Oh, my little peach!

How far along? 13 weeks

Due Date: August 2nd

Total weight gain/loss: -2 pounds

Maternity clothes? Just 1 pair of maternity jeans.  I'm still getting by with my regular shirts at this point.

Stretch Marks? Nope and I'm hoping to avoid these.

Sleep: My sleep is so restless lately.  I get up to pee 3-5 times per night and then wake up to change positions every 1-2 hours.  UGH!

Best moment this week: It's the LAST week of my first trimester!!!  YAAAY!

Movement: Still too early for this.

Food cravings: Chips and guacamole from Chipotle or Santa Fe and hummus.

Food aversions: Still chicken!

  

Gender: We won't know for about 5 more weeks.

Labor Signs: None, and let's keep it that way for a long while.

Belly Button in or out? Still in, of course.

What I miss: My energy!

What I am looking forward to:  The beginning of my 2nd trimester next week and also my next doctor's appointment on that same day.

Milestones:  Fingerprints have formed on your baby's tiny fingertips, her veins and organs are clearly visible through her still-thin skin, and her body is starting to catch up with her head — which makes up just a third of her body size now. If you're having a girl, she now has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries. Your baby is almost 3 inches long and weighs nearly an ounce.

Better late than never (12 weeks)

How far along? 12 weeks 3 days

Due Date: August 2nd

Total weight gain/loss: -1 pound

Maternity clothes? Just bought my first maternity clothes this week.  Picked up a GREAT pair of Gap maternity jeans 40% off and they are my heaven.  I had a few gift cards to Motherhood, as well, so I bought some shirts and a dress too even though I really don't need those yet.

Stretch Marks? Nope and I'm hoping to avoid these.

Sleep: I'm sleeping pretty good minus the 3-5 bathroom trips and really vivid dreams at night.  I was asleep last night at 6:30 pm and slept til 8:30 am.  YIKES!

Best moment this week: My nausea is almost completely GONE!

Movement: Still too early for this yet.

Food cravings: Food in general now that I'm not as nauseated.

Food aversions: Still chicken, although I was able to eat some in some stir-fry my mom made the other night and I had no problems.

  

Gender: We won't know for about 6 more weeks.

Labor Signs: None, and let's keep it that way for a long while.

Belly Button in or out? Still in, of course.

What I miss: Feeling like I have a bunch of energy on my days off to get lots of things done.

What I am looking forward to: My 2nd trimester....it's right around the corner!!!!!

  

Milestones: The most dramatic development this week: reflexes. Your baby's fingers will soon begin to open and close, his toes will curl, his eye muscles will clench, and his mouth will make sucking movements. In fact, if you prod your abdomen, your baby will squirm in response, although you won't be able to feel it. His intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into his abdominal cavity about now, and his kidneys will begin excreting urine into his bladder.  Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and in your baby's brain, synapses are forming furiously. His face looks unquestionably human: His eyes have moved from the sides to the front of his head, and his ears are right where they should be. From crown to rump, your baby-to-be is just over 2 inches long (about the size of a lime) and weighs half an ounce.

Sweet Slumber

Yesterday my Leachco Back and Belly pillow came in the mail from Amazon.  I was super stoked since it arrived about 6 pm, and of course I had already been thinking about bedtime since I resisted a late afternoon nap that was calling my name.  I tore into the box and pulled my new sleeping companion out. 

She was beautiful and I couldn't wait to climb into bed and hopefully get a restful night of sleep.  I took a relaxing bath and crawled into bed.  I snuggled into the middle of this Big Bertha and.....

The angels sang from Heaven.  It was pure bliss, comfort at it's best, my answer to the pillow adjusting problem I've been struggling with for weeks.  I can turn from side to side and not move pillows around, which adds so much sleep time to my night.  I fell asleep in a few minutes and didn't wake up for 4 hours (only because I had to pee) and I was in the exact same position.  That is unheard of lately!  This pillow is especially magical while lying on your back, and for later in pregnancy when I need to stay off my back, the "legs" make perfect wedges.  Check out this link to see all the different ways to use this magical pillow. 

