Losing My Mind for a Cause

I am NOT a short-haired gal. I have tried it before, and never been too fond of it. For years I have worn my hair long because I think it is not only more becoming on me, but also controls my natural curls more.  That is why today is likely a surprise for many who know me.

Today, I lost my mind a bit when I got my hair cut short.  However, I did it intentionally and for a good cause, Locks of Love.  It has crossed my mind many times to do this over the years. What motivated me this time was a family member, 6-year-old Rebekah, who is fighting a version of leukemia. Some of her uncles shaved their hair in unity with her as she under went chemo and lost her own hair. One aunt cut her hair quite short as a means of support.  After much thought, I decided to grow my hair out even more than usual and donate it so other children may get a nice wig out of it.  While I was nervous about my hair cut today, I feel it was worth losing my mind to help a child in need.

I didn't think I would be nervous, but a couple hours before I went in for my appointment, I began getting the butterflies.  What the heck was I doing?? Was I insane?  Granted, I had reached a point where I was sick of my hair and ready to get rid of it, but I still got nervous.

My hair right before I went for my cut! (I had straightened it the night before.)

I looked at several magazines before going to the appointment and had even pinned a few hairstyles on Pinterest.  My hair stylist looked at my ideas and told me it was possible to get a cut like I was looking for.  She slowly cut my hair off and handed it back to me. I was amazed at how long my hair really was! Wow!

My cut off hair

Then she proceeded to style my hair. I saw more and more hair falling. It was a bit shocking, but I left myself in her hands. I will admit to enjoying not having as much weight pulling on my neck. What a relief.  Then she finished it off by styling it.

The end result

Luckily, when I got home, my dear husband said he liked it.  I do like the cut, but figure I'll like it even more in 1-2 months after it grows a bit. For now, I will enjoy feeling as though my hair is all sassy and knowing that my donation will help some kids out.

Li'l Miss Peanut

Yesterday, Chris, Ginny, and I headed for the Springfield Clinic for my 20-week ultrasound and appointment with Dr. Quinn.  I was a bit nervous this time.  For most of this pregnancy, I have been calm and unconcerned, which seems strange since I was quite worried and paranoid when pregnant with Ginny.  For some, knowledge is power. For me, it leads to worry and paranoia.  

When I got my 20-week ultrasound with Ginny, I was not that concerned.  I was nervous, but under control. I had been feeling Ginny move pretty regularly since I was 17 weeks along.  My general assumption was that she was okay, and she was. However, our little peanut has not been very active at all, as far as I can tell.  I started feeling some faint movements since I was 13 weeks along, but I will go a week or so between feeling the baby.  My nerves had me thinking this might be a bad sign.  Trying to be rational, I would remind myself that it is normal not to feel the baby so much at this stage of the pregnancy.  

Additionally, since having Ginny, I have met people who found out things weren't so great at that 20-week u/s.  One, that I couldn't stop thinking about, discovered their baby had anencephaly and her baby would not live long past birth. What if my baby had the same thing or was missing a limb or had a heart defect? While our plan was to find out the sex of the baby this time, I wasn't much concerned about that. I wanted to know my baby was okay. That was (and still is) my ONLY concern.

After waiting a bit in the waiting room, we were called back to the u/s room and began.  The tech, named Madonna (a good sign I hoped, being named after Mother Mary), got started.  She was looking around, not saying much. I couldn't stand it and asked if there was a heartbeat. She smiled, said yes, then apologized for not telling me sooner.  I found myself relaxing.  She asked me if I had been feeling the baby. I told her I had, but that the feelings were very light and rare. She told me she was surprised I felt anything. Apparently, Peanut has an anterior placenta which makes it difficult to feel the baby because it provides a bit of a buffer (like a pillow). When the baby kicks or moves, it hits the placenta, and the placenta usually prevents the mom from feeling the baby until the baby gets bigger. I cannot begin to explain how relieving it was to know that my baby was okay and that it will be normal for me not to feel the baby regularly because of this. 

Peanut's profile! What a cute nose! :)

Then Madonna continued with the level 2 u/s; checking the brain, the parts of the heart, the abdomen, making sure there were 2 legs, 2 feet, 2 arms, 2 hands, 2 eyes, the nose, the mouth, and all the other parts that can be seen. Of course, our baby decided to not cooperate and to keep rolling around and hiding arms and legs. It was rather amusing watching our little gymnast.  Madonna told us that the baby's heartbeat was at 150 and weighed 14 oz.  She kept trying to figure out the baby's sex, but Peanut was not very cooperative.  First, the baby wrapped it's legs around it's umbilical cord. Later, it decided to sit Indian-style.  We tried one last time before ending the u/s and the baby FINALLY cooperated.  After looking carefully, Madonna told us that we are having a girl!  I asked if she was sure, and she said yes.  Chris was not as convinced. I'm sure watching the struggles to figure it out didn't help. Also, we know a couple who was told one thing at an early u/s, only to be told a different thing at a later u/s. The u/s tech reassured him and said she was 95% sure that Peanut is a girl!

We are thrilled!  We would have been thrilled if it was a boy too. But right now, I can't help but to be happy that Ginny will have a sister. I think it can be an amazing bond.  I also think that it is appropriate that my husband, who was not popular with girls growing up, will have a houseful of girls who adore him. Sweet karma. :)

Crab Boil

My Aunt Nita with Ginny

Our last evening in Florida was spent at my Aunt Nita's. We went over there with my parents as well as my sister and her family for a crab boil.

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I do NOT like fish of any kind, which works out for me since I am allergic to anything that lives in the water. However, there are a few sea creatures I like and do eat despite my allergies, for example, calamari.  I don't eat these items in large amounts. I will get sick. Luckily, I am not deathly allergic, rather I have gastrointestinal issues only after eating them.  To me, it is worth the occasional issues. (That being said I am highly allergic to scallops and haddock. Therefore I avoid those for fear that I will have a worse reaction.) Since I am pregnant, I have been told to try and avoid foods I am allergic to because my hormones could alter my response to the food.  I could react much worse which would be dangerous for the baby.

My Uncle Todd and Dad (in beard) boiling the crab legs

Back to the subject at hand, I love and adore crab legs!! OMG!! So wonderful!! A crab boil sounded amazing! However, since I'm allergic, it would mean avoiding. Yuck! I didn't fully avoid though.  I indulged in one crab leg. Totally worth it. I wasn't willing to take any more risks than that. Ginny got to taste crab for the first time too. She really seemed to enjoy it. She has great taste! ;)

Ginny is pooped at the end. ;)

Besides eating crab legs and all the fixings (kielbasa, potatoes, corn on the cob), we enjoyed spending the late afternoon and early evening with family.  Ginny found some stairs and learned how to climb them (we don't have stairs in our home). The problem was in her climbing down them. She tries to climb down going face first. I have all sorts of nightmares when I see her doing that. We tried to teach her how to go down backwards, but she still wanted to try and go her way. She can be a bit stubborn.

Anyhow, our last evening was fabulous. We are now back home recovering from our trip.