Socks and Seven Weeks

Today I am 7 weeks and 2 days pregnant.  I can safely say that these last few days have sucked.  I'm not quite sure how something the size of a blueberry can really mess up my day, but it does.  I am either so tired I literally don't get out of bed or I am so nauseous that the site, sound or smell of food sends me running to the bathroom.  Another mystery I have yet to figure out... I have gained 4 pounds without putting hardly anything in my mouth? What the heck?

Status updates:
Symptoms: nausea, tiredness, nothing food related is good
Weight Gain: 4 pounds, where it came from I'm not sure. I also feel like a pillsbury dough boy all puffy in the middle.
Cravings: Nectarines

I guess its time for pictures:

Picture One: yes even bigger than last week!

Picture Two: My ass seems to have moved to my belly, on the upside no muffin tops yet!

 

Picture Three: Halloween socks Grammie got Baby Bean.  Notice the absence of my hip bones :(

Happy Halloween everyone! I will be dressing up as myself, or rather my self in my clothes just with a different body.  

First Ultrasound

It goes like this...... lots of waiting.  Our appointment was at 6pm, the midwife called to reschedule to 6:30pm.  I obliged due to 7 boxes of tools to put away, trash to take out and a roll cart to load. At 6pm we leave the house to be on time ( too early to leave for future appointments).  We wait as patiently as we can until 6:35 to call the midwife who at this point is MIA.  To waste time we drive back to the gas station so I can pee, that takes a whole 10 minutes and still no midwife!!!! Finally 7:15 a car pulls into the parking lot, ahhhh the midwife has arrived!! After a little over an hour of waiting its finally time to see our bean.

The first appointment went amazing.  The midwife is very on track with the type of birth I want, plus for me and baby.  She was so easy going, I felt comfortable right away instead of stiff an intimidated like at a regular obgyn.  I'm choosing to do natural prenatal care as well as all natural labor.  Minimal tests and screening throughout my pregnancy as long as mom and baby are healthy! Yay for getting poked in the arm less!  She strongly recommends oils, herbs and teas instead of man made vitamins, no more constipation in addition to a better source of nutrients. At the end we went through questions and birth plans, home birth vs birthing center.  Our choice below:

HomeBirth Vs. Birthing Center
Why I am choosing home birth, comfort and connivence of my own home.  Our family's can be present.  Our midwife allows me to eat and drink throughout the birth (no ice chips here). Personally that is one of my favorite perks, I don't know how any woman can go through labor without nourishing her body.  The midwife and her team do all the clean up (something I thought I got stuck doing).  All laboring is done at home, no rushing like at the hospital, no constant checking for progress.  No IV, which is awesome! Probably the best thing about having a home birth is that after Bean is born B and I get to spend an hour bonding, feeding, or taking to him before any tests are done.  This family time is absolutely a deal breaker when it comes to choosing where to have this baby.  Our little family needs that precious time after birth.

The birthing center has some great amenities as well, but has downsides that I had not expected.  Florida is not a big state for birthing centers, meaning there is only one near by.  That one birthing center also has one birthing tub! In short first come first serve.  A non-refundable $150 is required to use the tub whether I use it or not. Poo on them!  Eating is questionable at this birthing center in addition to who can be in the room.  I would hate to have to choose between people when it came time to deliver.  It is still an option, however despite B's insistence on a hospital birth this baby is coming into the world where it was made, right here at home!

After the hour long wait, the hour long conversation it was finally time for my ultrasound.  I was so excited and nervous.  The look on B's face was priceless.  My belly gets all lubed up, machine is on and its go time.  What we first see, my basketball sized bladder, and then the sack.  I being blind as a bat had trouble seeing it, Daddy on the other hand did not.  He ran to the screen to show me pointing and jumping up and down that he sees our little baby.  I wish I could have gotten that on video, one of the most precious moments yet.  We get to seen Bean in two more weeks and will have pictures to share! And we are 1 week ahead of schedule, due June 17th! Maybe we will have a fathers day baby.

