Month: February 2014

8 Weeks!

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8 Weeks

Taken at 8. 5 weeks! Thickening up nicely and in need of working on my posture!

So, let me begin with the fact that my 8th week was SO much better than my 7th week. My seasick bands have helped me more than I could have ever imagined!! I did have my OBGYN appointment yesterday (8w6d) which went over blood work etc. She was able to prescribe me zofran (20 pills ended up costing 91 dollars!!!!!)  in hopes that I’ll regain my appetite and not have to wear my seasick bands as it starts to warm up.  I’m currently 9 weeks today and have taken half of a pill this morning and so far so good! I’ll have to write about it in my 9 week post!

I did have my first hormonal meltdown this week. It was the weirdest thing! In my mind I knew that what I was crying about wasn’t a big deal but I could NOT STOP CRYING! I had become completely overwhelmed by what was happening and just couldn’t keep it together. Want to know what caused this ridiculous ball of emotions? A grilled cheese sandwich wasn’t cooking properly. Yea……. what an odd experience.

Another funny note! I teach a 5-7th grade girls bible study on Wednesday nights. I was hoping to wait and tell them until after the ultrasound so I could show them the picture BUT they had other plans! Hahha I showed up and almost immediately they were asking questions. “So Mrs. Ann…. I heard you’re pregnant! Is it true???” I just had to laugh and tell them early. Their excited giggles were worth the early announcement. This was our first meeting since before Christmas and one girl stated that I got a baby for Christmas! Well…. I guess it works kind of like that 😉

I’m excited for our ultrasound on Monday and will keep y’all posted. 🙂

What’s going on with baby Relbot:

New this week: Webbed fingers and toes are poking out from your baby’s hands and feet, his eyelids practically cover his eyes, breathing tubes extend from his throat to the branches of his developing lungs, and his “tail” is just about gone. In his brain, nerve cells are branching out to connect with one another, forming primitive neural pathways. You may be daydreaming about your baby as one sex or the other, but the external genitals still haven’t developed enough to reveal whether you’re having a boy or a girl. Either way, your baby — about the size of a Raspberry — is constantly moving and shifting, though you still can’t feel it.

Symptoms?

So, what a relief the seasick bands have brought me. They don’t take my nausea away completely but they subdue it enough for me to operate a fairly normal life. I’m SO thankful!!  The bloating from a slower digestion system has taken a while to get use to, but as long as I’m not gagging, I’m good with whatever!

8 weeks

Sleep?

Sleep is normal. I wake up about twice during the night to use the restroom but I’m not having any issues with falling or staying asleep. 🙂 My only concern is that I sleep on my back and apparently it’s not safe to after your first trimester….. I guess we will see how that goes.

Weight?

I’ve stopped losing weight but haven’t gained any back yet. My OBGYN said it’s fine for now and they will keep an eye on it in the next coming weeks!

Clothes?

Normal Jeans….. unbuttoned if I’m sitting. Loose fitting shirts 🙂

Snowmagedon

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So, NC just experienced one of the worst storms we have had in years. We didn’t get that much snow, but the ice was enough to bring everyone to an absolute halt. This storm tested me to my core. As you have read in previous posts, I am dealing with being extremely nauseous. Like, all day, never goes away, i’ve tried everything, someone help me, nauseous. So, Tuesday comes around and I just keep thinking, make it to Thursday and you can talk with the OBGYN about Zofran or SOMETHING to help me. I saw the finish line within reach and with everything in me, just needed to hold on. Well, once the storm had started I noticed I had a headache. I drank some water, took a snooze on the couch and really expected it to disappear. Here’s the thing. You see, I wasn’t prepared. I didn’t have Tylenol, I only had IB Profun which isn’t approved if you’re pregnant. So here I am, stuck in my house with a pounding headache and Snowpocolypse happening outside. Then my nausea decided to REALLY rear it’s ugly head. Around 7 pm I’m dry heaving into the toilet, Patrick’s holding my hair and tears are streaming down my face. It was horrible. Even if we wanted, stores were closed and the ice on the roads were preventing us from getting any tylenol to help with my headache. I’m laying in my dark bedroom with Patrick using our towel warmer to heat up washcloths to drape on my forehead and neck while I cradle a mini trashcan in-between my legs. I felt hopeless. My OBGYN and sonogram on Thursday was canceled. I didn’t know when the pounding headache would go away. I was shaking from not eating or drinking much all day. My eyes hurt from my gag reflex constantly going off. I just wanted to feel better. Again, shout out to my husband who has been my prince charming who has come to my rescue so many times in the past couple of weeks. The feeling of helplessness is a scary feeling and something that I haven’t felt in a LONG time. It’s that feeling of not knowing how or when it will get better. That feeling of being disconnected from anyone who can help. Without my faith in God, I’m not sure how I would get through these weeks. I really thought that pregnancy would be A LOT easier than this because this is right up there with some of the hardest things I’ve ever dealt with in my life. For those who really know me, you KNOW I’ve had some hard seasons. I’m thankful that I got through the night and the headache was gone by morning. I began researching over the counter medications that were safe for pregnancy since I wasn’t going to make my OBGYN appointment. I tossed the idea around of wearing the seasick patches from my cruise which I quickly saw wasn’t the best idea and then Patrick actually saw reviews on seasick bands which seemed to work. Seasick bands are braclet type things that press on your tendons in your wrists which supposedly help with motion sickness, morning sickness and nausea. I was desperate. We ventured out to Walmart in search of the bands and after 30 minutes of looking, finally decided to try walgreens. We bought them, I slipped them on and within the hour, I was eating  a cheese tortilla. It’s now valentines day and my first full day of wearing them and OH MY GOODNESS. They definitely help. My nausea went from life altering and almost unbearable at times to it’s only in the back of my mind. I’ve been able to eat a few small meals and I’m feeling MUCH better! I’ll have to do a more in depth review of them in a few weeks, once I’ve worn them for a while. So far so good though and I couldn’t be more thankful. IMAG6361

