This is the first picture we have of him in his car seat.I think he's about five days old.
This was last week. He's grown so much!!!Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Wordless Wednesday
This is the first picture we have of him in his car seat.I think he's about five days old.
This was last week. He's grown so much!!!
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
(Semi-) Wordless Wednesday
Nine Weeks OldI have a friend who publishes a blog every week entitled "Wordless Wednesday". In the blog she'll put a picture of something that she sees during the week that she finds intersting.
In the past couple of months, I've had a heck of a time with my health. The baby and I went to North Carolina and Tennessee so I could recouplerate and someone could watch him. I spent three weeks there. When I got back, Marcus was shocked at how much he had changed. I can look back at the pictures we took at the hospital and realize he has changed dramatically but since I am with him on a daily basis the changes aren't as apparent to me.
I've decided to do an entry every week for "Wordless Wednesday". The blog entries will be a week by week development of Kenneth Robert Tallman.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Picture Perfect
I feel badly for not posting any pictures since he was born. He's grown quite a bit since then. Around two pounds to be exact. Here are a few of the most recent one's.
even when dad tries to take care of him.
Sleeping like a baby, literally. We cherish these times,
because in a few hours he'll be awake.
In the past week or so, he's learned to make
lots of fun faces.
We were really worried about how Abby would react around him.
She has made herself his guard dog. She sleeps by his bed at night
keeping watch over him.
He's not super crazy about bath time...
even when dad tries to take care of him.
Sleeping like a baby, literally. We cherish these times,because in a few hours he'll be awake.
In the past week or so, he's learned to makelots of fun faces.
We were really worried about how Abby would react around him.She has made herself his guard dog. She sleeps by his bed at night
keeping watch over him.
These are just a few of the many we've taken. I'll try and post some soon!!!
Saturday, July 17, 2010
My two weeks notice...
Ok, so here's how everything went down that led us to meet our baby boy two weeks and six days early. He'll be two weeks on Monday too so I thought the blog title was close enough...
On Friday, July 2nd, I went in for my check up. At this point in the pregnancy I was scheduled for visits every week. My blood pressure was pretty high, I think it was 160/110, which sent up a very big red flag. They had me lay on my left side (somehow this helps though I'm not sure why) and it went down to 120/80, still a bit high for what mine usually is, but much better. The doctor ran a couple more tests because she was worried about a few more things that didn't seem quite right. We spent the weekend relaxing, we even packed our bags not really expecting anything to happen. My infamous weekly emails suggested it was a good time to do this so we thought why not. We had some extra time so it worked out well, but, on Monday, we got the call...
I'll hold firm to my belief that there are some calls that you are really never prepared to get. This was one of those calls. We had been up for about an hour, eaten our breakfast, and were watching something on TV. I was in the bathroom brushing my teeth when the doctor called...I heard my cell ring and asked Marcus to pick it up. It was my OB. She said she wasn't really comfortable with my test results and wanted to take the baby early. Like that day. I called mom immediately. I was convinced I wasn't ready. She reassured me I was and this was the day we'd been waiting for for so long. We'd be meeting our son in a few hours.
Since I had already had something to eat, the doctor said we should wait a few hours. Our bags were packed so I had a couple hours to sit around and be really nervous. We needed to clean the house some so we did that. We checked our bags to make sure we had everything the books and lists suggested we bring. We packed a few more outfits in his bag. Since I was having a c-section we knew we'd be in the hospital more time and he'd need more clothes for his time in the nursery. And we were off...
We checked in at the emergency room and headed up to the maternity ward where I was quickly hooked up to many different types of monitors. My nurse, who I will forever be grateful for, tried her best to calm me down. Everyone did to no avail really. After what seemed like forever, I think it was only an hour, my OB came in and we were ready. Well she was. I went into the operating room without Marcus, I was terrified. We had talked and I knew I needed him to be there when they did the spinal block. As stated earlier, needles terrify me. My sweet nurse held my hands, well really I was clutching her arms at that point, while the anesthesiologist prepared me for what I was sure would be the worst thing ever. I was clutching on to her and singing "Jesus Loves the Little Children" with all I had in me and then it was over. Marcus came in and after a few minutes and feeling lots of pressure I heard the baby start to cry. Kenneth Robert Tallman had made his entrance into the world, all four pounds and fifteen ounces of him.
That day is kind of fuzzy, I was on lots of medicine and feeling pretty sore. I know Kenneth stayed in the room with us and Marcus was up every three hours to feed him. Our lives began to revolve around those feeding times and how many CC's he was drinking. His weight dropped a little bit which is normal, but for a baby his size it seemed like sooooo much. I was worried. All the nurses said he was doing great though. The recovery was (and still is) rough. I am so thankful for all the nurses I had who helped me along the way.
On Thursday we packed our bags and started our ride home. We loaded him in his car seat and he started screaming. We both just stared. We didn't know what to do. Eventually, I told Marcus that we just needed to pick up the car seat and go. Simply staring at him in our hospital room was doing us no good. When we got into the car, he quickly fell asleep. A few hours later Marcus picked up my mom from the hospital. I was sore and every bump in the road was painful so I didn't go. So, Kenneth and I spent our first time alone together. Luckily he had just had his bottle. Everything went smoothly. Mom and Marcus got home not too much later and things have been a whirlwind ever since. I don't know what I would have done without help from either one of them. Mom has been cooking and cleaning and pretty much taking care of everything since she got here. Marcus has been so understanding and helping me out with everything. On Friday our little boy had his first doctor's appointment. It was traumatic, well more for us than him probably. He has another one on Monday and at this one he gets shots.
It seems motherhood has been a series of small victories. From trying to interpret cries (yes, he has different one's), to learning how to change diaper (after diaper, after diaper) properly-he was very squirmy in womb and that has transferred nicely into getting his diaper changed, mixing bottle (after bottle, after bottle), and celebrating all he can do. I think I've even caught a little smile from him. Earlier this week he passed the five pound mark and today we packed away most of his preemie clothes. It was bittersweet to do that. One night last week I rocked him in the rocking chair that we got for his room and hummed "You Are My Sunshine" for about an hour. I am simply mesmerized by him and the thought that he spent 36 weeks growing inside of me. This tiny miracle is ours to cherish. Every little thing about him is amazing.
Marcus and I have been out of the house a couple times ourselves, his Nana has begrudgingly accepted the task of watching him : ) and when we do all we can talk about is him. Whether it's about his growing appetite, or the cute noises and faces he makes when he's sleeping, or even what we lovingly call the "goat noises" he makes. We've both made the comment of, "What did we talk about before?". I'm not sure really. Now our conversations center around what we think his cries mean, what kind of diapers seem to be working the best, and burping techniques. Marcus is definitely the champion "burper-er" of the two of us.
There are no pictures on this post since I can't decide which one's to put on here. I'm not sure a day has gone by without taking any of him. It's hard to decide what to put up either on here or put on facebook. He's quite photogenic...well I think so at least. I suspect most mother's think that about their babies though. I'll try and post a few within the next couple days. It might be on Monday after his second appointment with the pediatrician, but I'll put some up soon.
