Last Solo Christmas

Christmas in our household was a little different this year as we spent it knowing that this would be our last Christmas together as a family of two and anticipating the years to come with new additions to our family.  We were very blessed by several family members who gave us generous gifts for the baby (Mike is holding one of them in the picture above).  With each gift that we opened that would be used by our baby girl in a few short weeks we smiled with the realization that our lives are about to change drastically.  

I think it's times like these when I realize just how selfish I am.  When Mike and I got married I got a huge slap in the face as God revealed to me my incredibly selfish nature.  I knew before we were married that I had selfish tendencies (don't we all?) but when it came to adding someone else to my life and having to work with another person and not just myself, I came to see that I really had lived a life thinking it was all about myself.  

It truly has taken a work of God to change my attitude and I look back on the last two years of our marriage and I am grateful and incredibly amazed at how much God has changed me and allowed me to let go of my selfishness and grow together with Mike.  And just when I thought I had learned all I needed to about selfishness...we'll have a baby thrown into the mix and I'm already seeing how much  more selfishness I have left in me!  :)  When I think some nights that these may be the last few that I'll sleep at all for a long time I can feel the selfishness seep into my core thinking that I don't know how I'm going to handle that.  Or when Mike and I go out on dates and I realize that these will be the last dates that we'll have when we won't have to worry about getting the baby back from a sitter and feel resentful that I won't be free to just do whatever I want anymore...I feel the selfishness, again.  I think it's incredible that we never truly stop learning about and changing our selfish nature.  It just continues to progress and as we get better and better, more and more situations are thrown at us to challenge us.  I guess it's like working out, you have to work your muscles in order for them to continue to grow and stay  healthy, it's not something that you just do for a few months and then you're done.  God continues to work on my spiritual muscles and I'm excited to see how much more things will change when our baby actually arrives.   

Updates all around

Well, this one has been a long time coming seeing as I haven't given the blog a good update in a while.  A lot has happened in the last few weeks!  

Mike and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary last weekend.  We went to Disney with my old college roommate, Rachael, and her husband, Drew.  We had a great time!  We found a great deal on the hotel room ($35 a night--hotwire!) and so we decided it would be nice to take a final trip as a family of two before little girl arrives.  We left mid-day on Friday,  and spent Friday night freezing in downtown disney...42 degrees and all I had was a sweater and some hot chocolate.  

We woke up early on Saturday and went to breakfast before hitting the parks.  Now, before I go on, there had been bets placed on how long I would last before having to get a wheel chair to wheel me around and I was NOT about to let anyone win that bet.  Being stubborn can be a pitfall but I love to prove people wrong.  :)  

We started at Magic Kingdom where the boys rode on Splash Mountain and Rach and I hung out and then we walked around there for a while.  Next was EPCOT, which I now realize is the most friendly park for the preggos of the world because there is a lot more to do and see for those in my condition.  We spent a good long while there looking at the countries and spending time in some of the shows, etc.  After EPCOT we headed to Hollywood Studios for dinner and the lights show.   I made reservations for dinner about 2 months in advance, made sure it was all set up and when we got there realized (after 5 minutes of searching) that our reservations were under a misspelled name.   Then they sat us right next to the door at a makeshift table and froze every time it opened.  This is the first unpleasant dining experience I've ever had with Disney...I may have to write a letter since I actually had made the effort to make reservations way in advance.  Anyway, then we headed to see the lights show, which made it all worth it before heading back to Magic Kingdom for the parade/palace/fireworks.  All in all it was probably about 4-5 miles of walking the entire day (12 1/2 hours) and I didn't sit in one wheel chair.  I was very sore when we left, though!

I woke up Sunday, sore again, but took it easy hoping things would get better.  Unfortunately, they have not gotten better.  I spent all week in terrible amounts of pain which I have now been informed is a bad case of sciatica and this is right around the time in pregnancy when it normally hits.  It was not caused by the walking, though that may have agitated the condition.  Most of the things I had read prior to my appointment with the Dr. on Thursday said that if you do develop the condition it pretty much just stinks because it usually doesn't go away until you give birth.  In fact, most of the stories that I read had women saying how relieved they were when they did finally go into labor because the back pain was finally about to end.  

