Over Due Update

It's been a while since my last update on the baby and life in general. We've had a very busy past 2 months or so. We closed on the house Oct 30 and moved in the next weekend of Nov 7th. We tried to get everything "in its place" before company arrived. Company arrived for the holidays starting the week before thanksgiving and it's been non-stop ever since. Also during that time, we decided to go on our last vacation before the baby comes - a 7 day cruise to the eastern carribiean from San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was a lovely vacation, one we both really needed.

When we started on the cruise journey you couldnt tell if I was pregnant or just fat. A couple of days into the trip my belly popped out and now there is no mistaking me for pregnant. I am carrying slightly high and all out front. I swear I look bigger than 25 weeks but I am only 25 weeks! The only down side to cruising while you're pregnant is that you cannot do many excersions at all - even with a doctors permission - because you're concidered a liability. So, with that in mind, we parked our behinds on several beachs day in and day out for 1 week....oh the life! James drank as many local beers as he could on the beach and at the pier while I took a tour of Coca Cola from pier to pier!

As for the pregnancy, things seem to be going well. The belly is getting bigger and bigger by the day. The baby is much more active but still has "quite" days. The kicks/punches are getting harder and my feet are slowly going away. It's amazing how one day you realize that putting socks and shoes on is becoming a challange and will only get worse. I am finding it more difficult to get off the couch from a nice comfy position - soon we'll have to break out the rope and winch! Regular clothes do not fit at all - not even close. I do love the maternity clothes - comfy and really show off the belly. Oh the belly - it's a lovely basketball. I must admitt, I have always wanted a basketball and that I got. I am "in love" with my little basketball belly. It's perfect. Now that it's starting to grow it's getting a lathering of Palmers Coca butter twice daily to help with any streching it might need - it might not work, but it wont hurt! :)

We go back to the doctor next week for our OB visit, gestational diabetes testing, and recheck ultrasound. Hopefully this time this little buggar will cooperate. Back on Dec 3rd the baby was asleep with his/her back to my skin, with it's head snuggled up on the placenta asleep! The ultrasonographer could not get good views of the heart/vessles to make sure things looked okay, so 1 month later we get another peak. The ultrasound back in december looked good - atleast to me! I saw 4 chambers to the heart so no major problems but they want to make sure, so hopefully this little baby cooperates and lets us see him/her for all that he/she is. Oh and we dont know if it's a boy or girl - we'll wait until April on his/her birthday. :) The baby was breech back in december so I dont think we could have gotten a peak anyways, she could barely get the feet into view.

For now it's time to go and clean the house, put more boxes/clothes away, and starting preparing for this bundle of joy. We've got a lot of shopping to do - including painting, purchasing a crib, diapers, bottles, etc. We don't have a thing yet, only 3 more months to go!!! Time flies.

Vegas Luck

So I think I am of the elite few who does not get rid of morning sickness! yes! Too bad I don't have that kind of luck playing the lottery! ha! The nausea is still here. Puking is still part of the daily routine. The doctor at the last visit kinda hinted at me possibly maybe not totally getting rid of the nausea/vomitting. I am now 16 weeks 2 days and it's been a rough day with nasusea. It started lastnight at the grocery store and has continued. I have been more active lately since we're moving and I am not sure if being more active is making things worse but at some point in time I have to get back to life. We can't move with me sitting on the couch doing nothing - gotta pack and clean the place while James and other family members move the stuff. I have come to terms with the possiblity of never feeling "normal" or not going a day without vomitting until after birthing this baby.

It is weird though that even though I've never met this baby or even felt this baby I am now starting to fall in love with it. It's so werid. This thing is growing inside of me - totally taking over my body, making me feel horrible and yet it's all worth it. Even thought no matter how sick he/she makes me, I always think of the couples that cannot have children and it makes these 9 months worth it. I cannot wait to start feeling this baby kick, squirm etc. So far....nothing even with Murphey stepping on him/her and the cat constantly purring on my belly - I am sure it's loud in there! ha! Maybe in the next week or so, I'll feel something.

Good thing about being sick - I am not gaining much weight at all! :) I do like that trend! ha! This morning I was actually down a pound for a net gain of 1 pound. Not bad to be 16 weeks along.

Off to take some anti-nausea medication.

