Today I am 11 weeks and 6 days pregnant. I have my first real doctor's appointment set finally and I have our first ultrasound early next week! Yay! Hopefully there is actually a baby in there since--guess what--it leaked that I'm pregnant among my church friends here! Haha, all these people suddenly know I'm pregnant and there really was not anything I could do to prevent it. That's fun though. :) I like people knowing, I guess. I also like that my baby is supposedly two inches long!
In fact, baby should look pretty much like this:
I am starting to show. I definitely didn't think I would for several more weeks. I have a bulge-y lower abdomen that cannot be contained. Wow.
I got a lot sicker this week. I've thrown up almost every day and then I continue to feel nauseous for the rest of the day. Oh well.
Here's the questionnaire for this week:
How far along? 11 weeks ( and 6 days) Baby is: The size of a fig, lime, or lemon (of the two-inch-long variety) Total weight gain/loss? My weight has been fluctuating in a downward fashion. Maternity clothes? No, but I'm wearing leggings and maxi skirts a lot these days. Stretch marks? No. Sleep? Great. Best moment this week? Eating a whole box of Mike and Ike's... (Oh, gosh.) Miss Anything? Not this week. :) Movement? No Food cravings? Shamefully, one day this week, my husband and I shared (but I predominately consumed) one can of Dinty Moore Beef Stew, a box of chewy Jolly Ranchers and Mike and Ike's, and a bag of Flamin'-hot Cheetos... In one evening (WHAT HAVE I DONE?!). Anything making you queasy or sick? Yes. Just, everything...except milk, Yoplait yogurt and gummy vitamins. :) Have you started to show yet? Yep :) I have an awkward bulge; equal parts Flamin'-hot Cheetos and fetus. Gender? No idea Labor Signs? No Belly Button in or out? In Wedding rings on or off? On Happy or Moody most of the time? I was so grouchy with my husband this week. I really raked him over the coals. He has done nothing wrong. I'm just insane right now. Let's just say week 11 has been a doozy. Looking forward to? The things I've looked forward to since the start: ultrasound, diaper bag, second trimester, telling family. I have been really homesick this week, too. Christmas cannot come fast enough. I love you, Utah!
Just to let you know up front: I am late writing this bumpdate... and I didn't take a picture of myself (Oh, shame, haha). I am currently about 14 and a half weeks, but I think I can recall the details pretty well. :)
On to the fun parts!
No picture of my barely-there baby bump this week. My bad.
How far along? 13 weeks Baby is: The size of a PEACH! Total weight gain/loss? One whole pound! Maternity clothes? No, but I do love stretchy clothes... Stretch marks? No. Sleep? Great, but waking up a little more in the night. Best moment this week? Telling our families!!! I am working on a reactions video that I will put up here soon, yay! Miss Anything? A little waist maybe. Movement? No Food cravings? Thai and/or Indian food. Anything making you queasy or sick? An empty stomach always makes me feel super nauseous. Have you started to show yet? Yes, but it's still not distinguishably a baby bump. Gender? We find out in a month! Labor Signs? No Belly Button in or out? In Wedding rings on or off? On Happy or Moody most of the time? Mostly happy this week. :) Looking forward to? A baby!
Oh my goodness. I feel so sick. It's 1 am and I am laying in bed eating saltines. Generally, my morning sickness has been manageable; I've only tossed my lunch three times. However, I feel sick nearly every day. If my stomach gets empty I lose it.
These days I feel pretty functional and not tired until I sit down and take an unintentional four-hour nap (as I did today). I can't stay awake in movies or in car rides lasting longer than 15 minutes (when I'm a passenger).
Insurance is making me nervous. As far as I can tell I am 90 day out from getting benefits from my job. I did, however, apply for Medicaid last week. It is done. Now we're just waiting to see if I qualify for benefits. I am not sure when I will find out, or even when or if the Medicaid office will fax my legal documents. I just want to see a doctor... I really don't want to pay for an ultrasound out of pocket, let alone anything else, but we've decided if we haven't heard from the Medicaid people this week we will just pay for the appointment ourselves. Bah. Set backs.
I am excited to announce that I bought gummie prenatal vitamins... If only I could eat them like candy. They are seriously so delicious.
I've been taking a prenatal vitamin for almost two years. There are good prenatal vitamins and really bad prenatal vitamins. I didn't appreciate this fully until I was actually pregnant. I recently bought cheap, stinky horse pill prenatals because they were on sale. They no longer cut it.