Now for the logistics.  Matt was concerned about how large it was.  It does appear mammoth, but when we put it in the bed, it actually takes up less room than my body pillow and the other 2 pillows I was using.  Although I don't think many hubbys would like this in anything smaller than a king size bed...it might be a tight squeeze.  Although if you can convince him to snuggle up to the other side, then it may be doable in a queen.  Also, it comes with a cover, but after further inspection once this arrived at my house, it doesn't have a zipper so it looks like it would be difficult to reapply after washing.  My solution?  I put a king size pillow case over each "leg" and draped another king size pillow case over where my head would lay.  It worked out rather well.  It's not glamorous, but neither is a pregnant girl who hasn't slept well.  I give this bad boy two thumbs up and would recommend it to anyone, not just girls with buns in their ovens, who needs more support while sleeping.  It would be great for those with back pain (my sciatic pain is so much better this morning) or hip pain.  It's not a cheap pillow at $59.99 (shipping is free), but I will gladly pay 60 bucks for peaceful sleep over the next several months.

10 weeks

How far along? 10 weeks

Due Date: August 2, 2011

Total weight gain/loss: +4 pounds thanks to the holidays.  I had been up 5 pounds, but thankfully I'm starting to get rid of some of that now.

Maternity clothes? Not yet, although I did break down the other day and order 1 pair of maternity jeans from Old Navy.  I'm waiting for those to come in the mail.  Everything still fits fine and I can still button my jeans, they're just not comfortable across my tummy anymore.

Stretch Marks? Not yet, and hopefully they stay away!

Sleep: I'm more exhausted than I've ever been in my life!  A month ago I was sleeping really well, but now I wake up a million times a night to pee, readjust pillows, switch sides, etc.  I ordered a Leachco Back and Body pillow from amazon.com this week and I'm hoping it helps with all my readjusting during the night.  I can still sleep 10-12 hours at night, take a 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon and be ready for bed at 9 pm again.

Best moment this week: Last Thursday, Matt and I got to hear the heartbeat of our baby for the first time with a doppler.  We also had another ultrasound and it was amazing to see how much our little one had changed in 2 1/2 weeks.  Our baby now actually looks like a little baby and even waved his/her arm up like he/she was saying "hi mom and dad" during our ultrasound!  It was pretty awesome!

Movement: It's definitely too early for this, but I found out at my ultrasound on Thursday that it looks like I have an anterior placenta (meaning the placenta is on the front of my uterus).  Generally, people with an anterior placenta feel less fetal movement because the placenta cushions some of the sensation.  This made me a little sad because now I think it will be even longer until I feel our little one move around in there.

Food cravings: It varies a lot from day to day.  Some days I only want one thing and then a few days later that same food will make me super nauseous to even think about it.

Food aversions: CHICKEN!!!  Well, meat in general, but especially chicken.

  

Gender: unknown

Labor Signs: none

Belly Button in or out? Innie.  I have a pretty deep belly button, so I doubt it will ever pop out.

What I miss: Feeling "normal."  I miss having energy to do things and the almost every day nausea is not a fun time either.

What I am looking forward to: Entering my 2nd trimester in 4 weeks!

  

Milestones: Today our baby is officially a FETUS!  He/she is swallowing fluid and kicking up a storm.  Vital organs - including the kidneys, intestines, brain, and liver are in place and starting to function.  Tiny nails are forming on the fingers and toes and peach-fuzz hair is beginning to grow on the skin.  Our baby's limbs can bend now and the outline of the spine is clearly visible.  From crown to rump (not including the legs) our little baby is about 1 1/4 inches long.  Grow baby grow!

Coming August 2, 2011

Matt and I finally announced to our families that we are expecting Baby #1.  It was quite the Christmas surprise for everyone.  All of our families were overjoyed...Matt's mom was even brought to tears when we shared the news.  My Grandma Games was thrilled with the news, but there was an added bonus for her.  My grandpa had just passed away when we shared the news with her, and I happen to be due on his birthday.  I know my grandpa is smiling in Heaven knowing this little baby is on his/her way and is watching over us.

So far, this pregnancy has been interesting, to say the least.  My biggest challenges have been extreme exhaustion and nausea.  I've never been so tired in all my life!  I could easily sleep 10-12 hours at night, take a 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon and still be ready for bed by 9 pm.  I can't wait to get my energy back!  Also, nausea has been kicking my butt!  Luckily I've only thrown up twice, but the nausea is almost worse.  Oddly enough, I usually feel fine in the mornings, but by afternoon I start to feel queasy and by evening I can't stand the thought of food usually.  I also have odd cravings that change almost daily.  I was on a huge mashed potatoes and gravy kick for a few days and now the thought of that makes me want to hurl.  Hopefully the next 4 weeks go by quickly and I start feeling more like myself soon!

A minor setback

So I had a minor setback in my running plan.  I started feeling a lot of medial knee pain in the knee I most recently had surgery on when I got halfway through my 2nd week of running.  I tried brisk walking one of the days I was supposed to run, but it was still really painful.  I was dying to use my new running shoes that I got last week and this was not helping me do that! 

