HALFWAY!!!

Today marks 20 weeks pregnant! It is hard to believe that we are already halfway and that our babe will be here before we know it.

Last Monday we had our ultrasound revealing the gender. I want to recap that first for memories sake before I move on to anything else…

My appointment was right after work at 3 and Todd met me at the doctors office. We were very anxious to see if everything was looking healthy and find out the gender. I was real quiet in the waiting room and couldn't concentrate on anything (I tried playing on my phone). Todd actually paced back and forth a few times. The same carried over into the actual ultrasound room which by the way was nothing as to what I expected.

We were in this big room, the lights really dim and a TV on the wall so I could easily see the ultrasound. I guess they know people are anxious because the most beautiful calming music was playing in the background. The ultrasound began right away and immediately we saw our baby on the screen. What an amazing sight!

Our babe was flipping around like crazy which was fun to see. The nurse checked everything…the heart/legs/arms/spine/brain/etc. Again, I was super quiet and Todd was freaking out in excitment. She asked if we wanted to know the gender immediately and we both agreed that we did. Within moments she said, "here we go…

it's a girl!" 

I cried slow tears of happiness and rejoiced internally while holding Todd's hand. Todd was way more vocal with his excitement. We were both thrilled for a healthy baby girl but reacted so differently. He was surprised with my reaction since I'm normally a loud person but it was such a special moment. My heart overflowed with thankfulness. It was so great and by this way this makes the ninth girl between both sets of families (no boys)! Right then and there we knew her name since we had previously carefully chosen and prayed over a name. More to come on the name in another post.

I think that she has Todd's head :)

We couldn't wait to share our news with our friends and family so we called our parents and family first. Then we went to buy our very first piece of baby clothing to mark this milestone in building our family and blasted it all over social media as proud soon to be parents.

Now here we are…halfway at 20 weeks (photo on the right)! Sorry for the blurry photos.

I've had some not so fun things occurring but nothing life threatening to me or the baby so I'm very thankful and feel like I have no room to complain at all. The heartburn did start today for the first time. I've heard people talk about this before while being pregnant and there was no mistaking what it was. Sleeping is a little rough sometimes especially right now as I have a head cold and can barely breath out of my nose. I have yet to feel her move yet so I'm eagerly awaiting that moment. In all, it's all good! Thanks for reading and following along! Keep praying for good health!

-Sara 

First Trimester

Well…I started this blog post at least a month ago but I'm just now getting around to publishing. Oops.

 I'll be 18 weeks tomorrow, Monday, Sept. 28th :)

12 Weeks

As my first trimester comes to a close, there are certainly things I want to forget (speaking to you all day sickness) but there are also many things I want to remember. Here are common questions people ask.

Did you know you were pregnant?
Not really. The day I found out  (June 25) I had been a volunteer on a staff kids outing with our church to the zoo. I remember being REALLY tired in the late afternoon and having frequent bathroom trips along with a few other signs but blamed it on the heat and my monthly was to start. When I got home, I was alone and had a test already stored away in the medicine cabinet. I was shocked at the result. The shock was just because I was surprised it happened but we were trying so it's exciting. I remember not even knowing how to calculate a due date and frantically trying to figure that out. Thanks, Google. Then I fell on my hands and knees and cried out to the Lord in joy and thankfulness. It was a really special moment I'll never forget. Todd found out the big news when he came home from work later that evening. I left the test next to his sink but it took him awhile to see it which drove me crazy. Immediately after a quick celebration we left for eGroup and had to act normal so that was hard. One friend quickly got in the loop along with my sister.

Have you been sick?
Yes. Yes. Yes. All day type of sickness. Thankfully with it being summer time and off work I have just rested each day. More nausea than actually sickness but there has been several times out of the blue that something doesn't settle well. As the first trimester ends, I feel each day is getting better.

Food cravings?
More so food aversions. I can barely open the fridge because I seem to smell everything and it makes me feel sick. I used to love mexican but don't care for it now. The first thing I "lost" was popcorn and that was terrible so I have stayed away from that (which used to be my favorite food). Basically things either sound good or bad. If it sounds good, I go for it (so much for a diet these days other than gluten free). My favorites have been fries, pickles, milk and orange juice. My go to meal on the run would be a bacon, egg and cheese (I'd remove the biscuit) and large seasoned fry from Bojangles. Most days I just do whatever it takes to survive. I used to LOVE cooking but that has not appealed to me during these sick times. The hunger hits fast and it can be equally frustrating when not everything sounds good.

Body Changes? Mood Swings?
Within a few weeks my pants started feeling real tight. Instead of growing outward at first, I felt my hips got wider causing my pants to be way too snug. My sisters and best friend Keara loaned me some maternity wear and I just went ahead and started wearing that stuff pretty early on since it was comfortable. My body has grown in other regions too if you catch my drift and that has been super uncomfortable and has caused many shirts not to fit anymore either. I do feel my stomach stretching as if I've done a million crunches but that is certainly not the case. I had occasional cramps here and there but read that was normal. For weeks I didn't feel "pretty" but that feeling seems to be fading too. As far as mood swings go, I think I've stayed fairly the same with occasional tears. Maybe we should be asking Todd that question but I will say that preggo brain is a real thing. My memory is the worst these days!

Sleeping?
I get up all the time to go to the bathroom. That can be interrupting and I'm trying to train myself to become a side sleeper.

By the way…it is all worth it. We are so grateful!