Goings On

Thanks for all the super sweet comments on my first baby bump picture post! =) I'm pretty excited that I'm starting to look pregnant and not just feel it.

However, there are at least a couple people out there that thought I shouldn't be showing yet. One of them is my own mother. The other is a girl I went to high school with. I posted the very same baby bump pictures you saw on Facebook on Sunday. I figured it was time and I knew that some family who don't read my blog would like to see as well. Then came the question every pregnant woman wants to hear:

Are you sure there aren't two in there?

*sigh* Really? I posted an ultrasound picture. Do you see two babies in there?! NO. Just because I'm already showing doesn't mean that I'm having twins. It also doesn't mean that I've gained too much weight during my first trimester. I wasn't a freakin' supermodel before I got pregnant and anyone who's seen pictures of me in - let's say - the last year would know that. UGH. I'm not sure if it bothered me more that my mom asked that or that the girl from high school (who is also not a supermodel) did. Either way, it upset me. Because, come on. I posted an ultrasound picture. We've heard one heartbeat. It's just one baby. One baby that is growing in my belly and pushing it out. So asking if I'm sure I'm not having twins is just plain hurtful. And for the record, I totally cried. Hello, hormones!

Fortunately, I had my first real (as in not just meeting with a clueless nurse) OB appointment yesterday. =) It wasn't all fun - because who really likes a full exam of the land south of the border - but it was a good appointment nonetheless. I found out that I've only gained 3 pounds (woohoo!), I'm measuring right on target at 12 weeks, and we got to hear the baby's heartbeat. I was a little sad that 1) we didn't get an ultrasound, but I did expect that and 2) that she didn't let me listen to the heartbeat for very long. I know that she heard what she needed to, but I could have listened all day! It was a nice, strong heartbeat - 170. =) Joe said it sounded like our baby was running a marathon, LOL!

So after I found out I'm measuring on target and that I've only gained 3 pounds - which is very normal - I felt super justified. I mean, I still don't want anyone to basically tell me I'm fat but at the same time I know that I'm not and that I'm also not having twins. The next time anyone asks that I think I'm just going to tell them to talk to my doctor. =P

After my appointment, Joe and I met up with a lady to buy a bouncy seat! There's a Facebook group just for the post we're at where people put up pictures and sell all kinds of things. I was randomly looking on there Monday and found the bouncy seat for $15. Can you say "steal"? So of course I messaged the lady and set up a time to meet at the PX. That really worked out great for both of us because she was going to an appointment at the clinic (which is pretty much next door) and I was coming from the clinic. =) It's kind of boyish (which will be great if we do have a boy), but I think it will do for a girl too. What do you think?

Honestly, I was just really excited to buy something for the baby. I feel a little more comfortable buying things now that we're in the "safe zone" of the 2nd trimester. I know it's a little silly to think that way, but the pessimistic side of me just can't help it.

Tomorrow, Joe and I are going to a marriage retreat held downtown. We didn't get "accepted" to go to the last one, so we're pretty excited about getting to go. And Jasper gets to stay with one of his most favorite people while we're in the hotel. =) I don't think I've ever seen this dog get more excited about seeing someone than he is when he sees Annie! It's too cute. And I'm glad to know that he'll have a good time and be taken care of while we're "gone." Hopefully I'll have a fun update or two while we're at the marriage retreat.

Hope your week is off to a great start!

NOT in My Head

Before yesterday, I really thought that I was "seeing" a baby bump. You know, seeing something that wasn't actually there. When we left for church last night, I had Joe snap a quick 11 week picture of me. I meant to take one at 10 weeks but I forgot and then I got sick. So...11 weeks it is. I quickly glanced at the pictures on the camera and set it down before we left. Later I realized that I might not be making it up after all...