I was hoping the Dr. would have better news but he didn't.  He said it usually sticks around and has periods of being really bad and periods where it is bearable but it's unpredictable.  It happens a lot in girls who were fairly small before they got pregnant because the body is not used to all of the extra weight and mine happens to all be in the front which makes it harder.  He went ahead and put paper work in so that if I go back to work in January and it's still unbearable (which it has been all week--I haven't been able to walk) then he'll put me on medical disability for the rest of my pregnancy.  He says the stress hormone that is released when you have this kind of pain can be harmful to the baby and can help onset conditions like preeclampsia and pre-term labor which would not be good.  Hopefully the two weeks off of work will help clear up the big time pain and I'll be able to work my last four weeks with little problems.  Keep us in your prayers!  We know God is ultimately in control and He has the plan worked out already.

Soooo, the next two weeks I'll be writing my 100 page sub manual in preparation for my leave time.  I've met my sub, and those of you who have talked to me about it know that she is far from what I'd want in my classroom.  She has no disciplinary skills, in fact, she has asked me to take kids off punishments when she's seen me at the playground in front of them.  She doesn't know how to write lesson plans, has no idea how to handle a gradebook/grade papers (all of which she's told me) and it just altogether doesn't sound like I'll come back to a good class.  So, I decided, to cover my own butt, I'll be writing a manual listing anything and everything she may need to know about how to run the classroom so that when I get back in April I can't be blamed for not leaving her prepared.  As annoying as it is, I'll have a lot less stress knowing it's there than I would otherwise.  

Phew!  I think that's about it for the update on myself and Mike.  Here's a quick baby update:

- Baby is healthy and has a great heartbeat.

- She was breach last Monday and has been that way for several weeks.  This past Thursday at the appointment she was sideways.  She has 2 weeks to turn before they go ahead and schedule a c-section so we're hoping that she listens and FLIPS!  :)

- ONLY 6 MORE WEEKS!!!!!!!!  :) :) :)

I'll post pics from our trip as soon as we have a faster Internet connection.  

Maternity Pictures with Natalie

About a month ago, I got an email from Natalie- a girl I went to high school with- letting me know that she is a photographer who was looking to get some portfolio work done.  She offered to take some maternity pictures for us for free and we definitely obliged!  :)  These are all at about 30 weeks preggo.

Hitting the 2 week appointment mark

I know updates have been few and far between lately. We've been crazy busy trying to get stuff done for the baby and for the holidays. Toss in a little work here and there and it makes it hard to get to updating the blog. I'll try to be better about it. :)

I don't have any pictures this time but I do have a Dr.'s update!

Today we had our 30 week appointment today. Baby is measuring right on target for where we are and we're looking forward to February. We've now hit the point in the pregnancy where we no longer go in for monthly checkups but we will be going in every 2 weeks. We'll do that for 6 weeks (until Jan. 6) when we'll have one more ultrasound to check on baby girl (get her weight, etc.) and then we'll go in every week until delivery. We see the light at the end of the 40 week tunnel!

We're headed up to Ocala this weekend for Thanksgiving with my mom's family. We haven't seen my uncle/aunt/cousins in about 10 years so it's a bit of a family reunion. We'll have four generations there if we include little one, which we will, because she does exist even though she's not out yet. I'm sure we'll get pictures and then we'll update for everyone.

Baby Bedding!

We went and picked up little girl's bedding today.  We've been going back and forth between two different sets and finally made a decision this week.  As we were setting it up we kept thinking about how excited we are to be getting so close to having her here!  We're one step closer to getting this nursery finished for her.  (keep in mind that half of the room is still the guest room so what you're seeing will be her half of the room) 

I gave this "snuggle bear" to Mike my freshman year of college for our first Valentine's Day.  I told him (jokingly) that one day we could put it in our baby's crib and we had a good laugh and now here it is!  :)
Inside of the bedding.  The bedding actually came with a different sheet but I liked the look of this one a little better.  The other one has a lot more white in it so it's more likely to get dirty.  We'll switch it back and forth.
Crib and changing table.  Again, if you haven't read the earlier posts about them, we got these on craigslist.  The crib alone was originally over $800 from a little boutique and we got it gently used for under $150.  The changing table another expensive original purchase but the couple threw it in with the crib for $20.  We were so excited about these finds!

