Thursday, April 30, 2009

Baby Blueberry - 7 Weeks


So I sent out my 7 weeks note to my list of people and this was Mariam's new suggestion: We need to name the baby each week as it grows until you pick a real name. Like this week lets call your baby "Baby Blueberry". At 8 weeks we can say, "Baby Grape" so I'll always know the size!


I LOVE IT! :)
Here is what it has to say about this week: Baby's brain -- both hemispheres! -- is growing fast, generating about 100 new cells every minute. Arms and legs are emerging as joints start to form, and a permanent set of kidneys (baby's third!) is now in place.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Announcement to Close Friends









Today I went to Alpha Phi Alumnae Tea at the sorority house in Denton. You know you are getting old when they have moved your composite picture upstairs (aka it's not current anymore and more than 4 years old). You also know you are getting older when your grand-little goes alum and no one in the house knows who you are when you walk in. HA HA! Anyways, I decided this would be the best time to tell all of my girls that I am pregnant since I did not know when I was going to see them again all together.

I handed them an envelope and told them that I had a present for them and that they had to open it at the same time. In the envelope was my sonogram. They all started cheering and of course were so excited. They asked if it was me. HA HA! They could not believe that I had not told them earlier. I told them that I was waiting to tell them all in person instead of over the phone.

After telling them and the alum tea, we went to this place called "Fuzzy's Taco Shop." I had to include that in this blog beause I thought that the name was too funny. I mean who wants to eat at a place that has "Fuzzy" in the name? It made me think of "Moldy Taco Shop." HA HA! Come to think of it, a taco sounds really really good right about now!

Thursday, April 23, 2009

There's a Heartbeat! - 6 Weeks, 4 Days



Well after last week's triumphs, we got to end this week on a good note. I went in for a follow-up sonogram due to the fact of all of my cramping and sickness last week. Since Eric was not able to take off work again today, my mom and his mom went with me to the doctor.

Good news...we saw (not heard...it's too early) a little heartbeat! He/she was beating at a strong 126 beats per minute (normal for 6 weeks, 4 days). They told me that the baby is about the size of a Rice Krispie right now (soooo tiny!). He/she will be soon be the size of a Gummy Bear, and then a Teddy Gram soon after that. We are so excited!

Today we called my paternal grandparents (Grandma Lois and Padre), Eric's grandmother, and Eric's side of the family to let them know that we are officially pregnant and that we saw a heartbeat today. Everyone was more excited than we expected. Here are some of their reactions:

Joyce's (Eric's paternal grandmother), "Grandmother", reaction: "Well, I was having just the most boring day. All I did was play bridge. I prayed that something good would happen to me because it's been so boring around here. Ohhhhhh...this is the best news I have heard in so long. You made my day! Everything has just happened in the right order for you guys. Eric went to college, you guys had a beautiful wedding, and now I am going to be a great-grandmother to another baby!"

Mama Mona's (my maternal grandmother) reaction: "Yea! My official new name is "GREAT Mama Mona"...make sure to put an emphasis on GREAT!"

Grandma Lois and Padre's reaction (my paternal grandparents): "Oh joy! We love you so much. We are so happy for you guys. We are going to get pictures along the way right? We are sooooo proud of you guys!"

We are so thrilled. Eric and I could not be more excited. Here is a picture of a picture of our sonogram. I will be having an official better quality scan of the picture up soon (hopefully tomorrow).

Monday, April 20, 2009

6 Weeks and Counting



So here are some 6 weeks pictures...still not showing of course.

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Tonight is going to be a short post because I am so exhausted.

My doctor text me yesterday with the results of my blood test from Tuesday. Her text read: bHcg = 20,623 = good. I wrote her back saying, "I have no clue what that means, but as long as that is good then that's all that matters." She wrote back and said, "LOL. It means that your horomone level is progressing along nicely. Last time you were only at 500 so you are where you need to be..." What a relief.

Next appointment is on Thursday. We will make sure everything is still okay since I am still having some cramping. Last night was the first half-way decent night, however, it was not perfect yet. On Thursday, we should see a heartbeat. Since Eric can't go due to work, both my mom and his mom will be going to support me. Keep praying for us.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Little Scare

Well, we had a little scare yesterday. On Monday (April 13th) I hit my 5 week mark. I felt pretty good all day. I came home exhausted (I have been pretty exhausted over the last 2 weeks anyways, but I am getting more tired each day) and took a nap. I got up, ate dinner and then Eric and I went on a walk around the park with Caesar.

