Learning to Receive

Since becoming pregnant,  I have learned a lot of things.

The most shocking is how hard it is growing a baby.  I knew what we were up against with a newborn, toddlers, kids, etc. at least on some level from spending so much time with kids.  I did not realize the toll growing another human being would take.  Even knowing my mother had morning sickness (all day sickness) every day for 9 months with all 5 of us, I had a very prideful confidence that I would be glowing all the time while pregnant.

The funniest part of that is I have not thrown up once, never had a day with constant nausea, and I don't even have to run to the bathroom to pee all the time.  I simply don't want to eat meat and I am hungry a lot.  Those two things alone make me cry while eating breakfast often because I can't handle it.  Luckily God knew that alone was pushing me too far and protected me from the awful symptoms a lot of women experience.  

These symptoms of hunger and food aversions left me unable to do everything I used to do.  There was no way I was going to be meal planning, couponing, and cooking dinner.  Most of the time I would look at Shook and start crying when he asked me what I wanted to do for dinner.  I thought doing all the things I did pre-pregnancy qualified me a "good wife".  My husband came home to a clean house and hot dinner, so I was successful.

During this process, he had to begin cleaning, grocery shopping (I would gag while walking through Kroger), and figuring out dinner plans.  I had to begin receiving his help and love even when I couldn't do much in return.

I was and still am learning that my husband's love for me is not dependent what I can do for him.  The same way God's love toward me does not change based on how well I perform.  

Right now I am in a season of learning what it looks like to receive from my husband with no expectation from him for me to do anything in return.

It is good, hard, and humbling, but I have the best husband in the world. 

T-shirt Scarf

This is my first Pinterest Accountability post.  Basically, I like to waste hours of a day on Pinterest pinning things I will never attempt or look at again.  Here is the first step in actually doing some of these pins.

This pin appealed to me initially because I was just telling a friend of my need to purge some t-shirts.  I have a problem where everything begins to have sentimental value and then I never get rid of anything.  If I turn it into a super cute scarf though, problem solved!

If I were to post my step by step pictures, they would not compare to those who have already done this.  Here are links to their fabulous sites:

• http://www.kevinandamanda.com/whatsnew/crafts-projects/make-this-quick-n-easy-ringlet-t-shirt-scarf.html
• http://www.doughmesstic.net/2011/02/08/valentine-inspirationsand-my-tee-shirt-scarf/

Here are a few of my own iPhone pictures of my purple, black, and white scarf:

Baby Schuchter: Week 13/14

Baby Size: Peach/Lemon

How I Feel about being Pregnant: Way, way, way more excited about it now!  Since I am feeling better and slightly showing, I am getting excited about bringing another human being into the world.  The holidays only added to my growing excitement level since it made me think about what Christmas will be like next year. 

Symptoms: Still mild food aversions, head aches, and an urgency to eat right away in the morning

Food Cravings: Not really craving too much.  I still enjoy some great deep fried french fries though :)

Food Aversions: Chicken and ground beef

What I am Excited About: My friends finding out what they are having!  Also, I am excited about coming up with ideas for the baby's room.

Sweet Thing the Husband did for Me:  For Christmas this year, I had no idea what he was getting me.  We opened presents on Christmas Eve, and he had written me a 4 page letter.  Not only was it 4 pages, but it was hand written.  This is a big deal!  It showed me how well he knows me.  Receiving gifts does not always make me feel the most loved.  Knowing that he created something sentimental to encourage me and demonstrate his love for me made me feel incredibly loved.

He also went to the gym with me today and did not complain about it!

Boy or Girl: Now I think boy.  Really it is only because Shook can convince me of anything and I am super fickle.  Two of my friends are having girls and for some reason I think that decreases our likely hood of a girl.

Something I have Done to Prepare for the Baby: Coming up with ideas for our nursery!  I love forest animals for a good gender neutral theme.  There is also a special place in my heart for squirrels and knowing I could decorate my child's room with them fills me with joy.  Who doesn't love cartoon-like animals?

Funny Moment:  I may have mentioned this before, but since getting pregnant I cannot sneeze more than once or I make an extremely weird sound.  It basically sounds like I am throwing up, but its more of a cough.  I was cleaning up the explosion of presents that occurred from Christmas and was caught up in a sneezing fit.  Shook quickly turned around and expected to see me throwing up.  Nope.  Just sneezing.

Special Moment:  Hearing what two of my friends are having was very special.  It is fun to know more about their babies and makes me excited about our own.  While we are most likely not going to find out, I love going through this season of life with the majority of my friends and experiencing the same preparation and anticipation as them.

