Monday, January 28, 2013

15 Week Bumpdate

I always promised that my blog would never turn into a "pregnancy blog,"  but I've barely been posting anything except "bumpdates" lately!  Oh well, I will be glad I kept track of all of this someday, and hopefully so will my daughter or son.


The Bump:

Here are the weeks prior for comparison:
And here I am at 15 weeks
...no denying it anymore...there's definitely a baby in there!  My mom called me "Bumpy" yesterday.  Ha! People who know I'm pregnant say they can tell now. Though I probably just look a little thick around the middle to a stranger's eye.  It's so funny the different reactions I got at church yesterday.  Everyone asked to see the bump, and I heard everything from, "you're still so tiny!"  To, "Wow, you really popped!"  Haha, I guess the bump is in the eye of the beholder!

Milestones:

I know it's still super early for this, but I THOUGHT I felt the baby on Thursday night.  I had fallen asleep on the couch.  A few minutes after I woke up, I felt what I can only describe as a "twinge" very low right in the center of my abdomen.  It happened 2-3 times, and basically felt like a tiny muscle spasm or something.  I still don't know if it was the baby, but I'm going to pretend like it was. Ha!  I thought it would be the coolest thing in the world the first time I felt it, but honestly my first reaction was, "Oh my gosh, how weird!!" Haha...it really was a weird but awesome sensation!  And like I said, it might not have even been the baby.  I'll have to wait a few more weeks until I know I've felt the real thing, and compare. 

Symptoms:
  • My nausea is a million times better this week! Praise God! I just have slight nausea when my stomach is empty.  
  • Nothing else new, really.  Still emotional and moody and very tired.  Some headaches and a bit of light-headedness from time to time.  And a few more aches and pains than normal.
Cravings:
  • The burger craving returned yesterday.  I begged Luke to go out to lunch, and luckily he finally budged and we went to a diner with some friends.  And I ordered a big, juicy burger and it hit the spot.  Again, I'm guessing I just need more protein.
Aversions:
  • Dairy (besides ice cream...that always sounds good!)
Fun Stuff:
  • We're a month or 5 weeks from our anatomy scan (we'll schedule it on Friday!), which is when we find out the gender.  People love to tell their guess as to what the gender is, and I love to hear them!  I think girl is winning right now, which is my guess, but I am getting so anxious to find out!  I'm also trying to decide if I want to do any sort of fun gender reveal party.  I really don't want to make a huge deal of it, but I just thought it might be fun to have our parents and siblings over for pizza or something so we can tell them all at the same time instead of making a bunch of phone calls after the appointment.  What are your thoughts on gender reveals?  Like I said, I really don't want to make a huge deal out of it, but it would be fun to celebrate together with family!
  • We have our monthly appointment on Friday!  Nothing too exciting happening then, but we get to hear the heartbeat for the first time from the outside, so Luke wants to be there for that.  And honestly, I want him there for moral support, just in case something is wrong.  Of course I'm trying to trust and not worry!   But it is a daily battle. 
I think I'm coming into the honeymoon phase that I talked about last week!  There are so many things to look forward to in the coming weeks!  We are so blessed!

Friday, January 25, 2013

Friday Photo Dump

These pictures are from the past 2 weeks since I didn't post last Friday.  I've been busy with school, clinicals, and trying to stay warm!  But I've also had time to fit a little fun in...

This is Luke's cousin Leah, and she was on the court for Winter Sports Dance!  It was fun going to the basketball game a couple of weeks ago to see her get introduced with her parents.

On a Sunday the weekend before last when I was having a good day nausea-wise, Luke and I went out on a date after church to use a gift card and do a little shopping.  We ate at Longhorn, and I had leftovers for days.  It was delicious!  Also nice to spend time with Luke, of course.

I already shared this picture, but thought it was too cute not to share again!  Plus this needs to be documented since it's the baby's first Ohio State gear!  Ha!  From Maria and Luke (The other Luke.  As in, the baby's future uncle.  This is going to be confusing. ha!)  

Luke is on a volleyball team at church and he has games every Tuesday night.  It's fun to watch him and the rest of the team play!  This was before their game on Tuesday.  They were playing an undefeated team, and I thought you could just tell from this picture how serious they all were about the game!  Unfortunately, they did not win, but they played really well anyway!

