After the 7-week ultrasound and after seeing the doctor today who looked over my 7-weke ultrasound, it seems my due date has moved to May 21st. However, since I'm already latched onto May 19th and I don't feel like changing my tickers, May 19th it stays. A due date is one big crap shoot anyway! ;)

(delivery can be a crap shoot too in an entirely different way... but that's another story... nyuck nyuck nyuck... oh? What's that? You first-timers didn't know about the possibility of "going" on the table? Hee! And no, I didn't... but I was PETRIFIED of that happening!)

I had a doctor's appointment this morning... this time with the new OB I chose.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE her. She is warm and kind and reassuring and she has been delivering babies for a zillion years... here's the catch. She told me that in two years, she is getting out of OB. (cry) Oh well, baby #3 is a long way down the road and I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. In the meantime, I have found someone to catch THIS baby at least.

She does ALL of her own deliveries and went on and on about how much the loves what she does. Isn't that great? To hear someone rave about how much they love their job even though it drags them out of their nice warm bed probably six times a week?

So anyway, all went well... I've gained some (cough) weight but I won't say how much in total. (scary) It's all good though. I gained it all with Ben right in the beginning too and it tapered off in the second trimester when most other people gain it all. So it will even out.

She found the heartbeat quickly and remarked that it was strong and healthy.

I opted not to get the first trimester screen... the doctor actually discouraged it unless I would choose to terminate the pregnancy based on the results. (I wouldn't) So there we go. No peek at Baby Too until December. Oh well... honestly? This pregnancy is flying by, so we can wait. :)

So there you go... if you are looking for a great OB (at least for the next two years) let me know! This one is wonderful! Her whole office staff too... just so patient and kind! No bitter receptionists or anything! ;) They even apologized profusely for the hour-long wait. (eh, it's a busy Monday at an OB office in a town with an OB shortage... I kind of expected it... and MOST doctors won't apologize for it!)

I actually have my choice to deliver at either of the local hospitals, which is cool. I'll probably stick with the one I know, but it's nice to have options! Oh and she told me she has **21** babies due in May... HOLY COW. Must have been a good August for a lot of people. ;)

Funny story: As I was walking into the hospital from the parking lot, an employee stopped me and asked if I by any chance had a cigarette. I laughed and said no and pointed to my belly. Seriously. DUH?

I purposely didn't post that I had been feeling better for two days... I didn't post that I was able to go out to breakfast at IHOP yesterday morning and not even feel remotely nauseated. I didn't! So why then, was I treated to resurgence of marathon puking this morning? What did I do wrong?! It's one of those days where it is taking all afternoon to recover from the morning too... just attempted lunch and I'll probably be fighting to keep it for the next few hours. Oy. Maybe next time I shouldn't even THINK to myself that I'm feeling better... yeah, that's it!

I DEFINITELY felt Baby Too move this morning! I was trying to get comfortable in bed and I flipped over to my other side sort of abruptly. It must have woken Too up cause he/she headbutted my abdomen (as much as a 2-inch-long being can headbutt something, I suppose) as if saying, "ExCUUUUSE me... trying to sleep here?!"

I thought I've felt movement a couple of times in the last few days but I was never 100% sure. But this? Was definitely Too.

Pickles. I need pickles... now. I'm thinking of those big deli dill ones... I seriously may need to make a special run to the store!

I think my top baby girl name has been tainted and perhaps ruined by a little girl in Benjamin's Gymboree class.
Two reasons:

1) Her parents completely bastardized the spelling ... think along the lines of "Maddahlynne". (not the name, but a very good example of the bastardization of which I speak) What is wrong with people that they need to throw extra letters and substitute vowels and strange phonetic spellings into children's names? Don't you realize they will be tortured with it for the rest of their lives?!

2) She is a BRAT.. a banshee-screaming, not listening, class disrupting PAIN in the butt.

Arggggh. I need to shelter myself from other peoples' children while we decide on names!

