Boy or Girl?

So originally, we had an elective ultrasound scheduled for January 8th to determine the sex of the baby…BUT I have a friend who just happens to be an ultrasound tech and she is just as ready to find out as we are! So she wants to go ahead and do a scan for us!  Seriously – she made my day yesterday when she texted me! (Thanks Callie!!!)  So hopefully today, we will be able to tell if our Junebug is a little boy or a little girl! Our waiting will hopefully come to an end!

We are so excited to find out we can’t even contain ourselves!  From the very beginning I immediately started referring to the baby with little girl pronouns.  I just have this gut feeling it’s a little girl… I could be wrong.  I realized it was very early in the pregnancy, and chances are my gut instinct is wrong… so I started interchanging male and female pronouns, because I refuse to call our baby an “it”.  This at times has caused confusion for overly excited grandparents (cough cough DAD), thinking that I left him out and didn’t share the sex of his unborn grandchild.  So obviously my guess is that we’re having a little girl, but Paul is thinking we are having a little boy!  One of us has to be right 🙂

So here are how the old wives tales are playing out for this pregnancy!

 Carrying High or Carrying Low?  So I don’t know about this one – websites say high is a girl, but then I’ve had people tell me that high is a boy.  I’ll just base it off the websites.   I am definitely carrying high! GIRL

Stealing Your Beauty or Dry Hands and Cold Feet?  My face hasn’t looked normal since about 6 weeks pregnant. GIRL 

Circle or Back and Forth? This refers to the motion of your ring when placed on a string over your belly.  There was a definite circle motion!  GIRL

Above 140 or Below 140?  This refers to the heartbeat.  We only have 1 ultrasound to go off of, but the heart rate was 156.  GIRL 

Salty or Sweet? I typically have a huge sweet tooth, but lately sweets just aren’t really my thing.  That doesn’t mean I don’t eat them… I totally am.  Just not craving them.  I’m not really craving much of anything though.  For this one I think I will go with BOY

Chinese Birth Chart?  According to this, based on my age at the month of conception we would be having a GIRL

Sick or No? Sick.  Definitely Sick. GIRL 

Now we hope and pray that our baby will cooperate today, and we will leave knowing if it will become Baby A or Baby N 🙂 We will see!!

Baby M – 16 Weeks

Bump Analysis? I went from barely having a bump to looking 6 months pregnant over night… or at least that’s how it feels.

Trimester? 2nd Trimester

Fruit of the week? Our baby is the size of an avocado! 4.6 inches long and 3.5 ounces!

Development? Baby M has little bones forming in their ears that allows them to hear my voice now!  The baby is also growing lashes, hair, eyebrows, and their taste buds are forming!

Movement?  I swear I’ve felt some flutters, but I can’t be sure if it is actually baby I feel…Still waiting to know for sure 🙂

Names? Our boy name is set in stone, and Paul is 100% with the girl name, and I think we’re about 90% on the girls name!  January 8th we find out if we’re having a little boy or girl, and maybe that will help us decide!

Testing? The results for the NT exam came back great, so that is amazing news 🙂

Weight Gain? 3 lbs as of this morning – but that bump looks like a lot more than 3 lbs.

Symptoms?  Still having some headaches and dizzy spells.  Paul doesn’t even ask anymore when I grab onto him and try to steady myself.

Cravings? Not really craving anything – the other day I wanted a donut.  Does that count?

Aversions? Still not feeling the poultry.  The smell of BBQ is terrible.  I want nothing to do with it, and I’m pretty sure I’ll never eat buffalo chicken dip again.

Sleep?  I fall asleep on my stomach every night, but I wake up multiple times throughout the night on my back.  I think my body is letting me know that stomach sleeping won’t last much longer, and then I’m pretty sure I’ll never sleep again.

Maternity Clothes? Still wearing all my normal clothes, but I did bust out my belly band this week so my shorts were more comfortable.  I also washed the entire bag of maternity clothes my sister gave me to get them ready.  I’m sure I’ll be busting them out soon!

What I miss? Every night I put oil on before I go to bed to help with stretch marks and itchy skin.  I miss going to bed without being oily, but I guess I still have a long time before that happens right?

Looking forward to?  That big game on January 1st between our Noles and the Oregon Ducks… Time to go duck hunting!!! 🙂 Go NOLES!

Baby M – 15 Weeks

Bump Analysis? I feel like my bump has kind of popped out in the last week. It still isn’t super noticeable, and I am bordering on the weight gain belly and baby belly…

Trimester? 2nd Trimester

Fruit of the week? Our baby is the size of an orange! 4 inches long and 2.5 ounces!

Development? Baby M can move all their limbs and joints now!

