Thank Goodness It's.....

FRIDAY!!!

Finally.  The week is over.  This has been a very long week.  I had a couple of really bad days and a couple of ok days.  I think I would classify today as an ok day. 

I got to work around 8:30 and I started working as soon as I sat down.  I was busy the entire day!  I had to prepare a bunch of stuff because I was going to be out of the office all next week for California.  Hurrayyyyyy!

I had lunch with two really great friends, Terri and Chet.  We went to Thai food and I had the lunch special.  Terri was kind enough to pay, which was so nice. 

I learned that the Social Media position that I'm interested in is going to be posted next week, and I'm excited to apply. 

Tonight I'm craving mashed potatoes so Arthur is making some.  Also, a pizza.  He got a weird frozen pizza in the mail from a survey company.  He's supposed to try cooking and tell them what he thinks.  I'm excited for the potatoes.  ;)

Tomorrow is get ready for trip day.  I will, however, be sleeping in.  I don't think I can deal with another 5:00 AM wakeup day.  Ugh!

How far along:  8 weeks, 1 day
How much time left:  31 weeks, 6 days
Top two symptoms:  Headache and Exhaustion.  My nausea was under control today because I really tried to keep my stomach half-full.  The headache was really bad before lunch, so I tried to eat some chocolate before I headed out.  It seemed to help. 

Favorite thing I ate today:  Tom Ka soup from the Thai restaurant.  It is a coconut milk soup, and I had it with some Jasmine rice.  Soo good!

Mood:  My mood today was good to great.  There were a few times during the day that I was super exhausted, but I tried to stay as happy as I could.

Worried about:  A few things.  The workload when I get back from vacation and being comfortable on the ride to and back from California.  I hope I can have a chance to get out and walk on the drive.  My legs will go crazy!!

Excited for:  Not thinking about work for a whole week.  :)

Whoops! Sorry I'm late...

I don't think I've meant to not blog these past 3 days... I think I just haven't felt very well and logging in to type how I'm feeling just hasn't sounded very fun.

My last post was on Sunday, and I was really struggling that day.  Since then, I've appreciated coming back to work and focusing on something other than being pregnant.

As of yesterday, I've started dealing with nausea at night that is so severe that I'm starting to throw up.  I went to Panda Express last night with Arthur and his little sister to celebrate her birthday.  When I got home, I was so nauseous that I threw up.  It was bad news bears.

I took a bath after to try to calm down and feel better, but going to sleep is really the only thing that helped me feel normal.  I am feeling slightly out of it this morning.

The good news is all of this, I'm not too tired today and I'm looking forward to this weekend because we are going to California!  We planned this vacation before I knew I was pregnant, and so I'll just have to be careful with not riding most rides.  We are going to Vegas on Sunday night, the driving to Disneyland on Monday.  We'll stay 4 nights in Anaheim and during those days we'll go either down to San Diego to Sea World, Universal Studios or to Disney.  We'll stay Friday night in Vegas at the Luxor, and then come back on Saturday so we can spend Sunday getting ready for a new week.

I'm looking forward to the time off most of all.  :)

In other news, my mom brought me a "care package" at work yesterday because I was so sick the night before.  I called her crying on Tuesday night because I was so sick.  She brought me some Andes mints, some caffeine free Diet Coke, some protein shakes and some mint tea.  She also brought me a couple of baby toys, the first ones we've received.  It was so nice of her.

Arthur and I also had fun last night with his little sister to celebrate her birthday.  We went to a place called "Color Me Mine" and we painted pottery with glaze.  It was really fun.  I will post pictures once they are ready to be picked up.  :)

How far along:  8 weeks TODAY!
How much time left:  32 weeks
Top two symptoms:  Nausea and bloating

Favorite thing I ate today:  So far, I haven't had much to eat.  I'm looking forward to eating something for lunch.  Not sure what I'm going to have, but I'm feeling like a TeriYaki Grill salad.  Yum...

Mood:  A little hopeless and frustrated with my body.  I know that it's a good thing that I'm feeling so gross, because it means that my baby is growing.  I struggle to feel positive and excited when I feel like dying inside.  I'm sure that focusing on something else, like vacation will help me get my mind off of everything.  :)

Worried about:  Being sick while on vacation.  I'm going to try to pack lots of snacks so I don't get an empty stomach and make sure I have plenty of time to sleep when possible. 

