The FAQ's

Here are some questions you might have for me because it seems like everyone has them! I thought I'd just answer the most popular ones all in one spot...

How are you feeling?

First trimester I felt pretty poopy. Just a lot of nausea and feeling flu-ish. At first it was only for a couple hours in the afternoon and then it increased to all day everyday. I never actually vomited - just an overall feeling of sick. Probably the worst part of it all was my aversion to food - I would literally make a meal because I thought it sounded good and by the time it was ready, I couldn't bring myself to eat it. Brought me to tears once :) Now that I'm in the second trimester, I don't really have any of that going on. However, I'm still not 100% on wanting to eat a lot. I hope that passes soon..it's really annoying being this picky! Not to mention, hungry!

When are you due?

May 18 or so.

When do you find out the gender and do you want to know?
We find out at 20 weeks (around New Years-ish) and um, YEAH we want to know. We are far too scheduled and planned to leave that kind of thing a surprise. But, if you read my last post, there is a chance they won't be able to tell us and we'll be forced to wait. But, if the doctor can know, we want to know, and then you'll know. :) Be sure to vote on what you think Lil Monty will be!

What names are you thinking about?

We have thrown around a few names but aren't really getting excited about anything until we find out the gender. Also, we aren't sure we'll be sharing the name before Lil Monty is here because we don't want anyone to make us feel bad about our choice. For example:

Person: What name did you pick?
Me: Gertrude Horace Montgomery. We love it!
Person: **stares blankly and blinks a lot because they want to be nice and say they love it too, but they obviously don't and don't want to hurt our feelings so they force a smile** oh, that's...unique.

Or even better, the person who is comfortable telling you that that name is terrible and we should choose a different one.

You see? Why would we want to set ourselves up for that? It's better if we've chosen a name, it's on the birth certificate, and no one can say or do anything about it!

Are you excited?

Well, at first, I was like:

But as the weeks go on, I'm getting more and more excited. Still very much overwhelmed by the thought of raising a child but fortunately I am married to a great man who has been super supportive and helpful and I'm sure that will continue once Lil Monty is here.

Is Ryan excited?

Of course.

Is Grover excited? How do you think he'll do with the baby?

I don't think Grover has any clue anything is different. They say some dogs can sense the pregnancy and become super protective and awesome...well, Grover has not shown any of these tendencies. He's a great dog but I don't know how sensitive he is to this type of thing.

With that said, we don't suspect he'll have any issues with Lil Monty at all. He's not a terribly jealous dog and he is about as tolerant of getting his eyes poked, ears pulled, pushed around, food and toys taken away, etc as they come. Our only concern is that he is 70lbs of hyper so he may accidentally knock a child over or scratch them...but that is something we'll just have to be on alert for all the time. So much for leaving the infant alone with Grover to babysit while I go to the store...



If there are other questions, let me know...I'll add them. I'm sure I've forgotten some.

13 weeks: Heard the heartbeat!

I went to the doctor on Friday (13 week checkup) and we were able to hear Lil Monty's heartbeat with a Doppler. It was at about 155 bpm which she said is a great heart rate so hooray!

These pictures were also taken on Friday...sorry, again, they aren't that exciting yet.

We also learned that we only have one more ultrasound left (at 20 weeks) as long as everything is going smoothly. The 20 week ultrasound is also the gender-finding-out ultrasound. The midwife said it's a one-shot deal and if they can't tell the gender by that ultrasound (like if Lil Monty is turned a certain way or is crossed-legged, etc) then we just have to wait until the baby comes out to find out! So, hopefully they'll be able to tell!

12 weeks: Baby bump? Not so much.

I haven't gained much weight..in fact, I've lost some. However, there have been many, many, many requests for "baby bump" pictures. But, Lil Monty (although theBump.com tells me is the size of a plum today) is choosing not to take up much space yet.

But, in response to the overwhelming requests, here are some pre-bump pictures.

9 weeks

I'm tryin!

10 weeks

12 weeks. Ryan didn't tell me my sweater was all messed up....but rest assured there is still nothing to see!

