This week had its ups and downs; I'm glad we found out the sex of the baby, because one up was we were able to fit in our registries this weekend. And yes, we registered at Babies R Us, Target and Amazon...I remember having to purchase baby things for other showers, and being a little intimidated to approach Babies R Us. So Target was on our list for those type of people; and apparently if we register on Amazon we get entered into a sweepstakes! Haha. I think it's also helpful to register for Amazon since we live far from our families.
Anyway, one source of stress that has been nagging away at me is the whole messy process of giving birth. I'm an avid pinner on Pinterest, and I got ahead of myself and started looking into the postpartum articles/pins. Oh boy. I just know I'm never going to be the same after this baby, emotionally and mostly physically. I've tried avoiding the whole "giving birth" topic and been focusing on all the good things about pregnancy, but I know I can't hide from it forever (actually, I can hide from it for hopefully another 20 weeks).
Here's the kicker-the biggest stressor(s) this week: our crazy dogs. I love them to death, but they drove us up the wall this week. Friday night the hubs and I completed our ritual of "fall asleep on the couch while watching TV", and when we both awoke 20 minutes later, we found Miles gnawing on one of our Mickey Mouse coasters. And his late-night ritual consists of sprinting across the apartment, grunting with a toy in his mouth. He can do this for at least five minutes before collapsing in exhaustion...but then once he catches his breath he bounds for his sister and tries to pick a fight. He has more energy than any dog I've ever met. When I'm on the couch, his favorite thing to do is jump up and walk all over me. It drives me nuts, especially when he's trying to step on my stomach all the time.
Then when hubby and I tried to play any type of card or dice game this weekend, Coltrane got all nutso and came inches away from the hubs, licking at him feverishly and had that crazy look in her eye (licking is her way of being defensive). She always thinks we're doing something terrible, we don't understand it. We had to put her in her crate, and we have to do this every time. It drives me insane. Why can't we have normal dogs?
We've had the brief discussion about what to do with the dogs when the baby arrives...Coltrane can get really protective over me, and she manages to always find one person in a group of friends I'm with and attack them (she did this to my sister-in-law at Yosemite!). She's done this since she was young, and what's weird is hubby is with her more than I am, and I don't know why she still thinks she has to protect me. It's really scary because she jumps at people trying to nip at them, and she can knock over kids very easily. I've heard all these stories about how dogs can tell a newborn belongs to you and can be gentle, but I've also heard the reverse. So that really worries me-will Coltrane get jealous and protective with our baby? I'm afraid she's going to be shunned to her crate a lot, which I don't want. Miles loves everyone and everything, so we aren't worried about him, just that he can be rambunctious.
There are so many other things that I'm worried about, like how are we going to support this baby while I'm on leave and making half of what I make? Will the hubby have steady work? Are we going to be in the same one bedroom apartment/crappy neighborhood when the baby arrives? Will the baby be healthy? Those are the big questions for now, but my life is changing more rapidly than it has before and it's kind of scary.
Monday, July 29, 2013
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Drum Roll Please...
I arrived at my second ultrasound appointment 20 minutes early yesterday, and it wasn't as busy as the first time we went. But I still waited for about 40 minutes before I was seen. From the last time I weighed in (four weeks ago), I have lost a pound. I told the nurse that I had a huge lunch buffet that first time around! My blood pressure was great, but then...turned out they made a mistake and only scheduled me for the "simple" ultrasound where they just monitor the baby's heartbeat. Where's my cool high-tech ultrasound?! The nurse then went to talk to the ultrasound technician and he could get me in that same day thankfully...but I still had to wait behind two other patients. WTF. When I called the husband (he had just gotten home from work to take out the dogs), he was rightfully angry and we both agreed that it was a good thing he wasn't there (he can have a slight temper).
Anyway, I waited for another half hour, and finally I was called back. I told Don the technician my husband had to work, and he said it's okay-he would make a DVD! How cool is that?!
So here's the first image he captured for me:
And the second:
It was kicking and punching up a storm! Very active baby. Don measured the head, stomach, and checked a few other things and it is super healthy and normal. My due date hasn't changed, still a Christmas baby!
Then, as he was deciphering the images (everything looked very alien to me), he started pointing out its legs and then low and behold:
Sure enough, we are having a baby boy! First thing I said to Don, "My husband is going to be so happy". I'm excited too, I was going to be happy either way! I was just excited that he was healthy and growing just fine. Here's another image of his private part:
I hope this doesn't embarrass our son when he's older, but glad he's developing well!
When I got home, I wrapped up the "Vader and Son" book for the hubby, and here are pictures of him opening it up:
Yes, one happy father. : ) We finally found a Chinese restaurant that was about 20 minutes away to celebrate the news, and we are definitely adding it to our top places to eat. Perfect ending to a wonderful day!
Anyway, I waited for another half hour, and finally I was called back. I told Don the technician my husband had to work, and he said it's okay-he would make a DVD! How cool is that?!
So here's the first image he captured for me:
And the second:
It was kicking and punching up a storm! Very active baby. Don measured the head, stomach, and checked a few other things and it is super healthy and normal. My due date hasn't changed, still a Christmas baby!
Then, as he was deciphering the images (everything looked very alien to me), he started pointing out its legs and then low and behold:
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| It's a BOY! |
I hope this doesn't embarrass our son when he's older, but glad he's developing well!
When I got home, I wrapped up the "Vader and Son" book for the hubby, and here are pictures of him opening it up:
Yes, one happy father. : ) We finally found a Chinese restaurant that was about 20 minutes away to celebrate the news, and we are definitely adding it to our top places to eat. Perfect ending to a wonderful day!
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Week 18: Baby Box, Excitement for Ultrasound
I took the day off yesterday to just relax after Yosemite and run a few errands. I'm so glad I chose to do that-I felt productive doing all our laundry, tidying up and getting groceries. For some reason I absolutely love buying groceries-maybe it's the motherly instincts kicking up inside of me, although I have always been fond of it.