27 weeks and appointment update

Belly close up at 26 1/2 weeks.  I feel like I look bigger in person, the pictures don't do my monster belly justice (or maybe I just have a very skewed vision of myself.  :)
27 weeks right before church.  There are fewer pictures this week because I was having a "bad picture day."  We took close to 10 pictures and these were the only two that looked "good enough" for me to stick up here.
And finally a picture that I feel does the belly a bit more justice.  :) Our doodlebug is about 2 lbs this week so she is starting to run out of room in there, and I can definitely FEEL her running out of room as she seems to occupy every area of my stomach.  I can even feel her little hands or feet in my ribs sometimes (NOT fun! :) )

Appointment update:

Drank the oh-so-wonderful glucose syrup drink around 8:15am on Monday morning.  It actually wasn't as horrible as it had been described until the after taste hit and then I was not feeling good.  At 9:15am had my blood drawn and then went in to see the Dr.  Gained quite a bit more weight this month and am up 13 lbs total so far this pregnancy, which, being well over the halfway mark of the pregnancy is really good--it means a lot of my weight is just the weight associated with the baby and I'm not gaining in other places.  

The way the glucose test works is that I drink the goo and then an hour later they test my blood sugar to see how my body is processing the sugar.  If my blood tests under 139 then my body is doing it's job and I don't have to go back in, if it tests over 139 then I have to go back in for the 4 hour glucose test which would mean another day off of work (not good).  According to the Dr. most women fail the initial screening and have to come back in for the actual test (which begs the question- why not just do the big test for everyone?).  I figured they'd call with the results, regardless of what they were, because that's the way the office has always worked.  Well, here I am a week later and still haven't heard and I'm going to assume that no news is good news and that I probably passed!  :)  Yay!  I'm amazed because I was SURE they'd call me back in just because of the way the sugar made me feel.  I'm very happy though.  

I think that's about it for the update this week.  We are counting down the days until our little one should be arriving and we are so excited!

25 and 26 weeks

Here are some updated belly shots. This one is at 25 weeks. I'm still feeling bigger by the day.25 weeks. I think my belly looks smaller in pictures OR I when I look at it I just see something different than everyone else does.

More at 25 weeks. It was at this week that all of my normal shirts stopped fitting.

Top two are still 25 week front shots. The bottom two are at 26 weeks. This week we found out that the girl at church who lent me her maternity clothes is also preggo! We are so thrilled for her family, it is such a blessing! Actually, now the women in our bible study consist of three pregnant women, a woman who just had a baby 7 weeks ago and two others. So the majority of us are either getting ready to have babies or have just had a baby...must be in the water, don't drink it if you come visit unless you want a little surprise. ;)

All that to say that she needs her maternity clothes back because she's already starting to show. :( We're sad to see the clothes go because they were such a huge blessing. They really blessed us at a time when we needed it and now we're in a much better financial position where we can afford to get me some of my own clothes. I've been hunting ebay and sales online and am hoping that I'll come up with a good starter wardrobe.

Other news-

1. I have my glucose test tomorrow morning and then a normal checkup. This is the first appointment that I'm not nervous to go to, God is good!

2. We're preparing for the arrival of our doodlebug by getting the nursery ready. We're cleaning out the closet and have put the furniture we have in position. Hopefully, I'll have pictures of it soemtime this week once the clutter is off of the floor and we can move around a bit better in there.

3. We have LESS THAN 100 DAYS LEFT until my due date!!!!! :)

I'll update after the appointment tomorrow. Until then!

The time is getting near...

Only 15 weeks left!  That's 3 1/2 months or 105 days!!!  I get more excited about having her with us every single day.  Here are some new things going on in the pregnancy:

- I'm getting larger (I know, not super new but I've been told by several people that I have finally "popped")

- Baby can now kick one side of me and hit/head butt the other side of me at the same time so I can now definitely TELL she's bigger and FEEL her getting bigger.

- My stomach has started to ripple every time she kicks and when she rolls it's a sight to be seen because it looks like I've got an alien inside of me.

