Pregnancy is Scary

Scary is an understatement. The body does things you never thought possible and at times, things can go wrong in an instance. This past Sunday, I was at my boss's baby shower, at her house, and I PASSED OUT.

The whole nine yards...911 was called, an ambulance came, and I spent a few hours in the hospital. It was terrible. I fell flat on my stomach, face, everything. I knew I wasn't feeling right the entire day. I woke up with a headache and was slightly nauseous. There were quite a few people in Susan's home, it was warm, and I had been on my feet talking to people. I also hadn't had much to eat that day due to being nauseous.

I was getting ready to leave because I knew I needed to get home and lay down. I was saying goodbye to my boss, and as she was introducing me to her sister, I went down. The feeling came over me quick, and there was nothing I could do. I was out for about one minute, Derrick was called right away and we waited for the paramedics to arrive. I have never been in an ambulance before. (Who ever decided to put the patient in backwards was a bad idea. That made me have more motion sickness.) After I fainted, I got really sick, and thankfully threw up, which made me feel better. Mark that down as the only time I have thrown up during my pregnancy!

Once we got checked in at the hospital, they did all all of my vitals, and brought in the Doppler to pick up the fetal heartbeat. At first, the nurse couldn't find it and I started crying, Derrick got extremely quiet. Another nurse came in and picked it up immediately...there is was, that strong 150-160 heartbeat!

I've been taking a couple days off work to relax, and to get feeling like myself again. My OB wanted me to come in for an ultrasound just to be sure everything was in place. I couldn't argue an ultrasound! Derrick picked me up from our house, and we went to the appointment. I really wanted Derrick to go to this appointment because I knew the baby would look completely different than at 7 weeks. Now, this little bean is completely formed, and MOVING in there! It was the coolest thing either of us has ever seen.

The picture below is from the bum, looking up. Decide for yourself what that is between the legs! The ultrasound tech didn't want to completely confirm the sex but gave us a good idea.

Everyone is excited for this pregnancy...even the little dog above...
Everything looked great on the ultrasound, which made us even more excited! I am realizing that I do need to slow down and take it easy, especially in this hot weather. More to come on little baby Stewart!

I'm back, and I'm pregnant!

I haven't blogged since March, and today is July 4th. Let's just say, a lot has happened the past 4 months. The biggest change is that we found out we are having a baby! We are due January 19th, 2012. Right now, I am 11 weeks along. It has been a long 11 weeks. I really just wanted to get past the first trimester and thankfully I am almost there. We shared the news with parents and the rest of our families around 7 weeks. At 9 1/2 weeks, we heard the heartbeat of 158, our doctor gave us the 'okay' to tell friends and co-workers. I was very adamant about waiting until the 12 week mark, but the doctor feels very confident that everything looks great!

How I Found Out

I found out we were pregnant very early on at 5 weeks. I volunteered with a non-profit that promotes running for young girls, on a very early (5am) Sunday morning. My shift was over at 7 am, I drove home from Forest Park, ate some breakfast, and laid in bed until 8:30am until it was time for my workout class at 9am. When driving home after class my mouth was extremely dry, I was thirsty, and this may be too much information, but my boobs were heavy. They didn't hurt, just heavy. I thought my period was coming. I told myself, "Just go to Walgreens, buy a test, see that it says negative, just to ease your mind." I ended up at Walgreens, bought a test, came home and went straight in the bathroom. Immediately, the test was positive. No ifs, ands, or buts about it; I was pregnant. What did I do? I started to ball my eyes out. Don't get me wrong, Derrick and I knew that this was a possibility. I was a big shock to think that there was a little something starting to grow inside of me.

