Easter and friends

My friends are very fertile. I have often made fun of them for their ability to recreate at a very rapid rate. Now, I have joined forces. So, on Easter, my amazing frined, Amanda came to visit me at my mom's and we took this picture:

I feel so blessed to be able to go through this experience with so many of my awesome friends. (This picture is me at 16 weeks and Amanda at 23 weeks.) My friend, Samantha had her baby last Friday. This is making this baby thing so much more real. More details to come from a very action packed week!

movements!

So, last week, I was taking my normal after-school nap and as I was dozing off, I was awakened by a sudden jolt inside of my abdomen. It scared me to death! I jumped, grabbed my side, and then realized that it must have been a kick! I know it's earlier than most people feel a kick, but I seem to be showing earlier than I should be too. A week later, Lee and I were getting ready for our afternoon nap on Sunday and I felt like a butterfly got turned loose and was fighting to get out of my stomach. I have felt it everyday since Sunday and it's just the best. Yesterday, while teaching my Spanish I class, I found it hard to concentrate enough to teach because I didn't want to miss a single motion. (It seriously felt like a propellar in my stomach)

My appointment last week was great! It was so good to see my OB (who is a great friend of ours) and everything looked great! I have only gained 1 pound (which according to my scales this morning, has since been lost again) and the heartrate was solid between 150-160. I go back the week after Spring Break for my next checkup and then I'll get my orders for my next ultrasound (the gender one!!)

I'm feeling especially ginormous. I have friends that are due before me that can still button their pants and I've been in maternity clothes for 3 weeks now. (Makes me feel especially huge) My acne is still holding on, but I have a good feeling that it's about to turn a corner. My need to nap still hasn't let up, but I had that need before I got pregnant, so maybe it's just me!

Week 12

Finally!! We are in the last week of the first trimester! I was starting to wonder if this day would ever come! (And am secretly hoping that the need to nap will not leave, because it's very reminescent of my college days) However starting at the middle/endish of week 9, I started this dry-heave, horrible stuff that really has made me look forward to being done with this trimester! It hits me usually during first block. There's typically no nausea with it, just running for the bathroom where I hack, gag, and heave, but nothing ever happens. It is starting to drive me plain batty!

On a less gross note, the belly (as you can see above) is starting to grow. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror while getting ready the other morning and honestly didn't recognize that body! There are a few times I look at myself and forget that I'm growing a life and think I need to start dieting like never before. Then, I remember, oh yea! I'm supposed to look that way! The growing belly seems to be accompanied by a lot of bloating and gas which has caused me to move mostly to maternity pants to avoid any extra pressure on my belly; man those things are comfy! Due to the fact that I am definitely vertically challenged, I was really excited to find petite jeans at Motherhood. (Speaking of being short, did I tell you that when I went to my first doctor's appointment, they told me I am actually 5'2"?? I've always thought I was 5'1". I nearly jumped out of my skin with excitement!)

Otherwise, I'm feeling great. Still trying to fit in aerobics 2-3 times a week. (Eventhough I have to stop a few times to go pee) I do feel like my energy is slowly returning. My cravings have been limited to my best friend, Katie's mom's chicken salad recipe (Which has been made and devoured) and milk. I'm not sure if milk is because I can finally have it, or if it's a real craving, but I completely forgot how good it was!!

Next doctor's appointment is Tuesday, stay tuned!

10 weeks

Week 10!! What an eventful week! First, my bump is becoming rather undeniable (Especially after a meal). No clothes work for me: maternity clothes are too big and my pre-pregnancy clothes don't even come close to fitting. Also, my intense hunger that I used to find cute, I just find annoying now. There's no "I'm kinda hungry and maybe should think about eating soon". It's "I feel fine" straight to holding my mouth and running out of my classroom to get sick. Fortunately, there's rarely nausea associated with it, just a hunger that is deeper than I've ever experienced! I know, you're thinking "Well, Carmen, just eat more often". That is easier said than done. I am typically eating every hour and a half and am still staying htat hungry. This was an ability I would have loved to have had normally, however now, I am just tired of eating! Luckily with the snow days, I am staying more rested and grazing most of the day and am feeling better. I think that God had a lot of mercy to schedule my first trimester around snow days!

Since February 2005, I have been lactose intolerant. However, I have had a few friends that were also L. I. and were able to have dairy products again while pregnant! Lee and I decided to give it a try last week (Something I was very nervous to do). And voila! Ice cream here I come!! I couldn't believe it! (And I just finished an awesome bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream)

Tomorrow, I turn 11 weeks... just 2 more weeks until I can let myself relax a little... eventhough I'm told that my worry-free days are officially over with being a mom. My Auntie is in from Seattle and I get to see her tomorrow and it'll be her first glimpse of my bump!

Follow up visit

Last week, I had my follow-up appointment from my ultrasound. It was on a Tuesday and Lee was out of town at seminary and he had our only 4-wheel drive. Surprise surprise, another huge snow storm hit and my car wouldn't go in the snow; Bigga (my dad) to the rescue!! Dad brought his truck and picked me up and took me to my appointment in Beckley. This time, they were able to find a heartbeat with the doppler!

We also recalculated my new due date which turns out to be on my birthday, September 18. We have a home soccer game scheduled for that day... which totally could give me free reign to yell at the refs!

Some of the best news she could have given me was that I am allowed to go back on my Proactiv. Pregnancy acne is worse than puberty (or in my case, grad school). I've been back on it for a week now and it is starting to clear up again.

Love at first sight

So, we've had our first doctor's appointment which went great. (This was on 2/4 Sorry Allie, I'm a slacker) We met with the midwife for our initial appointment where they asked 1,000 questions and did a basic exam. She tried to find a heartbeat, but I was too early to be heard from the doppler. This got us a straight trip for an ultrasound! (Which you can see above) We were kind of nervous but we got there and the little one's heart was just beating a way. We were both amazed. I knew that I'd been feeling kinda blah and that a whole bunch of tests said that I was pregnant, but I don't think we completely believed it until this moment. Lee grabbed my foot and his mouth fell wide open. Most people think that we would have cried, however we just giggled like school girls. However, the ultrasound did show the baby measuring a week smaller than our original calculation. We now have the pictures posted on our fridge like it was a kindergarten school picture! So excited!

Why did I not know this??

So, I felt that when I went into this pregnancy thing, that I had had enough pregnant friends that there couldn't be anything I didn't already know about. Therefore, when I thought my nose was getting congested and when I had a nosebleed last week, that it was just something that happened. During the weekend, I was going to various pregnancy websites to tell Lee about what was going on with the little one this week. Who knew that congestion and nosebleeds were pregnancy symptoms?! Luckily, I am a champion at the neti pot and am able to get relief twice a day (A fact that hopefully will keep me off of antibiotics for ANOTHER sinus infection).

When I walked into work this morning, people started rubbing my belly randomly; I hadn't realized that my bump grew over the weekend! One of my students said "Look! You're pregnant!" haha With the entrance of my BellaBands, I now have a much larger selection of pants to wear.

The question often occurs: "How do you feel?" Compared to a few of my unfortunate friends, I feel fine. I am tired pretty much nonstop, am very hungry, and have a mild nausea most of the day. (Nothing to say that I'm sick, just enough to feel blah)

My first appointment is this Thursday. According to one website, I'm 8 1/2 weeks pregnant, one, I am 9 weeks, and another I'm 9 1/2. (All which have me at the same due date... so weird) I'm anxious just to talk a professional and figure out exactly how far along I am. Stay tuned for more details!!