Yes, It's True

I'm pregnant!

And there's his/her current profile, hot off the presses!  Currently I'm almost 14 weeks and due January 23, so it'll be at least  another month before we know whether it's a boy or a girl.  And trust me, we will be finding out!  It's going to take me at least 20 weeks to pick a name.

So far the first trimester has been a little different from my pregnancy with Lydia.  First of all, whereas I didn't gain any weight with Lydia, I've already gained about 12 pounds ... oops.  I credit that to going crazy (7 pounds) after going off Weight Watchers (can't diet when you're pregnant), and then I gained 5 pounds on vacation.  I'm watching it a bit more carefully now because I really want to minimize extra weight gain, but I'm not going to stress and agonize over it.  Just try to eat healthy and apply the principles I learned while I was doing Weight Watchers.  Oh, and exercise would probably help, too ...

The other thing that was different about this pregnancy is that with Lydia, I felt nauseous only at night.  This time around when I started feeling nauseous at 7 1/2 weeks it hit me in waves at any time of the day.  It was awful! I couldn't even cook dinner because a nausea wave inevitably hit around 5pm and then I was on the couch until 6:30.  I was calling my husband to bring home take-out every night and I decided our budget really couldn't afford to keep that up.  I asked my doctor what I could do for the nausea and he suggested I try taking unisom, so I have been taking one every night before bed and it is like a little miracle pill.  It has nearly wiped out my nausea.  Now it only hits me every now and then, such as when I'm in a room that is far too stuffy.  I still have food aversions: fresh vegetables? Ick!! But overall I'm feeling pretty good, just soooooo tired.  I don't remember being this tired when I was pregnant with Lydia.  But, I wasn't chasing around a very active 2-year-old back then.

And, I'm excited to announce that I am trying for a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) this time.  My first birth experience was ... well ... it's difficult to describe it using any sort of negative language when you get a beautiful baby girl out of it, but it wasn't the positive experience I was hoping for.  I'm hoping for a much different outcome this time.  After spending a lot of time on The International Cesarean Awareness Network I've switched to "the VBAC" doctor in Atlanta and I feel so blessed to have this man in the same area.  I feel very passionate about all the pressure that women feel to have a cesarean in our society today (mostly from doctors).  Granted, it is definitely the right choice for a some women.  But not 33% of  women which is what the cesarean rate in the US currently is and climbing.  I could go on and on.  I'm not judging you if cesarean is your choice, I'm simply upset at doctors who take that choice away from women by not supporting a vaginal birth if that is what they truly desire.  It's not completely their fault either ... again, I could go on and on.  But, I know with my new doctor this time around, I won't have a cesarean unless it is truly necessary.

If you're interested, my doctor was featured on the local PBS "Religion and Ethics" weekly a few years ago. It's a pretty interesting video, if you've got the time.

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/episodes/august-14-2009/dr-t/3115/

All about the animals

Lydia and I went out to Utah for 10 whole days and we just got back this week.  We went primarily for a Welch family reunion, but we went out early and stayed an extra day to spend time with my sister who lives in Salt Lake.  We had an absolute blast and coming home was bittersweet.

On the day we arrived, my sister took us to a goat farm where she buys goat's milk for her little boy.  Lydia and her cousin Marin had a blast checking out and even feeding leaves to some of the baby goats.

The next day we went out to Utah's Hogle Zoo which was really a lot of fun, and a good value, unlike the expensive Zoo Atlanta.

Lydia and Marin

Watching the ... seals? sea lions?? I can't keep 'em straight ...

Whoa!!

After several hot hours at the zoo, with tired, cranky children. But we had fun, anyway!!

Our last Utah animal experience came on the way down to Cedar Breaks Lodge for the family reunion.  We stopped at a gas station off the freeway and they had a PETTING ZOO!  I'd never seen anything like it.  Well, at least I'd never seen a FREE petting zoo next to a gas station.  Of COURSE we stopped in to check out the animals, and Lydia had a great time, even though a goat tried to eat her shirt ...

 We bought some rabbit food out of a dispenser and Lydia fed the baby goats and lambs. It was too cute!

Tubing in Helen

A few weeks ago we went tubing in Helen, GA with some friends.  It would have been really super fun, except that Lydia kept wanting to go "that way", a.k.a. upstream.  How do you explain to a 2-year-old that currents carry you downstream?  She spent a fair amount of the hour on the river whining and crying, and I spent most of that time trying to find things to distract her with so she wouldn't whine and cry.  Ah well.  Needless to say, we won't be doing that again for a while!  It's too bad, too, because I think if not for Lydia it would actually have been relaxing.  I still tried to have fun, anyway.

Walking through Helen after our tubing experience was much more enjoyable.  

Here's Lydia with her little friend, holding hands (so cute!!!).

... after all, when you go to a German town, you must eat German food.

They have all kinds of street performers in Helen, and we happened upon a bird handler ... who put a bird on my shoulder ... and left it there for like 10 minutes while he entertained the rest of the crowd with birds.  I probably could have left and the handler wouldn't have noticed.  But then, what would I do with a bird?

Lydia wouldn't have ANYTHING to do with me while I had that bird on my shoulder.  As much as she says she loves animals, she's all talk and no show ;)