This picture was taken the following night at the church.  Wednesday night Bible studies, middle school youth group, and Kid's Bible Club were all going on.  I was there in my One Thousand Gifts Bible study when the fire alarm went off.  We all evacuated the classroom and tried to figure out what was going on.  Apparently a pipe had burst due to some rust and the freezing temperatures of the past few days.  Gallons of water were pouring into the sanctuary, and downstairs into the children's department.  Lots of damage was done, but we know that God was watching over all of us, too.  For one thing, the timing couldn't have been better.  If this had happened in the middle of the night, everything could have been ruined.  Luckily, it happened when hundreds of people were at the church.  Another blessing was seeing everyone come together to help clean up!  I am blessed to be a part of this church.  I was also so proud of my husband who was one of the last to leave.  It was quite the ordeal, but I'm glad everything is going to be okay!

On Tuesday a couple of my classes were cancelled, so I had a long break in the middle of the day. I crashed at my sister's house during that time, and it was so nice!  Temperatures were in he single digits that day, so it was really nice to curl up in her warm living room, cuddled with with her dog Oopa, and just catch up!  For lunch we had some chicken tortilla soup that she and Andy had made and frozen with vegetables from their garden.  She also made homemade bread.  It was such a cozy little break in my day!  I'm blessed to have a sister who lives so close to campus, and who lets me crash with her sometimes!

Happy Friday!

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

14 Week Bumpdate

The Bump:
These pictures keep getting worse. It's been a rough couple days with nausea, vomiting, and the worst headache of my life, so this is as good as it's gonna get today! ha!

It's becoming a more distinct "bump" and getting a little harder to hide!  Luckily, I'm still able to wear all of my normal clothes, and I think it'll be awhile before I'll have to switch to maternity.

 Now I can feel my little baby bump just about all of the time when I'm laying down.  It is the coolest thing ever to feel it!  It's just a little firm bump.  I can especially feel it if a cat is laying on my stomach pushing on it.  And I'm almost 100% sure it's not my bladder this time. Ha!

Milestones:
I'm officially in the second trimester!  That means I should be entering the "honeymoon stage" of pregnancy.  I'm still waiting to feel a ton better, since I'm still struggling with morning sickness on a fairly regular basis.  Also, now that I've reached the second trimester, my chances of delivering a healthy baby have gone up.  I wish I could tell you that I didn't worry about miscarriage during the entire first trimester, but that would be a lie.  I struggled a lot with fear and doubt after waiting so long to get pregnant.  So entering the second trimester feels like a giant relief.

Symptoms:
  • nausea and vomiting.  Yes, still. The nausea comes and goes, and it's definitely a million times better than it was!  But it's kind of annoying that I felt so much better for 2 weeks, and then the morning sickness came right back.  I am trying to patiently wait for it to pass completely!
  • Fatigue seems to be back worse than it ever was before, but I think that's because I started class last week.
  • Still very emotional. I watched The Help on Saturday, and basically bawled through the entire movie.  
  • I've had some weird pains and pinching feelings in my abdomen, which I think might be round ligament pain??  I have no frame of reference, so I'm not sure if that's what they are or not.
Cravings:
  • I had a major craving for a cheeseburger on Saturday.  Luke picked one up for me on the way home from town, and it was like the best thing I'd ever eaten. I inhaled it.  Maybe I just really needed some protein?
Aversions:
  • Again, most food in general.  I'm still nauseous about 60% of the time, so not much sounds good. Dairy is probably my biggest aversion right now.  And water.  Unfortunately, I am so grossed out by water right now.  I have to force myself to drink it.
Fun stuff:
  • The baby continues to be spoiled already!  Aunt Moey and Uncle Luke got him/her these cute Ohio State onesies:


  • And Raeann, a friend from church who is a fellow Malone alum, gave us this adorable bib!  I told Luke I would love for our kids to be the biggest Ohio State fans ever, but to pick a nice, Christian school like Malone for college. Ha!  Either way, the baby will certainly be set with college gear!  Now I just need something from The University of Akron!


Hopefully next week I'll say that my morning sickness is totally gone, and I've entered the "honeymoon stage!"  I really am looking forward to all the second trimester will involve, including a real baby bump (looking pregnant, and not just fat!), feeling some little flutters, and learning the gender!

