New OB

I've never really trusted much medication to work very well. So, I've been somewhat partial to the idea of unmedicated birthing. After reading a couple books on gentle birthing and watching the documentary "The Business of Being Born," I've come to desire a natural birth even more.

The health insurance that we just got through Steve's work, United Healthcare, gives some more freedom in choosing doctors and hospitals than our current/previous insurance, Kaiser Permanente. So after some research online, I've made an appointment in January with the Nurse-Midwives at Dimensions Ob/Gyn in Glenridge Shopping Center in Lanham. This means that I will also be giving birth at Prince George's Medical Center's in-hospital birthing center. It appears that this hospital has a pretty low rate of complications during childbirth.
.......................................................................

And well, since everyone else seems to have put snowy photos on their blogs, here are ours:

Baby gifts

Well I registered on target.com but I wasn't able to add some things to the registry through their site, like diapers. Maybe I'll go to the store and add those things. Anyways, after creating the registry, I tried searching for it and "Wendy Kelley" didn't bring up mine. What will work, though, is if you type in the ID number: 014399700857333.

Newborn Essentials

My baby shower(s) would probably be held in January/February, and I was thinking about ways that people can coordinate their gifts. Since not everyone lives near a Target, I don't think that a gift registry would be the best idea. Based on what I read on the internet, this is a list of things that I still need to have or borrow:

hundreds of diapers: disposable and/or cloth
infinite wipes
rash cream
baby first-aid kit
baby nail clippers
baby soap

nursing bras (my pregnant bra size is 36C, pre-pregnancy 34B)
nursing pads
nipple cream
breast pump: manual or electric
bottles
burp cloths

2 sets of crib sheets
swaddling blankets
pacifiers
baby monitor
bouncy seat

new car seat or combination car seat + stroller

4 onesies
4 pajamas
3 outfits
5 pairs socks/booties


If you get or promise something, reply to this post as anonymous and I'll remove/check the item(s) from this working list.

The Temple

It is suggested that endowed church members should visit the temple monthly. But, Steve and I haven't gone to the temple together for 6 months since before I was pregnant. But now that I'm not throwing up anymore and I can go longer without food, it was probably about time for us to go again. I am 27 out of 40 weeks pregnant, or six months, with a girl that I may name Crystal. Due March 7.

At tithing settlement last Wednesday, the Bishop reminded us to go to the temple. So, during church on Sunday, I wrote a note to Stephen about possibly going to the temple on Tuesday night and he wrote back that we'll plan on it for now.

Last night was the Tuesday night and as soon as Steve got home from work, we got dressed and left at about 5:30. First, we ate some dinner at Checkers and then we left for the temple. The colored lights at the Temple were pretty but we had neglected to bring the camera. While we were changing, Steve had to switch to a different size of temple pants because his normal jeans size ended up being too small.

We made it just in time for the 7:00 session. We planned on a Tuesday night instead of a Saturday because I figured that the session would take less time so that my bladder wouldn't explode. I kept a little baggy of goldfish crackers in my pocket just-in-case I needed some nourishment. There were only 7 of us in there. I looked as we walked past the clock after the session ended and it was 8:40 and we made it home at around 9:30--about bed time. So, it appears that one should set aside 4 hours for a temple trip on a Tuesday night.

Every Sunday, after an hour-long sacrament meeting, I have to sprint to the bathroom. I was surprised that my bladder wasn't exploding after 1 hour and 40 minutes in the temple session. So, I guess that, this was either an answer to a prayer or a result after a full day of work without drinking enough water... or both?

Future Plans

I started worrying again early this morning that we'll have to move into Steve's parents house if I chose not to work after the baby comes. The baby is due in March, in 14 weeks, and I feel that it's extremely important for me to fulfill the responsibility of raising my own child and not give her up to daycare.

So, whenever I start worrying too much about finances, I start doing research and create a survival plan. Perhaps we could buy a 3-bedroom house and have mortgage payments that are less than the rent for our one-bedroom apartment. We can be eligible to receive government assistance through the programs:
Prince George's County's Down payment on Your Dream which basically provides 3.5% of the home value if the home is within 5 miles of work or 7% if the home is in one of the "trouble" zip codes.
Federal Housing Tax Credit which gives the lesser of 10% or $8000 in a tax return.

