Sunday, October 30, 2011

Weeks 12 & 13

Life hasn't slowed down too much yet. My mom is home from Hawaii though!! Whoo hoo! She honestly looks great and by now it's hard to tell anything happen. Her case file is pretty scary though. But it looks like there isn't any permanent damage and the doctors told her she'd be completely normal in 6 months (she's shooting for 3).

Well, we have a date for the big reveal and I'm so excited for it!! My doctor nicely made sure it was before Christmas because she knew we'd want to tell people over the holidays. It's actually at 18 weeks so a few weeks earlier than I was planning.We're planning on doing a "gender reveal" party but keeping it pretty low-key. It falls on a big rivalry game day for the state we live in so we'll just combine it with a watch party!

I've been feeling pretty good and don't get sick as often. I am starting to consider getting some maternity clothes. I don't need them in the morning but by the end of the day, I feel like my stomach has grown twice its size. Multiple days require a rubber band trick on my pants :) But... good news... my mom is taking me shopping for my birthday now that her stamina is back. Yay! Still craving Mexican food and I've started wanting ham sandwiches (heated to steaming hot, of course!) and sweets a little.

I haven't taken my official 3 month picture yet - oops! - but I did take one at the pumpkin patch. I tried to find one that was close to a small baby size. Still have lots of growing to do before then!

Friday, October 14, 2011

Weeks 10 & 11

I was sidetracked from my weekly posts due to my mom being in the hospital. She's doing great now! Just trying to get her strength back and get around now and then she can come home! We're staying at my parents' house to watch their dogs and I can tell the puppies miss her and my dad too.

Anyways... week 10 was pretty much like most weeks. I did have the unfortunate incident where I threw up in my car WHILE I WAS DRIVING! Yeah.... awesome. I did manage to hit the floor mat. James had nicely put bags in my car for such instances and asked why I didn't use one. Well, I tried but you try and throw up in a bag, keep the bag open and drive 60 on the highway at the same time. It ain't happening.

Week 11 was after the horrible news about my mom. I hadn't felt as pregnant as before as I had less symptoms (which James kept reminding me was a GOOD thing) and I was worried since I had been so stressed out. I luckily had my next appointment (actually at 11.5 weeks but close enough) and they heard a strong heart beat at 170 beats per minute. That put me right at ease. Right now I'm just enjoying feeling less sick (still a little nausea but nowhere near what it used to be!) and having more energy.

James took my month 2 photo around week 10 and I never posted it so here goes...


Pardon my fake smile... hadn't been feeling all that well that day. James nicely pointed out that it was not my real smile. Oops :)

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Week 9

Morning sickness has slowed down finally. It still hits me occasionally but it's much less often. I might actually be able to watch the Food Network soon, which I had to give up after every other recipe made me gag.

The smell of certain foods is still unappealing. I detest the smell of steak (just the thought makes my stomach turn) and I can only eat pork if it's pulled pork drowned in bbq sauce. However, give me a BLT (with turkey bacon) or a Turkey Bacon, egg, and cheese bagel, and I'm a happy girl. I don't know what it is about turkey bacon but I could eat it at every meal right now. I also am addicted to Rosemary and Olive Oil triscuits. YUM!

Other than that, everything's still pretty much the same. We're very excited and getting more so every week :) I love getting our weekly e-mails to show what our baby looks like each week. He/she is no bigger than a peanut and about to change our lives. So fun!

I Need My Mom

We got some very scary news last night. My mom had some sort of cardiac episode and is in the ICU. The worst part is that she is in Hawaii with my grandma so we can't be with her. My dad flew out this morning and is still on his way to her. Luckily my grandma stayed behind with her (they were scheduled to fly out early this morning central time) so she isn't alone. It started off with her snorkeling and at first we were told that she got water swamped and inhaled a bunch of salt water, but that she was doing okay. She still would have to miss her flight because she was getting breathing treatments, but that she was talking and doing fine. Then they thought she had a small heart attack or something of that nature and that caused her to get exhausted and breathe in the water, so it was a little more serious.

