The word is out - Week 10

I just realized that the title of my posts have been the week that I just completed. So I am technically now in my 11th week of pregnancy, but I guess it doesn't really matter! Oh well, just a random thought from the pregnant lady.

I told my work today that I was pregnant. I really wanted to do something cute to tell them all. I had this great idea to take a box and make it look like an oven, then bring in freshly baked sticky buns or something and have a sign that said "Bun in the Oven". But I never took the time to make a cute box, and I'm really not feeling up to baking sticky buns in the morning, I can barley roll out of bed in time to make it into work. So instead, I brought them a box of donuts! I think they were just as happy! I send everyone in my office an e-mail, which was nice for me to keep it low key and not have the awkward moment standing in the office announcing it to everyone while they all stare at me trying to decide what to say without asking personal questions like "Was it planned" which then eludes to my sex life with my husband. Instead I got a few nice e-mails back with a simple "Congratulations! Thanks for the donuts!" Success!

So now, I have posted the news on my blog, called my family and closest friends, told work, gave permission to my father to tell the church, and my lovely husband has posted the news on facebook (the day I told him I guess we didn't have to keep it a secret anymore). So our news is out there for those who care.

Overall, I am feeling pretty well. I am nearing the end of my first trimester. So far I have made it through the pregnancy without throwing up once. I am uncomfortable at night, but I know this is only the beginning! I did make my husband buy me a Pumpkin Pie milkshake last weekend from Jack-in-the-Box. I told him the baby was craving a milkshake. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it! :) I can't believe how quickly the pregnancy is going this time. I felt like I was in the first trimester forever with Brendan, this one is flying by.

I know it sounds silly, but I can't wait to get into my maternity clothes again. It is like a new wardrobe just sitting at the top of my closet waiting to be worn! Pretty soon I'm sure, for now, most of my work clothes still fit and a couple jeans I can still wear. I bought a couple of Maternity dresses that I am excited to wear once I start showing. I told Scott this weekend I just look like I have a beer gut, he looked at me and tried to find a way to make me feel better, truth is, I don't quite look pregnant yet, I just look a little thick around the middle. I try to wear more empire waisted shirts to accentuate my middle.

Other than that, life is as normal. Scott and I are both pretty busy with work, friends, church activities, and family outings. Brendan is getting into everything which keeps us on our toes, but we are loving every moment!

Ultrasound - 9 Weeks

Written on:
October 13, 2009

I had my first Ultrasound today. The appointment was at 10:45. I arrived in the doctors office and signed in at 10:28. The wait was long, especially since I was by myself (Scott wasn't able to make it) and the room was quiet. But, as I told my mom, it was a nice break to sit in the waiting room and do nothing. I started to read a book, and then I realized I would rather do nothing, how often do I get a chance to just "sit" and so I did.

After quite a wait, I was taken back with the ultrasound tech. No weight check, peeing in a cup, vitals, nothing. We went straight back, she had me lay down on the table and within seconds, she had our little baby up on the screen. I really must admit, I'm really not much of a mushy type of person, I like romantic comedies as much as the next girl, but I'm not overly emotion (when it comes to things like this at least). So she showed me the baby, and his (no, we don't know what the sex is yet, but "his" sounds better than "its") little leg. She didn't point it out to me, but there on the screen was a tiny little flickering light, a tiny little heartbeat! And there it was, assurance. All of the silly little nagging going on in my head from the time I found out disappeared. There was a baby inside of me, and I have every right to feel as miserable as I do. (Okay, I'm not miserable, but you get what I mean.)

So now our little one is about the size of a Raspberry. When the tech took his measurements, she said he was measuring at 9 weeks and 3 days, which puts the due date based on size at May 15th! Perfect! So according to the dates and to the size, the baby's due dates match! I just hope this one is not as late as the last one!

