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Sunday, February 25, 2018

Week 13: Gold dresses and fancy bow ties!

Week 13 has proven to be an interesting week.

I'm using this as my bump picture for week 13. This dress was from Rent the Runway and was the best decision i've made. If you don't know what it is, it's basically a place where you rent a fancy dress for cheap, they send you TWO SIZES AND they send you a back up dress, just incase you didn't like the dress you initially liked. IN LOVE.



I have to brag on my husband for a minute. I don't talk about his job very much, but he's in the Air Force. When we got to this base at Los Angeles, we were super enthusiastic and so excited to live in California and experience the west coast. That feeling drastically disappeared, our commutes to work were horrendous, we didn't have the support we did in Charleston and we were sure we made a horrible mistake moving here.  Matt was starting a new position and doing something completely different than before, and I was drowning at a hospital that was not the right place for me as a new grad.

Fast forward to 3 years later: Matt was recognized for Company Grade Officer of the year for his directorate, so he was able to compete as a nominee in the LA AFB level, although he didn't get the award at the base level. I'm so proud of him. I cannot tell you how many late hours he's spent at work,  hours spent in traffic, trying to figure out if this is all worth it and how hard of a transition this has been on us both, especially with a baby. Now I work at place I love and have made it home.

God sure works in mysterious ways, things seemed to really work out in the end.

If you ever ask yourself if your struggle is worth it, I promise it is.




I have to tell you this week was filled to the brim of all kinds of unexpected things. My godmother came in to town because Matt had to go to Japan for work this week. Work trips for him are always such a pain for me, but I know they are so necessary for him to progress in his job. So that leaves me at home with Allie for a week. 

WELL when you're a military spouse like me and work 12 hour shifts, when day care only accommodates for 8 hours of the day, you need a little help. 

So my fairy godmother, Sandal came to help out. She's so wonderful and she always comes in and saves the day. 




So my appointment this week was stressful to the max. My doctor nonchalantly walks in and asks how my perinatologist appointment went, and I told her, "um I haven't been, I've been waiting for you guys to put in the referral", to her reply was " oh God, I thought we've done this".

NOPE.

So my OB proceeded to find the heart beat of the baby and do her assessment, and is taking forever to find my baby's heartbeat!

She finally finds the heartbeat and i'm ready to come out of my skin. Everything is good. My anxiety is going through the roof.

At the end of the visit:

OB:  "oh you need to see your perinatologist today".

Me: UH no ma'am, I can't.

OB: you're nearly 14 weeks, you need/have to do it before your second trimester.

Me (in a slight hormonal rage) : Ma'am, it's not my fault your office staff is incapable of doing putting this in referral in a timely manner. If I could have put in my own referral I would have.

I left feeling like I have made a huge mistake by coming back to this OB!!! Anybody have suggestions for someone new that delivers at Torrance memorial?

I ended up getting an appointment for Monday, when I'll be 13 weeks and 6 days.
Lesson learned. I from now on will be that patient that hounds people to do their jobs in order for things to be done on time. Hormonal rant slightly over.

We went to the awards ceremony, we were walking around, chatting with people and I immediately started having cramping in my stomach and felt horrible. During someone's speech I felt like my stomach was eating itself, So I started eating my salad probably before I should have but hey I have an excuse (if you didn't know Air Force ceremonies are a little drawn out)! Then they held our food hostage for another hour. I felt the gas and bloating happening, oh god I'm going to look like a pig stuffed into this dress.  Thank goodness I decided to put on the dress that was a size up.



After the ceremony, my cramping didn't stop and I was freaking out. Needless to say, I was a little stressed out from the events of the week. It didn't help that my load at work had been super hard lately. All the stress puts a toll on your body, so I took my own advice and knew it was time to slow down for me.

I absolutely slept most of the day the next day and all my symptoms resolved. That was a relief when I woke up the next morning.

Cravings: CARBS and black olives.

Aversions: Chicken. I ate maybe two bites at the awards ceremony and couldn't even look at my plate anymore. So weird because i've been eating it all along.

Week 13 has aged me significantly. Allie too. At least we got through it, the good, the bad and the inconvenient.



Questions for YOU!!! 

OB RN's why exactly do they need to do the first perinatologist appointment before the second trimester? Just wondering why it was needed quickly. 

When did braxton hicks contractions start for you? I know that everyone gets them and they are healthy for your uterus, because it is practice as long as they aren't sustained, but I feel like I didn't feel them until I got well into my second trimester last time. 







