My Name Is Stacey and I'm An Addict

For those of you who know how I feel about watching a birth, this next comment will come as a surprise to you. I've become addicted to childbirth videos!

I saw my first childbirth video many years ago when someone showed it to me on a computer, I think. It was so long ago that I can't even remember the details. I just remember thinking that I never wanted to give birth after watching it. I was seriously scared, and that video still had frightened me up until now. So I know you're curious as to how this addiction began. Well, it all started with Joshie. We were sitting on the couch together the other day while I was on the phone and he was playing on the computer. I don't know what made put on the video but the next thing I know, he is freaking out and squealing. LOL. I look at the computer and WOAH! I only saw it at a distance but it was enough to make me squeal too. I NEVER wanted to see another one of those videos again. At least, not until I was done having children! The video that Joshua put on was extra disgusting. They cut the mother up instead of letting her tear on her own so there was blood everywhere. Seriously, it's something you do not ever want to see. So what changed? I don't know really. Yesterday I got a sudden urge to watch one. I really can't explain where this urge came from, but something pulled me to it and I just had to watch one. So YouTube is where I went.

Surprisingly, the video wasn't hard to watch. I mean, I did the "eww" squishy face thing, but I didn't want to look away once. Then as soon as that baby slipped out, I couldn't help but cry. It was seriously the most amazing thing I've ever seen. And that's when my addicted began. I started watching video after video, and I cried during every one when the babies slipped out. I can't control it! And I can't stop watching them! I've become obsessed with the thought of giving birth and not only can I not wait to do it myself, but I'm even considering filming my own. One thing I have learned from these videos is that I will not be cut! The video that Joshua played was the only one where I saw that happen; and from watching the others, it's apparent that it's not necessary.

I've decided to post my favorite of the videos I've watched so far. This video is absolutely amazing! It is a twin birth with absolutely no assistance. The mother literally pushes both babies out on her own without any pulling or tugging from doctors or anyone else. It's so beautiful and I encourage you to watch it although, believe me, I understand if you don't. ;)

Sometimes Adults Need Diapers Too

It's that time again! New Belly Pic is posted in my pic section! The weeks are really flying by. I can't believe I'm almost into the second trimester. Even my little ticker is in the third box now!

Last week I had a little break from the nausea. I only felt it when I got hungry. The main thing that bothered me was the food aversions which were terrible. This week things have flip flopped! The nausea has returned and the food aversions seem to be a little better. Personally, I prefer it this way. I just really can't stand the food aversions because whenever I feel sick I really need to eat to make it go away but the thought of eating anything makes me more sick. It's nasty cycle, and I hope it's ending now that I'm getting closer to the second trimester.

Today at Maw Maw White's memorial service, Brandi did something that reminded me of something I had forgotten to write about. She sneezed and had to lift her leg to keep from peeing on herself...LOL. Well, it reminded me that I should have written about this last week because for the last week I've been peeing on myself every time I sneeze! And I've been sneezing a lot since Joshua took the air filter out without replacing it (okay so it's not completely his fault that he hasn't replaced it). Thank God for pantie liners, that's all I have to say.

Below are some pics of what Baby Breaux is looking like this week. So cute already :).

Gotta Keep The Girls From Falling

It's Monday already! I'm looking forward to taking my belly pic tomorrow because my tummy has grown quite a bit over the last week. But you'll have to wait until tomorrow to see what I mean! I'm here today to write about my first experience with... MATERNITY CLOTHES! Yes, that's how much my belly has grown. Everything has gotten way too tight around Baby Breaux so it's time to loosen things up a bit. It seems early for maternity clothes and I probably wouldn't need them just yet if I hadn't gained weight before my pregnancy, but it's never too early to be comfortable! One thing is certain, I definitely would not have bought them so early if my Dad and Robin had not been so kind as to surprise me with the $$$ for them.

So Saturday morning Joshua and I started off the day by meeting up with a girl in the area who was selling a 42 piece lot of maternity clothes. My goal was to buy as many pieces as possible with the money. All of her tops were for winter, and all of her bottoms were too small! After that didn't work out, Joshua and I argued a little bit about where to go next. You know, it concerned him so much because he will be wearing the clothes too.

Finally, we ended up at Target because I had been eyeing the clothes there before I even got pregnant. They had a great little collection of things and I ended up with 3 tops and 5 bottoms. But we weren't finished yet. Part of the deal was that Robin really wanted me to buy a "good, supportive bra" to keep my girls from hitting the floor. I never had to worry about that and I rarely wear a bra so I felt that I needed to speak to someone who actually knew a little something about the subject. Joshua thought otherwise. After another discussion between the two of us, I eventually got my way again after he couldn't find a bra in the store that said anything about "support" on the tag (sigh). So to Dillard's we went!

