Sugar and Spice . . .

. . . And everything nice.

The results are in - it's a GIRL!!!
 
 

21+ weeks

At least that's what the good doctors are telling us. We had our anatomy scan on November 22nd. It was definitely one of the coolest ultrasounds to date. They were able to zoom in on all parts of our developing little human including chambers of the heart and gallbladder. The little nugget was wiggling around quite a bit so they had some difficulty getting all necessary angles. And those little legs were clamped together pretty tightly (Atta girl!) but she finally shifted and both the technician and the doctor were able to confirm that she was indeed a girl.

I was surprised but thrilled. All throughout the ultrasound I kept waiting for them to announce that it was a boy. I thought I even saw balls at one point. Must of just been some other body part flailing about. But talk about a game changer. Everything seems a little bit more real now. Especially since we no longer have to call her 'it'. Instead words like "she", "her" and "daughter" are being used. And now that we know her gender I feel like there's more of a personality down there. For instance, she loves sugar. That's usually when she's at her most active and I can feel her moving about. Yes, I can FEEL her now! It's the coolest thing. I'm pretty sure I was able to first feel her around 18 weeks. It was like little butterfly wings fluttering around in my lower belly. And now at 22 weeks it's getting stronger and changing positions. She was having a field day using my bladder as a trampoline on my way to work the other morning. The little stinker.

The doctor told me it could be anywhere from 24-28 weeks along before the outside world would be able to feel her but apparently we have an overachiever on our hands. On Thanksgiving Nik got to feel her for the first time himself. He said it felt like a little heartbeat. She's somewhat shied away from him since though. She likes to play coy.

As far as names go, we haven't really talked about it yet. I have a name in mind that I love but nothing has been decided. And if we do decide, I'm not so sure I want to share it with the world. Sorry, but there are some judgmental people out there. I have a close friend of mine whose mother actually told her son that it wasn't too late to change her grandson's name shortly after he was born. I'm pretty sure my friends and family know well enough not to even try that shit with me. But still.

So now that we know it's a girl, I'm trying not to freak out. I'm a planner and there is so much left to do. Figure out maternity leave, look into daycare, decide on a name, start designing the nursery, etcetera. Speaking of the nursery, we are making progress on the new apartment and I spent last weekend clearing out the baby's room. Just to give you a visual, here's what I was dealing with.

Fun, huh?

But after an entire afternoon I was finally able to see the floor again. And now I can start on the fun hobby of decorating the nursery.

One thing I'm not looking forward to? The baby registry. Actually, dreading might be a more accurate description. How can such a little person need so much crap?! One of my best friends is also pregnant with a baby girl right now. She's due two months before me and thank god I have her to go through this with. Pregnancy is like a little club that no one can relate to unless you've been through it yourself. The good, the bad and the downright ugly.

She's already forwarded me a list of must have baby items and I've been using her registry as my guide. Because right now, our child has nothing. Well, that's not exactly true. I found a random bottle of baby powder when organizing the guest bathroom. So there's that. And I received a complimentary baby bottle when I purchased some maternity clothes last month. Oh, and our dear friends gave us an L.A. Galaxy onesie. They're huge soccer fans. Other than that, we got nothing. Although I did do some online shopping on Black Friday and managed to score some pretty cute outfits for 50% off. As much as we want to support our LA soccer team, our baby needs something else to get her swagger on in.

Speaking of getting her swagger on, we got some pretty cool 3D ultrasound pics during the anatomy scan. Here's the thing though. As much as I think our daughter is the most beautiful thing ever I'm not sure how I feel about ultrasound pictures. Especially the 3D ones. First of all, I don't really want everyone knowing what the inside of my uterus looks like. I'm willing to share some of the fun details of my life on here but when it comes to the inside of my body? Meh, not so much. Also, the 3D pictures look weird. And that's not how she really looks. In fact, during the ultrasound everything Nik and I saw was in black and white. But when they went to print out a picture for us they changed it to the 3D setting which shaded everything in. Or most of everything at least. I think that's why you sometimes get those gnarly alien looking pictures. But, if you REALLY want to see a picture I suppose I can post just one. FYI, the doctor was sure to tell us that the umbilical cord is not wrapped around her neck, it just looks that way. It's in front of her instead. 

 Anyway, here is our baby girl, totally flipping the camera off. ; )



Growing Pains

So, good news guys. My bra size went up! But then again,so has my waist line. I'm still trying to come to terms with that. I know, I know. That's good news too. And for a good reason. A healthy baby bump means a healthy baby. But still, it's a weird thing to see yourself getting bigger in the mirror on a daily basis and not being able to do anything about it. Especially when you live in Los Angeles, the land of living, breathing, perfect Barbie dolls. And apparently the Victoria's Secret fashion show was taped last week which means all of these lovely images have been splashed across my computer screen every time I go online:

 

 

Bitches.

 

I'm kidding. I'm sure they're very lovely ladies who work hard for their ridiculous bodies. And I can't hate on Lily Aldridge too much since she's a mother herself. But still, it's almost winter. Put some clothes on so I don't have to look at that shit.