So this is my latest survival plan:

1. Continue saving up $20,000. Accomplished by February.

If Steve never finds a new/better job by February:

2. Contact a "Down payment on Your Dream" participating lender and get pre-approved
for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage for a $100,000 house with 20% down-payment.

3. Attending a HUD housing counseling course.

4. Start searching for vacant foreclosed homes within 5 miles of Adelphi, where Steve works, with 3+ bedrooms that are under $100,000. It appears that many of these homes are in Hyattsville. Online listings.

5. Work with a Real Estate Agent to place a contract on a property for which I can be pre-approved.

6. Return to lender with the sale contract and apply for mortgage and "Down payment on Your Dream" loan.

7. Claim the purchase on our tax return forms before April so that we can receive the $8000 first-time home buyer federal tax credit. Use the tax credit to repair/restore the home.

8. Upgrade to a better house/neighborhood in 5 years when Steve makes more money and repay the "Dream" loan. If we space our children 2 years apart then we'll have our 4th (and final?) child in 6 years when our first one is 6 years old. I think that I want to be in a better area before the oldest kid enters 5th grade or so, before middle school. But, if the neighborhood and schools are safe and good enough already then we could stay in the house forever and save money up for college and missions and so forth.

If Steve gets a new/better job before February:

Depending on his new pay, we may be able to afford something up to $150,000 and do only a 13% down payment. If PG's county is within 5 miles of new job, try to get the "Down payment on Your Dream" loan. If not, then research for other local down payment/closing cost assistance. Still get pre-approved for a mortgage, find a home, place a contract, apply for the mortgage, and claim the purchase on the federal tax return forms.


Other news: We are probably switching health insurance to Steve's work's, meaning that we will no longer be with Kaiser starting the beginning of January. We will have Oxford/USA Health. So once we get the materials next year, we'll chose a different obstetrician and perhaps change my birthing hospital/center.

5 Months Pregnant

Hm, since the last post... My ultrasound showed my cervix to be 2.5 cm. This was a thing of concern since the average cervix length is 4 cm and a short cervix can be indicative of an incompetent cervix which shortens and opens when it's not supposed to and may lead to a preterm labor. I assumed that since I never leaked or spotted or anything that I don't have that particular problem and that I just always had a short cervix or something.

The doctor ordered a second ultrasound and referred me to a high risk doctor. The second ultrasound showed my cervix to be 2.5 cm again. Then the high risk doctor measured my cervix at 3.5 cm which is normal, so now I'm back to seeing my usual doctor. Sheesh.

I called Kaiser to inquire about the contracted birthing center option. It appears that Kaiser is with only with one birthing center in this area and it's in Virginia. So, I'll probably be giving birth at Holy Cross then. I'll pre-register right now.

I got the H1N1 shot on Tuesday. I started having the sniffles that morning though. So far it seems to just be a cold though since I have no fever. I haven't had a fever in like 6 years. We'll see how I am by the end of the week.

Anyways, my main concern is still with our future financial situation. I've become angry at what American society has become in this area. Because more mothers are working these days, their families are making more money and have an advantage over families where the mothers chose to stay home. The more mothers that are working, the more money families make, and the higher the home/rental prices get. So high, in fact, that the other mothers are forced to work also in order to compete for just a basic living for their families.

It doesn't make sense that an entry-level job for someone bachelor's degree doesn't pay enough for them to afford all of the basics of living in a measly one-bedroom apartment. I'm referring to how much my husband is getting paid, of course. My parents were our ages with similar education and jobs when they had their first kid and it appears that they were eventually able to buy a good house. A house like theirs is worth about $300K today and even with our combined full-time salaries minus child care, we wouldn't be able to afford that. Is there no longer any hope for a perfect life? What is the world coming to?

It's a girl!

I drank the exact amount of water that they told me to: not more and not less. But, the technician sent me to the bathroom twice to empty my bladder because the baby was moving too much. I did feel the baby kicking a lot when I was in the waiting room.

Baby weighs a good 11 oz and is on track at 19 1/2 weeks. We clearly saw that the baby is a girl. I was hoping for and expecting a boy. So, the surprise made it extra special.

