Tuesday, June 22, 2010

weeks 12-13: extreme fatigue

Well holy smokes...it was during this time, Jamie and I moved onto the next phase in life = homeowners. Packing wasn't really in the cards...thinking we could just laundry-basket-move. Well that's great and all, but unpacking clusterfuck laundry baskets into a place where I have no idea where things are going is not the brightest idea we've had. Nonetheless that didn't stop us from doing just that- laundry-basket-moving...idiots. Thank goodness for Kenny and Brad who came to help us one day...Kenny and I packed and the boys loaded the vehicles and then they unloaded while we unpacked. It was pretty slick. Unfortunately there was a TON left to do, and we were left to it alone. I, feeling pretty terrible and so super exhausted, along with Jamie, packed up our belongings and moved on. It was really rough- we were so tired, and basically at each other's throat by the end of the week. So so so happy to be in our own place. :)

I hate reflux. My symptoms = bloating, belching, and a constant dull epigastric ache = blah! This really makes me finicky...and I'm still not cooking...poor Jamie.

All I want is chocoloate milk and pop tarts, and OJ too. No meat, no broccoli. And for dessert? Tums.

Still sooooooo tired.

I CAN.NOT.GET.RID of these tensions headaches. I have at least one a week. :( Dr Zimmer got another visit and I hit up an hour long massage too...cracking wins for the best treatment.

I met with Tiffany, my personal trainer to discuss a workout regimen fit for a pregnant lady. Basically it's ok to work out like I was but beware of loose joints, dizziness, and balance issues. Alrighty then. Now if I can just acquire the motivation...

We had a Doppler US which was really great. Each time we're in for a visit, I just feel so much better. Progress, progress. :) This one hit a little close to home, particularly for Jamie. Sadly, this week we found out Jenny and Tyler lost the twins, thus making our experience pretty bittersweet and emotional. It's hard to be happy when someone we love will never have what we are experiencing... And then to think we have a world full of undeserved/unwanted pregnancies...pretty much makes me/us sick. So on that chipper note...

Continuing to dream about a boy.

Monday, April 12, 2010

Weeks 9-11...behind already

Ugh...I SO knew I was ambitious with my weekly updates for this experience...figures I would fall behind. Nonetheless, not a lot of change in these weeks so I really don't feel that guilty lumping them together.

My teenager skin is finally clearing up...thank you Jesus.

I've taken on the napping habits of a 2 year old. The BIGGEST problem right now- so flippin tired. I'm realizing this will be my new baseline however it's taking some adjusting to say the least. I basically go to work, come home eat, and nap for 1.5-2 hours, continue my waste-of-life existence on the couch and hit the sack around 10pm. RIVETING is probably the only word that comes to mind, I realize. I know, folks...it's a story worth telling. :)

I must mention I'm quite pleased I have NOT taken on the voiding habits of a 2 year old as well. No frequency- yes!

My appetite as changed from yucks if I eat to yucks if I wait to long to eat. I still have a fairly uncomfortable belly as far as food goes, but find myself being quite hungry, particularly in the 10-11th weeks. If I don't eat, I feel sick so snacks have taken over my desk, bag, and home. Applesauce, pretzels, string cheese, yogurt, and cereal, along with nutri-grain and fiber one bars are the snack choices.

This new and kind of annoying "symptom" of belching has begun. I'm not sure if this is my manifestation of acid reflux or what...but feeling like I need to have a "good burp" all the time is pretty much a nuisance to say the least. This particularly is a problem at night. The issue is that I have to eat before going to bed or I'll wake up hungry and feeling sick in the night, but eating and then lying down is a perfect recipe for reflux...thus propped sleeping has been prompted.

I'm sleeping well at night, getting up once a night to empty my bladder in a comatose, sleep-walking state. Sleeping on my belly has become a little more tricky since my tummy has gotten bigger...so I've taken a liking (well, not really, but there's not a whole lot of alternatives at this point) to my right side.

