Pregnancy: Week 12
Thirteen weeks pregnant today, and all I can say is, wow, the world is such a nice place when you are not sick 24/7! :)
How I'm feeling: Better, especially the last two days. There are still pockets of sickness that when they hit they suck, but so different than being sick sick sick all day (and night). I am starting to feel like there is an end in sight. And feeling better physically has also translated into feeling better mentally, which is huge for me right now...I've been feeling so down for weeks and weeks...that's starting to lift.
Also, pretty wicked insomnia has arrived, which my husband reminded me I had last pregnancy, too. Insomnia like I can't sleep at all 'til around 4 AM. I'm dealing with it by getting up and working in the middle of the night, and then sleeping some during the day when I would otherwise work. My husband and mother-in-law have been great about covering with the kids so I can get some sleep. This is happening about every third night. Oh, what I wouldn't give for some Tylenol PM...but not going to happen while I'm pregnant.
What I'm working on: Work's been busy with big and little projects for all but one of my clients (it's somewhat rare that I have projects with everyone all at once). Money's going into the maternity fund...yay! And as of today I feel on top of things for the first time in a few weeks...think I'm even going to take tomorrow off and just hang with the twins all day.
What I'm reading/watching/listening to: Just finished the book "Waiting for Birdy," about a woman pregnant with/having her second child. Really enjoyed it. Also watching "Breaking Bad," just started Season 4 and oh my gosh it is getting violent (when I told my husband he said, "It's a show about meth, what did you expect?") Going to make a playlist for my iPOD this weekend of happy pop-y, summery songs, with Daft Punk and Imagine Dragons in there somewhere for sure.
What I'm excited about: Can't wait to feel this baby move. Can't wait to be officially out of the first trimester. And I was thinking for the first time this week about how much fun it will be to get everything ready for this baby...physical things like receiving blankets and the adorable newborn clothes we've saved...
What I'm scared about: 6 more months of insomnia. Hopefully it'll just be an occasional thing...
What I did for me this week: My brother and his girlfriend and kids came down for a long weekend last weekend...totally lounged with them vs my normal running around trying to get a million things done. I took Monday off work, too, (my husband did, too) and my mother-in-law watched the kids and we all went to the Family Fun Center and played putt putt golf and did the bumper boats a bunch of times (everyone got soaked and I laughed so hard...been a long time since I laughed like that) and everyone else did go-karts a bunch of times but they are not recommended when you are pregnant...still, looked so fun...I've never been in a go-kart, totally want to go once I'm no longer pregnant.
And, my husband and I are doing an official dinner-and-a-movie date night tonight...it's been a while since we've done something like that.
XOXO
Zoey's Diary: 15 Months
Hi! Hi! Hi!
Zoey here, to tell you all about the past month!
Mommy doesn't have a lot of pictures this time, because she was feeling really sick and also her camera wasn't working, but there are some good ones of Grandpa visiting us, even if a few of them are blurry, you can see how much we love him (and how much he loves us)! He is sooooooooo good with us. He read us tons of stories and he even gave me my first milkshake! We love it when Grandpa visits. Grammy visited us too, just a little while ago, but Mommy's camera REALLY wasn't working by then so she doesn't have any pictures. We had soooooooooo much fun with Grammy though! We can't wait until July when Mommy says we are all going to get together in Colorado...it's going to be so much fun!
We're doing lots of cool stuff these days, lounging and playing. We love outside and water, the pool but also Mommy fills up a little container on the patio and we splash in it...so fun. And Mommy says Luke is into EVERYTHING these days...she says she feels bad because sometimes all she says all day is no no no. I'm pretty mellow at the moment...Luke gets into enough stuff for the both of us, I figure.
Mommy still reads to us tons. We both plop ourselves down in her lap for stories, side by side. It's the best.
Oh and we are both starting to talk, me and Bubs. We've been saying mama and daddy, but I've also started saying teddy and nana for banana and Bubs says bird and we both say ball and face parts like ear and nose and mouth. Oh, and rock was one of the first words for both of us...Mommy says clearly we are New Mexico. :)
And also, we are getting more and more affectionate with each other, me and Bubs, giving each other hugs or just laying our head against one or the other. There is a bit of roughness too but it's not intentional...we're just learning how to be with other people. I also always make sure Bubs has a beeper (paci) when he needs it (I'll go looking for one if he's fussing, bring it back to him). And he's always bringing me teddies because he knows how much I love them.
So that's it. We are loving life around here!
Love,
Zoey-kins
Pregnancy: Weeks 10 and 11
Hi Everyone! Happy Thursday!