The baby's head was too low and my cervix is too short. The doctor says that this is okay. I just need to tell someone if I feel pressure down there.

Prenatal Visit

I had an appointment yesterday and learned that I had gained 10 lbs this past month. I guess that it makes a difference to be vomiting only once a week instead of once a day. I still have 4 lbs to gain in order to break even. I am at 18 1/2 weeks. I think, at night, that I am occasionally feeling the baby tapping if I feel with my hand. The doctor said that the top of the uterus is where it should be at this point.

I tried eating a salad today, the same salad that I used to be able to eat a few weeks ago, but I had to spit out the first bite and go throw up the strawberry ensure that I had drunk an hour previously. I read in a study that trying to eat foods that one has an aversion to, for nutrition's sake, does not help the pregnant person whatsoever. This makes perfect sense to me, especially if an aversion to one food causes me to throw up something else that I had already in my stomach.

I'll have to leave work early today because I ran out of stuff to eat again. How am I supposed to get any work done if I have to eat every 45 minutes?! I feel like no matter what I do, I'm going to feel horrible by 2 pm if I don't find a place to lay down and relax/nap.

Anyways, I have an ultrasound next Wednesday and will hopefully find out whether it is a boy or girl. I am assuming that it will be a boy. Let's see if I'm correct! Perhaps I'll put a baby bump photo on here soon also.

Steve has been going to the Career Fair at UMD this week. Christian gave him an Italian suit that he had an extra of, so Steve is looking especially handsome. I hope that Steve may get a good job out of this.

Yucky

I've been feeling relatively happy lately since I got an office mate at work. I've been getting up on time and everything. Steve and I have also been successfully praying every morning and reading scriptures together every night. It's been surprisingly easy too. Now I just need to do personal scripture study, visiting teaching, and cleaning the apartment. Forget the temple--unless I'm allowed to put snacks in my pocket and eat during the session. I get sick if I go for more than 1 hour without eating and feel feint if I go without drinking.

Yesterday evening, though, when I was done eating dinner, I suddenly started getting the urge to throw up. I thought that since I hadn't vomited since last Thursday, that I could keep it down. I should have learned by now that any attempt to ever keep down an oncoming vomit is futile. So, I lost control of course and started running to the bathroom. Even though our apartment is dinky, I didn't quite make it. I vomited through my hand and onto the kitchen floor, the walls, the bathroom door, all over the bathroom floor, on my foot, on my pants, and eventually in the toilet. And then I cleaned it all up. As far as I remember, that's never happened to me before. I've always successfully made it to the toilet or a throw-up pan until now.

I guess that I should start looking towards the 20 week mark in 3 weeks and hope that I'll be better by then.

4 Months Pregnant

I'm am at 17 weeks now. A couple people on Sunday actually saw a baby bump! Here are my thoughts so far:

I only vomited once last week. The disarray that our apartment is in is starting to get to me. I feel like I have no time for cleaning or for exercise. I basically put myself on bed rest as soon as I get home from work everyday because of how sick and tired I feel. I'm still struggling with having to be at work for 8 hours each day. I can't concentrate on anything anymore when I have to be conscious about how frequently I need to eat and drink. Today was the first day of work for two new people in my group. So, I definitely need to come in to work on time so that my office mate can get into the room before she gets her key.

I feel impressed that I should quit work after the baby comes, but I told my boss that I'm looking at just working part-time. So, that option is theoretically still on the table. I was thinking that I could try the part-time thing and if it doesn't work then quit. I'm just nervous about Steve's employment.

Beaches

I finally finished uploading the photos that we had taken this summer.

Childbirth Preparation

As I'm technically in my second trimester, I've been thinking a lot about what I need to decide and do before the third trimester and before the baby's birth. I've been leaning toward a more natural birth since I have somewhat of a general distrust in medication. Though I am terrified of even giving birth.

Here is my plan so far:

1. Prenatal visit every 4 weeks; ask about H1N1 vaccine?
2. Already scheduled the ultrasound for October
3. Pre-Register with Holy Cross Hospital in November
4. Register for a Lamaze class for February in November
5. Attend KP's Prenatal II class in January
6. Register for the hospital's prenatal tour in January
7. Possibly hire a doula?

