Our Little Man

Just as an FYI: This post will contain many references to the birth process. I will try to be classy in how I explain things but just wanted to warn you all :) Also, this is an incredibly long story!

As I said in my previous post, my OB/GYN checked my cervix and I was dilated to almost a 4 and she gave me the option of either going home and waiting for my contractions to speed up or to go over to the hospital. I picked the hospital so we could get the show on the road :) James and I made our necessary calls (parents, etc.) and made our way over to the maternity ward. They got me outfitted in their awesomely flattering gown and I tried to get comfortable. If I remember correctly, my contractions were coming every 5-7 minutes so we needed to do something to speed this up. I was hoping for no pitocin but we were unsure if that was possible at this point. I did give in and get the epidural just so I could actually get some sleep before I had to push. My energy level was really low and I knew I needed to conserve what I had left. I was a little disappointed that I got it so early (my goal had been to wait until I was a 7) but I think I made the right decision for me.

After my doctor finished her appointments, she came over to the birthing suites and broke my water. I had heard that this doesn't really speed up labor but it did seem to work for me, so who knows! They continued to check my progress throughout the evening and night so I probably got less sleep than I had hoped but I was able to relax and nap. They kept losing the baby's heartbeat on the external monitor so they had to use an internal one instead.  Around 4 in the morning (I think... it's all a little fuzzy now) the nurse checked me and I was a 7 but she also noticed that I was burning hot. I hadn't felt well but I thought it was lack of sleep. James then checked my legs (I couldn't feel them from the epidural) and said they were hot and that I was sweating. They took off my blankets and gave me some tylenol and we decided to check my temperature again in an hour.  After awhile, they took my temp again and the fever had not gone down so they started me on an antibiotic. I later found out that I had picked up an infection in my amniotic fluid. This was apparently unusual because I was group B strep negative and my water had been broken in a sterile environment but I guess it just happens sometimes. By this time, I was a little delirious and sweaty. They also put me on oxygen for the baby. Great... I was dilated to an 8 and I started to feel incredible pressure in my back. I told the nurse but she said that it was probably normal.

James was my rock during the whole thing as I began to feel the contractions because the baby had dropped even lower. He helped me breathe through them. It wasn't any pain necessarily that bothered me, but the pressure was very intense. They said that it would probably take an hour or so per centimeter of dilating so I was looking at 2 more hours. I think having the end in sight really helped me because I had a slight breakdown around this time. I was able to focus on the fact that I would soon hold my little boy in my arms. My doctor was in for her rounds at 7 which was luckily when I was fully dilated and effaced. It was time to push!

I had always had full control of my legs, even though I couldn't feel them which really helped as I pushed. We tried a few positions before we figured out what worked best for me and then we got down to business! Unfortunately, the doctor and nurse told us that they could see meconium in my fluid now and they would have to take the baby to check him as soon as he was born. They assured us it was normal and just a precaution to make sure he hadn't aspirated anything as he was in a little distress. I pushed for about 45 minutes (they said I was an excellent pusher, by the way!) before he started to crown. They let us know that he had hair which was a huge shock. We were sure he would be bald!

The last 15 minutes were quite difficult as his head wouldn't completely exit. My doctor finally just did an episiotomy so we could get him out and then we figured out the problem. He was sunny side up (facing the ceiling instead of the floor). This makes pushing much more difficult as the angles aren't quite right and his bony parts (skull, spine, etc.) were against my spine. It now made so much sense why I felt incredible pressure in my back. Weirdly enough, I was also born sunny side up which is unusual. My doctor was very intrigued by this and thought maybe my mom and I's pelvis was shaped a certain way which did not make our baby's head turn during delivery. After his head was out, my doctor was able to pull the rest of him free and I heard a little feeble scream from him.

They had warned me that we might not hear him cry, especially if he had in fact aspirated anything. I was relieved that he cried but unfortunately this was not what we wanted. Because he cried before they were able to suck the meconium from his lungs, he had slight respiratory distress. They did let me hold him for about 5 minutes before they took him to Baby Care (a step down from the actual NICU) and the grandparents were able to come in and see him. Once they took him, I asked James to go with him and my mom stayed with me for awhile. I wasn't allowed to leave the birthing room until I had feeling back in my legs and I had to have most of the tubes taken out (epidural catheter, foley catheter, antibiotics, fluids, etc.). I waited on the nurse and even got a little breakfast but I wanted to see my baby so I finally called and pleaded with them to take me upstairs.