I came home and decided to take it easy. Since I had taken a nap, it took me a while to fall asleep. I am assuming it was around 11:30. At 1:30 a.m. I woke up with extremely sharp pains in my pelvic area...so sharp that it put me in tears. I tried to cry quietly as I lay in the fetal position so that I would not wake up Eric (the HEAVIEST sleeper in the world...ha ha). Well, his body must be adjusting (you know, they say that the dads have sympathy pains) because he actually woke up to my soft sobbing. He was great. We did everything we could (no heating pad allowed because as my OBGYN says, "You don't want to cook the baby.") for me to get comfortable. He was smart enough to come up with putting a hot towel on my tummy. I took a Tylenol (the only pain medicine you can take when you are pregnant) and then ate a few crackers and drank some water. It went on until 3:00 a.m. I felt so bad because Eric stayed up until he knew I was asleep. I guess he was pretty worried.

Tuesday I woke up feeling okay, but my pelvic area was pretty sore. After reading things on the Internet, we decided I needed to call the doctor. I called my doctor and they asked me to come in (my first pre-natal appointment was scheduled for next Tuesday, April 21st) that afternoon. I talked with my team and of course they were the best. The only appointment I could get into was at 2:10 which meant I would be leaving about 1:30ish (school ends at 2:45). They offered to split up my class and take care of them the rest of the day. No one even flinched when I asked them to help me out. I couldn't ask for a better and more understanding team honestly! I thank myself daily for God allowing them to choose me to be part of their team.

Eric met me at the doctor and we discussed things such as testing, family history, my history, and a few other basic questions. When I explained the pains I had been having she immediately wanted to schedule me for a sonogram because she was worried about an ectopic pregnancy (it means that the pregnancy forms in the Fallopian tubes instead of the uterus...it's very deadly OR that I had an ovarian cyst). Of course we were terrified. Since her sonogram person was not there, we were going to have to go over to Presbyterian Hospital to do one. Since I am only 5 weeks, it was also going to be an internal sonogram (they put the machine up in you and look around). Eric and I prayed the entire time as we drove over there only to sit an hour in the waiting room. I guess that's what happens when you don't have an appointment.

We went into the room and did the internal sonogram. We were quite relieved to find out that in fact, the pregnancy had NOT formed in either of the tubes and I did NOT have an ovarian cyst. The sack was there, but the baby at that point was too small to show up (most show up in the middle of 5 weeks, where I was only at 5 weeks and one day = too early to show up). She said everything looks normal for that point of the pregnancy. Now all we have to do is keep praying that everything goes well.

Last night the pains came on again around 11:30 p.m., but they only lasted until 12:30 a.m. I can honestly say I have the best and most supportive husband. He did not go back to sleep until he knew I was asleep. I guess God is getting us ready for sleepless nights!

Today I was completely exhausted. I came home and Eric took care of Caesar (he is a full-time job right now with the fact that he requires a lot of attention) while I took a nap. A few minutes after I got in bed, the cramping started up. It lasted for about 30 minutes. I am hoping that that was the only cramping I will have for tonight. We are prepared though. I have my water, Tylenol, trashcan, and crackers right by the bed. Pray for me tonight! I sure need some sleep to get me through tomorrow at school!

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Easter: April 12, 2009

Well, the hormone surge is definitely here! Yesterday Eric and I decided to actually work on the house (we have been bad over the last few weekends and have been taking it easy so this was our weekend to catch up). At about 11:00 we decided that he would do the yard while I did the inside of the house. About 2:00 rolled around and Eric came in to check on me. Our converstaion:

Eric: Hey honey...just coming to check on you. How are you doing?

ML (in the middle of sobbing): Well, I just cleaned the mirrors 3 times and they still have streaks. I have tried 409, All Purpose Cleaner, and Windex and NOTHING IS WORKING. Why will it not work? Will you try and see if it works for you? UGH!!!

Eric: Honey, take a break (as he tries not to laugh because he knows it's just the hormones and this is TOTALLY NOT my personality considering normally, I could care less if there are streaks...I just like to get the cleaning over with) and just relax.

ML: I want to take a break, but I can't...I HAVE TO FINISH so I can just take a nap. I am exhausted...and why am I crying over streaks on a mirror?