Brothers

This post is mainly for Baby Bean, to prepare him/her for the ruckus that these brothers bring to our home. First off I should mention that how cool is it to have a two legged baby, a three legged dog and a four legged cat! All bases covered here, corny I know, but it is a little funnier when you know that all our names currently start the alphabet.
Dear Bean,
Brother Ace, he is a good dog.   Very gentle, calm and collected.  He tends to be a judger like your mother, and grandmother... I guess it just runs in the family, we are good people I swear!  Ace loves to play with toys, something that could be a problem in the future( sharing is caring in our house, I hope to teach you differently).  Ace is a herding dog, he will circle and pace around you, its his job and I can't stop him.  He will grow to love you once he finishes pouting. He tends to be very territorial and will bark at anyone/thing that puts him on edge( everything lately).  Baby Bean, this is the brother that you could really enjoy once you're old enough to know what a doggy is.  I would advise not pulling his long tail, yes it is tempting, yes you might be bitten.  I should introduce you to your other brother now.

Brother Coon, is a cat.  An upfront disclaimer- he only likes your father and is a real pain in my a**.  Coon is the opposite of your good brother, he will bite just for fun.  He will steal you toys and socks or anything else that fits in his mouth.  Coon is lucky that he is so cute because he has no manners.  Coon will likely jump on you, bat at your face, try to eat your food.  He has no manners at all, he runs this house an no amount of discipline has helped.  Baby Bean, your dad feels that Coon is an angel and will be better by the time you arrive.  As your mother I will do my best to keep the cat away from your face and other belongings.

Bean, you really have a great family that is waiting to meet you.  I hope you will be an animal lover like I am.  I hope that we can experience the zoos, wildlife parks and aquariums together.  You can't hear me yet but I read to you every day.  When is gets closer to your arrival hopefully you will know my voice, daddy's, coon's howls and ace's bark.
We love you Bean,
Mommy

 That face says it all..... up to no good 

Dreams and Sleeping

Wow, sleeping has become a chore and I'm not even big yet!  A few things that I have noticed so far: I get up to pee 3-4 times every night, as annoying as it is, it's here to stay.... I have also learned that during the night I turn into a heat source that could thaw most frozen food..... Lastly I dream vivid life like dreams.  A few examples: Answering the phone is a dead sleep is never a good thing, still thinking I was dreaming, my main concern was that I was missing out on the koalas and how important it was that I got back to them.  B should actually be writing this post, he has the joy of listening to my stories and endless sleep talking.  I wake him up time and time again and have no memory of what happened or how ridiculous I sound.  

Last night I had a dream about Baby Bean, the ultrasound showed he was a boy.  I know that it is way way to early to know, but maybe its my subconscious letting me know.  When I told B about the dream his opinion was basically I could dream as much as I want and it wouldn't change the gender.  Well no duh smarty pants but its fun to guess and speculate......

So my prediction is that it will a girl, even though we have been calling Bean Lucas.  Either way a happy healthy baby is whats important to us.  As it gets closer I'm sure there will be many more bets that take place.  Baby Bean if you are a girl your daddy already has plenty of guns to protect you.  Daddy also says that if your a boy its never too soon to learn how to sell tools, a baby swing can be installed in the truck.  

We are anxiously awaiting the ultrasound, broken record here until we can see that precious baby.  

Stat update:

Still no weight gain but things are growing 

Loving nectarines, potatoes, cheese. 

Drinking 4 liters of water, 8oz of orange juice and 1 cup of coffee

Exercise has been hit and miss, walking to the mail box and doing the dishes must count for something, Right?

Before I end todays post I would like to say thank you to my friends and family for being so happy and encouraging.  Also to B, he is so amazing in all that he does for us.  I am so lucky to have such a great partner and provider, Bean and I love you very very much.   

