MISSING

MISSING:
35 YEAR OLD FEMALE WITH BLOND HAIR AND SMALL BUILD. KNOWN BY MANY TO HAVE A PATIENT DEMEANOR WITH THE ENERGY TO STAY UP UNTIL AT LEAST 10:00PM. LAST SEEN IN NOVEMBER 2006. HUSBAND OFFERING REWARD FOR THE SAFE RETURN OF HIS PATIENT WIFE!

Seriously, will I ever feel like myself again? I really feel like someone else is in my body right now. My hormones are going crazy. I am usually a patient person when it comes to dealing with other people. Not so as of the last few weeks. I feel so bad for Greg. He's been the patient one lately! I am sure he will be pleased when my "missing patients" have been found!

"Global Understandings"

There should be a "global understanding" that says when you are pregnant, you don't get sick! I mean come on, we are already experiencing so many other uncomfortable symptoms. Do we really need additional sore throats and aches and pains? I woke up at 12:30 am with a horrible sore throat. Today is my 12 hour work day and it's been so dreadful!! Sore throat, sore glands, aches and pains, tired, etc. Needless to say, I will be going home straight to bed tonight!
While we're on this topic of "global understandings" when pregnant, I have a couple more:

• We should get to wear sweats and tennis shoes everyday and people will still think we look amazing!!
• We should get to close our stores down for an hour during the day to take a nap!
• We should be assigned a free house cleaner and grocery shopper and heck, while we're at it, a free cook!
• We should be able to get maternity clothes at huge discounts!

I think that's a good start. More "global understandings of pregnancy" to come!

Year of Changes

I found myself a little overwhelmed yesterday. Greg and I are having a home built close by. It's a one story 3000 sq. foot verses our tri-story 3000 sq. foot that we now have. It should be completed around October. Yesterday, we went and walked through someone else's home (with same floor plan) that was getting framed. It gave us a good idea of what ours will look like. As we walked through this home, everything just kind of hit me. This year is going to be quite a year!! Not only am I pregnant and already on an emotional roller coaster, our baby is due mid August, our home will be done around October, which means not only a big move, but the fact that we need to sell our current house at a time when the market is not so "seller friendly!" So, needless to say, I am a little freaked out all of a sudden!! On top of everything else, we just put my store up for sale. I know it will all work out, I truly believe that. I think it just all hit me at once and I wasn't prepared. Today, I am a little more relaxed. I am excited and eager for all of these changes, it's just a lot to happen in one short year! No one can say our lives our boring!!

Another awesome change that has recently taken place is our really good friends Tom & Jamie (Jamie is my friend who is pregnant with me) got married on Friday!! They actually got engaged the same night Greg and I did and they already have a wonderful little family. Greg and I were honored to be witnesses for them. I have included some pictures below.

Today is a day of celebration. We are officially 12 weeks pregnant. This baby is with us for the long haul!! Thank you for all of your prayers.

Great Day!

Yesterday was a great day. It was the first day in several months that I actually had some "mojo." I was able to find some new affordable shirts to get me through the next couple of months. I was also able to get some much needed errands completed. Most importantly, I was able to go to the gym and work on the treadmill for 30 minutes and get in a light arm workout. This was huge for me. I have been so tired the last few months that I haven't been able to workout at all. Although it wasn't an intense workout, it just felt awesome to get moving again. It did wonders for my mental state! I am hoping to do this light workout three times a week eventually, but of course I will listen to my body and do what it needs.
Last night when Greg and I went to bed, we both verbally stated how we were grateful for our day. We both feel that we are very fortunate to be where we are in our lives. We have a baby on the way, we have a roof over our heads, we have awesome family and friends, we have Jordan, we have our Ziggy and Zoey, but most importantly, we have each other. Life is good!

We Need to Move!!!

I read an article today that discussed the Best Cities in America to Have a Baby.
#1 Boston
#2 San Francisco
#3 Minneapolis!!!!
Phoenix, Arizona didn't even make the top 50! I can totally understand why. We have horrible air quality, terrible access to quality hospitals and doctors, and unbelievably high crime rates in all communities. I would love to move back to Minnesota if it just weren't for those damn winters!! I just can't do it! So, I guess we won't be moving after all.

