Baby Watch 2010

Is there anything more exciting in life than Babies? 2010 has been the year of babies for me and my friends. I had 7, count them SEVEN new babies in my life for 2010. Who doens't love all these new babies??




It started when our cousin (okay, Scott’s cousin’s wife, but I call her my cousin) called me up last October and told me that she was pregnant and due only 2 days after me (May 17th). I was excited that our babies would be born close together. This was her first and I am very excited for Kevin and Holly and their family. I did tell everyone that she would have her baby before me. Sure enough, Holly went into labor on my last day of work. Beautiful Owen was born on May 8th. I never did get a picture of us pregnant together, and forgot to get a picture of our boys together, born 10 days apart. But I did steal a picture off her facebook for you to see Owen.



Next of course was Caleb, born on May 18th, only 3 days after his due date. Much better than his brother born 12 days late.



My sister’s best friend, Bethany, was due with her second baby. She was one of the lucky few who actually had her baby on her due date! (Although the many days of labor (contractions) before delivery I am sure did not make her feel lucky.) Deacon, born on July 3rd. I got to see him for a very brief time last night, and he is really growing! What a cutie!



Our friend Robyn was due with her first baby this week (August 4th), however, Ivy made her appearance a little early and arrived on July 22nd. I got to hold her again this week during my lunch break. Seriously, one of the prettiest babies I have ever seen.



Probably the pregnancy that I am most excited about is my Sister. For one, because they tried for a while before getting pregnant, two, it’s my sister, and three, they aren’t finding out the sex and I am on pins and needles waiting to find out if I have a new niece or nephew! Bekah is due on August 26th and I can hardly wait three more weeks!



My Sister-in-Law Brianna is also pregnant, and I am so excited for my new nephew due October 14th (I think). I have her baby shower next weekend and I am excited to be buying cute little boy things for her. I know my niece Elyse (8) is also excited to have a new little brother, she is going to be a great help to her mom! Pictured is Brianna on her wedding with her new husband and their kids (Elyse, Lily & Jonathan).




Finally, I believe the last baby watch of 2010 for me is my best friend. Tawni is due on Decemebr 21st, although there is a good chance her baby will be early. We just found out on Wednesday that she is having a boy I really couldn’t be more excited! We are going to have so much fun with our four boys together!

Due Date Pedicure

Although they say that a baby is considered full time after 36 weeks and not really considered “early” I knew that my baby was not coming before the 15th. We did have a few scares with my constant contractions, high blood pressure, and hospital visit. But my baby was not coming early.

My due date came and went. On my due date, Saturday, May 15th, My mother took my pregnant sister and me out for pedicures. Scott stayed home with Brendan so that we could really enjoy ourselves. It was so nice to have a good foot massage and pretty toes. “I really needed this,” I thought to myself, “it has been way too long.” I began thinking back to the last time I did have a pedicure. It was last year for my sister’s birthday. We went away for a girl’s weekend and on Saturday, August 15th, we all got pedicures. How ironic. I lean over to my sister and tell her that exactly 9 months ago today was my last pedicure!

During delivery, my husband told me later that he noticed my perfectly painted toes. “While you were stressed out, sweating, in pain with fluids everywhere, your feet were up on the stirrups perfectly prim.” And that is why I got a pedicure right before having a baby, at least part of me looked good!

Tractor Baby Shower

On Saturday, April 10th, my sister threw me a wonderful Baby Shower. It was a country theme with John Deere Tractors. "Come celebrate Rachel's new little 'Deere'." Was the invitations. We had perfect weather for an outside Shower in my backyard. A friend lent us some red checked table clothes that worked perfectly for the shower. On each table was a mixed bouquet of flowers and mason jars with fresh vegetables to snack on, and of course, a John Deere tractor!

Lunch was pulled-pork sandwiches, deviled eggs, pasta salad, homemade Strawberry Lemonade from fresh lemons and for dessert, individual creme pies. My favorite, Coconut and Chocolate! We also wrapped water bottles with personalized labels for that extra touch.


For the Favors, Bekah made sugar cookies, and wrapped them up with a small Smuckers jar of jam. I thought they were adorable!Instead of a Game, Bekah had each guest make a onesie for our new little boy. They were super easy to make, and will be a great memory for me every time I dress my son in one of these cute outfits! The example onesie my sister made was of course a tractor!

