14 weeks, I feel... PREGNANT, FINALLY

I didn't think I would have to deal with this this early.... but this bump is making me feel awkward when it's time to get dressed for the day. I'm not quite sure what to do with it. I guess it's time to bust out the maternity clothes! My sister gave me a bunch that I need to go through, and I also want to try to figure out how to wear the clothes I do have and make them look not so awkward. We will see how it goes. So far the way I've been handling it is just by telling everyone I'm pregnant to explain why I look awkward, it usually goes something along these lines:
Me: "Hey how are you doing? What can I get for you today?"
Customer: "Oh I'm great, I'll have an iced Americano"
Me: "Sounds great!"
Customer: "How about this great weather today?"
Me: "I'm pregnant..."
I'm just kidding, I'm not that bad, but close! I am looking forward to getting better at dressing this little bump as Sprout gets bigger. I do work part time at a clothing store, so I have an advantage there. I have been feeling a LOT of pressure down in that region. Sometimes I just poke myself in the pelvic region because I know I'm bound to poke the baby with enough prodding, and that makes me happy. Sprout is the size of a pear... or a nectarine... or a baseball depending on who you ask. What that means to me is that the pressure I feel must be because my organs are like, "Whoa Sprout, scoot over" and Sprout is like, "No way! I'm movin' and grovin'!" Sometimes when I sneeze it hurts, or when I stand up funny. Uh, don't ask me why or how I stand up funny, because it just happens. But it makes me happy to think of my little one getting so big!
I've recently discovered that lactose is definitely not settling well with me, so I have been cutting that out. I mostly have just stopped drinking milk, and switched to almond milk. I LOVE me some cheese, but when I do have cheese it is in small amounts, and the small amounts don't seem to bother me (thank you Jesus!) I would be a sad lady if I had to give up ALL cheese.
The really awesome, super, incredible news this week is that Zach got a job at Garmin! He has been trying really hard to get a job there for a couple weeks, and all the hard work finally paid off! We are so happy, and I am SO proud of my husband for working so hard to take care of Sprout and I, and the dog too. He is really inspiring to me, and I am very grateful for him. He starts on the 14th and he will be a Product Specialist. Garmin reimburses for school so Zach is looking forward to growing with the company. Did I mention their product discount?! Hello fun toys. I have been saving all of my tips from Crema because I want to buy a Go-Pro, but Garmin has a super awesome version of the same thing, so we are going to get that instead.
This is just another sign that though we may be crazy indeed by wanting to have a baby though our lives weren't sorted out at the time, God has provided in every way. Time and time again I learn that I can't plan everything, and it's ok because the bigger plan usually is way better than mine. Although I felt stupid at the time for wanting a baby, I'm glad I listened and had faith that everything would be ok. Lucky? Not a chance, not even a little. This was the plan from the beginning, God just didn't tell me yet.

2nd Trimester!

So here we are in my second trimester. This past week has been dramatic.
Have I mentioned the pain that has plagued my poor lady bits? IT IS AWFUL!! I wake up with the pain, go to work with it, and go to bed with it. There is no relief. My ears have been popping because I am all congested and this adds to my already prominent hearing problem. Then, if my ears stay popped long enough, it makes my head hurt ridiculously bad. Luckily for me, this doesn't happen that often and for that I am grateful.

Anyhow, enough of the complaining. Last Wednesday I had my first prenatal appointment with my midwife. It was great. We were able to spend about two hours with her talking about everything we wanted to know. We mostly talked about some tests we did or did not have to take(totally OUR decision) and what the tests meant. Our midwife is just a very sweet lady and I'm looking forward to getting to know her throughout our pregnancy. I'm not sure if I mentioned this last week, but one of the reasons we picked Bella Vie is because we will have only two midwives for the entire length of our pregnancy. Only one of the two midwives will be there during the birth however. This means we actually get to develop a relationship with the person who will be helping me bring my child into the world. This is really important to me and I'm so excited about being able to establish some trust, which is something I may have not been able to do at a hospital.

 At the same appointment, our midwife tried to find Little Sprout's heartbeat and all she kept finding was mine because I have an anterior placenta and Sprout was hiding. I wasn't too worried about it at first because I have my angel sounds monitor at home and I knew I could find it with that later.Well for a couple days after that I tried and tried and I couldn't find Sprout's heartbeat and I began to panic. I started to feel disconnected and I was afraid. I called the on-call number for the birthing center(they are closed on Saturdays) and they told me to come in so they could try to listen again. My midwife was there and told me they could schedule an ultrasound  if she was unable to find a heartbeat. However, just a few seconds after she placed the Doppler on me, there was Little Sprout's heartbeat. I breathed a HUGE sigh of relief and took a recording with my phone so I can listen to it whenever. My midwife was so nice to do that for me. I feel MUCH MUCH better now. That Little Sprout sure knows how to give me a little scare.

