Weeks 12 and 13

Exciting times ahead. The more people we let know, the more reactions and memories we collect. My favourites were definitely the calls we made to two girls from James' first youth group; both of them squealed and had no idea of the reason we were calling (unlike my friends, who know me too well and know I hate phones). The questions we get are generally predictable: "Is it a boy or a girl" (we won't know for about a month) and "How is Emmi feeling?" (This one generally comes from older people, or those who have been pregnant before).

To answer that question, I am feeling so much better! While my emotions are still a bit of a roller coaster (being hormonal and prone to tears does help with Apple's customer service though), I have a lot more energy. Usually it's earlier in the day, so I still haven't been back to dance, and I've missed belly dance a few times due to exhaustion and other symptoms. The morning sickness has pretty much abated except for a few instances of nausea. Nothing like the past few months though, thank goodness.

My mom came to visit for a few days last week and we had a great time. Unfortunately, some kidney stone pain flared up on Friday and knocked me out for the afternoon, so I wasn't great company, but we did have all of Saturday together. We spent our Saturday shopping! We had a great time, trying on clothes, seeing what worked and what didn't. I'm not really that opposed to maternity clothes. The only thing is that there's not much selection: any selection there is, is stuck in the back of the women's section and has maybe two racks (if you're lucky). I guess we could've gone to maternity store, but I refuse to pay that much for normal clothes, let alone clothes I'll only be wearing for 6 months or so. (Yes I'm already wearing them and yes they're a little big, but they're much more comfortable). So we had a great time finding things that would work and trying colours. Even finding a bathing suit wasn't so difficult: I found a really cute one that'll work great for Israel (and it's dark, so the mud from the Dead Sea shouldn't stain it too much). James even got some new shoes (if you know James, you know this is huge: he has foot problems, so finding shoes that don't hurt him is a big challenge). I hope our children get his hair, teeth, and intestines, but my feet. :) Anyways, I had a great time and it was really nice to see my mom. I was sorry Dad couldn't be there, but I promised a skype date fashion show and tour of the apartment, so that'll be something to look forward to!

I've seen this on a few blogs, and thought I'd give it a go. Let me know what if you think I should keep it.
How far along:  13 weeks 
Total weight gain:   I've lost about 5 lbs since we found out
Maternity clothes:   Yes. I dress for comfort, so I'm already wearing them.
Stretch marks:   A few. I should probably use my coconut oil more regularly since it seems to be working really well
Sleep:   Tossing and turning. Woke up with heartburn this morning--yuck
Best moment this week:   Hearing the baby's heartbeat for the first time
Miss anything:   Margaritas, spicy tuna rolls and brie en croute. Oh and being able to get through a movie without peeing 5 times.
Movement:   Not yet. I'm hoping to feel something while we're in Israel!
Cravings:   Yes--five layer dip with hint of lime tortilla chips. YUM. Oh, and sushi.
Queasy?:   Not really. Nothing triggers it.
Gender:   Don't know yet!
Symptoms:   Heartburn, peeing all the time, and some others I don't care to mention
Belly button in or out?:   In
Wedding ring on or off?:   On
Happy or moody?:   While my mood swings, I'm generally happy
Looking forward to:   Our trip to Israel, the 20 week ultrasound, spending the weekend catching up on sleep and crafts

James: "Crafting exploded"

I've been scouring craft sites at work and the other night I pulled out my craft ottoman and organized everything. James came home halfway through: craft supplies spread out all over the coffee table, me in the middle of the sofa, poring through beads with supplies all over the couch as well--nowhere for him to sit or for us to put down plates with dinner. And the dogs relegated to the floor so they don't upset the beads. Harry Potter on the tv, much to James' delight (that was sarcasm for anyone who doesn't know James well). Combined with my desire to clean up my entire 20 gig music collection, I think nesting, or at least pre-nesting has begun. Maybe I'll go clean freak (that would be helpful and make our apartment look nicer lol) but for right now it's just organization. And it's already been helpful. I have a few projects in mind, including some Mother's Day gifts for our moms.

