Breakouts and Veins

My skin is terrible.  My face is getting full of pimples.  Itchy pimples and my face is dry.  Super dry and flakey.  I always used to have great skin.  I never wore make up because I never had to.  I always had smooth clear skin which I appreciated.  Now it’s awful.  I started using moisturizer but it doesn’t seem to be helping so far.  I had heard pregnancy was supposed to make your skin super soft, smooth and glowing.  Definitely not the case with me.  I also noticed that there are dark blue veins all over my chest and breasts.  I think they were always there but now they are big and dark.  Very noticeable.  All I need to do is draw some stitch marks on them and I’d look like a Frankenstein monster.  I looked it up and it’s all normal.  I guess you produce 20-50 percent more blood when you’re pregnant so your veins enlarge to accommodate for the increased blood flow.  It all goes away after you have the baby so nothing to worry about.  Though I wasn’t really worried.  Just kind of surprised.

Frequent Urination

For the last couple of days I’ve been having to pee.  A LOT.  Like once an hour.  I was actually kind of getting exhausted from having to go so much.  It had started a couple days ago and Joe did ask our doctor about it.  She said it’s normal since the baby is on top of my bladder and increasing in size.  She said they test my urine every time I come in for any bacteria that could signify any type of infection and it’s fine.  She even made a joke saying that women can’t hold it very long normally since their urethra is very small whereas men’s urethras size… depends.  Factor in a baby sitting on top of it, pushing into it or kicking it and I basically never want to be too far from a bathroom.

Fourth Prenatal Dr Visit

Joe and I went for our first 2nd Trimester visit.  I was really excited to see the baby but got disappointed when I found out we weren’t having an ultrasound.  The Dr. just monitored the baby’s heartbeat with a hand held machine.  The heartbeat is still good and strong though and she compared it to mine when Joe asked a question.  Although a bit disappointed, it’s still nice to at least hear our baby.  I’ve been worrying a lot for no reason about if the baby is doing okay in my belly.  I have to get my second trimester blood work done and a flu shot.  Other than that I’m doing good.  Especially thankful that all my nausea is gone.  I only get a tiny bit in the mornings before I eat.  I still have a bit of fatigue though.

Pack N Play Assembly

I ordered a Graco Pack N Play from my Amazon registry because the particular one I wanted was discontinued and the price was going to increase to get rid of the remaining ones in stock.  I picked a gender neutral aqua colored one.  The other gender neutral one they had was green but I liked the blue one better.  It came a couple days ago but Joe wanted to assemble it together.  It was cute, he wanted to take a few pictures of us assembling our first baby furniture together.

I know it's a little early to start getting things but I think I'd rather slowly buy things over time rather than try to get everything all at once at the end.  Especially if something becomes discontinued or is on sale or going out of stock.  Since we haven't cleaned out the office room yet, it's in the corner of our living room.  I ordered a couple of turtle toys for the baby because they were super cute and I couldn't resist and a diaper bag I liked that was discontinued.  I put them in the pack n play for storage.  Our goal right now is to have the nursery ready by the end of Dec.  Or at least have the office cleared out by then so we can get the nursery in order by January. 

Feeling Loved

Joe and I spent the whole day together.  We didn’t do anything that interesting or exciting but it was so nice to just spend quality time together.  We went to Arby’s for lunch.  I had a craving and before heading out we both spent some time researching if it was safe to eat while pregnant or not.  It should be since it’s cooked.  We stopped by the plot of land Joe’s family used to farm on.  It has huge houses built on it now.  He described to me all the areas of what was growing and where he spent his time as a child on the farm.  There was even a belt still stuck up in the tree from the farming days.  As we drove home Joe said he has 2 priorities in life, loving me and being creative.  And now he has 3, loving the “little one” too.  It was very sweet and I’m so happy to be so close to someone I love so much.  At home we finished playing The Last of Us video game.  It was pretty awesome and honestly like watching a long movie.  Kind of sad that it’s over.  I guess we’ll have to find a new game to play.  Then we spent some intimate time together and just held each other for a long time.  I feel so loved and happy.