On Friday, July 2nd, I went in for my check up. At this point in the pregnancy I was scheduled for visits every week. My blood pressure was pretty high, I think it was 160/110, which sent up a very big red flag. They had me lay on my left side (somehow this helps though I'm not sure why) and it went down to 120/80, still a bit high for what mine usually is, but much better. The doctor ran a couple more tests because she was worried about a few more things that didn't seem quite right. We spent the weekend relaxing, we even packed our bags not really expecting anything to happen. My infamous weekly emails suggested it was a good time to do this so we thought why not. We had some extra time so it worked out well, but, on Monday, we got the call...
I'll hold firm to my belief that there are some calls that you are really never prepared to get. This was one of those calls. We had been up for about an hour, eaten our breakfast, and were watching something on TV. I was in the bathroom brushing my teeth when the doctor called...I heard my cell ring and asked Marcus to pick it up. It was my OB. She said she wasn't really comfortable with my test results and wanted to take the baby early. Like that day. I called mom immediately. I was convinced I wasn't ready. She reassured me I was and this was the day we'd been waiting for for so long. We'd be meeting our son in a few hours.
Since I had already had something to eat, the doctor said we should wait a few hours. Our bags were packed so I had a couple hours to sit around and be really nervous. We needed to clean the house some so we did that. We checked our bags to make sure we had everything the books and lists suggested we bring. We packed a few more outfits in his bag. Since I was having a c-section we knew we'd be in the hospital more time and he'd need more clothes for his time in the nursery. And we were off...
We checked in at the emergency room and headed up to the maternity ward where I was quickly hooked up to many different types of monitors. My nurse, who I will forever be grateful for, tried her best to calm me down. Everyone did to no avail really. After what seemed like forever, I think it was only an hour, my OB came in and we were ready. Well she was. I went into the operating room without Marcus, I was terrified. We had talked and I knew I needed him to be there when they did the spinal block. As stated earlier, needles terrify me. My sweet nurse held my hands, well really I was clutching her arms at that point, while the anesthesiologist prepared me for what I was sure would be the worst thing ever. I was clutching on to her and singing "Jesus Loves the Little Children" with all I had in me and then it was over. Marcus came in and after a few minutes and feeling lots of pressure I heard the baby start to cry. Kenneth Robert Tallman had made his entrance into the world, all four pounds and fifteen ounces of him.
That day is kind of fuzzy, I was on lots of medicine and feeling pretty sore. I know Kenneth stayed in the room with us and Marcus was up every three hours to feed him. Our lives began to revolve around those feeding times and how many CC's he was drinking. His weight dropped a little bit which is normal, but for a baby his size it seemed like sooooo much. I was worried. All the nurses said he was doing great though. The recovery was (and still is) rough. I am so thankful for all the nurses I had who helped me along the way.
On Thursday we packed our bags and started our ride home. We loaded him in his car seat and he started screaming. We both just stared. We didn't know what to do. Eventually, I told Marcus that we just needed to pick up the car seat and go. Simply staring at him in our hospital room was doing us no good. When we got into the car, he quickly fell asleep. A few hours later Marcus picked up my mom from the hospital. I was sore and every bump in the road was painful so I didn't go. So, Kenneth and I spent our first time alone together. Luckily he had just had his bottle. Everything went smoothly. Mom and Marcus got home not too much later and things have been a whirlwind ever since. I don't know what I would have done without help from either one of them. Mom has been cooking and cleaning and pretty much taking care of everything since she got here. Marcus has been so understanding and helping me out with everything. On Friday our little boy had his first doctor's appointment. It was traumatic, well more for us than him probably. He has another one on Monday and at this one he gets shots.
It seems motherhood has been a series of small victories. From trying to interpret cries (yes, he has different one's), to learning how to change diaper (after diaper, after diaper) properly-he was very squirmy in womb and that has transferred nicely into getting his diaper changed, mixing bottle (after bottle, after bottle), and celebrating all he can do. I think I've even caught a little smile from him. Earlier this week he passed the five pound mark and today we packed away most of his preemie clothes. It was bittersweet to do that. One night last week I rocked him in the rocking chair that we got for his room and hummed "You Are My Sunshine" for about an hour. I am simply mesmerized by him and the thought that he spent 36 weeks growing inside of me. This tiny miracle is ours to cherish. Every little thing about him is amazing.
Marcus and I have been out of the house a couple times ourselves, his Nana has begrudgingly accepted the task of watching him : ) and when we do all we can talk about is him. Whether it's about his growing appetite, or the cute noises and faces he makes when he's sleeping, or even what we lovingly call the "goat noises" he makes. We've both made the comment of, "What did we talk about before?". I'm not sure really. Now our conversations center around what we think his cries mean, what kind of diapers seem to be working the best, and burping techniques. Marcus is definitely the champion "burper-er" of the two of us.
There are no pictures on this post since I can't decide which one's to put on here. I'm not sure a day has gone by without taking any of him. It's hard to decide what to put up either on here or put on facebook. He's quite photogenic...well I think so at least. I suspect most mother's think that about their babies though. I'll try and post a few within the next couple days. It might be on Monday after his second appointment with the pediatrician, but I'll put some up soon.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
First Pictures!!
These are just two of the many, many, many pictures we took. We're still in the hospital so once we get back home I'll write an entry about our adventure that started on Monday morning. It's quite a story!!!!
Enjoy!!! I promise I'll write more within the next couple days :-)
Enjoy!!! I promise I'll write more within the next couple days :-)
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
It's All Happening
This Friday will mark the start of my weekly appointments until he is born. When we first found out we were pregnant we had our initial appointment with our doctor and had all sorts of tests done. At the end of the visit the receptionist went ahead and scheduled all of our appointments for the rest of the pregnancy. I can remember thinking that the one's that we'd be going to every week seemed so far away. Not anymore. My last appointment was on June 4th and the time between that appointment and the one on Friday has seemed like the longest for some reason. Time is just dragging by at a nice slow speed now. I'm starting to feel like I've been pregnant forever instead of eight months.
In the past week we've gotten a bit accomplished. I've started to wash baby clothes, blankets, bibs, and bedding. Little clothes are so fun to wash. Marcus put the crib together and slowly but surely we are getting the nursery together. He's had to work the past couple of weekends which has made the process tricky, but I'm pretty sure he's off this weekend so we can finish it up. We had a really good first father's day. Just relaxed, I'm told our days of doing this our numbered, and watched some TV. He even got to use the drill that I bought him. I'm thinking he'll get to use it even more this weekend. We've got to put the dresser, changing table, and rocker together. Should be fun : ) Well, maybe as an observer it will be. His opinion of the whole process may be a little bit different than mine.
Here are some pictures of the "crib raising":
Thinking to ourselves, "Hmmm....This looks easy enough".
Turns out it wasn't that bad at all : )
The finished product!
This is just one little shot of the bedding.
I'll put more up when we are done getting it all decorated and ready
for our little boy.
I'm sure I'll have another entry this weekend and can put even more pictures up of getting the furniture together and getting the room ready. Can't wait to do some more work on his room!!!
In the past week we've gotten a bit accomplished. I've started to wash baby clothes, blankets, bibs, and bedding. Little clothes are so fun to wash. Marcus put the crib together and slowly but surely we are getting the nursery together. He's had to work the past couple of weekends which has made the process tricky, but I'm pretty sure he's off this weekend so we can finish it up. We had a really good first father's day. Just relaxed, I'm told our days of doing this our numbered, and watched some TV. He even got to use the drill that I bought him. I'm thinking he'll get to use it even more this weekend. We've got to put the dresser, changing table, and rocker together. Should be fun : ) Well, maybe as an observer it will be. His opinion of the whole process may be a little bit different than mine.
