Our Pregnancy Journey - Month 2
MONTH 2:
Month 2 here and still going strong. Our little munchkin's size is almost doubling every week!
Peppercorn > Blueberry > Raspberry > Wild Strawberry
Month 2 definitely has had its share of ups and downs though... More on that in Week 7...
THE MOM MOMENTS BEGIN...
So I had what I would consider my first of many mom moments/outfit mishaps today when I was running errands. First, it took me about 10 minutes and 5 different attempts just to get out the door as each time I was forgetting something... I even searched for my phone for awhile, only to find it in my pocket... Oh this pregnancy brain is fun...
After I finally made it to a few stores, I realized that I had been wearing my 1980's neon yellow fuzzy
scrunchie all day in typical 80's style side pony fashion (saying it completely clashed with my outfit is the understatement of the day...) You can't really blame a child of the 80's/90's wanting to relive their youth... Lisa Turtle STILL wears it better... #SBTBthrowback
GIF compliments of Giphy.com
To be fair, I usually just wear my scrunchies around the house and then switch to something more socially acceptable when I head out... unless a few of my favorite people who also happen to be scrunchie fans are in town visiting (I'm talking to you Marn-dawg), and then we rock them all day... In this particular case, I decided to keep rocking the neon scrunchie as good practice for the events to come and embracing #momlife...
WEEKLY RECAPS:
It's not until you become pregnant that you understand the importance of the baby size comparisons... (i.e. 8 weeks...baby is the size of a strawberry.) Before I was pregnant, I always thought it was cute (and let's be honest, sometimes a little overkill) when people would post weekly pictures of a certain object to represent the size of the baby next to their baby bump, but now it becomes real on an entirely different level.
The Ovia app (which I'd definitely recommend to any pregnant moms out there) informs you each day as to the size of the baby in comparison to a certain object/food, and what is growing and developing each day in the baby. It's been fun to read and pray for the various developmental stages that are going on inside our baby each day.
WEEK 5:
Just so you know, Baby is now the size of a peppercorn.
We've been praying for the baby throughout the day and every night before we go to bed. I've learned that I'm more the practical one in prayer while my husband is the sweet, sentimental type. To paint you a picture...
Baby's ears are growing: I pray that God develops baby's ears and they grow and function normally. Hubs prays that baby is a good listener... #hubsforthewin
Baby is growing buds that will turn into arms: Hubs prays that the baby has comforting arms to console others when in need. #hubswinsagain...
Baby has his/her first heartbeat: Hubby prays that baby will have a generous heart like his/her mom's heart... Aww... made me tear up. #hubsalwayswins
I have since learned to adopt hubs' style of praying and include the sentimental requests in my prayers for baby now.
THE BIG FAMILY REVEAL:
Week 5 was spent mostly in Omaha and I was able to do a little reveal to some of my family. Miya and I were lucky to get upgraded to first class when flying home, and despite her innocent expression, I even shared my salmon with her. #pregnancyperks
So far, besides revealing the news to my hubs, this has been the highlight of being pregnant. Seeing the excitement and happiness on all of their faces has been such a gift in itself.
Since it was still VERY early, we decided to keep the big reveal to just family and a couple of close friends and church friends.
I created some announcement cards and also found some adorable mugs on Etsy for our family for the big reveal.
Aren't these mugs just the cutest? I made a few custom orders on Etsy and loved how they turned out! Here's the mug for my mom.
When we made the reveal, we set up our phones as inconspicuously as possible so we could video their reactions. Hubby also recorded his family's reactions. So glad we did this as we will treasure these videos for years to come. I think my favorite is still my step dad's reaction...
THE BEST NEWS EVER!!
I had the pleasure of meeting up with one of my closest friends when I was back and became privy to some very important news that currently only her husband and I know... Let's just say that someone is not only pregnant but due 7-10 days after our baby is due! BEST NEWS EVER!!!!!! This seriously made my month as not only am I so beyond EXCITED for her, but I had been praying that when we did get pregnant, that one of our close friends would get pregnant too so that we could journey through it together as well as raise our kiddos together (and of course they'd be the best of friends, right?!) :) Words can't even express how thrilled I am right now!!
She also sent me this adorable tank (she also had one made herself) so we can wear them proudly on our walks! :) Can't wait to take a picture in these together once our baby bumps start showing. :)
OVERALL FEELS:
In a nutshell, my energy and overall mood have been great! I still have problems falling and staying asleep, but everyone keeps telling me that soon the exhaustion will hit, and I'll become an instant fan of naps. I've never been a fan of naps, so I guess time will tell if these predictions will come true... Everyone else keeps warning me that week 6 is when the dreaded morning sickness sets in too...
CRAVINGS:
So far my appetite is still nonexistent, but hoping that kicks in soon. No real cravings as of yet, but had a surprising aversion... we ordered pizza as that is one of the few foods I can usually eat 3x a day and never get sick of... After eating it once, I couldn't even finish my normal-size helping. The next day, the leftovers in the fridge repulsed me... Definitely was not expecting pizza of all foods to be on my aversion list...
