21 weeks tomorrow...

Hi all! I hope everyone had a super fabulous Gobble Gobble Day! Ours was great, we had mine and Aaron's families here. Now all company has returned home and the house is quiet again...ahhh....for a few months anyway. Lol. Here are a couple pics of me from last Friday I think. 20 weeks. And I had a sonogram on Monday. She's still a girl. :) Her heart rate was 148, got to see her kidneys, the 4 heart chambers, etc. My mother in law went with me to this one, she was amazed. However, as usual, she would not sit still; or roll over for a good profile picture this time. Speaking of...I am feeling her now! Gosh, I almost forgot to mention! Duh! It started right about Thanksgiving. I wasn't sure what I was feeling but I specifically mentioned it out loud to Aaron, my mom and aunt, that I felt something, and just in case I figured out later it was her, let it be known for the record that this was the first time I remember feeling her. And it's been going since...At night and in the mornings mostly. The two times of the day I'm still and calm. And I do feel her several times throughout the day while working at my desk. It wild. It's low, lower than I thought it would be, and the best way for me to describe it is a flutter. Aaron is just dying to feel it. I told him it's going to be awhile I'm sure. I just started feeling her myself! He is getting soooo excited for Lauren to get here. He talks about her alot now. It's so cute, I cherish all of this with him...She's going to be daddy's little girl, that's for sure. Whether she wants to be or not. Lol.

I went to register on Sunday. April went with me, she's a mommy pro and someone I knew I wouldn't want to kill by the time we were done. ;) I had done some research already, so I knew a few things I wanted. But what a loooong process. And I'm not done yet! We had a fun time though. :)

We haven't started on the nursery yet. I wanted to enjoy some quiet time after company was here/decorate for X-mas, etc. before we started. Will start with picking out the paint. I think we'll go this weekend to get the paint, then see when Bart can come do the painting. There are several things that friends have given/are giving me, in good condition, that I'm sooooo thankful for!! Thanks you guys!!!!

My next regular monthly doc appt is on Monday. For now, that's it! xoxo

It's a girl!!!! :)

Finally, we know that we are having a baby girl! Yesterday was such a great day. Long, but good! I had a regular doc appt and my sono, back to back, but it ended up taking forever to get out of there. And all I wanted to do was get out of there and share the news with our families and friends!! As you can see, we got a couple of really good shots this time during the sonogram. But in person we really got to see so many shots. Got to see her kidney's, heart- all 4 chambers, spine, bladder, and so on. It was the most amazing thing I think I've ever seen. Aaron was in awe. If you remember, he wasn't there for my 11 weeks sono, so the last one he saw she didn't look like a baby yet. We saw several shots "between the legs" and there no mistaking she is a girl! We talked alot about names the last few days and decided that Lauren Elise it is. We both love it, I just wanted to make sure DADDY loved it just as much as mommy and he says he does. Her heartbeat was 141 and she weighs 7 oz.

From my doc's office we went straight to Target. We bought 2 gift bags, one each for his parents and my mom. They were baby bags, gender neutral and we put yellow tissue paper, so you couldn't tell the sex from the outside. Then put pink baby stuff in them. Pacifiers, "I love Grandma(pa)" bibs, pink socks, etc. I loved that idea!! (Read it on internet somewhere) They are both tickled "pink". Haha. Get it? ;) For our friends we sent out a Thanksgiving greeting/surprise that announced we were having a girl. Fun stuff... :)

My blood pressure was right on, everything looked good for mommy's health, doc was thrilled. Also stayed the exact same in weight! Loving that! And we heard the heart beat again!! :)

The next couple of weeks are going to be busy! Family and Thanksgiving. REALLY looking forward to it! After that's over we will start on the nursery. If I don't update again, I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving! xoxo

17th week

Well, time is starting to move along. Yay for that! Before I forget, the pic to the left was taken about a week and a half ago. Many of you have seen it...First prego pic! Baby bump is here now and the last weekly update I got from Baby Center on Friday said the baby is starting a big growth spurt now; baby should double in size over the next few weeks. Wow! She or he is about 4 1/2 inches now. 

