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Our 21 weeks Baby Bump belly pic will be up today. Click on the Photos tab in the left- hand top corner, then click on Baby Bump. You can click on the photos to see the evolution of Bree's belly as her little Tigger roars inside her. 
This will be our 4th Baby Bump pic to date.
Yesterday was a busy day! Bree woke up at 5:30am, unable to sleep, and did a little work around the house and gazed at the nursery occasionally. Then at 8:30am, Bree and Michael went to the 20th Annual Baby Fair at the TCC. Loads of fun and freebies! The booths had many reps from companies and hospitals and the Tucson Police Department to discuss pregnancy and child safety issues. Very informative. We received lots of cute little diapers, literature, breast feeding tools, BPA-free bottles and coupons- all for free.
In the afternoon, Michael and I attended my 29th-again Birthday Party at my brother's house. It was also celebrated in conjunction with my Dad's 29-again-for-the-25th-time Birthday party. We don't age in this family. My birthday present from my brother and his fiance was a visit from my Mom! Wow!! Thank you guys so much for volunteering your home for Mom while she stays here in Tucson to help plan for the baby's birth. My brother Chris gave me tons of great Disney movies I love. My Mom and Aunts Marty and Tracy bought me a ton of Pooh/Tigger-themed baby stuff (bibs, teethers & rattlers, wash cloths and sponge, sleep sacs, baby brush and comb set), an Andrew Lloyd Weber cd, strawberry cake (my favorite), and gift cards (always good to have when you are working on a nursery, btw). My Dad got me a sweet card and gift card as well. Michael got me satellite radio for our new car Geordie, cleaned the house, took me to Phoenix last weekend, and bought tickets to see Margaret Cho when she comes to AZ in October! He made sure to tell me that the seats were located near an aisle so my pregnant body will be able to access a bathroom. Michael's mom sent me some awesome Disney movies and baby stuff (clothes, bottle warmer, etc). My Aunt Donna sent me a card and gift card. And my Nanaw sent me a precious birthday card. I also received a lot of love from friends and family in the way of phone calls and e-mails/e-cards wishing me a Happy Birthday: thank you Belinda, Emmy, Wendy and Brad, Anna, Grandpa and Honey, and all the people listed above who made my birthday special. My Dad also received lots of great gifts and gift cards and candy- and my Mom made him an egg custard pie for dessert (his favorite). We ate grilled burgers and veggies and chips (yum) that my brother, his fiance, and Michael supplied. A fun time was had by all at the party.
After the family party, my bro had a Poker Party scheduled at his house that evening (attended by my hubby and our poker-playing friends) while my Mom and brother Chris and I did a little shopping and went out to eat at Sauce and Frost. Awesome dinner combination of pasta and gelato. Needless to say, yesterday was the most exciting/exhausting day I have had in months! Michael will have pictures of the birthday up today in the Family Photos section of this website (click on Photos in the upper-left hand corner, then click on Family Photos and scroll until you find the pictures and captions of the birthday(s) party).
Michael and I attended our 20 weeks prenatal appointment yesterday (I am 20 weeks, 4 days pregnant). We are happy to report that all is well with our little tiger- and he gets very annoyed by doctors. When our OBGYN was listening to his 140-beat-per-minute heartbeat on the tummy doppler, he decided to kick at the doppler machine while she was holding it. The funniest noise interrupted his steady heart beat with a loud "thud" as he tried to pop the device out of her hand. Very funny. Up until yesterday, I had only felt small, fluttery, twingy movements here and there (similar to a gassy feeling in my lower tummy), but yesterday he was very active and his movements felt more like a small electrical current punching my tummy every so often. So far, it seems to not be painful, just a little jolting. I only felt it for about 10 minutes, but it was an awesome experience!
My mood swings started about a week ago- weepiness every few days for no reason whatsoever, and irritability about once a day; both of these last only a few minutes at a time. OBGYN says that is actually pretty good, considering how high my hormone levels have been. I still have daily bouts of nausea and constant "vurping," for which the doctor wrote me out another prescription for Zofran, just in case the "morning" sickness continues after this week (actual morning sickness after the completion of the 20th week is supposedly rare- although most women still experience occassional scent-induced nausea or stomach upset throughout their entire pregnancy, which is a different thing). My weight is up about 3 lbs from last month, making my total weight gain during this pregnancy a little more than 10 lbs. Right on track. My heart rate is a little high, even for a pregnant woman (a "normal" pregnant woman's heart rate tends to be about 100 beats per minute), but nothing to be concerned about (yet) according to the doctor. And my blood pressure and vitals are all normal. So, I am officially out of the "high-risk pregnancy" status for now. From now on, at our monthly appointments, they will continue to run the normal tests, to make sure all is progressing properly, but no more bi-weekly blood tests and constant ultrasounds. *whew* Although, I have to admit, Michael and I will kinda miss the continous ultrasounds- it was fascinating to see the development of new life every few weeks.