Movement?  I swear I’ve felt some flutters, but I can’t be sure if it is actually baby I feel…

Names? Our boy name is set in stone, and Paul is 100% with the girl name, but I just keep going back and forth.  I love the name, but is it the right name for my baby??  January 8th we find out if we’re having a little boy or girl, and maybe that will help us decide!

Testing? Still waiting on the test results of the NT exam

Weight Gain? Still holding steady at 1-2 lbs.

Symptoms? Headaches. Lots of headaches!  I get dizzy spells frequently when I stand up.  I think we’ve determined that my dry skin is eczema so between that and breaking out, pregnancy is a great look for me… NOT.

Cravings?  My frosted flake kick lasted about a week.  Now I’m back to not craving anything, but nothing sounds good either.  Which makes eating a lot of fun.

Aversions? Still not feeling the poultry.

Sleep?  During the first trimester I was tired and blah, and I would nap occasionally but that was about it.  The last week or so, I’m sleeping about 8-10 hours a night and I can still nap during the day.  Don’t get me wrong, I have a lot more energy during the day and I’m being more productive around the house.  I’m cooking again and we have clean clothes (which is always a good thing), but sleep is just a happy thing right now.  I guess I’m just enjoying it while I can? 🙂

Maternity Clothes? Still wearing all my normal clothes, just not liking the way they look 🙂

What I miss? I still just want my coffee from Starbucks – the holiday flavors are out!  So I think this week I’ll be stopping to get a Peppermint White Mocha 🙂

Looking forward to?  Spending our first Christmas in our new home surrounded by Paul’s family!

You Think I Would Have This Figured Out by Now…

Looking back it’s almost humorous.  All the times I get impatient, or I don’t understand why something is happening, when in reality I don’t need to.  I know that God is in control, and I just trust in Him and His ultimate plan.  I thought He taught me this lesson at the beginning of this year, but I think He likes to teach things again, just to drive the lesson home so to speak.  Let’s just look back and laugh at all the times in 2014 I was frustrated, and God’s plan prevailed perfectly.

• Paul’s back issues brought him to the ER, and in the midst of my husband’s pain, God taught me to let go of my money issues… Doesn’t make sense?  You can read about it here.
• Paul and I went back and forth about getting a new car.   We finally decided it was in our best interest for his job since he was spending so much time on the road.   Almost 2 months to the day, God laughed at us, and provided Paul with a new job that also came with a company car.  We have since sold my car, and now I’m driving the car we thought we were buying for Paul.  1 Car = 1 car to insure.
• New job meant moving out of Tallahassee, and Paul and I couldn’t quite figure out where we wanted to be.  We had decided on Palm Coast Beach, up until his boss told him Orlando was “strongly encouraged”.  So to Orlando we came… not very enthusiastically.  Aside from my parents and brother, we weren’t too excited to be in the crazy big city that engulfs central Florida.  Why here?  …. keep reading…
• New job for Paul in Orlando, meant new job for me. Except God dealt us another hand, and gave me the opportunity to keep working for a company I love, and to work from home.  Could that prayer have been answered any more perfectly?
• Paul and I decided money and situations may never be perfect or ideal for bringing a new baby into the world, but if you let that stop you, you may never have the baby or family you’ve always dreamed of.  Back in March we started trying for our little family regardless of how much money we made, and regardless of the fact that our house was not big enough.  Month after month I would cry trying to figure out why getting pregnant was SO EASY for people (it seemed especially easy for people on my Facebook Newsfeed!).   (*Disclaimer: Paul and I did not have issues getting pregnant, I was just impatient.  I thank God every day that we were able to get pregnant, as I know many women struggle with infertility, and their dream is to be a mom)  I knew God had a plan, and I kept reminding myself of that, but I still felt disappointment each month knowing that God decided that wasn’t quite the time for us to get pregnant.  Why not ?? ….keep reading…

That brings us to today.  Where God has answered each and every prayer, and provided for us beyond our wildest dreams.  Paul got a new job with more security, and gave us even more financial stability.  It brought us to Orlando… 5 minutes from my parents to be exact (perfect when you’re expecting your first baby).  I now work from home.  Last but not least, within 2 weeks of moving, we finally got that positive test we had been waiting for.  We didn’t see God’s big picture from the beginning, we only saw His plan as it unfolded day by day, but in the end His plan is so incredibly perfect.  God has never given me a reason to doubt His plan.   I sometimes get frustrated and have to remind myself that He has a plan, but after all the ways God has provided for us…. don’t you think I would have this all figured out by now?

