The Best Days Are Among Us!

If I weren't pregnant I would tell you I can hardly believe September is over, but since pregnancy has an odd way of making you very aware of days, weeks, and months I will just say tomorrow is October 1st! Wow! Where did the time go? For my friend Kali, that means she is almost half way through her 3 months away from her hubby. For my sister, that means she is only about 2 months away from welcoming another little one to this world. For Zeb, that means he is two weeks away from finishing his first course in his Master's degree. And for me, well that just means I am a little feeling better than I did a couple weeks ago. ;)

In recent weeks I have had some questions about how Advocare plays into my daily regimen while pregnant, so I thought I would share. It actually plays in quite nicely. Of course, I am not looking to lose any weight, but luckily Advocare is more than weight loss. When I first got pregnant I did some serious research on what I should continue and what I shouldn't. Other than what our Advocare Docs recommend and what my personal OB recommends, I found this awesome blog of another advocare fan who recently had her sweet boy. She wrote all about what she took during pregnancy and I think it is a great guide. You can check her site out here.

I have really stuck to the basics. Almost daily I start with Spark and a Meal Replacement Shake. The docs recommend one spark a day and I think it is the best way to start my day. I can't believe I am saying this as a recovering coffeeaholic, but I think it is better in terms of alertness. It's also packed with vitamins. Great for getting my nutrients! Who knew you needed SO MUCH protein when pregnant?? Not this girl!! My meal replacement shakes are a perfectly balanced meal that start my day with 24 grams of protein! I also love my Omega's(fish oil). Well as much as you can love fish oil supplements.

This is where the TMI comes in! Thanks to pregnancy and all that it is, I have experienced a GREAT amount of slowed bowel movements. In the first trimester I was bound and determined not to take anything I didn't have to. I tried very hard to drink tons of water to help this problem. It did not help. I soon turned to prune juice. Let's just say I have had all the prune juice my body will allow me take in. Problem still there. Ladies and Gentlemen the gates opened upon the ingestion of my first dose of probiotic. Relief finally!! I actually lost 3 pounds since last week and I don't know why....but I am just sayin. I am more than thankful for the Advocare Probiotic and it will stay for the remainder of this time. There are a few others that I am sure I will use over time, but those are the ones that have been the most present since I have been pregnant. Again, the girl I listed above used many more during hers so definitely check it out!

Also, with October 1st being here tomorrow and the last month before the holidays filled with tons of good food I thought what better than to do a mile a day challenge!! Just commit to walking 1 mile a day. And for everyday you miss, make up for it on the next day you go walking. So if you miss two days in a row, you walk 3 miles on the 3rd day. SO DON'T MISS A DAY!! Will you join me?? Come on it will be fun! And you will be glad you did. Anyone, and I mean ANYONE, can walk a mile a day. Let's go!

This week, baby is the size of a: Lemon! 3.5 inches

Due date: April 1, 2014

How far along: 14 weeks tomorrow :)

Next appointment: October 10th 

Gender: Another 5 or 6 weeks 

Total weight gain/loss: 5 pounds. Dropped a couple from last week. 

Stretch marks: Still feeling good in this department. 

Swelling: None!

Maternity clothes: I added a maternity bathing suit to my wardrobe over the weekend. That was interesting. I am not even close to filling it out yet, but I needed a one piece for my water aerobics class so it made the most sense. I will grow into it! 

Belly button: Normal

Sleep: I am sleeping great and not as tired this week!  

Food cravings/aversions: Nothing still.  

Movement: too early!

Wedding ring: Still fits great! Hoping that lasts!

What I miss: definitely missing running this week. A couple of my run club friends ran in the local half marathon yesterday and with the nice weather I have had some withdrawals in the last couple days. It actually caused me to start planning my first half to train for post-baby!! 

What I'm loving: feeling better! I haven't been as tired and my appetite has been mostly normal. Oh and the relief mentioned above. :)  

What I'm looking forward to: a growing belly and our next appt next Thursday. It's always nice to hear the heartbeat and get our next appt scheduled which will be the gender appt!!  