Couple days late on this one...

I actually didn't think there was much change until I went back and compared it to my 8-week pic.

Depending on the time of day and how much water my body is holding onto at any given moment, my weight gain is somewhere between 3 pounds and 12 pounds. Yes, it varies THAT much. Scary, huh? Tell me about it.

Aside from the one dream I had early on about giving birth to a two-year-old african american little girl, I haven't really had any pregnancy/baby/gender dreams yet... until last night...

In the dream, I was in the ultrasound room at the Perinatal Center, and the tech kept referring to the baby as "she" and "her" even before she put the probe on my belly. I asked her what was up with that, and she said something like, "Well it IS a girl, it's just hard to see right now." Then I spent the rest of my dream kicking myself because I had scheduled the first-trimester-screen ultrasound for 11 weeks instead of 13 weeks, where it would be more likely we'd be able to see for sure.

Don't jump to any conclusions. I'm certainly not. Ben starred as a girl (and once, girl TWINS) in FIVE very vivid dreams before he finally showed himself as boy the night before his big ultrasound! ;)

For the record, I haven't even made a decision about the first-trimester-screen (which would be in about 2-3 weeks if I chose to do it). But for several reasons I'm probably not going to do it. Which means, the gender of Baby Too shall remain a mystery to Tom and I until Christmas'ish. (as for the rest of you? You may be waiting until May) ;)

My mother-in-law has been trying to convince us it's worth it not to find out at all and I have to say, it's tempting. Were it not for the convenience of knowing for decorating and preparation purposes, I would do it just to be able to say I experienced finding out at the birth ONCE. But think my control freak nature will get the best of me.

On another subject, have you seen my tickers today? They are really making me want a grapefruit...

After a lovely two-hour wait at the lab and being skipped over THREE times until I finally spoke up for myself, I got my blood drawn. SIX vials! Sheesh.

I HATE LABCORP! And what really get me is that I don't have a choice to go there or not go there. The health insurance people get VERY angry if I go to Quest and we all know Quest is the filet mignon of labs. (sigh) I hear they serve you juice and cookies there. (kidding, but it's what I like to fantasize about while I'm waiting with the hoards of other people waiting to give blood)

Glad to have it done though. I put it off for way too long.

Now, if you'll excuse me Baby Too wants me to make calzones for dinner tonight and perhaps a big salad. I might be too hungry to make the salad though. Hrm.

According to my little ticker on the right there, Baby Too now has elbows! Hooray!
I like elbows. They're rather useful.

A woman on the May 2007 Expecting Club I read is 11-1/2 weeks and is already feeling movement! She added that she felt movement really early with her first too, at 14 weeks. That's the same point at which I felt Benjamin move, so I'm hoping maybe I'll start feeling something soon too! Then again, this COULD be my *calm* and *quiet* child... (ha ha!) so maybe not. We'll see!

This afternoon, I'm off to get some routine bloodwork that I've been putting off for a month now. Bleh. I HAVE to get it done today though because the results need to make it back to Dr. Lawsuit-in-Waiting so I can get that and the records from my first appointment sent over to the new doctor. Why oh WHY didn't I just start with the other doctor?!

Also, to make things even more fun and exciting, I have my next OB appointment on the 30th and our insurance is changing on the 1st. I'm sure that won't lead to any confusion at ALL. Luckily, it's still great insurance with the same company, just a different plan... STILL going to be annoying.

Once I finished "getting a refund" on my breakfast and then laid around for awhile recovering, I packed up Ben and we headed out to Safeway just as the next round of nausea was beginning.

It seems Baby Too wanted to shop. And this time, Baby Too wanted fruit. I KNOW it was Baby Too who wanted fruit because *I* do not like fruit. So we came home with apples, oranges, bananas, pineapple, and a variety of fruit flavored yogurt and popsicles. Oh, and some cup o noodles. Baby One (the one who can point and talk instead of just making me hurl) wanted halloween sugar cookies and Baby Too agreed that they looked REALLY yummy, so we got those too. Good to see siblings working as a team and agreeing on something this early in the game!