The party consisted of mostly family with my few closest friends. Not very big, but perfect for my second baby.

My mom and Grandmother

Scott's Aunt Cindy, Cousin Karen, Mom, and Grandma

Opening Presents. The gifts were very generous, the new baby is defiantly taken care of!

38 weeks!!

I am officially 38 weeks along, 12 days to go, it's crazy! Right now I am doing really well, I went to the doctor on Thursday and she said that everything looked good, my blood pressure was fine, weight gain was still on track, and I am not dilated at all! Great! Wait...38 weeks and not even a centimeter? This could be bad news....

Although I am not quite ready for a baby this week, I would like him to come on or around the 15th. Things could change in a week, but if I go in for my next appointment on the 7th and nothing has changed, I'm going to start to worry. I don't want another late baby! That really messes up my plans!

Don't worry, I am kidding (slightly) I know babies come when they come and you can't schedule these type of things, so we will just have to wait it out to see.

Here are a couple more belly shots for those interested. These are from my 37th week. The baby is now the size of a watermelon! I Know that I feel huge, but really I think that I am smaller than I was with Brendan. I also don't feel quite as uncomfortable. When I was pregnant with Brendan, I would have a constant pain in my ribs from him kicking me, while with this pregnancy, I don't feel that pressure. As I type he is pushing against me, as if to tell me he is out of room, but he needs to stay in for just 2 more weeks, then he can come!

Hospital visit - Week 34 & 35

My pregnancy complications began on the morning of April 6th, 3 days before my birthday. I knew it was a busy day at work and I needed to be there that day, however, I had a doctor’s appointment at 9:00 that morning. Scott was out of town, so I took Brendan to day care, went to my appointment anxious to get to work.

Our plans never go as planned. My blood pressure was higher than it had been at my previous appointments (probably due to the stress of the morning) and my doctor wanted me to go next door to the hospital’s Labor & Delivery ward (L&D) to be checked out. I knew it would make me that much later to work, but it had to be done. An hour later, I am still waiting in my doctor’s waiting room waiting for L&D to approve me to come over. Finally, I get approval, and wait in the Hospital’s waiting room for 45 minutes for them to process paperwork and send me down the hall. Once I get to L&D, they take my weight, have me pee in a cup and hook me up to machines. One monitor for the baby’s heart rate, one to monitor me, and one for my blood pressure. At this point I am just annoyed, I would like to go to work, I am all alone, and I hate being hooked up to machines. I am still thinking they need to hurry up so I can get out of here. I text my sister to let her know where I am, she immediately decides she is coming to the hospital to it with me. I tell her it is not necessary, I should be out of here soon, but she comes anyway. It was probably a good thing!

I text my husband to let him know what is going on. “I’m in the hospital hooked up to machines.” His response? “Liar.” Umm, no, pretty serious here. He tells me to let him know if he needs to come home or if I think I am okay. Of course I think I am okay, I am ready to go back to work people!

When my sister gets to the hospital, I confess to her, “just so you know, I’m having a few contractions, I haven’t told anyone yet because I don’t want anyone to worry.” Sure enough, the monitor is tracking my contractions at every 3 minutes. I realize, I am not going to work today, I will be lucky if I even get to go home. They continue to monitor me all day, I have ultrasounds taken to check on the baby, and eventually they hook me up to an IV to try to hydrate me enough and see if the contractions stop. Great, more for me to be hooked up to.

Around 2:00, my sister heads back to work and calls my husband in Vegas to let him know that he should probably start heading home; he is already on his way. The nurse tells me there is a chance I will have to stay overnight in the hospital, so we start arranging for someone to pick my son up from day care. They also give me a shot in the rear to help with the development of the baby’s lungs just in case he does come early.

Luckily, around 6:30 the contractions have pretty much ceased. They send me home, but tell me I am on Bed Rest for tomorrow, no work. I am also on “pelvic rest”, instructed to stay well hydrated, and have to come back to the hospital at 2:00 the next day to see where I am.

The next day I tried my best to sit with my feet up, my husband cleaned the house while I just sat around. I had no contractions while at the hospital for my check-up. I get another shot to finish the series for the lung development, and they tell me I can go back to work if I want to. YAY! (Still on pelvic rest).

