As most people know, I have been having crazy morning and all day sickness. I want to push people who say that 'you're not really sick unless you're throwing up' out a 5th story window because that is so not true. Most days from the moment I wake up until the moment I go to bed I am crazy weak, my upper stomach is distended and bloated and uncomfortable, I have to force myself to eat, and I am nauseous, just to name a couple of symptoms. This past week was particularly hard in the sense that I gagged on almost everything that went into my mouth, water included, and I was not able to sleep at all. I had gone for about a week on 2 hours of sleep per night because my brain was in rapid fire mode and I could not get it to shut off no matter what I tried. So almost no sleep coupled with little food equals 5 pounds of weight loss in 5 days and my body feeling like it is shutting down. Seriously, this past Friday after my 2 seconds of sleep I felt like my body was shutting down and that if something didn't end up changing quick, I was going to end up in the hospital soon. I called my doctor's office and they had me come in at 10:30 to check me out and see if the baby was ok. Sadly, Dean couldn't be there because he was taking his first final at that time and professors don't let you retake finals to save your life so I dropped him off at school and made the trek to the dr's by myself. They did an ultrasound to see if baby was still thriving and thankfully it still is and the heartbeat is a strong 160 beats per minute. Despite feeling like I was going to die right there on the table, it was still an absolutely amazing experience to get to see our little peanut for the first time and to see its heart beating. I would have given anything for Dean to be right there to experience that same joy with me. My midwife said I have a worse than average case of morning sickness and she gave me some pills to help me sleep and said to try that first and then if I don't actually get some sleep that night to call and they'll try another avenue. Later in the afternoon we went to a new chiropractor that was highly recommended pregnancy and his adjustment was wonderful. Thankfully I actually slept that night and Dean literally sat vigil by my bedside until 2AM to make sure I was sleeping because he was so worried about baby and me. He gave me 2 wonderful blessings that I believe made all the difference and I am eternally grateful for him and his priesthood. We were both praying so hard this last week for comfort and rest to come to me so that I can be healthy and so our peanut can thrive and we feel like our prayers were answered on Friday night. It's not to say that each day isn't difficult and a struggle, but Friday was one for the books and as long as I don't have another repeat of that day, I think I'll make it. Pregnancy is a lot harder than I thought it would be but I know one day it will all be worth it when they lay that slimy and goopy baby on my stomach and together we get to see our little miracle.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Let me tell you about THAT week...
Despite having one of the absolute WORST weeks ever imaginable, 1 good thing did come out of it, we got our very first picture of our little peanut. The head is on the left hand side and then the rest of the cute little body is on the right. The little round hollow circle is the yolk sac. Thankfully baby is doing just fine and is measuring right on track. It's 1 inch long and I got to see the heartbeat which was an amazing experience. Now the story for WHY I got to see the heartbeat... As most people know, I have been having crazy morning and all day sickness. I want to push people who say that 'you're not really sick unless you're throwing up' out a 5th story window because that is so not true. Most days from the moment I wake up until the moment I go to bed I am crazy weak, my upper stomach is distended and bloated and uncomfortable, I have to force myself to eat, and I am nauseous, just to name a couple of symptoms. This past week was particularly hard in the sense that I gagged on almost everything that went into my mouth, water included, and I was not able to sleep at all. I had gone for about a week on 2 hours of sleep per night because my brain was in rapid fire mode and I could not get it to shut off no matter what I tried. So almost no sleep coupled with little food equals 5 pounds of weight loss in 5 days and my body feeling like it is shutting down. Seriously, this past Friday after my 2 seconds of sleep I felt like my body was shutting down and that if something didn't end up changing quick, I was going to end up in the hospital soon. I called my doctor's office and they had me come in at 10:30 to check me out and see if the baby was ok. Sadly, Dean couldn't be there because he was taking his first final at that time and professors don't let you retake finals to save your life so I dropped him off at school and made the trek to the dr's by myself. They did an ultrasound to see if baby was still thriving and thankfully it still is and the heartbeat is a strong 160 beats per minute. Despite feeling like I was going to die right there on the table, it was still an absolutely amazing experience to get to see our little peanut for the first time and to see its heart beating. I would have given anything for Dean to be right there to experience that same joy with me. My midwife said I have a worse than average case of morning sickness and she gave me some pills to help me sleep and said to try that first and then if I don't actually get some sleep that night to call and they'll try another avenue. Later in the afternoon we went to a new chiropractor that was highly recommended pregnancy and his adjustment was wonderful. Thankfully I actually slept that night and Dean literally sat vigil by my bedside until 2AM to make sure I was sleeping because he was so worried about baby and me. He gave me 2 wonderful blessings that I believe made all the difference and I am eternally grateful for him and his priesthood. We were both praying so hard this last week for comfort and rest to come to me so that I can be healthy and so our peanut can thrive and we feel like our prayers were answered on Friday night. It's not to say that each day isn't difficult and a struggle, but Friday was one for the books and as long as I don't have another repeat of that day, I think I'll make it. Pregnancy is a lot harder than I thought it would be but I know one day it will all be worth it when they lay that slimy and goopy baby on my stomach and together we get to see our little miracle.