Names and a nursery are at the forefront of my mind. I've picked out the color scheme for the nursery (yes, before we even know what it is...cause it doesn't matter) including a bright apple green wall with a black and white theme including one wall with black stripes and the other 2 walls white. Then I will accent with bright pink or bright blue, depending on the sex. We are at least agreeing on girl names for now, but every boy name is a battle. There is actually not one boy name he likes...good thing we've got 29 more weeks to decide. :) Baby Bargains is a book from Sarah which has been superb reading- giving us ideas on all the things we need to buy (frightening actually). Kenny also gave us a pregnancy journal so we are able to read every night what happened that day- regarding Omar and me...kinda cool. :)

Think this weekend I'll break down and take a 12-week pregnancy pic.
Current weight: 143lbs, boobs enlarging (will be shopping soon), and pants getting tighter, and totally think my ass is getting bigger though there is outright refusal to agree from Jamie (too bad he's not a convincing liar)...SO, ensuring I try to get active 30 minutes a day...although this doesn't seem like much, when all you want to do is sleep it's like pulling teeth to get my ass moving.

Monday, March 22, 2010

Week 8- PURE JOY!

Monday we learned the greatest news of all- Jenny and Tyler are pregnant!!! ...and maybe with twins. With the amount of emotional stress those two went through to get to this point, it sure is a beautiful, BEYOND elated moment and we are SOOOOO happy for them. Obviously, we have not busted out, "HEY US TOO!!" though I wanted to...give these cats a while to experience their pure joy and pray to God that it stays that way through the whole pregnancy (for both of us!) :)

Tuesday was my birthday...basically work sucked but Jam and I ventured to the Olive Garden and then home to cozy on the couch...and I got some beautiful flowers. :)

Thursday, March 25, we got to visualize Omar for the first time. We met with one of the midwives, Candi who was very sweet. We are super elated to have gone the midwife route- just seems like more our style. It was so nice that by the end of our appointment she asked, "Is there anything about you two that you would like us to know to make this experience what you want it to be?" How great is that? I mean, we didn't have anything to say but I still thought it was a nice gesture I'm sure is much less often asked from an OB doc. The ultrasound was surreal- I've done them before on people along with the fetal heart tones, so it wasn't my first experience but crazy weird for it to be me and that wild tiny parasite is growing inside me! We were also able to hear the heart beat too. A priceless experience. Jamie described the ultrasound experience as "scary." :) Oh Jamie.

By the end of this week, we thought since this thing is finally for really realz, we could probably tell our parents. Everyone was very excited. I told Mom, Rhan, and Selma Thurs, and the Kapplingers (excluding Jenny/Tyler) on Saturday, and the whole Otterness clan on Sunday. I was trying to think of a jazzy, cool way to deliver this news but ultimately the amount of work it was going to take for a possible botched delivery deterred me and the standard plain ol' verbal method sufficed. I don't think there was one person that was expecting the news which always makes it a little more fun. :)

Week 7: more people and lesson learned

So this week was FULL of nausea- before, after, during eating...didn't matter. By the end of the week I even got a tension headache, but since I can't take crap for it, I meerly suffered (and received several neck rubs from the hubs). But it wasn't all boo friggin who...we got to tell some of our closest friends about this super fantastic endeavor we've embarked on. Anj, Jess, our Sioux Falls peeps, and many of our closest east coast besties found out. It was so nice to get to share the news and receive sheer excitement and congratulations. :)

