Busy January

As January is coming to an end things have FINALLY settled down for us. For Christmas holidays we had a delightful trip to California. It was so much fun telling everyone we were pregnant. It was also amazing having Mom and Autumn out to visit. We went to lots of cool places and did a ton of shopping.

Joe and I got back to Florida on January 3rd. We both worked one day, then were off South Florida to run the Ragnar relay from Miami to Key West. Crazy right?! The distance was 199 miles and there were 12 of us to do it. We each had 3 portions of the run. My runs were: 3.1 miles, 4 miles, and 2 miles. I actually felt pretty good on the first two runs. It was the last one that got me. It was hot and I was running on very little rest. I ran the 2 miles then felt pretty nauseous for a couple hours after. But, I did finish!! and it felt great!! Our team did amazing. We placed at 62 out of almost 300 runners! Pretty good right? Key West was beautiful. The weather was perfect. Joe and I definitely would love to go back and spend some time there.

We got back from Key West on Sunday January 8th. I worked till Friday then was off to Chicago for training with the Surface team. Chicago....brrrrrrrr! A bunch of snow dumped on the city right before I got there and oh boy was it cold. The first day I was there I had time to spare so I did some shopping on Michigan Ave. (outdoor shopping mall). I felt like I needed a ski mask on outside, but besides that the city was very beautiful. The next two days were my training days. I learned so much! New haircuts, products, updos and plenty more. The Surface family was very excited for me when I told them I am expecting. The trip was great, but I was looking forward to getting back home to be with Joe and May in Florida where the weather was a bit warmer! haha

Only picture I took in Chicago (was from a car window). With gloves on my iPhone was useless. I decided to keep them on instead of taking pictures while outside.

On January 18th we had our check up appointment with the midwife. Looks like I have put on 7 pounds. Everything went well! I am healthy and so is the baby, The midwife poked my belly with this thing so she could hear the baby's heartbeat. The baby kept moving so it was difficult to get the heart beat, but once she locked in on that sound it was amazing. The heart rate was 150. She said we have a very active baby. It's going to be crazy when I really start feeling all that movement!

The weekend following our appointment, on Sunday, I went down to Orlando to do a show/class with one of the Surface platform artist. Sooooo much fun! He had me wear a microphone (first time ever!) and I chatted quite a bit about products and the hair I was styling.

This weekend coming up: Weekend of January 28th. FINALLY no out of town plans!! I look forward to just hanging out right here in the Gainesville area with Joe and May.....oh yeah aaaand we will be dog sitting Moose! May is going to love having her best bud over for the weekend. Joe and I will be doing a little suv/car shopping. So wish us luck!!

First Trimester

The first trimester went by so fast! It was really hard to keep the pregnancy a secret from everyone, but Joe and I did enjoy the excitement privately for a couple of months. I feel like pregnancy makes you truly understand just how amazing the human body is. Each week the status updates on baby Nocera are crazy! The baby turns into a different size fruit or vegetable every week! It is so fascinating to see my body change as the baby grows. So much progression!! AND I am making this being (Joe is helping too!- He talks to my belly, makes sure I eat well, exercise, and get plenty of rest!).
I love being pregnant. Besides a little morning uneasiness and fatigue, I have felt great! No problems. I feel so lucky to have great health, family, friends and such a supportive husband. These blessings in my life really make me feel less nervous about the idea of being a parent. Although, it is only the first trimester. The nerves could be a bit more rattled closer to due date!

End of first trimester: Nausea and fatigue have subsided...gas has set in (hahahaha!). Pants are more snug and I am slowly getting limited to what I can wear. I have a small baby bump! And an active baby apparently. I swear I can feel the little booger moving (kind of a fluttering feeling), but books and nurses seem to disagree.

We have now told everyone. They are all thrilled!!

Joe and I are super excited to see what's in store for us for the second trimester. For the rest of the pregnancy I will have more week to week updates for everyone.

Next Doctor appointments:

January 18- Just a check up
February 7- Sonogram! Time to find out if baby Nocera is a girl or boy! Joe and I are planning on having the doctor write what the gender of our child is on a piece of paper in an envelope. Then, we will open it when we go to a nice dinner to celebrate Valentines day a little early. So we will call everyone later in the evening on that day.

February 20- Check up at potential new Obgyn in Atlanta at Emory

First Sonogram

12 weeks

12 week Sonogram