15 Weeks Pregnant

I feel like my belly is bigger now but it's still not evident to other people. I plan to delay as much as possible getting maternity clothes. Most of my clothes were already too big since I've had to settle getting sizes that are actually sold in stores. I still can't distinguish an baby movements from digestive movements.

We camped on Assateague Island during labor day weekend. I vomited at a restaurant on the way there but not at all for the rest of the weekend. The next time I vomited was after I returned to work on Tuesday. So, I guess that work-related stress aggravates it. I'm not sure whether sleeping in and minimizing the amount of work that I do helps or not.

It appears that, for the past week, instead of throwing up every day, I've been throwing up every 2 days or so. So, I suppose that the sickness is slowly subsiding. I haven't expanded my menu of foods yet though. I hope that I'm not psychologically scarred by certain foods for the rest of my life like I had been with shrimp when I got food poisoning. I should expect not...

It's been Steve's job to do the dishes and cooking while I lay about feeling sick. Luckily, I will only eat foods that are easy to make like pastroni and corn dogs. But, no matter how much I'm laying about, I still sometimes throw up my meals.

The featured food of my latest dream is tender barbecued chicken.

The apartment had been a complete mess for my whole pregnancy until last Saturday when Steve and I spent a few hours folding laundry and clearing the table and floors off. It makes one more relaxed to spend time in a somewhat livable space. Perhaps next Saturday, we'll sweep and vacuum the floors and wipe down the bathroom.

I've also been getting urinary track infections, causing some extra discomfort. I still hate being pregnant.

I've lately been extremely grateful for my calling at church. I've been the pianist for the primary kids for two years and it keeps me more busy and distracted from my sick self at church than, I imagine, any other calling would for me.

13 Weeks Pregnant

Looks like they swapped doctors on me. The new one seems better though, so it's all good. I'm 13 weeks and 3 days pregnant today. I'm due on March 7th, but I'll be pessimistic and expect the baby to be born on March 28th, since both Steve and I were each born 3 weeks late.

Steve came to the appointment yesterday and was able to hear the baby's heartbeat. It looks like I've stopped losing weight as I've been 105 lbs for the past 9 days. I haven't been eating any better or vomiting less though, so maybe I've just lost most of the fat that I have and there's just muscle left or something. Yes, I have been taking and keeping down my prenatal vitamins. The doctor said that I should be drinking 10 glasses of water. How in the world... ?

I go to the Kaiser near PG Plaza, so after the appointment, Steve and I went to the movie theater. It is crazy that matinee tickets were $8.50 each and 2 hotdogs, 1 nachos, and a soda cost $20. Good thing that I had a plastic grocery bag with me in the theater because I had to use it. It's also a good thing that there were only two other people in the theater and we were seated far enough from them.

After puking a bunch of nachos and water, I was able to eat and hold down my hot dog and some more nachos and water. That's usually my routine when I eat anything solid. After getting rid of the first half, I'm good to eat the second half. It is aggravating when this occasionally happens twice in a day though and that it's been like this for 6 weeks.

Okay, so I'll be scheduling my big ultrasound for when I'm 20 weeks, and I'll take Steve to that. Even though I usually like to be surprised, I always wanted to know whether it's a boy or a girl ahead of time. This way, we'd only have to think of one name for him/her and people would know what kind of baby clothes to give us.

Less Uncertain

Well, Steve opted to become a contractor at his work so that he doesn't have to stay in school to keep the job. So, he's working full-time now. In the meantime, though, Steve is looking for a better job. He enjoys what he's doing but I'd like him to get something more permanent. We're going to get the internet at home so that Steve doesn't have to leave all the time to get on the internet to apply for jobs.

After looking at our expenses, it appears that, if I stopped work, under a budget, we can survive. Steve has to bag his lunches and only get new computer games and music for birthdays/holidays, we may have to eat out and go to the movies less often, and buy less of the nonessential food items like chips and ice cream. Also, we may have to eventually lose our cell phones and get a home phone. Apart from those things, I don't see anything else that we may be willing to cut out.