Sunday night, however, I learned my lesson. I remember...thinking back to PA school during OB with Lord parading around the front of the room thrusting her varicose vein legs up on the desk in front of me...gee, sure wish I could forget that... Anyway, I recall (though sadly this was after the fact) Prof Lord saying, 'Pregnancy is not a good time to try new foods'...followed by a Sally Sue story (who had been knocked up by Jimmy of course) and how she got some scandalous STD...haha- true story (about Sally Sue), but come on people, that is NOT where I was going with this. So we were out at my brother's place gabbing when he busts out this meat, cheese, and crackers. Way love and I was starving since the previous scalloped potatoes and ham (classic Midwest funeral dish) weren't filling nor appetizing. Anyway...so he tells us it's buffalo meat (tasted a lot like a little spicier summer sausage)...and based on the fact I now know what it tastes like suggests to you folks, I gave it a whirl. It was really good actually. Didn't think anything of it until about 2:30am when the sharpest, death-like gas cramps tore me out of sleep. PURE agony. Curse words, curse words, rolling around holding my belly waiting for the gas to move, along with the pain, to a new spot in my stomach. Holy shit I thought I was dying...ok, so a bit dramatic, but you gather it sucked. Finally I just got up and moved hunched over into the bathroom to the toilet. UGH, ahh!, curse curse curse. See, I can't push to make things move along because the ligaments attached to my uterus are stretching now and it's painful to push...which pain is worse I guess. It was give and take. The gas rumbled like a train...I could literally feel it work it's way through every single million inches of intestines. (Warning, about to get graphic.) Then poop poop poop, GAS- ah, yes! Then, like my ever so proper husband says, "I was pissin out my ass." Haha...I realize that that's totally not a lady-like thing to say, but really the whole scene was not lady-like so there's no need to sugar coat it. 30 friggin minutes my near-naked body shivered and writhed in pain on that cold porcelain toilet. Back to sleep and up again to finish off. Whew! Needless to say- lesson learned. Do not try new or exotic things while pregnant...it doesn't end well.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Week 6: and the _______ sets in

1. and the _fatigue__ sets in...wow. Really tired this week but could have been the fact that we were house shopping like marathoners and actually bought a house!!!! Kinda crazy and pretty amazing timing honestly. It's a brand new development in Kasson close to my mom/aunt/uncle/kids and Otter and Sarah. It's about 15 minutes from work or so. On a private road, away from train tracks and McDonalds (as Hailey, my 4 yo niece noted). :) Happy that horrible house-buying selection process is over, but moving is yet to come...ugh... Pretty sure this fatigue is going no where quickly.

2. and the __nausea__sets in. BOO!!! No barfy just icky sicky. Nothing sounds good- though I could always eat cereal and pizza. Makes it tough to workout in the am like I'm used to and like to since I feel like garbage until after lunch (when there is no motivation left to hit the gym). ...go away.

3. and the __excitement__sets in. Jamie and I are actually starting to get a little excited about the pregnancy...not that we weren't before- it's just a little more real now. This runty is hangin on, so the longer it hangs, the more excited we are getting. :) I finally got to dish the news to Kenny and Brad this weekend...not quite the same excitement but she came around after the initial shock. The only people that know are Sarah, Otter, Kat, Liz, a handful of work people (just cause I can't keep a secret...and I guess neither could Jamie!), and now Kenny and Brad. We are waiting to tell the family until after my ultrasound on the 25th- so Easter time...trying to think of a clever way to tell people...hmmmm...the wheels are turning. :)

4. and the __allergies__set in. OOOOO weeeee- I'm not sure what the hell I'm allergic to in the middle of winter but this allergy attack sure took the wind out of my sails. Lucky co-workers got a snot-faced, half alive, coughing piece of pleasure pie, that is for sure! :)

Remain with sore, bigger boobs, sensitive nipples, gas, teenager skin, and my belly is getting bigger (but maybe that's cause I just stopped sucking in so much...hmmmm...a real possibility here). :)

Oh! And I almost forgot! I met with the nurse this week- ha! clearly it was an impactful visit. :) Jam was oober pissed he wasn't allowed in the room. Why? Who knows... I think it should be the option of the pregnant lady if the husband can attend or not cause really all we did was talk about my medical history, and then she delved into his family medical history and where he was born and shit. WHAT?! I have no idea! Does that make me a bad wife? I knew the state at least. :) Whatever, there's 9 months to fill that crap out...PS- if you needed to know those types of things, maybe you should have allowed him in the room. It was just an informative session anyway- giving me the "do not do this this this this this" bible and some pamphlets. Cool. At least now I have proof that I'm NOT screwing up this child, since it is a clear concern of Jamie's. :) Read the book baby! :) And then I was forced to donate 9 tubes of blood- and the interesting thing is that they didn't even do any kind of confirmation testing like another urine evaluation or a blood hCG level...so basically that lady just took my word that I had a positive HyVee brand test at home (and just 1 test). Ok then. :) But what I DID find out from the blood work was not that I am actually with child, but I do NOT have HIV or syphilis- SCORE!!!!! :) I also do not have a urine infection- craaaazy, since I'm not having symptoms- right on point there- thanks! But is she pregnant? Well, uh...she told us she was. I bet if I told you I didn't have HIV or syphilis you would have still tested me... Just sayin...

