Blame it on the hormones!

Well, I've always done that! Anyone who knows me well knows that I'm an emotional person and I cry easily. In fact, Sarah (my dear sister-in-law) likes to call me "waterworks". When it was TOM I could watch Oprah and get all weepy. I would cry or get teary eyed when happy, sad, or filled with joy. I get touched so easily by little things that make my heart smile.

These days it seems to be a daily event. I cried when listening to a Coldplay song, I cried when telling the story of my Grandfather asking when I was due - he can't speak because of a stroke, but I could make out what he was asking and I could see the joy in his face. Heck, I'm crying right now while writing this. I don't get grumpy, moody, irritated...I cry. I guess it's a beautiful thing :)

What's funny is when I'm reading about different things going on with my body each week, everything is happening because of hormones. Not that I'm experiencing all of these symptoms, but here are some of the things that can occur due to the fluctuating hormones: morning sickness, bloating, belching, nasal congestion, slow digestion, constipation, heartburn, migraines/headaches, hot flashes, mood swings, food cravings, fatigue...the list goes on and on. Those darn hormones!!!

I'm trying to embrace the hormones and everything they are putting my body through. So if you see me crying, just hand me a tissue and know that I'm okay!

Rockin' a Bump

I don't have much of a bump just yet, but I read this in Pregnancy and New Born and it made me smile and I just had to share.

The top 10 reasons why rockin' a bump rocks your world!

1. That "glow" reserved for new moms is all yours.
2. Reserved parking at big baby stores - when the sign says "For expectant mothers only," you can whip right in!
3. A new addition to the family = an excuse to shop 'till you drop.
4. Front-of-line bathroom privileges wherever you go - nobody makes a preggers gal hold it.
5. That constant state of joyful anticipation over what's to come.
6. Two words: stretchy pants.
7. Everyone is nicer to a belly-toting mama; snobs smile, grumps grin and smokers blow in the other direction.
8. Have you checked out your chest lately?
9. A built-in excuse for an extra scoop of ice cream - for the baby, of course!
10. The beginnings of pure and unconditional love - the kind every little girl dreams of, and moms get to experience every single day.

Baby J Ticker Added

If you are wondering how far along I am, you can take a look at the new baby ticker on the right side of the blog page. I might have to refer to it often as I'm starting to have "pregnancy brain". I can't believe how much I'm forgetting these days!

UGH...I spoke too soon!

Do you know that I hate migraines?? I really thought that I wasn't going to get anymore, but sadly I was wrong. I woke up with a headache Friday morning. It got worse as the day went on and I finally left work at 3:00 with a migraine. I came home and slept for a while and when Benny came home we went out and I filled the pain pill prescription that my OB gave me in case I had another one of these nasty episodes. Well, the pain pill didn't do a thing! I went to bed with an ice pack on my head and tried to sleep through the pain.

Saturday morning I woke up and felt so bad. Still had the headache (the migraine subsided), but what was worse is I had a case of allodynia which came about due to not being able to take my regular migraine meds.

The whole right side of my face/head was affected. It was like I had an imaginary line drawn down my face - nothing on the left hurt, but everything on the right did. My scalp was tender to the touch, my face felt like someone ran sandpaper down it, my eye, ear, and throat hurt so bad...but only on the right side. Even if I shook my head as an attempt to move my hair out of my eyes, I felt like I was feeling every hair on the right side of my head move. It was the strangest thing I've experienced in a while. Saturday night I had to sleep with an ice pack again. And on Sunday most of the symptoms started to disappear.

I'm finally feeling better, although I still have a bit of a sore throat and my ear still hurts a bit. I'm hoping that it's nothing more than the after effects of that crazy migraine. And I'm still hoping for that miracle that I won't get any more migraines during this pregnancy. Can't a girl dream???

Bye Bye Migraines

There are so many positives with being pregnant, but I have to say one of the things I'm loving is not having any migraines. I've had a few minor headaches with the worst one being right after I found out I was pregnant. I could feel my heart beating through my head and all I could take was Tylenol. That OTC med does not do anything for me! I'm so happy to be migraine free right now. I hope that this will last throughout the entire 9 months and I would be ecstatic if I were migraine free afterward.

I've worked on getting all of my triggers out of my house. I've changed all of my cleaning products over to all natural, green products. I'm also using all natural personal care products. I've known that one of my migraine triggers was chemicals and environmental toxins. Over the past few years I've stopped using perfumes and lotions, fragrance laundry detergent, and most candles and air fresheners. In July I switched over all my cleaning products and couldn't be happier. And it came just in time since I'm breathing for 2 now :) I feel good knowing that I've made healthy changes for me, our baby, and the environment.

Seeing is Believing

Friday, Sept 12 was our first OB appt. We had our first ultrasound and got to see little Baby J and his/her heartbeat. It was amazing!!

I've been going through the normal stuff: bloating, nausea, fatigue, etc and I know I'm pregnant, but to see Baby J on the monitor just made it so real to us. There's nothing like seeing that heartbeat!

Speaking of the normal early pregnancy stuff...I really need some sleep! The nausea isn't terrible, but the insomnia is. I can't fall asleep and then I do just to wake up a little later to make one of my many trips to the restroom and then I can't go back to sleep. Working all day is rough when you're so tired. I guess Baby J is just getting me ready for what's to come :)

Whoa...we're starting a family!

Well the title says it all. Benny and I have been married for 11 years and we are expecting our first little bundle of joy :) I think our families are super surprised. Actually, that's an understatement...I think they are shocked! You see, we said we'd wait for 5 years and we did and then another 5 years came and went. During this time we've seen my middle brother Hank and his wife Sarah get married and have 4 beautiful children. And we've witnessed Benny's middle brother Kevin and his wife Eddia get married and have their first child. The attention turned from everyone wondering when we would have kids to our siblings and their children.

Without us planning (and everyone knows we are planners!) and/or trying to conceive we got some exciting news on August 21. After 4 home tests (you know, I could have bought a faulty test!) I was able to get into my family Dr. so I could get confirmation from her. On August 26 we received that confirmation and began sharing the news.

Today I went in for paperwork at my OB's office and tomorrow I'll have my first ultrasound.

Stay tuned to hear the updates on the pregnancy and I'll be posting lots of stories and crazy advice that I've received. It's amazing what you hear when people know you are preggers!