After grocery shopping, it was time to let my creative juices flow, even if it was sort of a mundane task. Missy the super sister-in-law brought us so many baby items when we met up at Yosemite, but I don't have anywhere to store it all. So I decided to just decorate an empty cardboard box I had in my closet and store everything in there. I said mundane because I decided to break out my scrapbook paper, cut out different sized circles and glue them on. It really took half a day, but here is the finished product:
I tried picking gender-neutral colors, and the lighting doesn't do the colors much justice, but I thought the color scheme was cute.
I forgot to take a photo of the awesome music mobile Missy made, but here are a few samples of her baby presents that she made herself:
She also gave us a baby monitor she bought when she was trying to get her cat out of a crawl space in her apartment. : )
Oh, and when we were visiting Washington a few weekends ago, the mother-in-law bought our baby's first outfit, and I couldn't stop swooning over it-went into the box:
And I forgot to stick baby's first 'teddy bear' into the box, as it is sitting high on our bookshelf...but we found this beauty at Target while shopping for camping supplies last week. It was on sale, and I remember seeing one like it when we were on our Honeymoon in Disney World (I think it cost twice as much):
I'm really antsy for this day to go by; second ultrasound is this afternoon, and I should be able to find out the sex of our baby! Hubby is working unfortunately (and fortunately, need all the $ we can get), so I'll be surprising him when I get home. I picked up these books last night and I'll be giving him one of them to let him know what we're having:
No, we are not obsessed with Star Wars or Monster's Inc, but we are geeks. I just thought this would be a really cute way to surprise the hubby. I'll be posting pictures of our outcome tomorrow, stay tuned!
After grocery shopping, it was time to let my creative juices flow, even if it was sort of a mundane task. Missy the super sister-in-law brought us so many baby items when we met up at Yosemite, but I don't have anywhere to store it all. So I decided to just decorate an empty cardboard box I had in my closet and store everything in there. I said mundane because I decided to break out my scrapbook paper, cut out different sized circles and glue them on. It really took half a day, but here is the finished product:
I forgot to take a photo of the awesome music mobile Missy made, but here are a few samples of her baby presents that she made herself:
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| Just a few of the many hats she crocheted, so adorable! |
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| Two out of many onesies she sewed! |
Oh, and when we were visiting Washington a few weekends ago, the mother-in-law bought our baby's first outfit, and I couldn't stop swooning over it-went into the box:
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| Sulley from Monster's Inc! |
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| Yes, it's Chewbacca. And when you squeeze it, he makes his typical noise. Hope this doesn't scare the baby. |
No, we are not obsessed with Star Wars or Monster's Inc, but we are geeks. I just thought this would be a really cute way to surprise the hubby. I'll be posting pictures of our outcome tomorrow, stay tuned!
Monday, July 22, 2013
Yosemite Camping Trip
I'm back from a weekend excursion to Yosemite National Park. I knew it was big, but wow it was much larger than I expected! We left around 5:15am in the morning...waking up at 4am is no bueno.
Our (Hubby, friend, sister-in-law and myself included) campsite was luckily only a few miles from the entrance we took, which is nice because it could have taken over an hour if we chose the I-5 route vs. our much more scenic route. The campsite we chose was really awesome! I was afraid we'd be cramped into a tiny space and have people surrounding us, but we managed to fit our 6-person tent, hubby's sister's two person tent, another 2-4 person tent for the pups and three cars.
Our site had people on either side, but behind us was just pure wilderness. There were so many bear warning signs up, and each campsite came with a metal storage locker for your food and toiletries (they said to even lock up your chapstick!).
When we finally settled in, it was around 1pm, and we decided to go explore. We stopped at the visitor's center and caught a quick five-minute speech from one enthusiastic park ranger about the area we were in and learned that at our high altitude of 10,000 feet, our bodies were producing way more red blood cells. The day after we leave camp and leave the elevation, we're supposed to be 'super humans'. Our baby was a super human for a day!
After the visitor's center, we stopped and found a trail that was up against this gigantic mountain/rock. We decided to venture around, even though no dogs were allowed (shhh), but we managed to run into nobody. It was a nice 30 minute hike, and then it was off to look at more sites.
I apologize for no pictures...hubby is the photographer in the family/group, so he took all our photos. But we got to see the "Half Dome", which is this giant rock mountain in the shape of half a dome. Then we stopped a few more times before it started getting late, so we headed back to make dinner.
I said this about a million times while we were camping, but Missy, hubby's sister, won the gold star for best camper out of the group. She brought all of our meals for the entire weekend, and Friday's dinner was steak tacos. They were SOOO GOOD. Every meal she made was incredible. Having her there was clutch, and it was really fun hanging out with her outside of Washington!
Saturday was our exploring day, and we were mainly in the car driving to each destination...like I said, Yosemite is so big you have to drive a lot. We didn't do much hiking, just getting out of the car, taking lots of photos, looking around and hopping back into the car. At the end of the day, we stopped at this big beautiful lake close to our campsite and played with the pups while our friend swam around. We got to play with them for about 20 minutes until a friendly park ranger said we had to stop and get the dogs out...at least they got to play a little bit. Lesson learned though--Yosemite is definitely not dog friendly.
We left Sunday morning and headed to Bodie, a large ghost town about 25 minutes northeast of Yosemite. I wish it wasn't so hot that day, or else we would have lasted a lot longer; but the dogs were overheating (Coltrane kept pulling me into shade areas), and we had to pay $7 each and drive 3 miles over this terrible rocky-dirt road. But it was really neat to see such a historical town, along with a creepy 'curse' if you took anything from the buildings/structures. They even had a binder full of letters from people returning things they took and hoping their bad luck would be lifted.
