First we had each other, then we had you, and then we had everything!

It never ceases to amaze me how many strange things happen to your body when you’re pregnant. Things that you would never imagine are related to pregnancy. One especially perplexing side effect: the over production of saliva. Yesterday morning at church, I honestly thought I was going to drool on my hymnal as I was leading the congregation in song. And this morning at work as I was educating a new patient on the importance of chiropractic care, I had to swallow more times than I can count just so I wouldn’t spit on the poor girl! Maybe my over zealous drooling is Mother Nature’s way of making up for the fact that I haven’t had any morning sickness. She’s just gotta sock it to ya some way or another!

I know this woman who has 9 children and she's 37 years old (I think she must be related to the Duggars). Every time I see her, besides having a new child, she has several less brain cells. Very absent minded and scatter brained. She can't ever find her checkbook or her car keys. I wonder how often she misplaces a child or two. I even came up with a name for her unfortunate condition: Baby Brain. I'm convinced that the more subsequent children you have, the worse off you become. I have always been very worried that someday I would turn out just like her. I have done everything in my power to conserve my precious little brain cells. I don't drink or do anything else that would potentially put the little things in harm's way. I thought I was doing fine--until yesterday. That's when I discovered that I too, am suffering from Baby Brain. It occurred to me as I was driving home last night. I was supposed to go to my parent's house to pick up my dog after work. They are my own personal Doggy Daycare. If you think I spoil my dog, just wait 'til you see how spoiled my child is going to be! Anyway, I was driving along, listening to the new Mercy Me song on the radio and low and behold, I realize I'm turning into my own driveway! I forgot my furry little son! If I can forget him, it terrifies me to think what will happen the first time I take my baby to Wal-Mart! And to make matters worse, as I was driving to work today, I reached for something in my purse in the seat beside me, and my purse wasn't there! I had to turn around and go back to my house to get it. In the past 24 hours, I have forgotten 2 out of the 3 most important things in my life. Tony better stick to me like glue the next time we leave the house!

It's amazing how as the weeks pass, I become increasingly unable (or unwilling) to tolerate people's bull. Normally, I consider myself a mild mannered, conflict avoiding, peace making, people pleaser. But lately, I could honestly care less what people think of me and I have become increasingly inclined to tell it exactly like it is. For example: Tony was complaining about a guy that he knows, telling me how dumb the guy is and what a big pain in the rear-end he is. Pre-pregnancy, I would have responded with something like, "Now honey, don't you think that's a bit mean? I'm sure he can't possibly be that bad." But non-filtered Amber replied instead, "WHAT A STUPID MORON!" Another example: Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and I understand that many offices observe this holiday and close for the day. Our office doesn't. We never have. And it always amazes me when we get patients who call our office and when I answer the phone, they ask, "Are you open today?" Normally, I would sweetly reply, "Sure, we're open today. What time would you like to come in and see us?" But not the Non-Filtered Amber! She replies, "No, we're closed today. I just like to come up here on my days off and answer the phone for the fun of it." True story! I actually said that to someone on the phone this morning. I'm telling you, I was not prepared for these hormones (and I don't think the poor people around me were, either!).

Another wonderful side effect of pregnancy is sounding like a lumberjack in your sleep. I have always snored occasionally if I lie on my back but as Tony puts it, I had a "princess snore". Very light and dainty. Not anymore! He says I sound like a chainsaw and he has to wake me up during the night to tell me to roll over, all the while praying that he falls back to sleep before I start the chainsaw again! Maybe the filter that controlled the things that come out of my mouth was stored in my nose and now that it's gone, there's nothing to stop the snoring. Let's hope that the filter returns before Tony collapses of exhaustion and I lose my job for being rude to our patients!

I had my first prenatal appointment this morning. It was really kind of strange because they didn't even confirm my pregnancy. Instead of filling me with excitement and anticipation, they pretty much just scared the Buh-Jesus out of me. The nurse basically said that I'm going to have to completely change the way I've been managing my diabetes or I could put the baby at serious risk. And right after she told me this, then they decide to take my blood pressure! And I bet you can guess what happened next! Yep, they put me on blood pressure medication! It doesn't take a genius to figure out that you might get a little worked up when someone tells you that you're a horrible mother already and you're slowly killing your baby unless you completely change your life! Talk about scare tactics! So I took my happy (okay, I was markedly less than happy) self to Sam's Club and bought all the healthy stuff I could find: A case of low sodium V8 juice, (although I barely had the strength to lift it into the cart after they took 6 vials of blood out of my arm), boneless skinless chicken breasts, dried fruit, mixed nuts. I even had a salad at lunch. And for someone who has been terrified of putting anything green in her mouth her entire life, that's quite a feat! But I figure that my baby is the best possible reason on this earth to start taking better care of myself. I owe it to them to be the healthiest I could possible be. After all, I want to be around when my child has their first child. So as of today, I'm turning over a new leaf: a big, green piece of lettuce! :-)

I have been eating non-stop since before I even knew I was pregnant. At first I was just blaming the holiday season but now that I know I have an "excuse", I've been eating even more. I know that the baby needs a few extra calories because of all the growth and development that's going on right now but I've been getting a bit carried away. I weighed myself the day I found out I was pregnant and have been weighing myself weekly since then. I was a bit nervous to step on the scales this week because I just knew I had gained at least 5 pounds since my last trip to the scales. But to my extreme surprise, I had only gained .2 pounds. Yes, that's POINT 2 pounds. Which begs the questions: Just where in the heck is all that food going anyway? Am I going to give birth to a 14 pound baby? Pregnancy just keeps getting more interesting everyday! :-) But seriously, I am going to have to be careful about my weight. Not because of vanity, mind you. I'm a proud little fluffy girl! But I also have type 2 diabetes so I'm more prone to gain extra weight anyway and even though I joked about it just a second ago, I really don't want a 14 pound baby. So to try and head off ridiculous weight gain at the pass, Tony and I purchased an elliptical machine yesterday at Wal-Mart. I use it while we watch our "Friends" DVDs. They're about 20 minutes long so it makes it perfect to exercise for the length of one entire episode. At least that's my goal. Last night I only made it 15 minutes, though. I told Tony the idea is to not gain an obscene amount of weight, not kill me! :-)

