16 Weeks!

How Far Along:  16 Weeks

Total Weight Gain: still down 2 pounds :( I don't understand!

Maternity Clothes: Still just maternity bottoms and tank tops

Stretch Marks: Not yet- but we loaded up on lotions this week to help with it!

Sleep:  Much better! I've got the pillow fortress building down now :)

Best Moment This Week: Being with Family and getting my first foot massage!

Miss Anything: Not that I can think of!

Movement:Potentially! Had some flutters this week!!

Food Cravings:  Chocolate...I'm just hungry all the time now

Anything make you quesy or sick: Car rides and smells- EVERYTHING smells and most of it makes me gag/throw up :(

Gender Predicition- depends on when you ask me :)

Labor Signs: Nope!

Symptoms:  Extreme tiredness, hungry, cramping

Belly Button in or out: In

Wedding ring on or off:  On

Happy or Moody: Happy!!!!!

Looking Forward to: The gender reveal party!

Nursery Progress: Getting ideas for both girl and boy for how we want to decorate


The baby is the size of an avacado-the baby is starting to be able to hear our voices now (so cool!) and its forming taste buds, growing hair, eyelashes, and eyebrows!

This has been a really fun week for us- for the most part I was feeling really well so we were able to get some stuff done!  We had heard almost all parents either recommend reading Happiest Baby on the Block or Baby Wise (we have heard all the pros and cons you can imagine on each)- so we decided we wanted to read both books and make our own opinions.  We took a chance and went to half price books hoping they would have them there- and we got lucky!  We got the only copies of each one!  We also got 2 baby books- GoodNight Moon and Baby's First Bible Stories, plus we got daddy a DVD :)- and we got it all for under $20!!! I was so excited.  I have already started reading Happiest Baby on the Block and we will start to read the Baby Bible Stories to our little one this week :) I also broke down and loaded up on Palmers Lotion- I got the itchy skin spray, the stretch mark lotion, and the tummy cream.  My skin had become soooo dry and itchy it was painful- those lotions were great! My skin feels sooo much better now!!  And we had to make a run to Motherhood Maternity to get a sleeping bra- now that is a MUST for pregnancy- wish I would have been told to get that earlier! What a lifesaver!

We got to have dinner with our neighbors this week- they have a newborn little girl and it was so nice to be able to eat with them and talk and get advice from parents our age who have just gone through everything.  Their advice and experience they went through has been so helpful to us-  We just love living next to them!

It was Memorial Day weekend so we took full advantage of the extra day off and got a lot of house stuff done!  Our plumbing was messed up- try being pregnant and not being able to go to the bathroom at all! (IMPOSSIBLE!)  Thankfully we have wonderful neighbors who let me run over as I needed to and a wonderful mom who lets us stay over whenever we want!  Brian rented a Roto Rooter from Home Depot and my dad came over and those two men worked so hard and fixed (for now) the problem- so now we have plumbing again! Thank goodness!  Thats the good news, bad news is- we dont know if it is fixed or temporarily fixed-  we are anticipating that the pipe is broke, about 30 ft out- which will costs thousands of dollars to fix.  Not good timing for the budget!  Hopefully, thats not the case though! My dad is a superhero- there is nothing that man cant do or fix- and its been such a blessing to have him teach Brian as much as he can.  I love that my dad is patient and that he LOVES being around Brian and doing things with him and that he actually likes taking the time and really teaching Brian things.  As a daughter and wife, it makes my heart so happy to see those two men working together, laughing, and being family. I am just so lucky.

