The Joys of Morning Sickness...

Morning sickness for me hasn’t really been that bad. I feel bad complaining at all, knowing what my best friend Kate went through with both of her sons. I’ve dry heaved a lot. And by a lot, I mean A LOT. But I’ve only really thrown up once. On the softball field. Because I’m classy like that.

90% of my sickness has been just super-strength nausea. It feels like I have puke right in my chest, ready to spring at any moment, but it just never comes. And it doesn’t limit itself to just the morning. It did at first, but now, I can wake up feeling awesome in the morning, go through my day, then at about 2pm, it hits me like a brick wall. I stand over a toilet or lean over the trash can at my desk, just waiting for it to come, but it never does. I find that 7up and saltines are my savior. I felt crappy one day before a softball game, and ended up drinking an entire 2-liter of 7up during the course of the game. And honestly, it made me feel better.

I really thought at first I’d glide through this pregnancy with zero morning sickness. My mom never had any with either me or my sister, but all it took was Mike making a pineapple marinade, and BOOM! Hello morning sickness! So, to sum up, it’s all Mike’s fault :)

First Ultrasound!

Today was our first ultrasound!

We went to the doctor's office and sat in the room for what felt like forever. All the poking and proding instruments were laid out, but I didn't see the speculum (the "wonderful" instrument that spreads ladies open during their OB/GYN visits), so I got excited because I thought it meant that I didn't have to get poked and proded. I was also very excited because the ultrasound machine was in the room, and I was stoked to see my little baby. I changed into my gown, and while I was finishing putting it on, the door swings open and Mrs. Pupo was standing there with a huge smile on her face. (Mrs. Pupo is the mom of a girl I coached at Gonzaga years ago, so I was a little shocked to see her) She was very excited for me, told me congratulations, and left. I was just glad she didn't open the door 2 seconds earlier and seen me in all my glory.

LeAnn came back in, and she had me lay down on the table. She turned the lights off and had Mike come stand next to me. She first tried to see the baby through my stomach, but it wasn't coming in clear enough, so she decided to do it vaginally. They have this probe looking thing, so she went to the cupboard and grabbed, of all things, a condom, slammed it on there, and issued this following statement:

"Now this doesn't have nerve endings, and I don't have a penis, so if I slam it around to hard, you need to let me know."

How reassuring.

She inserted it, and a picture popped up on the window. Almost instantly, we could here a heartbeat. And almost instantly, I started crying. She pointed out my ovaries, and miscellaneous girly parts, and then she said the magic words. "There's your baby!" I wish I could play that moment over and over again. Mike grabbed my hand and I looked at him. He had the biggest, proudest smile on his face, which made me cry more. I looked back at the screen and couldn't look away. LeAnn kept looking around, which she was definitely right about not knowing how hard she was moving that thing around, when I asked if there was only one baby in there. Long pause. "Weeeeeeeeeellll...there's definitely something else there, but I can't tell if it's a blood clot, or another baby." A-what? Now twins run like crazy through my family, but hearing it said aloud by a doctor is mind boggling. She said she would keep an eye on it and if it was a blood clot, it was nothing to worry about. Mike ignored this, and asked a ton of questions, which I thought was very sweet. She said that at our next doctor's appointment, we would have another ultrasound to see if that little speck would turn out to be just a blood clot or another baby. I'm excited because it just gives me another excuse to see my baby (or babies...yikes!)

After she was done with the ultrasound, she was super sneaky, and pulled out that damn speculum, and proceeded to poke and prode me. It was odd having someone else in the room while this was going on, as it is usually just my doctor and me when I have my annual. But it's nothing Mike hasn't seen before, I guess. She got done, and told me to get dressed. She left, and as soon as the door clicked shut, Mike bum rushed me with the biggest hug and kiss he has ever given me. He said that none of this really sank in until he heard his baby's heartbeat. I love him so much.

I scheduled my next appointment and was instructed to go downstairs and have my blood drawn, which I hate. The girl was extremely nice, and tried to be gentle. I had NO idea they had to take that much blood. 7 VILES!! And with every one, she pushed the needle in more, as if the location of the needle wasn't deep enough, so she had to dig it even deeper into my skin. She FINALLY got done, and then I had to pee in a cup. Oh joy. I figured out that I am NOT good at this.

My next doctor's appointment is July 15th, and I can't wait to see my baby again!

First Doctor's Appointment...

Today was my first doctor's appointment. I decided to go to Women's Health at Deaconess, as it came highly recommended by my best friend Katie. I was nervous for the appointment actually, just because I wasn't sure what to expect. We got brought into the back and led into a room that looked more like an office then a regular check up room. All around the room, there were posters of what the fetus looks like, different tests you could have done, exercises for pregnant women, etc. The one (or should I say ONES) that stood out the most to us were the multiple posters talking about abusive relationships and information if your significant other is abusing you. Now I know that this is a real issue with a lot of people, but we found this humorous because Mike is not abusive in anyway (he knows better). Plus, the more we looked around the office as a whole (waiting room, bathrooms, hallways), they were EVERYWHERE. Even when I went to the bathroom, there was a huge poster, eye-level with me as I was sitting down, asking if my significant other is abusing me in anyway. I mean, really? While I'm peeing?

After awhile, the nurse came in. Her name was LeAnn, and she was an older lady who seemed quirky, but very nice. She asked us if we had any questions, gave us a few books and pamphlets, and then dove in to her line of questioning. She had about 20 minutes of questioning for us, everywhere from family disease history to, of course, if we were in an abusive relationship. After the questions were over with, we got sent to scheduling to schedule our first check up and ultrasound, which I am VERY excited about!