The next few phone calls were terrifying. There was something seriously wrong with her heart and they were going to run an angiogram and check for any heart blockages and would call us back after the test - maybe an hour or more. The next call came only 30 minutes later. They told us that they were doing everything they could but her heart was shutting down and they couldn't find anything on the angiogram even though the test wasn't done. We knew it was bad because they called before the test was even over (the doctor confirmed that the news was grim at this point but only after the next call). Thankfully the next call was that she was stabilized and might have suffered some sort of virus that attacked her heart.

She's currently on a breathing tube and a balloon pump (pumps her blood for her) and apparently like 5 IVs, including sedatives. They're hoping that using these machines will allow her body to rest and repair itself, but it's too early to tell. They said the next 72 hours (about 55 now) are the most critical. She stayed stable all through the night with little to no changes. My dad was able to book a flight this morning and he is on his way to see her. He is a rock but is obviously freaking out right now, as are James, my brother, and I. We're terrified.

I'm having a lot of selfish thoughts about why I need her to come back home. I need my mommy and I don't know what to do. But most of the midwest and beyond is praying for her it seems, and that comforts me because I absolutely believe in the power of prayer. We've been talking about how it could have been worse than this but that God had it worked out for her. She ended up having this episode on an island that had a great hospital with what seems to be a great team of doctors and nurses - instead of the more remote islands that they had visited. She was in a snorkeling group that had a man that recognized she was struggling, helped her to shore, and insisted on getting the paramedics even though she thought she would be fine (I will forever believe he saved her life). She was in a hospital when her heart starting shutting down which helped the doctors respond to her needs quickly and efficiently. And her mom is with her and she's not alone. All God's doing...

What we need now is for her heart to gain some strength so she can be weaned off the balloon pump. We need her to not have any more declines. We need her to slowly get better and stronger so she can get back home to her loved ones.

If you believe in the power of prayer, please pray for my mom. Also, if you could throw in one for my dad and my grandma who will be at the hospital with her constantly, I would so appreciate it. Thanks.

ETA: My mom's been improving! They're hoping to wean her off some of the machines. Praise the Lord! After my dad got there and called to tell me that she had improved, I went into "get it done" mode and quickly relayed the news to all my points of contact, then once that was all over, I ran into my parents' bathroom, sat on the tile floor, and cried tears of relief. She's doing much better than we were told to expect and we're so grateful. It's truly a miracle to me.

ETA: She's off both the heart pump and the ventilator. She had the pump taken out last night and Dad said she's wanted the ventilator out for a long time. She's still very weak and groggy but she's improving all the time!

Saturday, October 8, 2011

8 weeks

It's hard to express how amazing it was to see our little one's heartbeat flickering on that screen, not to mention the look on James' face. So unreal! The doctor said everything looks great so far, so that was a relief. Our next appointment is in October so I'm hoping we'll be able to schedule the "big" sonogram then. Can't believe it's been flying by so fast!



(Pardon the bad quality, this is a phone picture of the sonogram printout, which I then e-mailed to myself... Very technological, right?)

For symptom news... nothing new to report except the apparent tightening of my pants. I'm at that stage where I just look like I've put on a few pounds because my stomach is like a little rock - can't suck the gut in anymore. Can't wait until it's apparent that I've got a baby in there, not just a Chipotle burrito (although today, I have both, yes!!).

Friday, October 7, 2011

Week 7

Some of the "highlights" of the week:

Throwing up at work... with someone else in the bathroom. Lover-ly. I threw up there the week before but managed to be much more discreet about it. Luckily I washed my hands and ran out before they came out of the stall...

Coming home after the previous incident and watching a Baby Story since it was the only thing on and freaking out. Note to self: Just watch Walker, Texas Ranger instead.

I need to give my husband mad props. He has taken such good care of me. While he is a little afraid of my mood swings (it's sad when moving furniture can bring me to tears), he has ran out and got me smoothies and went to the store to stock up on things I can eat. Not to mention, he has been keeping the house together by doing extra things for me like bringing me breakfast in bed. He has been amazing!

I can't wait for my appointment in a few days!!!

