16 1/2 weeks Pregnant

I took some more pregnancy pictures last night and was a bit discouraged to discover that I haven't changed much from 7 weeks. I feel a lot less sick (still kind of sick though) and sometimes I think I can feel movement, but on the outside I still look pretty un-pregnant. I'm sure lots of women would love to be in my shoes, but I am tired of waiting for this! I have posted 2 pictures: the one in pink is at 7 weeks and the one in teal is at 16 1/2. No maternity clothes for me yet.

16 Week Appointment

Yesterday I had my 16-week appointment with my OB (although I'm technically 15 weeks until tomorrow). It was a quick appointment, but I got to hear the baby's heartbeat and my doctor told me to start drinking Ensure or Boost to make sure I get enough nutrients until I get my appetite back. My next appointment is set for January 26th, when we will find out the gender of our baby. I am very excited!

3 Years, Baby!

Today is Dennis' and my 3rd anniversary. Yesterday we "celebrated" the 4th anniversary of our first date. We didn't really do anything to celebrate the anniversary of our first date other than take a trip down memory lane, but it's interesting to note that we were married one year and one day after our first date. Please allow me another moment to reminisce about our first date. For your convenience I will put it in a seperate paragraph for easy skimming/skipping.

Dennis asked me out after he tried one of my famous home-made oreos (not a copyright infringement!), which I'd made for his roommates. His roommate James asked me if he married me, would I make cookies for him ever day and I said yes (and blushed a bit). Turns out it wasn't a marriage proposal, but word got back to Dennis that I would make cookies for my husband every day and he asked when I would be coming over again. Our first date was to see the lights at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi and then we saw a movie in the theatre there. We saw "The Incredibles" and we were the only two people in the theatre (which would have been more...advantageous if it had not been our first date). Over Christmas break Dennis sent me an e-mail thanking me for our date. That was the first thing Dennis did that started to win me over. The rest is history.

It's amazing to see how far we've come in 3 years. When we first got married we were both students, working long hours to support ourselves through school, living on frozen burritos and peanut butter sandwiches. Now we both have jobs with benefits like 401K, health insurance, holiday pay, etc. We have built up our savings, we have a nice apartment, and now we're having a baby. I am so grateful for the past 3 years, which have been some of the happiest times of my life and I look forward to many more years spent together.

To See or Not to See?

My next OB appointment will be during my 15th week of pregnancy. I saw signs during my last appointment advertising that I could find out the sex of the baby as early as 15 weeks for the low, low fee of $50. I am not sure if I want to pay $50 to find out 4 weeks early or not. At 20 weeks I can find out for free. Some people have told me stories about friends or cousins who have found out the sex of their baby early and then that result was incorrect. I was going to make it my Christmas present from Dennis, but he all ready bought my Christmas present. I am asking for any feedback/suggestions any of you might have. I can't say I'll follow all your advice, but I'd sure appreciate it.

The Opposite Problem

Before I ever got pregnant I vowed I would not be one of those pregnant women who whines about how fat they are. I think that's a poor way to show gratitude for the miracle of life. I did NOT vow to complain about not being fat enough. I wish I were bigger. I only have one pair of pants I can wear without a belt, my clothes don't fit right because they're too baggy in most spots. I am getting a little tummy, but it's not big enough for people to ask me how I'm feeling or hold the door for me. My online weekly pregnancy newsletter sent me an entire article about maternity clothes shopping. I can't wait to get some cute maternity clothes and have a baby bump, but right now it feels like it will never come. I should probably be grateful for my predicament, but I feel so pregnant that I want to look pregnant too. I expect this post will be brought up when I am 9 months pregnant and much larger and people will tell me: "Remember when you wanted to look bigger? Do you still feel that way?" To which I will probably respond that I stand by my wish for that point in my pregnancy. At least for now.

Thanksgiving Vacation

I made it the entire Thanksgiving vacation (Thrursday through Tuesday and going strong into Wednesday) without throwing up once. I was pretty sure that since I ate so much I'd gained about 5 pounds, but I weighed myself at work today and I'd only gained 2. At least I'm back up to a negative 10 pounds weight gain (loss) during the pregnancy; that's up from negative 12 last Wednesday after I was really sick for a few days. My mother-in-law, Darlene and I and my sister-in-law Kami all went to the JoAnn's Fabric day after Thanksgiving sale (at 3 in the afternoon) and found all their flannel that was normally between $6 and $7.50 per yard was on sale for $1.50 per yard. Darlene is making me some receiving blankets for the baby and she let me pick out the material. The blankets are really cute but I can't post a picture of them on here yet because they are Christmas presents for the baby and are all ready wrapped. It was so nice to be in Oregon and relax and have people there to take care of me the whole time. I am back at work now but I had such a great time being spoiled and lazy in Oregon.

