Oh No, Not Again!

I shouldn't be at the computer typing; I should by lying on the couch resting. Maybe trying to get in some fluid.

Several weeks ago I had a couple days where I couldn't keep down anything, not crackers or water or anything. I even had to go to the ER because I was dehydrated from not being able to keep down any liquids.

Sigh, it's happening again. It started this morning when I lost my oatmeal. I tried again with apple juice and a bread roll. No dice. My lunch of leftover rice pilaf didn't last more than ten minutes. Water has been coming back up all afternoon and evening. I just ate about six green beans for dinner. We'll see how long I'm able to keep that down.

I wish the morning sickness would just go away and stay away! I'll be just fine for days at a time, but every time I think it's finally gone it comes back. This is the worst it's been since my ER episode, and I'm hoping that I won't have to go to the ER again.

Dinner tonight was especially interesting. I knew that I had to come up with something to feed the kids, but couldn't think of anything! I couldn't even do leftovers - we had done that for lunch. We didn't even have bread for sandwiches, just one lone bread roll. No way was I going to cook something, even something as simple as pasta and tomato sauce. Finally I remembered that there were two hot dogs in the fridge and tossed them in the microwave. I also microwaved some green beans and split the roll between the two kids. They're totally satisfied. I threw up from handling that much food.

There is a silver lining to this dark and dense cloud of nausea. All the unrest and excitement in my body is apparently stimulating for the baby - after one bout of throwing up I laid back down on the couch and was immediately greeted by encouraging little bumps and squirms in my belly. It was as if the baby were trying to tell me, "It's okay, Mom. I'm still fine, and you're going to get through this." That brought a smile to my face, in spite of all the throwing up.

Sorry for the rambling nature of this post, I guess that's just what happens when you've had a day like I have. :-/

Super Quick...

I know I need to post more regularly here, and I will get around to doing an update sometime.

I just wanted to post really quick that I just felt the baby move! Little swishy flutterings right in my lower abdomen! It actually made my eyes tear up a bit, I'm so excited. :-)

Funny how these little things can get us so excited and emotional. I think I'll be in a better mood this evening than I've been for days.

Such an Awesome Deal!

We did our grocery shopping on Tuesday, and I had noticed in the Smith's sales flyer that the Kroger salad dressings were on sale for 88 cents each. That was such an incredible price that we couldn't resist! I planned on getting some ranch, some Italian, just the basics. That was until we got to the salad dressing aisle and saw the varieties that were available. We might have gotten a little over-excited...

We came home with seven bottles of fancy-schmancy dressing, for only $6.16! Check out this lineup:


Our awesome dressing varieties are: Avocado Ranch, California Honey French, Balsamic Vinaigrette, Russian, Chunky Bleu Cheese, Roasted Red Pepper Vinaigrette with Parmesan, and Greek. We love fancy dressings, but don't often get them because they tend to be pricier. So this was such an awesome buy for us!

Prenatal Appointment

I had my second prenatal appointment today. It wasn't super eventful - the nurse took my weight (I've only gained a pound) and blood pressure (it was excellent). Then I waited for a very long time to see the midwife. Seriously, I made it through an entire Family Fun magazine before she came in! She was with another patient - maybe they double booked and we both showed up? Anyway, I guess it was cool, because I never actually make it through an entire magazine while waiting, usually I get interrupted mid-article.

We talked briefly about symptoms, then came the fun part - listening for the baby's heart beat on the doppler. Apparently the baby was curled up right behind my aorta - it took forever for the midwife to find the heartbeat. She kept moving the doppler wand around in various positions, trying higher and then lower, the left and the right, for several minutes but all we heard was the large, slow swooshing of my own heart beat. Finally the silly little baby cooperated and moved a little away from the aorta and we heard the tiny, fast swoosh, swoosh, swoosh of its heart beat. Welcome sound! Heart rate was about 160, perfectly normal range for how far along I am.

