I've been sharing the news with people at work. I work in multiple buildings so that's a lot of people. There have been plenty of questions to answer. Let's review, shall we?
When are you due?
Feb 23rd.
How are you feeling?
If you've read the rest of the blog, you know the first trimester was no picnic. I think I'm turning the corner though so my standard answer to this questions is "Better." I have to stay on top of things with sleeping, eating frequently, drinking (cold) water, and not getting too hot. If I manage those things well I can function pretty well. Things seem to improve by the day.
Are you going to find out if it's a boy or girl?
So many people have asked this. Probably 90% of people I've told. The answer is yes, we will find out. A couple people have asked the follow-up question of if we'll tell others. Yes, we will share that information. If I was planning to find out but not tell people, I don't think I'd tell people that. I think I'd just lie and say we were going to be surprised and save myself the hassle of explanation.
Was this planned or a happy surprise?
Only one person has been bold enough to ask so far (even though I know people must be curious because I wonder this too.) To answer the spirit of the question, it was planned. But things didn't go exactly according to the original plan, so the fact that it finally happened was definitely a happy surprise!
Have you discussed names?
Not much, just a little bit for boy names. We're holding off until we know the sex, just to make things a little easier for ourselves.
Are your parents excited?
Yep. Both sets of grandparents are very excited. My parents have been asking about grandkids for oh, about a decade.
Are you excited/thrilled/etc?
Yes. Although if you ask Jeff apparently his answer is "not yet." Which just made me laugh since that's such a Jeff way of thinking. I guess his life isn't any different yet so there's nothing to get excited about. But he's been ready longer than I have, so I know he's happy to have a kid on the way.
You haven't gotten fat yet!
To answer the implied question: No, I'm not showing yet. My pants are just starting to get tighter. Haven't even had to use the rubber band in the button hole trick yet. But I lost weight in the first trimester so that has balanced out any potential belly growth to this point.
How long will you take off? Will you be back before the end of the year?
The plan is to take the full 12 weeks allowed under FMLA. I have to talk with personnel for official details. But based on what I can gather from our contract I can have 6 of those 12 weeks paid for with accumulated sick leave. I will have to return to work sometime in mid-May for the last 3 or 4 weeks of school. We'll need some temporary childcare for those few weeks. So if you're interested in the job, let me know. :)
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Second Trimester!
I hit 14 weeks yesterday, officially putting me in the second trimester! (Pregnancy math is dumb, don't ask.) I am continuing to feel better, so hooray for that.
I also returned to work this week. This means I'm getting less sleep than I should. And I have much less free time. So you get fewer updates. There are a couple posts in the works though. I should have them up by the end of the weekend.
I also returned to work this week. This means I'm getting less sleep than I should. And I have much less free time. So you get fewer updates. There are a couple posts in the works though. I should have them up by the end of the weekend.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Comments
You can comment on any of the posts. Underneath a post you'll see a link that says "0 comments" or something similar. Click on that link and you can type your comment. Feel free to tell me how yummy my strawberries look or question why we get so furry in a year's time.
And if you're new here, please start from the bottom and work your way up. Or find the post that says "new to the blog" for more info. Please, please don't start off your reading with the one about me throwing up.
And if you're new here, please start from the bottom and work your way up. Or find the post that says "new to the blog" for more info. Please, please don't start off your reading with the one about me throwing up.
The one where Brandi throws up...
In CHURCH!!
Yes, that's right. The one and only time I've actually vomited during this pregnancy (thus far) was in a VERY public place! I guess I jinxed myself by telling people I was feeling better.
I'm warning you now. There will be TMI (too much information) in this post. Truthfully, I get more graphic that anyone really needs to know. But I've got to share the fun with others. And don't worry, there won't be any pictures in this post! Do not read if the description of me throwing up will sicken you. Here's the short version: I get warm in church, stand up when I should have just kept sitting down (or left), and throw up. There you go, you can stop reading now.
