2nd Trimester in Pictures

Tristan and I at the bottom of hanging lake
after we had completed the beautiful hike(This picture is out of order!)

Saying goodbye to my Pom Pom at Snoopy's restaurant
before I headed back to Austin after being in Corpus
2 weeks for my Grandma Betty's funeral.

The secret gender reveal envelope.
Tristan and I were so good, neither he nor I took one peak!

I think I was 18-20 weeks in this pic?
This was at our apartment before we moved.

22 weeks

The boy at 20 weeks.
Everyone thinks his profile look just like Tristan in this picture

---- weeks??

In Vail at the Betty Ford Gardens. 26 weeks??

On top of Vail mountain. 26 weeks.

Belly Love. Tristan and I in Minturn for their free community music night.
Probably one of our favorite Vail summer activities.

The onsie Tristan HAD to buy when we were at a baby store in Vail.

Awesome matching set of clothes, shoes, blankets, etc from Gymboree that my cousins wore.

The closet starting to get filled thanks to my Aunt Katie and Uncle Sam

2nd Trimester Re-Cap

-The first trimester started at about May 28th(or June 4th ish) and ended at about September 10thish.

-Nausea started subsiding.

-I could brush my teeth without vomiting.

-Only threw up once the whole second trimester!

-Started to get energy and began sleeping better at night.

-Made a list of 6 midwives to interview. Interviewed 3 and they were all awesome so we decided not to interview anymore. Quickly decided on the first midwife we interviewed-Julia Bower. n the Tristan and I instantly connected with her in the interview and just new she was "the one." Be sure to click on her name and visit her website! More info to come in other posts about what we love about having a midwife!

-went to an awesome cloth diapering class at Baby Earth for free taught by our friend and cloth diaper expert Sarah Brown. Came away knowing exactly what we wanted to use, and had every tip we needed to be successful!! She made the whole cloth diapering world seem so much less overwhelming.

-Worked summer school.

-Spent most Sunday evenings with friends going to the Symphony in the Park series.

-Tristan started training for and participated in his first sprint Triathlon!!!

-Started exercising more. Mostly just running and swimming.

-My grandma Betty passed away unexpectedly on June 29th.

-Slipped and fell right on my butt while watching fireworks on the seawall in Corpus for July 1st. Fortunately it didn't really hurt...just kind of took me by surprise. I think I scared my daddy though who saw the whole thing.

-Started to feel the baby move at about 16-18-weeks.

-Had our sonogram to find out if it was a boy or girl on the 13th of July but waited to find out what it was till July 30th when we had our gender reveal party(more to come on that too)

-Closed on our first house on July 15th!(pics to come and more info about the place in another post)

-Painted way to much of it for hours on end for a whole week.

-Moved into new place.

-Resigned from my job. This was harder than I thought it would be to do...but so VERY exciting at the same time. This is the first time since becoming a Registered Nurse 6 years ago that I haven't had a job. It's weird and awesome all at the same time. I'm still getting use to it.

-Found out on July 30th that we are having a BOY! I was an awesome moment and made things feel so much more real!!

-Went camping on the frio with Tristan's family. We had a great time...even though we couldn't float the river and the water was nasty.

-Took a lot of pride in the fact that even at the end of my 2nd tri I could still school Tristan when doing sprints in the pool! :)

-Went to the dentist. If you need a dentist in Austin we HIGHLY recommend SoLa Dental. The whole staff is awesome and they run a great natural and modern practice!

-Got really convinced that Tristan and I both needed to start flossing daily(we NEVER really flossed before that). Started a much more vigorous dental care regime and have stuck with it!

-went to Vail for our babymoon...if you are lucky we might share more about this than just pictures.

-started getting heartburn.

- by the end of the 2nd tri bending over started to not be as easy as it use to. as well as moving in bed, getting out of bed and getting in and out of my car.

- still no stretch marks.

-still not wearing maternity clothes.

-was SOOO hott the whole 2nd tri.

-wore the same shorts and tank tops almost EVERY day.

-started getting really overwhelmed about becoming a mommy.( more on this in another post)

-Tristan started his job with Price Waterhouse Coopers on August 29th.

