GOOD NEWS

12 Weeks

It seemed that things were bleak after a couple run-ins with the emergency room. However, I'm happy to report that things *lately have been great! I've been feeling mostly okay and only throwing up food instead of stomach bile! When I threw up the first time since after "the incidents" I was so scared, almost to tears. But when I felt it was chow mein, I was so excited. The first thing I said to Trent after coming out of the wretch-room (see what I did there?) was "GOOD NEWS!" He was not nearly as thrilled as I was.

A few days after the ER, we had our first appointment with our **midwife, Katie. She came highly recommended from a girl at work and just about everyone I've mentioned to that I'm seeing her knows her and have only said wonderful things.

We explained to her our recent plight with dehydration and she recommended I do "infusion therapy" at the IV clinic in the hospital here. It's pretty much getting the bag of fluids before I get dehydrated instead of after. It was great, I went twice. And I was calling to make an appointment for my third visit when I happened to ask how much it was costing each time I went. BAD NEWS. It's all the dollars to go. How about I just drink that liter of fluids for free instead of getting a ***second mortgage to have them injected.

So in conclusion. I'm feeling better these days. And hopefully as I'm coming out of this first trimester, I'll find I have more good days than bad.


*'Lately' equates to about ten days
**Katie is a certified nurse midwife who works under a doctor in a medical office attached to the hospital. She helps with any kind of delivery, which I love because while I feel like natural birth is beautiful and empowering, it also terrifies me. So I can birth my way. Essential oils in one hand and an epidural in the other.
***I'm not even sure what that phrase means. But I know it means things are bad.

Unnecessary Roughness

10 Weeks

While being pregnant has had its perks it's also been quite rough on me. (And actually no perks are coming to mind currently)

Sunday afternoon I started vomiting, which is normal, but hours later was still vomiting, which is not normal. After about five hours and nothing staying down, we decided we should go to the ER because we didn't know how else to get it to stop. I had an IV in which they gave me two liters of fluids and some nausea medicine to calm my stomach. The whole experience was just awful. Think of being sick, tired, cold, weak, and uncomfortable in a hard hospital gurney.

The whole thing repeated again last night but instead of waiting for hours to go by, we knew after vomiting three times in less than an hour that we needed to get help. (Also know that throughout all of this is a lot of me crying.) At the ER, as soon as we walked in  a nurse said, "weren't you just here?" ....great, we're regulars now. This visit wasn't as bad as the first one. I threw up two more times at the hospital before they got me medicine but this time they only had to do one liter of fluids and I didn't have to stay as long.

When they discharged me they said I have hyperemesis gravidarum or HG which is severe type of nausea and vomiting while you're pregnant which usually lasts until 20-something weeks but could last the whole pregnancy. Awesome.

The Highlight of My Day

So if you've talked to me and asked me how my new job is going, you've probably gotten an earful of my complaints and issues with the curriculum and my frustrations with how they want me to run the class. That is not what I'm going to post about because I much prefer complaining in person.

But. 

My teaching coach came an observed the beginning part of my class one day and wrote me a really nice email, which really made my day!

Boyfriend of the Year Award

....And this years winner of the "Boyfriend of the Year" award goes tooooooooo....

Trent Peterson!

Trent snuck up from St George and surprised me after work to take me to dinner and the temple. I walked out of my school and BAM there he was! He had my roommate pack a dress for me to change into so we could just leave right from there. I was so surprised!...and horrified because of all the days for him to show up, this day I was in a sloppy ponytail and some baggy pants with raisins smeared on the cuffs. Not my cutest moment. But definitely one of my most excited moments.

 We ate at Texas Roadhouse -- I'm sure we ate half a raw cow each -- then went to the Timpanogos Temple, where we began slowly (and, in my case, loudly) digesting that heifer.

While sitting in the chapel, a worker came and asked us to be the witness couple. We told him we weren't married, but he said that didn't matter, and he felt led to ask us. So we agreed and really enjoyed that experience.

Afterwards, while sitting in the celestial room, where you can discuss the deepest and most sacred parts of the gospel, I had to secretly confess that the steak dinner was making it's way through my guts, and I had been holding in a toot the entire session. He didn't run away, so I think it's love.

Picture Day

This is my first year teaching at a real school where we have real picture day. I had a lot of stress about this because I haven't looked good in a picture day picture since about 1993. So this was my year to shine! I'm a grown up now! I take showers now! I have teeth now! I am not ugly now!

Those are true in theory.

But there is just something about sitting in that doomed picture day chair--in front of the blue hazey backdrop--that turns you from a blossoming bud of beauty into a frumpy wideloaded acne bag.

From this:

(Which is my carefully crafted hair and outfit to be exceptionally perfect for picture day)

To this:

 

Okay I haven't gotten the pictures yet, but after each shot, the photo lady would show me the digital copy and I'm telling you, they were all HORRIBLE. Like two strands of nasty hairs that were more kinked than curled and a random part in my bangs and chubby red cheeks that shut one eye and a broad body with awkwardly placed arms. There's just no way to win that game. 

Four Eyes

I got new glasses and tried them on but I still had my contacts in...

so it didn't work out so well.

So here are some real pictures.

My eyes are magnified larger than life. So good thing they're pretty.

Rachel Moves to the City

For those of you just tuning in, I moved. 

And if this is your first time hearing about it, shame on ya.

I packed up all of my earthly belongings and drove up to Salt Lake. Of course, not everything fit in my small Mazda...and if you think all of my belongings would only take up a small sedan, you don't know me and shame on ya.

I'm sharing a room with my friend Abbey Hafen from St. George. This is our stuff piled in the room. 

I moved in a few weeks before her so I had some time to get things organized. And since I had no bed or dresser, I camped on the floor for about a week.

I had my strong, strapping nephews help me move a dresser and a book case.

Connor was working hard.

And Garren was hardly working.

This picture is just to show my incredible backing up job...i got this whole huge van in between the lines in this crowded parking lot! I'M A WOMAN.

Look at these hard working boys. So strong. So handsome. So good to their aunt.

So this is my room now. Pillows and duvet covers are courtesy of IKEA. Well...I guess I paid for them. So it was not much of a courtesy.

 So far, Salt Lake is fine. I'd say it's good, not great. I am intimidated by the crowds of people and I feel like it's just an unmanageable size for me. But regardless, I am happy with my roommates, my apartment, and....that's about it. Everything else, I'm working on loving. :)