So, our church isn't air conditioned. They had previously held summer services in the school's basement so we'd have A/C. But the fluorescent lighting, linoleum floor, and folding metal chairs don't quite give that church-y feeling. So the new priest wanted to try keeping everything in the church this year. We do have a small chapel/cry room directly adjacent to the altar that has air for those that needed it.
It's been a while since I've been to church here with our various travels, Jeff's work schedule, and not feeling up to it once a month ago. So we head off to church today. It was a warm day but not too too hot. I thought I'd be fine. I bring a little ice water along in case. It didn't feel too bad inside. But while standing and singing during the first hymn, I got a little woozy. I didn't want to faint in church so I sat down, leaned my head down for a bit and was fine. This has happened to me before being pregnant. I figured the singing wasn't helping, maybe messing up my breathing or expending too much energy or whatever. Well, the next time we stood disproved that idea. I stand but don't sing. Just breathe in and out. I started feeling bad so I sat down again. Hmmm, standing=bad, sitting=good. So I just kept sitting down through the rest of the service and sipping a little water. I felt mostly okay but did debate going to the cry room during Communion to sit in the A/C. I did really want to stand for the Lord's Prayer and giving of peace though. [Okay, here's where it gets gross. Stop reading! Turn back, save yourself!]
BIG mistake. I started feeling woozy during the prayer but tried to make it through. Felt worse. I sat down just after the Lord's prayer and put my head down, tried to breathe, took a drink of water, etc. Not helping! Then I started feeling sick. Oh, a little burp. Okay, that should relieve the "pressure." I'll be fine. Nope, now a little vomit comes up! Kept my mouth closed and swallowed it. Wiped off the stuff that came out my nose and reached for more water. I figured that was the worst of it and I was in the clear. I'll pull myself together and leave when I feel up to it.
I was wrong. Suddenly I throw up. All over the floor and the kneeler in front of me. Got some inside my shoes and a little on the bottom of my shorts. I hear Jeff make a concerned type noise and some helpful person nearby say "Oh! She just got sick!" I do note that the Cheerios I had that morning have created a pretty bland colored and fairly liquid-y vomit. Nothing neon green like the last time I threw up while Jeff was around (about 11 years ago, that's a real fun story too).
Jeff digs out the keys and tries to get me to usher me out. He seems confused that I don't get up immediately. Apparently he neglects to factor in the few seconds I need to wipe vomit off my face and out of my nostrils! Oh, did I mention that we sit like 8 rows from the front of the church?? Fortunately, this does put us near a side exit so we slip out that way. He hands me the keys and I head home while he heads off to find something to clean up with. I've asked no details about how it went after I left because I do NOT want to know. He says to me later that he didn't realize I was feeling that bad. My reply? "Yeah, me neither!" Because you can bet that if I thought I was going to throw up, I would have been long gone! I thought passing out was the thing I was trying to fight off.
I've already figured out that next weekend we'll be out of town and thus not back at church. Hopefully my status as throw-up girl will die down a bit. After that, I plan on hiding out in the cry room. A little A/C and a lot less people sounds like a good idea.
Yes, that's right. The one and only time I've actually vomited during this pregnancy (thus far) was in a VERY public place! I guess I jinxed myself by telling people I was feeling better.
I'm warning you now. There will be TMI (too much information) in this post. Truthfully, I get more graphic that anyone really needs to know. But I've got to share the fun with others. And don't worry, there won't be any pictures in this post! Do not read if the description of me throwing up will sicken you. Here's the short version: I get warm in church, stand up when I should have just kept sitting down (or left), and throw up. There you go, you can stop reading now.
So, our church isn't air conditioned. They had previously held summer services in the school's basement so we'd have A/C. But the fluorescent lighting, linoleum floor, and folding metal chairs don't quite give that church-y feeling. So the new priest wanted to try keeping everything in the church this year. We do have a small chapel/cry room directly adjacent to the altar that has air for those that needed it.