Monday, January 14, 2013

13 Week Bumpdate: The Fat Phase

*I forgot I had already scheduled a post for this morning, but then wrote this one and got excited about posting it. Ha!  So sorry for double posts today.*

The Bump:

As you can see, I am currently in the "fat phase," where I don't look pregnant at all, but like I just gained a few pounds.  And I totally love how my jeans are digging into my stomach in my 13 week picture.  It may be time to purchase a Bella Band:

A friend of mine told me she could tell I was "pushing my stomach out" in my 12 week picture.  But I promise you, this is just me, standing comfortably.  Obviously, you can tell by the way my stomach is shaped that it is mostly bloat.  But compare it to my 4 week picture...something is definitely happening in there, whether it is baby, or bloat, or just things moving and shifting in my abdomen.  I am barely above 5' tall, and barely above 110 lbs, so I feel like every change that happens is going to be very visible.  You know, kind of like when I eat a big cheeseburger. I've never been able to hide that from the outside either.

In fact, I know that a lot of that bump is "bloat," so I actually sucked my stomach in in this next picture, trying to see if I had any belly left:
And look...it still protrudes a little bit.  Sorry for the rambling...just had to defend the bump! Even if it is 100% bloat, it's bloat because of my baby (trust me, weird stuff happens with your entire body, including your stomach and digestive system when you're pregnant.  I'll just leave it at that. Ha! Can I get an amen from all the women who have been pregnant, past or present?!) I'm trying to keep accurate track of the "belly progress" so I'm being careful not to push out.   

Milestones:
For baby, he or she is now forming vocal folds!  Very exciting news for a future speech-language pathologist like myself!  Also, it's looking a lot less like a peanut, and a lot more like a human baby since its head is no longer the same size as its body (it's about 1/3 the size of the body now).

The only new milestone for me is that I thought I was feeling my uterus in the mornings before I've eaten anything or used to restroom.  Every morning when I lay in bed, I can feel a really firm ball very, very low in my abdomen.  The thing is, no amount of Googling is giving me a straight answer.  I don't know if my uterus is anterior (toward the front) to my bladder, or vice versa.  If the uterus is anterior to the baldder, then I'm feeling it in the mornings, being pushed out by my full bladder.  If the bladder is anterior to the uterus, then my uterus may just be pushing my full bladder out further than normal, and what I'm feeling is simply my bladder.  I'm thinking it's probably the latter.  any anatomy experts out there who can answer this question?  Clearly, my knowledge of anatomy does not go past the systems of speech and neurology.

Symptoms:

  • The return of morning sickness: nausea, vomiting, the works.  I was very sick on Saturday, but have been a little better since, so I'm hoping it was just one last hurrah.
  • Fatigue
  • Major mood swings.  My temper has definitely been worse than normal this week. I'm blaming it partly on hormones, and mostly on the stress I'm feeling as I return to classes this week.  Sorry, husband.
Cravings:
  • White chicken chili, until the nausea returned
Aversions:
  • Right now, just about everything sounds disgusting
  • Especially chocolate milk. I won't go into details, but I may never drink chocolate milk again...
Fun Stuff:
  • My sister and brother-in-law wanted to do something special for the baby.  I mentioned in passing last week that I loved the look of older, wooden high chairs.  (Even thought I know it will be a long time before we need a high chair).  Anyway, they went out, found one at an antique store, are adding adorable fabric to it, and Andrew the engineer is going to try to fix it so it's up to safety codes.  The baby is spoiled by Aunt Julie and Uncle Dewey already! (I'm using Julie's nickname for Andrew because I think it's cute.  I don't know if that's what he actually wants the baby to call him). 

  • One of the things I've always looked forward to when we have kids is planning Disney World trips!  I already told Luke that I want to take a big trip there when the baby is 3-4 years old.  And I find myself daydreaming about it more than I probably should.
And that about covers week 13.  Onto week 14, and hopefully another remission period for this morning sickness!

I've Probably Been Judging You.


I've said it before, but one of the most difficult things about infertility is hearing and reading about pregnancy announcements.  Every time I would hear about another one, it would throw me for a loop.  If I read about it on Facebook or a blog, I was lucky, because I could just let the feelings out and cry right then and there.  And then feel like a horrible person for reacting that way.  If I found out in person, then I had to try to show some excitement, and hold back my tears until I was alone later.

