14 Things I Love About Being Pregnant

1. Okay, I'll just cut to the chase with the obvious perk to being pregnant. My boobs are bigger!
2. I get to eat more food and I am more compelled to eat healthy foods.
3. I have a real reason to exercise (when you are thin, it's kind of hard to find motivation to exercise, but with a baby in tow and a goal to have natural birth, I am more motivated!)
4. I can feel a little person move inside me all the time. It's like a constant friend!
5. Maternity clothes are SO comfortable! Seriously, I'm surprised that more women don't wear maternity clothes all the time. I have 3 new pairs of business pants that fit me perfectly in the waist, butt and to the ankles. One pair was the first maternity pants I ever tried on at Target and the other two I bought online with absolutely no problems. The trick is that they are designed to fit any figure-- HELLO! Why aren't all pants like that? I don't even own two normal pairs of business pants that fit me before being pregnant because it is so difficult to find pants that fit correctly. Also, another perk about maternity pants is that they have extra fabric that covers your belly and back-- perfect for a job where one is constantly on the ground with little kids. I don't have to worry about my midriff showing. Maternity shirts are also great because they are extra long in the waist- another plus for a tall person like me.
6. I haven't been wearing bras. (shhh! don't tell anyone at work!) What freedom! I guess that makes me a hippie, but since my breasts are changing so fast, I can't find anything that's comfortable enough.
7. I don't have to lift or move heavy things. Which means that I don't have to haul laundry around if I think it's too heavy.
8. I get to wear tennis shoes to work instead of stupid business shoes and high heels.
9. Jeremy doesn't get made at me when I wear his pajamas now.
10. I have discovered thigh-high stockings. This is the perfect solution because they go up your leg farther than knee highs, but you don't have to be suffocated in the hips and have your butt get all sweaty from the full length nylons. Thigh highs are a keeper for me!
11. I don't have to wash the tub because it "breaks my back" to bend over for so long. (at least that's what I tell Jeremy).
12. I can eat snacks during church.
13. I get free samples and goodies from my doctors.
14. Jeremy and I tried doing pregnant yoga today, and that was super fun. I love the new things that we are experiencing together through this pregnancy!

Belly Photos

18 Weeks

To me, this doesn't look any different than the size I was at 12 weeks. Compare with earlier posts.

20 Weeks

Within two weeks, I popped out quite a bit!

23 Weeks

Now I look like a pregnant woman!

23 Weeks, different shirt.

Next week, I will be 6 months pregnant!! This is going by really fast.

What's up, homey?

Jeremy- Hey SarahLynn, don't forget to bring a Poh-mee with you to Katie's wedding.

SarahLynn- Huh? What's a poh-mee?

Jeremy- Oh, not much, what's up with you? haha!

I'm still laughing out loud by this. I love how Jeremy makes me laugh every day!

(if you say it out loud, "what's a poh-mee" sounds just like "what's up, homey?")

Now for a general update of our lives:

Jeremy finished another term of grad school last week (getting his MBA at USC). He has also had several important meetings with his customers at work, which have caused a LOT of stress and a lot of extra hours. The past two months have especially been difficult for him.

I've been busy with work, obviously. We had our annual Open House on Friday night, which is the most important day of the school year. Hundreds, sometimes thousands, of people come to tour the school. My students did an awesome job performing at the event, and I think the CEO and owner of the school were really impressed.

As soon as Open House was over (8:00pm Fri night) Jeremy and I started driving like mad people to Sacramento to make it to Katie's wedding (our sister) the next day. The traffic and pouring rain slowed us down a little, but we were doing fine until...I realized I forgot my purse at the school. It wouldn't have been such a big deal if my temple recommend wasn't in it! So, we turned around to get it, much to Jeremy's chagrin. This added 2 more hours to our trip, so we didn't get to Sac until 5:00 am. To say that the drive totally sucked is an understatement. We just hope someday Katie appreciates what we did to be at her wedding.

The wedding ceremony int he temple was beautiful! And the reception was awesome-great DJ, dancing, food and fun. Now we are back home. Luckily I get the day off today, which is why I am amble to make a blog post.

