Stronger Than Yesterday

I'm not sure if you heard, but there was this storm, er... small HURRICANE... named Sandy... that recently came our way.  We stocked up on all the essentials and did all the things we were told to do that I knew nothing about before we moved here.  (Did you know to fill up your bathtub so your toilet will flush?  Or to buy ice ahead of time because it sells out due to refrigerators being out with power?) The bummer part of it all was that we knew Nic would be working the day the storm was scheduled to hit (Monday).  Saturday night, he got a call from his Major telling him to come in at 0600 Sunday to wait out the storm.  They wanted to make sure all hospital employees would be able to report to duty, so they called them all in early.  Which left me and the stinker home alone.  :-(  I knew we had everything we needed, but just the thought of the storm raging outside made me nervous.  Things really couldn't have gone better, though.  I stayed strong pretty much all day, and well into the evening, but after putting Audra to bed my thoughts began to wander.  Sunday night, I went to bed knowing this huge red storm cell was immediately Southeast of us, and was scheduled to go right over us before normal waking hours.  My stomach was tight with worry, but I forced myself to sleep.  Audra woke up around 2am to eat, and during those dark, quiet hours, I began to run all these scenarios through my head that Nic and I hadn't discussed. What if they come to our door and tell me I have to evacuate and they won't let me wait for Nic to get back from the hospital?  What if we have to evacuate, and Nic's on his way home but finds that an essential street is flooded?  What if the cell towers are down and one of these things happens and we can't get ahold of each other?  (That was my biggest worry.)  The last thing I ever wanted was to be separated from Nic in this middle of this crazy hurricane tropical storm and not know how to find him.  I called him around 3am, and just hearing his voice put my fears at ease.  He assured me that they wouldn't make me leave the house immediately if we should evacuate.  He would find me.  He mostly told me to stop worrying and reminded me that we faced wind storms in Lubbock with much higher winds than this hurricane tropical storm was producing.  Sigh.  I wish I didn't have to think of every.single.little.thing that could go wrong.  This is one time when it doesn't pay to be detail oriented.  :-(  Of course, it all ended up going off without a hitch in our area.  We didn't even lose power.  The eye of the storm just missed us; went directly north of us, so we just got the outer edges.  Thank you, God!  They even let Nic come home a day early (Monday night instead of Tuesday night).  It was nice to see him again.  :)

Unrelated to the storm, I've been really trying to hit the CrossFit hard lately.  Nic reminds me quite often that we're paying for me and that we should just cancel my membership if I'm not going to make it a point to go.  I seem to always find fifty million other things I need want to do when it comes time to work out.  (The dishes! My nails! Finally time to just relax ALONE!)  But these last few times, I begrudgingly drug my feet to get there, and have always been happy upon leaving.  It's such a triumphant feeling walking out of a place with an endorphin high that you almost decided not to have.  Not to mention that it really helps when more and more clothes start to fit like they used to.  I've noticed a difference in my workouts as well.  I'm getting stronger each time and don't quite feel like I'm going to die in the run during the warm-up like I used to.  :)

Remember my last post in which I told you I had the stomach flu a few weeks back?  Well, I had no idea how much the stomach flu could affect breast feeding.  It makes sense; I lost nearly all the liquid in my body, and there was next to nothing for them to use to produce.  Audra was fed many times that day with a bottle, despite my best efforts and desires to feed her myself.  (It's hard to feed a baby when they feel like they weigh a ton!)  Ever since then, Audra's shown definite preference for the bottle, and has gotten extremely lazy on the boob.  She's supposed to be what helps me produce, and that's not working out so well when she just expects my boob to hand it to her (despite us using the slowest flowing bottle nipple we could find).  So lately, we've had many feeding sessions with her whining the whole time, and me just saying, "It's there, girl, just eat!"  So we're on a strict No Bottle policy for the next week or so and I'm doing all the tricks I can think of. (Fenugreek, oatmeal, pumping after nursing, letting her stay on & suckle if she falls asleep.)  I'd appreciate your prayers, though.  This is definitely stressing me out (& I know stress doesn't help) and testing my faith in my ability to do this.  I KNOW I'm not going to give up.  She would have to be literally losing weight and crying out of hunger for me to quit breastfeeding or supplement with formula. It's just hard to be patient.  I've done some research, and I'm doing all of the things they say to do.  They say just be patient.  I'm hoping eventually she'll realize she's not going to get a bottle again and she'll start eating like her old self when she really wants it bad enough.