Excited for:  Pirates of the Caribbean!  Also, Disneyland food!  And, buying baby stuff from Disneyland!!  Wooo!

I would like to call this my "Blahg"

Blahg, because I feel blah today.  Now, close your eyes.  Think back to the worst bout of flu you ever had.  How did your head feel?  What about your stomach?  Did you feel like eating anything?  What about your energy?  How much did you have?  Now.  Picture doing normal, everyday things while feeling like this, all while acting positive.  Showering?  Working?  Cleaning? 

I am trying really, really hard to not stay positive, but to stay sane.  I know that this is EXACTLY what I signed up for, and I would never ever trade it, for anything.  I would have love to have prepared myself mentally for what this is.  I know there is no preparation for parenthood, or pregnancy... I think I just assumed that I would have control over a few things and would be used to the feelings of nausea and low energy.  I get that stuff anyways with gastric bypass.  But to be honest, this is not nausea, or exhaustion.  This is the flu.  But, it never stops.  Add on a headache that feels like a wooden vice is wrapped around your head, and the screws tighten every minute, or until you take a Tylenol or lie down.  The main things that make me feel better are lying down and sleeping. 

Now that I've got that over with, I feel slightly better.  Not really, but I figured I should write down how I'm feeling.  I know for a fact that I will never remember this a year from now, when I have a sweet little baby who is all I've ever wanted. 

I sincerely apologize to those of you who are reading this who just want to feel these symptoms and understand these emotions as your own.  It is not my intention to complain or downplay the miracle that is my pregnancy.  I do feel it is important to call out the frustrating things as well as the positive things.  I don't think I completely understood what this would feel like, for me anyway.  Some don't even have these symptoms or to the severity that I'm having them.  I might just be a baby, or unable to cope, but I'm experiencing them all the same. 

I am going to re-commit to trying to be more positive and focus on what I am enjoying as part of this experience.  I am enjoying having a family who is very excited for us.  I am enjoying having a husband who is endlessly patient with me, and even though I can tell he gets frustrated with me for being so lazy and so sick, he quietly does what he can to make sure I handle what I can, while he takes care of the rest.

So, I'm sure you can see what I did today.  I lay around a lot.  I did a few chores, and Arthur did the rest.  I worked a little bit in the morning because I had an end-of-week deadline.  Other than that, a bunch of naps and even more naps.

How far along:  7 weeks, 3 days
How much time left:  32 weeks, 4 days
Top two symptoms:  THE FLU OF DEATH.  Also, feelings of hopelessness and being done.

Favorite thing I ate today:  A vegan chicken patty.  Strange, but it was absolutely delicious.

Mood:  I won't rehash what I've typed above.  Let's just say... "unpleasant". 

Worried about:  Breaking eggshells.

Excited for:  Something else aside from pregnancy to focus on.  Work, anything.  Again, I would not trade this for anything in the world.  I made this choice, and I wanted - even prayed for it.  I'm not taking it back.  I'm just asking for a bit of relief. 

Relaxaturday

Today has been a very, very lazy day.  I haven't accomplished anything but playing games and watching TV.  It's been nice to have a day to do nothing.  :)

I woke up this morning for the first time at 4:30 after going to bed around 1:00 AM.  That was for my first pee of the day.  I was able to go back to sleep in my own bed until about 7 for my second pee.  Then I couldn't sleep in my bed any longer and had to eat something.  I made some toast and some yogurt.  I ate them and took my vitamins.  I was still so exhausted, so I went downstairs and went back to sleep on the couch.  I slept until about 9:30.  Then I woke up and peed and went back to sleep until almost 1.  I finally felt like I'd had enough sleep.

That's a rough part of this time in the pregnancy.  I can't just sleep through the night and get a solid 8 or 10 hours.  It comes in bouts with interruptions of needing to empty my bladder.  :\

Arthur and I had some lunch together and we watched Survivor and a few other shows.  I decided I needed to take a bath, because my body was hurting everywhere.  So I did that, and then sent a few Facebook messages to extended family letting them know I was pregnant.

