Dinner with the Garrison’s

Last night I was in Indianapolis for work and met up with my dearest partner in crime from college, Andy Garrison and his family. His wife Sarah and their son James (17 months) picked me up at the hotel and we hit up Boulder Creek (I think that’s what it’s called) in Brownsburg. Great food and even better company!

James is absolutely too cute and it was fun to have a little guy around and watch/see what the having a little person with you all the time is about.

Sarah is pregnant and they are expecting another boy on June 13!

It was great to be out with them and talk and catch up. Always a good time with the Garrisons!

I had wanted a chicken and pasta dish, and I got that. But, it was a bit rich. One thing I’ve found lately is that A) I’m no longer a member of the clean plate club. For some reason, I just have no desire to finish what’s put in front of me. It’s like my appetite shrank and spread itself out over the entire day. I get hungry every two hours, I swear, but can’t finish a meal like I could just a few short weeks ago. And B) rich foods/heavy foods do not like me very much. In trying to determine what this means, I have found that it means cream sauces, spicy sauces and too many carbs. Pasta is a great idea, but my body doesn’t want it. Bread with salad is a great idea, but my body doesn’t want it.

I did manage to get in about 35 minutes worth of cardio last night after dinner, which really does make me feel better and at least settles my stomach a bit. Frankly, I have noticed a pattern that I feel better the next day/morning and my stomach is not nearly as upset if I manage to get in a walk or a bike ride the night before. Need to remember these things about what my body is telling me to save myself the pain associated with the wrong/too much foods and not enough exercise.

Anyway, anxiously awaiting the news that my friend Jessica has delivered her latest edition, Amelia. She should be here any day now!

Gummy Flintstones

Ok, so I have not thrown up since suspending ingestion of pre-natal vitamins!

However, I haven’t ingested a vitamin since the last time I threw up, which was a week ago. The doctor on Thursday afternoon said that I could simply take Flintstones vitamins if the pre-natal’s were making me sick. So, yesterday I FINALLY purchased vitamins. And I purchased Gummy Flinstones. This morning, I took two (per the recommendation on the bottle) and thoroughly enjoyed myself while chewing them and my stomach has thoroughly enjoyed the experience as well.

I mean, how can you NOT enjoy taking vitamins like these?

I also purchased some Calcium chewable things as the doctor really stressed that calcium – 1200 milligrams – was what I needed to be getting daily. I didn’t eat those yet. I’m hoping those will be a late in the day treat, since I bought the chocolate ones (why WOULDN’T you buy the chocolate ones??).

You know why you wouldn’t? Because I looked in the mirror this morning and saw the ridiculous size of my arms and immediately dropped and did 25 push ups. Perhaps I’ll need to do 25 more tonight. Or even 75 to bring it to 100 push ups for the day. I mean, my arms have been a problem spot in my own mind for awhile now, but this morning, that full length mirror in the hotel bathroom just did me NO favors. So, it was push ups and squats before I got dressed.

Anyway, this was to be about the gummy vitamins. I highly recommend them. And I won’t feel guilty because I am still getting well over the daily recommended dosage for all vitamins I’m supposed to have. And they don’t make me puke.

Happy Birthday Dad!

My Dad, not the mini Mason’s Dad.

It’s his birthday today, but man did he and Aunt Jill, Uncle Mike, my Mom and Jon party it up on Saturday. I went shopping with Andrea in Canton (a story for another post) and got back into town at about 5 or so. At that point, Jon was already recruited into the abyss that is Jaeger bombs. Had a great time laughing at them and watching them polish off about two fifths of Jaeger, which did not look appetizing to me at all.

My Dad made a FABULOUS dinner of grilled chicken and rice with veggies and it was EXACTLY what I had been craving. Yum!

Anyway, the funniest thing may have come yesterday when Jon and I were laying around at the house and I commented that I couldn’t believe how many shots he had done the night before. His response, “I was kind of hoping that since you couldn’t drink for nine months, neither could I.” Funny, that never crossed my mind (seems like cruel and unusual punishment to me).