We got home around 7pm on Sunday, and my favorite part about that was taking a nice, long shower. Camping is really fun, but it was so nice being home again. I think baby had a good time in the womb as I fed it such delicious food and plenty of s'mores!
Our (Hubby, friend, sister-in-law and myself included) campsite was luckily only a few miles from the entrance we took, which is nice because it could have taken over an hour if we chose the I-5 route vs. our much more scenic route. The campsite we chose was really awesome! I was afraid we'd be cramped into a tiny space and have people surrounding us, but we managed to fit our 6-person tent, hubby's sister's two person tent, another 2-4 person tent for the pups and three cars.
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| Miles loved the pup tent! |
Our site had people on either side, but behind us was just pure wilderness. There were so many bear warning signs up, and each campsite came with a metal storage locker for your food and toiletries (they said to even lock up your chapstick!).
When we finally settled in, it was around 1pm, and we decided to go explore. We stopped at the visitor's center and caught a quick five-minute speech from one enthusiastic park ranger about the area we were in and learned that at our high altitude of 10,000 feet, our bodies were producing way more red blood cells. The day after we leave camp and leave the elevation, we're supposed to be 'super humans'. Our baby was a super human for a day!
After the visitor's center, we stopped and found a trail that was up against this gigantic mountain/rock. We decided to venture around, even though no dogs were allowed (shhh), but we managed to run into nobody. It was a nice 30 minute hike, and then it was off to look at more sites.
I apologize for no pictures...hubby is the photographer in the family/group, so he took all our photos. But we got to see the "Half Dome", which is this giant rock mountain in the shape of half a dome. Then we stopped a few more times before it started getting late, so we headed back to make dinner.
I said this about a million times while we were camping, but Missy, hubby's sister, won the gold star for best camper out of the group. She brought all of our meals for the entire weekend, and Friday's dinner was steak tacos. They were SOOO GOOD. Every meal she made was incredible. Having her there was clutch, and it was really fun hanging out with her outside of Washington!
Saturday was our exploring day, and we were mainly in the car driving to each destination...like I said, Yosemite is so big you have to drive a lot. We didn't do much hiking, just getting out of the car, taking lots of photos, looking around and hopping back into the car. At the end of the day, we stopped at this big beautiful lake close to our campsite and played with the pups while our friend swam around. We got to play with them for about 20 minutes until a friendly park ranger said we had to stop and get the dogs out...at least they got to play a little bit. Lesson learned though--Yosemite is definitely not dog friendly.
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| Courtesy of our friend Daryl-Tenaya Lake |
We left Sunday morning and headed to Bodie, a large ghost town about 25 minutes northeast of Yosemite. I wish it wasn't so hot that day, or else we would have lasted a lot longer; but the dogs were overheating (Coltrane kept pulling me into shade areas), and we had to pay $7 each and drive 3 miles over this terrible rocky-dirt road. But it was really neat to see such a historical town, along with a creepy 'curse' if you took anything from the buildings/structures. They even had a binder full of letters from people returning things they took and hoping their bad luck would be lifted.
We got home around 7pm on Sunday, and my favorite part about that was taking a nice, long shower. Camping is really fun, but it was so nice being home again. I think baby had a good time in the womb as I fed it such delicious food and plenty of s'mores!
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Let's Get Physical
Nothing too exciting happened yesterday, except this:
Oh yeah. Husband was nice enough to find some pregnancy exercise videos and this little gem came straight out of the late 80s/early 90s. I couldn't stop laughing at first-where can I find one of those sweet one piece pregnancy leotards?!
Funniest part though, I finished the whole 54 minute video. And you know what? It was awesome! Some of the aerobic dance moves made me think of Carlton from The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, but it just made it more fun.
Towards the end there were these leg and arm workouts with a chair, and I have to say my legs were shaking afterwards...I guess I need to do more lunges. What was helpful and weird at the same time were the Kegel exercises she threw in every 5-10 minutes. Oh the joys of preparing for childbirth.
Best part: I fell asleep rather quicker than usual and didn't toss and turn as much. My goal is to exercise a lot more while I still have the energy and while my belly is not the size of a pinata yet!
Oh yeah. Husband was nice enough to find some pregnancy exercise videos and this little gem came straight out of the late 80s/early 90s. I couldn't stop laughing at first-where can I find one of those sweet one piece pregnancy leotards?!
Funniest part though, I finished the whole 54 minute video. And you know what? It was awesome! Some of the aerobic dance moves made me think of Carlton from The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, but it just made it more fun.
Towards the end there were these leg and arm workouts with a chair, and I have to say my legs were shaking afterwards...I guess I need to do more lunges. What was helpful and weird at the same time were the Kegel exercises she threw in every 5-10 minutes. Oh the joys of preparing for childbirth.
Best part: I fell asleep rather quicker than usual and didn't toss and turn as much. My goal is to exercise a lot more while I still have the energy and while my belly is not the size of a pinata yet!
Monday, July 15, 2013
Nearing the End of Week 16: Food Dilemmas, Mood Swings & Crazy Dreams
The day after we came home from Washington, I picked up our pups and was able to have a little down time in the evening with them. They generally love each other, but they've NEVER cuddled together, until:
It was so cute because Miles, our 6 month old puppy, had his paw on my baby bump. I love our little family.
I'm heading towards the end of my 16th week of pregnancy...as you can see, when I slouch in the couch, I get a bigger bump. I seriously think after we told our whole family about the pregnancy last Sunday, baby decided it was time to make itself known. We played bingo last Monday with my parents and hubby's mom, and she really noticed the bump too.
I find it hard juggling food and my weight while reading all these different articles about "you must gain 25-35 pounds", but "you can only eat 300 extra calories a day", and "exercise is good for the baby", but "do not overexert yourself-it's better to take it easy". I was a vegetarian for oh, 3 1/2 months, but then I started eating fish (which may be the only craving I had), and now I'm full blown not a vegetarian. Whoops. I just want to make sure baby has enough iron and nutrients...I know it's possible to be a vegetarian and be pregnant, but who am I to deny a few meat cravings here and there?
