Pregnancy: Week 7

Hi Everyone! Happy Thursday!

I'm 8 weeks pregnant today. Surreal. I pretty much look like I've been eating too much, not pregnant, but none of my regular clothes are fitting and my belly is so bloated already. Need to get out my boxes of maternity clothes. Having 90% of what's in my closet unwearable because it doesn't fit is a serious bummer. I'm going to need to get some stuff for summer, too...all my maternity clothes are winter and that's just not going to cut it. We are trying to pay cash for some big things right now so money is super tight around here, but I'm sure I can make a couple pairs of shorts work. I need to do some other things to feel less frumpy, too, because it's affecting my mood...maybe a mani/pedi or some such this weekend is in order (although I've been trying to wait until the second trimester to use nail polish...I know everybody says it's perfectly safe but I'm weird and superstitious about a lot of things with pregnancy).

In other pregnancy news:

• Gosh, I was sick yesterday. And exhausted. That's really all that's been going on, and it comes and goes a bit. But yesterday I felt terrible all day (and threw up twice), the kids were whiny, my husband was tired, I started to get into a really bad funk, like, my life is over, I am just exhausted and sick all the time, this is how it's going to be forever. It's so hard to trust that this is only temporary, even though logically I know that it is. And my husband doesn't want to hear it...he is so sweet and loving in other ways, but with this, his general attitude is, "You did this to yourself." Sigh. Today has been better...sick but not so bad, the kids are mellower, etc...  
• I'm really sensitive to smell...especially, we have these garbage bags that have Febreeze on them...I hate Febreeze always but right now I can't even be in the same room with those garbage bags...even 2 rooms over is pushing it. Instant nausea. I banned them from the kitchen, my husband wants to keep using them in the diaper pail but I may have to nix them there too...we'll see...
• Had a horrible headache this past week. Only Tylenol would allow me to sleep (trying soooooo hard not to take anything...)
• Not thinking too much about the outcome of this pregnancy...just kind of going about my business until my next ultrasound on Tuesday. If I think about it (it being that fact that something could go wrong) I'll go crazy 

And, with that the kids are waking up from their nap and I've got to go. 

Hope everyone's having a fabulous day!

XO

Week 6

Week 5

Week 4

Grace in Small Things, March 21, 2013

Hi Everyone!

Happy Tuesday!

Here are some things that are good in my world today:

1) My Dad's here visiting (love having him here) and we went to the Route 66 Diner for lunch...so cool. Sissy and Bubs were both wild about the milkshakes. By the way, the kids are usually very good in restaurants, but lately (the last 2 times) Sissy has been doing this incredibly loud shriek when she sees her food coming...I secretly think it's adorable...she's just so excited...but I know I must break her of that habit :)

2) Found a lovely and SHADED playground on the way home (shaded has been a hard thing to find)...it's a place I've been meaning to try out and I'm so glad we stopped there. Can't wait to go back. Also, Bubs surprised me by going down the BIG slide by himself (backwards, but still...)...he's so brave

3) I love how much my kids love books. There's nothing they'd rather do than have someone read them a story

4) Most of what my husband is doing at Sandia is classified, meaning, of course, that he can't really talk about his day. I still ask him, though. "How was work today?" I'll say. "What did you do?" The standard responses are "Time travel," "Dinosaurs," or "Aliens." Today it was "Time traveling dinosaurs (with laser guns)," just for some variety. That man is always making me laugh...love it (and him)

5) I've got some cool work projects coming in...and I'm going to get to do some work over the next month or so with a Boston ad agency I haven't worked with in a while (because normally they want me on-site, which used to be awesome because I loved going to Boston...there were years when I spent literally months there...but that's no longer tenable with the babies). Anyway, psyched to be doing a project with them, and some other work on the horizon is really cool, too. Good to have some solid projects on the books as I need to build up a maternity leave fund (and the last few weeks have been REALLY quiet for me). Just hope June isn't too crazy. Getting the balance right as a freelancer is always so hard...

Hope everyone's having a great day!

XOXO

Good Mom

OK, I know I'm pregnant and all, but the following totally made me cry. I feel so judged as a mom, and the worst of it is probably me judging myself, wanting to be perfect (or at least as close to it as possible) and not even knowing what that is (is working part time OK? Is disposable diapering OK? Is it OK that my son was on his dad's lap watching a video game for a short time yesterday?), let alone how to acheive it.

