Today I Am...

Today I am...

Reading: a few books: Looking for Alaska (didn't realize it was sad and my heart is broken!), Dissolving Illusions, and A Feast for Crows. I've been reading A Feast for Crows for a long time, but I keep taking breaks for other books. I don't know why I can't just finish the Game of Throne series already. I'm on goodreads if you wanna be frannnds. My goal for the year is 30 books and I've already finished 10 (with two more almost done) so I have high hopes to complete my goal.

Sipping: on jasmine green tea. So much sweeter tasting than regular green tea, but without being actually sweet!

Anticipating: getting wood floors. We'll be fixing our foundation in the next year or two which may requiring raising the house a bit, so we're just doing laminate floors for now to not risk messing hardwood floors up. We're getting dark five inch planks and I'm wayyyyy excited. The carpet in the living room is just so gross! It won't match the laminate that's already in the rest of the house, but oh well. 

Listening: to audiobooks! I have a 20 minute drive to and from work, and I figured that would be a good way to pass the time. I am a visual learner so audiobooks are really difficult in the beginning, but once I'm able to get a grasp of what the book is about and the main characters, I'm good. Meaning the first hour of the book I'm just thinking, "This is so dumb. I don't understand any of this. WHO are they talking about? WHAT'S GOING ON??" But I keep persevering and I've been enjoying them. So far this year I've listened to The Messenger (ugh, as a Giver lover I had high hopes but this book was just terrible!), Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs (geared towards a generation 10 years older than me - not bad on audio but I would've stopped reading the book) and Rogue Lawyer (I love John Grisham, so it didn't disappoint). I'm about halfway through The Lost Gate and it is so enjoyable. I've also been listening to The Slow Home and The Minimalists podcasts. 

Baking: a lot, actually! I've made some tasty gluten free biscuits and gravy (following the recipe on the side of the Bob's Redmill 1:1 replacement flour mix) and cornbread muffins - I don't include the butter and bake it for 20 minutes in 12 greased muffin tins then eat with honey butter. We've made the bread in our cast iron many times until we tried muffins, and they're just easier to keep moist and store. We went out to breakfast the other morning for the first time ever in town, maybe? Not many gluten free options here. I got blue corn pancakes that were AMAZING, so I had to make some yellow corn pancakes using this recipe. Vince and I agreed that these were a delicious pancake being so light and fluffy, and by far my favorite pancake recipe now. To make it gluten free, I used the above-mentioned flour replacement.

Post theme found on Camp Patton and kept alive by SK Bell.

7QT

1) I find out this week if I got a job at the hospital! I feel like I'll at least get a job, but maybe not the unit I want. Honestly, I will be happy with anything because both have their pros and cons. I know starting med-surg will be incredibly helpful and will have a greater chance of working days, so it's really not a big deal if I don't start out ICU. Either way, I just want to know if I have a darn job.

2) Devin is teething and growing two inches every night, or so it seems, and because of that she is just wanting to be held and snuggled all day and all night.

When I put her to sleep she has to have her arm around me, even if it makes her uncomfortable. So sweet! But it also means that when I try to sneak out, she wakes up. After nursing her and snuggling with her a bit I've been having Vince come in and lay with her until she falls asleep after a few minutes, and it's worked well.

Which brings me to...

3) We're transitioning Devin to her own room! I'd be happy if she slept in our bed util she was 40, but it seems as if she wants to be alone. She'll sleep solidly until we come to bed, then she'll wake up every hour still wanting to nurse. Then we're all tired the next day. We've had her in her own room for this week, and so far it's gone well. Last night I slept with her for half the night because she had a rough day and just needed extra time with me, but other than that she's been fine alone and has woken up 2-3 times. Not bad, compared to before! So we'll see how it goes. If it doesn't work out, that's fine and I'll know it's not time, but for now lovvvvves the (coral, not pink!) room.

4) Devin is doing pretty good at her solo table. I do have to sit with her for each meal so she doesn't just wander off, but she really likes eating there. It's so fun to see what a big kid she is, getting on and off the chair, pushing herself back, etc. Mostly she wants to eat any and all meals outside, though.

5) Two of my close friends just had babies, and they are both SO beautiful and lovely. I can't wait to snuggle them! We're hoping to try for another kiddo at the end of the year, but until then, they'll be good substitutes.

