Here it comes...

2013

This past year has been one to remember.

John and I spent our first year of marriage together. We lived in a tiny back house, with no heater or air conditioning. The insulation was horrible so when it was hot, it was hotter in our apartment and when it was cold, we could see our breathe inside. Despite our apartment's quirks, we love that place! It is where we began. Also, it has avocado, orange, nectarine, guava, loquat, and lemon trees! 

John and I graduated from Cal State Long Beach. Him with his Bachelor's degree in Political Science, and a 4.0 I might add. (Such a smart, hard-working man I married) And me with a Bachelor's in Child Development and Family Studies. 

We found out there is a baby cooking in my belly. The first few months were horrible. I couldn't eat or drink anything without vomiting (averaging about 15 times every day). I lost a bunch of weight, had to go to the hospital a few times, and was sick ALL day, EVERY day. Things started to get better at about 16 weeks, until all the sickness was gone! I felt baby kick for the first time about 18 weeks and John felt the baby at about 20 weeks. My bump has definitely popped, but I also have a ways to go in the bump growing department ;)

John took the LSAT and got accepted into BYU law school. It took 4 months of intense studying, every day to prepare for the LSAT. He took the test, and although he didn't get the score he was hoping for, he got a fairly good score. BYU law accepted him! Not only was his score their median acceptance score, but his high GPA and amazing personal statement boosted their interest, and his experience volunteering in the Long Beach courthouse self help center is what won them over. I'm sure his semester interning in DC for a congressman helped as well. (Did I already say I married an amazingly smart and hardworking man?)

Not only was 2013 year filled with some great memories and milestones, I learned a lot. 

The beginning half of the year I worked as a nanny for a 5 year old boy and a baby girl. Being in the home rather than in a school setting, I worked at a child development center for 4 years before, with kids shed a whole new light on a lot of things for me. I have always had the desire to be a stay at home mom. I have loved working with children, especially with the intent of helping to nurture their social development, as well as cognitive and physical. One thing I always found hard was children who spent their whole day at school. It was basically always out of necessity since most of the parents were going to school and working to support their family. I never blamed them, I just desired to be someone their children could receive the love and support needed while they were not with their parents. That was the basis of my experience while working at the child development center. Being a nanny changed a lot for me. It made me really see how hard it can be on children who don't have a parent at home. I saw the insecurity felt and the lack of attention given. The family I worked for was amazing. Both parents worked, both had high paying jobs. The mother was a career women, and by that I mean her career came first before her family. And I hated that. Children learn and grow through the love and attention of their parents. Teachers and care givers really are supplements to what the parents have to offer.

Living off of one income is always a hard choice, even if the parent who works makes a lot of money, it's an even harder choice if living off one income makes the budget tight. I guess what it comes down to is what you find important. I have learned, more than ever, that money cannot replace the benefits of being at home with your kids. I know that every family is different and in some families it is not possible, but with our family I want to do everything possible so that my children have the benefit of having me there and present in their every day lives. 

2014

A year bringing us some HUGE changes. 

John and I will become parents sometime in the end of April or beginning of May. Baby girl's due date is May 1st. This will be a big change. Our lives will not longer revolve around us. No longer will we be able to go and do what we want, when we want to. (Not that we do much now because we are so cheap... I mean frugal...let's be real we are cheap). Speaking of our cheapness, for those of you that do not already know our baby's experience is gonna be a little different than the norm. First off, we are going to be using cloth diapers, partially to save money and partially because my mom makes them. We understand that cloth diapering is not for everyone, some people cringe at the thought of it, there is more work (laundry) associated with it, but there are tons of benefits to it, one of many being the money saving. Also, unless things are given to us, our baby is not going to have a bunch of "stuff". While I was a nanny for a baby I realized how much stuff the baby industry pushes and how much they honestly do not need most of it. Of course if we are given things that we would not necessarily buy, we will gladly use it, but besides the essentials, a few toys are all I see necessary. (Plus we are cheap are don't buy a ton of stuff for ourselves so why would we teach our children any differently). I also realize that once baby comes all of this might change, but we shall see. 

John and I will be moving to Utah sometime mid summer. We want to wait as long as possible before school starts up for John because we know moving, especially that far, with a baby is gonna suck! But we have a family reunion the end of July in Utah, so we will probably do it just before then. I am SO excited to move. I have never lived outside of Southern California. I mean I live within 30 minutes of where I grew up, this has been my bubble and I am excited for the change. The change in weather, people, and culture. Even though, being a SoCal native makes me SUPER nervous for the months of snow. It will be a new and exciting adventure. And it is not like we are moving some place that we know no one. We have friends and family that live in the Provo area, so while there will be new friends to make, we will have the comfort of people we know when we, meaning me and the baby, get lonely while John is busily studying himself to death. 