14 Weeks and 4 Days

Today James and I went to the doctor. It was a long yet quick visit. We waited for around 45min to 1 hour and saw the doctor for maybe 10 mins. There wasn't much to the visit. I am up 2 pounds - the doc seemed happy with that. The nausea is still there but I do have much more energy throughout the day. I do have my "must lie down" moments, but they seem to be much fewer than before. He did give me a glimpse of hope - around 15 weeks this usually totally goes away. PHEW! He then quickly followed up that there are a few women that it lasts the WHOLE pregnancy. He says he sees two of those type of women a year - I forgot to ask if he'd already seen those women! ha!

We did get to hear the heart beat for the first time - it seemed like a quick expirence. I did not get a rate but it seemed slower than I thought it would be......maybe a boy???? I have been listening at work, but nothing. He said I probably will not hear anything by stethescope until 20 weeks or so. I go back in 1 month - around November 11. I do not have my work schedule, so I cannot confirm that appointment just yet. I forgot to ask about the next ultrasound - I think is around 20 weeks. We were in and out of the room so quickly, there wasn't much time for questions. Although I did manage to get another prescription of the nausea medication! Yay!

The doctor did say that the "silver lining" in all this misery is that my chances of miscarrage are very low since I am so sick. I guess that means I must be producing enough hormones, etc. to keep this thing going. It's weird being pregnant and not knowing if things are okay. I just want to ultrasound myself or get a fetal doppler and take a peep in to make sure things are okay - it's the medical person inside me. That is me just wanting to be in control. :)

Other news. Murphey (aka Distructor), our "bouncing baby boy" turned 1 October 11, 2009. He's no longer mama's "baby" but he's still a super cling-on. He loves to "lay" in my lap on top of the baby. Maybe their bonding? Secretly I think he hopes the "gossip" of a new little one will go away so he can remain my little one - maybe he's trying to smuther it out of me? ha! It's amazing how he can be all over my husband but as soon as I enter to room he drops James and bee-lines it for me. He's my snuggle bug at night. No longer my baby, but a grown "boy."

Light At the End of the Tunnel

Do I dare spill the beans?? I think this horrible nausea/vomitting "episode" is easing. PHEW! I can honestly say that it was the worse thing I have been though......and I have not been through a lot in life either. ....labor and delivery is gonig to be fun! ha! It's not that simple vomitting is horrible, it's just the marathon of weeks on end of extream tiredness, weakness, vomitting, nausea and not knowing when it will end. I think if I knew by "x-date" it would end, the mental and emotional break downs would have been less. Granted everyone/everything I've read stated "12-14 weeks" but it's always different for everyone. I am now 13.5 weeks and actually feel like I can get up and do a load of dishes or laundry and not pass out, puke my guts up or have to take a 4 hour recovery session on the couch. Today (fingers crossed) I feel good enough that I have started packing up our lovely apartment to move to our new house the first week of november. Last week just packing 4 boxes put me on the couch for 4 hours. Today, I've done 4 boxes and felt like I've done nothing. Praise God!

I have not felt the baby move yet or have heard the heart beat. I have been listening religously (in private) at work with my stethescope but nothing. We do not use a dopplar device at the clinic so I do not have that option either. Maybe next week during our OB appointment we'll get to hear the heart beat. Maybe that will make this expirence more "real." So far, besides the first trimester "symptoms," I dont FEEL pregnant. Although I have gone out and bought some marternity clothes for our cruise in December. Who'd of thunk it that Old Navy would have good looking, inexspensive maternity shorts! Amazing.

The "P" In Pregnancy...

So I have "figured out" that the "P" in pregnancy stands for "puking" and "pimples"! Yes, we all know that the first trimester is filled with the lovely feelings of nausea, a tiredness that you have never imagined or felt before, and puking. But then God throws in a twist......PIMPLES! I feel like I am back in 8th grade. Granted, it's not horrible achne (old wives tale says it's a boy then! With girls you apparently have a lot of achne because "your daughter is stealing her mothers beauty"), but you already feel like luke warm road kill, but now you also look like you do!(alteast I feel like I look like that). I have never had a problem with pimples, red spots, blotches....but hello! And the murphey's law of it, you cannot use achne medication to treat it! :)

Just another joy of pregnancy.

