I heart my protective coworkers! (And spaghetti and meatballs!)

It is a nice feeling when a kid gets upset in my presence, my "posse" shows up within 5 seconds to get my back. The size of my posse can range from 3-7 adults. No joke. Loud noise in my room.....at least one adult immediately checking in. I am comforted knowing me and my lil' one are safe at all times. I have lots of favors to return when the tables are turned! Seriously, I have felt SOOO loved and supported by everyone in my life. I'm bitchy and moody AND I have a posse people so this is your warning...don't mess with me! ; )

On a more serious note, I have been feeling more like myself, genuinely happy and excited about MY baby growing in this tummy. I've been elated from day one, but I've felt so out of sorts and unsure about how I would last 9 whole months! I am so ready to get to be a mom. I feel the changes in my body more now. To quote Khalielah, "Yay, stretching uterus!" However, based on the cramping and pain I have experienced the past 10 years from the endo, this is pretty mild.....at least for now. Hopefully the trips to the bathroom dissipate soon cuz I am sick of going up and down the stairs at work to pee all day long! Next appointment is on Tuesday. I can't believe the first trimester is almost behind me and I am eagerly awaiting the moment when my energy returns! Update on my eating and nausea...pretty much gone. I want to eat ALL OF THE TIME! I swear everything I see looks yummy (with the exception of chocolate and bananas which still aren't in my top 10 list except when I devoured a banana split without hesitation!) Isn't is so bizarre that I dream about spaghetti and meatballs? Is this kid Italian or Asian...sheesh? =) Ah, the joys of pregnancy.

Freaking Hormones!

Well, I've only cried three times so far today. This morning as I was working on a paper at 6:30 this morning, I teared up thinking I was going to chuck the laptop through the window and just drop out of school. Common sense sunk in two minutes later and I finished the paper by 8:00 am. =) I was so tired so I decided to treat myself to Starbucks. I've been super good about staying away from the caffeine, but I felt I deserved a vanilla latte today. I only shed one tear on the way home while thinking, "My life is forcing me to caffeine and now I'm going to have an underweight hyperactive child!" This tear didn't count as crying. By noon I was ready to pass out from exhaustion. Apparently this child o' mine needs a placenta, which is rapidly developing right now. My books say it is normal to feel like I just ran a marathon when I'm just sitting on the couch. This is when I had a meltdown about just wanting to be able to have a day where I really had NOTHING to do. I spent several hours doing work for work today. The house is gross (in my opinion, but I guarantee you that Larry would disagree) and cleaning is just not a huge priority for me. Later this evening while putting laundry away in my room, I started crying again. This is a good one....I can even laugh at myself now. Larry picked me up a sandwich for lunch (I had the meat heated since I didn't want to put two diet no-no's into the belly today!). I freaking cried because he got it with mayo and I NEVER get mayo. Really, who cares...not like it would kill me. I cried hours after I devoured the whole sandwich because I was sad that he didn't remember how much I despise mayo. How lame is that?!!! Granted, my taste buds are crazy right now, as I devoured 10 spicy chicken wings last night and I am generally not a fan of spicy. Seriously, I'm laughing about the sandwich now. He really is a trooper for hanging with these mood swings! I'll probably start crying about this ever-growing belly soon too. Praise the inventors of Bella Bands!

Week 11 Photo

I swear I woke up this morning and my waistline had shrunk even more. Not much to show yet, but here's the first belly pic demanded by Nana Joanne! As you can see, this took a lot of concentration. ;)

I sure have great family and friends!

