Girl Named 10 weeks

Well, I made it to 10 weeks! The nausea is starting to subside, though it is still present. We had our first ultrasound this week, and got to hear the heartbeat! It was 180, so still really fast. It doesn't matter how many kids you have, hearing that heartbeat for the first time is one of the most amazing things. It makes me cry every time. We got a picture of baby, and I instantly fell in love! 

The Belly: I know it's not baby yet, but my amazing remembering belly is definitely getting bigger. It's now pretty noticeable that I'm either fat, or pregnant. 

Food: Although some aversions are gone, I still can't think about meat (cheeseburgers make me want to puke), vegetables in certain forms are still questionable. I haven't really had any cravings this week.

Baby: The size of a kumquat, although that doesn't mean anything to me because I don't know what that is.

Feeling: I'm less tired than I was, and less nauseous. I still have a few bad days here and there, but they're definitely getting more sparse, which gives me hope!

Activity: Still not enough energy for that! 

Girl Named 9 weeks

This week has not been much better, although after my awesome husband had to clean the house that weekend, he let me hire a housekeeper! She came for the first time Wednesday, and when I came home from work and my house was spotless, smelled good, and there were fresh cut flowers on the counter, I literally cried. He asked me "Are you crying??" Yes, yes I am. My house is clean and I didn't have to do it. Men don't understand, but it's such a huge burden and stress relief to have it done. Now I can come home and cook dinner (or bring it home...) and relax. Weekends I only have to worry about laundry because I know she'll be coming back again Wednesday! 

I finally called the doctor and had her call me in a prescription for Zofran. I took it all through both my other pregnancies, and while I haven't been as sick yet, I feel it coming. And it makes me feel better knowing I have it on-hand for when I need it. It helps with the nausea too, which is nice. 

The Belly: Still just fat.

Food: I've been able to eat a few more things this week, but I still have a pretty limited range. I still love PB filled pretzels and lemonheads.

Baby: The size of a grape!

Feeling: Still exhausted and nauseous. My daughter was sick this weekend, and I caught her cold, so throw that in the mix and I'm kind of miserable. Especially since I can't take anything. 

Activity: Okay, I'm starting to feel really lazy. I went from being really active to nothing, but I don't have the energy right now to do anything. Hopefully that will change soon. 

Girl Named 8 weeks

Well, I had more good days this week. I had my first doctor appointment on Wednesday, but it didn't turn out to be where I actually saw the doctor. I saw the nurse, peed in a cup, had 7 vials of blood taken, and was talked to in length about what to expect while being pregnant. They really should just skip that part for the 3rd pregnancy, I'm kind of a pro by now. 

We also went on vacation this week (mini-vacation) to the lake, and spent 5 days at the lake house with family and friends. It was so much fun, and so relaxing, but I SO didn't want to come back to work when it was time! Not to mention on my last day off I was so sick and tired I couldn't get out of the chair all day. C was sick too, so I had an excuse to not do anything because she stayed home from school with me. 

The Belly: Still nothing. I just look really chubby and bloated. I'm sure that can't be from all the extra food I've eaten...

Food: I'm down to snacking every 2-3 hours, so that's better. But still cravings of salty and sour things. The mere thought of a cheeseburger makes me almost puke, in fact it was even hard to type the word.

Baby: Now the size of a kidney bean!

Feeling: Exhausted, sick, nauseous, no energy.

Activity: Again, can't bring myself to walk or run. Hoping this "phase" ends soon so I can get back to exercising. 

Girl Named 7 weeks

Well, this week I had several days where I just wanted to lay around. Saturday and Sunday I was pretty much worthless, but luckily I have an amazing husband who did the laundry, washed and replaced sheets on all the beds, did dishes, cleaned the girls bedrooms and playroom, made meals, etc. He is awesomer than words can say, and I don't know what I'd do without him. 

The Belly: Still don't have one. Well...I do, but it's all bloat and food. 

Food: Once the nausea kicked in, I have to eat once an hour, literally. If I'm not putting food in my mouth, I feel like I'll throw up. Anything salty or sour - salt & vinegar chips, lemonheads, peanut butter filled pretzels.

Baby: Still tiny, about the size of a blueberry.

Feeling: Horrible. I had 4 bad days and 3 good days. I just want to be able to eat a normal amount of food and not feel like throwing up or passing out all the time!

Activity: Besides getting off the couch for a snack (and going to work every day), nothing!

Girl Named 6 weeks pregnant

I'm 6 weeks now, and it seems like it's been forever! (I'm writing this before we've announced to everyone) so it seems like forever before I can tell people! I just want to tell everyone I know. With the other 2 we told everyone around 8-10 weeks, so we will at least wait that long this time. I will be writing about the past week, but posting belly pictures from the day I am "that week", if that makes sense. I'm 6 weeks on Saturday, so I'll write about the previous week, and post a picture from Saturday. 

