Pumpkin: Weeks 14 &15

December 15th - December 28st


How I Look
I guess I'm looking pregnant! Twice now people have come up to me and asked when I'm due or exclaimed "you're pregnant!" This surprises me because I didn't expect to 'look pregnant' until later (I'm pretty sure this is helped out by a little well-placed pre-pregnancy fluff that is getting pushed out still). I'm also finally including a 'bump picture' because I guess it's looking like a bump now!

How I Feel
Tired! I thought exhaustion was a first trimester thing, but that's how I've been feeling lately. Always tired. On top of that I'm usually pretty lightheaded in the morning and have really low blood pressure. It generally passes by about noon and then I can move around a little more. Overall, I'm feeling good just lacking energy, especially in the morning.

What I Feel
It's still early to feel the baby move so the only thing I feel lately is round ligament pain from time to time.

What We're Doing
We're working on our baby registry here and there and doing lots of research on car seats, strollers, swings and all those other baby items we'll eventually need. We also got a fetal Doppler and are enjoying listening to the heartbeat and movements whenever we want!

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Next baby post: Announced! or Pumpkin: Weeks 16 & 17
Previous baby post: Pumpkin: Weeks 12 & 13

Pumpkin: Weeks 12 & 13

December 1st - December 14th

Second Trimester!

This has been an exciting two weeks. We've been telling more and more people and still have a few more to tell. This telling people business is a little agonizing actually... mostly because I make it that way, I'm sure. I'm always worrying about who will be offended if they find out in which order and in which way. There are a few people left that I'd like to have told sooner, but would also like to tell in person. So which would have hurt their feelings more, telling them in a text since a phone call hasn't worked out, or telling them later but in person... and will I ever know either way? *sigh* I'm relieved though that soon it will be out there and all this will be a thing of the past. I have bigger (and growing) things to think about!

How I Look
My belly chub is getting a little more rounded. I felt like at the beginning of week 12 I popped out a little bit. Not in a way that anyone else would notice, but to Blake and I with and unobstructed view, you can tell there's something going on below my belly button. I still don't really look pregnant, which is not a surprise for this stage and first pregnancy. However, it helps me to know that things are changing and even thought I feel a little more fat than anything else, I also appreciate that I can still wear most of my tops and (with some modifications) most of my pants. I'm just savoring these last few weeks of looking 'normal' before I start to enjoy looking pregnant :). Oddly enough, I lost two pounds in my first trimester, and I'm not sure why. However, it seems like a good way to face the weight gain expected in the next six - seven months!

12 Weeks, posing for our Christmas card picture

How I Feel
Still pretty good overall. Oddly enough I've been a little more tired these weeks, but I'm contributing that to holiday busyness and too many late nights in a row. A friend loaned me a full body pregnancy pillow which has been amazing. I didn't think I'd need it really for awhile, but tried it out anyway and have been getting much better sleep since then. My joints feel better, I don't wake up as much at night when I move around and I wake up with fewer headaches in the morning.

What I Feel
Still nothing aside from the occasional and quick 'round ligament' pain.

What We're Doing
We met with our midwife at the end of week 13. I had been anxiously looking forward to this appointment. Anxious, in part, because I didn't know what to expect, but mostly because I really want to hear a heartbeat and I know that isn't a guarantee at this stage. Well, I'm happy to say that we heard it! Our sweet little Pumpkin was really hard to find and our wonderful midwife was patiently persistent in finding him or her until we got a read. Hearing it put a big smile on our faces. It was also fun to hear Pumpkin move around as she tried to find him/her. Now we're reading through the packet of information she gave us about what to expect through the months, and all those tests etc that we have the option of doing (which we aren't). I'm still just trying to eat healthy during this time of sweets and trying to get some exercise... however, I must confess I'm not nearly as good about that as I was in the previous 11 weeks.

