Precious Moments

I feel like Paul and I are bonding and getting closer everyday throughout this pregnancy. Yesterday, I got so many hugs and kisses from him. I am enjoying every second of this beautiful time in our lives. Yesterday he actually put his hand on my abdomen to feel the hard part. It was so cute. He said "Baby in theeerrreeee." lol. A few days ago, he told me I was amazing. When I asked him why, he rattled off a whole list of things, one of them being that I put up with and handle alot of stuff...and another was that I was carrying his baby.

Here is the most recent picture of me. Actually, it was taken yesterday. Don't mind my hair. I had just gotten out of the shower. I wanted to start getting pictures up when I started noticing little changes. So I will probably be posting weekly pictures from here on out. I am so excited to see my baby again. I reeeeaaally hope I get an ultrasound this time as well. And next time so we can find out the sex! lol. We'll find out eventually no matter what, so I'm just gonna relax. BUT, I do want to know what colors and stuff I need to start buying. I think I picked out the perfect travel system (stroller and car seat)...it would work for either sex. I think so, anyway.

So this is the one I like. Anyways, that's about all I have to update on for now. Hope everyone is having a good week!

Lots of new!

Well, there are a few new developments...I am starting to get a little hard pouch in my lower abdomen that I can't suck in anymore. Only I can notice it at this point because it's still pretty early in the pregnancy. Thanksgiving was amazing! I loved being in Florida with my family. Such a blessing! Then Paul took me shopping on black friday. He bought me some maternity clothes and a belly band since I'm in between pre pregnancy pants and maternity pants now. I have some maternity tops that are loose and flowy (for now)...room to grow. I am just getting sooo excited about this pregnancy and our Baby A. We have our names picked out and most people know of them by now. That's why our baby is Baby A, no matter whether a girl or boy: we have picked out "A" names. Oh! A new thing: My little one is now a "fetus" in medical terms. How cool. No longer an embryo. I am just so blessed by this baby already. I am 9.5 weeks and no longer sick. I have my energy back. And I am really enjoying the pregnancy now. I never got REALLY sick, luckily. Just nauseous at time. Not too much throwing up. Baby A has been treating me pretty well. I just have some stretching and cramping that can be painful at times. That's expected. My next appointment is December 8th. I am not sure if I will get another ultrasound (sonogram) or not at this one. But if I get one at my January appointment, we *should* be able to find to find out the sex. I will be far enough along at that point. That is, if Baby A doesn't have its legs crossed or anything. I will say I have a "feeling" that it's a boy..with certain old wives' tales. I would prefer a girl first, and I could be totally wrong. But I am getting waaaaay excited about either sex, boy or girl. EEEEKKKK!

Anyways, next weekend Paul and I are decorating for Christmas. So much fun :-) Getting our first real tree together. Yay!

Funny husband.

So yesterday was a rough day. Not really bad, but just overwhelming. By the time I got home from work, my patience and serenity (serenity? me? who am I kidding?) were totally gone. I started cooking beef tips and rice. All I did was spill some gravy and I lost it. Like...slammed the ladle down, walking away yelling about how I couldn't handle this and blah blah blah. Seriously, it was the emotions and hormones talking. Once I sat down with my dinner, I just started crying. And of course, my hubby cuddled up to me, kissed my cheek and forehead and told me I'm doing fine and it's going to be ok. He told me dinner turned out great. Anything to cheer me up. Then he looked at the tears in my eyes and said "stupid baby"....I have to admit, the way he said it was really funny. I said "Don't call our baby stupid!!" and he said "Excuse me. FRUSTRATING baby." That being said, I could not think of a more perfect man to 'handle' me during pregnancy. He knows exactly what to say and what to do at the right time. He makes me feel alot better when the house is a mess and I can't clean it because of my full time job. And sometimes, he surprises me by doing a little cleaning before I get home from work. I couldn't think of a more perfect man for me, and I can't wait to have a child with him. Hormones are just ca-razy right now, and for the next 7 months I'm sure! Oh baby.

A little update.

Well, I haven't really had a whole lot to update on the pregnancy the past few days. Things are going well. Paul and I are talking and planning for baby Balough's arrival. We are also trying to plan a "babymoon"...that's just a last big vacation before baby comes. It would be fun. We'd have to plan it for no later than March because I would be too far along to travel after that. Right now it's a toss up between Washington DC and a cruise from Charleston, SC to the Bahamas. I want the cruise...Paul wants DC. We'll have to figure things out there. Time is ticking. Speaking of, I'm coming up on 8 weeks pregnant and I can't believe it has already been almost month since we found out. Morning sickness hit me early on, so in some ways it has drug on. The irony of it all...we weren't trying to get pregnant in October at all. We planned to start trying again in November. God had other plans. I thought by this time, we might be just now finding whether we were or weren't pregnant.

