Saturday, December 26, 2009

Merry Christmas

Well, Merry Christmas, a day late. I've been so busy and so many things have happened, I feel as though I should update the blog, but I'm not sure what all is interesting to people.
To comment on the pregnancy. At about 16-17 weeks, I started feeling the flutters of movement. I was unsure at first if that was the baby, but many people had described it to me and the nurse said it was likely that I would start feeling it and she was right! 2 days before our big ultrasound, on a Saturday morning when we were lying in bed, I told Nathan that tic-tac was moving around a lot. He put his hand up there and she gave him two hard kicks! He was sure hoping it was a soccer-playing boy after that! I think it was exciting for him to finally feel it, because he'd tried before but they had been so little, that they couldn't really be felt outside.

So Monday afternoon we had our big ultrasound! The technician explained what she would do was take pictures and measurements and then point stuff out to us. It was just so neat to watch everything on the screen while she was doing it. She labeled the pictures as she was going, so I could double-check but I thought it was pretty obvious what was seen on the screen. It is just so amazing, the way God creates life so small. So then she spent a good 5 minutes looking at our little baby's bottom and assuring us that those were girl parts, and there were no boy parts. LoL

Nathan had said something as we walked in about not wanting to know if it was a girl, but he was pretty excited once he found out. Just worried that he would spoil her too much! He's watched his brother with their two little girls and Jason has a hard time saying no to them, I think Nathan is afraid he'll be the same. Its sweet that their daddy loves them so much and dotes on them so much.

Wednesday we flew in to Albuquerque where it is colder, but there is no snow. Thats ok. It would make traveling home hard, so if it does come, I hope it comes soon and not too much to clear off later.

At Christmas yesterday, we opened presents with just the 6 of us (yes, my brother is engaged and his fiancee Paula is with us too) then we had more family members join us for Christmas dinner around 2:30pm. Also my cousin Cindy and her husband Brian flew in later in the afternoon with their little girl, Corinne. She is 5 months and pretty adorable. I kept thinking that next year, our little girl will be about that age at Christmas and how fun and exciting it would be. I did get to hold Corinne for awhile and amid playing and smiling at others, she would lean back and snuggle into my arm. :-) So sweet I can't wait!

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

I caved...

At the end of last week, I was uncomfortable in my hair tie closure pants and even the fun belly band that sounded so wonderful didn't cut it for me. Obviously my old pants are not fitting.
So Sunday after church and a wonderful pot luck (lots of yummy food and lots of choices! Read: pregnant woman's DREAM) I asked Nathan to take me to target.
"You mean, you want to buy FAT PANTS?!"
Thanks dear, you're such a caring and loving husband....
So, we went and I grabbed 3 different pairs thinking it was like normal pants shopping and I'd have to try on a million to find something that felt nice.

Oh MY goodness! Elastic waistbands are the most WONDERFUL things ever!!

I told Nathan I wasn't going back to regular pants, these were comfy and baggy in just the right places and although I didn't look very good, it didn't MATTER.

So anyway, I thought I would be in maternity pants starting this week and my belly, which was obvious to those who know that I'm not normally fat, went away on Monday. Its back to the small bulge which doesn't look like much, even those who know me....
About a third of my old pants still fit, ones that are lower, were saggy or loose before, or dress pants where I can't button the inner closure, but the outer closure is just fine.
Anyway, so now I'm trying to hide my small bump at work till after Christmas. Because then it'll be a couple weeks before they see me again and it may actually be noticable to everyone.

I'm also super excited because last week I set our 'big ultrasound' appointment for Dec 21. Hopefully Tic-tac cooperates and we can tell if its a he tic-tac or a she tic-tac. I'm still thinking its a girl, but another teacher at work is convinced its a boy (because my energy level is still up). I can see advantages to having either as your first.
I'm also really excited because now that I do have a bit of a bump, Nathan is starting to seem excited. And I can't wait for him to see our baby on the ultrasound. Cause those pictures, even at 18 weeks are so good now! You can totally see the baby and their features and all that good stuff. So I'm excited to see it, but MORE excited to see Nathan see it and get excited.

I've started to feel Tic-tac move around just a little. And I know Nathan cant wait till he can see it and feel it. Its so little right now though that he can't yet. :-( But he's looking forward to it, I can tell

Thursday, December 3, 2009

New wardrobe? ...Maybe soon

Today was my 3rd doctor's appointment, and although its nice to hear the heartbeat, I felt like it was an appointment I could have had over the phone.
Dr comes in, listens to heartbeat and asks "Have you had any problems?"
"Not really," I say.
"Ok, that's great, see you again in 4 weeks!"

