Friday, January 28, 2011

Ten Weeks

I'm ten weeks along today!

Size
kumquat

Developments
fingernails and toenails forming
peach fuzz hair growing
yolk sac disappearing
limbs can bend
spine is visible

Heartbeat
159 bpm (as of 1/12/11)

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Happy Birthday, Lucas!





Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband! Five years ago, I had no idea that someone so wonderful was about to come into my life. While it didn't happen exactly the way I always thought it would, I am so thankful that it happened! From the very beginning, Lucas has been 100% committed, and that is one of the things I really love about him. He is not just committed to me, but committed to everything he does- work, school, ministry, weight loss, you name it. Whatever Lucas commits to, he finishes. He is also extremely supportive of me in every situation. He loves my family and my family loves him. He is a WONDERFUL daddy to our sweet weenie dogs. He is always building me up and he has so much patience...for me, at least. :) He is all of the things that I am not. I am so thankful that the Lord brought us together and I am so excited to enter this next phase of life with him by my side. He is going to be a wonderful father! I love you, Lucas!

Friday, January 21, 2011

Nine Weeks

I'm nine weeks along today!

Size
grape

Developments
heart is dividing into four chambers
teeth forming
organs, muscles, and nerves working
eyes fully formed
eyelids fused shut
basic physiology is in place

Heartbeat
159 bpm (as of 1/12/2011)

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Thanks to Martin Luther King, we were able to enjoy a nice long weekend at home together. After our traditional Friday night at the Crandalls, Lucas spent most of Saturday on homework and I spent most of the day with mom, shopping and getting ready for Kaylane's baby shower this coming Saturday. We had dinner at Chuy's which is always a treat and came home to watch a movie we'd gotten from Netflix. I'm trying to enjoy all of these moments like this, where we can just easily pick up and go do whatever we want to do. I know it won't be quite so easy once our little one joins us!

Friday, January 14, 2011

Eight Weeks

I'm eight weeks along today!

Size
kidney bean

Developments
webbed fingers and toes
eyelids cover eyes
breathing tubes from throat to lungs
neural pathways developing

Heartbeat
159 bpm (as of 1/12/11)

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Since you've heard about our first appointment from Lucas's point of view, I figured now I'd share my feelings about it. He was definitely right in saying that I was nervous. Most of the day I'd managed to not really think about it because I was so busy, but by the time we arrived, I was extremely nervous. We got there early and they were a little bit late in calling us back, so I felt like we were waiting forever. Every minute that passed, I got more and more nervous. I just kept praying that the baby would be healthy and repeating something that has helped me through many moments of fear and uncertainty- "I found Him faithful yesterday. He will not be unfaithful today."

When the nurse finally called us back, she was very sweet and definitely helped me to feel a little bit better. I warned her that my blood pressure would probably be high because I was so nervous. It was a little high, but not too bad. I tend to have white coat syndrome anyway, so I wasn't surprised. After we talked with her for a bit, the doctor came in to do the ultrasound. She had a hard time finding the baby at first because my bladder was too full. I got even more nervous when that happened, but soon she found it and assured me that everything sounded good. She did tell me to run to the restroom, though, so that we could get some better pictures of the baby. After that, we were able to see it perfectly. It was really amazing and so reassuring to know that everything was just how it should be.

After the ultrasound, I had to go do bloodwork, which I was also dreading. My superhero name would probably be something along the lines of The Incredible Unbleedable Girl. I make those people work hard for their money when it's time to draw blood from me. Typically, my blood must be drawn from my left hand using a butterfly needle, and I always tell them that immediately. She looked at both elbows and both hands, plus the sides of my arms for about five minutes. She finally tried one elbow, but nothing. She moved to the other one and after moving the needle around for awhile, found a good vein. I was so thankful, because I was starting to think we weren't going to get any! The doctor said we would receive a call on Thursday if anything came back that I needed to take meds for. We never heard anything, so that was good news!

We are very excited that everything seems to be going perfectly so far. Please keep praying for us, that the baby will continue to form perfectly and will be healthy, and that I stay healthy as well. We love you all!