Even as I type it, it still sounds so terrible.  I wish I had totally risen above it, and could have been happy for the dozens and dozens of pregnancy announcements I received in the past 2.5 years.  But that just didn't happen.  Instead, I started comparing my situation to theirs, and thinking things like, "But we've been married for so much longer," "...trying for so much longer," "they're not even married!" "They don't even want kids!" "They already have a baby/babies," "They've had 2 babies during the time we've been waiting for our first!"  ...it all just didn't seem fair. And then the worries would start nagging in the back of my mind, "Maybe God is punishing me for something," and the worst one of all, "Maybe he doesn't love me as much."  OF COURSE I knew in my head that those last two were not true.  But that didn't stop Satan from trying to convince me of those facts for almost 30 months straight.

Needless to say, it was a strange phenomenon of trying to feel happy for the person, always failing and focusing on my own sorrow instead, and then feeling totally guilty for reacing that way.  Luckily, I know from talking with other women who are going through fertility problems that these feelings are all pretty normal.  No, God does not honor jealousy and envy and wants us to move past those things, but I also think He mourns every tear we cry over these situations, and feels every ounce of our pain.  We are His children, after all.

The thing is, when we plant the seed of envy, it puts down roots in our heart, grows, and produces fruit of its own.  

For me, the fruit was judgment.  And I never even realized that until I became pregnant myself.  So I apologize right now for judging so many people!

If I heard a pregnant person complain about anything short of a medical emergency, I would secretly turn up my nose and roll my eyes.  If they knew how hard infertility was, and how some of us would KILL to feel a little morning sickness, they might think twice about complaining about a little nausea. 
Source: Uploaded by user via Jessica on Pinterest


But the truth is?  It turns out pregnancy is not easy for some people, and I did my fair share of complaining to my family members too.  Even though I swore I would never do that.  No, the first trimester was nowhere NEAR as hard or painful of those years of waiting, but it certainly wasn't easy, either!  What I didn't realize before was that it involves so much more than the nausea.  The nausea and vomiting was by far the worst part, but on top of that I felt so tired all I could do was lie down on the couch for about 80% of each day.  For weeks I had an aversion to literally every food.  And over time, the few comfort foods that seemed to help, became associated in my brain with the nausea, and eventually just the sight of them would make me gag.  And finally, I spent a lot of time feeling very sad and crying.  This symptom surprised me a lot, because I thought from the moment I found out I was pregnant forward, I would be so blissfully happy for the entire pregnancy.  But when your body is trying to manage such a massive amount of hormones, there is just no telling what is going to happen with your emotions.

I am not saying all of this to complain.  I thank God so much for every one of those symptoms!  But I'm just making the point that I was wrong before.  Pregnancy is not always easy, and I feel bad for being so hard on so many women.  That said, I do wish pregnant people would be careful who they complain to and what they complain about, in the same way that I think people who are married and in relationships should be careful of the same thing.  But that is a whole other post altogether.

Unfortunately, my judgment of pregnant women didn't end there.  I would be around pregnant people who drank caffeine or ate things they weren't supposed to eat and the judgment would rear it's ugly head.  No, I wouldn't say anything to them about it, but in my mind I was judging the crap out of them!  And now that I'm pregnant have I eaten healthily?  Definitely not all the time...for six weeks I ate anything that sounded like it might stay down.  And now I have an aversion to plain water (weird, I know, but it makes me gag) and have been drinking a lot more iced tea with caffeine than I care to admit.  

When I was going through infertility, I pictured myself doing everything just right during the pregnancy.  But in reality, I'm doing all those things I judged others for doing.  

I could go on and on, but I think you get the idea.

If nothing else, being on the other side, and seeing the err of my ways has taught me a valuable lesson.  I do not know the situations or struggles that others are going through.  And clearly, I need to stop being so judgmental, especially if I have never been in their place before.  I'm glad my eyes have been opened to this, because I think it will help once the baby comes too.  I have no interest in participating in the "mommy wars" and being judgmental of other mothers.  So I hope I can remember how I had to put my foot in my mouth so much with this pregnancy since I'm doing so many things I didn't think I'd do! I'm so glad I have a forgiving God in times like these!  And I hope you all will forgive me as well, if I have been judging you.

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Insecurities

I wrote this post over the summer, but some spammers have targeted it, and I've had hundreds of attempts at spam comments on this post in the past couple of days.  So I decided to delete the post, and try to re-publish it to see if that helps! ...because I do like this post, and don't want to lose it altogether.  So please ignore it if you've read it already!

