Pregnancy Update: Week 26

Well, it seems like the last two weeks have been the most eventful as far as my pregnancy progress goes. I most definitely have a bump now.

I had my 24 week doctor's appointment, which was basically a routine checkup. Around that point, my bump was not so noticeable. People were still finding out I was pregnant and surprised. I'm definitely bigger than I was 6 months ago, but without a prominent bump, any growth would go unnoticed (not to mention so many people didn't know me 6 months ago).

In addition to my bump, I also have VISUAL movement. I experienced this for the first time yesterday afternoon and got Jake a show later in the evening. Just a little earthquake type movement across my still soft belly. Kinda crazy for me but I'm enjoying it and basically want to sit and stare down at a bare belly all day long just to catch the next set.

Until this point, all of the movement I've felt as been very low. Definitely well below the belly button, below any resemblance of a bump. But everything is moving upwards. It kinda seems random to all happen at one time, but now I'm getting most everything above/around the belly button.

And apparently this is my last week until I hit the trimester 3 mark. (Everywhere seems to have a different definition of when that starts but I'm just sticking with week 27.)

My pregnancy has continued to be very low maintenance with few symptoms. We'll see how we finish out...

Aside from all that fun stuff, I can't believe we have been in Pensacola almost five months. It seems like we just got here...I should probably officialyl unpack those last couple boxes stashed away in closets. We bought new bedroom furniture so I sold our old bed finally and someone is coming next week to pick it up. We basically have two rooms still operating as storage rooms (with Jake's desk set up in the side); so I'm hoping to clear stuff out and have some place to put baby stuff. Jake has had several more people from his graduating class join us in the last few days, and it's weird to be the veterans sharing our experience here so far.

I'm still trying to get used to my new schedule, or should I say lack of schedule. The job market in the area is pretty bare, even if I were looking to get a full-time job. I had hoped to build a fitness schedule and either continue more of my client business from home or find a part-time something...but again, the fitness opportunities are bare and part-time semi-communications related jobs are non-existent here. Not the area for PR I suppose. I am working from home still, teaching a couple classes, and trying to fill my schedule with other activities. But I have yet to find balance. One week I feel completely overwhelmed with everything I have (even though it is not much...at all). The next I feel like I have absolutely nothing to do (even though nothing has changed). It's just a mind set thing and I need to work on my ability to function effectively from home. (And yes, I definitely wonder if I am up for any sort of full-time stay-at-home mom gig.)

Anyways, that's about it for now. I'm going to go back to staring at my belly.

A Look at Pregnancy So Far

Now that I'm more than halfway through this pregnancy—and have completely announced the fact that I am in fact, pregnant, I've been feeling the need to attempt at documenting things thus far.

Honestly, I don't know that there is much to document. Jake and I found out I was pregnant exactly nine days before we moved across the country. Those nine days included me teaching my last full week of classes, packing, planning out our drive, coordinating where we'd stay the weekend after our belongings were picked up, various last-minute projects, finishing Air Force paperwork, shipping Jake's car, and more.

Then we had six days of driving, visiting family, and staying in hotels, followed by another week of living out of our suitcases with none of our belongings. Followed by multiple weeks of unpacking, organizing, exploring, and simply getting used to an entirely new life.

With all that said, I was very lucky to experience very few pregnancy symptoms. If fact, most of anything could have been explained by other causes.

During the traveling time, I experienced some slight stomach discomfort with some added bloating and gas. My limited physical activity and nutrition coming from car snacks and quick food stops on the road surely didn't help my slowing digestive system.  

After getting a tad settled in Pensacola, I really started to notice my fatigue setting in. I was tired ALL. THE. TIME. Can I take another nap please? Again, I'm sure the whole ordeal of moving would take a lot out of people, plus add in having no set schedule (aka nothing to do) and the heat. Oh the heat.

I never had much nausea. I've thrown up two times. Once because I took my yummy gummy vitamins and forgot to eat something quickly enough. (And that's happened to me when I'm not pregnant...) Twice, because I taught a Zumba class and got caught in traffic getting back on base. So I wasn't able to eat quickly enough to replenish my system after working out.

Jake had a training out of state during my 11-14 weeks and I was out of town during my 12th week. My sister and her family came to visit me during that 13th week. After all that, something must have gone bad in the fridge as I couldn't open it without gagging. There really wasn't much I was up to doing about it, so I just held my breath and plugged my nose anytime I used the fridge...and I definitely didn't explore much in there! Then I had Jake clean it out when he got home. I banned him from ever telling me what smelled.

Aside from that, everything has been pretty smooth sailing. My fatigue is the only consistent factor, but I really just don't think I do well in hot weather. I've also been a slow show-er, but everything including weight gain, baby size, and heartbeat are on track. I just seem to be getting chubbier and wider rather than having the typical baby bump...as of now.