Hearing the heartbeat for the first time

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

The first doctor visit

Well, we made it through the first doctor's visit. Jenny was so nervous when we got there. When the doctor came in, she pretty much immediately went to the sonogram. I started video taping the process so we could see the moment when we saw the baby on the sonogram. Well, we didn't see it immediately, the doctor asked me to stop the video.....which was a big mistake. I could tell as soon as she said that, Jenny went into panic attack mode. But, we could hear the heartbeat, so I wasn't all that worried about it. The doc decided Jenny needed to empty her bladder so we could get a better picture of the baby. Sure enough, after she did, we could see the baby pretty clearly. I did at least get it on video, so we can hear that heartbeat loud and clear. Just a moment of panic, but lots of relief and excitement once we heard that heartbeat.

It's hard to believe there's a little person growing inside of her right now. We got to see the baby kinda squirm around a bit and could see the heart fluttering. Very exciting stuff! Here are a couple of pictures....one of Jenny and I outside the doctor's office, and the other of the baby of course. It looks like the Klingons are attacking the Starship Enterprise, but it's all we have for now. :-)

With Jenny's permission, I'm going to post the video of hearing the heartbeat later. Since she's naked from the waste down, I gotta get the all clear first. :-)




Monday, January 10, 2011

This past weekend was a much needed break after a busy first week back to work. Friday night, we went to the Crandall's house as usual. We had a great evening of relaxing, pizza, chocolate chip cookies, online baby shopping, and movie watching. Oh, and sleeping. :) Usually Lucas is the one to fall asleep at their house on Friday nights, but since I've been pregnant, I've been the one falling asleep. It was a great way to celebrate seven weeks of pregnancy!

On Saturday morning, Lucas got up early to work on homework and let me sleep until 8:30. It was so nice. Another new thing I've been doing since being pregnant is actually sleeping past 7:00. It has been wonderful. After I got up and Lucas finished his homework, we got all of the Christmas decorations put away. As much fun as the decorations are for the month of December, I was completely sick of looking at it. That afternoon, we just laid around the house, which never happens. I couldn't tell you the last time I stayed home on a Saturday. I always have errands to run, and although I probably had errands to run this past weekend, too, I ignored them. I finally got ready about 4:30 and we went to dinner with my parents, then back home for more couch laying. It was pretty blissful.

Sunday was another great day. We had the day off of worship and although the forecast was for an "Arctic Blast," we braved the elements and headed out to church. The service was so wonderful and when it was over, the snow was coming down hard. We headed out for lunch with the Crandalls and then Kaylane and I went to register for her baby shower. I'm so glad to have a friend like her who is a pro mommy and will be able to help me so much with all my pregnancy and baby questions.

Only two more days until our first doctor appointment! I am really excited and a little bit nervous. We should be able to hear the heartbeat at this appointment, so we're just praying that it is strong and healthy! We will definitely update again after the appointment!

Friday, January 7, 2011

Seven Weeks

I'm seven weeks along today!

Size
blueberry

Developments
hands and feet emerging
eyelids developing
brain is growing
liver is forming red blood cells
appendix and pancreas growing
umbilical cord developing

Thursday, January 6, 2011

I know alot of you reading this aren't blog world regulars, so here's a quick lesson in how to leave a comment. At the bottom of each post, you will see the words "Posted by _____ at _____." Next to that, you'll see the words "__ Comments." This is a link to the comment page. Click on the comment link and you'll be able to comment on the post and read comments that others left. Now, comment away!
We've already been back to work for several days now and I'm counting down the days until our next break! We have MLK day and the day after off, so I'll be very thankful for that four-day weekend in a little over a week. It's always rough getting back into the swing of things after a long break. I'm so thankful for the job that I have, though. It's going to be much easier on me being pregnant with this position than if I were still teaching Kindergarten. At least with this job, I get to spend a decent amount of time at my desk.

I've told a couple people at work about the baby and they've all been so excited. I immediately told my principal, because I had to make sure that I could get time off for doctor appointments. He is so wonderful about things like that. He told me I could leave early for appointments any time I need to without having to take time off. That will be so helpful since I want to save up all of the days I have for when the baby arrives. I've also told my assistant/right hand that works with me every day and the counselor, who is one of my best friends at work. Lucas also told a couple of his work friends. It is so very hard to keep this a secret, but we do want to keep it as quiet as possible until at least twelve weeks. Next Wednesday we go to the doctor, so once we find out for sure that everything looks perfect, we may tell a few of our good friends at church.

I figured out that if the baby comes at the time we are expecting, my twelve weeks will be over the Friday before Thanksgiving break. This is just perfect because I'll get one more week for Thanksgiving, then only have to work three weeks before a two week Christmas break. Even if I have to be out from work for bed rest, etc, my twelve weeks still doesn't start until the baby is born. If the baby comes before school starts, my twelve weeks doesn't start until school starts, so that works out perfectly.