- She's starting to play games, when I feel her kick I press down on where she is kicking and she'll start kicking/hitting the other side of me until I put my hand there and then she goes back to the other side.

- Baby has proven to be a night owl/early morning bird.  During the day she's pretty quiet and I'm lucky to get a flutter from her but after 8:30pm she goes to town with her acrobatics.  When Mike wakes up (at 4am most mornings) she wakes right up with him and I have to BEG her to let me go back to sleep for a couple of hours.  :)  

- Kids seem to gravitate toward my belly.  I have kids in the hallway at school (mostly kindergartners) who have no idea who I am but reach out and touch my belly when they're passing me.  Strange...but interesting.

So, I think that's it as far as pregnancy updates go.  I have a Dr.'s appointment. next Monday (Oct. 20).  It's my glucose screening to test for gestational diabetes which I don't show symptoms of, so it shouldn't be an issue.  I think I mentioned it before but essentially I'll be drinking a bottle of non-carbonated orange soda with about an extra half cup of sugar in it...yum yum.  It's already in our fridge waiting for me.  I think (and will double check) that I have this appointment and then one more four weeks later and after that I start going every two weeks.  It's all surreal to me but so exciting!

That's all for now.  I'll update as soon as I can with the 25 week picture.

Growing Baby!

22 weeks and growing! When this was taken Mike and I were getting ready to go out on a date to celebrate being OVER halfway through this pregnancy! It has not been an easy one by any stretch, but I wouldn't change any of it because God has truly shown his blessing on us through it all.

The only together shot that we have together so far during this pregnancy. Mike usually is the one behind the camera so that we can get the right angle for the pictures (I usually make him take 5 pictures to every one that I post) so we'll have to find a new photographer so we can get some pictures together. We're headed to Disney for our anniversary trip and we're going with some good friends of ours so I expect we'll get quite a few of the two of us then! :)

24 weeks. We have 16 weeks left until our due date, sometimes it feels like the time is FLYING and others it just drags and drags. We are so looking forward to bringing our little one home!

Another 24 week picture.

I'm going to try to make it a point to take at least one picture a week until the end of it all from now on so that we have more of a record of how quickly I'm growing. I literally will wake up from one day to the next and notice that I've gotten progressively larger.

22 week appointment

We're over halfway there!  Only about 18 more weeks to go until # 3 is here with us!  It's crazy to think that we've come this far, we feel so blessed and so elated.  We're still working on names but will not be revealing the final decision until the day of her birth.  We've got very special names in mind for her and we'll be very excited to let everyone know what her name is when she's here.  It'll be something fun for Mike to be able to tell everyone once she's born and is named.  

Anyway, in other news, baby and I had our 5th (?) appointment with Dr. Kellogg yesterday.  Mike couldn't make it as he was reffing a volleyball game so my dad took me.  It was a pretty routine exam, just heartbeat, measurements and weight.  So far I've only gained 6lbs which they seem to think is a little unusual but I eat pretty healthy and the baby's size is on track so they aren't concerned.  Baby is measuring right on track and the heartbeat is healthy and LOUD.  

I also expressed some concern because Sunday afternoon I got a nasty pain that started in at the bottom of my shoulder blades and went all the way through my jaw.  It was killer and NOTHING helped with it.  I got to the point where I was in so much pain that it made me sick.  This went on for over 12 hours until I finally was able to fall asleep.  After explaining what the pain felt like he looked at me with a small smile and said that it sounded like I was experiencing really bad gas....are you kidding me?  :)  I also have had some bad pain in my right side that heads on through my back.  The nurse told me that the baby is finding it comfortable hang out on my sciatic nerve and it will be causing me pain throughout the pregnancy.  She actually said that because of how consistent the pain is and because of how long it lasts when it happens that it sounds like the baby is actually sleeping on the nerve.  Thank goodness all of this will bring us a sweet baby in the end!

So that was the extent of it.  My next appt. is on October 27 and it is my big glucose test to see if I have developed gestational diabetes.  It's actually kind of a nasty test.  I basically will be drinking a bottle of flat orange soda with essentially an extra half cup of sugar in it to see if my body can process sugar correctly.  Yuuuuuum.  

Until next time!

She's getting bigger!