6) Vince and I have switched over to shampoo bars and my goodness, they are amazing! So so amazing! I bought the three pack from Aquarian Bath on Etsy and got different ones (dry hair for Vince, greasy hair for me) and we both really like them. I did the recommended ACV rinse and I think it helped. My hair is so soft and bouncy, even Vince noticed it. The bars are also nice because they are really foamy/soapy feeling, which I didn't realize I missed with the organic shampoo I use that doesn't work well with my hair. Overall, great purchase.

7) Oh, and I graduated! No big deal. We had a BBQ at our house after and it was a nice way to celebrate and end the previous 5 years! Devin made sure to round up the hard cider cans the next day.

 

7QT

I should just never say I'm going to post something soon, because I inevitably will jinx myself and that won't happen. Too much has happened over the past many months to catch up on, so I'll do a 7 Quick Takes post a la this blog and move on. I post daily on the 'gram, so head over there if you really want to keep up to date with me! (Or my baby, I know that's why you're all here.)

1) Devin is no longer a baby. She is a crawling, standing, clapping, eating, vocalizing little chunk of joy that is so insanely opinionated already, at almost 9 months old. That comes from the Powell side of my family, so it's a good thing her middle name is Powell.

2) I am in my second to last semester of school, and senioritis is reallllll. So. So. Real. This also happens to be the busiest semester of the program, so if you combine that with having a baby, being the Student Nurses' Association president, and moving, things are cray cray.

3) Speaking of moving, WE HAVE MOVED. Into a house 5 times the size of our itty bitty apartment.  To say we are happy about it is an understatement! Devin has room to move, she has toys to play with now, Roxi has a yard, I have space to exercise in, and we have a giant garden. The house has already been more upkeep than I'm used to, but it's been good and we are less stressed. Oh, and the most exciting thing I almost forgot to mention - we have a washing machine and dryer! No more hand washing cloth diapers. I have no idea how I did it for so long.

(Don't worry, we have a gate up to block of the fireplace now!)
4) Related to the house - my grandparent's have gone on a mission to Mexico City for 18 months, and we are renting it from them. So while I am so excited about the house, it is also very bittersweet because we already miss them. They watched Devin on Monday's while I was in class, and she so loved being here with them! It will be sad that they'll miss so many fun times, but 18 months will go by pretty quickly and we have Skype.

5) I really feel like nothing else interesting is going on. Hmm. I took some fall pictures of Devin, and she is just the cutest ever.

6) I am still not able to eat dairy or eggs (and gluten, which neither of us can have) because of Devin's reaction through my breastmilk, but I've been able to add in almost everything else that I love! I have to restrict the amount of tomatoes, but overall she is handling things well. She likes to eat everything in the world as well. Update: I have been able to add small amounts of dairy back in! Hello, chai tea.

7) Reallllly struggling to think of a number 7. I have really been enjoying eating Justin's Chocolate Hazelnut Butter, I just got these leggings from Old Navy (in size tall!) and they are awesome, I won these pants and these pants in a Prana giveaway and love them (also in size tall!), wool diaper covers have been our new favorites, and this ketchup recipe made with our garden tomatoes was delicious!

Surviving the first few weeks postpartum.

I typed this up when I was a few weeks postpartum, and forgot to post it! So here it is. This applies to the first couple months after I had Devin.


Hospital cup

My friend told me to take it home and I hesitantly did, but it's THE BEST. Drinking from a straw and not having to open the lid of a waterbottle or tilt the water from a glass is so much easier with a baby in your arms.

Side table 

I would move it around as needed! By the couch, the recliner, my bed, etc. Again, when you have a baby attached to your boob, it's hard to move around.

Swaddle blankets

I like the thicker small typical receiving ones when wrapping her during the day with her arms out, but love love love the aden + anais ones for doing a tight full body wrap at night. They really are worth their weight in gold, like everyone says. (Even though they cost quite a bit in gold...)

Finger snacks 

Hardboiled eggs, nuts, dried fruit. It's really hard to cut a steak.

Coconut oil

I used lanolin approximately one time and didn't like that it had a smell, because I want her to associate the smell of my breasts with me and not lanolin. So I used refined (not smelly) coconut oil for my sore nipples and they felt better almost immediately. Within a week of starting nursing my boobs felt normal again and didn't crack. The old trick of rubbing breast milk also works great and that's all I need now, 3 weeks into breastfeeding!

