14!

Vavavoom- behold the lemon baby! My sister said she feels like I'm giving birth to a fruit basket. Hahaha. P.S. does anyone else feel like last week's fruit (peach) is generally bigger than a lemon?

 I'm living off Raspberry Sherbet. 3 for $5 at Smith's, and it is soo good. Finally found something that soothes my stomach before I fall asleep. Baby agrees.

Good news: trimester 2 has brought renewed energy. SO wonderful. Unfortunately the sickness is still rampant, but not being so bone tired is making a huge difference. The other thing that's making me survive? Working on my own time!!! LOVING that.

I'm living in elastic waistband jeggings. Best. Invention. EVER! Also, leggings with flowy shirts. And boots. And sweaters. Being pregnant in the fall is awesome. I'm REALLY hoping to get get through as much of this pregnancy as possible without buying maternity jeans. I'll totally do the hair tie button thing, and the big giant elastic belly bands that you can wear with unbuttoned jeans. Be honest, all you ladies who have been pregnant... how long can this realistically last with jeans I already have?

Oh, and TMI, but my lady tots have gotten gigantic. It's seriously like a whole new world around here.

We're loving talking baby names, guessing if we're having a boy or a girl (probably won't find out until mid November because my obgyn does that ultrasound around 20 weeks), and daydreaming about life with a little one. I get so overly excited every time I see a baby. They are so warm and tiny and perfect!!!

Still running for 2... and still loving my tiny running buddy. As much as I have to force myself to get up and go, the endorphins do wonders for my crazy lady mood. It also suppresses the nausea just for a little while, which makes it worth it.

Speaking of all the crazy... I literally feel like I'm a 15 year old moody teenager trapped in a 22 year old pregnant lady's body. I have never been so happy in my life. And I have never cried so much in my life. I think I'm going bananas. Don't judge me for the following stories:

Last week, I hit my head, elbows, and knees on SERIOUSLY everything. And dropped everything. I'm completely clumsy and I'm blaming pregnancy, even though I'm probably just like that. However, I am blaming the hormones for the tears that came after hitting my head ONCE again. It was the last straw, people! Enough with the bruises!!!

A few days ago, I was throwing a bag in the trash cans outside our house. Accidentally dropped my keys in. Typical. Arms were too short to reach my keys. Typical. After wrestling with the trash can outside my apartment for way too long, I finally fished my keys out. Trash juice got on my hand. The smell made me puke. Later that night, I told Trevor the whole story and bawled through the whole thing. "It was just so gross! Trash juice!"

I'm ridiculous.

 My husband is magical. The fact that he is dealing with me and loving me like always blows my mind. There are some things you'll never know about your husband until you go through it with them. I REALLY scored with this one, especially in the crazy pregnant wife department. He's my hero. He digs out the knots in my shoulders every day, hugs me when I'm getting crazy, does the dishes, tells me I'm pretty and that he's proud of me for working so hard... all the important things. Love him.

Otherwise, we're getting SO excited for Garrett's wedding next week and all the family coming into town! We're ready to party like it's 1999.

 XO

Lucky #13

Can you believe trimester 2 starts in 2 days? (I hit my week markers on Tuesday. I'm in week 13 now; week 14 starts on Tuesday. Trust me- I'm keeping track of every minute!)

This week I literally could feel my uterus stretching all day, every day. SUCH a weird feeling. I feel like a big time pansy a lot of the time. I'm finally starting to see a difference in what my belly looks like, and it's really entertaining. It also fluctuates depending on how bloated I happen to be that day, but it never quite flattens anymore which is fun.

I had to keep sitting down out of sheer exhaustion/ necessity to avoid vomiting all over the floor this weekend while we were out shopping for Trevor's suit for Garrett's wedding (which is in 12 days!). I feel like a zombie who can't keep her eyes open a lot of the time... but a very happy zombie.

I can't walk through a store for long without having to pee. I kept having to tell Trevor to walk slower until I could get to the bathroom. I also can't get through a 50 minute run without peeing at least once, sometimes twice. I didn't think this symptom happened until like the very end of pregnancy, but I was soo wrong.