I received an outpouring of emails and phone calls after the big announcement! I can't even believe it! Thank you to everyone for all of your kind words. Since I was too lazy to forward all the emails to Larry for him to read, I just copied them all together, removing any personal or incriminating info (like names and such). Except for Dave, due to the suggestions that Lil' Lui will have to either share his name or birthday. Taurus child...hmmmm!? Stubborn child with a stubborn mommy might spice up our lives! Anyways, thanks again to everyone for all of your congratulations and kind words! Apparently this kid is the size of a LIME already! What!??? I will keep you updated, but it's 9:00 folks....time for bed! =p

• What a great idea, Grandma loves it:)
• Congratulations!!! I know that you are so very excited! I don't know where you are going to fit this lil lui in your so tiny tummy but I am sure you will find room! I am so happy for the two of you!
• Congratulations!!! I don't know how to say how truly happy this news makes me feel, even all the way out here in New York. It feels like only yesterday we were at a wedding together, hanging out. My best thoughts are with you.
• Well, it's so nice to hear from you and CONGRATS. How funny (and I hope I'm not stealing your thunder or anything) but I am also expecting a baby...due on May 8th?????? We'll be putting on the pounds together. We've waited 5 years since our first daughter and we're also excited. Keep me posted!
• CONGRATS!!! That is so exciting!! wow wee!!! send my best to Larry as well!
• OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so happy for you :) Congrats :) This is so exciting :) You are the first friend I know that is having a baby. I will be asking you some questions in case I ever decide to have a baby someday :) So, how are you feeling?
• YAY!!! I already knew and have been praying for you guys, but YAY for the official email!! We are so excited for you both. I will look forward to receiving all the updates, and hopefully we'll be able to fly out and see you and Larry either before or shortly after the little one makes his or her appearance into the world :) my friend who had a baby last March said that going into her 2nd trimester was almost like flipping a lightswitch... she suddenly got her energy back and the nausea went away (she was having a hard time eating certain food groups). I know every pregnancy is different, but apparently the energy thing really starts to come back after the first 3 months are behind you...Congrats to you both!!!!!!!
• Awfully close to Dave's birthday. Is "dave" or "big worm" potential middle names?
• So exciting! Loving the blog and can't wait to read more entries. Since your due date is so close to Dave's birthday, and you were at our wedding when Lil Lui implanted, shouldn't that mean that we get to help you name the baby?? I'm thinking you should go with Sarah Palin's method of naming it after a favorite activity so....Wii Lui? Or if you're feeing really specific, Rock Band Lui :)
• CONGRATS FROM YA LONG FORGOTTEN FRIEND, REMEMBER ME?
• Congrats to you and Larry....You are both going to be great parents !!!!!
• wow, cool. congrats Maile!
• Congratulations! You know , you looked a little peekish when we visited you, but we thought it was the new job, etc. That is such exciting news! A new little baby in the family is just what every needs with such other negative news around us. We all wish you the best in the upcoming months as you expand and get all hormonal (no fun), but it is all worth it. Take care of yourself and enjoy these months as "childless parents".
• love the website. it's too cute.
• in the late 80s, larry promised me his first born for a turn on the nintendo. i guess, he didn't have the foresight. i'll be by to pick-up around mayish.
• I'm so happy for you!! Congrats!
• Congrats !
• HOLY COW!!! (or should I say Monkeys!) Congratulations!!!!
• I think you handled The Swan Oyster Depot pretty well! That "crab lui" salad was off the hook! Can't wait to see the "grape" develop into a full blown "lair pie"...
• hey, nerdicus! i saw your blog and it's super cute!! =) i'm glad that i don't have to be careful about not being the blabbermouth who spills the beans now!
• Congradulations!!!! Yea, I'm SOOOOO EXCITED....WHOO HOOO. I know that I haven't talked to you in awhile but I truly appreciate that I was a part of your special and very exciting news. I wish you guys sOOOO much happiness and as soon as you find out find out if it is going to be a baby girl or boy, I WANT to know. Hopefully, I can see you guys around christmas or sooner. BUt, again congrads!!! Maile is going to be a mamma!!! :P
• Congrats! This will be the ride of your life! It will put life itself into a whole new perspective for you & the hubby! Truly enjoy every moment.
• That is sooooooooooooo exciting. You guys will make great parents.
• Congratulations!!! This must have happened right after I visited. How exciting. Two of our friends up here just had babies and it is so much fun. I will be checking out the website. Thank you for sharing!
• I know you must be getting everyone's perspectives and views on managing your pregnancy; so I won't even start :) Just remember that we love you with all of our hearts and can't wait for the new addition to the clan.
• YAY!!!! Congrats!!!! I am so excited for you! I love babies. Name it after me K?
• congratulations Maile!!! Thank you for sharing, and looking forward to seeing pictures when your little one comes into the world!
• I had a beer last night, and then remembering your request, had one for you too. I enjoyed it on your behalf very much :) I am happy to be your drinker-by-proxy for the next few months!
• NOW can I tell people?? Yes I can, right?
• Oh Maile I am so excited for you guys!! congratulations!!! I have exciting news for you too! I am also pregnant. we are a month a part. I am due April 11th. the crazy thing is I am having twins!!! Bought the bella band!! worn it a few times and it is great. the pants can't be buttoned any more!! I have been so sick. sounds like you have had some nausea. Thank god it is starting to go away for me. I basically threw up every day for past 2 months. I bought these candies called preggie pops...which I would have found them sooner then a few weeks ago. they seemed to really help with the nausea. we will have to stay in touch. again congrats. I am sooo excited for you guys!!
• This is the best news ever. Congratulations to you and Larry. I bet that you look beautiful....Thanks for sharing all your stories on your blog. I look forward to your updates as you progress. Puts a big smile on my face!

