17 Weeks

I am VERY late with this post seeing as I hit 17 weeks on Tuesday. Hopefully I'll catch up and I'll post my 18 week one Tuesday evening, because with it will be the BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!

I guess I can reflect back on the last 2 weeks. During my 16th week I ran my first full mile while pregnant. It didn't hurt or pull much and it felt really good. I probably could have kept going but I had to turn around and the wind was no longer blowing on me, it was blowing with me and I got too hot. I went to Utah, then came home sick and haven't had a chance to go again and I'm really sad about it. Tomorrow I plan on getting back into the swing and at least walking if I'm not up to par with jogging yet. The other exciting thing that happened during my 16th week was the No Doubt Concert Monday Night. It was so loud! I don't remember concerts being that loud, even though I know they were. I think I was just much more aware because I'm pregnant and I couldn't help but think, "what is the kid hearing?" "is it going to be deaf because of this?" "wonder if the noise vibrations are sending vibrations through the amniotic fluid and vibrating the baby", you know, things like that. Laugh all you want, but I had to plug my ears and when it sounded muffled and just fine I was able to enjoy it much more. I don't think I've stayed up past 11:00 p.m. since I've been pregnant and so I was dragging by the time we finally got home to go to bed at 12:30 a.m. I had to talk and talk the whole drive up to Spanish Fork to keep myself awake and Victoria was falling asleep and just giving me, "uh huh's" to keep me appeased. Even then I was still up before 8 a.m. gosh darnit. I can't even sleep in properly!

The last 6 days have been eventful. I shopped all day Tuesday and I think it wore me down. That's the day I started to sneeze (first symptoms of that nasty thing I caught). I also went to dinner with a few of my girlfriends and had a good time laughing and chatting with them. Wednesday, Victoria and I went to Ambers and her husband Joe made us breakfast (thanks again, Joe!)(he also wins husband of the year for making his wife and her friends breakfast). Then I started home and about fell asleep at 2:30 p.m. It was horrible, my eyes were closing and I had to call my mom and make her listen to me tell her about each and every outfit I bought. Such a good Mommy (Happy Birthday, yesterday!). I felt the baby move for the first time around 5:30 p.m. after I got home. It was amazing, I cried like a little girl, then was mad because it made my nose run even more. Also that night I got horribly sick - Jaren thought it was Allergies, I did not. So the next day I went to the doc and had him tell me it was most likely strep and if I hadn't come in it could have turned into Pneumonia (how is that for frightening when all you were expecting was, "yeah, a cold, here's some antibiotics). Had to have an antibiotic shot on my rear that STILL hurts like a big bruise and tomorrow is my last day of antibiotic pills. I feel tons better, but am still not quite over it.

Friday went to the Chiropractor and tried not to cough or have my nose run (REALLY hard when your lying face down on a table with your head stuck through one of those holes) so he wouldn't know I was sick. He really doesn't like it when people come in who are sick. But since I was leaving Tuesday and wouldn't be back all week I couldn't go another week and a half without getting adjusted when I had already gone over 2 and was starting to feel a bit out.

Yesterday I FINALLY got a nap (first one in over a week). I also got my hair cut Thursday because it was the only day the girl who I like to cut my hair was in. Again, tried not to cough or sneeze or booger all over her, too. I hate being out and about when I'm sick.

Saturday night I was reclining on the couch and the baby kept kicking in one spot so I called Jaren over and put his hand right where he/she had been kicking. We waited maybe 45 seconds and I said, "come on baby, kick your daddy" and he/she kicked and he felt it! I cried, he did not. Aren't men supposed to get sympathy hormones or something??? It would be nice if I wasn't the one always blubbering. He has felt him/her move today as well and I can't wait for the kid to get stronger so you can feel it even better. I only feel him/her if i'm sitting still. It's still really faint, but sometimes she/he get's in a good roundhouse kick to my belly button and I LOVE it. You will all say, "just wait till the kid is in your ribs!" because that is what everyone else is saying to me. Sure, okay, I'll wait for it, but right now this is the most amazing feeling ever. I can't wait for it to get stronger. In fact, I think even when I'm getting beat up internally I'm still going to be happy becuase it just means I have a strong baby. Yes, I say this now, you can quote me when I start to whine about it in a few months.

Here is my 17 week picture. I always have the one hand above my stomach and the other over my love handle. So here is one without all that. But I don't think you can see the full size of my belly like this.

So I do this!

Tuesday at 9 a.m. is when we find out if we are having a girl or a boy. I'm so stinkin excited I really can't think about it too much. I'm now to the point that if I'm having a girl this will be my reaction, "A GIRL?!!!!! YAAYY! A GIRLL!! oh... but it's not a boy??" And if it's a boy, "A BOY!!!! WWOOHOOO! AN HEIR TO THE THRONE! I'M SO EXCITED!!!! but your sure it's not a girl??" I want both. I told Jaren if somehow there were twins in there I would cry out of joy (and then get nervous and have to do A LOT of mental preparation). I would LOVE it. He, on the other hand, would probably need to be excused to go shed a few tears in the restroom. :)

I'll be driving to Boise that day, so I wont have time to post about it right away. But I'm going to get a post ready tomorrow and so when I get to Boise I'll be able to post it right away. So be expecting it tomorrow night!

