Oh BOY!!!!!

Well, my suspicions were dead wrong, we are having a little boy. Makes me wonder about my mother's intuition. I'm not going to lie, I was a tad bit disappointed, but now that I've thought about it, I'm stoked. I remembered I've always wanted a little boy first, so if we do have a girl next, he can take care of his little sister and beat up any boys that come around. I do want to try to have a girl next, so I can have a little mini-me. If Austin gets one, so do I. Everything was great at the check-up. All of Sprout's (no name yet) parts were in the right places. We saw the heart and all four chambers, we saw the spine, the base of the brain, and the cutest little foot. Actually, its kind of a big foot, so he'll probably take after me and my dad. Thanks Dad. The sonogram tech said everything looked great, so that takes a load off my mind. All his tests came back negative, so so far, we have a pretty healthy baby boy on our hands. The doctor said I'm gaining the right amount of weight, which is about 7-8 lbs as of right now. My baby bump seems to be growing everyday. The kids at school are finally starting to notice, and now all they want to do is touch my stomach. No thank you. One awesome thing about this pregnancy is my boobs!! lol! They are getting so big. I started out at around a 34B/C and I tried on a 36D yesterday and it wasn't too far away from fitting perfectly. I bought a 36C, but I feel the need to go up will be upon me soon. Even though my stomach isn't very big yet, its still hard for me to stand for long periods of time...which kind of doesnt work since I'm a teacher and a coach. Speaking of coaching, I'm ready for the season to be over. We have about 6? more games left. My freshmen are awesome! We are 9-1 in district and 13-4 overall. This is the best record I've had since I started coaching. These girls are great and try so hard...I usually only have about 6 usable players. The intense games wear me out though.

So that's about it for this entry. No more sickness, I can eat whatever I want, things are going pretty great right now. The only thing I'm waiting on is to feel the baby move. I'm starting to become impatient waiting. lol As soon as I get my scanner working, I will put the latest pics of Sprout on here.

Happy New Year!

I decided to start off the new year with a blog entry, especially since its been a while since I've updated. Nothing huge to report at the moment. I'm just about 16 weeks and feeling very normal. No more morning heaving, and I can tolerate most foods again. Its kinda got me back in the mindset of "Is this still real?" The only thing that has happened lately is that over Christmas, I had a HUGE, and I'm talking excruciating pain on my left side. We were in Ruidoso with Austin's parents for the week, and we were meeting my parents for dinner that night. It started in the middle of the day, and I thought I could ignore it, but by the time my dinner came, I could hardly sit/stand/talk/move without major pain. Now, don't be too alarmed. It turns out that it was just extreme constipation. I know, gross. But this is something you have to look forward to if you have never been pregnant. The hormones slow everything down in your digestive track so the baby can get every ounce of nutrients. Good for baby, shitty (pardon the pun) for mommy.
Ok, on to another topic that isn't so disgusting. While we were in Ruidoso, I wanted to ski oh-so-badly. I didn't and I consider that the first of many sacrifices I will be making for this little bundle of joy. I did, however, sled...a lot. We had an awesome hill as a driveway and took full advantage. I'm pretty sure sledding is safe enough, I didnt fall out or do anything crazy. I can't say the same for the baby's daddy or uncle, though. Austin took a kamikazee sledding run and almost killed himself on a pile of firewood. I'll attach a picture of that one. I told him if he had died, I would've raised him from the dead and killed him again myself for leaving me alone with this child. Uncle Jordan is just crazy anyway and did some insane runs himself. Meredith (Jordan's wife) and I have bonded over our crazy husbands.
I'm starting to show a little now, but can still wear my normal jeans. The jeans with the band really are the most comfortable pairs of pants I've ever put on, though. I just feel silly right now wearing them when my bump is just a little bit bigger than a Thanksgiving dinner bulge.
On the 5th, I"m going to get all the tests taken for birth defects. I think this just involves a lot of blood being drawn. The first time the tech drew my blood, she couldn't find the vein and it was a very uncomfortable experience for me. The next time, despite my nervousness, was a whole lot better. We'll see how good she is this time. My veins seem to be popping out on their own and its not very hard to locate one due to the extra blood pumping through them at the moment. Jan 19 is when we find out the sex of the baby. I am 85% sure its a girl, and Austin seems to be relenting to that fact. We'll see though! I'm just excited to find out and will be happy with whatever is there!

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.