15 Weeks & Counting!

Last week was crazy busy at work and I came home every night completely exhausted, so I didn't really get around to blogging much.  And then this past weekend was insanely busy as well.  It was all fun stuff - just made for a couple of really LONG days.  Friday night B and I hung out (until WAY too late) and she mentioned that she's thinking of doing a shower for me in October when both my mom and Aunt K will be here.  Yay!  Saturday morning, Paul and I went downtown and met up with Aunt K and her family and friends who were in town for a mini-vacation.  We visited the aquarium with them, which was fun but tiring (lots of walking/standing + huge crowds of people = exhaustion).  Then we made the last minute decision to take B and her family up on the offer of extra tickets to an evening concert-in-the-park that was part of a "support our troops" rally.  The concert was fun and the weather was fantastic, but it did make for another late night.  And then yesterday after church, we drove up to Paul's grandma's with his parents.  This is his dad's mom, and that side of the family is not super close.  So even though she only lives about an hour away, we hardly ever see her or his aunt/uncles/cousins on that side.  We told her about Flash and I think she was excited (in her way).  We hung around for a couple of hours before heading home the long way so as to stop for BBQ with his parents on the way back.

Then, once we got home, Paul and I spent the remainder of the evening cleaning out and organizing the downstairs closet.  We have this huge closet in the basement that is really great for storage.  Unfortunately, it became a catch-all for stuff as we were moving in and was never really organized.  Then, our basement flooded, twice.  So both times, everything was dragged out during clean-up and then shoved back in without much planning.  And since then, we've continued to add to it on a regular basis - everything from suitcases to rarely-used sporting equipment to miscellaneous lamps and appliances to stuff-we-aren't-ready-to-toss-but-don't-have-any-place-for.  Needless to say, it had become rather useless.  Too much stuff that was too poorly organized to ever find anything or even be sure if it was in there to begin with.  As we've begun rearranging the office in preparation for clearing out the future nursery, it's become clear that the closet must be dealt with to make room.  I'm proud to say that after several hours of sorting, tossing, re-packing, and organizing, we have accomplished the following:

• 1 box and a couple of bags' worth of stuff to donate to Goodwill
• 3-4 bags worth of trash
• 1 pile of stuff to shred/burn
• 1 empty closet ready to be re-filled

We've started putting things back in - Paul is a natural when it comes to packing and storage, so he's pretty much in charge of that aspect.  Meanwhile, I'm planning to continue the theme upstairs by going through the office and spare room to see what else can be tossed or donated.  After that, we should be able to finish moving furniture around!  The plan is to have everything moved out of or in to the future nursery, and the walls stripped and re-painted (base coat) by the time my mom comes to visit in a few weeks.  We won't actually arrange anything in the nursery, since obviously we won't have all the big stuff (i.e. crib) yet.  But at least we'll have a place to put stuff as it comes in and can start planning out the decorating a bit more.  I realize that this seems a bit early to be doing all of this, but between my mom's travel plans and Paul's officer-training classes coming up, things are about to get crazy.  If we don't get a head start on it now, it will suddenly be November and we'll be way behind schedule!

So, I just realized that I started this post intending it as a week 15 pregnancy update and then got off on a tangent.  So... here we go:

Symptoms

• More low back and hip pain.  It does feel better the more I exercise.  Unfortunately, I didn't get around to doing so all weekend so I need to get back on track today!  Also, I don't really like the prenatal yoga video I got.  I do like the idea of yoga, but I just think the style of the one I have isn't for me.  And the format isn't very user-friendly.  So I'm going to borrow a couple different ones from my office mate who just returned from her maternity leave.
• Sinus headaches.  I know the whole sinus congestion/pregnancy rhinitis thing is to be expected.  But for me, it mostly has manifest itself in the form of chronic sinus-pressure type headaches for which Tylenol is a lost cause.  My OB suggested taking Sudafed in combination with Tylenol, so I might try that.  But since I'm not big on excessive pill-popping, I'm hoping that getting back on a schedule of regular acupuncture might help with that (I have an appointment this afternoon!).
• Continued difficulty sleeping.  This is probably in part due to the above symptoms as well.  However, it remains my biggest complaint.  Getting quality rest is SO important, especially before I get so big that it becomes impossible.  Again, am hoping that acupuncture can help with that.  It did in the past when I was dealing with stress-related insomnia, so I have high hopes.  I'm also planning to get a Snoogle. 
• Hunger.  I'm hungry All. The. Time.  I'm learning to spread it out more though so that I don't get uncomfortably full.  But it's nice to be hungry again after those few weeks back in the first trimester when NOTHING sounded good EVER.
• Discharge.  I won't talk much about this because, well, ewww.  But let's just say I'm glad I still have plenty of pantyliners left over from the Endometrin days.
• Bleeding gums when brushing/flossing.  It isn't too extreme or all the time, but it's definitely happening more than usual for me.

In general though, I'm feeling pretty good.  On a scale of 1 to 10 of how much the above symptoms bother me (10 being unbearable) I'd say that most rank at or below a 5, except for maybe the insomnia.  That one might be more like a 6 or 7.  It is, however, kind of reassuring to read about these things in the books and online and a) know that they're normal, and b) know that it is confirmation that I'm definitely pregnant!

Bumpdate
Disclaimer:  No - I did not come up with that word on my own.  I can't remember where I saw it but I think it might have been on another blog or a friend's Facebook album (or maybe both).

• It is getting bigger and more obvious!  I kind of expect to start hearing more comments at work this week.  I'm also starting to feel more "cute pregnant" and less "ate-too-much/bloated" so that's kind of fun!
• The last pick I posted was at 13 weeks and a few days, so I'll probably post another later this week. 

Recent & Upcoming Appointments

• Last week was my regularly-scheduled check-up with the OB.  It went well.  The highlight was definitely getting to hear the heart beat!  Unfortunately, Paul couldn't be there but I was able to record it for him on my phone.  Yay technology!
• My next OB is scheduled for 19.5 weeks or so.  This way, we can do the 20-week ultrasound at the same time.  That should be a fun one!  They'll also draw blood at that time for the quad screen, the results of which will be combined with the first trimester screening we had done a couple weeks ago.

That's pretty much it for now in terms of pregnancy updates.  Time to go find another snack!