I still have contractions every now and then, Monday at work they were coming pretty often, but I figure when my water breaks, I should probably head to the hospital!  Otherwise, I am doing well. I try to drink LOTS of water to stay hydrated, and I didn’t realize, but a full bladder increases contractions! Interesting! So I take more trips down the hall instead of holding it for when it is convenient to go. I do take it a bit slower and I sit with my feel up more often, you can defiantly see the impact this has taken on my house. But I’m not ready for a baby yet, so anything I can do to prolong the birth!

Pregnancy Brain has taken over! (Week 33)

On Saturday, I was (am) official 33 weeks pregnant, 7 weeks to go! I must admit the most difficult pregnancy symptom I am experiencing during this week is the Pregnancy Brain I have been experiencing.

I Googled Pregnancy brain and found some pretty interesting articles. The debate between Pregnancy Brain being a myth or reality is pretty in depth. Wisegeek.com says “Pregnancy brain is a condition that affects expectant mothers, usually during the first and third trimesters. Sometimes known as placenta brain or baby brain drain, the condition is usually characterized by short-term memory loss or forgetfulness. Some medical experts say that pregnancy brain is a myth, but evidence shows that many women have experienced this condition.” I’m not sure if it is a real condition or just a combination of lack of sleep (I now get up to pee in the middle of the night at least 4-5 times) as well as losing focus for a number of reasons. But either way, Pregnancy Brain has really set in for me!

This afternoon I was walking out to my car, as I put on my sunglasses and caught a whiff of a familiar sweet smell, I could not place what it was! I smelled my hands to see if it was the soap I had just used, I smelled my sunglasses, my keys, my cell phone. Then I realized, it was my own perfume that I had put on this morning!

The worst part is that I seem to misplace everything lately. This morning I searched for 15 minutes for my car keys so we could leave, as Brendan followed me around saying “Keys? Keys? Keys?” Yes Brendan, Mommy is looking for her keys so we can go.

To date, I have lost/misplaced (and not yet recovered) my work keys and house keys, my debit card, my checkbook, my camera cord (to download pictures off my camera), my black slacks, (I know, crazy right? Where could they have gone?) my sons windbreaker, a gift I bought a friend 7 weeks ago, and my pearl necklace.

It started with my keys, which I have been using the spare set that we keep in the house, I blamed Brendan that he played with them and hid them somewhere in the house. But after everything else started disappearing, I’m wondering if my son is even responsible for the keys!

I’m going to have to clean the entire house the weekend, top to bottom and hope everything turns up! I’m praying for my “nesting” instinct to kick in soon…

In other updates, the baby is moving around a lot now of days, he has hiccups frequently, which has actually become an irritant to me as it is distracting and makes me lose focus (which I really don’t need right now) but it is fun to feel him move around and push as he runs out of room in there. He has begun to kick my ribs, which of course is unpleasant, but every once in a while he will move and make me jump and then giggle.

Things at the top of my to-do list include: 1. Taking a tour of the hospital (I am considering switching to a different hospital from last time). 2. Cleaning out the closet in the baby room. 3. Organizing Brendan’s outgrown clothes for the new baby. 3. Next Doctor’s Appointment, next week. Discuss delivery expectations. 4. Consider Maternity pictures (need to talk to Scott about how he feels). 5. Clean out our bedroom & closet to make room for cradle.
That is all for now, I can only handle so much at once! I’ll let you know as we have more progress! Until then, there is a belly shot that has been requested (ERIN!) and long overdue….

Week 32 - Cravings

I am currently 32 weeks pregnant! Crazy I know! About 8 more weeks to go, more-or-less. One of my favorite questions in pregnancy is "What have your cravings been?"

To some extent I am a little skeptical of the whole concept of pregnancy cravings. Are they really pregnancy related or is this my excuse to eat the silly things that I want just because I have a baby growing inside? I'm not sure how deep I want to dive into this issue, mostly because I like being able to have "cravings". I admit, some are stronger than others. There are times when I really want something salty, like NOW. And other times Ice-cream sounds good, so I'll blame my desire for sweets on a craving. My husband just shakes his head at me at my response of "The baby wants ice cream, I can't help it" (with an innocent smile). Craving or not, I like the excuse!