Monday Already

Yes, its that day again, MONDAY.  On Friday I recall thinking its Friday already? Where did the week go?  With the weeks going by so quickly I got slightly emotional over how much has changed in the last year.  These next 33 weeks are going to go by just as quickly.

Time is time, its not money and it is certainly not something that anyone can get back. I could reflect on all of the time that is gone, ie- its been x amount of days since this happened, or I can't believe it s been seven years since a loved one passed, but I would be loosing present time.  While this may seem like random tid bits there is a strong point at the end for those that can bear with me.

When B and I made the decision to become "breeders", I wasn't expecting to emotionally turn into one.  I just thought that we would continue being us, just with a baby.  WRONG, a big fat wrong.  Here is my own insert foot in mouth.  I can't believe how clueless I was to how much a baby changes things (beyond the obvious).
DISCLAIMER!
Before everyone gets all huffy, yes we know that by bringing a baby into this world we have a huge responsibility.  We are going to be parents for goodness sake!  I'm just choosing to document some of the emotional changes that go with the physical ones.

Now that that has been said I can go back to my point.  I have realized that time is everything.  Once baby Bean is here we only have one shot to do our best to raise him/her .  Sometimes it seems like time is just slipping away too quickly, I want to be able to pause and enjoy all that is to come.  I find myself constantly checking how I live and how it directly involves Baby Bean.  I am now the example setter, the rule enforcer, the boo-boo fixer but most of all I am the MOM.  This is a huge, giant, monumental life change that I am so excited to begin, while in the mean time it scares the S*** out of me.

Parents always say "Once you have children of your own you will get it" isn't that the truth.... This father's day I thought that a gift of thankfulness and appreciation was worth more than 3.99 on a hallmark card.  I thought I was thankful then, I am more thankful now that I have the learned the tools to be a great teacher and competent parent.  I was so thankful to learn an older lifestyle.  One where kids worked, picked weeds, cleaned on sundays, and had respect for there parents ( not that I always showed good judgment on my part but I sure a heck learned it).  Kids these days are lazy, they have no work ethic and expect everything to be handed to them.  I only want the best for my child and want him/her to experience even more than I had, to succeed farther and to complete his/her goals.    With that being said I want to be the Parent, not the friend.  I wouldn't have half the skills or knowledge I do today if I had had friends and not parents.  For that I am thankful.  Everyday I learn to appreciate more and more the sacrifices and the lessons I learned as a child.  

With 33 weeks and some days to go, June will be here before I know it.

Diaper Bag Search

Yes it seems frivolous, superficial as well as a waste of money BUT...... I really really want the perfect diaper bag.  B and I are so lucky that we will be getting so much baby stuff from our family that there really is nothing to go out and buy.  One one hand how awesome is that?, but on the other its sad that I wont be doing a lot of shopping.  With that being said, my mother now refers to me as a name snob, meaning I cant just go to wally-world for stuff anymore making my diaper bag hunt very difficult.

I have been searching and searching for that perfect bag with no success.  Yes, I realize it is so early to be needing such a thing right away, so let me explain the importance from my point of view.
1. Functionality- as my purse will be M.I.A once baby arrives
2. Trendy/Neutral- since we are not finding out the sex
3. Unique- mainly because I am not ordinary and want something super special
4. Love it- after all I will be carrying it for a long time
5. Durable- must with stand all the packing, lugging, spit up that could happen
6. Indecisive- it takes for ever for me to choose a regular purse let alone something that will be carrying everything baby and I need
7. Price- yes I want an awesome bag, no I will not pay the sticker price for a Kate Spade bag.
Case in point I must find a bag that meets all the criteria and for the right price.  Once I find the bag then the coupon lady can come out and get it for a steal.  TJMAXX, MARSHALLS, ROSS and other outlets beware, I will be avidly searching your racks.

I can not thank our friends and family enough for all of the baby things that have been acquired.  Our baby isn't going to need anything when its born, and with all the cousins we might just be set until college!

