Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

Last updated: March 27, 2020

This Privacy Policy describes Our policies and procedures on the collection, use and disclosure of Your information when You use the Service and tells You about Your privacy rights and how the law protects You.

We use Your Personal data to provide and improve the Service. By using the Service, You agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

Interpretation and Definitions

Interpretation

The words of which the initial letter is capitalized have meanings defined under the following conditions.

The following definitions shall have the same meaning regardless of whether they appear in singular or in plural.

Definitions

For the purposes of this Privacy Policy:

You means the individual accessing or using the Service, or the company, or other legal entity on behalf of which such individual is accessing or using the Service, as applicable.

Under GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), You can be referred to as the Data Subject or as the User as you are the individual using the Service.

Company (referred to as either "the Company", "We", "Us" or "Our" in this Agreement) refers to Connect The Dots Ginger.

For the purpose of the GDPR, the Company is the Data Controller.

• Affiliate means an entity that controls, is controlled by or is under common control with a party, where "control" means ownership of 50% or more of the shares, equity interest or other securities entitled to vote for election of directors or other managing authority.
• Account means a unique account created for You to access our Service or parts of our Service.
• Website refers to Connect The Dots Ginger, accessible from http://connectthedotsginger.com
• Service refers to the Website.
• Country refers to: Virginia, United States

Service Provider means any natural or legal person who processes the data on behalf of the Company. It refers to third-party companies or individuals employed by the Company to facilitate the Service, to provide the Service on behalf of the Company, to perform services related to the Service or to assist the Company in analyzing how the Service is used.

For the purpose of the GDPR, Service Providers are considered Data Processors.

• Third-party Social Media Service refers to any website or any social network website through which a User can log in or create an account to use the Service.
• Facebook Fan Page is a public profile named Connect The Dots Ginger specifically created by the Company on the Facebook social network, accessible from https://www.facebook.com/connectthedotsginger/

Personal Data is any information that relates to an identified or identifiable individual.

For the purposes for GDPR, Personal Data means any information relating to You such as a name, an identification number, location data, online identifier or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity.

For the purposes of the CCPA, Personal Data means any information that identifies, relates to, describes or is capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, with You.

• Cookies are small files that are placed on Your computer, mobile device or any other device by a website, containing the details of Your browsing history on that website among its many uses.
• Usage Data refers to data collected automatically, either generated by the use of the Service or from the Service infrastructure itself (for example, the duration of a page visit).
• Data Controller, for the purposes of the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), refers to the Company as the legal person which alone or jointly with others determines the purposes and means of the processing of Personal Data.
• Do Not Track (DNT) is a concept that has been promoted by US regulatory authorities, in particular the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), for the Internet industry to develop and implement a mechanism for allowing internet users to control the tracking of their online activities across websites.
• Business, for the purpose of the CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act), refers to the Company as the legal entity that collects Consumers' personal information and determines the purposes and means of the processing of Consumers' personal information, or on behalf of which such information is collected and that alone, or jointly with others, determines the purposes and means of the processing of consumers' personal information, that does business in the State of California.
• Consumer, for the purpose of the CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act), means a natural person who is a California resident. A resident, as defined in the law, includes (1) every individual who is in the USA for other than a temporary or transitory purpose, and (2) every individual who is domiciled in the USA who is outside the USA for a temporary or transitory purpose.
• Sale, for the purpose of the CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act), means selling, renting, releasing, disclosing, disseminating, making available, transferring, or otherwise communicating orally, in writing, or by electronic or other means, a Consumer's Personal information to another business or a third party for monetary or other valuable consideration.

Collecting and Using Your Personal Data

Types of Data Collected

Personal Data

While using Our Service, We may ask You to provide Us with certain personally identifiable information that can be used to contact or identify You. Personally identifiable information may include, but is not limited to:

• Email address
• First name and last name
• Usage Data

Usage Data

Usage Data is collected automatically when using the Service.

Usage Data may include information such as Your Device's Internet Protocol address (e.g. IP address), browser type, browser version, the pages of our Service that You visit, the time and date of Your visit, the time spent on those pages, unique device identifiers and other diagnostic data.

When You access the Service by or through a mobile device, We may collect certain information automatically, including, but not limited to, the type of mobile device You use, Your mobile device unique ID, the IP address of Your mobile device, Your mobile operating system, the type of mobile Internet browser You use, unique device identifiers and other diagnostic data.

We may also collect information that Your browser sends whenever You visit our Service or when You access the Service by or through a mobile device.

Tracking Technologies and Cookies

We use Cookies and similar tracking technologies to track the activity on Our Service and store certain information. Tracking technologies used are beacons, tags, and scripts to collect and track information and to improve and analyze Our Service.

You can instruct Your browser to refuse all Cookies or to indicate when a Cookie is being sent. However, if You do not accept Cookies, You may not be able to use some parts of our Service.

Cookies can be "Persistent" or "Session" Cookies. Persistent Cookies remain on your personal computer or mobile device when You go offline, while Session Cookies are deleted as soon as You close your web browser. Learn more about cookies here: Cookies: What Do They Do?

We use both session and persistent Cookies for the purposes set out below:

Necessary / Essential Cookies

Type: Session Cookies

Administered by: Us

Purpose: These Cookies are essential to provide You with services available through the Website and to enable You to use some of its features. They help to authenticate users and prevent fraudulent use of user accounts. Without these Cookies, the services that You have asked for cannot be provided, and We only use these Cookies to provide You with those services.

Cookies Policy / Notice Acceptance Cookies

Type: Persistent Cookies

Administered by: Us

Purpose: These Cookies identify if users have accepted the use of cookies on the Website.

Functionality Cookies

Type: Persistent Cookies

Administered by: Us

Purpose: These Cookies allow us to remember choices You make when You use the Website, such as remembering your login details or language preference. The purpose of these Cookies is to provide You with a more personal experience and to avoid You having to re-enter your preferences every time You use the Website.

Tracking and Performance Cookies

Type: Persistent Cookies

Administered by: Third-Parties

Purpose: These Cookies are used to track information about traffic to the Website and how users use the Website. The information gathered via these Cookies may directly or indirectly identify you as an individual visitor. This is because the information collected is typically linked to a pseudonymous identifier associated with the device you use to access the Website. We may also use these Cookies to test new advertisements, pages, features or new functionality of the Website to see how our users react to them.

Targeting and Advertising Cookies

Type: Persistent Cookies

Administered by: Third-Parties

Purpose: These Cookies track your browsing habits to enable Us to show advertising which is more likely to be of interest to You. These Cookies use information about your browsing history to group You with other users who have similar interests. Based on that information, and with Our permission, third party advertisers can place Cookies to enable them to show adverts which We think will be relevant to your interests while You are on third party websites.

For more information about the cookies we use and your choices regarding cookies, please visit our Cookies Policy.

Use of Your Personal Data

The Company may use Personal Data for the following purposes:

• To provide and maintain our Service, including to monitor the usage of our Service.
• To manage Your Account: to manage Your registration as a user of the Service. The Personal Data You provide can give You access to different functionalities of the Service that are available to You as a registered user.
• For the performance of a contract: the development, compliance and undertaking of the purchase contract for the products, items or services You have purchased or of any other contract with Us through the Service.
• To contact You: To contact You by email, telephone calls, SMS, or other equivalent forms of electronic communication, such as a mobile application's push notifications regarding updates or informative communications related to the functionalities, products or contracted services, including the security updates, when necessary or reasonable for their implementation.
• To provide You with news, special offers and general information about other goods, services and events which we offer that are similar to those that you have already purchased or enquired about unless You have opted not to receive such information.
• To manage Your requests: To attend and manage Your requests to Us.

We may share your personal information in the following situations:

• With Service Providers: We may share Your personal information with Service Providers to monitor and analyze the use of our Service, to show advertisements to You to help support and maintain Our Service, to contact You, to advertise on third party websites to You after You visited our Service or for payment processing.
• For Business transfers: We may share or transfer Your personal information in connection with, or during negotiations of, any merger, sale of Company assets, financing, or acquisition of all or a portion of our business to another company.
• With Affiliates: We may share Your information with Our affiliates, in which case we will require those affiliates to honor this Privacy Policy. Affiliates include Our parent company and any other subsidiaries, joint venture partners or other companies that We control or that are under common control with Us.
• With Business partners: We may share Your information with Our business partners to offer You certain products, services or promotions.
• With other users: when You share personal information or otherwise interact in the public areas with other users, such information may be viewed by all users and may be publicly distributed outside. If You interact with other users or register through a Third-Party Social Media Service, Your contacts on the Third-Party Social Media Service may see Your name, profile, pictures and description of Your activity. Similarly, other users will be able to view descriptions of Your activity, communicate with You and view Your profile.

