15 weeks

I have got to figure out another way to hold the fruit that doesn't cover my growing baby bump! 

I'm 15 weeks!

Pregnancy Highlights:

Due Date: October 18, 2013

How Far Along: 15 Weeks

Size of baby: Baby O is the size of a large navel orange!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 3 lbs

Maternity Clothes: I’ve started wearing my belly band around my work pants or will just wear linen pants that are drawstring at the waist. A few people (close friends and family) noticed that I’m beginning to show! I definitely have a feel that my tummy is protruding more and it very firm!

Gender: Can't wait to find out! I’m now thinking it’s a girl because I keep dreaming that it’s a girl, plus the strong heartbeat at each dr. visit!

Movement: None yet

Sleep: I’m sleeping great and hard! I love that I remember my dreams so much more during pregnancy!

What I miss: Caffeine & Boiled Crawfish (I can't lie!) Oh, and being able to take the GOOD medications when sick!

Cravings: Anything SALTY!!! Salt & Vinegar chips are my favorite right now! I love Simply Apple Juice, Farmer’s Garden Dill Pickles, and Watermelon! I’m loving lots of fruits.

Symptoms: Feeling pretty good! Unfortunately, I still have really bad headaches!

Emotions: I had the best dream about our sweet baby this week! In my dream, the precious little one was a girl, and I was holding her just soaking her up. The dream seemed so real! So exciting!

Looking forward to: In one week, we hope to find out the gender and host a little Gender Reveal Party. I just can’t wait to find out to start planning the nursery!!!

This is a photo of Baby O from last week's visit with the specialist.

14 Weeks

I'm 14 weeks!

 

Pregnancy Highlights:

Due Date: October 18, 2013...some ultrsaounds show Oct. 18, 20, or 21....My specialist did say that I should be induced at 38 weeks so that puts me being induced around Oct. 7!

How Far Along: 14 Weeks

Size of baby: Baby O is the size of a lemon!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 3 lbs

Maternity Clothes: I’ve started wearing my belly band around my work pants or will just linen pants that are drawstring at the waist. I did buy one pair of maternity pants at Old Navy the other day because they were half off.  

Gender: Can't wait to find out! Hoping to find out on May 2^nd!

Movement: None yet

Sleep: I'm so tired - that I sleep pretty well!

What I miss: Caffeine & Boiled Crawfish (I can't lie!) Oh, and being able to take the GOOD medications when sick!

Cravings: Anything SALTY!!! Salt & Vinegar chips are my favorite right now! I love Simply Apple Juice, Farmer’s Garden Dill Pickles, and Watermelon! I’m loving lots of fruits.

Symptoms: Feeling pretty good! Unfortunately, I still have really bad headaches! I’ve been trying to drink more water, and my doc said to eat every 2 hours to keep my blood sugar from dropping.

Emotions: This pregnancy finally feels real since we have gotten good reports from both docs. This makes me elated to know that our sweet baby will be here in 6 months!

Looking forward to: In two weeks, we hope to find out the gender and host a little Gender Reveal Party. I just can’t wait to find out to start planning the nursery!!!

 

Update: I went to see my specialist last Wednesday. Everything looked great! PTL! I must say it is nice getting to see our little one every month via ultrasound even if it b/c I have a blood clotting problem. My specialist is so friendly and comforting that I left feeling like “WE ARE REALLY HAVING A BABY!!!” I know that I should have been feeling this way, but it felt so great to hear from my specialist that everything looked great, and that I have only a 2% chance of miscarrying from this point on. I felt so relieved and thankful that my God is safely carrying us through this pregnancy journey.

 

 

13 Weeks

I'm 13 weeks!

Pregnancy Highlights:

Due Date: October 18, 2013

How Far Along: 13 Weeks

Size of baby: Baby O is the size of a peach!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: None that I know of yet...I will know more once I go back to the doctor next week. 

Maternity Clothes: None yet. My pants are definitely getting tighter! I feel like this week my stomach has really become more round. I try to suck it in, but it doesn’t work! :)

Gender: Can't wait to find out! Hoping to find out next week!

Movement: None yet

Sleep: I'm so tired - that I sleep pretty well!

What I miss: Caffeine & Boiled Crawfish (I can't lie!) Oh, and being able to take the GOOD medications when sick!

Cravings: I am obsessed with Simply Apple Juice, Farmer’s Garden Dill Pickles, and Watermelon! I’m loving lots of fruits. I recently started craving salt and vinegar chips!

Symptoms: I’m happy to say that the nausea in the afternoons has decreased tremendously this week! YEA!!! Unfortunately, I still have really bad headaches that make me nauseated from the pain. I think the pollen everywhere is a main contributor to my headaches and other allergy symptoms.

Emotions: I have felt like I was in a better mood this week! J I even cooked dinner twice!

Looking forward to: Next week, I have two doctor’s appointments, one with my specialist in Shreveport and one with my OB/GYN. First off, I’m praying that everything is progressing correctly and that my two shots a day are enough. I’m also hoping that between the two appointments we will be able to have a good view of the gender of Baby O. I’m dying to start buying things once we know if it is a he or a she!

12 Weeks

I'm 12 weeks!

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 12 Weeks

Size of baby: Baby “O” is the size of a large plum!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: None

Maternity Clothes: None

Gender: Can't wait to find out! (For some reason right now I'm thinking boy????)