Clearly, not much going on at 8 weeks. My pants were feeling a bit snug at this point, but no belly. Well, other than the one I already have. =P

A little over 3 weeks later... Hello, baby bump!!! I'm sure a little bit of it is the angle, but I was a tad shocked when I saw the picture!! I'm also needing a bit more stretch in the pants now too. For now, a hair tie helps with the jeans and when I'm at home I just wear my yoga pants or stretchy shorts. My non-stretchy shorts still fit pretty well, which I really don't understand since they're the same size as my jeans. Whatever. =P

I hadn't planned on posting any baby bump pictures yet, but I just had to share this. I mean, how could I not?! Plus, some family reads my blog and I haven't posted any pictures of the belly on Facebook yet.

Now, I gotta go get ready to finish my busy day. =)

I'm Alive!

Thanks for all the sweet comments regarding my cold from hell. =P I know it was a bit of an over share, but it felt good to let it all out. You will be happy to know that I am officially on the mend! I started feeling a little bit better yesterday, and a little bit of energy returned today. Woo! Naturally I spent most of the day cleaning since my house had been pretty messy - even though Joe did help clean some - while I was sick.

I don't know if I ever updated you guys after I had my appointment with the pulmonologist last week. Basically, I have asthma. Shocker, I know. {sarcasm} And 1/3 of pregnant women with asthma get better, 1/3 stay the same and 1/3 get worse. Very helpful isn't it? So the answer is to put me on a daily, preventative medication. *sigh* I was really hoping to not have to do that, but I need to breathe so baby can breathe. Yay, me!

Yesterday I had the privilege of being power-pointed to death in an asthma education class... Allow me to remind you that I was diagnosed with asthma when I was - wait for it - 10 years old. I am now 25. I've lived with this for 15 years and yet they sent me to a "class" which was one-on-one. I was annoyed the entire time. Not only did I pretty much know everything that CPT Nurse {who was male, by the way} read off the power point, but he also managed to offend me a few times. I'm a female, I wear wedding rings and I wear civilian clothes - NOT a uniform. Clearly I'm married and NOT in the military...as if the dependent ID card didn't give that away. Every time he should have said "your husband needs to know ___" he said, "your husband/boyfriend/significant other should know __." By the third time he said it, I said "husband" and he had the nerve to act all offended!!! Ugh, anyway, it was a big fat waste of my time AND I have to go back in a few weeks so he can develop an "asthma action plan" for me based on my peak flow charts. Shoot me now.

Fortunately, I have my first {real} OB appointment to look forward to next week. One of the girls in Joe's company is about a week ahead of me in her pregnancy and she got an ultrasound at her first visit! So, fingers crossed that I'll get one too! I know I already had one a few weeks ago, but nothing really beats being able to see the baby that's growing inside you. =) Especially when I can't feel him/her moving around yet! I told Melissa the other day that I felt it was kind of odd that I've basically seen every doctor under the sun since I've been pregnant except for my OB. Although I almost feel vindicated because the nurse at my initial visit didn't seem concerned at all about my asthma. =P Not that I want to have problems, but I guess I wanted her to take my only health issue a little bit more seriously than she did.

I also have a lot going on this week, so I'm glad I'm feeling better. Our church is hosting a conference and Joe and I both signed up to volunteer. I'm going to be working with kids and Joe is going to be doing sound related things. {I don't pretend to know what he does. =P} I'm glad to be doing it, but I also know it's going to take a lot out of me. The conference starts tonight and lasts through Saturday night. I'm only volunteering for the Thursday and Friday night sessions and then again on Saturday afternoon... But when you work with little ones, things tend to get tiring. If you think about it, send lots of energetic prayers my way. I'm gonna need 'em!

Hope y'all are having a great week!

Tears, Tissue and TLC

 Yeah, that pretty much sums up my weekend. {Prepare for a bit of an overshare... ;-)}

Do you remember when I said I was coming down with a cold? What I should have said was I was coming down with the cold from hell. Seriously, I haven't felt this awful in a long, long time. I'm told that colds during pregnancy just down right suck. Well, all those people were correct. It started Wednesday with an allergy "attack." Sneezing, watery eyes...that sort of thing. I attempted to put in my contacts. They lasted a whopping 20 minutes before I took them out. Thursday I woke up with a sore throat and a cough. I even got myself together and attended a platoon picnic {which turned out to be not as bad as I thought}.

