It was a very tempting idea. I called Greg and he told me he was just about to leave the office. So I suggested we meet for dinner, how about Panera? I drove the new car and waited in the parking lot for Greg to show up. He pulled into the parking lot and did not even notice me waiting in the new car. So I rolled down the window and whistled at him.

He looked over, saw me in the car, and smiled. Fheeew, a smiling face, I was relieved.

Greg: Nice car.

Me: Thanks, I think I'm gonna keep it.

Greg: Oh really...

I fill him in on all the details over some panini and soup. I think I had 2 bites. I was so nervous I couldn't really eat.

We went back to the Toyota dealer and 2 hours of negotiations later, I was transferring my groceries from faithful old "Bessy" to my new baby. I still can't believe it, I guess it's fair to say I'm an impulse shopper. But when it's right, sometimes you just know it! Two weeks later and I have no regrets, happy as a clam, sometimes I don't want to get out of my car!!!

Spring inside but not outside

I am so ready for spring that I decided to pick up a little something for the house to make me feel better about all the miserable snow outside.

I was at Trader Joe's over the weekend and they had all these great potted plants. Lots of tulips and daffodils in pretty pots. They also had hyacinth, I never knew what these flowers were called but they smelled WONDERFUL so I went with it.

My favorite smell in the whole world is still the orange blossoms back in AZ but hyacinth is now a very close second! The plant makes it feel a little more like spring is coming but I know in reality there is probably still at least another month of this freezing cold...bummer.

LOVE

Ice Skating in Millennium Park

Happy Valentine's Day

Can you say BARGAIN

I bought this...Originally priced at this .....$1,449.00but I only paid this....$399.00

Oh how I love you C&B outlet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!