Whew...

Had my December check-up today, and of course, the baby is still there lol. I heard the heartbeat again, and I just can't believe how one sound can completely change the tone of your day/week/lifetime. Its one sound that you want to make sure you never stop hearing.
One "bad" thing about this visit is that I lost two pounds since the last visit. I blame this on basketball stressing me out. The tournament this weekend (having to coach both freshmen and JV) really took it out of me, AND I wasn't able to eat as much as I should have. I also think I'm losing the muscle mass that I had, which really upsets me because I like my muscles lol. One girl at work told me not to quit working out and I asked her to find me time.
Jan 19 is when we can finally stop calling the baby "it." I really think I might be having a girl, you know, just mother's intuition. Then again, I could be totally wrong. The heartbeat is high, and lots of people say that means boy. I guess we'll find out in 6 weeks!

Are you in there Baby?

Lately, one of the biggest fears I've had is that my baby isn't actually in my belly. I havent gained any weight and not much of a baby bump yet, so its still kind of unreal to me. Nothing has happened to where I would suspect that something bad has transpired, but still. What to Expect When You're Expecting tells me that this is a common fear that pregnant women have. It starts to go away once the baby starts moving and more belly shows. I'm glad that I'm just having normal fears, but still, this is a big one lol. I'm sure everything is fine.

Hip Pains, More Nausea, and Finally Some Relief

Wow, its been almost a month since I've updated this thing. I'm at 12 weeks and there's not really a whole lot to report. The whole month of November was filled with mornings of nausea, not to the point of throwing up, but just dry heaving. Trust me, I'd rather throw up. It feels like my insides are going to come up my throat when I dry heave. The good thing is that eating breakfast usually cleared that right up. It seems the only times I'm nauseous is when I'm hungry, not the other way around. Since I am 12 weeks, the morning sickness and exhaustion is starting to wear off a little. Still can't eat a lot of beef, and definitely can't stand the smell of shrimp (which SUCKS because I love me some shrimp), but other than that, I'm ok with most foods. A lot of people are asking me if I'm craving anything yet, and the answer is no. I was at my mom's for Thanksgiving and she has those Snack 'Em pickles, which I love, so I ate a whole jar of those lol. My grandma commented that she thought that eating pickles during pregnancy was just an old wives tale, and I told her it had nothing to do with the pregnancy, that I just love pickles. I kind of get mad when people just assume something is happening because I'm pregnant. I've always loved to eat and I've always loved to eat pickles, and no, girl in my 5th period class, my baby bump is not starting to show, I was just having a fat day.
Speaking of baby bumps and fat days, my mom got me all sorts of cute shirts that I can grow into, but still look cute right now. Thanks Mom! I'm not really showing at all right now, but things are starting to get tight, so I'm putting a rubber band around the button of my jeans and wearing slightly bigger shirts. Right now that means lots of empire waists and those cute over-sized button-ups. Thank God layering and oversized things are in style right now. Its like the Fashion Gods knew I was going to get pregnant and need cute clothes.
Thanksgiving was awesome. I stuffed myself to the point of retardation, but felt fine due to the rubber band on the jeans. I told my step-dad he should have followed my lead b/c he and the rest of the fam had to change into sweatpants to accomodate their tummies. The only complaint I had is that I didnt have any leftovers because we had to come back to Fort Worth for a varsity tournament on Friday. Ah the joys of being a basketball coach.
Final note, I like where the 2nd trimester is headed already b/c I'm not as tired, not as pissed, and not as sick.

And the nausea begins...

