20 weeks and nose bleeds...oh boy!

Nose bleeds seem  to be quite normal in pregnancy, as are bleeding gums, overactive sweat glands (like I didn't already have a problem with this living in So. Cal!), growing feet, growing everything, strange eating habits, and the list continues to infinity it seems!  But all is well with my soul because my God lives and has created a sweet life that is growing inside of me!  By this time in pregnancy, our baby weighs about 10-11oz and is approximately 6.5in from crown to rump... this doesn't include the finger like legs and arms : )  Baby is starting to put on weight now that everything is in its proper positioning and organs are working at a somewhat normal level, those have some maturing to do as well!

We had a diagnostic ultrasound done a week ago... Our baby was healthy, average in size and weight and... is a boy!!!!!  He wasn't shy about it either!  At this stage in pregnancy, our baby boy's, "testicles have begun their descent from the abdomen.  In a few months, they'll drop into the scrotum (which is still under construction)" (What to Expect When You're Expecting pg. 233).  There is also lots of room in there for him to move around and kick and punch and exercise his developing little joints and muscles.  Soon he'll be too tight for somersaults and will prepare by positioning his head down toward my pelvis.  

Weeks 8 through 17... What happened to the time?!

8 Weeks Pregnant

I'll tell you what happened to the time, I was mostly in bed with nausea and eating plenty of fast food.  Yes, the only thing I could stomach was  fast food for about eight straight weeks.  Blah!  For some strange pregnancy reason I could not eat nor cook my favorite healthy home cooked meals so being the only cook in our home, my darling Husband would offer to cook by supplying us with a steady flow of easy food... from the drive through.  Oh well, I am finally feeling better and although I still can't stomach the time in the kitchen, at least I can now eat fruits and other nutritious foods that mostly my wonderful mom in law makes at her home.  During all of this down time I have had the opportunity to read a bunch on pregnancy and baby development as well as labor and delivery.  I did experience a bout of depression for about a week because all I could do was lay in bed and even then I was feeling ill and every smell was absolutely disturbing.  Everything I was involved in got put on hold and for the most part still is so there was little socializing and constant "yuckiness".  I have an incredible family though and they let me just come over and veg in their living room just to feel like I was alive and soon enough I started feeling better!  Oh and exercise?!  Yeah right!  I am just now getting to the place where I can get out a few times a week for a walk or an easy urban bike ride without dry heaving or puking in some near bush!  

What about baby?  Baby is growing and twirling and moving all around just fine!  At our monthly midwife appointments we get to hear the heart beating and we have gotten to see baby on an ultrasound machine a couple of times.  The growth rate of my uterus is perfect as well.  We still are not sure if we are having a boy or a girl but on June 7th we have a full OB diagnostic ultrasound scheduled where hopefully we will be able to see if baby is a he or a she!  At first Eli and I thought we would wait to find out baby's sex until the birth but knowing both of our "check list" personalities, finding out will help us plan appropriately and I feel as if we could bond with baby a bit more knowing who we are bonding with.  

17 Weeks Pregnant

As for birthing classes, we chose to take the Bradley Birth Classes.   We are taking the classes at Peachy Keen Birth Services by Mandi Woolery who is passionate about child birth and who is a momma of three herself.  So far we have taken one out of twelve classes, which focused on exercise and relaxation, but I have read Husband Coached Childbirth which is all about the Bradley Method of childbirth.  While I feel inadequate to explain the entirety of what the Bradley Method is because I have only read about it and taken one class, I will do my best to briefly explain what the Bradley Method is.  Basically, the Bradley Method of Natural Childbirth is a method of childbirth that teaches the husband how to be a birth coach, after all, why not finish what he helped start, and teaches the wife how to relax and breath in order to handle child birth naturally.  There is a lot of detail within this basic description so if you are interested in further information just visit www.bradleybirth.com  and read a few of the resources they suggest which will include the book I have previously suggested, Husband Coached Childbirth.  I realize that I don't have the best blogging habit but I will try as time goes on to talk more about what we are learning in our Bradley Method classes!

How the heck did we get pregnant after almost two years of trying anyway?!  We prayed all the time.  Eli would lay his hand on my belly and pray almost every night.  I also started to ease up on my diet.  I have the tendency to be very linear so if I am going to eat a certain way, that will be the way I eat!  Instead I would let myself indulge when we would go out and wouldn't let myself stress on the junk I just put in my body.  The reason for this mostly was because, statistically, I needed to put on some weight if I was to be at my most fertile weight range.  So knowing this helped me to not be as stressed about nutrition as I have the potential to be.  Another thing we did was acupuncture.  The interesting thing about this is that I got the acupuncture around the day we conceived, not even knowing we had conceived so I am not sure how much this helped but it sure was relaxing, which I am sure helped!  Also, I took it easy on exercise.  I love to mountain bike, road bike, walk, etc. but I chose to give my body a break!  I added green juice to my daily diet too!  This juice included kale, cucumber, lemon, ginger, celery, and apple!  Oh, I love juicing, that is, loved because as soon as I hit seven weeks, I couldn't stand it!  I am going to try again at the end of this week, I hope I love it again!  Oh, for the last 10 years I worked at Starbucks and went to school so I never had a regular sleep nor eating schedule and I really believe this didn't help my fertility!  It was also so stressful for me!  For the last chunk of time I worked there I had to be at work by 4am which meant I would be up no later than 2am or 3am to get ready, eat, etc.  This didn't mean I got a nice full nights sleep either!  most of the time I was in bed by 11pm the night before ensuring a maximum of three to four hours of sleep a night!  Oh, this took its toll on me for sure!  There were many benifits to working for Starbucks so don't get me wrong please, but I did reach the end of my duty there!  By the grace of God I was able to resign in January of 2012 following a year long sabbatical in 2011!  A full year and half before we got pregnant I was able to work on getting plenty of rest, get back to a healthy eating schedule and routine and enjoy life!  And lastly, at least that I can currently think of, I truly believe that getting help in the form of counseling and medication for my extreme anxiety disorder (EAD) and OCD has played a huge role in helping us get pregnant because I can see life clearer and calmer rather than from a very fatalistic, and quite frankly a scary, point of view!  I actually feel normal!  I never knew what normalcy was like because I thought the compulsive and terrifying thoughts and the daily warfare of that was normalcy.  I couldn't have been more wrong!  Now I am fully equip to be a health momma and a healthy wife!  God indeed is SO good!  

