4 Months Pregnant

I am still sick a lot of the time, but I am starting to show more and more. I just have to remember that I am sick because my body is adjusting to this beautiful baby that is inside me. I am one moth closer to meeting this little bundle of joy!!

A Beautiful Sound (Heartbeat)

Today was the the most amazing day since the 1st ultrasound. First of all, the Dr. was able to use his small in office ultrasound machine to see the baby and it's getting so much bigger. The baby has arm and leg buds now! The highlight of today though was that we got to hear the heartbeat!!!! The sound was so amazing and beautiful. It is such a milestone as you know you will be hearing it now at every appointment (or every 2 weeks for me) The heart rate was135/bpm (suggests girl if you believe the old wives tale). Russ and I were so amazed, it was a great day and here is the heartbeat...

How To Tell Your Employer You're Pregnant When They Don't Want You To Be

Today was hard and I day I have been dreading since I found out I was pregnant. One of the things I said to Russ when I found out that I was pregnant was that I was going to loose my job. We always knew I would be a stay at home mom, but my job was such that there is no maternity leave. I know that my employer wasn't planning on me getting pregnant and that since they couldn't get pregnant and had to adopt their children the didn't want me to get pregnant either. So today after avoiding it, hiding my belly, etc. I told them. Of course, it went how I planned where they were shocked and not really thrilled. You know what though? I don't care, nobody can take away my happiness over this baby. Of course we talked about when I would leave my job, I told them I would like to stay on till March, but we will see what happens. I will be surprised if I make it that long.

Bears Party

Today we had a Chicago Bears party. Russ and I LOVE LOVE LOVE watching football every Sunday, so we wanted to have a party. Plus it was a great time to show everyone the baby bump. My morning all day sickness, is getting a little better, but its not there yet. At least I was feeling well enough to have the party. We took a survey on the gender and the overwhelming guess is that this is a boy! I am feeling that this is probably a boy too (although the 1st ultrasound's heart rate was in the 170's which suggests girl). Just about another month till we find out for sure!

Sinus Infection

I can't believe that I am sick again. It took me so long to recover from the strep throat (I guess pregnancy makes for a longer recovery). I usually do get a sinus infection every year, but this one is so much worse. I guess part of that has to do with the fact that I have Rhinitis (which is something you can get when you are pregnant). So I am back on the couch with the vaporizer and the Netti Pot. I really have to figure out what I am going to do about my job. My morning all day sickness makes it difficult enough, but the kids are always sick and it is making me sick, and I really can't shouldn't be on too many antibiotics while I am pregnant. Russ and I feel like I will probably have to leave my job my the 1st of the year, but we will see how it goes.

Telling Everyone Else Because I'm Showing

Guess what??? I am showing (crazy)!!!! Therefore, since we are about 12 weeks along and I am showing we decided we better tell everyone that I am pregnant. So we announced it on Facebook (of course). Most of our close friends knew already because I have been so sick, but it was still super fun to announce it to the rest of the world, so it doesn't have to feel like such a secret anymore. I am also so happy that we are past the 12 week critical time. However, I can't believe I am showing, I thought I would have more time, but the belly just has nowhere to go! Everyday it is becoming more and more real. Please excuse the pictures, I still feel like I have the flu...

Strep Threat and Morning Sickness

Yep I have strep throat and morning sickness, I am off work until next week. I am going to continue to lay on the couch and be miserable.

Sick On Your 3rd Anniversary

Today Russ and I have been married for 3 years and I am sick (not fun). So not only is my morning sickness still horrible, I have a sore throat and a fever. The kids at work have strep throat, so I am pretty sure I am coming down with it too, guess I am off work and off to the Dr. tomorrow (unless I have a miraculous recovery). Russ is taking care of me with lots of popsicles (since that is all I can eat anyway). I am truly blessed to have been married to Russ for 3 wonderful years. I am so excited for us to be parents and for this exciting journey we are on.

The First Ultrasound!!!!

Today was the day that I have been waiting desperately for! Today was the 1st ultrasound! I have been waiting and so excited for this day to come. Especially since I have been so sick, I wanted to see what was really happening inside me. The Dr. has tried to get an ultrasound on his little machine in his office, but the baby was too small to see anything. Russ and I went in, not really knowing what to expect. We were even thinking maybe I was pregnant with twins (since my sisters are twins and because I was so sick).