An Overdue Update

It's been a while since the last post. For the past 8 weeks I have been rather pre-occupied with some little thing called morning sickness. You read about it in all the books and online sites but no matter how much you read about it, it's totally different when it hits you. The word nausea never ment much. I though "I can handle a little nasuea no problem"........oh boy. It's just nausea (which has turned me off of food entirely) but it's a total body weakness that just takes over your world to the point it's all you can do to get out of bed.....and when you finally get out of bed you run straight to the bathroom puking the only thing on your stomach.....bile....and it burns like hell. Then you finally manage to get dressed, choked something down (usually toast or oatmeal) and you get to work. The hard part about work is that no one knows, so puking in silence can be quite trickey. Thankfully the practice I am at is still quite slow since we're so new so there is lots of down time. I spend my days wanting to just crawl into a hole and die (not literally) inbetween pukes. Lunches are a whole new ball game. It's now a game of "what to eat that won't make me puke at the sight/smell" of food. I am totally unable to eat, smell, cook red meat. I have tried making spaghetti or tacos a couple of times and just the sight of hamburger meat is an instant puking session - usually in the sink because it hits so fast. I have found that since becoming pregnant that NOTHING absolutly NOTHING tastes like i remember. Everything is a disappointment. I keep searching for the one food that will make me feel better, give me some energey........I don't think that food exists. Even with the anti-nausea medication the doctor gave me, it's amazing how your hormones will still allow for your to puke your guts up. So after 8 weeks of this, I finally broke down and called the doctor desperate for answers.....unfortuanatly I didnt find any or get any. I was told to try "hard candy - Lemon heads" and eat 5 small meals a day. I have been following all the "advise" on eating while your nauseas and pregnant but honestly, none of them work. Yes, you do have to eat every 2-3 hours or the puking will get worse, but nothing makes the feeling go away.

I am now 12 weeks and I hear that I am at the "turning" point for the nausea. It'd better come quickly too - this is tough. Not only am I growing a human, which has totally taken over my body, but my husband and I are in the final weeks of purchasing a house. So now, with the Lord help and strength, I have to pack up our lives and move them 30 miles away. If Emily and Murphey only had apposable thumbs to help. I have a month so hopefully if I do a little each day I am off, I will be able to make some head way before we have to move.

I go back to the doctor Oct 14 - maybe we'll get to hear the heart beat?! I did go to the GoodWill today looking for maternity clothes - found a couple of items. We're headed on a 1 week cruise in december - Ill be 23 weeks. I am going to need some warm weather maternity clothes for that trip not to menchion a bathing suit! Hopefully if I can't find things in stores, I can find them online. We'll see.

Attached is a photo of Baby Wallace.

More next time.

And We're Off.....

So after thinking about starting this venture for several weeks, I finally took the time to do so. Here I hope to write down the journey of my first pregnancy for friends and family to share. The news has not "broken" just yet, but I thought I'd get a head start!

The moment:
It's funny how when you pay close attention to your body you can actually feel what is happening. I didn't believe it until it happened to me. On July 24th of this year I knew I was pregnant. I was only, maximum, 7 days out from conception but I just had this feeling. It was still too early to take a test but you have to trust your instinct! I had told myself I would not take a test until my first miss period day - I didn't want to expirence a false negative test. On July 29 my husband convinced me to go to the local pharmacy store and take test - 2 days early. I of course was wanting to take one, so off I went to the drug store (with coupon in hand!) and got a 2-pack first response test.

When I got home and performed the test we laid it in the kitchen and with eagle eyes watched it. Low and behold, it was positive! It was faint -very faint but there were two lines. Of course we were both thinking it was too faint to be positive! Just to make sure, 3 days later on Aug 1, I took the second test and it was a strong positive!

We're Pregnant! Estimated Due Date April 10, 2010....James swears up and down it's a boy.

Now I am 8 weeks into this venture and still do not believe the news. We have our first doctors appointment tomorrow - ultrasound included. It's exciting and I think will make it much more real.

The past 2 weeks have been pretty hard. The nausea/vomitting hit at 6 weeks and 3 days. Nothing tastes good, nothing sounds good but I have to eat. I am not vomitting that often, maybe once every other day, but the nausea is pretty rough. Along with that I am expirencing heartburn/indigestion from decreased motility of the GI tract due to the pregnancy hormones. I am trying to take TUMS but they don't agree with me that well. Maybe I'll try some Mylanta. Murphey, our precious baby (well 10mo old baby who's 64 pounds), thinks that he should lay on my upset stomach ALL THE TIME. We're at odds over that. He's not used to "no" from Mommy. Little does he know, including Emily and Kojac, that their world is going to change in April 2010. They will be included as much as possible with this, after all they're still my "kids."

I'll try and post more thoughout the weeks of this pregnancy and attach photos when I can. Hope you all enjoy reading this and exploring this journey with James and myself.

More after our first doctors visit tomorrow.