Michael's mom told me she was shipping us some more fun stuff for the baby today: we will be receiving ALL of Brayden's (Michael's sister's son) past baby/toddler clothes that are still in great shape, along with safety outlet covers, and a car charging bottle-warmer. Yay- our mini-man is gonna be decked out, let me tell you. And Michael put the crib together yesterday! Woo hoo! Aaaand the replacement changing table/dresser arrived yesterday too! (See last blog for more details on that little drama). His room is now full of baby furniture, so we have no more guest room- it is now the beginnings of a true nursery. Today, I am set to put the "Tigger-and-Pooh" wall border up around the nursery, and maybe some of the wall hangings and other decor, if I feel like it.
On a disappointing note, Michael and I will be unable to attend the Star Trek Convention this year. *sad face* 
For those of you who know us, we are trekkies ("trekkers," if you are politically correct). I love Star Trek and sci-fi, in general, and Michael likes it almost as much as I do. We have had the fortune of attending the Las Vegas Star Trek Convention every year for the past 4 years, and have autographs and celebrity photos and stories to prove it. I have to admit, I am way bummed about not being able to feel like the coolest geek in the room for 4 glorious days, but I will work thru the pain. 
Patrick Stewart will not be attending this year, and he is the only celebrity we have yet to get a picture with, so we've rationalized the heartache. To be honest, the trip would just be too miserable and uncomfortable for me this year; riding in a car is still not my tummy's favorite past time- and I have a sneaky suspicion being in a plane would have an even worse gastrointestinal effect.
I had an awkward neighbor moment a few days ago while I was retrieving our mail: an older man, who lives down the road with his wife, asked me how the twins were doing. I felt embarrassed to tell him that we unfortunately lost one of the twins a few months back. He apologized for our devestating loss, but then wished us happy luck on our little survivor and throughout the rest of my pregnancy, which was very nice. I think it was a bitter-sweet moment for both of us.
Let me start out by saying that my hubby is a saint. Spending time with him this weekend was the highlight of these last few days and he is a very take-charge person when things go wrong. Because of this, problems are resolved quickly and usually do not have to be worried about again at a later date. Thank Goodness for him! Aside from that, the weekend was very frustrating and unpredictable, mainly due to incompetent vendors.
Saturday, Michael decided that we would kick off my birthday by shopping for baby furniture at IKEA in Phoenix. We left home around 9am and drove up there. I took meds, but still had nausea and muscle fatigue off-and-on all weekend long. Michael said I was a trooper though. We found some items we liked at IKEA, but not any furniture that totally suited our fancies. We decided to check out the Phoenix Babies R' Us, Target, and USA Baby. Babies R Us furniture was expensive, compared to IKEA and other online prices we had researched, and their local USA Baby had closed down!!! Ahhh! So we drove around Phoenix, in 110+ degree, monsoon-season, weather for nothing. Did I mention I am pregnant and hot and nauseous all the time? *sigh* We went back to IKEA and decided that maybe we should pick the crib & changing table combo that we liked earlier- but we just didn't LOVE the choice (on second look, Michael felt the wood was too dark for our nursery room). After spending 7 hours in Phoenix, looking for elusive baby furniture, we decided to call it a day and grab some food. We ate at Ra Japanese Restaurant (very good food and service, but a little pricey, btw) and drove the 1.5 hours home, sans furniture. Our bodies were aching and bruised from walking around Phoenix all day so a bath was in order before bed.
