14 weeks, 1 day

Well, I completely failed at posting pictures for 12 weeks, and didn't even get one for 13 weeks (sorry Mama H) but we got a 14 wk this morning, so I think that's better then nothing :)

12 weeks and some odd days.


and then from today..

with me cheesing it..a lot. Jesse was grumpy that I always smile weird or make a face, so I gave him the cheesiest smile I could muster and think I did a good job.

In other news..the sun has been trying to shine, and Zeke has been enjoying that, taking as many naps in the sun as he can.


And finally, I had a job interview this past Wednesday at the Y :) nothing fancy, but it would give me something to do. I think it went well, and I don't really think it'd be a problem with the whole being pregnant thing and then when the baby comes..it'd be mostly evening shifts, which would work out fine since Jesse could watch the baby and have some great bonding time while I'm gone for a few hours. Only part time, so that would work out great too. I hopefully find out at the beginning of this week that I got it...! Eek. We shall see..

13 weeks, 2 days

AAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand the first trimester is DONE.

This past weekend was fun and super tiring. Jesse and I decided to go to the Warther museum in Ohio, so we drove to Zanesville on Friday night since it's just over an hour drive to get there from Jesse's parent's house. We sat and talked with the H Parentals way too late (but had fun anyway) and then got up ridiculously early (ok, 7..) to eat some breakfast and get on the road to the museum. We were able to catch one tour that was leaving just as we got there and we REALLY enjoyed the museum. Jesse always has loved working with wood and I was fascinated by the ridiculous amount of detail.
This is one example of just one of the trains he carved..I do NOT have this patience and I am in awe of people who do.


Anyway, it was a great birthday and when we got home from the museum we drove way out into the country to some friend's property and went shooting and tramping through the woods. Zeke had never had the chance to really experience nature, so watching him run around on his own free will was really fun. He even learned to swim, but I don't think he was a fan. Wish I'd gotten picture of his face when he was walking through the creek and all of a sudden there was no ground beneath him and he had to figure out how to swim.

The real reason for this post was that I had a dentist appointment this morning haha I went in and filled out the "hi welcome to the office new patient" forms, and definitely checked the box that said "are you pregnant?" So when the hygienist came in with x-ray materials and a the lead apron I was kind of nervous. I said "this might be a dumb question..but I'm pregnant, can I have x-rays?" And she seemed kind of surprised and explained that I couldn't and I'd have to get them later. WHEW. Crisis averted..so glad I said something!! They went ahead and scheduled me for when I could get them taken and they asked if I thought October something would work. Sure, I don't even know what's going on next week, so October sounds great. Love how far in advance I get to plan my life and then forget about it.

12 weeks, 6 days

This post is not going to have anything to do with pregnancy: just a warning, it'll probably be pretty random. But the point of this blog was to keep you updated on life happenings as they happen (give or take some time) in the Team Hildebrand life. So this post is going to be about the wonderful bundle of energy that we have named Zeke.

Zeke and I have been taking daily walks down to a park where he runs and plays long enough that he sleeps most of the rest of the day (win). During the walks and play time, I have begun to notice various things that a) he adores, and b) he is scared/terrified of. I will now share these with you, and hopefully make you at least smile at the silly antics of this ridiculous 9 mo. old puppy we have.

A) Things Zeke adores:
- being outside
- being outside in the sun
- running
- chasing a tennis ball I throw/kick for him
- drinking water from the water bottle I have dedicated to him
- running all over the park smelling the different smells
- eating crab grass (???? PART GOAT)
- chewing on sticks
- chewing on anything I let him
- laying in the sun when he's tired
- any other people we see

B) Things that Zeke is scared of:
- loud cars that drive past us on our walks to the park
- annoying drivers who think it's funny to honk their horns RIGHT as they pass us
- semi's
- campaigning signs people put in their front yard (no idea why..it's not like one bit him)
- trash cans that are in the sidewalk (?)
- dogs that bark at him in a "hey, get away from my fence" kind of manner
- and one I CANNOT figure out..a silver soccer ball!?!?!

I have to explain about the soccer ball, because it is so funny to me. Somebody left a silver ball at the park, so Zeke went to investigate..and stopped about 3 feet short of actually smelling the ball. And then ran away. So I walked over and kicked it, showing him it can be fun. He chased it, and stopped about 2 feet short of it, running away again. I called Jesse and told him CLEARLY this was HIS dog, not mine..as no child or animal of mine would be scared of a soccer ball. Anyway, I left the ball in the middle of the field we were playing in and let Zeke go to town. Meaning he ran circles around it, would gather courage and tentatively sniff the ball before running away and starting his circles again. For 15 minutes. Ridiculous. I think he was scared because the ball was silver and reflecting the sun...?
Look how precious :) this was maybe one month after we got him..he would have been about 2.5-3 months old. So sweet and innocent..with huge paws :)

12 weeks, 3 days

Only a few more days before I can say goodbye to the first trimester and welcome in the second!! I have great plans for tri # 2, so it better be awesome. I plan on having energy, motivation, feeling awesome, eating all the foods I've been avoiding but know I love (deep down apparently), gaining weight so my midwife doesn't get grumpy and COMPLETE A HALF MARATHON. woo..