I spent about a total of 7 minutes in the room with the Ultrasound. I immediately called my mom who was still in the hospital from her broken leg, she was of course excited. I then called my husband on his lunch break to let him know everything was fine. He knew that I was really worried that I would go in and they either wouldn't find a sac, or there wouldn't be a heartbeat. He told me later that he was afraid that I was going to call him and tell him that either there wasn't a baby there, or that there were twins there. "Honestly" he confessed, "I'm not sure which would have been worse."

But we have one healthy baby inside of me. Now I have to get a bunch of blood work done before my next appointment. I know the Ultrasound doesn't look like much, but there is our baby, coming in May 2010!

Brendan's First Boo-Boo

Brendan came home from Day Care with his first real "boo-boo". When I picked Brendan up on Friday afternoon, he had a small red mark on his cheek. Marion told us "We had our first boo-boo today mum." (Said in her cute little English accent.) Apparently, Brendan was going in and out of the door (his favorite past time) and threw a fit when Marion told him to stop, fell and hit his cheek/face/eye on the door frame. She said he barley cried and wouldn't let her put ice on it, so she thought it was fine.

This all happened about 10 minutes before I picked Brendan up. When I got to her house, Brendan was playing outside, and didn't want to leave the toys to go home. His cheek looked a little red, but from what I could see he was fine. After we got home, I began to really notice the dark spot above his eye. Brendan got his first black eye!Our kid is pretty tough, the black eye didn't seem to faze him at all, we could tell it was swollen and could see a bump on his eyebrow, but it didn't hurt him at all, even when we would touch it or put shirts over his head.

On the next Monday, Scott dropped Brendan off at Marion's house. I got a phone call at work an hour later from her. "Rachel, did his black eye happen at my house?" (Again with the English accent.) I told her that it did, she felt so bad! She explained that since he didn't cry, she didn't think it was that bad! Scott and I know that our kid is a little dare-devil and will do anything to go outside and play, so we weren't really worried about. We know that Brendan is safe at Marion's house. She has now fixed the door until Brendan gets older where it can no longer be opened and closed. A black eye is not going to stop our little dare-devil!

Unfortunately (fortunately?) you can't really see how bad the black eye looked in the pictures. I guess I could have kept trying, but it may be better that we weren't able to capture on film how bad our baby's eye looked! The bump happened on Friday, October 9th, so at this point, the black eye is really mostly a slight greenish-yellow color, and fading fast. But Brendan can now say he got a black eye...from a fight...with a door...

Pregnancy Memories

Since I am now starting my second pregnancy, I thought I would jot down some of my memories from the first pregnancy with Brendan. All 42 weeks of them! Form the beginning, to the end.

1. 10/27/07 - Taking a pregnancy test on Saturday morning. I spent all day with a friend from work at a scrapbooking convention (with baby stickers and baby stuff all over) and didn’t tell anyone, my husband spent a couple hours with new friends with a baby and told them right away. So much for our secret.
2. 11/07/07 - Scott letting it slip to his mom on the phone, I never get to surprise her in a cute way, she was excited anyway!

