Grandparent Names (Updated)

I grew up with my two sets of grandparents having distinct names - maternal grandparents are Grandma and Grandpa, while paternal grandparents are Gram and Papa. I love having special names for them, it also eliminated confusion. Having the same for my child is really important to me, especially balancing my mother, Justin's mother, Justin's stepfather, and Justin's father. Some people say that whatever the child first calls the grandparents are the names, but it is really what Justin and I teach them that will stick. From the moment they are born, they will be introduced to their grandparents with their unique names.

Ever since I told my mom that I was pregnant, she has been desperately searching for the perfect grandmother name. So far, she has only come up with a list of names that will absolutely not work for her (mostly because they make her sound old).  We have nixed Granny and Memaw. She wants something ethnic and international, which I am a little hesitant about. I have googled lists of names and everything I pitch is a no go. I haven't even started looking into grandfather alternatives for Justin's dad. Luckily, Justin's mom and stepfather will be Grandma and Grandpa. So two down, two to go!

These are some of the most interesting and funny grandma names I found: (Listed under "Trendy Names"):

Birdie

BonBon

Coco

Fancy

Fo-Ma, Faux Ma

Foxy

G-Dawg

GeezerGirl

Glamama, Glamma, Glammy

Kitty

M'dear

NotherMother

OtherMother

Pebbles

Salsa

Sugar

UPDATE:

Almost as soon as I posted this, my mom and I threw some more names out and finally settled on one! Yay! We decided she will be MeMe (pronounced like May-May). It is French so she gets her international name and it respects our family's heritage. Her mother has French roots, which I never knew about until today. I am so relieved to have picked a name and I am loving the one we picked!

My Replacement Spouse and Shopping

Every year, Justin has to leave for two weeks for training through the Marine Corps. He left a few days ago, so I will probably post more frequently because I am bored. Luckily, I have an AMAZING best friend who is my replacement spouse. Sarah goes above and beyond for me (like immediately making some soy sauce covered almonds for me after I say how good they sound). She is the most amazing cook and is makes me dinner all the time. Instead of going out for my birthday, I choose her to cook for me. When we went on vacation, she had to pack up her kitchen so she could cook for us instead of us going out. (She has a great blog with tons of her great recipes: http://www.lavieculturelle.com. Check it out!)

On Sunday, Sarah undertook the task of taking me shopping for pants that actually fit at Pea in the Pod. Up until this point, I had been getting creative with techniques to get my jeans to close.

Like threading a hair band through the hole and around the button to keep it semi-shut.

Maternity stores are way overpriced so Sarah told me to try everything on to get a feel for sizes and fits so we could go somewhere cheaper and find the same things. The second we walked in it was clear that the sales people work on commission. We were smothered by one saleswoman who went WAY overboard. I came in for jeans and ended up with a dressing room full of clothes that I did not pick out. 12 pairs of pants, 20 shirts, and leggings. 

(This is after I had tried on several jeans and tops and sent them back)

The worst part of it all, besides the pushy saleswoman, was the fake belly. They had a foam belly that you strap on to add 3 months to your existing belly so you can choose things that will last until the end. It was horrifying. Sarah made me wear it and I think it was her enjoyment for the day. 

Get ready, that's me in 3 more months.

After a long time trying everything on, I settled on two pairs of jeans, one casual and one dressier. The saleswoman was severely disappointed that was all I was buying, although I warned her that was the only reason we were there. We could not get out of there quick enough. There is no way I could have gotten through that without Sarah by my side.

Then, it was on to Target to scope out baby stuff. After wandering the aisles for a while, Sarah remarked, "How do teen moms afford this?! All this stuff is so expensive!!"

All in all, it was an interesting day and when I put the jeans on to run errands the next day I felt so comfortable! Maternity jeans are wonderful!

Restrictions and the Husband

So far, I haven't had outrageous cravings for specific things or aversions from things. However, I want what I cannot have. Sushi is my all time favorite thing to eat. I could eat it every day for the rest of my life. Being without it is miserable. I texted my complaint to Justin because I needed to whine for a bit. 

This was our conversation (Justin is white, I am green):

I think I have been pretty great not making Justin abide by all my restrictions as well. He still drinks alcohol in front of me, caffeine, takes Aspirin when he has a headache, eats a sandwich with deli meat, etc. However, when he offered to eat what I want most and then tell me about it, I wanted to pull the plug on being so lenient and make him suffer with me. 

I think I will establish a rule: If you want to come for a visit after I have the baby, bring sushi, or booze, or coffee. It's repayment for creating the adorable tiny human and payment to see him or her. :)

The one thing I am so thankful I can't do now: change the litter box for Macy! That I don't miss!

Week 16: Stubborn Baby!

Today we had a check-up with the doctor and quickly found out we are already dealing with one stubborn child. The doctor was trying to pick up the heartbeat using the portable Fetal Doppler but could not get more than a few beats. Every time she would start to get a beat, the baby would move away and after about 10 minutes of playing hide and seek, we had to switch to the ultrasound machine.

This is what we saw for the majority of the ultrasound. Limbs flailing and moving.