So we went into the room and the ultrasound tech got everything ready. Russ and I were eagerly looking at the screen, and all we could see was black. Then all of a sudden there it was our beautiful baby (or more like a seahorse at this stage). It was so unbelievable, the baby was so tiny. However, the most amazing thing about this was I was only about 8 weeks pregnant and yet there was a heartbeat!!! We could see it and the ultrasound tech was able to see that the heart rate was about 170 bpm, although we couldn't hear it. This was just more confirmation for me that life truly does begin at the moment of conception.

Russ and I both cried at the sight of our precious miracle and that tiny heart beat. This was truly confirmation that all of the sickness I have been going through was so worth it. The ultrasound tech looked rally hard to make sure we were only having just 1 baby and we are! The baby is healthy and seems to be developing perfectly, so now the waiting until the next ultrasound around 20 weeks find out the gender. It is going to be tough to wait that long, but at least I have beautiful ultrasound images to look at now.

Zofran

So after having morning all day sickness for days on end, I knew I had to call my Dr. He prescribed Zofran, which helped some, it made life tolerable. I am thankful that there was at least something that I could take to keep food down. Although I can eat is plain bagels. It works by basically preventing you from vomiting, so while you still feel mildly nauseous, you don't have the constant urge to vomit. However, I do recommend Zofran to anyone else that experiences any type of severe nausea while pregnant, and get it right away. 

***Looking back I would be sick pretty much 24 hours a day for about 3-4 months***

Morning Sickness

This was something that I didn't anticipate...I never knew how sick you could be when you were pregnant. I always thought that the people who said they had morning sickness, were just not feeling the greatest, I knew never they were paralyzed with sickness. I started out with full blast, hard core morning sickness. I literally could barley get out of bed. Walking was making me nauseous, food was making me nauseous, driving, and or  riding in a car would make me nauseous. I would got to bed nauseous and wake up nauseous. I don't know how I did it, but I managed to go to work. I would get there and throw up all day. I would eat what I could, which was not much, basically plain bread. I would come home from work and go straight to the couch, where I would may until the next day of work. I needed to call the Dr. and see what else I could possibly do because this was not good. I tried everything ginger, ginger ale, Vernors, lemon, lemon tea, peppermint  peppermint tea, nothing helped. I would say to Russ, I don't know how I can go on like this. I literally have never experienced ANYTHING like this before. The best way to describe it was like you have the flu 24/7.

Telling The Family The Big News

I had already told my Mom that I was pregnant, because I had to tell someone other than Russ. However, I had not told anyone else in my family. Russ and I were going to my parents house to celebrate my step-dad and step-sisters birthday. I had bought a grandparents book to give to my step-dad to break the news. When we got to my parents house, my step-dad wanted to open his gift right away. He opened it , read what the book said, and went crazy. He ran to show my sisters the book, so they found out and we called my brother who is in California. My step-sister came over later and and of course my step-dad showed her the book right away too. Finally we texted my step-brother who was in Virginia. My Grandpa was also living with my parents. We told him he was going to be a Great-Grandpa (he has dementia and his response was "wow you really went to town". Thanks Grandpa for the total embarrassment LOL. It was pure craziness. I think my family was pretty much in shock. They like us, kinda thought that it would never happen, so it truly was a complete surprise. They were elated too. It was a really great day, celebrating birthdays and my pregnancy.

Here is a picture of us with my family after we shared the news...

First Dr.'s Appointment and Tests

So now that I knew that I was pregnant I was freaking out because I felt cramping. I called the Dr. right away the morning after I found out I was pregnant. They wanted me to go in for blood work right away. So I went Wednesday night after work, and again on Friday after work. The tests confirmed I was pregnant and my hormone levels were where they should be. We then me with the Dr. on Saturday who confirmed that the cramping was just the uterus stretching. He told us that our due date would be April 27, 2012. Russ and I were still in shock that this was happening. We stopped by a bookstore that was closing on our way home from the Dr. We wanted to buy a grandparents book to give to my parents, to break the big news on Sunday.

Pregnant!?!?

I never thought that I would get pregnant, let's just start with that. Russ and I had been trying to get pregnant pretty much ever since we had gotten married. There would be times we tried more and time we tried less, and time we didn't try at all. Russ and I had pretty much given up hope that it would happen for us. In fact we had started planning on to have fun and keep busy just the 2 of us. Russ is a SCUBA instructor and I was learning to SCUBA dive.

