First Doctor's Appointment - 8 Weeks

8 Weeks

We had our first doctor appointment yesterday. It was fun seeing our favorite doctor. Felt like old times. He even met Jackson.

I thought for sure we’d get some kind of ultrasound. Nothing. Doctor said it’s still too early. He also said he gets mad when the call center schedules patients early. Thinks the first appointment should be around 10 weeks so everything can be done. Soooo, we go in next Wednesday for an ultrasound. I told him I’m nervous because so many people around me are having such a hard time. He told me that I don’t seem to have a hard time getting pregnant, so I shouldn’t worry. OK then. He is very matter of fact.  

I had blood work done and had to pee in a cup. My test results keep coming in. Everything is NORMAL. Even with those fabulous hives that popped up last week. I even had them do a thyroid test because I have been FREEZING cold, but NORMAL.

I have actually been feeling pretty good the past four days. Today my stomach is giving me some troubles but I keep eating, hoping that will help.  I started having REAL ginger ale every single day (the natural kind that has all the chunks swimming at the bottom). It seems to work. However, Jackson always wants some. I think I started a bad habit because he thinks it’s beer.

I also started oil pulling. I have no idea if this is doing anything, but I have read it helps and I haven’t felt as bad as I did last week yet (knock on wood).  

It has also gotten a little warmer outside and I have gone on a few walks. WOW. WOW. WOW. I totally feel like a new person. It has been WAY TOO LONG.

So that’s where we’re at. 

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All-Day Sickness in Full Effect (7 weeks)

7 weeks

Last week kicked my booty. Whoa. Morning sickness was an ALL DAY horribleness this time around. Ugh. I have no idea how I made it through work and reviews, but somehow I did. I wanted to cry.

When I got home, I’d sit on the couch and beg Karl to come home and fix dinner. We had soup and grilled cheese twice last week. J Thankfully Jackson was pretty good about mommy lying on the floor instead of busy in the kitchen because then he could play all around me. I just couldn’t do it. The smells were killing me. I had NO desire to eat or be around food. I felt like I had the flu!

Shortly after putting Jackson down for bed, I’d curl up in our bed and do whatever I could not to get sick.

Symptoms

•  Exhaustion took on an entire new level. I even laid down at work on a floor in an empty room and fell asleep.
• · I’d lay down when I put Jackson down for a nap and I’d be out cold for a solid hour and a half. Every time. It was crazy. That never happens.
• ·Nauseous.  Nauseous.  Nauseous.
• ·    I couldn’t eat or drink much of anything which made me feel WEAK and nauseous.
• ·    I woke up with hives. Bad. Huge welts all over my body and then my left eye swelled shut, my lips blew up and then my face. What on earth!?!?!? I itched everywhere.
• ·    When I realized I lost 3lbs, I ate A LOT. I knew I couldn’t mess around. And that meant BAD stuff because it’s all I actually wanted. We’re talking Arby’s, ice cream, pizza, cheese bread sticks, hot dogs, spaghetti O’s. Yeah. Stuff I rarely eat. Sorry baby.
• ·     I have been FREEZING. To the bone. Wearing three sweaters or sweatshirts at a time. And standing in front of a fireplace WITH a furry blanket and hot tea. NOTHING WORKS. FREEZING.  
• ·     I slept a lot. Could be the Benadryl. Or just me telling myself to let it all go and REST.
• ·     I now take my vitamins at night.
• ·     I’ve been throwing back a lot of natural ginger ale. All I know is the past two days have been really good! I woke up at 4 a.m. with a racing mind, I have more energy, I’m eating normal, I have my drive back. BUT that could all be different tomorrow! I know that.

Doctor appointment tomorrow! I’m nervous but excited. We’ll see how it all goes!

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Month in Review - 22.5 Months

Now Entering Crazy

After a super fun trip seeing my parents, "stuff" hit the fan. Ufdah! What a crazy couple of weeks. I also can't believe Jackson is going to be two next month! WHAT???