And then there was Friday. The cold hit in full force with runny nose, severe sinus, pressure and cough. By the afternoon I decided I needed drugs and Kleenex, so I sent Joe out in search of pregnancy-safe meds. I felt bad for Joe because he ended up going to 3 stores before he was able to get Sudafed. I know some doctors say Sudafed is a no-no, but it's on my list. Anyway. Did you know the only way you can get Sudafed on post is through prescription? I think that if my head had been clear I would have realized that, but being pregnant and sick I didn't. Fortunately, Joe found a very nice spouse at the PX who told him to go to a nearby drugstore.

By the time the poor guy got home {he loathes shopping, by the way}, I was in tears. Just minutes before he pulled in, I had laid down on the couch with my corn bag {aka cordless heating pad} on my head to relieve some of the sinus pressure. As soon as I laid down, the preggo hormones kicked in and I started crying. Many, many tears. I felt horrible, I had sent my husband who hates shopping to 3 different stores for medicine that I wasn't even sure I should be taking. Oh, I cried. He came home, asked how I was and I cried some more. As if he hadn't had enough to deal with already!!!

I didn't get any sleep Friday night. I couldn't breathe through my nose, I kept coughing, and - my all time favorite - I kept getting up to use the bathroom. Around 0500 Saturday morning, Joe's alarm went off. We had to be at church for a servant training thing at 0900 and I suppose he wanted to get up early. I slept until 0700. When I finally joined him in the land of the living, I found that the entire kitchen was clean, he'd picked up the living room, and he was folding laundry. Y'all, I almost cried. {Again with the hormones.} The house was basically a disaster when we went to bed but I had absolutely no energy to do anything about it.

The training session at church wasn't long, but I felt like I was being tortured by having to wear actual clothes and be around people. It wasn't until after lunch that things took a rough turn. I got so, so nauseous. I was hot and sick and it just wasn't pretty. I'm guessing now that my body was telling me to eat but because I'm sick I just didn't get it. Joe had to go back to church to run sound, so I was left at home to deal with it. For the most part it was manageable; I was just really, really hot.

He got back around 7:30 pm and we watched a little TV before both of us were about ready to crash. While washing my face before bed, I got nauseous again. Yaaay. And then I did something really stupid. I decided I'd take some cough medicine. I knew better, but I thought nothing bad would come of it. Liquid meds to a number on me because I was constantly sick as a kid and ev-er-y-thing is cherry flavored. Blech. So cherry flavored Robitussin brings back bad memories. I only gagged after shooting the medicine, but that was bad enough. And it pretty much set the tone for the rest of my night.

I woke up around 11 thinking vomit was imminent. No dice. Fortunately, Joe came to my rescue and helped me back to bed. I'm not sure why, but I was extremely weak. Then came 2 am. I was hot, nauseous and tired of feeling sick. My home remedy for nausea is about 1/4 tsp of baking soda mixed with about a cup of water. Drink it and it balances the pH in your tummy. Since I was so weak, I knew I couldn't make it to the kitchen to get it. What's a girl to do? Wake her hubby. I hated to wake him, but I had no choice. Unfortunately, the baking soda trick can be a bit of a toss up if you've already felt sick most of the day. I knew this but really hoped for the best.

And at 2 am my body succumbed to morning sickness. I suppose I should be glad that I made it almost 11 weeks before "praying to the porcelain god," as a former band director of mine once said. It was absolutely awful, but I have the best husband ever. He got up with me twice, handed me cold, wet washcloths, wiped my neck and back, and helped me back to bed both times. He never complained and just stood by my side the whole time.

