Week 22

Symptoms: This week I've been trying to get out more and enjoy this beautiful weather! It was raining for the past couple weeks which I guess that's preparing me for Washington weather but it's been kinda depressing. Even so I tried to go out on walks. And then finally the sub came out. Whenever I feel a little cruddy I go on a walk and that feeling goes away. I know I write about yoga each week but I seriously have fallen in love with it. I feel it helps me feel more spiritually connected. I'm not humming and praising Buddha..haha no. It puts my mind at ease and gets me in the right mindset to pray to my Heavenly Father. I found a great yoga video which brings my heart rate up and does some poses that other videos haven't. My favorite is downward dog. It really stretches my calves and helps with my plantar fasciitis which has gone down since school has gotten out. The main symptom I feel is that when I wake up I feel like my blood is just not flowing well through my body. It's especially bad when I wake up startled in the middle of the night.

Cravings/aversions:

Don't remember....

Best moment(s) of the week: Our street has a lot of cats and there's this black cat that I swear has the most constipated meow. We've tried to chase it away so it won't wake us up at 4:30am. I think it's getting the picture. We also have this Siamese mix cat that likes to hang around. She is so sweet. I think it's funny that just before we moved out of our trailer there was a kitten who got attached to us and now that we're moving out of our apartment there's another cat who has become attached to us. I like to think of it as our good luck charm.            

Our little girl is growing! At 22 weeks she is about the size of a papaya. 

•has more developed eyelids and lips. So cute!! 

•is on a sleep cycle about 12-14 hours a day

                                       

Week 19-21

It's been super crazy with getting ready to move to Washington in about 1 week and a half and with finishing up school.

Symptoms: I am so hungry all the time! I also am starting to feel lathargic and I'm sleeping a lot. Yesterday I was in bed sleeping or lying on the couch most of the day. It might be due to the fact that I had my last day of school with the kids on Friday and every stress and anxiety from the year melted away. What a huge relief to be done!! Most challenging two years of my life (even tops the 18 months I spent serving a mission).  I'm also feeling the need for tons of pillows to support me and help me feel comfortable. I'm thinking of getting a body pillow. I woke up this morning at 5:30am to some drunk guy outside yelling real loud. Some people...anyways..My legs felt so weak. I couldn't get up for an hour or so and it wasn't until John massaged my legs, feet, and arms that I could get up. I'm thinking I should prop my legs up when I sleep.

Wednesday was my worst day yet being pregnant. I had to turn the lights off in my office during class and sit there in silence as I did some meditation and relaxation techniques. I felt short of breath and super weak. I just felt so icky and it might have been because I ate so much the night before and I had a lot of stress the night before (it was graduation and boy howdy my kids were freaking out about what to do or about the fact they couldn't hear the piano and I couldn't handle the many many questions I was being bombarded with...just please try and go with the flow and don't talk to me while we're performing!! Some things don't go as rehearsed or as planned, or maybe if you had just listened the first time I wouldn't have to repeat it a billion times). Anyways..rant over. Despite that I did have a pretty good week. I was able to just chill out with my students and we said our goodbyes. I will miss some of them dearly it makes my heart ache.

I'm still trying to get some exercise in. Some of the yoga routines from Yoga with Adrienne are a bit intense and not meant for pregnant women, so I found some ones that are more for prenatal exercise. I found some great 10 minute videos that I've been able to before going to school or just before going to bed. They get my blood flowing and make me feel great! I've also looked into some labor meditation videos and mp3s. So relaxing and great to fall asleep to. I love the affirmations and how they make me feel connected with our little girl. Sometimes I get so caught up in life that's happening around me that I almost forget I'm pregnant. 

Cravings/Aversions: Maybe it's the fact that the only thing to get to celebrate with in Shelley is donuts from Broulims but bleck!! I about passed out from the sugar in the air. John and I did find a bakery in town that sells some of the best donuts I've ever had and Broulim's are super disgusting compared! But seriously....so much sugar! I can't seem to stay away from it, though. I'm trying to eat healthier..minus the several trips to Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt...(seriously their brownie batter and white chocolate mint froyo with a buttload of oreos is the BOMB!!!) Veggies are hard to eat! This baby is sadly going to be addicted to chocolate...like I am. EEP! On Friday morning I totally forgot to make a broccoli salad for a potluck thing we had at the middle school..so at 6am in the morning I stroll over to Albertson's to pick up groceries and I include some of their chocolate chip muffins in that...the broccoli salad, which I was so excited to eat, was really really gross. I was super self conscious of it during the lunch. People said it was good but I'm thinking they were just being nice...or maybe it was just because I was pregnant that it tasted off..I'm hoping the latter.

Best Moment(s) of the Week:
Well...since I haven't written since week 18 I'm going to include some things from weeks 19-21. We found out IT'S A GIRL!!!