Peri bottle

My sink happens to be right next to my toilet so I could easily fill the peri bottle I got from the hospital with fresh warm water to rinse with after I went to the bathroom. It's also nice to add a bit of witch hazel or lavender oil to help with healing.

Cloth pads with athletic shorts

I had a nice stockpile of regular pads from the hospital and from a friend, but after being home for two days I realized they are so uncomfortable and I always felt wet, which was gross. Isn't the point of a pad to wick away moisture?! Anyways, I was doing a lot of sitting while nursing and everything felt sore and the wetness didn't help. I kept thinking I just really wanted to wear underwear because it would feel good against my skin, and remembered cloth pads that I usually use for my period. Within hours of switching to a cloth pad my 'area' felt SO much better, drier, and less painful. So seriously, invest in them. I just rinse them in the sink after I use them and hang it on my drying rack, then when I have 4 or 5 dirty ones I soak them in the sink with a bit of oxyclean and Castile soap for a few hours. Then I just rinse them and hang them up and they look brand new again! I have about 10 that I cycle through. (I was usually about 5/day until 7 days postpartum, and at 2 1/2 weeks I used about 2 a day.) they also don't have the gross smell of disposable pads. Wearing tight shorts over my underwear made me feel more comfortable, like a pad wasn't about to fall out or something (even though my pads have a button to stay on) or leak somehow.

Netflix

Need I say more? 

Boppy

Again, need I say more? I have a long torso so I still have to squeeze a blanket between her and the boppy but it's still nice to have.

Pampers/Huggies

We have a multitude of brands, most of them different eco friendly ones, but found Pampers is the best for newborn! Ha! The others just fit her weirdly, were really bulky, or didn't hold up well. She's in size 1 now and we prefer Huggies. The ones in the basket in a picture below are Honest Co and they are the only eco one that I sort of like, but they don't fit her as well. (And then we switched her to cloth diapers at 2 1/2 months.)

Solly Wrap

(The day I got it when she was a few weeks old, all tired and haggard.)

I could go on and on and on about how much I love this wrap. It is so easy to put on, light-weight unlike the Moby, and more importantly - Devin loves it. Worth waaaay more than its weight in gold.

Robe

It has been a comfort saver for sure! Throughout the last 3 months of my pregnancy I was looking for a soft, lightweight robe and never found one, until a few days before I gave birth. It's 3/4 sleeves and hits just below my waist, so I wear sweats with it. It is similar to this one on the Target website, but they don't have the one I bought anymore (the linked one is much longer, but the same light material). I wore it as a shirt in the hospital so I could easily breastfeed but look 'put together' when people visited, and pretty much wear it as a shirt when I'm home because it's so much easier to breastfeed in.

Diaper basket

We don't have a changing table set up (like I'm really going to use the space or get up and walk somewhere every time I need to change her!) so I have a small basket that I keep full of diapers, wipes and a burp cloth I use as a changing pad. I have about a dozen burp cloths and just get a new one as needed. Then I can move it to whatever room I'm in, and keep it on my bed at night since we cosleep with her. I also keep a little ziploc bag with DigestZen essential oil for her belly, grape seed oil to dilute it and for massage, and a little jar of coconut oil for diaper redness and her fat rolls on the neck or else they get red and smelly. (Babies can be gross.) I also have a little jar of diaper rash salve.

Salt lamp

This thingis perfect for the night! It has a dimmer that I keep on the lowest setting so I have a soft light for feedings and changing her during the night. It's dark enough to sleep with, but bright enough to see when I wake up.

Sound machine

I started using a sound machine many months ago per Grace's recommendation and it really helps because I can fall asleep almost immediately. (You'd think I'd be tired enough, but I have a wandering mind.) This will ultimately help Devin as well. I've noticed that as soon as I turn it on to get her ready for a nap her eyes start to get droopy.

Little Life Update

I've been starting to get a little too post happy on Instagram and Facebook, so I need to direct some energy to this blog so people don't start freaking out on me.