Saturday, February 24, 2018

Week 12: A week of emotional rants.

Yes, we've made it to week 12. This week I just couldn't hold my excitement in any longer. I finally let the world know I have a baby just baking away. #babycoatesthe2nd


I'm really horrible at keeping secrets, other than of course HIPAA in the work life and best friend secrets, so keeping this secret as to why I couldn't move an incredible large patient up in bed was a struggle. 

So now that my conscious is clear, its actually easier for me to blog about stuff now. 

Lucky you. 

So I will tell you this week has been emotional. I have no idea why this week rather than all the others. Most likely because of "THIS IS US". 


This is what my face looks like every episode. #justlikeeveryoneelse

So I won't give anything away, but I cannot handle this show right now. I probably have collectively cried about 2 hours THIS week due to this damn show. The Super Bowl Sunday episode was beyond difficult and then THE CAR episode was gut wrenching. 

Also from a nurses point of view, CAN WE PLEASE GET A REDO WITH THAT GOD AWFUL CODE?! If his o2 levels were that low, could we please put him on bipap?!? Maybe get a freaking ABG, I know they had ABGS in the 90's! NBC, I need more closure than this. 

Sorry for that rant, so here's another one. 

So i'm desperately trying to find another movie for Allie to become obsessed with because we need to break up with Moana for a bit. So Matt downloads COCO. 


I don't want to give away a lot about this movie, but it's about a little boy who desperately wants to be a musician, but needs the support of his family and it's centered around Dia del Los Muertos, or Day of the dead, which I love the premise of this in the Mexican culture. He goes back across the "portal" to his dead relatives and discovers some horrific details about his family and YALL IT'S SAD. SAD!!!

Anywho, I want you to think about the beginning of the movie,  UP!, and how tragic that was, now I want you to picture the last 30 minutes of this movie being just as tragic. This is a fantastic movie, however, I don't know how I will get through this pregnancy and have Allie obsessed with this movie. Mayyyyyybe we need to find a different movie. 


SOOOOOOO many emotions. 

So on a high note: 

Here is Week 12 bump picture! I can very slightly see a bump, maybe its a bloated tummy, but maybe also a baby. The stripes make it confusing!



On to other preggo rants: 

  • I'm starting to get horrible headaches at night. It's really inconvenient. Especially when I have to work the next day. 
  • Gas is on a whole other level. I seriously am worried I might actually starting belching in public. I feel like in my last pregnancy this glorious symptom didn't come until the end. 
  • It's almost like I'm a bottomless pit. Which makes me super nervous. #thisisnotafitpreganancy
Cravings: EVERYTHING. Namely, Girl Scout cookies. I'm pretty hooked on tagalongs and i've been a loyal Thin Mints and Samoas girl for years. HOT CHEETOS. 

Aversions: Eggs. I still can't smell them without trying to get sick. I pretty much hold my breath while making them for Allie. 

Ok, y'all. Thanks for bearing with my rants. 



Questions: 

Fellow mamas: did you feel you were more emotional with one pregnancy versus another one?

What movies are your kiddos obsessed with these days?! Allie is pretty stuck on all the ones that sing. 

Anyone else emotionally drained from This is Us and not preggo?! 

In your second pregnancy, how fast did you start showing?








Monday, February 19, 2018

Eating my way through pregnancy and The Disney rejects: week 10 and 11.



Finally a family picture where my child doesn't look like she wants to cut someone. We've really been into hiking lately. I finally feel like I have energy again. We are almost caught up with all the blogggggs.

Here is week 10 and 11!


Week 10:



Woah what a difference a week makes in the life of a preggo. I feel like I have so much more energy this week, and boy i'm going to need it. 

So it's no surprise that I have a love/hate relationship with my insurance, Tricare. #militaryspousesunite on this topic. So long story short, I had not seen my doctor until last week. That's correct at week 9. Apparently my referral didn't go through and blah blah blah. Apparently I had to jump through a million hoops to get because they didn't believe I was pregnant, my doctor claims she needed a urine test to confirm my pregnancy before I could get a referral for an OB, So i get to my appointment, NO URINE TEST needed. I waited 4 weeks for this appointment.

I know the healthcare system is broken. 



This gif was a slight understatement of my emotions. Not only did I feel like a negligent mother, but I always have an intense amount of anxiety before the first OB appointment, like every other mom. But this did confirm I'm not having twins, (sorry Aunt Jordy). 

