9 Weeks

Originally written July 20, 2017

Size of Baby: Baby J is the size of a cherry and as long as .9 inches!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 161.5, so up 1.5 lbs so far. Feeling good in this category. I do feel that I'm eating more, but maybe I'm not. I'm trying to split my meals into 2 each, so that I can eat every 3 hours or so. If I stay on top of my eating and hunger, it really helps with the nausea.

Maternity Clothes: No maternity clothes yet, but I think I've only worn pants one day this week. It really helps that it's summer, because I usually wear a ton of dresses in the summer. I did place my first clothing order with several maternity items in it today! I couldn't help it. Ann Taylor Loft was having 50% off and free shipping. I got a maternity cardigan, a maternity dress, maternity shorts and 2 non-maternity flowy tops. I got 6 pieces for under $130!!!

Movement: It's too early to feel the baby moving. The farther along I've gotten, I get less twinges and pings, which has been nice.

Sleep: My sleep has been pretty good, except for CRAZY dreams. I've gotten used to waking up to pee multiple times per night.

What I Miss: Jimmy Johns! I was craving a sandwich at some point this week and wanted JJ's with extra peppers. But they only serve their sandwiches cold, and Dr. Martin made it very clear not to eat any cold-cuts.

Cravings: Fried Chicken. I stopped Monday after my lash appointment to pick up Chick-Fil-A for lunch and brought it back to the office, and then last night I was craving fried chicken. I also had a cobb salad Monday night at dinner club with lightly fried chicken on it. I am SO glad I'm still able to eat chicken, since I haven't been able to stomach my protein shakes in the morning.

Symptoms: Nausea, Sore Boobs and Very Tender Nipples, A little moody, CRAZY dreams (so detailed, weird people in them, and I usually can remember then). This week I've had a couple headaches. I was worried about it because I never get headaches. But then my Bump update this week mentioned headaches as a symptom during this time because of the surge in hormones.

One symptom I've been having since before I even knew I was pregnant is blurry vision. I have heard of other women having it. But mine can get pretty bad sometimes in the afternoon, especially when I get tired. Apparently, this is normal.

Best Moment this Week: Friday - I received a gift that knocked me over. My friend Tyler sent me a lovely James Avery charm that says "Expect a Miracle." On the back she got it engraved with Baby Jordan.

Moments with Dave this Week: This week Dave has really started being sweet to the belly. He has talked to it, rubbed it and prayed over it. I love it :)

We had the opportunity to hike at Robber's Cave and spend the evening with our friends Jenny and Cody at their lake house in Eufala.

Milestones: Baby J is officially a fetus, no longer an embryo!

What I'm Looking Forward To: Becoming calmer and less anxious as time goes on. This is taking some effort on my part, but it is getting better. I had high anxiety Monday, because I noticed my resting heart rate had dropped 2 beats per minute. But I think it was due to relaxing over the weekend. By Tuesday, my resting average heart rate was back up to 65 bpm. And today it is 64 bpm. After thinking about it, the baby's heartbeat should drop a little by the time we have our next appointment, so it makes sense that mine would drop a bit too. I'm trying my best to pick up my shield of faith, and envision a beautiful, healthy baby being born in February.

Favorite Quote from a Stranger this Week: I can't think of one from a stranger. But I had my annual dermatologist appointment yesterday. She said I have time to have at least 2 more kids. She didn't have her kids till she was 39 and 42, and she loved being pregnant. She is probably almost 6' tall though and maybe 145 pounds :)

What the Doctor Said this Week: N/A Next doctor appointment is August 9!

Weirdest Thing I ate this Week: Nothing too strange that I can think of. I was able to take the Goldfish crackers out of the car for a few days, but this morning they were back with me. I almost threw up while brushing my teeth this morning. It was a tad rough.

I bought myself 2 bagels at Panera Tuesday night at the Myrtle meeting. So I've been eating one half at a time up at the office. Asiago cheese bagel get in my belly!

Verse I'm Clinging to this Week: Ephesians 6:16 "Take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one." I got this from Jesus Calling. On Wednesday, the reading was about fear and anxiety (perfect!) and it talked about the enemy shooting arrows of fear at us. They recommend affirming our trust in Jesus, regardless of how we feel. With persistence, my feelings will eventually fall in line with my faith. Wonderful advice.

