Teatopia

The time has come and it hurts like hell...

I knew it had to happen, but it's been a lot harder (for me) than I thought. Olivia is weaning/weaned.

Before we TTCed, I was actually hoping this is what would get Olivia to wean. I wanted her to initiate it, and I knew that pregnancy often causes babies to stop nursing because the taste of the milk changes. I'm just having a really hard time with it and I can't stop crying when I think about it. I've barely told anyone because I'm afraid I'll burst into tears if I talk about it. I figured weaning while pregnant would be easier because I'd already have another nurser on the way, but really, it hasn't helped at all. In fact, I think the pregnancy hormones are making this whole weaning thing feel a million times more sad. And worse-- I am hesitant to admit this-- I am almost resenting the baby in my tummy for bringing about all these changes. I have this weird protective feeling over Olivia lately, which I'm thinking is me feeling guilty for having another one on the way when she's currently the center of my world. And now the weaning is making me more sad about having another one. If I hadn't gotten pregnant, she wouldn't have weaned. I keep thinking stuff like: Olivia's getting shots on Friday, and if I was still nursing, she'd be less likely to get sick from the shots.

I feel SOOOO ridiculous for having these feelings. I know I am super sensitive and emotional right now. I tried to tell James about my feelings (big mistake) and he was like, "huh? Why would you resent the baby?" He's right, but I can't help how I feel. I'm a crazy pregnant lady. :-) I really WANT this second child and he/she was very much planned. I'm just having strange emotions about adding another child to our family and I am heartbroken that Olivia is growing up and that the new baby will "replace" her as the nursling.

This morning, for the first time in a few days (it's been 5 since she nursed), she asked for "boof" (which is what she calls it), so I decided to offer her juice instead. If she said no and still wanted to nurse, I was going to do it (I still have some milk) and if she drank the juice, then I'd know she was ready to be done. She took the juice. My heart sank.

Part of me wants to encourage her to keep nursing. I could probably get her to do it, but she's not as interested and hasn't been in weeks. I can tell that she doesn't like the milk as much, which is a result of my hormones changing its taste. Weaning while pregnancy is a very normal thing, but I can't even blog about it without crying.

Today, my issue of "Kiwi" magazine came, which always has something about breastfeeding, and I can't even bring myself to read it. I feel so silly and stupid for having these thoughts. I don't want to see a picture of a mother happily nursing her baby, or an add for Motherwear (nursing clothes).

Why is this so freaking hard? It's natural. It's time. 18 months is awesome! But my heart is aching. I don't even have many pictures of her nursing. That's the worst part. I wish I had more pictures, so I could remember the bond...

Fall festivals, cane walking, my totally awesome pumpkin log, and the cutest diaper ever!!!

I have some catching up to do!!!

We've been doing so many fun "fall" things and I have pictures to share. A few weekends ago, we went to Callaway Gardens, which is about 40 minutes north of here near the mountains. We went to their annual fall festival, which we'd never been to before. It was crowded, but Olivia enjoyed the hay maze and just generally running around.

Since it's still warm here, all of the flowers there were still in bloom. It looked like an English garden. Although finally, this week, it's really starting to look more like fall-- and feel like it, too.

On Thursday this week, my sister and I took Olivia to the pumpkin patch. I think she was truly in heaven. Ever since I bought her her first mini pumpkin weeks ago, she's been obsessed. She has a pumpkin bib and socks and a stuffed pumpkin, and she loves them all. She says "puntin" and it's the cutest thing! I wanted to let her pick out her own pumpkin, but she picked out about 50 of them, so finally I got to pick. She gets upset when the front door is closed because she can't see the pumpkin on the porch. She likes to look out the storm door so she can see it.

I've been meaning to post a picture of her walking with a cane. This is my grandma's cane and Olivia loves it. She won't even let my grandma use it! I was so embarrased-- a few weeks ago, Olivia stole a lady's cane at church. I got it back quickly, but she took off with it. The lady thought it was cute though. :-) Here she is at the gym at my old school, where my mom teaches now. She was putting on quite a show for everyone. She kept yelling, "look! cane!"

As you all know, I am such a foodie and I love to cook, but I just haven't had time to cook all gourmet like I used to, so I was thrilled when I made a most impressive pumpkin roll last night. The recipe came from this month's Saveur. I didn't have a jelly roll pan as the recipe called for (I don't even know what that is) but a 9x13 one worked just fine for me. I held my breath as I loosened the hot cake and attempted to remove it from the pan in one piece, but as you can see, it was a success!