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Next baby post: Pumpkin: Weeks 14 & 15

Previous baby post: Pumpkin: Weeks 10 & 11

Pumpkin: Weeks 10 & 11

November 17 - November 30th

Our big milestone for these weeks is that we started telling people. Over the weekend of Thanksgiving we told our parents and in the following week some extended family and some very close friends. We're still being cautious and not telling the whole world yet. Every time we tell someone I get really nervous and jittery. I think that I get nervous because part of me feels like I'm leading them on since I don't really feel pregnant yet.. but I am! It's funny that this is really true, we actually have a baby developing in my womb (I prefer uterus.. but some people hate that word). It is like people say, a little surreal. Blake is all about telling people, probably because he can't see or feel it either way, he just has the fact that 'we are' and trusts that more. And he's a guy and doesn't over-think things like I do (I'm sure I can blame that on hormones, right?).

How I Look
Boated and chubby if I'm honest! I'm really happy to say that I still haven't gained any weight and maybe my middle has grown by half an inch (it's hard to tell thanks to the bloating). I measure and weigh in the morning, but some mornings are more complimentary than others ;). I *might* start taking pictures soon.

How I Feel
Well, aside from the bloating and the random bit of nausea in response to some funky smells, I'm feeling great! Still the very occasional sharp pain here or there, but that's pretty rare. My emotions are seeming pretty stable, except for some teary eyes with those darn Hallmark Christmas movies that I'd normally roll my eyes at ;). I'm not craving anything specific, just depends on what I see, smell and think of, some things are harder to get out of my mind that others.

What I Feel
Nothing!

What We're Doing
Thinking of creative ways to tell family and close friends, and then putting it into action. I prefer to tell people in person, but sometimes that isn't working out. We are also getting antsy for our next midwife appointment and really wishing we could see Pumpkin again since last time we saw him or her, he or she was just a little lentil sized speck and all yolk sack. We will hopefully hear a heartbeat at our appt, but I don't think we'll see the little guy or girl again until January when we find out if it is a guy or girl!

We told our parents with a gift that was 'just something we got them in Italy' and that something was a baby bib. Both of our moms got the hint pretty quickly and were very excited and a little surprised. We also announced to some friends that are also expecting by getting their baby a book and writing a message inside that was from Baby C. That was fun :). I think for our Bible study small group I'll bake a cake with one pink and one blue layer and have someone else cut into it. We'll see if anyone catches on. That won't be until next week though (maybe, unless I chicken out).

Here is the only presentable picture from when we told my parents, I was shooting from the hip, so it isn't great and the others are really dark. I didn't get any other pictures from our other announcements.

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Next baby post: Pumpkin: Weeks 12 & 13

Previous baby post: Pumpkin: Weeks 8 & 9

Pumpkin: Weeks 8 & 9

November 3rd through November 16th

We were in Israel most of this time, and things got trickier with travel and pregnancy. The food is weirder, there is less walking and more sitting on a moving bus and so many strange smells.

How I Look
Part way through week eight, I could have swore that I was already showing and would have had myself convinced of twins (if I hadn't already seen the sonogram) because by the end of the day I was so darn bloated! Any weight that I lost in Italy has been replaced with air inside me. I ate a lot the first few days in Israel (until I got tired of the same thing each day), and I think that all the strange new foods weren't friendly to my GI tract. Now, by the end of week nine, I'm back to usual. I didn't gain any overall weight in comparison to my first morning weights from before we left. I still feel bigger after eating and at the end of the day, but not as much as those first days in Israel. My goal is to gain only one pound during the first trimester (they say you should gain 1-5 pounds, so I'm shooting for the one)!


How I Feel
I'm feeling just okay now. I'm feeling the effects of being on the go-go-go so much. I'm also not feeling my best in the mornings, especially in Israel. It was hot there, and we usually drained all of our water bottles by the end of the day, leaving no water in the room at night. I would drink water with dinner, and lots of it, but I still feel dehydrated in the morning and pretty lightheaded in general until around noon. Again, this isn't unusual for me, just more extreme than I usually experience. I've had some pretty bad headaches, one that made be break down and take some Tylenol and surprise, surprise, it actually did dull the pain a little. I definitely didn't experience typical, daily hormone nausea, but I'm definitely nauseated by certain smells and foods much more easily. However, it goes away as soon as the smell does.