Utah: Fun and Infectious

I arrived on a Monday afternoon and never had a chance to sit down unless it was in the car or at a restaurant until I got home Wednesday evening. That may have had something to do with getting sick so fast.

I started my shopping Monday at Nordy Rack, found 2 shirts and 2 shoes. DSW also provided me with a cute pair of sandals that were not flip flops - which are all the sandals I have (until now). I stayed with my friend Victoria and got to spend some time with a few other girlfriends. It was a very busy 3 days.

Tuesday was spent shopping - ALL DAY. I got most of what I needed at the Gateway and had to hit a few stores on the way back to Provo for dinner to get the rest. I got 2 dresses, 2 skirts, 1 pair of jeans, 2 pairs of shorts and a LOT of shirts. I think I'm pretty well set for the summer. There is a small chance I might have to pick up a few more undershirts and another bella band. Possibly another pair of jeans towards the end of the summer and maybe a few long sleeved shirts come September. 50% of what I bought is maternity and the other 50 is not, but is a size up and a bigger looser style. I'm thinking of posting pictures to see if you can tell the difference - it's pretty amazing.

This is me and my beautiful cousin Lisa who I don't get to see very often. We grew up together and despite our 2 year age difference were very close. It's hard to keep up with each others lives living in different states. She left to Africa Friday to help at an orphanage and I can't wait for her to come home and tell us all about the amazing experience! I sure hope she get's to go on an African Safari, at least someone will get to go and tell me how it is. (for those of you who don't know, it's my dream to go on an African Safari, but Jaren is too scared he will get eaten by a Lion and tells me he will take me to the San Diego Zoo instead. Uh huh... waiting for that to happen, too)

These next photos are from the concert taken by my phone. So the quality isn't superb.
Victoria and I after Paramore performed, waiting for No Doubt. We were so rushed to get there that we had to grab dinner there: chicken strips and fries, the most greasy fries I've ever had.
This is the best picture of Paramore's set I got. They put on a great show. Hailey (the lead singer) has a phenomenal flawless voice that sounds just as amazing live as on their albums. They played quite a few new songs that are coming out on their new album at the end of the summer. It was nice hearing them, but we would have rather heard more stuff we knew and could sing to. I cannot figure out how to flip this. Even when I flip it in a photo editer and save it it still comes out like this. This was how they entered the stage. One by one each bandmember walked out and then the curtain dropped and they were standing at all different areas of the stage - it was really exciting. I have been a fan of No Doubt since I was in 6th grade and this was my first concert of theirs. I had a chance to go when I was a Senior in High School but my dad wouldn't let me - I'm still bitter about it.
One of my favorite things was their opening song. They played "Excuse Me Mr.", but it was a different version. It was awesome. They had a big white TV screen that played video's that went with each song. It was so much to look at! My favorite video was to their song, "Bathwater" where each bandmember basically just jumped around to the beat.
Towards the end of the show she brought out her son, Kingston. His birthday was the next day and since it was 12 a.m. on the east coast she brought him out. He was wearing big black ear muffs and we all sang happy birthday to him and during the song Gwen tried to take off the muffs but he got scared and covered his ears even though it wasn't loud. It was very cute. He smiled and waved at everyone and I tried to see if Gavin would come out and get him, but it was a nanny. Bummer. You can see them on the screen and even see his black ear muffs.

She said they were going to have to come back, which I'm hoping after they release their next album (which they are currently writing) they will. And I'll be there. :)

I'm thinking I got whatever it was I got at that concert (hence: Utah being infectious). Close quarters with everyone breathing on you can't be a good thing. I'm feeling tons better, but still really congested - so gross. Tomorrow is going to be really busy, I'm going to try to get my house clean before I'm gone for the rest of the week in Boise. Lena has a pool in her development and we plan on spending all sorts of time out there. I'm going to lay out and get some color. I may even tan the belly. Might be fun.

My Poor Poor Rear

This is an update to the post below:


I made an appointment to go to the doctor to find out if this cold was viral or bacterial so I could find out if I could take antibiotics or not. I'm going to Boise next week to help my sister in law, Lena with her two babies while my brother is out of town. Because of this I really felt like I needed to get the cold or whatever it was taken care of quick. Otherwise I probably would have waited to see if I would feel better later.

I waited in the waiting room for about 20 minutes, then in the patient room for 40 minutes. I about left. I was SO tired I was falling asleep before I left my house for the appointment. I thought about canceling and just going tomorrow so I could take a nap, but I didn't. And I am SO glad I did.

