the simon adventures

We are almost there!! All I need to do now is get the curtains up, some wall decor and then add the finishing touches!! I have 6 weeks to get it all done… I can do it!

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Saturday, April 6th, we went to our first ever birthing class and I have to say, it was not really what I expected. I guess I thought it was going to be a little more “hands on”.

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The class was from 9-2 and it was packed! Oddly (to us), we were the youngest people there.  Everyone, in the class, was first time parents and a good handful were late 30s early 40s! The class started with a Similac representative.  He was nice enough, and was not too pushy.  He knew he had to preach breast feeding or risk being punched by our nurse midwife! I didn’t get a whole lot from him.

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Up next we had a lady from a pediatrician’s office talk to us about the importance of picking a good pediatrician.  She also answered a good bit of questions regarding first tests for baby in the hospital, right after birth, vaccines, and other things like that.  Then we kinda got off topic with cord blood banking and you could tell she was not a huge advocate for that.  A lot of people wanted to keep talking about cord blood banking, which I found slightly annoying.  I would have rather them talked about the benefits of cord blood or possible benefits.  Instead they talked a LOT about cost and places to look to bank.  I got nothing out of that.

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After the pediatrician, the midwife went through a book about child birth and answered people’s questions.  That was it! The book doesn’t go into great detail about what to expect and that’s what I signed up for.  I wanted to know what to expect when you are having contractions, what to expect when you check into the hospital, what to bring to the hospital for labor (we sort of talked about this), what to bring for after baby arrives and you are just hanging out in your hospital room, do they really need to hook you up to an IV right away?, etc.

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In the end, I would not recommend wasting your money.  The best birthing information will come from your friends who have been there, done that, and are willing to tell you all the details.  I am lucky enough to have those ladies in my life and I feel way better prepared after talking with them than I did after I left that class.  What I keep hearing from my gal pals is, you are never prepared enough,  nothing goes according to your plan, the hospital provides a lot for you and since you pay for it, you should keep it, no one ever has the same birthing experience, and even if you bring nothing to the hospital, you won’t care.  That’s what husbands are for!

After our crazy morning at the hospital, we left the house around 2pm.  Drove for close to 5 1/2 hours through GA and Alabama and finally arrived in Destin, FL around 7:30pm eastern/6:30pm Central time.  We GAINED an HOUR!!! Sweet!

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After we checked in, we went up to our room to get settled.

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Our room had a great view!

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And to our surprise, someone was getting married! So, we got to enjoy the sites and sounds of their live band for the night! That made for some great people watching and entertainment!

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After relaxing for an hour or so, went went down in search of dinner.  We ended up eating at their sushi place and it was great! I had a California roll, miso soup and a cucumber salad.  I was and still am DYING for a Philly roll, but that will have to wait.  I can’t remember what Scott had, but it looked delicious!

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The next day, Saturday, we woke up, ate the breakfast buffet and then went for a drive to see what all Destin had to offer.  It did not take very long, as Destin is not all that big and oddly we could not find one pier. It’s still really nice.  We liked that it was not super touristy!

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Then we went to play some tennis!  The resort is HUGE! They have a really nice golf course, bike trails, put put,  and their tennis courts were pretty awesome.  Resort expensive, but awesome.

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The rest of the weekend we hung out by the pool and beach!

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Sunday evening we ate dinner at Beach Walk Cafe at Henderson Park Inn. It was pretty AMAZING! Apparently this restaurant is one of the top 10 most romantic restaurants in the U.S. (or so our waiter, Wade, said) and I can see why! It was a small dinning room with huge windows, so you could see the ocean no matter where you were, and the decor was beachy victorian.  It was upscale, but not to a point where you felt uncomfortable and best of all NO KIDS! Hey now, I have got to enjoy the peace and quite while I still can!  Dinner was very nice, but the dessert was the bomb! We shared the largest slice of cheesecake (the Cheesecake Factory has nothing on this) on the planet and couldn’t even finish it! After dinner they gave me a rose.  It was very romantic! A nice little ending to our mini vacation!

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We loved Destin! I would definitely go back.  It was very family friendly and the beaches are SO AMAZING! The white sands are unreal.  I didn’t do any mommy massages or anything, but the Hilton Sandestin did have that available if I did want one.  AND they had a lot of food at the resort that could cater to anyones preggo cravings! http://www.sandestinbeachhilton.com/

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Now that it’s over, things are getting real! I am excited, paranoid, and slightly overwhelmed, but I can’t wait for our little man to arrive! (not too early, not too late).  If we make it to our due date we only have 12 weeks to go!