The bra thing ended up being pretty easy. I went up to the woman who worked in the section and basically said, "I never wear a bra and now I'm pregnant. What do I need?" She handed me a bra, and I tried it on. Wow, I've already grown a whole cup size. I grabbed a bigger size, tried it on, and now I have a new bra. Yay!

So now if you see me around, I should be wearing maternity clothes and a bra! Thanks Dad and Robin!

By the way, I'm over 9 weeks now so Baby Breaux is now a fetus and no longer an embryo!! Woo hoo!

Gifts and Giggles

Happy Friday everyone! This has been an incredibly busy week for me so I'm happy to be moving into the weekend. These last few days I've been feeling amazingly better. The nausea hasn't been constant like usual and has only been popping up when I let myself get hungry. Thank goodness too because I don't know how I would have made it through the week.

My main purpose in popping by today is to post a pic of Baby Breaux's nursery. So far, it's just a room with a box but I'd like to post pics of the progress as we get more things.

In the box is our little stash of baby stuff that we've been collecting from friends and family. There is a goody bag of things from my mom and Huey (toys, onesies, spoons, bottle warmer), a bag of things from my dad and Robin (blanket, stuffed animal, book), a "First Years" photo album and growth chart from Donna and Gene, a bag of things from my boss (but mostly my friend) Stacey which include some things that belonged to Sofia like a pair of booties, bonnets, receiving blankets, burp cloths, butterfly pillows and a "God Bless This Child" pillow - of course, all of these things are for a little girl), and the yellow knit baby blanket that Joshua and I bought the day after we found out we were pregnant. The rocking horse and toy box were also provided by Stacey.

When I brought home the rocking horse, I learned that my adorable husband has a fear of rocking horses! Well, he says he doesn't have a fear of rocking horses but rather a fear of "a rocking horse in an empty room in the dark". Silly boy. I refuse to return it!

I'm excited to see this room grow and become a special space where we will share countless memories with our precious baby, and I'm so happy to be able to include you all!

His Father's Eyes

Last night I had my first "baby boy" dream. I've had a couple dreams so far that I had a little girl so I was surprised to see a little boy. The dream was very odd but definitely worth writing about so here I go...

Instead of getting ultrasound, the doctors in my dream would actually take the baby out at every check out to make sure it was okay. I know, funny right? Well, at my first appointment, I was only about 11 weeks and when they took the baby out I couldn't see it. Immediately, the nurse looked at it and said, "Oh I can see right away what this baby is!" (regarding the baby's gender). She never told me what it was nor let me see it, but I assumed that it was a boy because I was thinking that if she could tell right away then she must have saw the little thing right away. Well, at my next appointment the same thing happened. I was further along but still not able to see the baby when they took it out to check it, but the doctor took it out this time and he said the same thing as the nurse did. At my third visit, I actually saw the baby's face! This was my first time in any dream ever seeing my baby's face so it was very exciting and felt so real! When I saw him, I knew right away that he was a little boy and he was absolutely adorable. He had huge brown eyes with dark eye lashes, and he kept smiling at me with a crooked little smile that was so cute. Joshua was holding him and kept staring at him with a big grin. Now this other half of my dream got even stranger...

Whenever the baby was out of me, he only had so long before he would stop breathing and his heart would stop beating so there was a time limit for how long we could spend with him this last time. There was this thing hanging on the wall that looked similar to a thermometer and it would tell us how long we had left before he had to be back in. Well, Joshua and I were alone with him and the thing on the wall said that he only had seven seconds left! The nurse came in and I started to panic. I asked her about the time limit and she said that they still had to clean the baby before he could be put back in me, and that she really wasn't sure what would happen. I really started freaking out and crying. And that's how the dream ended.

I also had a second dream last night that involved the baby... or babies, should I say. In this dream, I just gave birth to a set of boy/girl twins! The girl was very tiny and looked premature, and the boy was like double her size. The boy was very active and kept rolling over the girl and wouldn't calm down. Everyone was concerned that he was "out of control". LOL. But that was pretty much it.

Strange dreams, eh?!

Ring Ring

I just got off the phone with my dr and apparently what i experienced with my eyesight yesterday is totally normal during early pregnancy. He said it has something to do with the fluid changes taking place in my body and that they think it could be related to migraines so he recommended me taking tylenol if it happens again. He also said not to worry if it happens every once in a while but it shouldn't happen too often.

While I had him on the phone, I also asked him about another strange feeling I have been having for the last four weeks. This "strange feeling" occurs during the night when I'm sleeping. Pretty much what happens is that every time i move, my stomach tightens and stretches, and it just basically feels awkward. But it tightens so much that every morning my abs are sore. Well the doc said that this is also normal and it's round ligament pain, just my body and uterus stretching for the baby to grow. Well, that's the end of my update!