So far, the cup o noodle and the pineapple spears seem to be placating Baby Too, as he/she has not returned them yet. And Baby One liked both too, which is a bonus because he has been on an eating strike lately. :)

So at the moment all is well, though not yet entirely stable in the Morning Sickness Land.

Preferably in the form of Zofran.

Bleh.

Still tired and pukey. Thanks for asking. :) Oh, and the todder has been on nap strike again, so THAT'S helpful.

Found these interesting facts about what goes on with a 9-week fetus. (yes! He or she is a FETUS now... I guess I need to change my banner!!)

"At nine to ten weeks, he squints, swallows, moves his tongue, and if you stroke his palm, will make a tight fist.

By nine weeks he will "bend his fingers round an object in the palm of his hand." Valman & Pearson, "What the Fetus Feels," British Med. Jour., Jan. 26, 1980"

I was looking for a neat picture of a nine-week fetus. But good ones are hard to come by. :(

Growing steadily by the minute...

I went out to the craft store today and got the supplies to get a jump start on Baby Too's pregnancy scrapbook. Those of you who have been around Tale of a Baby Human for awhile may remember "the book". Ben's pregnancy scrapbook is quite a thing to behold... inside is the one and only pregnancy test I took with him, as well as all of my blog entries from the pregnancy, doctor's appointment cards, a little electronic button you press to hear his heartbeat, the cards people sent when I found out I was pregnant and when we found out he was a boy, his ultrasound pictures... everything up until the day I delivered including the hospital discharge forms.

His first year book is another animal altogether and is so monstrously huge, I'm going to have to go get one of those giant three-ring binders for it because the flimsy scrapbook cover isn't holding everything in.

Since then, I vowed I would do a pregnancy scrapbook and first-year scrapbook for each child. It's only fair. After that, I can't guarantee anything. The family scrapbook that I started after Ben's first-year book is over a year behind and I haven't ordered any of my pictures from Shutterfly since this time last year!

The whole baby scrapbook thing is only as hard as you make it, really. I keep it simple. I just save everything in the clear sheet protectors and when I get a moment, I glue the things to pages. I don't do anything fancy or even all that pretty. Just photos, artifacts, journal entries and a sticker here and there. I just have to get a jump start on Baby Too's because I think trying to do it after he/she arrives the way I did Ben's would be near impossible.

The challenge this time will be choosing which pregnancy test to include on the front page. You know, since I took about 30 of them. ;) Oy.

In other news, I dropped by Dr. F's to pick up my most recent records... labwork results, the ultrasound analysis from a few weeks ago, and her notes from my July/August visits and phone calls. While I was there, I took the opportunity to ask her front desk chicas about the new OB I'm going to try at the end of October. They both said she is very sweet and shares the same philosophy of care as Dr. F, is also around the same age and thus has years and years of baby-catching experience. This makes me feel good about this decision so far. I'm glad I asked them because I failed to get a straight answer out of my doctor when I asked her. I guess they aren't really supposed to comment on each other or something... ? Is that a "thing" with medical professionals?

Wow... not that is even matters this early, but we are really waivering on our girl name!

There is one other one we both like equally and a third that Tom has latched onto that was REALLY surprising. (I'm not sure I'm into it). This is so weird because when I was pregnant with Benjamin, it was the boy name we waivered on for awhile. (I always liked the names Lucas, Patrick and Michael and every once in awhile would bring those up and Tom we'd go back and forth a little... and the girl name we were 100% sure of. (at the time, it was Madeline Elizabeth)

Very strange. I'm almost in a panic about it, despite having 31 more weeks to decide, because I don't want to make the wrong choice and stick a little girl with a name she'll hate for the rest of her life. This might very well be a situation where, if it's a girl, we don't decide until we see her!

