what to write about....

i feel like i don't have anything interesting to say right now... don't know what to really write about. i'm feeling pretty well. still some days that i wish i could just stay home and sleep. i'm eating almost regularly and am wanting water again. that's a very good thing because it's been unusally hot for seattle.

i've pushed myself a little hard a couple times this week. i went to prenatal yoga on tuesday. it's the first time i had been in 10 weeks. it was freakin' hard! i was sweating like crazy and at one point i had to sit because i felt dizzy. oops :) it's hard for me to ease up on physical activity if i'm not sick. i forgot the little munchkin is busy sapping my energy all day even if i don't feel it. i felt a bit ill on wednesday i believe because of how hard i worked.

yesterday, i had an installation job for a restaurant that's opening by my store. we did all the artwork and they hired me to put everything up. i worked for 4 hours and wiped myself out. it was exhausting. i even took a half hour break in the middle. aside from the physical work, it was mentally challenging too. i was using security hangers so the artwork won't fall or be stolen from the restaurant. those little buggers are a pain in the ass. you really can't fuck up where you drill the holes in the wall or you mess everything up. i stupidly saved the most difficult 4 for the last project. stupid, stupid. it almost made me cry because i had to make sure all 4 were straight across and it was in a prominent area. i decided right then that i'm not doing any more installations while pregnant. too much for me:)

it was no surprise to me when my acupuncturist said i'm suffering from exhaustion at yesterday's appointment. he was reading my pulse and said that my liver blood is low. this means exhaustion and pre-anemia. he recommended more red meat. not so keen on that. i'm still having a difficult time with meats. so i'm going to work on upping my dark greens and try to take an iron supplement. i've been really bad about taking any vitamins/supplements. i got out of the habit when i was sick. i've been trying to take at least folic acid at night. i know i should be more aware since i don't eat a lot of meat or eat/drink dairy. i know the munchkin is depending on me for all it's nutrients, so i need to step it up.

i'm noticing a few things changing with my body. my hips have been sore. a few nights i've had some trouble falling asleep because my hips and knees were bothering me. i felt like i had to keep moving and stretching. i'm getting a bit more of a baby pooch. i don't really think i look pregnant yet, but anna and i notice my body shape changing. she took some photos of me with her phone and i thought i just looked fat. you're all going to have to wait a bit longer for photos:)

some people might want to skip this paragraph. i'm going to talk about sex:)
we had sex this week for the first time since the day we conceived the little munchkin. i hadn't been feeling very amorous, and anna, as always, was patient, sweet. she knew things would change eventually, and she could wait. we were both a little nervous and hesitant, but it was like riding a bike:) i didn't know if i would be able to orgasm because i heard it could be difficult or different for pregnant women. worked out fine and dandy for me ;) it was nice to be so intimate with anna again. of course, we've cuddled and been lovey these past few months, but it's nothing like sex. i still haven't had that libido rush i've heard about. hope i don't miss that boat!

looks like i had more to talk about than i thought:) hope everyone has a wonderful summer weekend.

oh those crazy hormones

damn that pms. it's making me wacky! yesterday afternoon, after a very very lazy morning, i was in a good mood. goofing around with anna, dancing around, basically doing stuff that involves "around" :) then, dum dum dummmm, i try to get dressed to go hiking. bring on the pouting and whining. "i'm fat", "nothing fits", "no, i can't wear your clothes, cause you're skinny dammit", "why can't i loose weight" and so on. i'm sure alot of you know what i'm sayin'. i know all the things i said aren't true, but it feels that way.

we went for a nice hike with olive (who hasn't really done anything bad since the last blog). it was at a local trail on cougar mt. it was just an hour hike in and back. what made it so great was that it was lightly snowing, flurries really, and it was cool to go from barely anything in the parking lot to a light covering on the ferns at our turn around point. so pretty. i was wishing i had my camera with me.

after the hike, anna had to go to a gaelic football meeting and i stayed home watching "american dad" on hulu. i made the mistake of starting to read another blog for a couple that got pregnant. these things suck me in. i went back to the very beginning when they first started trying. they had some troubles, took a long time, but ended up working. anna is home by this time and looking up data we had discussed before "what percentage of iui result in preg. vs. "regular" intercourse". the sad news is 4-10% vs 20%. 4%!!!! bring on the waterworks.

i start bawling. i want a baby sooo bad, and i don't handle failure well. i know that i'm not a failure if we don't get pregnant right off the bat, but i'm afraid that's how i'm going to feel. that's my nature. people keep assuring me that i'll be fine. i'm young and healthy. -sigh- i guess i can just keep doing what i'm doing and hope that march goes well.

here is what i'm doing now: i'm taking a few different vitamins/supplement. i have a triple omega-3 that i take 3 times a day, a calcium pill plus vitamin D i take 2 times, vitamin D liquid (very yummy with berry juices), alpha lipoic acid with green tea, multivitamin/mineral with lutein, chromium, selenium, folic acid (200%), and vitamin c. i'm going to start drinking a fertility tea on cd1*. it has chaste tree (vitex), red clover, red raspberry, and nettle. this will help in a lot of different ways. i'll discuss it later.

i've cut back on caffeine to doing half decaf/caf. my plan is to start having a cup just every other day. i've cut back on alcohol to just 3 glass/bottles a week. i plan to stop entirely in february except for special occasions (like our 5 yr anniversary!).

i upped the amount of fruits i'm eating to at least 3 a day. we've always eaten alot of veggies but i've started bring carrots, celery, and/or salad along to work also.

i'm trying to remain consistent with kickboxing. i need to start doing some exercises at home to strengthen my abs.

yeah, so i am doing a lot. i just hope it helps. so i end with a happy note, here is a picture of olive on a lovely hike we did to get to a mountain-top wedding for some friends.

making progress

i have today off and pretty much i've been dinking around on the computer. ie- i'm being productive without being productive:)

here's what i've accomplished:
i scheduled an appointment at puget sound midwives and birth center. anna and i will go in a couple weeks and meet the staff and tour the birthing center. i can also find out if my insurance will work there. they do home and center births, as well as, water births. they are licensed in washington.

i purchased an ovulens after a suggestion by another blogger. i researched it before purchasing and of course found pros and cons. i think if i just remember to not utterly rely on it for ovulation prediction and use the BBT and physical symptoms, i should be able to figure out my cycle.

speaking of BBT (basal body temperature), i found a chart online so i can map that out clearly. this was at www.4women.gov. it's a national gov website so i was a little leery at first. it has some good info though and tools. it has an ovulation calculator (obviously not to used as a definite predictor) and i believe it was correct. i had estimated that i was ovulating around christmas and that's what it said too.

i'm also going to try to stay on top of taking my vitamins. i have a pre-made package from nature made that is for diabetes. i don't have diabetes, just hypoglycemia (controlled with diet). this package is good for anyone though. it has alpha lipoic acid with green tea, multivitamin/mineral with lutein, chromium, selenium, folic acid (800 mcg- double recommended dose for pre-natal- is that ok?), and vitamin c.

movin' right along:)