On our adventure to find sea bands

IMAG6365

My beloved seasick band. I wear one on each wrist.

7 Weeks

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7 weeks

Hello 7 weeks!

Yea, taking weekly pictures is A LOT harder than expected…. and that comes from A PHOTOGRAPHER! This is as good as it gets for my 7 weeks picture. My hair hadn’t been washed from being sick and just NOT caring but hey, at least I showered and was able to get a picture! Yea, the baggy shirt doesn’t show much but at this point, there isn’t much to see! I promise, I’ll start wearing tighter shirts soon. Right now it just looks like I’ve eaten several doughnuts and cheese burgers instead of me actually growing a baby.

Did you know that the way they calculate what week you are on is rather confusing?? This picture above was at 7 weeks 1 day (according to my pregnancy app) which means that the update below is stuff that will be happening during the week? At least that is how I read it. I’m not sure when I should post the updates then? Should I post my 7 week update at the END of 7 weeks so that I can talk about my actual 7th week or post my 7 week at the beginning and talk about how I felt from week 6? Hmmmmm I guess I’ll figure it out. Any other pregnant folk or mama’s out there know what I’m talking about?

What’s going on with baby Relbot:

Hands and feet are emerging from developing arms and legs — although they look more like paddles at this point than the tiny, pudgy extremities you’re daydreaming about holding and tickling. Technically, your baby is still considered an embryo and has something of a small tail, which is an extension of her tailbone. The tail will disappear within a few weeks, but that’s the only thing getting smaller. Your baby has doubled in size since last week and now measures half an inch long, about the size of a blueberry.

Symptoms?

Nauseous. Nauseous. Nauseous. It’s literally life altering. On Sunday I ventured out with my sister in law to try out Preggie Pops from the maternity store and I kindly had her carry my bag so if I was spotted, my cover wouldn’t be blown. Thanks Jenn. 🙂 Being nauseous from the time you wake up until you go to bed with no relief is tough. It really has started to wear on me BUT I keep reminding myself that this is temporary and that I am SOOO thankful to be pregnant. God is my rock. I KNOW I can get through this.

Sleep?

I’m sleeping well. Other than having to get up to pee at least once a night, nothing has really changed. I AM having very vivid dreams which isn’t too unusual but some times they just get weird. For instance, I dreamt that I was babysitting and ground up a kid into coffee grinds to transport them better and then freaked out because I couldn’t get the kid back into it’s original form and then had to call the parents and tell them that I ground their kid up and I was sorry. What?????? It wasn’t bloody or gruesome or anything, more of just a matter of fact type dream. So weird. Maybe I’m watching too many episodes of Bones (great show by the way!).

Weight?

I’ve LOST 6 lbs so far. Yea, who knew that you just have to get pregnant to lose weight. Just kidding. The only reason I’m losing weight is because eating is SO hard. Ready to kick this all day morning sickness to the curb

Clothes?

Still in my normal clothes and jeans. I did buy one of those belly bands in hopes of still wearing my JCREW shorts this summer. I have not tried it out yet though.

Shout Out:

My best friend. My love. My husband. I am so thankful for this man. With me not feeling well, he has helped me out in SO many ways!! I could literally list a million things he has done in the past few weeks to try and make me feel better but that would take me all day to write out. I am so thankful to be married to such a wonderful man. Thank you Patrick for being there for me when I’m in tears from being so sick.

These are 7.5 weeks pregnant:

7.5 weeks

7.5 weeks

Tough decisions and ginger

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Hello 7 weeks! Hello Nausea! Hello other unwelcomed symptoms! So, I have been struggling with some severe nausea. It makes eating anything extremely unpleasant which is resulting in some weight loss. This is the first time in…. well, forever, that I haven’t been excited about losing weight! This past week ended up with my first round of ginger products to see if any of them help. Ginger tea, ginger ale, ginger coated in sugar (to help with taste) and finally straight ginger. Ginger Ginger Ginger!!! I’m not fond of any of these products but at this point…. I’m willing to try anything.

Now, let’s get onto my tough decision. When you’re pregnant, you are constantly making decisions from the first minute you find out. Which OBGYN? Where to deliver? When to tell family? When to tell friends? Should I throw up in the shower or try and get out quick enough to get to the toilet? Wait…. what? Yep. Totally happened yesterday. Decisions like THAT….. are tough and are something that I NEVER thought I would have to be making.  For those who are wondering, I made it to the toilet! 😉
Miss Jee's Photography_0992

Here are the ginger products I bought this week. Do you have any favorites that help with nausea?