18 Week Update

18 weeks, it seems like such a large number. Just two weeks shy of the half-way mark. All at once I feel that this pregnancy has gone by very quickly, and that it will last forever.

The first four weeks of the 2nd trimester has brought its fare share of new symptoms.

Baby bump: The baby bump slowly grew until all of sudden it was visible to others, and not just myself. I've had mixed feelings about my growing baby bump. It was exciting and thrilling to see that the baby is actually growing, and buying maternity clothes is kind of exciting. But also, It kind of felt like an alien was taking over my body and changing it in undesirable ways, and I started to realize that my body as I previously knew it, is never more. Happily, spending an evening holding my adorable nephew Hudson, made me feel better about the changes. It made me feel like it will be worth it, and that there is a prize at the end. Though I'm still anxiously awaiting the "quickening" so I can feel more of a connection with this "alien" growing inside me.

Acne: Ugh. The bane of my late high school and college life has come back with a vengeance. Well I don't know if I can say "come back" because it never really left. Adult acne plagues my family, and I've grown to accept and deal with it. But I was not prepared for this volatile-level acne. It's calmed down a little as I've become more diligent with washing my face thoroughly several times a day. I'm crossing my fingers that it doesn't get any worse.

Backaches: I anticipated having lower back pain, but not this early in the game. Though I've read that if you've had lower backaches in the past, then they may be your constant companion. Well, that's me. I've always had bad lower backaches during that time of the month, and sometimes the only way to find relief is lay down. Luckily, it hasn't been that bad, but it is pretty much a constant dull ache, which quickly jabs me if I bend over. What am I, eight months prego?

Round Ligament Stretching: Those weird, jabby pains in the groin, upper thigh, and lower abdomen. Yeah there's a name for those--round ligament stretching. Now that's a mouthful. These don't really bother me, but are kind of a funny reminder that my stomach is growing and stretching.

RH Negative: So, um apparently my blood type is O-. Who, knew? I certainly didn't. I always thought I was A something. So, since my RH factor (negative or positive part of the blood type) is negative and since Eric's blood type might be (long story, that ends with the army being incompetent) positive I have to get this horrible shot in a horrible place. This means that the baby's blood type could be positive and if our two blood types were to mix at any time my body would try to attack future fetuses. Scary huh!?! So, good thing there's this shot. Too bad I HATE shots. Such is life.

But the best part is that in two weeks we get have another ultrasound to see how our baby's doing and find out the gender. Which if you've talked to me, you know how impatient I am to find out.

The one dilemma I'm having is how to have the gender news broken. Do we just have the doctor tell us and have an emotional moment mid-ultrasound? Or do we have the doctor write down the gender on a piece of paper and "open" the news privately at home after the ultrasound? I'm torn because I'm impatient to find out. But I also would like it to be a private experience, between just Eric and I. I really don't like letting strangers see my emotions. So, thoughts?

Boise Vacation

A few days after graduation, Eric's sister Heidi and her family flew out to Boise to visit, so I took a few days off and we went to visit too. We definitely had a full house, but it was a fun full house. Eric and I hadn't seen Heidi and her Husband Craig or their son Ethan since Eric's 2-week leave from Iraq in April 2011, and we hadn't even met their newest addition Elizabeth, their adorable 8-month old baby girl. Elizabeth was born a few days after we got married, unfortunately leaving them all home-bound in Virginia for our wedding. So it was great to catch up and see everybody. It was also great to see the rest of Eric's family.

We made a lot of fun memories.

Swimming at a Lake

Floating Down the River

In the middle of the river there is this cool zen-like rock garden.

We floated down the river with Eric's family summer 2010, right after we got engaged. That time I helped push Eric in the river. Of course he retaliated and I went in too. And well that led to an adventure all on its own when the raft floated away before we could get back on and had to fight a nasty current to make our way back to the raft. It was scary and I thought we were going to die, it was a dramatic moment for me that is somewhat embarrassing now. Well, being pregnant, I knew that I was at least safe from being pushed in :) All the boys had their fair share of being pushed out of the raft--which is great fun, when it's not you :) Somehow Mark, Eric's dad, escaped. I'm still not sure how.