We dropped by Tom's parents' house yesterday after having lunch out near there. I took my coat off and Tom's mom looked over and said, "Umm.. Erin. I'm pretty sure you can't keep that a secret anymore." ;) Good thing we're not trying to because it really would be a problem! Then she told me to just wait for #3! Great! I'm imagining seeing two lines on the stick and having to get the maternity clothes out immediately.

It's almost time for another belly shot, so you can see for yourselves. It's a good thing I've already had an ultrasound that only showed one little stowaway in there, because I'd be thinking otherwise right about now...

I'm not especially amused with today's humorous pregnancy ticker caption. Hope it changes in the next day or so!

Dear Baby Too,

WHAT do you have against chocolate and coffee?! These are two of mommy's favorite things, but now I can't have them. This is not because of any kind of pregnancy rule against chocolate and coffee, mind you. You just don't like them and you've decided this means that I can't like them either. So what's the deal? Don't you think that's a little selfish given that I'm putting you up for nine months in my four-star womb hotel?

I promise to eat double the orange sherbert if you'll just give me back my love for chocolate and coffee. Pretty please?

Love,
Mommy :P

p.s. Your BROTHER let me at least have chocolate when he was in there. This means, for the moment, I love him best. Care to change your tune?

So I wrote about feeling better and whatnot and the next day, felt the worst EVER. Figures. I never should have written about it! I was sick all day yesterday and then went to bed with a migraine headache. Woke up at 1:30 with an even WORSE headache and sick sick SICK. Back to bed... up again at 6:30 and sick again. I'm in bed with Ben right now watching Higglytown Heroes and trying to keep down a piece of dry toast.

As happy as I am to have pregnancy symptoms this time around, I won't exactly miss the puking and the nausea when it finally stops. Blehhh...

Tom and I were talking last night... he opened with, "So... you REALLY don't have any preference this time?"

I explained that I really don't. And that I KNOW I really don't because I keep TRYING to have a preference and it doesn't work.

I have, for instance, pretended that I know it's a boy and tried living with that for a few hours... Excited!
Then I turned around and pretended that I knew it was a girl for a few hours... Excited!

I listed all the pros of each:
(i.e.," if it's a boy we can use all the clothes again, I get to use my boy name that I love so much, we could bunk Ben and his brother in the big room and reclaim our office/guest room when he gets old enough, Ben will have a brother close in age, I know what to do with a boy... and if it's a girl, I won't have to stress out about whether I'll EVER have a daughter, a girl might do better with being a middle child if a third one turned out to be another boy, I'd get to buy girl clothes and put together a girl nursery and use my girl name that I love so much...")

Then I said, "Oh, and you know, if it's a girl, I would be more likely to decide in a year or so that we're done... "

Tom, who has always said he only wants two children (but who I know will be easily swayed to have three if it comes to it), immediately latched onto that and said to Ben, "Daddy wants a girl!"

So yeah, I guess Tom's rooting for pink. ;) "Especially if she'll play softball!"

Benjamin found my doppler laying by the couch this afternoon and this is how I found him when I came back into the room after making lunch.



(giggle)

p.s. Yes, Baby Too, your big brother has already invaded your personal blog space. I'm betting it won't be the first time. Sorry, kiddo. I'll try to remember to take lots of pictures of just you after you get here!

My morning sickness seems to be improving! I have slept all the way through the night (except to, of course, pee once or twice) for the last two or three nights. No need to eat, no need to get sick. For the last two mornings, when I do get up, I only have to gag once and then I can eat a normal breakfast. This doesn't change the fact that I'm nauseated until well after lunch. But I don't actually have to throw up, so that's something!

In other news, this is what the baby looks like these days... still a little alien-looking, but he or she will grow into him/herself eventually. ;)

8 weeks, 3 days. I know... ridiculous, isn't it? It's like my stomach muscles went, "Oo! She's pregnant again! We know what to do! 1-2-3, POP!" I totally don't get how the baby is the size of a bing cherry and yet my stomach looks like this. Oh well, at least the annoying in-between "chubby" stage didn't last long. I just went right to the panel pants.