Eric: Just take a break and go outside and relax. You can come outside and lay down on the patio couch and watch me dig up weeds. Come on, it will be fun!

ML: Okay...but I need a hug!

Of course he gave me a huge hug and then made sure I did actually go outside with him.

Yep, the hormones were flying. I was probably not the most pleasant person to be around yesterday (in fact, I felt quite bad after realizing how I had acted), yet I know that I couldn't help it. The littlest things are setting me off right now. When I was mopping the floor, Caesar (our 4 month old puppy) decided to run through the wet area. That made me cry too. Eric really made me feel a lot better as he supported me through the day. I am sure he was ready to get rid of me by the end of the day though...ha ha! I am sure it helped to have Jenna and Noelle over for dinner last night. It took off some of the edge. :)

Today we went over to my parents' house for Easter lunch. It was my mom, James, Susan (my sister), Chris (her boyfriend), Eric, and I. We had a blast.

After going over to mom's, we headed over to Eric's parents' house. I felt so bad, but as soon as we got there, I HAD to have a nap. I don't know why I have been so tired recently. I took an hour nap which I felt like I had slept a century. We had fajitas for dinner. Another blast!

At both houses of course we talked about the baby that's on it's way. It's so fun to know that soon we are going to have our own little family. We are so blessed to have families that care so much and are both so excited! We keep praying that all goes well with our little one that is in my belly as I approach 5 weeks tomorrow.

Off to work tomorrow after a 3 day weekend. (We had Friday off because of Good Friday). Keep us in your thoughts and prayers!

Friday, April 10, 2009

It's Official...








I am 4 weeks pregnant! Eric and I decided back in late February that we would start to plan our own family. We sure didn't think it would only take just ONE MONTH!

Friday, April 3, 2009, we were about to head out the door to go to Sarah Seeley's going away party. We decided that it would be smart to take a pregnancy test (since I was due Monday and a test should show up positive if I was pregnant) to see if I could drink that night. I took the test and walked away to put Caesar in his kennel.

Noelle called in the mean time to tell us she had gotten to BJ's early. Then in the middle of telling her that we were running a few minutes late, Eric grabbed me and pointed to the test with a huge smirk on his face as he covered the pregnancy test (Note: I was still on the phone with Noelle). Of course, I took it as that he was playing a joke on me in that we were pregnant...and then I saw the results in all capital letters "PREGNANT." I had to celebrate so I told Noelle we were on our way and that I would see her shortly.

We went to dinner and saw tons of old friends. Do you know how hard it is to not tell your friends? There was so much excitement in us, however, we were not 100% sure of the results. After dinner we ran to the store and bought another brand of test. We tested again, and once again, with a different test, it read positive.

Saturday morning we were still in disbelief. How are we so lucky to be so blessed to be pregnant on the first try? We have several friends who it took several months, and others who are still trying. We know that we were so blessed because we have been praying that when the timing is right, that God would bless us with a baby. Sure enough, he answered our prayers. We just didn't think it would happen this fast!!! We decided to take one more test...and once again, positive. We were so excited that we did not want wait until Monday for a blood test (home pregnancy tests are not as acurate as blood tests) so we decided at 7:00 p.m. to go to Care Now in Allen. Care Now was EXTREMELY busy, so busy that there was an ambulance delivery and we heard that someone had cut their finger off (not the same incident). After waiting for over an hour, we decided to be the bigger and better people, and let them know that our visit could wait (we felt bad about the others) until the next day. Then of course they told us that we were next in line. Five minutes later we went into the back. They weighed me, took my temperature, and then we sat in a room and waited. The waiting felt like FOREVER! They had me do another urine test and shortly after that, the nurse came in to draw my blood. When she came in, she disclosed that the urine test was positive, yet we would have to wait until Monday to get our blood test results back. She said that after the nightmares they had had that night, it made her day to give the news that we were going to have our own little family now.

Sunday we told our parents, brothers, sisters, and grandparents. We are slowly telling friends as we see them. Everyone is busting at the seams. We requested that our family wait to tell their friends until after our first appointment.

Monday was quite stressful. We knew we were pregnant, however, you still wonder. I called Monday during my planning period, and sure enough, the results were once again that I am pregnant.

I have my first pre-natal visit on Monday, April 21st so pray that everything goes right.