Thanksgiving

Here in America we have a big family holiday at Thanksgiving. Nowadays it's mostly about having a big meal with your family and continuing your traditions, whatever they may be. Now that we're a new family unit, we think about what holiday traditions do we want to do as we raise our kids. Callalily loves decorations for all holidays. Especially the apple-spice smelling candles during fall and winter. We don't get into Halloween because there's so much demonic activity. But Thanksgiving and Christmas are great.

Since we're leaving the lower 48 and won't be around for Christmas, we tried to be with both families for Thanksgiving this year. Whereas we've been alternating the in-laws in the past. So the actual day of was with CallaLily's parents, sister, and a couple ladies from the church. Then this weekend we repeated a banquet with BearHunter's family, including grandparents.

Maybe we're a little obsessed with log cabins. For the gingerbread contest at the county Christmas fair, I made a gingerbread log cabin with the Three Bears around it. They are so fun to make and be creative with, but take a lot of work I found out. Getting the royal icing a good firm consistency to stick jelly beans to but not so soft they drip off the roof before drying...is difficult. But we managed. I didn't win anything, but I got an honorable mention ribbon...which I think means since I didn't win first or second place and no one else entered in my age group that they decided to give me a ribbon! I don't know. Mine was pretty cool though, I have to admit.

12 Weeks Pregnant

Here's our profile at 12 weeks pregnant. There's a little pouch showing a wee bit already. This is actually taken Thanksgiving day. I've been feeling great the last few weeks. No more nausea. Even my energy is back to normal. Though some days I do get tired and want to nap. But in general I don't even think about being pregnant, because I don't feel any different. I do wear looser pants though, to be more comfortable. My pregnancy acne is still here, unfortunately. I don't know if that will disappear in the second trimester or not. I've read that it usually does. Good!

In response to our diaper query, I've been told about gDiapers. They are a washable outer pant with a flushable liner. Designed to be more environmentally friendly than either other option. In a few days we'll be in our new hometown in Alaska and can ask around up there what's available.

To get from Anchorage to our base, we'll have to fly in a single prop plane for an hour ride. Unpressurized and seats just a few people. Since we'll only be going up to 4000 feet, it should be safe for the pregnancy. We're so excited to get started up there. Ready to brace the cold. And our first Christmas alone away from family since we've gotten married.

Maternity Update

It's amazing how the days can flipflop. The last few days I've been feeling great, I have energy and no nausea. I'm cheerful and laughing and enjoying some long walks in the fall foliage around the community with my husband. I had a good week around week 8 as well. But then as soon as the good days start they end, and it's back to the couch feeling lethargic and headachey all day, not wanting to do anything or go anywhere.

The fall here is still beautiful, in the Sierra Nevadas. Some trees are are red and yellow, while others have already dropped their leaves. But when I walk I can smell the damp leaves and earth. I love the fall for that reason, the sights and smells. Being pregnant most normal smells can be a problem. Even smells you've never noticed before are suddenly strong and repulsive or make you feel like gagging. Getting outside into the fresh air is best, no unnatural smells to bother me. It's the house that has bad smells, each room it's own hovering haze (not that I can actually see it).

So just for kicks I looked up the weather in Homer, Alaska where we'll be the end of this month and it reads 19 F. Yikes! That's winter weather already. So forget packing any of my summer clothes, it's back to long johns, thick pants, turtlenecks and sweaters. By the time I could wear any tank tops or summer pants, I'll be pooching out a basketball belly or perhaps already breastfeeding, which brings its own clothing needs. Big changes coming up. I just hope they salt the sidewalks, so I don't slip on any ice. As I get bigger, they say it's hard to keep balance, plus your joints are softened and less stable due to the pregnancy hormones.

I'm hoping to get BearHunter to blog some of his side of things: living with a pregnant me.

Survey: anyone have experience with cloth diapers? How does it compare to using disposables? What's the cost difference and is it horribly annoying to have to rinse them off all day long? Thanks!
-CallaLily

Baby Blog

I guess it's time to tell the world.
Ahah, we finally had our first positive ept last month (early pregnancy test). Yep yep, we're pregnant, nine weeks along as of today. We had been trying to get pregnant for a few months while traveling in Thailand and New Zealand, but traveling makes it difficult. So our first month home, we did it! No pun intended.

At the request of my sister-in-law who is ultra curious about the pregnancy process, I'll try to include my experiences as they are noteworthy. Reader be warned that my sense of which bodily functions are proper or improper to mention is somewhat skewed by my career as a pharmacist. I'm comfortable talking about everything! However, I am aware that this blog can be viewed by anyone in the world whether I know them or not, so that will temper my discussions. By the posting title it'll be clear whether I'll be talking about pregnancy/maternity stuff or not.

Here goes; my first nine weeks. First off, I need to clarify that you don't conceive until week two, which means when you're actually two weeks post conception you're called "four weeks pregnant." Those two weeks between conception and ept are the slowest two weeks in the world, if you're really hoping to be pregnant. Although this last month for me wasn't too bad because the first week I was sure we weren't pregnant again, that makes it less nerve wracking. But then for the second week post-conception I was having signs that I probably was, so I was kind of confident and that made the time go faster, too.

Morning sickness; I've had it pretty easy. I felt rather queasy the first few weeks, even waking up at night feeling really full and needing to sleep on my side. So I would carry saltines wherever I went. In fact while driving the three hours to my parents' place, I was feeling carsick on top of queasy (0r maybe it's all the same thing). I didn't want to eat anything I just needed some saltines and water. So we were near Vacaville and pulled into the closest option Sam's Club. While I waited in the car, BearHunter arms himself for the hunt. He is able to get a free one day pass to shop at Sam's Club, and some time later arrives back at the car loaded with a jumbo box of saltines (we're talking twelve packets) and enough water bottles for a football team. How cute is that? Now we're stocked with enough to last me through Christmas probably. I have learned that eating small quantities, even if I feel like I could eat plenty more really helps. Needless to say I've been feeling a ton better these last few weeks than I did the first four. My problem was that at first I was going health crazy. There's a millin books you can read on what to eat or not eat during pregnancy. If you're a bit OCD (like most pharmacists are) this will create a problem, actually trying to abide by those nutrition rules. What it made me do, was eat three meals a day, three snacks a day of whole wheat something or other and plenty of fruits and veggies, nothing processed. But really, that's why I was overeating. You don't need 1000 extra calories a day during the first trimester. An extra dab of ice cream or cup of juice is enough calories for now. I've also got to listen to my instincts and not eat what I don't feel like eating.

Ok, that's enough writing for now. I'll get to my other symptoms later.
-CallaLily