So it's definitely a time of new-found strength, in many ways.
As usual, I hope this finds you happy, healthy, & well.  I so appreciate you reading.  :-)

A trip in the works [22 weeks]

Today is Sunday, and on Thursday morning, we leave for a short little trip to HAMPTON, VIRGINIA (aka our future home)!  Although this is not necessarily meant to be a "babymoon," I'm sure we'll find some fun non-Air Force things to do while we're out there.  We have two plans as of now:  1) to watch the sun rise over the ocean (since it rises in the east), and 2) to check out the CrossFit gyms in the area (there are 3) to see which one(s) we like.  If you have any suggestions as to what else we can do, please comment and tell me!  We've never been there, thus the reason we're going.  We want to see what the area has to offer before we roll up with our huge truck and a 1 month old in our arms.  Of course, we're also excited to see the base and meet Nic's sponsor, and to see what housing is like.  This little trip will help us visualize the move much easier.  We'll be gone Thursday thru the following Monday (which means a lot of sub planning for me... yuck...) and we couldn't be more pumped!  I'll update you with pictures and news when we get back.  
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How far along: End of 22nd week (half way through the 6th month)

How big is baby: weighs about 1 lb., is about as long as a spaghetti squash

Maternity clothes:  Still haven't found any pants my length, and have come to accept that I'll have to order them online.  :(  I've been very fond of my leggings and other elastic-y pants lately.  Still sporting the Bella band along with using a rubber band/hair tie around the buttons of pants.

Sleep:  Feels pretty normal!  I wake up about the same amount as I did pre-pregnancy, and dream about as often as I did before, too.  No complaints!

Gender:  Still a girl!  ;)  It's been fun calling her by name and thinking of her as a little person and not just a dot in my belly.

Movement:  Her movements no longer feel like a floppy fish... now they feel more like a large something thumping round in there.  I can tell she's getting stronger by the day, and some of those movements surprise me!  She'll be moving around nice and gently and then bam!- a hard one!  Well... hard for teeny little her, anyway.  It doesn't hurt at all (yet) and is quite fun to experience (as of now).  I would tell Nic when she was moving, and would put his hand right where I could feel it but it seemed like every time he laid his hand down she would quit.  :(  ...Even though I'd just had my hand there 5 seconds earlier...  So for my birthday, I had one real wish:  that Nic would get to feel Audra move.  And alas, when I woke up from my birthday nap I put his hand there and he felt her!  That night, he felt her many more times.  It was a really special moment for us, and was quite the highlight of my day.  Before this week, she would move for only a few seconds at a time.  Now, she'll move for hours at a time.  I'm enjoying every minute!

Belly-button:  Still a tightly stretched innie.  And I still think it's cute.  :)

Exercise:  I  met my goal this week of working out 3 times.  Yay me!   Here's what my workouts looked like:

Monday:
"Baby Desforges" [CrossFit workouts will sometimes have names]
3 rounds of:
5 deadlifts using the barbell at 60 lbs
10 horizontal pull-ups using rings
5 hang power-clean & jerk using the 60 lb barbell
10 toe to bar 
If you're interested in seeing the original "Baby Desforges" workout without my slight changes, look here.  It's the Jan. 28th workout.

Friday:
"Warrick"
15, 12, 9, 6, then 3 of:
Wall balls using 10 lb ball (This means holding the ball, squatting, then standing and simultaneously throwing the ball up about 10 feet.  Catch the ball, repeat w/ squat, stand&throw, squat, stand&throw.)
Step-ups on monster-truck tires
This was the Feb. 3rd workout from CrossFit Mom.

Saturday:
3 rounds of:
500 m row (using rowing maching)
20 Back squats using the 65 lb barbell
40 ab mat sit-ups (workout called for 10 knees to elbows, but bars were all full of tough guys doing pull-ups)
(I can't remember which day this is from.)   