Well, I promised James that I would get some work done before he gets home, so I need to work on that. Plus, I'm really hungry and want a snack, so I'll leave you with some photos (look for week 13 a bit later, we have to retake them because I'm picky and didn't like the location)

12 weeks: Baby's heart is beating at 152 bpm

12 week baby bump. It's definitely there.

Ch-ch-ch-changes

Yes, we are expecting our first child on October 16th, and in honour of that, I'm changing the name of the blog. It'll still feature some of the same things: book reviews, recipes, places to go, etc but will now also include crafts, diys and some pregnancy stuff too. In fact, I'm going to try to post every week (minus the few we'll be in Israel). We are so excited for baby Lawrence and I'm really enjoying being pregnant! Both sets of parents are really excited for their new (and for my parents first) grandchild too. It's been a really exciting time and been very hard to keep it from everyone when all I want to do is shout it to the world!

We've had some little problems too unfortunately. Aside from the symptoms (morning sickness is like constant, never-ending nausea with some throwing up in there every now and again just to break up the monotony), I've gone to the ER on two separate occasions for kidney stone pain. The first time I went in, they didn't find anything in the renal ultrasound they did and told me I probably had a UTI. So, they put me on my third round of antibiotics since becoming pregnant. Then, a little over a week later, I felt the same pain more intensely on the other side. This was NOT a UTI. I know what those feel like and I know what kidney stones feel like and this was definitely the latter (they're a little difficult to confuse with one another). Sure enough, they found a 7 mm stone blocking the kidney. I spent five hours in the hospital, having them give me pain meds (and cut my dosage to useless levels bc of the pregnancy--I spent three hours calling the nurse every hour and trying to figure out why the pain wasn't budging), anti-nausea medications (apparently being pregnant makes me sensitive to pain meds I've never had a problem with before) and being poked and prodded enough to cause bruising on my back (that ultrasound wand is not a feather pillow). They were concerned about the bladder infection (which the antibiotics still hadn't killed) turning into a kidney infection if the stone remained, so I now have a urologist appointment tomorrow since surgery is out of the question. I'm just hoping they can get rid of the infection and do something to ease the pain. It's been a little (ok a lot) scary, but my doctor has assured me that none of the medication I've been given can harm the baby and that right now we need to take care of me so I can keep growing the thing.

We're also headed out to Israel for two weeks in about a month! I'm so excited to see all these places that have been on my bucket list for ever! We go to Petra, Jerusalem, Nazareth, Galilee and my parents and I are even spending an extra day there to see Masada and the Dead Sea. This trip was a birthday/anniversary/graduation gift from my parents and we found out about it before the pregnancy, so I was very relieved when the doctor gave me the ok to travel. It's through their cathedral up north and is planned out as a pilgrimage and just sounds absolutely amazing! I truly can't wait and am so looking forward to this amazing chance! When we get back in May, I'll hit the halfway point in my pregnancy and the next ultrasound will tell us the gender!

Now I've read books and websites while we were trying to conceive and talked myself into symptoms I didn't have and out of some I did have, so I thought I was prepared for all the changes that were coming. Not true. They don't tell you everything in health class, and what they do tell you doesn't stack up to what actually happens. Here are a few of the things I've discovered so far (I'm sure I'll be able to add more later):

1) Your hair will suddenly have opinions of its own (and no gel or hairspray will tame it). No joke. Just a little tuft of hair, right at my widow's peak has decided to revert to ringlets while all the hair at my hairline has decided to frizz up, regardless of any product I may try to use. Halfway through the day I see my reflection and the hair on one side of my head is sticking almost straight out.

2) I was a zombie for a while. I could fall asleep standing up. I had just started a new, full-time job (which didn't work out) and on top of that I ended up not being able to sleep more than 2 hours a night (15 minutes at a time) for two weeks. Add to that the fact that growing a little alien is apparently tiring and I was falling asleep with the slightest provocation. I truly believe that American culture should include afternoon siestas. James keeps telling me that it's hard work growing those kidneys/spleen/fingerprints/etc.