I know that because our immediate families know, the news was going to spread like wildfire.  So, trying to catch those that should know directly from me, I sent them messages letting them know.

It felt good getting a few replies already, and I think they appreciated being told personally.

Tonight, I'm not feeling so hot, so Arthur and I are going to skip Ka'Lea's baptism.  I feel bad, but I also know that pushing myself to get up and out won't make me very happy.  I appreciate that Arthur is ok with staying in tonight.  :)

We're having leftovers from Thanksgiving tonight, which I'm way excited about.  Then we're going to go get a mint chocolate chip shake, my craving of the day.  I actually started craving it last night, but it's not gone away and so I need to eat it soon. 

How far along:  7 weeks, 2 days
How much time left:  32 weeks, 5 days
Top two symptoms:  Headache and body aches.  Today I also felt very out of it.  Blahhhh.

Favorite thing I ate today:  White toast on Grandma Sycamore's bread with strawberry jam.  So good.

Mood:  Because I felt gross, I've been pretty disconnected and frustrated today.  I hope I feel better tomorrow because I have to do my chores and stuff.  Gross. Gross. Gross.  

Worried about:  I still worry about keeping my pregnancy healthy so I don't miscarry.  I know that every day I progress, that I'm getting closer to when I'm in the "safer zone".  The second trimester means that my chances of miscarrying are lowered significantly.  I'm looking forward to that time, for sure. 

Excited for:  Something totally random!  I told my cousin Andrea, who is married to my cousin Justan that I'm pregnant.  She offered to knit me a newborn hat!  I was so happy to hear she wanted to do that!  I will have to think of a cute idea to have her knit.  I think I'll wait to find out the gender first.  :)

Announcement Thursday and Friday!

Happy Black Friday!  By the clock, it's actually almost 1:00 AM on Saturday morning, but to me it's still Friday because I haven't gone to bed yet.  It's a wonder that I'm still awake!

I didn't get to blog yesterday because it was such a crazy Thanksgiving day.  Arthur and I woke up early and he started cooking around 8:30 AM.  He cooked straight through until everyone arrived at our house, around 4:00 PM.

I am a terrible cook, so I didn't do much of anything to prepare the food.  What I did was clean.  I cleaned the family room, the living room, the bathrooms and the dining room.  It was a joint effort in that way.  I can't even imagine what it would be like to have to do all of the cooking and cleaning by myself.  I admire my mother-in-law and my mom even more now after seeing how much work goes into one Thanksgiving dinner.

Arthur was a rockstar.  He cooked a 24 pound turkey, mashed potatoes, two kinds of gravy, two kinds of green bean casserole, 4 kinds of stuffing, sweet potato yams, corn, cranberry sauce and 7 different kinds of pies.  Everything was from scratch.  He never sat down once, all day.  He cooked straight through the day.  His only break was to take a shower, and during that time I helped him by watching the potatoes to make sure they didn't boil over.

Dinner was delicious and we had a big group.  It was Arthur's family, including his mom, his dad, his brother Eli, his sisters Sunny and Autumn, his Great Aunt Joan, and his mom's friend from work, Patrick.  Arthur is taking the picture so he's not in it.  Here's our Thanksgiving table:

After dinner, we played a game with the group.  We played Scribblish.  It's a really fun drawing game.  After the game we were either going to play Settlers of Qatan or watch Arthur Christmas downstairs.  I asked if we could take a family picture in front of the tree.  I also asked Patrick (the visitor) if he could take the picture.  I showed him how to use the camera, and I went downstairs with the group.  He took a couple of practice pictures and then it was time for our big reveal.  :)

The first picture is right after two practice shots.  Arthur said "Ok, this one is the real one... everybody say... 'GENEVIEVE'S PREGNANT!'  It hadn't sunk in just yet, but the pre-reaction is helpful to compare the other reactions to.  Thank goodness Patrick was good at photography, because he kept snapping shots and got a bunch of great reaction photos.  

Everyone was thrilled.  It was a great way to document the announcement, and I really loved how happy everyone was.  Arthur's mom cried, and we were excited most to tell her because our due date is her birthday (July 11).

After we told everyone, we sat around for a little while and I answered the normal questions like whether or not I am sick.  It was fun talking about it really openly.