Sunday, Michael researched some more local baby stores and decided to try the Babies R Us on the other side of town and a locally owned store call "Aldrich Baby News." We found some great nursery items at Babies R Us, but still no furniture that appealed to us. Then we went to Baby News. They had some great looking furniture! We were so psyched. We ended up picking out 3 pieces we adored (a crib, a changing table/dress combo, and the hutch that sits on top of the changing table/dresser combo). We couldn't believe our luck! The price was higher than IKEA's assembly-required furniture, but lower than Babies R Us furniture, so we decided to purchase the items. Since the pieces were very heavy and bulky, we had to contact my brother Adam and beg him to help Michael move the furniture to our house b/c 1) Adam is a non-pregnant dude and 2) Adam has a truck. After much finagling, Michael and Adam were able to get the furniture in our house. As soon as we unwrapped the box with the changing table/dresser combo, I noticed a problem with the drawers. After inspection, Michael and Adam noticed the drawers had cracks in the wood and would not close properly due to the defect! This was right out of the package! After closer inspection, Adam and Michael noticed the top of the dresser was warped (probably due to being stored in a non-AC warehouse for months). The rest of our furniture appeared to be in good shape. Bree called the Baby News place and left a message on their voice mail (they were closed for the day) and explained the problem- they should get back to us soon. This was unacceptable, and the item will need to be replaced- by THEM coming to our house and replacing it. If the replacement is also damaged, we will need our money back for all the furniture b/c they were all bought to match each other, of course. *grunt*
We still had to go to Target to register, so at 7pm we drove over to Target (which closes at 9pm). We registered for our items until closing time and headed out. Sounds simple, right? Upon returning home, we accessed our registry as a guest. Our guests (friends and family) can access our registry just fine, but we can't! We tried to manage our registry (change any items or add items) and our password was not working! *anger* Not only that, we saw online that we were supposed to receive a gift bag when we did our baby registry at Target, and we did not. Bree printed out the page and decided to call Target's customer service (which she did and they took care of the password issue- yay Target!). Today, Bree will also be heading back to Target to get the gift bag we were meant to get. The good news for all of you who have been asking: we are officially registered at Target under either Bree Martin or Michael Martin from Arizona ( I would recommend putting in my name in the registry- much easier to find our registry list since my name is less common). You can order registry items online at www.target.com or go to Target itself and print out the registry and shop at the store. Remember: when you buy something, please remember to take it off the registry (if you find the same item cheaper at a different store, that is great- just remember to take it off the registry). We will also be registering at Babies R Us soon.
To top off the weekend, right before we went to sleep, the AC started making this loud, high-pitched whistling noise! What the heck!? Could this weekend have been any more complicated!? *crying* We decided to put in ear plugs and deal with it later. Sleep is the only thing that will wash away the pain.
We are off to IKEA in Phoenix and I am soooo psyched! I hope we are able to find furniture for our baby boy today. I am kinda sad that we will no longer have a guest room, but it is for a really good cause! As the nursery progresses from a guest room/storage room, Michael and I will be taking pictures and posting them here on our website. We are gonna have fun transforming the big purple guest quarters into a Tigger and Winnie the Pooh Playland! I am considering painting the bottom of the chair rail (under the "100 Acre Woods" border we will be puttin' up) a light green- what do you think? Haven't decided yet. That will make the top 3/4 of the room purple, then the border at the crib-line, then the bottom 4 feet a light grass-green color. I am still debating and would love some input.
Michael is hesitent to let me paint. I do touch-ups a little here and there while he is at work (shhh- don't tell him or I'll get in trouble). Since I have been pregnant, I have painted baseboards in our house and done touch-ups in the future-nursery and touch-ups in our newly- remodeled bathroom (btw: Michael remodeled the bathroom himself- I have a Renaissance Man; but I did all the decorating in there and helped him pick out the new vanity and countertop, so I contributed. A little.). There is still so much to do in the house tho: we have to put up child safety latches on the cabinets (we have them, we have just not installed them yet), get those little socket stoppers so the baby won't put his finger in a light socket (I smell a registry item maybe...), and generally buy furniture and baby essentials! We also need to either get a living room toy box (for items the baby plays with or uses in the living room) or maybe I can paint out the hope chest my Dad gave me; not sure which to do on that one. I am so overwhelmed now. I need to breathe. Somebody hand me a paper sack, quick! This baby should be born in early December and there is too much that needs to be accomplished. A little over 4 months to go! AHHH!
PS On a weird side-note: I think I had a pregnancy-induced hallucination. I woke up around 1am to see (what I thought was) a biiig spider. I am not afraid of spiders, but I don't want one crawling on me while I am asleep. Yuck. The light was on in our bedroom (I guess Michael woke up and turned it on for some reason) and I woke up, looked down at the belly support pillow I keep near my growing belly, and yelped "Michael! There is a spider on my pillow." He immediately dashed into action, grabbing the pillow and pulling the covers off the bed to kill, or at least move, the spider. Major heroics for the middle of the night, huh? After several minutes of us looking for the spider and smashing our covers to bits, we finally deduced that I could have been having one of those vivid dreams I told you about in my "21 Shocking Facts" blog. Or there could have really been a spider. We aren't sure. We just had the house sprayed for pests (using "green" pesticides, of course), and I haven't seen any other creepy-crawlies since then, but you never know...