Saw this meme and had to include it as it pretty much sums up how I feel these days, even with a stocked fridge and pantry...
WEEK 6:
Baby is the size of a blueberry. My obligatory blueberry picture... (I promise not to do this every week...)
Since hubs was feeling a little left out, he also did his best baby bump impression...aka #foodbaby
Much to my dismay, the exhaustion and morning/all-day sickness predictions came true. It hit me towards the end of week 5, and it hit me like a ton of bricks. Not only did the sofa and Netflix become my new best friend, but I still can't even begin to explain just how exhausted my body and brain feel. I think part of the problem is that I'm not sleeping well at night (I hit a record 7x waking up to go to the potty the past night... with waking up every 45 minutes... it was miserable to say the least...
For the next two days, I fell asleep around 12:45AM, and after waking up 3x already for bathroom breaks, I woke up again wide awake at 4AM without the ability to fall back asleep, while my husband snored next to me peacefully...
Right now I'm averaging 3-5 hours of lovely potty-break interrupted sleep per night. I apologize in advance for all who have to deal with me during the day on a regular basis... I'm sure I'm the farthest thing from being a slice of heaven and will be a sleep-deprived, emotional, hormonal mess for the next few weeks. #Godblesshubs
Thankfully I haven't thrown up yet, but the nausea and queasy feelings have not been fun. I'm really hoping this phase passes quickly, but I have to stay positive and know that having symptoms is a good thing and means the baby is growing, so I'm trying to remain thankful, despite feeling horrible and having 0 productivity the last few days... Trying to keep in mind this is temporary while also thankful for such good friends that have helped to make this transition easier... Thank you Kelly for dropping off this nausea care package!
CRAVINGS:
My appetite is still 0 as well. The nausea feelings don't help this cycle, but I will say, it's harder than I imagined to get in the required daily amounts of water, veggies, fruit, protein, dairy, and grains. So far the easiest thing to keep down is stone ground oats with blueberries, pecans, and a dash (or a tad more) of brown sugar. This meme sums it up well...
I've found ginger tea to be somewhat helpful with the nausea (both in drinking it and in sticking my nose down the tea bag ironically enough...) I'm a sucker for cute mugs and tea with inspirational messages and thought this one was particularly relative...
Shout out to my super talented aunt who made this mug!
WEEK 7:
Baby is the size of a raspberry. I showed hubs the picture of baby and his response was, "I didn't know we created a baby dinosaur..." A cute little dinosaur it is!
WEEK 7 Hiccup:
Woke up with bleeding, decided not to freak out and ride it out for awhile. But after texting a few friends that morning, I took the advice of one of my dear friends who advised me to call the dr's office to be sure. After calling the office, they requested to see me that morning. Long story short, I was diagnosed with a rather large subchorionic hematoma/hemorrhage (SCH). It can be fairly common, but after discussing the details with one of the doctor's, it did add to the anxiety level quite a bit as it can cause a miscarriage, complications, or pre-term labor if it doesn't resolve on its own. The doctor gave me even more progesterone and an antibiotic as well as pelvic rest and modified bed rest (mainly walking only to the bathroom) until it cleared up. After doing way too much research, I also came to the conclusion that bed rest and drinking plenty of fluids were the best ways to aid in the body reabsorbing the hematoma.
The next 3 weeks were some of my toughest weeks... mentally, physically and emotionally. Normally I would take advantage of the downtime with all the books I needed to get caught up on and work on my blog, but the nausea was too intense to read, and staring at a computer screen made it worse. For those of you who have had to go through bed rest (and especially coupled with nausea), you have my sympathy. I know that 3 weeks doesn't seem that long in the big picture, but when you are going through it and have no idea if you will have to be on bed rest for many more weeks after that, it can mess with your mind and emotions, let alone make you feel very unhealthy as well. Major kudos to those moms who have had to go through multiple weeks of bed rest - you are my hero.
My sweet mom came to the rescue by sending me a thoughtful care package (along with one too many LipSense!) and my dear friend sent me this wonderful surprise of chocolate covered strawberries! These gestures gave the week a much-needed lift and brightened my spirits.
Not only were the nausea and sleep issues at an all-time no bueno level, but anyone that knows me would agree to the fact that I am not a "bed/sofa/TV" type of gal. My work station is a standing desk, and I have never been one to enjoy TV's and movies. The thought of staring at a big black box (aka TV) to pass the time repulsed me. (The only time I ever turn it on is to help me relax before bedtime for about 30 minutes.) I am normally constantly on the go, prefer to be outside or working on a project, and have been nicknamed the energizer bunny before, so the idea of bedrest was a foreign subject to me. I did happen to discover The Crown series at this time, so this helped to pass the time along with prayer for friends and family. Miya was also a big fan of The Crown...