Here are some pictures of the "crib raising":
Thinking to ourselves, "Hmmm....This looks easy enough".Turns out it wasn't that bad at all : )
The finished product!
This is just one little shot of the bedding.I'll put more up when we are done getting it all decorated and ready
for our little boy.
I'm sure I'll have another entry this weekend and can put even more pictures up of getting the furniture together and getting the room ready. Can't wait to do some more work on his room!!!
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Summertime is here!!!
It's summertime!! Which also means it's almost baby time!! In the past few weeks we've been visiting with our family in Colorado and New Mexico, gone camping, started semi- getting the nursery together, and soooo much more.
We spent two weeks with our family in Colorado and New Mexico at the end of last month. While we were in New Mexico we celebrated Beka's graduation from high school. I'm going to admit my age now and recall that when I first started hanging out with the Tallman family Beka was in seventh grade and she just graduated high school. I can remember people saying to me "the last time I saw you, you were..." and thinking how old they sounded. Well, I'm there. I can still remember watching Beka at her choir concerts in middle school. My how things have changed.
We left New Mexico on Thursday morning and we were back up here late Thursday night/early Friday morning. On Friday afternoon Marcus left to go camping with some people he works with. I stayed home that night to kind of recover from the road trip and joined them on Saturday night. Saturday night was soooooo cold and rainy, we still had a good time with friends just sitting around the campfire and talking though. I caught some sort of cold in New Mexico and I wasn't feeling too swift so I came back to our house on Sunday. I'm pretty sure they still had lots of fun.
The nursery....ahhhh the nursery. In the next few days we should start putting the furniture together and I can post some pictures on here of what it looks like. Our "theme" is dinosaurs. When I was little, I loved dinosaurs. If you ask my mom, she'd probably tell you that love is an understatement. While I was visiting her in April we found some dinosaur bedding and it was perfect. I've been picking up little dinosaur odds and ends when I see them so hopefully it will all tie together nicely. I've started washing the clothes and blankets we've gotten thus far too. I'm afraid that the nesting is going to start soon and poor Marcus won't know what to do.
This past week, well it was last Friday so almost a week ago, I went to my 32 week visit. I had the treat of getting to go to the doctor on my birthday, hearing his heartbeat, and talking with my OB about everything that's going on. However abnormal what's going on with my body might seem to me, she reassured me that it is normal and that we're both doing great. He's developing quite nicely and if my weekly emails are correct he should be up to about 4.5-5 pounds this week and be almost 18 inches long. That's a whole lot of baby in a tiny space and we're both starting to feel it. Oh well.....only 45 days to go : )
The dryer is buzzing at me now, gotta go fold some baby clothes!!!!
We spent two weeks with our family in Colorado and New Mexico at the end of last month. While we were in New Mexico we celebrated Beka's graduation from high school. I'm going to admit my age now and recall that when I first started hanging out with the Tallman family Beka was in seventh grade and she just graduated high school. I can remember people saying to me "the last time I saw you, you were..." and thinking how old they sounded. Well, I'm there. I can still remember watching Beka at her choir concerts in middle school. My how things have changed.
We left New Mexico on Thursday morning and we were back up here late Thursday night/early Friday morning. On Friday afternoon Marcus left to go camping with some people he works with. I stayed home that night to kind of recover from the road trip and joined them on Saturday night. Saturday night was soooooo cold and rainy, we still had a good time with friends just sitting around the campfire and talking though. I caught some sort of cold in New Mexico and I wasn't feeling too swift so I came back to our house on Sunday. I'm pretty sure they still had lots of fun.
The nursery....ahhhh the nursery. In the next few days we should start putting the furniture together and I can post some pictures on here of what it looks like. Our "theme" is dinosaurs. When I was little, I loved dinosaurs. If you ask my mom, she'd probably tell you that love is an understatement. While I was visiting her in April we found some dinosaur bedding and it was perfect. I've been picking up little dinosaur odds and ends when I see them so hopefully it will all tie together nicely. I've started washing the clothes and blankets we've gotten thus far too. I'm afraid that the nesting is going to start soon and poor Marcus won't know what to do.
This past week, well it was last Friday so almost a week ago, I went to my 32 week visit. I had the treat of getting to go to the doctor on my birthday, hearing his heartbeat, and talking with my OB about everything that's going on. However abnormal what's going on with my body might seem to me, she reassured me that it is normal and that we're both doing great. He's developing quite nicely and if my weekly emails are correct he should be up to about 4.5-5 pounds this week and be almost 18 inches long. That's a whole lot of baby in a tiny space and we're both starting to feel it. Oh well.....only 45 days to go : )
The dryer is buzzing at me now, gotta go fold some baby clothes!!!!
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
29 weeks, How'd this happen??
I'm still surprised at how fast all of this is going, I'll say it again, it seems like just a few weeks ago we found out we were pregnant.
This past week has been very good. We had our 28 week visit on Friday and on Monday we had our last ultrasound with the specialist. The visit with the OB went well, more questions, and more reassurance that everything was normal and he is doing good. At our ultrasound on Monday they were able to see everything they needed to with his heart. Usually, since February 15th, when we leave they want to schedule another ultrasound, but not on this visit. It was a bittersweet moment. It's been great to see him every four weeks, but knowing he's healthy and not having to make that additional stop to schedule another ultrasound was a good feeling too. I'm not sure when we'll get to see him again though which kind of makes me sad. I was lying on the table while the lady was rubbing the transducer around, yes I know the official name now, looking at him and thinking about our first ultrasound at 10 weeks and was amazed at how much our little boy has grown. When we first saw him he was barely an inch long and now he is a bit over 15 inches. All of this is truly a miracle.
On Saturday night we went over to our friends house for a little party. Before we left, I was trying to find something to wear (I think I changed outfits about three times) and once I did I needed help just tying my shoes. I called for Marcus, he was downstairs at the time, and he helped me get them tied. We had to go pick up some drinks and chips for the party and on our way to the way to the grocery store I was thinking about how I was pregnant and no one else at the party was and how I couldn't even tie my shoes without help and almost had a breakdown right then and there. Then, I opened my phone to see how we were doing on time and when I did there he was. The 3D ultrasound picture is my wallpaper and suddenly none of it mattered. I didn't care that none of my clothes seemed to fit (although I know they do), that I can barely tie my shoes now, and everything seems swollen. He was there looking cute as can be and seeing him was all I needed to make me smile again. Once we got to the house they surprised us with a few things we had registered for for him. It was a wonderful surprise and we appreciated it soooo much : )
We leave on Friday to take a road trip to see our family in New Mexico. I'll keep this updated as best I can. Thanks for reading and keeping up with us!!!
This past week has been very good. We had our 28 week visit on Friday and on Monday we had our last ultrasound with the specialist. The visit with the OB went well, more questions, and more reassurance that everything was normal and he is doing good. At our ultrasound on Monday they were able to see everything they needed to with his heart. Usually, since February 15th, when we leave they want to schedule another ultrasound, but not on this visit. It was a bittersweet moment. It's been great to see him every four weeks, but knowing he's healthy and not having to make that additional stop to schedule another ultrasound was a good feeling too. I'm not sure when we'll get to see him again though which kind of makes me sad. I was lying on the table while the lady was rubbing the transducer around, yes I know the official name now, looking at him and thinking about our first ultrasound at 10 weeks and was amazed at how much our little boy has grown. When we first saw him he was barely an inch long and now he is a bit over 15 inches. All of this is truly a miracle.