Anywho...Really, not a whole lot to say at this point. My next appointment is December 8th. Paul and I have been coming up with some alternative names to the ones we had already picked out. I'm starting to like them. Alot.

My daily reminder...

Today was a wonderful day...well, for the most part. Paul and I spent the WHOLE day together doing anything and everything we wanted to do. It was so refreshing. We went and had lunch on the boardwalk, then went to pick up my paycheck and deposit it. After that we went and did a little shoe shopping. You see, I had decided that this paycheck I was setting aside $100 for me to do/get some things that I wanted. And the other $400 went into savings. Sooo, I bought myself two new pairs of shoes for fall and winter..since I threw out most of my shoes before I left and had no cold weather shoes to wear. And the rest of the money is going to a pedicure!! I'm excited. My feet are in bad shape. Anyways, after the shoe shopping, we went to see a movie called Unstoppable. It was A-MAZING. Go see it. Then to the grocery store for paper plates and Arby's for dinner. All day, I had basically forgotten I was pregnant. I wasn't having symptoms, didn't feel pregnant. Nothing. After dinner, we got home and realized that my sweet Marley had had a BAD accident all in her bed. Paul took the dogs outside while I prepared myself for cleaning it up. I say "prepared" because it only got that far. I thought about cleaning it up...then had to run as fast as I can to make it to the toilet to throw up. It was then that I realized that I, indeed, am pregnant. The smell and thought of cleaning up the mess made me vomit. I'm just SO glad I made it to the bathroom and didn't end up having two messes to clean up. That would have been really bad. So...that was my daily reminder todat about being pregnant. And I'm still nauseous after that episode :-/

Recap

Yesterday was our first baby appointment. It was one of the most amazing experience of my life. I went in there thinking "What if I'm not really pregnant?" All those fears when away when I saw the little baby up on the tv. It was breathtaking. Everything looked great and healthy and made me feel alot better. I am about 7 weeks along and due July 1st. I am so glad to have an official due date...and it's sooner than what I originally thought. So exciting! Yesterday was just a crazy eventful day and I am so thankful to God for all He is doing in our lives right now.

Well, I'm not feeling so great so I'm gonna get something to eat and lay down. I'll update more later.

You can't fire me. I quit.

Ok, I admit it. I have always kinda wanted to say that. Today was as close as I'll ever get to saying it. Yes, I quit my job..and I am so very glad I did. When I got to work today I got a call from the spa owner. She started yelling in my ear about how I am under no circumstances allowed to sit down at work (they have cameras and can watch everything you do). And she also said that it was totally unacceptable for me to wear a jacket/hoodie over my work shirt because I got cold. Also, how I can under no circumstances have my cell phone.

Pause.

My manager AND head spa attendant said it was OK to have my cell phone as long as I wasn't using it in front of clients. And the list goes on about ALL the things I have done wrong at this stupid place. So when she brought up the "no sitting" policy...I just said "Well then I'm gonna have to put in my two weeks' notice." And that was that. I'M PREGNANT. And I have to stand for 8 hours with no breaks? Screw that. So...I made a list of reasons why I'm glad I quit:

1. We don't get breaks

2. We aren't allowed to sit down.

3. We serve alcohol without a permit

4. Only make $8/hour

5. Owners are awful. No joke.

6. Spa is run sloppily.

7. Have to deal with rich gamblers (no fun).

8. Get treated like crap!

9. Have to clean up after therapists.

10. Deal with angry customers.

11. The hours suck.

12. We can't eat during our shifts.

13. There are not enough employees--->no breaks.

Needless to say, this job sucks!

Green...