Medicated and it Feels so Good

My "morning" sickness has recently taken a turn for the worse. For the past 4 days I've been averaging about 20 oz. of water and 1 meal every 48 hours and have been vomiting about every 2-3 hours that I'm awake. I was worried about getting too dehydrated so I called my doctor who immediately prescribed Zofran and about 15 minutes after taking it I drank an entire cup of water without feeling nauseous. I asked if Zofran is ok for the baby and the doctor reassured me that a lot of pregnant women use it without complications beyond headaches and fatigue (which I have anyway). He said that if I continued to be so dehydrated that it would definitely be bad for the baby so I am now taking medication for my nausea.

Another Ultrasound

Most pregnant women get one or two ultrasounds their entire pregnancy; this is my third. I really enjoy watching the baby move around and seeing how active the baby is. As far as the doctors can tell everything is going well. At week 20 (9 more weeks!) they will be able to check for heart and spine defects. The baby is fully formed by now and the rest of the entire pregnancy will be spent growing and strengthening the systems that are all ready in place. Seeing how active the baby is now makes me excited for when I'll be able to feel movement, but it also makes me a bit nervous because I hope I'll be able to sleep at night with the baby kicking and somersaulting at all hours.

How Sweet it is to Be Loved by You

Today has not been a good day. I threw up once at work, once at home, once at the doctor's office, and twice in the car. I had another doctor's appointment today and in between work and doctor I came home. The house smelled musty. I huddled under the covers and turned on the air conditioner to get the air flowing a bit, but the smell got to me and I got sick. I was dreading coming home after work, but I walked into a home that smelled sweet and fresh. Dennis had taken off the afternoon from work but I had to go back after the appointment. While I was gone, Dennis took his time off to thoroughly clean the entire apartment and then he went and bought 8 of those air fresheners that are shaped like a tree and 1 new Febreeze air freshener like the one I have in the kitchen. The garbages were emptied, the sink was cleaned and clear of dishes. Dennis worked his entire time off to make the house smell better for me so I wouldn't be so sick. The baby and I are so lucky to have such a great husband and father who cares so much for both of us.

1st Prenatal Visit

Yesterday was my first prenatal visit. I didn't really know what to expect, but everything was great. They did an ultrasound and I got to see the baby move and hear the heartbeat (170 beats per minute!). I also received this picture of the baby. You can see the little hand is waving at us.

I Have a Dream

I guess more appropriate would be to say I HAD a dream. Last night, the night before my first prenatal visit, I had a dream about a little boy with dirty blonde hair and round cheeks. He was 3-4 years old. I knew he was mine and his name was David. I have added David to my list of possible names and I am now very interested to find out the sex of the baby. I still want a girl, but I honestly think I'm having a boy. Call it mother's intuition.

More Possible Names

I've been brainstorming lately about names, almost to the point of panic; as though I didn't have until June to name the baby. I don't want to have any names set in stone yet, but I decided to make a list of some names I've considered in the past and leave it up to those who know and love me to give me their input. Remember, this is just a rough draft. I am not set on any of them. Some of them are from years ago, but I think every name should be considered.

Boys:

• Andrew
• Alexander
• Benjamin
• Joshua
• Evan (middle name Jay)
• David

Girls:

• Annie
• Amelia
• Marilyn
• Mariam
• Lyra (It's pronounced Lie-ra)
• Grace
• Rebecca (Becca)
• Emma
• Rosemary
• Alice
• Miranda

I'll just add to this list as I come up with more names. Remember, I am not set on any of these names; they are just a list of vague possibilities.

Morning Sickness: Round 2

Well apparently my baby was afraid other pregnant women would get jealous if I were only sick for a few weeks so the sickness has started up again. At one point I was up to two meals a day! Now I'm back down to 1/2 a meal per day. I've been drinking Gatorade (my dad's suggestion) to try and get some good hydration going. Some of the foods I can keep down are Ritz crackers (not Saltines), rolls, Gatorade (so far), nachos. Those are the only things I haven't ever thrown up. Just because I'm sick does not mean I'm not hungry and when the sickness finally goes away at about 6 or 7 at night I am so hungry but since I haven't eaten anything all day my stomache gets overwhelmed by the sudden influx of food and sometimes it panics. I know this will only last a few more weeks and I'm so thankful to be pregnant that I am not complaining about my morning sickness (too much). I'm just trying to keep people informed.

