I'm back!

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and was able to spend it with family and friends.  I have been a little absent from blogging for the last week or so due to being pretty ill. Here's a recap of our life over the last week.....  The morning sickness had been getting more and more violent over the last 10 days, I was unable to keep food or liquids down since about Saturday afternoon . We had our 1st OB/GYN appointment on Monday Nov, 22 and my doctor assured me that my degree of illness was very typical of first time mothers.  I tried to go to work the following day, Tuesday, but my wonderful father took me home around noon because I  had been lying on the floor in my office from the intense nausea. By Wednesday, I still couldn't keep anything down, I was nauseous 24/7, weak from lack of nourishment, and my hands and feet started to turn purple.  My mom came and picked me up to take me over to their house, just so I could be around someone, but after seeing my condition forced me to go to the doctors. Got to love your mommies!  After a long doctors visit, I was diagnosed with hyperemesis gravidarum  (aka: severe morning sickness)and dehydration, and was sent off to the hospital to get re-hydrated. They pumped me full of vitamins, anti-nausea medication and lots of fluids.  I am now feeling much better, thanks to lots of rest over Thanksgiving and a prescription for anti-nausea medication.  Thank you to all of you that knew what was going on and kept me in your prayers they were very much felt!  We hope that we have a handle on my morning sickness and that the rest of our pregnancy is a breeze....    

Afternoon Blues

Well it’s lunchtime here at the office, and here I sit smelling everyone’s lunches while the “afternoon-sickness” is hitting me hard.  I get nauseous everyday around this time, but I’m not use to it at all!  It might be easier if pregnancy hadn’t heightened my sense of smell, I feel like I have a super-power, I can tell you every ingredient in my fellow co-workers lunches everyday.  The smells have one of two effects…1: their lunch makes me want to hurl anything that is in my stomach or… 2: their lunch makes me starving but I know if I eat I’ll just throw it up in a minute of two. Both effects of my super-nose make my afternoons awful, especially when it’s coupled with that unpleasant wave of exhaustion. Here’s to hoping I can eat lunch again in a few weeks. I am staying positive through the fuzzy-haze of my 1^st trimester with the thought of that special little baby that will be here in a few months, I know it will all be worth it!       

- One very green mommy-to-be

Week 6

 Dear Baby,

You are almost “6 weeks” old, your little heart is beating strong at 100-140 beats per minute. You are almost as big as a lentil; you have more than doubled in size since last week! I am so excited that you are growing arms and legs this week! Mommy is trying to eat well so that your little brain, muscles, and bones continue to grow strong and healthy. I just can’t even tell you how eager we are to meet; you have so much love waiting for you!

Love,

Your Mommy

The telling......

Well baby Richards, we told your Grandma and Grandpa Raber, Grandma and Grandpa Richards, and a handful of your aunts and uncles of your arrival last night!  Everyone is so happy and cannot wait to meet you, your grandma's and aunt's even cried when we told them the news.  We only have about 34 weeks till we get to see you......

The unromantic side of baby growing......

Keith and I have known about our pregnancy for a whole week today and I am still getting those rushing waves of realization, mixed with excitement and fear of the unknown.

 I always thought of pregnancy as romantic, the idea of a small tiny life growing and flourishing inside the safety of your womb seems so beautiful and precious. I still fell that way, although the realities of being pregnancy are really starting to set in.  I pulled 'all-nighters' in college and was not nearly as exhausted as I am just 5 weeks into my pregnancy. Not to mention the intense nausea that is preventing me from keeping my lunch down, running to the bathroom to pee every hour, the light annoying cramping, and heartburn (I will not be eating tomato based meals for the next 8 months).  According to all of the articles that I’ve been devouring over the last week, I get to look forward to all of this for the next 6 weeks. I am really hoping and praying that’s not the case.

 I am still in awe that there is baby growing within me, even if it is only the size of a sesame seed. I was reading online that the baby's microscopic heart is beginning to beat this week and the first organ system up and running! It is just so amazing to be that all of that is already developed after only 5 weeks, God is so amazing! I feel so blessed and warm and fuzzy every time my hand brushes across my belly……

My First Letter, (November 10th, 2010)

My dearest little baby,

Your daddy and I found out about your arrival less than one week ago, you are only the size of a sesame seed right now, at 5 weeks, so the doctors say. Mommy is taking lots of vitamins, eating well, and exercising to help you develop and grow in the coming weeks and months.  We are already so eager to meet you. No one knows about your arrival as of yet, Mommy and Daddy are trying to think of a very clever way to tell the world of your arrival.  I can’t wait to tell your Grandma’s and Grandpa’s, Aunt’s and Uncle’s, and all of mommy and daddy’s friends, they will be so excited that you are on your way! Grow well my sweet baby, in just a few short months I’ll be holding you in my arms……

Lovingly Praying,
                   Mommy