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Week 6

Morning sickness has officially set in. It used to be occasional nausea but it's getting to be much more constant now. James was driving home from his parents' house and I felt sick and started crying because I didn't want to throw up in a gas station because they're gross, haha. Nausea and hormones rolled into one!

I can't complain too much about feeling sick because that just means our little sweet pea is hopefully growing bigger!

I also could sleep 20 hours a day if I wanted to. I'm pretty much a zombie by 3:00.

James took my 1 month picture about a week ago... No baby bump yet!



Our first appointment is at 7.5 weeks so it's coming up. Can't wait!

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Week 5 - Our own little secret no more!

So this week was momentous... we finally told a few people. Just our parents, brothers, and a few close friends. We tried to think of some creative ways to do it...

For our parents, we gave them a little "Grandkids" photo album with a note that said "First Picture Coming May 2012." It took a little bit for them to get it, but when my mom figured it out, she immediately burst into tears. To say they're all excited is an understatement.



I also told a few of my best friends. I just happened to be able to see a couple of them this weekend (we live all over the place these days) so I wrote them letters from the baby with each a specific prayer - baby's health, mommy's health, mommy and daddy being prepared for baby, etc. - so we can all be covered in prayer at this time. They were very excited!

So far, my nausea has gotten a bit worse, but nothing I can't handle. I also had what I think is my first hormonal meltdown. We got rid of our coffee table and were rearranging our furniture and I literally burst into tears because I couldn't decide where I wanted the couch to go. Ha! Poor James!!! He took it in stride and nicely said "well, we don't have to make a decision today" and when he came back in and I had moved the couch 1 foot and decided that is where I wanted it he told me it looked great :) Other than that, just the same feeling of exhaustion as before. So glad it's a holiday weekend. One more day of sleeping in!

Also, a new tradition of a fantasy football league with my Dad's family has started and the draft is on Monday. This baby is going to be a sports lovin' fool. Boy or girl...

Edited to add: My mom just called to let me know they bought the baby's first gift... some college football gear... yeah we're a sports family.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Week 4 - Sweet Pea is on the way!

So the title says it all, I'm pregnant! We're currently not telling anyone as I'm only 4 weeks along, but I thought I would chronicle what is going on each week until we DO start telling people, and I'll post them all then.

So, James and I had just starting trying to conceive after our second anniversary. I started noticing some changes, like very tender breasts and everything smelled super strong, so I decided to take a test about a week before Aunt Flo was supposed to come and visit. Well, the first test I took didn't work (as in, neither one of the two lines showed up) so I wasn't sure if that meant I wasn't pregnant or that the test was a dud. I waited until I had to pee again, which was conveniently when James took the dog for a walk. I quickly took the test, and sure enough, a VERY faint second line showed up! It's hard to see it but it's there!


I quickly thought about how I wanted to tell James since he would be home very soon before we were going to a prayer meeting. I knew I had some leftover onesies from gifts I had made, so I grabbed some permanent markers and wrote "I<3 Daddy" on one and put it on the counter with the test. When he got back, I told him I had put something on the counter for him. He was running around trying to get everything ready before he left and passed by the little "surprise" about 3 times! I finally reminded him and he looked at it with a shocked face, haha! He couldn't see the second line very well, but that's ok! It was there :) He picked me up to spin me around but I felt a little nauseous (nerves or early morning sickness, hard to tell!) so he quickly put me down.



We had already decided we would wait a little while to tell people, so we had to keep it to ourselves over the next few weeks. Sorry to anyone if I evaded questions or possibly told a little white lie! We figured that 1) it was nice to have it our little secret, even if only for a few weeks and 2) we wanted to make sure the pregnancy test wasn't false. We did take a second test a few days later and the second line was much darker. We're very thrilled and are 90% excited and 10% a little terrified, haha. I think that's probably normal!

So... symptoms so far...
My stomach feels full even when I'm hungry, can definitely tell things are changing in there!
Sore boobs (sorry, tmi!)
Slight nausea, bummer
Exhaustion
Crazy dreams... seriously weird and yet, very realistic ones!

James made my 8 week appt. at the hospital on campus so I'm looking forward to that. I think we'll tell a few people before then, but definitely won't announce it on facebook or anything till 10-12 weeks.