Hello December!!!

Am I the only one that cannot believe it's already December?! I completely let November get away from me. Sorry for the lack of a single post! I have stayed busy with baby showers, Halloween, and Thanksgiving - all of which were so wonderful. My baby showers were both so great! We are so thankful for the wonderful family and friends that we have and made them both special. I ate way too much candy on Halloween...and Drew and I spent our first Thanksgiving together! Usually, he's working. Somehow we managed to get lucky this year! :) We had a lot of family over and it was great. December is my absolute favorite month of all. The weather and the holidays always make me beyond happy. Another thing that I cannot believe...that I am just about 34 weeks! Totally unbelievable. 6 weeks (tops!) until we meet our little guy. I, however, wouldn't complain if he decided to show up just a week or two early (as long as he's healthy, of course!)

People were not kidding me when they said the third trimester bring aches and pains. In fact, I don't think they exaggerated it enough to me. Back pain, rib pain, hip pain...it's no joke. Most nights I do sleep pretty well, though. I am very lucky. I'll take the occasional night of restlessness because I know lots of women that don't get any sleep at all during their third trimester.

I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow morning. Hopefully she will at least be able to tell me if he's head down or what. I promise to do a better job updating this through the holidays and until he gets here. The next few weeks should be the most interesting!

Hayden at 28 weeks

We are so in love with him! Although, he did not make this easy on any of us. He was laying on my bladder with his feet in my ribs and his face pressed against my uterine wall. Always on my left side. I told the lady that his feet are always in my left ribs and he stays in my left side. Nothing we could do could make him change positions or move. He was just as happy as could be :)

This is his arm and his belly.

He's smiling here.

His arm, hand and knee

His left eye is open here! Can you see it?

I think he has my feet ha ha

T minus 13 weeks!

27 Weeks - How your baby's growing (from babycenter.com):

This week, your baby weighs almost 2 pounds (like a head of cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long with his legs extended. He's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing his eyes, and perhaps even sucking his fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. While his lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if he were to be born now. Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and they don't bother him, so just relax and enjoy the tickle.

(Let me tell everyone...this boy can pack a punch! I've been watching him kick and punch my belly for weeks now. And I can't decide if he's being shy or a trickster - he will kick endlessly and as soon as I put Drew's hand on my belly to feel he will stop. I personally think he is playing with his Daddy :) Drew and I have been reading to him almost every night, hoping these things will comfort him once he's here.)

It has been a while since I've updated, so I figured I would take a minute during the last week of my second trimester (hallelujah!) Granted, I can already feel that third trimester. I've been so exhausted. And stressed. Hayden and I have had an interesting week. To explain all of this, I'll have to backtrack a little. At my past few doctor's appointments my blood pressure has been up. My doctor's were keeping a close eye on it. Well, this week the combination of exhausted, tension, and everything else caught up with me. I had a nagging tension headache and was seeing bright spots all day on Thursday. My doctor had told me to call if I ever experienced that. So, I did and they brought me in on Friday to check on my blood pressure. We had a long, long doctor's appointment yesterday. They checked my blood pressure, took blood to check for liver function, did a stress test on the baby (...which I loved hearing his heartbeat for twenty minutes straight :)) and told me I have to collect urine samples for 24 hours to check for preeclampsia. The baby's stress test was great, which was my main concern. The blood work will come back this coming week, but in the meantime he told me to stop working and keep my feet up as much as possible. As with any pregnancy, the less stress the better. Thankfully, I have an amazing and hardworking husband that will work endlessly so that I don't have to and can focus on taking care of Hayden. I am so blessed and lucky to have him and our families - who are also a great support system. So, I am doing exactly what he's telling me to (which is probably why I have time to update this blog!) But the baby is great, so I am great.

My doctor also finally convinced me (after two appointments..) to get my flu shot. The thought of it scared me beyond belief. I am a natural worrier, though. I went to Walgreens which was the only drug store here that offered a preservative free flu shot. In fact, they won't give pregnant women anything but a presevative free flu shot. The different between a regular flu shot and a preservative free flu shot is the thimerosal aka mercury. I was not comfortable with the regular flu shot which has 25 micrograms of thirmerosal. The preservative free flu shot has less than 1 microgram of thimerosal. Granted, I wasn't aware of any of this until I started to do some research online. The internet is such a bittersweet thing for me. While it can be so informative, it can also scare the living daylights out of me. There is just that much information out there. But, I definitely don't want to come down with the flu while I'm pregnant and I definitely want to protect Hayden since he will be born right in the middle of flu season. It seemed like the best choice for us, so my mom and I both got the shot at the same time. I'm very happy that I did because now I can stop worrying so much about it.