-gained about 10 lbs.

-despite the sadness, crazy changes, and my growing self...the second trimester was MUCH better than the 1st. There were a lot hard days for sure where I cried a lot, I didn't feel good, or just wasn't motivated to do much of anything. But my hope, excitement and joy really began to grow!!


AND....The Lord brought us through the 2nd trimester. He was with us every step of the way. And again, I can't say enough how thankful I am to be experiencing pregnancy and carrying our little boy. We love him so.

First Trimester in Pictures

Barley pregnant snowshoeing in Minturn...maybe a day or so old embryo!

It's no wonder we got pregnant in Vail!

Capital 10K -6 weeks pregnant

Sno-cone love!

Raw Vegan Tuna-It was so good, but didn't sit so well with my 1st tri self!

What is that??... gas?

Sticking it out....trying to look pregnant! Not sure how many weeks I am.
Also, take note of the length of my hair.
It has been growing so much faster since I have been pregnant.

And that's all folks. Not very many pictures from the first trimester! Tomorrow I will be sharing a 2nd trimester recap...which means...I am no longer in the 2nd trimester....right now...which means I am in the last trimester!!!!!

First Trimester Re-cap

My first trimester seems so long ago now. Maybe because it was. My first tri was about February 26th-May 26th. It seemed like an eternity. Much longer than than the second tri seemed.

Here are a few things I want to remember about the first trimester of my first pregnancy:

-I really didn't think I was really pregnant. It seemed to unreal.

-I wasn't always thinking about the fact I was pregnant..probably because it didn't seem real...but I think it was in the back of my mind all the time.

-I felt guilty that it didn't seem real. Like something was wrong with me for not feeling an instant connection to the little life growing inside of me.

-I wasn't horribly sick but I sure didn't feel good most of the time.

- I didn't start feeling bad till about 6 weeks.

-I only threw up about 5 times. Mostly when I was brushing my teeth in the morning.

-Sometimes I needed a trash can in front of me while I was using the restroom because even that made me nauseated

-I didn't have real specific cravings all the time. I just loved food the same as I always do...except maybe a bit more!

-I craved hotdogs once and Tristan and I went out and bought organic hotdogs and I had one for breakfast.

-Oh, I was CRAZY about Popsicles, drinks with ice....anything really cold I LOVED!!!

-When I felt nauseated many times NOTHING really helped and I tried everything. Sometimes you just feel bad...heck..your pregnant and growing a human. I didn't give myself much of a break though mentally. I just felt guilty that I wasn't the super woman I wanted to be.

-I ate a lot of saltines, and beans.

-I barley worked out. I was too tired or unmotivated to when I got home from work. The couch was calling my name. And in the morning I had a hard enough time getting going and out the door for work I couldn't bare the thought of waking up an hour earlier to go work out too.

-I often felt nauseated throughout the day and if I let my stomach get empty it burned like crazy and made me more nauseated. Hence I was eating little snacks ALL day long.

-I gained about 6-8 pounds which is above the average gain you should have if you only want to gain 25-35lbs for the whole pregnancy.

-I was kind of depressed about the weight gain because I had expectations for myself that I didn't live up to. I'm over it now though. "It's in the past"

- I was pretty depressed most of the first trimester..which made me more sad because I felt bad about being sad. I was pregnant and having a baby.....I wanted to be joyful, motherly and excited at ALL times...isn't that how you are suppose to be? That's what I thought at least. I was tired, wrapping up the school year at Austin High, lots of things were about to change, I had many unmet expectations for myself, hormones were changing, I wasn't being productive, and most of all wasn't walking closely with Jesus....all that added up to a hard few months. A mom on a blog I follow posted recently about her depression during pregnancy and how it was more common than people let on...REALLY? I had no idea...I thought I was the only woman ever to feel sad during a time when I should feel so happy. Thankful God did not make us to live alone.

-Tristan did ALL the laundry, dishes,etc. He was an angel. He never complained once and joyfully served me. He is an amazing husband and loves me more and better than the day before EVERY day. I love him so.

