Next Dr. Appt

I've had some people ask when my next dr. appt is. I forgot to post it so unless you wanted to do the math with my gender countdown you'd never know. The suspense must be killing you, I'm sure. ;)

Anyway, my gender identifying ultrasound is March 16th at 9am. I'll try to post afterward, but as I am going to work after the appt and I will be calling the VIP soon-to-be grandmas, pas, aunts, and uncles I may not be able to post until that night. But I will be sure to put it on ASAP.

Pregnancy Update

So yesterday when I pulled on and attempted to button my favorite striped button down oxford for work I realized that my "Gus Gus" era had begun. I could button it but the shirt was so tight it kept creeping up on me (good thing I had an undershirt on). Needless to say, I won't be wearing it for a while. My waistline seems to be about a month behind the pictures they show on some of these pregnancy websites. So it's fun to start looking pregnant. I keep imagining myself being pulled over by a cop and having to say, "But officer I'm pregnant and my bladder is going to explode if I don't get to a bathroom soon!" and he won't believe me because I don't look like it, so he'll have to follow me home where I show him my ultrasound.

But I got off on a tangent there. I have been thinking about how fast the pregnancy is going by and I haven't logged any of my experiences so that what I am doing. This post is mostly for my record keeping but I suppose it could be fun to read for others.


Pre-Morning Sickness
I had a lot of heart palpitations. My heart would flutter or beat heavy several times a day. I was often dizzy but I never fainted. I had these strange abdomen pains in the very beginning. It was like fire and didn't last for more than 15 minutes usually but it was intense. These died after the first month of pregnancy.


Morning Sickness
It started the week after I found out I was pregnant, the second week of December or so and continued until late January or early February. It was hard to have to wake up early for work and do everything slow. If I was late I was going to be late because trying to rush through my morning routine made me more sick. I found that if I didn't eat anything until I felt hunger pains I wouldn't get sick after eating so I waited until late morning or early afternoon to eat. Eating took sooo long and was arduous. Even when I was hungry my mouth was on a different speed than my tummy. Even though I was sick the nausea was relatively mild. Happily, I only threw up once during the whole ordeal.

I didn't announce my pregnancy to my students until my first doctor's appointment on January 6th. Before I told them, I had to stifle a laugh when my students would say things like, "Mrs. Wilcox, you've been sick for a while now, maybe you should see a doctor." Or, "Mrs. Wilcox are you contagious?"


Morning Sickness Foods
I could eat:
- Yogurt
- Cheese
- Applesauce (w/o sugar added)
- Beef
- Bread
- French Fries
- Crackers
- Pepperoni Pizza

I could NOT eat:
- Fish (Nothing new there)
- Eggs
- Chicken
- Ham
- Most Solid Foods
- Anything with lots of processed sugar (soda, candy...)


Post-Morning Sickness Favorite Foods:
- MILK
- Juice
- Nalley Chili
- Kraft Macaroni & Cheese
- Strawberries
- Oranges
- Grapefruit
- Toast
- Cheese
- Beef
- French Fries
- Pepperoni Pizza


Favorite Things About Pregnancy:
- Feeling the Baby. I felt the baby distinctly for the first time a week ago. I was driving home from work Friday afternoon and I had a few hello nudges. I had felt a few flutters earlier in the week. The baby doesn't seem to care for tight spaces. I feel the baby most often when I have something against my abdomen, like a seatbelt.
- Super-Human Smelling Abilities. Just call me Jess the Smellerizor! I really haven't had serious aversions to foods except the already nasty smelling things like poop, mold, and fish (yes, I have ALWAYS strongly believed all forms of sea creatures were NEVER meant to be eaten), so it's super fun to walk around following smells like a dog. I can particularly pick up sweet smells. Hello strawberries!
- Increased Emotion. Yes, this one is a two edged sword but my emotions have leaned toward the positive and I find myself with an increased love and gratitude for people. My thinking has changed a little now that I have a little fetus dependent on me to grow. I don't want to see later down the line that it is at some disadvantage because I was too lazy to do this or that.


Hardest Things About Being Pregnant:
- Fatigue. I have to wake up around 6am for work. Well that isn't really working out for me so I wake up a half hour late usually and am late for work. Luckily, my energy levels are increasing lately.
- Urination. I'm supposed to drink at least 80 oz daily. I have to visit the restroom every hour.
- Hunger. I am ALWAYS hungry. I eat breakfast, lunch, and two dinners and I am still hungry when I go to bed.
- Immediate Physical Needs. When I am hungry I have to eat NOW. When I have to use the bathroom I have to do it NOW. There is no sneak-up period. The urges are intense and demand immediate attention.

My Latest Dr. Visit

I went to the doc again today. I am learning something interesting about my facility. If I show up early they take me early. I was 40 minutes early (I left early due to weather and traffic because I have at least a 40 minute drive from school to the dr. office.) They took me right in. The same thing happened on my first visit. I was in and out before my scheduled appt.

Anyway it wasn't too eventful except I did hear the baby's heart beat. It sounded like a quick little train. Chugga-chugga-chugga-chugga-chugga. The doctor said it was between 150 and 160 and that it was good. The other highlight of the visit was I set my appt for my next visit when they determine the baby's gender!

I am so excited for this. I have no idea what it could be. They told me to bring a blank DVD so they can record some of the ultrasound and I will post that on my blog! I put a count down to the gender on the right. If you haven't voted on the gender yet now is the time!

Livvy's Second Birthday

A few weekends ago AJ and I got to go down to St. George to celebrate Livvy's birthday and see Marcus and Erika's new house.

We got in on Friday and I don't know what everyone was doing taking so long to get out of the car but I ran from the car to the front door and was greeted by a little smiling blond girl with out-stretched arms wanting to be picked up. My favorite!

Saturday was the best because us girls took Livvy to Jumping Jacks a kids place with blow up bouncy slides and obstacle courses. She loved it and ran from one thing to another. Then we had a rest and got some cookies ready for her party. My Grandpa Dan and Grandma Katie came to the party since they live in St. George. Livvy opened presents and then we frosted some sugar cookies.

Sunday we went to church and came home to eat before we had to take off. We had a fun trip.

One happy and cute birthday girl.

Oooo a Princess Cake!

Frosting cookies.

Opening presents.

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Bouncing in the giant mushroom (kids only).

Bouncing in the castle with Mommy.

Climbing up the wall with mommy.

On the way to Jumping Jacks. Singing with Grandma Laurie. "I gotta shake, shake, shake my wiggles out..."

More Jumping Jacks Action...


Livvy eating up the Rockband drums with Uncle AJ. Mom's on mic.

Bonus Video:
I uploaded this in the late winter / early spring last year and it took so long I forgot to put it on my blog. It's of Livvy swinging in Taylorsville.