Here's the worst part of this story. Derrick was in Chicago. He wasn't going to be home until 8pm that night. It was 10:30am. This was something I could not call Derrick about, especially since this Chicago weekend was for a bachelor party. I knew he probably wasn't feeling the greatest that morning and thought it would be best to wait until he returned home. The rest of the day, I laid on the couch and about every 10 minutes I freaked out. Needless to say, when Derrick got home that evening, he still wasn't feeling up to par. I started crying (happy/nervous cry) and told him. He looked like a deer in headlights! It is one of those moments that I will remember forever. He just hugged me for a really long time. The next week was full of nerves, anxiety, and mixed emotions. However, the second week, Derrick became excited, and the thought of becoming a father was sinking in.

Now that we are weeks into me being pregnant, I am over the shock of actually being pregnant, and looking forward to finding out the sex of the baby in August! Derrick is extremely excited and wishes the baby was here now. For me, not so much. I have a lot of preparing to do!

How I've Been Feeling

Here's the good news: I don't throw up. Here's the bad news: Some days I feel like I have a massive hangover. I am starting to get my energy back and the afternoon nausea is not as bad anymore. For about 4 weeks, I wasn't sleeping good, but now I am back to getting better sleep which makes the nausea more bearable. I am still running and working out like normal, which also helps with feeling good. I haven't lost my appetite, and smells don't bother me. I would love nothing more right now, than an ice cold beer or a skinny girl margarita.

Well that's it on the pregnancy scene! I will write more on being pregnant, and hopefully post some pictures as well.

Happy 4th of July!

ABCs of Me.

Many of my favorite blogs are participating, so I thought I would too!

A. Age: 25

B. Bed size: King! Finally!

C. Chore you dislike: Cleaning up after dinner.

D. Dogs: Beetle Bailey - puggle, Sassy - pug (actually my parents dog, but she stays with us!)

E. Essential start to your day: Breakfast and Coffee

F. Favorite color: right now...light blue, gray, and white

G. Gold or silver: Both!

H. Height: 5’2

I. Instruments you play(ed): None. I don't have any musical ability.

J. Job title: Program Manager

K. Kids: None. Someday.

L. Live: Saint Louis, MO

M. Mom’s name: Jane

N. Nicknames: None...I know...how boring?!

O. Overnight hospital stays: None, thank goodness.

P. Pet peeves: Unorganized people. Slow moving people.

Q. Quote from a movie: "I invented post-its" - from Romy and Michelle's High school Reunion.

R. Righty or lefty: Righty

S. Siblings: Branden - 20...almost 21 in August!

T. Time you wake up: Between 6:30am - 7:30am on weekdays, Between 7:00am - 8:00am on weekends

U. Underwear: Yes, I wear it.

V. Vegetables you dont’ like: Love them all!

W. What makes you run late: I really try to never be late. But, if I am, I blame it on my husband.

X. X-rays you’ve had: Teeth, duh.

Y. Yummy food you make: White Chicken Chili, Sweet Potato Fries, and Smoothies

Z. Zoo animal favorites: Elephant

A baby story.

We are getting to the point in our lives where our friends are getting married, buying houses, and having babies!

It is all very exciting, especially when a pair of great friends are starting their family. Curt & Amy are due March 22nd with little Julie Jenkerson! We are so happy for them, we decided to host a baby shower for them.

On a chilly Saturday in February, many of our friends came over to celebrate and have some fun.

For me, this shower was really fun to plan. (I love planning any party, really.)

It was really good to catch up with everyone too.




Derrick & Curt have friends for over 8 years. Curt will be a wonderful Dad, and Amy will be a wonderful Mom.


























Everything little girl is so adorable...














The diaper cake that I rolled, and the cupcakes I baked! They were excellent!
Good Luck to Curt & Amy! We can't wait to meet baby Julie!

Park City, Utah

Sundance was a once in a life time experience, and I am so happy I was able to be a part of it for 2011! We had a great team. We left St. Louis on a Wednesday, and flew back to St. Louis on Monday. Below are pictures from around Park City. Park City was the cutest little town. Celebrities we saw walking around (just like everyone else) were Russell from Beverly Housewives (got a pic) Liv Tyler, Forest Whittaker, James Franco, Mary-Kate Olsen, and Terrance Howard. There were so many celebrities there. Oprah was even in the streets. We didn't see her, but heard that people were rushing Main Street, screaming.