On that note, I look forward to the days, weeks, and months ahead, I am looking forward to getting back into the kitchen and I am looking forward to getting back into the sunshine for some easy exercising!  Until next update, be blessed and take care!

   

Seven Weeks & Feelin' It

7 Weeks Pegnant

I wasn't sure what was ahead of me.  Up until this week I was feeling fine with the exception of wanting to sleep most of the day and all night.  This week however, has brought on some serious aversions.  Our homemade chicken broth is stewing in the slow cooker like usual but boy does the smell send me to the bathroom for some dry heaving!  Not very attractive I know but it is all too true.  No actual vomit, YET! Just the ultra uncomfortable silence sitting at the toilet waiting in discomfort.  Eli  and I consider it a blessing though!  It doesn't feel good but the outcome will be wonderful, that's for sure!  I thought I'd be able to continue life as usual but so far everything has been put on hold, including laundry, weekly house hold duties, even cooking.  This morning we had blueberry pancakes but I had to take a nap break because the smell sent me to the bathroom... So far everything I eat makes me nauseous which is why I'd rather be sleeping or lying down than doing anything, still, being pregnant is an absolute blessing!

Eli has been a sweet heart.  He helps when  he can, getting things I might need when I've already cozied up in bed, suggesting I eat something when I haven't wanted to think about it, etc.  I am so thankful to God for him, he is a blessing! 


Here is a neat video about pregnancy in the first nine weeks if you're interested. 

Also, some additional information from babycenter.com about your seventh week of pregnancy:

(Text is directly from site)

How your life's changing:

Your uterus has doubled in size in the past five weeks, and eating may feel like a chore — or worse — thanks to morning sickness, which by now may be in full swing. (If you're feeling fine, don't worry — you're lucky!)
You may need to pee more than usual, too, thanks to your increasing blood volume and the extra fluid being processed through your kidneys. (By now, you already have about 10 percent more blood than you did before you were pregnant. And by the end of your pregnancy, you'll have 40 to 45 percent more blood running through your veins to meet the demands of your full-term baby.) As your uterus grows, pressure on your bladder will send you to the bathroom as well.
About half of the women who feel nauseated during the first trimester will find complete relief by about 14 weeks. For most of the rest, it'll take another month or so for the queasiness to ease up. It's unlikely, though, that the need to pee more than usual will ease up. In fact, research shows that both the frequency and volume of urine tends to increase over the course of pregnancy.

Until next weeks update, have a blessed week!

Answered Prayers

6 Weeks Pregnant

Eli and I have been praying for a family since we got married on 26 June 2010. And here we are, a testament to an answered prayer! We are currently six weeks pregnant!  Truly a miracle!  God has brought us SO far in the last year and eight months of our marriage.  It started out very rocky and tumultuous due to my having something likened to post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with aggravated Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and major anxiety disorder (MAD) that I had no clue of.  All I knew was that I panicked at nearly every event Eli and I were together - feeling like I was going to be abandoned, forgotten about, overlooked, etc.  This caused me to become very intolerant, aggressive and  jealous.  I was constantly worried that my husband was going to forget about me and leave me so I was wrapped up plagued by constant fear and anxiety.  We started marriage counseling with a Christian Marriage and Family counselor named Joseph Kozinski who not only negotiated his price to fit our budget but took God's perspective and made it ours as we ARE His children.  After seeing that I needed more help than just talking through things and explaining PTSD to us, he set me up with Dr. Kohut out of San Bernardino to help evaluate and place me on an anti anxiety medication.  I have had the most normal and rational life ever since which has allowed my marriage to soar and my body chemistry to regulate and to conceive!  I have never been so clear headed emotionally!  Thank You Lord for your never ending involvement in our lives and for seeing us through the good times and the bad!  We are forever Yours.

Now back to the pregnancy!  So far at six weeks I have been feeling a bit tired.  Usually right after I do something, anything, I feel like rest is needed.  Also, my baby feeders are quite tender.  I feel cramping in my uterus area from time to time which is totally normal.  Eli is SO happy!  Neither of us can keep our mouths shut about it!  We love telling people that we are pregnant and especially to pray for a full term and perfectly healthy baby!  And now that you know, please join in on the prayer ; )  I plan on keeping you all updated week by week with the priceless belly pictures so keep reading and I would love to hear your thoughts!

Lots of love,
Candace