8 Weeks

Originally written July 13, 2017

Size of Baby: I believe Baby J is the size of a raspberry! And is as long as .63 inches.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 162.0 yesterday. Still hanging on to that 2 pounds, maybe it wasn't the Mexican food after all :)

Maternity Clothes: Nope, but I still feel the most comfortable in dresses.

Movement: I had one night where I had some bad cramping this week, maybe Monday night. It was disconcerting, but I guess it's just things moving around and stretching.

Sleep: I honestly have not been sleeping that great. I wake up so much to pee, even before midnight, I've usually been up twice.

What I Miss: Kombucha (the only reason why is because we asked Dr. Martin if I could have some, and she said no.)

Cravings: Hmmm, honestly nothing. The nausea really came to life this past week. I am driving around with an economy size tub of goldfish in my passenger seat.

Symptoms: Nausea, Sore Boobs, A little moody

Best Moment this Week: Hearing that crazy fast heart beat yesterday at our 2nd ultrasound. The heartbeat was 181!!!

Moments with Dave this Week: After our appointment, we shared a pizza at Mario's, even though it was only 4:30. While we were ordering, I threw a huge stink about him wanting half Italian sausage and half mushroom. But I ended up really loving their Italian sausage. The pizza was amazing. I had 3 giant slices. Big mistake! After that, we went to Margaux and Greg's and met Baby Mason. Later in the evening, we went for a walk in his parent's neighborhood. After our walk, we swung in and told his parents. Their reactions will be etched in my memory forever.

Milestones: 2nd ultrasound and 2nd time hearing my baby's heartbeat was on Wednesday, July 12

What I'm Looking Forward To: Purchasing my first maternity clothes, even though I know it's not for a while

Favorite Quote from a Stranger this Week: Dave and I went to Echo Shop for just a second over the weekend, and I asked if there was a maternity section. There wasn't, but the girl shouted out "Congratulations!" as I left. It felt so surreal :)

What the Doctor Said this Week: She said I can be as active as I was before, but if I don't feel like running, then don't do it. She said I can eat Subway sandwiches, and not to drink kombucha. She told Dave she thinks I will be good to go on our Utah hiking trip in October (at 20 weeks) pregnant. She said we could come back in 2 weeks, and I asked if it was mandatory, and she said no, you can come back in 4! So that's what we're doing. Being there gives me EXTREME anxiety. My blood pressure was very high, and Kristin took it before the ultrasound and after the ultrasound.

Weirdest Thing I ate this Week: Hmmmm, oh yes, on Monday, I ate 2 snacks at 10am and 2pm of Little Caesar's breadsticks with marinara sauce. But it helped my nausea stay away. Unlike yesterday, I didn't eat a morning snack, and I had to lay down after lunch because I felt so sick.

Verse I'm Clinging to this Week: 2 Timothy 1:7 "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but of power, love and self-confidence."

7 Weeks

Originally written July 6, 2017

How Far Along: 7 weeks exactly, according to the last ultrasound, and 7 weeks 4 days according to my last period.

Size of Baby: A Blueberry! 1/2 inch!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 162.0 this morning, so up 2 lbs. But really, I'm attributing that to being in Texas over the 4th of July. I had all my favorites there including Bill Miller's, Los Barrios and my mom's French Breakfast puffs and homemade chocolate chip cookies.

Maternity Clothes: Nope, but my first stitch fix box will be arriving early next week. I'll show some pics when I get them!

For now, I'm still wearing lots of dresses. Today, I'm wearing jeggings, which I usually wouldn't find appropriate for work. But I need the elastic.

Movement: Still too early to feel the baby. The twinges and aches have gotten less and less during the day. But I'd say every other night, I'll get uncomfortable in one position and have to move to make the aches go away.

Sleep: I'm getting up to pee ALOT. Last night, it was at least 3 times. 11:30, 12:30, 4:00 and 5:00. That's 4 times!!!

What I Miss: I can't think of anything I really miss. We chose to forgo the ultrasound this week, since Dave had to work a full day yesterday. Now I really can't wait to see this baby next Wednesday.

Cravings: SALT. I made pasta with salt and butter last night and it tasted amazing! I added roasted okra and snap peas, and that was a hit too. I also made Dave stop for Little Caesar's on the way home from the airport. It tasted delicious. For breakfast this morning I had 2 bread sticks and half a grapefruit.

