Halfway, what WHAT?!!

HEY all!

Guess what Guess what?! This week marks the halfway point of my pregnancy. AND that's if I make it all the way to 40 weeks! How insane. It feels very weird to think time has flown by!

Tyler and I have changed our minds and decided to find out what we're having, and we're going to announce it to the world in two days :) We've known for about 4 weeks, but we have another ultrasound tomorrow to confirm. We haven't completed decided on a name, but we have a front runner that we've been using the past couple weeks.... We'll see.

So, pregnancy stuff! I know you all want to hear how it's going. Basically I could sum up my 2nd trimester in one word: constipation. Wow, it's a real thing. Still, i'd say better than nausea, but it's pretty awful. It just makes you feel so compacted, bloated and uncomfortable. Thankfully prune juice has been working really well for me. Within an hour or so, I get completely cleaned out. The only problem is, I travel around town for my job several times a day...so I have to be very strategic about when I drink it :) Or there could be a problem.

The nursery is officially painted, courtesy of my wonderful mom, since I can't be around the fumes. We've stuck with the warm cream walls, and orange and teal accents. We've been able to stock up on some clothing, toys, blankets, and other stuff from friends and garage sales. THIS will be one spoiled little person!

My bump is getting out of control. I've been feeling some kicks the past couple days, but very randomly. Probably once a day I feel one. It's really neat :)

Anyway, off I go to get ready for bed!

Happy 2nd Trimester!

So minion has officially made it to the 2nd trimester! This is a huge deal! I always knew that, but now being pregnant it means so much more. Wahoo, risk of scary things goes down dramatically!

After my most recent post, I had the worst sickness I've had in my life. I'm not exaggerating folks. It started out with a healthy meal, broccoli and salmon, for dinner. I laid down expecting to fall into my beauty sleep soon. HA! Well, I did fall asleep until 10:30pm, but I was awoken by pain in my stomach and vomit coming soon. I ran to the bathroom to poop (or so I thought) and ended up turning right around to upchuck some of my meal. I missed the toilet and attempted to scream Tylers name between bouts of puking.

Here's the thing about my throwing up style. I can't do the toilet thing. I have to be on hands and knees, throwing up into a bowl. I don't know why, that's just how I roll. Tyler ran in to attempt to save me, and just gagged at the mess on the floor. The food wasn't even broken down, it was so gross. Worst thing by far I have ever, ever, thrown up. So after about 5 minutes of continuous throwing up, Tyler helped me to the couch, prayed over me, got my puke bowl just in case, and went back to gaming.

Not 15 minutes later, I felt it coming again, and starting another round of puke and dry heaving. Tyler heard and decided it'd be best to stay with me. From that moment, I threw up every 15-20 minutes until 3am. My stomach ran out of food to get rid of, so at the end it was all stomach acid. It was the worst. I was throwing up water. I would fall asleep and wake up grabbing for my bowl. Thankfully it ended. I was able to nibble on cheerios and sip warm water.

Tyler and I both called in sick to work the next day, and tried to recuperate. It was a long day. I haven't throw up since, thankfully.

Actually since that day 2 1/2 weeks ago, I've started to feel better! I'm not even ABOUT to say I'm good from here on out. BUT the past 1 1/2 especially has been great. I've only had a couple headaches and some constipation. Honestly, I'll take that over nausea. Nausea is terrible. I still have food aversions, but they aren't as severe. I still haven't gain any weight, just been maintaining my pre-pregnancy weight. I'm very happy about this. I've continued to work out at least three times a week to help with my health and mental health. It has been working well. I got back into Zumba at least once a week, and have been river walking at the water park with my mom. It's so relaxing and fun. I've also been alternating arm strength training and pre-natal yoga.

I cannot get over this whole being pregnant thing. I'm still so amazed at Gods work in my body. My tummy continues to keep growing out slowly, and people are noticing more now. I have such wonderful moments where I want to cry (possibly hormones?), but I just am so excited to have a child. What a wonderful gift! I'm still in awe that God has trusted this in me. WOW!