My post really wasn't a rant or rave just my own self justification for wanting an awesome bag.  Also I am getting extremely impatient knowing that we will get to see "Bean" in just a few days!!!!!!

Five weeks, Six days

Here are some pictures to compare from tuesdays post.  Those first pictures were actually taken last friday, in just one week I am already "rounder".  

It should be interesting to see how the clover changes...... 

Baby Bean

Let me start off by saying if I get in trouble for sharing this story it will be worth it when "Bean" has the chance to read back on my memories of being pregnant.  In yesterdays post I talked about this chicken crock-pot.... Well when B came home I warned him that it was gross and I wasn't going to be eating it.  He replied with EWW, you're going to make me eat it? I responded well yes, I'm the pregnant one not you, its just chicken.  In the end we both ate it and I'm still burping it up.  

We have this ridiculous ritual of standing on the scale both in the morning and the evening before bed, its a little game we play to see who weighs less.... Stupid right, I win every time its not really fair but so be it.  Back to the point, last night we see who wins and I do like usual, the only difference is B keeps gaining.  I think this is hilarious because I have yet to gain an ounce, and B seems to be perplexed.  I try to ask him if its the lack of exercise or the increased amount of food he consumes?  He says its neither and he is just getting fat, I'm all for it since sooner or later I will be packing on the pounds..... Winning at this point in time!

So to the sweet part of this post, the part that will get me in trouble should B find I made it public... Last night while we were laying in bed talking about the baby since that is the only topic worth discussing, I ask B " are you excited yet?" he replies with " no, I don't like to wait". I probed further mainly because that is a stupid excuse, " So if I was due tomorrow you would be excited?" He said" yes, I'm impatient I don't like waiting..." Ahh-ha! I see.  Still silly in my opinion, but deep down he is just as excited as me- examples to follow.... 

From the Daddy who is not excited: ( not excited by his own admission)

He talks to baby Lucas (now named, no longer "Bean")

Planning his future, 

Talking to my belly

Asking how big Lucas is today

Planning the nursery

Looking at baby stuff

Researching the midwife

The list goes on and n, but I can definitely say he isn't excited either, YA RIGHT! 

Love you dear, its ok to be excited and show emotion even though you think it will make you soft... 

Food

Today I had a working interview, it went great.... with that being said lets re-hash the details.  So since I have been so blessed to stay home I have been actively sending resumes and I have been on a few interviews UNTIL I found out I was pregnant.  Literally the day we found out I got called to go to another interview... go figure.  This initial interview lasted a whopping 3 1/2 hours, I loved the doctors.  Fast forward a week into finding out about "Bean" and still no word from the doctors I thought I would call.  Monday they asked me to come in wednesday for a working interview... SWEET!

Today comes, who on earth wakes a pregnant lady at 5:30? Needless to say I end up rising around 6:30 meaning I have a half hour to get ready and eat my breakfast.  I manage to get on the road at 7:15, ate yogurt, nectarine, and banana GO ME!  Ten minutes in I'm already exhausted and feel that my fruit is ready to come up instead of stay down.  Another interview that turned into a whole morning, good for me, bad for hungry baby.  After the full disclosure that I was expecting and my work duties would have to be modified they still want to hire me! HECK YA

Now that I have might be going back to work very very soon I am excited, nervous and slightly sad that my time off is ending.  But on the up and up it will be good that I stay active and get to explore this new manager opportunity.

Now Its time to get to the point of the post which is food.  Today foods that I love taste like a**.  I spent an hour preparing a chicken crockpot, 3 hours into roasting I tasted what I thought was going to be delicious tasted like oily syrup.... is that even possible? So now I guess we have to eat it even though I would rather feed it to the homeless.  Salmon, another fav was a no go at lunch time, tasted like chalk.  I have also noticed that I can drink room temp water perfectly fine but anything that comes out of the fridge is just not cold enough.  Enough ranting about food, it is making me sick just thinking about slimy chicken.