I think everyone has an area in their own lives that they are self-conscious about.  For me there are many things -- I'm short (5'2), and that has always been a huge target for people to make fun of me.  It is socially unacceptable or rude to make fun of overweight people, and I would never do that.  So why is it okay to make fun of short people for something that makes them feel inferior in so many ways, and that they can't even help?  That has never been okay or funny to me, but it happens so often, I've been able to pretty much laugh it off.  It helps that Eva Longoria and Lucy Hale are both 5'2, and they are some of the most beautiful ladies on he planet.  I guess being short isn't the worst thing in the world if I have something in common with these beautiful people.  They have certainly made quite the careers for themselves despite their being "vertically challenged." (...if I had a quarter for every time I heard that one...)


Then there's the fact that I am a major introvert.  I'm not even going to all myself "shy," because I just hate that word.  I am the most talkative person in the world once I am comfortable with you, and I'm open about everything (I mean, hello!  You know that if you read my blog).  I danced in high school in front of hundreds of people every single week.  I was in a show choir where I danced and sang in front of large groups of people.  I don't have too much of a problem with public speaking.  These are not things that shy people do!  On the outside, I look like a shy person, but I like the term "introvert" much better.  It suits me more.  Anyway, people have given me such a hard time my whole life for being "shy!"  Hello, it's the way God made me.  And here's a hint:  someone who is "shy," probably will open up more if you make them feel comfortable, and don't focus on their "shyness" in front of everyone (see numbers 2, 3, and 12).  But that's not even the insecurity that has been eating away at me lately.  I'm learning to embrace my introvertedness, and know that it's okay for me to be "shy'' and be myself.  The people who really matter will love me anyway, and who cares about the rest of them?

Source: google.com via Jessica on Pinterest



So being short and being shy have both been things in life that I would change in a heartbeat if I had the chance, but I've learned to deal with them.  Short people are hot (obviously...see above).  "Shy" people are just introverted, and I think society is beginning to recognize that more and more.  However, there does not seem to be a redeeming quality to my next insecurity: my ditziness.
Source: someecards.com via Jessica on Pinterest

Lately I've been having a really hard time with this.  Because I know I'm a smart person!  I graduated magna cum laude with my undergraduate degree in '07. I have a 4.0 so far in  my speech-language pathology educational career.  I have gotten into a very competitive graduate program where 250-300 apply, and only 40 are accepted.  In  my head I know I'm a smart person.  I can memorize a book full of facts at the speed of light, and I think I'm pretty good with words most of the time.  However, I have absolutely zero common sense.  I'm not exaggerating.  I literally have no common sense whatsoever.  I always do things the difficult, time-consuming way, because my brain does not work in a functional way.  There, I said it.  I am a total, 100% ditz.  And I'm a daydreamer with my head in the clouds, which doesn't help things.

In high school and even college, this trait sometimes worked to my advantage.  I was the tiny, girly girl who was ditzy, and people (namely people of the male persuasion) tended to think that was cute.  I laughed it off, and tried to make it seem as cute as possible back then, and somehow it sort of worked for me.  

However, I'm older now.  As a 27-year-old, it is no longer "cute" to do stupid things, especially in the professional world.  And in day-to-day life, it's just gotten really annoying.  When I walk into the living room on a mission, and immediately forget what I was doing, it's a hassle.  When I accidentally set my cell phone in the refrigerator, it's really annoying when I can't find it.  See what I mean? 

A few months ago, I was in a situation where I did something really ditzy in public due to my absent-minded, head-in-the-clouds ways.  I can't even remember what I did, but I do remember how it prompted somebody to laugh and make fun of me.  And yes, I am hyper-sensitive.  But I felt so stupid, and was so embarrassed, I buried my head in Luke's chest as we were falling asleep later that night, and just cried.  Because: "I know I'm really smart, but nobody knows it, because I act like such an idiot all the time!"

Obviously this has really become an area of insecurity for me, especially now that I'm getting older.  I do everything I can to hide it, but I really hate this about myself.  

Lately God has reminded me that He created me the way I am for a reason.  There are so many stories in the Bible where God used people who had such weaknesses, and yet God used them for mighty things anyway.  Moses specifically comes to mind (maybe because of the whole future-speech-pathologist thing, I find this verse fascinating):

"Moses said to the Lord, "O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant.  I am slow of speech and tongue." ~Exodus 4:10

This past semester, I spent 25 hours observing people with speech impairments or delays.  I've seen people spend hours and hours trying to overcome speech and language obstacles.  I've seen people brought to tears in frustration over their speech problems.  It is such an area of insecurity, because a speech impairment is not something that can easily be hidden. 