Health Update: Still sick. I have an appointment tomorrow. Steve is going to come too because he wants more proof that I'm actually pregnant. hah.

The Uncertain Future

If Steve doesn't get a new job, the backup plan is for him to keep is current job which pays about $34K full-time or $16/hr part-time and they would pay for grad school. The only problem with it is that, if he continues to work less than 40 hrs/week, it is not enough to cover our expenses. We would have to take from whatever I save up from my job. This money may keep us out of the hole for 15 months or so after I stop working when the baby comes. So, Steve would have to get a major raise before the money runs out and before we get kicked out of our apartment for over-occupying it.

If Steve gets a job that pays enough, we may be able to use my money to save up for a down-payment on a low-cost home. This is my ideal goal.

Otherwise, if we can't afford to rent a bigger apartment once we get kicked out of ours, we would have to move in with Steve's parents. Either that, or I have to return to work and stick our kid in day care.

Health update:

I'm still throwing up and losing weight. The medication that I was given never worked so I stopped taking it after a week. I'm down to 104.8 lbs (14 lbs total loss). I hope that it will get better in 2 weeks. By then, though, I'm afraid I'll be weighing at under 100 lbs. Getting tired of throwing up everything, I'm hating food more, and I'm running out of food options and so I'm crying a lot about it. I've been coming to work 2 hours late most days and am running out of sick-leave hours.

Music

Every day, during my 1-hour commute, I listen to Classical WETA 90.9. I find that this music is more pleasant and more stimulating than anything else on the radio or on my CDs. I realize that after listening to it to and from work everyday for the past month or so, I haven't gotten tired from it and I've never had to change the station. There is so much variety with so high of a quality. On Tuesday, I was thinking about it and it was bringing tears to my eyes that there could be something so uplifting playing on the radio in these times. This radio station is listener-supported and doesn't play a whole bunch of ads or anything. So, I decided to go to the radio station's website and donate $50 to it. $50 is about how much we would spend on CDs in a year. I listen to this radio station more often than to the CDs, so I figured that it was a good amount.

On another note, I was watching the WETA channel on TV yesterday and a documentary on ice cream made me cry for a different reason. Thinking about how horrible everything tastes to me and how I don't enjoy eating anything like I used to enjoy eating ice cream caused a emotional breakdown. I was telling Steve about it and he decided to go to the grocery store for me to buy me some split pea soup and popsicles. I love him so much. I also am very appreciative that he's spending a lot of time applying for jobs. I really hope that he gets one: even if it means that we have to move to Alaska.

Update #2

Yes, I am still losing weight as I am currently down to 108 lbs. But, don't worry: I still look relatively healthy. I am not skeletal or anything. By the calendar, I'm 11 weeks pregnant, so I still have at least 2 weeks until the end of my first trimester. I feel grateful that the 1-a-day vomiting isn't too bad and that I can still mostly eat and keep down relatively normal food.

My gratitude increases whenever I hear about people that have become really bad off. It is pretty terrible that other people's misery can make me feel happy! Sister Holder was telling me that one of her daughters got down to 75 lbs! And Steve told me that some guy at his work was telling him that his wife couldn't even keep down ice chips! She had to be hospitalized, of course.

I have a friend that told me that she didn't really get sick that often, but that it took her 5 years and 10 miscarriages before she could even have a baby. And the baby was born 6 weeks premature with a final hospital bill of over 6 figures! Steve has a cousin with a similar story. I feel so badly about these horrible experiences that many people have had and, at the same time, I feel so happy that I am well and that the pregnancy is pretty normal and so forth.

Life Update

According to the calendar, I'm at 9 weeks pregnant. According to the size of my baby, I'm only 7 1/2 weeks pregnant. I hope that this doesn't lengthen my first trimester. I'm still throwing up everyday. I lost 3 lbs last week bringing my total loss to 7 lbs. I weigh 111.8 lbs now. The doctor prescribed me a suppository for the nausea but I haven't decided to start taking it yet.

Our refrigerator is getting replaced today. Thank goodness! So, I'll be able to eat refrigerated foods again!

Steve has been going to his mom's house to use the internet in order to apply for jobs. I'm still feeling pretty optimistic for him. If I can get a good job with a bachelors in math, surely he can get one with a bachelors in physics! Though, there are more applicants these days than there were when I got my job 1 1/2 years ago.

