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So, this post was written on July 25th and.... I never published it. The next few entries are sort of a catch up for me so stick with me if you can!


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Our little man came home on Tuesday July 19, just one day shy of being three weeks old. It has been crazy and amazing. We are loving every moment and Dup Dup keeps trying to give her "brother" kisses!

Here are our pictures leaving the NICU together (finally!) and going home.

It has been almost a week and Will is already getting so big!

Our baby boy is now almost three months old!! I will get this blog caught up eventually,  I promise!

Spring Adventures

Now that the weather is warming up finally in Eastern North Carolina our family gets to do some of the outdoor things we love... like strawberry picking at Mike's Farm. Nothing like a sun warmed berry right off the vine and eleven pounds of your favorite fruit to make a weekend wonderful.

 

Plus, did I mention the chocolate cake? They are famous for the ten layer cake and I can see why. It literally melted in my mouth. My husband went for the chocolate ice cream, but I will not regret that cake. I hope we meet again very soon.

Plus, warmer weather at the coast means days at the beach. Sure, sporting a bump in a maternity swim suit is a little different than any other summer, but it is still awesome to read a book in a chair on the sand as your crazy husband goes into the frigid ocean.

Rylie had a better time than any of us, swimming and running to her heart's content. She came home that evening a very sleepy, happy Dup Dup.

Soon our trips to the beach will be very different, with sand toys and tents and bags of things, but for now we will continue on as we do every summer since we have lived here. One bag, two chairs, an umbrella and a good book or two until our load gets a little bigger... we cannot wait!

First Trimester

The Monday before Thanksgiving was when I decided to finally take a pregnancy test. All month Ryan kept saying he had a good feeling that this was our month and I finally started to agree with him. What tipped me over the edge was that I was lying in bed that morning, watching a youtube video of Pentatonix singing a Star Wars tribute at the American Music Awards when something unusual happened.... when the orchestra joined them I started crying! Even though my period wasn't due for another two days I decided to test and sure enough....

Positive! Once again I went nuts, jumping up and down and yelling and scaring the dog. Ryan was at work so I texted him asking if I could bring him lunch. I was bursting to tell him! He agreed so I grabbed some Panera and drove to meet him at work. It was freezing out so I was sitting in the car waiting for him (like last time, ironically) and he was waving at me to come in to the office. I told him no and to come and sit in the car for a second and my smart alec husband goes, "Why, are you pregnant?"

Yes! I didn't plan on videoing it or anything like last time but it was funny and very typical of us (see our engagement for an example) regardless. He was so excited and there were tears on both ends. We called both our parents that day, but kept it pretty quiet from everyone else for a bit. I went to the doctor the next day to do their test and I overhydrated! Imagine my surprise when the hospital calls and says my test was negative! So I went back the next day and we got our positive. Whew. Over Thanksgiving we told Ryan's grandmother and sister, but kept it quiet from everyone else for the most part. Over the next few weeks we let our very close friends know but after our previous loss we didn't want to get too excited too soon.

I didn't even start progress pictures until week 8 because I didn't want to jinx anything! Week 5-6 was brutal regardless and I ended up in the ER unable to keep even water down, but luckily I started vitamin b6 and have been ok for the most part since. Thank you pregnancy pops and drops too!

We told my (extended) family about my pregnancy a little earlier than we would have planned, but being we were in New Jersey for Christmas and able to tell them in person was too big an opportunity to pass up. To tell my 93 year old Poppy and 90 year old Babci in person they were going to be great grandparents again was wonderful. Poppy had tears in his eyes and it was so special for Ryan and I to do... so we told them early!

I feel like in the early pictures I look so so exhausted! I was sleeping 9 to 11 hours a night and still tired. Combination first trimester and thyroid for sure.

Week 10 was when I had my first official appointment with a midwife. At around week 8 I met with a nurse but it was just the preliminary sort of appointment. This time we got to actually see our Bean (the nickname has stuck for now!) and hear the heartbeat. I cried the entire time and Ryan had the goofiest smile... it was amazing. We had quite the surprise with the thyroid diagnosis at this appointment but we got the ball rolling on that treatment within 24 hours. I am so thankful for my midwife for that.

Bean was moving around like crazy. In the above one you can see Bean is kind of waving at us, but we also saw so much movement and flipping around. Plus we saw the thumping and pumping of the heart.

And here was the transition to maternity clothes. I can still fit in my pre pregnancy clothes but buttons and zippers are not comfy when you're bloated! The below outfit is a pregnancy top and pregnancy leggings and I loved it.

Dup usually loves to be close and rest her head on us, but I couldn't resist this picture. I was working on my lines for a show I am in and she snuggled right in. Sometimes I think she knows I am pregnant, other times she practically knocks me down and I roll my eyes and forget it!

Weekly Pregnancy Survey:

What Fruit are you? I believe this week my Ovia app said I was a beet but the graphics app I use says lemon.

Due date: August 5, 2016 

How far along: 14 weeks 3 days

Next appointment:  March 7th

Gender:  Unknown so far!

Total weight gain/loss: About 7-8 pounds... officially the heaviest I have ever been in my life and we got a ways to go! 

Exercise: Um... I have to walk really far from my car to the new library branch I transferred to? When the weather is nice we take the Dup for walks but it has been cold and rainy here lately.

Stretch marks: I always had them, but no real noticeable new ones yet.

Swelling: My fingers look a little swollen around my rings but nothing major

Maternity clothes: Maternity jeans are my new favorite thing! I have a few shirts and a pair of leggings too

Belly button: Normal  

Sleep: Starting to get really uncomfortable. I wake up at least once a night to pee but my back has been bothering me lately so I do lots of tossing and turning, even with my big body pillow

Food cravings:  Mango has been the big one! I love fruit... watermelon, starfruit, berries. All good! I also love French fries but try to not have them often. Pancakes from Cracker Barrel have won my soul over too.

Symptoms:  It is hard to tell sometimes if it is my thyroid or pregnancy sometimes! I get super hungry every now and then and have some major fatigue still. Skin has been breaking out and my chest has grown like crazy. I occasionally get some cramping but nothing bad or worrisome.

Movement:  I thought I felt a flutter once but it could have been gas :P

Labor signs: None yet thankfully!

What I miss:  Not too much, but I did want eggs benedict the other day and research said that was a no due to the runny eggs. Bummer.

What I'm loving:  That I am starting to have a slightly noticeable bump that isn't just bloating. Soon I will actually look pregnant and not just chubby!

What I'm looking forward to:  The bump short term, and feeling Bean move... and long term meeting Bean!

Best moment this week:  Lounging in sweat pants all day to watch the Super Bowl. I was a comfy and happy pregnant lady!

News:  Anatomy scan scheduled for March 7th. Officially classified as a 'high risk pregnancy' due to my thyroid.

Milestones: 2nd Trimester!

Words of wisdom: None yet really.

So we are a third of the way there! I will try and not bore you all with too much pregnancy stuff, but I am pretty excited and do want to document this for our families. Thank you so much for all the well wishes (and good thoughts and prayers)!

Gall Bladder

So it has been over a week since I finally had my gall bladder removed and I am finally feeling up to blogging a bit about it. My recovery has been pretty crappy so far.... bad nausea and lack of appetite (sound familiar) have plagued me since the Super Bowl and I have been pretty miserable. Today marks the first day I put on jeans and ventured out of the house (to the grocery store) in almost two weeks.

Back to last Wednesday, the 28th, when I had the actual surgery. I was supposed to be there at 9am with the surgery at 11am. Anytime I have surgery I have bad luck with timing. The night before they call me and tell me not to come in until 1:30pm due to back ups in the OR with a surgery at 2:45. Goody. Especially when you can't eat or drink after midnight! My mom flew in the night before and we had a nice dinner at Olive Garden together before heading home. Ryan surprised the heck out of both of us when he managed to get off work for my surgery. We were convinced the SDA meant it was impossible but I was glad he was able to be there. So we get to the hospital around 1:30pm and the wait begins.

We waited and waited and long story short I didn't get into the OR until almost 4:30 that afternoon. Sigh. I was pretty hungry and thirsty by that point. I sat in a room with my mom and Ryan and watched TV for a few hours as we waited and once it is go time it is GO TIME. I felt like we were waiting for ages and suddenly I was kissing them goodbye and getting wheeled up the hall. I vaguely remember seeing the OR and then... nothing. My next conscious (and quite embarrassing) memory is waking up in recovery sobbing. I mean full on sob fest. My throat was scratchy from the tube and obviously my midsection hurt and I just remember sobbing my heart out and apologizing to the recovery nurses for sobbing. 

Ugh.

I was supposed to have an outpatient surgery but because it started so late the surgery center closed and they wheeled me into the actual hospital for the rest of my recovery. We thought that meant a few hours but then they mentioned keeping me overnight and that was exactly what happened.

My goals were simple... drink, pee, walk and eat. I couldn't go home until all of those were done. I was horribly itchy and in pain so they had me on morphine, then percocet and benadryl as I drank a ton of water. Ryan eventually had to go home since he had to be at work at the crack of dawn but my mom stayed with me. Actually when Ryan left they hadn't mentioned keeping me all night yet and he was quite surprised when he woke up the next morning and I wasn't there.

I had a nice view of the sunrise from my bed at least? It was a long night. I hate hospitals and my poor mom was in a chair... they didn't offer her anything more comfortable until about four am and at that point she didn't want to bother. I did eventually walk and use the bathroom... and when I did I nearly fell over. Blood pouring out of your bellybutton will do that to you. Apparently that's normal after my surgery so a well placed bandaid stopped that problem. Ugh. I finally ate breakfast in the morning and to my surprise my husband walked in as I was eating oatmeal and jello. Work let him go since I was still in the hospital. We eventually got discharged and I was able to go home by 8am or so. We all basically went straight to bed and slept until midafternoon.

I spent the next day or two on pain meds on the couch watching Friends on Netflix while my mom cooked and cleaned and was awesome just helping us out.

The Dup was a little put out at having to share her couch at first but she quickly became my snuggle buddy.

 

 As you can see she just squirmed right in between my mom and I and made due. At 90lbs, give or take, this is no easy task for a Dup!

My view.... she is cute luckily!

And the Dup loves her Granny, my mom, so they snuggled a lot too.

Saturday, the night before my mom left I started feeling nauseous. Saturday we went to the store and I was eating normally but sore... Sunday the nausea was worse. I barely ate all day before taking her to the airport and I was feeling awful by the time I got home. I got on the couch with the Dup to watch the Super Bowl but she wasn't too interested....

By halftime Ryan was home and I felt awful. Before the third quarter started I was throwing up and Ryan was giving me medicine and dragging me into bed to go to sleep. The next four or five days were miserable. I was on anti nausea medicine like crazy and eating nothing but fruit and toast and light bland things and just trying to stay hydrated. I went back to my doctor and they basically said it had only been a week post op and to give it more time. Very frustrating. Finally today I am feeling a little better. Good enough to at least put on jeans and go to the grocery store. I am still taking it easy and watching what I eat, but here is to hoping I am finally on the up and up.

Adios Gall Bladder. You will so not be missed. Here is to hoping I can have my long awaited cheeseburger soon. Really soon.

New Year's

Since we spent Christmas at home on our own we decided to spend New Year's with my family at their house in the mountains. I was really looking forward to a few days off and spending time with my family, so naturally five hours into the six and a half hour drive I get hit with a vicious gallbladder attack. I was instantly horribly nauseous and for the first time in some serious pain all across my back and stomach. I was worried I wasn't even going to make it to my parents' house without being sick so I was taking my zofran and trying to close my eyes and hope I made it. The thing with my gallbladder attacks has always been if I actually throw up it continues in that vein for days and days, so I was really hoping to avoid that. We eventually made it to the mountains and less than a mile from my parents' house it started to snow. It was gorgeous even in the dark. We made it and I sat up with my mom a bit (who plied me with more stomach medicines she had) before we went to sleep. The next day, New Year's Eve, we woke up to a beautiful dusting of snow.

 

And I still felt awful.

I laid on the couch (mistake 1) to nap on and off. My mom and Ryan went to the Cherokee Casino to do some gambling and have lunch and I knew I was in trouble when even that didn't want to entice me to get off the couch. I took a bath in the amazing bath tub at the house and still felt awful. We planned to go out to a fancy dinner that evening and as I sat up to get ready the pain that shot through my stomach and back was enough to make me sob like a five year old. So no dinner for me. We had reservations, and I felt terrible messing everything up, and was trying to get everyone to go. Ryan insisted on staying home with me and my parents and brother went for the dinner. Since they had made reservations and it was price fixed people had to go or pay anyway. It turned out the dinner wasn't that great and they got some BBQ for Ryan and came home with that later on.

 

I sat up on the couch and dozed all evening. Laying down apparently is a big no no during an attack (at least for me now) and my mom said she had the same problems. We all watched the ball drop at midnight and I went to bed drugged up and sick. New Year's Day I sat up on the couch all day barely moving. We watched football and I napped on and off before going to bed early.

 

Happy New Year, right?

 

Friday I was finally feeling better, I managed to eat a bit and shower and my mom and I even ventured out of the house. She took me to get my nails done and the color was a bit darker than I normally get but I love it. It is the shellac (no tips, my natural nails but the gel over it) so my nails still look great a week later.

 

 

I also discovered my eighteen year old brother can do hair better than I can. He did an elaborate braid for me one day when I was feeling a little better and it was way nicer than anything I can do! Apparently his girl friends all taught him how.

 

 

The rest of the weekend I wasn't up for much but I was up and moving. Stefan and Ryan got some guy time too. Mainly to watch football and talk Marine Corps stuff and working out... things like that. My family also celebrated a late Christmas together and we exchanged gifts one afternoon. My parents got us some much needed lotions and perfume/colognes, ornaments, candy, and some things from my grandparents like a knitted hat from my Babci.

Frick and Frack watching football

Ryan and my dad hiked a lot and took the Dup with them. I think out of any of us the Dup had the absolute best time. I swear my dog is part billy goat, she can climb straight up the side of a mountain like it is nothing! My dad took her to the ski slope one morning and she happily dragged him over the ice in excitement.

One of the days when I felt better Ryan insisted I go with him and the Dup on an easy walk. I wanted to get out of the house so I went, and it started raining naturally. We were all bundled up and under my parents' large umbrella but we had a wonderful time. The Dup climbed straight up and down the sides of the mountain and even jumped into the freezing mountain stream regardless of the fact it  was absolutely freezing!

 

Rylie was more concerned that we stopped than anything.

On a rock after hiking with Ryan and my dad.

Part mountain goat, part Dup.

Ryan managed to take some gorgeous pictures of their hikes and the scenery too since I wasn't exactly up and able to most of the time.

 

The creek that goes through my parents' back yard.

 

Part of a very difficult hike I did not go on! Ryan, my dad, and the Dup did

 

Yes, she climbed all the way up (and down) there by herself and absolutely loved it!

 

Dup on a log

The days I spent feeling better went by too fast. We went out for sushi one night all together and had a really great time. Lots of football was watched, Frozen was watched (since my mom had never seen it and got it for Christmas) and all too soon it was time to go home.

 

Such a gorgeous view from their driveway

I managed to drive a good portion of the way home before my stomach decided to roil a bit again and Ryan finished up the drive. Sunday we got home semi late and rushed to unpack and get ready for the week ahead.... which is now over and I am already behind blogging! Ryan picks up his first class this week as a Combat Instructor and our "new normal" for the next three years will begin. Wish us luck! And I hope you all had a Happy New Year.

 

PS - Gallbladder removal in T-17 days!