It sounds like Moses may have been a stutterer, based on the "slow of speech and tongue" line.  And God used him as such a great leader!  And I'm pretty sure he didn't keep his mouth shut the entire time he was freeing the Israelites and leading them in the wilderness.  He could have told God, "No, I won't do this.  No one will listen to me, and I can't speak in front of people."  But instead, he took the call, and let God be the strength in his weakness.  He changed history!  And now people will know his story until the end of time!  

All that to say that yes, I am totally ditzy.  And yes, sometimes it hurts, and it is a huge insecurity for me.  But if I was perfect and had no insecurities, what would I need God for?  I'm thankful for this "impairment."  Because it is a weakness that God can shine through!  I don't have to shy away from doing things, or become discouraged by my insecurities, because I know God will be the strength in my weakness.  

I wrote this post as a reminder to myself, but I hope it has encouraged you today!  We all have weaknesses and insecurities, but we can't let them cripple us!  Because no weakness is too big for God to overcome! 

Friday, January 11, 2013

Friday Photo Dump

It's been awhile since I've done a "here's what I've been up to" type of post, so I thought maybe I'd start something new on Fridays, and just dump all of my photos from the week and do a journal-type post about what I've been up to.  In the past year, the whole "journal" aspect of my blog has not been covered very well.  And I want to change that.  While the primary purpose of my blog is to share Christ's love, and show what He's doing in my life, I also like to use it so I can look back on our memories.  Since Baby W is coming in about 6 months, I need to get back in the swing of that.  I assume it will just get more difficult once he or she is here!

Anyway, here are some random pictures from 2013 so far.  Somehow they almost all involve food.  What can I say, my appetite is back, and there's no stopping me:

This was taken at the New Year's party we went to.  It started out as a bunch of friends from high school and college in the 80s, and now includes 3 generations.  I think every family represented there had at least 1 engagement, wedding, or pregnancy in 2012, so it was fun to catch up about it all.  This is the only picture I got of the day:  it says "2013" and I thought it was adorable. 

I had a routine doctor's appointment last week.  I went alone because nothing exciting was happening (no ultrasound, and my doctor doesn't check to hear the heartbeat until after 12 weeks so as not to alarm the patient since it can be a little hard to find before that point.  I was 11 weeks, 3 days at the appointment, so she didn't check the heartbeat).  Anyway, it was my first appointment with my actual OB.  She said everything looked great.  And she was so excited for me.  I just love her.  She is worth the 45-minute drive we will have to make to the hospital when I'm in labor.  (Although after reading Callie's birth story for her daughter, driving that far makes me nervous! You should read the birth story, because it is one of the most incredible ones I've ever read!) ANYWAY, after the appointment I was just in such a good mood and SO hungry that I decided to go to Panera by myself.  I have never eaten in any restaurant by myself before, so this was a first. And I loved it.  I think it's something every introvert should do every once in awhile.



 My mom got me this cinnamon struesel  coffee cake mix for Christmas and it came with cute little cups to bake it in.  I was having a rare craving for sweets one morning, so I made it and some dark hot chocolate, and nibbled and sipped while I watched Hart of Dixie on Netflix. It was basically the perfect morning. And if you haven't watched Hart of Dixie, I highly recommend it.  Especially if you like cute, fluffy shows, and need a break from the intense drama in most popular shows (not that I don't love that too, but Hart of Dixie is a nice change of pace!)  And also, especially if you have an obsession with all things Southern like I do.  I wish Blue Bell, Alabama was a real place, and I wish I lived there!  (The set of Blue Bell is the same as Stars Hollow, so you can imagine how charming it is!)

Hey look, more food!  Last week I went with my cousins and aunt to visit our cousin Laura and her mom before Laura moves to Boston.  It was so good to catch up with them! We ate white chicken chili there for lunch, and then I had a nagging craving for it for days.  So I found a recipe on Pinterest, originally posted here.  (Although after reading the comments on the recipe, I changed it and tweaked it A LOT.)  Anyway, I made a big pot of it, and have been eating it for lunch for days.  To be honest, I could probably eat this stuff by the shovel-full. And it's pretty healthy, too.  I wonder if I will have an ongoing craving for this stuff now that my appetite is back.  Tex Mex or Southwestern foods are my favorite kinds. I always gravitate toward those dishes on any menu, especially if a little spiciness is involved.  Unfortunately, my husband does not share this preference, and he did not care for my chili!  Oh well... more for me.  Hopefully this kid will have my taste in food, so he or she can tell me how good my white chicken chili is, and I won't doubt my cooking skills. Ha!