I pick & choose my workouts to try to not overwork one muscle groups more than others. So those that I post on here won't always go in daily order from the website.  I feel pretty good!  I'll continue to do things like using the barbell for cleans and doing ab mat situps as long as my belly isn't in the way.  Like I've said before, I take VERY frequent breaks and drink lots of water.  I also wear a heart-rate monitor and keep close tabs on that throughout the workout.

What I'm loving:  Life, in general.  Turning 27 and being pregnant and very happily married with 2 sets of parents to love who love me... having a good job with great superiors and cheerful colleagues.  Having things to look forward to (traveling, baby, moving).  And, AND (this seems more trivial) SPRING is just around the corner!  I am SO ready to wear flip-flops and capris again!!!

What I'm NOT loving:  Peeing all the time, that Nic leaves in about 3 weeks, all the things that have to get done before we leave for our trip on Thursday.

What I miss:  Margaritas.  Today is the Super Bowl and my friends are having a mexican-themed party.  I would love to be there eating nachos and drinking margaritas.  But I will settle for staying home and doing the work that has to get done so we can leave on Thursday (I have something to do Monday, Tues & Wed after school so tonight is it.  Blah.).


Tomorrow starts week 23, over halfway through the 6th month!

I've Just Begun Havin' My Fun (yeah) [19 weeks]

So much is happening at once, it's hard to keep up with it all!  I read my friends blogs and see all of their pregnancy updates and I feel shameful!  I have been SO NOT on the ball with this!  ...and I SO wanted to be!  So here's the first update (of hopefully many):  the good, the bad, and the ugly.

How far along:  0-19 weeks (this update should be interesting with so much to cover!)    

How big is baby:  Obviously started as a twinkle in Nic's eye, and is now anywhere between 6.5-9 inches!  Wowza!!!  Tuesday's ultrasound informed us that baby is around 10 oz right now!    

Weight gain/loss: Not exactly sure about this one... I think prob around 7 right now.  I do know for sure (thanks to the appt today) that I gained 2 lbs within the last month.

Stretch marks: None yet!  Which is amazing since my boobs feel ginormous and are itchy all the time!  I put Vitamin E oil on the high stretch zones (when I remember, which is about 2-3 times per week)... I hear it works out pretty well!     

Maternity clothes: Around weeks 16-17 I noticed it was harder to button my jeans.  Maybe it was the baby, maybe it was all the delicious homemade food my mother-in-law made for all of us.  ...regardless, things were getting a bit tight in there.  At that point I started leaving them unbuttoned and using a rubber band or hair tie, looping it through the hole and around the button to give me some extra room.  That's still what I'm doing now, though, truth be told-- I can barely ZIP them now.  I think here in the next few weeks I'm going to have to get some maternity pants.  Lucky for me, I have quite a few long shirts that completely hide the button/zipper area, so I've been getting away with it. 

-ALSO- my mother in law bought me a belly band, which has really come in handy.  I'm able to leave the pants unzipped & unbuttoned (though I still like to use the rubber band or hair tie to keep them from hanging open) and I can cover up that area with the belly band, which looks like a shirt (for times when I don't have a long enough shirt) and also smooths out any muffin-toppage that may be happening.  (Not that it does.  ...I'm so sorry for that horrible image in your head I may have just created.)  The band has been EXTREMELY helpful.     

Sleep: In the beginning, I was waking up SERIOUSLY 2-3 times a night to pee.  I am not exaggerating!  I found it hard to go back to sleep as well, because... well, a baby is EXCITING!  Around 14 weeks, we got brand new furniture (so the little wiggle worm can have our old stuff), along with a Tempurpedic mattress.  I kid you not, my bathroom usage has cut from 3 to 1 and sometimes zero!  I'm pretty confident that this is due to the fact that this new mattress puts less stress on my body, and therefore my little one isn't pushing as hard on my bladder.  I'm finding it easier to go back to sleep now, too, which is nice.  :)

Week 18 I had a pretty nasty upper respiratory infection, which left me super drained and made it hard to sleep (coughing, phlem, wheezing, the whole fun thing).  Since that's been over, sleep has been blissful.     

