10 Week Update

Today I am 9 weeks 5 days pregnant. The morning sickness has surpassed and a cold/cough has taken its place. Although it completely has me drained of energy, I would much rather feel this way than the way I was several weeks ago. Todd and I have been talking about home revisions we might like to make before the baby comes. We are thinking of putting hardwood floors throughout the house, and in the baby room, Chloe has destroyed our carpet, and we are planning on replacing it before we rent out and move anyway. We went to Home Depot today and I took some paint samples with a baby girl in mind:) My feelings are starting to sway towards a girl now:)
This weekend I feel like my belly has really started to 'stick out' Todd took my first 'belly picture' and after looking at it I don't think I realized how much my stomach has changed over the weeks. My Mom and I went to the Supermall this weekend and the Carter's outlet is AMAZING! I can't wait to find out what we are having because we will be going crazy in that store.
This weather has got me very excited for Thanksgiving and Christmas, oh and my 25th Birthday:) I made my first batch of Chex Mix and it filled the house with that familiar smell that I look forward too every season. Lately my friends have been a HUGE support and blessing. All the phone calls, cards and emails are so encouraging and I am excited for our 3rd annual ornament exchange!:) Hard to believe we have all been friends since Kindergarten, they are some of the best people I know.
I am fully enjoying being pregnant and I am welcoming all the aches, pains, odd smells, cravings and waves of nasuea with open arms. I am blessed and not taking it for granted for a second.

No more Debbie Downer

Today marks week 8 of my pregnancy, so far weeks 5-7 have been the worst, but I feel so much better physically and emotionally about everything. My appetite has come back slowly and I have more energy throughout the day. Today I had my first appointment with my Dr., she did a full physical exam and they gave me the results of my blood test. Everything came out great in my blood work and my blood type is A+ sounds good to me! The Dr. said my uterus is the right size for how far along I am, the only thing is my vaginal canal is very narrow, so if we have a large baby, it may be difficult to PUSH!:) Nothing to worry about though.
My next appointment is in 4 weeks, and that is where we will hear the baby's heart beat for the first time! I will be 12 weeks along by then, hard to believe! I recently invested in a Bella Band which is a wonderful invention! I am able to wear my regular pants unbuttoned and this nifty band holds them up! Maternity pants are expensive, so I will use this often while I am at work, while I am at home I will wear my sweat pants:)
The house is all ready for Fall and Todd and I are anxious for the holidays:) Somewhere around the end of December beginning of January we will have our appointment to determine the sex of the baby. Till then it is fun to dream and imagine:)

Morning Sickness = All day sickness

You know that feeling you have when you have the stomach flu, right before you are about to throw up? Then you throw up and you have relief and feel so much better. Well I wish that was the case, I would rather throw up every morning and feel better than feel incredibly ill all day long. Knowing that I am only in my 7th week and have about 5 more weeks until I am out of the 1st Trimester is really taking a toll on my spirits. I have cried more in the past few days than I think I cried last year total. I can cry at the drop of a hat, if Todd walks in the room and smiles at me, I cry. I cry at any TV commercial with kids and parents in them, if I talk about the baby, I cry. I am one big blubbery blob of messy hormones.
This afternoon I got a phone call from a nurse at the Dr.'s office and she said they got results from my blood tests, I automatically think "I must have HIV!" well not exactly. But my white blood cell count is high, which means that my body is trying to fight off infection, and she told me it is common in pregnancy for your white blood cell count to rise. This little scare made me realize that I am thankful that I AM sick, because obviously my body is doing what it is supposed to be doing to insure the development of the little peanut inside of me.
This weekend I think I am going to try to find a "Baby Project" to keep my mind off of the way I physically feel and try to maintain a positive state of mind. Oh and I can I just brag about my amazing husband.:) He has cooked, cleaned, mopped, changed the litter box and put up with my raging hormones for the past 2 weeks. I love him very much...oh great I'm crying now...:)
Just pray for me:) xoxo

I knew it!

