A Noble Endeavor

I haven't posted in a while, so I figured I would. Things are going really well. We go to the doctor at the beginning of every month, but there hasn't been much to report. Good healthy heartbeat, and getting bigger. I am starting to get tired pretty early at night, but I have also been very busy, so I don't think I can blame it all on Peanut. My back gives me some trouble, but overall it is continuing to be a very easy pregnancy. I have been a little more emotional lately... Whit is handling it very well I must say. He had a hard time understanding random tears at first, but now he is just super sweet to me until it passes. I started having Braxton Hicks contractions, once or twice a day around week 24. At first I thought it was the baby pushing its back against my belly button, but then my weekly emails from TheBump.com told me to watch for signs of early labor which kind of freaked me out! Luckily I had an appointment that day anyways and the doctor said it was Braxton hicks and nothing to worry about. They did a few tests just in case, but by then I wasn't worried about anymore. In general I'm not really worried about anything. Well, except I am terrified of having a giant baby. I don't have any particular reason (not much in terms of abnormally large babies in our families) but it freaks me out when I see a 3 month old baby with a head bigger than its mother!!! Other than that I think I am doing a good job of not being neurotic.

It is wild to think we are rounding the bend and before long we will be a family of 3.... well not including the pups of course. Whit is very anxious to meet Peanut, and continues to be absolutely wonderful and is taking care of us all the time. Peanut and I are so very blessed!

I guess thats it for now!

Posted in: on Sunday, February 28, 2010 at 0 comments  

So I was laying on the couch after a big bowl of pasta when *POP!* the baby gave me a nice big kick on the left side of my belly. Naturally I pulled up my shirt some to expose my peeping belly button and say hello to the baby and ask how it enjoyed dinner when *POP!* again but this time since I was looking right at my belly I could see the pop! The skin on the left side of my belly bottom actually jumped up a good 1/4 of an inch! Whit and I enjoyed the visual experience of our baby's movement for another few minutes before he/ she settled back down. What an unbelievable miracle!

Posted in: on Sunday, January 24, 2010 at 0 comments  

 started feeling some movent on Monday (Jan 4th) but I wasn't exactly sure until I felt some more rolls and pokes after dessert on Tuesday. The most exciting part came tonight (Wed) after dinner when the movements were getting so big that Whit felt it for the first time too!!! Peanut reached up and gave daddy a great big high five on the top of my belly. So far it looks like Peanut likes vanilla ice cream with chocolate chips and spicy enchiladas! I guess since it has been a breeze of a pregnancy so far (knock on wood) after 20 weeks it is finally beginning to feel real.

Posted in: on Wednesday, January 6, 2010 at 0 comments  

We went to see the sonogram today and it was amazing!  The tech was great and we managed to not find out the sex of our little Peanut.  I have added a few videos below.  If anyone figures out if Peanut is a he or she you better keep quiet!  I'm sure Christina will be adding more when she gets home...

If you are not familiar with sonograms (as we weren't before today) it is pretty confusing to figure out what you are looking at. The view switches between looking at Peanut from the side like a profile, to looking straight at the face (looks like a skeleton face and the spine is in the middle of the screen), and looking at peanut from the top so it looks like peanut has flipped over and the spine is on the top of the screen.

Peanut says Hi!!!!! 
This video starts with showing where the umbilical cord is on Peanut's tummy but I still can't see it...? Next the red and blue shows the motion of blood pumping into and out of the heart. The view turns to looking straight at Peanuts face and then to a profile view. Watch in the top left and you can see Peanut's arm and hand moving up and down a few times like a wave. It goes into and out of focus but keep watching and you can hear when I get really excited about it :-) The Peanut waves one more time.Finally, the view shifts so that it looks like Peanut is facing downward and the spine is on the top of the view. So amazing!



Peanut's first movie! The beginning of this video is looking at the beating heart!!!! The spine is running horizontal in the middle of the screen and the heart is right in the middle of the screen- two black spots one on top of the other. The tech froze the screen and played the heartbeat; 142 beats per minute, PERFECT! The green line is directly over the heart. Next you can see the spine in the middle of the screen which means you looking straight at the baby. It looks like Peanut rubs his/ her face then the view switches quickly to a profile view. You can clearly see the jaw and Peanut practicing swallowing amniotic fluid. Yummy! Way to go Peanut! It switches back to front view after that. The thing that looks like a chicken leg is actually Peanut's upper leg! It is sticking out towards the top left corner of the screen. In the last part you can see Peanut's eyeball... weird, but great!

