4 Months Along

The last two weeks have gone by fast except for the fact I'm still nauseous. I thought this was suppose to go away! Here's a week 16 picture.

I had a doc appt on Friday and she said they were still going to go by my original due date, of July 22nd. So I'm closing in on 4 months along this coming Tuesday. That's right, I have to head into a testing center and take my first Anatomy and Physiology exam this week before we leave! Study time today...


I can't believe it's here, less then a week from our trip to Ecuador! Here's me in week 15, with Genni one of our dogs. I'm trying on one of my new maternity and travel friendly outfits for Ecuador. I decide to not purchase a maternity swimsuit, instead just wear my bikini and look like I have a small belly. :)

Well I'm off for a bike ride. Geoff headed off at 6:30am this morning for a ride and I'm going to meet up with him at 11am.

Laura

First Ultrasound!

Baby Beaty

Today we had our first Ultrasound. What an absolutely wonderful experience and one of our most memorable. It's amazing how clear we could see the details of baby Beaty. We are so blessed that everything looked good.

When we first saw the screen, we thought the baby was waving at us! We could see it's tiny hand moving back and forth. What an amazing though! It continued to be super active during the appointment. At one point Geoff commented that it was already in training, running on a treadmill, as it's legs were going back and forth. The technician also commented the baby was very photogenic. :) We got some great pictures of the baby.
Stats:

• Size: 7 cm long
• Extended size: 9 cm if legs were straight
• Heart Beat: 150 BPM
• Active: very
• My Timeline: 13 weeks & 3 days today (a week early then I thought)
• Conclusion: All is good so far
  

Baby Beaty Close-up

Second Trimester is Here

Here is the end of week 14. The nauseousness is hitting me with a vengeance, hopefully with the thought of leaving soon. I'm getting a little bit bigger, but no one would guess I'm pregnant if they saw me on the street. Just a gal with a bit of weight around her belly. ;)

I can't believe it, we are heading off on our vacation in just over 2 weeks! I have barely thought about it since we finished planning it. I have decide to forgo learning Spanish in such a short amount of time and instead stay with my Anatomy and Physiology class. It's going to be a ton of work, and I am already a week behind since I was going to drop the class. So wish me luck!!

I started my women's bible study at church last week. We are reading 'The Pursuit of GOD' by A.W Tozer. What an amazing book. What he wrote decades ago, still holds true today. I wanted to share a verse from the study that struck me this morning as being so true.

What good is it for man to gain the whole world; yet forfeit his soul? Mark 8:36

It is so easy to get caught up in all the things this world has to offer. Money, higher education, winning, power, recognition... But none of it worth it. Our focus should be on God and not the things of this world. It's a hard thing to learn and do, I will forever be working on it. I had a hard time giving up my IT work, as I know i had some identity with it. But in the end it is more then worth it!

Maternity Clothes

I have officially moved into maternity clothes for pants and fitted tops. In my regular clothes my belly was feeling squished when I sat down. Then when I would stand my belly would peek out from under my fitted shirts and low riding jeans. So I made the plunge yesterday. It took quite the shopping but I eventually hit the jackpot and found some great stuff at Maternity Gap that fit really well (and were a great deal too!). Three trip and many hours later here's the loot...

I got khaki's and jeans that have an expandable waist, each around 70% off. A tank top from Gap and red shirt from limited, both for 6 dollars!




Got a great pair of brown pants and everyday white tank. Then of course what pregnancy wouldn't be complete without a maternity matching jumpsuit!




The jeans and khakis do not have a high waist band of fabric like most maternity clothing. Instead they have a cord around the waist that expands as you get bigger. What a fantastic idea!

Week 13

The picture is from the last day of week 13. I couldn't find the same pants so I wore my carpi's. (Yikes, I think my ass looks as big as my belly.)

I had a very busy weekend, so I am attempting to rest up today. On Saturday Geoff & I coached TNT (run clinic, 90min bike, brunch). Then showered and headed out for a second lunch with Cheryl and Ken. It was great to see both of them. I miss my training friends now that I have to go slow. Quick run home, grabbed a 30 min nap to try and get a hold of the nauseousness, then off to dinner with Molly and Chip. The boys split a bottle of wine while us girls sipped on our ice water as Molly is pregnant too. 36 weeks along so gave me lots of great advice. Thanks Molly!