Retention of Your Personal Data

The Company will retain Your Personal Data only for as long as is necessary for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy. We will retain and use Your Personal Data to the extent necessary to comply with our legal obligations (for example, if we are required to retain your data to comply with applicable laws), resolve disputes, and enforce our legal agreements and policies.

The Company will also retain Usage Data for internal analysis purposes. Usage Data is generally retained for a shorter period of time, except when this data is used to strengthen the security or to improve the functionality of Our Service, or We are legally obligated to retain this data for longer time periods.

Transfer of Your Personal Data

Your information, including Personal Data, is processed at the Company's operating offices and in any other places where the parties involved in the processing are located. It means that this information may be transferred to — and maintained on — computers located outside of Your state, province, country or other governmental jurisdiction where the data protection laws may differ than those from Your jurisdiction.

Your consent to this Privacy Policy followed by Your submission of such information represents Your agreement to that transfer.

The Company will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that Your data is treated securely and in accordance with this Privacy Policy and no transfer of Your Personal Data will take place to an organization or a country unless there are adequate controls in place including the security of Your data and other personal information.

Disclosure of Your Personal Data

Business Transactions

If the Company is involved in a merger, acquisition or asset sale, Your Personal Data may be transferred. We will provide notice before Your Personal Data is transferred and becomes subject to a different Privacy Policy.

Law enforcement

Under certain circumstances, the Company may be required to disclose Your Personal Data if required to do so by law or in response to valid requests by public authorities (e.g. a court or a government agency).

Other legal requirements

The Company may disclose Your Personal Data in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to:

• Comply with a legal obligation
• Protect and defend the rights or property of the Company
• Prevent or investigate possible wrongdoing in connection with the Service
• Protect the personal safety of Users of the Service or the public
• Protect against legal liability

Security of Your Personal Data

The security of Your Personal Data is important to Us, but remember that no method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. While We strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect Your Personal Data, We cannot guarantee its absolute security.

Detailed Information on the Processing of Your Personal Data

Service Providers have access to Your Personal Data only to perform their tasks on Our behalf and are obligated not to disclose or use it for any other purpose.

Analytics

We may use third-party Service providers to monitor and analyze the use of our Service.

Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a web analytics service offered by Google that tracks and reports website traffic. Google uses the data collected to track and monitor the use of our Service. This data is shared with other Google services. Google may use the collected data to contextualise and personalise the ads of its own advertising network.

You can opt-out of having made your activity on the Service available to Google Analytics by installing the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on. The add-on prevents the Google Analytics JavaScript (ga.js, analytics.js and dc.js) from sharing information with Google Analytics about visits activity.

For more information on the privacy practices of Google, please visit the Google Privacy Terms web page: https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en

Advertising

We may use Service providers to show advertisements to You to help support and maintain Our Service.

Google AdSense DoubleClick Cookie

Google, as a third party vendor, uses cookies to serve ads on our Service. Google's use of the DoubleClick cookie enables it and its partners to serve ads to our users based on their visit to our Service or other websites on the Internet.

You may opt out of the use of the DoubleClick Cookie for interest-based advertising by visiting the Google Ads Settings web page: http://www.google.com/ads/preferences/

Email Marketing

We may use Your Personal Data to contact You with newsletters, marketing or promotional materials and other information that may be of interest to You. You may opt-out of receiving any, or all, of these communications from Us by following the unsubscribe link or instructions provided in any email We send or by contacting Us.

We may use Email Marketing Service Providers to manage and send emails to You.

Mailchimp

Mailchimp is an email marketing sending service provided by The Rocket Science Group LLC.

For more information on the privacy practices of Mailchimp, please visit their Privacy policy: https://mailchimp.com/legal/privacy/

Payments

We may provide paid products and/or services within the Service. In that case, we may use third-party services for payment processing (e.g. payment processors).

We will not store or collect Your payment card details. That information is provided directly to Our third-party payment processors whose use of Your personal information is governed by their Privacy Policy. These payment processors adhere to the standards set by PCI-DSS as managed by the PCI Security Standards Council, which is a joint effort of brands like Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover. PCI-DSS requirements help ensure the secure handling of payment information.

Stripe

Their Privacy Policy can be viewed at https://stripe.com/us/privacy

PayPal

Their Privacy Policy can be viewed at https://www.paypal.com/webapps/mpp/ua/privacy-full

GDPR Privacy

Legal Basis for Processing Personal Data under GDPR

We may process Personal Data under the following conditions:

• Consent: You have given Your consent for processing Personal Data for one or more specific purposes.
• Performance of a contract: Provision of Personal Data is necessary for the performance of an agreement with You and/or for any pre-contractual obligations thereof.
• Legal obligations: Processing Personal Data is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which the Company is subject.
• Vital interests: Processing Personal Data is necessary in order to protect Your vital interests or of another natural person.
• Public interests: Processing Personal Data is related to a task that is carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the Company.
• Legitimate interests: Processing Personal Data is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by the Company.

In any case, the Company will gladly help to clarify the specific legal basis that applies to the processing, and in particular whether the provision of Personal Data is a statutory or contractual requirement, or a requirement necessary to enter into a contract.

Your Rights under the GDPR

The Company undertakes to respect the confidentiality of Your Personal Data and to guarantee You can exercise Your rights.

You have the right under this Privacy Policy, and by law if You are within the EU, to:

• Request access to Your Personal Data. The right to access, update or delete the information We have on You. Whenever made possible, you can access, update or request deletion of Your Personal Data directly within Your account settings section. If you are unable to perform these actions yourself, please contact Us to assist You. This also enables You to receive a copy of the Personal Data We hold about You.
• Request correction of the Personal Data that We hold about You. You have the right to to have any incomplete or inaccurate information We hold about You corrected.
• Object to processing of Your Personal Data. This right exists where We are relying on a legitimate interest as the legal basis for Our processing and there is something about Your particular situation, which makes You want to object to our processing of Your Personal Data on this ground. You also have the right to object where We are processing Your Personal Data for direct marketing purposes.
• Request erasure of Your Personal Data. You have the right to ask Us to delete or remove Personal Data when there is no good reason for Us to continue processing it.
• Request the transfer of Your Personal Data. We will provide to You, or to a third-party You have chosen, Your Personal Data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format. Please note that this right only applies to automated information which You initially provided consent for Us to use or where We used the information to perform a contract with You.
• Withdraw Your consent. You have the right to withdraw Your consent on using your Personal Data. If You withdraw Your consent, We may not be able to provide You with access to certain specific functionalities of the Service.

Exercising of Your GDPR Data Protection Rights

You may exercise Your rights of access, rectification, cancellation and opposition by contacting Us. Please note that we may ask You to verify Your identity before responding to such requests. If You make a request, We will try our best to respond to You as soon as possible.

You have the right to complain to a Data Protection Authority about Our collection and use of Your Personal Data. For more information, if You are in the European Economic Area (EEA), please contact Your local data protection authority in the EEA.

Facebook Fan Page

Data Controller for the Facebook Fan Page

The Company is the Data Controller of Your Personal Data collected while using the Service. As operator of the Facebook Fan Page (https://www.facebook.com/connectthedotsginger/), the Company and the operator of the social network Facebook are Joint Controllers.

The Company has entered into agreements with Facebook that define the terms for use of the Facebook Fan Page, among other things. These terms are mostly based on the Facebook Terms of Service: https://www.facebook.com/terms.php

Visit the Facebook Privacy Policy https://www.facebook.com/policy.php for more information about how Facebook manages Personal data or contact Facebook online, or by mail: Facebook, Inc. ATTN, Privacy Operations, 1601 Willow Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025, United States.

Facebook Insights

We use the Facebook Insights function in connection with the operation of the Facebook Fan Page and on the basis of the GDPR, in order to obtain anonymized statistical data about Our users.

For this purpose, Facebook places a Cookie on the device of the user visiting Our Facebook Fan Page. Each Cookie contains a unique identifier code and remains active for a period of two years, except when it is deleted before the end of this period.