This was me at 19 weeks.  I started to notice a little bump at about 15 weeks but it was at 19 weeks that I seem to have "popped" and people started to ask if I was pregnant.

This is me at 21 weeks.  A co-worker of mine is expecting on November 15 and this is her baby shower at work.  I know you have to look closer at this one to see my bump but you'll notice it is a bit bigger than the first.  In fact, the phrase I hear most at work is, "you're getting bigger!"  (at least 3 times a day)  Will post more soon!

Out with the old...in with new...

It came time to transition my wardrobe this week.  I am realizing that less and less of my pre-pregnancy clothes are fitting me.  Even my bigger shirts are starting to get a little snug.  Mike has been bugging me for a couple of weeks to go through our closet and put my pre-preggo clothes into storage so that there is room for my maternity stuff (it has just been sitting on the floor in the closet making it hard to get around).  I was hesitant for a while to do it because I just kept convincing myself that there was no way I'd stop fitting into some of my clothes.  When I went to put on some of my old shirts last night, after going through 4 or 5 of them, I realized it was time to transition.

It's a fun time because I get to explore all of the new clothes so graciously lent to me (it's like going shopping without spending money :) ) and they now occupy the drawers in my closet.  It's also exciting because I know that my baby girl is getting closer and closer to being home with us (about 4 months!).  Every little step we take in the pregnancy gets us closer and closer which is extremely exciting!

This week our project is to clean out the guest room closet.  It has been our little storage unit here in the house and now we need the room for our new addition.  Our goal right now is to throw away/give away most of the stuff in there because as of now, the stuff has sat in there for a year and hasn't even been looked at.  We'll see how that goes.  :)  

We bought a crib last week.  It's a beautiful white, hand crafted sleigh crib (well, it says it's sleigh, I don't think it looks a lot like one).  It retails for $800 dollars normally, plus it's got an added storage drawer on the bottom that would add an extra $100, AND it came with a $150 dollar mattress (yes, we researched each part of it to make sure we weren't being scammed) and we got it for well under $200 so we are elated!  The family that we bought it from is done having kids and they wanted to get it off of their hands and had been trying to sell it for several months.  When we were interested they were happy to bargain.  We'll probably buy their changing table also as it matches the crib, is of good quality and is a great price ($20!).  God really blessed us with this purchase.  We knew it would be hard to afford a brand new crib but we wanted something nice and this one is better quality craftsmanship than any of the new ones that we would have been able to afford.  Mike set it up and I find myself regularly walking into the room just to imagine having the little one around.  :)  (I'll post pictures of it when the room is cleaner)

My next appointment is Sept. 29 for just the routine stuff.  It will be the first one that I go to by myself so I'm praying nothing out of the ordinary happens.

On another note...the baby must LOVE college football because any time I have it on or have something related to it on she kicks up a storm.  Must take after Carolyn.  ;)

The Results From The Gender Scan Say...........

We are thrilled to announce that we are expecting a baby girl in February!  It comes as kind of a surprise.  I actually suspected that it was a girl early on, but had convinced myself that it must be a boy because my suspicions certainly could not have been correct.  :)

We got to our appt. about 15 minutes early and the tech honored that by pulling us in after about 5 minutes.  He started off by letting me know that I wouldn't be able to see most of the ultrasound because the monitor would be facing him, but that Mike could watch the whole thing.  I was incredibly nervous (as usual) and as soon as he sensed this, he turned on the audio from the ultrasound so I could listen to the heartbeat.  At that point I relaxed and let the man do his job.  About 5 minutes in, he made a comment along the lines of, "I wish I could get her to stop moving for a minute so I can get some of these measurements!"  At that point, I knew it was a girl.  Mike swears he didn't hear him say it, but I know what I heard ;).    The scan went on for another 15 minutes or so before he turned the screen to me.  He explained that he had, in passing, noticed that it looked like it was probably a girl but he wanted to make sure.  He showed us the proof and kept it there for a minute  or so to make sure there was nothing hiding and sure enough, it is a girl!  Her little feet were actually crossed at the ankle and were swinging back and forth the entire time we were looking at the shot.  

She is a "textbook" baby.  Her measurements were all right on target and everything looks beautiful.  GOD IS SO FAITHFUL!  

Little kicks!