The Secret is Out

By the time most of you are looking at this, you will have finally heard the news from me or Larry (probably me cuz it is hard to contain myself!) that Lil Lui is on the way. Majority vote so far is that I'm having a boy. The Chinese calendar agrees. Larry, who would love a little girl, is hopeful. I, on the other hand, will be happy either way. I'm thinking boy on this one though.

Due to the physical nature of my job, I will be divulging my secret at work tomorrow so since the first trimester is ALMOST over, I thought it was time to let you guys in to the past two months. I have no shame here...and I like to talk a lot so don't feel obligated to keep up with everything. I'm getting more scatterbrained and forgetful these days so it makes it hard to repeat myself/update people with the same stories all the time since I always forget who I told what and then I'm like an old person telling the same story over and over again. Not fun. Just trying to spare my loved ones of the agony of repeating myself and allow those who WANT to know all the details the opportunity to hear them without my annoyed voice from having repeated myself.

My belly is definitely getting larger, but not in a cute pregnant way. More in a "hmm, she's a bit chubby and totally muffin-toppin' in those pants!" I have ordered a Bella Band which supposedly allows me to wear my normal pants unbuttoned and this contraption will hold them up. I've rocked the rubber band around the button already, but then my zipper falls down and in a hurry to the bathroom, the rubber band snapped, which sucked. Hopefully this "miracle" that prevents me from having to invest in maternity pants just yet will work out. I'm not loving the bigger waist just yet, but I am certainly okay with the bigger bra. ;)

Anyways, friends and family, thanks for joining us! I hope you are all well. I am looking forward to sharing my stories with you! Sending big hugs from San Diego! Love you all! MUAHHHH!

Week 10....Cold and a car wreck

Still hanging in there and enjoying the preliminary stages of pregnancy as much as possible. I battled a nasty cold at the beginning of the week which actually kept me home from work for two days. Pre-pregnancy I would have probably managed okay. However the snot dripping into the back of my throat was enough to make me gag, hence igniting the puking. Sorry for the details but all of my friends that are mothers assure me that all modesty flies out the window when pregnant so I figured I'd just practice early. =)

I think overall dealing with my emotions has been the most difficult part of being pregnant. My patience is far below normal. I am super sensitive (as if I wasn't sensitive enough already!). I cry much easier. I get mad and not just sorta mad, but raging mad. The worst part of the mood swings is feeling really sad sometimes. Especially when I am being a major bitch and feel like I don't deserve to be around any other humans. Sometimes it takes a rude awakening to snap me out of it.