The last three or so days in Israel were the worst, getting even worse during the flight home. At one point I ate something that didn't agree with me and got sick from it. I think it was some kind of seasoning or food additive. I noticed after getting sick from it the first time that I could smell it in things that were yellow. After that, my stomach was a little uneasy about all the food and I played it pretty safe. Which wasn't hard because I was pretty much sick of the food after day three, it was all the same in the way that dorm food is all the same. Also, horror of horrors, chocolate and chocolate desserts don't sound good to me (and most of their other desserts in general), however, chocolate ice cream bars - MONEY - specifically the Magnum Infinity bar which is chocolate ice cream, dark chocolate shell with cocoa nibs and a slight drizzle of either caramel of chocolate running through the inside. I know, it doesn't make any sense that a chocolate bar or dessert is unappealing, practically revolting, but yet chocolate ice cream covered in chocolate with more bits of chocolate is where it's at. Ahh hormones.

During the last day in Israel I felt generally nauseated all day and I was sure that this was it, I was going to suffer from 'morning' sickness from now on. I was still sure of this the following two days of travel when I just couldn't keep things down and felt a general feeling of awful (we're fairly sure it was some combination of too many strange foods and some bad food on the plane because both Blake and I were experiencing symptoms for a few days). However, once we got home and back in our own bed and kitchen, I'm back to normal and very seldom feeling nauseated (again, back to only when a smell gets to me) thankfully.

What I Feel
Actually, nothing aside from the above. Blake really wants to tell our families over Thanksgiving and I had finally agreed but now I'm realizing that I really don't feel pregnant and that makes me worry that what if we tell them at week 11, only to find out during our next midwife appointment that things have gone wrong. I think that it's not unusual to feel 'nothing' at this point. The cramping is pretty much at a minimum and I obviously wouldn't feel the baby move for a long time still.

What We're Doing
Still just hitting the treadmill for 30-40 minutes, sometimes running, sometimes walking, usually at an incline. Blake is great about keeping me motivated to get up and do it, and it helps that it gives me more energy and makes my GI symptoms better. We are reading about Pumpkin's development and praying that he or she is making their way through these stages successfully. Otherwise, we aren't doing much, just waiting for time to pass until we are ready to meet with the midwife again. We're also scheming about how and when to tell our family. I want to wait longer and Blake wants to tell everyone, like right now ;).

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Next baby post: Pumpkin: Weeks 10 & 11

Previous baby post: Pumpkin: Weeks 6 & 7

Italy Tidbits

There are some things that I realize I forgot to include in my daily recaps, that we'll want to remember as part of our trip. So this is tidbits - vacation recap style.

1. Public transportation is so convenient and affordable. It was a life saver to have learned the buses, metros and trains. Although we still walked - a lot - we saved ourselves a ton of time by using Rome's public transportation.

2. Instead of pizza-by-the-slice, they have pizza-by-the-kg. It looks spendy at first (€18 for 100kg of margarita) but in reality it's dirt cheap! We got a plate full of different types of pizza for under €6. To put it in perspective, 100kg is equivalent to about 220lbs.. can you even imagine ordering that much pizza? It is fun to try all the different kinds and man it was delicious.

3. Breakfast in Italy is nothing like breakfast in the US. They have rolls and pastries, cold cuts, juice and, of course, caffe and cappuccino. At the hotels they have watery scrambled eggs, cold cereal, granola and yogurt, but I have a feeling these things are just to appease tourists. By the end of our time in Italy, Blake was dying for some bacon, sausage or decent eggs (of course this didn't get any better in Israel - no bacon there!). 

