15 weeks

15 weeks and husband is really settling into his role as paparazzi. Now if we could only get some better lighting in our house, or if either of us could get home before dark...then we can get rid of those pesky shadows. Also, I think I am going to go back and add the text to all my photos...I kinda like it.


Anyway...here go the updates:

Nausea
Gone. Knock on wood. Seriously. Please, please, please don't come back! I really like being able to brush my teeth again.

Skin
Clearing up, but I wouldn't say glowing.

Weight/Clothes
Ha! Well, I have definitely popped, though I am still able to wear some normal things. The shirt in this photo, for example was on the non-preggo racks at Target a few weeks ago so I snatched it up. Length? check. Not too preggo looking? check. Defined area under the girls? check. Hopefully some of the things I pick up like this will be able to be flattering post-partum.


I haven't weighed myself, but I will get weighed at the appointment next week. I have noticed some gain in areas other than my belly - mainly in the chest area (ahem, see below), a little bit on my hips where I used to feel bone (I now feel a teensy bit of squish), and I feel like my arms, but A thinks I am crazy. 


I need to start looking for tighter shirts than what I am currently wearing in these weekly photos (rather than whatever I happen to have on) so I have a true representation (that shirt is all bunch in the back - end whine)...add to mental list.

Cravings/Aversions
No cravings other than for food. Seriously, now that the nausea is gone I want to eat everything in sight! In my head I am not hungry, because my normal eating patterns are well established, but all of a sudden my stomach will be growling. Very strange. I had breakfast and what I had intended to be my morning and afternoon snacks (a clementine and a fiber one bar if you must know) all before 10 am yesterday. I mean, this is weird, yo. 


P.S. I am trying to not actually eat everything in sight, but also trying not to deny needs of my body. Balancing act in full swing.

Cramps/Pain
I am still getting a few pains every now and again (round ligament) but I think most everything has stretched to where it needs to be for the time being, so they have laid off a bit. Yay! No more swift make you sit up in the middle of the night pains just because you coughed. Success.

Mental State
Pregnancy brain is in full effect. I did not really believe this was a real symptom until I got pregnant. I will be totally honest and say that I thought all my preggo friends were totally making up lame excuses with this one, but amazingly - it's true. I hope it goes away soon. This week alone I have:

• walked out the door without my packed lunch three times
• forgotten to bring in things for the office that I intentionally left by the front door so as not to forget them
• ended up at a store with no idea what I needed from said store - it is really awesome when the helpful employees come up to you and ask "Can I help you find something?" and your response is, "Not just yet, I have absolutely no idea why I am here at the current moment"

Completely new stuff:


Hair
My hair doesn't seem thicker to me yet, but it is definitely dryer, which means it doesn't get greasy nearly as fast. That is awesome. 

Heartburn

It is amazing. It does not matter what I eat. Technically, as I understand it, this is due to all the relaxin and progesterone in your body that relaxes other things for a healthy pregnancy...but also relaxes the valve keeping stuff down in your stomach from your esophagus - which leads to heartburn. Awesome. The girl with the cast iron stomach continues to learn about new and exciting sensations.

Nasal Issues

I am starting to experience more stuffy nose/slight bloody nose issues from dried out sinus cavities. Yay! A and I puled out our humidifier (his name is Herman, and I bought him in college - you can find him here) last night so hopefully that will help things. 

The Girls

The girls have gotten bigger. I had to buy new bras. Husband is excited, and I am sort of off kilter about it. A whole post is coming on this new adventure.

So, that's where we stand at 15 weeks. We took this photo last night, and as I mentioned, A is really getting into being paparazzi, in fact, he started being hilarious last night and shouting out directions and snapping pictures so fast that he also managed to get these:

15 weeks, 1 day along

...and sometimes I find my husband hilarious.

On being "active" during pregnancy...

So, all the books and websites and friends and doctors and everyone who has not even conceived a baby (but had a friend who had one once) say that having an "active" pregnancy and remaining "active" during pregnancy makes life/labor/recovery so much easier and all golden flowers in a field of loveliness.

To them I say, "Blah."

Don't get me wrong, I know that it will make everything that much easier. But, the fatigue of first trimester has not quite yet abated my system. After two and a half months of wanting nothing more than to come home and lay down on the couch (ignoring the chosen dinner of my cohabitors whilst trying not to puke) and then rouse enough energy to climb the stairs to go to bed...this whole new "active" thing hasn't quite kicked in yet either.

My mind is certainly active. I have running to-do lists of a bajillion things going through my mind - nursery schemes (not themes, important to distinguish), all the things I want to get rid of, things we need to buy, calculating cloth diapers (how many do we need????), grown up stuff to take care of (insurance, etc). Aaaand, the list goes on. so, yeah, my mind is active.

But the universe seems to be working against me for physical activity.

a. I cannot find a prenatal yoga class in all of Hampton Roads that starts after 5 pm. 
Hello local yogis! Some of us mommas-to-be are working mommas-to-be. And, as nice as my bosses are about me leaving to go to doctors appointments every month, and then every week as we get close to the end...I don't think they will be cool with me jetting out a half hour early every Monday to make it to my yoga class. Damn.

b. It is cold outside.
I don't like the cold. I don't like being outside in the cold. And it keeps snowing and being icy. Gross. I already don't have the best luck walking out neighborhood while knocked up. The last time, I fell. Nothing freaks a pregnant woman out more than falling, at least not me. Plus, I feel guilty going for a walk without the dog. The poor thing lives for walks. Le sigh. This one just sounds whiny. But true.

c. A and I are both working late
I am not the type of person to go to the gym alone (and the gym is where it is warm). I need a gym buddy. I need the accountability, which is why a class would be ideal...but see reason a. above. Historically, my best gym buddy is my husband. We work out in completely different ways and he runs himself ragged, so we aren't trying to have conversations while gasping for breath on the elliptical.