We have another appointment on the 28th and I'm looking forward to it. Maybe by then I won't want to rip my "girls" off because of the pain. Here's to hoping. I'm also really looking forward to showing. Right now I can push my tummy out and you can tell, but pretty much everyone can do that. I also just really want to feel Sprout move. Come on little one, wiggle a bit!

Ode To My Boobies

They're big and they're round
They just look great!
Some pay money for these
But this rack ain't fake!
It's everything a woman desires,
But it's not cute
When they make me perspire.
I try to love them and be grateful
But these damn boobies,
Well they make me so hateful
They hurt and they ache and I want to cry
If I didn't need them to breastfeed
They BOTH would die!
If you've ever been pregnant you might agree,
It's not worth the pain
To have triple D's!

12 WEEKS!

The end of my first trimester started triumphantly this morning when I almost puked after trying to eat my egg.  Then I tried to finish my toast.... NOPE not gonna happen, breakfast was short lived this morning, much to my husband's dismay since he woke up early just to make me breakfast.
I had an interview at Willamette Valley Vineyards this morning. At first I was nervous, I felt like I didn't deserve a job because I'm pregnant and nobody wants an employee that's pregnant,  but then I stopped feeling that way because I'm a great employee, and although I'm not drinking wine right now,  I definitely know my stuff about wine,  more than your average Joe... or eh Joesephine. Let me tell you,  I walked in there with the confidence of a war hero, and I walked right back out after a 5 minute interview wondering what the heck was I thinking. First of all, I already work for a family owned vineyard,  and they are awesome!  Although I don't get many hours,  they teach me a lot about the wine processes. Second of all, the way the woman said "pinot noir" made me want to slap her. That coupled with the fact that she was wearing a Tiffany's necklace makes me believe this woman is HIGH MAINTENENCE. But who knows,  maybe I shouldn't judge. The final straw was that I would be working ten hour days Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
I just need at least one day off. Sundays I really need to put aside for church,  I've got a lot to learn, and that place always helps,  simple as that. Also,  I just can't work for that vineyard,  I've heard terrible things about working for them,  and I don't even like their wine.
ANYWAYS! Zach and I had a consultation with Bella Vie Gentle Birthing Center.  That place is so awesome! We loved the house and the midwives,  and all the staff. But wait,  let me back track to why we went there in the first place...
I was looking forward to getting pregnant for awhile before it happened and I had a lot of time to research and explore the many many options that go along with having a baby. I didn't want to make an uninformed choice about the prenatal care for myself and my Sprout, so I looked it up and looked it up,  with a lot of support and encouragement from my sisters and I found that,  wouldn't you know it,  my body was literally CREATED to push a baby out into this world,  and it is one of the most normal and natural things I can do. I'm very excited to feel my body work to achieve the delivery of my baby! Call me crazy,  say,  "just wait to you feel it,  then you'll take it back" but I won't.  Delivery isn't supposed to be easy,  but it's (no pun intended)a labor of love. I've come to believe that my body is fully capable of doing what God created it to do, without the intervention of meds. However! I do believe there are many cases where meds help and doctors are awesome to assist women with complications where a natural birth is risky. I also think this is my own decision,  solely my own and I support any woman who chooses to have her baby any way she chooses, because it's her bundle of joy, and she knows best for her body and baby! Another reason why we chose a birthing center is because we will have continuity of care. We will only see two midwives for our all of our prenatal care, and when it is time for the delivery it will be one of the two. I won't be hopping around from doctor to doctor and whatever doctor happens to be on call will deliver the baby. No thank you. I will get to have a relationship with my midwives and get to know them and establish trust with them which is really important to me, because I have never done this before!

The midwife we meet with at Bella Vie informed us of all the precautions they take to make sure our delivery is safe, and the  environment in the room is calm and nurturing. The best part?
I DON'T HAVE TO WEAR A BUTT UGLY HOSPITAL GOWN! That's right, you heard me! I get excited over the little things!

Our first prenatal appointment is tomorrow, and I can't wait to meet our midwives. We are excited to be apart of the Bella Vie family!

Is it Week 13 yet?

Cause I am still very very tired. I will do my chalkboard tomorrow! I promise!

11 weeks!