I do have one story about fainting at week 16 (which I was fascinated about for a while as I've never experienced that before), but I'll share that in a separate post. I'll also share our experience with the first doctor's appointment.

Stay tuned. (For those and hopefully some non-pregnancy-related topics).

P.S. If you don't already follow me on Instagram, seriously do it. I post a lot more pictures and updates there on a day-to-day basis than I do anywhere else.

From Her: Finding Out

I woke up in the morning and on my way to the bathroom decided to take the last of the two dollar store tests I had impulsively bought a month earlier. I had been waiting a week for my period to start but was planning to wait a few more days before doing the test. Having stopped taking my birth control pills this month, I knew that change could be affecting my body and wasn't too thrown off by the delay.

I had actually taken the first of those tests just two weeks prior mostly out of curiosity of having never taken one. Obviously by going off the pill, we were planning to try for pregnancy. But I saw leaving my daily pill more so as a pre-step than I saw it as us actually "trying." I'll admit that my mindset and actions were more so aligned with the "not quite yet" approach than the trying approach. I didn't expect to have a positive result immediately after going off the pill and wasn't surprised when I did in fact get a negative with the first, probably premature, test I took. However, given the timing and my body history, if I were going to be pregnant this cycle, I thought it would have had to show up by that point.

My decision today was made in a split second. It was a Sunday morning, our one-year anniversary AND Mother's Day. I still hadn't started and figured if I were going to take the test that week anyways, I might as well do it today.

I completed the process of getting my sample in the right place and left the room. I played a game on my phone and just so happened to finish my round a bit more than 3 minutes later. In no rush, I made my way back to the bathroom, really and truly not expecting anything. As I looked down at the test, I saw the two lines and looked back and forth from the test instructions to the test itself.

Really? Positive? ... Really?

I thought about calling for Jake, but he was still sleeping and I didn't want to wake him up. Because it was our anniversary, I decided to turn the results into a present and let him wake up and open it on his own time. I tiptoed into our bedroom to pull a couple sheets of tissue paper out from the wrapping supplies box under the bed.

I found a small box to use and folded the instructions with the results key showing and placed it in the box with the test on top. I then layered multiple pieces of the white sparkly tissue paper around the box and taped them in place.

With my "anniversary present" ready, I slowly made my way back into the bedroom. Jake was stirring but I made my way to his side of the bed and placed the box on his dresser. Jake is a bit hysterical when he's sleeping and he says "What are you doing? Come back to bed."

"I am. But I have a present for you. You can open it when you wake up."

Jake groaned. We had decided we weren't going to do presents; we aren't really presents people anyways. But I think he always fears I'll say no presents and turn around and break the agreement.

Now with that present on the dresser, Jake was noticeably grumpier, even more so than his normal just-waking-up self.

I crawled back into bed and reassured him. "Don't worry, it's not really a present."

I really intended to go back to sleep for a bit and let Jake wake up on his own time. But I found myself not being able to relax.

"Maybe you should open it now."

"Ahghektjhejhkhgs Shtkhjkehs." (Translation: No I want to be sleeping. And now you've made me feel worse for not having a present for you.")

"Yeah, open it now."

Jake sits up, grabs a shirt, and lets me snap a picture.

I realize as he's unwrapping that this should probably be something I film. I thought...oh this is too dark, I need to turn on the light, but there wasn't time to do anything about it. This video shows what unfolded next.

I love the video and proceeded to watch it at least a dozen times today...even though Jake hates how he looks and sounds :D.

Read Jake's version here.

From Him: Finding Out

Jake:

We had talked about it before - a family. When do we start trying? Would we want a boy or girl? What name would we give? Sure these are all things that most married couples will think about, but just like in any physical science, the actual experience is nothing like the well thought out theories.

A few months ago, Karianne (aka LOML - love of my life, guys) showed me a video when a woman told her spouse she was pregnant through the "subtle" clue of putting a literal bun in the kitchen oven. He exclaimed, dropped whatever he was doing and picked her up and kissed her. He may have cried too... I don't remember. Anyways, I thought his reaction was sweet and heartfelt, and then I immediately felt a little bad for Karianne since I predicted that my reaction wouldn't be as memorable. I don't react excitedly in a visible manner, but Karianne would still see how happy I would be... right?

Ever since graduating from BYU and commissioning in the Air Force in April, we decided it was time to start trying to add a new member to the family. I figured that things would take a while for the birth control to clear her system, and I didn't expect any results in the near future - after all, I had no idea if we could even have children! I was just hoping a lot and trying not get my sights set on something that may not be physically possible for us.

So May 10th rolls around  - Our anniversary and Mother's Day (not to mention I also like to sleep in on Sundays). It's probably 8 o'clock or earlier and Karianne whispers for me to wake up. I flip the fluffy brown pillow over to its cold side and shove my face even deeper and grumble that it's too early.