-I was bloated and gassy all the time.

-I started reading TOO many books on infant care and feeding(everyone thinks their way is the right way, the only way...so confusing!)

-I thought I knew what a baby bump was during my first trimester. HAHAHAHA!!!!

-You couldn't tell at all I was pregnant the whole first trimester. Sometimes that was frustrating...I wanted to LOOK pregnant!!

- I could wear all my regular clothes.

-It started to get REALLY hot at the end of my first trimester. My tolerance for being hot totally deteriorated. I told Tristan that it felt hotter than when we were in India. He said no way...it was much hotter when we were in India. I didn't believe him.

-I was only seeing my OBGYN that did my surgery during the first trimester. I was still only in the searching for the right midwife stage.

-I already knew I wanted to do a home birth.

-Tristan was on board with the homebirth thing but REALLY got excited about it once we watched the Business of Being Born(lovely documentary on birth in America today).

-I tried going Raw Vegan for a week and it was a disaster. If I had been doing it before I got pregnant I might have been able to do it for some of the first tri but oddly enough it just made me feel super sick. The worst sickness I had was after the 2 days of trying to do it.

-I couldn't stand raw veggies especially kale, spinach, and broccoli. I never really wanted a salad unless it was made with Romaine or Iceburg.....what???? Who was I. Fortunately that went away when the first tri was over. Fortunatly I could still do green smoothies to help me get my greens.

-I got all my pre-natals with DHA from the Dr. for free. His nurse told me to ask for free samples every time I went..so I did. I still am using up my stash from my last visit with the Dr. July 13th!

-I couldn't sleep very well.

-I could not believe we were having a baby. That we were going to be parents.

-I LOVED(and still do...I always have really) talking to other moms and hearing about their birth story, what kind of feedings they did(schedule, on demand, etc)..anything and everything I could soak up.... I did.

First trimester...you were hard.....and yes I am so thankful you are over! BUT, I am so very thankful for EVERY bit of the hormones, sickness, sadness, and weight gain because the Lord sustained my boy and I through it(and my sweet husband). I often hear(and my Dr. even told me) that if you are sick and tired it just means your hormones are doing the right thing and that you are having a healthy pregnancy(although I sure didn't feel "healthy"). Many babies don't make it past the first trimester but you did little fellow, so it was all worth it and I am so thankful the Lord brought us through. He was with us every step of the way! Jehovah Shammah!

Grandma Betty(Betty Lee Martens)

• She was the best babysitter ever. We rarely stayed with anyone else since my Pom Pom and Grandma lived in town.
• She cut my hair for me, washed it in the kitchen sink, and put my hair in sponge rollers so it would look like Shirley Temples when I woke up.
• She made the best biscuits and gravy I have ever tasted. Fortunately she taught me how to make the biscuits and gravy, although I doubt mine will ever be as good as hers.
• Many times when I spent the night we would sleep in her bed just the two of us and stay up talking and reading drama in real life from Reader's Digest.
• She always made bath time so much fun and would even powder our bums when we got out.
• She always had something to feed us when we got to her house.
• There were always cookies in the cookie jar or pie, etc sitting on the cake plate.
• Her and my Pom Pom went to EVERY dance recital, play, and performance I was ever in. And often had flowers for me!
• She made amazing Mexican food, and let me help her every step of the way at the Oak Park Mexican Suppers.
  
• She never once made me feel rushed or like I was a burden.
• She LOVED when Tristan or I played the piano for her.
  
• She just plain LOVED music and loved it even more when it came from her kids or grandkids.
• She made Christmas simple and perfectly memorable.
• She sent me hand written letters with newspaper and magazine clippings all the time. I saved every one.
• Email is my favorite way to communicate(besides visiting in person) and she was my most consistent e-mail friend.
  
• She never missed giving me a birthday card..I saved those as well.
• She spoke her mind in the funniest most unique way.
• She made me laugh.
  
