First OB/GYN Appointment

January 29, 2013

We went to our first OB/GYN appointment and I was a little nervous as what to expect, but not as nervous as Andy seemed.  He was weirded out by everything in the room, the stirrups and the "wand."  I wasn't too bad.  I guess I was more freaked out at any possible negative news about the baby.  I definitely was freaked out about what was going to happen.

The OB/GYN is so nice and made the both of us feel comfortable so we are both happy we went with her and are relieved we liked the first doctor we went to.  That makes it one less thing to worry about.

After a lot of paper work and much conversation we started on the exam portion.  Once we got to the ultra sound it was so crazy to see the tiny little fetus with a beating heart on the monitor.  It almost brought me to tears.  It made everything seem more real and a lot of my worries of being a bad mother kind of went away...temporarily.  After she pointed out the fetus I immediately asked her "Is there only one in there?"  I was worried because Andy has twins in his family.  She double checked and confirmed there is only one.  Phew!  Two babies at one time just seems like a lot to take in.  On the plus side it's a "one and done" kind of thing, but I prefer one baby at a time.

Here is our first photo of "Fred."  Cute huh?

9 Weeks

January 27, 2013

I never liked when people took belly photos as I found it kind of obnoxious.  I still am not a fan, but I decided to do a weekly belly photo anyway.  I really don't need to look back and see how HUGE I got, but I figured I may appreciate it someday.  Plus "Fred" (what Andy calls the baby instead of It, He or She) may want to see how big mommy got.  I also figured it might be something fun to do as I watch myself grow.  Here is me at week 9...VERY bloated!

Cabo Wabo

We recently spent a week in Cabo San Lucas on a family vacation.  It was a much needed vacation as I got to relax on the beach, read my book and get a massage in the spa.  On the downside it was on the chilly side from Saturday through Wednesday and then warmed back up to 80 degrees for Thursday and Friday.  We ended up with two gorgeous days.  At least the sun was out on the other cooler days. 

Andy and I getting some sun on one of the warmer days.

The story of my week: Relaxation!

Besides relaxing we did one adventure: deep sea fishing. 

Deep Sea Fishing
I was really looking forward to this adventure as it was something I had never done before.  Plus it would be a day to get out and about to switch things up a bit.  The day started at 6am where all eight of us met at the marina.  That was rough getting up at 5:30 in the morning.  It took 45 minutes to jet out to the fishing spot and immediately the fisherman spotted marlin so we started trolling.  Within minutes I started sweating a lot followed by me running to the bathroom where I vomited up my breakfast.  Not FUN!  I initially thought this was good cuz once I get it out I will be good to go for the rest of the day.  WRONG!  I vomited constantly for the next 4+ hours.  I have never been sea sick before and I definitely never felt this awful in my life.  I would rather live through the worst hangover ever than get sea sick again.  All I could do was crawl back to the bench in the cabin and curl up in the fetal position while I concentrated on anything but the motion of the boat.  This was interrupted periodically while I ran to the bathroom to puke again.  Others got sick on the boat too, but I was in the worse shape out of the eight of us.  Some were just nauseous and others puked too, but could still function.  Not me, I could not function at all.  I was lucky the group were catching fish like crazy.  So much that we had to go in early because nobody was left to help reel in the fish.  Of the people not sick, they were now too tired and sore to continue reeling these fish in.  I was so happy we were not out there for eight hours.  I could not handle it.  Here are photos of the fish they caught that day.  Unfortunately I did not reel in one fish and I never saw anybody reel in a fish since I spent my time going from the bathroom and the bench.

On the ride out to our fishing spot.  I was still functional here.

Beautiful ride out.

Here is a photo of Matt reeling in one of the Marlins.  Can you see the fish jumping up out of the water?

Here is one of the blue striped Marlin the guys brought in.

They caught two marlin and fifteen tuna.  The marlin were tossed back and we kept three of the tuna and took them back to the resort and had the chef cook up the tuna.  It was the best tuna I had ever had.  So fresh and so yummy.  The chef did a sashimi, ceviche and cooked tuna steaks two different ways. 