// Vince has torn some ligaments in his ankle and was ordered to be on complete bed rest for 5 days, then slowly become more weight bearing over the next six weeks with crutches. I've been tending to his every need, being sure to throw in a, 'Yes, your prince,' or 'Yes, my king,' when he's being a little extra demanding. (I don't like my coffee ground like that, can you do it a little finer? This meal definitely needs a little more salt. My toes are cold, can you put the blanket over it a little better?) All in all he's very appreciative of everything and is trying to be more mobile with his crutches and help out, but then I just yell at him to go lay back down because something will get dropped or spilled and I'll have to pick it up anyways. BUT, it's the thought that counts so it is nice that he is trying. Plus, he took care of me in way worse condition for many months so I can't really complain. (He wanted me to point out that I am neglecting rubbing arnica cream on his ankle in order to write this, so I'm doing a terrible job.)

It has honestly been a little blessing in disguise though because I get to spend SO MUCH TIME with my husband before school starts in a week. He was supposed to go on a ski trip to Colorado for six days (!!!) which was making me anxious, but I of course wasn't going to tell him he couldn't go because our big trip to Jackson Hole for skiing was canceled, the snow has been terrible here, and he's only been able to ski three days this year. Needless to say, I am sad he is so upset about missing his skiing, but way happy he was here! Before school started last week we were snuggling on the couch and I had the realization that it was one of the last 'real' times to spend together because then my time would be filled with nursing school and clinicals and his would be filled with work, and then very very soon a new baby! Luckily school has been slow to start, he's still not allowed to work, and we've been able to have plenty of time together. Maybe too much time.

32w5d
It's also been helpful at kicking my butt into gear. The nesting has fully kicked in and the dishes have been done after every use, our house has been very clean, fresh meals have been made multiple times a day, and I got prepared for the school year with freezer meals, meal planning, and snack lists. Everything seems to be situated for the baby (at some point I'll talk about how things are set up because we're staying in our <400 and="" any="" are="" basically="" bedroom="" carseat="" debut.="" even="" foot="" for="" her="" house="" installed="" is="" make="" one="" p="" ready="" she="" square="" the="" time="" to="" wants="" we="">

He starts physical therapy on the 30th so we'll hopefully know more about when he can start walking and what the estimated healing time will be. It would have been easier if he just fractured his ankle, it heals so much faster!

// On that note, it finally snowed about a foot here! I didn't let it deter me from my daily walk even when it was below freezing and snowing. It melted within a couple days, though, and it's back to being sunny. Today was incredibly cold though, but sadly no snow in the forecast.

And this is from our walk the day before in the woods when it was warm enough to take off my jacket and sweater.

// So much food has been eaten and I am now 166 pounds. I've never been over 150 pounds (I don't think I've ever even been 150 pounds) so it is really strange to think, 'I'm almost 170 pounds!' My arms and legs are still way skinny from the 30 pounds I lost at the beginning of my pregnancy so it's weird to look at myself and wonder where all the weight is. This puts me at 19 pounds over my pre-pregnancy weight, so I'm hoping my doctor will be a little more happy with me at my next appointment now that I'm getting closer to my 'goal' weight gain. It has surprisingly taken a lot of effort to eat so much, and if I skip even one meal of the day from sleeping in or being lazy, I can see a difference on the scale the next day, so it's been like a full-time job to eat healthy, filling meals! I realize I may sound like an asshole complaining about how hard it is to gain weight, but it really is stressful in it's own way, so no judgy judgy.

// Roxi has continued to be all sorts of cute and needy and knowing something is up. Her world is going to come crashing down when the baby girl arrives!

// Christmas was spent in Utah with family, and it was so great! We stopped in Vegas for a night on our way up there and ate In-N-Out (multiple double-doubles protein style and chocolate shakes) and PF Chang's, which was amazing as always, and took a short walk around. We pulled into town at sunset and it was beautiful!

30w3d
Then we were in condos with family for the next four days! There was close to 40 of us split between four condos, with the condo I was staying in being the 'main hub' for people to hangout at through the day, eat, etc. It was so great to be able to hangout with so many aunts, uncles, and cousins, even if over half of us had a cold of some sort.

From the drive home.