• She was an amazing friend to all of her friends. She always called people, wrote them letters, or visited them.
• She LOVED her family.
• She LOVED people in general and did it well. Especially the hard to love..she knew how to love them better than I could ever hope to.
• She was a servant to all.
• She made me feel like I could do anything.
• She loved to hoot and holler for the Aggies and Cowboys.
  
• She gave me lots of old things that I cherish. Hats, jewelry, vases, doilies, etc. I think my favorite is the quilt(I think her momma made it) I ended up with. Not sure how it became mine exactly. I think I accidentally made it mine. Sorry momma and JR!
• She had a great memory.
• Her mind was sharp and when she died she was still mentally just how she had always been to me.
• Before her arthritis got bad she was quite the busy bee and was a real fast one.
• I heard my first curse words from her. She liked to say crap a lot and as a kid who was raised to not say those things I got a real kick out of hearing her say it and watching my parents cringe.
  
• She had an amazing green thumb. She always had beautiful roses in her back yard, along with delicious tomatoes, and berries she would let us eat from the vine. Inside she always had ivy growing in her kitchen along with other lovely green plants.
• Her house always felt like a home. It was the perfect "Grandma's House"
• She always put placements down and set the table nicely for dinner. Of course this was always my job to help her with when I was there.
• She had awesome red lipstick..one tube in particular that I still want to confiscate. It's the perfect orange-red color.
• She always let me play with her make-up.
• She kept toothbrushes in her bathroom just for me and John Ryan.
• She let us eat ice cream and never had fat free stuff in her house.
• Her house was always clean and tidy.
• She was crazy.
• She could dress elegantly or wear jeans and a plaid shirt and pull both off equally well. I love denim and plaid...I blame it on her!
• There is an old picture of her with her sister and brother in which I think she is the most beautiful woman you will ever see.
• She was really laid back.
• She worried a lot.
• She didn't like to drive or really be in a car....it made her anxious. Ask my husband, I inherited that.
• She could sew although she didn't do as much of it during my lifetime.
• She loved serving her church and did so for who knows how many years.
  
• I hope I didn't forget to mention how amazing her food was???:)
• Her home was my second home. It was always a safe, loving, and nurturing place.
• She lost her vision in one eye a few months before she died and signed her emails, "one eyed grandma."
• After she found out she was going to be a great grandma, she signed her emails to me "great grandma."
• She loved our boy so much already and called him her "Avocado."
  
• She taught me so much about life, loving people, servant hood, selflessness, working hard, and thoughtfulness.
• Verbally she may not have shared her faith to me much but she demonstrated the gospel by the way she lived.
  

June 29th 2011

Blog world, we are still alive and well. Our God is good, He is faithful and we are alive in Him which makes us so much more than just "alive and well."

Many of you may be wondering why the sudden stop in blogging. There are several reasons but the biggest of them all was my Grandma Betty's(my mom's mom) passing on the 29th of June, 2011.

You see, getting back to blogging meant I had to write about her passing, which meant trying to write about her life and who she was and still is in my life, and write about all the events surrounding her death(funeral, watching my Pom Pom grieve and talk about the love of his life,etc,etc.) This has seemed like an insurmountable task that would take hours and several posts. And it also meant that I had to be "in the mood" to write such a post. Ask my mom and my husband...I am a mood worker! The moods have changed and come and gone and so much has happened in the past several months. So many things that I wish I had been cataloging about this pregnancy, our new home, Tristan's job, and about our gracious Savior. I realized I like staying on task. I don't like trying to play catchup. And I have a hard time remembering and figuring out how I am going to write about it all in a non-overwhelming blog savy way. It's just to much. Hence, I have been paralyzed so to speak.

Another reason I have not wanted to write is that this post will get automatically sent to my grandma's e-mail. I know I can change it to not do that...so that's not really it. You see, EVERY time I made a blog post usually within the day I would get an e-mail from my grandma about what I wrote and for the next few days her and I would talk back and forth over e-mail. It was such a joy to me. One I will greatly miss. She could make me laugh with those emails like no other. I never deleted a single one.