Today has been better, but the cold is still hanging around. The Sudafed keeps my symptoms at bay and I've been doing nothing but resting on the couch all day. I said I would have been fine if I'd gotten pregnant when Joe came home on R&R last year... Now I'm really glad that didn't happen. It's nice to have someone to take care of you when you think you're on your death bed and can hardly move. Hey, how about that, God really does know best! ;-)

Now, if you'll excuse me I'm going to continue resting on the couch and hopefully recover from this cold soon. I hope your weekend was so much better than mine!

It's OK...

I've never done this linky party but a few blogs I follow do it and it looks like a lot of fun, so here's my first attempt. =)

It's OK...

...to be excited about having a rainy day when most days in the Land of Aloha are sunny and hot. I seriously can't wait for the rainy season! {aka winter}

...to feel a little guilty about having a cup of coffee today to help my sore throat. I know caffeine during pregnancy is allowed but I feel better about myself if I don't have it.

...to lay around in PJs and not get anything done because I've randomly come down with what seems to be a cold.

...to look at designs for my Silhouette and not download any of them because I'm too indecisive.

...to feel cut off from the world when Twitter goes down. It was down for an hour yesterday and I felt seriously out of the loop!

...to overshare with your bestie because who else are you going to talk with these things about?!

...to watch reruns of your favorite shows over and over and over again because you just can't get enough. I'm guilty of watching Charmed and Grey's Anatomy alllll the time. Thanks Lifetime and WE! ;-)

...to have daily Skype sessions with your bestie who lives about 7000 miles away...and to play with her baby via Skype. =) What would I do without my computer?!

...when it looks like the Army threw up in your living room. Thankfully my hubby is home to clean up after his Army self. =P

Unrelated note: It looks like I'll be starting up the Fall Foto Contest again! I'm glad so many people are interested in it. I'm sure I'll post about this again later, but as of right now I'm thinking of starting it on October 7 {which means I'd need to have photos emailed to me by the 6th}. If you think I should wait a week because fall doesn't necessarily start that early in October let me know! =)

Prego Package

Before we get to the main reason for this post, I have something I want to poll/ask you guys about. You may remember that last year I started a Fall Foto Contest (If you're new, just click the link. =)). Since I'm clearly not going to be experiencing fall yet again this year, I'd like to host the contest again. That is, if there's any interest in it. So the question is, would you be interested in sending in/seeing fall photos? Please let me know!!!

Source: thebookofsecrets.tumblr.com via Sarah on Pinterest

This photo got me thinking about doing the contest again. Gorgeous.

On Saturday, I decided it was time to check the mail. I had completely forgotten to check it...all week. And whaddaya know? I got a package!

You guys know how much I love getting packages, right? During Joe's deployment, I sent a bazillion care packages to him. Somewhere along the way, my fabulous SIL, Anna, sent me a care package. It was awesome! She also sent this one to me. =) And even though her last package had more goodies this one meant a bit more. Here's what she sent:

Sweetest card EVER, cocoa butter lotion, preggie pops (hallelujah!) and chocolate.

And - as she put it - "a pretty maternity dress to show off that bump!"

Oh, and please disregard the pile of laundry on the right...

The card was on top {and addressed to both of us, so we both read it} and I opened it first. She really must know I like cards and read them before opening any package. =) After I read the card, I was a bit teary-eyed. Then I opened the rest of the package...and pulled out the dress and told Joe, "I think I'm going to cry!" Then I proceeded to cry. Ah, hormones. They're really great. ;-)

Seriously, though, who thinks to send a prego care package?! I probably wouldn't have. And I'm fairly certain I didn't send her one when she was pregnant last time! It was very sweet and thoughtful. I feel pretty lucky to have gained a sister {yeah, I claim her even though she's Joe's sister ;-)} and friend like her when I married Joe. Actually, I think I really lucked out in the in-law department altogether.

Hope y'all are having a great week!

