Welcome to Week 14!

Here we are in week 14! Only about a month before we can find out if we're having a boy or a girl! I'm looking forward to that!

I've been feeling better lately.  I'm not as sleepy...although on Friday night I was zonked tired.  So, maybe I just worked too hard last week!  But anyway... It looks like I'm headed into the 2nd trimester and things are looking better.  Although, I can't complain too much about the 1st trimester.  It really wasn't too bad.

I'll be writing more later!

Baby Names!

 

It's tough finding a name to go with a last name like Crouch.  The strong C sound is hard AND it only has one syllable, which sometimes makes short names (which are my favorite) sound odd.  I know I have a long time to think about baby names...but I still think about it all the time!  Girl names are so much easier, but I'm having a hard time with boy names.   I'm secretly hoping for a boy....and Jesse is praying, hoping, crossing-fingers, and doing rain-dances for a boy, so I guess I'm focusing more on boy names.  Jesse's brothers and sisters have a lot of kids, 11 to be exact....and only 2 of those are boys!  So, I think everyone would like for us to have a little boy.   My parents even want a boy since I'm their only child, I guess they'd like to have a baby boy.

Before I got pregnant, I prayed for God's will to be done, but I told God that it was the desire of my heart to get pregnant in August with a BOY.  Since He kept His word and gave me the desires of my heart for the timing of my pregnancy, I don't see why He wouldn't make it a boy! However, if it turns out to be a girl, I'll know for a fact that she was God's will and so it will work out to be better for us in the long run.  So, whatever happens... I'm happy.

Anyway....here are a few GIRL names that I've been thinking about:

• Harper
• Audrey

And here are the BOY names:

• Larkin (this was the name of one of  my great-grandfathers)
• Louden (Jesse likes this one because he is a Vision Quest fan)
• Hayden
• Bryson (I like this one alot, but I'm afraid Jesse will call him Peabo.)

Please feel free to comment and tell me your opinions on the names...or participate in the anonymous poll on the column to the right. 

No Maternity Leave? Really?

I called the human resources lady for our school district this morning.  I wanted to know if there was anything I needed to do about maternity leave even though it was a long time away.   So, anyway... I found out that the only paid time off that I get is from my own accrued sick days!  I don't get ANY paid leave at all!  What?!

Really?  I thought it was like a law or something!  I thought that everyone got 6 paid weeks off for Maternity!  I guess I was wrong.  I learned that if I do take time off, I have to apply for a Family Medical Leave of Absence...which, of course, is unpaid time off.   To beat all of that, if I take the unpaid leave, I have to pay for my own health insurance during that time!  Wow!  I can't believe this!!

If I use up all of my sick days, that will mean that I won't have any left to take off days if the baby gets sick or needs to go to the doctor for appointments, either!

At least I have a little while to figure out what we are going to do.  I'm really glad that I'm due at the end of the school year!

Keeping it Down!

I got to sleep in this morning and I'm so glad. Jesse and I actually went to bed before 10:30 last night and I woke up at 8:15! I guess due to the fact that I got to sleep in, I was able to cook sausage and eggs for breakfast.....AND I managed to keep it all down! Yay!

Today I am 12 weeks. After this midwife appointment I have scheduled for Monday, I will probably finally be telling the world that I'm having a baby. So, the Facebook post will be coming soon!

When will I get a bump?

I'm almost into my 2nd trimester now.   I guess that starts at week 13...and I'll be there in 9 days.  I'm still getting nauseous in the mornings....as a matter of fact, I threw up today AND yesterday.  I say "threw up" but it was mostly dry heaves....which is worse than throwing up!  

I really haven't gained any weight yet.  I have been eating carbs and letting myself eat things that I wouldn't have eaten before...mostly due to the morning sickness and food aversions.  (Healthy food looks icky.)  So, I have gained a little bit.....and every once in awhile I swear I can feel a belly, but then by the morning it is gone!      Everyone tells me that I'll probably start to show soon, since I'm small......but nothing so far.  When will it start?  I googled "When will I start showing?" and learned that everyone starts at different times.  Also, it said that 1st pregnancies tend to take longer to start showing.   I guess I should just be patient... I'm sure all too soon I'll be wishing my belly was flat again.

I'll be posting more after my birth center appointment on Monday evening.  I'm looking forward to hearing the heartbeat!

It Comes...and It Goes....

This is how I felt this morning!

I wish I understood why morning sickness comes and goes!  It is so hard to predict! Maybe I should go back to eating a cracker before I get out of bed.  This morning I drank a few big gulps of water in the bathroom right after I woke up.  I put on my make-up and then I went downstairs to cook breakfast.   I made 2 fried eggs in butter....and I had leftover sausage gravy with a slice of sprouted bread.  I ate a few bites and I had to quickly throw the cat off of my lap and run to the powder room!  Yikes!  I won't go into details but it was scary!  

As soon as I was done....and I blew my nose and wiped the tears from my eyes, I was able to finish my breakfast.   Tasted much better the second time, even if it was a little cold.  Kitsy was even nice enough to join me again.

Tomorrow I get to sleep in (Special Election Day!) so I should be fine tomorrow.  Uggh.