5 WEEKS

The week of the flu shot dilemma! UGH

Well this has been a tough one for me. I called my OB nurse last week and asked if it is okay for me to get the flu shot. She said yes the doctor highly recommends it, but they were out. She then said the H1N1 vaccine was supposed to be at their office by the first week in November and asked if I wanted to be put on the waiting list because the doctor recommended that too. Sure why not?
Then I started my research! My mom had mentioned that I should get the non thermisol (preservative free) version of the flu shot. So I call and ask my nurse about it she said the doctor recommends either, they have only been giving the one with preservatives, but they were out and it would be tough to find one that did not have them. Man was she right I called every pharmacy in Sioux Falls NONE of them had even the regular seasonal flu shot. I called both my doctors and nada. So I guess I am waiting on that one.
Then the nurse calls me yesterday (10/20/09) and tells me they have the H1N1 and I can come and get it. There were only 100 shots available. I tell her I want to think about and I will call her back. Well I go back and fourth with myself, my mother and my husband and I don't know what to do. I decide to set up an appointment to go in the next morning and get it done.
I do my research last night and read that the H1N1 is still being tested on pregnant women. They only tested on women in their 2nd and 3rd trimesters, none in their 1st. This makes me nervous. I then find that some doctors don't even like to give the seasonal flu shot to women who are in early pregnancy. However, it is recommended because although they don't know the affects it will have on the baby, they do know what the flu can do. It can cause high fever which can lead to neural tube damage. So I am stuck, not really sure what to do.
In the end, my OB ran out of the H1N1 and I still can not find the seasonal flu shot without preservatives. I am so early in my pregnancy and so many things are being developed at this time for baby; heart, brain, nervous system. My only choice now is to wait it out until the shots become available again (hopefully closer to my 2nd trimester which I think is mid-December). I plan to lay low for awhile, and keep up on the hand washing and sanitizer! It's a tough decision for any woman in my position I guess, what makes it so hard is that we are supposed to keep all things toxic out of our bodies; alcohol, smoke, caffeine, etc.. Yet we are supposed to get a shot that they are not really sure how it will affect the baby.
I will be patiently waiting for the shot to come available again....


Now to WEEK 5! Woo Hoo

According to ParentsConnect, baby is the size of a sesame seed, and it's heart and brain are starting to develop!

I kind of feel like it is more real now, because this is when most women find out, the week after the expected period, but I had to be really on top of things with my thyroid issues so I found out pretty early. I have not been to the doctor yet, 2 more weeks, but I have probably talked to the nurse 10 times! I hope I am not the only new mom with so many questions!
So here it goes!

Symptoms: Still tired yet, falling asleep by 7ish is normal. I am pretty sure my friends think I am crazy. I have also been avoiding family events mainly because of my fear of the H1N1, UGH. Not nauseous yet, I hear it is on its way though! I still have the smelling power of a super hero too!

My Thoughts: Flu season is stressful, I can't imagine what it would be like with a little baby. I also can't believe I am already having to make decisions that affect us both.

His Thoughts: Are you really going to bed now?

What I am reading: The Pregnancy Bible (awesome book! I will probably buy it) Nick is reading a book called DadLabs Guide to Fatherhood, he says its really good, written for fathers by fathers. Grandma and Grandpa also gave him Bill Cosby's Fatherhood he has not started it yet.

MY how puppies GROW!

Well it's been awhile, I have been so unbelievably tired. UGH hope I am not getting sick, it seems like everyone is! I will try and keep up better:)

On to puppy things! I am happy to report Mia is *officially* (cross your fingers) better. She is no longer on any meds! YAY! She is active as ever, which makes us feel bad because the weather has been horrible it actually snowed last week! Between that and the rain, it means limited walks outside. In other news 3 weeks after purchase, Mia has out grown her crate. Good thing we kept the box and receipt! I had a feeling this would happen. I noticed yesterday morning that she would not go in, and she usually just walks right in. Well once I put her in there I noticed her back is touching the top! Oh my, she is too tall! So I guess we are back to Walmart tonight, hopefully we can return it, and get the next size up which is huge! I wonder where I will put it! Mia, please stop growing so fast, can't you just be a puppy forever (minus all the energy)?

4 WEEKS

So according to the online calculator thingy I am four weeks as of Tuesday! Crazy huh? That's a whole month! Well I guess the first 2 weeks you aren't actually prego, so technically I am 2 weeks:)

So the day after our positive I called my OB right away, it is weird telling strangers and hearing congrats, I heard it 3 times today! I set up my six week appointment (we meet with the nurse practitioner and get educated!) and my eleven week appointment (that's when we get to hear the heartbeat!) I was surprised they didn't tell me to come in and take a blood test, that's how it usually works on the movies. Nick was too! He was like "why aren't you going in today?" Jeez we are probably such newbies!