Burping

My whole life, I've never been able to burp. It never really bothered me though since I was used to it. If my stomach starts to unceasingly gurgle, I lay down and it stops.

I think that this problem has been requiring me to puke in the morning before I eat anything in order to get all of my burps out. My one cracker in bed helps to launch it. I think that I want to teach myself to burp by sticking a finger in my throat so that I can burp when I'm not pregnant and nauseous.

My stomach being full of air may be why I get full so fast when eating and why I've been always pretty skinny.

Toxic Fridge from Hell

In addition to throwing up 1-2 times each day, I am unable to each or drink anything from our fridge. There is a weird chemical smell that is contaminating everything inside. The smell blasts through the apartment whenever we open the fridge. The bad taste is in all of the food and I can taste it even in the ice cubes. So, lately, I've only been eating toast and crackers and stuff.

Steve is somewhat skeptical about whether it is even a problem. I asked him to at least defrost the fridge and freezer last night to see if that helps. He didn't of course, so I'll have to do it after I return home from work and eat and rest for 20 minutes. I "googled" for some possible solutions. So, in addition to defrosting the fridge, I'm going to wash any mold from the drip pan, clean any dust from the coils, remove and clean behind the panels, etc. If none of this works, I'll tell management to get it repaired or get us a new fridge. I may also "google" the refrigerator model for any recurrent problems with this particular model.

Sonogram 7 weeks

The white jelly bean inside the big black tear drop is the baby. It was beating like a little heart

Pregnancy Week 8

I've vomited 5 times in the past 6 days. The constant nausea is disabling. I don't know how I'll survive at least 30 more days of this. I'm starting to hate men because of their lack of understanding or sympathy. Though I think that Steve is getting better the more he hears me vomit. The other day, saying the word "twinkie" prompted me to rush to the toilet and puke.

I'm having trouble packing my lunches for work since I need to eat less than every two hours, or six times, there to keep my stomach from being empty. I guess that my stomach doesn't like any veggies since I puked the salad that I ate for fourth lunch at work today. I'm not getting much work done here.

Since everyone has been asking about my future work plans, I've started thinking about it a bit. Originally, I never wanted to be a working mom. The baby is due in March. As the time is close, I don't know whether we will be able to afford for me to stay home. Will I need my job's health insurance for the baby? We don't really know what Steve will be doing. We would also have to eventually afford to move to a bigger place.

I guess for now, I am going to say "I don't know" about anything until next year when we see whether or not Steve has a full-time job with health benefits.

I haven't had the chance to finish uploading our own beach house photos to the web since I'm not allowed to plug the camera into my computer at work. Here are some photos taken from my mother-in-law's Picasa Web Album:

Beach House

We left a day early for the beach house on Hatteras Island last week and stayed at a motel for the night. Steve had to do homework at the beach house but luckily he emailed it in on Monday and was able to relax during the rest of the week.

We returned from the beach house on Saturday. I puked at a waffle house on the way back and burst the blood vessels on my face. I also puked this morning in the middle of eating breakfast. The cracker-in-bed thing didn't work. I guess that getting up at 5:30 AM for work doesn't help.

I'm am 7 weeks pregnant so far. According to the numbers of the children of Steve's brothers, I say that we have about 6/7 chance of having a boy. I'm thinking about the name Jason or Kyle.

Here's a slide-show of some photos of the beach house including 15 nieces and nephews:

Beach Trip Anticipation

The best time of the year is quickly approaching: our annual vacation to the beach house in North Carolina. This year, though, Steve's and my Florida trip in March may have been better than the beach house usually is. Well it was, at least, more relaxing and romantic. I'm surprised that I didn't conceive during that week instead. :P

Last year's beach week felt too short, so some of us are leaving a day early this time. Too bad that Steve can't go swimming yet because of his eye surgery. He hasn't much cared about swimming in the ocean these days anyways. He's getting old or something. As for me, swimming is my favorite part. Water feels sooo good on the skin. The sound and motion of the waves are very soothing too. The physical activity of treading the water also keeps me happy and not anxious or bored.

