Happy Birthday TJ!

Happy 8th birthday to our oldest dog TJ. Hard to believe he was ever
this tiny!!

Lesson fail

Today Dominic refused to get dressed, he wanted to remain in his pj
shirt and pantless all day. In an attempt to "trick" him into wanting
his shirt I put it on our dog TJ. I assumed that Dominic would freak
out (as he usually does) when he saw something of his with someone
else but..... Nope. Dominic thought it was the most hilarious thing in
the world and would not leave TJ's side. It was like he got a brand
new toy! When I took the shirt off the dog I witnessed a meltdown of
epic proportions! So instead of Dominic getting dressed, TJ wore the
shirt for 20 minutes (miserable) until I could distract Dom with
something. Looks like I learned MY lesson haha!!

12 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:


How Far Along: 12 Weeks
Size of baby: Baby is the size of a large plum
Maternity Clothes: Still not wearing any maternity clothes, but thank goodness for draw string Old Navy shorts!
Gender: Unknown (32 days until we hopefully find out!)

Movement: Nothing yet-but watching the ultrasounds this little one is moving all over the place!

Sleep: Still super sleepy but I think it's getting better. I can still fall asleep pretty easily but wake up 3 or 4 times each night.
What I miss: Bethenny Frankel came out with Skinnygirl Sangria this week in Ohio and it sounds delicious! But I can wait til 2012!

Cravings: I'm still on a candy kick-but I think my days of Sour patch kids are almost over I don't think I have many taste buds left lol!
Symptoms: fatigue and my skin hasn't really cleared up much. My hair texture also seems to be changing as well.
Best Moment this week: We had two ultrasounds this week and it was amazing to see how much this little one has grown in two weeks!
Next Appointment: End of July I have to have the Quad screening test done and then an appt on August 3rd to hopefully find out if Dominic is getting a little brother or a little sister!!

Say cheese!

Here is just one of the dozen pictures we got today with our
ultrasound. Baby G looks good and is measuring almost a week ahead! I
love the little profile and even that big, beautiful brain in that
cute little noggin!!

Dominic's first trip to the movies!

Today Lou and I took Dominic to see "Cars 2". It was his first time
going to a movie and he did great!! "Cars" is his favorite movie and
he has just about every toy Car that is out. It brought tears to my
eyes (darn you pregnancy hormones!) when I saw how excited he was when
the movie started! So many kids had to leave the movie early but D was
mesmorized the whole time! It was a really fun experience for us all!
The best part was that we got 3 movie tickets and a small popcorn for
$7.75!! Thank you livingsocial.com and yahoo movies! :)

Rheumatologist update

I mentioned in another post about the "other" issues we had going on right now. Here is the shortest version I can attempt.
*Years (2002) ago I had a positive ANA indicative of Lupus along with joint pain and other symptoms. I began treatment for both Lupus and Rheumatoid Arthritis with pill medication.
*I went years and years living with random flareups in multiple joints that literally leave me unable to move/function for about 3 days at a time. Including my honeymoon :(
*I went off of medication in 2007 after a talk with my rheumatologist at the time. I was able to handle the flare ups with pain meds and exercise.
*2008-pregnancy with Dominic=no flare ups and remission
*This pregnancy-I have had some pretty intense flare ups. First were in my knees and then moved to my shoulder and back. This is difficult when you can't take anything for relief. I was miserable, bed ridden, sleep deprived and mustering up every bit of strength to move/walk. Mind you, I am pregnant and needed to use the restroom multiple times!
*The high risk dr was concerned that if in fact, this was Lupus, there was a chance it could affect the baby so he (along with my neuros) wanted me to see a new rheumatologist and have about a bajillion blood tests done. Oh and a urinalysis---don't know what that little dinger entails??? I had to collect and keep a jug of urine in the refrigerator for 24 complete hours. Dominic was convinced it was juice and kept asking for it....GROSS!! lol
*Today I met with the rheumatologist to go over the blood work and my history. She believes I have Palindromic rheumatism and not Lupus. Closely related to RA and could eventually progress into RA. Basically PA causes sudden attacks of joint pain and swelling. The good thing is that my joints will not be damaged from the flare ups as they would with RA. The dr ordered even MORE blood work to run the Lupus and RA panels again. Until then I am one step closer to an answer. No matter what the test results I cannot go on any of the treatments for any of the above until after I deliever.

10 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:


How Far Along: 10 Weeks

Size of baby: Baby is the size of a prune
Maternity Clothes: I'm not in maternity clothes yet, but am pretty much living in yoga pants these days-kinda the same thing right?
Gender: Unknown
Movement: Nothing yet
Sleep: Exhausted 24/7! I've really been struggling with my energy levels lately. I fall asleep easily but am waking up before the sun almost daily. <--perhaps why I am so tired?! lol
What I miss: My back has been flaring up this week so I guess I miss Ibuprofen and Tylenol Arthritis
Cravings: Candy! I'm not a candy person at all but I can't get enough--especially sour candies (Sour patch kids etc)
Symptoms: tired and a wicked case of acne. :( I'll be happy when my hormones finally regulate again!
Best Moment this week: Watching the lil bean moving around & hearing the heartbeat at our appt
Next Appointment: June 29th with my regular OB and then a few days later, July 1st with the high risk doctor.