Ranting a bit

SECOND POST OF THE DAY
Let me start out by saying...I seriously thought today was Friday. Now, I am disappointed.


You know.... I just started thinking on how much I spend on my car. Why do we all have to pay all this stuff for things we OWN? I bought my car, its paid off... (been paid off a year in October)...but yet, every year we have to pay taxes on our stuff, our cars need yearly inspection stickers, and we have to pay for the registration every year. That's not counting paying to get things fixed on it and keeping up with the maintenance and paying to keep gas in it. Yeah, I know we pay all of these things for several different reasons, but I think something should be done about it. I think every year when we pay our property taxes, that's when they should just go ahead and send you the registration stuff. And... maybe we shouldn't have to deal with inspection stickers or inspections at that. Yes, it allows us to know if our cars are safe to drive, yadda yadda...but there are plenty of vehicles that pass inspection that aren't safe. Inspections should be something they do when you go somewhere to get your oil changed or new tires put on. Ok, maybe its just me. I'm just tired of dishing out all this money. and since I'm on the money topic... who determines how much your bill will be during doctor visits, hospital stays and all that? I just paid over $400 to a doctor for my ER visit who I only saw long enough for him to tell me to take Tylenol. He didn't do any of the exams, he didn't do my ultrasound or my lab work, he didn't do any of the follow up, he didn't even stay long enough for me to tell him that Tylenol did nothing for the kind of pain I was having. Did he seriously not think that Tylenol was my first resort? I already prescribed that to myself..therefore I just did you job...how about YOU pay ME!!!
How is it determined how much you will pay to park somewhere? Why can't parking be free? I pay $60 a month for parking in the same building where I work! And what about the tolls? They just went up here a dollar. And most people that are traveling that way go though 2 or 3 tolls.
Anyway...I would like to be the person who determines how much I pay for what service. Oh, Mr. Doctor, I only saw you for 2 minutes. I'll tack on another 5 minutes for looking at my ultrasound pictures...if you were indeed the one who did...and I'll pay you $100 and I think that's way more than you deserve.
Parking garage at the mall...I will give you a quarter.
Parking garage where I work....this is just stupid that I have to pay to park in a place I work. I will not pay you.
$3.00 for a gallon of gas?! Are you kidding me?! Drill in places closer to home so the rate will be less. I will pay you $1.25....and I think I'm being nice.
Day care....wow...that's all I'm gonna say here. I know the employees need to get paid and they have to pay for food and stuff, but seriously?!
People with hourly jobs that work overtime just to pay for the things that other people determine the price for.......... you are not paid enough.

I worry too much

Lilly saw her first ice cream truck yesterday. The music started playing and it was getting closer and closer. We were outside playing and she says, "What's that noise." I said, "I'm not going to tell you." By then it was too late and it was in sight. "Oh, Mommy!!!! An ice cream truck!!!" It was too cold for ice cream or I would have let her get some. We didn't see the truck at all during the summer, but as soon as it starts cooling down, there he is.
Hubby is working a lot of over time now. 12 hour shift without a day off for almost a month...is what he says. This week he's worked over, but I would think they would at least give him Sunday's off or something. We'll see I guess. Makes me sad that he's not home. I've been making plans to stay busy while he's working and Lilly's gone. Hanging out with my bff on Saturday. I think I'm just going to sleep today. Go home, make a samich and hop into bed with my book.
Got my info back on what the insurance will pay for. Everything is paid for except the bills from my ER visit. A total of $2,713.00. I thought about asking my grandparents for the money, but only if they will let me pay them back. $2,293 has already gone to collections so I need to get that paid off before we apply for a loan in December. I took money out of savings to pay the $420 bill. I used the little Christmas money I had to make a $200 payment on the $2,293 bill. If I was paying it by myself I could have it all paid off like a week before the baby is due, but if hubby helps out I can hopefully get it paid off before December.
I could probably pay it off sooner, but I gotta try to save up money to go Christmas shopping.
Lilly felt the baby kick again. Feels like he never sleeps anymore cuz he's always moving about. She was singing to him yesterday and I told her that he was dancing and I had her feel.
I have a doctor's appointment in 8 days. They were suppose to call me and let me know when my next ultrasound was, but they never did. I was suppose to go in to get the shadow they saw on his heart checked out and to see if my placenta moved up. Maybe they are just gonna do it all the same day. Ultrasound and doc visit.

