Ultrasound

I am right on track, when I went in I was 11 weeks and one day, and due date is still July sixth.

Our ultra sound technician was super excited and so nice. She told Houston that was the name of her cat at home too (: So wonderful... hahah!

But as we walked in, I got nervous in my head. I was excited, but trying not to set myself up for dissapointment. What if they check it out and the baby isn't okay!? I threw up on the way there, and so obviously I still have to be pregnant, but my mind was expecting the worst.

When the ultra sound tech got the picture up on the screen, the baby popped up! And he/she was wiggling!! It's little hands and feet were moving, it was soooo cute, I literally watched Houston fall in love too. He was grinning the whole time and more excited than I was. I laughed when I saw the baby moving, cause it was a relief and it was proof that he/she is alive!

When you laugh while getting an ultrasound the image goes away for just a sec, and when I stopped laughing the baby stopped moving! Bummer, but at least we got to see it move a little (: This was seriously the most magical day of my life, it was amazing the fact that they could show me how the baby is doing in there! Thank goodness for technology. I can't even imagine how surreal it will be when I actually get to hold my baby, because just the ultra sound made me so happy.

We got some pictures, and the next day we met with the midwife. I didn't get a flu shot, cause I've never had one and really don't think it's necessary. The nurse said it's not bad if I don't have it, but if I do get the flu it can make me dehydrated. I'll be fine though. Meeting the midwife I was expecting to actually have some time to talk about the birth plan, but she said we don't get to that till later... it made me nervous because I am a control freak when it comes to hospitals, if I say no to something they better listen, it's actually the law. But I also know when to trust a professional for certain cases like emergencies. That's one reason why I went with a midwife because they let nature take it's course and actually do tell you when it is an actually emergency, or lets say for doctors, they just want to go home. So they'll do anything to speed births up. Anyway, I guess we get to wait a little more, until I am further along, they'll do more blood tests (grr, my blood should not be removed from my body) but what's new, pregnancy feels like a whole waiting game! At least I get to look forward to finding the gender in February! I do know the beats per minute from this ultra sound, but am not revealing because I am pretty sure I know what it is but I want you all to guess (: What do you think?

 Boy or Girl!?


baby looks like he/she's sucking his/her thumb!
and look at those cute toes!

 

 

What they don't tell you...

One thing that you will find once you are pregnant,
(or at least I did...)
is that EVERYONE thinks that their suggestions are actually DIRECTIONS.

"Don't do this, do this, make sure to remember this, etc. etc..."

I really value my friend's advice and any experience theyv'e had, and I know everyone else means well, but it does get a little overwhelming.
A friend I met here in Washington through Houston had a baby about eight months ago, and she has been super helpful with suggestions and letting me know what to expect. It probably helps that we both have just about the same views on birth.

In case anyone is wondering, I AM planning a natural childbirth, and I CAN do it... it's all in the mind set. When people hear about my birth plan, they say "you should just go with the drugs."
I just have to nod a smile and say "I am sure some people are comfortable with that route, but I am more comfortable with having as much control of my body as I can while I am giving birth."

Now with that being said, I am not expecting a perfectly planned birth. I know babies come at the time they want, take as much or as little time as they want coming, and that courses can change through out labor. So I will be keeping an open mind, and being smart for the saftey of my baby and my body. But news flash, women have been doing it the natural way for years. I hear that you heal faster afterward as well. Anyway, I am hoping for the best, but am prepared for the worst, and these next seven months will be spent positively (:

So I am just going to give a brief overview of my first trimester experiences, and then I am going to do another post about my first ultra sound and meeting the midwife!

Morning Sickness.
If you know me pretty well, you will know that I could do anything to not throw up. I haaateeee it! So, before I got in the habit of snacking lots, (thats a helpful hint- Do not ever go on an empty stomach!) I would lay in bed unless I was at work. If I walked or stood too much, I would get motion sickness. It was frustrating because I could notice the house was slowly getting messier and messier. Luckily Houston would pick up my slack, but I remember thinking "What happens when the baby comes and I am still healing and having to nurse, tend the baby, clean, take care of myself, etc! If I can't even handle morning sickness..." But, Houston assured me he will pick up my slack, again (: plus I will get maternity leave so I will be able to heal and get the baby on a schedule.
Not planning on an easy parenthood, but I am pretty sure your will power changes especially when you have a little one depending completely on you (:
A first for me, and now my least favorite past time from the first trimester was getting sick out of the car, due to motion sickness. I would literally have just enough time to roll down the window before I lose everything. So embarrasing to be yacking out of a car in broad daylight! I would cry everytime I finished too, because I just hated it so much. All Houston could do was pull over and pat my back... poor thing has to witness that, I get sick watching people throwing up. But it's a nice reminder for him to know what I have to go through (:
My rememdies: Ginger ale was my best friend. Mentos are probably not the healthiest, but I would have those instead of those pregnancy pops. Snacking regularly, spending as little time in the car as I could, and staying COMPLETELY away from fast food. 

Eating Habits
So they say you eat for two... That is not true. I started eating less than I normally do, probably for a few reasons. My liking in food changed, foods I loved like avacado, cheese, and cola I would avoid, so less choices in my diet, and over eating also caused me to feel naseated, and I would do anything to not be naseated.
Onions and anything else that had a potent smell did not help my sensitive nose...
Oh, that was one early sign for me, I could smell anything from a mile away!
I definitely made an effort to stay away from caffine, cooked eggs and meat very well done, and eat as healthy as I could.
I did have cravings fast though, which people mentioned they don't happen until later, well that was not the case for me!
I don't have multiple of the same cravings though, other than fruit mentos. Cravings were fried navajo scones, five guys cajun fries, and "gauc-n-roll" sandwich from my favorite restaurant in Utah, "Sages." Probably just my body telling me I am hungry, and something with my brain triggering that those were really good.
I can't really say because all those foods seem to have nothing in common. But when I craved them, I would literally almost malfunction because I NEEDED them. So weird...