Facebook receives, records and processes the information stored in the Cookie, especially when the user visits the Facebook services, services that are provided by other members of the Facebook Fan Page and services by other companies that use Facebook services.

For more information on the privacy practices of Facebook, please visit Facebook Privacy Policy here: https://www.facebook.com/full_data_use_policy

CCPA Privacy

Your Rights under the CCPA

Under this Privacy Policy, and by law if You are a resident of California, You have the following rights:

• The right to notice. You must be properly notified which categories of Personal Data are being collected and the purposes for which the Personal Data is being used.
• The right to access / the right to request. The CCPA permits You to request and obtain from the Company information regarding the disclosure of Your Personal Data that has been collected in the past 12 months by the Company or its subsidiaries to a third-party for the third party's direct marketing purposes.
• The right to say no to the sale of Personal Data. You also have the right to ask the Company not to sell Your Personal Data to third parties. You can submit such a request by visiting our "Do Not Sell My Personal Information" section or web page.

The right to know about Your Personal Data. You have the right to request and obtain from the Company information regarding the disclosure of the following:

• The categories of Personal Data collected
• The sources from which the Personal Data was collected
• The business or commercial purpose for collecting or selling the Personal Data
• Categories of third parties with whom We share Personal Data
• The specific pieces of Personal Data we collected about You
• The right to delete Personal Data. You also have the right to request the deletion of Your Personal Data that have been collected in the past 12 months.

The right not to be discriminated against. You have the right not to be discriminated against for exercising any of Your Consumer's rights, including by:

• Denying goods or services to You
• Charging different prices or rates for goods or services, including the use of discounts or other benefits or imposing penalties
• Providing a different level or quality of goods or services to You
• Suggesting that You will receive a different price or rate for goods or services or a different level or quality of goods or services.

Exercising Your CCPA Data Protection Rights

In order to exercise any of Your rights under the CCPA, and if you are a California resident, You can email or call us or visit our "Do Not Sell My Personal Information" section or web page.

The Company will disclose and deliver the required information free of charge within 45 days of receiving Your verifiable request. The time period to provide the required information may be extended once by an additional 45 days when reasonable necessary and with prior notice.

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

We do not sell personal information. However, the Service Providers we partner with (for example, our advertising partners) may use technology on the Service that "sells" personal information as defined by the CCPA law.

If you wish to opt out of the use of your personal information for interest-based advertising purposes and these potential sales as defined under CCPA law, you may do so by following the instructions below.

Please note that any opt out is specific to the browser You use. You may need to opt out on every browser that you use.

Website

You can opt out of receiving ads that are personalized as served by our Service Providers by following our instructions presented on the Service:

• From Our "Cookie Consent" notice banner
• Or from Our "CCPA Opt-out" notice banner
• Or from Our "Do Not Sell My Personal Information" notice banner
• Or from Our "Do Not Sell My Personal Information" link

The opt out will place a cookie on Your computer that is unique to the browser You use to opt out. If you change browsers or delete the cookies saved by your browser, you will need to opt out again.

Mobile Devices

Your mobile device may give you the ability to opt out of the use of information about the apps you use in order to serve you ads that are targeted to your interests:

• "Opt out of Interest-Based Ads" or "Opt out of Ads Personalization" on Android devices
• "Limit Ad Tracking" on iOS devices

You can also stop the collection of location information from Your mobile device by changing the preferences on your mobile device.

"Do Not Track" Policy as Required by California Online Privacy Protection Act (CalOPPA)

Our Service does not respond to Do Not Track signals.

However, some third party websites do keep track of Your browsing activities. If You are visiting such websites, You can set Your preferences in Your web browser to inform websites that You do not want to be tracked. You can enable or disable DNT by visiting the preferences or settings page of Your web browser.

Children's Privacy

Our Service does not address anyone under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from anyone under the age of 13. If You are a parent or guardian and You are aware that Your child has provided Us with Personal Data, please contact Us. If We become aware that We have collected Personal Data from anyone under the age of 13 without verification of parental consent, We take steps to remove that information from Our servers.

We also may limit how We collect, use, and store some of the information of Users between 13 and 18 years old. In some cases, this means We will be unable to provide certain functionality of the Service to these users.

If We need to rely on consent as a legal basis for processing Your information and Your country requires consent from a parent, We may require Your parent's consent before We collect and use that information.

Links to Other Websites

Our Service may contain links to other websites that are not operated by Us. If You click on a third party link, You will be directed to that third party's site. We strongly advise You to review the Privacy Policy of every site You visit.

We have no control over and assume no responsibility for the content, privacy policies or practices of any third party sites or services.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update our Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify You of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page.

We will let You know via email and/or a prominent notice on Our Service, prior to the change becoming effective and update the "Last updated" date at the top of this Privacy Policy.

You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes. Changes to this Privacy Policy are effective when they are posted on this page.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, You can contact us:

• By email: connectthedotsginger@gmail.com

Blessing In Disguise...

We have received more information about why this happened and how much of a blessing in disguise this actually was. If you missed what happen you can read my experiences with my 3rd miscarriage here. Crazy to think that it was a blessing but you will see...

Monday before discharge my doc came in to talk to us. Matt was there this time to hear all the lovely details. My doc repeated a lot of the same info he had told me, and I seemed better able to understand what he was saying and not so "out of it."

He told us how the placenta did detach from the uterus but not all the way. I passed the baby but not the placenta. I probably passed the baby around 11:30pm or so and continued to bleed until surgery which wasn't until after 1am. I started to hemorrhage because my body was trying to get the placenta out but it wouldn't release like it should have and I just had a gaping open wound that wasn't being able to close up. Thankfully I am a good blood clotter because I could have bleed out a lot sooner than I did. (I really think I was being watched over. It wasn't my time to go.) By the time I was in surgery I had lost 4 units of blood and it was still just coming out.

My doc said most people don't realize how lifesaving a D&E surgery can be. He stating again that I would have died before passing the placenta naturally, which is really freaky to think about for me and for my family.

My doc also mentioned that during the surgery that he noticed a funny smell to my placenta. I know that sound weird but that is often how an infection is found during surgery. My BFF K used to be an OR nurse and we were talking about it and it is a very pronounce smell that just isn't quite right. With the room as sterile as it is smells stand out. Doc is pretty sure that the reason why my placenta detached is because it was dying. It was infected. Therefore it was infecting the baby. Because it was so early in the pregnancy had I remained pregnant she wouldn't have survived, or would have had birth defects. And in regards to me the infection could have been a silent killer to me. I would have gotten really sick and they wouldn't have know to test my placenta for an infection. I could have gone septic and then also again, died from that. Or the infection could have infected my uterus and I could have lost it and lost the chance to have any more children. See what I mean. This miscarriage was a blessing in disguise. The placenta was sent to the pathology lab for testing and to confirm the infection but my doc is so awesome and knows what he is doing that we are pretty sure this is what it was. But we have not received the pathology report back yet.

What a strange turn of events. Obviously I have a guardian angel looking out for me and it certainly isn't my time to go just yet.

Oh and one more piece to the puzzle. Remember how I was spotting 2 weeks ago and that put me on bed rest so that I couldn't do the 10 miler. Doc said that had I had done the 10 miler, the placenta more than likely would have ripped more forcefully away causing a bigger hole. Mine ripped but not too much (remember the pop I felt). But had I been running I would have probably died on the course from blood loss right there. So HELLO, so glad I didn't do the race.

I have felt a weight lifted from me knowing this. And I feel ready to talk about my emotions I think. Give me another day or two to put it down but I certainly feel more at peace with what happened.

I have received an overwhelming response to Monday's post. I guess there just isn't a lot of miscarriage material out there. I have been thanked for sharing my story and for the strength that I have to relive it through writing it. But it needs to be done. I am so glad to share what I can. There is more to the miscarriage than I wrote but I wanted to spare people with the graphic details of the more unpleasant things I experienced. I pray I never have to go through anything like that again. But I am at peace now. I know that this was God's will and plan for me. This has helped strengthen me in ways I never knew could. And most of the strength I have felt have been from each of you. From the prayers to thoughts, it has truly been an amazing experience. Thank you friends for all of your support.

Our Loss

I am so sad to share with you that Saturday night I lost the baby. This is a very detailed account so if you don't want to continue reading stop here! You have been warned.

