i will be 13 weeks tomorrow. hard to believe that next week i’ll be in my second trimester, huh?!
i am feeling better some ways, but in others i’m worse! zofran causes constipation, and i am having major bowel problems. i hate the feeling i have! sorry if tmi.

jeremiah is so cute. he said ‘uh-ohhhh’ today. he was trying to pull his baby out of the crib, and baby was stuck. ‘uh-ohhhh’ he said, dragging the ohhh out. lol.
did i mention he can use a straw now? he loves using a straw. since the sippy cups i got for him don’t seem to be working (he has to suck much too hard - i tried them and they are tough) i’m thinking of getting him the straw sippies. any brand better than another?
we are trying to end the bottle. he only gets three a day (one before each nap and one before bedtime) but i still want to cut them out. i thought it would be much simpler than it has been!
also trying to phase out formula with whole milk. that isn’t going so great either. i don’t know what he sees in that stinky gross formula!
jerry is the best hubby in the world. i love him. that’s all i’m gonna say.
well i’ll be looking up 13 week stuff tomorrow and posting it for ya. i know this pregnancy isn’t that fun for readers, compared with jeremiah’s. i was always updating about his pregnancy! i am still feeling lots of flutters tho. oh and i’ll be putting up a 13 week pic of me too. not sure why anyone wants to see my fat self, but oh well!
God bless.

you know, i get so annoyed when i go to my friends’ sites and they haven’t updated in a few days. but then what do i do? just rest on my laurels and think an appointment account will hold you off for a week?! how rude is that?
first of all, i am on my lullaby album kick again. think about how nice it would be for me to record a lullaby album and sell it online!! if every one of my friends told ONE of their friends about it, i could really sell a lot. the income would help us out TREMENDOUSLY. even if i only sold them for like 12 bucks each, which is what i would like to sell them for. i don’t know if that’s wishful thinking, but i feel that’s a very reasonable deal, considering the amount of songs i’d like to put on it. and hopefully most of them will be original! why am i so excited about this? because i’ve always always wanted to record an album. ever since i worked in childcare, right out of high school, my dream has been to record a LULLABY album. this dream will come true. i promise you.
jeremiah is so cute and so much fun. every day more and more of his delightful personality comes out. guess what he did wednesday night? he kissed me. i love giving him kisses, but the boy usually turns and gives me a cheek. but for the first time on wed night, i said, ‘give mama a kissie’ just like i always do, and he leaned in to kiss me. he didn’t pucker up or anything, but still! i was so excited and said ‘thank you!’ so he was excited and wanted to do it again. lol. he has been doing it consistently now. this morning, he puckered up and then flat-lip kissed papa. LOL. and he sometimes tries an open-mouth kiss with me, and did that with gramma tonight too. he is just so wonderful.
his dancing just tickles me to no end. he dances almost every time he hears music. last night, i was singing a song, i don’t even remember what, and he did a little running in place dance. cracked me up so much i almost fell off the couch!
he is sure a handful!!
i’m in search of one of those harness things. so that he can walk, but still be within my reach. the boy likes to wander all over the stores, and doesn’t care for holding my hands, and doesn’t like riding in his stroller much anymore (tho he will ride in it fine as long as he has a graham cracker in one hand). is the only place i can find one online? my other option is a double stroller. i’m kind of scared folks, about having two little ones at the same time. what am i going to do? what was i thinking? LOL. will i ever be able to go out on my own? i just think about how difficult and overactive he is when we go out (he’s not bad, he’s just very rambunctious) and i wonder how i’ll handle a newborn on top of him! sigh. i need prayer already.
but i am still very thankful to be carrying this baby. i would not trade this baby for anything!! i love bean already, and cannot wait to have him/her!!!!! do NOT get me wrong here!!! i am NOT complaining!!!! i am sooooo thankful. God knows my heart and how much i love this baby. i’m just being realistic. i’m a wimp. i’m a wuss. i just wonder how i will do with two children who are 18 mos apart. i can do it. i can do it. i think i can, i think i can. i KNOW i can.
well guess what. you won’t believe this. no, really, you won’t.
you know my friend leesa? the one who i’ll be babysitting her son, the one who gave me her last few pills of zofran (the last half of which i took this morning)? she and i went to kroger today so she could buy my zofran. !!!!! she paid me in advance for my first week of watching nate (which will be in feb sometime) by buying my zofran. do you not LOVE her?!?!?! i am so thankful for her. i don’t know what i would have done. the b6 and unisom work ok but zofran is the only thing that really really works for me. and the zofran the dr ordered is the kind that instantly melts under my tongue, so it starts working faster. oh, it is so amazing. thank You, Lord and thank you, leesa!!!
jerry has a possibility of a job. please pray about it! it is another nursing home, but it is like 5 minutes away (not 25 minutes away like his current job), it pays better, and it has optional weekends. the weekend option pay is 4 bucks more an hour than regular pay. imagine how much that adds up if he chooses to work 4 saturdays a month. WOW. we are really praying about this. the gas money alone that he’d save would be a whole gas bill!