I'm trying to get in a lot of walking when it's not sweltering hot outside, and last Thursday our little family went on a short hike in the Vasquez Rocks (where they film a lot of movies/TV shows--it's famous for Star Trek!). I doubt I'll be going back there anytime soon, just because I'm over paranoid about tripping and falling on my belly. But hubby snapped this photo of me and my "avocado":
So I've gained about 3 pounds since I got back from Washington, probably too much. I did exercise on Saturday-zumba is really fun and I think the baby likes it...but then I also ate a lot of food this weekend. Not proud of some of my cravings--I seriously cried when I found out our pancake mix had expired yesterday morning. Hubby to the rescue--he went out and bought me a breakfast feast that included four pancakes. I love him, he's been so supportive! I could only scarf down one and half pancakes, but I also had a lot of hash browns and some extra crispy bacon.
Oh, there's another dilemma: bacon. Deli meat/bacon in general. I don't miss deli meat, but bacon has been calling my name. There are all these articles that say you shouldn't eat bacon because of the nitrates that are linked to cancer. But then there are articles that say as long as you cook bacon and deli meats well and destroy the bacteria and other organisms, you can eat them. I love extra crispy bacon, so I figured that's okay in moderation. And then there's pepperoni pizza! I broke down and bought some pepperoni from Trader Joe's for french bread pizza I made last Friday. I made sure everything was cooked very well and oh, it was so delicious. But of course I feel so guilty about it. Hubby said don't listen to the articles, I can do what I want. But, I'd rather be a little cautious, so I'm limiting those items in my diet as much as possible.
And speaking of breaking down crying...my mood swings are off the chart. I woke up tired and cranky on Friday, and just stayed in that rut for the whole day. Hubby calls it "sad eyes", but I was just so tired and moody the entire day for no reason. But then Saturday morning we woke up super early to take Miles to get neutered and I was in the best mood. Saturday night hubby fell asleep on the couch and I stayed up watching Juno. I was kind of annoyed by Juno's character (I've seen the movie before, but currently re-watching a lot of pregnancy/baby movies), but at the end I just started weeping. I was so sad that Juno went through 9 months of pregnancy and hardship to just give up her baby without seeing it. I didn't cry the first/second time I saw that movie, but man, I couldn't stop crying this time! I didn't want to wake up hubby, so I finally got off the couch at the end of the movie and pulled myself together in the bathroom.
Sunday morning was pancake cry-fest, then that afternoon after a late lunch I was back to cheerful me. Damn you hormones!
I've always been a vivid dreamer, but lately they've been way more elaborate and crazy. I remember taking a nap in Washington while the hubby's family was watching TV, and I dreamt that I woke up with a very huge baby bump and was trying to push it down away from my breasts so that I had a semi-flat stomach. And of course it worked. And yesterday while I napped on the couch, I dreamt that I woke up and the hubby filled a wagon full of different shaped ice-cubes in the kitchen for the dogs because it was so hot, and I dug into a fruit cocktail that turned into frozen yogurt. Hubby is always surprised that I remember every little detail about my dreams, I guess I'm impressed too. I've always had an overactive imagination, but lately my dreams have turned into Roger Rabbit on acid.
I'm really excited for this weekend/next week. We're going camping in Yosemite with hubby's sister and our friend. Then after that, we have our next ultrasound and we find out the sex of the baby! It's been fun thinking of really silly names for the baby...so far Nicholas Cage and Thelonius Hercules are my favorites. I'm sure once we find out the actual sex (which hubby claims it's a boy and will take nothing else) we'll become a little more serious about names...but until then, it's a free for all!
It was so cute because Miles, our 6 month old puppy, had his paw on my baby bump. I love our little family.
I'm heading towards the end of my 16th week of pregnancy...as you can see, when I slouch in the couch, I get a bigger bump. I seriously think after we told our whole family about the pregnancy last Sunday, baby decided it was time to make itself known. We played bingo last Monday with my parents and hubby's mom, and she really noticed the bump too.
I find it hard juggling food and my weight while reading all these different articles about "you must gain 25-35 pounds", but "you can only eat 300 extra calories a day", and "exercise is good for the baby", but "do not overexert yourself-it's better to take it easy". I was a vegetarian for oh, 3 1/2 months, but then I started eating fish (which may be the only craving I had), and now I'm full blown not a vegetarian. Whoops. I just want to make sure baby has enough iron and nutrients...I know it's possible to be a vegetarian and be pregnant, but who am I to deny a few meat cravings here and there?
I'm trying to get in a lot of walking when it's not sweltering hot outside, and last Thursday our little family went on a short hike in the Vasquez Rocks (where they film a lot of movies/TV shows--it's famous for Star Trek!). I doubt I'll be going back there anytime soon, just because I'm over paranoid about tripping and falling on my belly. But hubby snapped this photo of me and my "avocado":
So I've gained about 3 pounds since I got back from Washington, probably too much. I did exercise on Saturday-zumba is really fun and I think the baby likes it...but then I also ate a lot of food this weekend. Not proud of some of my cravings--I seriously cried when I found out our pancake mix had expired yesterday morning. Hubby to the rescue--he went out and bought me a breakfast feast that included four pancakes. I love him, he's been so supportive! I could only scarf down one and half pancakes, but I also had a lot of hash browns and some extra crispy bacon.
