My New Drug Addiction

I promised myself I would be doing weekly posts throughout my pregnancy, but alas, this post is a few days later than planned. I have a valid excuse though-- I almost died. Well, that is what it felt like at least. I hit the nausea part of pregnancy last week and I hit it HARD. So much for having a clean toilet bowl when all you can do is lean over the side of the bed to chunder into a bucket and hope nothing comes out of your nose (yes, it did). After several attempts at telling myself and others I could do it without Zofran, since I realllllly wanted to avoid the...ahem..."side effects" that come along with it, I caved. Letting that first pill dissolve on my tongue and slowly starting to feel like a human again had me immediately hooked. Two days later, of course, there were repercussions, i.e. a big glass of prune juice with Miralax dissolved in it and a few other details and wailing's we won't go through. Either way, I highly recommend this miracle drug. I think Forrest does too, as he was surely getting tired of me rolling around in bed and crying about how "I was never going to do this again" and "Why can't I just go ahead and die already". Dramatic? Yes, but I never denied I was a complainer before our nuptials. Accurate assessment of how I felt? Also, yes.

Other annoying things about my first trimester of pregnancy:

My mouth ALWAYS tastes bad

My nose bleeds when I blow it in the mornings

I vacillate from exhaustion to insomnia every few days

Even with the Zofran food always sounds, tastes, and smells icky

This is what my belly buddy should be looking like by the end of the week...

This may be the pregnancy hormones talking, but how stinkin' cute!!

I also decided that I would take a belly picture every month, so this Sunday I will put up 8 weeks, though I doubt it will be too impressive. 

First Appointment at the Birthing Center

     Today Forrest and I met with the administrative director and one of the nurse-midwives at ABC. They were both really nice, welcoming ladies and we were quite pleased with the experience and the the answers we got to all of our questions. First we were shown around the center, which is essentially just a converted historic home. BEAUTIFUL. Both of the suites have birthing tubs (score!) and are decorated with lovely and comfortable linens and homey accents. After asking a slew of questions of the admin lady we realized that it would actually be MORE cost effective to use ABC than a hospital when all is said and done. After we had all our financial questions squared away we spoke with the midwife and I rather awkwardly jumped to the question "How will you know if I am a good candidate??!" She asked me several personal and family health questions and basically assessed whether or not I was really educated on what it all entailed. After regurgitating to her all the things I learned via school, books, and the wisdom of others in the fashion of a teenage girl trying to get picked for the cheer-leading team, she smiled and said it was clear that I knew what I wanted and that I would be fine.

     My first real appointment is when I am 10 weeks, and I cancelled any further appointments with my OBGYN. Sonograms are (unless something unhealthy is suspected) not really necessary and are costed out separately at ABC, so I decided to just get one done when I am 20 weeks to find out the sex, and then forgo any others. I will have an appointment once a month starting at 10 weeks, then twice a month after 28 weeks, then once a week after 36 weeks. Forrest and I are also going to be enrolling in Bradley classes starting in January. It was hilarious because the midwife and I were going back and forth discussing the Bradley class that they offer and finally I looked back at Forrest next to me on the couch nodding with a smile (basically what I look like when he asks insurance questions) and realized he had no idea what we were talking about. I quietly turned to him and said "Bradley is like Lamaze". He was pleased to be clued in as to what the heck was going on.

     Finally, I am really starting to feel the nausea now. This morning I woke up and immediately realized I had a limited number of minutes to eat something before I got sick. I quickly tried to whip up a fruit smoothie and before I could finish I was dry heaving into the kitchen sink. I then had to settle for three rice cakes, seeing as how after the nausea gets bad NOTHING sounds remotely edible that has any flavor. I am a bit nervous to go to work tomorrow. I wonder what they will think when I stop every hour to have a snack. Oh well. Worst case scenario I get fired and get to stay in bed sick instead, right? Sounds like a win win to me.
   

