Baby Gardner- 18 weeks

How far along? 18 weeks, 3 days
Total weight gain.  8.5 lbs
Baby Development.Baby is the size of a large sweet potato.
Maternity Clothes? Still wearing my cloths, but they are VERY snug.
Stretch Marks? nope, using Belly Butter like its my job.
Sleep? Amazing, with only one potty break around 3:30
Best Moment of the week? Feeling the little nugget moving 
Symptoms?  My tight back is feeling much better thanks to Marlie
Food cravings?Nothing new, everything looks good these days. It all depends on where I am, if I am at the mall, I want Chocolate covered gummy bears from Candyopolis. If I am at the grocery store, i have to mentally steer clear of the cereal isle.
Miss anything? Nope
Movement? I finally am feeling the flutters in my tummy. Very active at night. Can't wait for Ross to be able to feel it.
Gender predictions? I still think its a boy.
Belly Button in or out? in
Goals for upcoming week? While in MN with my sisters I hope to make a trip to Babies R US and get the stroller, car seat and possibly nursery furniture finalized have. Ross and I have a daycare visit tomorrow too!!
Looking Forward to? Feeling more movement throughout the day. Every time I feel it I just stop and smile, its amazing. Can't wait to hang with my sisters and finally get my hair done!!!!
Thoughts?I thought for sure this was gonna be my "pop" week, but instead I think my butt just got a little bigger. Oh well, luckily those leggings are very forgiving of my constant eating!

Marlie and Me

Every women has a "person" that they would give up everything for, before having to saying farewell to them. It may be a hair person, a cleaning lady, a barista that makes that morning latte hit the spot, or even a fitness instructor that gives you a great workout.  You all know what I am talking about, that person you would contemplate giving up chocolate for. Well, I am no exception, I have one too.

I have been getting massages from  Marlie at Creative Hair design for about 3 years. She is AMAZING.  I have been to many spas in Omaha, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, Jamaica and none have even come close to the soothing hands of Marlie. Not only does she give a damn good massage, there are so many relaxing surprises through out the massage. A warm face wrap, hot stone foot massage, and my favorite, pre-massage trip to the steam room (which I am unable to partake in) to name a few.

Now that the majority of my weight gained has gone to my chest, my back is killing me. Add on a few 4 hour surgeries where I am slouched over the entire time, OUCHIE.  But, fortunately, I am a new women now. And I plan on seeing her at least once a month for the next 5 months.

If you don't have a "person" I am willing to share, because if you go once, she will be your "person".

Its my blog, and I'll brag if I want to

So, today I am at work, enjoying a nice cup of coffee going through surgery charts when the secretary tells me my husband is here. I figured he stopped by to give me a kiss before he left for Albuquerque for the week. Well, that he did, and it was a nice surprise for what seemed to be a long Monday. But, that's not all, he also wanted to make sure momma had her cravings covered for the week. So what does the best husband and soon to be daddy bring me...

 CHEESECAKE!!!!! AND NOT ANY CHEESECAKE, RED VELVET CHEESECAKE FROM THE CHEESECAKE FACTORY. Happy Monday to me!!!!!  Is he not the sweetest.Seriously, I am so lucky to have this guy in my life.

Squirrels????

So I have been reading that I could start having weird and random dreams that may or may not coincide with my pregnancy. Well, the other day I woke up to a very uneasy feeling. Not only did I have a weird pregnancy dream, but i remembered every detail of it. I never remember my dreams, ever. And after this past dream, I'm not even mad that I haven't remembered any up to now.

The dream started as my sister Jordan and I shopping. We were are Victoria Secret, shocker, and she was trying on a bra and stormed out of the dressing room in a panic. She had forgotten she had her annual Gyno appt in 20 minutes. So we rushed over to the doctors office. As I was in the middle of reading a magazine in the waiting room, a nurse came out and said 'you better come in with your sister, something isn't making sense with her exam, we are going to do an ultrasound'. Of course I was freaking out, as I reached the room they already had her set up for her ultrasound. I am in the middle of asking what the problem was with the exam when I look on the screen and see five squirrels all lined up in Jordan's uterus. Yep, you read correctly, squirrels. I have no idea what it means, but it surely weirded me out. 

