On a little slipnslide!

The good news is, I feel great. Everything seems to be going well with the baby, I have my 18 week dr's appt in two weeks and can schedule my 20 week sonogram by early next week. The bad news is, I seem to have fallen off the wagon. I am pretty sure I've gained about 3 lbs in the last two weeks and I have not been doing my walking or anything else. I'm also pretty sure cheese danish and cuban sandwiches are not very healthy for anyone, but that is what I ate yesterday. I'm trying to turn it around though! I brought apples and pb, a banana, and a kind bar to work for snacks though. I thought it was just a 4 hour shift, but it turned in to 6 when my boss was finally approved to give us more hours until we find a replacement for the full time girl who left. I am not knocking more work, it keeps me out of the house and mostly away from bad food, but it has been giving me more excuses not to exercise. 

I need to change up my routine and start walking at least after dinner when I'm home with the Cap, hoping he can start going with me now that his classes at work seem to be a little less daunting. I'm also going to try to go to the prenatal yoga class tomorrow at the army gym. I might actually try hitting up the gym a little more. It's a 20 minute drive to get there, but I think the elliptical might be just what I need at this point, and man the pool is gonna feel great (indoors) when this belly explodes. 

So you heard it here folks! I am gonna try to not gain any more weight before my appt in two weeks! I am not planning on losing anything, just keeping it in check. With the holidays coming up, there will be plenty of time for indulging and love through food. In fact, we just booked our hotel down by my family in Florida for the Thanksgiving and I cannot wait!

So here is the 15 week picture. No stripes! 

Week 14 update

Just wanted to show off my bump! Here is the week 14 picture! I must say, I love wearing stripes to work on Fridays!

I'm also in charge of the display this month at work, here is my "IT CAME FROM THE LIBRARY" zombie display! 

 Emily called me today to check up! She's recently gotten engaged and moved to be closer to her family so it was really great to check in with her! She was super proud of my work at staying fit this pregnancy! She's also going to try to start paleo and wanted some tips and websites so I sent her here to the blog.

Victory!

Well I had my 14 week OB appointment yesterday. Mainly this one and the next one are just check ups to see how I'm feeling and to let the doctor know if I have any concerns. I also got to hear the heartbeat, which was nice and strong in the 140s! Yay! At this point in the pregnancy its still hard to know you're pregnant every day, because I don't have a pronounced belly and I'm no longer feeling sick. Speaking of bumps, my uterus is apparently very low down and if you match that with my awesomely long (sarcasm) torso, I'm gonna carry real low and just look pudgy until maybe midway? Who knows!

I was very nervous to go to this appointment because I don't want to gain more weight than I should and I was afraid my scale at home would not match what was happening in the doctor's office. But I shouldn't be worried because most of the time I eat really well and I exercise as much as I can, its still always in the back of your mind. I love Miss Jessica Simpson but weight watchers is not going to give me a 3 million dollar deal anytime soon to lose my baby weight, so I just can't go overboard like she did. I am proud to say that victory was indeed mine and I only gained 2 lbs of the 20 my doctor thinks is healthy to gain. Not bad for getting through an entire trimester! If I can keep this up through the holidays and get through to the last one, I think I will be plenty healthy come baby time.

Also, today is my four year wedding anniversary! Cap and I do the traditional gifts to eachother every year and this year's is a doozy. Fruit and flowers? I guess the perfect gift would be an edible arrangement right? Fruit in the shape of flowers? But I always think those things are just walking talking colds on a stick. I haven't gotten him anything yet because I really wanted him to get a new wedding ring. Did I mention that he accidently sent it down the disposal without knowing and crushed it?? Yea I was wondering why those sounds were coming from our sink before we moved! I trust him completely, but what is hotter than a good looking military officer carrying an adorable baby while wearing no wedding band? Exactly! So I'm holding out. I do hope he thinks of me though.

We have a weekend of eating ahead of us. This morning went to Ihop with his class and their wives and this afternoon is a BBQ thrown by one of the couples. I broke down and made my favorite side dish every, corny cornbread casserole, which is pretty much cornbread with a stick of butter, sour cream, and cans of corn and creamed corn. Bake until succulent! Not very healthy but I since I won't be drinking, I figure there are extra calories for me to go around. We are also going to hit the farmer's market and maybe the Seafood festival uptown as well on Saturday.

Wishful thinking!

So now that I'm keeping up with this blog and becoming accountable again, I've managed to eat pretty sensibly and do my walking every day. The walking part is super easy to keep up with because the weather here has been pretty amazing the last few weeks. This weekend the high will be in the upper 70s so I definitely plan on getting Cap out there with me. We are going to try to hit up the farmer's market downtime tomorrow morning cause I'm really craving some kind of cobbler right now and they have THE best selection of fresh stuff. I also want to try to get out and meet new people. It's kind of lonely here due to the circumstances of this duty station, so I'm willing to try a bunch of new things to meet people.