Week 24

Look at this pic..... sorry....but the baby does look a little creepy in this picture.

Your Pregnancy: Week 24~At about this time the reality of having a baby is definitely setting in (maybe it's the fact that you can't see your toes). Be sure to talk about how you're feeling with your significant other, girlfriends, siblings, parents, doctor, hairdresser, the person sitting next to you on the bus ... whomever! It's totally natural to be freaking out. Voicing your concerns about mommyhood will help you actually get used to the idea.

Your Body~Hair growth during pregnancy is another one of those wacky symptoms you didn't expect. And though you may be wondering who's slipping Rogaine into your shampoo bottle, if you're among the lucky ones, you're relishing your new, flowing locks. It's the hair everywhere else that's a little troublesome.

You can thank your pregnancy hormones for your suddenly thick crowning glory. During pregnancy your hair's natural grow-shed cycle slows, leaving you with more hairs on your head at any given time. Now might be a good time to try out for one of those orgasm-in-the-shower shampoo commercials.

Unfortunately, all that hair growth isn't limited to your head. You may start to notice a random hair (or 47) anywhere from your cheeks, back, and belly to your upper lip and chin. If anyone dares to call you Black Beard, they'll totally deserve whatever's coming to them.

The good news is, tweezing, waxing and electrolysis are all generally accepted as safe during pregnancy. The bad news? All of them can hurt like, um ... like waxing. So feel free to skip the Brazilian right now. We promise, your OB isn't going to judge you.

Your Baby~Your baby isn't just sitting around (on your bladder) doing nothing, he's working hard preparing for life outside the womb—perfecting his lungs and packing on the pounds. He'll gain ½ pound this week alone. Other highlights this week:

Things are starting to get a little crowded inside the old womb as baby grows bigger and bigger. Your ribs are probably pining away for the good old days when they didn't have a foot permanently lodged between them. Hate to break it to you, but it's going to get worse before it gets better.

Your baby's ears are fully functional now. And since they are, you may notice that loud noises and sudden movements can startle the little bugger. He's getting used to the everyday sounds inside the womb: the sound of your heart beating, your lungs inhaling and exhaling air, the growling of your stomach because your partner promised he'd be right back with that double cheeseburger and he's taking forever! He'll even be able to hear your voice when your partner finally arrives and you ask him where the bleep he's been! So talk nice!

Baby's got a fully developed inner ear now. This means his sense of balance is working and he can tell whether he's hanging upside down or right side up. He can also feel you moving, so go ahead, pop in your favorite tunes and boogie.

Your little Wiener schnitzel is about the length of a foot-long Chicago hot dog and weighs about 1 1/3 pounds.