As most people know, I have been having crazy morning and all day sickness. I want to push people who say that 'you're not really sick unless you're throwing up' out a 5th story window because that is so not true. Most days from the moment I wake up until the moment I go to bed I am crazy weak, my upper stomach is distended and bloated and uncomfortable, I have to force myself to eat, and I am nauseous, just to name a couple of symptoms. This past week was particularly hard in the sense that I gagged on almost everything that went into my mouth, water included, and I was not able to sleep at all. I had gone for about a week on 2 hours of sleep per night because my brain was in rapid fire mode and I could not get it to shut off no matter what I tried. So almost no sleep coupled with little food equals 5 pounds of weight loss in 5 days and my body feeling like it is shutting down. Seriously, this past Friday after my 2 seconds of sleep I felt like my body was shutting down and that if something didn't end up changing quick, I was going to end up in the hospital soon. I called my doctor's office and they had me come in at 10:30 to check me out and see if the baby was ok. Sadly, Dean couldn't be there because he was taking his first final at that time and professors don't let you retake finals to save your life so I dropped him off at school and made the trek to the dr's by myself. They did an ultrasound to see if baby was still thriving and thankfully it still is and the heartbeat is a strong 160 beats per minute. Despite feeling like I was going to die right there on the table, it was still an absolutely amazing experience to get to see our little peanut for the first time and to see its heart beating. I would have given anything for Dean to be right there to experience that same joy with me. My midwife said I have a worse than average case of morning sickness and she gave me some pills to help me sleep and said to try that first and then if I don't actually get some sleep that night to call and they'll try another avenue. Later in the afternoon we went to a new chiropractor that was highly recommended pregnancy and his adjustment was wonderful. Thankfully I actually slept that night and Dean literally sat vigil by my bedside until 2AM to make sure I was sleeping because he was so worried about baby and me. He gave me 2 wonderful blessings that I believe made all the difference and I am eternally grateful for him and his priesthood. We were both praying so hard this last week for comfort and rest to come to me so that I can be healthy and so our peanut can thrive and we feel like our prayers were answered on Friday night. It's not to say that each day isn't difficult and a struggle, but Friday was one for the books and as long as I don't have another repeat of that day, I think I'll make it. Pregnancy is a lot harder than I thought it would be but I know one day it will all be worth it when they lay that slimy and goopy baby on my stomach and together we get to see our little miracle.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Slackin sickie chelle...
(Warning: a rarely-seen pessimistic side of chelle will be seen here. Read with caution.)
