Back to school

So my lovely two week vacation is over and I am back to work with my kiddies. I was scared they would return high on life and drive me up a wall but it seems that some have actually matured a bit in the two week span and that is a shock! I did kind of miss my kiddies but I loved my break.

The holidays were cool Amir and I went to NY to visit my family and it felt so good to be "home" I haven't been to NY since the summer time and I missed it. I ate so much. One thing I love about NY is food. Whenever I go home I have to make sure I get things that I can't eat anywhere but in NY like a slice of pizza from my favorite pizza shop, Spanish food, and a hero from little Italy. Then of course my nana and aunties cooking! I also got to spend time with my little sister who is growing up so fast. On of the things about having a sibling nearly half my age is I am so over protective and want her to stay my "little" sister forever but she is definitely shifting into a teenager and it blows me. In terms of gifts I received some clothes from a few family members, a necklace from my sister, and one of my favorite gifts from my dad which was the Amazon Kindle. I have wanted one of these for awhile because I am always reading 3 or 4 books at a time and it just makes life so much easier to carry one thing. Amir got me this thing for my car that makes it bluetooth enabled and I can talk on the phone through the car speakers. It is VERY cool and I love it. I bought him DJ Hero which is some game that allows you to mix music and comes with turn tables and all kinds of stuff...he loved it I am clearly in love with a big kid.

In pregnancy news all is well. I have my 16 week appointment tomorrow and my belly is growing. Here is a picture I took this evening at 16 weeks 4 days:


Its a huge change from my christmas pic which was taken a few weeks before at 14 weeks and 5 days:


Hopefully tomorrow I can schedule my 20 week ultrasound. Although we are not finding out the sex I am still anxious to see the baby again this time with it actually looking like a baby and not just a bean :-)

Here is an updated Pregnancy Survey:

How far along are you? 16w4d
Maternity clothes? Some Pants
Weight – Loss or Gain? I will know for sure tomorrow
Has your shoe size changed? no
Stretch marks? none yet
Sleep: has now become pretty uncomfortable. I cant find a position I am comfortable in and toss and turn constantly.
Best moment this week: Someone who didn't know I was expecting asking me if I was pregnant :-)
Any Movement?: I have been feeling a tiny bit of flutters here and there
Food Cravings?: still ice cream
Food Aversions?: none
Belly Button in or out? still in but starting to even out
What do you miss: horseback riding
What are you looking forward to: My appointment tomorrow
Weekly Wisdom: Don't let the over exagerated emotions that come with being pregnant get the best of you
Milestones: Starting to feel movement

First appointment with my Midwife!

I had my 12 week appointment Tuesday and it went great. This was the first appointment I had with my Midwife and it was AWESOME. Amir and I really like her and I am confident that I made the right decision in choosing to use a midwife for our pregnancy and birth. We spent about an hour speaking with Marsha about our wishes for our birth and our plans for pregnancy. One thing that is very different from a doctor is how much responsibility is put on you for your birth and I really appreciate that. We got to hear the baby's heartbeat and she took a ton of blood. We also went through a lot of paperwork. We had to sign a contract agreeing that I would take care of myself and maintain a healthy lifestyle by exercising and eating right during pregnancy. I also have to hire a birthing assistant (also known as a doala) this is basically someone who will be at my birth and give me extra support and help me through the birthing process. I have already found the doula I want and hopefully will go interview her next week. Based on her bio and her referrals I am super excited that she will be the one I want to work with. Here is her website. We also are required to take a birthing class which we already intended on doing. We will be taking Bradley classes that start in February and last 12 weeks, Amirs response to this we have to go every week for 12 WHOLE weeks!! LOL I just looked at him and laughed. So I feel that my birth is definitely in my hands and this is all I have wanted from day one. I have not shared with many people my birth plan because I am not in the mood for the opinions and criticisms. I have told a few people and most are supportive but I have heard a few negative comments as well so I feel I will keep it to myself.

I am also getting so much grief about not finding out the sex. That is something I will not change my mind about. I really want to wait and I really want Amir to be the one who tells me the sex of our baby, it may sound cheesy or cliche but thats what I want. I have started looking at a few baby things and found this bedroom set I really like. I am trying to decide if its TOO feminine? I have heard that it is and I have heard that it is not...is it sad that my logic is that even if its slightly girly if we have a boy its OK because it wont really matter until he is a toddler and by then we will make his room a big kid room lol.

