So here it is...

Sorry for the delay... I've been taking one of the most wonderful naps of my life.

Earlier today we spent three hours at my first doctor's appointment. I waited forever to do the ultrasound first, nervous out my mind, with my complaining husband and fussy little princess in the waiting room. Finally, we got in.... and there he/she was- my pea!

I was excited, but not nearly ready to feel okay. The heart rate was a good, steady 136! And then she started asking questions. How normal are my periods and how sure am I about my last period date? Apparently my pea is measuring 10 days behind his/her expected schedule making it only 6 weeks 6 days and giving me a due date of November 17th. The woman reassured me with the fact that the heart rate was good.

I returned to the waiting room where I waited to have vitals checked. Then I went BACK to waiting room to wait for my room. Everyone at this hospital is incredibly kind. I am amazed that I ever dealt with all that I did at the OB office I went with the princess. I couldn't be more impressed. I saw the nurse practitioner who explained to me that she thought the blood was coming BEHIND my sac and shouldn't be cause for concern. I had a physical exam and then blood work. It was exhausting.

My levels were checked and will be checked again in two weeks when I go back for another ultrasound to measure the baby again and see if the problem of the blood has resolved itself. The appointment is on the princess's birthday. I've been put on 'pelvic rest' which is a fancy way of saying 'no sex!' but not on bed rest, thank God. So now I wait again.

My pea has a healthy beating heart and I am so thankful. Now I just hope that in two weeks my levels have doubled and my pea has grown! Please hope with me. Love you all.... and here's my pea! :)

Worst Weekend Ever...

There's no humorous way to start this blog. Nothing about this past weekend has been good. Last week I finally mailed my pregnancy announcements. Apparently, my father received his first. I wasn't even considering the fact that it was the day the announcements should've arrived when he called me and asked "Y'all ain't figured out WTH causes that s**t yet?"
"Huh?"
"Getting Pregnant!"
Of course he was joking... but his lack of etiquette certainly took me by surprise. It was only a few hours later that he decided to post on his facebook status that he had found out he would be a grandfather for the fourth time.... all of this before any of the rest of my family had seen their announcements.

Now you must understand that, sadly, we never expect our families to be happy when they find our we're pregnant. They've yet to have a good reaction, and we don't see one in the near future. Our priorities are placed a little differently than what they (and most people) think they should be. This is quite stressful to us, but like I said, we expect it.

Anywho, since family members (and other friends) found out this way they weren't exactly happy. I've even been criticized for using the method I used to announce the pregnancy. They sound like a supportive bunch, huh? Apparently it would be much smarter (and less special in my opinion) to just email everyone. Yeah, that would go over really well with my grandmother who has never used a computer in her life.

So, late on this Friday night that everything went down and my stress level went UP about 80% I went to the bathroom only to look into the toilet and see quite a bit of old blood. It seemed that i had been spotting for quite a while and didn't notice it. I did some internet research and decided to let DH know, go to bed, and see if it had stopped in the morning.

No such luck.

The spotting seems to subside and restart over and over again. It has, however, seemed to decrease which is good. On Saturday my doctor's answering service offered no help, but to tell me I could go to the ER. Unfortunately, I was home alone, blocked in, with an 11 month old princess! The hubby was able to come home early and told me to rest. We decided not to go the ER since I haven't been in any pain.

There could be a number of reasons this is happening. Some are fine, and some are bad. The worst possibility is that I have had a delayed miscarriage. In this case the baby would have died quite a while ago without any notice. In this case, there's nothing that could be done anyway.

So we wait.

On Tuesday morning my precious pea may or may not have a heartbeat.... and then we will know. An ultrasound will also be done. I am praying for the best and being prepared for the worst... well, probably not prepared. I cannot be prepared. I guess I'm expecting the worst.... and if it's not the worst then I will be unbelievably relieved and happy. No words can express what it feels like to wait for days just to find out if your baby has a heartbeat. I ask for your prayers.

Pray for my family, me, and especially my pea.

News Flash: I'm not wealthy...

It's been a while since I learned the in's and out's of the public health system. The princess and I have both taken part in the benefits of Medicaid and WIC. This offends some people for some reason... and honestly, I don't care. These services are offered to illegal aliens and personally, I think if my government is going to pay for some foreigner to have a baby, they can pay for mine, too. :)

Since we've moved SO many times I've had to go to NUMEROUS health departments. I've spent hours and hours on endless phone calls to 10 different organizations changing and transferring information. Sometimes I think it's all more trouble than it's worth... but then I remember the hundreds and hundreds of dollars in formula that I saved after the princess stopped breastfeeding.

Anywho, today our adventure was to one of the many health departments in town to apply for pregnancy medicaid. Being the seasoned mother that I am (baha!) I knew better than to just carry my child in. Nope, that would never do. In the first 10 minutes the princess would've been crying, climbing out of my lap, and wiggling her way on to the floor. It's a pretty good thing I had that stroller, too since we were there for TWO HOURS!!!!