"What?" Karianne asks.

"It's too early. Go to sleep."

"I have something for you..." Karianne says softly.

I roll over half upset and half curious. She tells me to put on some random shirt she found - of course the Flash one we got for Halloween when we dressed up as Sheldon and Amy from The Big Bang Theory - and places a package wrapped in white tissue paper (not the toilet paper, but the sparkly filler paper for presents). I grumbled and reminded her of our deal that we weren't going to buy gifts for each other and just enjoy doing things like going to see a play or going to the amusement park with each other this weekend. I was now in her debt with this package in front of me.

Still half asleep and as coherent as a teenager who just got his wisdom teeth taken out, I fumble with the package grumbling that she wasn't supposed to get me anything.

I finally figure out the "complex" opening to the small cardboard box and look in to see the blurry contents. I pull-out this kazoo-looking thing that resembles a USB device. Alright, now I'm confused.

"Is this a large flash drive?" I ask lazily and trying to show enthusiasm (I'm not good at pretending that I'm happy when I first wake up, so this was really brave of Karianne to even think I would show some sort of positive emotion).

"Read this," she says while pointing to the rest of the contents in one hand and holding her phone with the other. I completely didn't register the cell phone there or else I would have put some sort of hand in front of it... I can't stand pictures or videos of myself. ugh.

Anyways, I grab these instructions out of the box and start trying to make sense of the words - they might as well be Chinese characters, I couldn't figure out what I was looking at for a few seconds.

Finally, I see two images of the kazoo-looking flash drive and under one image it says "Pregnant" and under the other "Not Pregnant."

I start to put the pieces together, but everything becomes so much more urgent now that "Pregnancy" is at stake... I don't know why, that's just how my mind responded to the words. I figured Karianne could be the type of person to say, "HEY! We're not pregnant, but I love you anyways! Happy anniversary!" ... And I would probably hate her for waking me up, then. But she would do something like that. You see, she doesn't understand the value of sleeping in... yet.

I flip my eyes between the instructions and the pregnancy test (which I am now sure is not a flash drive) frantically trying to make sense of what I am seeing and what the results are. I beg her to just tell me what it all means...

"YOU'RE PREGNANT!" (Now she'll understand the value of sleeping in.)

I had no idea that we were this close to having a baby. Everything became so real at that moment. This is something neither of us has ever experienced. Just witnessing as much as a good aunt or uncle does... I'm really going to be a father?! Holy Smokes!

I think about the little guy (or girl) who is growing and can't help but imagine all of the experiences we're going to have together as a family. I start dreaming our entire lives and I don't even know what we'll name her/him.

And yet, while I'm so excited, I am still a bit reserved because I know a lot can happen in the first trimester of pregnancy. I am hopeful for everything to go well, but I am always prepared for the worst and the hardest of things - It's in my nature. The thing I know for sure is that I will support my lovely wife with all of the needs she will have - emotional or other - and continue to look forward to the future Ortiz family getting one girl or boy bigger.

I'm constantly thinking, "Am I the father I want to be? What do I need to change? There is no time better to change things than right now." There are so many things I need to learn about being a dad and becoming a better husband and I have always felt like the present is the best time to make changes.

While I was serving as a missionary in Las Vegas, I met an elderly man who invited us over for dinner with him and his wife. He asked me a question that he already knew the answer to - "What is the most important decision you will make in your life?"

"To get baptized?" ... "Nope."

"Who you marry?" .... "Good idea, but no."

He explains, "Both of those are indeed very important decisions, but the most important decision you will make... is the very next one have you before you."

I have thought greatly on that ever since hearing it 7 years ago. I realize that after we make a decision, its consequence changes is priority. The highest priority decisions we make in life are always the next ones we have to face. If you get in an argument, your next decision is to either apologize and make amends or let it fester. If you break a commandment, do you ask for for forgiveness or hide from God. If you are told you are going to be a parent, do you prepare yourself and change accordingly or do you ignore the higher calling?

I am so excited to be the father of Karianne's child. I can't believe I can even be writing these words now. Being married and having a family was a pleasant day dream of mine since I was a kid (of course I also wanted to go to space or invent some cool mechanism - call me old fashioned), but I didn't know what it would feel like when those things would finally be coming true. It feels like a jell-o is what your brain and stomach are made of and your heart just grows three sizes bigger. I am ready for the challenges that parenthood bring and I can't wait to welcome our whatchamacallit into the world....HURRY UP!

Read Karianne's version here.

Getting to know Pensacola

It's almost midnight and I should be sleeping. I'm trying to get back into reading again and just read the first chapter of a light-hearted (it seems) book about a high school student who writes an anonymous blog. Of course rather than continuing to read, my mind started to itch to write a post myself.