My pregnancy is going fine. Gaining weight, eating and sleeping. It's amazing how much the body changes so quickly. For so long I have been focused on keeping weight off, it's hard some days to see the weight go on. I knew this would be one of my biggest struggles with pregnancy. Oh well, I have no doubt that I will get back into shape after all is said and done.

Things I miss already: Sushi, red wine, coffee, caffeine in general, running, my blond hair, laying in the sun, and my waistline. Okay, I am done whining. I know it will all be worth it in the end.

Holy Hormones!!

Wow, talk about a hormone roller coaster the last few days!! Poor Greg, I think at times he's actually afraid to say anything because of the way I might respond. Sometimes I say something and I think to myself, "did I really just say that?" Honey, just let me apologize now for the crazy stuff I will probably say the rest of this pregnancy!
Last night I actually cried during Funniest Home Videos. They showed a video of a family telling Grandma that she was going to be Grandma again to twins. I laughed then I cried. I thought about what I was missing out on not being able to tell my mom that I am pregnant. Man I miss her so much. I know that she is watching over us with delight and that perfect smile of hers.
Moving on to a completely different subject, can you believe that is SNOWED here yesterday!!! I moved to Arizona to get away from snow and cold weather. What the heck!!??

Help!!

To all you moms out there, I desperately need your help. I have been getting these horrible headaches. They start at my neck and continue up through my whole head. I did take 1 Tylenol on Friday and 1 at 3am this morning and it helped some but its back again!! Even before I was pregnant I really never took over the counter medicine, so I am really hesitant now that I am pregnant. I keep hydrated and Greg rubs my neck and head when he can, but man, it's hard to get anything done with this pain!!! Any of you moms have some suggestions??? Please let me know asap!!!

Pictures!!

Okay, so you may not notice much of a change, but I sure do!! Here is a picture of me at 6 weeks pregnant.


And here is a picture at 10 weeks pregnant. I still had my blond hair!!!



My next doctors appointment is Feb. 2nd. I will be over 12 weeks at that point. Oh, my friend Jamie had her doctors appointment yesterday, she is actually 1 week behind me. I am so excited and fortunate to have such a good friend to go through this experience with.

The Joys of Pregnancy!!!

When all of my Minnesota girlfriends were busy having babies, I was too busy being single and didn't really pay attention to what they were going through as pregnant women. Sorry ladies!!!! Now, I have much more empathy for you all in regards to the "not so beautiful" aspects of being pregnant.
Let's start with the North Star, Little Dipper and Big Dipper that I now have on my forehead. What joy this brings to me each morning as I put my layers of make-up on! Oh yes, and those lovely dark circles under my eyes, do they ever go away? I knew I would be growing in my belly but what the heck are these love handles all about? Believe me, I have enough love in me to go around, I don't need these storage bins on my hips!!!!
And what the heck is going on with my breasts!!!! If they continue as they are, I am going to be falling forward. Anyone got an extra cane?? I suppose next my butt will grow to even out the weight of my breasts???
And lastly, what's up with this appetite? It's uncontrollable. There have been two occasions now where I have had to drag my butt out of bed in the middle of the night to eat. All the books say to eat veggies and fruits. Great, super, wonderful, and what's the fruit suppose to do - because is sure doesn't touch my appetite. I have had to give in and begin eating my "off limit" foods. Pasta, bagels, carbs., carbs., and more carbs. Oh boy!!!!
To all of my Minnesota gals, you rock!!!! I hope I can get through my pregnancy as gracefully as you all did!!!