Besides my mood swings (poor, poor Drew!), that's about all that's been going on. We have a 3D ultrasound coming up on October 26. I can't wait to see his sweet face! We have also officially (really..it's been engraved on a Christmas ornament) decided on the name Hayden Noah. I am getting my honey-do and mom-please-help-me-do lists ready for things that need to be done before he gets here. I have 4 pages so far. But, what mother doesn't want everything to be perfect for their child? :)

Baby Hayden at 20 weeks

17 weeks 5 days!

Just a quick update...I've been feeling the baby move all over the place :) I mostly feel him moving around, but I feel him kick just a few times a day usually. Can't wait for him to kick hard enough for Drew to feel!!

16 weeks 3 days!

I had my 16 week appointment this morning. Everything was great. The baby's heartbeat sounded great. My doctor was a little surprised that my uterus is about 2 inches above my navel at 16 weeks. I don't think you usually hit that until 20 weeks, but I am short so that might have something to do with it :) My next appointment is September 2 and that will be the big hour long ultrasound where they check how the baby is developing and confirm the gender. We are excited for that! I haven't felt any definite kicks yet, but I've felt some flutters a few nights when I was laying really still trying to get to sleep. I am ready for him to start kicking all the time!

And more.. :-)

More boy pictures!

It's a BOY!!!

We just found out we're going to have a little boy!! It was a surprise to everyone except Drew, my brother, and sister-in-law. But we are so excited!!! :)

13 weeks 5 days!

Today I am officially 13 weeks and 5 days. They tell me the baby is the size of a lemon! Drew and I went to the doctor at 12 weeks and heard that sweet little heart beat! It was, hands down, the sweetest sound I've ever heard. I could have listened to it all day long. Drew was so excited and I cried :)

I have an appointment coming up on July 29 for a 3D ultrasound. We will find out the gender too as long as baby cooperates (praying and crossing fingers!) I'll be just about 16 weeks.

The week after that, I have an appointment at my regular OB for a 16 week check-up. We will listen to the heart beat again..I will record it this time so that I can listen to it whenever I want! And, of course, share with family and friends. I had that bright idea just as we were leaving the doctor's office last time.

8 Weeks!

I went to the doctor yesterday and I am exactly as far along as I thought..8 weeks! I will be 9 weeks on Sunday and my official due date is January 16, 2011. The doctor said the baby has a strong heartbeat and everything looks great. I was in awe of the heartbeat. It just seems so surreal and unbelievable. Something that tiny with such a strong little heartbeat is amazing. It is beyond amazing to see. The baby's heartbeat is right in the middle (the darker spot) and his or her head is facing down in the ultrasound. Everytime I think about all of this..our baby and anything that has to do with my pregnancy..I am just so thankful. I think all moms and moms-to-be will understand what I'm saying...you cannot feel anything but blessed.

My next ultrasound will be July 6. The nausea has eased up (thank goodness!..as long as I'm not around uncooked meat..can't handle that) and I've just been feeling tired. I also cannot get enough Mexican food! I could eat tacos morning, noon, and night. It's too bad my husband doesn't share the same love for it! It's all I've wanted since the VERY beginning. When I flew home from Tennessee, all I could think about on the flight was tacos. I made Drew stop by Taco Bell on the way home. Truthfully, I had a sneaky feeling I was pregnant then. I think I even sent Drew a text telling him that while I was in Tennessee. Just like everyone always says, you'll just know when you are :)

And yes, I am eating things other (and healthier) than tacos :) So don't worry, grandparents!

First Ultrasound

We had our first doctor's appointment on May 20. Everything went well...although Drew was a little traumatized by the first appointment procedures ;-) We got to see the baby on the ultrasound. I was a little earlier than we thought, so there wasn't a whole lot to see. But, it was just as exciting! I'm going back on June 9 for another ultrasound to do measurements and bloodwork. I should be about 8 1/2 weeks then. So far I have just been tired - make that exhausted - and feeling (but not getting) pretty sick. Sickness and all, I am trying to enjoy the experience.

We're Pregnant!!!

We found out Friday, May 7 that we are going to have a baby!!

We are absolutely over the moon about it. Tomorrow I will be around 5 weeks. Our first doctor's appointment will be next Thursday, the 20th. We cannot wait!!