Steve and I have borrowed some library books to bring and read at the beach. Steve got some war history books for himself. I got a couple of Stephen King books. I'm going to start the Dark Tower series.

The Answer is: Yes I am.

It appears that I am 5 weeks pregnant. Steve and I had been married for 4 years before we figured that we could finally afford children soon. We got pregnant during the fourth month off the pill. We weren't exactly trying very hard as we were both still terrified of the idea.

Last Thursday, I thought it was normal for me to be 4 days late on my period. My stress and anxiety has made my period up to 10 days late before and an airplane ride has made me skip a period altogether.

When I visited the health center for a urinary track infection, my urine was tested and the nurse told me that I am pregnant. I was stunned. I hadn't noticed any other symptoms. Logically, it would've been possible to get pregnant since I had been off the pill for 4 months. Psychologically, I expected to continue life as it was and never get pregnant.

So, at first, I was in disbelief at the news. Soon after, I was happy and excited. I wanted to immediately tell the whole world. It would be weird to just go up to someone and blurt out "I'm pregnant!" so my plan is to wait until some comes to me and asks, "what's new?" I'm not going to first wait for the baby to survive the first trimester to tell anyone. I hate it when people do that! So I'll just tell everyone when/if the baby doesn't survive also. So what? I feel like my feelings would be hurt more if I kept it to myself than if I told everyone. Though, I've always hated receiving sympathy from others.

I'm almost half-way through the first trimester and I am near symptomless. I haven't had any nausea and I don't hate food any more than I already did. This is good since morning sickness is, reportedly, the worst symptom of pregnancy. I've only had some slight heartburn and I generally feel a little different. I was already eating 6 small meals a day and was getting my daily folic acid, so I didn't really need to change any of my routine.

Anyways, I have an appointment in the late afternoon today and I don't expect to learn anything new.

Appointments

A nephew broke Steve's glasses last week. Steve is getting his eyes zapped today. He is so handsome with no glasses!

I've had a urinary track infection since Sunday and visited the nurse today for it. My pee showed that I have a extra condition that will keep me from getting the normal treatment. More later.

Amusement Park Day

I remember that when I was a kid, my brothers and I earned points in the summer by doing house work until we earned enough to go to Wild World: a water park. By the time that I was in middle school, the park got some non-water rides and rollercoasters and was renamed to Adventure Land. A couple years afterward, Six Flags bought it and it became this Six Flags park in Bowie.

Steve and I went to Six Flags yesterday but we didn't take any pictures. This had been the first time that we went to an amusement park together in the 4.25 years that we've been married. Steve had never visited Six Flags before even though he's lived within 20 minutes from it for 20+ years.

As a teenager, I had a friend with a season pass that brought me along a few times. I remember how much I loved roller coasters. I'm a little older now and I don't enjoy them as much as I did. I still love being frightened and feeling the wind and watching the fastness. Whats different now is my attitude about rollercoasters. I'm no longer so obsessed with them. Also, I don't like how the rollercoasters shake my head around and totally kill my neck. The mind-eraser didn't do that; instead, it totally scraped up my ears--which was worse.

Highlights of the day:

We arrived at opening time (1030) and headed straight for the batwing. Someone heading back from it told us that they were performing maintenance on it, so we got on the Superman ride instead. This rollercoaster is the tallest one in the park. I love being at the top of it as it starts to fall. What a rush! We then checked out the Batwing and it appeared that it was running again. We also enjoyed this one. This rollercoaster is unique in that you ride it in the laying down position so that as it the coaster spins around, your body is suspended flat like you're flying. The joker's jinx was slightly more pleasant on the neck although it is more on the twisty-turny side. We realized that, perhaps, we should've started small and worked our way up to riding the Superman and Batwing rides because they were totally crazy.

Since we got these tickets from Steve's work, there was free food for us at a pavilion on the private picnic ground. We went there for two lunches. I didn't each second lunch because my stomach wasn't up to it.

At around four o'clock, we got our swimsuits from the car and entered the water-park part. Steve kept saying that he didn't care about going to the water-park but I made him anyways as I said that I wanted us to have a full Six Flags experience. We relaxed together floating around the lazy river and rode the water slides. Steve ended up really enjoying this cone-shaped water slide. I think that it was a new one since I don't remember it being there last time I went.