I'm really glad that I'm not one of those women who get scared and panic at every little thing (okay, so I was scared when I was spotting earlier in the pregnancy, but that's different). Going that long with the doppler without getting the heartbeat could have been nervewracking, but I was very calm and confident through the whole thing. I knew my baby was in there and doing fine, it was just hiding.

Anyway, got to hear the heart beat and even got to feel my uterus - the midwife pointed out where it was and showed me where to press so I could feel it too. Despite the long wait (both to be seen by the midwife and to hear the heartbeat) it was a nice appointment, and everything is going well. Next one in four weeks!

Bad News For Jeff?

After a very difficult night, we took Jeff to the health clinic this morning. We have noticed that he gets a very bad reaction every time he eats things like bacon and sausage. It started last year, when he got diarrhea and a stomachache eating turkey sausage. It's gotten progressively worse, until last night. He had bacon yesterday, and was up vomiting and diarrhea-ing all night long. This time he even got a rash on his neck and arms. So they're going to do some allergy testing on him to find out why. We'll go back in about a week to see what they found.

This really is bad news for Jeff - sausage and bacon are two of his favorite foods in the whole world! We have half a package of bacon in the fridge right now, and he can't have any of it (though, this might not be bad news for me, because that just means more for me...). It's just kind of a sad situation - I imagine it would be something like me finding out I was allergic to chocolate or something!

Anyway, I'll update when we find out more. Keep poor Jeff in your thoughts. Can't eat bacon, what a terrible thing!

Kissy Kissy!

This is Thomas' fun new thing - he loves to give kisses! It started with he and I exchanging kissing noises back and forth, and now he has discovered how fun it is to plant a smacker right on Mommy or Daddy's lips. It's so cute! Well, except for when his face is coated in ketchup... :-)


Zaylee's new and exciting news is her new shoes. When she was less than a year old, I found a pair of shoes at a yard sale that were only a dollar, so I bought them. But they were so big! I thought she'd never actually grow into them. Well now, two years later, she's finally growing out of those shoes I bought so long ago (why do children have to grow so fast), so we took her on a special trip down the shoe aisle the other day. As I let her try on various pairs of shoes, she was so excited that she kept saying, "This is so magical! So magical!" It was just darling. Anyway, we found a pair that she just loved, and it was on clearance for $6 (I love clearance!). So here are her new, sparkly, bright purple shoes.


She's super excited about the sparklies on the front, and also about the fact that she can put them on all by herself. Her other shoes were getting so small that she always needed help to squeeze her feet into them. But these are still a bit on the big size (growing room), and are meant to slip on easily. Works out great for all of us - Jeff and I don't have to stop what we're doing to help her put her shoes on, and Zaylee gets to feel like a big girl!

Missed Church and a Frustrating Craving

After several days of not throwing up (that Zofran has been a life-saver!) I got sick yesterday, enough to have to stay home from church. It was kind of a bummer - it wasn't morning sickness related, the nausea was different and it came with stomach cramps and diarrhea. But it's over now, as quickly as it started. The real bummer was having to miss church and choir. We were out of town at my parents' house last week, so this makes two weeks of me missing our home ward. The choir just started working on the Mother's Day song, and are singing it next Sunday, and I haven't even heard it yet! I don't think I'll be able to participate with the choir next week, which makes me kind of sad. But I'll get over it.

Last night after Jeff got home from work, we lay in bed talking for a while. This doesn't happen very often, or at all actually, because he gets home around 2 in the morning and we both just sleep. But I had just gotten up to use the bathroom, and was partially awake already, and we just ended up talking. It was cool, we haven't really talked like that for a while. One of our conversation topics was the difference between Top Ramen packets and the real ramen you buy in ramen shops in Japan. Top Ramen is rubbery noodles in a sodium-laden broth-like substance. I really like it, but it pales in comparison to real ramen. There was this ramen shop in Tokyo that I went to once. The bowls were enormous - several inches deep and twice as wide. The fresh noodles are all pooled at the bottom, topped with real broth. Floating in the broth above the noodles are all the delicious extras that the Japanese serve with their ramen - several kinds of mushrooms, a variety of tender-crisp vegetable strips, tenderly cooked greens, sometimes some small pieces of meat, sliced boiled egg, and a little pink fish paste cut in the shape of a flower. That's real ramen, and eating it is an incredible experience.