Baby Schuchter: Week 12

Baby Size: Plum

How I Feel about being Pregnant:  Much better!  With my symptoms under control, I can focus more on what life will be like when the baby comes.  This is more fun that the survival mode of getting through eating a meal!  This week feels like a turning point!

Symptoms: Extreme hunger in the mornings, feeling exhausted a lot, and food aversions

Food Cravings: Strawberries, hot dogs (I am ashamed of how many I have consumed)

Food Aversions: Chicken, ground beef

What I am Excited About: Planning our babymoon!  We want to go somewhere for a long weekend in March.  Looking at possibilities yesterday and thinking about where we might want to go is really fun!  It feels a little like planning our honeymoon all over again.

Sweet Thing the Husband did for Me: He is constantly making me food.  Usually breakfast because mornings are the hardest time of day for me.  I am dancing in a Christmas show right now and on opening night he brought me beautiful flowers.  Very sweet!

Boy or Girl: I really don't know anymore.  I was so convinced we were having a girl, but now I am wavering   We still don't know if we will find out the gender so we may have to wait awhile!

Something I have Done to Prepare for the Baby: Researching where I want to register.  If anyone has any strong opinions on this please let me know :)

Funny Moment:  While dancing in the Christmas show (its called Awaited), at the very end of our piece when going into the pose, my forehead collided with another dancers wrist.  I ended up with a very nice lump on my forehead.  What made it funny is that she did not know I was pregnant until after the causality occurred.  It is now a joke that she hit a pregnant lady.  I am 100% fine and officially with no knot on my head :)

Special Moment:  Last night Shook/David (David is his real name, Shook is his nickname, I use both) and I had a long talk about raising kids and how excited we are.  We are surrounded by awesome families who have been a great example for us.  We can't wait to work as a team in raising our kids!

Baby Schuchter: Week 10/11

Baby Size: Prune and Lime

How I Feel about being Pregnant: I am starting to get more excited!  I still feel sick here and there, but its fun now that the world knows!

Symptoms: Food aversions, random nausea, and weird (very weird) dreams

Food Cravings: Hot dogs, mashed potatoes, and strawberries

Food Aversions: CHICKEN

What I am Excited About: That everyone knows I am pregnant now!  It feels like a big celebration.  Plus, I am excited to be showing a little bit even if it does look like I am just gaining weight.

Sweet Thing the Husband did for Me: This morning he was beyond sweet.  Normally his only day off is Monday, but because of Christmas shows, he had to go in.  He knew I would be attempting to make dinner via the crock pot this morning and wanted to make things a little easier on me.  He made me pancakes  and woke me up when they were ready so I could eat immediately and also not eat another bagel.  It was amazing and then I could make our dinner with as little nausea as possible!

Boy or Girl: No idea.  I felt so strongly about having a girl, but now I am second guessing it!

Something I have Done to Prepare for the Baby: Made the baby an ornament!  It took way longer than it should have, but it sure is cute.

Funny Moment:  Lately when I sneeze my body reacts in a weird way.  On the first, I am fine.  On the second, I always either gag while sneezing or quickly clasp my hand to my fail in fear of throwing up.  Those second sneezes will get you.

Special Moment:  Telling the kids that I watch during the week about being pregnant was very special.  After I left for the day, their mom told me the girls kept acting like they were pregnant and talked about it all night.  So cute!

Baby Schuchter: Week 9

Baby Size: Green Olive

How I Feel about being Pregnant: Definitely excited and definitely ready for my symptoms to calm down. Only a few weeks away from the 2nd trimester!  Being pregnant, for me, is much harder than I imagined, but I know the baby is worth it!

Symptoms: Lots of food aversions and extreme hunger.  I only feel nauseous when I get really hungry.

Food Cravings: Mashed potatoes and fruit

Food Aversions: Meat and vegetables

What I am Excited About:  Getting to tell Shook's family about our baby!  We told them on Thanksgiving and it was great to feel celebrated.  Everyone was excited and very supportive!

Sweet Thing the Husband did for Me: Every day he is doing sweet things for me!  On the day after Thanksgiving we woke up and realized I had nothing to eat for breakfast.  He took a trip to McDonald's to get us something to eat and had to go back inside 3 times to get our order right (they never actually got it).  Regardless of the messed up order, it was tasty and my hunger was satisfied with greasy goodness.

Boy or Girl: I think a girl?  Though since coming up with some other names we would like I could see it as a boy also!

Something I have Done to Prepare for the Baby:  Thought of more baby names and also thought through what kind of birth I want to have.  I am excited that I don't know what I want to do yet.  I think this will help me be more flexible and open minded once this baby is delivered.  Most of the advice I have been given is hold whatever you decide with open hands.  If going natural doesn't work, it doesn't work, and then sometimes you just have to get a C-section.  My control over the situation is extremely limited and having the baby is the goal anyway!