On the way back in there were these sea lions that hopped on the back of the boat and were begging for fish.  It was super cute.  I was starting to feel a little better at this point because we were out of the ocean and back in the bay where the water was more calm.

Here is Andy and I on the boat when I started to feel better right before we got back on land.

I had a rough day at this point.

Shopping and Going Out
Following my sea sickness I was not up for any other adventures that I know Andy wanted to do.  He wanted to go whale watching and others wanted to go on a sun set cruise.  Neither sounded fun to me.  I had no intention of getting on another boat the rest of the week.  Instead of being adventurous I went back to being lazy on the beach and doing a little shopping. 

Me relaxing as I watched the Mexican salesman go up and down the beach hawking their items.

I definitely enjoyed the Mexico way of shopping by laying on my lounge chair while the Mexicans came by to sell me stuff.  I never had to leave my chair.  Some find this annoying, and yes I did once in a while, but I didn't let it bother me.  They have to make a living too and it was perfect for me to shop.  I ended up with a wooden bowl that was hand painted to put on our kitchen table as a centerpiece.

Since we were at an all-inclusive resort we mainly stayed there and ate and drank.  One night we did go out for dinner and drinks.

Andy and I all dolled up and ready to go.

It was a nice vacation, but I was more than happy to return home to our fur babies.  We do not have any vacations currently planned so it might just be a quiet 2013.

Sushi happy hour at the resort before heading to dinner.

Pregnant in Cabo

January 25, 2013

When we booked our trip to Cabo many months ago I did not envision being pregnant while on vacation.  I had different expectations of how my trip would go.  I have a good friend who once said to me "After kids, vacations are different.  They are still fun, but just different.  You have to change your expectations of what a vacation is."  I remembered that wisdom from my friend after my pee stick was positive and Cabo was right around the corner.  I changed my expectations of my upcoming vacation by trading in my vodka tonics and wine for bottles of water and plenty of OJ.  My late nights and morning hangovers were now going to be traded for spa days and beach relaxing with a good book (aka What to Expect When You are Expecting).  Since I went into the vacation with different expectations I wasn't bummed at my low key vacation.  It turned out great because for once I truly got to relax and enjoy myself.

Deep Sea Fishing
Ok, nobody told me this is probably a huge no-no for a seven week pregnant girl, but this was pure hell.  Up until this day I did not have morning sickness, no vomiting and felt great (other than the swollen boobs and being exhausted 24/7).  After deep sea fishing I was sick the rest of the week.  I was constantly nauseous and everything smelled really bad.  I was dizzy quite a bit and I just never felt right.  It took a whole week to recover from that fishing trip.  I am finally back to how I felt pre-fishing trip.  Next time, maybe a warning that pregnant people should not go deep sea fishing...maybe I should have known that, but I didn't.

Partying
Ok, there was none of this going on with me in Cabo.  I was early to bed (10pm) every night and I had to get an afternoon nap in order to stay up until 10pm.  One night everybody went to Cabo Wabo and I was game for going, but right after I ate my dinner I was so nauseous that I couldn't go.  I told Andy to go with everyone and have fun while I went to bed.  He said he would not do that to me and came back to the hotel with me.  I felt so bad that he didn't go out one night while in Cabo, but he is such a great husband that he came back to the hotel with me while I laid down.

Reading
Since I have been missing the "mommy chip" my whole life I definitely needed to read up on what to do, so of course I bought the very popular book What to Expect... and my goal was to get it read by the end of the week.  I read through 50% of the book.  The book is big and I did a lot more people watching on the beach than actual reading.  I learned a lot about what has been going on with my body and how much weight I need to gain.  My favorite is that Andy is even reading the book.  It's so sweet that he wants to know what's going on too and not just leaving it up to me...wait, maybe he doesn't trust me..hhmmm!  The down side to him reading this book is that he constantly keeps quoting it by saying "Well, the book says...."; "I don't know if you should do that, the book says..."  That is very frustrating...but sweet!

My good friend was right.  Things do change after that stick reads positive, but they change in a good way and I have to change my expectations of how things will happen.  I did that with this trip and I had a nice relaxing time with family while getting some rest and reading up on pregnancy issues.  I feel this is our last vacation without baby/child!  It will be interesting to see what our next vacation will be like.

