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Tuesday, August 20, 2013

12 Weeks

I am beyond thrilled to say that as of 11 weeks I started sleeping through the night again!  I don't know if all the congestion of the last 2 months just built up but I ended up getting a pretty crummy head cold for a few days.  It was no fun at all...but after that passed I magically began to sleep again. And haven't had congestion issues since.  Granted now my body thinks it needs to be wide awake super early (typically 430am during the week), but hey I will take that over being up on and off all night!  And I have still been lucky enough to not have any morning sickness.  So I am feeling pretty good, but feeling tired and drained is still there.  I'm sure it doesn't help that work has been hectic and I literally feel like I don't stop moving all day.  I would love to just get a massage or a facial, lol. I just feel kind of bla and like I am running on overdrive at times.  I keep hearing you feel so much better during the 2nd trimester, so I am looking forward to that.

I had my 12 week appointment yesterday.  To my disappointment I didn't get to hear baby's heartbeat.  When she tried to pick it up with the Doppler she couldn't, she told me it can just be how baby is sitting and since it is still early on.  But because of that, I did get to see baby on ultrasound again and saw the heartbeat (relief!)  She kept pushing on baby to try and get some movement for me to see...but no such luck.  As she said "Baby must be taking a nap", and she reassured me everything looked good.  I am not surprised though that baby was "napping"...I was around very noisy children all morning and so that was the first time all day there was quiet and that I sat still for more then a few minutes. lol.  And hey, if I have a child that is a heavier sleeper, I am fine by that :)  So I was happy to hear everything looks good, and look forward to the next appointment.

Tea Affogato

So the other day I was reading a magazine and came across a dessert drink called Tea Affogato.  It's a twist on an Italian classic, which is typically made with a shot of espresso.  It's simple, pour hot tea over vanilla ice cream.  I did opt for an ice cream alternative made from coconut milk, and I used decaf Vanilla Chai Tea (I also added a tid bit of chocolate).  I must say it was a nice quick treat, so thought I'd share...



Success School Aug.'13

So this past weekend I was in Dallas for AdvoCare's National Success School.  I was excited to go, but it turned out to be even more then I could have imagined.  First off I was thrilled because my brother and his wife went, and it was the first time I got to see them in about 2 years.  Friday night was the weekend kick-off.  I was quickly reminded of the insane Texas heat as we had to wait for awhile outside Dallas Cowboys Stadium before doors opened Friday evening. By the time we got inside I think we all had half way melted away!

 
 
It was pretty amazing being in the stadium surrounded by 25,000 champions.  The weekend was filled with product training by the science and med board, big announcements from corporate, great motivational speakers, and just so many inspiring stories from people who overcame so many obstacles and fought for their families futures.  I have never been apart of something like that...and it brought a whole new perspective to my eyes.  I know that I have been giving the opportunity to do something great...not only for myself but for others.  I have seen how much it has done for so many of my friends...and I am ready to fight for it.  Like anything...it won't happen over night and it will take work.  The Advo family are truly some of the most motivated, kind-hearted, supportive group of people.  I am thankful and blessed for the friends I have met along the way, and I am passionate about this journey.  Above all, I look forward to bringing others on this journey with me and open a world of hope and possibility.
 
My amazing team...we are ready for big things.
 

10 Weeks

Well I am at 10 weeks (as of Aug.4th)...I still have yet to sleep through the night.  The Tylenol PM did nothing for me.  I need to find a good decongestant....it just feels like I have the world's worst allergies when it comes time to try and sleep.  I sneeze, I'm congested, I literally just want to get rid of my nose.  I have tried allergy medicine and that has done nothing...so I all I have left is to try something for congestion.  So I am hoping that helps me, cause all I want is just one night of sleep.  Lord knows I won't get it once baby is here.  On the bright side, all that joint pain has gone away (for the time being, at least!)

Right around 9 weeks I began to get a bit of a bulge, and well by the end of this week I have acknowledge I am definitely showing a visible baby bump.  I had this false illusion that wouldn't show for a few more months, and I have been feeling down on myself for "showing so soon".  But friends, fellow mommies have assured me that due to my petite size it was bound to show sooner.  Yesterday at work I decided I should send out an email to the parents, because I knew they must have noticed and be wondering.  One response was "I was thinking of saying something the other day, but decided not to just in case you had just finished a really big lunch or something :)" and another said "OMG I was totally asking my kids if you had mentioned anything about a baby, because you were like washboard (abs) before"...so I am glad I let them know I am not merely just snacking and gaining weight ha!

