16 Weeks

We went to the doctor again today. We finally got to hear the heartbeat! It was so cool! However, Dr. Jarrett was not very happy with my weight gain so far...5 pounds! She said I'm about 10 pounds behind so I need to gain at least 4 pounds in the next 4 weeks. I've never had to gain or lose weight before so this may be tough, but it's worth it! (If you had a hard time gaining weight while pregnant and have any tips, I'm open to suggestions!)

I was told last night that it had been a while since I posted. And it's true. I didn't realize how long it had been! However, there really hasn't been too much going on. My parents are in town so we've been spending a lot of time with family and starting new traditions. After watching The Nativity Story last night, Phillip and I decided we want that to be part of our Christmas tradition with our children. I guess we need to get a copy of our own for next year!

And it's done!

The party was a success. We had 15 people, which is more than last year, but it was too late last night to think about counting how many we had last year. We have leftovers of all the good stuff...oh wait, that's everything! Anyway, on to the rest of the busy week, where someone else gets to do all the work and I can just enjoy it!

Busy, busy, busy

This past weekend was busy. Not terribly busy, but busy enough. Friday night, Phillip cooked hamburger & sausage for me so I could make stuff when I got home. We made the sausage balls together (that was fun!), then I spent another hour or so in the kitchen making sausage dip, hamburger dip, and crab dip. Fortunately, all together, it only took about 2 hours to get all that done.

Saturday morning, we went and picked up Jenni to meet my parents for brunch at Waffle House before the Abilene High/Hebron football game. What a game!!! It was a 20-yard line to 20-yard line game. So, Abilene High will play Pflugerville at Texas Stadium on Saturday...I don't think we'll make this one, but I'm sure it will be a great game! Then after we got home, I made zucchini bread.

Yesterday, I worked for about four and a half hours without a break. (Yes, I know I should have taken a break and put my feet up, but I didn't even realize that much time had passed!) But, I got the banana bread, almond tea and strawberry bread made, after a few phone calls to Mom & Jenni! (No party planning is complete without them!) I also got the table set and ready for Tuesday night.

Tonight we have a school board meeting at which Phillip will receive his Apple Corps award. Then we're on to Jenni's Christmas party for what usually amounts to a preview of our own party! While not all the food is the same, much of it is! After all, we grew up in the same family and have the same holiday favorites!

Wednesday is church, Thursday is Life Group (with a white elephant gift exchange). Then, Friday my office is having a Christmas party at the Gaylord Texan! I am really excited about this because I've never been there and I hear we're having a great meal.

Saturday, Phillip and Jenni are going car shopping because her car is literally wearing out. It's time! So, I'll be at home wrapping presents (maybe buying a few on the way home!), ironing, cleaning up from the week. Hmmm....I might even put my feet up and rest!

Test results--GREAT news!!!

I'm not 100% sure what "before the test" means, but I guess it's just factoring in my age, race, etc., and the baby's age. And, I guess "after the test" also factors in the amount of fluid at the base of the neck (from the ultrasound) and the blood results.

Before the test, our risk of Downs syndrome was 1 in 590. After the test, our risk is 1 in 3,500.
Before the test, our risk of Trisomy 18 was 1 in 2,000. After the test, our risk is 1 in 10,000.

It would appear, then, that we have a healthy baby!!!!

It was bound to happen and it finally has. I have a cold. Being sick is bad enough, but knowing that there's probably not much you can do about it is worse. (No, I haven't checked with my doctor about any medicines, but I don't normally take anything for colds because they don't last too long anyway.) But, I can say that Tylenol works wonders for the aches that a cold brings!

Here's the picture we got on Friday.

Thank you!

The test went well. It was just an ultrasound (where we got to see the baby jumping a little!) and a fingerprick for blood. We should have the results next Wednesday or Thursday. Thanks for your prayers!!

12 weeks

Yea!!!

I just have to brag on Phillip a little. Mesquite ISD (where he works, for those who don't know) has an award called Apple Corps. It's only given to a few teachers and it's a really big deal. The honorees are nominated by their peers. Well, Phillip just found out that he is an Apple Corps teacher! For those of you who know, this has been a hard year for Phillip, so this should be quite a boost to him.

Congrats, honey!