On Saturday night we went over to our friends house for a little party. Before we left, I was trying to find something to wear (I think I changed outfits about three times) and once I did I needed help just tying my shoes. I called for Marcus, he was downstairs at the time, and he helped me get them tied. We had to go pick up some drinks and chips for the party and on our way to the way to the grocery store I was thinking about how I was pregnant and no one else at the party was and how I couldn't even tie my shoes without help and almost had a breakdown right then and there. Then, I opened my phone to see how we were doing on time and when I did there he was. The 3D ultrasound picture is my wallpaper and suddenly none of it mattered. I didn't care that none of my clothes seemed to fit (although I know they do), that I can barely tie my shoes now, and everything seems swollen. He was there looking cute as can be and seeing him was all I needed to make me smile again. Once we got to the house they surprised us with a few things we had registered for for him. It was a wonderful surprise and we appreciated it soooo much : )
We leave on Friday to take a road trip to see our family in New Mexico. I'll keep this updated as best I can. Thanks for reading and keeping up with us!!!
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Third trimester...maybe?
Ok, so from the various pregnancy books that I have and the weekly updates I receive, I am either one week away from, at the beginning, or one week into my third trimester. I'm not really sure which one it is, but for arguments sake, we'll say I've just entered my final trimester. We've had some welcome and not so welcome changes in the past couple of weeks regardless.
Welcome changes include the following:
Welcome changes include the following:
- My desire to eat meat again. Maybe I am indeed in my third trimester. I was driving home one day and had the strongest desire for a McDonald's cheeseburger (unhealthy I know) and was thinking that since I was on my way home anyway I might as well pick one up. I still have some of my morning sickness medicine so if it made me nauseous I could take a pill then. Oh my goodness it was wonderful. I made some chili this week too, yes I realize it's May, but I had wanted some to eat for so long that it didn't really matter. We even went out and got steak last night. It was the best meal I've had in a very long time.
- The incredible, edible egg is now back in my diet. Marcus used to either have to douse his eggs in hot sauce or eat his eggs in the kitchen because the smell was so nauseating. But, once again, they seem to have come back into my diet in welcome fashion. I'm not too great at cooking eggs, but he is always more than willing to cook some for me. Also, I'm now a fan of turkey bacon : )
- I've read that at a certain point, babies can come to know their mother's voice and I like to think he does now. I feel somewhat guilty when I'm reading and not reading aloud so he can hear me and I think he now can. If I start reading and he has been fairly calm he'll wake up and roll around a bit or if he has been super duper active sometimes the reading will even calm him down. It was a very cool moment when all of this started happening.
- Sleeping is becoming more and more difficult. Between him wanting to practice his kicking and punching skills at all hours of the day and night and the return of heartburn sleeping is becoming more and more challenging. I've read that if you try and lay on your side while sleeping it helps and the baby is more likely to be docile, not so with my sweet boy. I'm not supposed to sleep on my back so I'm pretty much out of options and at his mercy for when he decides to move around. This also means more fatigue during the day. I thought that was something we only had to go through in the first trimester, nope. My mom got really bad leg cramps with me and so far I've surpassed that joy (I should probably find some wood to knock on now).
- Soreness. Enough said. My lower back is not feeling that great. I read that it can hurt if you sit too long, walk around too much, and lift or bend more than you should. My concern now is what is there left to do. That list pretty much describes anything I could/would do on a daily basis. I'm thinking it's pretty much inevitable now. I gently suggested Marcus might want to get me a prenatal massage as a present for Mother's Day and I think he got the hint. I'm pretty excited for that.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
No News....
So the old saying, "no news is good news" turned out to be true...
I had my glucose test scheduled for last Friday and to say I was dreading it would be a huge understatement. I had heard horror stories from my neighbor and articles I read on the internet about how horrible the drink is and I was dreading it like the plague. I even emailed my cousin asking her what I should be prepared for, she reassured me it wasn't that bad, but I still had my doubts. Before he left for work, Marcus opened the drink, smelled it and even begrudgingly took a little swig to calm my nerves. When I say little, I mean like maybe a half a teaspoon, not at all enough to make a difference. He told me it wasn't that bad at all, I took that to mean he was trying to calm me down so I would be able to choke it down. Turns out, he wasn't lying. I had imagined this horrible syrupy liquid that really just tasted a bit like orange Gatorade. So I followed the directions to a "T" (drank it all in five minutes, didn't eat anything two hours prior-very hard for a pregnant woman, and made sure I told them the exact time I finished it when I arrived at the doctor's office) and had the test done. The girl who did the test told me that I would hear back from them more than likely on Monday.
Monday came, no call. Tuesday came, still no call. I'm a bit of a worrier so when I asked Marcus if I should call today he said it might be a good idea (he knows me very well). Well, I made the call, and sure enough, no news is good news. We're clear on the gestational diabetes front! YAY!!!! I was waiting to post something on here until I got the results from the test : )
I know when I started this blog I mentioned that I got weekly emails from various websites telling me how big the baby is and how much he weighed in that particular week. I've been keeping tabs on this myself but I realized I hadn't posted anything about it on here. I was looking back at my first entry when I was 15 weeks along and in the 12 weeks since my first post he's grown quite a bit. He was four inches when I started writing my blog and now he is approximately 14 inches. Quite a growth spurt! I didn't put how much he weighed then (his weight was 2 1/2 ounces), but now he is up to a healthy two pounds and is scheduled to gain approximately half a pound a week from now until he is born. He's my growing boy!!
I had my glucose test scheduled for last Friday and to say I was dreading it would be a huge understatement. I had heard horror stories from my neighbor and articles I read on the internet about how horrible the drink is and I was dreading it like the plague. I even emailed my cousin asking her what I should be prepared for, she reassured me it wasn't that bad, but I still had my doubts. Before he left for work, Marcus opened the drink, smelled it and even begrudgingly took a little swig to calm my nerves. When I say little, I mean like maybe a half a teaspoon, not at all enough to make a difference. He told me it wasn't that bad at all, I took that to mean he was trying to calm me down so I would be able to choke it down. Turns out, he wasn't lying. I had imagined this horrible syrupy liquid that really just tasted a bit like orange Gatorade. So I followed the directions to a "T" (drank it all in five minutes, didn't eat anything two hours prior-very hard for a pregnant woman, and made sure I told them the exact time I finished it when I arrived at the doctor's office) and had the test done. The girl who did the test told me that I would hear back from them more than likely on Monday.
Monday came, no call. Tuesday came, still no call. I'm a bit of a worrier so when I asked Marcus if I should call today he said it might be a good idea (he knows me very well). Well, I made the call, and sure enough, no news is good news. We're clear on the gestational diabetes front! YAY!!!! I was waiting to post something on here until I got the results from the test : )
I know when I started this blog I mentioned that I got weekly emails from various websites telling me how big the baby is and how much he weighed in that particular week. I've been keeping tabs on this myself but I realized I hadn't posted anything about it on here. I was looking back at my first entry when I was 15 weeks along and in the 12 weeks since my first post he's grown quite a bit. He was four inches when I started writing my blog and now he is approximately 14 inches. Quite a growth spurt! I didn't put how much he weighed then (his weight was 2 1/2 ounces), but now he is up to a healthy two pounds and is scheduled to gain approximately half a pound a week from now until he is born. He's my growing boy!!