This has been such a great week! We are all settled in to our new home and everyone loves it! We have an amazing view,  and a beautiful apartment and we are very happy! 
The move on Saturday was very easy. Thanks to the help of the in-laws, we were out of Corvallis by 9am and unpacked in Salem by 3! It was the easiest move I've ever made!
This week has been lovely because we have gotten so many visitors. You all know how important family is to me, so it made me very happy to get to see everyone.  We are still expecting more visitors to come too!
Zach has been doing some serious decorating.  If you ask me,  I think someone might be nesting! Ha ha,  but seriously,  he has been more crafty than I am trying to get the apartment looking like home.  He is doing a great job too, I'm impressed with his domestic-ness.
I've really been dragging my feet about getting my first prenatal appointment set up,  and picking a hospital. For some reason the thought of going to the hospital intimidates me, I don't know why.  Luckily my sister in law helped me find a birth center that takes my insurance,  and I was so excited because I have heard great things about that birthing center, and I didn't know that they took my insurance. I called them this morning and set up an appointment to have a consultation.  I'm very excited about this!  Zach is a little unsure about it,  so I'm hoping the consultation will help him feel more comfortable. He told me that he trusts my judgment and he wants to do it where I am the most comfortable (what a man.)
I am very grateful for all the support and help from my family, I mean I knew they would be great,  but this is just way more than great.  It's freakin' awesome!  You guys rock!
This week Sprout has been happy to let us listen to its heartbeat.  I got to listen to it for like ten minutes yesterday morning,  it's such a lovely feeling.
Symptoms for week 11? What symptoms? I really haven't had any. I feel like I'm getting away with murder by having such an easy first trimester. My baby is already awesome. I'm pretty sure this means it will be the cutest little baby around, with its itty bitty butt chin!
Oh yeah, we got a chalk board!  As it turns out,  it's cheaper to buy one... Go figure. Sorry,  Zach wasn't home to take the picture with me in it!  But I am starting to pudge out,  it isn't cute,  but hey,  the uterus is growing and those organs have to go somewhere. Some pregnant ladies like to keep track of weight,  but I am choosing not to. As long as I am healthy,  and my Sprout is healthy I really don't think I should bother with a number on the scale,  because I've noticed some people tend to get obsessed with weight, or how they look,  and my focus is my little Sprout.
Next week,  the end of my first trimester!

Ten weeks, a quarter of the way there!

The sun did shine this past week,  both figuritively and literally.  It was so nice to feel the warm sun this week,  it lifted my mood like a kite on the wind. My moodiness has been leagues better.  I only had a few moments of being on board the crazy train. As far as symptoms go otherwise,  I've had it easy!  Thank you baby sprout, you are the very best to your mommy,  I will kiss you endlessly for being such a good baby! I can only pray that your future brothers and sisters will be as kind.
I have had some problems staying regular,  but it hasn't been too crazy.  My nasal passages are constantly clogged and it makes my ears pop which makes it very difficult to hear,  especially since I'm already plagued with the hearing of a 90 year old woman (Thanks dad.)
In other news,  we got to see our new apartment with our paint on the wall! I did a pretty good job picking colors if I do say so myself.  Zach and I got to have breakfast together at French press,  which is one of my favorites,  it was quite lovely. We also went furniture shopping as well yesterday,  and it was fun  imagining our baby crawling all over our furniture in a few months.
The best thing to ever happen since I took my positive pregnancy test happened. We heard our baby's heart beat!  I was so happy I cried! My sister reminded me that she gave me one of those devises where you can listen to it,  so this morning I gave it a try. It took me awhile to find it,  because at first I was listening to my stomach (it's still working) but then I moved it lower,  and sure enough I could hear my little sprout's heart just beating away. It was such a miracle to hear it in there.  I gave Zach the headphones and he listened to it as well.  I'm so happy little sprout,  you make your mommy want to do cartwheels.
We move on Saturday! Yay! Week 11's post will be coming to you from Salem! Hooray! We can't wait!

9 weeks!

Still moody over here! Watch out world! I had a couple days where I felt like a normal person, but they were short lived.  The good news for this week is that my shoulders do not hurt anymore,  but I definitely need to get fitted for a new bra,  because the ladies have out grown all of mine.
This week we got to see our new apartment for the first time.  It is beautiful, I can't wait to move in and start decorating and nesting and getting ready for little sprout. They are painting for us on Wednesday and we get to move in on the 14th! I'm excited to have family over and entertain everyone.  It makes me very happy!
Week 9 seems important to me because little sprout's sex organs are forming so we will definitely have a little girl or a little boy.  I'm pretty convinced it's a girl.  I'm kinda hoping it's a girl just because I want to be right ha ha.
I'm excited to pick a hospital/birthing center,  but we are waiting for some insurance information to come through.  I'm not excited about getting another pap smear,  I just hate those, and I just had one in October.
Hopefully Zach will be able to make my chalkboard this week,  so week ten's post will be far more exciting!