Speaking of the half marathon, for the record, I am ready for it to be over. I enjoy running, I enjoyed the feeling the last time I completed the 13.1 miles..but doing so while pregnant has not been as fun or easy as I had hoped. Especially with a lack of motivation. Fortunately, since the race occurs in the second trimester, I plan on being super fast and awesome and having the motivation to get it done. Even if I'm wrong, don't tell me, let me believe this is true.

My next appointment isn't for another two weeks (I think...I have it written down somewhere), but my life is apparently getting busy, at least for a few weeks. This weekend is my birthday (!) and I believe Jesse and I are headed to Ohio for the weekend. The following weekend is of course Easter, which will be spent in Findlay. And the weekend after THAT is the race!! In St. Louis, MO..yay for lots of car trips. My doctor appointment is somewhere in between those..

I don't really see a big difference in tummy size at this point, but some clothes are starting to feel a little tighter, and I have been told by a few friends that I'm starting to pooch out a little bit so yay :) considering the birth weights of Jesse and myself, we're expecting a huge baby..so excited. I'll try and get a picture of 12ish weeks here soon..

Also, real fast, I just wanted to announce that I have finally figured something brilliant out: if I take Zeke for a walk to the park (about 5 minute walk up the street) where I can turn him loose and let him run while we play fetch, when we get back home he is so tired he sleeps a good chunk of the rest of the day. Excellent. We both get in the sun and spend time outside, get some exercise (him more then me..) and I can either be productive or take a nap when we get home! It work so well when the sun is shining..

11 weeks, 4 days

When I run, my mind wanders..especially when I'm on long runs. The other day I was running what seemed to be a bazillion miles and my brain started thinking about the top 5 moments of my life. Even though one hasn't happened yet, I am definitely going to put the birth of Jesse and my first child on there. But seriously..what are the top 5 of your life? Mine..in order of occurrence..

1-- winning the trophy at the Sarnia Highland Games. I was in late middle school (?) and had watched both my brother and sister win trophies, and I continued to be thrilled with third places. This competition, I.Rocked. 4 dances = 3 firsts and a second (I know I got at least 2 firsts, but guess what, it's my blog and if I want to say I got 3, I got 3) meaning I got the trophy in my age group/dance level.

2-- being on the NCCAA National Champs soccer team, sophomore year of college. Definitely a highlight moment of my life. That last game..whew. Nail biter, and even the fat lip that I received as a result of the dog pile at the end was worth it.

3-- marrying Jesse. Self explanatory I believe, but even though the events leading up to the wedding could be described as a whirlwind and are foggy in my memory, I clearly remember looking into his eyes as we said our vows and were announced as husband and wife. And, wearing aviator sunglasses as we exited the church.

4-- graduating college. Between transferring schools, moving across the country, working two jobs and overloading in school, I am super ecstatic that I finished. Even if my major was worthless, I loved it.

5-- I'm assuming will be the birth of Baby X. I mean we'll have to wait and see I suppose, but I'm adding it to the list anyway. Obviously I'll keep you updated.

Quick sidenote: while she was in town, Emily and I went shopping for maternity clothes! So exciting/weird. Official decision, maternity jeans are incredibly comfortable. I can't believe how clueless I am/was about such things, but fortunately I have no problem asking questions or having a saleswoman explain simple things to me. Didn't buy anything too exciting, but I AM excited to start needing to wear them!!

11 weeks, 2 days

Well, still nothing exciting is going, but that's a-ok.

Jesse and I made a very spur of the moment trip up to see his parents on Friday evening. And by spur of the moment, I mean Mama H called us at 4p and said "hey! Wanna come to Zanesville tonight and then we'll go to Amish country tomorrow to look at Amish baby furniture?" So Saturday we went to look at baby cribs :) It was a lot of fun and the weather was really pretty and sunny so that helped make it even better. We ended up finding the crib we want, but not buying it because we still need to save some more pennies before we can afford it. So after our speed trip to Amish country, we went back to Zville and headed home to Clarksburg. We couldn't spend the night Saturday night because we had something at church we wanted to check out, I had a 9 mile run for Sunday and then we had to clean up before Emily came to visit. It was a busy Sunday but lots of fun..minus the running and cleaning.

Today, we went up to the midwife because at 10 weeks you can hear the baby's heartbeat through the stomach, so we went to listen and make sure the heartbeat was strong and blah blah blah. Which it was :) Unfortunately, I lost 6 lbs between this appointment and the last one..and the midwife told me if I didn't start gaining weight she said I'd have to stop running. No bueno. The ONE time I WANT to gain weight, I lose it..and when I want to lose it, I gain it? How ridiculous.