The cake was so moist and the cream cheese frosting was perfect with it. I also made Rachel Ray's Pasta w/ pumpkin, sausage, and sage. I also made green beans simmered in beef broth, garlic rolls, a spinach and apple salad with homemade apple cider viniagrette and candied pecans, and mulled cider. The food was great, but I was so tired from cooking all afternoon that I just wasn't that hungry. :-(

And now for one of the cutest diapers ever! I sold a few of the diapers that didn't fit Olivia anymore. I bought a couple newborn diapers to start building the stash (once the baby is about 6 weeks old, he/she can start using the one-size diapers I use for Olivia). I also ordered this super cute coffee diaper, which I scored the second it went up for sale on Diaper Swappers. There were many disappointed people who were hoping I'd change my mind, but I didn't and it arrived today! :-)

I have some important mommy things to blog about later, both about Olivia and the new little one in my tummy. :-)

ETA: Olivia just called me "Hannah" right out of the blue and she's already called James "James" a few times. She thinks it's funny. Oh Lordy, I hope it stops.

Apparently, I spoke too soon...

Felling very yucky today. I thought I was in the clear in terms of morning sickness and exhaustion, but I guess I was wrong. Yesterday, I started feeling really tired and the site of certain foods made me gag. This morning, I woke up feeling very nauseous, so I ate some toast only to throw it up minutes later. I feel so typically *pregnant*. I'm hoping it's a fluke and that I won't feel like this every day.

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I typed this a couple days ago and never got to finish it. The nausea, fatigue, and general yuckyness has *definitely* started. Maybe it's a girl after all? I'm feeling just like I did with Olivia. Of course, that's just an old wives' tale, but I'd be thrilled to have another girl.

I am wearing my sea-bands again and looking very silly, but I'm convinced these things work. Also, I haven't been able to wear my wedding band and engagment ring or my other ring since the second I learned I was pregnant. My fingers are so swollen and ugly. I don't want to look like an unmarried woman considering I have a toddler and another on the way. Call me old fashioned, but I still believe that people should be married when they have kids because that's what the bible says. I'd appreciate you please respecting my beliefs. My beliefs are not up for debate. Anyway, morality aside, it makes me sad to think that I'll have to go sans rings for 7 more months!

I still have lots of pictures to post and catching up to do, but I'm hosting a fall dinner at my house tonight and I have to get cooking! :-)

Now we're talking!

FINALLY!!!

Today it's cold, cold for here that is. It's in the upper 50's, low 60's (beats yesterday's high of nearly 90!!!)

And... I just saw Christmas decorations going up in a local shopping center. It may not even be Halloween yet, but you'll never hear me complain about Christmas starting too early!

Tomorrow, my sister and I are taking Olivia to the pumpkin patch and Friday, the girls in my family are going to our annual Christmas craft fair. I love this time of year!!!!

Possibly the best Saturday EVER!!!

On Saturday, I FINALLY used a gift certificate I received last Christmas to get a massage at a place called Heavenly Hands. My grandma had heard about the magic this woman works, so she got everyone in the family a gift certificate for a one hour full body massage. She's been bugging me to use it, and I'm sooooo glad I waited until now because I have never needed it more. My back pain has been almost intolerable. I forgot to mention that the results of the discogram I had showed an anular tear, which means the fluid in the center of my discs is leaking out into my back, causing me great pain, so you can imagine how great the massage felt! Her hands were like magic. After the massage, she asked me if I had been in an accident, and when I said yes, she told me that she hoped I had gotten some good money out of it because she could tell the extent of the damage just from that one hour. We haven't settled yet, so I could use your prayers about the whole settlement mess, which will be over by Febuary, exactly 2 years after the accident.

My mom has her massage right after mine, and then we had lunch at a local favorite around here, Country's. Later, my parents took Olivia out to eat and back to their house while James and I went to our first movie in a year. We saw Rendition, which was quite good!

It was a great day! I can tell you one thing, I will definitely be treating myself to more massages. I am in so much pain from the accident, and I am constantly carrying a toddler and lugging around a huge diaper bag (I seriously have everything but the kitchen sink in there and I can't seem to do without anything). I just want to treat myself while I'm pregnant. Although I don't feel as sick, I can already tell that my back is going to be an issue, so I want to take care of myself.