I took an actual belly shot with my shirt up, but I'm not very comfortable posting it here since the site isn't currently passworded. Too many crazies out there. I may make a passworded picture section though and I'll add it there. :)

My doppler came today! Frankly, my expectations for being able to find the heartbeat weren't high because I'm only 8-1/2 weeks. I heard it with Ben at about 10 weeks. Well, I gave it a try and... JACKPOT! It's on the opposite side of where I always used to find Ben early on. (I guess being the true boy that he is, he left that other side of my uterus all cluttered with stinky shoes and stuff)

175 beats per minute! Swish-swish-swish-swish... Yay!

...which is very sad because I LOVE EATING!! I made dinner last night... this Kraft pasta thing that was super easy. Tom said it "wasn't horrible" but I actually found it to be completely inedible. Everything has a bitter taste to me right now -- even the cherry pie I sent Tom out to the grocery store for the other night. I hope this improves by Thanksgiving because there is NOTHING better than being pregnant at Thanksgiving and having an excuse to shamelessly have three helpings of mashed potatoes and gravy.

I made a quite lovely shopping list this morning for our weekly grocery trip. But the baby apparently had other plans for what we should buy, which is how I ended up with:

12 cans of vegetable soup
4 cans of kidney beans
1 package of tollhouse break and bake cookies
1 bag of Utz salt and vinegar potato chips ( I NEVER buy potato chips.. NEVER)
Fruit roll ups (whoa... flashbacks!)
6 jars of stage 2 baby fruits (yes, for me)
2 packages of creamed spinach
a pound of green grapes
a jar of pistachios

Now, if the pukiness will only allow me to EAT any of it, that would be wonderful! I've been nauseated on and off all day and there was incident on the way to the store involving the use of a Dunkin Donuts bag. (which I only had on hand because I the baby made Tom stop at the DD drivethru to get me six honeydip Munchkins)

I ordered my rental doppler today! It should be here by early next week and hopefully, I'll be able to find the heartbeat then, or at least by next Saturday when I will be 9 weeks. I rented one when I was pregnant with Ben (and I had about 1/4 of the paranoia I have with this pregnancy). It was so reassuring to be able to check in on the baby whenever I felt like it. I know doctors HATE them because so many women freak out when they can't find the heartbeat themselves. But I'm pretty good at using it, so I shouldn't be a problem patient. So shhh... don't tell!

I am the only person I know who has ever had "middle of the night" sickness. Have you? You? How about you? It's bizarre. If I wake up anytime past say... 3a.m., I get sick. Kinda weird. You always know it's pregnancy sick though because you can follow it right up with a bunch of peanut butter crackers. YummmmmEE. ;)

I was going to write about this further along in the pregnancy, but a comment on the previous post prompted the subject a bit earler...

We are not sharing our baby names this time around. The reasons? Well, there are several:

1) It's more fun.

2) If I share the names, then I have to listen to months and months of comments, criticism and thoughts about our choices. Been there, done that. Don't want to play.

3) It's more fun.

4) This kind of goes along with number 2... but more specifically... our boy name is not universally liked. (I'm not sure why, exactly) The few times I have mentioned it to people in the past (WAYYYY pre-pregnancy), I've had to watch them kind of snarl up their nose before they say something like, "Hrm... well, I like X better..." or "Don't you think people would call him x and make fun of him?" or "That name makes me think of {insert unliked person with same first name here)."

When the baby is born, the name will fit and people won't feel so free to make sure we know their opinion on it. I mean, really, who can criticize the name of an adorable, squishy, pink newborn? (at least not to the parents' faces) Right?

Are you already going insane not knowing? Well, put this in your pipe and smoke it...we might not share the SEX either! Muahahahahahahahaha!!! ;)

What a fun 8 more months this will be!