And ever since that conversation, I have had the most annoying craving - for real ramen prepared in a ramen shop in Tokyo. How frustrating is that! It's not like we can just jump on a plane and head to Tokyo so I can get my ramen fix! Grrr. I just need to tell myself to stop talking or thinking about food, because every time I do I either find that I can't stand the thought of that particular food, or I suddenly want it so bad I feel like crying because I can't have it.

Sigh. Ramen. Real ramen.

ER Excitement

Having been unable to keep anything down for well over 24 hours, I finally called the midwife this morning, who recommended I go in to the ER to get rehydrated and get some anti-nausea medication. Thus began my five-hour sojourn in the ER. I got two liters of fluid through IV, as well as some Zofran for the nausea. It took a long time before I actually began to feel human again, instead of just a vomit machine. But after several hours I finally felt well enough to have some pudding and jello (green of course, this is Salt Lake after all). Once we were sure that was going to stay down, they pulled out the IV and discharged me, sending me on my way with a nice friendly Zofran prescription. I'm glad that ordeal is over. Not as glad as Jeff though - he had the kids with him in the waiting room the whole time. Neither of us realized that it would take so long, or he would have brought the kids back home for a while. As it was, though the kids enjoyed the little play area in the lobby, they were definitely quite antsy by the time I was discharged.

Anyway, it's been a really long and kind of difficult day. But on the plus side, there's only about three hours left until the kids' bedtime, and I actually feel like I might be able to get them some dinner (peanut butter sandwiches) without throwing up halfway through!

Also, almost forgot to mention this. But they did an ultrasound to rule out any problems (make sure the pregnancy wasn't ectopic, etc). I got to see the little baby, safe and snug in my uterus. There was cardiac activity, and fetal movement, which translates to mean that the heart was beating and the baby was moving. It was exciting to get to see my little one! I'm not one of those moms who don't feel like the pregnancy is real until they see the baby on the ultrasound. But it made the pregnancy feel closer and more special when I got to see my cute little Slug (that's what it looked like) on the screen. Ultrasounds are awesome.

Morning Sickness...

Barely escaping from the bathroom long enough to say that I'm sick and miserable! I haven't been able to keep anything down all day, and the only reason I'm not throwing up right now is because there's nothing left to come up.

Later, I'll post about our weekend at Mom and Dad's house, and Janelle's funny frosting mistake, and what not. But for right now, I'm going to go back to focusing on my attempt to keep down a glass of water.

Ugh.....

1st Appointment

Baby and I had our first appointment yesterday at the clinic. Well, mostly it was me. Jeff and the kids came too, because I didn't think I could drive there and find it by myself. The kids got antsy after a while, because first prenatal appointments do take quite a lot of time, with all the questions to answer and paperwork to fill out. So Jeff took them out running through the halls while we finished up my exam. Everything is going well - my uterus is measuring just under eight weeks, which is right where it should be considering that I'm about 7 1/2 weeks along.

I saw two midwives - one certified and one a student. The clinic is located in the University of Utah Hospital, so there's students and studies galore. I'm alright with that - as long as they treat me nice I don't mind students getting valuable experience on me. Both the midwife and the student midwife were very nice, they listened to what I had to say, heard and answered my questions, and treated me like a person and not just a patient. When I said I want a natural birth, they let me know that the midwives in the practice believe birth is a natural process and are willing to support the mother's desires to let it be as natural as she wants. I was glad to hear that - I don't want a lot of routine, unnecessary interventions.