I had been gaining some weight this Summer, and my clothes weren't fitting very well. I usually wore a size 2, but it just wasn't cutting it. I was also bloated since I was getting ready to start my period. On Saturday I had it, Russ and I were going out to dinner and I couldn't fit into anything. I told him that I would need to go shopping in the next week and get clothes for the Fall that would actually fit me. I put on my only pair of size 4 pants and we went to dinner.

On Sunday Russ and I went to Six Flags (our local amusement park). I was feeling crampy because I was supposed to start my period any day, it was 1 day late but no biggie. We went on roller coasters and water slides, as I was feeling tired and nauseous, but that is to be expected at an amusement park. There was a feeling thought that it was weird I was 1 day late, but didn't think too much about it.

On Monday, I my period still hadn't started. I said to Russ, "Do you think I am pregnant"? He didn't think it was possible, and said that I would probably start my period at any time, but deep down inside, I thought that it could be possible, I was hoping that it was possible, but I was scared.

This morning Russ, asked me if I had started my period, I told him no. He said "Holy cow, I may be a Dad!" Russ really wanted to hold off on buying pregnancy tests for a while, but I couldn't take it. We went to Target and got 1 regular +/- pregnancy test and 2 digital tests. Of course as soon as we walked in the door I had to take the test. I took the regular +/- test first and within 15 seconds there was a very faint + sign. I was so happy and scared all at once. Of course I called my Mom and told her right away because I just couldn't believe it. Both she and Russ thought that I should make sure the digital tests also said pregnant because the + sign was so faint. I started drinking tons of water, just so I could take the digital test right away and this is what I got...

Leaving My Job

After my surgery in January and being out of work while I was recovering, I knew that I couldn't commute 120 miles a day any longer. The commute was taking its toll on my mentally and physically and it was affecting our marriage. It is hard to have a relationship with someone, when you never see them. I also knew that we wanted to have a baby and that it would be impossible under the current circumstances. So on April 2, 2010, I left my job. I had a part-time job lined up closer to home, until I could find something full time.

We decided to undergo more fertility tests and just work on our relationship. We wanted to get closer to each other and get to know each other again. I am so thankful that Russ could see what commuting every day was doing to me and that he let me leave my job, not knowing what the future would hold.

Fertility Struggles

FAIR WARNING THIS COULD BE CONSIDERED A GRAPHIC POST TO SOME

***This involves a discussion of the menstrual cycle and surgery, if you don't want to know about it, don't read it.***

Fast forward to 2010. Russ and I were living up in Northern Illinois. He was doing well at his job, I was still commuting my 120 miles a day round trip to my job. This were going well, except for 1 small problem I was not getting pregnant. I was also having horrible menstrual cycles, with major cramping and heavy bleeding. I was tired to just dealing with it. I had tried everything else you could imagine and nothing had been working, so I had just given up.

My mom and sister had very similar problems and found a wonderful Dr. that was willing to help. My sister had undergone surgery to help her, and they discovered she had endometriosis. The surgery was going to hopefully help her with fertility in the future. I fear that I probably had something similar going on, so I made an appointment to see him in early January. He took my family history, ran a ton of tests, and performed an ultrasound. What he found led him to believe that I needed surgery as well, and soon. He thought he found a few cysts. So the surgery was scheduled for January 26, 2010. It was to be an outpatient procedure, just like my sisters.

I went in for surgery expecting to go home that day (like my sister did), but that did not happen. After the surgery I was admitted to the hospital for observation for a few days. What the Dr. had discovered was that I appeared to have chronic appendicitis as a child (which had gone un-diagnosed) that had wreaked havoc on my body. I had many adhesions, my right ovary and right fallopian tube were missing, either from the appendicitis or being born without it. I also had cysts on my left fallopian tube that had to be removed. Lastly, there was a huge (orange sized) cyst on my left ovary that had to be removed as well. He performed a D and C in hopes that all of these things would help my heavy and painful menstrual cycles and preserve my fertility. The Dr. did not find any signs of endometriosis, but my fertility was still in question.