The Belly:
Well, I'm only 6 weeks but I look 4 months. I know it's bloating, and what I refer to as "My Amazing Remembering Belly". They say that with each pregnancy you "show" earlier and earlier because your body knows what to do, and your muscles just kind of relax into it. So, my belly is definitely relaxing at this point. I'm going to try and find my belly pictures from last time so I can compare them. 

Food:
Last week I was a bottomless starving pit. This week I'm hungry, but NOTHING sounds good. It sucks because I want to eat, but can't figure out what I want to eat. Popcorn has been my go-to food so far.

Baby:
About the size of a pumpkin seed, so not up to much right now. 

Feeling:
I have been SO tired (duh). I feel like I could sleep for days straight. Other than a day of heartburn before I even found out I was pregnant, I really haven't had any other physical symptoms. I am incredibly moody and bitchy (just ask Pete) and I cry a lot for no apparent reason. All normal. 

Activity:
Monday: Elliptical
Tuesday: Running
Thursday: Running
Saturday: Running

Girl Named...Terrified?

Well, I haven't made a post in a couple months, apparently. We've been busy! It's now time to share that we are pregnant with our 3rd baby, due in March! We have been waiting to share the news until we felt comfortable. We are so excited (and really hoping for a boy!). Before we "tried", I Googled "how to conceive a boy" and we did EVERYTHING on the list. I even bought a book about how to conceive the gender of your choice. I'll let you know if it works or not, for all of you that would like to try it too!

I am completely terrified to have 3 kids though. I remember being scared to have K, and not scared at all to have C because we already had one. I think I'm more scared to have #3 than I was either of the others! I'm just so worried about how it will affect our life, what our life will be like, how the other two will respond to it...I'm a planner, and for me not to know what will happen and what it will be like, seriously gives me anxiety! 

I will be posting weekly posts about my pregnancy (this is an idea I saw on another blog and loved it) but it's more for me and my kids one day, than for anyone else. I didn't keep a good record for the girls, and I'd like to for this one because I know it's my last chance! Since I waited a while, I will have 5 or 6 to post to catch up, then it will be weekly. 

My goal is to remain active (running, elliptical, bike, walking) for as long as I possibly can. I've read a lot of research about it, and there are SO many benefits to exercise during pregnancy. I didn't exercise at all the other 2 times, and I gained 40 and 50 pounds, respectively. The girls were both VERY healthy and I had healthy pregnancies, but I'm hoping if I eat right and continue to exercise, it will minimize some of my symptoms (like swelling, low energy, weight gain) and give me an easier delivery. I hope you enjoy this ride with me! I can't wait to share it with you!

Girl Named Gratified

   On Saturday April 13th I completed my first half-marathon. I "trained" for 13 weeks, and it didn't go as planned. I got sick a lot, went through 2 rounds of antibiotics, and missed a lot of training runs because of it. I went into the race not feeling ready, but I couldn't back out. The race was Rock the Parkway in Kansas City, and Pete was doing it too. We were staying with friends, and making it our anniversary weekend. We got there at 7:00 am, the race started at 7:30. I was very nervous - would I make it? Would I die? Would I pass out? Would I be last? all of these things were going through my head. There were 5,500 runners participating in the half, so I knew my chances of being last were pretty slim. It was 37 degrees when it started, and I was thankful I had packed a long sleeved shirt just in case. I was in the "G" wave, so my wave didn't start until about 7:42. I wasn't able to get up to my pace group because the crowd was too big, so I went at it alone - I crossed the start line, and started running. The first few miles went pretty quickly - I am a people watcher, and I spent most of it watching the people around me and deciding who would run my pace, who I should pass and who I should stay with. When I run, my wheelhouse is miles 4-7 - I feel really good in those miles in every run I do. When I hit 4 miles, I started to feel good and started making up some time. I was right on the pace I wanted to be at - about 13 minute miles. Then I made it to the hills. Hills are not my friends, they completely wear me out. I lost a lot of time from mile 6-8. Then I regrouped, got some water and a gel, and focused on the remaining 5 miles. About mile 10, I hit "the wall". I was so tired and my body was telling me that was it, I can't go any further. My hamstring was cramping, then my foot started cramping. About that time the 3:05 pace group caught up with me, so I told myself "stick with them until the end, it's only 3 more miles" (my loose time goal was under 3 hours, but with it being my first I was happy with just finishing, so 3:05 was acceptable). I kept up with them, even when they were running 11:30 minute miles. At mile 12 I saw Pete on the side (he's much faster and had been finished for 45 minutes) he came over and started to run with me (that's right, my husband loves me so much that after running 13.1 miles himself, he walked back a mile just to run the last mile with ME <3) That last mile was THE LONGEST MILE I'VE EVER RAN. I'm sure it was at least 3 miles, they must have measured wrong. By the end I hated everyone and if one more person told me how close the finish line was, I was going to punch them. I could see the finish line, and people were sprinting past me, but I could not go any faster. I slowly ran with 100 pound legs and crossed the finish line. I finished in 3:05, and was 4411 out of 5500 (not last!) They gave me my finishers medal, water, mylar blanket and congratulated me. Best. Feeling. Ever. I cried, I was in shock, I didn't know what to do because my legs hurt SO bad - should I walk, sit down, lay down, curl up in a ball? I finally found Pete (he split off before the finish line) and he took me to the chocolate milk and wheat rolls (they were out of bananas and I was SO sad). I began to recover, we had our picture taken, and began to walk up the GIANT hill to our car (huge mistake parking uphill from the race!). It started to sink in that I actually did it. Even with horrible training, I still crossed the finish line of a 13.1 mile race. I was proud of myself, proud of Pete, so many emotions were going through my head. 