Pregnancy is going well. We switched to a midwife that delivers at the hospital right next to our house. This will be a good balance between the widely different views and opinions that Jeremy and I have about child birth (He thinks births are only safe at hospitals and that Ob's know what's best, I think births are best done natural with a midwife, preferably at home). We also have a doula (birth coach) that has been amazing.

Funny thing about the childbirth debate- at the wedding reception, I finally met Jeremy's high school girlfriend who was a great friend to Jeremy. We got to talking and it turns out that she has the exact same views about childbirth that I have!! She delivered naturally and is even more enthusiastic about it than me! So Jeremy would have gotten stuck with a "hippie-dippie" wife no matter what! Ha!

Sorry, no pictures. Maybe next time.

Teaching while Being Pregnant

I'm 4 1/2 months pregnant, and you would never know by looking at me. Some days, I look the same size that I was at 12 weeks, and other days, I'm so big, I can't see my feet when look down while standing up. It has a lot to do with how much I eat in one sitting.

There isn't anyone more disapointed about my slow and inconsistently growing belly than my students. Much to my surprise, they have been very interested and involved in my pregnancy! From the day I told each class that I was pregnant, everyone from Junior Kindergarten students (4 and 5 years old) to my 8th graders (13 and 14 years old) have been showing interest in my pregnancy.

And their excitement doesn't end in my classroom. Almost everyday, a new parent will tell me how their child talks about me and my soon-to-be baby. I also get teachers telling me that their students talk about my baby at recess, in class, on the PE field and on the buses.

Here are some of the comments and questions I get on a daily basis:

• 2nd grade kids- Can we see your belly? (I press my clothes against my belly so they can see better) WOAH...it's getting BIG!
• Kindergarten girl- Do you want it to be a boy or a girl? I want it to be a GIRL!!
• 1st grade, 3rd grade, JH kids- Can we take care of it when the baby is born? I'm really good with kids.
• 5th graders arguing- What are you going to name it? Will you PLEASE name it after me!? NO. Name it after me!! If it's a boy, name it after ME!
• 1st grade boy- Will you bring it to school so we can play with it?
• JH girls and boys- Do you need help moving that? You shouldn't be doing that, you know, since you're pregnant.
• 5th grade girl- How DO you get pregnant, anyway?
• Kinder girl- Is it okay if I hug you? I don't want to hurt the baby.
• Many students in Kinder- Goodbye Mrs. Zavoral! (while patting my belly) Goodbye, Little One!
• JH girls- Preggers!! How are you? Can I feel the baby!?
• Kinder-How do you get the baby out of you?

I hope this excitement continues. It is a neat experience to have my students--whom I consider my own kids in many way--so excited about my first baby. If I go back to work after the baby is born, then I think it will help make the two worlds of being a parent and a teacher seem less distant from each other.

The Long Awaited "Announcement"

That's right....

WE'RE PREGNANT!!!

I am almost 15 weeks along, and the baby is due around June 26. We've been trying to get pregnant for 3 years now, so we are VERY excited.

(Clearest ultrasound we have. 11 weeks. Round object on top is the head. Two dark circles in head are the two hemispheres of the brain. White marks are the cheekbones and jawline. You can also make out profile of eyes and nose. Possibly hand at mouth, getting ready to suck finger!)

Since many of you or your friends have experienced infertility, I'll tell our story. Otherwise, you can stop reading here and just scroll through the pictures. This is a really long post, mostly for me and posterity's sake, so don't feel obligated to read.

Accepting Infertility

Even before we went off birth control, I had a feeling that I would have some fertility issues. So I made a personal commitment, of which I kept, to never get depressed about our infertility. Every time that we prayed or fasted about getting pregnant, we always felt that there was no need to worry, everything was in the Lord's hands and timing. So we remained very patient (although the same can't be said for our parents, haha.) And even though it seemed like ALL of our friends were having their first and second and even third babies without us, we weren't in any super rush to get pregnant.

I guess you can say my teaching job helped keep me from getting too worried about it, as evil as some may think that sounds. But truly, I can't imagine getting pregnant any sooner than now. I know from many personal witnesses that the Lord has guided me in my career and I have specific missions on earth to fulfill with teaching other children. So I know that there are many divine reasons why we have not become pregnant until now.

