Pregnancy Brain

Why is it that when you're pregnant, you can't remember words? Seriously, I can't tell you how many times I forget words and then sound like a complete idiot when I am talking to people. Not a good thing when you are in sales!!! I frequently find myself using words like "that thingy" or "you know, that thing that goes around that thingy..."! I try to laugh it off by calling it "pregnancy brain' but sometimes it gets really frustrating! I know some of my customers are thinking, "okay, not only is she getting chubby but now she is losing her mind!" Right on both accounts!!! My friend Jamie said she is experiencing the same problem. Can you imagine what our conversations are like with both of us pregnant and not able to communicate!

I definitely LOOK pregnant today and that makes me very happy. Last night was pretty amazing. I felt so strange as I lay quietly on my bed. I could feel my heart beat throughout my whole body. I read that this is to be expected because of the additional blood in my system. At times it almost felt like I was having heart palpitations. Then, the most amazing thing happened, I felt the baby moving around. I said to Greg, "It feels like something is moving inside of me." His response was was so matter-of-fact, "It is something moving...our baby!" I guess it's still hard for me to believe that I really have a baby inside of me. I can't wait to see her/him on the 13th. I believe that once I get to see our baby, this will finally feel REAL to me.

Hormone Road Rage

Rush hour traffic and pregnancy hormones definitely do not go together!!!

As most of you know, I have about a 45 minute commute to work. Even worse, this drive takes place on the interstate 101 - known for a lot of traffic and many accidents. Between rubber-neckers and idiots who drive in the FAST lane going 60 miles per hour, my patients are often pushed to the limit. Prior to pregnancy, I was able to manage this drive without verbalizing my frustrations...not so since my pregnancy hormones have taken over my body! It's terrible, the things that come out of my mouth!! And then of course, within minutes of saying it, I feel terrible guilt. By the time I get to work I am exhausted from the emotional roller coaster of a ride. They need to come up with one of those signs like "Baby on board" but instead it could say something like "Pregnant hormone-raging women on board."

I read an article last week which said the baby can begin distinguishing sounds in the 5th month. That means I have almost a month to prepare and to do some relaxation work. I don't want my baby to be born with road rage!!

Yesterday was a pretty tough day. I still get my headaches and yesterday was a bad one. Nothing seemed to help and I had to work my 10 hour shift. Today is a much better day! I am starting to get past the point of people questioning "is she just getting chubby or is she pregnant." I will get another picture on the blog this weekend.

Holy Indigestion!!

Up until recently, I have been fairly lucky when it comes to stomach issues. I have never experienced such things as heartburn or indigestion... until today! I woke up this morning and felt this horrible pressure in the top of my stomach and panicked. "Now what" is all that kept going through my mind. With Greg's help and the help of my pregnancy books we finally figured out that it was indigestion. So, my wonderful husband got out of bed and got dressed and went to the store to get me some antacids. After taking a few I felt relief with in a half hour.

On top of the indigestion, I am also having a lot of trouble sleeping at night. I just cannot get comfortable!! I am a back sleeper, and of course, I am no longer allowed to sleep on my back. I wake up several times throughout the night because my hips hurt from laying on them. We have tried pillows and a foam pad and still, no relief. Any suggestions from all of you mom's out there? Is there some sort of magic pillow that I am unaware of?

Too Much Down Time

Another slow day at work, which means I am thinking too much again!! I went to Dr. Sears website to read about pregnancy at 4 months. It just amazes me how "classic" my pregnancy is - which is a wonderful thing! Dr. Sears discusses some of the fears women experience during this time of pregnancy and I can totally relate. Now that I feel more "normal" again, I often times find myself drifting off thinking about my fears of being pregnant.

For the last year, I have been totally focused on preparing my body for pregnancy. Once I was able to get pregnant, my focus was then to make it through the miscarriage months. Now that I have made it to this point, it suddenly hits me, "I am pregnant and I am going to be a Mom for the rest of my life. Holy cow!!!! Am I ready for this? Will I be a good Mom? How do I hold a baby? When do I feed the baby - and how?......" I suddenly find myself freaking out as reality kicks in.

So, I take a deep breath, tell myself to take it one day at a time, and I pray for more customers to come into my store soon (so I can stop thinking)!!!

15 Week Update

Well, it's happening... I am getting stretch marks!!! I knew I would get them eventually because my skin is prone to them. I already have some due to the weight I loss after I moved to Arizona. Last night, as I was completing my evening ritual of applying oils to my mid section, I noticed a new stretch mark. Very depressing!!! I knew they were coming because my skin has been itching like crazy. It makes me worry, if I am already getting stretch marks this early into pregnancy, what am I going to look like in 4 more months!!

Overall, I have been feeling pretty good. I haven't felt any movement in my tummy, so I really don't feel pregnant yet. Hopefully by next week I will start feeling some fluttering. I still get my headaches but other than that, I consider myself lucky.