I've been told by every mom that when the baby starts to have noticeable movement, I will most definitely know that it's the baby.  Starting about a month ago, every once and a while I'd feel little flutters-like little butterflies-on the right side of my stomach.  I always attributed that to gas because I've been told it's really easy to get confused with the two.  

About a week ago, I was lying in bed and felt a very strong kick on my right side though.  At first, I thought I was imagining it, but I put my hand down on my stomach and sure enough, I felt two more strong kicks and knew that it was 100% baby.  :)  It was the most amazing feeling ever!  It definitely made the fact that we'll have a newborn in a few short months very real.  Since then I've noticed that if I'm sitting certain ways, or if I stay still after being really active, I can get him/her to give me a few kicks.  It's very sporadic and I look forward to the days when it happens frequently.  

In other new baby news-

**This Thursday, Sept. 4, we go in for our "anatomy scan" where they look to make sure all of the baby's organs are functioning properly and are forming properly.  It is also during the scan that we will *fingers crossed* be able to tell if it's a boy or a girl!  :)  So big news to come this week. I'll also be having my big spinal bifida blood test done while we are there.  I've been praying daily that when we have the scan and blood test, everything will turn out normal and we'll know that our healthy baby is on the way.  Matthew 6:34, Proverbs 3:5-6 and Phil. 4:6 are what I've been reciting to help give me some peace.

**I am now having to wear maternity pants full time.  Even my pre-pregnancy pants that don't have buttons/zippers are starting to get uncomfortable.  I have been very lucky because a girl at church has lent me most of her maternity clothes and so Mike and I have been able to save a lot of money because of it (and we have the same taste in clothing, so I LOVE the clothes!).  Every once and a while I have to pull out one of the shirts, I have a feeling though that in the coming weeks I'll be wearing them full time as the bump is getting bigger by the day.

**At this point in the pregnancy I am supposed to stop sleeping on my back.  I guess when I lay on my back for long periods of time I am compressing a vein and it slows blood flow to my heart which can cause some problems.  This is very hard for me because I am a total back sleeper.  I've never really been able to fall asleep on either side.  I have been struggling with this for several days and final caved today and went out and bought a body pillow to help prop me on my side at night.  

**I am really starting to enjoy the pregnancy.  Even heartburn and swelling has been a blessing because it is a reminder of what God is doing inside of me.  To think that come February Mike and I will have a baby is crazy!  What is even more insane to think about is that God has chosen us to be the parents.  We are so thrilled to start this new adventure!  I will tell you that I have never felt more strongly that God exists than now.  Every time I feel the little kicks and think about what is going on inside of me, I can't help but be in awe of our creator and His intricate design.  

We'll definitely post on Thursday or Friday with the results from the scan!  Any last minute predictions?  All of the girls at work think it's a girl, the church is split (those who care to guess, anyway), and my mom changes her mind every other day!  :)  I don't have a clue!

New found "joys"

It seems like every day I encounter a new symptom I can attribute to being pregnant.  Actually, it works in my benefit sometimes because things that might happen outside of pregnancy that happen now I can blame on being pregnant and it gets a lot more sympathy--not that I'm using people--I'm not!  :)  

After two impromptu days off at the beginning of the week due to Tropical Storm (cough, cough...tropical sprinkle) Fay, I finally started work yesterday with a fresh new batch of 1st graders.  They seem a lot younger this year and require a lot more doting on, which is a little frustrating.  After my third trip to the  bathroom with the kids yesterday (yes, we have to take the ENTIRE class to the bathroom at least twice--20 minutes easy each time-- a day but mine decided they all needed to go a third time), a 20 minute snack break (because they couldn't concentrate without one in the afternoon), and a couple of the kids asking when they were going to get nap (that NEVER happened last year), I realized that this is going to be a very different kind of year.

We were also asked this year (k-1 teachers) to "graciously" sit with our kids during lunch this year in the cafeteria to keep the chaos to a minimum.  To comp us for our time, we are allowed to leave campus at 2:45pm as opposed to 3:15pm when we're supposed to go.  So...if we do the math...that's 7 hours with not so much as a bathroom break for me.  This would be fine if I wasn't pregnant, but it brings on some extreme discomfort.  