Sometimes I think I'm getting a bump but then I remember I just ate dinner and I'm just stuffed :).

By the way, the word "bump" is weird to describe this kind of thing.  Sounds like some sort of tumor or mass that's not supposed to be there. Under no other circumstance would someone requesting to see pictures of my "growing bump" be appropriate. But it's the popular buzz word so I'll use it.

My next appointment is next Friday (a week from today). So far so good at the doctor. I'm actually seeing a midwife at a mixed practice. Not sure why I decided to go that route but since it's a mixed practice, I can switch to a doctor at any time if my pregnancy becomes high risk or if I just feel like it. Also, it's not a midwife like "give birth under water while everyone sings campfire songs" kind of midwife. She's very normal, well trained, has real certification and education, and can do everything a doctor can do except surgery. I'll be delivering in a hospital just like I would with a doctor and I'll have all the medical equipment and expertise I need surrounding me if I need it. If I don't need it, great! Lower hospital bill :)

Ok bye for now!

And then there were three...

It's official! There is a Lil Monty on the way!

September 22, 2011 I went to the doctor to confirm our suspicions and the ultrasound said it all. There was barely anything visible but a little heartbeat that was glub-glubbing along to prove that I was in fact harboring life. If you squint and distort your face the right way, you can see the little peanut there. It's about 0.5 cm here.

6 weeks

October 13, 2011 I went back to the doctor for a checkup and they did bloodwork and another ultrasound - this time, Lil Monty was bigger (about 2.5cm) but the midwife had a hard time finding the little booger in there so the ultrasound picture still is pretty skewed. I've used my skills in Paint to try to clarify what's going on here.

9 weeks

9 weeks with Paint help

Ok more to come in a bit...

Pumpkin Carving and YURTing

On Thursday night, we had a few friends over and carved pumpkins. We made chili and cider and carved to our little hearts' content. Below are pictures of our efforts.

From left to right, Batman by Ryan, Happy Halloween by me, Michael Jordan by Steve, wolverine by Brock, haunted house by Carolyn. :)

Closeup of the Montgomery art. My pumpkin rotted within 2 days. :(

On Saturday, we went up to Granby (about 1.5-2 hours northwest) to go YURTing. Now, for those of you who are like most of us, we didn't really know what YURTing was. Basically, it's camping in a little round hut with bunks and electricity. You might be thinking, "What sissy camps in a hut with electricity?". Well, these sissies do. I believe it got down to 15º or so that night....

The YURT (which stands for year-round universal recreational tent) is not heated but it is more protected from the cold by shielding wind and our friends brought space heaters. The dogs were still pretty cold in the YURT but the humans were very comfortable. It was fun and the dogs were good, enjoying playing in the snow and tackling each other. Everyone seemed to sleep well but me - I was involuntarily on dog patrol - keeping Grover from licking people in the face while they slept and from playing with Mya at all hours of the night. :)

Here is our happy group outside the YURT:

First Snow of the Season!

On Tuesday night and all day Wednesday it snowed! On Sunday it was 81 and sunny, Monday 60 and sunny, Tuesday 50 and sunny until it started to cloud over about 3:00pm and then Wednesday was 30 and snowy. It will be 60 and sunny by the weekend.

Crazy Colorado weather. Grover is having the time of his life though. I wish I had a video, but there will be many more snows to come to catch him in action..

He is self-entertained in the snow. He starts off slow but then sticks his whole face under the snow to smell the ground. Then, he starts trotting around and whenever snow flies up and hits him he gets super excited and starts running and sliding into deeper areas of the snow which just gets him more and more riled up. Keep in mind, there are no other creatures or humans out there with him to get him excited. It all comes from within himself which is highly entertaining to watch.

Here are some pictures from the backyard:

A little Halloween fun...

There is a specific age demographic that will appreciate the following post.

I was sitting at my computer wondering what the single greatest contribution to Halloween entertainment there has ever been. Then it hit me. It is this:

So come on everybodayah. Rock your bodayah.

Yes...this is what I do with my time. Don't judge me.