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Double digit time!
I have been looking at my "days to go" calendar for some time now and this week we hit a milestone. We are in the double digits now. I can hardly believe it. It seems like we have so much to get done between now and July 25th. Time is flying by...and I can hardly believe how fast all of this is going. Marcus and I were talking this week about how it seems like a week ago that we were looking at that positive test result in November. Yet here we are, five months later and getting more excited and nervous as every day passes.
Good news this week on the epilepsy medicine front. My doctor's office called on Wednesday of last week to let me know that my levels were good and I didn't need to have any lab work done for another month. The doctor had increased it a week prior so fingers crossed everything will go ok. No more needles for a month! Woo Hoo!!! Wait, I take that back, I have my glucose screening done this Friday. I think I'm dreading this test more than any other one I've had thus far. Ok, awaiting the results of the quad screen was pretty rough, but not looking forward to this one either. The doctor's office sent the special "drink" home with me so I could drink it cold (supposedly this helps) and not have to wait in the office for as long. They check your blood an hour after you drink the yummy orange flavored sugar water. Can't wait!
It's getting more and more tricky to sleep now, evidently this only gets better as time goes on (sarcasm). I'll get semi-comfy and then he'll decide he'd like to be awake for a little bit and practice his kicking and just general movement of rolling around. Then I'll get semi-comfy and sleep for a few hours and he decides he'd like to play some more. I'm ok with it honestly, for now at least. After all of the worries we had about him, it just reminds me that he is healthy. Ask me again how I feel about this in June, I might have a different opinion. But for now, it's comforting to know that he is healthy and happy.
Good news this week on the epilepsy medicine front. My doctor's office called on Wednesday of last week to let me know that my levels were good and I didn't need to have any lab work done for another month. The doctor had increased it a week prior so fingers crossed everything will go ok. No more needles for a month! Woo Hoo!!! Wait, I take that back, I have my glucose screening done this Friday. I think I'm dreading this test more than any other one I've had thus far. Ok, awaiting the results of the quad screen was pretty rough, but not looking forward to this one either. The doctor's office sent the special "drink" home with me so I could drink it cold (supposedly this helps) and not have to wait in the office for as long. They check your blood an hour after you drink the yummy orange flavored sugar water. Can't wait!
It's getting more and more tricky to sleep now, evidently this only gets better as time goes on (sarcasm). I'll get semi-comfy and then he'll decide he'd like to be awake for a little bit and practice his kicking and just general movement of rolling around. Then I'll get semi-comfy and sleep for a few hours and he decides he'd like to play some more. I'm ok with it honestly, for now at least. After all of the worries we had about him, it just reminds me that he is healthy. Ask me again how I feel about this in June, I might have a different opinion. But for now, it's comforting to know that he is healthy and happy.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Good News!!!
We had our appointment with the specialist today. Everything went really well. He wasn't being too cooperative in the beginning, but by the end of the ultrasound he had moved himself around quite nicely. He gave me a few swift jabs for having to do so, but no matter, it was worth it. The ultrasound tech spent some time with us trying to get all of the shots she needed for the doctor. She couldn't get the one shot she needed, but the doctor came in and was able to get it taken. I have another ultrasound in four weeks just to have his anatomy checked, but the doctor said that unless my OB sees anything out of the ordinary, he won't need to see us anymore. Heart and spine are in the clear!!!
One of the best things about today's ultrasound was that the tech actually told us what was going on and what we were seeing. We got to check out his stomach and bladder as well as the other stuff they usually check out. She was so great! I think we'll have her next time too.
And now for the best part, drum roll please.......
HERE HE IS!!!!! It's a bit fuzzy, but I can still make out his little face. She completely surprised us by doing this. I had asked her if we could still see anything with a 3D one, I've heard that once the baby is past a certain point it can be tricky, and she said it could be. But, she was able to get this one for us!!!!!
He's quite the looker already!!!!
One of the best things about today's ultrasound was that the tech actually told us what was going on and what we were seeing. We got to check out his stomach and bladder as well as the other stuff they usually check out. She was so great! I think we'll have her next time too.
And now for the best part, drum roll please.......
HERE HE IS!!!!! It's a bit fuzzy, but I can still make out his little face. She completely surprised us by doing this. I had asked her if we could still see anything with a 3D one, I've heard that once the baby is past a certain point it can be tricky, and she said it could be. But, she was able to get this one for us!!!!!
He's quite the looker already!!!!
Friday, April 9, 2010
23 and 24
I seem to be writing these in two week increments now. We've had quite a busy last couple weeks with all of our traveling adventures so I'll use that as an excuse for now. We had a great time on our trip to see our families and friends in Tennessee and North Carolina and made some good memories with all of them.
I had my 24 week visit on Tuesday and my neurologist visit on Wednesday. Both visits went fantastic. I love my OB. Everytime I go in to visit her I bring a list of questions I have. Yes, I actually write them down and she asks me if I have my piece of paper : ) She reassured me that everything that I was feeling was normal. Aches and pains are starting up and she told me it would only get better which is fantastic, sarcasm oozing. My visit with the neurologist went well, maybe as not as good as the visit with the OB, but the visits with him rarely are fun. He increased my medicine, again. I had some lab work done on Tuesday and he went ahead and increased them without waiting for the results. I think it was a good decision for the both of us. I have to have my levels checked again on Wednesday of next week to see how the new dose is working and if it needs to be increased yet again.
We have our third visit with the specialist on Monday to check out his heart. One thing that's been awesome about these visits is that we get to see him every time. It's amazing how much and how quickly he's growing. I hope he is more cooperative so we can see his heart better and maybe his front side. We still don't know if they'll do a 3D ultrasound yet. That's kind of a wait and see thing. Fingers crossed he will be facing the right way. I want to be able to post some more pictures of him on here for you all to see.
I think that's it for this post. I'll post on Monday, aka week 25, after our visit with the doctor. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we get to see him a little bit better and can get some more pictures up here of our handsome little boy!!!
I had my 24 week visit on Tuesday and my neurologist visit on Wednesday. Both visits went fantastic. I love my OB. Everytime I go in to visit her I bring a list of questions I have. Yes, I actually write them down and she asks me if I have my piece of paper : ) She reassured me that everything that I was feeling was normal. Aches and pains are starting up and she told me it would only get better which is fantastic, sarcasm oozing. My visit with the neurologist went well, maybe as not as good as the visit with the OB, but the visits with him rarely are fun. He increased my medicine, again. I had some lab work done on Tuesday and he went ahead and increased them without waiting for the results. I think it was a good decision for the both of us. I have to have my levels checked again on Wednesday of next week to see how the new dose is working and if it needs to be increased yet again.
We have our third visit with the specialist on Monday to check out his heart. One thing that's been awesome about these visits is that we get to see him every time. It's amazing how much and how quickly he's growing. I hope he is more cooperative so we can see his heart better and maybe his front side. We still don't know if they'll do a 3D ultrasound yet. That's kind of a wait and see thing. Fingers crossed he will be facing the right way. I want to be able to post some more pictures of him on here for you all to see.