Not that I needed to get into that much detail about work, but I find that sometimes it adds a little spice and will probably have some interesting anecdotes to put in here throughout the year.  All of that to explain some of my new found pregnancy "joys."  

#1.  You don't have to be 8+ months pregnant to swell.  Nope- I learned that yesterday when my feet swelled up so big that I couldn't fit them in my shoes (after standing for most of the day) and my knees almost doubled in size. Time for some extra comfy shoes. 

#2.  Back pain is something I'm just going to have to accept does not go away.  It's been pretty constant lately and nothing I do (or Mike does) seems to alleviate it.  Heat, massages, sitting more...you name it, I've probably tried it.  I am starting to get used to it, though.

#3.  Heartburn.  It seems like EVERYTHING I eat or drink gives it to me-- even a glass of water...no joke.  I've tried all the normal stuff that has been recommended to keep it at bay- no spicy food, avoiding tomato products, not drinking carbonated beverages, but like I said, even water gives it to me.  Tums have become a staple in my diet.  :)

I guess when you get rid of the first trimester symptoms (morning sickness, more morning sickness, and even more morning sickness), the second trimester brings a whole new batch of wonderful!  :)  Actually, though, all of this really does reassure me that I'm still pregnant and daily helps give me a sense of peace.  

2 weeks until we find out if it's a baby boy or a baby girl!  :)  Any guesses?

Mommy car and 14 week appt.

Mike and I have made our first large purchase as a married couple.  As many of you know (or may not know), we got home from our 3 weeks in Ohio about a month ago and the air conditioner in my car had died.  Yes, middle of summer, pregnant and no air...great combo.  We talked about it and realized that fixing the air would cost us close to, if not more than, what the car is worth so we decided it was time to start looking for a new one (which, if you've been in my car in the last two months, you know I need).  

We started looking online and talking to some friends who work for dealers and decided we wanted a small SUV, something safe that we can start building our family into.  I fell in love with a Saturn Vue that carmax listed one afternoon and I went to the lot to look at it and literally 3 hours after it had been posted, it was sold--and not to me.  Actually, the person we know who works there says that they never keep vue's on the lot because people love them so much.  I was disappointed but didn't want to give up.  

I convinced Mike to go out one afternoon to look at cars- we went and test drove a couple of new cars (just for fun) at one dealership and then went to the Saturn dealership to check and see if they had any vue's.  The salesman who met us at the door (how do they do that?  they must have some kind of sixth sense because as soon as our car pulled up at any dealer we had  personal welcoming committee) told us that they never had used Vue's because no one ever turned them in.  He showed us a new Vue, which we knew we couldn't afford and as we were getting out of it Mike spotted a used Vue tucked in a corner!  The salesman apologized profusely and said it must have just come in because he hadn't seen it yet (I was reluctant to believe a car salesman, but the guy seemed very genuine--and I had met with a few others that day who were less than).  It was the exact price Mike and I had agreed the night before we'd be able to pay and so within 2 hours we put the down payment on it and drove it off the lot.  It's a 2004 Saturn Vue, dark green.  I'll post pictures when I can.  I've been driving it around now for a week or so and I just love it!  It's exactly what I wanted.

In other news...we had our 14 week appointment with Dr. Kellogg yesterday.  I was nervous (as usual) was we went into the Dr.'s office and not ready to wait for 45  minutes to see him.  God must have known this because we only sat in the waiting room for about 10 minutes and when we went into the exam room the Dr. was already waiting for me!  They did the normal weight and blood pressure stuff and then he got the dreaded doppler out.  Now, for most, this is a joyous tool...not so for me.  I go into a cold sweat whenever I hear the word because I'm so freaked about not being able to find the heartbeat.  Again, God was right there and it took the Dr. not more than 2 seconds before he found a very loud, very strong heartbeat.  We listened for a few seconds and then we were done!  The whole appointment took about 10 minutes.  I think it's the fastest we have ever been in and out of the Dr.  

Our next appointment we will be on Sept. 4 to find out the sex of the baby!

You might be pregnant if...

These are just a few observations I've made in the last 13 weeks.  

You might be pregnant if...

...a good night sleep means that you only woke up twice to go to the bathroom instead of FIVE times.