Then last Friday while I was at work, I noticed that it really flared up.  As in, I was nearly limping by the time I got home from work and I was super crabby from the pain.  I thought it was just due to the fact that I was running my ass off all day at work.  I iced my knee that night and decided to take it easy all weekend (which was easy to do since it rained both days) and keep icing them.  It seemed to work and by Sunday night I was feeling like I could go back to running on my next day off. 

Enter Monday morning at work.  My knee felt fine for about the first 2 hours or so and then that same medial pain came back.  I wasn't even walking as much as I had on Friday.  Granted, I did have a "princess" patient that kept me on my toes, but it still wasn't as much walking as I did on Friday.  I started thinking that maybe it was the shoes I was wearing at work.  Merrill clogs.  I have been wearing this type of shoe at work for the last year or so, but recently got a new pair and that seemed to be when the knee discomfort increased.  Couple that with a new running routine, and I think I found the culprit.  I iced my knee that night and by morning it was feeling good again.  I decided I was going to wear the Nike Shox that I had with me at work on Tuesday and see if it helped.  In fact it did, and I had ZERO PAIN all day!!!  Amazing!

So now that you've read way more about my knees and shoes than you ever wanted to, let me get to the point of this story.  So I went back to my running plan today.  I figured since I had taken a little over a week off from running, that I should start back at the beginning and see how my stamina was.  I wore my new running shoes (which are heavenly) and got all the way through it without dying.  It was better than starting the first time, but I'm glad I did that first workout again.....it was still tough and I don't think I could've gotten through the Week 2 run today. 

I made sure to stretch REALLY well after my run....something I don't think I was doing well enough before, which could've contributed to the pain.  And now I'm sitting on the front porch cooling off, sipping water, and icing BOTH of my knees (just for good measure).  Hopefully this will get me back in the swing of things.  I still have 20 pounds to lose and I haven't lost anything since I started this journey.  Well, I had lost 3 pounds, but gained it back when I took my hiatus from running. 

Wish me luck and say a little prayer that my knees get stronger.  Happy running!!

C25K

So on April 7th I started quite a new journey for me.  I had read about the Couch to 5K program online and then a nurse I work with was talking about that she did it to lose the last of her baby weight after having her twins.  It's a 9 week program for people who aren't runners or haven't run in awhile.  The goal is to get you off the couch and able to run a 5K or 30 minutes in 9 weeks.  You're supposed to run 3 times per week with a day of rest in between each run day.  After reading some motivational stories of people who were obese and had completed this program, I decided to give it a go. 

Keep in mind my knees have been terrible since I was about 14 years old and it's been about that long since I've run anywhere (unless I was being chased)!  I won't take you through the program week by week (you can check out the site if you're interested), but I will say that the first week consisted of a 5 minute brisk walk to warm up and then alternating 60 seconds of running with 90 seconds of brisk walking for a total of 8 runs and then a 5 minute cool down walk.  I was really unsure if I could even JOG for 60 seconds straight without dying or my knees giving out.  I decided just to take it slow and not to push my knees too much and listen to my body.  I'll admit, the first day of my training was hard as hell!!!  I wanted to quit many times during that workout, but it was just me being out of shape....my knees weren't in pain at all!  I pushed through and was so proud of myself when I was done! 

My motivation for keeping up with the journey is to a) lose 20 pounds before getting pregnant and b) the theory that if I strengthen the muscles that support my knees that they will be more stable. 

I am on Week 2 Day 2 of this training and started to feel some pain behind one of my kneecaps last night and this morning.  After talking with some experienced runner friends today, I have decided that it is best to not do my run today and do a bike ride instead to rest my knee.  I will still get my cardio, but much less impact.  I was planning on going to a runner's store on Tuesday anyway to get fitted for new running shoes and I think that might help my pain.  I'm pretty sure my 2 year old Shox aren't the best thing for a girl with bad knees to be running in.  The place I'm going will analyze how my foot moves when I walk and run and my stride to find the best shoes for me!  Yay!!!  I know this will probably be pricey, but it's got to be worth it! 

I can't believe I'm really going to put this out there for the public to view, but I think it will help keep me motivated and accountable.  My weight the morning before my first run was 150.4 pounds (the heaviest I've ever been in my life).  UGH!  Like I said, I would like to lose 20 pounds to be at a healthy weight for me before getting pregnant.  I'll keep posting my progress with my weight and my training! 

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