2 days shy of 29 weeks

This pregnancy is FLYING BY!!! Although, some days I feel like I have been pregnant FOREVER. I am having trouble organizing my thoughts so I am going to create some bullets to update you guys.
-Jeff is deployed. Yep. Shocked me too. We were given a weeks notice that he would be leaving for 2 and a half months. He will be home July 2. I am due July 22. I pray this baby will not be impatient.
-I am not coping well. I don't want to go into detail, but it has been REALLY rough. This is NOT normal for me. Usually, I handle Jeff's absence REALLY well, but right now my hormones won't let me. I am getting better and better each day though....
-Still no name for the ChickPea...I guess she will have to come out and tell us what her name is. :-) Even if we did have a name, we would keep it a secret until her birth...just so that folks won't discourage our name choice. We are weird like that.
- I am SOOOOO ready for water aerobics to start.
- I have not done yoga in a month. I have trouble breathing...
- The little Chick Pea is healthy and thriving. Her growth has slowed down a bit, but that is because she grew SO FAST in the beginning....she was bound to level out at some point...
- I am completely healthy. This is a blessing.
- I am SO STRESSED about maybe not having everything we need for the baby.
- I keep telling myself that babies don't need MUCH to survive and thrive...but in the back of my head, I DON'T want things to be a strain in the beginning...
- I still feel very alone.
- I talk to my baby all day. Most people would think I was a lunatic because I just talk to her all day...
- I think she likes it when I sing and she likes it when I take long hot baths.
- Dairy still makes me sick. Unless it is cheese. Weird right?
- Everyday I am more and more excited about meeting this new human being...I love her so much already.

Cheers,
Kira

24 wks or 6 mos Pregnant

So I have made it to the 24 week mark! 24 weeks certainly sounds less intimidating then 6 mos.
I am not working right now. Which SUCKS because I hate being home all the time.
I could never be a stay at home mom. I know...I am going to get a lot of flames for that comment, but I could be a good stay at home mom, if I didn't have to be a good wife too. Being home all day is NOT good for my mental well-being at all and I think I would be pretty worthless as a mom if I am totally mental. But that is a discussion for another day...another post...
Anyway, here are a few bullets about 24 weeks...

• The baby kicks A LOT. At this point I can see her kicks and punches under my skin...it is gross and amusing all at the same time.
• I don't sleep well AT ALL. I can't get comfortable at night....I could get a body pillow/pregnancy pillow, but I would have to sleep in another room. Our bed is just not big enough for Jeff, me AND a huge pillow.
• I am fat. I hate it.
• My appetite is REALLY strange...I think because my belly is so big and stretched I just don't feel like eating, I feel overstuffed.... but then I get to the point where I am so hungry that I am about to faint...that feeling comes REALLY fast and is REALLY scary.
• I am very hormonal and that is making life very UN-Harmonious right now...
• I hate it when people say I am not the first woman to get pregnant and have a baby......as if I didn't know.
• I feel alone and misunderstood....A LOT.
• I am afraid we are not going to have everything we need for the baby and because I have been talking about all the baby stuff for so long, Jeff is tired of ALL THINGS baby and has no motivation or desire to continue trying to aquire baby things...this is my own fault....I am even tired of it all.......but being tired of it is NOT going to get the things we need.
• I hate being unprepared and having to scrabble at the last minute.
• I am tired. Mentally, physically, emotionally........I am ready for this to be over.....
• I know it SEEMS like I am not happy about this baby anymore, but I am....I am OVERJOYED to meet this baby, but I am tired of being pregnant....I hate it....
• I am scared.

Cheers,

Kira

21 weeks. It's a......

GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We went to the "general anatomy" Ultrasound today....also known as the "big one" :-) She was just PERFECT. Healthy and VERY active. So active that the sonographer had a VERY hard time getting pictures of what she needed. HAHAHAHA.
She was kicking and punching, arching her back. Having a FULL ON TANTRUM in there. Lord, I hope this is not a sign of things to come. I was SO SO sure it was a boy.....she is just SO ACTIVE and I am always feeling movement going on in there, I thought, SURELY this is a crazy, kicking little boy. NOPE, it is a crazy kicking little girl. I actually get worried when she is not moving because she moves so much ALL THE TIME.

