Grow belly grow!

Today I am 8 weeks. So far I'm feeling good. I am keeping my fingers crossed that this week the morning sickness doesn't kick in. Once I get past the first trimester I am supposed to be safe so I really only have 5 more weeks left. For the first time in my life I keep looking for my belly to grow. I want to get fat so I feel more pregnant. I'm sure once I can barely bend over I'll wonder why I wanted to show so bad. I guess it will make it more real. It's weird to think something is beating inside me rapidly and I don't feel it. I can't wait for it to kick.

I don't think we are going to find out what we are having. If we find out at the 4th month or the 9th month there isn't a huge difference because we will find out eventually. When I help deliver patients I love the moment the baby comes out, the doctor holds up the baby and says.....It's a girl or boy. We may change our mind, but if it's about being able to decorate a room or buy clothes we can accessorize after the baby is born. I like the idea of not knowing and being surprised.

I turned over a new leaf this week. I took out my belly ring. I have had it since I was in college so it has been a part of me for most of my adult life. I was telling my mom that I took it out, and that I was going to be sad to see it close up and she said, "well you are an adult now, and I'm sure after your belly stretches you aren't going to want to put it back in. How many moms do you see with belly rings." She's probably right. My belly button looks naked, but I'll adjust. The other day I had a patient with piercings still in her belly, her nipples, and her lower region. I understand belly rings, nipple rings would just be annoying, but a piercing down there when you are expected to push out a baby???? The thought of that tearing just gives me the willies. I think I've seen it all out here!

Expect pictures of the growing belly in the coming weeks!

Our little secret...

I have been keeping a secret from the Internet world, although close friends and family have been let in on the great news! As most of you know, Adam and I are expecting a little baby bean! It's still very new, as we had our first appointment this morning, and they said eveything looks great. We are 7 weeks today with a long way to go. Our expected due date is 9/17/09. I know I am a delivery nurse, but I never help people get pregnant so I've had a lot of questions in the last couple weeks. I've talked to my sister, the girls at work, some of the doctors, and my mom who all have given great advice. For the first couple weeks, I kept spotting and spotting and cramping and was nervous but that has all gone and I feel good. I've haven't had any consistent nausea, morning sickness or food aversions but I have been really tired, hungry all the time, kinda moody, and must pee ALL the time. The doctor says the nausea can come at anytime but I'm crossing my fingers that it doesn't happen. I can't cook raw meat. Especially chicken. It makes me gag. I crave any fast food especially taco bell, McDonalds and In and Out. Healthy food just isn't cutting it. I am going to be a horse by the end of this pregnancy. Smells are especially strong and irritating as well. Other than that, I feel good and will take pictures of the belly as it grows big and fat.

Our Baby Bean with a Heart Rate of 150

Isn't our baby pretty?

Blog Award

I'd like to take the time to thank all the people that made this award possible, especially Michelle. I don't have that many blogger friends so a minimum of 7 blogs just isn't going to happen. We'll make do!

The rules of the award:
1) Choose a minimum of 7 blogs that you find brilliant in content or design.
2) Show the 7 winners names and links on your blog, and leave a comment informing them that they were prized with "Honest Scrap." Well, there's no prize, but they can keep the nifty icon.
3) List at least 10 honest things about yourself.

So here it goes, 10 honest things about me:

1. I married my best friend and enjoy my life with him in our home in the middle of nowhere.

2. I miss living closer to my family, but I am always so excited to visit. Makes our time together that much more special.

3. The more healthy food I try to eat the more I crave cheeseburgers, french fries, and pizza.

4. I am addicted to the game show network. No whammy, no whammy, no whammy....STOP!

5. I could lay on the couch everyday without complaining.

6. I hate sleeping by myself. I always wake up and hear monsters under my bed.

7. I hate people who do drugs. They make you so stupid. It makes me so mad when pregnant women are meth addicts. They should be able to tie a womans tubes if she is a repetitive user.

8. I play scrabble on pogo.com on my days off. I am nerdy!

9. I miss my friends living closer!

10. I hate cleaning toilet bowls. I am not the one who pees down the front of the bowl, therefore I hate cleaning it up. I thought only little boys had that problem.

Hope you enjoy!

I think I violated a baby!

I had something happen at work this week that I have to share because it has never happened to me before in my Labor Delivery career. I had a laboring patient that was being induced and had been there the entire night. It was her first baby and she was a very nervous nelly. When I came on in the morning, her bag of water was still intact, and when I examined her she was 3cm. She requested an epidural and tolerated the procedure very well. The doctor arrived about 10AM and broke her water. At that time she was 4cm, contracting away and comfortable. A couple hours later, it was time for another exam. I always like the exam after the water is broken because you can really determine what position the baby is in by feeling the suture lines on the head, is it going to come out looking face up (which is harder) or the right way, facing down. During this exam, the baby's heart rate dropped and my other nurse friend came in to see what was going on. My fingers were in examining her, and the head felt weird. She had progressed and was now 6cm. Without freaking the patient out, I said I was going to have the other nurse do an exam as well. To me, it felt like the head had a big crease in it, but to the right it was hard as a head should be. The other nurse examined her as well, and felt nothing abnormal. Nothing to worry about, so we proceeded on with labor. Two more hours passed and it was time for another exam. When I went in she was now getting ready for delivery. The crease I felt was longer, and as I followed it up, my finger went in a hole! I quickly ran out of the room, ran to get the other nurse and explained what I had felt. She came in the room again, and as I guided her to the right where the crease was, she stuck her finger in the same hole! Our eyes widened! It was the butt!!! Long story short, we had to go for a emergent C-Section as delivering breech babies can be dangerous. I called the doctor and explained that he was never going to believe it, but I felt the baby was breech and that I had stuck my finger in the baby butt! We got an ultrasound and sure enough the baby had somehow flipped around! That little stinker. She was so cute, happy and healthy and the parents were thrilled to have their new daughter in their arms. What an experience!