Once I got up there, they took me over to the Baby Care room and there was my little boy! We named him William Bowen... I'll explain the choice later :) and he was 8 pounds even and 21 inches long. He was being monitored and we weren't allowed to hold him and they didn't want us to over stimulate him either. However, the nurses and doctors seemd to think he would come out of the respiration issues on his own. He was breathing a bit too fast and his blood pressure was a little low but he seemed to be doing fine otherwise. We felt like we might get to hold him within 24 hours.

Unfortunately, early that evening the pediatrician assigned to his case came in to talk with us. They had taken X-Rays of his chest and found a pneumthorax. Essentially his lungs had meconium in them when he took his first few breaths and it caused pressure to build up and a small hole was popped in his lung allowing air to escape. The air was then trapped between his chest wall and his lung which caused a section of his left lung to collapse. They were taking him up to the NICU but wanted to wait and see if his condition corrected itself before they tried any medical interventions. They had him hooked up to IV fluids as he couldn't eat (I was incredibly sad about this because I had dreamed of them handing him off to me so I could breast feed him and bond right away) and he was hooked up to monitors. They took X-rays in the middle of the night and nothing had changed so they tried to put a needle in his chest to draw out the air. However, this only introduced more air into his lung and they had to put a chest tube in to slowly draw out all the air.

The chest tube went in around 4:45 in the morning on Friday and stayed in until around 1:00 in the afternoon on Sunday. It was awful not being able to hold or feed my baby. He was also on pain meds for the chest tube and was a little out of it. It was not how you want to see your little baby, but the chest tube worked and his lung reinflated. Almost immediately after the chest tube came out, they let me hold him (James had run home not knowing they would be removing the tube), and also breastfeed him. He took to it right away! I was so relieved. They had to continue with antibiotics until Tuesday afternoon when we were finally able to move into a family room and spend the night with him. We were finally able to take him home on Wednesday. It was the longest week of our lives but we are so happy to be home with the little man.

Anyways... the name. William is a play on my maiden name (Wilkins) and Bowen is a play on Boaz, since my favorite bible story is Ruth. We think he looks just like a Will too so it works out great! We love him so much! My next few entries will probably go over his room and the first week at home with him.

Weeks 38, 39, & 40

So it's been awhile since I've posted but for a good reason! Our little bundle of joy arrived on May 3rd, 2012 but that is a story for my next post. The last few weeks I was pregnant really flew by. I felt great until the Sunday before I delivered too (I delivered him early on a Thursday). My 38 and 39 week appointments with my doctor were very quick and easy as I didn't have any symptoms of labor except the fact that he had dropped. My doctor did note that he was incredibly low so apparently I handled that okay. I really didn't have too much pain, just a little discomfort, mostly while sleeping. At my 39 week appointment, I weighed in at a gain of 29 pounds, but by my 40 week appointment I was down to a 23 pound gain. My doctor assured me that this was normal as I had probably lost some water weight as my body prepped to give birth. I was happy that I hit my under 30 pound goal!

I think I became a little too smug about feeling so good because Sunday night, it hit me like a ton of bricks! I felt awful all night and had very regular contractions. I only went in to work for a half day on Monday to tie up some loose ends before my maternity leave started up and didn't end up going in at all on Tuesday or Wednesday due to contractions. On Monday night, I about had a breakdown due to no sleep and James suggested we get up and try to walk to speed up the contractions (they were coming about every 10 to 15 minutes) and see if we could kick start labor. He was so great and walked around the house for hours with me and didn't sleep at all himself. The walking worked and my contractions were coming every 3-5 minutes! I knew going in to the hospital then was still a risk because I desperately didn't want to be sent home but we went ahead and left the house around 5:30 AM on Tuesday. When we got to the hospital, my suspicions were confirmed that I wasn't dilated enough to stay and my contractions slowed again (probably from sitting in the hospital bed for an hour). I was crushed but I hoped that my contractions, even at their current speed, would do their job before my appointment on Wednesday.