3. 11/19/07 - My first day of “Real” morning sickness. I woke up at 5:00 in the morning feeling so sick. It was the day we were to leave for our cruise, and the day I was to tell my parents. Scott went to the Grocery store at 5:00 in the morning to pick me up some ginger ale and soda crackers.
4. 11/19/07 - Telling my parents over dinner on the cruise, we wrapped up two bibs. “I love Grandma” and “I love Grandpa” they were VERY surprised!
5. My husband monitoring my caffeine intake during the course of the pregnancy, he would barely allow me to have any; I had to sneak my colas!
6. 12/01/07 - Leaning over the toilet, sick and realizing I had not cleaned it in a while. I took out the toilet brush and scrubbed the toilet before sitting on the bathroom floor waiting for the sick feeling to go away.
7. 12/14/07 - Announcing the news to my office. I think that some of the girls in my office were more excited than some of my friends.
8. Craving Jell-o and goldfish like crazy!
9. 03/07/08 - Crying when I found out our baby was a boy. I was not sure what to do with a boy, but somehow I knew all along what he would be. Scott was so excited; he said he prayed for a boy! Now I can't imagine not having a boy!
10. February - Feeling Brendan really kick (feeling it on the outside) for the first time while leaving work for the day and calling my mom right away.
11. 04/25/08 - Camping while 6 months pregnant, Scott was afraid for me to climb rocks, I had fun, sleeping was pretty difficult though!
12. All the Sleepless nights! Tossing and turning, and of course, getting up to pee every couple of hours. Everyone told me it was preparing me for the sleepless nights when the baby came, but I think it was worse!
13. 05/17/08 - Scott graduating with his Master’s degree! (110 weather) but we were proud!
14. 05/18/08 - My baby shower my sister threw for me. As hot as it was that day, it was great!
15. 06/16/08 - My last day of work. Then just waiting.
16. 06/22/08 - Realize my fingers were too swollen to wear my wedding ring anymore.
17. 07/02/08 - Walking the mall on my Due date to try and induce labor. Instead seeing a girl from my birthing class that was due after me…with her newborn.
18. My mother coming to visit and helping me with all the last minute baby details, like scrapbooking, starting the Baby Book, cleaning, cooking, she was wonderful!!
19. 07/04/08 - Walking to get Donuts on the 4th of July (2 days after my due date) only to realize it was a lot further than we thought. And it was July meaning 106+ degrees outside.
20. Walking pretty much anywhere and everywhere…
21. My grumpy days when I did not want to get out of bed.
22. 07/05/08 - Eating a salad said proven to induce labor. Don’t try it, it is gross and doesn’t work!
23. 07/13/08 - My first real contraction on Sunday, 11 days past my due date….

Week 8 - 1st Doctor Visit

Written on:
Friday, October 2nd, 2009

Today I am 8 weeks along. I know I missed last week for the 7 week mark, but not much happened and I didn’t get to see my doctor like originally planned. Some here is some quick (or not so quick) updating points for those of you who care:

• I did finally get to see my doctor, I chose a new OB for this pregnancy since I wasn’t really happy with the outcome with my last OB's office. Hopefully this one turns out better.
  o Had my first appointment at 4:15 on Monday, 9/28.
  o Showed up at 3:55 to complete all the new paperwork.
  o Finally was called back at 4:51 for my appointment.
  o Had to pee in a cup (which was good because I really had to go.
  o Got my “starting” weight, since I don’t have a scale at home. It was a little more than I was expecting/hoping for. Guess I didn’t lose as much of the Brendan baby weight as I thought.
  o Actually met the Doctor at the first visit. I like him, an older gentleman, but he seems really nice and knowledgeable.
  o Was giving my EDD (Expected Due Date) of 05/15/2009, exactly what I thought it was, a little afraid to tell my boss of the date!
  o Was given a prescription for Prenatal vitamins, blood work paperwork, my next appointment (10/26/2009) and my first Ultrasound (10/13/2009)! YAY for an early ultrasound!
  o Overall, appointment lasted about 15 minutes.


• We have started to tell a few people. Our parents and some close family know (mostly Scott’s side since he isn’t great at keeping secrets and doesn’t understand why I want(ed) to. Our closest friends know (At least the closest ones that live near us) I still haven’t really called anyone out of town to tell them yet. Some friends are figuring it out based upon my change of diet. My sister guessed it right away after not seeing me for three weeks.


• I haven’t told my work yet, although I think Scott told his, so I probably wont be able to keep it a secret for long, you know how those Baptist are when it comes to news…


• Scott and I decided that we were probably going to keep this pregnancy somewhat low key. It is exciting, but very different than our experience with our first.


• I am feeling more sick than before, so far everything has stayed down, but I still feel very weak and sick to my stomach too often than I would like.


• The smells of the Trash can really make me sick, I make Scott take out the trash for me.


• The thought of Zucchini Bread still makes me sick.


• Scott has been very busy lately, which means that Brendan has to deal with a not-so-with-it mom recently.