I have a lead in to it. As you know about 2 weeks ago I had some spotting. Baby was fine. No worries. We heard the heartbeat and it was fine. I asked the doctor. What do I do if the bleeding gets worse. He said that if something bad is going to happen that it is going to happen really quick. And we will know it.

I had my 13 weeks ultrasound NT scan to check for chromosomal deficiencies on Friday afternoon. SHE was just fine. That is right, the doc gave us an 80% chance that it was our little girl. We never saw anything out of the ordinary. I even asked him to look for why I was spotting the other week. Nothing. So I was clear to do a little exercise, or walking again.

Saturday, I volunteered at the Charlottesville 10 miler. If you can't join them, cheer them on! And then came home, rested and then started making a nice dinner for some friends who were coming over for dinner. Matt and I put the kids down for bed, they seemed extra tired a little earlier than normal, a blessing in disguise. And Matt and I went back downstairs to start cleaning up the mess from dinner.

That is when I felt it. Too much stuff down there. I ran to the bathroom and the bleeding wouldn't stop. I called a church friend and neighbor and before I finished saying, "C I need you to come over and help." She was already running out of her house to come over. She stayed the whole night with 2 kids who knew that something wasn't right.

Matt sped to the ER close to our home and we were admitted. The bleeding stopped for a little while. We waited for the nurse to come in a take my vitals and they tried to listen to the heartbeat and they couldn't find it, but I was feeling her kicking at me. So I knew she was ok. I got an ultrasound and the tech showed me right away her heartbeat and bouncing up and down. She was ok. Just fine. Then the tech did her job trying to find out what was going on. She kept commenting on how active the baby was.

We got sent back to our room and waited and waited. About 30 min later. I felt this POP! in my lower abdomen and I just started gushing liquid. I cried out because I couldn't control it and it frankly it scared the crap out of me! The entire ER staff came rushing in. The doc said that in the ultrasound they saw that the amniotic sac was already protruding down through the cervix and a miscarriage was imminent. And was starting. I started crying. FREAKING OUT is more like it. I continued to have these surges of gushes over the next few hours.

Before some of the gushes I would get a severe cramp and my ears would clog up. I started to feel dizzy and became delirious. My blood pressure dropped significantly and the docs started to pump me full of fluids to get my BP up and stabilized. I was begging for some drugs and they wouldn't give me any. I also was begging for water. I was so thirsty and I was refused that too. They said that they didn't want me to get sick.

I had 4 rounds of my BP dropping quite a bit and lots of blood. At some point I passed the baby, but they never told me when. But I was still bleeding quite a bit even after the baby. By the 4th BP drop they were getting concerned. They took my blood levels again to compare my beginning levels. I had lost 3 units of blood. That is a lot in their speak. They called my OB who they had been talking to and told him my blood levels. He requested that I be transferred to the main hospital to be examined by him, and possible surgery. Things were getting serious at this point. They did another blood pull before I left. Just as I was strapped up in the gurney for the ambulance.

I rode with lights and sirens to the hospital about 2o min away, it is faster when all the lights are green for you! Got to the ER at the hospital and was told I was scheduled for surgery for a D&E. Where they go in and scrape out anything that won't come out on their own. I got admitted by the OR people and went back. Got oxygen and don't even remember falling asleep. Next thing I knew I was in recovery. They told me that the surgery lasted 30 min, 15 min longer than I was originally told. And that I did very well.

My doc came in and said that I had a placenta abruption and that it is a very serious thing. Basically the placenta detached from the uterus. That is the cause of the gushing of blood. But not all of the placenta had detached. and that was very serious. When that happens, the uterus can not clamp down all the way and a large gaping hole is exposed and pumping blood out and won't close like it is supposed to. My doc said that by the time I got to surgery I had lost over 4 units of blood. (I later learned that is equal to 1/4 of all my blood in my body and is quite a bit!) And had I not had the surgery when I did, I might not have made it. He saved my life.

Fast forward to after. I was admitted as a patient to the hospital. When my doc came in the next morning. I had been having more dizzy spells every time I went to the bathroom and just felt weak and just out of it. I signed blood transfusion paperwork just in case I would need it. Never did. My blood work came back as severely anemic but not as bad as I was just a few hours prior. My body was building it back up on it's own. All day Sunday I was still dizzy if I sat up too long, or got up to go to the bathroom. I had a lovely extended stay at the hospital for another night for monitoring and getting released this morning to go home.

It was a very traumatic experience to go through. I left out some details about the miscarriage on purpose. If you are ever curious about that let me know and we can talk but it was so hard to go through that.

How am I doing? I am an emotional wreck. I actually found a way to cope with my emotions by avoiding one topic about the miscarriage of how I am feeling and basically flipped my emotion switch to off until I am ready to deal with what happened emotionally. I need to let my body heal. It is kind of a weird feeling being emotionally separated. Not to say I am not sad but I have had some pretty awful feelings that I just can't handle right now.

I have been grieving in my own way. My family has been grieving. My boys have been with church family all day Sunday and Sunday night. They will go with another family Monday as well. my church is really taking care of me. My sis in law arrives tomorrow morning after a red eye train ride. She will leave on Wednesday evening and that is when my mother arrives to help out for the next week. Including the church I am feeling very blessed and loved with all of the support we have received in this very difficult time in our lives.

I will miss being pregnant. I already feel hollow and empty. I had been feeling her kick for the last 2.5 weeks and now nothing. Just a flabby tummy where my belly had already started to expand. I will miss not having my little girl join our family in September as I was so excited for her to do. But someday we will have another child and hopefully it will be our little girl. Please forgive my lack of posts lately as I am deal with this. I thank you for sticking around and for your support. You love is felt 10 fold and it gives me strength that I didn't know I had. Thank you my friends.

**Update: We have received some new information on how this miscarriage might actually have been a blessing in disguise. Read about it out here.

Want more daily motivation and inspiration? Click here get free advice, support and encouragement + a free copy of my Clean Eating guide to help you get started on your health and fitness journey! 

Wake-Up Workout

I love my bed in the morning, and on cool mornings like this I just don't want to get out of bed. So why not start your morning with a little workout right in your bed! Check out below to start your day right! Happy morning! 

The "NO" Syndrome

Why is it that when you are told "NO" in doing something that it is the only time that you want to actually do what you are told not to do?

I feel like a kid. "Don't push that red button!" "Don't jump on your bed?" Seriously, my legs were burning all day yesterday to go running. It is so weird. Have I had this insane desire to go running the past week or so while my kids have been sick and I have been exhausted from taking care of a sick family? A little, but not like this. My legs last night were seriously on FIRE wanting to go running. And I can't.

I am ok with that because I want to do what is best for the baby. But I guess that my legs didn't get the memo.

So right now, running and exercise in general is on hold until the 20th until I have my ultrasound. It is going to be a long 8 days. At least I know that I still want to keep exercising. Maybe this is the turning point in my pregnancy where I will get some of my energy back and will be able to make it to the gym on a regular basis. This modified bed rest momma can only hope!

Just Roll With It

This pregnancy has been HARD! I have suffered from massive migraines, morning sickness, motion sickness while on exercise machines and just overall exhaustion. No wonder, I am making a baby, nursing another baby and trying to train for my 10 miler which is only 10 days away.

Sadly today, I was told that one of those things has to go.

I had some spontaneous spotting today. I was doing nothing. Just relaxing, as I had just told Matt. Needless to say it ended up with me going to my doc 2 days earlier than my regularly scheduled appointment for the week. I was freaking out. A crying mess. I can't go through another miscarriage. Is all I kept saying in my mind.

Thankfully my doc's office got me in right away. I didn't even have to sit out in the waiting room. I was sent right back. Doc did an exam. Noticed the bleeding. Then he said that my uterus is growing and has already popped out of my pelvis (I'm just shy of 12 weeks and that happens at 12 weeks).

Next came the doppler. We needed to hear the heart beat. Doc was listening. I reminded him about my tilted backwards uterus. So he did some pushing on my belly and then we heard this thump. Thump, thump. Like his hand knocking the doppler, but it wasn't. He said, "I think that is the baby kicking." Then a few more thumps. "Yep, that's the baby. Now where is your heartbeat little feisty baby!" Then within just a few seconds he found the solid strong heartbeat.

