Wonderful, Fabulous, Exciting News......and the not so great news.

Good things first, shall we?

We're going to have a baby! 

Baby number 5 is scheduled to arrive on October 9 (which will make three October babies for us, along with a September and a November.  We like our fall season to be busy.  Hahaha.)

We are super excited and the kids are ecstatic, with Corban (7) at once demanding that "It had better be a boy!" and Marissa (5) constantly whispering, "I hope it's a girl!" and Annika (3) declaring very matter of factly, "I think it will be a boy OR a girl."  Case closed.

Truth be told, Corban has admitted that since he adores Ellia (1) so much, he'll really be okay if the new baby is a girl, and Marissa has similarly concluded that a boy will be just fine. 

There are few things in life I love more than babies, and even fewer things that I love more than my own babies.  However.  This brings me to the not so great news.

Pregnancy is not my best friend. You know those women who rave about being pregnant and say it's just the best thing ever?  Yeah, I'm not one of those.  I consider pregnancy a great blessing and a privilege, and surely worth going through, but it is not something I relish or even remotely enjoy. 

To start out with, my first trimester is traditionally....how shall I put it.....miserable.

In the past, I have had severe morning all day sickness with frequent vomitting, IV fluids for dehydration, the inability to stand practically any smell, and the loss of 8-10 lbs. with each of my pregnancies, my girl pregnancies being worse.  And that's with every medication doctors will prescribe for pregnant women for nausea. Add complete exhaustion and fatigue on top of it and it makes for just no fun.

The second trimester brings relief from that, thank God, and any other physical complaint is trivial compared to the stomach issues.....but goodness, when you've thrown up over 600 times during 4 pregnancies, it's a bit hard to forget.   

I have to say, this pregnancy has started off better than the past.  I am 6 weeks and 1 day along, and have yet to throw up.  I think that's a record for me.  There are a lot of people praying for me, and I'm trying a few different things this time.
I went to see a friend who owns a food/herbs store with lots of natural remedies.  She hooked me up with catnip and fennel extract, which I mix into water and drink a couple of times a day.  It tastes like black licorice.  It's supposed to calm the stomach.  I'm also taking a good quality probiotic, using eucalypus oil on my feet, eating blackstrap molasses, and drinking red raspberry leaf tea.  

I have been nauseous, and I am extremely sleepy/tired/fatigued often, but I'm hanging in there and actually still functioning like a human being for the most part.  :)

My mom will be coming to help out in a week, and she's staying for 3 weeks!  We can't wait to see her and I'm so thankful that she's doing this again.  (She came out while I was sick with Ellia's pregnancy also.)

All this to say, my food preparation is minimal these days and I'm not attempting anything new.  The blog will likely be void of new recipes and goodies (unless my mom makes some) until my second trimester (7-8 weeks away). 

The day after we found out we're expecting, the kids and I went to Sam's Club and stocked up on lots of chicken breasts and ground turkey.  I cooked it all (baked the chicken with salt and pepper, browned the turkey with onions and garlic salt) and froze in recipe sized portions.  It has been wonderfully easy to just grab a package of cooked meat out of the freezer and add it to something simple to make dinner.
 
The sight and smells of raw and cooking meat are usually some of the worst things for nausea, so I avoid that.....and what a great time saver as well.

Last pregnancy I had made a few meals for the freezer ahead of time, one in particular was a triple batch of meat, beans and rice burritos.  A great recipe, one I loved.  After eating it for the first time and throwing it up, I couldn't bear to eat it or even think about it for the rest of the pregnancy (or the year following). So I had 2 whole batches worth that ended up getting thrown away.   
I didn't want to waste like that again, so I just cooked the meat this time.  That way I can use it in different recipes and not be tied down to one that I don't feel like eating.  Smart, huh? 

Hopefully I'll be up and running again (that's figurative.....not planning on running during pregnancy, we'll save that for the postpartum weight loss plan) before too long.  I still plan to post family stories and stuff as I feel like it.....and maybe we'll get lucky and get a recipe or giveaway in there somewhere!  We'll just have to see how it goes!