I am feeling great. Aaron and I went to Sea World Saturday, it was beautiful outside. I am loving going walking, now that it's nice outside. I was pooped by the time we were done though! We've been very busy which I think has really helped the last few weeks fly by. We helped my mom pack up and move. And we spent yesterday doing house stuff. My aunt is flying in for 11 days a week from Saturday for the Thanksgiving holiday. The painting is done and we got most of the soon to be nursery cleared out and moved to the new spare bedroom. I'm so excited. I will be even more excited once it's all DONE. ;) House has been in a bit of an uproar the last few weeks. 

I have my sonogram to find out the sex soon. I am counting down!! We are so excited. I just want to know - boy or girl?!?! I feel like I will have even more of a connection with the baby. And fun to toss around names, etc. And to shop and look for stuff! We have decided on the nursery decor/crib set for a girl and boy, after many hours of looking around on line (and a couple of you girls helping me look!!). I am so glad that's done. We were kind of specific on what we wanted, I did most of the looking and dad said yeah or nah. Worked out great. Lol. We're not big on themes so that takes a large portion of the "looks" out of the equation. Aaron's mom saved a bunch of small toys from when Aaron was young and I want to find a way to incorporate some of those into the room as well. 

I'm probably leaving out a bunch but over all everything is going great!! Hope this post finds all of you doing well. :)

14 weeks and counting!

Hello everyone! I don't think I have much to blog about really but I did have a doctor's appt today and we heard the heart beat for the first time! It was amazing!! So fast!! I heard my own first and several times, while she was trying to find the baby's. Ours is so slow in comparison. Daddy had a huge grin on his face. Makes me so happy to have him there with me at the appts. I can imagine how much different it is for the dad, like they say. Until now, I haven't been showing, I'm carrying the baby and experiencing all the "side effects", so to me it's real! But, dad is just hearing about it and trying to be supportive. So for him to see the sonograms and hear the baby's heart beat is so important. Gives him more of a sense of it being real. My blood pressure was good and I lost 2 pounds. Woo hoo! I'll take it. A lot of women lose weight before gaining, or just start gaining later on. I guess I am one of them. I had a few to spare going into this so no worries! ;)

The date is set for the gender sonogram! I am sooooo excited!! We aren't telling anyone though! :) You'll know soon enough...

I am just now starting to get a little pooch...it's so weird because I feel like it just looks and feels like I'm SUPER bloated! So I'm at that in between stage...blah. No maternity clothes yet. I think I can still hold out another month. Who knows though. If my stomach grows alot this month we'll have to see. Other than around the belly getting tighter everything else fits fine so I'm trying to hang on as long as I can...Lol. Just this week Aaron has really noticed though, he's kinda chuckled and said wow, look at your belly! I'm like, really?!

Overall I am feeling just fine, some days more tired than others but that has alot to do with how I sleep the night before...Sleep is different every night. I'm just not sure what to expect. But if I wake up at 3 or 4, I usually lay back down around 7 or 8 for an hour and get a nap. That super helps...I have been kinda craving a "treat" at night. Most of you know I am not a sweets person, never have been. I'm not sure why but a few bites of ice cream usually crosses my brain now! So I worked out a deal with myself that I could have some. Lol. Didn't take much negotiating. Ha! No but really...the deal is kinda like nothing for a week then something for a week or however long that Ben n Jerry's pint of ice cream lasts. ;) Usually a few days or so...

To finish...I finally started my second trimester last week! Woo hooo!!

Sonogram - 11 weeks

I'll try to keep this short...I blabbed enough yesterday! But, today was really cool!! I wished I would have thought it through better and had Aaron come to this one. I just figured it was for testing and ANOTHER sonogram so no big deal. Well today baby really looked like a baby!! For the first time! It was awesome!! Here's the thing...for the testing part, baby was still and perfect. Great pics and could see profile so well. Then AS SOON as she went to take the pics for me to take home baby WENT WILD!!! He or she was soooooooooooooooo active. It was so funny!! She was laughing. She could not get a single picture to save her life. It was amazing! And we were cracking up. Somersaults and just not stop moving all over! I could see arms and legs moving, the whole nine. So the best picture she could get was the one above. Still much more pronounced than any of the others and you can see the head and the umbilical cord slightly. Worth a bad pic to see baby moving around like that. I did not expect to see anything like that today!!