John will start the 3 year venture of law school. He is going to be busier and probably more stressed out than he ever has before, but he has this weirdly deep love of school (seriously I have never known someone to be a week after the semester ends and wishing for a new semester to begin again), so I know he will do just fine. Also, the law school has a spouses association so I will have a group who know exactly what I am going through, having a law student as a husband is apparently pretty lonely at times. 

How far along: 22 weeks 6 days

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Last time I weighed myself I was up 9 lbs from my pre pregnancy weight, but that was almost a week ago.

Maternity clothes: I am still rebelling.

Stretch marks: nope nope!

Sleep: I wake up to pee like twice a night and sometimes baby's kicks wake me up.

Best moment last week: I'm pretty sure baby girl had the hiccups. Her whole body kept moving, it was pretty cool.

Movement: ALL THE TIME! ALL. THE. TIME.

Food cravings: I don't really have cravings but if there are lemons around, I will eat them, all of them.

Gender: GIRL!!

Labor signs: nope

Belly button - in or out? Still in, but it is on it's way out

What I miss: Looking cute in most clothes.

What I am looking forward to: Seeing how big this bump is going to get!

Milestones: I can see baby's movements on the outside a lot more frequently. Seriously so trippy!

December is the best month EVER.

I think December is one of my favorite months of the year. I love being able to wear boots, and scarves, and long sleeved shirts. I love hot chocolate and herbal tea, and wrapping up in blankets. It's just all so COZY!

And of course, I love Christmas and everything about it. I love Christmas trees, lights, and the music.

This year I have done 25 days of Christmas for John. So basically everyday we do some sort of Christmas centered activity. It has been loads of fun and I think so far my favorite things we have done are:

Portraits of the Prince of Peace in Long Beach
Where different churches on this street get together and tell the story of Christ's birth through live Nativity scenes. The churches were also opened with different special musical talents going on inside, including harps and a bell choir! (AWESOME!)

Christmas Prank Calls
We called some of our family and as soon as they answered started singing a Christmas song and just hung up when we were done. It was silly and HILARIOUS!

Lights at Naples
Tonight we are going to a neighborhood in Long Beach called Naples. It's in the marina and all the houses are huge and on the water. Plus their Christmas lights are amazing.

We have done tons of other stuff but those were a few of my favorites.

Being pregnant during December means my favorite month of the year gets an exciting twist to it.
Putting on those boots I love to wear... not so easy when a baby bump makes it difficult to bend over.
Getting all cozy and cuddling up with a blanket is also not the same, because belly bump makes sitting in one position for too long really uncomfortable.

But it also means fun memories are attached to the month.
On December 16, John felted baby girl's little kicks for the first time. It was pretty awesome. We were just sitting on the couch watching a redbox movie. Baby girl was moving around like she always does and I looked down and saw my stomach move! I immediately grabbed John's hand and placed on my stomach while we waited. He felt her and he was like, "Was that her?!?!?!?" And then she kick, kick, kicked her daddy! haha John thinks she doesn't like being bothered and that's why she kicked him ;)

Baby kicks are pretty neat to feel and there is no best way to describe it.

This month John and I also had our one year anniversary! We went to The Melting Pot. If you have never been there I seriously suggest going. It was SO yummy! I mean four course fondue dinner... hello! So delicious!

Also, John got his acceptance to BYU law, with a partial scholarship. SO after baby is born in April or May, a few months later we are moving up to Utah for the next three years. Next year is going to be filled with lots of BIG changes and it's going to be great! :)

How far along: 21 weeks

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 9 lbs! I'm out of the negatives from my crazy morning sickness!

Maternity clothes: I have a couple shirts that I wear, but I had those from before i was pregnant. (They were cute and on clearance, don't judge me!) I am rebelling against maternity pants still, even though I totally need them. But I just use a rubber band to "button" my pants.

Stretch marks: nope nope!

Sleep: I sleep ok but I get SO uncomfortable. I have to change positions SO often! And not being able to sleep on my back or stomach is just not cool.

Best moment last week: John finally feeling baby girl kick was pretty awesome

Movement: ALL THE TIME!

Food cravings: I don't think I have been having any cravings... I'm just hungry ALL the time.

Gender: GIRL!!

Labor signs: nope

Belly button - in or out? Still in, but it is on it's way out

What I miss: Jeans being comfortable. They are seriously the WORST now.

What I am looking forward to: Crazy big kicks.

Milestones: John felt baby girl. 

Our Little Dancer

Friday, December 6, 2013. The day John and I found out we are having a little girl. 

Our decision to find out the gender:

 It has become pretty popular for people to not find out the gender at the mid-pregnancy ultrasound and wait for the birth. I know of at least 3 people that have or are waiting for birth to find out the gender. Some reasons they did/are doing this are to be old fashioned (we haven't always been able to find out before the birth), for the ultimate surprise at the birth, to stay away from the stereotypical onslaught of pink or blue, and I'm sure there are other factors as well.