Sara W was closest in the weight gain contest. But, actually I gained 0 pounds since my last visit on October 17!

In other news, tomorrow at 9:00 I will have a nuchal translucency screening. It's a routine test and I don't expect anything will be wrong, but I'm still a little nervous. Thankfully, Aunt Jenni will be there with me so at least I won't be alone. If you would, please say a little prayer for me then that I will be calm and not too nervous!

Our second appointment

Today's our second doctor appointment. Anyone want to hazard a guess on how much weight I've gained since the last visit? I'll post the answer later, but there's no prizes this time. Sorry! I'll have to think up something for a big prize at the end if you can correctly guess when we have the baby!

Start spreading the news!

Okay, we've told family now, so it's time to start sharing with the world.

We went to Bronte for Thanksgiving and made our announcement on Thursday at lunch. Everyone was excited. Phillip called his grandpa since he couldn't be with us for lunch (he's had shingles and didn't want to get anyone sick).

Friday we came to Abilene and told my granddad at dinner. He was excited, but got very emotional, saying, "Mommy (Grandmommy) sure would be proud!"

In other news, we have a crib and changing table!

We climbed up in the attic and looked at the crib that Jenni and I used as babies and it follows enough of the safety guidlines for me. Mom and I put together enough to figure out how it works and see that it needs some repair work before we can actually use it. We'll work on getting that done, but all we'll need to buy in that respect is a new mattress. (I figured the one that's 30 years old and been in the attic or outside storeroom could really use replacing!)

The changing table has been consistently in use for the last 31 years, mostly as shelves or an entertainment center. But it is time, once again, to be used for its rightful purpose. My grandpa built this for my sister in 1976 so I figure it will work for our baby as well.

Quick update

So far, the baby has been pretty nice to me. I haven't really been sick, though there are moments when my stomach just isn't "right." But, I've made it this far. I suppose I can make it seven more months!

In other news, I had my first baby dream last night. In the dream we had a little...well, we had a baby!

Off to work...I've got a lot to do today.

The long-awaited picture

Or, at least, it was for us! (If you can't interpret, let me help....the black spot in the lower left part of the circle is the brain. The body goes up and to the right from the head. When this was taken, the baby was about 1" long.)

I'm so sick of crackers!! But, it's either eat crackers (or Pop Tarts, which have WAY more calories, fat, etc., than saltines) or get sick. I guess I'll keep buying saltines! Gotta keep something in my stomach. :-)

An eventful day...

Last Friday was one of the more eventful days since I've been pregnant. I was in a car wreck! Fortunately, I was not in my car and it was not my fault. My car was at the dealership for the 45,000 service so I was in a loaner car. I was on my way back to the dealership to pick up my car when a lady turned in front of me. I hit her and she says she was hurt so the ambulance & fire truck came to treat her. The police showed up to take our statements. She admitted that it was her fault and since she has insurance, her insurance will take care of getting the dealership's car fixed. I was not hurt, but I think I'll call my doctor today just to see if she wants to see me.

Update: I found out this morning, however, that the other driver is not insured after all. While she had a valid insurance card that didn't expire until next February, the collision center called her insurance company and found out that the customer cancelled the policy last May. (Yes, the card was valid for one year!) So, it looks like we'll get to pay our $250 uninsured motorist deductible (at least initially). We may take her to small claims court to try to get that reimbursed. We'll see what happens!

First sonogram!

We had our first sonogram today! Too bad we don't have a scanner or I'd put it up here. I'll just have to wait until Thanksgiving when we're at my parents' house. Anyway, our baby is measuring at 7 weeks, 5 days so our due date is now June 11. Of course, that will probably change MANY times between now and then, but it's all an estimate anyway. But it was so cool! We could see the head and the brain and, of course, the heartbeat.

We had yet another celebration dinner. This time we went to Johnny Carino's and brought home half of it. Dinner for another night!

8 weeks

The second reveal

We went to Lubbock this weekend for a Tech football game. Friday night, however, we got to tell Phillip & Martha they're going to have a new grandbaby! They were excited and surprised. They figured we'd wait until Phillip got a principal job. I told them that we were trusting that God would provide for us and our little one.

The game was fun, but diasppointing because Tech lost. We did some shopping after the game so now our little one has some Tech clothes to make it through its first year!