It's been a while since I've been to church here with our various travels, Jeff's work schedule, and not feeling up to it once a month ago. So we head off to church today. It was a warm day but not too too hot. I thought I'd be fine. I bring a little ice water along in case. It didn't feel too bad inside. But while standing and singing during the first hymn, I got a little woozy. I didn't want to faint in church so I sat down, leaned my head down for a bit and was fine. This has happened to me before being pregnant. I figured the singing wasn't helping, maybe messing up my breathing or expending too much energy or whatever. Well, the next time we stood disproved that idea. I stand but don't sing. Just breathe in and out. I started feeling bad so I sat down again. Hmmm, standing=bad, sitting=good. So I just kept sitting down through the rest of the service and sipping a little water. I felt mostly okay but did debate going to the cry room during Communion to sit in the A/C. I did really want to stand for the Lord's Prayer and giving of peace though. [Okay, here's where it gets gross. Stop reading! Turn back, save yourself!]
BIG mistake. I started feeling woozy during the prayer but tried to make it through. Felt worse. I sat down just after the Lord's prayer and put my head down, tried to breathe, took a drink of water, etc. Not helping! Then I started feeling sick. Oh, a little burp. Okay, that should relieve the "pressure." I'll be fine. Nope, now a little vomit comes up! Kept my mouth closed and swallowed it. Wiped off the stuff that came out my nose and reached for more water. I figured that was the worst of it and I was in the clear. I'll pull myself together and leave when I feel up to it.
I was wrong. Suddenly I throw up. All over the floor and the kneeler in front of me. Got some inside my shoes and a little on the bottom of my shorts. I hear Jeff make a concerned type noise and some helpful person nearby say "Oh! She just got sick!" I do note that the Cheerios I had that morning have created a pretty bland colored and fairly liquid-y vomit. Nothing neon green like the last time I threw up while Jeff was around (about 11 years ago, that's a real fun story too).
Jeff digs out the keys and tries to get me to usher me out. He seems confused that I don't get up immediately. Apparently he neglects to factor in the few seconds I need to wipe vomit off my face and out of my nostrils! Oh, did I mention that we sit like 8 rows from the front of the church?? Fortunately, this does put us near a side exit so we slip out that way. He hands me the keys and I head home while he heads off to find something to clean up with. I've asked no details about how it went after I left because I do NOT want to know. He says to me later that he didn't realize I was feeling that bad. My reply? "Yeah, me neither!" Because you can bet that if I thought I was going to throw up, I would have been long gone! I thought passing out was the thing I was trying to fight off.
I've already figured out that next weekend we'll be out of town and thus not back at church. Hopefully my status as throw-up girl will die down a bit. After that, I plan on hiding out in the cry room. A little A/C and a lot less people sounds like a good idea.
Surprises all around....
This past week we've been slowly spreading the news. So we've been able to give a few people a happy surprise. And we've gotten a few surprises ourselves.
When we got back in town from Canada, Jeff's parents, his sister, and her 2 girls were in town visiting the Schulze extended family. So we mooched off the in-laws for an airport pick-up and arrived at Jeff's grandparents around 9 that evening. I then proceeded to wait about an hour and a half for Jeff to spill the beans to his family! I tried to create some openings by mentioning peeing in every restroom in Banff national park as well as needing a nap one day but to no avail. I think I finally poked him and gave him a look. He finally got the ball rolling by asking about their sightseeing plans for the next day. He mentioned that we'd be free most of the day but I did have an ultrasound scheduled in the afternoon. There was a brief pause until LeeAnn asked "Is there something we should know about?" At which point he finally told them that I'm pregnant. There were a couple of soft gasps and happiness all around. We shared the news with the rest of the Schulze side of the family over the next few days.
One my favorite moments from their trip came when it was decided to order Chinese for dinner one night. No one was interested in my suggestion of shrimp fried rice (a Chinese food staple in the Simpson household and my favorite). So I was going to make do with the sesame or orange chicken that others were interested in. Jeff's aunt and mom went to pick up the food. When they returned, there was a little container of shrimp fried rice that Jeff's mom had gotten as a special treat just for me! LeeAnn jokingly complained that she didn't get a special treat. To which her mom replied, "Well you're not giving me another grandchild!" I may have then obnoxiously teased LeeAnn that I was the favorite now. It was a funny moment, but I was also really surprised and delighted with my treat. I may not have fully expressed my gratitude so thanks Diane, that was an awesome surprise!