Forgot to mention! Last weekend, we went to a Dinner Party with friends (every two months, we get together with a group of 5 couple-friends who also love to cook; we take turns having it at each house and each couple picks a theme). The first theme was Italian. So good with the homemade pasta and sauces. Next was Greek food. Loooove Greek food. Last week's theme was Indian Food. Everything was so good- there was rice, shrimp, Chicken Tikka Masala, Saffron salad, dipped strawberries, Naan bread, Indian beer & wine (which I wasn't able to drink, of course). Everything was yummy. And I was introduced to this pregnant woman's best friend- Chai Tea. My best friend Emmy has always loved Chai Tea, and I hadn't really had much of it before, but I knew she always adored it. But the hostess at this dinner party, Rahbn, made some for the party for us non-drinkers. It was delish. I see why my bff always had to have it.
Tonight, my brother and his fiance are stopping over after dinner to chat and have dessert- and of course Adam will be picking up his gift card he won from our Gender Guessing Contest. I am making apple cinnamon muffins, half-caf coffee, and, you guessed it, chai tea. *grin*
Next week, Michael and I are heading to a Car Seat Safety seminar (free seminar to show us the legal way a car seat must be installed in Arizona). Afterward, we are gonna buy a car seat for our little boy, since we will be schooled in the proper safety guidelines. FYI: We will have to have it approved by the hospital before we will be allowed to take the baby home, so this is obviously an important class. Who knew there were so many rules and regulations and laws concerning infant travel, huh? It is a good thing, but every time we think we got all the info we need, there is something else to learn. Part of being a parent, I guess.
We can't wait for our shopping spree at IKEA this weekend, and to hear our little boy's heartbeat again next week at our next OBGYN appt. It is such an amazing experience to know Michael and I made a new human life, and that life is growing and thriving inside me. This little boy is such a blessing. After being together 9 years, being married 7 years, trying to get pregnant for 2 years, and having 2 miscarriages, Michael and I are certain this little one will be sooo spoiled. And we are okay with that.
So, now that we know we are having a boy, all these things are flooding at us! We are so thrilled to find out that I am pregnant with a boy, and even more thrilled that so far he is perfectly healthy and happy playing in my womb. Now it is time for Mommy and Daddy to get serious about planning for our son. Yikes!
Friday, Michael and I are going out to eat with our friends Casie and Brett (btw: thanks for participating in the Gender Guessing Game yesterday, you two). They have two young munchkins and we pump them for info constantly about the latest pregnancy and baby info.
This Saturday, Michael and I are going to Phoenix to do some baby boy furniture shopping. We are hoping to find a crib and changing table at IKEA, and then have lunch and drive back home to Tucson. For those of you who have been asking, we will probably begin our registry at Target this week too. We are planning on registering at Babies R' Us in early August.
Next week is my next OBGYN appointment. It will be my last time to see my OBGYN for about 2 months because she is gonna be on maternity leave. Ironic, huh? She is pregnant with a boy too, and he is due in August. One of her OBGYN colleagues will be taking over our prenatal care for August and September.
Next weekend is the Tucson Baby Fair. It sounds like a lot of fun! After the Baby Fair, there is gonna be a family dual- Birthday Party for my Dad and me at my brother's house. I don't know anything else about the particulars of the family b-day party, but I am excited. I will be 29- again. And so will my Dad. *grin* After our family get-together, my brother's house is set to be transformed into a Poker tournament by nightfall. I will probably be too tired from the festivities of the day to participate in the tournament, but I am sure my hubby and all the Poker tourney- lovers will have a good time.
Today, I did something wild! I registered for Prenatal classes at our hospital. Took forever. Our hospital offers 7 different classes, but we found 4 of them interesting. Michael and I are gonna learn how to birth babies, diaper babies, breastfeed & bottle babies, and administer first aid to babies. Wow. One of these classes is 5 weeks long. We are set to begin a series of different classes in mid-September. The last class is November 19 (3 weeks before my projected due date). FYI: If I go into labor before I can take any one of the classes, they will refund our money, which is good to know. The classes are not very expensive, so we thought this would be a good investment- seeing as how we don't know nothin' about babies. There are also community classes we are looking at taking next month that are free too. And I am all about "free." Who isn't these days, huh?
Gender Prediction- Based on Old Wives' Tales:
1) If you carry all the weight out in front, you are having a boy. If you carry the extra weight in hips and thighs, you are having a girl. All my weight is out in front. Boy
2) If the hair on your legs is growing faster than before you were pregnant, you are having a boy. Mine is not. Girl.