// Going back to school - I started last week! My plan is to just keep going until I have her, take about two weeks off classes, then keep going! I'm not allowed to miss many clinical days and have to make them up anyways, so I really don't have any choice but to continue because I don't want to take a semester off. Luckily I'll be able to pump at clinicals and even have the option to have Vince bring the baby to me to feed! Our plan is for him to do that once per clinical day so we can see each other, and then he'll just give her a bottle of pumped milk the rest of the time. One clinical is a ten hour day, the other is an 8 hour day, and class is four hours a week with a simulation lab being four hours every few weeks, so it's not really that much time away when you compare it to moms that work full-time, but it'll still be difficult! Fortunately we won't have to do daycare either because Vince will be with her both of my clinical days, and my grandparents will be with her on my class/lab day. That will definitely make it easier knowing she'll be with people who love her and will take amazing care of her! Spring break is also the middle of March so we'll just have to survive a couple weeks at most to make it to a little break.

31 weeks and all fancy for family pictures

// Other than starting school and Vince being injured, there hasn't been much happening! I'll be 35 weeks tomorrow (update coming!) so baths are a daily routine to prevent my back from tightening especially with 8 and 10 hour clinical days coming up, Hypnobabies sessions happen most days to prepare me for a natural birth, plenty of coconut oil has been rubbed on the belly, calming essential oils have been diffused, homework is being turned in early...relaxing in its own way!

34w4d

27 weeks

Every week seems to just fly by so fast, it's getting a little crazy. This week was a very busy one, so I'm hoping for a more calm one coming up!

Monday night some of my family had an early Thanksgiving since a lot of us were seeing our spouse's families on Thursday. It was a great time as always. On Tuesday I drove about 2 hours to Phoenix for my step-grandpa's funeral (beautiful Catholic mass) and had to come straight back home afterwards because I had to work Wednesday morning. I woke up early to get to work, then right after work headed back down to Phoenix for Thanksgiving! We were luckily there for two nights, but ended up doing a lot of driving on Thanksgiving traveling between families, so although it was fun, it was still a bit tiring. We came home today and traffic was just insane so our 2ish our drive ended up being 3 1/2 hours. No fun at all! 

Slow traffic was an understatement. We were completely stopped! Luckily it wasn't a fatal accident and just looked like 6 cars had fender benders and were blocking the road.

I was able to enjoy In-N-Out, PF Chang's, and a Thanksgiving feast, though, so it was all worth it. Plus, I got to celebrate my mother-in-laws birthday and spend a lot of time with great family.

Double-double protein style (w/ allergy to the bun!), fries, and a chocolate shake. I could have easily eaten a second cheeseburger.

On to the baby update.

How far along: 27 weeks (last week of the second trimester!)

Weight: 155 pounds (-30 total/+8)

Nesting: I have definitely been nesting for a few weeks now, but I've also been really tired, so it's kind of difficult to deal with. My brain keeps telling me I must clean super random things like under the couch and shower walls (which I've never cleaned, ever, because it's never accumulated scum/mold or appeared dirty), but my body is like, "I'm going to just completely fall apart on you if you don't take a nap right this second. Oh, oh look! Your eyes are closing! Better sit down before you just fall over!" Luckily I'll find moment where I can get some stuff done and still have time for a nap. 

Annoying Symptom: Dry, dry, DRY skin. Like so incredibly dry that certain parts of my body look sunburned because they are so red, irritated, and painful. I've been using fractionated coconut oil, but it's time to break out the really greasy balms because after an hour it doesn't help anymore. I made a belly butter with shea butter, cocoa butter, coconut oil, beeswax, etc a few months ago that I've been using and it is really soothing for my belly but it stays greasy for a long time, so it's inconvenient to use unless it's night time. So I'm going to try and either make something less greasy for the rest of my body (my hips are somehow the driest which is weird, and it doesn't help to pull down/up my pants all the time to pee) or I'm just going to buy some heavy duty lotion and save the oil for my belly. I've just grown to love non-toxic things and lotions have so many bad ingredients! But, the itchiness just kills me. I of course fell in love with the Paul Mitchell lemon sage lotion at the hotel, and of course it's crazy expensive. So any lotion recommendations would be great!