Ethan came along too, and had a blast throwing flip-flops and water bottles over the raft, again and again, and watching everyone panic.

Afternoon Picnic In McCall

As we were saying our goodbyes, Eric, who was holding an ice cold water bottle, told Ethan (who was only wearing a diaper at the time) that he should give the water bottle a hug too. Well, being the trusting 2-year-old that he is, he hugs it. He hugged it for a second, looked down at it, gave it a weird look, and slowly let go of it, and looked at his now very cold arms and stomach. Oh goodness, the look on his face was priceless! We all laughed really hard. Later, as Eric and I were remembering it, we started laughing all over again. But then it occurred to us how mean it really was. This poor 2-year-old, who doesn't know any better, listens to his uncle that he trusts, and what does he get? A very cold experience with a water bottle. As awful as it is though, it still makes us laugh. Sorry Ethan, Eric really does feel bad!

How We Are Surviving

After suffering through most of the summer with one fan we decided something had to change, our apartment was simply unbearable. While our parents were here for graduation, both dads mentioned "how easy" it would be to replace the ceiling light with a fan/light combo.

So Saturday, after everyone left town we went on a little date night Home Depot to see about a ceiling fan. (Side note, I will never again make fun of people who go to Home Depot on date night. We had a blast designing our dream, yet feasible kitchen.)

We got home around 8:30, but wanted to set up the fan then so we wouldn't be tempted to on Sunday (Sundays are the worst with the heat-- we spend the day inside, we bake more elaborate meals and the apartment quickly becomes an incinerator.)

Well about 3 hours later we got the fan installed. It was a pain because we don't have a ladder, so it tested both of our patience, our arm muscles and the stability of our piano bench turned makeshift ladder. But at last, we have a little more relief from the heat. Though that doesn't mean that we aren't anxiously awaiting the arrival of fall!

Pomp and Circumstance

Eric has probably taken the longest to graduate, and still graduate in only nine semesters. Between an LDS mission, Basic Training, AIT, a year deployment to Iraq and taking some extra classes because his calendar year changed, its incredible that Eric graduated in seven years, but only nine semesters! Go hubby! I'm so proud of him!

Since Eric got home from Iraq 11 months ago, he hasn't really gotten a break. Poor man went to class the day after coming home and spending days traveling... not to mention that he had already missed a few days of classes! We got married a month later, and he missed a week of classes for our honeymoon. It wasn't an easy first semester back. Thanks to BYU-Idaho's short semesters with their equally short breaks in-between he barely had a chance to catch his break before another semester started. So I think he definitely deserves a little "time off" while he searches for a job. Not that he's sitting around lounging on the couch... nope, he's currently out on our 4 X 5 porch nailing and gluing together the gun cabinet he's making--Love him!

Most of Eric's family and my parents were able to make it to Eric's graduation. It was great to share that moment with them and for them to experience first hand the hottest summer Rexburg, Idaho has ever produced in our tiny, second story apartment without air conditioning while we waited for everyone to arrive, now they believe us when we complain about the heat.

Anyways despite the crowds and traffic we made it time to commencement and then ended up sitting and waiting until it actually at 6:00. Eric was one of 1,700 sem-odd people marching in. I didn't get a picture of him at actual commencement. And because BYU-Idaho loves us oh so much they decided to make convocation directly after commencement, so we booked it up to the Hinckley building, saved seats and grabbed some pictures before it started at 8:00 because we didn't think we would get out of there before the sun went down.

A nice pictureEric with his parent's Holly and Mark.

And this is what happens in between pictures :)

Eric with Andrew, Annie and Ben.

Eric and his signature "stance."

Waiting in line to get his empty diploma cover.

A little blurry, but I think it's a great picture.