So apparently I was bragging too early about not having any nausea or morning sickness. Now it seems that everything makes me nauseous. Not to the point of throwing up, but to the point of being extremely uncomfortable in the surroundings I am in. The mornings suck too, because at that point I have nothing in my body to throw up, so its just a bunch of painful dry heaving. Shower water seems to set that off. Joy. Not eating makes my stomach turn as well. I have to have something in my stomach every two hours or I am not a happy camper. They say you're only supposed to gain like 2 lbs a month for the first couple months, but the rate I'm going, I feel like I"m going to be a blimp by December. So, in order to combat the blimpy-ness, I am going to work out in 30 minutes. Its a class called Group Centergy, so its basically yoga and pilates. Its not too strenuous, so I'm looking forward to it. I haven't been able to work out since school started, and its time that streak ended.
My first "baby brain" event happened today. I left my debit card at home and almost ran out of gas on the way home. Austin had to come rescue me and pay for my gas. Now, don't be too alarmed, I was not stranded on the side of the road. I was only painfully close to running out of gas and decided the best place to wait for my "Knight in Shining Armor riding a white pick-up truck" was at the mall. I know, damsel in distress.

173 Beats Per Minute

I heard my baby's heartbeat for the first time yesterday. It was the most awe-inspiring, humbling thing I've ever experienced in my lifetime. Seeing my baby on the screen and seeing the spot where the heart is flutter was amazing, but when the tech turned on the sound and I heard that thu-thump-thu-thump, I teared up. Austin grabbed my hand and I heard nothing but that beat. It will be a beat that I forever remember.

The ultrasound itself was rather awkward; it was a vaginal ultrasound. They basically stick this magic wand looking thing inside you and move it around. I had to block that part out so I could concentrate on the amazingness that was happening on the screen. Little Bug is 1.99 cm and its heart beat at 173 beats per minute and looks like a jelly bean. My mom is still certain its a girl, but people tell me that with that quick of a heartbeat, its probably a boy. I also hear that because I haven't been really sick, I am having a boy. My gut feeling tells me "girl," but I honestly do not care. Austin and I were talking about the name Logan for a boy yesterday and I really like it. Yes, he will be named after an X-Man, but we don't have to tell him that. I still love the name Isabella for a girl.

We had to sign a couple consent forms yesterday for certain tests they do while the baby is cooking. One is for cystic fibrosis and the other is for things like Down Syndrome. Normally, I might worry about something like that, but I think everything will be ok. My family and Austin's family have strong genes, so I think they will prevail.

I'm still incredibly tired. Last night I went to bed at 7:30 and didnt wake up until 6:30 this morning. I'm pretty sure I could've slept for another two hours and been ok. Talking makes me tired, which is bad since I"m a teacher and have to talk all day long. Today during my 4th period, I got dizzy and had to sit down and teach from my desk. I also felt kinda queasy all day long today. Maybe my nausea has finally crept up on me and I'll experience the loveliness that is morning/afternoon/evening/all day sickness. I've been pretty lucky so far and have only thrown up once (and that was b/c of the prenatals I was taking.) I get to take Flinestone's chewable vitamins now lol. I'm less stressed since basketball started, which is good. Volleyball just stressed me out since I didn't know the game and wasn't confident in coaching it. Now I know exactly what I'm talking about. I have a pretty good team, too. I have always loved getting out on the court with the girls and challenging them with my "skills" lol, but lately I have to watch what I'm doing. I knocked a senior over in a drill today because neither one of us was watching where we were going, and normally I wouldn't have batted an eye, but now I have to realize that I can't really get bumped like that. And exerting myself like that makes me ultra tired.

So the baby is due around June 12, which is perfect timing for school. I haven't told my boss I won't be there next year, yet. I'm sure she won't care all that much since teachers are replaceable, but I'm still dreading telling her. I just hope I'll be able to get a job once I'm ready to go back. Maybe I'll just start writing books.

Oh yeah, I'm 8 weeks and 3 days, which means I got pregnant 6 days after Austin came home from Iraq. I just thought that was pretty funny.

So tired...

Last week was a long one and I was crazy busy, so I didnt have time to update. A few things happened: I had to stop taking the prenatal pills Austin had bought me. Turns out that my night nausea was being caused by them. I threw up two times this week before I caught on and stopped taking them. Since then, only a few things have made me nauseous, but not to the point of throwing up. The most random things make me sick to my stomach. Like last night for instance. We went to Quiznos and while we were standing in line, I watched the sandwich guy put some steak on a piece of bread and I almost had to walk out of the store. Crazy.