Symptoms: Very sore boobs when I wake up. It feels like I've been smashing them. I'm also still having the heavy feeling on the tops of them toward the inside. Like something is laying on them.

Saturday and Sunday mornings I woke up very hungry, which is unusual for me. I was at Jessica's home, and I tried to lay in bed and wait for them to wake up. As soon as I heard someone around, I popped out of bed. Luckily, Michael made eggs both mornings, which was perfect!

Sunday afternoon I was at my mom's house, and I had my first true bout of pregnancy nauseau. She was prepping for a family get-together and was cutting onions and opening cans of hot dog chili. I seriously thought I was going to puke. Then Monday, I woke up from a nap at my Grandma's house, and my mom gave me some pudding cake. I had one or two bites and thought I was going to puke again. I think I could have if I had gone into the bathroom, but I just sat still taking deep breaths and putting a cold rag on my forehead and wrists.

Since then, I have had nausea every day at least a little. Usually it is in the morning about 10 minutes after I get out of the shower. I think I must be getting too hot.

Best Moment this Week: Telling my Granny in person that we are pregnant!

Moments with Dave this Week: Dave hates Little Caesars, and the fact that he pulled over in a scary neighborhood on the way home from the airport and got me some, was truly a sign of pure love. He also sold his bike this week in preparation for being a dad, and he wants us to start cleaning up the garage and putting stuff in the attic this weekend. He wants us to do something every weekend to prep for the baby.

First Times with Baby: I traveled for the first time by airplane since pregnant. I flew to Austin SUPER early Friday morning, catching the 5:40am flight. There was a slight flight delay in Dallas Love Field, that allowed me time to scarf down Chick-Fil-A nuggets and fries at 8:30am!!!

I loved spending time with Jessica's family. Sunday, Jess met my mom and Granny in Buda (pronounced Beuda). Then I got to see Erin's family that night at our family party. They are part of our family :)

Milestones: Week 7 Bump Photo Tonight!

What I'm Looking Forward To: Next Wednesday's Ultrasound. I can't wait to hear that baby heartbeat again!

Favorite Quote from a Stranger this Week: I got nothing :) But my mom did grab my belly multiple times while I was with her in San Antonio, and it was such an odd feeling. But it brought me lots of joy.

Weirdest Thing I ate this Week: I'd say breakfast this morning. 2 Little Caesar's Breadsticks with marinara sauce and half a grapefruit.

Verse I'm Clinging to this Week: Numbers 26:24-26 "The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace."

Gender Prediction Based on Wive's Tales

Originally written August 23, 2017

Cravings...Sweet or Salty - Salty! - Boy

Glowing - No - Girl

Carrying High or Low - Kinda High - Girl

Moody - Yes - Girl

Left Boob Bigger - Yes - Girl

Heart Rate Under 140 - No - Girl

Dreams of Snakes - This did happen once, but I thought only because we saw a ginormous snake on our walk that night. - Boy

Dad Gaining or Losing Weight - Dave's been losing - Girl

Areola becomes dark - Not yet - Girl

Craving Meat - Yes - Boy

Shape of Belly Like a Basketball - Definitely Not - Girl

Gaining Weight in Thighs - No - Girl

If You Become Clumsy - Not Yet - Girl

No Morning Sickness and Feeling God - Nope - Girl

Cold Feet - If this is literal, no - Girl

Frequent Headaches - I have gotten headaches, but I wouldn't call them frequent. - Girl

Dry Skin - Yes - Boy

Hair is Growing and Glowing - Nope - Girl

Fingernails and Toenails grow fast - Not especially - Girl

Leg Hair is Growing Faster than Before You Were Pregnant - Nope - Girl

Face Shape is Long and Lean - Nope - Girl

Have acne and pimples all over - Not all over, but more than usual - Girl

Carrying High - Yes - Girl

Shape of Belly Like Watermelon - Yes (more so than a basketball) - Girl


And the results are 4 Boy and 20 Girl - SOOOOOOO....we're probably having a boy!!!! :)

6 Weeks

Originally written June 29, 2017

How Far Along: 6 weeks exactly, according to our first ultrasound yesterday. Based on my last period, 6 weeks 4 days.