I only have so many options to entertain an 11 month old.
1-Snacks
2-Sippy Cup
3-Pacifier
4-ANYTHING I CAN FIND- keys, cell phone, wipe case, wallet, etc.

Too much of #2 led to a leaking diaper and a half naked baby.... in the one place you don't want people to think you're not taking care of your child.

I definitely know every health department does things differently. I especially know now that I spent so much time getting together and worrying about forms I had to have such as pay stubs, birth certificates, and social security cards- NONE of which they asked to see at this particular appointment. BUT at least 2 hours later I was approved!

Of course by that point the princess had realized 'Hey, I can wiggle out of my buckle and STAND UP in this stroller! ....ooo, look, a week old fruit loop, yum!'

...Thank God that's over!

Upcoming Missions: WIC appointments. But of course hers and mine are at different departments, on different days, at different times. ::sigh::

The search for Preggie Pops...

So for those of you who don't know I have been hard core battling with my arch enemy (who also goes by the name morning sickness) for about a week now.... and I am losing horribly.

It lasts all. day. long. On some days it has been so horrible that I have been completely unable to go through my daily routine! Recently on a CafeMom forum (btw, I heart CafeMom) I asked for some suggestions about how to start winning my battle with the green, queasy monster. One of the suggestions I received was to buy something called Preggie Pops. I'm guessing most people have heard of them. I decided that I must find some to try.

So this morning I did everything I could to make myself get up and ready and out of the house. First off, I stopped by the post office. I had to finally mail the pregnancy announcements (complete with picture of the princess in a big sister shirt and due date) that I ordered...err.... a week ago? I could swear I was standing next to Ruby from the My Style tv show. Unfortunately, it was not the beloved overweight red head I had hoped. I was disappointed.

Second stop, food. Zaxby's actually. It wasn't until an hour later when I was driving down the road slurping my second glass of their ugh-mazing sweet tea when I thought "HOLY COW! HOW MUCH CAFFEINE HAVE I HAD?" I don't ever think about tea being caffeinated since I make mine decaf at home. Surely, since I never drink caffeine it wasn't too much.

So0o anywho, BabiesRUs was a BUST. No preggie pops anywhere! An hour later, after searching down every single flippin aisle, I left empty handed. I texted ChaCha (oh, I also lurve my ChaCha) for the number to Motherhood Maternity. Called them, they had them, YES! Took a quick trip to Walmart where I was able to buy a few low calorie snacks to keep me going all day and then headed to Motherhood.

Great, this should be easy enough. I can just pop in, grab them, and leave to get the princess down for her nap. I walk in and hear "Hi, Welcome to Motherhood Maternity. I'm _____. Have you shopped with us before? How can I help you today?" and in my head I realize 'Oh no. You are going to be a problem.'

"Yes, I've been here before. I actually just need to get some preggie pops. Thanks."

"Oh, let me show you. We have these organic kind. This package has more than this other package. Now do you have really bad morning sickness?"

"Yes. Thank you."

"Well, if you have it really bad you may need to tell your doctor. They can prescribe you something...." (By this point Im hearing BLAH BLAH BLAH!)

"Ah-hah, okay, thanks. I have an appointment next week."

"Alright, now how are you paints fitting?!"

Seriously, lady???.... like, SERIOUSLY? SHUT. UP. She kept talking... but theres no need in me filling you in. By the time I made it to the register with a cranky child still on my hip making my arm feel like it was about to fall off AND having to pee uncontrollably she was still talking.

"Are you sure you just want to get the one package?"
"I'd like to see if they work first, thanks."
"Oh, they definitely work. They're doctor approved!"
"That's great. I'm just buying the one package though now. THANK YOU."

So after having to give her all my information and another long conversation about if I needed anything else (you'd think the lady worked off commission) I finally got out of there.

Thankfully, the preggie pops seem to work miracles. I'm very very happy with them. I was even able to go on a walk tonight! Hopefully that helped burn off a few of those calories from the honey mustard dressing on my Zaxby's salad. :)

Unfortunately, this means I will have to return for more eventually.

Good Lord, I hope that lady isn't there.

Oh... who am I?

So this is my first blog.

Yes, I realize it's far from it's full potential.... but come on, people, I'm working with what I've got right now. Unfortunately, until my desktop gets fixed, my graphics will have to suffer. I decided I didn't find that a good enough reason anymore to not go ahead and start blogging!

So, here I am.

Oh, who am I?

Well, I'm a mom. No, I was never a business woman who gave up some amazing career to stay at home with my kids. (More power to those ladies!) Raising a house full of children is all I've ever wanted to do... and I'm well on my way. I'm one of those 'horrible' statistics that got married (almost) right out of high school and got pregnant within my first 6 months of marriage!

I am a mommy to a beautiful, amazing princess who will be one year old in April and I am pregnant with a perfect little pea who is due in November!

A few things you may want to know before you start reading.... I do intend on being a "bold blogger". My marriage isn't perfect and I do not always deserve the Mom of the Year award! I have certain views I'm pretty stubborn about, but my true intentions for this blog are for myself. I want to document my time through this pregnancy and hopefully meet some really cool people along the way.