Mid-December

For the most part, most of my symptoms have faded away... they must have been sucked into my belly, which seems to have doubled in size overnight last week.  It's a constant battle between "WHY DO I FEEL SO GOOD?! and "I FEEL SO GOOD! shut up dont complain!"

I do have to share that last weekend we took my visiting cousin and her boyfriend up to DC for an all day affair, and I darn near fell apart. It was cold, but that was the highlight of my day, because I'm actually liking the cold. I was the only one walking around hands exposed breathing in the fresh air like it was hot cocoa. The part that got me was the walking. I was drained! By the time it started to get dark I was trying to hide a limp, staggering around in confusion. I normally do not tire quickly, and could walk all dang day just for kicks, but this got me. Never again. Pregnancy is deceptive. You think you've got it all under control, next thing you know you're trying not to cry out of frustration. Why am I so tired?! Why do my legs hurt?! Why am I so hungry!? I think I was more mentally frustrated with myself than I was in actual pain, but I seriously didn't expect that much from just walking. I guess our prebaby DisneyWorld trip is out of the question.

Baby's been moving a lot more in the last 2 weeks or so. I don't have to do anything to trigger it, and I absolutely love it. I sometimes just lie here basking in it. I can't wait until Dats comes home and can feel it, because you can feel it from outside now too! I've been fiercely protective of my belly though, I want him to be the first to feel our baby move, just like how I want him to be the only one who knows the gender until we're ready to tell people. Pregnancy has severely intensified my need for personal space and privacy, that's one thing I know for sure. Another factor could also be that he's missed so much already and I like having these little things for just us. I've got less than a month left til I move to Georgia, and then he'll be home in February! Then we'll have a little time to ourselves before the baby comes and we get flooded with my loving family =) I'll be happy to have the extra hands around to help for a little bit.

The upcoming move is going smoothly so far. I've sorted all my stuff into Things-I-Will-Need-Immediately (pregnancy clothes, dishes, rice cooker, a gift for my new friend who'll be helping me out when I get there, etc) and Things-I-Don't-Really-Need-At-All (books, albums, frames, brooms, old clothes, etc.) I'm shipping the useful stuff to GA ahead of me and the second batch will follow in April. I don't see myself trail running in my prepregnancy clothes anytime between now and then anyway. The housing office at Moody has been wonderful in helping us find a place, we had such a hard time deciding between 2 BR+carport+patio or 3 BR +1.5 bath and spaaaacious kitchen! We settled for the 2 bedroom because we honestly don't need that much space right now, and when I see an empty room, I get the urge to fill it. Also, there's no space for his motorcycle or for him to work on or wash the car, and I honestly miss having a yard. I want to take our little bugger outside! Dats is always talking about missing doing yardwork too... maybe he could take care of a few of the other yards on our street for some extra cash! Heck, I'm down to do it. They don't have boonie grass out here anyway, and it's flat. A simple lawnmower will do the trick.

I've been looking into all the new apps I plan on downloading when I get my new phone! Dats its getting it for me as a belated Christmas gift =) So far I've got my What to Expect app, Cozi, Mint.com, motionxGPS, my picture apps, autostitch panorama, iGag, rage faces, skype, USAA, Paypal, and myweather. My must haves. Unfortunately, I was logging in and out of every account I own now that my brother has secured our network to the max, and I know where all the progesterone has been sneakily affecting me. PASSWORDS. I can remember everything but my passwords and secret question answers. It's awful. Damn hormones knew how to hit me where it hurts, where NO ONE CAN HELP! DARNIT. I've gotten most of my important stuff reestablished, so that's good. but I've seriously got o start storing them SOMEWHERE.

Back to baby, after finally getting back into my WTE account, I can tell you that baby is about a pound and a half now! I haven't had much of an appetite, because when I do eat I feel like it never goes all the way down... I guess I've got to stick to a bland diet. My weight has been good so far so I'm very happy about that. On another note, I've been watching martial arts movies and they make me ridiculously emotional, even more so than sports movies. I've decided that my nickname for this baby will be Yip-Man, regardless of gender. I swear it's practicing Wing Chun forms in there! The other day it was so strong I actually felt queasy. That was the day Dats called me on Skype and said he'd been online waiting for me and I started bawling out of nowhere. Darn hormones. I felt so bad because we hadn't been able to talk much since we've been entertaining my cousins and I really wanted to talk to him and it's the holidays and he's far away and I know how much he wants to be home... I just broke down and it evolved from a sad face to a whimper to the ugliest face I've worn since I don't even know. I swear, he's the only one that makes me cry!

I guess that'll be it for now. Off to watch Ong Bak! Maybe I'll make some chocolate cake too, I've got a hankering!

Mid November.

