Pregnancy Weeks 8 -9 & Some Thoughts

The Pregnancy
Week 8- This week dragged on forever.  I had to return to the doctor for another checkup because I felt something wasn't right, as if I still had some sort of infection. Turns out my instincts were correct and I once again have a UTI, or more likely, just have the same one from before.  I have been put on medication for it again and have been praying that no matter what God will take it away because oddly enough, the nurse told me that if I got another UTI they wouldn't treat it until the time of delivery, does that make sense?  Fortunately when I went to the doctor I was given another quick ultrasound, on a very old machine, but nonetheless he said everything looked fine.  Praise God!
     Well besides the nausea, frequent use of the loo, and tiredness, not much has changed at all except one thing.  This change hit me hard and fast and that's emotions, which I'll explain a little bit later. I did not get enough sleep one day from a huge day of weddings and the next day had to spend another long stretch of time at church.  I was hitting rock bottom in my sleep quota and started crying and feeling terribly sick that day and had to go home.  I definitely will not push myself again.

My 8 week 4 day scan, measuring 8 weeks 3 days that morning.  Dr. J said everything looked great.

Week 9-  Thankful that this is my last week in the single digits and that time might actually move a little quicker.  My next prenatal appointment isn't until another 3 weeks from now but in just another 9 short weeks or so I'll find out what I'm having! I'll finally be able to start preparing a room in the house for the baby and know what types of things to buy.  The house search is still up in the air, but I know the Lord will help us find what we need, when we need it, for His timing is perfect.  As for symptoms I feel as though I feel the same all the time. Really nothing is different but I've been feeling a little more nauseous than usual and it comes at such random times.  I am ready for the second trimester already!

My Thoughts
First of all, it is the weirdest thing, I hardly feel pregnant at all.  If it weren't for the ultrasounds, ever so mild nausea, increased need to pee, and most importantly lack of a period, I honestly wouldn't know I was pregnant at all. I don't even feel like my belly is growing that much, although, that could be from the fact I am always in my pajamas since I'm a stay at home mom.  When you don't need to go out in public and put on regular clothes, I guess its hard to tell the difference when you're not trying to zip up or button your pants.
     Anyway, I feel as though the emotional aspect of my pregnancy is starting to kick in.  The part where I feel bad for myself that I'm going to get "fat" again, the part where if someone doesn't say "hi" to me I cry instantly, the part where I think "Am I in over my head?", and the part where I think "Does anyone actually care about how I'm feeling!?"  I know all of these things are irrational and just emotional things and I know full well the Lord will take care of my needs, especially if I ask in faith.
     One thing I do know for sure, is that when I start to feel the way I do, I need to look beyond myself and see that others need encouragement just as much as I do.  I need to refocus my attention on others rather than myself.  Easier said than done, but it must be done.

Questions I Often Ponder:
Can a mom still have a sense of self while being a mom?
How much time are you "allowed" to take for yourself to keep your own identity, especially in Christ?
If I take any time for myself does that mean I'm not giving my 100% all to my children, or is that impossible?

I am now officially 10 weeks and 1 day pregnant today! Double digits! Next goal...2nd Trimester!

Hooked On Dave

Dave who you say?  Dave Ramsey, the Christian financial guru.  Timm and I have been going through his book Financial Peace Revisited, which is being borrowed from our dear friend Carolyn right now, and let me tell you it is an eye opener.  Dave has gone from living it up, but in great debt, to losing everything, starting over, and building his way back up the proper way.  Since his debt days, he has counseled and coached thousands of people on how to get back on the right track financially. 

In this book, Dave discusses how non-beneficial and harmful debt is to yourself and family emotionally, physically, and spiritually.  He gives many suggestions on how to get rid of debt, including the debt snowball, which is paying your smallest amount debt first, paying that off and then adding that money onto the second smallest debt until you work your way up to your highest debt and then finally become debt free.  When Dave says debt free, he means including the mortgage!  You say, "that's impossible" or "a long way from now", he says don't ever get anything except a 15-year-mortgage.  Its really not that hard and you will save hundreds of thousands of dollars going this route.  If you already have a long term mortgage you can possibly refinance or just add one extra payment a year, he explains it all.

He also discusses the proper way to save (or invest), how much to save (for example an emergency fund should contain three to six months salary in an easily accessible account), and that saving up for things and paying cash for everything is the wisest choice.  God wants us to be good stewards of our money and this book is a great guide if you are unsure how to go about that or just completely lost in that area of your life.

READ THIS BOOK!  At best it will take you one week to complete.

Since the start of reading this book just earlier this week Timm and I have paid off our car and credit card and only have one more student loan to pay.  Of course we don't have a mortgage yet, but we are actively looking for a house.  Well you say, did you lose all your down payment for the house?  Nope!  We did dip in a little but will be replenishing that soon within two months from some perfectly timed checks and little extra work. We already feel a lot more financial freedom from the bondage of debt!

