Things are still going well. I've made a few changes to my diet, exercise, and daily to accomodate my new lifestyle.  :o)

I've changed up some of my meals at work and at home to ensure a wider variety of nutrients are being consumed. One of the biggest changes is drinking more milk. Instead of coffee for breakfast, I have milk. And instead of water for dinner,  I have milk. I also try to get at least one other serving of milk, either in the form of yogurt or cottage cheese. But last night, I got the crazy craving for strawberry milk. So, my husband ran up to the store and bought me some strawberry syrup!! Yummy! Its quite pricey calorie-wise at 100 calories per serving so I will have to make sure I dont over do it with the syrup! But man, that really hit the spot.

I also am in the process of increasing my water consumption from 8 to ten glasses a day. It doesnt seem to be too difficult, as Im always thirsty. I noticed over the weekend, that I had forgotten to drink water early in the day and my kidneys started hurting! Man, Im sensitive. Thankfully, I fixed the problem by catching up on my water.

At work, I now make breakfast mandatory.  In the past, I would only eat if I only felt truly hungry. Usually, I would have oatmeal with flaxseed. Well, the last time I had that, it made me sick. So no more oatmeal for me. Now, I start my work days off with whole grain toast topped with peanut butter (and sometimes thats topped with sliced banana!)  or cottage cheese and a small orange/apple juice (fortified with calcium). Or, I will start my weekday morning off with a scrambled egg, milk, orange juice, and toast. Both meals are very filling and as well as fill nutritional requirements for whole grains, protein, healthy fats, fruit, and calcium.

Lunch and snacks at work is usually a frozen meal, a side salad of spinach, LF cottage cheese or FF yogurt, fruit (banana, orange, berries, melon), and a V-8. Yummy.  That usually keeps me full for about two hours, then Im starving again!

Dinner is usually another salad, lean protein, a side of veggies, and a glass of milk.  Thankfully, by this point, my intestines are chockful of food that I normally cant eat anything after 6pm. But, if I do feel some hunger pains, I will try to make a healthy snack of fruit (currently, its big juicy strawberries!) or another glass of milk.

Exercise right now is daily 2-3 mile walks with the family. For some reason, the walks seem to wear me out quicker than before. Its like I have to use more effort to put one foot in front of the other! Oh well, at least it helps me sleep better. Im hoping to  add some toning exercises back in once my energy returns (2nd trimester??).

Sleeping seems to increase a little more each day. In the past, I felt guilty sleeping during the day, but not anymore! For example, I used to read on my commute to and from work, but instead I find myself craving naps. Also, after exercise, I tend to get really sleepy and feel the urge to take a nap. I find that the little naps energize me, so will not ignore my body's request for sleep.

I also take a lot more breaks after doing housework, because it wears me out so quickly. I put my feet up and as I rest, I read all about baby stuff. I love learning whats going on inside me and what will happen in the future.  Some of its scares me, but Im looking forward to it all.

In other news, over the weekend, my husband and I stocked up on some books discussing pregnancy (we found a really good book for daddy to read so he can better understand what mommy is going through!) and breastfeeding. In the process, we discovered a cute "grandparents" book for our parents to fill out for our child. I also found this sweet little journal that I fill out during my pregnancy so that our child can read all about his/her story in the womb!

Symptoms:

nausea in the mornings, frequent urination, constant thirst, bloated at the end of the day (I had to unbutton my dress slacks last week to feel comfortable on the commute home!), cravings (donuts, muffins, fried chicken, potato salad, Cracker Barrel for breakfast, Captain D's fried fish [I usually hate this restaurant!], red meat, strawberries, watermelon, milk), vivid dreams about parenthood and babies, disgusted by the look and smell of coffee (I LOVE coffee!), knee and back pains, tender breasts, extreme fatigue, always hungry.

Total Weight Gained: Thursday = 2 lbs, Saturday= 1 lb, Monday= 3 lbs (my eating was sub-par over the weekend!)

My appointment went very well yesterday. This was my first time talking with a Certified Nurse Midwife and I have to say that I liked it very much. She and I have a lot in common. For starters, we have phonetically identical names (her name is Ginny!). She also very health conscious like me (she was blown away by the fact I had lost and kept off 60 pounds!) and is also in the process of trying to conceive. Anyway, long story short, she made me feel at ease, which makes me very happy!

She did the usual physical examinations/tests and all turned out well.  She also prescribed me Citracal with DHA prenatal vitamins to help me with my constipation (ick!). However, the nicest surprise was that they performed a transvaginal ultrasound! I didnt think I was going to have one because of how early I am in the pregnancy. Anyway, I got to see the gestational sac and yolk sac. It took my breath away when I saw it!