Before we got that fixed, my sweet mom- who already had my aunt and her dog staying at her house all weekend, insisted that we stay at her house (with Baby Girl)  and take her bed- while she slept on the couch.  That woman has the biggest heart ever- I cant wait for her to be a grandma!  Since my aunt was in town we had family stuff going on all weekend at my moms so we got to hang out over there alot- it was really nice! We even had a cookout and a Thunder Watch Party :)

I say it all the time, but I just cant say it enough- I hope and pray I am as good of a mom as my mom is.  I talked about Brian and my dads relationship earlier- but my mom and him have such a special one too.  He loves to take care of my mom and do anything we can to make things easier on her, and my mom- well she just adores Brian and has welcomed him not only to our family, but in her heart.  I feel like God is just showing off to me lately with my family- I've just been in awe of how lucky and blessed I am. We talk alot about the type of parents we want to be- and I feel like I've had amazing examples from Oma and Opa to my parents- we want to be active and involved and loving and teaching and we want our kids to have a childhood full of memories- memories of playing and adventures and learning and just being loved unconditionally.  And we want to do it all TOGETHER- not just mom or not just dad, but as a family.  It's so fun to talk about and dream about, just cant wait until we get to hold our baby and start being parents!

We have the nursery cleaned out, but a lot of the stuff went straight to the garage or shed until we had time to go through it all, so Monday we tackled the garage!  We took about 4 garbage bags to goodwill and donated a lot of stuff- it looks much better out there now!  Slowly but surely our house is getting back in to order!  We were extremely blessed by my brother and sister in law- they gave us their old baby stuff they dont need anymore- and it will help us out tremendously! So now there is some actual baby items in our house :)  Cant wait till our little one is here!

We also got our invitations for the Baby Reveal done this weekend and will mail out sometime soon- they are sooooo cute! I just love them!  We're having to tweak some of our plans and surprises we had for the party, but I'm sure it will all work out- and we cannot wait to be with everyone and find out! I think I count down the days every day..haha! I just want to know what our baby is so I dont have to keep saying "it" :)

Pretty sure I felt my first movement this week too- When we woke up over at my moms, I felt a little flutter bubble and I think it was our little one!  

 I did so much cleaning and organizing over the weekend that my feet were killing me- i felt like there were knives just stabbing my feet all over- soo my wonderful husband- who HATES feet-gave me my first ever foot massage by him :) I was in heaven!  Thank you baby for showing me love all the time in all sorts of ways! I love you so much!

15 Weeks!

How Far Along:  15 Weeks

Total Weight Gain: At my starting weight- gained zero pounds so far..

Maternity Clothes: Still just maternity bottoms and tank tops

Stretch Marks: Not yet

Sleep:  Awful and painful

Best Moment This Week: Getting the heart doppler and getting to hear the heartbeat whenever we want!

Miss Anything: Sleeping on my stomach!

Movement: Cant feel it yet! Hopefully soon

Food Cravings:  Nothing I can think of

Anything make you quesy or sick: CAR RIDES!

Gender Predicition- leaning towards boy now...

Labor Signs: Had a scare this week!

Symptoms: Cramping, Crying, Tiredness- I feel like I'm back in the first trimester again :(

Belly Button in or out: In

Wedding ring on or off:  On

Happy or Moody: Emotional and becoming moody at times :(

Looking Forward to: The gender ultrasounds

Nursery Progress: Just waiting to know what color to fill it up with :)

Our baby is now the size of a navel orange- weighing in at 2.5 oz and is 4 inches long. Even though I cant feel movement yet, I sure can feel the baby growing! My stomach and back are feeling all the effects of a growing uterus!  The baby can now move all the joints and limbs and is moving like crazy inside me.  It's heart is increasing in capacity- it can now pump 25 quarts of blood each day!  And the baby can make facial expressions now- I cant wait for our next ultrasound!  

We got our home Heart Doppler this week!  We were so excited!!! It has worked GREAT- we can find our baby's heart beat every time and so quickly- so far our baby has been holding steady at 154bpm.  It never gets old hearing your baby in there :)  We just love it!