Fortunately, the nausea is about 95% gone (hooray!) and a more foods are starting to sound okay to eat..but still not a ton which is still annoying. We'll get there. This first trimester business is ALMOST over, so I plan on chowing down, having energy and motivation in the second..so BRING IT. 5 weeks until the half-marathon and after that, I plan on NOT running for the rest of the pregnancy..I will probably just walk/swim or something.

10 weeks, 4 days

Nothing too exciting going on at this point..Just kind of hanging out and missing my desire for foods. And hoping I didn't lose more weight between appointments, which is Monday.

For those of you who don't know, Jesse and I have decided not to go to a regular doctor/OB for this and any future child, but go with midwives instead. Probably part of it is we're just a bit old fashioned? We began discussing midwives when some friends of ours in Arizona were having children or finding out that they were pregnant, and we have a multitude of reasons, some of which I will bore you with now :)

-- we are picky, which I'm pretty sure is okay in this type of situation.
-- we want to have a say in what goes on in delivery. We've both heard stories about how doctors just kind of do what's easiest for them and we don't want that. We're also sure that this is NOT true 100% of the time, it just helped with our decision.
example: a friend of mine was going to a midwife then during the delivery experienced a complication so they ran her to the hospital. With the midwife, she'd been able to express concerns and have an opinion. At the hospital with the doctors, her opinion was gone and basically they ignored her except to tell her to push. One friend, one example..again, I know this is not the norm.
-- I do NOT want an epidural. end. of. story.
-- I do NOT want an IV. Bring on the pitchers of water or saline solution, I don't care, I'll drink whatever they want. I hate IV's. I want to know what is going into my body and how much and the idea of people just being able to switch what is being dripped without telling me is not acceptable in my book.
-- Jesse told me that now, if there is even the slightest hiccup in a birth (such as the baby being turned the wrong way), instead of trying to fix the problem the doctor will just do an emergency c-section. Again, not fine. I was born c-section, as were my siblings, nothing against it: in the event of an emergency or my baby is the size of a St. Bernard, fine. If everything is going normally, no thank you.
-- I will not be induced. Let the baby come in his/her own timing. Again, going back to not wanting just random things pumped into my body.
-- Jesse, who has done some research, brought up that doctors will also occasionally not wait for the after birth to pass normally, but rather pull it out which can cause issues. Not happening.
(probably at this point, you're completely judging me. I'm fine with that :) please know this is just what Jesse and I have decided for us and we have no problem with people doing things differently. We just have heard the random story and made our decision this way)
-- and finally, what some are already judging me about I'm sure, if I can help it, I will NOT be laying down when giving birth. Let gravity work, I'll be vertical.

There are some other odds and ends, but you get the idea. We will be talking to the midwife on Monday to discuss delivery options and the plan that we have in mind and find out how feasible it is. Obviously I can say all of this now being only 10 weeks pregnant, we'll see how I'm feeling around week 39..I know a lot of women who have had great deliveries with great doctors, this is just the decision we made for us :) and if Jesse had his way, yes, we would be having an at-home birth (fortunately for me, the midwife clinic does not cater to this request so I didn't have to tell Jesse no..).

10 weeks, 2 days

I just want you all to know that I found motivation over the weekend!!! How exciting :) some friends of ours were coming over for game night, and apparently that's all I needed to turn into a cleaning whirlwind. Brilliant. And, my bff Emily is coming for part of her spring break so that will give me another boost of motivation to clean. I'm hoping anyway..sorry Em, if the house is trashed.

In other news, I spent roughly a bazillion hours at the mall today..and only spent money on lunch since I was starving! How strong am I? I went because apparently in WV you have to have some sort of safety inspection on your car? Who knew? Fortunately, the auto place I took it was right next to the mall (win) so I wasn't completely bored out of my skull. And being the naive blond that I am, I was assuming it'd take all of 10 minutes. hah. As a result, I got to spend some quality time in the food court chowing down on a $5 footlong (thank you Subway) and browsing some maternity/baby clothes!

Even being in my third month of pregnancy, I still haven't wrapped my mind around the fact that there's something in there growing and that Jesse and I are going to be parents. I figure that realization will come when I start to show and can feel the baby moving around..but looking at maternity clothes sure was a step towards that point also! Walking around pricing some stuff thinking "oh, I'll like these in a few months..I'll want to wear LOTS of tank tops since I'll be super pregnant during the summer" kind of helped solidify some things. And looking at baby clothes? Yikes. Whenever Jesse and I would walk past the baby section in a store I'd say "oh that's cute" or "how precious is this?!" but now..now it's "oh, I like this, I could actually get this soon for my baby." I was telling my sister-in-law I think my uterus started jumping when I was looking at onesies. I'm not sure how to explain it, but it was really exciting to look at things and know it's actually for me this time, not for someone else.

Oh, and one more thing. If any of you are curious about how I will be as a parent, please check out my other blog for a post about raising a dog-- in my opinion, excellent training ground. Written shortly before I found out the excitement, I still think it holds true. Zeke continues to be a handful at almost 9 months..love that dog.