Week 11

I thought, even though this stage is pretty uneventful, I would go ahead and begin doing my weekly surveys!!

11 Weeks


Total weight gain/loss: It's funny! I don't have a scale at home, so I don't pay attention to this, but I've noticed my pajamas fit loser, but my tummy has began to pooch out!! hmmm

Maternity clothes? None yet. I have worn a couple of my maternity sweats, but just because, not out of necessity!!


Stretch marks? Just the ones I already have!


Sleep: I have horrible insomnia! I've always heard of this happening during pregnancy, but thought it was exaggerated and couldn't be that bad! I'm eating those words now!

Best moment this week: The 70 degree weather we had this past weekend! We took Lena to the park and went for a really nice walk around the neighborhood! It's nice to get out after spending the yucky winter stuck inside.

Movement: Not yet. The poor thing must feel like it's getting beat up by Ms. Lena though!!


Food cravings: Hmm, nothing to crazy. Fruits and veggies seem to hit the spot. I've noticed that if I really want something, and get it, the thought of eating it again makes me sick. Needless to say we are running out of food ideas


Gender: It's a mystery.


Labor Signs: Nope!


Belly Button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? Both on! I'll be curious to see if I can wear them throughout the pregnancy again. Esp since it will soon be 80 and humid out

What I miss: Sleeping, not cuddling with my toilet, large amounts of caffeine, and the workout routine I was doing before getting pregnant.


What I am looking forward to: Right now Ms. Lena's birthday! Can you believe she is almost one! We find out the gender that week too! I'm sure Lena could care less, but I think it's a pretty awesome "gift"!!


Weekly Wisdom: Get as much done as you can early on!! I learned last time that by 9 months, you're just too big to do much, or want to do much!!


Milestones: We switched around the upstairs rooms, and are on the way to painting baby's nursery! We are hoping Ms. Lena will be in a "big girl bed" by August!!

And just because I thought there was a need for some cuteness....

First Trimester

So I realized last night that I was already at my 10 week mark, which means just a few short weeks until the beginning of my second trimester! The light in all the pregnancy darkness!! So far this pregnancy has differed very little from the last. The main distinction between the two was my ability to just lay around with Lena. I didn't work, nor did I have a little one to chase around all day, so when I felt sleepy it was absolutely no big deal for me to take a 3 hour nap.

This time around, however, I'm not so fortunate. With a little pistol like Lena, my days are pretty much constantly on the go!! The upside to that is the fact that I just have to deal with it. I have had a couple of mental breakdowns, where I just felt like "What have I gotten myself into", but I will attribute a lot of that to the crazy stir of hormones inside of me right now!

I've, again, had horrible morning sickness, crazy headaches, and embarrassing breakouts! All of which are beginning to get under control. So things are looking up there! RIght now I am waiting anxiously for warmer weather. I can't wait to just sit outside....Lord knows I could use some warm, fresh air!

The best part about the second trimester, besides feeling slightly normal again, is finding out the sex. We find out what the baby is March 21st, right before Lena's first birthday! I'm sure she won't understand, or really care for that matter, but it will be fun to experience that with her!! I am also anxious for my bump! I have a TON of winter wear, that I am hoping I can get a little use out of before the summer hits. My belly already has a slight pooch, but its mainly just bloating! I haven't gained any weight, but my jeans feel snug, you know the way you feel right before you start your period!!

I'm hoping to keep my weight gain under control. I still have a bit to lose from Lena, so my goal is to just not put on as much as I did with her. Hopefully with the summer months...ie nightly walks, and daily swimming...plus the fact that it's just too hot to eat anything but fruit, salad, and drink water, should help!

Needless to say the time is kinda of flying by. If it wasn't for the sickness I think I might forget I was pregnant. Lena keeps us on our toes daily. She is a constant entertainment, and sponge! It's so much fun watching her grow!!

Mothers...