Somehow Sunday morning I was still motivated and got up for a 10 mile run with the Reston Runners. It is my longest run pregnant. I'm training for the National 1/2 Marathon at the end of March. Geoff was off on a bike ride with the boys, so I headed over there my myself and meet some great people during the run. There was over 50 of us! Then off to Natalie's, our niece, birthday party for the afternoon. We left at 4pm, stopping at the mall to find maternity pants (with no luck) so my belly wasn't being squished. Then on to a TriCat's meeting at Panara for 2 hours.

Yesterday wasn't much better, so needless to say I am wiped and my nauseousness is hitting extra hard. I am suppose to be starting my Online Anatomy and Phy's class today, but I am thinking of dropping the class. I am worried I am going to be one of those unlucky feel who are sick until the end. There is no way I can study and memorize when I am like this. So instead I thinking of focusing on learning Spanish for my trip and if I want starting some studying for the GRE. Both of which don't have a timeline and grade associated with it. Well that's the latest here...

Babymoon Trip is Planned!

For some silly reason Geoff and I never took a honeymoon. We had such exotic ideas of where we wanted to go but could never decide on a location. So there we sat, 8 months into our marriage, still wanting to take a honeymoon, but knowing an adorable baby was on the way in 9 months. Then came the idea of a babymoon! A honeymoon type trip before the baby came.

Thus the planning was underway, with a urgency like never before. I wanted to go when I was in the middle of the second trimester. Hopefully when the nauseousness is gone and before I got too uncomfortable.

Location of our resort, The Luna Runtun

We have finally completed the plans. We are going to be heading to Banos, Ecuador for two weeks. It is located in the mountains between the gateway to the Amazon rainforest and the Llanganates National Park. We will be staying at an Luna Runtun Adventure Spa, where there is daily adventure trips and spa treatments to pick from. Here are some pictures from the resorts website, all credit is given to them.

This is one of the builds on the property. It is likely where we will be staying. The resort has 310 acres to explore, with their own lush gardens, birds and exotic plants.



The resort has an amazing view! This is a picture of part of their 4 pools and jacuzzi of natural Volcanic water. They also have SPA building where I hope to get some massages and mud baths, and volcanic ash and salt exfoliation.







A close by waterfall. There are many hikes, mountain biking, canoing, and rafting trips to go on. I am excited to hike the smugglers trail and the Inca trail. I also want to go check out the active volcano and Amazon rainforest.

End of First Trimester

So here I sit in Geoff's jacket, with a spoon and a carton of vanilla ice cream and post to anyone who cares to read, I have just completed the First Trimester of my pregnancy! I am 3 months along. Ah, the joys of pregnancy. Now only if this nauseousness will go away...

Here is what I eat pretty much everyday this week. (Everything else is gross and wants to make me hurl):

• Amy's little pizza pita pockets
• Whole containers of strawberries in one sitting
• Strawberry gatorade
• Nectarines
• Grape nut flakes cereal with tons of milk.
  
• Breyer's Natural Vanilla ice cream
• And then eat whatever Geoff trys to cook me at night. He made a wonderful BBQ chicken and grilled veggies last night that I successfully ate.
  

Week 12 Photo

First doc Appt

Geoff and I had our first doctors appointment for the baby! Since it was our first appointment we spend most of the time talking about baby stuff and family history. I was reminded of what I should and shouldn't be eating and doing. The big excitement for the day is we heard the babies heart beat for the first time! I was amazed by the sound. It was more of a swooshing sound then a heart beat. But the doc reassured us that was it! It's all real! Our baby has a heart beat and is growing bigger everyday!

I also got a recommendation for the nauseousness. Boy was I excited! So right after we headed to the food store with a list of medications (I have a nasty cold too) and nauseous recommendations. The two suggestions she game for nauseousness was Vitamin B6 and Sonigramm. That evening at dinner I took the B6 and then before bed the other. What a long night. I should know to never take sleeping medication as that's what it was. I was up most of the night with muscle spasms and extreme drowsiness. I think I got about 2 hours of sleep before I had to get up and coach TNT that morning with Geoff.

Gail is Here!

Here is a picture of my girlfriend Gail and me at Geoff's parents house on Christmas Day. It was so nice outside! Gail is spending Christmas and New Years with us. She'll be here for around 3 weeks. It's great to have her here. I'm a bit sad I can't do as much as I would like given my nauseousness, but it seems she's enjoying the downtime too. Today we headed to DC and looked did some biking around Hains Point then headed to some museums.

Week 9 & 10

Our first baby appointment is on Friday! According to my calculations I will be at 11 1/2 weeks. We'll see what the doctor says. Hopefully we'll get to hear the heartbeat and get our first ultrasound.