In other news Amir and I have lived in our house as long as we have been married, we moved in one month after our wedding date, we JUST bought living room furniture yesterday lol. I am very excited about this! We live in a 3 level town home and we have a family room in our basement we have some furniture down there and thats where we spend most of our time. There is also a laundry room and our guest room down there. On the first floor we have a kitchen, dining room, and a living room. For the past year that living room has been the home of about 4 boxes we have not unpacked and thats it we finally decided it was time to furnish it. The top floor is where our bedroom is and the nursery we also have a 3 room but it was converted into a walk in closet.

Thats about it for now on the updates I will take before and after pics of the living room once the furniture is delivered. I am exhausted and can not WAIT until the 18th we have 2 weeks off for the holiday and I am looking forward to it!

Holidays and Everything in Between...

So the Holidays went well I was very excited that so much of my family came to visit I haven't been to NY since the summer so I missed them alot!! I did not get to see my little sister but, she is 12 and very excited about her new role as a Auntie, but I will see her for Christmas. Amir and I decided we are going to NY this year because most likely once baby is here we will be less willing to want to take baby away from their home for Christmas and Thanksgiving is usually Mother-in-Laws Holiday.

I got the most amazing news the other day...My brothers girlfriend is pregnant too and she is due a few weeks after me. I am due June 19th and she is due July 5th, which is actually our wedding anniversary. This was such a surprise to me but I am glad my baby will have a cousin very close to him/her in age. My mom past away several years ago so on our side its just my dad and he is going from NO grandchildren to two within weeks of each other so he is thrilled. My brother is actually older than me so everyone has been waiting for him to get married and have
a baby. The baby just came first lol.

As far me I am feeling good. No real morning sickness anymore unless I take the prenatals on an empty stomach then I feel pretty crappy for awhile. I actually must not have eaten enough this morning because I got sick and had to get someone to hold my class so I could go to the bathroom :-( . Otherwise I am fine the breast are still sore, I still have some fatigue here and there, and I still have really bad gas pains, but everything has gone from being daily to every once in awhile.

We picked names! We are not finding out the sex of the baby so we picked a name for each. Both middle names are family names and the first names both begin with "A" Amir felt very strongly about that lol I personally didn't need it at all...Anyway our names are:
Alexander Kelson Greene for a boy ( I loved Alex and Amir liked Alexander better and wanted our son to have a formal name this made sense to me and I like the name so thats how we picked that, The middle name belongs to both Amirs Grandfather and Uncle, he was very close to both of them and they both have passed away)
Alia Lynise Greene for a girl (Amir and I both love the name Aliyah but decided we did not need the extra letters and when I looked at the name Alia was an alternate spelling so chose that. The middle name is a combination of both of our mothers names.)

So thats settled :-)

Here is a survey for my pregnancy so far and my first "Bump" pic (it is really just bloat but I am still happy lol)
How far along are you? 11w2d
Maternity clothes? none yet
Weight – Loss or Gain? Still have not weighed myself
Has your shoe size changed? no
Stretch marks? none yet
Sleep: has gotten much better but I still sleep ALL the time
Best moment this week: finding out my brother and his girlfriend are expecting as well!
Any Movement?: too soon
Food Cravings?: sweets mainly ice cream
Food Aversions?: none
Belly Button in or out? in
What do you miss: caffeine...I know its OK to drink it in moderation but I am still scared and am dying for a coke or a sweet tea I am trying to make it to second trimester before I give in.
What are you looking forward to: my first meeting with my midwife next week
Weekly Wisdom: if you have a taste for it or are craving it EAT IT as long as its not something you clearly shouldn't have.
Milestones: Realizing I am only a few short weeks away from 2nd Tri!!

Updates all around

Working with kids is going to be a challenge trying to ensure that I don't get sick through flu and cold season is going to be super difficult. I stayed home Tuesday because I was not feeling too great and I think a day of rest was all I needed because I feel a lot better today.

I went to the doctor yesterday and all is well with baby Greene. Based on measurements the baby will be due June 19th which puts me at 8 weeks 5 days. I am so excited because this is all becoming so real for me. Amir went with me to the doctor yesterday and then after we had lunch and ran errands. One thing we did that really solidified the baby was one of our first baby related purchases! Well sort of. The room that will be the baby's room has carpeting in it and I did not want carpet in that room. We have pets and because of shedding and pet dander etc... I felt better with floors in that room so Yesterday we bought the hardwood floors that will go in that room! I was very excited. We had no intention of doing that until after the new year but the wood we wanted was on sale at a price we couldn't beat so we bought it early.