Anyway, needless to say Jeff and I are just tickled pink (pun intended) and cannot wait to meet our beautiful baby girl. We are still tossing around names, but will probably keep the name a secret until we meet our beautiful baby girl.

I leave you with a picture of Miss. Thang in a 4D shot that we got for FREE!!!!!


Cheers,
Kira

26 years old and 17wks Pregnant

So, my birthday was on the 11th. It was really different this year for me. Usually I am really excited the entire week of my birthday and DEMAND to be treated like a queen, but this year, I could have cared less....Jeff is out of the country on one of his many world tour trips for work and it has just been me and the dogs.

I have been trying to stay busy, doing my normal routine, and then trying to get out more walking and doing yoga...

This last doctor's appointment for the baby I talk to the doc about being a little depressed. It was kind of hard to talk about because I am trying to be strong and just deal with the hormonal roller coaster, the out of no where weight gain, and just not being able to do the normal things I am use to doing without having to stop and take a break or go to the bathroom :-/. I am kind of a high strung person, but being pregnant has REALLY slowed me down. I just don't have as much energy. Jeff was at this appointment before he left and told the doctor that I cried a lot...which I do...I cry if I am happy, sad, if a commercial is really sweet, for NO REASON WHAT SO EVER...I just cry....of course all of this is completely normal and comes with being pregnant, but it is not normal for ME. I don't usually cry so much so it is a little different.

Anyway, enough about that. The babies progress has been GREAT. This time he/she was still enough so we could hear the heartbeat on the doppler :-) and I feel him/her kicking all the time now. It was flutters at first, kind of felt like a cross between a lizard under my skin and gas bubbles, but now I know his/her pronounced little movements. It is so amazing. I cannot wait until they are strong enough for Jeff to feel. I am hoping that by the time he gets back he can feel it, but I don't know. I have pretty much been progressing in a textbook way so I will be 20 weeks when he gets home.....

In March we find out the SEX of the baby!!!! I CANNOT WAIT....stay tuned....

I leave you with a picture of some onesies Jeff picked up overseas....he sent me a picture of them. I kind of sent him on a mission to get as much foreign baby stuff as possible. :-D

Cheers,

Kira

14 weeks

So things have been going pretty well. I have faced some adversity these past few days, but I am plowing through it.
We have decided to do things a little different as far as raising our child. Jeff and I have had a LOT of time to talk about it and we agree on the way we are choosing to raise our child.
I am almost 26 and Jeff is 27, a lot of our peers ALREADY have children.....we are both the youngest child in our family so all of our siblings have children and we have both seen things we LOVE and things we don't love about the practices of our peers and family.
Jeff and I have decided to take a more organic approach to parenting. I know, folks think that because this is our first child we are inexperienced and just want to try all the newest trends in parenting, but the truth is, we are turning the clocks back a little bit. We are cloth diapering, I am breastfeeding for as long as it benefits my baby, we are doing some of the practices of attachment parenting, but mostly taking cues from our baby and our babies needs. When the child starts solid foods we will be doing as organic as we can afford or just good HEALTHY meals. We are going to try to steer clear of harsh chemicals and dyes in the child's food. NO FAST FOOD....maybe as a treat while on vacation, or on a rare occasion, but Jeff and I definately want to build a SOLID eating foundation for our child before we introduce salty, fatty, fast food that comes with a toy.
When I say SOLID foundation I mean, I want to introduce our child to as many fruits and veggies and home cooked meats as we can. I will admit, fast food taste GOOD. It is seasoned in such a way to draw people in. I just don't want my child REFUSING to eat at home because he/she wants junky fast food for every meal. Another reason I want to do this is a slightly selfish reason, but a reason non the less.....I love to cook. Right now I cook about 4 to 5 times a week for Jeff and I. I think my food taste GOOD and I am always trying healthy recipies and alternatives to otherwise UNHEALTHY comfort food favorites.
When I tell people about these ideas Jeff and I have, they automatically get defensive....as if I am saying their parenting style is WRONG or as if I am saying I am better then them for choosing this style of parenting....I of course am not saying this AT ALL!!!! I always just say..."I think i am going try to do this...." Or "Jeff and I have decided to do this..." I try my BEST to not come off as snobby or condecending......I think a lot of the adversity comes from folks who actually feel a little guilty about what they are doing or how they are raising their children, I can't help that. This is my FIRST baby, I am in NO position to tell ANYONE how to raise their child or things they may want to try.
~sigh~

Anyway, to end this blog on a happy note. Me and the baby are doing well. The sickness has let up and I have started nesting a little....IE: Manic cleaning. hahaha. Jeff is amused.