I guess this fabulous uterus could only contain the excitement of one baby this go round! 

This week proved a number of things for me: 

1. I always need help walking the dog. For all the days of my life, I don't think i'll ever get tired of this sight. 


2.  Dating your spouse is needed. When that baby comes your relationship takes a toll. It just happens. Let Super Mario Brothers 3 happen sometimes, this was probably the best time I'd had in a good long while on a Saturday night.  #healwaysletsmebemario


3. I don't know what happens to your brain during pregnancy but the good, bad and sometimes ugly happen. Ugly crying that is, over this beautiful California sunset. #allthehormones


Cravings: lemon drops, popsicles and hash browns with cholula. 

Aversions: Eggs, I'm really just thinking it's the smell of eggs. 


Week 11: 


Oh week 11, my appetite was out of control this week, I literally could not get enough to eat this week. On this Friday, I knew I was going to Disney. I literally could not wait. I love riding stuff at Disney, but I also love eating everything. 

The Coates Standard of Disney Eats includes: Dole whip, Turkey leg, corn on the cob and a chimichanga. I also wanted a pretzel. So naturally I ate pretty much everything with the help of my family of course, but oh i'll be packing on the weight with this one. 

I know i'm not the only one who does this at Disney! So I also knew I wanted to incorporate a Disney themed baby announcement, because this will most likely be our only Southern California adventure. 

These were the ones that didn't make it: 

Baby refusing to look at the camera because it's the morning. 


Decided to not use this one because she looks like she doesn't want anyone sitting next to her/ also might bite someone. 

This was no good because A. my eyes were closed and  B. Allie looks like she still hates everything and refuses to look at the camera.





 Both of the above weren't used because Allie was so upset we were on the teacups. MY QUESTION IS: WHO THE HELL IS UNHAPPY ABOUT THE TEACUPS?!!!?! Who is this child? If it was cute we were going to say: Reservation for FOUR to the the teacup party! Either way I loved how our announcement came out. It really was the best.


Cravings: salt. salt and more salt.

Accurate depiction of me in 6 months:

Aversions: Not much right now. I ate an egg over the weekend and survived. 


Questions about you:

What did you crave when you were preggo?!!

With your second pregnancy, When did you start wearing preggo clothes?





Friday, February 16, 2018

Blog overload: Weeks 7-9!

Hello Week 7! Baby is size of a Raspberry!


So basically, my body hurts and I feel like i'm dying. It's a little to early for this, right?! I might be pushing myself too hard at work, but it's so hard to find a balance because i'm a RN, and can't tell too many people that i'm preggo, so I ask for as much help as I can without letting on too much. 

I am starving. All. The. Time. BUT once I eat, I am so nauseous. This makes no sense. The only thing that seems to help the nausea right now is Preggie Pops, I have no idea whats in them, but they seem to help. Sour things also help right now. 

Let me tell you, Allie does not care in the least how awful I feel right now. 


Toddlers know exactly how to push all the buttons all at once. For instance, I'm dry heaving and she's concerned with our Dog bowl. 




AVERSIONS: I all of a sudden can't handle meat this week. Even when I feed the dog, Its all I can do is hold my breath until I can get away from all the smells. 

Cravings: Any and all sweet and salty snacks. I also can't drink enough water right now. I drink a lot of water to begin with, but it totally makes me feel like I'm not doing a good enough job. 

WEEK 8!



I've been waiting for the turn of this week. Week 7 had me so sick. I have figured out that I MUST eat  literally when raising out of bed in the morning to not feel so sick. This was different from last time. I have a feeling i'll be saying this a lot. 

Cravings: AVOCADO TOAST. I kinda feel like this after I eat avocado toast too. A little expensive, but I am reaping the benefits of California Avocados. 



Aversions: Eggs. 

Also a non-food aversion has been Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. I love Disney, I love Mickey, but If i hear the Hot dog song one more time, I might walk into traffic. #preggohormonesinfullswing



WEEK 9!!


Well that surprised look on my face was the fact that this was taken at 6:15am before work so I wouldn't forget. There's a surprising amount of mom guilt that I feel overtime I think about not taking the time for a picture. 

I can just picture my future obstinate child, saying, "oh you documented everything for Allie, but what about me?!!". So I take the picture and move on, no matter how bloated or crazy I look. 

I felt really bloated this week. I know the surge of hormones has been crazy, so I expected as much, but goodness. 