Side note I spoke with the midwife today after having intense cramping, apparently being skinny and short are making this so much painful.  Aka skinny= feeling everything.  Ya for me, this is one time where I actually wouldn't mind a little more cushion.  Good to know that I will be able to feel "Bean" earlier than later!

TIme for pictures

According to all the charts and tables I am five weeks two days. We will see what the ultrasound says in a week.  So far besides feeling sick, tired, and nauseous I feel great.  I have been eating well, trying to exercise and get lots of rest.  Due to bloating from the front my belly looks huge for being five weeks.  I will include side and belly pictures this time.  

Today I took my first set of measurements, all I can say is my body is already changing..... A total of 5 inches have been gained, 2"to bust, 1" to waist and 2" whole inches to my waist. I'm hoping its bloating! I still fit into all my pre-baby clothes with the exception of too tight tops.  I had better step up my walking game if I plan on staying in my jeans for much longer.  

Dear Bean, 

I hope you can hear Daddy and I laugh and giggle at all the silly names we talk about.  I promise you now that I will not let Daddy choose an embarrassing one.  Should you be a boy you name as of today is ______ ______ Morris, great start so far I know! If you are a girl Mommy knows your name but will wait to share.  I hope you are enjoying your stay, you already run this show. We love you Bean and are so lucky to be your parents. 

Picture one, all bloated puffy belly

Picture two, small amount of bloating, but I mostly look the same 

Three days of catch up...

To those few of you that are already following my blog I apologize for already falling short in my postings.  Nothing eventful happened on friday that I can remember, however friday also feels like a millennium ago. Saturday was full of "first's" for both Daddy and I. We explored the rattlesnake festival which was less than worth the twenty minute drive.  This festival did provide plenty of comic relief as some festival-er's made quite the spectacle of themselves.  I now have this need to eat all the time, so while we were at said festival it was time for FOOD.  My choices were as follows: funnel cake (tasty fried goodness), sausage sandwich( gross even before being pregnant), chicken dinner( at 11am really?) and then a hotdog( lesser of all evils I chose you).  So after two trips around the vendors, wild cat viewing and visuals of the so called snakes we left.

Fast forward to around 3 pm, mommy is on the verge of a meltdown.  Too many bottles of water, too many trips to the bathroom with not enough naps or food in between calls for one cranky momma.  Bless your Daddy who suggests a snack and then a nap! Heck yes, why didn't this happen sooner.  I'm sorry "Bean" we had Wendy's not a very healthy snack but it was food for crying out loud.  Finally nap time and my bladder has other plans (lame, all I want is five minutes).  Since my nap time was only a figment of imagination time to get ready for dinner and a night on the town.

"Bean" seems to tolerate salad very well, at least I can consume more than three bites with out feeling awful.  With that being said I have had a minimum of three servings of salad a day for the last week, until I discovered the good ol' baked potato.  Talk about delicious, warm fluffy goodness with a touch of butter good for both of us!  Food seems to be something that is repulsive yet I force myself to nourish this growing baby its my job after all.

To cut this short as the good ol' puter is dying and I have to pee again I will sum up last night and today in a few short sentences.  Being DD at a night club while 16+ others enjoyed bottles of vodka and tequila was not nearly as bad as I expected it to be.  I still danced my rear off, sipped my lemon water and had great conversation.  Daddy is paying for his night this morning while I'm paying for being knocked up.... (harmless fun, I love that I am about to be a mommy).  Sunday, today I loathe you, my cramps and this sickness that is flowing in my bones today.  This has been the worst day so far, yes I still took my vitamins, yes I forced half of my breakfast down and had OJ and H2O, as for getting off the couch today YA RIGHT!