Oh we are so thrilled!!! I was super nervous going into that ultrasound. It took forever to get in. I was actually shaking. I had had a dream the night before that it was a boy...and even though I would have been grateful I was just thinking how much I wanted a girl. It took about 20 minutes into the ultrasound for us to finally have it confirmed. She was being bashful and crossing her legs and would not uncross them. We've thought of several names before we even got pregnant and we're hoping one of them will just stand out once we see her. We've already kind of started calling her by one of the names we like the most but it's only in our thoughts that we say it. I'm not really for naming your child before you see it but to each their own.

We've definitely been able to feel her kick, too!! It's such an exciting experience. The night before we got the ultrasound was the first time John felt her. Sometimes it startles me how much she moves. She was doing some crazy acrobatics yesterday. Maybe she'll be into martial arts like John. It makes me want to see her and meet her! Cannot even wait!

Baby BUMP! It's like a real bump..enhanced by the double chocolate chip frappe (again with the chocolate...) that John made for us after church. Yum!

Our Little Girl is as big as a papaya

• She's looking more and more like a newborn. Her facial features are more developed. It looks like she's got John's nice full lips =) She better not be kissing lots of boys when she's older.
• She's sleeping in cycles--12-14 hours per day. I'm really hoping she doesn't have sleeping problems like I do. 

Week 18

Symptoms: All I can say is that holy cow, second trimester is so much better than the first! I have had more energy this week and have actually had a desire to work out! Woot woot! I currently love yoga. It makes me feel so good. I've always been a stretcher since I was little but now I know how to do that while gaining strength. It has also helped me with some minor back pains I've been experiencing, and with the power of position thinking. While I'm doing yoga I meditate and focus my mind on this little baby growing inside of me. I focus on the love I have for our little caterpie. I also want to start getting my mindset ready for labor...even though I have NO CLUE what it's going to be like. I can do all the reading I like but I have never experienced labor. It's a bit frightening to say the least. But hopefully, I can take some of my yoga practices and utilize them during that whole process. HOPEFULLY!

Cravings/Aversions: Absolutely love chicken noodle soup!! I even made a double recipe of homemade soup this last week and John and I, mostly I, ate it up in 2 days. I don't even remember how I made it because I combined several recipes to accommodate for what we had in our cupboards. But I will definitely be making it again. If I didn't have homemade soup I went to the store to get some of that Progresso stuff that I mentioned last time. I also have been enjoying peanut butter M&Ms. I mean I always go through phases with my candy but it's been years since I've been through a peanut butter M&M phase. Thankfully, I'm over the soda phase. As good as it tasted, I just am not a huge fan of how root beer makes me feel...super burpy. Maybe it was the fact that it was just disgusting anyways..but this last Sunday during the passing of the sacrament they had good bread (you know? the squishy white stuff), and then they had not so good bread....sunflower cardboard crap. I got the sunflower stuff...Maybe because I'm pregnant and just don't care I immediately spit it out. I got a few crumbs in there so I technically partook of the bread but seriously guys....don't EVER bring that stuff to a sacrament meeting. I understand food allergies and gluten free bread, but this was just plain awful.

Best Moment(s) of the Week: Having people finally realize that I'm pregnant when I say I am! There's a bump there for sure. It's like in the last 2 weeks or so it's just popped out. I mean...I've always been a bit chubby and that's hid that bump quite well, but now ..=)

Also! I think I have felt this little baby move a little bit. There were definitely times I felt that was not just my intestines or something moving. It was super exciting for me and reassuring.

This wasn't this week but during week 17, I played my last concert with the Idaho Falls Symphony. It's been so fun this year working with such wonderful musicians. We performed Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, which is one of my all time favorites. We also had 2 soloists come in and play concertos--one a beautiful harp concerto by Handel that made me actually want to like harp music, and then Tchaikovsky's Rococo Variations. It was fun to hear the Rococo Variations and reminisce about the time I played it during college.

Yesterday, we went to go see The Avengers. It was super good but I  somehow missed the punchlines of most of the jokes...I don't know even really know why (well once because I ate some particularly crunchy popcorn) so one moment I'm enjoying the movie and the next people are laughing...I didn't hear the line!! Darn it!!


SOOO Our Little Caterpie is technically a full 19 weeks and 2 days old but here are the facts about week 18.

Our Little Caterpie is the size of a sweet potato

• Can you believe she's (or he) yawning, hiccuping, sucking and swallowing?
• And she's (or he) twisting, rolling, punching and kicking, too — and is big enough that you might be able to feel her (or him) doing it!
• WE FIND OUT WHAT THE SEX OF THE BABY IS MAY 12th!! Put your votes in! Is it going to be a girl or a boy???