The doc came in, poked around, listened checked down my throat, then told me the vampire would be there in a minute. 10 minutes later the vamp lady came in, poked my finger, then left. I waited another 15 minutes and the doc came in:

"Goodness Girl! You have a serious infection!"
me: I do?
doc: Yes, your white blood cell count is over 20,000! You haven't had a fever?
me: umm, no, not that I know of
doc: hmm, well, your tonsils and glands are very swollen, it looks like strep, but we would have to test for that and since your cold is bacterial and we can treat it with antibiotics we will just see if you get better
me: oh... well, I'm glad it's bacterial!
doc: I'm worried about pneumonia, so can we give you a shot?
me: a shot? sure, if it will make me better
doc: it will help speed up the process, since your pregnant we want this gone as soon as possible. I'm also giving you the z pack (5 day antibiotics)
me: ok!
doc: see you next week for your ultrasound!

So... along comes this sweet looking little girl nurse with this needle with ugly yellow stuff in it. I hold out my arm, she says, "Uhh, actually, we have to do this one on your butt." WHAT?! Crrap. I said, "well, if it will make me get better faster".

I haven't had a shot in that particular region since I was 6 and a girl I played with all the time moved away and shortly after found out she had Hepatitis somethin and I had to get a shot. I remember that encounter vividly. Infact, the nurse didn't even put the bandaid on the owy! I remember being annoyed and having to put it on the correct spot myself.

Can I just say that a little pinch really means 40 250 pound grown burly men coming and taking a sucker punch to your left cheek all on the same spot. And the "sting" was the numbing agent. The numbing agent was what hurt so bad!! It didn't make sense... It took an hour and a half to start to feel a little bit normal.

So, I was informed that if I don't feel better to come rigth back in. I'm taking Unisom tonight so I can actually sleep and I plan on sleeping for a good 15 hours. I need to catch up.

Tomorrow I will post some pictures.

A Cold or Allergies?

I have been so busy the last... week? Now that I think of it I don't think I got a nap at all in the last week. The last 3 days have been particularly draining. Constant driving, a full 9 hours of shopping and trying clothes on and walking, late nights, no naps, waking up early. Before I was pregnant I would be fine - that was normal, but now... oh man.. I was so tired yesterday I about fell asleep driving home at 2:30 in the afternoon! I had to call my mom and make her listen to me talk on and on about each outfit I bought. Which was a lot by the way. I bought a TON of clothes, but I'm so happy that I finally have clothes to wear. I'm going to go through my closet and put away all of the stuff I know I wont be able to wear until I'm back to my pre pregnancy size to make room. Maybe I'll take a before and after picture. It'll be pretty crazy. I'm also very excited about the stuff I found. Deals, things that aren't maternity but will work better than some.

Anyway, back to the exhaustion. I'm pretty sure (99%) that I have a cold. I have never had allergies in my life (yes, I know you can get them and especially during pregnancy), but this feels so much like a cold. The symptoms started yesterday with a really annoying runny nose into my throat (gross, yes) and a lot of sneezing. Then my throat started to feel really sore and raw. And my glands are swollen and achy. Jaren refused to believe it was a cold which for some reason drove me up the wall and made me really angry. I don't get upset that easily, but I think being tired along with my crazy hormones is really throwing me off. I took Mucinex-D which was prescribed last time I had a cold which was before I knew I was pregnant, but knew I could be. That helped a little, but when it wore off around 1 a.m. it was horrible. No sleep, I kept waking up turning around sneezing... uhg. I would look at Jaren all peacefull sleeping with not a care in the world - he kept pulling the covers away from me! I was so mad at him! Every time I rolled over I was mad. And I wasn't even hogging the covers. Apparently he didn't realize he was doing it.

I don't really get mad or angry at him. But when I woke up and looked over and saw that he wasn't there I was so mad! He came right in when he heard me rustling around and I told him... "I don't know why, but I woke up so mad at you." And I was. For another 15 minutes so angry. I don't know why, don't understand. He was very patient, like always, but kept trying to get away, which made me more mad. haha... it was ridiculous. I knew it was the whole time! It didn't help that he kept saying, "sounds like allergies" every time I whined about how I was feeling.

So I googled, "Allergy symptoms versus cold symptoms" and found that the two key things are the length of the symptoms and a sore throat. I have a scheduled doc apt for Tuesday morning (to find out what the kid is- shh... I can't think about it, I'm too excited and it's still too far away) but I don't think I am going to wait till then to find out if it will just go away or not. I'm going to Boise that day as well to help watch my niece and nephew and I don't need to be sick if I can help it, so I'm going to go in and see if there is anything I can do about this COLD. I'll sure be embarassed if he comes back and is like, "Actually... you don't have the cold virus, just allergies". But I don't believe that. I feel too horrible.

I think I'm going to go back to sleep.

Also, I have my 17 week picture to post, but I'll do that later. And I am going to post pictures of a few of my maternity outfits, but again, that will happen later.

I also have to make a hair appointment, change my chiropractor visit (they called me, but I have to call them back), run a few errands in town, call the dentist (the sensitivity never went away since February, but I was too scared to go in again... but I need to get it taken care of), and then call the doc. Too much work! I'm tired.