Morning Sickness at Bay

I am in a very good mood. It has been officially 2 1/2 days since I threw up. I'm still down 9 pounds, but I'm optimistic that I will be gaining before long. My clothes all ready don't fit like they used to. Parts of me are bigger and parts are smaller (from losing weight). I can't wait to actually look pregnant and know that this has all been worth it. I have been patronizing the Maverik far too much lately. I get their Nachos (good price, not too spicy but still have a little kick) and a bunch of those jerky circles that cost 25 cents each. Teriyaki is my favorite. Don't worry - I take a prenatal vitamin every day and I don't subsist solely on preservatives and sodium. It's just that at the end of the day I still feel like there's only one or two things that I'll be able to keep down and so that's what I eat. My body is used to the junk and the baby is getting everything it needs from the prenatal vitamin/my body. From what I've read, the baby just takes what it needs and it's up to me to provide my body with what it's lost. If I can keep feeling well hopefully I'll be back to eating at home again by the end of the week. If I'm really lucky I'll even make it to church on Sunday. (It's been a month!)

Frequently Asked Questions

I know there are certain questions everybody asks a pregnant woman, so I have taken the liberty of answering some of them.

How have you been feeling?
I have been pretty sick the last few weeks. It started out as nausea and progressed into throwing up several times a day, which is the situation I am currently enjoying.

Have you found anything that helps you with morning sickness?
Not quite. I have found several things that don't help. Saltines don't help. Sprite sometimes helps. Pregnancy tea doesn't help. Peppermint oil doesn't help. Airsick bracelets kind of help, as long as they're positioned correctly. (Who knew it was such a science??) Keeping my stomach partially full at all times doesn't help. Salty snacks help, but only after sunset (when my "morning" sickness starts to subside).

Have you had any weird cravings?
Before I got too sick to keep anything down, I ate a lot of Nachos, Oranges, and Chicken Nuggets. I've also started wanting foods with lots of sodium like Ramen Noodles, Jerky, Nachos (still), and Stuffing. I try to give into these cravings in moderation.

Do you want a boy or a girl?
I want a girl, Dennis wants a boy. According to an online Chinese calendar thing, I am having a boy, but only the ultrasound will tell for sure.

Are you going to find out what you're having?
Yes. I want to be able to buy cute dresses (I want a girl, remember?) and I want to get a few names ready and be able to imagine our family in more accurate terms.

Do you have any names picked out?
Yes and no. I have names I like, but those could change once we see the baby. The girl name I like right now is Amelia Elizabeth. The boy name I like right now is Andrew (middle name either Michael or Joseph, after one of his grandfathers). Dennis, on the other hand, wants to name our boy after some old timey baseball players named things like Rube, Boof, or Dummie. At which point I protectively cover my midsection with my arm and tell him he's not naming our baby.

How did you tell Dennis you were pregnant?
One Saturday morning, I came out of the bathroom holding a pregnancy test and shaking. Not much of a cute story. Maybe next time.

Are you going to move to a different apartment?
We are looking around, but since a 2 bedroom apartment is more expensive than a 1 bedroom (and secretly so I can get out of doing most of the work) we will wait until the baby is closer to coming.

Will you quit work after the baby is born?
I don't know how expensive a baby is so I can't answer that question yet. I may work part-time (but ideally I'd like to work from home). Dennis and I have vowed that our child will not go to daycare, but we may be able to work something out if we get in dire straits financially.

Do you have that "pregnancy glow" on your skin?
Apparently my "pregnancy glow" involves breaking out so if I DO have a "pregnancy glow" it is currently being hidden by coverup.

Please feel free to suggest any other questions and I'll answer them in future posts. I will do my best to update this blog regularly with fun facts about how I'm feeling, what I'm craving, and other news.

Baby on Board, 7-week pregnancy picture

That's right - we're expecting! We found out October 12th after Rachel took 2 pregnancy tests that both came back positive. We immediately called a doctor's office who told us Rachel can be seen when she's 10 weeks or more. Her appointment is for November 19th.