This is the third week of Jake being gone for some training. Only two-ish more weeks to go. (We don't have an exact date yet and it could extend at any point if something happens in the training.) I feel like this separation would be a whole lot easier if I were still in Provo. You know, complete with a job, fitness classes to teach, and people I know. I am definitely not settled yet and have no where near a schedule or things to do.

To me, Pensacola feels like a very big small town. Yes, there are things around but most anything is at least a 25 minute drive. I miss the days of driving my car once or twice a week and never needing to go anywhere more than 10 minutes away. Or just thinking, hey, let's get frozen yogurt. When that small outing requires 60 minutes round trip, it's just not worth it. I'll stay home.

In terms of teaching Zumba, I've found one fitness center that is within a 15 minute drive. I can do that. I'm on a sub list and been asked to sub two classes. The difference with these places and those in Utah County is that there are maybe a total of 4 Zumba classes a week. (As compared to maybe 4 a DAY at some places in Provo.) I still haven't heard anything about the locations on base so I need to follow up on that again. I've found that I really do have a hard time attending classes again. There's just something about NOT teaching that makes it not as great. I've only gone to maybe 3 classes since moving, but I think I'm going to have to suck it up and start attending regularly.

One thing about this new location is I need to start finding the things about THIS area to appreciate and enjoy. Granted, this would be a whole lot easier if Jake were here to do stuff with me. I think I'll try to like the beach more. Maybe combine that with trying to get back into reading. Try new restaurants. Go out of my comfort zone to meet people.

Anyways, that's a quick little update from Pensacola. More to come hopefully... :P

The Movers Are Coming!

It's 11:48 p.m. Our movers show up in the morning around 10 a.m. Things are getting real.

The last couple weeks have been a whirlwind, the latter week especially. This week was much much busier than I thought it would be. It's been go, go, go every single day. Most time has been spent finishing up obligations and such. Today has really been the first time I've actually had the chance to focus on packing and preparing. (Jake has done a little more.) And here I am tonight sitting down with a few minutes to spare in the day.

Our bags for the next two weeks are packed. We have a box for D.I. (plus the contents in the entire trunk of my car). We have a box for items for the road trip. We have a box of food items we are taking. We have a box (figurative) for items that we need to return or give to family and friends in the area.

We feel ready. I feel calm. That I did not expect. But I don't really know what to expect. I have never been professionally moved before and don't know how that is going to go down. Jake expects the move to take around two hours. I'm super excited to see that go down. Granted, we don't have a large home and it's just two of us. In my mind I envision a SWAT team type of approach: Six official men swooping in, taking charge, yelling orders, magically making our belongings disappear into officially marked boxes and then moving those boxes out in a relay line fashion. In, out, and on their way.  

No matter what, I'm definitely most excited to not have to move anything!

Obviously, we are really liking the concept of not having to do anything. In fact, we've even scheduled professional cleaners to come in the next morning and take care of the move out cleaning. That's the last thing I want to do after everything this week.

We're Moving!

Our moving date is inching closer and closer; although recently the days are flying rather than inching.

We've known this move has been coming officially for about eight months, and though plans and locations have changed, the idea of moving has always seemed far off. In March we received our first official orders and have slowly been finalizing the move...to Florida!

Recently I've been looking at the calendar and internally freaking out at how quickly everything is coming up. I'm experiencing a bit of weird acceptance, I suppose, because everything still seems far off and theoretical but I know it's actually not.

In fact, as of right now we only have about 40 days until the move.

And in those 40 days we are fitting in multiple mini milestones counting down to our departure are sure to make things fly by even more. This week is Jake's spring break (and he's in Arizona for some Air Force stuff) and we are heading to Moab this weekend. Then Jack has less than a week left of student teaching, and we have my birthday, Jake's commissioning and Jake graduation. (Plus family in town.) Then we only have a week or so before my last day at my BYU job and then my last day of teaching classes. Oh and our one-year anniversary falls in that span too.

I also have several classic Provo/Utah activities I want to fit in before we leave. Oh and people to see. And I guess we'll have to fit in actually packing and cleaning. Oh that. (Although we will have movers - yay!)

There's a lot going on, but Jake and I are both excited. (I think I will be even more so when things finally really set in.)

We are facing a lot of unknowns and firsts, especially working through the process of moving within the military. We have applied for housing and contacted the moving department, but don't have anything set in stone yet. I'm learning we have to sit back and wait for things to fall in place, i.e. we can't plan things out as far as I'd like.

I have been connecting with other spouses in the area we're moving to and getting an idea for the area, housing, and Jake's program. (Everyone is really positive and loves the area.) I'm also connecting with the Zumba community and hoping to quickly pick up some classes. It will be interesting to adjust and explore the new opportunities. Good things are in store.