Lots of big news!

Week 18: Your fetus has become amazingly mobile (at least compared to you), passing the hours yawning, hiccuping, rolling, twisting, kicking, punching, sucking and swallowing. And, baby's finally big enough that you'll be able to feel those movements soon. Our baby is getting big! So is my stomach. I have not felt definitive movement. I am waiting for a big kick before I can convince myself it is the baby and not indigestion :)

Corey defended his thesis this Tuesday and we were running a little bit late in the morning, so no picture this week. I decided we'll just wait until week 19. We have so much going on right now! Corey is pretty much done with his thesis. We both have to turn in our final drafts (yes, I've been holding mine for a year because you can't turn it in until the semester before graduation in our program) and then we are done! I am so glad he is done with Dr. Kraig! She is such a strange lady. She's said things like "this draft isn't as crappy as the last one" [when Corey has been sleeping less than 3 hours per night and sacrificing real residency work] and she actually sat and did needlepoint during his thesis defense. It's like she's got multiple personalities. She is so mean and rude to Corey, but then she took him out to lunch after his defense.

So here is the news from the Navy and Air Force:

1. We got the official announcement this week. Corey is headed to Kadena AFB in Okinawa. I will be attached to the Marines with the 3rd Dental Battalion (location not specified). There is a chance I may deploy upon arrival, but hopefully someone else (without an infant) will volunteer.

2. I am tentatively scheduled to attend ODS in November. I asked to attend the last session of the year so I can try to breastfeed. Also, I just don't want to leave our baby until I know what our child care arrangements will be in Okinawa. This conflicts with our oral board exams, so we will have to defer them until May. Hopefully I will be back with Corey and our baby by Christmas!

Here is our tentative schedule:

1. May 22nd - Master's degree (Jen and Corey)... I will now be unemployed but yet probably buying more things to prepare for our baby and our move. We are considering selling Corey's car at this point so we don't have to pay the insurance, we'll only need one car, and because we can't put a baby in it.

2. June 25th - Air Force ceremony for Corey's residency. He will then hopefully work regular hours here in San Antonio and help me in the evenings to get ready to move. We will also be studying like crazy for our written boards.

3. July - baby time! I have a feeling that I am going to have this baby early. Maybe I will be wrong. My due date is July 28th. Also, Corey will turn 37 this month!

4. August - time for you to visit us if you'd like to see us before May of 2010. This month we will also be studying for our boards, so if you want to see our baby, please come towards the beginning of the month! We are also planning to baptize our baby while family is still visiting and we're going for a sacramental trifecta at St. Francis: our wedding, Corey's initiation into Catholicism, and our baby's baptism :) ***We should be back in the U.S. for our boards in Dallas the first week of May next spring. This is nice because (1) our flights will be paid for by the USAF/USN and (2) I should have some leave saved up so we can visit longer. We are also hoping to pick up a few embryos in San Antonio (try to get pregnant again - then maybe I can't be deployed, too?).***

5. August 31/September 1 - WRITTEN BOARD EXAM!!

6. Mid-September - Move to Okinawa. This depends on several things we can't predict: my health, the baby's health, selling our house, packing our goods to ship (we won't see them for a few months), getting all of our baby gear, and getting Bailey and Jack cleared to move. It is a 7 month process to import pets to Japan. I am taking the boys to the vet on base this week, so more on this soon.

7. October - find day care. Find a routine and figure out our schedule with our baby before I start working full time. We probaby won't be in our final housing until after I start working and it might be January before we get our furniture. I'd also like to pump and freeze milk if possible so Corey can give it to our baby when I am gone... he will be responsible for weaning our baby, LOL!

8. November - ODS (Officer Development School) in Newport, RI - 5 weeks. The Navy will pay for me to fly back to the states for training. I cannot bring the baby, so Corey will stay in Japan and work. The Air Force needs him to replace a periodontist in Okinawa by November, so this is one of the reasons we decided to go ahead and move. So he will not be able to fly with me. Also, it is expensive and not necessary to fly our baby repeatedly while she/he is so susceptible. We still have to figure out if we will be able to find a nanny in Okinawa.