Best moment this week: Taking the water class tonight. So fun and felt great to get active again. 

Milestones: Um well not to keep talking about it, but bowel relief. I wish I could describe how much better I feel! No pain, no gain! :)

Happy Fall Ya'll!! 

When Faith and Fear Collide

Today marks the last day of my 1st trimester. Whew! What a roller coaster the last 8 weeks have been. You may have read this post a few months back about the emotions I had around trying to get pregnant after the most emotional loss of my life last fall. When we found out we were pregnant in July it was a whole new set of emotions. The last 8 weeks have been a combination of happiness and faith that I would make it to this day with a strong whisper of fear. Every trip to the bathroom was filled with the hardest prayers I have ever prayed. Every tinge in my abdomen was followed with relentless searches online. Is it normal? Could it be bad? The first two weeks knowing I was pregnant was rocky. I am fairly certain if the nurses at my OB's office could veto patients they would have used that power on me. I called almost daily. Can you check my levels again? How early can we check things out? Are you sure I shouldn't start progesterone? Bless them.

The first weekend in August I spent a Saturday with puffy eyes in the ER just sure I had lost this one too. I told God I could NOT go through another 6 weeks of this torture. I could NOT wonder every. single. DAY. if I would make it through today. Or better yet if my baby would make it through. That day I gave it up. My sweet nurse had already told me just days before that if I was still worried I hadn't truly given it over to God and she was right. So that day I decided I had to. I needed to. And most importantly I wanted to. I didn't want to keep fighting the enemy alone. I didn't want to keep carrying this burden that I knew He could carry better. And that day, when I finally gave it up, I received more peace than I knew I could allow myself to receive. I heard God tell me I would make it. We would make it. 

A couple follow up appointments eventually led to the final appointment of my first trimester. The one I had been praying I would make it to all along. The appointment was on Thursday and all week I ran through every scenario that could happen in my head. More bad than good. Emotionally I was prepared for the worst. I want to tell you I went in with all the faith in the world that it would be OK,  but I would be lying. I was so incredibly scared that it wouldn't be. I kept saying all week, "I still feel pregnant and I am excited, but I am just ready to know if the baby is still OK." The nurse found the heartbeat quickly. 150's. Baby is good. 

In a matter of minutes I had gotten the news I didn't think I would get. It was only about 2 minutes later when I lost it. That's right. Completely burst into tears. The nurse confused. Zeb embarrassed. I tried to explain through sobbing that they really were tears of joy. I had just been so scared all week and now I had confirmation that everything was OK and all of my emotions were running rampant. Zeb, sweet Zeb, confirmed "you did hear the heartbeat? You know that's good right?" Laughing, I told him yes and well that slowed the tears. 

So today is close to the best day of my year. Tomorrow I will see the 2nd trimester. And while there are still 27 weeks ahead of me that could go any direction, I am singing the praises today. I have always known that my God is good, but when you spend 8 weeks clinching to faith because the fear is trying so hard to pull you down, it tends to emphasize it more. When that prayer you have been praying and that fear that has been lurking is conquered, it is indescribable. I write all of this with a sensitivity to my dear friends that are still waiting for their day. I have more friends than I want right now that are fighting their own battles to start or continue their families and to you I say, let your faith voice talk louder than your fear voice. Worship him in the storm. Don't let defeat win. His plan is good and He works all things for the good of those who love Him.

Hope you enjoy the weekly updates below! 

This week, baby is the size of a: Peach! 3 inches

Due date: April 1, 2014

How far along: 13 weeks tomorrow :)

Next appointment: October 10th 

Gender: Another 6 weeks or so!! 

Total weight gain/loss: 7 pounds. Yikes! Hoping to even that out over the next couple weeks since I have been doing NOTHING for 8 weeks in the name of "playing it safe"

Stretch marks: I don't think any new ones...unfortunately I have some from weight gains and losses in the past and will more than likely get more! 

Swelling: None!

Maternity clothes: Purchased a belly band finally last week. Clothes have been tight, but having the belly band has helped!

Belly button: Normal

Sleep: Waking up every couple of nights to pee and falling asleep by like 9:30 every night! 