Number of weeks: 6 and 1 day
Symptoms: Still pretty tired and the nausea has begun. If I ever let my stomach get even half empty I start to feel pukey AND I have to stick to eating certain things, i.e. nothing too flavorful. Oh, and my pee is BRIGHT yellow like a hilighter no matter how much water I drink.
Cravings: Nectarines! 

New News Is Good News!

As per Sarah Giles suggestion I have decided to start keeping up with my blog again, especially now that I have some exciting things to blog about! As most of our friends and family already know, after about 10 months of "trying", Forrest and I finally got a bun to start baking in the ol' oven and we are simply ecstatic. Here are the stats so far on the whole experience...

Number of weeks: 5 and 1 day
Due date: April 3rd
Weight gain: minus 5 lbs (not sure why?)
Symptoms: Super dry/cracked lips, 4am insomnia, weepy at silly things, and EXHAUSTED.
Cravings: Avocado frozen yogurt...or anything frozen and fruity. Hot food makes me feel nauseous.

That is about all I have so far, since it is still very early in the pregnancy. I went to see my OBGYN last week and they just drew blood and made me pee in a cup, but I am scheduled to get a sonogram in 2 weeks to hear the heart beat. I might be cancelling that appointment, however. This is because Forrest and I have an appointment to meet with a certified nurse midwife at the Allen Birthing Center (heretofore dubbed "ABC") this coming Monday to see if I am a "good candidate" for an out-of-hospital birth. If they decide I am and everything else checks out, i.e. price, then we will quit the regular OB and I will be completely cared for by the "hippie ladies", as my sisters would call them. To be entirely honest I am a little nervous about the decision to do it since my whole family seems to think it is a terrible idea and that I will surely meet my demise because "our family just doesn't give birth well". At the end of the day I have educated myself quite a bit on the subject and I know it is the right decision. If for some reason there is a complication during labor, the ABC is right next door to Allen Presbyterian Hospital and they work in conjunction with OB's who will see me through the rest of my birth if need be.

All of these thoughts are really early in the pregnancy, but it seems to be the only thing I am interested in planning so far. Hopefully soon the hormonal urge to decorate a nursery will kick in and I will have some pretty pictures to show.

I think I am becoming a grown up.

I was walking Mosby in our hood today and we came upon a house that had a Rottweiler chained with a wire to the front of the garage, and as we passed it snarled and lunged at us from the end of it's chain. (Side note: we live in a pretty nice neighborhood, in which this kind of "home protection" is totally out of character and unnecessary) I am sure that the people who own the dog (and think that it is perfectly acceptable to chain an animal to the front of your house under the hot sun) would argue something incredibly shortsighted, like "Well as long as you don't come on our property what's the issue?" or "He won't hurt a human" (like the small kids that are playing THIRTY FEET AWAY!). I want to strangle this unknown individual. I understand that some dogs are more territorial than others, and that protecting a house and family is a desirable characteristic in a canine companion, but we do not live in the freaking ghetto, people! There is a difference between having a gun in your house, ready for an unwanted intruder, and carrying an AK on your back and cocking it as the mailman drives by. Do you cock an AK? I don't care. Anyway.

WHAT. THE. CRAP. *said in huffs, due to the lack of breaths in during previous rant*

What do you think? Am I wrong/overreacting? (post on Facebook thread to make it easier)

A Weekend of Poorly Documented Activities

Forrest and I spent the night in Eustace Friday evening, and went on to Tyler with Seguin for the day on Saturday, in order to help Chisum and Erin move into their new apartment. My Syler-in-law lovingly agreed to watch Mosby for the day at the farm and he had a ton of fun roughing around with all his doggie-cousins, especially Hadrian. After seeing how cute they all were together I was rather remiss that I had left my camera at home, since the dog play and moving day could have made for a cool blog post. The amazing feats of strong-man athletics that Chisum and Forrest pulled to heave some of the furniture up to the second story were quite impressive, and at times seemingly painful. Cut to Sunday, Forrest starts to develop several scratches and bruises , and the mother of all hematoma's on his left arm. I mean, I am really surprised at how huge and awful looking this sucker is. This is what it looks like today, three days after the move...