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The second we told people we were expecting we started to get advice.  The advice I liked the best, SO FAR, was that we needed to go on a mini vacation (babymoon) before our little guy arrives.  So, in January, we booked a little 4 day getaway to Destin, FL.

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We have never been to Destin before so this was going to be an exciting new place for us to explore and we could not have planned it at a better time! Both of us were ready to go!

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We just had one little hiccup before we left….

We had a nice little “emergency” visit to Northside Hospital at 5:30am on Friday… when we were scheduled to leave for FL at 8am.  😦

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It started at 4:30 am.  When I woke with a weird dull pain in my right side. Nothing major, so I got up and went to the restroom.  When I stood up, I realized I had just (sorry no other way to explain it) peed blood…and a good bit of it.  So, I sat back down, to make sure it was in fact urine.  It was. I didn’t want to panic, so I went to the bedroom and got out my ipad.  I quickly searched on all the baby forums to see if this was a common side effect of pregnancy and I could not find a thing about blood in urine.  Now I knew I had to call the nurse hotline.  A Midwife told me to go into the hospital, labor and delivery, just to see, since there was blood.

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We got to the hospital at 5:30am.  We checked in and then 20 minutes later they wheeled me to a room.  In the room the first nurse put the monitors on my belly right away. One monitor listened to the baby’s heartbeat and the other was to monitor for contractions (which I luckily never had).  The first nurse asked me about 1 million questions, gave me a cup to pee in, and then left.  About 30 minutes later, close to 7am now, I went to the RR and peed in the cup… yep still some blood.  So, I placed it on the nurse’s table, in the room, and sat back on the bed.   A new nurse came in at 7:30.  I think she took some blood.  She took a small sample from the pee cup and then said someone should be in to take us to get an ultrasound shortly.  They also delivered breakfast while she was there.  French toast… If it’s one thing I learned from this visit, it’s to BRING SNACKS and DRINKS to the hospital when I actually go to deliver!!!!! Their food SUCKS! So bad!  The french toast tasted like cardboard dipped in sugar.  YUCKY!

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After this I fell asleep, as did Scott, for about  an hour or so. When we woke up, I got up to use the RR again.  This time no blood! So we waited for the nurse.  It’s probably 9:30 now and we have not seen a sole for an hour, at least.  So, Scott went out to see what the status was.  The nurse came around the corner and said she thought they would have come in by now and went to find the doctor.  Well,  since they CLEARLY forgot about us, the doctor was busy scrubbing in for a c-section and would not be able to see us until 11 AM!!!!!

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When the doctor FINALLY came in, she barely even looked at me. I was never taken for an ultrasound, but she said everything appeared fine and that they were just going to treat it as a UTI, since I was not experiencing any pain.  She told me if anything changed to call and that we could go…

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FIVE HOURS LATER!  Had I known it was no biggie, I would have went to a freaking urgent care.  Whatever, at least I got to hear the baby’s heartbeat for 5 hours! 🙂  Love that sound! I did also learn that our little guy needs to come during the day, cause Scott can NOT stay awake at 5:00am! LOL!!! That’s funny now… but it won’t be when I am in labor.

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So, we high tailed it out of there, grabbed some lunch, threw (literally) our stuff in the car, made sure the dogs were all set for the dog sitter, and hit the road for Destin! FINALLY! I was NOT about to let that little hiccup ruin our last vacation, for a little while,  and neither was Scott!

Yesterday (March 21,2013) I had my 26 week check up and things are getting REAL! It was the appointment to check and see if I have gestational diabetes (which I have many different views on but that’s for another time) and it was not that bad.  Everyone always talks about how HORRIBLE the sugary drink is and how it’s such a bad appointment.  I really did not find it to be that bad of an experience.

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I went in at 8:50, drank the orange sugar drink (Which was like a slushy cause it was semi-frozen and tasted just like flat orange soda 🙂 ), then I sat down with a mid-wife, got to hear my little man’s heart beat (LOVE hearing that sound!!!), and I was off to the waiting room to chill with my ipad for an hour.

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It actually went by fairly quickly.  I got up at 10:02, went to the back, they took my blood and that was it.  Not horrible AT ALL!

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What made everything REAL was when I went to schedule my next appointment and the lady said, “would you like to just go ahead and schedule your next few? Really after the next one you’ll be coming back every two weeks anyway, so this way you get first pick on times.”

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Say WHAT? I have another appointment in 4 weeks and then I will be back every two weeks until May 30th and then every week after that until he arrives! ahhhhhhhh It’s almost April. WOW! This is all happening so fast! I’m not mentally prepared…

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Ok, so there’s still plenty of time, but it has really flown by!

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I find out if I do or do not have gestational diabetes on Monday.  I really hope I don’t.  I don’t want to give them an excuse for an unnecessary c-section. n

Update:

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Boooooo…. I have to go back for the 3 1/2 hour appointment.