It was too early to hear a heartbeat, and they didn't do an early ultrasound. That's okay - it would have been cool to see the little bean with its little heartbeat on the ultrasound, but not really necessary. And if it's not necessary I don't know if our insurance would cover it, so I don't mind not having it. This will be my first pregnancy not on Medicaid, so I'll try to avoid anything that we might have to pay extra for. :-)

Anyway, in all it was a pleasant prenatal appointment. I'm pleased with the providers, and the pregnancy seems to be progressing as it should. Plus, I got a prescription for a pregnancy-safe migraine medicine, which will definitely come in handy.

And because of all the construction going on down at the hospital, they recommended we use the free valet parking. So we got to use valet parking for the first time. It made me feel ritzy. :-)

Bump!

Already feeling quite a bit of tightness in my clothes, I decided to go without a waist band for church today, choosing an attractive black dress that just glides over my curves instead of trying to squish them in. When I looked in the mirror, I saw just why I'm feeling so much tightness in my waist bands lately!



Holy cow, where did that belly come from? Wow! I'm only seven weeks along, but already I'm sporting a 3- or 4-month belly bump. Well, I compare it to a pair of jeans. Fresh out of the wash, they're nice and snug, and hold everything in. But once you've worn them a few times, they relax and let everything hang out. This is my third pregnancy, so those muscles are all stretched out and just don't hold anything in anymore! :-)

It is kinda fun, I guess. When I was pregnant with Zaylee I had to wait a long time before I was showing enough for anyone to notice. This time I don't have to be patient for that exciting time at all! It's already here!

Dreading the Turkey

We bought another big turkey on Monday, because it was about 48 cents per pound or something like that. We decided that we want it done around lunch tomorrow, so using my mom's cooking method (but without the brine) it cooks for fifteen hours at 200 degrees, and I need to start it right about now. When Jeff and I discussed me starting the turkey, earlier today, it seemed like a good idea, very rational. But now it's time to actually pull the turkey out of the fridge. And take it out of the wrapping. And reach in and pull out the giblets. And have my hands all over that gooey, cold, raw bird. And my nausea is just bubbling up in anticipation. Or is it dread...

Sigh, I guess I'd better get it over with. I really wish Jeff just didn't have to work - he could take care of it. But when I brought that up with him, he reminded me that if he didn't work, we'd get no money, and get evicted for not paying rent, and end up living in the gutter, etc. So he went to work anyway. And left me to deal with that huge raw turkey despite the fact that my morning sickness is at its daily worst right now. Sigh. Here I go, wish me luck.


***Update: I did it. And it was gross. But I survived, and my nausea did not get the better of me. That's going to be one tender, tasty turkey when it's done.***

Life Without Power

I just spent two hours reminding myself that we need new batteries for all our flashlights. And realizing that I'm a bit too hooked on TV and the Internet. You see, the power went out this evening, for just over two hours, right when it was starting to get dark.

At first, I was a bit irritated. I was watching an episode of House online, and wanted to see how it ended. What was I supposed to do with my time until the power came back?! The kids started getting a bit restless - their Sesame Street movie had been interrupted as well. We were just a bunch of screen addicts that had gone on sudden involuntary withdrawal. Much longer and we would have started chewing on each others' legs and fingers!

But after the dust settled, I realized that this would be a good opportunity to do something I don't think I do often enough (especially since the morning sickness kicked in) - play with the kids. We just got a beach ball (though where we'll find a beach to use it at I don't know) and the kids and I started tossing it around and having a great time. Zaylee has been working on catching balls, and had a lot of fun trying to catch the large, bouncy ball. Thomas thought it was a hoot when she would throw the ball at his head and it just bounced off without hurting (mental note: make sure Zaylee knows that she is not allowed to do that with any other balls). And with the kids chasing the ball around the living room, I was able to play with them without getting up from my relaxed position on the couch.