I went in for my monthly check up on Friday- I took my mom this time so Brian could save up some PTO time.  Everything went great- she got to hear the heartbeat and I got all good news! I had been cleared to do minimal activity- I could walk on a treadmill and maybe try some prenatal yoga, and do light hand weights under 5lbs. I got scheduled for my next ultrasound (i love getting ultrasounds!)-  its in about a month and they will be looking at all the organs to make sure they are developing right- the heart, lungs, brain, etc.

About noon that day I started noticing something wasn't right-  I brushed it off initially thinking it was probably just normal, but then by 3pm it had gotten much worse and by this time I knew something was wrong.  I called by doctor, but they closed at 230 on Fridays so I had just missed them.  My options at this point were to call the on call emergency doctor, go to the ER, or wait until Monday.  I really didn't want to do any of those- I didn't know how serious the problem was.  I ended up calling the on call doctor and good thing I did- She told me I needed to get to the Labor & Delivery as fast as possible to be monitored and tested.  The second she said the words Labor & Delivery- I lost it.  I started crying- I normally cry when I get scared and when you add on all the pregnancy hormones I have- now I cry that much more.  I was just so scared.  My boss called my husband to let him know- I was crying so hard I couldn't even talk- thankfully his work told him to leave right away and to go be with me.  Once I calmed down I called my mom as I was driving to let her know- I tried to stay as calm as possible so she wouldn't freak out.

We got to the hospital, got checked in, and got my little arm bracelet.  They labeled me as in for testing and observation- at this point we had no idea how long I would be here.  They took a urine sample to test and took us back into a room where the nurse explained how they were going to test everything .  They found the baby's heart beat- whew! that was a huge relief to me!  And then they did the test- They thought I was leaking amniotic fluid- which at 15 weeks is not good at all.  We waited and waited for the results to come back- and finally they did- it tested negative for amniotic fluid! Thank the Lord! That was one of the scariest moments I've had- I'm just so glad Brian was right beside me the whole time to calm me down.  This baby has just overcome so many odds- its a miracle- God is truly protecting it and caring for it.  So with that, they sent us home to rest and monitor the situation.  If it persisted or got worse we were supposed to call and come back in.

Sleeping is still so difficult and frustrating- I'm never comfortable, but I'm most comfortable on my back.  Which isn't how  I'm supposed to be sleeping.  Right now it takes 3 regular pillows and 2 body pillows for me to sleep- its like a fortress I have to build just to get somewhat comfortable.  I have a body size pillow on both sides of me- I try to use on to prop me up and make it more comfortable, but its not.  Being on my side at all gives me shooting pains to the point that I just cry out in pain.  I talked to my doctor about it, she recommended get a maternity pillow and said that its okay to sleep however is comfortable right now- even if that is on my back.  She said once I hit about 24 weeks we will have to figure something else out.... but for now it is just awful.

I felt like the last few weeks I was getting more energy and feeling better- but this week I feel like I'm right back in the first trimester.  I'm exhausted as soon as I wake up, I never feel good, I'm moody and miserable most of the day. I have absolutely no energy.  Don't get me wrong- I am so happy and excited and thankful to be pregnant and I love going on this journey with my husband...but I had no idea how hard it would be on me.  Work is the hardest, there are days I just don't know how I am going to make it through- whenever it seems impossible to make it to 5 o'clock I always just look at my screensaver-  our little one at 13 weeks just relaxing away-  it always make me feel better when I look at our baby- makes all of it absolutely worth it.  And I have such a good support system-  my mom has started driving to work more often that way I can just ride in the mornings when I'm not feeling good and she is always checking in on us to see if we need help with anything.  And my sweet sweet husband is just amazing. He is so patient with me and understanding. He can make me smile and make my heart smile even on the worst days.  I love getting to come home to him and just getting to lay on the couch cuddled up with him.

I'm so excited for whats coming up in the next month- I should start to feel flutters or movement, we have 2 more ultrasounds, and we will find out what we are having- we are so excited to have all our family together and our friends to find out what we are having!!!  Every day is so exciting and new- I just cant wait!