 

The Anti-Climatic Week

So, last week was the first doctor appointment with Dr. Neubeck and the closing date for our new pad.

Well, Thursday afternoon Jon and I headed for what may have been one of the least comfortable moments of his life thus far, when he sat in the exam room with me for a pap smear and ultrasound. He came through with flying colors, but I think everywhere he looked there was a picture of a woman’s reproductive system, boobs, or metal tools that look more torturous than anything else (I agree about that one).

Anyway, the doctor was great, we were both really comfortable with him. The ultrasound went well, though the thing looks like a blob. I thought it would at least look like a little tiny fetus, but it’s just a blob. But, it’s a healthy blob with a healthy yolk sac, so I’m a happy camper. Other than the blob only measured eight weeks last Thursday, so that set me back a week and a day compared to what I initially thought I was at. This process is taking longer already and it’s just the beginning!! What the heck.We did get to see the little flashing heartbeat, but couldn’t hear it yet. The doctor is going to do another ultrasound for free next visit so we can get real pictures of the blob (I’m hoping it’ll look more like a fetus at that point). So, all good stuff. Doctor’s words: You’re a healthy young woman, your baby is healthy, you’ll likely have a healthy baby. Ok, next.

That would be closing on the house. That was set for Friday morning and after the chaos of not being able to move in on closing day subsided, it was anti-climatic. I felt like junk that morning, though I did get up and go for a walk, which I felt better about. Signed my life away and I now own a home and Jon and I are moving this weekend. Woo hoo!

Anyway, now it’s April 18 before we’ll see pictures of the mini-Mason. Waiting waiting patiently.

The Opposite of Morning

Well, last night I did NOT puke. I also did NOT take the prenatal vitamins I’ve been taking. And I didn’t puke. Didn’t feel the greatest, but at least what I put into my body stayed there…

The two nights previous to that, though, I took the good ol’ prenantal vitamin and within an hour (because I hadn’t fallen asleep yet) I was up and heaving over the toilet something resembling bad orange juice. Not a pleasant experience.

First official doctor’s appointment is today. Here’s what I’m hoping for: that I’ve somehow lost the 2.4 pounds that I had gained at the last visit (not eating as crappy of food, some moderate exercise most days of the week); that I get a picture to take home and post on my little blog; that I get to hear a heartbeat; that Jon opts to go with me and doesn’t become EXTREMELY uncomfortable when he finds out what actually happens at the gynecologist. Actually – wait – that part could be quite entertaining.

Good to be back in Clio and with Jon. He had a work meeting last night, so he stopped and got me an ice cream sundae from McDonalds. That was the first sweet treat I’d had in a little while and it was delicious!

Not much else new. Evidently the fetus (it’s now no longer an embryo and is, in fact, a fetus) is now the size of a green olive and actually looks like a baby. Which is weird to contemplate on a variety of levels.

Anyway – it’s to work I need to pay attention until the afternoon. More then!

L

Positive Thinking

I’m using the power of positive thinking and the prospect of the new house to tide me over until Thursday’s doctor’s appointment.

Why am I so freaking anxious? I don’t know. My Mom said last night that this is only the beginning of worrying about everything. Tell me about it.

I’ve been trying very hard to get exercise in nearly every day. So far this week I’ve been pretty good, actually. I did this DVD on Friday morning for the first time. Not terribly challenging, but I’m not in terribly good shape these days. Plus, it takes you through a guided relaxation, which I certainly need.

Also, Molly and I have bought a 10-class pass to Yoga in the Woods in Goodrich and I’m totally looking forward to that. I think calming my mind will be good for me. I know it will. At least I’m not having an issue with sleep, but a racing mind…maybe THAT’s what got me so tired out.

Hot or Cold

Ok – I can’t get cooled down enough at some moments. Sleeping in a t-shirt and underwear with a fan blowing on me has been the norm about every other night. Then, the next night, I can’t get warm. What THE heck? Annoying.