After we exhausted our ball-playing energy, we read a few books. It was still mostly bright outside, so it wasn't a problem. Then it was bedtime for the little ones and I was left alone (Jeff works this evening). At this point I remembered again that there was nothing to entertain me. I tried reading next to the window for a while, but we only get so much light from the street lamps. By the way, it was really frustrating for me to look out the window and see functioning street lamps, and houses across the street with working lights, but to not have any power in our apartment building. I lit a candle and tried to read by candlelight, but quickly decided that my candle must not be the reading type, and put the book away before I ruined my eyes more than they already are.

Around this time there was a large bang outside, and I hurried to the window to see an accident in the intersection by our apartment. I would have called 911, but the phone wasn't working of course, and there were other people there to call. Having nothing better to do, I stayed by the window and watched people and police cars gathering around for a while. Then a police car pulled up and parked right in my way, blocking my view of the accident. So that venue for entertainment was closed off. By the way, I do not find car accidents to be amusing or fun in any way. I was just so bored because there was absolutely nothing else to look at.

Anyway, I lit my candle again so I could find my way around the house. At about that time, the power suddenly came on again, so the candle was superfluous. Overjoyed, I turned on the computer and here I am blogging about the adventure! Oh, and as I write, it appears that they're in the process of towing away the car that has been stuck in the middle of the intersection for the past hour or so. I hope nobody was hurt badly.

So now I have a renewed sense of priority - we need flashlight batteries! Lots of them! Flashlights all over the house! I don't want to be stuck in the dark again. Has anyone ever tried to go to the bathroom by candlelight? Quite the unique experience.

I can't stand it!!!

I was going to wait. I really was. Jeff will have to forgive me. But after reading Melinda's several blog posts about their new coming attraction, I just can't wait anymore!!!





























Due December 4, 2009.

I have a secret blog that only Michelle and my parents know about. I've been keeping it since the end of March. Check out My Preggo Blog.

Escape Artist

Thomas has discovered that he can climb out of his toddler bed. For the first few days he stayed in it whether he was awake or asleep, unaware that there was any other option. But today he discovered that he can crawl out.

Now how am I supposed to get him to take a nap when he won't stay in his bed? Arrrgh, this is not fun. I am tired and want a nap, but I can't sleep through him playing with his toys and throwing books all over the floor. I've already gone in and put him back to bed three or four times, all to no avail. I know eventually he'll get used to staying in bed and taking nice naps again, but the transition times are always kinda difficult.

Too Pretty?

Jeff caught Zaylee pushing Thomas, so he sent her to time-out. He told her to sit on her bed, and she tried to refuse on the grounds that "I'm too pretty to sit!!!"

Adorable excuse, but he put her in time-out anyway. :-)

Thomas' New Bed

Today I finally bit the bullet and took Thomas' crib apart. He's been shaking it like crazy and I feel like if he used it anymore he'd probably break it apart. :-) And Zaylee climbing in and shaking the sides with him every morning doesn't help. I've been putting off taking it apart because, with our tiny apartment, I wasn't sure we'd be able to find a place to put the crib pieces. But I finally buckled down and disassembled it, and we found places for all the parts. We put the head and foot pieces behind the couch, and Jeff stuffed the other parts into the kids' already-stuffed closet. And I put the toddler bed together.


Thomas was pretty excited to see his new bed. Going down for a nap in it, however, was an entirely different matter. He immediately started crying and trying to climb out. So I held and cuddled him for several minutes to calm him down, and he was ready to sleep after that. He ended up napping quite nicely, thank goodness.

It seems like Thomas is such a big boy now, sleeping in a toddler bed instead of a crib. Sigh, he's not my little baby anymore. At least he still lets me cuddle him sometimes.

Women at the Well

Saturday was the Women at the Well performance. Mom and Janelle came and watched it, while Marie, Rheanna, and Samuel stayed with Jeff and the kids. They got to go hang out at the library, but I can't help but think that Mom and Janelle got the better end of the deal!

Despite being fairly nervous and jittery before the performance, I think we did a really good job. There were so many women in the audience with wet eyes by the time we were done. I teared up during a few songs too, but was able to keep myself under control (as opposed to sometimes during rehearsals when I would actually start sobbing because of how touching the songs were). My song went really well, I didn't forget my lines and my voice didn't crack or anything.

