Trimester One

Yesterday we officially finished the first trimester!  Time is certainly flying by.  Only 6 months to go.  WOW!!

Baby Foley suddenly had a craving for ice cream today.  Is this a second trimester thing?  I haven't really had any cravings yet.  I am an ice cream fan so I guess it's hard to say if this is directly related to Baby Foley's wishes or just a natural response to the hot weather we have been having.  Either way, I am completely fine with it! ;)

Back to School

I have had the luxury of relaxing for most of the summer since I am a teacher.  I do work part-time with students, but my days during the summer are nothing compared to the craziness ensued during the school year.  However, tomorrow is my first official day with my fifth and sixth graders, so I am gearing up for a very tiring month ahead. 

I feel fortunate that I was able to spend most of my time at home this summer, while I fought off morning sickness and extreme fatigue. I have been feeling really good these past few weeks so perhaps the timing is perfect.  I will find the most relief once I have been able to share the news with the staff, students, and parents though.  I have been dodging free coffee and Happy Hours for weeks now and it is a lot of work to do so without offending anyone!  My plan is to share the news with my job at the end of September, once all the back-to-school craze has settled a bit.  I am quite nervous about this, but I believe everyone will understand.  There is another teacher who is pregnant at the school, so at least I will not be the only one!

Wish me luck...  ;)

Ultrasound #1

Today was the first ultrasound for Baby Foley.  Everything looks good so far!  The doctor thinks it's going to be a boy because of a little something she spotted on the screen.  She was surprised at how active the baby was.  The heart was puttering away a mile a minute.  Perhaps we have an athlete on our hands!! 

Check out the photos below.  Sorry they are blurry.  We had to take photos of the photos :)

Gender?

Recently, my husband and I have been thinking a lot about the gender of the baby.  We definitely won't be able to wait until the due date to find out.  A friend told me about this fun online website that uses an Ancient Chinese Birth Chart method to predict the gender by using the mother's age, the conception month, and the due date.  I checked it out and according to:

http://www.parents.com/pregnancy/my-baby/gender-prediction/boy-or-girl-ancient-chinese-birth-chart/?ordersrc=google013chinesechart_app&s_kwcid=TC|6870|chinese%20baby%20sex%20prediction%20chart||S|b|8809142458

it's a BOY!  The site claims 93% accuracy and several friends have tried it and had positive results.  I guess only time will tell.  We would be happy with either... :)

The Pregnancy Diet

I have survived several weeks now on my new diet.  However, it hasn't been easy!  I am finally adjusting to it though and feeling good. The most challenging things to avoid have been:

feta/goat/blue/Mexican soft cheese
cold cuts/deli meats
sushi
tuna
coffee
wine
spicy foods (I live in one of the best places in the world for spicy Mexican food!!)

The foods I have been eating, yet not enjoying are:

nonfat milk
nuts
leafy greens (I typically enjoy these, but have had so many lately that I feel like I might sprout spinach leaves out of my ears any day now.)

Everything else has been great and is making me feel VERY healthy.  I am making a conscious effort to buy only organic and local food.  Thanks Mom and Dad for the Sockeye Salmon Oil supplements.  They arrived today and I will begin taking them a.s.a.p. in addition to continuing to take the prenatal vitamin each morning.

Going OUT to eat has been the biggest problem.  I am realizing that most menus are filled with junk.  I knew this before, but indulged anyways once in a while.  Now I do not have the luxury of "falling off the health wagon" if I feel like it.  I am most disappointed in the drink selections though.  Aside from alcoholic beverages, I am finding mostly a selection of soda, coffee or tea, or high fructose filled juices.  I shouldn't have any of these.  I've been mostly sticking with water, which I find terribly boring when I'm out for a nice dinner.  Can someone please invent a yummy (yet healthy) beverage menu staple for us pregnant ladies??  I'm going to think on this.  Perhaps it's my future money-making deal?  Baby Foley's college fund could certainly use some help!

July 22, 2011...The Pregnancy is Confirmed

Today was the first big trip to the hospital.  Within minutes of peeing in a cup, the status was confirmed.  We are pregnant!  After filling out a huge stack of paperwork, and relinquishing a few viles of blood, the first visit to the obgyn was over.  Baby Foley is due around March 16th/17th.  My husband quickly realized that it could be a St. Patrick's Day baby!!

We just had to tell someone TODAY.  We were too excited to keep this to ourselves but also recognized that we really should wait until at least 10 weeks to break the news to everyone.  Therefore, we decided to tell only our parents.  What a fun few hours we had sharing the news with them!  They were all certainly excited about a new addition to the family too.  Unfortunately, we had to make them promise not to tell anyone else until around 10 weeks, which was tough to ask of them, but thankfully they understood.  It felt GREAT to share the news with those who had given life to us so many years ago.  Now the big question: How in the world are we going to keep this a secret for the rest of the summer???

Please forgive our secret for those of you who are finally reading this now. ;) 

"What to Expect When You're Expecting"

Finding out you are pregnant, yet not sharing the news with others, can be quite stressful.  We wanted to tell EVERYONE but recognized a trip to the doctor to confirm the status was important first.  So, while waiting a week for this first medical visit, I decided to begin reading the highly recommended book What to Expect When You're Expecting by Heidi Murkoff, Arlene Eisenberg & Sandee Hathaway in order to pass the time.  Socializing with our friends was going to be tough, especially when we constantly get the question about whether or not we are "trying."  I didn't think I could handle it without blowing our cover.  We had been dodging the "trying" questions for months.  It's hard to tell people you are "trying" but it's not "working."  I've realized that starting a family is an incredibly personal thing.  I think sometimes people harmlessly assume that since you are not pregnant yet, it means you don't want to be.  Anyways, having some good reading material would at least help us avoid the conversation, until at least we knew for sure.

I headed to the public library and picked up a copy of this pregnancy bible I had heard so much about.  Once I began reading about the nine month (really ten month!) journey through pregnancy, I had a variety of mixed emotions.  Morning sickness, tiredness, swollen ankles, varicose veins, 30+ weight gain, stretch marks, no caffeine, limited food, and bye-bye to that evening glass of red wine...could I even do this??  How do people work and live normal lives and do this??  I should have known what to expect; our good friends had been through it all twice, recently.  People around us everywhere were having babies.  But somehow, it became VERY REAL when it became MY BODY involved.  However, I had already made the choice to do this.  And with this, I decided that I was going to do the best damn job I possibly could at being pregnant and developing a healthy, happy baby to join our little Foley family.  Thank goodness I have a fantastic husband to help me along the way...