a prayer request, from a couple in my church, whose son is in the war:
“I have a special prayer request. We have all heard about our troops going to and from Iraq. Our son Benjamin and his Unit will be leaving for Iraq tomorrow (01.28.05). He will be over there for a minimum of 6 months to a possible if not more than 12 months. Please pray that his unit will escape injury while they are over there. Please pray that Benjamin will also renew his commitment to Christ and that he will be a positive influence to his unit and to the Iraq people that he will come into contact with. ”

i hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. God bless!

jeremiah had his 1 year appt. today.
weight: 22lbs 1oz
height: 29 3/4in
head: 46.6cm

he was at 50 percentile in stuff. right below 50% for weight, but she said that is normal for overactive toddlers (and he showed how overactive he was by running around the whole office, getting into baby-proof cabinets and drawers and everything!)
she said he’s perfect development-wise and he’s doing great. she also checked his ears for me because he’s been pulling at them. she said they are fine, then checked his mouth and said his gums are swollen so he might be getting his 1 yr molars in. poor baby. no wonder everything has been in his mouth, and no wonder his ears are bothering him!
she also said since he’s 22lbs and over a year, we can turn his carseat around. it seems strange to me to want to do it now too. lol. i hope he likes it when we switch it.
i asked her some things about when the baby comes. like about transitioning him to a toddler bed and such. she said we could try, but to wait until a few months before bean is due. that way, as we know, he won’t think bean is kicking him out of his bed.
he got his chicken pox vacc. he cried for half a second. it was almost like he started to cry then thought better of it or something. it was nearly comical.
he is not nursing anymore. i have tried but he just won’t have anything to do with it anymore. it’s so sad but on the other hand i’d rather him choose than the milk run out on him when he still wanted it.

i’m 12 weeks pregnant with bean. i have been doing ‘tp tuesday’, in which i measure my waist with tp squares every week. week 10 and 11 i was 11 squares. today i am 10 squares. cheryl said it’s probably because bean moved. i hope so.

it feels like the pregnancy is going even slower than jeremiah’s. it’s like jeremiah is growing really fast but the pregnancy isn’t moving. does that make sense?
i’ve been feeling strange movement a lot lately. like there are TWO beans in there, in opposite sides of my belly. it doesn’t seem like bean could be big enough to be in both places. hmmm.
i have been feeling decent. not great. ups and downs. i tried the b6 and unisom and it actually worked a bit! not as nice as zofran, but better than phenergan and definitely better than nothing. i still haven’t been able to get preggo pops. finances don’t permit it.
tomorrow is jeremiah’s 1 year checkup. i wonder what his stats will be?
he is so funny and so cute i just can’t get over it. i asked jerry several times tonight ‘could he be any cuter?’ ‘could he be any more adorable?’ lol. i sure do love him.
please pray for us. finances are in a fit again. jerry is searching for a new job (not a third job, but one to replace the nursing home job) that pays better.
thanks for the comments about the party. it was indeed fun, and a once in a lifetime event (first son’s first birthday party. :D).
God bless.

