my grains...

...I mean migraines...as in terrible headaches. I have tried it all...a dark room, cold cloth on my head and nothing relieves it. I have heard exercise can help but I have no energy for that. What a mess I am! I offer my suffering for different intentions throughout the day and I'm so thankful to have all of these "problems" because they are symptoms of PREGNANCY-something I have wanted for so long!

I'm not doing too well with my grains either...or any other food group-due to nauseau. Gary is so gracious to put up with me. I can't possibly be much fun these days as I am constantly either:

1. nauseous
or
2. exhausted
or
3. suffering with terrible headaches or migraines

What's a girl to do?

Keep praying and be so thankful to be able to more fully understand Our Lord's words at the Last Supper and at every Mass:

"This is my body, given for you."

I am truly enjoying giving up my body for this child. I know I've only just begun, but I am honored. And I couldn't do it without the loving support of my husband and family. Thank you!

It is an incredible relief to know that most evenings, when I am feeling rather terrible...we can joke, "Why don't you take tomorrow off, honey?" It is a blessing to be a full-time Mom and not have to endure the demands of working while feeling so terrible. We are blessed, oh so blessed, to be able to survive on Gary's income alone and our growing photography business! It does take sacrifices, but they are all worth it!

"Likewise, you husbands should live with your wives in understanding, showing honor to the weaker female sex, since we are joint heirs of the gift of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered. Finally, all of you, be of one mind, sympathetic, loving toward one another, compassionate, humble." 1 Peter 3:7-8

Prayers beyond your years

We are so blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives who love and support us so much. And now of course the love they have for YOU, our new baby, is just overflowing.

Like today...this is what I found when I woke up-just sitting on my doorstep. (Gary saw it when he left for work but left it there and wanted me to find it!)



This is the same flower we chose for our wedding flowers: blue hydrangea. And Peggy would know this because she opened her home and her schedule for days to begin receiving all of our wedding flowers that we had ordered in bulk and then, along with our friend, Kettely, the two of them worked tirelessly filling the bathtubs with water and flowers of course-keeping them hydrated- and built many bouquets, pin-on corsages, boutonnieres and large arrangements, and THEN delivered them ALL to where they needed to be. (Not an easy job!). Not to mention the cost they saved us of paying for a professional florist who (in our opinion) would not have done as good of a job and would not have stayed and made sure everything was right. It was SUCH a beautiful gift to us...and such a physical symbol of their love for us.



And the moment she saw me on my wedding day...after months of telling me daily at school 'everything will be fine' ...she just cried...telling me how beautiful I looked. I have never taught her children! She is just a loving parent from the school where I taught who grew to love me too! Who am I to deserve such wonderful friends!?



Anyway Peggy prays for our baby daily and has let us know with her little thoughtful ways like bringing this over, inviting me for tea, being willing to help me with ANYTHING..as she is very sensitive to 'taking it easy' during early pregnancy. She is the mother of triplets! She is always reminding me not to worry, to trust God and to let her know if we need anything. I let her know of our amazing ultrasound just last week and she just wanted to celebrate with us and let us know she is thinking of us with this small gift. Living in Ave Maria is such a blessing :)

And the list continues of those who love you and haven't even met you yet! There are so many people who don't even know about you yet and I already know how instantaneously they will fall in love with you when we tell them.

This potted flower is a metaphor for me and reminds me of our baby. It is beautiful even in its earliest stages, just by nature. But as it grows with love, water and sunshine, it will blossom into something even more beautiful! Thank you, God for your many wonderful creations!!

Our First Ultrasound

Today was a wonderful day! We got to see our child and hear his or her little heart beating for the first time. There are not words to describe how beautiful that sound is. We are so relieved that the doctor saw nothing but good things as he looked at measurements and shapes and all of that. He said the heartbeat sounded excellent (145 bpm), the yolk sac measured perfectly (.4!) and the measurement of the baby compared with the estimated due date matches almost exactly which is also very good! He said he has no reason for concern at all and seeing this ultrasound "blows your history out of the water." He doesn't even need to see us for FOUR weeks. He takes the approach that unless there is a concern, he doesn't need to do another ultrasound before the 12th week and since there is no concern I should just relax and enjoy this! And he said everything he saw today gives him every confidence that there should be no surprises. So we will return for our first external ultrasound just after Easter and right before we leave for Tina's wedding.

Interestingly enough I have lost FIVE pounds since my last visit 2 1/2 weeks ago. There's the nauseau for ya. (But I was so nervous my blood pressure was through the roof!)

Thank you Jesus, Mary and Joseph for your constant prayers and love and St. Philomena for the strength to endure this waiting and for protecting our child from harm. And thank you to all of YOU for praying for our child and for us. This is so wonderful and we are very blessed!

And now...

Have you ever heard anything sweeter?

wait...I'm feeling good! Is that bad?

So tonight and last night I actually WENT OUT. Yes, people! I put on make up, real clothes (that don't resemble pajamas) and even earrings! Last night was the Liturgical Music discussion at the University and tonight was the inital discussion regarding the University's budget-sigh.