Off topic side note, if my cat ever decides to dump 5 gallons of Gain detergent off the shelf in the laundry room while I am napping, I might just give up and leave it.  Over an hour of clean up, stained walls, loads of soap soaked towels and one dizzy nauseous mommy = gato in the doghouse.

Days Since Tuesday

My goal is to keep my pregnancy journal here instead of on paper.  Since I have been so graciously allowed to stay home and grow "Bean" I hope to write something everyday.

Currently I have around 35 weeks to go, this will be confirmed at my appointment in a few weeks.  On tuesday other than the four positive tests I felt fine, no cramps and my backache disappeared.  Wednesday I had cramps that were shockingly strong and the constant low back pain had retuned.   Wednesday was the day that I had my first doctors appointment, that was a disappointment and an aggravation. The urine test at the doctor came back negative, "what! Are you kidding me? Did you use my pee?" I was shocked, angry and then I started second guessing what my body and now five tests had confirmed.  So what does any sensible woman who thinks she is pregnant do? Well she goes and buys more tests... E.P.T, Clearblue and countless others will never go out of business.  Two more tests were positive, one plus sign and two pink lines, for most women that would be enough.  Not for this momma, I took one last DIGITAL test, fool proof in my eyes and this blinked YES as soon as the pee landed(just like that creepy commercial).

In addition to the urine test at the doctor they choose to confirm with a blood test, great for me and bad for me (more waiting).  Daddy B choose to refrain from all the drama that I was putting into "testing" and just wait it out like a typical dude.  I on the other hand called at least eight times before five o'clock and continued to get stonewalled.  I then proceeded to call the lad that did the test, they had the test results but could not release them over the phone...... Ugh at this point I'm about to loose my mind.  Now its time to wait until the NEXT morning to find out what I already knew.

Thursday comes around like its christmas and I waited all year.  Five minutes after the office opens I'm dialing my phone.... waiting, waiting waiting.... Nurse gets on phone and says" congrats, its positive" I reply with "thank you, I told the doctor I was pregnant yesterday" I thank her again and kindly encourage her not to let mommy's wait in the future.  Now that it is confirmed confirmed let the calling begin.  Daddy is finally pleased to know that its the "real deal".  My mom is over the moon excited, My dad on the other hand not so excited, more shocked but who could blame him? Daddy tells a few more family members and friends and thats that for now.  I feel like pure crap today too.  Off to sleep now since I can't get enough of it these days.

4 Weeks and Counting

To those who know me, or those that knew me, I am pregnant..... Yes a shock to all.  Since journalling has become a past and blogging is now the future I figured I should start while I'm still ahead.  As corny as it sounds about two weeks ago I just KNEW.  All signs and symptoms pointed to crazy not pregnant.  Dr Google informed me that there was a two week wait, basically torture until its time to pee on a stick.  Fast forward 10 long days, I could not wait any longer.  Need I remind you all that I am extremely impatient and for crying out loud I already KNEW.... Tuesday rolls around and I decide to take a shot in the dark and try to get an answer(keep in mind I'm still 7, SEVEN whole days early).  Two minutes are up and to my shock and pure excitement two pink lines appear.  After jumping up and down, yes looking liked extremely goofy, but hey no one was home to share my news.  I still wasn't sure, so I set out on a mission to get every test possible.

By now its 3pm, no first morning pee for me, as I have been going every five seconds.  Time to get serious, three different tests laid out on the counter all different brands and all different sensitivities.  Walking away and waiting those awful two minutes was worse than this morning.  Good news, or scary or crap I'm pregnant revealed three more positives!

The first call when to Aunt N, then my Mother, the finally four whole hours later Daddy B came home and I got to share our news.  As far as reactions from the mentioned above: Aunt N was very pleased and I was instructed to be careful, Mother was excited shouted to the ladies in her office "I'm a grandma" and then told me to get a blood test before she got too excited.  Daddy was trickier his excitement came after the shock.  Don't let him fool you, He is just as excited to meet our little "bean" as I am.