Wednesday, December 30, 2009

week 13 day 4

So I have a couple things to say today.

First, Mike's friend mentioned that he and his wife are waiting to have a baby until they can afford it.  That was Mike's and my plan too.  In fact, if anything, we just needed more time to grow up and live life as a responsible couple.  But if there's one thing I've learned in the past few years, it's that Heavenly Father will only let me choose so many of my own decisions before he says, "Actually, let's do it this way."  Which means, for us at least, that unless we had money like Angelina Jolie, we might never be prepared for kids.  Waiting for Mike to have a very stable, full-time job and waiting for me to have a well-paying full-time job would definitely be ideal and I was completely prepared to wait for it.  Perhaps with that kind of money we could live in a house where the heat and cold doesn't leak through the windows, where the temperature gauge doesn't tell us the temperature is over 70 but it feels like 60 (and I'm pretty sure it is), where black widows don't roam, and where I don't feel like the ceiling is about to crash in at any moment.  But we don't.  And we're not ready.  And I'm okay with that.  I like the cold and fear and fear of danger ...

Second, we've been asked a lot recently about our plans to have children because as we have been saying for quite a while, we wanted to wait to have children for a couple of years yet here we are, 7 months into our marriage and we're pregnant.  But Kara, my friend, and I called it.  We knew the more Mike and I said we were going to wait, the sooner we'd have a kid.  Well, if you want the low-down as to what happened, here it is (it is long and may be information you don't want to know.  Read at your own risk):

Back in May, I hung up this amazing poster I got in my women's health class (if any of you are attending BYU, I'd strongly recommend this class.  It was amazing.  I loved my professor - I loved the class).  Our professor walked in one day, late and out of breath since she was about 7 months pregnant at that time, turned to us and said, "I have a present for you guys!"  She sat the box down in the middle of the classroom and pulled out what it contained.  It was a piece of paper.  Our excitement quickly diminished.  She unfolded the paper, showed it to us and said, "It's a birth control chart!"  After a few seconds of silence, we all burst out in laughter and said to each other, "Seriously?"  Yep, she was serious.  We all walked out of class with at least one.

So when Mike and I moved into our new place, I had to hang it up somewhere and I decided the fridge would be the best place.  I went over the chart with Mike, explaining the different birth control methods and when he asked about the birth control pill, I explained that it can cause breast cancer, uterine cancer, strokes, and heart attacks, just to name a few.  Then I explained the pill I was taking and the new facts I had just heard about and how it can cause blood clots, DVT, pulmonary embolism, and gallbladder disease.  Why the doctor even signed for the prescription, I don't even know.  But, being the stubborn person I am, I wanted to continue taking it.  So I did until we were switching insurances.  I got a prescription refilled for the pill and headed to the nearest drug store.  On my way, I all of the sudden decided I wasn't going to get it filled and I headed home.  I stared at that piece of paper, signed and ready to be filled, but I couldn't bring myself to take it anywhere.  So it ended up in the trash a few days later.  I should at least get a different kind of birth control pill, I thought.  But I never did.

Thanks to my women's health class, I knew how to watch for ovulation and a lot about my body that I didn't know before (oddly enough even though I was an exercise science major where I had to take 3 anatomy classes, physiology classes, and a lot of other classes that told me about my body).  Mike and I watched the signs, watched the dates and thought we were doing pretty well.

At the beginning of September, I felt like I should start talking to Mike about having a baby because for some reason I had gone from, 'babies are cute but I don't want one' to 'we really need to have one right now.'  So we talked and the final decision was no.  No baby.  A few weeks later, however, I thought we were pregnant.  I took test after test and they all said negative.  It didn't make sense.  A missed period is usually a good sign of pregnancy and I felt like we were pregnant, but the tests said no.  But I was positive that we were so we became a lot more lax in keeping track of days.

Then, on November 3, we found out the good news.  The tests were right - not pregnant but thanks to my lack of believing them, we now have a little child on the way!

Monday, December 28, 2009

week 13 day 2

So a friend recommended a different prenatal vitamin than I've been taking so I did some research on the current pill and the one my friend recommended.  My conclusion:  there are a lot of controversies over everything when it comes to pregnancy.

Thursday, December 24, 2009

week 12 day 5

Almost to the 2nd trimester! Exciting stuff!