Sleep: I'm not quite sure if I'm sleeping poorly, or I'm just extra tired, but I'm so tired all the time now. I feel like aside from waking up to pee constantly or having terrible dreams, I sleep pretty solidly. I'm thinking I could be anemic so I've started taking my desiccated liver pills again for the iron, and hopefully that helps! I have blood work getting done next week so I'm going to ask my doc to tack on an iron levels test. I don't take prenatals anymore (I know, I'm so terrible) but I do take individual vitamins tailored to what I need, but I haven't been taking iron because CONSTIPATION. The desiccated liver pills have more bioavailable iron (uh, I sound like a hippy) so it shouldn't affect my bowels like other iron pills! So I feel like it's probably that, and the fact that I'm so much closer to the third trimester. 

Cravings: Chocolate. 

26w5d

Movement: She's been more relaxed the past few days which is a little odd, but I'm still feeling her punch and kick! I think she finally changed positions and is no longer breech, so I think I'm just feeling things differently now. I have an ultrasound next week so I'll be able to see her position and know for sure.

Wedding Ring On or Off: Still off.

Best Moment of the Week: Duh, so much good food.

Vince brought me leftover PF Chang's in bed at the hotel, and my pillow fell over flinging a fork full of food everywhere! Yes, I did clean it up but I wanted to cry about a forkful wasted. 

Looking Forward To: This school semester being over. I have a standardized Kaplan exam, two final simulations, and my final, and then I'm home free! So close, yet so so far. 

Panicking About: Time going so quickly! I missed out on my entire first trimester and part of my second, and now that I'm almost to the third, I feel like pregnancy is going to be over soon. The other day I was thinking about how some babies start eating solids round 4-6 months old and I was like, "OH MY GOD, THAT'S SO SOON! My baby won't be a baby for long!" I of course had to remind myself that I haven't even had a baby yet and that I needed to chill the hell out.

What I Miss: Easily putting on shoes. I'm not going to lie, I thought it was one of those things pregnant people just exaggerated about, but it's true! Oh, so true! I don't feel like I'm even big enough yet to feel like i should have a problem with bending over, but I definitely can't bend. So I always have to sit down and angle my body to the side or lift my leg onto something, like the trash can. My balance is getting a little wonky though, so I'm not sure I'll be able to do that for long. 

Milestones: Swimming! A couple days after finding out I was pregnant I had a crazy strong desire to swim, but we all now what happened soon after that. I have a membership to the NAU gym and olympic sized pool but it's full of intimidating college students and I wasn't even sure if I could swim now that all my muscle is gone, so I was going to get a membership to a local gym that has a lot of old people. They decided to up their prices though and I didn't want to pay for it, so I just haven't gone swimming but I think about it all the time. I was able to hangout in the pool at our hotel, though, and I am definitely capable of swimming so now I'm more determined to just go to the pool at the college. They have a lot of lanes open for open swim so hopefully I can figure out their slow times so I can go and not worry about being embarrassed/slowing people down with my snail pace!

26w5d

26 weeks

26w1d - the lazy shot. And no stretch marks yet, luckily! Just the indentation from my shirt.

25w2d

Weight: 152 pounds (-30 total/+ 6)

Sleep: Has drastically changed this past week. I am definitely up about every hour, whether it's to change positions or go pee. I was able to do a partially on my belly, partially on my side sleep for a while that was great because I'm normally a stomach sleeper, but that's now gone. So the side it is. That leads to things like major neck aches and my arm falling asleep! And I feel like I use my other hand to support myself somehow so my wrists get really sore. I was never told about this part of pregnancy. ;) I sleep with a body pillow on both sides which is way helpful, and I'm thinking it's time to add a second one under my head!

Cravings: Hard boiled egg sandwiches are still all the rage (rave?) and healthy foods in general like salads. 

I've been thinking a lot about BBQ chips as well, but haven't eaten them. I bought some the other day and thought I'd bought them before so assumed they were gluten free. I sat on the couch to eat one and as I was bringing a chip to my mouth, I realized I hadn't checked the bag yet. So I read the ingredients quickly and look at the little area that says 'Contains:' and it didn't say anything about wheat. So I put the chip to my lips and thought, 'Hmm, I should probably read the ingredients one more time, just to be safe.' Sure enough, there was malted barley syrup which is not gluten free! I was so bummed, but so happy I caught it before I ate it or I would have been one sorry pregnant lady. (But at least I would have pooped!)