My worries

SECOND POST OF THE DAY

Ok, so yeah... I've been freaking out lately about having the baby. Granted its not my first, but still. And I know how to raise little boys, but that part isn't what I'm freaking out about. I'm not even all that worried about getting a bigger place..... its the delivery part that's bugging me. I have been putting a lot of thought into doing all this as naturally as possible, but of course, yes, I'm taking the pain meds. I mean, not setting up a date to be induced, just letting it happen. My mom has a phone now, so I know I will be able to get a hold of her. Yes, there are more problems other than that... like trying to get a hold of hubby, my bff is hours away, my dad travels for work, I don't know what to do with Lilly...but... I've been thinking about it. The more I think, the more I worry. And I don't even know if I will be able to deliver 'naturally.' I might have to have a C-section. As it stands now, I'm going to need one. Unless my placenta moves where its suppose to be, that's my only option. I don't know how I feel about a C-section. I haven't told hubby about that yet. I was going to wait until my next doctor's appointment when they check everything again to see if my placenta has moved. If it hasn't and its confirmed that this is my only option, I will tell hubby then. I don't want him worrying too. Not yet. Not until he has to.
I am officially 6 months pregnant this week and I'm still not showing that much. Someone at work said, "Did you say you were pregnant a couple months ago?" I said, "Yeah...?" She then asked how far along I was and she didn't believe me. I was like this last time. You couldn't tell I was pregnant until about 7 months... then it was like a swallowed a beach ball. All of a sudden, BAM, I had this huge stomach. I'm glad it took that long or I wouldn't have gotten my first job. I started working and then like 2 weeks later, I was big. The boss told me that her boss wouldn't have hired me if he knew I was pregnant..... um isn't that discrimination or something? So, the way I figured this one would go is around Thanksgiving I am going to pop out real good. Close to 8 months, I'm finally going to look the part I've been playing this whole time.
I like this rate I'm going. I haven't had that many problems with clothes. But I know how I'm going to basically grow over night and that's why I was so worried about clothes so early on. I've already told my boss to be prepared for me to call off work due to no clothes fitting. Today, I can still fit into my regular clothes. Tomorrow I'll be 3 sizes bigger. I don't know if its the way the babies lay or what. Maybe they lay across my stomach and then when they get so big, they turn around like they are suppose to be. I dunno. I think I've only gained like 5 pounds so far. Last time I gained all my weight in the last month. I'm going to try not to do that. I do have a goal, after I have this baby I want to be 10 pounds lighter than I was before I got pregnant, before I go back to work. And then from there I want to work on getting back to my high school weight. It wasn't that long ago, so I'm hoping it won't be a problem.
I have been having odd pains these past couple of days. Its kinda like pressure or something. Its usually whenever I stand up. I'm definitely going to ask my doctor about that. It may be due to my low laying placenta. I'm hoping its not a sign that something horrible is wrong.

Ta Da

Friday me and hubby went to the "farm" to spend the night for the concealed weapons class on Saturday. Class went well. I took a picture of my target.....

Didn't do as well as I thought I would. I haven't shot a gun in 5 years though. I use to be a great shot, right on the bulls eye every time, I guess I was a little rusty. Shot a .22 semi-automatic, a .38 revolver and something else I can't remember. Those two big holes at the bottom are from the .38. I had some problems with that gun, the grip was just too big for my hand and I couldn't hold it right. There was only one other guy there that did better than me, but he kinda cheated...he got to use his own gun. Did better than hubby. He didn't seem to mind which was great. I've been telling him for years that I can shoot a gun, I finally got to prove it to him. Yeah, I've been hunting with him a couple times, but we've never seen anything while we were out together.

Went home late Saturday, slept in Sunday. Got a text from Lilly's father that she was sick and I asked if he wanted me to come pick her up. He said, not yet. About noon I check up on her again and he asked if I wanted her back at 3 but we'd meet halfway. Ok. He said she started throwing up at 7:30 and I asked if she ate anything bad... he says no. He says she doesn't have a fever, but when he was dropping her off to me he said he got her fever down. I said, "I though you said that she didn't have a fever, that she was just throwing up. That's why I thought it was bad food." (in reality he didn't know if she ate bad food or not, his grandmother took her to a carnival the night before and she ate some food there) Then he says, "She never broke 100, so she didn't really have a fever." Bull!!! Her normal temp is 95.0 just like me. If our temp is the "normal" then we have a fever. So anyways.... I get her home, her fever is going up. I give her Tylenol.... and she throws it right back up. But after that one time throwing up at home, she was done. She had a fever almost all night, but when she woke up Monday morning it was gone. Me and her stayed home yesterday. I made sure she was ok and that she could eat before I sent her to school today. When I dropped her off at the Y this morning she started whining...."Mommy.. my tummy hurts." I said, "You'll be fine." and I left. I know it might be hurting a little, but I also know that she was looking for any excuse to get to stay home with me again. We had fun though. I kept her busy but didn't get her all excited in case she was going to get sick again. We played board games, watched movie after movie, played treasure hunt, and stayed in our pajamas all day.