If we do want to believe that the cravings are true, I thought I would reflect on what my cravings have been so far with this pregnancy.

With my pregnancy with Brendan I remember craving Jell-o. That one I truly believe to be a craving. I don't eat Jell-o that often, but while pregnant, I couldn't get enough! I also craved Goldfish Crackers, which now my son eats like crazy.

With this pregnancy, I crave mostly salty things. My second trimester I ate pickles every night. For a couple weeks I wanted Peanut-Butter and banana bagels. But the biggest thing I have loved almost the entire pregnancy has been Gardettos. Chex Mix will not do, I like the salty mix of the Gardetto's Snack Mix, I love the crisp rye crackers, the pretzels and the sesame bread sticks. I wish the cafe at work sold them, because just talking about them right now is driving me crazy!

My other guilty secret pleasure (which wont be a secret any longer) is my cravings for Cadbury Creme Eggs. It's not even Easter yet and I have already had 6 eggs. I buy a pack of four at a time, keep them in my desk and eat them slowly savoring the much too sweet soft fondant center and creamy milk chocolate. I know I am crazy, but I love it! I don't know what I am going to do when Easter is over...buy a stash that will last me though May?

So those are my cravings thus far at 32 weeks. We are getting close to the end now, I still feel good, but reality is setting in that I have 8 more weeks and a lot more work to do! I'm sure with Gardetto's and Creme Eggs I will make it through!

Week 30-31 - The end is near!

It is hard to believe that I am now in my 30th week of pregnancy! Less than 10 weeks to go! (If my baby comes on time, which I am not banking on…) I realized last week that I have not taken a single “Belly shot” with this pregnancy. It is sad but I guess there is a lot more attention on the first baby than the others. It does not mean I will love him any less, probably just have less pictures. As my sister says “It’s good to be the first!”

In week 26, I had to have a Rhogam shot due to being RH negative.

In week 28, I had to have my glucose testing done. They want to check to be sure that I am not at risk for diabetes. Although the drink made me feel really sick all day, the test came back negative and all is well. It also gave me time to just sit and think.

My sister has started planning my baby shower, which I am excited about! We weren’t going to have one at all since we are having a boy and don’t really need a lot of stuff. But Bekah thought it would be nice for us all to get together and celebrate the new baby together. We are keeping it very small, just family and a few of my closest friends.

Sleeping has gotten a lot harder lately. There is more pressure and I can feel there is less room in there for him to move around. Which mean I get more “jabs” in the ribs and jumps that startled me. It is fun though to feel and see him move so much.

I also find myself short on breath easily; I need to sit down more frequently. Even standing to do my hair and makeup and be too much and I need to sit down halfway through.

The end is in sight and we are excited…So much to do!

25 weeks

So I know I haven't given a real progress report on my pregnancy lately. I am now 25 weeks along. 15 more weeks to go! I can not believe I am almost in my final trimester, it feels as though I just found out I was pregnant.

Here are some recent ultrasound pics that I forgot to post with my last pregnancy update. Sorry they aren't the best quality, I have been carrying them around in my purse since Christmas Eve!

The ever classic profile:
The innapropriate gender shot:
The creepy "face" view

Finally, another head shot, profile with an arm "waving"

Overall I am feeling pretty good. When I walk too quickly I get sharp pains in my side, luckily they are bearable. My doctor tells me it is my ligaments holding up my uterus being pulled and stretched. I am still getting Braxton-Hicks contractions, my doctor says they are normal and not worry about them. It's hard not to "worry" about them when they make me uncomfortable! Not that I am really worried, more annoyed. I was secretly hoping for some more sympathy, or better yet, a temporary handicap parking slip so I wouln't have to walk to far since it tends to be the walks that cause the contrations and side aches. No such luck.

I just had a check-up last Monday with my doctor, actually I saw the PA. It was pretty uneventful, just check my weight, my urine, and schedule more blood work. She listened to the heartbeat again, still nice and strong, and measured my belly. I did ask about my weight gain. I haven't been as careful this time, and since I feel so much bigger with this pregnancy than my last, I was afraid I was gaining too much weight. I also started heavier with this pregnancy than the last. Since I don't have a scale at home, I haven't been keeping track of my weight gain. She looked at my record, and verified that I am still on track for weight gain. I lost some weight between my first appointment and my second, so total, I have only gained 10 pounds so far. She did tell me that I need to gain at least 15 more pounds before the end. Don't worry, that is not a problem! :)

I am now completely in maternity clothes. Yesterday I wore a non-maternity dress and realized that was the last time I could wear that dress. I really need to go shopping for a few more maternity items, specifically, black work pants. It is difficult to still dress nicely for work right now, I feel as though I look frumpy in my maternity clothes and...well...not so professional in my regular clothes.