Getting Help

After about 1 1/2 years, I got this awesome book called Taking Control of Your Fertility. And I learned so much about my body and I learned to chart my cycles. Then, this past summer we felt it was time to get some professional help (by this point it was more than 2 1/2 years of trying). We got tested and to my surprise, everything came out normal.

Right before one of the tests (called the HSG), I asked Jeremy to give me a blessing because the procedure involved shooting die up into my uterus. In the blessing, I was told that Heavenly Father was aware of our desires and this procedure was the right thing to do in going forward.

This test also came out normal, so we weren't really sure what to do. We basically had "unexplained infertility." There were several options like clomid, in vitro, or adoption, but school started before we got a chance to sit down with our doctor to discuss them. The only thing I knew was that I personally did not want to give myself shots in order to get pregnant.

An Unexpected Discovery

Shortly after the HSG procedure, I had my first normal cycle. This was the first time in years! I started thinking that maybe I wasn't charting my cycles correctly and I probably ovulate every few months. But the next cycle seemed back to my usual 38-42 day length. This took us to the end of October, where I was on day 44, still no period. I remember telling Jeremy, "I don't know what my body is up to! I guess the normal cycle was just a fluke. I'm obviously very infertile." Day 45, day 46 and still no period!

Finally Jeremy suggested we take a pregnancy test. I didn't really want to since I knew it would just say no again. Plus, what if it was positive? Then our whole lives would change! Was I ready for it? Of course I was, we obviously have wanted this for a long time. But was I really ready!?!

(ultrasound at 7 weeks)

The test came out positive. But it was a really faint line. So we waited until the next day to take another test. It came out positive again! Still in partial disbelief, we called our fertility doctor. He asked me the day of my last period and figured I must be 7 weeks pregnant! He ordered-literally ordered- me into his office the next day. Sure enough, there was our little pinto bean baby! We were 7 weeks, and 1 day pregnant!

Making Sense of it All

We started rewinding our lives to figure out when the baby was conceived. Now it made sense why I was craving comfort foods like mac&cheese, PB&J, hot dogs and even spaghetti O's, of which I hadn't eaten since I was 6 years old! And now I knew why I was SO exhausted at work all the time and emotionally unlike myself.

Also, it was pretty obvious that the HSG procedure is what allowed me to get pregnant. Actually, it is quite common for women to conceive 2-3 months after this procedure. So we knew from the priesthood blessing that God's hands were in this entire process.

So our fertility doctor tracked us every week to make sure things "stuck." Even though we had to be at his office at 6:30 AM every Monday morning, it was worth it because we got to see 6 consecutive weeks of ultrasounds! We heard the heart beat at 11 weeks and graduated from the fertility clinic at 12 weeks.

(ultrasound at 10 weeks)

Now that I am in my second trimester, I feel a lot better. No more feeling nauseous at lunchtime everyday. Now we have an OB, but are looking for a good midwife and birth center/hospital that we feel will support a natural birth. As Jeremy puts it, I want to go "hippie" style with our birth.

(Green top: 10 weeks

Red top: 12 weeks)

This experience has taught (or re-taught) me a few important things:

1) When we do what's right and trust in God's timing and wisdom, He will not let us down. He can't because He has promised us that He won't, and God cannot lie.

2) God has his own timeline and plan for each family and each couple. It is not our place to compare or judge.

3) Heavenly Father understands our individual needs perfectly. He knew that Jeremy and I needed to grow in certain ways (personally and as a couple) before becoming parents.

4) Love for your spouse grows stronger through challenging times. Many times Jeremy and I would ask each other, "If we can't get pregnant because of me, will you still love me? Will you feel cheated in this marriage if I can't bear you a child?" And every time we would answer the other with true love and compassion, "I will always love you, no matter what! I married you because of who you are, and whether or not you're fertile won't change that."

5) There are a lot of righteous women in the Bible who could not get pregnant. What great examples they are of having faith in the Lord and enduring to the end!

