Another First!

I wanted to continue with my first blog subject and really explain WHY I finally started blogging in the first place. Today, I am 12 weeks pregnant. Yep, you read that correctly... pregnant! Obviously, there are many weeks that have been missed so far, but I"ll do a quick recap.

Week 1-3: Feeling totally normal, I was training for a marathon relay race with some friends and started to feel a little more 'out of shape' than what I should have. Something was up, but I thought it could have just been because I was running, lifting weights, playing volleyball and in quite a bit of stress. Not to mention, football season had just started and our weekends were filled with tailgating, drinking games and horrible food for my diet! I figured the weekend activities were the answer to why I couldn't get back into running as my body was recovering... ha! Was I wrong!

Week 4: This was the week I was supposed to get the visit from 'Aunt Flo'... felt a little off that week and super tired. I was sleeping in longer that I should have been, and only sometimes staying up late. Weird for me, as I'm more of a night owl. I waited a day or so, then made the dreaded trip to the local Walgreens. I chose this store because I knew that I wouldn't run into anyone I knew at 1pm. I grabbed a basket, loaded it with some random necessities: cotton balls, mascara, and a pack of 3 First Response tests. The cashier smiled, asked if I found everything I was looki....and just looked up like she was scared for me. I must have looked like I was in high school or something! I smiled, said you bet! and went on my merry way :o) Went home, took the test.... 2 lines. The next morning, I woke up early, took the 2nd test....2 lines. (me to my husband) "Well dear, I think this means we're preggers." I shrug my shoulders and go back to bed.

Week 5: It's marathon relay time. After finding out I was pregnant, I still had 6 miles to run in a relay race with 4 other girls. My mind was totally on research that week finding out how to run without over doing it. I had the section in the relay with hills... even better! It was cold, and the hills were brutal, but I made it! I only needed to walk for about 30 seconds after the last hill... and I still made better time than originally expected. Not as good as I would have liked, but what can you do? As a team, we finished in 3:49... that's pretty good!

Week 6: I finally called the doctor and got right in for the first tests: blood, weight, urine, etc. All of the information thrown at me plus a book to take home. Was that overwhelming or what?! My husband and I had a trip out to Vegas for his Aunt and Uncle's 50th wedding anniversary that weekend, which meant Vegas on Halloween. What a great time to be pregnant!

Week 7: I was recovering from the Vegas trip. Flying on planes when pregnant plus the nasty germs everywhere, made me sick... sick....sick. Ugh. Stuffy nose, cough, fever, you name it - I stayed in bed and slept. 

Week 8: This week was extremely hard to hide our little secret from friends. Brook and I always enjoy a night or two out with friends during the week. This week we had a small get together with about 6 people for a wine night. We brought food over to a friend's and grilled steaks and asparagus. We all brought a couple of bottles to share and I had to keep going into the kitchen or bathroom to pour a little out. Pretending to drink out of clear glasses is super hard. Not to mention, when in a small group - its almost impossible to be switching glasses with the hubby. We tried... somehow succeeded. Go us!

Week 9: First ultrasound at week 9. This is it... I saw the little one AND heard a crazy fast heartbeat...was I in shock! Brook just sat there and watched, totally answering the nurse and saying 'cool' a lot... me on the other hand, I was speechless. ha! Some people think it is a little early to get one before 10 weeks, but if we wanted any kind of genetic testing done, we needed to make sure we knew how many weeks I am along before it was too late. My sister was born with Cornelia De Lang Syndrome which is a disorder that deals with how a baby's genes mutate with a mothers. The chances of it running in the family is pretty slim, and the ratio of this disorder is from 1:10,000 and 1:100,000. We also told the parents this week - while tailgating in the freezing cold and drinking hot cocoa :o) I created a cute card that had a photo of our dog Cody with a huge 'all teeth' smile that said "I'm going to be a big brother!" - they loved it.

Week 10: As for how I'm feeling, no morning sickness at all throughout this entire process. I've been a little nauseous while working out. Not enough to make a difference, but enough to make me take longer breaks and drink more water. This is because I feel a little icky if I haven't eaten and I work out on my lunch hour... so I've started to grab something quick for a snack before I head out the door, then eat when I'm done. If only I could have the motivation to actually do some cardio while I'm there.... grrrr. It's Thanksgiving week. We decided to spend the holiday with my parents up in Mason City. We shared the good news with my grandparents and my best friend kelli. Also got some pretty amazing deals on our first 4am trip out shopping in the madness of Black Friday! Boy was that a blast! As a first timer, I think we planned the city out pretty well. Didn't get everything we had on our lists, but enough to make some damage in the pocket books :o)

Week 11: Our neighbors have a Xmas party every year and invite their CMA (Christian Motorcyclists Association) friends to the neighborhood. We had 2 couples stay in our home and had a blast telling them our news. It is always so surprising to see how different people react! Our neighbors were thrilled and couldn't stop talking about how they were so happy to be grandparents! They're very close with us and will spoil our little one just as much as they spoil our Cody (aka Rent-A-Dog).

Week 12: And we're here! Week 12 (today!) This weekend will be my husband's work group Xmas party. A party at his boss' home with co-workers and the plan is to announce our news to the 'public' officially. We'll see how it goes! Sorry for such a long post... I needed to play catch up.