First Major Mommy Decision

For the last several weeks I have developed a nightly routine. I go to bed around 10pm and my bladder wakes me up around 12:30pm. My bladder again wakes me up around 4am. I have become so used to this routine that I basically do it with my eyes closed so I can easily fall back to sleep. I guess this is natures way of preparing me for what is yet to come!
Last night my bladder woke me up at 3:30am, but unfortunately, I was not able to fall back to sleep because of a major concern that kept playing over and over in my head. Needless to say, I never did fall back to sleep. My concern? Should I or should I not have my baby tested for Downs Syndrome.
When Greg and I were pregnant the last two times, we had both agreed not to have this testing completed because it would not affect our decision on keeping our baby. When I told my doctor this last week, she gave me some additional information that made me change my mind. She pointed out that I was 35 years old and that they can now determine Downs thru an ultra sound that does not cause miscarriages and the test is 90% accurate. She also said that many Downs baby's are born with heart conditions and it's important to be educated and to prepare ourselves. So, I initially agreed to have the test. This decision has been weighing heavily on my heart, hence, no sleep last night. I then did some research on the accuracy of this new test and spoke to a mother whom actually had this test completed. The information I learned was that this new test doesn't actually give you a true positive or a true negative. It gives you only additional statistics on your likelihood of the baby having Downs. The mother I spoke to said her ultra sound indicated that she was in the "very likely" category of having a Downs child. As a result, for a full month she worried endlessly until they were able to complete an amnio. test on her. This test determined that the baby didn't have Downs.
So, with this additional information, I have decided not to have the testing completed and I cancelled my appointment. Being pregnant is a time for bonding with your child not worrying everyday if "the test" was accurate. We will love our child no matter what happens. A child is a blessing and no test is going to change that. Now, can I go back to sleep??!!

The Sacrifices Have Started!!

Having a child, I knew I would be making several sacrifices through the years, I just didn't think they would start so soon!!! My waist line (the one I have worked at keeping low for so long) is slowly disappearing. At 10 weeks pregnant, I can barely fit into my jeans. Even my fat jeans are being pushed to the limits. And, my flat cut stomach is no longer flat or cut!! All of these changes I knew would be coming. I just didn't think they would be coming so soon!
Another major change, which occurred yesterday, is my hair. My natural hair color, which many people have not even seen, is an ashy brown. For the past 9-10 years, I have had light brown and blond in my hair. Well, now that I am pregnant, Greg and I decided it would be safer for the baby if I just let my hair go back to it's natural color. My hair is growing too quickly and if I were to keep up with the blond, I would be at the hair salon every 4 weeks. This of course would be way too costly and way too many chemicals - not good for the baby. So, yesterday I had my hair done with brown low lights and I am now a dark brunette!! Every time I pass a mirror I freak myself out! I am not too excited about the look right now, but it was a sacrifice for my little one.
On a much lighter note, I have some very exciting news.... my good friend Jamie, here in Phoenix, just found out she is pregnant also!!!! She is around 1 week ahead of me. We are both very excited to be pregnant together. This will be her third child so she is a wonderful resource for me.

A Blogging Newbe!!

Hi everyone,

Please be patient with me as I try and figure out how to set up and maintain my pregnancy blog. I decided to start this blog for two reasons. First, most of my family and friends live out of state and it will be a lot of work to contact each person individually throughout this pregnancy. Second, I think it will be wonderful to share with my child when she/he is older.
Most of our family and friends know that this is actually my third pregnancy. I had a miscarriage in October of 2005. I had another miscarriage in June of 2006. Choosing to try a third time was a very difficult decision. I actually tried to convince myself during the months of July and Augest of 2006 that I didn't even really want to have a child. It didn't work. In September of 2006 I went in for chromosome testing to see if there may be a medical reason as to why I had the two miscarriages. Thankfully, the results indicated that there was no medical reason for me to not be able to carry a child to full term. Therefore, we chose to try one more time.
I am happy and excited to report that we are now over 9 weeks pregnant!! This is the furthest I have carried. My first pregnancy was a blithed ovum and my second one ended around 5-6 weeks. We had our first ultra sound on December 22nd and saw our baby for the first time. We even saw and heard the heartbeat. It was a very emotional moment for us!! I went to my second doctors appointment on Jan. 8th and again heard the heartbeat!
We are both very positive about this pregnancy. I do my best not to focus on our past experiences, but honestly, some days are difficult. My doctor is wonderful. She said I can come in anytime I want to and we will listen to the baby's heartbeat together!!
At this pointl don't think I have allowed myself to truely "feel" this blessing of being pregnant. I have moments when I become teary eyed and imagine this little baby inside of me with it's own heartbeat and I think to myself, "I am going to be a mommy!" I can't wait!! I then have other moments when I become a little overwhelmed with having an infant!! I have no idea what I am suppose to do with an infant!!!!
Well, I think I have gone on enough for now. I hope everyone is doing well. I miss you all very much.