However, I did talk to the insurance lady and the nurse weighed me and checked my blood pressure. Weight was up about 4 pounds, but I did have on heavy shoes and an extra pair of pants. We'll get to that later...
So the whole visit with check in, money talks, vitals check, dr visit, and check out was all within an hour. Efficient, friendly, and professional.

And then....

After work, I went to the post office to pick up a package. Pick up a package. No paying, nothing complicated, just show up, get an envelope and leave, right?
Yeah...RIGHT.
The man, who I'm sure was very worn out with the holiday rush, took at least a full minute to verify my ID and the other 2 people picking things up. Then went to the back for over 5 minutes and came back with 2 letters (not my package) then took another 5 minutes to get his scanner thing to work and make those 2 people sign in at least 2 places and write their address on the back of the card they came in with (which already had their address!) Then he turned to me and said "oh, let me get your package"
Uh huh....
So he goes to the back for another 5 full minutes and comes out empty handed. He has to go ask another postal worker who is helping customers where my package might be. You'd think with such a big warehouse in the back, they might have some sort of system, though it appears they just throw it all in a pile and have to go digging. Apparently the second postal worker had a little more of an idea where the package might be because the third time my man came out, he was holding my envelope. Victory.
So I sign, with my own pen, because he doesn't have one on the counter, and then he says "oh, you didn't need to sign, the scanner took care of it." goody.
All in all, over 20 minutes (I timed it) to pick up a package.

So based on today's experiences, I'd prefer the government NOT to run my health care.

But back to the title of the post. My belly is beginning to bulge, just a little. Sometimes in the evening, it was getting a little poochy, and occasionally I'd unbutton the top button of my pants after dinner. But today, all day, I felt big and I had to put hair ties over both buttons on my pants. And they were stretching...
When I got home, I put on my bigger jeans (again with a hair tie button closure) to go to walmart after we ate. Well, we ate and I was uncomfortable walking around in those sorta tight, sorta feel like they're falling off jeans.
Perhaps I should look into maternity pants?
Naaaah.....

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Humor...

Well I made it all the way to Thanksgiving break! The kids almost killed me today...or was it me that almost killed them?
Whichever, we made it!!
So I'm home early and just finished a half bowl of reese's ice cream - MMmmm!

Here's a joke for you to enjoy:
What Men Expect When They Get Married Vs What Men Get

A man expects:
His wife will always be beautiful and cheerful, could have married movie starts, but wanted only you. Hair that never needs curlers or beauty shops. Beauty that won't run in a rain storm. Never sick, just allergic to jewlrey and fur coats. Insisits that moving the furniture by herself is good for her figure. Expert in cooking, cleaning the house, fixing the car, the tv, painting the house, and keeping quiet. Favorite hobbies: mowing the lawn and shoveling snow. Hates charge cards. Her favorite expression: "What can I do for you dear?" Thinks you have Einstein's brain but look like Mr America. Wishes you would go out with the boys so she can get some sewing done. And loves you because youre so good looking. That's what a man expects.

This is what a man gets:
She speaks 140 words a minute with gusts up to 180. She once was a model for a totem pole. She's a light eater: as soon as it gets light, she starts eating. Where there's smoke, there she is cooking. She lets you know you only have two faults: everything you say and everything you do. No matter what she does, her hair looks like an explosion in a steal wool factory. The last time she used a broom, it was to fly somewhere. If you get lost, open your wallet and she'll find you. She spends all day arguing with the neighbor to keep in practice till you get home.

Time to go find more ice cream...or something else to munch on. Ideas?

Sunday, November 15, 2009

My innie is going away...

Well this has been a good week. I hope that means it will only get better from here!
We're at the start of week 13, and although I'm still picky with what I want to eat, at least I want to eat! We visited my parents Friday night through Saturday and my mom was very nice and cooked a delicious meal Saturday! I even pulled the pregnancy card and took the leftovers home with me :-D Yum!
I still have this occasional, inconvienent nauseous feeling that will creep up at any moment. Like as I'm finishing a third slice of apple. All of a sudden I'm completely nauseated at the thought of swallowing the bite in my mouth. About 3 times it has happened this week and I have to go spit out whatever I'm chewing on for fear of losing everything I ate before that. *Sigh* And then 5 minutes after that, I'm hungry (but not for whatever caused the feeling). Inconvienent.