6) Being married without kids is a precious, precious time. We are so blessed to have had so much fun together as a couple. We will be married for almost 5 years when the baby is born. This is a special gift of time for us that we have never taken lightly. Now that a baby is on the way, we are starting to wonder where all the time went!!

7) Adoption is an amazing thing. If we didn't get pregnant by the New Year, we would have started to enroll in adoption agencies. And we still plan on adopting children in the future.

8) Our bodies are amazing, and conceiving a child is truly a miracle! No matter what this pregnancy brings (as we are still aware of the possibility of miscarriage) we are grateful that we have had the opportunity to conceive a child! No matter what happens, because of temple blessings, this baby will always be ours!!

Pacific Coast Road Trip

We took the long and scenic route to Sacramento this December. We spent 4 days and 3 nights along the PCH. It was a wonderful trip!

Monday: Headed to Santa Barbara after work. Luckily no traffic the whole way. Stayed in a darling guest house with homemade banana nut bread. Watched TV!! (we don't have TV anymore, so that was a treat).

Tuesday: Lunch in Old Town Santa Barbara. Explored an old Catholic Mission, which was surprisingly fascinating and educational. Jeremy and I keep realizing how nerdy we are because we keep finding ourselves liking historical things! Continued our drive up the coast through pretty orchards and hills. Minimal rain. Paid $27 for a medium pizza (the lowest point of the vacation). Watched TV and enjoyed our private, real fireplace.

Wednesday: Enjoyed green rolling hills, enchanted trees and the misty weather--felt like England. Spent almost 2 hours watching the wild elephant seals on the beach. Great free entertainment! They were bellowing, fighting, mating, sleeping, snoring, scratching, nursing, and birthing. Incredible!

Then, we went on a tour of Hearst Castle. It was like a trip to a fairy tale.

Thursday: Spent more time with the elephant seals--couldn't get enough of them! Headed to Monterey with sunshine and clear skies. Had to keep stopping to take pictures of the GORGEOUS views of the ocean and cliffs. Spotted several whales blowing out in the ocean. Could have spent the whole day stopping and watching along the PCH.

Then, we explored the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Most fascinating to me were the cuttlefish (kind of like mini octopus that kept changing color), the jellyfish, and the kelp (seaweed). Jeremy had to drag me away from the kelp booth because I overstayed my welcome with a few too many questions...but I couldn't help myself! Kelp has to be the most fascinating seaweed there is. It grows 12-24 inches a day and the holdfast (roots) contains almost all the necessities of life for the entire ecosystem. And kelp only grows in moving water, is used in ice cream and toothpaste... okay... I'm getting carried away again, sorry!

We made it to Sacramento by Thursday night, with enough time to visit family before going to bed. What an awesome vacation for just the two of us before the Christmas festivities!

Thanksgiving Highlights

We were in Sacramento for Thanksgiving, which featured:

• All 5 Zavoral kids together
• Decorating church Christmas trees as a family
• Lots of meals out- including Spaghetti factory with Granma Ginny and cousins
• Boys playing basketball
• Katie got engaged to Steve Garrett
• Football bowl on Thanksgiving day with hot chocolate
• Family "howling" contest with Cody (the family dog)
• Big turkey dinner at Gramma Davidson's house
• Pie party at Brian Hill's house
• Wii sports games
• Pancake breakfast made by Jeremy and Steve
  

What Happened?

This is what our back door looked like on Friday afternoon when Jeremy came home from his business trip. Submit your guess to what happened. The person that is closest to being correct will be the winner!

The Interview

Interviewer: Jeremy

Interviewee: SarahLynn

Question: So SarahLynn, it's been a while since you've blogged about anything. What is your post going to be about?

Answer: Well, nothing has really happened to us in the last few weeks. I've literally just been at work, and you are always at work or school. So there is nothing really interesting to post about.

Q: Well, why don't you tell them about the shows you are directing at school?

A: I don't think people want to hear about that.

Q: Well, they might. What's your show about that you are doing this Wednesday?

A: Oh, it's the 2nd grade show, called DinoStars. It's going to be SO cute. The kids basically sing and dance about dinos, and they will each be dressed up like a different dinosaur.

Q: Cool! Who makes all the costumes?