Doc said that I had a ruptured blood vessel and that since we heard the baby's heartbeat, and it was kicking that everything is fine. HOWEVER, I am on a modified bed rest. UGH! First thing I asked, making sure that the baby was fine, then I asked, "so no 10 miler this year." NOPE. And guess what. I am a little sad about it because I have been training my butt off for that run and have already run most of the course but for the safety of the baby and for me, it is just going to have to give.

10 days away from my big race I have been planning and prepping for since, what? Last summer. Is now not happening. I will be volunteering though. Helping out in anyway I can. Here is the thing, there are other 10 milers. I know I can do it now and I am kind of strangely excited to run the race, next year, or when it is right for me. But for now. Time to take it easy. Take care of my baby growing inside me and enjoy the fact that my baby is fine.

I am excited though, because in 9 days, I will get to see this feisty little one again with my next ultrasound. I will keep you all posted and can't wait to share the pictures then!

Thanks for reading along and following along in this crazy adventure of my life!

Spring Race Season IS HERE!

It's time to lace up your running shoes! IT IS RACE SEASON! I don't know about you but my Facebook feed and Twitter are exploding with more and more of my friends participating in a spring race this season! I LOVE IT! What a great goal for everyone to have.

Let me tell you that if you want to start running or maybe change your lifestyle to be more active, participating in a local race is the WAY TO START! I know that the thought of running in a 5k is scary and it just might not be you. But what I have seen is that more and more races are walk friendly or a slower run/walk pace friendly. Race coordinators are noticing that walkers are taking the race circuit by storm now! AND GUESS WHAT? It doesn't matter if you walk a race or run it. The mileage is still the same for everyone. If a race is not walking friendly the race page will say, "run only" or it will give a time limit for the race or pace per mile required. A walking pace per mile is a 15 min per mile and slower.

Don't let the time limits hinder you from registering either because some of the races will say that roads are closed for X amount of time and you may continue, but you must move to the sidewalk and obey traffic signals. 

Why look into a local race? So you don't have to travel very far and hopefully the cost will be a little less than a "bigger" race. There are tons of St. Patricks Day race themes right now. But because the weather is AMAZING in most of the country this is the race season. Go ahead and try.

Need to find a race in your neck of the woods? Go here! Runners World Race Finder

Snow Day...AGAIN!

Here we are on the 5th day of March and it is another snow day. What is cool about it is that Daddy even has to stay home from work. We might live across the street from his work but work said, "Nope! Stay home!" It is really nice because it gives him a day off since he won't have one this week due to military training. So we get a whole day to be together... The whole family! Stuck inside... THE WHOLE DAY!

Our snow days consist of a yummy breakfast, today we opted for Starbucks. And I usually try to make something homemade. Usually the yummy variety. And watching the snow fall outside. Mason loves to sit around and read books on my table from the Reading Rainbow App. Collin is just crawling around the house, exploring and babbling and standing up next to anything he can get stand up against. (Poor kid has a runny nose this morning thanks to his shots he got yesterday at his check up.)

That also means no gym for Matt, his work gym is closed. And you do not want me on the roads in snow to go to my gym, which is also closed. I am the driver that you should be scared of. I hate driving in snow. Scares me to death so I don't do it. EVER! Thankfully everything shuts down in this town when it snows!

(2 days ago before the new snow!)

Time to just relax, put on a good movie and chill with my family on this wonderful snowy day. So thankful for these days in my life. Later if we get enough snow Mason will go out sledding. Burn off some of his energy. One can only hope though.

Morning Sickness and Exercise DON'T MIX!

Here is what I am dealing with right now. Getting motion sickness on the treadmill or elliptical from my morning sickness. UGH! How awful is that. This past Saturday I was supposed to do 8.5 miles. Things didn't quite go as planned.

Matt was being super awesome this past Saturday and let me sleep in. And then he kicked me out of the house around 10 to go to the gym, since I hadn't made it there all week since Mason had pink eye. I ate a good typical breakfast before heading to the gym, and that was probably why I got sick. I normally don't eat eggs and toast before I go on a long run or before races. I eat a banana and cereal bar and drink a ton of water. That is my Saturday morning regime. I then eat a bigger breakfast after my run.

I headed off to the gym and found a treadmill. The place was packed. Around mile 2.5 I started to feel a little off I wanted to get off the machine. But I kept going. By 3.5 miles I knew I was toast and forced myself to make it to an even 4 miles. I puked in my mouth a couple of times during that last .5 miles but I did it. Sadly, I didn't get my long run in, and it was supposed to be my last BIG long run before my 10 miler in 3 weeks. So this Saturday I have to do at least 8 miles to make up for my lack of milage from this past Sat.

I even came home and rested for a little while then decided to try an in home walking DVD I have. I couldn't even make it .5 miles without getting sick. My body just said NO WAY to me doing anything. I went upstairs and took a nap and felt better when I woke up.

I am 10 weeks pregnant now and I am looking forward to my morning sickness going AWAY! And hopefully it won't be that bad for the 10 miler where I will be 13 weeks.

Moral of the story. Don't eat a regular sized breakfast before a long run. And to listen to your body. There are going to be days where your body says NO! And you just have to listen to it. And it is ok! I still have 1 Saturday left to do 8 miles and still feel prepared to run in the 10 miler. I know I will do the 10 miler and be fine. I might not do it in the time I want to but darn it I will do it!

Love Rox 10k Race Recap- Richmond, VA

My FEBRUARY 2015 Race is DONE! This past Sunday I participated in the Love Rox 10k. There was a 5k and 1/2 marathon option too, but the 10k is what I needed for my training books and I just really like doing a 10k distance. It's not too short or too long!

~Our drive over, we got slammed with snow the day before!~

Saturday was packet pickup and we were snowed in and couldn't get out to Richmond to pick up our "packet". So I sent them a couple of email request for us to pick it up early Sunday morning, which was an option to do but they had said only with permission was it allowed. I received my confirmation emails at about 8pm, 5 hours after the expo closed.

We left our house at 6:15am on Sunday morning and made our way slowly to Richmond. Everything was still pretty icy so we were taking it nice and easy. We arrived at 8am and I ran inside the building to get my packet while Matt and the boys stayed in the van. I was so glad that we didn't drive all the way to Richmond the day before anyways to get our packet because it was just the bib and a shirt and that was it. They had a couple of vendors there but not much so if I did this race next year, I would automatically ask for Sunday pickup. It's an hour and a half to get there.

~Collin all bundled up for the cold! Cute little wave!~

Now it was just time to wait for my race to start which wasn't until 10. The 5k began at 9am. I ran back out and had Matt and the boys come in the convention center where it was nice and warm and there was a HUGE lobby where Mason was asking daddy to "race" him. Super cute. (Next time I do a Disney race, Mason will be doing the kids races!)

~Pre race fun~

When it was time for me to go out, I realized I forgot my earbuds in the van. Matt ran back really fast and got them for me, MY HERO!

The race started a good 10 minutes late. But what was really neat, I looked to my right and Mason and my boys were waving at me through one of the windows. It was super cute when Mason realized that I was outside and he kept pointing to Matt saying, "Mommy's outside!"

I was in the 3rd wave to begin. And then I was off. I was told by another person that the first mile was downhill. I was excited about that and I know better than to just go, but I am not going to lie, that downhill was pretty fun and I did a 12 min mile for the first mile. BAD BECKY! However, that first fast mile was probably my saving grace for the pace for the rest of the race. As we go to the low point of the course, along the James River things got icy and slick pretty quick. This is where I did a lot of walking. Being pregnant I did not want to risk slipping and falling. NOPE. So safety is the key. I actually really enjoyed taking in the sites of the old buildings and of the frozen James River. It was so pretty.

As we crossed our first bridge I started to run a little and walk a little. I tried to time myself with the lamp posts, and this became my pattern for the rest of the run. I chatted with another redhead on the way she has longer legs than me and her stride for walking was bigger so she passed me around mile 3, and I actually ended up tailing her until the very end where I finally passed her.

Next came the slow assent back up to the next bridge, where we had to stop traffic to run around a HUGE puddle. Again I was running 2 lamp posts and walking 1 at this point. And then the assent from the bridge back up to the downtown area.