Classic Crusader

Of course we all know that my dear husband Timm is an avid Batman fan, but what you didn't know is that our son is a junior Batman in training.  Move over Robin!

Watch out criminals!

This is junior Batman's Summer uniform, for those hot days.

Classic crime fighting stance.

This is the look that will capture junior Selena Kyle's heart.

He even hangs upside down to sleep after a hard days work.

 

Canada Withdrawal

Between Ben's phone call the other day and Blayre & Josh's card with beautiful Vivienne's photo in it, Timm & I are missing our Canada friends BIG TIME!  That includes the Hall's & all the Leblanc's as well!

You must come see us soon!

See the cuteness of Judah that you are missing!

 

French Meat Pie

This recipe was give to me by my grandmother and is one of my favorite dinner go-to's of all time.  It is great if you really need to pack the protein punch cause you missed having meat earlier in the day.  I've yet to have someone say "Nay" to this delicious meal, so go ahead and try it, you probably will like it.  It's kind of like in the Green Eggs & Ham book, except I'm not going to keep bugging you.

I would have included an inside of the pie pic, but it never comes out looking professional.  But it tastes professional. : )

Ingredients:
1-2 potatoes
2 lbs beef or 1 lb beef/1 lb pork or turkey
3 tspn allspice (level it off)
2 tspn salt
2 pie crusts - top/bottom (store bought or home made)
milk (optional)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 F
2. Line pie plate with bottom crust.
3. Cook meat completely and drain grease.  (If the meat is lean I tend to not drain the grease only because the pie will come out dry and crumbly.)
4. Meanwhile cook potatoes in separate pot until mashable. (Like you were going to make mashed potatoes.)
5. Mix in the spices and potatoes with the meat.
6. Pour meat, spice, potatoe mixture into bottom crust and then place top crust on top.
7. Spread a very thin layer of milk on top of shell to keep it from burning - about 1 tbspn. (Sometimes I skip this step if I'm in a hurry.)
8. Cook for 35-40 min in oven, let cool, and enjoy!

Great Family Film

Saturday night I was in the mood for ice cream and a movie.  May I just say the movie I chose I highly recommend.  It was a children's movie that is through and through clean, creative, cute, and all around wholesome.  Also if you are an avid Roald Dahl fan, like my husband, you will be pleased to know that the movie is nearly spot on to the book except for one particular scene.  I believe the scene is more for adding in a special cameo character than adding plot to the story. So, what is the name of this spectacular movie  you say? It is titled James and the Giant Peach.   The young man who plays James is absolutely adorable and all around loveable.
      One funny tid bit about this movie is as I was watching it I thought "If you were to only make one movie in your life ever, this was a great movie to make."  Oddly enough, this was the only movie the little boy, Paul Terry, did make.  He said he'd never act again after he got bitten in the live action spider scene.  Don't forget of course, he was a young boy when this happened.  Don't believe me? Check it out on IMDB and check out this movie!

Cravings

So one of my symptoms that I forgot to mention was my cravings.  They are so definitely obvious.  With Judah I hardly craved certain food at all but for the first two to three weeks all I wanted was everything covered in melted cheese: pizza, home made nachos, grilled cheese, etc.  One theory on cravings is that a woman craves what her body needs to support the changes going on hormonally.  I guess I needed the calcium.

Subway Veggie Delite. So delicious.

A good stand by, minimal chocolate.

Additional cravings have included Veggie Delite's from Subway, specifically with oil, vinegar, pepper and a little salt (I had four foot longs in three days time), spaghetti & meatballs from Riccardi's, one regular McDonald's cheeseburger, and Ben & Jerry's ice cream.  Weird huh? Anyone else have crazy cravings? Or aversions? (I def have those too, but they go from a moment to moment basis).

The Reveal: Part 2

(Continued September 9, 2011)

Today was my ultrasound...

...and it went as well as it possibly could go.

Here is the photo, although hard to see it showed a baby measuring exactly the right amount of days gestation with a heartbeat of 156 bpm.  I am relieved and happy that Judah will be a big brother.  I just pray and hope that the pregnancy continues to go well, but trust me I am doing my best to put this all in the Lord's hands. Any and all words of encouragement are welcome. Thank you!

This picture was taken at 7 weeks & 4 days gestation.

Clarification Questions For You

Do you think you told people you were pregnant a little too early?
I am telling people where I am about 8 weeks, having 2 good scans, and good blood work.  Also, I didn't want to go through this pregnancy alone like I did the last one, where I lost the baby.  I lost the baby and then it like was like, "Oh, I have almost no one to talk to this about" because we didn't tell anybody we were pregnant.  I also like to know that people have been praying for us.  The power of prayer is great.