All-in-all it was a great day.

Today I couldn't get up to go Black Friday shopping because I was too exhausted from the day before.  I slept in and lounged around the whole day.  I spent a little bit of time working on my picture frame for my mom.  I printed out a picture of each grandchild when they were less than 6 months old.  I put them each in a picture frame with 4 windows.  In the bottom right corner window, I put a picture of the words "July 11".  Arthur and I wrapped it up and we took it to her this evening.

After we went to Chili's for dinner, everyone was gathered in the living room.  I gave my mom the present and she opened up the frame.  She looked at it for a minute and couldn't understand what the "July 11" meant.  She asked me "What's July 11?  Are you expecting?"  It then hit her and she started screaming.  I looked around at everyone's reaction, and everyone was freaking out.  Adrienne and Leo started to cry and I got up and hugged everyone.  They were all so surprised.  Adrienne was screaming and cheering, she was so happy.  My  mom was also very happy, and was crying.

Brielle and Adam were freaked out because everyone was so happy.  It was great to be able to tell my family because I have been so ready to share the news.  :)

I didn't get any pictures of their reactions because it wasn't really the time or the place to take a bunch of pictures... but the memories are there, and that's what matters.

It turns out that my sister was really sick with Brielle, for her first pregnancy.  She said she also had headaches.  It's comforting to know that she went through those things too.  When we asked Brielle if I was having a girl or a boy, she said I was having a girl.  She also said that I wasn't having twins, just one.  It was cute to hear Brielle get all excited.  I got more hugs from her tonight than I've ever had.  I loved it.

My mom also called my Grandma Frazer (her mother) and I got to tell her.  My mom also called my Aunt Zebby and told her.  It was cool to know that my family knows.  I'm not going to announce it on Facebook, because I really don't think it's the place for me to tell people.  I will probably tell people individually, as the opportunities come up.  I'm not an extremely public person, so the individual method will have to be what it is.

The announcements were a success overall.  :)

How far along:  7 weeks, 1 day
How much time left:  32 weeks, 6 days
Top two symptoms:  Headache and exhaustion.  I took a lot of Tylenol yesterday because my headache was so bad.  My nausea can be controlled by eating.  Exhaustion comes in with not getting enough sleep and feeling generally gross in the morning when I first wake up and not being able to go back to sleep.  :\

Favorite thing I ate today:  Leftover mint chocolate Oreo pie!!  Yummo!

Mood:  Calm, not overly emotional.  I have been able to keep my emotions in check pretty well these past few days. 

Worried about:  Keeping this pregnancy healthy so I can make it to my due date.  Now that I've told everyone, I feel an extra pressure to make sure that I'm not miscarrying.  I know it's completely out of my control, but I can still focus on the positive things I can control, such as my diet and activity level.

Excited for:  Christmas.  Everyone talked about gift ideas when we told them today - and it was fun to think about some of the different things we might get for the baby.  :)  Hurray!!!

Wednesday "Friday"

Three day work week!  Since Thanksgiving is tomorrow, and I get the day after off, it's a short work week.  I worked from home this morning and this afternoon I'm going to help Arthur go shopping for food for tomorrow's Thanksgiving dinner since we're having it at our house.  I'm really excited for the food! 

I didn't get a chance to blog yesterday.  It was a pretty normal day, nothing out of the ordinary.  The good news was that my headache didn't bug me at all during the day, probably because I was able to eat some chocolate and keep it under control.  I still didn't take the medication that was prescribed to me, since I really haven't needed it.  I'm pretty proud of myself for powering through it and keeping my mind focused on the positive.

I found out this morning that I didn't get the job.  I am ok with it, because I was really stressed about how I would have balanced maternity leave with this really stressful position.  I feel like my preparation was not like I would have liked it to be, and I think my stress may have shown through.  It's ok.  I'm going to focus on the positive side, that I didn't have to make a decision and that I can look forward to other opportunities that come up in the next few months.  I can also stop stressing about how I would work a new job against my upcoming December schedule.  It would have been crazy!  I really do like what I do and I'm sad that I feel like I have to look for something different.  But unfortunately, I do.