   This race was so inspiring because there were people of all sizes, ages, body types and it shows you don't have to fit into a certain mold to accomplish something like this. I've struggled with my weight my whole life, and after losing 40 pounds and plateauing I finally realized - I don't need to lose any more weight. Look what I've done at my current weight! Something that the majority of "skinny" people haven't done! I may be bigger than what society considers "thin", but I believe myself to be of a normal weight, and I'm not going to kill myself trying to diet and lose pounds. I've always thought my legs are too big - well, those legs carried me 13.1 miles to the finish line, so now I think they're just right; they're strong. This race taught me to be happy with who I am - my body can do so much more than I think it can. My mind stayed strong through the race, and that's what got me through. Below is a link to a wonderful video that Dove did with women, it really makes you think about how you see yourself vs. how others see you. We are our own worst critics, and we have to stop living our lives criticizing ourselves so much. As women we've got to start looking at all the beautiful things about ourselves, instead of picking apart our flaws. 

Dove Real Beauty Sketches


After the race I said "I'm never doing that again!" but now, I'm already thinking of when I can do it again (next time I want a friend to run with though, so I'll wait until I can recruit someone), and next time I will train harder and take it seriously, and hopefully knock some time off this one. I can see how people get addicted to marathons. Running fascinates me - I read everything I can about these elite runners that run 50 milers or 100 milers, and run at a 5 or 6 minute pace. It is amazing the discipline and incredibly physical ability these people have. The man that won the half marathon we ran, finished in 1:06 (roughly 5 minute miles), I was at the 3 mile mark and he was headed back and passed us, he had already ran 10 miles. Everyone around me started clapping for him, it was a pretty amazing moment. I know I could never be that fast, and I have so much respect for those elite athletes. 

Slow Is A State of Mind

After the half-marathon

  

   I debated whether to post this today or not, but I wanted a record (more for myself) of how the race went and what I was feeling so I can relive it when I want to. When I heard the news about the Boston Marathon yesterday, it broke my heart. After just finishing a large race it hit close to home. I can't imagine being there when something like that happens, and my heart truly goes out to all the victims and people involved. It is so sad that what has been such a happy and celebratory day for 117 years, is now tainted with this evil act, and it will never be the same. I do believe there is so much more good in this world than evil, and the good will prevail. We have to remember though that the nature of our world is that good cannot exist without bad, and vice versa. The bad brings out the good, as it did yesterday when so many people scrambled to help, runners kept running past the finish line directly to the hospital to give blood, people ran toward the blast to do what they can for people that were injured, hundreds of people posted on a Google doc that they have space in their homes for people to stay, offered food and drinks, etc. Bad things will always happen, there is no changing that. We don't have to let them rule our lives though, and we can make the good prevail. I was going to take this week off from running, but tonight I will #runforboston, because that's what I can do. I know that I will never qualify for the Boston Marathon, and I have so much respect and admiration for the amazing runners that do it each year. Runners are strong, and the running community is tight. We may not all know each other, but we identify with each other, no matter what the pace. I saw a quote on Facebook that said "If you're trying to defeat the human spirit, marathoners are the wrong group to target". Love it.

   Finally, I'd like to thank my husband for always supporting me in my crazy ideas, and actually doing them with me. There is no one in the world I would rather be next to as we experience new things together. I am so thankful to have him, and I can't wait to see what other new crazy things we do together! Sky diving anyone?? ;)