It was another sleepless night but I could tell my contractions had increased in intensity so I knew if labor hadn't started yet, it was coming! I had also had some of the less blog-worthy signs of labor, yuck. When my appointment came around, I tried to not get my hopes up, but I couldn't help it. I hadn't slept in days and couldn't wait to see an end to it all, haha! My doctor checked me and I was almost at a 4! Yay! She gave me the option of going home or heading over to the hospital. I picked the hospital!!! I think it all hit me then that I was going to have a baby in my arms in less than a day. I was a little terrified and a lot excited :) I'll leave the rest of the story to my next post!!

Here is my 9 month shot!

And here are some side by sides for comparison.

Well, it sounds like someone is getting hungry so hopefully I'll be able to post my birth story sometime soon!

Weeks 36 & 37

The countdown is on, my friends! As of today, I have 18 days left until my due date :) Now for a little pregnancy rambling... Little man is growing and my stomach is noticeably farther out each week. I have also been incredibly hungry the last week and a half. I'm hoping it's a growth spurt for him and not me! We finished the last project in the nursery yesterday so it's all decorated and ready for its tiny inhabitant. At my next doctor's appointment on Friday, we'll be discussing an inducement date just to get one on the calendar. Hopefully I won't have to use it because I honestly hate the thought of pitocin but I know eventually I'll have to consider it. I won't be induced until I'm at least 41 weeks so that should give me a little more time to go into labor naturally. We had our cloth diapering class last week and our birthing class yesterday. I feel a little more prepared now. I was really impressed with our hospital's tour. The birthing rooms seem very comfortable and each one has their own tub which I heard is a great way to relax while your contractions start to heat up. I'm definitely starting to feel some pressure so I know he's at least dropped a little. However, I keep telling myself I will still be pregnant on my due date so I'm not disappointed. And that, folks, is all I got!

Weeks 34 & 35

Only a few short weeks to go! Well, probably more like 5 or 6, but still!!! We had an appointment on Friday with my doctor and she confirmed my suspicions that this kid isn't ready to vacate any time soon. I had figured that because it still seemed like I was carrying incredibly high (which has led people to remark that I "must be having a girl") and my Braxton Hicks contractions were never very regular. James and I do take a long walk most days and that really brings on the BH so now I just walk half the length of the park and wait for James and Penny to finish the rest. My doctor did a quick look to make sure he was head down and he is, so that's great news!! At least when he's ready to meet us we won't have a surprise breech baby. This was the first week that I had some regular swelling in my feet but it goes away at night and hasn't really been a problem. I have been up and around a lot of the time and it's been warmer so I think that's why it's started. I also have a very large knot in my back that we can't seem to get rid of, but that's really the only comfort issue I've had. Suits me just fine!

Weight Gain: 23 pounds. Is it possible that I'm just having a 20 pound baby and this will all go away??? But seriously, I'm so happy it isn't higher than that! My goal was under 30 and we're definitely on track!

Sleep: Well, I just like to think that this is God's way of getting me ready for nightly feedings and screamfests, we'll just put it that way.

Gender: Boy! Despite what people think!

Names: All in due time..

Feeling: Besides the knot in my back, sooooo good! Seriously, I feel so blessed!

Health: Awesome! Blood pressure is low as usual and I'm still feeling pretty awesome.

Movement: From what I can tell, he's definitely running out of room. No more flips and rolls, just occasional spins and kicks. Still, he likes to move it, move it.

Belly: Still measuring ahead 1-2 weeks but I think he's just a tall babe.

Next Appointment: This Friday. We're officially on weekly visits now!

And here is my 8 month shot... how did we get to 8 months so fast????


We've had 4 showers so far, with a small Girls Night In coming up. We seriously feel so blessed with all we've been given. He's pretty much set! I probably won't post pictures of the nursery until after he arrives so it can be completely finished (with his name up and everything). Can't wait! I love it!