After the performance we had a delicious lunch. They served this chicken salad with grapes, apples, and cashews that was just fabulous! And each table had a beautiful centerpiece. Everyone who participated in the performance got to take home one of the centerpieces, which I found just thrilling. I totally love this jug/vase!


Closeup of the spout:


The whole centerpiece. Since I took these pictures today, a couple of the flowers died already. The big orange one and the leaves are fake, though, so they'll last.


My Young Womens' leader from California, who recently moved up here and is coincidentally in my stake, came to the performance, and so got to enjoy a little unexpected reunion with Mom and Janelle. That was a lot of fun. We chatted a bit and enjoyed catching up together.

All in all, I'm glad that the show is over. My Saturdays are free, and now I don't have to worry or stress over it anymore. But I sure will miss it! I made some wonderful friends, and had a great time being a part of it.

Beloved Bishop

Bishop Cook stood today and announced that he was recently diagnosed with cancer.

Tears sprang to my mind, as my mind immediately flashed back to the face of another bishop - a warm and friendly face, with sparkling eyes and a smile that was a permanent fixture - Bishop Oliver's face. I see his face as it appeared on the front of his memorial service program.

Bishop Oliver was the bishop of our ward when I was in high school, back in California. A gentle and fun-loving, slightly older African American, Bishop Oliver was a favorite among the youth. He came to girls' camp one year. We all had a great time as we tried to teach him some of the games we had been playing, especially since he didn't really learn them quickly. He laughed as much as everyone else as he made mistake after mistake in "This is a What," and as he snapped his fingers and grooved along to the rhythm of nursery-rhyme rap game "Hump-de-Dump."

When I was in college I received a phone call from my mom that Bishop Oliver had died. Cancer. It was so hard for me to hear. He was so full of life, so giving and happy. How could he have died?

This is what I thought of as Bishop Cook stood at the pulpit today, announcing his condition to the suddenly quiet congregation. I sat quietly wiping my tears as he explained that he has prostate concer, and described the irony of a 62-year-old man who had only just discovered how to be happy being diagnosed with a life-threatening disease.

Luckily (if anything regarding cancer can be called lucky), prostate cancer is one of the less serious types. Bishop Cook proclaimed to all that he does not expect to leave this life yet, not now that he has finally settled into this whole life-and-happiness thing. He will keep working, he will continue as our bishop, he will keep living his life. Even as he told us of his condition, hope and faith emanated from his face, from his whole being.

After he spoke, it was business as usual. The meeting went on, the bishop continued his duties. He made a request for me to set up some specific musical numbers for the coming months. He went to choir practice. He went on with his day.

But I think everyone who heard him speak today, though we may go about our lives as well, will be just a little different than we were before.

Mom's Coming!

I'm so excited! My mom and younger siblings are going to be visiting this weekend! Actually, for all I know they could already be at Aunt Karen's house right now, but they won't be coming over here until later this evening. Just in time, because I have dress rehearsal for W at the W so they can watch the kiddos while Jeff is at work! How bad am I - Oh, you're coming to visit? Great, you can watch my kids for me! :-)

Anyway, I'm so excited to see Mom and Janelle and Marie and Rheanna and Samuel! I've been working on cleaning up the apartment a bit - not too much because I don't want to go overboard and there's too much to do anyway. Just enough so that they don't have to see the pigsty that is our normal abode. You know, actually putting away the toys and books and clothes in the kids' room, wiping all the counters, vacuuming the carpets, that kind of thing.

Speaking of, Thomas just woke up from his nap so I can go ahead and vacuum. Oh the joy and the thrill of cleaning. Could you sense the slight sarcasm in that? I love the feeling of having a clean apartment (I organized the kids' room today and it looks so much nicer!) but I really dislike the process of getting there!

Just a couple more hours until they get here. Woopee!!!!!