Also - I felt the baby move yesterday!!! I'm finally 100% sure I felt it. Before I thought.. maybe... but maybe not. I have been constantly running around, talking, driving and jostling the kid around that the second I got home last night and sat down about 2 minutes later I felt him/her on the right side of my uterus movin like crazy. I got so excited I pressed pause on the TV and waited and about 30 seconds later felt it again. I cried and cried and cried... about called Jaren, but knew he was going to be home in a few minutes so I waited. He tried to put his hand on my stomach, but I told him it will be another few weeks till he can feel the kid move through my belly. When could other people feel your kid move??

p.s. the concert was amazing. I'll post about that as well. I don't remember a concert being that loud, even though I'm sure they all have been, but I'm so much more aware. I was scared I was making my kid deaf, but when I plugged my ears and just heard it all muffled it sounded fine. So feeling the kid move yesterday confirmed he/she is still alive. I'm so glad my rock concert didn't kill my kid. I was worried. :)

Statcounter Secrets

I was looking at my stat counter and noticed a recurring theme. No, not stalking, that I know of, but people from all over the place were googling a famous name and coming to my blog for their picture. So far it looks like anywhere from 3-7 people in a day.

Remember this post?

Apparently I'm not the only one interested in Interpol or just their lead singer - who is rather good looking.
I'm not sure whether they are googling Interpol or just Paul Banks. Either way, they are international stars just from my records.

Here are a few places people have been coming from:

Carcas Venezuela
Guignen, France
Mexico
Poznan, Poland
Dubai
Conception, Chile
Quebec, Canada
Grange Mouth, United Kingdom
Genoa, Italy
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
LA, California
Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
Moscow, Russia
Sao Paulo, Brazil
Salerno, Italy
Mannheim, Germany

The next top thing that googling brings my blog up for is "expensive things". Kind of funny, but because of this post it makes sense.

I'm compiling a list of really weird things that people type in and come to my blog for. I need to check statcounter more so I don't miss some of these gem's! (Like the boy, in Trinidad and Tabago who googled "Am a boy and am seventeen years old and pee like every 3 minutes what does that mean" took him to my toilet post where I whine about having to pee all the time, but I have no toilet. Sorry, Trinidad boy... my condition only happens to women.)

16 weeks

I couldn't decide which picture to do this time, so I did two.
This one was taken Tuesday. I took one of my naked belly and the love handle was too big. So down came the undershirt - so much safer!
Jaren took this one today. I had just eaten a big Bajio salad, but really, I'm huge. I don't know if you can see well enough.. but seriously.... even my Young Women girls, "Whitney... your REALLY big... your going to be HUGE" Think I will?? I'm only 16 weeks and I feel like I should be 22 or something. Okay... looking at this picture it doesn't do the belly justice. I'll see if I can dig a better one out.

This last week has been good. I think my belly has doubled in size. A few times I felt sick again and that wasn't exciting. I had to stay at the in laws because I can't go without a toilet for a night. I only exercised once and it ran it's toll. I put on more weight this one week (week 15 of pregnancy) than any 4 weeks combined so far. I'm having a bit of a hard time with the weight going to other places than my belly. Like my face, arms, thighs.... I know you are supposed to gain weight while pregnant, don't start on that. I'm fine with the weight gain, it's just when it's on other places other than my belly or chest. I mean, I'm not carrying the kid in my thighs! It's just taking some getting used to and the only way I can be happy about it is if I exercise on most days. So, that's something I'm trying to work on - more than three days a week.

Sleep: falling asleep is hard. But once I'm out.. I am OUT. Until I have to pee.. that wakes me right up, then I have a hard time falling back to sleep again. I've been so much more tired this trimester than in my first and so I need naps. If I don't get one I'm ready for bed at 7 p.m. It's so crazy, though, because once I fall asleep it's like it's nighttime. I wake up and my body feels like it has been woken from only 5 hours of a needed 10 hour nap. And if I don't set my alarm, I sleep for 2 hours. It's been interesting :)

I am still just trying to feel movement.... I know it will probably not be for another week or two, but I just keep trying anyway! Why not? I've thought I've felt it a few times, but usually I toot so that must mean gas and not baby. I am so sore down there around my uterus that I'm wondering if I'll even know when I am capable of feeling it. It will probably be mixed in with all the other ouchies that have been goin on.

Less than two weeks and I'll know what I'm having! Then what? Just wait for another 22 months, I guess? I can start shopping!

I think this one is at a better angle for the hugeness. The hole in the wall is supposed to have a light switch for lighting on the ceiling that hasn't happened yet, but has been talked about for the last 2 years :) Jaren's a busy boy....

And since lately all we've seen is me and my big belly here is my very good looking helpful husband who I get to see maybe, if I'm lucky, for 2 hours out of a day. It's wearing on me.. it's been going on for over a month and before that I was in school so I saw him maybe 3 hours a day. I think we need to just get away for a day or two. I miss him. And I live with him! But I miss him like crazy.
Our vacuum was smelling horribly, so he peeked and it was the belt (which is what I thought). Worn too loose so it was slipping and just burnin rubber. I'm picking up a new one tomorrow.

Testing, Testing

I have been messing around trying to figure out a new layout and blog header and signature. I've been busy the last few hours!

So far.. so good, I think.