Friday Randomness

I swear I'm going to try to post more than once a week. The creative juices just haven't really been flowing lately... Which is why a "randomness" post comes in handy! =)

I haven't really been up to much lately. I had no idea I could ever be so tired!!! Some days I don't even feel like taking a shower. For the record, I do shower even when I'm feeling lazy. =P Of course, I don't think anyone understands the tiredness pregnancy brings until you're pregnant yourself. It's crazy. Add in some morning/most of the day sickness and it's a wonderful combo! Thankfully, I'm getting a handle on the morning sickness but there are also good and bad days.

Monday we went with some friends {Annie, Jennifer and their hubbies, to be exact} to the sandbar and rented a boat from the Marine Corps base. I had kind of wondered how I'd do on a boat - since I tend to get motion sick anyway - but I was fine the last time so I assumed I'd be ok. Do you know what happens when you assume??? I do! I had a good time but I was fighting nausea the entire day. It was a really nice day...other than the waves rocking the boat. =P

I even tried paddle boarding! =) I stink at it - and even fell once - but it was fun! Joe was way better at it than I was.

And then we tried paddle boarding together. This was taken after Joe attempted to stand on the end of the board with me sitting in the middle. I don't have to say that that idea didn't end well. =P

Despite the on-again-off-again nausea, I had a good time hanging out with friends. And, bonus, we had someone take a picture of all of us this time so we could prove we were actually together! =)

❉ ❉ ❉

Did anyone else watch Obama's pep talk speech last night? I didn't really want to but I knew if I didn't I'd be kicking myself later. Plus the historian in me just can't help it sometimes. 

Please tell me I'm not the only one who was extremely unimpressed by his speech! I will agree that he has some good ideas, but that's all they are. I'm also willing to as far to say that he has absolutely no clue how to put any of his ideas into action. Do you know he hasn't even submitted his glorious, job-creating, money-sucking plan to Congress yet? You would think that giving a speech on it, he would have done so already. How can he even beg Congress to pass something they haven't even seen yet?!

My biggest problem with this idea is that he never said what it entailed. Oh sure, he said it'll create jobs here, here and here but did he say how? Did he say "here's where the money is going to come from?" NO. In fact, he even mentioned that he was going to give tax breaks to businesses who hire people. Um, really, Obama? Let's give tax breaks, therefore lowering the government's income and then spend $440 billion on a bill that will hopefully create jobs. That sounds like a brilliant plan!!!!

Oh wait, it gets better. Remember how he mentioned cutting payroll taxes? That means $240 billion less going into Social Security. {thanks for the info @jamiedupree} And to make up for that shortfall, money would have to come from the general fund. It just keeps getting better and better.

If you are following me on Twitter, you read all of my tweets about this. At one point he said, "It's time to do what's right for our future." I think he's right on target...if, in fact, he means elect a new president. =P Someone please tell me how this plan is even feasible!! How is it possible to lower the deficit - which he's promised to do since day one - spend $440 billion creating jobs, and cutting payroll taxes? Hmmm?

My favorite part of the speech {I hope you sense my sarcasm} was when he said this: "What kind of country would this be if this chamber had voted down Social Security or Medicare based on some rigid idea about what government could or could not do?*" At this point, I about lost it. I'm not sure if he meant it the way I took it or not but to me it sounds a whole lot like our president - whose main duty is to uphold the Constitution - is bashing the Constitution and the rules that it has in place for our government. And if you don't like what the Constitution says you can or can't do you have two options. 1) Get the heck out of this country or 2) Change it. I'd prefer he do the former, personally. 

And just so we're clear on the issue, this country would be a country that is not reliant on the government for everything if Congress had voted down Social Security and Medicare. I say this as someone whose grandparents are completely reliant on the government for those two things. I've seen them struggle over the past 5 or so years to make ends meet using their sorry excuse for a paycheck and pay bills for hospital stays, surgery and medications Medicare won't cover. I've seen people abuse the Welfare system and Medicaid. I think the idea behind all of these government run programs are great, but they are failing our country and allowing its citizens to take advantage of what it offers.