So now, my week is messed up again. I'm having my Monday on a Tuesday. I did do some number scrunching today and I figured that I can have a little over $1,000 saved up by Black Friday to do some Christmas shopping. I won't need that much, but it would be nice to know that if I went over my limit by a little, I would be covered. Also figured that I can have $1,500 saved up by the end of the year to go toward the down payment for a house. So I gotta save $1,000 between now and then for that account. Between that and what we already have saved, we should have just enough for the minimum down payment by the end of the year.

Rambling

I think I have decided that I do want another kid, 3 all together. I know that the second one hasn't even made an appearance yet, but I already want another one. It will be like we have 2 full time kids and one part time kid. I don't know if its just where I've been missing Lilly so much lately or if I really want 3 kids. I always thought 3 was a good number. I was kid #3. I don't know how much of a handful this little one is going to be, but right now, in this moment, I want another.
I've been sitting here all day thinking about Lilly and how much I've been missing with her. I've been thinking about how things should be. I've been thinking about how things need to change, not for my benefit, but for Lilly's. I've been thinking about her schoolwork suffering, her well-being being put to the test, her safety being questionable at times, and so many other things. I worry about her while she is away and the teachers already tell me that she is so tired on Fridays when her father takes her and she doesn't get all of her work done. It kills me that I can't do anything about it right now.
I've also been thinking about the future. The delivery of the baby, all 4 of us together, us getting a new house...... Lilly helping out with the baby, the kids growing up together, playing together... its like the life I've always dreamt of. Life has been good to me lately. Things with hubby are much better, my relationship with Lilly is tight knit, financial trouble is basically over, but.... see there's always a but....Lilly's father makes things difficult. And sometimes I think that if me, hubby, Lilly, and the baby where to live in a bubble we would be the happiest people in the world. Yeah, still have access to the outside world for school, friends and family.... but...its hard to explain. All I think I need to be happy is my family, the family that I have made. Yes, I love my extended family and every day I don't see them kills me, but knowing that hubby and Lilly is there at the end of the day makes everything better. I don't know how to explain it. I have been working hard all my life at keeping other people happy. It wasn't until recently I have decided that I need to make me happy first and then let everything else fall into place. Ever since then, everything has been...well... peachy. I don't do what I want when I want, I've just kinda decided to be happy. Ya know? I get this new sense of joy when I play hide and seek with Lilly or listen to hubby talk about his day. I only take maybe half an hour a day, right before bed, for just me. I read or go outside and look at what stars I can see (too much light from the shopping area), or call someone, or yes even watch a bit of tv. Half an hour of me time is all I need anymore. I use to feel like I needed more than that, but coming to the realization that my family is the most important thing to me, made everything change. Yes, I have always put my family first and always will and I have always loved them dearly.... its just another thing I don't know how to explain.
I've even become almost ok with naming the baby Denvil. I know how much it means to hubby, and if the baby grows up and doesn't like it, he can go by his middle name or some kind of nickname. I did read somewhere that old man names are making a comeback. To me Henry is an old man name and its one of the top names.... somewhere. I tried looking for it again today and couldn't find a thing about it. I could have even been dreaming.
Ok, so yeah..I have my moments when I'm pissed off, aggravated, frustrated, red in the face, heart pumping hard, teeth clinched..... but those moments don't last long anymore. Well, except when it comes to Lilly's father. He can make me mad anytime I think of him, hear his voice, see him or anything. I have never spoken ill of him in front of Lilly and I never will. I've been there, done that, didn't enjoy it. My parents divorced when I was 6 or 7 and I've been with mom through 2 more divorces. I've heard it all, I've lived through it all and I am not going to put Lilly what I had to go through.
I grew up listening to my parents fight, talk about each other as bad as a person can, relaying nasty messages through me. I grew up broke, poor and almost friendless. I was abused, neglected, and forgotten. I've been evicted from some houses and moved so much. I've been beat, yelled at, starved and left to fend for myself. I grew up too fast and matured to quickly. I will do everything in my power to never let any of this happen to my children. I do believe that it is because of these things that I am the strong, independent, big hearted, loving person I am today. I also believe it is because of these things that I am unsocial, depressed, and suicidal (at one point in my life, not anymore). Even though my horrible childhood led me to be who I am today, I will not let my children endure even an inkling of any of it. I will raise them the best I can and cross my fingers when the time comes to set them free and hope I did do the right things by them.
I want my children to be able to experience a childhood. I wasn't allowed out of the house to hang out with friends, by the time I was 13 I had taken over the sole responsibility of the house-the cooking, cleaning, helping little brothers with homework, getting them up for school, putting them to bed... everything a 13 year old shouldn't be doing. It was like as soon as I turned 13, my mom stopped being a mom and I had to step up. Ever since then, I have been mom. I was mother to my little brothers, my older brothers, my own mom and my step dads. I have been mom for almost 12 years all together. I've held my mother up when she was down, I've taken care of her and everyone else when they were sick, I was there by her side through both heart attacks and her surgery. I was there to hold her head up when she went through yet another divorce and I even housed my stepdad. Even though everything basically sucked and I had to grow up so early and without any guidance, I still love my family, my mom, my brothers, my dad...everyone.
Ok... so I started rambling..... I still don't know what I'm trying to say. I'm happy now. It might be the hormones, but I am happy now. I love my family. the end.......