My fingers are so completely swollen. I had to take my rings off a couple weeks ago. Is it possible to be swollen this soon? I haven't had my first appt yet, but I hate to call just to ask about my fingers. I doubt I'll hear the heart beat at my first appt. I'll be 9 weeks, so I think that's too soon. I guess I'll hear it at the next one.

I am so curious as to what this one is. If it's a girl, I think I'll be relieved because I already have one and I have all the stuff. If it's a boy, there will be a moment of "oh crap! What do I do with a boy? What do I do with his penis while I change his diaper????" and then I think I'll feel excited because I'll be experiencing something different. We don't really know what we'll name either one, but it's already fun to talk about it. We don't agree on anything this time, so hopefully, when it gets closer, James will give in. :-)

Just had to share: Olivia is saying sentences all the time now. The other day, the check-out lady asked me how old she was, and I said, "18 months." She said, "What? 18 months? I just heard her say a whole sentence! She's amazing!" and I felt sooooo happy! :-) She asks questions, sings songs (not the whole song of course) and answers me in 4 words sometimes. She's great with pronouns too. She referred to my sister's bf as "him" and she differentiates between "that" and "those". I love this age!

When my money from Payperpost comes in, I am soooo buying these Robeez!!!

Life

As I type, I'm having a bit of nausea, but that's all it's been so far-- just an occasional thing, usually before I eat breakfast and after I eat dinner, but it's NOTHING like it was with Olivia. I'm 6.5 weeks along, and I think by 5.5 weeks I was feeling pretty terrible last time. Maybe it won't get much worse? I hope not because I'm not sure how I'll keep up with Olivia if I feel like I did last time.

Last night we enjoyed a great fall dinner at Cracker Barrel, one of my favorite restaurants. I ordered the turkey dinner, and right before it came, I started feeling yucky, but luckily I was still able to eat most of my dinner. One thing's for sure, the nausea hasn't really affected my appetite, which could be good or bad depending how you see it.

We're really debating about whether or not to move. We could certainly use more space, and financially, this is a good time for us, but I doubt our house will sell. It seems that the market has kind of frozen here (and everywhere else I think?). We're 15 minutes from one of the biggest military bases in the country, and thousands more soldiers are expected to arrive in the next year, so hopefully the market will pick up some then. I just wanted to be settled before baby #2 arrives so we could set up his/her nursery and get Olivia transitioned into a toddler bed.

I've been enjoying more time at home lately playing with Olivia. Between my moms' group and nursing moms' group, we were going somewhere almost everyday, but it's just been too much. I am tired and I was sick of running around. All we really attend regularly these days is or Thursday bible study and La Leche League. Me and a few moms from my moms' group have considered starting our own drama free, no trash moms' group. I am so sick of women who don't want their kids AT ALL. People have no consideraton for others. They bring sick kids to events just because they want to socialize. In fact, we've had problems with a few moms who attend the bible study. Obviously, we want to welcome everyone and encourage people to come, but there's one mom who has 4 kids (and sometimes babysits too) and she brings all these unruly, dirty kids and it ruins the entire thing. We've even had a few moms who came once to the bible study and never wanted to come back because of this woman. She consistently brings sick kids. Just a couple weeks ago, her son had strep throat and rashes all over, and she brought him. As much as I want to welcome everyone, I'd rather she didn't come because she ruins it for everyone and makes it unpleasant.

One thing I've really enjoyed doing lately is shopping at my new favorite grocery store downtown. I am such a foodie-- even if I don't cook like I used too-- but I still love trying new things. I've discovered these new yogurts: the brand is Rachel's and all the flavors are exotic.

Flavors include: Vanilla Chai, Peach Green Tea with Ginseng, and Pomegranate Blueberry. I think there are 20 in all. This store has even special ordered products from Whole Foods for me. :-) Love them!

Anyway, Olivia is calling. I have tons of pics to post later from our trip to the mountains last weekend for a fall festival. Fun!

It's hard not to be a couch potato with so many great fall shows!

Lately, I'm finding myself on the couch or in bed watching TV waaaayyyy too often. I'm just so tired and worn out and it's so relaxing to watch TV. Olivia usually requires my undivided attention, but when she's interested in something else, these days I tend to plop down on the couch and turn on the TV. Same thing at night. When she's asleep, into bed I go and on goes the TV. It's mindless and relaxing. What could a pregnant woman with a toddler to chase all day want more? (Maybe some hot fudge cake, but I'm trying not to go crazy. Pants are feeling snug already).