Size of Baby: I'm pretty sure she said .27 cm, but I have no idea if that is right. It is tiny!!!! But it's heart was beating, which is just crazy to me. The heartbeat was 100 beats per minute, and we could hear it! (I just googled how big a 6 week baby is, and the bump.com says it's .25 inches. That is SO crazy to me.)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I'm going to say my starting weight with this pregnancy is 160.0. On the day we found out I was pregnant, I didn't weigh myself. The day before, I weighed 162.5, the day after 160.5. I'm being SUPER real here, because this is the most I've weighed in my life. I'm hoping since I am heavier than where I like to be, which is between 145 and 150, that I won't gain TOO much weight with this pregnancy. I really don't want to go over 190.

Maternity Clothes: Nope. And this week I haven't felt nearly as bloated as I did the first week. The first week, I was having to unbutton some of my jeans during the day and definitely on the way home from work. I've started wearing dresses ALOT more. They are just more comfortable. I am on progesterone suppositories. And whenever I've taken progesterone, I've always gotten super bloated.

Movement: It's WAY too early to feel the baby. But I haven't had as many aches and twinges as I did last week, which is comforting in a way, because sometimes those feelings were a tad scary. But now that I know, it was the baby, I'd be ok with feeling them again occasionally :)

Whenever I have to pee really bad, my stomach starts hurting, like truly hurting. But as soon as I use the restroom the pain goes away.

Sleep: I slept like a rock last night after having that ultrasound done yesterday. I usually wake up between 11:45 and 12:15 to pee and again around 4:00. And I've been waking up without an alarm between 5-5:30.

What I Miss: I know I need to cut down on the hot dogs. But gosh darn it, that's what I'm craving. And I ate alot of tuna salad in the weeks leading up to finding out I was pregnant, and now I've learned I shouldn't eat more than one serving per week.

Cravings: Hot Dogs and Potato Salad. I also read today that you should avoid eating any salads from delis. I'm not exactly sure why, but that's a bummer.

Best Moment this Week: Seeing that little baby on the ultrasound screen and feeling Dave's hand grab mine with joy.

Moments with Dave this Week: After our ultrasound appointment, he ran to Starbucks, because they were having a buy one get one free, and he met me at Baskin Robbins. I just wanted 2 kids scoops, but the price was the same as a double, so I had him make me a double scoop of peanut butter and chocolate and pralines and cream :) Then we went home and talked alot and watched Patriot's Day. After the movie we took a super long walk. I ended up with 15,000 steps yesterday!

Milestones: First Bump Photo tonight!

What I'm Looking Forward To: Seeing my mom this weekend!

Favorite Quote from a Stranger this Week: Can't think of anything from a stranger. But I do have a funny quote from my OBGYN. When she walked into the ultrasound room, I told her "Dr. Martin, you have two very anxious people in here." And she said "and now, there are 3. I'm anxious too. This is scary and exciting stuff!" I loved her honesty. Let's get real, when a patient has had 2 miscarriages, and has never made it to the ultrasound stage, it is scary, for the patient, her husband, her loved ones and even her doctor. I'm guessing Dr. Martin does love me, because she has known me for 10 years!!!

What the Doctor Said This Week: She said to keep taking my prenatal and fish oil, to up my Folate to 4 mcg and that I can bring my Vitamin D down to just what is in the prenatal. She said to drink 8 8oz glasses of water every day, only to eat well-cooked meats, no deli meats unless they are heated to steaming. I think that's it!

Weirdest Thing I ate this week: Hmmmm, probably nothing too out of the ordinary. The building catered in Brownie's Hamburgers for the annual 4th of July celebration. I ate a hot dog, a cheeseburger with extra pickles, baked beans and coleslaw. It was delicious. I passed on the cookies and soda. I don't want to give this baby too much sugar.

Verse I'm Clinging To This Week: Numbers 26:24-26 "The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”

Made it past a week of knowing!

Originally written June 22, 2017.

This first week of knowing I am pregnant has been surreal. Sharing the news with the people who have prayed the hardest and seen me cry the most tears over the last 5 years has been so amazing. I can feel their continued prayers every day.

Dave has been slow coming around to acknowledging the pregnancy. But today when he kissed me goodbye he briefly touched my belly too (might have been on accident, but it was with both hands so I'm counting it ;)).

I always assumed that this early in the pregnancy (5 weeks and 5 days today) that women didn't feel anything, except maybe a little morning sickness. I haven't felt nauseous at all. But I have been avoiding some things in the fridge that would usually be my go-to.

The day before I found out I was pregnant I cut up a fresh pineapple and portioned it out with cottage cheese. Well, all 3 servings have been sitting there ever since. I just can't bring myself to eat cottage cheese or pineapple.