Also exciting this weekend. Despite Nathan's plea to not buy anything for the baby before Christmas, my parents were garage sale shopping and found a very lovely crib. I went and looked at it, agreed it was very lovely and we bargained the seller down to what I consider a good price. So now the baby's room has about all the furniture we need right away. About the only big things left to get are car seat and stroller and then likely one of those pack 'n play things for traveling. And because we now have a crib, I'm going to be pushing to rearrange and paint the baby's room so we can get everything set up and organized. I still bet that the room won't be painted till after Christmas.

Funny, I was one of those people that said "You have 9 months, why are you getting everything right away?" as I watched others rush out and buy all the baby things they needed in the first few months. But, here I am, one of those people... Though, in my defense, the crib is the only thing we've bought. Everything else we already had. And I only bought the crib because we found a nice used one. Anything new, I won't buy until we start getting much closer. (I promise!)

So no real baby bump yet. Though I think I'm getting a little rounder around my belly, Nathan refuses to admit it. I do have evidence that the bump is coming. My belly button has began to pop a little. It used to be a deep innie and now, its still an innie, but with the middle sticking out. It made me laugh the day I noticed. My innie is gone!

Monday, November 9, 2009

When...

When will high school boys stop honking and yelling at me from the passenger window as they drive by? I mean, really? Does that EVER work??
How about at 7am?
Maybe one day I'll look old enough to stop getting honked at by high school boys...of course then it will just be immature men around my age which is just as bad.
But seriously?? What kind of woman would respond to such rude behavior?

Some people are ridiculous...

Friday, November 6, 2009

Note to Baby Berry

Today is a good day for mama, thank goodness! Tomorrow is the start of week 12, so we're looking forward to feeling better and better.
There is a song that recently started playing on the radio and the very first time I heard it, I thought of the tiny baby inside me.

So baby berry (#1) this is for you, courtesy of Sidewalk Prophets:

Be strong in the Lord and
Never give up hope
You're gonna do great things
I already know
God's got His hand on you so
Don't live life in fear
Forgive and Forget
But don't forget why you're here
Take your time to pray and
Thank God for each day.

Monday, November 2, 2009

What's your weight goal?

So Nathan, and many other friends, are on diets to lose weight. Now I've always joked about wanting to gain weight, and I know, everyone hates me for it. But I don't really try and my weight is up and down a little, and I happen to be on the down side right now...
My dr told me today that I needed to gain 35 pounds. Now, at first I laughed, honestly laughed. Because I thought even being pregnant, I can't do that, I've never been able to gain much weight when I wanted.
Looking back though, my mom said she gained more than that with her first and others have too, so maybe it's doable. I just know that a few months ago, when I watched my calorie intake for real and really tried to eat extra protein and calories (yeah, it lasted only a week) but without paying attention, I barely ate what I needed to sustain my weight with my activity level. And even when I tried, I was barely above the calorie intake of sustaining my weight. I just can't eat that much!
Everyone says when you're pregnant you'll want to eat everything all the time. I hope they're right...

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Saturday..

I got up somewhat early for a Saturday, hung out with my mom while taking the dog to the vet. I've eaten a decent amount, but now that its getting on the later side of lunch, I can't find anything that sounds good and I'm starting to get a headache. I called my sister in law and was asking her what things I could cook. She gave me some suggestions and also told me if I didn't eat enough meat (which I haven't because it just sounds...gross) that I'm probably low on iron and feeling those effects too, which is tiredness.
And yeah, I just want to curl up and take a nap. I know if I lay down or even recline and watch tv I won't want to get up again and I'll likely feel worse especially if I don't eat more first.
So I'm now getting cranky, because I really am tired, but I'm trying to keep myself moving until I find something to eat.
Wow, life is a little bit pathetic right now...

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Week 10 and counting...