And no, not green with envy. Green with full on, nasty, unglamorous nausea. It is now every single day that I experience it. Some days I throw up, some days I don't. But everyday I feel bad. I'm thankful for the nausea because it lets me know that things are going well...atleast I hope! But I'm learning not to borrow trouble. Things can change in an instant, and if something bad happens...I will deal with it when/if it happens. I can't sit here and worry about tomorrow when tomorrow has not even come yet. I am 6 weeks and 1 day pregnant on this wonderful Sunday. I made it through my shift at work. I have so much to be thankful for. In regards to work, it's getting harder and harder to handle. I am on my feet for 8 hours at a time. This is causing me to have some bad back pain after doing this for 2 months already...and on top of that, my chest is ever growing, causing even more back pain. And after a full shift at work, I start cramping. You can see how this would be nerve wracking. Today it was so painful and I was quite panicked. It's a mix of lower back pain and cramps. I haven't decided on what I want to do about work quite yet. I'm leaning toward seeing if I can go part time so that I'm not on my feet so much, and also so that I'm not so worn out. Not to mention the getting sick at work. I'd love to continue on working there and having that paycheck. I'm going to wait to talk to my doctor about it first though, and make sure everything is indeed ok with my little bean. The one constant in my pregnancy right now is the sickness. Emotions: up and down, back and forth, side to side. Cramps: come and go. Exhaustion: some days are worse than others. This is just not the fun time in pregnancy and I miss feeling normal. But normal has gone out the window. Nothing will ever, ever be the same...and I'm ok with that. I can't wait to experience all the stages of this baby's life, from prenatal, to newborn, to crawling, to toddler, kindergarten, grade school...etc etc. It's going to be a whirlwind of a life!

Food!

Pregnancy and food can be the weirdest combinations. I just have to say there are things I used to hate that I am actually eating loving since I got pregnant...more like in the past few days. The thing now is McDouble's from McDonalds. I get some every day for lunch and I'm sure I'll blow up like a balloon. I just can't get enough. Another I like is mustard. I used to be a mustard-a-phobic. I couldn't stand the sight, the smell, it was just nasty to me. Now, I'm eating it on alot of stuff. It's just too weird.

The morning sickness has set in. And surprisingly (thus far) it is ONLY morning sickness. It does go away. I'm not holding my breath because that could change. When I get further along I could be sick all day. I'm preparing for it. It just sucks though when I work the morning shift at work. Throwing up and nausea plus work is NOT fun. It's the worst. But so far I've been able to push through it. I can't wait to get out of the first trimester. But I'm still enjoying the time I have now, sick or not.

Well, that's it for now! I need a nap.

Trucking along...

I have so much to do. Sooooo much. And yet, I can't seem to get things done. Everything seems like a freakin huge task with how tired I am. I will get it done though. If not today or tomorrow, then on my two days off Thursday and Friday. Paul and I neeeeeed to go grocery shopping too. We have no food here, but neither Paul nor I seem to care too much. Our plan is to do our grocery shopping Thursday. I need to make out a meal plan. I remember almost two months ago when I was a stay at home wife and all I had to do was clean/meal plan/hang out with friends. My, how things changed so quickly. I am so thankful for my job now that we have a baby on the way. It has been such a huge blessing thus far. Instead of saving just $300 per month...we are now saving $700-800 PER MONTH! That's a tremendous amount of month and I am thrilled to be able to give our baby everything it needs. I'm sure my parents will want to help out a little in buying baby stuff, but we will be able to take care of everything. Our baby is going to be spoiled! And another thing...by the time the baby does come, we will be making another $300 more per month. Another blessing and assurance that God has PERFECT timing and He is providing for us every step of the way. I'm just way excited. Now if only little Blade or Brianna would give Mommy energy to get stuff done! Who am I kidding.

Changes everyday...

Not just in my body, but in my husband. It's so crazy how a pregnancy and coming baby can change so many people. Good changes...well, maybe not physically in me. I used to laugh and deny when people would tell me that my boobs would get bigger if I got pregnant. I thought..how could MY boobs get any bigger?? Well, it is definitely happening and not something I'm totally thrilled about. I'm already a DDD and growing. Do I have DDD bras? No. So I've resorted to sports bras, but I don't even fit all in those either anymore. I guess I'm gonna need to invest in some new bras. I HATE bra shopping with a passion. Haaaaate.

Ok, so that's the only negative change so far. Onto my husband. I cannot praise him enough for how awesome he is to me. My husband has transformed overnight to the sweetest, most caring and sensitive guy ever. No joke. Every chance he gets, he's bringing me food to work so that I can eat and stay energized. It doesn't matter to him that it's out of the way from where we live. He will drop everything to bring me what I want. Then at home, he helps me out as much as he can. Granted, my house is kind of messy right now...but that's just because I'm feeling yucky and don't want to ask my husband to keep doing stuff. He also loves to cuddle and just hold me while we watch tv. Something about carrying his baby has transformed him and our relationship. I love him more and more every day! He is my baby's daddy and that makes me smile. I cannot wait to raise beautiful children with the man of my dreams. God's blessings continue to pour out on the Balough family.