Feeling Fatigued

Today I was tired.  So so very tired.  I could barely get up off the couch.  I went back to sleep after only 2 hours of being awake.  Then after waking up from my nap, I was tired again and could barely lift my head up off the couch.  I had chores to do today that I just didn’t get done.  I forced myself to go to the grocery store so I at least got the groceries but I wanted to vacuum today too.  It just didn’t happen.  I’ve never felt so tired before.  On the plus side it seems my nausea has mostly gone away.  I only really feel nauseous in the morning when my stomach is empty.  Maybe this whole fatigue thing is stage two.

Feeling Unattractive

Today is really the first day I had some self-image issues.  I know that I’ve gained some weight since getting pregnant and I’m now sporting a bit of a baby belly but I just got overwhelmed.  I made a pass at my husband but he wasn’t in the mood and the rejection put me over the edge I guess.  I just went to bed and started crying feeling so fat and unattractive.  He came in to lay down with me and reassure me it wasn’t me and that he still loves me and is attracted to me but I just felt really bad.  He ended up feeling bad that he made me feel bad but we just hugged it out.  I finally got some of my drive back but now I’m just feeling rejected and unattractive.

Sweet Dreams

Last night while I was asleep Joe was hugging and kissing me.  He kept saying that he would take care of me and he kissed my belly.  I was asleep but it woke me up enough to know what was going on.  It’s so sweet!  I’m glad that he’s so happy and excited for the baby.  We’re 1/3 of the way there.  Only 6 more months to go until we get to meet our baby!  I know time is going to fly by.  I wish I could use this time to enjoy my pregnancy but it’s pretty difficult to do that as I just haven’t felt well or comfortable the entire time.

First Trimester Genetic Screening Ultrasound

Today Joe and I went to USC for a genetic screening ultrasound.  I couldn’t have it done at my regular doctor office because they don’t have the super advanced equipment for it.  It was just a really super magnified ultrasound.  I had to go to a USC medical center in Mission Hills.  The paper work was extensive and ridiculous.  Like how much information do they actually need?  And how many times are they going to ask me to fill in the same exact information.  I honestly just didn’t bother to fill out some parts.  They have a copy of my insurance card, I’m not going to individually write it all out.

The ultrasound was quick.  I think it literally took 5 minutes.  We only got to see the baby briefly.  She had to measure it’s face and head so she took some pictures of it.  We got to see the outline of its face.  It was so funny because the baby had one of its legs sticking straight up in the air.  It looked so funny.  The test results were negative, so far so good. 

We were right near Forneris Farms so we stopped to get some fresh produce.  We saw farmer John (he’s friends with Joe’s dad and has known Joe since he was a child).  It was sad to hear the farm wasn’t doing that good.  There is literally only two farms left in the valley.  He says he enjoys farming just as much as he always did but profit has dropped dramatically and the price of leasing the land and paying for water is very high.  He doesn’t know how long he’ll still be running the farm.  It made me so sad to think of farms going away.  We got some tomatoes and corn.  I got really sad to think our kids might not know what a real tomato is supposed to taste like.  Or strawberries.  So red, delicious and juicy.  The stuff at the supermarket is crap.  Juiceless and flavorless.  People are really missing out on life and future generations are really going to miss out too.  It’s really sad.

Insanely Hot and Humid Weather

Today was hot.  Too hot!  Why is it so FREAKING hot out!?  Now I know why women dread being pregnant in the summer.  It’s awful.  The air conditioner has been running non-stop just to keep it 80 degrees in my apartment.  I’m feeling headachey, tired and overall beat because of this heat.  I honestly think being cooped up in the house with the air conditioner running non-stop is starting to make me sick.  I never really felt that great in air conditioning but this is extreme and it is way too freaking hot to go outside.  We had one day that was cool and I got excited thinking fall was actually coming but then the next day it was back up to 100 plus degrees again.  I’m ready for summer to be over.

Fatigue or Nausea

Today I don’t know what was going on or how I was feeling.  I slept for 10 hours and then I ended up taking a 3 hour nap on top of that.  I’ve never felt this tired in my life.  This has happened the past couple of days.  I’m actually taking 1-3 hour naps daily now.  I read that it’s normal around this stage of pregnancy but it’s kind of making me feel unhealthy.