At the end of the visit, they gave me a picture of the tiny little thing, a welcome to pregnancy gift bag, and set up an appointment for four weeks from now (May 22). On that day, they will do another ultrasound to figure out my due date. According to my calculations and the sonographer's opinion, Im approximately 4.5 weeks and am due right after Christmas.   

Symptoms:

breast tenderness, join pain (knees, left elbow, and sometimes hips when I shift positions or accidentally overextend my legs as I walk), frequent urination, increased thirst and hunger, some cravings (mostly for milk!), fullness sensation below navel, slightly extended belly under the belly button, slight headaches, burping a lot, slight dizziness, slight nausea (no vomiting), extreme fatigue, restlessness, distracted, vivid dreams

I had a lovely weekend with my family. Saturday was my husband's birthday, but he wasn't the only one who was surprised with gifts. Allen and I decided to give my sister a cute "I Heart My Aunt" photo frame to tell her the good news. Needless to say, she was shocked and extremely thrilled! It was nice being able to share this news with her. Two days of keeping a secret from her was almost torturous!

Allen and I have already began making some changes in the house in order to prepare for the little lamb's arrival. The first thing we did was move our fully stocked, barely used bar into a walk-in closet and then filled the bare spot with our office equipment. The desk and computer looks quite nice in the basement! The next step will be to empty the rest of the nursery by having a huge yard sale in the very near future. Perhaps the money we will earn can go towards our decorating supplies!

In other news, my first appointment with my CNM is tomorrow. I'm both nervous and excited!

Symptoms:

extremely sore breasts, dizziness, waves of nausea (no vomiting), slight headaches, fatigue, increased urination, increased hunger, joint pain (knees), lower back pain, fullness in abdomen (less twinges of discomfort), clumsiness, forgetfullness, slowed digestion, lots of burping, weepy/overly emotional, giddy, weight fluctuations (ranges from -2lbs to +3 lbs), extremely vivid and/or bizarre dreams

Total Weight Gained:  3 lbs

After 7 months of trying, our prayers have been answered! Every month, during the two week wait, I would daydream and research the heck out of all of my "symptoms". A lot of what I felt matched those listed in numerous pregnancy sites, so as you can imagine, I was pretty heartbroken when my period showed up. Not this time though!!

We haven't told anyone the good news yet, basically because we want confirmation from our CNM and obstetrician. Once confirmed, my sister will be the next to know. We will probably wait until after the first trimester to tell the rest of our families and friends. Keeping this a secret will be really difficult!!

I started suspecting the pregnancy on Friday the 13th. I developed severe congestion, a stuffy nose, and a tickle in my throat. By Monday, my nose was running like crazy. I must have sneezed a billion times and blew my nose just as much! It is starting to clear up today, which is nice, since I miss breathing through my nostrils!!

The most obvious thing I've noticed is the variety of sensations I feel in my lower abdomen, just below my navel. It feels like muscle fibers being stretched, twisted, and pinched. Some of the sensations are quite painful - enough for me to say ouch out loud!! I also feel menstrual-like cramps every now and then, which isnt very comfortable either.  My chest is extremely tender as well. Its impossible to lay on my tummy anymore, since it feels like Im squishing the life out of my boobs and fuller stomach. Thankfully, my second favorite sleeping position is on my left side, so I should survive! 

My lower back is hurting really bad and nothing seems to alleviate the pain. I've had numerous headaches, which only seem to go away right after I eat something. I've had minor waves of nausea and dizziness hit, but nothing too major. My digestive system has slowed  tremendously, so Im not eliminating as frequently in that department. However, urination has increased a lot!  Im peeing at least 4 times an hour, which looks especially silly at work! 

My energy level varies from day to day. Yesterday was exhausting, but Im feeling great today. Hopefully, I'll have more of the latter later.  Oh, and I've felt uncomfortablly hot the past two weeks too! Usually, Im freezing to death at work and on the bus that I use to commute to and from work! I guess I can leave my emergency sweater jacket at home now!

However, the most bizzare things I've experienced are extremely vivid dreams. The one that tops the cake is the dream I had on the night before I found out I was pregnant (aka the day my period was supposed to arrive). All night, I dreamt about the question "When is your period coming?" All sorts of voices were asking this question (me, my husband, friends, family, co-workers) incessantly. Needless to say, I didnt sleep very well. It made me restless because I spent the entire night obsessing over this question that I didnt know the answer to! Of course, I have my answer now!!

Total Weight Gained: 0 lbs