Alas, gummies have made consumption a total joy. As it goes, a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down.
Now, how about an update :)
Baby!
How far along? 9 weeks! Baby is: The size of a grape Total weight gain/loss? I actually have not checked in the last few days. It shouldn't be too different, if I have gained or lost at all Maternity clothes? No Stretch marks? No Sleep? Anytime I can Best moment this week? Buying gummie prenatal vitamins, hands down Miss Anything? Flexibility to eat whatever, whenever Movement? No Food cravings? Chicken nuggets--I don't indulge Anything making you queasy or sick? Yes... We have an entire "don't let Claire see or smell this" cupboard actually Have you started to show yet? No, although I think my torso is expanding (not sure if I am just getting fat or if my uterus is just the size of a grapefruit) Gender? No idea, but I just heard I can find out the gender at 12 weeks through genetic screening! What?! We're in the future. Labor Signs? No Belly Button in or out? In Wedding rings on or off? On Happy or Moody most of the time? Happy :) Looking forward to? Pregnancy aside, Texas cooling off. Otherwise, just getting to second trimester... Or getting my diaper bag in the mail :)
This evening I found out I am eligible for Medicaid and got my card in the mail! Hot dog, I have insurance! I am so truly happy about this. Phew. Pregnancy just got way less expensive. In other news, I just scrolled through my own Facebook newsfeed and I talk about crying all. the. time. Dang, I'm going to give myself away. The funny thing is, I hold it together with sad or frustrating things; I weep like an infant when I am happy and inspired. Good heavens.
So my nausea is kind of subsiding! Hooray! I mean, I had it all day today, but generally the morning sickness is gradually easing up. This, however, seems to be making way for exhaustion. I slept from 7 PM to 7 AM last night. This is not an exaggeration.
Well, right now I am nearly 10 weeks and 5 days pregnant! My first ultrasound is scheduled for two weeks from today, but now that I am insured, I will try to bump that up to as soon as possible. If I truly am 10 weeks, our baby should being about an inch and a half long or about the size of a kumquat (what the heck is that):
Anyway, here's the weekly questionnaire:
How far along? 10 weeks (and 4 days) Baby is: The size of a kumquat (or a prune) Total weight gain/loss? Maybe a pound and a half Maternity clothes? No Stretch marks? No Sleep? All the time. Best moment this week? Getting my insurance card and finding out my friend Natalie and I have the same due date! Miss Anything? A non-bloaty waist Movement? Not that I can feel (although my baby does move now) Food cravings? Not recently Anything making you queasy or sick? Yes. Not as much as last week. I still avoid whole grains. Have you started to show yet? Oh my goodness, YES. A little. It has to be that I'm just bloated. I really just look chubby, if we're being real here. Gender? No clue Labor Signs? No Belly Button in or out? In Wedding rings on or off? On Happy or Moody most of the time? While I'm happy most of the time, I have been weirdly irrational, irritable, and/or emotional a couple times this last week. Oh gosh. Looking forward to? My first ultrasound and getting my diaper bag in the mail! I am super excited to tell my family and friends that we're expecting. You guys, I am already one-fourth of the way done with my pregnancy! What?!
I finally made this whole pregnancy Facebook official, so I will publish all my pregnancy updates dating back to week five! I have dutifully posted [secretly] each week since I learned the good news. If you're like me and enjoy reading stuff like that, feel free to check out all those posts.
Back to business.
This week our baby is becoming more proportional and can do a lot of cool things like grimace and stuff his or her thumb. It measures about 3 and 1/2 inches, too.
Questionnaire: How far along? 14 weeks Baby is: The size of a naval orange Total weight gain/loss? Maybe two pounds Maternity clothes? No. Stretch marks? No. Sleep? Great, but waking up a little more in the night. Best moment this week? Waking up and realizing I have a hard-ish baby bump. Then I rolled over and slept forever like most days, which is also a highlight of the week. Miss Anything? Lifting really heavy things. I've finally decided it's time to delegate tasks like moving 30-pound boxes and such. Movement? Not distinguishably yet. Food cravings? Nothing this week Anything making you queasy or sick? Nope! I just started taking anti-nausea medication because let's get real--it's second trimester. Have you started to show yet? Yes. Gender? We find out soon. My bets are on a boy, but I sure like either. Labor Signs? None. Belly Button in or out? In Wedding rings on or off? On Happy or Moody most of the time? Happy :) Looking forward to? Moving to a bigger apartment...eventually.