I can remember my teen years being filled with a lot of screaming and teary eyed nights. This was usually the result of an argument with my mother, who I always thought just didn't get me, or understand. What I failed to realize then was how much I just didn't know, yet!
Becoming a mother is much more than holding your child in your arms and telling them you love them. It's not just a series of routines put together in order to manage feedings, changings, baths, and education. Being a mother is much more amazing and terrifying than anyone can ever explain to you in words....it's just a feeling.
As Lena's mom I often find myself wondering what the future brings. It's a constant on my mind. I find most of my prayers simply being that she has a chance to grow up and become the amazing woman that I know she is meant to be. When you hear the quote about "having children is like having your heart forever walking around outside your body" you can't really understand the hurt, the tug, the pull, and the pure love that is that quote until you have lived it....and TRULY embraced it.
It is my personal belief that having children isn't a responsibility but a priviledge. It's something that you personally have chosen to take upon yourself, you were not forced into parenthood, even if the child was an "oopsie"....( I mean is there really such a thing??)
I can only hope that I am half the mother that my mom was to me. As frustrating as it was at 16 to have a strict curfew, be expected to call everywhere I went, bring all my friends and significant others home to meet the parents, I can't say enough how thankful I am for those limitations! I used to be jealous of those kids whose mom and dads let them roam free, no curfew, no responsibility....but I see kids like that today and my heart aches for them. It is because I was truly, deeply, unconditionaly loved that my parents, and I will too, set limits. Sure I strayed, but because of the morals I had instilled in me, I always found my way back home!
So no, I didn't get it....not back then! But a child turns your entire world upright. Not upside down!!

Nine Months...and counting!!

My Little Lena turned nine months on December 29! This has put us just a few short months away from celebrating the first year of this amazing little life! She absolutely amazes us every single day! The week of Christmas she really started to say MaMa! Best gift I got, by far! She has also mastered Dada, Baba, ByeBye, Hi, and recently Gaga (aka Gammie)!!

Lena can also wave to you, patty cake (along with the roll em up and throw em in pan part), and shake her head no, no, no!! (I think that one might get her in trouble eventually)

She has been crawling and pulling up since she was 6 months old, but she can now stand on her own for an extended period of time. I believe that if she wanted to, she can walk, however what's the point when crawling gets you just where you need to go! LoL

Needless to say we have our hands full with this precious little baby girl of ours! But we are loving every minute of it!

2011- thus far!

So I know in my last post I promised an update of our Christmas festivies, of which there were many, but to be honest lately I am doing well to get out of bed. This pregnancy is starting to get me down...waay down!

This past weekend my pregnancy sypmtoms began to kick in with FULL FORCE. I had a bit of nausea and a really bad headache the week we were home for Christmas, but thought it was pretty minimal compared to what I went through with Lena. You know the saying never count your chickens before they hatch, or whatever? Yeah I should really apply that to my life. For whatever reason this weekend I found myself to be so completely exhausted and achy that walking around was a pain...not to mention the crazy dizziness I have been getting. I had a couple of dizzy spells with Lena, but nothing so consistent.

To top it all off I woke up Monday morning with a pounding headache and spent the better part of that day bent over a toilet. After an hour or so of feeling horrible I began to notice some blood in my "puke"...sorry for the tmi. This immediately freaked me out and I began calling my husband, parents, and the doctor. Josh decided to come home that afternoon since I was clearly in no shape to try and take care of a nine month old alone.

Here's where the story gets interesting. I was supposed to have my first prenatal visit yesterday afternoon, which brought some kind of relief knowing I was going to be able to see someone and maybe get all of this craziness under control. After talking to the triage nurse she made a note on my chart and offered to call me in some nausea meds (same thing I took last pregnancy). Great!

Soon after Josh arrives home with bags of "goodies" aka crackers, sprite, pudding pops, sherbert...you know, the usual sick aids. I am able to eat a few crackers and enjoy a sprite before getting sick again an hour later. I get up, get myself bathed and ready, and am now laying down waiting to leave for the doctor's office. About 30 minutes before we are going to leave the phone rings, it my Doctors office. The secretary proceeds to tell me that they do not want me to come in for fear I have a virus and they are afraid I will get a fellow worker, who is due any day now, sick! ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME!!

After hanging up the phone I make my way upstairs to tell Josh, who is getting Lena ready, what just happened. You cold have felt the steam coming off of his face!! What kind of a doctor doesn't want you to come in because you are sick??!!??!! He really wanted to call them and let them know what he thought, but I refused to give them the phone. Instead I call back, politely explain my situation to the receptionist, and she redirects me to triage...AGAIN. The nurse hear, while helpful, really just gave me the run around. She continually told me that if I got worse to call back and they'd send me to the hospital, however, in my opinion I was already worse...I was puking blood...HELLO!

This lead to many more calls to the other location, to which I was told that the nurse I had originally spoke to was over the other nurses and they couldn't do anything, but attempt to get me in early the next morning. To which I replied no thank you, I will call somewhere else. You see, I wasn't calling last minute trying to get an appointment, I have had one scheduled for weeks, and I just wanted to see my doctor to make sure that my worries were nothing and the baby was just fine.

So here I sit, the next morning. Still sick, still have a bit of blood in my vomit, a healthcare provider that will now see me, but I am uncertain if I trust their judgement! What to do...?