Food cravings/aversions: Umm none recently. I did have a phase during week 8-10 where I wanted only cold stuff and then I quickly moved into wanting chili all the time, but that is about it. 

Movement: too early!

Wedding ring: Still fits great! Hoping that lasts!

What I miss: running and working out in general. I am going to slowly get going again this week now that we are out of the first trimester. Woo hoo!

What I'm loving: the blame game. Ha ha anytime I want something random or don't want to do something I can just blame it on being pregnant.  

What I'm looking forward to: not looking like I have a beer gut and actually looking pregnant! I am so anal about my body that this transition phase has been hard on my self-esteem. Embrace it right? 

Best moment this week: It was last week. Taking pictures with Zeb was so fun. Just embracing this gift that we have been blessed with and laughing with each other. Love those moments

Milestones: Reaching the 2nd trimester! Thank you Jesus!! :) :) :)

Happy Fall friends! It is coming!

What is This All About??

Happy Monday! There is SO much to look forward to this week. It is my favorite time of year and I can never get enough of the food and friends that accompany this season. I am even more excited to be headed to Stillwater this weekend. We will get to tailgate and enjoy a gameday in Stillwater for the first time in 2 years!!

The event bringing us to Stillwater is also very exciting. Many of you may have been wondering, what in the world is this 5K that Sasha keeps posting about. Well, let me explain. About a year ago, Russ and Sarah, made the trip to Lubbock for a wedding. Russ and Zeb went to highschool together and a guy they also went to highschool with was getting married. It was like a HS reunion for Zeb. Anyway, Russ and Sarah stayed the weekend with us. Sarah and I got to talking and I learned of their 5 year struggle to get pregnant. I also learned that they had recently made the decision to adopt. She told me about the process, but what pulled my heart strings was the cost. I just couldn't imagine going through years of trying to get pregnant and eventually having to cough up over $20,000 just to be a parent. I mean that's just to have it in your hands and call him/her yours. That's not even counting everything you need for the baby. I wanted to do something.

In that same hand, I have wanted to start a 5K in Stillwater for a long time. Stillwater is near and dear to my heart and I just believe in the community there and also have lots of friends still in the area. This is where the 5K was born. So In February I set out to get it going and over the last 7 months it has been a project I have put A LOT of time and effort into and to be honest I am very proud of what has come so far. When deciding what weekend to do the run, I thought Fall Family Weekend was a perfect time. The Cowboy Campus Tour theme was hatched from that. With new students and families on campus, we thought it would be fun to give "the fastest campus tour" around. We were blessed with sponsorships from Chik-fil-a and El Vaquero. Pistol Pete will begin the race with the shooting of his gun. We have managed to accumulate some runners and baby, this Cowboy Campus Tour 5K IS HAPPENING!

We are doing a second philanthropy with the money as well. We have received some student scholarship applications and will be selecting a student to receive some money from the run. I remember being a student and knowing any opportunity to get some extra money was always a plus. I am excited to help give back to OSU in that way.

So there's the explanation. There is the why behind the what and if you want to help too there is still time! Get registered for the run at www.earlysignup.com/campustour to participate. Running is NOT required. In fact, my mother in law will be there and she will be walking! Feel free to join her. We have to get t-shirt orders turned in by tomorrow so if you want one be sure to sign up before then. If you still aren't sure about this whole 5K thing, but want to help Russ and Sarah there is an opportunity to do that too! I set up a FundMe account for them when we got all of this going and you can just donate on there if you feel led to. I know they will appreciate any help from anywhere. That address is www.gofundme.com/russandsarah.

Finally, thanks to everyone who has been supportive so far. Whether you have helped get the word out or actually signed up to be involved I can't thank you enough. I am especially thankful to my co-director Liz for all of her genius thoughts and help, my unofficial helper Bonnie for trying out the course and KNOWING people, and my favorite cheerleader Kali for spreading the word and offering a free registration. Ya'll are wonderful! This has probably been the hardest thing to plan in my life from so far away and so little resources, but I am happy to do it. I believe this is what we were put here to do. Help people.