Baby Gardner- 17 weeks

How far along? 17 weeks, 3 days
Total weight gain/loss.  8 lbs, maybe more by now( they say I should gain about a lb a week now)
Baby Development. Baby is about 5 inches in length and baby now out weighs the placenta
Maternity Clothes. Got my maternity leggings and workout pants in the mail, cant wait to wear them. For now, still wearing non preggo cloths
Stretch Marks? nope
Sleep? Much better. I have always been a right side sleeper, now my left is more comfortable (which dr says is better for blood circulation to baby anyways)
Best Moment of the week? Getting my new running shoes in the mail (I have happy feet again) 
Symptoms? Round ligament pain and sensitivity around my myomectomy scar (I think I am gonna "pop" any day with all the stretching I am feeling)
Food cravings? Still love my Greek yogurt, and Cobb salads(chicken,egg, bacon, balsamic dressing...yes please)
Miss anything? Nope
Movement? No,but I am patiently waiting
Gender predictions? Baby boy
Belly Button in or out? in
Goals for upcoming week? Same as last week, get my daycare visits scheduled. Called and got all the info, now I just need my husband to be in town to go visit the facility's. Also, getting a babymoon or two scheduled!!!
Looking Forward to? Heading up to MN. Can't wait to hand out with my sisters and go to Babies R Us and get some gear narrowed down.
Thoughts? I am officially ready to start looking pregnant instead of the girl who had to much Christmas goodies. I am ready for the bump!!!

Baby Gardner- 16 weeks

How far along? 16 weeks
Total weight gain/loss.  7 lbs
Baby Development. Baby is the size of an avocado. Tiny bones are forming in baby's ears, so now he/she can hear our voices.
Maternity Clothes. Still wearing normal cloths, but usually end up unbuttoning my jeans by the end of the day. So, I have 2 pair of maternity pants on order!!
Stretch Marks? nope
Sleep? Not bad, waking a few times, but able to get back to sleep quickly
Best Moment of the week? Our 16 week appointment last week, heard our peanuts heartbeat and everything is going great. Also before we were going to bed the other night, Ross told the little babes a fairytale (how we met and fell in love), it melted my heart.
Symptoms? Besides the abdominal fullness, I FEEL GREAT!!!
Food cravings?  Everything, I am ALWAYS hungry. Can't get enough caramel apple overnight oatmeal, protein banana bread, southwest chickensalad with guac and lots of green Tabasco sauce, and greek yogurt and granola.
Miss anything? Nope
Movement? No, but I lay in bed without moving hoping to get a flutter
Gender predictions? 99.9% of the time think its a boy
Belly Button in or out? in
Goals for upcoming week? Schedule daycare visits. Called a few places and they are already filling up for July. More research on strollers and carseats
Looking Forward to? Finding out the sex of this little peanut and feeling him/her moving around.
Thoughts? This has been an awesome week. I feel great, my preggo breakouts are improving and i have had lots of energy. I have even managed some good runs. I can only hope to feel this good the rest of my pregnancy!!

Baby Gardner-15 weeks

rockin the new cuddle duds- so cozy

How far along? 15 weeks and 3 days
Total weight gain/loss.  6 lbs
Baby Development. Baby is the size of a peach, very busy practicing somersaults and wiggling around
Maternity Clothes. Still wearing my old cloths
Stretch Marks? no new ones
Sleep? Not as awesome as it was last week. Waking up to reposition a lot
Best Moment of the week? Not being hung over on New years, awesome feeling
Symptoms? Headaches are not as frequent, and cross your fingers, preggo acne is improving
Food cravings? Chips, greek yogurt, and guacamole (not all at the same time, thank god)
Miss anything? Doing abdominal work, love that burn I got!!
Movement? No, but I have been poking the belly hoping for a kick back, but nothing
Gender predictions? Still think its a naughty little boy
Belly Button in or out? in
Goals for upcoming week? Get some sleep. With a busy work schedule last week, I am a little behind and notice it about 2 o'clock everyday.
Looking Forward to? Wednesday we have our 16 week appt, can't wait to hear our heartbeat and find out when we get our next ultrasound...boy or girl????
Thoughts?  Never thought I would say this, but i want a true baby bump, not a christmas cookie/ pita chip belly. Can't wait for next 4 weeks. Baby will triple in size, so we are in a huge growth period!! That means a baby bump for me, feeling kicks, and actually feeling like I am pregnant

2012 in review

2012 has been very good to me. Everyday I wake up and think what a blessed life I have. My husband is beyond amazing, by far the best thing that has ever happened to me. This past year in particular he has helped me improve some of my weaknesses. I am working on not being so hard on myself and loving what i was god given. This has been especially difficult for me since being pregnant and extra emotional, but he has been an amazing support system and I have come a long way. Ross has also helped me take advantage of the wonderful life we have made by stopping and enjoying everything we have worked for. He reminds me life is short, and to do what you enjoy. I tend to be too practical at times, and he has helped me relax go with the flow.  Lastly, he has been my rock through all the reproductive problems we have encountered. He has listened to me complain about feeling like crap from the meds I was taking, having to go to the doctor every week to get scans and shots and blood drawn, and to my crying about how unfair it is. He has gone to EVERY SINGLE APPOINTMENT, seriously, every one, to just hold my hand or be a second pair of ears. If nothing else, 2012 has made me realize I have an absolutely incredible person to wake up to every morning, Thank you Ross, I love you more than you will ever know

Ok, enough of the mushy stuff, lets get to this year in review:

January started out slow due to my recovering from the abdominal myomectomy I had at the end of 2011.