Prenatals-
So, the lovely giant bottle with the red horse pills was a no go for me, even on my less nasueated days the iron in it would just ruin me. My nurse recommended flintstones vitamins! HIlarious to me, but awesome. They arent as good as I remember as a kid, but they are still yummy. I take two a day, it has folic acid and all the other nutrients you need in it, and if you are eating enough throughout the day you are set!

                         * disclaimer- please do not order an expired bottle of

             vintage flinstones pills. I just liked the picture (:

Lastley, I'd like to say, if you are in your first trimester, and keep hearing the words, "Preganncy is a beautiful thing"....
Don't take it to heart.
I never wanted to be the lady that lets herself go when she has kids, but I definitely admit to rarely putting on makeup the first three months, I felt bloated and clumsy, and I had to burp a lot. (gross) It's ironic that you are doing the most womanly thing possible, yet you feel the opposite of womanly.
You are sore all over, have crazy mood swings, etc. To top it off you go into your first appointment, and maybe it will be different for you, but they drew 6 VILES of blood from my arm, and they made me give them a pee sample TWICE! Definitely not feeling so pretty. (Funny story, I've never had my blood drawn, and I cried the whole time. The nurse said it wasn't the first time but she was pretty sure the whole waiting room now thought that she was torturing me. I just dont like needles in my body! Okay!?)
I just wanted to say your not alone (: And that it will get better, I am already feeling less sick during the day and can actually clean around the house! I hear the the second trimester is the best, and I think that's when things start to get better.

dreams

on october 26th 2013
i went to visit my boyfriend and i mention an odd dream i had the night before. he mentioned he had a dream too! 
but waited for me to talk about my dream. 
in my dream, i went to a friends house and was carrying a baby in a car seat carrier. i put the baby in an extra room so that he could be in a quiet place to sleep. 
later after spending some time there, 
i remember thinking in my head "oh i got to go feed the baby" 
so i went to the sleeping baby and picked him up. 
i remember it was a boy, but that was all the dream was.

then my boyfriend says his dream was just me visiting him and saying "im pregnant" (boys, they do not understand the importance of detail!)

so, on my way home there was a lovely albertsons. 
i was already stressed about a few other things in life at the moment, so i decided it would be good to stop in and get a test, just to make sure because it would be one less thing to worry about.

i was so ancy and i really had to go to the bathroom anyway, so i went to the restroom there. it comes with two tests, and i was going to save one for the morning because its easier to detect/more accurate in the morning.

it went positive before i even zipped my jeans. the first thing i thought of was that baby boy in my dream.
i don't think it actually sank in until i was already in my car and driving away.
i started to hyperventilate a little and my mind felt like it was running a million miles a second.
i pulled back into the parking lot because i knew i could not  multi-task driving and registering this new information.
it was almost like i was thinking to hard, but not thinking at all.
i knew i already loved this sweet baby inside me. 
as a girl you grow up knowing that you will be a mommy someday and you always wonder what it would feel like to be pregnant, or to find out, and how exciting it is. well, at least i always wondered.

but at that moment, when this was now happening in my life,
i was stunned. 
i literally felt so blessed and so bad at the same time.
i haven't even finished school! or own a home yet! ...but do babies really come at any time when someone is actually ready? no.
i also thought of the fact that i will be getting fat. and then ill have to be the one to get the baby out! i always wanted a natural birth and always told people in topic of conversation that its the way i wanted to go. but now that it was sudden, i felt like i was not prepared or old enough. luckily now i have looked into it, and i will post about my birth plan later, because i realized that i have a whole 9 months to prepare my mind for what is coming as well as prepare for a natural birth.
i remember thinking though, "i thought i would at least have my original body for a couple more years."

but that was selfish. the more and more i thought, the more i felt so blessed. god is trusting me with one of his children, and it is a gift to be able to have a child. some people in this world cant, for what ever reason. i didn't even know if i was going to be able to have kids! that was one of my biggest fears at one point in my life, thinking i wouldn't be able to be a mommy. but here i am, scared, super happy, and excited but nervous. it took about a week for me to not be so scared, with lots of phone calls setting everything up and a few pinterest searches on the fun stuff.

bottom line is, i am going to be a mother now, 
and i feel so fortunate and humbled. 

that next morning i took another test, still not believing the last, and it was positive. then three days later i made it in to the clinic and took another, and for sure they said i was pregnant. my due date right now is july 6th, 2014!

one thing i did a lot on my first week of knowing i was going to be a first time mother, is google. googled a lot! and one thing i found, is that even woman that planned a baby are scared when they find out... it made me feel much better. 

so here i am, a week after finding out i am going to have a little one, and 6 weeks along. i decided to blog to share my feelings so that i can;

1. be able to share my feelings until i can actually tell everyone that i am expecting (after my first trimester)
2. look back when i have more kids, compare pregnancies, and also to see if i really am more dramatic pregnant vs. not (lol)
3. for any of my friends to read so they know how this journey is going for me 
4. for all other first time moms that might stumble upon this and be able to relate, or are looking for how other moms are handling this.