We got to go to parties every night, including HBO's party, which was amazing! I would love to return to Park City sometime, maybe for some skiing.

Another Gegg

On a cold weekend in the middle of January, Derrick and I made a quick trip to Ste. Genevieve to visit a very special little baby. Ally Rose Gegg was born just a week a half earlier to Elisha and Tyson.

She was the tiniest baby I have held in a while, just over 6 lbs. She was the sweetest little baby! So presh!

Now, Derrick doesn't normally hold newborns, but he really wanted to hold little Ally. Tyson and Derrick have been good friends since kindergarten. It's amazing to me that Elisha and Tyson have a new little family member. Babies are such a miracle. It's so hard for me to wrap my mind around how it all comes to be. (And yes, I know how babies are made!)

For the majority of the time, she slept, however, every once in a while she would put her arms over her head a stretch. She even opened her eyes. One of the cutest things about Ally is that she was born with a head FULL of hair! Looks like she's getting her hair from her mom!

Congrats to the Gegg family on their new arrival!

What Have I Been Up To?

A lot. To say the least.

I looked at my blog and couldn't believe I haven't blogged in one month. And then I realized that I didn't even blog about Christmas or NYE, besides my new camera post. I even had the entire week between the two off.

2011 so far, has been really good to both Derrick and I. From dinners with friends and trying to get back to the groove of things, this month has flown. Now normally, I don't blog about work, but there is one teeny tiny detail I must share. This teeny tiny detail has kept us all busy the first 2 weeks of January. Thank god all of us women love to work under pressure :) It was confirmed that we were all going to the Sundance Film Festival! We assisted in promoting one of the films there, along with some photographs that were featured in the film. Not only was this a work trip, but this also felt like a vacation.

Who wouldn't want to go to Park City, Utah to shop, see random celebrities walking up and down Main Street, shop some more, and do really fun things? In a later post, I will post a few of the many pictures I took!

Now, that's where I was for 6 days. Derrick on the other hand was in warm and sunny Cancun, Mexico. MEXICO? Yes, Mexico...without me. One on our great friends, Tyler invited him to join him for the Northwestern Mutual company trip. This worked out perfect for Derrick. Derrick did his internship there four years ago, so he knew everyone, and we are a client of Tyler's as well. He had a total of three days of relaxation and fun. It worked out perfectly that we were both out of town at the same time. We did miss each other, but we are both happy to be home.

New Year's Resolutions - to have them, to not have them?

I've never been a big resolutions person. Setting new year's resolutions have so much to live up too. And, why can't we start a new hobby or change in lifestyle in April or July? I did set some new goals for myself this year.

1. Read more often. At night, I always want to read, but by the time I finally get into bed, I am really to do just that. Sleep. Or I have this person next to me who wants to talk about what's on the history channel, or what happened in the world that day, OR a little doggie who wants me to pet her.

2. Stop going to Starbucks everyday/cut down on my caffeine. Surprisingly, this HAS happened. I only go 1-2 times per week. Thankfully, I am not a soda drinker, EVER. Soda is gross, I don't care what anyone says. However, drinking one to two cups of coffee at work each day is a little obsessive. I whiched to hot/cold tea, which works for me.

3. Photography. This has not happened yet. Classes are on Saturdays and I have had plans every single time there is a class. I will get to this!

4. Start Recycling. I'm almost embarrassed to even put this on here. I feel as if I am the last person in the world who doesn't recycle. I just need to go buy a couple trash cans. Sooner, rather than later.

Thankfully, I do not have a resolution to 'workout' more or become a January joiner at the gym. I've got that area covered. However, I do want to keep to 2 classes a week (besides my 4-5 times a week cardio.) Finally, I have found an instructor at my gym who rocks! He has the best classes, and he is HARD.

What are your resolutions/plans for 2011?