Surviving the First Trimester

So now that I am nicely settled into the second trimester I thought I would give all the first trimester mommies some tips on how to survive this "special" time.

So pull up a chair, grab a barf bag, and read on!

1.  Morning sickness is not ONLY in the morning: I am sure you have heard this 100 times but it is so true. The only times I ever felt sick was immediately upon arrival home after work. Needless to say Max was not too pleased by this. The only times I got to talk to him during the work week was filled with the constant fear that I might throw up all over him. So be prepared to feel sick at any time. Know where the bathrooms are and maybe bring barf bags with you just in case. But don't stress about it too much, this too shall pass.
2. You will be exhausted at all times: I'm not talking about you might feel like a short cat nap but more like you may fall asleep at any moment and your plate full of dinner looks as comfy as your pillow. Ladies this is real; don't pretend like you can still stay out until 1AM partying. You will be lucky to survive the car ride home from work. So stay safe out there and go to sleep whenever you feel like it. You will need your rest once this nugget pops out.
   
   
   
3. Your boobs will try to kill you: This is no joke, I thought, "Duh. They are stretching just like everything else but it can't be that bad". This now makes me laugh like a 60 year old woman watching all the 20 something's wrangle their kids. It will hurt so bad that you will turn into a Gollum like creature screaming "Not my precious!" while covering your boob whenever anything/anyone gets too close. This is perfectly ok. The only thing I can suggest is a slightly tight bra that also fits the new size of the girls comfortably. This will protect your boobs and those dagger like things they call nipples from the outside world.
   
4. You will have to pee constantly: This is NOT only in the third trimester like others will have you believe. Starting like 3 hrs after you find out your body will kick into baby mode and you will be in the bathroom more often than any human should be. Don't get too excited, this isn't because you have an awesome ahead of the curve baby and it's already pushing on your bladder, this is because your body is starting to make the amniotic fluid which means you are creating more blood and other things that produces waste and thus you pee...a lot. So stay hydrated and learn to love your porcelain thrown.
   
5. Get comfortable with farting in front of those you love: This sounds weird but is very true. I thought it was just me and kept apologizing to my husband every time; however I learned through other amazing blogs and some www.thebump.com research that this is completely normal. So ladies LET IT RIP :).
   
6. Eat REASONABLY: There are 1001 websites out there that will make you believe if you eat one bite of deli meat your baby will either turn into a mutant creature with gills or you will kill it from Listeria bacteria. Take a breath. As long as you have stopped doing all those drugs and you are leading a decently healthy lifestyle you will be fine. Women have been having children while eating sandwiches, fish, and even drinking wine for generations. So if you hare craving a hot dog, go for it. The first trimester is about survival. Eat whatever you can keep down and skip what you can't. Once you are past the first trimester you can start worrying about eating vegetables and fruit like it's your job. You will be so hungry anyway that anything will sound delicious.
   
7. Love thy partner: Show your partner in baby crime some love. While they are not going through the special hell, I mean wonderful beautiful experience, that you are going through they are going through their own version. While you are constantly throwing up, they are holding your hair and kissing you. You get to fall asleep (while uncontrollably) at 5:01 after work they are cleaning up dinner, maybe off your face, feeding the dogs/other kids, etc. So show them how much you appreciate it. Say thank you as much as you can, offer to help during your non puking and awake hours. Talk about their day rather than the uncomfortable gross things that are happening to you.
   
   
   
   
   
   Stay strong ladies. The second trimester is close and I promise it gets better. You will be able to feel your baby move in a few months, which makes all this so worth it :).

18 Weeks

How far along: 18 weeks
Total weight gain: 7 lbs
Sleep: This is not getting any easier. My hips still hurt in the morning and the dreams are still crazy.
Sickness: Into the second trimester so all is good :)
Cravings: cheese, salt, chicken wings
Make me queasy: Yogurt of any kind, anything too sweet.
General Symptoms: General stretching pains and still feeling that tingling in my rib cage every once in a while. No this it not the baby, he/she isn't that high in my belly yet :)
Miss anything: Red meat and sandwhiches
Maternity Clothes: still just the nursing bra from Target.
Movement: Thought I felt the nugget once last week but it's so hard to tell. Can't wait until it's big enough to really feel :). *UPDATE* One day after this post (so on 11/16/14) I felt the baby move quite a bit! It was kicking me on my left side. It doesn't hurt since it's so small but it's amazing to feel. Can't wait until it's a little stronger for Max to feel :)
Gender Prediction: Girl

Names I like at the moment:
Girl: Claire, Olivia, Alice, Eloise (Ellie), Hailey, Lynn, Amelia
Boy: Jack, Edward (Ed, Eddie), Eric, Milo, Nathan (Nate), Ethan

The baby is now the size of a sweet potato. Just in time for Thanksgiving :). The nugget can now hiccup, swallow, and yawn. But we're ahead of the game because we saw it yawn on our 12 week ultrasound!