John and I decided, without hesitation, to find out the gender for a few reasons. I think our families would have a heart attack if they had to wait to find out. This is John's parents second grandchild so the excitement is still definitely there, and I am my moms only daughter. So us having a baby is big for both our families. Also, my mom is making us cloth diapers, and other baby gear, and so knowing the gender makes fabric decisions a little easier.

And the biggest reason of all, I think we are both impatient and don't have it in us to actually wait.

We knew it was a girl:

For the longest time anytime anyone asked us what we wanted baby to be or what we thought baby was we had no answer. Neither one of us had a clue. Then John had a dream it was a boy so for a couple days he decided he wouldn't go against his dream, so he would say boy. I was still completely unsure and didn't even have a guess. Then John was reminded that his family has a tendency to have dreams of the opposite gender that the baby actually is.

The night before we went to find out we were talking about it and no matter how hard we tried we just couldn't imagine a boy. When we actually pictured baby we could only imagine her as a girl.

Our baby girl!!

The day of:

We left work early on Friday to get to the hospital in Anaheim, where the baby will be born. (Baby girl will be born in Anaheim, the city of Disneyland, where it all began for John and I.)

My parents met us there, so they could join in on the fun. (Even though they told me I could only have one other person in there with me, my hope was that they would let them in anyway). They called me in first, by myself, so the tech could get all the pictures my OB needs. And at that time she told me I could only bring one person in....bummer! It took a LONG time for her to get all the pictures because baby was moving and wiggling around like crazy. The tech told me any time she would get a good shot baby would move right as she took it. She had me try lying on my side and then my back again. It was quite an adventure.

Finally, the time came to bring John in. She asked me if the other people were by parents and when I told her they were she told me she would sneak them in (Yay for people willing to bend the rules).

She's grabbing her feetsies!

They came in and she turned the screen towards us and we could see our little one for the first time. (We have had a couple ultrasounds before but they were on not as advance machines and it was early in the pregnancy so the baby just looked like a little bean) The tech showed us her head, brain anatomy, arms, legs, her bladder, all the while baby was moving around SO much. The tech was even surprised at how much she was moving! It looked like she was dancing and running in place. Then, the tech revealed that our little dancer is a girl! John smiled in relief, he was terrified of having a boy.

Her little foot. 

I am so happy we know we are having a little girl. Being able to say "she" rather than "it" makes everything all the more real. Being pregnant is weird, because even though you take a test and it says you're pregnant, it doesn't make it real. Having crazy morning sickness, seeing the little blob, and even hearing the heart beat didn't really make it feel real to me. Once I started to be able to feel this little dancer it started to become real for me. But seeing her so well and knowing that my "it" is a "she" makes it so much more real. It shapes her personality a little bit more for me, along with seeing how much she moves around! 

This little girl is gonna be crazy loved :)

Boy or girl??

I am 18 and half weeks! Almost halfway... pretty soon there will be a little crying, pooping baby that spits up on everything hanging around John and I! It is also gonna be super adorable.. I mean John Sellers is its father ;)

Speaking of "it" on Friday we find out the gender! Woo! Now people keep asking me what I think it is (like I should have some intuitive knowledge of the baby's gender... I don't). Truly I have NO idea. BUT John had a dream the other night that baby was a boy! And then after he told me about it I had a dream that we were looking at an ultrasound pic and it clearly was a boy. I am pretty sure I only had that dream because John told me about his though so we will see. 5 days and we will know... But what's your guess? Is baby Sellers a boy or a girl?


Oh and we definitely have a wiggler aboard. I finally definitely felt some movement. Nothing huge and John is convinced I am just feeling gas. But it's the baby and it's pretty amazing. :)

Moving Along.

17 weeks! And two weeks from tomorrow we find out the gender. Crazy stuff. People keep asking me what I hope the baby is... my honest answer... I have NO idea. Some days I really hope its a boy and other days a girl.

Apparently I'm getting "massive" as John says. The other day I was just standing there and John freaked out. The conversation went something like this:

John: Woah! You're getting big.

Me: Uhm. Thanks?

John: No, I mean you're huge!

Me: Really? I feel like I'm not growing at all!

John: If you're this big now, you're gonna get massive!! [laughs]

Me: [laughs] Well that's nice.

John: Not all of you! Just your stomach.

It was SO funny! Seriously, he was like in awe. It was hilarious and I still laugh when I think about it. And just to clear things up, when I'm wearing normal clothes you still can only kind of tell I have a bump and honestly it just looks like I have been eating too much and need to go on a diet. But when I'm in yoga pants and a tight shirt it is super noticeable.