Week 23

Your Pregnancy: Week 23~You've got this pregnancy thing down pat now: You feel good, you look great, you're eating well and drinking enough water. Everything is fabulous. It's like your birthday every day the way people fawn all over you, giving up their place in the bathroom line and so on. OK, so maybe that doesn't happen every day, but being pregnant makes you feel pretty special, even if that jerk on the bus didn't give up his seat for you.

Your Body~Fact: You are carrying around several extra pounds of weight located not only in your belly but in your bra as well. Who's baring the brunt of all this poundage? Mr. Shoulders and Mr. Back. Don't suffer in silence. Get sweet relief:

Even in early pregnancy, back pain can be a real bother, and when you get to the halfway point, forget about it! Try lying on a cool ice pack to relieve some of the strain. Some alternative approaches like acupuncture and massage can ease the pain. And if not, having someone rub you for an hour still feels pretty darn good.

If you're noticing severe pain, numbing or tingling in your lower back and hips, you might have sciatica. Check in with your doctor.

Your Baby~Your baby's got a while to go before her lungs will be ready for air and is practicing her "breathing" on the amniotic fluid—sucking it in and out of her lungs. Other highlights this week:

Fat production is in overdrive at this point (for the baby, not you! Well, OK, maybe for the baby and you). Your baby will basically double in weight over the next four weeks! You'll be happy to know the same won't apply to you.

Your Mini is starting to look more like a newborn as her skin becomes less see-through. Her body is looking more proportional now, although her head is still kinda big compared to her cute little body.

Your baby is about 11½ inches long and weighs 1 pound, or about the length and weight of a Harry Potter book.

blood pressure rising

I guess I'm not allowed to be in a good mood for a couple of consecutive days. Lilly's father has to go and ruin it all. I'm not going to go into much detail cuz it will just piss me off again, but he is being so selfish and irrational. You don't trade time for more time, you don't compromise the health of your child, you don't ignore her safety, you don't NOT care about her well being and what is best for her. He is only thinking of taking time away from me, he is not thinking of what is best for Lilly. When things don't go his way, he throws a fit. He doesn't care if she is worn out and tired, he doesn't care if she doesn't want to go to his house, he doesn't care that my time with her is basically nothing these days, he doesn't care about anything or anyone except himself. He's only doing what he is doing to make me mad. He agrees to one thing, but changes his mind and says that he didn't. He doesn't want me to ask what she wants, he just wants me to force her to do things she doesn't want to do only because its what he wants.