Being a Good Bridesmaid and Cook

This past weekend I tried on more than 30 dresses all for my friend AJ so I could help her decide on her bridesmaid dresses for her upcoming wedding.  No decision was made yet, but I was happy to help.  Plus it was good girl time.

Besides being a good bridesmaid I got in the kitchen, now that the holidays are over, and tried a new recipe I found in the Cooking Light magazine.  It was broccoli gnocchi with grilled chicken.  I have never had gnoochi before, let alone cook it, so I was pretty proud of myself at how it turned out.  It was a nice light calorie meal and Andy says I can definitely make it again. 

Broccoli gnocchi with pine nuts, grilled chicken and Parmesan sprinkled on top.  Yum!

First Doctor Appointment

January 4, 2013

I went to my first doctor appointment yesterday to confirm that the at home pregnancy test was really true.  Yes, the doctor confirmed that the Yes+ signed I saw was in fact true.  Actually, her exact words were "You are most DEFINITELY pregnant."  All of a sudden I received a lot of congratulations from the nurses and other staff.  I didn't know if that was normal or not, so I immediately got shy and quietly said thank you.

I was informed that I am 5 weeks along.  Holy crap!  Really?  I don't feel any different other than being extremely exhausted and having swollen boobs.  I don't have morning sickness...yet (knock on wood) and I am not gaining weight...yet.  I guess my thought of pregnancy was that you immediately started packing on the pounds and you would throw up all day, every day.  So far, I am in the clear.  Let's keep our fingers crossed on no morning sickness.

After that, my doctor informed me about all the do's and don'ts of pregnancy.  Well, if I didn't have so many pregnant friends in the past couple years this news might have shocked me, but it just confirmed what I already knew. Two things from that list I will dearly miss: wine and sushi.  After the do's and don'ts list she asked me if I had any questions and I said "Uhm, yes.  What do I do now?"  I really had no idea.  She then referred me to an OB GYN to schedule an appointment and have my first ultra sound.  That will be in a few weeks. 

Until then, we are playing the secrecy game...rough!  We agreed not to tell anyone until after the first ultra sound and then it will be the parents only.  After the twelve week mark we will then tell everybody.  This is going to be a long seven weeks explaining why I am not drinking, especially since we have the following events coming up: Outing in downtown Phoenix, Cabo San Lucas and the Phoenix Open.  This is going to be hard.  I see many "IBS issues" in my future.

What an exciting and crazy adventure Andy and I are now on!  I can't wait to keep everyone updated throughout the pregnancy.

Happy New Year

I hope everyone had a safe and happy new year.  I got news the day before New Year's eve that my cousin got hit by a drunk driver in Wisconsin.  He is ok, but his vehicle is mangled.  That is very scary and made me not want to venture out on New Year's because Andy and I may be safe, but you never know what the other idiots out there are doing.  Basically, it's amateur night.  Don't get me wrong I love a good New Years party, but let's be honest, it's the time of year that everyone thinks they have to head out for a good time.  These are the people that never go out all year long, but decide to whoop it up on this one night.  These are the people who have a couple drinks and don't realize how the alcohol is affecting them and they get behind the wheel.  Very scary!

With that said, my mother-in-law is in town and we went with her to her friend's house in DC Ranch.  There was tons of amazing food.  We had a great meal and socialized before we headed home to watch the ball drop at midnight.  We left the friend's house at 11pm in hopes of getting home before all the amateurs hit the road.  I must admit though, I did fall asleep on the couch just before midnight so I never even got to see the ball drop.  Boy, how my New Year's festivities have changed with my old age.

On New Year's day it was Rose Bowl time.  The Badgers made it to the Rose Bowl for the third year in a row and we decided not to go this year to watch them lose yet again.  As you know, we went the past two years to watch the Badgers lose and we didn't want to do it for a third year in a row.  We also thought that maybe if we don't go that will provide them with good luck.  Nope, they still lost.  We had some people over for the game with food, beverages and some great socializing.  It was a great way to kick off 2013.

2012 was good to Andy and I.  We were crazy busy with all of our travels and we have more travels and exciting adventures for 2013 so keep following.