Later this afternoon, I went to Shadle to talk to the AD. After a lot of thinking, I decided to quit my coaching job at Shadle. It had been my dream for a long time to coach my own team at Varsity level, but it has been my dream since I was a little kid to be a mother, and my chance is finally here. It was hard enough this year with just a full time job, but to coach, have a full time job, AND a baby would be almost impossible. I am very happy with my decision and don't regret it at all. It will give me more time to watch games with my baby :)

Informing the In-Laws...

Today we told Mike's parents that we're pregnant. As we were driving out there, I told Mike that I wanted him to tell them. I had asked him if there was a specific way he wanted to do it, but of course there wasn't. Now, I need to start this story with another story. About a month ago, they had a house party out at his parents' house. There were about 20 people there, and we were all in the kitchen and living room. Both his parents were pretty drunk, and decided to stop the entire party, music and everything, to lecture me, Mike, and their other two kids about having kids and how they'll be the only people to ever have to adopt grandkids. So, back to the present. We got there under the impression that we were just coming out for dinner. Mike's mom, Tammy, was starting to get everything out. We were standing in the kitchen, and I kept giving Mike the 'just tell them already' eyes. He finally got the hint, and said, "So you guys remember that house party we had? And that conversation you guys had with everyone?' His parents said yes, and Mike pointed at me. His mom looked at me wide eyed and asked if I was pregnant, and I said yes. She never stopped squeeling the entire night. They were both very excited. Later in the night, his mom admitted that she didn't remember stopping the party to talk about grandkids. Ah, the power of alcohol.

Doctor's Confirmation

Today I got the confirmation from my doctor that I'm pregnant! I called the doctor's office as soon as they opened to make an appointment. Luckily they had one in the morning time. I have known my doctor for a really long time, as she is frends with my parents, so when she saw me coming into the office, she was really excited for me, even though I hadn't even peed on the stick yet. I did the whole 'peeing on the stick' thing, and she made me wait what felt like forever. She came in and gave me a big hug, and gave me a bag with 'What to Expect While You're Expecting', which is HUGE. I don't even know how to start reading it. I think I'll just skip all the icky parts.

The Power of Two...

Today I found out I was pregnant!! I was 5 days late, and didn't really think anything of it. My last two periods had been a week and then two weeks late, so five days was nothing. But I wanted to take a test just to reassure myself that I would eventually start bleeding. I had a meeting with Shadle's AD, and on my way home I swang by Walgreens. I walked in and walked to the pregnancy test isle, and, of course, there was someone there, so I had to walk to another part of the store because, God forbid, someone else know that my period is late. I walked down the isle with all the 'As Seen On TV' items and saw the Egginator. Now the Egginator is this ridiculous thing that you place an egg in and it cracks it for you. Otherwise known as the Lazy Shit. Mike and I had seen this on tv a few months ago and have made fun of it ever since. I had to take a picture of it and send it to him. I did, and by the time I was done, the lady taking over the pregnancy test isle had left, so I grabbed a two-pack and headed home. I took my time, taking the dog out, cleaning a little bit, then finally went to the bathroom. I peed on the little stick, set it on the ground, then cleaned up. I glanced at the stick and realized there were 2 lines. I had to do a double take, then make sure that I wasn't imagining the extra line. But there it was. Instant freak out. I called Kate about 3 dozen times, trying to get hold of her. Finally she called me back. I told her what had happened, and she asked if I wanted her to buy another test and come over. At this point, I hadn't said anything to Mike since he was on his way home from work, so I told her I had another test and I would take it later that night. Mike got home, and I don't think I have ever been more nervous in my life. He came in, and started telling me how great of a day he had had, which made me telling him even worse. I had no idea how I was going to get into it. Finally I asked him if he had gotten the picture of the Egginator I sent him. And this is how the conversation went:

Mike: 'Oh yea. That was pretty funny. Where did you see that at?'
Me: 'It was at Walgreens. (Long pause) Well, the reason I was at Walgreens was to get a pregnancy test.'
Mike: 'Greeeeeeeeeeat.'
Me: 'I took the test.'
Mike: 'And?'
Me: 'It was positive.'
Mike: 'Again? Do you think something is wrong?'
Me: 'Again? What do you think I just said to you?'
Mike: 'That it was positive.'
Me: 'You know what that means right?'
Mike: 'What?'
Me: 'It means I'm pregnant.'
Mike: 'Greeeeeeeeeeeeat.'

I don't know if Mike was in Opposite Land for a minute or what, but he thought that I had said negative, since the last two months they had been negative. I told him that I would take the test again later that night and he wanted me to wait until the next morning, but I wasn't waiting that long. We had some dinner, and Mike drowned himself in beer and Call of Duty. I took the second test, and sure enough, it was positive. Mom was leaving the next morning for California, and I didn't want to tell her over the phone, and I suck at keeping secrets, so I headed to my parents house to tell them. I expected the reaction of new grandparents you see on America's Funniest Home Videos, when they scream and cry and hug. My parents just sat there. The funny thing was is that my dad said, "I guess we're not the greatest America's Funniest Home Videos family." (I love my dad. It's like he's in my head.) Dad was very supportive, while Mom decided to tell me everything that could possibly go wrong. It got to the point my dad had to tell her to stop. She did, and she's better now.

Although this wasn't expected, we are both very excited. I can't believe I'm going to be a mom :)

And so it begins...

Hello everyone! At the suggestion of a few of my friends, I am starting a blog about my pregnancy. I have a horrible memory as it is, so I want to able to look back on this and actually remember it :) I hope this isn't terribly boring for all of you and that you enjoy this journey as much as I will.