Our Unexpected Beautiful Life

Well, I finally felt what a contraction feels like. And let me tell you, I am *NOT* a fan!!! Like I mentioned in my last post, I've been super upset about work and on Friday my stress level was ridiculous! Well, at 6am on Saturday morning I woke up and felt this horrible tightening of my insides! It lasted only about 15 seconds, but was awful!!! I felt another one about 10 minutes later. At first I freaked, thinking it could be stress related, and knowing Adam is only one pound right now really scared me! But then I remembered my reading and remember that about this time, many women get random contractions. I knew the pattern to look for, labor is apparently subtle, continuous, and gaining in strength, and this wasn't like that. I was still a little nervous but luckily never felt anything after that and was feeling Adam happily kicking away and that made me feel better. So yeah, I am NOT looking forward to labor. And my doctors have been asking me if I've felt any contr...

I think this is going to be my first post partumworkout challenge. I'm really excited about it!! And the best part-baby can come with me!!

Well, this week was terrible. Let's just say it's been a not so good month. Great in the sense of my baby, and that I'm now feeling him daily, which I absolutely LOVE. Terrible in the sense that work is becoming almost unbearable. Kids have been getting physical with me, I get upset, there have been issues at work and I have been crying A LOT. I get that I'm hormonal, but it's becoming a good day if I DON'T make it through the day crying. I'm getting concerned about my stress level because as we all know, when I'm upset, my body flares up from my Fibro. It's been REALLY bad. The other day I just wanted to stay home in the quiet and just not move, because moving hurts so much these days. I've been looking into a career change for awhile, but I'm not sure it's realistic at this point. I don't want to make any rash decisions with Adam on the way, I just get so sad that I have to be so unhappy at work. And it shouldn't be this hard,...

This afternoon, I had my maternity leave meeting to discuss the money part of being a mommy. Man oh man! I'm stressed! There were some good parts and not so good parts of the information I learned. So here's the gist: I knowingly signed up for the highest disability coverage because I knew I was going to try and have a baby this year. So I'm fully covered for disability, which means I get 60% of my pay for six weeks. Ah our system is whack. Not even close to full pay for only six weeks? Sucks. Anyway, I found out I would be getting a little bit more when I'm off from disability than I originally calculated. I will only be getting about 400$ less than my paycheck, which is good, it's much higher than I thought. Yay! Also, I found out that if there were problems during my pregnancy and I had to go on bed rest, it wouldn't affect my pay because I'd already be off in the summer. Double yay! But there is also some bad news. Because of WHEN I'm having h...

I got to see Adam today on the big screen at the doctor's office. He was so cute. He was asleep with his hand on his face and he wouldn't move his hand. Then when the ultrasound tech kept prodding he woke up and moved away from her. I don't think he liked that wand poking into his tummyhouse! Everything looks normal, but he is measuring big. He is supposed to be about 1 lb right now and he is 1 lb 3oz. I asked if this was weight, or length, taking into account that the men on my side of the family are pretty tall. The doctor said it isn't indicative of their birth size, and many babies that measure big now turn out to be average size at birth. SO, they said to keep my weight down (has been hard to do) and that I might have gestational diabetes, which would cause him to weigh more. I'm hoping that is not the case. Weight has been a struggle. My doctor only wants me to gain 10 lbs, which I'm a bit confused on if the placenta weighs 1, the baby weighs 8, so I...

After a month of horribly progressive pain, vomiting, and many tears, I finally found something that took away my heartburn. PREVACID!!!! Oh my goodness I almost cried when it took it away. And it is quite possible that a happy dance was involved. So lots to update! I got my walls painted blue and I absolutely love them! It's a light blue, very pretty. I'm amazed how much paint lights up a room. And now I'm all annoyed at how boring the rest of my apartment looks. LOL. I can't wait to see the end product! I also got my bedding. My amazing mom bought it today. I have the elephant quilt, bumpers, fitted sheet, bed skirt, and elephant mobile. SO cute!!! On a more bummer note, I'm starting to have issues with "the experts". Who are they, you ask? The people that think they have ALL the answers toward parenting and they think their ideas are absolute truth. At first I was gracious, understanding they just want to help and give advice, but now I'm sta...

So they say the second trimester is when most pregnant women feel their best. What a load of crap! Ok, maybe for the NORMAL person, but not for Lindsey! The first trimester was a breeze. No sicky, AT ALL, no moodiness, nothing. In fact, the pregnancy test positive was the ONLY thing that made me think I was even pregnant. By the start of the second trimester, I started growing. And at first it was awesome. I loved seeing the physical changes and proof that there was actually something in there. I still have moments where I just pat my belly to hope Adam's having a good day, is warm and comfortable and that part I love. But man, I'm starting to feel like a real SLOTH! I'm so tired all the time, even going up the stairs I now need a recovery period, and I feel like a lazy beast! I know pregnancy makes you more out of breath but it's not helping my beasty lazy self-image. I'm also having SERIOUS issues with heartburn. We're talking SERIOUS. Sometimes I can'...

I would say my biggest stressor about this baby is finances. First off, my heart is breaking that I probably will not be able to take more than the minimum 6 weeks for maternity leave. I would love to take the maximum 12 weeks but since the second half of that 12 weeks is unpaid, and it's just me, I probably can't do that. It just makes me sad to think of sending a 6 week old baby to daycare. Ahh his immune system won't even be developed yet. I just get really sad about it. I just wish I wasn't so poor so I could have that time with him. :( I'm trying to save as much as I can right now to help with Daycare since I will be a little bit short each month. I've started taking the service roads instead of the toll ways to work. This has helped a little. I also cut my cable and that has helped a little, too. I just hope it's enough. It's pretty stressful. I keep telling myself that it's all going to be okay and work out. I just get all mentally wound ...

Round One was last weekend when Mom, Jeana and I went to Babies R US to register. This was uber fun but EXHAUSTING!!! My brain was asleep by the time we were done. SO fun, though!!! I love everything I registered for. This weekend, Christina, Mom and I went to Target to register but the system was down so the scanner guns weren't working. I'm gonna try and go again in the next two weeks sometime to get that done. We still fit in the eewing and ahhing at all the cute baby stuff, though. Priorities! EEK! :)

My friends Charlotte, Angela, Yvette, and Jeana all came over after the reveal dinner to help put together my crib. The day before, me being my unhandy self was in tears all night because I spent about 3 hours trying to do it myself and couldn't get anywhere. Imagine my embarrassment when they had it together in 30 minutes. I gotta tell you, though...there is nothing more amazing then a group of sweet people coming together for common good. It's a beautiful sight to see. And now my baby has a comfortable place to sleep. This whole asking for help thing is kind of awesome. I know I probably wouldn't for just me, but when it's your child, I'm learning that it's important to ask for help when you need it. I love my crib! And my amazing handy friends! SO BLESSED!!!!

This was probably the best night of my life. All my most supportive friends and family were there to share with me finding out the gender of my first child. It was such a special night. My wonderful friend Christina put a lot of thought into the wrapping of the HERSHEY bars. This started the night off to a special start. It wasn't long before we all opened up the bars and I was delighted to find out that I am having a baby boy. That moment was PURE joy and I'm so glad Christina talked me into having the dinner. Nothing can compare to the moment of my child having an identity. Baby Adam. I get teary just thinking about it. All pictures and the video of me finding out are all on my facebook account for anyone who wants to see them. Was the perfect night.