Week 17

So we are officially in the 4th month! I can't believe how fast the weeks fly by, but we still have many more to go! I am starting to feel a little more pregnant now, as my stomach is poping more and more each day! I think that my stomach is growing more now than I am actually gaining weight. Maybe that is wishful thinking though, haha! We go back to the doctor in less than two weeks, so we will see!! During our next doctor's visit, they will give us the script to go get another ultrasound! Gender determination ... I can't wait!! I am also looking very forward to feeling this little guy or girl move. Nothing yet that I know of, but who knows. I am hoping that I feel something soon!!! Here is the first belly picture .... week 16....I know, I know, next time I will include my head, haha!

The baby's room is also coming along nicely. Dan has finished putting in the ceiling fan with light dimmer (for those middle of the night feedings, haha) and the new baseboards. Now he wants to put in crown molding and we need to replace the window (it is pretty old). But things are moving along. Although, we had some other setbacks with house stuff this week that has needed to be fixed .... however, I will spare those details as this blog is for our little guy or girl!!


We also went to visit our friends Megan and Keith this week. They just had a little boy (Cooper) about two weeks ago. He is so precious!! Neither Dan nor I have never held a baby that small/young before. We are soooo happy for them and can't wait for Cooper to meet his new playmate (he is very anxious to find out if its a girl or a boy too...haha.)!

Baby's Room

We have now entered week 15. So far things are going great. We had a doctor's appointment yesterday just to go over my previous blood work and to check my weight and the baby's heart beat. Lets just say that I have definitely put some weight on at this point, but I am not willing to disclose those numbers yet, haha. I don't feel too pregnant yet, more like I have just put on some weight. I can notice a small baby bump at times, but I don't think that it is noticeable to the everyday person yet...maybe it is, what do I know. It was so neat to hear the baby's heart beat. The doctor said that it sounded perfect and I was also able to hear two kicks! Ahh, I can't wait to start feeling the baby move!

Dan has also started some renovations to the baby's room. He is replacing the old baseboards with some new, more modern ones, and is also trying to convince me that we should put crown molding up! I do agree that it would look wonderful in the baby's room; however, for those of you who know what we went through when he put crown molding up in the living room...I am a little hesitant. haha. We are also installing a ceiling fan and light with a dimmer (for when I have to get up at 2am to feed him or her)!! I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful husband who wants to make the baby's room perfect! We also plan to put a new window in that room at some point (prior to August), which Dan also wants to do himself. I am sure that you will hear more about that later. Anyway, here are some pre-construction photos of the baby's room and Dan's new "work-in-process".

Week 13

We are so relieved to be in the second trimester and I am hopeful that my energy levels with start to increase shortly! We had another ultrasound this week, which was amazing! The baby had tripled in size since our last ultrasound, and you could now see him or her moving around! According to the ultrasound tech, the baby behaved perfectly as she took his or her measurements....but he/she was sure moving around a lot. It was so neat to see the baby move and I can't wait to actually start feeling the beginning "flutters". The baby's heart beat during this ultrasound was 159. Still indicates a girl, but we will see...I have heard that the heart beat predictions are myths!!

Okay, so that is the best that I could do. We all know that Dan is the computer/tech guy in our marriage. I would have asked him to help me scan the ultrasound, but he is busy making dinner and I didn't want to bother him because I am starving!! So for now, a picture of the ultrasound will have to do. I promise the next one will be much better!! haha!

Changes

I started to realize my body was changing when I could no longer comfortably button my pants. Thankfully safety pins and rubber bands came in handy until a friend introduced me to the wonderful belly bands!

http://babybeminematernity.3dcartstores.com/Maternity-Belly-Bands_c_7.html

What a lifesaver, you can stay in your pre-pregnancy pants without having to button them...and yes they do stay up! I have also been beyond exhausted, but I really can't complain too much, because the nausea has gone away for the most part. It only lasted for about three weeks, but was intense. However, I have heard much worse, so I really can't complain! As we approached week 12, I was also given the clearance for no more bi-weekly blood work! I was thrilled to know that my hormone levels were on point, but also looked forward to the continual reassurance from my doctor. But this pregnancy is a blessing and is in God's hands, so I know that everything will work out as he plans in the end.

We have been blessed!

Of course, I had the doctor's number on speed dial and starting calling at 8:55am continually until they finally answered at 9:02am!! The doctor immediately ordered blood work to confirm the positive pregnancy tests and to check my historically low hormone levels. I went to LabCorp to have the blood work completed the next morning. To my surprise, the doctor called me by noon and confirmed that we were in fact pregnant and my hormone levels looked great!! He also ordered an ultrasound and continual blood work every two weeks to monitor my hormone levels!

Later that week we went for our first ultrasound which merely showed a black dot the size of a quarter. How amazing!!! They were able to determine that I was 6 weeks pregnant with a due date of August 13th. We were so thrilled, but it still hadn't completely sunk in yet. Since the ultrasound was so early on, they were not able to detect heart beat yet, so my doctor ordered another ultrasound about three weeks later.

My blood work continued to look great as we approached Christmas and our second ultrasound. However, I was starting to have 24/7 nausea, which was difficult to cover up with my parents staying with Dan and I for 10 days over Christmas!

The second ultrasound was amazing! The baby had almost doubled in size and you could now see the flickering of its heart. So awesome! The heart beat during this ultrasound was 169, which they say means a girl...but we will see.

How we found out....

After my period was a few days late, I decided to take a pregnancy test. I didn't tell Dan right away, because I honestly did not think anything of it. I have been known to have very irregular periods, long cycles, and low progesterone levels. It is for all these reasons that I started seeing a specialists several years ago for very irregular periods. He had also warned me several times because of my low hormone levels, that if and when I decided to try and get pregnant, that I would need to be very patient and if I didn't get pregnant within a year we could consider other alternatives (sorry, I know, too much information). So you can imagine my surprise when the test was positive!! I was shocked, excited, and nervous. You name it, I felt it.

Well my brother and I had planned to go up to King of Prussia on this very same day to go Christmas shopping, so the plan went on. We had a wonderful time shopping, but I could not stop thinking about the positive pregnancy test. I still did not believe that I really was pregnant, so I planned to take the second test when I got home that evening! I have always heard that pregnancy tests are more accurate first thing in the morning (not sure if this is really true), so I figured that if the second pregnancy test was positive in the evening it had to be right. Needless to say, when I got home and took the second pregnancy test, it was positive as well. I still had my doubts, but figured the chances were pretty good. We were both shocked and nervous, but most of all overjoyed. We also still had our doubts and we hesitant to get too excited, so I decided I would my doctor first thing Monday morning...