first of all, we didn’t make it to church. not only was the weather bad, i was feeling terrible. i didn’t even get up until 11. thankfully jerry could take care of jeremiah a bit for me.
when i finally was able to get up and around, i helped out getting a few things ready here and there. jeremiah went down for his early nap at around 1230, which is a little late for him but he was being stubborn. while he was sleeping, my brother josh came over with pizza. mmm. jerry went to pick up the cake from kroger. jeremiah didn’t wake up until 210! i was going to give him a bath, but decided against it since he hadn’t eaten lunch. he was such a grump too! uncle josh sent him into tears. thankfully, he calmed down to get dressed and then eat. i dressed him in his new (overalls and shoes from once upon a child and shirt from goodwill) outfit and he ate lunch. then my parents arrived. i wrapped jeremiah’s gifts, mom hung up balloons and streamers. dad played with jeremiah.
guests started to arrive at around 300. we chit-chatted for a bit. at 340 i decided to have cake. we just had the big cake tho, not jeremiah’s little one. after that, we did presents. jeremiah was pretty involved in the gift-opening and got quite a few!
from april and telina: four outfits and a noah’s ark toy
from zhou and family: a care bear and a book
from uncle jay and aunt natalie: an elmo learning table
from pastor and family: a nursery rhyme pop-up toy
from uncle josh: a gift card from wal-mart
from gramma and grampa: a mini-barn with little people, a sit n spin, a soccer ball, clothes, a few books,
from mama and papa: a lawn mower, two books, a blanket, new sippy cups, new toothbrushes, a see n say, a banjo and tiny piano.
after gifts, we sang happy birthday to jeremiah and he had his little cake. it was quite cute! you can see a video of it here. also, you can see the gallery going directly to the party here. the un and pw are the same as always for both.
it was quite a party! jeremiah was beat when the last person left. he went down for afternoon nap late. but slept well.
all in all, it was a great birthday for him!

In Memory of Me
-Jennifer Case Gigowski

In memory of me, fight for what you believe in.

Remember the dreams I could dream and the joy I should feel.

Remember my innocence and pray that a better day will come for me.

Think of the millions like me who are waiting for their dreams.

Pray for the women who should nurture us, not hate us.

For we are unwanted prisoners in our mothers’ wombs, in a world unwelcome to us.

Where no dreams can be made, and for me and those like me, all we have lies in your support and prayers.

Don’t let those prayers go unheard.

Time is so precious to us.

Let them know we deserve to live.

Please be our voice.

Please let them know our plight.

For you, with your hope in the Lord, are our only hope.

today is sanctity of human life sunday. please do your part. pray. speak. be the voice that can be heard.
party went fine. photos and details up tomorrow sometime.

my friend leesa, who had her baby in august, had 6 zofran pills left. she lovingly, out of the beautiful kindness in her sweet, big heart, sent her sweet hubby over to my house to deliver these 6 miracle pills. i took one at two and have not felt better since finding out i was pregnant (because that day i was high on the thrill!). it’s about to wear off now, so i need to take a phenergan and head to bed. those work while i’m sleeping, or just lying down, and help me sleep anyway. but zofran lasts 8 hours. and i have five left. so i will have to use them very sparingly. early mornings are the worst for me, so i will take one when i get up at 9 (jeremiah has graciously been letting me sleep til nine! isn’t he a doll?!). that will last until 5. by then i should be ok to handle a phenergan, and then i’ll take a phenergan at night for bed. this will be able to last me five days. five days. but when you think about it, five days of feeling myself is better than none at all. i am so thankful!!!
i have to say it was such a joy to be able to get on the floor and have fun with my baby boy today! i have been holing out on the couch, and he has to come over to me with books or toys to play with me. but i even felt great enough to play ring around the rosie with him! can you believe it?!?
i will also be trying ALL of the ideas you all gave me. thank you so much!! the lemon thing seems strange, but the nurse told me today to try lemons, and i had lemonade and it was very soothing! i love lemons, so that’s a plus. i also need to get some of those preggo pops. did they work for anyone? kara, i also have found when i suck on something, be it a mint, gum, or hard candy, it does help a bit. maybe the saliva flowing? i don’t know. but i just need to make sure i always have something on hand.
oh, jeremiah was looking at his new barn book today, and when he opened the kitty flap, i said “kitties, meow, meow” and he said “meow, meow, meow”!!! he was so proud of himself (after i made a big deal out of it) and has refused to say it again. oh well!
thanks for the prayers, and please keep them coming!!