I whipped up some quick Valentine's Day cards for Jackson's daycare. I know he's there only two days a week, but I was mailed a list of kid's names from his class...and thought...UH-OH! Better get making those cards!

Remember when I said Jackson started feeling bad after visiting my parents? Got a call from daycare that he was NOT himself. Even in this photo he looks rough:( 

Got another call from Jackson's daycare that half the class had pneumonia. We took Jackson in. Sure enough. Pneumonia and his first ear infection. Was put on antibiotics immediately. It was a ROUGH 6 days. ROUGH. I was SO worried my dad would get it since we had just visited, especially after open heart surgery. No...he and Karl just got bronchitis. Oh man! Like I said, ROUGH 6 days!

Hey, what do you know? More SNOW! Late February snow. 

Jackson has been helping me pack up the house! That's what we've been doing with most our time. 

Jackson was VERY happy to see Uncle Mike who bought him the signature Sochi bear (hat) from the Sochi Olympics! So cool!

I've worked out all but once this month. That's it. *tear. tear* I miss it. 

A sweet Valentine made by Jackson at daycare. I love this stuff!

I won this for liking Mom's on the Run! Perfect since we're in the middle of a water drinking competition at work!

Look at my little guy wearing underwear!!!!!!!!

Look at these two cutie pies. Always an adventure at our house!

And then my face blew up. I had hives ALL OVER - eyes shut, lips blew up, face swelled. What a MESS. Took five days for it to go away. Doctor said stress. 

Cat and the Hat day at school!!! Jackson loved his nose!

Sweet little sleeper!

My creative artist

WENT SLIDING (not sledding) when it hit 43 degrees out in March! FINALLY!!!! We all got out and went on a long walk. SO NEEDED! 

Annnnnd more snow. Backyard of our NEW HOUSE!!!!!!!!!

Our lil Cat in the Hat ;) 

Ask Jackson where Jesus is, and he will tell you, "heart." I love this little guy so much. He kisses my moles. He gives me wedges when I crawl on the floor. He jumps on my head and then gives me a "saje" (massage). He begs for fruit snacks. He loves to have "the bunny" (me) chase him upstairs before his bath. He loves singing our evening prayer at meal time...

"Ohhhhh, the Lord's been good to me. And so I thank the Lord. For giving me the things I need the sun and the rain and the apple seed. The Lord's been good to me. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh-men."

And he claps! He loves singing the alphabet and yelling "AND ME" at the end. And he will look through his baby photo album at least 10 times a day. I love love love love this little dude.

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Here We Go Again - Morning Sickness (Week 7)

Week 7

Darn. Morning sickness has arrived. I thought maybe this time around would be different. NO. The last two days have been tough. VERY hard to focus at work without wanting to either curl up in a ball and fall asleep in my car or visit the bathroom and hide in there. I’m trying to drink water. I’m trying to sip this mom-to-be tea, but I just feel gross.

Gross.

I sure do take for granted how healthy I feel day in and out, until I don’t.

I went back and looked at my Jackson baby blog. Looks like I was feeling off starting week 6 and week 7 was the magic week. By week 9, I was on and off every few days. I’ll take that. Just not every day, ALL DAY long. YUCK. I noticed with Jackson I was also getting a handful of headaches. Uh-oh. Is that’s what is next for me? I did stop drinking coffee. Sounds GROSS right now. Buh-bye caffeine.

This time around I’m getting terrible bubbles of something in my stomach that are floating up to my sternum. So painful. Maybe heartburn? Maybe gas bubbles? I don’t know. It hurts!

I just laid down on my tummy in the upstairs training room at work and could have easily fallen asleep. I’m counting the hours before I can get home. Maybe we can have leftovers and call it a night?

So tired.

So crabby.