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Wow. I can't believe I haven't blogged in over 3 weeks! That must be a new slackin record. But in my defense, I have felt like absolute garbage for the past 3 weeks and when I feel like crud I get really really cynical and pessimistic and I probably would have just ranted and raved on a post about any and everything that annoys me. So I'll only do a little bit of that right now. =)
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I'm not even gonna lie. I'm not enjoying this whole pregnancy thing as much as I thought I would. Growing up I pictured being pregnant as this glorious and edifying experience for all 9 months but I've honestly only felt that for a couple of days sporadically. Most days that elated feeling is overshadowed by everything from nausea to bloating to food aversions to wicked uterine ligaments cramping and stretching so it makes it kind of hard to see the good over the bad. I was crying to Dean a couple of days ago because I felt bad that I wasn't reveling in this little miracle that we created and didn't know how I was going to survive the next 7 months and I felt like a bad mommy-to-be because no one ever talks about how sucky things are at first so I didn't know if what I was feeling was normal. My wonderful friend Hannah in Vancouver, WA is also pregnant, she's due 8 days after I am and it's been so therapeutic to talk to her on the phone a lot and share stories of what we're going thru and what our fears and frustrations are because dang, this is some scary life changing stuff we've got going on. We're both bloaty, sleepy, hormonal emotional wrecks but at least we've bloaty, sleepy, hormonal emotional wrecks together. Everyone keeps telling us that it'll get better in a couple of weeks to a couple of months but that's hard to comprehend when 1 day feels like a billion hours. Seriously, some days are so bad that I wish I could be induced into a coma and not wake up until it's time to start pushing the baby out. I hate most foods, which that in itself is depressing since I've loved food all my life, and I am to the point that I am about to just live on cereal for the next 7 months because it's the only thing I consistently like and the smell doesn't nauseate me. Bring on the Life, Kix, Cheerios, and Rice Krispies bay-bee!!! But then I always have this nagging in the back of my brain that tells me I need to get enough daily protein and if I don't our baby is going to have some developmental delays and it'll be all my fault. I asked my midwife about it and she just smiled and essentially said don't lose sleep over it and that the baby will get what it needs no matter what. She said that as long as I take my prenatal vitamins and my Omega 3's and try to get some protein in but don't lose sleep over not getting the recommended 75 grams of protein per day, I am good to go.
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Don't get me wrong though, Dean and I are very very excited to be having a baby that we so desperately wanted and prayed for, and I sometimes feel bad for griping about my discomforts and fears, but then I remember that I am human and I am entitled to gripe and don't have to tell everyone that "I'm doing awesome and I've never been better" when they ask me how I'm feeling. This part of pregnancy is not fun at all, and I don't know how or why women choose to go through this process time and time again but I'm sure I'll fall into that reproducing category myself when we want peanut #2, thank you very much Oxytocin.
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That is my gripe. That is all. I'll now take a bow and exit stage left.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Happy Mother's Day...
Happy Mother's Day to both my Mom's, my mom and Dean's mom. You guys are wonderful and have taught Dean and I so much and we are eternally grateful for you.
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!!
P.S. Dean says I need to put "And a happy Mother's Day to me." True that.
Friday, May 9, 2008
Looks like Dean and I have some studying to do...
Glad we're learning about these do's and don'ts now. Man, we were going to be horrible parents until Ashleigh sent me these pictures...
Thursday, May 8, 2008
No more carrots EVER...
This little peanut has made its' mama have a lifetime aversion to carrots. Never again will those disgusting orange sticks come into my house. For the most part I am trying to have a healthy pregnancy so yesterday I ate carrots as a snack and as soon as I was done eating them I felt like I was on the verge of puking all day. I can't even look at them, let alone think about them without getting queasy. They kicked my butt yesterday and I was so weak and nauseous that it took everything I had just to function.
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Bring it on morning/all day sickness. It's all worth it.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
A long overdue visit from my Mom...
"Mom, it has 2 lines. Do you know what that means?"
The proud daddy-to-be talking to his mom and his mom freaking out with new grandma joy.
Happy Birthday Mom! We about charred off Dean's face with your million candles but it was worth it so you could huff and puff to get your wish. We'll pretend that we didn't see you had to try to blow them out twice.
Hi little peanut!!!! You were only the size of a poppy seed in that picture!
I had to take Mom out to the "The World's Largest Truckstop." Hey, you take what you can get out here in Iowa. It was actually pretty fun.
Personally, I think Mom should take up a career in trucking. The freedom of the open road. The cool hats. The fridge in the cab. What more can you really want in this life?
However, trucking is not so much for me. I'll continue being a massage therapist, thank you very much.
We went up to Maquoketa Caves and hiked and played around in some caves.
The Mississippi River decided it wanted to flood the old part of Davenport so we had to go down to the skybridge to check it out. Everywhere you see water in that picture is the flooding of the streets.
A flooded park. And obviously we couldn't be happier about it.
Awesome. I love the one lone car that is stuck in the water next to the skybridge.
A stoplight in water? Preposterous.Thursday, May 1, 2008
A good phlebotomist is hard to find these days...
I went to the Dr.'s yesterday and did a blood draw and we are officially pregnant. Baby Sheldon will be coming into the world around the beginning of January so we could have a Christmas or New Years baby. I still can't believe that I have this little mass of cells growing in me that will turn into a fully functioning person. That's just hard to wrap my head around. The morning sickness comes and goes, and I welcome every second of it either good or bad. We feel so blessed and excited for this journey together.
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