There are a few things I want to figure out. I'll be changing quite a bit on my sidebar, too. But I'll leave that for tomorrow. Or the next day....

Also, my signature - HUGE. I don't know how to make it smaller. Or maybe I do. I'll be messing around with that as well.

Water Update:
I'm home! It was a bad wire that was replaced this afternoon. I have dishes soaking that need scrubbed because I had no water to soak them in so they have dried crustied food stuck to them - yummy, I know. I took some pictures of the mess that was made because of it - which seems like a small price to pay for running water! I'll post them tomorrow.

Also, my cute little pregnant lady badge thinger is gone. :( Very sad. I think their website is having problems. So I'm on the hunt for one of those floating babies... creepy, I know - but it provides me with a visual since all I see is a fat belly getting bigger and bigger.

Tell me what you think!

The Beauty of the Toilet

Seriously all I can think about....

Why? Because I can't use mine!!

Why? Because the pump for our well is BROKEN!

What does that mean? No running water. None. Luckily we have bottled water, but what use is that when you can't dispose of the aftermath properly? It's no use!

Jaren informed me that I can, in fact, use the toilet, just can't flush. I can't do it.... I can't... maybe if it was just once, but since I go every hour and it wont be fixed till tomorrow it is not really doable.

He's not phased, though. He was born with man parts that make it so that the universe is his toilet.

Luckily, his parents live just a few miles down the road and haven't cleared his room of a bed yet so we will be staying with them. It's actually funny.... after it's distressing. It's more funny, though, that we stay with them and our house is just 3 minutes away. But it's off limits if I want to be comfortable at the moment.

Never have I been so grateful for running water before in my life. At least when you go camping, there are sometimes faucets for you to wash your hands. None of that here! And some camping sites have toilets!

Have fun with your running water you civilized generation!

p.s. I'm thinking I'm going to reschedule the little meet and greet for some other time. Not anyone can make it so we'll just figure something else out someday.

Bloggy Meet and Greet

It's true - I want to see everyone again!

I'm coming to Utah on the 25th and will be there for a few days. I'm thinking Tuesday, the 26th for dinner.

I have no idea where or exactly what time. I'm thinking 6 or 7 and somewhere where they have good seating - preferably a big round table would be nice.

Let me know if you can make it so I can get a count for the restaurant. I'll take suggestions. I hope I can see everyone and maybe meet a few people I haven't met yet!

Here is the post from the Meet and Greet in October last year.

15 Weeks

Here it is - the once a week picture:

15 weeks:

For the last week I have had a huge massive head ache. I got them very often before I was pregnant, but I could take Excedrin for them and that helped a lot. Now... I can't. I've been getting head aches since I was in elementary school. I remember being in about 4th grade and going to the office and asking for some Excedrin because I had a head ache. The ladies there were shocked I even knew what that was. Come to think of it.... did my mom let me have it that young? I don't know, probably. haha

Then, 6 years ago I was thrown off a 4 wheeler while trying to jump a dune (stupid, stupid, stupid) and messed up my neck and back very badly. I went to a Chiropractor - did nothing for me, so I went to Physical Therapy for 10 months and that seemed to work quite a bit. But then that ended and it got bad again and there was nothing I could do about it because I couldn't afford to get help and I was at school.

I was married for a few months and Jaren had had enough of my whining and crying about how bad my back/neck/head hurt so I started to get massages twice a month. Those helped a teeny bit, but not much. So we found a Chiropractor that does Atlas adjustments and I have been going to him since March of last year. He is great, it has helped, but I can't seem to hold my adjustment. If I exercise, it holds for a very long time... but now that I'm pregnant.... doesn't matter how much I exercise it just wont hold. So, I'm stuck with this horrible head ache that I know can be helped if I get adjusted again. But, I'm so sick of having to go every 2 weeks! It's not the cheapest of things AND we are now paying for a kid. So... it's a little frustrating.

I'm going tomorrow and I'm going to talk to him, but I don' t think he'll tell me anything I don't already know.

I had my monthly check up this morning and I was told I can take Tylenol every 4 hours all day long if I need to. That makes me feel so much better so I'm going to. Baby's heart beat was 146 bpm today and turns out my home scale is way off. I was feeling depressed last night and this morning because according to my scale (which is 2 years old and was probably 20-30 bucks) I have put on 6 pounds. But according to the doc's scale (which is probably hundreds and I'd say is pretty accurate) I've put on 3 pounds. So I left feeling MUCH better about myself. I'm aware the weight will just start piling on in the next few months and that is fine, but I just didn't think I needed a ton in my first trimester since the kid wasn't even an ounce then. I just want a healthy, steady weight gain if I can help it - which I can't. Except I just need to eat well and exercise. That's about all I can do. :)

The appointment is scheduled - June 2nd at 9:00 a.m. we will find out what we are having! I'm so excited I can't stand it.

p.s. the wind is blowing about 50 mph right now. sounds like my house is going to blow down. i'm a little nervous.

Best Card Ever

Yesterday morning Jaren woke up and told me "Happy to be Mother's Day" then went on to explain that he could NOT find a "soon to be Mother", Mother's Day card so he was going to make me one. I was actually glad. Jaren said he was going to use crayons!