Just crossed in to being 12 weeks pregnant...yay!
How I'm feeling: Sick. Tried zofran to help, but all it did was give me a horrible headache on top of the nausea, so back to just suffering through the nausea. Hope it gets better soon!
What I'm eating: Tuna sandwiches and grapefruit juice when I'm good, cheese and sour cream potato chips and vitamin water when I'm bad
What I'm excited about: Not feeling sick, which should happen sometime soon, right? And I'm starting to look really pregnant, not just fat, which is good. And everything looked great at my OB appointment last week. And I AM OFF FERTILITY MEDS! I have my last blood draw tomorrow. So happy.
What I'm scared about: Work...I just don't feel like I have a good handle on it. There's too much of it right now and I don't have the energy/reserves for too much work. Also, I have this nagging fear of how are we going to handle three children? Two we've got down...I am just scared of the unknown, and feeling stretched so thin right now...
What I'm watching/listening to/reading: The Voice, which is over now...love that show. And I just started watching Breaking Bad (you kind of have to if you live in ABQ)...my Dad introduced me to it and it's amazing. Also reading a book called Waiting for Birdy that is so cool, it's a woman with a toddler writing about expecting her second child. Loving it.
What I'm doing for me: Hopefully I'll have more to report here next week. The honest answer right now is pretty much nothing, aside from getting my camera fixed yesterday. Oh and I did pick up a couple of books at the library a few days ago. And went to lunch just my Mom and me on Monday, that was lovely. So maybe I'm not doing so bad...
Can't wait to feel less sick.
And be "safely" out of the first trimester.
And to feel the baby move, although I know that's a little ways away.
XOXO
Balance
Hi Everyone! Happy Wednesday!
I have a lot I want to say today and not sure how to start, so I'm just going to kind of dive right in.
I've been struggling for the past few months. There's been:
- A move to a place I don't know and didn't choose (I told my husband we'd go wherever was best for his career), also away from my family and the state I grew up in--the state that feels like home
- My husband stopping his full-time stay-at-home-dad gig and starting a full-time job
- Getting pregnant with our third child (via an FET and all the craziness that entails)
So lots and lots and lots of change.
My days these days, they go like this:
- Up with the kids at 7 AM. Hang out with them until 10:30 or 11
- Work from 10:30 or 11 to 5ish (or whenever the kids get up from their afternoon nap. My mother-in-law, who is living with us, watches the kids while I work)
- Watch kids from 5 to 8 (with some help from my husband, but I'm generally the primary caretaker, and I'm fine with that. He and my mother-in-law do dinner and clean up most nights, which is huge)
- After 8 work more if needed, do any housework that needs to be done, watch some TV/Netflix, or read. Honestly after 8 I am absolutely exhausted
And I'm really feeling like all of a sudden there is no time for me, that my life is kids, work, kids, chores, sleep. And it's made way worse by being so sick in the first trimester of pregnancy (not to mention the exhaustion). Sometimes I can't work from 11 to 5 because I have to lay down and then I have to do nights and weekends to make up for it. I've just started getting a massage every other week, but that's really been it as far as doing anything for myself. And it's my fault, because I have my mother-in-law to help and my husband is great, he says to schedule whatever I want to schedule and he'll watch the kids, he's so awesome. But even though "me time" is being so generously offered, it's so hard to do.
Part of the problem is work, I work as a freelancer and it's supposed to be 20 hours a week (well, right now we are shooting for 30 so I can save some money for a maternity leave), but there is no way to work exactly 20 hours a week as a freelancer. So for a lot of May I wasn't working much at all, which was so nice, but in June I have been working a lot because there are projects and I need to even the hours out. The busy times are so incredibly hard on me, though. It's stressful and exhausting.
Part of the problem is having an enormous TO DO list, and everything but me getting put first. I never feel on top of things. I need to just squeeze in stuff for me. Like today, I have so many work projects it's so easy to work every second of my kid-free time, but my camera hasn't been working and I stopped work to take it to a camera repair place and get it fixed and that was so great, the work will be there tomorrow and I can't tell you how good it feels to do something for me.
The way I see it, there are four things:
- Kids
- Work
- Running the household (everything from laundry to cooking and cleaning to calling the tree guy because our trees don't look that great or the pool cover guy because our pool cover needs adjusting to going to the bank and the post office and etc., all of which I have help with)
- Me time (which includes time alone with my husband)
The kids are my first priority, and I'm really proud of how well they are taken care of/how much attention they get.
