15 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:
How Far Along: 15 Weeks
Size of baby: Naval orange
Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 6lbs
Maternity Clothes: Not yet

Gender: Unknown...but we're all convinced it's a boy!

Movement: Not yet

Sleep: Not sleeping well at all.

Symptoms: Still some nausea off and on, urinating very often, irritable, some abdominal pain (supposedly round ligament pain), but not quite as exhausted constantly. Even though I didn't sleep good at night! Ha! But I was really starting to feel FAT! I didn't look pregnant at all, just thick and bloated.

What I miss: Feeling normal

Cravings: Still spicy/salty foods---cheeseburgers, taco and buffalo wild wings!

What I was looking forward to: Finding out if we're having a boy or girl in a few weeks!!

14 Weeks --- First Ultrasound

We had our first ultrasound during week 14, even though at our doctor's office they don't typically do the first one until around 18 weeks.  But since I had been experiencing a lot of bad abdominal pain, they wanted to make sure everything looked ok.  My mom came down for the day to go to the appointment with Chad and I!

Seeing our baby on that screen for the first time was so awesome.  He (or she---but I just knew it was a boy :-)) was absolutely perfect.

According to the measurements that the tech took during the ultrasound, she gave us a due date of six days earlier than our October 29th due date.  Although, they do not actually change your official due date unless the measurements are off fourteen or more days.  KC's heartbeat was 152bpm.  We got to see and hear hiccups!  So cute!   And everything checked out just fine!  Healthy baby, thank you Jesus!!

We also had another appointment with the doctor that week.  We switched to a new doctor (same office, though) because we didn't care for the first one we saw.  She was not very friendly and was just not someone I wanted to be seeing every month for the next several months!  Anyway, we absolutely LOVED the new doctor.  He was very kind, patient and so calm and reassuring.  A very highly recommended doctor.

We listened to baby KC's heartbeat and the doctor said it sounded very strong and healthy at about 156bpm!  The doctor also measured my abdominal from belly button to pelvic bone (15cm) and it was a little bigger, suggesting the baby might be slightly further along than we thought, but not necessarily.

Another great visit, confirming again that baby KC is healthy and growing perfectly!

11 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 11 Weeks

Size of baby: About the size of a lime

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 3 lbs

Maternity Clothes: Not yet

Gender: Unknown

Nickname for Baby: KC (Mine and Chad's first name initials)

Movement: Not yet

Sleep: I was sleeping ok at this point except for getting up at least once to go to the bathroom. And my hips would hurt at night some, making it hard to get comfortable.

Symptoms: Nausea, irritability, urinating a LOT, very tired, heightened sense of smell, extremely sore b**bs (haha!), a lot of abdominal cramps and pain; hips are sore and achey---I could really tell they were widening.e

Best Moment This Week: Well, at 10 weeks we finally had our first appointment with the doctor! We got to hear baby KC's heartbeat (140bpm), which was such an amazing sound!! And a very emotional moment, to be able to confirm the health of our baby and release so many worries!!  During week 11 we visited Missouri to break the news to the entire family. We wanted to be able to tell everyone in person! Some received it well and some weren't as excited for us at first as we had hoped. But we were thrilled, either way!

What I missed: Feeling normal

Cravings: Spicy/salty foods, like tacos, nachos, cheeseburgers, and (my fave) buffalo wild wings

What I was looking forward to: Our first ultrasound in a few weeks!

6 Weeks

Warning: These may be a little boring and repetitive for you to read!  But I want to include every detail, for myself, because I plan to have a book made from my blog.

First belly shot. The day I found out I was pregnant---just a couple days shy of being 4 weeks along.

(Almost) 4 Weeks

Warning: These may be a little boring and repetitive for you to read!  But I want to include every detail, for myself, because I plan to have a book made from my blog.

First belly shot. The day I found out I was pregnant---just a couple days shy of being 4 weeks along.

Spreading the Good News!!

We wanted to wait until we had been to our first doctor's appointment and heard the heartbeat to confirm a healthy pregnancy before telling family and friends.  That was too hard!  I know in some areas you can go to the doctor right away, but down here they don't really want you in (unless you have problems/concerns) before like 12 weeks.  (And if you go anyway, insurance won't pay for it.)  It's crazy to expect people to wait that long!  I was lucky to get an appointment at 10 weeks.  We were able to hear a perfect, strong heartbeat!  It was the most amazing sound in the world.

To tell my parents and sister the news, I made them these cute little picture frames.  My mom and dad's said '#1 Grandma and #1 Grandpa', and my sister's said '#1 Aunt'.  They came down for a visit, and as soon as they got to our house we handed them each a gift bag.  We were so anxious to tell them!  They opened their 'gifts' and immediately burst into tears of joy, with the ever famous 'Are you serious?!' question.  They were shocked, as were we, but beyond thrilled.

We drove up on a Saturday to visit the rest of our families and tell them our news!  We wanted to be able to share everything with everyone in person.  I made shirts for Chad and I to wear to a family get together with my whole extended family.  I need to get a picture of them...  Mine said 'Under Construction - To Be Completed October 2009' and Chad's said something like 'New Father In Training'... I don't remember exactly.  But they were a hit!  We just wore them around and slowly, one by one, people would notice.  It was so funny!

Ready or Not!

Just seven short months into our marriage, Chad and I found out that we were going to have a baby!  We were so excited to be parents, but were also a little unsure of it all since we hadn't been married for very long.  The selfish side of us wanted more time to just enjoy each other.  But that wasn't God's plan for us, and now we are so glad!

I wanted to share the exciting news with Chad in a special way.  I didn't have much time since I wanted to tell him the same day I found out for myself.  I could hardly hold it in that long!

I decided to spill the beans while watching one of his favorite movies, 'Facing the Giants'.  The couple in this movie struggles with infertility for a long time.  And at the end, they finally get pregnant!  The wife tells her husband, who is a football coach, that he has finally 'made the Daddy team'.  This part of the movie always gets to Chad... He gets teary-eyed and tells me how much he looks forward to being a dad.  I thought this would be the perfect time to tell him that he has made the Daddy team too!

I wrapped up my three (yes, three! I had to be sure! Haha) positive pregnancies tests, along with a bib that said 'I love Daddy'.  At the end of the movie, I brought it out for Chad to open.  He had no clue what was going on at first, never having seen a pregnancy test before, he didn't know what it was!  Then it kind of clicked and he looked at me with tears in his eyes and said, "Are you serious?!"

He asked me if I was serious about a hundred more times.  I assured him that I was not messing around with him!  We were terrified and excited, all in the same breath.  And we had no idea what we were in for. :-)