I'm still feeling really good overall. I'm still a little bit tired, but not like I was at the very beginning. I mostly feel tired now after accomplishing tasks where I have to give a little extra effort. I do get nauseous every morning for just a few minutes, but it passes pretty quickly. I still get nauseous at the thoughts of certain foods, but if I just don't think about them, I don't have to worry about it. The problem is just that when you try not to think about a certain thing, you almost always think about it! Hopefully that will pass soon. I know I have been so fortunate to not be sick, and even when I do feel sick, I'm just so thankful for it. All of the sickness just reassures me that we have a sweet baby growing inside of me and I am praising the Lord for that every day!

Monday, January 3, 2011

Surprise, a blog not posted by Jenny. :-) I'm not as disciplined at posting to blogs like my beautiful wife, but I thought I better start now before our child is born.

So, yes, as everyone has learned already, Jenny is pregnant. I still don't think it has really hit me yet. I think one big reason is that I've been on vacation since we found out. Tomorrow is the day I head back to work. Once I get to start talking about it with the people I see every day I'm sure it'll become more real. However, I'm not sure how soon I'll start telling people since we're trying to wait until the first 12 weeks is over and we hear that sweet sound of a heart beat coming from our baby.

From the husband's side of this journey, I have different things to talk about. I hear that we're having a baby and my responsibility gene kinda kicks into overdrive. I immediately start thinking about my schooling that I'm going through right now and how I want to get through it as quickly as possible. I want to make sure that I'm able to provide for my family. Not that it wasn't extremely important up until now, but now I have a little baby to provide for. I know the Lord will provide, but it's hard for me not to worry about it just a tad.

I also wonder how to even raise this child. I'm sure every new parent feels this way at some point. I guess we all get a chance to figure it out as we go. I just pray that I'll be a good example and positive role model for our child. It actually puts me more at ease knowing that my wonderful wife has a lot of experience with children. She might have to "hold my hand" a little bit as I learn what I need to know.

Well, that's enough for one post. Back to work tomorrow. Back to life going at full speed.

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Christmas vacation has finally drawn to a close and we are REALLY sad! I am so not ready to go back to work tomorrow, and I'm pretty sure Lucas isn't, either. He's lucky enough to get one more day off, though, so I'll be suffering through the day at work all by myself...well, with millions of others, I guess.

We had a great New Year's weekend. On Friday night, Brett and Rachel came in and we all spent the night at Mom and Dad's. It was a nice little slumber party. We got to tell them the news soon after they arrived, and they were both very excited! On Saturday we had Christmas morning with them, which was so much fun! My Mom always does the best stockings, and Dad adds a few contributions of his own, as well. Each year, he gets us all scratch-off lottery tickets. This year, I was the winner of the highest amount, which was $14. In fact, I think this is the highest amount ever won in the many years we've been doing it. With all the great things that happened in December, it must've just been my lucky month! ;-)

We had lunch Saturday with Grandpa, Grandma, and Granny, and then spent the afternoon and evening out shopping and shooting and eating even more. Today, everyone came to church with us at The Branch. It was very nice to get to have them all there, especially on our first day to be doing a Sunday morning instrumental service in the sanctuary. They got to experience a history making day for The Branch! It went really well, and we were excited for it. After lunch at Cheddar's, we said goodbye to Brett and Rachel and headed home for our last few hours of freedom. I got to take a nice nap with the weenies and then we watched a movie together. It was a great end to a great vacation.

I'm still feeling pretty good. I'm starting to get a bit more nauseated, but it's only in very small amounts, and it usually goes away pretty fast. When I think about food, I start to feel sick. The actual eating of the food, though, is no problem. Speaking of food, Lucas and I are going to get back on the healthy eating straight and narrow tomorrow. This has been a rough few weeks, and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I've gained a few too many pounds. Definitely more than I should be gaining at the beginning of pregnancy. I guess it just fell at a bad time with the holidays. I expect to lose a little now that we'll be back to our good eating habits, but I'll definitely be discussing it with the doctor next week to find out what is healthy for me and the baby as far as eating and weight loss go. I don't want to be depriving the baby, but I want to do my best to gain as little as possible throughout the pregnancy.

Please keep praying for us! We want nothing more than a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby to be delivered in August.