Here we are. The stretching pains are getting worse... I guess I was getting off easy the last few weeks because now it's a dull ache that comes and goes and comes again, from my right side to my belly button. Very uncomfortable. I think I'd rather have this kind of symptom than the hurling again though. THAT was torture. I read that some people resume their first trimester symptoms in the third, and I'm seriously hoping that isn't the case.
My throat has been scratchy since yesterday, and I've taken it as a sign to start bundling up. My feet and hands are the only things that really get cold, but I really don't want to get sick right now. I wish I had some honey and lemon, maybe tomorrow I can get some at the commissary when I mail Dats and Justin's packages out. I hope they make it in time for Christmas! Dats doesn't want much, so we just made him a few cards and a "Christmas tree" on posterboard that we decorated with ornaments! I hope he likes it, at least he'll have some Christmas decorations up for the season.

The appointment went well! I love my doctor. I have an ultrasound scheduled for the end of this month, which I was surprisingly able to get! He referred me to the top 2 places for prenatal diagnosis in Maryland, so they're booked up until late January, but I was able to get a slot at his second choice the John Hopkins Hospital in downtown Baltimore. Traffic, but it's alright. I rarely go into the city, it'll be a nice change of pace. Next appointment is in 4 weeks! I'm so excited for the ultrasound!

First deployment, Second trimester...

I'm finally starting to show! I no longer look like I'm really bloated on top of a muffin top, but now I think I can tell people that we're expecting and they'll actually believe me. I love that term, especially since I saw this post on one of my new favorite internet distractions.

**WARNING: Do not go on this site unless you are currently a bum with no life as I am**

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Now that that's out of my system, I'll move on with the updates. Aside from looking more pregnant and feeling less queasy (although I STILL get carsick, and feel sick even on the swingset) I don't have much to report. I feel disgustingly full after half a meal, and then I get hungry an hour later. Itsy peeks of heartburn... The "growing pains" are starting, slightly uncomfortable but I think they were worse today due to my lack of movement. The weather is getting warmer as winter nears... I don't know what to make of it but I don't like how icky it makes me feel and I get a bad feeling it's going to make for a freezing winter. It's been so icky outside I don't even want to go out there! I just look out my window at all the beautiful colors. Autumn IS my favorite season, after all.

I am currently 17 weeks and a few days, and my next ultrasound is in a few days! I could have waited to post until after it, but I felt like writing NOW, so lucky for you readers. I'm waiting for Dats to get home so we can find out the gender of our baby together, so don't expect any big news from me any time soon. I feel like it's the least I can do, since he's already missing out on so much. I'm very grateful that he's able to keep in very close and constant contact with me, I know that it isn't a luxury that many military couples get when their spouses are deployed. It's our first, so he's intent on being as involved as he can, and I greatly appreciate it and look forward to when he gets home and we can have some real family time, just me, him, and baby. I come from a large and close family, and we're fortunate to be able to globe trot all over the place, however I have requested for some alone time since we haven't really had any since 2 years before we got married. This is the life we signed up for, and I support him fully... and I'm taking what precious time we have together wherever I can get it. When we're old and bored of each other, then we can go hang out with whomever we want... but right now, we really just want some time with each other. I crave that more than anything else.

The minions (my nieces and nephew) and I have started working on Dats' care package! He's missing a big string of holidays (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, 28th birthday) so we're trying to make it a good one. So far we've made him a "tree" and several homemade cards, and I bought a stocking that I'm going to put the upcoming ultrasound picture in. He LOVES seeing pictures of me bloating up, so I'm sure he'll enjoy that since it doesn't show my unattractive midsection while still proving baby's getting bigger in there. He's even sent me a Boppy ( the Boppy Cuddle pillow, get one if you're uncomfortable sleeping and move around a lot, I LOVE MINE!) to get me to sleep better. First night I used it, I slept so well my bladder hurt in the morning because I didn't get up to pee the whole night! So comfy.

I like sitting around and reading all day... but listening to the girls do their homework when they get home from school makes me wanna get back on the bandwagon. I sometimes have to think a little about how to help them, which bothers me, so I decided to hop on Amazon and order myself some algebra workbooks to keep my mind sharp. I can't go on acting like numbers don't exist, just because I've always preferred reading. Math really isn't so bad... I just have a harder time relating to it. Put those numbers in a story and I'm a whizkid! I've always been better at relating information and storylines and situations help. On a similar note, I've found something interesting online. It makes a lot of sense the more that I think about it.

Bottle Test!

Try it when you have some spare time, I thought it was pretty accurate. I had my brother take it too! I can even see it in the pictures I take. Most of my shots aren't even focused on the subject... I'm very contextual. It's also why I have a difficult time giving solid answers to generic situations. I like the details.

More after the appointment!