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!