Wednesday, September 21, 2011

FIrst Comes Love, Then Comes Marriage, Then Comes...

....THE BABY in the baby carriage. That's right Brody and I are having a baby boy!! We are about 21 weeks along and getting more and more excited everyday. Here is a recap and some highlights of the last few months.





Well, when two people love each other very much...jk... where to start... well Brody and I decided that we didn't want to wait to have kids, so i guess thats how we ended up where we are. We first took a home pregnancy test at week 6. It was a pretty surreal feeling seeing it come up positive almost instantly. ill never forget Brody's reaction of "Oh SH@*! it worked..." (don't worry I slapped him for the language and he's learned his lesson...kinda). Anyway, we were so excited that the next day we told our families, early we know, but lets just say we aren't good at keeping secrets. We decided that we weren't going to tell anyone else until week 12, which at the time seemed like forever away!

At 9 weeks we had our first appointment. This probably was one of my favorite appointments because we were able to hear the baby's heartbeat. Ive said it before and ill say it again, there isn't a more amazing feeling in the world than hearing your baby's heartbeat for the very first time! All of it all of a sudden became very real.



Meanwhile, the early pregnancy symptoms were all there, extreme tiredness, strange cravings, vivd dreams, and moodiness. At the beginning i was so tired that i would sleep for hours and hours during the day. I kept thinking to myself that "man, they aren't exaggerating this tiredness thing." I wondered if everyone else was as bad as i was. It was only after a few weeks of this that i had my blood test done and the test revealed that my thyroid levels had dropped significantly (causing most of the tiredness). Once i had the proper dose of my medicine in me i felt a hundred times better.

Unfortunately with the blood test they discovered a few other things. because of my hypothyroidism i would need to get my blood tested every month. YIKES! Also, they found out that i was O neg blood type meaning that if my blood mixed with the baby's blood it could be potentially dangerous. So to fix that i have to get shots throughout my pregnancy to help my body react the way it is supposed to if blood does in fact mix. Now all of this might not seem that traumatic but if you know me personally, you know THAT IT IS. I have a DEATHLY fear of needles and im not exaggerating. I pass out nearly every time i see them. in the past, any time that i have needed a shot or my blood drawn i have to be tranquilized. Seeing as they cant medicate me now that i am pregnant i knew right then and there that i had a tough road in front of me. Luckily i have had a very supportive husband who has helped me get through each appointment. I am also happy to report that each month, the appointments have gotten slightly easier and less traumatic. The first appointment was a DISASTER however. I was so worked up that i passed out and peed my pants. yup embarrassing i know. Since then ive done a little better, but by no means has it been easy!

On a more comical note...by week 12 my strange cravings had taken over my life. All the old foods that i used to like, i couldnt stomach anymore. Foods that i never liked before were suddenly the only things i wanted to eat. One day all i wanted was taco bell...NOTHING else would do. Another time all i could eat all day was bread with mustard on it. ya i was crazy. Perhaps the funniest episode was one time when i had been sick all day and nothing sounded good to me to eat. It was around 3 am that i sat up in bed and told Brody that i really really wanted to go get a cheeseburger. This might not seem weird at first but when you realize that i am a vegetarian and haven't eaten meat in 4 years...insisting that i get a cheeseburger was pretty dang strange. But Brody thought it was hilarious so he took me at 3 am to get a cheeseburger.

i loved every bite!

At week 13 we went in for our second appointment. At this point some of my early symptoms were starting to go away and i was starting to feel normal again. At the appointment we had a little scare. the nurse first tried to find the baby's heartbeat with the doppler hand held thingy (dont know what it is called, all i know is i dont like it). After about 5 minutes of not being able to find it she looked up and saw the terrified look on my face. ONLY then did she tell me that it was till early and that not being able to find it this way is normal. THANKS NURSE! why do they do that to mom's if its normal to not find the heartbeat? but long story short they did an ultrasound and everything was fine and dandy.

Week 16 we went in for our next appointment and since we were moving back to utah we asked the doc to see if he could find the gender. he was nice and did an ultrasound for us. The little baby was being stubborn and it was difficult to tell but the doctor was able to make a guess. He said that he was 85% sure that it WAS A BOY! we couldn't have been happier.

At about week 19 i literally popped. my belly was pretty non-existant (i just looked fat) before that. Coming home to utah was a real treat because i got strange looks from everyone...you know the look where you can tell they are wondering (but dont want to ask) if you are pregnant or just gaining a lot of weight. ya super uncomfortable.



One of my favorite memories so far is when we announced the gender of the baby. We decided to have a little family party and do something fun to announce it. We had a little dinner and had everyone guess the gender, weight, length and birthdate of the baby. afterwards, we had dessert. I made cute little cupcakes and the cake was either died blue or pink (boy or girl). Everyone got there own and had to open them at the same time. And since the doctor said he was 85% sure it was a boy i died 85% of the cakes blue and 15% pink. it through people off a little bit when some people had pink and some had blue, but the word was out. a little Brody was on the way!






And all this takes us up to where we are now. we just had our 21 week appointment today where the doctor made sure that the baby was growing at the right rate and that everything was normal with that growth. He also confirmed that yes it was a little boy. no more 85%!



Everything was perfect with the baby, the heart, the lungs, the kidneys, the hands, the feet, the brain...we got to see it all! my favorite part of the ultrasound was when we were looking at the hands and all you could see was a fist and four knuckles. Then, while we were looking at them, up popped a little thumb, giving us a thumbs up! it was so cute!



Other than all that, ive been having a blast shopping for this little kiddo.

With both of his grandma's and myself, i have a feeling that this is gonna be one spoiled baby! Oh Oh and i just HAVE to show you MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE purchase of perhaps my entire life....


BABY SPERRY SHOES! aren't these the cutest darn things you have ever seen in your life? i know i know im buying SPERRYs for a baby who wont even be able to walk yet but oh well! Now he can match his Daddy!

Each day i start to feel him more and more. He is an active little guy, especially at night! Brody even got to feel him move the other day! so cool. Well my friends thats about it. ill keep you updated on how the next few months go!