Movement: Never ending it seems, which I love! Even though it is really uncomfortable at times, especially after I've had a big meal, it's quite an amazing feeling. There have been some really big movements happening so it's been fun to watch it beneath my skin. She'll sometime do multiple punches like a punching bag, so my stomach will just look like it's seizing or something. 

Wedding Ring On or Off: Still off.

Best Moment of the Week: Having my nursing clinicals for school end for the semester. They'll be quite rough next semester since we have two days instead of one and I'll be way bigger, but I'm happy for the break.

My clinical carpool ladies!

Looking Forward To: Taking our baby moon in a few weeks! We'll be heading up to Jackson Hole so Vince can ski and I can cozy up in a luxury hotel, then visiting a friend who is a few weeks ahead of me in her pregnancy (our belly's are going to be so cute together), then heading to a condo in southern Utah for a family reunion of sorts for Christmas. 

Incredibly flattering, I know. ;) This was after a simlab day for school, and this is what I wear under my scrubs! My 'slimmer' belly band, compression socks, and a long sleeve shirt. Vince kept telling me I looked huge and wanted a picture. 25w5d

What I Miss: Getting out of bed normally. I feel like a bug stuck on it's back sometimes because I have to put my arms and legs in the air for momentum to make it over my body pillow and sit up!

Milestones: Not fitting in my bras, except a nursing bra I bought. I've been wearing sports bras for a bit but they were getting too snug so I reached for a 'real' bra. It was quite hilarious when I put it on because my boobs literally squished out the top, bottom and sides and I couldn't breath. While not a milestones for already big chested ladies, it's a little fun for me not to be an A-cup any more! Except now I am down to one comfortable bra...

(Read about week 14 weeks and 25 weeks.)

Long overdue update!

I feel like this update is long overdue but I've been too lazy/sick/busy to do it:

I'm growing a baby! Ultrasound due date is February 27th, last period due date is March 1st. My midwife wants to go by the later one in case I am overdue so we have more time for natural induction, but I mentally go by the February one so I seem further along. I can do that, right?! And really, it's only two days so WHATEVER.

I was excited for about three days after finding out, then got extreme morning sickness (really hyperemesis gravidarum which is way beyond morning sickness) and lost all contact with the world. It's been all sorts of awful and terrible, but things are finally getting better. I will have a long detailed gruesome post about the bad stuff, but for now I wanted to share some positive things that are going on via an easy survey!

How Far Along: 14 weeks 3 days

Weight: -24/+6 (Pre-pregnancy was 149lbs, lost 30lbs and was down to 119 at the lowest)

Sleep: Finally good! For a long time I was on a backwards schedule and would be up all night and couldn't fall asleep until the sunrise. It was horrible! Now I wake up for class early (around 6am to have time to eat and get ready slowly) and get up by 10am on days I don't have class/work, and try and get to bed by 10, but it's usually a little later.

Cravings: Lychee! All day long. I also eat cans upon cans of olives and beets. Corn on the cob. And COFFEE. I stick with decaf.

Silly Things Vince Said: He's been getting worried over the silliest of things, and the other night he was talking about how we should get in the habit of not buying so much food, or we won't have room when the baby comes. I think he doesn't realize it won't need real food for quite a while, and even then it's minuscule amounts. It is extremely cute to see him get so mad at me because I'm not worried about it.

Movement: None yet, but I'm not far off! I'm nervous because some hyperemesis women say it makes their nausea even worse, so I'm really hoping that doesn't happen.

Wedding Ring On or Off: Off because my fingers are way too skinny. I had no idea my fingers could lose weight, and same with my feet - shoes are too loose!

Best Moment of the Week: Vince realizing that a baby belly is starting to form. Now he can rub my belly and not feel weird about it!

Looking Forward To: Learning how to put in IVs in nursing school this week! We have an entire morning dedicated to it.

What I Miss: Being able to poop. Constipation is real, folks, and my anti nausea meds I'm on makes it even worse. I jokingly say that I want to eat something with gluten just so things get moving! (Though that will never happen.)

Milestones: Officially being out of the first trimester! Depending on who you listen to, some say the second trimester starts at 12 weeks, other 13.3 weeks (because 40 divided 3) and others say 14 weeks. Now I'm in the second trimester, no matter who you talk to.

Belly Picture: 13 weeks 5 days