The Good Life: January 2013

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Pregnancy Tidbits

Week 11 - 15:

Morning sickness (or evening sickness for me) didn't quite skip me entirely. From about week 12-14 my stomach didn't like to keep all my food in. Plus I had a cold, so maybe that had something to do with it. But evening sickness seems to be subsiding again, so hopefully all is well.

Week 16 – 18:

I have been feeling much better. My sensitive nose has subsided a little bit, and although I can still smell stinky things, it doesn't bother me as much. My stomach feels better and I am not as nauseous. However, even though I know it's normal to feel better during the second trimester, my lack of symptoms actually started to scare me. I hadn't gained any weight and I was constantly afraid that my use of heating pads for my lower back pain or my over-consumption of Mac & Cheese was hurting my baby. After a few paranoid nights of crying I felt a little better. However, my mind was not completely eased until I went to my doctor’s appointment and heard the little heartbeat again.

Week 19:

I finally started wearing maternity clothes. Nothing fits anymore...

Week 20:

I woke up in the middle of the night with a very excruciating leg cramp in my right calf. No fun. I think I scared Chris to death, waking him up in the middle of the night screaming, but we both lived through it by walking it off. Week 20 also meant we got our fetal anatomy ultrasound! Chris and I went to LDS hospital excited to find out the gender of our baby and make sure it has all ten fingers and toes. They were able to find the "girl parts" very quickly and showed us on the screen. It kind of looks like a blob to me, but I'll take their word for it. :) Chris and I were very excited to find out we're having a girl. I already had an inkling since I'd had a dream a few months earlier. My dream played out almost like the real thing. We went to get the ultrasound and the doctor announced it was a girl. Simple as that. I also decided this week that it was time to take some official "belly photos". My favorite is the last one (even though I may be puffing up my belly a little more than normal :).

January 14, 2013

My GQ belly shot

Thursday, January 17, 2013

First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes...

BABY!!!

Week 5:
I think I just experienced my first food revulsion (the books call it "aversion" but I think revulsion is much more descriptive). I am sitting at lunch and, in an effort to be healthier, got a side of cooked carrots to add to my meal. Now I usually really like cooked carrots. But not today!! I could only gag down about six carrots before I couldn't handle anymore! Even the smell bothered me as I finished the rest of my meal. Weird...

Week 7:
Well, pregnancy acne is here in full force. I keep getting these little red zits all over my nose, chin, and forehead. And since the song “You’re So Vain” was written about me (as my dad likes to remind me) this is driving me crazy! But I must say, I would rather have this than morning sickness. Luckily, I have been skipped in this department for the most part. At the beginning my stomach felt a little funny at night, but nothing too drastic. I haven’t had much of that lately. I’m hoping that little side effect of pregnancy will skip me entirely!

Week 8:
You know how some people get extra sensitive to smell when they are pregnant? Well that is me! I am suuuuper sensitive! If Christopher ate something funny for lunch, believe you me, I can tell! I make him brush his teeth about five times a day and I am always popping mints into my mouth to keep my nostrils happy.

Week 9: Telling the parents!
We told our parents that we are expecting a baby on Halloween night. To tell Chris's parents, we dressed up as (you guessed it) a chef and an oven. I was expecting his parents to open the door, us to yell "Trick or Treat," followed close behind by a gasp and an "oh my goodness, are you pregnant?!?" However, it didn't quite work out that way. It took probably a good ten minutes of us awkwardly making small talk before Mama Hill asked, "so is there a bun in the oven?" To which I shyly nodded yes. Then the outburst came. (Tack on another ten minutes before Papa Hill made the connection.)

My parents were just returning from Italy on Halloween night and we were going to pick them up at the airport. Instead of making a scene at the airport with our crazy costumes and because my parents were undoubtedly tired, we went for a quieter approach. After dropping my parents off at their house we told them we had a belated birthday gift for Babbo. We gave them one of our classic children's book "Goodnight Moon." Inside the front cover was the inscription, "To Babbo and Grammy, please read me this bedtime book in June 2013. Love, Baby Hill." They were very excited to get this news and even though they were tired they let me gab away at them for another 20 minutes before I finally let them sleep. All in all, it was a fun night and it felt great to share the news.

Week 10: The first doctor's visit!
That was nerve-racking. My pregnancy still didn't really feel real to me and I was excited to actually see the little munchkin taking residence in my belly. After a quick medical history and chit chat from my doctor, see left me to put on the lovely hospital gown and get ready for my ultrasound. This was it! Let's see if this is really happening! Doctor put the cold jelly on my stomach and started moving around. Nothing. All I could see was grey and black squiggles. Nothing that remotely looked like a baby. I was starting to get worried. Then doc asked me if I had been constipated. (Oh that ugly side effect that I didn't want to mention.) I nodded. "Well, see all those dark lines there," she asked? "That's poo." So, yes, my lame bowel movements were preventing me from seeing my baby. Luckily, doctor pulled out another instrument and we were able to do a vaginal ultrasound. And sure enough, there was a baby!