He just makes me so mad. I wish the judge would have just made a decision back when we went a couple weeks ago. Now I have to wait and deal with him being like this for another month before we go back. I just can't get him to understand that its not what I want or what he wants, its what is best for Lilly. She cannot get the stability she needs or get into any kind of routine with things the way they are now or by the way he wants things to be. He actually suggested he gets a weeks and I get a week. How is that fair to Lilly? She would be enduring that long drive before and after school every other week. She wouldn't be eating dinner on time, every other week. Her performance in school would be worse cuz she would be tired, every other week. She wouldn't have a stable place, she would be bouncing around from house to house, every other week. I don't think so, buddy. I will not put my child through that and I am actually appalled that he would even bring something like that to the table. It would be different if we lived closer and I knew she would be on the same schedule. He just doesn't get it. I grew up with divorced parents. I have been through it all and then some. I know what road he is going down and I know what Lilly is going to end up doing. These are the times I wish I had a friend that was a lawyer that could come to court with me. I just hope that the judge has a good head on her shoulders and doesn't look at things as "split time between the parents" but what is actually the best for Lilly.

Weekend recap

It is my Monday. I've had the last two days off....it was nice. Monday I woke up, helped hubby find his keys, got Lilly ready, made her lunch to take with her, walked her to school, walked back home, walked back down the road to the dollar store to pick up just a few things (since I had to carry it all back I didn't want to get a lot), finished cleaning the house, watched a bit of tv, made the beds, walked out to the bus stop, got Lilly, cooked, helped her with her homework, played, went for another walk and my day was finally over. Tuesday, woke up, got Lilly ready, made her lunch to take with her, walked her to school, walked to the grocery store to get some apples, walked back home, watched some tv, took a nap, got Lilly at the bus stop, cooked and helped Lilly with her homework, played a little bit, took Lilly out to visit one of her friends (they picked us up), and my day was over. Then, last night hubby tells me that I can either go to work or stay home. My car is almost fixed and they need me to drive it around a little. Give me a choice to either stay home or go to work? I didn't really want to come to work, but I did. I didn't want to use up all of my vacation time right now. Lilly was very disappointed this morning when I told her she was going to the Y. She liked walking to school and taking the big bus home.
Camping was ok. The cookout was fine. Hubby had to work on Saturday, so he didn't show up 'til 6. Me and Lilly rode down with his mom that morning. We ate, we fished twice. Lilly caught a fish and a half. She caught one and we set it free. When the other one got a hold of the bait, her fishing pole wouldn't reel and we lost the fish. Its time to get her a new fishing pole. That one was cheap, it was her first one, and we've had it for like 4 years or so. On our way back to the camp after our second fishing trip, hubby showed up. He ate, took Lilly on a 4-wheeler ride and set up the tent. We have a big tent for me and him and this little one that attaches to the side of ours through a little tunnel and that's where Lilly sleeps. She loves sleeping in a tent and she did really good. Hubby was basically there long enough to eat, talk a bit with family, set up the tent, shower and sleep.
Sunday, we woke up and went into the house thinking everyone else was awake, but they weren't. Hubby curled up in one of the spare beds and goes to sleep. I make Lilly breakfast and everyone but hubby wakes up. After she ate, we went to the tent and took a few things down and packed a little, but we left all the big stuff for hubby. Then, we went on a walk to the bottom of the hill to look at the horses the neighbor has. We were almost at the barn and the lady was out there and asked us if we wanted to come in to see the animals. She had 9 horses and 12 goats. Lilly grew up around goats, so she wasn't bothered at all by them and had no problem petting them. I think the horses intimidated her a little. She did pet 3 of the horses. The lady also had a black cat and a Pomeranian. Lilly kept saying, "Hello cat on the farm. Hello dog on the farm." It was cute. I didn't take my camera, so I didn't get any pictures of Lilly petting the horses. When we made it back to the house hubby was finally up and eating breakfast. Me and Lilly went outside to help with what was left. I ended up sending her inside to watch tv cuz it was just so hot. I got so hot I almost passed out twice. I was trying to get everything done quickly cuz we had to be back home at 1:00 for a birthday party of one of Lilly's friends.
Lilly got to feel the head and the butt of her brother. He was pushing real good on the sides of my tummy and I had Lilly feel him. She giggled. The baby was moving like crazy last night around midnight. I couldn't sleep last night. Between the baby moving, hubby snoring, Lilly talking in her sleep (at one point she yelled, "BANANAS!!"), the wrong number calling my cell all night, hubby's fire pager going off..... I didn't sleep. Hubby also talked in his sleep, but I couldn't make out what he was saying. He was mumbling. I just said ok and he stopped.
Oh, Lilly had been getting in trouble for talking in school. Her excuse.... "I like to talk." So WE had a talk about that. Sometime in our discussion she said, "Sometimes the teacher tells us we can talk quietly, but I like to talk loud." I tried not to laugh at her. She knows the consequences now and hopefully that will help her be better.
I think I should have wussed out and took today off, I'm exhausted.