Cravings. I feel like so far they haven't been too bad but I mostly crave chocolate milkshakes and Takis (they are like hot cheetos). It is weird, because I am hungry a lot! And I always want lots of different kinds of food, but when it is a craving it is all I can think about and I HAVE to have it. John thinks I am crazy, but he still caves and gets me things when I really am craving them.

Baby. So baby is apparently about 5 inches long. That's like the length of my hand! Also, I'm not sure but I think I felt baby move this morning! It was pretty neat. I don't really know how to describe it, but it kinda felt like if you took a small ball and rolled it over your hand. That's the only way I can think to describe it.

Say Hello to My Little Bump

Today I am 16 weeks! (In 4 weeks I will be halfway...weird!) It's weird because I am so close to being halfway through and I still barely look pregnant.

I was talking to a couple of the girls I teach in church the other day and they were asking me lots of questions about being pregnant and one of them asked me how it feels to be pregnant. And my response was "Weird." That's the only way I can describe it, especially at this point, where I barely have a bump and I haven't felt the baby move yet. I think that's the only way I can describe it because despite the awful morning sickness (that, thank goodness, has finally subsided), being exhausted almost all of the time, and having a slowly growing belly I still don't FEEL pregnant. I don't feel like there is a little John and Jeanene clone growing inside of me. I mean we have seen it, and heard the heartbeat, there is definitely a baby in there... but it still doesn't feel real.

This week has been a little different. John has been out of town for work since Saturday morning, this is the longest we have been apart since his 3 months in DC last year. I don't like having him gone. It's lonely and I'm kind of a worrier. Plus having our home to myself, day and night, just freaks me out. When I am alone I tend to have an extremely over active imagination. But hopefully he will be home tomorrow night!



The bump :)

How far along: 16 weeks

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I haven't weighed myself since my last appointment.... so I have NO idea

Maternity clothes: nope. But I am practically living in my maxi skirt... I might need to buy a few more :)

Stretch marks: Negative

Sleep: I am sleeping horribly this week... but that may be because John is out of town and I am not used to sleeping alone. (And I am afraid of the dark)

Best moment last week: Nothing big really happened.

Movement: Not yet.

Food cravings: lemons!

Gender: On December 6th we will find out! :) SO excited!

Labor signs: nope

Belly button - in or out?  In

What I miss: My husband. And my favorite jeans... I can't button them anymore.

What I am looking forward to: Feeling the baby move... hopefully soon!

Milestones: I have more energy during the day!

Goodbye evil first trimester!

On Thursday I will be 15 weeks... crazy! I feel like time is passing by so slowly, but when I look back I can't believe I have been pregnant for 3.5 months. I am in the second trimester! Weird. But also, it's been SUPER tough for me.

A lot of people have told me how much they love being pregnant... honestly I think they are crazy. John and I were talking the other day and he was just saying how he didn't realize how hard it would be on me, and trust me, neither did I. Losing ten pounds, being constantly dehydrated, and only being able to eat toast and plain past for weeks and still throwing up everything is horrible. These past few months I have felt sick and horrible basically every day. I told John it's like having the flu... for months.

Now don't get me wrong, I am excited to have a baby, and I know it's gonna be hard in a whole new way once the baby is here, and I'm excited for that but I never expected it to be this bad.

On the upside, I think I'm on my way to better pregnancy days. And just after Thanksgiving we can find out the baby's gender! YAY!



How far along: 14 weeks, 5 days

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I am still down 4 pounds from my pre pregnancy weight... but hey... that's better than 10! I'm gaining the weight back

Maternity clothes: nope. But I definitely DO NOT like wearing my normal jeans.

Stretch marks: Negative

Sleep: I still sleep a lot... but at night I wake up SO much!

Best moment last week: Well last week was not so great. I got sick and it brought back my morning sickness super bad so that sucked.

Movement: Not yet.

Food cravings: Chocolate Milkshakes ALL the time.

Gender: In 4 weeks!!

Labor signs: nope

Belly button - in or out?  In

What I miss: Sushi. I want it.

What I am looking forward to: Finding out the gender!! ya ya!

Milestones: I think I am starting to get more energy... but I can't really tell. 

Crazy Ab Exercise

Baby is 13 and a half weeks! Yay little tiny parasite baby! I say parasite because I can eat till I am full and 30 minutes to an hour later it's like I haven't eaten all day and I HAVE to eat or I know I will die. Which I am hoping means I'm on my way to gaining back the 10 pounds I lost.

Also, last week my morning sickness came back with vengeance. Well, maybe not vengeance, but it had basically been ALL gone and then it returned and I am mad. I think I am not allowed to sleep in because sleeping in means I go even longer without food and baby apparently is not cool with that. And that kind of sucks because I am still exhausted ALL the time!