I think that's it for this post. I'll post on Monday, aka week 25, after our visit with the doctor. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we get to see him a little bit better and can get some more pictures up here of our handsome little boy!!!
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Better Late Than Never!
Well, the 20 week visit came and went without any major drama. His heart rate was a little bit high, but my doctor and I had been talking and laughing so I'm pretty sure that got it up a little bit. Anyway, she didn't seem to be too worried about it so that eased my mind. On Monday we met with the specialist again. Good news/bad news there. Ok, more good than bad I suppose.
At this visit, we were having his heart checked out by another specialist. He was being a bit difficult though. Neither the technician nor the doctor could get him to move like they needed so they were unable get a good look at his heart. I had to move to my side and that didn't work and then they tried another ultrasound transducer and nothing then either. The good news is that, according to the doctor, if something had been wrong with his heart, he would have seen it immediately and he said his little ticker looked great. We have to visit with them again in April so they can get a few pictures of the heart that he couldn't see because of the way the baby was poistioned. Also because of the way he was laying we were unable to do the 3D ultrasound. I asked the technician about it and she said that if we had done it, all we would have seen was his little back side. Hopefully by our next visit he will have turned and they'll be able to see his heart better and maybe catch a glimpse of him too. We also learned from the test that he is weighing in at a healthy 15 ounces (he's probably a pound by now, that was a week ago) and he is breech. The lady who was doing my ultrasound reassured me that this is normal and he will more than like turn himself around. Fingers crossed he does : ) Or, he could be like his mom and stay that way....Oh, the doctor also said that his spine, which was our main concern after the results of last month's test, looked great. He actually used the word "perfect".
In the past couple of days he really has seemed to become more active. Certain things wake him up more. He really wakes up to time in the car, which he's had lots of recently, and, believe it or not, Chik-Fil A. I think he takes after his mom. I can tell a difference in his movement after I've had their food. He's also decided that once we're up, we're up. There have been a few mornings when I've tried to roll back over and go to sleep and he's not having any of that. He's not to crazy about when I try to lay on my back either. His gentle little "flutters" are a memory now, he is full out kicking. I was talking to Marcus last night and trying to decide if he's going to be a boxer or a soccer player. I think we both agreed on a soccer player. But, we'll have to wait and see.
We've had a busy week and a half since the visit with the doctor last Monday. Our appointment was on Monday and on Tuesday we boarded a plane, very early I might add, and came down to visit some family and friends in Tennessee. Nate, Uncle Nate now I suppose, greeted us at the airport and then we headed into the 'Boro and Nashville to spend some time with all our friends and family there. We got back in to East Tennessee on Thursday evening and have going non-stop ever since. Tomorrow, we will get to see Mom/Nana for the first time in months and spend some time with her.
At this visit, we were having his heart checked out by another specialist. He was being a bit difficult though. Neither the technician nor the doctor could get him to move like they needed so they were unable get a good look at his heart. I had to move to my side and that didn't work and then they tried another ultrasound transducer and nothing then either. The good news is that, according to the doctor, if something had been wrong with his heart, he would have seen it immediately and he said his little ticker looked great. We have to visit with them again in April so they can get a few pictures of the heart that he couldn't see because of the way the baby was poistioned. Also because of the way he was laying we were unable to do the 3D ultrasound. I asked the technician about it and she said that if we had done it, all we would have seen was his little back side. Hopefully by our next visit he will have turned and they'll be able to see his heart better and maybe catch a glimpse of him too. We also learned from the test that he is weighing in at a healthy 15 ounces (he's probably a pound by now, that was a week ago) and he is breech. The lady who was doing my ultrasound reassured me that this is normal and he will more than like turn himself around. Fingers crossed he does : ) Or, he could be like his mom and stay that way....Oh, the doctor also said that his spine, which was our main concern after the results of last month's test, looked great. He actually used the word "perfect".
In the past couple of days he really has seemed to become more active. Certain things wake him up more. He really wakes up to time in the car, which he's had lots of recently, and, believe it or not, Chik-Fil A. I think he takes after his mom. I can tell a difference in his movement after I've had their food. He's also decided that once we're up, we're up. There have been a few mornings when I've tried to roll back over and go to sleep and he's not having any of that. He's not to crazy about when I try to lay on my back either. His gentle little "flutters" are a memory now, he is full out kicking. I was talking to Marcus last night and trying to decide if he's going to be a boxer or a soccer player. I think we both agreed on a soccer player. But, we'll have to wait and see.
We've had a busy week and a half since the visit with the doctor last Monday. Our appointment was on Monday and on Tuesday we boarded a plane, very early I might add, and came down to visit some family and friends in Tennessee. Nate, Uncle Nate now I suppose, greeted us at the airport and then we headed into the 'Boro and Nashville to spend some time with all our friends and family there. We got back in to East Tennessee on Thursday evening and have going non-stop ever since. Tomorrow, we will get to see Mom/Nana for the first time in months and spend some time with her.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Half way!
I need to get better at posting these on time. In all fairness, I did have a bit of a dilemma this week. On Friday I have my 20 week appointment so I was going to wait until then to write a post. But, on Monday we also meet with the specialist to have his heart checked out again. At our last visit with the specialist in February the heart wasn't as big as they would have liked it to be, not because anything was wrong with it, it was just hard to see in great detail. Which I guess is what the doctor wanted to check out. I thought it looked great, but I suppose that's why I'm not the doctor.
This week his gentle movements have become much stronger flutters this week. He kind of feels like he's tumbling instead of kicking. He's the size of a banana and weighs in at a healthy 10 1/2 ounces. His sleep schedule is set and from what I've read, this schedule can greatly mimic what his schedule will be when he is born. I had a bit of a scare this weekend with some pain in my abdomen, I called the doctor on Monday and she reassured me that it was just the way he was lying. I never would have guessed that this early on that would really make a difference, but then again, I am half way there. He still really likes my Lamictal (my epilepsy medicine) and I had to have a level taken at the lab last Friday. The results usually take about a week to reach my neurologist who then determines how much we need to increase the dosage. At this point it is an increase every time I have my levels checked. For devoted readers : ) you may recall that my last level measured in at 5.1, the last one I had done measured at a bit lower at 4.9. Not at all ideal.
We've started to read to him daily. I'm reading through The Chronicles of Narnia series and Marcus reads Charlotte's Web to him. I've also been singing to him, quite poorly I might add, but he responds well to Les Miserables (his Nana is excited about that) and some tunes I sing to him when the mood strikes. He definitely likes the former better.
That's it for now. Unless something monumental happens at my 20 week visit I'll probably wait until Monday to post anything. Also, we're supposed to have our 3D ultrasound that day so I'll definitely be posting pictures from that. I can't wait to see him again!!!
This week his gentle movements have become much stronger flutters this week. He kind of feels like he's tumbling instead of kicking. He's the size of a banana and weighs in at a healthy 10 1/2 ounces. His sleep schedule is set and from what I've read, this schedule can greatly mimic what his schedule will be when he is born. I had a bit of a scare this weekend with some pain in my abdomen, I called the doctor on Monday and she reassured me that it was just the way he was lying. I never would have guessed that this early on that would really make a difference, but then again, I am half way there. He still really likes my Lamictal (my epilepsy medicine) and I had to have a level taken at the lab last Friday. The results usually take about a week to reach my neurologist who then determines how much we need to increase the dosage. At this point it is an increase every time I have my levels checked. For devoted readers : ) you may recall that my last level measured in at 5.1, the last one I had done measured at a bit lower at 4.9. Not at all ideal.