Work gets the attention it needs because I want to make my clients happy (it's a problem, actually, I have no trouble putting their needs before mine), and also if I don't do a good job there won't BE a job and I am extremely grateful to be able to freelance.
The household, my mother-in-law is doing so much, and my husband...I definitely play a role here but it's between the three of us that things get done. I am extraordinarily grateful for the help. Oh and we have a house cleaner every other week. If it were all just up to me, the household would be a complete disaster.
And me...always on the back burner and I think that has a lot to do with me feeling so sad. A lot has changed, the rhythm of our days is totally different than it was when my husband was a stay-at-home-dad and I don't think I've really thought about that and adjusted for it. Before my husband started working again this (not feeling like I have any time for myself) didn't seem to be a problem. Now it is.
So starting with tomorrow's pregnancy update, I'm going to do a "What I've been doing for me" section. And make sure there's something to put there each week. That's my strategy for feeling better. And with the morning sickness that's really complicated this whole thing set to subside soon (in theory at least)--being so sick has made it impossible to want to do anything in time that's not work- or kid-related other than lay down--I think that's a reasonable goal.
XOXO
Grace in Small Things, June 14, 2013
Hi Everyone! Happy Friday!
Some lovely things that are happening:
1. My mom is here visiting! Yay!
2. Just got the call from my clinic...I am DONE with daily progesterone shots. Cannot tell you how happy that makes me. And I should be weaned off all meds next week.
3. I have a really cool Father's Day planned out for my husband...can't wait!
4. First rain I've seen in New Mexico yesterday. Was good to see rain. Think it's going to happen again this evening, too.
5. Feeling a bit better emotionally. So glad. And I have lots of plans for taking better care of me, which is, I think, at least part the problem. More on that next week.
Hope everyone has a lovely weekend. :)
XOXO
Instructions for Living a Life
Instructions for living a life:
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.
--Mary Oliver
(via AB CHAO)
Grace in Small Things, June 4, 2013
Hi Everyone!
Happy Tuesday!
Here are some things that are good in my world:
- Thanks to those of you who left kind comments on my (somewhat whiny) post the other day. And to Janie, whom I don't know, thank you for the gentle (and very polite) reminder that things could be worse. Yeah, I'm feeling down about some things, but everything is right in my world right now and my malaise is NOTHING like the pain of fertility stuff and miscarriages and etc. that so many women go through before getting to have a take-home baby. That is hell. This is no big deal
- Story hour at our local library is so great. And it's pretty easy for me to take both kids there by myself...I feel like supermom when I can get out and about like that with twins. (Getting out and about with them has been more challenging since I haven't been able to load the stroller up in the car...because I'm not supposed to life heavy things while pregnant...I had no idea how much that stoller enabled me to do, and what a learning curve it would be figuring out how to get out of the house with 2 kids without it)
- Taco Cabana chicken quesadillas are the best thing ever. With the very, very hottest sauce, tons of it, I could drink that stuff. That's one of my cravings lately and so glad I can just drive down the street and get one. (The other things I'm craving are celery...weird, I know...and grapefruit juice, which is what I craved last pregnancy)
- Work is busy. Projects are fun. Although I have a MASSIVE thing to write in the next week or so...a little nervous about how I'm going to pull that off but my husband said he'd be happy to help with the kids so I know it's going to happen
- And...OK...confession: After swearing up and down my whole life that I would NEVER drive a minivan...well, as of this weekend there is a minivan parked in our driveway. The funny thing is, I thought I would hate it and, you know, it kind of needed to be done with 3 kids coming up and 2 big dogs and Grandma living with us and my parents visiting often and us wanting to do road trips to Colorado and elsewhere, but I didn't expect to be happy about it. I've driven a Jeep FOREVER. That's who I am. But you know what? I am actually LOVING the minivan. So easy to get the kids in and out. So easy to get everyone in the car to go somewhere. So easy to do errands. This minivan thing kind of rocks. :)
Hope everyone is having a great week. :)
XOXO
Image Credit: tetamodeler
Pregnancy: 8 Weeks (And I'm Struggling With Being Pregnant and Other Stuff)
Hi Everyone! Happy Friday!
I was 9 weeks pregnant yesterday, and according to my ultrasound a few days ago, all is well.
All I can really talk about this week is being sick, sick, sick.
And exhausted, but really the being sick is worse.
And I'm fighting it, I have been for a couple weeks, but feeling so terrible is getting me into a really bad funk.
Compounded by the fact that I'm in a new city with no friends and my family a little farther away than I'm used to (although they are still close and have been visiting a ton which I HUGELY appreciate).