If you were wondering, I feel much better now. =P

❉ ❉ ❉

In other news, my hubby got me something very sweet and unexpected yesterday. =)

"Just because" flowers!! And not just any flowers either - tulips! In case you didn't know, tulips are by far my favorite flowers. =) In the picture above some of the flowers were a little sad and weepy. Today they are nice and perky though!

I love, love, love them! I've been getting "just because" flowers fairly often since he got back. I don't know if he's trying to make up for lost time or what, but I'm totally okay with this showering of flowers. Especially when they come in the form of tulips! =)

Hope y'all have a great weekend! We have no big plans and I'm hoping for a nice, lazy weekend. =)

*Emphasis is all mine. You can view his whole speech here.

The Real Reason

So remember a few weeks ago when I said I had writer's block for an unknown reason? Well.... I wasn't exactly telling the truth. Hehe.

You see, about 25 {ish} days ago I took one of these little thingies:

And whaddaya know it came up positive!? =) There really is a second line there, it was just really faint. After I took the test I went back to bed {it was 5am and of course I had to pee} with all of the "O.M.G." thoughts running through my head. About a minute later, Joe went to the bathroom. I left the test on the counter so I thought he saw it. I asked him and he said he didn't see anything. So I said, "Do you want to know or do you want to sleep?" He responded by jumping out of bed and running to the bathroom. =) We didn't get much sleep after that.

After texting my bestie, I decided that even after just one test I'd call the doctor. Went to the doctor's office and waited patiently for them to call me back and assign lab work. I peed in a cup and got the confirmation phone call about an hour and a half later. =)

So the real reason I haven't been blogging all that much is because I'm pregnant. And I am the world's worst at keeping secrets. I knew that if I even alluded to being pregnant someone would ask and I would spill the beans. Unfortunately, that seems to have been happening a lot lately. =P

The other reason I haven't been blogging much is also because I haven't been feeling that great. Morning sickness reared its ugly head right around 6 weeks. At first it was all-through-the-day sickness, but at least for now it seems confined to morning. For the past week {ish} I've been having trouble breathing. I thought it was because my allergies were driving me insane and usually my asthma reacts to my allergies. I've been taking allergy meds but nothing has really helped. I've also been using my inhaler way more than usual... So, today I went to the walk-in clinic to see what was going on. {Note: I still haven't had my first appointment. Our OB clinic - probably the same for all military - won't see me until I'm 12 weeks. I'm 8 right now.} Apparently, it's not just my asthma. After spending half the day in Tripler's OB/SDEC clinic, I got an EKG (which was normal), lab work, a referral to a pulmonologist (lung doctor) and an ultrasound. =)

The ultrasound was what I was really happy about. Haha!! I got a little upset when I learned the military only gives you one ultrasound at 20 weeks. {Read: I was a lot upset and probably overreacted a bit. Thanks, hormones.} So when the doctor dimmed the lights and turned on the ultrasound machine, Joe and I about lost it. =) So, here's the shot of our little one at 8 weeks:

{The pic says 7w6days, but I'm really 8w3d. Silly machine.}

I can't tell you how relieved I was to see our tiny little baby and to hear his/her heartbeat. =) After hearing all the doctor thought could be wrong, it was reassuring. And for the record, I'm fine. Just a little short of breath and super tired. Not too much to worry about until someone says so. The only thing that matters to me is that our little one is ok and has a nice, strong heartbeat...and that I'm breathing. 'Cause the baby kinda needs that too. Ha! And just for fun, here's the pic we used to announce the jelly bean on Facebook. {Because it's not official 'til it's on Facebook....right? ;-)}

So there you have it. I really went back and forth on whether I should announce so early. The worrier in me says, "No! You must be 12 weeks to announce!" But the optimist/person who trusts God says it doesn't really matter anyway. =)

Maybe I'll post more now that I don't have to keep anything a secret. =) Hope your Labor Day Weekend is off to a great start!

P.S. I think I found a cure for my baby fever after all.... ;-)