And lastly, a break from food pictures.  Ellie and Gabby have stare-downs like this at least 20 times every day.  It ends with one of them pouncing on the other, and then they wrestle until Ellie lets out a painful screech, and I have to yell at Gabby to stop it.  Gabby, who is a little on the obese side,  is literally twice the size of Ellie, and she wins their little wrestling matches 100% of the time.  I would feel bad for Ellie, but she instigates these matches about 90% of the time, so I just let her suffer the consequences.  She secretly loves it.

Well, Christmas break has been wonderful, and I will miss these lazy days! But class starts on Tuesday, and my clinicals already started, so it's back to the daily grind soon.  I hope to be better at blogging from now on, though, and will really try to make this a Friday tradition.  So if nothing else, I'll have my Monday pregnancy updates, and my Friday Photo Dumps each week.  

Happy weekend!


Tuesday, January 8, 2013

12 Week Bumpdate

I decided to start writing weekly "bumpdates" at 12 weeks, because I will probably start showing soon, and because I wanted to spare you some of the details of the first trimester.  Let's just say it was not fun, and I felt like death the whole time.  All totally worth it though!  Okay, that about catches you up on the first 11 weeks.

The Bump:
(First of all, I'd like to apologize for the quality of these pictures.  I had to use the self-timer on my iPhone.  I really hope I can buy a camera soon, because my iPhone is just not cutting it).

I took a "bump" picture at 4 weeks so I'd have something to compare to.  And while there are some differences between 4 weeks and 12 weeks, I'm not so sure that the bump you see at 12 weeks is actually the baby, since the baby is probably much lower in my abdomen than that bump.  More likely, it is probably just my stomach organs being pushed up and moved around by my ever-growing uterus, which is about the size of a grapefruit now (although the baby is just the size of a plum). 


Milestones:
As far as baby goes, the biggest milestone is that he/she has all of his/her major organs and body parts.  From here on out, it's just a matter of growing and refining.  

As for me, the biggest milestone in the past week has been getting over that morning sickness hump!  I now just experience the occasional wave of nausea, but am feeling a lot more like myself these days!

Symptoms:
  • Again, occasional nausea (no longer throwing up though, yay!)
  • Fatigue, although some of my energy seems to be coming back
  • Being extremely emotional.  Luckily, more weepy than moody. Although Luke has seen my ugly side a few times, unfortunately. 


Cravings:
  • Fruit
  • Chobani Greek yogurt. Strawberry and raspberry are the flavors I crave most.

Food aversions:
  • Rich, chocolaty things.  Who am I?! JC got us about 6 large packs of Resse's Peanut Butter Cups for Christmas, and I have yet to touch one. Craziness.
Fun Stuff:
  • The baby, who was 10 weeks old (or negative 30 weeks, depending on how you look at it!) received many Christmas gifts, including a very special one that I plan to do a whole post on at some point.  He or she is loved so much already.  Everyone must know the baby is going to be a bookworm like his/her mommy!

  • Yesterday I went shopping with my mom and sister and looked through tons of baby stuff for the first time.  I just now feel like I can breathe a little bit and really enjoy this since I am almost out of the first trimester.  And since I don't feel like I'm about to die anymore. 
  • Umm, I bought this at Old Navy.  I could not pass it up.  It was my first official purchase for baby.  It looks boy-ish, but I decided it could be unisex.  Next winter the baby will match its daddy, who is obsessed with his Russian hat!
  • Luke and I are going to find out the sex in about 2 months.  I cannot wait!  I have a feeling it's a girl, but Luke says the opposite, so we will see! I feel like I am just not going to be able to wait that long!  How do some people wait the whole 9 months?!  I could never do that.  Plus, we've decided not to start nursery plans until we know what it is.  
I think that about catches us up!  Next week I will officially be in the second trimester!  Yay!  I kid you not: I am terrified to ever get pregnant again because of how sick I was for the past 6 weeks!  Of course, I'm sure that won't stop me, and I still thank God every day for this miracle!  I even thank him for the morning sickness, because it was good proof of what was happening inside of me!