This week has been pretty easy paleo wise for dinners. I've had to broaden my horizons with making crock pot meals or re heats because I now work a couple of nights for the new job. I tried my hand at a cube steak gravy concoction deal last night from pinterest that Cap put over instant mashed potatoes and I put over a mix of veggies which made a pretty tasty gravy but the meat was less than to be desired. I don't know how to marinate it before going in to the pot, because I always thought that that stuff was supposed to all happen in the pot. Oh well. I also made AMAZING stuffed tomatoes this week which I'll link to the recipe below. And tonight is Philly Cheesesteak over mixed greens.

My problem has not been dinner though, its during the day. I am going through the lumberjack/trucker appetite phase where I just cannot fill up. Or I'll fill up for about an hour and then get dizzy from low blood sugar and will have to eat again really soon after that, so the fruits and veggies go through me like water. It's hard to find the balance between cravings and what I should be eating as well. I just need to keep plugging away and finding what works for me.

http://www.paleoplan.com/2010/01-04/sausage-stuffed-tomatoes/
Super tasty and green with the large cut up peppers I used, and for some reason I couldn't find ground sausage this week, so I just baked then sauteed links all cut up. It was harder to stuff but still super delicious. I added a little parmesan to the mixture as well to bump up the flavor.

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/philly-cheese-steak-salad-10000001885356/

This one is what I'm using for the Philly cheese steak tonight, but instead of American cheese, I'm going to use some swiss cheese shredded and melted over the salad. I prefer the taste over processed American. I'll take pictures and put them up this weekend.

Also, I think I'm finally showing! It only took 13 weeks and 3 days! My belly button still hasn't popped out but this belly is on its way! I love leggings and sweater dresses!

Our new life in Georgia!

It's been three blessed months since I've updated on this blog! We are happy to announce that not only did we have a great vacation and move from Texas to Georgia with the military, but the third round of clomid worked! I am 13 weeks pregnant today!!! We told family and friends last week as were are now safely out of the danger zone and I cannot believe I'm a week away from my second trimester!

While I should have secretly been writing down my thoughts every day and then releasing them all at once, I've been completely overwhelmed with the new place and unpacking, traveling to see family, and my new job at the library! I'll try to remember some details as I go, but promise to keep everyone up to date on what is going on from now.

The biggest regret I've had since getting pregnant is the amount of weight I've put back on since getting pregnant. On the trip to the beach I went from about 179 lbs to 184, from eating anything I wanted and drinking a lot! I didn't know I had a week old clump of cells in there, but everyone has assured me it will be ok. I lost the 5 lbs before the acutal move date, but found out I was pregnant the day the guys came to put all our stuff on the truck. Our plan of getting to the new place in one day failed after that, as the exhaustion from the week of packing and organizing, as well as the happy news, took its toll on me! So with the move, being homeless in a hotel, visiting family and friends, lets just say my eating has been less than perfect. In the first month we were here I put the 5 lbs back on plus 5 and at my first appt I weighed in at 191 lbs. My doctor knows my history and of course took me off the metphormin during the pregnancy. I try to get in 30 minutes a day of walking, but it was nothing like Emily had me doing. There are supposed to prenatal classes for yoga on post but none have shown up on the September schedule, so here's hoping for October. I have my 14 week doctor's visit a week from tomorrow and hope I haven't added another 5 lbs, but with a family trip this weekend including cheesecake and cinnamon rolls, I highly doubt it will be a great showing. The doctor would like me to stay within a 20 lb gain range and I just need to get in better habits.

Weeks 6-8 of the pregnancy were the hardest because of morning sickness and I all could eat were ginger snaps and crackers. Now I have to break out of the carb overload cravings. We do a paleo meal for dinner every night, but during the day I eat a lot of whole week and fruit and cheese. Of course I get the extra 300 cals a day from feeding the little monster, but that adds up quickly. Now that I am writing all this down, I better stick to it a whole lot better!

I have a major case of pregnancy brain so I will leave it up to these pictures to paint the full story!

Here is the lovely chart for July! As you can see, I got the positive pretty stinking early!

The day of the big move, we had this awesome news! I actually dreamed that I saw the word PREGNANT in big letters and had found this digital test under my sink while packing. I dreamed it come true!

Here is the little monster at 10 weeks and 3 days! Dr says the baby has a lot of personality and is a thumb sucker all ready!

Our awesome announcement we made for our friends on facebook! We went to a home football game a few weeks before and took the picture there!

And here I am this weekend making a fool out of myself at the maternity store trying on a fake belly! I'm absolutely not showing yet, although I swear I feel the fullness and sometimes a kick when I lay very still! So excited!

Hiatus Over!

It has been a busy few weeks (months) for us here in the nest and it was really nice to not be thinking about any baby stuff. I have successfully gotten down to 179 lbs, with a bit of a stall in the last few weeks. That has been pretty much due to the amount of drinking and goodbyes we've been saying so they are happy pounds I'm holding on to. I have also ovulated each month since our last clomid treatment. I was up in the 11's for amount of progesterone each time which makes me so happy! Now we are in our final weeks in Texas and we are getting our home ready to be rented out before we head to Georgia.

