Sleep Talking Once More

Philip has been working nights for several months now, so the opportunities I have to hear him talk in his sleep have been few and far between. This morning I stayed in bed a little later than usual, and when I finally checked the time on my phone and ninja-jumped out of bed, P was fast asleep next to me. I say ninja-jumped, but these days my "get out of bed quick" moves are the equivalent of a walrus rolling into the surf: groans, huffs, and puffs included. Here's what happened:

Me: *rolled over and put my head on P's stomach*
Philip: that's enough for me
Me: What?
Philip: stop putting that crap on me...
Me: What crap?
Philip: that sunblock stuff, I don't need any more
Me: Okay, I'll stop

If I had not dozed off for a few more seconds I think I could have gotten a better conversation/story out of him, but still, this one was funny. Maybe he was dreaming of being on vacation?

The Big Reveal

This post is about a week late, but I want to record our amazing Gender Reveal cake. I found something like it on Pinterest, but our local bakery did a much better job, and it was definitely one of the best cakes I've ever tasted. I was so worried about all other aspects of the party that it never occurred to me to photograph the table where it was sitting on, so that's a bummer, but the gist of it was: "He"-colored Hershey bars on the left, "She"-colored Hershey bars on the right, and when it came down to cake cutting, everyone picked up their guess for a picture! That was simple and straightforward, so here's the picture!

Although most of my "Old Wives Tales" symptoms were skewed towards it being a girl, the great majority guessed it was a boy, and they were right! I was so happy that I could finally make the change from "it" to "he" when talking about my baby, and that I no longer had to be careful when talking about gender-specific subjects. You are very lovingly awaited, Emmett Beckham! 

Easy Peach Cobbler

My parents came and visited a few days ago, and along with the usual gifts that consist mostly of Mexican candy, they brought me a bag with a few extremely ripe peaches in it. They have about 3 or 4 peach trees in their back yard (along with many other fruit trees) and they always bring me some of whatever is in season. This time it was peaches, which by the looks of them had been laying on their counter for several days after being picked, because they were so ripe.
I thought I really wasn't going to eat them since too-ripe fruits gross me out a little, but I didn't want to be wasteful, so I made them into a peach cobbler instead. (Thanks, Pinterest.)
Here's what I used:
Filling: 

• 10 small peaches, peeled and sliced (about 2.5 cups)
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup white sugar

Crust:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup melted butter (1 stick)

Very ripe peaches, thanks mom.

Directions: 

1. Pour melted butter into 9 X 13 baking dish
2. Mix all dry ingredients for crust , then add milk and stir until it is well blended
3. Pour crust mixture on top of butter, and do not mix 
   
4. In a saucepan, combine all filling ingredients and bring to a boil, stirring constantly
   
5. Pour peach mixture on top of crust mixture, but do not mix together (leave layered)
   
6. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, or until crust is golden brown
   
7. Suggestion: serve with vanilla ice cream

I know these images aren't so great... I kinda suck at taking pictures, especially when I'm trying not to get my phone smeared with sticky cooking stuff, but the end result was deliciously gooey, just like it should be. This was by far the easiest "from scratch" dessert I have made in a very long time. Yum!

The Woes of Psychological Triggers

So I've been a little more absent from blog writing than I meant to be, especially with my goal of keeping a pregnancy journal and all. I am almost at the end of my first trimester, and several of my worst symptoms are becoming less uncomfortable as the days go on, therefore I can finally bring myself back to writing. Here's why:

During the first two-ish months, I felt so sick, congested, tired, and nauseated all the time that I internally came close to hysterics and secretly wished I was not pregnant and didn't have to carry this baby for a whole 9 months. I actually hated any thought that had to do with babies, and truly felt like the worst person imaginable, like a monster who wouldn't love her baby.
Time has passed, and so have several symptoms, and now I am clearheaded enough to realize what was going on... it was all in my head. For several seemingly never-ending weeks I associated everything that had to do with my pregnancy with the feelings of sickness, nausea, and overall disgust at almost everything imaginable. My usually very logical brain got it's butt kicked by a storm of hormones and could only make one (most irrational) connection:

baby things = bad, sick feelings

Yeah, I thought I was going crazy. I sort of was, a little... it was just a psychological trigger. For weeks on end the sight of the toilet, the kitchen trash can, raw meat, and eggs triggered something which instantly made me throw up. We have a vanilla-scented Glade plug-in in our bathroom, and I associated bathroom with nausea so much that now the smell of vanilla also triggers nausea... crazy huh? So the reason I've been away from my blog is that reading the words "The Prego Diaries" also triggered that sick feeling! It doesn't so much any more, so I think I can safely return to my writing and venting without endangering my keyboard with violent vomiting... hopefully. 

In conclusion, I am becoming more rational and less hormonal by the day, so I am assuring myself that I love this baby more than I can express, and that baby things DO NOT equal bad, sick feelings. That phase is almost over, thank goodness. Turns out I'm not a monster after all, I was just crazy. 

The Prego Diaries, Week 10

Pregnancy symptoms are weird. I have been testing a theory for the past few weeks and have had such successful results that it has now moved past the "theory" stage and I have now dubbed it "Damaris' Law of Bitter Regurgitation". This is how it works: If I haven't eaten in over 6 hours, instead of feeling the usual hunger and empty stomach, I feel extremely nauseated, very uncomfortable heartburn, an acidic stomach, and burping for no apparent reason. I then proceed to have a nice meal, and instead of feeling even more sick, I get almost instantly better and the nausea goes away.
I'm sure there's a very rational medical condition that causes this, but I don't feel like googling it and having WebMD tell me that I have esophagus cancer or something like that. So note to self: don't go hungry or else you'll puke stomach acid.

