Another Ultrasound

I had another appointment this morning... well, just an ultrasound, no exam. Our baby is now 11mm long; it was 2mm 9 days ago! We saw the head, the body (which looks smaller than the head), and two arm buds. We also heard a loud, strong heartbeat of 140 bpm. I didn't think we were going to hear a heartbeat, so it kind of took me by surprise. I laughed and the technician had to tell me to stop giggling so she could get a strong beat on tape. (Oops!) Thought I'd share. If I get to a scanner, I'll scan the picture in!

Crocs

New shoes. Comfortable shoes. Get some Crocs!

Since I will be 7 months pregnant when vacationing in Walt Disney World, I have been looking through several websites and forums on being pregnant in the World. I came across a forum in which a lady said she would being traveling to Disney World when she was seven months pregnant and wanted to know which type of shoes people recommended. About 25% said Berkenstocks and about 75% said Crocs.

What are Crocs? At the time, I had no idea. After looking them up on www.crocs.com, I recognized them. Dad has some he wears to work in. He told me earlier how incredibly comfortable they are. So last weekend I went shopping with Kristy and Grandma, and Kristy and I each got a pair. Kristy got lime. I got Aqua. They are super-comfy!

If you haven't seen them yet, or are unsure if you have or not, take a look at the website. You can get them online or at Dillard's and it is well worth it to own some!

Little scare; Greater relief

Monday evening, I had a little scare. I passed some gray tissue and almost immediately my pregnancy symptoms ceased. No more frequent urination, no more breast soreness, but no bleeding. After initially freaking out, I called dad and decided I would call my OB on Tuesday. By Tuesday, I had talked myself out of it. This morning (Wednesday), I couldn't go anymore without worrying about my lack of symptoms.

I had an appointment this morning. After the exam, Dr. Zehnder said that it was tissue, but not a whole lot and he thought it all felt normal, but he ordered a scan (ultrasound) to check on a few more things. I saw that he had written "Threatened AB" on my paperwork. Threatened AB is threatened abortion or threatened miscarriage. I guess the scan was precautionary. Anyway, we saw a yolk sac, a tiny white thing which was the baby, and a primative heartbeat! Everything looks good! The doctor was relieved. I still have my "initial" appointment scheduled for next week to check on things.

He asked if I had any questions... which I did. I told him about my trips planned to OKC in May and WDW in October. He said OKC was prefectly alright. He said he prefers not to allow patients to leave the state six weeks before the due date (which is Nov 18), but mid-Sept would be fine, so I am very happy that I still get to go - AND I have a healthy embryo right now!

Officially

My OB called today. He told me "Congratulations. You are very pregnant." (Whatever that means!) He said I had a very high level of hCG and my progestrone level was great. (No extra pills for me!) He wants to see me next week for an ultrasound (and I assume my first exam.) Cory and I can only go together on Wednesday afternoons or Friday mornings. Dr. Zenhder will be out on Wednesday, so Friday it is. My appointment is set for Mar. 31 at 8:30am. It seems like soooo long to wait. I have questions and nervousness. I wish it was this week! Oh well. Just wanted to give you an update!

Misconceptions

So I'm learning that I had a few misconceptions about pregnancy (early pregnancy specifically).

1. Tiredness - I thought that pregnant women became more tired as the months passed because of the added weight they had to carry. Wrong. Well, it probably is true that women in the third trimester are tired, but what I didn't realize was that the first trimester is so tiring. I get dressed to go to bed at 7:00 now and I am in bed reading at 7:30 (It was 9:30 or 10:00 in the past.) I yawn all day too.

2. Sleep position - I was under the incorrect assumption that I would be able to sleep normally until at least I was "showing." I have come to realize in the past two days that sleeping on my stomach is no longer an option unless I want to feel a dull cramping pain all night.

3. Going to the bathroom - I thought that frequent urination was due to the fact that the baby is on your bladder. Wrong. While that may be the case later into the pregnancy, you have to go frequently in the beginning as well. As per pregnancy.ivallage.com: "Pregnancy hormones can make your bladder seem to shrink in half, as increased blood flow to your kidneys increases the amount of urine you make. In about two months, the pressure will ease." One can only hope.

Support

Thank you all for your love and support. I went to my doctor's office this morning to do blood work to find the progestrone level (for my risk level of miscarriage). They said they should be calling me back late this afternoon to let me know the results. The phone calls and comments have been great. I love you!

Grapevine

Well, if you haven't heard it yet, here goes. I'm pregnant!

It's a little unexpected, but we weren't going to wait too much longer anyway. I haven't been to the doctor yet, but I think I'll be due November 18, three days after my birthday. That would make me 4 weeks and 4 days pregnant today. It is exciting, but only superficially. It really hasn't sunk in yet for us and I guess it won't for a while.

As long as everything goes by the book, Kristy's baby and mine will be nine weeks apart! Two new babies for Christmas. I'm glad that Kristy and I are pregnant together. Sharing stories should help the painful moments and make the exciting ones twice as nice! I kind of hope I have a girl since that is what Kristy is expecting - 2 girls just like us!

Of course our parents, grandparents, and siblings are all excited for us. And Chesney really enjoys the fact that we will have a baby to take home - at least for now!!! She knows that she's going to be a big sister and is happy to share her room. She talks about changing diapers and feeding and hugging and playing games with the baby. In the past couple of months when she has asked for a brother or sister, we have told her that God keeps the babies in heaven with him until they are ready. When we told her we were having a baby, she said, "No. Jesus still has it." I explained to her that God and Jesus have already given the baby to us and it is in my tummy. She seemed slightly confused, but who wouldn't be at three? She hopes for a little girl to name Pocahontas. Don't laugh too loudly Kristy, she said yours should be named Ursula!

