Pregnancy Update - 1st & 2nd Trimesters

Hello lovelies!

It's so hard to believe that I am almost at 6 months! The time has flown by. I have been bad at blogging lately this is going to be a 2 in 1 post for my 1st and 2nd trimester.

How Far Along:

25 weeks

Our Due Date:

July 12th, 2019

1st Trimester Recap:
I almost feel guilty posting this because I know so many women that have some terrible symptoms, but I have to say that I have had the easiest pregnancy anyone could ask for. I feel incredibly blessed. During the first 2 months or so I was soooo tired. I could sleep a whole 9 hours and still take a 2 hour nap. Other than that I didn't have any issues. I had zero morning sickness and zero nausea, but I did have other symptoms.

Symptoms:
- Wonderful Sleep!! I slept so hard and had the most vivid dreams it was incredible.
- Breast growth... holy moly! If any of you ladies were already well endowed prepare to feel like you're carrying cannon balls strapped to your chest. I had to buy new bras within the first 3 months and it hasn't stopped.
- Hunger pangs! I was constantly hungry, especially at night. My stomach would growl even a few hours after dinner.
- Kinda cravings? This one was weird. I never craved specific things, but I was influenced easily. If someone walked by with food or I saw it on TV, I had to have it! Other than that I ate normal.
- Food aversions... the thought of most vegetables grossed me out. Haha!

2nd Trimester Recap:
So I am coming near the end of my 2nd trimester now and this has been where I have actually felt pregnant. I popped right around 23-24 weeks, up until then I was hardly showing and one day I just had a belly. I have still been feeling great and working out, I will include a post about that later. The symptoms have increased, but nothing severe.

Symptoms:
- RESTLESS LEG SYNDROME - by far the worst symptom of all!! I didn't even believe it was a real thing until it happened. Flying on a plane was one of the worst feelings of all, for hours I felt like I had to move or twitch and the sensation would not go away.
- Emotional... overall I have not been very emotional, but there are days when it hits me out of no where. I will tear up easily at simple things, but no irritability yet.
- Out of breath... I'll walk into the grocery store and be huffing and puffing like I ran a mile.
- Hair growth! I almost forgot this one. My hair and nails seemed to almost completely stop growing when I got pregnant. I didn't notice it until about month 4, but I started taking some vitamins for it which I will link later.
- Restroom stop... of course there is always the infamous frequent trips to the restroom.

Movement:
I can finally feel her kick! It took awhile and I was not one of those people that felt "flutters" early on. It wasn't until about week 23 that I could really feel her move. Other people can finally feel her on the outside as well. I am so excited to see Will eventually and have him feel her.

Weight Gain:
17 lbs. It's tough to stand on the scale and gradually see your weight go up even though you know it's going to. I am trying to focus less on the weight gain and more on being healthy though. I am still within my limits of a healthy range so lets hope that doesn't change.

Fitness:
I have been consistently working out for the majority of my pregnancy so far. I will create a whole post for pregnancy fitness and products I recommend soon.

Thanks for reading!

Lots of Love,

Melissa

The Army Chapter 8 Process

As many of you may know I ended my army contract early due to pregnancy. It was definitely not an easy task, in fact the army made it very difficult. When I first made the decision I did a lot of research to try and find more information on the chapter 8 process and it was nearly impossible to find anything. I had to ask around and eventually just figure it out myself. So my hope is that this post will help other people in the future.

A few notes first...

If you're choosing to get out for pregnancy it is a chapter, most chapters are negative and it will seem as though you're having to do some things out of punishment, but that's the army for you. A chapter 8 is an honorable chapter though and you will get out under honorable conditions.

It is not a short process, it will take some time. I decided to get out in the beginning of November and didn't get out until mid February. Do not expect it to happen in a week or so.

You might have to deal with some push back, don't let that deter you. Your future and the baby's future are more important than anyone's opinion of you.

Most importantly... Every unit and every duty station is different and sadly the army has not created one final process for the chapter 8, so it may be different for your unit. My hope is that this information may help you in getting your chapter started. At the time I was stationed with the 82nd Airborne in Fort Bragg, so if any of you are stationed at Fort Bragg this will be very useful.

*I will try my best to put everything in order and be as brief as possible, I am not going to go into full detail this is meant as a guideline*

• Pregnancy Test & Profile - As soon as you get a positive pregnancy test you need to go to your medics, or healthcare center, and get a confirmed test. You will then get a pregnancy profile which will be the start of everything. 
• Letting People Know- Tell your chain of command as soon as possible. I would recommend taking some time and really planning out your future and making your decision before you go and talk to them first. I knew the date range I wanted to get out by and I had a final decision in mind. It's good to sound as confident and knowledgeable in the process as possible. I went in knowing I wanted to get out under the ch.8 and around the beginning of February. Your commander will then either help you along with the process and tell you what to do or he might not know anything about the process either.
• Documents You Will Need- I was not given any instruction so thankfully I knew a girl who had gotten out earlier that year and she was so helpful. You will need a: Letter of Intent, Assumption of Command Orders, Pregnancy Counseling, Memorandum stating pregnancy and due date. DA 4187 Stating pregnancy and volunteer out date.
• Talk to your Brigade Legal office- The legal office will be your main go between for your unit to the transition office that will cut your orders. Once you have gotten all the documents together that you need for the chapter process you will then take your completed chapter packet to the transition office.

Below was the checklist that the Fort Bragg Transition Office Required for Ch. 8

Chapter 8

(Separation of Enlisted Women- Pregnancy)

Transition Office must have the following items before a chapter packet can be processed

_____1.  Original Chapter Packet with signature and date; Approval Memorandum must state character of Service. See approval authority per AR 635-200 para 1-19.