And I woke up to two itchy elbows. They looked like a spider set up a dinner party. Bites, bumps and then some really big warm-to-the-touch raised bumps. Trying not to scratch. Not sure what this is about?

One more week until we see the doctor.

I can do this. I can do this. 

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Am I 6 weeks or 7?

week 6 or 7 (February 27, 2014)

I am freezing!!! This weather is madness. Another TWO more weeks of this Polar Vortex. No more, please!!!! My commute in for a whole week has been well over an hour – the roads are so icy!

Anyway, we’ve survived a horrible week of illness. Jackson came home with pneumonia and his first ear infection and had to get on his first round of antibiotics. I’ve been trying to avoid medication but this little man was SICK SICK SICK. He even looked awful. Poor buddy. He was pretty bad for five solid days. It was not fun. Then Karl ended up getting it and then my dad and then Karl’s dad. Whoa. The illness wiped out Jackson’s daycare AND my work. What a nasty bug.

Me at 6 or 7 weeks. Not sure!

I kept praying it wouldn’t hit me, though I actually wanted it versus Jackson. I just knew I had to stay healthy for baby. I have been downing SO MUCH WATER. And I’ve been eating kale and lots of oranges and mangoes and kiwi and berries. I avoided sugar completely. Yes, I know there is fructose in fruit, but it’s the natural kind. The thing is, I’m wondering if this is helping me avoid morning sickness??? I’ve actually felt pretty good.

This also makes me nervous. Everything OK down there???

My symptoms during week seven:

• HUNGRY ALL THE TIME. I’ll even eat two helpings during dinner and I’m hungry 20 minutes later. When I let myself get too hungry, I start to feel ill. Time to fatten up.
• I wake up lightheaded and weak most mornings so I shovel down a handful of peanuts before I get out of bed. It’s WORKING!
• Lightheaded
• Frequent urination. I’m going maybe 3-5 times during the night.
• Will get random headaches here and there
•  Some days I get very exhausted. Friday I sat on the couch and fell asleep during Jackson’s nap. Sunday I laid down when Jackson did and slept for almost two hours. I’m also going to bed around 9:30 and getting up around 5:50.
• After I eat lunch, my stomach feels nauseous and usually when I’m cooking dinner I am so hungry my stomach burns and then turns nauseous.
•  I can’t form sentences or think of words very well. I’ve had 5 people ask me so far if I’m pregnant.
• I’m clumsy. Very. I’m dropping things all the time!
• Oh, and I have BAAAD heartburn. BAD. I never had this with Jackson. But I had this starting week 3. Painful enough that I wake up in the middle of the night. OUCH! 

There you have it. Oh, we close tomorrow on the house. So yeah, a LOT is going on at once. But that is my life. It’s who I am. I’m getting really good at saying my motto: “Let Go. Let God”. Everything is in God’s hands now. It is. Some things I can control, but a lot of things I can’t. Life is a lot simpler when I just give everything to God. 

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Weekly Meal Plan for Busy Family

MEAL PLANNING

As a busy mom, I have to meal plan to keep my family HEALTHY and to keep my head on straight. The two most important things, right?

I kept meaning to keep track of recipes to make life easier, but I wasn't sure how to get started. I finally figured it out this weekend once we made the decision to move. I was forced to purge and clean. I knew I needed to clean my giant recipe box, (exploding) with torn out magazine recipes.

Jackson (our toddler) and I spent over 2 hours going through every recipe and tossing the ones I knew I would never make and keeping the ones I knew I could make (under 20 minute) and then ones I knew I had made and we loved. Easy. Jackson dove through the papers and kicked them and slid on them over and over again, but at least I was able to go through them. Whatever works!

Now I have one single binder full of GO-TO recipes (mostly healthy and quick). The plan is to scan these in and make my own recipe book, but baby steps first. I'm just happy I'm semi-organized now. Why? It took me all but 5 minutes to figure out what I'm making for the week and write out a shopping list. BOOM.