On Friday the 13th, I gave my boss a surprise. Just two days before, he had invited me to participate in interviewing candidates for another school psychologist going on maternity leave in September. Convenient timing for me to go in a few minutes early and let him know that I too was pregnant. So he'd have to do this process again in February. His first response was to laugh and laugh. I mean, how often do 2 of your 4 psychologists go out in one year? Then he was very happy for us and sent his congratulations along to myself and Jeff.
The final surprise of the week came when we had someone insistently ring our doorbell and pound on the door. Jeff went out to see that a delivery person had left a package on our doorstep. Well, actually I think Jeff said it was tucked under our doormat, which is pretty ridiculous since it wasn't a small package. Jeff walks in with it and I immediately spot these words on the side of the box:
Shari's Berries! As in the company that sends chocolate covered strawberries. Another of my favorite treats! Yum! As soon as I see the box I know I need to document this for a blog post. But who sent them? I examine the outside label but find no clues other than the sending address was "Brandi (and Jeff) Schulze." (Someone clearly knows who is most important!) So I open it to see what goodies await and who to thank.
Ooh, two boxes. What could it be?
Chocolate covered strawberries and cherries!! There was a card inside from my friend Sally. We've been friends with Sally and her husband Nate since our freshman year of college. Sally was Maid of Honor at our wedding. We were roommates from second semester of freshman year through to my grad school years (except for that one semester when she ditched me to study abroad in Russia, but we won't talk about that dark time :) Sally's an awesome friend, even when she's not sending me chocolate covered fruit! Thanks Sally!!
And even though Jeff was only included in the card in parentheses I shared my bounty with him. I'm so generous!
When we got back in town from Canada, Jeff's parents, his sister, and her 2 girls were in town visiting the Schulze extended family. So we mooched off the in-laws for an airport pick-up and arrived at Jeff's grandparents around 9 that evening. I then proceeded to wait about an hour and a half for Jeff to spill the beans to his family! I tried to create some openings by mentioning peeing in every restroom in Banff national park as well as needing a nap one day but to no avail. I think I finally poked him and gave him a look. He finally got the ball rolling by asking about their sightseeing plans for the next day. He mentioned that we'd be free most of the day but I did have an ultrasound scheduled in the afternoon. There was a brief pause until LeeAnn asked "Is there something we should know about?" At which point he finally told them that I'm pregnant. There were a couple of soft gasps and happiness all around. We shared the news with the rest of the Schulze side of the family over the next few days.
One my favorite moments from their trip came when it was decided to order Chinese for dinner one night. No one was interested in my suggestion of shrimp fried rice (a Chinese food staple in the Simpson household and my favorite). So I was going to make do with the sesame or orange chicken that others were interested in. Jeff's aunt and mom went to pick up the food. When they returned, there was a little container of shrimp fried rice that Jeff's mom had gotten as a special treat just for me! LeeAnn jokingly complained that she didn't get a special treat. To which her mom replied, "Well you're not giving me another grandchild!" I may have then obnoxiously teased LeeAnn that I was the favorite now. It was a funny moment, but I was also really surprised and delighted with my treat. I may not have fully expressed my gratitude so thanks Diane, that was an awesome surprise!
On Friday the 13th, I gave my boss a surprise. Just two days before, he had invited me to participate in interviewing candidates for another school psychologist going on maternity leave in September. Convenient timing for me to go in a few minutes early and let him know that I too was pregnant. So he'd have to do this process again in February. His first response was to laugh and laugh. I mean, how often do 2 of your 4 psychologists go out in one year? Then he was very happy for us and sent his congratulations along to myself and Jeff.
