18 Weeks

I will be 18 weeks pregnant tomorrow! This Wednesday is our BIG ultrasound and I cannot wait to know the answer to the big question. Will I be playing with trucks and attending t-ball games for the next few years or playing with dolls and going to dance recitals? We will know in 4 days and I am SO excited. I pray that we get a good picture. I can’t wait to start working on the nursery, school will be out in five short weeks (Hallelujah…no really, praise God…I survived this year!) and after that the big project begins.
I have had a few interesting symptoms this week. First (and best) of all I have started feeling random “tap-tap-taps” at night when I am lying down. They are very light but I am pretty sure it’s our sweet baby I am feeling. I can’t wait to I feel them often and Daniel can feel them. Secondly, I now don’t go anywhere without a bottle of Tums…heartburn is no fun. Thirdly, on Tuesday at about 1:00 a.m. I woke up very nauseated and spent some time on the bathroom floor thinking I had gotten some kind of virus. After about an hour or so of this I feel asleep and woke up totally fine the next morning. This morning (Saturday) around 4:00a.m. I woke up with the same feelings and symptoms and actually threw up three times around 2:00 p.m. I feel much better now, although I still have a bit of a headache. Morning sickness showing up at 18 weeks? Surely not… I cannot wait to see our precious angel on Wednesday to know he/she is healthy and everything is okay.
Thank you God for protecting our child, help me to feel better and I pray that this sickness is not a reoccurring one (although even if it is I know it will all be worth it in a few short months).

16 Weeks

Happy Easter!

I am 16 weeks, 2 days pregnant. I had a doctor’s appointment today and mom went with me. The appointment went really well. I have gained ten pounds so far and Dr. Wells said this was “perfect”, since I was nervous about this I feel much better now. We got to hear the heartbeat for the first time on the Doppler. The heart rate was 153 beats per minute. It was (as always) so wonderful to hear that little heartbeat! The biggest news of the day was that Dr. Wells said that I could get my BIG ultrasound done in two weeks instead of waiting four weeks. I am SO THRILLED!!! I cannot believe that in two weeks we will know whether or not we will be welcoming Jackson Perry or Claire Elizabeth into our family. (I am betting on Jackson…but we’ll see.) I am so excited and thankful about how wonderful everything has been thus far. My belly has really started growing (see above picture) and I am looking obviously pregnant these days. I have been feeling some flutters but am not totally convinced that it is the baby since I am wanting to feel the baby so badly. As I type I am feeling some slight cramps and stretching, this always makes me nervous but I know that it is just my uterus growing and stretching for this little guy/girl.
I praise God for this miracle and pray daily that HE continues to watch over our family and precious addition.

Dear precious baby,
Your daddy and I got to see you today! Although we have had two previous ultrasounds this was the first one where you looked like a baby and not a blob. You are so perfect. We watched you kick and squirm and I couldn’t do anything but smile, cry and thank God! We got some amazing pictures. You waved for us and even smiled real big in another picture. I love you so much! In eight weeks we will find out if you are a boy or a girl. We can’t wait. I have never been more thankful for anything and the thought of holding you in my arms in six months is surreal. I think about you and pray for you daily.
All my love,
Mommy

11 Weeks

I am 11 weeks pregnant and one week from today we have our next ultrasound. We are so excited because the technician said that our bean will now look like a baby. I can barely wait! I am so thankful for this pregnancy and how wonderful it has been so far. I have experienced zero morning sickness! I am completely exhausted and I am emotional but those are my only symptoms (except for my growing belly). Only two more weeks and I will be entering my second trimester! We will be 1/3 of the way there (that is so hard to believe). We are so close to holding our baby in our arms, it seems so surreal. I bought some maternity clothes and when I wear them I really look pregnant. If I am not wearing them, it really just depends on the day. I think it has more to do with being bloated than a baby bump these days. I plan on telling my kids at school the big news the day after my appointment. I know they will be excited.
I can’t wait to see our little Jackson or Claire (yes, those are our names so far) on the screen. I hope we get to see him/ her jump around. I really feel like it is a boy although all I want is a healthy baby. We should find out the sex in about six weeks. After that, let the shopping begin! Yippee!