We are starting to look around our house and figure out what furniture we need to sell and what academic stuff we need to keep. We are meeting with a realtor on March 10th (also the day we see our baby again and hopefully find out boy vs. girl). The average time to sell in San Antonio is about 6 months right now, so we are planning to get that ball rolling. We have a TON on our plates before next January. We wanted to be done with our boards this November, but we will just have to keep reviewing until May. Having a baby is going to dramatically change our lives, and on top of that we have to move half way around the world and try to become board-certified. I have to leave our baby for 5 weeks and have the real possibility of deploying with the Marines over my head. We have a lot of demands in our lives right now, so hopefully everyone understands what we are up against. We simply can't please everyone and we need to do what is best for our family, so please consider and try to remember what is going on in our lives.

My belly button hurts!

Week 17: "Baby's skeleton is hardening, changing from rubbery cartilage to bone, and fat is finally accumulating around it. The umbilical cord is getting thicker and stronger, and those little fingers and toes are now topped by one-of-a-kind prints."Onions. Not too cute, but okay for a week. I also found that a soda can is 5 inches and another site told me my baby is now the size of a beanie baby. That sounds cuter!

Here is my new belly picture. Yep, it is starting to stick out. If it weren't so gross, I'd take a picture of my belly button. I think it is *trying* to pop out, but it can't. I have a scar from my gallbladder removal that runs in my belly button, so now it is just looking more strange. Also, I took out my belly ring several weeks ago, so there is an extra little hole.

I bought a yoga dvd to do at home, so hopefully I will get a little more flexible. I noticed today that I have more trouble breathing when I am sitting. I think everything is getting squished upward under my ribs! I am definitely showing much more of a bump... it got pretty big all of a sudden. Other people I know haven't had such a pronounced bump so soon, but I have a pretty short torso, so I guess that's where it has to go.

Happy Valentine's Day, Baby (literally)!

This year we decided not to exchange Valentine's gifts (really - not like the Christmas fiasco of 2006). We did go to Olive Garden so I could have the new soup I was craving. I had it last week in Laredo and had to have it again. We forgot it was Valentine's day, so the wait was LONG but the soup was good (chicken gnocchi). Afterwards we went to Babies R Us and purchased the Chicco Cortina travel system and Lullabye playard. Both items were rated #1 by consumer reports, so we feel good about them. And, since we purchased both, we got %15 off our total. I really don't like Babies R Us, but we don't have a lot of options in San Antonio. I had stopped about 10 people with this travel system in the stores, and all have said good things, so I am happy with our purchase. The playard has a bassinet that is good for up to 15 lbs and then converts to a crib for up to 30 lbs, so we should be able to use it through our transition.

Here are some sexy photos of the Prenatal Cradle (as promised). It is not comfortable yet, and it is a bit difficult to put on... I tried to step in it and I got stuck, so I guess the best way is to wriggle it over my head and then down under my belly.

Corey took this shot with the camera low, but I still have a double chin. So much for only gaining 5 lbs in the last 10 weeks! I think the body redistributes fat and all of my muscle (you know, all that muscle mass I had before, hahaha) must be turning over to fat!
Here is a belly shot of Jack. While he is a heavy little guy, he is actually pretty long since you can see he reaches from about my knees to my shoulders. Okay, since I am short, maybe he's not too long :)

In other news, I have been working with 2 new trainers who are both certified to work with pregnant clients. I couldn't get a refund from my pre-pregnancy sessions, so I am determined to use my remaining sessions before my membership expires in May One is on Saturdays and one is on Mondays. After my session on Saturday, I have been going to a free prenatal yoga class at a maternity shop. Yesterday the instructor had us sit with our feet spread wide apart and then lean forward... when I looked around the room, I was the only one still upright! I now have a new goal to increase my flexibility! I am going to get a prenatal yoga dvd and do the stretching part at home. It is also supposed to help the sciatic nerve pain that I've been getting.

Costco = The Happy Place

Week 16: "Watch what you say... tiny bones forming in baby's ears mean the little one can now pick up your voice. Eyebrows, lashes and hair are starting to fill in, and taste buds are forming. And, if you're interested, an ultrasound might be able to determine gender."

We ARE interested in the gender, but we won't for another month. The big ultrasound is scheduled for March 10th! (Exactly 20 weeks and not a day earlier) Also, it seems weird that an avocado is larger than an orange, so I measured quarters again... 4.5 inches is 5 quarters in a row! By the way, here are our potential baby names (I had them first)

Girl = Parker (yes, we know it's uncommon for a girl but we don't really care what you think)

Boy = Chase

I nearly had a breakdown yesterday at the base. I can't remember the last time I felt so angry and so helpless (short of some illegal attempt at retribution). My appointment was at 9:20 so I got there around 8:30 because at my last appointment they gave me a sheet that said to stop at the lab before this appointment.