Pregnancy brain is for real. I cannot for the life of me keep a thought in my brain for more than about 10 seconds these days. Inconvenient, but funny. I'll be mid-sentence and just have to tell whoever I was talking to that I'll get back to them because whatever thought I was having has vanished.

Big development this week, though: I only got sick at work twice this WHOLE WEEK! This is a big deal. Morning sickness is gradually, slowly starting to subside! 

Speaking of work, I finished training my darling replacement this week and will be starting to work (still for Keller Williams) on my own time and schedule this week. I've been pulling double duty the last few weeks- working full time and then doing my new position at night- and it's been a lot to juggle. I'm so excited to have the transition done and start training for my new work for real! I also got to go on a lunch date with my girl Bridget, which was so fun. Perks of taking a real lunch hour :).

Last night we watched What to Expect While You're Expecting. Every time Elizabeth Banks opened her mouth, I thought: ME TOO!!! Unfortunately, she was the one with the least graceful pregnancy. I'm pretty sure I'll have the waddle down pat in a few months. But if you've seen it, her speech at the end almost killed me. "Making a human is really, really hard". Amen, sister!!! Really hard but I couldn't think of anything that could make it more completely worth it!

We LOVE our little peach baby!!

XO

Week 12!

Words cannot describe how long I've been excited to do a weekly blog post about being pregnant (nerd alert). I'm going to be so thrilled someday to have documented it every week, even if- to be honest- this week was a lot like last week... and the week before... and the week before... :) I love going back and looking at old posts of our life, and I know I want to remember every tiny detail about the next months!

How far along?  12 weeks, 5 days

How big is baby? Size of a plum!

Maternity clothes? Despite weight loss, my shirts and pants are getting a little snug around my stomach, which puts a giant smile on my face! I'm wearing all my favorite looser shirts these days (mostly because I can't stand to have anything tight around my stomach) and basically live in cotton maxi dresses.

Stretch marks? Those days will approach fast I'm sure. Any suggestions on how to avoid them?

Sleep? This has been a hard one. I have a hard time sleeping because I'm feeling so sick. I also have been having super weird dreams, and I'm wondering if this has anything to do with the fact that I get up to pee like every 2 hours. It's crazy that I have to pee so often... it's not like I have a giant baby on my bladder yet! But this has been one of my most pronounced symptoms. At least I'm well hydrated!

Best moment last week? Announcing to the world that I'm PREGNANT!

Movement? I'm pretty sure the baby likes to reject whatever I try to eat, and revolts by pushing all my food back up in the opposite direction. 

Food cravings? Baked potatoes. Raspberry Jello. Slurpees. Chicken salad sandwiches (which is weird because I generally have serious aversions to meat). Spaghettios for like 5 seconds until I acted on this craving.

Food aversions? Everything.

Gender? I'm guessing a girl! But we're not hoping either way- we should find out in about 8 weeks!

Labor signs? Far too early for that!

Belly button in/out? In.

What I miss: I miss zero things about not being pregnant. Any day of headaches and puking and exhaustion is better than a day of feeling great and not being able to get this baby on the way!

What I am looking forward to: Starting to work from home more in the next couple of weeks! This will make things much more manageable!

Milestones: My baby can open and close his/her tiny fingers (which have fingernails, people)!

XO

On Repeat

I love Carrie Underwood.

And I am currently obsessed with this song.

The Best News in the World

Thank you for all the love about our little one!

Can you believe it's finally happening?

Here's the story.

Trevor asked me yesterday how long it's been my biggest life dream to be a mom.

I said since the moment I was born, and he believes me.

We've been talking about babies since we were married in December of 2009.

We officially started trying in May of 2011.

After 3 months, I was disappointed.

After 6 months, I was working with a doctor.

After 9 months, I was trying to tell myself that I could make it to a year.

After a year, I was a little bit of a mess.

9 Weeks

In July of this year, along with the fertility medicine I'd been on for months, I got a $200 shot and 2 ultrasounds. Unfortunately, insurance didn't cover anything related to infertility. I came home from the doctor after the shot and bawled on the floor, knowing that more months of expensive treatments weren't in the cards for us right now. 

I've spent lots of time trying to lose myself in work, or school, or hobbies.