ANYWAY.... this past week my abs were super sore. It got to the point where it felt like I did an hour long crazy ab exercise for a week straight. Coughing, sneezing, deep breaths... they all me hurt. It felt like I was working on my 6 pack. But then I woke up and I had a bump! So, I will finally begin to slowly look like I am pregnant, but for now it just looks like I need to do some crunches and eat less.



I have a ton of projects I want to do for baby, like some wall art, a picture crib mobile, and a blanket. The first is this blanket! I am super excited about it, and I hope I can actually finish it. It's going to be white and grey striped and attached on the back will be either purple or green fleece. I chose purple or green over blue or pink because purple is my favorite color and green is John's.

I have decided to add a questionnaire to keep track of all the changes my body is going to have:

How far along: 13 weeks, 5 days

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I have NO idea. I lost like 10 pounds with all my crazy morning sickness, so hopefully I on my way back up.

Maternity clothes: Not yet, but my maxi skirt and super low rise jeans are WAY more comfortable than my regular jeans.

Stretch marks: Negative

Sleep: I am still SO tired, especially if I don't get a nap in. Oh and I wake up between 530 and 6am no matter what day it is... It is really annoying.

Best moment last week: My bump appeared!

Movement: Not yet.

Food cravings: I just want my moms cooking.

Gender: Don't know yet.

Labor signs: nope

Belly button - in or out? In, but sometimes the top is out a little bit. I'm gonna get an outtie really quick haha

What I miss: Energy, I can't even walk around for an hour without being totally exhausted for the rest of the day

What I am looking forward to: Finding out what we're having!

Milestones: Getting past the worst of my nausea. 

The Tiny Human Living in my Belly.

The past 12 weeks have literally been the craziest roller coaster ride of my life (and probably of John's as well).  

Here's a little recap: 

(This is how I told John) 

We found out late in August that I am pregnant! Crazy? Yes! Exciting? Yes! 

At first, mostly I was just tired ALL the time. I literally could not keep my eyes open during the day, I could have probably just slept through the first few weeks if I let myself. 

I had gone a few weeks with no sign of morning sickness and I thought I was one of the lucky few... Oh, was I wrong. One day I felt so nauseous and then it happened, I threw up for the first time, and definitely not the last. Within a week I was throwing up absolutely everything. And by everything, I mean I couldn't even keep down a sip of water. It was bad, one day I threw up like 14 times. Late that night, like after midnight, John had had enough and drove me to the ER (I threw up 3 or 4 times on the way there).

Well, they hooked me up to an IV to get me some fluids and pumped me with anti-vomiting medicine. The next few days were ok, but then it was back! After work one day, after not being able to keep anything down for 3 or 4 days, John took me to the Labor and Delivery Triage, where they pumped me with 3 backs of fluids via an IV and wouldn't let me leave till I could eat without throwing up. The doctor also prescribed me with a different kind of medicine that seemed to work a little better. 

At that point and for the next few weeks, the only things I could keep down, was fake lemonade, plain pasta, plain bread, and plain instant mashed potatoes. EVERYTHING else I would throw up, even water. And even still I felt sick ALL the time and I thought it would never go away. I lost a total of 6 pounds within a week! 

LUCKILY!! The past week or so things have gotten better. I can eat normal food and as long as I eat and take my medicine I only throw up first thing in the morning! You have NO idea how amazing it is to have options when I eat! 

Baby news: 

Baby is about 12 weeks. There was some discrepancy with the due date, so I might be further along then that, but my OB is sticking with my current due date which puts me at 12 weeks. 

Baby is due around May 1st. YAY for spring babies!!

Baby has a strong heart beat. (we got to see it twice and we have heard it once so far) Little growing babies have the fastest heart beats... it is pretty neat!

Mama news: 

I already have a little bump! It is kinda weird, but John thinks it is cute. :)

I sleep A LOT! When we get home from work around 4, I sleep for at least an hour, usually two. Then between 8 and 9 I fall asleep again and around 10 or 11 John wakes me up and I get ready for bed and sleep till 6. So I sleep somewhere between 10 and 14 hours a day! 

Say Hello to Our Little Friend

I have a baby growing inside me. Which is pretty neat, exciting, a little weird if you think about it, and the best reason for feelings absolutely horrible.

It has been a fews weeks since my last update, and mostly the reason for that is that I had felt so crappy and just didn't have the energy, also I didn't want the post to end up being depressing. So, the last three weeks were pretty horrible, I felt awful all the time and I was getting annoyed with only being able to eat dry toast, instant mashed potatoes, and plain pasta. We went on a trip to Laughlin for work and that just about killed me. I was MISERABLE and thought it would never get better. It was definitely not easy these past few weeks and I know it wasn't easy for John either and I felt horrible about that. BUT a change has occurred!!