Weeks 32 & 33

Looks like we have a tall one on our hands. At my appointment yesterday, my doctor remarked that she thinks he is a long baby since he is all the way from the bottom of my stomach to up in my ribs. I could have told her that since he likes to lay on my bladder and kick me in the ribs at the same time :) I'm also measuring 2 weeks ahead so we're guessing he is bigger than average. I'm hoping he falls into the 7 or 8 pound range instead of 9 or 10... yikes! My doctor said she would schedule an ultrasound to check his weight if he continues to measure ahead but said that sometimes it just freaks moms out. No one wants to hear that they have to push a 10 pound baby out! Ultimately, his estimated weight (which can be off by a pound either way) will not change my decisions for my birth plan. I'll still try for no inducement or c-section but I know those plans can change. So far, my blood pressure has been great (actually on the low side, which is normal in my family) and my weight gain is right on track (thank the GOOD LORD)! We had our first shower last weekend and will have the second tomorrow. They're so fun and we're already stocked up on clothes :) Can't wait to meet our little man!!! Here's a picture of us from our first shower...


On a non-uterus related note, my Dad and James just set the posts for our deck today. This was one project that James really wanted to do but now I'm so excited about it. I can just imagine us sitting on the deck watching the little one(s) play in the backyard with the dog. How fun! And for an awesome shot of our weird little doggy... we call this her mummy sleep pose. Legs straight out. It's exhausting to be her!

Weeks 30 & 31

Even while I am trying to rest as much as possible before little man makes his grand appearance, we have been so productive in the last few weeks. It makes me so happy! I am definitely nesting because when we're not getting a project done, I'm on Pinterest to find new projects or updating our to-do list (James is starting to hate that list!).

Here's a few projects we've completed recently...

If you remember my tie onesies from last year, I took it one step farther and added a vest. This was a Pinterest find and the original post looked so cute, I had to give it a try! We had a ton of leftover t-shirt fabric so I just used some of that. Cute and cheeeeeap!


I also made some baby legs out of socks that we got on clearance. Seriously, this couldn't be any easier. I think pairing it with the vest onesie would look adorable! Please ignore how dirty my couch looks :)


Another Pinterest find are some baby sandals. I had faux leather on hand from when my dad recovered my headboard when we moved, so this was essentially free. I thought they turned out cute but definitely not perfect :) He won't mind!


Yet another Pinterest inspired project was to hang a peg board over our changing table area (we're attaching a contour changing pad to the dresser) so we could hang some baskets for diapers and whatnot. We're also hanging some of our decorations including those pictures and vintage baseball knick knacks. I am in love with it. I think I'll also add little man's initials.


I also recovered the chair cushions in some sale fabric from Hobby Lobby. Love that place! Here is the chair with a blanket on the back. Does it look perfect? No, but that's just fine with me! I also made them removable so I can wash them if need be. You can also see our new rug!


I saw this on Pinterest as well, but it didn't come with a tutorial but it was seriously so easy to wing it! I just used some scrap fabric and elastic. Easy peasy.


One final Pinterest find (can you tell how I spend my time?) was another great way to use scrap fabrics. I used some leftovers from previous projects, the baby's room, and t-shirts. I made 2 of each below, one for me and one for a friend. They were fun and easy to make! James really liked them and thought they looked funky and cool.


On the less crafty note, everything seems to be progressing great! He's measuring 2 weeks ahead but James was a big baby so we expected that. In 2 weeks, I only gained a pound but little man moved ahead 4 weeks in measurement. Big growth spurt! Our first shower is next weekend so we're trying to get as organized as possible before then. So much fun! Here's my 7 month shot from a week or so ago.



And here is one of my favorite shots from our maternity session a few weeks ago. Seriously, Deisy did such a good job!

Weeks 28 & 29

Not much has changed since my last post. Little man gets bigger and bigger everyday and you can literally see the dance party going on in my stomach. James is fascinated with it :) James also likes to pick out his favorite music and put headphones on my stomach so baby can learn to like his tunes.

I have been a little hungrier lately but there's less and less room for dinner in there so I've been trying to eat multiple small meals. Some of my favorite things lately have been plain yogurt with honey mixed in (low in calories and high in calcium), Cheez-Its, cereal like frosted mini wheats or honey nut shredded wheat (lots of vitamins), and dried cranberries or other fresh fruit. But I also eat a lot of things that aren't the best for me, I've just really tried to watch how much junk I'm consuming.