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The doctor called this AM, and apparently normal blood sugar levels are 65-139.  Mine came in at 168… YIKES!! (i think.. maybe.. idk) So, that is an initial fail.

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Now I have to eat either 6 pieces of bread or three candy bars, in addition to my normal meals, for three days straight.  I will start this regimen April 2nd.  Then, I will go in at 7:20am on the 5th for 3 1/2 hours to test again…

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Joy.

UPDATE:  I went for the second round and I PASSED!!!! woohoo!! 🙂

We started gearing up for our little guy a few weeks ago.  But before I even thought about registering a friend of mine, told me to stop by her house.  She has two boys, one is 4 and the other is 18 months.  And she had a TON of stuff that she was ready to get rid of!  I think we went to her house at the end of February and I REALLY was not mentally prepared for what all you need as a new parent.  I mean, I had NO CLUE!

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– a Boppy for breast feeding (I get this one… I think)

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– a baby tub (ok yea, I’ve seen these before)

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– Baby Bjorn (seems easy enough)

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– a moby wrap (anyone know where I can find directions for this thing? I can def. see myself screwing this up! It’s like a straight jacket, but I’m pretty sure it’s not supposed to feel like one!)

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– a bouncer  (which everyone says is a HUGE MUST)

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– some other circle play thing that you put them in…???

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– a baby gym (so a mat that you put on the floor and it has these contraptions that rainbow over it for the baby to look at… uh huh… ok)

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– a mirror for the car seat (I am SO confused on the purpose of this. Is it for me or the baby? LOL! Yes, I am serious)

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After leaving her house I was semi-overwhelmed, but that was nothing compared to how I felt when we went to register the next weekend at Babies R Us. THAT experience was like a brain explosion for me! I lasted about an hour and then we had to leave!

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Anyway,  on top of everything my friend already gave us, last week I found this amazing Lot of baby stuff on Craig’s list…

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– a Pack N Play

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– a high chair (which we wont need for a while, but still…)

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– Toys

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– Baby Boy clothes

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– a car seat adapter (we have the car seat on the registry… so no worries, it’s the right one!)

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– some diapers, a shopping cart cover, a humidifier, and some other stuff!

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All for $250.00!!! HOLLA!

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AND Scott’s parents were extremely generous and purchased the crib and changing table for the baby.  So, now we pretty much just need diapers, feeding stuff, the car seat, possibly a stroller (may have that too), some more clothes (babies grow FAST.. 😦 ) and a few odds and ins I guess.

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Not too shabby so early in the game! I say early… we only have about 3 months to go… we need to get his room together!!! ….Even though he probably wont be sleeping in there for a while… We’ll see how THAT goes. Scott and I DO like our sleep… and personal space… OMG are we ready to give that up??? I think the Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose sang it best… “It’s too late to turn back now…I believe I believe I believe I’m falling in love….” SIGH 🙂

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So far, I have piled all of his stuff in one of our guest rooms while we get his nursery ready. So please, no surprise visits, otherwise you will be sleeping in Scott’s office on an air mattress!

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We start work on the nursery this week!

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So, I am in my second trimester and my cravings have been fairly mild! I have to say, all of my pregnancy “symptoms” have been fairly mild. However, in the first few weeks, I did have one strong craving! One day, I was at work and I decided in the afternoon, after lunch, that I wanted an egg salad sandwich!  Yep, EGG SALAD!  Like, I wanted egg salad and I needed it RIGHT THEN!  Unfortunately I was at work and although we have a ton of food in the office, egg salad is not something we keep stocked. So, the second I got home that evening, I boiled my eggs, and made me some egg salad!  It was exactly what I needed.  Had I waited any longer I think I would have combusted.

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Other than the egg salad, I really didn’t have any other crazy cravings or food urges in the first trimester.  I did have some major food aversions, though.  Tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce/salad, anything cooked with too many spices, beans, and pretty much all vegetables (which are all things I LOVE) made me GAG!!!!! I was eating a lot of PB&Js, Mac & Cheese, and mashed potatoes those first 14 weeks.

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Now, at 17 weeks, I am craving things like pomegranate, grapefruit, oranges, COCA-COLA and Sweet Tea (both of which I Wont drink b/c I am paranoid), and just fruits in general.  I have been lucky to not crave sweets too much. Every now and then I will see a box of chocolate chip cookies at the store that I grab on impulse, but for the most part when those cravings hit, they are calling for the fruit!

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I will have to post again if and when things start changing!