Starting these past few days I have felt SO SO SO much better. Now, I am still tired most of the time but as long as I eat every hour or so, and drink a TON, I pretty much don't get nauseous and only throw up first thing in the morning. It's great! I still can't eat most foods, and I figured out that dairy makes me feel horrible but I am able to branch out a little more. I have been eating soup (mostly the broth), and I can have some snacks like pretzels and these cracker chip things, it's nice to have a bit more options.

I had another prenatal appointment on Wednesday. I thought I was 11 weeks but it turned out at my appointment the ultrasound showed I was only 10 weeks, which makes the due date May 1, 2014 (MAY DAY BABY). Also, we got to HEAR the heartbeat! Can I just say that it was SUPER exciting, I mean I have had a few ultrasounds already, so I saw our little alien in there and we could see the heartbeat but HEARING the heartbeat just made it more real. It was so fast, my OB said baby has a strong heartbeat, so yay for healthy baby!

Also, if you really think about it, it's weird. In my body there is not just one heartbeat, there are TWO, my own and the babies. SO weird, but really awesome.

Dehydration and Little Heart Beats

So I am about 8 weeks along now. And the past few weeks have been a crazy roller coaster. And not the fun Disneyland kind, the scary, crazy six flags roller coasters. You know the ones that even if your stomach is empty you still vomit, yeah those rides.

So for over a week I have had "morning sickness". Now, most people know that morning sickness, is not by any means restricted to the morning. One thing I didn't know is that you feel horrible ALL the time, literally. I thought you feel sick and you throw up, but most of the day you feel fine. Well, maybe some people that have morning sickness are like that, but I'm not. I'm the sick ALL the time and I just want to fast forward and be done with all this. I'm either vomiting, whether there is anything to vomit or not, or I feel like it may happen at any moment. It's horrible.

So I went to the ER on Sunday and they gave me one bag of fluids via IV and some anti nausea medicine. My hopes that it would help were quickly smashed. I saw my OB on Tuesday, i'll elaborate more in a second on that, and she doubled the amount of the nausea medicine I was taking and told me to take B-6 also.

Well I spent all day Tuesday and all day Wednesday throwing up absolutely anything I ate or drank, even the tiniest sip of water would come right back up. By the end of the day I was exhausted, a little dizzy, and SO dehydrated. So John decided to take me to the hospital. This time we went to the Labor and Delivery Triage, which is where my OB told me to go if I have a bad day again. It was great! They saw me immediately, got me hooked up to an IV with fluids, gave me some more anti nausea medicine and kept the IVs coming till I could eat without throwing up. I went through 3 bags of fluids and by the end I drank some water, ate a pear cup, and had a few bites of a sandwich and it stayed down! The doctor also came in and did an ultra sound and prescribed me a different kind of nausea medicine that has been working like a charm today! So I'm a happy girl :)

Back to my OB appt. At the appointment they did an ultrasound and I got to SEE, not hear, the baby's heart beat. It was super cool! They even sent me home with a few pictures from it. The only downside was I thought they wouldn't give me one at the first appointment so I didn't have John come with me... Well went I went to the Labor and Delivery Triage, they did another ultrasound and John got to see the heartbeat! SO AWESOME!

ER after Midnight

Yes, Saturday night I landed myself in the ER. After throwing up pretty much anything I ate or drank all week, I wasn't doing too well on Saturday. Throughout the week the amount of times a day I would throw up was on a steady increase. On Saturday, I threw up 12 times... gross right!? John and I had decided earlier in the day if it didn't get better by Sunday I would go, but when the time in between each episode continued to decrease and they became more and more violent and miserable my amazing husband decided enough was enough and we headed to the ER a little after midnight.

I threw up twice on the way there. Once we got there it actually didn't take long for them to put me in a room, especially since it was SO crowded! You would think an ER would be almost empty at that hour, nope! But I got in after about 30 minutes or so. I threw up again was I was in the room. They did some blood and urine tests, hooked me up to an iv with fluids and some anti vomiting medicine. They also monitored my heart rate and pulse. It was a pretty uneventful experience, though they did prescribe me anti vomiting medicine to take and antibiotics because on top of it all, apparently I have a UTI, the doctor said they are very common during pregnancy... joy! We didn't leave until a little after 4 am.

I am doing better, and by better I mean that I'm not vomiting a million times a day. I still do, just not as much, and I am still ridiculously nauseous ALL day long, but at least I can sort of keep down food now. Hopefully this will only last the first trimester!

I did this to her.

Hi. This is John. The husband and soon-to-be father. In other words, I'm the guy that did this to Jeanene. I have yet to share my experience thus far in this whole baby affair, and as Jeanene's baby sickness stage moves into full drive, it's probably better that I post something anyway.