Am I still nervous and cautious about this pregnancy?  
Of course! But , until the baby comes I will just have to put this in the Lord's hands and be content no matter what His decision because He will make the decision for His glory..

What pregnancy test did I use and when did I test?
It was AccuClear from Target.  I personally like to go with the tests that have the plus sign if you are pregnant because it will be lighter or darker with how much HCG is in your urine.  Now these tests are qualitative not quantitative so I know all it does it tell you if there is HCG present or not but when I took the first test it was very faint, but when I took the second test the following day it was much darker, so even though people are controversial about how much dye is in the test making it lighter or darker, every time I've tested a second time, its always been darker. I tested after I thought I was two days late.

The Reveal: Part 1

(Written August 23, 2011)

Can you blame me for not writing?  I have A LOT going on right now. Plus I've been feeling absolutely miserable. Timm and I are trying to buy a house right now and I am 5 weeks 1 day pregnant with my fourth pregnancy and have yet to have an ultrasound. I did have my HCG levels tested once and they did double from the 19th to the 21st.  Hopefully it stays doubling.  I opted not to get a second test because I knew I'd freak myself out again.  I'll wait until the ultrasound, that will give me a much clearer picture of what is going on right now. This pregnancy has been scary from the start.  I had incredible, horrible cramping and back pain since very early on, probably about one week after I ovulated.  Although I just had a miscarriage two short months ago, I am having many more symptoms than last time including being tired all the time. If this pregnancy continues to go well, I'll give an update on each week that goes by.  I even contemplated starting up my own YouTube channel, but that's probably not going to happen, we'll see.  But for now this is what I've been feeling...

Week 3/4 - These weeks I was just finding out I was pregnant.  I have been having tons and tons of period type cramping this week, especially in my lower back and groin.  I have also been experiencing a sensation of being out of breath and occasional fatigue.  A couple things that tipped me off to take a test were I had been getting car sick, which I haven't for the past year and twice in one week I felt sick.  I also have been feeling hungry in the middle of the night, craving tons of cheese, and peeing more.  Other symptoms, some of which also tipped me off, included, slight uterine burning, restless legs at night, heartburn one night, and oops excuse me excess gas.

    

Week 5 - This week included more cramping in the groin and lower back.  I wish that would go away.  My hunger and fatigue have been increasing exponentially.  Some days its hard to keep my eyes open at all. One reassuring sign I felt included that burning feeling in my uterus again along with stretching in my lower abdomen.  I also had pain in my left ovary area, corpus luteum cyst maybe? I haven't felt nauseous at all, is it too early for that? 

This picture was taken at 5 weeks & 4 days gestation.

(Continued September 6, 2011)

Week 6 - Bring on the morning sickness!  Starting at exactly 6.3 weeks I haven't stopped being nauseous. The morning sickness has ruined my appetite and it always makes me feel like I'm full up to my neck. I've still continued to be tired, just not as severely as before and I am still getting terrible back pain and groin cramping, its hurts kinda bad. I suppose its from the hormones loosening things up.  Plus I hear with the second baby you are more prone to backache and more noticable symptoms.

Week 7 - MORNING SICKNESS! Horrible yet reassuring morning sickness. Once again, I have no appetite and want to puke all day long. It's lovely really but also such a good sign. I am actually very thankful for it even though its hard to deal with this while taking care of a nearly 15 month old...

Back & Groin Pain Explanation?

Today I went to check my messages and saw that I have one missed call from the doctor's office.  The voice mail went like this "Hi Jennifer, this is so 'n' so from Dr. J's office, would you give us a call about some results?"  That's a message that would freak out any pregnant woman. Needless to say I was nervous to call back.  What could it possibly be I wondered? So of course I call right back and I get the person I needed to talk to on the phone right  away and the results were that I had a silent Urinary Tract Infection. PHEW! No biggie.  So of course now I am on medication for that.
     Well, one interested bit of information I just found out was that back pain and cramping can be caused by Urinary Tract Infections. Another PHEW! That's what I've been experiencing for the past three weeks! Also, for being pregnant I haven't been going to the bathroom all that much, but then again I read UTIs cause urine not to get to the bladder as efficiently so there we have it.  Also, if you didn't know UTIs are extremely common in pregnant women.  Thankfully, God has given me wisdom through my doctor's and has graciously calmed my heart.

Week 7 cont'd - ...One disconcerting symptom, or lack there of, is that my tiredness has seemed to go away completely and be replaced with a hyperactive mind.  To be honest I think the lack of tiredness is from the medication because it started the very day I started the treatment.  I was reading that Amoxicillin can lead to insomnia/troubles falling asleep.  So hopefully that is what has been causing me to not fall asleep until 11/12am each night. Any thoughts?

So now just three more days until the ultrasound...