Well, I've definitely gained more of a belly. I was really hungry last night and Mike said he'd take me anywhere to eat dinner so of course, I chose Cafe Rio. Somehow, after 5 years of loving that place and eating at it constantly, I never tire of it. I ate half of a burrito and a lot of chips and salsa. It was good and added to the pudge on my belly. Thank you Cafe Rio!

We then went to Sub Zero to share a small ice cream. It was very good. We got Mt. Dew syrup with gummy bears. It's my second favorite. However, I had 2 small bites and then realized that I'm eating caffeine so I quickly stopped and wished I had more of a gag reflex than I do.

Isn't it interesting that pregnancy follows the Word of Wisdom (D&C 89)? Something as miraculous as pregnancy encourages the correct way to eat and live. I find it amazing how if we live the gospel and its principles, we are protected. In this case of pregnancy, we are protected from unnecessary miscarriages and deformities.

Monday, December 21, 2009

week 12 day 2

I'm tired. Super tired. I have a lot to get done today, namely making Christmas treats for the families that I work with and I have no energy.

I went to the grocery store this morning to get sweetened condensed milk and tomatoes. Somehow I ended up with 10 cans of tomatoes, sweetened condensed milk, and refried beans, 6 boxes of mac & cheese, bread, bagels, cream cheese, cheese, plastic wrap, parchment paper, oil, corn syrup, and a bunch of other things I can't remember. Oh, I also got cream of wheat. I don't know what it is about pregnancy that makes you crave the weirdest things but wow, I've been craving weird things. Like cream of wheat. One morning on our cruise I was craving it. I tried to get myself to get some eggs or french toast but no. It was grits I was craving. So I had some just barely for lunch. And wow. It was magnificent.

I've been having a very strong aversion to salad for the past 2 months which is unfortunate because it's so healthy. But when we got pregnant, I had strong cravings for it that I ate it basically for 2 days straight and haven't been able to look at it since. This past week we've had to take 2 salads to events and it's just so hard to look at it. Making it is gross. Cleaning the bowl afterwards is even worse.

Sunday, December 20, 2009

week 12 day 1

The first trimester is almost over and boy am I glad! I'm not having very many pregnancy symptoms at all, except for gaining weight and fatigue, but I'm just so ready to have the little one here! Back in the days of my women's health class, 9 months seemed like it wasn't very long for all of the changes a body goes through during pregnancy. Right now, however, I feel like the baby should be done ... time to come out of the incubator and get on with this! I'm so ready!

But I've heard that the last couple of months are the hardest because you're ready to just have the baby which means if I'm this anxious now, I can only begin to imagine what I'll be like in a few more months!

There is just something awful about seeing food in the sink. It's all watery and gross looking and if I had the ability to throw up more often, I probably would by looking at dishes in the sink. Wednesday we were getting ready to leave. I couldn't find the lid to one of my containers, however, so everyone was looking for it. Camron, that nice man, happened to find it in the sink! He pulled it out, held it up for all of us to see, and said, "I found it!" Ha!

Ugh. It looked so gross. It was a gravy lid so it had brown goop all over it, as well as other things from the sink. Water had so kindly decided to mix itself in with the others. My pregnant friend and I looked away when my pregnant friend's husband ran over to him and took it from him and said, "You're new to this, aren't you?" as my friend and I tried not to gag. It was quite the experience.

But this goes for a lesson to all of you: I, being pregnant, do not like to see things from the sink and other pregnant ladies probably do not either. Please, please, please think about this before you wave around a gross looking lid from the sink.

Friday, December 18, 2009

week 11 day 6

week 7


week 11

Last night I looked in the mirror and I had quite the belly which is weird for only 11 weeks and my first baby! Right? Granted, I ate a lot of food yesterday but really? This big? Yikes.

This shirt I'm wearing in both pictures is my favorite pregnancy shirt thus far. Yes, it's still kind of tight but it's so comfortable and long. I love it.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

week 11 day 4

My computer died so I haven't been able to write much lately but life is good and I'm feeling good. I haven't been too sick and I'm starting to be able to make it through a whole day without crashing at 3 pm.

Tonight, my friend, Kristin and I are telling all of our friends about our new little additions to our families. I'm really excited. I also picked up the Christmas cards to tell all of the family about our little one and will hopefully get them sent off tomorrow so soon everyone will know. I'm really excited.