This fall, I seem to be watching more shows than ever. Some new, some not. Here are the ones I try to catch:

Grey's Anatomy
Duh. One of my favorites for sure. I'm even getting James hooked. *mwahhh hahahaha* Love all the drama and the medical stuff, too. I never miss this one.

Life is Wild
Thank you Ani for e-mailing me about this one, or else I never would've known it was on. I don't watch much on the CW, so thank you, thank you! If you don't know about this one, it's about about a family that decides to move to a game reserve in South Africa for a year. Obviously, right up my alley. When I saw the pilot, the show kind of bothered me. It was the epitome of the "American" perspective of Africa. You know, elephants in the back yard. Constant animal encounters. Happy-go-lucky villagers interacting with animals and selling souvenirs. But it was a fun show, and when I watched the second episode today which I recorded on my DVR last night, I liked it even more. I think it'll be a regular, if for no other reason than it's about South Africa.

Law & Order SVU/Criminal Intent
I like that I can miss an episode or two of these and I don't fall behind. These are always fun.

CSI
Same with these. I can watch sporatically and never really miss anything. These are fun and I love figuring them out.

Jon and Kate, Plus 8
Ok, we are Jon and Kate, minus 7 kids. We bicker and scold each other just like they do. It cracks me up to watch Kate and her rituals and super organized ways because I feel like I'm watching myself, although I have less reason to want such order in my house. James is just like her husband. He's compliant, but really, he's thinking I'm anal and crazy. :-)

Dog the Bounty Hunter
Love this show. My sister got me hooked. At first I thought Dog was crazy, but now I find him amusing. He's a decent guy. I enjoy watching the chase.

Other notables: Either I haven't decided what I think or I haven't seen all the episodes, but they're worth mentioning: Journey Man, Heroes (James loves this one), Little People Big World, and Private Practice.

Then of course, there's the Food Network, Discovery Channel, TLC, and other channels that I watch, but don't stick to specific shows.

What are you watching this fall? Anything I should see?

update in pictures and how I told James I was pregnant!

Well, the cravings have begun. I can't stop thinking about food. I'm almost hoping I'll get nauseous just so I'll stop eating. It might be the only thing that keeps me from gaining 25 pounds in the first trimester! Yesterday, I wanted Mexican food so bad, but my car was in the shop getting 2 flat tires fixed (must've run over something). I kept trying to think of a Mexican restaurant that delivered, but there aren't any, so as soon as I got my car back at 3:00, I went right out to a Mexican restaurant with Olivia. :-)

My boobs are really, really sore and nursing has become unpleasant. I'm hoping Olivia will wean herself. I get teary eyed just thinking about it, but we've gone 18 months, and it's probably time. If my boobs stop hurting though and she's still going, I guess I'll cross that bridge then. She nurses so little that I guess I could nurse two...

I told you I'd show you the Christmas outfit I bought Olivia. It's one of the most expensive things I've bought. I always buy her nice clothes, but I don't throw money around. I have a friend whose daughter is always dressed to the nines. I don't think I've seen her in something that didn't cost $50, seriously. Everything is embroidered, hand smocked, and from one of the few pricey boutiques. Olivia has some things like that, but I'm choosey and I look for sales. Anyway, here's her Christmas outfit. I definitely want to get her Christmas potraits done in it!

I had Christmas diapers made, too. They just got here the other day. I wanted them now because in a couple weeks, we're going to our annual Christmas craft fair and I wanted her to be able to wear them.

I have some Olivia pictures too. I can't believe my daughter is 18 months old. There's nothing that makes your life fly by faster than having children. Suddenly, life just speeds up!

Look at these curls! I could play with her hair all day, seriously.

Can you see the lemon? I can't believe how much she likes them. She makes faces, but she always wants more. Oh, and see the boo-boo under her eye? It actually looks much worse in person. She fell off a chair and hit her face. :-( I'm having a hard time accepting that getting hurt is part of being a kid.

Here she is in James's old (but clean) painting shirt. She pulled it out of the laudry basket and cried until we put it on her. Then she wouldn't take it off.

She was so tired and needed to go to bed, but she still wouldn't let us take it off. If we got near her, she'd yell, "No! Shirt!"