Funny Moment:  Talking baby names with friends.  My sweet husband thinks it is fun to come up with ridiculous baby names.

Special Moment:  Telling Shook's family about the baby!  His grandparents have 9 children, uncountable grandchildren, and by June, 8 great grandchildren.  Babies are obviously celebrated and considered a blessing.

Baby Schuchter: Week 8

Baby Size: Raspberry

How I Feel about being Pregnant: Still excited!  Lucky for me, a lot of my friends are pregnant so it is fun enjoying this journey with other people.  By a lot, there are 6 babies that I know of being born in either May or June. I still think I will be more excited when this first trimester is over!

Symptoms: Still super hungry but nothing sounds good.  I only feel nauseous when I get very hungry.  Mornings are definitely the worst still.  I also have a very heightened sense of smell!

Food Cravings: Cheese ravioli and grape popsicles

Food Aversions: Red meat, anything I have to cook, vegetables

What I am Excited About: Talking about babies with my friends!  Also, telling people who we know will be very excited for us is great!

Sweet Thing the Husband did for Me: One night I woke up and felt really hungry and sick.  After much deliberation of whether or not to get a snack for myself, I realized if I stood up, I would probably get sick.  Lucky for me, my sweet husband was okay with me waking him up and asking him to get me a granola bar.  He was happy to do it and did not mind!

Boy or Girl: Still thinking girl!

Something I have Done to Prepare for the Baby: Restarted taking prenatal vitamins.  The gummy vitamins taste like candy and I love it!

Funny Moment: Telling one of my friends I am pregnant.  I always get really nervous before we tell someone so I kept making awkward eye connect with her then looking away.  I finally just blurted it out and she didn't believe me.  I probably need to come up with a smoother way of telling the news...

Special Moment:  Getting to shop for some maternity clothes and imagining what it will be like when our baby is really big!  Buying a few shirts made it at least a little more real that there is a baby inside me though it doesn't look like it (I hope).

Baby Schuchter: Week 7

I saw this idea on other blogs and have been consumed by reading everyone else's week by week updates.  They provide lots of hope and encouragement for me especially when I am not feeling so hot!  The first few weeks obviously are posted after the fact since we still had plenty of people to tell.  Hope its as fun for you as other people's were for me!

Baby Size: Blueberry

How I Feel about being Pregnant: Super excited!  It is all I want to talk about... so glad all my friends are also pregnant!  The extreme, nauseating hunger makes me feel pretty helpless, but symptoms mean you are still pregnant, right?!

Symptoms: Lots of hunger.  I will eat a full meal (when I can find something I will choke down) and be hungry an hour later.  I definitely have tons of food aversions.  Tiredness, nausea, and hunger are getting the best of me!

Food Cravings: French fries, macaroni and cheese, really any carbs

Food Aversions: Meat, hummus, carrots, and generally anything that is not a carb!

What I am Excited About: We got to hear the heartbeat!!!!!! Crazy that we got to hear it at 7 weeks.  This was my first appointment with a new practice and everyone there was so supportive.  It was great to be encouraged and ensured that its okay for me to do whatever I need to do to get through the first trimester.

Sweet Thing the Husband did for Me: He has been WONDERFUL through this whole thing.  He surprised me with a beautiful bouquet of flowers earlier in the week.  He also has cooked a lot and also been okay with going out and getting me food whenever I need it.  I have often felt guilty with how much he has had to do while I am feeling sick, but he constantly reassures me that he is happy to take care of me and I can just rest.

Boy or Girl: I keep assuming the baby is a girl.  Especially with having two nieces, I would love to have a girl.  I loved having a cousin close to my age growing up and I want that for our kids!  Though a boy would be fun too :)  I just think its a girl!

Something I have Done to Prepare for the Baby: Read lots of things about babies.  Recently it has been the magazines I received at my visit.  I am super intrigued by making my own baby food, cloth diapers, and doulas, so the Google searches have commenced!

Funny Moment: When talking to my friend, Sally, who is due just one week ahead of me, we discovered we had very similar cravings.  I told her all I could think about eating was the pre-cut cantaloupe at Kroger.  Turns out she keeps craving the pre-cut watermelon at Kroger.  What is Kroger doing to pregnant women?

Special Moment: Can this be the same as my "What I am Excited About"?  Hearing and seeing the baby's heartbeat was very cool.  It is weird think that there are two hearts beating in my body!  It was exciting for us to send pictures to family and show them our blueberry!