Tender Breasts

My boobs are huge!  And they've gotten very tender as well.  My boobs can hurt just sleeping on my side with the mattress pressing into them.  My aerolas are bigger and darker too.  I’ve been having trouble wearing bras because none of them fit anymore.  They’re all too tight.  I definitely need to go bra shopping.  I feel like I have two massively heavy grapefruits hanging off my chest.

Impressionable Appetite

I don’t think I’m any hungrier or have a bigger appetite than I usually do per say.  But I have definitely noticed that my cravings of food are very impressionable.  Any commercial containing food I see, I immediately crave (with the exception of hamburgers).  Pizza, donuts, taco salad, chicken pot pie, ravioli, corndogs, french fries, buffalo wings, chicken wraps, etc.  Our freezer is full of frozen foods right now which is something that never happened before.  Besides having an occasional ice cream in there, our freezer has always been empty.  All our meals have been made fresh.  Once in a while I’d buy frozen peas but we never really ate any frozen foods.  We’ve also been having more canned foods too.  Besides tuna and beans I never buy anything canned.  Now I have soups and raviolis in my pantry.  I’m not sure it’s the healthiest eating (I know Joe doesn’t really approve) but I am getting a variety in my diet.  Joe says that this is the one time in my life that I should be eating the healthiest but I can’t help it. 

Baby Bump

Today I noticed that I’m definitely showing.  Just a little bit but definitely showing.  There’s a tiny little bump belly happening.  I used to joke that I had a pot belly, not a baby belly but I definitely don’t think that’s true anymore.  The three additional sundresses that I ordered from ABC in Hawaii came so I’m covered with some maternity clothes for the time being.  I love the comfort of these dresses.  There’s plenty of room for my bump.

First Trimester Genetic Screening Blood Work

Today I ran some errands.  Went to the bank to deposit all our coin rolls and get some laundry quarters.  Then I went to get my first trimester genetic screening blood work done.  I was preparing for them to take a lot of blood so I ate two eggs with toast this morning but to my surprise they only took one small vile of blood.  I felt fine afterward, went home, ate lunch and took a nap.  After my nap I went grocery shopping.  I was craving corndogs, salad, hot chocolate, milk and ice cream sandwiches.  So I got all the things.  I read that hotdogs and deli meats are fine to eat as long as they are steaming hot as the heat kills the harmful bacteria.  Originally I was planning to avoid hotdogs my whole pregnancy but I really wanted a corndog.  It would have been good but there was something a little spicy in it that I didn't like. 

I have to admit I’m not having the healthiest of eating habits.  Besides pizza and an occasional ice cream I almost never buy anything frozen.  My freezer is always empty except for pizzas and ice cream once in a while.  I was craving a chicken pot pie last week so I got some frozen Marie Calendar’s pot pies.  I’m still having trouble eating meat so I got some frozen chicken patties since I seem to enjoy eating chicken sandwiches from Wendy’s and Burger King.  Plus, now corndogs.  Usually Joe and I always buy whole fresh ingredients but I really haven’t felt like cooking much and don’t really want to eat any meat.  I’m even eating some canned things.  I got canned meat ravioli’s which I have not eaten in over a decade, canned clam chowder which I do eat occasionally and boxed macaroni and cheese.  I still do enjoy boxed mac and cheese but I make it very rarely.  Since I’m having so much trouble drinking water, I’ve been buying juices.  I get the organic stuff free from corn syrup but it still has a lot of sugar in it.  Still, I am mostly craving fruits and vegetables so I do eat a lot of those.

Expanding Uterus?

Today I woke up with a lot of nausea and cramping.  I meant to take Diclegis last night but I forgot.  The cramping was kind of painful and I swear I actually felt my uterus expanding.  I thought you couldn’t really feel or tell when the baby is growing but maybe you can.  Uterine cramping is because of the uterus expanding so maybe the baby is growing and pushing it out.  Either way it only lasted a very short period of time.  My friend wanted to hang out today but I felt so sick I didn’t really want to go over to her house.  I convinced her to come over to my place.  I made hummus and tuna melt sandwiches for lunch.  Then we went for a walk at Lake Balboa Park.  Her visit really did end up making me feel better and my nausea went away.  I showed her the videos of the baby and we made plans to hang out later this week.