He was busy all day. 2 hours before church he was out checking water (starting, stopping, making sure enough fertilizer is there). We went to church and had to come home for the 2nd hour so I could eat and he went out again. He came back, we left for the third hour and then we came home, he changed and went out again. I read for about half an hour then fell asleep. He came home while I was sleeping and he fell asleep, too. We woke up just in time to leave to his parent's house for dinner and then came home. He left AGAIN. He was gone ALL DAY! He was finally home around 8 and made me my card. I had been bugging him, "where is my card?" "when are you going to make my card?" I wasn't going to let him off the hook - he's never done anything like this before and I was very excited.

He went off with the crayons and a piece of paper and came back with this:
Of course, I'm full of hormonal crazies so I cried.
My favorite part is the belly. I said, "I love how you made my belly so big" to which he responded, "well, you had to know there was a baby in there." As if the baby arrow doesn't tell you. :)

He is wonderful and I think I'm going to make it mandatory that he just color me a card for everything from now on.

My Shiny New Toy

Now if I could just figure out how to turn it on.

Bye Bye First Trimester

Hello second.

I hear I have less peeing to look forward to. More belly growing, more energy, fetal movement and I'm VERY excited about finding out the gender (on June 2nd).

But I want to reflect on the last 3 1/2 months.

LOTS and LOTS of trips to the bathroom. One day, by noon I realized I had made so many trips that I counted 9 times so I counted the rest of the day and it ended up being SEVENTEEN times in one day! It led me to wonder how much time in a persons life is spent traveling to the restroom. Not even how much time is spent in there - let's not think about that, but traveling time. Whether your in your own house or a grocery store, the mall, class, the wilderness. I wonder, if you take how much time it takes to get from wherever you started (the couch, a tree, a desk, the ice cream isle...) to get to the actual restroom... how many hours, days, weeks would that add up to in your lifetime? I've never had that thought until pregnant. Thought provoking, huh. ;)

I mentioned a few posts ago about finding out we were expecting. I hope its like that every time because that was a pretty magnificent reaction. Telling people was so much fun. I think I assumed everyone would be very excited for us, but that wasn't the case a few times. I wasn't prepared for that and it was hard. Some people just need to digest before they can be excited and that's fine. I was pleasantly surprised at how the boys on Jaren's side reacted (his dad and grandpa). A lot more visible excitement than I thought and it made me VERY happy. We are having the first grandbaby on Jaren's side and the 7th on mine (but I'm the first daughter to get knocked up).

Telling my Young Women girls was the best. I teach the 14 and 15 year olds and I decided I wanted to play hang man. If I didn't have enough time I was going to put "november third" and then tell them that was the official date I needed a baby sitter. But I had ten minutes so I made it super long "whitney is making a person right now" It was long on the board with all the little lines for letters. It couldn't have worked out more perfectly. I couldn't put the word "baby" because the second they guessed that word they would have known. They guessed all of the letters except the "m" and the "k" in "making". They stopped guessing letters and tried to guess the one word; "whitney is dating someone right now??...... whitney is hating a person right now??....." So I told them to keep guessing letters. Someone guessed an "m" so I just wrote in the "k" and sat there with a huge grin on my face. Finally the other leader after a few seconds says.... "wait.. are you pregnant?!" I said yes and there was the loudest screaming I've ever heard. All four of my girls screamed bloody murder and then were squealing and asking questions after. I was beaming. We got out of class and people in the halls were coming worried that we had had some horrific accident. So they had fun telling everyone. It made me happy that they were so excited. And now every time I see them, "Your belly is getting bigger! It's WAY bigger than last week!!" And that makes me love them even more.

My nausea was on and off. It happened every day in the morning and at night and sometimes during the afternoon until 11 weeks. 7up was my saving grace. I took ginger and vitamin B6 pills to help. I think they helped some, but I didn't notice a huge difference. I started taking my prenatals at night and that helped quite a bit. At 11 weeks it let up. Wasn't as strong all the time and some days I didn't have it at all. As of now I've felt pretty good the last few days, it's just when I'm hungry that I start to feel a little sick, but by no means nauseaus.

I am SO THIRSTY. I have never drank so much water in a day in my whole life. Yes, probably doesn't help with my squashed bladder situation, but it tastes SO GOOD. I down at least 80 ounces a day - it's pretty amazing.

I've not been as tired as I would have thought. There's only been a few days that I've really really needed a nap. But... the exhaustion is supposed to let up for this trimester, but the last few days I have been very, very tired. I'm worried I'm all mixed up. I need my energy to get my house spotless and the nursery ready and everything finished before I get too huge to do anything.

The cramping. I found out I was pregnant on a Friday and the cramping started on the Monday before that. So, from day one I have had it. It has got progressively worse. Stronger and more often. It's getting to be a bit more painful which isn't the most fun at times, but I'm not at all worried. I'm going to talk to my doctor about it next week at my next appointment, but since it's been going on the whole time and so far everything is fine I'm not worried. It's just inconvenient and really uncomfortable.

