Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Breaking the News at Work

Since I found out I'm expecting, I really believed my boss, Michele, should be among the first to learn of my news at work. I would have been full of regret if she had heard it through the "rumor mill"... instead of from the source. I had planned on telling her next week... but I just couldn't wait for 7 more days. During my one on one today, I broke the story.

I won't go into the detail of our conversation but I will say I was extremely impressed with her response and how she received the news. She seemed so excited for me. I spoke briefly about my career desires and how I want to continue working. I don't want my decision to have a family to prohibit me from having growth and promotion opportunities. I receive a lot of fulfillment from the work that I do and I plan on continuing that, while balancing my "mom" responsibilities with my work responsibilities. I've seen many people do this quite well and I hope I can do the same. I felt a huge amount of relief after revealing my "secret" to Michele.

Now I can say... it's no longer a secret. "News" spreads quickly. At work, we have a snack table. When there is extra food that was purchased for a training or a meeting, the extras are put on the snack table and available on a "first come, first serve" basis. It's safe to say they don't last long. Initially, one person notices the food and within a couple minutes, every last morsel is on someone's plate or in someone's stomach. We're like vultures when it comes to free food. I say this because the way we consume information is strikingly similar. People at work are vultures for the latest news/gossip. Not even an hour after letting Michele and a few others know that I'm expecting, I was receiving "congratulations" from folks all over the company. Overall, it's nice not to have to keep my secret to myself.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Week 15 Image

With 15 quick weeks now gone, I'm enjoying the heat of the summer. I'm super grateful that I'm not 7, 8, or 9 months pregnant during the summer months. I can't even imagine the discomfort that would come with that. This could be the week where the "baby news" is revealed at work...



Sunday, July 12, 2009

Week 14 Image

Another week has slipped away... but today was a special day for me (my birthday). Twenty-six isn't feeling too old right now... but definitely, older. I think in the picture below, I'm a little surprised by the fact I've already lived for 26 years. That seems like SUCH a LONG time. Today, I'm 14 weeks pregnant... only 26 to go :)

26 years old with 26 weeks to go. 26 weeks feels like it will be forever... so I'm not sure why 26 years have gone by so fast. Any ideas?

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Week 12 Image

I know it's pretty trendy to post pictures of the developing "baby bump"... but call me that I guess, trendy. I mean, what other time in my life will I not have to worry about gaining a little weight? This is great!

Today... I'm officially 12 weeks pregnant. While I have gained a few pounds since I got pregnant (mostly due to the lack of morning sickness and overwhelming desire to eat ice cream all the time), it hasn't been too worrisome yet. My clothes are fitting a little tighter but I guess that's to be expected.

Phot0:


Oh yeah... I also cut my hair off last weekend. It's so much nicer having shorter hair.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Lagoon with Morgan

A few days back, Morgan was riding in Elizabeth's car with her in Farmington. Morgan saw the big ferris wheel and many of the other rides. She asked what they were and Elizabeth said "that's Lagoon". Morgan became very excited and exclaimed "I want to go to the goon!". We decided to take her there and had a wonderful time. I drove to Layton and picked her up from my mom's house. It was kind of rainy and cold. When we were getting ready to leave, she tripped down the stairs and got a tiny scrape on her knee. What a great beginning to our adventure!

It was raining really hard right before we got there. In fact, it was so bad that I somehow missed our exit, concentrating so hard on making sure we were safe. We got off the Centerville exit and back-tracked to Lagoon. We sat in the car for a while waiting for the rain to stop. Morgan ate her Happy Meal while we waited. (side note... did you know Happy Meals are over $4!! What a rip! Inflation has really got the best of them). I tried calling Elizabeth several times but she never picked up her phone. She was planning on meeting us there.

As we walked up to the park, Morgan exclaimed "I'm so excited! This is just like Disneyland! (which she has seen on tv before) I want to go on that big white ride!" (white roller coaster) I told her she could go on any ride she wanted.

She had a great time on several of the rides. I thought she would be really scared to go on many of the rides. Surprisingly, she wasn't afraid at all. Her favorite ride was the "fish ride"... also known as Odysea. She went on the "lady bug ride" which looked pretty scary. She was hesitant near the beginning of the ride but by the end she yelled out "let's go on that one again!" Morgan also enjoyed the show in the Rock U 2 the Top theatre. She especially liked listening to the two songs from The Little Mermaid. She got up and danced around for part of it. Overall, Morgan loved Lagoon. I think taking her may have even elevated me to "favorite status".

On the train

Morgan insisted on riding the zebra.

On Puff the Magic Dragon... while two kids in front of her in line chickened out and decided not to ride, Morgan didn't even flinch.


The favorite ride of the day. The rider can control whether it goes up or down. The decision on which way to go can leave you pretty wet. Morgan controlled the direction... and Elizabeth's pants got pretty soaked as a result.