3) Around week 5 I confided to James that I was worried I wasn't really pregnant because I hadn't had any of the symptoms. BIG mistake--week 6 hit and so did the symptoms. Sore breasts (20x worse than your period), nausea and vomiting, bloating, and other things I won't mention here all reared their ugly heads. I didn't throw up much, thank God, but I truly hate being nauseous and morning sickness is like 24-7 nausea. Since mine struck around 3:30 pm and lasted all night, I could forget about the gym, or dance, or walking the dogs, or any evening activity other than lying on the couch eating Preggie Pop Drops so I wouldn't throw up. (Seriously, those candies are delicious and really do work on morning sickness).  Morning sickness is a misnomer--it's more like all day sickness most of the time. I also have to pee about once an hour, can smell everything, and get headaches. But, it's all for a good cause, so I can't really complain.

4) I have never wanted a margarita, sushi, prosciutto, hot dogs or gorgonzola so badly in my life. Seriously, as soon as I realized I couldn't have them by body decided that's what it wanted.

5) Pippin is always within a few feet of me: lying next to me or on me on the couch, even standing under my dining chair while I'm eating. It's bizarre. And Moose is nowhere to be seen, although that may be because I've pushed him away so much lately. I know, I know, but he always steps right on my sore boobs and I can smell his breath from a mile away. These things have not gone over well.

6) Apparently, this is just beginning, but I am getting a lot of advice. Unsolicited. According to many people, this gets a lot worse once you really start to show (and not just look a bit chubbier) and then people even start touching your belly without your permission (really?!). I was told that when I was in Israel, I should avoid eating any of their food and subsist solely on protein bars I'd packed in from the States. And, I kept hearing what it was like "when I was pregnant" (13 years ago at least!) and then the horror stories of miscarriage or labor complications. I don't want to hear it. Let me repeat that, I DO NOT WANT TO HEAR IT. I'm already prone to freaking out and your horror stories cause me unnecessary stress. James has threatened to come beat you up. I also don't want your advice; if I have questions I'll ask, and then it'll probably be my mom or my doctor.

7) My face just time-travelled back to junior high. And my chest. And myback. I never had many breakouts to begin with, but apparently that's because I went on the pill at 14 to regulate when my periods arrived. When I went off the pill, my body decided it would like to give me acne, and not just on my face, like junior high, but on my back and chest too. Before I was pregnant, I could clear it up with benzoyl peroxide, but unfortunately, that's out of the picture for now. That glow they talk about? That's the oil glands kicking into high gear. I've heard that raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar can help, so I'm going to try that, but for now it's just like being back in middle school.

8) My hormones went nuts. I'm already prone to tears, but now I can tear up over anything. I went absolutely nuts one night. I can't even remember what James said/did to trigger it, but I went into hysterics. My brain apparently couldn't decide between sobbing and laughing, so it did both at once. Hysterical sobbing and laughing--couldn't even get a breath in. After about 5 minutes of this, with no signs of it abating, James said he was going to Target. I made a valiant effort at drying my eyes and taking some deep gulps of air and said I'd go with him. He just looked at me...apparently worried what the cosmetic aisle might do to my emotions...

9) Pregnancy brain is real, regardless of what science may say. Just ask James; I put his cell phone into my glass of water while we were driving to the store one night. (Admittedly, he does store his cell phone in the cup holder while driving, I just put it back in the wrong one).

10) I am craving Irish music. Lately, I've found myself skipping all the songs on my playlist that are not Celtic. Doesn't matter if it was one of my favourites just a week before, now it's all Irish, Scottish and British music. Anything that's a shanty, jig or reel is right up my alley right now. This baby is going to be listening to Great Big Sea, the Chieftains, Gaelic Storm and the Corries, among other folk singers. Oh yeah, and as far as food goes: Oreos, grilled asparagus with balsamic glaze and tzatziki, though not together ;)

Keep your eyes posted for more frequent posts and pictures! And feel free to leave me comments; I really love them :)