I'm so happy that we're having a baby. I mean, there's already been a couple tiffs over boy names, but I mean, come on, who wouldn't love a little Truman Sellers? The reality is, however, the only Truman that will ever live in our home will be either a dog or a little pot-belly pig.

I wasn't overly surprised when Jeanene told me that there was something alive in her womb, but it was cute how she put it up on our scrabble board we have mounted on the wall in our bedroom.  My reaction to finding out was the relieved exclamation: "I work!" Soon after, however, I discovered just how well I worked. You see, everyone tells you that you'll never be fully prepared for children, and we accepted the financial hurtles that lay ahead, but when they talk about the expectant mother getting really sick all the time during (hopefully only) early pregnancy, they are not kidding. I've heard people casually say that the first trimester is tough, but after only about two weeks, I'm beginning to realize how hard it is on both of us.

The fact remains, though, that I love her more than ever, and I know that we'll get through this phase of the pregnancy and move forward to more new and exciting things. If anything, I'm learning the hard way how important it is to have compassion, especially because I have no idea what I'm doing, and everything I try to do only seems to make things worse. In an odd way, though, I'm glad to be through it, and there is definitely no one else on earth I'd rather go through it with.

Barfing Baby.

The past few days have been kind of crazy. And by crazy I meant I spent three days constantly on the verge of vomiting, but never actual being able to.

But before I get to that, I feel like I should share my other baby growing experiences. 

1. I sneeze ALL the time! It is so weird and it is not like my normal sneezes. My normal sneezes honestly are kind of squeaky, very mouse-like and happen very rarely. These sneezes are BIG and happen multiple times a day and three or four in a row at times. I have no idea what causes them, but I feel like they are connected to me feeling nauseous. 

2. I am only 7 weeks, there is no baby bump yet, but seriously sometimes it is SO uncomfortable to have my pants buttoned. They still fit just fine, I just don't like the way it feels. John laughs at me, but really, when I feel that way I just can't button them. 

3. John says I'm always grumpy and whiny. I say he did this to me so *sticks tongue out*. But really I am probably always a grumpus and it is mostly due to being tired and nauseous, but also because it has been SO hot the past few days and our apartment is like an oven!

4. The heat. Okay, who really likes to be ridiculously hot and have no escape from it? NO ONE, that's who. Being hot and sweaty just sucks. So the past almost week it has been ridiculously hot. And our apartment is almost always hotter than it is outside. It is not cool. And I blame my extremely dramatic show of standing in front of the fan just staring off into space or laying on the bed with ice packs on me on being pregnant. Being pregnant probably doesn't help the heat factor, but really I just hate being hot. 

5. The nausea. It is the suckiest. Let's all be honest, no one wants to spend all day feeling like any moment they might puke. And really after a few days it gets to a point where you just wish you could because you know if you did everything would be better. I have felt that nauseous since Sunday. And everyday I just hope I can vomit. But it doesn't happen! And really I HATE/LOATHE puking, it's gross and I feel like it never makes things better, so me wanting to vomit is a big deal. The past few days I have woken up feeling this way and gone to sleep feeling this way. It is horrible and when you add the heat, yeah not cool. BUT this morning something changed! I woke up just as nauseous as ever, so I ate like 6 saltine crackers and I chugged a bunch of water, thinking maybe it was caused by being dehydrated or something. 

Well, I went to put my contacts in and all of a sudden I was like, "I'm gonna vomit!" But my contact was on my finger. So I put it on as fast as possible and turned towards the toilet and finally it happened! I vomited! (I know, that's really gross, but really feeling like you're gonna vomit for three days and then finally being able to... it's the best.)

Anyway, I'm still nauseous but it's not as bad. And I know eventually vomiting will get old and just be gross again. But today it was a relief.


UPDATE: Nausea sucks, and barfing is only a relief for about 2 minutes, then I just wish I could barf again, but my body likes to tease me for awhile before it actually sends me bending over the toilet. BOO. 

I'm making a baby. What have you done today?

A little over a week ago John and I found out that I am pregnant. I am growing a baby inside me... It is exciting and kinda scary, but mostly at this point it is just weird. Most people know that pregnant women get morning sickness and are tired a lot, but I feel like past that not much is said. I'm only about 6 weeks along but craziness has begun!

Let's start with how when you are pregnant you are tired. Now people hear that and I feel they think just one extra nap will due, and then the rest of the day energy levels are normal. That is so FALSE. I am exhausted, not just tired, all of the time!!! I could probably spend all day, everyday sleeping, I don't, but I could! I wake up from a good 8+ hour nights sleep and within an hour I feel like I haven't slept in days. For example, the other night I slept for 8.5 hours. I was tired all morning and by lunch I felt like I could not function. Later that afternoon I took a 3.5 hour nap, woke up ate some food, chilled a bit, and went to sleep, exhausted, 3 hours later. 