Baby Boy's room has stalled in its progress until we have the majority of our showers (3 in March and a small one in April!) so we know all that we need to put away. We're getting our maternity shots done today and I am so excited. This is the third time we've tried but the weather was not cooperating. Today looks so beautiful though that I'm glad we didn't try to tough it out during the first two tries. Our awesome friend Deisy is taking them so I know they'll turn out super cute :)

We've also tried to start putting together a plan for the day I go into labor with a few different versions (pre and post James' finals, whether or not I'm at work, etc.) and what we want to take to the hospital. James has started making a list of songs to make a few playlists to calm me down once we're in the hospital. We also need to finalize what we'll be doing with Miss Penny once the time comes. We have some friends that have a dog that live very close to us who have offered to come pick her up and then my parents can take her as well, so at least we have some great options!

I need to sign up for my birthing class at my next appointment (we're officially at every 2 week appointments now, exciting!) so I can feel as prepared as a first time mom can :) I'm sure I'll be a little panicky anyways! My supervisor and boss and I have a meeting set up in a few weeks to finalize my maternity leave plans (who will take over certain duties, etc.) and then I'll feel like my work life is organized for his arrival. The rest of our lives, who knows when I'll feel organized?! I guess God does so I'll have to trust him on this!!!

Weeks 26 & 27

I officially hit the six month mark in week 26. I can't believe it! Only 3 more months (at max!) before we meet our sweet boy! Things are starting to fall into place in his room and it makes it all the more real.

James' parents brought down his furniture since it was delivered to a store closer to them and they got it all set up in his room. He definitely has nicer furniture than we do but we're not complaining at all. Thanks to both sets of grandparents for the awesome Christmas gift (crib and dresser). Baby boy and us love it!

Please ignore the fabric on the chair. My grandma gave us this chair a long time ago and we've been waiting to replace the cushion (or recover it) until we knew what color we wanted to go with. We're thinking cream or a light tan but it's still up in the air. The two pillows on the chair were craft projects I made on the fly today. I made them with a pocket back so we can easily slip them off and wash them if anything... ummm... gross were to happen to them :)

We're putting a peg board over the dresser to hang some baskets and other decorations from. Here's a look at some of the decor for the room that's waiting for it's rightful place.

We're also hanging his name over the crib and a few other vintage baseball pictures that my Dad saved for us (Mickey Mantle, Joe Dimaggio, etc.). I made two collages out of some of James' baseball cards and put them in 5x7 frames that are up on the shelves and we've bought a few other baseball items.

I think I'm in the nesting mode. I spent most of this afternoon doing sewing projects. I made my boot cut maternity jeans into skinny jeans using this tutorial. I think they turned out really well and I'm glad I can easily fit them into my boots now! I also made the pillows and fancied up a plain onesie with the little man's name (so that won't be on the blog for awhile!). I also feel like I constantly want to clean everything around me. We just bought an air purifier so I'm hoping that cuts down on my urge to dust every day.

Anyways, here's my 6 month pregnancy shot. Getting bigger and bigger everyday!

Weeks 24 & 25

We had our 24 week appointment and the little man seems to be moving right along on schedule. I let my doctor know that James was a very large baby so we'll be tracking the little man's growth closely to make sure he's not getting too big. I also did my glucose test (yuck!) but I have apparently passed since my doctor hasn't called about it (it's been over a week so I think I'm in the clear). I'm so glad I probably won't have to do the 3 hour test because just during the 1 hour test, I felt awful. No eating combined with a high shot of sugar = not feeling so hot.

We're hoping to get the nursery set up soon. His furniture has been delivered to the store so we just need to arrange getting it to the house. We also have dates for 2 of our showers (my family's and my work's) and an offer for a small one (friends at church). We feel so incredibly blessed and can't wait to celebrate this little guy's life!