Disco At The Wal-Mart

If you read my blog regularly, you're probably wondering why I didn't post yesterday. First, I apologize if I worried anyone. I've been getting emails, texts and phone calls like crazy from some of you wondering what's up with my absent post yesterday. I had no idea you guys were so interested and followed up so well! So thank you bunches for your care and concern! And y'all are right, yesterday was belly pic day! So what happened to my belly pic? Well, I have it for you today (Click the Belly Pic link on the right). I took it yesterday morning with the intention of posting it in the afternoon with my updates as usual, but my body had other plans. All day yesterday I felt the usual not-so-good feelings... nausea, fatigue, etc., but I had a bit of a surprise when I lost my eyesight in the middle of Wal-Mart! It started off slowly when we first arrived there. I was seeing okay but there were some flashing lights in spots. Over the course of about thirty minutes, it continued to get worse until I could no loner see anything but huge, bright lights. I had to hold on to Joshua as we made our way to the McDonald's in the store where I sat down and drank a milkshake. We sat there for about twenty minutes and by the time we got back up, my eyesight was pretty much back to normal. However, the milkshake didn't go over well with my stomach and I ended up feeling incredibly sick. We hurried back home and I moaned on the couch while Joshua unpacked the groceries. I was ready to hit the sack but I forced myself to stay up long enough to watch Big Brother. The last two days have been really busy for me with working more hours and then running around places after work so I think that's what did me in. Just in case the eye problem is something more serious though, I phoned my doc a few minutes ago and now I'm waiting to hear back from him. I'll update as soon as I speak with him!

Today I feel the same as yesterday without the eye and milkshake problem. Last night I discovered that I can eat cereal without a problem so I may soon become a cereal addict. Other than the cereal, It's still been hard trying to get anything down. Fortunately, I'm married to a human garbage disposal so anything I don't eat Joshua finishes for me. Needless to say, he's been eating A LOT!

Well I'm 8 1/2 weeks, and I'm not sure if you've checked out the floating baby on the right side of the page in a while, but Baby Breaux is actually looking like a baby now! The picture on the left is about the size of the little booger! It's so amazing how it can be so tiny and still look like a little human. Baby Breaux now has elbows and knees, and it's little tail is now completely gone. I also read somewhere that the baby is now beginning to move on its own although it will be many weeks before I will feel it. Other than its disproportionately large head, Baby Breaux is actually looking pretty cute! Just check out the pic below!

Pattycake, Pattycake, Baker's Man

I'm currently 7 1/2 weeks! I am sooooooo looking forward to being in the second trimester so that I can finally be done with this "morning" sickness! It's really been awful since the last time I wrote. I've been having a hard time finding foods that I can eat. Everyday, I spend so much time tasting things, getting grossed out and then moving on to trying the next thing. Foods that I never thought I'd have a problem eating must be kept far from me. Things like Reece Cups, pastas, pizza and Chinese food! Today a kid next too me was eating Doritos and I had to move to another side of the room so I wouldn't smell it! For a while, grits was the only thing I was able to eat, but I guess my body is sick of it now. I was told that ramen noodles is easier to eat during pregnancy so I tried that but the after taste really got to me. You think I would be losing weight but think again. Today I took my 7w3d belly pic and I was shocked when I uploaded it to the computer. I've even been feeling less bloated so I couldn't believe how big my tummy looks. I expected that I would be more excited to see my belly grow, but being as though the "baby" is only 5/8 of an inch tall, i just feel fat.
(Click the button on the right to view Belly Pics).

Even though it's hard for me to get through an actual meal, don't get me wrong- I've been eating quite a bit! I'm forced to eat a little something just about every hour to fight the nausea off. Therefore, I've officially transformed my purse into a lunchbox. It was rather embarrassing when I had to go to City Hall last Friday and the woman at the door checked my purse. Let's see... I had a bag of chips, a bag of grapes, a bag of graham crackers, a banana, a bottle of water and Reece cups in my purse! (Joshua was sweet enough to surprise me with the Reece cups a couple days before, and I eventually forced myself to eat them because I couldn't bare not being able to enjoy my favorite candy. And well, I ended up not enjoying them anyway. boo hoo!

By the way, the stretch mark cream that I've been using is no more! After my last entry, I tried it one more time and uuuggghhh!! I can't believe I didn't throw up! It was my sickest yet! I'm on to trying a new kind, just need to get my butt to the store.

Despite all the yuckiness I've been feeling, I'm glad at the end of the day that I felt it because it's a great sign that everything is going well. And if they are going as well as I hope, then Baby Breaux has a lot going on this week! Check out the pics below to see just how much his/her hands are changing!






This is what Baby Breaux's hand looks like at 48 days (7 weeks).

This is what Baby Breaux's hands look like at 51 days, just 3 days later which is today!