Diet/Cravings:  Well, in the beginning I couldn't get enough tater tots!  ...with ranch dressing!  Yummmm!  Then there was a while when I would eat whole pineapples by myself.  Now, I'm pretty much just craving nutritious food.  We had been eating a really well-rounded diet for months before getting pregnant, and after we found out I just ate whatever I wanted because I wanted it SO BADLY.  I started to feel the sluggish effects of not eating healthy (or is that just called being pregnant?!?), so I've started trying go back to our old ways.  So far, so good!  I feel better about what I'm taking in, knowing it's good for me AND BABY!

Gender:  At first, we wanted to wait.  Then I decided the new mom in me wanted to know for planning purposes.  Nic still didn't want to know.  And he made it VERY clear that he didn't want to make a big party out of it. 

~WELL~ We found out  the gender on Tuesday and will be revealing to friends and family on Monday!  The original plan was to just have a dinner and cut into a gender cake.  Then I started thinking about how week nights are bad for a lot of people since their kids have sports, meetings, etc... so then we made it a Saturday thing.  Then decided people shouldn't have to pay for dinner, so now it's just a little 2 hour shindig.  So far [today is Thursday] we've got about 20 people total who'll be there (including us).  We'll have a table full of tots, pineapple, and cheese (of course) for my cravings, also a table for the cake and other nicely colored sweets.  Pics and updates on the gender reveal in next post.  :)

Movement: At our 16 week appointment, the MD said I should feel it any time.  She also said, don't be alarmed if I don't because some don't feel it until after their 20th week.  There are times I think I feel it, but then I talk myself into thinking it's gas or me being hungry.  I just can't tell!  So, I'm going to say no... but when I do, you'll know all about it!

 

Belly-button:  I believe one of my childhood friends had a sister who used to tell me my belly button was like a black hole:  it never ended.  And I have to say, I think I agree.  Who knows how far that thing goes in there?  You need a flashlight to even get an idea of the depth of this anomaly.  I hear that eventually in pregnancy, all innies become outies... but I'm having my doubts about whether mine actually will or not.  Again, I'll keep you updated!

 

Exercise:  I've done CrossFit Mom the whole time.  There were about 3 weeks there (15-18) that Nic's family was in town and we were quite busy with Christmas stuff, so I didn't work out.  And I missed it.  When I did manage to workout in the 1st trimester, it was usually only 2 times/week, which was quite a change from my normal pre-pregnancy 4-5x/wk.  Then those 3 weeks of ZERO working out made me pretty sad and gross feeling (and remember, that's the same time the pants stopped buttoning... didn't make me feel so great).  This week I did two workouts, and I'm hoping next week I can get up to 3 and eventually keep it at 3 or 4.  The workouts are meant for preggo ladies, and I have to say- I love it!  At first, the low intensity was a shock to my hard-working CrossFitting system.  But now, it's JUST what the doctor ordered!  (And yes, she has OKed these workouts!)  

I've noticed things that used to be extremely easy are getting harder and harder (like just trying to lift the bar above my head).  The effects of this are elevated heart rate, which I keep track of on the monitor I wear.  I take VERY frequent breaks to let my heart rate drop and then resume activity.  It's usually in the 150s to high 160s as I'm working out but 170s make me nervous... mostly b/c every time it's that high I'm also getting to be out of breath. I mostly just listen to my body and when I feel like I'm pushing it too hard, I slow down or stop all together to get a big breather.  There has been a lot of new research about working out and pregnancy and I find it all very fascinating.  I have no plans to quit any time soon!  :)     

What I'm loving: Actually looking pregnant!  People are starting to comment on my belly.  It's nice to be out of that stage when the kids say, "Miss, you look fat!" (and yes, they have seriously said that) to the stage when they say "Miss, I can tell you have a baby in there!"  But of course, adults are noticing now too.  The in-between stage made me feel awkward, but I feel like enough people have assured me that it looks like a baby bump and not a fat bump.  So I.am.happy.  :-P      

What I'm not loving: Keeping the gender a secret right now!  I am such a spiller of exciting news!!    (You will know it whether you wanted to or not!  One year, I even ruined Nic's surprise I had planned for him... I wanted to whisk him away & not tell him where we were going, but before we even left town I presented him with the concert tickets.  Sigh.  This is the way I roll.)  Tomorrow I can FINALLY tell my parents [b/c they'll be on a cruise during the reveal] but Monday is still SO FAR away!!!     