The first reveal

We arrived in Abilene about 4:10 and unloaded, got settled, etc. My dad called about 4:20 to tell us to read Jenni's blog (Friday's post is a MUST read!) and that he would be home about 4:30. So, he was and we all got ready to go up to the Homecoming Carnival. Just as we were getting ready to leave, I handed my parents the gift. They opened it and Mom gasped and just stood there in shock. Gave me a big hug, then we told them they couldn't tell anyone until Thanksgiving. She was super excited and a little shocked. But very happy. (They're going to be Grandpa & Pearlie. My mom's grandmother was Pearlie, too.)

Jenni got her gift later in the evening. She's excited about another baby to spoil!

...while such side effects as nausea, backaches, and leg cramps are part and parcel of creating a healthy infant, they aren't much fun for Mom. "The baby is taking you over," says Dr. Moore, "and he isn't doing it for your well-being."
-Barbara Rowley, Parenting.com (emphasis mine)

What a great quote!!

The first picture

Excited?

I never thought I would be excited about going to the doctor. But, I am. Tomorrow is our first prenatal appointment. I think I'm excited because this means I'm really pregnant. Not that I'm not without the appointment, but I really haven't felt pregnant. I suppose that is a good thing though, because that means I'm not throwing up!

What frustration!!

We had a frustrating morning. Based on the paperwork I was given at Dr. Jarrett's office, I understood that the ultrasound was at the Outpatient Center of Doctor's Hospital. When we showed up, they didn't have me on the schedule, so the receptionist made a few calls trying to see if someone could come in. After about 10 minutes, Phillip suggested that we just reschedule. So, we left there and headed over to Babies R Us (just to see what's there--a LOT, it turns out!). On the way over, Dr. Jarrett's office called and checked on me because I hadn't shown up for my ultrasound. As it turns out, we were supposed to go to her office! But, no one had ever told me that. So, I talked to Dr. Jarrett and we rescheduled the ultrasound for October 22, just to make sure everything is looking okay.

Actually, it's not the worst thing that we had to reschedule. I still don't have information on my new health insurance which was effective October 1. This will give me a couple days to keep hounding Neil and get the info I need before we go in on Wednesday.

5 weeks, 5 days

It has finally caught up to me. The tiredness. I wasn't sure I would make it home yesterday! So, after Grace Cafe, we just went home instead of staying for class. I went to bed about 8:30 and slept until 4:00, when I had to get up and go to the bathroom. Fortunately, I was able to go back to sleep until 5:15 when it was time to really get up. Guess I need to start going to bed earlier!!

5 weeks, 4 days

Weird comments

Last night, as Phillip & I were eating dinner, I told Phillip I felt like all I do right now is eat, drink, and go to the bathroom. He said, "Sounds just like being a baby!"

4 weeks, 4 days

I went to the doctor today. The appointment was already scheduled for my annual exam, but since I'm pregnant, they just took down my vitals and information about this pregnancy. They also took blood & urine so that could be all ready for my next appointment in two weeks. We have our first ultrasound on October 10! Our first prenatal appointment is on October 17.

4 weeks, 2 days

We're pregnant! (Or, rather, I'm pregnant!) I took a test this morning, but wasn't sure if it was positive or not, so I spent the day wondering and freaking out a little. I didn't tell Phillip this morning because he was sleeping in (Fair Day!) and I wasn't positive. But, when I got home this afternoon (before Phillip, thankfully), I had time to take another test and it was POSITIVE!! I paced around, waiting for Phillip to get home, then waiting for him to see the present I had left on the dining room table. Once he finally saw it and opened it, he just stared at the framed scripture I had given him then stared at me. (It said, "We have prayed for this child. I Samuel 1:27") Then I tackled him and hugged him. We went to Steak & Ale to celebrate and tried to keep our excitement contained, just a little!

When we got home, I called Cara. Once I got her to stop talking, I told her the test had been positive. She was shocked! She was all prepared to give me hope about next time!! :-) Justin told her that he can't cross-stitch, but he'd try! Phillip called Kevin, but he wasn't home so he had to wait until Kevin called him back. They are super excited for us too.

It's perfect timing, too, since we'll be seeing both of our parents in the next couple weeks. Now, if we can just keep our mouths shut!! :-)