The end of the race, my body was done. I was tired but could still go. I finally caught up to the red head and then passed her. Looked down at my watch and we had just passed the 6.2 mile mark and the finish line was NO WHERE TO BE SEEN! They had told us that the 10k people would have to run an a few extra yards to the finish, but my Garmin clocked the finish at 6.5 miles. UGH! So my official finish time was slower than I wanted and I can't use my time for the next Disney race. BUMMER! I was aiming for 1 hour 30 min finish time. I did the 10k in 1:32:32 but finished the race in 1:36:25. Mile 3 and beyond I was able to have positive splits so I am actually surprised and happy with that! Oh and per my Garmin I did the fastest 5k to date: 45:24!

My splits: 
Mile 1: 12:52
Mile 2: 14:53
Mile 3: 15:55
Mile 4: 15:28
Mile 5: 15:18
Mile 6: 14:45
Mile 6.5: 14:53

Avg. pace: 14:51 - 9 weeks pregnant

Life Is Never Boring

Wow! Life in the Allen home certainly is never, ever boring. We are dealing with our first attack of pink eye. Poor Mason has it and hoping that Collin and I don't get it either. No idea where he got it. But yesterday I had to tell all my students that he has it and everyone he has been in contact with, and all the other students I teach. And also deal with Mason and his goopey pink eye and grumpy sickness personality. Poor kid. So that is our happenings right now. I will have a race recap up at the end of the week.

Yoga Poses and Their Benefits

I love yoga and it took me a long time to actually try my first class or workout and really enjoy it! It is great for centering your body and mind but also is a great workout that can be quite challenging. My fave though about yoga is that there are moves specifically to help certain areas of your body or even the insides work better. Like have tummy troubles and can't go? Do some twist movements. Stretch out your hamstrings to help you run better! Check out these yoga poses and give them a try to help you stretch, elongate and help your body feel even better.

Also check out Yoga Journal to where you can search for specific yoga poses for alleviate what ails you. Want poses to help with mensuration? Yep they have a section for that. There is anxiety, back pain, energy, digestion and more!

Be sure to follow me on FACEBOOK to get daily motivation and tips! See ya over there!

They Grow Up Too Fast!

Talk about surreal! This past Monday, I toured a local preschool for Mason to attend this coming Fall. It was so weird knowing that a) he is going to be in preschool and b) looking at some of the kids in the classrooms that he was going to be in there. Learning. Playing. Crafting. Having fun. It has made me realize just how quickly these 3 years have gone and how precious they really are. I can't get them back. Ever. And even though Mason and I are butting heads like crazy right now, hence him needing to go to preschool, I still love him to death and love seeing how much he is learning.

Here are things that I am doing now to help prep him for his entrance into preschool:

(Mason at 5 days old) 

~I am reading to him every single day now. Multiple times a day. We were reading once a day on average but now we pull out the books many times a day. And they almost all happen to be dinosaur related. I am including daily reading of the Bible into our days too.

~ I just ordered this calendar set for him, which I will get laminated at Staple's and hang it near the kitchen table for him to use and learn from. We have been talking about the days of the week and the order they come in. He knows that Sunday is church day. And he thinks that Saturday is ice cream day. (not sure where he got that because we don't usually get ice cream on a Saturday.)

(Mason 1 year old) 

~Sing ABC's and make sure to count everyday. Mason loves to count how many eggs we have left every morning after I make breakfast. It takes a lot of patience from me to let and trust him to handle the eggs without breaking them, but I am working on that. He doesn't really like to sing and it is usually only at bed time at night that he lets me sing. So I try to throw in the ABC's before he goes to bed at night.

(Mason 2 years old) 

~Work on his alphabet puzzle more and have him` tell me the sound each letter makes and ask him to find various letters. Make it a search for the letter kind of game. Oh and when he wants into my tablet or phone he needs to enter in the correct number passcode. I tell him the number and he has to find it!

I will say I know I can be better at teaching him things. I don't really know how to teach a 3 year old though. Give me a 6-12 year old and I am fine. I know how to talk to them. So this is a huge learning process for me too. But together we are learning and I know he is super smart and a great listener, when he wants to be. If you have any advice for this fledging preschool mommy please let me know what else I can do to help this kiddo out!

(Mason 3 years old)

(Do you want to Build a Snowman melody) 

Do you want to go to preschool?

Do you want to make new friends? 

Learn to count to 10, 

sing and play

you will think it's great! 

You will learn to read and write

Yes, I know you will

You're such a smart little guy! 

Do you want to go to preschool? 

Wow! You are in preschool! 

Time flies by! 

Disney Princess 1/2 Marathon Tips For New Runners: 1/2 Marathon Race

It's race morning and you area all ready to go. You have survived the 2 mile walk to get to the start line and the MC's are counting you down to your corral starting the race. Biggest thing to keep in mind, regardless of corral, is to STAY IN FRONT OF THE BALLOON LADIES!

~Quick picture opportunity on the bridge~

~One of the coolest things about the Disney races is that there is great entertainment on the course. Lots of picture opportunities. You can decide how often you want to take pictures, whether it is at ever mile marker or at ever character, or every other character, or just a couple. But the biggest thing to keep in mind is that there is a running clock. I was in corral M and at about mile 8 I started passing people that had corral C on their bibs. These people have been stopping for lots of pictures along the way, which is pretty cool that they can. But there is still a time limit to end the race and the balloon ladies are that time limit. As long as you stay in front of them you are golden!

~Know that if you are in a back corral, like j-n, and if you had been training at keeping a 15 min mile pace, you might not be able to take as many photo opportunities as you want. The lines, like the port-a-poties get pretty long. So line up at your own risk. I didn't have time to wait for one line for a photo with any characters. I knew after my first potty stop that I was going to be pushing the time limit because the lines for the bathrooms were 8 minutes, at LEAST! This is something that people who are in the faster corrals don't really have to experience. Also, there will be bottleneck areas where you are going to be walking to get through the narrow areas. Like waiting to "run" through the castle, nope I walked. Oh and "running down Main street" nope had to walk that one too. Actually K and I ran up on the sidewalk to bypass everyone walking down main street. There was just so many people. I got really bummed about that but I was thankful for the rest.

~Picture opportunity but also tons of people WALKING!~

~Secret bathroom that might not be that busy: Every one knows about the Tomorrowland bathroom that is the first "real" bathroom that you get to use. And the mens bathroom gets taken over by female too by the way, but there is another, actually a few more. But they are off the course just a little bit and you might not be allowed, or they might not be open. But if you need to go and can't wait in the line, you can try these other places. I have read from other bloggers that they did use the bathrooms by It's A Small World and there was NO LINE AT ALL! I circled them on the map below. One of the circles, the farthest off to the left is over a green space. That is just under Rapunzel's tower and there are bathrooms over there. Again, some of these restrooms might not be open. So go at your own risk! (pun intended!)

~One thing to know that if you are in the back of the pack. Still look around you. Enjoy the view, the experience and just have fun. And more than anything, JUST KEEP GOING! I knew that if I stopped I might not be able to keep going and that scared me. I wanted to finish. I had to finish no matter what. I earned my medal with every ounce of my being. I tried and did pretty well, for a pregnant lady. But you can do this! Just remember to have fun! Talk to other races around you. Encourage them. Help give them more motivation to finish that race!

~Know that there are 3 hills just before you enter Epcot. They are on/off ramps around mile 10. You will be tired but just keep moving. Eat some candy to give you more energy at this point so you can keep going. See my motto here, just keep going.

~Standing room only to get through the castle. No running for us!~

~Once inside Epcot you are in the clear of the Balloon ladies. So your goal is to get to Epcot and just keep moving! That is all you have to do. You are almost done and you are golden! Sad thing is after the Magic Kingdom, at mile 6 you have a long stretch of just road in front of you. This is the hard stretch but just make it to Epcot! That is your goal. AND Keep going! only 1.1 miles left to go!

~Just .1 miles to go!~

~Look around you as you cross that finish line. Give Mickey or whatever character is on the side a HUGE HIGH FIVE just before you cross. Thank the voleenter for your medal and make sure to get doused in glitter before you leave! Also take a picture of you and your medal. You earned it. Smile in the picture. Cry if you have to but get that picture. (I totally regret not getting my picture. I just wanted my husband and I forgot.) But this is all about my tips for you, and when I do this race again you better believe I will be getting a picture of my medal all pink faced and huge smile! There is a background that has Princess 1/2 marathon written all over it too if you want to do it in front of that for further proof you finished.