How far along:  6 Weeks, 6 days - 7 weeks tomorrow!!
How much time left:  33 weeks, 1 day
Top two symptoms:  Terrible, horrible, no good bloating and nausea.  It's dumb that as soon as my headache went away that the bloating dropped in.  Ugh!!!

Favorite thing I ate today:  A tomato!  With salt!  It was so good!

Mood:  Normal.  A little annoyed at my bloating and a little frustrated that I didn't get the job, but overall - I'm ok. 

Worried about:  Getting my announcement stuff ready before tomorrow and Friday to let my family and Arthur's family know I'm pregnant.

Excited for:  Arthur's mom is coming over tonight and I'm excited to make pies with them.  I love to eat pie, I'm just not sure how much I will love making them!  I'm sure it will be a blast.  :) 

UnFunMonday

Happy Monday!  Today was really long.  I had a fairly relaxing weekend, and to have to get up and go back to work... it was tough.  I got to work around 8:00 and had a few meetings in the morning.  Around 9:30 or so, my head pressure issue was getting worse already for the day.  I chatted with my friend who suggested I just call my OB/GYN to see if I should be worried. 

When I called, the nurse said that it wasn't normal, and that I should be checked for high blood pressure.  She asked if I could come in today.  I told her I could take a long lunch, and that I could be there by 11.  She was able to get me in, no problem. 

I left work around 10:15 to get there by 11.  When I checked in, they told me to pee in a cup.  I guess they wanted to see if I really was pregnant.  After I did that, the nurse came in and said that I was pregnant.  It made me laugh, because obviously I know.  :)

She took my weight, I've gained about 10 pounds since I found out I was pregnant.  I think the weight gain is normal.  She said I shouldn't worry too much about it in the first trimester.

She also took my blood pressure and told me I was on the lower range of normal.  It felt good to hear that, knowing that my efforts to eat better had paid off since the last time I went in. 

She took me to another room and I waited for the Dr.  He came in and told me congratulations as well.  He asked me how my symptoms were and thanks to this blog, I was able to tell him exactly when I started to have the head pressure and nausea.  He said that since it wasn't my blood pressure, then it was probably the hormones.  He prescribed me with Fioricet, which is a mixture of caffeine, Tylenol and Butalbital, which is a barbiturate.  I have not been eating any chocolate, or having any caffeine of any kind, so it kind of scared me that he wanted me to take it.  I asked him if it's safe and he said yes.  He said that many pregnant women get headaches, and they take this medication and are just fine.  I am still weary and will only take it if it gets absolutely unbearable.  

After my appointment, I kept working through my daily stuff, and my boss came back from a Dr. Appointment as well.  She sat us all down and told us that she is also pregnant, 12 weeks along.  I'll be 7 weeks on Thursday.  It was interesting to see that she had kept it a secret all along, even when I told her that I was pregnant.  She feels it's bad luck to tell people that you're pregnant until you have a heartbeat.  I felt sort of dumb, mostly because I had been so quick to tell her.  But, I had to realize that everyone is different, and I needed to respect that.  Ultimately, I'm glad to have someone else to go through this with.

Because my Dr. told me at my appointment that it was ok to eat chocolate in limited amounts, I had a few Hershey's peppermint bark kisses.  It really helped!  I also had a bit of chocolate on my pumpkin pie tonight and I don't have any head pressure or pain tonight.  It's a miracle!!  Who would have thunk a little caffeine would help!??

How far along:  6 Weeks, 4 days
How much time left:  33 weeks, 3 days
Top two symptoms:  Exhaustion and Nausea.  Thank goodness the head stuff went away.   :)

Favorite thing I ate today:  Pumpkin Pie!  My little brother and his girlfriend made some for their Friendsgiving yesterday, and so I got to eat the leftovers.  So good!

Mood:  Until I got off of work, my mood was cranky.  Even with the good news of the low blood pressure.  Once I got off of work, I felt like I could disconnect and enjoy time at home. 

Worried about:  How I will handle my new ability to have chocolate.  I will have to be really careful and stay away from it if possible.  I will eat some to keep my headaches at bay, however.  ;)

Excited for:  I am excited for our ultrasound on December 14.  I'm looking forward to hearing our baby's heartbeat and knowing that everything is going well.  For now, I have to rely on my symptoms and the fact that my period still hasn't started.  Phew!!