Weeks 14-15

                                                                                                                                                                                         

Week 15 I think the only change I'm seeing is my farmer's tan.
Time to break out the sleeveless shirts on my runs (and stop taking pictures
right after a run).

April 22, 2012

Woo Hoo! Second trimester is here! Now when I'm I going to get this magical energy? I still feel like I could go to sleep any time, any where.
I had an appointment on Wednesday and everything (meaning my urine and the heart beat) is still healthy. No weight gain yet but Dr. Kot says not to be concerned that many people don't start gaining until a few weeks into the second trimester.  Little pumpkin's heart rate was 153 - about 3 times my heart rate.  It's so comforting to hear the heartbeat and know everything is still going well, especially when I can't really see or feel much change. I know it's not visible in the picture but every now and then I'll see a little bump.  It's more noticeable in some clothes than others.  I guess I should enjoy fitting in my clothes while I still can.

We set the date for the ultrasound to find out the gender - May 30th.  I'm really excited about it.  I'm not sure if it's because everyone keeps saying you need to have a boy or if I really feel some male hormones in there but we're leaning towards guessing it's a boy. I'm looking forward to finding out so we can refer to pumpkin as a he or she and so we can pin down a name.  It's hard looking at boy and girl names.  We thought for a while we would name a boy Graham and a girl Tatum (and call her Tate) but we've been exploring other options lately although these 2 are still on the list.  For a boy we like - Emmett, Dylan, Luke and I know it's a little out there but River. Steve also threw John Luke into the mix which I was surprised about because I thought he hated double names. Although, I like double names it was vetoed when I found out it's the name of the Star Trek ship captain.  I married a dork!  For a girl I think we're pretty set on Tatum but I also like Annabelle and Gabrielle.  Who knows we may not go with any of these and then there are middle names to add in there. Like I said, once we know whether we need a boy or girl name it will eliminate half of the worry.

In other news - Steve is done with school and only 2 weeks until he walks across the stage for his diploma!  I'm so proud of him and how hard he has worked.  The worry now is the job hunt.  We went to Memphis last week for him to do an interview with UT Memphis for a cardiology position.  After thinking it through and speaking to others who work or have worked there he decided not to take it.  I can't say that I'm upset over that.  He has an interview with a cardiology group in Paducah, KY and a meeting with an ortho group here at Wesley set up?  Guess which one I'm pulling for? However, I just have to trust that wherever we end up it is where we are meant to be.

Here's what's going on these days:

Physical:

The pressure on my bladder has definitely increased; I'm peeing about every 20 minutes these days.  My face started breaking out (I'm hoping that was short lived) and I'm still sleeping like a champ.  Like I said earlier, every now and then I can catch a glimpse of a baby bump but it may also just be bloat.  Fortunately, the extreme bloating I felt a few weeks ago has gone down a lot.

Emotional:

I still feel very sensitive most of the time and can easily cry.  Unfortunately, Steve learned this the hard way last week.  Hopefully he's learned from his mistake but as smart as he is, he can be a little stupid sometimes.

Weeks 12-13

our little pumpkin is about the size of a peach today

April 8, 2012

So close to the second trimester - one more week.  It's not like I have had a horrible first trimester though.  I'm grateful that I didn't have the morning or all day sickness; only a bit of nausea here and there.  I still have some food aversions but I've noticed my appetite increasing over the past few days.

Maybe the hormonal mood swings will slow down a bit too. I've noticed for about the past 3 weeks that everything seems to make me cry or very angry.  Most of the time I can control my extreme emotion but sometimes I look back and think how irrational I was such as my hatred of our Chili's waitress for not putting my dressing on the side. It still makes me angry to think about it.

Perhaps the biggest swings lately have been centered around the thought of moving for Steve a job.  Every time I even thought about Kentucky I burst into tears.  I've been able to be a little more open minded with other possibilities in TN and FL but it's an up and down thing.  I think that I'm starting to get to a place of peace that God has a reason for sending us or keeping us wherever although I'm sending louder prayers that we'll stay around friends and family.  Seriously, I'm going to need a little support with the raising of a child; I hope God keeps that in mind:)

Besides the stress of considering places to settle down with this little pumpkin, it's been a pretty busy/fun two weeks.  I've been busy at work on a grant and interviewing new Wellness Ambassadors.  Steve came home Wednesday night - Dash and I were very excited to see him. I've also had to entertain Dash while Steve was gone.

This weekend baby Ryder got to run his/her first race, The Crescent City Classic, my favorite running race ever.  This was also his or her 2nd trip on Bourbon St., not sure how healthy that was. We had a great time though and I was actually able to run all 6.2 miles it was a slow 9:25 pace but I did it.  I was pretty impressed with myself since I've been too exhausted to run more than 3 for a while now.  This weekend was also Easter which meant time at my family's in Picayune. I definitely ate enough for me and the pumpkin.

Here's what's going on now:

Physically:

I'm constantly pooped.  I have very little motivation to be active or do work.  I like sleep and find nothing wrong with going to bed at 7:30pm. I still have some food aversions but have been able to expand my diet a bit. I haven't had too many cravings what I want is constantly changing but I do find that it often centers around potatoes from baked potatoes, french fries and potato salad I seem to be loving the spud lately.

This past week I've gotten a little concerned that I don't have a bump yet since others who are about the same week as me are starting to show or at least getting into bigger clothes.  I'm ready for the visible bump that proves baby Ryder is in there. I know everyone is different but I guess I just want a little more confirmation sometimes, especially since I haven't experienced much of the other symptoms.

Emotional:

I feel like I cry or at least get teary eyed a lot. I don't know if it's the thought of all the future changes, my tiredness or if I can actually blame it on hormones but there is something going on to make me fine one moment and then either extremely angry or sad the next.  There is also the fear and worry that something will still go wrong.  I think I live from appointment to appointment for that reassurance that everything is alright.

Jenny, Laura, Me and Lindsey ready to run

a rare gathering of all three sisters