Unfortunately, I was in a wreck this week so we're down to 1 car while we wait to get mine fixed. It was totally my fault combined with stop and go traffic. It wasn't too bad but my air bag light is on so apparently my air bag could have deployed. Thank the Lord it didn't and that me and baby are safe! I'm still having some soreness in my neck and it's causing a little bit of a headache so I've been taking it pretty slow this week. The other driver was so nice and much more concerned about me than his car and the insurance claim adjuster I talked to was also very sweet. Not to mention, James has been so nice about the whole thing. He had actually bought me flowers and some treats that day because I'd already had a rough day (headache and long day at work) and they were waiting for me when I got home, which of course made my hormonal self burst into tears and say over and over that I was "so sorry!" that I'd caused the accident. He was very comforting and said at least it was because I was just trying to be a safe driver (I was checking the merge lane to make sure I wasn't blocking anyone from getting over) and that this was the reason we had good insurance. I'm so glad no one was hurt! Now we're doing some small things here and there to build back what we'll pay for our deductible.

But on to bigger and happier things in the next few weeks! Little man has had a first name for awhile and James and I are so close to deciding on his middle name!! I can't wait to know his full name!!

Weeks 22 & 23

Well, it's a new year and I can officially say my first born will be arriving THIS YEAR!!! It seems so crazy! The last two weeks have also flown by. I took an extra day off last weekend to make it a 4 day weekend (I already had Monday off) and we got a ton of stuff done around the house. It felt so good to make some progress while James still had time off school. We organized, painted (James), sewed (me), cleaned, and decorated.

I finished up a t-shirt quilt using James and I's old shirts for Baby Boy to hang out on. I also made his official baby quilt. We never found the "perfect" bedding and just decided to make our own. James and I picked up all the fabric up at Hobby Lobby (at 30% off!) and I googled some videos on quilting tips. I went with a pretty standard plan and I really love how it turned out. James is very excited about it too! We also picked up a few other things for the room at HL that were 50% off. We're going with a vintage baseball theme which has been a lot of fun.

I was also officially 5 months along right after Christmas so I have my monthly photo. I always look a little tired in them, but I guess I will have that look for the next 18 years or so :)


And a shot from after church today :)


And now a few quick shots of our only fur-child who will lose her top spot in May.

This is how she likes to sleep... she has a good life :)

And she also likes to keep James company while he studies in the spare bedroom.

Weeks 20 & 21

So this will be short and sweet...

The last two weeks have been a blast and FULL of holiday activity as we both have a lot of extended family. It has been a blast, but I'm excited for a little more rest next weekend (a 4 day weekend for me!!!). Then, unfortunately James has to go back to school :(

But Christmas was so fun as usual and Baby Boy was treated to a few first gifts. My parents and in-laws went in together to buy his furniture so we didn't ask for anything else this Christmas. I think a lot of Christmas is about asking for big, fancy things and we've really tried to scale back on that in our lives. We definitely don't live a completely frugal life, but we try not to buy lots of unnecessary things. I spend a lot less of my life worrying about the next new awesome thing and shopping at the mall is a distant memory. Anyways, since we hadn't asked for anything, we expected very little. We still had a few gifts to open though which was fun. Even Penny got some love at Christmas time and I can't tell if Thanksgiving or Christmas is her favorite holiday. Thanksgiving involves leftover turkey and ham, but Christmas has brand new bones and treats to unwrap!

Speaking of Penny, we've been trying to get her ready for her little brother to arrive. My cousin has a little boy who was born in April and he loves dogs, so we try and have her visit a little with him when he's around. He is a cutie and was smiling at her but he reached out and grabbed her whiskers and yanked. I was afraid it would scare her and she might react but when he let go, she gave him a kiss and continued to hang around. Whoo hoo! I think she's getting more and more ready :) We've also tried to teach her the command "Gentle" which means not to use her (giant) paws when greeting and playing. I know it will be an adjustment once the little man arrives, but I think she'll learn to love her new life :)

Weeks 18 & 19 - Drumroll! It's a....

BOY!!!



We were all shocked! Everyone was so convinced we were having a girl that it took a few moments for us to take it all in. But we're so excited! We have yet to decide on a name but we're keeping it as a surprise once we do :)

We just bought a few things for him yesterday and that made it all the more real. His crib was already ordered as we wanted a very gender neutral one but it will still be awhile before it comes in. Once it does, let the nursery decorating begin!

He moves around a lot now and seems to like music as he's always more active when I'm around it. From what I can tell, he is sitting very low, even though my bump isn't.

