This past weekend, we held our annual garage sale. This meant I had to wake up extremely early to prepare for it! That was difficult, as I usually use the weekends to sleep in and catch up on sleep! Anyway, the sale went fairly well - we had beautiful weather and many customers. We donated the unsold items to a homeless shelter, which felt great.

Our garage sale stuff had been stored in the ex-office/future nursery. As soon as the sale was over, Allen wanted to start painting the room! So, we covered the floor and taped the trim and painted away (I wore a mask to prevent inhalation of fumes)! This was our first time painting walls, so we were quite impressed with our work! The room is green with white trim and cream carpet. It looks refreshing and soothing - much better than the three white walls and a sky blue accent wall it used to have. 

Afterwards, we moved the baby furniture in (changing table, 5 drawer dresser, my mother's rocking chair) and hung a Classic Pooh sheer over the window. It looked quite nice. Then, we decided to go on a treasure hunt for a Classic Pooh border to put around the top of the nursery. After scouring three Targets, we finally found what we were looking for. They only had four 5 yard rolls left, so we snatched them all up!! After a three day wait (to ensure the paint was dry), we put up the border. It looks so adorable. Once we get a few more things (crib, wall art, rug, etc), I'll post some pictures of the nursery.

Speaking of pictures, I plan on posting a photo or two of me and my new curves. Also, next week after my check-up, I hope to be uploading new pictures of our little lamb! Can't wait!

Symptoms:

I'm feeling a little better than the previous week. Nausea usually appears at bedtime, when I switch positions. My chest is less sensitive and only hurts when a lot of pressure is put on it  (a tight hug, for example).  Bathroom trips are still frequent, but I dont mind so much (except at night when Im trying to sleep).  I get hungry often, but still seem to fill up quickly. Cravings are getting more intense. Lately, I've been craving a ton of fruit and a wide variety of dairy products. Im enjoying milk (chocolate, strawberry, plain), tons of cheese (cottage cheese, block cheese, string cheese, cheese cubes, grilled cheese sandwiches, parmasan cheese) and ice cream. Dreams remain bizarre and intense, which I think has effected my quality of sleep. Moodswings are not as strong, but when I have them, they are bad!  I have major nose issues - stuffy, sneezy, and lots of nosebleeds! My nails and hair continue to grow faster. 

The biggest issue now is my belly. I had an embarrassing thing happen to me on Monday regarding it. I was wearing some button up jeans (which I had dragged out of my old "fat' clothes stockpile) when all of the sudden they became extremely uncomfortable in the belly area. The only solution to get comfortable was to unbutton them - not one button, but two!! I walked around work with a jacket zipped up so noone could see my jeans gaping open (I had a long shirt on but you could see my jeans doing something funky under it!). Then yesterday, I was wearing a nice pair of slacks when I discovered that the force of my expanding belly ripped out the top fastener on my pants! Thankfully, the second fastener and zipper kept me from becoming pantless!

I read that near the end of the first trimester that the uterus starts moving out of the pelvic region, so this is most likely the cause of my clothing malfunctions. I guess this means that it is time to start buying some maternity clothes. Im  both excited and nervous!!

Total Weight Gained: 8 lbs

Well, I survived another week of secrecy! I've been hiding my growing tummy like a pro, but it is becoming increasingly hard with my current wardrobe! I'm trying to hold out on buying maternity clothes until the 2nd trimester. Truth be told, Im really looking forward to finding all sorts of cute clothes to show off my bump!!

Last Saturday, my husband and I attended the Christening of our friends' 5 month old daughter. What a beautiful ceremony. Their little girl was so precious and well behaved!! She also had quite a personality, which reminded me a lot of her silly and animated Daddy. The best part was watching all the family members and friends gushing over this tiny little person. Very heartwarming! I couldnt help but think about how everyone will do the same thing for our little bambino one day.

Anyway, I was too exhausted to do anything else that day. In addition to normal pregnancy fatigue, I had a rough night the night before so I was short on sleep. As a result, I had to cancel out on a Girl's Night Out that I had wanted to attend later that evening. I still feel horrible about it! 

This week, we found out that my dad will be visiting us on the 22nd. By then, I will have had my third prenatal checkup (blood tests and a new sonogram!) and will be starting the 2nd trimester. We plan on telling him about his grandchild during his visit by revealing the nursery to him. This means we'll need to have it cleared out, painted, somewhat decorated, and move in the baby furniture in two weeks. That shouldn't be a problem!!

Symptoms:

Things are going a little better for me this week. The nausea is less prevalent. Instead of feeling strong waves of it on and off all day, it shows up (then fades away) if I make any sudden movements (tossing and turning, getting up too quickly, etc). I still have lower back pain and bloat. My cravings are getting more bizzare and Im always hungry. However, I tend to fill up quicker. My entire stomach is starting to bulge out which has expanded my waistline and reduced the number of garments I can wear from my pre-pregnancy days. My stomach looks most noticible in dress pants, but is much less noticible in jeans. My butt and chest are also getting bigger - Im gonna have to break down and buy bigger undergarments soon. Sigh!  Emotions are still running high and my dreams continue to baffle me. One dream involved me growing a beard identical to Allen's. Another dream involved an ex-boyfriend of mine visiting us via his state-of-the-art spaceship!

Total Weight Gained: Im holding steady at 7 pounds. YAY!

I had a really fun 4 day weekend! I went shopping and had lunch with my sister on Friday, went yardsaling on Saturday, went bowling and played boardgames on Sunday, and grilled out on Monday.