This is the shirt I bought for Olivia to wear the day I found out I was pregnant. I never really blogged about how I told James. He had no idea I was going to test because I wanted to surprise him. I went out and bought this shirt, and when he got home, I waited for him to look at the shirt. Olivia kept pointing to her shirt and telling James that she had a bow on her shirt, and he told her it was cute, but he never read it. I kept waiting and waiting and I was getting really impatient. I even asked him if he looked closely at her shirt and he told me he had. LIAR! :-) Finally, he asked me when I thought I'd test, and I said, "Oh, I don't know. Hey, have you looked at her shirt?" and again, he said he had. Finally, I yelled at him, "READ THE DAMN SHIRT!" :-) And he did, but he didn't get it. ??????!!!!!????? He asked me why Olivia was wearing a "big sister" shirt if I hadn't even tested yet. I asked him why I'd put the shirt on her if I wasn't sure? He said, "well you said you hadn't tested" and I explained that I was putting him off because I wanted him to read the shirt. We both ended up laughing and hugging when he finally put it all together!!

That evening, my parents were coming by, and James said he didn't think they'd get it either. I told him I KNEW they would, and sure enough, they noticed right away. James is just dense I guess. LOL!

Anyway, I'm still not sure if it's hit me. For a few days I thought it had, but now I'm not so sure. I don't feel that differently, and my mind is so consumed with thoughts of Olivia-- her constant chattering (she even asks me questions now), and her climbing, and "re-organizing" of everything in the house. I'm too busy to think about being pregnant! I sometimes wonder how I'll handle 2 of them, but I'm 100% busy now, so I guess it can't get that much harder.

Well, I'm off to make dinner. We're going on a walk after dinner to enjoy this cool air for as long as it lasts. Tomorrow, we're going to a fall festival in the mountains!

Chatter Box

I want to remember everything that comes out of Olivia's mouth. She is soooooo funny! She's speaking in short sentences now (3-4 words).

<> Yesterday, I tried to pick her up, and she told me, "No. I want Dada!" Made me sad, but I'm glad she can tell us things.

<> When she wants something, she'll now say, "I want juice, please." Good girl! But she's not always so polite...

<> Apparently, we're not allowed to help her ever again. If I even attempt to pick up a spoon, or try to brush her teeth, she yells, "I do it!!!"

<> If there's anything brown anywhere, she says, "Wow. Poop!" There was a raisinette on the floor, and she was convinced it was poop.

<> She's able to tell us what hurts and where, which is so helpful. She tells me, "ow. teeth" and the other day, "ow, tummy, toots." It's so much easier when you can ask them what hurts and they can tell you.

I seriously think she's OCD (my mom says she's just observant). She hates fuzz being on the floor, or a hair on my shirt. Because my hair is layered, I often have a few strands of hair in my face, and Olivia immediately takes her hand and pushes them out of my face, and then usually kisses me. My sweet, helpful girl.

I just want to remember everything she says and does. She's been singing parts of songs on her own, and she laughs at everything. She's just so much fun!!!

Girls' Night Out

I've been feeling really good since my mini meltdown in the last entry. I'm still worrying about things, but I feel good (just tired) and no nausea yet. *fingers crossed*

I decided to do something last week that I don't do nearly enough: go out with the girls. Once every month, the organizer of my moms' group has a special "Domestic Divas" dinner for the more active members since there are too many of us to go out normally. I've never gone to one before (I think we've had 3) but last week, I decided I really needed a break. Also, I've been wanting to try the new Tapas bar that opened down town. We live in a not-so-small town that oddly enough has a very country feel, but I've been finding more and more places here lately that feel more like the DC area. The area where the Tapas bar is, Tapatinis, is right next to my new favorite gourmet grocery store I posted about a few weeks back.

The restaurant overlooks an art gallery and a trendy area of home decor shops. It's only open at night, but there's a cafe open daily that's owned by the same people and connected to the gallery. I really want to have lunch there sometime, too. We ate on the terrace and it felt so good to laugh with the girls, enjoy the breeze, and listen in on the blind date going on next to us. It didn't seem to go too well (but the guy was really cute) and after they left, all six of us sat around and analyzed the date. :-) The music was great too and I could've made the soundtrack myself! I don't know if they had the radio on or what, but they played so many songs I love. Everything was just perfect.