Week 22

I'm in a weird mood today. Woke up feeling rushed, traffic was thick today, it took me 3 tries to park my car, I didn't sleep well, I'm hungry, and I'm kinda dreading this weekend. Anyways.... here's the weekly update on my still unnamed baby. When I looked at the growth I started freaking out. "He grew 4 inches in just a week?!!!" No, not really. They lie. The measurements they were using before was from head to butt, but now they are measuring head to foot. The legs kinda add a few more inches....

Your Pregnancy: Week 22~If your list of baby things to do seems to be getting longer the bigger you get, don't stress out. Make a pact with your partner that one day or evening a week, you'll do something that has nothing to do with the baby. How about the latest Anne Hathaway flick and dinner?

Your Body~Sadly enough, eating for two doesn't mean loading up on milkshakes and hamburgers and doubling your caloric intake. Instead, an average pregnant woman needs about 300 extra calories each day, which can be as little as a handful of trail mix or a small smoothie. If you're craving a little ice cream, go ahead and indulge, but if you need it for breakfast, lunch and dinner, try to find a healthy substitute like sugar-free soft serve or fro yo.

Sometimes it's easier on pregnant stomachs to eat five or six small meals each day than three large meals. Make sure to keep a stockpile of pregnancy-friendly snacks like crackers and cheese, pudding or a breakfast bar, so that you'll have something to gnaw on throughout the day. Don't let your hungry coworkers (or your partner) know where you keep your stash

Your Baby~Your Mini's hands have grown bigger and stronger and the nerve endings in her fingers have developed her sense of touch. She's in there testing out her newfound abilities by touching her face and grabbing the umbilical cord. Other cool developments:

You're already raising a little Einstein. Your baby's brain is developing at a clip this week and will continue to do so until she's five years old (so load up on the Omega 3)!

Baby's hair is now a short, bright white crop (Billy Idol, eat your heart out!). No matter what color it will end up—red, blonde, black—all babies' hair lacks pigment at this point.

Your baby has started growing taste buds and may be able to detect strong flavors in the amniotic fluid. If you could see inside, you might catch her sticking out her tongue for a taste and then grimacing, a sign that perhaps you should chill on the chili powder.

Your baby now weighs almost a pound and measures almost 11 inches from her head to her heel, which is how the Stretch Armstrong in your uterus will be measured from here on out. Up 'til now your baby's legs were curled tight up against her torso, so she was measured from her head to her bottom (or crown to rump) and not head to toe. This week your mini is about as long as a package of Oreos and as heavy as a large bag of tortilla chips. Who's hungry?