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Week 5

This is the week I found out about baby!! I've decided to document each week- how I'm feeling both physically and emotionally.

Physical:
SORE boobs!! I'm now wearing a bra at all times (even sleeping) because 1) it feels better, and 2) for prevention of further migration south;
BRAIN DEAD. Holy Moses, I cannot remember anything! This is actually frightening given the short-term memory loss of my husband...this better resolve or we are totally shit up a crick without paddles (cause we forgot them!);
Funky appetite. Started out all ravishing, eating everything in sight and an endless attempt to fill my hollow leg. Now it's finicky...can't eat as much, things don't taste as good
GAS...more of it. :)
TIRED. Can't tell if it's the madness that has been the last 2 weeks looking for houses aggressively and tending a plethora of basketball games and not being home last weekend...or if some of it's the pregnancy. Seems a bit crazy to think a tiny sesame seed could make me tired...though I'm sure that's not the first "crazy" of pregnancy.

Emotionally:
So far so good- I feel pretty great actually. I'm not super labile (yet), sitting more on the positive "i love life" side. Jamie has been great and it just started. I can already tell he's going to be a super support through this whole process.
We are trying to think of a name for baby in-utero...we kinda like Omar (for now)...makes me smile.

Yesterday I had spent the day with some girlfriends and Jamie texted, "miss you and Omar." So cute. :) He was following me home later that evening and I get a text that says, "hey speedracer, you have my child on board." Haha.

We have not told many people and if it were up to Jamie NO ONE would know. You know me...with this super power of talking, it's VERY hard to suppress...it's not like I carry cryptonite in my pocket. So, right now, for my sanity Sarah and Otter know (largely because Sarah's been through this and they were with us at the cabin when I was expressing the possibility) and yesterday I told Kathy and Liz (cause I just needed to share with people, and Kat's 20 weeks pregnant right now). I'm not ready to tell the whole world given the possibility of this whole thing not working out since it's so early but it IS fun if a few people know. :) I wanted to tell Kenny but she's got some semi-related issues going on...didn't seem like a good time. And the Kapplingers are greatly anticipating Jenny's in-vitro implantation this Wednesday (when I meet the midwives' nurse). Really really hoping it works out for them!! In a couple weeks, God willing, we will be able to tell people. Our midwife appointment is Mar 25...couldn't think of a better birthday present myself. :)

In the meantime, we are distracting ourselves with buying a house. Exhausting work but we look forward to having our own place! We don't want to get too excited about this pregnancy yet since, like most in this situation, we worry about miscarriage.

I also think about how it would be nice to be blissfully naive about all the problems that can happen in a pregnancy...however, medical training has stolen that away from me. Oh well...we'll take it as it comes and pray for a healthy baby.

Original stats

To document the drastic changes Omar caused...I must report my pre-pregnancy stats.
Weight: 144.8lbs
Size: 8 (or 29)
Bra: 34DD, slightly south
Top: Medium/Large (depending if boobs contribute due to style of shirt)
Piercings: belly button, ears
Tattoos: lower back
Overall I'm in the best shape I've been in since early college which I'm stoked about. I am fully aware this is a body-altering experience thus it's a GOOD thing I'm in great shape...though I'm a little depressed this "best state ever" condition not being lived out a little longer...especially given a couple of my new purchases for the summer. Hopefully those amazing new pieces will only collect dust for one year...pulling em out the first summer post-pregnancy (a goal!!!). :)

Stay tuned for post-pregnancy stats.