Although physically I feel pretty good, mentally I don't feel all there. I am very forgetful and it takes me longer to process things at work than it used to. Blame it on lack of sleep, or baby brain, either way, it is frustrating.

Bella Band

Oh BellaBand,
I love you and hate you.

I love that you provide additional support
to my tummy on long days,
I love that you help keep my pants
with real buttons around my waist,
and how you help the maternity pants without enough elastic.
I love that you can be folded to provide
different levels of support and comfort.

But most of all, I hate that it takes that much longer to get my pants off to go to the bathroom.
Because, let me tell you, when someone is using your bladder as a bean-bag chair -
Every second counts!

Pregnancy, Ultrasounds & Updates

It has been a while since I have updated my blog on my pregnancy. So I thought I would catch you up on my "progress" and what has been going on lately since I am now 24 weeks pregnant.

• Although all the books say I should be "feeling good" at this point, I'm not sure if I am really there. Since I am in my second trimester, usually morning sickness goes away. Unfortunately for me, my morning sickness got worse after Christmas. After a couple weeks, it seemed to get better.
• The baby is moving like crazy! I can even see his movements when I just watch my tummy. It is actually one of the most enjoyable moments of my day, when I can sit back with my hands on my tummy, feeling his movements. My mom was able to feel a few of his movements when really concentrating at Christmas time. Scott of course has also felt the baby move and kick.
• I have had 3 doctor appointments since my last update. I feel like I have had a lot lately, and it gets a little frustrating to have to miss work for this many appointments.
• Scott was able to go with me to the Ultrasound a few days before Christmas. We were able to confirm that the baby is indeed a boy. No doubt about it!
• I then had an appointment with my normal doctor, who referred me back to the specialist for a few more tests.
• The specialist did another ultrasound. This time I didn't get to see as much of the baby as they were mostly doing measurements of the head and heart and such. Luckily, the appointment was quick and they said I shouldn't have to go back to the specialist again for this pregnancy.
• I am suppose to have another appointment today, but I think I am going to have to reschedule. I am sick today and not sure if they want me to come in.
• I didn't realize how much earlier I was showing with this pregnancy. I knew I began to show early, but I looked back on pictures of myself halfway through the pregnancy with Brendan and was shocked at how much bigger I am with this one. Unfortunately, with no scale at home, I am not sure how much weight I have gained. That is something I am going to ask the doctor at my next appointment. I don't want to gain too much weight!
• I have been experiencing a lot more braxton-hicks contractions lately. Some are even uncomfortable for me. They come on especailly after I do a lot of walking. Even walking in form the back of the parking lot at work carrying my laptop. I think I am going to talk to my doctor about these as well. I know that it is possible to get them at this point in the pregnancy, but it still feels too early for me.
• Scott and I started our baby registries this weekend. BabiesRus & Target. We haven't registered for a lot since there isn't too much that we need with this one. There are a few things that I didn't have with Brendan that I wish that I did. So we registered for them, and maybe we will see. We are still planning on keeping this pregnancy at a lower key since it is our second.
• Overall I think I am doing well. Completely in Maternity clothes at this point, feeling pretty good although I am still tired most of the time and i have to remind myself to slow down, take things easy and not try to do too much. I am excited for the weeks ahead as I get further into my pregnancy.

Voting on Names

Thank you all who voted on the name for our new baby. Evan James really seems to be the top pick with a vote of 65% (21 votes vs. 10). My pick of Brian James didn't make it with only 31%. It was fun seeing every one's response to our pick of names and what everyone else thought.

Although Evan James "won" we actually aren't going to be using either name! We really didn't want to settle on a name that the other person wasn't really happy with. We were fortunate with naming Brendan that we both loved the name. But this one was a little harder for us, I like the name Evan, but I'm not loving it. The same is true with Scott and the name Brian.