The final surprise of the week came when we had someone insistently ring our doorbell and pound on the door. Jeff went out to see that a delivery person had left a package on our doorstep. Well, actually I think Jeff said it was tucked under our doormat, which is pretty ridiculous since it wasn't a small package. Jeff walks in with it and I immediately spot these words on the side of the box:
Shari's Berries! As in the company that sends chocolate covered strawberries. Another of my favorite treats! Yum! As soon as I see the box I know I need to document this for a blog post. But who sent them? I examine the outside label but find no clues other than the sending address was "Brandi (and Jeff) Schulze." (Someone clearly knows who is most important!) So I open it to see what goodies await and who to thank.
Ooh, two boxes. What could it be?
Chocolate covered strawberries and cherries!! There was a card inside from my friend Sally. We've been friends with Sally and her husband Nate since our freshman year of college. Sally was Maid of Honor at our wedding. We were roommates from second semester of freshman year through to my grad school years (except for that one semester when she ditched me to study abroad in Russia, but we won't talk about that dark time :) Sally's an awesome friend, even when she's not sending me chocolate covered fruit! Thanks Sally!!
And even though Jeff was only included in the card in parentheses I shared my bounty with him. I'm so generous!
Thursday, August 12, 2010
First time visiting the blog?
Are you new here? Here's a tip. Posts are arranged with the oldest at the bottom. So to read from the beginning, you have to start from the bottom. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and find the post that says Welcome! Read that one and then read up from there. If you only have one post on a page, click on the "2010" link in the archive section on the right and you should get more.
Baby's First Pictures!
The little sprout had it's first photos taken on Tuesday, August 10th during my first ultrasound. We elected to do the first trimester screen which combines an ultrasound and a blood test to screen for Down Syndrome and some other issues. I was sold on the fact that it would give me an ultrasound earlier than the one at 20 weeks!
The baby was stubborn and wouldn't turn over to give the ultrasound tech the desired position for photos. But they were able to get the measurements they needed of the nuchal fold (neck fold). The doctor said it seemed normal. Blood tests results will take a week or so. It was fun to watch the baby flail its little legs and arms in reaction to the tech jiggling my belly to get him/her to turn over.
Here are the shots of the baby. It is facing down, with its head on the left side of the pictures. So you can see the head and the little profile (looking down) on the left side. Then the body. In the first picture you can see the little legs/feet scrunched up on the lower left. The last one isn't great. It's more zoomed out, so the baby is the funny shape toward the top.
I tried to tell Jeff that it already has his stubbornness and big forehead. He tried that old excuse that a developing baby is supposed to have a big forehead. Whatever! :)
The baby was stubborn and wouldn't turn over to give the ultrasound tech the desired position for photos. But they were able to get the measurements they needed of the nuchal fold (neck fold). The doctor said it seemed normal. Blood tests results will take a week or so. It was fun to watch the baby flail its little legs and arms in reaction to the tech jiggling my belly to get him/her to turn over.
Here are the shots of the baby. It is facing down, with its head on the left side of the pictures. So you can see the head and the little profile (looking down) on the left side. Then the body. In the first picture you can see the little legs/feet scrunched up on the lower left. The last one isn't great. It's more zoomed out, so the baby is the funny shape toward the top.
I tried to tell Jeff that it already has his stubbornness and big forehead. He tried that old excuse that a developing baby is supposed to have a big forehead. Whatever! :)
Vacation!
Jeff and I took our vacation for the year from Aug 1 to Aug 9. We headed up to Canada to visit Banff National Park. Plenty of hiking, sightseeing, and mountain vistas to keep us busy. We had a great time! Jeff was ready to move up there.
Once Jeff finishes editing all our pictures, we'll upload them somewhere and I'll post a link here.
Update: Hours of editing are complete! View the album by clicking on the picture below.
Once Jeff finishes editing all our pictures, we'll upload them somewhere and I'll post a link here.
Update: Hours of editing are complete! View the album by clicking on the picture below.
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| Banff |
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