Hurry up...no wait!

I  am a bad blogger. End of story. I always think about blogging but its the doing it that I struggle with...which leads to long posts like this one to catch everyone up!

Well January and February have been pretty good/easy on me.  But, here's what I'm learning so far: That a pregnancy pillow is a MUST, and that even skinny girls' legs can be unrecognizable at the end of the day.(Are those spider veins on my FEET?!) Propelling myself from the bed is almost like a second alarm to my brain. I can gain thirty pounds. (Yes, you read that right. The goal is forty per my doctor so I'm pretty sure I've got it covered.) There's practically no healthy food unless if came from your own garden, and everything is full of chemicals. The decaf department is seriously lacking in options and flavors. Our bathroom stalls at work are not made with overweight or pregnant ladies in mind. (I'm not sure why this is such a pet peeve...oh pregnancy!) I have come to terms with flats... Goodbye all cute heels/wedges, see you after baby. If food was a person, it would be in my "favorites" on my iPhone. We spend a lot of quality time together: at work, in the car, on the couch. I've lost sight of my waist, that dreaded fear of mine. I'm proud to say I don't think Nathan even knows that. (If you're lost, then never mind. Trying not to pull a full blown TMI.) Sometimes babies kick places that should be off limits. I could add many more! This is such an interesting experience, this pregnancy stuff!

We spent the last half of our Valentine's Day date baby shopping at Buy Buy Baby and Babies R Us. It was a bit overwhelming and the first time we had really tried to get an idea of everything we will need. We picked out a crib and pushed strollers around in the store and walked out with a bag of maternity clothes! We decided on a mini crib since the baby will be in our room and we want as much room to walk around as possible. I decided to make the crib skirt myself and here's the pretty gold shimmer polka dot fabric I'm using.

It took me weeks and weeks to decide on a theme but here are my Pinterest inspirations:

 

I can't wait to see how it all turns out and I'll be sure to post pictures!

 

I have my first baby shower in a few weeks, and it's so weird to be the one being "showered" instead of the one hosting! It's exciting, though!

 

I can't wait to meet this little girl! I can't decide if I want time to speed up or if I'll miss these little moments where she is constantly with me. Thank you, God for this little blessing.

 

Little Kicks

We had a great Christmas(other than the dreaded "flu" bug hitting all but 1 of the 22 of us! I wasn't very lucky.) We traveled to Michigan which is about a 14 hour drive from us. Let me tell you...traveling pregnant is not the most fun thing I've ever done. Out of the car every 2 hours to get the circulation going again is rather annoying. But I did it, lol.

In other exciting news, on December 29th, I was lying in bed and I felt the first kick from the outside! What a moment! I told Nathan to put his had on my belly and he was able to feel it too. Amazing how I could go from feeling a tiny tap here and there on the inside to full blown kicking, but so far, baby wakes me up in the morning with kicking and we go to bed with kicking. Baby also has found it's favorite side and I often have a "mound" the size of my fist on the right side. I'm sure it won't be as cute in another ten weeks so I'll enjoy it now. Our next appointment is coming up this Thursday and it's our gender ultrasound so stay tuned for our announcement!

This week I have spent a lot of time pondering what it will really mean to be a parent. The responsibility and seriousness of it can be overwhelming. You are responsible for another human's care and well-being. Being Christians, we also feel that we have a great responsibility to teach our child about God's love and grace and salvation. Such an important job. I know that God will be faithful to lead and direct our little family and I'm fully trusting in Him.

Guns or Glitter?

At my monthly checkup today I'd gained 8lbs! My doctor had told me she would like to see a pound per week during this trimester and a total of 40 pounds by full term(I've used her for almost nine years and she has never seen me gain weight.) and I doubled it! You all have no idea how happy that made me! I'm drinking Ensure along with eating as much as possible now that I'm no longer having any sickness, so she was pleased and told me to continue what I was doing.

 Daddy has yet to be able to come to any appointments so we are planning for him to be at our anatomy ultrasound in January. January can not come fast enough! I'm torn between the whole "enjoying my pregnancy" and wanting to fast forward to knowing the gender. I don't have a preference at all, but have called baby a "he" since the beginning, even without thinking, so I'm curious to see if it's a mommy intuition thing or not :) Daddy would love a little hunting buddy but I have a feeling he would make one out of a boy or a girl!

Sometimes He calms the storm. Really.

Had my appointment to see if the hematoma had shrunk and Praise God, not only did it shrink- it's completely gone! A huge answer to prayer! I had been so worried about it, and could not think about anything else for the past two weeks. Bed rest was looking like a serious possibility if it was still there. Storm calmed. Resume breathing.

Here's a picture we got today- baby looks less like a gummy bear and more like a real baby. This baby might actually be our little miracle baby.

Is this our time?

Fall is here! Fall is my favorite so I'm really excited to wear my boots and cozy sweaters. But winter can stay away as long as it wants!

On September 9th I took a pregnancy test, after not feeling just right for a couple days(tired with headaches mainly) and voila! Of course, since this is my third positive pregnancy test, I'm very aware that I can't get my hopes up just yet.

September 9th- so very faint!

 

Two days later- getting darker!

 

9/25/14- Ultrasound only showing a sac. Feeling very sad and hopeless again. Totally preparing for another loss.

 

10/3/14- Another ultrasound showing not only a sac but a heartbeat! Also heard it! Hi baby!

The doctor also saw a small bleed to the side of the placenta that she wants to keep an eye on. Follow up appointment set for 10 weeks.

 

10 week ultrasound. Strong heartbeat of 182 bpm! Watched him/her dance around, it feels so unreal that it's going on inside me! Bleed is still there. Very nervous about it. Following up again in two weeks.

 

Every day is like a year long while I wait to see if this bleed goes away. On the bright side, I have a tiny bump!

 Next ultrasound next week!

August Update

Oh boy- now to remember where I left off!

I waited ever so un-patiently for good news during August, but it seemed my body just did not want to cooperate at all. Another failed Clomid attempt.

The last weekend in August, Nathan and I went on a long weekend trip to Louisiana, Mississippi and the Alabama Gulf. We had a really good trip and we laughed harder during the car ride there than we have in a really long time.

We stayed with his brother and his family while in Louisiana and then drove to New Orleans from there. We drove around the city and saw the sights(and there were many to see that I wasn't expecting that day).

Had a fun time away before getting back to school prep for Nathan. On to September!

He's got this!

It's 11:45 pm and I've got to be at church bright and early to teach the teen Sunday school class- but I just feel so much inside right now that I decided to post instead of going to bed.

Over the past couple of days I just keep coming across scripture and quotes that summed up say "I've got this, I love you, I will use this and I will use you." How awesome to think about God taking our situations and using them for GOOD!!

I'm currently cd 9 and just finished my last Clomid pill tonight for this cycle. Praying for a miracle as always but with the confidence that God knows my situation. 

"I surrender to You, Lord. Daily."

(G'night y'all!)