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Update 3/20/13  

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I am now at 26 weeks and I have completely caved for coffee, sweet tea, and caffeine free pepsi (all in moderation and rarely even once a week).  I just couldn’t handle it! You go, moms who are super healthy and awesome, but that’s just not me! I am southern and I NEED my sweet tea! “It’s so good… once it hits your lips, it’s so good!”

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I don’t really have any new cravings.  I have noticed that I want more sugary things now than I did in the beginning.  Like cookies.  Those dang cookies!  It’s Girl Scout cookie season and I have decided that those little girls are devils in disguise.  I have REFUSED to buy any, BUT people at my office have not and they bring their little boxes into the office to “share” and guess who freaking eats them???  YEAH, ME!  I have recognized the problem though and I think I am getting it back under control!  But I was getting a little crazy there for a week or two.

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There are also a few things that I REALLY MISS and I will DEMAND them once this baby is out.  Like:

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– Beer  (It’s spring time 😦 and I really want a nice cold beer on the patio wahhhh)

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– Sangria (Again, spring time, patio, me want!)

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– A Philadelphia sushi roll aka. bagel roll (if you knew me in my previous life you would think I was nuts but now I want it SO bad!)

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– A nice glass of chardonnay (crisp and cold and wonderful… sigh)

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Ok, so these are all pretty much alcohol related, so sue me! I am no alcoholic, and I am NOT going to drink with baby in womb, but just ONE after he is born is all I ask… of each… in the same day… it’ll be summer… Don’t judge me!

I have been reading blogs, books, and articles about pregnancy and I feel like they all kind of cater to one type of pregnant woman. The one who gets nauseous, starts showing right away, and does not believe in exercise while pregnant.  For a while I was in a panic because I had almost ZERO nausea (Hallelujah for that!), I am 15 weeks and STILL not showing (which is totally normal for us first time moms), and I want to maintain some sort of exercise!

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So, for all you other moms out there who are not experiencing the typical signs of cooking up a baby, here are the wondrous things I have been experiencing so far and honestly, it’s not all that bad!

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In the beginning:

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-Literally 2 days of nausea at week 6.  But I figured out it was because I was starving the second I woke up. Eating immediately helped resolve that in an instant!

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– Complete exhaustion.  In the beginning,  I would feel like my body was run over by a mac truck after going on a quick errand.  I was falling asleep at 6pm every night! I even fell asleep in yoga BEFORE shavasana (come on that’s got to be impressive). At 15 weeks, I am still tired a LOT, but it’s getting better… if I could only sleep through the night.

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– Which brings us to peeing.  Yes peeing.  I have never had to go to the bathroom so urgently and so often in my LIFE! I have woken up every night at least 2 times since I found out I was pregnant.  This is crummy because I am a light sleeper and when I wake up, it’s hard to get back to the Land of Nod. I hear this actually gets worse as the baby gets bigger and REALLY starts to squish on your bladder. YAY! I am sure I will pee myself before all is said and done.  I just hope that when this happens, I am at home.

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– I did have to go up a bra size, but I am still not super impressed, yet, by my growing tatas.  I am still waiting… (when you don’t have much to start out with, you pray for this added benefit!)

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Recent experiences: 

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– The motherly “glow” is complete BS. I don’t have any GLOW whatsoever.  My skin has actually taken a turn for the worse.  I have, of course, stopped using all facial products that contain… whatever it is they say can harm the baby, so my face is suffering MAJORLY.  I don’t have pregnancy acne or anything, but for someone who has had pretty darn good skin my entire life, I am devastated.  I have a dermatologist appointment soon to help me figure things out. Otherwise I may have to crawl into a dark corner and hide until my water breaks!

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– Minor aches and pains.  My back is starting to hurt. I blame this on the fact that you cannot twist to crack your back. That’s seriously all I want to do.  Just crack my back.  But, I can’t figure how to accomplish this out without twisting… Suggestions are welcomed for this. Making room for the baby is a strange feeling.  I also feel my ribs expanding out now which is like a weird burning sensation.  My legs are sore from sitting or standing too long, and my shoulders hurt from time to time. None of these aches and pains are major, just annoying!

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Last but not least PARANOIA.  I am constantly paranoid that I am going to eat something or do something that could potentially hurt the baby… I have gotten a LOT better about not freaking out, but being a first time pregnant lady is tough! I don’t know what I am doing and I can’t read and remember EVERYTHING!  But, luckily it takes a complete lack of caring to really harm your baby. So, if you follow your doctor’s advice and listen to your body, chances are you are going to be a-ok and so is the baby!

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Other than that, I have been feeling excellent! I have energy throughout the day (most days), I can still do yoga, and I have been exercising (modified for my pregnancy, of course) regularly (ok, so like 3 times a week, on a good week)!