TIRE TROUBLES:
With modified bed rest, I"m not supposed to be on my feet any more than 1 hour a day (which includes bathroom breaks...) so this doesn't give much free "feet" time after you count in all my nonstop potty breaks. On Friday that week, my husband headed out to Myrtle Beach to surprise his parents with the news. I already had plans back home that weekend, and since I was in desperate need of a girls' night, I had two of my favs come over on Saturday. I had to make one "quick" pit stop at the grocery store for ice cream, brownies, and M&M's for our dessert... On the way out of the store, I noticed my tire was "slightly" flat...
Clearly looking bewildered as to what to do next, a nice lady came over to me to tell me there was a gas station "just up the road" and she would follow me there. Even though I told her I was prob a mile away from my home, she insisted I wouldn't make it home, and to go to the gas station to fill up with air first... Since my cell phone was dead, I decided to take up this sweet lady on her offer. Well... "just up the road" turned into 3 miles later and a shredded tire...
Cringing the entire painful slow 3 miles drive as I heard my tire scrape the pavement, I was a tad overwhelmed once I arrived. I may or may not have burst into tears saying I was pregnant and my husband of all nights, was in another state... She offered to let me use her cell phone, but I realized the only numbers I knew by heart were all from people in Nebraska... This made me miss my family that much more...
She then made a quick call to her husband and asked him to come and help me change my tire and without even a moment of hesitation, he was on his way. Now I will say, even despite the shredded tire, this sweet Southern hospitality still made my day as it made me realize once again, there were still caring people in the world. She didn't even have to explain the situation to her husband or convince him to come, he just left whatever he was doing and headed right over. #exampleforusall
Her husband came and after finding all the tools he needed, he unfortunately couldn't find the last missing piece, lug nut key... I told them it was OK b/c my husband would be back late that night and thanked them (and tried to pay them) for their time... Before they left, they also recharged my battery since this died in the process and charged my phone (Murphy's Law LOVES me). I called my two friends who came to pick me up without hesitation and we proceeded to have a lovely evening!
After filling my husband in on the news (and sending him the dreaded shredded tire picture...), he left the beach early to come back to fix my tire and retrieve my car. Crazy enough, the "missing piece" (which I had previously prayed to find and asked St. Anthony to help me as well) was in the kit the entire time, it just looked much different than what the other man was used to using. Husband fixed the tire in a jiffy and regained his hubby of the year status. :)
Moral of the Story...
1). Sometimes what we need is right in front of us all along, but we are too distracted with other things or worries to even realize what we have!
2.) Also, brush up on learning how to change a tire before it's too late...
CRAVINGS:
Pizza is still on the "do not even think about" list. I still haven't had an appetite or any major cravings, but have found it's more about figuring out what foods I can "stomach" enough to help calm the nausea feelings. Unfortunately these change every day. I usually have to have my husband roll out a list of about 30 foods before I find something that doesn't sound repulsive. Crazy enough, Chinese made the cut (for all of one night).
WEEK 8:
Baby is the size of a wild strawberry.
As many of my friends have told me, God teaches you many things through pregnancy and having kids. Apparently God wanted me to slow down in life and learn to embrace a new style of living, among many other things. Clearly he also wanted to teach me to give him the reigns and trust him. I'll be honest, there were times where I was frustrated with God (especially when I would wake up wide awake at 4AM for the day, after 3-4 hours of constantly interrupted intervals of 30-minute sleep cycles), wondering if he even cared about me. (I'm sure sleep-deprivation and hormones also helped add to the mass chaos of emotions.) I was desperately trying to figure out what else he was trying to teach me during this time.
In times of doubt, my brother reminded me of Psalm 77 and encouraged me to meditate on all the ways God has answered prayers in the past. Psalm 13 is another favorite of mine...
Thankfully we've been surrounded by one amazing group of family and friends that have been not only a huge source of encouragement and love, but advice and constant prayers. We couldn't be more thankful for you all.
Mom & Bill came to the rescue again this week by ordering us some meals from Blue Apron. Not only was this a Godsend as the grocery store was not happening at this point, but my amazing hubs also stepped up to the plate and cooked for me!
He did an amazing job as well and despite not having any appetite, I was able to finish off all 3 meals. :) Here's a sneak peek of 3 of the meals that hubs made! Thanks again Mom for taking care of us, even 1,000+ miles away! And thank hubs for taking one for the team and cooking for mom and baby!
CRAVINGS:
It's interesting to note that the foods I've been able to stomach are either carbs (English muffins with strawberry-rhubarb jam, bagels with cream cheese) or foods I used to enjoy in my younger years (Lucky Charms, Weetabix cereal, Puffins peanut butter cereal, pancakes, pickles with cottage cheese (yes, weird combo I learned from a friend in high school...), blintzes, fresh mozzarella). My other "safe food" has been key lime Greek yogurt.
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