You know, Albuquerque is going to be great, there is so much the city/surrounding area has to offer and I'll make friends, I know I will, and I love our house and my husband and the kids are the best and my husband's job is just amazing--amazing--but, I don't know, I am missing Colorado, and Seattle, and California, don't even get me started on California...I always miss the places I've lived in the past, it's just who I am. I miss the green of the springtime and grass, oh my gosh I miss grass (it's pretty much all about xeriscaping around here) and I'm just so sick and exhausted all the time, I feel like I'm having to give up everything about myself for a family...I just feel like I'm losing every shred of who I used to be from where I live to doing creative stuff to traveling to being active and outdoors to having a social life...and I know a lot of this is temporary, I knew going into this that the pregnancy would probably be hard, but still, the day-after-day reality is really getting to me.
But what is there to do but carry on, you know? I love my life, I just wish I didn't feel like the old me totally has to die to have this. Does anyone else feel this way? I think the combination of a new city (with no support system) + fertility treatment craziness + morning sickness + some fear about being able to give three kids what they need...I've got two down pat...is three going to be OK, or will it totally push us over the edge?...anyway, I think all these factors together are...it's just feeling like too much.
Oh, and by the way, totally changing the subject, I am doing horribly with the diabetes diet. When I actually had gestational diabetes I did an A+ job of eating the way I was supposed to. But being advised to eat that way before I actually have an issue...it's so hard. And it's not really junk food that's the problem, it's that I want some carbs to keep from throwing up. And I'm supposed to have protein at every meal/snack but I don't want protein. I've actually got a million food aversions going on right now...like avocado, which is usually my favorite thing ever. And what I want to eat is weird, like a tuna melt the other day...I never ever eat tuna melts...
Anyway, that's where things are.
I'm hoping in another month or so I'll stop feeling so sick and that will help me emotionally.
Things are hard right now.
On the other hand, my husband's worked hard this week to get our new pool in working order...so we now have a sparkling, crystal clear blue pool in our backyard to play in with the kids this weekend...and it's supposed to be sunny and in the 80s the whole time...and the pool water's nice and warm...and all the roses and other plants are blooming out there...ah, it's so lovely and we're so lucky...how can anyone be sad with that happening, right? :)
XOXO
2nd Ultrasound...Good News
Hi Everyone! Happy Wednesday!
I had my second ultrasound yesterday and all is well, the baby is measuring 8 wk 5 days which is exactly where he/she should be, heart rate of 178 which is normal.
The subchorionic bleed seen last time is shrinking (pretty much gone, really), not growing, which is a huge relief. I didn't want to talk about this before, but all the info on Dr. Google for pregnant women is very reassuring ("It's usually no problem! Don't worry!"), but when you go into the actual medical literature (which I know how to do...I do advertising but it's mostly in the medical field, so I need to access that sort of stuff for my job)...anyway, when you go into the medical literature where they talk to doctors who have no emotional investment in the situation, the information is WAY more grim, with straight-up statistics showing significantlytly higher miscarriage rates and stillbirths (which was what was getting me really freaked out) associated with the condition. But for me, the bleed is getting better, not worse, so not something I need to worry about. I actually did a pretty good job not worrying between ultrasounds...somehow after all I've been through trying to have babies I just can't get worked up about things anymore unless they are actual problems, vs what I was told two weeks ago at my first ultrasound, which was if the bleed was growing there could be a problem, if it's shrinking everything will be good.
Anyway, so relieved everything looks so good. Go Freezy!
Oh and I'm starting to get weaned off the fertility meds (yay!). Next OB appointment in two weeks.
XOXO
Lukes Diary: 14 Months
Hi Mommy's Blog Readers!
We turned 14 months old a little while ago, and I wanted to tell you about our past month!
Our Grammy came to visit us! We love it when we get to see her!
And, Grandma Charlotte was planting things in the garden, so we got to spend a lot of time outside. I loooooooove being outside. I would spend all day outside if I could, and so would Sissy.
We've always liked books, but lately it's been all about board books, so we can hold them and chew on them and throw them at people so they will read them to us. "The Hungry Little Caterpillar" is a perennial favorite (you should hear Daddy's rendition, with the caterpillar in training for an eating contest), but this month we have especially loved "Go Dog, Go!" which our Grammy gave us. We're happiest if someone is reading it to us 10 times in a row.