So, we have picked an alternative name that I think we both are very happy with. I'm going to leave you in suspense for a little longer! :) We go in for another Ultrasound next week where we will "officially" find out the sex of the baby. Because I originally found out so early, there is still a chance the baby is a girl (although I doubt it). So we will announce the name after the next ultrasound...Unless it is a girl, then we will probably have another month of discussing names since we have zero girl names picked out!

Positives to Pregnancy

When I began this post I started a list of things that I don't like about being pregnant. About halfway through my list I realized that I have been pretty negative about this whole pregnancy thing and maybe I should start looking at things more positively. Plus, I know I'll be complaining at the end of my journey so I'll save the list for then! :) For now, let's stick to what I do like, in no particular order, other than what came to mind:

1. The excuse to get out of some housework chores: "Hunny, can you take out the trash? The smell is really bothering me."
2. Being able to cry at sappy chick flicks, Disney movies, or The Biggest Loser, you know whatever. I just blame it on the hormones!
3. Wearing a new wardrobe that you know you will only be wearing for 6 months or so.
4. Having an excuse to go shopping for new clothes!
5. Not really caring what you eat, you are gaining weight anyway!
6. Eating dessert.
7. Feeling the movement of the baby, knowing there is life inside you.
8. The little milestones and countdowns. It helps to have something to look forward to. The next trimester, the next ultrasound, the first real kick, starting maternity leave…
9. Having state paid leave from work for at least 8 weeks. Not quite a vacation, but still.
10. Watching people watch me trying to decide if I just have a beer gut, or if I am pregnant.
11. Being able to have a bad day and be grumpy while people just blame it on you being pregnant.
12. Being able to share this time with other pregnant women/friends, having that common bond to share.
13. Having an excuse to eat odd food at odd times. I don’t know if I just wanted a pickle last night or if it is a craving…either way my husband got up to get it for me!
14. Watching the progress and changes of your belly growing.
15. Planning for the future of your family.
16. Trying to teach an only child that his world is about to be turned upside down! So far, Brendan can say “Baby” when he touches mommy’s tummy. No idea what it means though.
17. Having other people carry heavy objects for you.
18. Sleeping surrounded with pillows.
19. Finding out the sex and being able to call your baby by a name while planning for the arrival.
20. Finally, Counting the days/months when you will get to meet this precious new baby and hold him in your arms.

Baby Names

So now that we know our little one is a boy, we have to decide on a name. Currently Scott and I are unable to decide between two names, although we haven't limited them to only these names, we may find another that we like better. But for now we are "arguing" against two names. What do you think? I have added a little poll to the side so you can vote on your favorite name!

Evan James

-or-

Brian Joseph

Tell us what you think!

Congratulations! It's a.....

Well, we have told our family and closest friends the sex so I thought I would share it for the rest of the world to know. I am currently 15 weeks pregnant. Into my 2nd trimester and feeling pretty good. Except for still being tired. As you know, I went to my doctor's appointment for the California Pregnancy Screening. While I was getting the ultrasound done, we found out the sex! I was surprised to know so early, and it could still change since it was very early, we will confirm at my next appointment. But I am thinking they were right when they told us that...

It's a BOY!

We are very excited to have two boys so close in age! Scott loves the fact that I will be in a family of "Men". I think it is great, plus, we already have a bunch of boy clothes! Although our niece was very disappointed not to be getting a baby girl cousin, I'm sure she will survive with two boys. Now we just need to pick out a name...

Pregnancy Screening Tests

Monday afternoon I went to the doctor for my 12 week appointment (a little late as it kept getting rescheduled). They told me that I needed to do my “Screening” before the end of the week while I was still in my first trimester. I was actually pretty upset about this. During the screening they check for birth defects and genetic disorders in each of my trimesters. That means I have to have extra blood work done each trimester, and extra doctor visits to a specialist. It probably isn’t a big deal, and most pregnant women probably get it done, but it was a bigger deal to me.

With Brendan, when this screening was offered, I signed the paperwork to deny the tests. But with this pregnancy, I switched doctors. Now I have a brand new set of policies to follow. The PA told me at my last visit that if I choose to deny the tests, they are going to send me to a specialist because they will consider me a “high-risk pregnancy”. With feeling like I didn’t really have a choice, I went ahead and did the test. Although, I haven’t yet done my blood work…I hate needles!

