Almost 11 Weeks To Go!!

This pregnancy has been r-o-u-g-h for me. I was so sick for a good three months. Sicker than I've ever been with the other three kids, and I would cry almost every day because not only was I so done being sick, but I felt useless. I couldn't do anything! Bryan was such a trooper and would come home from work and make dinner and get the kids ready for bed and clean up while I moaned and groaned from the safety of the couch. My mom brought me whatever food I was craving at the time, and several friends brought me meals because if I cooked the food, I could not eat it.

SOME OF THE FOOD I CRAVED:
Teriyaki (we hit up Koto Teriyaki more times that I can count!)
Wendy's chicken sandwiches
Water
Salad (even though it was the one food I couldn't digest and I knew I would throw it up)
Cereal
Vegetables with ranch dip

One thing I could NOT do while in the midst of my morning sickness: Diet Coke. Uh-huh - I'm not lying! I couldn't even be around it. The thought of drinking it made me sick, and if we went somewhere where there was soda machines I got lemonade. But I did find that regular Coke didn't nauseate me. Weird. But overall I didn't want soda at all (except the occasional need for root beer).

Now I'm completely over the nausea. It hits every once in a while, but only if I"m super hungry. I have heartburn like crazy but I've become good friends with Zantac and Tums (we're tight). I still eat LOTS of cereal, and I have a weird craving for apples. I'll stop at the grocery store, get all three kids out, and buy just apples. I drink a TON of water and milk. This baby is going to come out mooing or with gills (or both). I'm really tired. I can take a nap during the day and still go to bed at 9pm. I've been getting Braxton-Hicks already, and have been for several weeks. My doctor says it's my body's way of telling me to slow down, but it's really hard to do that when I'm so busy. I can feel the baby move a lot - especially if I'm hungry.

And it's been so fun not knowing the gender! Every once in a while I see a great sale and have a minor regret for not knowing, but it always goes away, and I'm so glad we didn't find out. It brings a new element to being pregnant, and since I've had three kids already, it's been fun to have a new surprise element! Rix swears it's a boy (he is pretty anti-girl right now) and Bryce swears it's a girl. In fact, he is concerned that we don't have any clothes for her. Cole thinks it's a boy named "Girl". I think it's his way of fence-sitting.

Bryce and Rix are very interested in this baby. One if Rix's good friend's mom told me that Rix and her son have full conversations about the baby and when it's going to come and stuff. And Bryce draws lots of pictures of me with a baby in my tummy. And several times a day they want to know how many days until the baby comes. Hopefully this excitement stays around even after the baby comes! We haven't thought of any names or anything, but we have said that we will have a list of names for both genders before we go to the hospital. We'll see if that happens!

This is one of Bryce's pictures of me. Do you see the baby in my tummy? He draws the baby seperate, and then cuts it out and glues it on me.

Here he drew the whole family. The baby is the one on the bottom left.

My sisters and I at Harrison Hot Springs. And finally a "belly" picture! Sort of. My sisters have been very supportive of me during this pregnancy and so excited. I've even heard their ideas for a baby shower. I've only had one baby shower (before Rix was born) but Carissa said in Utah and Ohio people have them for all their kids, because it's important to celebrate the birth of all babies. I'm just glad they are excited for me!