What I miss:  BEER!  MARGARITAS!  Hot chocolate with BAILEY'S!  I'm making myself sound like an alcoholic here, but trust me, I'm far from it.  I just enjoy being an adult and partaking in very delicious, very RELAXING adult beverages.  For now I am settling with smelling Nic's beer (or his beer-breath, if that's all I've got.  I just realized that probably sounds disgusting to you.  But oh that sweet smell...)     

Sickness and Symptoms:  The very first thing I noticed was my boobs hurting.  That's actually what convinced me to take the tests.  After that, I was nauseous during the rest of the 1st trimester.  I never had to befriend the porcelain throne, but man did I feel like hurling on some kids sometimes.  (I even told one particularly annoying kid to leave me alone before I puked on him.  ...probably not my best teacher moment...)  I was really sleepy (which is strange for me b/c I'm normally a night person), and went to bed around 7:30 or 8.  Around week 14, I started feeling those round ligaments stretching.  To me, it felt like stabbing sharp pains in my lower abdomen.  But they'd be gone as soon as they came.  Oh, and since the beginning (and I read that it would be this way throughout), my skin has been quite a bit more oily... which makes me break out more, and can really be noticed in my hair if I'm extra grungy and decide not to shower (which I would never do...).  That's just lead to staying on top of washing my face and showering, since all of those things help rid me of the oils.  So far so good!  (And I'm also becoming a very huge fan of spay-in shampoo for Saturdays... [I mean, um, never mind, I wouldn't need it since I'm showering all the time...].)  Oh yea, and pretty much anything cute with a baby makes me cry.  Or anything cute in general.  But that's all the more reason for Nic to laugh at me.  ;)     

So there you have it!  The next one should be significantly shorter since I'll have less ground to cover.  I have to say, it's been quite uneventful as far as sickness, pains and negative side-effects are concerned.  And VERY eventful as far as excitement and planning are concerned!  I am loving every minute of this pregnancy business!  And most of all, I cannot WAIT to meet our baby!!!

Hey, Blogspot, it's been a while!

Ok.  It's been so long since I've blogged that I couldn't even remember how to log in.  How to LOG IN... Wow.  I've been reading a great blog written by Emily Cassee (what a random and gloriously wonderful thing to stumble upon while doing a nightly Google search!), and it's definitely inspired me to get writing again.  I love reading her stories about random and often very hilarious things, and I'd love to chronicle my life just the same.  Wouldn't it  be nice to look back and reflect on all those things that happened?  Well, it would be... IF THOSE WRITINGS EXISTED!  Seriously, guys, this is pathetic.  I don't think I can even call myself a "blogger" at this stage in my non-blogging career.  My last post was written in February- 5 MONTHS AGO!  So as I was laying in be at 2 in the morning (long story)... (ok- Nic and I took a nap too late in the day therefore I couldn't fall asleep), reading Emily's blog, I liked how she recapped the time lapse between blog entries.  She just included a list of important things that had happened since the last time she blogged.  Where would I EVEN begin?!?  How about here (in no particular order of importance):

1.  School's out for the summer!  (DUH!)
I successfully completed my first year of teaching!  At a Title I school, at that!  The feeling of walking into school on the last day of the academic year was... well, exciting, sad, and mostly triumphant!  It's amazing how those little fireballs who got under my skin so many times ended up being some of those that I'll miss the most.  It was a bit hard watching some of those crazies leave middle school for the last time.  A lot of them still need so much guidance, and I really will be curious to know how they are and what they're doing in 4 years.  (Hopefully graduating high school!  But realistically... yea.)