Anyway, I've never heard this put quite this way before, and reading this made my day:

“To the mom who's breastfeeding: Way to go! It really is an amazing gift to give your baby, for any amount of time that you can manage! You're a good mom. 

To the mom who's formula feeding: Isn't science amazing? To think there was a time when a baby with a mother who couldn't produce enough would suffer, but now? Better living through chemistry! You're a good mom. 

To the cloth diapering mom: Fluffy bums are the cutest, and so friendly on the bank account. You're a good mom. 

To the disposable diapering mom: Damn those things hold a lot, and it's excellent to not worry about leakage and laundry! You're a good mom. 

To the mom who stays home: I can imagine it isn't easy doing what you do, but to spend those precious years with your babies must be amazing. You're a good mom. 

To the mom who works: It's wonderful that you're sticking to your career, you're a positive role model for your children in so many ways, it's fantastic. You're a good mom. 

To the mom who had to feed her kids from the drive thru all week because you're too worn out to cook or go grocery shopping: You're feeding your kids, and hey, I bet they aren't complaining! Sometimes sanity can indeed be found in a red box with a big yellow M on it. You're a good mom. 

To the mom who gave her kids a homecooked breakfast lunch and dinner for the past week: Excellent! Good nutrition is important, and they're learning to enjoy healthy foods at an early age, a boon for the rest of their lives. You're a good mom. 

To the mom with the kids who are sitting quietly and using their manners in the fancy restaurant: Kudos, it takes a lot to maintain order with children in a place where they can't run around. You're a good mom. 

To the mom with the toddler having a meltdown in the cereal aisle: they always seem to pick the most embarrassing places to lose their minds don't they? We've all been through it. You're a good mom.

To the moms who judge other moms for ANY of the above? Glass houses, friend. Glass houses.” 

Posted by Jill Smith in London Ontario https://www.facebook.com/JillSmith/posts/10151591809572180

(via Danielle Ramsey)

Happy Monday!

XOXO

Pregnancy: Week 6

Hi Everyone! Happy Thursday!

I'm 7 weeks pregnant today...yay!

I don't really remember feeling quite this way with my other pregnancies, and maybe it's because I've had some scary things happen, but I already feel so incredibly attached to this baby. Before this week, I was kind of wanting all the medications I'm on to end and already looking forward to not being pregnant anymore, but now...I don't know...I feel like every day I get to be pregnant with this baby is such a gift and all the meds that I hate and all the restrictions are good because it means I'm pregnant. I just really really really don't want anything bad to happen...

In other news: 

• If you haven't seen it already, check out my notes from my first OB visit
• Having some tiredness but not too bad
• Having nausea for sure but again not too bad. Keeping food in my stomach seems to help. And it's not totally debilitating like all I can do is lay on the couch like it has been in the past
• My new OB asked me to start following the diabetes diet now, since I had gestational diabetes last pregnancy. My husband and I plan our menus a week in advance so I'm not doing the diet 100% yet, but I will. It's kind of hard to do just from a meal planning/organizational perspective, but I know it's the healthiest thing for me and the baby, and also I lost all the weight from my last pregnancy and I think part of what made that possible/not too terribly difficult was eating that good diet/not being able to indulge in sweets while pregnant, you know? So it's a good thing all around

Think good thoughts for me and Freezy! :)

XOXO

Week 5

Week 4

Baby Update, Or Why Can't This Whole Thing Just Be Normal and Easy?

Hi Everyone! Happy Wednesday!

Met my new OB Monday (like her) and had an ultrasound yesterday (should have been Monday, but scheduling mix-up). In the above picture, the circle is the yolk sac and the oval beneath is Freezy. I am in love! :)

The good news is the baby is just the right size and the heartbeat is as it should be. And I haven't had any more bleeding.

The bad news is there is something called a subchorionic hematoma (you can read about it here and here) that is what caused the bleeding last week. A lot of times these take care of themselves, but if not a miscarriage is probably in the cards. Dr. Google says most of the time there's no issue, and my OB says there's no reason to be unduly concerned at this juncture, so trying to focus on that.

Still. Scary.

Oh and also I have cysts in my fallopian tubes I think? Or maybe somewhere else. But cysts. And if they don't go away they'll take them out in the second trimester, my OB said. Not so worried about that part, though...we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. My OB was surprised to hear I wasn't in any pain in relation to the cysts. Maybe they are what are causing my belly to already be so distended?

Anyway, another ultrasound scheduled for 5/28. Until then, I just have to take really good care of myself and this baby, and assume everything is going to be OK.

XOXO