Posted in: on Tuesday, January 5, 2010 at 0 comments  

Posted in: on at 0 comments  

My sister put the heartbeat to a picture and created a video file to upload. Thanks Cty!!!



Enjoy!

Posted in: on Tuesday, November 10, 2009 at 0 comments  

We have hit a milestone! WebMD says, "With the most critical development behind the fetus, the chance of miscarriage drops considerably after this week." so... YAY!

Peanut looks something like this:

We went to see our midwife last Thursday and got to hear the heartbeat for the second time. We were able to record it and are hoping to download it onto the blog whenever I figure out how to do that. It was so amazing for us to hear and I would love to be able to share it with everyone.

I am doing really well. I'm not getting sick to my stomach anymore (except I do get carsick sometimes) and I have a lot more energy during the day. So far I have only had one slight emotional breakdown, and thanks to my mom it didn't last long :-)

I HAVE A BELLY!!! I have never in my life had a belly, but I certainly do now! I am happily embracing it though, especially after buying some clothes that are a bit less fitted after the previously mentioned breakdown (Thanks Mama!). We have been taking profile shots every week but up until now they have not really had much to show.  This is the same pic from early in the blog, pre-bump next to the pic from today. It might not seem like much to most, but it is to me! I put writing on my belly in each pic to keep the pics straight over the course of the pregnancy :-)

Posted in: on at 0 comments  

We are calling the baby Peanut for now (reference the sonogram). We had out second appointment on Tuesday. We had an untrasound and even got to hear the heart beat! It was good and strong, and SO AMAZING! Peanut's head is on the right side and rump is on the left. It doesn't really look like a baby yet, but in the next few weeks it will sprout arms and begin to take on a more recognizable shape.

About baby:

Peanut is .92 cm which puts us at 7 weeks.
Our due date is May 25
We are in blueberry status :-)


About mama:

The fatigue is unreal!!! I have a fair amount of nausea throughout the day, but I have not yet gotten sick... fingers crossed it stays that way.

Thats about it for now.

Posted in: on Wednesday, October 7, 2009 at 0 comments  

We had our first appointment today! My wonderful husband accompanied me.

It turns out we are not as far along as we thought, so we are back to apple seed status. More like 4-5 weeks rather than 6+ weeks as I posted last time. I had an ultrasound, but she told us that we would likely not be able to see the fetus because it is too early. We did get to see the sac that the baby is growing in though! It is the small, dark oval that looks like a jelly bean. The larger, light colored oval is the endometrial layer of my uterus, which is protecting the fetus and providing it with nourishment. Even though we didn’t get to see the fetus, it does show us that the baby is growing where it is supposed to and is on the right track! I will go back in 2 weeks (Oct. 6th) and they will do another ultrasound and we will get a due date then.

Here's our baby!

Posted in: on Thursday, September 24, 2009 at 0 comments  

Baby is 6 weeks today (Saturday Sept 19th)
We think I am due May 14, 2010
We will not be finding out the sex... I LOVE SURPRISES!
Our first dr. appt is Wed Sept 23 (more accurate due date then)

Our baby is currently the size of a sweet pea.

about mama:
I have not really had any symptoms. I cried at church for the first time in a while, which should have been a dead give away. I have been yawny, but not fatigued. I don't have much of a appetite, but I have been doing healthy snacking between meals trying to be proactive about nausea. I'm thirsty all the time, so my water bottle has become a permanent fixture in my life. All the water has translated into frequent bathroom breaks. I hear that should last for the next 8 months!
We'll keep you posted!

Posted in: on Saturday, September 19, 2009 at 0 comments  

Prissy after the lake

Posted in: on Sunday, April 5, 2009 at 0 comments  

Posted in: on Tuesday, March 24, 2009 at 0 comments  

Posted in: on at 0 comments