I'm happy so far. A little more tired than usual (which is already a lot!), and very slightly dizzy and nauseated in the evenings. So far, so good. I go to the doctor's office tomorrow to draw blood and they will schedule my first exam after they get the progestrone level results.

Anyway, I feel like I want to call everyone, but I want my mom and dad and grandparents to be able to tell other people, too. So I think I'll just sit back now and let it move through the grapevine.

Learning curve

Chesney is very bright, but I guess all parents think their children are geniuses until they go to school... She learned her address this week. I taught it to her to the tune of Rain, Rain Go Away.

"My name is (first name) (last name).

This is my address

(Number) (Street)

(City) (State)."

It's pretty cute to hear. She also knows that a stop sign is a "optagon." Pretty smart, right?!? But she still doesn't know what a square is. She also knows one to ten and sixteen through twenty in French, but only one to ten in English - most of the time skipping eight. I am more amazed everyday by the things she absorbs. Just thought I'd share.

By the way, if any of you are interested in trivia, my link to Katie's blog is all trivia all the time. It's pretty fun. Try it.

Power of Prayer

God listens. Cory and I recently re-budgetted our income and bills. Don't get me wrong, we live well, but it is tight. We found areas to give a little so we did not have to pull so much out of our savings account per month (since Cory is jobless while he finishes his last semester of school.) He had to quit his last job because of time conflicts with the last classes he needs to take and the route he was on. Anyway, on Friday, Cory got a call from an old friend from Ocean Energy offering him a temporary job. This lady, Julie, ate lunch with another Ocean lady and the topic of needing a temporary worker came up. The other lady told Julie that Cory didn't have a job, so she called him. By the time I left work on Friday, to the time I got home (15 minutes), Cory had received the call and accepted the job.

He began work today. He goes in whenever he's not in school, so he'll end up with about 25 hours a week. He gets paid to make copies and do data entry. It could last anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months, but however long it is, it will keep us from pulling money out of savings and depleting what little money we have for a house down payment! We weren't really looking for a job for Cory, but one came anyway. I believe that God knows your prayers even when you don't say them.

Picture Time Line

My friend Ashlee showed a neat site to me. It is a photo timeline of a Spanish family. It starts with a picture of each of the newlyweds. Every year on June 17th, (I don't know the significance of that date), they take another picture. Each time they have a baby, he gets added to the page. You can really see how they've changed over time. I thought it was pretty neat and I wanted to show you: http://zonezero.com/magazine/essays/diegotime/time.html

For those of you who are just starting your own families, or who haven't started new families yet, I thought it might be a good project. Ashlee mentioned also seeing the photo timelines just for the children. You can plant a tree when the baby is born and take a picture with the baby and the tree every year on his/her birthday to watch them both grow. She's also seen one with the baby boy in his father's old jeans every year until they fit him. I just thought that it would be fun to share. We may start the family timeline this year.

Hard work - Rest deserved

I had another long day in the yard today. I borrowed Dad's lawnmower and weed eater (thanks Dad!) and got busy doing yard work. I mowed until the mower ran out of gas then used the weed eater in the front (that thing is dangerous!) Then Cory and his dad loaded up one of the chest freezers we were given and brought it to Ashlee and Joseph's house. I didn't get around to cleaning ours yet, but I will this week. Then Cory and I went to Home Depot to get the remaining items needed for my garden. I finished the garden and mowing the lawn and now I am in desparate need of a bath, but since Cory said dinner would be ready in five minutes, I thought I'd write and then eat. You can see the completed garden if you scroll down to the last garden entry I wrote. I plan on relaxing the next two hours after my bath. I am beginning to realize that resting after doing hard work feels so much better than undeserved rest. I guess it's the since of accomplishment. Well, dinner's ready!

Amazing Race

If any of you are Amazing Race fans, check out my second blog at jaimesamazingrace.blogspot.com. Comments are encouraged!

46 Days

Ah, Lent. Here again. A time for reflection, giving to others, and giving up food.

Maybe it's a little selfish - (can it be selfish to give?) - but I use Lent. I use it to further my weight loss goal. I give up all carbonated beverages, which is not hard at all, and fast food (excluding Subway). This is a task. We eat out WAY too much. It's easy to say "we're not eating fast food anymore," but then we get lazy and eat only for special occasions, or only on weekends, and eventually only days ending in y. With the added guilt of Lent and wanting to impress God, I am more resolute to stick with it.

I would also like to give up one day of TV, but I don't think Cory will allow that.

A garden and a barbecue

On Mardi Gras day, I planted a garden! One of two that I'd like to accomplish. Cory picked out the (garnet and gold) marigolds and I dug and pulled and planted with Chesney cheering me on ("Keep digging Momma J - go girl." and "You sit [and drink your water], I dig for you.") It isn't completely finished though; I still need to buy mulch and a stone border... then start the other garden. I also dug up a dead tree in the backyard and threw it out to the road. But the main thing is that one of my five goals for the year is practically complete! I don't think that many of the flowers will survive though. It seems that we have a nice thick layer of clay about 5 inches down. Anyone know of any plants that thrive in clay?

We also pulled out Cory's BBQ pit for the first time and used the hammock that Michelle and Dave bought for us for our wedding (thanks guys!) We cooked pork chops for Cory and chicken, pineapple, and ham kabobs and grilled squash and zucchini for me. It was awesome, but my chicken could've been more seasoned...

All in all, I think it was one the of most productive and relaxing days I've had in a long time!


(By the way, I knew all of the words to Alouette already and I kind of figured that Rocket Man was about an estranged relationship. I put them in there to get back some funny comments like the Lionel Richie song. Guess no one got the jist.)