Now, bear with me. This might not be HEALTHY HEALTHY, but as long as we're following the 80/20 rule in our house, mama is happy. (Eat really good 80 percent of the time.) AND the recipes MUST be easy. Even the unhealthiest recipe can be made healthy in some shape or form. This must be working because I have been able to get to pre-baby weight and then some, and continue to keep it off.

Anyway, ENJOY!

Sunday
Lucky us! In-laws called us over for a SMOKED turkey dinner to celebrate my father-in-law's bday. No cooking for me!

Monday
Costco has these Organic spinach raviolis. Will be pouring spaghetti sauce over these, serve with fresh bread and salad.

Tuesday
Quinoa, Black bean and avocado salad (I add chicken and throw on top of a bunch of greens)

Wednesday
Beef Taco Skillet (Is this the most healthiest? No. Can I add a ton of veggies to make up for it? YES!)

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Thursday
Grilled Flank Steak and Watercress Salad with White Beans

Friday
Beans and Greens Pasta (I will add Italian sausage to this)

Saturday
Pizza (we always have pizza once a week. The secret is to either make our own or to order red sauce and TONS of VEGGIES. TONS)

My favorite night of the week. Pizza and beer:) :) :) 

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I Am Pregnant! - Round II - Week 5

Week 5 (February 19, 2014)

All at Once

OK. Wow. Everything happens at once, right? So we are now home owners and will be moving in May. WooHoo! AND I’m for sure pregnant. WHOA MAMA! Is this not crazy!?!

Let’s just face two HUGE changes at once, right? That just seems to be how I roll these days.

So now I’m worrying about baby since I have been so stressed out. Hope I’m not harming him or her with all this constant anxiety. I pray everything is OK. Jackson and I pray every night for a HEALTHY HAPPY baby.

And speaking of healthy, I NEED TO GET TO THE GYM. I’m going on TWO weeks of no gym. Another reason I’m so stressed out. I need my endorphins!

We don’t go in for our first baby appointment until March 11. I bet that day comes QUICK though…

Oh, crazy life how I love you.

I took one final pregnancy test on the morning of day 29. Those lines turned FAST. And were VERY bold this time.  Still, this hasn’t totally set in and I know it’s because there is SO much going on. Sometimes I forget I am. Sometimes I worry things aren’t right because I know so many who miscarry. That makes my heart hurt.

Here are some stats and symptoms:

Starting Weight: 145 pounds
Height: 5’10”

I’ve been waking up at 4:12 every single morning totally alert. I don’t know what it is. Then I think. And think. And think. So by 3:30 in the afternoon, I’m TIRED. Not exhausted yet, but I know that’s coming. This is why I’m purging our house NOW while I can. I’m a crazy woman. A tornado.

I am HUNGRY a lot. Part of me thinks that I’m hungry so I can fatten up. Once I became a mom, I realized sitting down to eat was a thing of the past. I shovel food in or I share it with Jackson. I’m eating less and I’m moving around more. I’m two pounds from my wedding weight without trying one bit. A diet everyone should try.  

Cramping. I’ve been feeling cramping here and there. On Saturday it was pretty annoying but I thought maybe things were shifting down there and my body was getting ready.

I got my first killer headache this morning. Now, this could very well because I felt TOTAL RELIEF once the papers came back that the house was ours. AHHHH. And I was in TOTAL RELAX mode.

I’ve noticed the more water I drink, the better I am. So I am chugging.

Looking back on Jackson’s blog, week 6 is when things started getting TOUGH for me. Not every morning, but there were definitely some tough mornings in there. Will next week be it for me?

I feel like I’m in a race right now. A race to get projects done around the house while I feel well. A race to get tons of stuff at work done so when I am feeling gross, I can give myself time to step away from my desk and breathe. A race to write up lists of what needs to be done closer to moving day because by then my brain MIGHT be fried. 

Or maybe I’ll get REALLY LUCKY this time and have no symptoms??

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