3) Girls are carried high, boys low. As of right now, I am carrying high. Girl
4) Sleeping in your bed, if your pillow is facing South, you are having a girl. My pillow faces South. Girl
5) If you prefer to eat the heel of bread while pregnant, vs the middle, you are having a boy. I eat both, but prefer the middle. Girl
6) If the Dad-to-Be gains weight along with you while pregnant, you are having a boy. Michael has lost weight. Girl.
7) If you have morning sickness during pregnancy, you are having a girl. I STILL have morning sickness, so I must be having a Girl, right? The biggest, baddest Girl you ever met. My Grandma Honey, who birthed two boys, had severe morning sickness with both of them.
8) If the maternal Grandmother has all gray hair when the baby is conceived, you are having a boy. My Mom does not have all gray hair, so I am having a Girl.
9) If your skin, hair, and nails are all growing better than before and you "glow" during pregnancy, you are having a boy (b/c girls steal their mother's looks). My skin, hair, and nails have never looked better, therefore I am having a Boy.
10) If breast development has been quite dramatic since you found out you were pregnant, you are having a Girl. Hmmm...I am starting to see a pattern here- are you?
11) If the sum of the mother's age and the month of conception add up to be an even number, you are having a Boy. I am 29 and I conceived in March (3), so that equals 32. I am having a boy.
12) If your urine is a dull yellow during pregnancy, instead of a bright yellow, you are having a Girl. Mine is a dull yellow. Girl.
13) If you are craving sweets, you are having a girl; craving salty things, a boy. I am not "craving" anything, per se, due to morning sickness, but I have an easier time keeping sweet stuff down than salty, so I am gonna say I am having a Girl on this one, right?
14) If your nose gets wider during pregnancy, you are having a boy. My nose has remained the same, so Girl.
15) If you are craving meat and cheese, you are having a boy. If you are craving fruits, you are having a girl. Again, cravings are not my thing yet, but I can eat grilled cheese sandwiches a lot, but also a lot of fruit. Hmmm... it is a toss up on this one.
16) If your baby's heart rate is over 140 beats per minute, you are having a girl. If it is 140 beats per minute or lower, it is a boy. See, the baby's heart rate has been all over the charts since conception- sometimes 120, sometimes 160. After his heartbeat stabalized, it was a little over 140. So he must be a Girl, right?
17) If you drink a lot of orange juice during pregnancy, then you are having a Girl. I drink orange juice. So he is a Girl.
18) If you are having headaches while pregnant, it is a Boy. I do have headaches occasionally, but not as bad as some women I know. But I do have headaches about once a week so far, so I am gonna say Boy to this one.
19) If your belly looks like a watermelon, you are having a Girl. If it looks like a basketball, you are having a Boy. This one is kinda hard to determine at this point, but after looking in the mirror, I would have to go with watermelon. So, I am having a Girl.
20) If someone asks you to show them your hands, and you show your hands to them palm up, you are having a Girl. If you show them to you palm down, you are having a Boy. Not really sure why this one is an Old Wives' Tale for gender prediction during pregnancy, but I show people my hands palm up, so I am having a Girl.
21) If you pick up a mug (of coffee, tea, milk), and you involutarilly hold the mug by the handle, you are having a Boy. If you hold the body of the mug, you are having a Girl. When I reach for a mug, I hold the body initially, then switch to the handle. So I am having a Girl.
22) If your feet are colder than before you were pregnant, you are having a Boy. If they are the same or warmer than before, you are having a girl. My feet are actually hotter since I became pregnant (as is the rest of me), so I am having a Girl.
23) If you have a hearty appetite during pregnancy, and are possibly putting on a little more weight than you should, then you are having a Boy, b/c boys have heartier appetites. As you know, I have to make myself eat on most days, so this would have to be Girl.
PS: As you all know, according to modern technology, I am having a BOY (you can see his little bottom and winky and soles of his feet on our 19 week ultrasound II pics- an ultrasound II has a 98% accuracy rating after 18 weeks gestation). These Old Wives' Tales read that I am having a Girl (78% of them indicate Girl, 22% indicate Boy). At last count, 13 of my friends and family were leaning toward the feeling that I was having a Girl, based on myths and/or gender prediction indicators; 8 of my friends and family said Boy, based on the same. Also, the Chinese Gender Prediction Calendar stated that was having a Girl, based on my age and month of conception. I checked the stats on the accuracy rating of the Chinese Gender Predictions, and it is right 65% of the time, according to one poll I read. These are a fun and exciting way to build anticipation about the gender of your baby, but not always accurate.