4. Traffic. is. crazy. The lines are just suggestions, if there even are lines. In Rome and Florence, the traffic lights were generally followed, but in Naples - forget about it. Naples traffic is a free for all, pedestrians beware. In Rome, you could fairly safely cross the street when the light was red or when the crosswalk sign was green, but you'd better keep an eye out still. Crosswalks are also just suggestions, and as long as you are bold enough, you can cross anywhere. Just be prepared to wait for cars and not the other way around, and don't be surprised when cars don't stop but simply go around you. 

5. Horns are a disease. Drivers lay on the horn for any and all reasons. You waited 0.0005 seconds before going at that green light? Honk x3. You tried to turn but couldn't and are now blocking part of the road behind you? Honk x10. You are slowing down for a red light too soon? Honk x2. You are in front of a hotel? Honk x5. We thought this was bad in Rome.. but it turns out its even worse in Israel. 

6. Decaf beverages are called deca, even though the word in Italian is decaffeinato, so you'd think that 'decaf cappuccino' would still get the message across. Nope. They look at you like you have two heads. Then when you say, cappuccino decaffeinato, they say, "oh, si, si, si. Cappuccino deca." 

7. It isn't just, "si" for yes, it's, "si, si, si". Not in every context of course, but most of the time you get several in a row. 

8. Exact change is not only preferred but requested at every transaction. If you don't give some form of change, they'll ask you for it, and accept nothing short of emptying out your pockets as proof when you say you don't have it. Try to use a large bill and you might get turned away as a customer. Even major businesses, like the Vatican Museum for example, wouldn't accept an €100 when the change would have been under €20. Weird and annoying. 

9. Airport runaround. When we flew from Rome to Israel we were laughing at their system the entire time. First of all, you do the usual take a train to get to your terminal, wait in line, security, wait in line etc. Once it's time to board, you go down some escalators and walk outside to get on a bus. Yes, a bus. Then that bus takes you all around the entire airport (or so it seems) and way the heck out onto the tarmac, practically on the runway, where the plane is. We just couldn't stop laughing about how silly it was to cart us out to the terminal, and then cart us around the airport to the plane.. when the plane could have easily come to the terminal, or the terminal could have easily been one building, since the planes don't even come up to it! Then we get all situated in the airplane, and wait for about an hour until we're cleared to taxi out onto the runway (not even the one we were sitting next to). The flight was typical and uneventful after that, until we landed. Then the majority of the passengers started clapping when we touched down.. we weren't sure why. It hadn't been a rocky flight or anything. Blake and I wonder if we missed the announcement that this was the pilot's first flight or something. It was all a little strange!

Roma: Day Seven

Ancient Rome!

We started our day by sleeping in (that means we got up at 7:00) and made it to breakfast in the hotel (we've left too early to catch it every other morning.. we weren't missing much). We caught the metro down to the Colosseum and got in line just as they were opening. When we went to see it before, the line was astronomical. We only waited about 20 minutes to get our tickets and book our behind-the-scenes tour for that afternoon.

We did a little walking around and then headed to the St. Peter in Chains church, just up the hill. This church is mostly known for Michelangelo's statue of Moses, part of the tomb of Pope Julius II (he is the pope who commissioned most of Michelangelo and Raphael''s work in the Vatican). The church also houses a set of chains that are 'said to be' the chains that Peter was freed from while in prison (Acts 12:5-17).

The tomb of Pope Julius II, Moses is in the middle.

After that, we headed to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. Awesome!

Isn't this garden gorgeous!

This is where the Emperor used to sit when visited by people!

This is the entrance and large hall where people would approach the emperor
(used to be closed in, ornate and over seven stories tall!)

The view of the city, no wonder this was prime real estate!

The Arch of Titus

This is a scene of the Romans carrying away the plunder from their sacking of the second Jewish Temple
in Jerusalem (see the menorah/seven branch candlestick). It is an important piece of historical documentation,
because there are some people (the current owners of the temple mount in Jerusalem) that would like to
change history and say that the Israelites never had a Jewish temple. However, this is considered
proof that it existed when the Romans took over Jerusalem. 