My appointment with the specialist was today at 1:30. When I went in, they gave me an ultrasound. I am in my 13th week of pregnancy and have already doubled the ultrasounds for this kid compared to the last! I wasn’t very excited going into it, but seeing your baby on a large screen really calms you down. She took the measurements, then showed me the arms, legs and head. Then she asked me if I wanted to find out the sex. I said “sure, why not”. She told me that we would confirm on my next appointment.

I am so excited, I didn’t expect to know so soon into the pregnancy, although I am 2 days away from being officially out of my 1st trimester, wow, time is going fast! Of course, she may be wrong with the sex, so we will find out for sure next time.

Aren't you all dying to know what it is??

The word is out - Week 10

I just realized that the title of my posts have been the week that I just completed. So I am technically now in my 11th week of pregnancy, but I guess it doesn't really matter! Oh well, just a random thought from the pregnant lady.

I told my work today that I was pregnant. I really wanted to do something cute to tell them all. I had this great idea to take a box and make it look like an oven, then bring in freshly baked sticky buns or something and have a sign that said "Bun in the Oven". But I never took the time to make a cute box, and I'm really not feeling up to baking sticky buns in the morning, I can barley roll out of bed in time to make it into work. So instead, I brought them a box of donuts! I think they were just as happy! I send everyone in my office an e-mail, which was nice for me to keep it low key and not have the awkward moment standing in the office announcing it to everyone while they all stare at me trying to decide what to say without asking personal questions like "Was it planned" which then eludes to my sex life with my husband. Instead I got a few nice e-mails back with a simple "Congratulations! Thanks for the donuts!" Success!

So now, I have posted the news on my blog, called my family and closest friends, told work, gave permission to my father to tell the church, and my lovely husband has posted the news on facebook (the day I told him I guess we didn't have to keep it a secret anymore). So our news is out there for those who care.

Overall, I am feeling pretty well. I am nearing the end of my first trimester. So far I have made it through the pregnancy without throwing up once. I am uncomfortable at night, but I know this is only the beginning! I did make my husband buy me a Pumpkin Pie milkshake last weekend from Jack-in-the-Box. I told him the baby was craving a milkshake. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it! :) I can't believe how quickly the pregnancy is going this time. I felt like I was in the first trimester forever with Brendan, this one is flying by.

I know it sounds silly, but I can't wait to get into my maternity clothes again. It is like a new wardrobe just sitting at the top of my closet waiting to be worn! Pretty soon I'm sure, for now, most of my work clothes still fit and a couple jeans I can still wear. I bought a couple of Maternity dresses that I am excited to wear once I start showing. I told Scott this weekend I just look like I have a beer gut, he looked at me and tried to find a way to make me feel better, truth is, I don't quite look pregnant yet, I just look a little thick around the middle. I try to wear more empire waisted shirts to accentuate my middle.

Other than that, life is as normal. Scott and I are both pretty busy with work, friends, church activities, and family outings. Brendan is getting into everything which keeps us on our toes, but we are loving every moment!

Ultrasound - 9 Weeks

Written on:
October 13, 2009

I had my first Ultrasound today. The appointment was at 10:45. I arrived in the doctors office and signed in at 10:28. The wait was long, especially since I was by myself (Scott wasn't able to make it) and the room was quiet. But, as I told my mom, it was a nice break to sit in the waiting room and do nothing. I started to read a book, and then I realized I would rather do nothing, how often do I get a chance to just "sit" and so I did.

After quite a wait, I was taken back with the ultrasound tech. No weight check, peeing in a cup, vitals, nothing. We went straight back, she had me lay down on the table and within seconds, she had our little baby up on the screen. I really must admit, I'm really not much of a mushy type of person, I like romantic comedies as much as the next girl, but I'm not overly emotion (when it comes to things like this at least). So she showed me the baby, and his (no, we don't know what the sex is yet, but "his" sounds better than "its") little leg. She didn't point it out to me, but there on the screen was a tiny little flickering light, a tiny little heartbeat! And there it was, assurance. All of the silly little nagging going on in my head from the time I found out disappeared. There was a baby inside of me, and I have every right to feel as miserable as I do. (Okay, I'm not miserable, but you get what I mean.)