So what brought the change after days of telling myself I should sit down and blog....after all those sleepless nights of writing posts in my head? I am not really sure. It could be that a dear friend and family member encouraged me to get back to blogging. She said, " you will be really glad you did." I know she is right, because I LOVE reading her blog and keeping up with her sweet family.
Or maybe it's because of the oh so sweet and meaningful past 18 hours I spent with my Grandad and Grandma?

I am not quite sure. But here we go.

How we told our family

So there we were having our first "family moment" in the bathroom when we realized we had to decide how we were going to tell our family right away. You see, yet again I had always thought I would do something creative for how we told our family. A creative surprise handcrafted for each of our immediate family members: My parents, Tristan's parents, John Ryan and Bethany, Paul and Heidi, and Heather and Holly. That sounds lovely doesn't it? Did it happen that way...not a chance.

See, Heather, Tristan's sister from Colorado was staying with us, as well as Tristan's sister Heidi and her husband Paul(who just got back to the states and would be far away in virginia in a matter of days)...then later that evening we were picking my parents up from the airport, the next day Tristan's sister Holly was coming to town and then that weekend Bethany was coming to Austin to do the Capital 10k with me and my mom and I knew I wanted to tell her and John Ryan at the same time and there was no way I could keep it from her all weekend.

That's a lot of people all at once huh? How could we pass up the opportunity to tell so many of them in person? We couldn't. So rather than keep the excitement to ourselves for a while we decided to go a head and tell EVERYONE before the weekend was up(Remember it's still Wednesday March 23rd 2011 and Tristan and I are still in the bathroom).

After we decided to go a head a tell everyone we had a few more moments in the bathroom and then rejoined Heather in the kitchen making our sushi dinner. We sat down to dinner with Heather, Paul, and Heidi and I am sure I barley said a word. One, because my mind was spinning, and two because I was afraid I would let something slip. Heidi even asked me if something was wrong or if I was just tired from a long week. I don't remember my response...but I am sure I was awkward about it!

We made it through dinner and we were off to the airport to pick up my parents. We waited at the bottom of the escalator for them for what seemed like an eternity. Finally we saw them and we just stood there waving with the biggest smiles on our faces. My dad said that while they were coming down the escalator he turned to my mom and said we looked gitty! Well we sure were! They got down to the bottom,we hugged, I was quiet and made an awkward moment for all of us for a sec by looking back at Tristan and then back at my parents and then blurted out..."we're pregnant!" It was a sweet moment. Very surreal. And, I think my parents were as much in shock as we were about it!

When we got home Heather, Paul and Heidi greeted my parents and then we all sat down to visit. Tristan shortly after got up to make the announcement. For the past several years when he has an announcement to make he always says, "I have an announcement to make...and no..we aren't pregnant." So he decided he wanted to tell them in a similar fashion. He got up and said, "I have an announcement to make...and no..we aren't pregnant(a few seconds pause)....well...actually.....WE ARE!!!" It turned out to be quite the confusing announcement. But eventually they all believed us!

Holly came to town the next day and when she arrived I gave her a package and told her that I had picked up a gift for her while I was in Colorado. It was the pregnancy test wrapped up! She let off a big.."wahoo" and pretty much jumped off the couch!

A little after that we told Tristan's parents via skype. Tristan told them we had an amazing dinner the night before and I proceeded to lie about what we had saying, "we had baby carrots, baby peas, baby back ribs." etc.... they caught on pretty quick and it was awesome!! I think Heather got a video of their reactions. I hope to get it from her and post it on here because it's amazing. The way they simultaneously threw themselves back on the couch in laughter and glee was priceless. We were all laughing!

Finally we got John Ryan and Bethany on Skype and told them the news. John Ryan is on his way to becoming a world class wine Sommelier and the four of us have been talking about taking a day trip across Texas to visit several wineries. We all got talking about wine stuff on Skype and I said, " you know John Ryan, I don't think I am going to be able to partake in all the wine tasting and such for the next nine months." He was confused and gave his classic shocked crazy brow weird eye face...and then I think he asked, "Melissa, are you pregnant?" I said yes, and his response was one of my favorites...crazy of course....followed by Bethany's squeal. It was awesome!

Baby of mine, you are VERY, VERY, loved!