The ultrasound was so amazing! He was trying to suck his thumb and waving his arms around. Very cool as he is only 10 oz (although they said that is slightly ahead of average already! Yikes! I think he's going to be a big one). Everything checked out perfectly and amazingly normal which is just what a mama wants to hear! It was pretty funny because I was amazed at all the cutesy stuff like his little feet and hands and James loved checking out his aortic arch and other medical terms :)

I also just had my next appointment and my doctor is very happy with everything. I've gained 8 pounds which is right on track. I was very happy to hear that after Thanksgiving :)

I took my 4 month picture just after my last update so it's a few weeks out of date, but here it is!

Yeah, I'm definitely sticking the bump out on purpose but you get the idea! I am guessing my 5 month picture will definitely show a difference. James has mentioned that he's noticed a big change in even the last week :)

Can't wait to meet my little guy!

Weeks 10 & 11

I was sidetracked from my weekly posts due to my mom being in the hospital. She's doing great now! Just trying to get her strength back and get around now and then she can come home! We're staying at my parents' house to watch their dogs and I can tell the puppies miss her and my dad too.

Anyways... week 10 was pretty much like most weeks. I did have the unfortunate incident where I threw up in my car WHILE I WAS DRIVING! Yeah.... awesome. I did manage to hit the floor mat. James had nicely put bags in my car for such instances and asked why I didn't use one. Well, I tried but you try and throw up in a bag, keep the bag open and drive 60 on the highway at the same time. It ain't happening.

Week 11 was after the horrible news about my mom. I hadn't felt as pregnant as before as I had less symptoms (which James kept reminding me was a GOOD thing) and I was worried since I had been so stressed out. I luckily had my next appointment (actually at 11.5 weeks but close enough) and they heard a strong heart beat at 170 beats per minute. That put me right at ease. Right now I'm just enjoying feeling less sick (still a little nausea but nowhere near what it used to be!) and having more energy.

James took my month 2 photo around week 10 and I never posted it so here goes...


Pardon my fake smile... hadn't been feeling all that well that day. James nicely pointed out that it was not my real smile. Oops :)

Week 9

Morning sickness has slowed down finally. It still hits me occasionally but it's much less often. I might actually be able to watch the Food Network soon, which I had to give up after every other recipe made me gag.

The smell of certain foods is still unappealing. I detest the smell of steak (just the thought makes my stomach turn) and I can only eat pork if it's pulled pork drowned in bbq sauce. However, give me a BLT (with turkey bacon) or a Turkey Bacon, egg, and cheese bagel, and I'm a happy girl. I don't know what it is about turkey bacon but I could eat it at every meal right now. I also am addicted to Rosemary and Olive Oil triscuits. YUM!

Other than that, everything's still pretty much the same. We're very excited and getting more so every week :) I love getting our weekly e-mails to show what our baby looks like each week. He/she is no bigger than a peanut and about to change our lives. So fun!

8 weeks

It's hard to express how amazing it was to see our little one's heartbeat flickering on that screen, not to mention the look on James' face. So unreal! The doctor said everything looks great so far, so that was a relief. Our next appointment is in October so I'm hoping we'll be able to schedule the "big" sonogram then. Can't believe it's been flying by so fast!



(Pardon the bad quality, this is a phone picture of the sonogram printout, which I then e-mailed to myself... Very technological, right?)

For symptom news... nothing new to report except the apparent tightening of my pants. I'm at that stage where I just look like I've put on a few pounds because my stomach is like a little rock - can't suck the gut in anymore. Can't wait until it's apparent that I've got a baby in there, not just a Chipotle burrito (although today, I have both, yes!!).

Week 7

Some of the "highlights" of the week:

Throwing up at work... with someone else in the bathroom. Lover-ly. I threw up there the week before but managed to be much more discreet about it. Luckily I washed my hands and ran out before they came out of the stall...

Coming home after the previous incident and watching a Baby Story since it was the only thing on and freaking out. Note to self: Just watch Walker, Texas Ranger instead.

I need to give my husband mad props. He has taken such good care of me. While he is a little afraid of my mood swings (it's sad when moving furniture can bring me to tears), he has ran out and got me smoothies and went to the store to stock up on things I can eat. Not to mention, he has been keeping the house together by doing extra things for me like bringing me breakfast in bed. He has been amazing!

I can't wait for my appointment in a few days!!!