14 Weeks!

How Far Along:  14 Weeks

Total Weight Gain: down 2 pounds :(  should be gaining by now....

Maternity Clothes: Starting to need shirts now- I cant get away with my old ones for much longer

Stretch Marks:  Not yet

Sleep:  Right now I can only sleep on my back, I get really sick when I try to sleep on my side

Best Moment This Week: Celebrating my first Mothers Day!

Miss Anything: Not really

Movement: Cant feel movement, but def feeling the growing pains!

Food Cravings:  Chocolate

Anything make you quesy or sick:  CAR RIDES!

Gender Predicition-  ????

Labor Signs: nope!

Symptoms:Cramps! back cramps, stomach cramps- that little one is growing!  extreme tiredness, sore boobs, headaches, random throw ups, burping, crying

Belly Button in or out: In

Wedding ring on or off:  On

Happy or Moody: Emotional! I cry at everything!

Looking Forward to: Hearing our baby's heartbeat again

Nursery Progress:Waiting to find out what we are having and then we can start filling up the room!

Our baby is now the size of a lemon!  It's moving like crazy and is now sucking its thumb and wiggling its fingers and toes.  The baby has doubled in weight since last week and is now about 3.4 inches long!

I still get really really tired in the afternoons, if I am at home I will fall asleep every afternoon and at work its such a struggle to fight off the tiredness.  Car rides are still making me super sick- we try to keep me out of the car as much as possible these days!  I still get the occasional "morning sickness" symptoms- although mine are always the worst in the afternoons, but it is slowly getting better! Sleeping is really difficult- if I lay on my side I get horrible pains in my stomach- if I lay on my back I get back cramps.  I know that sleeping is difficult during pregnancy, but I guess I didnt expect this this early!  I can tell the hormones are rising- I now cry at EVERYTHING!  Before I was pregnant, I had never cried at a movie.  This week we watched Joyful Noise and I was just balling my eyes out.  And on the way home from work I was listening to KLove when they called a mom to surprise her wtih a trip to Disney World for Mothers Day and I had tears just streaming down my face.  Its crazy!

I got to celebrate my very first Mothers Day this week! My sweet husband planned out a date for and got me a gift all on his own- absolutely no hints from me! I was so shocked and felt so blessed that he put the time and effort and thought into making it such a special day for me.  He took me out to eat and I got the most perfect 1st mothers day present!  It was a little journal that asks me all sorts of questions-  I write in my answers and then give it to our baby so that it can know all about me before it was born.  I absolutely love it- it is the PERFECT gift for me!

For our mom's we made a DVD of pictures and videos from the time we started dating up to Christmas of last year.  We spent so much time making these- I would say at least 20 hours- and they turned out great! Both our parents loved them!  We drove up to Cushing to see his family-  which is the longest I have had to be in a car- it was AWFUL! I wanted to cry I felt so sick and nauseous- but it was a really good day with his family- I ended up falling asleep (of course) and woke up just in time to get back in a car!   Sunday we went to my moms and had dinner with that side of the family.  It was a fun and busy weekend seeing all our families- but so worth it! 

Books from Brians Mom

Cute Card from My Mom

:) Made me giggle

I cant wait to be a mom just like my mom was and is.  She gave me the very best childhood- I have so many memories and she made all of them possible for me- she was so involved and would take me to see things and do things- I never just sat and watched tv or movies, we were always doing something! Thank you mom for everything you have done for me and everything you have sacrificed for me.  They dont make moms like you- you are one of a kind! Everyone who knows you tells me everytime they see me just how lucky I am to have you and how they wish they had a mom like you-  I know just how lucky I am and cant wait for our baby to know it too!

So, at week 14 the good days are starting to become more and more.  My husband has been a rock star- he has the cleaning and cooking down now- and takes care of me like a princess!  He has come a long ways- when we first started dating he had the mentality that days off were for doing nothing but being lazy, but now he is so pro active and a go getter and ready to live life and fill it full of memories! I cant thank him enough for serving me day and night and making every day of this journey so special- he is the absolute best man, best husband, and best daddy to be in the entire world!