The Kelly's Come to Visit

The last few weeks have been a world wind of family and I love it, even if my bank account might not ;-).

Last weekend my sister and her husband came to visit from SF. Her husband, Pat, got here on Tuesday so he could go on a man backpacking excursion with Max. To say they had a blast would be understating it. Here are a few pictures from their adventures.

Picture compliments of Max Wilson

Friday they were home and my sister, Katie, had arrived. It was pretty late so we just stayed up playing what is quite possibly the greatest card game ever created...Munchkin. Pat won, we can chalk that up to either beginners luck or the fact that he was a guest in our home ;-).

Saturday was the big event, Notre Dame v. ASU. Max and I didn't go to the game since it was just too expensive, but Katie and Pat went tailgating and Pat got a ticket to the game. The lucky baby worked again. We got the win! Thank you lucky baby!

That night Pat and Katie spent the night getting the ASU gang back together and celebrating. My pregnant sleepy self couldn't quite pull it together to enjoy the festivities but I was celebrating in spirit...and with closed eyes in my bed :).

It was so nice to see some family and get this nugget some CA love :). Miss these guys already and can't wait to see everyone again for Thanksgiving/Baby Shower/My birthday. Wow a lot is happening the last weekend of NOV so watch out for those posts :)

Picture compliments of Katie Kelly

Dad Comes to Visit

This past weekend my dad drove all the way from the Bay Area in CA for a short visit and it was so nice to have some of my family around.

Besides just coming to see me, which of course was his main priority ;-), he also was on a mission to deliver us a reclining chair. My parents bought all new living room furniture and I jokingly said, "I would love to have that red reclining chair for the nursery!" A few weeks later I got a phone call from my dad saying he was going to load up the chair and bring it down and what weekend would work best for us. After realizing there was no stopping him, and getting the chair was a pretty awesome deal, we picked out a weekend.

We also thought that if he was going to be here during football season, which my dad and I are completely in to, we might as well go to an ASU game (my alma mater of course). So all three of us (4 if you count the bump) jumped onto the light rail and went down to Tempe.

On our way to the game on the light rail. Go Devils!

Of course my dad spared very little expense so we were in row 27 almost on the 50 yard line. It was awesome.

The game was epic!!! By the end we were tied and it went into overtime.

Note: The way overtime works is whoever goes first gets possession on the 25 yard line. They have one set of downs to score, either with a field goal or touch down. The second team then gets possession on the same 25 yard line and has a chance to match or do better than the other team. So if the first team gets a field goal then the second team has to get a touch down to win.

We held Utah to only a field goal. We were sure they were going to make it since they have one the best kickers I have ever seen. This meant we had to get a touch down to win. By some miracle the kicker misses! But apparently the Utah coach called a time out first and the kick was void. So after the time out they set up again and the kicker misses again!!! At this point I am jumping up and down and don't even care how much that hurts. So now it's our turn. A field goal wins it. On 4th down we set up for the kick...

THE KICK IS GOOD. WE WIN!!!! 

On our way home after the win

I guess this is a lucky baby :)

16 Weeks

How far along: 16 weeks
Total weight gain: 5 lbs
Sleep: Still having crazy pregnancy dreams; like super crazy.
Sickness: Into the second trimester so all is good :)
Cravings: SALT
Make me queasy: Yogurt of any kind, anything too sweet.
General Symptoms: General stretching pains especially around my rob cage area
Miss anything: Red meat
Maternity Clothes: still just the nursing bra from Target.
Movement: none yet!
Gender Prediction: Girl

Names I like at the moment:
Girl: Claire, Olivia, Alice, Eloise (Ellie), Hailey, Lynn, Amelia
Boy: Jack, Edward (Ed, Eddie), Eric, Milo, Nathan (Nate)

The baby is now the size of an avocado...mmm delicious :). It now has eyebrows and eyelashes. It can also hear my voice and will recognize it at birth. That's amazing. I should start feeling it move soon too.

From: www.thebump.com