At the end of the day, we rerode the Superman and Batwing rides. What was crazy was when the conductor for the Batwing ride told us that Michael Jackson died. I was like "What? Michael Jackson?" She then starting singing a bunch of Michael Jackson songs. We didn't totally believe her until on our way home when the car radio was playing nothing by Michael Jackson songs.

What's pretty weird is that even though Steve and I put the same amount of sunscreen on a the same time, my face ended up getting burned and his didn't. This is weird because his skin is supposed to be fairer than mine since he has blue eyes and I have brown. Maybe walking around campus made him a little more sun resistant?

What I like most about being at the amusement park yesterday was being with Steve. I enjoy talking and laughing with him. What I like most about being with him is simply looking at each other. I could stare into his eyes for ages and ages and still feel the sparks. Even though it seems that Amusement Parks are for people to be indulgent, it is also a great way to spend time with family. A season pass is only $20 more than a ticket. This costs way less than the $200 to be a member of our local swimming pool. So, perhaps one day when we have kids and/or when we don't work as much, we'll get season passes.

FL Day 8: May 30

My Dad likes this picture.

In the morning, we visited the Okeefenokee Swamp Park. The admission package that we chose costs about $18/adult and included a 30-minute boat tour of the swamp, a train tour, and a nature show.

We saw alligators, turtles, and a river otter.

The boat tour showed us some of the swamp's beauty.

The tanic acid in the water makes it tea-like and safe to drink.

Old Roy was the dominant male in the '90s, I think.

Oscar was the latest dominant male to die. He was about 1000 lbs and will become the largest alligator skeleton.

There was also a petting zoo there.

This rabbit was just hopping around freely, not unlike the ones we have in Maryland.

In the afternoon, the alligators were out of the water absorbing and storing the sun's energy.

The nature show guy taught us things like how to preserve nature's balance by leaving snakes alone so that they can eat the rats. He also said that when we leave the alligators alone, they leave us alone because animals have a natural fear of humans. This reminded me of the part in Genesis that Steve and I had just read together about how the animals were given a fear of humans.

The nature guy was telling us that the swamp has everything anybody needs to live in it: plenty of food and a hut that would last eight years after building it. All the things that we have these days are unnecessary.

We started heading for home. Instead, of camping an extra night on the way, we drove straight through and arrived home a little after midnight.

This whole trip cost us about $600 dollars and an unpaid week from Steve. It was definitely worth it.

FL Day 7: May 29

I am so good looking!

The next morning after we packed up the tent and left Silver River State Park, we went to the Ocala National Forest and did the sink-hole hike. This is me at the giant sink-hole.

This hike had more spider webs in it than any other hike this week. The webs tended to be face-level too! Are the spiders trying to catch our faces?

We arrived at Laura S. Walker [GA] State Park and started making and eating dinner when a little kitty appeared. Steve made friends with it. Steve gave our extra hot dog to the kitty even though I told him not to.

Both Steve and the kitty were looking up at the camera for this next picture

The kitty hung out with us until we entered our tent for the night. Steve would've brought the kitty home if I wasn't allergic.

There was a lake at the campground.

Steve tends to make dopey-looking smiles in pictures, so I told him to make a serious face for this last one and it looks good! I didn't post most of the dopey pictures.

FL Day 6: May 28

After leaving Fort De Soto, we drove past St. Petersburg and Tampa towards Silver River State Park in Ocala.

We arrive at Silver River State Park in Ocala and go on a short hike. I guess that we forgot to take a picture of our campsite here. On this hike, we saw two armadillos chasing each other. Armadillos are actually pretty cute.

Many parts of the trail were flooded. We found ways around but not without finding poison ivy rashes on our ankles afterword. Actually, we don't know from which of the hikes we got it.

Lastly, here's another cute picture of me showing my knees amongst the cypress knees. Big eyes!

This is the day when I started getting bored. I didn't want to do many more hikes because I got tired of splashing through the water, getting annoyed at flies and mosquitos, and walking through webs, so we started playing cards and reading back at the campsite. It feels great to have absolutely nothing to do and nothing to worry about.