Greg has been fantastic! He helps around the house and makes dinner for us on the nights we work. He rubs my aches and scratches my itches and tells me I look wonderful even when I don't!! We are both very eager to find out the sex of our baby on March 13th. I've taken a couple of those "tests" to determine the sex of the baby - all have given me the same results...any guesses??

Happy Valentines Day

Growing up, I loved Valentines Day. I was always so excited to buy my themed boxed Valentines day cards, pick out just the right card for the right person, and put a really cool piece of candy in the little white envelop. In school, the day before Valentines day, we all had to make crafty baskets to hold the valentines we would get from our classmates the next day. Everyone anticipated the last period of the day when we would pass out our cards and then open the ones given to us. Everyone was so excited to see what card they would get from the boy or girl they secretly had a crush on. And of course, we would eat all of our candy and go home to our parents on a sugar high.

The other reason why I always loved Valentines Day was because of my Mom. From the time I was a child until the year she died, she never forgot me on Valentines Day. She always picked out the perfect card and always sent along a little treat or a keepsake. Today, my heart is a little broken as another Valentines Day goes by without my Mom.

And then, I am once again lifted because this time next year, I will be celebrating my first Valentines Day with my child. And you can darn well bet that no matter how young or old my child is, she/he will always get a perfect Valentines Day card and gift from Mommy.

Happy Valentines Day to you all!!

Cravings!!

I love being my own boss; however, running a retail business can be difficult at times, especially on days that are really slow. On these days, I find that I have way too much time to think - which is not always a good thing!! For instance, today I can't stop thinking about how much I want to have a jar of pickles and how tasty an extra cooked thin crust pizza would taste right at this moment. Hmmm, should I order out delivery? I guess it really wouldn't look good to my neighboring businesses and to my customers if I had pizza delivered to my General Nutrition Store!! I can just see it now, I am working with a customer discussing healthy diet and supplements and what foods to stay away from and in walks my delivery boy with my extra cooked thin crust pizza!!!

You have probably guessed by now, I am having some pretty strong cravings. Yesterday, I finally gave in to a very naughty craving I had been having for about a week. Donuts!!! I crave anything with a lot of salt and anything that has a sour sweet taste. Another thing I crave constantly is crispy beef tacos from Taco Bell - oh man, what I wouldn't do for two of those right now!!! My mouth is actually watering as I write this. Okay, I must go now and find some food!!

UPDATE:
Later today, I just couldn't take it anymore. I put up my sign "Be back In 5 minutes" and went next door to the grocery store and bought a whole jar of pickles and proceeded to eat half the jar!!! Yummy!!

14 Weeks Picture

Gosh, I guess it's been awhile since I last posted. This last week went by so fast! I am doing very well. I am feeling more energy now and have actually been able to go hiking. It felt so good to be out in the fresh air exercising. Don't worry though, I am not over doing it, Greg makes sure of that! I still get my headaches but that's the worse of it.

Here is a picture of me at 14 weeks. It's amazing how one day my stomach sticks out like crazy and not on other days. This is also the first picture I have posted with my brown hair. It has lightened some since coloring it and I like it much better.

Some additional things that have changed since I have entered my 2nd trimester:

• I am not a crazy hungry beast all of the time anymore.
• I don't have to get up and go to the bathroom several times during the night anymore.
• The North Star and Little & Big Dippers have dissipated from my forehead.
• I can actually stay up until 10pm again.
• The fog has lifted some in my mind and I can actually focus on other topics besides being pregnant.

I know many of these symptoms will return in a few months so I am trying to appreciate this time as much as I can.

"Bad Mommy" Guilt

This is a call out for help to all mommies. I have been having congestion for a few weeks, but only at night, so it was manageable. I realize congestion is another wonderful pregnancy symptom so I have been just dealing with it naturally. Unfortunately, the last couple of days this congestion has become worse and is now all day long. In fact, my nose is so congested that I now have sinus pain. So, I put a call into my doctor to see what she suggests for me to take to help out. I hate the idea of taking Sudafed, but I think that is what she will suggest. I feel guilty taking anything over the counter because I don't want it to hurt my baby.

So, I thought maybe all of you moms out there could ease my mind and share some of your stories of over the counter products that your doctor had you use when you were pregnant. Maybe if I hear some of your stories, I won't feel so guilty??

Doctors Visit

We had another doctors appointment yesterday. All of the tests they ran during my last visit came back just fine. We heard the baby's heartbeat again, 160 beats/min. I won't go into any more details, just know that everything is going very good at this point and we couldn't be more pleased! Our next appointment is in 5 weeks. At this next appointment we will find out if we are having a boy or a girl, BUT, we haven't yet decided if we will be telling all of you!! If I have time later, I will download another picture of me pregnant at 13 weeks.

Oh, by the way, Greg got me a book I wanted called, "Belly Laughs" by Jenny McCarthy. I am sure many of you moms have already heard about it. I wanted a book that gave the "real story" on everyday pregnancy issues instead of just the medical mumbo jumbo stuff. This book is not only hilarious, it's very true and puts a more realistic spin on pregnancy.