So now our little one is about the size of a Raspberry. When the tech took his measurements, she said he was measuring at 9 weeks and 3 days, which puts the due date based on size at May 15th! Perfect! So according to the dates and to the size, the baby's due dates match! I just hope this one is not as late as the last one!

I spent about a total of 7 minutes in the room with the Ultrasound. I immediately called my mom who was still in the hospital from her broken leg, she was of course excited. I then called my husband on his lunch break to let him know everything was fine. He knew that I was really worried that I would go in and they either wouldn't find a sac, or there wouldn't be a heartbeat. He told me later that he was afraid that I was going to call him and tell him that either there wasn't a baby there, or that there were twins there. "Honestly" he confessed, "I'm not sure which would have been worse."

But we have one healthy baby inside of me. Now I have to get a bunch of blood work done before my next appointment. I know the Ultrasound doesn't look like much, but there is our baby, coming in May 2010!

Pregnancy Memories

Since I am now starting my second pregnancy, I thought I would jot down some of my memories from the first pregnancy with Brendan. All 42 weeks of them! Form the beginning, to the end.

1. 10/27/07 - Taking a pregnancy test on Saturday morning. I spent all day with a friend from work at a scrapbooking convention (with baby stickers and baby stuff all over) and didn’t tell anyone, my husband spent a couple hours with new friends with a baby and told them right away. So much for our secret.
2. 11/07/07 - Scott letting it slip to his mom on the phone, I never get to surprise her in a cute way, she was excited anyway!

3. 11/19/07 - My first day of “Real” morning sickness. I woke up at 5:00 in the morning feeling so sick. It was the day we were to leave for our cruise, and the day I was to tell my parents. Scott went to the Grocery store at 5:00 in the morning to pick me up some ginger ale and soda crackers.
4. 11/19/07 - Telling my parents over dinner on the cruise, we wrapped up two bibs. “I love Grandma” and “I love Grandpa” they were VERY surprised!
5. My husband monitoring my caffeine intake during the course of the pregnancy, he would barely allow me to have any; I had to sneak my colas!
6. 12/01/07 - Leaning over the toilet, sick and realizing I had not cleaned it in a while. I took out the toilet brush and scrubbed the toilet before sitting on the bathroom floor waiting for the sick feeling to go away.
7. 12/14/07 - Announcing the news to my office. I think that some of the girls in my office were more excited than some of my friends.
8. Craving Jell-o and goldfish like crazy!
9. 03/07/08 - Crying when I found out our baby was a boy. I was not sure what to do with a boy, but somehow I knew all along what he would be. Scott was so excited; he said he prayed for a boy! Now I can't imagine not having a boy!
10. February - Feeling Brendan really kick (feeling it on the outside) for the first time while leaving work for the day and calling my mom right away.
11. 04/25/08 - Camping while 6 months pregnant, Scott was afraid for me to climb rocks, I had fun, sleeping was pretty difficult though!
12. All the Sleepless nights! Tossing and turning, and of course, getting up to pee every couple of hours. Everyone told me it was preparing me for the sleepless nights when the baby came, but I think it was worse!
13. 05/17/08 - Scott graduating with his Master’s degree! (110 weather) but we were proud!
14. 05/18/08 - My baby shower my sister threw for me. As hot as it was that day, it was great!
15. 06/16/08 - My last day of work. Then just waiting.
16. 06/22/08 - Realize my fingers were too swollen to wear my wedding ring anymore.
17. 07/02/08 - Walking the mall on my Due date to try and induce labor. Instead seeing a girl from my birthing class that was due after me…with her newborn.
18. My mother coming to visit and helping me with all the last minute baby details, like scrapbooking, starting the Baby Book, cleaning, cooking, she was wonderful!!
19. 07/04/08 - Walking to get Donuts on the 4th of July (2 days after my due date) only to realize it was a lot further than we thought. And it was July meaning 106+ degrees outside.
20. Walking pretty much anywhere and everywhere…
21. My grumpy days when I did not want to get out of bed.
22. 07/05/08 - Eating a salad said proven to induce labor. Don’t try it, it is gross and doesn’t work!
23. 07/13/08 - My first real contraction on Sunday, 11 days past my due date….