2.  My husband has been accepted into the Air Force Nurse Corps!
As if you haven't already seen all of my jubilated Facebook updates back in May, Nic was one of the 22 (out of over 130!) candidates selected for the Air Force Nurse Corps!  This is what it means for us:  First, Nic will finish his degree from the Tech accelerated Nursing program mid-August.  Near the end of February, he'll report to Commissioned Officer Training in Montgomery, AL.  (Where my girls at???)  Around the beginning of April, he'll report to the Nurse Transition Program in San Antonio (I'm SOOOO looking forward to visiting & strolling along the River Walk and visiting the Alamo!), where he'll be until around June.  I'll miss his cute face a RIDICULOUS amount, but I know he's going to have a blast.  Hopefully they'll have wi-fi... We ♥ FACE TIME!  When he gets back from way down south, we'll pack up our stuff and be on our way to LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE IN HAMPTON, VIRGINIA!!!!!  While living in the same place as the in-laws has been A-MAZING (to put it mildly), I'd be lying if I said I wasn't tired of landscape like
 

and

There's just an unbelievable amount of dust and dirt here!!!  

Pretty much the most interesting thing, geographically, I've experienced was this phenomena:

 That's right, people, that's a DUST STORM!  I remember the first time we went out during one, I commented on how red the sky was and how creepy it looked.  Mr. Lover Lover informed me that that the red color was, in fact, dust.  EWWWWW!  I was further informed that should it rain at that particular moment, it would RAIN MUD!  MUD WOULD FALL FROM THE SKY.  MUD, like in a MUD PIT!  Unbelievable.

So can you blame me for being UBER excited for July 2012 to come so I can see:

 

and

                  BUT MOST OF ALL...

the beach will be about 10... YES 10 minutes from our HOME!!!!!!!!!

Ok, enough gloating.  (Can ya tell I'm excited?!?)

3.  My baby brother's getting married!

Yes, little Briboy Casey is twitterpated.  And you're right, he's not a baby.  He's only 22.  ;)  Her name is Jessie, and they've been dating since summer of 2007.  (Sidenote- they have the EXACT SAME BIRTHDAY.  How amazing is that?!?)  She grew up in J.C. as well, which is convenient for them to have their parents all bundled up in one Fabulous Family Spot.  She's insanely cute (she runs MILES every day, so you KNOW she looks good!), and has a heart of pure gold.  One of her greatest desires is to help children in Africa (she has a fun foot tattoo to symbolize this passion).  I love the love (and let's be real- the structure, too) she's provided for my brother while they attended school in Cape.  She got a job teaching Kindergarten (I'm TOTALLY JEALOUS of that, btw) and I SO look forward to hearing the cute little stories she'll have to share come fall.  (Mrs. Monda, why does my dog lick his butt?  Mrs. Monda... I made an oopsie!  Mrs. Monda, she took my... she took my... she... [bursts into tears].)  Just thinking about that job makes my heart swell three times its normal size.  Such FUN!  To top it all off, they have a cute little townhouse with HARDWOOD FLOORS, a beautiful doggie named Gracie, and they're going to have one of the most ROCKIN' weddings known to man.  I can't wait!

4.  We started CROSSFIT.

For those of you who don't know what CrossFit is, you need to Google it RIGHT NOW!  It's only the most insane, glorious, make-your-body-hurt-like-its-never-hurt-before workout!  After (unsuccessfully) trying P90X a couple of times (mid workout, I tended to "need" a drink or "need" to answer that text.... I mean I tried my hardest, most of the time... ok I just cheated.  A lot.) we decided we SERIOUSLY needed something to kick our arses into shape.  Nic has the goal of making a perfect score on his physical fitness test at COT, and we'd heard a lot about CrossFit- mainly from his brother in law- and decided to give it a whirl.  That was last Tuesday and my.body.hasn't.stopped.aching.since.  The gyms are pretty minimal (not like a Gold's Gym, Wilson's or Bodyworks).  Just you, the weights, the workout, and the timer.  The CrossFit coaches explain the workouts and set the time and you do your best to try to complete it in the set amount of time.  Of course, they have accommodations if you're old (hehe jk!), out of shape (like me) or maybe both... but the main thing is that you really give it a go.  Over time, your cardio will increase, your strength will increase, and your hours you stay awake into the night with your spouse will increase.  ;)  HAHA!   But seriously.  I can already feel my arms and thighs getting stronger, and I so look forward to the day when I can seriously ROCK that workout and look like the other girls that have been doing CrossFit for a while.

So there you have it!  Quite a bit going on, but lovin' every minute!  I have goals to update this layout, but mainly, to update MORE OFTEN!  I promise not to forget you the way I have in the past, Blogspot, and I hope you can forgive me.  Take care!