Tuesday's panel discussion was almost 3 hours long and I was on the edge of my seat! I loved it! And tonight was at least a couple hours as well.

I am starting to worry that with all of this change in my energy level and limited nauseau...that something is wrong. Can I please be nauseous, Lord, please?

I did notice both nights when I returned home (after pretty much not eating all day or eating tiny amounts and drinking gallons of water) that I was RAVENOUS and inhaling food before we sat down for our evening Rosary (usually around 11:00pm). So I think it is just a combination of having something to take my mind of off it and finally cracking the code to this nauseau thing:

1. Mornings are really hard. I am most nauseous then. Gary convinces me to eat something. It is very hard.

2. Midmorning I start to actually feel like I could eat some lunch. My standard is about 10-15 saltines with sliced cheese. (best meal ever right now!)

3. By dinner I am reaping the benefits of the full "meal" i had at lunch and feel even better so I am inspired to eat dinner even though I don't want to. So the last two nights (that I was able to go out and attend these talks) I had a HUGE healthy salad with tons of fresh vegetables from the Oakes Farms Market we love to go to. (We stock up every few weekends)...



and of course it's gone quickly:



4. So that's it people, really. Saltines and salad. My justification is that I'm getting some protein in the cheese and vegetables in the salad. That's better than nothing. The "book" that I keep reading tells me to just eat whatever you can keep down....so amazingly enough...I came up with a small list for Gary to get at the Ave Publix...
*lemon sorbet
*chocolate chip ice cream (but has to be the kind with shredded chocolate pieces b/c the big chunks-that used to be my favorite-now make me sick!)
*saltines
*ginger ale (diet)
*Cranberry/veggie juice

I LOVE being pregnant!!!!!!! Thank you, God. St. Philomena, pray for us! Please, if you don't know about her READ the book: St. Philomena the wonder worker and get the novena and start praying!

So what prompts my tummy to turn?

Well today it was clean laundry! Honestly the smell of the dryer sheets on a clean blanket that I love to use while I'm reading or watching a show...almost made me throw up! I even asked Gary to smell it and he thought it smelled great!

Other culprits:

ANY meat
chocolate (okay i MUST be pregnant b/c i usually LOVE chocolate)
the thought of any leftovers with meat
peanut butter and its smell (another thing I used to LOVE)
did i mention meat?

quite a strategy for weight loss though :)

I HAVE managed to eat two incredibly huge salads full of fresh veggies: green pepper, red pepper, tomato, onion, celery, and even avocado!

Taking turns...

Right now: either I'm nauseous, exhausted, have a migraine or have a dull all-over kind of headache. Of course I accept all sufferings for the sake of this child. I am trying to offer up my sufferings for someone else's redemption and make my suffering productive. It's so cute b/c at various times throughout the day Gary will ask: "How are you feeling?" and he takes joy in my answer of the ususal: "Not very good. I feel so sick!" He and I both know that is probably an indication of a very healthy pregnancy! We are so thankful for these (painful) symptoms.

Readying your room...

Now that I am starting to feel nauseous pretty much all day every day...I am feeling more and more confident in this pregnancy. When I do get a moment of relief I love to start planning for this little one!

Today I started looking at bedding options online as we want to find something boyish and girlish to go with yellow (the color of your room!) I really like the more subtle solids than all the detail and characters that most beddings come with. My first choice would be a simple blue or pink with some pretty details of course. But it may be more cost effective to go with a neutral so that someday your siblings can use it too! We have so much to do in your nursery to get ready for you. Right now I still have teaching things in there (books, charts, baskets) even though I got rid of 90% of it when I quit teaching. I am also going to box up most of the children's books since that will be at least 1 year off. If I remember correctly, Gianna started "reading" books around 15 months or so.

So I took most of the children's books that I had on this shelf:



and began packing them...



And then I took most everything that had to do with teaching that I still wanted to keep (gotten rid of most of it) and put it in the last bin I could find:


It's all ready to go into the garage :) Thankfully it has wheels, because it sure is heavy!



Soon we will ask the current residents of this nursery to move out :(



They don't mind, as there is a cozy tree by the window in their new room :)

As we get your room more cleaned out and organized we can make room for baby stuff. Right now there's a very large white armoire in there that takes up a LOT of space. After we put a crib and a changing table in there, I'm not sure there will be much space left for even a rocking chair. And I'm not sure you will be able to see any of the actual (yellow) walls. This room is small, but God gave it to us and it's perfect!

Your Grandma and I went shopping at Babies r Us this week. She had a gift to buy for a friend of hers and we started looking around at cribs and bedding. It was so much fun! I even got to park in the stork spots labeled: This parking reserved for expectant mothers!



We also shopped for a long time at Penneys to find a dress or two to "grow with me" as I get larger. I needed to find something for Easter and Tina's wedding, but I think I can wear it for several months after that. I want to be a glowing pregnant Momma!!!! It was a great day :)