On Friday, while shopping with my sister, I looked at maternity clothes to get a better idea of what is available. I found some pretty cute items, so Im actually looking forward to getting them a little later. Oh, I tried on some regular fitted shirts and dresses in my normal size and discovered that I look horrible in anything tight. My belly looked horrible as it hung over my jeans and my big old boobs did not all fit in the chest portion of the dress. How depressing! Then at lunch, we were surrounded by tons of heavily pregnant women and new moms. One new little family sat right in front of me and I just about drooled all over their brand new baby girl. She was so precious!! And I loved how her Daddy interacted with her! So sweet!

On Saturday, we struck gold when we arrived at one yardsale - beautiful baby furniture! It was exactly what we were looking for! We got a white and green changing table and a matching 5 drawer dresser for $100! They match the color scheme we're wanting to do, so we wont have to paint them. The only thing that needed  changing was the safari themed knobs on the dresser, since we're leaning torwards a Classic Pooh theme. The sellers also had a crib on site, but someone else claimed it moments before we arrived. It matched perfectly with our two items and would have been a steal at $150 (the crib alone was worth $800 at the store they got it from!). Oh well. After we got done with the yard sales, we discovered a kid's consignment shop filled with all types of goodies. They sold out of their cribs, but thankfully, they update their website as new inventory comes in. I will be scouring that inventory list like a hawk!!

On Sunday, at the bowling alley, I wore myself out a lot quicker than usual. Usually, I can play four games before quitting for the day. This time, however, I started wearing out towards the last three frames of the second game! Needless to say, my score was horrendous on the third game!! And the worse part is that its been three days and Im STILL sore from bowling. Wow!

Monday, my husband and I got a phone call from a friend of ours. She shared the good news of getting engaged to her boyfriend last week (the day after we saw the little lamb)! Like my other newly engaged friend, she also plans on having a Spring 2008 wedding. So, I will have plenty of motivation to shape up after the baby is born. I wanna look good for both celebrations!

Anyway, things are going pretty well with me. Im still steadily gaining weight at 1-1.5 pounds a week. From what I can tell, it is all going to my chest and belly. My selection of current size pants is slowly shrinking, however my size up pants look too baggy on me. Some of my dress shirts and graphic tee's seem shorter (due to my expanding boobs), so Im having a slightly harder time dressing up for work and going out. So, whenever Im not in public I wear nice stretchy yoga pants and extra long tank tops. They seem to grow as grow, which is nice when I want a comfortable but fitted look (yes, I hate looking sloppy, even when I relax!).

Mood swings have been crazy. Im flying through all of my emotions at least once a day. I tend to get angry easily, cry at the drop of a hat over the stupidest things, and can be hyper as a kid on a sugar rush.

Cravings are still present. The weird thing is that my sister had a sympathy craving for me. She blurted out that she wanted to make oatmeal raisin cookies. God bless her! I have been yearning for those for about two weeks now. Anyway, she made a small batch Sunday night and they were all gone Monday morning. Yum!! Oh, on Memorial day, I craved strawberry shortcake. We remedied that one by using a tiny portion of angel food cake, strawberries and blueberries , and fat free cool whip. YUMMY!!

Dreams have been very weird. I've had a few naughty dreams, but the majority of my nocturnal visions have been nightmares! They aren't really scary per se, but they always are centered around intense frustration and a severe lack of control - both of these are feelings that I really fear and hate!

Anyway, only about 3 weeks left until we can tell the world our good news. Its been so hard keeping this to ourselves! Can not wait!!

Symptoms:

sore breasts, frequent urination, nausea (no vomiting), gag reflex to certain smells/sights/words, exhaustion, bloat, gas pains, frequent burping, slight discomfort (twinges) in abdomen, sore joints (knees), slight back pain, nails and hair growing faster, skin breaking out on my neck, bizzarre dreams, constant cravings for particular items, mood swings (depression, anxiety, hyper, anger)

Total Weight Gained: 7 lbs

It seems like we have been waiting for this day for forever!! I was so excited and nervous for this appointment that I had trouble sleeping last night. I woke up at 3am and could not fall back to sleep. I even attempted my trick of relaxing myself by shampooing and conditioning my hair with lavender scented stuff (at 330am!). I still had problems falling back asleep!

I had a long morning at work, mainly due to the fact of the heavy smoke that northwesterly winds brought up from the wildfires taking place in south Georgia and north Florida. I felt like I was going to suffocate!! Thankfully, I found a fan to help circulate the air around in the office which made the air half decent to breathe!

I got home about 2pm and ate a good size snack of fresh fruit (chunks of watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, strawberries, pineapple, white grapes, and red grapes - Yum!) and chocolate fat free milk. It kept my mind off the appointment as I waited for Allen to get home.

My husband finally got home and we left for the appointment together. They immediately called us in, which was a nice surprise.  My CNM decided to start the appointment off with the transvaginal ultrasound, since she had to leave for the hospital (30 minutes away on a good day!) to deliver a baby.

My eyes immediately teared up when I saw our little lamb. Its tiny heart was beating at a healthy 175 beats per minute. He/She appeared to be dancing and having a grand ole' time in there! His/Her dance routine reminded me of how Allen dances when he's excited about something. So cute!!  Anyway, both the CNM and sonographer said all is well with the little tyke and that he/she is measuring 8 weeks, 4 days. This gives him/her a due date of December 28th , so we're either having a Christmas baby or a New Year's baby!  

After the sonogram, we discussed what will take place at the next appointment, which will be in 4 weeks. I will be doing a series of  blood tests as well as have another ultrasound done. Im not thrilled about the bloodwork, but I am excited about experiencing my first transabdominal ultrasound! 

Symptoms:

breast tenderness, nausea (no vomiting), scatterbrain, fatigue, vivid dreams, cravings, abdominal ligament pains when I make sudden movements, skin on neck breaking out, fingernails growing fast, dizziness, frequent urination, mood swings, very emotional, bloat, increasingly tight pants!!!

Total weight gained: 5 lbs