So yeah it feels so real now, setting up appointments and all. I am still so nervous I have already called the nurse back once, I just want to make sure I am not doing anything wrong! I wonder if this will last the entire pregnancy.

On to the pic. I have decided to do a weekly belly pic! I think I am going to do it in the same black tank every time so there is consistency. Here I am at four weeks, probably just bloated, tummy will not start growing for awhile, but its a good before right?!

I signed up for weekly emails from www.parentsconnect.com its neat they send you info on the progress and size, generally what the hell is going on in there. So this week the baby is the size of a period at the end of a sentence. Like that one:) Here's a summary of what's going on with me.

Symptoms: mild cramps (this is normal!), very sore boobies (ouch!), extreme tiredness, and VERY sensitive smell (the potpourri at the craft show I attended killed me!)

My thoughts: OMG I am kinda freaked out about my body turning into the baby's temple!

His thoughts: I am kinda jealous you get to experience all of this stuff and I don't

What I am reading: What to Expect When You are Expecting (the library rocks)

Telling His Parents

So the day after we decide to go tell Nick's parents in person too. They live about 45 min away from us. We had planned on waiting until Wednesday because Nick has class on Tuesday, but we were too excited to wait. So I let Nick call in this one time (I know we need to start saving these days for baby related things!).
He calls his mom and tells her we are coming out so his dad can show him how to use the wood chopper. His mom tells him to call his dad and let him know she was planning on going to his cousins volleyball game so she probably wouldn't be there. Well then he calls me freaking out, "my mom said she won't be there?!" "what do I do?" So I tell him to just tell her we have wedding photos to show her that she hasn't seen before. Well that does the trick!
We head out to their house, both nervous, Nick is very excited that he finally gets to tell some of "his people":) We get there and Nicks dad had just got contacts so he was struggling with getting them in. We were working on getting them both in the same room, this proved tough with him in the bathroom poking his eyeballs out. While Nick's mom was setting up the dinner table she causally asked "what have you guys been up to lately?" We both look at each other and smile, and Nick comes back with a quick answer about our puppy I think. The plan was to hand her the wedding photo disc with the pregnancy test. Side note, the spendy test stops working within 24 hours they must be right on to the min, because it stopped saying pregnant on the ride there. Good thing we still had the cheapo one it lasts for 48 hours.
So finally we all sit down for dinner and Nick says "so you asked us what we have been up to lately, well..." and he handed his mom the tests. They were both very excited and said congrats. We finished dinner and Nick then called his siblings. Maybe I will make him write how that went down. They were all very excited. I did talk to his sister on our way home and she called me a mommy:o) That was a first!

We finally got home at around 10ish I was very tired (cooking a baby takes ALOT of energy) so I read a little for What to Expect When You are Expecting and fell asleep!
10/14/09

Telling My Parents

Nick and I went back and fourth several times on deciding who and when to tell. We talked about waiting to tell anyone until 3 months, but we were way to excited and decided we would just tell our parents. Here's how it went.

October 12, 2009 (the day we took our test)
In the midst of test number two I was so shocked I wanted to call my mom right away. Nick stopped me, and told me to wait. So immediately after we get confirm #2 we head to my moms.
We show her the tests and tell her guess what?! She is just as shocked as we are, and I am almost positive that at some point she was trying to figure out who I got to pee on these things. She smiled that entire night! Well then Malinda walks in the room shortly after and goes, "what's going on?" "are you pregnant?" Well I guess we are telling siblings too:) She then follows up with "you are going to get so fat!" What a nice 14 year old sister!
My dad was out of town at the time, so we were thinking we would wait for him to get back to tell him in person. Well then he calls shortly after and is talking to my mom. She then hands me the phone and says "Moni, I can't do this, you need to tell him." So I tell him and he says "nice":0) and mentions how he is too old to be a grandpa. He then asked when he can tell his mom, and we make him promise to wait! We were planning on telling her at Thanksgiving, they leave the day after, so that way we would have already gone to the doctor and we could tell them in person.
So we head home and I then call my brother. He is so excited and says "I am going to be an uncle!" He then told Nick about how it's soooo going to be a boy and the joke around a bit. Next I call his girlfriend Amanda, she was my first screamer! And then she kept saying no way! Once I finally convinced her I was serious she was even MORE excited. We then talked a little about how much fun it would be for her to buy cute little girl outfits:)
After that I read for a little from my What to Expect Before You are Expecting book and went to bed. What a great first day of pregnancy!
10/14/09

My Eggo is PREGO!!!!