Alright, so on to other things....

• I am still craving Granny Smith apples, I eat one every day. 
• Meat is very hit and miss... sometimes I can stomach it, but it's mostly just gross, especially bland meat like chicken breast. Yuck. I only eat it when I can have other things to mix up the flavor... or in sandwiches because I love sandwiches. 
• New craving of the week: Roman noodles. I ate two cups of Roman (on two separate days) this week and I feel extremely guilty because they have no nutritional value. Luckily I only allowed myself to purchase 2 while grocery shopping, so I cut myself off already.
• I want spicy foods all the time, hence the Roman. Things that used to give me heartburn no longer give me heartburn (maybe we can blame this on the 1/2 Mexican baby haha).
• Energy levels are returning. I still sleep a lot, but I also feel jumpy and awake and I am always fidgeting during the day, so that's great! 

And onto a MAJOR complaint...

• breaghladkfaoigaosdkjf!!!!!!!! It's the end of the week and I'm sick and tired of being so sick and tired. NOTHING seems to appease this stomach. Everything I eat either makes me puke or makes me feel like there's a ball of yuckage stuck in my throat ready to come out. All I have to do is look at a toilet and *BARF*, half-digested food comes out. 
• And this is no commonplace morning sickness, no way. I actually feel great in the mornings because there's nothing in my stomach fighting it's way out. It's when I eat my first meal that everything goes downhill. I sure hope that my esophagus has some lining remaining after all of this is over, and it hasn't been completely consumed by stomach acid.

And onto baby things...

• During week 9 baby is officially a fetus (not an embryo), so yay her! 
• By week 10, she has working arm and leg joints and her vital organs are fully developed! Wow!
• She's also growing fingernails. Fingernails!!!
• Also, she can swallow and kick.... even though she's barely over an inch long. 

The Prego Diaries: Week.... 9?

I had my first ultrasound this Wednesday and I was told that baby is almost a week older than I thought she was! I was sure I was at 8 weeks, but according to the size, I'm at 8 weeks 6 days! (Nine weeks today, that I'm writing this post).

I cannot say that I particularly enjoyed the whole "first prenatal visit" thing, but seeing my baby for the first time sure made up for all the other discomfort. I got to see her size (2.42 cm) and see a tiny fluttering that was her heart. She even wiggled forward a little bit, at which point I exclaimed "look! she's moving!" and teared up a little bit, causing the nurse to give me a look that said only too clearly how much she wanted to roll her eyes. 

So prenatal visits... can't say I'm a big fan. We showed up at 9:30 am and didn't leave until 1 pm. I only had an apple for breakfast, so by around 11 am I was in the "hungry pregnant girl" stage of impatience and by the time we left I was like gremlin angry for food. Pair that with a urine test, a vaginal ultrasound, a pap smear, blood work, a breast examination, and a bimanual internal exam to measure the size of my uterus and pelvis and a grumpy, super childish husband that wouldn't stop complaining... ugh. I think I'd much rather go by myself next time. Needless to say I was pretty tired of getting stuff shoved into me, being poked and prodded, and having Phil complaining about HIS discomfort at having to sit and wait while chewing on Skittles and drinking Dr.Pepper. 

Luckily I do have a wonderful doctor... not only is she nice and understanding, but she's also a church member in my ward, so I see her every Sunday and she's always only a text away. Seeing my baby's heartbeat and talking to Dr. Nowitzky were definitely the silver linings of the appointment.

The Prego Diaries: Week 7 Shenanigans

I am sooo looking forward to next week's doctors appointment and see if she can recommend any new prenatal vitamins that don't make my stomach (and esophagus) so irritated and uncomfortable. I realized that I don't actually have "morning sickness", I just get sick when I take the vitamins and I'm ready for it to stop. They have the same effect if I take them with or without food, and at any time of the day. I keep having to tell myself that they are good for baby even if they feel bad for me. I did learn a lesson though: if I want to get any sleep, do not take the vitamins before going to bed, it will not be fun.

So week 7 stuff! This week baby is the size of a blueberry, just 1/2 inch in size. She's doubled in size since last week and will continue to do so for a while! She's generating 100 brain cells per minute, developing kidneys, growing arm and leg joints, and growing a more complex heart. Wow!
Here are some updates:

• The crazy hormone stuff is toning down a lot; on good days I don't feel pregnant at all because I'm not as bloated anymore. 
• The annoying jabs of pain in my lower abdomen (round ligament pain) that were so common in weeks 4, 5 and 6 are almost nonexistent now.
• I have started eating meat or craving things that have meat in them... but the idea of ground beef is still absolutely disgusting. I feel like eating all the time and my favorite food for this week is Frosted Flakes with bananas. 
• I really have to watch what I eat, or else I'll swell up like a balloon. I need to cut my meals by about half of what I normally eat or else I won't feel good for hours afterwards, and also throw in several snacks here and there. 
• I feel like eating pickles, jolly ranchers, blow-pops, and granny smith apples all the time. Anything sour or with some tartness will do. 
• I dread wearing jeans. I guess I got used to comfortable yoga pants, loose shorts, and sweats... which is pretty much the only things that fit now. :(