February I celebrated my 29th birthday. Ross and I had a nice dinner at Boiler Room in downtown Omaha and a piece of cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory, can you say Red Velvet Cheesecake!!!

March.- Celebrated a few birthdays for the Sister in laws. First Britt's birthday was celebrated at Halo with some Omaha VIP service

And then we celebrated a long awaited 21st birthday, Carly it's about time!! She had a cookout and then party at a bar in Beautiful Wayne/Wakefield Nebraska!!!

April  we celebrated Ross' 30th birthday. I had a surprise dinner for him at The Drover, all of our family was able to celebrate with us, and Ross was completely surprised!!

May-   This was a very important month for me, as I rediscovered my LOVE for outdoor running. All it took was one Sunday morning of lacing up the Mizuno's, and I the rest is history!!Ross and I took a little trip to Kansas City for some shopping, good dinners and a trip to Worlds of Fun (our first, but def not last trip to an amusement park). It was a nice little getaway, and Ross was able to put his fear of heights aside and ride the roller coasters with me!!!

at Worlds of Fun

June- Competed in the Warrior Dash with my SIL, Carly and my favorite nurse and a her amazing sister and husband. It was a blast and we Rocked our 80's costumes.

The Manganaro/Gardner clan also took a very memorable trip to Las Vegas to celebrate Carly's 21st birthday. The 17 of us flew out on Thursday and had a blast. We had amazing dinners, fun days at the pool and shopping, and of course, unforgettable nights drinking mojitos and dancing in the clubs. It was one of the best Vegas trips, mostly because we were all together.

Ross and I the first night

the Gard-anaro girls

most of us at dinner

July- Katie and I decided we were going to run the Omaha Half Marathon in September, so to jump start our training, we did the Color Run.

  We also had a blast at Brittany's Bachelorette Party In Kansas City. We had a crazy weekend with lots of vodka gummy bears, fish bowl drinks, and dancing like it's our job.

the sexy ladies of the weekend

at The Jones rooftop pool

Last, but certainly not least, my dad celebrated his 60th birthday.  we had a nice party with LOTS OF TEQUILA. Happy Birthday Papa Palma

strawberry Nebraska cake I mad for my Papa

showing off the Tequila gun he got, yes, it is filled with tequila.

August was spent relaxing a bit and  doing lots of running to get ready for the Marathon on Sept 23rd. We did have some time for a nice Creed concert at Stir.

 September- This was a very busy and exciting month. First, Ross and I had a quick weekend getaway to Las Vegas. We saw 'La Reve', an awesome water show at Wynn. We have seen many shows, this was one of the coolest!

We also had some amazing meals,our favorite was a seafood platter we had at Mon Ami Gabi at the Paris hotel. So fresh and very tasty, especially after our long day at the pool enjoying many adult beverages!

This trip was extra special because we knew we were getting closer to our baby making goal and we wanted to have one last trip before either I was preggo or we had a little one at home.

September also was important because we"officially" welcomed a new member into the Manganaro/Gardner Family. Brittney and Marc had a beautiful wedding, it was a very fun weekend and they had awesome weather!!

I was able to cross off a mark on my bucket list this month too. My sister-in-law and I ran the Omaha Half Marathon. It was an awesome experience and I did better than I expected to do. can't wait to do another one.

October- This is one of the most memorable months for Ross and I. After working towards a positive ovulation since I had my surgery almost a year ago, things were going as planned. We went in for our monthly follicle(egg) scan on October 3, saw I had a nice big 24mm follicle in my right ovary. So my doctor gave me a shot of HCG (a hormone that helps release this juicy egg) and the rest was up to Ross and I. It was a very "productive" 2nd anniversary weekend!!!!  Well, our hard work payed off. on October 19 I had a many positive pregnancy tests!!! Let the happiness begin.

November and December - Not gonna lie, these months were kind of a blur. I was in my happy place and this little nugget is all I could think about. We were able to tell all our family over Thanksgiving and now we are just living the dream. If I could share one lesson I have learned from this baby journey, it would be PATIENCE.  Its so difficult when you want something so bad, but it all pays off in the end. Now we cannot wait to see what 2013 has in store for us. I am excited and scared all at the same time. I am loving every second that pregnancy has brought, very weird, but I am loving it. But I cannot wait to meet this little baby growing inside me.  I am so glad to share my experiences and thoughts on this blog, thanks for following along. Farewell 2012, Welcome 2013!!!