Aww that's the beginning of the little hands that we'll be playing "Pattycake" with!

Seeing Is Believing

After harassing the girls at Ochsner and my insurance company, my referral was able to go through in time which means I got to see my doctor today! whew! The appointment went great and I got to have my very first ultrasound. It was the most amazing feeling I've every had. Of course, there were tears! We got to see the little bean and it's heart flickering right on it. I just couldn't believe it was really in there! The doctor said that the baby is measuring right on time and looks absolutely perfect. I can finally take a deep breath and relax!

6 weeks & 5 days
(The baby is the larger figure on the left and the yolk sac is the smaller circle on the right.)

After my appointment, Joshua and I met with Robin for baby shopping! We went to a little boutique where she bought a blanket (the softest ever!) and Baby Breaux's first stuffed animal (a giraffe!). She also bought the book Green Eggs and Ham which my dad used to read to us all of the time when my siblings and I were children. I doubt I'll be able to read it as good as him but I'm sure we'll manage ;).

Food Aversions So Far: Ham and Pizza. Just the thought of them make me sick! It's been very difficult to eat anything but these two are the worst. It's been a horrible cycle of queasiness. If I don't eat I feel nauseous, but when I do eat the food makes me nauseous. Yesterday Joshua was making toast and the smell made me want to puke! It smelled like tuna to me, and of course I had to fuss him...hehe. The smell of my stretch mark cream has also been making me sick! Joshua bought me some peppermints today which are known to help so I'll be trying them over the next few days. Hopefully, the less sick I am, the nicer I'll be :).

Baby Breaux Is Drinking What?!

This is what Baby Breaux looks like right now! Yep, he/she is sooooo cute! So... I'm counting yesterday as my first official day of "morning" sickness. Really it was night sickness. It was so bad last night that I thought for sure I would be running to the toilet ever couple minutes, and I even contemplated putting a bucket next to the bed. After a little while, Joshua wet a rag for me to place on my neck, and I'm assuming it worked pretty well because all I remember after that is waking up in the middle of the night with it still there. I thought for sure it would be just as bad in the morning but there was nothing more than queasiness. Also, my boobies must be growing already because I had three people comment on them within two days. Didn't count on that happening so soon! But I guess I'm not too surprised since my belly seems to be growing at rapid speed too. You can view my new belly pic at http://staceybreaux.com/belly.html.

I'm getting a little worried about what's going to happen with my appt on Thursday because apparently Ochsner has morons working over there and still haven't put my referral in even though I've called them about 5 times to remind them! My hormones are going to start killing people who work for a certain company that begins with "O" if I have to reschedule!

Baby Update:

"Your baby is going out on a limb this week as his or her arm and leg buds begin to sprout and grow longer (and stronger), dividing into hand, arm, and shoulder segments ��� and leg, knee, and foot segments (though the limb buds look more like paddles than hands or feet at this early stage). Also forming this week are your baby's mouth and tongue. And although your embryo is just one month old, it's already gone through three sets of kidneys. The ones in place now are the permanent set and are poised to begin their important work of waste management. In about a week, your baby will start producing urine. Lucky for you, there's no need for diapers (yet). As your baby matures inside you, much of that urine will be excreted into the amniotic fluid, swallowed again by your baby, and then excreted again in a continuous cycle."

Ugh... Baby Breaux will be drinking urine!!!!

Huey took this pic a couple hours after we got our big fat positive!

Circle of Life

Ich bin sechs wochen heute! It's been quite a few years since I studied German, but I'm pretty sure that means, "I'm six weeks today!". Yippy! Today I had a wonderful surprise when I woke up and wasn't bloated for the first time in like two weeks. I guess my body had to balance out the symptoms because i had the longest bout of nausea yet. Usually it lasts no more than thirty minutes but today it lasted a couple hours (thanks to Donna's cooking...j/k!). But you want to know what's been bothering me the most these last few days? It's been The Hunger. OMG the hunger. It's like, I eat and then about 90 minutes later my stomach begins eating itself if I don't fill it with something right away. And if I don't, watch out because there's a chance I may puke on you (thank goodness there has been no puking yet!).

I know it's early, but I spent my free time this week browsing baby products and reading reviews. I had no idea so much went into picking out these items! I mean, unless you've had a baby before, you probably won't be thinking about legs getting caught between crib bars, feet banging against the floor in a bouncer, head falling forward because the car seat doesn't recline enough or mobiles falling on baby!! I'm just thankful for these reviews because I would never know where to begin with the hundreds of brands and styles out there. This stuff will definitely keep me busy for a while.

In Loving Memory of

Joseph Vincent Vinterella

6/17/1917 - 7/31/2008

“It's the circle of life and it moves us all,

through despair and hope, through faith and love,

'till we find our place on the path unwinding.”

-Elton John