As soon as convocation was over we grabbed some Papa Murphy's pizza and some ice cream and went back to our little apartment to celebrate and eat because at this point we were all starving.

The next day we went to Grandma Andrus' place and had an awesome potluck luncheon with lot of delicious food and great company. Thanks to all the family that came!

Reflections on the 1st Trimester

If you haven't heard already... we are expecting a baby January 15, 2013! We are very excited/nervous, and I am counting down the weeks 'til we get to find out the gender.

I have been very lucky/blessed to have had very few symptoms and side effects that the first trimester usually brings. I'm very impressed with women who aren't so fortunate and who spend their first 3 months (or longer) throwing up, nauseous, bloated and everything else unimaginable. If I had experienced any other those for more than a week I think I would have had to quite my job and become a permanent fixture on our couch... so big, big kudos to those who stick it out while working full-time jobs, be it at-home mommies or in the workplace. I told Eric the other night after having a migraine (my one and only "lie down and leave me alone" sickness I've had) that I can not imagine how hard it would be to be pregnant with a kid or more in tow.

Even after all the blogs, websites and books I've read I was unprepared for some of the symptoms. Or maybe the first time for everyone the symptoms come as a shock.

Sore chest: Everything I've read just says your chest will be sore or tender. Um, can we say a gross understatement. They did not say that they would hurt so bad that if I so much as lightly brushed my chest, that I would wince. No, for the record, they do not do this justice.

Tired: I knew that I would be tired, but I was not prepared mentally for how handicapping this fatigue would be. I would come home from work and the gym, lie down on the couch and be unable to get back up to fix dinner, finish my many crafts or clean. Luckily Eric was a good sport and picked up the slack, so we don't subsist on only sandwiches and the house was saved from disaster. After taking a 2 hour nap on Saturday AND Sunday... I'm really looking forward to the second trimester!

Taking my blood at OB appointments: Um, anyone who knows me, knows that I have an intense fear of needles and will go to great lengths to avoid getting shots of any kind and after trying and failing once to give blood (I was barely 18 and thought it would be a bragging point to say I had given blood...) I have vowed off ever giving blood or having blood drawn from me for any reason. Hence you can only imagine what took place in that office when they decided they needed to draw blood....

Lack of Menstruation: I cannot explain how truly liberated I feel to not have to worry about that time of the month. It's one of pregnancies highlights to be sure.

Appetite: I am hungry, often. When I wake up in the morning I can barely wait to shower to have my bowl of cereal. I am starving in the morning, and unless I have some sort of evening snack, I go to bed starving like I had been fasting for 24 hours. And I can barely last three hours at church without a snack, in fact I usually sneak something into the bathroom stall and eat something... However, I think I've done pretty well with only eating a little bit extra, and NOT eating for two.

Going to the bathroom: Going to the bathroom has become my new enemy. For some odd reason the only reason I ever start feeling like I need to throw up and get nauseous is when I go to the bathroom. I won't go into detail, but it is truly evil, and I prolong it as long as possible.

Baby Bump?: I feel like I'm in transition mode. I look like I've gained weight (which I have, but it looks more like 10 pounds instead of the 2.5 pounds I have actually gained), but not enough to have a defined baby bump and I feel fat... ugh.

Emotions: Sad movies have been outlawed for the next 6 months. We watched Hatchi at Grandma Andrus's house when Eric's little sister Annie was in town, and boy did I bawl, and bawl, and bawl. I could not get a grip on myself and to make matters worse, crying gave me a headache which developed into a migraine... not fun. Even before getting pregnant I hardly ever opted for a sad movie, because I don't like crying, even though I always end up liking the movie. But now, no sad movies, period.

Exercise: Thanks to the Melaleuca gym that is free as long as I go twice a week, I have been pretty faithful, and have exercised about 3-4 times a week, and never less than twice a week. I've really enjoyed working out but it really takes the mickey out of me, as if I haven't been tired enough. I don't have as much stamina as I did before, and have to take more breaks.