Oh, there's another dilemma: bacon. Deli meat/bacon in general. I don't miss deli meat, but bacon has been calling my name. There are all these articles that say you shouldn't eat bacon because of the nitrates that are linked to cancer. But then there are articles that say as long as you cook bacon and deli meats well and destroy the bacteria and other organisms, you can eat them. I love extra crispy bacon, so I figured that's okay in moderation. And then there's pepperoni pizza! I broke down and bought some pepperoni from Trader Joe's for french bread pizza I made last Friday. I made sure everything was cooked very well and oh, it was so delicious. But of course I feel so guilty about it. Hubby said don't listen to the articles, I can do what I want. But, I'd rather be a little cautious, so I'm limiting those items in my diet as much as possible.
And speaking of breaking down crying...my mood swings are off the chart. I woke up tired and cranky on Friday, and just stayed in that rut for the whole day. Hubby calls it "sad eyes", but I was just so tired and moody the entire day for no reason. But then Saturday morning we woke up super early to take Miles to get neutered and I was in the best mood. Saturday night hubby fell asleep on the couch and I stayed up watching Juno. I was kind of annoyed by Juno's character (I've seen the movie before, but currently re-watching a lot of pregnancy/baby movies), but at the end I just started weeping. I was so sad that Juno went through 9 months of pregnancy and hardship to just give up her baby without seeing it. I didn't cry the first/second time I saw that movie, but man, I couldn't stop crying this time! I didn't want to wake up hubby, so I finally got off the couch at the end of the movie and pulled myself together in the bathroom.
Sunday morning was pancake cry-fest, then that afternoon after a late lunch I was back to cheerful me. Damn you hormones!
I've always been a vivid dreamer, but lately they've been way more elaborate and crazy. I remember taking a nap in Washington while the hubby's family was watching TV, and I dreamt that I woke up with a very huge baby bump and was trying to push it down away from my breasts so that I had a semi-flat stomach. And of course it worked. And yesterday while I napped on the couch, I dreamt that I woke up and the hubby filled a wagon full of different shaped ice-cubes in the kitchen for the dogs because it was so hot, and I dug into a fruit cocktail that turned into frozen yogurt. Hubby is always surprised that I remember every little detail about my dreams, I guess I'm impressed too. I've always had an overactive imagination, but lately my dreams have turned into Roger Rabbit on acid.
I'm really excited for this weekend/next week. We're going camping in Yosemite with hubby's sister and our friend. Then after that, we have our next ultrasound and we find out the sex of the baby! It's been fun thinking of really silly names for the baby...so far Nicholas Cage and Thelonius Hercules are my favorites. I'm sure once we find out the actual sex (which hubby claims it's a boy and will take nothing else) we'll become a little more serious about names...but until then, it's a free for all!
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Our Trip to Washington, Surprising the Families
I can't believe we waited over a week and half to tell our families, especially since the husband is terrible at keeping secrets...but we did! We planned on giving them presents at the end of a family dinner with a bib that says "I love my grandma/grandpa" and a copy of the ultrasound.
Hubby and I made a bet right before we left; he thought my parents would notice right away that I was pregnant, and I thought that they would have no clue. When we grabbed our luggage and got in their car, the first thing my mom said was:
"Nicole, you look so skinny!"
Hahaha, great success. I told him I'm good at dressing to hide my small bump.
We ended up at a mall near the restaurant we were going to meet hubby's folks and sister, and saw Monsters University. What a cute movie! We caught my folks dozing in the middle of it, but they're allowed to, they're old. : ) I was antsy throughout because I couldn't wait to tell everyone. What's funny is before we saw the movie I grabbed a small bite to eat and my dad came up right behind me and grabbed my tummy. He still didn't notice anything. Ha.
As we pulled up to the restaurant after the movie, my parents got out of the car and I started putting together the presents. We waited for a little bit for husband's family and once they arrived we were sat quickly (July 4th at 5:30pm is the time and date to go out for dinner-no one is around!). I asked hubby right away when we should give them their presents, and he said wait until after dinner. I'm so impatient!
Right after we finished, we handed out the presents...this was their reaction:
My dad's face was priceless, his jaw was open wide. I knew everyone would be happy, my dad literally asked when I was going to have a baby about every other time I talked to him on the phone.
From then on, we spread the news to any friends or family we ran into, but we were still careful to keep it Facebook private because we had to tell my brothers the following Sunday. It was really fun sharing the great news with everyone, and it just made husband and I more and more happier that we are pregnant.
The whole reason why we flew up to Washington that weekend was for our cousin's wedding on Saturday. We didn't want to tell everyone before the ceremony, but lo and behold we found a great way to spread the news afterwards: they had a photobooth set up at the reception! So we took these photos:
Hubby and I made a bet right before we left; he thought my parents would notice right away that I was pregnant, and I thought that they would have no clue. When we grabbed our luggage and got in their car, the first thing my mom said was:
"Nicole, you look so skinny!"
Hahaha, great success. I told him I'm good at dressing to hide my small bump.
We ended up at a mall near the restaurant we were going to meet hubby's folks and sister, and saw Monsters University. What a cute movie! We caught my folks dozing in the middle of it, but they're allowed to, they're old. : ) I was antsy throughout because I couldn't wait to tell everyone. What's funny is before we saw the movie I grabbed a small bite to eat and my dad came up right behind me and grabbed my tummy. He still didn't notice anything. Ha.
As we pulled up to the restaurant after the movie, my parents got out of the car and I started putting together the presents. We waited for a little bit for husband's family and once they arrived we were sat quickly (July 4th at 5:30pm is the time and date to go out for dinner-no one is around!). I asked hubby right away when we should give them their presents, and he said wait until after dinner. I'm so impatient!
Right after we finished, we handed out the presents...this was their reaction:
My dad's face was priceless, his jaw was open wide. I knew everyone would be happy, my dad literally asked when I was going to have a baby about every other time I talked to him on the phone.
From then on, we spread the news to any friends or family we ran into, but we were still careful to keep it Facebook private because we had to tell my brothers the following Sunday. It was really fun sharing the great news with everyone, and it just made husband and I more and more happier that we are pregnant.
