15 WEEKS!

Life is busy!We made the decision to move to CA and my parents have graciously offered us part of their house. I had my last day of work on Saturday and we've just been packing, selling, sorting, and throwing away stuff. The moving tuck is reserved, my Mom's plane ticket purchased, and half of our house packed up. I'm a little overwhelmed but it's all coming together now. The plan is for Momma to arrive on Thursday, load the truck on Friday, drive all day Saturday, then unload on Easter Sunday. We're supposed to have a snowstorm later in the week so I hope that doesn't make our travels too difficult.

I've been having a lot of headaches and stomach problems. But the great news is that I seem to have got most of my energy back! I don't feel like I need to lay down or pass out half way through the day any more. I'm surprised when I look at the clock and it's 10pm and I'm not tired yet. The baby must be moving around a lot in there because I'm getting some sharp really uncomofortable pains in nerves I didn't know I had. A few have made me catch my breath.

Our last OB visit with Dr. Sloan was on the 23rd. She was sorry to see us leave but wished us the best. I gained 3 lbs from my last appointment so not too bad I'd say! We didn't get the heart rate measurement because the baby wouldn't hold still enough to keep the doppler in one place to measure the beats per minute. I'm glad to hear I have a very active little one in there. It's funny to me that I still can't feel anything even though there's obviously so much activity in there.

Because we were busy packing and organizing I didn't get to take my weekly picture on Sunday. So after I dug out a camera, this is me at 15 weeks 2 days.

14 WEEKS!

So I'm starting my second week into the second trimester off with a cold. Yuck. The nausea has been much better the last few days though, and I'm very thankful for that. I'm still having lots of sharp pains in my lower abdomen which I assume are growing pains. I dont' feel like I've grown much, if any at all, but I know that babe is in there growing at an alarming rate. I still have to pee all of the time but I don't really expect that to let up. My nails are growing super fast and a bit thicker than before. My skin is very very dry and nothing I do makes it better. I don't know if it's important to note or not, but it seems I've had my first baby dream. I dreamt of a little tiny girl but it was my sister's. I know it wasn't Charlotte becuase she was in it also. So maybe Michelley is going to have a baby girl soon?? :)

We've had crazy weather this past week. It was snowing all one day then 50 degrees two days later. I'm enjoying this break from the cold and am anxious to start working on my flower beds. Steven has been out playing with his airplanes and trucks and soon will be starting his boats. The dogs are loving staying outside during the day instead of in their crates while I'm at work. Spring has arrived!

Since this is a document for posterity I feel I should include what just happened in our government yesterday. Everyone says we're making history as American's but I can't help but feel a sense of apprehension. The House has passed the bill (219 to 212) for Healthcare Reform. It seems that public opinion is split down the middle. We'll see if this is history making or not if it shows up in our children's history books a few years from now. Many say it's going to make everyone's quailty of life better and many say that it's another step toward socialism and more government in our lives. I am not for the plan but it's obviously out of our hands, so we'll see what the future brings. I'm assuming just higher taxes and worse healthcare.

A dear friend told me I should be smiling in these pictures and she's so right. So from here on out you will see a silly toothy grin becuase I am very happy about this baby coming and I should be showing it! :) I guess a little makeup wouldn't kill me either. LoL

13 WEEKS - 2nd Trimester!

Hi everyone,

It's now a few days in to my 13th week! I can't believe we made it to the 2nd trimester! It honestly feel so surreal. There are days where I still can't believe there is a little human swimming around in my body. I'm sure once we know the gender and I can feel movement it will be more real.

This week has been awful. I've been really sick with nausea and headaches and pretty grumpy. I missed 3 days of work and felt like I sucked at life. I'm happy to report though that my kitchen and bathroom have stayed clean through it all. The threat of having to put your face in the toilet will do that to ya. *wink* Being sick physically hasn't helped my emotional state at all. I still cry over anything and everything. I've started having stronger and more frequent anxiety attacks. I don't want to tell my Dr. because medication is the last thing I need. I should probably buy a yoga video so I can breath and relax when I get too stressed or anxious. I seem to have separation anxiety now also. When I'm alone I start freaking out and get really lonely. I'm sure it's just hormone madness but it sure feels like the end of the world when I'm in that moment. I also have a lot of tightness and pain in my lower abdomen and back. I expected my back to hurt as I have a previous injury but I didn't think my belly would hurt so much until it got bigger.

I had my EAGeR appointment at the University of Utah Hospital and the nurse gave me more pictures from our first ultrasound at the LDS Hospital. I haven't gained any weight since my last appointment a month ago so that means I'm still down about 10lbs from my pre-pregnancy weight. I'm pretty happy about that. I needed to lose a little bit before, but hey, if baby wants to help me out I'll take it.

Life is pretty quiet for the most part. We're just waiting until the 1st of April to decide where we're going to live and see what opportunities present themselves. I've picked up some boxes to start packing the things we don't use on a daily basis. I have a feeling we'll be tossing a lot of stuff. I'm worried about Dare, I don't think she'll ajdust very well. My silly co dependant puppy... It looks like we won't have as many fish to move though because they all keep dying! Somehow they got a nasty fungus and it killed of a few cichlids and most of my tropicals. :( It must have been brought in with another fish becuase Steven takes care of those guys better than anything else we own. Well, besides the playstation. Ha!

Here is this week's picture. I think my bump is going down. In case you're wondering, yes, I basically live in that outfit when not at work. Excuse the awful hair and face, I was sick that day.

12 WEEKS!

I'm in the last week of the first trimester!!!!

Symptoms are basically the same. My stomach doesn't look any bigger to me. It just seems to be growing up instead of out. Sleeping is getting more and more uncomfortable. I can still lay on my stomach but it starts to ache. I'm usually a side sleeper but even that is uncomfortable now. So sleep and I have a love-hate relationship right now. I'm looking forward to gaining some energy back soon because I have none at all. I've also noticed that my hair and nails seem to be growing quickly. My skin has been great except for the constant dryness I always have to fight in this climate.

I finally started "The Belly Book" I bought a few weeks ago to document the pregnancy. All that's missing so far are pictures. And in other good news I finally saved up enough money to buy my studio lighting! I'm really excited to jump into learning how to work with strobes. I'll have to get lots of practice in so I can take amazing newborn photos when the little one arrives.

Soon I'll have to start working on a list of baby items we need to purchase and research the best options. I think we're probably going to wait until after the gender scan to purchase nursery items. I'd like to go fairly gender neutral on the big items that can be passed down to future babies, but once Steven finds out the gender I'm sure they'll be no stopping him. So far all we know is the car seat we will buy and that we're going to use cloth diapers. I haven't decided if we're using pre folds and covers or fitteds. I found some good patterns for making cloth diapers and to save a lot of money I'll likely make them myself. I'll be sewing blindly though without a baby to "test" them out on. I forsee an adventure. :)

It's been alternating between snow and rain this last week. I'm excited for spring! My flower beds look sadly neglected. I love watching those dead looking sticks bloom and come back to life. It will probably still be another month or two before that happens though. When we first moved into this house we had a very heavy snow in mid April. Like the saying goes...."if you don't like the weather in Utah, wait 15 minutes".