At the outset, I'll share some spiritual musings as of late. Per suggestion, I read a talk called "Children" by Elder Neil L. Anderson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is an excellent and sensitive talk about families.
The point that stuck out to me the most was that "we believe in families, and we believe in children." I don't understand why, through the years it has become so much less popular to have families and children. How can regeneration possibly be a descending trend? Elder Anderson cites this Christian blog post quoting,
"[Growing] up in this culture, it is very hard to get a biblical perspective on motherhood ... Children rank way below college. Below world travel for sure. Below the ability to go out at night at your leisure. Below honing your body at the gym. Below any job you may have or hope to get ... Motherhood is not a hobby, it is a calling. You do not collect children because you find them cuter than stamps. It is not something to do if you can squeeze the time in. It is what God gave you time for."
I hope I can overcome myself and put this goal at the top of my list someday. I share this because I find a lot of the advice I've been the recipient of about marriage and family discouraging and this article and the blog were illuminating for me. I'm positive there will still be nay-sayers, but mark my words, I am looking forward to being a mom someday, while I fully expect challenges and difficulties beyond my wildest imagination. People told me marriage would be worth putting off and would generally limit me, but well, it hasn't.
As a matter of fact, so far it has really prodded my progression as a person all around. I think marriage has highlighted a lot of my personal issues and I've had to face them head on and change for the better. For me, I truly don't think that would happen on my own, even if I was finding myself in the Alps, or being single and obnoxious for several more years, or getting another degree or something else people feel are pre-requisites for settling down. The bottom line is that when it's right, it's right. It's a very personal matter and that should be respected.
I guess I feel impassioned about this because it is really easy to listen to those voices. I know they are trying to be helpful and many populations would feel the advice to be wise and good. I tend to be easily persuaded, but family is central to God's plan of happiness. I also found this point really helpful: Adam and Eve did not have their children in the Garden of Eden.
So, yeah.
Last week was nice. Here are some of the things that happened:
Jeff had Taco Bell for the first time in his life. He answered a question correctly and his professor offered him Taco Bell as a reward.
Husband rating: 5/10
Jeff has already made 900+ flashcards. He has been really busy, however, we've been able to spend a lot of time together. He has his first exam in a week, so I suspect he'll be the busiest he's been so far.
Jeff has been dissecting HUMANS. That is still so weird to me. I've never seen a cadaver, but I have certainly smelled one, if you know what I'm saying. It's not that bad...Just a little creepy.
Here's a peek at some of our meals this week:
We really love Slab Pizza in Provo. For those not acquainted with Slab, it's a fantastic pizza place with a pretty bizarre menu. Our two favorites are Buffalo Wing and Chicken Enchilada. Since we can't go to Slab, I fashioned two copycat recipes. They turned out pretty delicious, if I may say so myself. I ended up making five pizzas this week. Yes, five. It's easy and a great way to feed a lot of people--like me and Jeff, haha.
As for projects, I stained this and a wooden crate. I got this mirror from Jeff's cousin Hannah right before she was going to take it to the D.I. Thank you! I sanded it down, wiped it off and gave it one lazy coat of Rust-oleum Ultimate Wood Stain in Kona (this is the same stain I used on my deer head project. I wanted a distressed look and I like it just like this. It's pretty and very dark.
We have a free gym nearby, so I have been swimming and lifting. Yay! It feels good to be settled. Also, there are like six girls that are all are wives of students and/or recent move-ins from Provo. We have spent time together swimming, hanging out, watching movies, and generally supporting each other. :)
Disclaimer: If it sounds like I am doing nothing all day, that is a little bit true. My job doesn't begin for about a week and a half. I am doing some part-time nannying though. That, by the way, is awesome and I love it.
I've been thinking about how incredible the human body is lately. Jeff comes home and tells me that he held lungs in his hands or handled a human heart. He is having some remarkable experiences, for sure. This sums up some of my thoughts in that regard:
Let's just get it out there; I really have a great life. I love my husband who is so patient and loving. He is the stars and the moon. I have grown so much by living with him. He has really shaped me into a better person.
Here are some other things I love that make my life so fabulous:
