Confessions of a Pregnant Girl, Part 1

I'm not gonna lie, being pregnant isn't as exciting as I thought it would be. I'm supposed to be getting all amped up for the little person I'll be bringing into the world soon, but it's hard to get excited when you hardly feel like anything's happening. Mind you, that may change once I actually start to show and the whole world can see I'm pregnant too, so that's why this is "part 1" of my pregnancy confessions...

• I don't think I've ever had to pee in a cup more in my entire life than I have since I've been pregnant. And I'm pretty sure all ladies can agree with the fact that peeing in a cup SUCKS. For some reason you can never figure out where the pee is coming from and so you inevitably pee on your hand every. single. time. And then there's the walk of shame as you carry your sample out to the collection site in the warm cup. Speaking of pee, I may as well get the rest of my bodily functions out there too...
• Holy gas, Batman! Not only do I get gas more frequently, but it is deadlier than it has ever been before. There have been a couple days where I just end up crop dusting my entire workplace and make the patients and therapists gag. My mother would be so proud.
• This is gross, but I have dry skin all over my stomach and boobs! It's so bad that when I take my shirt off at the end of the day, I have a small shower of flakes fall out. So attractive. 
• At 16 weeks, I have reached the point where my belly makes it uncomfortable to crouch for long periods of time (which I do a lot at work). It's made my work pants start to feel a little snug in the waist, but I can still wear my jeans. Sort of. As long as I go without a belt I'm fine because as soon as I sit down it will dig into my tummy. Unfortunately, my pants can't stay up on their own, so I just end up looking like a slob when I try to wear something fancier than yoga pants or sweats. 
• I have had several moments where I've thought I felt the baby move. But then I realize it's just gas. There has been one instance that was different from the others though! So I wrote it down in my journal saying "If a kicking baby feels like a muscle twitch deep in my lower abdomen, then I think I felt the baby move. If that is not what a kicking baby feels like, then disregard this note."
• Pregnant girls have to drink so much water! At my first prenatal appointment my doctor pointed out that I needed to be drinking more water. So for the next month I was hydrating like crazy. And on the day of my second appointment I made sure I drank lots. But she still told me that my urine sample said I'm not drinking enough! I feel like I'm going to need to carry around a camelback water bottle just to meet the doctor's orders. 
• Normally, I hate putting additional sauce on anything I eat. Joseph does this all the time - he'll douse his plate with ranch or siracha or BBQ sauce and it always makes me so mad because it's like he doesn't like my cooking. But lately, I've been adding ketchup or BBQ sauce to everything. Not that there was any question, but I think this proves that I am definitely carrying his child. 
• I have discovered a couple perks to being pregnant and that is that I'm able to get Joe to do a few more of the little things for me. Like if we're watching a movie and I want a drink, but I left my cup on the kitchen counter, he'll go get it for me. Even when I'm closer. Sometimes when we're both in bed and I realize I left my phone in the living room, he'll go get that for me too. I'll have to be careful as I test how far he's willing to go though so I don't lose his co-operation before I get the midnight munchies for 7-11 potato wedges during a snow storm. That will be the big test if he makes it that far... 

Pregnancy FAQs

Since I started telling people about the little human I'm growing, I've noticed there are some popular questions that everyone loves to ask a pregnant girl. So to save myself a little trouble, here are my answers before you even ask!

1. When did you find out?

- April Fool's Day of all days. For the past week or two something in my body didn't feel quite right. I don't think I felt like there was anything wrong, I just felt different. So on April 1st I summoned up my courage, dug out the pregnancy test a friend had given me when I got married, and peed on a stick that would change my life. It was a bad idea to take the test before work, because after that I could barely concentrate on what I was supposed to be doing but instead on the fact that "Holy crap I'm pregnant!" and  "I can't be though, that test is expired so it's probably wrong, don't freak out." and then "But what if I am?? Holy crap!"

2. When are you due?/How far along are you?

- December 6th. An almost Christmas baby - joy. As of now I am sitting at 15 weeks pregnant.

3. Are you going to find out the sex?

- No. And I can't tell you how satisfying it is to frustrate so many people by making them wait to find out what my baby is going to be. I'm almost tempted to find out what it is and then not tell anyone, just to spite them all, mwahahaha.

4. How have you been feeling?

- Physically, I thankfully haven't been feeling too bad! In the first month or two, I was suuuper tired all the time. Sometimes I went to bed as early as 9 pm! As I've entered the second trimester, I've perked up a little, but I still do enjoy my beauty sleep. I haven't been all that sick. The worst I would get is a little nausea whenever I got hungry and it only got worse the hungrier I got. I just had to learn to bring snacks with me to work and anywhere else I go.

- Emotionally, it's been interesting. It's not that I've been extra sensitive, but I did have trouble coming to terms with the fact that my life as I know it is ending. All of a sudden my body isn't just my body any more, there's another occupant now and to realize that everything I put into my body is going to affect it somehow is really exhausting. Every time I eat I question myself if it's something good for the baby and it is so annoying when I'm used to eating whatever I want! Thank goodness I don't drink or smoke because that would just be more to give up for the sake of making a healthy baby. And that's just how pregnancy is affecting me now! Thinking about life down the road with baby brings a lot of questions and worries to mind that I won't even get into.

Hawaii 2014 - Day 1

We arrived in Honolulu on Friday, May 16th at 2:30 pm. We were exhausted and hungry. Unlike the other airports we'd been in earlier that day, this one was partly indoor, partly outdoor and it was hot and humid. By the time we made it out to the shuttle area, we were already sweating buckets. We both regretted wearing pants for our arrival.

Our first photo in HI! We hadn't even left the airport yet! 

At the car rental place Joe decided to take the $5/day upgrade to a mustang convertible. I was not pleased. Once we had the keys to our car, we started to make our way out of the city towards the north end of the island where our vacation rental was. Holy cow is traffic ever horrible on the H1 highway in Honolulu.

Driving through central Oahu

After we finally made it out of the city and were able to drive the speed limit, our tummies started suggesting we find a place to eat. I knew I wanted L&L. I'd been craving it ever since we started making our vacation plans. So we found the L&L in Wahiawa and pulled in to give Joe his first taste of Hawaii. Mmmm, it was so good.

We got into the vacation rental around 5 and unloaded our stuff. We wanted to hit the beach right away, but we also needed to stock up on food, so off to the grocery store we went. The last time I was in Hawaii with my family, we couldn't visit the grocery store without running into one of my parents' old friends. So it was different to go and wonder if someone knew my parents but having no way of knowing without carrying around a giant picture of them.  

Once the fridge was stocked, the sun had gone down and so instead of going to the beach we decided to go to one of the pools we had access to around the complex. We couldn't get our key to work for the gates and so since no one was around we hopped the fence. We were such rebels. 

After a relaxing dip in the pool we went home, changed into some dry clothes and immediately fell asleep. 

Hey!

Has it only been a month since I last posted? I thought it'd been longer so now I don't feel so bad.

Many excitements have been happening in my world lately. My lil brother is now a missionary and currently working hard in St John, New Brunswick. Joe and I went to Hawaii and had a marvellous time (which I plan to write a separate post for). After our Hawaii trip, before we went back to GP, we spent 4 days at home with the family for my convocation! I finally graduated from the U of L and it was a lovely day.

Here's me and the pronghorn!

Here's me and my mama!

Here's me and Joe!

Aaand here's me dealing with the lovely wind.

And if all that's not exciting enough, there's one more thing...

On April 1st, I found out that I am pregnant.

Ho-ly crap. 

Don't worry, more on that later...

Dear mom,

Thank you for all you do for me and the siblings. You've taught me so much and I am grateful for the example you've been for me. I don't think I realized how much I looked up to you until I moved away, which only makes me miss you more. You know I hate being mushy so I'm just going to make a list of my favourite memories I have with you.

• Thanks for always making sure we spent lots of time outside whether you were kicking us out to play at the park or you were taking us on an outing to explore the outdoors. Whenever we went to a park and there was a plaque to read, you always read it to us so that we could learn something about the area we were in. 
• Remember when we used to sleep in the living room on Sunday nights and watch Star Wars? The goal was to watch them all, but us kids always fell asleep before the first one was over. You probably did too, but no one can prove it. 
• Thank you for making us macaroni with mushroom soup and tuna. Best. Thing. Ever. 
• Even though I was in swimming lessons, I don't think I would have learned half the stuff I did without you. I remember when you taught me how to dive and I was so proud when I finally got it. You also taught me how to kick both legs at a time like a mermaid when I swim. That was pretty much my favourite thing.
• I miss going horseback riding with you. I love all the memories we have of the rides we went on with Carla's horses. Remember the time when Tuffy bolted and I fell off?? And then you made me get right back on? I think I earned my Real Horseman status that day. 
• Thanks for trusting me. In high school when I asked if I could do something or go somewhere with my friends you always said yes. I figured out this wasn't normal when I saw how strict some of my friends' parents could be. Because of that trust, I never did anything to break it. 

As I've gotten older and moved out of the house (and back in and then back out again), I've enjoyed spending time with you more and more. I didn't realize how much I've grown to be like you until I came to GP for the first time. There were so many moments when something would come out of my mouth and I would say, "woah, that's my mother speaking". But it's okay that I've turned out like you, because you are a level headed, practical woman who is always willing to help someone in need. Thanks for being a great example for me. I hope that when my turn comes that I can be as good a mother as you have been. 

Feeling Guilty.

Hey kiddos!

Another month has gone by without a word from me, so let's share a little update, shall we?

Things have been busy and exciting around here as the days are getting longer and the snow has been finally MELTING!!! I am so glad that winter is over. Yes, I realize that we can still get a snowfall or two, but hey, the worst is behind us.

What have I been up to? You know what, let's just make this easy and make a list!

1. Work. I am love, love, loving my job. My main role is to create exercise programs for patients that the physiotherapists send my way. But they can also send patients to me for Ultrasound or IFC which are different modalities we use to calm muscles down or reduce inflammation. I also get to do pre-employment testing for 2 big companies (I'm not sure if I'm allowed to say who due to confidentiality stuff and blah blah blah). They both usually send a couple people my way each week to run them through some basic fitness testing to make sure they can handle the physical demands of their job. Not only that but I am also trained as a physio aid, so I know how to use the computer system and book people in or charge them, and I can also take them back to a bed, clean the beds, do the laundry and basically keep the clinic running smoothly. So of all those things I do, my day is usually a little bit a of a mix of everything. I seriously don't think I can ever be bored doing what I do.

2. Rugby. On Mondays and Wednesdays I coach the high school girls. They are a fun group of girls and after our first tournament we learned that we have a lot to work on, but they are all determined as ever.

3. Visiting family. Last weekend Joe and I drove down to Lethbridge to spend two days with my family for my brother's mission farewell. On Tuesday the 7th he will be leaving to serve a two year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the Halifax, Nova Scotia mission. It was so good to see the family again. On Saturday we had a surprise party for my mom while everyone (AKA: me and Joe, my dad and my brother) was in town . It was perfect because it gave Joe and I the opportunity to see some of our friends without sacrificing time with our family. On Sunday was my brother's farewell and he spoke in church and I sang a song with my sister and sister-in-law and then after church we had the whole extended family over for food and in the evening we had an open house for everyone else to swing by and show their support for my bro (and of course, there was more food). And then Monday we had to pull ourselves out from our food comas and make the long drive back to GP. But of course we had to stop and see Joe's family on the way. We played with the kids, went to dinner and then were on our way again.

4. We bought a bike! For me. I had one before, but it was old and decrepit and Joe has been threatening to throw it away for a long time now. So now I have a beautiful bike that I can ride to work now that the snow is gone. I attached a bell all by myself (with Joe laughing at me as I did) and now all that's left is to give it a name.

And that's pretty much it! Joe and I are getting all excited for our big trip to Hawaii in a couple of weeks and things are coming together. The big expenses are out of the way: flights, vacation rental and rental car. Now we just need to buy a few last minute items and get packing. Wish us luck!

Sasquatch

I love it when I hear girls complain about their hairy legs. 

Or when I'm with a girl wearing shorts and I love when she's all "Ugh, don't look at my legs. I haven't shaved today." So naturally, I look. And 9 times out of 10, I laugh and say, "Oh honey, you're cute." And then I proceed to show her my legs. 

See, I'm not very big on the whole let's-remove-every-inch-of-hair-on-your-body-because-you're-a-girl-and-girls-shouldn't-have-hair thing. It's not that I don't like the way my legs feel and look when they are hairless, it's just that I am so dang lazy. Seriously. 

For me, the average length of time that passes between leg shavings is 2 months. The longest I've gone (that I can remember) is 5 months. In the summer, I will shave as often as once a month. I know, high maintenance, right?

And I know what all my lady friends are thinking, "Ew! Girl! Aren't you concerned that someone will see your disgusting fuzz stumps and be totally disgusted by you and your inhygienic ways?!"

Ladies, allow me to let you in on a secret: 

Most people are not observant enough to notice when my legs are hairy! (And yours too, probably)

Trust me, if I can wear a knee length skirt to church without making anyone throw up with legs like this: 

 

Then I'm pretty sure you can get away with shorts and a week of stubble.