My days are going by slow. I'm still feeling really sick and like a bum. I am just trying to take one day at a time. The picture for week 9 ended up being a really bad video so we'll skip it. Although the week 10 picture is pretty bad looking too. I wasn't feeling good at all when this was taken so forgive the horrible look!

You definitely cannot deny the belly has grown in this picture if you compare it with the first one.

Bye Wells Fargo

Big news. I finally quit my job, the software development one that is. I am going to miss parts of it, but am ready to move on. Thanks everyone at Wells for being so wonderful to me! It truly is a great company to work for. I would recommend it to anyone. It worked out with timing, as there is no way I could work very well feeling this sick. My mornings are tolerable, but by afternoon into evening I am sick as a dog on the couch.

I am still coaching with Girls on the Run and Team In Training. With Team in Training we kicked off the season two weeks ago and Geoff and I will lead workouts every Saturday from now until May! I am also going to spend some time enjoying life and my freedom before I become a parent. :) I'm looking at taking a pottery class and maybe a drawing class. Plus I'll still be in school in the spring. I'll have plenty to keep me busy! Thanks Geoff for letting me accomplish my dreams!!

2 Months Along

This week I officially reached 2 months pregnant. Right now I can't wait for it to be done and I have barely started. :( Or I should say, I can't wait for the nauseousness to be done. Here's my week 7 picture. I don't look much different in the picture from last week. Except you'll notice I am trying out the sea bands on my wrists. It's suppose to help with the morning sickness (more like all day and all night sickness!)

Nauseousness All Day Long

Oh to not be nauseous! Starting week 6 I suddenly found myself nauseous from when my eyes opened in the morning to when my head hits the pillow at night. I knew it was going to be bad from when I was on birth control, but this is something else. In trying to accomplish things I spend a lot of time telling myself 'it is mind over matter. No you don't need to go lay down on the couch, it won't make you feel any better'. So why not be up doing something to take my mind off of it.

Here is my week 6 picture from this past Saturday. I can certainly notice a change in my stomach size, but I'm guessing no one else really can. I went swimming this morning and my little tiny belly stuck out in my tight suit.

As for cravings & gross foods, here's my current thoughts:
Cravings = nothing
Grossness = ALL food

Big News

I've decided no reason not to blog about this. It's a huge part of my life now.... Last Saturday morning, two days after Thanksgiving I was having a hard time sleeping. Thanksgiving had gone well. Friday was relaxing, but I still felt strange. I was awake most of the night tossing, turning, thinking. Could it be? I couldn't take it anymore. I had to know. I had to take a pregnancy test. 4:10am Saturday morning I found out

I'm Pregnant!

Geoff is so excited. We both can't stop beaming. This is a picture Geoff took of me Saturday morning with the positive results on the pregnancy test.

Here are some stats:

• Due Date: Around July 25th, 2008
• Current Time line: 6 weeks and 4 days
• Energy level: Medium. Not bad, high in the morning, fade fast in the evening.
  
• Nap: Yes. I never did before but now it is definitely needed daily
  
• Nauseousness: High. Sick every afternoon but luckily no throwing up.
• Mental Sharpness: Low. I'm having a total lack of mental sharpness. It's strange. I keep forgetting to do things. Nothing big, just small things. Like two times now I've tried to drop off a form at my Girls on the Run school and I keep forgetting.
  

I knew something was going on, but couldn't believe it was true. I had convinced myself otherwise, not wanting to get too excited about the idea. I justified the signs. The upset stomach, the missed period, the hormonal hurricane. It wasn't until Thanksgiving morning that the sign was big enough for me to really consider it. I felt really tired and out of breath running 2 blocks when warming up for the 10k race. I'm in tune with my body and this was strange. Something must really be up. And it was!

I was going to wait for a while to take a test because if God wanted us to have a kid, he would and nothing would change that. I didn't need to know right away. At least not until it kept me up at night thinking about the possibilities. :)

Here's my first belly picture. It is week 5, when I first found out. I plan on taking one every week and watching my belly grow!

TNT Spring 08' Season Underway

Today was the kick-off get together for the TNT Spring 2008 season. Wish I had a picture of the group....but I don't yet. This season Geoff & I are going to coach the TNT Gulf Coast 1/2 Ironman team. We currently have around 15 people. I can't wait! I am super excited about the group of people we have and the fact Geoff and I get to do it together.

Last season I coached without Geoff and was sad to go our separate ways for half of Saturday. We just have SO much fun together, especially being active. So I think this is going to work out perfect. I'm going to do more of the administrative/speaking/run side (lead clinics, weekly emails, run technique, etc) and he is going to more of the ride lead/bike side (fix flat clinic, workouts, bike technique, etc).