Also, last week I realized that the baby makes me mean sometimes. On Wednesday I was teaching my 5th period, and they weren't being any louder than normal or any less respectful than normal, but I couldn't stop yelling at them. I remember thinking at the time that I was going crazy and didn't need to be yelling, but I couldn't stop. There was just this rage built up inside of me and I had to let it out. I was fine later in the day, but the hormones were on overdrive after lunch I guess. Right now, I'm just trying to get through this year and my motivation is that I won't be back next year. I'm going to miss the people I work with, but its going to be nice to take some time off and get to know my baby. By the way, my mother has decided she is going to call the baby Sprout right now until we know what it is. Why Sprout you ask? Well, the other night she was eating bean sprouts and they tasted bad and she just had this epiphany that the baby would be called Sprout. Interesting. :)

I'm very nervous for my first appointment on Tuesday. I hope everything is ok. I still have these random cramps and pain in my stomach, so I'm hoping that has nothing to do with the pregnancy. I'm also hoping that we can already hear the heartbeat. I'm not really in the mood to write a lot right now because I just vaccuumed the whole house with our new pet hair vaccuum. I'm exhausted. Just like I am pretty much all the time now. I got tired standing for 5 minutes in church today. I'm going to take a nap.

I miss sushi...

I know I haven't been pregnant that long, but already the inability to eat sushi is affecting me. Austin and I went to a Japanese steakhouse for dinner this evening and they make the best sushi I've ever had. I, unfortunately, could not partake in this deliciousness. Well, at least the uncooked stuff; I can have the sushi that contains cooked fish. My favorite though, is just the pieces of salmon and tuna on rice. So yummy. Austin got a roll with eel on top and shrimp tempura in the middle. Jerk. So I went ahead and punished him by stuffing my face full of steak and shrimp (cooked) and rice and veggies. It was amazing, but not amazing enough to make up for my lack of sushi. Oh well, one month down, 8 to go...
Another thought: I thought I would miss drinking more than I do. I mean, there are days when I come home and a whiskey and coke would be the perfect way to make 9th graders disappear for a while, but for the most part it wasn't a huge sacrifice. I still can go to the Place with my awesome friends from work (shout out ladies), I can still go to Chimys, I can still have fun with everyone, but just not have the same headache they have the next morning. Another plus from this abstaining from alcohol: I've lost two pounds this week. lol
We have named the baby Little Bug for now-until we learn what sex it is. Little Bug because I call Austin Bug, short for Love Bug. I know, gag, but you can get over it. :) Austin had the idea today to call it Cookie because its cooking inside of me and he likes to tell me I'm baking. Its cute, but I dont really want to think of my baby as a pastry.
I have to remember to ask the doctor if I can ski over Christmas break. I wanted to learn to snowboard, but there's too much risk in me falling in that endeavor. I can stay up on blades pretty well so I think it'll be ok, but we'll see what the doc says. A week and half till the first visit!

The beginning of nausea....

About 30 minutes ago, I had my first major run in with nausea. The past couple nights I've had an upset stomach, but nothing that some tummy rubbing from the hubby couldn't cure. Tonight, after eating a salad, and while watching last week's episode of Greys (thank God for DVR), I had to run to the bathroom. All that ended up happening was a little gagging, but still, I am not looking forward to the days ahead. It seems that my "morning" sickness will happen at night, and that Ranch dressing may no longer be an option...lame.
I made my first appointment with the doctor for Oct 27. It seems that doctors don't even want to see you until you're about 6 weeks pregnant. I guess that makes sense. I guess there are some idiots out there that can't read a pregnancy test and around 6 weeks, they start to realize that, whoops, they aren't really pregnant. I'm so excited for the appointment for the sole reason that it will just confirm what the tests and nausea and sore chest area already tell me. The rest of the appointment is not so thrilling. Seriously, the OBGYN has to be the most uncomfortable place in the whole world. I'm pretty sure that if I were to go to hell, that it would just be a constant visit to the gyno.
I am kind of tired of being so irritable. I'm pretty sure my students think I'm the biggest bitch on the face of the earth. Everything gets on my nerves, and I fly off the handle at the tiniest things. Its getting old, and I just want to be happy again. Something else that I'm worried about is the cramping that I feel in my abdomen. I'm sure its nothing, and I was told today that since there's no spotting with it, I should be fine, but still. Its a little nerve-racking to feel cramping in the area that your baby is growing. One thought that went through my mind was atopic pregnany, but I'm sure its not that. (Fingers crossed, knock on wood, throw the salt over my shoulder).
Mostly right now, I'm still so thrilled at the idea. I told the girls that I coach today and they all ran around the gym screaming with delight. And then said they understood why I was so grumpy lately. lol I love telling people. Babies just make people happy, and when you tell them they get so excited for you. Its just a happy time and I'm stoked to be a part of it.