At first, I thought this pregnancy was going to be a complete 180 from the one with Benjamin. But now? It's like reliving that pregnancy, except with slightly milder symptoms. I know it's not in my head either because I can go back and read my old blog posts about it!

* I have to get up every morning and dry heave before I can put anything in my stomach. After that? I'm usually good for the day as far the the puking goes, though the nausea will sometimes hang around on and off all day.

* I'm starving, often from early morning until after I've eaten lunch. The only difference is, it's not as consistent as it was with Ben. Like, for instance, last night? I didn't have to get up once to eat.

* I'm exhausted. I missed the premier of Lost last night because I couldn't stay awake past 7. :( (yay for Tivo!)

* I will probably be in my maternity pants in the next two weeks... (with Ben, I broke down at 10 weeks, after a day at work when I could no longer even rubberband my regular pants together) Oh yes, a belly picture will be forthcoming soon.

The biggest differences so far really have been a) every symptom I have is just a little less severe and b) the lack of heartburn/reflux. And YAY for that because that was so much worse than puking every day. I'm sure it will make an appearance later on, but for now, I'm enjoying my Tums-free existence.

Can you believe people have started registering their thoughts on the gender already?! *I*, the mother, don't even have an inkling yet. The general consensus seems to be girl. But that's what most of them said last time and they were all wrong.

It's so funny, because with Ben, I knew what I wanted. I wanted a girl and that was that. But now I have HIM and well, he's pretty cool. He's rough and tumble and wild and fun! So now, I'm torn. I'd really love to have either one. I DO want a little girl eventually... but it doesn't have to be this time. Plus, what will I do if she turns out to be.... you know...GIRLY?! How will I deal with that?! I also LOVE my boy's name and will disappointed if I don't get to use it... and I want Ben to have a little brother close in age. So really? I guess I don't care this time. Maybe that's why no real dreams about it yet? Having lost two also puts it in perspective a little. I'm definitely in the "let's just get a healthy baby out of this" camp this time around.

Oh no no no, that doesn't mean I won't find out. PLEASE. This is the queen of impatience you are talking to.

I am thankfully, no longer craving sweets. In fact, the very idea of cookies, cake and candy makes me want to hurl. Instead, I now seem to be craving pasta... very large bowls of pasta, usually with cheese. Also, large plates full of comfort food. Chicken, mashed potatoes, that sort of thing.

I have an aversion to pretty much ALL liquids. Hrm... this could present a problem. I open the fridge, completely thirsty and can't find a single thing I think I can drink without feeling sick. Last night, in the middle of the night, the only thing I could stomach was a small glass of white grape juice. (I HATE grape juice). I CAN however, drink fruit smoothies and lots of them. I am particularly addicted to the frozen tangerine drink at Starbucks.

The 24/7 hunger that I had with Benjamin started. It was official last night when I was up at 2:30 eating graham crackers, then tried to go back to bed, only to be up at 3:30 eating oatmeal. At 6:30 I had some granola cereal. And then at 9:00, I had an english muffin. I didn't stop there either. On the way to Gymboree, around 10:00, I stopped at Starbucks for the aforementioned tangerine drink and got a blueberry muffin. (my stomach was growling and I didn't think I'd make it through the class without eating SOMETHING). It's now noon and I just had a huge lunch. Ten pound first trimester weight gain HERE I COME! ;)

For those of you just tuning into this most recent pregnancy adventure, I have known I was pregnant since I was 3 weeks, four days along. That's almost four whole weeks! We of course, told Tom's parents and my parents within ten minutes of seeing two lines on the stick. We figured it was best that they know... they all like to worry and figured they'd be annoyed if they missed out on the weeks of worry leading up to seeing the heartbeat (today). They were all very good about keeping quiet with us. So, yeah, anyway, this whole baby thing is old news for all of them, though everyone was happy to hear that things look good!

