I must apologize, because this blog post:
1. Will probably be a long one
and
2. Should have happened a looooooong time ago
But due to circumstances slightly out of my control for the first little while, I wasn't able to make that happen.
But here I am now.
I'm lying in bed listening to Ander and his good friend Jeff watch Major League Fishing on TV, and of course since they are watching the television, that means I don't have much to do. First world problems, right?
Anyway, moving on.
Let me rewind back to Christmas 2013:
We were home in Utah for the week of Christmas and it became clear to me during that week that something was different. I couldn't really explain it, but I just felt like something was off. I mentioned it to Ander somewhat nonchalantly, but he didn't think it sounded like anything too serious. I keep my thoughts to myself since I didn't want to jinx a potentially wonderful thing.
But the day we were supposed to fly home to Texas Ander and I decided that I would take a test. We secretly went out the night before and bought some because my symptoms were definitely getting stronger. Our flight didn't leave until 2pm so we had time.
What a wonderful Christmas present! To find out that we are finally going to be able to start a family with a tiny Meine!
We got to tell everyone before we flew home. I hated to tell everyone and then take off out of state, but Ander and I knew there was a reason we found out while we were in Utah. We were over the moon, and so was our family. It was a wonderful day!
Fast forward to my sixth week of pregnancy.
I told my salon owner, but no one else at work. I told her I wanted to cut my hours just in case I got sick. I was feeling fine then, but I didn't want to keep calling in and shuffling my clients around if I experienced morning sickenss. Little did I know that my sickness was going to begin that very night and was going to last far longer than anyone anticipated.
I will make this long story short. I was sick, no, severely NAUSEOUS all day long, for four months straight.
It. Was. Awful.
Thank goodness I cut my hours back, because there was no way I would have been able to work nine hours a day. Each time my clients asked me how I was doing I would say, "I'm good," and they would stare and me and say, "No you're not. You look like you're about to pass out." Well thanks, clients. I was trying to pull through the best I could, but I couldn't just couldn't hide the weight loss or the fact that all the color had drained from my face. All I could eat for four months was french bread. One chunk for breakfast, one chunk for lunch, and one chunk for dinner. I was losing weight and it showed. Although my doctor wasn't concerned, my clients all were. So began the advice.
"You don't even look pregnant!"
"You look thin, are you eating?"
"Is your doctor concerned at all?"
"If you have to go throw up, you just go honey, don't worry about me."
"Have you tried crackers?"
"You need to eat more, you'll feel better."
15 weeks (Trust me, I feel a heckuva lot worse than I look)
And thank goodness I had such a wonderful, supportive husband to help me. I literally couldn't have made it through this pregnancy without him. I would come home from work, wrap up in a blanket, and lie on the couch until I dragged myself to bed. For the first month of my morning sickness (correction: ALL DAY sickness. Whoever named in morning sickness must not have had it as bad as I did) I wouldn't even allow Ander to cook. Any smell made me throw up, so the poor guy had to eat out almost every night for almost four weeks. But I couldn't help it! There were times I was tempted to tell him to go out and eat on the patio! (I never went that far)
And I won't go into complete detail since this post is already long, but the last week of sickness before I started feeling better I was hospitalized for a really bad case of Vertigo. I had it for a week and was on anti-dizziness meds for two. That was the worst week of my pregnancy. Hands down.
Hospital selfie
BUT
After that awful week 16 where I was on a doctor ordered bed rest, I felt like I could run a marathon! I felt like a million bucks, and I've felt that way every since! It was finally over!!! My sickness was gone! It's wonderful! I guess this is why they call the second trimester the "honeymoon". My hair is full and shiny, my nails are long and strong, my skin glows, my baby bump is somewhat small and cute instead of huge and in the way. It's awesome. And thanks to my first four months of feeling absolutely awful and actually LOSING weight, I look relatively small for being about six months pregnant. I was terrified of gaining massive amounts of weight, but thanks to being sick for four months, I have hardly gained any at all. My doctor says I'm right on track!
17 weeks
12 week tiny Meine
So what are we having, you ask? Is the tiny Meine a little he or a little she? I had all of my clients voting for one or the other in my room at the salon. We got to find out at 20 weeks and goodness was that ever a surprise!
I can't really tell you why, but I was CONVINCED it was a boy. I just had a feeling that we were having a little dapper man. But boy was our little girl stoked during her ultrasound. She must have been so excited to let us know she was NOT a boy, that we got a good shot of her lady parts.
We could not be happier! I was so surprised to find out she was a little girl! And now I give Ander a hard time because I know he's going to be the biggest sucker ever. He has a hard enough time saying no to May-May, I can't imagine how hard it's going to be for him to say no to a baby girl of his own flesh and blood. We're both doomed.
21 weeks
Did I mention she's a ninja? She moves all the time, constantly kicking and punching at my insides. It's oddly comforting, because when she moves I know she's healthy and she's doing okay. If I don't feel her I start to worry that something might be wrong. Now that I'm 26 weeks our little tiny Meine is about as long as a green onion, about 13 inches head to toe, so her movements are stronger. Ander can feel her kick when he puts his hand on my belly. Sometimes she kicks, and sometimes she just rolls around. Either way, it is the strangest/coolest feeling. But sometimes I can't help but think of that scene in Alien when that baby alien pops out of that guy's chest. I truly feel like I have an alien rolling around inside me.
23 weeks
So here we are, 26 weeks. Roughly six months. Tiny Meine is due on Septmeber 7th, so we have about three months until she graces the world with her presence. I'm excited/scared out of my wits.
But mostly excited.