_____2.  (CIF) Clothing Transaction Record – Automated DA Form 3645 “Zero balance”

_____3.  DA Form 4187 request for separation from Soldier with an expected release date.  The date must not be later than 30 days before the expected date of delivery or the latest date the military physician
will authorize travel.

_____4.  DA Form 3349 (Physical Profile) or memorandum which includes the estimated delivery date.

_____5.  A properly completed DA Form 4856 recording the pregnancy counseling from Commander (counseling)

_____6.  Report of Medical Assessment (DD Form 2697)

_____7.  Memorandum or Letter of Intent

_____8.  ERB (updated)
_____9.  UCMJ (if applicable)
_____10.  Military Personnel Documents:
                                               SGLV-8286 (Current within 12 months)
                                                  DD Form 93 (Current within 12 months)
                                                  Initial Contract 4/1, 4/2/ 4/3 (no 4/3 if prior service)
                                               * Reenlistment Contract 4/1
                                               * Extensions (DD Form 1695)
                                               * DD 214s for any prior service
                                                                                                *if applicable

Note:  Date of discharge must not be later than 30 days prior to the expected date of delivery, if Soldier is beyond this date Soldier MUST have a doctor’s note if traveling.

• Turn in CIF Gear- try and do this as soon as possible because it can be a lengthy process.
• Sign up for SFL/TAP- Everyone has to do it so get started ASAP.

Once you have gotten all that done the Transition office will then give you a checklist and things will go smoother from there and you'll have orders cut with more instructions on what to next. I had to jump through so many hoops and was turned away at so many places because people were misinformed. It is sad that there is not more of a set standard for this and I hope that anyone reading this has an easier time than I did. Good Luck!

Things to note:

-If you got a sign-up bonus when you first enlisted you will have to pay it back.

-You will still get the GI Bill.

-It is an honorable chapter.

Life Lately

Hello friends! Wow it has been a long time since I have been on blogger, but it has been fun getting acquainted with it again. I have decided to start blogging again for a fun outlet for myself as I begin the next crazy journey in my life. I will make this short because I don't want to type a lot tonight.

I spent the past 3 years in the Army, the 82nd Airborne Division to be exact, it has been fun, but life had other plans and I am moving on. I will be getting out of the army this February (in a few weeks).

On January 12th I got to marry the man of my dreams, William. We met about 2 years ago through mutual friends and immediately hit it off.

I am currently 16 weeks pregnant with a sweet baby girl on the way! Surprise! (Just kidding... most everybody in our lives knows) So yes, for all the curious ones out there, Will and I did expedite our marriage due to the news of my pregnancy. It was already in the cards for us and we knew we wanted to be together, but with the Army being the way that it is, our process got sped up. We do not regret it at all! :)

Will found out he was being stationed in Okinawa, Japan this past August and I will be following him there in April.

I am excited for the next chapter in our lives and welcome anyone to follow along on this blog.

Travel post from the past - Israel

When I was a senior in high school I was lucky enough to accompany my Nana on one of her church trips to Israel. And before time slips away and I can't remember anything I thought I would share a few pictures and memories from the trip. I've been slacking on updating my travel posts lately.

When I look back to all the places I've been this is still one of my favorites. I would love to go back in the future and explore more on my own. It's truly a beautiful country with so much rich history.

           

I included these 2 pictures because this was the most interesting part of the whole trip. We were taking a day trip to Mt. Tabor in lower Galilee. I kid you not when I say this it was the most frightening and exciting road trip ever. The picture above is a google earth image I found on google and that is the (mainly) dirt road we had to travel up in this little bus. It was raining and foggy and there were no guard rails on the road. His son just sat thee on the end of his seat and watched us. Everyone on the bus was cringing and I couldn't help but laugh. It would've been an interesting way to go, that's for sure!

Massada is a lofty plateau in the spectacular desert setting overlooking the Dead Sea. It is a palace-fortress Herod the Great built to last forever, a refuge for Jewish rebels in the century of Jesus, and later for Christian monks, and a World Heritage Site today.

The Dead Sea

My favorite place. It was a darling small town that we stopped to eat lunch in and I found this ice cream shop. There was also a hammock hanging outside that you can't see in this photo. :)

Jerusalem. The main iconic Dome of the Rock is to the left of this photo.

Just another beautiful and unique country. I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to go there.

Have a wonderful day!

- M

UPDATE:

I'm starting a "Nutritious and Delicious" portion of my blog. It's going to have an array of healthy and sinful sweet recipes soon!

Pinterest Pick - DIY Coffee Scrub

Hello everyone :)

So I added 2 new tabs recently and I've failed to work much on them. I've had a few Pinterest picks that I've been meaning to post lately so I'll go ahead and tell y'all about one now.

I'm also about to work on my fitness page. So take a look :)

DIY Coffee Scrub

What you'll need:

Some type of jar or container

Open space to do it

1 cup ground coffee

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup of olive oil

1/4 cup coconut oil

1 tbsp cinnamon

Okay seriously this stuff is AMAAAZINGGG. You smell like coffee, but it makes your skin feel so good! This recipe also makes a ton, so I just stored it in a jelly jar and used it again later. The first time I did it I wore a bathing suit and did it in the grass outside because seriously it is so messy. I literally rinsed off with a hose and then showered. The second time I did it in the shower and that was a terrible idea. I had coffee remnants in my shower for days! But yes the DIY coffee scrubs on pinterest are totally worth it. There are a ton of different kinds, but I loved this one because I love how coconut oil make my skin feel, but you can try others. Good luck! I hope yall like it as much as I did.

-M