Harms Family News

I am at the 10 week mark! I know a lot of women who wait until they are 12 weeks to announce, and I am sure glad we didn't! I am already showing and it would be really hard to hide! I guess the extra "fluff" I was carrying around is getting pushed up and out by the baby! I am taking growth as a good sign and refusing to worry even though I haven't been to the doctor in about two weeks, which feels strange after the frequent visits before. How far along? 10 weeks Maternity clothes? Yep. And apparently just wearing them makes me look pregnant because I am getting lots of comments. Not that I mind :) Sleep: Not too bad. Best moment this week: Being able to pick up my babies again! It came at a good time too with one feeling pretty puny. Movement : Too early Gender : Unknown Labor Signs : No way! What I miss : Chocolate. I guess that might be the only thing I miss for a while! What I am looking forward to: The second trimester! Weekly Wisdom: Read this this we...

Ok fellow moms, I need help! How do you go about meal planning? I find myself struggling in this. Here is what I have tried. First, I tried a six-week rotation. It for some reason was really hard to stick with, and most nights I didn't feel like cooking whatever was on that night's list. Then I tried e-mealz. Great concept, but we really found we were not enjoying the majority of the meals, or they were not the type of food I prefer to feed my family (filled with processed stuff. Now I am no natural food all the way type of person, but we are trying to make small changes and when your menu revolves around cream of xyz and Velveeta cheese, it's hard to stick with your goals). I am probably going to cancel my membership within the next month or two. So, now I am stuck again! Part of the problem is my tummy is so upset that thinking about cooking and food is just hard. I also struggle to try new dishes because the kids never like them, and it's so hard to psend that time a...

Wednesday is my "flipping" day, or the day I change "weeks" in the pregnancy. Not much has changed but here is my "for me" update. How far along? 9 weeks Maternity clothes? Got out the maternity jeans this week. They are adjustable waist so they are working pretty well. Not tops yet. No "basketball" to fill them. I'm definitely in the "is she gaining weight?" stage of pregnancy! Sleep: Good as long as I don't let my afternoon nap go too long. Best moment this week: Miss M getting very excited when the doctor called with my preliminary blood work and it was "healthy." Movement : Too early Gender : Unknown Labor Signs : No way! What I miss : Picking up my kids! Only one more week of restricted lifting if all continues going well. What I am looking forward to: The second trimester! Weekly Wisdom: Being pregnant does not give you a right to be rude to your husband. Milestones : None I can think of.

Well, Miss M has had her first ER trip. Here is the story. We had been having such a lovely day. I let the kids stay up during nap since they were obviously not tired, but they let me get work done, and in the morning while N was at school Miss M played so nicely and allowed me to get my chores done. By about 2:00 I was tired of working and chores and decided to bake some pumpkin muffins. Miss N was playing computer and needed my help, so I went downstairs to help her. While I was down there, Miss M found the cinnamon that I had left out and poured some in a bowl. She was having a lot of fun measuirng it and pouring it with the utensils I had left out. I was annoyed at the mess but it was already there, so I let her play. She was having so much fun. After a while she was pretty covered in it. She wanted more but I obviously didn't want to waste all of the cinnamon, so I gave her some flour. She played for probably an hour. When she was done I was cleaning her off. She had been play...

Today I had my first official OB appointment. Everything went amazingly well. The little bean (size of a kidney bean at 8 weeks) is measuring about two days ahead, so might be another big baby, who knows. My blood pressure was great, I haven't really gained any weight in spite of all I have been eating, and the heart beat was right there beating along (181 ). Also, since my problems of earlier seem to have cleared up, I am only having to be on the modified rest for two more weeks instead of four! Woo hoo! I am now officially a "normal" OB patient. That means no more weekly trips to the doctor, no more worries (ha!), and no more scans every time I go in. That last part is a little sad, but I am so thankful to be having a healthy pregnancy! So, I am going to start to blog weekly about my pregnancy. This is mostly for me, so feel free to ignore if you are bored by it :) How far along? 8 weeks Maternity clothes? I'm thinking it's time. . . at least for the pant...

This was too funny not to share. We were out to lunch yesterday with my parents who are visiting, and Miss N was telling my mom all about the baby and how much she wants a baby brother. My mom said, "Well what if it is a girl?" Miss N: "Well, then we will just give the baby to someone else! We have enough girls in this house!"

So, my husband is the best. Sorry, ladies, he's taken! I have a confession to make. I am irritable with this early stage of pregnancy. Part of it is nerves, and part of it is hormones, and part of it is the exhaustion. Also, part of it is sin and I am praying daily to watch my tongue and patience with my kids. But I'm grumpy. I was telling Tim last night about how I feel about this, and his response, "It's all a part of the process." So accepting and simple. Instead of being highly annoyed with me (as perhaps he had a right to be) he just accepts this as par for the course for growing a baby. Miss N took the ultrasound pictures to school today (she wanted to, it was not my suggestion, and I cleared it with her teacher first, who of course was out today but what can you do?) She is very excited about the baby. Although, the other night when I was having my issue and we could not go to church, I told her we couldn't go because mommy wasn't feeling well. Her ...

Well, we have told, we have told the girls, and now I wonder if we did the right thing. Sure, there was a beating heart, but really, I saw nothing that looked like a baby. Now, I have read about women who had losses after seeing the beating heart. Remember when I said that trusting God had to be a minute by minute thing? I am starting to have one of those days today. I think because the tiredness is not as intense, so I "feel" less pregnant. Maybe part of it is that it has been nearly a week since I have been to the doctor, heard good or bad news, etc. I cannot see what is going on inside me. I am having to give Him everything. My biggest fear? Honestly, it's no longer how I will survive another loss should it happen. It's how I will tell my kids. Both of them are excited and are talking about "the news" as Miss N says and "You have a baby in your belly" as Miss M says. Update: Last night I had some signs of a possible complication. I called the do...

So, it seems every time I have been pregnant the "do and don't eat" list has changed. Lunch time is a huge struggle for me right now! My go-to meal is usually a nice salad, but right now scares of listeria and lettuce make me nervous. So, my second go-to meal is a turkey sandwich, but lunchmeat is a no-no unless you heat it (not my favorite). So, I also love tuna, and i remembered you were allowed some tuna but not tons when I was pregnant with Miss M. Google says otherwise - apparently that rule has changed as well! So tell me, what's a girl to eat? I guess it is going to be PB&J or grilled cheese for the next nine months!