I have had times of some terror.... 'Oh wow, i'm having a child. We're having a child. WE ARE HAVING A BABY. AHHHH....wow. Are we ready? SO much to do...'. Thankfully, I have a wonderful support team to help me through this moments. And it helps knowing these moments are pretty normal!

Night everyone!

Thanks for the advice...

SO! My posting once a week isn't going to hot, but I do think about doing it often. But by the time I sit to down to do it... I fall asleep. So here we are!

I am officially over 11 weeks along now!! Baby is doing very well, and I'm measuring closer to 12 weeks, whatever that means! Hopefully it does mean I'll give birth to a small adult.

Tyler and I had the privilege of meeting with our midwife for the first time on 6/17. The appointment went very well. So well, in fact, we have officially decided to do a home birth with her assistance. She will also have a certified midwife as her assistant, so we are in completely good hands. People absolutely think we are crazy for considering doing a home birth. But Tyler and I have been considering this for the past two years. We have researched pros and cons and everything we could. Here's my reasoning: I am the ultimate introvert. I really enjoy the home space I've created, and feel so calm at my home (and in control). I do not like taking medication, despite my past brush with anxiety and depression. I have taking medication while sick, and don't take anything for my period pain. I just don't like the way it makes me feel. Hospital births can escalate so quickly with medical interventions, and I don't want that to be an option.

That all being said, there is a small chance we will have to do a hospital birth if any serious complications arise. Tyler and I are very aware of this. Our OBGYN is our back up, and we will pre-register at the hospital just in case. :)  We will be prepared for whatever will happen.

So that leads me to the 'Thanks for the advice' thing. So many people have such strong opinions on what I should do with my pregnancy/birth/child. It's overwhelming. Only two-three people are genuinely excited about us doing a home birth. Everyone else looks at me like I have lost my mind, and how dare I put my babys health at risk. Sigh, if only everyone knew they had options on their birth, and can take control of it instead of letting hospitals run the show.

Tyler and I are also not finding out what we are having. We look at this as one of the wonderful surprises that God has for us, so why not just wait. People also think we are crazy. 'How could you do that?', 'How will you plan ANYTHING not knowing what you're having', 'How could you do that to your family, how will they know what to buy!'. I get those comments ALL THE TIME. It's insane. Well to answer them, I just smile and let them know we are doing just fine. We have planned our nursery for gender neutral, and everyone can easily buy things that can accommodate that. We are planning a teal and orange nursery. It's going to be perfect!

So I jogged for over 10 minutes straight and did pull ups at the gym today. My mom and dad were not happy about that, 'Are you sure that's safe?'. Our OBGYN and midwife have both strongly recommended that I continue my workout regimen as long as I'm comfortable. And I felt great doing it. I'm not doing dead lifts anymore, so that something that I have tuned down. We'll see how it goes.

How does it feel knowing I'll be a mom in 6 months. Crazy. That's how it feels. The excitement and pre terror alternate. More excitement though. I know our lives will change so drastically, but I'm okay with that. We are ready for this! Maybe not for all the exhaustion and no sleep thing...but the wonderful blessing of a child. God trusts and loves me so much, he has blessed me with a child in my womb :) I still can't comprehend that.

Thanks to whomever is staying updated with this. And if no one is, I'm okay with that too!

First trimester woes

Well, today I am officially 9 1/2 weeks! I only have two and 1/2 left until I'm in the 'safe zone' of the second trimester. Apparently, I'm supposed to start feeling a lot better and have an energy surge. That would be wonderful!

I had my first official OB appointment with Dr. Ablard on 6/6. She is so wonderful, and almost makes me rethink doing a midwife homebirth. Almost. She did another intravaginal ultrasound to check on our little muggle. AND it was beautiful. I don't think my mind will ever completely wrap around the fact I am seeing our little baby inside my body. It seems simple, but when it happens to you. Wow. Incredible. Baby K is starting to finally look like a baby instead of an alien. It has a very clearly defined head and arms and leg 'buds'. Crazy. It's about the size of a green olive. My due date has only moved up by one day, January 9. Honestly, who knows. It's more of a 'baby could come at this date give or take two weeks-ish'. I'm hoping for after versus before the due date. Unless it's a huge baby.... Tyler and his brother were both nearly 10 lbs. I was only 5lbs. Let's hope it's somewhere in the middle!
We also heard babys' heartbeat. It jumped from 109bpm two weeks ago to 180s! So fast!! We could see the heart beating so super fast, working really hard. Cute.