I am still able to wear my regular clothes, but I realized that I probably to need to invest in a Bella Band.  I know in the coming weeks the pants will get tighter and less comfortable (sigh)...so off I went to Babies R Us.  Bella Band's aren't the cheapest piece of cloth in the world..so though I wanted both black and white I opted to get just one and first see how I liked it before getting more.  Well I got home last night and put that thing on and let me just say it is soooo comfy! I think I am in love....though the fact a Bella Band of all things makes me this happy is slightly depressing in itself.  This whole experience (as I knew it would be) is definitely just that...a new experience.  The changes you go through from day to day is exciting and scary all at once.  And oh the roller coaster of emotions...Dear Hormones, so unappreciated.  Some moments I am totally fine, other days I wake up and just feel on edge, and then there are the days I cry at every little sad or moving thing.  So I am just trying to take it all a day at a time, and take the changes as they come.  I am so thankful for the support of those around me thus far, and the sweet sweet comments that have made me feel beautiful even amidst my body changes and feeling less then glamorous at times.  I know this is only the beginning, but I am ready for each and every chapter that unfolds!

8 Weeks

So I have been holding off on blogging about this in hopes of waiting until I'm at 12 weeks.  But it is killing me not to blog.  So I decided it's time to put pen to paper print on screen, and I can simply hold off on publishing this post until a later date.  As you can probably tell by now....I'm pregnant!!!  And as of today (July 23rd), I am just over 8 weeks.  For those of you who don't know, there are few things in this world I have ever wanted more then to simply be a mother.  When I was younger I didn't really dream of some big career....instead I dreamt of the pure joys of having a family and (hopefully) being an awesome mom.  So the fact that it is actually going to happen...well there aren't really words for it.

So lets take a step back...a few months ago the hubs and I made the big decision to come off birth control.  I realized that there was a chance it could take awhile to be able to conceive, and I would rather start trying now then wait until later and be disappointed if we had difficulties.  The first month came and went, the good old monthly visitor made her appearance.  I didn't expect to get pregnant the first month, totally fine.  At the end of month number 2...the night before I expected my period to start, I had horrible cramps that had me literally hunched over in a ball with tears in my eyes.  I though...uhm odd...but then again I was coming off the pill and knew my body could be getting used to it's new natural routine.  That and I used to have terrible cramps, which is why I initially even went on birth control years ago.  So I didn't think too much of it.  The next day I felt a bit nauseous on and off, but still figured it must be just the onset of my cycle.  Well, by the afternoon of the following day (June 24th) I was buying a pregnancy test still not completely convinced that was a possibility.  That night after work I went home, took the test and set it down as I was unpacking my stuff from work.  I remember when I set it down it had a little sand timer image on it, a few minutes later I glanced at it and noticed the timer was gone.  Instead there were little letters.  I remember holding my breath a moment thinking "That only looks like one word, not two..." So there I stood in my bathroom, slowly inching towards it.  When I grabbed it and saw the word "Pregnant" I literally jumped back against the wall and just started yelling "Oh my gosh...oh my gosh!!!!"
So my first week after finding out I was pregnant, was rough.  Those cramps I had continued, and even became more frequent.  They were waking me up at night, and stopping me in my tracks during the day.  When they came it was so intense I couldn't do anything but hunch over, or curl up in a ball.  I had heard of implantation cramping, but I felt like this was out of the norm.  We ended up going to the ER Sunday evening to figure out why I was cramping so much and verify everything was ok.  After 6 hours (seriously why must it take so long?) we found out everything looked fine, and I just had a bacterial infection which can be common when the pH levels change with pregnancy.  So they gave me antibiotics and the cramping issue was solved, thank goodness!

Yesterday I got to see baby for the first time.  I was beyond excited.  Unfortunately, Chris is deployed and my mom is out of town.  But my dear friend Megan joined me for the appointment.  Seeing that little heart beat inside me...was....amazing.  It really does make you speechless.  They confirmed I am right at the 8 week mark, and everything looks good.  Definitely a relief.
I am also happy to say that thus far I haven't experienced morning sickness (fingers crossed that stays away), though I have had my share of other preggo whoas.  Definitely exhaustion, I feel like I'm in a cloud just going through the motions some days.  I have a habit of putting things in the wrong place...prime example is putting trash in the hamper and laundry in the trash, at work.  Or almost putting milk in the cabinet..seriously crazy brain right now.  And I am definitely hormonal.  I think I cried 3 separate times today...Once simply thinking of baby's heartbeat.  The second time was after work.  I drove the Scion today ( we have 3 vehicles), and as I was leaving work the knob part broke off the key as I was starting the car.  So then I was trying to get the key out so I could attach it back to the knob and be able to drive home.  I had a pair of pliers and was so flustered I couldn't get it and just started crying.  Thankfully, my boss who was clearly much more level headed, got it for me.  Now if only I could sleep through the night!  It has literally been like 4 weeks since I have...not that I am counting or anything. Ha!  Turns out the increased blood in my system has given me lovely nasal congestion that wakes me up every few hours throughout the night.  As if that wasn't annoying enough, lower back/hip joint pain set in.  My right side gets so sore for some reason.  It aches, and throbs, and sometimes is a sharp pain...whether I'm sitting, standing, laying down, or putting pressure on my leg a certain way.  So at the recommendation of a mommy friend, I got some Tylenol PM and hope that will help me get some sleep.