Wednesday, January 28, 2009

16 weeks

Well, somehow even though as of today, I've lost about 8 lbs during this pregnancy, the baby is finally starting to make his/her presence a little more visible :) I guess it didn't hurt that I had packed on some extra pounds over the last year. At my appointment today, I got to hear our baby's heart beating strong...apparently baby is doing just fine, it's just mom that's been miserable. But the doc's are getting me on all kinds of stuff that will hopefully help me keep food down, so hopefully better days are ahead... Here's a pic of us at 16 weeks.

Monday, January 26, 2009

New Mom Help: Post #2

So I had a rough couple of weeks and didn't get to my New Mom Help posts ;) but I'm back and I still need your help!

This week's category:
STROLLERS Travel System? Jogger? Lightweight? Umbrella? Where to begin? If I hate running now, am I really going to jog with my jogger stroller... sure I'd feel sporty and athletic and I could pretend like I'm going to shed all that baby-weight right away, but I know the truth. Athletic and Melissa don't belong in the same sentence. :) That being said, perhaps it does come in handy for other terrain. I'm hoping for lots of feedback on this one. I probably could have split it into multiple posts, but give me all your tips on carseat/strollers/brands/etc! :)

Monday, January 19, 2009

January goes to the dogs.

Well, so far 2009 has been full of dogsitting for us! We've had Shelby's best 4-legged friend (Roxy) over for two weekends, then we spent a week at my parents' house with their 2 papillons (Cody & Gabe) and later this week, we're headed to Mike's parents' house to take care of their golden retriever (Chevy)! Meanwhile, everyone else is taking fun trips to Atlantic City, Williamsburg, Cozumel and Breckenridge, Colorado! How did we get this end of the deal? :)

Well, Shelby has had a blast. She and Roxy can just run and play for hours - and it's so nice to have someone else to entertain her other than us! And in some ways, staying at my parents' house just feels like a retreat. If I hadn't been doubly-sick all this past week, it would have been a great get-away. But we still had a good time. Here are a few pics of Shelby having fun, plus our Care Group playing Wii, a shot of the view from my parents' backyard and one of my good-lookin' hubby.


Thursday, January 15, 2009

14 week update

I got a few days of relief... even managed to eat a good meal at Cheesecake Factory & go see Bridewars with Mike last weekend... and then I started going downhill again. This week has been by far the worst yet as far as getting sick and feeling bad. Sigh. I went to the doctor on Tuesday and had lost more weight. So she prescribed me several things to hopefully help. To start off with, I have new prenatals with B6 and this Transderm Scop patch to wear behind my ear that is for nausea. If I end up needing more, I can take Phenergan and/or Zantac for indigestion that could be causing additional nausea.

I'm trying to just stick to the first two for now... although my doctor assured me they wouldn't over-medicate us, I'd rather just do the minimal and see how that works. And now on top of all that, I've come down with some sort of sinus infection/mild fever. Good grief. I've always been so healthy... I guess my body is just making up for lost time. I feel like I could use a good week off of work to just rest and get healthy, but that's not looking possible. I've taken a few sick hours this week and am trying to work from home today. Unfortunatly working from home is still working... but we're really busy right now, and I know I can't afford to be gone all week.

On a happy note: When I went to the doctor, she did a quick ultrasound just to check on the baby and the baby looks great! I actually got to see him/her suck her thumb and take a big swallow! It was pretty cool.

So we're hangin' in there. I can't say I've enjoyed pregnancy yet, but I'm definitely excited to be having a baby. And as the doc put it, the baby is doing just fine, it's just me that's miserable. I can deal with that.

Friday, January 9, 2009

2nd Trimester

Well... I'm still able to wear mostly normal clothes (though maternity ones are getting to be the more comfortable option) and I am feeling a little better. I'm still pretty nauseous all day, but it's been over 48 hours since I've gotten sick and that's a big improvement!

I started to wonder this week if my pregnancy was really to blame for the nausea & sickness... or perhaps it has been the ridiculous amount of stress I've been under at work! I really have to pray daily for peace and control of my emotions and for the strength and humility to continue working in such a difficult working environment. I'm not alone, my co-workers and I have been working extremely hard for the last year to communicate with our leadership and to pray for change. It's pretty discouraging when you know you are doing everything you can, and people just don't seem to 'get it.' But we press on... I'm just thankful to have something new to look forward to... a light at the end of the tunnel... a way out in 6 months. For now, I just need the wisdom and discernment to know how to manage this stress in a healthy way for the duration of my pregnancy. I'm pretty sure I've just got to stick it out, but I also know I have to stay healthy, so while it doesn't seem feasible to find another option for 6 months, I'm just praying that if I need to, God will provide.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

New Mom Help Post #1

As a first-time mom-to-be, Babies R Us is quite overwhelming! I received some good advice from a mom of 3: while waiting to find out the baby's sex, you can still register for all the other practical non-gender specific items, and it's much less overwhelming if you just tackle one section/category at a time, rather than trying to do it all in a day.

So, I'm going to try that approach while I'm still in these early weeks. But I need your help! Once a week, I am going to pick a baby product category and post it here, and I'm asking all of you experienced parents to give me your input on products you loved or hated. I would really appreciate your input... so will you help me out?! :)


CATEGORY ONE: Baby Monitors
  • Preferred brands?
  • Helpful features?
  • Things that are unnecessary?
  • Video, motion sensor, or audio only?

Thanks for your help! :)

Friday, January 2, 2009

Sweet Relief?!

So it happened. I was technically 12 weeks as of New Years Eve, and while I started out the day feeling yucky as usual, that night we went to a sushi restaurant with my cousin & her husband... and I ate my whole Beef Teriyaki Bento Box (minus some wontons) and started feeling good. Yesterday, I still treaded lightly, but I never got sick... and today... I went back to Yu-Mi for some more Miso soup, ginger salad & rice. And I'm feeling almost 100% better! I'm soooo hopeful that this is that 12 week mark I keep hearing about and that the nausea & sickness are behind me!

And I guess I'm a convert. I've always snubbed Sushi restaurants for the fact that they are so trendy and in my opinion, nothing raw is near as good as cooked food... but, while I'm still sticking to the cooked stuff, I have to admit, I'm a bit hooked. Yumm-y! And of course the restaurant that got me hooked is within walking distance to my house! Uh oh. :)