We've started to read to him daily. I'm reading through The Chronicles of Narnia series and Marcus reads Charlotte's Web to him. I've also been singing to him, quite poorly I might add, but he responds well to Les Miserables (his Nana is excited about that) and some tunes I sing to him when the mood strikes. He definitely likes the former better.
That's it for now. Unless something monumental happens at my 20 week visit I'll probably wait until Monday to post anything. Also, we're supposed to have our 3D ultrasound that day so I'll definitely be posting pictures from that. I can't wait to see him again!!!
Monday, March 1, 2010
Two for one....
I realized it's been more than a week in between posts yesterday and thought I'd better catch you guys up. The past two weeks have been really good. After what we went through at our week 16 visit and the week following it I was very thankful that everything has been going so smoothly. Well kind of....
Last week I had been cleaning the house and sat down for a bit. I tend to tire out kind of easily now so it was good to have that little break. I felt something in my stomach, but didn't really think much of it. I am pretty much hungry around the clock now so I just attributed it to that. I got a bite to eat, rested for a little bit, and started cleaning again. It went away. Friday night the moving started up again. I've read that when the baby does start to kick it can feel like little "flutters". The books also say most women can feel it between 18-22 weeks. Well I got really excited and then he seemed to calm down. Fast forward to Saturday night and with one fail swoop of a giant kick he let me know that, yes, all those little flutters I had been feeling were definitely him.I kept on telling Marcus that he was kicking and he just couldn't feel him moving yet. Last night, he gave his dad a nice swift little kick. He's calmed down, he just seemed to want to make his presence known to both of us.
It's the most amazing feeling to have the baby moving around. After all of the time we spent waiting for this day to come, it never fails to amaze me what is going on with him growing bigger and stronger week by week. All of this truly is a miracle.
Last week I had been cleaning the house and sat down for a bit. I tend to tire out kind of easily now so it was good to have that little break. I felt something in my stomach, but didn't really think much of it. I am pretty much hungry around the clock now so I just attributed it to that. I got a bite to eat, rested for a little bit, and started cleaning again. It went away. Friday night the moving started up again. I've read that when the baby does start to kick it can feel like little "flutters". The books also say most women can feel it between 18-22 weeks. Well I got really excited and then he seemed to calm down. Fast forward to Saturday night and with one fail swoop of a giant kick he let me know that, yes, all those little flutters I had been feeling were definitely him.I kept on telling Marcus that he was kicking and he just couldn't feel him moving yet. Last night, he gave his dad a nice swift little kick. He's calmed down, he just seemed to want to make his presence known to both of us.
It's the most amazing feeling to have the baby moving around. After all of the time we spent waiting for this day to come, it never fails to amaze me what is going on with him growing bigger and stronger week by week. All of this truly is a miracle.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
It's a.....
I apologize for this post being a bit late being posted. We've had a very interesting past few days. Last week I had a test done and didn't really expect too much to come out of it. I was very wrong. We got some abnormal results on it and as a result we had an unexpected appointment on Monday. Everything checked out normally and we were so thankful for that. We had a fairly in depth ultrasound and learned that everything was just fine. All of our worries were gone the minute we saw the baby and that everything was ok. We also learned that we are having a boy! I was hugely surprised by that. But once we saw everything was ok, it didn't really seem to matter much anymore if it was a boy or a girl. We have a healthy baby and are so thankful for that. These pictures are extremely fuzzy and I apologize for that. Next month we have a 3D one and those results will be much clearer.
Told ya it was a bit fuzzy. This is a side profile of the baby. It was amazing to see how much he has grown since our eight week ultrasound. I put the pictures side by side and it is still unreal to see the growth.
I like to think in this one that he is waving at us. The ultrasound technician said he kept on covering his face, but I like to think that it was a wave. Regardless, it was amazing to see all the little bones he had in his hand.
This would be the beautiful little face he was trying so hard to hide. I think he was asleep when the ultrasound started so he was cooperative and let us have a shot of his profile. A few minutes in he really woke up and was moving around quite a bit. I keep on trying to decide who he looks like. I think when we have the 3D one it will be much clearer.
Hope you guys have enjoyed looking at these pictures. I just can't stop looking at him. I think he's quite handsome already!
Told ya it was a bit fuzzy. This is a side profile of the baby. It was amazing to see how much he has grown since our eight week ultrasound. I put the pictures side by side and it is still unreal to see the growth.
I like to think in this one that he is waving at us. The ultrasound technician said he kept on covering his face, but I like to think that it was a wave. Regardless, it was amazing to see all the little bones he had in his hand.
This would be the beautiful little face he was trying so hard to hide. I think he was asleep when the ultrasound started so he was cooperative and let us have a shot of his profile. A few minutes in he really woke up and was moving around quite a bit. I keep on trying to decide who he looks like. I think when we have the 3D one it will be much clearer.
Hope you guys have enjoyed looking at these pictures. I just can't stop looking at him. I think he's quite handsome already!
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Sixteen Weeks and Counting
We had our sixteen week visit today. Everything went really well. I think the heartbeat was the strongest I've heard it thus far. The doctor even commented on how strong it was! As promised, here is a 16 week belly picture...
I know not everyone has seen the first ultrasound picture so this is it. It was taken at eight weeks.
The next ultrasound will be at our 20 week visit which is also when we find out what we're having. Our insurance allows us to have one of those really neat 3D ultrasounds that day too so I know we'll have some really good pictures to post then!!
Overall, I'm feeling pretty good. My appetite has returned in leaps and bounds to make up for the first trimester of not wanting to eat anything so that's been a welcome change. My back has started to hurt but the doctor said that it was normal when I asked her today. She said it's just the way the weight is shifting and the baby is growing. The pregnancy seems to be flying by. I can't believe how fast these few weeks have gone by. From what Dr. Bernhard, my OB, says we're doing great and everything is right on track for our July baby!
I know not everyone has seen the first ultrasound picture so this is it. It was taken at eight weeks.
The next ultrasound will be at our 20 week visit which is also when we find out what we're having. Our insurance allows us to have one of those really neat 3D ultrasounds that day too so I know we'll have some really good pictures to post then!!
Overall, I'm feeling pretty good. My appetite has returned in leaps and bounds to make up for the first trimester of not wanting to eat anything so that's been a welcome change. My back has started to hurt but the doctor said that it was normal when I asked her today. She said it's just the way the weight is shifting and the baby is growing. The pregnancy seems to be flying by. I can't believe how fast these few weeks have gone by. From what Dr. Bernhard, my OB, says we're doing great and everything is right on track for our July baby!
Friday, February 5, 2010
Starting Out
For some time, I've been thinking about starting a blog. Last night in a fit of sleeplessness, I decided it was time. I'm so far away from my family and friends I thought you guys might like to know what is going on with our growing family. I always worried that my thoughts might not be original enough to do this, but I think you all might be interested anyway.