I got my Bella Band yesterday and had to use it on my first pair of pants that I can't zip. With the others I can zip, but I can't button. Well.. that was as of about 4 or 5 days ago, so it's probably changed now. I'm very glad for it and will probably order at least 2 more in different colors. I have two maternity shirts; one that my mom bought for me at 10 weeks that I haven't put on yet and the other I ordered online (it was very much on sale and very cute) and haven't got yet. I don't think I'll need shirts for another month or two - it's the pants I'm going to need. The problem is all of the one's I've tried on I really don't like. And those are the cheaper ones. And looking online the ones that I like and are flattering are the more expensive ones. It wouldn't be such a big deal if I knew I'd be this size every pregnancy. So, I'm waiting and thinking. I'm going to Salt Lake at the end of the month and that's when I'll go try on a bunch of different ones and try and find some on sale. Does Nordstrom Rack have maternity? Because that would be fabulous.

I'm excited. I'm hoping to get my appetite back soon. Even though I'm starving all the time nothing looks or sounds good. Except Mexican and Top Ramen. So, hopefully soon I will start wanting other foods so I don't have to force everything down my throat.

Also, I can't wait to feel this baby move. I know he's too small right now but I'm still trying to feel something, anything. I'm not expecting it for a few more weeks. But I fully expect the emotional hormones to fully rage when I do feel it. I'm going to be a mess.

Here is my 14 week picture. I'm trying to decide whether to post a picture once a week or once every two weeks. Tell me if it would be too many pictures of my belly once a week and I'll do once every other week. Either way I take a picture for myself each week. :)

I'll probably always have that hand on my love handle for the sole purpose that it hides it :D

Rock A Bye Baby

Why is it that I'm 22 years old and have never really listened to these lyrics??

I've sang this song so many times to babies as I'm rocking them... it's so wrong!!!

Excuse the language:

I was very disturbed and realized - wait, the rhyme originated from somewhere.... which is even more frightening.

So I looked it up.

Here are the lyrics:

Rock a bye baby on the tree top,
When the wind blows the cradle will rock,
When the bough breaks the cradle will fall,
And down will come baby, cradle and all.

(horrible image, by the way, of a cradle falling out of a tree....)

Here is where famousquotes says this rhyme came from:

Origins in American history
The words and lyrics to this nursery rhyme are reputed to reflect the observations of a young pilgrim boy in America who had seen Native Indian mothers suspend a birch bark cradle from the branches of a tree enabling the wind to rock the cradle and the child to sleep. The rhyme also hold a warning on the choice of bough!

Why would any sane mother stick her child up in a tree?! In a cradle?! WITH THE WIND BLOWING?! There had to have been some casualties before they realized this was NOT a good idea.

I'm sure I realized how weird it was to sing about a falling out of a tree baby to another baby, but since it's such a common nursery rhyme I don't think I thought much of it.

Now I'm wondering what other rhymes I've been absently singing without realizing what I'm actually saying.

The Sickness

Is what I call "morning sickness". It's easier to say and I think it also sums up my "condition". This post is going to be some venting and whining. If your not in the mood for that - skip this one.

I am 13 1/2 weeks. Isn't it from 12-14 your supposed to feel better? Right on the day I hit 11 weeks I started to feel better. It was strange, but I took it. That lasted a few days then the nausea came back. It comes and goes. It's not all day and it's not every day. But on the days that it's there it seems to be the worst it can be. I don't throw up - which I am grateful. Although, when it get's this bad sometimes I wish I could. Wouldn't that make me feel better? I think the best way to describe the nausea is incapacitating. Only the severe times. Which has been happening about twice a day the last few days. I HAVE to get up and get myself something to eat because I know it will make me feel better. Even though I just want to lay down with my eyes closed and whine and moan about how I want the baby to grow out of this stage.

I've found a few things that work. 7up for sure. I take 3 sips of that and I automatically feel better. I only end up drinking about 1-2 ounces total out of the can. I waste so much. But I can't drink the whole thing - it's too much! And it's at the times I feel this sick that nothing looks good. Nothing. Or even sounds good. I've been forcing food down my throat. And since Top Ramen hasn't tasted so bad; on the days I eat that I really have to force something good for me down.

I guess I'm just ready for the nausea to leave. I feel grateful that I can be home because when it was this bad and I was in school it was horrible. I walked around with a huge thing of 7 up that I would only drink about 1/8th of. I have things I want to do. I've been going on jogs/walks and it's been nice. But when I am feeling this sick my desire to exercise goes out the window. I have 5 shirts left to iron. Out of around 20. I've been ironing a bunch every day, except the last 2 days because of the sickness. I want to vacuum, I want to clean the bathrooms, I want to finish folding laundry, I want to DO something other than sit on the couch holding my growing belly.

The cramping is still going on. Quite a bit. Sometimes it get's painful, most times it's just really uncomfortable. I have a few different theories as to what it could be. I'd like to think it's just that I'm super sensitive to the stretching of my uterus. Which would make sense since I got horrible menstrual cramps. But if this is the case... I'm even more nervous for labor.

