Memorial Weekend Fun

Here are few photos of our Belle and Brady having some fun in the sun in Vero. They are really loving the pool and we had a blast with them! Can't believe they are 4 1/2 years old already!

18 Weeks

Baby's now the size of a sweet potato! Baby's become amazingly mobile (compared to you, at least), passing the hours yawning, hiccupping, rolling, twisting, kicking, punching, sucking, and swallowing. And baby is finally big enough that you'll soon be able to feel her movements. Head to rump, your baby is about 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a bell pepper) and he weighs almost 7 ounces. He's busy flexing his arms and legs — movements that you'll start noticing more and more in the weeks ahead. His blood vessels are visible through his thin skin, and his ears are now in their final position, although they're still standing out from his head a bit. A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around his nerves, a process that will continue for a year after he's born. If you're having a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If you're having a boy, his genitals are noticeable now, but he may hide them from you during an ultrasound.

Today I wore a green shirt to our doctors apt. We went to the perinatal specialist to get a sonogram of the heart. I wore green because it is my favorite color. Today we were also hoping for the specialist to tell us the gender. Well we are not team BLUE or team PINK. We are still TEAM GREEN! Baby Higgins would not open its legs and let us take a look. However, we did get some great feedback:

Heartbeat: 145 bpm
Weight: 7 ounces

I went in and our specialist name was "KIM". What a coincidence! She was sweet. They told me to come in with a FULL bladder so I drank about 40 ounces before I came in. I was about to bust! She said she would take a few of the most important measurements and then I could go to the bathroom. I ended up going to the bathroom THREE TIMES in hour and a half. She took all the measurements and baby looks healthy and right on track. The NT scan looked normal as did forehead, eyes, and back of neck. Saw Baby Higgins tummy, heart & chambers, legs and arms. We got to hear the heartbeat and also got see the baby wave at us.

I will be setting up another appointment with Dr. Martinez who did my baseline check up on my heart when I was 30 years old. They just want to make sure my heart is handling the pregnancy fine and that my heart is ok. When you are pregnant your heart is pumping twice the amount of blood than when you are not. They just want to make sure everything is doing fine. I will do whatever the doctors say to make sure that the baby is getting the best care possible.

As for my weight, I am right back where I started before I got pregnant. I had lost about five pounds during the first trimester. Well, thanks to pasta and eating back to normal, I gained five pounds back. I will get an official weigh in at my next OBGYN apt in two weeks.

Doctor's Office:


Here is a photo of Baby Higgins waving:

Don't Touch My Watermelon

Highlight of tonight... WATERMELON. Someone else liked a lick too! He is such a great little body guard. Everywhere I go, Buster goes. I know I have mentioned this before but he is my shadow these days. He follows me everywhere. Lately I think we have both had a few cases of allergies. Right before bed we start sneezing. Time to do a thorough cleaning.

Two more days till we find out what Baby Higgins is inside. So exciting. I think I should have a running ticker with how many minutes. I am not sure how this big ultrasound is suppose to go. I know that I have to drink almost 30 ounces of water before I go in to the room to hear some of the most exciting news and then someone pushes and scrolls over my tummy/bladder for 45 minutes. Again, they put a lady on a table with a full bladder that is about to hear BIG BIG news and expect her not to pee all over the place. Yikes. Keep our fingers crossed that I can hold it all together.

Soul Sisters

Tonight I had dinner with Keely and Ann. Love these girls. Keely is about to go to Germany for THREE years. What is different than her just living in NC is that Germany is far away. Across the pond, far away. But still a phone call away. They are the keepers of the secrets. Keely I have known for more than 22 years and Ann more than 10.

They are BFF's.

Pregnant people should not go to the grocery store

Today after sleeping most of the afternoon catching the Rays win, I decided to roll into the grocery store. I mean Old Mother Hubbard has more in her closet than I had in my fridge. I was really hungry for vegetables.

Here is a quick list of the good items I bought:

Green Pepper
Red Pepper
Tomatoes
Cucumber
Watermelon
Wheat Bread

Here is a quick list of the not so good items:

Oreos (reduced fat)
Ice Cream
Popsicles
Kielbasa

So I came home and started chopping vegetables. Made a nice pasta salad and think I will polish it off with some oreos and organic milk.

Another funny story happened at the grocery store. One of the Publix workers who was smaller than average in size, I kept accidentally blocking his reach to the vegetable items. This happened twice. I said I was sorry, twice. Then, he stopped me after I grabbed my organic tomatoes. He says to me, "Why do you buy organic? What is the difference?" I said organic means that they were grown with out chemicals or pesticides. He then said, "Is that how you got so tall?" I said, "No, I just have tall parents." He then said, "If that was your secret, I would have done that a long time ago." He then walked away mumbling to himself.

Anyway, I guess I offended him. Pregnant people should not go to the grocery store.

17 Weeks

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.

The last few days I have been eating back to normal pre-pregnancy portions. I am not sure if that is all a good thing. Appetite is back, but I need to keep myself in check. I feel a bit bigger the last few days, but maybe it is because of the big meals I have been having. Lots of pasta and salad it seems. I haven't felt a kick or anything yet, but we are on the lookout. Doctor said I should feel something in the coming weeks. By this time next week we'll know if Baby Higgins is a boy or a girl. Can't wait to find out!

Baby Higgins TV Debut

Today, I did a guacamole demonstration on television for the Orange Park opening. I woke up at 4:10 am and was at the studio by 5:30. For me who is not a morning person, this was pretty rough. However, the segment turned out great and will post my some video of the segment once I get home and get my cord for my camera. I hit many of my points and the host was just lovely.