Cheers,
Kira

11 weeks going into 12 weeks

Well I am 11 weeks and 4 days today. Thursday marks the 12 week milestone. Done with one trimester...wow. I have to admit that I am a little scared. I have not been sick this past week, except Saturday, my reflux/heartburn was OUT OF CONTROL and I was pretty much miserable most of the day. I have to admit, being sick is the only way I know that I am pregnant right now since I cannot feel the baby yet. It is all a little overwhelming.
I am SO glad to be relieved of the CONSTANT vomiting, but SO scared all at the same time....There will be this next couple of weeks of NOT KNOWING what is going on with my baby. Today I weighed myself and had another small freak out....I have lost 4 lbs. :-/
I know they say you should'nt weigh yourself, but I FELT lighter this morning for some reason and wanted to check it out....maybe it is because I have not been as constipated as I was in the beginning...I know TMI, but if you can't handle details, then you probably should not be reading this blog....Anyway, I immediately began thinking about the baby and wondering if he/she was ok in there, I have been getting cramps, which I know is just Round Ligament pain, but you as some of you know, the Pregnant brain immediately thinks the worse...OY!
Tomorrow is my next doctor's appointment and hopefully she will put my crazy mind at ease...until then....

Cheers,
Kira

A Little Something From St. Thomas.....

So last time I blogged I was on my way to St. Thomas.....

Well, we went and had an AMAZING time...it was just out of this world beautiful. I look forward to going back! We had a great time. No Drama, no arguing, no set schedule for ANYTHING, just swimming in the ocean and enjoying life....

So, no one knew Jeff and I have been trying to have a baby.....YEP, the couple who vowed to NEVER have children FOOLED YOU ALL!!!!! If you have been listening closely and following our lives, you would have known though....we have tried to adopt relative's children before...offered to keep people's kids for a long while and even made side comments like, "we won't do that with our kids...." You just had to listen to the clues... I have had some troubles in the past trying to get pregnant and have had a miscarriage and a couple of surgeries on my reproductive parts...we have kept this all private though. We are VERY private people after all. So when Jeff got back from the desert we decided to geuninely start trying to have a baby, I mean really focus on it.....Low and behold.. we brought back a something a little "extra" from St. Thomas. I guess the timing was just right because a few weeks after our trip I found out I was pregnant!!! We are both SO EXCITED.

The truth about pregnancy was a SLAP in the face though. I have never felt so OUT OF CONTROL in my life. Out of control of my body, out of control of my babies life, out of control of my emotions.....it is just an complete outer body experience. Really strange. I have been pretty sick. I am 11 weeks now and it is JUST easing up. The mornings are still pretty rough though.

I have been so sick, that I was in the emergency room one night with an IV in my arm from SEVERE dehydration...so severe I was blacking out......and my doctor put me on TWO strong anti-nausea medications....both of which worked great...when I could keep them down. :-/

Things are SO SO Much better now and this last ultrasound the mystery of my sickness was revealed...I was actually pregnant with TWINS....except one did not make it past 6 weeks. :-( it never even really developed so the ultrasound showed an emtpy sac with a yolk....Jeff and I were DEVASTATED....after all, it has been hard to concieve ONE child, what a blessing it would have been to be able to have two at once. We are not sure if we will be able to have another.....but we sure are happy we have this ONE healthy, striving child....that is for sure.

Here is what he/she looks like at 10 weeks....we are currently calling it Nibbler...because I found out I was pregnant around Thanksgiving and I was only able to eat nibbles of food at a time....

I have gained 5 lbs and it seems to be all breast and belly, I ache constantly in my joints, I can vomit at a drop of a dime, and can cry just as quickly....but I am the happiest I have EVER.....EVER been in my entire life.

I am going to try to blog a little more now that I have stuff to say.....and interesting things going on in my life. This blog will probably become more devoted to my discovering how to be a Mom because let's face it, I have NO IDEA WHAT THE HELL I AM GETTING MYSELF INTO....NO IDEA....I just know that Jeff and I will do our best and will love this baby with every fiber of our beings....

Cheers,

Kira