Also...can't leave this out. Of course I had to ask her about gender. I told her that I've read sometimes they have an idea at 11 week sonograms, depending on certain things. I wasn't sure what kind of reaction I would get from her but she was nice and told me 11 weeks is too early to tell for sure. That maybe had I gone at 13 weeks, she would have a better chance of knowing. But she said let's take a look...so before baby got so active she was able to see and show me perfect shot of between the legs and she said she saw nothing at all. BUT, she said I just don't want to tell you that I think it's a girl and then find out it's a boy in a few weeks. Because there is a chance we just can't see his pee pee. Lol. Soooo....???????

Have a great weekend!

Clarification on Gender Test!!

The test was not an answer question type test and receive your gender! Lol!! This was a test kit that you buy at a drug store...It's urine based. Here are some links that you can read more on and then you know what i did this morning! I'm cracking up. I'm glad a couple of you have responded to let me know that you thought I was making a big deal out of a question and answer test or I would not have known! Lol!!

http://www.intelligender.com/pages.php?pageid=5
http://www.intelligender.com/pages.php?pageid=13
http://www.intelligender.com/pages.php?pageid=7
http://www.intelligender.com/assets/Package_insert_English.pdf

11 weeks and a little bit of fun ;)

I think it's been a pretty uneventful couple of weeks? Sleeping is not wonderful. Can't fall right asleep and I certainly can't sleep past 6am! Sometimes it's 4 or 5am...So those 9 and 10 hour nights are over it seems. That's okay, I'll take it. At least I'm not sleeping 10 hours then waking up and feeling like I need an immediate 10 more! 

Tomorrow I have a sonogram that is part of the NT testing (nuchal translucency). It's a 3 step process, sonogram and blood, that tests for Downs Syndrome, spinal bifida and trisomy-18. The NT is a small area of fluid that occurs at the back of baby's neck early in pregnancy. The ultrasound (done at 11-13 weeks) measurement combined with the blood test determines the risk. Blood is taken tomorrow with sonogram and then again at 15-21 weeks. I'm not sure when my doctor wants the second blood drawn as of now. 

Sooooo...the pic!! Lol...A few of you know this story. :) Just in the last week I have been hearing about a gender based test. It's really kind of bizarre, because I had never heard of them, let alone people saying it was accurate, until this last week. I just kind of laughed it off. Well, yesterday April sent me a link to a news story on CNN or something, that was about this test! Well, that was all she wrote, this time it got my attention...I read the news article, went to Intelligender's website, read 100 or more testimonials and decided I had to to take this test. They say it's about 82% correct. And I liked that on their site they posted not only the women's stories where it was correct but also some of the ones that were incorrect. Either way, I decided to do it. Mainly for fun! And I want to see if that damn thing is right or not! I still have 5 weeks or so until my gender sonogram. I did it this morning and got the above girl result!! Boy is dark green, girl is dark yellow/orange. Lol...I'm not going to start buying anything gender-based, don't worry! But we'll see if it's right! I'm still telling myself, as I have been all along, I'm know I'm going to have a boy. Seems thats what everyone thinks! Let's prove 'em wrong Pat!!! ;)

Nausea has been pretty good. A couple of days here or there that I have not felt well. Like this past weekend. Boooo...But again, nothing like it had been. Last appt I had only gained one pound. I was happy about that considering I'm almost out of my first trimester. For the most part, I have been eating pretty healthy. My first craving happened. I didn't think I would get any cravings, thought those stories were hogwash. Well I was very wrong. Beef stroganoff. ???? What?!?! If I had that once growing up I had it 1000 times but I don't think I've had it since! I've made it a couple of different ways, the second was much better than the first but I'm still not sure if it did the trick. Weird I tell you. I had my first full bloodwork last week, I suppose everything was good because I haven't heard differently! My blood pressure has been 120/70 every time I have gone to see my doctor. Like on the dot, kind of odd but it's perfect! 

We are starting on the "transformation" of the spare room, baby's room and bathroom. (Not doing anything with nursery except emptying the room until after sonogram) We really lucked out. Aaron and his buddy worked out a deal. Aaron traded one of his dirt bikes that he hasn't ridden since I met him for the work plus some parts for his race car. His buddy does remodeling for a living so he's good. And we are not. Lol. And painting SUCKS. We picked out the paint and got it a couple of days ago. So pretty. Can't wait til it's all done! Bye bye pink!! God, the colors in those rooms are just horrible!