My belly is really growing. I notice that it's getting bigger, but I don't think I notice as much until I put on a pair of jeans I wore just 5 days before and I can't button them this time. I've unbuttoned two pairs of jeans and wow, the feeling is liberating - so much room! I'm thinking if I can keep my legs the same size (which is a goal) I can just wear my jeans more and more undone possibly through the whole/most of the pregnancy? I plan on buying a few pair of maternity jeans, but I'm so picky. And I really don't want to spend the money.

I feel like I have nothing left to whine about. But I can move onto something more light and mushy. I can't wait for this little baby to come out. For those who have been following my blog since last summer they might remember my posts about aching for a kid. Some rolled their eyes at me and thought I just wanted a kid cause everyone else had one. Think twice before making judgments about someone you've never met in person. I grew up baby sitting. Started at 11 and at 13 years old was watching a family of 2. A 2 year old and a 4 year old. Then the mom had a baby and I started watching him when he was just 5 or 6 days old. I was there most days of the week all day until that kid was a year old - then they moved. I watched a lot of families kids. I would say I was pretty good at it. And I enjoyed it. Babies don't scare me or make me nervous. I didn't think about being a parent much growing up, because that was so far from a reality. I thought about the boy I was going to marry - what was he like, have I met him before, how old was he, when would i meet him, how would i meet him, would I know it was him when I met him? All the normal stuff.

Don't read on if you don't want to hear about the joys of finding out about being pregnant.

Then I got married and right away figured when we could get pregnant and have the kid after I graduated. I needed a date to look forward to. I figured October of 2008 (which we know, didn't happen). I didn't get baby hungry until about a month after my one year anniversary. And even then it wasn't too bad because I knew I couldn't get pregnant. It started to get hard last summer - especially when I got off the pill (which I did the second we could have an "accident" and I could still graduate in April). I know there are people who try and try for years. I feel for them. I cannot imagine what that feels like. I only know what it was like for me to want it so badly and not be able to have it. Finally January came around and we could start trying. I was devastated that first month when it didn't work. So much that I knew I couldn't get my hopes up like that again. I pulled myself away as much as I could from the given situation and just decided that it was out of my control, I could only do so much, but until Heavenly Father felt like it was right for us to get pregnant would we get pregnant.

I put off taking a test. I was scared to death it was going to be negative. I was only 2 days late and I had to take the test on this Friday afternoon because my little sister was coming over to stay the night that night and I couldn't wait much longer and it would be impossible to hide the results from her either way. Either I would be very loud crying or very loud screaming. It was screaming. I had barely put the cap on the stick when two pink lines showed up. I can't explain the feeling that went through me. I automatically started to cry and scream and jump and run and jumped on Jaren and cried some more and screamed some more. My kitchen is kind of like a galley, so it is open on both ends, one goes into the family room and one in the dining room and that dining room leads to the family room. I think I danced/ran around that loop a good 20 times before I got tired. My poor husband... haha... He's like, "So.. this means your pregnant??" As if the hysterical laughscream wasn't obvious enough. "So.. your happy about it, right?" hehe. I called two people right away. One didn't answer, the other, my Sister in Law who I would have to tell on the phone anyway given that she was in Michigan gave me the desired screaming I needed. Because my husband just isn't a screamer jumper up and downer like I am.

Anyway... the first 2 weeks were really hard to keep my mouth shut. I was constantly smiling. Responding to peoples conversations in my head, "I'm pregnant" "Yeah, but little do you know I'm already pregnant" "Hey.. wonder what you'd say if you knew I was making a baby right now" That seemed to help.

I guess I'm just writing down some emotions and feelings for myself. And I'm sure there are others who feel/have felt the same way?

I've been told a lot, "I don't think anyone is ever 100% ready for a baby." I beg to differ. Unless your referring to the physical needs for a child, I have none. Wait, I have one little boy outfit and one little girl outfit. Oh, and a bottle from Motherhood Maternity. Other than that - nothing. But as for me, I'm so ready. I've just been waiting to graduate. Now that's done. I'm aware of the changes that have to be made, the sacrifices, the challenges, the no sleep, the frustration. All of it. I may not have experienced all of it yet, but I'm aware it's going to happen. And I'm ready. All my life I've wanted nothing more than to be a wife and a mother. It's such a beautiful thing. Some women have different desires. Some want success, independence and I don't know what else. But I just think I'll be pretty good at being a mom. Or at least I hope so.

I'm just rambling. But it feels good to get out. I find out what the kid is on June 2nd and I can't wait. I'm so excited. Boy or girl, I'll take either I just want a kid. I feel so blessed that things have gone well so far. Having a child has nothing to do with other people, it's all about Jaren and I. That's the way it's been from the beginning. I've been hurt by some comments assuming differently. I feel sad that those people assume and judge. Probably never thought I'd know it was me they were referring to. But I'm not stupid. You know when someone is talking about you. I try not to assume things about people I don't know very well. I just hope others do the same.

Here's to the next 6 months! :)

I started this post grumpy and now I'm happy. Didn't know this would help so much. It's long. Oh well, I don't do that often.