We have also told our families. We couldn't really hide it anymore so Amirs mom and brothers know as well as my dad, Step mom, siblings, and grandmother. Which likely means all of the family knows. My dad is very excited as this is first grandchild.

I haven't done my update survey in awhile so I will do that today. My symptoms are off and on I have good days and bad. But it is all worth it knowing what the end result will be!

How far along are you? 8 weeks 5 days
Maternity clothes? None as of yet
Weight – Loss or Gain? Gained one pound
Stretch marks? none
Sleep: The exhaustion is dying down and I am slowly getting my energy back....I am still dealing with restless sleep though
Best moment this week: Seeing the baby yesterday it is starting to look more like a baby now and the heartbeat was very strong!
Any Movement?: Way too soon
Food Cravings?: Sweet things
Food Aversions?: None at the moment just depends on the smell if I dont like the smell I will avoid it.
Belly Button in or out? Still in
What do you miss: Having a lot of energy all the time
What are you looking forward to: Getting a visible baby belly
Weekly Wisdom: Being pregnant is like PMSing all the time. I am always irritable and I have just learned to simply AVOID those who annoy me at all cost. It may seem rude to them but really I am saving us both the stress of my not so nice ways when you are driving me insane.
Milestones: Telling my dad he was going to be a granddad....I havent seen him this excited since my wedding!

Hello Morning Sickness.....

So far I have felt pretty good and was actually concerned because outside of a missing period I never really felt pregnant. Then the boobs started hurting and the stomache issues kicked in but it was still nothing to major. Well I guess baby Greene decided I was getting off way too easy because as of yesterday my neaseau here and there as transformed into all day neaseau which nothing seems to cure on top of vomitting anything I try to put it.

Yeah this is not fun I dont think I have really had a full meal for real since about Monday morning. I also have moodswings that are out of this world.

Thats it for the baby update. Life is pretty much the same all I do is eat, sleep, and work. I am looking forward to the Holidays because I havent seen my family since early August and I really miss them. They are all coming for Thanksgiving and Amir and I are going up to NY to see them for Christmas. We are not buying gifts this year we decided it was to furnish the house we have lived in over a year (I know its a shame but we always find other things to spend money on). So we need a livingroom set for our formal living room. We need to finish painting, we need a new dresser in our bedroom and I would also like an ottoman for the bedroom. Once we get that together the house should be pretty much done. The rooms we live in all the time are toghether just not the rooms no one ever goes in....We will get there eventually my goal is January.

Baby Greene's First Pic!!!

So as you can see I went to the doctor today and I had an ultrasound. It went really well I even got to hear the heartbeat!! That was the best sound I have heard since the words "I do." I am excited so far everything looks good I am going back to the doctor for a second ultrasound on the 11th because they don't know exactly how far I am. But thats because they are basing everything on a typical 28 day cycle instead of my 33 day cycle which would give them a more accurate time frame....So we shall see what happens on the 11th..

Update

I got the results back from my Beta and so far so good she said my numbers went up to 3000 which is normal for 5 weeks so I guess when I found out I was barely 4 weeks pregnant. I turn 6 weeks on Thursday and am going to have an ultrasound done that day I am really looking forward to that and hoping we can see the heartbeat....I am keeping my fingers crossed.
I am stealing this from a message board I frequent on thenest.com but I thought this was cute survey. Its posted weekly and all the pregnant ladies respond with a weekly update so I am going to try and do one of these once a week in my blog otherwise I will not remember to update.

How far along are you? 5 weeks 4 days
Maternity clothes? None as of yet
Weight – Loss or Gain? Actually lost 2 pounds
Stretch marks? none
Sleep: Wake up in the middle night for a bathroom trip every 2 seconds otherwise I am exhausted so all I do is sleep!
Best moment this week: Getting the results of my second Betas
Any Movement?: Way too soon
Food Cravings?: I dont really have an appetite but the two times I had a craving it was for some type of meat. Last Thursday I had to have a hamburger and I wanted nothing but that and then Saturday I had to have a steak. I think this is because I typically do not eat alot of red meat.
Food Aversions?: Pizza :-( I ate some last night and the toilet became my friend and from that point on the smell just made me so sick.
Belly Button in or out? Still in
What do you miss: Coca Cola...I am taking a break from all caffiene and I really miss Coke.
What are you looking forward to: My Ultrasound Thursday I hope we can at least see the heartbeat on the screen
Weekly Wisdom: Pregnancy make you sleepy is an understatement I have no energy and usually can fall asleep at the drop of a dime.
Milestones: Telling my best friend I was expecting. She cried...