~There is an engraver tent that you can have your name, time and date engraved on the back of your medal. Pack some money in your fuel belt or hide it in your checked bag if you have to, or have someone meet you there with money but you have that option to get your medal engraved!

~Finish Line!~

Disney Princess 1/2 Marathon Tips for New Runners: Race Morning

If you have stumbled upon my blog about the Run Disney Princess Half Marathon looking for tips, I am sure that you have probably read at other places that EARLY TO BED, EARLY TO RISE!

When you get to your hotel, on WDW or off site, check with your hotel, if there is transportation provided and what time the transportation is offered for race morning. It doesn't matter if you drive there or take transpiration provided for you, you will be leaving VERY EARLY IN THE MORNING! K and I set 2 alarms to go off to make sure we woke up for a lovely 2:45 am! She set the ring tone to Eye of the Tiger. We were staying at the Shades of Green resort on the WDW park. (Shades of Green is the military hotel that is on the resort for only military guests and their families! It is AWESOME! If military check it out!) It is located across the street from the Polynesian resort, and we actually ran right past it during the 1/2 marathon! We figured that we would walk to the Polynesian and then catch the buses there but thankfully Shades had their own buses. You are going to want to be to the busses pretty early, because they fill up quickly and you don't want to be running to the start of the race then run the 1/2. No fun! We were on our bus by 3:45 or so am!

(1st long walk!)

Know that where the busses drop you off, is a LONG WALK! A very long walk. It feels like forever just to get to the waiting area. Not the corral staging area just the pre-marathon waiting area. There was a band/DJ playing music. Lots of people were having fun. I was in search of food, cause I was still hungry and found a banana from one of the tents (a race volunteer took pity on me and passed me one.) And a bathroom. K made me drink tons of water when I woke up, when we got on the bus and on our way to the waiting area. I already had to go. NOT GOOD!

There were tons of bathrooms to choose from so we went. I learned that morning how hard it was going to be going to the bathroom with my tutu and big pregnant belly! EEK! We then found a place to sit and rest by the gates that would open to take us to the coral staging area. I was on the hunt trying to find other bloggers I followed, never found them but I looked! I wanted to even go up in the coral area that I knew she would be but I didn't want to be that stalkerish! We walked the next mile or so to the staging are and K and I found my corral, 1 down from hers and sat down near the front. We talked about our running strategy and she had me munch on more food and drink MORE water. I decided that I needed to go to the bathroom again and went on search to the hundreds more port-a-potties there. I got back in the coral and the first corral was off. And we waited our turn. This was it! I was about to embark on my first 1/2 marathon. 29 weeks pregnant.

(Waiting in the corrals!) 

Tips:
Bring water and food to munch on while you wait. Use the port-a-poties by the corrals before the race starts, because the line at the mile 1 port-a-poties is LONG! The line at all the port-a-potties is long, except for mile 13. I didn't have to wait for that one!

Also, it can be a little chilly until the race starts. Head to Goodwill and find a hoodie to toss to the side after the first mile or 2 when you warm up. Disney takes all the toss clothing and donates them so it is for a good cause!

(Everyone behind us)

Make sure you rest and sit down, so bring a towel or something to sit on, again a toss clothing if you are worried about sitting on the ground! When you get there it will feel like a bunch of hurry up and wait, and it is but it's ok. Just rest as much as possible. Get off your feet and sit down!

From where the busses drop you off to the corrals is seriously about 2 miles. So just know that. You are awesome! Who else do you know that walks 2 miles before a half marathon just to start the half marathon!

(Ready, Set...)

PCOS and Infertility: My Story

After my recent announcement you probably wouldn't believe that I did suffer from infertility for 9 years. It is true. Matt and I were married in 2002 and by 2003 I was off birth control and trying to get pregnant. Mid 2003 we went to my doctor's office and they told me that the best way to get pregnant was to lose 10-15 lbs. Keep in mind I was not super heavy at this point. I had gained maybe 10 lbs by the time we had gotten married. I was upset. And talked with a friend who told me to go see her doctor who specialized in infertility.

I visited that doctor and took all the test and ultrasounds and on the ultrasound, there it was. The Ring of Pearls around both ovaries. The doctor went over my blood results and said that I had a hormone imbalance which made it difficult for my body to know when to release an egg. Basically, my body didn't know when to start producing the hormones to tell my body to make an egg and then when to release it. So all the eggs just started lining up around my ovaries. She also advised that PCOS is related with insulin levels. My insulin levels were fine. (and incorrect insulin levels can make you gain weight and make it more difficult to lose weight.)

She put me on some clomid as part of my way to get me to ovulate. The first month I ovulated but nothing happened. No pregnancy. The second month I had a cyst and we had to stop clomid for the month. The next month after that we took a break again. I was getting frustrated. We gave up for the time being. And moved up north to Flagstaff, AZ where I started seeing a new doctor who said he was a fertility specialists. WRONG! He gave me high dosage of Clomid and didn't monitor me. He diagnosed me by looking at me and said I had PCOS because of facial hair. I was on clomid straight for 7 months. And he had me take Metformin which is an insulin regulator. I had a ruptured cyst that put me in the hospital and my periods were the worst they have ever been.  And the mood swings, Matt wanted to volunteer to go to Afghanistan to get away from me. I am a red head, my temper is already pretty short so it was really BAD! Looking back I feel like I had a black veil over me. Everything was just tainted differently than it should have been. It was not good and that 7 months was the worst of our marriage. We fought more than we ever had and he didn't even want to touch me!

We gave up, in the sense of no more doctors at least for awhile. Still stayed on Metformin and started to gain weight. So this was 2006. By 2010, Matt was deployed and had a strong impression that we needed to find another doctor to get started on our family. A good family friend had gotten pregnant by a REAL Endocrinologist (hormone doc) and I called that doc. I met with the doc, told them about my experiences and that I REFUSED to go on clomid because it was so awful for me! The doc agreed and told me what he suggested. Regular monitoring and I was going to take hormone shots to jump start my body. Instead of putting a hormone into my body tricking it to do something (clomid) We were going to shoot me up with the actual hormone to make my body do something! I took some other tests to make sure that all the pipes were clean and working, and Matt was gone for 2 more months anyhow so we had a little time to kill. I did do one round of shots before he got home as a control to figure out dosing and make sure it even worked. Well it did work but not as fast as we wanted it to. So for the first "real" round my dosing was upped. I was getting blood tests very frequently, so much so I have a preferred vein I like to use and it is named "Old Faithful!" And every time I have to go have my blood taken I tell the vampires where it is at and that it is deep but works every time. Half the time I get stuck in the blind because they can't find it but it works every time, when they trust what I say and listen to me.

Anyhew, that round worked but I didn't get pregnant after Matt got home. I had to skip a month due to going out of town. The next month we decided to pair the hormones with my first IUI (inter uterine implantation) They take Matt's soldiers, clean them, and then implant them directly into my uterus using a catheter up there. The soldiers still have to "find the egg" as it were and do their job. Not an IVF where they take the egg from the female and the guys soldiers and combine them together outside of the body then implant the eggs back into the female for implantation.

We were going to find out on our Anniversary if the IUI worked. Sadly it didn't. We also had word from Matt's military that he was going to be deployed in October to Iraq. So we didn't have enough time by the time my cycle came around to do another round before a HUGE trip we had been planning on doing. So we did our HUGE 2.5 week trip to Disney World and then a cruise to the Caribbean. We had a great time. I got pampered by my husband. We went on 2 amazing tours of WDW and the cruise was more fun than we ever dreamed. I got massages and acupuncture while on the cruise. We found out that his deployment was postponed for the time being. YES! And the day after we got home my cycle started!

I called my doc and told them and they got me started on the shots by day 3. We were rolling. And everything was happing way faster and better than it had the other 3 rounds. By 2 weeks we were ready to go. Halloween I took my HCG shot to trigger ovulation, (ouch, that one HURTS!) and November 2nd was my IUI! 2 weeks later we found out we were pregnant with Mason! It worked. Since then I have had 3 spontaneous pregnancies. 1 resulting in another baby, Collin.