I've gained quite the pudge on my stomach. It's nice not feeling like I'm gaining weight anywhere but my stomach but at the same time, it's quite uncomfortable. Right after I eat, I feel like I gain about 20 pounds which is always quite uncomfortable.

But we're 1/4 of the way there! The little kid will be here soon and I'm so excited!

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

week 10 day 3

Today we went to the doctor's to hear the baby's heart. I've been nervous about it since yesterday - probably earlier if I had let myself but my body (and acne) can only take so much stress. After the usual long wait, we were finally able to see the doctor. His voice was gone which reminded me of some of my first encounters with Mike.

Unfortunately for me, every winter (except for this one) I get sick around September or October and I don't get better until around May. When I met Mike, I was sick and for the first time in many years, I had lost my voice. I've always wanted to lose it for several days but I had never had the chance until that year. By the time I met Mike, I was frustrated because it had been days and I couldn't talk louder than a strained whisper. Mike wasted no time to make fun of me and my voice. He was also the one to tell others in my presence that they didn't need to whisper just because I was.

Well today, I whispered back to my doctor and Mike reminded me that I didn't need to whisper. It was hard not to.

The doctor got out the little sound thing that they use and put it onto my belly. Immediately we heard the thud of the heart beat of the little one. He compared it to my heart beat and let us listen to the little one a little bit more.

And I walked out of the office completely surprised and astounded. Having not had a good experience the last time we were in, this definitely made up for it. I still just can't believe that I have a little one growing inside me. I think, especially since Mike and I didn't plan this, it's even more amazing to me. And since all of my symptoms have gone away except for fatigue, it was nice to know that the little one was doing just fine inside me ... especially after Mike and I were wrestling 2 nights ago, yes, actually wrestling, and I lost my balance and slammed onto the floor. We were worried that we may have just hurt it but now we know that our wrestling match probably just gave him a good jolt, just like the rest of my organs.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

week 9 day 5

Today I found out my supervisor is pregnant as well but with twins! Yikes! I think anyone who has twins is truly amazing. I don't know if I could do it.

Yesterday was a very scary day. In the morning, I suddenly got really bad abdominal pains which made me just want to crash on the couch for a few hours. However, I was on campus with Mike and once I got home, I had a bunch of work stuff to do so I couldn't take a nap for very long. Just as I was falling asleep, despite all the pain, I received a phone call and had to take it. But miraculously, all the pain went away and it was no longer a scary day. I'm sure it was just my body working really hard ... thank you body for being able to do this for us!

I have been craving cheeseburgers like nothing since I've been pregnant which is weird because I don't like fast food. In fact, within a few months of dating Mike, I got him off of liking fast food as well. Now we almost always prefer a nice sit-down place that's more expensive over the clogged arteries that a juicy hamburger from McDonald's could cause.

But not anymore. I will take a little cheeseburger from Five Guys with a side of cajun fries any day! Mmmm ...

Speaking of fat, I've gained quite a few pounds in the past couple of months. Last night when I weighed myself, I weighed more than I ever have before which is okay with me because let's be honest, I love food and my body loves the nutrients. I'm just hoping all of this quick weight gain doesn't mean twins. Not that they wouldn't be wonderful but really? Little me with twins? I don't think so.

Oh, and since I haven't been great at writing since the vacation last week, I've been really cranky as anyone who's encountered me probably knows. The biggest problem is that I recognize that this isn't like me. And maybe it's not so much cranky as much as I tell people how I feel and I don't really care how it comes out. Ugh. It's awful.

Not only that but I cry a lot. I cry at the simplest things. But I'm grateful for that. It helps me remember that I do have a soft side.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

week 9 day 2

I enjoy talking to my friend, Kristin. By now, most of you know that we have one very similar thing in common right now. It's nice to talk about ups and downs and figure out the future. I can tell Mike all the details I want about pregnancy but in the end, it's just not the same. His worries are school, his business, and work. Oh, and me and the baby. My worry is the baby ... and occasionally I actually remember some things I was supposed to do for work so I stress until I get them done.

I've been craving cheese again. Thank goodness. For a month or so there, I was really worried I would never like cheese again which would just be very non-kim like. I have always loved cheese and hopefully will always love it. Tonight we had pizza and I layered on the parmesan cheese ... and it was fantastic.