We were pretty excited for our behind-the-scenes tour of the Colosseum. This tour allows you on the platform, the ground level and on the third/top level. What a sight and what a view from the top!

This section is a reconstruction of what the entire amphitheater
would have looked like in terms of seating. It would also have
been entirely blazing white, like those white stones you see here.

Elevator number eight. This is one of the supports for one of the many elevators that lifted animals and fighters
onto the stage. Our tour guide pointed out that Romans numbered everything!

The view from the top looking down.

The fourth and fifth floors were up there, for common people.

The remains of a staircase to get to the upper level seating.

The emperor sat in this section, where the cross is now.

Arch of Constantine from above.

The forum from above.

After our Colosseum tour we went to a restaurant we'd heard about that had a second level terrace with a view of the Colosseum. We decided this would be the perfect end to our fantastic week in Rome. We had an absolutely fantastic dinner here with killer dessert and our last Italian cappuccino. It was perfect. You just can't get a view like this at home!

We headed back to the hotel to ditch some things and then we went out to do some shopping! We literally shopped until we dropped and closed down the town. We barely got our last few items before everything was closed down and our feet refused to go another step. \

The next day we would get up early and catch a train to Tel Aviv, Israel and spend the day traveling.

What an unbelievable week we had in Roma. I can't even contain all of the sights and history we soaked up. We absolutely loved every minute of it (okay, okay, except that two hours walking around Naples). Arrivederci Rome!

Pumpkin: Weeks 6 & 7

October 20th through November 2nd

I'm pleased to introduce to you, our little lentil-sized Pumpkin. Really, you can mostly just make out the yolk sac, but there he or she is, nonetheless! We didn't hear a heartbeat, but the doctors could see it flickering.

How I Look
Pretty much the same. I look normal in the morning and bloated in the evening. My pants are tight after eating and uncomfortable by the end of the day. I'm also still experiencing growth and tenderness with the girls. I had to start wearing my sports bra around because we do so much walking and it was killing me! Despite my increasing size up top, I think I lost some weight during week seven, from all the walking we did around Rome.

How I Feel
I'm still feeling pretty good overall. Week six was a haul with lots of obligations and preparations for our big trip which started Friday of that week. Flying was difficult, even with compression stockings I was still pretty swollen and had to get up and walk around a lot, and of course, visit the bathroom more often. I didn't experience any nausea these weeks.
The most noticeable change has been the extremes of what I typically feel. If I'm usually tired at around eleven, I'm exhausted at eleven (but not necessarily before). If I'm usually full after eating, I'm stuffed after eating the same amount of food. I'm also usually a little sleepy after eating but now I'm prying my eyelids open after a meal. If a smell is generally unpleasant to me, now it is the most disgusting thing I've ever smelled. If I see something that sounds good to eat, I usually want it but can talk myself in or out of eating it based on logic, now I just desperately crave it until I have it. Of course, I'm still experiencing the other symptoms of constant gas and bloating. It isn't pretty.. but it is what it is. Both of those symptoms are 50% better when I work out every day, at least for 30 minutes.

What I feel
I feel some pains now and then, especially when I over do it with walking and carrying a heavy backpack/camera around a foreign city. Specifically, lower back pain and what I think is called round ligament pain, sharp pains in the very low pelvic region. Other than those occasional pains, I could wake up and forget that I'm even pregnant.

What We're Doing
I met with my gynecologist on Thursday of week six, just before we left, so that we could hopefully get a sneak peak at Pumpkin - which we did :) (our midwife doesn't do ultrasounds until 20 weeks and we didn't want to wait that long). It was great to see little P and to have that confirmation that things are going well. Otherwise, I'm just plugging away at daily walking (not a problem on vacation) and taking those prenatal vitamins and fish oil. While traveling, Blake has been fantastic about helping me remember to take them. I'm glad that I have them too, because I'm not always able to find well balanced meals on vacation.