As a recommendation from my mom, I started reading my cousin Cindy's blog just a few nights ago. She started when she first found out she was pregnant. I read some entries to Nathan, because I started telling him "See, I'm not the only one??!" Then he asked me if *I* had journaled any about our pregnancy.
Uhh....no, I'm pretty much just trying to survive.
So 2 days later, I have finally gotten inspired. I'll try to background story (hopefully short and sweet)
We found out we were pregnant on an early Monday morning. Week 5. I wanted to tell everyone, but I kept it quiet all day. Called and set up my first prenatal appointment for 2 weeks later (they didn't want to see me before 6 weeks) I promptly got sick the next morning...and the next morning....
Well, I missed work that Wednesday and again Friday....So I told my principal that Friday. Also, when I was home Wednesday, my wonderful mother came to stay with me. (Because I called her crying saying "Mommy, please come take care of me") And when she came over, there was a mix-up of what was said and well, she found out. So yey, I needed to share that with my mom anyway. :-)
A week later was one of my good friend's birthdays and because she'd been wanting us to get pregnant (why, she lives in St Louis? but she loves kids) we decided we'd tell her our news as a present :-)
So week 7 I go to the first prenatal appointment. After the what not to eat and what not to do and what to do speech, they asked to schedule an ultrasound for the end of the week. Well, I know I'm not that sentimental anyway, but I had to get a sub (after being sick for a day and a half already) to go to the doctor that day and miss work and they wanted to schedule the appointment so my husband could be there and he would have to miss work and then they had me worried because I said I'd been having some cramps and they said that wasn't normal (though it really was...) Soooo, I asked why I couldn't just do it that day, I was already there, right? I called Nathan to make sure he was ok with that, don't worry ladies, he had his chance to say he wanted to be there. But he was ok with it and so I got to see my baby just 2 weeks after I realized I was having one! It was pretty neat to see the flicker of the heartbeat on the screen and to hear it also. I came home with 2 pictures of a white blob to show everyone (though again, I'm not sentimental and so I wasn't posting them on the internet for everyone to see because, well, it was a white blob...) A few have gotten excited about the picture, but probably only because they were really just excited that we were having a little one.
Ok, so at the end of that week was Nathan's suprise 30th birthday party! With all his family in town and my parents over and a few close friends (including the fly ins from St Louis and California!) Well, luckily Nathan got the brilliant idea of using the time to tell everyone our news! (I'd secretly been hoping that he would think of that for 2 weeks when he kept telling me we were waiting till Thanksgiving to tell the family) So he blew out his candles, thanked everyone for being there and said "And our surprise to YOU is that we're having a baby!" Well, everyone was excited and saying congratulations, so it was a nice party and celebratory time.
Week 8 I announced it to the other teachers at work and then slowly my students started finding out as well. Perhaps one day I'll post on their comments, however today ... well, it was a long day at school, so we'll pass...
Mostly things are uneventful. The cleanliness of our house has been....less than spectacular. I have gotten MUCH lazier. When school started, I don't think I turned on the tv for weeks. Well, here comes baby and getting sick and suddenly my entire evening is feet propped, reclining on the couch in front of the tv. Becker is on from 4:30-6, Cosby show is 5:30-6:30 and Wheel of Fortune is at 6:30...Then I have to figure out what day it is and what I can stand after that...and Nathan comes home then and sometimes turns it to sports.
I have cooked about 4 times in 4 weeks. Well, make that 5, I have done SO well the last 3 days! Tuesday I cooked "Viola" which you put in the skillet for 10 minutes. Wednesday night I cooked frozen pizza and then told Nathan he couldn't have the other half, because I wanted it for lunch... And tonight I cooked taco meat, however like most times I cook (and why I don't usually) is that after it was done, I didn't want to eat it.
So fast food has been a life saver. Literally. I want to eat on my way home from school (about 4:30) and only about 1 thing from 1 restaurant sounds good. SO I get it and hope that I eat at least half a real meal. And that is how I have survived the first 5 weeks of pregnancy. Cindy summed it up well. You don't necessarily feel nauseous, but you just feel "gross". I don't want to eat, I don't want to do anything, I just want to sit and be miserable. Well, I don't *want* to be miserable, but I am.
So I think the first trimester is about surviving. Eating enough to not lose (much) weight and trying to not throw up more than once a day. After the first week and a half, I haven't thrown up. Gagged a few times, but not thrown up.
Oh, and though the first 2 weeks, it was morning sickness..but now, now its evening sickness. I do fine getting up (if I am careful and slow) and then the day goes pretty well, but by 5 or 6 pm...I'm done. No more food, no more work, no more doing. Some days are better than others, and if I eat enough and keep busy, I'm good till 9, but some days I lose the battle at 5.
The last 2 days seem to be better, but I'm very cautious. I can have a few good days in a row and then I'm back to "gross" all day.

Well that's enough update for today. And Nathan is home and wants to chat about all that is going on in the world... ;-)