Week 6

Morning sickness has officially set in. It used to be occasional nausea but it's getting to be much more constant now. James was driving home from his parents' house and I felt sick and started crying because I didn't want to throw up in a gas station because they're gross, haha. Nausea and hormones rolled into one!

I can't complain too much about feeling sick because that just means our little sweet pea is hopefully growing bigger!

I also could sleep 20 hours a day if I wanted to. I'm pretty much a zombie by 3:00.

James took my 1 month picture about a week ago... No baby bump yet!



Our first appointment is at 7.5 weeks so it's coming up. Can't wait!

Week 5 - Our own little secret no more!

So this week was momentous... we finally told a few people. Just our parents, brothers, and a few close friends. We tried to think of some creative ways to do it...

For our parents, we gave them a little "Grandkids" photo album with a note that said "First Picture Coming May 2012." It took a little bit for them to get it, but when my mom figured it out, she immediately burst into tears. To say they're all excited is an understatement.



I also told a few of my best friends. I just happened to be able to see a couple of them this weekend (we live all over the place these days) so I wrote them letters from the baby with each a specific prayer - baby's health, mommy's health, mommy and daddy being prepared for baby, etc. - so we can all be covered in prayer at this time. They were very excited!

So far, my nausea has gotten a bit worse, but nothing I can't handle. I also had what I think is my first hormonal meltdown. We got rid of our coffee table and were rearranging our furniture and I literally burst into tears because I couldn't decide where I wanted the couch to go. Ha! Poor James!!! He took it in stride and nicely said "well, we don't have to make a decision today" and when he came back in and I had moved the couch 1 foot and decided that is where I wanted it he told me it looked great :) Other than that, just the same feeling of exhaustion as before. So glad it's a holiday weekend. One more day of sleeping in!

Also, a new tradition of a fantasy football league with my Dad's family has started and the draft is on Monday. This baby is going to be a sports lovin' fool. Boy or girl...

Edited to add: My mom just called to let me know they bought the baby's first gift... some college football gear... yeah we're a sports family.

Week 4 - Sweet Pea is on the way!

So the title says it all, I'm pregnant! We're currently not telling anyone as I'm only 4 weeks along, but I thought I would chronicle what is going on each week until we DO start telling people, and I'll post them all then.

So, James and I had just starting trying to conceive after our second anniversary. I started noticing some changes, like very tender breasts and everything smelled super strong, so I decided to take a test about a week before Aunt Flo was supposed to come and visit. Well, the first test I took didn't work (as in, neither one of the two lines showed up) so I wasn't sure if that meant I wasn't pregnant or that the test was a dud. I waited until I had to pee again, which was conveniently when James took the dog for a walk. I quickly took the test, and sure enough, a VERY faint second line showed up! It's hard to see it but it's there!


I quickly thought about how I wanted to tell James since he would be home very soon before we were going to a prayer meeting. I knew I had some leftover onesies from gifts I had made, so I grabbed some permanent markers and wrote "I<3 Daddy" on one and put it on the counter with the test. When he got back, I told him I had put something on the counter for him. He was running around trying to get everything ready before he left and passed by the little "surprise" about 3 times! I finally reminded him and he looked at it with a shocked face, haha! He couldn't see the second line very well, but that's ok! It was there :) He picked me up to spin me around but I felt a little nauseous (nerves or early morning sickness, hard to tell!) so he quickly put me down.



We had already decided we would wait a little while to tell people, so we had to keep it to ourselves over the next few weeks. Sorry to anyone if I evaded questions or possibly told a little white lie! We figured that 1) it was nice to have it our little secret, even if only for a few weeks and 2) we wanted to make sure the pregnancy test wasn't false. We did take a second test a few days later and the second line was much darker. We're very thrilled and are 90% excited and 10% a little terrified, haha. I think that's probably normal!

So... symptoms so far...
My stomach feels full even when I'm hungry, can definitely tell things are changing in there!
Sore boobs (sorry, tmi!)
Slight nausea, bummer
Exhaustion
Crazy dreams... seriously weird and yet, very realistic ones!

James made my 8 week appt. at the hospital on campus so I'm looking forward to that. I think we'll tell a few people before then, but definitely won't announce it on facebook or anything till 10-12 weeks.