I like my paci (which Daddy also calls my Beeper...actually Mommy has started calling me Beeper sometimes, or Beep). Mommy and Daddy are OK with it. Often, Mommy asks if she can have it and I'll usually hand it over and she'll put it in her pocket and tell me to let her know if I need it. Sometimes I don't want to give it up, though, and that's OK too.
Me and Sissy are interacting a lot more these days. She comes up and gives me a hug and I do the same to her. She also brings me a pacifier if she finds one lying around the house...she'll put it in my mouth and everything. Sometimes I'll chase Sissy and tackle her, but she doesn't seem to mind. I've also been known to find her teddies laying around and bring them to her...
Zoey's been waving a lot. And I've been talking up a storm, Mommy says, and I've started to throw kisses, too, like Sissy.
We gave up all our bottles except the evening one this past month...it was no big deal. And we are still napping 1 1/2 to 2 hours morning and afternoon. We are great sleepers!
Mommy's been taking us to parks to play in the grass (she says she really misses grass) and/or to play on the playground stuff. It's so fun!
In the evenings Mommy (and sometimes Daddy) takes us into our room after our bath and plays "Mommy Monster," where we don't have to get diapers on or lotion or PJs unless she can catch us. It's super fun. Daddy plays "Daddy Monster" around the house too all day, where he chases after us with his arms up and fingers curled like claws. Sometimes Sissy will put her arms up too and run around like Daddy. It's hil-arious.
So that's it! Another good month! Catch you later!
Love,
Luke
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
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
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
Mother's Day 2013
Hi Everyone! Happy Monday!
Mother's Day started out pretty rough for me...I've been super homesick for Colorado and I miss my mom so much...just wanted to be able to hang out with her, you know?
But then my husband took us all to the nicest brunch...it really meant a lot, I felt so spoiled. And then we went to the park...so sweet to just laze together on a warm spring day. It ended up being such a great day, truly.
Hope you all had a lovely weekend.
XOXO
Pregnancy: Week 5
Hi Everyone!
I'm 6 weeks pregnant today. (Yay!)
There's been some drama around here this past week.
I started bleeding bright red on Sunday, not a lot, but not a little, either. My clinic told me to get in bed and spend the rest of the day there.
The next day, talking with my nurse, she said there is a clot that forms with implantation and she thought the bleeding was from that clot and that the baby was fine, but did ask me to get a rhogam shot (I guess in case the baby's blood was mingling with mine...I'm a negative blood type). I don't officially have an OB here yet so got sent to the ER for the shot, and they didn't just want to give me a shot (understandable) so they did their own evaluation, including an HCG level, which came back good (meaning the baby is fine).
Anyway, everything has been OK since then, so just assuming everything really is OK. I have an ultrasound on Monday, that'll be good.
Feeling a little detached about the whole pregnancy, which I'm sure is just my way of protecting myself in case something goes wrong.
Physically feeling fine, except for some nausea the day I was in the ER and skipped lunch (I was there 4 hours...clearly I was not an emergency...everyone was very nice, though.)
(Oh, and in the past I have had serious PTSD freak-outs having to go anywhere near an ER because of the way my brother died and what happened with me in the ER in relation to that, but that seems to have gone away...grateful for that...)
Have gained 8 lbs with the fertility drugs so am already struggling with what to wear, although I have saved all my various sizes of jeans, bras, etc over the past few years as I have gone up and down in weight with pregnancies...just need to get the right set of stuff in my closet.
So all is well (I think). Will report back with news from the OB on Monday. :)
XOXO
May Day
Last week, first of May, the kids and I took roses cut from our backyard to our neighbors, some of whom we'd already met, some of whom we hadn't.
We live in a neighborhood built in the '60s, where most of the people bought these houses new and haven't left.
Would be nice to have the streets crawling with kids for ours to play with, but gosh, eveyone is so nice, and as the (occasional) house sells, families with kids are moving in, or so we're told. Like us. And the neighbors behind us, over the wall, with a four-year-old boy and six-year-old girl. They baked us home-made cookies and drew us a picture of our house that said WELCOME TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD in labored first grade lettering...too cute...too sweet.
This neighborhood feels good. Safe. So friendly. Like you could knock on someone's door and they would help you, day or night.
We're liking it here. :)
Happy Monday!
XOXO
Twins Are Amazing
Hi Everyone! Happy Friday!
Today I wanted to share a couple short videos of my twins interacting.
First, a French toast breakfast in which they feed each other:
Then, playing together in the playroom, Luke putting balls into the dinosaur, Zo pushing them back out:
Twins are amazing! :)
Hope everyone has a great weekend! Thanks for spending some time here this week!
XOXO