So we officially told everyone. Tyler feels completely relieved. But me and my panic self just can't let go of the fact that if something happens, we'll have to tell everyone. BUT I can't focus on things that most likely won't happen. Tylers good about reminding me of that.

Here's the picture we used to make it facebook official. I'm so happy with the way it turned out. Everyone who doesn't like harry potter can get over it.

So, preggo side effects: it honestly hasn't been unbearable. I've only throw up once, from my last post. I've had days where I 'could' probably throw up if I tried, but I try to distract myself and it usually goes away. I've had some crazy bouts of dizziness, but those also go away relatively quickly. All in all, I'd say things are going well. The most concerning part for me is the cramps. No one talks about those, and I'm not sure if I've posted already about them. Well...it only makes since that your uterus expands to fit expanding baby. I never thought for some reason you would feel that stretching! And well, you do. Sometimes it feels like period cramps, which is terrifying and makes you think you're having a miscarriage. Sometimes they are sharp little pains on both sides of my pelvic region that extend to my hips. I can always breathe through these, and they don't make me double over. They just make me more 'alert' and in tune with my body is doing. These cramps/stretching happens any time of the day, but mostly after dinner. Right when I'm getting ready to go to sleep. 

Speaking of that, how's sleep going? It's okay. I've gotten out of my 5x/week gym habit, so I don't have that to make me tired. I only worked out 3-ish times last week, and only once was at the gym. I've been foolishly scared I will hurt my baby by working out, but it's actually completely safe and preferred to continue your workout regimen. It's just the 'feeling awful' that gets in the way. Tyler has been really good about going on 2 mile walks with me and the puppies. When it's not 5 million degrees out. Not looking forward to summer. 

So, how's my anxiety going? It comes and goes. Last night was the worst it's been. I haven't had any panic attacks (PRAISE GOD), but I do have times where satan invades my brain and gets me thinking about how awful a mother i'll be, and how i'll suffer from postpartum depression. I can usually just quietly sit and pray for strength and praise God for letting me be a mother. I will typically go away. Well last night it still hadn't gone away at 2am. BUT I did eventually fall asleep thinking about who knows what. 

This is the longest post ever! There's more. So I ate Jims Chicken last night. No. Not ever again. Baby did not like it. I felt nauseated the rest of the night. It was awful. I should've made myself puke. Bleh. On a good note, I'm so obsessed with peaches right now. I eat three a day at least. YUM!!!

Statistic

5/24: Well, now I join the high percent of women that have thrown up from morning sickness. That was a fun 'treat' this morning. As the acid rose up my throat, I remember thinking 'Why in the world would anyone do this more than once?!'. I feel a lot better now, but I have a feeling that won't be the last time. Tyler just called from our room 'Uh oh.' He came out mid-puke and said 'So it begins'. He dumped my puke bowl and didn't fuss about it. What a sweetie. 

So to catch you up on the past week. I had spotting over this past weekend, but it was dark brown so I was told not to worry. Well, I still called my nurse anyway. So she wanted me to get my blood levels drawn on 5/19 and an ultrasound 5/21. My HCG levels on 5/19 were 98,000. They were 14,000 last Monday, so they are risely 'beautifully per my nurse. Tyler and I were still very worried something was wrong, but we knew we'd find out for sure at the ultrasound. 

5/21 we waited patiently as our ultrasound tech called us back 20 minutes late and started with a tummy ultrasound. She said happily, 'Oh look! There's the sack.' So we were pretty relieved. By the way. You have to have a full bladder to do those tummy ones, and then they push extra hard. It was all I could do not to pee myself. 

Then I had to use the restroom to prepare for the Transvaginal ultrasound (I'll let you look up that one). She took several pictures and measured our little minion. I am measuring at 7 weeks today (5/24), and my due date is January 10th. We actually got a surprise too! We heard a very strong heartbeat, first time! It was very sweet, and cute and wonderful!