Test Results

Praise God! I got a call from my nurse on Monday letting me know that I have a lifetime immunity to Fifth’s disease. We are so grateful to know that our baby is safe.
I am nine weeks pregnant tomorrow and will be breaking down and buying some maternity clothes this weekend. Not a lot of stuff, but I have to get some comfortable work pants at least.
I am counting down the days (23) until my March 16th ultrasound! I can’t wait to see our baby and him/her actually look like a baby! I am going to ask the technician if we can watch for a few minutes to see if he or she will move. Not long after that appointment I plan to make an announcement to the kids in my class who I know will be thrilled. (They ask me all the time when I am going to have a baby.)

Second Ultrasound/ Fifth's Disease

Exactly one month ago today I found out I was pregnant. I am eight weeks pregnant today! I am so excited. A lot has happened since my last entry. We had our second ultrasound on February 5th and we saw our sweet baby and HEARD HIS/HER HEARTBEAT! It was music to our ears! Praise God!!! After hearing the heartbeat we announced our news to the world, which has been a lot of fun. I am no longer trying to hide my “pootch” which I am not so sure has a whole lot to do with my lentil bean sized baby (but let’s pretend). Still no morning sickness (YAY!!!) my symptoms have included: total exhaustion, a face that looks like a pepperoni pizza (apparently my face didn’t get the memo that I was supposed to be “glowing”), and a bloated belly. I can’t wait until I am actually showing and it is obvious to the world that I am pregnant. (I’m sure it will come soon enough.)
Last Tuesday our school nurse talked to me about a child in my room who has been diagnosed with Fifth’s Disease. I was not familiar with this but apparently it is dangerous to pregnant women (especially in the first trimester) as it can cause the baby’s heart to stop. I called my doctor who had me come in for a blood test after school. She told me not to worry that chances are everything is fine but she has seen women who have miscarried because of being exposed. At a time when I can cry at a song on the radio it is hard to not allow this to consume me with “what ifs”. I know that God is in control and He already loves this child more than I ever could. She said my results would be in by Friday but after waiting by the phone all day I got a message that my results weren’t in and they would call me on Monday. My heart sank…I just want to hear those words “everything is okay”. In my heart I know it is, I trust in Him, but this is a scary time. Tomorrow is Monday so tomorrow my results should be in until then I will remember:
Isaiah 41:10So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Isaiah 41:13For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.

Proverbs 3:24 (don’t worry about this when you lie down to sleep-that’s when I worry)when you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

John 14:27 "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.

Thank you sweet Jesus for loving and taking care of this precious child!

First Ultrasound

So, we had our first ultrasound on Wednesday. I was so excited (and anxious) all day. I think those last few hours crawled by before our appointment. Daniel met me at the doctor’s office and they got us in pretty fast. I was holding my breath and praying and then there he/she was! It was amazing. I was a mess! I couldn’t stop crying as I saw our child for the first time. (Granted he/she looked more like a tiny cotton ball but at that moment all my worries melted away and I knew everything was going to be okay.)
They thought that I was seven weeks, five days pregnant and it turns out I was only five weeks, five days…a whole two weeks earlier than they thought! (I knew I was earlier, but two weeks…wow!) So my due date has changed from September 11th (I welcome the change!) to September 25th. I am surprised I even got a positive pregnancy test when I did. Because I am so early we were unable to hear the heartbeat but we did see it flickering on the screen. It was magical. We have another appointment for next Thursday to hear the heartbeat and as soon as we hear that glorious sound (which will be music to our ears) we are ready to announce our wonderful news to everyone. (I am wondering if our parents and my sisters are going to be able to wait this long!) I am so happy! Thank you Jesus for this precious child!
P.S. Since I am now only six weeks and one day all my old posts are wrong so we have to back track. I feel like my pregnancy is standing still for two weeks because I have already read everything through eight weeks. We are back to a lentil bean.