Hello 2nd Trimester! 13 Weeks!!

How Far Along:  13 Weeks

Total Weight Gain: Back to my starting weight- hopefully I'll start gaining now!

Maternity Clothes: Stocking Up on them!

Stretch Marks:  Not yet

Sleep:  Difficult- cannot get comfortable at all

Best Moment This Week: Cleaning the Nursery out and planning the party

Miss Anything: Having energy

Movement: not yet- cant wait to feel that for the first time!

Food Cravings:  Nothing really... **update: INDIAN TACOS!!!! (real ones)

Anything make you quesy or sick:  CAR RIDES!

Gender Predicition-  ????

Labor Signs: nope

Symptoms: Headaches, heartburn, nausea, cramping

Belly Button in or out: In

Wedding ring on or off:  On

Happy or Moody: Happy but starting to get super emotional!

Looking Forward to: Hearing our baby's heartbeat again

Nursery Progress: The room is cleared out!

We are 13 Weeks Along- Finally into the 2nd trimester! Woot Woot!!!!!  Words cannot describe how happy we are to have made it past the 1st trimester! Our baby is now the size of a peach.  It is forming vocal cords and teeth and already has fingerprints! 

This week we found out that the baby cannot go in Brians truck at all.  He has an 08 model and they didn't make the feature to turn air bags off until the 09 models.  Its not just that we cant turn it off, but that it cannot be done at all.  Also, the middle seat is too narrow to hold the baby seat.....soooo we are back into Dave Ramsey mode to pay off my car before the baby gets here so we can get him a family truck.  It will be nothing short of a miracle if we get this done, but in our minds its just not optional.  Its a little stressful, but exciting at the same time!  So if you hear us saying no to a lot of things, or if you just get a  card or homemade items as a gifts- you know why! With such a large family, gifts for every holiday would cause us to go in debt so quickly- so instead we will choose to write a thoughtful card or make you something- and trust me, those are much more meaningful than any store bought item anyways!  Between paying in cash for ALL the baby and hospital bills, paying off a car, and saving to buy our baby things- all within 6 months, all while staying debt free- its quite the task!

Sunday afternoon we had a surprise visit from my dad-  he walked in carry stacks of tubs- so right away me and Brian knew something was up.  The baby's nursery has been our junk office for awhile now and it had gotten so bad you could barely walk in it.  My dad knew how bad it was stressing me out but that I just didn't have the energy do anything about it, so he came over and said- surprise!  we are cleaning out your nursery!  After a minor panic attack (yes I am OCD), Brian calmed me down and I was on board!  Brian and my dad worked so hard moving everything and organizing it and putting in places that I could easily get to so that I could slowly work on finding a place in the house for everything.  It was  such a blessing to us!  The room is now cleared out and we can start on the nursery!!!! Whoo hoo!!!!!

We also sat down with my mom and started planning out our gender reveal party! We cannot wait!!!!!! We are both so excited (so is my mom!), it cannot get here soon enough :)  We have lots of cute and fun ideas for the day to make it extra special!

I had my first (of 2) pregnancy dentist visits this week. I have NEVER been scared or nervous to go to the dentist (I was blessed that my parents have always made sure I go every 6 months without fail), but this time I was sooo nervous.  I didn't want to throw up and I especially didn't want to throw up all over someone else!  My hygienist was so sweet and talked me through everything and I made it through just fine!  The dentist told me everything looked perfect and just to keep doing my best on brushing and flossing. They explained the heightened risk of gum disease and progesterone and how it can affect the baby and were so kind and knowledgeable with everything. Whew! I was so relieved that it went so well!