I think I've covered everything important! Hope all is well in everyone else's world! :)

9 weeks, etc.

Happy Friday! To start, the picture is a gift from my mom. Baby has his/her first Gator gear! And they're newborn booties! Could my heart melt any more?? Awww!

So, to make a long story short...a few weeks back, after my first sonogram, my doctor was concerned because the baby implanted his or herself to right in my uterus. Normally, it's in the center. So I have been seeing a specialist at Winnie Palmer (where I'm delivering) weekly since. Getting weekly sonograms, etc. They were worried it was too far right, "cornual", in which case the baby is too close to the fallopian tube and the pregnancy has to be terminated. If it's not caught, it ruptures between week 12-16, and many times requires immediate hysterectomy. It's been a very scary month for us. We've not shared this with many people, besides our families. WELL...I had another sonogram yesterday and it confirmed we are in the clear! Baby is not too far right and all is good! No more specialist, no longer high risk, no more weekly trips, just regular doc appts with my OB. WE ARE SO RELIEVED AND THRILLED!!! Baby itself and sac has been just fine and still is. Baby's heartbeat was 178 yesterday! There is no validity to the old Wive's tale that a fast heart beat means it's a girl...but for fun sake, if it were, we have a girl on our hands! And we are all praying for a girl, riiiiiiiight???!!!! :):)

More good news...I have been feeling SO much better. For about the past week. I'm still tired, but it's bareable, not debilitating. The nauseau is 80% gone. Yay!! Huge turn around. I had prepared myself for feeling yucky through the end of this trimester (which I might remind you is right around the corner!!) and I got a pleasant surprise last week. 

So, about my due date...I will discuss this on Monday with my doc...(I have my OB appt then, it's the longest appt of the entire pregnancy. Oh joy. Lol) The specialist was going with 4/23/10, my original due date, which puts me at exactly 9 weeks today. You might remember that my OB has moved that up 5 days based on my first sonogram. I think it will get moved back. We'll see...

We're getting ready to start changing over the one spare bedroom for baby's room. Sorry Mo! ;) There isn't THAT much to do, but the closets are pretty full in both so that will take a little time. It will just give me an opportunity to "clean house" on them. I've been looking at baby furniture on line. Phew, not cheap! I know I want the convertible crib, that way baby can use it from crib through child hood. It just makes sense to go that route. And thank God Cribs 4 Life isn't the only one making those these days (they are an arm and a leg there)! I'm open to suggestions/websites, mommys, so let me know if you have any!!

Enough of my blabbing! The next milestone is hearing the heart beat soon! We've been seeing the heart beat every week, I want to hear it! Exciting. Until next time...take care everyone.

Sonogram - 8 weeks :)

This is too cool!!!

Click on this link. It's the coolest thing I've seen yet, in regards to the baby growing in my belly from conception through birth...I am so glad I found this!

http://www.babycenter.com/2_inside-pregnancy-weeks-1-to-9_10302602.bc?intcmp=Nav_Global_photosandvideo_inside&pn=Pregnancy%20Topic%20Page

I have another sonogram tomorrow and will be getting it on CD. Baby has doubled in size since last time and I can't wait to see the difference. Also, my first sonogram that I posted was not on CD. So not only could you not really see baby, the clarity was terrible because I had to scan it from paper to computer...should be a big difference this time and I will post!

Oh so tired.....

Not too much to report...not too much has changed. I've been less nauseous though, this is good. It's not gone, but it's been better the past few days. I'm just so tired I can't stand it. 10 hours a night doesn't do the trick. Really?!?! And my sense of smell has changed. My very favorite pump hand soap from Bath & Body, Kitchen Spice, I can't tolerate the smell of anymore. Just gonna hold on to the couple un-opened ones I have and hope I can love it again someday. Lol. There are several things that turn my stomach on a dime. I am 7 weeks tomorrow. Or maybe a few days past that. Now that they moved my due date up a little I am guessing that means I am farther along? Who knows...confusing to me...I'll ask my doc next week when I go. Oh, and I don't think I've mentioned the pre-natal pills. Or should I say HORSE PILLS. Please people...we can send people to the moon but we can't fit all the nutrients a pregnant woman needs for a day in anything less than the size of a football? Hee hee. But seriously, I had the worst time at first, and with a little coaching/strategy from daddy, it's gotten better. I can get it down without gagging most times now. :) I know, I've got to sound like negative nelly...to be honest, it's really not fun right now and that's just the way it is! I am truly looking forward to, and counting the weeks until, this trimester is over. I am sooooo excited to feel better and feel the baby and see my tummy grow and hold her or him when she or he arrives. What better "prize" could God give us at the end of all of this than a beautiful baby.....