 

All kidding aside, my bump is still pretty small comparatively speaking. Or so I'm told.

19 + weeks

When I tell people how far along I am (5 months this Friday!) they're pretty shocked. Here are some of the fun responses I get:

 

"Oh my God! You're so tiny!" - Thanks?

"5 months?! You don't even look pregnant!" - Again, thanks?

"Are you sure there's a baby in there?!" - Um, thanks for making me worry about my child now.

"Are you sure you're pregnant?" - As if I would ever give up alcohol voluntarily.

 

At least I can tell I'm getting bigger. Usually when I gain weight it starts in my thighs. So far everything appears to be in my mid section and up top. According to my mother she didn't start showing until she was 4 or 5 months along with my two older sisters so I'm not concerned. Also, I have big hips which apparently only works to my advantage when pregnant. There's plenty of room in there for my mango sized baby to hide.

 

Speaking of, I am officially the proud owner of maternity jeans! I can still squeeze into my regular jeans but why be uncomfortable when you can live in the luxury of elastic waist bands? I had my first maternity clothes shopping experience over the weekend. The mall close to me has a store called Destination Maternity. You should definitely check them out if you're like me and don't want to give up your sense of fashion along with your caffeine, wine and soft cheeses during pregnancy. I have to admit, I was a bit overwhelmed first walking into a maternity store. I mean, what sizes should I be looking for?  What am I going to need to get me to April and what can I do without? Why does everything look so ugly on the hangers? I was soon approached by a very friendly staff member and with her help I left the store excited about wearing clothes again. I did splurge on one pair of extremely comfortable jeans that I'm actually rocking right now. I could live in the jeans, they are that comfortable. In fact, I'm thinking about starting a petition making maternity wear acceptable attire permanently. Hey, don't knock it till you try it.

 

Besides my waist line, there's another big change in my life. We moved! Yes, I know. Work a full time job, act and produce in a successful Hollywood show and then move. The past several months have been pretty crazy. We actually were not expecting to move so quickly. Nik and I had been talking about getting a bigger place with the little one on the way and started looking online to see what was out there. The average cost of a house in Los Angeles is about $400,000 so renting is our best option for now until we have a sizeable down payment saved up. We found a fairly inexpensive three bedroom condo for rent online, toured it and figured what the hell. The show I was in closed on November 3rd and the following weekend we moved. Well, I say "we" lightly. There are many dos and don'ts in the world of pregnancy. Do eat lots of fruits and vegetables, don't lift heavy objects. Do take a prenatal vitamin, don't expose yourself to paint fumes. So I helped pack, Nik lifted the heavy boxes. I picked out paint colors, Nik painted. Sure, in a way it's kind of cool. Finally! A freaking perk to this pregnancy business. Then again, I don't like having to ask people to do things for me. Thanks to Mom and Dad Gerling I consider myself a pretty independent person. Something I hope to pass on to this little nugget. So I look at a heavy box, think I can totally move it. Then think damnit, I better not. Better wait for Nik to do it for me. It's really frustrating. For Nik too I'm sure. It's "Honey, can you do this? Honey, can you do that?" Except I tend to forget the word honey and question part of the sentence. But he's been really helpful when I'm sure all he'd rather do is crack open a cold one. Which he still does, usually after I go to bed.

 

But moving sucks. Moving while pregnant REALLY sucks. We did hire movers though this time around since I wasn't going to be of much help. But there's still a lot of stress involved and no wine to help me relax. Especially when issues keep popping up like lack of storage space and how to fit the washer/dryer in the dedicated space that is too small for a washer/dryer. Or the dishwasher that is not securely installed. And the bugs. Oh, the bugs. We've fumigated, I carry Raid around with me like it's my new best friend and I thoroughly go through the place on high bug alert each day to kill as many as I can find. But somehow they keep coming. I don't know if it's a sealing issue with the doors and windows or if they're trickling in from another unit but I'm taking personal offense to it now. So much so I had a little breakdown about it the other day. I'm pregnant. It happens.

I know it could be worse. But still, disappointing. It'll get there eventually. At least that's what I try to tell my hormones. And when it does I may even post some pictures.

 

One last thing, we have a BIG doctor's appointment coming up on Friday! And with any luck we'll be able to tell what color to paint the nursery. I'm a little anxious about the whole thing. I get anxious before every doctor's appointment anyway but especially this one. I don't know if I'm ready to know yet. These past several months have just flown by. Right now the baby's room is a big pile of boxes and miscellaneous crap that still needs to be unpacked. Knowing that I will have to set it up for a tiny little boy or girl is just mind boggling. I know it sounds cliché but I don't really have a preference on the gender just as long as it's healthy and happy. And I no longer have a feeling on what it will be. When I first found out I was pregnant I thought for sure it would be a boy. Then sometimes I think maybe it's a girl. Now I'm just confused and tired of guessing. What do you think??