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Next baby post: Pumpkin: Weeks 8 & 9

Previous baby post: Pumpkin: Weeks 4 & 5

Roma: Day Six

Pompeii and Naples - Happy All Saints Day (which is actually a celebrated holiday in Italy)!

Today we got up early (yes, again) and caught a train to Naples. From Naples we caught another train to Pompeii and we spent the majority of the day wandering through the city of Pompeii. It was really quite interesting and a little sad. Overall, it was pretty neat to see the more complete remains of first century Roman life. 

The remains of frescoes on the walls.

*warning*

They used to think that the citizens of Pompeii were killed by suffocation from the ash, which seems like a horrible way to die and makes you wonder why they couldn't escape it better. However, I was reading an article from National Geographic that suggests that a wave of heat (about 300°C/570°F or above) is really what killed these people. Also they suggest that the contortions of the bodies are from the extreme heat causing muscle contractions and not from suffering a slow death. That perspective somehow makes me feel better.

You can see the ruts from wheels in the paving stones!

This was a baker's house. See the oven in the back, and these stones are mill stones.

The amphitheater 

Inside the amphitheater, not quite as big as the Colosseum, but still very big. 

After Pompeii, we walked through the present day city of Pompeii (not much to see) to get back to the train station. We did get to enjoy some freshly squeezed orange juice and bought a couple of oranges to take back to Rome with us (they were delicious).

We got back to Naples and took a metro to the Archaeological Museum, so that we could see some artifacts from Pompeii. It was dark by this time and the three block walk from the metro station to the museum was a little sketchy. We toured the museum and had two options. We could either get back to the metro and take it to the train station and wait for two hours... or we could take the Rick Steves' walk from the museum back to the train station. We knew that our first three blocks were a little sketchy, but we also had two hours to kill until our train... so we walked.

Rick Steves says that Naples is "colorful". Let me put it this way, if Rome were New York; Naples would be New Jersey. We discovered that our three block temperature of Naples was correct.. the entire town is a little sketch. We couldn't get back to Rome fast enough! Sorry Naples, but we won't likely be back! It was a long day and a long train ride home (we had to take the slower crummy trains, so two hours instead of one). Needless to say, I didn't take any pictures.. I was too afraid to have my camera out and look more like a tourist. Well, at least we can say that we've been there!

Roma: Day Five

Today we got up early and caught a train to Florence. It was one of the new fast trains which were really clean and comfortable and only take one and a half hours to make it to Florence (as opposed to three hours on the old dumpy trains).

We had museum tours booked for the afternoon and started our morning with a self guided/Rick Steve's walking tour. We started walking from the train station to the Duomo, Florence's most visible and largest church. 

We walked our way through Florence with intermittent downpours to see the major sights in the city, although some places were closed because the next day was a holiday. We saw the outside of the Orsanmichele Church, Palazzo Vecchio, the Uffizi Courtyard and Ponte Vecchio. 

We saw the original David later, but this was his original home.

Ponte Vecchio in the background

The view of the bridge, Ponte Vecchio, from the 3rd floor of the Uffizi Gallery.

Ponte Vecchio, filled with shops, mostly jewelry shops.

The view down river. I don't know if the Arno River always this dirty
or if that was because of the torrential downpours.

After that we toured the Uffizi Gallery - which was a completely awesome art gallery that walks you through the renaissance as it developed. No pictures allowed though. After that we toured Accademia, which is famous for it's star statue: Michelangelo's David. Also no pictures allowed. 

Once we were finished with our museum tours we were exhausted and soaked through from the now steady rain. So we caught an earlier train back to Rome. We met some friends in the lobby of our hotel and went out to dinner. After dinner, a little shopping and then early to bed because we had an early train to catch the next morning. We liked Florence, it was clean and people were friendly. It was just unfortunate that it was so very rainy the day we were there. I guess we'll have to go back and explore it a little better!

(P.S. Even though it was a miserably wet day - are you catching on to that yet - it was still a great way to spend halloween.. i.e., a great way to avoid it!)