Also, don’t understand why on the weekends my feeling that I’d like to throw up out the car window overcomes me. It’s not something that is happening during the week. Just on Saturdays and Sundays.

Found out this morning that we’ll close on the house on Friday morning at 10 a.m. — so I’ll be a homeowner in less than a week!! Holy crap. That’s a grown up thing to do. Spent most of today packing things up and finally taking down my Christmas decor (sick, I know). Trying to figure out what sorts of things I want to pack up in my car on Wednesday morning before I head home Wednesday night so that I have the most amount of things I want to have in my new address (I don’t have to move my things out of the apartment in Naperville until April 7).

Spent the majority of the weekend, however, being quite lazy and watching DVR’ed episodes of The West Wing. It is perhaps the best show EVER and I can’t get enough of it. Seriously — I’ve learned more about how politics works and what to expect out of politicians from that show than anything else.

Ok – so that’s all. Supremely tired, a little nauseous and anxiously awaiting my first visit with the doctor on Thursday.

Best & Friends

Lots of my friends find themselves pregnant at this moment. Well, all my friends, actually. It’s kind of fun to think that maybe our kids will grow up and be able to have each other as friends.

I talked to one of my best friends, Jessica, today. She’s due with her third little girl in about three weeks or so. It’s great to have someone who’s gone through it, who’s pretty honest about the whole thing, who understands me and my personality.

We got to talking today and were laughing — I was laughing so hard. I haven’t laughed THAT hard in TOO long. I mean, my belly hurt I was laughing. Topic of conversation? Jay said that she no longer judged mothers for their behavior because you never know what happened in the car on the way to wherever it was you were thinking of judging a mother. As she said this, we reminisced about freshman year in high school when we managed to miss the bus to the basketball game…and my Mom drove us like a bat out of hell to Flushing High School so we would make the game in time. I don’t know, it was a funny story (in hindsight) and we got a good laugh out of that. As Jay said, though, she no longer judges a mother on how she’s handling her kids because you just never know what happened in the car. True. Put that on the list of things to remember.

Anyway, even though she lives thousands of miles away (along with a good contingent of my friends who are also preggers), it’s just this huge comfort to know she’s there, that we’re going through something similar in our lives and I’m really looking forward to giving our kids the chance to be friends, too.

Morning Greatness

I’m not sick in the morning. At least not lately.

I mean, I feel great.

So far this morning, I’ve emptied all the garbage in my apartment, done the dishes, a load of laundry, some work, sent an email to encourage participation in a survey to a bunch of students at a campus in Chicago, wiped down the counters in the kitchen and FINALLY started putting away Christmas decorations. Heck, I’ve only been awake for an hour and a half?! And, I managed to get dressed, do my hair and makeup and write this little post. What is going ON?!

I’ve decided I have to embrace these moments when they come because man, they sure sneak up on me and they’re a bit sporadic if I do say. And I do.

So, anyway, here’s to Morning Greatness instead of Morning Sickness.

Now the evening’s and late night — they’re not great. They’re sick. But that’s a story for a post when I can’t seem to move off the couch.

Uck to the Weekend

So, the weekend was terrible. Not in a way that had much to do with anything other than feeling LIKE CRAP.

I seriously found myself understanding why people would choose to never be pregnant more than once. I wasn’t sick — which might have been better — but I just felt ucky. I laid around on the couch for the better part of Saturday & Sunday, which I’m SURE sounds lovely, but when you’re trying to complete your MBA online and travel throughout the week and find yourself otherwise exhausted, wasting the weekend away doesn’t really work out that well.

I got my first week of MBA Statistics-Applied-Quantitative something class completed last night, though. So that was good.

Jon commented last night when I talked to him on the phone (I’m back in the Chicagoland for the week) that he could tell I’d felt better Monday morning because I’d picked up around the house. I have been SUCH a slug (by the way, why didn’t Jon pick up if he saw that I wasn’t and wasn’t feeling well?? boys.). I feel a little bit bad that Jon noticed. But only a little bit. He’s going to have to learn to pick up the slack 😉