The whole reason why we flew up to Washington that weekend was for our cousin's wedding on Saturday. We didn't want to tell everyone before the ceremony, but lo and behold we found a great way to spread the news afterwards: they had a photobooth set up at the reception! So we took these photos:
It's a little hard to see, but the second photo we have a baby bottle on my stomach. So we went up to family one by one and showed them the picture and said "Guess what?" They would either figure it out right away, or I'd just blurt out we're pregnant. Everyone again was very excited for the news. The wedding itself turned out so beautiful and full of joy, and telling everyone the great news was the icing on the cake.
Finally Sunday arrived and I couldn't wait until after dinner to tell everyone, so we broke out the "I love my uncle/aunt" bibs after we ordered and my aunt screamed in excitement--she didn't receive a bib, but when she figured it out she was very vocal.
The husband took a great photo at the end of dinner of the whole family outside the restaurant:
My parents were already grandparents, but me being the only girl they're really happy to be grandparents again. This baby will make hubby's parents first time grandparents, and I know they're really elated! This was probably our best trip back to Washington (besides our wedding trip of course).
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
First Entry: The Beginning of a New Chapter
I have been told that it is good for me to keep track of my pregnancy through a diary, and what better way than a free blog. I love manually writing my thoughts, but I type much faster! Let's start back from the beginning of when my hubby and I found out there was a bun in the oven...or even way before then.
I have been on birth control for about 12 years now, I'm 31 years old. I started with the pill, but after years of frequent mood swings and not enjoying the fact that I had to take a pill every single day, I switched over to the patch. Much better choice.
In Washington state, birth control seems to be covered by insurance better. But then I moved to California to be with my husband a couple years ago. I started a nanny job to keep me afloat until I found a more permanent job, and my birth control was covered by Planned Parenthood (God bless them).
A few months later, I landed my current full-time position, which landed me health benefits. When I had my annual exam and new prescription, I still was covered by PPH and had free birth control--woohoo! But then...
This February, PPH stopped covering my birth control. My insurance took over, and they wanted me to still pay about $140 per month for my birth control. SERIOUSLY?! Too rich for my blood. I did not want to go back to the pill, and I figured my hubby and I would have kids in the near future, so I just stopped the patch and chose the good ole condom route. Not the best in bed, but much cheaper.
Now here is where it gets a little hazy. My womanly-system has always operated like clockwork while on birth control. When I try to think back, I can barely recall one time where I thought my period was going to start that week, so the hubby and I hit the sack unprotected towards the end of March, right before we switched birth control. ONCE. And BOOM goes the dynamite.
I waited for a few weeks and started worrying about my period, because it was non-existent. I was getting symptoms time to time (extreme moodiness, cramps, exhaustion), but nothing came. I started researching online and noticed everyone said it takes about 4-6 months for a period to re-start after ending birth control, especially if you've been on it for so long like I have. Okay, worries wiped clean, I would wait it out.
Time flew, and I noticed I was gaining weight, especially in my chest. I'm a stomach sleeper, and sometimes I would wake up the girls would be really sore. I thought my hormones were so out of whack, this was normal. I started exercising more and counting my calories. I was a vegetarian too, so I thought I should lose weight in no time. But weeks went by and my weight stayed the same, chest kept growing. Sigh.
My annual exam with the OB/GYN came mid-June, and I explained to her that I hadn't had my period for a few months and that I was gaining a little weight. First thing she says?
"You might be pregnant."
My reply: "No, I'd be showing by now, right? I haven't thrown up or anything."
OB: "Well, let's get a blood test just to make sure."
Next day, I get a blood test. The OB mentioned it could be a thyroid problem, so I was banking on that. I absolutely hate getting my blood drawn/needles in general (even though I have three tattoos, funny huh), but I had my blood drawn earlier that year for a physical and the lady was nice and gentle. But this lady was blunt and the area didn't heal for a week. Sorry, went off track there.
My blood was drawn on Friday, June 14th. That following week I heard nothing, so I thought I was fine.
The ominous phone call came on Monday, June 24th. I say ominous because when I answered my work phone and my OB stated who she was, the conversation started out with:
"So how have you been feeling?"
"I've been great, I feel fine."
"Oh, that's good. Well, I've got some news for you."
<me holding my breath>
"You're pregnant."
The conversation after that was kind of blurry because I started crying and panicking. I did catch a 'congratulations' and 'we need to set up an appointment for an ultrasound right away', but that was it. I was crying because I was so shocked--I absolutely had no idea. The husband and I had planned on having kids eventually, maybe two or three years down the road, but not this year. Not when I make barely enough to cover my student loans, credit card and car payments. And not when my husband's job was so fickle (he is self-employed). The OB put me on hold and a receptionist came on the phone and set up an appointment the very next day in the afternoon; the OB she set me up with was on-call though, so it was a tentative time.
After I hung up, I went straight to the bathroom of my work and pretty much had a panic attack. Thankfully there was only one other person in the office, and he was in his own office with the door closed. I paced in our tiny bathroom crying and hyperventilating and then stopping to stare at my belly in the mirror. How was I pregnant?! I had no morning sickness, no nausea. I was scared to tell my husband, not sure how he was going to react. I collected myself and sat at my desk researching online "I didn't know I was pregnant until 12 weeks", seeing other women's shocked stories.
That Monday I had planned on taking off around noon since we had new living room furniture being delivered to our townhouse. I drove my long 50 minute commute in silence, thinking of ways to break it to the hubby. I'd have to wait until after the furniture was delivered, I didn't want to ruin his excitement of a new couch (we've had the same crappy, uncomfortable love seat since I moved to California). I got home, ate some lunch and stared at the television without really paying attention to what was going on. The furniture delivery guys arrived about an hour later and hubby arrived about 10 minutes later. Since we didn't want to be in the way, we stepped out on our balcony and IMMEDIATELY he asked, "What's wrong? You have a look on your face." He knows me oh so well. My mind racing, I said, "I have some good news and bad news." Right away he said, "You're pregnant." Again, my husband knows me all too well. I started balling and as shocked as he was, he was extremely comforting. As the delivery guys were finishing up, we both had blank expressions on our faces.
