In which I announce some news and share more details than you wanted to read

LB's napping, so I have some time to myself. While I probably SHOULD be doing something "productive" like doing the dishes...I'd rather not :)

The first thing I HAVE to tell you is that I'm pregnant! Yay! We're really excited. (Ehart, you guessed it: that was why I cried so hard in church that day!) I'm 9 weeks along; the due date (according to the internet) is November 19. We found out at 5 weeks but didn't tell anyone until my parents were here (7 weeks) (More fun to tell in person). It was so hard to keep it a secret! Every time I talked to my mom on the phone I wanted to just blurt it out! The hardest was the morning after the positive test. We found out Saturday night, so Sunday morning was REALLY HARD! All our friends, and we had JUST learned something exciting, but couldn't say a thing! Well, now all our family knows. We told my folks first, then DH's parents (over the phone). We gave permission for them to spread the news, so everyone knew within two days (yeah, phone calls are not my favorite thing).

We haven't told our friends here though. My first reaction was to tell family, but wait to tell friends until after the first trimester. That's what we did with LB: we told family first (at 4 weeks, and that was a tough decision because it was so early! It's a great story though. 'Nother time perhaps), but didn't tell anyone here until 14 weeks. But that was a completely different situation: I was working and didn't really want the whole office to know if it wasn't a viable pregnancy. I mean, if something happened, family is supportive, but I didn't feel that strangers and acquaintances needed to know all the details.

Well, we'll have to tell our friends soon.

So expect to see many more preggy posts! Sitting in this quiet sunshine filled room all by myself while LB naps gives me the illusion that I'm completely isolated, so I'm apt to share all manner of personal details that I would NEVER divulge in person. Hope you don't mind.

Now that you've been warned, let's get this party started with some digestive tracts issues and OB woes.

I've been having major tummy pain, with bloating. Intense, can't-do-anything-until-it-subsides, pain. It goes away after some gurgling noises (things moving around?) and I often burp (belch?). It had happened about 3 or 4 times, then hadn't happened for a while. My parents arrived and we went to Gatlinburg for the weekend. Saturday evening we had dinner at a brewery and I was so hungry, I ordered a steak. Well, after dinner, I had that intense pain. I sat in the bathroom for a while, but no good. We slowly walked back to the condo we had rented, stopping when the pain came back and continuing when it subsided. Then I threw up my whole dinner in the street. (Talk about miserable experiences in Gatlinburg! The first time we go, LB has a seizure, then when we try again, I can't keep my dinner down!). After that I felt much better. I confessed that I had been rather constipated. We determined that my system was so backed up, the dinner had no place to go, so it came back up. That evening I had a very loose bowel movement and everything seemed to be better. We thoroughly enjoyed the rest of our time in Gatlinburg.

But the tummy pain and bloating revisited me last night. I was able to use the bathroom and it went away, but it concerns me. I thought the problem was gone. Obviously, it's something I'll have to talk to my doctor about, which does NOT thrill me (who wants to discuss bowel movements with a stranger?). Speaking of doctors, I don't get to see the same OB who delivered LB :(

Dr. Link was recommended to us and we are SO SO SO glad! He was fantastic! So, this time, naturally, I assumed I would be seeing Dr. Link again. He doesn't see a patient for the first time until closer to 8 weeks, so I didn't even call him until then. So I called last week and made an appointment then asked to talk to whoever handles the payments and such. See, THIS time, I don't have maternity coverage. This is rather complicated, so bear with me.

We are not planning to be here permanently. As soon as DH graduates, he'll get a job, and it probably won't be here. So after LB was born, we dropped the insurance I had been on because the premiums had become ridiculous ($450 a month) and picked up essentially the same coverage for less than $200/month. It had been the maternity rider that got so expensive, so we didn't opt for it this time. Yes, that sounds irresponsible, but hold on, I'm not done. DH is expected to finish this August. Which means he'll be starting a new job in August (maybe September, but hopfully August). Which means we'll be moving before the baby is born (in Nov). So there was NO POINT in paying for a maternity rider here that we were never going to take advantage of. Of course, this whole thing would be a moot point in California (where we're from). ALL insurance includes maternity, so the cost is spread out. But HERE it's only the people women who are planning on getting pregnant who pay for the maternity coverage, so it's rather expensive. (One of the things, or perhaps the only thing, that DH will negotiate for is to have the company insurance pick up the rest of the pregnancy and birth.)

All that is to say that this time, I'm a "cash patient". And Dr. Link is too expensive. Actually his price is quite reasonable for the industry (yes, I did my research. On the phone. No I didn't enjoy it.) The problem is that he wants it up front. Paid in full before I even get past the front desk. And we just can't do it. We can afford a "down payment", and we can afford to pay at each visit. But we just can't put it all down at once. So sad. I begged the gal on the phone. I told her I'm a previous patient. Isn't there ANYTHING they could do?? She left me on hold for a good long while, but came back with a negative. "If we do it for one person then we have to do it for everyone." (Well, NO, you DON'T! You're a private entity, you can make and break your own rules! Sigh). So I had to find an OB with more reasonable terms.

Well, LB's still asleep! Let's see, what else is going on? (I'm talking to myself, btw. My mom does that on the phone, and I never know if she's asking me or herself! lol)

My parents flew back to CA on Monday. We had a great time while they were here. In addition to Gatlinburg, we also went to Kentucky (to see a cave) and Costco. (Yes, I think it's okay to draw a comparison between those two). DH and I don't have a membership to Costco (or Sam's Club), so it was really fun to shop there since my parents are members. Probably more fun than grocery shopping SHOULD be. Everything's in bulk, so our pantry, fridge, and garage are FULL of food! It's rather amazing. We have 15 boxes of Kraft Mac&Cheese. FIFTEEN!!! Of course you never can remember EVERYTHING at once, so we ended up a Walmart three times later in the week, and we already have a list going AGAIN! I like buying in bulk, and told DH that I anticipate we'll have memberships eventually. He's a little more skeptical. He's not sure the prices are actually any better. We'll have to do some comparisons some day.

DH stayed home on Wednesday, so he's at work today :( (He usually "works" from home on Fridays). It's a really, really nice day today, so we're really hoping he can come home early so we can go to the park or something before it rains this weekend.

I seem to be always tired almost to the point of falling asleep and hungry. Even after a meal, I'm hungry again a short time later. After our trip to Costco, the house is full of snackable food, but I have to be careful to not eat too much junk! I also have to be sure to snack while LB is napping or I'll have to share with him, and he doesn't need all the extra calories! (We've actually been very blessed with a very good eater. He eats just about whatever we put in front of him and he'll stop eating when he's full.)

Speaking of food, LB is still asleep, so I'm going to head to the kitchen and see what appeals to me. The tummy troubles seem to be aggravated by some foods, but I haven't had morning sickness (I didn't with LB either), so I've been very glad for that.

This sure turned into a really long post! I told you I had lots to say! I still have some other topics, but I want them to have their own posts, so that's all for this one! Thanks for sticking through to the end!