We all ordered different things, and everyone was amazed at how good the food was. I ordered a house salad with mixed greens, honey glazed pecans, Mandarin orange segments, and baby tomatoes with creamy coconut citrus vinaigrette. It was amazing. Because it's a Tapas restaurant, you can choose the size of your entree. I got the smaller one, and it was plenty of food. I got a New York Strip Au Poivre topped with applewood smoked bacon, gorgonzola crumbles,
& a brown sugar balsamic reduction, served with fettuccini. For dessert, I had a flourless chocolate torte. I wanted to take pictures, but it was dark and I knew they'd be too dim. I was a good wifey and brought James home some dessert, and so the other moms followed my lead and brought home something for their husbands.

The mom sitting next to me was also pregnant, and she goes to another OBGYN practice I've been considering because they have nurse midwives on staff with the doctors. She said she loves them, so I might make an appointment just to see. I don't see my current OBGYN for almost another month.

Then last night, we attended a private after-hours shopping party at a swanky (expensive) baby and maternity boutique hosted by my friend Logan. I saw a million things I wanted, but I was good and only bought one outfit for Olivia, which still cost $45 with a discount. Whoa! I'll have to post pictures of it. I tried on some maternity stuff, but I didn't get anything. There's plenty of time!

Changes

Second pregnancies are different. I'm only a little over a month along and I've already decided that. Emotionally, everything is different. I've been fighting the "been there, done that" feeling that I seem to be having. I guess it's only normal since I have been here before. It's not that I'm not thrilled to be doing it again, because I am, but with a toddler occupying my every minute, there's isn't much room left to dwell on being pregnant.

With Olivia, there was the constant awareness of the life growing inside me. When I was teaching, the thought "Oh my gosh! I'm really pregnant!" would creep into my mind constantly. I'd think about it in the morning when I woke up, and touch my tummy throughout the day just to be closer to what was growing inside me. Now, my every thought is pretty much centered around Olivia, which is completely normal, but it's just very different from before.

In many ways, I feel guilty that I'm not as focused this time around. The day I found out I was pregnant with Olivia, I went out and bought her some presents. The day I found out I was pregnant this time, I went and bought Olivia a present. Very different this time.

Then there are the fears about loving another child, etc. etc. I have been assured this is normal, but I feel guilty none the less. I'm almost too scared to get attached anyway because it's so early.

Obviously, the process of preparing for another child is going to bring about big changes. We need to get Olivia out of our bed, and we need to do it WAY before the baby comes so she doesn't face too many changes at once. I'm alrady mourning the loss of not having her next to me. I kiss her so much while she sleeps that James yells at me because he thinks I'll wake her up. I bury my face in her hair and snuggle with her. It's a pleasure I may never again have, so I want to savour it and take it all in. I'm also anticipating weaning Olivia. Not a good anticipation, but an expectant one because I'm assuming, like many babies, she'll wean since I'm pregnant. Then again, she may be one of the ones that doesn't, and I'm not sure what we'll do then. I want her to initiate it. Does it really hurt anything if she continues to nurse? She doesn't do it often. I want my body back, but at the same time I dread the time when she no longer needs my breast for comfort. I'll miss her asking for "boof" and giving me kisses, which is what she does when she really wants something. I'm getting choked up now just thinking about it.

I don't know if I'm ready for someone else to take Olivia's place. She'll always be my first born and I know I'll love them equally, but I don't want to get her out of my bed and off my breast just so someone else can take her place, yet somehow I know it'll be fine when the time comes. It's just hard to think about now because I'm feeling protective of her. I don't want her to feel jealous or left out. Am I silly?

So there you have it. I feel guilty for not obsessing about being pregnant, but guilty for being pregnant and having to move Olivia to her own room (somethng I've dreaded for months) and probably having to wean her. Why all the guilt? Maybe I'm just really emotional. Is it too soon to be experiencing crazy hormones?

Yep, it's becoming real...

Thank you for all your good wishes and congratulations! I think it's starting to sink in...

Especially last night when I woke up to throbbing fingers and had to spend 15 minutes twisting and turning my rings until they came off. Is it possible to have swollen fingers THIS soon? If it is, that's my only symptom so far. I've already decided I'm eating things I love this week because pretty soon, I may not want to eat at all. Gotta spoil myself while food is still enjoyable. This time next week, I might be hanging over a toilet. I think my nausea started around 5/6 weeks with Olivia, and I'm a month along now.

I've started writing for Pay Per Post and Payu2blog to get paypal to fund my cloth diaper addiction. I've already started looking at cute, itty bitty diapers. Newborns look soooo cute with big fluffy fannies!

Something tells me this one's a boy, although I thought the same thing with Olivia, and of course, I was way off!

What do you think? Any gut feelings about the sex?