I was in a ton of pain and had a long recovery ahead of me. I would be out of work for about 6 weeks, and Russ would have to do almost everything for me for at least a few weeks. I needed to heal and I needed to recover. We couldn't think about having a baby at that point. We were going to have to look into those options and explore it more at a later time.

The Move Up North

Russ had been laid off since December 1, 2008. He had interviewed in Germantown, Wisconsin, and was offered a job, but turned it down. He also had interviewed at the company that he currently works at now. It was in Northern Illinois, which would mean a move for us. He was offered the job on January 16, 2009, and so we knew we had to move. He needed to be close to work for his job, as that was required. I had a job where were were currently living. This would mean at least an 1.5 hour commute each way (on a good day) or about 120 miles round trip a day. Russ needed a good job, and he had found one, so we knew we had to move up north. We found an apartment and moved in on my birthday (ick), and started our new life together up north. I started my hellish commute and was adjusting to this new life. It wasn't what I had planned or envisioned. I wanted to stay close to my family and friends, but it was the best offer for a job Russ had gotten.

***Now I am glad he took the job, because the economy has just gotten worse. He was probably luck to find a job as soon as he did.***

Laid Off

We were delayed getting back from our honeymoon, because Chicago was having a HUGE snowstorm. We were supposed to get home around 6:00pm Sunday night and didn't end up getting back till about 2:00am Monday morning. I had taken Monday off work, because I am always so tired after trips, but Russ had to work. We arrived at the airport, picked up our luggage, went to our car and headed home. We didn't get home till about 4:00am due to the snow etc. Russ basically took a shower and headed into work. I spent the day sleeping and doing laundry. Russ came home around his normal time and said we needed to talk. He told me that his company laid him off due to a lack of work. Russ had know that his company wasn't doing the greatest, but he thought he was safe, at least for a while. I was wondering if Russ' company was going to get us a wedding gift, and I guess they did, it is called unemployment.

Russ said that they company wanted to bring him back, but they just weren't sure of how things were going to go. Russ decided that he couldn't wait around for them. The job hunt begun, we would move anywhere at this point, and do anything. I had a pretty good job, but Russ really needed one too. So he got on unemployment and started looking. I knew that he probably wasn't going to find anything until after the holidays, but I also didn't know how long we could make it and how long we could take the uncertainly.

It was not easy only being married for 2 months and just getting back from our honeymoon when this happened. We were being tested for the first time in our marriage and we were going to have to figure out how to pass.

***Looking back on this now (in 2012) this was just the start of what would happen with our economy as it would continue to worsen. It is still bad today. However, at the time it is happening you are just thinking of you not about the economy in general.***

Waking Up In Vegas (Honeymoon)

We decided to do our honeymoon a few months after our wedding. We had paid for our wedding ourselves and needed to be able to save up the money. We also had a lot of people visiting from out of town when we got married, since Russ and his family are from Montana. We wanted to spend time with our guests and recover from all of our partying before going away on a trip.

We decided we wanted to go to Las Vegas for our honeymoon. I had never been, but Russ has been there a lot and really liked it. We flew out Wednesday to return on Sunday. This was also Thanksgiving weekend, so a great time to go when it wasn't so crowded. Russ surprised me by having a limo pick us up from the airport, so I could see the sights of Vegas in style.

We stayed at Treasure Island in one of their honeymoon suites, it was really nice. We went to Toby Keith's I Love This Bar and Grill, Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville, and tons of other buffets. We toured almost every hotel to see how incredible they all really are. We went to Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, and Old Downtown Las Vegas to all of those casinos. It was fabulous, there were not a ton of people, I think to do it being Thanksgiving weekend.  It wasn't hot, but it wasn't cold either. They funny part was Las Vegas actually broke a record in the amount of rain they had gotten. They got about 1/4 inch in a day and they couldn't deal with it. It was nothing being from Chicago, I hardly even noticed it was raining. :)

Mr. and Mrs.

Of course all of you are reading this in 2012, but in order for you to know our story you have to know about us. September 27, 2008 we became Mr. and Mrs. At the time it was the happiest day of my life (it would remain the happiest day of my life until Avery was born). We had a small wedding just immediate family and very close friends. This day was the culmination of our whirlwind romance. We met in January 2008, were engaged in May 2008, and married in September 2008. Probably, one of the craziest things I ever did, but so worth it. Almost 4 years later, although a lot has changed, our love remains a constant.