After this ride, it started to rain a little. That was our queue to leave... even though Morgan really wanted to go one more time. Look how little she is compared to the chair!

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Ultrasound

Yesterday, I mentioned that the ultrasound was "cool". I was very impressed with the technology. This is the picture that Dr. Bean printed and handed to Trent, saying "this is for you." Trent seemed excited to receive it.

Friday, June 12, 2009

Another 1st... meeting with the Obstetrician

Today was my first appointment with the OB. I'm not gonna lie... I was nervous. I was so nervous that I begged and pleaded with Trent to come with me. He was a little hesitant (telling me he couldn't get off work) but at last, this morning, he relented. I was very happy to have him come with me.

You wouldn't have guessed my "happiness" though by the first few minutes we met with the doctor. I can't explain why... but for some crazy hormonal reason, I just started bawling. Trent wasn't in the room yet but when he came in, my eyes were red and full of tears. The doctor asked Trent if I've been emotional lately. He was about to answer "not really" when he looked over at me. He saw that I had been crying (apparently for no reason) and said... "yeah, sort of". I think it was probably a combination of a lot of things.

When I woke up this morning, I was feeling ill, scared, overwhelmed... I could go on... but you're probably getting the point. Shortly after arising, I realized I was supposed to make a dessert to bring to work to celebrate my coworkers upcoming birthday. In a rush, I hauled down the stairs and started throwing everything together. It wasn't long before I noticed I was short a main ingredient, marshmallow fluff. Since Trent was still home (planning to come with me to my appointment) he graciously went to the store to get the missing ingredient. While the first part of the dessert was baking in the oven, I got a quick shower. I had a couple things to do before I could bake the treat for the last 18 minute segment. I'm not an expert baker... but I did my best to quickly and efficiently prepare the dessert. I threw it in the oven for the second time at 7:54am. My appointment was at 8:30am and I was hoping to leave no later than 8:00am to make sure I could find the place.

7:54 to 8:00... only six minutes. Since I knew pulling out the dessert early wasn't an option, I had to resort to plan B... speeding and hoping I'd be able to find the place. We left the house in a hurry just after 8:10am.

Why is it that when you are in the biggest hurry, you get stuck behind the slowest, most annoying drivers in the world? It was painful. I probably could have cut my time in half if I wasn't tailgating people who were going 5-10 mph UNDER the speed limit! Unbelievable!! Only in Utah :) I only had to make one U-turn from going the wrong way... and it was a miracle that I ended up at the right place... with Trent following closely behind me. I was only three minutes late so I didn't feel too bad about that.

All the anxiety and stress came to a head when I sat in Dr. Bean's office. He asked me several times if I was okay and I assured him that I was. I likely wasn't very convincing, through my tears. The whole experience was unexplainable. I got a lot of my questions answered at the appointment.

Am I really pregnant?? (there shouldn't be doubt after 5 home pregnancy tests)
YES!! This was confirmed with the ultrasound... so cool.

When am I due/how far along am I?
According to the size of the baby... I'm 9 weeks, 5 days along. This means my initial prediction of 9 weeks, 4 days was only one day off. The exciting part of this is that my official due date is January 10, 2009... on my mom's birthday!!!

Since I AM pregnant, does that mean no wakeboarding this summer?
Absolutely no wakeboarding. I was a little sad about this... especially since the Sharp family is going to Bear Lake in August. We wakeboarded with Jeff & Elizabeth once last year and it was so fun! I was planning on doing it again this summer... but just being really careful and not trying anything stupid. Dr. Bean put a big NO on my idea.

What rides CAN I go on at Lagoon?
I can actually go on a lot of the rides... I just have to watch out for those that have quick stops and starts with a lot of jarring motion (roller coasters). I asked why so many of the rides had a "no pregnant women" sign. He said it was just to release the park of any liability... in case something happened, unrelated to the ride, and the people tried to hold the park responsible. They play on the most cautious side possible.

Is it still safe for me to engage in sports like softball?
YES! He said I can still stay very physically active. He just told me not to slide into bases or to dive for the ball in the outfield. I reminded him that it's slow pitch softball... certainly not worth hurting oneself just to make a good play.

What are my chances of having my baby a little early?
Dr. Bean said I was really healthy... and had very low prenancy risks. He said this was a good and a bad thing. The good thing (outweighs the bad): I should have a healthy baby. The bad thing: my baby might be so comfortable in me that it doesn't want to come out. He said it's not uncommon for someone in my situation to go a full 40 weeks... and I wouldn't be "started" (if I don't go into labor naturally) until I was at least 41 weeks.

All in all, the 1st appointment went very well. It made me even more excited about this whole experience. We're waiting a few more weeks to make our "secret" public. It's been hard. People at my work keep guessing it. I do everything I can to wipe the smile off my face when they say it. The excitement is hard to contain. No one would have guessed I was excited by the way I started crying this morning :)