Other than that? I really have mostly kept my mouth shut. I told a few internet friends, my best friend, maybe two other friends, and my neighbor... (okay, so a FEW people) I knew most of those people would keep this the baby and me in their prayers because they were all aware of the incredibly crappy year we've had with the last two pregnancies... the back to back bad news and the months of testing and waiting....

Is it really any wonder I was ready to burst today after the ultrasound?! (and not just from the full bladder) I had originally wanted to hold out until 9-10 weeks, but it just wasn't going to happen.... especially since my clothes are starting to look and feel a little ridiculous.

How do some people wait until the end of the first trimester or longer?!

The ultrasound was just amazing.

The baby is measuring RIGHT on target according to my dates. They are saying my due date is May 14th, but I think that will change at the 20 week ultrasound. (I still say it's about 5-6 days later) The little heart was visible immediately and was beating at 160 beats a minute.

Without further ado...



I realize it's hard to make anything out... but the bean-shaped thing farther to the right is the baby. You can see a profile and some little arm or leg buds sticking out! The round thing attached to the baby is, in fact, NOT a droopy head (that's what I thought)... it's the yolk sac.

And I don't know why my uterus is shaped like an ear. But maybe it had something to do with my overfull bladder that was about ready to explode?

Do not eat an entire container of brussels sprouts for dinner when you are pregnant (or perhaps EVER... though I can't imagine wanting to do that in a non-pregnant state) no matter HOW much you are craving them. Just don't. That's all I'm saying.

Found this in the local paper from 9/6/06... She received her degree in the WEST INDIES? Do they even have running water there? That coupled with the crappy bedside manner pretty much seals the deal for me not feeling all that comfy with her. The question is, do I stay with the practice, give the other doctor a chance and then, if she's nice, just hope she's the one on call when I deliver? Or should I bail NOW?

> OB/GYN Dr. Yelena Lubman recently joined St. Joseph Medical Center as a full-time physician.

Dr. Lubman, a native of the Ukraine, completed her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Franklin Square Hospital Center. She received her medical degree from Ross University School of Medicine in Domenica, West Indies, received a Bachelor of Science in biology from Moscow Medical University and received a Bachelor of Science in nursing from Kiev Nursing School in the Ukraine. She resides in the Mt. Washington neighborhood of Baltimore.<


**UPDATE**

Lest I seem ignorant and judgemental, I decided to do my research on "Ross University School of Medicine... here's what I found. Oh yes, it was founded for people who can't get accepted to any U.S. medical schools. Wonderful. Just wonderful.

"The Idea
In 1976, one of my employees approached me with a wonderful idea. His son dreamt of becoming a physician, yet he was unable to obtain entrance into any U.S. medical school. Back then, only a limited number of students were accepted each year; there were over 40,000 applicants for approximately 15,000 seats. The only way for the son to fulfill his dream was to find an alternative source of education. An idea was born that I finance a plan to help individuals who had the potential to become successful physicians gain the training that would allow them to practice medicine in the U.S. "

With Ben, other than eating anything and everything all the time, I specifically craved vegetables and pasta, preferably mixed together. This time, I can't seem to get enough of fruit smoothies. I almost cried yesterday when, on the way to my brother and sister-in-law's house, we stopped by the smoothie shop and they were CLOSED. So today at the grocery store, I stocked up on strawberries and bananas. I will be making myself one whopper of a smoothie later. YUM. I also had a Starbucks Tangerine Juice Blend earlier today. Soohohohoho good.

Other cravings include: peanut butter and jelly and sweets... chocolate, cookies, cheesecake, ice cream. Oh yes, this could be BAD....

If a pregnant woman gets up to pee she'll realize she has to blow her nose.

Once she blows her nose, she'll realize she can smell again and that she is possibly hungry.

Once she realizes she's hungry, she realizes she has to throw up first.

Once she throws up, she realizes she needs to get some saltines and lay on the couch for awhile.

Since she's laying on the couch, she may as well open up the laptop.

Once she opens up the laptop, she'll feel like blogging.

Once she blogs for awhile, she'll realize she has to pee again...