HAAAAAAA! I am the worst secret keeper in the world. This is going to be so hard. I will at least get to do some venting via blogging (yet I can't share my posts yet, they will just be drafts for now).

Here's how it all went down. Yesterday October 12th I got home from work and had a hunch that I might be prego, it was either that or PMS. I just happened to have one test (left over from many a pregnancy scares) so I decided to just take it. Nick and I were having our typical after work convo, how was your day? Blah Blah Blah. So mid convo I tell him I am just going to do it. I had planned on taking one this weekend, because my period was due in the next couple of days, but excited me could not wait. So I run into the bathroom pee and then walk out, I can't sit there and watch it. I am pretty sure Nick wasn't even aware I was doing it at the time. Then I walk in and my heart jumps there it is, the second pink line, it was faint, but it was there. Holy crap! I grab Nick he looks at it and goes, "oh no baby, you read it wrong." I tell him to look closer and then he sees it. Shock! We were all smiles, yet still so shocked, neither of us thought it would happen this fast! So we then decide we need to take another one since the second line was so faint! We go straight to Walgreen's, while in the car Nick says, "I am going to be dad." We go straight to the aisle where the tests are find the most expensive test ($20) this must mean its better right? This time we got the one without the lines, this one was digital and had words. While waiting to check out there is a screaming baby next to us, we both instantly look at each other and burst out laughing. We rush home Nick gets me a HUGE glass of water, and we wait for me to have to pee. Minutes later, finally I take the second test, PREGNANT!
We are so excited and scared all at once, I can not describe the feeling I am bursting with JOY!

Up Next....telling the parents.

10/13/09

Wednesday Walk...sixty-four and sunny

We were there right at sunset. It was a perfect day. Not too hot not too cold.

I liked the reflection in this little swampy area.

They are faint, but you can see the geese flying in the center of the sky.


Mia & Rascal wished they could fly to catch the birds.


The trees are starting to turn. Such beautiful fall colors.

We try to walk Mia everyday for at least an hour. This week it has been difficult due to the rain. Today was gorgeous! We took her friend Rascal with us on our walk through Sertoma Park, a path we often frequent. All photos were taken with my camera phone, I think they are pretty good considering....

From zero to five....

There is so much going on in my life it's crazy. I have always had a great memory. As of lately it escapes me. Especially when it comes to taking my meds. After my surgery I went from taking no pills at all to 5! The worst part is they all have to be taken at different times of day and can NOT be taken together. This means I have to remember 3 separate times a day to take a pill. I struggle, hopefully this post will help me remember. Well at least for awhile...

Knitting Parties

Christmas is just around the corner. Being the planner that I am, I decided to be crafty with my gifts this year. Budgets aren't necessarily any tighter, however, with the economy being in its current state you never know what will happen. Nick and I are working on our saving skills, one way is cutting back on gifts. This is REALLY hard for me, I love giving gifts as much as I love getting them. I will think about it for days, even buy something and return it then get something else numerous times. I strive to find that PERFECT gift.

So this year I thought I would be crafty, I was going to knit EVERYTHING! I used to knit awhile back when I was in college, but nowadays I am a little rusty. So I hit up the library (which is amazing BTW will post about that later) and checked out a youth/teen book on knitting. I went straight to Walmart purchased everything I needed and went straight home to get started! 5 long hours later I came to the realization that teaching myself with a book was not possible. I even had Nick there cheering me on, "you can do it babe, you can do anything you set your mine to."

The next I was talking to one of my friends about my attempts, she then said "I know how to knit, it is so easy!" I told her she needed to come over immediately after work so I could get this figured out. She taught me in 10 minutes! We then sat there for hours are just chatted while we knitted. It was very relaxing, I am looking forward to many more knitting parties to come. Not to sure on the status of me knitting all of my Christmas gifts tho.......stay tuned.

Maybe a baby.....?

First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in the baby carriage....right?!


Nick and I finally got the double okay to start "trying" for a baby. Why was an okay necessary you might ask? Well long story short, our non-honeymoon, two weeks after our big day was spending a weekend in the hospital after my total thyroidectomy surgery. This was followed by a week of recovery and amazing care given by my hubby. So me minus one thyroid equals us having to wait for a doctor to say okay you can try! It was supposed to take 3 months of waiting, ended up taking 1 1/2. WOW the fact that it is an option for us now makes me nervous and excited all at once.

All I have to say is "we'll see what happens". As of right now, all I am planning on carrying is a food baby;)

Pic: is me with the cutest baby ever Nate Jr. (aka. My Baby), he was born Halloween morning 2007. I was there. It was beautiful. He will be two soon. My how time flies!