After they left, Matt kept himself busy by unwrapping all the other furniture pieces and I just laid on the couch. In my mind growing up thinking about the day I would be pregnant, I thought it would be the most joyous celebration with laughter and smiles. Our first pregnancy announcement was filled with wide eyes and contemplation. It's pretty funny thinking back now, but we were just in shock all day. We were in slight denial too that the blood test was wrong. We both agreed that we'd get to the ultrasound and they would find nothing, or at least in my mind a big piece of poop, because that's where my mind goes. Ha.
The next day work wouldn't go by fast enough. My tentative appointment was for 2:15pm, and my husband planned on meeting me for lunch near work and then going to the appointment. At lunch, I made the phone call to make sure my OB was in, and they moved it to 2:45pm. Then they called me back again and moved it to 3:50pm. The wait was killing us! We walked around the shopping area after lunch, and finally made our way over to the office. The waiting room was jam-packed with pregnant ladies and their boyfriends/spouses/support groups. Apparently our office only schedules ultrasounds on Tuesdays, so this was the norm. 45 minutes later we finally got called in and the nurse took my weight and blood pressure; in the middle I asked "How accurate are blood tests?" She chuckled and said "Very accurate."
We went into the ultrasound room where I stripped down and put on the all-too comfy paper top and paper towel to cover my bottom half. The husband stated "I'm glad I'm not a woman, men have it so much easier". Yeah yeah.
The doc came in and after she did a quick exam, the moment came where we would see what was inside. Sure enough, this image popped up:
I immediately began to cry. Holy Baby Batman, this little thing was kicking and our doc pointed out to hubby its tiny heart beating so rapidly. No more doubts, there was a little baby growing inside of me. I couldn't stop crying, not because I was sad, but because I was so shocked and happy to see a little life growing inside of me. I even told my doc and husband "These are happy tears".
After a good 10 minute consultation afterwards and knowing I'm about 13 weeks along, we drove home separately in half shock, half excitement. Sure, we wanted to wait for kids, but after talking to so many people about it they all come to the same conclusion: you cannot plan for babies no matter how much you try. I see it as a blessing too, for some women try so hard to get pregnant and either cannot or it gets very complicated. I'm blessed that I had no sickness in the first trimester. I really blamed a lot of hormonal issues on my lack of birth control...although being my first pregnancy, I will not be naive to the first signs of pregnancy that I experienced:
--Sore Breasts (as I mentioned before)
--Fatigue: I had a couple weeks bout where I would struggle to stay awake on my commute home, more so than usual. I even told this to the husband, and he brought it up after we found out I was pregnant.
--Frequent Urination: I really thought I was just drinking a lot more water, which I was!
--Headaches: I had a headache almost every few days.
--Backaches: I thought I had a case of Sciatica at one point, it would hurt to walk a certain way, or bend over.
--Cramping: Again, I thought I was just getting my period soon, but then it wouldn't show.
--Bloating: I was gaining weight and eating broccoli and beans a lot...I thought those two went hand in hand, right?
--Mood Swings: Oh man, I would blow up at the husband over the littlest things right from the beginning of pregnancy. I chalked it up to the the phantom period...
These are a majority of the first signs, but there is also Nausea, Food Cravings, Dizziness and Positive Pregnancy Test...totally skipped these!
My last lesson that I've heard so many times before but never believed..."It only takes one time."
I have been on birth control for about 12 years now, I'm 31 years old. I started with the pill, but after years of frequent mood swings and not enjoying the fact that I had to take a pill every single day, I switched over to the patch. Much better choice.
In Washington state, birth control seems to be covered by insurance better. But then I moved to California to be with my husband a couple years ago. I started a nanny job to keep me afloat until I found a more permanent job, and my birth control was covered by Planned Parenthood (God bless them).
A few months later, I landed my current full-time position, which landed me health benefits. When I had my annual exam and new prescription, I still was covered by PPH and had free birth control--woohoo! But then...
This February, PPH stopped covering my birth control. My insurance took over, and they wanted me to still pay about $140 per month for my birth control. SERIOUSLY?! Too rich for my blood. I did not want to go back to the pill, and I figured my hubby and I would have kids in the near future, so I just stopped the patch and chose the good ole condom route. Not the best in bed, but much cheaper.
Now here is where it gets a little hazy. My womanly-system has always operated like clockwork while on birth control. When I try to think back, I can barely recall one time where I thought my period was going to start that week, so the hubby and I hit the sack unprotected towards the end of March, right before we switched birth control. ONCE. And BOOM goes the dynamite.
I waited for a few weeks and started worrying about my period, because it was non-existent. I was getting symptoms time to time (extreme moodiness, cramps, exhaustion), but nothing came. I started researching online and noticed everyone said it takes about 4-6 months for a period to re-start after ending birth control, especially if you've been on it for so long like I have. Okay, worries wiped clean, I would wait it out.
Time flew, and I noticed I was gaining weight, especially in my chest. I'm a stomach sleeper, and sometimes I would wake up the girls would be really sore. I thought my hormones were so out of whack, this was normal. I started exercising more and counting my calories. I was a vegetarian too, so I thought I should lose weight in no time. But weeks went by and my weight stayed the same, chest kept growing. Sigh.
My annual exam with the OB/GYN came mid-June, and I explained to her that I hadn't had my period for a few months and that I was gaining a little weight. First thing she says?
"You might be pregnant."
My reply: "No, I'd be showing by now, right? I haven't thrown up or anything."
OB: "Well, let's get a blood test just to make sure."