i feel HORRIBLE. it’s official. it’s morning sickness. only it’s last-all-day-until-i-want-to-die-sickness. morning sickness would be too kind.
i finally got the dr to prescribe zofran for me. you know, the miracle drug that helped me through jeremiah’s pregnancy? well, with our new insurance, our copay for it is 75 bucks. 75 bucks people for 20 pills!!!! so i can’t have any of my healing medicine. i have to cope and try something else.
what can i do??? i am vomiting and feeling like i’m going to vomit when i’m not vomiting. i am miserable and my son and house are suffering for it.
please pray for me. i don’t know what i’ll do if this doesn’t end by the second trimester.
dear bean,
i love you so much and am so happy about you, but please forgive mama for feeling miserable.

my son, jeremiah thomas gigowski, is one today. i can’t believe it.

dear jeremiah,
it is so hard to believe that it was a year ago today you entered the world. you have changed our lives so much in the short time we’ve known you. i always knew you would bring me joy, but i never knew just how much joy you would bring.
remember how we were in the hospital, waiting for you, on friday, then on saturday? and then you finally came on sunday. it was the longest wait i’ve ever waited, and i must say the most painful, but it sure was worth every minute! seeing your precious, tho squished, face was something i will never forget.
you have learned so much in your first year too. you can say words, you walk and nearly run, you play games, you eat big people food. you are so very smart, so much fun, and so precious and adorable. you have already had your first haircut and you have seven teeth. you have developed quite the little attitude in the year since you were born, and it makes you all the more adorable and special.
i’m also proud of both of us for continuing nursing! i nursed you for a whole year! and i’ll continue to until there is no milk left in me!
we prayed for you so long, little man, and we still pray for you daily. you are such a miracle and such a blessing to everyone you meet.
jeremiah, i am so blessed to be your mama. i am so thankful for the miracle of you. you have changed me in a way i never knew possible. you have made me reach out of myself to love someone more than i ever thought i could. oh, i love your papa more than life itself, but there’s just something about giving birth to someone that gives you a very special loving bond.
i pray that i will always be the best mama possible for you. i pray that one day, you will rise up and call me blessed, like the mother in the Bible. i pray that you will grow in wisdom and love, and one day you will be a father who teaches his children about the Lord.
i love you so much, jeremiah. i can’t even put into words how much you mean to me.
happy birthday, jeremiah sonshine!
love,
mama

in other news, i’m 11 weeks today. i don’t know how i messed up the dates last week. but yeah. preggo brain to the extreme. plus still feeling crappy. still barely making it.
my mom is coming over today for jeremiah’s birthday. we’re not doing anything fun or too special. i made cupcakes tho. i want to sing happy birthday to him and let him know the day is special, even if we don’t do lots of things for it. i haven’t even bought him anything yet!! well, i have a new outfit and a sweatshirt, but i hardly think those count since i bought them in november! i have just not felt up to going out to shop. we went to walmart saturday (jerry went too) and it was the first time i’d been since i found out i was pregnant! we got the necessities, but i felt too sick to even shop for gifts for him. what a sad mama i am! hopefully gramma will pull through and bring gifts.
well that’s all for now. i wonder if michelle’s baby will make an entrance today??
blessings and hugs!!

jeremiah was due. 1 and 2. most of you remember the ordeal! but for newbies, read and relive my tears.
jeremiah’s 7th tooth popped in on saturday the 15th. it’s the bottom left. i guess it’s an insicor?
i can’t believe he’ll be one tomorrow…sigh.
i am feeling better off and on. one minute i feel like hurling, the next i feel ok. i have not felt GREAT in a while tho. please continue to pray for me. and pray for poor jerry. what a burden he’s taking upon himself. with me being mostly out of commission, he’s taking so much responsibility around here, along with his two jobs. he is such a wonderful husband. have i given him his props lately? because i don’t know what i’d do without him. i love you, bear!!!!
i just have to say welcome back rebekah. i have missed you SO MUCH and am looking forward to hear what’s going on and how you’re doing.
that’s all i can handle for now.