Movement: None yet

Sleep: I'm so tired so sleep comes easily!

What I miss: Caffeine & Boiled Crawfish (I can't lie!) Oh, and being able to take the good medications when sick!

Cravings: Due to the nausea most forms of protein sound terrible. I am, however, obsessed with Simply Apple Juice, Farmer’s Garden Dill Pickles, and Watermelon! I’m loving lots of fruits.

Symptoms: I still feel very nauseated after lunch or in the evenings. I can usually eat a good breakfast and lunch, but for supper sometimes all I can stomach is an apple. This makes wanting to cook a real challenge. I’m tired a lot and suffer from tons of headaches! I think the pollen everywhere is a main contributor to my headaches and other allergy symptoms.

Emotions: I definitely cry very easily these days, and honestly, I know I have been pretty moody. I think it has to do with not feeling good plus the hormones. Here’s to hoping the second trimester is better...at least for J’s benefit! :)

Looking forward to: J and I had the best conversation about what our child could someday become! A famous singer (chances are not that high with our vocal abilities : P)or a professional athlete, a doctor, or lawyer....the possibilities are ENDLESS! :)

Best Moment this week: Sharing the news with all of our friends!!! We shared the news on Facebook and other social media this past week. It was so much fun to read everyone’s sweet comments! Baby “O” is definitely already loved!

Baby O's first goodies came in the mail this week! He/she's first books!!! :)

The BIG Announcement! :)

Justin and I feel so blessed to announce that our family will be growing by one in October!!! Yep, we have a baby on the way or as our announcement card said a "BUN in the OVEN!"

This is a scanned copy of the card we sent out to our close friends and family! :)

                 Justin and I knew we wanted to start a family and began praying for God's will in the Spring of 2012. I went and had blood work done to make sure everything was checked out okay before we really moved forward with the baby process. The initial blood work looked fine, but after some convincing from my Aunt Tish and Meme Greta, I had additional blood work completed. I am so thankful for their pushing me to get additional tests ran because I discovered I have a blood clotting disorder called Lupus Anticoagulant. It sounded pretty scary when the doctor called me to confirm this diagnosis,  but luckily it is treatable with baby aspirin and daily injections when pregnant. Lupus Anticoagulant does not mean I have Lupus or will ever get it. It just means my blood clots too much. This can lead to problems such as pulmonary embolism and other clotting issues, but the biggest or most common problem with this disorder is recurrent miscarriages in pregnancy. Most women do not know they have this disorder until they have miscarried several times. I feel so fortunate to know about this disorder before ever conceiving .  I see a Perinatal Specialist as well as my regular OBGYN to monitor my doses of Lovenox and eventual Heparin shots. 

             Getting pregnant took Justin and I much longer than we anticipated, but now looking back we know God's timing was perfect. We moved in our new house in December and conceived in January. Even though at the time we tried to convince ourselves that building a house wasn't stressful, we know it truly was chaotic and stressful to our bodies. Once we settled in and relaxed, God took control. I got my first Big Fat Positive  on February 11 and we shared the news with only our parents on February 17 at our House Warming Party. We kept it a secret from most other family and friends until  now because I had a large cyst on my ovary (the size of a softball) that caused complications. With a cyst that large, if it ruptured I may loose the baby. With the chance of a large cyst rupturing, getting on Lovenox shots to thin by blood didn't seem smart because if it did rupture I could bleed internally. Yes, pretty scary! My OBGYN instructed me to just take it easy and rest hoping that the cyst would not rupture. The waiting was such torture! We were scared to get excited because we just did not know how it would turn out. My specialist eventually instructed me to take only one shot of Lovenox a day, which was both good and bad. I was glad to take the shot to treat my blood clotting, but also scared of what the blood thinning medicine would do to the cyst. Luckily, the cyst did not rupture (at least not yet!) When we went back to the doc for our 10 week appointment, the cyst had shrunk from 7.3 cm to 3 cm! Praise the Lord! We got great pictures of Baby O and heard a strong heartbeat of 185 bpm! This was my third ultrasound since being pregnant and was by the far the best, we got to see so much! The doc even commented how unusually good the images were for so early on because the placenta moved out of the way allowing for perfect views our our little one! :)

This is my favorite! Of course the 4D helps, but I just love how he/she is rubbing his eyes! It makes it so real! :)

I am now taking two shots of Lovenox a day, which initially sucked but it is getting easier. Now, I can give them to myself which helps ease the burning sensation and cuts down on the bruising. We still have a long journey to get this baby here safely in October, so please keep us in your prayers! Overall, we are SO EXCITED and feel SO BLESSED!!! :)

House Warming

On Feb. 17th, my sister threw us a House Warming party. It was so great to have family, friends, and neighbors celebrate with us this new chapter of our lives in our NEW HOUSE! :)

J and me

My sweet sister, Brooke

I must say my Mother-in-law and Mom helped me so much get the house ready. My Mother-in-law donated two days helping me clean and get things ready for the party.

New House

 

We moved in our new home on December 1st! We still have a ways to go as far as hanging up stuff on the walls and getting things organized, but here are some recent photos. :)

 

Guest Bedroom

 

Guest Bathroom

Master Bath

Master Bed Ceiling

Laundry Room

Dining Room

 

Living Room Area

Love all my Christmas cards on my cabinet doors :)

Front Doors with Monograms