• Overall things are going well. Scott has been very supportive, like bringing me Ice Water in the evening because that seems to be the only thing that calms my stomach. We are both very excited to be expanding our family. I think it will feel more real to me when I actually see or hear the heartbeat. For right now I just feel like I have the flu and not pregnant. I still worry that when we go in for the u/s they will find an empty sack. I know that God is in control and he will carry us through whatever circumstances come our way. Thank you all for your love and support for us during this time. It is a very exciting time in our lives!
  

Week 6 - getting sick

Written on:
Friday, September 18, 2009

Today I am 6 weeks pregnant. It has now been one week since our surprise on Thursday night. Poor Scott is having such a hard time keeping his secret, he wasn’t very good at it last time but has done fairly well this time. Every morning he asks if he can tell people yet. So far we have kept it to ourselves. Currently my sister is out of town so we (I) am waiting for her to get back so I can tell her first. Then we will tell our parents and I’m sure the news will fly like crazy. I’m not sure when I want to tell my work. This time doesn’t seem like such a big deal as the last one. With the second, things are just a bit different so I don’t think it needs to be so suspenseful. However, I don’t want to tell everyone at work and then lose the baby, I just don’t think I would deal with that very well. But we probably won’t wait too long.

I went to my Doctor on Tuesday, she had me take a blood test to confirm that I was pregnant (for insurance purposes she said). Then she referred me to an OB-GYN. I wasn’t very happy with my last OB, so I requested a new one. I meet him on Tuesday at 9:30 am for the first time. Unfortunately, Scott isn’t able to make my first appointment. I know it was hard for him since he went to every single appointment with Brendan, this semester he is a lot busier and won’t be able to attend as many. I’m thinking that my due date will be May 15th, but I’m sure the doctor will give me an official date we can use.

I started feeling sick yesterday. Before yesterday I found myself more hungry than usual. I started packing healthier lunches. Popcorn instead of chips, blueberries, edemame, bananas, apples, avocado, string cheese, yogurt, ect. I have been eating a lot yesterday, but I have been following a pregnancy diet recommendation where I have been really trying to get all my fruits & veggies in my diet. But then yesterday hit. Nothing sounded good to me, I could barely get my yogurt down for breakfast. This morning I felt really bad which made my morning with Brendan that much harder. I thought I was going to throw up all morning, but I haven’t yet. We’ll see how the weekend goes. Scott has been pretty understanding. He let me take a nice long nap on Sunday, but I am just tired all the time.

I think I have rambled on long enough. For now this is my update. I hope to feel better next week, but I’m pretty certain I will probably feel worse. Here’s to pregnancy! I’m just hoping it sticks right now!

Warning Signs

Written on:
Monday, September 14, 2009

So as I explained in my last post, I was completely shocked that I was pregnant and thought that I had not experienced any pregnancy signs. I had been thinking about it over the weekend and looking back, I realize that maybe there were some signs that I just overlooked:

1. Last Wednesday, I was so tired I went and took a nap in my car during my lunch break. And I cant stop yawning.


2. I bought some Zucchini bread at work last week and before I could finish it, the smell was really getting to me. I stopped eating it for a while and pushed it away. As I was working I could still smell it, it was making me sick. So I put it clear on the other side of the desk. The smell still bothered me! I finally threw it away without eating it. I threw it away in the bathroom trash can so I wouldn’t have to smell it anymore! I though it was just bad zucchini bread.


3. Thursday night (before I took the test) I made a pot of Taco Soup. Scott had started a bowl while I was feeding Brendan. By the time I got to the soup it smelled and tasted bad to me, I thought the meat had gone bad. So I threw out the entire pot and took Scott’s bowl away saying the soup was bad. We ate a frozen dinner instead.


4. I had been waking up at 5:00 on the dot to pee in the morning. I just thought I was drinking too much liquid the night before, although I haddn’t been drinking more than usual.