Gross, right? Boy can seriously bruise.

Anyway, for Easter we are heading back to Eustace and I will be SURE to bring my camera and post funny puppy antics, and maybe even a video. Other future posts: my new job and how exhausting it is. So much so, that I am too tired for that post today....goodnight! (8:00pm, not joking)

Mr. Toad Visits the Garden

     Earlier this month when my parents came to visit for my birthday, my mother and I spent one morning doing some gardening and getting my yard ready for Springtime. These are a few of my new, non-sentient residents, which I am pretty sure are called Asiatic Lillies. They should flower pretty soon, so I will have to post more pictures then...

This is the side-yard ledge outside my dining room window.

     Since most of the things we planted were bulbs, I kind of got bulb fever and decided to soak a clove of garlic in a wet towel for a few days to see what happened. It has become my newest experiment to see if I end up with a complete bulb of garlic by the end of the season. Apparently a planted garlic clove will create a new bulb while it grows (once again, according to my mother) so if this works, and it actually tastes good when harvested, then next year I might invest a whole plot into garlic cultivation. MMMMmmmMMMmmm. As my husband can attest, I like almost anything I eat to be 1)spicy and 2)VERY garlicy. Lucky man to get to sleep next to me, huh? Here is my little project...

Cup of garlic, anyone?

       Finally, today while I was watering all my little plant-a-roo's I found a new friend seeking refuge from the hot weather. Mr. Toad did not disclose how long he would be staying, but I hope he decides to hide if he see's a certain uncoordinated black puppy stumbling his way. He may look inept, but I assure you, Mr. Toad, he will toss you in the air like the cat toys he steals from Gremlin. Good luck to you...

"Le Ribbet?"

I will be updating again this week to show my easy and free way to turn your regular leash into one of those "easy walk" leashes that will prevent your pup from wanting to pull you around.

Lenten quote for Sunday: "If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we should find in each man's life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility."
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

If Only Corpus Were Next To McKinney...

I had a wonderful 25th birthday! My mom and pop came for a visit and stayed for two nights.

I was gifted with quite a few good smelling things, which I love, including several nice candles, Wallflower Plug-Ins, and a lovely bouquet of yellow roses! Now the whole block smells good. Thanks mom. ; )

My mother also brought her "first ever grand-pup" an amazingly vexatious enjoyable squeaky toy, that was difficult to get him to pose with, so this is the best picture I could get.

Now-- due to the fact that my mother is the energizer bunny and has far more energy than any 63 year old young woman should* (she has always been immune to the objections of an exhausted daughter), we packed quite a blast into just a couple of days. We went to the garden shop and basically landscaped my front yard in one morning, and went to Whole Foods and stocked my fridge with "things that are good to eat in case you are pregnant" that afternoon. Yes, I do love this crazy woman. My father spent most of his time reading books from Forrest's extensive, and apparently impressive library.

While they were here I also gave my dad a haircut, as per my mothers request. I am an amateur, sure, but if there is one thing that my father likes more than annoying my mother with his mountain-man shaggy hair, it is free things, so he gladly acquiesced.

Not too shabby, right??

 My father also played a lot of fetch with Mosby, and now that his benefactors-of-fun-times are gone, this is what I am left with. He has been uncommonly mopey since they left Thursday morning!

Year 25 was a sensational birthday, and thank you to all my family and friendies who sent me merry wishes, because they worked. : ) 

* For those who might wonder, I think my mother's secrets to energy include, but are not limited to:
-Going to bed each night at 8 and getting at least 9 hours of sleep,
-Drinking and eating anything that Dr. Oz tells her to (i.e. Chia seeds, Tart Cherry juice, Spirulina, Flax Seeds, etc.),
- Wearing a silver jacket that calls upon the questionable "fancy footwork" powers of the late Micheal Jackson.