It took about 10 more minutes before the baby sat still enough to get the heartbeat. It was at 142 bpm. The doctor tried to get us a nice profile picture of the baby, however the doctor was no match for the will of this baby. The little one stayed head down, turned away and hands covering what face we might have been able to see. This is what we got:

All this stubbornness makes me nervous to meet this little one. I can hear its first word now...."no." The next visit, scheduled for July 13th, is when we find out the gender of the baby! Justin said if the baby is this stubborn and shy while they are trying to figure out the gender and we get no result or a frustrated ultrasound technician, we will just buy girl stuff. If it's a boy, he can deal with it until he grows out of it. That is his punishment for being defiant. If it's a girl, then it's ok, because she is shy and Daddy is ok with his little girl not showing it off.

Hazardous Hormones

The past couple weeks I have experienced some crazy hormonal mood swings. Most of them (or at least the ones I am willing to admit to) involve a normal conversation with Justin and then tears. 

Example:

Me: How was golf today? Did you win?

Justin: It was fun. I did really well on the front nine, but not so great on the back nine. 

Me: How were your new shoes? Did they hurt at all? Ok ignore what is happening. I am about to cry and it's not you. Fresh hormones.

Justin: What is wrong? Do you need a hug? I can't talk normal to you while you are crying.

Me: I'm good, just water running down my face. 

There have been several conversations that end with him getting awkward around me because he does not understand that the tears are not sadness or anger, just uncontrollable. 

It also happens when I see specific commercials. I change the channel every time the ADT security system commercial comes on with the family who has twins, the Humane Society ones (although I could never really watch those before, sad puppy eyes and Sarah McLachlan music are a recipe for tears), and the new Olympics one with the mothers waking up their future Olympians every morning. Justin is getting the hang of which ones bring on the tears and he frantically searches the couch for the remote control to change it before the tears start.

I adore Justin and how he doesn't think everything through as well as he should. He means well, he just says sweet things in the wrong way. The best conversation we had was:

Me: (crying) I hate these stupid hormones! My face is broken out like I'm in high school! 

Justin: Who cares what your face looks like?! All that matters is the baby growing inside you.

I cried a little harder until I realized he meant to say something sweet.

Week 13: Long Legs!

May 23rd was our next appointment. Finally, the baby looked like a human! The visit was quick, but memorable. We got to see the baby's profile, which was so wonderful. Then, the doctor saw the baby's legs and remarked, "This is going to be a tall baby. Look at those long legs!" That made me think the baby is a boy. Justin and my brother have long legs. All the photos we got of the ultrasound were blurry because the baby was moving like crazy. 

I had had dreams that it is a boy and the doctor's comment made me think it even more. After the appointment, we made the announcement to our friends. We wanted to wait until the second trimester, just in case something went bad. The doctor said because the baby is so active there was very little chance of miscarriage at this point. 

All good news!

Week 8: Heartbeat, Humiliation, and Tears

April 23rd could not come soon enough! Finally, the day was here to go to our first doctor's appointment! Justin had just come off the night shift and was exhausted so he got himself an extra massive coffee and was sucking it down while we sat in the exam room waiting for the doctor. It had been one month since I had my last cup of coffee and I hated his guts just a little bit for enjoying his mocha so much. 

The first part of the visit was an exam so Justin hid behind the curtain so he wouldn't have to witness my open leg humiliation. After the exam, we got to see our little one for the first time! Because the baby is hidden behind the pelvic bone, the ultrasound is performed internally. As the image appeared on the screen, we both began to tear up as we saw the flicker of the heartbeat. 

After absorbing it for a moment, my ever-so-tactful husband whips out his phone and starts taking pictures. My legs are still wide open and he's snapping away with no regard for my "situation." By the time I got dressed again, he had sent the photos to all our family members and was engrossed in text messaging all of them. 

We went down to the lab to get my blood drawn and Justin's phone was glued to his hands. He and his sister, Michelle, nicknamed the baby "Peanut" because of its nut-like shape and small size. 

It was such a wonderful moment (minus the paparazzi moment) and a perfect birthday present (one day early).

Home Test Meyhem

The majority of women find out they are pregnant by buying a box of "at home pregnancy tests." I bought a box of digital tests three weeks before I first saw a positive result. I took the first one before our annual  St. Patrick's Day celebration with our friends. It was negative. A week later, I was home alone and bored because my husband works the night shift as a Sheriff's Deputy. So, I decided to take another test, just because. That one came up positive! How did I tell my husband? Text message....classy, I know, but I was in shock. Just to be sure, I took a third test (the bonus stick that came in the box, three for the price of two!). Another positive.

The next day I called to schedule a doctor's appointment and found out that I would have to wait a whole month before I get medical proof. They schedule the first appointment at 8 weeks. 

So, alone at home again, I decided to go buy another box of tests. This time I chose to get the non-digital ones. I figured maybe those are more reliable since they have been around longer. Instead, it proved to be the source of panic. Looking at the result, I got really confused. I just kept staring at it thinking, shouldn't the horizontal line be as bold as the vertical line, making a definite plus sign? EPT: Error Proof Test my ass!

I immediately ran back to the store to buy yet another box. This time I got the value pack digital ones again. All three came back positive. I breathed a sigh of relief and figured that was good enough for now. Then, I realized I just spent $60+ on tests and decided it was definitely time to go to bed. Justin came home in the morning to 5 used sticks sitting on the kitchen counter and was thoroughly grossed out. Luckily, he didn't give me grief over the money I spent on my freak out.