They were just little signs like more frequent urination, fatigue, and enhanced sense of smell. But all rather large signs of pregnancy. I guess if you aren’t looking for them…

Ready or not...Here we go!

Written on:
Friday, September 11, 2009

Last night after putting Brendan to bed, Scott and I cuddled into our bed to watch some TV together. As we were getting ready I realized that I was on day 35 of my cycle and I hadn't started yet. "That's Strange," I thought to myself, but quickly dismissed the topic in my mind. I typically go about 31-33 days so I wasn't that worried and I wasn't experiencing pregnancy symptoms like I did with Brendan (or so I thought).

When I mentioned to Scott what day I was on, he insisted that I take a test. I had a couple pregnancy tests under the counter, just in case, that I had picked up from Big Lots for $1.90 for 2 tests. (A much better deal than Target where they go for $10-$20 for 2.) I had gone to the bathroom twice already in the past hour so the chances of the cheapo pregnancy test being able to determine if I was pregnant with what little pee I had in me at the end of the day was slim. But I tried anyway to appease my husband.

I was absolutely shocked at the results. There they were staring straight at me, two little pink lines. "It must be a mistake! I don't feel pregnant!" I tried again this morning, just in case, with the "First Morning Pee". Yup, Pregnant.

Scott is excited, I am nervous. I thought I was ready but when I saw those dainty little lines staring at me, I freaked out. Am I ready for this? My boss is going to freak! Can we afford another one?

My husband gently reminded me that God wouldn't hand us something we weren't able to handle. We discussed having another one, I just didn't expect it right now. I am excited. Scared, but excited. We are happy to have our kids close in age to one another and look forward to the blessings of our little one.

Your prayers for our family are greatly appreciated during this new and exciting time in our lives.

The Phone Booth

Brendan Found a Phone Booth:

"This is new" he thought to himself

The door opens....and closes

"The Floor makes a loud noise when I stomp my feet."

"I could play in this all day!" and he did, In & Out, In & Out...

"MOM! Let's get one of these to take home!"

Daddy and Me!

Wordless Wednesday

Old World Village - German Town

Every year when October hits, Scott's mind goes to OKTOBERFEST. So this year, Scott and I found a cute little German Village in Huntington Beach. They had a German restaurant, a few little shops, a church, a bakery and a German Market. It was very cute, however, when we went on Saturday afternoon, most of the shops were closed. I guess they might open later for the actual Oktoberfest that began at 6:30? We are not sure, but the few store that were open were very cute.

Saturday afternoon had beautiful weather, it was the perfect day for walking around. The food in the German Restaurant was very good. I got a Polish Sausage and Scott got the Knackwurst. Even Brendan enjoyed the "Hot Dog". I must admit, my favorite part was the Apple Strudel with Ice Cream. The Ice cream was so rich and good, the apples were warm and sweet. It was AMAZING! Brendan enjoyed his plate of whipped cream.

Overall, we had a great afternoon. I'm not sure how often we will go back as it wasn't quite what we were expecting, and many shops weren't open, but we had a great day together as a family.

Petting Sharks

Remember back in July when we took Brendan to the Aquarium? He really didn't get to experience much since he was sick and all. So last weekend, we packed up the car and Scott and I took Brendan back to the Aquarium of the Pacific with a Friend from Scott's Work, Shante.

It was a lot of fun. I really enjoy seeing Brendan experience life. He ran from tank to tank looking at the bright colored fish, feeling the different textures of the tide pools and watching the noisy birds (from the outside of the cage, Scott and I are too afraid of those crazy birds to go inside.

Although it is hard to tell what with Brendan being 14 months and all...but I think his favorite part was petting the sharks. For one, he got to put his hands in the water, which is always a plus for my kid, even washing his hands is exciting. Two, he got to spend time with Daddy reaching in to pet the sharks, and three, Hello! They are sharks! What kids wouldn't be excited?

Overall we had a nice afternoon. I love that Brendan can experience more and more as he grows and becomes more aware of the world around him. I love that we have family days to spend together out of the house, experiencing life together.