First Sonogram :)

We saw the baby's heart beat, super cool!! And they moved up my due date to 4/18, just a few days earlier. I have been very tired, nauseous at times and feeling a little blah since last I wrote! Lol. Until next time...

5 weeks

Well, today I'm 5 weeks along! I prefer to think of it as I'm starting my 6th week, LOL. Makes me feel like I'm just a little bit closer! Hey, whatever works, right?

I'm feeling about the same, with exception of a couple of new things happening that I will spare you the details of. :) Outside of this morning, I was able to fall back asleep for a bit this week after Aaron's alarm went off at 6am. So, that was nice. My doctor and the books tell you get all the sleep you can, now. As for sleeping through the night, yeah right. I am up 2 to 3 times a night using the bathroom. I feel like my bladder is the size of a pea. I guess this is God's way of preparing you for being up and down throughout the night when the baby comes.

My uncle Bob is coming today to stay with us for the weekend, my mom will be staying with us as well. I'm really looking forward to it! We're gonna grill tonight and watch the Vikings pre-season game. Tomorrow, with any luck, there will be some sun and we plan on pooling it for awhile.

We've decided which room will be the baby's. For those of you who have been here, it's going to be the carpeted room, to the left of the spare bathroom, closest to the living room. It just seems to make more sense all the way around.

We have a name in mind for a girl, Lauren Elise, but as for a boy, not a single clue. Nothing. Oh boy...I am open to suggestions!! ;)

I think that's about it...until next Wednesday when we have our first sonogram!! Can hardly wait for it!!

First blog!

So, I have decided to join the "blogging" world thanks to the bundle of joy we are expecting. This gives me the opportunity to share our journey with friends and family during my pregnancy and as we watch our child grow. I will tell you, I have NO IDEA what I am doing yet with this, so bare with me. It will take some time, I'm sure. But, I wanted to get this started now so that I don't forget the things that are already happening!

We found out that I was pregnant while at home on August 9/10th. I felt a little nauseous that day so we decided to take a test. I took more than one and positive they were! A few days later I went to my new OB doctors appt. and got the confirmation. While very exciting, I must admit it's a bit scary as well! That's when you realize life as I have known it for 33 years is about to change. Took me a few days to really process it. But, seemed like we both had permagrin the entire time. Kinda like, "pinch me, is this real?" Most of you know how much I love kids and welcome the thought of being a mother. Aaron was much more excited, immediately, than I expected him to be. That took me by surprise. I figured it might take him a few days to get excited. I wanted to wait until after my appt to tell anyone, including our families, but he was not having that. He wanted to tell our families right away. So we did! And now I'm so glad. His mom and dad were in MN visiting family and friends so it was great timing. They brought us home our first "baby gear"!! A "Little Vikings Fan" bib and a Vikings teether. TOO CUTE!! I also wanted to wait a little while before telling our friends but again Aaron wanted to tell right after my appt!! So we did. LOL.

Overall I am feeling good! Not very much nausea at all so far. Tired yes, but it's usually in the evenings when that sets in. If I am able to sleep well I wake up feeling pretty refreshed and ready to go. I hope this keeps up. We will see...We went to the Dave Matthews concert this weekend in West Palm Beach. Fun but phew...it was a long day. I was sooo tired by the time we got back to the car, I was a little irritable. ;)

I was 4 weeks this past Friday and I'm due 4/23/10. Another April birthday!! I have my first sonogram next week on Wednesday. We are so excited for it. My understanding is this is just so they can see the size of the baby and make sure it equates to my estimated due date. A few weeks later we go back and hear the baby's heart beat for the first time. That is also something I am really looking forward to! I will be posting my sonograms, pics, etc. on here, hopefully I figure out how! Ha!