Ten weeks

I already feel like I am swollen in my mid section, but I have only gained a pound. I started out at 145 pounds, and I am hovering around 146 lately. I am pretty sure it is mostly in my boobs. Super swollen! I am trying to keep first trimester weight gain to a minimum because I really would have liked to get pregnant at 138 pounds. While weight gain is far from the most important thing, I want to keep it healthy. Hopefully I will top out at 170.

Chase and I have talked about names lately too. We have loved the name Kate for a girl for about a year. I am 99% sure that is our girl name. Our boy name right now is Corbin. Chase has a good friend, Corbin Gale, who we love, and we love the name. I am not sold on that one yet, but we will find out the gender before we spend too much time on the name.

We are mostly focused on getting the house done. I am trying to manage cash flow while also moving the project forward and it's tough. Chase is busy in school but helps when he can. Connie has been a life saver. She comes over several days every week to offer her help and it has made a huge difference. When we were in St. George, Chase asked Connie if she would surprise me by finishing the paint on the basement fireplace. And she did so much more! Rich, Tiffany, Sarah, Hona, Henry, and Megan all came to help. They got the entire basement painted, touch ups and all. They installed the basement toilet, cleaned the basement windows and screens,  started the shower hardware, fixed a huge hole in the wall in the upstairs bathroom, sealed the basement tile and grout, mudded the upstairs office walls, moved a light switch and primed the hallway. Basically 40+ hours of labor while I spent time with Chase in St. George. I cried when I came home to the best surprise!

Speaking of St. George, the marathon went great! I mean, considering I was 8+ weeks pregnant, had hardly trained, and I have knee issues. Lauren and I ran the whole thing together and finished at 4:27. We had initially tried for 4:20 (10 minute mile pace) but miles 20-24 were REALLY hard so we fell off pace a bit. We felt great for the first ten, like we weren't even trying. Even the big hill at miles 7 was not a big deal. We stopped on the way up because we spotted open potties, then kept moving. The hill continues gradually for another 4 miles or so. That took it out of us a bit. At about half way we had our first little hiccup. Lauren stopped to stretch and get an icy hot rub for her hamstring. The next 7 miles went great, we just had to work a little harder than the first 10. We had only stopped at aid stations to drink water and then we would run again. Lots of water, gatorade, orange slices, and gu. At miles 16 Chase, Sean, Alfie and the kids came to cheer for us. At this point I handed off the banana I had been carrying for 16 miles in case of hunger. Seeing our people was definitely a highlight. Then at mile 20, I hit a little wall. My knees, ankles, hips and back started to hurt SO bad. It wasn't muscle pain, just joint pain. Luckily, no IT band pain (a miracle) and no cramping in the baby area. The next four miles felt like 20, but Lauren held back a little and stayed with me. At mile 24, the 4:30 pacer passed us. That was enough to kick us into high gear. We finished strong with sub 9 minute miles and it was fun! We finished without injury=success!

That night I was in a lot of pain, still just the joints. The next two days were more just muscle pain. And now I feel great!

At nine weeks and two days we got to another ultra sound. Perks of being a "high risk" prego. Dr. Barton has me coming in every two weeks up to this point. Chase got to come with me this time and I am so glad! It was so fun to be together and it became a little more real for both of us. Here are the pictures and video...


Can you even believe it! The baby already moves around! I was so excited to see that! What a neat experience. I don't think I ever appreciated how fast a tiny embryo turns into a functioning baby! I learned that at ten weeks, everything is in place and from this point forward the baby mostly just gets bigger. There is still lots of developing to do, but all of the organs are formed and present. I love looking up the different developmental stages every few days. I measured two days early at my last ultrasound and this time I measured three days early. This is good! My due date is Tuesday, May 10th. Chase finishes spring semester April 29th and starts summer semester May 9th. So we are hoping for May 1-4 so we Chase can have a week off to be with us! I think we have a decent chance because I was 8 pounds 3 ounces on my due date, and Chase was 8 pounds 6 ounces three weeks early. So if we have a big baby we have a better chance at going a week early.

We had the family pumpkin patch party a few days ago, always a good time! I saw Maggie who is 21 weeks along with a boy and it was fun to chat about things! She wants to name her boy John and call him Jack.

I told Emily about the baby last week and she was so excited! She asked to be an honorary aunt, and I think she'll make a good one. We also told the Lakeys because Loni saw the ultrasound on the fridge! They are excited for us too.

Today is Chase's birthday and I am ten weeks and one day. Chase is really sick and has a chemistry test, so we may celebrate tomorrow. But I just can't help but be grateful that, even when days are long and hard, we are really blessed with everything that is going on in our lives right now.