Now morning sickness. Most people I think know it can strike any time of day not just in the morning and luckily I have only been severely nauseous, no vomiting, yet. (knock on wood) But being so nauseous you wish you could vomit may be just as bad. Mine general hits in the evening, making any attempts to eat dinner very depressing because I am gagging through it all. But again, at least I'm keeping it all down and baby is getting all the nutrients. 

Dreams. Okay, for real pregnancy dreams are so crazy, bipolar, and ridiculously vivid. There were my initial two, John dying in a hospital bed and seeing through my friend Molly's pregnant belly. I've also had one where John was abusive, (which is completely crazy because John is nothing but absolutely amazing and sweet. I mean the guy never fails at opening a door for me and always tells me how beautiful I am to him.) And there was one where our baby was born, a boy, and when we would set him down in his swing or bassinet we would throw him in there like a football. (I mean I love playing with babies and John definitely wouldn't hesitate bouncing an older baby up in the air but football just isn't our thing)

Super Smell. So this one I think some people know about but let me tell you whether you are smelling the amazing Mexican food being cooked at our neighbors house next door, or some dirty dishes, it all just leads to nausea. The other night we went to a restaurant, Le Creperie, with our friends. We went for dinner which was a mistake, remember dinner time=extreme nausea. On top of that every time a waitress walked by with a glass of wine, it was as if my nose was in the glass, and I thought I was gonna puke. Then the table next to us ordered a bottle and as soon as the corked was off the bottle I was done for. Though the company was great, I spent the rest of the time wishing I could just puke, but alas, my body apparently prefers staying nauseous. 

Also, I had a blood vessel in my eye burst. Don't worry it's not painful and it's not an issue at all, it may not even be pregnancy related, but it could be due to the fact the my blood volume has increased by 50%! Pregnant women have 50% more blood, weird right?! Well, I guess when you are supplying blood for two you need a bit more. 


Pregnancy is weird, and it has only just begun. Though many of the symptoms aren't a walk in the park, it really is an amazing thing. And it's not suppose to be this easy thing. In Genesis 3:16 is says: "Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children" (the Hebrew translation of multiply being to increase thy discomfort and thy size in the condition and process of pregnancy and sorrow meaning suffering.) So yes, I will get huge and there will be some suffering and discomfort, but really does anything good ever come without a price? No. So, for 9 months my body will not be my own and at the end of that time a little miracle will enter our lives and our family will go from just John and I, to John, me, and our little precious, screaming, pooping baby (or babies, we could be having twin!) 

Surprise!

So if it's not obvious by the title of this blog John and I have taken up the business of selling babies. The problem is, babies tend to be hard to come by. Also, John, being the future law student he is, questions the moral and legal implications of my plan. As luck would have it, however, I might have found a loophole!!

Okay, okay, no we will not be selling any babies, especially not our own. Also, just because I was born on April Fool's Day does not mean I am using my right to play April Fool's Day jokes year round, this is the real deal. A tiny human is growing inside me. Crazy, right?! 

Here are the steps to us figuring out I was pregnant: 

1. Last week I was tired, and by tired I mean exhausted. My eyes would NOT stay open. I would be sitting at work and just want to lie down on the conference table and take a nap. I took to spinning around in my chair to stay awake. 

2.  I was hungry ALL THE TIME. We eat a pretty good breakfast, but an hour later I would be STARVING. There was one day we got busy and it was after one and we still hadn't gone to lunch and I started freaking out. Just ask John. Luckily, we had some snacks in the fridge in the office or I may have taken a bite out of a chair or something. 

3. I had two CRAZY dreams. The first was just plain weird and the second was the WORST dream of my life. In the first, my friend Molly, who is pregnant, and her husband, Cole, had to shut down this unstable nuclear power plant that they were hiding. The only way to shut down the machines was to shove candy in them, but Cole kept eating the candy. Luckily, we succeeded and saved America. Then we went back to their place and I could see through Molly's pregnant belly and see the baby inside of her (by the way it was a boy). The baby started crying and her stomach started stretching down to the ground and she picked it up and was rocking it. WEIRD STUFF. 

    In the second, John was in the hospital dying and my friends, Lauren and Kelsey, would NOT let me go see him. So, I locked myself in a dark room and cried. Then they came and got me and said the hospital called but wouldn't tell me what they said, or if John was ok. I was angry and depressed.

When I woke up I told John about it and he looked it up and it said that dreams where your husband is dying could be a sign your pregnant, death being a symbol of new life coming into the world or something crazy like that. Either way I was mad at my dream. 

4. I was late. I peed on a stick. That magical double pink line appeared. Bam! I'm gonna be a mom and, not surprisingly, John is the dad!  

On August 20, 2013 John and I found out we will be having a baby. We are super excited!