We were actually supposed to be leaving this coming weekend but the army could not get a  moving truck for us for another two weeks, so instead of vacationing with family in Florida, we will just take the time off here and head to the beach before the insanity begins. In one week's time we have to clean and pack the house, get the cars loaded, head to the new post and find a house. Its nothing new for any military family, but this will be an insane time for us. So we got booked a little last minute trip at a beach for a week and it just so happens to fall over the best BD time for us. And because of that I am doing a half pill round of clomid this month. I started on my day 5 which was yesterday with a cut 50mg tab so I'm doing 25 mg a day. At my last OB appt, the doc and I talked about how well the weightloss was going and how I'd ovulated on my own but not had a pregnancy yet and she suggested doing the half tab again, but a whole one if we really wanted twins. That was a no! haha. 

So last night we went to a friends birthday party and drank way too much and that is what I think caused the two hot flashes I had in bed last night and this morning. I don't think I'd have had that kind of reaction had I not had anything to drink. I meet up with Emily today for a workout so I believe that will help me get back in action this week. My last day of work is Friday and they are doing a nice lunch for me and I'm sure I will get super emotional, so being on the clomid should just exaggerate that. Other than this last week, I don't think there will be much to set me off. I hope the half dose really makes a difference and I'm just glad we are here so that I get one more blood test done to see if the half dose makes much of a difference. Poor cap also has to turn in a sperm sample right before we leave as well (like the morning that we head out) so that will give us all the info we need to start working with a new doctor soon. 

I'm excited for changes and to see whats to come. I feel really good about the way I'm looking right now and the changes I've made in myself. I'm still sticking with the paleo diet. I cheat more than I should but its not necessarily with non paleo foods, its just with more gluten free foods that have other grains in them. I think I'll probably stay at this weight until we get settled in August because of all the traveling but I really don't mind. I know how to make it work now. I'll try to keep up with this while we are doing the cycle. I've also been measuring my BBT this month as well and will post those pictures each week as well. 

Here's an updated head shot photo I did with some friends for the new theaters I hope to work with. 

So busy

Well its been pretty crazy around here. Between traveling for work and traveling to rehearsal, I've put a lot of mileage on my car and on my mind. I've been sticking to eating paleo and exercising but I'm having a very off week. I've been trying to add in a few new foods that have recently been deemed paleo, but they don't seem to be working with me. According to paleolifestyle.com, green peas are ok, so I made a delicious chicken stew with them in it and ate for dinner the one day and then for lunch yesterday. I've put on a half pound each of those days and I don't know why, except for the peas? In that same article, it said that white potatoes in moderation are now ok, but I don't think that is going to work for me. 

I did have kind of a cheat day on Saturday night, our dinner plans fell through times two and then ended up at a third restaurant that was Cajun but everything was fried. I had done a two hour booty camp/zumba class that morning so I decided that I could eat what I wanted and drink what I wanted. I partook in the sugariest most mind numbing drink and fried shrimp and hush puppies and didn't gain weight then, so why did the peas do it to me? I don't know. I just have to keep plugging away. Maybe I should stop weighing in EVERY DAY! Of course, when I've stopped weighing in in the past, I've gained weight. Or maybe I need to stop obsessing! 

I also have a new plan for working out for the next three months. I'm concentrating on running more and getting my times better for the 5ks I have coming up. The first one is in less than three weeks and will be during the run of the musical so hopefully I won't be completely wiped out from the night before, and then the next one will be over 4th of July in the HEAT of Texas. Its looking pretty good to get down the last 20 lbs before we move. Of course I haven't really lost anything this month and so I'm a month behind. When I weighed in on Sunday with Emily, I was 190.6 but at home I was 187.5 and now I'm 188.5.  I just want to be 170 by August 1st, is that too much to ask? Probably. 

Anywho, here are some of the foods I've made over the last week. The stew from Monday night can be found here at http://paleodietlifestyle.com/quick-and-creamy-chicken-stew/ and here is my picture. It was so good, but I don't know about those peas man. 

I also made, fresh from my garden fried green tomatoes. I made up my own recipe and this is what I used. 

4 green garden tomatoes (2 were roma, 2 were beefy)

1/2 cup almond flour

1/4 cup parmesan cheese (optional)

1 egg

oregano

salt and pepper

2 tbs olive oil

Heat up the oil and mix together the dry ingredients in a bowl and beat the egg in a second bowl. Dip all the tomatoes in the egg then dredge in the flour mixture. After the oil is heated, place in the dipped veggies and then turn over after 2 minutes. After another 2 minutes, remove from the oil and dry on a paper towel. Serve with home made paleo tomato ketchup. 

And finally last night, I made some awesome meatloaf! I found the recipe here at http://paleodietlifestyle.com/paleo-meat-loaf/ and it was so juicy and tender. I loved it and when I got home, the whole pan was gone. I also harvested some spinach from the garden and heated it up in a skillet with some olive oil. Here it is!

So yummy! It's been a good week for eating. Not for weight loss though, we'll get back on track though! I have faith in me.