I was very excited to find out that my Thursday night class was cancelled (our anniversary). I gleefully called Larry when I was heading out for a meeting, telling him how I could come home early and we could actually spend some time together...maybe even go to dinner. After all, this was going to be the last anniversary with just the two of us. This is when he informed me that he had been rear-ended on the freeway on the way to work that morning. Once I knew he was okay, he told me the car wasn't in such good shape. Oh well, I thought. At least HE was okay. I could be a mom without two vehicles but I certainly couldn't be a mom without Larry. This event really put my whole life back into perspective. A friend of mine told me how it is so amazing how when you are dealing with hormonal pregnancy and post partum hormones which you genuinely have no control over, they can suddenly shift when you have to be there for your spouse. This is one of those times when the black cloud above me that had me moping around like Eeyore finally moved away. Screw school. Screw work. My family was my priority. Everything else would manage.

After the longest hug ever, Larry and I enjoyed some udon noodles and frozen yogurt after I picked him up from work. Probably not high up there on the romance scale but certainly great for spending time together. Time can never be regained like material objects can. At least we had each other and our health. Sorry for the cheesy tidbit here, but it's true. So the conclusion of the car story, Larry is just fine and we will have our car back in about two weeks after the nearly $8000 of work is completed. Thank goodness we won't be replacing the Element with a minivan!

Week 9...only 31 to go!

9 weeks and feeling pretty great. Being tired ain't no thang as long as I can continue eating and keeping it down!

Now we are playing the name game. While we aren't in full agreement yet, I'm not sweating it since there is PLENTY of time to figure that out. No names sound perfect yet but I think we are getting more serious when throwing out options (This means no "King" or "Crab" or "Shrimp" or "Louis" for a first name people!) =)

Larry and I will be celebrating our 4 year wedding anniversary this upcoming Thursday, which means we have already spent the past 9 years together! Holy moly, time sure goes by quickly. While I am far from being the pleasant wife he is used to, I am looking forward to this new phase of our relationship and learning how to be parents together. I am trying to jam through homework this weekend so perhaps we can finally spend some quality time together next weekend (after I get out of class on Saturday!) =p Romance schromance sure goes out the window when there is a baby on the brain. By the way, Lil Lui is the size of a grape now! Woo hoo!

Cruella De Vil

Meet my alter-ego, Cruella (the mean scary lady from 101 Dalmations for those of you that are less familiar!). She has been in full effect today. Adults are pissing me off today. San Diego State is pissing me off today. My cat is pissing me off today. Being so pissed off is pissing me off today! Too bad a glass of wine to mellow my bitchy ass out is no longer an option! Instead, I will make a positive choice to crawl into bed, try to sleep, and hope that Cruella is gone in the morning.

It's a....blob!

Our first prenatal appointment went well today and I am officially 8 1/2 weeks. Everything looks great and I have an "official" due date of May 15th. My last day of classes at San Diego State is May 13th and graduation is May 22nd. Needless to say, I will most likely be skipping all the festivities and happily receive my Master's degree in the mail. =)

Anyways, back to our little one. Due to my incredibly tilted uterus (what an endearing trait!), we were not able to see anything from an internal ultrasound. I panicked briefly on the table while staring up at the blank black hole on the screen, while the thoughts of "Oh my god, I DOOOO have an empty sac!" ran through my head. They did an abdominal ultrasound and while the picture of the baby wasn't very clear, we definitely got to see the flutters of our little one's heartbeat! A sense of calm came over me and while lil Lui's first picture is up on the fridge, I will refrain from posting it here since it doesn't look like much. =) Next appointment is in one month. *sigh* It's really a blob....I mean baby. *smile*

Hello barfing! =(

Not a pretty topic, so I'll keep it as clean as possible. No I am not hugging the toilet cuz the urge to return my meals to the outside world has been a bit more spontaneous (e.g. kitchen sink, trashcan). So far this has only happened twice in the past week so I hope this is not a new found symptom that Baby Lui is going to plague me with. Fatigue has been brutal. My new bedtime....7:30. Needless to say, I am living on the edge tonight!