“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” – Jeremiah 17:7-8

First Trimester and Road Trips

**Disclaimer: If you don’t like to read about puking, or you’re currently eating just go ahead and skip this blog post**

Morning sickness is really common for most women.  I started dreading it and anticipating when it would kick in since we found out I was pregnant.  My sister had terrible morning sickness, and I was just waiting for my turn.  Lo and behold, it came and it conquered me.  It’s not that big of a deal if you’re home, and within close distance to a bathroom…but it’s definitely not fun when you’re driving.

Paul and I have gone to Tallahassee multiple times while I was going through morning sickness.  We’ve gone for work (I work in office about once a month), and we’ve gone for football games.  I’ve learned to keep a plastic bag in the glove compartment, and Paul has become an expert at pulling over on the highway or heading to the closest exit.

Our last few trips, when I was thinking that my morning sickness was pretty much over, it reared it’s head on our drive home.  It’s miserable.  It makes the drive so much longer, and seriously you’re either puking in a bag, swallowing it (yes – this happened… and then it made me puke again), or begging your husband to pull over.  If you say TMI – you can’t say I didn’t warn you.

So this is my PSA: if you’re ever pregnant and experiencing morning sickness, do not plan road trips during your first trimester…

Do I Need a Reason?

People aren’t kidding when they talk about pregnancy hormones… Holy smokes.  I think when all of this is said and done, Paul might throw a party.  Bless his heart, he’s so good at dealing with my crazy right now.  I think I’m starting to get more even keeled, but there was a while when the tears just came for whatever reason… Reasons like:

• There was a little boy (probably 3 -4) running past our table at a restaurant, and I cried.  This was right after we found out I was pregnant, so I just kept saying, “We’re going to have one of those!”
• We ran out of cheese… and I cried.  I struggled finding things I could eat during the first trimester, and the doctor recommended cheese and crackers.  One night before we went to bed, I started feeling sick again.  Paul said I should eat some cheese and crackers, and when I went to the fridge we were out of cheese.  Cue waterworks. Paul literally just looked at me and laughed… what else was he supposed to do?
• My shorts were too tight, and I cried.  I was about 6 weeks pregnant, and I got dressed for Paul and I to take the dogs on a walk.  When I put on my shorts, I immediately started crying, “It’s too early for my clothes not to fit!”
• The little girl in the wheelchair dropped her pom pom, and I cried.  Okay this probably would have had me crying if I wasn’t pregnant too.  We went to the Giants vs Jaguars game, and during halftime a bunch of little girls came out to do a dance with the “ROAR” of the Jaguars (seriously?  We can laugh at the name later… so dumb). There was a little girl in a wheelchair, and when I first saw her I was so glad she was there, but about 30 seconds in, she dropped a pom pom and she couldn’t get it.  She starts crying and NOBODY around her picked it up!  Finally about 30 seconds before the end of the dance, someone ran onto the field and handed her the pom pom.  At that point, she was too upset and just kept crying, and I cried right along with her.

It doesn’t take much these days to trigger tears, and I think if I had Paul make this same list it would be even longer.  These are just the ones I can remember off the top of my head.  I should go buy him some beer… or at least give him a big hug and kiss.

Pregnancy Update – 14 weeks

This picture was actually taken last week since my photographer (aka Paul) is out of town.

Bump Analysis?  In hindsight, this is a bad picture to use, because the scarf blocks any bump that there is.  I just look like I’m putting on some weight in my stomach area… waiting for the day I actually look pregnant.

Trimester? Hey there 2nd Trimester!! Woohoo!!

Fruit of the week? Our baby is the size of a lemon!  3.4 inches long and 1.5 oz!

Development? This week the kidneys, liver, and spleen start doing their jobs.  The baby is also growing peach fuzz like hair all over their body to keep them warm!

Testing?  We declined testing for Cystic Fibrosis, but apparently the labs were run anyways with the rest of my blood work.  The test came back negative which is good news, but now I get to battle the insurance company/lab on the nice bill we received in the mail. We went back and forth on the Nuchal Translucency (NT) exams (tests for down syndrome, other chromosomal abnormalities, and major heart defects).  I thought it would be a good idea to help prepare us if something was wrong, we would be able to research and look into specialists, etc, but it ultimately would not have changed our decision to continue the pregnancy.  After some discussions, we decided it was best for us to decline the testing, and to leave it in God’s hands… but when we got to the doctor last Thursday, that was apparently the only reason for our ultrasound.  We were so anxious to see our baby at this point, and did not want to wait until 20 weeks. So we did that test, and we are waiting on the results.  According to our Ultrasound Tech, everything looked good, they just needed to combine the measurements with more blood work.  It was totally worth it though, because it gave us these precious pictures of our little Junebug 🙂

  

Weight Gain? 1-2 lbs

Symptoms? Morning sickness is finally going away, meanwhile the dizziness and headaches are popping in more frequently.  I have areas of really dry skin on my face, and I’ve had to switch deodorants because I was having a reaction.  Pregnancy does weird things to your body…

Cravings?  Can I please have all the Frosted Flakes?  Seriously… all of them.