Agamemnon Theophilus Gumpakis

So Adam and I have been talking more and more about starting a family. Some months he's more excited about having a baby than I am, and then some months I get the itch to be a mom. I have always thought if it happened great, but I wasn't going to get all into checking my temperature , or examining the consistency of any vaginal mucus to determine when I am ovulating. That would require too much planning! At this point we haven't been preventing anything, so we hope to enjoy the spontaneity of the whole process. We have never been completely on the same page, until this month. As we talked last night about having a baby the topic of names came up in conversation. I know we have plenty of time to decide on names, as I am not even pregnant yet, but I have always been concerned with what names my husband would agree upon. I married a Greek. They are very proud of their heritage. I don't mind compromising and naming a baby a NORMAL Greek name because there are few out there, but upon examining my options further, my choices are limited. How about Agamemnon Theophilus Gumpakis (Pakes, as his last name was shortened thank goodness) and for a girl she'd be named Eleftheria Zena Gumpakis. I can't even pronounce half of these names, let alone expect my child to learn to spell their name. I have found a couple normal names, but my choices are limited. Let the fun of baby making begin!

College days

I am so happy I had a good college experience. When we took our road trip to Santa Barbara we walked around UCSB and saw students returning to their dorms. Adam expressed a sadness that he had never truly lived the college life, and suggested that he re-enroll in college and live in the dorms for a year. I advised against it because, although my honey graduated, he just isn't a student. Plus, I told him that college kids won't think you are cool when you're that creepy 30 year old that's still going to school. During his college years, he commuted from his house in Tustin to Long Beach State, went to his classes and returned home. BORING! I'm glad I lived in the dorms for a year, and if I had to do it over again I would have, but I would never want to go back, or live there an extra year. It got me thinking and reminiscing about my college days. Living in the dorms taught me a lot about life. I remember moving day into the dorms. My parents and I hiked up to my doom room door to find out that I had a Junior roommate! At the time I felt bad for her....who would want to be stuck with a freshman, whom was away from home for the first time, and wanted to party all the time. As the semester went on, we couldn't have been more perfect roommates. She became my best friend. We had a lot of laughs, tears, and moments of growth that to this day I will carry with me forever.

The other day I was talking to Adam about my college days, it was funny to bring up random people I met along the way. I will never forget GeOff. He will always hold a special place in my heart. He wore a barea (not sure of the spelling) type of hat to the side and would always ask if I wanted to come to his room, drink gin and tonic with him, and talk. He probably wanted to philosophize about life. He was so dorky! We would see him coming and we'd run in our rooms and lock the doors only to stare out the peep hole and laugh. We were so mean. On Valentines Day, he showed up at my door with a single white rose, attached to it was a note that said, "When you take this rose, think of me: Single and White." How poetic. I laughed so hard! I think he finally got the hint when I always locked my door, and never went to his room to enjoy gin and tonic. I wonder what Geoff is doing now? He probably makes millions!

It really is such a small world. To think that Adam and I both went to Long Beach State at the same time, and could have met in passing. We were both probably on campus at the same time and never knew each other. I believe the timing of meeting people at moments in your life, happens during the exact moment that you are both ready. I am happy we met when we did, and that I have many great college moments that I can share with my husband. To think we actually met out here in Havasu in a cove and was introduced through a girlfiend I was boating with that he knew from High School. So ironic that we now live here!

Our New Years Road Trip!

We've been on the road most of the new year, and finally returned to our own home and our own beds! We went camping to the Glamis Sand Dunes for the new year and had fun with family and friends riding Quads, dirt bikes, sitting by the fire, and BBQing. We left Glamis Friday morning and took a road trip up to Santa Barbara. We went on a hike up the coast, visited with Adam's Sister and their family and returned home today. It feels nice to be home sitting on my couch and most importantly not driving in the car!

Adam and I by the fire

The Girls: Me, Angie, Megan, Michelle

Adam and Pete taking a Rhino ride

Onto Santa Barbara.....

On our hike on the cliffs

I think I could live here!


We had a nice vacation but it's back to work tomorrow. Hope everyone enjoyed the holidays. This year I plan to get back to eating healthier, exercising, making time for family and friends, taking inexpensive road trips, and being grateful for my health, job, family/friends, and the roof over my head. Happy 2009!