Cookie Monster

Tonight I made cookies for the restaurant opening in Jacksonville and once they came out of the oven I devoured THREE of them. Very good they were, but I haven't had that many cookies in a while. Maybe Baby Higgins is a little cookie monster in there.

Bruise from Nurse Nicole

Here is a treat that Nurse Nicole left me. :(

Hello Exhaustion?

Wow... a wave of tiredness came over me last night. Out of nowhere I became exhausted.

I didn't really run around a whole lot yesterday, stayed inside most of the day. But I was watching the game with Mike and around the third quarter I became getting sleepy. A different kind of sleepy. So sleepy, I could barely keep my eyes open. I felt heavy and tired. Very weird. I then made a zombie walk up to the bedroom where I just fell into a deep sleep.

Dreams were very weird too. I had everything from:

- Driving on very winding streets in Michigan or Wisconsin
- Basketball game/tournament for boys that were dressed like Pasco colors, but named for Carrollwood
- Wooden House that I was snuck into with friends that could not be identified
- Red sports car
- Visiting a house where I hung out with my best friend Keely's son Jones to make sure he was ok at his new day care
- Snow
- I even think Buster made an appearance.

Go figure. People have asked if I have been exhausted or tired, and right at 16 weeks, last night it hit me. Maybe baby was having a growth spurt? Who knows. I slept for at least 10 hours.

16 Weeks

Get ready for a growth spurt. In the next few weeks, your baby will double his weight and add inches to his length . Right now, he's about the size of an avocado: 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. His legs are much more developed, his head is more erect than it has been, and his eyes have moved closer to the front of his head. His ears are close to their final position, too. The patterning of his scalp has begun, though his locks aren't recognizable yet. He's even started growing toenails. And there's a lot happening inside as well. For example, his heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, and this amount will continue to increase as your baby continues to develop.

Went to the doctors today. My blood pressure was fine 100/64, same as last time. I have gained two pounds. I am still down three pounds from when we found out we were pregnant. Nurse took more blood work from my arm today. Usually they always go for the hand, but Nurse Nicole got my right arm first try.

Blood work from Stage 2 of the test says that we are in the least percentile of abnormalities. Still have one more stage to go.

No sonogram today, but she did the doppler. I swear I held my breath until she found it. Then we heard the most beautiful sound, beating away. "Nice and strong, regular."

We asked her questions about flying in June, July and August. She said all is ok as long as I feel good. She said get lots of fluid and walk the length of the plane every hour. Dr. Bevilacqua was who we saw today, very sweet.

Our Cowboy

Today Buster was out meandering in the yard. He had no idea that he had a visitor. Sitting on top of the fence spying down at him. For about 3 minutes, Buster kept smelling over in the corner of the fence. He smelled this cat. He just couldn't find him. He kept sniffing all around the fence for minutes... THEN... the cat as he stood with his hair standing straight up.. balancing two paws on one post, two on the other starring down at Buster... The cat flinches and their eyes meet.

Buster starts to growl, with a few barks. He said, "Come into this space and you won't leave the same way you came in." They stand dueling eye to eye like to cowboys in a showdown. I was kind of scared for the cat. They stood still for seconds that seemed like hours. Then Buster flinches and the cat tip toes speedily across the entire fence line as fast as lightning on his way to anywhere but here.

Buster protected his space. He is our cowboy.

What is Baby Higgins going to look like?

Ever wonder what Baby Higgins will look like? Well, thanks to technology we may know NOW instead of waiting 5 months. This site takes Mike's face and my face and morph's them together. It is really cool. Who knows if Baby Higgins will look like this, but it was fun to try it!

15 weeks

15 weeks...Continuing the march toward normal proportions, baby's legs now out-measure his arms. And, finally, all four limbs have functional joints. Your fetus is squirming and wiggling like crazy down in the womb, though you probably can't feel the movements just yet.

We are 15 weeks and so excited. Food is still weird for me. We battle every day. Chipotle food is still great, especially barbabcoa, bowl, rice, fajitas, mild, sour cream and cheese. I eat that for lunch a few times this week. Home meals are still iffy. Still have an aversion to chicken. Went to Chili's and most 99 percent of the time I get the quesadilla explosion salad. Until, I heard about a lettuce recall in Florida where precut lettuce has been found with Ecoli. So I asked the waitress, "I am sorry, I am pregnant and paranoid, does your lettuce come "precut" and she said yes. I ordered a burger. Burger was ok. First burger I have had in months. Food is just weird right now. Still love lemonade. Can't get enough of it.

I do love Subway Veggie Subs. Those are a highlight these days and of course Sweet Tomatoes. Keep those veggies coming! I still fit into everything and haven't gained a pound. I am at 225. I go for a check up this week. We may even find out if it is a boy or girl. Mike is on team boy and is proud to tell everyone who asks. He will be just as pleased with a baby girl that will melt his heart I am sure, but he is on Team Blue for now. He has two names that he has settled on. We are far from having that discussion "settled". But it does keep your mind busy thinking of names. I keep praying every day that Baby Higgins grows nice and strong, whatever the sex and whatever the name. Just a healthy baby is what I am praying for. Here is the bump photo at 15 weeks. I still just look overweight with too much chub, but here it is.

Rays Game

My mom won Rays Baseball tickets from ABC news and so we went to the game. We had a great time! Rays won with a homerun from Longoria in the 3rd inning. I had a pretzel and popcorn. Mike had a footlong hotdog. It was fun outing and I hope we can go to more games. They are winning all the time and have one of the best records in baseball. I just wish the Tampa Bay area would support them more.