Two pink lines...

...that's all it took to change mine and Austin's lives.
Austin and I were not neccessarily trying to get pregnant, we just weren't doing anything to prevent it. Ideally, we would've waited until he was home from Iraq for a little while longer, but I think we both just had babies on the brain and decided to leave it up to chance. He came home on August 28, and we had this conversation when he had been home for about two weeks. We didn't know how long it would take or anything, we just knew we were going to have fun in the meantime ;).
About two weeks ago, I started noticing that I was being very snappy with everyone at work and yelling at my students for the simplest things. Now, keep in mind I teach freshmen, so there isn't really a day that goes by when they don't annoy me, but this was ridiculous. I knew something definitely wasn't right when one of my best students asked me why I was so mad all the time. I had to respond with, "I have no idea," but something tugged at the back of my mind. On the way home, I did the math and did the count backwards to the last month and knew that sometime this week I should be getting my little rosy friend that all women look forward to with absolutely no enthusiasm. I thought that it wouldn't hurt to stop by Target and get a pregnancy test.
Walking through that isle of Target is surreal, especially when you there's a possibility it could be real. We've all walked through it before, knowing that nothing really was going on, but just as a precaution. As I pondered the ClearBlueEasys and Target brand tests, I realized that this little stick was going to determine the rest of my life, and I decided on First Response since they let you know your fate "up to 5 days sooner!"
As soon as I got home I headed to the bathroom and did my thing (seriously, can't they make that less awkward?) Before I even set it on the counter to let it marinate, the pink started showing up. Of course, I had to walk away otherwise I would be a nervous wreck just standing there staring at a stick of pee. I went to say hello to Austin, who was sleeping on the couch. Leave it to men to be sleeping at such crucial points in our lives. We did the small talk thing, mostly because he can't really hold a conversation when he's first waking up and also because I was too nervous to discuss anything of substance. Three minutes was up. As I crept up on the test, the butterflies were flapping at mach 3. I peered into the litte plastic window. Two lines. Instantly, a huge smile spread across my face and I did a little happy dance and danced back into the living room to wake Austin up again. I jiggled his shoulder and told him that I had something to show him. He looked at the stick, and then looked again, and then focused on it and then looked at me and asked, "Is that what I think it is?" I nodded and said I was pregnant and we kissed a very unsure, but at the same time jubilant kiss. Then he said the words I'll never forget: "Dang, I'm good."
A couple hours later, I took another test, and almost instantly it came back positive. That, along with the sore boobs and lack of a period and exhaustion and face that looks like a 14 year old's tell me that I am pregnant. It is the most nerve-racking, scary, amazing thing that I have ever done in my life and I am stoked. I still need to make the doctor's appointment to find out all the important things like due date and all that, and that should be happening sometime this week. If the next nine months are anything like the first week, its going to be a rollercoaster of a ride. I'm already worried about things like miscarriages and unhealthy babies, but have found that its incredibly easy to give up the things that are bad for you, like alcohol. There is some cramping that has me nervous, but thankfully no morning sickness yet.
Austin wants a boy, but my mom and dad and step-dad all want a girl. I'm not sure what I want yet, and in all reality it doesnt really matter. Not to sound cliche, but all I want is a healthy baby. This blog will be about my fears, my joys, my appointments, everything that I want to share with my friends and family. I hope you guys stick with me because its going to be one hell of a ride!