This week I felt better. I had been able to eat a full meal without feeling super nauseous. Something else that started suffering this week is SLEEP. 

I have been getting up several times a night to pee, plus i've had to take UNISOM every night this week to sleep. Fellow PREGGOS, Unisom is completely safe to use, it's really just 50 mg of Benadryl. No, I didn't partner up with Unisom, but I'll tell you i've always been a huge advocate of benadryl, especially in my night shifter days (eh) nights. 

I'm sure i'll get so exhausted having a toddler that never stops that this will indeed go away. 

Here is my toddler at 20 months that thinks she is too cool for school with this hat on. 





Cravings: CARBS. That spells happiness, my friends. Spicy Thai Eggplant, my spicy kick is back with a vengeance! 

Aversions: Eggs, Meat of any kind. 

That wraps up these three weeks! 



Questions for you!

What food did you crave throughout your pregnancies? Dad's what about you? don't worry we haven't forgot about you, after all you got us into this mess.... lol. 

Veteran moms: What did additional things did you buy for baby #2, that you wished you would have had for baby #1?

Here is a question for everyone, Do you feel like a baby shower for every child is appropriate? My hubs says yes. I don't feel the same. 





Wednesday, February 14, 2018

Well Hello Preggo Status



Well ready or not little corner of the internet...

This has been a little kept secret for long enough.

The cat is coming out of the bag for the SECOND time.





That's right. Preggo Status is making a big come back. Welcome back to 9 months of hearing pregnant rants.

Leading up to thinking I was pregnant. I had some of the weirdest dreams. I had a dream I was in a car with a co-worker and we were on our way to Colorado but we were driving on train tracks. It was the weirdest thing. She told me I'd have to deliver my baby on the road. The next day I woke up so nauseous I couldn't think straight. My lovely first born is in a sleep regression and thought I didn't get enough sleep.

Well I didn't get any sleep, but now I definitely know what contributed.

Hello August 28, 2018! Our little sweet pea will be here before I know it.

Let's go ahead and start with week 4:

Thoughts for Week 4: On a Tuesday before Christmas, peed on three sticks, all got the POSITIVE. Holy shit, i'm about to do this again: was my first thought.

The second thought was definitely more motherly and sentimental. I really get to do this again. How lucky am I? I hugged my baby and told her the best news first. I seriously cannot wait for this new baby to know how much he/she is loved.

I cried all day long, with happy tears of course.

I also went to Disney this week, I ate a TON this day. Like way more than usual. Like a lobster roll, chimichanga, corn on the cob, and I started that day with a corndog and chips. MY GOODNESS, I don't know how my co-workers weren't like, are you preggo? They were all nurses.

Week 5: 


Yes, everything is great. I've done this before, I know exactly what to expect. I don't feel any nausea. I was still elated, that this was happening so quick. We had planned to start trying in December 2017, after my brother's wedding. I had no idea that it would happen this soon. Last time, it took 10 months to conceive.


Week 6: 




Holy God, I want to die. I don't know if it was because I was changing a nasty wound that morning at work, or the fact I could smell poop from the other side of the hall, but my goodness this wave of nausea hit like a ton of bricks.

I all of a sudden, had no appetite and wanted to crawl in a corner and wait patiently for the rest of my shift to be over, it was 9 am. My shifts are 12 hours long. Never mind that our hospital floor has been swamped with Influenza type A.



So lucky.

Well the good part, is my body is used to being a nurse. The bad part happens to be the smell factor this week. Every shift I worked I could smell everything. Eggs smelled horrific, especially in a patient's room. I remember from my first pregnancy I literally couldn't be around wounds. It was the worst.

AVERSIONS:
So far food doesn't look good, until I'm eating it. I have a feeling Tomatoes and I will break up for a bit.

Cravings: Oatmeal. I have never in my life wanted oatmeal. I think the texture is weird. But this week, I eat it like it was my job. Pregnancy is weird sometimes.

EMOTIONS: They are pretty much a roller coaster, which makes it real interesting for my co-workers that have no idea whats going on.

I am so tired this week, I don't want to do a thing. I know I need to keep working out, but Sleep has been calling me all week.






Well y'all. Thanks for listening to me, as always, any ideas to make things better let me know. I'm always up for suggestions.

Questions for thought:

* Did you find that through multiple pregnancies, were they the same or very different?
* Do you feel that it was easier the second time around?
* What things did you change with the second pregnancy?