A: The parents do. It's really great because it makes each child look unique, and it's one less thing I have to worry about.

Q: What about the next show?

A: Well, two weeks after Dinostars, the 4th graders will be doing a play I wrote called Gold Fever.

Q: Wait, YOU wrote it? I thought you've been buying all those kids' musicals. Other people can write the plays you know.

A: Yeah, I know. I bought two different gold rush plays, but neither of them were that great. So I took what was best from each play and then kind of meshed them together to fit my own artistic preferences. It's probably not legal, so don't tell anybody.

Q: By the way, where were you Friday night?

A: Oh! I was at the 8th grade girl over-night bonding trip!!! I got to be one of the chaperones. We stayed at this huge mansion on a hill in Orange. There were 19 girls, and they gave me hand massages and braided my hair.

Q: Didn't you make them wear you underwear or something?

A: Huh?

Q: You said earlier that they were passing around your bra and trying it on?

A: You're making me sound like a pedophile! Okay. It's kind of long story. All the girls were sitting in a circle confessing who they liked. Then they decided to confess their bra sizes to each other. When they asked me, I honestly didn't know because I haven't shopped for bras in like years. So one extra spunky girl volunteered to go get my bra and check my size. When she came back, she had gotten both mine and another teacher's bra and put them on over her PJ's!! It was hysterical! Then, a bunch of other girls passed around the bras and tried them on. It was late at night. Haha.

Q: 8th grade girls are kinda insane.

A: Not as much as the 8th grade boys. Luckily, they went fishing with the principal.

Q: So, who are you voting for on Tuesday?

A: Uh....I'm just gonna vote for all the people you vote for. I don't really have time to learn about each candidate.

Q: You should at least know about the education candidates.

A: Oooo. Good point. I don't trust you on that subject. Okay, let me get out of this blog window so we can do some research on those guys.

Project Bandaloop

We found a free performance at the OC Fine Arts Center last week. It was a show where people dance outside, on the side of a building, hanging from ropes! They call themselves project bandaloop. It was really cool!

We were able to make a triple date out of it, so that was an added plus. We haven't done a group date in a really long time, so it was definitely a hallmark in our social life!

Seriously, how cool is this? I want to learn how to dance while hanging from buildings, too!

Laguna Wilderness Hike

Last week, we joined Jeremy's MBA friends on a hike through Laguna Beach Wilderness. The hike was short-5.5 miles- but it was 108 degrees out that day, with no shade on the entire trail. Plus, the night before the hike I got 3rd place in my school's teacher-pie-eating contest (out of 26!), so that made it pretty interesting.

Even though it was boiling, we had fun and there were wonderful views of rolling hills with deserty wildlife. When we made it to the hill that overlooked the beach, it was so relieving! We hiked into town and ate lunch together at a yummy restaurant.

Can you see Jeremy's beard in this picture (above)? He grew it out for an entire week to see exactly where his beard line is. Since he's a "ginger," his hair grows in red, and it has a funny pattern to it. Here's a closer picture for you to see the areas where the hair grows long and where he has what we call "desert patches."

ships, bouquets and cousins

Our Saturday, we began our trip with a tour on the USS Midway. Mom and Dad R were in town for the wedding, so they came with us and some of Jeremy's friends from work. It was really, really cool. I can't believe how huge the thing is and how they were able to get planes to take off and land on that thing. The craziest part is how they cram all the military guys into the ship. I would never be able to do that.

It was funny to see them show planes and ship technology from 1991...as if it was ancient artifacts.
There was so much to see and learn! I wish we could have stayed on the ship longer, but we had to go to a wedding!

The wedding was for a distant cousin on my mom's side. It was really nice, on a beach in la Jolla. The best part is that- thanks to Uncle Lyman- my cousin Amanda was there!! She has always been one of my favorite cousins because of her spunk and energy. I still laugh out loud thinking about her as a four-year-old sauntering around grandma's backyard, purposefully being sassy and silly all at the same time. Too cute! Anyway, Amanda has truly become a beautiful young woman. She is SO ambitious and proactive. It was awesome to catch up with her!! I love you Amanda!!!