Going to the gym in the morning is a no go for me too. I am not a morning person, and I already can't have my coffee in the morning, so hitting the gym is not on my priority list. I am trying to bank some sleep while I can fools.


All this is to say, "these are my excuses for being a bump on a log." They aren't going to last very long, I promise. Don't worry, I am no longer lounging on my couch all night - instead I am hustling A through cleaning, organizing and preparing the house (he loves it). I am starting to get that itch. I want to be active and need to be active, so I will get there soon.

But, in the meantime...

if you managed to stay incredibly active throughout your pregnancy, and hit up the gym at 5 every morning and all of that...just don't talk to me for a few weeks, k?


15 weeks along

...and I can't wait for spring to come so that I can enjoy being outside again (so long as I am one of the 1/3 of pregnant women whose seasonal allergies go away while with child).

Telling Work

I woke up on Monday with the anticipation of the first day of school. I was a nervous wreck, but also excited, and at the same time dreading the end of my glorious two weeks free from the office doldrum.

You see, Monday was the day that I was finally going to tell my boss - and everyone else at work - about Baby G.

I am lucky enough to work in an environment that values family, though individual support varies from person to person. Two close friends at work did already know, but have of course kept their lips sealed.

One of these friends, my officemate, is also pregnant and about 4 weeks exactly behind me. So, we made the decision to go in and tell our boss together. Is that the most professional way to go about telling your boss? Maybe not, but we figured we both had to do it, so why not.

Luckily, everyone received the news well! As anticipated some bosses were more enthusiastic than others, and more congratulatory, but all in all it was a HUGE sigh of relief.

I have no idea what I am going to do about work when the baby comes...will I go back, won't I? Who knows. We will figure that out when the time comes and I will see where my heart leads me. I am not so naive as to think that my life won't change in 100,000 unanticipated ways once this little baby has been born into the world. For now, I have crossed the next step and done what needed to be done.

In other news, the husband (who will hence be referred to as A, due to the request of a certain best friend - you know who you are) told work weeks ago, because he had to for planning purposes. Everyone there is thrilled and all high fives and such.


14 weeks, 6 days along

...and last night I brushed my teeth WITHOUT gagging = WIN.

Welcome!

To all of those arriving (all two of you - Hi Mom! ha.) now that this here blog has gone public, welcome!

This blog started as a way to chronicle my journey through trying and getting pregnant. I have kept more up to date with it than my original blog, since I know that I can't get this time back, but hope to be back to regular blogging on both now that my first trimester is OVER and energy seems to be slowly returning.

You can check out the archives over to the right if you want to read anything and everything I have ever written about, or if you are just really bored at work.

Or you can check out the Just Arriving? page for my faves and the highlight reel.

If all of this baby talk proves to be too much for you, then my best advice is to not read. I will throw highlights up on the regular old blog every now and again now that Baby G is known to the public, but this blog is for me to really remember all of these fun details.

If, on the other hand you are down for all the dirty (not that dirty) details, keep on reading!

Welcome!!!


14 weeks and 5 days along

...and we will see if anyone besides me reads this thing.

Becoming a Parent

Today one of my favorite blogs featured this video, which is full of beautiful smiling faces, and shows that there is not only one path toward becoming a parent or becoming a family.

14 weeks, 5 days along

...and my pregnancy hormones made me cry like a baby when that little boy came running toward them.

Apparently...

I am huge! How hilarious.

Now that the big FB announcement is out there and everyone has seen the photos...the reviews are in. Now, don't get me wrong, everyone has been so nice and supportive, but I have definitely gotten a few "Are you sure there aren't two in there?! HAHA"

Yeah, "haha" my butt, friend.

a. pregnant women are sensitive anyway
b. after the recent "pop" I am feeling huge anyway and am very nervous about the wedding photos I will be in at 7 months pregnant and then at 3 months post-partum

At least the husband loves the bump. He actually asked me if I have gotten more "hot" looks from men in the last few weeks. Ha!

Here is the thing. My genes are not great for this "size" thing. My mom was tiny when she got pregnant with me, and I ended up as a whopping almost 10 pound, 22 inch long baby. Everyone said she was huge by the end of it and thought she was having multiples...I think she looked great :)

When I was home, I took the liberty of scanning a few photos of her in her later pregnancy stages.

These were taken in early May at my dad's college graduation and commissioning...

(they had been married for 5 years y'all, no scandal here)

Reminder: My birthday is in AUGUST.

These are from her surprise shower in late July

Like I said, I think she looks fab for having such a huge baby in that tiny frame, so we will see if i am destined for the same...

14 weeks and 4 days along

...and I don't have a tiny frame excuse, so maybe I can go with proportional?

Happy New Year!

Welcome 2011!

This is going to be such a huge year for us, and we are really excited to greet it. Hopefully this year, we will meet  a healthy and happy Baby G, and we will embark upon some other new adventures with the Navy and friends. Everyone has had big news lately, marriages, engagements, babies, all sorts of fun for the year.

Also, we are going to make the fb announcement today, and make this blog public. Eeek! So, welcome to all those who are coming to see all the dirty details of this amazing journey of the Miracle of Life.


14 weeks, 2 days

...and my nausea has ceased for the time being. 4 days in a row of no sickness. Yay!