Aversions? Poultry, but strangely I am okay if it’s fried… go figure.  I can also eat it if I don’t see it prepared… I guess it’s the raw chicken that is really grossing me out.  I didn’t even have 1 piece of turkey on Thanksgiving.

What I miss?

• Coffee – particularly Starbucks Latte’s.  Yes I know I can have a little bit of caffeine, but I’m really trying to avoid it as much as possible.  A little sip here and there doesn’t hurt though.
• Publix Subs
• I’m not a big drinker, but all I’ve wanted since the week we found out we were pregnant is a margarita…

Maternity Clothes?  I am currently still wearing all of my clothes… but I’m in the awkward stage where my clothes fit, but they definitely don’t fit right.  For example, shirts are tighter than they should be, and I leave a hairtie around the button on my jeans.  They fit when I first put them on, but after I eat my stomach pops out, and then it’s just more comfortable to undo that first button!

Well Now that it’s Out There…

About 2 weeks ago, Paul and I officially announced that we are going to have a baby!

I think that also means I can come back to the blog world…I mean seriously, I am not a super private person and that was the hardest secret I’ve ever had to keep!  Every time I thought about a new blog idea, it included pregnancy! So now that it is out in the open, I’m back 🙂 I’m also going to answer the typical questions that have been bombarding me since the announcement!

How far along are you?  13 weeks 6 days

When are you due? After our last appointment, our due date was moved from June 23rd, to June 16th.  Let’s be real though, a due date is an estimate, and this baby is going to come on it’s own terms (we are just praying the baby is full term when it does!).  I’m just planning for the baby to arrive sometime in June.  I’m also already expecting the baby to share a birthday with SOMEONE in our family…

• Uncle John Kelly – June 2
• Father in Law – June 5
• Paul – June 9
• Nephew, Jackson – June 11
• Uncle Al Wynsma – June 14
• Auntie Paige Wynsma – June 16
• My cousin, Brett – June 20
• Me – June 24
• Auntie Mel – June 26

Do you want a boy or a girl? To be entirely honest, Paul and I have just been praying for a healthy baby.  We will be thrilled either way, but with that being said I think I am leaning towards girl.  Not at all because I wouldn’t love a little boy (for years I’ve always said I wanted to have a boy first), but because a little girl would be so close in age to the girl cousins on BOTH sides of the family!  How much fun would that be?!

• Kennedy – May 26, 2012
• Reese – November 10, 2013
• Juliana – February 21, 2014

Were you trying? At this point in our life, I don’t think this particularly matters one way or another.  To answer the question, yes.  Every month when I peed on those dang sticks (and there were a LOT of them), I was hoping and praying for a second line to appear.

When did you find out?  October 6, 2014.  Paul and I had just packed up and moved from Tallahassee to Orlando, and we had been in our new house for a total of 2 weeks.  Of all the months we were trying, this is the 1 month that I was not expecting to see a positive test.  With everything that was going on with our move, I just figured we would count this month out.  There was no particular reason for me to test, aside from the fact that my temperature spiked for the second time during my cycle (I was using a basal thermometer to help determine ovulation each month).

How did you tell Paul? So while we were trying, I had all these super cute ways of telling Paul we were having a baby.  I used to think of them, and look ideas up all the time.   When push came to shove, I didn’t do anything cute.  Paul came home from work that day, and I asked him to come sit down on the couch.  At that point, I showed him the test (mind you the line was SUPER SUPER faint!).  At which point, we also decided we weren’t going to be excited yet.  Since the line was so faint, we were worried it maybe was a dud.  The tests I was using were super cheap from Amazon, because I was peeing on way to many sticks every month, and our bank account would have hated me if I would have used drug store tests.  So I proceeded to pee on about 5+ more sticks that day, and then every day for the next week.  At which point, I decided they couldn’t all be duds!  So we spent about a week walking around talking about the pregnancy saying “IF you’re pregnant…”

Have you been sick?  Yes, the last two months have been pretty miserable.  I think at one point I even told Paul we aren’t doing this again, but I am definitely seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.  I only feel sick now when I wake up, and if I let myself get hungry.  As miserable as it’s been though, I am actually really glad I was so sick, because that seems to have been my only real symptom.  It was reassuring to me, especially since we didn’t have our first ultrasound until 12 weeks.  I knew as long as I was still getting sick, our little Junebug must still be hanging on okay 🙂

I think that about sums it up 🙂 Is it June yet??