But my mind has been full of wanting to be a mother the whole time.

10 days later, I got my first positive pregnancy test of my life.

The shot I had was an HCG trigger shot, so I knew that the positive could be a result of the residual HCG in my system. I kept testing every day that week (I couldn't let those 2 pink lines disappear!). On Thursday, the day that the shot technically should have been totally out of my system, I still tested positive. I was still terrified to get my hopes up, so I went to the doctor to get a blood test. Have I mentioned that this was the longest week I've ever had in my entire life?

10 Weeks

The next day, I called the doctor 4 times to see if my test results were in yet.

Finally, around 3 in the afternoon, they confirmed what I'd been hoping for for more than a year.

POSITIVE.

I laughed, I cried, I prayed, and I finally let myself believe it.

Finally, I could be part of this world that had been off limits to me for such a long time.

I haven't stopped daydreaming and thinking about this little one since.

11 Weeks

To say I've been a bit paranoid is somewhat of an understatement. 

I got an ultrasound at 5.5 weeks just to make sure there really was something alive in there. That little flutter on the screen was the best sight I've ever seen in my life. I cried like a baby (blame it on the hormones?) and Trevor teared up, too (shh). 

So there it is! After all this time, our dream of being parents is coming true. 

Here's how it's been:

I'm pretty sure I'm the quintessential pregnant woman, down to the pickles and ice cream. 

I puke every day. As unpleasant as it is to feel like I've been carsick for months, I love the reminder that my little bean is happy and healthy. I'm so NOT one of those girls who barely notices that she's pregnant. I feel like I got hit by a truck most of the time. But a very cute truck.

This is what morning sickness looks like.

The exhaustion is indescribable. Sometimes I feel like I can't even move, and I'm not even being dramatic. I take a nap every day at lunch and I fall asleep every time. It takes a lot of work to make a human! I've never been more happy to feel like a zombie.

Have I mentioned Trevor is the most supportive husband on the planet? He deserves his own post. Watch for it.

I crave the. weirdest. foods. Not your typical "flu" foods. More like... french silk pie, tomato soup and cheese sandwiches, green grapes, pesto pasta... you know, a bunch of stuff that's probably terrible for me. Things I will not be craving for an extremely long time? Mexican food, Asian food, and Indian food. I bet you can guess why.

I cry like a faucet. Trevor thinks he's hilarious when he starts talking all sentimental about the baby bean and makes me tear up. Then I laugh and cry at the same time because I know how ridiculous I'm being. Ask me how many times I've cried on the way to work because of a song, or how often I cry while I'm running because One Tree Hill is just so darn touching.

Speaking of which. One of my biggest accomplishments, at least in my mind, has been running through my first trimester. My doctor said I was fine to keep doing whatever I was doing before I got pregnant cardio wise. Trust me, it has been no easy task. I'm going at a slower pace, cutting down a bit on distance, and letting myself walk a lap or two if I'm starting to feel sick or too worn out. I do LOVE my new little running buddy... I'm hoping this one turns out to be a runner like momma.

And there you have it. All my funny belly pictures that are probably mostly bloating at this point, and all the details of the best news we've ever had.

XO

A Baby! A Baby! We're Having a Baby!

Lime-sized Baby Hansen will be gracing the world with his/her presence in March of 2013!!!

This momma and daddy couldn't be more thrilled!!!

           

We're completely over the moon about our long awaited little one.

My favorite sound is officially that heartbeat. 166 perfect beats per minute never sounded so good!

More details soon!

Reunions and River Walks

Once upon a time, I had the best roommates ever.

This is us 4 years ago right after we moved in together. 

It was seriously a party every day.

Same year, next semester:

The next year, I got married.

The year after that, Stephanie went on a mission.

Then Bridget went on a mission.

Then Stephanie came home.

Then Bridget came home.

Then Kelli got married.

And THEN, after at least 2 years of us not being all together, we reunited!

 And it was so good.

I love these girls!

On another note.

This Sunday, Trevor and I went walking along the Provo river. I loved it. It made me feel like I was back home, minus the lightning bugs, thunder in the distance, humidity, cicadas, and a few other important things. We will definitely be back.

 Isn't he cute???