Dreams: Um, ok. Dreams have been my plague since I was tiny. I used to always have dreams of witches, captain Hook, butcher's chasing me with knives... every nightmare imaginable... and never any good dreams. I used to think and repeat "rainbows and bunnies" as I was going to sleep to ward off the nightmares and it worked most of the time. When I was on my mission, dreams were my bane because dreaming makes me tired, tiredness as a missionary is unacceptable and miserable. So I started praying that the dreams would stop so I could get a restful night's sleep. I think I dreamed maybe 3 times my whole mission.

Now, it's a whole new ball park. The dreams come EVERY night, and of course, they are always nightmares or stressful dreams. So far I've accidentally killed my baby, had a miscarriage, Eric became a fisherman under David Hasselhoff, possessed demons, my reoccurring "Witches" by Roald Dahl dream (had the dream probably 20 times in my life... I hate that movie), and many others.  Gah! I hate it, I think I need to start praying that they stop again...

So besides the funny symptoms --- which in a weird way make me happy, knowing that that means that we have a baby in progress --- we are doing great and are super excited! And I repeat, I cannot imagine how pregnancy would be if I had been sick.

Moving On

I find it ironic and symbolic that my last day at Star Moose was exactly the same day as my first day exactly one year ago--April 20th. Yes, that's right after working exactly 1 year... and 1 day, I bid adieu to Star Moose and moved on to the next step in my career. Say hello to Melaleuca!

It was a great year at Star Moose, and I learned a ton. It was a nice transition from school to a "real" job. I still remember feeling overwhelmed and singing,"I don't wanna grow up, I just wanna be a kid..." in my head, when they started asking me if I wanted benefits... haha I felt so old!

Well, about the end of March, I was contacted by a Melaleuca recruiter who found me on LinkedIn--- crazy right! I know that is the point of having a LinkedIn account, but it still surprised me that it happened in Idaho of all places-- you expect something like this from big cities, but Idaho falls? Yeah, I was surprised and flattered.

Well, long story short, I landed a job at Melaleuca as an MIT (Manager in Training) in their Business Development department. As an MIT I went through 3 weeks of grueling business development training and after much stress passed my panel (huge test on everything we learned in those 3 weeks). As an MIT I could cross-train in multiple departments until eventually finding my niche in the company. The MIT program is set to groom Melaleuca's future managers, supervisors and leaders. Just when I was about to start cross-training in different departments I was hired on as a writer! I had initally interviewed for a writing position, but had been hired as an MIT and told that when another writing position came up I would be a shoe-in, and they were right! On Friday, June 8th, I was grabbed for a quick interview and hired on the spot!

Heather's Little Man is On His Way

My older sister Heather is pregnant with her second baby, and the first boy to be born in our family for quite some time. So needless to say, we are all more than a little bit excited. Everything in our family of three sisters has been about girls, so it came as quite a surprise to find out that little boy stuff can be pretty cute too (and ever since this realization I've been pinning cute baby boy things on Pinterest for Heather's sake and for our own future little men.)

Heather had her first baby in Arkansas, and while I was able to go visit her and Aleksa a few weeks after she was born, I didn't get to throw her a baby shower or even go to go to one. So there was no way I was going to miss out this time around. So, my little sister Tori and I got busy planning her the cutest little man shower since I don't know when.

We fell in love with the mustache theme and thanks to Pinterest we were able to find everything we needed. It took a lot more work than we had anticipated, but it was well worth the oohs and ahhs from everybody at the shower.

Heather and all her sisters sporting their mustaches. The best part is Aleksa in the back.

She finally posed for us with her mustache.

The only people who ended up coming to the shower were family, but it ended up being a blast of a family party. Sometimes there aren't enough reasons to get together with extended family, I love family parties. And despite the smallish number of people attending Heather and her little man were "showered" with lots of gifts, mostly adorable baby clothes that had us all wishing he were here now.