Happy March

I am very relieved to see March come along, for several reasons. The first being that I have an emotional connection to the sun, its warmth, and all things spring/summer-y which affects me on a physiological level. I just feel so much better when my body is warm and when I am able to spend regular periods of time in the sun. March is not typically a warm month here in Virginia, but this winter has been wonderfully mild (though the up and down temperatures are like a roller-coaster for my allergies).

The second reason I am excited to see March come along has nothing to do with the month itself and everything to do with the fact that I was finally prescribed some medication to help with my morning sickness.  My morning sickness had been my constant companion since week 6 (which was to be expected) and I was somehow coping with my 10 hour work days (yes, I vomited in front of a few patients and parents on one or two occasions, as well as in the car while driving, and in the middle of the night, and…). The kicker was that even with all of my sickness I was able to keep the majority of my meals down and was eating enough nutrients to gain weight (probably because the food item that stayed put in my belly the longest was a Big Texas Cinnamon Roll from the vending machine at work…shhh, don’t tell Chris I couldn’t eat the healthy carrot snack he packed me in my lunch).  About two weekends ago, though,  my body began this strange ritual of not allowing anything to stay down (not even the BTCR from the vending machine or water!). After 24 hours of this I decided I needed to call my doctor, and of course it was the weekend so the midwife on call recommended that I go the emergency room for some fluids. They gave me an IV with 2 bags of saline and the doctor wrote me a prescription for Zofran. One perk of going to the doctor (really, the only perk besides finally getting some relief from yucking) was that they did a fetal heart test to make sure Baby Baker was still growing strong – it was such a relief to hear that heart beat. thumpthumpthumpthumpthump.

The following week at work was wonderful – no yucking! I got this crazy idea in my head that I might not actually need the medication after all so I went longer than I should have without taking it. My body quickly reminded me that I did, in fact, need medication to keep water down.  boo.

Our next appointment is next week. I am actually going to a new OB at a new practice (long story) and I am secretly hoping that since I am a new patient that they will do an ultrasound and we will get to see our gummy bear again. It has been 8 weeks since we last got a visual! So much growth has taken place (according to baby books :).

A “Sweet Addition”

Now I don’t think my blog has enough clout that folks actually notice when I don’t post for a while, but I still feel bad! Hopefully this post will serve as an explanation for my absence in this blog. As you may have guessed, Chris and I have a very special announcement:

We are beyond excited about this growing family that God has given us. The past few months have been…interesting. I’ll just say this – it is very difficult to be subtle and keep a pregnancy secret at work when you are busy yucking in the commode every hour.

Thank you for all of the love and support we have received so far! I certainly hope to be updating in my blog more often once I start feeling human again.

C is for Cookie

October was full of celebrations for our family. Baxter’s first birthday and our first wedding anniversary (you can find the excitingly detailed photographic recount of these events here and here). My nephew’s 2nd birthday was at the end of the month and I am sadly just now getting to this post.

Bare with me, I’m trying out writing this post in my actual WordPress page… it’s a bit difficult and I’m struggling to get words into the places I want them – which seems simple, but somehow is not. So, as usual, I will just let the photos do the talking. The party was Sesame Street themed and my sister made everything (food, decor) using her own crafty DIY mind. It was a great day, and I am so glad my brother was able to celebrate with us before he went back to boot camp.

Happy Birthday Sweet Nephew!!!


Baxter Turns One!

You remember our little doggy Baxter?

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He turned ONE today!

I wrote about our adventure in getting him and how we decided on his name here.

We have tried to be very good parents to Baxter by exposing him to a lot of experiences, taking him to obedience classes, and working on training (like roll over, sit, stay, etc.).

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He has grown up so fast, but is still very much a puppy (thank goodness).

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To celebrate I made a special hat for the birthday boy. Of course, he was scared of it at first. Not to worry, I practically have a bachelors degree in psychology (jk, I really do), but I never thought I’d be using it on my dog (and maybe occasionally my husband).

I allowed Baxter to engage (a speech therapist term, for sure) with the hat on his own terms – you know, sniffing and stalking around it for a few minutes. I also let him play with it in the car on the way to the ‘photo-shoot’ (AKA: my parent’s house).

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By the time we were ready for some pictures he didn’t even bat an eyelash when I stretched that elastic over his head. So proud to wear his birthday hat.

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Of course, we let him run around my parent’s house, harassing the goats and nephews.

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It makes me a little nervous to let him off his leash with so much un-fenced space to run, but he always comes running when I call his name…and that makes me so proud that he is such a good listener!

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