Next day, I get a blood test. The OB mentioned it could be a thyroid problem, so I was banking on that. I absolutely hate getting my blood drawn/needles in general (even though I have three tattoos, funny huh), but I had my blood drawn earlier that year for a physical and the lady was nice and gentle. But this lady was blunt and the area didn't heal for a week. Sorry, went off track there.
My blood was drawn on Friday, June 14th. That following week I heard nothing, so I thought I was fine.
The ominous phone call came on Monday, June 24th. I say ominous because when I answered my work phone and my OB stated who she was, the conversation started out with:
"So how have you been feeling?"
"I've been great, I feel fine."
"Oh, that's good. Well, I've got some news for you."
<me holding my breath>
"You're pregnant."
The conversation after that was kind of blurry because I started crying and panicking. I did catch a 'congratulations' and 'we need to set up an appointment for an ultrasound right away', but that was it. I was crying because I was so shocked--I absolutely had no idea. The husband and I had planned on having kids eventually, maybe two or three years down the road, but not this year. Not when I make barely enough to cover my student loans, credit card and car payments. And not when my husband's job was so fickle (he is self-employed). The OB put me on hold and a receptionist came on the phone and set up an appointment the very next day in the afternoon; the OB she set me up with was on-call though, so it was a tentative time.
After I hung up, I went straight to the bathroom of my work and pretty much had a panic attack. Thankfully there was only one other person in the office, and he was in his own office with the door closed. I paced in our tiny bathroom crying and hyperventilating and then stopping to stare at my belly in the mirror. How was I pregnant?! I had no morning sickness, no nausea. I was scared to tell my husband, not sure how he was going to react. I collected myself and sat at my desk researching online "I didn't know I was pregnant until 12 weeks", seeing other women's shocked stories.
That Monday I had planned on taking off around noon since we had new living room furniture being delivered to our townhouse. I drove my long 50 minute commute in silence, thinking of ways to break it to the hubby. I'd have to wait until after the furniture was delivered, I didn't want to ruin his excitement of a new couch (we've had the same crappy, uncomfortable love seat since I moved to California). I got home, ate some lunch and stared at the television without really paying attention to what was going on. The furniture delivery guys arrived about an hour later and hubby arrived about 10 minutes later. Since we didn't want to be in the way, we stepped out on our balcony and IMMEDIATELY he asked, "What's wrong? You have a look on your face." He knows me oh so well. My mind racing, I said, "I have some good news and bad news." Right away he said, "You're pregnant." Again, my husband knows me all too well. I started balling and as shocked as he was, he was extremely comforting. As the delivery guys were finishing up, we both had blank expressions on our faces.
After they left, Matt kept himself busy by unwrapping all the other furniture pieces and I just laid on the couch. In my mind growing up thinking about the day I would be pregnant, I thought it would be the most joyous celebration with laughter and smiles. Our first pregnancy announcement was filled with wide eyes and contemplation. It's pretty funny thinking back now, but we were just in shock all day. We were in slight denial too that the blood test was wrong. We both agreed that we'd get to the ultrasound and they would find nothing, or at least in my mind a big piece of poop, because that's where my mind goes. Ha.
The next day work wouldn't go by fast enough. My tentative appointment was for 2:15pm, and my husband planned on meeting me for lunch near work and then going to the appointment. At lunch, I made the phone call to make sure my OB was in, and they moved it to 2:45pm. Then they called me back again and moved it to 3:50pm. The wait was killing us! We walked around the shopping area after lunch, and finally made our way over to the office. The waiting room was jam-packed with pregnant ladies and their boyfriends/spouses/support groups. Apparently our office only schedules ultrasounds on Tuesdays, so this was the norm. 45 minutes later we finally got called in and the nurse took my weight and blood pressure; in the middle I asked "How accurate are blood tests?" She chuckled and said "Very accurate."
We went into the ultrasound room where I stripped down and put on the all-too comfy paper top and paper towel to cover my bottom half. The husband stated "I'm glad I'm not a woman, men have it so much easier". Yeah yeah.
The doc came in and after she did a quick exam, the moment came where we would see what was inside. Sure enough, this image popped up:
I immediately began to cry. Holy Baby Batman, this little thing was kicking and our doc pointed out to hubby its tiny heart beating so rapidly. No more doubts, there was a little baby growing inside of me. I couldn't stop crying, not because I was sad, but because I was so shocked and happy to see a little life growing inside of me. I even told my doc and husband "These are happy tears".
After a good 10 minute consultation afterwards and knowing I'm about 13 weeks along, we drove home separately in half shock, half excitement. Sure, we wanted to wait for kids, but after talking to so many people about it they all come to the same conclusion: you cannot plan for babies no matter how much you try. I see it as a blessing too, for some women try so hard to get pregnant and either cannot or it gets very complicated. I'm blessed that I had no sickness in the first trimester. I really blamed a lot of hormonal issues on my lack of birth control...although being my first pregnancy, I will not be naive to the first signs of pregnancy that I experienced:
--Sore Breasts (as I mentioned before)
--Fatigue: I had a couple weeks bout where I would struggle to stay awake on my commute home, more so than usual. I even told this to the husband, and he brought it up after we found out I was pregnant.
--Frequent Urination: I really thought I was just drinking a lot more water, which I was!
--Headaches: I had a headache almost every few days.
--Backaches: I thought I had a case of Sciatica at one point, it would hurt to walk a certain way, or bend over.
--Cramping: Again, I thought I was just getting my period soon, but then it wouldn't show.
--Bloating: I was gaining weight and eating broccoli and beans a lot...I thought those two went hand in hand, right?
--Mood Swings: Oh man, I would blow up at the husband over the littlest things right from the beginning of pregnancy. I chalked it up to the the phantom period...
These are a majority of the first signs, but there is also Nausea, Food Cravings, Dizziness and Positive Pregnancy Test...totally skipped these!
My last lesson that I've heard so many times before but never believed..."It only takes one time."
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