8:30 take number at lab

8:45 called to lab window; "Ma'am, there are no labs in the computer for you"

8:50 go up to OB department & ask them to put in lab because I have to pee (urine sample)

9:00 OB desk lady comes back and tells me I won't have enough time so I should go to the bathroom and then wait; I yell at OB lady that I'll go and wait and wait some more because they are never on time

9:35 no one has called me; I go and yell at OB desk lady again that I could have gone to the lab

9:51 called back for appt; nurse (you never see a doctor) didn't tell me the heartbeat, didn't measure my uterus, didn't cover false labor, told me to come back in 8 weeks, didn't really say anything other than I had high blood pressure (NOT normal for me) and I probably need the first appointment so I don't get angry next time; good news is I've gained 5 lbs total.
10:28 take number at pharmacy for drug I probably don't need and shouldn't take; meanwhile, I sit and wait and find a worm in my apple (seriously)
10:48 called to pharmacy window & told "it will be 30 min"
10:49 take number again at lab; there are 51 numbers ahead of me and active duty people and handicapped people are streaming in (they trump us normal people and get to go ahead)
11:39 called to lab window; "It will be about an hour to 1 1/2 hours"; I tell the lady I am leaving because I am so hungry and I have to get out of there.
11:40 go to pharmacy, pick up Rx, go to the basement and wander around for the place to pick up my Prenatal Cradle (belly harness - pictures in a few weeks)
12:00 debate obtaining a weapon and then I remember what always makes me feel better...

12:25 arrive at COSTCO (The Happy Place if you are a Dooley), eat a hot dog, and feel my blood pressure drop. Walk around, buy some lotion for my expanding belly, and eat most of a cup of chocolate yogurt. AHHHHH. Much better!

Corey feels like he hasn't gotten much attention lately... so here's a recent picture of Corey - hopefully this won't become a weekly photo-op!

We are all stressed this week!

Week 15: "Continuing the march towards normal proportions, baby's legs now outmeasure the arms. And, finally, all four limbs have functional joints. Your fetus is squirming and wiggling like crazy down in the womb, though you probably still can't feel the movements."

This has been a very stressful week. Corey is constantly on the verge of a breakdown regarding his thesis drafts and Dr. Kraig. I am going to have a few choice words with her after we graduate. We found out on Tuesday that I MUST attend ODS (traning) before working overseas, so I now am waiting to find out WHEN so the Air Force can decide what to do with Corey and when we will move. I also found out that once I get to Okinawa, I will be at a Marine billet that is on "deployable" status. Anchors away! The Navy provides medical support for the Marines, and my unlucky military streak continues. At this point, I would rather have $200,000 more debt and not have to leave our child, but I have no choice. I briefly pondered if I could claim I am gay so I could get out of the Navy, but Corey said they would investigate it. How do they do that, exactly? Hmm...

Bailey is apparently picking up on our stress. He has been throwing up/dry heaving all week so I took him to the vet. I heard him crying in the back which almost killed me to hear... I can't imagine what will happen when our child is in pain! $191 later, Bailey feels much better. He got to take a trip with me alone, and I think he just wanted time away from Jack. The vet says he is stressed and was wondering if there is stress in our home. Duh. We are both finishing our residencies :) Bailey got a CBC, steriod shot, steriod Rx, flea Rx, and a shot for his apparent tapeworms (I am embarrassed - this is from eating a flea, apparently.) So now both cats are getting heartworm/flea gel. The worst part of the morning was when I was checking out - an older gentleman brought in an equally old dauchshund to be put to sleep :( I almost started to cry. The man came all alone and when they took the dog back ("Pierre") I thought about offering to sit with him, but Bailey was screaming and I didn't want to make things worse with my hormones - SO SAD!!!

Corey and I are going to Dallas tonight for a meeting tomorrow. We will both be presenting some of our surgeries and we will both be glad when we can check this off our list! I have been invited to a symposium in Georgia next month - a 4-day stay at a Ritz Carlton Resort. Dr. Mealey gave me the invitation and told me he had to know by the end of the day. I told him I didn't need until the end of the day to decide :) He said "well, shouldn't you talk to Corey?" So I called Corey and told him I was going! It is all-expense paid conference for residents hosted by Straumann (a dental implant company - happens to be my favorite). I know the rep and he told me that we were the only residency invited in Texas! Yay!

Ups and downs... hopefully our flight won't be as turbulent as our life!