They say that I woman knows her body better than anyone else. WELL 3 weeks ago when I called the Dr. to tell them I was pregnant and they got all my information they told me that I was about 7 weeks along. 7 weeks! I thought there is no way! I am not that far along. That is why the scheduled our Ultra Sound for today was to determine exactly how far along I was.
So Todd and I went this afternoon and they had to do a pelvic ultrasound, not the most comfortable way of finding the baby, but it worked! She measured the baby and we saw the little flicker of its heart beat. She said was it was very strong! at 139! Todd said "That's my boy!" :) And then she measured the baby figuring that I am only about 6 weeks and 2 days, bumping my due date all the way to May 20th! I said I think that this is all a blessing in disguise because I was able to get in very early to see my baby and set my mind at ease. Most don't get to see their baby until they are much farther along and God knew that I could not wait that long:)

For I know the plans I have for you..

"Before I formed you in your mother's womb I knew you." Jeremiah 1:5
I recently heard this verse at the Steven Curtis Chapman concert I went to with my Mom and it really got to me. To think that God already knows our baby and knows that it will be the perfect baby for us is awesome! Another verse that really got me was Jeremiah 29:11 " For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." God doesn't just think he has plans for our baby He KNOWS the plans of our baby. It is hard to get caught up in all of the things that could possibly go wrong in a pregnancy and birth of a baby. But what it most comforting to me is that God already knows our baby and the life that is ahead for him/her.
My prayer right now for Baby Stone is that he/she would grow up to KNOW that God has great plans for them, and was brought into this world for a significant purpose, every intricate detail of their life is being laid out by the Creator of the Universe! What an amazing thing!

Appointment #1

Today was the much anticipated first appointment! My office calls it the "Nurse Intake" basically the nurse takes you into an orientation room and you talk about all your questions and she gives you tons of information and goodies! I told her about my irregular periods and how I wasn't sure if the estimated due date was very accurate so she looked at my calendar where I had kept track of everything and said it would be best if we just schedule an ultrasound next week so we can see how far along the baby is! So a week from today we will have our first ultra sound! YAY! Then a week after that is my first exam and hopefully if I am far enough along they will be able to hear baby's heartbeat.
After my orientation I asked if they confirm the pregnancy there, she said they could if I wanted them too, and I said YES! I am addicted to pregnancy tests and I just need one from the Dr. to ease my mind! It turned positive before the test was even completed, she laughed and said " Do you want to keep this one?" I said yes:) After that I went to the lab to get blood work done, not my favorite, they had to draw a lot of blood and I almost fainted, but luckily I was in a reclined cushioned chair...:) I am so excited for next week and I have such a peace in my heart now.
Todd thinks it is a boy and I am beginning to think the same, but some days it changes. All the ladies at the school think it's a girl:) So far we have a few names picked out, but I think we will keep that private for now:) We don't want anyone's opinion to sway our decision:)
I am feeling really good, slightly nauseous mostly in the mornings into the afternoon, lots of bathroom breaks and lots of sleep. Todd and I are trying to go on walks and hikes as much as possible so I can keep as much weight off as possible, so far I have only gained 1 pound. :)

Feeling good

It took me about 1 week to figure out that all this is really happening. Some people may have thought I wasn't excited when they saw me, but honestly it was just my mind going a mile a minute. I decided to take a day off from work and just be alone, to really get some rest and prepare myself for what is ahead. It was the best thing I could have done! I spent the day reading my baby books, shopping for good, fresh food, looking at baby clothes:) and talking with some close friends. Everyone at the school has been so supportive, I get asked about 10 times a day how I am feeling and everyone seems to want to take care of me in some way. It is like my family away from home. Todd and I stood in the office today and tried to map out exactly how we are going to turn the office into a baby room, yet still have our computer in it. I think it is going to work, but it will take some down sizing on our part. We have a lot of things that we don't even use! I started cleaning out our closets, taken loads to the Goodwill, it feels really good! Maybe it is early nesting? I just want all the old stuff out because I know we will be getting a lot of new stuff with the baby. Our office is currently painted brown and blue, which we will keep if Baby is a boy, but will change if Baby is a girl:) Today at work I had to undo my button on my jeans! UGH! A girlfriend taught me the "rubberband" trick, so currently my jeans are being held up by a rubberband. I am down 2 pounds, but my stomach is more bloated than normal.
I really am enjoying all of the positive information from other Mommies and accept it with willing and listening ears!
Todd and I brainstormed a bunch of names tonight...we have a pretty long list, I think it will take awhile to narrow our names down. This weekend we plan on just being together and relaxing, these past few weeks have been crazy and we really need some down time with one another.