When I was doing the fertility treatment I was exercising and I had lost 35 lbs. I was below 200 when I got pregnant, just below but I was in the 190's range! I was running. Eating wasn't all that great but I was still learning what to put in my body. I wasn't eating the rights amounts or kinds of foods really. When I found out I was pregnant with Mason I stopped exercising because I didn't want to lose Mason. Worse mistake I ever did! And I started eating food again (I was on slim fast to control my calories.) I wish I didn't do that! And I didn't exercise prior to getting pregnant with my 2 next pregnancies which both ended in miscarriage. With Collin I was very active and stayed that way. Now I am trying to do the same, if my morning sickness will allow me!

What is cool though I had been told by my 3rd fertility doc; the one that got me to work, he said that sometimes when a woman with PCOS get pregnant and has a baby it can jump start her body to doing what it should be doing, regular ovulation and periods. I hoped it would and was surprised when it did. Now we can't turn me off. But you know what, I am amazed with my body that it is working and that I have 2 healthy boys and another on the way. I pray everyday that me and the Baby are watched over and protected and that if it is God's will that I can continue to carry the baby and have it part of my family.

I promise you that if you were told that you have PCOS you can still have children. It might take some time, but it can still happen. My advice to you, find healthy activities to do and a great meal plan and stick with it. It is good for your body and good for you when you do get pregnant. Just hang in there. I know how you feel. The sadness that you get when you see other people with babies. Or hear how so-and-so didn't even try and they now have 3 kids when you don't have any. Or the pressure from your family or religion to pop babies out. I get it. I was there for 9 years. Wishing, hoping and praying that I would have a child of my own. Never really thought that I would have 3 though after it taking so long just to get one. In the end, learn to love yourself, forgive yourself because you will be secretly mad at yourself because you can't be like a "normal" woman and have babies. And enjoy life with your partner. Babies will come.

My stats:
9 years of waiting
3 fertility doctors (1 real one)
54 shots in my belly
2 IUI's
6 pregnancies
3 live babies

****UPDATE 10/15/15
I miscarried pregnancy #5 on March 21st at just shy of 14 weeks pregnant. It was a very hard miscarriage and almost took my life because it was so traumatic. Hoping that we can get pregnant again soon though.

******* Update 9/29/16
I birthed a healthy 7 pound 5 ounce baby girl today! Elyse Cheyenne. She is my rainbow baby after my traumatic miscarriage last year. She had the exact same due date as my pregnancy last year and decided to make us wait and force her out. Born at 41 weeks 1 day.

So Relieved!

I am so relieved that I can finally talk about my pregnancy. It has been so hard writing and not to be able to tell you why I was having a hard time getting my weekly workouts in or why running was becoming more and more difficult.

So here it is! My excuses! I have had and still continue to have extreme exhaustion. And it is not like I am not sleeping. I am sleeping so much right now I am almost confused why I am so tired, but I am. I have to remind myself that I am doing 2 things at once right now. I am still nursing Collin and I am making a whole new baby. That takes a lot of energy and it is just zapping me and knocking me on my butt, more than I thought it would. And to accompany that I have had horrid morning sickness which means I am not eating as much as I probably should be to support nursing and making a baby. In the beginning I was trying to eat what I knew I should and I was getting so sick to my stomach after ever meal that I finally figured out that I needed to just eat more meals during the day but smaller amounts. Once I did that, the morning sickness has gotten better but I still have days where it is just, nothing looks good to me at all and I have to force myself to eat. And hunks of meat don't go well for me right now. I can't just eat chicken or beef. I have been enjoying rice and soups mostly, oh and eggs. Eggs are my staple right now. We are going through 3 dozen eggs a week right now. And I have now started drinking a tea that has been helping me with my morning sickness so I am excited for that to work. But I just can't wait to get past the first trimester and be done with all this morning sickness and exhaustion!

But other than that, I have been doing pretty well. I have times where I actually feel pretty good and forget I am pregnant, or start to worry if something is wrong. And per usual every commercial on TV right now gets me crying or anything sappy I am a total water works!

As I said on Saturday I am still planning on running my 10k on Sunday and also the 10 miler next month. I know I can do this, but I just have to be safe about it. I am still in the danger zone of being pregnant, but from my past experiences I know that there is nothing I can do to continue a pregnancy if it is not meant to be. So I have been wielding faith with every footstep. Saying a prayer, ever run I do, that the baby and I stay safe and that we finish happy and healthy. The days that I have done my long runs, I am pretty much out for the count the rest of the day. Or at least most of it. The 7 miles I did 2 weeks ago, I was dealing with my feet hurting from the shoes not working well, which made my legs hurt more than they should so I was pretty roughed up from that run. But I have my old brand and year back now and I am excited to break in my new shoes. (more on the shoes later this week!)

Pregnant In Running Shoes...AGAIN!

Can you believe it? Can I believe it? NOPE! I think I am still in shock at seeing that second line on the test!

~So was this planned? Not this early! No, we knew we were going to have another child, and that it would be close in age to Collin, but we never, ever, LIKE EVER! Thought it would be this close to having Collin. Collin and Baby #3 will be 16 months apart. I was hoping to get pregnant around March-May. But apparently the big guy up top had other ideas for us.

~How did you find out? At the beginning of Jan we went to Collin's 6 month check up and he had lost weight. So I was really pushing nursing like crazy with him. Then all the sudden I wasn't producing like, anything. Kid was crying at the end of every nursing session because he wasn't getting enough. 2 days later of this and being exhausted, I sent Matt to the store to get some tests because I just didn't feel right. I felt off and I wanted to prove that pregnancy was not in the picture. I was still nursing. No way I could still get pregnant. WRONG! I took a test that night, it was a Friday night. And I got a super faint line. I told Matt and he said that he wouldn't believe it till it was "morning pee." (morning pee is more undiluted pee and is supposed to give more accurate results.) So the next morning I took another test and the test was a little darker. (not much but there was definitely a line.) Matt then said he would believe the test on Monday morning after waiting a few days. "It could be a false positive!" he would say as he and I were in utter and complete SHOCK!

Monday morning rolled around and I took another test. The line this morning was much darker. I was concerned about nursing and wasn't sure about continuing nursing or even if my progesterone was at the right levels to sustain a pregnancy. (I had to take progesterone pills with my other pregnancies to sustain them) So I called my OB/GYM up that day and they decided to see me the next day.

I went in. Got an exam and check up and had my blood drawn. That evening I got the results of my test, called personally from my doc which usually isn't a good sign, and he said that it was 27 and that that could be normal for a very early pregnancy and for me to go back on Friday to get a second draw to make sure it doubled in that time. Time crawled by till Friday. I took another pee test (Matt got 6) on Thursday and the line was EVEN DARKER! Friday rolled around and got poked in the arm. Later that day, we got a call from the nurse and she said my numbers more than doubled. I was at 124! So baby was sticking. And my progesterone was fine. No suppositories! YEA!

Since then I have just been sitting on this news, dying to tell all of you!

Hard part though, I have been very sick with morning sickness. It seems to be getting worse ever single week. I even missed my 8 mile run this morning because of it and my INSANE migraines I have been getting. They are AWFUL! So I am still planning on doing the 10 miler next month. There isn't a time limit on it but I will be doing it. After that I have smaller races and can do them easy peasy. I just want to get past all the puking and dry heaving stage!

~How far along am I right now. Tomorrow I will be 8 weeks. I am announcing earlier than I would like, but I figured I need to be grateful for this amazing blessing. This was a surprise. A true blessing and I just can not hide it in any longer!

~What is your official due date? Well, this past Thursday, I went in for my 8 week check up. We didn't know my due date (since I am nursing, and I didn't remember my last period) so I got sent to the hospital for a dating ultrasound. I got to see our little gummy bear and the heart beat and based on the size of the embryo, I am due September 27.

I am so thankful for you sticking around with me and continuing to follow me. Again, my goal for this pregnancy is to remain as fit and healthy as possible. I still hadn't lost all the baby weight from Collin. I figured I had a few months to lose it before I got pregnant again and well, nope! So I am starting out this pregnancy even heavier than I ever wanted to start a pregnancy. I am almost at my end pregnancy weight I was with both boys. That scares me to death. So my goal is to remain as active as possible, do more exercises that spot certain areas of my body that I know get bigger, my thighs and BUTT! and to continue eating a healthy diet. (failing in that right now because sweets are just amazing, well some of them, and I am having a hard time eating meat in general.) So lots of eggs right now and I have been enjoying fresh fruit and green smoothies. Here is to the next 9 months!