So symptoms: only thrown up once!, dizziness, nausea (like motion sickness), and some breast soreness. I'm still having some food aversions (left overs, ginger, deli meat, coffee, spinach). I can't go near those things. No huge cravings besides potato skins last Sunday. I'm trying to drink smoothies most mornings so I can take my time drinking them. Bleh. 

Bumpy ride!

It's been two weeks since my last blog post, even though it hasn't been published yet!

Since then....

My OBGYN requested I get blood levels drawn 3 times in two weeks to sure that my blood levels were increasing normally (doubling every 48 hours). SOooo, 5/5 my HCG count was 700, 5/7 1800, 5/12 14,000. Wahoo, so all is good and well! However, there seems to be some great confusion on how far along I am. According to my LMP, I should now by 7 1/2-8 weeks along. HOWEVER, according to the ultrasounds I've had, I'm only 5 1/2-6 weeks. MAJOR SIGH. I know it may not seem like much, but I thought I was that much closer to getting out of the 1st trimester. I've been a nervous mess.

I wish women talked more about what to expect when you're 'expecting'. I've had spotting and blood three times in the past three weeks, and I've freaked out every time. Apparently, this can be normal. From my ultra sound three days ago, I possibly have a Subchronic hematoma (go ahead and look it up), so I need to be extra careful over the next 6 weeks.

Every time I have a cramp or weird feeling, I get nervous. 'Is that supposed to happen, What was that, Am I miscarrying?, AH!'. Thankfully, some of my mommy friends have been so helpful with advice and suggestions. Speaking of cramps. I continue to have them. Not as extreme as period cramps, but enough to make me worry. They aren't constant, but they happen at least 2-3 times a day, mostly at night. Apparently, my uterus is stretching so I get to feel it all happen! Wahoo.

During my latest ultrasound, they were able to detect a heartbeat. Our little muggles heart is already formed and beating at 103bpm. It's crazy. Right now our baby is only 2mm long, and resembles a dragon (Hungarian horntail? Sorry non-Harry Potter fans). Oh hey, I'm watching Harry Potter right now.

So how am I making it through all of this? God mainly. I am praying multiple times a day for strength and giving praise to Him. It is so unbelievably incredible watching this baby grow. How could people even question Him! Besides that, I am trying to surround myself with all positive strong people. And drinking lots of water.

Let's talk about pregnancy 'symptoms'. Yea, I got those. My boobs and nipples are SOOOOOORE. They've been like that for 3 weeks now. It comes and goes, sometimes throbbing, sometimes barely annoying. What else? Dizziness, lots of it. It started two weeks ago. I was so disoriented, I probably shouldn't have been driving... I've also had some major food aversions. Not to any particular food. Just mainly food in general. I am just NOT hungry. And then when I am, watch out! Last thing I'll say, constipation. Ouch!

Anywho, more to come.

May the FOURTH be with you

What an interesting past week. It's been 8 days since my initial post saying I was 'Pregnant', all off of a gut feeling after missing my period. Since then I've had 3 negative pregnancy tests and one negative blood test. Holy Moly was all of that stressful.

I still have not had my period. I did however, bleed a little bit last Tuesday (7 days late), after my blood test came back negative. So, after that, I assumed I was in the clear and finally let my mind set that this wasn't the time.

Well I talked to my friend who is the RN for The Pregnancy Service Center, where I volunteer every Friday. She said if I still haven't had a period, I should take a test this morning. So I did. And. I am pregnant. I took another one 6 hours later, just to make sure, and BOTH were positive (rather quickly I might add).

I quickly revealed this to my husband (with a card I made last week, just in case), and he all but bawled with excitement. I told my best friend who's been along with my on this journey, but that is all I'll tell for now. The plan is we can reveal to our immediate family this weekend on 'Mothers Day'. THEN eventually we can tell everyone when I get to 12 weeks (in about 6 weeks).

I'm going to be posting a WHOLE bunch of blogs back to back after we reveal!

I already bought a Harry Potter onesie off Etsy...Dear LORD please give me self control!