13 Weeks

Here is my Week 13 picture.

But seriously 13 weeks and this is how much I'm showing? Really? Is this right? The baby isn't even that high!

                 "...Is that high? It seems so high. Doesn't that seem kinda high?" -Lois Griffin

I'm shocked I'm showing this much already! Whoa! I hope that's ok - especially for my first!

On another note, the 2nd trimester is officially in gear and I'm already loving it!

12 Weeks!

Well, as of Wednesday this week I'm officially 12 weeks. I guess that means I'm not totally done with the first trimester; I have one more week to go...technically. But 12 weeks just sounds better than 13, don't you think?

The overall trend is that I'm feeling better and that is lovely. For 4 days in a row now, I have gotten up at my "normal" time without going back to bed, taking a nap or sleeping in! I have made coffee, breakfast, and lunch for Ross all of those days and I have had the energy and appetite to make dinner. I'm crossing my fingers that this continues :)

So I figured now would be as good a time as any to start posting belly pictures. There isn't much of a baby going on, but you can definitely (or at least I can) see a change in the way I look.

This is the first picture we took at about 6 weeks I want to say.

This next one was I want to say 10.5 weeks.

And this last one is at 11 weeks, 4 days

Mostly I feel like the changes are not necessarily where baby is...like my sides and my upper stomach. Ross is convinced it's displacement and I'm fine with accepting that as the reason why not just my lower belly is growing. Anyway, you are lucky - I don't often feel comfortable showing my bare midsection to anyone. Oh, the things I do for blogs. :)

Spoke too soon

I had never been entirely bed/couch ridden because of exhaustion or morning sickness. From about week 6 to week 10 I did feel pretty bad, especially closer to the six week mark. I was so tired and had nausea pretty much all day on and off. But as I started getting more toward the 10/11 week mark I started feeling better. I didn't have near the nausea which I was loving! I began to tell people that I was starting to feel better...and too soon.

Wednesday this week came and I got hit by the nausea train again! Boo. When it hits, it always hits me at night time (and maybe some other times too) - no exceptions. This is of course so amazing because the time I get to spend with my husband is full of whining and complaining on my end. I'm quiet, lazy, whiney, and probably don't have the most attractive look. I have no desire to make dinner or clean up whatever food we've ingested. I have not been very good at keeping up on the laundry or the house work. And I know that I haven't been much fun - who would be in this state? He is such a trooper.

I thought about this during the time before we were pregnant. For over a year, probably closer to two, I had NO mood swings. Seriously NONE. That was great for me, but I imagine it was even better for Ross. Think about it: a wife who has no mood swings? No outrageously bitchy moments? No unreasonable yelling, crying, freaking out, etc. Think about the worst emotional woman you've ever had to deal with - can you imagine your wife, who for two years had completely (or almost completely) "rational" moods and emotions? Now can you imagine that woman all of a sudden has not only mood swings, but pregnancy mood swings? HELLO!! shock! I feel so bad for Ross for having to deal with me. He's a great husband and never complains. I'm so lucky.

He cleans the cat boxes daily. That's a big, nasty task when you have 3 cats! He has learned how to supplement his meals with chips and snacks when I don't feel like cooking nutritious meals. He lets me sleep in 3 hours past when he wakes up - keeping the TV low and the cats under control so I don't get woken up. I no longer get up with him in the morning to make coffee/chai/tea and his lunch and breakfast. And of course many more...

The worst part of all this is that I loved doing all of that stuff before; laundry, cleaning, waking up with him in the morning to make his lunch and breakfast and drink. I especially LOVE to cook and try new recipes and I just love being in the kitchen! He has loved my cooking and I miss doing it for him. I hope in the next few weeks I'll get my energy and stomach back and can do this for him again! He sooo deserves the best treatment in the world and I hate feeling like a lazy and lousy wife. :(

The newest member of our family

Ok, well the newest member isn't actually a person...or a pet. It's a treadmill!! We have welcomed this new member with open arms and sore legs!
I've been wanting a treadmill for a long time. I started searching on Craigslist and the best deals I was seeing were between $250 and $300. I felt like that was a little steep for a used treadmill. Anyway, my online searching led me to Walmart's website and well...they had a brand new one for the same price as the ones I was seeing on Craigslist. So, we took the plunge!!!

My LOVELY husband put the whole thing together himself. I tried to help but I'm not kidding, I'm weak and feeble! I mean really. When I took Kickboxing I was ripped - not to toot my own horn but it's kinda true. (I think Ross didn't like that much muscle to be honest, but I digress...) I could've put the whole treadmill together on my own -- probably. But like I said, I'm now weak and feeble. I tried to tighten a screw and COULD NOT! I tried with all my might and couldn't tighten a screw to save my life! All of this to say, Ross put the whole thing together with beautiful ease. Amazing.

I have used it daily since we brought home our new member home and have loved every minute of it! Ross has used it too and I believe he is liking it just as much!

On a separate, and in my mind, a far less interesting note, White Grapefruit Juice is not a good choice for pregnant women...well, this pregnant woman. Now it could have been the fact that a few minutes prior I had a snack of pickles and possibly a few green olives...I mean maybe. Maybe it was too much acid? Maybe just a bad combination? Or maybe, just maybe, the makers of White Grapefruit Juice should be a little more cautious about how enticing their product looks to pregnant women - I request a disclaimer.
Now, what to do about the remaining bottle of White Grapefruit Juice...

Maybe our lovely cat Hannibal would like a try! He's pretty much into everything, especially checking out what's in the fridge. I think this tendency of his could become a hazard once Baby Overacker joins the family. I'm envisioning Hannibal jumping into a cradle or crib to "check things out" like a good Curious Cat but like a HORRIBLE baby companion. Or him thinking that the cradle or crib belongs to him. There are many more visions in this brain of mind, but in my attempts to be "stress free" I'm going to keep those to myself. Venting my worries tends to make me more worried - something I like to call Heidi Syndrome. In the mean time, we could all use a good laugh of how crazy Hannibal is right now; before his antics become no longer funny when Baby arrives.

Baby Overacker is cookin'

We first found out we were having a baby the day before Thanksgiving. It was the most unreal feeling I could ever imagine. Ross always said that if I found out I were pregnant, the rules for telling him were:
1. Do not call him at work
2. Do not email him at work
3. Do not come into his work
4. Do not tell him in any way at or related to work
So, as I thought to take a test, I did so when he was around. We were still groggy at 5:45 AM and I think it took us about 5 minutes to decipher the display. It was soooo exciting, and sooooo scary!  Unfortunately we still both had to work that day. I don't think either of us did any actual work that day.

We had wanted to have a baby for a long time. About a year before we discovered this greatness, we decided to start the process...and it wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. I got so easily frustrated and worried that I was being punished for something I'd done in the past. Everyone assured me that this wasn't the case, but I'm a hard one to convince. I saw a doctor in the summer and he wanted me to start taking a fertility drug. WHAT?! Are you kidding? I'm only 25 and I don't think I'm quite ready for something so "heavy". I had heard great things about acupuncture. So I took the plunge.

I drove the 3 hours over the passes and mountains once a week to see Dr. Doran - my wonderful chiropractor. I was the first person he'd seen with the sole purpose of getting pregnant. I started acupuncture on September 12 and was pregnant by November 13 or so. I couldn't say more good things about acupuncture. It was completely natural - no drugs, weekly tests, monthly sonograms, and no doctors telling me when "to try".  Not to mention, no added chance of multiples.

Anyway, we're pregnant and so very excited! We can't wait to see my belly start to bulge and to find out what we're having!