Marcus and I found out the day before Thanksgiving that we were pregnant. I know you're supposed to wait until you're out of your first trimester to tell everyone, but we were just so excited that we started calling people immediately. The only two people we thought might still be awake were our brothers, Jeremy and Nate. They have a habit of staying up late. We are two time zones away from Jeremy (he was in Knoxville for Thanksgiving break) and one away from Nate who usually is up into the wee hours of the night/morning. So we called and called and then called some more. They eventually picked up and both were thrilled to find out they were going to be Uncles. We told our family and friends the next day. After three years of waiting our day had finally arrived and we knew we had to share it with everyone.
Since then time has seemed to fly by. We are officially out of the first trimester. Every Sunday marks a new week in the pregnancy so I am 15 weeks right now. I have my 16 week appointment on Tuesday of this upcoming week. So far things are going great. I love my doctor and she has been so excited for us. Before we found out we were pregnant we visited with her. My neurologist suggested we do this since we were officially trying so we could talk with her about our concerns with the epilepsy and our upcoming pregnancy. When we went to our first visit once we found out we were pregnant, I think it was at eight weeks, she was so excited for us. I talked with her nurse via a rather lengthy phone call about my medical history and that of my family about a week before the visit. When she found out how sick I was already she prescribed a medicine called Zofran that has saved my life with the morning sickness. I still felt nauseous, but at least I wanted to eat. I think one of the most amazing things thus far was seeing our first ultrasound. It allowed us to see the baby, hear the heartbeat, and we could even see the little heart beating away. During my 12 week visit we didn't have an ultrasound, but we did get to hear the heartbeat and even the baby moving around. I thought it was just my stomach growling at me.
Without going into graphic details, I must say pregnancy has been a total body experience thus far. I never knew my body could feel or even look like this. I feel like my baby bump has just been growing steadily for weeks now. I sent out some pictures to my family when I was 13 weeks. I need to take a couple new one's and put them up here so everyone can see how the bump is growing. I've tried to wear non-maternity jeans for as long as possible and I fear my days are numbered. As far as the seizures go, it's been quite a ride. I never even thought how much the baby would take out of me and my medicine. I have to go to the lab here on base and have lab work done twice a month, for those of you who truly know me and know how much I hate needles you'll know how big of a deal this is. They actually know me now and know I need to lie down or otherwise there is a strong possibility I might just pass out on them. Never really a good thing, especially now that we are pregnant. This week we had quite a shock. My medicine levels are usually in the 13-15 range in my bloodstream. I was down to a five. Barely a therapeutic level. So we upped the dosage and in two weeks, surprise (!!!), I have to go back and have more blood work done. I also don't think I've ever been this hungry in my life. All I want to do is eat and it's nothing too healthy either, though I'm trying to follow what the books say and eat better. Sometimes baby carrots just don't satisfy the craving I have for that nice bowl of vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup on top.
There are several websites that you can sign up for that will track your pregnancy week by week. At the begining of each week you get an email letting you know how big the baby is and what you can expect to happen this upcoming week with its growth and what is developing that week. For example, the baby now has fingerprints and can sense light. She is also four inches long. This takes me back to my gymnastic days and the balance beam and realizing my baby is the size as the beam I used to tumble on. The websites also offer nice comparisons to size with a fruit or vegetable. I look forward to every Sunday when I get an email from the various sites telling me how the baby has grown and what to expect to happen this week with the development.
I think that this is it for my first entry. I think it might be longer than the others. I'm thinking it will have less introductory material and more about the pregnancy itself. I'm also thinking I will post on Tuesday after our visit with the OB and then every Sunday to keep you all updated. This might change though. On March 12th we find out what we're having and I'm thinking I might just have to write an extra one for that day.
Marcus and I found out the day before Thanksgiving that we were pregnant. I know you're supposed to wait until you're out of your first trimester to tell everyone, but we were just so excited that we started calling people immediately. The only two people we thought might still be awake were our brothers, Jeremy and Nate. They have a habit of staying up late. We are two time zones away from Jeremy (he was in Knoxville for Thanksgiving break) and one away from Nate who usually is up into the wee hours of the night/morning. So we called and called and then called some more. They eventually picked up and both were thrilled to find out they were going to be Uncles. We told our family and friends the next day. After three years of waiting our day had finally arrived and we knew we had to share it with everyone.
Since then time has seemed to fly by. We are officially out of the first trimester. Every Sunday marks a new week in the pregnancy so I am 15 weeks right now. I have my 16 week appointment on Tuesday of this upcoming week. So far things are going great. I love my doctor and she has been so excited for us. Before we found out we were pregnant we visited with her. My neurologist suggested we do this since we were officially trying so we could talk with her about our concerns with the epilepsy and our upcoming pregnancy. When we went to our first visit once we found out we were pregnant, I think it was at eight weeks, she was so excited for us. I talked with her nurse via a rather lengthy phone call about my medical history and that of my family about a week before the visit. When she found out how sick I was already she prescribed a medicine called Zofran that has saved my life with the morning sickness. I still felt nauseous, but at least I wanted to eat. I think one of the most amazing things thus far was seeing our first ultrasound. It allowed us to see the baby, hear the heartbeat, and we could even see the little heart beating away. During my 12 week visit we didn't have an ultrasound, but we did get to hear the heartbeat and even the baby moving around. I thought it was just my stomach growling at me.
Without going into graphic details, I must say pregnancy has been a total body experience thus far. I never knew my body could feel or even look like this. I feel like my baby bump has just been growing steadily for weeks now. I sent out some pictures to my family when I was 13 weeks. I need to take a couple new one's and put them up here so everyone can see how the bump is growing. I've tried to wear non-maternity jeans for as long as possible and I fear my days are numbered. As far as the seizures go, it's been quite a ride. I never even thought how much the baby would take out of me and my medicine. I have to go to the lab here on base and have lab work done twice a month, for those of you who truly know me and know how much I hate needles you'll know how big of a deal this is. They actually know me now and know I need to lie down or otherwise there is a strong possibility I might just pass out on them. Never really a good thing, especially now that we are pregnant. This week we had quite a shock. My medicine levels are usually in the 13-15 range in my bloodstream. I was down to a five. Barely a therapeutic level. So we upped the dosage and in two weeks, surprise (!!!), I have to go back and have more blood work done. I also don't think I've ever been this hungry in my life. All I want to do is eat and it's nothing too healthy either, though I'm trying to follow what the books say and eat better. Sometimes baby carrots just don't satisfy the craving I have for that nice bowl of vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup on top.
There are several websites that you can sign up for that will track your pregnancy week by week. At the begining of each week you get an email letting you know how big the baby is and what you can expect to happen this upcoming week with its growth and what is developing that week. For example, the baby now has fingerprints and can sense light. She is also four inches long. This takes me back to my gymnastic days and the balance beam and realizing my baby is the size as the beam I used to tumble on. The websites also offer nice comparisons to size with a fruit or vegetable. I look forward to every Sunday when I get an email from the various sites telling me how the baby has grown and what to expect to happen this week with the development.
I think that this is it for my first entry. I think it might be longer than the others. I'm thinking it will have less introductory material and more about the pregnancy itself. I'm also thinking I will post on Tuesday after our visit with the OB and then every Sunday to keep you all updated. This might change though. On March 12th we find out what we're having and I'm thinking I might just have to write an extra one for that day.
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