...you can no longer stay awake through any hour long show.  Instead, you wake up at the end of the show to ask "what happened?"

...you take 5 naps a day but still end up asleep before 10pm at night.

...you can't go much longer than 20 minutes without thinking about what you will eat next.

...EVERYTHING seems to stink, even your husband's deodorant--these things in turn make you run to the bathroom.

...you go from happy and laughing to sobbing in a matter of two minutes.

...you can no longer look at a mom in the grocery store with a crying baby and think "thank goodness that's not me" because you know that in a few months, it probably will be you.

...it's normal to wake up at 3am hungry, 5am hungry, and finally grudgingly get up at or before 8am to satisfy the hunger.

...you think that saltines should be added to the food pyramid.

...you can plan out a 5 star meal that sounds so good when you start making it but after you've put forth the effort, you wonder why it sounded so good in the first place (at this point you're thankful that you have a husband who enjoys to eat).

...you think of upcoming holidays in terms of how big you will be at that point.

And though all of these things may not seem appealing, you know that in the end, it's all going to be worth it.  :)  Here's to 6 more months!

10 weeks, 5 days

Only about a week left of my first trimester! Woohoo!! I can't even begin to describe the excitement I feel about this. I'm ALMOST bouncing off the walls...except I can't bounce without getting sick so... :)

We went to the Dr. yesterday. I almost died in the waiting room (45 minutes...grrr). The appointment we had yesterday was literally the same appointment that we had back in November when we realized we had a miscarriage. We went in to hear the heartbeat, couldn't on the doppler, were sent to get an ultrasound and then we were told there was no heartbeat and we had miscarried. (that was the last one, not this one) This one we did backwards, ultrasound then Dr. So, as mentioned above, waited in the u/s waiting room for 45 minutes, scared to death...in fact my first words to the tech were "I'm really nervous, can we please get this over with?" To which she nervously laughed. Anyway, all said and done, we saw (and heard) a beautiful heartbeat and got some great pictures of the baby (which I'll post as soon as I can figure out how to use the scanner). The Dr. is very pleased with the progress, he says all things look good for a late January/early Feb delivery. The only odd thing is that the baby keeps measuring just a little off but the Dr. seems to think this is normal, so we're not worried.

Next appointment is on August 7 and it should just be a normal checkup. We're SO looking forward to the baby!

Let the blogging begin...

And we're back with a new blog. I was going to wait until my first trimester is over to start but we're getting mighty close and I just couldn't wait another second! Yes...we are indeed pregnant and are hoping that our little bean sticks this time so that come February 2nd or so we have a new member of the family.

This has been a very nerve wracking time for us...well for me, Mike seems to be very relaxed about it all (grrr). I do have a peace about this one and I do feel like it is God's time for us to start our family, but there's still a nagging piece of my brain that creeps in every once and a while to taunt me. Naturally, I'm still afraid of a miscarriage like with my first. I'm trying daily to pray my way through my fears knowing that God is ultimately in control and knows what is going on in my body. Phillipians 4:6, an old favorite is quickly becoming a new favorite for me as I try and recite it any time fear/anxiousness slips in. "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Thank goodness I'm not the one in control of my life, right?

Anyway, the symptoms of this pregnancy are a lot worse than the last one. I have no cravings for food--just STRONG aversions. I am constantly hungry but when it comes time to eat I have to shove food down my throat because nothing seems appealing...or it may have seemed appealing when I started making it but by the time it hits my mouth I just can't seem to get it down. Some of the foods I really can't stand right now (and this changes every day it seems) are chicken breasts, turkey (cold cuts or otherwise), on occasion items with milk in it, and some kinds of cereal. Foods that are daily on the menu are saltines, saltines, and more saltines. :) Other symptoms include a nausia that seems to come and go all day long, my new found hobby of going to the bathroom (every 20 minutes it seems) and always needing a nap.

Our next Dr.'s appointment is on July 11 and I am daily...no...hourly praying that we can see our baby's beautiful heartbeat on the ultra sound monitor. This is the appointment I have feared since November when we first realized we lost our baby. I am trusting in faith that this baby is the one we will hold in our arms and only through prayer am I able to push aside my fears.

More updates to come! :)