Tony is mystified at the idea of looking at baby stuff this early in the pregnancy. We went to Target on Saturday and he just couldn't understand why we kept looking at the baby stuff. He said to me, "Isn't this why we have a baby shower? So people will get us all this stuff and we won't have to?" To which I answered, "Yes honey, but we have to register for this stuff so people will know what to buy us." And he shot back, "What does register mean?" Clearly he has a lot to learn! :-) And for those of you wondering, no I'm not crazy and I haven't started registering for baby stuff yet. I just get a kick out of looking at all those precious little outfits knowing that someday something tiny enough to actually fit into that stuff will come out of my body. Crazy!

My 5th week of pregnancy saw the introduction of killer mood swings and extreme exhaustion. I have also been eating everything in sight. I've had quite the short fuse this week and Tony is trying his best to just stay out of my way. Poor guy! I've been having a lot of trouble sleeping at night. I've been waking up with quite a bit of low back pain and I just can't seem to get comfortable. Thank God I work for a chiropractor! Chiropractic care during pregnancy has been proven to lessen back pain throughout pregnancy and it helps shorten the duration and severity of labor pain as well. Plus, it will help get me back in tip-top shape after the baby is born, too. God bless chiropractic care! Even though Tony thinks I am a little crazy, our baby's first doctor's appointment will take place with Dr. Chandler when she gives the baby their very first adjustment. She lives very close to the hospital where I will give birth so hopefully the baby will be adjusted just hours after their birth so their little nervous system will have the best possible start!

I am looking forward to my first prenatal appointment on January 13th, even though I won't actually see the doctor until around my 10th or 11th week of pregnancy. At this first appointment, I will have a lot of preliminary blood work done. Then when I see the doctor, I'll have my first ultrasound and we will get to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time! I can't wait! Even though I know that the little booger is in there (and 2 First Response pregnancy tests know too), it will still take a load off my mind to have it confirmed by a professional. :-)

I found out on New Year's Eve that one of my dearest friends, Jessica, is also pregnant with her first child and our due dates will be within days of each other. We are so excited to get to share this experience together!

Well, it's beginning to sink in that Tony and I are actually bringing another little life into this world. As far as symptoms I've been having, so far I've been really lucky. I've just been really tired and hungry all the time. :-) And this is hunger like I've never felt hunger before. Normally hunger pains start out slowly and then gradually get worse until your tummy starts to growl. I normally don't eat breakfast until around 10 a.m., but now as soon as I wake up every morning, my stomach is growling like I haven't eaten for days and it feels like there's this little Dirt Devil vacuum cleaner in my tummy sucking every little piece of sustenance out of my belly as soon as it hits my stomach so that I'm in a constant state of hunger. And I've been light-headed, too. Like I'm a human bobble-head doll. Very strange! Another weird thing is that I haven't gained any weight yet but my stomach is so bloated. Early pregnancy signs, at least what I've experienced so far, are like PMS on steroids!

I think this whole daddy business is sinking in with Tony, too. Already he's more protective of me than usual. And he's been putting his hand on my belly at night when we sit down to talk about our day with each other. He woke me up the other morning whispering in my ear, "I love you so much." If anyone of you reading this knows my husband, you'll know how out of character that is for him. Not that he's not a naturally tender man, he's just been a lot more vocal about it lately. Maybe he's just afraid of my mood swings! :-) All jokes aside, he's going to be a wonderful father and I can't wait to watch him with our child, playing and cuddling. I couldn't ask for a more wonderful husband and I am thankful to God everyday that I have such a wonderful partner!

I am about to embark on the most exciting adventure of my life. At exactly 11:01 a.m. on December 26, 2008, I found out that I am expecting my first child. My husband Tony and I have been married since July 7, 2007 but until recently hadn't been trying to start our little family. But we've been hearing our biological clocks ticking fairly loudly in our ears and decided that it was high time to create a new little Anderson! We couldn't be more excited and happy. When I saw those 2 little lines on the pregnancy test, I immediately started to cry. Then I picked up the phone and called my sister, Angie, who lives in Phoenix. Since she wouldn't get the news in person like everyone else in the family, I thought it was only fair that I tell her first! :-) She can't wait to be an aunt for the first time! It's all starting to sink in that I'm actually going to be a mommy. By this time next year, I'll have a newborn! Unbelievable! Well, ready or not, here it comes! My only prayer is that God gives Tony and I the wisdom and courage to bring up our child in the ways of the Lord and that our baby always knows, from the moment we lay eyes on them for the first time, that it will always be loved, no matter what.

This is footage taken when Tony saw my pregnancy test results. I went to Wal-Mart and bought a baby bib that said "I love Daddy" on it. That's what he's holding in his hand in the video. And the squeaking you hear in the background is our dog, Bubby, playing with one of his toys. He's going to be such a good big brother! :-)

This video was taken when Tony and I broke the news to my parents that they were about to become first-time grandparents. They had been waiting for this day for a long time! My dad caught on right away but it took a little longer for the news to sink in with my mom!