We haven't really gotten to get out and do much.  Between me always feeling bad and tired- I get soo sick in car rides that it makes it hard to drive anywhere.  But Tuesday I was feeling really good so we went to the RedHawks game with Taylor and Kaylee- it was so fun!  We got to sit in the suite and just hung out and talked (didn't watch much of the game...) but it was a great night!

So, we're 13 weeks and counting! Every week things get a little easier, but were still dealing with problems and set backs- some normal, some not so normal.  Every day of being pregnant and every day the baby grows is a blessing.  I can't say enough how amazing my husband has been through all this!

12 Weeks!

How Far Along:  12 Weeks

Total Weight Gain: lost another 7 pounds..... :(

Maternity Clothes: Thats all I can wear now! 

Stretch Marks:  Not yet

Sleep:Sleeping good :)

Best Moment This Week: Seeing our baby!!!!

Miss Anything:  Not really

Movement: not yet- cant wait to feel that for the first time!

Food Cravings:  Nothing really- I was craving Indian Tacos but that was just because everyone was at the Arts Festival

Anything make you quesy or sick:Smells- Meat is the worst! oh and car rides- cant do them without getting sick either!

Gender Predicition-  I don't know anymore.....

Labor Signs: nope

Symptoms: Sore boobs, growing belly, tiredness,  smells, heartburn, cramping, getting sick when riding in cars

Belly Button in or out: In

Wedding ring on or off:  On

Happy or Moody: Happy and getting more energized

Looking Forward to:  Seeing our next ultrasound!

Nursery Progress: Almost!

The baby is now the size of a plum! Its about 2inches long and weighs .49 oz.  It now has reflexes, so if I poke the baby it will move! (even though I cant feel it yet)

This was the first weekend I had any amount of energy so we took full advantage of it and went on a day long date on Saturday. It was so much fun- we did some surprises for each other and just did some random spur of the moment things too.  Life with my husband is always an adventure :) I love it!

I am very lucky that both of my parents LOVE Brian and he has such a good relationship with them.  They truly think of him as their son and would do anything for us.  Sunday my dad came over and him and Brian pulled out all the power tools.  Those two men worked so hard and they completely made over our closet and added shelving to the shed- my dad loves to teach Brian things and spend time with him. They gave up their entire Sunday to help us out and stayed until everything was finished-  they didn't rush the project or rush us or ever make us feel like it was an inconvenience.  They talked me through all my OCD-ness :)  and took the time to teach Brian everything.  Brian & my dad did an amazing job, I couldn't have been more happy and proud.

The biggest event this week was getting to see our baby during the ultrasound! Last time we saw our little one it looked like this:

6 weeks

And today our little one looks like this!

13 weeks

I had no idea our baby would look so much like a baby now! It was the most amazing thing to see- our baby is sooooo active.  It was kicking and stretching and moving- it was touching its face and the mouth was just talking away.  Its just crazy to think all that movement is going on inside of me but I can't feel any of it yet!  About half way through the ultrasound the baby just fell asleep out of nowhere.  It definitely  sleeps like me- nothing would wake that little baby up! The tech tried to do everything to wake it up, but it was just snoozing through it all!  Finally about 20 min later the baby woke up and started moving again! Thank goodness!!!   This is the exact position the baby fell asleep in,  it just kicked up its legs, leaned back and went to sleep- it was too cute:

The ultrasound was for the Nuchal Translucency Screening which assessed the baby's risk of downs syndrome and other chromosomal abnormalities.  The first half of the testing is the ultrasound and the second half is blood work.  We haven't heard back from the blood work yet, but we heard back from the doctor after the ultrasound was reviewed and it came back looking great!  Our baby tested negative for all the diseases being tested! Praise the Lord!!!

The measured the baby at 13 weeks 1 day-  we were at 12 weeks 6 days, so it was just a few days off.  By the ultrasound the due date would not be Nov 5th, but they haven't officially changed it yet- so we will see if they do!

Our baby is such a precious miracle- its just amazing to see how far we have come! Our baby already has personality and is so stinkin cute!  We are so in love!