The tiredness is for real. I've been working a ton - logged 59 hours last week in the office. So some of this may be unrelated to pregnancy, but as soon as I get home, I get in bed. It's even painful for me to make myself something to eat. Some nights I just want to skip food and crawl into bed. And for the most part, I've been sleeping hard at night. Sunday night before getting the 2nd beta back, I had a hard time staying asleep due to anxiety, but since getting that call, I've slept like a rock.

Bellyaches and pains. These are unexpected. They don't feel like period cramps. And today I haven't had many at all. Yesterday was a different story. All day I had aches and twinges in my belly and back. At times it felt like I was squishing one ovary at a time. And at different times, my back ached. None of it felt like my normal period cramps. But by 11pm (we saw the musical Matilda last night), I was convinced something was wrong. I was so relieved to not have any spotting and to sleep like a rock and wake up this morning and feel better.

Anxiety - maybe because this is my 3rd pregnancy, my anxiety has been through the roof some days. Today has been awesome though. I really enjoy reading Jesus Calling and looking up the scriptures for the day in my Bible.

I can feel the prayers of my friends lifting me and this baby up.

I am SO grateful for this pregnancy. I'm letting go of anxiety and embracing calm.

A Mom....What????

Originally written June 16, 2017

SCREEEEEEEEECH!!!!!!!!

Everything I've been thinking and trying to wrap my head around for the last 7 weeks, since the morning of April 26, when Dave told me he was ready to stop trying for a child, comes to a screeching halt when we unveil the ClearBlue Digital pregnancy test that I had wrapped up in toilet paper at least 30 minutes earlier. It was only Day 32 of my cycle. I wasn't terribly late. But last month my cycle was only 28 days, and it's usually 29 days when I'm not on any hormones. So on Day 31 we took a test and got this

....very helpful, funny. Dave asked, "uhm, what does that mean?" And I jokingly said, "I think it means we need to read more books." But as cycle day 31 went on, I thought about that test with the little book blinking in the right-hand corner. And I found it suspicious. Usually these ClearBlue Digital tests are not shy about telling me I'm "Not Pregnant." But I did go running right before I took this test. And I sweat alot, so not tons of pee came out on the strip. So whatever, we looked at eachother and said "That was a waste of money, we'll do it again in the morning if I haven't started by then."

But here we were, half sitting half laying in bed, holding a test that said "Pregnant." Literally 7 weeks to the day that we were half sitting half laying in bed, when my husband told me he was ready to stop, ready to stop any and all fertility meds, ready to stop with the ovulation predictor kits. I even muttered the word vasectomy, not now, but maybe later this summer. And now, here we are. Is this for real? I literally laughed, mostly with joy, but also with utter disbelief at the timing and the irony of the situation.

First step - go get labwork done. We've been through this twice before, with unfortunate results. But our first step, it came back great. The nurse actually said "Your numbers look beautiful!" This is the same nurse that had had the horrible job of calling me back in February 2016 and saying my progesterone was very low and I needed to leave work immediately and go to Econopharmacy at 91st street and pick up progesterone suppositories and start them right away. She was the same nurse that called in October 2016 and said that my progesterone looked a little better than last time, but the human growth hormone wasn't what they would have expected for as far along as I was. But yesterday, she was thrilled.

Second step - is tomorrow. I'm praying for peace, praying for calm. Praying the butterflies beating away at my stomach to please retreat. Calm down. I am praying for another wonderful call. So that I can cross this hurdle we've never crossed before.

Ahhhhh! I'm so excited :)

Monday Morning - I woke up with an eye twitch. And I had some bad dreams. So I put on my workout clothes and went for a long walk. I said lots and lots of prayers and tried to be positive, very positive. I made it to work at 8, and shut my door right away, knowing that when I received that phone call I didn't want anyone else to be in my office. Thankfully, the nurse called at 8:35, and she said "Belinda, your numbers look beautiful. They more than doubled." (AHHHHH!!!! I think my eye started twitching even faster, and I might have told her to shut up.)

She said that puts me at just over 5 weeks pregnant, and she wants me to come in next week for an ultrasound to hear the baby's heartbeat. And the due date is February 19, 2018. I am freaking out. So excited. In disbelief, but overwhelming gratitude for this unexpected gift and change in my "new" plans.